Playing With Fire

+++++++++



"Care..." the name came out as a pur as Kelly woke up to the feeling of the country singer slowly pressing her lips against her neck.



"Preshow ritual," Carrie whispered, tugging at the Texan's shirt before she even had a chance to reply.



Kelly giggled, allowing her to take it off and turn them over.



Carrie smiled as she hovered over the shorter singer, "And since making out will probably hurt you right now, I get to do all the kissing."



Kelly laughed as she ran a hand up Carrie's arm, "I don't think it would hurt too bad."



"You can't even drink water without wincing," she reminded. "Besides," she lowered herself to where there was virtually no space between them. "We never got to finish what we started last night."



Kelly smiled as Carrie kissed her lips softly before moving to her jaw line, "I love you."



Carrie smiled, pulling back to be able to look down at her, "I love you too."



"You think you could love me forever?"



"There's not a doubt in my mind," she brushed Kelly's bangs out of her eyes.



"I can be a bit emotional at times."



"I know."



"And cranky."



"I know."



"And closed off."



"I know."



"And worn down."



"I know."



"Ok, just making sure you knew what you were in for," she grinned.



Carrie laughed, "Well, do you think you could love me forever?"



"It would be impossible for me to stop loving you."



"But I can be a bit--"



"Hot," Kelly finished for her.



"No, I can be--"



"Sweet."



"Kell, I can be--"



"Insanely generous."



"No, I can be--"



"Compassionate."



"Kell, I'm--"



"Breathtakingly beautiful."



"Kelly," Carrie fussed.



"And so damn cute when you're angry," Kelly smiled.



"I swear," Carrie sighed.



"You swear what?"



"I swear that I will love you forever," she smiled softly, looking her in the eye. "And I'm going to go one step further, and not only swear that I will love you forever, but I swear I'm gonna be with you forever, or at least as long as you'll let me."



"Which will be forever," Kelly nodded, tearing up.



"I don't deserve you," Carrie whispered, leaning down to kiss the tear that was rolling down the Texan's cheek.



"Well, that's too bad, because from the sound of it, you're stuck with me," Kelly smiled, rubbing her back soothingly.



"Kelly?" a voice called, knocking on the door.



"Yea?" Kelly replied, noting the slight shakiness to her brother's tone.



"Can I come in?"



"Yea, one sec," she called back, looking up at Carrie who shrugged as she climbed off of her. Kelly got up and slipped her shirt back on before opening the door. "Jay?"



"I don't feel so good," he replied, shaking his head as he walked in.



"Well, come sit down," Kelly guided him to the couch, sitting him in between her and Carrie. She frowned, noting his pale color. "What happened?"



"Mom came talk to me."



"Oh."



"And I'm sorry, Carrie, this has nothing to do with you, but she said some things that I could've gone my whole life and the one after this one without hearing."



Kelly bit her lip holding back her giggle.



"It was just wrong."



"I'm sorry Jay," Kelly patted his back as his head fell to his hands. She winked at Carrie over him, causing the country singer to have to bring a hand up to stifle her laughter.



+++++++++



"Great show," Carrie nodded, watching from her normal spot just behind the curtain on the side of the stage as Reba and Kelly bowed to the crowd after finishing the encore.



"Yes, it was," Jeanne agreed from beside her.



"You probably could've seen it better from the seats in the front," Carrie offered.



"I know, but I have all weekend for that. It's just been a while since I've seen her perform. I love getting to see her right after. She has the hugest smile, and gives the best hugs right then."



Carrie nodded, her smile falling. She immediately felt guilty for feeling jealous that Jeanne would be stealing her hug. After all, Jeanne was Kelly's mom. Why shouldn't she get the hug?



Carrie looked up, barely having time to hold her arms out as Kelly jumped onto her, hugging her tightly.



"How was it?" Kelly asked, keeping her arms wrapped firmly around her neck.



"I love you," Carrie whispered.



Kelly pulled back to see silent tears falling down Carrie's cheeks, "Aw, sweetie. I'm the crier in this relationship, not you, remember?"



Carrie laughed as Kelly wiped her tears for her.



"And for the record," Kelly grinned broadly as she linked their hands together, pulling her closer. "I love you too."



Carrie smiled as the Texan kissed her softly.



"The show was amazing," Jeanne cut in.



Kelly turned to her mother, blushing, "Mom, I'm sorry; I didn't see you there."



Jeanne smiled at Carrie as Kelly turned to her, giving her a big hug.



Carrie just smiled back, knowing that the reason Kelly didn't see her mother was because the only person she could see was her. Ok, so maybe that was a little conceited, but after realizing that her hug lasted way longer than Jeanne's did, she felt she had the right to be.



"It was amazing," Carrie agreed as she raised an arm, allowing Kelly to wrap her arms around her waist, hugging her as they walked back stage as she always did.



"You sure?" Kelly asked, looking at her.



Carrie nodded giving her a quick kiss.



"So...since it was so amazing..."



"Yes, we can play scrabble tonight," Carrie rolled her eyes, laughing.



++++++++++



"Kelly, I'm sure you'd be more comfortable on the couch," Jeanne replied, patting the space on the side of her.



"I'm fine," Kelly replied from where she sat on Carrie's lap on the floor. The five of them couldn't all fit in the booth, so they set up a small table in front of the sofa.



"Well, I'm sure Carrie would be more comfortable. I mean, you're squashing the poor girl."



Carrie narrowed her eyes at the older woman, wrapping her arms around Kelly's stomach, "She's not even close to squashing me."



"Care..." Kelly whispered at her harsh tone.



"Well you're not," she replied softly, kissing the top of her shoulder.



"But, don't you want to play, Carrie?" Jeanne questioned.



"Nah, I'm good. Kell would just kick my butt anyway."



"Now, you don't know that."



"No, I do," Carrie nodded. "I doubted her Scrabble playing abilities once, and never again."



Jason laughed, "I totally remember that night."



"What night?" Jeanne asked.



"The night we met Carrie," Jason replied. "Or the night that Ashley and I did at least, Kelly already knew her."



"And how did you meet?"



"She came play Scrabble with us in Kelly's hotel room the night after that country music awards show."



"I so lost...like four times," Carrie laughed.



"Did Kelly ever tell you about that night?" Ashley asked, looking at the country singer.



"What about it?"



"About before you called."



"No," Carrie shook her head.



"Ash..." Kelly warned, her cheeks already a light pink.



"It's ok," Carrie smiled, wrapping her arms tighter around the short Texan. "I got her. Go ahead and tell me."



"Well first off, she was nervous as hell the whole night. I swear her eyes were glued to the phone the entire time we were playing."



"Damn it..." Kelly groaned.



"Shh," Carrie giggled. "I want to hear this."



"The best part though," Ashley continued. "Were the words she was playing."



"Oh really?"



"Correct me if I'm wrong, Kelly, but were they not 'inside', 'your', and 'heaven'."



"You did not," Carrie's jaw dropped.



"Maybe..." Kelly mumbled.



"That's so cute!" Carrie kissed her cheek.



"Yea, yea," Kelly rolled her eyes.



"I mean, I thought the other word you played was hot as hell, but that is seriously adorable."



"Which one?" Ashley asked.



"Aw, what was it Kell? It started with a 'd'."



"Desideratum," Kelly blushed deeply.



"And what does that mean?" Jeanne asked curiously.



Carrie winced slightly. The older woman had been so quiet, she'd nearly forgotten she was there. She was suddenly very sorry for bringing it up. "I don't even remember," she laughed nervously. "Something silly, whatever it was."



"Kelly?" Jeanne ignored the country singer. "I just want to be able to understand the joke, dear."



"Something greatly desired to a point where it becomes a necessity," Kelly recited flatly.



Jeanne frowned.



"Sorry," Carrie whispered in Kelly's ear.



"You know what," Kelly sighed, removing Carrie's arms from around her and standing. "I'm really not in the mood to play tonight. Guess the concert wore me out more than I thought. Night y'all."



Carrie and Jeanne both stood as Kelly walked to the back room, closing the door behind her.



+++++++++++



"Shoot," Carrie cursed. "Alright y'all. I should go fix this. Talk to y'all tomorrow."



"Wait," Jeanne stopped her. "I don't think she wants to talk to you right now."



"Why not?"



"This is your fault."



Carrie sighed, "Unfortunately, you're right, but the fact that you think that she doesn't want to talk to me right now shows how little you know your daughter."



"Excuse me?"



"Nothing," Carrie rubbed her eyes tiredly. "The last thing I want to do is argue with you, Jeanne."



"I think Kelly would prefer to talk to her mother right now. I am the one she always came to with her problems before she met you."



"I know," Carrie replied carefully. "But being in a relationship means talking to each other about your problems, so if you would excuse me, I'm going talk with my girlfriend."



Carrie ignored Jeanne's frown as she walked to the back room, letting herself in before closing the door behind her. She climbed onto the bed, reaching and out and pulling the shorter girl closer to where they were face to face. She couldn't help but feel relieved as her hand ran over Kelly's bare side. She had been right about who the Texan wanted to talk to.



"I'm sorry," Carrie said honestly.



"Why do you have to push her?" Kelly questioned.



"I don't mean to."



"You sure? Because I swear it seems like you and Ashley are just trying to push her buttons to get her to react."



"Kell, that's not true," Carrie replied, wrapping her arms around her.



"Care, I know that you don't trust her, and I understand that, but she hasn't done a single thing wrong since she's been here."



Carrie gave a short laugh, "That's only because you're not around when she makes the snide remarks, or if you are, you just don't hear them."



"Like what? What am I not hearing?"



"Like the other night at dinner."



"Care, we talked about that already."



"Well, after your show she was totally trying to steal my hug."



"Care..." Kelly couldn't help but laugh. "You do hear yourself right?"



"What about that comment she made earlier about you squashing me?"



"You are small, Carrie, and I do have a lot going on in the booty area."



"You were not squashing me," Carrie said firmly.



Kelly smiled, bringing a hand up to her cheek, "I know."



"And what about all her constant prying into our sex life? I mean, first that time when I was eating breakfast, then when you cut your tongue, now tonight, which I admit I shouldn't have brought up in front of her, but still, she asked. She doesn't have the right to ask and then act all disgusted."



"Disgusted is a bit harsh, Care," Kelly said softly.



"You're telling me."



Kelly sighed, looking at her girlfriend thoughtfully.



"What's going on in that mind of yours?"



"Just trying to make you happy again."



"Kell..." Carrie smiled, pulling her even closer. "Trust me, I'm happy."



"You sure?"



"Absolutely."



"If there were one thing that would make you even happier right now, what would it be?"



"I wanna make love to you," Carrie whispered, causing the Texan's heart to immediately speed up.



"Care..."



"Please?" she asked, smoothing her hand over Kelly's bare stomach. "It would make me very...very happy."



Kelly licked her lips as Carrie pushed her shoulder lightly, turning her onto her back so she could slide over her. "E-Everybody's outside," she reminded.



Carrie linked their hands together, drawing them up over Kelly's head, leaving them there, allowing her fingers to trail down the inside of her arms, knowing it tickled her. Kelly squirmed beneath her.



"You think you could be quiet?" Carrie smiled.



Kelly nodded, her eyes closing at the feeling of Carrie's lips grazing her collarbone. She let herself relax as the goose bumps rose across her body while Carrie kissed her way down the middle of her chest, pulling the blanket up, over her. She took a steadying breath as the country singer's hands ran up her thighs.



"Kelly," Jeanne opened the door.



"Oh my God!" Kelly exclaimed, sitting up quickly, bringing the blanket with her to cover herself up with. "What are you doing? Doesn't anyone freaking knock anymore?"



"Young lady, I am your mother," Jeanne replied sternly.



"Privacy, Mom."



"What's going on?"



"Ashley!" Kelly called out.



Ashley rushed into the room, "What's going...oh...Jeanne, I think Kelly would appreciate some alone time right now. She and Carrie have had a long day. Let's give them a little privacy, huh?" she asked, ushering the older woman out of the room.



Kelly fell back against the pillow, her arm falling over her eyes as the door closed.



Carrie crawled out from under the blankets, not sure what to say.



"This is so fucked up," Kelly mumbled.



Carrie leaned over, kissing her temple, "How about we just take a rain check?"



"Yea, cause I'm totally not in the mood anymore."



"Mom's definitely have the ability to do that," Carrie nodded, allowing her to snuggle into her side. "You ok?"



"I'm so gonna end up in therapy after all of this."



Carrie laughed softly, "What happened to writing songs being free therapy?"



"This is definitely one of those moments that I do not want to share with the rest of the world."



Carrie placed her index finger on Kelly's cheek, turning her face so that they were looking at each other.



Kelly smiled, giving her a light kiss.



Carrie beamed, wrapping her arms around her tightly, holding her close as she felt herself starting to fall asleep.



+++++++++



Kelly rubbed her eyes tiredly as she sat at the table in the local coffee shop with Ashley and Carrie, the three of them having managed to sneak out before Jeanne awoke. "I don't know what to do anymore."



"Lock the door," Ashley suggested.



"The door's electronic. There's no lock. You just press the button."



"You can always just stop having sex."



Carrie glared at her.



"Joking," Ashley replied, taking a sip of her coffee.



"My mother walked in on me sleeping with my girlfriend," Kelly rested her forehead in her hands. "You know she's going to want to talk about this."



"What does she expect you to say?" Carrie asked.



"Yea, I mean, you're going to be twenty-six years old in two months. Is she going to forbid you from having sex with Carrie or something?" Ashley questioned.



"She can't do that, can she?" Carrie looked at her worriedly.



"No," Ashley shook her head.



"I think I need to talk with her," Kelly sighed. "Lay down some boundaries."



"I think that's something you should've done from the beginning," Ashley admitted.



"I could've used you're two-cents before she saw Carrie going down--"



"Ok, major TMI right there," Ashley cut her off.



"Sorry," Kelly blushed slightly.



Carrie took her hand, "I think having a talk with her will do you both a lot of good."



"Thanks," she squeezed her hand gently.



"So when is this talk gonna be?"



"Oh...I don't know..." Kelly replied, scrolling through her phone. "I have about a fifteen minute break seven months from now. Think that'll work for her?"



"Kell," Carrie laughed.



Kelly sighed, "This afternoon, I guess...before the show."



+++++++++



"Kelly," Jeanne nodded stiffly as she walked into the dressing room where Kelly was seated on the sofa, chewing her bottom lip nervously. "Ashley informed me that you wanted to talk."



"Yes ma'am," Kelly nodded, watching as her mother pulled up a chair in front of her. "I, um, I kinda wanted to lay down some ground rules."



"Ground rules?"



"Yea, you know, like boundaries."



"Boundaries? For what?"



"Boundaries between you and my relationship with Carrie."



"Now Kelly--"



"No, Mom, I'm being serious," Kelly looked her in the eye.



Jeanne sighed, "What sort of boundaries?"



"The back-handed comments to, or around Carrie about her or about our relationship need to stop."



"I've never made any back-handed comments."



"Yes, you have, and I promise if I have to hear that you upset her one more time or made her doubt, even for a second, our relationship, I will not be nearly as calm as I am right now."



Jeanne frowned, crossing her arms.



"And our sex life is off limits," Kelly said firmly.



"Kelly--"



"No, I'm even more serious about this than anything else. No more questioning our sleeping arrangements, no more faces anytime a reference is made about it, no more 'talks', and from now on anytime you enter a room, you knock first."



"I am your mother, and I do not appreciate--"



"I am an adult," Kelly countered. "I have the right to do whatever I like in my spare time, and my personal relationships are none of your business. I am letting you back into my life, but I will not stop it or censor it in anyway. If you feel uncomfortable with something, then you're just going to have to ignore it, otherwise, I think it would be best if we went back to living our own separate lives like we have been doing the past few months."



"I haven't seen you so angry since you were little," Jeanne admitted softly.



"I'm not angry, Mom. I've just finally found what I've been looking for, and it's Carrie, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep her, and if you don't respect that--"



"I respect that," Jeanne cut in. "And...I'll do what you ask. I just want to be in your life, Kelly."



Kelly nodded, offering a smile, "Thanks Mom."