Talkin' Tennessee - Morgan Wallen
Morgan is still kind of pissed at Hardy but definitely not as pissed as before. He's apologized over and over to Dani for yelling at her, she keeps him that it's alright. Today's the day where they finish the album, he and Hardy have to work together. Dani decided to stay home for this round, hoping to stay out of their way.
"Hey." Hardy says to Morgan. "How's it goin'?"
"It's great, thanks." He responds, fiddling with the mic in the booth. "Sorry for, y'know, yellin at you."
"Hey don't sweat it." He says. "I'm seriously sorry."
"Thanks." He nods. "So, last few songs. Let's get it goin'."
+++
several months later
It's about three in the morning when Morgan's phone starts going crazy. It wakes the couple up, Dani whines as she turns on her opposite side away from him. "What? Hello?" He says in a husky voice, lowkey turning Daniella on. "What?" He sits up, suppressing a yawn as Dani rolls back around against him. "Wait-what? Seriously!?" He asks fully awake. "Get the hell outta here, Hardy!"
"Shut up." She groans, covering her ears.
"I'm going on tour with Luke Bryan!" He whispers to her.
"Oh my god!" She laughs, sitting up to hug him. "This is huge! Congratulations, darlin'!"
The couple laughs after he hangs up with Hardy. "I can't believe this." He grins as he pushes a hand through his hair.
"I'm so proud of you." She leans up and kisses him, climbing on his lap as she slides her arm around his shoulders as he holds her by the waist. She moves her hips as she deepens the kiss, her hands in his hair. "So when does it start?"
"They want me and Hardy and everyone on Luke's team to get together in a few days and talk 'bout it."
"Wow, this is so amazin'." She smiles. "So when do I get to listen to your album?" Morgan stands and goes to his closet. On the top shelf, all the way in the back, is an old boot shoebox that he pulls out and sits back on the bed with. He opens it and reveals old pictures of him and Dani, memories, and his album on vinyl.
She's never seen this box before. "How long have you had this?" She asks, looking through it.
"How long have we known each other?" He asks, putting the vinyl on the record player, sliding the jacket behind it.
"Twenty one years?"
"Then I've had it for twenty one years."
She shakes her head as she pulls out a ticket from a movie they saw. "This, you kept this?" She chuckles. "This movie sucked."
"Hey, we ended up hookin' up in the bathroom so I don't wanna hear that it sucked."
"It's a Jim Carrey movie!" She laughs. "Dumb and Dumber wasn't good!"
"Yeah huh!" He says, sitting criss-cross across from her. "What about this?" He holds up a fair ticket. "I spent so many tickets to win you that damn stuffed cow."
"Marvin is my favorite, okay? He's packed in one of these boxes." She's been living with him for about five months and still isn't completely unpacked yet. "Marvin is a symbol of our lovin' freakin' relationship!"
His voice fills the room through the speakers, Morgan starts mouthing along with the words. Dani stands and holds her hand out. "What?"
"Dance with me!" She grins, looking down at her boyfriend. He sighs and stands as well, taking her hands in his as they sway to Talkin' Tennessee.
•••
After a while of dancing, they decide they need a bed frame so they get dressed and head down to the furniture store. "I don't care what it looks like, baby." Morgan huffs, leaning against a nightstand. "I like what you like."
"But it doesn't match the vibe." She whines. "Plus, there's too much wood in that house."
"These are all wood!" He takes a deep breath. "Baby. Honey. Darlin', I don't care what you pick, okay? I don't care if it's wood or if we don't even get one, okay? You decide 'cause you have the best taste." She bites her lip to keep from grinning, knowing that this would upset him. "You're just messin with me, aren't you?" She smiles. "Wow, you're in trouble now, baby." He grabs her ass as he stands next to her. "Then just get that one." He points to the one in front of them.
"Wonderful." She smiles, knowing that if she did that, he'd just do it himself. "I think my back is messed up from sleepin on the floor." Morgan smirks. "Shut up." They pack the frame into the bed of his truck and head back to their house.
+++
"Go that way!" Dani shouts to Morgan as he backs himself up the porch to the door. "No, the other way!"
"I was goin that way before you told me to go the other way!"
"But now you're goin' the wrong way!" Morgan clenches his jaw as he starts to back into the house again. "Dude!" He calmly sets the box down on the floor before going out to the back porch to cool down.
She huffs as she sets her end down, grabbing a cold beer for him, following him. "Here." She says quietly.
"Thank you, darlin'." He says, twisting the top off after spitting his dip out. "We just gotta get that box up those steps."
"Yeah we do, baby." She puts a hand on his shoulder. He glances over at it, it's missing something, something that he's been thinking about ever since she moved in with him. "C'mon now." She smiles, squeezing his shoulder. "Let's do it real quick, okay?" He sets his beer on the railing, following her to the box in the middle of the room.
He lifts his end again as she lifts hers and they finally make it up the steps to their bedroom. They drop the box on the floor, falling back against their mattress. "You got it now." He breathes, patting her thigh. "I'll run out and get some supper."
"What? No-"
"My tools are in the shed and you're smart, darlin', you'll figure it out." He leans over and kisses her sweaty forehead before standing, changing his t-shirt for a flannel and his ball cap for a cowboy hat. "I'll be back, alright?"
"Fine. Yeah, okay."
"Love you, darlin'." He chuckles as she flips him off. "Be right back."
She watches him back down the dirt driveway and sighs loudly, pulling her hair into a bun as she tosses her flannel jacket into her closet on the opposite side of the room before heading down to the shed for his tools.
+++
Morgan takes a deep breath as he swings the front door open with a bucket of fried chicken, a six pack of Coors Light and a small velvet box in his pocket. "Daniella?" He calls, setting the things down on the counter before stashing the small box on the top of the cabinet, sliding it behind the wood cut out of the State of Tennessee there. "Dani?" He notices the mattress that's halfway down the creaky steps.
"Fuck- hang on." There's a loud thud followed by more swearing. She hops over the mattress, her face is red and sweaty. "Hey."
"Hey, you okay?" He asks, rubbing her back.
"Just peachy." She mutters as she cracks open a beer and chugs it, grabbing a second one. "There aren't any damn instructions." Dani grabs a chicken wing and starts eating it, angry with herself for not being able to figure it out. "It's so stupid!"
"I'll help you, alright?" She rolls her eyes. "Hey." He grabs her jaw and has her look at him. She glares up at him, her lips shiny from either the grease from the meat or the beer but he doesn't care as he kisses her. "Let's go sit outside." He takes her hand and does such, pushing her to sit on the bench as he sits next to her, his arm around her shoulders. "You need a break. Look at that view." Morgan uses the bottle in his hand to point. "That's our view."
"Don't get all soft now, country boy." She elbows him in the side. "We can't go to bed until that damn thing is done."
"I could bring the mattress down here since it's already halfway down the stairs. How the hell did you manage that?"
"I don't know, adrenaline I guess." She says, taking a drink of her second Coors Light.
They sit outside for a while and watch the sun set over the mountains, Dani's head against his shoulder as she leans into his side more while the temperature drops. "I'm goin' in." She says, standing. "And I'm gonna try to get that thing put together."
"I'll help ya, alright?" She nods and heads to their bedroom. Morgan smiles to himself as he cleans up their empty beer bottles and cleaned chicken bones. "Do you want another beer?" He shouts up to her.
"Yeah!" She answers as she sits on the floor. He grabs the small box from the top of the cabinet and puts it in his palm as he carries his hat up to their room along with a couple of beers. She looks up at him as he enters the room. "Thank you."
"Of course. Are those the instructions? That sheet over in the corner?" He asks, once she turns her head he tucks the box under a stack of jeans in his closet, nonchalantly hanging his hat on a hook. "Sorry, must've been some wrapper." He crouches next to her.
"This looks like it's supposed to go with that." She says as she holds up two completely different pieces. "Right?" He shakes his head. "What?"
"This shape don't match this one." He says, showing her, she squints at him. "You need to get another pair of glasses, baby."
"No I don't. I'm fine without em." She rolls her eyes before whining out, "Help me then!"
"Okay!" He chuckles, leaning over to kiss her temple, sliding another beer in her hand that she immediately opens and chugs.
+++
Daniella is drunk, she's laying on the floor, her feet kicked up on the dresser, looking up at ceiling as Morgan puts the frame together. "Y'know?"
"Do I know what, baby?" He answers as he uses a screwdriver to tighten a corner.
"I wanna listen to music." She says, sitting up. "I don't care what- oh! Willie Nelson!" Morgan chuckles as he reaches over to the shelf for a Willie vinyl. He picks one and pops it on the turntable, laughing as Dani starts singing along, not really singing, more like mumbling loudly. "I'm gonna marry you one day." She says suddenly. "You don't getta say."
"Okay baby." He looks over at her, his heart full of love. "Whatever you say." He sits back on his heels as he finishes the frame. "Alrighty, baby." He smiles, sliding the mattress into the frame. They had moved it from the stairs back into the bedroom so that they wouldn't have to worry about it later.
"Morgan." She huffs, reaching her arm out. He laughs and helps her up with a hand in hers and one around her upper arm. "We gotta break this baby in, huh?" Dani flops back onto the bed, her eyes closing when she lands. Morgan smiles as he pulls her shoes off of her feet, tossing them onto the floor. He pulls a blanket out of the closet along with their pillows and lays next to her, pulling her to lay against him. She yawns loudly, getting situated before dozing off, Morgan's not far behind her.