Rayna paces back and forth in her dressing room. Ever since she left the elevator with Deacon, things have been awkward between them. He avoids making eye contact with her whenever they run into each other in the halls. He doesn't look up when she enters the room. He pretends to be busy with work whenever she walks closer to him. They haven't talked about their situation at all. They haven't even said one word to each other.
In return, Rayna is doing her best to ignore Deacon. His behavior is irritating and confusing. She is trying not to let it influence her or her work. She is trying not to think about him. The difficult task of keeping Deacon out of her thoughts is made easier for her when Liam arrives for the show. Liam greets her happily and sweeps her away into a playful conversation, as if it is his mission to cheer her up.
Even though he is not Deacon, Rayna appreciates the fact that Liam can make her laugh. Liam has the ability to distract her, at least momentarily, from Deacon. She needs to relieve some stress before her show, so she allows herself to be swept away in the fluidity of the conversation with Liam. They walk out into the hall as they talk. He flirts with her and she flirts back. Rayna doesn't see any harm in having a good time. She leans into him as she laughs at his jokes and touches his shoulder softly when she smiles. She notices Deacon staring at them from the corner. This is the first time that she has seen him looking at her since their most recent kiss. He doesn't look happy at all. In fact, he looks pissed. The look on his face is tense and his fists are clenched tightly. Her heart aches for him. She wants to comfort him but she knows that there is nothing she can do for him when he won't even talk to her.
"You ready for tonight?" Liam asks, not bothering to keep his voice down.
Rayna can hear the double meaning in his question. She laughs at what he is implying. She thinks Liam is an attractive man but after being with Deacon again, she knows that there is no one else that she wants to be with. She knows that it doesn't feel right with anyone but Deacon.
"I'm ready for the show," she says simply.
He looks at her seductively.
"What about the after party?" he questions suggestively.
Rayna laughs. Liam is always up for a good time.
"I don't know about you but I'm gonna need my beauty sleep as soon as we get done here. I haven't slept in days," she responds.
It is the truth. Unfortunately, she knows that no matter how early she tries to go to bed, she will not get a good night's sleep. She has not been sleeping well since the night that she revealed to Deacon that Maddie is his daughter. She stays up worrying and replaying every word in her head.
"You can sleep when you're dead," he tells her. "Tonight we live."
She likes that Liam is so spontaneous. It is a nice change from her hectic schedule. Being around him is refreshing but it would never be completely satisfying for her.
"I'll tell you what, I'll think about it but I'm not making any promises," she responds.
Liam takes her answer as a challenge.
"Don't worry. I can convince you," he says confidently.
She laughs loudly.
"We'll see about that," she replies.
He grabs her arm and leads her back in the direction of her dressing room.
"Where are you taking me?" she asks.
"I'm going to convince you," he responds.
She shakes her head at him but allows him to lead her into the room.
Deacon has witnessed the entire exchange. He doesn't want to think about whatever it is that Liam is doing to convince Rayna. He feels angry: angry with himself for letting this happen, angry with Liam for trying to take his place, and angry with Rayna for going along with it. He can't believe that she is moving on so easily. He can't believe how quickly everything has changed.
"So how exactly are you going to convince me?" Rayna asks Liam curiously.
She watches him as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out two cards.
"With these," he says, showing them to her.
"What exactly are those?" she questions.
"These are two VIP passes to the hottest party in town," he replies. "It's going to be wild and it's going to be fun and we're going to be there."
She laughs. She has never been one to enjoy that type of event. In her younger days, she used to frequent quiet bars with Deacon. They had never really gone to many clubs or wild parties. They didn't need too. Being together, in a quiet atmosphere, was enough for them. Now, she prefers to drink at home. Usually, she drinks a glass of wine or two while she relaxes before bed. Once in awhile, when she is writing a song or feeling particularly nostalgic, she pulls out the whiskey. It reminds her of the past. It reminds her of the days she spent in small hotel rooms, writing songs and making love with Deacon.
"I don't think so," Rayna answers.
She has no interest in attending the party with him.
"When was the last time you went to one of these things?" he asks her, trying to change her mind.
"Never," she responds.
Well, she had actually been to one once. She had gone with Deacon. They wanted to try something different but their night out turned into a night in, pretty quickly. After a few drinks, Deacon had done his best to convince her that they should return to the hotel room. It wasn't hard for him to convince her. A few passionate kisses and seductive whispers later, she was happily following him out of the club and back to the room, where they spent the night creating their own excitement.
"Well then it's perfect. You need to loosen up. You're always so tense," he tells her.
"It's just not really my scene. Why don't you take someone else?" she suggests.
"I want to take you," he says simply.
She sighs. She may not be in a romantic relationship with Deacon right now but she isn't ready to put herself into this kind of situation with another man. She is still hoping that Deacon will come around.
"Listen, I just really can't tonight. I'm sorry," she replies.
"That's fine but you're really gonna be missing out," he says, making one last attempt to convince her.
She laughs and leads him out of her dressing room. They continue their conversation just outside the door.
"Why don't you go get ready for the show and I'll see you in about an hour?" she suggests.
He nods at her suggestion and turns away from her with a smirk on his face. Rayna stares after him, shaking her head, laughing softly.
Deacon sees the interaction. He takes the smirk on Liam's face to mean that he has successfully convinced Rayna to join him for the after party. The anger bubbles inside him. How could Rayna even think about making plans with another man, after the kisses that they had shared the day before? Deacon decides to confront her about it.
"Hey," he calls, his voice pulling her from her thoughts.
She looks up in surprise. She had not seen him walking over to her. She sees the look of determination on his face and wonders what he is planning.
"Hey, what's up?" she asks.
Her heart beats rapidly. He is finally talking to her. She hopes that he has come to his senses.
"So you're going out with Liam tonight?" he asks, trying to sound casual.
He sounds anything but casual. In actuality, he sounds extremely jealous. Rayna looks at him in disbelief. She can't believe that he has finally approached her just to talk about Liam.
"I'm not planning on it," she replies.
"Oh. It looked like y'all were getting pretty close," he answers, pushing her, hoping to gain more information.
"He's just a friend, Deacon," she tells him.
She is getting annoyed. Why does Deacon think that he can act this way? He has ignored her since yesterday but now that he sees her talking with Liam, he thinks that he has the right to question her about it. Rayna thinks that he is being unfair. He is sending her mixed signals and expecting her to abstain from even attempting to have any fun while she waits for him.
"If you say so, Ray," he replies, unconvinced.
"You know what, Deacon, if you're so jealous of Liam then maybe you should do something about it," she says angrily before storming back into her dressing room.
Deacon is left standing outside the door with his mouth hanging open. He is surprised by her outburst. He feels guilty for crossing the line. He knows that he is not being fair to Rayna. He decides that he needs to apologize. He doesn't bother to knock. He opens the door to her dressing room and walks right in.
"Deacon, what do you think you are doing? Why didn't you knock? What if I was changing?" she asks loudly.
Her anger is beginning to erupt. The look on her face is a dangerous one.
"I've seen you naked plenty of times before," he responds.
He quickly wishes that he had not brought it up. Thoughts of her lying on the couch beneath him, naked, fill his mind.
She looks at him closely. He can see that she is very annoyed with him.
"Listen, Ray, I just came to apologize. I was out of line with what I said before and I'm sorry. You can go out with Liam if you want to go out with Liam. I know that it isn't my place to stop you," he says, his voice dropping to convey his sincerity.
Her face softens. She appreciates his apology.
"Thank you, Deacon, but I don't want to go out with Liam," she replies honestly.
He looks suddenly happier. He is glad that she doesn't want to go out with Liam. He doesn't like to see her with Liam at all.
"Okay, good," he responds.
He looks around and, once again, he realizes that he is alone with her in her dressing room. He takes a deep breath, willing himself to think of anything but the beautiful woman standing in front of him.
"We should talk about everything," Rayna tells him.
He looks down, avoiding her gaze. He isn't ready to talk about everything yet. If they are going to talk, they are going to need to find a safer place, a place where he won't be so tempted to get caught up in the moment.
"I can't right now, Ray," he says.
"Deacon, you can't avoid it forever. You can't avoid me forever," she replies.
Deacon knows that she is right but he isn't ready to talk.
"I know. I just want to wait to talk to you. I need to forgive you first," he responds.
Rayna sighs. Once again, she wishes that she had taken a different path and that she had told him from the beginning. Maybe they would have been able to have a happy life together as a family.
"How are you going to forgive me if we don't ever talk about it?" she questions.
"I don't know. I just need time," he answers.
She takes a deep breath. She wonders how much more time he could possibly need. She thinks that they will be better off if they talk about it but she wants to respect his wishes.
"Fine but I'm here to talk whenever you're ready," she assures him.
She gives up, feeling slightly defeated. She hopes that he will come talk to her soon. She wants him to forgive her for her mistake.
"I know. Good luck tonight, Ray. I know you'll blow them out of the water like always," he says.
He walks forward and kisses her on the cheek. He lingers for a second longer than necessary. He pulls himself away from her and leaves the room.
She touches her cheek softly. She can still feel where his lips had been just moments before. She wishes he would have stayed longer but she is happy that he even came to talk at all. She turns around and faces the mirror, forcing herself to focus on getting ready for her show.