"What? Did you see our dancing?" Taylor asked.
"Well that and..." I said before pulling my phone back out and showing her the picture of her and Karlie kissing.
"This gave me a clue too." I said with a smile.
"Ooooh, let me see that. That shot did turn out good!" Taylor said, taking my phone and zooming in.
"Karlie come look at how good that kissing picture came out!" Taylor called into the kitchen before I could say anything.
"You guys posed for that?" I asked, confused as to why she had been wondering how the shot turned out. I had been expecting a sheepish smile after showing her that picture, not all this excitement.
"Well no. But I saw the camera flash and I knew it had been taken, so I was hoping it came out good." Taylor explained as Karlie walked into the room and looked at the picture also.
"Would it be weird if I made a print of this picture?" Karlie asked after examining the photo and giving me my phone back.
"You better print one out for me too." Taylor said to Karlie in all seriousness.
"Oh my God." I laughed under my breath.
"What? Are you making fun of us?" Taylor asked, turning towards me.
"Two weeks ago a picture exactly like this ruined your life and now you want prints of this one." I said, laughing at the irony of it all.
"Well now we've accepted that everyone knows." Karlie explained, looking down at Taylor who was looking at her like she hung the moon.
"Yeah, we've been trying to embrace it." Taylor added, not taking her eyes off Karlie.
"Well I think you just want to rub your perfect relationship in people's faces." I said, glancing back down at the picture again. That comment made Taylor's head snap around to look at me.
"I'm kidding!" I assured her with a lighthearted laugh.
"Although that's not completely false." Karlie said to me with a wink and then hurried back to the kitchen before Taylor could playfully slap her.
"So you really don't care what anyone is going to say when they see that?" I asked in a more serious tone when it was just me and Taylor again.
"No, I don't. They can say whatever they want, but that won't change anything between Karlie and I. I've realized that now." Taylor said, fidgeting with the blanket rested over both our laps. I noticed the blush on her face and a smile formed on mine.
"How was your night last night?" Taylor said, trying to change the subject.
"Good, Grace finally decided where she's going to college." I said.
"Where?" Taylor asked, genuinely interested.
"UTK. She's going to be there with Kelsey." I said.
"Man, I can't believe you girls are already going to be heading to college." Taylor said more to herself than to me. I was her familiar face of sadness that always appeared when she remembered I was growing up.
"Not for another 6 months. And even then I'll still be in Nashville." I assured her.
"Does you wish you were going to UTK now that both your best friends are?" Taylor asked.
"No, I like Vanderbilt." I said truthfully.
"You like Vanderbilt or you like the fact that Vanderbilt is a few minutes away from your favorite person in the world?" Taylor asked with a big smile, obviously referring to herself.
"I didn't know Beyoncé moved to Nashville!" I joked.
"Oh shut up!" Taylor laughed.
"But speaking of Beyoncé, did you see her performance last night?" Taylor asked, suddenly getting excited to discuss the performance with me.
"Of course!" I said before the two of us dove into a long discussion about the theatrics of it all. Eventually Karlie joined us with coffee for her and Taylor and was able to chime in too.
I was so happy that Taylor and Karlie were happy for once. For years Taylor had been making sure I was okay and taking care of me, and now that it had been my turn to take care of her, seeing her happy was the biggest joy. I knew from personal experience that happiness was fleeting and that Taylor would probably have a bad day again soon, but was going to take what I got.
Chapter 30
Start from the beginning
