Adrift-Chapter Nineteen

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LoveandLogic

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BABY, WE'RE GOING TO NASHVILLE! 7/2/11 <3
Starting in my mind, down to the keys, here's the next chapter, for all of Bono's lovlies! (are you liking the rhymes? :hyper:)

Disclaimer: Create your own FICTIONAL disclaimer. :D

Chapter Nineteen

“What’s all this?”

The three of us looked up to see Alan standing in the door frame with an expression of humor on his face. “Family reunion?”

Bono stood up to shake my step dad’s hand. Alan, instead, took the musician in for a “manly” hug, slapping each others backs.

“How are you doing, you dirty Irish fuck?”

Bono laughed hysterically. “Not too bad. How about yourself, you greasy hamburger eatin’ American fuck?”

Mom looked at me with a scrunched forehead. Shrugging, I mouthed “men.” Alan gave me a good squeeze and the four of us talked for a few minutes about our flight from France to Ohio. Then, right from under my nose, Alan stole Bono away into the study. Sitting across from my mom, she stood up, asking if I wanted a beer. She brought two Budweiser’s back, handing one to me.

“So, I want to know everything. First off, why haven’t you called?” She asked.

I took a swig of my beer. “I’m sorry. I was depressed, ashamed. I lost my job because of that Brooklyn stunt. My boss used me. I was jobless and alone. Then on the other hand, Bono and I were catching up and that confused me even more because I wasn’t sure if I was still in love with him. Now we’re spending every awaking and non-awaking moment together and he’s engaged and I’m the other woman and it’s just one big mess.”

Gasping for air, I looked at my mom who appeared aback. Leaning into me on the edge of the table, she smiled her motherly smile, the same smile that made me feel safe from the “monsters” under the bed.

“Sweetheart, you need to relax. Everything will fall into place. I mean, look at you now. You’re a well respected photographer, you’re on the cover of magazines, and I don’t mean the gossip magazines, either. You’re being celebrated. So what you lost your job? You have your own exhibit, your artwork is on the cover of the greatest rock magazine in the world.”

“I know, I know. Bono, though. Mom, I don’t know what to do.”

Tucking a piece of stray hair behind my ear, Mom sighed and looked how I felt. Lost.

“I don’t know what to tell you, either, honey. You’re right, he can’t be with you while he’s engaged.”

“He’s offered to break it off with her.” I said.

“Oh. And has he?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I won’t let him.” Almost busting my head open on the table, I covered my face in my arms. “What am I doing! I’m so confused, Mom. I love him so much. He’s the only thing that kept me standing when I lost my job and I’m the only one he trusted with the cancer scare. We’re made for each other but there’s always an obstacle in the way.”

“Sweetie, there’s always going to be obstacles. What’s important to remember is that it takes two to overcome those obstacles. Love is like…a tango. You can’t dance alone, you need a partner to create the dance. And sometimes you forget the steps but with a little bit of faith and communication, you will be on the right track in no time.”

“That’s beautiful and all, but it doesn’t give me an answer. I can’t bring myself to break up with him. Not like we’re together, really, anyways, but you know what I mean. Whenever I look at him, I fall in love all over again. And then when I think of Olivia, I feel so much…guilt. I would hate to be in her position. If I was being cheated on like this, I don’t know what I would do with myself.”

She lifted my face so I could meet her eyes. Funny, growing up, I never realized how similar we looked. Never have I paid attention at how we possessed the same long, curly eyelashes and honey eyes. Our lips were full, the bottom one holding more pout than upper. Passed down from one generation to another was our pale, creamy skin and small frames. Mom was an older version of myself, like looking into a mirror of the future. I hoped to looked half as good as her when I reach my prime years.

“Listen, take it from me,” Her voice was low, serious. “Don’t go rushing into anything. Take it day by day, enjoy your freedom while you can. Did you ever stop to think about all the responsibilities of being a rock star’s girlfriend? All the fame, the lack of privacy. You will spend endless, sleepless nights wondering whether or not he was with another girl after a show.”

“No,” I interrupted. “He’s not like that. You know he’s not like that.”

“I’m not saying he would do that, I’m only saying that you will think about it. It’s hard enough being a wife to a normal person. Perhaps you’re better off letting him marry Olivia. Hey, don’t get angry! You wanted my opinion so there it is. If you feel all this guilt then maybe your conscience is trying to tell you something.”

“You’ve always taught me to listen to my heart, not my mind.”

She nodded. “Yes, I did. I just never thought you were listening.”

“I was always listening, even when I acted like I wasn’t. Damn it, this sucks.”

“I know, honey. Just take it as it is. If it works, it works. If it doesn’t then it doesn’t. You can’t do much more about it. You’re in a rough position, kiddo.”

“Ha,” I laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

“Hey, how about we start dinner? Let’s cook together! We haven’t done that in ages.”

Gifting my mom with a thankful smile, I took her hand. “Ok.”

Leave it to mom to make things better. Together we peeled, cut and boiled potatoes, cooked steaks on the BBQ outside and steamed vegetables. All the while we laughed, joked and caught up on our lives. She had been promoted at her job and she could now help out with court cases, Alan was to be given a medal for his services in the Army and his business was sky-rocketing, his company moving to a larger building in the heart of the city. News of my dad was not brought up and for that I was glad. Having not heard from him in last five years, I could have cared less about his life.

Bono and Alan came into the kitchen, sniffing the air like two hungry dogs. A smell of cigar smoke and whiskey trailed behind them and I stopped Bono in his tracks.

“Hold up there, Captain. Were you smoking? Don’t look at Alan! Were you smoking?”

“Yes,” Bono said so lightly that it was almost hard to hear him although he stood only three inches away.

“What’s that?”

“Yes, I was smoking.”

“And drinking?”

“Just a shot.” He yelped, put his hands up in defense.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I cocked an eyebrow at the singer.

“Oh, alright, two shots!”

I walked away, shaking my head. “You’re insufferable!”

“You love me!” He called after me. I pretended not to hear him and went to set the table.

Fifteen minutes later, Mom, Alan, Bono and I were sitting on the back porch, eating dinner under the twilight sky. It felt good to be around good people, good food and good wine again. Lately I’ve been eating out of boxes or off restaurant plates. Hearing my mom laugh, seeing her and Alan happy, brought a sense of relief to my dazed life. Under the table, Bono held my hand in his, his thumb running over my knuckles. It was a tiny gesture no doubt, yet my heart fluttered.

Bono and Alan were talking politics and it sent a chill down my spine. Bono fit in with my family so perfectly that it was eerie. He was like a ray of sunshine, brightening up the room and people’s moods. Alan thought him smart, sophisticated and mom found him charming, like most women often did. He had a way about him that gravitated other people his way. Not only was he a great performer, he was a great friend, a great mate and would make for a good husband.

Over the horizon, the sun sank to make room for the moon. It was a clear night out and my family, me and Bono didn’t move from our seats until Mom and I decided that it was best if we cleaned up the kitchen. Scrubbing the counter tops, strong arms wrapped around my middle and a smell of musk made my head spin.

“I’m so glad they still like me,” Bono’s breath was hot on my ear.

I responded. “I told you there was nothing to worry about. You should cut back on the alcohol, though. Don’t make me worry.”

“I’ll stop. It was a celebration day today.”

Nodding against his chest, I leaned my head back to look up at his beautiful, Irish features. Wow, I’ve never seen anything so stunningly gorgeous in my life…what the hell is wrong with me? It has to be this house. Yeah, that’s it.

Turning in Bono’s arms, I snuggled into his neck, kissing the spot right underneath his ear. Sighing, I pushed my hands under his shirt and smoothed my hands over his velvet skin, Bono purring in response.

Mom came into the kitchen, clearing her throat. “Sorry, didn’t mean to kill the moment but I’m heading to bed. I took tomorrow off so we could spend it together. Maybe we can go shopping?”

“Yeah,” I said, parting from Bono. “Sounds great, Mom. Goodnight.”

We kissed and embraced and Bono and I were left alone in the kitchen. Without a word, Bono took my hand and headed towards the basement door. The stairs creaked from our steps and we went into my old darkroom. Everything was exactly as I had left it. Photo’s were hanging from the clothes lines, chemicals were stacked away neatly against the wall, all the tubs were clean and put in their proper place.

Sitting on the couch and watching Bono look around the room, he snagged a picture down from the clothesline, studying it.

“Ha, who took this one?” He asked, handing me a black and white photo of Edge teaching me guitar.

“Oh, damn, I forgot about this picture. I think Larry took this one. Not quite sure. It’s been so long.”

Kneeling down, Bono rested his arms on my legs and folded his hands over mine. Butterflies flew like bats in my stomach as he kissed every one of my fingertips, his stubble sharp amongst my skin.

“Our first kiss was in this room. Do you remember?” He asked.

“I never forgot for one second.”

Taking a digit into his hot mouth, I sucked in a sharp breath of air, trying to keep my hormones under cover and doing a horrible job at it. Sucking on my fingertip, Bono looked up at me through his eyelashes, winking and teasing. Oh, why does he do this?

Standing up, he bent over to put his lips to mine and I accepted the invitation greedily, opening my mouth to ram my tongue on his. They met for a waltz and I cupped Bono’s face in both hands, brushing his hair between my fingers. There wasn’t one thing about him that wasn’t spectacular: the taste of his kiss, the feel of his body on mine, his caress. It made me dizzy and I found myself drifting away into the seductive moment.

“I guess it’s only logical to make love in the room where we had our first kiss.” Bono whispered, nipping at my throat.

Logical? Maybe not. Ideal? For sure.

Waking up to the most exquisite sight of the sleeping musician next to me, I rubbed my eyes and kissed Bono awake. Yawning, he opened his eyes, smiled, and shut them again.

“Hey, I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to wake you or not.” In between kisses, I asked. “Do you want to sleep longer? Mom and I are supposed to go into town.”

“You go ahead, love. I miss this room.” He mumbled on my lips, kissing me again and again.

“Alright, baby. We’ll shouldn’t be too long.”

“Bullshit. You’re women. You’ll be out all day.”

I laughed and left him to finish resting in the old guest room. It felt nice being able to fall asleep with him in that bed without having to wake myself up at four in the morning to sneak back into my own bedroom.

Mom was already dressed, made up and ready to go before I could even take a morning piss. The smell of coffee was strong in the house, my energy coming to life almost instantly from the aroma alone. Applying the final touches to my makeup, I kissed Bono one last time and headed down the stairs. Mom poured a cup of coffee in a thermal for me and I took a long gulp.

“Bono doesn’t want to join us?” Mom asked.

“He’s tired, Ma. Poor guy has had a rough few weeks.”

Compassionately, she nodded and got into the car. Bono was right, women really do take too long shopping! For five straight hours we went from store to store, buying clothes, getting our nails done, looking at jewelry and window shopping. We talked about Bono, the guys, our jobs and New York.

Bono called me around one and asked where we were. He sounded awake and lonely.

“We’re going out to lunch. Would you like to join us?” I asked.

“Yeah, where should I meet you?”

“Applebee’s. We don’t have any five star places here.” I laughed.

“That’s alright, love. I’m not picky. Uh, where is it at?”

I gave him directions and hung up the phone. Mom, who was making it a point to let it be known that she was eavesdropping, perked up. “So we have a guest for lunch?”

“Yes.”

“You two are inseparable.”

Kneading my eyebrows together, I shrugged. “I suppose, yeah. Why?”

“Nothing. Was just curious. I bet he’s a lot of fun.”

Dirty thoughts ran through my head. I shoved them to the back of my mind. “Sometimes I wonder who the younger one is.” I laughed. “He’s always dragging me here or there. The man cannot sit still.”

“Does the age difference ever bring you down?”

She wasn’t trying to be mean. She was asking me in a very questionable and curious way.

“No,” Truthfully, I answered. “When I was younger, yes. Only because it was more blunt. Now it never crosses my mind. I like that he’s older. You know me, I hated dating guys my own age. I could never find one mature enough. Or artistic enough.”

“I’m sorry I’m asking so many questions. I’m just trying to understand and I have to be honest with you, I’m kind of fascinated.”

Grinning at her amusingly, I asked. “Really? Why is that?”

“I don’t know. I guess because I never took such a chance like this. I mean, sure I got married at a young age but I never actually did anything so…daring? Is that the word I’m looking for? Daring? Daring…yes, daring.”

We broke into laughter.

“It’s not about being daring, Mom.” Struggling to explain, she listened patiently. “I fell in love with the most unlikely person in the word. And who am I? A small town girl. What does he see in me?”

“How could he not love you? You’re smart, beautiful, artistic. He’s probably sick of dating two-faced, conceited women who crave fame and money, would only date him for fame and money. You were raised better than that. You were raised to love, not to gloat.”

“And I have you to thank for that.” I said, smiling her direction.

-----------------

Our visit to Ohio went by way too fast and, like the blink of an eye, Bono and I boarded a morning flight that would take us back to the JFK airport. We agreed that it would be cute to wear our matching outfits: his purple button up shirt and my purple dress. Humorously, we looked like duplicates of walking and breathing grapes.

Touching the ground at JFK and walking down the terminal, we were greeted with a surprise appearance by Larry, Adam, Edge and Brooke. Brooke and I ran to each other, embracing like we haven’t seen in each other in ages. Bono greeted his mates and then they took turns hugging me.

“You two look like a couple of grapes,” Brooke pointed out. “Nice dress though. Where’d you get it?”

“France,” I answered.

“Well, duh! You have to give me every detail! Later of course.” She winked.

I winked back. Everyone seemed happy to see us. Well, besides Edge, who kept an annoying close eye on Bono and me. We walked hand in hand shamelessly, stealing a kiss here and there. Larry kept teasing us, singing annoying elementary songs.

The six of us had dinner at the Hard Rock. Brooke and I caught up, talking subjects of work, photographs and Lucy. Brooke was free of the company and was now at her new job. I was still unemployed but found no remorse over the fact. Bono, Larry, Adam and Edge were discussing the new album, going over scheduled times in the studio, ideas on riffs, lyrics and sounds.

It was late into the night and we decided it was best to depart for the evening and hugs and kisses were exchanged. Brooke wanted to stay at my apartment so Bono walked us back to my place. Brooke went inside, shutting the door behind her so we could say our good night’s in private.

“This is the first time we’ll be apart for a night.” I said, holding both of Bono’s hands.

His forehead laid against mine. “I know. It’s weird. But we both have a lot of work ahead of us now.”

I nodded. “Sadly. You have to go into the studio tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Knowing the guys, I’ll be stuck in there all day. I’ll try to make time for us. I promise.”

“Do what you have to do, Paul. I survived six years without you, I can survive a few months.”

“But I can’t.” He said, kissing me. “I love you. Remember that, my angel.”

“I love you, too, Paul. Have a goodnight and a good day tomorrow.”

“You, too, honey.”

With one last, lingering kiss, Bono left the complex. Brooke was sitting on the couch, twiddling her fingers anxiously and the second I shut the door, she was jumping to her feet and taking me by the shoulders.

“Ok, every detail!” She demanded. “I mean it! Don’t leave out anything!”

It was just like old times. Brooke and I sat in my room on the bed in our pajamas, giggling uncontrollably like we were teenagers all over again discovering boys for the first time. Just as I promised, I gushed out every detail of my week and half with Bono: about France, the streets, the shops, the cancer scare, the lovemaking,(ESPECIALLY the love making,) our trip to Ohio, our fights. Brooke listened thoroughly, sighing at the correct times, crying at others. When I finished, we were laying on our sides on the bed in my room, snuggled up in blankets and pillows.

“So do you think him and Olivia are going to split?” She asked.

I was so tired of talking about this. “I don’t know, Brooke. I’m just taking it as it comes. It’s just odd how she never calls or tries to get in contact.”

“That is odd.” She went silent for a few minutes and then, to my utter shock, stood on her knees, jumping up and down on the bed like a spring. “I have to tell you something! We were going to keep it a secret for a few more days but I can’t hold it in anymore.”

Sitting up, I urged her on, never have seeing her like this in a long time. “What? Tell me what?”

“Ok,” She whispered, looking around to make sure no one was here even though she knew we were alone. “So…I’ve been seeing someone.”

“Who?”

Covering her mouth with both hands, she turned a deep shade of maroon. “Larry.”

My jaw could have hit the floor. “Larry? As in Larry Mullen?”

Nodding hard, she sat back down, Indian style. “I don’t know how it happened! We ran into each other at Starbucks the day after you left and you and Bono were the conversation starter and whoosh, next thing you know we’re spending everyday together!”

“I thought he went back to Ireland?”

“He did but I guess he had to come back because Edge was wanting to start some recording. Oh, he’s the most amazing man! He treats me like a lady! I’ve never had a guy open a car door for me or kiss my hand whenever we meet. It’s like a dream.”

“You two did a very good job of hiding it.” I said, quite taken. “You didn’t even sit next to each other at the café.”

“Like I said, we’re taking things slow. Looks like we’re both U2 girls now, huh?”

Trying to smile at my love-struck friend, a frown was all I could manage. “Your situation is much easier than mine. Larry's not engaged. I’m holding onto something that isn’t mine.”

Show a hard workin' girl some :heart:?
 
:heart::heart::heart:

I was so excited to see this when I got home!!

Every time Olivia is mentioned, I want to start chanting Dump her, dump her!! :lol:

Brooke and Larry :cute:

This is getting so fascnating *bites nails*
 
:heart:

Awesome story! Am I just reading into things or is there a definite undertone of Edge-love here? :D

It's EYKIW in reverse.... :applaud:
 
Those were some of my favourite lines of the chap!!:applaud:
“Sweetie, there’s always going to be obstacles. What’s important to remember is that it takes two to overcome those obstacles. Love is like…a tango. You can’t dance alone, you need a partner to create the dance. And sometimes you forget the steps but with a little bit of faith and communication, you will be on the right track in no time.”
Absolutely lovely!!:cute:

“You’ve always taught me to listen to my heart, not my mind.”
:heart::heart: It's so easy to get caught up and do the opposite...

“Alright, baby. We’ll shouldn’t be too long.”

“Bullshit. You’re women. You’ll be out all day.”
:lol::lol::lol:

You were raised better than that. You were raised to love, not to gloat.”
I'd like to believe I belong to the first kind!:heart::D

Wonderful chap again, I'm still throwing you flowers, but you're making me :drool: all over the B man, so it's all in due respect!!
 
:hug::heart: thank you so much! i love your comments! but i feel bad taking you away from your physc books...:shifty:
Aww no worries my friend:hug:, I'm the first one in line to indulge in any kind of U2 looove:heart:whenever & wherever, reality, be damned!:lol:

Me is loooving that story very very very much!! I'll keep the rest for tomorrow!! Sometimes we appreciate things even more after having waited for them...well, that's what happened with me and my U2 ipod:lol:
 
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