Wish You Were Here

We decided to keep it a secret. Just for now, just while we settled into the tour. Being together was so new to us we decided the best thing to do was just to not say anything to anyone until we were ready.

Waking on that first morning after hardly having slept was wonderful. To realise that Tre felt about me the way I felt about him was, well unbelievable to me. I wondered when it had happened for him, the change of feelings towards me but I couldn’t quite pinpoint it to any time specifically. Maybe, like me it had only been a few days ago.

We were so relaxed with each other but then we knew all the details that sometimes it could take other couples years to find out. There was none of this no farting for about a month thing as we’d heard and smelt each other’s for years. There would be none of this nervousness because of having to meet the parents and try to make a good impression either because our parents were like family to us both.

It was going to be just fine and I couldn’t believe that for all these years, Tre, my best friend in all the world, who’d stood by me and backed me up on most things was lying alongside me, tired from our lovemaking.

If someone had told me that one day Tre and I would be together like this it would probably have grossed me out but it seemed just so very right.

I couldn’t wait for the moment to tell everyone, how were they going to react? I hoped that they thought I wasn’t making a mistake. I thought then about Sara and her chocolate chip ice cream guy and what she said about the sex thing and how great it could be and I hadn’t believed her back then. Now I did.

It was going to be wonderful.

We’d been a week on tour and lucky for us we had so far been staying in hotels, which made it easier for us to be together than being on a tour bus. Every evening after their gig Tre slipped into my hotel room and into my bed, his warm, firm body wrapping me close to his, making me feel so alive and wanted like I’d never felt before.

The next morning we made sure that we weren’t seen together as he slipped back to his room.

This particular day, Tre had not long left my room when there was a knock on the door. May be it was Tre back; perhaps he’d left something here.

But it wasn’t Tre, it was Adrienne and she looked as if something was bothering her.

“Hey, are you OK”?” I asked, opening the door wide so that she could enter the room.

“Not really Jules, its Mike.” My stomach dropped at the mention of his name. Throughout the past week he’d hardly spoken to me, he’d avoided me, it was obvious but when he was with me, when we were in the same room or at the same table I could feel his eyes boring into mine.

“What’s wrong with him?” I said sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at Adrienne.

“He’s upset about the fact that…well, how can I put it? That you’ve been avoiding him.” She said. I knew she didn’t really want to be here talking to me and I imagine she drew the short straw; she was probably the one that Billie and Mike managed to persuade to speak to me.

“But I haven’t been avoiding him, he’s the one that’s been avoiding me.” I said in a voice that squeaked with annoyance just that little bit too much. Why the hell was Mike causing all this trouble?

“I said that to Billie but they won’t listen. He’s got it bad over you Jules, I don’t think he knows what to do, he finds it difficult seeing you all the time.” She said.

“Listen Adrienne, I told Mike that…that there’s someone else and…I really don’t want to be with Mike like that, he’s great and he deserves someone special but its not me. What we had once was just that. A once. Its not fair, I’m being made to look like the bad guy.” I said.

“No you’re not, its just Billie and Mike have got it into their heads that you both would be good together, Billie is not helping this situation at all.” Said Adrienne.

”Hey, I didn’t realise that you had someone else. Is it that Vincent guy?” She asked coming to sit alongside me.

“No, its not him, its early days with this guy and I don’t want to say anything too much yet.” Jules said.

“It must be difficult for you conducting a relationship over the phone, and having to leave someone you like when you’ve just met them must be difficult. Still, we’ll be home again in three weeks for a few days so I suppose your hanging on to see him until then?” She said.

I wanted to tell her that it was Tre and that for the past week we’d slept together, that we’d both finally found love with each other but Tre didn’t want me to say anything yet, for some reason he wanted to surprise them at some point.

“Yeah. Yeah it is difficult.” I lied and I hated lying to her, she was such a good friend.

“Jules I’m sorry for keep going on about this Mike thing, you know what Billie can be like, once he gets something into his head, that’s it.”

”Well, you’ll just have to put him straight,” I said with a small smile.

“Of course I will, now, how about you and I go shopping today, there’s no gig tonight so I think the boys want to have a small party in one of the hotel rooms, how about you and I go and get ourselves something new to wear?” She said.

“Sounds like a great idea,” I said then she left the room and I got ready for our shopping trip.

We’d been out most of the day and it was almost evening. Tre had text me loads of times throughout our shopping visit, wondering what I was doing and what I was buying.

“Is that your new guy? He seems really keen.” Said Adrienne after about the tenth text from Tre.

“Yeah, it is him.” I said. This was getting complicated; we’d have to tell them soon. I was sure they were going to love it but then were they? Billie wanted me to get with Mike, Mike wanted me to get with Mike and Adrienne, well, I don’t for one minute think she imagined that Tre was good enough for me.

At the party Billie and Adrienne weren’t talking, it appeared that they’d had some sort of argument after the shopping trip, about what it was I didn’t know; all I knew was that I wanted the party to end and get Tre back to my room. He looked so hot in his black shirt and I was so pleased about how his hair colour had turned out, it suited him.

Billie was drinking quickly and had already knocked a bottle of beer across the table. Adrienne came over and said she was going to go to bed; she’d had enough of his behaviour. She looked fed up and I felt sorry for her, this was meant to be a nice relaxing evening.

“See you in the morning,” I said to Adrienne as she kissed me on the cheek.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Said Billie slurring his words and looking over, swaying slightly and wiping some beer from his lips with the back of his hand.

“I’m tired Billie, I’m going to get to bed,” she said brushing past him but he grabbed her by the arm.

“Why?” He said, his eyes hardly able to focus on her.

“You’re drunk and I’m tired.” Said Adrienne standing there looking at him. I knew she loved him but she probably hated the sight of him right then.

“I know I’m drunk. Its my night off, come on honey, don’t spoil it by going to bed early,” said Billie swaying again and hiccupping loudly.

“Its not early, its 1am,” said Adrienne.

I noticed Tre and Mike look slightly uncomfortable. I hadn’t seen Billie like this for ages, he’d always held his drink well but I supposed the combination of drinking and the falling out with Adrienne had angered him and angry, drunk Billie wasn’t that nice.

“The night is still young, huh guys,” said Billie lifting up the beer bottle high in the air, a grin spreading over his face.

But Mike and Tre didn’t answer, Tre was picking at a bowl of peanuts that were on a coffee table and Mike was texting, or pretending to text someone.

“Why don’t we play a game?” Said Billie.

My stomach fell, we hadn’t done anything like this since we were very young. Games like spin the bottle were often played after the Gilman when we were young and stoned.

Now we were older, the thought of playing these games just made my stomach crawl.

“Billie, come on to bed with me, you’ve got a busy day tomorrow. Remember you have that interview at 9am.” Said Adrienne trying to persuade him to leave but we all knew he wasn’t in the mood for doing that and I was right because he ignored her.

“Whose got a secret that they haven’t told any of us before?” He said, swaying away and grabbing on the edge of sideboard in the hotel room to steady himself.

I could do without this, this wasn’t fun at all and I just hoped that Adrienne would take him away but knew that it wasn’t going to happen. My stomach was full of dread and nobody had answered his question.

“I’m sure you have,” he said, pointing his beer bottle at Tre, “and you,” he said to Mike, “and I know you definitely have,” he said to me and I felt like throwing up.

Why was he doing this?

”Come on Billie, lets get you to bed, you have an early morning,” said Adrienne putting her arm out onto his shoulder, indicating that it was time to leave but he shrugged her off.

“No, I want to play my game,” he said. He was looking directly at me and I knew he was going to say something.

“Jules. Tell everyone your secret.” He said. “Although…although some of us already know it, come on Jules, you tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine,” he said swaying about.

“Leave it Billie,” said Mike beginning to understand the situation.

“You need to go to bed man,” said Tre, finishing off the bowl of nuts then quickly we made eye contact.

“Actually yeah, I think you’re right Tre. We should all go to bed,” said Billie. “I’m going to go to bed with Adrienne and Tre will go to his own room but who knows with Tre, may be he’ll go and pick some teenager up from the hotel lobby, huh Tre and Mike, well, Mike you could go to bed with Jules, what about it?” He said.

”Billie,” said Mike and I noticed a slight flicker of embarrassment sweep across his face then I glanced at Tre and he was frowning, pissed off with Billie and his comments.

“Hey Mike, you know you want her, you know you do. She knows it too but she says she has someone else, who is it Jules? Have you really got a new guy or are you lying? Why don’t you go back to Mike’s room and take Mike to bed, make him happy,” he said, swaying then falling over but before he fell over we all heard what he said.

“Yeah, take Mike to bed like you did that time before.”