CARDIGAN- taylor swift

ii. the first taste

REAL LIFE

IT WAS A HOT DAY IN LONDON, and august was walking home from her trip to the bookstore by her house. august would never usually wear shorts, as she hated how they looked on her thighs. but alas, here she was in a pair of shorts, because the rest of her clothes were dirty and she couldn't be bothered to do laundry. as august crossed the street, she noticed a man with a cigarette rested placidly in between his lips. he had scruffy facial hair, and his white tee shirt was decorated with different stains. 

august hurries past the man, as he lets out a loud whistle at her. taking a deep breath, august tries her best to ignore the pestering man—who was like a bug that just won't leave you alone. the brunette girl begins to pull down her shorts, which now feel like a tiny strip of denim fabric. 

though the man had now left august alone, her hand was still shaky as she tried to open the door to her house. august had gotten used to being catcalled, it happened to her all the time. this time it was different, august thought of  the first time she was ever catcalled. 

august was thirteen when she first got catcalled, it was a hot summer day. august was walking home from babysitting, wearing a white tank top and a pair of shorts. august had just bought a vanilla ice cream cone, and was listening to music through her ipod. 

august walked in the town square past a group of older men. probably in their mid twenties. the group of five all held cigarettes in between their lips, a ring of red on the tip of it. in their free hands they each held a bottle of beer.

august walked past the group, trying not to breathe in the sent of the cigarettes, as it made her feel nauseous. she keeps her head down, until one of the men let's out a whistle. august looks up, walking faster, and wiping the drops of vanilla ice cream that melted onto her hands. " where  are you headed pretty lady." the man who whistled says. his voice was deep and rough. it was loud and assertive, like he was trying to prove something. august ignored him. clearly he thought she was playing hard to get, so he persisted. " don't be playing hard to get," he snorts, taking another drag of his cigarette. his friends high-five him and laugh along as they taunt august. 

august simply just walked faster, hoping the man and his friends would leave her alone. at the time, august was always more developed than her friends. she had wider hips, and a larger chest, so people always assumed she was older. 

as august crossed the street, now only a few blocks away from her house, the group of men decided to leave her alone, and go bother someone else.

august never told anyone about this. not even her mother. 

the now twenty-seven year old pushed away this memory, as she cleaned up her house for game night with her friends. they tired to hang out as much as they could, but since they were all so busy it was rarely all six of them. taylor, joe, harry, ariana, florence, and august. once taylor started dating joe, he usually came to their game nights. 

august went over to her record player, flipping through her collections of vinyls. she pulls out tidal, by fiona apple. the record gyms to life, letting out a static noise before the music begins to fill the house. the brunette girl puts away the books she had bought, vacuums the rug in her livin g room, before going to the kitchen. 

every time the group of friends had game night, they rotated who hosted. august loves hosting game night. she loves making food for her friends, she loves drinking wine while they play, and most importantly she loves winning. 

it was already around four, so august had about an hour before her friends arrived. she decided to shower, and change into a more comfortable outfit. she decides on a green sweater and a pair of jeans. 

harry was the first of the group to arrive, which wasn't a surprise because he's early for everything. taylor and joe were next, then florence, and finally ariana. " look who finally showed up," august teases when ariana arrives. 

ariana rolls her eyes. " shut up," she laughs. the group adjust themselves into a circle, before ariana asks, " what are we playing?" 

" can we please play monopoly," florence says, " we haven't played it in months." 

" fine." august responds, grabbing the game out of the cupboard, " but i call the cat." 

" hey," taylor whines, " i wanted to be the cat!" she folds her arms and pouts, hoping august would let her be the cat.

which worked, " fine but next time we play i get to be the cat," she says hanging taylor the cat, and picking up the dog instead. 

the rest of group pick their pieces, and began playing. "oh for fucks sake," harry says when he lands on the jail spot, before taking a sip of his red wine. august laughs, as harry was the only person ahead of her, and he couldn't do anything for three rounds. harry makes a shocked expression at august before saying, " don't laugh at my misfortune," which only makes august laugh more. 

as it gets later in the evening, the group decides to finish their game of monopoly the next time that they have a game night. taylor scoots closer to joe, and he plants a kiss onto her forehead. august tries her hardest to be nice to joe, but she feels as if something is off about him. it's probably nothing.  

august says goodbye to her friends, giving each a quick hug. as much as august loved spending time with her friends, she always felt empty afterwards. august wouldn't say her life was boring, but she wished she had someone with her. i mean she was twenty-seven years old, and this isn't how she planned her life would be at this age. 

august knew she still had time to find someone, but it felt as if it was running out quickly. 

avery's add on's !

chapter two! sorry for not updating in so long

but i hoped you enjoyed the chapter!!