Love Me ~ Like That (9 page)

I don’t work long in the rose bed because of the heat and I’m tired from last night. Managing the undercurrent of Hendrix’s mood is exhausting and I need to relax. I pack it in for the day and come in to get a bath; I have a book to finish. The sexy cowboy of my dreams is waiting for me on my Kindle. I love reading because it takes me to another place and time. I’ve also learned some new sexual positions, not that it has done me any good.

The bath is warm and cozy and pulls all the tension from my muscles. The cowboy is hot and all alpha male. He is about to put this woman in her place and get busy with her when my phone dings with a message from Hendrix.

Dinner tonight at the club, I’ll pick you up.

I ignore his message by escaping back into my book, but a nagging thought keeps me from being able to focus on the words on the screen. I have never been to dinner at the “club.” Unable to resist the opportunity, I reply, Sure, what time are you going to pick me up?

There isn’t any time to be wasted here. Good thing I’ve already got everything shaved and my hair washed. I jump out of the tub and wrap the towel around me. I have no idea what to wear and I hate to call Lizzie to ask for her help because she will give me shit, but I need advice.

“Hey, girl, whatcha doing?” I ask once she answers. She starts talking so fast, I can barely make out what she is saying.

“...then she bent over and the whole damn dress split up the back. She turned around to see what happened and lost her balance, fell flat on her ass! It was EPIC, Bailey!”

She is laughing so hard I’m scared she is going to crack a rib. “Who are you talking about, Lizzie?” I inspect my manicure. The color is chipping. Maybe she’ll want to go get mani-pedis? My mind is running through my beauty routine at ninety miles per hour.

“Have you not been listening to me? Jesus, Bailey, what has gotten into you?” She giggles. “Hilary!”

Now that is funny.

Lizzie is a bridesmaid in Hilary’s cousin’s wedding. Unfortunately, Hilary is the maid of honor and has been giving Lizzie hell. Back in high school, Hilary was the kind of girl who thought her shit didn’t stink. She had the perfect hair, the perfect body, wore only designer clothes and had every guy in school wrapped around her finger. She knew they all wanted to go out with her to screw her, but she used that to her advantage. She tormented us saying we were trashy, or spreading rumors about us. How we didn’t kill her in high school is beyond me. I’m glad Lizzie’s dealing with her now and not me.

Funny thing is, Hilary gained the freshmen fifteen twice over and it all ended up in her ass. Baby’s got back—ha ha. She has enough to balance a glass of water on her bottom but is oblivious to the fact. This wedding has been a fountain of entertainment for us, and Lizzie calls me after every encounter to update me on the current ass-a-demic.

“Really? What did she have on this time? No, don’t tell me, I don’t even want to know what the dress looked like.” If I laughed any harder, I’d probably pee my pants. We really should stop with all of this childishness, but if you saw how she treated us in high school, you would have prayed for her ass to grow two times its regular size too. Praise the Lord. We really aren’t mean girls or anything, at least not too much.

“Hey, what should I wear to the country club for dinner? I mean it’s not like it’s a special occasion or anything, but I’ve never been there and I don’t know how dressed up I should get.” I can picture Lizzie rolling her eyes.

“Don’t tell me ‘A Joke’ is finally introducing you to Mommy and Daddy Dearest. How nice.”

“They aren’t going to be there, just a cozy little dinner for two.” I knew asking her wouldn’t be a good idea. She hates him.

She lets out a long sigh. “I’ve never been either, Bay, I would wear something I felt comfortable in, like a church dress. I don’t know what you see in him anyway. He is trying to change you.”

I’m tired that every one of our conversations involving Hendrix turns in to her bashing him. “Lizzie, not today okay, I don’t have a lot of time. Hey, let’s get together tomorrow and get our toes and nails done.” I’m the master at changing the subject! “I’ll even buy you a Chi Tea Latte. We can have a girls’ day. I’ll see if mom can stay with Papa and Granny. That way we won’t have to rush. Doesn’t that sound awesome?” We make plans for tomorrow and say our goodbyes. I still don’t know what to wear. I stand in front of my closet with my hair wrapped in one towel and the other towel wrapped around me.

A soft knock sounds at my door, “Who is it?”

Granny is standing in my doorway with her walker, and I laugh that she still thinks of me as a little girl she has to come to check on. Granny will know what I should wear. She is one fashionable little lady, and she may have worked hard her whole life, but she still looks so good. Her skin is plump and almost free of wrinkles. She says it is due to her cold cream. All she wants every Christmas is a jar of that “cold cream.” I asked her the name of it last year. She just went and got her jar of Oil of Olay. The cheap pink stuff. I think her good skin must be due to living right and good genes. I’m glad I have those genes too.

“What are you doing, Bailey?”

“Come on in, Granny. I’m trying to figure out what to wear for dinner at the country club.”

Granny walks over to my closet, and looks into it with me.

“Lord, I haven’t been there since your Papa’s retirement party, which was when you were just a little thing. I know, how about that sweet little dress you wore to Sadie’s wedding back in the spring? You looked so darling in it.” She points at my white dress with all of the lace.

The dress spoke to me as I walked by the sales rack when I was shopping with Granny for her dress to wear to the wedding.

“You think that will be okay for the country club? Sadie’s wedding was sort of casual with her wanting all of us cousins to wear boots.”

She nods. “You look so beautiful in it, no one will even notice that it is a little casual. Bailey, I want to get to know Hank better. Let’s invite him for dinner tomorrow night.”

She is too sharp for this name game she is playing, “I’m on to you, I know which one of you has the dementia, remember?” I tap my temple. “I was going to see if Mom can stay the afternoon tomorrow because Lizzie and I want to have a girls’ day.” I take the dress out and hold it up for inspection. The dress is white lace over a white cotton mini dress. I’m so glad I’ve gotten some sun the last few weeks because the lace-only sleeves will show off my tan. I pair the dress with the same brown belt I wore to the wedding. I hope it doesn’t make it look too casual. Without the belt, the dress just hangs funny.

“That sounds like a fun day, I’ll call Kathy Rose to see if she has plans for tomorrow afternoon. That will give me some time with her.” She wanders off to make plans with my mom.

I hurry back into the bathroom to get my hair dry and finish applying my makeup. I do a light smoky look tonight because I love how the color makes my mossy green eyes pop. I don’t want the shadow too dark though, so I add another swish of mascara. The rest of my makeup is subdued. I want to look classy, not trampy. It’s all about the image you portray.

I look at my phone, still nothing back from Hendrix. I check to make certain my text went through. Yep and it has been read, too. I throw my phone back on my bed. Since I probably don’t have time to straighten my hair, I throw it up in a messy bun. Lizzie thinks having my hair up makes me look more sophisticated. It does look good up this way, even if I do say so myself.

I am contemplating shoes when I hear the doorbell. Please tell me that isn’t Hendrix. I put on my boots. I step back and look at myself in the full-length mirror. The boots really do look best with the dress and belt. I put on some chunky bracelets to keep the accessories simple. I hear Granny calling my name.
Earrings.
I need earrings with my hair up like this. I hear a knock at my door. “Come in.”

Granny comes in. “That pretty boy is here to pick you up, I’ll tell him you need a couple of minutes.”

Granny can hardly contain her laughter. She has been around Lizzie way too much if she is picking up on this name calling business. “Hey, watch it or it will be the old folks’ home for you.” I wink at her.

Her laughter bounces around the room as she closes the door behind her. I can hear her back in the kitchen now talking to Hendrix. I take one last look in the mirror and grab my purse.

“It’s in a couple of weeks, right out here in our own backyard. We do this every year, it’s just one huge picnic,” Granny says.

No, please tell me she is not inviting Hendrix to the family reunion. No, no, no. I round the corner, putting a smile on my face as Hendrix answers Granny.

“That sounds nice. I will check my schedule and let Bailey know if I can make it.”

His eyebrows are lowered like he’s frowning, but his lips are curved up, at least on one side. He gives a smug half laugh.

“Bailey, there you are, don’t you look pretty, honey.” Granny tilts her head.

She gives me a gentle smile, and I look over at Hendrix dressed in dress pants and a jacket. He looks so classy. I feel like a country bumpkin. The very thing I have been trying to get away from over the last couple of years. His hair is the perfect shade of sandy brown, and he wears it short. The front is gelled so it stands up just a little. He is what I think of when someone mentions Prince Charming. His eyes are the color of caramel, and a hint of green is always in his eyes when he looks at me. I love being wanted by him, like he needs me. But that’s not the case tonight. He looks repulsed.

“You aren’t dressed yet?” he exhales and runs a hand across his mouth as he rocks back on his feet.

“I’m ready, or at least I thought I was ready.” I look at my feet. I glance at Granny and her face has gone full on hellfire and brimstone. I feel really queasy. Like I’m going to be sick. I need to get Hendrix out of here before Granny does something I will regret. She looks all sweet and innocent, until you do or say something about one of her kids then all bets are off.

“At least change your shoes, Bailey. We are going to the club not the rodeo.”

I grab his hand, pulling him with me to go change my shoes. I bite my lip a little hoping it looks as sexy on me as the authors make it sound in the books. I probably need to practice in the mirror some more because based on his pissed off look it doesn’t appear to be working.

“I have some sandals, will that work?” I smile as sweetly as possible.

He glances at his watch, rolls his eyes and looks at my boots again. He lets out a long breath. “Just forget it, Bailey. We are already going to be late.”

He smiles showing those perfect white teeth. I look into his eyes that are normally so beautiful, and I get the impression that I’m so inadequate. My heart hitches a tad. I can’t believe someone like him even wants to go out with me. I will do everything in my power to keep him. I want out of this life and this town. Being with a man like Hendrix will ensure that I will be able to live a better life.

We step outside. Immediately, he pulls me in for a kiss. I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips to his as I wrap my arms around his waist. My dress rises a couple of inches, and he uses the opportunity to grip my ass beneath my dress. His tongue eagerly peruses my mouth. He is always aggressive when he kisses me, showing me how much he wants me. I shift to move away and he pulls me in tighter. See, he’s making up for not liking my boots. Once he has me dazed with lust, he lets me go and walks to the car without another word. I am left standing, aroused and breathing hard.

After he gets into his car, he looks over at me. “Well, come on, Bailey, I told you we were in a hurry.”

I go to my side of the car and slide in next to him.

I’ve been looking for a good excuse to go over to the Jacksons’ all afternoon when I finally come up with offering to refinish those old rocking chairs. I’m ready to walk across the street to present my offer when that prick pulls into the driveway and disappears into the house. I wait, hoping he’s only stopping by for a few moments. I pace from the driver side to the passenger seat of my old work truck. I am rolling up the window when Bailey comes out of the house on his arm. I watch as he stops and kisses her long and hard then leaves her standing in the driveway while he climbs his ass into the joke of a car. Good, he is leaving. He calls back to her, and she walks around and gets into the car. He didn’t even get her door. I thought every man got the door for his lady, at least during the honeymoon period. I’m not in any hurry now to go over to the Jacksons’ so I amuse myself with the thoughts of how I can treat Bailey better, and what I would do if she were mine.

An hour later, I stroll across the street to tell the Jacksons what I have in mind. As I’m about to knock on the door, I hear a crash from inside. Then Mr. Jackson starts hollering something I can’t understand, but he sounds panicked. Something is wrong! Instead of knocking, I go on in and see Mrs. Jackson on the floor. Mr. Jackson is bent down beside her. I immediately dial 911, but I’m not one to take chances. I bend down to check Mrs. Jackson’s vitals while I talk to the 911 operator. I look over at Mr. Jackson and see tears in his eyes. “Mr. Jackson, what happened?”