Secrets

Chapter Seventeen

Karlie could see the familiar black SUV coming to a stop down the street from where she was standing behind her window. She started excitedly jumping up and down, then told herself to calm down. She nervously glanced around her small apartment. She had spent all day cleaning. Not that she was a messy or unclean person, the opposite was true, but she had been self-conscious about the state her room was in, keeping in mind how clean Taylor's Rhode Island mansion always was.

She saw Taylor getting out of the car, looking left and right to make sure no one was recognizing her. Karlie was sure there was a security guard sitting in the car as well, but he didn't get out. Taylor made her way towards the front door, and the doorbell rang a few seconds later. Karlie rushed towards the intercom, letting the singer in and telling her which floor she lived on. She expected Taylor to take the elevator, but she came up the stairs, carrying a brown leather bag and grinning widely. Maybe Karlie's obsession with fitness had finally rubbed off on the older girl.

She took Taylor's hand and led her into the apartment. As soon as the door was closed, she started kissing Taylor, lightly pushing her against the door. Taylor responded immediately, pulling Karlie in close by her hips. After a while they separated, grinning at each other.

"Hey" Taylor said, out of breath.

"Hey yourself" Karlie smiled.

"I'm happy you're here."

Taylor just hummed in response and leaned in for another kiss, which Karlie gratefully accepted.

They separated again and Taylor gave Karlie one last peck on her lips. Karlie couldn't help but blush, despite the fact that she and Taylor had been kissing each time they had been together since they watched the sunset on the beach. Taylor grinned at her when she saw the younger girl's cheek flush red.

"Alright, show me your apartment" the singer said and squeezed Karlie's hand.

The tour was over quickly as there was only the one room, the bathroom and the kitchen, but Taylor loved it nevertheless.

She went towards the bookshelf and laughed when she saw her own records standing on it in chronological order, with the CD she had given Karlie for her birthday in between. She studied the backs of the books with great interest, wanting to know what Karlie liked to read. Unsurprisingly, the student had a lot of non-fiction books about all sorts of science topics. Taylor was amused by the difference in their taste in books, given the fact that she liked to read novels and poems.

"Do you want to drink anything?" Karlie asked nervously.

Taylor wanted the girl to stop being so anxious, and walked over to her and put both her hands on the taller girl's shoulders.

"Karlie, you don't have to be nervous. It's just me. And I love your apartment. I'm happy to be here. And I'm fine with a glass of water" she smiled.

"Alright" Karlie said and looked into Taylor's eyes. They stayed like that for a while, until Karlie grabbed Taylor's hand on her shoulder and led her into the kitchen.

Taylor sat down at the small kitchen table and watched as Karlie filled two glasses of water.

It was a cloudy Saturday, and the temperatures had dropped a little. The air was not cold yet, but not warm either. The trees had begun showing their colorful fall dresses. Taylor was wearing skinny dark-blue jeans and a light white long-sleeve shirt with a black top underneath. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun. Karlie was in washed-out jeans rolled up at her ankles and a white and pink long-sleeve shirt. Her brown hair was down, it had almost reached shoulder-length by now. Taylor couldn't wait to see what the other girl would look like with long hair, she had only seen it in Karlie's children photos so far.