Pitch Perfect Harmony

We Can Handle It

The first morning in Italy started fairly late for Taylor and Travis. They had a great breakfast and Taylor talked with the staff telling them what Taylor and Travis wanted for a service during their time here. She noticed that they were a bit surprised especially when she told them that she wanted to cook dinner and do all the dishes and stuff herself. Travis smiled watching the staff smile about his generous girlfriend. She basically told them that their workdays would end a few hours earlier than they had expected. He already felt strange having a butler standing nearby and was glad that she didn't take it for granted either.

After breakfast, a staff member showed them around before leaving them alone in the big lounge room. "Thank you for this short vacation, baby", Travis told Taylor and pulled her into a hug from behind. They both looked outside through a big window and just relaxed. "I just felt like we need some time for ourselves. We'll be on the road again soon and... then you have training camp", she explained. He noticed that she seemed worried. "It's gonna be tough. I'll miss you a lot when I'm in my little dorm room", he said with a little smile. "We've never not met for a whole month", she mumbled leaning against his chest. "Yeah. But you know, we all do that. Most of the players have wives or girlfriends at home. Some even children. And they all survive a month", he joked a little bit. "I'm not good at missing someone", she admitted not even acknowledging the joke. "What do you mean? How can you even be good at that?", he asked a little confused but not judging her at all.

"I'll be so clingy before you leave and when you come back and... maybe I'll annoy the shit out of you with texts and calls at some point and... I know it's unnecessary because it's just a month but I've started to become depressed about that before and... I know that's exaggerating and...", she started rambling feeling a bit ridiculous for making such a big deal out of it but Travis turned her around in his arms and looked for eye contact. She found nothing but understanding in his eyes and calmed down a little just from his look. "It's not exaggerating or anything else like that, Tay. I don't know who told you that it would be. I will miss you just as much. I might not be someone who has to deal with depression but I will re-read old text messages, look at pictures, and maybe try to catch a livestream sometimes. A month is long and it will feel even longer. Don't feel bad for missing us", he told her before gently caressing her cheeks.

Taylor couldn't help but smile thankfully at him. She knew it was obvious that her fear once again was rooted in experiences in her past. She had spent a lot of time with someone who had rarely told her that he missed her too. There had been more reasons why she sometimes hadn't even been sure if he still wanted to be with her. But this had been one of them. When she didn't know what to say, Travis kissed her forehead. "I love you, Allie. Missing you is part of that. And in case that is even a question: I knew what I signed up for. You'll be on tour for another while and it won't be the last time. But I know we can handle it. I just know it", he continued to reassure her, his voice soft and caring. "I love you too", she answered hugging him again. "We can handle it", she repeated his words now being more sure about it herself. He nodded and kissed her head again.

They spent the rest of the day inside just enjoying their time together. Travis later had to record the podcast with his brother and looked for a good spot. Taylor decided to use the time to prepare dinner. When she was done, she quietly went over to see if Travis was done too. He immediately looked up and couldn't help but smile widely. Travis didn't even hear his brother anymore and just looked at his girlfriend. She signaled him that dinner was ready and he gave her a thumbs-up outside of the camera frame. Taylor left him alone so they wouldn't have to cut his adorable blush from the podcast.

"Oh, wow. Thank you so much, baby", Travis later came over to the balcony where she had set the table. "You're welcome", she smiled and kissed him softly before they sat down. Of course, he helped her with the chair but then they just enjoyed their date night on the balcony. "Oh, no, wait here. You already prepared everything", Travis insisted when they were done and brought the dishes inside. Taylor sighed and looked out into the distance with a soft smile. After all the chaos of the past weeks, she felt herself calm down. "Sooo", Travis came back and sat down again smoothly taking her hand on the table. "So?", she asked beaming at him with heart eyes. "Can I take you out for a boat ride tomorrow?", he asked. "Oh, so you googled what we could do here?", Taylor grinned making him blush a little embarrassed. "I wanted to do that too actually. So, yes. You can", she added with red cheeks. Sometimes she still felt like these were the early days before their relationship even started to get serious and he was inviting her to a second date.

The couple sat on the balcony for another while just talking, flirting, and giggling. Suddenly, Travis noticed a flash in the distance. His eyes jumped to where he had seen it looking for the camera he expected to see. But it was dark already. He could not see anything and Taylor almost turned around because she noticed his look. "So, what do you wanna do besides the boat ride?", he quickly asked but she just tilted her head confused about the sudden change of topic. "Just don't turn around", he sighed squeezing her hand a little. Her face immediately fell apart. "They found us already?", she mumbled looking at their hands on the table. "I just saw a flash, could've been something else", he explained but she just looked at him as if she was asking if he was serious right now. "It doesn't matter, Tay", he said knowing that the main reason for her to rent a mansion like this in the middle of a big lot was to avoid paparazzi. Otherwise, they could've stayed in Paris for longer.

"The truth is, it does. It's frustrating and annoying. You can't deny that", she said looking up at him. "Allie", he tried but she just shook her head. "Just don't say anything", she asked him to accept it. "I love you", he still wanted to tell her and she did smile a little at that. "I love you too", she answered and let him distract her again before they went inside later. Travis watched her happily noticing that she seemed to not even think about the paparazzi anymore. He had managed to get her thoughts off of it. Now he just needed to make sure she wouldn't check her phone the next day, so she wouldn't see any pictures. But first, they cuddled together in the big bed still feeling the bliss of the evening they had spent together.