Michael wades his way through the thick crowd of shoulder-to-shoulder people in Morgan's house. He's been looking for Liz ever since the party started but she's been hard to track down.

He can hear her shouting over the crowd and he can't help but smile. "Gimme that back, asshole!" She yells, snatching her phone back from Morgan who's laughing wildly back. "Hey!" She lights up when she sees Michael.

"There y'all are." He smiles again, his arm snaking around her waist. "The hell are you doin' to him?"

"He won't stop pickin' on me, Michael! Make him stop pickin' on me! It's my birthday!"

"It's your birthday?" Michael asks, his eyes bouncing between the girl under his arm and his best friend.

"Yeah. I told you it was a holiday weekend." She elbows him playfully.

"I had no idea-"

"It's no big deal. I just wanted a long weekend off work." Michael can smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Well we gotta do somethin' for ya."

"Nah. Bein' in Nashville is enough." Morgan shares a look with Michael who nods back. "What? What was that little look for?"

"Don't worry 'bout it."

"It's literally not a big deal, okay?"Michael and Morgan share another look. "It's hot!" She shouts, fanning herself as she slips away to the bathroom to cool down.

Michael knocks on the door several minutes later. "You okay? It's been half an hour."

"No it hasn't." She shoots back, looking up from her phone as she sits on the closed toilet. "Shit it has." She stands and opens the door a crack. "May I help you?"

He nudges his way into the small bathroom. "Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday? I could've done somethin' special for ya." He says in a soft voice.

"It's literally not a big deal." He sighs quietly.

He grasps the sides of her face, looking her over before he kisses her lips. She hums, kissing him back with her hands around his wrists. Michael pushes her back against the sink, deepening the kiss when his grasp relocates to her waist, his hands sneaking up her loose tank top. Liz grips the counter top with one hand, the other gripping the back of his neck.

The booze and lust mixing together, complementing each other perfectly as the two continue to make out and feel each other up.

Liz works on getting his belt unbuckled and jeans down while he blindly riffles through Morgan's bathroom drawers for a condom. He finds a box and tears off a square before looking back at Liz, his pupils blown out as they breath heavily. "You want to do this?"

She can't help but smile. "Yeah." She reaches forward and undoes his belt buckle then pushes her jeans down. He wraps an arm around his waist as he stands between her legs, kissing her hotly while pushing into her.

They get so close to the finish line when there's an agressive knocking on the door that stills the two fucking on the sink.

"Occupied!" Liz snaps back, startling Michael.

They wait a few seconds before they resume fucking.

When they finally finish, Liz slips out of the bathroom first, her head held high as she saunters her way to the kitchen. Michael exits a couple minutes later, following her to the kitchen for another drink.

Morgan stops Liz with a big dirty, knowing smirk on his face. "Don't say a word." She mumbles, popping the tab of a beer can. That smirk widens when he sees Michael looking the same way Liz is; flushed, sweaty skin matched with wild hair.

He smacks Michael hard on the shoulder. He's slouches forward with his arm bent, a beer loose in his hand as he scrunches his eyes and cackles. "You dirty bastard."

"Shut up." Michael elbows him away with a blush coloring his dimpled cheeks. Liz winks at Michael which further colors his already pink cheeks.

"Hey, if y'all need a place to crash, y'all can stay here." Morgan pulls them back to the conversation. "I'd rather listen to y'all have sex than be wrapped around a telephone pole, y'know, drivin' drunk." It's Liz's turn to blush when Morgan smirks at her. "Excuse me." He says, disappearing into the crowd.

+++

"You don't have to go back." Michael whispers. He's currently trying to talk Liz into staying with him a little bit longer while her head is on his bare chest. He's rubbing her back with one hand, holding one of hers with the other. "You can find a job here. It's a pretty big city with other opportunities and-"

"I wish I could stay," She whispers back, looking up at him. "But I can't afford it."

He sighs heavily and nods. "It just sucks that my girlfriend is gonna be seven hours away."

"I know." She runs her hand from his cheek down to his chest. "You can always come visit me in Texas."

"Might take you up on that offer, Elizabeth."

"I hope you do. I could even be your Texarkana tour guide." He chuckles, the sound vibrating in his chest. "Don't be a stranger."

Liz sits up, the sheets pooling in her lap. She stands and starts to pull her clothes back on, those tattoos of hers concealed by denim and cotton. The elastic band of her bralette snaps against her skin and she turns to look at Michael who is still lounging in the middle of the bed, the sheets bunched over his hips, his arm tucked behind his head.

She gets on her knees and crawls her way to him. He chuckles again when her slender fingers hook on the chain around his neck to gently pull him forward. She kisses him with a fury that he matches without hesitation.

His heart hurts even more when she pulls away. A lightbulb goes off in his head and he grabs a nearby notebook to scribble down the ideas before he forgets about them. While he's diddling around with his words, Liz is somberly packing her things up.

She sighs when she zips the duffel bag up. "You gonna walk me out or do I gotta do that myself?"

Michael groans as he stands, pulling his boxers and jeans back on along with a random t-shirt. He steps into a pair of slides then follows her down the steps out to the covered parking spot where her car is safely stored.

Michael tosses her duffle into the back hatch of her SUV then shuts it. "Guess this is it." He mumbles as he stuffs his hands into his pockets. The look he gives her has tears spring to her eyes which she quickly blinks them away. "C'mere." He wraps her in a hug, his chin on the top of her head and he sighs.

She pulls back and uses her sleeve to wipe away fallen tears but she smiles. "Don't be a stranger, Michael Hardy."

"I won't, Elizabeth Tanner." He leans down and kisses her softly before playfully smacking her ass. "Get goin' 'fore I give that Mississippi River a run for its money."

She sees the tears in his eyes and a fresh batch of her own quickly make their presence known. "I'll let you know when I get home." He nods and closes her car door shut after she gets in her drivers seat.

"Drive safe, baby."

"I will."

"That love bug must've fled the nest, huh?" Anna asks when she sees Liz leaning against the wall next to the kitchen door. "You look heart broke."

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine." She nods. "Just sucks bein' away from Nashville again."

"Things are okay with that Michael guy?"

"Yeah. Real good." She blushes slightly. "Just missin' him, I guess." She turns her attention to her notepad.

"He a good guy?"

"From what I've seen, yeah. Doesn't got a mean bone in his body." She smiles. "He's a genuine southern boy."

"It's kismet." She teases. "Hey, table thirteen's lookin' for their check."

Liz sighs and prints up their bill before taking it to their table. She brushes off a comment one of the guys seated makes about her ass in her shorts and retreats back to the safety behind the counter. That's her least favorite part of her job: getting hit on like she's there for them to look at. She wishes she was back in the safety of Michael's embrace, the way he treats her especially when they're having sex. She loves the way he looks at her, the way he holds her hand, the way he says her name.

Boy, she's in deep.