The shop is almost empty when Karlie walks in. It caught her eye because it was small, tucked in between a jewelry store and a clothing shop, and because she has always loved books. She slips in and looks around. The ceiling is high, and the shelves lining the walls go almost all the way up to it. She glances to the right, where the counter sits.
"Hello!" the girl standing there chirps. She's blond and tall and her beanie is to die for. She's also adorable, with a bright smile and wisps of blond hair poking out from beneath her hat. "Can I help you find anything?"
"Yeah," Karlie says before she realizes that she can't exactly ask the girl to help her find a date, at least not right off. "I'm looking for something new that I haven't read before."
The girl nods. "We can do new. What genres do you like?"
Karlie hesitates. "I don't know anymore," she says at last.
The girl nods, like it's something she hears all the time. "Do you want me to get a few of my favorites, and you can pick from them?"
"That would be great. I'm Karlie, by the way."
She smiles again. "Taylor. It's nice to meet you! I'm super excited to do this. I don't get to share my favorite books with people every day."
The man standing under the fiction sign across the room snorts. He's ginger and shorter than both her and Taylor. Karlie hadn't even noticed him. "Tay says that, but she's always spouting off recommendations, asking people if they've read Bluets or what they think of the Harry Potter play."
"I'm scared to read it," Karlie says. "I'm worried it'll, like, ruin the rest of the books for me or something."
Taylor shakes her head. "You can't live your life afraid of books. And don't listen to Ed, he just has a vendetta against Maggie Nelson."
"You can live your life afraid of anything." Karlie leans on the counter. "We aren't all Gryffindors."
Taylor pulls a book off the shelf. "Have you read Lab Girl?"
"Not yet."
"You know how priests used to only keep the Bible in Latin so that no one could read it? And then Martin Luther got fed up and created Protestantism. Which really goes to show what'll happen if you're afraid of books, especially ones that are a part of what you love. Like Christianity."
"I'm not sure that's how it happened," Ed says.
"I think Harry Potter is a bit more important than Christianity," Karlie says. "Didn't Albus Dumbledore say it best—'Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic'?"
Taylor grins. "So you'll read it, then?"
"I didn't say that," Karlie protests, but she already knows she will. Taylor must be able to see it in her eyes, because she crows with victory and grabs a copy of Cursed Child off the shelf.
"It's worth it," she promises. "Not quite the same as seeing it live, but between this and the Hamilton soundtrack, I feel almost like I've actually been to the theater."
"A Hamilton fan, huh?"
Taylor hops up on the stepladder. "Who isn't? Have you read David Sedaris?"
"Who?" Karlie asks. "I really like Aaron Burr."
"Perfect, you haven't. He's hilarious, you'll love him." She deposits the books she's picked up on the counter, where Karlie still stands. "And I've always identified more with Alexander Hamilton."
"In New York you can be a new man," Karlie says. She gestures around, like she's encompassing the whole city. "I think that's why I moved here. I mean, in retrospect, I've lived here for years."
Taylor is bent over a counter writing a receipt like she already knows Karlie will take all three of the books she's stacked on the counter. "I think New York is a kaleidoscope. Everyone here wanted something more, like we're all searching for a sound we hadn't heard before."
Karlie pulls out her credit card, not even looking at the books Taylor has chosen. "Do you write as well as sell books?"
There's a quiet. Behind her, Ed puts a book back on the shelf, the soft sound amplified by the silence between her and Taylor. Taylor looks like a deer in the headlights for a second until she swallows back whatever shocked her. "I used to want to be a song writer," she says. "But I also used to think I would never cut my hair."
Her hair is covered by the hat. Karlie wonders what it looks like. She imagines it's soft, and then she imagines running her hands through it as Taylor breathes her name, and she has to stop thinking real quick.
Taylor bags her books and hands them back to her. "Enjoy!" she chirps, the awkward pause already forgotten. "Feel free to stop by anytime."
Karlie steps outside into the grey New York morning. Taylor could light up the whole city, she thinks. She takes the subway, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head so it covers her eyes. She doesn't open any of the books, doesn't even look at them. She wants to be able to read them alone and she doesn't want the experience interrupted.
When she gets back to her empty apartment she barely takes the time to remove her coat and shoes before she curls up on her couch with the first book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. She is laughing within moments of opening it, and the time slips by. She only takes a break long enough to order Chinese, and then she eats while reading. Before she knows it, it is two am and she is grateful she doesn't have a shoot the next day. She tucks the book under her pillow, like it will bring her luck or something.
She wants to spend the next day reading, but life gets in the way. She has a workout planned with her trainer, and her agent wants to talk to her about Vogue, and she and Josh have a date planned, because their publicists both think they're spending too much time apart.
She's distracted all day, thinking about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Lab Girl and Taylor's smile. Josh notices when they meet in the coffee shop because, for all that they're not actually dating and they barely see each other, he's one of her best friends.
"What's bothering you, Kloss?" he asks.
"I was just up late reading," she says. She holds her coffee tighter. They haven't been holding hands lately, and the media has noticed. She wonders when they'll stage a breakup.
"Good book?" he teases.
She shrugs. "Good bookseller. I was in there for less than ten minutes and she managed to find me three perfect books."
"Was she cute?" Josh is one of the few people who knows about her sexuality.
She smiles at him and shrugs. "Cuter than you."
"Excuse you, Karlie, but I'll have you know that it takes a lot to find someone cuter than me. I am very cute. I am the epitome of cute. I am so cute that puppies ask me for cuteness lessons."
"You wish!" They continue to laugh and joke as they walk around the city, pretending that they can't see the paparazzi hovering ten feet in front of them. Somehow, they end up in front of Begin Again, Taylor's bookstore. Josh is diabolical like that.
Josh pokes Karlie forward. "Come on, Karls, if you don't talk to her you'll never know if she's into you. Which she is, of course, because who wouldn't be?"
Karlie peeks through the window. A man clears his throat behind her, and she spins. It's the same redheaded man from the day before. "Done reading already?" he asks.
"Not yet," she manages to say when she's over her surprise. "But Josh and I were hanging out and he wanted to see it for himself."
Josh nods like he's actually earnest about books, but mostly he's just looking Ed man up and down. "I'm very passionate about reading," he says. Karlie wants to slap her forehead. He's flirting.
Ed points to the lone photographer who's stuck with them this long. "Is he with you?"
"Only nominally," Karlie says. "He'll go away soon, probably."
He sighs. "You may as well come in. Tay's about to close, though."
"Tay, huh?" Josh asks. He looks at Karlie and waggles his eyebrows. She opens the door a bit harder than necessary.
Taylor looks up in surprise from her place at the counter. "Karlie!" she says. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."
"I loved the David Sedaris book." Karlie is already making her way towards Taylor, leaving Ed and Josh to figure things out. "I haven't read the other two yet. But I was telling my friend Josh about it, and he wanted to look for a book." She's careful to drop the word friend in so Taylor doesn't get the wrong idea about her and Josh, which is maybe the right idea if you listen to the media, but Karlie's hoping that Taylor's got her head so far in books that she doesn't read tabloids or online gossip. She also knows that she's getting totally ahead of herself, because Taylor probably isn't even into girls, or is she is she isn't into six-foot-tall giraffes.
Josh is following her. Ed is locking the door behind them, much to the disappointment of the man with his camera. Karlie would feel bad if he hadn't been like a vulture, heckling them to just kiss already.
"Hi," he says when he reaches the counter. He shakes Taylor's hand, every inch the businessman. "Do you have any books on business?"
"Current or 18th century?" Taylor asks, and Josh considers this like it isn't a completely ridiculous thing to say.
At last, "You know what? Let's go 18th century."
Karlie is so glad that he's her best friend. Taylor's face lights up, and she flits over to one of the furthest shelves. Ed brings her a ladder without even asking, and she's scrambling back to them with three books in hand in mere minutes.
Josh uses the time she's across the room to whisper to Karlie. "She's cute."
"Shut up." She's smiling at him, though.
"No, really. She is. And she has some pretty cool books, by the looks of things. Dating a girl like her you would never be bored."
Karlie is pretty sure she'll never stop grinning by the time Taylor comes over. She's showing Josh the books she's found, two older and one modern. They're talking about the issues merchants have had with pirates over the years, and Taylor's arm brushes Karlie as she leans over her to point out something. Karlie's heart skips a beat.
"I'll take them," Josh finally says. He holds the books possessively, and Taylor doesn't even have to look at the titles or prices to ring him up. She just knows. Watching Taylor like this, in her element, makes Karlie's heart ache for the time she used to love modeling as much as Taylor loves her bookstore.
Taylor sends them on their way a few minutes later with a few cookies after having elicited Karlie's promise that she'll stop by after she finishes the other two books and they'll talk about them then.
Josh lets her keep her dignity for a block before he starts laughing. "You're so far gone, Kloss."
She starts Lab Girl that night, after she and Josh part ways. She falls asleep curled up with it. In the morning, it's still in her hands.
Part of her doesn't want to keep reading. She wants to see Taylor. She wants to go to Begin Again and she wants to kiss Taylor and damn the consequences. She goes for a run. When she gets back to her apartment, she asks her followers on Twitter for questions and she films a vlog and she purposefully doesn't read a single word of either book she has left.
She regrets this the next day. She picks up Lab Girl again and reads until she's finished. When it ends, she's satisfied but a part of her still wants more. She pulls out her phone to text Taylor this, like they're already friends, but then she remembers that she doesn't have her number. They don't know each other well enough for that. They don't know each other at all.
Instead, she texts Josh, Do you think it is actually possible to die from not seeing another person???
His response comes quickly, just talk to her oh my god karlie this is so gross.
She turns off her phone.
She's restless, thinking about Taylor, and she puts off starting the Harry Potter book. She watches Netflix and falls asleep at a normal time and definitely doesn't dream of blond hair and red lipstick and eyes so blue they pierce her soul.
The next day she has a shoot. It's in New York, luckily. She rolls out of bed early, and is an hour early to the location. On a whim, she grabs the book before she leaves her apartment.
They start hair and makeup immediately, and she doesn't have a chance to open it. She thinks about nothing while they work. When they're done, she texts her publicist: Should I start a twitter book club?
She Snapchats while she waits for the response. She's been lax on social media lately, and while she can afford to take breaks sometimes, she tries to stay engaged. Once she stops, it's so much harder to start again.
Her publicist texts back: Sure! I'll send you a list of possible books.
Karlie doesn't respond. She already knows what book she wants to talk about, but she doesn't want to have this conversation with her fans. She wants to have it with Taylor. She imagines Taylor laid out in her bed whispering lines of poetry to her. She's saved from her own mind by the photographer sending a PA to come find her.
She gets home late that night covered in more makeup and hair products than she cares to think about. She showers and is about to go to bed when she remembers the book in her bag. She opens it at last. On the first page are ten numbers and a smiley face. She texts immediately.
Did you leave your number in a book for me?
Taylor, or at least she hopes it's Taylor, replies within minutes. I thought you would never open it.
I had work. Karlie responds. She waits a second, then Now I'm going to stay up to read this entire play.
You've got to read it in one sitting.
If this ruins Harry Potter for me, I'm going to be so mad at you. Karlie starts reading. In the back of her mind, she wonders if she can take Taylor to see a performance in London. If not, Hamilton is in New York, even if it's sold out for basically forever.
Taylor's response is slower this time. It won't.
Karlie clicks off her phone with a smile. It's time to read.
Suddenly, it's three am and she's really mad. She wonders offhandedly if Taylor is asleep, and then she decides to go for it.
Voldemort cannot have a daughter wtf.
Taylor responds in seconds. I know it's so weird but also what about Albus???
Karlie runs her fingers over the cover. She relates more to Rose than Albus, out of the Weasley-Potter family. I felt so bad for him, having the world to live up to. She frowns at her phone. Maybe she is more like Albus than she thought.
Sleep on it, Taylor advises. That's what I was doing, until Meredith decided to use my leg as a scratching post.
Meredith?
Taylor sends a picture of a small grey and white cat hiding under a bed. Then she gets a second one, a small white cat standing on her hind legs with the caption Olivia.
Grinning, Karlie sends back a picture of Joe and falls asleep with her phone still in her hand. She wakes up to Taylor's text the next morning, which is just the word Awwww.
She's totally asking Taylor out on a date the next time she sees her.
It seems like as soon as she decides that, life begins to conspire against her. Her agent calls, saying she's needed to redo some of the shots from the day before. Then Josh texts with a sudden hair emergency that somehow takes half a day. The day after that, she somehow ends up flying to Vienna.
She and Taylor text throughout all of it, and by the time she's in Vienna she knows that Taylor's definitely Googled her. She's been silly, thinking that she could keep her job a secret from Taylor. The poor girl has had paparazzi staked out for days wondering when Karlie was coming back. Ed throws an encyclopedia at one who was a little bit persistent. Taylor includes a picture when she texts Karlie about it.
There are good experiences too. Her fans are super supportive, tweeting about the cute bookstore owner and asking Karlie what she's reading. A few of them post pictures with Taylor, and some enthuse over the books she recommends.
Karlie is glad to be back in her apartment a week later, though. She drops her bags and part of her wants to run to Taylor immediately, but she's just been on a plane for ten hours and the jetlag is kind of killing her.
The next morning she makes her way there with a coffee firmly in hand. She hasn't made a conscious decision to look as good as she can for Taylor, but also she totally has. When she steps in, Taylor isn't at the register.
Ed shakes his head at her. "I was wondering when you'd come back," he says. He doesn't stop shelving to help her, and so she doesn't ask him where Taylor is even though she's dying to know.
Instead, she wanders around. She hasn't looked at the shelves before, because Taylor's always forged ahead for her to find things that she'll love. Now she does, and she's surprised by the variety. She's also surprised that Taylor can find any books as quickly as she does, with them all scattered in loose categories. She does find a book on cat grooming in with the encyclopedias. When she asks, Ed haughtily informs her that Taylor has a system.
Finally, she ends up with a book in hand. She stands by the register until Ed deigns to come over and let her pay. She thinks he's kind of like a cat, and then she wonders if that's why Taylor likes him so much.
"This is one of her favorite books," he says.
Karlie picks it up again. It's a biography of Zelda Fitzgerald. "It looked interesting," she says. "And I've always felt bad for her."
"Maybe she didn't want your pity." Ed isn't looking at her when he continues. "Also, Taylor has Tuesdays off. She'll be back tomorrow."
Karlie thanks him and leaves. She totally should have come straight from the airport the day before. She heads towards the coffee shop that's the midpoint between her apartment and Begin Again. She wants a latte and a nice place to read.
She doesn't examine the other patrons like she usually does when she goes in. She orders quietly, gives a fake name for the cup—says Taylor without even thinking. It isn't until another hand reaches for her drink that she takes in her surroundings.
Taylor is standing there, tall and blond and perfect. "Latte for Taylor?" she says. "It's my order exactly."
Karlie laughs, hoping that her surprise doesn't show on her face. "Of course it is."
Taylor points to the book she's still clutching. "And that's my favorite book."
"Ed said, after I bought it."
Taylor nods. "He texted, said to meet you. And I saw you come in here."
"Stalker," Karlie says. Without even talking about it, the two head for the door.
"I'm not the one who showed up at your place of employment multiple times," Taylor says. "I'm totally not the stalker here."
Karlie takes the lead, heading towards her apartment. "Yeah, well, at least I don't go following you on the street."
She's forgotten how easy it is to be with Taylor, and how much she feels drawn to her. Taylor is wearing a short mint green dress, and with her heels she's almost as tall as Karlie. Karlie likes that. She's used to being a giraffe, but it's nice to have a slightly shorter giraffe next to her.
As soon as Karlie locks the door behind them Taylor is there, leaning upwards to capture her in a soft kiss. She pulls away quickly, far too soon.
"Is this okay?" Taylor asks.
"It's more than okay," Karlie says, and she pulls her closer. She loses track of time, standing on her welcome mat and kissing Taylor. Somehow, they eventually make it to the bedroom. They kiss for what seems like hours, until Taylor's stomach rumbles.
They separate giggling. Karlie feels like all she ever does around Taylor is laugh, and she appreciates it more than she can believe.
"Should I order takeout?" Karlie asks.
Taylor nods. "Thai?"
"Whatever you want." Karlie kisses her nose, and Taylor blushes a light pink.
When Karlie finishes ordering, Taylor is sitting in one of her dining room tables fiddling with her necklace. "There's something I should tell you," she says. Karlie's bracing from something like I'm not gay or I like movie adaptations better than the books but she is definitely under no circumstances expecting what comes out of Taylor's mouth. "My last name is Swift."
"Okay," Karlie says slowly, because like she definitely should have asked Taylor's last name at some point before getting her into bed and then it hits her. "Oh."
Taylor nods. "I should have told you."
"Like, the Taylor Swift?" Karlie's already certain. She hadn't listened to Taylor Swift's songs when she was a kid, but she'd heard when Taylor completely disappeared off of the face of the earth and stopped performing or releasing music. Everyone had.
"I have a cousin who's named Taylor Swift too," she says. "But yeah, the one you're thinking of."
Karlie nods. "So you didn't get eaten by a shark?"
Taylor tilts her head. "Was that a popular theory?"
"I don't know," Karlie responds. "Everything was a popular theory."
"I just didn't like the attention," Taylor says. "No, that's not it. I didn't like—I'm not good at having people guess about my life and follow me around all the time. I love the music, but I love the bookstore more."
"Begin Again. So it was your fresh start?"
"Yeah. But I think it'll come out, it'll have to, now that we're going to be photographed together." Karlie smiles, even though this is a serious discussion and she maybe shouldn't, because Taylor has just implied that they'll be going on dates enough to be worth photographing. Hell, Karlie's happy to be going on dates with her at all.
She kisses her. "I'm glad you told me."
Taylor smiles into another kiss. "I'm glad I told you too, Karlie Kloss."
"So," Karlie says. "We have to have at least fifteen minutes before the Chinese gets here."
Taylor raises an eyebrow. "There's a lot you can do with fifteen minutes."
It isn't perfect, her and Taylor. Taylor's cats scratch her the first time she stays over, and the media follows them around, and eventually someone recognizes Taylor and it's a huge scandal. Fake breaking up with Josh is hard, even if she'll always have him as a friend, and coming out is harder, even with Taylor at her side.
But she does it all with a smile on her face. At the end of long shoots, she has Taylor to come home to, and she has Begin Again to visit on days off (with considerably more security hired). One day Karlie comes home to Taylor playing guitar and singing to Olivia.
"I wrote a song for us," she says. "It's called You Are in Love."
It isn't perfect, but Karlie wouldn't trade it for anything.