We were both shaken from our happy, blissful state by a loud rapping on the drivers side window. "Are you coming to work today or what?"
Paul laughed as he rolled the window down. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Be there soon."
I shifted to look at the man speaking to Paul. He smiled at me and nodded to Paul. "You must be Rachel."
Paul groaned when I opened the door and slid out of his lap. "And you must be...Manny?" I asked, as he helped me down.
"Very good," he replied with a smile on his face. He held my hand in his and shook it gently. That was a big contrast to his hulking frame. He was huge, broad shoulders and tall. His skin was dark and his features rugged. His hairline was beginning to recede a little, but he still had a silky black mane carefully braided and hanging down his back. You could tell he was very handsome at one time, but time and the sun had left him with crinkles around his eyes and mouth. He had that same cocky swagger that Paul had and I wondered if this was who he had learned it from. "Paul didn't tell me you would be in town for the holiday. It's really nice to meet you."
Paul approached us with a scowl on his face, pulling my hand from his. "Okay, old man. You had your shot. I'm not in the habit of sharing."
"Paul!" I scolded. I had never seen Paul act so possessive, but honestly it didn't bother me.
Manny crossed his arms over his chest, showing off his biceps proudly. "I'm used to him by now," Manny grinned at me and then added, "Can I interest you in a tour?"
"I should really get going. My sister is expecting me for brunch."
"Well come back anytime. And let Paul show you around. He practically runs the place after all," Manny beamed proudly. Paul seemed to enjoy the compliment and the whole interaction between them made me happy that Paul had a positive male figure in his life.
"Thanks. I sure will try to stop by soon. I'd like to see what Paul has been up to."
"Mostly no good," he chuckled. "But he's a hard worker, so we'll keep him. Nice to meet you, Rachel. I'll see you inside, Paul." He nodded to both of us and strode back into the gym.
Paul wrapped me up in a huge hug and kissed me softly. He handed me his keys and smiled. "I'm trusting you with Francine okay? Make sure she gets back in one piece."
I smiled back at him. "You told me her name."
"Oh yeah. I forgot that was a secret," he admitted, his smile still present.
"Francine, huh? Old girlfriend?"
"Not hardly." He laughed a little. "No dating, no girlfriends."
"Hey, Lahote! You coming to the party tonight?" A young muscular guy approached us and smiled. "Hi, I'm Josh."
"I'm Rachel, I'm Paul's...girlfriend," I announced bravely. I glanced at Paul to gauge his reaction. I don't think I had ever seen his smile beam brighter than it did just then. When Josh reached for my hand, Paul pulled me close and shook his hand instead.
"I don't know about the party..." Paul replied.
"Party?" I echoed. "Who's having a party?"
"It's at Manny's. Some of the guys who work here will be here and some guys from school, too. Just gonna ring in the new year, ya know?" Paul explained.
"Sounds fun. Can I come?"
"You want to?" he asked skeptically.
"I wanna be wherever you are," I whispered before tipping my head back to kiss him.
"Well then I guess we'll see you both there. 8 o'clock, Paul. Don't forget!" I waved at Josh as he jogged off toward the front door.
"You wanna pick me up here later? I should be done by 5," Paul asked when Josh left.
"I'm not sure what Rebecca has planned for today, but I don't see why that should be a problem."
"Good." He kissed me again, pressing his hands to the small of my back.
~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~
"So what's going on with you and Paul?"
I shook my head as I poured pancake batter onto the hot griddle. "What makes you think there's anything going on, Rebecca?"
"Because you look really happy."
I nodded and smiled. I knew she was right. I was happy. I told her some of how we met and how much I liked him. It felt good to talk about Paul and my twin seemed happy for me, which made me feel better.
"So how's the sex?" she blurted suddenly. That was Rebecca. She was always blunt and to the point. Nothing scared her. She got married at 18 and never looked back. I envied her bravery.
"We haven't had sex!" I told her in a hushed whisper.
"Why not?" she teased as we finished setting the table.
"I'm not ready yet."
"You must have cobwebs by now," she teased. She knew about what almost happened to me freshmen year. I called her when it happened, but I made her promise not to tell anyone.
"You're awful."
She laughed and wrapped me in a big hug. "Let yourself be happy, Rachel. You deserve to be happy with someone. And this guy seems to be crazy about you."
"How do you know?" I asked when She released me. "You only met him once."
She played with my hair for a moment and shrugged. "I hounded dad for details. Dad seems to like him...which is scary."
We both laughed. Jacob joined our hug and my heart swelled with love for my family. "Can we eat now?" Jacob whined.
~♡~♡~♡~♡~
Halfway through brunch, Rebecca asked me to go shopping with her. She had plans for a night out with Solomon and she wanted to look 'unforgettable.' I agreed and I told her about my plans with Paul. She thought I needed something new to wear too, even though I told her it was just a house party.
When we got ready to leave, I remembered that I had Paul's Bronco and I told Rebecca I had to get it back to him before we could head to Port Angeles. "I need to take him the keys and then we can go."
She joined me as we searched for Paul. We were directed to the boxing ring and indeed he was sparring, with no head gear on and that pissed me off. As we approached, I saw Paul's muscular back and I smiled a bit. Rebecca nodded in approval. Paul's sparring partner was Josh, the one in had met earlier. He noticed me and waved. "Hi, Rachel," he announced loudly, in an obvious attempt to get Paul's attention.
"Quit fucking with me," Paul growled.
Josh just smiled more and sighed. "I'm not. She's really here...in fact, there's two of them now."
Paul glanced slightly over his left shoulder and with his focus lost, Josh sucker punched Paul right in the gut. I shrieked when Paul's body crumpled to the floor. "You asshole!" Paul groaned as he rolled around holding his midsection.
I rushed to the edge of the ring and climbed the three steps to the top. Josh sauntered over to me and grinned. I shoved him from the other side of the ropes and he scowled at me. "That was a dick move!" I shouted, a little surprised at my own anger.
"Damn! Lahote's girl is feisty!" I heard a voice shout.
Paul groaned again as he rolled under the bottom rope and lowered himself to the floor. He held his hand up to me, helping me down. "Come on, feisty. I'll deal with Josh later."
"I'm so sorry," I murmured into his ear as I hugged him gently. "I shouldn't have come in here."
Paul forced a smile and shook his head. "I'm okay, Rachel. Don't worry."
I lowered my gaze, still feeling awful. He slid his fingers under my chin and made me look at him. "I'm alright, baby. I swear."
"Becca and I are going shopping and I don't know when we'll be back. I wanted to bring your car to you. I guess I should have left your keys with the receptionist."
"Just to be clear," he paused to hold me closer, grimacing a little from the pain, "I am very happy to see my girlfriend, regardless of what that asshole did."
I kissed him sweetly and giggled when the guys in the room whistled. When I pulled away, I handed him his keys and smiled when I felt his eyes on me as Rebecca and I strode out of the gym.
~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~
"Is that what you're wearing?" Paul scowled when he came to pick me up from Dad's house. Rebecca insisted I get ready with her and spent extra time curling my hair and helping me with my makeup.
I looked down at my outfit and sighed, "You don't like it?"
"Oh, I like it. I actually love it," he gushed as he reached for me and pulled me close. "But you can't wear this around my friends," he teased. I felt his hands slide up over my hips and up my back. "No bra?" he gasped.
"Nope." He eyed me appreciatively as I did a small spin for him. I had on a pair of black leather pants that fit me perfectly and a silver shimmery halter top with thin strips of fabric holding the back together. It showed a lot of skin and now Paul couldn't keep his hands off of mine.
"Fuck the party," he breathed against my neck. "Let's go back to my house."
"Paul..." I turned in his arms and faced him. "I didn't spend all this time getting into these pants, just for you to take them off."
He laughed and then kissed me hungrily. He slid his hands over my ass and squeezed me firmly. "You better stick close to me tonight," he advised.
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," I whispered into his chest as his arms held me tightly.
....
A/N: sorry this chapter is a short one. The next one will be the party scene. Thanks for the votes and comments, they really make my day!