Lyrics of a Small Town by Abbi Glines

Twenty- Four

“Henley.” Saul’s deep voice was near my ear and I turned to snuggle closer to him.

When I heard a low chuckle, I smiled contentedly and went to slide a hand over him, but I couldn’t find his body. Confused, it took me a moment and I blinked then realized it was dark. I had fallen asleep.

“It’s dark.” I stated the obvious. My voice was thick from sleep.

“Yeah, it’s four in the morning,” Saul replied.

Four in the morning? Four in the morning! I sat up quickly, almost losing my balance and falling off the edge of the bed.

“Woah,” Saul said as his hands held my arms. “Easy,” he added.

“Work,” I said. “I have to bake.”

“I know,” he replied. “Let me get you home.”

Oh. Okay. Yes, I could go back to Gran’s and have plenty time to bake. It was fine. I started to stand up and I remembered. Several things. First of all, that I was completely naked. I grabbed for something to cover myself with and ended up pulling the sheet up to my neck.

More laughter from Saul.

“I’m naked,” I told him.

“I’m aware of that,” he replied, sounding amused.

I sighed and looked around the dark room for my dress. That’s when the memories of him taking the dress off and all that followed surfaced. I looked back at him and even in the darkness, I could see his smirk.

“Henley, my face was between your legs last night. Are you really worried about me seeing you naked?” he asked.

When he put it that way, it sounded ridiculous. “Yes,” I told him, knowing it was dumb.

He moved then and was right back holding my dress out to me. “Here,” he said.

I took it. “Thank you.”

I slipped it on quickly and then stood up. He was still standing by the bed, so my body brushed against his. He didn’t say anything or even touch me and I felt a slow sick knot begin to form in my stomach.

“I’ll get your bag,” he said then moved away.

I stood there in the dark room and watched him go. This was not what I expected him to act like after… well, after we had sex. I wasn’t sure how I thought he would act, but this was not it. He was acting like he had before we had done anything.

I wasn’t sure how I should act. Having sex with a guy I had only known a few weeks was not like me. Especially since the guy had just broken it off with his girlfriend. Who was I? Where had Henley gone?

Saul returned with my bag. “I’ll carry it. Here’s your shoes,” he said and put them in front of me. Looking at him I realized that Henley had lost all common sense due to the hotness of the man in front of her.

I quickly slipped my feet into them as he began walking to the door. I followed, trying not to read too much into this. I needed to focus on getting to Gran’s and baking things. I didn’t need to overthink every single second of last night. I had slept with Saul. It had been incredible. I was twenty-one years old and we were single. This was completely acceptable.

I had to be honest with myself though, Saul had been with a lot of girls. This was nothing new or special to him. Whereas I had only been with Will three times before he died. That was the extent of my sexual experience. We were not the same. This was all surprising and confusing for me.

The house was quiet as we went down the stairs and then out the front door. Saul held it open for me then when we reached his truck, he opened the door for me again. Both were polite and I thanked him. However, there was no soft kiss on the lips or touch of his hand on my back. Nothing. It was all very cold and I couldn’t convince myself that this was normal.

“I forgot your panties,” he said as he backed up and pulled out onto the road.

“Oh,” I replied. My panties weren’t of great concern right now.

He didn’t say anything more and a couple minutes later, we were pulling into Gran’s driveway. When he cut the engine and climbed out, I was surprised. At this point, I expected him to open my door and push me out while the truck was still moving. He seemed ready to get rid of me. Was this how it worked? He got sex and now he was moving on.

I didn’t wait to see if he was coming to open my door; I did it myself and when I stepped out, he was right in front of me. I stared up at him scared that I had made a mistake, sad because I was already missing him and he was right in front of me.

“Henley,” he said in a low voice.

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath. “Stop looking at me like that or your baking isn’t going to get done. Hillya will show up here looking for it and find me fucking your hot little ass on the counter. Do you understand?”

My face flushed and my eyes went wide but I managed a nod.

“Good. Go inside and get your stuff done. Then come back to my place,” he said as he brushed a stray hair that was blowing into my face back.

“Okay,” I whispered.

He groaned and stepped away from me. “Go inside.”

I started to say something and he shook his head no and pointed at the house. The gleam in his eyes was a warning. One that made all my worries vanish. Smiling, I grabbed my bag and turned and headed for the house.

When I was inside and the door was closed behind me, I looked back to see his truck lights come on as he pulled out of the driveway. My cheeks hurt from grinning so big. He wanted me to come back. Which meant I needed a shower and to change. I glanced at the clock and hurried to start on my baking. While the banana loaf was in the oven, I got a quick shower. Then I put the muffins in and shaved my legs. When the granola was baking, I brushed my teeth and changed into a pair of cut off jean shorts and a red tank top.

Slipping on my sandals, I loaded the items in the car and headed to take them to work. I was only five minutes later than I normally delivered when I walked into the back door of the shop. Hillya was covered in flour, and Emily was icing some cinnamon rolls.

“Good morning,” Hillya said, smiling at me.

Emily grunted. She was not good with getting up this early.

“Good morning,” I replied and placed the items on the counter. “I didn’t try anything new this morning. This is some of the regular stuff that sells out.”

“I just appreciate you doing this on your days off. I need you to write down these recipes, so I can get someone in here to help me and you can have a real day off,” Hillya said.

Thinking about this morning and having to leave Saul’s bed, I decided that needed to be moved up the list of things to do. The idea of still being tucked in his bed with him made me wish I’d done it sooner.

“I’ll work on that,” I told her.

Hillya looked up from the bowl she was stirring. “Good!”

I said my goodbyes and headed outside. Soon, I was going to have to ask Hillya about Rebel. Just not today. Things with Saul were new. I was happy and I wanted to enjoy it. I wasn’t sure how long this thing with us was going to last. Being with Saul was all I wanted to think about for now. It was as if I had a break from reality when I was with him.