Page 19 of When You're Home
He felt the weight of all the things they had dealt with that day. It was all so heavy. He decided he didn’t want to put one more lie or omission between them, so he might as well just say it, even if she read too much into it or got angry with him.
“We’re good. I didn’t get tested before coming home, but I haven’t had sex with anyone else since I was with you over winter break,” he confessed. Something flashed in Tori’s eyes—but it was gone so fast he couldn’t tell if it was judgement, relief, or surprise. He knew his admission could backfire on him.
“Good,” she responded, her voice laced with desire. “Because I need to feel you inside me right now.”
Rhett slanted his mouth to kiss her and wrapped his arm around her torso. She didn’t even have to reach down to line him up this time. His body took over, nudging her opening and willing her to let him in.
“Rhett,” she sighed as the tip of his penis entered her. He moved his hand to her lower back and pulled her closer, deepening the connection between them and solidifying that, after a day of so many highs and lows, they really were okay.
Chapter 12
Rhett
“Whatishappeningrightnow?!”
How could he possibly be this loud so early in the morning?Rhett wondered.
Jake looked from Rhett to Tori, then back again, doing a literal double take as they walked through the side door of Clinton’s Family Restaurant. “Am I really seeing this?” Jake exclaimed, slinging his bar towel on his shoulder and making his way over to them.
“It’s so good to see you, bro!” He pulled Rhett into a hug, his voice filled with sincerity.
“Bro code, though. Why didn’t you text me and tell me you were coming in today?” Jake questioned before he pulled out of the hug.
“Wait a minute…” He squinted his eyes at Tori with a knowing look. “How long has he been in town?” Jake shot an accusatory glance at Rhett then quickly turned back to Tori.
When no one replied, he filled in the blanks for himself. “And now I know why I had Lia riding my ass all day yesterday when she wasn’t even on the schedule,” he muttered, circling back behind the bar and slapping down his bar towel before picking up a paring knife.
“You better get your ass back here and start cutting my celery, Wheeler. You owe me.” He pointed the small knife at him for emphasis.
Rhett didn’t have time to respond before the side door swung open again.
“Wheeler!” a booming voice called out in greeting as a blast of cold air entered the bar area. Rhett turned around to see his old boss outstretching a big, meaty hand. “I didn’t know we were expecting you in today.”
Mike Hobbs was a retired Navy SEAL turned small-town restaurateur. He had owned Clinton's for more than fifteen years and had recently bought the old Oak Barrel Tavern next door. He was a mainstay in the community and a constant presence at the restaurant. It was never a question of whether Mike was around. It was just a matter of whether he was in the back cooking, behind the bar pouring, or next door working on renovations for the new space.
Mike had taken a chance and given Rhett his first job washing dishes at Clinton's. He knew he was a spoiled asshat back then. He had been lazy and entitled and a cocky know-it-all to boot. He shouldn’t have lasted two days on payroll, but Mike was much more interested in training him than firing him. Maybe it was the SEAL mentality, but he approached his staff with a “leave no man behind” attitude. Once you were part of the crew at Clinton's, you were part of a family for life.
Rhett shook Mike’s hand and nodded. “It’s good to see you, sir.”
“What are you doing here, son?” Mike glanced over to Tori, essentially answering his own question. “Just home for the weekend?”
“Yeah, something like that.” Rhett was anxious to change the subject. “Cool if I help Jake prep for brunch?”
“He owes me, Mike!” Jake interjected from behind the bar. Rhett wondered what sort of mood Lia had been in yesterday to make him so intent on collecting payback. Or maybe the real question was what had Jake done this time to deserve her wrath.
“I don’t have you set up in the system for this pay cycle, Wheeler, but you do what you gotta do, and you make sure Jake splits tips.” Mike clasped him on the shoulder one more time before heading toward the kitchen.
“Hey, and I better not catch you two in the walk-in cooler,” he deadpanned as he looked between Rhett and Tori. “It’s Sunday, so we’re gonna be too busy to be down a server.”
Tori rolled her eyes at Mike’s admonishment. They hadn’t been caught in the walk-in since high school, but it used to happen frequently enough that it was a deserved reminder.
Rhett watched as Tori tightened her ponytail and slipped behind the bar to clock in. She smiled at Jake and said something he couldn’t hear. Jake smirked and replied to her, then gave her a playful side-hug in the process. Rhett smiled, reveling in the sight of two of his favorite people joking and having a good time together.
He pushed up the sleeves of his Henley as he joined them behind the now-crowded bar. “Have a good shift,” he murmured in Tori’s ear before she moved away from the clock-in station and started tying her apron around her waist. He couldn’t resist reaching out and lightly brushing his hand over her hip, catching her fingers in his for just a few seconds.
Tori locked eyes with him, her free hand busy adjusting her uniform. She shook her head twice, before growling, “Behave,” under her breath.
Rhett could barely hold back his smirk. “Always, beautiful.” With a wink, he playfully smacked her ass, eliciting a yelp and a swat of her notepad.
