I Left My Heart in San Diego

"Arizona? Is that you?" my mom called from the family room.

I led Billie behind me. "Yeah, Mom, it's me," I called back.

"Well come in. I want to meet this Billie," she said as Billie and I entered.

"Oh, hello," she said, smiling. "I'm NatalieAnn Willows, Arizona's mother. You must be Billie."

"Yes, ma'am. Billie Joe Armstrong," Billie said, shaking my mother's hand and smiling.

"In case you were wondering, this is my boyfriend." My mom pointed to Aran, who smiled briefly and shook Billie's hand as well.

"Aran Hettinger."

"Billie Joe Armstrong."

After the introductions, Billie sat next to me on the couch opposite my mother and Aran. "So, Billie, how old are you?" my mom asked, taking Aran's hand. Really, Mom? It's not like either of us is going to steal your boyfriend from you. He's not even that attractive.

"Seventeen," Billie answered. "I'm a senior at Central Coast."

"Oh, how wonderful! Same age as Arizona." Billie smiled. "Well, you two don't have to sit around trying to make conversation with us," my mom said dismissively. She turned to me. "Arizona, you can go get your things and we'll see you tomorrow. I just wanted to properly meet this new boy of yours."

"Thanks, Mom," I said, standing up. I pulled Billie up off the couch and led him to my room upstairs.

"Well, your mom seems nice," Billie remarked once we were out of earshot.

"Puh-lease. She's only being nice because she doesn't want you to think that she's an uber-bitch," I told him, fishing through the top drawer of my desk for my makeup bag and hairbrush.

Billie laughed. "She doesn't seem like a bitch, but, then again, she seems much more two-faced when I remember how angry she was yesterday afternoon."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you could hear that. And I definitely agree with you," I said, throwing my necessary accouterments onto my bed. I walked over to my closet and fished out my pink-and-black day bag from the corner.

"Sexy," Billie commented, smiling and wrapping his arms around my waist. I chuckled and turned around to kiss him.

Shoving my bag aside, Billie laid me down on my bed and broke off. I could feel his warm breath on my face, the tobacco-and-something-sweet smell tickling my nose. Billie leaned down to continue kissing me, and I let myself melt into the kiss. It was such a blissful feeling, Billie's body pressed up against mine, his lips taking me on an adventure. A few minutes later, he started nipping at my bottom lip, and I broke off.

"What?" Billie asked, licking his lips. "Was that too fast?"

I smiled. "No, I just think this would be better continued somewhere my mother can't storm in on us," I said.

"Oh okay." Billie kissed me again. "Glad to know it wasn't me."

Billie stood up and lifted me off the surface of my bed. I plucked a pair of jeans from my dresser, along with an extra pair of underwear, some pajamas, and pulled a tank top and accompanying shirt from my closet. I shoved my hairbrush and other beauty products into my bag and then sneaked over to my nightstand, revealing a secret stash of condoms under the pile of notebooks that I occasionally scribbled or doodled in. I took two and sneaked them into my bag as quietly as possible. I looked at Billie, who had obviously just watched me put two condoms into my bag. "Just in case," I murmured. "You never know."

"With me, it's impossible to predict what's going to happen, so that's probably a good idea," he murmured back, closing the gap between us and kissing me again. I smiled when we broke apart, and I secured my purple pillow in my bag's straps, closing it and slinging it over my shoulder. "Ready to go?" Billie asked.

"Yep! Let's go have some fun," I said, walking out my bedroom door with a grin on my face. Billie followed, shaking his head and smiling. He took my hand when we got to the front door. "Bye, Mom!" I called.

"Bye, Arizona! Have fun! And be safe!" she called back.

"Of course, Mom." I closed the door behind me as Billie and I stepped out into the early evening snow. "Look, Billie, it's snowing!"

"Yeah, Arizona, I can see. You know what?" he said, wrapping an arm around my waist as I ceased spinning on the front lawn.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him as we walked across my lawn.

"You need a nickname. Like one that only I can call you," he said, rubbing his hand against my waist.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, nesting my head into his shoulder as we walked down the center of the cul-de-sac, the snow falling harder now.

"Okay, lemme think." There were a few moments of silence save the scuffle of our feet on pavement as Billie thought of my nickname. "People probably already call you Ari, so how about if I call you...Iz?"

"Like short for Isabella?" I asked.

"No, like short for Arizona," Billie answered smartly, smiling.

"Very funny, Billie."

"So what do you think?"

"I like it."

"Awesome. So I'm gonna start calling you Iz now. Or Izzie."

"Okay!" We ducked under Billie's garage door, shivering a little from the cold.

"So, after we put your stuff in my room, what do you wanna do?" Billie asked, looking at me.

I looked out over Tre's drum set and Billie's guitar and sheet music still strewn on the bench. "I wanna learn how to play your guitar some more," I said, smiling up at him.

He laughed. "Okay, let's go."