Divine Blue [Book One]

Chapter Thirteen

Taylor opened her eyes to find Adrienne's face staring at her, smiling.

"Good morning," Adrienne said to her, as she took her hand and moved some hair from Taylor's face.

"How long have you...?"

"Been watching you sleep?" Adrienne finished her sentence. "Not long. I'm not that much of a creep. Give me some credit. Though you are super adorable when you sleep." Adrienne let her head fall back, pretending to sleep, and let her mouth slip open.

"Shut up, Meanie!" Taylor playfully chided her. "Please tell me I wasn't sleeping with my mouth open."

"You weren't, Baby. I promise." Adrienne softly smiled at her. "I guess we were sleepier than we thought we were, though. Pretty much slept through the night."

Taylor wished that this was the case for her. She didn't feel as exhausted as she had during the week after Samuel's first appearance, but she still felt noticeably tired. "So much for endless make-out sessions."

"We can still make that happen," Adrienne said. "After we brush our teeth..."

"Agreed, but I can't stay too long. I made Sandra promise a day for just me and her," Taylor told Adrienne.

Adrienne poked out her bottom lip.

"Awwww!" Taylor said to her, poking out her own bottom lip to match.

Adrienne smiled. "No, I get it. After a crazy first week of school and spending all your free time with my fine ass, you need a day with your mom."

"You do have a fine ass," Taylor said, laughing. "And I could never get tired of being around it."

Adrienne and Taylor got up from the bed, and Taylor followed Adrienne into the bathroom. Taylor found her toothbrush still resting on the counter from the night before. Together, still in their pajamas, their hair messy, they brushed their teeth. For Taylor, it all felt very natural. She was right where she needed to be. She looked over at Adrienne as she vigorously ran the brush through her teeth. Through whatever changes or transitions she had to go through to be whatever it was that she was supposed to be, this moment showed her that this was something that she never wanted to change.

After Taylor had spent part of her morning with Adrienne, she returned home to Sandra. Sandra was coming down the stairs as Taylor walked through the door.

"Hi, Sweetness! How was your day yesterday, and how was your sleepover?" Sandra asked her.

"It was fantastic! All of it. The weather was perfect on the beach, and it was a lot of fun being able to hang out with everyone outside of school."

"I don't think I'm going to be able to outdo that," Sandra said. "Are you still sure you want to spend a day with your old mother?"

Taylor jokingly sneered at Sandra. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I want to be seen with an old lady."

Sandra laughed. "Careful now. You might give me a mom complex." Sandra descended the rest of the stairs to meet Taylor.

Taylor chuckled. "Well, we wouldn't want that!"

"Never!" Sandra teased. She went over and kissed Taylor on the forehead. "Where do you want to go today? To the city?"

"That sounds good to me. There's supposed to be a festival downtown, I think. So we could shop the vendors and grab some food down there, too."

"Fabulous! Let me finish getting everything together, and we will head out."

After traveling for about an hour, Sandra and Taylor arrived downtown and found a parking spot right outside the barricaded area where the street festival was thriving. Taylor examined the area and noticed throngs of people enjoying the event—people with dogs of all sizes and shapes, people with children, groups of teenagers, and even a sweet elderly couple walking hand-in-hand as they passed by each booth.