Country Strong

The following morning Matt awoke to the muffled sound of running water. Simply out of habit, he stretched his right arm across the bed only to feel the faintly warm spot where Caroline's body had been. He groaned in response before heavily considering joining her in the shower. With a lazy smile on his lips he rolled his body towards the end of the bed and felt his body come out from underneath the warm blankets.

Just as his feet hit the carpeted hotel room floor, the water shut off and moments later Caroline stepped out from the steamy bathroom. She had herself wrapped in a white towel, her hair very much still soaked while droplets of water still remained on her exposed skin.

“I was just about to join you.” He said with a dimpled smile, his voice still groggy with sleep. Caroline chuckled as she faced the mirror and ran a wide tooth comb through her long damp hair. Matt rose to his feet and moved himself behind Caroline, pressing his large body flush against the back of hers.

“Well, someone's up and ready to go.” Caroline commented with a sly smile, referring to his morning arousal that was pressed into her lower back. Matt replied with a low throaty laugh before brushing her partially wet hair aside to expose her bare neck and shoulders. He dipped his head down so that his lips and tongue left warm kisses along her already hot and sensitive skin.

Caroline bit down on her bottom lip as held in a moan. The last thing she wanted to do was say no to Matt but she knew that she didn't have time to fool around. Delia had drilled it into her brain that they had an early morning meeting to get to before they boarded the bus back to California. Delia prided herself on not traveling in too close of quarters so she had taken it upon herself to fly to all of their destinations instead of roughing it on the bus.

“Last night wasn't enough?” Caroline questioned in a shaky tone as Matt's mouth was working wonders along all of her sensitive areas. “I have to meet Delia for breakfast in twenty minutes to talk about business stuff.” She inwardly cursed him for knowing her all of her weak points and never hesitating to use them against her.

“I just got you back, do you know how deprived I've been?” He questioned between kisses. “The guys have been saying I'm an irritable asshole when you aren't around.” Matt's arms slowly encircled her body until his hands reached the front of her towel. She watched as one of his hands slipped in between the fabric, loosening it slightly so his hand could graze her the skin of her stomach.

Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes fluttered ever so slightly but not before she caught his satisfied smirk through the mirror in front of them. Caroline bit down on her lip as she felt Matt's hand slid down her pelvic bone. Before he could hit the sweet spot however, she turned her body around and crashed her mouth against his.

Matt didn't hesitate, the moment her lips molded to his, he removed the fluffy white towel from around Caroline's waist. A low moan escaped her lips, probably due to the cold air hitting her warmed skin. He did his best to rectify it by pressing his body to hers and moved them backwards so that she was pressed flush against the wall.

Caroline's fingertips scratched lightly down Matt's abdomen and only stopped once she reached the waistband of his boxers. She slipped one finger from each hand around the elastic band, in preparation to rid him of the thin piece of fabric.

Just as she was about to flick her wrists downwards, the piercing sound of her cellphone sounded through the hot and heavy hotel room, telling Caroline she had a text message. The pair broke away, Caroline with a faint gasp and Matt with an obvious groan of annoyance. Caroline struggled to catch her breath as she giggled at her boyfriends sexual frustration, maybe he was an asshole to the guys when sex deprived but to her, he was amusing.

Matt sighed heavily before he lightly hit his head against the wall and stayed there, Caroline still being in between the wall and the large lead singer. She stretched her arm out until her fingertips were able to graze the small blackberry, and read the message.

“It's Brian, asking if we want to have breakfast with them. I have to meet Delia, you should go though.” She explained but Matt still didn't move. Caroline placed a chaste kiss on his lips before ducking under his arm to re-wrap herself in her towel as she moved towards her open suitcase.

“I'm going to take a cold shower.” Matt grumbled with a pout. Caroline laughed as she grabbed his wrist just as he was about to step inside the bathroom.

“Later, I promise.” Caroline mumbled softly with a sweet half smile in a slight spark of deja vu from the night before. Matt sent her a pointed but playful look before shutting the door behind him.

She waited until she heard the sound of the running water before she went about her business. Caroline moved about the room with ease, getting her outfit together and her hair somewhat dry. She even managed to put on a small amount of eyeliner and mascara. Caroline was about to begin blow drying her hair when a knock on the door stopped her from doing so. With a furrowed brow, she moved towards the door quickly, curious as to who was on the other side.

“Good mornin' darlin'.” Colton's thick Texas twang drawled smoothly as he had his right arm resting on the frame of the door. He greeted her with a smile, and if it were anyone but Colton she would've genuinely returned it without hesitation.

She inhaled a heavy breath, hoping to get rid of him as soon as possible. “Good morning.” Caroline forcefully smiled through grit teeth. “What brings you by?” She questioned with a tilt of her head.

Colton responded with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders.“You disappeared so quickly last night, I never got the chance to meet your man. After hearing all about him I was kind of excited.” Colton took a step forward, in an attempt to let himself into the room.

Caroline however, firmly planted an arm along the door frame, blocking his large body from passing by. “He's in the shower.” She retorted with a straight face.

One half of Colton's lip curved upwards before taking a defensive step backwards. “I can wait.” He reasoned with a cocky grin. “You know, I really wasn't expectin' him to be all covered in tattoos...doesn't exactly seem to be your type...”

“And you know my type, how?” Caroline quirked a brow while she crossed her arms just under her breasts. Colton's mouth opened to reply but the opening of the bathroom door silenced him.

Both pairs of eyes turned to Matt's still wet body exiting the steamy room with only a pair of briefs around his lower half. His chest full of tattoos on display, giving Colton an even closer look at the ink that was etched into Matt's skin. Caroline had been so caught up in getting Colton to leave that she hadn't heard the water from the shower shut off. The lead singer's eyes widened slightly before he cracked a dimpled smile.

“I didn't know we had company.” Matt commented with a slight chuckle due to his being half naked in front of Caroline's colleague. Matt quickly threw on a shirt and a random pair of basketball shorts that sat on top of his open duffel bag, before standing along side Caroline by the door. “I don't think we've met. Matt Sanders.” He greeted with an outstretched hand.

Caroline caught Colton's eyebrows raise in surprise. “Colton Dunn. Nice to meet ya finally.” Colton shook Matt's hand with a firm grip. “Caroline's told me nothing about ya.” He quipped as he released the lead singers hand.

Matt's brows furrowed as he cast a quick, curious glance at the woman standing in between them before casting his gaze back to Colton. “Nothing, huh?” He mumbled almost to himself, but audible enough for both Colton and Caroline to hear. “That accent... you from Texas?”

Colton chuckled and nodded his head, his black curls moving as he did so. “Born and raised. Been to this state often?”

“Oh yeah, my band and I tour the US as much as we can.” Matt assured with a smile while Caroline stood impatiently in between them. She shot Colton a glare, he'd always known that her significant other had been a musician, so the fact that he was playing stupid for Matt and attempting to get on his good side was pissing her off.

“Always good to meet fellow musicians. You busin ' back with us partner?” Colton casually questioned as he slid his hands into the front pockets of his old and worn blue jeans.

“Yes he is, so you two will have plenty of time to get to know one another then.” Caroline piped up, causing both men to divert their eyes to the small brunette. “I have to finish getting ready, Colton.” She flashed a smile Colton's way and began the process shutting the door.

She caught his narrowed eyes and slight smile before hearing the click of the door. With a content sigh Caroline pressed her back against the secured door, letting her body relax from the unnecessary stress that Colton's presence had caused. Matt had gone about towel drying his short hair and gathering the rest of his clothes in his duffel bag.

“He seems nice.” Matt commented just as she ran a light hand through her still semi wet hair. She stopped promptly, turning her head towards Matt.

“He's the nicest.” She lied with broad smile to which Matt merely chuckled. He dropped the folded jeans in his hands on the bed as he walked towards her. His hands finding salvation on the curve of her hips and his mouth lightly pressing against hers. The kiss was cut short as another knock echoed lightly through the room.

With a frustrated groan, Caroline pulled away and marched towards the door. She pulled open the door with such vigour that was slightly alarming to the person, who she could only assume was Colton, on the other side. “Colton I—oh.” Caroline pressed her lips tightly closed when she laid eyes on her manager Delia standing on the other side, her brows raised.

“I was just dropping by to remind you of our little meeting.” Delia spoke directly, her eyes firmly planted on Caroline. It wasn't until Matt spoke up and introduced himself did she notice the large man occupying her talents hotel room. “Delia Stone.” She answered with a curt nod and a tight lipped smile that she always flashed. Though to Caroline it never quite seemed genuine.

“I was actually getting ready.” Caroline explained, trying to assure Delia that her current messy and wet hair wasn't a new trend she was trying to start. All the while she couldn't help but notice Delia side-eyeing her boyfriend, but not in the way that most girls did. The older woman was inspecting him as if he were some sort of threat.

“I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes.” She answered with another tight lipped grin before turning on her high heels and began making her way down the hotel corridor.

“I can't wait to get home.” Matt commented, his tone clearly fed up with the constant interruptions. Caroline peered over her shoulder with a quirked brow and a subtle smirk. “I have a little surprise for you.”

“Oh yeah? Why can't you do it now?” She let her smile spread wider as her curiosity rose. Matt chuckled lightly before silently placing a soft kiss on top of Caroline's head. The smaller woman forced a pout as she stared up at him wide eyed. A dimpled grin formed on Matt's lips before another knock came from the door the disgruntled voice of his rhythm guitarist came from the other side.

“That's why.”

- - - - - - - - -

“You're late.” Delia muttered precisely as Caroline sat herself across from her uptight looking manager in the corner of the small hotel restaurant. The blondes eyes remained downcast on the blackberry in her hands, a faint scowl was evident on her lips and brow.

“Sorry.” Caroline replied quickly forcing a smile when Delia's eyes peered up from the mobile device in her palm. Caroline sucked in a nervous breath before resting her intertwined hands in front of her. “So what was it you wanted to speak to me about?”

Delia was silent as her fingers moved swiftly over the small keypad, the clicking of the buttons was the only sound between the two for several minutes. Caroline sat silently, patiently waiting for the older woman to tear her attention away from her mobile device. In the midst of her waiting, a friendly waitress came over to offer the two of them coffee which finally tore Delia away from her phone. Her nimble fingers pushed it to the side of the table while her eyes were firmly set on Caroline.

“You're probably wondering what this sit down is about...” Delia trailed off and it became evident to Caroline that Delia had completely tuned her out several minutes ago. Instead of reacting, Caroline smiled sweetly and nodded her head gently. “There's been some talk about your image.” Delia explained in a serious tone.

Caroline's eyes narrowed, confused. Just before she was about to speak the waitress returned with two steaming cups of coffee before leaving them to decide on their meals. Caroline blinked several times as she felt momentarily speechless.

“What—whats wrong with my image?” Caroline sputtered as Delia raised her cup to her lips. With an exasperated sigh, the country starlet reclined in her chair to calm herself.

“I see you ladies started without me.” A deep Texas accent drawled casually, ending with a gruff chuckle. Caroline glanced up to find Colton leaning against the back of Delia's chair with a bright yet cocky grin. “I'll forgive y’all this time.” Colton pulled out a chair and sat himself in between the two women.

“Is he really joining us?” Caroline asked, honestly. The last thing she wanted was for Colton to hear all about her career talks with Delia. Colton fully grinned when Delia confirmed him to be staying. Caroline shot daggers his way while Delia changed the topic and began explaining what they had planned in Los Angeles once they headed home.

Colton conversed with Delia while Caroline silently sipped on her hot caffeinated beverage as she wrecked her brain for what could be wrong with her image. She had no criminal record, no substance abuse problems and no scandalous videos and/or pictures. In her mind, she had one of the cleanest images in Hollywood.

“Yo, T-swizzle, you listenin'?” Colton called out to her, though she wasn't sure why. However just the sound of his voice grate her nerves and responded to him anyway.

“What did you call me?” Caroline furrowed her brows at his horrid job of trying to sound even moderately hip. His thick accent came through and she had to stifle a laugh, purely due to the fact that she didn't want him to know that he could actually crack her up.

“T-swizzle...that's Taylor Swift's nickname.” He pointed out like it was the most well known fact in the world as both women looked at him oddly. He turned his head back and forth between them. “Delia mentioned you resembling Taylor Swift so I thought it was witty. 'Guess not.” Colton hunched over the menu in front of him and thankfully kept quiet.

“I resemble Taylor Swift?” Caroline quirked a curious brow her managers way. For the life of her, she couldn't imagine being compared to the fresh out of her teens country singer when Caroline was three years away from turning thirty years old and wrote about heavier topics than just a boy who broke her heart.

“Your look does and it has some of us worried that people won't take you seriously. This new album is a lot different than you're first, it's more grown up and well rounded. You're not Taylor Swift, you're more mature and we all know that but the media doesn't. It won't be anything major, just a snip here and there.” Delia countered, sounding as if it hadn't been the first time she had to have this talk with a client.

Caroline felt her face form into a subtle frown as Delia went on to describe the changes that she and her team had talked about making. Her hair going from just below her breasts to a mere shoulder length bob that was a dark brown-auburn color. A vast change from her long wavy light brown and blonde hair that had been her look for the past couple of years. Her style was going to be taken up a few notches, into the more sophisticated side as opposed to the casual but slightly dressy style she typically went for.

She was also told, in not so many words, that she were to continue to avoid the question of having a significant other. Despite meeting Matt earlier, Delia still seemed adamant about it and even though it hurt her not being able to talk about him, Caroline had always followed begrudgingly. She couldn't help but think that she had gone into music for the simple act of performing and writing, not so she had to completely change herself to fit the mold of a modern day paparazzi queen.

“Look if you're not interested in taking the risk, fine. But don't be surprised when people make those comparisons, and the sales drop.” Delia stated bluntly just as the friendly waitress once again reappeared with a pen and paper in hand this time. “Why have the knock off when you can have the real thing.”

And that's when Caroline was faced with her first decision, was swallowing her pride and letting Delia and the rest of the media win, worth it?