Rachel and Jeff Pt. 03

There she sat, waiting for the moment when Jeff would finally make his appearance in baggage claim. She was doing everything she could to keep her heart rate down, but was having little success. Her palms were sweaty and her legs were bouncing up and down.

A new stream of people had just started to appear in baggage claim, but she had no idea if they were from Jeff's flight. She stared at each one and started to make up a story for each person, which she was hoping would distract her and calm her nerves.

The first person she analyzed was an older woman in her late seventies or early eighties. She didn't look to be in bad shape, so Rachel decided that she was in town to try out for the local wrestling league's featherweight division. Not long after that a woman in her thirties came into view with two young children. She didn't seem to be having an easy time with her kids, so Rachel decided that she was here to drop her kids off with their estranged father and run off with Leon "The Hammer" Coleman, the heavyweight champion of the local wrestling league.

The local wrestling league was kind of a big deal in their town.

The next person to enter her realm of judgment was a guy that seemed to be around his mid-twenties. He had a long beard that dangled a couple of inches below his face in a braid, and he had a sleeve of tattoos on one of his arms. He was kind of tall and athletic looking, so she decided to keep with the theme and have him challenge The Hammer for his championship. This guy would win of course, since that shit was rigged and The Hammer was running off with that other lady anyway.

More and more people piled into baggage claim, and none of them were Jeff. Part of her was relieved at being able to put off their first face to face meeting in five years a little longer, but it just meant that she had to just sit there and be nervous that much longer too.

She noticed in her periphery that someone had taken a seat right beside her, which she found annoying. There were lots of empty seats, and this person just had to sit right beside her. She cut her eyes over slightly and saw that it was the braided beard. Not only did he sit down right beside her, but he was looking right at her. She did her best to ignore him and not make eye contact, but he just continued to stare. Just as she started to get up and find a new seat, he spoke to her and her heart skipped a beat at the familiarity of his voice.

"You know you've changed a lot when your own twin doesn't even recognize you."

Rachel's mouth dropped open as she slowly turned her head to look at her brother sitting next to her. Now that she actually looked in his eyes it became obvious who he was. The beard had just been a mask, and the tattoos just some very unfamiliar markings.

"Oh my...hi! Um, hello! Wow, you look...you've changed so much. But it's good! I just didn't..you know."

"Yeah, I know Rach, it's cool. No need to explain. I look very different."

They continued to sit for a while until Rachel noticed that she had been staring at her brother for what seemed like far too long.

"Bags! Let's get your bags. What do they look like? I'll help you find them!"

Rachel had gotten up to make her way over to the rotating mass of luggage, but Jeff called her back.

"Hey, wait! I've just got this one carry-on bag. Don't have much stuff, really. Nothing that I felt the need to haul all the way back here, anyway."

"Oh! Well even better! Um we can just go then. Yeah, let's go!"

Rachel was talking extremely fast, and her movements were very spastic.

"Uh, sure, yeah. You okay Rachel?"

"Yeppers! I am A-okay! Now let's go! Vamoose! Hit the bricks! Make like a tree and leave! Let's bump this place!"

Jeff turned his head to his side and looked at Rachel with concern.

"Okay...it's just that, you're talking kinda fast, and moving around really fast, and your voice is very loud. And I'm pretty sure there a few people who have stopped to stare at us."

Rachel looked around her. There did seem to be a few people who had literally stopped in their tracks to observe their conversation.

She took a deep breath and spoke again, this time a little slower.

"Right. I'm okay, really. Can we go though?"

"Sure, lead the way."

They headed towards the entrance of the airport and made their way to Rachel's car. When they got in, Rachel started the car, but didn't go anywhere.

"Are you sure you're okay Rachel?"

"Well Jeff, maybe I'm not okay. I haven't seen you in five years and I've barely talked to you during that time. I'm nervous, I'm confused, and this feels really awkward. I don't know what to say or how to act. And to top it off, you seem perfectly at ease and unaffected, which is making me feel worse."

Jeff nodded his head in an understanding way.

"You know how they say when there is a crisis, sometimes one person will panic and the other one steps up and acts rational and makes the right decisions? Well, I think there are some similarities between that and our situation. I was nervous as hell getting off the plane. I didn't know what to do when I saw you either. Do we hug? Shake hands? But I guess when I saw you start freaking out a little bit I just felt like I had to balance you out and relax. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"So why don't you just drive, and we'll small talk for a while or whatever until this feels more natural again."

"K."

Rachel drove out of the airport and was on the road a few minutes before Jeff finally spoke.

"So, what's new with you?"

"Well, I'm in college now, as I think you know. Majoring in Finance, which I love."

"Cool, I'm so glad you found something you're interested in. So what kind of place are you staying in?"

"I have an apartment."

"You living by yourself, or do you have a roommate?"

This was the part Rachel had been dreading the most, and Jeff was getting right into it.

"I have a roommate."

"Oh cool. You let her know I'd be staying, right? This isn't going to be someone awkward surprise when I show up, is it?"

"I let them know, and they are fine with it."

"They? More than one roommate?"

Rachel gathered herself for a moment.

"Jeff, my roommate is a guy."

"Oh."

"A guy I share a room with. And a bed."

"Oh. So you are living with your boyfriend?"

"That is correct."

"Were you afraid to tell me this?"

"No! Well...yes. I mean, why wouldn't I be?"

"Rachel, it's okay. Can I clarify something for you?"

"Uhhh, yeah I guess."

"Me coming out here to see you, it's not about what we used to have between us. I haven't seen my twin sister in five years. You were my best friend. I just missed you. And when the band broke up and I knew I was coming home, you were the first one I wanted to see, so I asked to come stay with you. It was never about trying to hook up with you again, I just missed my sister. I swear that's it."

Rachel let that sink in before she spoke.

"That is really good to hear Jeff. I've missed you too."

Jeff reached over and squeezed her hand for a few seconds before letting go. Rachel undeniably felt a familiar spark when they touched, one that she desperately tried to ignore.

"So Jeff, what the hell have you been doing for these past five years?"

"Well, in a nutshell, you know that we made an album. It did not do well. At all. One critic actually said, and I quote, 'If Limp Bizkit impregnated the Dixie Chicks, Melting Pot would be their aborted fetus'."

"Shit!"

"Yeah, I know. We were pretty bummed about it. But, as it turned out, albums sales skyrocketed in Denmark. They LOVED us! So we moved there, made another crappy album, and they ate that one up too. I've made some really good money off those horrible songs, and I'm damn proud of it!"

"So why did you guys decide to break up then?"

"You ever been to a Costco or Sam's Club?"

"Of course..."

"Well, imagine a giant container of mayonnaise from one of those places. That represents the creativity of, let's say, The Beatles. They would dip a knife into their jar and spread some out. But when they were done, there was still a lot of mayonnaise, or creativity, left in the jar."

"Jeff, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"The creativity, or songwriting ability, or whatever you want to call it, of Melting Pot can be represented by an airplane bottle size of mayonnaise, if there were such a thing. Once you spread out what little bit was in there in the first place, that's it, jar's empty. We did the most we could with what little we had, and we realized real quick that it was just over."

Rachel glanced over at her brother in awe.

"No one on Earth has ever made such a confusing and bizarre comparison in the history of time."

"I'm one of a kind. So tell me about your boyfriend."

"Whatcha wanna know?"

"Let's start with a name."

"Duffey."

"You call him by his last name?"

"No, that's his first name."

"Hm. Well, it's a nice name."

"Shut up."

"What does he do?"

"He's in college too. He also works part time at a gym. He's kind of a fitness guru."

"So Duffey's buff?"

"Yes."

"Cool. And you say he is okay with me staying with you guys for a while?"

"Yes, he said it was fine. What is your plan exactly?"

"Don't have one. I've got a bunch of money, so I don't really have to work for a while. I'm hoping to find myself, or whatever. Like I said, I mainly just want to see you for now."

"Well that's very sweet. As far as your money goes, how much are we talking?"

"Getting kind of personal, aren't you?"

Rachel glared over at her brother.

"Fine, don't tell me."

"No, it's cool, I don't mind. Let's just say that it isn't quite seven figures, but it's not too far off from it."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Do? I don't understand."

"Well, have you thought about investing it?"

"No."

"Well, think about it then. I can help if you want. I've kind of learned some things about that."

"Eh, I don't know. Mom never invested any of that life insurance money she got when Dad died, she just spends it wisely. She seems to be doing pretty well."

"You really want to follow Genesis' lead on that? Or on anything, for that matter?"

"Hmmm, good point. Maybe I can invest some of it. Can I trust you to do all the work and not share any of the boring details with me?"

"Of course you can."

They eventually arrived at Rachel's apartment. As they were walking to her door, Jeff asked a question.

"So is there anything I need to know about Duffey?"

"Ummmmm...I'll just let you form your own opinions without any of my...ahem...bias."

"That's kind of scary."

When Rachel opened the door, the sound of someone singing along loudly to Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" could be heard coming from the kitchen. Rachel rolled her eyes and gestured for Jeff to follow her.

"Duffey!"

Duffey had their back to them and was chopping various fruits and vegetables to be put into a smoothie maker. He had no idea they were in there, due to his loud singing and the high volume of the song.

"DUFFEY!"

"Why don't you try poking him with a broom handle?", Jeff suggested.

Rachel waved off his comment, grabbed Duffey's phone, and paused the song.

"Whoa, bae, haven't I asked you not to touch my phone?"

"And haven't I asked you not to call me 'bae'?"

Duffey just looked at her, then looked over at Jeff.

"Duffey, this is Jeff. Jeff, Duffey."

Jeff extended his hand out to Duffey.

"Hi Duffey, nice to meet you."

"The Doof."

Jeff opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He looked over at Rachel for guidance, but she had closed her eyes and lowered her head into her hand.

"I don't...I don't really know.......what?", Jeff stammered.

"Call me 'The Doof'. That's what everyone calls me."

"Oh! Okay then, totally. Well, it's nice to meet you Doof."

"The."

"Huh?"

"The, brah. The Doof. Not just Doof. Call me The Doof."

"Ah. Not a problem. Nice to meet you, The Doof."

"Yeah. Rachel, you pick up that protein powder I asked you about?"

"No Duffey, I did not. There are already two enormous canisters of it on top of the refrigerator. There literally isn't enough space between them and the ceiling to fit another one."

"Ugh, fine, I'll get it myself later."

The Doof resumed his vegetable chopping.

"So, uhhh....ahem...The Doof, thanks so much for letting me stay here for a while. I really do appreciate it."

"Yeah man, no problem. It'll be nice having another bro around. I love living with your sister and all, don't get me wrong. But it ain't always easy, you know, living with a female. Sometimes I do miss having guys around."

"Yeah, I know how much you crave male bonding, seeing as you only hang out at the gym with your buddies like 10 hours a day", Rachel said.

"Don't start that right now, bae. Not in front of the company."

"Dear god, I will pay you so much money to stop calling me that. Jeff, why don't you follow me and I'll show you your room."

They walked down a short hallway that had two doorways at the end of it. Rachel led Jeff into the one on the left.

"Here you go. Not much, but it's got a bed, and you've got your own bathroom."

"Thanks, Rach."

They stood in silence for a few moments before Jeff gave a big yawn and stretch.

"So listen, I know I just got here, but do you mind if I take a nap? I didn't get much sleep on the plane."

Instead of responding, Rachel stepped up and wrapped her arms around Jeff. He returned the hug. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes. Finally, Rachel discretely wiped a tear off her face and let go.

"Have a nice nap. I'll see you whenever you wake up."

She walked into the room across the hall and shut the door. Jeff shut his too and, within minutes, was fast asleep.

*

"Mmmm, yeah bro, take this cock."

"Please stop talking."

Rachel was on her knees and elbows as Duffey fucked her from behind. Everything felt really good, as usual. But, as usual, she was starting to get turned off by his incessant dirty talk, which did nothing for her.

"You like this big dick bro?"

"Not a 'bro', dude."

She just tuned him out like she always did and let her mind wander. She thought about Jeff, napping across the hall, and started thinking about all their wonderful encounters from years ago. Jeff really knew how to turn her on and make her cum. She actually had never had an orgasm with anyone else. No one had ever really tried all that hard, really.

She imagined it was Jeff's dick that was going in and out of her, and this immediately turned her in again. She started to rock her hips in rhythm with Duffey as she thought about Jeff squeezing her ass roughly. All of a sudden, Duffey stopped moving.

"Hey bae, can I finish?"

"Please do."

It didn't take long before Duffey started to arrive at his orgasm.

"Oh yeah brah, here it goes, here it goes...The Doof! The Doof!"

As always, Duffey screamed out his nickname as he came into the condom.

"That was good tonight bae, thanks."

"Anytime brah."

Duffey looked questioningly at Rachel, then shrugged his shoulders and went into the bathroom.

Rachel lay on her back and contemplated masturbating, which was something she often did after sex with Duffey. By the time she decided she wouldn't, Duffey came out the bathroom.

"I'm gonna hit the gym for a few hours. You good to be on your own for dinner?"

"Yeah. I'll probably see if Jeff wants to do anything."

"Cool. Don't expect me back until late."

"Yep, I know the drill. See you in the morning."

"Later bae."

Rachel stayed in bed for a few minutes after he left. Then she went into the bathroom and took out her diaphragm. Sometimes she wondered if it was overkill, having him wear a condom and using protection herself. Then she thought about giving birth to a little Doof and worried they weren't using enough protection.

She put on a t-shirt and sweatpants and wandered into the kitchen, where she saw Jeff sitting at the bar drinking a glass of water.

"Hey, you shaved your beard off! There's my brother's face!"

"Haha, yeah I got up from my nap, looked in the mirror, and decided I looked kind of ridiculous."

"You didn't look ridiculous, just not yourself."

"Well yeah, that's kind of my point. M'not in a rock band anymore, don't need to uphold that image any longer."

"Yeah, well you could shave your beard off. Do those tattoos peel off or anything?"

"Haha, no I'm stuck with these I guess. I like them though! Here, look. See this cool dragon with flames? And right here, it's an alligator eating an eagle eating a snake eating a rat. I came up with that idea all by myself."

"I always knew you were a closet genius."

"So, uh, not trying to be high maintenance or anything, but I haven't had any food in a really long time. I tried looking around for some chips or cookies or something, but I couldn't find any."

"Yeah, we don't keep a lot of junk food around here, Duffey's pretty healthy."

"Well that's alright, I'm flexible, I'll eat healthy. Got any Pop-Tarts then?"

"Hmmmm. He eats a different kind of healthy than that."

"Oh."

"I do have the makings for spaghetti, if you're interested."

"Ah, perfect."

Rachel started to prepare the meal and they talked some more.

"So, uh, your voice has gotten a lot deeper since I last spoke to you."

Rachel was taken aback by this, and felt a little offended.

"What!? My voice is deeper? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I mean, earlier, I kind of couldn't help but hear...I am across the hall, you know."

"Oh no! Oh my god, Jeff! You heard that!? I'm so embarrassed!"

"Nah, don't be! It's like I said though, your voice has really changed."

"I don't follow."

"When you were calling out his name. 'The Doof! The Doof!' Your voice gets really deep when you cum now."

"Ugh, you know good and well that wasn't me! It's so weird when he does that."

"Yeah, I heard him call you 'bro' a couple of times too."

"That's just how he talks."

"I guess. What's the deal with the whole 'Doof' thing anyway? Wouldn't 'The Duff' be a more appropriate nickname?"

"I brought that up once, and he got really defensive about it, so I just go with what he wants to be called."

"So how are things between you guys?"

"Oh, um, fine!"

"Please don't take offense or anything, but, uh, he doesn't seem to be what I thought would have been your type."

"Well, we have dated for two years now. We used to have a lot of fun together when we were in the Air Force. He kind of helped me come out of my shell a little. I actually started getting out and socializing and stuff."

"Wow, that doesn't sound like you at all."

"Yeah, I know. He really helped me in that regard."

"But are things still good between you guys?"

"Yeah, they're not bad. I know our relationship seems kind of strained, and I so get really annoyed by him some of the time, but I think that just comes with living with someone. Doesn't it?"

"I suppose that's probably it."

Rachel put some garlic bread in the oven and finished up with the spaghetti. They sat at the table and ate, enjoying each other's company immensely. The awkwardness from the airport had definitely subsided, and they seemed to be back to their old ways.

"You're disgusting, you know that right?"

Jeff had taken two pieces of garlic bread and sandwiched a thick layer of noodles and tomato sauce between them. Then he dipped it in a side of extra tomato sauce that he had made for himself, and took a mammoth sized bite.

"Oy haffen ea-un foo in a rong 'ime, Ray-ull!"

"There's an entire spaghetti noodle stuck to your cheek."

They finished their meals and cleaned up the kitchen. They made their way into the living room and sat on opposite ends of the couch.

"So tell me about the rock-star lifestyle, Jeff."