My writing sessions yesterday with Morgan and Runaway June went good. Minus the occasional arguing between Morgan and I. Today, I had a session with Maddie and Tae and Old Dominion. I was pretty excited. I had only been in Nashville for like four days, but I really liked it here. I liked the people and the people at the studio, even if Morgan was there.
My session with the girls was at 2:00. I got there at 1:30. I went to get a coffee out of the lounge area. I wasn't paying g any attention and as I walked in the door, I physically ran into someone and dropped what I was carrying.
"Oh, my god. I'm sorry, ma'am". A tall boy with slicked up hair said to me as he helped pick up my stuff.
"No, it's my fault" I say takin my journal from his hands. He smiled at me as I made eye contact with him.
"I'm Matthew" He says.
"Callan. Callan Grey" I say. He extending his hand to me. I took it in mine.
"Are you the new songwriter?" He asks.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I just started" I say.
"Well, it looks like your writing with me today" He says. I give him a confused look. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm the lead singer of Old Dominion".
"Oh! Okay, yeah. I'll be writing with you today" I say. He smiled again.
"Well, Callan. I will see you soon" He says.
"Yeah, see ya" I say. He disappears down the hall. He was super nice and, I'm not going to lie, super cute. I hadn't stopped smiling since he walked away. Maddie and Tae definitely noticed when I walked into the writers room with them.
"Now, if that smile is because of Morgan..." Tae says.
"Uh, no. It's not" I say sitting down with them.
"What are you so happy for?" Maddie asks.
"You guys didn't tell me that the lead singer in Old Dominion was so cute" I say. They both start smiling too.
"Oh, does Cal have a crush?" Tae says. I just smile.
"Well, he is single" Maddie says.
"Yeah, true. Go for it if you want too" Tae adds.
"I-I don't know. What would people think? Like...What would Morgan think?" I say. Maddie gives me an annoyed look.
"Why do you care what Morgan thinks? All you two did yesterday was argue. You were loud enough that we heard you next door. Plus, you guys broke up five years ago, and he's dating Hannah now, so....go for it" She says.
"Yeah, I know, but-".
"But nothing. Seriously, Cal. Go for it. Matt is nice and he's the type of boy you can take home to mama" Maddie says. I look to the ground.
"My mama died when I was eighteen" I say looking back up. Both girls looked so upset.
"Callan, we didn't know" Tae says.
"It's okay. Don't apologize" I say.
"Well, let me rephrase that...Matt is the type you can bring to me and Tae. We're claiming you as ours now" Maddie says. I smiled.
"And, I'm sure the Runaway June girls do too. They'll think it's awesome if you date Matt" Tae adds in.
"Maybe I should. Maybe if I do, Morgan will leave me alone" I say.
"See, that's a plus, but don't use him" Maddie says. I shake my head.
"No. I wouldn't" I say. They both smile. "You know, he's the first guy I've thought was cute since Morgan". They smile at each other. "God, Morgan was the cutest thing back when I met him. Shaggy, brown hair, the most beautiful blue eyes. I thought he was plumb stupid when he asked me to be his girlfriend".
"Sounds like you guys have a big history" Maddie says. I nod.
"Every single Friday we would drive down to Chattanooga and drive along the train tracks. He would steal any liquor he could from his parents. We'd stop and drink it out of a paper sack with a pic nic. He was the most important person in the world to me" I said.
"You guys sound like you were so in love. What changed?" Tae asks. I sigh.
"My mom got sick. He and I were supposed to both compete on 'The Voice', but I couldn't because I wanted to stay with my mama. He broke up with me and left. The last words he said to me were 'I'm always going to love you. Every song I sing is for you'. We hadn't spoken in five years until I saw him here" I say.
"Did he tell you why he was breaking up with you?" Maddie asks.
"He said he didn't want to hold me back" I say.
"Wow" Tae gets out.
"Yeah, we...definitely have a past" I say.
"It must have killed you to see him with Hannah" Maddie says. I could tell they both felt horrible about what had happened with Morgan and I.
"It killed me more to see him. What kills me about Hannah is that she is so sweet and is clueless. Even Naomi knows. I just feel like Hannah deserves to know too" I explain.
"She should only know if you or Morgan still have feelings for one another" Tae says. I felt uncomfortable after that. I didn't want them to ask if I still liked Morgan, because I really didn't know.
"Cal, do you still-".
"Oh, look at the time. I've gotta go meet with Old Dominion. I'll see you all later" I say jolting up. I was going to avoid that question at all costs.
***
My writing session with Old Dominion went great. All the boys were sweet and insanely funny. I was ready to go home though. I had a session with Morgan tomorrow then I was going home and had a day off. A much needed day off. Carter was coming down to visit.
When I was walking to my car, I heard my name being called. I looked behind me to see Matt running to meet up with me.
"Hey, I'm sorry to have to catch you like this, but...would you want to go grab some coffee or something?" He asks. I couldn't help but smile.
"Now?" I ask.
"Yeah. I know this great place outside of town. Family owned. It's called 'Striped Socks'. What do you say?" He asks. I didn't even have to think.
"I would love too" I say. He smiles big. I put my stuff in my car, and he met me with his. He also drove a jeep, but his was black. He got out of the car and opened the door up for me to get in. My heart was beating so fast.
"So, how long have you been down here?" He asks.
"Uh, not even a week. I moved here last saturday" I say. "My sister got me the job on the label and moved me down here".
"That explains why I've never seen you before" He says.
"Oh?".
"Yeah. I'd remember a face a like yours" He says. I smile.
"You're sweet" I say. He smiles back at me.
"Do you like it here?" He asks.
"Yeah, I do. It's better than I thought it would be. Everyone is nice" I say.
"You've probably become pretty good friends with Maddie and Tae, and the girls in Runaway June" He says.
"Yeah. They're great. They've been so welcoming and everything" I answer.
"Well, don't listen to anything Naomi tells you about me" He says. I raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"She and I grew up together back in Florida. High School Sweethearts, actually. She broke up with me before she moved here. We broke up on bad terms. You should've seen the look on her face when she saw that Old Dominion was signed with Jett Records" He says. We pulled into the coffeeshop parking lot. I didnt speak again about what he had told me until we got our coffee and sat down.
"That's kind of crazy" I say.
"Most people think that" He says. I shake my head.
"No. No, that's crazy, because I'm in the same situation" I say. He raises his eyebrow. "Morgan and I were high school sweethearts. We broke up on bad terms too. I hadn't seen him in five years until Monday" I explain.
"Wow. That's....crazy" He says. I nod. "Maybe fate brought you and I together then".
"You think?" I ask. He smiles and nods.
"We both have the same exact story. Why else do you think we were supposed to meet? I bet the universe is trying to tell us both something" He says with a smile. "Plus, Naomi and I are History. She hates my guts. And, Morgan is happy with Hannah. I think you and I get to be happy now". I smile and take a huge gulp of my coffee. I sure didn't know what to think of the story he told me about Naomi, and I only had one question about the whole situation....what the hell was up with me and boys that are involved with Runaway June?