Page 60 of A Country Kind Of Love

“Like an eight.”

“No then.” Jesse starts to fill up the dishwasher one painful dish at a time.

“Well, can you achieve a six?”Peyton asks.

“Absolutely not. I can achieve a four if I’m drunk enough. And if you’re not bothered about your appearance and you always wear your hair up.”

Now she’s intrigued.

“Whose hair have you cut?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is it didn’t go well. There’s a reason I use these fingers to play guitar and not operate sharpequipment.”

“Never mind.” Another reason to get a job. “Last night was fun.” Peyton sips her coffee; her eyes peer at him above the mug.

“What’s your agenda?” Jesse questions.

“Nothing,” she repliessheepishly.

“It was good.”

“And how did the conversation gowith Alexa?”

“You do have an agenda.” He smirks.

Alexa is a twenty-six-year-old newly single southerner. She adores Shania Twain and dates Jared Leto looking men. Cleo had the bright idea to try to set Jesse up. In Peyton’s eyes it seemed like a match made in heaven.

“The two of you hit it off. She laughed at your jokes, and you’re not even funny. That means shelikes you.”

He scowls. “She’s sweet;I like her.”

Jesse lifts his arm; his daily odour check is standard practice. The vintage white Willie Nelson T-shirt has seen better days, but Peyton has an eye for vintage T-shirts, and she’s never seen it before which means it’s rarity must be grand.

“You know, for someone who sniffs their T-shirts to check if they need washing, you’re quite thehomemaker.”

Jesse removes the sleeveless T-shirt over his head in one swift movement. “This one is ready.” He smirks.

“How old is that T-shirt? It’s really cool.”

He examines the wash label on the inside. “So old I can’t make out anything on the label. I want to say the eighties. It’s from The Texas with Love event. I’m sure that was in the eighties. It was my grandfather’s.”

Peyton’s been jealous of Jesse’s vintage T-shirt collection since her arrival in Nashville. “What’s your favourite song?”

“It has to be ‘On The Road Again’. It brings back some good memories.” Jesse grabs some dried mealworms from the cupboard. Peyton marks that cupboard with a giant red x in her mind. She will not open it under any circumstances. He goes to feed the eight-legged beast, not that it needs feeding. Peyton would not be surprised if the tarantula lifts little dumbbell sized rocks when nobody’s looking.

Peyton hums the opening line to the famous Nelson song. “What kind of memories?”

She enjoys her chats with Jesse. He’s only three years older than her, but he has somuch to say.

“My grandad had that song on cassette in his pickup truck. He used to drive us around everywhere. Every time we got in the truck he’d ask, ‘what Willie hit do you want today, kids?’ We’d yell at the top of our lungs, ‘we want ‘On the Road Again’, Grandpa’. I play it when I go back home, and I’m driving around town; it reminds me alot of him.”

Peyton smiles. “That’s sweet.”

He changes the subject. “How are things going with Cleo? I heard you guys singing the other night. You sound great together.” The walls in the apartment are thin, but Jesse doesn’t mind.

“Thank you. It’s going good. We have a small collection of songs I think could work. She’s going to pitch them to Hanknext week.”

“Urgh, I hate that guy.” Jesse grabs his sweater off the back of the bar stool.