After 30 seconds of Morgan's lips on mine, we both pull away. He runs his fingertips across my cheek, pushing some hair behind my ear. "You don't have to milk it, you know," I mumble, trying to brush off the tingling feeling that his calloused fingers left behind. "What, can't a guy have some fun?" He repeats, a smirk dancing across his lips- the same ones that were just on mine. I search his eyes for something- regret, annoyance, relief. Excitement. But all I'm met with is that same egotistical glimmer and I'm suddenly regretting it.

"I hope Seth will get off my back now," Morgan sighs, trailing his fingers up and down my upper arm. "Do you only ever think about yourself? Taylor is totally helicoptering me," I huff, trying to merge into a casual, simpler conversation to forget what just happened. My fingers shake behind Morgan's neck.

"Not always. I think about you sometimes," his smirk fades away into a sober expression, and I can't tell if he's being an ass or not. "Be careful, Wallen. You're starting to sound like you actually like me."

"Maybe I do." The entire atmosphere between us shifts and I'm taken aback. I physically recoil, out of pure shock. Morgan watches with the same expression. If I look hard enough, I can see him trying to analyze my every move. "That southern charm is working overtime," I croak.

Why is he having this effect on me?

As quickly as it came, his expression melted away and back into his signature grin. "And it always works, don't it?" Pretentious much? I press my lips together into a smile and grit my teeth, "Yeah, Wallen. Always works."

"Jealous?" I force out an unamused laugh- it came out sharper than intended. "Ha. You wish." Morgan tilts his head at me. "Are you sure you ain't just scared?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "Scared of literally what?" I challenge. That silly flurry of butterflies quickly flew away in Morgan's wind of arrogance. I'm baffled that I even let his evil magic stray my thinking.

"That this is more than just pleasin' Taylor. Maybe you're startin'a feel somethin' for me," Morgan says cockily, the pad of this thumb softly rubbing my upper arm. I set my jaw. There's no way he actually thinks I like him. In a romantic way? I don't even like him as a person. I need to get out of here.

"Stop projecting," I snap. "Look, I did what Taylor wanted. I'm here for my friends, not you. So thanks for your help, but, I have to go."

I bid him goodbye with a quick peck on the cheek to really seal the deal. He freezes under my touch. "Bye, Wallen," I smirk, giving him a little bend of the fingers as a goodbye.

He raises his eyebrows at me. Before he can react, I turn away and push through the crowd. I bury myself deep so Morgan can't see me, and let out a deep breath. Being around him is like sitting in a classroom waiting for dismissal time. Torturous.

I push through the crowd until I finally reach the front. There's a new artist on the stage- Brooks, Robbie, and Charles stand with the rest of the group. Robbie is wiping his face and neck with a towel, his hair wet and sticking up in odd directions. I walk up to them, slinging an arm around Robbie. "You guys did so good!"

They turn their attention to me and Brooks breaks into a smile. "Did you really like it?"

I throw myself into her for a hug. "Of course I did. I'm so proud of you."

Brooks pulls away to wipe her eyes. "Ugh, I'm so pumped. This HAS to be what cocaine feels like."

I chuckle, glancing at Robbie. His arms were crossed over his chest. "Robs, I didn't know you could sing like that! You definitely need more solos, it was beautiful," I compliment the brunette, rubbing his head in a big-sister way. He pushes me off, a pink tinging his cheeks at the compliment. I turn to Nash, who was beside me. "What was your favorite song?"

She cocks an eyebrow at me. "The one Robbie sang. Now, why were you kissing Morgan Wallen?"

I sigh, rubbing my temples. "It's a long story, Nash." She crosses her arms, giving me a snarky look. "Be so for real. Do tell, I have time."

As if he heard us, I catch Morgan's gaze across the room. He runs his tongue across his bottom lip and lifts the glass to his mouth. He takes a drink, his eyes never leaving mine. I whip around to see Nash, who has her head cocked. "I swear if he looks any harder, he's going to burn a hole in your head. But again, do tell," she demands.

"Nash, cut it out," I demand, fishing a piece of gum out from my purse. "Why? It's obvious you two have a thing." I toss the balled-up wrapper at her face. I chew the piece of minty gum more aggressively than necessary. "Look, it was for PR. Now, cut it out."

"You two kissed for PR?" Robbie asks, a confused look on his face. "No. They kissed because they have feelings. Taylor would never make you kiss him, she's not that evil," Nash answers, her arms crossed annoyedly.

"I'm not into him," I spit, crossing my arms. I'm actually starting to get angry.

"Well, you may not be into him, but he's definitely into you," Robbie responds. I glance back across the room- Morgan's eyes catch mine again. This time, his gaze is different. More intense.

I quickly turn away. "You two are both crazy. Our managers made us do this for our reputations, okay?" Robbie gives me a look that says everything I don't wanna hear. "If you guys keep the 'act' up this strong, it's gonna be a lot harder to convince yourself- I mean us, that it's just PR."

I ball my fists up, pressing my lips together. "Can you two just stop?" I demand, my cheeks burning under their teasing. "Juls, I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm just saying it's hard to buy it when you two look at each other like that."

"Okay, enough PR mess," Nicole butts in. "Let's wrap this up so we can go eat, I'm starving."

sorry my chapters are so short, i feel bad :(