Private Ale

23 - Cheers

"Erica...?"

I can feel the sharp tension hit the air as the word rolls off his tongue. His lips are pursed and his eyes are narrowed and glassy.

"Funny running into you... here." She seems to purr.

"Yeah, it's been a while." Billie's eyes dart in every direction to avoid her gaze.

"And who's this?" She glances in my direction.

I notice the wind blowing her perfectly-straightened brown hair as she takes a step towards me, eyeing me judgementally. Ignoring her harsh gaze, I outstretch my hand.

"I'm Stella Brenton."

"Hmmph." She turns away swiftly, ignoring my hand. "Erica Poler." She says over her shoulder.

"Erica..." Billie's face is pink. "What are you doing here? And... I thought you moved to New York?"

"Turns out fashion design isn't my thing. I was almost certain I was gonna make it big... whatever."

"And you always told me my band would be a failure." Billie mumbles inaudibly under his breath.

"Well anyway, it's my first day back in Rodeo since I moved out. So, I wanted to go exploring and see how this little town has changed. You know, go to our old hangout spots." Her voice is low and raspy, and somewhat seductive. She puts a clear emphasis on her last sentence.

Billie remains silent. I look to him but his eyes are glued to the floor.

"Well, I'm sorry for... interrupting your guys' little secret rendezvous. I should go." She turns away, flipping her hair slightly and then walking out of sight.

Billie's face remains tense and agitated. He sighs, and then drops his head and buries his face in his hands.

"We were having the perfect fuckin' night." He mumbles under his hands.

I sigh, and place my hand on his back. "It's fine, Billie. The night isn't ruined. But... who is she?"

"My ex, okay?" He snaps.

"Okay... I'm sorry."

Billie lifts his head up and runs his hands through his wavy blue locks, which are starting to grow out already, his brown roots peeking through.

"No, I'm sorry. Where were we?" He grabs my hand.

"The sunset." I say, looking out into the horizon. By now, the sun is low in the sky and most of the colors are muted and barely visible.

We sit in silence for a few moments, appreciating what is left of the breathtaking sky before it disappears. Hand-in-hand, we sit on the ledge of the bridge, only one wrong move away from falling into the traffic below. I think of that girl, Erica, and what she could have meant to Billie, but push the thought away, refusing to give her the power to ruin our moment again. This night was about us. It starts to hit me what actually happened tonight. Billie and I are dating. Billie is... mine.

I've never had a boyfriend before. Well, unless if you count middle school relationships when I was thirteen. Billie Joe Armstrong and I are dating. The thought of that seems so foreign in my head, because I've been repressing the hell out of the fact that I even liked him for so long. It almost seems like a sin.

I can't wait to go back to school on Monday and see what our beloved classmates will think of this. Hopefully a few good rumors are created in our honor.

"Stell?" Billie interrupts my thoughts that had started to run away.

"Yes, Billie?"

"Can you... kiss me again? It felt good." Billie's boyish face looks pure as he gazes at me, wide-eyed. Flicks of gold reflecting off the lowered sun seem to be melting into his green eyes.

I grab his face, feeling his stubble beneath my hand and his sharp jaw-bone. His eyes widen even more, gazing intently back at mine. I lean in, and kiss him. Our lips lock and I feel a smile creep from his mouth. Before I could even register what I did, he pulls away, still smiling.

"Thanks, princess."

"Hey, it feels good to hear that word coming from you when you aren't being a sarcastic asshole." I retort.

"Listen, Stell, I'm still a sarcastic asshole and don't ever say I'm not. But now I'm just one to everyone except for you." He points to my direction.

"So, do you wanna go back to the warehouse now? We can see what kind of trouble Mike and Tre are gettin' into tonight." Billie offers.

"Yeah, that sounds good, Beej."

His eyebrows raise. "Awe, you started callin' me Beej, too!" He playfully wraps his arms around me, giving me a bear hug. "You've gotten too close. Now you're stuck with me forever."

"I wouldn't mind that."

"Let's go, stupid." He punches my arm.

We walk back the path we came from, carefully avoiding low-hanging branches or thorny bushes in the forest. Pretty soon we approach Christie Road, which means we are close to where he lives. We turn left from there, and walk a few more streets down until we approach the warehouse.

"Honey, I'm hooome!" Billie comically yells in a super-deep voice as he knocks on the front door.

Tre opens the front door, his expression lighting up upon seeing Billie's face. "BABY!" He throws his hands around Billie in excitement, planting a fat kiss on his cheek.

"Alright, alright, Tre, don't make my girlfriend jealous!"

Tre cocks an eyebrow, eyeing the both of us. "Did I hear that correct? Billie Joe finally made a move?"

I smile warmly at Tre and Billie does the same.

"Finally! Thank you, Bill, now I don't have to keep it a secret anymore that you like her!" He throws his arms around the both of us. "But on a serious note, I'm happy my friend is happy."

Mike appears from the kitchen, beer in hand. "Was I hearing things or did it actually happen?"

"Nope, it happened!" Tre yells back.

"Happy for you guys." Mike shoots a calm, warm smile. "Here, come sit down and let's have a toast."

Tre ushers us into the living room and we take a seat on the plaid couches. Mike comes back out from the kitchen with a six-pack of Bud Light.

"We don't have any champagne, but this cheap beer will have to do." Mike reaches into the pack and throws one in my hand and another in Billie's. Tre reaches in and pops open two bottles at a time, taking big gulps of both with a resounding 'ahhh'.

"To young love!" Tre exclaims, holding both beers high over his head, spilling a little on the coffee table.

"Cheers!" We clink bottles and then wash a big gulp on the cold liquid down.

"Now let's watch some shitty TV!" Tre flips on the television. "Alright, let's check out this new show called the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

I put my feet up and dig my head into Billie's shoulder. This place is really starting to feel like home.