Sparks Fly: A Kaylor Love Story

Chapter 8: Something or Nothing?

Taylor woke up the next morning and her mind instantly began to go over the events of the previous evening. She'd kissed Karlie. Holy shit, she'd kissed Karlie. And Karlie had kissed back. Taylor was surprised at herself. She'd never been that forward with boys. Why had she done it? "Because I couldn't stop thinking about it" she reasoned silently "I had to get it out of my system."

The impromptu make out session on the couch had been interrupted by the sound of the oven timer buzzing to let them know it was time to take the cookies out. This had shocked Taylor back to reality and she'd pulled away from Karlie and jumped up.

The two girls had gone into the kitchen and Taylor had taken the cookies out of the oven, setting the baking tray on the stove-top. She'd turned to look at Karlie with the intention of saying something - she couldn't recall what - but before she even knew what was happening, they were kissing again.

They continued to kiss for what felt like an hour, but what in reality was probably only a minute or two. Every fiber of Taylor's being was screaming out for her to keep kissing Karlie but, ignoring this, she pulled away.

"I can't do this..." Taylor said, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry..." Karlie said "I thought you were into it."

"I... I am" Taylor stuttered "sort of... I just... this is confusing me because I don't know what it means."

"You were the one who told me to go with it." Karlie said.

"I know, but the more we do it, the more confused I get and I don't want our friendship to get weird." Taylor responded, finally making eye contact with Karlie again. Karlie nodded.

"I'm sorry." Taylor said.

"It's fine." Karlie said with a smile.

Karlie had smiled when she said it was fine. Was the smile genuine? As Taylor lay in her bed, still groggy from sleep, she wondered if she'd made things weird. Things had been fine for the rest of the evening. They'd watched movies and eaten their cookies until Taylor's parents came home. After that, Karlie had left. Before she left, Taylor and her had shared a lengthy goodbye at Taylor's mail box.

"We should talk tomorrow." Taylor said, her arms folded against the chill of the night.

"About the kissing?" Karlie asked.

"About the kissing." Taylor repeated in response, nodding as she spoke.

"Was it something?" Karlie asked "Or was it nothing?"

"I don't know..." Taylor said. "I'll sleep on it and tell you tomorrow."

"I don't mind either way" Karlie said. "I just want to know what we are... where we stand."

"Me too." Taylor said.

They hugged. In the back of her mind, Taylor could feel a nagging urge to kiss Karlie goodnight, but decided that it probably wasn't the best idea under the circumstances. Karlie seemed like she might actually like Taylor as more than a friend, and Taylor didn't want to risk leading her on if the kissing was nothing.

Taylor had found it difficult to sleep that night. Two words were pounding in her head, over and over: Something. Nothing. Something. Nothing. Something. Nothing... She had no idea whether they were something or nothing. Part of her felt like it was nothing, but part of her felt like it was something. It didn't help that during their trip to the mall on Tuesday, Selena had all but asked Taylor if she was gay. That had thrown Taylor, because it was something she'd never even considered. She'd always assumed she was straight, but there she was, laying in bed, trying to figure out what had motivated her to kiss another girl.

Maybe it was something. Maybe Selena was onto something, and Taylor was gay. Or maybe bi. Although if she was gay it would explain why she never seemed to click with the boys she dated. 

Or maybe it was nothing. Maybe she only kissed Karlie to prove that the confusion and doubt she'd been feeling all week wasn't anything to worry about. Maybe the only reason she was still confused was because Karlie had not only kissed back, but had seemed really into it. Maybe that part of her that wanted it to be something, only wanted it to be something because she didn't want to hurt Karlie.

Something or nothing? Taylor had promised Karlie an answer, but it was proving more difficult than she expected.

Something or nothing?

And then, in a flash, she came upon an answer. She immediately grabbed her phone and sent Karlie a text:

I have an answer 4 u. Meet me outside your house in an hour.