September 24th 2023
Kansas City, Missouri
A flight had been ordered and there she was. Sat in the back of a blacked out car at Morristown Airport in New Jersey waiting to board a flight to the midwest. But not just anywhere in the midwest... Kansas City.
The flight had been an early morning one. 7:30am and she was boarding her private jet, the smaller one, and was bound for Kansas City, Missouri. Travis had invited her to one of his games at dinner a couple of weeks ago in New York City. It had been at Nobu in the private dining room, that way nobody knew who was in there or where they were. They had been a couple now for just over a month but this would be the first time people saw them in person together since her concert in July and Travis' sweet podcast mention but they had agreed to keep things casual. They would walk together and be in the same room but wouldn't engage in any sort of physical contact. That had been how she had convinced Tree it was a good idea. She hadn't fully finished vetting Travis and formatting a plan for damage control for when they launched the relationship. But she had agreed it was for the best. Taylor had been worried that if they carried on hiding or sneaking around any longer, somebody would eventually see them and the press would have a field day. It was better for it to come from them, and she felt she owed her fans that.
Taylor pulled out her phone when they were 30 minutes from landing to text Travis. She knew he would be at the hotel downtown before the game and wasn't allowed his phone until the morning but she wanted to text him anyway just in case he would pick it up. They liked to keep each other updated on what they were doing in their separate, respective lives. Nothing creepy or possessive, just genuine interest and love.
Taylor: Hey, I'm about 25-30 minutes from landing and then I will head straight to your house from the airport. Super excited to see you play today xxx
She was about to place her phone away in her bag when she felt a familiar ping and vibration come through her phone. He had replied. That was quick, she thought. She clicked on the unread message and read it through...
Trav: Hey Tay, can't wait to see you later. Yeah just had straight to my place. My parents will be there and some if my friends will be arriving throughout the day. You can travel with them to the game. I'll pop by the house for some food and to see everyone before the game. Make yourself comfortable xxx
She smiled as she received the text message and could see the car arriving to pick her up and take her to Travis' house. She had only brought one of her security team with her. Steve had been with her for many years and had become family to her so it had only made sense to bring him along. She was dressed in a white tank top and black shorts. She didn't have any chiefs gear or merch. She didn't own any NFL merch apart from her old eagles jumper and cap that had belonged to her dad but she wore occasionally. She had decided to wear her signature red lipstick, hoping that it would be enough to show her support. The drive was fairly swift and within half an hour she was pulling up outside his house in Kansas City. It was lovely house from the exterior. It was a decent size for one person and when she entered the house it seemed homely, like someone lived there and not just occupied its dwellings. One of his friends led her inside into the open planned kitchen and dining room area. There was a game playing on the TV behind her and a gorgeous smell of food cooking. As she rounded the corner with her bags she noticed a tallish older lady with a blonde bob and glasses taking some delicious smelling chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and placing them onto the kitchen counter to cool down. She turned around and smiled as she caught a glimpse of Taylor.
"Oh hello Taylor. Sorry I didn't hear you come in." It was Travis' mom. Taylor had seen her a couple of times on FaceTime and calls Travis had had when he was at her apartment but this would be there first meeting in person. Taylor had been nervous about meeting Travis' parents...
But Trav, what if they don't like me?
Tay, I don't know anyone in their right mind who wouldn't like you. I can assure you, they will absolutely adore you.
"Hi Mrs Kelce. Those cookies look amazing." Taylor said, waving at her slightly and caught quite off guard when she was pulled into a big hug by Travis' mom.
"Oh please call me Donna." She said, pulling back with a wide grin on her face. "Travis' dad Ed is around here somewhere, probably in the bathroom like most men." Taylor laughed at this before excusing herself to take her bags upstairs, promising to rejoin them all in a minute. But when she got upstairs, she was faced with a dilemma. Which room to put her bags in. When Travis had stayed at Taylors place they had slept on the sofa the first night accidentally and then in her bed the second time after they had officially become a couple. But Taylor didn't want to assume anything. She didn't even know which room was his. She pulled out her phone and pressed the call button on Travis' contacts, praying that he would pick up. After three long rings his familiar voice came down the phone.
"So you just couldn't wait for me to come home to speak to me then?" Travis chuckled down the phone.
"Give over." Taylor replied back, her smirk could be heard down the phone. "I was actually wondering where I should put my stuff. I haven't been to your place yet and I wasn't sure what room I was staying in."
"Well I kinda guessed my room. It is the last door on the right hand side as you come up the stairs." Travis replied. He could sense a hesitation in Taylor's voice and reply and was worried that he had put his foot in it again with his big mouth. "Unless you didn't want to sleep in my room. No pressure or anything. If you don't want to I can set up a guest room later on I can sleep on the couch or-"
"Travis calm down." Taylor cut him off, sensing he was beginning to ramble. "I want to sleep in your room. I just needed to know where it was that's all." She chuckled before making her way down towards his room.
"Oh ok. Well I'll see you in an hour or so when I am back at the house. Don't have too much fun with my parents and please don't let them tell you any embarrassing stories."
"Haha I won't." Taylor chuckled, a grin growing wide on her face. She knew that they would tell some hilarious stories before Travis returned home. There was a knowing look and a twinkle in Donna's eyes that suggested so.
"Oh and I left you a surprise on the bed. Just a little gift from me. I hope you like it."
"I'm sure I will love it. Thank you babe. I'll see you soon. Bye Bye." And then she hung up and opened the door to Travis' room. Well their room. It was neat and cosy, and beautiful balcony that led out onto a porch over looking the back garden and swimming pool. She placed her bags down on the bed, noticing he had sweetly emptied some space in a couple of bis drawers in the wardrobe. She hung up some of her things on the coat hangers and tucked her socks into an empty drawer. She planned to spend a couple of days with Travis and his family in Kansas City before flying back to New York for work. But she knew she would be back to him soon enough so decided that she would most likely leave these clothes at his house. She had plenty of clothes and wanted to have some whilst she was here. It would make it feel more homely and less like she was a guest living out of a bag. Once she stepped out of the walk in closet she noticed a gift bag that was neatly placed in the centre of the bed. She picked it up and read the label attached to the handle.
To Tay,
Just a little something for you to wear today. Hope you like it
Love Travis xxx
He could be so sweet sometimes. She untied the bow holding the bag together and discarded the tissue paper on the floor, making note to clear it up later. It was a beautiful red and white windbreaker jacket that had chiefs on the back in white writing and the Kansas City Chiefs logo on the front. She slipped it on, noticing how it fit her perfectly. She could hear more people beginning to arrive and slipped downstairs, putting the tissue paper in the bin the kitchen as slipped in to mingle with the rest of the family.
"So Travis tells me you have a break from your tour now." Donna said, as she sipped on a cup of coffee Taylor had just made for the both of them. She could see her security guy Steve in the background but he seemed content chatting with one of Travis' friends in the corner of the room.
"Umm yes. I'm not back on tour until November when I go to South America. It's been lovely to have a relax and to spend some more time with Travis."
"Well we couldn't believe him when he told us about you could we Ed?"
"No" An older man said as he came over to sit at the bar stool next to Taylor. Taylor knew from Travis that his parents were divorced like hers were. They had divorced around a similar time as hers had but liker her parents, they were amicable for the sake of the children. There was nothing dramatic about any of it, they just didn't love each other enough to make it work anymore. "We thought he was pulling our legs. Or living in a dreamland."
"Travis has always had such a vivid imagination. Jason was always the composed and serious one, what with being the older brother. But Travis was intent on making everyone he knew laugh. He was very much the class clown and comedian of the family." Donna laughed, taking a bite out of one of the cookies she had made that morning.
"So not a surprise when he started doing the Saturday Night Live sketches then?" Taylor laughed.
"Not at all. He was born to do something like that. And I am glad he gets to do another thing he loves now."
"I have to say when I saw the American Doll one that had popped up on my YouTube recommended, I nearly chocked on the soup I was eating at the time. it was so funny."
"Yeah Travis said that one had been a particularly hard one to stay composed for." Ed chuckled. "But you make Travis so happy. You are all he can talk about half of the time."
"Oh yes, you make him so happy darling. I was so glad that Travis said you were coming today and that we would finally get to meet you in person." Donna mentioned and Taylor smiled, her nose scrunching up in the process. The trio of them carried on talking, with Donna taking a photo to send to Travis who was just about to leave to make the journey home to see everyone before the big game.
Travis was packing up his stuff in the hotel room, chatting to Patrick as he did so, both of them eager to get home to see there families quickly before the game was underway. He felt his phone vibrate and saw that his mother had sent him a message. He opened it and smiled widely, a small laugh coming from his mouth.
Momma: I think your dad has made a new friend
Travis chuckled, seeing his dad absoultley fan girding over his new girlfriend. Pat noticed Travis' Cheshire Cat grin.
"What's made you so happy." Pat enquired, packing the final few items into his bag before slinging it over his shoulders.
"Oh just you know. Ive got a special friend coming to the game today." Travis winked. He hadn't mentioned much to Pat or any of the other guys on the team about his romance with Taylor. A few of them knew they had seen each other and Patrick knew they messaged and called each other most days. But he had purposely kept his mouth shut about the game.
"Oh really. Who have you invited?" Pat asked, looking over at Travis' phone. He turned his phone to Pat so he could see who it was who was coming. "No. You have got to be joking. How on earth did you convince her to come to the game today?"
Travis acted shocked and hurt. "I am hurt. Is it so shocking that my girlfriend is coming to the game?"
"Girlfriend now. A little upgrade I didn't know about." Pat wiggled his eyebrows and laughed along with Travis.
"I don't have to tell you everything you know. I just said that I've seen her rock the stage at arrowhead so maybe it was her turn to see me rock it too. See which one is more electric!" Travis grabbed his bag and slung it in the bag of his car to make his way back to his house.
When he arrived, he could see Taylor talking with his friend Aric who had travelled in for the game. He came over to give her a kiss before going to see his parents. Travis always loved that his parents made the effort to come and see his games. Occasionally there would be a clash and they couldn't attend but at least one of them always tried to come. He everyone who had come over only had an hour with his family before the game and after making the rounds to speak to, he was left with virtually no time before he was mean to leave.
"Sorry guys but duty calls. Thanks for coming today, means a lot. I'll see you after the win later!" He shouts of the chatter of everyone in the room, who all cheer when he mentions winning the game. Taylor chuckled, she loved Travis' confident side. It mirrored her anxious one and made them fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Travis pulled his mom aside into the entrance way of his house to say goodbye to her before the game.
The Chiefs played well against the Chicago Bear and ended up winning the game 41-10, with Travis scoring a touchdown in the 3rd Quarter. The press had a field day at the game, reporting that Taylor was in attendance and she knew that rumours were going to spiral from now onwards. She knew this, and her team were already prepared for all possible outcomes and damage control was all ready and fired. The atmosphere in the locker room was electric.
"Hey Trav, you didn't say you brought a friend with you?" One of Travis teammates said as they came up to him in the locker room.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Travis asked, pulling his gear off of his shoulders ready to take a shower and get himself ready to leave.
"Don't pretend you didn't know who I am talking about. Taylor Swift." He said laughing, and by the way Travis' cheeks flushed a shade of scarlett, he had given the game away. "I knew it."
"But how did you know anyway." Travis asked.
"Because judging by the way you acted on the field when she came on the jumbatron and just then when I mentioned her. Plus she was sat with your mom the entire game laughing and joking with her. Also my wife was sat with her at one point, said she was really sweet by the way."
Travis was warmed by this but hurried himself along to make sure he could go up to the suite to see everyone for a bit longer. They were having a party at Prime Social that night. Patrick and Brittany had rented out the entire places for the chiefs after party later on that evening so he largely wanted to see his parents before they flew out to Philadelphia to see Jason and Kylie and the girls. He pulled his parents to one side when he got up to the suite finally.
"So.. what do you think?" Travis asked nervously. His mom knew what he was asking about. This wasn't about just anything. This was about Taylor and judging by the amount of time his mom and dad had spent with Taylor that day, they would be pretty good judges of her character. It didn't take his parents long to form their opinion about someone.
"She is a lovely girl Travis. I am happy you have found someone so lovely." Donna praised, placing a comforting hand on her son's shoulder as Travis hugged her into his side.
"I can tell she was brought up right Trav." Ed piped in, patting Travis on the back.
"What makes you say that dad?" Travis asked
"Just little things like tidying up after everyone, chatting and joking with everyone and being so polite. For someone with her level of fame I guess I expected her to be a bit of a diva I suppose. I wouldn't have been shocked if she was, I would be if I was in her shoes." Travis laughed at this. His parents were never made to be famous but they had taken it in their stride. He thanked his parents for coming to the game before ushering Taylor towards the door. His parents wouldn't be joining them at the party.
"Now are you sure you are ok with coming to the party. It will be pretty crowded and I know you are tired."
"Of course Trav. I wouldn't miss it for the world. You played so great today, we must celebrate your win." She hugged him close, placing a delicate kiss on his lips before they were forced to separate once more. They had agreed with Tree to not hold hands when they left together. It was a loophole if people didn't approve of the relationship. he had no reason to suggest they wouldn't but with some people you could never tell.
"Come on my fair lady, our carriage awaits." He ushered her out of the backdoor and into his mustang that had the roof down. "Or should I say, the getaway car." Travis winked before turning on the engine and pulling away from the stadium. The cogs in Taylors brain began to sink into place.
Had he heard her singing when they were together in New York?
Or had he listened to Reputation?
All of those ideas and thoughts fell out of her head when she felt the cool summer breeze blow through her hair as she leant her head back to look up at the sky. It was pitch black, no longer maroon. They played the radio loud, both of them singing along to whatever came on with not a care in the world for paparazzi passing by.
Taylor and Travis reached the party a little later than everyone else but quickly settled in, with Travis introducing Taylor to all of his friends and teammates. They settled down at the bar with Travis' teammate and best friend Patrick Mahomes who was sat with his wife Brittany.
"Hey. Im Brittany. Pat has told me all about you and how happy you and Travis are together." She was a beautiful young woman. Similar to Taylor with her long blonde hair and blue coloured eyes. The two girls left to sit at a table with some cocktails and snacks.
"So, how are things with you and Trav?" Brittany asked, siping on her passionfruit martini that she had just ordered.
"They are going great. I am a break from my tour right now so we are just spending this time getting to know each other more and spend as much time as we can together. We did get together at the worst and most busy times in our careers but I think if we can make it work now, we can make it work any other time." Taylor replied, grabbing a couple of fries from the basket on the table.
"Wow, it must be so stressful. Me and Pat met in High School so I guess we never had to think about any of that but it was tough when we went to different colleges so we had to try really hard then."
"I could only write about high school sweethearts. I never got that really, most of the guys at my high school were arseholes really." Taylor said and Brittany laughed, nodding in agreement.
"To be honest most of the guys at our high school were like that too. I guess Pat was just the odd one out."
The pair continued to laugh and joke for hours into the later hours of the evening. The boys came over to join them after a while until Travis beckoned Taylor away, signalling that it was time for them to go home.
"Oh wait Tay, let me get your number quickly just so we can text before next weeks game. I'll add you to the WhatsApp group as well." Taylor quickly typed her name and number into Brittany's phone before hugging the pair of Mahomes and saying goodnight.
"Why did we have to leave so soon Trav? I thought you were enjoying yourself." Taylor enquired as they walked back towards his car. He hadn't been drinking that night we seemed suspicious to Taylor but she just guessed that he must of had some kind of reason for it.
"I was, but I have a little surprise for you that I know is better." Travis said, tapping her sweetly on the nose before driving off into the moonlight. The drive took them 30 minutes away from Kansas City. The darkness of the night made it hard for Taylor to seeker surroundings but she knew there weren't near the city anymore due to the decrease in volume. The car came to a stop outside some trees.
"Here we are." Travis said coming round to open Taylors door for her. He lead her further into the woods, her confusion growing stronger the further they got into the woods. Bad thoughts also began creeping back into her mind.
Was this it?
Was this where he was going to kidnap her and hold her hostage?
Would he kill her?
Would she really meet her end in a random forest in Kansas City, Missouri?
But all of these thoughts washed away when she saw what was laid out in front of them. A small picnic blanket set will pillows and blankets, mugs of steaming hot chocolate and chocolate covered strawberries, which happened to be a favourite of Taylor's, and soft music playing from a speaker. It was all laid out on the outskirts of a huge river. A sign that Taylor could just about read in the distance read
Blue Springs Lake
"Oh Trav. I don't know what to say." Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes but wiped them away before she even had time to notice them herself.
"Come on Tay don't cry. I wanted us to have some time for ourselves. Before you go back to New York. I bet Kansas City is going to be wild tomorrow so you may not fancy going out and about much."
"Thanks Trav. It means a lot you doing this. Why don't you come to my place before the next game? Britt said that the game was at MetLife against the Jets so you could come to mine in the morning and I could make us some breakfast."
"That would be amazing. I can't wait." He looked into her eyes and she knew that there was something else he wanted to say. "I heard you singing the other night. When I stayed over in New York the second night."
"Oh. Um Trav I-" Taylor spluttered. She didn't know what to say. It hadn't been a negative song. Quite the opposite in fact, but she didn't want to spook him. Or do anything that would scare him away from her.
"Tay I loved it. Whoever it was about is a lucky person to have you write a song about them." Travis cupped her face, bringing it close to his for a delicate kiss.
"I wrote it about you. I didn't think anyone could hear me, and I had all of these thoughts, happy thoughts, come into my brain. And once they are there, there is no stopping them."
"I want you to know I feel the same way Tay. I love you, so so much. Now..." He said, placing his mug down and grabbing her hand to pull her up to stand next to him. They walked further towards the river and out onto the wooden pier of the lake. "I don't want to waste another second of time with you."
Music played quietly behind them as they danced in time with the music, taking breaks in their dancing to share passionate kisses and moments of silence. A familiar song played on in the background and everything to Taylor felt right. Travis felt like the boy she had always been writing about. A boy born in the same year as her, on her grandmothers birthday to be exact, with the same drive and values as she had. He said he loved that song, and well it had been the first song she ever learnt on the guitar. She laid her head on his chest, swaying back and forth with him in time with the music, hoping that moments like this would never end.
Kiss me, out by the bearded barley
Nightly, beside the green, green grass
Swing, Swing, Swing the spinning step
You'll wear those shoes and I'll wear that dress
Oh, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight
lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moons sparkling
So kiss me
And so he did