"Beth? C'mon we've gotta get you up." I flutter my eyes open at the sound of his voice. I wince at the harsh sunlight pouring through the window, straight into my face. A bolt of pain jumps through my head.

"What time is it?" I groan, pushing the blanket to my feet.

He flips his watch to face him, "About 8:00."

"My head hurts." I bury my face in my hands.

"I'd imagine so, you did drink like a fish last night."

"Oh yeah." The memory of downing all those cosmopolitans returning to me.

"You got something to wear to work?" He gives me a concerned look.

"Shit... No. Just what I'm wearing."

"Damn, uhh... I might have something you could borrow if you want."

"Okay, well I've got no options so I'll take you up on that."

"Alright wait here, princess." He shuffles to his room and I hear him rummaging through his drawers.

"Got it. Here you are." He hands me a t-shirt, a little big for me but that's okay. It's black with a Led Zeppelin picture printed on the front. And beneath the shirt is a pair of ripped up acid-wash jeans, also too big but I can make it work.

"Thanks." I give him a small smile.

"No problem. Sorry about the jeans, I guess I was stupid to offer pants when I'm a dude." He chuckles.

"Ehh it's alright. I can make it work." I fold the clothes into my lap, "do you care if I use your shower, as weird of a question as that is?"

"Nah, go for it. Just go into the master and you'll find the bathroom on the left. I'll just wait here for ya."

"Alright I'll be quick." I pick up the clothes and find the bathroom.

I close the door, and almost laugh at myself in the mirror. My hair is disheveled and ratted on top of my head, eyeliner smeared clear across my eyes to the point I could pass as half raccoon. I just shake my head, then turn to get the water going. I turn it up as warm as I can stand it, undress and hop in. I have to use his shampoo and stuff but I don't think he'd really mind. He is letting me wear his clothes after all. I guess today is Beth-smells-like-a-dude day. Though he does have some pretty high end hair care products. And my hair sure could use it, saying as it's been so dry lately. And considering I literally buy my hair care products from the cheap grocery store downtown because it saves me money. Once I'm out I dry off quickly, getting dressed with the towel wrapped around my head, being careful not to aggrivate my senses. Heavy hangovers like this one are not fun, I'll tell you that. I carefully pull the towel off my hair and toss it a bit with my hands. I feel bad about using his hair brush so I just comb my fingers through my damp hair. I open my purse, and thank God there's not only my extra lipstick, but apparently a tube of mascara and an eyeliner pencil from the last time I used this purse. I draw out a cat eye shape with the liner around my eyes, swipe on a few coats of mascara, and pop on a thin layer of lipstick. I laugh at my reflection. From the neck up I look about as girly as ever. Then you look down and see the t-shirt dropping off one shoulder, the hem down to my upper thigh, and the jeans actually fit decently well, just a little big. Then I think about my heels and this time I do burst out laughing. How the hell am I going to pull those off with this outfit? I shake my head and decide time will tell. I grab my dress and my tights off the floor and walk back out to the couch. He's sitting there idly waiting with a newspaper in his hands. He looks up and smiles at me.

"Well hey, not too bad for a last minute idea to borrow my clothes, huh?"

"I guess so. But..." I gesture to my shoes.

"Oh hell, I forgot about those." He laughs.

"Yeah, I don't know how that is gonna work."

"I might have a pair of old Chucks if you wanna borrow them. I literally have had them stuffed in that closet since I moved in, and even then I haven't worn them for years. Hang on." He gets up and kneels down by the coat closet. He wedges his arm in and pulls out his prize. A faded, worn out pair of red Chuck Taylor converse.

"What size are they?"

He looks at the bottom of one shoe, "Looks like 9's in women's since these are labeled with both."

"Ironically that's my size." I chuckle.

"Well, you're in luck then." He smiles and hands me the shoes. I shove my feet into them and lace them up. I do have to say, they match this outfit pretty well. "Come on, I'll get you some coffee and take you to work." he leads me out the building to his car. We drive down the familiar streets to my favorite little café. I hop out of the car, my head still pounding from the ridiculous hangover. Miljenko follows me and then rushes to grab the door before I can.

"My lady." He grins and motions me in.

"Beth, where the hell were you last night?!" Madeline calls the second she sees me come in the door.

"Um, we went to a bar." I shrug, holding back a grimace at the feeling of another hangover headache coming on.

"And you didn't come home?"

"Oh come on, Madeline. Like I'd want to listen to you and Jack going at it all night. That and I was drunk as hell so Mili offered to let me crash on his couch. I was so drunk I wouldn't have made it home anyways."

"Shit, you could've called me though!"

"Sorry, I meant to I just totally spaced it."

"Glad you're okay though, kiddo." She passes me a cup and then slides one to my right as Miljenko sits next to me.

"Thanks." I halfway smile. More at the sight of the coffee than anything. I just need something not loaded with alcohol.

"Don't worry, she's in good hands. I feel so bad letting her drink all that though. I was probably over exaggerating at 8 of those things when I said that last night to her, but she had at least 5." Miljenko sighs.

"Of what things?" Madeline cocks an eyebrow.

"Cosmopolitans. She drank them like she was a goddamn fish," he replies with a small laugh.

"Holy shit, no wonder you didn't come home, Beth."

"That's what I'm saying, Mad. I was literally the most drunk I've ever been. Obviously considering I stayed the night even though I knew I had no clothes for work. So I'm borrowing his."

"Apparently." Madeline laughs as she passes a cup of coffee to an old man to my left.

Miljenko looks at his watch and then at me, "Fuck I gotta be at work in a half hour, and it's a 20 minute drive or so. I better be on my way. Since you left your stuff at my place, I'll pick you up at the record store at say, 5:15, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"Bye." He leans over and kisses my lips quickly, and before I know it he's out the door.

"I better get going too, It's what, 9:00?"

"On the dot, my dear." Madeline says, handing drinks out to customers that pass through.

"Good, being a little early wouldn't hurt. I'll see ya later." I leave her some cash until I see Miljenko left enough for both of us. I smile softly to myself, and leave my cash anyways, Madeline deserves an extra tip today.

I shuffle down the sidewalk to 5 doors down, Jackson's Records. I open the door to the sweet sound of Robert Plant's voice in Trampled Under Foot.

"Good morning!" Mark nods to me as I walk to my station.

"Morning, Mark!"

"Nice outfit. Like the shirt." He gives me a thumbs up.

"Really? It's not even mine, I borrowed it, stayed the night at a friend's place."

"I like it. 'Friend'. Ha, that's cute Beth but you're not fooling an old guy like me." He winks.

"Ha Ha, you're so funny." I grin cheesily at him.

"I'll be in my office working on some paperwork, holler if you have any issues today."

"Alrighty thanks." I wave as he turns to go down the corridor.

It's a slow day, not a ton of visitors. At about 2:00 a guy walks in, an oddly familiar feel to him.

"Hi, can I help you find anything today?" I step from my station and ask him. Mary is by the register with me so I usually help people out when I'm not the only one for checkout.

"Yeah, actually I'm looking for some Led Zeppelin. You got Led Zeppelin IV by chance?" He rubs his neck, his curly brown hair going right back into place once he rests his arm to his side.

"Oh yeah, please, let me show you." I lead him to the huge back wall section where we keep the rock and metal. "Led Zeppelin IV, right here. You looking for a vinyl, CD, cassette?"

"Vinyl would be fantastic. And a cassette for my car too."

"Here you are." I rummage through the stacks and find both.

"Great, thanks a million, uhhh..."

"Beth," I shake his hand, "and you are?"

"I'm Chris."

"Nice to meet you, Chris. Anything else I can help you find today?"

"I think that's all."

"Great! I can check this out for you up front."

"Cool." He follows me up. I see a familiar guy leaning against the corner of the counter, tapping his foot to the beat of Black Sabbath's Lady Evil. Who else but John Fowler?

"Chris could you take any longer?"

"Sorry man."

"Oh hey, Beth isn't it?" John smiles.

"Yep, that's right." I nod as I scan the cassette and the vinyl.

"Well if this dipshit hasn't introduced himself yet, this is Chris Risola, our lead guitarist. Chris, this is Beth, Miljenko's new infatuation." John winks.

"Oh I see. I thought I recognized those clothes, man." Chris chuckles and looks me up and down.

"Yeah, now that's a story for the books," I laugh, "Alrighty Chris that comes to $21.46."

"Sweet." He passes me a crumpled $20 and 2 $1's. I dish back 54 cents and hand him a bag with his precious Led Zeppelin IV and a paper receipt.

"Enjoy 'em. See ya guys around."

"Thanks, I guess we'll see you tomorrow, Mili said you were coming." Chris replies.

"Yep! Have a good day you guys."

"You too." John smiles and they stride out the door.

Aerosmith's Angel starts playing over the loudspeakers and I can't help but sing along as it plays. Despite the slow morning, the last 3 hours of my shift fly by in a blur.

"5:00 already?" I glance at the clock on the wall.

"You bet your ass. Time to end a slow day." Mary sighs.

"Guess so." I walk to the employee corridor and punch out, waving to Mark through the blinds of his office window. He smiles and waves back. I quickly gather my purse out of my locker and make my way to the front doors. I carefully push them open as I hum along to Iron Maiden's Revelations playing over the speakers. I squint in the harsh sunlight and pop on my sunglasses, a pair of reflective blue aviators that I always keep on hand. I glance around until I see Miljenko pull up in his El Camino, giving me his signature flashing smile.

"Have a good day, princess?" He pops the door open.

"Lovely day, thank you. John and Chris popped in earlier."

"Did they?"

"Yeah. They were on the hunt for Led Zeppelin IV." I chuckle.

"I swear they lose that fuckin' one at least once every six months when they drag it with them to parties all the time." He pounds the steering wheel lightly as he pulls out of the spot and into traffic.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. No joke."

"Wow. Just... wow," I laugh.

"How about some music?" He glances to the console as we roll through the rush hour traffic.

"Sure. Cassettes in your console or something?"

"Yeah, pick whatever you want." He flashes a brilliant smile towards the road.

"Sweet." I open the console just beneath his right arm and rummage through a pile of cassettes buried in every crevice of the tight space. I eye Dio's Sacred Heart and immediately pull it from the pile, closing the console with a click.

"Find something, princess?"

"Yes, yes I did." I beam. I pop the cassette into the player and the sweet sound of my absolute favorite song, King of Rock & Roll, erupts from the speakers. I throw my head back and smile at the dying sunlight shining brilliant orange on my skin from the window.

"Seems like something you really like." Miljenko smiles as he reaches for the volume knob, cranking it up 3 notches.

"It's my favorite."

"Good to know." He runs a hand through his wild hair, changing to the right lane.

Before long we take the exit and meander our way down the side streets until we come upon his building. He swings the car perfectly into a parking spot a couple yards away from his stairwell. We both hop out and walk up two flights of stairs to the top level. Miljenko pops his key into the door and jiggles it a bit as he unlocks. He turns the handle and motions me inside.

"So, uh, you wanna head home tonight or hang here one more night?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I better call Mad and see what her plan is. If her boyfriend is gonna be there again tonight I'd prefer not to go back if that's cool with you. But it would be nice to stop by and grab some clothes," I chuckle.

"Alright, princess. You call her and I'll be fine with either way."

"Thanks, Mili." I reach for the phone and dial the number for the apartment.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mad, it's Beth. Quick question, are you having Jack over again tonight?"

"Yeah, hon. I assume that means you're not coming home tonight?"

I tap the receiver with the pad of my finger. "No, I don't think so. I'm gonna swing by and get some things though if that's alright with you."

"Fine by me, my dear."

"Cool thanks. See ya in a few!"

"Alrighty," she replies. I hang up the phone.

"Okay, so I'm gonna need a ride back to my place to grab some things. That good with you?"

"Fine by me. Come on, I'll take you." He flashes that killer smile again and leads me out the door to the El Camino, and off we go back to my apartment.