Rhett by Margaret McHeyzer

 

 

 

“I’m so tired,” Pen says as she lays on my bed, scrolling through social media on her phone.

“Why are you here today?” I flop down beside her, looking through Dani’s photos on social media.

She exhales then sits up cross-legged on my bed. “Dane and I broke up.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. We decided it’s best if we aren’t together.” Pen looks down at her wringing hands.

“You both decided this, did you?”

She slowly shrugs. “This time it was Dane who said we shouldn’t be together.” I place my hand on her knee and gently squeeze. “We simply don’t work when we’re together, but when we’re apart, we’re both miserable.”

“I don’t know what to say to you, Pen.” Sitting, I drag her over to hug her. Pen’s shoulders tremble, and I know she’s crying. “It’ll be okay. You’ll find your groove, and when you do, you’ll both be kicking yourselves for all the times you broke up.”

She pulls away, lifts the bottom of her oversized t-shirt—which I notice is another one of mine—and wipes under her eyes. Pen’s shaking her head while she looks up to the ceiling fan. “I don’t know, Rhett, this time feels so different from the last time. I think it’s really over.”

“Maybe you’re just not meant to be together.” Penelope smacks my leg, hard. “Hey,” I protest. “What did I do?”

“You’re not supposed to say that. You’re supposed to say that everything will work out, and we’re both being idiots.”

“Well, you both are being idiots. It’s clear to me, you’re miserable without him. And I can guarantee, he’s miserable without you.”

Pen jumps to her feet and begins pacing my room. She throws her arms up in frustration. “What are we doing wrong, Rhett?”

“You want relationship advice from me? Pen, I’m the wrong brother to ask.”

She flicks her hand at me while still pacing. “Says the guy who can get any chick he wants.” If only she really knew. “And probably does get any chick he wants.” She stops pacing and places her hands on her hips. “What do I do?”

Slowly, I shrug as I stare at her. “I don’t know.”

“Ugh!” she grumbles loudly. “Promise me something.”

Oh shit. What now? “What?”

“If neither of us is with anyone by the time we turn thirty, then we just get married. I don’t want to go through life on my own, and if I can’t have the one man I truly love, then I’ll take you.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Wow, what a condescending compliment,” I say sarcastically.

“I mean, I love you so much. But, you’re my brother, not my lover.”

I screw my nose up. “That just grossed me out, Pen.”

A small shiver runs through Penelope. “My sentiments exactly.”

“Yeah, thanks. What a proposal.” I roll my eyes. “So much love and heart in it.”

Pen’s face erupts into a huge smile. She collapses on top of me on the bed, and places her head on my chest. “I don’t want either of us alone, Rhett.”

“How about, if neither of us are with someone by the time we’re thirty, then we agree to move in together and be happy we’re still in each other’s lives.” Pen punches me on the thigh. “You’re one aggressive badass, you know that?”

“That sentence makes it sound like we’re not going to be in each other’s lives forever and ever. Twenty-three years we’ve been best friends, Rhett. Don’t think I’ll ever stop being a part of your life. Doesn’t matter where we end up, we’re lifelong friends. And, I’ll say this too. If I ever do get married, you’ll be standing with my bridesmaids. And if you get married, I’ll be standing with Dean and Alec as your groomsman. I’ll also be wearing a suit.”

“Wait, do I have to wear a dress?” I ask, truly worried for Pen’s reply.

“Hell yeah.” I feel her cheeks fill out, meaning she’s smiling.

“I’m sorry, but I only look good in a little black dress, and I doubt you’ll want me wearing something to upstage the bride.”

She tries to pinch my hip. “Do you have any fat on you anywhere?”

“You’ve got a damn eight-pack, Pen. You can’t talk.”

She jumps off me, and stretches her arms up over her head. “Come on, loser, get ready.”

I hate when she blurts shit out. “Why?”

“Because, we’re going to the gym at the station.” This is code for I need to be distracted and you’re my wingman.

“Alright, let me get changed.” I look at her clothes AKA, my t-shirt. “Please tell me you’ve got a change of clothes.” She lifts the front of the t-shirt, exposing her sports bra. “You can’t wear your bra to the station.”

She rips the t-shirt over her head, and stands in front of the mirror. “Why?” She lifts her arms. “I shaved yesterday.” She thrusts her torso toward me. “Look.”

“You can’t only wear a damn bra, Penelope.”

“Why? Because everyone at the station are male and they’ll be distracted by my naturally gorgeous, athletic, and toned body?”

“To start with, yes. Here.” I walk over to my drawers, and take out a tank top that’s too small for me. I throw it at Pen. “Put that on.”

“You’re a bit protective, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want anyone looking at you like you’re a piece of meat.”

“Aww.” She slips the top on and walks over to me. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she gives my cheek a kiss. “You love me.”

“I don’t want any girl being looked at like that by anyone. No female deserves to be ogled because of what they wear, but reality is, you will be. As much as I don’t like it, it’ll happen.”

“Whatever. Just hurry up.” She heads out of my bedroom, giving me a moment to get changed so we can head down to the station.

“What are you two doing here?” Caleb asks as Pen and I jump on the treadmills for twenty-minute runs.

“She forced me,” I groan as I deliberately look over to Pen.

“How are you doing, Pen?” Caleb asks as he leans against her treadmill, looking her over and arching a brow.

“Yeah, good. How’s the wife?” Penelope replies, essentially shutting him down.

Caleb pushes off from the treadmill and crosses his arms in front of his chest. He got the hint. “Yeah, she’s really good. Heard you had a great twenty-third.” He turns his attention to me.

“We were both blind drunk,” Penelope says as she ups the speed on her treadmill, then looks over to me. “You are older than me, I can’t expect you to keep up.”

I increase the speed on my treadmill, making sure I’m going faster than Penelope. She brings out the competitiveness in me. “Oh, that’s a nice easy speed for someone your age,” she teases.

“I’ve never met friends who are as competitive as you two,” Caleb says as he chuckles.

“My age?” I tease. “You’re only three months younger than me.”

“Obviously, I have youth on my side.” She ups her speed again.

I can’t let her win this one too. I increase my speed, but I’m feeling it in my legs. She’s a damn machine, she can outrun me any day of the week. I look over to Penelope, who’s barely breaking a sweat. She runs so cleanly and easily. I feel like a stampede of elephants compared to her gazelle-like grace. “You’re on.”

Penelope looks over to see what setting I’m using, and she ups hers past mine. What the fuck. “Is this too fast for you?” she teases without losing her breath.

Caleb’s standing back, watching us compete. “Come on, Rhett, you have to win this one for the boys. Because if you let a girl win, we’re all doomed,” he encourages.

“You’re all doomed anyway,” Penelope sassily replies.

Two of the other guys on the crew make their way up to the gym, and stand beside Caleb. “Oh, Penelope versus Rhett. Ten bucks on Rhett,” one of the guys says.

“Twenty on Penelope.”

“Hey!” I protest. “You’re supposed to have my back.”

“Sorry buddy, but Penelope can take any of us on and kick our ass. So, nope, my money is on her.”

Hell no. I’m not losing this one. I focus on the wall ahead of me, and keep pushing through the pain. “Thanks for the support,” I say.

“Just stating a fact. Don’t be offended.”

“Yeah, twenty bucks on Penelope,” Caleb says.

“Oh, are we betting?” Now, the entire crew upstairs is watching Penelope and me on the treadmills. “What’s the bet?”

“Twenty dollar buy in,” Caleb says making this an official bet.

“I’m in.” One by one, they give their money to Caleb who records on his phone who’s betting on whom.

Assholes.

“Right, we all know these two are probably the fittest out of everyone here. So, after twenty minutes, we’ll measure their heart rates at the same time, and whoever’s is lowest, wins,” Caleb says. “But you both must maintain seven miles an hour.”

“Seven miles?” I nearly choke.

“He can’t do five miles, how’s he supposed to do seven?” Pen teases while easily striding on the treadmill.

“Fine,” I say knowing this is going to kill Pen as much as it’s going to kill me. “Let’s go seven point five, just for fun.”

Pen glances at me, giving me her crazy side-eye. “Seven point five it is.”

Caleb steps forward and ups Penelope’s treadmill, then mine. “Twenty minutes on the clock, starts now.”

Now? Fuck. I’m not going to let her win. Nope, no way. The rest of the crew make themselves comfortable, while I focus on nothing but the sound of my own breath and pushing myself to win.

“Wouldn’t want you to fall and go sliding off the treadmill, old man. Might damage that pretty face of yours,” she says.

Yeah, keep talking. The more you talk, the less oxygen you’ll get and the more you’ll wear yourself out.I zone out, completely in my own head space. I can hear people saying things, and Pen throwing slurs at me, but I’m not losing. Not a chance in hell.

I push out the air caught in my lungs, and keep one foot in front of the other. Sweat pours off me as I concentrate on keeping it together.

Pen’s still slinging slurs, but I keep myself focused on what I have to do.

Before I even realize it, Caleb slows us down, meaning the twenty minutes is over. “One minute recovery,” he says.

I jump off the treadmill, breathing heavy while I wipe away the sweat pouring off me. Pen’s still talking shit, but I know she’s amping herself up, meaning she’s not calming her heart beat.

“Both of you, sit,” Caleb instructs and points to the two chairs, side by side.

Caleb grabs my wrist, and one of the other guys grabs Penelope’s. Everyone is quiet while they calculate our heart rates.

I sit as still I can, knowing it’s going to be really close between us.

Caleb drops my wrist, and turns to the guy measuring Pen’s heart rate. “First number?” he asks.

“Six,” they both say in unison.

“Yes!” Pen punches into the air.

“Second number,” Caleb says. “Four.”

“Six,” the other guy says at the exact same time.

“What? No! Not fair!” Penelope protests.

“Yes.” I jump up, turn and give a double high five to Caleb. “Yes!” I point my fingers in Penelope’s face.

“You didn’t win by much,” she snaps toward me.

“But I won. Loser.” I make an L with my fingers and place it on my forehead.

“I hate you,” she mumbles as she stands and takes a drink of her water. She holds her hand out to me, and I grab it, pulling her into me as I give her a hug. “You cheated.”

“Whatever. You’re such a sore loser.”

“Am not.” She pulls back, and takes another big drink of her water. “We’re so rematching,” she says with seriousness.

“Come on. Let’s get home.” I turn to look at the crew, who are standing around talking. “See ya.”

They all give us either a small wave, or a nod while we walk out to my car. Pen gets into the passenger side, and finishes her water. “I won’t admit it to anyone but you, but that took it out of me.”

I pull out into the street and head home. I freaking kicked her ass though. Rhett one, Penelope zero.

“Shit, I need gas,” I say.

Penelope yawns and stretches as I head to the closest gas station and align the car next to the pump. I jump out and go pay, then head back to the pump.

As I’m pumping gas, I notice Dani’s car pull up beside mine. I straighten my shoulders and lift my chin. She gets out of the car, and looks up to see me. She startles for a second. “Hey, Rhett.” She smiles warmly.

“Dani. How are you?” She walks around to stand beside me. She’s wearing her uniform for The Narrow Table, obviously on the way to work.

“You know.” She shrugs. “Off to work. It’ll be a late night tonight. But I get to sleep in tomorrow, so yay. How are you?”

My breath catches in my throat when she tucks some loose hair behind her ear. “Are you going out after work?” I ask, curious as to where she’s going.

“Oh no, nothing like that. We’re short-staffed tonight, so I’m working until closing.” Her tongue pokes out to lick her bottom lip. I catch myself imagining her tongue licking my cock. Swirling around the head while she stares up at me.

“Yeah?” I say, my voice breaking. “I thought you might be going out after work.”

Dani chuckles, and reaches out to place her hand on my upper arm. Her brows quickly crinkle as she gazes at where our bodies are connected. “I um,” she clears her throat. “No, nothing like that.” She chuckles again, but it’s darker as if she’s hiding something. “Anyway, I need to get gas.” She looks over to her car. “I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Hurry up!” Penelope calls from inside the car.

Dani’s smile quickly fades, before she leans down to look in the car. “Hey, Pen,” she says and offers her a small wave.

“Dani! How are you?”

“Yeah, good. I need to get to work though.” She pinches at her uniform. “See ya around, Penelope.”

Before Penelope has a chance to say anything, Dani leaves to go in and pay for her gas. I try to take my time to fill my car, hoping to catch Dani before we leave. It appears she’s trying to avoid me though.

“Aren’t you done yet?” Penelope asks from inside the car.

I am, but I want to see Dani. “Yeah, finishing now.” I slowly hook the nozzle, and even slower stroll to the driver’s side, hoping to catch Dani. But she doesn’t come out. Starting my car, I drive away, but I’m still keeping my eye on the rearview mirror, hoping to see her. I drive down the road, deflated that I didn’t get to see her again.

“You need to ask her out, Rhett.”

“Who?”

“Dani. Ask her out. It’s so obvious you two are into each other.”

I shake my head, dismissing Pen’s keen observation that I like Dani. “Maybe I will.”

“Aha.” Penelope looks over to me, her brows are high, and her mouth is pursed into a thin line.

“What?”

“You won’t, will you?”

“It’s not like that between us. We’re just friends. Nothing else.”

“Clearly.” She clicks her tongue. “Which is why you couldn’t take your eyes off her, and she couldn’t keep her hands off you. Yeah, alright. Whatever. What would I know?” She folds her arms in front of her chest, and sinks further back into the seat. I park the car next to Mom’s in the driveway and Pen jumps out and heads inside. By the time I’m in my room, Pen has her overnight bag on her shoulder. “Later.”

“Are you going?” Mom calls as she walks into the kitchen to see Penelope leaving my room.

“Yeah, I’m a bit tired, so I’m gonna head home. See ya.” Pen walks over to Mom and gives her a kiss on the cheek. She flicks her head to me, and walks out the front where she jumps in her car, and takes off down the road.

I lock the door, and walk to the kitchen where Mom’s making herself something to eat. “Do you want anything to eat?” she offers.

“Not hungry.”

She looks at me and sighs. “What’s eating at you, son?”

“Nothing.” I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, unscrew the lid and drink a good half of it. I see the dishwasher has finished, so I open it and start unpacking everything inside.

“Nothing, eh?”

“Yeah, nothing. Why?”

Mom tilts her head to the side, and stares at me with wide eyes. “I’m your mother, and I know when something is happening with my boys. For example, I know something’s going on with Dean, but he won’t tell me. I don’t know what it is, but I know I’m right.”

She is. Dean and Joanne want a baby, and he’s sterile. He’s devastated over the fact they can’t have one. “Not my place to say anything, Mom.” I hold my hands up in surrender.

“I know the three of you have each others’ backs. Let me tell you, I respect that. But like I said, I know my boys, and I know something’s eating at you too.”

“It’s nothing.” I take the flatware out of the dishwasher, and put it away.

“Is it Pen?”

“Nah, we’re normal.” I shrug.

“Then it’s Dani,” she says so surely.

“What?” I try to keep my tone the same as my reply to the Pen question.

“Aha, I see. You like her?”

“It’s nothing, honestly. Can you leave it alone?”

“If your father was here, would you talk to him about it?”

If my father was here, I wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye. We come from a long line of firefighters, and although I love my job, I want more from it. “There’s nothing to talk about.” I pack away the last of the things in the dishwasher, quickly restack it, close the door and head into my room. “I need to take a shower,” I say.

“I’m here if you want to talk,” she calls as I’m closing my door.

“Thanks, Mom.” I grab my laptop, and sit on my bed. Opening it, I bring up the search engine and type in a search for courses to becoming an advanced paramedic. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, but I also know being a firefighter is what’s expected of me. I refuse to let my brothers down. I’ve been losing sleep over this, but I can’t keep stressing over something I can’t have, whether it’s Dani, or being a paramedic. Neither are something I can have. Not now, not even in the future.

I close the laptop, and place it beside me. Falling back on the bed, I close my eyes and try to push all my problems so far down that they’ll simply disappear.