Status: Hiatus
I Can't Believe This
Happy Birthday Blues
“Happy Birthday.”
My eyes fluttered open after a moment, focusing on Billie Joe’s smiling face. “Hey,” I croaked, trying to wake up. I moved to swing my legs over the bed, but I couldn’t. something was restraining me. It took me minute to realize that Billie Joe was the reason. He was straddling my waist.
“Nope. This morning you get breakfast in bed. The first of many more birthday presents to come.” Billie grinned, then got off the bed, leaving the room.
He returned a few minutes later carrying a tray that had a plate of pancakes on it. There was a glass of orange juice next to the plate and to top it all off, there was a single red rose in a small vase. I smiled as he set it down in front of me. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, but it’s your birthday. And you deserve it.”
I snorted. “Yeah, sure.”
He smirked, his face taking on an amused look. “You don’t like birthdays do you?”
I shrugged. “Not really. I’ve never had the best of luck when it comes to birthdays, mine in particular.”
“What do you mean?” He sat down across from me on the bed.
“Just that, every time a birthday comes up, something disastrous happens, ruining the whole day.”
He rolled his eyes, chuckling quietly. “I think you’re exaggerating.”
“That’s because this is the first birthday you’ve gotten to celebrate with me. You’ll see, by the end of the day, someone will either be in the hospital, or your house will have burned down.” I said, seriously.
“I highly doubt that.”
I just looked at him, a you’ll-be-sorry expression clouding my features.
“But,” he added. “If that does happen, my house is insured, and depending on who ends up In the hospital, it won’t be that bad.” He grinned again.
I laughed, taking a quick drink of orange juice before answering. “Well, maybe this year will be different. Wait- did you say that this is the first of many presents to come?” I eyed him suspiciously. I didn’t want anything for my birthday. I mean really, turning 27 isn’t a big deal. I’d already been through the important milestones in a person’s life. 16 - sweet 16, 18 - legal adult, and 21 - finally able to drink legally. What was so special about 27?
“Yep. There are more presents.”
I groaned.
“What? You don’t like presents either? Is there anything about birthdays that you do like?”
“No, presents are fine, as long as you didn’t spend a lot of money on me. And birthday cake is alright.” I smiled. “And, until I turn 40, the getting older part isn’t that bad.”
Billie laughed, shaking his head at me. “Okay, well good. And Mike, Tré and Rhianna are throwing you a little party.”
“They are?”
“Yep.”
***
“Mike! Where the fuck did you put the alcohol?!”
“Tré! Shut the fuck up! I’m not telling you because all you’ll do is get drunk way too early and then I’ll have to baby sit your slurring ass for the rest of the night!”
“Everything alright?” I asked, giggling.
“Yeah, as long as Tré doesn’t find the liquor until the party starts.” Mike chuckled.
I nodded in agreement. “Hey, where’s Billie Joe?”
“Last time I saw him, he was upstairs.” Mike said.
“Okay, thanks.” I turned, heading up the stairs. I walked down the hallway towards the bedroom, following the ‘fucks’ and the ‘son of a bitches’ as I went. I pushed open the door, revealing Billie Joe in jeans and nothing else. He apparently hadn’t heard me. I slowly crossed the room, wrapping my arms around his bare torso. “You okay?”
“Huh? Oh, hey. Yeah I’m fine. just trying to find my black and white tie.”
“Ah.” I removed my arms from his waist and peered into the closet. “I don’t see it.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem.”
“You have a sock on your shoulder.” I pointed out.
“ What? Oh, yeah I know.”
“Is the sock helping you look for your tie?” I couldn't resist.
“Ha ha. You’re funny. I guess I could wear my red tie, but I always wear that one. I’m fucking sick of it.”
I handed him the red tie. “I like the red tie.” I reached up onto my tip toes and brought my lips to his.
“Hmm, me too,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around me. “You know, I was going to save this present for later, but I guess you could unwrap it now.” He smiled against my neck, backing me up until my back collided with the wall.
“Hmm.” I nodded in agreement, fumbling with his belt.
“Although, I think it’d be more fun to wait until after the party.” His lips disappeared from my neck, to my dismay, as he backed away from me.
“You suck.” I said, playfully.
“I know.” He grinned, putting on his black shirt, then his tie. “But trust me, it’ll be better later.” He winked at me.
I laughed following him to the door, and heading down the stairs.
***
“Alright everyone! Everyone, everyone! Hey! Shut the fuck up for a sec! I’m trying to say something!” Billie yelled at the crowd of people that were now in his house. “Today is a celebration and I just want to say that I feel so lucky. Being able to share my life with this beautiful woman has been a miracle. One that, I probably don’t always deserve. Lisa, I see you rolling your eyes, but it’s true. You have no idea how much you mean to me. How much I love you. Happy birthday.”
Despite my enormous efforts, some tears still managed to fill my eyes. I sniffed, closing the space between Billie and I, and wrapped him in a hug. “I love you too.” I whispered in his ear. I kissed his cheek, then sat down again.
The party really wasn’t as bad I thought it was going to be. Rhianna, Mike, and Tré had invited a few people, but only our close personal friends. Both of the Jason’s were here, and a few other people that I had seen at Adeline records, and Adrienne had also shown up earlier, wishing me a polite, but quick 'Happy Birthday' then leaving. It wasn’t a huge celebration, which was perfect.
“Thank you guys so much.” I said, turning to Mike, Rhianna, and Tré.
“Of course, you didn’t think we’d let your birthday pass without throwing a party did you?” Rhianna asked.
“No, you’ve always thrown me the best parties.”
“I know. But the best one, besides this, has to be your 7 birthday though. The one my aunt threw for you. Remember that?”
I started laughing. I did remember that, how could I forget?
“Why was that one the best one?” Mike asked, looking at us.
Rhianna took a moment to stop laughing before continuing with the story. “The cops shut it down.”
“The cops shut down a 7 year olds birthday party?” Tré asked, incredulously.
“Yup, and the clown got arrested.”
“Wow. That must have been some birthday.”
We both laughed again.
“Oh, it was. Other than that the best one was her 21.”
“Oh yeah, that one was good too,” I said, smiling. “We went to Vegas and played 21 as I was turning 21. It was great. And we ended up drunk as hell and in the morning we found out that we had passed out in our hotel room with a lot of people we didn’t even know.”
Billie Joe raised his eyebrows at me. “I would never have you pegged you as a wild party girl. At least, not that wild.”
I shrugged. “That was a long time ago.”
Billie Joe continued to stare at me. Obviously wondering what I was hiding from him. The truth was, I wasn’t really hiding anything. The topic of my past just hadn’t really come up a lot. He’d find out sooner or later what I was like when I was a teenager. Just not tonight. I didn’t feel like going through all of that right now.
Give me a shot to remember,
And you can take all the pain away from me,
A kiss and I will surrender,
The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead.
I sighed. Damn cell phone, I should have turned it off. Billie got to it before I could though, flipping it open.
“Hello?” he asked. “Oh, uh, yeah. One minute.” He handed me the phone, his face suddenly a shade paler.
“Hello?” I said into the receiver.
“Hey kid, happy birthday!” my dad said.
Fuck.
“Oh, thanks dad.”
“Your mom says happy birthday too.”
“Tell her thanks also. Hey, um. I thought you guys were out of town.”
“Oh we are. But we decided to call you anyway. Wanted to wish you a happy birthday on the actual day.”
“Thanks.” I said again, feigning enthusiasm. So far he hadn’t said anything about Billie Joe answering my phone. Maybe he didn’t notice. Yeah, fat chance. I didn't have that kind of luck.
“So, having a party?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“That’s great. I was wondering why that young man answered your phone instead of you.”
“Oh yeah, that was Billie.”
“Oh yeah? He one of your new friends?”
“Um…yeah, you could say that. He’s my uh, my boyfriend.”
The line went silent for awhile as my dad processed the information. I knew what was coming. Unless my dad had suddenly changed how he felt about the subject, which wasn’t likely.
“Your boyfriend?” he clarified.
“Yes. My boyfriend.” I glanced at Billie Joe. His face was now three shades paler. ‘It’s fine.’ I mouthed. And It was. I was 27 years old now. And I lived in California now too. It was time my parents realize that I was no longer a kid.
“Oh, uh, well that’s great. Good for you.”
I could tell he was lying.
“How serious are things between you two?”
Shit. I sighed mentally. I knew he’d want to know that. It shouldn’t come as such a shock. Especially after what happened with my last boyfriend.
“It’s pretty serious.”
Silence.
He coughed quietly, clearing his throat. “How serious exactly?”
“We’re living together.” I blurted out.
I could hear the whoosh of breathe leave my father’s lungs. “You’re - you’re what?”
“We’re living together.” I said again, glancing at Billie. He looked like he was about to pass out. The click of the phone brought me back to my senses. “Hello?” I asked. No answered. He’d hung up on me! What the hell? I mean, I knew he wasn’t going to take it well. And neither was my mother when she found out, but hanging up on me?! I snapped my phone shut angrily. “He hung up on me!”
No one said anything for a moment. no one knew what to say. Finally, Rhianna broke the tension. “You told him?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me like I was insane. Hell, maybe I was.
“I knew he was going to freak, but seriously! Hanging up on me? Isn’t that overreacting just a little?” I snapped.
I felt a hand on my back, gently rubbing circles there to comfort me. “It’s alright. He’ll cool off and call you back. I’m sure he was just shocked. He’s probably not even mad about it.” Billie said, kissing my temple lightly.
I laughed. The sound was hard and clipped. “Yeah, sure. Not mad.”
I guess I would try to call him back tomorrow. I didn’t want anything else to ruin tonight. Although, i was pretty sure the party was basically over. I looked at Billie, his expression reassuring. I smiled half-heartedly. Everything would be alright eventually. But hey, at least the tradition didn’t get broken. Another disastrous birthday. But at least no one’s in the hospital this time, I thought to myself sarcastically.
_________________________________________________________________
A/N: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story. It means a lot. This will be the last update for awhile, since school is starting for me again tomorrow. I'll try to get updates in when I can. And I also won't be PMing you anymore after this, unless you personally ask for one. There are just too many readers, and it would take forever. I also don't want to develop Carpel Tunnel syndrome at such a young age. lol
So thanks again.
<333 Lisa
My eyes fluttered open after a moment, focusing on Billie Joe’s smiling face. “Hey,” I croaked, trying to wake up. I moved to swing my legs over the bed, but I couldn’t. something was restraining me. It took me minute to realize that Billie Joe was the reason. He was straddling my waist.
“Nope. This morning you get breakfast in bed. The first of many more birthday presents to come.” Billie grinned, then got off the bed, leaving the room.
He returned a few minutes later carrying a tray that had a plate of pancakes on it. There was a glass of orange juice next to the plate and to top it all off, there was a single red rose in a small vase. I smiled as he set it down in front of me. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, but it’s your birthday. And you deserve it.”
I snorted. “Yeah, sure.”
He smirked, his face taking on an amused look. “You don’t like birthdays do you?”
I shrugged. “Not really. I’ve never had the best of luck when it comes to birthdays, mine in particular.”
“What do you mean?” He sat down across from me on the bed.
“Just that, every time a birthday comes up, something disastrous happens, ruining the whole day.”
He rolled his eyes, chuckling quietly. “I think you’re exaggerating.”
“That’s because this is the first birthday you’ve gotten to celebrate with me. You’ll see, by the end of the day, someone will either be in the hospital, or your house will have burned down.” I said, seriously.
“I highly doubt that.”
I just looked at him, a you’ll-be-sorry expression clouding my features.
“But,” he added. “If that does happen, my house is insured, and depending on who ends up In the hospital, it won’t be that bad.” He grinned again.
I laughed, taking a quick drink of orange juice before answering. “Well, maybe this year will be different. Wait- did you say that this is the first of many presents to come?” I eyed him suspiciously. I didn’t want anything for my birthday. I mean really, turning 27 isn’t a big deal. I’d already been through the important milestones in a person’s life. 16 - sweet 16, 18 - legal adult, and 21 - finally able to drink legally. What was so special about 27?
“Yep. There are more presents.”
I groaned.
“What? You don’t like presents either? Is there anything about birthdays that you do like?”
“No, presents are fine, as long as you didn’t spend a lot of money on me. And birthday cake is alright.” I smiled. “And, until I turn 40, the getting older part isn’t that bad.”
Billie laughed, shaking his head at me. “Okay, well good. And Mike, Tré and Rhianna are throwing you a little party.”
“They are?”
“Yep.”
***
“Mike! Where the fuck did you put the alcohol?!”
“Tré! Shut the fuck up! I’m not telling you because all you’ll do is get drunk way too early and then I’ll have to baby sit your slurring ass for the rest of the night!”
“Everything alright?” I asked, giggling.
“Yeah, as long as Tré doesn’t find the liquor until the party starts.” Mike chuckled.
I nodded in agreement. “Hey, where’s Billie Joe?”
“Last time I saw him, he was upstairs.” Mike said.
“Okay, thanks.” I turned, heading up the stairs. I walked down the hallway towards the bedroom, following the ‘fucks’ and the ‘son of a bitches’ as I went. I pushed open the door, revealing Billie Joe in jeans and nothing else. He apparently hadn’t heard me. I slowly crossed the room, wrapping my arms around his bare torso. “You okay?”
“Huh? Oh, hey. Yeah I’m fine. just trying to find my black and white tie.”
“Ah.” I removed my arms from his waist and peered into the closet. “I don’t see it.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem.”
“You have a sock on your shoulder.” I pointed out.
“ What? Oh, yeah I know.”
“Is the sock helping you look for your tie?” I couldn't resist.
“Ha ha. You’re funny. I guess I could wear my red tie, but I always wear that one. I’m fucking sick of it.”
I handed him the red tie. “I like the red tie.” I reached up onto my tip toes and brought my lips to his.
“Hmm, me too,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around me. “You know, I was going to save this present for later, but I guess you could unwrap it now.” He smiled against my neck, backing me up until my back collided with the wall.
“Hmm.” I nodded in agreement, fumbling with his belt.
“Although, I think it’d be more fun to wait until after the party.” His lips disappeared from my neck, to my dismay, as he backed away from me.
“You suck.” I said, playfully.
“I know.” He grinned, putting on his black shirt, then his tie. “But trust me, it’ll be better later.” He winked at me.
I laughed following him to the door, and heading down the stairs.
***
“Alright everyone! Everyone, everyone! Hey! Shut the fuck up for a sec! I’m trying to say something!” Billie yelled at the crowd of people that were now in his house. “Today is a celebration and I just want to say that I feel so lucky. Being able to share my life with this beautiful woman has been a miracle. One that, I probably don’t always deserve. Lisa, I see you rolling your eyes, but it’s true. You have no idea how much you mean to me. How much I love you. Happy birthday.”
Despite my enormous efforts, some tears still managed to fill my eyes. I sniffed, closing the space between Billie and I, and wrapped him in a hug. “I love you too.” I whispered in his ear. I kissed his cheek, then sat down again.
The party really wasn’t as bad I thought it was going to be. Rhianna, Mike, and Tré had invited a few people, but only our close personal friends. Both of the Jason’s were here, and a few other people that I had seen at Adeline records, and Adrienne had also shown up earlier, wishing me a polite, but quick 'Happy Birthday' then leaving. It wasn’t a huge celebration, which was perfect.
“Thank you guys so much.” I said, turning to Mike, Rhianna, and Tré.
“Of course, you didn’t think we’d let your birthday pass without throwing a party did you?” Rhianna asked.
“No, you’ve always thrown me the best parties.”
“I know. But the best one, besides this, has to be your 7 birthday though. The one my aunt threw for you. Remember that?”
I started laughing. I did remember that, how could I forget?
“Why was that one the best one?” Mike asked, looking at us.
Rhianna took a moment to stop laughing before continuing with the story. “The cops shut it down.”
“The cops shut down a 7 year olds birthday party?” Tré asked, incredulously.
“Yup, and the clown got arrested.”
“Wow. That must have been some birthday.”
We both laughed again.
“Oh, it was. Other than that the best one was her 21.”
“Oh yeah, that one was good too,” I said, smiling. “We went to Vegas and played 21 as I was turning 21. It was great. And we ended up drunk as hell and in the morning we found out that we had passed out in our hotel room with a lot of people we didn’t even know.”
Billie Joe raised his eyebrows at me. “I would never have you pegged you as a wild party girl. At least, not that wild.”
I shrugged. “That was a long time ago.”
Billie Joe continued to stare at me. Obviously wondering what I was hiding from him. The truth was, I wasn’t really hiding anything. The topic of my past just hadn’t really come up a lot. He’d find out sooner or later what I was like when I was a teenager. Just not tonight. I didn’t feel like going through all of that right now.
Give me a shot to remember,
And you can take all the pain away from me,
A kiss and I will surrender,
The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead.
I sighed. Damn cell phone, I should have turned it off. Billie got to it before I could though, flipping it open.
“Hello?” he asked. “Oh, uh, yeah. One minute.” He handed me the phone, his face suddenly a shade paler.
“Hello?” I said into the receiver.
“Hey kid, happy birthday!” my dad said.
Fuck.
“Oh, thanks dad.”
“Your mom says happy birthday too.”
“Tell her thanks also. Hey, um. I thought you guys were out of town.”
“Oh we are. But we decided to call you anyway. Wanted to wish you a happy birthday on the actual day.”
“Thanks.” I said again, feigning enthusiasm. So far he hadn’t said anything about Billie Joe answering my phone. Maybe he didn’t notice. Yeah, fat chance. I didn't have that kind of luck.
“So, having a party?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“That’s great. I was wondering why that young man answered your phone instead of you.”
“Oh yeah, that was Billie.”
“Oh yeah? He one of your new friends?”
“Um…yeah, you could say that. He’s my uh, my boyfriend.”
The line went silent for awhile as my dad processed the information. I knew what was coming. Unless my dad had suddenly changed how he felt about the subject, which wasn’t likely.
“Your boyfriend?” he clarified.
“Yes. My boyfriend.” I glanced at Billie Joe. His face was now three shades paler. ‘It’s fine.’ I mouthed. And It was. I was 27 years old now. And I lived in California now too. It was time my parents realize that I was no longer a kid.
“Oh, uh, well that’s great. Good for you.”
I could tell he was lying.
“How serious are things between you two?”
Shit. I sighed mentally. I knew he’d want to know that. It shouldn’t come as such a shock. Especially after what happened with my last boyfriend.
“It’s pretty serious.”
Silence.
He coughed quietly, clearing his throat. “How serious exactly?”
“We’re living together.” I blurted out.
I could hear the whoosh of breathe leave my father’s lungs. “You’re - you’re what?”
“We’re living together.” I said again, glancing at Billie. He looked like he was about to pass out. The click of the phone brought me back to my senses. “Hello?” I asked. No answered. He’d hung up on me! What the hell? I mean, I knew he wasn’t going to take it well. And neither was my mother when she found out, but hanging up on me?! I snapped my phone shut angrily. “He hung up on me!”
No one said anything for a moment. no one knew what to say. Finally, Rhianna broke the tension. “You told him?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me like I was insane. Hell, maybe I was.
“I knew he was going to freak, but seriously! Hanging up on me? Isn’t that overreacting just a little?” I snapped.
I felt a hand on my back, gently rubbing circles there to comfort me. “It’s alright. He’ll cool off and call you back. I’m sure he was just shocked. He’s probably not even mad about it.” Billie said, kissing my temple lightly.
I laughed. The sound was hard and clipped. “Yeah, sure. Not mad.”
I guess I would try to call him back tomorrow. I didn’t want anything else to ruin tonight. Although, i was pretty sure the party was basically over. I looked at Billie, his expression reassuring. I smiled half-heartedly. Everything would be alright eventually. But hey, at least the tradition didn’t get broken. Another disastrous birthday. But at least no one’s in the hospital this time, I thought to myself sarcastically.
_________________________________________________________________
A/N: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read my story. It means a lot. This will be the last update for awhile, since school is starting for me again tomorrow. I'll try to get updates in when I can. And I also won't be PMing you anymore after this, unless you personally ask for one. There are just too many readers, and it would take forever. I also don't want to develop Carpel Tunnel syndrome at such a young age. lol
So thanks again.
<333 Lisa