This is for the September challenge – write a fun/fluff story in less than 1,000 words.

Rayna walked out into the apartment living room, wearing her faded jeans and one of Deacon's old flannel shirts. Her hair was tied in twists, so that when she got to the Opry it would be all wavy. Deacon was standing in the living room, dressed for the show, holding Rayna's dress bag, with her performance clothes and the gown she would wear afterwards.

"I don't feel good," she said.

"You're just nervous."

"I want to throw up."

"Ray…."

"I need a drink. Maybe just a shot." Deacon put down the bag and went and poured them both a generous shot of whiskey. They downed them quickly.

"Let's go," he said. Rayna followed him out to the truck and then they were on their way to the CMA's. They were performing and she was also nominated for the second time for Female Vocalist of the Year, at the tender age of 23. Life was pretty good right now. But Deacon knew she was anxious, as she always was before a performance.

###

After the performance early in the show, Deacon followed her off the stage. He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed the back of her neck. "See? No problem. You were awesome, Ray."

Rayna smiled. "Yeah, but now it's the award. What if I win? What if I lose?"

Deacon laughed. "Well, it will be one or the other. But you'll always be a winner to me."

Rayna took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm always afraid I'll forget someone. If I win, that is." When they got to her dressing room, she let him hold her and kiss her. Even though it was pretty common knowledge they were a couple, they didn't like being obvious and so they were always very circumspect unless they were behind closed doors. Like now. She shooed him out to find their seats while she changed into her gown.

###

When she got to their seats, the seat-filler next to Deacon got up and left. She sat down and looked at him with a little smile and a twinkle in her eyes. He raised his eyebrows at her in question. She just smiled a little more, shrugged, and turned to face the stage.

The first time Rayna was nominated, she hadn't won. She hadn't expected to. But now that she was nominated a second time, she wanted to win. She watched Vince Gill walk up to the microphone and begin the announcement of the nominees for Female Vocalist of the Year. "Mary Chapin Carpenter. Rayna Jaymes. Patty Loveless. Reba McEntire. Pam Tillis. And the winner is….Rayna Jaymes!"

It felt like everything was happening in slow motion. Deacon squeezed her hand and she turned to smile at him. She got up and walked towards the stage to accept her award.

###

Rayna was glad they had decided to record the show. They sat in the darkened living room, drinking whiskey, and watching the show on the VCR. She was still wearing her gown. She was pleased at how calm she looked, walking up to hug Vince and take the award. She was happy she remembered to thank Deacon.

Deacon leaned into her. "You did great, Ray. You didn't look nervous at all."

She gave him a wicked smile. "You know why? It's because I took off my underwear. That's all I could think about. Amazing how that helped."

Deacon's eyes widened with surprise. "Seriously?" he said, with a chuckle. "How did I not know that?" Rayna grinned at him. "Well, now that I do know, I'm assuming you still aren't wearing any." He reached for her with a leer. "Now it's all that I can think about. So let's do something about it." And he pulled her up off the couch, turned off the TV, and led her to the bedroom as she giggled.