new romantics - taylor swift and travis kelce

butterflies and promises

"yeah. I want to call you, my girlfriend. We are already acting like a couple, so why not make it official? You're meeting my parents today, and I want to introduce you as my girlfriend, not just my special friend" he says.

His girlfriend? I like the sound of that. it rolls off the tongue like it has been said a million times before. It sounds right like it was always meant to be spoken.

"yes, I would like that. if you're ready for everything that comes along with it. dating me means a lot of attention and a lot of messy noise from the outside. And I have a six-year-old who demands a lot of attention. I'll give you whatever I can, but it's not going to be easy" I confess honestly.

Being in a relationship with someone at my level isn't easy. It brings with it plenty of media attention, attention Joe hated. He resented me for something I couldn't control, something I didn't choose. Sure I chose to step into the spotlight 17 years ago, but I didn't choose to be a circus animal for the media. It just turned out that way and I can't change it no matter how hard I try. Because I've tried, I've gone into hiding on several occasions, I've stopped doing interviews with comments about my personal life, I've done it all. But nothing I did was ever enough for joe, I wasn't enough. What I had to offer wasn't enough.

"I know what it means Taylor, and I'm not scared by it. your life is crazy, and the media is messy, but for me, it's worth it if I get to be with you. but I'm just letting you know that from my side, I don't do the whole hiding-in-dark corners stuff. Sometimes yeah, but secret relationships aren't for me. they are messy and exhausting. For me, it's about finding the balance of living my life without listening to all the noise no matter what it is. And I want to continue that with you. I don't want to hide you away or be hidden away. I want everything, I want all the parts of you. even the parts you can't control" he says, and it makes tears flow down my face.

He is saying all the right things, how he doesn't want to be a secret or keep me a secret. it's what I really want even though it's scary to open up like that. we can choose how private and public we want to be at any given moment, but I don't want to hide away like I've done for years now. it's not the kind of person I am, and I don't want to go back to that place. That place took me down some dark paths, paths I don't want to walk again.

"I want that too. I want to be a normal couple... well as normal as It can get with me. it won't be easy, but I think it's worth it. I don't do secret relationships anymore either, never again. I can't deal with it. there is a difference between being private and being in hiding, I've learned that now and I will never be in hiding again" We seem like we are on the same page on everything. Neither one wants to be a secret. we just want to be a couple with everything that comes along with it.

"I'm so excited for you to come to a game, and I hope you get a taste for it and want to come to more games" he tucks some of my bed hair behind my ear and I sigh "I want that too. but it will bring a lot of attention. I just want you to know that it will be front-page news and might take some of the attention away from the team. I don't mean to do it, but it just happens. I want to support you in any way I can, but it has consequences."

"I don't give a fuck. We are doing this in our own way, and any attention that comes along with it will just be background noise. I want to come to as many of your shows as I can, no matter what the media says. And I want you to come to games because it makes me happy if you want to cheer me on. It's as simple as that. anything else is just background noise we can ignore if we choose to ignore it."

He makes it sound so simple, and maybe it really is. Maybe I'm overthinking every aspect of it more than I need to. Maybe things don't have to be as complicated as I make them out to be in my head.

"Okay. Let's do this. Now comes the hardest part though" I smile at him, and he furrows his eyebrows. "I think being in bed with you sounds pretty simple" he runs his hand down my body and along the curve of my waist.

"We need to tell Thea."

**

I don't want my daughter to be confused if she sees me kissing Travis or coming out of his room In the morning. So we decided to tell my little girl about the recent development, so she knows what's going on.

Travis makes pancakes and I give Thea a glass of milk as she sits at the table. "I need to tell you something Thea," I say and tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

"Mommy I've been a good girl. I haven't done anything wrong" She furrows her little eyebrows and I chuckle "No you've been a good girl. it's nothing bad."

"then what it is?" she crocks her head to the side like she does when she is thinking hard about something.

"you know Travis and me are good friends, right?" I say and she nods "Well, we want to be more. I want him to be my boyfriend, and he wants me to be his girlfriend. What do you think about that?"

She puts her finger to her temple as she thinks, and I give her the time she needs. She does this a lot and I just think it's adorable. "does it mean I get to play with him more? And the doggies?"

"it does. It means we will be spending more time with Travis and the dogs" I confirm, and she thinks some more. "will you kiss him? Because that's gross"

I laugh "I will kiss him yes."

"like you did with daddy sometimes?" she asks as she looks away and I take her hand in mine. "yes, like that. the good kind of kisses, the ones that give me butterflies in my belly. Not kisses that I didn't want, only kisses I want."

"Well, I guess that's okay. If you get butterflies like I do when I go down a slide and have loads of fun" I hold back more laughter from her reasoning and nod "Yes, good butterflies. Travis gives me loads of those."

She nods "Then it's okay" she decides, and I smile at her. She is a deep thinker who sometimes has weird ways of explaining things, and I wouldn't want her any other way. My daughter is curious, adventurous, and perfect in every way possible.

Thea jumps down from her chair and skips over to where Travis is flipping pancakes. He has already set out the stool she can stand on, the one he made himself for his nieces, so she climbs up.

"you wanna be Mommy's boyfriend Travis?" she asks matter-of-factly, like she knows the answer but needs to hear it from him.

"I do, I am mommy's boyfriend. Is that okay?" he says as he finishes a pancake and starts on a new one. "well, will you still play with me? and still, teach me how to throw a football?" she tilts her head again and Travis smiles.

"I sure will. Nothing will change. The only thing that's changing is that I'm closer to your mom. I get to hold her hand and kiss her whenever I want. I'll still play with you and teach you how to throw a football" he places a kiss on the top of her head, making her giggle.

"Okay then. I guess you can be mommy's boyfriend" she decides. "thank you, I promise to be a good boyfriend" he puts out his pinky for Thea who links it with her own. "now you made a pinky promise. Wow, you must really mean it" she sighs contently, like that little act held the answers to all the big questions in the world.