Lyrics of a Small Town by Abbi Glines
Twenty-One
When I pulled into the driveway, the grass was freshly cut and a sweaty, dirty Saul was sitting on the top of the front porch steps. I climbed out of the car and made my way up to him. “You cut the rest of the grass,” I stated the obvious.
He smirked. “Looks that way.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I told him.
He cocked one eyebrow. “Because you were going to?”
I bit my bottom lip to keep from smiling. How was he even more attractive all dirty and sweaty? I had never been a fan of guys in tanks, but when one had arms like Saul, they worked. Seriously worked.
Thank you,” I said.
He grinned. “You’re welcome.”
“Do you want to come inside and get cooled off?” I asked.
He raised his eyebrows. “Why don’t you come to my place? I have a pool,” he reminded me. “We can watch the sunset.”
The idea of wearing a bathing suit in front of him with all my pale skin on display made me panic for a moment. He was waiting for me to respond and I had no excuse to keep from going. I wanted to spend time with him, get to know him. If I had to put on a bathing suit then so be it. I could do this.
“Okay,” I agreed
He stood up. “Where’ve you been?” he asked me.
“Another item on Gran’s list checked off,” I told him then went to unlock the door.
“I take it there was no major revelation in this one, you don’t appear shaken.”
I shook my head and went inside the house. “No, it was easy enough. Just dropped off some of her items to a friend.” I turned to look at him then. “I’ll just go get my bathing suit. If you want something to drink, there is bottled water in the fridge.”
“Thanks,” he replied and walked toward the kitchen.
I hurried back to my room and had the debate over one-piece or two-piece. My two-piece was nothing like the bikinis I had seen on the females at his house party, but I liked the color on me. The turquoise had made my pale color more attractive or so I had thought when I bought it. Picking it up, I put it in a bag then added a beach towel. Taking one last look at myself in the mirror, I took a deep breath an exhaled slowly.
When I made my way back to the kitchen, Saul was leaning against the bar drinking a bottle of water. His tank was sticking to his sweaty chest and I took a moment to admire the view. It had been awhile since I allowed myself to even look at a guy. After Will, I didn’t notice guys at all. I didn’t notice a lot of things. I hadn’t been living life just going through the motions.
My life had become routine and since moving to Gran’s, I realized just how boring I had been. Will would have never wanted that; Gran definitely hadn’t wanted it.
Well, Gran, it’s not boring now.
“I have some cookies if you want one,” I offered.
He cut his eyes to the cake plate on the counter that the cookies were being kept. “I noticed. Wasn’t sure if they were for the café or not.”
Walking over to the cake plate, I took a napkin and put two of the cookies on it then handed it to him. “They were a trial run. When I get stressed or bored or just in the mood, I begin making up recipes. I tried one and I liked it, but I need a second opinion.”
He took a bite of one of the cookies and I realized I was watching his neck muscles flex in the process. Snapping my eyes back to his face, I caught him grinning. I knew I was blushing, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“These will sell. Fucking delicious,” he said then put the rest of the cookie in his mouth.
“You can take the rest. I won’t eat them and I’ll have to make fresh ones for the shop,” I told him.
After I bagged up the other cookies, I started to turn around and hand them to him, but he backed me up into the corner of the bar. Both of his hands lay flat on the marble counter top and he looked down at me with a small grin tugging at the corner of his perfect lips.
“Before we go,” he said in a low voice then he lowered his head and his mouth found mine. I may have let out a small moan of pleasure because even sweaty having Saul Hendrix this close made me lightheaded. He tasted of my cookies and that made my heart do a silly little flip.
He growled then broke the kiss but ran his nose across my jawline before standing back up. “I’m nasty and if we don’t stop, you’re going to be as fucking dirty as I am,” he said.
The images that brought to mind didn’t repulse me in the least. It did quite the opposite. I didn’t tell him that though, because it sounded a little deranged. He took the bag from my shoulder and the cookies from my hand then nodded his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
I was smiling. I couldn’t help it. He made me smile. This version of Saul was the one that made me happy inside. He made me forget there was another version of Saul that was very different. If he continued being like this, it was going to be hard to remember how falling for him was foolish.
It was too late about the caring for him. I cared for him before he kissed me. It hadn’t been his looks that had caused it either. It had been him. It was hard to put off a bad boy vibe when you spent your days saving the people you cared about from themselves. There was more to Saul than he wanted people to know. Gran had known just how good he was and I trusted that.
He opened the passenger door of his truck and I climbed inside. It smelled surprisingly good except for the nicotine scent, although I was becoming fond of the faint linger of cigarette smoke. Probably a very bad idea but it reminded me of Saul. That and coconut. His truck smelled much like the tropical vacation commercial he should be starring in instead of driving around in this truck wearing a pair of jeans and a sweaty white tank.
I glanced down and saw a rehab pamphlet between the seats. When he was inside the truck, I picked it up. “Did Lily come home?” I asked him.
He simply nodded.
I started to put the pamphlet down, thinking it bothered him that I had seen it. He glanced at it then looked at me. “You can look at it. That’s a new one she’s not been to before.”
It was in Washington. That was so far from here. I wondered if she always went that far or if this was something the doctor thought was a good idea.
“She swears she will be better. I’m just torn about trusting her. I don’t want to make the wrong decision.”
I couldn’t imagine that kind of pressure. It was his mom’s life and he had to decide what was best for her. That kind of responsibility shouldn’t come until she was elderly and could no longer live alone. And yet he had been doing it since he was a teenager. Had he even had a chance to be a kid?
I glanced at him as he drove and wished, once again, I could help him. I also feared just how much I cared about him. The more I was around him and the more I got to know him, I let a little more of my guard down. How long would it take for me to have nothing left to protect myself? And did I care about that anymore? Would it be so wrong if I did fall in love with Saul? Maybe it was time I wasn’t so careful… this could be my chance to truly let go and just live.
