All's Fair In Love And War

3

Taylor stood across Valerie, contemplating if she should greet her with a hug, but she was too scared of getting her hug rejected, so she decided against it. She didn't know where she stood, and she definitely didn't want to cross any boundaries.

Taylor sat opposite to Valerie, while Tree sat next to her, opposite to Aaron. Even when it was still their first time meeting personally (well, except for Taylor and Valerie), they could feel a deep tension going on around them.

Valerie sat uncomfortably in her seat, until the waiter from earlier came up to their table. "Good evening, would you like me to take down your orders?"

They all ordered their desired foods before the waiter came back to their table to serve them some Sauvignon Blanc while they waited for their foods to be served.

"So, we are here to discuss on what our clients have to do to make this PR successful," Tree started. "I can't show you the signed papers yet, because even if we're sitting right now in a private part of this restaurant, there could be some people lurking around. We can plan on another meeting for another time, where we can show each other the signed papers."

After Tree finished talking, a waiter came in. He placed their foods on the table and walked off after telling them to enjoy their dinner.

"This is not the first time that my client's gonna do this, except for the fact that she is actually going to do this with a girl. We expect this to work and not ruin her reputation," Aaron said, adjusting the glasses that he was wearing.

"Well, me and my client wouldn't have agreed on this either if we think this could ruin her reputation, would we?" Tree deadpanned.

"I guess not," Aaron replied, sighing, before leaning back on his chair.

After a few more minutes of discussing their plans on how to make the PR work, with Valerie avoided Taylor's eyes and Taylor stealing glances at Valerie any chance she gets, they finally decided to talk about it more on their second meeting.

"Remember, all you guys have to do is hold hands until you reach your cars, got it?" Tree said, Taylor nodding in approval.

"Do we really have to hold hands?" Valerie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest.

"Yes. You have to make it look as real as possible," Aaron replied.

Their publicist used the door at the back to exit the building with each of their securities following them (they would have to leave in separate cars), while Taylor and Valerie made their way to the front door to make their grand exit, also with each securities following them. When they made it near the door, they could already hear the screams from all the paparazzis outside.

Valerie took a deep breath, cautiously holding her hand out for Taylor. Smiling, Taylor laced her fingers with Valerie's while her security opened the door for them.

Once they stepped out, the paparazzis' shouts became louder as they realized what was happening. More cameras flashed as Taylor and Valerie walked over to their cars. Before separating their intertwined hands, Taylor took the courage to kiss Valerie on the cheek before whispering "goodnight, darling,".

As they walked in opposite directions and into their cars, Valerie was still stunned about the kiss Taylor gave her on her cheek. She sat inside the car, still thinking about it and how it made her heart skip a beat. It was as if she felt something familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as the vehicle started moving. When she reached her home, she immediately went upstairs to her room, changed her clothes into something comfortable, and lied down on her bed, her face deeply buried in her pillow.

She let out a muffled scream before she adjusted her position, so she was now lying with her back on the mattress. Now that she was looking directly on the ceiling of her bedroom, she let her thoughts wander deeper; from when she first saw Taylor Swift at the same school she used to go to, to time that they made their separate ways earlier.

She couldn't stop herself from thinking about all the what could've beens. She couldn't stop herself from thinking how Taylor's stare earlier made her heart pound (in a good way), just like all those years ago. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about that damn kiss on the cheek and that freakin' nickname, and how it made her heart flutter.

She knew that the walls that she started building all those years ago were starting to crumble. But she also knew how much pain Taylor caused her. There were a lot of reasons for her to hate Taylor, and there were more reasons for her not to hate Taylor. But even then, she knew that she can't just let her in that easily. It was easy to forgive, but it was hard to forget.

As for Taylor that night, she couldn't stop smiling as she made her way towards her car. She felt good that she made that move. She had been dreading to do that all night long, but she tried her best not to. As she reached her home, she happily skipped upstairs and into her bedroom, where she found two of her cats already waiting for her.

"Dibbles! Benji! You won't believe what happened!" She squealed as scooped the cats into her arms, pulling them close to her chest before sitting on her bed. "Where's your sister? I can't tell you guys the best news if one of you is bot here."

As if on cue, Meredith jumped on the bed beside her. When she reached her hand to pick the cat up, Meredith hissed. Taylor flinched at Meredith's reaction, causing the other two cats to jump off her arms and into the mattress.

Once her cats were lying on the bed, she started talking about everything that happened at the restaurant. From the part when they held eye contact, to the part where they intertwined their hands. Old feelings swarmed her as she talked about Valerie to her cats.

It was the best night she'd ever experienced. Sure, Valerie still gave her some attitude, but she still get to hold her hand and kiss her on the cheek and call her darling; just like she used to.

They both couldn't sleep that night, even with the amount of wine they drank. Because that very night, was the start of a new relationship for them. Yes, it was PR, but at least they still get to spend their days together.