“Sure if you say so.”
She waves me off and we slink away to the champagne fountain, one of my more genius acquisitions. This thing is always a hit. Taylor also loves the champagne fountain.
I sit down with my next glass and go over what Allie and I talked about, the words spinning in my mind. Is he really pulling away from me? How do I stop it?
The next day I get a text about 12:30pm. It wakes me up and I’m kicking myself for staying so close to that champagne fountain last night. I sit up when I see it’s Taylor.
Taylor:Can I come over?
I’m so fucking hung over, but I do want to see him. We have to talk about all this shit.
Me:Yes, but only if you bring hangover food.
Taylor:Burritos and unsweetened iced tea?
Me:Perfect. I’m unlocking the door and going back to bed.
Taylor:See you in 15.
I don’t get dressed or even brush my hair. He’s seen me hungover before and he knows what to expect. When he arrives, I savor the taste of beef and cheese in my favorite hangover food with my unsweetened iced tea. I’m not ready to deal with the real-life Taylor in front of me yet. A few more bites.
He’s sweating it out and part of me kind of likes that. I finish the first burrito and take another out of the bag. I unwrap it and then pause before I take a bite.
“How have you been? We seem to keep missing each other and I’m overdue for a workout.”
I take a bite and look at him while I chew, willing him to speak.
“I’ve been busy. We’re well into the season and these press people keep riding me about retiring.”
“I saw that. You do a pretty good job of warding them off.” I take another bite.
“It’s exhausting.”
I make him wait some more as I chew and swallow a few more bites, then put down the burrito on its open wrapper on my bed. I take a deep breath and let it out. This is getting painful.
“Are you cheating on me?”
“You must be joking. How could you ever think that I would do that?”
“Are you really that surprised?”
“Of course I am. I could imagine those assholes from the press saying something like this, but you? I thought you understood me better than that!”
“You have to admit, you have a bit of a reputation. I’ve seen it myself. Then you ghost me for almost a week right after an away game? It was weird, Taylor.”
“I don’t have to listen to this.”
He throws his hands up and scoffs at me, grabs his jacket from the dresser where he’d set it down, and leaves the room. I hear the door close, and I get up to go lock it. I see a bag on the table from the Mexican place we both love. He’d brought extra burritos.
Fuck.
Chapter 15
Taylor
After all the years we’ve been friends, all the shit we’ve been through the past few weeks, she’s really going to fucking believe the tabloids? She’s letting her friends get in her ear, listening to conversations at random parties. I thought I could trust her to know better.
Now, I don’t know what to do. There are always going to be rumors like this going around. I know she’s heard them. I thought she’d be able to handle it. And now I’m wondering if she’s ever really known me at all.
