Open Up The Door For Your

Open Up The Door For You

It was raining so hard that the trees rattled. Taylor crept across the street, hiding under her umbrella. In New York, everything was done properly and fully, with no time wasted and nothing spared. It was a place of extremes, and the weather in January was no exception. The wind was bitingly cold. Taylor retreated to a cafe on the other side of the street, small but brightly lit, advertising homemade hot chocolate and pea soup. Seating herself at a small table at the back of the room, concealed from the windows and any passing paparazzi, she opened the menu and glanced over it. Something quick would do, she didn't need to stay long.

Taylor noted with relief that the place was completely empty, so the probability of having to sign autographs was very low. Put simply, she was tired. Tired of being ambushed by paparazzi. Tired of the monotony of press conferences and journalists, always asking the same questions about her love life. Tired because she was getting four hours sleep a night between trying and failing to write new music and trying and failing to weather the storms coming from her management.

For the first time in her life, Taylor didn't know what to write about. Her life was the empty area between chapters.

Taylor was startled out of her reverie by a bright voice behind her.

'What can I get you today?' The voice came from a tall, pretty woman. She had short, light brown hair and a frame that was exceptionally slim, but also looked strong and supple. When you looked at her, the first thing you saw was her smile, and the second thing was her playful green eyes. Taylor hastily consulted her menu again. 'Just a latte, thank you. And one of those cookies, up there.' Taylor pointed at a glass jar of large, honey coloured biscuits sitting on the counter in front of the cash register.

The girl smiled again. Her nametag read Karlie. Taylor stared at it for a second. God, she was tired.

'I will get that to you as soon as possible,' Karlie said, and walked with a spring in her step to the kitchen. Just before she disappeared inside, she spun around and made eye contact with Taylor. Then, to Taylor's simultaneous mirth and mortification, she winked.

'Wait, what?' Taylor said to herself. When she realised she had said it out loud, she clapped a hand over her mouth and busied herself with her iPhone, pretending to be deeply interested in the little black screen. Why had Karlie winked? Was it, just, a friendly wink, or did it mean something more?Taylor panicked. Yes, Karlie was very cute, and yes, her smile did give Taylor slight butterflies, and yes, Taylor might have a slight crush on her. But after Harry, Taylor was steering far clear of any kind of relationship for fear of what atrocities the media would spin. And Karlie was a girl! Bloody Hollywood Life would have a field day with that. No, no, no, Taylor most certainly did not need this. She didn't need Karlie's beautiful smile flashing through her mind.

The rain had lightened considerably while Taylor had been having her miniature identity crisis. It was now the sound of children's feet running past, compared to the heavy drums just fifteen minutes previously. The sky was still dark, despite it only being early afternoon. Karlie was returning from the kitchen, balancing a foamy coffee and a plate of cookies. Carefully she set them on the table, and then slid into the seat opposite Taylor. She was smiling. She did that a lot.

'Do you ever stop smiling?' Taylor asked her.

Karlie's eyes crinkled in pleasure. 'I try not to. I find that smiling always makes me feel better. You look like you could try a little bit of smiling,' she said, then grimaced with embarrassment. 'I mean - not that you're - I just meant that you looked a bit sad.'

'Oh no, don't worry. No offence taken. I'm just very tired at the moment, to say the least,' said Taylor. Immediately she asked herself why she was confiding this to a stranger. But there was something about Karlie's freckles and friendly nature that Taylor implicitly trusted. She was comfortable with Karlie in way she hadn't felt in a long time. Karlie gave her a feeling of weightlessness, like she could finally let go after months of holding her breath.

'I'm Taylor.' She bit into a cookie. It was excellent; not too sweet and not too bland. 'Did you make these? They're fantastic.' Absently, Taylor wondered at the fact that Karlie didn't seem to know who she was.

Karlie's beautiful smile appeared again, flashing onto her face. 'I did. I've called them Karlie's Kookies, with a K, because I'm corny and my name is Karlie. Do you like them?'

Taylor nodded, chewing. 'They remind me of Tennessee. I used to live there, and there was a bakery round the corner with cookies that were like this,' she said, her mouth still half full. 'Sorry, that was gross.' There was a napkin lying on the table. Hastily, Taylor grabbed it and dabbed at her mouth. Karlie laughed gently at her embarrassment. Her laugh was a soft strum on a guitar.

God, Taylor was a mess. God, Karlie was cute. Taylor so wanted to know her better, she wanted to hang on to the beautiful butterflies that she was feeling.

'Um. Good cookies. Yeah.'

Get it together, Swift. You're a songwriter, for god's sake. You write words for a living. Surely you come up with something a little more inspiring than 'good cookies'.

Karlie brushed a piece of hair away from her face. It should be illegal for someone to be so cute.

Oh, you've got it bad, Swift. You've known this woman for about fifteen minutes.

'Do you live around here now, then?' Karlie asked.

'Yes, I do. I love New York, it's a beautiful place, lots of beautiful people.'

Taylor did not just say that.

Karlie raised her eyebrows and her smile grew wider. 'There are definitely some exceptionally attractive people in this city.'

Taylor's heart started beating so fast that she thought she could probably lift off the ground and start floating. The tension in the room was tangible.

Go with it.

'Really? Such as who?'

'I'm looking at one of them, actually.'

'Are you flirting with me, Karlie?'

'I might be, Taylor.'

Taylor's breath caught in her throat at the way Karlie said her name. Static ran through her body. Karlie was so close now, her lips slightly parted. Taylor could see yearning in her eyes.

'Is this the part where you kiss me?' Taylor whispered.

In reply, Karlie carefully took the back of Taylor's head in her left hand and brought it down to meet her. Their noses bumped gently, and Karlie let out a tiny giggle. Taylor felt herself relax into the kiss. It was deep and sweet and different to any other way Taylor had ever been kissed before. There was a tenderness to it, but at the same time a strength. There was a strength to Karlie's passion, and Taylor gave herself into it, abandoning all shyness. This is what kissing a girl is like. She let her tongue move, exploring Karlie's mouth with her own.

Who was this woman, who in the space of time it had taken to order cookies, had taken down Taylor's guard so completely?

When the kiss ended, Taylor leaned back slowly. The fluttering feeling, she realised, was a newfound hope. In Karlie, and in the possibility of love, however unexpected. She smiled shyly at the brunette and for the first time in a while she meant it.