the stars in your eyes | t.s. one shots

sparkly beads and stretchy string (part 2)

She can't decide if the week flies by, or if it drags like a week has never drug before. She talks to Travis every day. Each thing she learns about him makes her like him even more. She finds herself watching videos of his games on YouTube, compilations of his best plays. She likes seeing him doing something that he's so good at, even if she doesn't know much about it herself. And she really likes seeing him dancing on the sidelines, celebrating as though there's nobody watching. No cameras, no eyes, no whispers... like it's just him alone in his bedroom.

She can't help but be enthralled by him. She knows how dangerous it is, building him up to be nearly perfect in her own mind. But she can't help it. With his every more, every word, it seems to be confirmed.

She finds herself up late at night, thinking of things it's much too early to be thinking of. The word soulmate rattles around in her mind. It's a word that scares her. It's a word that she used to describe Joe for a little bit, but not until she'd known him for several years. There was a time that she really believed it about him... until she didn't anymore. Until he had her questioning everything she'd thought to be true.

But with Travis... it somehow feels less scary to use that word. She can't put her finger on it... other than the explanation of a simple gut instinct that it might be true. She won't know for sure for many, many years. But even being brave enough to allow herself to think it feels crazy. Part of her is mortified. She wants to jump off of a cliff for falling like she is for a man she hasn't even met yet.

And that makes her all the more nervous when Wednesday does roll around.

It feels so silly, to be doing this on a weeknight. But her tour prevents her from going out with him on the weekends, so Wednesday it is. When she wakes up in the morning, it's the first thing that she thinks of. She's going to get to meet that mysterious football player tonight. She's finally going to get her friendship bracelet... and if she's lucky, a little more. With the way they've been connecting, sealing the evening with a perfect kiss feels almost inevitable. Though she knows some people feel differently, she's never been against kissing on the first date. She always figures, if it feels right, why wait on the basis of time? She's usually good at reading vibes. She'll know if he's going to be worth it. Truthfully, deep down... she already does know.

Around lunchtime, she gets a text from him. The first one of the day. And it makes her heart leap. It sends butterflies flittering through her stomach, in the best way.

Just landed in New York. I can't wait to see you tonight.

She wishes she could go to him now. She can't wait to be with him, in the flesh. But, she knows that this still is a first date, no matter how well they've connected through text. She has to keep the boundary. Keep it casual.

She keeps reminding herself of that as she's getting ready. She doesn't want to come off too strong, doesn't want to scare him away.

Little does she know, across town, Travis is telling himself the same thing.

Taylor dresses herself in a little black dress, something simple but classic. Something she knows she can't go wrong with. To add something fun to the outfit, she adds a pair of midnight blue heels, making her long legs look even longer. She finishes off the look with a red lip and some sparkly highlighter dusted on her cheekbones. Her natural blonde curls fall down onto her back, with a little braid running down each side of her head, giving her a bit of a free-spirited, bohemian look.

She gets into her car at 6:30. She sneaks in through the garage so she can avoid the paparazzi. Nobody needs to find out about this yet, even if the watchful eyes of the world will be on them after that podcast. Maybe it won't come as a surprise to anyone, if they actually do end up working out and the word gets around. But right now, it needs to stay just between the two of them, Taylor and Travis.