by J. S. Cooper
"We like being alone, Nanna." I shook my head at her expression and laughed. "Anyway we're too young for serious relationships."
"Y'all are nearly college graduates. I ain't never seen a college graduate that was too young to get married."
"Married?" I looked at her in shock. "I thought we were talking about boyfriends and girlfriends. I'm sorry Nanna but I'm never getting married."
"When you meet the right girl you will." She patted my shoulder.
"I don't think so." I shook my head and shuddered." No way am I doing that to myself."
"No way you're doing what to yourself, Rhett Madison?" Clementine walked into the kitchen with a huge smile and gave me a hug.
"I'm mad at you." I frowned as I hugged her back. I tried to ignore how snug her white t-shirt was across her chest and how short her shorts were. When did she go and get a pair of long tan legs and decide to show them off?
"Why?" She tilted her head and paused. "Another date go wrong and you want to blame me?"
"Very funny." I made a face. "I thought we were coming to the barbeque together." I frowned.
"Oh really?" She shrugged and poured herself a glass of lemonade. "My bad, I thought I told you I had to go and pick up Penelope."
"No, you didn't." I shook my head irritated, feeling like a jealous little kid.
"Well you're here now." She rolled her eyes. "Nanna, you got any brownies?"
"Not now, Clementine." Nanna laughed. "Plus, you sure you wanna be eating brownies. A minute on the lips is a lifetime on the hips."
"I'll take my chances." Clementine grinned at me. "Anyway for me it's hips and waist, so who cares?" She laughed and rubbed her stomach. I stared at her movements and laughed along with her, even though all I was thinking about was her taunt stomach.
"Is that a baby I see sticking out?" I grinned and reached over and rubbed her stomach as well. My fingers ran across the softness of her stomach gently and all of a suddenly she tensed as I touched her. Our eyes met for a few brief seconds as I continued to rub her stomach and then I stepped back, feeling hot and awkward.
"You ready to go outside?" Clementine looked away from me and turned around. "We're playing softball."
"Am I ready?" I choked out a laugh, though I still felt slightly tense. "Dude, I was nearly signed by the Red Sox."
"I thought it was the Yankees?" She laughed.
"I don't wanna be no damn Yankee." I retorted and we both laughed.
"You two never change." Nanna stared at us both as we left the kitchen. "Both of you are as blind as bats." She muttered quietly as she started getting the coleslaw together.
***
"Rhett, my main man." Clementine’s brother Jake hollered at me. "We've been waiting on you to get this party started."
"I'm here now." I grinned and high-fived some of the cousins. "Hi, Penelope." I gave her a quick smile. I wasn't sure why we'd never hit it off. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that Clementine didn't always come to me first like she used to before she met Penelope. It annoyed me knowing that sometimes she valued Penelope's advice more than mine. I also wasn't pleased that sometimes when I wanted to hang out, they already had plans. And well the guy thing pissed me off. I had no idea why Penelope was trying to push Clementine into getting a boyfriend. I felt like she was using that as an excuse to push me out of Clementine's life! Imagine telling her I was the reason guys didn't approach her! What the fuck? She was such a bitch.
"Hello, Rhett." She smiled back at me with a thin smile. "I see you made it."
"Of course I made it. This is my family too. I've been coming to the barbeque since I was in grade school."
"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes and turned around. "Funny you never feel fit to bring someone with you."
"Who would I bring?" I gave her my ‘are you stupid look’?
"Maybe a girlfriend." Her eyes narrowed. "But I suppose you're only interested in girls for a night."
"Wish you were one of them do you?" I gave her a slow wink and watched as her face burned bright red and then turned away. "So you want me to pitch?"
"Duh." Jake shouted back with a huge grin. Jake was 18 and a recent high school graduate. I'd always felt like he was my little brother as well and I did my best to make sure he stayed on the straight and narrow. I tried to hang out with him at least once a month and was planning on letting him room with me when he started college in the fall.
"How'd your date go with that girl?" I shouted to him.
"Which one?" He winked and we both laughed.
"Rhett, I wish you wouldn't turn Jake into your mini me." Clementine shook her head.
"Hey, the girls love him. What can I say?" I grinned at her and she groaned.
"Okay, do we have teams?" I looked around and counted how many people we had. "I want Jake. Clementine and Penelope can be on the other team."
"That's not fair." Clementine put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "How are the two best players going to be on the same team?"
"I thought that was fair." I ran over and ruffled her hair. "The two best players on one team and the two worst on another. I've already got the team names picked, the winners and the losers."
"You're a loser." She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Don't let the wind change on you now or that's the face you'll end up with."
"You'll still be stuck with me, tongue out and all." She grinned and I pulled her towards me and grabbed her as I fell into the ground.
"Try and get rid of me."
"Guys, you're being so childish." Penelope's voice was irritated as she walked over to us. "Clementine, this is what I mean. Guys who see you acting like this with Rhett are going to get the wrong impression."
"What impression is that?" I looked up at Penelope and then jumped up, pulling a giggling and guilty looking Clementine up with me.
"That you guys are either dating, sleeping together or have some other weird relationship. Or," and she looked at Clementine. "That you're both really immature."
"Clementine is immature." I shrugged with a straight face.
"Shut up, Rhett." She punched me on the shoulder. "Penelope, Rhett is my best friend, he's like my brother, and we're always going to be close and goofy. The guy that comes into my life will have to accept Rhett."
"No guy is coming and staying as long as Rhett's around." Penelope shrugged. "But hey, maybe that's what he wants."
"Penelope." Clementine exclaimed and gave me a look. I shook my head and walked over to Jake.
"Hey bro, let's decide our team." I rolled my eyes at him. "Your sister and her new friend are debating our friendship."
"You know Penelope doesn't get you guys." Jake laughed. "I think she's has the hots for you."
"Who?" I froze, my heart thudding fast. "Clemmie?"
"No." Jake gave me a weird look. "Penelope. That's who we were talking about."
"Oh yeah." I made a face. "No thanks."
"Not even for one night?"
“Not even for ten minutes.” I laughed.
"What about a million dollars?" He grinned at me and I grinned back.
"That's the beauty of being rich. Not even for a million dollars."
"Show-off." He laughed. "I'd make out with her for ten bucks."
"Jake, don't lie. You'd make out with her for free."
"True that." He threw the softball at me. "You want a glove?"
"Nah." I shook my head. "Where are the ‘rents?"
"Grocery store." Jake rolled his eyes. "Dad wanted more beer and mom wanted some nuts, but she didn't trust dad to get the right ones."
"Ha, sounds about right." I threw the ball back at him. "You talk to them about staying with me next year?"
"Dad thinks it's great." Jake nodded. "Mom not so much."
"Why not?" I frowned.
"She said Clemmie doesn't think it's a good idea."
"What why?" My frown deepened. Clementine hadn't said anything to me.
"She thinks it's too much." Jake shru
gged. "She says it's not right to live with you for free." He made a face.
"Are you joking?" I looked back at Clementine as she talked to Penelope and my eyes narrowed. I bet I knew why Clementine didn't think it was a good idea all of a sudden. "Don't be ridiculous, you're my brother from another mother." I gave him a look. "You're staying with me."
"It's a great saving." He nodded. "Dad’s already worried about having both of us in college at the same time." He looked around and chewed his lower lip. "Clementine’s even looking into transferring to a school where she can get a scholarship." He made a face. "I'm not meant to say anything."
"Why hasn't she told me?" My heart dropped. "I had no idea."
"Yeah, it's pretty recent." He shrugged. "I guess her new friend told her about it."
"Penelope?"
"No, her boyfriend, that guy she's seeing."
"What guy?" My voice rose. "Clementine doesn't have a boyfriend."
"Yeah, I guess it's new. Some guy called Elliott."
"Elliott?" I frowned and immediately thought back to seeing Clemmie kissing him the other night. "Not that loser she met online?"
"I dunno." Jake looked like he regretted bringing the subject up. "I guess you'll see tonight. He's coming."
"She invited him to the barbecue?"
Jake nodded and I frowned.
"Excuse me a second." I threw the ball back to him and ran over to Clementine. "Hey, we need to talk." I grabbed her arm.
"Huh?" She looked at me in confusion.
"We need to talk!"
"Now?" She looked at Penelope and then back at me. "We were kinda in the middle of something."
"That can wait," I looked her in the eyes. "We. Need. To. Talk. Now."
"Listen to your husband, Clem." Penelope rolled her eyes. "Oh wait, he's not your husband or your dad."
"Clementine," I gave her the look. It was something we had come up with as kids so we could let each other know that it was imperative we talk right away.
"Fine, excuse us." She gave Penelope a quick smile and grabbed my arm and dragged me into the house. "What's going on, Rhett?" She sighed as we walked up the stairs and went into one of the spare bedrooms that Nanna always had ready and waiting for guests.
"Transferring?" I stood there with my arms crossed and raised an eyebrow. "What's that about?"
"Oh." She chewed on her lower lip and sat on one of the two twin beds in the room.
"Yes, oh." I sat on the other bed directly in front of that. "Though, I'm thinking OH."
"It's not for sure," she gave me a weak smile.
"I didn't even know it was a thought."
"It's just something I've been thinking about to help dad out. He can't afford to pay for me and Jake and I don't want Jake to take out loans and well he's not going to get any scholarships."
"We always said we were going to graduate from State." I tried not to look angry. “And we’re graduating in just over a year.” My voice rose. The news had turned me on my head and I was not happy.
"Well that was the plan, but plans change."
"Where did this come from?"
"Nowhere." She looked down at the ground.
"So Elliott had nothing to do with it?"
"Jake has got a big mouth." She muttered.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"There was nothing to tell."
"You don't think it's news to tell me you might be moving. Where are you going? Chapel Hill? Duke? That's a long drive you know."
"I was thinking Harvard or Yale."
"What?" My jaw dropped. I stared at her in shock as my stomach dropped. There was no way I could make weekend drives to Boston or New Haven.
"I figure if I'm transferring, I should go to the best."
"Harvard?" I ran my hands through my hair and stared at her in shock. "What are you talking about?"
"You know I got in for freshmen year."
"But you didn't wanna go and hang out with those snobs."
"I just need to do what's best for me and Jake." She sighed. "It's not like I want to leave you guys, but I'll see you still."
"What the fuck." I felt a certain satisfaction as I watched her eyes expressing their dismay at my choice of words. Clementine hated the fact that I used the f bomb so much.
"Nothing's going to change, Rhett." She got up and sat next to me. "I'll still be here for you."
"What are you talking about?" I glared at her. "I'm talking about something we agreed upon years ago."
"Sometimes things change." She put her arm around my shoulder and I shrugged her off of me.
"I know that."
"Have you seen your mom recently?" She asked softly and I frowned as my stomach lurched.
"No and I don't want to." I frowned. "This has nothing to do with her."
"I was just asking." She sighed and lay back. "I know you don't like to talk about her, but I think it would be helpful."
"It won't be," I looked down at her and tried to ignore the stirrings in my heart as I stared into her wide concerned eyes. Clementine was my rock. She was the only person I knew who truly loved me and had my best interests at heart. I had no idea what I would do if she left me.
"It might be good for you as well." She offered me a weak smile and I stared at her lips as she spoke.
"What might be good?" I frowned as I realized my eyes had fallen to her chest. I wasn't sure why I was so interested in her breasts all of a sudden. I felt uncomfortable admiring her body. I tried to look away, but I couldn't keep my eyes off of the swell of her breasts and the imprint of her nipples as they pushed against her t-shirt.
"Me going away." She sat up and her hair swung in front of her face.
"How will that be good?" I gave her a look.
"Maybe it will help you..." Her voice trailed off.
"Help me how?" My voice rose.
"Find someone to be serious with." She bit her lower lip and shrugged. "Maybe you can have a real relationship."
"I like how everything is now." I lay down and stared at the ceiling. "I don't want anything to change."
"We'll still be best friends, Rhett." She lay down on her side and stared at me.
"So why do you want to leave?" I turned over and stared at her.
"I don't," she shook her head and her nose crinkled. "But we have to face up to it sometime. One of us is going to move away sooner or later."
"No, we don't have to face up to anything." I reached over and played with her hair. "You need a trim."
"Thanks, another one?" She rolled her eyes and grinned. Then she reached over and played with the hair at the front of my face. "So do you."
"You're not cutting it." I winked at her and we both laughed as we thought back to the time in tenth grade she had given me a Mohawk.
"Hey," she laughed. "Maybe I was just jealous of your blond locks."
"Uh huh." I grinned and stared at her for a few seconds in silence. "I don't want this to change." I sighed.
"I know," she bit her lower lip. "But people don't understand our relationship now. They think we must be dating or something."
"Eww no." I shuddered and she laughed.
"Thanks, Rhett."
"No offense or anything, but dating?" I stared at her and ignored the sudden rapid beating of my heart. "Hell no."
"I know you don't do relationships." She giggled and rested her hands on her arms.
"We'd ruin our friendship if we tried to be more than friends." I spoke slowly. "Not worth it at all."
"Don't worry, Rhett. I don't want to date you either." She grinned and I felt a pang of some unknown emotion in me.
"Now you have Elliott huh?" I frowned, feeling angry again.
"No." She made a face.
"Why is he coming anyway? I thought he was a crappy kisser?"
"He's not that bad."
"Oh!" I attempted a smile, though I wasn’t feeling very happy at her words, and moved towards her. "Want to know what a better than not bad kiss feels like?"
"Huh?" She frowned at me and looked confused.
I wasn't really sure why I decided to kiss her. It shocked and surprised both of us as I pressed my lips against hers and kissed her lightly. Her lips felt soft and moist beneath mine and I felt myself deepening the kiss as her lips pressed against mine firmly. My arms instinctively reached towards her and brought her into my chest. I felt her breasts pressed against me and I felt something in me loosen up as I internally groaned at the same time. I was sexually attracted to her and I wasn't sure what the fuck I was going to do.
"Rhett," she breathed against my lips. "What are you doing?" She pulled away from me with wide eyes. I stared at her for a few seconds wanting to kiss her again, but instead I started laughing.
"I wanted to show you how a real man kisses, so that you have something to compare a great kiss to."
"I see." She frowned. "I don't know why you did that."
"I was playing around." I jumped off of the bed and smiled at her as if it were nothing.
"You can't just do that." She stood up slowly.
"Sorry, it was a joke."
"I see." She touched her lips gingerly and she had a dazed expression on her face.
"What did you think of the kiss?" I asked her softly, unable to resist.
"I've had better." She grinned and I watched as she walked out of the room. Better, my ass! I thought to myself as I followed behind her. She was lucky she was my best friend or I would have gone back for seconds to show her that there was no one better than me.
***
"So, who's ready for some baseball?" I walked into the yard and flexed my muscles as if I hadn't just been kissing Clementine and enjoying it.
"Let's get this party started." Jake hollered back at me and I grinned.
“Winners vs. Losers baby.” I ran over to him and held my hands out for him to throw me the ball.
“Where you been?” He looked at me curiously.
“Nowhere.” I laughed, guiltily and looked over at Clementine who was tying her shoes. I turned away and pretended that I hadn’t just overstepped a boundary. It was just in fun. It didn’t mean anything to either of us. It was just a kiss. Nothing more and nothing less.
“Elliott.” Penelope’s voice was loud and happy. I looked up and stared at Elliott as he made his way into the backyard. Of course she would like him. I frowned as I watched Clementine walking over to him with Penelope. Both of them were smiling widely at him and I felt my face growing hot.