"Are you fuckin stupid!?" Kate shouts at Morgan. "You can't do that!"

"Why the fuck not!?" He shouts back.

"You can't go out on a draw four!"

"Says who!?"

"The universe!"

The two are playing Uno and drinking. It's been a stressful week so they're hanging out as friends, for now.

"Draw one, Morgan. You can't go out on a draw four."

"But Katie..!" He whines playfully, dropping his head back against the headrest of the wicker seat he's on. "C'mon!"

"But Morgan..!" She whines back in the same tone. "Do it!"

He groans and rolls his body forward, picking up a card from the stack with every ounce of sass he can muster. She laughs and takes a drink from the beer bottle in front of her. This is what she needed, hanging out with a friend.

Taylor's off on a vacation with her boyfriend so Kate's been on her own. Morgan was more than happy to hang out with her.

"You still been writin' music?" She asks as he shuffles the deck.

"Yes ma'am." He nods back.

"Anythin' you wanna share with me?"

He looks up and locks eyes with her. "C'mon." He sets the deck to the side the takes her hand, pulling her into his house.

He leads her up to his bedroom where his laptop is and sets it up, tapping the space bar. Soon, his husky, panty-dropping voice fills his room. Kate sits on his bed and listens, the way he's singing makes goosebumps show on her skin. She lays back and closes her eyes, letting his voice soak into her skin.

He lays next to her and exhales softly. She looks over at him then down at his lips.

Kate leans over and kisses him in such a soft way that has his heart fluttering and his cheeks burning. He doesn't think she's ever kissed him this soft before.

His hand rests on the back of her upper arm, his other resting up on his elbow.

She goes to pull away but he keeps her close, their kiss starting to turn hot when his hand glides down her back to her hip.

Kate licks her lips as she pulls back. "Holy shit." She whispers, his song still playing. "It's kind of a sad song."

"Yeah." He whispers back, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear then brushes his thumb across her cheek. "You like it?"

"Yeah." She smiles slightly. "What's it called?"

"Bandaid on a Bullet Hole."

She lays against him, her head on his bicep while he rubs what he can reach on her back. Tears form in her eyes, she missed this. She quickly wiped under her eyes and lets out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry."

He furrows his eyebrows, his chin on the top of her head. "Why?"

"I ain't been very nice to-"

"Katie, stop. It's my fault you feel like that. I was a jerk to you and I feel real bad." He rests his hand on the side of her face and she closes her eyes. "I'm real sorry." She says nothing as she presses herself closer against him, her leg across his and her arm around his middle with her head on his chest.

He sighs softly, pressing a soft kiss her forehead. She hums quietly, letting her body relax against his.

Morgan drifts asleep with Kate secure in his arms, feeling so content for the first time in a long time.

+++

"No!" He gasps as he jolts awake, his heart racing. "Kate!?" Morgan gasps, sitting up. He starts to panic when he sees an empty spot next to him. He jumps out of bed and flies down the stairs.

She isn't in the living room.

She's not in the kitchen.

He swings the back door open and his worried eyes land on Kate sitting on the step with Boots, his dog, laying in the grass across from her.

"Kate." He practically whimpers.

She turns and looks at him. "You okay?"

The choked sound he lets out has her getting to her feet and wrapping him in her arms. He drops his head on her shoulder, tears falling freely from his eyes. His shoulders shake as he cries and the sounds he's making makes tears swell in her own eyes.

She runs a calming hand over his hair and lowers him to sit on the deck. "What's wrong?"

He sits back against the deck railing and wipes his face. "Just a damn nightmare." He mumbles back, looking away from her.

He dreamt that she ended up marrying Riley and it turned so fucking sour. He dreamt that he laid his hands on her; beat the shit outta her and it scared Morgan.

So when she wasn't in bed with him, he was terrified.

She scoots up to sit next to him, her hand resting on his thigh while her heads on his shoulder.

Boots comes up the steps and sits next to him, resting her head on his lap and Morgan laughs weakly.

This feels nice.

Maybe like a family.

+++

Katie sighs as she unlocks her door. She tosses her files on her desk before she kicks her heels off. She criss-crosses her legs when she sits on her desk chair, sliding her glasses back on.

There's a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" The door opens. "Riley?"

"Finn quit and I need a new manager." He spits. "You're the only one who can take me right now."

He's demanding.

"I didn't hear a please anywhere in that sentence."

He rolls his eyes. "Can you take me or not?"

"Can you say please?"

He scoffs. "Can you take me, please?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to check but you'll have your answer in, let's say, five to ten business days."

"Are you fucking serious?"

She narrows her eyes. "Language, Mr. Green."

"Whatever." He goes for the doorknob. "It'd mean a lot if you did this."

"How's that?"

"Y'know, exes who can still work together professionally."

"Honey. this conversation has been everything but professional."

Riley nods and looks down. He nods again then lets himself out.

Kate drops her head on her desk when the door shuts. She has zero interest in managing her ex but she's only got a couple other people she's working with.

And, she gets a percentage of his income as her paycheck.

From this point on, they aren't exes, they're just co workers.

Strictly business.

+++

Kate told Riley she can take him and he's somewhat grateful. They've been working together and it's starting to go smoother.

She's lined up a tour for him for the coming summer as well as an album release in a couple months.

They're in the middle of a meeting when there's a soft knock on her door. "Come in." She looks up from her notepad. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Roses for a Miss Katie Hurst." A young man says with a cute smile.

"Oh, thanks." She takes them from him and sets them down on her desk. There's a card sticking out from the blooms.

Morgan's sent her roses.

She smiles and pockets the note, a blush as red as her roses coloring her cheeks. "I'm sorry, where were we?"

"Who're they from?"

"Taylor." She brushes it off. "Congratulatin' me on my first month here."

He can tell she's lying but they're coworkers.

Just coworkers.

"You think you can get an album recorded by the end of next month? Give me some time to talk to the digital design crew."

"Yeah, sure." He nods. "I can do that."

"Cool. I need a demo on my desk by the end of the month, by Friday 4:59."

"You got it." He stands. "Thanks for doin' this for me."

"It ain't for you." She responds, looking through some papers on her desk, her glasses low on her nose.

He scoffs under his breath and leaves, giving those roses one last look before shutting the door behind him.