Hard To Leave - Riley Green

- 4 -

Riley Green:
ben thinknig bout u

Lina Marlowe:
Really?

Riley Green:
I miss u Lina

Riley Green:
come too nashville

Those words make Lina grin to herself. She quickly pockets her phone when the floorboards creak behind her.

"Hey baby." Tommy mumbles in a thick, tired voice.

"Mornin' handsome." She smiles back, hopping up on the counter with her cup of coffee in her hands. "Hey, I gotta go to Nashville for work next week."

"How many days?"

"Just two. I gotta help with somethin' I don't remember what."

She gotten a marketing degree and a minor in interior design from the local community college and has been helping companies out with getting their names out there.

"So looks like you got the house to yourself." Tommy smiles as he leans back against the counter between her legs.

Lina wraps her arms around his front and rests her chin on his shoulder, her lips against his neck. "I love you." She whispers.

Goosebumps appear on his skin and he bites his lip. "I love you too."

Her phone buzzes but she coughs to hide it. "I gotta start packin'."

"When- when do you leave?" He asks, turning to face her.

"Tomorrow." She replies, running her fingers through his light brown hair.

He sighs and nods. "Gotta get ready for church." He mumbles. The two head back to their shared bedroom where they get showered and dressed for their morning.

+++

Lina really did have to go to Nashville for work, that wasn't a lie.

Currently, she's sitting at the Frothy Monkey editing some pictures she posed and took for the Graduate Hotel chain.

She's got a cup of coffee in front of her and headphones covering her ears.

The rest of the world doesn't exist while she's in work mode.

She gets a picture of the lobby finished before she packs up her stuff. She needs to get back to her hotel, the wifi sucks here.

Just as Lina is leaving the shop, there's an echo of her name down the street. "Lina!"

She turns and sees Riley walking toward her with a guitar case in his hand. "Riley, listen, I don't think it's a good idea to-"

"Where ya goin?" He asks, slipping his hand in his front pocket.

"Back to the hotel." She replies, adjusting the bag strap on her shoulder. "What about you?"

"Back to my house." There's a sentence she can see dancing on his lips but she hopes he doesn't say it.

Riley says fuck it.