"You're really going, huh?" Morgan asks as he takes her hands in his.

"Morgan, I wanna finish my degree." She says in a shaky voice. "I want to stay but I really can't."

"I get it." He sighs, dropping her hand. "I'll see you 'round." He pulls away from her, starting to walk back to his house. There's a clap of thunder in the sky as it starts to downpour.

He almost makes it to the door when he's stopped by a hand on his forearm. Dani pulls him down for a kiss, tugging him towards her. He stumbles but catches himself with a hand on the doorframe behind her as their lips lock. His hand holds the back of her soaking wet head, her hair tangling around his fingers as she holds onto the front of his flannel, keeping him down.

They pull apart and she sees tears in his eyes through her own. "I love you." She whispers, using her thumb to wipe away some of his tears. "I'll be back in twelve weeks." He scoffs, rolling his eyes to fight back tears. "We can call each other and visit." He sighs and nods. "I love you, Morgan."

"I love you too." She takes his hand and leads him to her car. He opens the door for her then closes it, smacking his hand against the door. "Call me when you get there, okay?" She nods and leans out the window to give him another kiss. "Get on outta here before I make a scene, darlin'." He waves her off, wiping away more tears. She waves at him as she backs down the dirt driveway, driving away.

She gets to Rutledge, about 40 minutes away from Knoxville, when she huffs and grabs her phone. "Hey Hardy." She says, turning into a gas station to park.

"What's up, girly? You on your way?"

"I'm not comin' back."

"What? Are you okay?"

"I don't know, I think I just want to be with Morgan."

"Over a law degree?"

"My credits can transfer to the community college in town. It's still a degree."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No." She takes a deep breath. "I love him, Michael but I also want to finish school."

"If he loves you, he'll let you go." He says softly. "If he loves you, he'll wait."

"If he was talkin to you right now, you'd probably say that if I loved him I would stay."

"Not one bit. I'd tell him the same thing." She starts crying quietly. "C'mon back here and see how you feel, alright?" She nods and takes another deep breath.

"Okay, I'm on my way. I'll be there in about 45 minutes."

"Alrighty." He answers. "Drive safe, baby."

"I will." She hangs up and starts driving again, going straight to their apartment.

+++

As soon as she steps foot in the apartment, Hardy is there with open arms. She gives him a sad smile as she collapses against him, hugging him tightly. "You okay, darlin'?"

"I will be." She cried most of the way down but settled down after a while. "I miss him."

"He misses you too." She rolls her eyes. "Seriously."

"You didn't see the way he looked at me when I told him." She sits down on the couch. "You didn't see that look in his eyes when I told him I was leaving." Hardy hands her a mug full of coffee. "Thank you."

"Of course." He sits next to her, his arm on the couch behind her. "What do you need? What can I do to help you?"

"Bring summer back."

"Sorry, baby." He puts a hand on her back. "Just take a deep breath and calm down." She does, nodding.

"God, this boy is gonna be the death of me." She stands and goes to her bedroom, flopping on her bed, immediately falling asleep when her head hits the pillow.

Hardy goes in to check on her at some point in the night, smiling slightly at the sight. He unties her shoes and puts them on the floor before tucking her under the blankets, pushing some of her messy hair out of her face. He gives her a kiss on the head before leaving her room, a blush tinting his cheeks.

Okay, maybe he's starting to have feelings for her, ever since that night the three went swimming back in her hometown, y'know when they swam in their underwear. He caught a glimpse of the small tattoo she has, she rarely shows it off; it's a floral cross on her shoulder.

He sighs as he picks up her mug and sets it in the sink, hating this feeling. Morgan is his best buddy and he's dating Dani. Hardy sighs again as he starts picking his guitar.

+++

"Hey Morgan." Dani says the next morning, yawning as she sits on the counter, her sweater sleeves pulled down over her hands. "Sorry, I fell asleep when I got here."

"I figured." He says back, standing against the railing of his porch, a cup of coffee in his opposite hand. "You okay?"

"I've been better." She admits. "Missin' my country boy."

"Missin you too." He says back, sighing heavily. "How's, uh, Hardy?"

She rolls her eyes. "He's good."

"Good." He nods. "That's great." The conversation feels forced. "How are your classes?"

"They start tomorrow."

"Ah."

"Yep. Hey I gotta go, I'll talk to you in a bit."

"Okay." He hangs up.

She sighs heavily, rubbing her face. "I have an appointment with my advisor to go online." She tells Hardy.

"Are you going home?"

"Yeah. I am." She can't help but smile. "It's either this or transfer to East Tennessee State."

"Glad you figured it out. When's your appointment?"

"An hour." She hops off the counter, her sweater slipping off her shoulder, revealing her tank top strap and tattoo. "Gonna get ready."

"Hey, I..." he starts, looking at the floor. "Are you sure you're leavin'?"

"Yeah. Why?" He bites his lip. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Never mind." She shrugs it off as she heads to the bathroom to shower.

+++

"Alright, this is it." She's got her things packed up and in her car. "Hey, when you're done with school, Morgan offered a room in his house for you. He seriously meant it too." She says to Hardy. "Thank you for being such a great guy." She gives him a hug. "Whenever you're in town, you got a place to stay."

"Thanks." He smiles. "You're a great girl, Morgan is lucky to have you."

"Thanks." She returns the smile. "See you 'round, baby." Dani gives him a kiss on the cheek before turning to the door.

Hardy reaches out and grabs her hand. "Wait." She stops and turns back to him. He leans in and kisses her- lips to lips kisses her. She's startled at first but kisses him back, her hand sliding up his chest to the back of his neck before she realizes what she's doing.

"Michael, no." She says, putting her fingers against her lips. "We can't do this."

"I know, I just wanted to do that for the longest time."

She shakes her head as she picks up her purse. "Hey, remember what I said: when you're done with school you're welcome to hang out with us." He's relieved that she didn't get pissed at him, hell she even kissed him back. "Bye, Michael."

"See ya, baby." He closes the door behind her and looks around the nearly empty apartment, sitting on the couch.

+++

Morgan's standing in his kitchen, shirtless and in sweats. He's cooking some food on the stove when there's a knock on his door. He pulls a confused face as he moves the skillet off the burner. Morgan opens the door slowly, peeking around the side to see who's there. "Dani?"

"Hey. I'm hopin' your offer still stands." She smiles her half dimpled smile, holding her duffle bag. He stands there slack jawed for a while, he doesn't believe that she's here, she's back for him. "Is it?"

He grins his goofy grin as he grabs her in a hug, lifting her to wrap her legs around his waist. She giggles as he kisses her face, inhaling her scent deeply. "I can't believe this."

"Are you gonna let me in?"

"Hell yeah. C'mon in." He says, moving her duffle into the house before closing the door behind them, heading to his bedroom with her.

+++

They stay in bed all day long, their clothes never leaving the floor. Morgan is laying on his side, watching her sleep. He pushes her hair out of her face behind gently stroking her cheek. She hums, stirring. "Hey." He whispers.

"Hi." She mumbles. "What time is it?"

"It's about two." He answers, his hand still on her face, his thumb rubbing her cheek. "You've been out for about an hour."

"Are you hungry?" She asks as she sits up, pulling the sheets up to her collarbone. Morgan slides over and puts his head against her chest so she can play with his growing hair.

"I wanna stay in bed with you."

"Let me make some lunch, we can eat in bed." He lets her get up, watching her go to his closet to pull on a red flannel and her undies before heading downstairs.

He joins her after pulling his sweatpants back on, leaning himself against the counter by the stove, watching his Chef Dani throw lunch together. "Whatcha makin?"

"I don't know." She shrugs as she puts her ingredients in a pot on the stove. "It's still raining, huh?"

"Hey, I could use a little rain." He smirks, his hand sliding around her waist. "Beatin' on the window pane..." he whispers in her ear, making her giggle. "While we listen to the tin roof sing our love song, all day long."

"What is this?" She laughs, looking up at him.

"I dunno, just somethin' I've been messin' around with." He smiles. "Yeah I hope it pours and our clothes stay on the floor. That's the kind of storm that's been callin' my name."

"You're so cheesy." She says, stirring the pot.

"Yeah I could use a little rain." She rolls her eyes playfully as she grabs a couple of bowls. "So what did you make?"

"Soup." She smiles as she scoops the lunch into the bowls as Morgan grabs a couple of spoons.

"So, do you have all your stuff?"

"Majority, why?"

"You're movin' in still, right?"

"Yeah. Just making sure you were still okay with it."

"Well, once this rain is done, we'll get you moved in." He can't help but smile his big goofy smile. He leans over and gives her a kiss. "I'm so blessed that you did this for me."

"Turns out there are online versions of my classes. My advisor said I can take my classes on my own time, it's how full time working people and parents get their degree." She smiles, stirring her soup.

They sit in silence as they finish lunch. "Looks like it's done raining." Morgan says as he looks out his kitchen window. "Wanna move your stuff in?"

She nods quickly and stands, going to the bedroom to pull her jeans on along with her boots. Morgan pulls a burgundy t-shirt on and a pair of sneakers before they go back down to her car for her stuff.

+++

Dani and Morgan are laying naked together on the mattress on the floor of their bedroom. Morgan has yet to get a frame but it's on Dani's list. She yawns as she reaches over for her half empty Busch Light can, sipping it sleepily. He matches her yawn and runs his hand through his sweaty hair. "We got a time booked at a record studio for next week, Hardy and me."

"Really?" He nods. "Awesome!" She turns on her front and smiles up at him, she looks exhausted, she hasn't been getting a lot of sleep lately. "It'll be nice to see him again." Morgan nods, tucking his arm behind his head. "I miss him." She won't tell him they kissed before she came home to live with him, it meant nothing, right?

"Would you wanna go with?"

"Really?" She asks again, leaning on her elbows. He nods. "Sure!"

"Awesome." He smiles, reaching down to run his fingers through her hair. "I'm so glad that you came back."