The table that was dressed for us was beautiful. It was small enough for Taylor and I to be at an arm length distance but big enough to fit all the plates and cutlery without being compressed.
I was conversing with Taylor and admiring her beauty while she rambled about insignificant but nice topics. She radiated. We'd been here for fifteen minutes, just drinking water, and I wasn't even bored. I was stuck looking at her. A waitress approached our table with menus tucked under her arm and smiled when she reached us.
"Good morning ladies, would you like to start off with something to drink or some appetizers?", she asked politely while she handed us the menus. I looked at Taylor, hoping that she would help me since she knew the place quite well.
"Could you make us a platter with of a mix of appetizers?", Taylor asked without tearing her eyes off the menu.
"Of course. Anything else?"
"We'll have a bottle of your best champagne. Thank you", Taylor said and turned her attention back to me. She frowned when she met my panicked face.
I hadn't drunk alcohol in a long time and I wasn't sure if I felt really comfortable with it. I'd made great progress dealing with my issues but this was huge. Alcohol was a factor of why I was here today. Sure, I'd met Taylor and I couldn't be happier, but what I'd been through for the last two years was also due to my father's alcoholism so it was hard to reconcile with booze.
I turned to look at the waitress and noticed just then that she wasn't that bad looking. Maybe a little too badass for my taste but she was okay. I glanced at her name tag: Kassandra. It suited her I guess.
"Could you also bring a bottle of sparkling water, please?", I asked softly to mask my anxiousness. She grinned and shamelessly checked me out.
"Anything for you", she said huskily and winked at me.
My face turned red and my eyes widened in astonishment. What the hell was this? Was she crazy?
"Ahem", I heard and looked at a fuming Taylor. Oh fuck she was mad. It would not turn good.
They were now staring at each other and Taylor talked coldly.
"You can go now", she said with a sharp look. The waitress nodded, knowing that making a scene would be unnecessary and inappropriate. Knowing Taylor, she would get her ass fired.
"I'll be back shortly", the waitress said with a tight smile before walking away.
"Unfortunately", Taylor mumbled before turning her attention back to me.
Her face softened when she laid her eyes on me and I felt relieved to know that she wouldn't lash out. I was still really embarrassed by Kassandra's flirting. Neither did I expect this to happen nor did I want it to happen.
"What the hell what that?", I asked pointing shockingly at the waitress. The words came out slowly as my mind was still trying to recover.
"Me telling her to back off", she said shrugging before sipping on her water.
I got off the embarrassment state and started to feel curious. How could that waitress just openly flirt with me during her work hours? Did that happen often? This was so unprofessional of her.
"Is she even allowed to do that?", I asked Taylor with a frown on my face.
"Not really, this isn't ethical", she said calmly.
"Yet waiters compliment customers all the time."
"There is a difference between complimenting someone and eye fucking them, Ashley", she said curtly, raising her voice a bit too much.
Her eyes held so much anger and pain. I grabbed her hand that was on the table and started playing with her fingers to try and soothe her a little before the waitress came back.
"I didn't say that to make you mad Tay, I'm sorry", I told her softly. She sighed and intertwined her fingers with mine.
"I know. I can't help it though. It's just that...", her face strangely turned sad and insecure.
I'd never seen her this vulnerable before. She looked down at our hands and then back at me. She gulped and took a deep breath.
"She might be a threat", she said with a quivering voice. Her eyes were watery but she wasn't crying.
Did it really mean what I thought it meant? Taylor was not only jealous but also scared that I might go for someone else. But I would never. If only she knew how I felt. The butterflies in my stomach were all over the place and my heart was screaming for her. My feelings for her were so strong.
I got up from my seat and made my way to her side of the table. I instructed her to move back a little and I sat on her lap while wrapping my arms around her neck. Her hands automatically grabbed my waist and she looked at me with this scared expression. I stroked her cheek with my thumb and scrutinized her angelic face.
It was now or never. I needed to get everything out of my chest. I needed to reassure her and make her mine once and for all.
"I only have eyes for you, Taylor", I whispered and smiled at her.
"You do?", she asked softly while a smile grew on her face. I smiled, flashing her my whites, and nodded enthusiastically. "So you won't run away hand in hand with the waitress?"
This made me laugh. I pushed a strand of hair behind her ear to admire her amazing face. I shook my head no and kept looking at her mesmerizing blue eyes.
"She's not who I wanna be with", I said softly.
Her face lit up. I'd seen Taylor happy before, but never like this. I would never forget her reaction. This look was what I wanted to see on her face every day, and I'd do anything to make that happen.
"Taylor, will you be my girlfriend?", I asked above a whisper.
I gulped hard, suddenly feeling stressed out. I really wanted this. She didn't say anything though. She was frozen, with her mouth slightly open. She finally blinked and took a deep breath in the process.
"It would be my biggest honor to finally be your girlfriend", she said before gifting me with her brightest smile.
Her mouth and smile were to die for. Seriously. I bit my bottom lip and started leaning in to kiss her. But I caught the waitress approaching in my peripheral vision, so I stopped and was about to get up. Taylor held me back though, forcing me to remain on her lap.
"What are you doing?", she asked confused.
"The waitress is coming back with our drinks and food. I should go back to my seat", I explained.
"Fuck no", Taylor mumbled before grabbing the back of my head and slamming her lips on mine, thrusting her tongue into my mouth.
It was the first time Taylor showed herself so aggressive and hungry towards me. Not that I minded. Her kiss made me melt as her tongue passionately and sensually explored my mouth. She was so good at this. Saying that I was turned on would be an understatement considering that the mere sight of her made me feel all tingly and that we were making out in a restaurant.
Taylor pulled away and kissed her way down my neck. She reached my collarbone and bit my sweet spot.
"Fuck, Tay", I moaned softly while gripping her hair. She definitely knew how to handle me.
I heard someone clear their throat beside me and rose my head to find the waitress glaring at us. I glanced at Taylor quickly and she was ready to explode.
"I'm sorry but we don't allow this type of behavior in our establishment. Next time I'll have to ask you to leave", she said professionally while she placed our orders neatly on the table.
"Oh, so it's okay for you to-", my eyes widened and I cupped Taylor's mouth before she really got us kicked out.
"Don't", I whispered and turned back to the waitress. Hoping I could use my charms, I smiled brightly to light up the mood. "Sorry about that, we won't cause any trouble. Thank you so much for the food".
"No problem. I'll be around if you need anything", she said and smiled back.
"Thanks Kassandra", I said before she turned around. Taylor suddenly bit my hand which made me look at her sharply.
"What the hell?", I whined and held my hand close to me to keep it out of her reach.
"Thanks Kassandra", she mimicked me in a pitch voice with clear disgust on her face. It was hilarious.
I was dying of laughter while Taylor folded her arms and pouted. I cupped her cheeks and pecked her pout. She didn't react. I pecked her lips again and smiled. This time her eyes softened. I kissed her again and a crooked grin appeared on her beautiful face while she shook her head. I arbored a broad grin and leaned in. She met me halfway and kissed me gently.
"Can we eat now?", I asked excitedly when we pulled away. She laughed and nodded.
I got back to my seat and scrutinized the platter. Everything looked delicious. I couldn't wait to taste it. Taylor grabbed the bottle of champagne and filled our flutes. She handed me one but I didn't take it, I just looked at it, pondering. She put the glass down at the corner of my plate and looked at me frowning.
"Ash?", she called to get my attention.
"Hmm?", I looked at her while pursing my lips.
"What's wrong? You don't like champagne?", she asked softly, always so understanding.
"No, I do like champagne. I just... Hm... Oh god, I feel so bad now... I just... don't really drink alcohol anymore", I said with a grimace.
"Oh, how come?", she asked nicely without even minding the expensive bottle she had ordered for nothing.
"My... Hm... My... Patrick. He was an alcoholic", her eyes went wide and I immediately saw the guilt covering her face, "But it's okay, you can drink I don't mind. I'll even have a sip with you if that makes you happy", I said as I reached for her hand .
"I feel bad for getting the bottle", she confessed pouting.
"Don't. I won't prevent you from drinking if you want to", I smiled reassuringly.
"Are you sure?", she asked skeptically.
"A hundred percent", I said and kissed her hand before grabbing the flute she had filled for me. "Let's make a toast", I raised the glass and looked at her. She smiled and raised her glass.
"To what?", she asked softly. I looked into her eyes and we both grinned.
"To us", I said excitedly. She chuckled and we clinked our glasses to celebrate the late formalization of this beautiful relationship.
We drank the champagne and I had to admit that it tasted good. I hadn't missed alcohol at all but I'd forgotten what it tasted like. This was another achievement, another step forward, and a new fear that I had overcome thanks to this amazing woman in front of me whom I could finally call my girlfriend.
Who would have thought that I could be this happy? Definitely not me.
We kept on chatting and laughing during all the meal. It was delicious. Taylor ordered some weird Italian rice and it confirmed my initial thought: she did have great taste in food. The waitress came back to take our empty plates and obviously she received death glares from Taylor when she asked me if I had liked the food and if I wanted anything else. She kind of had it coming though since she didn't stop being flirtatious and totally ignored Taylor's presence across the table.
"Tay you want dessert?", I asked and she smiled at me warmly.
"No thanks. I'm full."
"We'll just have the check then", I told Kassandra who nodded and walked away.
She came back a few minutes later with the check and told us to pay at the front desk before winking at me and leaving. I took the bill and looked at it. My eyes widened when I saw the three-hundred dollar check, but my face reddened when I caught a phone number at the bottom of the piece of paper. It was Kassandra's.
The check was snatched from me and I turned around to see Taylor holding it behind her back. Her playful expression made me swoon as usual, but it also made me panic.
"Give it back", I requested as I tried to reach behind her. I was anxious. If she saw the number she would kill her and I'd never hear the end of the matter.
"No way. I'm the one who's paying", she chuckled and moved away from me to walk in the direction of the front desk.
I followed her but bumped into her when she abruptly stopped. She turned around and met my scared face. Her eyes were dark and she bit the inside of her cheek, looking straight at me. She didn't say anything. She just went to the front desk, paid for the food and exited the restaurant in fury without even waiting for me.
I ran after Taylor as she walked fast towards the car. I jumped in front of the driver door to stop her from opening it. I tried to catch her eyes but she wouldn't look at me. She was extremely mad and I wouldn't be surprised if she yelled at me in about ten seconds. I reached for her hand but she backed away. I took a step forward and cupped her face in my hands to make her look at me but she resisted. It pained me to see her like this.
"Taylor", I called her with a weak voice. I needed her to look at me. She met my eyes a few seconds later and I felt a lump in my throat when I saw anger and sadness in my lover's gaze.
"I can't believe you were ready to lie to me, Ash", she whispered.
"No Tay, you don't get it-", she cut me off and exploded as predicted.
"No! You don't get it! I've been sitting there watching you being hit on and eye fucked by this bitch for two hours and next thing I know you're willing to pay for a three-hundred-dollar check to keep her phone number?! What the fuck Ashley!", she was sobbing hard so I took a deep breath to try and think of my next move.
I cupped her mouth and looked at her in the eyes. I started talking softly, hoping it would calm her down.
"I didn't want to keep her number, I just wanted to avoid having you lash out against her in the middle of an overcrowded restaurant. I'm really sorry you had to witness all of this but I can assure you that I didn't want this to happen. I just wanted to enjoy a delightful lunch with my amazing girlfriend", I grinned and felt her relax a little, "I would never ever manifest any interest in another girl when I have the perfect one with me. And to be fair, her number would be pretty useless since I don't even have a phone", I chuckled and rolled my eyes playfully.
I dropped my hand to my side and left my other one on her cheek. She was done crying but her eyes were still a little red. I hated seeing her sad. She looked at me attentively before taking her notepad out of her purse and writing down what I figured to be another question that she didn't want to ask me yet.
She finally focused on me but she didn't say anything. She just cupped my cheeks and kissed me. This kiss was different from the others. This one was really soft and pure but it was also full of sadness and shame. Her lips were salty and wet after a while so I pulled away, only to see her crying with her eyes closed.
I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her against me. She placed her head in the crook of my neck and hugged me tightly. I held her for as long as she needed. Even after she was done crying.
"I'm sorry for being such a bipolar bitch", Taylor mumbled and dropped a kiss on my neck.
It wasn't really appropriate considering the situation but I cracked up. I couldn't stop laughing. It was so unexpectedly cute and innocent that it was funny. She leaned her head back to look at me without changing our position and pouted.
"Can you please stop making fun of me?", she pleaded with a cute little voice and a pouty face. My laughter faded and I shook my head while grinning at her.
"You're definitely something else Taylor Lawson, but I wouldn't change you for the world", I said softly, making her smile.
"So you're okay with me having weird mood swings when bitches hit on you?", she asked grimacing. I chuckled and tightened my grip around her neck.
"I can handle it", I told her.
She smiled and closed the small gap between us, engulfing me in a sweet and loving kiss. She pulled away and her eyes glanced to my right before turning back to me. Without a warning, she attacked my lips and backed me up against her car. I felt her tongue pushing against my lips but I didn't let her in. What the hell was she doing?
She bit my bottom lip, making me gasp, and took advantage of that to slip her tongue into my mouth and go look for mine. God, did I love this side of her. I couldn't resist her. I let her take charge.
The kiss grew intense very quickly and my legs were ready to give up. Taylor felt me sliding down and chuckled. She placed her hands behind my thighs and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs tightly around her waist as she pressed our bodies firmly against her car to keep us from falling. My collarbone was at her eye level and I saw her arboring a seductive smirk before she kissed me straight on my sensitive spot. I turned into a breathing mess. I was focusing on holding back to avoid drawing any more attention to us but when Taylor started sucking on my collarbone I moaned louder than I intended to and tilted my head to the right to fully expose my left side.
I froze when I saw Kassandra staring at us from the window. How long had she been standing there watching us?
"Taylor?", I asked in a serious tone.
"What?", she brought her precious face in front of mine.
"I don't know if you noticed but we have an audience", she glared at Kassandra then looked back at me and her eyes were immediately loving and caring.
Bipolar bitch indeed.
"Well screw her. It'll teach the bitch who owns your ass", she said furiously. My eyes were about to pop out of my head in shock before I realized something. Before she kissed me like a horny fuckboy, she'd looked to my right. And Kassandra was standing there.
"Taylor?", I called her with my sweetest voice. She raised a brow questioningly which I took that as my cue to continue. "I would be crazy to think that you intentionally and not spontaneously fooled around with me in the middle of a parking lot just to prove a stranger that I'm with you, right?", I asked innocently.
"She had it coming", she mumbled, "But don't act like you weren't enjoying it. You were practically begging me to take you right here", she said chuckling and grinned.
"Pretty much yeah", I said laughing before leaning down and whispering in her ear, "I love it when you take control."
"Oh, baby. You've seen nothing yet.", she said huskily, sending a shiver down my spine.
I kissed the spot right under her ear and sucked on it, making her gasp and tilt her head. I sucked harder and let my tongue join the party. One of Taylor's hand squeezed my ass and we both moaned at the same time. Oh man, what I wanted to do to her. I pecked her spot and kissed my way back to her addictive lips. I kissed her softly and pulled away to lean my head against the car. I stroked her cheeks and admired her beauty.
"What do we have to do next?", I asked her nicely.
"Depends on what you're in the mood for", she grinned and tilted her head to the right. This signature move of hers was simply irresistible.
"I don't know", I said with a pout.
She made her thinking face and put me down before telling me to get in the car. I buckled up and spun my body so that I was facing her. She didn't start the car right away though.
"Before we go I need you to answer this so that I can cross it out of my questions list", she said smiling and taking my hand in hers.
"Shoot."
"Why don't you have a phone?", she asked in disbelief.
"Because I smashed it with a rock and threw the crumbles into a fire", I explained shrugging. Her eyes furrowed in confusion for a few seconds before she understood.
"Right, you destroyed it when you left", she said nodding, "But why haven't you bought a new one since?"
"I don't need it. I don't talk to anyone, not even my classmates. I have literally zero relationship to maintain", I explained calmly. She nodded and grinned before pecking my lips and starting the car.
What was she plotting in that little head of hers?
While she focused on the road, I kept looking at her and thought about the show we'd given in front of the restaurant. It had been pretty intense.
'Oh, baby. You've seen nothing yet.'
My mouth watered just imagining Taylor on top of me, wearing her black corset. I desperately wanted to do her too but I wouldn't mind being at Taylor's mercy. I loved bringing this sexy dominant vibe out of her. She had so much effect on me.
The car came to a stop so I looked around but didn't recognize the place. Considering the full parking lot and the shape of the building, I understood that she had brought me to a shopping mall. I got out and waited for Taylor to lead the way. She grabbed my hand and guided me to the entrance.
My jaw dropped to the floor when the doors opened. No wonder I didn't know the place, this mall was full of all the most luxurious brands I could think of. How was that even possible? I felt Taylor tugging on my hand so I started walking fast to reach her level and continue beside her.
"Tay, what is this place and what are we even doing here?", I asked while looking at the displays.
"You'll see", she said laughing.
We reached an elegant store that had plenty of electronic devices on display. Most of them were Apple but they also had a pretty big section for Samsung and another for other brands. Everything was organized from type of device, to size and year of release.
I was looking at this iPhone. It was impressive. The one I used to own was ridiculous compared to this one, not only in size but also in price. A thousand dollars for a damn phone? Who would buy this? Mine didn't even reach two hundred bucks at the time. It was the iPhone 5 and I had bought it for my 15th birthday. And now here was the X. I felt like a caveman in front of this.
"What are you looking at?", Taylor asked as she hugged my waist from behind. She kissed the back of my neck and rested her chin on my shoulder. I pointed at the phone accusingly.
"Taylor, that thing is twice as expensive as my rent", I said horrified and glanced at her, "How is that even possible?"
"Because it's new and unlocks with your face", she chuckled and pecked my shoulder. "Do you like it?", she asked softly. I scrutinized the phone and tilted my head, thinking.
"I guess I do", I said slowly.
"Okay", she kissed my jaw. I felt her hands releasing me but I held them and turned around to look at her.
"Where are you going?", I asked in a saddened voice. I didn't want her to go.
"I'm just gonna take a look at the computers over there. I'll be right back." I nodded and she kissed me on the corner of my lips, making me smile like an idiot. "Get back to your Scarface contest", she said while pointing at the phone.
My face turned serious and I brought my attention back to the device. How could it even exist? And it could recognize people? I wondered if it would have recognized me when I went from Brooke to Ashley. I'd have to ask Taylor about it.
Speaking of the devil, I felt her soft hand on my back which made me turn around and grin at her. She had a huge bag in her hand. I went to reach for it but she yanked it and held it away from me.
"Don't even think about it", she said between giggles.
"But I wanna see what you bought", I whined.
"I'll show you when we get home, babe.", she smiled and tugged on my hand to make me follow her.
I had a broad grin on my face. She'd called me babe.