Taylor and I walked into the deli and took a seat at the same table we sat at last week. He was looking at the little paper menu and I decided that now was a good time to inspect him. I knew what he looked like of course, but I wanted to find out about those tiny little things that people notice only after close inspection. His eyes were really blue, bluer than mine, at least, and his bottom lip was fuller than his top. He had really nice eyebrows too, not a unibrow but not the kind you'd look at and think of him plucking them ever. His hair was darker at the roots than the rest of it, but I could tell that he hadn't dyed it. There were too many different colors, blondes, browns, and even some red. I let out a contented little sigh, and he glanced up. We held a gaze for a few seconds, neither of us moving, until I felt my cheeks blushing and looked down. I picked up my menu and began reading, even though I already knew what I was going to get. I peeked up to see what he was doing and cought him looking at me. He looked away quickly and I smiled.
"Why are you embarassed?" I asked.
"I'm not embarassed."
"Then why did you look away?"
"You cought me. You weren't supposed to know that I was looking at you." He said, grinning as if he'd just told me an amazing secret. I smiled back and saw the waitress walk up to our table. Before I knew it, lunch was finished and I was back in Taylor's car, on the way to my dorm. When we got inside I walked over to my bed and took some of the stuff off of it so I could sit down.
"I always play on my bed. If you want to sit on the floor or in that chair, you can. Just make yourself comfortable." I said, getting my guitar out and tuning it.
"Can I sit next to you?" He asked.
"Sure." I scooted over and he sat on the corner of my bed.
"Now, where did we leave off? If I remember correctly we just have to write the bridge becuase we have all the verses and chorus, right?" He asked.
"Yeah. Actually, yesterday I came up with a tune and some chords that I thought we might be able to use. I don't have any words yet though." I explained.
"Play it for me," He said, leaning back on my bed and closing his eyes. I started on the chorus so he could hear the transitions I'd made, and when I got to the part without any words written, I just sang on a 'doo'. When I got done with the new part, I went back into the chorus and finished the song. Then I set the guitar down and looked over at Taylor, whose eyes were still closed.
"So? What'd you think?" I asked when he didn't say anything.
"It was good, and I was just trying to think of some words to go with it, because I think we should use it." He said thoughtfully. We continued to work until we had the song done. Then we played through the song about four times together, working out harmonies and dynamics and stuff. By the time we were finished, I had to go to my next class.
"Hey, Tay, I have to go to my next class. You can stay here and write your paragraph about how we get along if you'd like, or you could write out the lyrics if you want to."
"Sure. I'll probably do both. How long is the class?"
"It's my shortest, just an hour. And if it's dumb, I may just cut out and come here again."
"Ok, but don't feel like you have to. I'm fine by myself. Hey, when you're gone do you mind if I play your guitar? Ike's been teaching me for a while now and I've started writing songs on it now."
"Sure. Now I gotta go. I'll see ya in an hour." I smiled and shut the door behind me.
I walked to my next class and saw a note taped to the door.
Prof. Keerny has fallen ill. No class. Assignment-Continue working on paper, due next class. Direct questions to fellow students or call student assistant (555-6984). Sorry.
I smiled to myself. Things sure seemed to be going my way today. I started on my way back to my room and stopped suddenly, realizing I needed something from the store. I walked to my car and hopped in and started off to the local Kwik-Mart. I ran in and roamed the aisles, picking up a fresh loaf of bread, a can of spaghetti sauce, and some instant coffee mix. As I payed for my groceries, I noticed a familiar face in line behind me.
"Shirley?" I asked. The girl behind me looked up.
"Oh hey Andrea, how are you?" She said, smiling at me.
"I'm great! Just picking up a few groceries before going to work on my project with Tay. What are you up to?"
"Same, but I have a class in half an hour. How's your project coming?"
"It's going really well. I'm hoping we can get done with the writing parts today because I'm playing at Reality Squared tonight and won't be able to work on it again until Sunday."
"Really? That's so cool! When are you playing?"
"I start at six, wanna come?" I asked excitedly.
"Sure! I don't have any assignments due tomorrow, so I'd love to! I'll bring my roommate Katie, she loves the whole music scene."
"Great! I'll see you tonight then!"
"Yeah, see ya!" She echoed. I grabbed my bag of groceries and walked back out to my car Soon I was running up the stairs to my dorm. I don't know why, but I knocked on the door to my own dorm room. Maybe I was afraid that Taylor would be doing something private or something. I waited a few seconds and the door opened up. Taylor was standing, gazing back at me. A smile brightened his face and he stepped out of the doorway so I could step inside.
"Hey! What happened to your class?"
"The teacher was sick, so I went and got some groceries and then came back."
"Oh, cool, what'd you get?" He asked, grabbing my bag and rummaging through it. I looked at him indignantly.
"You are SO lucky you didn't do that yesterday." I said. He stopped what he was doing and looked up.
"Huh?"
"You would've found tampons, and I'm betting you would've been really embarassed." I said, hiding my smile. He looked at me with a horrified expression.
"Why did you tell me that?!"
"So maybe next time you'll ask before rooting through my groceries!" I said, shocked that he didn't realize that I was getting at.
"Oops! I didn't even think about that! I'm sorry, I guess it was just habit, I always look through my mom's groceries when she comes home from the store." He explained.
"Ok, Taylor, that's the second time you've implied that I remind you of your mother today. Is there something you'd like to confess to me before this gets out of hand?" I asked, smiling.
"No no no, I didn't mean it like that, I was just-hey! Stop teasing me! I don't think of you as my mother!" He said.
"Whatever." I muttered. I wasn't mad, I just wanted to see what he'd do if he thought I was.
"Andrea, I don't think of you as my mother! I think of you as an equal, a friend, a nice girl that I like hanging out with."
"Oh, NOW I know how you feel about me." I said, rolling my eyes. "That's all that I hoped for, being Taylor Hanson's equal friend that he likes hanging out with."
"Well, you try it! What do you think about me?" He said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Uh...I wasn't prepared for that question...I think of you as-"
"You want me." He said, interrupting. I turned to face him, with my mouth open.
"What did you say??" I asked.
"You want me! It's obvious! You want my body, bad."
"I can't believe you just waltz in here and tell me that I want you! If anything it's the other way around, Mr. Dinner-and-a-movie-I-like-your-shirt-I'll-just-call-because-I-like-talking-to-you!!" I sputtered.
"What? Oh puh-LEAZE! I just say that stuff because you've been coming on to me!" He said, backing up. It was then that I stopped being fake mad, and actually started getting angry with him.
"Taylor Hanson, don't say that unless it's completely true! You're playing with fire you know. You don't compliment a girl and then take it back, even if you're joking."
"Dang, are you actually mad?" He said, softening a little.
"Well, you made me feel bad!" I said, exasperated.
"I really was just joking. All the stuff I said about you was true, and I wouldn't have asked you to go to a move unless I really wanted you to go. I'm serious." He said.
"Yeah right, you can say that all you want. There's no way to prove it." I said, shaking my head. He walked over and stood right in front of me, put his hands on my shoulders, and pressed his lips softly against mine. Taken aback, I pushed him away, and looked at him.
"What was that!?" I asked, trying not to sound angry, but I was really confused.
"It was just...I mean, I don't know! I don't know why I did it, but I thought you wanted me to...or something...Andrea, I'm-"
"Wait, let me think." I said, interrupting. I put my head in my hands and licked my lips. I looked up at Taylor who was staring at me, looking afraid, a few steps away. "Ok, I think I'm ok now." I stood up and looked up at him. "You can go ahead with what you were saying."
"I was just gonna say that I was sorry." He said, before continuing. "I don't know what came over me."
"It's ok... It's not like Im like, 'Dangit! Why'd that happen?' or anything. It was nice, but unexpected, I guess." I explained, chewing on my lip nervously.
"Yeah, I get it. Sorry." He said, smiling to himself. I laughed heartily.
"You don't have to apologize! It was fine." I said, smiling at him. After a brief pause, I continued. "You know, I always thought that kissing you would be kinda like kissing a girl, since, well, you know, but it wasn't!" I said, grinning.
"You're gonna die!!" He yelled, chasing me around the room. We finally stopped, collapsing onto my bed in a fit of giggles. I sat up suddenly.
"Oh my gosh, I have to get ready for the show tonight! And we have to work on our song! What are we doing playing around!? Come on, let's get working!" I said, jumping up and heading over to my computer.
"Okay..." He said, before getting up. I took a seat at my computer chair and Taylor stood behind me, watching what I was typing. Suddenly I turned around.
"Wait, what have you done so far?" I asked.
"I wrote my paragraph about how we got along and shared the work, and I had just started on the lyrics when you came back."
"Ok, then I'm going to write my paragraph about you after I finish the lyrics for the song, ok?"
"Yeah, sure." He said, picking up my guitar and walking over to the bed. He sat down and started to strum some chords, and began humming a few seconds later. I pretended to be thinking, but I was listening to him instead. He was a great keyboard player, he played the drums a bit, and now he was playing the guitar too. And of course, some harmonica. AND he wrote songs and had an amazing voice. Wow, this guy really does have a lot of talent, now that I think of it. My eyes focused on the computer again and I continued with the lyrics. Occasionally I would hum the tune so I could remember the words, and then I'd start typing again. I was just starting the bridge when I realized in my subconscious that Taylor wasn't playing anymore. I didn't want to look up in the case that he might be trying to think of something, so I continued typing. A shadow fell over the computer and I knew that Taylor was standing behind me, reading over my shoulder. He leaned in so he could see and rested a hand on my shoulder for balance. I smiled to myself, and then quickly became aware of my heart pounding inside my chest. Just the feel of his hand on my shoulder made me melt. I was sure that Taylor didn't share my intense feelings, so I kept my mouth shut and tried to focus on something besides the warmth and slight pressure seeping through my shirt and making my skin tingle. Why am I feeling like I have no control? I asked myself. But I knew the answer. Taylor. I let out a little sigh of contentment and in return, Taylor squeezed my shoulder softly and continued reading.
"Looks like you've got all the lyrics done." He breathed behind me.
"Mmmhmm..." I mumbled, my eyes fluttering closed. He put his other hand on my other shoulder and started massaging.
"Andrea, you are really tense! Do you need a break or something?" He asked with concern.
"No...but that feels really good...keep doing it."
"Ok." His strong hands started rubbing circles onto my shoulders, working out all of the tension. He moved his hands to my neck and softly started rubbing it up and down, and then moved his hands back to my shoulders and down to my upper arms. He continued with this pattern for a few minutes, before whispering, "You still awake?" into my ear.
"Mmm." I said. My eyes started to drift to the clock on my computer. I knew that as soon as I saw it I'd realize how much I still had to do before tonight, but I looked anyway. 3:15. I really should work, but I was so relaxed at the moment. "Taylor," I said softly, "you have to do this again when we have more time, because that feels so good right now, you wouldn't even believe it."
"It does? My mom is a good teacher. She always made me give her these after each plane trip so she could relax before a hectic week."
"I don't want you to stop."
"I won't then." He said, continuing his pattern.
"But we still have so much to do." I whined.
"What else is there?"
"The notes and chord thing and my paragraph, and my performance tonight. I don't even know what I'm going to wear." I said sullenly.
"Can I help you pick it out??" He asked excitedly, stopping his massage and turning me around so I was facing him.
"As long as it isn't leather or leopard print, yes." I said, smiling. He smiled brightly and he ran over to my closet. I could hear a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aaahhh's from him and just laughed to myself. I turned back to the computer and began my paragraph about how Taylor and I got along. Well, that was obvious. I started writing and didn't stop until I heard Taylor exclaim behind me, "You have GOT to wear this!!". I finished the sentence I was on before spinning around to see what he was holding up. I was surprised to see him holding up something that I had been considering, a red, knee length skirt with pink ribbon around the hem and a black tank-top that wansn't too revealing.
"Well? What do you think? Am I a fashion god?" He asked with a smile.
"Two words: Leather pants. But I like the outfit you picked for me." I said, grinning wickedly and standing up to grab my outfit from his hands. "I almost wore that last week, but I decided to go casual. Tonight I can dress up though because I have guests."
"Guests? Since when am I plural?" He asked in confusion.
"You're going and so is my friend Shirly and her roommate Katie. And your brothers might come too. That's potentially five people there to see me, which is important. Got it?" I asked, smiling at him.
"Yeah. So, what now? We've got the song done and the paragraphs done, you've got your outfit, and we still have two hours until we go to Reality Squared. What do you want to do?" He asked me. I looked out the window and frowned when I saw that it was raining.
"I was gonna say that we could take a walk, but it's raining out."
"Rain is water just like shower water." He said.
"Yeah, but we're not going to go out there naked. Our clothes would get soaked."
"So? You have clothes here to change into, and I'm sure you have an extra pair of sweatpants I could wear until my clothes dry." He said, pouting. "Pleeeaasseee? I haven't gone outside in the rain for so long!"
"Fine..." I sighed. "Why do I have the feeling that you always get what you want?" I said warily before grabbing my shoes. He just laughed and took his off. "What are you doing? Going barefoot?"
"Yeah! Duh! If I get my shoes wet then I'll be stuck. And plus, what's the point of going in the rain if you're not going to jump into puddles?" He asked as if I was dumb for not knowing the answer. I looked at my shoes wistfully and then yanked them off. I reached out my hand so he could help me up off the floor. He took it and pulled me up and out the door with a little too much energy. He didn't let go of me as we ran to the door and out into the rain. The campus was deserted except for a guy running holding a newspaper over his head.
"Come on!" Taylor yelled, yanking me onto the sidewalk and jumping in all the puddles he could find. I realized that he was laughing out loud and I was shrieking. It was a lot of fun. Our shirts were quickly getting soaked through and water droplets were running off my shorts and onto my legs. Taylor and I ran through the rain, hand in hand, laughing our heads off and jumping in random puddles. Taylor suddenly let go of my hand and took a running dive onto the grass, sliding along the slippery grass and coming to a stop. I stopped and flopped down on the ground too, just enjoying letting all my inhibitions out and being with the guy I liked at the same time. Taylor and I just sat on the grass laughing at nothing imparticular and enjoying being with each other. Both of us were breathing heavily as we slowly calmed down. The rain was still coming down in torrents, which is uncommon for LA. I laid back on the grass and Taylor laid down next to me. We just lay there, breathing heavily and picking at the grass under us.
"That was fun!" I gasped, placing my hands behind my head and squinting up into the dark sky.
"Yeah," He agreed, "We should do it again sometime."
"It doesn't rain very often here," I observed.
"Yeah, but we have a pool at our house. Maybe after the project is done we can go swimming when you're over sometime." I cought my breath. Did he just say when I was over sometime? Like an invitation to come over even after the project was done?
"You're expecting me to be at your house when I don't have to be?" I asked, grinning as I turned to face him. He aparantly wasn't in the mood for joking around, and he answered seiously.
"Well, yeah. I mean, I made it kinda obvious that I like you today. When people like each other, they hang out a lot." He explained. My heartbeat quickened. I knew he liked me, but he hadn't actually said the words yet. I tried to think of something interesting to say.
"I guess you're right. That's why we're hanging out now, I guess. I mean, you could be at home in bed and I could be sleeping too, but instead, we're laying in the rain on a hill."
"Exactly. I knew you would know what I was talking about. So what do you say? Wanna come to my house when this god-aweful project is done and go swimming?"
"God aweful? Without it we wouldn't have met each other." I stated. The only reply he made was to scoot over and put his arm around me.
"That's true, I guess. And it got you to come over to my house once. If it happened before, I'm sure it can happen again." He said with a smile.
"Well, I'll see what I can do about it. If I have my way I'll be over at your house again sometime soon."
"Good. That'll be fun." I leaned my head back and rested it on his arm, shutting my eyes and letting the rain pound my face. I hadn't even thought of the fact that I was wearing mascara and it wasn't waterproof. I raised my hand to my under-eye and started wiping away the masacara I was sure was there. After I was done, I dropped my hand onto my stomach and sighed. I felt Taylor move next to me and lifted my head so his arm was free.
"Thanks, it was falling asleep." He explained. I just nodded in agreement and started sitting up. I glanced over at Taylor who was still lying on the ground on his back, breathing softly and licking the rain drops off his lips.
"Tay, what time is it?" I asked. I've owned about four watches in my life and never worn one for more than one day at a time.
"Four or so." He said, without looking at his watch. I grabbed his hand and brought it up to my eyes to see for myself. Dangit, he was right. I grabbed his other hand and stood up, pulling him with me.
"I have to get ready for my show tonight. I have to shower and warm up and tune and primp and still be ready to leave in about an hour and 15 minutes." Taylor and I started walking side by side, just taking in our surroundings. When we got back in to my dorm room, I rummaged through the closet until I found a pair of sweatpants and an old shirt for Taylor to put on until his clothes had dried. I handed them over and then pressed 'play' on my answering machine.
"Hi Andrea, it's mom. I guess you're out right now, but when you get home, call me. I haven't talked to you for a few days, and I'd like to discuss your fall break plans with you. I miss you a lot, so does the rest of the family. I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye." I turned around to look at Taylor.
"Would you mind if I called her right now?" I asked. I really missed her for some reason.
"Sure! Go ahead. I'm just gonna change really quickly, so you should probably face the other way though."
"Ok." I turned around and dialed my number. After two rings, my brother picked up. I talked to him for a few minutes and then waited for my mom to pick up. Taylor sat down on my bed after he had changed and waited patiently.
"Mom! How are you? That's great! I'm doing well, these first few weeks have been ok, I've made some friends. Well, one is here right now, his name is Taylor, and we're doing a project together for our music theory class. Then there's a girl named Shirley in the same class. She's coming tonight with her roommate to my show at Reality Squared. So is Tay and maybe his brothers. And then my roommate Jenn is at home for the weekend. No, he's not, Mom, gosh!" I said, blushing at her comment and looking over my shoulder to roll my eyes at Taylor. He just smiled and laid down on my bed. I turned back to face the window as I continued the conversation with my mom.
"Fall break? I was just planning on either staying on campus or something. Jenn will be at home so I'd have the dorm to myself and have some time to relax. Umm...hold on." I covered the phone with my hand and whispered loudly to Taylor, "Tay, could you get my calendar over there please?" He nodded and hopped off the bed to retrieve it. "Ok mom, I have it right here...I think it should work out for Christmas. Yeah. Uh huh. Ok. Hey mom, I'm sorry but I have so much to do before I play tonight. Yeah, thanks! I'll talk to you later. Maybe I'll call you when I get home tonight so we can actually talk. Ok. I love you too! Bye!" I hung up the phone and turned around. Taylor was staring at me. I smiled brightly and glanced at my clothes on him.
"They fit alright?"
"Yeah, a little small but they'll be good until my clothes dry. How about you go take your shower and get ready and I'll take the wet clothes to the washing machine downstairs ok?"
"Do you know how to use it?"
"Yeah, good enough. I won't ruin anything. Some minor shrinkage might occur, but an overall pleasant result should be in order." He said, rolling his eyes at me. I just laughed and grabbed my toiletries kit as I walked out of my dorm room and into the shower.