Protecting Taylor

Chapter 8

I picked at my omelet tiredly as Adam set a glass of orange juice in front of me.
"Did you sleep okay last night?" He asked with his eyebrows furrowed together.
"Yeah, why?"
"You just seem a little tired is all." He gave me a small smile.
I shrugged and continued to eat my omelet.
"How's your face and neck?" Taylor asked and pushed some of the hair away from my neck to get a better look.
"It's okay, barely feel it." I said.
"Do you want some Tylenol?" She said.
"No, I'm good. Really." I smiled at her.
"I have rehearsal for the tour today. You'll get to be the first guest at my show."
I laughed and took a swig of my juice.
"I've got a jet to catch. I'll call you later." Adam said and kissed Taylor goodbye.
"Bye, Alex. I'll see you later!" He called before leaving the kitchen.
"See ya!" I called back.
I heard the door shut signaling that he was gone.
"So where does he work?" I asked Taylor.
"LA most of the time. I wish we could live on the same coastline."
"That's a lot of flying back and forth."
"Yeah. Get used to flying, though. Well be doing a lot of it soon."
"Don't you take a tour bus?" I asked.
"No, I'd rather just fly home after the shows. I just feel like my home is so much more relaxing than a hotel room."
"That makes sense I guess. I live in motel rooms most of the time, but my bed back at the base will always be my favorite."
"Do you have friends at the base?"
"Umm, no. Everyone is older than me, plus we're always busy."
"Are there a lot of agents?"
"Yeah, maybe 100 give or take a few."
"And you're the youngest?"
"Yeah, but there is a boy about a year older than me. I've trained with him a bit."
"Is he cute?" Taylor asked.
"Ummm, not really. He's arrogant."
"I think personality is what makes or breaks a persons looks."
"That's true. I'm not really looking for a relationship though. I just don't have time for one and there's no one around my age."
"Do you ever leave the base and go out to just have fun?"
"No. I'm not allowed."
"Why?"
"I don't know." I shrugged.
Maybe it was because I constantly had to train. Taylor looked curious with a hint of concern as well. I'm not sure why she was concerned though.
"Well we should get going." Taylor said.
"Yeah." I finished off my orange juice and got up from the bar.

We arrived at the rehearsal and tons of people were already standing around.
"There she is!" A man with a guitar said.
"Hey Paul! Hey everybody!" Taylor called to them.
Everybody seem so happy to be there. They were all smiling and laughing.
"Everybody this is Alex. She's my new bodyguard!" Taylor put her hands on my shoulders from behind.
I waved at the large group of people as they all said hello or waved. They did look confused, but that's understandable when you're a fifteen-year-old bodyguard.
I followed Taylor to the back stage area.
"There are two lifts." She explained.
She pulled me onto the front one and a guy did something at a control panel and the lift moved up.
"And then the crowd goes wild!" Taylor pretended to be a screaming crowd causing me to let out a short laugh.
"Now check this out!" Taylor walked down the catwalk of the stage where there were posts with belts attached to them.
She strapped one around herself and told me to do the same.
"Okay we're ready!" Taylor called.
The stage started to move up.
"What the hell?" I gasped and watch the ground move farther away.
Taylor laughed at my reaction.
"It gets better!" She said.
The stage finally stopped moving up and stared rotating.
"I'm not gonna lie, this is awesome!"
"I think the fans will think so too."
Once the stage was set back into place, I went and sat down so Taylor could practice.
"Here, put this on!" Taylor handed me a white rubber bracelet.
"And pull the tab out!"
"Okay!" I called as she was already scurrying off.
All the lights turned off, which put me slightly on edge. A city appeared on the huge screen. The dancers stared to walk up through the stage. Then, Taylor came on.
"Welcome to New York!" She said and paused.
Some of the crew pretended to scream like a crowd would.
"Welcome to New York!" She sang again then paused.
They pretended to go crazy again.
"Welcome to New York
It's been waiting for you
Welcome to New York
Welcome to New York!"
She began to sing the song and I realized that the bracelet was flashing along to the music. Well that's really cool.
"Hello everybody welcome to the 1989 world tour!" She called during the middle of the song.
"While we may be in tour reversals, we begin our story in New York!"
Then she continued to sing the rest of the song. She had a really good voice! I was surprised because I just figured she was all auto tuned, but this was a pleasant surprise. Just one more thing to add to my list of things that surprise me about her.
"We're all bored
We're all so tired of everything" she starts the next song after removing the sparkly jacket she was just wearing.
I'll admit watching her perform was super entertaining and probably one of the most interesting (non-violent) things I've ever seen. The dancers were crazy talented.
Taylor performed for about two hours before she finished with  a song called "Shake It Off." The catwalk was spinning around above my head before it lowered back down and Taylor and the dancers did their final bows. She waved to me and disappeared beneath the stage. I never felt bored for one moment while she practiced. She was an amazing singer I had to give her that. I've never been to a concert before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I enjoyed it.

"That was amazing." I told her on the ride home.
"Aww really! I'm so glad you liked it. It's been a lot of hard work."
"You sound really good live."
"Thank you so much! It's a good thing you enjoyed it because you'll be hearing and seeing a lot more of it."
"Maybe, it just depends." I said.
"Right, but I'm sure you'll be around for a while." She smiled.
As soon as we walked through the door to her apartment Taylor plopped down on the couch.
"Performing is exhausting!" She said.
"You can nap if you want. I'll leave."
"No, you don't have to do that. Here, lets watch some Grey's Anatomy." She said and patted the cushion beside her.
I carefully sat down. She started an episode up and curled into the couch.
"I'm ordering pizza. Is cheese okay?" She asked.
"Perfect." I smiled and watched the T.V. As she called the pizza place.

Taylor was asleep on the couch by 6:30 and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to leave or stay. I defiantly didn't want to wake her up because she seemed exhausted. My eyes were tired as well as they tried to focus on the TV show. I decided it wouldn't hurt if I just closed my eyes for a moment to sooth the burning in them.
I don't usually fall asleep on the job like this. I don't usually fall asleep well at all, but I had this strange sense of comfort and security curled up on Taylor's comfy couch. The urge to sleep soon grew too strong and I was submerged in darkness.