Invisible String [T.S-E.S BOOK ONE]

22

August 11th, 2013

When Taylor woke up the next morning, she couldn't help but smile like a little kid when she felt the rise and fall of Eleanor's chest under her head. She found it weird that El hadn't gotten up to run, but she figured their late night had exhausted her enough to throw that part of her morning routine out the window. Selfishly, Taylor was glad for that because it gave her a chance to watch Eleanor sleep and breath easily. She always seemed to be holding the weight of the world on her shoulders, so it was nice to catch a glimpse of her relaxing.

"I can feel you staring." Eleanor mumbled, keeping her eyes closed as she ran her fingers slowly up and down Taylor's back.

Taylor, embarrassed at being caught, hid her face in Eleanor's shoulder. "How can I not stare?"

The athlete just hummed, continuing to run her fingers along Taylor's skin. Now that she was awake, her brain was screaming at her again. But Taylor's weight on her chest helped to dull it. She wished that was enough.

"What's the plan for today?" The blonde broke the silence again, propping up on her elbow to get a good look at her girl.

Eleanor finally opened her eyes, finding herself completely lost in Taylor's blue ones. She reached up and tucked a stray blonde curl behind her ear. "I don't know, that's a question for Pat and Iz." She said softly. "Can I make a request, though?"

Taylor nodded, the curl falling into her face again.

Eleanor tucked it away again. "Please don't straighten your hair today."

The singer giggled, the request catching her completely off guard. Since she started straightening her hair while writing Red, people always told her that they liked her hair straightened better than natural.

"Why?" She was in awe of the request.

Eleanor grinned. "I like it curly. It's cute."

Taylor bit her lip to hide the embarrassingly large grin threatening to take up her face. "No one has ever called my naturally curly hair, cute."

"They should." The athlete told her, attempting to convey as much love as possible. But Taylor couldn't believe she genuinely loved her hair...this was about hair, right?

Taylor ran her hand over Eleanor's toned stomach, nervously. "Yeah. Sure."

The athlete couldn't believe that Taylor genuinely thought everyone else was right. "Believe me. They should."

For the first time since she relapsed, she felt like she didn't need her drugs.

----

Pat made his way into the kitchen early in the morning to cook breakfast for the group of people he had collected in his apartment. The apartment was small, but very quiet and it had been since he moved there. The guys on the Cubs were great, but not really the most personable. They were a team with a lot of history, so it was hard to break in. That kind of stuff makes a big city feel huge and a tiny apartment feel massive. But his sisters and his brother made it small again, in a good way. And yes, Taylor was included in that.

That's why he was so excited about the Mets. Not only was his teammate from college, Cisco, on the Mets, but his sister would only be thirty minutes away. And maybe Izzy would make her way into the city too. They'd have to wait a while to see what Anthony did.

A groan came from his couch, making him jump. "That smells good." Izzy popped up, hair a mess and obviously still tired. "What time is it?"

"Like eight." He shrugged, his heart still racing. He had forgotten that she stayed over, thinking her roommate had picked her up the night before. "I thought Porter came and got you when I took Anthony to bed?"