• Troublesome • Rhett x Reader •

• Chapter Seventeen •

"So your car just didn't start?" He sits in his car as I open the door.

"I think the battery's drained. It didn't even try to turn over." I explain, staring at my car.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Nah. Tomorrow I'll just take the bus to get my dad's car from the bar and use that one until I can either charge up my battery or just get a new one."

"Sounds like a plan. Goodnight, (y/n)." He nods. 

"Goodnight."

I find myself lingering in his car for a brief moment, wanting to stay, trying to think of any reason to spend another moment this close to Rhett. Alas, my mind was drawn to a blank and I retreated inside anyway.

I lock the door behind me, knowing my dad wont be returning home for a while. Maybe I'll throw some popcorn in the microwave and cozy up to watch a movie. If it's not too late, that is. I step up into our small kitchen and take a quick glance over to the clock on the oven. It's a few minutes off, but still pretty close to accurate. 12:38 AM. I ponder for a bit, and ultimately decide that my future self can suck it, and that I deserve a movie before sleep. After all, I'm not entirely sure I want to sleep with everything that just happened bouncing around in my mind.

Just as I close the flat bag of popcorn in the microwave and hit the "popcorn" button, I hear a quiet knock at the door. A sudden panic washes over me, like nails down my spine. Either someone is about to hold a gun to my head, kill me and ransack my home, or its Rhett. And why would he be here? So I mentally prepare to be shot on the spot as I open the door.

The familiar face on the other side eases my worry, only to spike it right back up.

"Can I kiss you?" His voice is modulated, yet breathless. I almost don't react to what he said, rather, I tried to figure out if this was some sort of hallucination or a cruel prank. After some seconds pass, I try to speak.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat yourself?" My throat pinches off towards the end and I swallow any words I might've tried to add. Probably for the better. This time, he steps closer, and his words are honey-laced.

"Can I-" he gestures at himself, "kiss you?"

So I heard him right.

"U- um, I, uh..." His eyes anticipate my reply, and my head is struggling to figure out if this is even reality. "... Yes?"

I feel his large hands on my shoulders before I feel his beard tickle my face, then finally I feel his lips on mine. A strong burst of excitement fills my chest and makes me nearly recoil to avoid screaming at the top of my lungs out of sheer joy. Nothing else mattered at this moment. Not Nicole, not my Dad, not my car. I just want to focus on this moment.

He pulls away, beaming down at me. My eyes are so wide, and I must look ridiculous, because he laughs aloud before coughing his giggles away. The beeping of the microwave snaps me out of my trance.

"Well, have a good night." He concludes, then walks back to his car. No other words or gesticulations. Not even a wink or a wave. He just dipped, he bounced, he was outtie. Just like that.

I'm not even certain that just happened. That was a dream, right? The microwave beeps again, a reminder that I had indeed put popcorn in there with the intention to watch a movie. That is definitely not happening anymore. I take the popcorn out of the microwave, and apologize to it before tossing it in the trash.

The sheets are nice and cool to the touch, so naturally sprawling my entire body out over it only makes it feel that much better. And knowing not more than 10 minutes ago Rhett kissed me? Oh, I'm absolutely and unapologetically on top of the world right now. Screw negative Nicole. He told me earlier he's separated, so this is morally okay!

I close my eyes and, after a few hours of restlessness due to my own giddiness, I finally fall asleep.

Sorry for the shorter/later update. I just got home from vacation and whipped this up while I had the motivation. <3