Keeping Her Love (8 page)

This time her smile was gentle and at ease. “You’re right. It’s why I love you so much, Rhett—I feel like I can come to you with any problem on my mind, and you’ll be able to solve it right away.”

“I do my best.”

Her arms reached up to wrap around him, and they embraced side-by-side on the bed. They held each other for no longer than two minutes before an irritating voice was followed by footsteps.

“Oooh! What are you two up to? No extra snuggling allowed, hehe!”

Both of them let out a little groan. A new person was living with them temporarily—Tula’s cousin, Layla Peterson. She was rail-thin, wore trendy clothes with wild patterns, and had a thick set of braces on her teeth. She often sounded like she had a few marbles in her mouth, and her voice was otherwise as high as a parrot’s. Her parents were renovating half of their house, practically having bulldozed it down, and chose to live in an RV across the street. Layla, having a difficult time with the noise and close quarters to her snoring parents, had decided to inquire about living with her aunt and uncle. The house was already full, but being the kind and generous people Mr. and Mrs. Florian were, they offered her their large L-shaped couch to sleep on for the next six weeks.
 

Layla wasn’t a terrible person to live with, per say. She could be nosy and a bit authoritative about things a guest shouldn’t be, especially concerning how things were organized in the shared bathroom. She was also wedding crazy, a thing that didn’t necessarily bother Tula too much since she liked having someone to go over details with. There was one other particular thing about Layla—she was head-over-heels in love with Max. Max didn’t seem to exactly share the same sentiments as his teenage cousin, and had tried to ignore her since she had hit puberty. Even from the beginning, she hadn’t exactly concealed from ever-lasting love for the blond heartthrob who was five years her senior. She showered him with affection and syrupy prose, hoping to win him over every time she saw him. Every Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Max received a specially-signed card from her. He almost always threw the show of affection straight into the garbage.

Rhett couldn’t blame the guy for throwing the stuff out and generally being a bit callous—from what he had been told, Max had made it as clear as possible to Layla that he wasn’t interested in a relationship of any kind. What else could he do besides outright yell at her? But in a way, Rhett admired Layla’s determination, however irritating it must have been for Max to go through it. Now that Layla was living at the house, Max had made himself very scarce.
 

Coming back to the present situation, the couple put a few inches between each other, not wanting rumors to fly around the house about inappropriate behavior happening. Tula had already gotten a warning from her father about the amount of attention she and Rhett had given each other during a steamy Friday night movie.
 

“Hi, Layla,” said Rhett in a flat tone.

Layla stuck her tongue out at him in a playful manner. “Tula, I have a picture of
the
most beautiful wedding dress on the planet. I found it in a magazine that I picked up today at Fry’s. You
have
to come see it right now.”

Rhett raised an eyebrow. “What were you doing in an electronic store like Fry’s?”

“I can go to a place like Fry’s if I want to, Rhett,” she responded in a sassy tone. The few words they shared together often had a spicy element to it. Their relationship with each wasn’t aggressive so much as like a game of handball. “Anyway, you have to come see it. It’s an A-line, just the shape you like. Satin, pearls, bling… You just have to see how great this thing is.”

Rhett could have sworn he heard her groan as she got up from the bed. As he laid there, just thinking about what he had talked about with Tula, his tiredness got the better of him and he passed out. When he woke up, Tula was on his computer, staring blankly at the large monitor.

“Hey,” Rhett said, sounding like a frog was in his throat. He slowly lumbered himself into a sitting position, rubbing the stars out of his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Nine,” Tula responded without turning.
 

He cleared his throat and looked around the room. “Wow, I was asleep for three hours? I wonder what happened there. I guess I’ve been working too hard.”

Tula didn’t respond and continued to stare at the screen.

“Something wrong, love?” He asked, scooting closer. Once he got a better look at his fiancée, he saw that her eyes were red and irritable. “Oh shit, what’s the matter?”

She waved him away. “Don’t ask. It’s stupid.”

Now that he was closer, he could sense that her nose was backed up a bit. She had been crying. “No, tell me. What happened?”

She turned, not exactly locking eye contact with him. “Well, remember how Layla was asking me to look at that stupid magazine of hers? I didn’t mind, of course—I like it when people are thoughtful, and she was being nice—but when I told her that I didn’t exactly care for the dress, she told me that I had tacky taste and didn’t know what I was doing when it came to planning this wedding. I brushed it off, because she was being a little facetious when she said it. But then we kept flipping through the magazines she brought, and every time I pointed out something that I liked, she had to undercut me in some way. I just feel terrible.
 

“It’s ridiculous, because she probably isn’t even thinking when she makes comments about how she doesn’t like my taste, but it gets to me. She’s been saying stuff like this ever since she found out that we were getting married. I kind of wish that she wouldn’t butt her nose into our business, because I almost never ask her for her opinion. Between her and my mom, I halfway wish that I were just planning this whole thing by myself. With them, I do get help and support, but it feels like I spend twice the amount of time figuring things out because I have to gain their approval. A part of me just wishes that I could have some kind of crazy wedding with Halloween decorations or something just to piss them off.”
 

She sighed, then gazed up to his wide-eyed expression. “I’m sorry, Rhett. That was a lot to just land on your lap. I guess that I’ve been thinking about it a lot these past few weeks. I love my family, but they certainly can get on my nerves sometimes.”

He took her hands. “It sounds like you’re going through a lot of stress lately trying to please everyone. I bet you wish that you could get away for a bit.”

She let out an exasperated laugh. “Yes, that would be nice. I did enjoy the trip to San Francisco. But we can’t go on any extended trips. We have bills to pay for the wedding and the business I want to open.”

“We don’t have to go anywhere far. Your birthday is coming up soon, and I want to treat you. Let’s go somewhere like the ocean. We could go to Big Sur or somewhere up by Humboldt. Would you like that? We could leave early in the morning, have a barbecue, start a bonfire at night, and then listen to the waves as we fall asleep.”

Her eyes lit up—something he hadn’t seen happen since he proposed in the garden at Sacramento. “Yes, that sounds wonderful!”

“Your birthday is April twenty-seventh, right? We’ll just get away from everyone next week. No wedding worries, no talk about your job or the business. It’ll just be waves, birthday cake, and maybe some of that pink champagne you like.”

Tula got up to hug him, and in that moment, he felt like they didn’t have any worries in the world.

A few days passed after that, and to both Tula and Rhett’s surprise, Layla had some interesting things to report.
 

“Tula! You will not believe what I have to tell you!”

It was a Thursday evening and Layla was walking through the front door with a blaring pink skirt that featured rainbow suspenders. Tula was lounging on the couch with Rhett, relaxing after a long day at work. “What is it?”

“Okay, well…” She plopped herself on the couch, and they noticed that her makeup was a little more bright and colorful than usual. “You know that in the past that Max wasn’t so into me, right? Well, all that time of sending him love notes has finally paid off!”

Tula’s mouth dropped. “He’s agreed to go out with you? Really?”

“Yes! Isn’t it amazing? I knew he would eventually give in to me. I mean, who wouldn’t want a bodacious babe like myself? He’s just finally opened his eyes.”

Rhett and Tula traded a look.
 

“And I know we’re all going to have so much fun when we spend that weekend at the beach!”

“What?” Tula asked.

“The day at the beach. It’s your birthday, right?”

“Yeah, but…” Rhett could see that she was trying to back track things in her mind. “How did you know about that? I don’t remember telling you.”

“It was on your calendar. I just assumed that you’d want to invite some people. I
am
invited, right? I wanted to bring Max, too. We bought the nicest present for you the other day. You just have to let us come—I’ve never been to a bonfire before, and I’m so excited to spend a night under the stars!”

Another look was traded between Rhett and Tula. Rhett wanted to pretend to vomit in front of Layla, but that wouldn’t exactly have been proper manners.
 

“I mean, I guess you can come,” said Tula. “You do know that we’re going to be sleeping in tents, right? Does that bother you?”

“Not at all!” Responded Layla with a smile that bared all the metal in her mouth. “I have a spare tent at home that Max and I can use. It’s a little small, but I don’t think that’ll bother either of us. Hehe!”

Double vomit,
thought Rhett.
 

Not able to further push the issue, Rhett kept his mouth shut concerning this addition of people to the birthday weekend. Internally, he was certainly grumbling about it, but he wasn’t going to burden Tula with his objection to the addition of her annoying cousin and withdrawn brother. The most that was said about it were a few traded words of wonder on how Layla had found out about it. She was a rather nosy girl, they both agreed. It was certainly not out of the realm of possibility that she would find out and then invite herself.

So that Saturday morning they all loaded into Tula’s hatchback sedan and headed for the beach. Rhett volunteered to drive so that his fiancée would be able to relax through the early morning ride. Layla was about as tired as her cousin was, her head laying against the seat as she napped for the first hour of the ride. Max did not fall asleep after making himself comfortable in the car. Rhett felt on some level that he should make conversation, but considering that the girls were asleep, he thought it best to just keep conversation to a minimum. He felt a strange mixture of eeriness and thankfulness at keeping his eyes on the road and attempting to avoid thoughts of Max. Every once in a while Rhett would sneak a look through the rear view mirror at what was going on in the back seat. Max would always be looking through the window wistfully, resting his chin in his hand.

Rhett could appreciate his beauty considering how much he looked like his sister. If the guy were more social, he probably could have had any girl he wanted. Why he had chosen to go out with a person like Layla, Rhett had no earthly idea. He mainly assumed that Max dated her for the convenience. It was hard to say no to someone who was so easy to have. Layla certainly didn’t seem like she was holding anything back from Max that he might have wanted.

I wonder how many girlfriends he’s had,
Rhett found himself pondering.
Tula never mentioned anything about it. I assume he’s had more than a few. You can’t have a baby face like that without attracting at least one girl in high school or college. Who knows, though—he could be one of those guys that just doesn’t want anything to do with relationships. Awkward, pensive types.
 

Tula had informed them all about a lovely bakery she heard about beforehand, so Rhett made certain to keep the place in mind as he tried to prevent sleep from taking over his mind. At around nine thirty, they all got out for this little Eastern European bakery on the sea, bought their treats along with an obligatory coffee drink, and then slowly started up their jabbering about what was on their minds. Layla took the lead, going on about how expensive the bakery had been. She also remarked on the terrible cappuccino she had ordered.

“I can’t believe how disgusting this drink is!” She stated, glaring down at the paper cup as she stuck her tongue out. “There’s nothing even here. The stupid barista stiffed me. It’s just bitter and gross.”

Tula, picking up on the clues of her complaints, responded, “Layla, do you know what exactly a cappuccino is?”

She stared at her blankly. “It’s supposed to be milky and sweet, right?”

“You’re thinking of something else. A cappuccino is just a shot of espresso and foamy milk. It’s not supposed to be sweet.”

She looked back down at her drink. “Oh.”

“So what are you all looking forward to at the beach?” Asked Rhett, sipping his own black cup of joe.
 

Layla swung her arm around Max’s enthusiastically. “Long walks on the beach with my beaux!”

She never fails at making me feel nauseated,
thought Rhett with a grin as he looked in the rear view mirror.
And by the looks of Max’s face, he seems to feel the same way.

“Just being there is pleasant,” said Tula. “And of course, being around you and my family is extra nice. I haven’t been to the beach since I was a little girl. I guess I just didn’t have the time to go on any trips.”

“Max?” Inquired Rhett after a gap in the conversation.

His eyes darted to the mirror, looking as if he hadn’t been paying attention. “Being with Layla is all I’m thinking about.”

The drive continued for another two hours. They played car games, went over everything they had brought to eat, and more importantly, drink for the night. Tula had insisted on baking her own cake, a beautiful mess of strawberries, cream, and some kind of special sauce she had been tinkering on for a few weeks. To finally did arrive at the special spot, they had to drive along an unkept dirt road that felt like rolling over a thousand tiny bumps. Tula’s car was completely covered in dust by the time they parked, but when they opened the door, it all felt worth it. The sea breeze was wonderfully pleasant to breathe in, and in the distance a few children were flying colorful kites in the azure sky. Getting over the sand dune, there was nothing but the gentle roll of beach and thousands of miles of ocean.