Keeping Her Love (2 page)

“Oh, a real brain, huh?” Rhett asked.

Max raised his eyebrows in a condescending manner. “Just a bit of problem solving. I’m the youngest student in my class, since I skipped a few grades in high school. I guess I’ll be designing the cars you work on in the future.”

Mr. Florian cleared his throat as Tula shot her brother a glare.
 

“Anyway, enough about work,” said Mr. Florian. “Rhett, my boy, do you perhaps enjoy the game of golf?”

The rest of the conversation felt slightly less tense, but that was only because Max had chosen to keep his mouth shut. Tula and Rhett couldn’t manage to get a spare minute alone together, much to Rhett’s disdain. The family spent much of the rest of the evening drinking wine, eating tiramisu, and watching some television together. As far as Tula’s parents were concerned, Rhett felt like he had completely accomplished his mission. They seemed warm towards him, and by Rhett’s approximation, they even acted like they already considered him part of the family. Everyone in the family considered him one of the group. Everyone except for Max.

Rhett knew that he shouldn’t let it bother him. He should have been focusing on the positive aspect of the meeting, not the negative, but he just couldn’t shake the dark feeling that he hadn’t been accepted by
everyone
. Rhett could be a natural people-pleaser, so the fact that he hadn’t gotten the approval of everyone really bothered him. He wanted to fix it in some way—what could he do to win Max over? Where were these feelings of negativity possibly coming from?

“
Rhett?
”
 

Tula nudged him as they sat on the couch. He shook away his thoughts, realizing that Tula’s father had addressed him. “Sorry, what was that?”

“We’re gonna head up,” said Mr. Florian. “It was really nice meeting you, young man. I hope you don’t mind that we’re old and like to sleep early.”

“No, no!” He responded with a smile, getting up with them.

“Good. See you some other time, okay? Don’t be a stranger.”

The comment produced a deeper, more natural smile in him. “Sure, of course.”

“Good.”

Mr. and Mrs. Florian said their goodnights and then turned away towards the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Max took the opportunity to make an exit as well, which suited Rhett just fine. Tula and Rhett stood in the darkened living room, smiling at each other affectionately.
 

“So, how was it?” Tula asked, the volume of her voice nearing a whisper.

“Good, good. I really like your family,” Rhett responded.
 

“I’m glad to hear it. I got some really good vibes tonight. I had the feeling that my parents would love you, but to see it just makes me feel more self-assured.”
 

Tula leaned closer to him, and before Rhett knew it, a firm palm was wrapped around his cock. Rhett gasped, enjoying the feeling, but alarmed because of the setting.

“Did I ever tell you that nice family men really turn me on?” Tula said softly into his ear.

Rhett swallowed. “Perhaps I forgot about it if you ever told me.”

Tula flashed a smirk at him. “Well, it’s true. I wanted you the whole time. Tonight made me feel like you were truly one of us. Someone I could consider special to me.” Her grasp tightened, and Rhett’s cock hardened a bit. “Do you feel the same way?”

“Yeah, I, uh…” He let in a heated breath as he stared into Tula’s eyes. Normally their sex life was enjoyable, though typically sweet and predictable. There was something smoldering about the way his girlfriend was acting in that moment. There he was, an intimidating guy who liked working on cars, made speechless by a baker who enjoyed frosting berry cupcakes with pink frosting.

“Tula!” Someone called from upstairs. The two lovebirds jumped away from one another, trying to dispel the erotic feelings they had cultivated so quickly. Rhett was sure that it hadn’t been Mr. Florian; the voice sounded a bit too low to be the friendly tone of her father.

“Yeah?” Tula responded.

A few footsteps came down the stairs, and Max appeared. It felt so surreal for Rhett to see him, though he had only parted minutes before. Rhett felt that he was looking at a different version of Tula, someone who had materialized from a different dimension.

“There’s a problem with a tear in my jeans. Can you come and look at it?”

Tula looked from her brother to Rhett, and back over again. “Can it wait?”

A sour expression formed on his face. “Well, as long as you don’t forget about me, whatever. I’ll wait upstairs.” He stomped back to his room while Tula and Rhett watched him go.
 

“Let’s go to my car,” said Rhett.

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Even in the relative darkness of the night, it was apparent what a beauty Rhett’s car was. It was a 1969 Chevy Camaro, given to him by his grandfather ten years before. It had recently been given the finishing touch of a professional paint job, something that cost more than Rhett wanted to admit to Tula. The fresh cherry-red paint shone in the light of the moon, a completely pristine and beautiful example of a car. Rhett had spent the better part of his youth working on it with his grandfather before the old man unfortunately passed away of heart disease. When Rhett drove around in it, especially with Tula in the passenger’s side, he felt like complete human being. The car was more than a simply automobile—it was like a reflection of how he always wanted to feel as a man. Sleek, stylish, powerful, classic, a work-in-progress…

“Want to go for a little ride?” Rhett asked as he opened his door.

“Always,” Tula returned.

Rhett fired up the engine and a sweet purr emerged. They drove off into the night, not sure of where they were going, and not caring. Leaving the quaint suburb in Davis, they headed for the highway, going north on 80. Whether to Sacramento or Tahoe, they had no idea how far they would venture that night.

“So what’s the deal with your brother?” Asked Rhett without wasting any time to pad the question.

“My brother?” Asked Tula innocently.

“Yeah. It seems like she has a problem with me or something. I don’t even know where it’s coming from. Is he just like that?”

Tula shrugged. “I don’t know what’s up with him lately. We were always the best of friends growing up. Maybe it’s just a bit of tough love, you know? He’s probably ribbing you because he wants to know what kind of guy you are. My parents are easy with their love, but Max needs a little confirmation that you aren’t a creep.”

“He acts like a creep to see if I will act like a creep?”

Tula shrugged again. “I don’t know, to be honest. This is just a guess based on my psychological identical twin powers. I could talk to him about it if you want.”

“No, no,” Rhett said with a little wave. “I guess that explanation is good enough.”
 

So he wants me to gain his respect, huh?
He thought as he stared ahead at the freeway.
Fair enough, if that’s his game. Maybe I could try to make something happen to get on his good side. If he keeps acting like a prick to me, though, I’m going to end up writing him off.

“I guess I can’t ask if he’s been like this with other guys, since I’m your first boyfriend,” said Rhett.

“Yeah, true,” Tula responded. “And my favorite boyfriend so far.”

Rhett sent her a little grin. “What an honor.”

Tula’s hand slipped on Rhett’s thigh. It wasn’t the most erotic grab that Tula had slipped, especially compared to where she had grabbed earlier that night. Tula’s soft hand rubbed softly at the top of Rhett’s firm muscle, as if she were doing so thoughtfully.

“How goes it at the bakery?” Rhett asked.

“Same as always. I did invent a fun new pastry, though—a salty caramel tart. I decorated parts of it with caramel popcorn. It’s pretty delicious, if I do say so myself. Even the vegan one is pretty good.”

“Sounds good. It’s about time you stopped working for old man Karma, don’t you think? I love the guy, but it kills me that you’re wasting your talents on an hourly wage. That guy is making a killing off of your creativity.”

“Well, that’s not the only reason he’s making a killing. But yes, some of the people working at the shop do admit that business picked up after I came in. And I mean, Karma has given me a raise a few times. It’s not like he’s not appreciative.”

“Yeah, I understand. It’s just, you know, I want to see your dreams come true.”

Tula squeezed his thigh as she turned to look briefly into his eyes. “It’ll happen. These things just take time. It costs so much to start a business, especially when I need to buy so much equipment and pay for the overhead. I mean, it’s not easy to set up a place for a reason. A person has to really want it.”

“I’m sure Karma realizes what he’d lose if you quit and opened your own place.”

“I wouldn’t want to directly compete with him, of course. I did learn a lot from him, and he’s always treated me well. We could move from Davis to Sacramento or something. Or even go to San Francisco.”

Rhett felt himself internally groan.
Not San Francisco. It’s impossible to find parking, and I’d be scared out of my mind that some asshole would jack my car. I can deal with Sacramento, though I would prefer Davis.
 

“Well, at least you still live with your parents,” mentioned Rhett. “They seem pretty cool about you living with them for free. So I guess a couple thousand dollars to save a month is nothing to sneeze at. The amount that they want to gift you is also pretty generous.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Everyone told me it would be lame to live with my parents, and that no guy would want to go out with me. I guess you proved them wrong.”

“A beautiful face helps.”

They turned to kiss one another briefly. Rhett was already becoming hard, especially since Tula’s hand had crept up higher towards his groin. It was all becoming too wonderfully uncomfortable for him—he had to pull over somewhere. He eventually—somehow— found a place around Sacramento to park the car. It was a nice overlook of the city, the beautiful lights spread out just below them. Rhett shut off the car, took a little sigh, and then turned to his girlfriend.

Tula looked as beautiful then as the first day Rhett laid eyes on her. Tula wasn’t just a pretty face, either—her kindness and generosity of heart was really, deep down, what made Rhett fall so hard for her. Tula always went out of her way to help someone who needed it, and was always thinking of bringing something special (and often sweet) to cheer someone up when they were down. Rhett had never heard a negative word about someone else come out of Tula’s lips. That couldn’t be said of most of the people on the planet, and Rhett valued this quality very deeply.
 

They joined for a soft kiss. Their lips barely touched, but that was more than enough to get their blood running and their hearts racing. Rhett put a hand through Tula’s sandy hair, pressing his lips a little harder on her. Tula’s mouth opened, allowing Rhett entrance inside of the hot interior. Rhett let out a little moan as his tongue dipped inside, probing gently at his girlfriend’s tongue.

Tula’s hand reached up farther towards his boyfriend’s groin. Rhett groined, slightly agitated that the touch was so delicate. His own own palm reached under Tula’s skirt, and he chose to go straight for the kill: the tips of his fingers pushed aside her panties and found the soft exterior of her pussy. In a rare instance of aggression, Tula pressed Rhett’s hand on top of her, rubbing it around.
 

“You sexy thing,” Rhett whispered into her ear, kissing along her neck.

“Everything is going so well for us,” Tula responded, letting Rhett kiss her as she laid back in the leather seat. “It makes me want you.”

I want you, too,
thought Rhett.
I want you in a deeper way, though. In a more permanent way.
 

As Rhett kissed along Tula’s neck and down her chest, he unbuttoned the front of his blouse Tula was white and smooth beneath her clothes, completely kissable. Rhett could feel Tula tremble beneath his lips as he descended lower and lower…
 

Until Tula’s phone began to ring.

They both ignored it the first time it went off, a simple jingle that resembled the sounds of chiming bells. It killed the mood a bit, but it didn’t put such a damper on things that they felt they should stop. Their genitals were still tingling with excitement and their will to make love to each other fairly strong. When the phone went off a second time, Tula sighed aggressively and began to reach into her white purse.
 

“It’s my mom,” said Tula as she looked at the screen. “Should I answer it?”

Rhett pulled away from her, slight concern on his face. “Do you think it’s an emergency?”

“I don’t know. She usually doesn’t call more than once if she just wants to mention something to me.”

The phone continued to ring, and with it, their chance to make a decision.
 

“Just pick up,” said Rhett. “Then we can forget about it.”

Tula did so. “Hi, Mom? Is there something wrong…? Oh… Oh, no… That’s really not good. How did it happen? Uh huh…”

Rhett’s eyes widened as he picked up on the concern in Tula’s face.
 

Tula stayed on the line for another few minutes before announcing, “I think that we need to go back to the house right now.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Apparently there was a fire.”

“
What?
In the house?”

“Yeah. I didn’t cook today, I’m pretty sure, but Mom told me that there was something of mine in the oven, and that it’s been on for a long time. If my mom hadn’t come down for a glass of water, the entire kitchen might have gone up in flames. The oven is toast, for sure. Not that my parents couldn’t afford to buy a new one, but they weren’t happy to find something of mine inside. The fire department and everything is over there right now.”

“Wow, are you serious? But she was the one who made the roast beef today. Wouldn’t she be at fault for leaving the oven on?”

“Well, she told me that she was positive she had shut it off. I really don’t remember anything about it, but it’s possible I left something in there.”