again | taylor swift au

chapter 5

Though the snow stops, the cold doesn't go away. And when Gracie and Jayden walk into his apartment a few days after the storm, both of them are freezing. They've just been out for dinner at a local restaurant and came back to watch a movie, neither of them quite wanting to let each other go for the evening.

"Go ahead, make yourself at home," he tells her, taking off his coat and boots. "I'm going to make some tea. Want some?"

"Sure," Gracie says, pulling off her puffer jacket and hanging it on the coat rack beside the door. She unlaces her Adidas sneakers and puts them beneath, then walks over to the sofa. Taking a seat, she tucks her legs up beneath her. She looks around the apartment, silent except for Jayden's footsteps across the room. Through the window, there's a view of the city lights. His one bedroom apartment in Midtown East has a gorgeous view of the plentiful other Midtown high-rises.

Gracie's family is quite well off- she's seen money before. This is far from the most lavish home she's ever seen. But something about it feels so... grand. The view of the Empire State Building, the jacuzzi bathtub that she knows he's got tucked away in his bathroom, the rooftop deck only a few floors up and the building's fitness center in the basement... it's quite posh for someone in their 20's. It's money that Gracie can't quite let herself dream of making off of her music.

She sighs. She knows that, if in a few years, she doesn't manage to strike it big... she's going to have to grow up and give up on the dreams in her head. Get a real job, one where she sits in a cubicle and stares at a computer screen all day. She can't spend her whole life sharing a shoebox apartment in the Bowery with her best friend. She doesn't want to spend her whole life bartending just to make the rent.

Making the rent seems to be something, however, that Jayden's never going to have to worry about. He just came out of a dual-degree program where he got his Bachelor's and finished law school, all in six years though a traditional path would take seven. He graduated back in May, and now, he's working as a child custody lawyer at a firm on the Upper East Side. It's great. It's a great job, and he deserves it. He's such a hard worker. But Gracie would be lying if she said she wasn't just a little bit intimidated by him.

He's two years older than she is. It's not a huge age gap. He treats her as his equal. She's not intimidated by the age gap. She's intimidated by the fact that, making six figures at 24, he could probably get any girl that he wants. But for some reason, he's chosen her.

She really doesn't have the slightest clue as to why.

When Jayden comes back over, two cups of tea in his hand, Gracie is sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. She's still chilly from being outside, but there's no blankets in sight, so she's simply rubbing her arms through the sleeves of her black turtleneck.

Jayden picks up on the body language. "Hey, are you cold?"

She gives him a small nod.

"Here, take this." He sets the mugs down on the side table and pulls his sweatshirt over his head, leaving him shirtless. He places the fabric in Gracie's lap.

She doesn't know if she is quite allowed to look at him, check him out without his shirt... not when he's only got it off because he was being so sweet to her. But she can't help it... she does.

And as she looks at him, she wants to shrink into herself. She realizes that he's most certainly taking advantage of that fitness center that's in the basement of his building. He's muscular, toned... but not too much. Not to a scary extent. He's just... perfect.

"Let me go find some blankets," he says. "I've got some in my closet."

Gracie just sits there, silently clutching his navy blue hoodie.