what came next

five - taylor

"Taylor." Travis mumbled, breaking the kiss within a second and pushing me gently back a step. I blinked, confused. "Hey, sweet girl, what are you doing?" He whispered, stroking my arms gently.

"I..." I didn't know what to say. I'd just looked at him and moved without thinking.

"Oh, Taylor." Travis said gently, moving one hand to my cheek. "You know how I feel about you. I want nothing more than to be with you like that again. But I think you're upset and I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

Fuck, he was right. I'd reacted and found the first way to try and forget about the fact that I'd seen my mother. Thank god Travis had enough sense to stop me, because I definitely would have gone through with it and had sex with him if he hadn't. I knew he wanted me, so the fact that he'd put that aside to think about how I was feeling really meant the world.

"Fuck Travis I'm so sorry." I whispered, letting go of him. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"No, no don't apologize." Travis pulled me close and hugged me. "If you're ready for something then that's great, but I think we should just take it slow. I don't want you to think I'm just here to get you into bed." He rubbed the small of my back gently, calming me down. "You really mean the world to me Taylor."

"Okay." I mumbled, ashamed of what I'd done. The moment had passed, and now I just felt like shit. "But I'm sorry Travis. Thank you for stopping me." Travis just nodded, and I sniffed. "I am ready though." I mumbled a moment later. "I think I am."

"Okay." Travis stroked my spine. "Well how about I take you out for a birthday dinner tonight? You and me?"

"Sure." I smiled, looking up at him. "I'll call Cassie and see if she can babysit."

"Great." Travis murmured, and I felt his lips brush the side of my cheek, causing me to go bright red. "I'll pick you up at seven, and don't you dare bring your wallet." He pulled back to look at me, stroking his thumb over my bottom lip. "I really hope you let me kiss you tonight sweet girl." He said quietly, causing my heart to flutter. "But it's up to you like it always is, so don't think you have to do anything."

I was blushing bright red when Travis turned away, standing there still as he left. My heart was a butterfly in my chest as I smiled to myself, touching my bottom lip where I could still feel his touch. Travis was such a romantic now that I'd told him I was ready, and I had already fallen so much harder for him in the last thirty seconds. I was ready to try again with him, properly this time, starting with a date instead of sex. 

I had four hours until Travis would be back to pick me up, so I went to have a shower. I very thoroughly washed my hair and shaved, spreading moisturizer all over my body before I spent a while styling my hair into sculpted waves. I felt nice to take some time and focus on myself, which wasn't something I'd done for a very long time. Bella remained asleep until I got out of the bathroom, and then I heard her mumbling for me. Wrapped in my towel, I went down to her bedroom and peeked inside.

"Hi baby." I murmured when I saw my daughter blinking sleepily at me, her hair messy.

"Mommy." She mumbled, lips stretching into a yawn. 

"Did you have a nice nap my little princess?" I went and crouched by her bed, stroking her hair. Bella nodded. 

"Your hair is pretty mommy." She whispered, reaching out and touching one thick blonde wave. 

"Thank you." I smiled. "Daddy wants to go out to dinner with me tonight. Is it okay if Cassie comes to look after you while I'm gone?" I'd called Cassie before getting in the shower and she'd been happy to look after Bella. Bella nodded tiredly, wriggling out from under her blankets and climbing into my arms. "Oh sweet baby." I crooned, my heart fluttering. Sometimes I forgot that she was still just a baby, that this was the life she knew and the life she loved, and she didn't know anything else. She loved me and I took that for granted sometimes. I hadn't done too bad, and I needed to remember to hold my baby while she was still a baby.