Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran (a.k.a. my ginger king)
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"I was supposed to be ready twenty minutes ago," Taylor sighs softly, keeping her head tilted to the side as Karlie continues to press open-mouthed kisses against her thundering pulse point. Her fingernails make a path down the length of Karlie's bare back, and she can already feel her body heating up. Taylor is supposed to be preparing for her trip to London, where she's set to do a number of interviews in order to promote her album, but instead she is lying in bed and trying to convince herself that she can spare another fifteen minutes.
"Don't go." Karlie says as she slowly spreads Taylor's legs, never taking her lips away from Taylor's neck.
"I have to," Taylor intended to say something else, but her breath catches in her throat when Karlie's hand finds the heat between her legs. Taylor's nails inadvertently start to dig into the skin of Karlie's back, and then her head lolls to the side when Karlie starts to kiss down the valley between her breasts.
Taylor's hands get lost in Karlie's hair, and she briefly marvels at how long it has gotten over the last couple of months. Karlie keeps saying she's going to get it trimmed again soon, but Taylor secretly hopes her girlfriend never gets around to it. Taylor is certain that Karlie would look good with any hairstyle, but she enjoys having something to hold onto at times like this.
"Ten more minutes." Karlie murmurs as she quickly slides down Taylor's body, leaving wet, open-mouthed kisses in her wake. Taylor lets out a confused and shaky protest when Karlie moves her hand from between her legs. She lifts her head up to see what Karlie's doing, and then reaches down to guide Karlie's hand back to where it belongs. Karlie complies, and Taylor sighs in relief when Karlie resumes her ministrations. Her breathing picks up again, and Taylor is certain that she won't even last ten minutes.
She grips at the bedsheets and stares down at Karlie reverently, feeling her heart expanding as moss green eyes lock onto her. Taylor urges Karlie to go a little faster, to press down a little harder, but Karlie doesn't give her what she wants. She continues to move her hand at a snail's pace, smiling at Taylor coyly as she does so. Just when Taylor starts to get used to the torturously slow pace, Karlie applies a little too much pressure, and a sharp gasp falls from Taylor's mouth.
She can feel the telltale signs of her release building up inside of her, and all she can do is pray that she doesn't pass out again because she doesn't have the time for it. Plus Karlie still hasn't let her live the last time down, and the brunette's ego is already far too big for her own good. She feels the tightness at the base of her stomach, and she has to remind herself to breathe as she nears the top of the volcano that she's climbing. Her vision starts to get spotty but then everything is crystal clear. The pressure building between her legs disappears, and Taylor is so confused that she can do nothing but stare up at the ceiling in disbelief. She lifts her head up to look down and see why Karlie has stopped, but instead of being met with her girlfriend's bright green eyes, all she sees is the top of her head.
Taylor chokes on her next intake of air when she feels Karlie's tongue on her, right where her fingers had been moments ago. Her head quickly falls back down onto the pillow, and her eyes slip closed of their own accord. The feeling is indescribable, and Taylor's whole body tightens up in preparation. She reaches out for the closest thing within reach, Karlie's left hand, and for a few minutes she just focuses on the feeling that is building up inside of her. It's more intense this time around, and Taylor numbly wonders how Karlie got so good at what she does. Surely it can't all be from experience. There has to be some God-given talent involved, because no one's tongue should be as nimble as Karlie's is. It shouldn't be so easy to push Taylor over the edge, yet Karlie does it effortlessly, and Taylor cannot hold back the tidal wave rolling in her stomach. There is a faint buzzing in her ears but she can still hear the embarrassingly loud noise that escapes her mouth. Karlie never stops after just one, but Taylor is so sensitive that she has to twist her body until she's out of the brunette's reach. Karlie eventually settles for kissing Taylor's trembling inner thighs, and the blonde just lies there and recuperates for a moment.
When her breathing evens out, she brushes sweaty strands of hair out of her eyes and then tightly wraps her legs around Karlie before flipping them over. It takes the last ounce of strength she has in her body, and she leans down and presses an insistent kiss against Karlie's lips.
Taylor ends up getting to the airport two hours behind schedule, but at least she leaves in high spirits, with a lovesick grin on her face.
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The day after Taylor leaves for London is bittersweet. Karlie wakes up without the blonde by her side, and instead sees her girlfriend's two cats staring at her. She blinks blearily and lets out a loud groan as she stretches out her body, her arms lifting into the air as a loud yawn rips through her. Olivia jumps on her chest the second she rolls onto her back, but Meredith keeps her distance, looking unbelievably unimpressed. The grey and white cat still hates her for making Taylor upset, and Karlie is certain that she's going to find cat poop in her shoes one day. It's a little weird how human Taylor's cats are at times. They both have their own little personalities, and Karlie can't help but love them, so it hurts that Meredith is still angry at her.
"When are you going to forgive me?" Karlie asks as she lifts Olivia off of her chest and makes eye contact with Meredith. She doesn't get an answer, obviously, but Meredith does side-eye her before slinking off of the bed and padding towards the door.
"Alright, good talk." Karlie sighs and gets out of bed. She picks Olivia up because she's still on the smaller side, and Karlie still gets worried when the kitten jumps off the bed, despite her feline reflexes.
Taylor left her in charge of taking care of the cats and the apartment while she's gone, so Karlie makes sure the cats are fed and have water in their bowls before going about her morning routine. She is halfway through brushing her teeth when she pauses. She looks around Taylor's master bathroom and takes it in for a moment. Taylor has double sinks, and Karlie always uses the one on the left. The products she washes her face with are stacked in an organized row, and her hair brush is sitting next to Taylor's. Karlie continues to scrub at her teeth but she starts to take in things that she hadn't bothered noticing before. Since when was half of her makeup collection in here? And when did she bring over her hairdryer?
After she's finished brushing her teeth Karlie sits her toothbrush in the holder, in the spot right next to Taylor's. She stares down at it for a moment and then looks away, feeling a little strange as she wanders back into the bedroom to dress for the gym.
The fact that she has a plethora of options for what to wear to the gym also strikes her as strange. Almost all of her workout clothes are tucked away in the drawers of Taylor's dresser, and she even has two pairs of her running shoes tucked away in Taylor's walk-in closet.
Karlie tries not to think much of it, because it's a lot more convenient than walking all the way back to her apartment just to get dressed, but she still finds the whole thing a little disconcerting. She doesn't even remember bringing half of these things over, and it's interesting that everything seems to have a place. She wonders if Taylor has taken notice, and figures that the observant blonde surely has.
When Karlie gets down to the lobby, she is greeted by two of Taylor's security members who have been left behind to make sure no one tries to burn down her apartment building or break in.
"I'm just heading out to the gym, I locked up." Karlie says as she slips her earbuds into her ears.
"Would you like us to escort you, Miss Kloss?"
Karlie does a double take, thoroughly surprised and caught off guard by the offer. "Uh...no, that's okay, but thank you. And it's Karlie, guys."
Both men nod, and then one holds the door open for her so she can slip outside. She shakes her head and decides to jog to the gym, needing to run off the strangeness of the morning.
The jog to the gym is a nice warmup, and Karlie is in her element as she goes about her usual workout routine. She's in the middle of her planks when a shadow looms over her. She ignores it at first, because it could just be someone walking by, but after the last twenty seconds of her plank is finished, she looks up and falls onto her stomach.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Karlie pants out, trying to catch her breath.
Toni looks heavily amused as she continues to sip at the bottle of water in her grasp, her long blonde hair pulled up into a sweaty bun. There is a fine sheen of sweat on the blonde's chest, and she's wearing one of those skin tight matching gym outfits.
"Working out." Toni states the obvious.
"This is my gym." Karlie slowly gets to her feet, drawing herself up to her full height.
"Oh, you own it?"
"Well...no, but I've never seen you here before. I've been coming here for years."
Toni shrugs indifferently, not looking the least bit ruffled. "I work out early, I just spent a little extra time on the treadmill today. Then I saw you on my way to the lockers and thought I'd come say hi. So, hi."
"Hi." Karlie supposes it makes sense, though the coincidences are starting to get a little ridiculous. First Toni's dad just so happens to own the club Jourdan dragged her to, and then she just so happens to live in the building that Karlie was smoking in front of, and now she just so happens to go to Karlie's gym.
"So how's the girlfriend? You two make up?" Toni asks between sips of her water.
"Oh yeah, that same day." Karlie nods, resting her hands on her hips. "Thanks for the advice, it helped a lot."
Toni flashes a smile, and Karlie can't help but feel uneasy by it. It is too bright, too wide, and too friendly. Karlie feels a red flag flare up. She takes a closer look at Toni and suddenly feels like cutting this conversation short.
"What are friends for? I'm just glad you two patched things up."
"Yeah, me too. Well, I should get back to it." Karlie says, grabbing at the opportunity to end this awkward exchange.
"Oh, of course. I'll see you around, Karlie." Toni flashes a small smile and then heads in the direction of the locker rooms.
Karlie watches her go, a worried frown spreading across her face as Toni saunters away. There is something very bizarre about Toni Garrn, and Karlie finds herself feeling uneasy for the rest of her workout.
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"It's really fucking weird, right? Like I'm not looking into this too much?" Karlie keeps her voice low as she and Jourdan close up the bar for the night. Derek is behind the bar, counting out the day's profits, so he's not really paying attention but Karlie wants to make sure this is kept between her and Jourdan.
"I mean, yeah, it's a little odd but I don't think you should jump to conclusions. If she's friends with Candice then she must be alright," Jourdan shrugs as she wipes down a table. "Plus didn't she help you out with Taylor?"
"Yeah but I'm starting to think she had her own reasons for doing that." Karlie doesn't know how to explain it, and she can tell Jourdan thinks she's being paranoid.
"I think you're just overthinking things, Karls. She seems nice, she got us free drinks."
Karlie says nothing, and focuses on counting her tips for the night. Maybe Jourdan is right. Maybe she's just being paranoid.
"You ready to go?" Jourdan asks after Derek locks up the register and starts cutting off the lights.
"Oh, right. I'm sleeping at Taylor's, didn't I tell you?"
"I thought she was in London?"
"She is but I'm taking care of the cats while she's gone."
Jourdan looks annoyed, but just nods her head curtly. Karlie frowns but doesn't have time to dwell on the tenseness that has quickly developed between them, because her phone screen lights up with a text from one of Taylor's guards, informing her that he is waiting for her out front.
Karlie grabs her coat and bag, and she and Jourdan say goodbye to Derek before walking out into the chilly October night. One of Taylor's blacked out Lincolns is idling by the curb directly out front, and Karlie hesitates as she looks at the waiting car and then back at Jourdan.
"That's my ride." Karlie explains when Jourdan warily eyes the car.
"Wow, she even gave you a car and some bodyguards too, huh? What are you, her First Lady?" Although it's supposed to come off as a joke, there is a hard edge to Jourdan's voice, and there isn't an ounce of amusement on her face.
"Do you want a ride or not?" Karlie is exasperated.
"I'd rather walk." Jourdan says before turning on her heels and starting the familiar trek back towards the apartment that they share.
"Jourdan!" Karlie calls after her, but Jourdan keeps her back turned and doesn't break her stride. Karlie stands there helplessly for a moment, and considers going after her best friend.
"Miss Kloss?"
Karlie turns her head and sees that one of Taylor's guards is now standing on the sidewalk, having gotten out to open the backseat door for her. Karlie hesitates and then turns back to spot Jourdan, but her friend has turned the corner, no longer in sight.
"Fuck." Karlie sighs and then shuffles towards the car. She climbs into the backseat with a heavy heart.
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"I just think you two started off on the wrong foot!" Taylor says into the little microphone attached to her earbuds. She is flitting around the lavish hotel suite that she has been staying in for the duration of her London trip, currently making sure her suitcases are packed for the flight back home. She leaves in three and a half hours, and wishes it could be sooner because she's anxious to see Karlie's face. It's only been four days since she's seen the brunette, but that is still four days too many.
"I just can't approve, not after what I saw." Selena's voice filters through Taylor's earbuds.
"It was just an argument, Sel. Couples tend to have those, y'know."
"She's manipulative."
Taylor stops shoving her toiletries in her carry-on bag, her eyes widening at Selena's claim. "No she's not, what are you talking about?"
"She got angry, didn't let you explain yourself, and then said things with the intention of hurting you. Then she left for a few hours to let you pine and cry over her, and then came back on her white horse and let you take all of the blame. How is that not manipulative?"
"I didn't take all the blame! She said she was sorry."
"She made you feel like you deserved what she said to you! Who purposely hurts someone that they supposedly care so much about? At least what you did was an accident."
Taylor is quiet for a long moment, and then she lets out an irritated huff. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I do, and you know I do. We had this conversation when I was going through all of the Justin drama, how is this any different?"
"Don't compare her to him." Taylor's voice is sharp and hard, brooking no argument. "You don't know her like I do, Selena. You're judging her off of one incident, and that's not fair. At least I gave Justin a chance."
Selena lets out a long, drawn out sigh. Taylor is still trying to keep her anger at bay, because she knows her friend means well, but there are some things that Taylor doesn't need advice on.
"Just be careful, Tay."
"I don't need to be careful. Karlie and I are fine. We're perfect, actually, so just drop it please."
They move on to lighter topics after that, but Taylor can feel the tenseness through the phone. By the time the call disconnects, Taylor can feel a headache clawing at the back of her head.
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Karlie ends up ringing Candice about her Toni issue. She doesn't know who else to go to, and she figures Candice will have a lot more insight about the strange blonde since the two are friends. Candice, ever the busy person, doesn't answer the first time, but Karlie immediately dials again and is met with the blonde's voice after the second ring.
"I thought you lost my number." Candice sounds cheery, as always, despite the sharp insinuation of her greeting.
"Hello to you too, and no, I've just been busy."
"Yeah, Jourdan told me."
"Is she still mad at me?"
"I think she's just hurt, Karls. You two are practically sisters and you just dropped her."
"I've just been so distracted lately. Work and Taylor and therapy, there's just not enough hours in the day anymore. I suck, I know."
"Yeah, you kind of do. It's okay though, Jourdan will come around. Just try to pencil us into your busy schedule every once and awhile, okay? We miss you."
"How about breakfast on Monday? At that place we used to go to by your apartment?" Karlie doesn't have anything planned for her Monday morning, and it'd be nice to catch up with her friends. "Derek can even come."
She and Candice quickly make the plans, and then Karlie is finally able to bring up the reason she called in the first place.
"Hey, so I have a question about Toni."
"Garrn? What about her?" Candice asks in mild bemusement.
"Where does she live?" Karlie doesn't know what makes her ask that question in particular. Maybe it's the fact that that coincidence was just too astronomical for her to wrap her head around. Out of all the buildings in New York, Karlie had ended up in front of the girl's apartment? It just doesn't sit right with her.
"The Village, it's actually not too far from where you and Jourdan live."
Karlie lets out a breath that she did not know she had been holding, and she feels relief sweep over her. At least she's not being stalked.
"Why are you asking about Toni, anyways? Is there trouble in paradise?"
"No, Taylor and I are perfectly fine. I just keep running into Toni and I thought she was stalking me or something." Karlie admits sheepishly, feeling ridiculous.
"I think she has a little crush on you, but she's totally harmless so don't worry. Actually, she's always busy so I don't think she has time to stalk." Candice laughs lightly. "She's actually a lot like you, now that I think about it. You two have a lot in common."
"Yeah, maybe too much."
Karlie keeps it at that, and her call with Candice is quickly wrapped up, with Candice holding her to her promise about breakfast. After hanging up, Karlie lets out a loud, exasperated sigh. She needs to relax about this Toni thing. The woman has done absolutely nothing to hint at her having an ulterior motive, and Karlie now feels bad for thinking the worst of her.
Maybe Toni isn't so bad.
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"So I realized something while you were gone."
"What?"
"All of my stuff is here."
Taylor stops chopping up the green peppers and onions that are supposed to be going into the stir-fry that she's making. Karlie is leaning against the island counter, and the only thing that gives away her nervousness is the fidgeting of her hands.
"What do you mean?" Taylor goes back to chopping, keeping her voice light despite the quickening of her heartbeat.
"My makeup, half of my closet, a good portion of my books, and just...everything. I don't even have to pack a bag to come here anymore." There is a small frown on Karlie's face, and Taylor feels her heart fall into her stomach.
Maybe they are moving too fast for Karlie. Maybe they should slow down.
"I guess I just wanted to know if you're okay with it. I mean, I can take some stuff back if you want me to. It's probably annoying having to share your drawers and stuff." Karlie stumbles over her words a little, looking extremely vulnerable as she continues to stare down at her hands.
"No, it's totally fine! You could even bring more stuff if you wanted to. I mean, not that I'm asking you to move in or anything but, like...if you wanted you could bring stuff." Taylor knows she sounds like a bumbling moron, and she groans when Karlie starts to laugh at her incoherency. "You know what I mean."
"Mhm," Karlie grins at her coyly. "Maybe I could bring some more pajamas over."
"Why? You have plenty of pajamas."
"I really don't. I'm literally forced to sleep half naked when I'm here."
"I still don't see what the problem is." Taylor deadpans.
"I get cold sometimes."
"I have this wonderful thing called heat. It's controlled by this wonderful thing called the thermostat, and that's located in this wonderful place called the living room."
"Smart ass." Karlie quips, her lips twitching as she tries to suppress her laughter.
Taylor laughs but it is quickly cut short when she feels a piercing, sharp pain on her left hand. She drops the knife quickly and almost passes out at the sight of the blood that's gushing from her left thumb and all over her the wooden cutting board.
"Shit!" Taylor's voice is high and panicked, and Karlie is instantly by her side. Taylor feels her stomach lurch as the blood keeps coming out, but then Karlie is wrapping her hand in a hand towel, blocking her view, and she can suddenly breathe a little easier.
When the blood is out of sight, Taylor is able to focus on how much her thumb stings. Her eyes mist over with unshed tears, and she whimpers softly when Karlie begins to press down on the cut.
"It's okay, you're okay." Karlie murmurs soothingly, keeping her tone calm and level.
"It's burning!"
"You were cutting peppers, it's going to sting. After we stop the bleeding you can run it under the faucet." Karlie continues to apply pressure to Taylor's thumb while simultaneously reaching under the kitchen sink to fetch the first aid kit that Taylor keeps there at all times.
After a few more minutes of applied pressure, Karlie let's Taylor run her thumb under cold water and then the brunette takes it upon herself to clean and bandage the cut.
"It's not that bad, I don't think you need stitches." Karlie says as she dabs at the cut with a cotton swab soaked in rubbing alcohol. Taylor holds back the hiss building in her throat, and watches as Karlie applies a thin layer of Neosporin.
"I'm not even going to ask why you have kitten patterned band aids." Karlie shakes her head as she wraps a clean band aid around Taylor's thumb. She then lifts Taylor's hand and proceeds to press a gentle kiss against her newly bandaged wound. "There, all better."
Taylor stares at Karlie with reddening cheeks and a fluttering heart. She tries to say thank you but the lump in her throat prevents it, so she presses a kiss to Karlie's cheek instead.
The stir-fry is kind of ruined thanks to Taylor bleeding on the essential vegetables, so they end up ordering in for dinner.
"I'm sorry I bled all over our dinner." Taylor says as she glumly pokes at her noodles. She and Karlie are sitting in the kitchen, so close to one another that their elbows almost bump every time one of them takes a bite of the Thai food they ordered.
"It's okay baby," Karlie runs her free long over Taylor's thigh and gives her knee a reassuring squeeze. Taylor finds comfort in it, and is grateful when Karlie keeps her hand there for the rest of their meal.
Karlie volunteers to do the dishes since Taylor is injured, but her idea of doing the dishes is just throwing them into Taylor's barely used dishwasher.
"Washing by hand is more thorough." Taylor says as she puts their leftovers in the fridge.
"Oh well." Karlie closes the dishwasher and fiddles with the buttons until the machine whirs to life.
They don't stay downstairs for long. They both have things to do in the morning – Karlie is getting breakfast with her friends and Taylor has a meeting with Tree – so they head up to bed earlier than usual. They share a shower, which is quickly becoming a frequent occurrence, and Taylor gets to relax while Karlie washes her hair for her, all thanks to a little cut on her hand.
They go about their nightly routine together, making idle conversation while they get dressed and then brushing their teeth side-by-side. Karlie makes funny faces while she scrubs at her teeth, and Taylor laughs so hard that she accidentally spits on the mirror.
"Disgusting," Karlie teases, wrinkling her nose while Taylor grudgingly wipes off the mirror.
"You're the worst." Taylor shoots back, still giggling as she picks up her floss.
When their bathroom antics are done, they both climb into bed on their respective sides. Taylor takes her glasses off and sits them on her nightstand, and then she cuts the light off. Taylor should be tired but she is suddenly wide awake, and she absentmindedly runs her uninjured hand over the curve of Karlie's hip. She can tell the brunette is already drifting off, and she knows that she will soon be the only awake.
"Taylor?"
"Hm?"
"Do you mind if I bring a few more books back from my place?"
Taylor feels a warmness in her chest, and she starts to slowly trace patterns against the skin of Karlie's hip.
"No, bring as many as you want. Do you want to hang some of your clothes up in the closet tomorrow? So that they don't get wrinkled?"
Karlie is quiet for a long moment, and Taylor starts to think that the brunette has fallen asleep, but then she feels Karlie shift against her.
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
Taylor smiles, and then presses a kiss against Karlie's shoulder. Silence falls between them again, and Taylor begins to decipher the feelings that have been overwhelming her since the day she left for London. She knows what it is, has known what it is for days, but it's cemented in that moment. It's glaringly obvious, especially after Karlie presses a kiss to the top of her head and murmurs out a quiet goodnight.
Taylor listens to the beating of Karlie's heart while the brunette falls asleep, and she lets out a shaky breath when she is certain that Karlie has fallen asleep.
I love you.
"Goodnight."