Pitch Perfect Harmony

What His Love Means

Taylor and Travis lay in bed for most of the day again but this time, Taylor was feeling significantly better with every minute. They talked and she was still scared of the conversation they would have about their security. The events from Brazil continued to hang over her like a dark cloud too but she would be okay. Andrea was relieved when she came to bring some lunch and she could hear her daughter from outside the room. "I'm glad you're doing better", she told her honestly. "We could've come downstairs for lunch", Taylor just smiled knowing that her mom had been worried. "Enjoy a day in bed. I'm sure there's not gonna be many days you two can do that", Andrea said. "Yeah, I... I have practice again tomorrow", Travis agreed not looking forward to leaving his girlfriend alone. "I'll be okay", Taylor tried to be positive. "And I'll be here. If you want me to, of course", her mom said. "For a few more days maybe", Taylor mumbled. She didn't want to stay alone at his new place. It was still so unfamiliar. Andrea agreed and Travis was glad about that.

He still had to tell Taylor something though. So he waited until Andrea left them alone again. "Tay, I don't want to lie to you, so I'm just gonna tell you: I would've had practice today too", he carefully admitted. She looked up from her plate confused. "And... why didn't you go?", she asked. Now he was confused. Wasn't that obvious? "Because I didn't want to leave you alone. You held onto me tonight as if I would vanish at any second", he told her with a soft tone. "But... I... You can't... What did you tell them?", she asked stuttering. "That I probably got food poisoning or something. I won't do that every day but I considered this to be some kind of emergency", he explained honestly. Taylor couldn't believe her ears. He cared. He cared so much that he called in sick because of her. He lied so he could be with her instead of following his passion. Despite her not talking and crying so much.

But what if they would lose the next game because of this? Because of her? Maybe even the Super Bowl. "Tay, I love you. I love my job too but I can catch up on practice. I couldn't catch up on being there for you", he said noticing her doubtful look. "You can't do that. It's your job and what if the next game is going to be ruined? I... I'm not worth it", she shook her head eagerly. "Stop. Don't say that. There's always gonna be a next game. It sucks to lose a game but it would hurt so much more to lose you", he stated. Pulling her into a hug, he continued: "You're worth my time and you're worth my love. Don't make yourself believe otherwise." She couldn't believe it. He put her first. He really put her first. This thought echoed in her head right by the side of his words. "I love you", she mumbled into his chest. He kissed her head again not letting go. It felt like healing.

After another while of talking and cuddling, Travis had an idea. "Would you want me to show you around now? We don't have to walk through the whole house but... Maybe you wanna know your surroundings", he suggested. Taylor smiled at how gentle he was again. How could he read her like that? Why did he know how overwhelmed she was by this new place? "We can walk around a little", she agreed. So they got up and he gave her a pair of cute cat slippers he must've bought for her. She smiled at the gesture and put them on. "You're cute", she told him when he also took her hand to show her around. They started in the kitchen because she knew that already and went on to the living space. It was bright and modern but he had managed to make it look homely too. She wondered a bit about one corner of the room that looked pretty empty but she assumed he was waiting for another piece of furniture. Only he knew that ultimately, when she would feel better and got to know this place, he was going to put a piano against that wall.

"Gym or upstairs?", he asked when they had seen everything at ground level. Their hands still intertwined, she opted for the gym and therefore the basement. It still had some windows because the house was on a slight hill and one side of the basement reached out of that hill. So the gym area was still fairly bright and Taylor had almost forgotten about the pool he had in there. She had seen pictures of it and it was a bit smaller than she had expected it to be. It was still big enough to not only play around but actually swim in it. A few of his training things were around the other side of the big room. "I'm still waiting for a punching bag", he told her. "I know you won't live here but... if you need anything...", he carefully mentioned. "I just don't want to have you go to New York or wherever because you need to be training for the tour", he explained.

"Maybe a good mirror somewhere. I have to practice choreographies sometimes", she said. "Okay, we can do that. And do you by any chance have an idea for that room? It was a sauna before and I'm thinking of making it one again", he pointed at a door next to what looked like a bathroom door. "I mean... sauna sounds great", Taylor just agreed. She felt some tension building up about him asking all these questions making it feel like she would live here too but she tried to swallow it. He was right. She wanted to stay here a lot and going back home just because of work could be avoided. "Do you wanna see upstairs or should we do that another time?", he asked feeling her unease. "No, let's go see it. It's bedrooms and maybe an office I guess?", she asked. "Yeah. One empty room, two bedrooms next to the master bedroom, an office, and a bigger bathroom", he said.

So they walked upstairs again looking at the last few rooms. "That's your mom's room right now", he explained pointing at the last door. He didn't want to disturb Andrea. "Thanks for letting her stay", Taylor said. "Oh, of course! Your family is always welcome", he answered pulling her against his side with one arm around her waist. "The garden is pretty much a big empty land of grass right now, nothing to see there. Would you want to get back to bed?", he asked silently. Taylor nodded, so they cuddled up under the blanket again.

"Thanks for showing me around. It's a beautiful place, really", she said leaning against his chest. "I like it a lot", he agreed. "How do you feel now?", Travis asked a moment later. A very specific warmth grew in her after he said that. Every time he cared like that, she could feel it. She felt loved. "I'm okay. It's a big house though", she let him know that it was still a lot to process for her. It wasn't bigger than hers but the unfamiliarity made her a little anxious. "I am so excited to invite some friends over soon and maybe throw a little summer party when the deck is ready", he told her. The images of a warm summer day made her see this place come to life. It helped to imagine people she had met before around here. "I'm sure it will be fun", she agreed.

"Do you want to help me cook some dinner before your mom does it again? She's doing so much lately", he suggested a bit later. Taylor sighed. "But you do the cooking, I just give advice", she said still tired from the house tour. "Deal", he agreed, so they went downstairs again. "You stay here", he told her picking her up and placing her on top of one of the counters. Taylor giggled surprised making him smile. He just realized how much he missed her laugh. After deciding on what to eat, Travis did the work and Taylor told him what to do. He joked around and pretended to be even more helpless than he was just to entertain her. And it worked. Taylor shook her head about his goofy attitude and couldn't stop laughing when he tried to throw the rice into the pot so cool that everything just fell to the ground. She wanted to help him but he just held up a hand in her direction. "Don't you dare move", he grinned picking up his mess by himself. She watched him still chuckling.

"Mom!", Taylor then recognized Andrea standing in the doorway holding up her phone. She just smiled and shook her head about the couple. "I need evidence of you sitting still in the kitchen", she told her daughter making everyone laugh again. "I'd like that evidence too if that would be possible", Travis asked her for the pictures. Andrea couldn't stop smiling about them and sent him the pictures and even a short video. When they finally were done cooking, Taylor was about to jump down from the counter when Travis came up to her for a kiss. She smiled against his lips intuitively letting her hands slide around his shoulders. He pulled her closer until she fell from the counter and onto her feet but they never stopped kissing. Andrea couldn't stop herself from taking a picture again before finally interrupting: "Okay, you guys are cute but the food gets cold." The couple instantly looked at her blushing bright red. They obviously had forgotten that she was even there.

I'm very tempted to disobey Ms. Taylor Alison Swift here and post one chapter per album but I don't want to spam you all too much. So here's the chapter for folkmore. 🪩🥂