Keeping Her Love Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Notes

  Keeping Her Love:

  A Romantic Intrigue

  By Tiger Hill

  Copyright © 2014 by Tiger Hill

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, without permission from the author.

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  Chapter 1

  Rhett Williams was sweating in his button-down shirt and slacks as he walked up the drive to his girlfriend’s residence. She gave him a comforting smile as they walked together, completely at ease and seemingly unaware of his mild panic. This wasn’t just any visit to Tula Florian’s house—this was the day that Rhett would be meeting her parents for the first time. He hoped that the tank he wore underneath his powder-blue shirt was absorbing his sweat. He had taken special care into applying extra coatings of antiperspirant under his arms, knowing that he probably smelled like a very clean locker room. It was better than smelling like the alternative, anyway, he had told himself. Observing his fingers, he realized that there was still some oil and grime under his fingernails. The shower was supposed to keep people from noticing how dirty he was after working on cars all day. So much for that.

  “Ready?” Tula asked, an ever-present smile on her face as he placed his hand on the front doorknob.

  “Of course,” Rhett responded, forcing a smile in return.

  Seeing Tula smile was better than most anything in the world. Rhett had decided on this little fact after they had first met at Karma’s Bakery, a little joint that he enjoyed stopping at before his shift at the garage. He had showed up particularly early one day, hoping to get a fresh cinnamon bun right out of the oven. When he asked the sleepy cashier if the pastries were ready yet, she rushed behind a curtain and re-emerged with the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. Tula was drowsy that morning, though as pleasant as she usually was, the left side of her face was covered with a thin layer of flour. She had sandy blonde hair, a long and slim body, and the most beautiful face that Rhett had ever seen in his life. Rhett stammered for a good minute when Tula asked what he wanted, the cashier having left to help other customers.

  And then one month later they were on their first date! Rhett had returned fairly often after their first encounter, though not too often, always asking Tula what was good that morning or just chatting wistfully before he had to leave for work. Tula always seemed just as shy and eager as Rhett had been when they met in the mornings, so Rhett eventually just muscled up his courage and asked Tula out. Their first date was at a small amusement park, playing video games and riding go-karts. Cotton candy was shared, along with nervous giggles, and the evening was sealed with a kiss. From that night on, they felt like they were caught in a dream; a wonderful dream brimming with love.

  They got to know each other fairly well over the next few months, though they were often distracted by their raw sexual desire for one another. Tula, now twenty-two, had worked at Karma’s Bakery since she graduated high school, and had only recently decided that she wanted to open a bakery of her own. Rhett, meanwhile, was a muscular mechanic simply going to and from work every day. They privately imagined a simple life together, and realizing that there hadn’t been too many bumps in their relationship, thought that something long-term was in the books for them.

  Rhett was serious about making himself a presence in Tula’s life, and so he was going to try the best he could to make a good impression. He wasn’t rich or particularly sophisticated, he felt, but he was an honest guy who could make Tula feel like the most loved girl in the world.

  When Tula opened the front door and led them both into the foyer, Rhett felt a fresh shock of adrenaline course through his body. He hadn’t felt so nervous about something since… Well, perhaps he hadn’t felt so nervous about anything before. The only events that came close were the first time that he and Tula made love, and waiting for his first job interview. Then again, he was only twenty-four years old. He didn’t have a whole lot of life experiences yet.

  Tula kicked off her shoes towards the pile by the door, and Rhett followed her behavior. The house was two stories tall and about as ordinary as any upper middle class suburban house he’d seen. He couldn’t say that there was anything special about it—his childhood friends lived in many tract homes very similar in layout in color. It had a clean smell that reminded him of Pine-Sol. Before they knew it, footsteps were beating on the floor, heading towards them.

  “Tula!” Called a high, feminine voice from an unknown room. “Is this him? Is this Rhett?”

  Tula turned towards the entryway into the kitchen, her friendly smile bared. “Yes, Mom. May I introduce the man I’ve been dating for the past few months, Rhett Williams.”

  Rhett stepped forward towards Mrs. Florian, hoping that his palms didn’t seem too sweaty when they shook. Tula’s mother seemed twice as jovial as Tula was, if that was possible. There was something about her that was adorably cute, especially considering her short stature and squat body. She reminded Rhett of a brown guinea pig.

  “Nice to meet you, dear!” Said Mrs. Florian.

  “Nice to meet you, too,” Rhett responded, hoping he didn’t sound too repetitive. Now that he was inside the quite luxurious kitchen, he could smell some kind of roast going. The suggestion of meat and potatoes for dinner that night seemed to turn on his optimism a bit.

  “Your name is Rhett, right? It’s familiar to me. Where have I heard it before?”

  “Gone with the Wind?” He suggested.

  “Yes! That’s it. I love that book. The movie was wonderful, as well. I take it that your mother is a fan.”

  “A huge fan, as a matter of fact. She still dresses up as Scarlet O’Hara in that green dress every year during Halloween.”

  “Oh, isn’t that charming! I’m quite the reader myself, though I lean more towards mysteries. I’m sure if you and Tula become closer over the years, your mother and I will have quite a lot to talk about.”

  A few seconds later, more footsteps produced a second person. Rhett knew when he saw him that it must be Tula’s father—his first impression was that Mr. Florian seemed easy-going and a bit older than his wife. He had salt-and-pepper colored hair, wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, and was the tallest man in the room. Rhett didn’t know what he did for a living, but figured that it must have been some kind of white collar job. He seemed too at ease in his green polo and khakis to be some kind of laborer. Now that he thought about it, Mrs. Florian seemed too sophisticated in her pantsuit to be a homemaker.

  “Nice to finally meet you, Rhett!” Said Tula’s father, pulling him in for a firm handshake. “Tula has been talking about you so much. You definitely seem like a keeper. When are you proposing, anyway?”

  “Dad!” Tula hissed with a shy smile.

  Rhett couldn’t help but blush.

  Mr. Florian seemed quite amused to be embarrassing his daughter. Taking a step further in that direction, he mentioned to Rhett, “As long as your feelings for one another are platonic as well as romantic at the moment, I suppose
it’s all right if you make us wait.”

  Rhett found himself coughing into his fist awkwardly.

  They all went into the kitchen, chatting happily about their days and what they would be eating for dinner.

  “I hope you don’t mind roast beef, Rhett,” said Mrs. Florian, leaning over to peer into her oven.

  Tula definitely knows that I don’t have a problem with roast beef, he thought slyly. “Roast beef sounds really good right now.”

  Mrs. Florian pulled the roast out of the oven, Mr. Florian served everyone some red wine, and Tula brought the side dishes to the round dining table. As they sat down, everything seemed so picture-perfect, as if they were in a Kinkade painting. Just as Mrs. Florian knelt her head to say grace, her husband stopped her.

  “Hey, we forgot all about Max!” He said, putting his hand on hers.

  “Oh, that’s right. I nearly forgot he’s here all the time now, and not at the library for school. Usually he’s out doing things at this hour,” she said, turning in her seat. “MAXIMILIAN! GET DOWN HERE FOR DINNER! YOUR SISTER’S BOYFRIEND IS HERE!”

  Rhett was a little alarmed by the yelling, though he didn’t show it. There was something a little comical about a woman like her yelling at the top of her lungs across a large house. Before long, heavy footsteps tumbled down the stairs. When Tula’s brother emerged into the kitchen, Rhett’s mouth fell agape. Sitting down across from him was the very mirror image of his girlfriend, only instead of being female, it was a male form. Something was a little different about Max, though—he lacked the sweet warmth that Tula had, and he seemed to prefer the color black a lot more. He was head to toe in the color, the only other shade being the lettering on his Bad Religion T-shirt. Max didn’t even make eye contact with Rhett or acknowledge existence.

  “Why do you look so shocked?” Tula whispered with a little nudge. “I told you we were nearly identical ages ago.”

  “I guess I forgot,” was all he could respond with. He figured that he should make sure not to mix them up in the future. Max was slender just like his sister, with a slight androgynous element to him. He was still obviously male, but he had a certain allure to him that his sister also shared. Their personal style was so different, however, that he figured it wouldn’t be difficult to tell them apart.

  Mrs. Florian said grace and then they began to dig into the feast. Rhett was starving by then, having been so nervous about the dinner that he had completely forgotten to eat anything besides a protein bar for breakfast. He gave himself a heaping serving of mashed potatoes, green beans, and roast beef. Along with that were two large rolls with extra butter and a side of baked peaches. By the time he was done serving himself, he realized that he had twice as much food on his plate compared to everyone else.

  Max eyed Rhett with a trace of judgement. “Quite the piggy you picked up, Tula.”

  “Maxamilian!” Mrs. Florian hissed through grated teeth.

  “No, no,” Rhett said, blushing. “I’m just really hungry today. I hope it’s okay I took this much food.”

  “Of course it’s okay!” Said Mrs. Florian. “Take as much as you want, sweetie.”

  “Have to feed those big muscles you have,” Mr. Florian mentioned with a friendly smile as he bit into a green bean.

  Rhett couldn’t help but looked down at his large arms. It was true that he enjoyed spending time at the gym after work. Maybe if he hadn’t met Tula, he wouldn’t have gained the extra ten pounds on his frame; turning down anything his girlfriend made was quite the difficult task. Rhett wished that he could have a telepathic conversation with Tula at the moment—was Max mad at him? Was he just a little immature? Had someone said something that made Max have a bad opinion of him? It wasn’t to be, though—he simply chowed down on the awesome food and kept his thoughts to himself.

  “So,” Mrs. Florian said after a drink of wine, “Tula tells us that you’re a mechanic?”

  “Yeah,” Rhett responded with a forced smile, wondering if being a mechanic was ‘good enough’ for a family that he suspected was above his social class. “I’ve been working at Only Hondoyas for four years now.”

  “Oh, how nice. Philip,” Mrs. Florian mentioned to her husband, “Rhett can look at our Acura if it ever has issues. Isn’t that nice?”

  “Yes, you can never lose with those skills. Everyone will always need a mechanic at one point in their lives. At least, most of us. I’m sure you’ll regret telling us that you work on cars a few months from now when the family starts asking you for favors.”

  Rhett laughed to himself. “Well, for you guys it’s not a problem to work on something free of charge. I can’t say the same for the rest of your relatives, though I can always give a discount.”

  “I bet you get all greasy working on cars all day,” Max mentioned in a less than cordial tone.

  Rhett shrugged the comment right off. “It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it. I like it, though. It’s problem solving. By the way, what do you do, Max?”

  He lifted his head to gaze at Rhett for a moment before turning his attention back to playing with his food. “I’m in grad school for engineering.”

  “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 becaus
e 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…