"I hope you hate your hometown, every brick, every acre. Hope they shut all the bars down, rename all the streets

I hope it looks like a ghost town and you feel like a stranger. Then you turn your car around, get pissed off and leave. I hope you hate your hometown then come back to me..."

"Man, I got goosebumps!" Morgan shouts. He's standing behind Cliff while Michael is in the booth recording a song he wrote the night Liz left. "That's a killer track!"

"I fuckin' miss her, man." Michael admits.

Morgan snickers at his words earning a light hit to the belly. "Go see her, then." He shrugs, taking a drink from a water bottle. "She told you you're welcome to go down, right?"

"Yeah but I don't want to, y'know, seem desperate." He looks down at his sneakers. "She's a great girl, I don't want to fuck it up."

"Hardy, believe me. If you don't go see her, you're fuckin it up." Cliff mumbles something in agreement as he's preoccupied with the soundboard in front of him. "How long has it been?"

"Few months."

"So go see her."

He sighs as he uses the hem of his shirt to clean the lenses of his glasses. "Fine. I'll go to Texas and see my girlfriend." Morgan giggles childishly as he wraps an arm around his best friend's shoulders.

Elizabeth sighs as she steps out of the shower and pulls on her short robe, wrapping a towel around her dark hair. She jumps slightly when her doorbell goes off. She makes her way to the front door and swings it open.

"Michael? What're you doin' here?" She grins, throwing her arms around his shoulders.

"Surprise." He says sheepishly.

"Oh, come in." She steps back inside. "Sorry about the mess." She says as she kicks a pair of shoes out of her way. Michael takes in her place and smiles. It's a cute little house, open yet cozy. "I'll- I'll give you a tour in a bit. I gotta dressed and stuff. Make yourself at home."

Michael nods as she heads down the hallway to her only bathroom. He looks around her living room and over the many pictures and artwork on display. He sees a picture of a slightly younger looking Liz with that guy from her Instagram page standing together with fireworks in the background. His sights shift to an old faded picture of a young couple, the man in it is wearing an army uniform and the woman has the same smile as Liz.

"Sorry." Liz says, clearing her throat.

"It's all good." He says as he picks up the frame of her and that guy. "Who's this? A brother?"

"Uh, no." He sees her face drop slightly. "That's Dylan." She sighs. "My ex-boyfriend."

"Why do you have a picture of your ex?" He asks in a calm voice. He's not upset, he's just curious.

She clears her throat again. "He died when we was datin'."

"Shit."

"Yeah." She takes the picture frame from him. She looks it over before she carefully puts it back in its spot on the shelf. "It is what it is." She shrugs, her eyes still on the picture. "C'mon." He follows her to the small kitchen and leans against the counter.

"What happened to him, if you don't mind me askin'?"

She takes a deep breath. "Car wreck." Michael nods and sits at the table with her. "It was senior year of high school. Dylan was leavin' my house around two in the mornin' and this drunk asshole came around the curve real fast and down the middle of the road and hit 'em head on." She clears her throat, tears in her eyes. "He overcorrected and went off the road, wrapped around a tree and- and-" She cuts herself off with a body wracking sob, her head in her hands.

Michael has never seen her cry like this before and it hurts him.

He wraps his arm around her shaking shoulders and pulls her against his side. "It still hurts, y'know?" She coughs. "It was years ago but it still hurts. It's totally my fault too. I know that he's givin' heaven some hell, though."

Those words resonate in his brain.

Giving Heaven some Hell.

"Thanks for sharin' that with me." He says.

"He's got a special place in my heart." He nods. "I could go on and on 'bout him." She chuckles weakly as she stands back up. "I got some left over pizza in the oven if you're hungry. Make yourself at home, Michael."

He kicks his boots off and drops his hat on the corner of the back of the chair he's sitting on. He looks up in time to see Liz step into the other room to compose herself after sharing a memory she thought she had buried deep. A memory she thought she had healed from.

He feels like an ass for making her open up to him but he's glad she did. Michael joins her in the other room and puts a calming hand on her shoulder. She looks over at him and sighs. "Lemme give you a tour of the town."

The town of Texarkana flies past the windows of Liz's Land Cruiser. She's been telling Michael the crazy stories from her past.

He isn't surprised.

She definitely has that hell raiser vibe that he's been looking for.

"You take that road, it goes to a lake access that no one knows about."

"What're we waitin' for?" He shoots her a smirk. She slams on her breaks, reverses then heads up the hill to the dirt path she's talking about.

She parks in a spot across from the wood dock and gives him an ornery smile. "C'mon."

He kicks his sneakers off and follows her to the dock. "This is beautiful." He says, sitting at the end next to her. "Almost as pretty as you." She rolls her eyes playfully.

"You bring your bathin' suit?" Liz asks. He shakes his head. "Me neither." She stands, steps out of her boots while unbuttoning her shorts, shimmying them down her long legs. Her flowy tank top hits the planks, leaving her in her navy blue bralette and matching thong.

Michael has seen her naked before but there's something about her wearing just a bra and underwear suddenly makes him feel bashful and fluttery.

Elizabeth sees his blush but ignores it, tying her dark hair up in a messy bun on the top of her head while she takes a few steps back. She squeals as she runs down the dock and leaps into the water.

Michael laughs as he carefully stores his glasses in the cup holder of her car. He steps out of his shorts, his camo shirt following leaving him in just a pair of boxers. Liz grins up at him from the water and he copies what she did, taking a running start to jump into the lake.

She laughs when she gets hit with his splash, making her way over to him. "This is nice."

"One day, I'm gonna show you 'round Philadelphia."

"Thought you said you was from Mississippi?"

"Yeah. Philadelphia, Mississippi."

She laughs at herself. "I had no idea that was a thing. The first time I was outta the state was to go to Nashville with Caleigh."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

"You've only ever been in Texas?"

"Yeah- well, Texarkana, Arkansas but that don't count."

"Man, you need to get out there." He teases and Liz splashes him back. Michael holds his hand out and pulls her close. She wraps her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck and she leans down and kisses him.

And soon, the sun has started to sink down into the horizon, the vividly bright orange and red hues highlighting their faces, reflecting up from the water. Liz has her head on Michael's shoulder while he keeps them afloat, totally and completely content.

+++

"Hey. You awake?" Liz whispers to Michael as they lay in her bed. They swam for a couple hours, took a shower together, had some supper and now they're laying face to face in just undergarments.

"I am now." Michael mumbles back. "Y'alright?"

She nods, tucking a couple strands of hair behind her ear. "I'm glad I met you." His heart smiles. "I haven't felt this happy in a long time." She admits, her eyes starting to get heavy. Michael gently brushes his thumb across her cheek, his lips tugging at a sleepy grin as he watches her battle sleep's seductive grasp away, struggling to keep her eyes open. "Thank you."