Once a Slut Ch. 02

There was a knock on the door, then Matt's voice, "Sis are you decent?"

She laughed and replied, "Yes, give me a second." They quickly pulled on their clothes.

Opening the door but still in Bret's arms, a tall fit, thin pretty Brunette woman pushed past Matt and walked into the room. She didn't look too perturbed so Tippy said. "Hi, I'm Tippy, you must be my roommate Kate?"

"Yes, I am Kate. Welcome." Looking at Bret she said, "And you sir?"

"I'm her boyfriend and chauffeur, Bret. And the kid in the hall is our brother Matt."

Taking in the trio and trying to sort out the relationships Kate commented, "You had best wrap it up before the floor monitor stops by and asks why you two gentlemen are here."

Brett and Tippy said a short but tearful goodbye, "You know I love you." Bret said.

Tippy couldn't say it back, she was afraid of jinxing their relationship, she hugged Matt and the boys headed out for home.

Once they were gone and the door closed, Kate had a few questions. "How is it that you two are boyfriend and girlfriend and have the same brother?"

Tippy laughed. "Matt is my brother, Bret is my boyfriend, more like the love of my life and he has sort of adopted Matt into his family." Kate had kind inquisitive eyes and seemed truly interested so Tippy spent the next half hour telling her the story of the last year.

"Jesus, did you ever get lucky. I have never been that lucky, actually I am a bit of a flirt and flit from guy to guy, if truth be told I am a bit of a slut too. So can I get you to be my wing woman?"

Tippy laughed then they continued chatting while she unpacked.

Tippy was worried. Her life had been so good over the last year. It had been amazing. Bret had been amazing. His family had been amazing. Her past experience did not prepare her to be this happy. She was trying to prepare herself for the disaster and hard times that she feared were coming.

Always being a hard worker and a quick study, she adjusted well to her new life at college. Bret drove out to visit her every other weekend. Dan and Liz treated Matt like their own son. She had a lot of work to do with the huge and accelerated class load she subjected herself to, reasoning that as long as her scholarship was paying for it, she might as well take as much advantage of that gift as she could. Her first quarter she received straight As in her 7 classes. Anxious to get her prerequisite classes out of the way she piled them on the next quarter too.

Kate was a good roommate, quiet, tidy, and clean when she was in their room. They got on well. Kate always the party girl got average grades and wasn't around their room much. In fact, she took an evening job on Friday nights and weekends as an exotic dancer at a 'Gentlemen's' club not far off campus. The clientele was a mix of frat boys, local blue-collar workers and businessmen. Kate found the frat boys to be obnoxious and cheap but liked the businessmen because they knew the score and were usually good tippers. Considering her own past Tippy worried a little about Kate as Kate excitedly told her stories about her profitable and hot visits to the VIP room with her businessman regulars.

Even though she was a brilliant woman, based on her life experience Tippy had developed the world view that happiness must be balanced with an equal amount of sadness and pain. She had been so happy this last year. Now she dreaded the swing of the pendulum in the other direction.

Things were going so well, Christmas with Bret's parents was wonderful, Liz even insisted that she bring her mother. Tippy, still worried and agonized over the three little words she had never said to Bret. It wasn't that she didn't love him. She adored the guy but saying it out loud to him was a big step, huge. A relationship event that she had never had since Bret was her one and only relationship. She thought that maybe over the holidays she could put on her big girl pants and tell him.

School was on holiday break, so she was home for Christmas and New Year's then it was right back to school and the self imposed grind of her schedule. Christmas Dinner had gone surprisingly well, she got her Mom liquored up at home before going to Christmas dinner at Bret's. Her Mom had enough to drink to put her in her comfort zone, a point of intoxication where an alcoholic can fake being normal for a few hours. Tippy and Matt were ecstatic that Mom held it together in front of these people that her children had grown so close to.

But Year's Eve was another story. Dan and Liz were having a small party for friends, family, and employees from the store. Besides Bret there was Matt, Carl who had worked for Dan for 20 years, Earl who had been there for about 5 and the new girl Ashley. Ashley was a senior and a year behind Bret and Tippy at their high school and a little older than Matt. She was a pretty, vivacious young woman with dark hair full lips and huge tits. Dan had hired her because once Bret and Matt joined the staff, he realized that he liked having more energetic young people around. Carl and Earl weren't thrilled, but the customers seemed to like the enthusiasm of the younger staff.

Bret and Tippy were off canoodling when they heard a scream, "Bret! Liz! Somebody call 911!" they charged into the room to see Dan on the floor unconscious with his head cradled in Ashley's lap. Carl stuttered out, "Wa wa we were all talking and laughing about a story Ashley was telling when Dan started coughing then collapsed and hit the floor like a ton of bricks."

Matt who had actually paid attention in Health Class administered CPR until the fire department ambulance arrived, they tried shocking Dan back but loaded him in the ambulance and raced off to the hospital. The 30 minutes between Dan's collapse and the ER was just too long.

Tippy postponed her return to school to be there for the funeral. Everyone was devastated. Bret had lost the man he had depended on his entire life, But Tippy and Matt lost the man who had become a surrogate father for them the only father they had ever really know.

Somehow Tippy made it back to school on a bus. Matt wasn't up for the 10 hour round trip and Bret needed to be with his Mom.

Things rapidly began to spiral out of control from there. Tippy and Bret kept up their nightly calls but on the third day back Bret called and things didn't go well. Bret sounded drunk.

Tippy asked, "Baby, have you been drinking?"

Bret shot back angrily, "What's it to you? You aren't my mother!"

Tippy had never heard such an edge to his voice she was shocked and deeply hurt. "N N noo... I am not your mother, I am your girlfriend."

"Well, you are not here are you! What do you know about how I feel, what I need to help me cope!"

"Bret, baby, are you still at work?"

"Damn right! I am at work. With Dad gone there is so much to do. All I do now is try to figure out the things Dad never taught me!"

"Bret, keep your voice down, what if somebody hears?" Unbeknownst to Tippy, Ashley was right there listening to the entire conversation.

"I don't give a fuck who hears!!" which made Ashley smile to herself. Then, "I don't have time for this!" and Bret hung up the phone.

Tippy was devastated. She cried for 30 minutes. Did she imagine all the feelings she thought they had for each other? She had always thought Bret was her soul mate, she had seen the line in a book long ago 'They were fated to be mated' She always thought that Bret felt the same way about her. Why would he talk to her that way? Why didn't she ever tell him how much she loved him, more than any person in the world? Why hadn't she at least told him how she felt and get him to open up about his feelings. Was their relationship nothing more than sexual? Were they just 'fuck buddies? Tippy cried and cried and cycled through all these doubts and regrets a dozen times while she tried to control her sobbing.

Kate walked in halfway through and could only say "Tippy? What the fuck??" and put her arm around Tippy's shoulders.

"Kate, I can't talk about it. I have to call him back!"

Tippy pressed the speed dial and Kate grew increasingly alarmed as the conversation unfolded, Tippy's expression of pain morphed into her turning white as a sheet then to fury.

Bret's phone was answered and Tippy said, "Baby, I'm so sorry."

A woman's voice replied. "This is Ashley. Bret's not here Matt drove him home and he forgot his phone."

"OK, I will call Liz at home." Tippy replied.

"No, don't hang up! I want to talk to you." Ashley said quickly.

"Yes?" Tippy said not really wanting to talk to the other woman.

"Look, I have some questions."

"Yes?"

"Since you were such a fucking slut, when I fuck Bret so he can get me pregnant do I need to worry about catching any diseases? I'm sure a whore like you isn't clean."

"Wha.. What?"

"Are you going to make me repeat it? Pay attention Tiffy." Ashley said with acid in her voice. "I want him, and I am going to take him from you."

At this point Kate watched Tippy's face go from ghostly white to lava red. Tippy didn't know what to say she stuttered out, "You... You... You dumb fucking little hillbilly bitch!! Bret is my soul mate!"

"Funny you should call me a dumb fucking little hillbilly bitch. That is exactly what I was thinking about you. I don't ever recall seeing Bret's ring on your finger. I guess you are wrong about that fairy tale soulmate bullshit."

Tippy was so mad all she could do was scream obscenities into the phone. Kate tried to shush her and finally took the phone from her and asked in the phone, "Who is this?"

"This is Ashley, I work for Bret and I am his new girlfriend."

Kate didn't know what to do with that and just hung up the phone.

Tippy fumed for an hour before she felt calm enough to try and call Liz and warn Bret, but it was really late, and no one answered. Then she tried to call Matt.

A groggy Matt answered, "Sis? Are you OK?"

"No! Bret and I had our first real fight."

"I know, everyone in the store heard. What happened?"

"I could tell he had been drinking and I was worried, then out of nowhere he blew up at me."

"He is probably feeling guilty, he has been in an awful state since Dad died." This was a tacit acknowledgement that they shared that Dan had been a surrogate father to them.

Tippy started sobbing, "I feel so bad and useless, why did I leave him?"

"Because you had to get back to school and get that degree you had wanted for as long as I can remember? It will be OK. I will talk to him in the morning and get him to call you."

Matt was so groggy that Tippy didn't want to keep him up with Ashley's bullshit so she said good night and, "Make sure he calls me?"