what came next

sixteen - travis

When we landed in Kansas City, Taylor carried Bella off the plane. She'd been a little wary the whole time, but Taylor had done an incredible job at keeping her calm. I'd offered to help, but Taylor had handled it easily. She was such an incredible mother and I admired the hell out of her for how she took care of who she loved.

It was a quiet drive to the house, and when we got there I carried most of the bags inside as Taylor had her arms full with Bella. Olly was a little sleepy as well, so we tucked the kids into the double bed in the spare room. We'd made sure to have enough already there until the van arrived, and the kids didn't seem to mind sharing a bed. They both fell asleep instantly.

"Hmm." Taylor sighed when she closed the door and came out into the hallway, smiling over at me. "This is so great Travis, this is such a beautiful place. I can't believe this is where we live now. It's such a perfect place to raise our family."

"I know." I took her in my arms, leaning down to whisper in her ear, brush my lips against her earlobe. "Fiancé." I breathed, loving the sound of that word on my lips. It was so perfect to be able to call her that, to know she was my forever and I would never lose her again. My forever. 

Taylor shivered and I smiled, pressing a kiss to her neck. God I couldn't believe she'd said yes to me. Taylor would be my wife soon enough, and I couldn't wait. She was all I'd ever wanted. 

"Come on." I slipped my fingers through hers and gave a light tug. "I have a surprise for you."

"I thought the surprise was you asking me to marry you." Taylor joked but let me lead her down the hallway, to the glass sliding doors leading out to the spacious back porch and garden. "Oh." She huffed when I slid the door open and flicked on the dim yellow outside light. "Travis, honey..."

"Come on." I smiled, leading her outside. I'd asked my mom to set something up for us, and she'd done it perfectly. She was so excited to meet Taylor tomorrow night, and I knew Taylor was excited as well even though she was a little nervous. 

The patio couch had a blanket draped over it, the coffee table laden with two glasses, a bottle of alcohol free wine, and some of Taylor's favorite chocolate. Taylor wasn't pregnant, but she was eating and drinking like she was just so she could be careful about it.

"I thought we could celebrate our first night in our new house accordingly." I told her, unable to stop smiling like a complete idiot, but I didn't feel like a complete idiot when I was with Taylor.

"Travis." Taylor melted into my arms, smiling up at me adoringly. "You are so sweet." She told me, slipping her hands up to rest against my neck. "I love you so much." 

"I love you." I whispered back, kissing her waiting lips softly.

We sat down and I tucked the blanket over both of us, pouring a small glass each as we settled in. Taylor curled up against my side, smiling to herself as she admired the ring on her finger. I just watched her, content just gazing down at my forever. I wasn't short on money, but I wasn't made of money either and I hadn't wanted to get her as big of a ring as I wanted. But now that I saw her with the ring, I knew I'd made the right choice. Taylor didn't care about money. She cared about meaning.

"God." Taylor sighed, stroking the small diamond gently. "Travis I can't stop looking at it. It's so beautiful and I can't believe this."

"I love you." I whispered, and she looked up at me. Slipping one hand around her jaw, I tucked my fingers into her hair. "Angel." I murmured. "I really love you. You were the girl I was always meant to love and I know that now even though it took me a while to get there." Taylor's eyes softened as she smiled, just listening. "You've made me feel things I didn't think were real, and I admire you so much for the life you've built for yourself and our little girl even though you had to give up your dream."