UNSOLVED

2

Taylor exited the bookstore and clutched her purse and paper bag a little tighter. It had started raining, and the cold wetness outside was a stark contrast to the comforting, dry warmth of the inside of the store.

She stood near the entrance still, looking up and down the sidewalk. People were hurrying along, their umbrellas colorful spots between the monotone gray of the pavement and the sky. Taylor sighed. She tried to decide what to do next – go for a coffee or head home? She wished she had a friend to call up spontaneously. She pulled her phone out of her coat pocket to look for a coffeeshop nearby but saw that the battery was critically low.

Taylor put her phone back and stepped out into the rain, hurrying towards the entrance of the subway station she had used earlier. Once inside, she needed a few minutes to reorient herself and closely studied the metro map. New and alone in a big city, it often took her a while to figure out how to get to places.

Once safely on the train, the correct one she hoped, she took her new books out of the bag to look at them again. An elderly woman sitting opposite to her curiously craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the titles. Taylor smiled to herself.

The first book was a historical novel, set in the New York of the 1920s. The other typist. Taylor had been intrigued the second she had opened the first page. 'They said the typewriter would unsex us'. She was curious to learn more about the history of the city she now called home, and the fictional women who would tell it to her. The second book was a poem collection titled Delicate. It had been hidden almost, in the very corner of a shelf that had not been drawing any attention to itself. Taylor hoped to get inspiration for her own writing.

She made it to her front door without missing her stop or having gotten onto the wrong train or direction. She grinned to herself. She was getting better at this. She walked up the stairs to her apartment, and her cats greeted her. Taylor smiled. No matter how lonely it got, her cats would always be there.

Sitting on her bed, she sent a quick text to her mum, then opened her laptop. Olivia, her younger, white cat, was sleeping in her lap. Meredith, her older, gray cat, was sitting at the foot of the bed, scowling at her. Taylor knew not to take it personally. Her new books had joined the 'to be read' pile on her bedside table, and there was a steaming mug of tea next to it. The rain was still hitting the window, and the wind was whistling between the high buildings. Spring was making the people of the Big Apple wait this year.

The first thing she saw was that Karlie Kloss had uploaded a new video. Her breath hitched in her throat. Not that it was uncommon for the other woman to upload videos to her channel – Taylor was simply not sure if she could handle seeing the blonde on her screen after having met her in person. It was all she had been thinking about for the past one and a half weeks. Karlie's overwhelming presence, her own nervousness. Karlie's genuine interest in talking to her, and her own surprise about it. Karlie's green eyes and wide smile, and her own heart beating out of her chest.

Taylor shook her head. Karlie Kloss. She had promised to see her around the office but hadn't come around yet. Taylor wondered how often the blonde really still frequented Blaze or if it had just been something she had said nonchalantly. Would she even remember Taylor? She shook her head again. There was no use pondering to these questions. Karlie Kloss was way out of her league, period.

Taylor clicked the video. 'Hi guys!' Karlie's cheerful voice sounded through the studio apartment, and Taylor blushed. She didn't know why. Oh God, she thought. I'm in too deep. The video was about Karlie's workout routine, and Karlie taught different ways of stretching muscles. Ears burning hot, Taylor admired Karlie's athletic figure in her workout clothes. Get it together, she scolded herself. She had never had a problem watching Karlie's videos before, but now that she had met her in person, it felt different.