Determination

Tom breathed a sigh of relief when Fred left him and Denise's presence. He couldn't hide the fact that he felt threatened by Fred's new idea of becoming Denise's chauffeur for two days. The two days sounded like two weeks or maybe months to him. He watched Fred with mixed feelings, whistling happily as he left to get the car ready.

"Tom, you are going to lose Denise to Fred." A warning voice kept ringing in Tom's head. "Send Fred packing before things get out of hand.

Tom raked his hand through his hair and released another gush of air.

"My brother is a handful. Sometimes, I wish we weren't related." He turned to face Denise and tried to force out a smile. He cupped her slightly piqued face and kiss her lips briefly.

"I'm sorry for making you lose your appetite due to my argument with Fred. I regret allowing him to cajole me into staying in my house. All this wouldn't have been necessary if I had said no."