UNSOLVED

22

"Are you insane!?"

Taylor couldn't believe it. Standing in her doorframe, soaked and shivering, was Karlie. Outside they could hear the thunder storm raging, the rain hitting the sidewalks in heavy drops.

She took a step back and let Karlie in. The younger woman looked like Taylor had felt all week. She was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes.

"You'll get a cold! Wait I'll get you something to change!" Taylor exclaimed and moved into action. She ran over to her cabinet and grabbed a sweater, sweatpants and a towel, then handed them to Karlie.

Karlie said nothing, only nodded and took the clothes, then went into the bathroom.

Taylor let out a deep sigh when Karlie closed the door behind her. It was 2 am. After her talk with Abigail, Taylor had spent all day trying to phrase her text to Karlie. It had kept her up late. When she finally texted Karlie, she assumed she was already asleep and would read it the next morning.

However, Karlie had replied immediately, saying she was coming over. It's late, Taylor had protested. There's a thunder storm going on. The subway runs only every half an hour. - No, Karlie had insisted. I need to see you right now. I'm calling a cab. Taylor hadn't believed Karlie was actually coming over until she rang her doorbell a minute earlier.

Karlie came out of the bathroom and Taylor cringed when she saw what she had given her to wear. It was a piece of merchandise from the Haim concert they had attended together. Comical, Taylor thought and snort-laughed.

Karlie grinned at her, evidently having noticed too. She still didn't say anything. She went towards the couch and sat down. Her hair was damp, but she didn't look cold anymore.

Taylor couldn't help but feel her heartbeat quicken at the sight of Karlie in her own clothes. She sat down next to her with an adequate amount of space between them, nervously pushing her glasses onto her nose. She felt like she was having deja-vu.

To her surprise, Karlie spoke up first. Her voice was quiet and unsteady, but earnest.

"Kariann saw you leaving on Sunday morning."

Taylor took in a sharp breath. Karlie continued, telling her how the twins had asked about Taylor and how she had told them everything that had happened between them for the past couple of months.

Taylor couldn't tear her eyes away from Karlie as she spoke. It felt good to be near her again. Her hard feelings resolved. When Karlie was finished, Taylor cleared her throat.

"I talked to Abigail today."

Karlie nodded. "It seems like we both finally told people, huh?"

"Yeah." Taylor was surprised at the calmness of their conversation. She had expected yelling and crying. Maybe it was a good sign.

"I just need to know why, Karlie. You crossed our boundaries first. I was giving you time to figure everything out."

Karlie sighed. She ran a hand through her damp hair. "I couldn't ... I couldn't help myself. I felt like you were getting impatient with me, and I didn't want to lose you. Maybe I was getting impatient with myself, too. God, Taylor, I can't be around you as just a friend."

The words lingered between them.

Taylor gulped. Karlie sighed again before she continued. "And I tried to put the blame on you, I really did. Why did you let me kiss you? Why did you stay over after the party? But I've done my fair share of thinking this week and I know I was in the wrong too. You should have initiated conversation, but so should I. I think we were both afraid."

"I think so, too." Taylor's voice was quiet. "I asked myself so many times why I didn't talk to you about it. But then I thought, why isn't Karlie saying something?" She sighed. "I'm sorry for ignoring you all week, Karlie. That wasn't fair to you. I was so embarrassed Sunday morning. But I should have talked about my feelings to you, not leave."

"It's okay." Karlie gave Taylor a weak smile. She reached out and touched her arm. Taylor felt her entire body tingling from her touch. Karlie didn't pull her hand away.

"How was your family's visit?"

Karlie laughed. "Oh God. So messy." She made a grimace. "We talked a lot about my coming out, and my sexuality and all that stuff. But then I also told the twins about our situation, obviously, and they said they'd beat my ass if I don't get my shit together already." She laughed again.

Taylor couldn't help but grin. She thought back to the party and to meeting the twins. All she had been thinking about all week was what happened afterwards. It was good to think about it in a positive way again. She remembered the polaroid she and Karlie had taken, now kept well hidden from the eyes of the world between the pages of her journal.

They studied each other's faces for a long moment.

Abigail's words were replaying in Taylor's mind. She was glad that Karlie had talked to her. There was only the question of how they would go from here. Would they be friends or take the next step? Would they still collaborate on Karlie's channel? How would they act now that more people knew about them?

Taylor realized that now was the time to figure it all out. She gulped and felt her palms become sweaty. She had no idea how to approach this.

Karlie beat her to it. She leaned forward and looked at Taylor intently.

"Taylor ... I know we talked a lot right now. But I just ... " She bit her lip.

"Yeah?" Taylor raised an eyebrow. Her heart was beating out of her chest.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Taylor felt a million emotions all at once. This was the question she had been waiting for for weeks, and she couldn't believe she was hearing it spoken out loud. It was a question she hadn't dared asked herself, for fear that Karlie wasn't ready.

When Karlie's expression changed from hopeful to fearful, Taylor realized she hadn't given her an answer yet. A smile appeared on her face.

"Yes."

The answer was that simple. Karlie started smiling too, her wide signature smile that Taylor adored. She exhaled audibly.

Taylor laughed. "I just said yes and you're just gonna sit there and not kiss me?" she pouted in mock-offense.

"Shut up" Karlie mumbled and got up from the couch. Standing right in front of Taylor, she leaned down and lifted her chin up with her hand. She pressed a firm kiss to Taylor's lips. When they separated, they were both smiling, eyes glistening.

Karlie lowered herself so that she was on top of Taylor, straddling her. Taylor groaned but kept a steady hold on her. "Can we not pretend that you're not way too tall to be doing this?" she laughed.

"No" Karlie said and giggled. They kissed again until Taylor couldn't help but let out a long yawn.

"Karlie, it's the middle of the night. I've been up for like 20 hours."

Karlie simply looked at her, waiting for her to continue. Taylor traced Karlie's jawline with her thumb.

"Stay?"

"I'd love to."

Karlie smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Taylor smiled too. She looked at Karlie for a long moment.

"Let's get some sleep. I need it, and you do, too. We can talk more tomorrow if you want."

Karlie nodded. "Alright."

Sleep came easily for the two of them.

The thunder outside had subsided, and the rain was hitting the windows in an even rhythm. Feeling Karlie's strong arms wrapped around her body and her steady breathing on her neck, Taylor knew they had weathered their worst storm.