CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Two Weeks Later

Tapping her cell phone with her hand, Rayna paced back and forth in front of the newly assembled stage. She checked her cell phone and frowned. No reply to her message and no missed calls. She didn't blame him for not responding, she had given Deacon more mixed signals than she cared to think about. Since Chicago, Rayna had remained in a constant state of unease and restlessness, her Father's words haunting her wherever she went. In a bid to recover a portion of her sanity, Rayna had painfully resolved to one solution. Avoid Deacon.

She fought to put distance between Deacon and herself but neither of them brought it. Her poor attempts at expressing disinterest only encouraged him to go about ruining her with smiles and glances, always in secret the way that lovers tend to do. Rayna blushed when she thought about it because they definitely were not that, lovers. She didn't really know what they were; fear had her fumbling to stay away but her heart always had her coming back asking for more. Each time Deacon looked at her he unravelled a piece of her resolve to keep away from him. If distance was supposed to be right, Rayna wanted to be wrong. Before her better judgement had time to argue, her fingers had hit send on her cell phone.

Edgily, Rayna continued to pace as she engaged in conversation with a few of her band members who were starting to set up. Cringing at the sound of strings being tuned, Rayna jumped when two hands lightly met her shoulders.

"I didn't think you'd come." She giggled nervously as she tried to side step from his touch, recognising that it is was Deacon who stood behind her.

"You thought wrong." He replied, squeezing her shoulders as he whispered in her ear. Rayna squirmed when she realised that they now had the full attention of those standing on the stage, Deacon ignored them and stepped closer behind her.

"Thanks for doing this."

"You should count yourself lucky I showed up…you did fire me once."

Rayna shook his hands off her shoulders and swiftly made her way up the stairs and onto the stage.

"Hey guys…Deacon is gonna be joining us as the lead guitarist for rehearsal. Liam is not feeling too great…so Deacon's kindly agreed to take his place. Y'all know each other anyway so it should be fun." She clarified chirpily as she clipped the power pack for her foldback to her jeans.

"I thought you said he had a hangover?" Deacon asked curiously, stepping into her personal space.

"They don't need to know everything."

"That's for sure." He replied, raising an eyebrow as he let his fingers linger on her arm. Rayna smiled coyly, raising her microphone to her mouth.

"Alright y'all let's start at the top…you do remember how to play my songs right?" She teased Deacon as she began to walk towards centre stage.

"I think I have a vague idea."

- NASHVILLE -

"That's gotta kill you...getting screwed over by your guitarist and Rayna Jaymes." Liam presumed, walking up to stand next to Juliette who was intensely watching Rayna's rehearsal from the shadows off the left side of the stage.

"Doesn't that bother you too?"

"What exactly?"

"That." Juliette scoffed, watching Rayna giggle as Deacon whispered in her ear.

"Nah. Right now I'm more interested in why you're standing here watching that if it seems to bother you so much." Liam quipped, staring at Juliette.

"He lied."

"So did she."

Juliette snapped her head in his direction, taking her eyes off Deacon and Rayna for the first time since he had started talking to her.

"Rayna lied to you? What'd you do to get on her bad side?" She asked enthusiastically, suddenly interested in what he had to say.

"She told me there was no rehearsal, no nothing today…I think its safe to say she lied." He replied, nodding in the direction of the music.

"He called to cancel our writing session…because he…I quote." Juliette made quotation marks in the air as she imitated Deacon's voice. "Had come down with a bad case of the flu."

Liam let out a low snicker at the fury written on her face. "So why are you here then?"

"Why are you here?"

"One of the guys texted me…told me come down…he said I might not want to miss this." He replied, emphasising the last few words as they watched Rayna argue with Deacon about a riff he was playing incorrectly. Liam assumed Deacon was doing it intentionally to get under her skin. "Your turn."

"I saw Deacon leave his room with his guitar not long after he called...he seemed fine to me."

"What? Are you stalking him now?...He was never really yours you know."

"What?" Juliette exclaimed, glaring at Liam when she looked at him.

"Do I really have to explain this to you?" He asked, letting out a long exasperated sigh. "He's always belonged to Rayna…She'll never admit it." Liam nodded in the direction of the stage. "Because she's too damn proud-"

"-They're both too damn proud." Juliette interrupted, making Liam laugh as he continued. "She's too proud to admit that her heart has always belongs to him too."

"Never took you to be a romantic." Juliette smirked.

"I try." He shrugged before grimacing in disapproval when Rayna pushed Deacon away from her mic stand to block him from singing into the microphone with her.

"Oh that is pathetic…just kiss and get over it already." Juliette scoffed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"I think they tried that…from what I hear they haven't quite gotten over it." Liam replied pointedly. Juliette looked at him wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Smiling wickedly as he saw Deacon and Rayna head down the stairs to the front row seats, he continued. "Feel like having some fun?"

"Not with you." She replied surely.

"What if I told you it involved crashing their rehearsal?"

"What are we, in High School?"

"Well I'm not…but you on the other han-" Liam teased. Juliette elbowed him in the stomach.

"Ok I deserved that."

She smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

Quickly, Liam dialled Bucky's number and asked him to come down to the arena. Juliette's bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing as he hung up.

"Come on." He said impatiently as he boldly walked out onto the stage and down the stairs.

- NASHVILLE -

"You're very friendly today." Rayna observed, shifting in her chair to face Deacon as she smiled.

"I'm always friendly."

"Deacon."

"Rayna." He mimicked her tone, intentionally excusing her comment. Leaning back into her seat, Rayna crossed her arms making him revel in her frustration. Unnoticeably, Deacon softly rested his hand on her inner thigh and leaned over the arm of the chair.

"You're making it hard not to be friendly Rayna." He whispered slowly, smiling as he watched her come undone.

"People are watching us." She gulped.

"Are they?"

"They are." She said curtly as she tried to move his hand away. Deacon refused to take her hint, letting his fingers linger. Rayna stifled giggles as she tried to maintain a collected exterior for those who had suddenly become interested in what they were doing.

"I didn't know we had a rehearsal today." Liam greeted loudly as he walked down the stairs. Deacon and Rayna instantly separated, pushing one another away to create further distance.

"I thought you had the flu." Juliette chimed in behind Liam.

Rayna turned to look at Deacon but he was already staring at her. She would be the first to admit that she had lied to Deacon to convince him to come, but she hadn't thought that he would have done the same thing. Rayna assumed that Deacon had come to the same conclusion because his eyes deliberately met hers before looking at Juliette. Remaining silent they both struggled to find the right thing to say.

"Clearly you're not sick." Juliette stated.

"Clearly you lied about the rehearsal…why? I'm not so sure." Liam followed, crossing his arms as he smirked at Rayna.

"It's not what it looks like." Rayna tried unconvincingly as she flushed red.

"What does it look like?" Liam asked.

"Yes, what does it look like?" Bucky mimicked, the sound of his voice making both Deacon and Rayna jump.

"Are you sleeping together?" Juliette queried, breaking the silence.

"What?!…No!"

"Because if you are that'd make a whole lot more sense." She continued, looking at Liam for backup. Liam nodded.

"No…just no. We're not…" Rayna replied, letting the silence finish her sentence as she shook her head feverishly. Deacon smirked as he took in the uncomfortableness of the situation.

"Seriously?" Bucky questioned.

"What is this?" Rayna demanded, running a hand though her hair.

"Can we have a moment alone please." Bucky asked the others, looking straight at Rayna. Liam and Juliette swiftly disappeared while Deacon reluctantly wandered up the stairs and onto the stage.

"Really? Is this wise Rayna?"

"Buck I don't know what you're talking about."

"You are finally coming out of the worst of the divorce...especially with the media attention and all. Do you really want to throw more fuel on that fire by getting involved with Deacon so soon?" He said sincerely, hoping that she would see his logic.

"I don't know what we are Bucky…all we are is Rayna and Deacon at the moment. We're just friends…that's all." Rayna admitted, not quite believing her own words.

"Ok, if that's all that you think you are...friends." Bucky replied, leaving Rayna alone as he turned on his heel and walked away shaking his head.

Recollecting her thoughts she smiled and headed up onto the stage. As she began to sing she couldn't shake what Bucky had said about her relationship with Deacon. Up until Election Night in Nashville, they had perfected the art of creeping around what their hearts wanted. They would pull the friend card, hauling the covers back over the one thing they had worked so hard to reveal when either of them got too close. Rayna hadn't expected Deacon to take away the comfort of leaving love unspoken that night when she went looking for him, but he had. Really, he had only done what she couldn't. Deacon had said the words that they both wanted to hear. Letting his words play on her mind; she lost herself in the moment. I want more than this. I want you. Rayna exhaled. She was knee deep in denial if she thought that they were only friends, they were more then that and she knew it well. By the way she caught him staring, Rayna knew he was thinking the same thing too.

After finishing the last song in the set the band applauded Deacon as they thanked him for joining them. Rayna pretending not to notice, unclipping herself from wires as she handed over her microphone and power pack to the sound tech. Quietly, Rayna walked off and headed backstage. Deacon caught her hand as she walked down the stairs.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hey."

"Have dinner with me." He asked, stepping in front of her so she couldn't walk away.

"What?"

"Have dinner with me." He repeated, slowing down so that she could understand what he was asking.

"Are you?!…People are talking…they're talking…what about-"

"-Have dinner with me."

"Juliette?…and then there's Liam and Buck and the guys and-" She fretted, weakly smiling when he squeezed her hand.

"-Have dinner with me." He repeated softly, stepping closer.

"I rea-"

"-Rayna…I'm only gonna say it one more time." He said impatiently, silencing all of her excuses as she pursed her lips at his bold interruption. "Have dinner with me."

Choosing not to speak, Rayna smiled coyly as she intertwined her fingers with his, letting him lead her out the door.

- NASHVILLE -

"When you said dinner…McDonalds is not what I thought you had in mind." Rayna teased, taking a sip of diet coke as they walked.

"You were the one that demanded fast food…that." Deacon waved behind them at the McDonalds sign in the distance. "Was the closest place to get what you wanted so don't be blaming me…I only gave you what you asked for."

"I said I wanted food fast…not fast food." Rayna giggled as she sidestepped, crashing into Deacon unintentionally.

Reflexively he caught Rayna, steadying her step by pulling her close to himself. Rayna laughed at her own jokes and Deacon found himself watching her instead of paying attention to where he was walking. With the weeks of turmoil sitting heavy on her face, Deacon struggled to understand why she hadn't told him about what she was going through. He grimaced, thinking back to picking up a newspaper that had Rayna and Teddy's faces plastered on the front. It had read 'Queen of Country and Mayor of Nashville call it quits'. Deacon had been so stunned that he chucked it back on the newsstand, swearing as he'd walked away in disbelief. Before Deacon knew what was happening, he found himself speaking.

"Why didn't you tell me?…"

"About Teddy?"

Deacon nodded as he watched her nervously looked in his direction before hiding her face with her hair. "I don't know what to say…I just needed space you know?…I needed it to be uncomplicated. I didn't want to have to think about my life and the mess Teddy and I had made of it…I felt like I was having to pretend I was ok-"

"-Ray you don't have to pretend with me."

"And that's why I couldn't talk to you about it…it was all so messy and I wanted to…I did, but I just…couldn't. I didn't even know how to explain it to myself." She fumbled, not really understanding what she was saying as she looked up into a bright streetlight.

"I need you to know I'm not going anywhere ok…I just wish you'd told me sooner." He replied, reaching out for her as he steered them down a street that would bring them to the back entrance of the hotel. Before Rayna could speak, the night sky opened up above them and she let out a loud squeal as the rain began to wash over her face. Deacon smiled, he didn't appear to care that they were getting soaked through. Rayna began to whinge when he maintained a slow and steady walk, tugging his hand harder as she dragged him to the end of the street.

"Deacon! I swear if you moved any slowe-!"

"-Rayna, I'm gonna take my time. I like the rain, don't you?" He teased as he pulled her to a stop in the car park 50 yards from the back entrance to the hotel.

"Not when it's making me cold and then there's my hair!" She replied angrily as she focused her gaze in his direction.

Deacon grinned, discreetly taking a step closer to Rayna as she continued to whinge. As the rain persistently fell, her hair stuck to her face and she irritably swung her hands trying to free herself from the tangled chaos it was becoming. It was then that Deacon knew what he wanted to do.

"Why the hell are you making me stand in the rai-?" Rayna pleaded, only to be interrupted by Deacon pulling her into his arms before he kissed her single-mindedly.

Flailing, it took Rayna a moment to realise what was happening. She suddenly forgot what she had been groaning about and stepped on his feet in an attempt to get closer. Desperate not to lose the fire that he had awoken within her body she ran her fingers down his back as he wrapped his hands tighter around her waist, kissing her again. They became a gallery of wandering hands and overwhelming desire as they lost themselves in the sound of the rain and the shadows that fell around them. Deacon pulled away and rested his forehead on hers.

"Rayna." He whispered. Breathless and flushed, she smiled when she heard her name. "I know it's not the best time…but there's never a best time…I'm done with waiting till tomorrow when we think it might be right…and I know you are too, your eyes are telling me that you want this…Ray, I don't want to waste another day…I want you."

Rayna went cold in his arms, her memory refusing to let her give in to opening her heart like she so desperately wanted to. Teddy's words stung her insides as she began to shake. I have nothing to lose anymore. Deacon deserves to know the truth. You tell him, or I will.

"You shouldn't want me." Rayna choked, untangling herself from him.

"What? Where were you just now? Didn't you hear-"

"-I heard you."

"Then what are you talking about?" Deacon asked, following her eyes as he tried to understand.

"Deacon…you really don't want me." She whispered shakily, preparing herself for what was to come.

"Rayna I lov-" He pushed, reaching for her hands.

"-How can you say that?..." She choked, looking away from his eyes.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Deacon you can't say that because you're gonna hate me." She cried, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Why would I?...I'm not gonna hate you."

"Yes you will." She shrieked, shaking as the cold began to sit on her skin.

"Ray you're kinda not making sense…just tell me what's going on." He begged, grabbing her arms to steady her fidgeting. Rayna slowly brushed his hands off her arms and let out a long sigh as she nervously fiddled with her fingers.

"Twelve years ago I had a daughter." She began timidly, tears running down her face.

"Maddie." Deacon patiently nodded, confused as to where she was going with this conversation. In the silence, he reached out and grabbed her hand to encourage her to continue.

"Except the day she was born…her Father wasn't there to meet her." She whispered, forcing herself to look at him. Deacon turned white, his hand wavering as he held hers.

"Teddy isn't Maddie's Father…Deacon it's you." She cried, unable to breathe properly as she covered her mouth with her trembling hands. Stone cold, Deacon looked straight though her, his mind screaming for answers as he tried to piece together what she had said. Rayna searched his face, but the guilt that filled her and the understanding that she had caused him more pain then he ever deserved was too much to swallow. She let go off his hand, stepping backwards. Deacon's eyes flashed in her direction, terribly aware that she moving away from him.

"I'm…I'm so…I'm sorry." She said whispered before turning on her heel to run away.

Weeping loudly as she ran, Rayna let the cries she has stifled escape now that he was out of earshot. Running her hands over her face, she swore as she felt the sting of the rain attack her already tear-filled eyes. She didn't even realise she was speaking until the words themselves came out. "I told you that you'd hate me."