i can't want you (i'm taking you anyway)

part 5

Taylor's POV

I caught a ride to work with Abigail the next morning, not wanting to leave my car in town if Travis was going to pick me up. The shop - a basic-preppy chain clothing store - wasn't that busy, so us and Sam (the manager for the day) just spent our time chatting as we organized racks of clothing, put new items out, and just kept everything clean. Abigail and I took our half an hour break at the same time when Sam assured us he'd be fine running the store alone, and we went down the street to get sushi.

"So where is Travis taking you tonight?" Abigail asked as we dug into our food. I shrugged.

"Not a clue, I don't even think he knew when he told me he was taking me out." I admitted. 

"Maybe he's going to kidnap you." Abigail wrinkled her nose at me and I laughed. She sighed at me. "You really fell for him so fast didn't you?"

"I guess." I thought about it. "I mean, I think I was having feelings for him for a while, but I just never recognized them as feelings because, you know, it's Travis." Abigail nodded. "Maybe I wouldn't have ever realized if it hadn't been for that trip because I would have gone off to college and never seen him." I was sure that if Travis and I hadn't ended up in that river together, nothing ever would have happened. He'd only kissed me the first time because of a lapse in his self-control, which I'd be forever glad for. 

"So what are you wearing, you know, on your first date?" Abigail asked, and I gestured to what I was already wearing. She raised her eyebrows at me. "Taylor, no. That is jeans and the most basic black t-shirt. That is not a date outfit."

"I thought it looked fine." I mumbled.

"Yeah, it does. But fine is not going to cut it." My best friend stood up. "Come on. Walk and eat. We're going shopping. You need a date outfit that makes him want to take it off you, not just a date outfit that's 'fine'."

I giggled, grabbing my box and jumping up to follow her. We walked down the main street where all the good clothing stores were, peeking through the windows and getting an idea of what was inside as we finished eating. Once we tossed our takeaway boxes into a bin, Abgail dragged me into a store and made me try on so many clothes I lost count. 

"We don't even know where he's taking me." I reminded her as she held up a short red dress that looked more like a clubbing outfit than anything else. "I don't want to be super dressed up. Something more casual."

"Ugh, okay. How about this?" She shuffled through the hangers in her hand and then held up a little black sleeveless corset crop top thing. 

"That looks a little like lingerie." I commented.

"No, no its not." Abigail insisted, pushing it into my hands. I sighed but turned for the dressing room, changing into it and then pulling the curtain aside to show her. "Yeah, you're getting that one." She nodded. "Works with the jeans too." I frowned, turning to look at myself in the mirror. It did look good, exposing a small strip of my stomach above my jeans, and it pushed my chest up a little. Not enough to be called a slut, but just enough. 

"Yeah okay." I nodded. 

I spent the rest of my shift constantly checking the clock, waiting for five to roll around. It didn't help that the store was slow today; I didn't have much to distract me from the tick, tick, tick of the seconds that passed by like hours. Eventually - thank god - the hand of the clock ticked from the four to the five. There was still one customer in the store so we couldn't lock up yet, but Abigail insisted she'd finish up without me tonight and practically pushed me in the direction of the staffroom. I clocked out of my shift and went to change into the top I'd bought on my break, putting my other shirt in Abigail's purse so she could take it home and I'd grab it later. Once I was dressed I took my hair down, fluffing my curls out so that they cascaded around my shoulders. I stared at myself in the mirror for a long moment and then grabbed my phone, checking to make sure my card was still inside the case before slipping it into the back pocket of my jeans and heading out.