Promises

Chapter Eight

"Oh thank god, finally!" Kimby exclaimed as they entered the café and warm air surrounded them.

She made a beeline towards a larger free table to claim the spot on the couch for herself. Kariann, her twin sister, Karlie and her friends Kelley and Christen trailed behind her, relieved to finally be inside as well and started taking off their coats.

The weather had been quite cold the past days, with temperatures in the 40s, but this weekend had also brought rain with it, creating an uncomfortable environment no one wanted to be subjected to longer than necessary.

The five of them sat down, with Kimby and Kelley next to each other on the couch and the other three on the chairs around the table, leaving one chair empty.

Well, not really. In fact, it was occupied, but only three of them were aware of it.

Kimby was able to stop Kelley in the last second before the freckled girl would have slammed her bag and coat over the empty chair and onto the invisible Taylor.

"Can't you put your stuff next to you or on the floor like everyone else?" Kimby asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"Jeez, you sound like Christen" Kelley responded, but did as she was told.

Kariann and Karlie were confused at first, but then understood what was going on. Both of them felt a bit uncomfortable and were shocked how easily the singer could have gotten hurt or exposed. Taylor, however, had to do her best not to laugh out loud at the hilarity of the situation, and to give her presence away. So she bit the inside of her cheek and quietly chuckled to herself.

Once they had all sat down, they started looking through the menus that were laid out on the table. As always, Kelley and Kimby were discussing all the options loudly, while Kariann and Christen studied them quietly by themselves. Karlie on the other hand knew what she wanted since she went to this place often. They were at The Reign Coffee, which was popular with college students in the area, and where she and Taylor had had their first 'date'. She looked to where Taylor was sitting and wondered if the invisible singer was thinking about that day as well. She smiled, hoping her girlfriend would see it.

After a while a waitress approached their table to take their orders. Karlie recognized the waitress, it was Nahomi. Ever since she and Taylor had gone there together and Taylor had taken a picture with the waitress, the two of them sometimes made small talk whenever Karlie was there. She appreciated that Nahomi never asked her about how she knew Taylor, though.

Nahomi recognized Karlie as well and gave her a small smile.

"Hey Karlie, what can I get you today?" she asked in her usual, friendly voice.

"I'd like a green tea, and the new vegetarian sandwich, I haven't had it yet" Karlie replied.

Nahomi wrote down her order, and everyone else placed their orders as well. Karlie suddenly remembered that this was the first time Taylor was out eating somewhere and would, for obvious reasons, not the able to order. Shit, she thought. We didn't think this through.

Kariann read her sister's thoughts and bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing out loud. Of course they hadn't thought about that.

Oh my god, Kimby chimed in, communicating silently with her twin.

Guess she'll have to starve, she added and let a chuckle escape her lips.

Karlie gave her a look that said not funny, knowing what her sisters were talking about even though she couldn't read their thoughts back.