An Address Book Romance

Behave or I Will Turn This SUV Around

Grace opened her front door and entered her dark living room too tired to even bother to search for a light switch. She shut the front door behind her locking it before she made her way to her bedroom thankfully not tripping over anything.
Jen had gone home along time ago and judging by the distinct sound of music coming from behind her roommate's closed door she wasn't looking to be disturbed.

Grace closed her bedroom door and turned on her bedside lamp before tossing her purse in the nearest corner. She slipped her jeans off and reached under her shirt unclasping her bra before tossing it in them in the clothes hamper.
She let out a yawn as she slipped under her comforter ready to get some shut eye never mind the fact that it was only eight pm.

She was sure she hadn't been this tired in a while, but she didn't think anyone could blame her since she had come in way early before the salon had opened and had to stay after the salon had closed. Since the salon was so understaffed she'd had to stay behind and stock the back room.

She had been so busy today that she didn't even have time to eat a decent lunch and she was too exhausted to worry about dinner.

Grace almost drifted off but was startled awake by her cell phones ring tone. She stumbled out of bed answering her phone mumbling a hello.

She rolled her eyes when she heard her older sister's voice. “Grace were you asleep it's not even late?”

“No Elle I wasn't asleep.” She lied as she made her way over to her bed taking a seat and leaning against her headboard.

“Well I'm calling to see when you're coming home to visit. Dad wants to know?”

She rolled her eyes not believing that it was her father whom had wanted to know. It was most likely just Eleanor being her nosy overbearing self.

“I don't know when. I've been busy with work.” She mumbled as she reached over opening to drawer to her bedside table and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

She was just about to light up when she heard her sister speak up. “Well I don't see why you can't just get off work and come down for the weekend. Grace are you smoking I hear a lighter?”

Grace rolled her eyes knowing that lighters weren't that noisy. She spoke up lying once again as she took a puff. “No I quit.”

She had been smoking off and on since she was eighteen and she was technically supposed to be trying to quit right now. It was harder than she had thought it would be though.

“I can you hear you puffing on that thing. Don't come crying to me when your lungs become diseased and you're on your deathbed suffering from emphysema........Aunt Ruth wants you to come down for Thanksgiving.”

She let out a sigh not surprised to hear her sister lecturing her. Eleanor had always been uptight and ever since she'd become a mother she'd been even more uptight. She frowned at the mention of her Aunt Ruth.

Aunt Ruth was her father's younger sister. She had moved in with her father a year after Grace's mother had died. She was only supposed to be living with them for a little while to help the family adjust to the loss, but it seemed as though she had moved in and never left.

Grace had never gotten along with Ruth no matter how hard she tried. It had seemed as though the women was constantly throwing any of Grace's mistakes big or small into her face.
Aunt Ruth was overbearing and Grace preferred to stay as far away from her as possible.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Eleanor asked realizing that her sister wasn't going to respond to the the Thanksgiving invitation.

Grace bit her bottom lip as she put her barely burnt down cigarette out in an ashtray. She shoved the ashtray, the lighter, and the pack of cigarettes back into the drawer before speaking up. “Yeah I've been seeing a guy for a week and a half now.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear as she heard her sister talk to what must be one of her sons. “Yes I know you're hungry........I ordered some pizzas.......one pepperoni and one vegetarian.......well sorry I thought that was what you wanted........well how am I supposed to know what you want? I can't read your mind. Do you think I'm a psychic....How am I supposed to know that you don't like that.............go ask your father.”

Grace rolled her eyes as she heard Eleanor yell “Richard get off that computer and come pay attention to your children. Get Mason he's wondering around with an action figure and a spatula. Take Ethan to the kitchen and make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich he doesn't want pizza..........no I can't do it I'm talking to Gracie......Yes Gracie......She's trying to tell me about her boyfriend and I can't talk on the phone and mess with the boys at the same time.”

“I'm sorry honey these boys are driving me insane. So tell me about this guy.” Eleanor said finally returning to the conversation.

Grace swallowed the lump in her throat. “His names Tre. He's a pretty successful drummer. He's in a band. Green Day.......you know the band that Daniel used to listen too all the time.”

“Oh god Grace. A musician.........What are you thinking? I mean seriously how do you know he isn't going to go off on some tour and cheat on you with a groupie?” Eleanor practically shrieked into the phone.

Grace frowned as she felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. She hadn't even thought about the possibility of him cheating. He had said that he would be gone on tour for a while. So their relationship may be a long distance one at one point. What if he cheated?

She shook her head trying to wipe that thought out of her head. He wouldn't do that to her. She was just starting to let her walls down for him and she didn't want to think about the possibility of things being ruined.

She spoke up tempted to reach for another cigarette. “Tre isn't like that. He's really a nice guy and he has two kids. I know he'd never do that too me. He's just too amazing to me.“

“Two children? How old is he?” Eleanor asked thankfully not shrieking any longer.

“He's thirty two.” Grace said deciding that she shouldn't mention the fact that Tre had been married twice. Eleanor was already freaking out and she didn't want to give her anything else to make her completely freak.

“I don't know Grace......I'll take your word for it though and give him a chance.....Bring him with you when you come for Thanksgiving. I think we'll all want to meet him.” Eleanor insisted.

Grace frowned ready to tell her that she didn't know if she could come down for Thanksgiving and besides she hadn't even discussed the holidays with Tre. She didn't know what kind of plans he had or if he would be on tour during the holidays.

She didn't have time to say anything though since Eleanor spoke up. “I have to go dinners here. I have to take the boys to Target after dinners done so I can get them some new sneakers and I need to see if I can find a new toddler bed. Mason dissembled his. I'll see you and this boyfriend of yours when you come down. I'll try to call you later Honey bye.”

Grace rolled her eyes as she heard her sisters phone click sign ling that Eleanor had hung up. She let out a sigh as she closed her cell phone before opening it again and dialing Tre's cell number.

She knew that she needed to talk to him now before she worried about the state of their relationship too much.

She smirked as she heard Tre's voice “City morgue. You stab em I bag em. How can we help you today.”

“Hey what are you doing right now?” She asked ignoring his unconventional way of answering his phone.

“Laying back in bed watching a golf tournament.” Tre replied

She smiled slightly. “Oh well maybe I should let you go. I wouldn't want to interrupt that wild and fun time.”

She heard Tre speak up ignoring her sarcasm. “No I have it saved on TIVO. I've missed half of it because I fell asleep anyway. So talk away.”

“Why do you keep trying to watch it if you keep falling asleep?” She questioned.

“Because I like it. So whats going on with you? Are you ready for the barbecue tomorrow? I already told Billie Joe and his wife that I'm bringing you along and they can't wait to meet you.” Tre remarked.

“I'm looking forward to it. I just hope they like me. How's Franky doing? Did Claudia and you finally settle the whole pet debate?” She asked running a hand through her hair.

Tre spoke up chuckling. “Are you kidding their all going to adore you. Franky's doing pretty good. I got him some water wings so maybe we can get him into the pool tomorrow. Yeah we settled the whole pet thing. We told him that I would get him a dog in a few years. I mean it wouldn't be fair to Claudia for me to buy one now since I'm going out of town and I won't be there to take care of it. I'm probably going to be out in my own place in a few years so I can get a dog to keep at my place then.”

She nodded smiling a little. “That sounds fair. When are you going to start teaching him to swim?”

“I”m thinking about maybe enrolling him in a swimming class in a couple of summers. You know one of those classes that's for really little kids. The thought of trying to teach him myself makes me a little nervous. I have something important I need for you to do for me.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat wondering what he needed her to do. “Okay then.”

Tre let out a nervous sigh as he spoke. “I need you to meet Claudia before I take you to the barbecue tomorrow. She wants to meet you before we take Frankito anywhere. I think she just wants to make sure that you're okay to be around Franky. I know it's going to be awkward for you to have to meet her, but do you think you could do it for me.”

She cleared her throat nodding her head slightly. “Okay I'll meet her. I understand why she wants to meet me. I mean I'm with you so I'm going to obviously be a part of Franky's life. She's just trying to protect her baby.”

He let out a sigh speaking up. “Thanks. I'll pick you up at ten am tomorrow. Jen's coming right?”

“Yeah and I already laid down the ground rules. She's forbidden from freaking anyone out too much.”

“Okay good deal. So are you wearing an itsy bitsy bikini tomorrow?” He asked lowering his voice a little.

She rolled her eyes as she heard this. “No I'm wearing a big heavy Victorian era bathing dress with some bloomers. It's gonna be sexy let me tell ya about it.”

She heard him burst out laughing as he spoke up. “Finally all those dreams I've had about you are coming true. I can die happy now.”

She shook her head as she spoke up again deciding she should just get the whole Thanksgiving thing over with. “So I just got off the phone with my sister. She's really crazy I mean Eleanor's convinced that I should bring you home with me for Thanksgiving. I didn't have time to tell her no. I mean I'm sure you already have plans with your kids and we haven't even been dating that long yet.”

“Actually I don't have plans with my kids. They both spend Thanksgiving with their mothers. I get them on Christmas day and Christmas eve. I'm probably going to have two weeks off of tour then. I'd love to be taken home by you if you'll take me.” Tre stated sounding slightly amused by this invitation.

She widened her eyes surprised by this. She had been pretty sure that he would say no. She had been actually hoping she could avoid the ordeal of bringing him home to meet the family so soon.

“Okay. That sounds.....okay.” She said feeling very anxious about all this.

He spoke up apparently not noticing her anxiety. “You have to spend Christmas and Christmas eve with me though. I'm planning on taking you to meet my parents. I want you out on tour with me way before December even comes along okay.”

She nodded her head wondering how she'd gotten herself into this. This was probably way too soon to be even thinking about spending the holidays with each other.

Thanksgiving wouldn't be for another two months and Christmas wasn't until three more months.

“Okay. So uh....what do I get you for Christmas then?”

She wasn't surprised to hear him speak up in a slightly husky voice. “Oh baby all I want is you .”

Grace felt her cheeks flush as she heard this. She had definitely gotten herself into something.
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Grace ran her hands down her sun dress as she sat back in the passengers seat of Tre's SUV. She couldn't help but to worry about how she looked right now.
She had gotten dressed in such a rush and hadn't even bothered to do way too much with her hair.

She had had pulled her hair up with a clip and had worn her blue and black polka dotted bikini under her black sun dress. With that she had just slipped on a pair of black flip flops. She had packed a change of clothes as well as a orange beach towel in her tote bag, but she had forgotten her sunblock.

She was anxious about today, but she was trying not to show it. She was having to meet way too many new people today.

They pulled up to Tre's house before Tre turned down the radio and turned around staring at Jen in the backseat. “Your welcome to come in too.”

Jen shook her head. “Nope I'll be okay waiting.”

“Okay no stealing the car though young lady. Don't change the CD either.” Tre demanded playfully shaking a finger at her.

“Damn ruin all my plans of joy riding in your car and playing all your Cd's while your gone.”Jen joked as she threw her hands in the air.

Tre ignored her outburst as he opened Grace's door leading her inside. Grace widened her eyes looking up at his house. It was big. Bigger than she'd imagined.

She felt her stomach drop as they walked in to be met by a beautiful women who must be Claudia. Claudia pushed her long dark hair behind her ear as she spoke up looking at Tre. “Franky's upstairs. He wants you to get him ready.”

Tre nodded his head managing to pull Grace forward. “Okay. I think Franky's going to spend the night at the Billie's tonight. Jakob wanted him too. So I'm going to pack him a little overnight bag. Claudia this is Grace. Grace this is Claudia.”

Grace was surprised when Claudia gave her a friendly smile and offered a hand to shake. “It's great to meet you. Tre's told me a lot about you.”

Grace took her hand let her shake it gently. She couldn't help but to wonder what Tre could possibly tell his ex-wife about her.

Grace tried not to frown as Tre went upstairs leaving her alone with Claudia. She nervously took a seat on the couch beside Claudia hoping that Tre wouldn't take too long.

She almost resented Jen for making her come in here all alone. She was surprised as Claudia spoke up still sounding friendly. “Frankito seems fond of you. I'm glad. Tre says you're really good with Franky. To tell the truth Frankito wasn't too fond of Tre's last girlfriend. She told both Franky and Ramona that they could call her mommy. Tre got rid of her after that.”

She nodded her head still feeling a little awkward. She was sure that anyone would feel awkward meeting their boyfriend's ex-wife.

Claudia spoke up looking just as nervous as her. “I know this must be strange for you. I mean I know that Tre and I don't have the most normal relationship.”

“Yeah I understand though. I mean you both just want the best for Franky. I would never ask Franky or Ramona to call me mom. I mean you're his mother and Ramona has a mother as well. I know that any parenting of Frankito needs to be between Tre and you. The same goes for Ramona, Her parenting needs to stay between Tre and her mother.”

Claudia nodded her head giving her a relieved smile. “I'm happy were both on the same page.......... I want us to get along . It won't be good for anyone if we don't. I like you and I want you to stick around.”

Grace nodded her head completely agreeing. They both needed to be mature adults and do their best to get along for the sake of everyone that was involved in this.

Tre was surprised when he made his way downstairs holding his son only to see his ex-wife and his girlfriend talking almost like old friends. He had expected them to maybe be civil towards each other but he hadn't expected them to get along this well.

He cleared his throat making his presence known. “So Grace are you ready to go? I don't think I trust Jen alone in my car for too long.”

Grace smirked speaking up. “Oh leave my roommate alone. She hasn't stolen in years. Did you remember Franky's water wings?”

“Yeah and I've got the sunblock.”

She turned to Claudia as the women spoke up. “Bye it was nice to meet you Grace.”

“You too.” Grace stated turning towards Tre and taking Frankito's little backpack from him.

Tre took Grace's hand leading her out of the house not helping but to be grateful that Claudia and she had gotten along this well.

His biggest fear had been that they would hate each other.

Tre finally got Frankito into the car and strapped into the car seat before he settled into the drivers seat. He frowned as he pulled away from his house and realized that there was a different CD playing.

He turned his head glaring at Jen as they stopped at a stop light. “You changed the CD.”

“I had to. I mean seriously Tre Duran Duran. What was up with that? Come on Grace back me up on this.” Jen exclaimed looking to her roommate for some support.

Grace snickered staring between her huffing boyfriend and her roommate.

Tre spoke up looking at Grace. “Graceful she changed my CD and she's insulting my incredible music taste. Punish her.”

Jen spoke up before Grace could respond. “Grace your boyfriend may be in an awesome band but he has bad taste. You can't punish me for trying to stop the torture that we were enduring from that CD.”

Grace shook her head as she heard their bickering. “Now children behave or I will turn this SUV around. Franky and I don't want to be forced to ground the both of you. We'll have to turn around go home and call Billie so we can explain to him why we can't come to his barbecue. Won't we Franky?”

Frankito nodded his head smiling widely even though he really had no idea what he was agreeing too. “Yeah.”

Tre let out a huff speaking up. “No fair Franky and you are supposed to be on my side.”

Grace couldn't help but to roll her eyes as she heard Jen let out a mocking “ha”

They better get to Billie's and they better get there soon.