Playing With Fire

++++++++++



"So," Carrie sighed as the two of them sat on the couch in the living room.



"So," Kelly repeated, curling up and putting her head in Carrie's lap while watching t.v.



"Nashville tomorrow," she frowned. "Are we ready for that?"



"I think so," Kelly nodded, her eyes closing at the feeling of Carrie's fingers running through her hair.



"And the tour? You're excited?"



"Dude, I'm touring with Reba McEntire."



Carrie laughed softly, "Yea."



Kelly sighed.



"What's up?"



"I'm going on tour with Reba."



"Yea."



"My fans and her fans."



"Oh," Carrie frowned, knowing where this was going.



"I mean, you saw the way some of my fans reacted, and they're supposed to like me. What do you think her fans are going to do?"



"I don't know," Carrie replied. "You think they're gonna be that bad? I mean country fans are really sweet."



"And for the most part really conservative."



Carrie sighed, knowing she was right.



"Knowing me, someone's gonna yell something, and I'll start bawling on stage."



"No you won't," Carrie assured her. "And if you do, so what? You cry all the time when you perform."



Kelly laughed, "True."



"Besides," Carrie said, making her sit up in her lap. "I'm gonna be with you for the first few weeks, so all you have to do is hold it in for those two hours and as soon as you run off stage, just run straight to me, and I'll hold you all night, and we can cry together, ok?"



Kelly smiled, kissing her gently.



"We can do this," Carrie smiled.



"Yea," Kelly nodded. "And I think it'll get easier once we get out there with Reba and Narvel and more people who are on our side."



"Strength in numbers," Carrie's smile widened in agreement, her thumbs rubbing the small section of skin that was exposed on the Texan's lower back.



The sound of the doorbell caused both of their ears to perk up. Tony and Jason hurried into the living room.



"Y'all two stay here," Jason said as he and Tony made their way to the front door.



"I thought y'all said it was impossible to get here," Tony frowned.



Kelly watched the two of them nervously, feeling Carrie kiss her neck gently. She turned back to the country singer, kissing the tip of her nose. Carrie smiled, tilting her head upward, moving to capture Kelly's lips in her own, but pausing, making the Texan smile as well. Kelly crinkled her nose cutely as they waited to see who would break first. Kelly licked her lips as she tilted her head the other way, causing their noses to brush together. Carrie giggled.



"A tie?" she offered.



"Yea," Kelly nodded, closing the already shrinking distance and kissing her sweetly.



"Mmm," Carrie breathed as she brought both of her hands up to cup Kelly's face as they pulled back. "Those lips are heaven sent."



Kelly laughed as Carrie kissed her again.



"Kelly!" Jason's voice called out. "Come see!"



Kelly raised an eyebrow as she stood and took Carrie's hand, leading them to the front door. Her jaw dropped at the site of her entire band standing there, luggage in hand.



"We, um," Cory began. "We always come here before we go on tour. Why should now be any different?"



"We're here for you KC," Aben nodded.



"Really?" she asked, her voice unusually high-pitched.



Jason Halbert smiled, walking forward, "All of us. Jill and Kate are in California, but they wanted to be here too."



Carrie wrapped an arm around her from behind as Kelly accepted the phone Jason was holding out.



"Hello?"



"We love you sweetie!" she heard Jill and Kate's voice reply.



"You guys," Kelly sniffed as she felt her eyes water.



"I'd say there's a whole lotta strength in those numbers," Carrie whispered in her ear.



"Group hug!" Deaner called out, making them laugh as Carrie backed away, allowing all the guys to pull Kelly into a giant hug.



Carrie smiled proudly, wiping away her own tears as Jay squeezed her shoulder, "I think y'all are gonna be ok."



"Looks like it," Carrie nodded as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She found herself thankful that for the first time in her life that she could actually use a big brother, she had one right next to her.



+++++++++



"This isn't fair!" Cory exclaimed.



Kelly laughed as she sat down next to Carrie on a couch in the theater room. The country singer wrapped an arm around her with a smile.



"Man, just bow down," Deaner replied.



"I played that song every night on tour for how many times?" Cory asked. "How the hell can you beat me? You play the drums for heavens sake!"



"Say it," Deaner smiled.



"No."



"Say it."



"No."



"Cory," Kelly tried to be serious. "You know the rules."



"Fine," he handed the plastic guitar to Aben before crossing his arms. "Deaner is the guitar hero."



"That's right!" Deaner cheered, holding his hands up to the crowd.



They had all gathered in the theater room to try out the game Carrie had gotten Kelly. Somehow playing Guitar Hero on a giant movie screen made it all the more cooler.



"You don't want to play it?" Carrie asked quietly as Aben took his turn battling Deaner.



"Of course I want to play it," Kelly smiled, loving the softness of Carrie's eyes as they gazed back at her. "But, I have forever to play it. I don't have forever to be able to hang out with these guys and watch them make fools out of themselves though."



"True," Carrie smiled back, sneaking a kiss while everyone else was entranced with the game. Kelly giggled before giving her a proper kiss, bringing a hand up to gently cradle Carrie's face.



"Ahem," Ashley cleared her throat.



The two singers blushed as they pulled apart, looking guiltily over to where they had been caught. Ashley was looking at the pair of them sternly while Jay's hand was over Deaner's eyes, the drummer's mouth hanging open. Jason seemed to be blushing more than Kelly and Carrie, and Cory was trying to look anywhere else while Einar's hands were over his ears, clearly not quite understanding the concept.



"Sorry," Kelly apologized innocently.



"That was..." Cory struggled. "New?"



"That was hot," Deaner corrected, moving Jason's hand from his eyes.



"Aren't you married?" Carrie asked.



"Yea, but I don't want to kiss you. I want Kelly to kiss you. There's nothing wrong with that."



Kelly laughed.



"Again?" Einar suggested



"Ok...ok...we've seen enough," Jason said. "Back to the game."



Kelly mouthed a 'thank you' towards her musical director who just nodded in reply.



++++++++++



Kelly smiled as she wiggled her toes as her feet hung over the side of the jeep along with Carrie's as they laid together in the back seat.



"You ever think about it all?" Kelly asked, her head resting on Carrie's shoulder, the taller blonde's cheek pressing lightly against her forehead.



"About what?" Carrie asked softly, looking up at the stars.



"You know, the whole how big the universe is and how small we are thing."



Carrie laughed, "Yea, sometimes."



"Like what?"



"What do you mean like what?"



"I want to know what you think about."



"Mainly you," she smiled as Kelly tilted her head up to look at her.



Kelly smiled back, closing her eyes as Carrie kissed her forehead. She wrapped both her arms around the country singer's waist, holding her tightly.



"Sometimes--rarely--but sometimes I think what's the point. Like, we live we die, the world goes on without any change. We don't even make a blip on its radar. I mean, I know I'm never going to change the world. I'm not like Gandhi or anything. You know what I mean?"



"Yea, kinda."



"What do you do when you feel like that?"



"You know, like you said, I'll never save the world. I'm not that person."



"So then what's the point of even being here?" Carrie asked, loving getting to know what was going on in that curious mind of hers.



"Well, I may not save the world, but you never know what one person your song may impact. You never know if one day it's your song that gets someone through a rough patch, and maybe, just maybe that person will go on to change everything."



Carrie pressed her lips to the Texan's forehead once more, whispering, "I love you."



Kelly giggled softly, making the other girl smile.



"Anybody ever tell you how adorable you are?"



Kelly rolled her eyes, "Adorable."



"What's wrong with being adorable?"



"I'm 25," Kelly replied, looking up at her. "I'm not supposed to be adorable."



Carrie's smile grew, "You remember that time in the store in L.A. when I caught you singing my song into your shoe, dancing around the dressing room area?"



"How could I forget? That moment changed my life."



"Mine too, and you want to know what I couldn't get off my mind those couple weeks until we saw each other again?"



"What?"



"How insanely adorable you were," Carrie replied.



Kelly frowned, "How does that make it any better?"



"You were skipping around a dressing room, and you were adorable," Carrie explained. "Then I looked closely into your eyes, and you were so much more than that. You were strong, and proud, and happy, and scorned, and hurt, and passionate, and sexy, and beautiful,, and broken, and just this fiery ball of everything."



"You saw all that?" Kelly asked, disbelievingly.



"Yes, but you know what made you stay on my mind? What made me unable to think of anything else but you? That behind all of that, and even with all that I knew you'd gone through you still had this adorable innocence there that I haven't seen in anyone else. I swear at times it's like you actually see the world through a child's eyes, and it's just so refreshing and breathtaking all at once. And you still have that. I mean, I got to know you, and realized that you've been through more that I could've ever imagined, not to mention what we've been through together since then, and you still have it, and that adorableness only makes me love you so much more."



Kelly sighed, "Well, I guess being adorable isn't that bad."



"Guess not," Carrie laughed as Kelly snuggled back into her.



"So," Kelly took a deep breath. "This is it. Our last night in this little fantasy we've been in."



"I remember when I was in high school, I couldn't wait to get out into the real world. Now, I wouldn't mind never having to go back."



Kelly nodded, tightening her grip on her.



Carrie smiled softly, "Do you know anything about stars and stuff?"



"A little."



"Like what?"



"Like...they're in the sky."



"You see that one? The really clear one?" Carrie asked, pointing her arm in the air in the direction of it.



"Yea," Kelly nodded.



"That's Polaris."



"The north star."



"Look at you," Carrie smiled. "Well, if you follow it down, that's the handle of the little dipper, see?"



Kelly nodded.



"And then, to the right of that is the big dipper. Now, if you think of the handle of the big dipper as a tail, and follow it, you can see ursa major. It's kinda like a bear--"



She was caught off guard by Kelly pushing herself up, kissing her adoringly. Kelly turned slightly onto her stomach as Carrie pulled her fully onto of her their legs tangling as she kissed her sweetly.



"I love you," Kelly whispered shakily, pulling away.



"I know," Carrie assured her, bringing a hand up to her cheek.



Kelly wrapped her arms tightly around the country singer's neck, hugging her closely. Carrie rubbed her back soothingly as Kelly buried her face in her shoulder.



"I don't want to ever lose you," Kelly admitted softly.



"You're never going to," Carrie replied, her hands slipping under the back of her shirt, caressing the soft skin there. She could feel the shorter girl shaking in her arms, and moments later she felt warm tears soaking through her shirt, and her own eyes started to water. "Shh, baby."



"I'm scared."



"Me too, but don't worry about that right now, ok? Right now it's just you and me, right?"



Kelly pulled back, looking down at her, smiling softly at the sight of the other blonde's tear-filled eyes.



"Right?"



"Right," Kelly nodded.



"Good," Carrie smiled back, touching their noses together briefly. "Now come back here. You were keeping me warm."



Kelly sniffled through a giggle as she laid back down in the other girl's arms. She kissed Carrie's neck, and felt her wrap her arms tighter around her.

"You sure you know?" she asked softly.



Carrie sighed, knowing that once Kelly got something in her head, she had to get it out, "Of course I know."



"Cause, I mean, you're always having these speeches declaring your love for me to me and anyone else that would listen, and I so can't do that."



"That's ok," Carrie replied.



"You sure? Cause I mean, if you really wanted me to make a speech, I'm sure I can come up with one."



Carrie smiled at the thoughts of how adorable the girl was. She sat up, pulling Kelly onto her lap, "Ok, let me here it."



"Ok," Kelly nodded, chewing on her bottom lip before a serene smile fell over her face. "Well, I mean, firstly you're just so...and I mean, I love the way you..."



Carrie's smile grew as she watched every word that Kelly couldn't quite get out, dancing in her eyes as her hands moved quickly in that southern way of hers, trying to show just how big her love was for the girl before her., but she could see the frustration growing in the Texan's eyes at her inability to put it into words exactly how she felt.



"And then when you hold me," Kelly tried, but stopped, tears forming once again in her eyes, and Carrie's heart melted as she brought a hand up, brushing them away for her.



"I'm sorry," Kelly apologized.



"For what?" Carrie asked patiently.



"For not being able to give this amazing speech declaring my love for you. You deserve a speech. Hell, you deserve an epic novel."



"Kelly," she shook her head. "What you just did shows me just how much you love me more than any words ever could. Trust me, I could feel everything you were saying, and everything you were trying to say. I promise. I know you love me," she reassured her, wiping a couple more tears from the shorter girl's eyes.



Kelly smiled shyly, "S-so about that bear?"



Carrie laughed, laying back down as Kelly snuggled back into her, "Ursa major. I rather call him Fred, though."



"Fred?"



"He says he prefers it," she shrugged.



Kelly giggled, and Carrie kissed her forehead.