Hope I Never Lose You

five

Sabrina helped through the rest of the night; and by one in the morning, the hall was cleared out of everyone that had come along and the staff I'd hired were starting to clean up. We sat at the bar together as the staff worked, drinking the minutes away.

"What do you think you're going to do?" Sabrina asked as I swirled the remains of another glass of wine around. I'd been stalling, not wanting to leave. I didn't know what I'd do, where I'd go.

"I don't know." I sighed. "I love him more than fucking anything, but I don't think my heart can handle it if he pushes me away."

"Isn't it worth the risk?"

"I don't have a clue." I rubbed my temple. "I thought we would stay together forever. That we'd have kids and grow old and all that shit."

"I know you did babe." Sabrina rubbed my arm sympathetically as I set my glass down.

"I'm going for a walk." I sighed, getting down from my stool.

"Taylor, there's cameras out there!" Sabrina called after me as I walked towards the door, my heels in my hand.

"I don't care!" I called back. I really didn't.

There were only a couple cameras on the street, and they didn't try to get close. I'd sent security home already so walked down the footpath by myself, right into the pouring rain that had started about ten minutes ago. The rain plastered my ponytail to my back and my bangs to my forehead as I walked, soaking my dress and my skin. I didn't care; I welcomed it.

The occasional camera flashed at me through the pouring rain as I walked, but I knew they wouldn't get too good of a shot through the weather. And I didn't care.

As I walked, I started to cry. My heart had cracked around the edges, but now that I was alone with my thoughts, it started to break. How would I do life without Travis? I wasn't getting any younger, and there was barely anyone interested in me who wasn't just out for fame or money. Maybe I'd spend the rest of my life totally alone. Maybe I truly would become the crazy cat lady my fans teased me to be.

I heard a car turn off up ahead and looked up, peering through the downpour. A familiar black car had parked across the street about a hundred and fifty feet away, and the sight stole my breath away. He couldn't be here. I didn't know what to do if he was here.

Someone got out of the car and closed the door, looking right at me across the street. The tears streamed thicker down my face, and I pressed my hands to my mouth, my heels still swinging from my fingers. He was here. He was here.

"Baby?" Travis shouted across the street, holding a hand up to shield his face from the rain.

I couldn't let him go. I loved Travis Kelce. He had my heart and had taken it with him. I wanted him. I needed him. He was my husband, and he always would be.

I peeked both ways down the street and started to run towards him. Travis started running too, the rain pounding down upon us as we drew closer and closer. Then he was there, and I was throwing my arms around his neck, and he was lifting me off the ground. His arms were around me, holding me close, holding me like he was terrified I'd vanish.

"Don't leave me." He whispered against my hair. "Please baby, we can fix this. Please don't leave me. I can't live without you. I love you so so much."

"I love you." I sobbed against his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm not going anywhere." Travis nodded, his arms tightening around me until I could barely breathe.

God, thank god. Thank god.

"I love you baby." He pulled back, setting me down on the ground and taking my face in his hands. "Don't you ever let me speak to you like that again. Don't you ever let me yell at you again, do you hear me? I should never have said anything to you the way I did."

"Travis, we both yelled, and we both said things we didn't mean." I told him, sliding my hands up the front of his sodden shirt. "We're okay. I know you didn't mean it, and neither did I. We were stressed and fucking exhausted, and we took it out on each other because it was easy." Travis nodded, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"I love you so fucking much Taylor, I never want to lose you." He rubbed his thumbs over my cheeks, his expression raw and open. He was terrified. "Come back home. Don't you ever leave me."

"I won't." I promised. "I'll never leave you Travis. I love you more than anything."

"I love you." He whispered, and then he was kissing me. Kissing me hard, passionately, clutching me close like he was terrified I'd slip away should he release his hold. 

Then flashes reached us through the rain, and I pulled back, glancing around to see that the cameras had found us. Those photos would hit the internet before tomorrow.

"Take me home." I looked up at Travis through the rain on my eyelashes, and he nodded, taking my hand.

We ran through the rain back to his car and Travis helped me in, lifting the ends of my sodden dress onto the floor of the car before closing the door. I pushed my hair out of my face, shivering as droplets fell onto my shoulders. Travis came around and turned on the car, blasting the heat. Unable to just sit there, I reached over and took his hand as he drove.

"I never congratulated you." He said, glancing over at me before looking back at the road.

"For what?" I asked.

"For winning so many Grammys you broke the world record." Travis told me. "You did fucking amazing out there, and it kills me I wasn't there for you. But I am so proud of you baby."

"Thank you." I whispered, squeezing his hand.

We drove the rest of the way home in silence, and when we got there, Travis came around to help me out of the car. My dress was twice as heavy and hard to move in, so as soon as Travis closed the front door behind us, I turned my back to him and lifted my hair out of the way. Without a word, he slid the zip down my back and helped me step out of the dress. I took it, folding it up and walking to the laundry before placing it in the basket for later. When I turned around, Travis was there, reaching for me. He took me in his arms, eyes locked on mine.

"I want you to know..." He swallowed. "That I'm never going to leave you. I'm never going to stop loving you, and I'm never going to let you go. You're my wife, and I'll be damned if I ever make you unhappy again."

"I love you so damn much Travis Kelce." I whispered. "More than anything in this whole world. You have my entire heart."

"I'll protect it for the rest of my life." Travis kissed me once, softly, as his hands slid onto my waist. "I love you, Taylor. I love you so much."

"I love you." I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him, never wanting to let him go.

Travis picked me up, carrying me down the hall, through the living room, and into our bedroom. He put me down so that I was standing on the bed, and I reached to pull his sopping shirt up and over his head. We didn't speak; we didn't need too. We undressed each other slowly until we were both completely naked.

Then Travis took me in his arms and gently lay me down on my back. Every touch, every kiss was gentle and loving, perfect. We made love slowly, lovingly, again and again until we were exhausted, and fell asleep with me draped over his chest and his arms wrapped around me.