Lyrics of a Small Town by Abbi Glines
Nineteen
Saul closed the door behind him and I stared at the cookies that I had left cooling while I tried to put this together. Drake had called Saul, Hendrix. Lily lived in the Hendrix IV.
“You didn’t know,” Saul said behind me.
I turned to look at him. “What is it I should know?” I asked him.
There was a small turn at the corner of his mouth and he looked like he wanted to laugh. “I knew you didn’t at first, but I thought you would have figured it out by now.” He looked pleased as he said it. “Damn, Henley if that doesn’t make me like you more. You gotta stop doing shit like this.”
“Is your last name Hendrix?” I asked him.
He nodded.
“How? Are you related to the Hendrix people or whoever owns the Hendrix stuff?”
Then he began to laugh. I wasn’t sure why this was funny. I was trying to figure this out.
“I am the Hendrix people, Henley. My father is Archer Hendrix, the CEO of Hendrix Corp.”
What? Was he joking? I studied his face to see if he was serious. Wasn’t the Hendrix Corp a massive chain worth billions of dollars? He drove a beat-up old truck and lived here. In this small town — the freaking Redneck Riviera.
“Your mom?” I asked, not sure what I was asking really. But wouldn’t the wife of Archer Hendrix live somewhere in a fabulous mansion?
“My parents divorced when I was fifteen. Mom’s addiction to drugs and alcohol was more than Dad wanted to deal with. He moved her here and I followed. Someone has to take care of her, but he didn’t care about that or her life. He and I aren’t close,” Saul explained.
I leaned back against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest. Today had been a day for revelations. I wasn’t sure how much more could be packed into one day.
“I stay out of the spotlight, but I have gotten into some things that the media or tabloids get a hold of… most girls recognize me from that.”
I looked up at him. “I don’t read or watch that kind of stuff. I prefer Netflix and books,” I told him.
He started laughing again and reached out and put his hand on my waist. “You keep making me fucking laugh and I may never leave,” he said.
When he was close to me like this and I could smell the sunshine on his skin, he was the scent of summer, it was hard to think of much else. Saul Hendrix was the best-looking man I had ever seen. Looking at him was very easy to do. But he was more than that and because of who he was, despite the messed-up life he had been dealt, I really, really liked him. Too much and far too quickly.
I would have to be careful about that. I’d only cared for one other boy and I had loved him. There had been no other boyfriends or dates. Just Will.
Until now… and I wasn’t sure how to do this. Any of it. I just knew I wanted to.
Saul tugged my arms free from their crossed position over my chest and then with both hands took my hips and pulled me against him. When his lips touched mine, I was ready. This kiss was different. It was deeper and there was more emotion attached to it. I slid my hands into his hair and savored the taste of him. Everything about Saul was sexy and my body was reacting to that fact.
When his lips left mine and began to brush along my jawline, I shivered. He lifted me up then and sat me on the counter. His hands moved down to my bare thighs and he looked me in the eyes, but he didn’t move any closer. I wanted him to. My entire body wanted him to.
“You’re special. It’s the main reason I tried to stay away from you,” he whispered then pressed a kiss to my cheek. “But I’m a man and if we keep doing this, I’m gonna want more.”
I didn’t see a problem with that. Right now my entire being wanted more. “Okay,” I replied.
He chuckled. “Don’t look at me like that, Henley. I’m being good here. It’s a rare thing. Let me succeed at it.”
A lot happened today. He was beyond weary. I could see that in his eyes. He was also right. I had stuff to process and sleep would be nice. Sighing in defeat, I nodded. “We could both use some sleep.”
“Yeah, we could,” he agreed then stepped away from me and I felt instantly cold. I wanted him to come back and for us not to care what was right. For once I wanted to just act on how I felt.
He glanced at the door then back at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
I wanted him to stay but that was again too much, too soon. “Okay,” I managed a small smile.
We stayed just like that for another moment, staring at each other. I wasn’t sure if he was about to change his mind. A large part of me hoped he did. Finally, his shoulders dropped and he stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m gonna go.”
I nodded but said nothing.
He looked torn as he finally broke our locked gazes and walked toward the door. I jumped down off the counter, thinking I should follow him to the door and at least say goodnight. However, he was already walking out. He didn’t glance back as he closed the door firmly behind him.
I stood there until his truck lights came on and he backed out onto the street. Then I went and locked the door, turned and looked at the letters from my mom’s box before turning off the lights and walking past them on my way to the bedroom.
The next thing I knew I was reaching for my phone to shut the alarm off. Groaning I stretched and wished I could just go back to sleep. It felt as if I had just laid down. Getting up at four every morning was getting old. Maybe I would try and figure out my recipes in order to write them down for someone else.
My feet hit the pink fluffy shag rug by the bed and I stood up. Yesterday had been a lot. Now, that I faced going into work and seeing Hillya again, I was brought back to Rebel and who he was and who he could be to me and Rio. Thinking of how I would even bring up the subject of Rebel with her was an obstacle I wasn’t ready for today. I didn’t know when I would feel prepared for that and if I even should. It was very likely she already knew.
Saul had said he would see me today. I didn’t know how or when that would happen but the thought of seeing him made me smile. It helped get the heavier things off my mind or at least push them back and not dwell on them so much.
