“Brooke”, a soft voice called next to my ear as a gentle hand rested on my back to shake me. I opened my eyes and blinked several times to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.
Why the fuck was I waking up to a pen and paper? I lifted my head slowly to have a better view over it and instantly recalled how I'd fallen asleep in the middle of my writing session.
“Babe”, what I recognized as Taylor’s voice called so I spun my head to look around me and there she was, sporting her brightest grin and looking more gorgeous than ever.
Hello butterflies.
“I’m sorry”, I croaked and sat up slowly to be sure my back wouldn’t stay stuck from this bad position. I’d have to stretch that before turning paraplegic.
“I don’t even get a good morning?”, she asked in a saddened voice.
“Come get it”, I said hoarsely and patted my lap so she moved and straddled me as her arms found their spot around my neck. She flashed me a cute grin and leaned her head forward to attach our lips for a few seconds before pulling away always so gently.
“I missed you last night”, she whispered so I opened my eyes to look at her.
“What happened to your lips?”, I asked knitting my eyebrows in confusion.
“You still have lipstick on, it probably stained”, she explained and shrugged nonchalantly so I brought my fingers to my own lips to check for myself and I was indeed wearing red lipstick.
Oh shit! The surprise! She couldn't see me like this! My eyes widened and I looked down at my body, only to find it still covered by the robe.
“You’re okay, baby?”, Taylor asked softly so I looked back at her in panic.
“Yes”, I blurted out and nodded frantically to try and keep a focused mind.
“Do you want to explain to me how you ended up spending the night in my office instead of my bed?”, she asked raising an eyebrow questioningly.
“Well, I… I found you asleep so… it cancelled my plans and I wasn’t tired so I came here to write that thing for… Alexandra… and I stayed up very late so I guess I fell asleep… just like that”, I reeled off stammering and bent to the side to see if my papers were still there.
“You seem distressed”, she said worriedly.
“No”, I mumbled and shook my head but I was still focused on trying to spot every single one of my papers.
“How many hours did you spend working on that thing?”, Taylor asked blankly so I brought my attention to the clock to count.
“Five?”, I said completely taken aback. It couldn't be. I lifted my finger and pointed at each number to recount but it was still five. I hadn't realized.
“I think you disintegrated your neurons”, Taylor said very seriously and that made my head snap in her direction.
“What?”, I asked raising my eyebrows in disbelief.
“I get that you might be tired and emotionally drained but you’re acting very strange. I can’t help but think that this exercise messed with your head and completely disturbed you. Unless there is something else that’s causing you some sort of anxiety but you need to tell me if that’s the case”, she rattled out in a sweet voice while looking at me with this never ending careness in her pretty blue eyes.
“Yeah. All that”, I said nodding in confirmation and gave her a thumb up to congratulate her bright mind. She understood me very well.
“Why don’t we go put you in the shower?”, she offered and cupped my cheek tenderly.
“I’ll set it less hot so you can come with me”, I said smiling and leaned forward to peck her soft lips. Oops, the lipstick.
“This is very sweet of you”, she said chuckling and stood up so I followed her lead.
She grabbed my hand and started guiding us towards the door but I stopped dead in my tracks and let go of her hand to go get my papers very quickly. I stopped in front of the desk and sighed at the sight of this mess. I'd literally created a mattress of papers to sleep on. I grabbed the first paper and went through it quickly but it wasn’t the initial one at all. I grabbed another one but it had absolutely nothing to do with the previous one. I flipped them over but it still didn’t get me anywhere.
“Babe, enough with this”, Taylor said softly so I looked up and met her worried eyes.
“Tay, my papers… They don’t mean anything anymore. It’s all messy and in disorder”, I said panickingly so she approached me and stood next to me to have a look over the desk.
“You want me to help you put them in the correct order?”, she asked softly and pushed some of them aside to display the ones from the bottom.
“Really? You’d do that?”, I asked in a whisper as I looked at her with so much hope and expectation.
“Of course. But once we’re done with it you leave them. Deal?”
“I organized them in two chapters”, I blurted out and her eyes met mine to give me her full attention.
“Alright, then we’ll start by determining what page goes with what chapter and we’ll go from there. What are they about?”, she asked blankly.
“Hum… There’s one about me and one about you… and us… well, mostly you”, I explained sheepishly.
“What chapter do they belong to?”, she asked pointing at the papers in my hands so I analyzed them closely to be sure I wasn’t mixing them up.
“Yours”, I mumbled and handed them to her so she could keep them.
“Come on, do the same with the other papers and then we’ll try to figure out the order”, she said as she took hold of the two papers I'd given her.
Taylor’s method was very efficient. I took it paper by paper and gave Taylor the ones that were about her while the ones about me remained on the desk. Once that step accomplished, the next mission was to sort them out. We started with my chapter and I wrote down the number of each page at the bottom just to be sure. We repeated the same actions with Taylor’s chapter and I ended up with two little piles.
“Hang on”, Taylor blurted out and walked around the desk to go open a big drawer from which she took a red folder. She opened it on the desk and grabbed my chapter that she quickly stapled on the left side before repeating the same action with her chapter on the right side.
“There you go, my love. Your very first bestseller”, she said proudly and handed me the folder so I grabbed it cautiously and looked at it completely amazed.
I looked back at Taylor and just the sight of her bright grin and blue eyes brought me back to reality. I dropped the folder on the desk and literally climbed on it to throw my arms around her neck and squeeze her to death. Taylor giggled amusedly against my ear but she wrapped her arms around me and let me enjoy the pleasant feeling of having her in my arms and against me.
“You’re the most beautiful and precious thing that has ever happened in my life, Taylor”, I whispered and tightened my grip even more to be sure she wouldn’t let go.
“Oh, my baby”, she cooed softly and lay a hand flat on my back to stroke it gently. “You can’t imagine how happy you make me”.
“For real?”, I asked almost inaudibly and leaned my head back to be able to look at her in the eyes.
“Yeah, for real. We’re just so great together”, she whispered soothingly and glanced down at my lips for a second before looking back into my eyes with this expression that reached my soul and tickled my guts all the time.
“Tay, I have something I need to tell you but I don’t know how”, I said in a low voice and knitted my eyebrows sheepishly. Maybe now would be a good time but I’d never done that before. It seemed easier on paper.
“Is it important?”, she asked blankly.
“Vital even”, I mumbled and she nodded in understanding.
“Hurry up or I’ll say it first”, she said while giving me the playful crooked smirk and my eyes widened at the sound of that.
“You have no right”, I blurted out and shook my head categorically to show her it was my moment.
“I believe I have every right to freely express my feelings towards my beautiful girlfriend”, she said softly and tilted her head to the side.
“No. Not yet. You need to wait. You can’t take that away from me. I’m about to take the bull by the horns from my own initiative for the first time so I’m gonna ask you some patience and some tolerance-”
“Brooklyn”, she called in a husky voice and brought her face closer to mine while looking at me with her determined expression.
“No, Tay, I’m begging you”, I whispered and cupped her cheeks to put some resistance in her advance.
“I’m gonna say it”, she said nodding and my heart started beating like crazy in panic.
“Stop pressuring me”, I whined.
“Brooke, I lo-”, she started very seriously but I quickly brought my hand to her lips to stop her.
“No, no, no. Tay, please. No. I’m the one who loves you. Okay? I just… I do… I… I love you. I really love you”, I reeled off panickingly and felt some tears escaping my eyes to evacuate this deluge of love.
I noticed that my hands were shaking so I quickly removed them from Taylor’s face by fear of damaging it and glued them to my knees to be sure I kept them away from this masterpiece. When I looked up to meet her eyes, I was attacked and overflowed by a tsunami of tingles and butterflies by the way they were burning into mine. Her whole facial expression was showing happiness and freedom but her eyes were filled with love, lust and admiration. For me.
“I love you so much, Brooklyn”, she breathed out and out of nowhere, hungry and desperate lips were attacking mine.
By the fire they lit up in me, I couldn’t help but attack back and bring my hands to the back of her neck to pull her closer to me. I lifted my body on my knees without detaching my lips from hers. She apparently took that as a cue to sneak her hands under the fabric of the robe and go grab my ass firmly.
“Wait”, I mumbled against her lips and broke the kiss in order to be able to look at her.
She opened her eyes and gifted me with this gray color that I worshipped. I removed my hands from her nape and slowly untangled the knot of my silk belt. I opened the robe and noticed Taylor’s pupils flickering as they took in the situation in front of her.
“And this? What… What is this?”, she asked in a whisper and gulped hard before reconnecting her eyes with mine.
“Your surprise from last night but I guess you can enjoy it now”, I said softly and let the robe slide off my shoulders to completely expose myself to Taylor.
“Get down”, she whispered and moved her hands to my waist. I let her help me and stood on the floor at the same level as her.
“You… You like it?”, I asked knitting my eyebrows in apprehension.
“I don’t know if I should keep watching you or fuck the brains out of you”, she muttered as her eyes traveled my body hungrily.
“Let me help you decide”, I blurted out and grabbed her head to yank her towards me, making our lips clash together.
Taylor groaned in approbation and let her hands found their spot back on my ass before pulling my body to make it completely blend with hers. This proximity was overwhelming but so much needed and addictive that it was as if it was never enough. Even when I removed her robe and got to feel her naked body, I wasn’t fulfilled. I always wanted and needed more of her. So I pushed her against the desk and tucked my leg between hers while my hand claimed her boob. It earned me a pretty nice moan that resonated through this never ending kiss which encouraged me to keep going.
I was about to break the kiss with the intention of going to her neck but was prevented from doing so when Taylor abruptly spun us around so that I was the one pressed against the desk. One of her hands left my ass to lay flat on my back and her lips detached themselves from mine at that same moment. The surprise made me open my eyes, only to find dark gray orbs fixed upon my chest. I observed Taylor as she brought her hand on my stomach and slid it up to graze the fabric covering my breast with her always so delicate and gentle touch.
“Do you mind keeping them on for a while?”, Taylor asked in a whisper and moved her other hand to let it follow the shape of my panties.
“Babe… But… I thought we….”, I mumbled confusedly which made her look at me in the eyes. Oh, lord. This look itself was a huge turn on. Another one.
“I just really want to do this”, she said huskily and squarely plunged her hand in the front of my panties which made my mouth open big in pleasure at the feeling of her fingers even though no sound came out of it. I loved when we kept this eye contact. It made things so much more intimate and intense.
“Go for it”, I whispered and she didn’t need to be told twice.
Her fingers started moving against my clit and she lifted me a little by my waist to make me sit on the desk while I spread my legs. Taylor took a step forward to stand between my legs and flashed me a bright grin that I couldn’t help but reciprocate given how endearing and beautiful it was.
But it was a trick. While I was focused on her magnificent smile, I forgot about her fingers which resulted in Taylor thrusting them deep inside me and me moaning loudly in surprise at how insane it felt. I gripped Taylor’s nape and let myself being at her complete mercy. Her movements were so powerful and my pleasure so intense that the only thing I could do was moan her name until it turned into cuss words.
“There’s a room next door”, Taylor whispered between her hard breaths and removed her fingers from inside me.
“Come on”, I slurred and wrapped my arms around her neck as a support while I slid down the desk to stand on the floor.
In one bold motion, I grabbed Taylor’s wrist and guided her hand out of my panties to bring it to her own mouth. She kept her eyes fixed on mine and lowered her lips around her glistening fingers. I bit my bottom lip in admiration in front of so much sexiness and got literally hypnotized by Taylor. The shape of her lips, her faint moans, the piercing color of her eyes, this heading fragrance. I was on cloud Taylor. And when her fingers left her mouth, my tongue requisitioned the premises while my body moved on its own accord to guide her out of the office.
“Babe”, she called against my lips and broke the kiss so I opened my eyes to look at her, hoping it wouldn’t take long. I had an orgasm to give.
“What? What’s wrong? I… I did something again?”, I asked knitting my eyebrows in apprehension.
“No, I just need to see where we’re going”, she said chuckling and spun us around to be the one guiding us.
So I walked backwards at her rhythm and let her take us to the guest room. Once she had closed the door, I literally assaulted her lips and pushed her backwards to make her move faster towards the bed which she apparently found quite funny.
I made her sit down and came to stand between her legs to tower over her. Her hands went to rest on my thighs so I let her do what she wanted and reached between my breasts to undo the little knot of the string before untying each level on the way down without ever averting my eyes from Taylor. The way she was observing my movements was worth a thousand words.
It was a huge change. She usually was the one to undress me. Now, I was the one giving myself to her.
“You’re a dream”, Taylor said softly and kept her eyes on my hands as they slowly opened the basque to reveal my bare chest.
“Feels like it”, I whispered and let the piece drop to the floor which seemed to enchant Taylor considering the way she devoured me with her eyes.
Did I look at her the same? Did she feel the same fire inside of her when I lay my eyes on her? I knew I’d never be able to describe all that to her with words but maybe if I showed her how much she meant to me, I’d get to have answers. And I really wanted her to feel me. The me who loved her. The me who'd die for her. The me who needed her.
So I gave a quick push to my panties to let them slide down my legs and I bent down to hold her waist and guide her further on the bed. Once at the middle of it, I lay her down carefully and hovered over her while making sure I wasn’t crushing her. I wanted to be able to look at her for a little while. I brought a hand to her face to cup her cheek and took in the harmony of her traits. She was just so perfect.
“Can I go slowly?”, I asked in a whisper and reconnected our eyes to be sure we were both on the same page.
“We have all the time in the world, my love”, she whispered soothingly.
“It’s just that… Right now, I… I wanna feel you. All of you”, I explained in a low voice without detaching my eyes from hers.
“I wonder what I did to deserve you”, she mumbled under her breath and gave me that look again. The one that made everything shiver and scream inside of me.
I stroked her cheek gently with my thumb and leaned over to connect our lips in the sweetest and softest kiss. As they danced together, Taylor’s hands went to rest on my back and pushed me down to make me lie fully on top of her. I moaned at the feeling of my breasts against hers and let my hand slide down her body to lay it on her thigh. I brought her leg up and left her mouth to get going with her neck while my fingers enjoyed the softness of her skin.
I sucked on her neck and collarbone all I could, probably leaving marks everywhere, but I could feel Taylor a bit in pain. It was clear that she was trying to hold back and control herself. Since frustrating her wasn’t my intention, I went straight to her breast and grinded my hips against her thigh while my hand made its way down towards her coveted center. Multipurpose. I was stimulating both of us at the same time and Taylor seemed to really enjoy it. Me too.
I noticed how wet Taylor was down there and it provoked in me this desire to taste her, to have her sweet juices all over my tongue and lips, and to make her give me always more. So I kept my lips glued to her skin to kiss my way down her body and increased the intensity of my fingers. I knew she wanted them inside of her but I had other plans for her. I kept going until I was well aligned with her dripping folds.
“All this for me?”, I asked seductively and looked up to meet her almost black pupils. Taylor was looking so good in that moment. Mind blowing.
“Always”, she breathed out and gulped hard.
To push her further, I made sure to maintain this eye contact and I opened my mouth pretty big to lick her on the way up, making her literally whimper while her legs slightly vibrated. I chuckled teasingly and squarely plunged between her legs to spare her from this little torture. I took care of her clit and let myself being guided by Taylor’s moans and reactions as my mouth was working relentlessly. But I wanted more. I always wanted more of her. So I increased the intensity on her clit and I put my fingers to work by entering Taylor and by reaching for her boob with my free hand.
“That’s it, Brooke”, she moaned loudly and gripped my arm so I pushed even harder and looked up to enjoy the wonderful spectacle.
Taylor’s eyes met mine and just this sight made me moan. How could I not? How could I remain still in front of such beauty? It was impossible. It was beyond my own self control. It was too powerful.
“Come here. I need you here”, she mumbled between two moans and grabbed my head with her two hands to pull me up. I let go of her clit and kissed my way up quickly until I was face to face with her, my fingers still inside her.
“What do you need, Tay?”, I whispered softly to show her I was attentive to her desires. I only wanted her to feel good.
“You against me”, she breathed out and gave me a pleading look that I sincerely couldn’t say no to. And I didn’t want to.
So I took action and decided to be creative. I removed my fingers from inside of her, I grabbed her legs and tangled them with my own.
“Like that?”, I whispered and gave a pelvic thrust, creating this friction between our clits that Taylor really seemed to appreciate.
She moaned while lifting her head which I took as a yes so I kept on grinding. She was very lucky we were both flexible. Me more than her but it was understandable - and not the object here.
“Mmh. Brooke”, she moaned huskily. It literally made me shiver to hear her say my name like this.
I picked up my pace and helf onto the bedsheets for desr life. I could feel it growing. Each millimeter of her center that was clashing against mine was creating havoc in my stomach and head. And the harder I grinded, the more I needed. I was completely lost in Taylor. And by the sound of her moans and the strength of her heartbeat, I realized that she really was with me in this.
So I kept going, harder and faster. I kept going until my name was being shouted, until these blue eyes were fixed upon mine while both of our volcanos exploded against each other. We were in a parallel universe. A universe where nothing existed around us, where the intensity of this connection never slowed down, where only our love mattered. And when I lay my lips on hers, it was electric. My body was so sensitive and reactive to her slightest touch that it was beautiful and overwhelming at the same time.
“You can work that ass”, she mumbled teasingly when I pulled away and gave it a light smack that I found both funny and embarrassing to be honest. So I giggled.
“You love my ass”, I said between my giggles and lifted my body to guide Taylor’s legs down until they were stretched out on the bed.
“That, I do”, she said firmly and grabbed my neck to pull me down on top of her.
“Did I hurt your legs?”, I asked above a whisper and let my hand caress her body mindlessly.
“Did I tell you that my legs were hurting?”, she asked back and brought her hands to my face to brush some strands of hair away.
“No, I just want to make sure”, I explained in a soft voice and looked at her lips as a cute little grin crept on them.
“You’re so precious”, she whispered soothingly and lifted her head a bit to connect our lips in a sweet loving kiss.
I let my lips slowly dance with hers and leaned down to make sure her head was resting on the mattress instead of being in the air. I was so comfortable and relaxed with Taylor’s hands stroking my back and her lips caressing mine that when I heard knocking, I became furious. Like, literally furious.
“Who the fuck is it?!”, I yelled as I spun my head towards the door.
“Miss Lawson, are you in there?”, a woman asked blankly.
“I’m busy, Frieda!”, Taylor said loudly.
“Your mother just called to inform you that she, your sister and Ms Robert will be on their way to have lunch here with you”, the woman informed us.
“Alright. Start cooking and set the table outside”, Taylor demanded firmly.
“Yes, Miss”, the woman said and I shook my head in denial.
“No. Hell no. I refuse to believe that this moment is over. No”, I mumbled under my breath.
“Babe, I didn’t know they were planning on coming. I thought it would be just you and me today and that we could play that tennis match”, Taylor said in a saddened voice.
“We should still do it”, I blurted out and raised my eyebrows questioningly.
“We’ll wait until this late afternoon to decide. We can’t play if it’s burning outside”, she said softly and wrapped her arms around my neck to bring my face closer to hers.
“But you’re so sexy when your abs are all sweaty and contracted”, I whined which she apparently found funny but I was dead serious. I looked down between our two bodies and got appealed by that stomach of hers so I slid down and lay my lips on her abdomen to start peppering kisses all over her delicious belly. And again with the laughter.
“Babe, it tickles”, she said between her giggles so I raised my head to look at her and flashed her an innocent grin.
“I couldn’t help myself”, I said shrugging and pecked her ribs one last time before crawling back up to regain my previous spot on top of Taylor.
“Brooke, I’m really sorry that our moment needs to be cut short”, she said softly as she cupped my cheeks.
“It’s not your fault”, I whispered and smiled warmly to reassure her.
“We’ll take some us time tonight, okay?”, she asked in a whisper.
“Gladly”, I mumbled and pecked her soft lips to seal the deal.
“Now take me to the shower”, she said teasingly while giving me the playful smile.
Gladly.
________________
“Stop arguing!”, Jennifer exclaimed firmly.
“I won’t let her talk shit about Brooklyn”, Taylor stated categorically.
“But Mom! How can you be so okay with the fact that Taylor brought a prostitute into our house?”, Johanna asked pointing at me sternly.
“No, I can’t do that”, I said shaking my head and stood up to get ready to leave.
“That’s it, run away again. It’s easier than facing the truth”, Johanna snapped harshly.
“The only truth here is that you’re a disrespectful brat who doesn’t even know what she’s talking about. So before I smash your head into the wall, I’d better stay away from you”, I reeled off aggressively.
“Viens, ma puce”, my mom said softly and stood up before extending her hand so I walked around the table and took it to let her guide me (Come, sweetie.)
“Ça me blesse de me faire constamment insulter”, I confessed sheepishly (It hurts me to be constantly insulted.)
“Je sais, chérie. Mais tu te défends très bien et je suis sûre qu’elle finira par comprendre ce par quoi tu es passée”, she said in a soothing voice but it didn’t soothe me at all. It pained me. (I know, honey. But you defend yourself very well and I’m sure she’ll end up understanding what you’ve been through.)
“Qu’elle aille se faire foutre”, I snapped harshly (She can go screw herself)
“I won’t laugh but only because Jennifer is my friend”, she whispered next to my ear and we both burst out laughing.
“I’m sure she would appreciate your loyalty”, I said as my laughter faded.
“Excuse me”, a timid Taylor called from behind us so my mom and I spun around to give my lover our attention. “Brooke, I’m-”
“I know, you’re sorry about your sister’s behavior but you shouldn’t be. It’s not your fault that she’s one hell of an asshole”, I cut her off and rolled my eyes irritatingly.
“I just wanna make sure you’re okay. She said some pretty bad stuff and I don’t want it to get to you”, she explained in a soft voice.
“Too late for that”, I retorted.
“Brooklyn”, my mom hissed but I ignored it and folded my arms in contestation.
“Are you mad at me about something?”, Taylor asked knitting her eyebrows.
“I don’t have any reason to be mad at you”, I said shaking my head in lack of understanding.
“I get that you’re upset but I’m not the enemy. You don’t have to shut me out”, she said in her sweet tone and extended her hand to reach out for me so I unfolded my arms and put my hand in hers carefully.
“When are you playing that tennis match? I want to see it!”, my mother exclaimed enthusiastically.
“You want to umpire?”, Taylor asked nicely but my mom knitted her eyebrows and looked at me confusedly.
“Ça veut dire quoi?”, she asked sheepishly (What does it mean?)
“Elle t’a demandé si tu voulais être l’arbitre”, I said kindly (She asked you if you wanted to umpire.)
“Mais c’était quoi ce mot?”, she asked raising her eyebrows (But what was that word?)
“Le terme spécifique pour désigner un arbitre de tennis ou de baseball”, I explained (The specific term to designate a tennis or baseball referee.)
“Empire”, she said nodding.
“No, it’s umpire. With u”, I pointed out while chuckling amusedly.
“Right. I’ll do it anyway”, she said and gave a little shrug at the end.
“Great. Taylor and I are gonna go get changed and we’ll get to it”, I said blankly and pulled on Taylor’s hand to make her follow me as I started my way towards the staircase.
I remained quiet and just led us to her room. When we entered, I let go of her hand and went straight to her closet to start looking for something to wear. Taylor being the organized person she was, she was smart enough to consecrate a wardrobe to her sport items, including the shoes. I grabbed black spandex shorts straight away and spun around to put them on the sort of island, only to find Taylor sitting on it and observing me.
“I didn’t hear you”, I said raising my eyebrows surprisingly and set the shorts next to her before going back to rummaging through her stuff.
“You look great in this dress”, Taylor said softly and my heart literally fluttered at her compliment.
My butterflies awakened instantly and a smile crept automatically on my face. I grabbed a tank top and spun around to put it with the shorts but I couldn't look up. I had my mind focused on Taylor’s compliment. I couldn’t stop smiling like a goof. I couldn’t even control it.
“You should wear a cap to protect your head”, she said kindly and hopped off. I followed her with my eyes to observe her as she opened a big drawer.
She rummaged through it for a little while and eventually took out a navy blue cap. She spun around and approached me excitedly before placing the cap on my head with a proud grin perfecting her harmonious traits.
“And the shoes?”, I asked in a low voice.
“You can choose the pair you like”, she said shrugging and turned around to look at her huge collection.
“Those would match the rest”, I said pointing at a pair of Nike sneakers so Taylor went to grab them and set them next to my outfit.
Since I had everything, I removed the cap to keep it for later and unzipped my dress to take it off. I made sure it didn’t touch the floor and laid it carefully on the island. I really liked this new piece. My mom arrived with it and literally dragged me upstairs to make me try it. I sure didn’t regret it. I was surprised by how well it fit me but she confessed that she had made it specially for me. It added a special vibe to it. I couldn’t find it in myself to remove it.
“Hello there”, Taylor mumbled against my ear and I giggled at the feeling of her sneaky hands.
“What are you doing?”, I asked in a low voice and felt Taylor’s lips dropping a light kiss on my neck before she squarely wrapped her arms around me.
“Hugging you”, she said in her sweet innocent voice so I reached behind for her head.
“Have I been mean to you?”, I asked sheepishly and shifted my head to be able to look at her without changing our position. If she wanted to hug me I didn’t want to prevent her from.
“Yes”, she simply said and my heart broke and sped up in panic at the same time.
“No”, I whispered beggingly as I felt my eyes watering.
I was so stupid. Why did I keep hurting her over and over again? I hated myself!
“Yes. What you did to me was clearly unfair”, she said blankly so I spun around to lean on the counter and took a deep breath to think back to everything that had happened all day.
“It’s not about your cocktail because I prepared you another one. It… It can’t be for your salmon since you ate half of mine and… hum… Is it about when I played footsie with you? No. No. You don’t mind that. Oh god…”
“Babe”, Taylor called softly so I looked into her eyes and strangely didn’t find any anger or frustration.
“I don’t understand”, I muttered while shaking my head.
“Calm down, it was just a joke”, she said chuckling and cupped my cheeks tenderly.
“Excuse me? Tay, you know how I get when I’m an asshole to you!”, I exclaimed irritatingly and inhaled deeply to try to calm down and regain my composure.
“I wanted to tease you but I guess I went about it the wrong way”, she mumbled in a saddened tone and let go of me to lean back against the island, creating a little distance between us. “I’m sorry, Brooklyn”, she added as she looked down and folded her arms.
“No, I’m sorry. I really am. I shouldn’t have blown off like this. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but believe me when I tell you that I hate myself when I treat you wrong. Which happens a lot”, I said truthfully and took a big step to stand right in front of her.
“It’s not true. You treat me with so much care”, she said in a soft voice as her mesmerizing eyes reconnected with mine.
“I’m trying my very best”, I breathed out desperately.
“I know you are, and you’re doing an amazing job at that. You get overrun by your impulsivity sometimes but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I know you, Brooklyn. I know every single thing that makes you go, I know every shape of each mole on your body and I know each of your so called flaws that I find simply endearing. And I know that even though you fail to believe so, you’re the most sincere and passionate person I’ve ever met.”
“Are you willing to make me cry?”, I asked in a shaky voice.
“No, I want to make you understand that you’re a gem and that nothing you will do or say will make me run away”, she explained above a whisper and unfolded her arms to hold my sides firmly.
“Even if I beat you at tennis?”, I challenged playfully and saw her face transforming to leave room for warrior mode.
“See you outside”, she blurted out and walked past me to grab shorts, a top and a pair of sneakers before going to lock herself in the bathroom.
I shook my head amusedly at her silliness and focused back on getting dressed. I started with the shorts and proceeded with the upper body before taking care of my hair. I made sure to tie it in a high ponytail that I slid in the little hole behind the cap and proceeded with the shoes before taking a final glance in the mirror.
I actually looked very good. I noticed Taylor’s phone on the island so I grabbed it and opened Snapchat to mess with her further. I puckered my lips to take a cute selfie of me and my tennis outfit and wrote down: ‘Gonna kick your ass, my love’ with a racket, a kissing emoji and the spinning hearts. Filter. Save. Story. Post the picture on Instagram too and done.
I’d have to charge my mother with the mission of filming us. It promised to be a very eventful and interesting match. I was sure Taylor would grumble and call me a cheater every two seconds but I wouldn't let her get away with it. I got this.