Sighing Alyssa chewing on the end of her pen, her eyes flicking to the clock on the classroom wall once again. Normally she was not a clock-watcher, paid attention to the teacher, took notes. Normally, her boyfriend was not about to embark on a multi-week European tour. After spending all her free time with Chris after school since they returned from California, Alyssa had no clue how she was going to handle him being away until the end of October — especially since he was going to miss her birthday.

Frowning, deep in thought, Alyssa did not hear the bell ring. She snapped to attention when David tapped her with his elbow. Shaking her head, she quickly packed up her things and followed him out. He slipped his arm over her shoulders, chatting about some random meet up he had planned for after school. She did not respond, especially since she knew he expected her to be there. Instead, she peeled away from him once they reached her locker and silently switched out her binders.

“So then I said ‘who the fuck cares? He sucks me off all the time.’”

Her eyes snapped to him, “What?”

“There you are,” David stated. “What’s up?”

“Chris leaves on Sunday. For Europe.”

He nodded, “Man that sucks.”

She nodded.

“He’s going to miss your birthday.”

Alyssa nodded again.

“Well then… I better get planning.”

“What?”

“Your sweet sixteen birthday, of course,” he grinned. “Now it has to be five times greater than before.”

She stared at him, “Really?”

He nodded, “But there’s something that has to happen first.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s time.”

Knowing what he meant, she nodded, “You’ll have to cancel your plans for tonight then.”

“Done,” he grinned. “Right after school?”

Alyssa nodded again, “Directly from school.”

Feeling anxious beyond words, Alyssa slipped behind the wheel of her car a couple of hours after promising David he could finally meet Chris. He grinned as he closed the passenger door, clearly excited beyond words. He babbled nearly incoherently, listing off facts he knew about Soundgarden and Chris. Alyssa let him run his mouth off, hoping that he would vent it all before actually meeting Chris.

She pulled up at the house half an hour after getting out of class. Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she turned into the garage. She knew the truck parked in front of the house. David had no idea what he was in for. His eyes widened as he noticed the Harley and Porsche parked in the other side of the garage.

“Aly…”

“What?” she turned off the car and snapped off her seatbelt.

“He really is Chris Cornell,” he muttered softly.

She smiled, nodded, and climbed out of the car. He hesitated for a moment before hurrying to climb out of the Neon and follow her into the house. Even though he had spent many hours at the house during the summer, while Alyssa house and dog sat, it seemed like a completely different house. The energy was completely different and he did not think it was because of the music playing from the stereo. It had everything to do with the fact Alyssa headed over to a tall, slim, very familiar man, pressed up on her toes and kissed him softly.

David moved mechanically into the kitchen, his hand grasping Chris’s without thought, “Uh, hello.”

“It’s great to finally meet Alyssa’s friends,” Chris stated. “Though I must admit, I am a little jealous of you.”

“You? A rock god is jealous of me?” he muttered incredulously.

A deep voice chuckled behind the teen boy, “I wouldn’t really call him a rock god.”

David turned towards the voice, “You’re… you’re Eddie Vedder.”

He laughed and shook the young man’s hand, “That I am.”

His eyes turned to Alyssa, but her attention was on Chris. The two stood close together, eyes locked, speaking in a soft tone only they could hear. Completely in shock at meeting not one, but two famous musicians, the teen boy had no idea what to think, say, or do. Though he looked to his best friend for help, she was not paying him any attention at all.

“Hey,” Eddie slapped David’s shoulder, “you want a beer?”

“Uh, sure, thanks,” he muttered.

Hearing their two best friends attempting to talk, Alyssa nuzzled Chris again, “I hate that you’re leaving. Again.”

His hands cupped her face before he softly kissed her, “I know, but I’ll be back before Halloween.”

“But…”

He kissed her again, “I’ll be back before you know it. Let’s not waste our time on this.”

“Chris…”

He glanced over at Eddie and David, “It seems your friend is a bit starstruck. I think we need to do something about that.”

Turning away, her eyes flicked to the beer in David’s hand, “Poker?”

“Strip poker?” the young man quickly retorted, flushing a moment later once he realized what he said.

Eddie chuckled, “Somehow that would not be a fair game, as there’s only one woman here.”

Chris smirked, “Alyssa is a good player too. We would all be naked and she laughing.”

Rolling her eyes, she pulled away from Chris and fished a deck of cards out of a nearby side table. Motioning to the men, Alyssa pulled the cards out of the box and quickly shuffled them. Chris set a beer in front of her before sitting to her right. His green eyes focused on her fingers as she quickly dealt cards around the small dinner table.

“Five card stud,” he stated, glancing as the other two sat. “No betting.”

“No?” Eddie sucked on his beer.

“Why not?” David asked, glancing at both musicians as he sat between them.

Chris laughed, “What would we bet, David?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter because I’ll win whatever.”

Eddie folded his hands behind his head, “Oh this is going to be interesting. Very interesting.”

Stepping over David’s feet after helping him to the couch, Chris shook his head. The young man had tried valiantly to keep up with the drinking of the older men while attempting to beat Alyssa at poker. Neither succeeded, but it had been an entertaining night all the same. He thanked Eddie at the door, closing it as he headed out to his beat-up truck. After turning the lock and switching out the lights, Chris headed up to the master bedroom.

Already in bed, a white sheet draped over her midsection, Alyssa reclined on her side, waiting for him. His eyes flicked to her bare breasts before meeting hers. Smiling, he closed the door and flicked off the overhead light. Chris peeled off his layers and slipped into bed with her.

His hand reached across her body as she turned to lie on her back, cupping her breast, “You are so fucking beautiful.”

She smiled and moaned softly, arching her back slightly to press her breast fully into his hand. Kissing her, Chris gently massaged and squeezed her breast, pinching her nipple slightly. He quickly moved over her body and pressed in.

They made love most of the night, focusing on memorizing each other’s bodies.  Though they would have one last night together the following night, both assumed the anxiety of Chris’s departure the following morning would temper any time together. Neither cared about Alyssa’s best friend passed out on the couch downstairs. Neither cared about anything in the world but each other.

Waking before Alyssa, Chris carefully slipped out of the bed and got dressed. He headed downstairs as quietly as possible, intending to take care of the dogs before making her breakfast. Freezing in the hallway, his eyes went to the kitchen where both dogs sat, wagging their tails, as someone else moved around his kitchen. It took Chris a few long moments to figure out who the person was.

“Good morning, David,” he stated, patting the dogs’ heads. “Have you been up long?”

The teenager looked up, “Oh, uh, no, not really. Maybe an hour? I’m not sure.”

His green eyes glanced at the mess in the kitchen, “What are you up to there?”

“Well I thought Aly would be… and you too… hungry when she got up. And French Toast is her favorite…”

Chris nodded once, “How can I help?”

Wearing a pair of Chris’s boxers and a soft, worn tee shirt, Alyssa padded barefoot into the kitchen. She stopped, her hazel eyes darting between the two. David flipped French Toast while Chris fried bacon. It was oh so surreal, not expected at all.

“Well… this is a surprise,” she commented softly, bringing their eyes to her.

Chris stepped away from his task and approached her, kissing her gently, “David’s idea, though I was hoping to bring it to you in bed.”

“This will be less messy,” she winked.

He chuckled and kissed her again, “Maybe.”

Sitting at the breakfast bar, she watched the two finish up their preparations. Chris set a plate before her a minute later while David poured a glass of juice. The two men sat on either side of her with their own plates. The three casually chatted, moving easily from topic to topic. It was almost as if Chris and David knew each other for years, not only a day. It certainly made her feel better about introducing the two of them.

“So what is the plan today?” she asked, collecting their dishes.

“Uh uh,” Chris plucked them out of her hands and headed to the sink before she could protest.

Rolling her eyes, she repeated her question.

“I have to take the dogs to the boarder,” he answered.

“But we can take care of them,” David interjected.

Glancing over his shoulder as he slipped the rinsed plates into the dishwasher, “I appreciate that, but with your classes in full swing now.”

“We can still—”

“No,” Chris interrupted. “I already took advantage of that this summer and felt guilty about it. I won’t ask that of Alyssa again.”

“But—”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t hang out here, if you want,” he declared.

David visibly relaxed, “Oh good. Because we need somewhere to host her birthday party.”

Chris’s eyes snapped to Alyssa, who was now focused on David, “I’m missing your birthday?”

She glowered at David before turning to Chris, “October third.”

He frowned and stepped away from the dishwasher, kicking it closed as he dried his hands, “Then I’m going to have to do something really special when I get back.”

“Chris, you don’t have to—”

“Nonsense,” he interrupted. “We’ll do something extra special when I get back. And you are most certainly welcome to have your party here.”

“Sweet!” David exclaimed. “This is going to be a kick ass party now.”

Chris chuckled, “Anything I can do to help?”

“Oh dear,” Alyssa shook her head. “I’m going to go shower while you two… plot.”

Drawing on her nude back with his fingers, Chris kissed her shoulder. Alyssa smiled, meeting his eyes. He shifted closer, his naked leg touching hers. After dropping off David while Chris dropped off the dogs, she returned to the house, cleaned house, bathed, and packed his suitcase. He returned with takeout and the couple enjoyed a quiet night at his home. As he had to be at the airport before sunrise, neither intended to sleep that night.

“I wish I was going with you,” she stated softly.

“You would hate it just as much as you hated the California tour,” he proclaimed, brushing her hair from her face again.

“But it’s not a festival tour. And it’s Europe. I’ve never been there.”

He kissed her gently, “I will take you there one day, when we can leisurely wander the streets and kiss in all the usual places.”

“You’ll call me all the time, right?”

Chris chuckled, “As often as possible.”

She sighed, “Why does it feel like this is a bigger deal this time?”

“Because I’ll be further away,” he stated, “and we’re more in love now.”

She giggled, “Are we?”

Chris nodded and leaned in for another kiss, “Definitely.”

“How can you tell?”

“Well… I think about you constantly. Beyond that, I have been happier than I am right now. I’m drinking less and… just everything less,” he claimed. “I sleep better at night. The sun seems to shine brighter and the rain does not seep into every cell. Everything just… seems better with you in my life.”

“Chris…” she flushed.

“Best cup of coffee I ever bought,” he grinned.

She chuckled, “Totally made that crappy job worth it.”

His lips brushed hers once again, “What do you want to do when you’re done with school?”

“I… I haven’t really thought about it,” she replied.

“I suppose you have a year or two to decide, right?”

Alyssa nodded slightly, “I suppose so.”

“At the end of the year… once the contract with Susan can be ended… you should move in here,” he stated.

“I… I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to give me an answer now. Wait until I get back,” Chris stated. “Tonight… let’s just focus on the right now.”

Alyssa rolled onto her side and scooted closer, her breasts gently pressing against his chest, “I can do that.”

His arms slipped around her, pulling her even closer, “No sleeping?”

“No sleeping tonight.”