Better Man

Unlike the months prior, March had been utterly uneventful for everyone. Recording for The Sinners went off without a hitch, making some decent headway. And despite what Caroline had been fearing, the guys weren't at all miffed about her spending time with Tre and away from the studio, because they took the opportunity to live a little outside the studio walls and within their foursome.

Nick even seemed to be dating a girl from Chinatown named Christina Ling.

It was, perhaps a good thing for the four of them. To make friends outside their fold, to keep from going too stir crazy. But it's not as if they completely cut themselves off from each other. There were times, like the beginning of April, when Caroline, especially hardly spent any time with Tre.

For one reason or another.

At one point, during the middle of the month, Tre had flown out to New York to spend Easter with his daughter Ramona while, back in California, Mike was celebrating his own daughter's ninth birthday. Not to mention showering her with gifts galore since she was his only child and pretty much his whole world.

But with all the things he'd thought he'd been able to give his daughter for her birthday, he was surprised when she pulled him aside at her party, gave him a hug and then looked up at him with doleful eyes.

"D'you like all your presents?" Mike asked, crouching down so that he was more on her level.

She nodded. "Yeah...but can I tell you what I really want?"

Looking at his daughter, warily, but with a smirk, Mike gave a bob of his head. "You can tell me anything, Stella."

"Well, I was wondering if I could have a different room in your house?" she asked, biting her lip.

"A different room?"

"Yeah, but not a different room, like another one, but a different one, like...can you change the way it looks? Like, um, paint it a different color and a different bed and stuff like that?" Estelle looked at her father, expecting him to say no, but she started to smile when he began to nod.

"You want to change the way your room looks? That's no problem. You don't have to be nervous to ask about that. You gotta live in the room when you're over."

"I know. I just didn't know if you were gonna be busy with Uncle Billie or Uncle Tre doing stuff," she replied. "I don't know when you're not gonna be busy or when you're gonna be home to do things like that."

Mike's heart broke a little just then. He didn't want his daughter, his little hero, to think she couldn't depend on him ever being there for her. The last thing he wanted was for Estelle to get screwed out of having a steady relationship with her parents like he had been.

Frowning, Mike reached his arm up and brushed some of her long, chocolate hair behind her ear and smiled at her. "I'm always here for you, honey. No matter where I am in the world -- if I'm in San Francisco, New York...or India -- I want you to know that you can call me. And if you need me. I will be there," he assured. "Alright?"

Estelle nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "And you'll change my room?"

"You betcha," he replied. "How do you want it to look?"

Shrugging, the nine-year-old kind of looked off as she thought about it. "I dunno. Just not pink anymore and more like a grown-up. 'Cause I'm not a little kid anymore, Dad. I'm gonna be ten next year, y'know."

"Don't remind me," Mike snickered.

"So, just, like, surprise me or something." Estelle placed her hands on her father's shoulders and smiled knowingly at him. "I trust your judgment, Dad."

Mike couldn't help but laugh. "Well, as long as you trust me..."

* * *

"Hey, Mike!" Caroline greeted with a smile as the lanky bass player stood in the doorway of her apartment with his hands in his pockets. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"I don't trust myself," was his blunt reply.

"Uh..." she trailed, caught off guard and unsure of what he was talking about. "Huh? Trust your--wait, what?"

"Can I come in?" he wondered. When she nodded and stepped aside, he slipped inside and stood in the middle of the main room as she shut the door behind him. "Where're the others?"

"Um, Nick's out with his girlfriend, Christina. I think he said he was going to meet her parents and they were all going to have dinner together. I can just picture how much he must be squirming," she began. "And, uh...Nef got stir crazy and I think he's gone for a bit of shopping at Pier 39 while Dave is probably at ...I dunno. I went out for some basic food shopping this morning and when I got back Dave wasn't here. He might not have even come home last night from partying at some club. I dunno."

Mike chuckled a little. "I know how that is," he commented. "You might not know where your bandmates are, but your gut tells you that wherever it is they're located, they're doing fine."

Caroline nodded. "Yep. That's pretty much it." She gave Mike a good once-over and then folded her arms across her chest. "So...you gonna tell me why you're here and why you can't trust yourself?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh...Estelle. My daughter. She wants me to redecorate her bedroom. She says she's not a little kid anymore, and I only know the cliche decorating for a girl. You got your standard pink, maybe some other pastels, a poster of a kitten barely holding onto a tree branch that says 'Hang In There' and then some stuffed animals and Barbie dolls laying around on the floor for me to trip on," Mike rambled; his mind clearly muddled with confusion.

"This sounds like a major problem," Caroline teased; her eyes light. "Whatever will you do?"

Turning his gaze from the floor to her face, Caroline couldn't help but be surprised by how it made her shiver. Never could she remember a man staring at her and making her feel like not just a woman, but a goddess.

It was nice.

"I, uh...well...I didn't want to ask Anastacia for help on decorating, because then Estelle would know I couldn't pull it off. Adrienne's busy with Adeline Records and her own boys. And Claudia's got her hands full with Frankito most of the time. I'm not gonna bother my sister with it either because her daughter and mine are really close and, again, Estelle would end up finding out I can't pull it off. Not to mention I don't trust Interior Decorators. I'd rather do it myself."

Caroline went soft. Mike was too cute. He was so determined to do this major project for his daughter, but was desperately in need of some guidance over the issue because he had no idea where to begin, nor did he know what a nine-year-old girl wanted.

"And you'd like a woman's touch, right?"

Nodding his head sheepishly, Mike replied, "Yeah. More or less." Averting his gaze, he looked out the window at the cars driving by on the road below. "So, um...what would you say if I asked you for your help? I mean...that's if you're not busy. Well, obviously you're busy because you and the guys are recording and, uh, whatnot...but, you know...whenever you have some free time and have nothing to do...if you wanna lend a hand..." he trailed -- and rambled -- as he lifted his eyes back up to hers and held the gaze. "I'd really appreciate it."

"I---"

"I mean, don't feel obligated or anything---"

"I'd love to."

"---because I know it's...wait, what?"

"I said I'd love to," Caroline repeated with a grin. "After all, not only do I have a woman's touch but, believe it or not, I was a nine-year-old girl once."

"So, you'll help me out?"

"That is what I said, Mike."

Oh, God. She did it again. She said his name in such a way that it felt like Mike was falling into a trance.

Nodding, Mike smiled appreciatively. "Thanks a lot. It means...well, a lot."

"No problem. What are friends for?"

Friends. Right. Forgot about that, Mike thought. Just friends.

"So, when do you want to do this?" Caroline asked when he hadn't responded to her rhetorical question.

"Um...today?" he suggested, warily. "If you're not doing anything, that is. We could, uh, go to my diner and talk about some plans and ideas there while getting something to eat."

Caroline fell silent as she considered. And even though only a few seconds of time had passed, it felt like an hour to Mike.

Please say yes. Please say yes.

"Yeah, that sounds fine," she responded.

Yes!

"Let me just get my purse and we can head out now."

"Alright," Mike spoke, feeling rather lighthearted.

* * *

"So, your birthday's next month, huh?" Caroline asked as she shoved a French fry into her mouth.

Mike just loved how she didn't mind talking with her mouth slightly full in his presence. He just hated pretentious women who thought they had to act like breakable dolls around him. It always drove him nuts when he dated. Sure it was great to feel like he was playing the Knight in Shining Armor and act all chivalrous while the woman played the Damsel in Distress and acted all perfect and dainty but, too much of a good thing...

He enjoyed the way Caroline held herself. She knew she wanted to be treated and respected as the woman she was, but she was also in a band with three other guys and also lived with them. Not to mention, much to his displeasure, she was dating Tre. And he was a wound ball of testosterone if there ever was one. And a horny one at that.

She had the best of both worlds. She was strong yet soft, she was tough yet delicate.

She was a woman. Hear her fucking roar.

"Mike? Earth to Mike?" he heard her call to him from across the table. "Houston, we have a problem."

Mike's blue eyes darted up, embarrassedly. "Oh, sorry. I must've been daydreaming. Sorry. What did you say?"

Caroline studied his face for a moment and then shook her head with a smile as she picked up another fry. "I said, 'So, your birthday's next month, huh?'"

"Oh, yeah. The big 3-4," he smiled, reaching across to take one of her French fries and dunking it in her ketchup.

"Hey," she faux complained. And he knew she wasn't actually complaining by the smile she wore as she spoke. "Dems mah fries, biacth," she joked.

Laughing, Mike leaned back, popping the fry into his mouth, chewing, swallowing and then sticking his tongue out at her. "Yeah? And what're you gonna do about it?"

"I'll fuck yo shit up, foo," she continued to joke, narrowing those eyes of hers that seemed to drink Mike in.

"You and what army, Miss Thang?"

"Da Sinnaz, so you best be steppin', or I'll sic mah dawgs after you...homeslice. An' then I'll pop a cap in yo ass."

The two of them stared each other down and then busted out cackling like a bunch of fools, drawing quite a bit of attention from the other customers.

"Homeslice?" Mike questioned.

"Shut up," Caroline wrinkled her nose in defiance. "I couldn't think of anything really ghetto to say."

"Yeah, well...fo shizzle mah nizzle."

Quirking an eyebrow at Mike, Caroline lifted up her glass of water and shook her head. "You know, one day we're gonna look back on this moment---"

"---and plow into an uncoming truck."

Caroline's went wide. "Yeah! How'd you know I was gonna say that?" she asked with a laugh. "I thought I was the only one who ever said that."

Mike shrugged. "I dunno. It just seemed like that was the thing to say."

The two of them shared a smile as Caroline looked down at her plate. "But you know what else?"

"Hmm?"

"One day when your daughter asks what you were doing when you were planning on how to decorate her room, are you gonna admit how you and I were flinging ghetto retorts at each other?"

"If she asks, I won't deny a thing."

Nodding her head, Caroline accepted his answer as she picked up a French fry and brought it to her lips, but then, at the last moment, flung it at Mike, hitting him in the chest.

Mike would've retaliated, but the grin she wore broke down his defenses, causing him to simply rest his arms on the table and smile back.