Page 22 of A Country Kind Of Love

“Yes, please,” sheyells back.

She closes the key cover on the piano. She grabs her green claw clip from the table and proceeds to roughly remove the hair from her face.

When she reaches the breakfast bar her sandwich is ready and waiting, accompanied by a glass of orange juice. Whoever raised him, raised him well. Peyton is blown away by his kindness on a daily basis, she wants to do something in return, but what? Maybe she could write a song for his band. It wasn’t a terrible idea. He claims to only play for fun, but it is his main source of income. Peyton has come to realise, that aside from occasionally helping Elijah repair roofs across town, he relies on gigs to pay the rent. Peyton thinks there’s more to his story than meets the eye, but she’s waiting for himto open up.

“Good morning,” Peyton greets Jesse.

“Morning, I hope you like your bacon well done.” He sticks the frying pan under the tap until the oil stops frazzling and projectile spitting fat aroundthe kitchen.

“I do, thank you.” She reaches for the glass of juice. “You’re turning out to be the perfect roommate.”

He shrugs. “I have to make up for leaving toothpaste all over the sink, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.” The sandwich is mouth-wateringly good, or maybe she’s starving; nonetheless she enjoys it. Peyton’s phone vibrates, it’s a private message from Cleo. Her lips move to create a very fine smirk. When she looks up, Jesse is watchingher amused.

“What?” Peyton asks. The social media message confirms the time they’re meeting. Peyton’s stomach flutters.

“The smile on your face wouldn’t have anything to do with Cleo, would it?” He knows.

“That obvious?”

“She walked out of here beaming last night. I figured it had something to do with you.” Jesse leans back against the worktop. He runs his fingers through his beard with one hand; the other folds across his stomach. He waits for her to elaborate, but what is there to say?

“We’re going on a date. At least, I think it’s a date.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s a date.” Jesse chuckles.

“I’m nervous.” Peyton covers her eyes with the palms of her hands. A few seconds later she feels two rough hands pull them apart. Jesse leans acrossthe counter.

“Cleo’s a good girl; just be yourself.”

“Do you know much about her? Anything I need to know?”

“Erm, like is she a serial dater? Or, has anyone she’s dated gone missing? That kind of stuff.”

“Yeah, those would be pretty vital things to know,” Peyton confirms.

“I know her through Marvin. I met her a few months ago. She seems nice, confident, and charismatic. She knows who she is and what she wants in life, which is rare. Hell, I’m not sure I know what I want.” Jesse laughs. “I guess that’s all part of the fun. Plus, she has really good hair. I’m a little jealous,”Jesse adds.

“You have cute curly hair too,” Peytonpoints out.

“This scraggy thing?” He shakes his head, and the curls bounce up and down. It’s long in some places, short in others. She can tell there’s been no recent trip tothe barber.

“Nothing that a bit of conditioner can’t fix.” Peyton smirks.

“Where are you heading on your date?”Jesse asks.

“The Country Music Hall of Fame.”

“I love it there. Try not to show Cleo up with your trivia skills.”

“I will try to tone it down.”

Peyton jumps up and high-five’s Jesse. “It’s time to get ready. Wish me luck.”

“You don’t need it,” Jesse calls out.

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