It was really late when we got to the lake house. I stirred as soon as the truck was in park. I was extremely surprised that Taylen didn't. I know she suffers from insomnia and doesn't sleep a lot. Carter carried her and Julie in while I got the bags.
The inside was nice. There was a big kitchen and living room as soon as you walked in the door. The staircase was in the back corner of the dining room. Upstairs there were 3 bedrooms. He laid Julie in one of the bedrooms and Taylen in another.
"In the morning, Peach planned for us to go hunting together. Check her alarm and make sure it's on, please."
I took Taylen's socks off, knowing that she hated sleeping in socks. She always freaked out if she woke up and she was wearing socks. Once I got her situated, I grabbed her phone and checked her alarm. Then I noticed something suspicious in her call log.
She had talked to Dylan for 1 hour and 45 minutes. I was instantly jealous. I closed the tab and put her phone on the charger. I didn't want her to know I knew.
I didn't get much sleep that night. Thoughts of losing her plagued my mind. I tried to convince myself that it meant nothing. That it was harmless. The poisonous thoughts kept coming.
Eventually, I wore myself out. I woke up to Taylen giving me butterfly kisses. Sleepily, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
"Good morning, Peter Grayson."
"Morning," I offered.
"Your mom packed your hunting gear. I heard Carter get up a few minutes ago," she said in a tired tone.
"Ok," I kissed her cheek and got up.
I looked through my bag and got out my heavy, camo getup. I enjoyed hunting but I hardly ever get to go because I've always got something to do. I'm excited to be going except it's with Carter and that might be awkward.
I finished getting ready and walked down the hall to the kitchen/living room area. Carter was making something.
"Morning sunshine," he said with a small smile.
He smiled at me! I've always heard the saying "it's the little things".
"Good morning," I replied, feeling optimistic for the first time in the last 12 hours.
Carter gave me a plate of fried eggs with cheese, "I don't know how to cook much else," he explained.
I told him that it was fine. We ate in silence, the only noise being forks scraping the plates. Once we finished, he put the dishes in the sink. We left after saying goodbye to our girls.
We had sat in the blind for probably an hour and a half without seeing anything.
"Carter, can I ask you a question?" I broke through the silence.
"You just did," he joked.
I laughed lightly but it was forced.
"Oh shit, you're being serious?"
I nodded.
"Ok, lay it on me," he sighed.
I took a deep breath. I had been fighting the urge to ask him all morning. Next to probably Jae and Dani, he knows Tay best.
"What do you know about Taylen and Dylan?"
"Umm, probably the same as you. She had a huge crush on him for like 2 years. Finally, he developed a crush on her. Dani got them together. It was in February of 2019. They dated all throughout the summer. He was really toxic to her though. He was extremely jealous and controlling. She's her own person and that person won't be controlled, especially by a man. Taylen ended their romantic relationship but they still are kinda friends. Why do you ask?"
I took a second to digest it all. It wasn't as dramatic as I expected.
"As I was checking on her alarm, I accidentally clicked the phone button. Dylan's name caught my eye. After that, I had to check to see how long it was. I promise I wasn't looking through her phone because I don't trust her. I found it by accident."
"Peter, you have to ask her about it. I believe that it was innocent but you need to be open and talk to her."
"What if she tells me something I don't want to hear?" I felt completely vulnerable at that moment but I couldn't bring myself to care.
"Then you let go."
I sighed at that answer.
"That would be so hard," I complained quietly.
"Pete, I've seen how much you care for her. I've been paying extremely close attention to you and your relationship with my sister. You like her a lot. You don't want to hurt her and some of the things you've been doing have been earning you my respect. I watched you take off her socks earlier, I've seen the way you look at her, I've noticed the way that subconsciously, you're always leaning toward her, Peter, I see it," he paused.
"I also see that it's not one sided. Peach cares about you deeply too. She's got a Pinterest board called "Peter" with a heart beside it, she schedules her life around yours, she memorizes every little detail of you, heck she even talks about you like you hung the moon. I hear her sometimes. She doesn't talk to me about you since I was such an asshole to you. By the way, I'm really sorry about that."
"I don't think that the phone call was anything for her. For him, that could be a different story. He's known to be possessive but if she's wanting to stay, she'll stay."
"Thank you, Carter."
"Eh, I've decided you're not so bad. I heard you with your brother last night. Now I know that you're not just trying to get into my sister's pants and you're not a bad kid. Besides, I've gotten my ass whipped because of you way too many times."
I laughed and so did he. I took into consideration what he had said. I was going to talk to her about it. We stayed out in the woods for several more hours. We continued making conversation and so we never did see anything.
Our girlfriends had cooked a nice lunch for us. I went to steal a piece of chicken and Tay smacked my hand. I gave her my best pout and she handed me a bite with a grin.
A few minutes as Carter and I were setting the table, there was a knock on the front door.
"Bubby, will you get that, please?" Taylen called.
"Sure thing," he replied as he went to get the door.
"Oh my God, hey guys!" Carter exclaimed once he saw who was at the door.
"Hey guys," Taylen said, walking into the living room.
"Hey Peach!" the shorter guy said to her and hugged her.
"Elias! How have you been?"
"Pretty good. Who's this?" Elias asked, gesturing to me.
"Eli, this is my boyfriend, Peter. Petey, this is Elias and his boyfriend, Samuel, and Elias' sister, Sage. They live in the area and I've known Eli and Sage for years."
"Very nice to meet you," I shook all of their hands.
"You too. Peach, you didn't tell me you had such eye candy," Eli whispered, smirking in my direction.
Samuel pinched his butt, "Behave," he said sternly.
"Ouch, Sammy. Sorry," Elias mumbled.
We walked into the kitchen where all the food Taylen and Julie made was on the table. I sat down beside Taylen and Sage sat beside her. Across from us was Eli and Samuel, Carter and Julie were sitting on opposite ends.
We had prayed over the food and had fallen into comfortable conversation.
"So not to be rude, but what happened to Dylan?" Elias asked.
So he met Dylan, great!
"Long story short, he was toxic," she replied with a smile.
"How so?"
"Elias Matthew, stop being rude," Samuel whispered in Eli's ear, but we all heard.
"Fuck off, I'm just asking Taylen questions," Eli snapped back.
"Ok, you're done. You're getting a spanking when we get home," Samuel slapped his thigh and spoke sternly.
Elias' cheeks pinked and he looked at his plate. My eyes widened and I looked to Taylen for an explanation. That was the second time Sam had scolded Eli and he promised to spank him. It was kind of weird to me, though, nobody else seemed bothered.
Samuel seemed to see my expression because his next words were, "Ah, you didn't tell him."
He had directed them at Taylen and his words made me even more confused. What hadn't she told me?
"Wasn't my place to tell," she said with a slight smile.
"I appreciate it. I'll tell him. Peter, Eli and I are in a special kind of relationship," he began explaining, "He is my submissive/little and I'm his dominant/caretaker."
I couldn't leave the shock off my face. I shared a glance with Tay. It said 'what the hell'.
"Ok, I see you're still confused. I care for Elias, almost like a parent might. I love him, take care of his needs, and when necessary, I punish him."
I mouthed the word ok. I was kind of getting it.
Elias was squirming around in embarrassment. Samuel rubbed his back. We resumed eating and lightly conversed.
The visitors left around 6. I was helping Tay clean up when she asked, "What did ya think?"
"They're really nice," I commented.
"Yeah."
"I was a little confused by their relationship but overall I liked them."
"I'm glad. They're my best friends outside of hoe squad."
I nodded and kissed her cheek.
"I was thinking we could do a movie night tonight, what do ya say?" she asked.
"I think that sounds wonderful."
We popped popcorn and made hot chocolate. Julie and Carter picked out the movie and got the screen ready. I carefully carried the four mugs into the living room and Taylen brought the two bowls of popcorn. Julie had picked for us to watch the other Cinderella movies. They weren't the Disney princess ones but the ones with Selena Gomez, Lucy Hale, and Hillary Duff as their main characters.
We had already watched the singing one so Carter chose that we watch the dancing one. We finished it and began the one with prom. During that one, Taylen and I were in my favorite position for us to be in. My head was on her chest, her legs wrapped around mine, her hands running through my hair. Julie was asleep on an also sleeping Carter. I was close but I didn't want to crush my girlfriend. I reluctantly sat up and Tay got that mischievous glint in her eye.
"Wanna go make cookies?" she asked with a smirk.
She stood up. She had changed a while ago into tiny black shorts and one of my shirts. It was too long and it looked like a dress on her but I'd willingly say it was doing things for me.
"Yes."
She grabbed my hand and we ran to the kitchen. Why we ran, I don't know. She handed me her phone to play music. I went to her playlist and chose a song. Not being able to resist, I went to the call log before setting it down. The call was still there but there weren't any more with Dylan.
I sat her phone down and walked over to where she stood to ask what she needed help with. She let me measure and pour the sugar and flour. She made butter, salt, and vanilla. Normally, she wouldn't let me touch the bowl.
We danced around the kitchen while the cookies baked. The flour was still on the counter and I got an idea. The next circle we spun, I grabbed a handful and threw it at Taylen. Her jaw dropped and she retaliated with a handful of flour of her own. I tried to grab her but she stepped out of the way and threw more flour at me. We were laughing and covering each other in ingredients. She grabbed the back of my neck and brought my lips to hers. Then she cracked an egg on my head.
"What in the world is going on here?" Carter asked sleepily.
Taylen looked at me and we both began laugh-crying. Carter stood in the doorway for a moment longer before saying, "Whatever, I'm going to bed. Clean this mess up."
"Goodnight," Tay called cheekily.
He rolled his eyes and walked off. Tay kissed me again and tried to help me clean the egg off my head. I needed a shower. I helped her sweep up the flour and the cookies were done. We waited a few minutes and ate some of our delicious chocolate chip cookies.
Once the oven was off and the floor was swept, we made our way back to our room. It was the master bedroom and the bathroom attached had a big shower.
"You brought your swimsuit right?" I asked.
"Yeah?"
"Wanna shower with me?" I said with a smirk.
"Sure," she walked over to her bag and got it out, "Wait until I put it on."
She closed the bathroom door and I stripped to my boxers. Nothing she hadn't already seen and I'm pretty sure that the swim trunks Mom packed me were too tight.
The bathroom door opened and Taylen peaked out.
"I'm ready."
Her hair that was previously in a bun now hung down in slight curls. She hadn't worn makeup all day but her skin was glowing.
I walked slowly toward her. Our eyes raked over each other's nearly naked bodies. Her bikini was well designed with embroidery around the edges. It was a pink color and teased her curves.
I stepped closer until our fronts were almost touching. With a steady but gentle hand I moved her hair off her left shoulder then I placed my hands on her waist. Without taking my eyes off hers, I placed my lips on her lips, then on her jaw. I began kissing and sucking a trail to the top of her breast. She shivered and brought one hand to my hair and the other to my stomach. When I figured out how much she loved my abs, I began to do more workouts to keep them defined.
Her soft hand caressed my belly as I kissed her neck. I lightly sucked on the spot that seemed to be her sweet spot. I blew on the bruise and moved to her lips.
Finally we drew away from each other.
"Woah, okay."
A/N: so I got brave with this chapter (in some ways), and I decided to post it the second I was done so maybe I wouldn't change my mind. It's not throughly edited so if you see something major, PLEASE point it out. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and Happy Friday. If you go shopping today, may the deals be with you.😉
-Taylar