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TRACK 27 - PART 2

TJ clutched onto my arm as we walked towards the table. Her eyes were looking around the room at every unknown person she saw in front of her.

"They all sign NDA's," I whispered, noticing her nerves, "Don't worry."

"It's not that. I just look like shit."

I looked over at her. "I think you look quite good in my shirt and sweats."

I pulled out the chair and motioned for her to sit, before taking the spot next to her. There was a display of food, quite a large assortment of things, already on the table. TJ reached for the pot of coffee and filled her mug. She leaned back in the chair, her hands gripping the cup.

TJ must have noticed me looking at her empty plate as she said, "I'm not hungry yet."

"Well, if you are, later on, everything will still be here. Or, have someone call down to the front desk and they will-"

"Carter," TJ placed her hand over mine. Warmth radiated from her touch. "I promise you I will eat."

"Right," I said, "I know you will. I'm just..."

"Thoughtful."

I was thankful she had chosen a word like that. Although, I felt it gave me too much credit for something I didn't deserve. She had some type of relationship with food - I wasn't sure what that necessarily was. And speculating felt wrong of me to do. Especially when it wasn't my place. Nor something she had ever brought up to me.

TJ leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss. She immediately pulled back with reddened cheeks.

"They all signed-"

"NDA's, I know," she whispered back. "That was just our first kiss in front of other people."

I was glad she wasn't worried about the others in the room seeing us together, as I knew there was nothing to be worried about. There was little I knew about the types of contracts Jeff handed out. However, from what I did know, they were ironclad. It felt like the less I knew about them, the better.

"We should've given them a real show then. Full-on make-out and everything."

TJ rolled her eyes at my teasing and gently swatted my chest with the back of her hand. The playful smile of hers, I noticed, began to falter slightly as Jeff took a seat on the other side of the table.

Jeff opened his binder and pulled out a piece of paper, sliding it on the table towards me. "Here is your schedule for the day, and-"

"This is way longer than what we had planned."

Jeff cocked his head to the side. "No, that's the schedule, Carter."

"This can't be right. This has me coming back after midnight." I turned to TJ, placing my hand on her thigh, "I didn't think I'd be gone for so long."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. You're going to be here alone for, what? Nineteen hours?"

TJ placed her hand on mine. "Carter, stop. I'll be okay. You're here to work, remember? So, while you do that, I'll keep myself entertained. And later I'll watch you on," her head quickly turned towards the sheet of paper, "Jamie Camelle Tonight. Then once you're all done charming the crowd, I'll be here waiting for you."

"You sure?"

She leaned forward with a smile. "I'm sure." She dropped her voice to a whisper and added, "If you're a good boy today, I'll even give you something special when you get home."

"Oh really?"

The corner of her mouth tugged, forming her famous smirk. "Really."

I cleared my throat and looked at Jeff. "The schedule is fine."