Chapter 2:
Deacon sat on the edge of the stage, tuning his guitar. Rayna was never this late to rehearsal, he wondered if she was still trying to avoid him. Ever since the other night, she had spoken to him only when necessary. He was just about to call her when the side door swung open and Rayna came bustling into the room. She threw her purse down onto the nearest chair and headed straight to the soundboard to get her mic set up. Deacon could tell she was clearly upset about something. He walked over.
"You made it."
"Yep." She replied, fussing with her mic and not making eye contact with him.
"Is everything alright? You're usually five minutes early." He asked gently, trying to pry but not make her more upset.
"Sorry. Traffic." She replied quickly, still not looking at him, and rushed towards the stage.
As soon as she approached the band, she turned on her winning smile. "Hey ya'll! So sorry I'm late. You ready to do this?" The band got their instruments and spread out on the stage into their spots.
Deacon shook his head slightly but then climbed up on the stage and grabbed his guitar.
"So, you ready to get a drink?" Rayna headed straight out after rehearsal but Deacon caught her on her way to her car. She whipped her head around to look at him, confused.
"Well, you drink. I listen." Deacon clarified. Rayna looked at him. He knew she was upset about something, he wanted to know what was going on with her. Without a word, she turned the other direction and began walking to his truck.
At the bar, Deacon sipped his water as he listened to Rayna.
"I mean, seriously? What in the hell is wrong with these people? All of a sudden, Daddy wants Teddy to run for mayor and they just decide that that's what's gonna happen and no one even thinks of talking to me about it? After dinner, Teddy just throws it into our conversation like it's totally normal that he is gonna run for mayor. And I know Daddy put him up to it. He is trying to manipulate him." Rayna paused to breathe and Deacon took the opportunity to speak.
"Manipulate him how?"
"I don't know yet. But he is." Rayna made a pouty face as she downed the rest of her drink.
Deacon couldn't help but chuckle at her. She looked at him confused.
"You make adorable faces when you're frustrated."
She rolled her eyes at him but laughed along with him. "Shut up."
"So Teddy's running for mayor, huh? I never would have thought he was a politics guy."
Rayna shook her head and raised her hand at the bartender to bring her another. "He's not."
"What does that mean for you?" Deacon asked.
"It means," Rayna sighed, "that it's time for me to stand on the side of the stage while he stands up in front of a bunch of people and pretends to care about all these things that my father is gonna tell him to care about."
"Side of the stage. That's not a place you're used to being." Deacon said playfully.
"That's what Teddy said." Rayna rolled her eyes again. "They want me to cancel the tour so I can stay here and be the mayor's wife."
Deacon laughed, knowing that was a ridiculous request to ask of Rayna Jaymes. "What did you say to that idea?"
"I told him to go to hell." She answered and then let a small smile out.
"Sounds about right." Deacon replied.
"Teddy got really mad at me for saying I don't want to stand by him and be his mannequin." Rayna glanced at Deacon quickly before adding, "He said he knew that he wasn't my first choice but that I chose him and so I need to stand by him."
Deacon paused, looking at her. She took a long drink and then looked everywhere but at Deacon. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Deacon tried not to ask her to confirm that what Teddy said was true. Rayna sat there, feeling a little guilty for revealing the details of her marriage.
"So what are you gonna do?" Deacon asked.
"I don't know. He's right." Deacon leaned in, wanting to know what she was referring to. "I need to support him like he supports me." Deacon didn't say anything.
"But you know what? I don't know how much he really supports me. He stands backstage and comes to shows, sure. But the second he finds something to do, he wants me to just cancel my tour for him? I can't just cancel a tour, he knows that! He knows I wouldn't want to cancel it either. My music is my life, why would he ask me to give up what I love?" Rayna downed the rest of her drink again. "I know why. It's because he's afraid that if you and I go out on tour together, something will happen. That's really why he wants me to cancel it. I just know it."
"Is he right?" Deacon asked her.
Rayna stared straight ahead. After a moment, she looked down at her hands on the top of the bar. "I guess he already is right about it." She answered, thinking about what happened the other night.
"Rayna, I think it's time to go."
She rubbed her eyes gently, making sure the tears that were forming weren't coming out.
"Yeah, okay."
Rayna woke slowly and blinked quickly at the brightness that the sun was illuminating into the room. She looked around and realized that she was in Deacon's bed. She thought back to the night before, she thought she remembered everything but she didn't remember coming home with Deacon. She tried to think harder to see if she remembered anything happening between the two of them last night. Just then, she heard a light knock and Deacon peeked his head in the door. "You up?" He asked quietly.
"Barely." She replied and Deacon came in. He set a glass of water on the nightstand next to her and sat down in the armchair next to it. "How ya feeling?" He grinned.
"Not quite dead but getting there." She replied.
He laughed, "How much you remember?"
"I thought everything but then, I'm here and," she shifted in the bed to sit up and realized something. "And I'm not wearing any pants."
He laughed. "You didn't want Teddy to know you had been drinking so you asked to crash. I didn't want to let you sleep in your jeans because then you really would feel like death right now." He paused, then added, "I slept on the couch."
She remembered now. Stumbling up his front steps, throwing her jacket onto the floor in the living room, tripping in the hallway, Deacon holding her steady while he slid her pants down her legs…
"Umm. Yeah, I remember now." She looked embarrassed.
"Ray, don't worry about it. The roles have been reversed a hundred times." They shared a look of understanding. "You hungry?"
Rayna, still not completely awake, simply nodded.
Rayna laid back and closed her eyes as Deacon got up to go fix breakfast. Ten minutes later she woke up, smelling bacon and eggs. She wasted no time getting out of bed and following her nose and grumbling tummy to the kitchen. She entered, eyes still half closed and pants still missing. Her hair was a ruffled mess, halfway hanging in her face and halfway tousled up. Her eyeliner from the day before was smudged under her eyes and a few buttons on her flannel were crooked.
"You're so damn beautiful." Deacon smirked at her as she entered.
Rayna smirked back and said, "Shut up," but immediately followed it with a slight blush in her cheeks.
He put the last finishing touch, toast, onto the plate and set it down on the table. She spotted the food and followed the plate and sat down. She looked onto the table in confusion. Something was missing. That very moment, a large cup of coffee appeared in front of her face. She grabbed it happily from Deacon, their hands touching. She took a long drink, burning her mouth and throat as she did but she continued anyway.
"You're gonna burn your tongue off drinking hot coffee that fast." Deacon chuckled as he sat down.
"Worth it." She smiled as she set the mug down and began to dig into her food. Deacon watched her eat. It was something he used to do every morning, back when they would always spend breakfast together. She stretched her legs and propped them up onto Deacon's lap. He instinctively laid his hands down and began absent-mindedly drawing circles on her bare legs.
"Deacon, this bacon is sooooo good, what did you do to it?" Rayna exaggerated her facial expression into a look of pleasure and tossed her head back a little.
Deacon laughed, "All I did was fry it up in a pan but I appreciate the compliment."
Rayna realized, "You know what it is? I've been eating turkey bacon for years, I forgot how good real bacon tastes. Teddy only likes turkey bacon."
Both of them became quiet, as they often did when the subject of her husband came up. Deacon, forever wishing that the one she was married to was him. Rayna, forever feeling guilty for always wanting to be with Deacon when she's with Teddy. Rayna pulled her feet off of Deacon's legs and finished her food quickly and silently. He washed her plate and she washed the coffee cup, side by side at the sink; their routine still the same as 20 years ago.
"Um." Rayna said, looking up at Deacon.
"Yeah?" Deacon replied, returning her gaze. They were still side by side next to the sink, their faces inches apart. Getting caught up in the caring emotion in his eyes, Rayna momentarily forgot what she was going to say.
"Umm, I…I need…"
"What?" Deacon asked, leaning a little closer to her.
"I, um, I need my pants." Rayna responded. Deacon blinked quickly and looked away from her, "Yeah, yeah of course! Sorry, they uh, they're next to the closet in the bedroom." He gestured, avoiding looking at her, feeling awkward.
"Okay, thanks." She replied and headed back down the hall. Deacon made himself busy cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.
When Rayna emerged again, she was fully dressed, hair brushed and pulled into a ponytail, and purse in hand. She had washed all of her make-up off and Deacon took a sharp inhale to be able to see her like this again. The moments where no one else was around and she would just be raw and natural, just Rayna. He treasured those times because it showed him how comfortable around him she was.
"Okay, well, I need to head out. I've got a lot of errands to run today so…" Rayna said when she got back into the kitchen. "Thanks for letting me crash…and you know, making me food."
Deacon gave her his most sincere smile. "Anything for you, darling."
She smiled at him and his sweetness. She looked around: at the dishes from the full breakfast he had made her, at the almost empty coffee pot that held her favorite coffee, at the towel in Deacon's hands from cleaning the kitchen. Rayna became quickly overcome with emotion at how sweet and caring Deacon was. She thought about how understanding he had been last night, listening to her go on and on about her marriage. That couldn't be easy for him and he did it anyway. She knew he really loved her.
Rayna set down her purse onto the kitchen island and walked across the kitchen. She approached Deacon and, without a word, grasped his face with both hands and laid a gentle but long and meaningful kiss directly onto his lips. She sucked lightly on his bottom lip for a moment, and then released him. She kept her hands on his face and her mouth very close to his.
"I mean, really thanks. For everything." She said, he could feel each word of her breath on his lips. She let go of him and grabbed her purse and walked towards the front door. "See ya at rehearsal." She called over her shoulder as she walked out the front door, leaving Deacon amused and confused.
