#undefined duet

“Got it, great stuff man!” Max gave him a thumbs up from the booth, then took his finger off of the speaker, the machine clicking. 

Ryan rested his guitar on his thighs, nodding in response, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. He’d just finished up one of his favorites, and he could still feel it in his chest. That one always feels… good. It wasn’t an original song, but it was one that he’d been playing for years, one that he’d gotten extremely comfortable with. It was also one of the first songs that the two of you had ever played together, and therefore it held an even more prominent place in his catalog than it had before that day on 16th Street. He could still picture you sitting at the painted piano, hands suspended over the keys, tongue poking between your lips as you waited for him to count you in. The memory kept that warm feeling swirling in his chest for a few minutes longer. You’d played it together more than a handful of times since then, but it was always that chilly day that came to mind when his fingers found the chords of that song. Wonder if it’s the same for her. 

Max clicked the speaker button once more to let him know that he could take a few minutes between tracks while he made some adjustments to his equipment. Ryan nodded again, a stray piece of hair falling over his forehead as he leaned forward on his stool to set his instrument back in its case. Standing, he lifted a hand to swipe the strands away, reaching for his water bottle with the other. Twisting the cap off, he glanced back up at the booth’s window to catch you watching him. Hey, Junebug. 

Smiling around the mouth of the bottle, he drank without breaking eye contact with you. Your cheeks flushed and you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, shrugging your shoulders before releasing the trapped flesh and letting your smile match his. Damn, she’s… He closed the bottle and put it down on his stool. Things between you were still undefined, but he realized then that undefined didn’t mean unsure- that he’d been sure that there was something worth exploring between the two of you since he’d kissed you under the stars in that train car somewhere in the Kansas plains. 

He’d been debating which song to play next, going between Southbound and a few others he’d written, but the color in your cheeks and the little scrunch of your nose gave him his answer- Take Me Along, the song you’d helped him finish on your unfurnished living room floor. ‘Course that’s the right one. Ryan cocked his head, motioning for you to join him on his side of the glass. Confused, you furrowed your brow but stood and disappeared from view before the soundproof paneled door opened and you stepped in. 

“Hey, what’s-” 

“Will you sing with me, Junebug?” 

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