Ecie & Esme II: Another Day Like This

Two

'What sort of stuff do you want?' Esme asked Taylor as they walked through Whole Foods together. 'You can make smoothies and juices and stuff with that new machine you got.'

'Or I could just buy smoothies and juices,' Taylor said pushing the trolley. 'All I need is milk and orange juice.'

'But it'll be cheaper if you buy the ingredients and they'll last a lot longer too,' Esme said. 'Just get a couple...'

'I don't have time to make stuff,' Taylor said. 'I'm staying at my place an average of two days a week...'

'Well then stay at your place for longer,' Esme said. 'Or just move out.'

'You know how busy I am,' Taylor said. 'Between seeing you and the store, I've hardly even got any time to do anything...'

'I hope you're not trying to tell me something, Taylor,' Esme said. 'If it's such a chore, then stop seeing me all the time.'

'Oh my god Esme,' Taylor said getting a little annoyed. 'Here we go again. It's not all about you, you know. I'm just saying that I don't have enough time to spend at home. I practically live at your place and eat your food, so why do I need to get food for my place.'

'Because I don't like not eating when I come over to yours,' Esme replied. 'I'm a fat pig who likes to eat and your fridge looks plain depressing whenever I come over. I want you to have food.'

Taylor walked around the trolley and over to Esme, and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her head then kissed her on the lips. 'Okay. I'll get some food if it'll make you less depressed.'

Esme kissed Taylor back then smiled at him.

They let go of each other then Taylor tapped Esme's bottom.

'Do you want to see my friends tonight?' Taylor asked as he packed some food into his refrigerator.

'Where?' Esme asked.

'Down on Redondo Beach,' Taylor replied. 'We'll just be hanging out.'

'I'm okay,' Esme replied. 'You can go and see them if you want.'

'Are you just going to stay here all night?' Taylor replied.

'Well I don't really want to do anything tonight,' Esme replied. 'You can still go out and see your friends and I'll just stay here and watch a movie or something.'

'Okay then,' Taylor sighed.

'What did I do?' Esme said.

'Nothing,' Taylor replied. 'It's just that you never want to hang out with my friends or do anything like that. All you want to do is stay home all the time or go out for family meals...'

'What is this about Taylor?' Esme said. 'Is this about Simon? You've been acting really weird since I got back from Palm Springs.'

'Oh god Esme!' Taylor said throwing his arms up. 'This is not about Simon. I don't care about Simon.'

'So then what is up with you?'

'I just want you to hang out with my friends for a bit and socialize,' Taylor said. 'I don't like having to keep my friends and you separate. I feel like I have to because you never want anything to do with them. They don't hate you, you know.'

'They're your friends,' Esme said. 'I never make you come out with my friends all the time.'

'I would hang out with your friends if you asked,' Taylor said. 'I would at least make the effort.'

'I did make the effort,' Esme said. 'I've met your friends before and I think that they're nice people. I just don't want to sit out all night in the cold smoking pot and running into the sea naked. I want to stay home tonight.'

'You are just un-fucking-believable,' Taylor said. 'You know that, right?'

'You don't need me to be able to hang out with your friends,' Esme said. 'You can go by yourself.'

'You are just...' Taylor scratched his eyelid. 'You know what, forget it.'

'Why is it causing such a big problem?' Esme asked. 'Why are you so hell bent on making me hang out with your...?'

'I said forget it,' Taylor said. 'Just leave it alone. You can stay home and watch your movie.'

Esme looked at Taylor. 'Why are you getting so mad at me?'

'I'm not mad at you,' Taylor said calming down. 'I just feel like I'm not being with you as much as I used to, and then I feel like I'm not hanging out with my friends as much as I used to, and it's all because of the store. I know that if you hang out with my friends with me, then I can have you both with me.'

'Why didn't you just say that before?' Esme asked.

'I want you to be able to enjoy yourself with your friends and stuff and I want you to be able to do your own thing, but I just want us to be together a lot more without all these stupid arguments,' Taylor replied. 'This year has just been the worst; what with you going to Catalina, Cabo and then Palm Springs. I feel like you're slowly slipping away, especially when you meet guys like Simon whatshisface.'

'You are just so stupid,' Esme laughed hugging Taylor. 'You are the stupidest, silliest boyfriend in the whole world,' she reached up and kissed him on the lips. 'I'm still here and I don't think I'm going anywhere.'

'Yeah but I've hardly seen you,' Taylor said. 'Next you'll be spending the year in Timbuktu.'

'If it bothered you so much that I was always going away then why didn't you say anything before?' Esme asked. 'I just thought that with everything that happened with Ecie you would want to get away from me.'

'I didn't want to be one of those overly insecure boyfriends,' Taylor kissed Esme. 'I wanted you to still be able to be with your friends. I understood everything with Ecie and I knew that you wanted to be with her.'

Esme kissed Taylor. 'So then what are we going to do when I move out this summer?'

'Well for starters, LA is a lot closer to here than Malibu,' Taylor replied. 'I can still see you all the time.'

'But what if I don't go to LA?' Esme said. 'What if I'm going to NYC or Ohio? What will we do then?'

Taylor kissed her nose. 'Well then I'll up sticks and move with you.'

Esme looked at Taylor. 'Really Taylor? You'd do that? Just so that we wouldn't be apart?'

'Why not?' he grinned.

Esme hit Taylor playfully then kissed him on the lips. 'Did I ever tell you that you were the stupidest, silliest boyfriend in the whole entire universe?'

'I'm sure I've heard it somewhere,' Taylor laughed. He kissed Esme back.