Stone pulled up outside of Billie's apartment and she got out and waited for him to gather a few things before they went up to her place.
He followed her into the house and watched her flick off her runners, dump her phone and keys on the side table and turn to him with a soft smile.
'I'm sorry I called so late.'
He put his stuff down on the lounge and turned back, immediately taking her in his arms and burying his face in her neck. He reached down and lifted her off the floor.
'You can call me any time you want, alright?.' he whispered in her ear as he squeezed her to him. She smelled like springtime, green and floral.
'Ok.' she whispered back and wrapped her legs around his waist and twisting her fingers into his hair. 'Have you eaten?' she asked.
'I don't care about food.' he leant over and lay her on the chaise and he kissed the side of her neck making her flinch.
'Stone, I'm all sweaty from running.' she pushed his shoulders a little but he didn't budge.
'Good,' he said and he wormed his pointy nose into her armpit, snorting, making her writhe underneath him with ticklishness.
'Your sweat doesn't scare me, I've lived on buses full of stinking men for months on end.' He pulled back and kissed her soundly, smacking his lips exaggeratedly.
She had to admit, the idea of a sweaty Stone had it's charms but she did want a shower so she wriggled out from under him and watched him roll over and look up at her with sad puppy eyes.
'Don't.' she smiled at him.
'I won't be a minute.' and she turned and left for the shower, smiling at him over her shoulder as she went.
Stone groaned and rearranged himself, easing the tight fabric, and sat up to look around.
Billie's place really was lovely. A nest of colour and comfort. He stood and moved around the room, turning some lamps on and stopped in the far corner of the living room. She'd obviously been working on something because her enormous harp, a smaller electric one and a bunch of pedals, tools, cords and sheet music were gathered around her reading table.
Stone picked up the sheets. They were notation, but not like any he'd seen before. The music had all sorts of squiggles, lines, shapes and markings as well as the regular notes. Some were hand notated, some were mods over printed sheets.
She had drum tabs and lead sheets as well, and as he went through them he was amazed by the variety of music in the pile. Gershwin and Coltrane, side by side with Rush and Emerson Lake and Palmer. A stack of pieces in a foreign language. His eyebrows arched to find a bunch of music from his own band as well as a Soundgarden, the Pumpkins, The Meat Puppets, and Tool
Stone felt a rush of something inside him, to see the workings of her mind in such a way. It made him breathless. The proximity to another with the same passion heightened his attraction. He wanted to see inside her, know all the parts.
Scratchings and notes covered the sheets. Details of reharmonization, tempo changes and shorthand notes. He looked at through them, fascinated, and as he was about to put them down he noticed one that was tucked under the edge of a stack of books. Handwritten across the top in looping cursive were the words Strangest Tribe?
Stone shuffled it out from underneath and looked down at what to his eyes, looked like a relatively complete transcription of his song. Except it wasn't that simple.
This version had two guitar parts. And a vocal line and a harmony. Even most of the lyrics were there, missing a line here or there.
Stone was floored. He looked up, open mouthed to see Billie coming from the kitchen dressed in pyjamas, drying her hair.
When she saw him, notes in hand, she stopped and dropped her hands, and a uncertain look crossed her face.
'Stone, I...'
'You did this?' he held up the notes where she could see them.
Billie felt dread pool in her stomach.
'Yes, I'm sorry, I just..' she trailed off. 'I couldn't sleep, and the melody was running through my head and I..'
She gestured to the notes and instruments. 'I'm sorry Stone. I would never show anyone, I was just...' she waved her hand. 'playing. Thinking about you.' she looked down at the floor, then up at him, standing there silent.
'Billie..' he looked back at the notes as if to be sure he hadn't imagined them.
Billie braced herself for his reaction and was surprised when he stepped toward her with a smile in his eyes instead of anger.
'Billie, this is.. wow.' he grinned at her.
It took her a moment to realize he wasn't cross. Rather he seemed quite pleased. She let out a big breath and a shiver went over her. She shrugged her shoulders.
'I couldn't remember some of the words.' she looked away.
'Oh really? After a single listen you forgot some words?' He was shaking his head in disbelief. 'I need to hear it.'
Now it was Billie's turn to shake her head. 'No Stone. I was just mucking around. It's nothing. Here, just toss it.' her face was burning as she put her hand out for the notes.
'No way,' he snatched the notes behind his back out of her reach, grinning at her discomfort.
'Stone, come on.' she looked at him serious.
'Play it with me then?' he looked at her. 'Show me what all these marks mean. Please?'
'No! It's not even right and I don't want to mess up your process. I was just admiring your melody.'
'What do you mean 'mess up my process'. Just jam with me please?' he stepped toward her and wrapped one arm around her warm, shower-damp, reluctant body and bent down to kiss her cheek.
'I thought you were mad at me for mucking with your song. I don't want to interfere with extensions you might make by introducing my ideas. I don't know about you but some people find it hard to unhear stuff. I'm in a band where we take others ideas and remake them. Sometimes over and over. We never play things the same twice. That's different to the process of extrapolating from your own clean idea.' she rubbed the side of her face.
'I really enjoyed playing with it Stone, but what I love is that it's you. I love it best when it comes from you. And I'd like to hear where you go with it.'
Stone looked down at her with a patient face, smiling at her seriousness.
'You love that it's me?' his face was a crooked grin of satisfaction.
'Shut up.' she rolled her eyes.
'You know you've totally overthought this right?'
Billie shrugged
'Over-thinking is my super power.' she smiled ironically.
'Um, well quit it. My favourite thing in the world is to make music and collaborate. To watch shit morph. I'm used to sharing ideas too you know, and,' he looked down at the notes that he dropped onto the table 'the idea of making music with you is great.' he kissed her forehead.
Billie dropped her head against his chest and squeezed his waist, soaking in his words.
He wants to hear my ideas? Make music with me?
A wave of excitement and then sickness rushed through her one after the other.
In that moment she felt Tim so close that she had to step away from Stone. Her skin tingled with physical dissonance. Her breathing got tight and she felt dizzy.
Stone watched Billie recoil and go pale. Watched her sit abruptly on the stool next to her harp.
'Billie? Are you ok?' he knelt beside her, instinctively knowing not to touch her.
She looked up at him and the confusion in her face was plain as day. He watched her breathe slowly through pursed lips, bringing herself back under control. When she looked steadier she met his eyes again.
'I'm sorry Stone, I..' she flapped her hands nervously. He watched her search for words to explain, then slap her thigh in frustration, trying to dispel the feelings chasing each other around her body. She looked up at him.
'I'm sorry. Sometimes my brain and body send me mixed messages and it's confusing. It makes me feel ill, dizzy, and I don't want you to think it's you. It's how my body deals with feeling two different things at once. It happens often and usually when I'm not expecting it.' she trailed off and looked at him with eyes begging for him to understand.
Stone moved closer.
'When your with me and are reminded of him? You feel like you're being... unfaithful?' he guessed intuitively.
Billie nodded, sagging with relief at his perception and Stone put his arms around her waist and his head in her lap, wanting to comfort her but needing it himself, realizing that this was one of the roadblocks to Billie's heart.
He rolled his head to the side and looked up at her with his beautiful big eyes.
'That's... really shit.' he groaned.
Billie snorted in agreement and touched his cheek in silent acknowledgement.
'Do you want to talk about it?'
Billie sighed.
'Not really. I think about him, the way he treated me. All the lies and I..' she sighed.
'The last words I said to him were in anger, but Stone, I still love him. All the years of love don't disappear because he made a mistake. I know in my heart he was sorry. He begged me to let him stay.' her voice cracked on the last word, and she swallowed hard.
'I have no closure. If I'd agreed he'd be alive.' she blew out a wobbly breath.
'So... I go around on a rollercoaster of regret, sadness, resentment and guilt. I know in my head it's not my fault but it still kills me.' she took his hand and kissed his palm them looked down at him, her eyes unveiled.
'Then you came Stone, like a spring wind, and you blew me away, and I can feel a change in the air, and I want it. I want you. So much.'
Her fingers stilled and he stood up, pulling her from the chair and into his arms and lent back to look into her beautiful face. The enormity of her situation overwhelming him.
'What can I do?'
She shook her head and met his eyes, her lashes clotted with tears, vulnerability written across her face.
'Just be true. Don't let me go.'
Stone was looking into Billie's eyes when she said the words and in the depths of her clear grey eyes he saw a lucid gleam of green. Like the flash of an opal in the sunlight. He looked again closer but only clear silver lay there and Stone shook his head to clear it.
'I'm here holding you right now, Gaibriel Aoife Saint Claire, and I promise to be true.' his words held the ring of an oath and his smile softened his eyes.
'Promise me. Promise me you won't let me go, and I'll promise the same' her words were a whisper.
He leant down and put his forehead to hers and they closed their eyes.
'I promise I won't let you go.'
