July 13, 2014
"Yes, honey, you didn't think I knew that?"
Taylor's mind goes blank as her mouth drops. The last thing she ever expected to happen was feeling as though she is the one caught off guard in this situation. Time feels as though it has stopped, staring at her mother's easy smile, her sparkling and mildly surprised eyes.
"Didn't you think I knew?" Andrea asks, now directing her question to Karlie.
Taylor turns to the girl beside her for the first time since grabbing her hand, and sees that Karlie's expression is quite similar to her own with wide eyes and a dropped jaw, but with hints of a smile, cheeks pink.
"I... Not really," Karlie says slowly.
"I thought you did," Andrea says, shrugging her shoulders.
"'Not really'?" Taylor asks, furrowing her brow with a smile.
Karlie shrugs her shoulders and smiles at the singer. "I don't know. Sometimes I just thought...it wasn't enough to mention."
"How did you know, then?!" Taylor asks of her mother now, beginning to feel an overwhelming sense of relief. She knows.
"You don't think I can tell when my daughter is seeing someone, after close to a decade since you started dating for the first time?" Andrea asks, rolling her eyes. "If you wanted to keep it such a secret I don't know why you invited Karlie over your apartment in June. It was obvious."
Taylor's eyes widen. "We weren't dating then," Taylor says quietly, thinking back to that dinner.
"Oh, yes you were," Andrea replies knowingly.
"Do Dad and Austin.."
"I haven't mentioned anything," Andrea says as Taylor's voice wanders off.
"Oh," Taylor replies. She glances back and forth from Karlie to her mother, unsure of just what to say next.
"So you guys are doing well?" Andrea asks.
Taylor can't help but have a smile as big as can be on her face when she gives the simple answer, "Yes." Karlie squeezes her hand even harder than she has been already.
Just then the plane begins to shake, signaling Scott and Austin Swifts' footsteps getting nearer. When they arrive in the passenger area of the private jet, Scott doesn't even glance in Taylor and Karlie's direction as he sits beside Andrea, sitting opposite Taylor and Karlie.
"I'll sit alone, it's fine," Austin say sarcastically, sitting out on a couch to their sides.
Taylor looks over at him and sees he had been quickly looking at Taylor and Karlie's intertwined hands before making eye contact with the singer.
The same nervousness that she had been feeling all weekend has returned as Scott and Austin now sit in the plane, but now both Karlie and Andrea are staring at her in anticipation. Karlie gives her hand a quick and reassuring pulse, and with a final deep breath says, "Karlie is my girlfriend. We're dating."
A pin drop could be heard in the plane as a thick silence settles over the group. Taylor bites at her bottom lip, thankful as ever for Karlie's strength as her squeezing hand keeps her grounded. She's staring at her father, but quickly turns her head when hearing a loud groan from Austin.
Her breathing becomes shallow, seeing Austin cover his face with his hands as he groans. The last thing she could have ever expected was a disapproving brother, she had been so convinced that her family would be supportive. Does he have to do this now? In front of Karlie?
"What Austin?" Taylor snaps, surprised to hear her voice sound so strong, protective even. As fearful as a moment this is for her, the chance of Karlie being hurt by someone in her own family caused a stirring inside of her like no other.
"All that stuff I've been saying about her to mess with you," Austin groans, still keeping his face covered as he then collapses on his side on the couch. "This is so weird. How could you let me do that?"
Taylor bites back laughter at Austin's horror, as he pieces together why Taylor seemed to have had such a fiery temper when it came to Karlie in the past few months.
"What stuff?" Karlie asks, her eyes green alight with excitement, finally sitting in front of Taylor's family as her girlfriend.
"NOTHING!" Austin yells quickly. "Nothing," he repeats.
"Nothing," Taylor agrees, smiling at her girlfriend as her green eyes narrow playfully.
"You two are dating?" Scott says, pointing back and forth between the girls sitting across from him. They each turn their attention back to Taylor's father, as the singer nods her head. He sits back, obviously and rightfully surprised. "Wow. I never would have seen that coming," Scott says.
"Believe me, I didn't either," Taylor says with a small grin, taking a turn to give Karlie's hand a pulse now, still as surprised and thankful as ever to even have a chance to hold the model's hand after everything.
"Well, that's good! Really great! How did this happen?" Scott asks, smiling.
"Well..." Taylor begins, looking at Karlie, wondering just how she could possibly ever come up with an explanation as to why this beautiful woman was sitting beside her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moment Taylor and Karlie say their goodbyes to the Swift family at the end of a very eventful and entertaining plane ride to Nashville, is the moment Karlie finally gives Taylor a well earned kiss.
"Even I was shocked when you just dropped it like that to your mom!" Karlie exclaims, squeezing Taylor in a tight enough hug that even the model's arms hurt. "I was scared!"
"You were scared?!" Taylor laughs, sounding delirious with relief.
"I wasn't prepared for that!" Karlie says, pulling apart from their hug. "Are you happy with everything?" Karlie asks her, sounding a bit more calm.
"Of course I am!" Taylor insists. "I can't explain how I feel, now that they finally know. It just feels so amazing. Freeing," Taylor says.
Karlie smiles at hearing Taylor feel so at peace with the outcome. "So do I get to hear about what Austin was saying about me?" Karlie asks, poking Taylor's shoulder.
"No, I'll let him keep a bit of dignity," Taylor says.
Karlie's eyebrows shoot up, as her mind runs wild with what exactly Austin could have been saying about her. "Oh, jeez," she laughs sheepishly.
As the plane once more begins to take off, now bringing the girls back to their homes in New York City, they settle in beside each other much closer than they were when sitting with family, as they decide upon a movie to watch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karlie is staring at the TV screen, but has been feeling Taylor's stare on her for the past couple of minutes.
"What is it?" Karlie asks, finally unable to resist the urge to turn and meet Taylor's stare. However, she is stunned at being met with so tender, yet intense, of a stare of soft blue eyes, with Taylor's red lips slightly parted in a slight smile. She feels her cheeks redden, never having someone look at her quite like this before.
"Nothing," Taylor smiles, shaking her head looking back at the screen.
Karlie is confused, but smiles as she pays her attention back to the movie as well. She pulls Taylor in a little tighter to her, feeling lucky as ever to have her arm around the girl beside her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm only going to eat these because today is a special occasion," Karlie says, as she places a tray of brownies into the oven.
Taylor had sat on the counter watching Karlie mill about Taylor's own kitchen as she made the singer and her some brownies, insisting that Taylor didn't help at all.
"I honestly have never made brownies without buying a bag of mix, which is pretty bad," Taylor replies.
Karlie shrugs her shoulders, "I think the boxes with brownie mix aren't too much different. It isn't like cookies. Homemade cookies have no competition."
"So you don't have a recipe for vegan brownies yet?" Taylor asks, watching the model study the spoon with brownie batter, obviously debating to indulge just yet.
"No, I do. But those are disgusting," Karlie says laughing. "I will just go to the gym for, like, an extra three hours tomorrow," Karlie says as she begins to lick the spoon.
Taylor bites the inside of her cheek as she watches Karlie. She is effortless in her beauty, green eyes roaming the kitchen as she crosses her arms, keeping the spoon by her mouth. "You know what you need for this apartment? To finally make it complete?" Karlie asks, as she slides up onto the counter and sits beside Taylor, shoulders bumping.
"What?" Taylor asks, taking the spoon Karlie hands her as the model opts to now have the bowl on her lap and use a finger to collect extra batter.
"A dog," Karlie says with a smile, popping her finger into her mouth.
"Yeah, right," Taylor scoffs, doing her best to not seem so distracted by Karlie sucking on her finger, but Karlie flashes her a knowing smile as she takes the finger out of her mouth.
"Maybe when Olivia is a little older. She has enough trouble walking around as it is right now, she doesn't need a goofy puppy trying to play with her," Karlie comments, sounding as though she has thought this all through.
"No thanks," Taylor says.
Karlie smiles playfully. "Well, if you're not going to use this," Karlie says, taking the spoon back from Taylor to use to scrape at the bowl.
Once more, Taylor is just content to watch her and all her mannerism and characteristics. Everything that made Karlie who she is is everything that made Taylor happy. She's perfect. I'm so in love with her. At having made this realization the previous night, she could feel herself falling more and more in love with the model, and wholeheartedly embracing it. Is it possible to be in love with the shape of someone's eyes? Or the perfect crookedness of someone's teeth? Their delicate fingers?
"This is the most important part of baking you know," Karlie says, holding the spoon close to Taylor's mouth, not giving her much of a choice but to lick some of the batter off the spoon after rolling her eyes at her girlfriend.
"You say 'important' differently," Taylor comments, wiping at the corner of her mouth once Karlie takes the spoon back for herself.
"I do?" Karlie asks.
"You say a lot of things differently actually," Taylor says. "I didn't notice Kimby or Kariann say things strange."
"Are you saying I need to go to speech therapy?" Karlie asks, cocking her eyebrows as her green eyes shine.
"No, it's just interesting. I like it," Taylor says with a smile.
"Oh yeah, you get to date someone with an accent but what do I get? What happened to your southern accent?" Karlie asks, squinting her eyes.
"I don't know, it just went away as I travelled," Taylor shrugs her shoulders.
"You faked it," Karlie says decidedly, hopping off the counter with a teasing smile, putting the dirty bowl into the sink.
"I did not!" Taylor insists.
"Liar!" Karlie says, standing in between Taylor's legs now.
"I am not!" Taylor argues, trying not to smile as she wraps her arms around Karlie's neck.
"It's okay, your secret is safe with me. You can tell me. I won't tell anyone except for TMZ," Karlie says. Taylor can tell just how hard Karlie is trying to keep a smile from her face, but she is failing miserably as she plays along. She's absolute sunshine.
"Oh, that's the big story you're going to leak to TMZ? You can't come up with anything else?" Taylor asks, tightening her arms around Karlie to pull her a little closer.
"Is there something else I'm forgetting? Is there a story I can leak for more money?" Karlie asks sounding very serious.
"Oh, shut up," Taylor says, pulling Karlie even closer to meet her lips in a kiss. Karlie laughs into the kiss and the vibration of it against Taylor's lips makes her never want to let this moment pass them by.
When they separate from the kiss they keep their foreheads pressed against each other. "Why did I even like you before you had blonde hair?" Taylor asks, twirling a lock of the model's hit around her finger.
Karlie's eyes widen and mouth drops, acting as though she is very offended, but even then a smile somehow makes an appearance.
"Can you go three seconds without smiling?" Taylor asks, pinching at one of the model's defined cheeks. All of a sudden Karlie's face becomes very serious, and even the light that comes from her green eyes darken, and she's face to face with the sultry supermodel, her face almost unrecognizable. "Okay! Stop, I don't like that! It's weird!" Taylor laughs, lightly slapping at the same cheek.
Karlie laughs, "What do you mean?"
"You're intimidating!" Taylor says.
They laugh back and forth, often adding kisses in between. An afternoon has never passed by so easily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I wish I had a really big couch like this," Karlie says absentmindedly.
"Just get one," Taylor says, eyes closed, just enjoying Karlie's presence as they lay naked cuddled under a blanket. This is so easy, I love her so much.
"You have this nice big living room though, I don't think I have a room big enough for a couch this wide," Karlie replies. "Jeez, I practically live here now anyway," Karlie laughs, reaching for a brownie on the table. "Don't let me fall," Karlie says, leaning far off the couch.
"Oh my god, how can you even reach that?" Taylor asks, gripping Karlie's waist tightly laughing. But her mind is racing, Karlie practically does live here now. Is this too fast?
"Wingspan, baby," Karlie says proudly, returning with a brownie in hand. "I have to tell you something," Karlie says, suddenly very serious.
"What?" Taylor asks uneasy.
"I never thought I would say this. But I now think that I like sex more than brownies," Karlie says, taking a bite out of her brownie happily.
"You're so dumb," Taylor laughs softly, leaning her forehead against Karlie's shoulder.
I can't lose her. She's so different than anyone else I've dated, I don't know what I'd do if I lost her too. Am I moving too fast with her too?
All of her past relationships have never far exceeded the two month mark, but the amount of emotion she felt in each two month relationship were so plentiful that many would be shocked. Looking back on it now as a twenty four year old, she realizes now it may be because she dove into things headfirst, and continued to move too quickly.
I need to do everything right with her.
All day, 'I love you' had been on the tip of Taylor's tongue. Each easy laugh that Karlie managed to elicit from her made her want to say it more, and every smile Karlie flashed her way made it seem impossible to keep those three words inside. But was it too soon to say it Karlie? Sure, their relationship has been complicated since March, but they've barely been officially dating for two weeks. A little over two weeks ago Karlie was doing her best to fall back in love with Josh. And now, here they were practically living together.
Am I making all my same usual mistakes?
"What's your schedule for tomorrow?" Karlie asks, breaking a piece of the brownie off and holding it to Taylor's lips.
"Recording studio in the morning. And I'm meeting with Tree in the early evening, but she thinks it's just so she can match up my musical schedule with my press schedule. I should probably call her tonight and give her a bit of a warning," Taylor mumbles.
"Want to do lunch?" Karlie asks. "You can come by my apartment if you want, I can make you something."
"Okay," Taylor smiles. However, Taylor becomes uneasy once Karlie once more settles in beside her on the couch, as the evening surely turns into night. "Karlie?"
"Mhm," Karlie answers, rubbing her thumb back and forth on Taylor's arm.
"Do you think you should stay over?" Taylor asks, hating to bring this up, as she knows herself just how comfortable and natural this all feels.
Karlie lifts her head up. "I freaked you out, didn't I? I knew I shouldn't have said I practically live here," Karlie says.
"No! No, I'm not freaked out," Taylor assures her, cupping the model's face in her hand. "And I even want you to stay over, but do you think you should?"
"I don't think it's that deep," Karlie replies, shrugging her shoulders. "I just like spending nights with you, there's nothing else to it."
"I like sleeping with you, too," Taylor replies shyly. It is heartwarming that Karlie appreciates such a simple luxury as well.
"Don't kick me out tonight, today was special," Karlie says, laying her head back down against the shared couch pillow.
"I'm not kicking you out!" Taylor insists. "Don't say that."
"I know you're not, I'm just teasing you. I'll sleep in my apartment the next couple of nights," Karlie replies.
"But do you think you should?" Taylor asks.
Karlie is quiet as Taylor meets her probing stare. "I think that you think I should, so I will."
"But do you think you should?" Taylor asks again.
"It doesn't matter what I think, because you think I should," Karlie answers easily.
"How does it not matter what you think?"
"Because, if one of us isn't okay with something then it shouldn't matter. We both need to be comfortable with everything at all times," Karlie replies.
I'm in love with you. "Okay. So you're not going to tell me what you think anyway?" Taylor asks, smiling.
"Nope," Karlie replies with a sweet smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I need to call Tree," Taylor says finally.
"Isn't it too late? You put it off too long," Karlie replies.
"It's only 9. Besides, when she sees a phone call from me at 9 she's going to know it's important," Taylor replies. "I'll be right back," Taylor sighs, sitting up from the couch they've been lounging on for hours now, wrapping a blanket around her.
"You get to take my blanket?" Karlie asks, kissing Taylor's hand as she goes.
"Yes I do," Taylor smiles, making her way to the kitchen.
She sits down on her favorite kitchen stool set up next to her granite topped island. She bites down on her bottom lip, the familiar nervousness that comes along with telling people of her and Karlie filling her back up again once more. She is beginning to hate the shakiness of her hands, the shallowness of her breathing, and the racing heartbeat that comes along with it. Just as she rubs her now clammy hands along the blanket, she recalls something that did make this entire process considerably easier last time.
She stands up and returns to the couch Karlie waits for her on. She sits down on the couch, her back tense, still nervous.
"Why didn't you call?" Karlie asks, sitting up now too.
Taylor wordlessly holds her hand out, requesting Karlie take ahold of it.
"Aw, Taylor," Karlie smiles softly, grabbing the singer's hand and squeezing it just as strongly as she did on the plane earlier that day. "You can do it," Karlie assures her, quickly giving her a kiss on the cheek before pulling at the blanket to share it once more.
Taylor nods her head and calls Tree before she can second guess herself.
"What's up?" Tree answers, knowing that Taylor has something important to say.
Tree doesn't beat around the bush. Karlie lightly leans her lips against Taylor's shoulder, adding her other hand on top of Taylor's now, totally encasing her hand in strength.
"Well, I'm dating someone," Taylor replies.
"Not Kenny Sanders right?" Tree asks.
"No, not Kenny Sanders," Taylor replies, almost wishing she could laugh.
"I was just joking with you. Okay, who is it? There haven't been any other rumors you'll be happy to hear," Tree replies.
Taylor glances beside her, at Karlie's green eyes looking up at her. She gives her an encouraging smile, her mouth still near Taylor's shoulder. With an additional squeeze of the hand, Taylor manages to admit, "Karlie Kloss."
Tree pauses only for a second before saying, "Okay sounds good. I guess we'll talk more about this tomorrow?"
"That's what I was thinking," Taylor replies.
They exchange goodbyes and just like that the phone call is over.
"That was easy," Karlie comments. "I thought she was the one I had to be scared of."
"You don't have to be scared of anyone. She works to protect me," Taylor replies. "We'll see what she has to say."
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June 14, 2014 http://tswiftdaily.com/tagged/july+14+2014/
"You've got to be kidding me," Taylor says as Karlie stops short from walking out of the bathroom.
Karlie laughs as she takes in Taylor's appearance. "Well, I'm not changing. Even though I keep leaving more and more clothes here, I have less of a wardrobe to choose from. And I'm already late, so come here," Karlie says quickly, walking over to Taylor and pulling her in for a kiss. "So you'll come by when you're done in the studio?" Karlie asks wrapping her arms around Taylor's waist.
"Yeah, I'll call you when—"
"What is this?!" Karlie interrupts, spinning Taylor around. "A backless shirt?" Karlie asks, rubbing her fingertip along the dip of Taylor's spine as Taylor turns back around, her cheeks reddening.
"I thought you were late?" Taylor asks, rolling her eyes.
"I am late. You're basically wearing the same exact thing as me but with much less fabric and I really appreciate that," Karlie says with a sly smile.
"Go to the gym," Taylor says, giving the model one more kiss before moving away.
"I could skip it," Karlie says, running her hands firmly down the entirety of the front of Taylor's shirt, slowly dragging her hands over her breasts and pressing against her flat stomach.
"Well, I'm not skipping studio time but I'm sure Mere and Olivia will appreciate the company," Taylor replies, walking towards the bathroom for her turn now in there now.
"Are you going to straighten your hair and everything?" Karlie asks, grabbing Taylor's wrist before she can get too far.
"Well, yeah, I haven't even brushed my hair yet," Taylor replies.
Karlie loved mornings with Taylor, when she got a glimpse of the blonde's natural curls making a return after a night of sleep. "I like the curls," Karlie says simply, bouncing a lock of her hair.
"Are you telling me how to do my hair now?" Taylor asks, cocking an eyebrow but smiling.
"Why do you tell me I need to cover my neck in foundation but you get to flaunt that cut around?" Karlie asks, zeroing in on Taylor's calf as she begins walking towards the bathroom once more.
"Those marks will be gone tomorrow, don't be dramatic," Taylor says, closing the bathroom door behind her.
"So, you're completely positive then that you're not going to skip work today?" Karlie calls out.
The bathroom door opens, showing an only mildly amused Taylor. "Babe?" Taylor says, pausing as Karlie nods her head. "Go to work. You're always late," Taylor finishes, closing the bathroom door once more.
"I'll see you later!" Karlie laughs.
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Karlie is breathing heavy when she returns to the locker room, her body slick with sweat. She pushed herself harder than she usually would on a Monday morning, but she also ate more brownies than she usually would on a Sunday.
She's glad that the rest of the day is hers though. Maybe I can sneak a nap in before lunch with Taylor.
She smiles when opening her locker and seeing a text from Taylor.
You don't have work tonight right? Tree asked if you could come to the meeting today.
Hmm.
Karlie dials up Taylor. On the last ring, Taylor answers, sounding far away.
"Yeah, hold on, sorry I just need to take this!" Taylor says to a voice in the background. Karlie is quiet until she gets the okay. "Hey sorry, I'm just recording with Jack today. Did you just see my text?" Taylor asks.
"Yeah. I'm free all day, what time is it at? And what's the deal?" Karlie asks, sitting on the bench against the lockers, breathing a sigh of relief when she realizes just how badly she was craving to sit.
"Um...5:30," Taylor replies. "And she called me right after you left, just asking if this was something I wanted to hide right now. I said yes, and then she asked if you could come too. I'm assuming she's just going to talk about what we need to do to hide this."
"Okay, sounds good. You're okay?" Karlie asks.
"I mean, I'm nervous, but you're going to be there," Taylor replies.
Karlie smiles, and feels a bit like an idiot as she sits in an empty locker room feeling so happy. "Okay, well, then I guess I'll see you later?"
"I'll call you when I'm done here and on my way over," Taylor replies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taylor finishes up in the studio far sooner than she had expected too, the song just coming together so perfectly and naturally that it didn't even need hours of studio time to work on it. She named it, "You Are In Love" and luckily for her Jack didn't ask any questions. There were some changes in pronouns along the way, but Taylor didn't feel as though it lost its magic to her.
Late morning, and Taylor is sure it is too soon to go over to Karlie's apartment for lunch just yet. She couldn't be clingy. But going back to her own apartment didn't seem all that appealing either, as she knows she will sit in there obsessing over the meeting with Tree.
Taylor had been caught off guard when Tree asked to meet with Karlie as well. Taylor knew Tree was definitely earning her money with the relationship Taylor has just dropped on her lap, that's for sure, and she knew Tree was amazing at her job. That might also mean that this meeting wasn't going to be all too enjoyable, for Taylor's own good of course. But will Karlie understand that?
I warned her that she wouldn't want any part of this craziness, but she's still here. Hopefully this won't be too much for her.
Taylor stuffs her hand in her pocket and grips the chain tightly in her fist. She wanted to wear the necklace Karlie bought her today, but she knew it wouldn't be long before her necklace was matched up to Karlie's own, so what's the harm in delaying that for a day?
Besides, she liked the necklace being in her pocket to hold on to, her little secret. She didn't let go of it once when recording vocals in the studio today.
Maybe I can find something to buy Karlie, I definitely owe her.
With a destination in mind, Taylor sets off for a store not too far from Karlie's apartment to kill time and to hopefully keep her mind off of the upcoming meeting with Tree.
As she pushes clothing along the rack, she can't help but laugh a bit to herself as she hears paparazzi cameras click and flash outside beyond the window, capturing her shopping for her girlfriend without them even realizing it. When's the last time I laughed about paparazzi?
She moves to accessories and doesn't see anything that really looks like it is meant for Karlie. I need to really step my game up. Olivia, a necklace, and I still like the cat stickers on my phone more than any case I could buy.
Taylor sighs, but feels completely content. For the first time, she was in a relationship where she as the one being completely outdone in romantic and caring gestures. I'm in love with her.
With that thought in mind, she can't help but laugh a bit once more as she leaves the store and is photographed by the waiting paparazzi. How ironic is it that they're capturing a headline story with pictures but are completely unaware of it?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taylor hangs up the phone when Karlie hasn't answered once more, just as they slowly near her street, fighting through New York City traffic.
She told me to come over for lunch, those were our plans. Maybe she doesn't want to go over? We really have been spending so much time together. I keep rushing everything.
When the Lincoln pulls to a stop in front of Karlie's flower covered gate, Taylor finds herself debating what to do. Her biggest fear is rushing this relationship only to taint what they have. She wants, no needs, to do everything right in this relationship. Losing Karlie can't be an option.
Just when she thinks maybe she shouldn't go in since she hasn't heard from Karlie since this morning and she said to call her, she thinks about the meeting they have today with Tree. She has a feeling they will be placed with a lot more restrictions than ever before, especially with how often they can be seen together in public. I need to take her out to lunch today in case I'm not allowed to do that anymore.
"I'll be right back, we will come right out," Taylor says to her security before hopping out of the car. She's shocked when she hears cameras flash. She turns her head and spots a lone photographer, lingering about fifty feet away from Karlie's gate.
"Taylor! How are you doing today?!" He calls out.
Taylor quickly turns her back and heads towards the safety of Karlie's gate. How did he know I was coming here? If he knew I was coming here why aren't there more?
She walks through the gate and goes right to Karlie's front door, but pauses for a second with the Saint Louis apartment key the model had given her in hand. Is this too much? Am I allowed to just go in? She slides the key into her pocket, the one shielding her necklace from the world, and lightly knocks on the door. When she gets no response, she knocks a bit louder, hating just how much she is overthinking this.
"Come in!" Taylor hears Karlie's muffled voice through the door.
With the invitation, Taylor takes the key out of her pocket once more and lets herself inside, smiling when she immediately spots Karlie lying on her couch, obviously just awakening from a nap.
"I gave you a key so you don't wake me up from my naps," Karlie says, pulling her blanket right up to her chin before stretching her arms and yawning.
Taylor laughs as she walks over and straddles Karlie on the couch. "Well, I'm taking you out to lunch," Taylor says.
"I'm not cooking you lunch anymore?" Karlie asks, one hand immediately finding the exposed flesh of Taylor's back, her other hand gently rubbing Taylor's thigh.
"You're already late," Taylor says simply.
"Yeah, yeah. Have you been going to the gym?" Karlie asks, both hands gripping Taylor's thighs now.
"No, but living on the top floor of my building with a broken elevator is finally turning into something positive," Taylor laughs. "I want to start going, though."
"Come with me," Karlie replies.
"To your gym?" Taylor asks, sounding surprised.
"Yeah, why not? Scared after last time?" Karlie asks with a smile.
Ignoring the quip about how strenuous of a work out she received when she went to the gym with Karlie last, Taylor replies, "Isn't that, like, your thing though? You'd want me to go to the gym with you?"
Karlie shrugs her shoulders. "Sure, it could be fun, going together."
"I just don't want you to feel like we spend too much time together," Taylor replies.
"Where is all this coming from? Don't think that I forgot that I've been kicked out of your apartment for the night tonight," Karlie says.
"Don't say that, I didn't kick you out," Taylor replies. "I just...don't want you to think we are going, like, too fast too serious all of a sudden."
"Taylor, we are a lot of things, but I think moving too quickly is not one of them. It took us months to get here," Karlie says with a smile. "Don't worry about me. I'll get you a place at the gym." Karlie sits up and gives Taylor a quick peck on the lips. "Now get off of me so I can get ready to go," Karlie says.
I'm in love with her. Taylor smiles as she watches Karlie go stand in front of a mirror, surprised as ever to finally be at this place with Karlie. The model tames hair that didn't need fixing, and ties it up in her usual bun. Taylor just hopes that she will have plenty of opportunities to see Karlie get ready to go out with her just like this, but she has to wonder if Tree will have different plans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the car, Taylor says to Karlie, "I'm sorry that photographer was out there. I have no idea how he knew I was coming here. I went shopping nearby, maybe he just took a lucky guess."
"Oh, him? He's been one of the photographers who have been hanging out here for the last couple of weeks. He's probably shocked he got a picture of you," Karlie replies, pulling on her seat belt.
"Wait, what?" Taylor says, sounding very serious.
Karlie looks up and sees a worried Taylor. "What is it? It's alright, who cares if you were at my apartment before going out to lunch?"
"No, did you say you have paparazzi waiting for you at your house?" Taylor asks.
"Oh, yeah. It's a new thing, it's okay. It's not a big deal," Karlie says.
Taylor groans. "I'm sorry, Karlie. I knew this was going to happen. You shouldn't have to deal with that. It's because of me," Taylor says.
"Taylor! That's not your fault! I've had paparazzi before just when I've gone shopping and stuff. It's not too different having them by my house," Karlie insists. "Don't worry about me. You're always worrying about me. I told you I can handle everything."
"I just don't want you to need to get security like me. Or stop doing things because of them. They wouldn't be following you as much if we hung out less," Taylor replies, sounding sad.
"It's never more than a couple of guys! It isn't a big deal. And hanging out less just isn't an option for me," Karlie says with a smile at the end, kissing Taylor's cheek. "Relax."
Taylor gives her a small smile, but Karlie knows it's forced.
To make things worse, pulling up to the restaurant Karlie has chosen prompts multiple photographers to jump out of cars that were trailing their Lincoln, completely unknown to the girls.
"Shit," Taylor mumbles, as her security exists the vehicle first to insure that they have an easy path to walk. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry! This isn't your fault," Karlie insists, holding Taylor's hand for as long as she can before having to act as nothing more than friends when exiting the vehicle.
"Even more will be out here when we are finished eating," Taylor replies, and there is a quiet anger in her voice. "I hate them sometimes."
"I can handle it. If you don't want to deal with it we don't have to, but don't worry about me," Karlie says.
"I want to take you out to lunch," Taylor replies, sounding quietly stubborn, her blue eyes looking at her intensely.
"Okay," Karlie says with a smile. "What's been with you? You've been staring at me, just about drilling a hole into my head," Karlie asks with a laugh.
"Nothing," Taylor says with a small smile as she glances away.
"I'll figure it out eventually," Karlie replies, poking Taylor's side. They then get the okay to exit the vehicle, which Karlie only does after giving Taylor a final kiss on her forehead.
They get out and walk quickly towards the restaurant, and Karlie somehow is sure that if she were to turn back and look behind her Taylor would be carefully watching her. She's been looking at me so weird lately, especially when she doesn't think I notice.
When they enter the restaurant they opt for a booth in the back, the most private table at the place.
"Are you okay?" Karlie asks, once the hostess has left them, studying Taylor's face from across the table.
"I was going to ask you that," Taylor says with a small smile.
"I'm in front of a camera all day at work. I'm fine," Karlie says with a smile. She's surprised when she feels Taylor wrap her legs around one of Karlie's under the table. Although there is a table keeping their legs mostly covered, and they are in a secluded back corner, it is still a bold move for Taylor. Karlie smiles, wishing more than anything she could hold Taylor's hand across the table.
"Are you nervous for today?" Taylor asks.
"Meeting with your publicist? No, should I be?" Karlie asks.
Taylor smiles but she looks a bit sad. "You know everything is going to be a lot more...strict after I tell her, right?" Taylor asks.
"I just want to be with you," Karlie says, shrugging her shoulders. "As long as I get to be with you I can deal with everything else." Taylor smiles and it lights up her blue eyes, but there's something else in her stare. "See, you keep looking at me weird," Karlie says, pointing at Taylor.
"I'm not looking at you weird," Taylor says smiling, shaking her head and looking down as she begins flipping through the menu.
"Liar," Karlie says, but letting the topic drop as she does the same and grabs her menu.
They have a relaxing lunch, with a few laughs, but Karlie's favorite part of it were their hidden intertwined legs. She could sense Taylor's nervousness each time she tried bringing Tree up, and there was something about Taylor's stare that the model just couldn't quite place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The minute she said her goodbye to Karlie, dropping her off at her apartment for yet another nap, Taylor puts on her headphones and does her best to ignore the general feeling of anxiety that was beginning to settle in. Paparazzi were following Karlie around now, instead of accidentally running into her at some of the more elite Manhattan stores many celebrities shop in. They were seeking Karlie out, camping out by her home, and Taylor knew it was her fault. She was making Karlie Kloss's name more well known outside of the fashion world, and candid shots of her were beginning to become appealing. This is everything Taylor doesn't want for her girlfriend. She's always been envious of Karlie, being able to just take a walk around the city, completely unbothered, even taking the subway to her destinations.
She doesn't even understand what Tree does. Karlie thought she knew what to expect from this meeting, but Taylor didn't even know what to expect. She just hope it doesn't scare Karlie off. She doesn't want her to feel frustrated with the situation. Most of all, she hopes her 'I can handle it' attitude doesn't disappear, even though it certainly should.
Taylor closes her eyes and tries to focus on the unmixed versions of the songs she has recorded for 1989. Her part of the process was complete. The vocals were recorded, instruments and synth production complete, she would just need to meet with Max Martin for him to master and mix the songs to completion, so as to sound linked.
When in front of her apartment, she notices paparazzi waiting for her. Of course.
She feels sadness mixed with anger at their presence, now that she knows that they've also been following around Karlie.
She heads inside her apartment, wondering how she will spend her time as she waits for her girlfriend and publicist's arrival.