Standing at her front door Taylor could barely look Jason in the eye.
Ever since Travis had stormed out of the bathroom Jason had remained silent, gathering their things and leaving whilst Travis and his friend finished their food and wine, laughing merrily like nothing had ever happened.
Taylor had tried not to look to the table, to see the man as Jason said he was, instead of the man she had thought him to be but as they left she'd looked over her shoulder and seen him watching her go a look on his face that she wanted to read as jealousy but that didn't match with the version of Travis that Jason had painted for her so vividly.
"I swear I didn't know"
Taylors voice was quiet as she looked down at her black heels and then stole a glance at Jason
"I believe you, but he knew, of course he knew"
Taylors blood ran cold.
Had he known?
Jason had been pursuing her for weeks, had Travis found out and that's why he had approached her in Northern Soul?
"God, I've been such a fool" she blurted out whilst covering her mouth with her hand
"Don't blame yourself. He's good, he knows all the tricks to get whoever he wants to do whatever he wants"
Taylor swallowed down the first hint of tears and reprimanded herself immediately.
"He didn't want me" she barely whispered in to the night air. "I did all the running, he did all the running away"
Jason reached up and wiped the stray tear from her face
"I hope that's for us and not for him"
"I don't know what it's for" she sniffed and wiped her own eyes before sighing heavily "I just wanted...i wanted him to like me"
"Well he doesn't, he makes you think he does and then once he gets what he wants from you he's gone and on to the next. Taylor I would never do that to you, I promise"
She nodded and again wiped her eyes, aware that she was probably smudging her makeup and unable to care too much about it.
"I was going to ask you something tonight but I think maybe we should sleep on everything, it's been a pretty dramatic night"
Taylor just nodded, aware of what he had been going to ask but glad he had the sense not to, but when he asked if he could kiss her goodnight she couldn't find it in herself to deny him.
The kiss was soft and lasted longer than normal, there was an urgency on his part as he made an attempt to get her to open up to him but instead she pulled away, resting her forehead on his shoulder
"I think that's probably enough for tonight" she wasn't ending what they had but she hoped he realised she was pausing it until she got her head together
"Taylor, please don't let this change things, between us, we were just getting somewhere don't let him spoil it like he spoils everything's else. Promise me you won't let him do that to us?"
"Jason, I just want to shower and go to bed" Jason sighed as images of how he hoped tonight would go flashed through him mind.
He saw himself asking Taylor to be his girlfriend, she would say yes and by the end of the night they would be making out on his bed and then perhaps if he played his cards right, naked in his bed but then once again, like everything good in his life, Travis had turned up and ruined it and the fury he felt at being cockblocked by a man that didn't know the meaning of the word was burning really fuckin bright in his gut
