Protecting Taylor

Chapter 3

After Taylor's interview on Good Morning America she said she wanted to go shopping. Shopping. That was a frightening word. I'm not really the type to go out and buy clothes.
"New York is by far the best place to go shopping!" Taylor gushed as we were riding in the car.
"Do you like shopping?" She asked.
"It's okay..." I said, not really wanting to hurt her feelings or sound rude. I didn't have a choice anyways. It was my job to follow Taylor around and protect her.
"There is this place that had really cute clothes that would look really good on you!"
I nodded and watched out the window.
"Where is your favorite place to shop?"
"Umm...I don't usually go shopping. All my clothes come from the base."
"Oh, we will have to extend that wardrobe a bit. That way you blend in a little better."
I did agree with her there. The whole "dressed in all black" thing might not be very subtle. I didn't want Taylor buying me things, though. It would guilt me.
"You don't have to do that."
"Alex, don't worry about it. I would love to buy you clothes. If I have money, I might as well spend it."
"Yeah, but I don't know how I will prepay you."
"Don't worry about that either. You seem like you are pretty good at your job. That's enough for me."
"Taylor, do you want to ride or walk?" The driver asked.
"How about we walk. It's nice out." She said. It was true, it was a nice day.
"Stop here!" Taylor called.
"You got it." He said.
The car pulled off the the side and I got out first. It was up to me to keep people away by myself. Taylor got out and closed the door behind her.
"Okay, let's go here first." She said walking towards a fancy looking store.
So far nobody has approached us, but I know that will change soon. I opened the glass door for Taylor. The store smelled nice and screamed expensive.
She picked up a green dress. It was easy to tell she adored it.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"Umm...it's nice." I said, unsure of what to say. Nobody has ever asked me for fashion advise before, and I never wear dresses. I guess it would look good on Taylor.
"Hmm, you will probably need the extra small." She looked me up and down.
"You're so tiny." She said holding the dress up to me.
Wait. No body ever said this dress was for me.
"How about you try it on?" Taylor suggested.
"Umm, no thanks." I said.
"Oh, well, I think the extra small will be fine."
Taylor put the dress over her arm and searched through the racks.
"Taylor, you don't have to, really." I said.
She shook her head and smiled.
"Look at this!" She pulled a brown jacket off the rack and holding it up to the dress, then me.
"This is going to look perfect together!"
Taylor's enthusiasm for shopping was the only thing keeping me form voicing my displeasure.
Taylor spotted a table with shoes on it. She picked up a brown ankle boot.
"Look at this!" She said.
"That's cool." I said lamely.
"You'll have to try it on the see what size you'll need. What size are your shoes you have on?"
"Uh..." I picked my foot to look at the soul of my black combat boot, "A six."
Taylor searched for the box that said "6" on it and handed it to me.
"There's a bench right there." She pointed at the bench.
I unzipped my boot and pulled on the fancy boot.
I stood up lopsidedly.
"How does it fit."
"Good I guess."
"Oh my god, I can't wait to see the whole outfit on you!"
"Excuse me, can I help you Miss Swift?" A stuck up, middle aged woman asked.
"I think we're all good." Taylor smiled politely at her.
"Alright, let me know if I can help you with anything. My name is Janet."
"Okay, thanks." Taylor said.
"Alright! God, I could shop forever for you! You're so cute!"Taylor beamed at me.
She thought I was cute? That was a new one. I've never been anything more than an asset to my organization. It was a foreign concept to be obsessed over like this.
"Look at this!" Taylor held up a lacy white shirt.
"I don't think I own a drop of white." I told her.
"Well, you do now!"
That's how the next few hours went. Taylor holding things up to me and telling me how adorable it's going to look on me. We went from store to store. Taylor bought me so many things; clothes, makeup, shoes, accessories. She even took me to Victoria Secret.
Paparazzi were already waiting for us when we left the first store we went to. I made sure nobody got too close. Taylor's phone rang.
"Hey, how's it going?" Taylor asked.
"I'm shopping with Alex."
"Yeah, we were getting ready to grab some lunch there!"
"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes."
"Love you, too!"
She puts her phone back in her purse.
"That was Adam, he's going to meet us for lunch at Le Bernardin."
"What's that?"
"A sea food restaurant."
"I've never had sea food before."
"Really? I think you'll like it. This place has really good lobster. The best part is they pick the lobster meat out for you so you don't have to do it yourself."
The restaurant was just across the street. We crossed traffic and entered the restaurant. The host seem stunned to see Taylor, but regained herself.
"Hi, table for two? She asked with a huge smile.
"Three actually, please." Taylor smiled at the excited girl.
"Right this was!"
We followed her to a fancy set table.
"Can I get you started with a drink?"
Taylor order, then I ordered a water.
"I hope you like your new clothes."
"Yes, thank you so much. You really didn't have to do that." I said.
"You're very welcome. I'm so glad you like your new things."
We chatted for a while until Adam showed up.
"How are my ladies?" He asked siting down next to Taylor.
"We're good. Alex is going to be the best dressed girl in NYC!" Taylor said.
"Alright! I'm glad you had fun."
A different waitress came and took Adam's drink order. She also took our food order and Taylor ordered mine for me since we were getting the same thing.
"She's never had sea food." Taylor explained to Adam.
"Really? Well, I'm sure you will like it. I know I do."
"How are the cats?" She asked him.
"They're good. I think Mere is really warming up to me."
"Awe, that is so good. Olivia is in love with you."
"Olivia is my girlfriend." They laughed and I smirked.
Taylor really seemed to like her cats.
The food was out in less than 20 minutes. Taylor was right, the lobster was really good. They must be used to this kind of food. I don't think I'll ever be accustomed to their life style, but I don't need to get used to it. Before long I'll be moving on to my next mission, and all of this will just be another report to add to my file.

After going to more stores with Taylor, the sun was starting to set. We were not super hungry after having a big lunch, so we settled for frozen yogurt. Then, we went back to her apartment.
"Do you want to come in for a while?" Taylor asked.
"No thanks, I had fun today. Thanks."
"I had fun with you today too. I can't wait to do it again. I'll see you tomorrow." She hugged me. I tensed up, but hugged back.
"Goodnight." She said.
"Goodnight."
With the help of one of Taylor's security guards, I got all the bags in my apartment. When he left, I was all alone again. It felt a little lonely. Taylor wasn't as bad as I thought. I genuinely enjoyed hanging out with her today. Before bed, I changed into these silky pajamas Taylor bought me. They felt nice and soft. I crawled into bed and thought about what happened today before drifting off to sleep.