"Shit." Michael mutters, looking at the notification that popped up on his phone. "Seriously?"

"What's up?" Morgan asks as he sits next to him on the couch in his living room.

"It's our fuckin' anniversary." He rubs his face with his hands. "I totally forgot, shit."

"One year, right?"

"Technically two but after that whole tourin' thing, we kinda restarted." He mumbles, shaking his head. "She gave me a second chance and here I am, fuckin' it up again."

"Take her to Broadway." He shrugs. "I can call around and see if I can pull a few strings to get you on stage."

"Nah, I think I wanna be in the crowd. I don't want her to be by herself, y'know?"

"Well, good luck, man." Morgan says, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. "There's a new bar that just popped up. I think it's Redneck somethin'. Cliff said it's a good bar." He looks around the room. "Redneck Alley or somethin'."

"Downtown?"

"Few blocks over from Kid Rock's bar, north side."

"Okay. Cool." He nods. "Yeah." He checks the time. "I gotta get goin', then." Michael stands and picks up his guitar case.

+++

Michael parks next to Liz's Toyota and takes a deep breath. He grabs the bouquet of flowers from his passenger seat then heads up to the front door. He presses his thumb against the doorbell then leans against the doorframe.

Liz sighs as she pulls the door open. Her face splits into a smirk when she sees her boyfriend standing there with a small smile. "Can I help you?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You free tonight?"

"I think my boyfriend's busy tonight so I'm free as a bird." She looks him over. "But if you wanna hook up, we gotta be quick. I don't know when he'll be back." Michael chuckles. Liz grabs his hand and pulls him inside, kicking the door shut behind them.

They giggle as they head upstairs to the bedroom.

+++

"Michael, where are we goin'?" Liz asks as she looks over at him, sliding her hand into his grasp.

"It's date night." Is all he says, turning off the main road in the heart of downtown Nashville.

"Redneck Alley?" She reads the neon sign then looks at the outside of the building. It looks like a small place but once that door is open, the interior is three times the size. "Never heard of this place."

"Morgan said it's new. Just opened a few months ago." He says, taking her hand.

"Hey y'all!" A cute blonde says from behind the bar. "Welcome on in to Redneck Alley." She says, setting a few paper coasters on the bar top. "What can I get for y'all?"

Liz sits next to Michael at the bar and smiles at the bartender. "A screwdriver, please."

"Just a shot of whiskey for me right now."

"Here y'all go." She sets their orders down then turns to pick up a dish towel and a clean glass.

Their bartender, Haley, clicks with them almost immediately. They spend hours talking and laughing and drinking. Michael looks between the two girls and smiles.

"What?" Liz asks, looking over at her boyfriend. He takes her hand and pulls her out to the floor, spinning her in a circle as they start dancing. "What was that little smile for?"

"Morgan and her would hit it off."

"You think?"

"She's totally his type." He says, his hand grazing the small of her back. "You're so beautiful."

"C'mon now." She blushes, her hand holding the back of his neck.

"How in the hell did I end up so lucky?"

"Michael..." He complements her all the time but it always make her tingle and blush.

"You, uh, wanna get outta here?" He's acting like they're meeting for the first time again. First the flirting with the flowers when he got home, then asking her on a date, and now, asking if she wants to leave with him.

"Absolutely." She smiles, pulling away from him to finishing the rest of her drink which hits her almost immediately. "I think I might be a little tipsy."

Michael laughs, keeping an arm anchored around her waist as he guides her back out to his truck.

"Have a great night! Nice meetin' y'all!" Haley shouts from the bar, waving them off.

Liz waves back, giggling when Michael nudges her past the threshold. "You're pretty handsy, Michael Hardy. I still got a boyfriend."

"I'm just tryna been respectful."

"What if I don't want you to be respectful?" She says as she buckles up, her hand dropping to his upper thigh.

His eyes go dark. "What- what're you sayin', Elizabeth?"

"I think you know what I'm sayin'." She smirks when she sees his hands white knuckle grip his steering wheel. "Hurry up and get us home."

+++

The following morning, Liz groans as she opens her eyes. She's laying on her front in the middle of the bed with the sheets hanging off the foot. She's butt-ass naked and her body is sore. The bedroom looks like a damn tornado went through. The lampshade is knocked off the lamp and her red dress from the night before is on top of it, half of her picture frames are on the floor, the huge Mississippi picture has fallen off it's nail and the wood Texas cut out thats usually on the wall across from the bed is in the bathroom.

Her books and movies have been knocked off the shelves of the bookcase and their pillows are on the floor.

She groans again as she stand, grabbing Michael's robe from the corner of the closet door. She catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and gasps; her body is covered in hickeys and love bites and scratches. Her lips are swollen and her eyes are bloodshot. Liz just ties his robe around her nude body then heads downstairs.

"Mornin' baby." Michael says, flipping a piece of french toast in a skillet. She smiles tiredly back. "How ya feelin'?"

"I'm fine." She says, looking over his back. She practically tore his skin to shreds. "Does it hurt?"

"Hm?"

"Your back. It looks like it hurts." She runs her fingers over the bright red lines that blood has clotted in some places. "I'm so sorry."

"Happy anniversary, though." He gives her a cheeky dimpled smile. "Here, have a seat." He nods to the counter as he plops a few pieces of toast on a plate along with a few strips of bacon. He sets the plate and a cup of coffee in front of her then gets himself some, sitting next to her.

Liz smiles over at him, rubbing her hand across her shoulders then down his arm. "I love you."

He smiles back, his hand going to her knee. "I love you too."

They sit in a comfortable silence as they eat. She's still pretty tired but the coffee starts to do what it's supposed to. "How'd things go with Morgan yesterday?"

"Good, helped him write a song." He answers, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"What kind?"

"Uh," He scrunches his face up slightly. "Love song? I dunno, it was easy to write."

"Are they always easy to write?"

He shrugs. "Easy when you're in love, I guess."

"You're blushin', awe!" She squeals, pinching his cheek.

He playfully bats her hand away, his smile returning to his face. "Stop it."

"No, c'mon! You look so cute!" She teases, moving to straddle his lap, poking his dimples.

This moment is a total contradiction to the way they fucked when they got home from the bar. They probably got the house shaking on its foundation and their voices echoing through the woods but last night was definitely a night to remember.

He smiles up at her, tucking her messy hair behind her ears. "One year down." She whispers. "Forever to go."

He cackles. "That's so cliché."

"I got you somethin'." She slides off his lap and heads to her purse. "Here."

He looks down at a small wrapped box. "What is it?"

"Open it!"

His face goes pink as he looks down at the box he's just been gifted, it's a high-end watch. "Babe-" He cuts himself off with a small sigh. "Liz-"

"Just say thank you." She beams back, playing with the ends of his hair. "They tried to get me to engrave somethin' cliché like 'til the end of time' on it."

"Or make every second count?" She chuckles. He sighs heavily, brushing his thumb across the face of his new watch. "Thank you, baby." He kisses her softly.

She grins her heart stopping smile. "You're welcome."