Kaylor: Perfect Storms

Chapter 13- Worlds Away

Eventually the cold winds became too much to bear, and so they began the journey back down to the car. It was a steep downwards slope; Taylor and Karlie gripped hands tightly, using Taylor's iPhone torch as their guide through the pitch blackness.
"This is so scary," Taylor laughed nervously. She secretly wished they had headed back a little earlier, but at the same time, she had wanted to spend as much time with Karlie as possible.
"Hey, don't worry, we're almost there now," Karlie reassured her, giving her hand a light squeeze.

The two of them stumbled on further through the night. The only sounds to be heard were their quickened breaths as they descended the hills, the crunching of their shoes against the wood chippings that covered the ground, and the occasional rustle of leaves in the trees as the winds rushed through them.

They finally reached the car, much to Taylor's relief. Karlie put the now empty basket back into the boot, whilst Taylor climbed into the passenger's seat. Grateful that she was safe and out of the cold, Taylor leaned her head back against the head rest and closed her eyes. The driver's door opened and Karlie hopped into the car beside her.
"You ok?" She asked, putting her keys in the ignition and starting the engine.
"Yes, I'm more than ok, I'm great." Taylor opened her eyes to look at Karlie and say sincerely: "I've had the best time with you tonight."
"Me too," Karlie said, above the humming of the engine, her green eyes glittering with happiness.
"How long are you staying in Nashville for?"
"A couple more days. I'm quite busy for the next two weeks, lots of shows to attend."
"Can we hang out tomorrow too then?" Taylor asked her. She wanted to make the most of the time Karlie was here for.
"Yeah of course. I was hoping you'd ask me that," Karlie grinned. "What do you fancy doing?"
"Well I was thinking, I've told my best friend Abigail all about you, and I think she'd really like to meet you. Maybe we could all go get coffee together? Then I could show you round my favourite parts of town?"
"That sounds perfect to me," Karlie nodded, unable to take the smile off her face. Her eagerness to spend time with Taylor in return brought butterflies to life in her stomach. Butterflies that had laid dormant for a long time; Taylor had been unsure anybody would be able to wake them again, but Karlie had proven her wrong.
"Right, let's get you home, it's getting late." Karlie turned back to face the steering wheel, putting her hand on the handbrake and bringing the car into motion. Taylor's stomach sunk when the vehicle started moving; the night was almost over.

"Well, here we are," Karlie announced, as she pulled up outside Taylor's driveway.
"So we are." But Taylor's legs wouldn't move. She wanted to stay with Karlie. It seemed Karlie could sense the singer's reluctance, as she gave a short laugh and said: "We're seeing each other tomorrow remember? It's only a few hours' sleep away."
"I guess you're right," Taylor mumbled.
"You know I am, I'm always right," Karlie winked at her.
"Thank you again, for organising this. It was really thoughtful of you," Taylor said shyly.
"I should be thanking you, you make it all worth it," Karlie said quietly, bringing the fluttering feeling back in Taylor's insides.
"Can I have a kiss before you go?" The model suddenly asked her. Taylor said nothing, simply nodding her head, her heart pounding heavily in her chest. Smiling widely, Karlie put her arms around Taylor's neck and gently pulled her towards her. Their lips met, and they sat in that position for a while, letting the moment linger. Taylor sighed into the kiss, enjoying the softness of Karlie's lips, and the warmth that radiated from her body as her arms wrapped around her held them closely together.
  Karlie pulled away, the admiration clear in her face, unable to take her eyes off Taylor. Trying to gather her thoughts together, as Karlie's touch had made her feel slightly dizzy, Taylor slowly unclipped her seatbelt and opened the door of the car.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she almost whispered as she stepped out of the car. Karlie nodded.
"See you tomorrow, Tay."
Taylor walked around the car to the gate of her driveway. She stopped just outside it to wave goodbye to Karlie as she drove away into the night. She watched until she couldn't see the car anymore.
  As quietly as possible, she opened the door, and crept up the stairs; she didn't want to wake the cats up, wherever they might have been slumbering in the house. When she got into her bedroom, she couldn't be bothered to change into pyjamas; she simply flopped down on her bed, and stared at the ceiling, not the least tired. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Karlie, and the way her lips tasted. Taylor smiled. She couldn't believe her luck with the way things had turned out tonight. She missed the model already, even though she knew she was seeing her in a mere few hours. She couldn't stop thinking about her, she missed her touch, her smell, her voice. She missed everything about her. She took her phone out of the pocket of her jeans to look at the photos she'd taken this evening. She scrolled through the pictures of the sunset. She'd taken some decent ones, but it didn't look half as good as it had in the moment on top of the hills with Karlie's arm around her shoulder. She regretted not taking a picture of herself and Karlie. This had been a pivotal night for them regarding their progression to becoming official, and she'd wished she'd had some visual evidence to document the milestone. But the sunset had to do. She set the picture as her lock screen image, staring at it there for a while. All the events of the night were still sinking in. Setting the phone down on her bedside table, Taylor closed her eyes, trying to keep the memories fresh in her mind as she relived the night over and over.