Better Man

Despite all the activity that seemingly clogged every day in January, the first month of the year surprisingly died quietly away. February rolled in like tumbleweed on an open desert road; gently and calmly.

But, as always, everything was stormy under the surface.

Tre was still suspicious of Caroline, although he hated to assume the worst because she was such a great girl and they seemed happy together. The operative word, of course, being 'seemed.' But if she wasn't happy, was it something he did or said? Or didn't say and didn't do?

Not knowing and being left in the dark in regard to what she was feeling, thinking and doing was driving the drummer mad, and it would only be a matter of time before he went off on her.

And he knew that when the tension he was feeling came to a boiling point, it wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

Even though Tre was feeling a little skeptical about the extent of Caroline's relationship with Mike, the dating couple still enjoyed a nice Valentine's together. They went to dinner in the city, he even took her dancing at a club not that far from the restaurant, and then brought her home and they made love, which assured Tre that Caroline still loved him. But she wasn't there completely.

She hadn't been there, mentally, for a while. Ever since mid August, to be exact. That's when he first noted the change in her. He wasn't sure she was as interested in him as he was in her anymore, which hurt a little, but he hoped it was just a rough patch they were going through and that they could get past it.

For the sake of the good thing they had going with each other, he hoped they could get past it.

* * *

Three days later, Billie Joe turned thirty-five, despite still having such a boyish face. And his personality and energy remained just as boyish. But why he insisted on having everyone having party hats and balloons at his party, was beyond anyone's understanding. They just let the birthday boy have his fun.

The party was held at a club, which seemed to be the norm for the guys when they really wanted to celebrate. There was music and drinks galore, and the dance floor was already packed. And, because the drinks were free for the guests, there were several drunk people dancing around.

One of them: Caroline.

She'd had a couple of strawberry daiquiris, a Mike's Hard Lemonade here and a couple of margaritas there. And now she was slinking along the edge of the dance floor, holding a glass of rum and coke and eyeing people to dance with. Tre stood only a few feet away, holding his own drink, watching his girlfriend's actions, finding himself feeling jealous when she dance a little seductively with Dave, her guitarist who she once dated exclusively.

He knew she became very sexual and flirty when she drank, but considering what had been going on lately, it upset him instead of making him smirk. He always thought it was fine that she was the way she was when she drank because it was better than dating an angry or aggressive drunk. Or even a sad drunk. Now, he almost craved those types.

When Trapt's song 'Echo' came over the sound system's speakers, a drunk Caroline was pulled onto the dance floor by an equally drunk Billie Joe. The two of them faced each other, her arms wrapped around his shoulders and his arms snaked around her waist, the two of them grinding to the song. Whereas Adrienne didn't seem to mind one iota, Tre was becoming more and more perturbed.

After the song ended, Billie Joe placed a kiss on her cheek and then smiled as they gave each other a friendly hug. She muttered "Happy Birthday" to him and walked off the dance floor over to Adrienne, the two women chatting quite amiably with each other. But it was when Missy Elliott's 'Lose Control' came on, that Tre felt probably the most angsty.

Caroline excused herself from Adrienne, leaving her drink with the older woman and sauntering back onto the dance floor, grabbing Mike's hand in the process.

"Hey," she muttered to him with a lazy smile.

"You're wasted, aren't you?" he asked with a smirk.

"Maybe just a little," she replied, holding her thumb and index finger about an inch apart as she turned her backside to him and ground her ass into his crotch.

Admittedly, he was a little drunk to, so he didn't mind whatsoever in snaking his right hand onto her stomach, holding her up against him. He dipped his head to her shoulder and whispered in her ear, so only she could hear and no one could read from his lips.

"I love you," he said huskily.

Caroline smirked. Turning around, she faced him and his hand moved to her ass as they continued to dance together. She stood up on tiptoe and whispered back in his ear, "I love you too."

Tre had had enough.

As soon as the song ended and Mike and Caroline stepped away from each other, the drummer approached his girlfriend and whispered angrily to her, "Outside, now."

"Excuse me?" she questioned, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"We need to talk. Now."

Tre didn't wait for her to follow. He made his way toward the door to the club and stepped outside into the alleyway, pacing in place until a few moments later when the door opened and out Caroline stepped.

"What?" she demanded.

Tre pushed the door to make sure it was closed as he turned his face to her and stared firm-lipped. "What the hell do you think you're doing waltzing around the party like a drunk slut, grinding against any guy that comes your way?"

She pulled her face back and frowned. "I'm not acting like a drunk slut," she snipped. "If I was a drunk slut, I'd be going down on every guy in there, in view of everyone! I'm thinking you're just angry because I wasn't dancing with you the entire time. But excuse me, because you didn't seem like you wanted dance, hanging back with your drink and looking like a wallflower. Even Billie Joe asked what your problem was. He wondered if you had a stick up your ass."

Tre glared. "This talk isn't about me, but I'll have you know I was hanging back because you were embarrassing me."

"Oh, so now I embarrass you? That's not what you were saying three nights ago when I was giving you the best head of your life!"

Tre shook his head. "Find your own ride home tonight," he muttered abruptly as he pulled the door open and pushed past her without another word, thus ending their 'talk.'

Caroline's mouth hung open as her gaze followed him as he left. As she gathered herself up, she walked back inside and noticed Tre eye her briefly as he headed out of the club via the main entrance. Adrienne walked up to her and placed her hand on the younger woman with concerned eyes.

"Is everything okay? Tre just said he was leaving, and it's not even midnight yet."

Caroline shrugged. "I dunno what's up with him lately," she half lied. "And, frankly, I don't much care right now. I mean...I do...but I don't want to. Does that make sense?"

"Of course it does," Adrienne agreed. "This is supposed to be a good time. You want to enjoy it, not worry about anything."

Caroline nodded. "Yeah, something like that..."

* * *

The party lasted until around three in the morning and majority of the guests left by cab or by a designated driver because it seemed as if 90 percent of those at the club were either tipsy or well beyond wasted.

Mike had gotten dropped off by Jason's wife, who had her husband near passed out in the front, passenger's seat.

Slowly, the bassist walked up his driveway and pulled out his key, fumbling over which was the right one, until he struck metaphoric gold.

"Bingo," he muttered with a smirk.

Twisting the key in the lock, he pushed the door open and stepped in, just as the sound of another vehicle pulled up in front of his house. He stood there, peering through the dark as he saw a shapely figure walking up his driveway until he could see that it was Caroline.

Mike tilted his head and furrowed his brow. "What's up?" he asked as she walked onto his front step.

Instead of responding, Caroline stepped inside and threw her arms around his neck and took in his scent almost immediately as she placed her face against his chest.

"Care, baby, what's wrong?" he wondered.

"Just hold me, okay?" she asked raspily.

Her voice sounded a bit scratchy from having to shout over the blaring music from the party. She also sounded a little sad. And whatever was bothering her, she clearly didn't feel like talking about at the moment.

"Okay," Mike muttered as he shut the door and wrapped his arms around her back.

Mike took a few steps back and sank down onto one of the stairs in the staircase in his front hall and then let her sink down onto his lap, facing him; one leg on either side of him.

For what seemed like forever, the two of them just sat like that; not speaking, just holding each other.

And then, much to Mike's surprise, he heard her lightly snoring in his ear.

Turning his head a little, he smiled as he saw she was her head was tilted sideways, her face buried into his neck, and he was sure that at any moment drooling would ensue.

From the experience and practice of carrying his sleeping daughter to bed without waking her, Mike stood up with Caroline and placed one arm under her knees and the other wrapped around her back for support as he lifted her up in his arms. Turning carefully, Mike began to ascend the staircase until he reached the second floor.

Walking down the hall, he stepped into his bedroom and laid her gently down on his bed. He took off her shoes and slipped her pants off, then pulled the bedsheet and comforter up to her chest.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, brushed some hair from her eyes and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

After a moment of studying her sleeping face, he whispered, "Stay with me."

"Mmmm," she simply moaned in her sleep.