Rhett in Love

by J. S. Cooper

  “No offense taken.” Rhett muttered. “I don’t say nothing about you damn—”

  “Rhett, why don’t you go and watch TV in the bedroom.” I glared at him to shut him up before he said something we’d both regret.

  “I’ll go and call Tomas. You know he’s coming up tomorrow.” Rhett reminded me and then looked at Holden. “And yes, Tomas is a Hispanic fellow and there’s no need to be shocked. We are allowed to have friends of other races now.”

  “Rhett.” I growled at him and he laughed as he sauntered to the bedroom. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.” Holden looked a bit unsure of himself. “I hope I didn’t offend him.”

  “Don’t worry; it takes a lot to offend Rhett. He was just joking with you.” I smiled at him, trying to let him know that everything was cool. “The truth is there are many older folks that do wish that we were back in the 30s and 40s, but me and Rhett, we’re not plantation kids. Well, I’m not at least. I don’t come from old money and I don’t come from a family that thought those days were better.”

  “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you guys were—”

  “Ooh insinuate, such a big word. I guess he’s a Harvard guy.” Rhett mumbled out loud so both of us could hear. I knew he was doing it to make Holden uncomfortable and I shook my head.

  “Excuse me please.” I walked to the bedroom and closed the door behind me. “Stop it, you’re being rude.”

  “Who me?” Rhett looked at me with wide eyes. “I didn’t mean to be.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  “I didn’t.” He gave me a small smile and I sighed.

  “You’re insufferable Rhett. You know I need to study.”

  “You’re always studying.” He sat on the bed. “I hope you will be able to hang out with Tomas and me tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” I bit my lower lip and tried not to sigh. I knew he wasn’t going to like my answer.

  “Yes, tomorrow.” His eyes narrowed.

  “Well, Holden and I are meeting up again tomorrow to finish our project.”

  “But you’re meeting now?” He looked upset.

  “We’re starting it today and finishing it tomorrow.”

  “What?” He sighed and lay back on the bed. “Fine.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Yeah you will.” He rolled over and winked at me. “You’ll make it up to me alright, for about an hour and thirty minutes as soon as he’s gone.”

  “Rhett.” I could feel my face growing warm as he licked his lips and winked at me. There was something so special about our connection. All he had to do was look at me in a certain way and I felt my body warming up.

  “That’s my name.” He grinned. “I’ll have you screaming it out by the end of the night.”

  Chapter Three

  Rhett

  “Dude, let’s go to a strip-club.” Tomas grinned as he walked out of the bathroom, his hair slicked back and wet.

  “I can’t go to a strip-club.” I shook my head and laughed. Tomas was one of those guys that would never change.

  “Don’t tell me, Clementine’s taken your balls and cut them off.” Tomas raised an eyebrow at me and looked around the living room.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Dude, you’ve always been down to go to see some big ol’ titties bouncing in your face, why can’t you go now?”

  “You know why not.” I frowned, as I started to feel irritated at Tomas, and he’d only just arrived.

  “Because you have a girlfriend.” He said in a singsong voice. “Where is she anyway?” He plopped down on the couch. “This living room looks like a hot mess. Doesn’t Clemmie like to tidy up?”

  “Dude, I have spoken to her about the living room.” I could feel my face heating up.

  “And she still hasn’t done anything.” He pulled a bra out from the chair he was sitting on and threw it at me. “Here you go. Maybe I’ll find your panties as well.”

  “You’re a dick.” I grabbed her bra and sighed. “She’s at some study session with some prick from Harvaarrd.”

  “Nah, I’m just a guy with a dick.” He paused and looked at me. “I think yours is gone.”

  “So she cut my balls and took my dick?”

  “Didn’t she?” He raised an eyebrow and then laughed. “Dude, come on, let’s go and have some fun. We haven’t done shit since I’ve been here.”

  “We’re going bowling tomorrow.” I knew as soon as I said the words that they sounded lame. “And you’ve only been here for a day.”

  “Yay.” He shook his head and he looked away from me. “We can go bowling and Clementine can go on her study dates.”

  “Look if you really want to go to a strip-club, we can go to a strip-club.” I jumped up, feeling angry that Clementine was with Holden again and grabbed my wallet. “We just got to be back before Clementine gets home.”

  “Pussy.”

  “You want to go or not?”

  “I’m coming, dude. I’m coming.” He jumped up with a huge grin. “Don’t let me make you change your mind. Let’s go play some real or fake.”

  “You’re a pig.” I laughed as we walked out the front door. Real or fake was a game we’d played in South Carolina when we went to the strip club. We’d try and grab girls’ boobs and see if they were real or fake. I’d usually feel them up with my hands, but Tomas liked to try and grab them with his mouth - which wasn’t always accepted by the strippers. We’d been kicked out of several strip clubs in our time, but it had always been fun.

  “So you don’t want to play?” He looked disappointed as I turned him down.

  “No, I don’t want to play.” I frowned at him as we left my apartment building and I realized that I wasn’t just saying that. I had no interest in touching or seeing other girl’s breasts. I didn’t even feel excited about the possibility.

  “Come on dude, what happened to you?” Tomas frowned. “You know I love Clementine, but you’re still in your twenties, you’re too young to become some pussy-whipped old man. Is this really the life you saw yourself having after college?”

  “Did I see myself dating Clementine and living in Boston? No.” I answered. “But then there are a lot of things I didn’t see or think about.”

  “I can’t believe you moved here, bro. You messed everything up. I hooked up with Penelope last week and she—”

  “You hooked up with Penelope? Clemmie’s ex best friend? The girl that tried to fuck me in the back of my truck?”

  “Yup.” He grinned at me.

  “Are you out of your mind? She’s crazy!”

  “I didn’t say she wasn’t, but you ever fuck a crazy chick? They are down for basically anything.”

  “I’m going to be sick.” I cringed. “Are you desperate?”

  “What?” He frowned. “Where’s my high-five? What’s up with the judgment? Boys don’t judge man. What’s Clementine done to you?”

  “I’m not judging you man, but you can do better than Penelope.”

  “All of us don’t want a perfect girl like Clementine.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” My voice sounded surly and I stopped in the street.

  “Are we really going to do this bro?” He frowned. “What’s going on with you?”

  “Nothing.” I sighed and reached out and gave him a quick man hug. “It’s good to see your handsome face Don Juan.”

  “That’s racist that is.” He grinned.

  “It’s not racist if it’s true.” I laughed.

  “Why I gotta be Don Juan, why can’t I be—” He stopped and burst out laughing at my expression. “Got ya bro, take a chill pill. Life isn’t so serious. It’s about fun. Love, sex and fun. It seems to me that you’ve forgotten that.”

  “The expression is love, sex and rock n’ roll.” I corrected him and he groaned.

  “Let’s go see some titties.” He pulled out his phone. “Let me Yelp it, I got a feeling you ain’t got no idea where the strip
-club is.”

  “You know what, I really don’t.” I shook my head in surprise. “I don’t even know where the local pick-up joints are. I don’t even know how freaky girls up here are in bed.”

  “You think they’re freakier?” Tomas eyes lit up.

  “You’ll have to tell me.” I grinned and I felt my stomach curdle. “It feels weird saying that.”

  “What?” Tomas looked at me in confusion.

  “Saying you’ll have to tell me. I’m normally the one that’s doing the telling.”

  “You wish, bro.” Tomas shook his hair and smiled as two girls walked by. “Have a great evening ladies.” They looked at him and giggled and he gave them a huge smile. “I’m only here for a few days, so if you need some Tomas loving, come back on by.” He called after them and they giggled and continued walking.

  “They looked like they were in high school.” I shook my head and he laughed.

  “Dude it’s only illegal if you touch them. I ain’t got time for no high school chicas, you know that. 21 and up, bro. That’s all I want.” He ran his hands through his hair and grinned. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t show them what they’re missing. I’m a smooth, sexy, love machine.”

  “I hope I never sounded like that.” I groaned as he started gyrating in the street as if he were an extra auditioning for the Magic Mike Two movie.

  “Dude, you sounded worse. Hi, I’m Rhett. I’m blond, blue eyes and tan. I look like a regular Ken. I’ll pick you up in my mustang and fuck you in my truck, but don’t bother calling me ‘cos you won’t hear from me again. I’ll be too busy sucking up to my nerdy best friend Clementine O’Hara. And don’t you dare say we’re more than friends or I’ll rip your head off.”

  “Asshole.” I laughed, knowing that what he said was true. “You want to go to the strip-club or not?”

  “I’m looking bro, what do you think ‘XXX Girls’ or ‘A Night in Heaven’?”

  “Seriously?” I sighed and then groaned as my phone rang. “Hold on, it’s Clementine.” I answered the phone quickly. “What’s good?”

  “What’s good?” She drawled lightly, mocking me. “I see Tomas made it there safely.”

  “Yeah, haha. What’s up?”

  “I was just calling to see what’s going on.” She paused. “Does something have to be up for me to call?”

  “No. Tomas and I are just about to head out. Are you coming home now?” I asked hopefully.

  “No, Holden and I are going to have a late night.” She sighed and I could hear some music playing in the background.

  “Studying with music?” I said lightly, feeling annoyed thinking about Clementine with that schmuck Holden. There was something about him that irritated me. It might be the simple fact that he was spending one-on-one time with my girl, or it might have been my body telling me that there was something off about him. All I knew was that I felt tense about the fact that they were spending so much time together. I did not trust him. He wanted my Clementine and he was using the guise of studying to get closer to her.

  “It’s Mozart, Rhett, not Barry White.”

  “Do you wish it was Barry White?” I said, knowing I sounded jealous. I could see Tomas staring at me with keen eyes.

  “Rhett, I gotta go.” She said in a tired voice. “I’ll see you both later.”

  “Shall we wait to have dinner with you?”

  “No.” She said quickly. “I told you, it’s going to be a long night. I won’t be back ‘til late. Eat without me.”

  “Okay fine.”

  “What are you guys going to do?”

  I know I shouldn’t have lied, but really how do you tell someone you’re dating that you’re going to a strip-club? Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been in a relationship before, but I couldn’t tell her. Which was sad because I had always told Clementine before. I had no secrets from her. She knew who I’d been with, when I’d been with them, how I’d met them. She knew everything about me and I’d never been scared to tell her anything before. I knew as soon as I said the words that I was crossing a line that I’d never crossed before. “I think we’re going to go bowling.”

  “Oh that should be fun.”

  “Yeah, I’m hoping to get all strikes.”

  “You never get all strikes.” She laughed. “I wish I was going as well, I wish I could show you how it’s done.”

  “I’m the one that taught you how to bowl Clemmie.”

  “Well the student is now better the master.” She giggled and even though her tone was lighter, I didn’t feel better.

  “In all things?” I asked softly, but she pretended she didn’t hear me.

  “Have a good time bowling. Tell Tomas I’ll see him in the morning and that I’m sorry to miss his first day in Boston.”

  “I will.” I paused. “Have a good time studying, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  “Before or after you dated me?” She asked softly and I felt as if I’d been kicked in the gut. Was she joking or being serious?

  “Is that a joke, Clementine? Because if it is, it’s in very poor taste.”

  “Oh Rhett, relax.” She sounded annoyed. “I’ll see you later.” And then she hung up. I stared at the phone in my hand and frowned. I couldn’t believe that she’d hung up on me already.

  “Trouble in paradise?” Tomas looked concerned.

  “Dude, what paradise?” I rolled my eyes. “Clementine has become a different girl now that we’re dating.”

  “That’s girls bro. She’s got you by the short and curlies and she ain’t going to let go.”

  “Short and curlies?” I shook my head at him. “What is that?”

  “I got it from some English show I was watching.” He grinned. “Describes your relationship perfectly.”

  “You decide on a club yet?”

  “A club or a bowling alley?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “You lying already bro?”

  “Dude, she doesn’t want to hear about me going to see naked girls.”

  “That’s why I don’t date. I can’t deal with these jealous bitches trying to put me on lockdown.”

  “Not cool, Tomas.” I frowned. “Don’t call Clementine a bitch.”

  “What? I didn’t call her a bitch.”

  “Girls aren’t bitches, that’s not cool.”

  “Oh shut the fuck up, Rhett.” Tomas gave me a look. “You were down with bitches and hoes this time last year, don’t go getting all holier than thou on my ass now, just ‘cos you’ve been with this chick for a few months. You’re going to be back to the bitches and hoes as soon as you and Clementine break up.”

  “Excuse me?” My body stilled at his words.

  “Not trying to be rude dude, but c’mon. You’re both in your early twenties. This is your first relationship and you used to be a player. This is her first anything. The likelihood of you both working out is not high.” He shrugged. “I mean she’s already spending late nights with some other guy, listening to music.”

  “You need to stop eavesdropping.” I muttered. “And I told you, they’re studying.”

  “Do you think all he cares about is studying?” He laughed. “If it was you, what would you be doing?”

  “Huh?”

  “If it was the old Rhett ‘studying’ with a hot girl, would you be just listening to music for no reason?”

  “That muthafucka is trying to get into her pants.” I exclaimed loudly and Tomas nodded.

  “He’s most probably got his hand on her back and asking if she wants a massage to help with the stress.”

  “What stress?”

  “The stress of dating a punkass like you.” Tomas pulled out a piece of gum and started chewing. “She just hung up on you, so she’s obviously frustrated. He’s going to see that and try to act all nice so he can get up in there.”

  “She wouldn’t let him do anything.” My head was starting to hurt at the thought of Holden trying to make a move. “She loves me.”

  “You know how many
girls love me?” Tomas started gyrating again. “And you know how many girls I love? Love don’t mean shit.”

  “That’s not true.” I turned to him. “When you talk about love, you’re talking about lust fueled love. What Clemmie and I have is different. Our relationship is based on trust, respect, honesty and a deep love.”

  “That’s why you just lied to her?” He said softly and I looked away. We stood there in silence for a few moments and I felt confused. I didn’t really understand why I’d lied. I think it was because I didn’t want her to be disappointed in me. And I didn’t want to give her an excuse to let her guard down with Holden. I just didn’t trust him. I felt a hollow feeling inside as I wondered why trusting her wasn’t enough.

  ***

  "Where are you going?" I asked Clementine as she walked past me in her short shorts and t-shirt early the next morning. I groaned as I stared at her through foggy eyes.

  "Out." She turned and looked at me. "Is that okay warden?" She smiled quickly and my heart stopped for a second as I thought about her.

  "Funny." I rolled my eyes and then rubbed my forehead. “I feel like shit.”

  “You guys got drunk at the bowling alley?” She looked amused. “Tomas was snoring when I woke up.”

  “We didn’t wake you up when we got in, did we?”

  “No.” She walked over to the bed and sat down. “I was fast asleep. I was exhausted from all the studying. I’m glad you guys had a good time.”

  “Yeah, we did. So where are you going now?”

  “I’m going to pick up some breakfast and coffee for all of us.”

  “Oh. Nice.” I grabbed her hand and tried to smile, though guilt filled me as I thought about all the naked breasts I’d seen the night before. All breasts and no bowling balls.

  “So I better go now before the lines get too long.” She bent down, gave me a kiss on the cheek and then stood up.