Sold Out - Michael Hardy

TEN

She sits with her feet kicked up on the coffee table and her laptop in her lap, a pad of paper next to her on the couch.

Michael comes around the corner with her ringing phone in her hand. "Here. Answer it." He says with a shit eating grin.

"Hello?"

"Cassie Leigh, you are killing it!"

She looks up from her laptop and furrows her brows. "Do I know you?" She asks politely.

"I'm with the CMAs and I wanted to let you know in person that you've been nominated for songwriter of the year."

She chuckles in disbelief. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You're nominated for songwriter of the year." He repeats. "Congratulations!"

"Oh wow, thank you." She chuckles again. "Thanks. Thank you."

"You're welcome. We will see you at the CMA Awards!"

She hangs up and throws her phone to the coffee table, pacing with her heart pounding in her chest.

"You okay?"

Cassie shakes her head. "I'm- I'm up for songwriter of the year."

"Me too."

She stops pacing. "N- No, I- that's not-"

Michael drops his hands on her shoulders. "It's just a nomination."

Cassie takes a deep breath and nods. "You're right but-"

"No. No buts. I know what you're thinkin', Cass. There is no bad blood between us if one of us wins against the other, okay?"

She nods again.

"Okay."

She rubs a hand over her face. "I've never been to an award show before."

"Oh, It's an experience you can't miss out on." He gives her upper arms a squeeze before stepping back. "It'll be fun but the most fun happens at the party afterwards."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah." Michael nods with a goofy smirk on his face. "Last year, a bunch of us partied at Morgan and we got some Polaroids to prove it." He laughs at the memories. "That's how I got the scar on my head."

"Michael, what did you do?"

"I- It wasn't anything important-"

"Nothing important?! I asked you about that scar how many times and you just wave it off? What happened?" He says nothing as he turns around to head to the kitchen.

Cassie suddenly leaps on his back, knocking him to the hardwood floor with her knees on either side of his torso.

"Babe?! What the fuck!?" He can't help but laugh.

Cassie knocks his ball cap off his head and starts combing her fingers through his hair to find that scar.

She pushes his hair up to expose the long, three inch scar at the nape of his neck."Michael!"

"Babe!"

"Tell me!" She giggles.

"Fine! Get offa me."

Cassie sits up and lets him turn over onto his back. "We got drunk at a bonfire and I tripped and smacked my head on the back of a tailgate."

"You are so lucky you didn't go paralyzed."

His face drops. "What?"

"You could've broke your neck and gone paralyzed. That woulda sucked."

Michael forces a laugh then pins Cassie to the floor. "Y'Know, we've been datin' for four months now."