"Got any coffee?"

"Uh... yeah... There's a machine in the kitchen," I said, eyeing her cautiously as she walked off.

Now that was unexpected. This was the time she decided to remain calm and level-headed?

I quickly rose to my feet, instantly regretting the decision. Slow and steady, I told myself as I slowly followed behind, in an attempt to not collapse from the dizziness.

I leaned against the door frame, watching her move around the kitchen as if it was her own. "You're not mad about the photos?"

"Mad? No. Creeped out? Definitely."

"I get that. It freaked me out the first time it happened. Still does."

"You should have worn your baseball hat again," she scoffed, "You're completely unrecognizable in that thing."

My eyes rolled at her sarcastic remark, "I'm gonna grab a shower. Feel free to eat whatever you want."

TJ nodded and turned back to the machine that loudly brewed her coffee. Heading down the hallway towards my bedroom, I opened the door to a neatly made bed. Suddenly, the actions of last night hit me like a tidal wave.

The two of us stumbled into my bedroom, miraculously without tripping or bumping into something. Our lips were connected as soon as we stepped into the house. I was surprised we had made it this far with our clothes still on.

I could feel her hands going towards my belt, her lips finally parting from mine and moving to my neck. My drunken mind sobered, just long enough to comprehend was what about to happen.

"Wait," I gently pushed her off, taking a step back, "I think we should stop."

"Stop?" She repeated, utterly dumbfounded. "You really want to stop... now?"

I nodded, unable to find words to support my reasoning. I quickly shuffled my feet towards my dresser, grabbing a clean shirt and tossing it in her direction. Without a word, I walked into the bathroom and gripped the counter. Running the cold water, I splashed some onto my face in an attempt to clear my head. Shit.

I gave myself a few more moments before stepping out back into the bedroom. "You can sleep in my bed."

"Where are you sleeping?"

"I'll take the couch."

TJ nodded, turning her back to me. Her hands going to the bottom of her shirt, I let my eyes linger as she pulled the material off her body. She caught me looking from the corner of her eye, "Your loss, Young."

Walking into the bathroom, I stripped from my clothing and slipped into the shower, turning the water on. I had made the right decision last night. If I had stayed, who knows what could have possibly happened? And I had too much on the line. There was nothing worth risking our arrangement. Not even sex.

Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and tightly wrapped it around my waist. I paused, hearing her voice from down the hall.

"Yes, I know, I saw the photos too," I could hear her say, "I'm not freaking out so I don't know why you are... Silas, you can't even see my face... It was just a drunk kiss. It didn't mean anything... Will you calm the fuck down?"

My moral compass greatly failed me as I stood with my ear pressed against my bedroom door, hoping to hear every word I could.

"Well, we all knew this might happen at some point," TJ continued, "If she tries to contact me, I'll call you... Yeah, whatever... Fuck off, okay? Bye."

As much as I wanted to wonder who TJ could be worried about getting in contact with, my thoughts focused on one thing she said: It was just a drunk kiss. It didn't mean anything.

Hearing her say that only confirmed that I had made the right decision last night. We bordered the line of mixing business with pleasure. And we both needed to stay far away from that temptation.

It didn't mean anything. Her voice repeated in my head as I tried to convince myself. Why did it happen then? Why did she decide to kiss me? Had she just been playing some game with me this entire time? I paced around my room. What the hell was happening to me? What was she doing to me?

Changing into a fresh pair of clothes, I forced myself to leave my room and stop hiding away. My eyes glanced around the kitchen, "TJ?" I called out to no response. There was what appeared to be a breakfast sandwich on the counter and a note beside it that said 'Carter'. A bagel with egg, bacon, avocado, tomato. I didn't even realize I had all these ingredients.

I took a bite, my head rolling back in delight. It was fucking delicious. As I dove in for another bite, I suddenly heard the soft strumming of the guitar in the distance. I glanced towards the backdoor, realizing it had been left slightly ajar. Carrying my food with me, I followed the sound to the garage.

TJ sat on the couch with a guitar resting in her lap. I stayed silent for a moment, not wanting to interrupt as she wrote something down in her notebook.

Her eyes caught mine, "Sorry," she said, "I just thought of an idea and wanted to try it out."

"Don't be sorry," I joined her on the couch and pointed to my plate, "This is really good. I wouldn't have guessed a secret talent of yours would be cooking."

"It's a limited skillset."

I put the place on the coffee table and dusted my hands from the crumbs, "Can I hear it?"

"Uh... sure," She sounded hesitant, "I was just playing around with the lyrics from your first song." She adjusted her posture on the couch and began to delicately strum her fingers against the guitar strings.

"To break free,

Finally, become me,

To look in the mirror and be the man that I see,"

TJ continued, softly singing the words as she played. I couldn't tell if I was getting more lost in the sound of her voice or what she had been able to create.

"It's easy to say that wasn't me,

But I was the one playing the part,

Waiting for the world to tear me apart,

Not wanting to face reality,

Living in a twisted fantasy,"

"What do you think?"

"It's... really good." It was better than good. It was real. It was raw. It was what I was trying to make the song sound like all along.

She nodded, "I just changed what you had. I didn't really do much."

"No, you did a lot," I said with a smile, "You got that all from the original version?"

"And from some stuff you said last night. You didn't say a lot, but I could hear what you meant. And you looked... sad when you talked about it."

"You're pretty observant, aren't you?"

The corner of her mouth tugged upwards, "It's a blessing and a curse."

A ringing sound interrupted my thoughts. TJ picked up her phone, declined the call, and tossed the device back onto the table.

"You don't answer calls when you work?"

"It was Brandon," her eyes moved back to her notebook, "I'm guessing he saw what was considered news this morning."

Of course. The jealous boyfriend making his presence known the morning after. I wasn't sure if boyfriend was his title anymore. I sure as hell wasn't about to ask.

"How is that guy your manager?"

TJ seemed amused by my comment as she looked up, "He just took the role on himself. No one gave it to him."

"He made himself your manager?"

"Silas met him when we were in high school. Brandon booked us a couple of gigs at a bar he was working at. One night, he just gave himself the title," TJ shrugged, "It's not like we had anyone else wanting to take his spot."

"He kind of shit at his job," I muttered out loud without realizing it.

TJ quietly laughed, "I know."

The two of us spent the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon writing and creating. I kept expecting her to leave at some point, but she just continued to work. And for the first time in a long time, I felt myself being truly creative. Not worrying about being nervous to share an idea. I could now understand why the other guys said they just brought the ideas to her. The way her mind worked transformed what even seemed like the smallest idea into a fully fleshed-out thought. It was like her powers were being shifted onto me as words seemed to appear effortlessly on my page.

"I think we have another song done," I said in amazement, looking over the page and the chords.

"Maybe you should record it," TJ nodded towards the booth, "So we can hear what we have so far."

I stood from my spot, "You know when this makes it onto the album, you're going have your name in the songwriting credits... right?"

TJ seemed hesitant, something that was rare for her to be, "If  this makes it on," she finally said, "It's all you."

"You don't want credit?"

She shook her head, "I don't want my name attached."

I wanted to ask her why but the look on her face forced the words to not leave my mouth. She seemed... worried. Scared almost. Over a songwriting credit? Was her association with me that horrible?

I cleared my throat, "Alright, fine," I said, extending my hand to her, "Come on."

TJ placed her hand on mine and I pulled her up to her feet, walking towards the sound booth.

"You want me to stand in there while you sing?"

I smiled, pushing my free hand against the door, "No, I want you to sing it with me."

hmm! i wonder why TJ doesn't want songwriting credits!

song lyrics made up by me (be nice... lol I know they're not great)

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bye besties ily <3