"What about a destination wedding?" Jenna says as she sits on the sectional next to Michael with a big blue bowl of popcorn in her hands.

"Where would the destination be?"

"I dunno." She shrugs, kicking her feet up behind her. "Mississippi?"

"That's not a destination wedding." He chuckles, his hand on her knee. "You wanna get married in Mississippi?"

"Yeah." She nods, resting her head against her fist while her elbow is on the back of the couch. "We should go back and you can gimme a tour of your hometown."

"You'd want that?"

"I would love that."

His face lights up. "Okay." He reaches forward and grabs his laptop. "Looks like we're both free in two weekends, wanna do it then?"

"Yeah!" She says, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth. "Do I get you meet your folks?"

"If you wanna. There's also the Neshoba County Fair goin' on that weekend, too."

"Oh, awesome!" She laughs, smiling at the grin he has. "I can't wait to see where you grew up."

+++

"Thank ya sir!" Jenna says to Michael's father as she drops her bag in Michael's old bedroom.

Michael leans against the doorframe, looking around the room. "They haven't moved a thing." He smiles.

"Comfy bed." She says, sitting on the edge of it.

"Nah, it really isn't."

"Better than what I grew up with. The only time I slept on a real bed was when I stayed with my granddaddy."

Those words shock Michael.

"What- what did you sleep on?"

"A futon with my brother. You seen the house I grew up in, it's a dump."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"You got a nice place, Michael." She cuts him off, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You, uh, ever had girls in here before?"

"No, actually." He replies with a small blush.

"What!?"

His blush grows as he looks down at his feet. "I was kind of a loser in high school."

"Oh I don't believe that for a second." She replies, taking his hand. He sits next to her and kisses her temple. "So, when is this fair?"

"The best day to go is Saturday but today is the first day. It's mostly, uh, animal shows, shit like that."

"Really? I did 4-H until high school then I went to FFA."

"Oh shit. I wasn't expecting that." She laughs. "Wow."

"Yeah. After school I would hang out with one of our neighbors, Paul Smart, and help him out with his farm and cattle. But in FFA, I was VP and was put in charge of the school farm."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, that's probably why my folks didn't believe that I wanted to move to Nashville. Paul was gonna leave his farm to me when he died but his son ended up sellin' his land to the town."

"Wow."

"Sorry, I know it's kinda borin'-"

"I love listenin' to what you gotta say." He smiles. "C'mon, I wanna give you a tour of the town."

+++

Michael parked his truck a few streets over so they're walking around town. He's telling her everything about the town and the businesses as they pass them.

"I used to work here." He says, pointing at an old, old hardware store.

"Wow." She grabs the handle and pulls the door open.

"Hey y'all." An old man says from behind the counter. "What're y'all in for today?"

"Just lookin' really." Jenna smiles warmly back as Michael disappears behind the tall shelves.

"That ain't a Mississippi accent." He comments.

Jenna pulls a surprised face. "You can tell?"

"Yes ma'am." He grunts quietly as he stands, a wooden cane in his freckled hand. "What're you doin' here?"

"My fiancé grew up here." She replies. "Been givin' me a tour of his hometown."

"Really? Who's your fiancé?"

"He's 'round here somewhere."

"Sorry, Dad wanted me to pick up AA batteries."

"Michael Hardy." The hunched over old man says, leaning against the counter.

"Mister Fenner." He smiles back. "How the hell are ya!?" He gives him a gentle hug.

"Been good. Town's been a helluva lot quieter since you left."

Michael chuckles. "Oh, this is Ronnie Fenner, Mr. Fenner, this is Jenna James."

"Jenna James?" He asks.

"Uh, yeah."

"Me and my wife love your album, uh, Wyatt. She always got it playin' when she cookin'."

"Really?"

"Yes ma'am." He nods.

"Wow, that's so cool." She grins. "Wow." She's speechless. "Wow."

The door jingles open and an old woman hobbles in. "Here ya go, sweetheart." She says in a raspy voice. "Lunch."

"Thanks Linda." He kisses her sweetly. "Oh, this is Michael, you remember him."

"Michael Hardy, how could I forget?" She chuckles as she hugs him. "And who's this tall drink of sunshine?"

Jenna giggles, hiding her blushing face against Michael's shoulder.

"Jenna James."

"No way." Jenna chuckles shyly. "We love your music, baby."

"Thanks." She forces herself to hold back a squeal. This is her first time being recognized out in public.

"What a reunion." Ronnie sighs. "We missed you, son."

"We really did." Linda nods. "What brings y'all home?"

"We're actually thinkin' 'bout gettin' married here." Jenna says with a smile. "First time I came down here, I fell in love with the state and it's been on my mind since."

"How sweet." Linda smiles. "Well, we won't keep ya from seein' the rest of the town."

"Thanks." Jenna smiles back. "It was real nice meetin' y'all."

"Yeah, nice see y'all again." Michael smiles, hanging Ronnie a ten for his batteries. He takes Jenna's hand and walks her out of the store.

"Hey." Jenna says, stopping him in the middle of the sidewalk.

"What's up, baby?"

"C'mere." She tugs his hand to pull him close. She leans up and kisses him softly, one hand resting on the back of his neck. She pulls back and rests her forehead against his. "I love you."

He smiles softly, tucking some hair behind her ear. "I love you too."

+++

"Neshoba County Fair." Jenna reads the banner across the entrance gate. "Neshoba."

Michael parks his truck in a grass spot then hops out and adjusts his sunglass as he takes Jenna's hand.

She's so excited to be at the fair with him.

"You wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Michael asks.

"Uh." She bites her lip. "Sure."

"What? What's wrong?"

"N-nothin'." She smiles uneasily. "You wanna walk 'round?"

"You don't wanna do the Ferris wheel?"

She scratches the side of her face. "Sure."

"Are you scared of heights?" He asks in a slightly teasing tone. "Badass Jenny James is scared of heights?"

"Pfft no." She scoffs. "I'm scared of fallin' off heights."

"There's a lap bar and I think a seatbelt." He says, grabbing her hand.

Michael tugs her toward the line for the Ferris wheel with a big smile on his face. "You'll be fine." He kisses her temple.

Jenna elbows him slightly. "Leave me alone." She tries to hide a smile but when he playfully grabs her ass, she giggles and leans into him. "If we die, I'm kickin' your ass."

"If we die, there ain't gonna be an ass for you to kick." He says as they sit in a seat. "You wanna hold my hand?" He teases, pulling a goofy frown. "Will that make you feel better?"

She puts her hand on his face and pushes him back slightly. "Fuck off."

As their seat goes higher, her grip gets tighter on the bar in front of her, her eyes stuck on the ground growing further and further away.

"My ears are poppin'." She mutters, her arms starting to shake.

"Baby, look at me." He whispers, all goofiness gone. "Don't look down, look at me." He gently grabs a hold of her jaw and turns her head.

Her eyes lock with his and he can almost see her shoulders relax but the calmness is short lived when there's a loud metal clanking from below.

"We're gonna die- I'm kickin' your ass." She says, taking a deep breath as she looks up at the stars. "It's like I can touch 'em." Michael looks up too. She glances at him and he looks back, leaning in.

Jenna kisses him, her thumb grazing his cheek. "You got lucky." She mumbles when the ride starts moving again.

He chuckles as they hop off the ride.

They walk around the fair some more, hand in hand. Michael stops to small talk a few people he grew up with but keeps things short, thinking Jenna is bored but she isn't.

She is loving this whole experience.

With lemonades in their hands, Jenna and Michael hop up on his tailgate as the sun sinks low in front of them.

She rests her head on his shoulder. "I love it here." She whispers. "I don't think I wanna go back to Nashville." Her words surprise both of them. "I almost forgot what the stars look like."

Michael kisses the top of her head. "You really wanna get married here?"

"In Mississippi." She nods. "If you wanna get married here then I do too. If you wanna get married in Tupelo, me too. If you wanna-" He cuts her off with a kiss, his chilled hand grasping the side of her face. "I love you, Michael. I can't wait to be your wife."

He grins. "I can't wait to be your husband."

+++

Michael groans as he rolls on his side. He stretches his arm out and groans again when he feels an empty spot next to him. He sits up and rubs his face.

He slides off the couch he's sleeping on and creeps down the steps to his childhood bedroom where his bride to be is sleeping.

Michael tucks himself under the sheets next to Jenna, his tattooed arm wrapping around her middle. She hums, stirring slightly but relaxing almost immediately when she sees his arm around him.

Michael brushes some hair out of her face and smiles. He loves this girl so much- so fucking much that it hurts.

Jenna sighs as she scoots back closer to him. "Your bed is small." Her voice is raspy and filled with sleep.

"I know." He whispers back, taking a deep breath with his nose pressed against her shoulder. "But still to big." He says, scooting even closer to her.

She giggles. "Stop pokin' me with that thing."

"Sorry." He chuckles back, pressing his hips closer against her ass.

"What time is it?"

"Almost four."

She hums when she feels his hand slide under the front of her tank top. "What're you doin', Michael?" He grabs her hand and moves it to the bulge in his boxers.

"It's been too long, baby."

"It's only been a week."

"Might as well've been months."

She giggles again. "What're you gonna do 'bout it?"

+++

After two quiet rounds of sex, Michael and Jenna are heading upstairs to the kitchen.

"There they are." Michael's mom says with a small chuckle. "Y'almost slept the day away."

Michael and Jenna share a small blush. "We gotta get goin'." He says sadly. "I gotta thing tomorrow mornin'."

"That's a shame." Mike sighs. "Well, thanks for comin' out and Jenna, don't be a stranger. You're welcome to come out whenever you want- by yourself even."

"Huh?"

Michael silently rolls his lips into his mouth.

He might've told his parents about Jenna's and they hate them so, they said they'd make her feel welcome but after meeting her, they fell in love with her too.

"We love y'all." Michael's mom says, surprising Jenna with a huge hug. She gets extremely tense but then tears spring to her eyes when she relaxes into the embrace. "Come back soon, okay?" Jenna brushes away a tear when she pulls back and nods.

Michael takes her hand and leads her out to his truck. "You okay?" He asks when he sees her with her head in her hand.

She was doing alright until she was asked and now she can't stop the tears. "I'm okay." She smiles tearfully. "Thank you." Michael rests his hand on her knee comfortingly as the starts back to Nashville.