Lacey was so nervous on her way to the restaurant. Almost sick to her stomach. This whole thing was really not helping with her anxiety. She was just now settling into Nashville and was very happy with Blake and now she just knew that Morgan was going to mess it up. He would never let her just be with a guy he always had to mess it up...

"Hey babe, you ok? You don't look so good." said Blake, noticing her pale complexion.

"Oh yeah I'm fine"

"You sure?"

"Yea, yea. Just um... Don't pay attention to Morgan if he's an asshole. He tends to kinda get like that around guys I'm dating. Him and my brother were good friends so he kinda has that mindset. You know?"

"So y'all knew each other pretty well then?"

"Um... yea I guess you could say that"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just didn't want you to worry about him, that's all"

"Do I need to be worried?" Said Blake with a serious face

"No, no of course not!" Lacey just kept telling herself that, even thought in the back of her mind she knew that it might not be true. But, no she could not do that. She was happy and she wasn't going to let Morgan ruin that. No matter how much she might want him to...

They pulled up to the Palm and the valet took their car. The rest of the ride had been a little tense. Lacey could tell Blake was a bit upset that she hadn't told him that her and Morgan knew each other, but she was just going to try and get through the date. They could deal with that later. The night was going to be tough enough without fighting with Blake.

Morgan and Olivia were already standing by the door waiting for them. They all said hello to each other, the girls hugging and the boys shaking hands.

"Have I already told you how amazing you look tonight Lace?"

"Yes I believe you have, Morgan" Said Lacey in a slightly irritated tone.

"Well you do"

"Reservations at 7:30, we don't want to be late" Said Blake, cutting off Morgan's sweet talk

Morgan opened the door for them and they all walked in. They were immediately seated at a table in the back of the resturaunt, per Morgans request. Lacey sat beside Blake with Morgan directly across the table from her and Olivia beside him. He seemed slightly uneasy, but Lacey paid it no attention. Which is what she planned to do all night, pay him no attention. Instead she focused on the beautiful atmosphere. It was dark with mood lighting and fancy white tablecloths. The waitress came by and asked what drinks they would like, starting with Morgan.

"I'd like a Jack and Coke. Same for you Lace?"

"No, Vodka sprite please" which earned a look from Morgan

Blake then ordered a beer and Olivia ordered a cocktail.

"Vodka sprite huh?" asked Morgan

"Yep"

"Hmm.. I always remember you being a whiskey girl" he said with a smirk

Lacey just glared, not responding to the suggestive comment. He then turned his attention to Blake.

"So I hear you're a business man"

"Yes, I'm in the insurance business"

"And where'd ya learn to do that"

"I went to ole miss"

"Fraternity?"

"Yea, Tri Delta"

Morgan just laughed, taking a sip of his drink

Lacey gave Blake an apologetic look. Noticing how angry he was, she tried to shift the attention to Olivia.

"So, Olivia, you're an influencer?" asked Lacey.

"Yes, I am!"

"Whats that like"

"I love it, Its so nice to not really be tied down to a job. I can live wherever I want and I have a ton of time to be with friends and stuff like that"

"Yea, I might shoot myself if I worked in an office everyday. I mean that would fucking suck, bein' stuck inside all day, doin' boring business shit. No offense Blake" Morgan said very insincerely, which earned him a kick from under the table. He winced and gave Lacey a dirty look.

"You ok babe?" asked Olivia

"Yep just hit my knee" He forced out, while rubbing his shin.

The waitress, came again and they all ordered food, and Blake ordered another beer since he quickly downed his first one.

"So, Blake where ya from?" Morgan started again, seeming as if he had not had enough of tearing into Blake.

"I'm from around here, the Grove area" and Morgan snickered again seeing as the Grove was known to be a posh, rich part of Nashville. "Fitting" said Morgan, underneath his breath

Blake, trying to be nice and ignoring the rude comment, asked about Sneedville.

"Yea, its a very small-town, but we always found trouble to get into didn't we Lace?"

Lacey ignored the last comment and said "There was a small cafe type thing called Eddies that me and my friends used to always go to"

"There was music there every Friday night and me and Lacey used to sing sometimes. Lacey was actually the first person I started writing songs with"

"Really, I didn't know that" said Blake, sounding slightly hurt

"Yea we spent most of our summers hanging out by the lake, writin' and playin' in the water"

"My brother and best friend Addie were there too" said Lacey, trying to make it seem less intimate.

"Speaking of Addie, how is she? I haven't heard from her in forever" Morgan asked.

"She's great. Ya know she got married to Connor 2 years ago and now they are about to start tryin for kids"

"Damn, I would have never thought that she would be the first to settle down outta the two of y'all, she was always the one pullin ya out to parties and stuff"

"I know" Lacey had another thought come into her head when he said that, but she wasn't going to think like that. The past was in the past.

The rest of the night went the same as it had been going. Morgan continued to make snide comments, pissing both Lacey and Blake off. Lacey felt bad for Olivia. She just sat there all night listening to Morgan drag up things from the past. She knew she had to be upset.

Soon they parted ways, the girls hugging again, but the boys did not shake hands. Blake barely talked the whole way to Lacey's apartment. When they pulled into the parking lot, Lacey said

"Are you ok?"

"Seems like y'all knew each other a lot better than you told me" he muttered in a sarcastic voice.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Im not sure why I didn't. I just I-"

"Y'all dated right?"

"What no, we didn't-"

"Its obvious he's still hung up on you! Either that or he is just a complete and total asshole which I doubt because I've actually heard a lot of people talk about what great person he is"

"Blake, he is not hung up on me he just- I don't know but he's not normally like this"

"I've gotta go home so uh, i'll see you later ok?"

"Blake please-"

"We are ok. I just need some time to myself. I'll call you later"

"Ok" she said, getting out of the car and dragging herself up the stairs to her apartment. She walked straight to her bedroom and flopped onto her bed, totally drained from the night.