I gave you my heart
It began when they were first dating, way back on that night he drove her home from a party and they shared their first kiss, in his old pick up truck, right there in front of Lamar's house. He was still involved with Samantha Beesley at that point, but they were all just teenagers, finding their own way in the world, not entirely committed to commitment. Samantha was back home in Kansas City visiting her family for the Christmas holidays. Natchez, Mississippi wasn't a place he wanted to return to so he told his mom he had some paying gigs and had to stay in Nashville. He dropped Beverly off at the bus station with a gift for his mom and went off to look for some friends to party with. He new her made the right decision to stay put when he saw her at the party two nights later. That pretty redhead he'd been crossing paths with. He'd been thinking about her for weeks, since he first laid eyes on her at the Bluebird Cafe. He wrote a song about her that night, and it seemed like every night since. They'd spoken a few times but one of them was always running off or being dragged away.
This night, Christmas Eve, it seemed like they were the only two standing still.
"Don't you have family you'd rather be with tonight?"
"I could ask you the same," she said.
They both got to talking about their families and before they knew it they were the last ones to leave. The friend that had driven her had long since gone home and Deacon was happy to give her a lift. Light snow had started to fall. Odds of a white Christmas were slim but it sure looked pretty and almost magical with festive lights all around.
"It's Christmas." Rayna said as she nodded towards the clock on the dash.
"Merry Christmas, Rayna Wyatt."
"Merry Christmas, Deacon Claybourne," she flirted back. "I guess I should get inside and let you get to bed."
Rayna made no attempt to get up, and Deacon leaned in for what would be their first kiss. They shared a smile and Deacon reached for the glove compartment.
"It turns out I've got a present for you...since it is Christmas..."
For a moment Rayna thought he was reaching for a condom and was not entirely sure how she'd get herself out of that one. She really liked this guy but she was still a virgin and had no intention of losing her virginity in her daddy's driveway while he was at home with a drink in his hand. Instead he handed her a napkin. A used napkin from the Bluebird.
"It's a song I wrote for you, the first night I saw you perform at an open mic."