Young Love

Chapter 13

Karlie and Taylor walked the short way to the car with their intertwined hands swinging between them, matching smiles on their faces.

"I get why you like it here so much," Karlie said once they came to a halt in front of the passenger door.

"They're the best," Taylor agreed. She was relieved that her girlfriend and Imogen had gotten along so well.

"I love how you all tease each other," Karlie grinned. She had found their breakfast pretty entertaining. Meeting Mrs. Sheeran wasn't nearly as scary as she'd imagined it to be.

"That we do." A huge smile spread across Taylor's face when Karlie reached out to open the passenger door for her. Karlie did it often but it still made Taylor's heart flutter. Before she got into the car, the smaller girl got on her tiptoes and gave Karlie a short kiss. The green-eyed girl blushed when she closed Taylor's door.

"Where was Mr. Sheeran?" Karlie asked as she started the car.

"He went on a fishing trip," Taylor replied.

"Isn't that kinda boring, though?"

"That's what Imogen says, too," Taylor giggled. "I don't get why he likes it so much either but it makes him happy. And you didn't have to meet them both at the same time thanks to his strange hobby."

"That's true," Karlie agreed. "Imogen is such a sweet woman," she added.

"Oh yeah she is. You know, to Imogen it never mattered who I'm dating. All she cares about is that I'm happy and that you treat me right. And I think she approves of you," Taylor said once Karlie had maneuvered them onto the quiet street.

"How do you know that?"

"She has this weird gift of reading people. She can tell pretty soon whether someone is full of shit or genuinely good. And since she didn't say anything I'm sure she likes you."

Karlie felt relieved at that. She reached out and intertwined their fingers. It was such a seemingly insignificant thing to do, yet it meant the world to Taylor. The simple act of Karlie reaching out to hold her hand made her feel safe. It made her feel cared for. It made her feel loved.

The longer they drove the fewer houses were lining the streets. "Are you sure we aren't lost?" Taylor asked eventually as Karlie drove them along deserted streets farther and farther out of town and a forest came into view in front of them.

"I've been going there for pretty much all my life. Trust me we aren't lost. In fact we are almost there," Karlie assured the girl next to her.

"Maybe you're driving so far to murder me. No one would look for my body out here in the middle of nowhere," Taylor muttered as her girlfriend drove them right into the forest on a small unpaved road.

Karlie laughed. "Babe, you gotta stop watching those crime shows. They aren't good for you."

"Those shows are warning me of real risks in the world. I mean you're driving us into a forest right now. Do you know how many people have been murdered in the woods?"

"I don't think I wanna know that," Karlie said, shaking her head at her girlfriend's dramatic antics. She drove them farther into the woods. The car was shaking a little whenever they drove over stones or roots on the ground but she had gotten used to that over the years. The blonde on the other hand hadn't. Taylor squeezed Karlie's hand tightly whenever they drove over the roots of the trees around them.

"You could have warned me that you're taking me to the end of the world," Taylor drily stated. But she couldn't fight off the huge smile that spread across her face. The car slowed down and a red building appeared at the end of the road. She loved being in the nature. It reminded her of her home back in Pennsylvania.