The Rhett Between
That next day was Friday, and something had shifted in me that I couldn’t even begin to explain. Too much was going on in my mind and I didn’t want to address any of it.
“I legit Googled ‘am I gay?’ Like some clueless teen in denial. The results? A BuzzFeed quiz, a rainbow flag, and Google politely redirected me to Pornhub with a knowing wink.
Secondly, all I could think about was Rhett.
Anna, my wife was packed and ready for her girls’ extended weekend before I headed off to work, so I gave her a hug and wished her a great weekend.
“See you next Wednesday Miles!” she called out as I left the house.
Friday was casual day, so I was in jeans, a light polo top and sneakers along with my backpack. As I got close to work, of course I slowed down as I rounded the bend where the construction site was.
I did see Rhett’s van, well, at least I assumed it was his from the day before, but also a bunch of other vehicles. But I didn’t see Rhett himself.
That day blasted me off my feet. I’d practically evaded any meaningful work for 48 hours while obsessing over the construction worker, and my inbox was bursting at the seams.
With my head down, I focused with the intention of going to the mall at the usual time.
But things went awry, last minute meetings, calls from tech guys, calls from clients, impromptu meetings with colleagues meant that by the time I even got a chance to rear my head, it was nearly 5pm.
I sat back and sighed. Damn. That meant there would be no opportunity to see Rhett until next week.
That put a damper on my weekend, especially with the wife away.
So I stayed in the office and worked until I made sure Monday would be a breeze, and if I decided to get a lunch break, I’d have time. Future me would be very grateful.
That night, I went out with the lads I hadn’t caught up with in a couple of weeks. Mark’s wife was with mine and two others, while Rick was eternally single and always free for drinks.
“Gonna come watch the game with us on Sunday Rick?” Mark asked our shorter, fitter friend as we entered our third round.
“Yeah, yours or yours,” he pointed to Mark, then me.
“Mine,” I said.
“Cool. Yeah, sounds like a plan.”
The pub was warm and loud, the kind of place that smelled like old ale and fryer grease and made you nostalgic for a life you’d never actually lived. Mark had claimed our usual booth near the dartboard, already halfway through a pint when Rick and I arrived.
We were barely sitting before Rick launched into a rant.
“Dating apps are absolute trash now,” he announced. “It's like going to a buffet and realizing every dish is just a different version of disappointment.”
Mark raised an eyebrow. “And yet, you keep going back for seconds.”
“I’m an optimist,” Rick said, slapping his chest. “And a man has needs.”
I smirked. “You swipe right on anything with a pulse, don’t you?”
Rick grinned. “Two legs, not a complete psycho, preferably some form of job, that’s the dream, boys. Bonus points if she doesn’t talk about crystals.”
Mark shook his head. “That eliminates half the women in the city.”
“Don’t I know it. One asked for my star sign before my name. I told her I was a Gemini, just to make her fuck off.”
I smirked. “You’re not a Gemini.”
“She doesn’t know that.”
Mark tilted his head. “What are you really looking for, Rick? A girlfriend or a babysitter with benefits?”
“I’m looking for a woman who’ll let me play FIFA in peace and occasionally sit on my face. Is that too much to ask?”
Mark took a long sip of his beer. “Absolutely.”
I leaned forward, joining the rhythm of the conversation now that I felt the buzz of the alcohol kicking in. “You realize you’ve just described an imaginary person. That woman exists only in your dreams and maybe in Norway.”
Rick pointed his glass at me. “Exactly. Which is why I’ve decided to stay single forever and die mysteriously in a hammock or move to Norway.”
Mark chuckled. “Probably with a half-eaten kebab in your lap.”
“Better than dying bored in suburbia,” Rick shot back.
That one landed. Mark rolled his eyes but didn’t argue.
I sat back and watched them both. This was familiar and comforting. No one here was asking me why I’d taken the long way to work two days in a row. No one was questioning the slight shift in how I saw the world this week. And I wasn’t offering.
Mark changed the subject. “So, Rick, you bringing a plus-one to my birthday next month, or are you sticking with your reliable date, IPA?”
“If I’m still single, I’ll bring your sister.”
Mark didn’t even flinch. “Good. She needs a tax deduction.”
Rick barked out a laugh and nearly spilled his beer. “She’s gonna love that.”
Mark turned to me. “What about you, Miles? You still getting laid, or has married life finally broken your will?”
I shrugged. “Define laid.”
Rick clapped the table. “God, I love this man.” He leaned over and wrapped his arm around me and kissed the side of my face. Mark clapped me on the other shoulder, also laughing.
We were all grinning, leaning into the noise and pretending everything was easy. But underneath it, I felt the gap widening between what I said and what I felt.
And I wasn’t ready to close it yet.
“Anna and I… we’ve been a bit out of sync lately,” I said, twirling my glass. “She wanted the weekend to think. So I let her.” I couldn’t believe I said anything out loud, but realized it was probably the alcohol.
Mark snorted. “Think about what? Whether she still likes missionary in the dark?”
I smiled, but didn’t answer. Just sipped my drink and let that one settle. The boys moved on, but my thoughts didn’t.
When Rick went to the bar, Mark leaned over conspiratorially, “you okay buddy?”
I was so distracted I had to shake myself. “Oh? Oh yeah, sure!”
“You sure?” He clearly didn’t believe me.
“Yeah. Just… a lot going on right now. Too much to process. I’ll be fine.”
Mark was a good friend, he didn’t push me. But he watched me from the corner of his eye.
Needless to say, I woke up that next morning with a blasted hangover and a late night email asking me if I was ready for a presentation Monday morning.
Which I’d completely forgotten about. And to make things worse, those files were on my local machine and not on a network drive.
I made coffee, I watched some news, then showered and threw some clothes on and headed off for a long walk to the office.
As I rounded the bend, I was shocked to see a lot of activity on the construction site.
They worked Saturdays?
Rhett’s van was out the front, and so were about a dozen guys all rushing in and out.
I walked slowly, in the hopes I’d get a glimpse of Rhett, but he did not make an appearance, so I continued on to the office.
My office was deserted, as it should be on the weekend, so I quickly copied files I needed to my online drive, and headed out.
When I walked past the construction site again, slowly this time, I did see Rhett mid-conversation with a bunch of other guys. They were laughing about something. I had the sense they were wrapping up.
Rhett looked over, then did a double-take, then quickly waved as I walked past. I waved back, a little nervously and continued walking. I wasn’t sure what I’d hoped would happen, but a weekend to myself might be the best way to get through whatever was going on with me these past few days.
I wasn’t far from home, but it was a bit of a hill on the return journey so I took it slowly.
A few minutes later, I heard music alongside me, then a sharp ‘beep’ and then the music was turned down. I turned to see Rhett in his van driving alongside me.
“Hey, need a lift?”
I froze. This was unexpected and I really was stuck for words.
He stared, waiting.
I still said nothing, feeling the awkwardness build.
“It’s okay if you don’t, just thought I’d offer,” Rhett said, and started to put the van into gear. He looked over at me one more time.
“Yeah, okay,” I said before I changed my mind, feeling the adrenaline surge through my body.
We didn’t speak at first. Rhett adjusted the volume on the stereo, something classic playing low in the background, and I stared out the window, trying not to replay the moment he waved at me like we were something... familiar. I was still hungover, dehydrated, and now mildly terrified that I’d have to confront whatever it is that was simmering under the surface.
“So you work Saturdays too?” I asked, just to fill the silence.
“Only when the client’s a pain in the ass,” he said, glancing over at me with a grin. “And when I want the overtime. You been to the office?”
“Just had to grab some files. Forgot I had a Monday deadline,” I said. “It’s been one of those weeks.”
He nodded like he knew exactly what I meant. “Yeah, same here. These guys’ve been busting my balls since Wednesday. But today was smooth. Early start, early finish.”
I directed him to my house, and we pulled up in front quickly. I was already unclipping my seatbelt when I felt him look at me.
“You got time for a break?” he asked, casually, like he was offering a coffee. But there was a beat underneath the question, something heavier.
I froze again. My front door suddenly felt like a locked vault. I couldn’t have him in there. Not in the home I shared with Anna. I hadn’t even changed the sheets since she left.
“I was thinking I might... just decompress a bit,” I said, keeping it vague. “Catch up on work. Maybe go for another walk.”
“Oh.” Disappointment.
I paused. What did I want?
“I mean, maybe today we can, just not… here.”
“I live around the corner,” Rhett said. “No pressure. Just thought maybe you’d want to chill for a bit.”
He was already stepping out of the van. I hadn’t even said anything. He came around to the passenger side and leaned in, hands in his back pockets.
“If you need to grab anything or get changed, I don’t mind waiting,” he added. “Totally up to you.”
I looked at the house. I could feel my heart pounding. I could say no, or I could keep pretending this was some weird curiosity. Or I could stop lying to myself.
“Or,” I said, slowly, “you could come in for a coffee?”
His face lit up. Not in a smug way, just... warm. Honest.
“Coffee sounds good,” he said.
I unlocked the front door and we stepped inside. The house was quiet. Still smelled like Anna’s perfume faintly in the hallway. Rhett followed me through to the kitchen, taking it all in like he was trying to picture my life.
I started the machine. He leaned against the counter looking relaxed.
“So, you always work Saturdays?” he asked, keeping it light.
“Only when I screw up and forget I’ve got a major presentation,” I said, pouring the coffee. “Wife’s away for a few days so I was going to rest a bit.”
We stood across from each other at opposite ends of the kitchen, mugs in hand. His shirt was smudged from the day, collar askew, hair a little messy from the wind. He looked good like that. Real.
“You got kids?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. We talked about it, but... life, work. Timing’s never right. And you?”
He nodded. “Same. Never married, though. Thought about it once. Didn’t take.”
I looked at him, trying to read between the lines. “That recent?”
“A while ago. Before I moved here. Clean break. No drama really, just one of those that made me wanna be single for a time.”
We sipped in silence for a minute.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said. “And... for not making things weird.”
He smiled. “Who says I’m not about to?”
I giggled. God help me, I actually laughed.
He looked down at his coffee, then back up at me, eyes soft. “Look... ” he trailed off, like he was about to say something awkward.
I stared, feeling that constant adrenaline coursing through me.
“I like you. I realize I don’t know you. And the past couple days, I thought maybe, we could… you know… explore that in bed.”
I swallowed hard, because I didn’t have a response to that. But I didn’t look away.
Not this time.
He watched me, relieved to have got it out.
But I wanted to understand something first. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“Shoot,” he said, with that accent that was pretty hard to dislike.
“This thing with guys… it’s really new for me… “
He laughed. A lot. “Yeah, I kind of could tell.”
I laughed too. “That obvious huh?”
His grin was infectious. “Let’s just say that I expected you to bolt any second, so I’m surprised you didn’t.”
We both chuckled.
“Sorry… “
He cut me off. “Nothing to be sorry about. So your question?”
“Yeah. So, you’ve had a bit more experience than I have?” that was as diplomatic as I got.
That cheeky grin that stirred a lot in me and those blue eyes that just penetrated.
“Actually, not that much. Maybe a couple different guys over the past couple years, but really infrequent. Usually I keep to myself, but with you… “
I nodded. He didn’t need to finish. Somehow, I felt the same way. Whatever that was.
He put his mug down, and walked over to me. I stiffened a little, but he took my mug and put it on the counter, and put his hands on my shoulders.
“Absolutely no pressure. I live by myself. I’ve been wanting to explore more with a guy. Like try out a few things maybe. Doesn’t have to be. I’ve wanted someone to explore this with. Thought it might be you. And then I met you this week and… “
The compulsion to kiss him again was strong, so I did. I just moved forward and took us both by surprise.
He tasted like coffee and sweet. His lips were warm, his tongue was hot and his body was hard.
We kissed like that for a few minutes, pressing into each other, hips shifting with need.
Eventually, he pulled away, arms still around my shoulders.
“Got plans later?” he asked me.
I shook my head. “I’ll be honest, I want to… And no, I have no plans the rest of the weekend. But… I am afraid I’ll back out. Just being honest.”
He smiled. Then gave me another kiss, then touched my cock briefly, which was begging to be released.
“What is it you’re afraid of?” he asked me.
I shrugged. “I feel like, I’m crossing a line that once I cross it, there’s no return.”
He nodded, those eyes let me know they completely understood.
“We’ll take it slow. Sound good? So, if by 5pm you’re not at my house, I’ll be here at your door and I won’t leave until you do it.”
I grinned. “That’s taking it slow?”
He winked. “Give me your phone,” he said.
I stared.
He waited.
“You’re not taking my phone,” I said, shocked he’d even suggest it.
He laughed. “I was going to put my number in your phone Miles,” and roared with laughter.
I did too, a little embarrassed to have misinterpreted.
I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. He saved himself in my contacts, then sent himself a text.
He waved his phone as he backed out of my kitchen, “now I’ve got your number and your address. See you around 5.” And with that, he turned and left.
I stood in the doorway long after he’d gone, phone still in hand, heart hammering like I’d just made a deal with the devil.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this. The next chapters are already up on my Patreon. Things get messier, rougher, and even more real.
patreon.com/FoxEmerson
