April 29th 2024
Bora Bora, French Polynesia
A perfect getaway, that was what they needed...
Exactly what they needed.
Thinking back to last year. This time last year, things had been so different. Taylor had been in Atlanta in Georgia back in the U.S. A time she sincerely wished she could forget. The heartbreak unbearable and the future seeming bleak. But that day when she awoke from her long slumber, wrapped in the warm comforting arms of her man, she knew that things could change for the better.
The past two weeks of luxury had felt like a paradise, to both of them. Just Taylor, Travis and a private island. A whole ocean away from their troubles and woes back home in America. Taylor was on a break from her tour: the whole reason they would be flying back to the US the next day. There were things that had to be finalised, and of course not forgetting, a MET Gala to attend. It had been the first time in what felt like forever that Taylor hadn't been nervous about attending such a broadcasted red-carpet event. She knew that Travis would be by her side and that was all she needed. It took a lot of convincing from Tree to let her accept the invite; the Kardashian-Jenner clan didn't exactly have Taylor Swift permanently embossed on their Christmas card list.
Time seemed to pass so quickly. Too quickly for her liking. She slowly untangled herself from Travis' lifeless body, which was still sound asleep next to her, tangled up in last night's dalliance with the duvet covers. This trip had been a total surprise. She had been expecting to fly out to Nashville to spend time with her mom before they went back on tour again in Europe. Her mom no longer toured with her internationally, not since getting ill, and so Taylor had wanted to make the effort to spend time with Andrea before departing again for months and months. But Andrea knew of Travis' surprise all along and was not upset or disappointed in the slightest when Travis whisked her away so soon to take her on holiday.
Somewhere she had wanted to go for a long time...
Bora Bora.
The South Pacific islands had always been a place she had dreamed of going to, but with working and the pandemic hitting in 2020, it had never been a place her and Joe had been able to go. And Taylor was glad. So many places had been tainted and become out of bounds in the vain name of Joe Alwyn. Too much of her life had pain attached as a non-negotiable component of purchase, and she was sick of it.
She heard Travis stir slightly in his sleep but as she turned back around to look at their bed, she noticed that he had just turned over in his sleep and was back to his lifeless self. Taylor had to laugh at this: Travis always either looked like somebody's dog when he slept, mouth slightly ajar and making the strangest and cutest of noises, or like some sort of sickly Victorian child dying of influenza or scarlett fever. That day it had been the latter. Without shoes on her feet, Taylor took off from the balcony and onto the private beach in front of their villa.
It had been a beautiful villa, nestled within the confines of an exotic jungle of undergrowth and wildlife, some of which had made it into their bedroom. It had been two days ago that Travis learnt something new: he didn't like big spiders, especially not on his bed or his bedroom. Their bedroom opened out onto a wooden balcony that led onto their own private beach. It had of course been more expensive to rent out that part of the island but it had all been worth it for the peace they got. The WIFI and internet connection had been temperamental but there had been enough connection to the outside world for them to be able to still keep in contact with their respective managers and laugh at the headlines the media had been coming up with this time.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Taylor Swift: Is 2016-2017 about to repeat itself ???
Have Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift finally called it quits ?
It had made them laugh, watching the media squirm as they struggled to find the couple. But this time Taylor had chosen to hide away. She wasn't running from anything, or anyone. Moreover, she was running towards something.
Happiness...
Without a care for any shoes on her feet, she took a step down from the balcony and onto the white sand that coated the beach in front of her. It was their last day in paradise before they sadly had to face reality again. She let the soft waves fall and crash against her ankles, running water down to her feet and through her manicured toes. There was nothing like happiness after grief. And grief without death, physical death, could be so hard. The fact that Joe was still a living reminder of her past pained her greatly, but she knew that after the release of The Tortured Poets Department ten days ago, he wouldn't be looking so cocky anymore. She knew there would be backlash. So many people thought and believed that Joe was the good guy, and that automatically made her the villain. The new album was speculated to be about Joe and despite the largely positive reaction to it, there was of course without a doubt a group of people who decided that this was tacky. That Joe staying quiet was the kinder approach. And the world painted her as the villain. But now the time had come for revenge.
Travis stirred in his sleep once more, this time his eyes peeling open one by one to reveal an empty space next to him where his beautiful blonde-haired girlfriend once laid. The doors to their home for the past two weeks were ajar, and peeking through the white net curtains as the wind softly blew, he caught a glimpse of a woman, dressed in a white silk nightgown, splashing her feet in the shore below. Slipping on a pair of white matching swimming trunks, he snuck out of the villa, quietly tiptoeing down the stairs towards the woman on the beach.
"Morning beautiful."
"Woah, you scared me Trav!" Taylor jumped slightly, relaxing into him when she realised who it was. He hugged her from behind, his arms coming to rest wrapped around her small waist and toned torso. They stayed there resting for what felt like blissful hours; in reality it had been mere minutes before Travis broke the silence.
"So, how do you want to spend our final day here?" Travis asked, turning her around to face him.
"With you?" Taylor smirked, nuzzling her head against his neck, feeling him laugh and his warm breath graze against her cheek.
"Of course. But you have me every day. Maybe we could go snorkelling again?" Travis smirked, knowing what Taylor's response would be before she even had the chance.
"Don't you even think about it!" Taylor warned, pointing a deadly finger at Travis' chest. He knew that she hated sea urchins but the previous week he had tried to get her to try snorkelling and scuba diving and she had all but agreed to go, excited about the new marine life they would get to experience in French Polynesia. What he had forgot to inform her about had been the presence of an old friend of Taylor's.
Mr Sea Urchin.
Travis thought he had never seen her run so fast or scream so loud. Her speed could easily have beaten his 40 yards at the NFL combine eleven years ago. She hadn't found it as funny as he had. But he had promised her that he wouldn't make her go near any more sea urchins that vacation.
"Ok ok, I get the message. Well, why don't we have a relaxing day together. A bit of swimming in the pool, sunbathing and eating some good food."
"Sounds good to me." She smiled back at him, placing a light kiss on his cheek before departing back to their villa to get changed into her bikini. Travis stayed put for a moment, wondering at how life could be so perfect. A year ago, both of them had been miserable, both putting out a front to the public that they had never been happier. Travis had for sure enjoyed the freedom that the single life had given him. A chance for him to rediscover who it was that he was, and who he wanted to be. He felt something in his pocket as his hands naturally fell into them. A plastic string came out of his pocket. The type of one that he had used to make bracelet. And then he remembered. It had been the summer time, last July. He had sat there next to his pool in Kansas City, making what would become the world's most famous friendship bracelet. He fiddled with the invisible string before dropping the memory down into the sand, letting the wind blow it to wherever they would go next.
The pair dressed in a comforting silence: Travis in his white swimming trunks and Taylor in a multi-coloured bandeau bikini top with matching bottoms. She wore her hair natural that day in untamed curls, that was the way that he liked it. No makeup, natural tan: nothing fake about her whatsoever. He used to love the opposite to that; its what he had gone for in nearly all of his exes. But he soon quickly realised that he was never going to make a life with any of them. If he was going to marry anyone, and have kids with them, he wanted someone authentic. Somebody who didn't care about having bed hair or fake tan on all of the time. That wasn't to say he didn't enjoy it when Taylor made the effort to dress up, he did but it was no longer a deal breaker in his relationships.
The day wore on and into nightfall. It had been perfection, if that hadn't been created already. They had eaten a late breakfast at their dining room set on the balcony, looking out into the sun that slowly rose over the sea blue horizon with nothing between them but love and a cool sea breeze. Taylor made jokes about how if she had tried to do anything romantic like this back when she lived in the UK, a seagull would have probably come and stolen all of their food in a violent bird attack. Either that or it would have rained.
It rained that day. Right when they had been taking a stroll along the beach, but it hadn't stopped them. Nothing but raw passion was shared as they made love on the sand as the warm tropical raindrops fell between them, surrounding them in a bubble of happiness and serenity.
The rain cleared and a dining room set had been set up on the beach as a surprise. Travis had given Taylor strict instructions to get all dressed up and meet him outside on the balcony in an hour's time. The note contained no other instructions. It had Taylor slightly worried. She hoped this wouldn't be the moment Travis proposed. Not that it wouldn't be a romantic way to do it. But she knew that neither of them was ready and she didn't want Travis to propose just to play the media, who all had bets on whether Travis had already proposed. Jokes on them, he hadn't. But she knew she and Travis would one day get married. It would happen eventually, but on their own terms. And in their own time.
Plus, her nails were not perfect enough for a proposal that day.
She found a red floral maxi dress that had long flowing sleeves and a deep v neck. It showed off her best features, whilst still leaving some things to the imagination. Things that Travis hadn't had to imagine that day, or another day that vacation. She left out her signature red lip that evening, preferring to wear her makeup natural but did tame her wet hair with a hair dryer and some heatless rollers.
Not even an hour later, she met him out on the beach. A row of candles and rose petals made a path to a dining set for two, with two plates of delicious smelling food laid out neatly.
"Oh Travis, this is perfect!" She whispered as he bought her into his warm embrace. His smelt divine; just the way she liked him. A smell of masculine freshness with a hint of musk and spice nestled in there. He wore a white shirt with the top buttons undone and flowing in the breeze paired with a pair baby blue cargo shorts and flip flops. The flip flops he had sworn that he had lost somewhere in the villa that week and had sworn that Taylor had hidden from him for a joke and because apparently, they 'made him look like a middle-aged dad going camping!'.
"I'm glad you like it! Now let's eat, I am starving."
"And there is the Travis we all know and love." Taylor laughed as she set the napkin down that had been out in front of her onto her lap.
Throughout the meal of seafood pasta and artisan salad dishes, Travis stole loving glances at Taylor and then out into the sea. When a waiter came to take away the remnants of their main course, he reached across the table to take her hand in his. They both wore their matching TNT bracelets that Travis had custom made for them back in December 2023. He lovingly rubbed the skin of her left knuckles. Taylor knew there was something that Travis was itching to say, but he was obviously too nervous to say for whatever reason.
"You have been dying to say something all evening. Don't try denying it, I know that look all too well!" Taylor laughed. Travis looked through his eyelashes and into Taylor's piercing blue eyes.
"Tay. I have loved every minute of this vacation. It has taught me so many things. And made me realise that I want to spend every day with you like this. I know that one day I will marry you."
She gasped, tears welling up in her eyes. Travis noticed this and began his usual rambling...
"I'm not proposing or anything. That's not that I don't want to propose to you or marry you or anything. I'm not going to do what Joe did. I know that it may be way too soon, but I am firm believer that when you know, you know. And I know that I want to marry you one day Tay. Every day when you wake up next to me, curled up against my body and in my arms, I wonder how I ever got so lucky. To have found the woman I want to share my future, the rest of my life with. Any plans I make now, they only have you in it. I am no longer alone now for I have you."
"Travis, this might be the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. And I feel everything that you feel. And want everything that you want. The late nights and the petty fights we will have. The children that will have my hair and your eyes. I have never wished for happiness more than I have now. I love you Trav!"
"I love you too Tay! Forever and always."
They finished up dessert: a chocolate cake they shared lovingly between them when they found themselves in front a bonfire they had made out of sticks and leaves they had found in the bushes. Taylor was surprised that Travis' boy scout and camping trip skills were coming back to him so fast despite not being used in almost twenty years. Travis noticed that Taylor had gone inside when he had gone to get more wood to keep the fire burning longer. She came back with one of her guitars in hand. She never travelled anywhere without it, ideas for new music could pop up at any point. This is what Travis had learnt over the almost year that him and Taylor had been together.
"Got any new ideas?" Travis asked her as she came to sit down beside him on the rocks beside the fire.
"Nothing new. But I haven't been able to play these songs properly for a long time now. And I can now because they have a whole new meaning to them."
Travis nodded and watched and listened as the chords and lyrics were played out for him: a private concert on their secluded island beach.
My castle crumbled overnight
I bought a knife to a gunfight
They took the crown, but it's alright
All the liars are calling me one
Nobody's heard from me for months
I'm doing better than I ever was
And all my flowers grew back as thorns
Windows boarded up after the storms
He built a fire just to keep me warm
Do you really want to know where I was April 29th
Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life
And I know I make the same mistakes every time
Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right.
I did one thing right
I'm laughing with my lover, makin' forts under covers.
Trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right
Starry eyes sparking up my darkest nights
And out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar
Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire.
Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons.
One single thread of gold tied me to you.
And isn't it just so pretty to think
All along there was some Invisible String
Tying you to me
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh
And this love came back to me
Taylor played out the final chords before looking back up into Travis' eyes, noticing that tears had formed in the corners of their green.
"Oh Trav, I didn't mean to make you cry."
"No these are happy tears Tay. Come here." He beckoned her into him and she curled up beneath the crook of his arm. "I love you."
"I love you too. Happy April 29th" She laughed.
Under a blanket of perfect stars had been the perfect way to end their getaway. Neither of them had wanted to leave, but a scheduled plan arrived early morning April 30th. And neither travis nor Taylor fancied facing the wrath of Tree after such a relaxing vacation.
"What do you think about this picture?" Taylor asked, Travis looking up from the book he had been saving to read for the long flight home to Kansas City, including a quick drop off in Nashville to see her mom and collect the cats. They would have left them at home but Patrick and Brittany's dogs were not best friends with their cats. Something they had learnt the hard way.
"Looks great Tay, but why do you care so much?" Travis sighed.
"Because I am going to post them on my Instagram. Like my proper Instagram not just my private one for you and the family."
"Does Tree know about this?"
"Well kind of. I asked her if I could post some holiday pictures on my socials. You know excite the fans a bit and make them feel engaged in my content again and she was ok with it."
"Well as long as Tree is fine, I am happy." Travis laughed before glancing his eyes back down at his book. Taylor began making her post and creating the perfect caption. One that described the post perfectly, and managed to get their own back on the crafty media. She hadn't cared that media drones that found where they were. Or that they began speculating on marriage proposals or pregnancies. For once, the noise didn't bother her. She hit post, and relaxed into her seat, watching the world go by as the chaos unfolded....
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I though Taylor was due a little bit of happiness after the last couple of chapters ❤️