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Chapter 29
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Small Town Girl Chapter 30
Peyton put on a brave face and forced a smile as Beau helped her onto the deck. I dropped the bag and small cooler onto the floor of the boat and hopped in. Normally, I sat in the seat next to Beau while he drove-his boat, he was captain-but since Peyton situated herself up front, I joined her. When Beau started the engine, she chewed on her lip and grabbed the seat cushion and edge of the boat as soon as we started moving.I tried to mask my humor, although I did a shitty job. "Once we get through the no-wake zone, he'll pick up speed.""Was that meant to comfort me?" She might choke on her nervous laughter. I pointed to the very front of the boat, currently sitting high in the water. "When we're moving faster, the front will come down, so we're sitting flat on the water. You'll be able to see where we're going-so yes, it was meant to comfort you. You can feel every bump when the water is choppy and the boat is moving slow. At faster speeds, the boat doesn't hit the waves the s
Small Town Girl Chapter 31
It was after eight when we got back to Harden, and the dinner crowd had died down, not that there was much of one in this town. Most of the places to eat were fast food, and the few real restaurants only opened on weekends. I pulled into the parking lot of Starla's Diner, better known as the Diner to the locals. I didn't have a clue where the name came from since there was no Starla that I was aware of, and since there wasn't another diner in town, no one used the actual name to reference it."This place is so quaint." Peyton grinned from ear to ear when she saw the fifties décor. It wasn't intended to be retro; the place was just old.I led them to a booth in the back and slid in. Peyton took the other side, and Beau sat next to her with a dopey grin. I kicked him under the table to quietly tell him to knock that shit off. He took it upon himself to wail like a dog at a full moon. "What the hell, Lee? That hurt.""Sorry, my foot slipped." He knew me well enough to decipher th
Small Town Girl Chapter 32
"Where's Masyn? I didn't think you two ever did anything without the other." Her question was directed at me. It dawned on me, since the two of us were always together, that no one had ever mentioned it. Now that Masyn had been MIA for a couple of days, everyone looked to me for her whereabouts. Any other time, it wouldn't have gotten under my skin, but knowing Masyn was avoiding me made every inquiry painful.I had a mouthful of food-because I came here to eat-so I didn't answer. And before I swallowed, Verna got called away by another table and lost interest in pulling gossip from our table.Peyton poked at her okra with her fork and dipped it in the bowl of gravy she'd requested. "Where is Masyn, Lee?"I shrugged, still eating. "He hasn't seen her since she showed up at his house on Saturday while you guys were swimming.""Not true." I washed down my food with some of the amazing sweet tea Peyton had refused. "I saw her at work today.""Fine. If you want to split hai
Small Town Girl Chapter 33
It appeared we were going to hash out the details of everything that took place since Peyton got to Harden. "No, Peyton," I deadpanned. "I won a bet with Masyn on Friday afternoon...before I ever met you. And my prize was dancing with her on Saturday at Beau's wedding."Her perfectly arched brows drew in, creating a fine line in the center. "But you told me you don't dance." Peyton was back to being confused. There were too many years when she wasn't around for any of this to make sense, and I wasn't interested in explaining the dynamic. "He doesn't. That's why it was such a big deal to Masyn. But then the wedding got called off, and he danced with you at Sadler's instead of her. Then he left with you. And later she showed up at his house and you were there. And again, yesterday when you called, we were at her brother's house, and she stormed out.""It doesn't matter. Peyton, don't worry about it. I'll straighten it out. And Beau, you need to shut up."Peyton reached across th
Small Town Girl Chapter 34
After dropping Peyton off at her hotel and Beau at his parents' house, I made my way across town to Masyn's. Peyton might not know our history and Beau might be full of shit, but I couldn't let this keep going on. Two days without my best friend at my side was two days too long. The entire way there, I psyched myself up for what I wanted to say, what I needed to say. She could very well shoot me down, but I'd never know if I didn't try. And if Beau and Peyton were right-although I wasn't a hundred percent certain they were-then letting this go on only served to hurt the person I loved.It wasn't all that late when I got there, and all the lights were on in the house. Masyn was still up at ten o'clock. Even after several deep breaths, cutting the engine didn't help calm my nerves before I stepped out of the truck. This should feel like a relief, but instead, I dreaded spitting the words out. The fear of rejection was real, even for someone who never had any problems attracting the opp
Small Town Girl Chapter 35
Hesitantly, I reached out and took Masyn's hand. It was cold and clammy from clutching the beer bottle. "Masyn..." My heart threatened to pound out of my chest, and I couldn't get enough air. "It's not Peyton that I'm in love with.""I should have known better." She made a feeble attempt to sit upright without letting me finish what I wanted to say. "I knew when Beau called off the wedding everything would get messed up. He's home. Petyon's here. And my best friend is falling in love."Sober Lee didn't understand drunk Masyn. "What are you talking about?""Peyton. She's got both of you at her fingertips, and both of you want her.""I don't want her.""Beau does.""So what if he does?""One of the Holstein girls is going to take him away.""From you?" I asked, unsure of where she was going with this."Duh." That was a response I hadn't heard since middle school."Do you have any idea how hard it was to talk to him when he was with Felicity?"I did, although I wa
Small Town Girl Chapter 36
I couldn't figure out why we kept coming back to Peyton. "You realize she's leaving on Friday afternoon, right? And going back to New York." Peyton was a non-issue. Beau couldn't date her, and I didn't want her. Masyn began to sway. And when she closed her eyes, all the color washed from her cheeks and was replaced with a hint of green. I didn't have any idea how much alcohol she'd consumed tonight, but it was dangerously close to making an appearance. Before I could get up to find a trash can or carry her to the bathroom, her mouth opened and she leaned forward, covering me in everything she'd drank tonight. And it just kept coming, wave after wave. All I could do was hold her hair out of it. Trying to move her would only make the mess worse and leave a trail down the hall or into the kitchen that one of us would have to clean up. As it stood, most of it was being absorbed by my shirt and jeans, or pooled in my lap. When the retching finally stopped, I took the beer from her han
Small Town Girl Chapter 37
Masyn slept like the dead through the night, and when her alarm went off, she jumped at the obnoxious noise. We both had to be at work in an hour, and I still had to go home to change. She bolted upright, twisted over me, and slapped the snooze button on the nightstand, and the realization hit her that she'd spent the night with me in her bed."Oh, God. Lee...what did I do?" Her hands went to her head where her fingers massaged her temples. There was no doubt she'd have one hell of a hangover to contend with today. "Did we...?" She looked down at my swim trunks and then back at my face. "You know?""No." I'd never take advantage of any woman who was drunk. "After your confession, you threw up, and I brought you in here. You asked me to stay, but we didn't do anything." I hated being the one to remind her of all she'd admitted last night, knowing how much would change between us."My...confession?" she repeated, unsure she'd heard me correctly. With pursed lips, I nodded. "Yeah
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