Small Town USA: Famous in a Small Town (Short One)

Chapter Fifteen: The Long Walk Home

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Memphis set his beer down on the counter and looked over his shoulder at Natalie. She was dancing with Mr. Arthur, who was a retired gym teacher. He was spinning her around and she was laughing. She had said she wasn't sure how to dance to country music and she wasn't kidding. But Mr. Arthur was a good dancer so he was able to lead her.

Memphis found himself smiling a little as he watched them dancing. She seemed like a sweet girl, a little out of her element but he probably would be too if he went to Boston.

After the song ended, Natalie walked back over to him, still laughing. She went to sit down on the stool beside him, but only caught half of it under her leg. She fell sideways but Memphis managed to grab her before she could hit the ground.

"You ok there, Boston?" he asked helping her to sit upright.

"So good," she said.

"Do think maybe you should be getting home?"

"Are you asking to take me home?" she said. He was sure she was trying to give him a sexy look but alcohol severely impaired that.

"No. I'm pointing out its almost midnight and I'm pretty sure you have school in the morning."

"So do you. Not school but work."

"I'm not drunk though."

"Neither am I."

"OK. Come on, Miss Hanson. I'll walk you home."

"Walk me home? But this is a small town. Won't everyone be talking?"

Memphis looked around the bar at the people who were left. "I'm thinking they already will be. Come on."

Memphis helped her to stand upright. She smiled at him, a little unsteady on her feet. He put his hand on her waist to stabilize her. Memphis threw some money down on the counter and they headed towards the door.

Outside, Natalie drew in a large lungful of air. "You couldn't do that in Boston."

"Do what?"

"Breathe."

"What?" he asked.

"I mean you can breathe but it's not as fresh or something. Does that make sense?"

"Sure."

Natalie looked around. "I think it's this way," she said starting to head down the street to the left. She stopped and turned around. "Nope, it's this way."

"Oh great," Memphis said following her, slightly amused.

"Hey, it's not because I'm drunk. It's because I've only been here for like a week."

"If you say so."

"It's this way for sure. You know... all I've heard is how protective everyone is of you."

"Of me?"

"Yep. But it seems to me that you can take care of yourself."

"I'd like to think so."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes before she finally looked up at him. He was really good looking, tall, handsome, everything she used to imagine her country boy would be. But she couldn't remember ever having to work this hard for a guy's attention before.

She stepped in front of him and stopped. He looked down at her.

"You always brood this much?" she asked.

He titled his head slightly, pondering her question. "Am I brooding?"

"A little."

"My apologies. Lots going on today. A pipe burst in the basement. Wrecked a bunch of the kid's things from when they were little."

"That's too bad."

"It is what it is."

They continued walking. Natalie tried hard to think of anything else to say to him but her mind was a complete blank. He wasn't winning any awards as a conversationalist either. She hated awkward silence. She always felt like she had to fill it with something and usually what came out were things she immediately wished she hadn't said.

"My house is that one there on the corner," she said, pointing to the white two story with the picket fence.

"You're renting," he said, though it wasn't posed as a question.

"How'd you know? Oh right, small town."

"My kind-of-sort-of uncle owns it."

"Roger? How is a person kind of sort of an uncle?"

"He's married to my actual uncle's ex-wife. Katie isn't really my aunt anymore but I still think of her like that. She used to babysit me after school. I'm closer to her than his new wife, even though they've been married for like twenty-five years."

"Do you actually call him Kinda-Sorta-Uncle Roger?"

"Sometimes."

"Seriously? That's cute."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Well, I guess this is my stop."

Memphis looked up at the house. "I guess so. It's a pretty nice house. It's got some quirks. My Kinda-Sorta- Uncle Roger did some work to it without having all the proper materials. Don't worry though, it's all up to code and everything's safe. There's just some weird things. Like you turn off the light in the kitchen and the outside light goes off too."

"Yeah I noticed that."

"I think he's going to put up motion lights outside so you don't always have to leave the lights on."

"He said he had a list a few things he was going to do, so..."

Memphis nodded his head. Natalie pressed her lips together and tried to come up with something else to say.

"Do you want a coffee or anything?"

"No, that's alright. If I drink coffee now, I'll never sleep. Besides, you should take a couple aspirin and drink a bottle of water before bed. Coffee will be your friend in the morning."

"Is that the cure?"

"Well, if it's still bad in the morning, boil the kettle and breathe in the steam... you know, not close enough to burn your face or anything. But breathe it in and take another couple aspirin. You should be fine."

"Thanks Memphis."

"You're welcome, Boston."

She smiled enjoying his little nickname for her. She'd never had a nickname before, at least not a nice one. She stood up on her tiptoes and reached forward to kiss him.

Memphis turned his head away from her.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling her cheeks grow hot.

"It's fine. I just gotta get home. I have a pipe to fix and if there's no still no water in the morning, Cheyanne might kill us all. Have a good night, Miss Hansen."

Memphis turned around and headed back the way they had come, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Natalie leaned against her white picket fence and watched him until he disappeared into the darkness.

She sighed and chewed on her bottom lip. "I'll see you around, Memphis Wheeler."