Secrets

Chapter Twenty Two

"You look gorgeous!" Taylor complimented her girlfriend when she came back into her room.

"Thank you" Karlie said flustered.

"I'm happy you like it."

She was wearing a simple gray long-sleeve shirt with a white pinstriped blouse underneath, and black skinny jeans. She had gone shopping for it the week before, wanting a nice outfit for Taylor's party. She was happy that they had made up and that she could actually wear it tonight.

Taylor was still putting make-up on, despite the fact that the first guests were supposed to arrive in a few minutes. She was wearing an all-black outfit: a long-sleeve shirt, a skirt and tights.

"Every time I'm with you it makes me look like I'm super early and prepared" Karlie teased the singer.

Taylor gave her a disapproving look through the mirror, but then turned around and smiled.

"Can I get another kiss before I put my lipstick on?" she asked, doing her best at making puppy eyes at her girlfriend.

Karlie giggled and pulled Taylor in close to her.

"You don't have to ask" she mumbled and closed the remaining distance between them.

They kissed for a while, until they were interrupted by Austin screaming something from downstairs.

"Taffy! There's a car arriving in the driveway! Hurry up!"

They separated and giggled. Taylor put on her signature red lipstick, then the two headed downstairs.

"I'm nervous to meet your friends" Karlie admitted when they reached the hallway.

Taylor took her hand and pulled her behind her into the kitchen, where Austin was still sitting.

"You don't have to be" she said softly and pulled Karlie into a hug.

"Just be yourself. They already love you."

"Ok, if you say so" Karlie whispered into Taylor's hair.

Austin coughed to remind them of his presence. Before any of them could say anything, the doorbell rang and Taylor jumped up to answer it, leaving a blushing Karlie behind.

Taylor's high school friend Abigail was the first to arrive. Taylor had seen her last on Thanksgiving, but that didn't stop the two best friends from acting like they hadn't seen each other in a hundred years. Karlie smiled at their behavior.

Then she was introduced to Abigail, though the two had heard a lot of each other through Taylor, obviously.

They made their way into the kitchen, where Abigail greeted Austin, and made small-talk. Taylor had texted Abigail earlier in the day to let her know that she and Karlie had resolved their fight and that Karlie was there, to avoid any embarrassing situations.

Karlie relaxed a little, finding Taylor's red-headed best friend nice and welcoming and non-judgmental. Taylor had only invited a few people, claiming she wanted to celebrate her next birthday more instead because then she would be 'a quarter century' old. The tall girl was relieved to not be confronted with so many people at once, especially not so many celebrities.

More people started arriving and were introduced to Karlie. She and Taylor had agreed to act natural around everyone and not pretend to just be friends, Taylor not wanting to put on a show at her own party in her own house. She had a rule that people were only allowed to upload selected photos to social media in order to protect her privacy, and so they would only have to filter out those photos that had Karlie in it later. Both of them were relieved to be able to act like themselves for the night.