Countdown To Love

Expired

*Third Person POV*

Taylor sat at the edge of the pool, letting the cool water flow over her calves and nothing else. Two other girls swam around her legs, splashing her and trying to pull them in with her.

"Come on in, Tay," one of them pleaded. 

"I don't want to, Gracie, it's cold..." Taylor trails off. 

The first girl- Gracie- looks up at her with big green eyes and sticks out her bottom lip in an adorable pout.

The second girl spoke up. "Don't do that, Gracie, you look about twelve," she teases. Gracie's mouth falls open and her eyebrows scrunch together, offended. 

"Jaz, I'm 24!" she yells. Jazlynne rolls her eyes and begins to put her thick black hair into a long braid. 

"Same here, but at least I act my age." Taylor says.

Whatever," Gracie retorts, attempting to flip her shoulder-length dark blonde curls. Taylor stifles a laugh and she fidgets with a silver bracelet on her wrist, covering her tattoo. Neither of them had noticed yet, and she intended to keep it that way.

"Hey baby," a tall man with brown hair and wispy bangs sat down next to Taylor and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Gracie scrunched her nose up at the two of them kissing. Jazlynne dreamily sighed. 

"You two have been dating for over three years, when should we be expecting a happy announcement?" Jaz asked. 

This made Taylor look down in shame. She knew that Leighton deserved better than her. He, along with everyone else, assumed that they were soulmates, a match made in Heaven. He loved her so much that he never bothered to ask. 

But Taylor knew better. Her tattoo- she's expired. She had only been dating Leighton for a year when she realized. Their countdowns were different. It hurt Taylor to think about that day. Every single night, though, she dreamt and pondered upon it.

It was a day not unlike the one they were having now. Sitting at the pool, a sharp breeze cut through the air, cooling the water. She wasn't with Gracie or Jaz, however. Alone, sitting on a poolside chair. 

Her timer was about to go off, so she got all dolled up. Her father allowed her to wear a bikini, just this once, and she got the streaks of darker blonde dyed in her hair. She read the book that was on the table in front of her. 

A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was a hard read, obviously, but she didn't mind. Taylor wanted something to take her mind off her first meeting with her other half. Two minutes. 

A group of boys around her age suddenly barged in. Taylor could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Could it be one of them? One minute.

They all jumped into the pool, clothes on and everything. Except for one boy. He looked down at his friends disapprovingly. 30 seconds.

He had brown hair, immaculate, the perfect hairdo. His skin was tan and he had perfect white teeth. He legitimately reminded Taylor of a real-life Ken doll. 15 seconds.

Suddenly, he stopped. The man turned his head to look at Taylor. It's him! Five seconds.

He slowly, but with long strides, made his way over to Taylor. Finally, he reaches her and uses his finger to lift up her chin. The second they touch, both of their timers hit zero. 

Taylor will never forget the next five words that came out of that man's mouth.

"This is all I get?"