The Stale Taste of Recycled Air

"Wow Erin, I mean, you're officially his girlfriend now?"
Adele asked clambering out of the taxi outside the Odeon cinema.
"Apparently, but oh god, you should have seen Joe and Jake's face when we drove off, they were so upset."
I followed Adele around the corner.
"Where are you going shithead the cinema is just there?" I spat at my cousin who had begun walking down the street.
"I'm getting cigarettes; I need one before I sit through another Tim Burton film."
"Oh shut the fuck up and get a move on, I thought you liked Tim Burton?" I asked rather hurt that she secretly hated my favourite director.
"No I like Tim Burton use of Johnny Depp in every film he makes." She grinned taking her Marlboro Lights from the cashier. I sighed as we began walking back to the cinema. Adele stopped to light up.
"You might as well hand me one," I giggled taking a cigarette and lighting it.
"I'd thought you'd quit," she raised her eyebrow at me.
"Yeah well, I need it... "
"Erin."
"Especially being related to you... "
"Erin."
"What?"
"Erin isn't that Adi in the Greta?"
I turned around to see Adele standing gob smacked and looking across the street at the Great Garber, the very posh and expensive restaurant opposite the cinema. The cigarette in my lips hung loose as I looked at her. She had her voluptuous dreadlocks piled sophisticatedly around her head and she wore a black dress that showed off her perfect figure. She was laughing flirtatiously at the man facing her. The cigarette tumbled form my lips as I recognised the blonde hair... Mike?

Adele grabbed my arm and dragged me to the line outside the cinema. Her cigarette had also disappeared.
"Is that Mike Dirnt?" she asked a rush of horror and excitement on her face like she had just found out the best gossip in the world. Well, in a sense, she had.
"Oh my god! That is some soap opera shit that!" she gasped squeezing my arm.
"Erin!" she yelled at me trying to get a response but I couldn't move. I couldn't speak; one thing was running across my mind, poor Billie Joe.
"That bitch!" Adele yelled causing a few cinema-goers to turn around.
"I can't believe her! That's his best friend! Ewe he's a bastard as well! Isn't he going out with that Brittany one? Oh my god you have to say something it was fate that you saw them."
I froze at her words. "I can't say anything Adele! His heart would break! What if he fell out with Mike? Green Day would split up!"
Suddenly a voice in the queue echoed...
"GREEN DAY IS SPLITTING UP? WHAT?"
"WHO SAID THAT? REALLY? OH MY GOD!"
I turned to Adele a sour look on my face, "Why are we discussing this here? Look what's happened?"
Adele started laughing hysterically, "I didn't know, how funny though?"
"No Adele. It's not, what am I going to tell Billie Joe? Oh yeah Hey BJ I saw you're wife having dinner with your bass player slash close friend."
The couple in front of us turned around and stared at us in shock.
I glared at them and looked at Adele my hands flying up in the air to show my distress.
Adele cleared her throat, "Excuse me, yes, hello, please turn around." She snapped sourly at the couple in front who scoffed at her brassiness and went to the ticket counter.
"Look," she whispered, "Just watch the film for now and then sort out what you're going to say, AND" she began as I tried to interrupt, "YOU have to tell him, he has a right to know and quite frankly you saw that for a bloody good reason, I mean you ARE his GIRLFRIEND now."
She hissed ushering me to the ticket counter.
"Can I help you?" The greasy teenager behind the shiny plastic asks.
"Yeah, two tickets for the Tim Burton film Oh! And..." she leaned into the booth.
"... do you do discounts if you're cousin is going out with a rock star?"
I clutched my forehead and burned red with embarrassment...did she have to?

That day at Billie Joe's I knew I wasn't being myself, Phil asked me if I'd eaten something rotten the night before, I wished I'd had was my reply. Wishing I'd gone temporarily blind as a side effect so I wouldn't have had to witness Billie's best friend on a date with his wife. Billie had been in the office all morning and I didn't have a chance to speak to him till he came home around one clock for something to eat. Phil had been to Subway and as I handed Billie his Veggie delight he frowned at me.
"What's wrong?" he asked sitting down and taking off his cap.
I swallowed hard, my mouth had become suddenly dry but I knew I had to tell him.
Sitting down I began to slowly unwrap my own sub not daring to look at him for fear of crying.
"Erin, what is it?" he asked slowly getting up and walking behind me, his arms embracing my torso and lips softly kissing my head.
I wilted in his grasp; I had to find the strength to hurt him and it made me feel sick.
"Billie, where...where was Mike last night?" I croaked bringing my arms up around his neck.
"Er...he...he...was out last night Erin why?" Billie's voice broke in my ear, I daren't turn around I didn't want to see his face fall into complete despair.
"Because...I went the movies last night with Adele and saw him...with...oh Billie I saw him with Adi."
I don't know why but a tear rolled down my cheek, Billie was silent for a moment, he clutched me tighter and I suddenly whipped around and hugged him tightly, my head buried into his neck.
He half heartedly laughed before lifting my face up, his fingers wrapping tenderly around my chin.
"Erin...sweetie, I know."
My eyes snapped up into his, they weren't sorrowful or horrified, I was deeply confused.
"You, you knew?" I asked relief spreading through my shoulders as he nodded.
"He met her over dinner to make sure she agreed to the divorce papers."
My mouth hung open, I couldn't believe it, I felt awful, and I automatically assumed the worst.
"He mentioned he saw you in line with a girl, which was Adele obviously."
I grinned widely at him, "I just assumed, I'm... sorry I..."
Billie chuckled, "I know it would probably have looked odd, I didn't want to go, so Mike offered to, Adi picked that restaurant poor Mike, he had to pay the bill."
I grinned wider, not believing how foolish I was.
"Well, come on, subways getting cold," he joked sitting down and taking a large bite out of his sandwich.
I laughed before taking a bite of mine, "I can't believe that I just assumed the worst..."
Billie grinned at me, "Well, its one step closer to getting divorced." His eyes darkened as if it hurt him slightly.
When we had finished eating Billie kissed me on the cheek,
"Thanks."
"For what?" I asked.
"For thinking of me."
I grinned and watched him leave the kitchen.

Later on I was placing Billie's washed and ironed clothes carefully into the drawers around his bedroom. The room smelled fresh and a shallow breeze blew through the open window from the other side of the room. I turned to leave when I heard the continuous thudding of the shower water coming from Billie's on-suite bathroom. I froze when I heard the drone of his humming coming from within. I turned to see the door slightly open and my eyebrow arched. My mind spilt into two, I had left the coffee machine on downstairs and I should really go and turn it off, but, then again. Billie was standing naked in that steaming shower, tiny droplets of water darting down the muscular curves of his body, his tattoos becoming wet and vividly colorful. His hair damp, messy and the black around his eyes smudging wildly...

Before I knew it my legs had taken me to the crack in the door and my eyes took in the form of Billie standing under the jets of water rubbing the foam viciously through his hair. I bit my lip, this was so naughty. I heard the Blondie song 'Picture this' running through my head...

I will give you my finest hour, the one I spent watching you shower...

I giggled slightly, louder than I realized and Billie's head snapped up, his eyes trying to focus on the door through the steam and suds.
I jumped back and clapped a hand to my mouth trying to hold in the giggles that were breaking in my throat. I composed myself and began to walk towards the door of the bedroom when the bathroom door slammed open. I turned around in shock to see Billie in a towel, soaking wet, hair flung erotically around his head. A putrid smile spread across his face. I froze one hand on the door knob behind me, a smile also forming in front of my teeth.
"Miss Kenyon," Billie began, one hand clutching the small hand towel that was protecting his dignity.
"I have reason to believe that you where watching me take a shower...was I correct?"
He began to walk slowly towards me, droplets of water forming on the wooden floor giving the impression that he was melting, something my body had begun to do.
"No, Mr. Armstrong sir, I was doing nothing of the sort, sir just putting fresh clothes in your drawers' sir."
I withheld a giggle, playing along with this oh-so-cliché sexual game that he had started.
"Well, from the small giggles erupting from this room I dare say that you are lying to me... again." He grinned, slamming his arm on the wall an inch away from my head.
"No sir, I was just..." I bit my lip at the sexual connotation I was about to spill... "I was just filling your drawers."
Billie's hypnotic eyes shone with laughter but he maintained his strict mouth and tone.
"Well, Miss Kenyon, I do believe that in turn I must fill your drawers..."
I giggled at the line that I knew he would say, he moved closer to me, so close that our lips were almost touching.
"And...then I must take you into that shower and thoroughly give you a good scrubbing because you are...a very...dirty...girl." His voice growled at each syllable and I felt his hot breath escape from his mouth and float across my lips. I could see from the angles in his towel that he was just as excited as me and despite him being dripping wet, I grabbed his head and crashed his mouth into mine.
The towel dropped, followed by my damp clothes and we awkwardly stomped backwards into the steamy shower, where the door was furiously slammed shut leaving us to get down to some thorough cleaning.