Secrets

Chapter Nineteen

"Nope, Taylor, I wanna watch this!" Karlie exclaimed and laughed while trying to hold the remote as far away from Taylor as possible. This was one of those times where her long arms came in handy.

"Karlie, please, you know how much this embarrasses me. Can't you watch it alone sometime next week?" Taylor pleaded, but to no avail.

Karlie successfully kept holding the remote from the singer, who was half on top of the taller girl, trying to reach it. They were sitting on Karlie's small couch in her apartment watching TV.

Karlie insisted on watching the late night show, claiming she watched it almost every weekend and she wasn't going to skip it just because Taylor was a guest in this episode. In fact, it made it all the more interesting to her. Taylor had only told her that she had been filming for this show, but had refused to give any details on the content or when the episode would air. So it really wasn't Karlie's fault that it happened to be the one the night Taylor stayed at her place, she insisted.

"Fine" Taylor eventually grumbled in defeat, sitting back properly next to Karlie.

When she saw herself on the screen in a preview for her performance, she pulled the blanket over her head and groaned.

"Karlieeee. I'm so embarrassed."

Karlie laughed at her girlfriend. She had to admit that Taylor was pretty cute when she was flustered, which was one more reason she refused to switch off the TV. She pulled the blanket down from Taylor, causing the singer's hair to get messy, and cuddled close to her.

"You'll survive" she giggled.

"Don't you have to watch videos of yourself for rehearsals all the time?" she asked.

"That's different!" Taylor insisted and buried her head in the crook of Karlie's neck.

They watched the show, Taylor hiding her face every time she appeared on screen. When her performance came on, she hid under the blanket again, causing Karlie to laugh.

When the show ended, they kept the TV running on low volume in the background, not interested in the other programs and wanting to talk more instead before they went to sleep. Their time together was limited, after all. November was almost over and they had only seen each other once during the entire month, Karlie once again making a weekend trip to Rhode Island. With finals coming up, Karlie was even busier than usual, and it made her miss Taylor even more when they were apart. She hated that sleeping alone at night was making her feel lonely again, just the way she had feared. She knew that Taylor felt the same way.

***

The next morning they decided to head out for breakfast at a small café a few streets away from Karlie's house. Taylor called one of her security guards to let him know when they wanted to leave the house, and he waited up for them at the arranged time. Karlie had gotten used to his presence, he was like Taylor's large, bulky shadow. She knew that going out to eat and go shopping with Taylor must not be his favorite pastime, but he was very professional and protective of Taylor. The singer usually had to convince him that he didn't have to stay in the car the whole time she was at Karlie's apartment.

As usual, the security guard sat down at a table near Taylor and Karlie's. After studying the breakfast menu carefully, they both ordered coffees and grilled sandwiches. There were only a few people in the café, given the fact that it was a fairly cold and cloudy Sunday morning. During this season, most people preferred to have their weekend breakfast at home in their pajamas. Yet for the two women, going out together in public was something they cherished as a luxury, given the circumstances. Even though the waiter had recognized Taylor, she hadn't been approached. Both women were dressed casually in blue jeans and, out of necessity, black turtlenecks.