TNT Short Fics

The Year of Yes - Part 6

Saying yes to love

September 2023

The sun is warm on Taylor's skin as she lies in the hammock. Her foot drags absentmindedly through the soft grass, helping to swing her back and forth. The words she is searching for are just out of reach. So close that she could almost taste them on the tip of her tongue.

She strums a few chords just to see if something will break through.

A shadow blocks the sun above, and she looks up to Travis smiling sheepishly at her.

"I'm not here to interrupt. I just brought a hat and sunscreen," he says, holding up the spray and a red Chiefs hat. "It's really bright, and as much fun as rubbing aloe all over you would be for me, I doubt it would be for you."

She laughs but knows he's absolutely right. The pale skin of her face and neck loves to burn at the first hint of high noon sun. She sets the guitar to the side in the hammock and reaches for the hat.

"You are a lifesaver. Thanks, Trav," she says, adjusting the brim of the hat to be able to see him.

"I'll let you work. Need anything?"

This is her first trip to Kansas City in which she's brought her guitar. The warm, clear morning lured her to Travis's backyard for the hammock strung between two trees. She has been content to stay here while he and Jason recorded the next episode of the podcast. And he's happy to let her do her thing, joking he does not want to interrupt greatness (only he isn't joking).

She squints up at him, thinking about how, in the past, she's been self-conscious when new partners witness her work. But every milestone with him feels different. He feels different.

"Need you," she says bravely. "Will you stay with me for a little bit?"

"Oh," he says surprised. "Of course, baby."

"If you were doing something..." She's suddenly worried she's keeping him from something.

"Nah, are you kidding? I'm all yours. Let me get a chair."

He grabs a chair from the deck and sets it close to her. He pulls her feet up into his lap, propping his own to the side of her in the hammock.

"Is it going well?" he asks, squeezing her ankle.

Taylor hums, thinking. "I'm not sure. Something is there. But I can't quite get it yet."

She goes back to strumming. Travis traces a circle on her calf, tipping his head back towards the sun, just listening. Letting her concentrate but also letting her know he's right there where she wants him to be.

She stops abruptly at that thought, looking again at the man in front of her. The impossible man who came out of nowhere and who, in just a couple of months, has shown her exactly how relationships should be. Who lets her be exactly who she is—celebrates who she is. The man who tells his friends how amazing she is when he introduces her. Let's different sports interviewers poke fun at him for the story of the friendship bracelet with a smile on his face. And who talks excitedly about this weekend when she'll join him for a game, ready to let the world know that she was his and that he was hers.

And suddenly the words she has been searching for all morning are right there in front of her.

"I love you."

Travis smiles, head still tipped back. Like maybe he knows already. And she supposes that it is true. She is sure of him too.

He looks over. His blue-green eyes bright. The fierce look in them tells her all she needs to know.

"You love me?" he questions. Even if he already knows, his voice still holds notes of awe.

"Yes," she says confidently.

He drops her feet back to the ground, leaning forward to put their heads close together. The guitar is between them, but that is okay.

"I love you too, Tay," he says reverently. "So much it isn't even funny."

She laughs because she's just that happy and reaches to run her hand across the shorn hair at the top of his head, hoping her touch conveys how much he means to her.

He stands then, taking the guitar from her to set it carefully in his chair. She grabs for him, pulling him forward and into the hammock with her. There is a precarious moment when it swings wildly, and she wonders if maybe two tall-ass people should not be attempting this. But then it slows to a stop, and he's there with her. Face in the crook of her neck, laughing.

Taylor holds him close and sends a silent thank you out into the universe to Blake for calling her out this time last year for hiding away. She also sends one to her broken self for being brave enough that day to take the first step and say yes.

Yes to not disappearing.

Yes to herself.

Yes to love. 

Author Note: The epilogue will be out tomorrow. Taylor has one more yes to share...