"Wicked plan 3.0" Brian laughs whilst hi-5ing me.
Today he took Taylor out on a 'date' to please her parents, it was a lunch date and MJ was there, I paid the bill and after they drank coffee and bored Bri senseless with girl talk Taylor went home and is now there getting ready for a proper date with me and I have to admit I'm close to shitting my pants
I got changed and then sweated so much I had to have another shower and change my shirt which meant I had to change my pants, luckily for me I only own one pair of boots so they stayed the same
"You nervous?" He asks whilst cracking open a bottle of whiskey and handing me a shot
"No" I lie and try to take my shot but end up spilling it on my shirt my hands are so shaky "fuck sake!" I yell out whilst beginning to peel off my shirt as Brian dissolves into fits of laughter
"It's just Taylor, she looks the same, sounds the same..."
"But she's not the same. We aren't the same"
I want to tell him I'm scared we never will be but this is Bri and he would probably make some bad joke that makes me feel lame and I feel lame enough as I scrabble around for my third shirt of the evening
"Did she ask about me?"
"Of course she did, I told her you were still the same dick you were before she left"
"Thanks for the support Bri!"
"You know I'm joking, you know I love you"
He takes a shot of whiskey and then casts his eyes over me and if it was anyone else I would be sure he was checking me out
"What?"
"You look good"
"Are you coming onto me?" I ask playfully
"Fuck no!" He punches me hard in the arm to prove he's not and I laugh "I just want you to know that you have nothing to worry about"
I nod my thanks and then look into the mirror. Black boots, black jeans, white 'Sting' t-shirt tucked in and a maroon shirt open but tucked in. I look good, I'm not too shy to admit it but will Taylor still think I look good after all this time?
Do I still look like the guy she wants to be with?
My heart pounds so hard it threatens to break through my chest
*********************
As I walk through the restaurant I feel so hot I think I might pass out. My eyes search for her, table 7 is what the lady at the entrance told me but I was so busy looking for Taylor that I didn't hear the directions she gave me
"Travis!"
I snap my head to where the voice is coming from and almost blackout at the sight of her.
She's sat tucked into a booth, her long hair thrown over one shoulder, her dress is red and strapless and the shade of her lips matching it and I feel a sudden need to cry. To grab her and hold her to me and never let her leave me again but instead I walk shakily to the booth where I take a seat before a fall over and make a complete ass of myself
"You look so handsome" she says it whilst her eyes rake over my body and for maybe the first time in my life I feel Insecure about my looks. My hair's longer than when she last saw me and my skin is darker with spending so much time outside working on cars.
I force a smile hoping to hide my insecurity "You look stunning"
"Thank you" she replies whilst moving forward and placing a hand on my cheek "I can't believe it's really you"
"It's me" she throws herself into my arms before I can stutter another word and I wrap my arms around her tightly, begging whatever God is out there to let me have her, to never take her away from me again.
"Sorry" she giggles as she pulls back
"No don't be, I was desperate to do that I just didn't want to scare you off"
"You could never do that" she says and picks up the menu and as she begins looking over it, it suddenly dawns on me that this is first time I'm actually going to buy her food, the first time we will share a meal together and I realise this must be a big deal for her but she looks calm, so I just decide to follow her lead
"It's nice here, right?" I ask as I worry she thinks I brought her somewhere lame
"Very nice. I think I'm going to have the soup and then a salad. You?"
"Same" the server comes over and we place our orders before she leaves and Taylor and I sit in a strange silence not totally comfortable but not uncomfortable either
"This is weird right?"
"Very fuckin weird" I agree and then we both laugh and she moves a bit closer to me and for the first time in three months I'm surrounded by her scent and it's warm and fruity and everything I have missed
"How've you been? You look well"
"I've been great actually except... Well you know" I mean her and I and I see in her eyes that she knows that "How's being back? Weird I bet"
"It's okay. There's so many memories, so much I was happy to be away from, being back it's not... it's not easy, it's like I'm trying to find a new Taylor whilst constantly in the shadow of the old one"
I nod my understanding, scared about where the sentence leaves us but she seems to read my mind as she reaches for my hand and slides her fingers through mine and I feel myself blush and then smile shyly as she giggles and reaches her other hand to my face
"I missed you every day Travis" she admits and I can't help but grin "all of the bad stuff, all of the memories I wanted to run from, not one of them was you. You're only good stuff to me in here" she raises a finger to her head "And in here" she drops the finger to her chest and presses it just above where her heart lies
"Taylor..."
"I still want you. With every bit of me. Please tell me you still want me too"
"Always" I say as quickly as possible and slip the finger of my free hand into her hair "I want you always, it's always going to be you"
We press our foreheads together, both grinning like idiots and we stay there, our breathing synchronised, our fingers tangled together and we stay like that, welcoming each other back, until our starters are served
