Taylor sat at her kitchen table and forced another spoonful of ice cream into her already crowded mouth.
She hated her life!
No, she hated boys
Actually no, she just hated Kelce boys
Why did they have to be so cute but oh so fuckin annoying??
Forcing the spoon in to the soft mixture she scooped out as much as she possibly could before cramming it back in to her mouth.
"Taylor! You will choke yourself forcing that much ice cream in to you in one go" Sinu Swift entered the kitchen with an armful of washing
"I'm not talking to you!" Taylor huffed and turned away from her mother and refilled her spoon
Sinu laughed as she laid down her washing and then took a seat next to her daughter.
"And what is it I'm supposed to have done to you this time?"
"Why did you send Travis up to my bedroom last night?" Taylor glared at her mom over the top of her ice cream pot
"He was looking for you"
"And you didn't wonder why a 21 year old man was looking for your 18 year old daughter?"
"I knew why he wanted to speak to you, he explained all about the 'love triangle' so to speak whilst we had coffee and you showered"
Taylor spluttered through a mouth full of ice cream
"You had coffee with Travis?!" She looked at her mother as though she had just admitted to having had an affair with Travis "In here? at this table? Whilst I showered upstairs? Discussing my private business?!"
Sinu simply nodded, amused by her daughters emotional state and this just wound Taylor up further
"What kind of mother are you???" She jumped up from her seat and planted her hands on her hips "If you hadn't have let him in he wouldnt have come up stairs and if he'd never come upstairs none of this situation would seem so bad!"
"He had things on his mind and I don't know what his family situation is but I don't think he feels like he can talk to his mom very easily so I let him in and we had coffee whist you showered he told me about the situation between him, you and his brother"
"Mom, he had no right, you're my mom not his, you're supposed to be on my side"
Sinu sighed as she reassured her daughter she was and always would be on her side but that she liked Travis
" He's a nice boy Taylor"
"Well that's not what Jason says"
"Jason has a vested interest, he wants you"
Taylor crossed her arms over her body, annoyed and frustrated by the conversation she was tangled up in. Jason had spent their entire coffee date pointing out Travis' flaws and now here was her mother assuring her that he had some good points too
"Jason doesn't have to lie to get me, he already has me, I guess. We are dating after all. Mom, Travis doesn't want me" Taylor dropped down on to her seat and rested her head on her mother's shoulder "He thinks I'm too young for him"
Sinu nodded knowingly, Travis had admitted his concerns to her last night and Sinu hadn't argued with him, she knew Taylors father would never allow her to date a college boy but she felt differently, she liked Travis, liked what she saw in his eyes whenever he mentioned Taylors name.
He was more than just a college boy to her, he was an honest and open young man that she had no doubt did want her daughter
"I saw him at Northern Soul today" Taylor continued "And he just walked right out, he didn't look at me or speak to me at all"
"You were there on a date with Jason though weren't you?"
"So?! He could have at least made eye contact so I knew he was thinking about me, so I knew he didn't regret last night. What's the point mom, he doesn't want me the way Jason does"
"Taylor, Travis told me that what had been going on between you two hadn't been strictly platonic, that there had been a lot of flirting back and forth, that doesn't sound to me like he doesn't want you, it sounds to me like he's trying to do the right thing"
"I'm 18 years old, I'm not a baby, I'm a woman and if he can't handle that fact then I'm glad Jason can. He's going to ask me to be his girlfriend soon and I'm going to say yes!" With that Taylor grabbed the tub of ice cream and her spoon and stormed out of the kitchen into the garden where she plonked herself down next to the pool and resumed trying to numb her feelings with ice cream
Later that day
Taylor was jogging around the school track attempting to burn off her frustrations.
Dropping down on to the cool grass she let out a loud groan before slapping her palms down on to the ground
"What did that grass ever do to you?"
Before Taylor even had the chance to register his presence Travis had dropped down next to her and stretched out his long legs fixing his gaze on her and smiling slightly
"I'm not stalking you, your mom told me you would be here"
"Tell me something Travis, are you using my mother to get close to me or are you using me to get close to my mom? " it was meant as something between sarcasm and a joke but the way his face crumpled told her he hadn't taken it that way
"It was a joke Travis, geez, lighten up"
He just nodded and began running his fingers through the grass.
"So how was your date with Jay?"
"Jay?" Taylor clocked an eyebrow at the nickname and Travis chucked
"He hates it when I call him that. Come on then spill, how was it, did he manage to sweep you off your feet this time?"
Taylor just shook her head, not wanting to feed Travis' ego any more by admitting the date had been a huge big fail, she had wanted to move on from the 'Travis' drama, where as Jason had wanted to hang on to it, rhyming off every reason she would be stupid eto even consider seeing him again
"Good" he replied and gave her a big, bright smile
"Is that the smile that gets you all the girls?" She asked bitterly
"I don't know, you tell me, is it working?" Taylor sighed and pushed herself to her feet and began walking as Travis followed closely behind
"Taylor, last night..."
"It shouldn't have happened" she spoke without ever looking at him and he continued walking by her side determined to make his point
"But it did happen and you wanted it to happen, we both did" Travis reached for her hand and pulled her to a stop and then gently to him
"I'm dating your brother"
"And does he make you feel like I do? When you kiss him does it feel like it did last night?" she didn't speak but he saw the answer in her eyes so he lifted his hand and stroked her cheek
"Jason's right, I have dated around a lot, I have kissed a lot of girls"
"Oh God!" Taylor let out in disgust
"It's my past Taylor, I can't change it and I won't hide it, it's who I am, you take all of me or none of me but believe me when I say what happened last night, what we felt last night, that's the magic that people spend their whole lives looking to find" he tangled their fingers together and then lowered his head so they were equal heights and he was looking directly in to her eyes
"Tell me you feel that with my brother and I will go"
"Don't go" her eyes were begging him
"You have to make a choice Taylor, it has to be Jason or me, it can't be both"