𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔 || 𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬

chapter 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 - marigold

"How do you feel?" Amanda asked, as she sat behind Emmalyn in her en-suite bathroom whilst fiddling with her blonde hair.

"Excited, I suppose," Emmalyn's grin reflected from the mirror and onto Amanda face too, "I waited a long time for this so it better be good."

In the evening after the afternoon Taylor had paid Emmalyn that impromptu visit, he had proposed that they go out to dinner the following Saturday.

In the midst of all the chaos, Emmalyn had forgotten all about the dinner, despite the fact that before everything had happened, it had been the only thing she was looking forward to.

Saturday had rolled around and Amanda was now helping Emmalyn get ready in the early evening. Curling her hair, doing her makeup, Amanda and Emmalyn were giggling and gossiping like two high school girls once again. She felt at peace again.

"What dress are you going to wear again?" Amanda muttered, brushing a little extra bronzer on her best friend's pale cheekbones which had adopted a little more colour now that Taylor was back.

"The sleeveless, tiered one," Emmalyn squirmed, not being used to the feeling of makeup being applied so carefully into her skin.

"Oh, the yellow one?"

"It's 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝."

      ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ . ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ﾟ.

Taylor had dressed up in his best, still in desperate attempts to impress Emmalyn. As he drove along the freeway towards her house, he suddenly felt a wave of realisation just crash over him.

It was incredibly surreal to him that Emmalyn's brother was such a big inspiration to Taylor and he would've killed to have even gotten sight of the man, but now, he was combing his hair and wearing his Sunday best to take his younger sister out on a date; which could potentially be argued that she is cooler.

He wasn't ready to debate that in his head.

The radio in his car blared out Fleetwood Mac, his hands drumming to the beat as they rested loosely on top of the leather wheel, too excited to stand still.

His phone buzzed from beside him, but he didn't dare to pick it up, knowing exactly what his mother would say if he texted while driving. He jumped to the conclusion that it was Emmalyn, and Taylor knew he'd be at her house almost momentarily.

Almost as predicted, Taylor pulled back into the drive, just as he had done two days prior, the same gravelly sound beneath him. This time it was different though.

Instead of having to go scavenging for her himself, Taylor's eyes immediately met the graceful woman standing awkwardly under the flower-laced arch which he had inspected a couple months before. She looked what could only be described as elegantly charming.

Taylor pulled himself out of the car, not breaking eye contact with Emmalyn as she slowly advanced closer to him, showing a nervous grin whilst she gripped her elbow in an attempt to close up her figure.

He didn't think she needed to hide away at all.

Her radiant dress was plaid with dark green lines blending the beautiful Marigold colour into her dark undertones as it contrasted perfectly to the natural tanned skin she had acquired ever since she'd moved. Her lips were a different, dark red colour which he hoped would be smeared all over his by the end of the night. Her makeup was flawless and authentic, not overpowering her genuine beauty which lay underneath.

"You look..." Taylor held her two hands in his as his eyes danced over her body once again, "Breathtaking."

Emmalyn snickered quietly as her cheeks flushed an embarrassed red colour, "You're not too bad yourself."

Taylor's hair was a little bit longer now, draping down over his eyes as it was still a little damp from his shower. He had tried his best to look nice for Emmalyn. He wore his black velvet bell bottoms with a plain white shirt, his sleeves rolled up to avoid the heat.

"Your carriage awaits, darling."

Emmalyn laughed and pulled Taylor in to kiss him on the mouth, her lips curling into a smile as she pressed against him.

"C'mon. I've waited for, god knows how long, for this," Taylor uttered, tucking the tendrils of blonde hair which had fallen away, back behind his ears as he moved backwards.

"You have no idea."

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Under the dusk sky, and sat at a candlelit table, Emmalyn's fingers laced between Taylor's as they sat opposite one another, finally just breathing.

"This is nice," Emmalyn smiled sweetly at Taylor as he gazed at the sea view which their table was overlooking.

"It's beautiful here," Taylor's attention turned to Emmalyn as he spoke, gently grazing his calloused finger over the back of her hand which rested gently on the wooden table, "You're beautiful."

Emmalyn blushed slightly, a cheeky grin looming on her lips, "Is this where-?"

"We went surfing. Yeah."

"That's nice."

Emmalyn's eyes gazed over the crashing waves which they had danced in together, imagining their time together, and how she was so clueless about the man she now adored. "I can't believe you planned all this?"

Taylor chuckled under his breath, at the touch of genuine surprise lurking under Emmalyn's remark, "I'd do this a hundred times just to see you smile like that, doll."

Her cheeks flushed again, and she looked down briefly, embarrassed by how easily his words could undo her. She glanced back up at him, meeting his gaze. "You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"Ridiculous for you," he quipped, his grin widening.

Emmalyn laughed, shaking her head as she squeezed his hand. "I guess I can live with that."

The waiter returned, placing the dishes down in front of both of them, but Taylor took little to no notice of. His attention lay fixed on her, the way her hair caught in the soft breeze, how the blonde whiskers on her arms stuck up as of the chill which arrived with the wind, the way her eyes lit up as she glanced at the food.

"Are you cold, Emmalyn?" Taylor asked, noticing her jitter slightly as a wicked draft whipped through the atmosphere as she took a bite of her salmon.

"Only a little, it's okay the food is warming me from within. This place in incredible, how did you find it?" She averted his attention to a new subject, trying not to bring him to any trouble.

Taylor shrugged his shoulders and swallowed his food before speaking, "A little research, a little insiders knowledge. I came to the conclusion that if I was going to do this right, then I needed to find somewhere as special as you are to me."

She froze, mid-bite as her lips curled into a soft smile, "You're making it awfully hard for me to not fall for you much further, Taylor."

His breathing hitched, trying to play it off without making a fool of himself, "I think I've.. I've already fallen all the way, Miss Emmalyn."

The words hung heavy in the air over the pair of them for a moment or so, letting the words seep into Emmalyn's seemingly locked up heart. "Good. Because I have too."

Taylor's heart sped up, slightly, finally hearing her open up herself for him.