Damon picked up his phone and scrolled through until he found her name. He had promised to call her as soon as he figured out his schedule for the next few weeks. As he listened to the phone ring, waiting for her to pick up, he felt a twinge of anxiety. The constant scheduling and planning was taking a toll on both of them. It was just so rare that their free time matched up. Damon knew she was starting to get frustrated and upset and he desperately wished there was something he could do about it.

"Hey, Rockstar," Emily said happily when she answered. "How are you?"

"Not bad. You?"

"Alright. Your call woke me up because I apparently fell asleep as soon as I got home after shopping with Kaylie today."

"I'm sorry, babe. Go back to sleep," Damon said quickly. "We can talk later."

"It's the afternoon I need to have lunch and do other things ," Emily said with a small laugh. "I shouldn't be sleeping anyways."

. "I've got my schedule," he continued. "Ready to hear it."

"Let me grab my calendar really quick," Emily said. Damon waited and heard her flipping through pages, searching for where she had written down her schedule for the next three weeks. "Okay. So, how's the 23th? That's my completely free day."

Damon slid his finger down the paper he had on his office wall , hoping not to see the 23th listed with yet another obligation written next to it. He sighed. "Not good."

"Fine," Emily said shortly. "I have the 5th and 6th open, but just the evening on the 4th. How's that?"

Damon's heart skipped as he checked for these dates. "The 5th is good! But I have to be in Chicago early morning on the 6th for a meet and greet, so…". His voice trailed off. He heard Emily sigh loudly. "Anything else?"

"Just the 9th through the 13th," Emily said, and Damon could hear the frustration in her voice. "But you already said you're busy then."

Damon didn't respond. He just sat down heavily in one of the chairs at his kitchen table. He waited for her to speak again.

"Did you have any other dates?" Emily asked, sounding cautious.

"No. Anything else is already stuff when you're busy, so…". He trailed off again.

"It's not my fault that I'm busy?" Emily said, her voice a bit louder than before. "You're busy, too."

"I know I am," Damon said slowly. "I didn't mean anything by that, I just meant that… Well, I don't know what I meant. But… I'm not blaming you or anything."

"That's how it came across," Emily responded bitterly . "That it's my fault we can't figure this out."

"Baby, no. I didn't mean that. I just -."

But she cut him off. "No. I can't. I just… can't. We…". Her voice broke suddenly and Damon could hear in her tone that she was emotional. It was as though he could see each tear rolling down her face.