Ready To Run (Kaylor)

Part 24: It's Not The Same When You Go

            I woke up the next morning with a recognizable pair of long, tanned arms wrapped around me. I felt a smile spread across my face at the thought of waking up like this every day. After the concert last night, Karlie and I had crawled straight into bed, the effects of the long day finally taking its toll on us. Once we were under the covers, we had tangled ourselves up in each other and talked for hours; not about anything specific, just whispering into each other’s ears and exchanging a few short kisses. Even though it was our last night together for almost two weeks, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it any other way. Suddenly, I felt a pair of fingers gently squeeze my hip.

“Hey, are you awake yet?” Karlie prodded quietly.

“Good morning!” I nodded my head and shifted my body so that I was lying on my side next to her. She had a small piece of hair in her face, and I quickly tucked it behind her ear for her. She smiled softly at me and I began to trace my fingers up and down her stomach.

“What time does your flight leave at again?” I asked her. Although she was travelling to LA today, I wasn’t as upset about it as I was six weeks ago; It was easier now, since we would only be apart for eleven days, which was a fraction of the time we had previously spent apart.

“It’s departing at three this afternoon,” Karlie groaned as she started to get out of bed. “We need to be there in less than two hours.” She sighed.

“It’s okay Karls,” I said soothingly. “We’re only going to be apart for eleven days this time, which is nothing compared to what we’ve already been through.” I reasoned, rubbing her back slowly.

“I guess you’re right,” She replied. “It would be a lot easier if I could be with you all the time.”

“Of course it would be,” I agreed. “But think about how long we both wanted to have careers like this. We worked hard for it, and we should be able to enjoy each other’s success, even if it means that we spend a few nights apart.” I smiled gently and walked into the kitchen of our hotel room.

“You’re right,” Karlie said, paced towards the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

“I’m always right!” I exclaimed dramatically. Karlie let out a laugh and I playfully tapped her on the shoulder. Then, I heard my phone ring from the bedroom.

“Just let me grab that really quick!” I said as I pranced off to our room.

            I picked my phone up off of the bedside table and read the notification that told me the call was from my Mom. I felt a huge smile spread across my face and quickly pressed the green button.

“Hi Mom!” I said excitedly. It had only been a week since I last spoke to her, but I was always missing her whenever she wasn’t able to attend a show with me.

“Hey Taylor,” She said. “How are you?”

“I’m great! I’m just getting ready to take Karlie to the airport,” I explained. “She’s leaving today…” I said glumly.

“That’s okay Taylor,” She said. “The Red Tour is almost done, so make the most of it, and Karlie will still be there when you get back.” I could hear the smile in her voice. I had already told my parents about Karlie and I, almost directly after I called Tree Paine and told her everything. My parents took it really well, and they loved me for who I am, and not because of whom I chose to love. They told me that they were happy as long as I was, and I’ve never been closer to it since Karlie and I started dating.

“That’s true,” I agreed. “So what are you guys up to?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

“We’re not doing too much today, I just called to ask you something!” My Mom chimed.

“Really? What’s that?” I asked.

“Well, your father and I were thinking about how awesome this tour has been, and since your last show is next week we were thinking of having a barbecue at our place when you get back?” She said. “Bring Karlie too! We would all love to meet her!” My Mom added.

“Mom, that’s really sweet of you guys!” I gushed. “I’ll have to see what she’s doing that week, but I’ll definitely make sure that she’ll be there. I want you guys to meet her so badly, she’s amazing.” I said.

“We’re all really happy that you’re happy sweetie,” My mom said. “Oh—and your dad says ‘hi’, I don’t know if you heard him in the background.” She laughed. That was typical of my Dad.

“No I didn’t hear him! Tell him that he has to yell louder next time, and that I say ‘hi’ back.” I said with a giggle.

“I will Taylor, I always do!” She said. “Alright, I’ll let you go now. Let me know what Karlie is doing and we’ll all have dinner, okay? And Austin will be home too! Bye honey!”

“That sounds great! Bye Mom!” I hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen. Karlie was leaning against the counter.

            “Who was that?” Karlie asked, leaning her head to the side.

“It was my mom!” I exclaimed, walking towards her.

“Cool! What did she say?” She said, smiling at me.

“Well, she said that she wanted me to go to their place in LA after the tour is over, so that we can have dinner and celebrate the last two years of Red!” I said. “And, she wants me to bring you!” I raised my eyebrows in excitement, hoping that Karlie would share my enthusiasm. When she frowned, I started to get nervous.

“Yeah, that sounds like it’ll be fun.” Karlie said flatly.

“What’s wrong? Do you not want to meet my parents?” I asked.

“No, Taylor, that’s not it at all!” She said, raising her hands to my shoulders. “I want to—I really do, I’m just kind of freaking out right now. I don’t do well with meeting parents.” She let out a nervous laugh.

“Karlie, you don’t have anything to be afraid of,” I stated. “They want to meet you. They’re so excited for you to come down with me. When I told my parents about us, my Mom almost cried because she knew that I would finally be happy for once.” I clarified. She let out a sigh of relief and I started to relax a little. Then, Karlie leaned closer to me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Really? That’s so sweet,” Karlie gushed, her cheeks turning red. “I’m sorry for being a little worried. It’s just that when I met Josh’s parents they never liked me, and they made sure that I knew it. They thought I was only with him for his money, even though I had told them countless times that I had my own career to worry about.” She glanced down at her feet, and shifted uncomfortably.

“Okay, first of all,” I started. “My parents are not Josh’s parents. Second of all, my parents already know that you’re not with me for my money, because you are one of the most successful models in the world right now! And finally, they know that I am completely head-over-heels in love with you, so they already love you, and they haven’t even met you yet.” I pressed my hands to her cheeks and lowered my head so that we were looking eye-to-eye. Her green eyes sparkled and she smiled a crooked smile.

“Alright,” She said softly. “Then I can’t wait to meet your parents. How soon can we go?”