I call Tanner the second I get to my floor, waiting a few rings for him to pick up. That's the thing about Tanner, he'll answer, but it takes him until the last second to answer unless he knows it's a emergency. It also takes him awhile to get in a situation where can answer without leaving a conversation. So even if he doesn't answer the first call, I know to try again a few minutes later if he's in a place that is crowded.
But he answers now, actually at the same moment the elevator doors open to reveal my empty floor, the distant clicking of suitcases on the tile floor several levels below.
"Hey babe," He says, his voice husky. He sounds exhausted, and I don't blame him, he's had a busy day, unlike mine all up until the last hour and a half where it seemed to have mentally exhausted me to the bone. The emotions seem to have stripped me to the bone, and all I really feel like doing is watching a sad movie and crying myself to sleep in my pillow. Sometimes you just need to cry it out, even if you aren't the one who should be as torn up about the situation. Crying seems to help nowadays, almost as if it helps relieve the stress that seems to keep building on my shoulders.
"Hey," I say as I slip my key card into the door and tug it out at once, pulling the door open with a sigh. My room sits as I left it, except a note catches my eye at my feet as I go to hang up my coat. I balance the phone betwen my ear and my shoulder as I take it in my hands, smiling to myself. "You write cute notes, you know."
"Oh, you got it?" He asks, sounding rather proud over the matter.
"Indeed. It's adorable, you should come over tonight, I need to talk," I groan, collapsing back onto the bed that has the sheets rumpled at the end. I swear to you I made no efforts this morning, I was tired and an overall mess. You don't want to see me on my messy mornings. They usually occur on Mondays, but today it was a Wednesday, which is an awkward day to have a messy day, but whatever.
"I wish I could but I have to be up super early for Good Morning America, but I can talk to you on here as long as you like." He says and I reread the note over again, holding it in one hand, tilting it around to see it in all different angles. It reads;
"Hi, I missed you today. Hope all went well. Enjoy the interview, it mentioned you a good bit;) I love youuu, Tanner"
"Are you going to watch the interview now?" He asks and the sound of a ruffling pillow is heard in the background.
"Mhm. What's this about me being mentioned? What did you do?" I yawn, giving a good stretch before flipping across my DVR in search of the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon I had recorded. I press play and scoot back against the bedpost, trying not to think too much of how much time I have left in this room. It's about a week and half before I'll have to go home to wait it out to see if I'll get the full time job. I'm confident in the piece, I like it, and more of it, it shows how my thought process about Tanner went. How, at first, it showed that rough side of him, and then how I discovered that other side, that soft side I remember, and what I see in him now, that illusive curiousity that seems to follow every wake of his being. He's interesting, and I can't help but be infatuated with him.
"Mm, you'll just have to see. How'd it go with Tyler?"
"I guess it was okay, I mean, I think we're friends. It seemed like it. Just promise not to pound the guy again,"
He laughs, "Fine, fine. I promise."
"Ladies and gentlemen, he's got an album coming out on October 22nd called Breakout, and he's the winner of 3 VMA moonmen, please welcome, a Tanner Wilde!" Jimmy announces on the screen, standing and clapping as the wall lifts and Tanner is revealed, wearing a dark black suit and tie, his hair pushed back into a quiff. He looks extremely handsome, and as I can assume, the crowd goes wild with whistles and screaming. I honestly don't blame them, my cheeks are already burning so bad I'm somewhat glad Tanner isn't here to see me like this.
"Wow, you looked handsome," I say into the phone, watching as he walks forward and shakes Jimmy's hand and takes a seat with one leg crossed widely over the other.
"Are you blushing, Taylor?"
"What, no," I stutter, laughing a little. "Why would you think that?"
"Because your voice is getting higher and whenever you're embarrassed or taken by someone's looks, your voice always gets higher. And frankly, it seems a little bit of both, if I'm correct, of course."
I raise an eyebrow and feel myself blush again. He was right, of course, and he knows me better than anymore. He honestly has me around his thumb and back. Not only can he name every single topic we covered back in school between the two of us passing notes in class, but he knows my favorite movies, my favorite books, foods, its crazy. Most of the stuff I had forgotten about myself in the past couple years, but it seems like all of those memories were just stored up in his mind, while mine seems to be lacking. I could tell you all you need to know about him, maybe a little bit more from what comes to memory, but that can only be triggered by moments around me that cause memories. And those don't happen often.
"Well, you're correct, but don't get too cocky, hotshot. You could be in for depending on what you said about me in this interview."
"It's nothing bad, I promise."
Back on screen, Jimmy is talking about the album, who the songs are about, which I have yet to ask about. He simply says it's nothing recent and that the songs mean a good deal to him. Even after Jimmy pressures him into revealing his new single name, which I've heard before, called Real. It's a great song, very beautiful, very fun and upbeat.
"And speaking on the subject of your songs and inspirations, we've seen you've been hanging out with a certain someone more than usual," Jimmy says, leaning forward on his desk as a picture brightens up the background. It's of us, nose to nose with eachother, our hands linked behind my back. It had been taken by a paparazzi on a day I'd assume was at the beach in account of the boardwalk in the background.
"Oh, yeah, I have, havent I?" Tanner smirks, cocking his head slightly with his eyebrows raised.
"Can you tell who she is?"
"Well, her name's Taylor. I've known her forever," he nods along, clearing his throat. I laugh slightly into the phone and I hear Tanner move on his end to listen closer to my tv in the background. "Shes a wonderful girl. Wonderful girl, really." He repeats.
"Mhm. So are you two.. dating?" He asks, grinning now. I can almost see the audience growing restlessly excited behind the camera. Tanner looks at his lap, and then back up.
"It's possible, yeah. We could be," He grins.
"Alright, what's she like?"
"She's- amazing. I couldn't ask for a better person to have around," There's something knowing in his smile, like he knows I'm watching and it gives us a type of secret language no one else knows. I love that so much, it's just our personal little secret.
"You're so cute, do you know that?" I say into the phone, now, looking back up at the ceiling as Tanner goes off and Drake comes on soon after.
"So I've heard. Did you like it?" His voice is raspier now, like how it gets when he's sleepy or when he just wakes up in the morning.
"It was sweet, yeah. Definitely gains you some points in my book. Do you think that counted as an official coming out as a couple?"
"I'd say; yeah. I mean, it was pretty obvious," He says, a yawn interrupting the last part of his sentence.
"Babe, you need to get to sleep," I laugh. Honestly, I do too. My emotions are drained to the bone, and I really just need to sleep. I don't even think I have enough energy to change, I just want to fall asleep right here and never get up.
"I know. Is that all you want to talk about? I mean, if you need to talk, I can drink some coffee or something."
He's so cute, thinking I'd make him stay up to talk when I'm equally as exhausted, just in a different way.
"I'm all talked out. See you tomorrow?"
"Count on it. I love you,"
I smile subconciously, and let my head fall back against the pillows. "I love you, too. Goodnight."
