UNSOLVED

14

"Taylor! Hurry! I already tweeted it out! I'm uploading now!" Karlie exclaimed and laughed. She was sitting on the couch in her living room, laptop next to her.

"Alright, alright! I'll be right there!" Taylor giggled from the kitchen. She was pouring them both iced tea into large drinking glasses.

She went into the living room, balancing the beverages in her hands. Joe the dog followed her, wagging his tail and running between her legs.

"Jeez, Joe!", she laughed as she stumbled but caught herself at the last second, managing not to spill anything.

"Didn't you say you only had him for a little while here?" she asked Karlie and put the iced tea on the couch table.

"Yeah, but I kinda needed him here, I didn't want to give him back. I know it's not ideal because I don't have a backyard, but we go outside twice a day" Karlie said and gave a half-smile.

Taylor nodded.

Karlie returned her focus to her laptop screen and clapped her hands together, watching the upload process. Taylor sat down next to her, and Joe jumped onto the couch too.

Taylor sat as close to Karlie as possible without overstepping their well-established boundaries. Their knees were touching. Out of the corner of her eye Taylor thought she could see Karlie blush a little and did her best not to stare.

"Is it up yet?" she asked to distract herself.

"2 minutes!" Karlie turned towards her and grinned.

Seeing Karlie's genuine excitement and her wide smile, Taylor felt a pang in her chest. She was happy that the two of them were back to being friends, but it hurt her nonetheless. She wanted to kiss Karlie and hold her in her arms. She wanted her to push her against the wall and make out with her. All she had was lingering touches and shy smiles. It would have to do for now.

Karlie's phone buzzed on the couch table and she leaned forward to pick it up. She laughed when she saw the message.

"Kimby, my younger sister just texted to say she saw my tweet and is waiting for it to upload too. Though she also said 'I'm only watching for Taylor so don't flatter yourself'."

She threw her head back laughing, the cheerful sound filling the room. Taylor laughed too but couldn't stop herself from staring at Karlie's neck all the while.

She gulped. "Kimby is one of the twins, right?", she asked to make sure she was remembering correctly what Karlie had told her about her family.

"Yeah, Kimby and Kariann are the twins. They're graduating high school right now." Karlie said and beamed.

Taylor nodded in response. Her heart started beating quicker at the thought that Karlie had told her sisters about her. She wondered how much they knew. From what she could tell the sisters were pretty close. Growing up with only a younger brother, she could only admire their sibling dynamics.

The video was uploaded, and Karlie quickly set the title they had agreed on, wrote a description and set the usual tags. Then she tweeted the link and started the video. Taylor had already seen the final edit, but it was always special to see it uploaded. It was something she couldn't get tired of and she appreciated that Karlie seemed to feel the same even after so many years.

Joe barked when Karlie appeared on the screen, causing the two women to laugh. They had collaborated on another one of Karlie's cooking videos, this time making three different types of healthy summer salads.

Taylor wasn't sure if she was imagining it or if Karlie had inched closer to her as the video progressed. By the time the video was over, their thighs were pressed close together. Taylor wanted to pull away and make room between them, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.