Ain't Budging Ch. 03

When she first returned home from Arizona, her grandmother had been suspicious.

"A girl goes missing for two days, won't tell her ma what she's been doing, won't tell her grandma what she's been doing. What happened to you child? Meet the devil in the desert?" Theresa had just bitten her tongue, until the buzz of curiosity died down.

She fingered the torn piece of notepaper. If she wrote to him and he did not respond, she wondered how she would feel. Foolish perhaps; he had clearly seen her as the easy fuck he had taunted her for being. Maybe he wouldn't even receive it, perhaps he had been cast out of Moe's bar since the fight. She would still feel foolish.

But if she wrote to him and he did respond, the ramifications were potentially worse than feeling foolish. An interstate-relationship was unrealistic, especially one based on a glorified series on one night stands. And an interracial relationship, especially with a southern boy whose leather clad exterior was bound to give her grandma the heart murmurs was a no-no. So it wasn't going to happen.

Maybe we could keep it a sex thing, nothing wrong with that in these modern times. Interstate motels, quick flings, then our separate ways.

But then Theresa thought of her teaching career. Not only was she the first real career girl in her family, she had also been the first one to go to college, with her mother, grandmother and aunties helping her, financially and otherwise, like little lights on an airplane runway. She had a good reputation in her community which she wanted to keep, not just for herself, but for her family. No, she was going to do the responsible thing, the expected thing, and whatever that was, it involved not trying to get with Rhett.

So reluctantly, she put that idea to sleep, and wrote another letter to the Smithsonian, organizing a school trip for her students, and put it amongst the other letters she had written.

-------------------

"Hey Rhett, you got a letter. See, now everybody thinks you live here.", Moe the barman said, stroking his grizzled grey beard whilst holding out the sleek letter.

Rhett took the letter, and threw a few too many dollars on the bar as tip. He felt guilty towards Moe. Moe had taken a side, Rhett's side, and had seen his custom trickle out as the motorcycle club had been divided, with most of the guys sticking with Curly and a few being with Rhett. Moe had even put up with the antics of Curly's gang, such as when Billy accidentally set himself on fire trying to burn a cross at the front of Moe's bar, apparently on Curly's orders. As things stood, with Billy in hospital for his self-inflicted burns, the venom between the newly divided club became more potent.

He tore open the letter with care as it looked like something official.

"Dear Sirs,

I would like to arrange a four day history trip to Washington DC for thirty three of my students and was wondering if it would be possible-"

Rhett grinned deviously. Theresa wasn't much for arranging school trips, but road trips however...

-------------------

Theresa walked the last of her junior high school 'homework club' students, Rhonda, back home.

"Thank you Mrs Hall.", said the short chubby student, standing on her stoop where her cousins were also sat.

"No problem Rhonda. Have a good weekend."

"Will do Ma'am."

It was five o'clock and a Friday. Theresa started to walk back to the home she shared with her mother, grandmother and younger siblings.

The neighborhood was jiving, and some of the young guys were already clustering, getting ready to hit the bars and discos.

"Ooh baby, baby, you are dy-no-mite!", said one guy excitedly as she passed, pulling up the sheep skin lined collar of his coat and tapping his sharp shoes.

Theresa smiled politely at the over-exuberant guy, "Hold your tongue now. Respect a lady."

"Mm girl, and let me show you just how much I respect you."

"Ssh, don't say that, that's my sister's new history teacher. ", said his friend who wore a leisure suit three sizes too big.

"Really? Sorry Miss!", the guy looked worried all of a sudden, like her jurisdiction to hand out detentions extended to the streets.

Theresa smiled, "That's okay, have a good evening gentlemen."

"Good evening Miss!"

Theresa smiled, she walked home, the sun still out and bright though the days were growing darker.

The streets actually grew a bit quiet, it was a fifteen minute walk home. She smiled to herself, satisfied with her life, though a little bored.

Really bored actually. Rhett was the last exciting thing she did.

And boy was he a fun thing to do.Theresa smiled, but grimaced again. He had been an out-of-town fling. That was it. She sometimes had reveries about what if they got together, and everything was sweet, but even as she conjured these thoughts she recognized them for what they were, delusions.

She heard a weird engine purr behind her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She kept walking, but the purr followed her, like a creepy Cheshire cat.

Couldn't be. He doesn't know-

"Mrs Hall, I need you to explain something to me.", a southern drawl. Theresa stopped, her heart thumping.

"How did you-", Theresa said, turning round.

Rhett nudged up his Ray-Bans and slid them over his head and on top of his hair, "-You wrote to me, apparently against your own will, which is quite some achievement. But that isn't the issue here, explain to me how a bold, sassy girl was too chicken shit to contact me even when she figured out how?"

Theresa could not help but be affected by him, he was wearing little but a black T-shirt, his chorded muscled arms showing. His back was straight and defiant and his already handsome face had lost the beard, revealing a beautiful sensuous mouth.

She smiled and despite herself ran up to him, "It's so good to see you. I've missed you!"

He stopped his bike by the sidewalk, swung off it and opened his arms, receptive to her hug.

"Missed me that bad, then you should have written to me, naughty girl.", he patted her bottom.

Theresa looked around in mild panic and tried to draw out of the hug, "Don't Rhett, people might see."

Rhett looked at her in exasperation, "I kinda guessed that's what it's all about. You're afraid of what folks might think of you cavorting with a gringo?"

Theresa swung her head slightly, like she was swinging between two decisions, "Hmm, I live with my family you know. Still not allowed boys in the bedroom so I hope you didn't come down here just to chase tail. "

Rhett raised an eyebrow and grinned roguishly, "I am here for work. Got my chopper shop two blocks away from here with Fritz. The tail chasing is just incidental."

"What? Don't tell me you're crazy? You're now living here, with Fritz? What if you had bought the shop and in turned out I didn't even live here?", Theresa looked at him incredulously, though her heart was secretly bursting in joy.

He shrugged with deliberate casualness, "Didn't really think that far ahead, just wanted the change of scene. Figured I might eventually bump into you sometime too." Rhett sounded hopeful, this worried Theresa. She looked around to see if anyone was watching her, a group of kids were pointing at her.

"Well that's really nice, but, I don't think anything will work between us Rhett.", Theresa was trying to be sensible, responsible, not a fantasist of Pollyanna proportions.

Rhett looked a bit disappointed, but resolute, "That's cool, because the last thing I am looking for is to get tied down."

"So why are you here?", Theresa assessed Rhett curiously.

"Was just passing through on my way to my new business. Thought, why not stop over, and have a little fun, with Theresa.", his eyes grazing up and down, over her curvy body.

Theresa shuddered at the attention, "If I said no?"

Rhett took a step closer, "Would you say no?"

He captured her hand; he just needed to touch her.

Her stubbornness melted as she felt his thumb caress her palm, "Okay only for a little while, just for fun, and we can't tell anyone."

-------------------

15 years later

"Did you really have to tell the kids that, that we met in a coffee shop? What's wrong with how we really met? " The older white guy, with a tidy trimmed beard and a balding head of hair gazed keenly at his black wife, a little plumper than when he first met her, but just as beautiful, whilst flipping through the newspaper.

Theresa looked at Rhett, tilting her braided hair, "Hm let's see now, what is wrong with our love story? Attacked by trucker, check. Saved up by coarse biker, check. Have a fling with biker, definitely check that. Biker fights to protect me, uh huh, done that, so check. Biker moves to San Franscisco on a crazy whim, yup. Biker gets disowned by family members because they don't like his girlfriend being black, check. Marry said biker in Las Vegas. Definitely check. Not exactly a dinner time love story baby."

Rhett looked at Theresa who was cutting sandwiches for the kids to take to school the next morning, "I don't know. I think you just listed all the reasons why we should tell our kids how we met."

Theresa smiled, "I never meant to fall in love with you, you know that right? I don't know how you tied me down."

Rhett smiled, "Handcuffs and rope. Like you didn't know that would be my answer."