Lyrics of a Small Town

I smiled at him and he sat up from his reclined positon. His lips brushed mine and then he bit my bottom lip. “We need to swim or we are going to have to go inside,” he told me.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I can’t fuck you out here.”

“Oh,” I gasped, and my body immediately reacted to his words.

He stood up then and pulled off his tank then looked down at me. “Let’s get in.”

I joined him and pulled the sundress over my head, realizing the vodka was to thank for my inhibition. When I dropped it on the lounger beside his shirt, he was staring at me. His gaze was appreciative but he seemed unhappy.

“Fuck,” he muttered then took my hand and we walked to the water.

When we got to edge, I saw Saul glaring angrily at Drake. “Not one motherfucking word,” he warned.

Drake held up his hands. “I didn’t say shit.”

“He’s making sure you don’t,” Rio called out from the other side of the pool.

“Why aren’t you threatening Rio?” Drake asked defensively.

“Don’t,” Saul said again.

Thankfully Drake let it go. Saul pulled me farther in then he let go of my hand and he went under swimming across the length of the pool. The cold water was a relief from the sun and I walked in until it was over my breasts.

“You’re new,” the guy that I hadn’t seen before said. He had just walked over and sat on the edge of the pool.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” I replied.

He nodded his head toward the other end of the pool. “How do you know Saul?” he asked me.

“We, uh, well.” I wasn’t sure the proper answer for this.

Saul’s head came up beside me but he didn’t look at me. He turned to the guy. “She’s with me, Hills,” he said.

The guy shrugged. “I assumed that. I just didn’t know if this was a one night only thing since Fleur wasn’t here.”

Saul tensed beside me and his jaw clenched. The guy was making an assumption based on what normally happened here. Saul had no reason to get upset over it. Unless he thought it would upset me. I touched his arm and tried to get him to look at me.

“No, that’s not what it is,” he replied.

His tone made it clear he was angry. “I get it. No worries,” Hills said and stood back up.

Saul turned to me then and his hands went to my waist. “I’m done out here,” he said and I followed him out of the pool. He grabbed two towels and handed me one from a large teak cabinet.

I wrapped it around me and watched as he picked up our dry things. No one said anything as we headed inside. I wondered if he was always like this at parties. I didn’t want to be the reason he didn’t enjoy them.

When we were back in the house, I grabbed his arm to stop him. “Hey. What’s wrong?” I asked.

He turned to look at me. “Nothing.”

I wasn’t letting him off that easily. “Yeah, there is. You were angry the entire time we were out there.”

“I’m dealing with shit,” he said.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked him. Was something going on with his mom again that he hadn’t told me?

A smile that didn’t match the frustrated look in his eyes crossed his face. He shook his head. “No, I don’t think I do.”

That stung. I was just trying to help. “Okay.”

His gaze stayed on mine for a few more moments and then he reached out and took my chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I warned you I was damaged. This is a part of it I didn’t realize I had an issue with.”

“What does that mean?”

Saul took a step toward me and closed the space between us. “Until you, I didn’t know I had a problem with jealousy. I do. I’m dealing with possessiveness and that’s new to me.”

“I’ve not done anything to make you jealous,” I pointed out.

His gaze dropped down at the towel covering me up. “That bikini,” he said.

“It covers up more than what the other girl out there was wearing did,” I pointed out.

“I don’t care about who sees her body,” he replied.

But he cared who saw mine. I wanted to be mad at him. I really did. I tried to get mad at him, but I couldn’t. He was being honest with me and he said he had never felt like this before. I felt it then… the falling.

And I fell a little more.

“I thought it was just going to be us,” I told him.

He pulled me to him. “You wore it for me then?”

I nodded.

“I wish they would all fucking leave,” he said.

“I thought you liked parties.”

He pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I’m finding I don’t like them at all.”