A companion piece to the lights are so bright, but they never blind me.
"How do I bring it up without sounding weird, huh? It's only been a few months. But it's serious, ya know? For me. And it seems like it's serious for her, too, so..."
I exhale, the stream of air blowing towards the ceiling. "I don't know. What do you think about the whole thing?"
From her position on my lap, Meredith stares at me. Looks like she's passing judgement, and I don't blame her.
"Yeah, you're right. I don't wanna scare her off. Shit." I rub my eyes. "Thanks for listening," I scratch her behind the ears. True to form, she jumps off me and off of the bed, her tail in the air.
Taylor's in the shower and of course, it just happens to be when I get the call that everything is good to go forward with the house.
I'd been tossing around the idea for awhile, even before we'd started seeing each other. Partly, because Pat's been trying to get me to buy in his neighborhood and just kind of thinking about the future. There was no one special at the time, in fact, I'd just gone through a breakup. Something just told me, though, that it was maybe time to start planning ahead. Could've been just getting older... Seeing Jase with his family definitely made me want the same, down the line. I loved being an uncle and being a dad didn't seem that far fetched. My brother made it look easy to have it all. I worked hard, so I thought I deserved an upgrade, too. So, yeah, all of those things played a role in considering making a purchase this big, for sure.
But the main reason, the number one...I haven't
said to anyone. Not a soul. Not Tay, not my family; no one.
I had a feeling there was some kind of higher power telling me to think about it. That someone was gonna come along for me to make that future a reality.
As this moves forward, it isn't hard to let myself see that with her. We've talked about what's going to happen when she goes back on tour and I'm busy with games and I guess that's planning...it's definitely making a statement that we're serious and we're in, both of us. A house, though...last thing I want to do is her to think I'm pressuring her into anything more than she's ready for.
I want her to be comfortable when she visits, feel at home, and even though the house is fine now, it was evident the last couple of times she was there, too many people can access her, there's too much of a threat to her safety and no way in hell would I ever compromise it.
I've been meaning to bring it up this weekend, to see how she feels about me going ahead and putting an offer in, but we've been nonstop almost since I got to New York. There's a million other things going on and I guess it could be an excuse, but I'm sweating thinking about it.
The door to the ensuite opens and Taylor steps out, wrapped up in a towel, pink skinned from the hot water.
"Hi. Miss me?"
She's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen, but there's something about her with not a trace of makeup on, hair wet, that takes my breath away. Doesn't matter how many times I've seen her like that, it always manages to have me stumbling over my own words, like they're stuck somewhere.
"Can't tell if you're serious or not," I tease, laughing when she flips me off. "But if you are...you know I did."
Her expression softens and she crawls across the length of the mattress to lay next to me and I place a hand on the opposite hip as she turns on her side.
Her damp hair is soaking the pale blue pillow case and I can smell her favorite body wash. Little drops of moisture still cling to the spot behind her ear and I kiss them away---can't help it.
