Taylor arrived in Santa Barbara bright and early Saturday morning. I had barely finished getting ready to see him when he called and asked for me to open the door for him. I did and he immediately headed for my bed, snuggling into my blankets and promptly falling asleep for a little bit. When he finally got up, we headed out to grab a quick breakfast before spending our day together. He looked excited yet tired, but it was nice to have him near me again. “Hey sweets, I have a friend who lives about an hour away – mind if we go visit him and say hi?” he asked. We had gotten back into his car after this amazing pancake breakfast. “Not at all,” I smiled, rubbing my stomach lightly. “It’ll give me time to recuperate from that breakfast.” “You’re the best,” he commented, leaning over and kissing my cheek. “I know, but keep the compliments coming!” I joked. He smiled and kissed me again, starting the car and pulling out of our breakfast spot. I reclined the chair and put my feet up on the dashboard, listening to Taylor sing along to the radio. We talked about everything that was going on in our lives; Taylor mentioned that Zac had been talking to a girl he had met in Santa Monica; her name was Blythe, apparently. “She calls him more than he calls her, but I think that he likes her,” he told me. I pretended to be excited for Zac, saying, “Finally, he gets a friggin’ girlfriend!” in this happy voice, but inside, I was dying. Which doesn’t make sense (or maybe it does), I know; I had Taylor, the love of my life; what had happened between Zac and me was over. Done. It still felt weird to know that he was “talking” to someone, though. We were driving for a while; when I questioned Taylor as to where we were going, he mentioned the name of a city that I had heard before, but didn’t know much about. When I asked about this “friend” we were seeing, Taylor gave a very vague answer and left it at that. I thought it was strange, but dismissed it and let my feet keep the beat of the song that was playing. I wondered about this “Blythe” chick. Was she pretty? She probably was. Was she tall? Short? Small? Thick? Thin? Alien? Preppy? Punk? I pressed Taylor for answers, but he hadn’t seen her yet. He just knew that Zac mentioned that he had met someone, and that her name was Blythe. “I’m sure she’s pretty,” he shrugged. “She sounds like a nice girl to me. I mean, if she’s interested in Zac, something’s gotta be wrong with her but … y’know. I guess she’s okay.” I sat back and stared out the window. Part of me wanted to call up Zac and ask about this girl that he had failed to mention to me. Another part of me told me that this is what we needed in order to cement the fact that we would be nothing more than friends. And if that was cemented, my feelings would eventually straighten out. And we would all live happily ever after; Taylor and I and Zac and Blythe. “Trish, are you okay?” I heard Taylor ask. “What? I’m fine,” I answered, flashing him a smile. “Why?” “I’ve been saying your name for the past five minutes and you haven’t said anything.” “Oh, sorry. A little distracted, is all.” “What’cha thinkin’?” “I’m thinkin’ that we’ve been driving a long time. Are you lost, Tay?” “No,” he said emphatically. “I just … took a little detour.” “Oh Tay, you’re so lost babes.” “No no, I was lost. I know where I’m going now.” We drove a little more and we ended up turning into this small town area. I didn’t catch the name of it as we drove in, but it was small. People were milling around, some stopping to chat with one another. Taylor was mumbling the name of some street – “Caraway Lane” – and then he made a sharp turn. There were a row of houses on both sides of us; he pulled up to one that was light blue, with a white picket fence. “We’re here!” he announced proudly. “Come on sweets!” I hopped out of his car and followed him up to the front door. He knocked once and the door was opened by an older woman; she gave us a warm smile and said, “Taylor! Hi, honey!” “Hi, Maybel!” he said, stepping forward and embracing her. “Is John around?” Maybel nodded. “Tinkering with his guitars in his studio.” She gave me a big smile. “And who is this lovely lady?” “Maybel, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend – Trish.” I reached out a hand for her to shake, but she embraced me instead. “Nice to meet you, Trish,” she said, her voice warm and soothing. She let go of me and smiled again. I had to smile back; it was hard not to. “You guys go ahead and look for John. Are you hungry or anything?” We shook our heads. “Alright, well, if you are – let me know and I’ll make something for you.” We thanked her and Taylor led the way to John’s studio. He opened the door and the sounds of someone tuning an electric guitar greeted us. A man about Maybel’s age looked up and smiled. “Taylor!” he said, putting his guitar down and standing up to hug him (in that manly way). “What’s up, man?!” “Nothing, I was in the neighborhood so I thought I’d stop in and let you hear some new stuff, maybe you can help me out a little bit too?” Taylor asked hopefully. “Yeah, definitely. Workin’ on the new record, huh?” Taylor nodded. “Yeah, hopefully it’ll be done by the end of the year.” I cleared my throat, feeling a little jealous that this John guy was getting more attention than me. They both turned to face me. “Oh!” Taylor said, as if he realized that I had just appeared. “John, this is my girlfriend, Trish. Trish, John.” I smiled and shook John’s hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Likewise,” I answered. “So – what did you need help with?” John asked Taylor. I should’ve known that those words would keep us there all afternoon, and into early evening. Taylor kept reassuring me that it would only take “a few more minutes, I promise”, but those minutes turned into hours. By the time three hours had passed, I had gotten up and gone into the backyard via a sliding glass door. I checked my cell phone and found that I had one missed called, from Jenn. I hit the “Call back” option and held my cell phone up to my left ear, twisting a lock of hair around my finger. I sat down on a lawn chair. “Hello?” Jenn answered, when she finally picked up. “Hi,” I said. “What’s up?” “Just wanted to call and say happy belated birthday! Things here have been crazy, so sorry about calling so late.” “Better late than never,” I smiled, as I heard some faint music behind me. “True, true. What’d you end up doing for your twentieth?” “Dinner with friends, and Tay came up for the weekend.” “Oh! If you guys are busy I can leave you alone.” “Oh no; I’m not busy. I can talk, don’t worry.” “What are you up to?” I glanced behind me and saw Taylor and John in deep discussion. “We’re visiting one of Tay’s friends …” “… for what?” “Music stuff …” “Oh geez.” “Yeah.” “Where is he? Let me talk to him.” I laughed. “Oh no – don’t worry about it.” We talked a little more; I wanted her to stay on the phone with me so I wouldn’t feel as lonely as I was feeling at the moment. But when I heard Robin in the background announcing he was home, I let her go. “Call me and let me know what happens, okay?” she said, before she hung up with me. I agreed and said goodbye, hanging up just as I heard the sliding glass door open behind me. “Trish, right?” It was Maybel, and she was carrying a tray of chocolate chip cookies with her. I smiled. “Yep. Would you like to sit down?" “I’m good, but would you like one? Fresh outta the oven.” I gladly took one and she went back in. I chewed it slowly and stared ahead; before I knew it, the doors behind me opened up once again, this time with Taylor coming through them. “Hey, ready to go?” I turned around and saw Taylor looking fresh and vibrant, like he had just gotten his morning shower or something. “Yeah,” I answered, getting up and forcing a smile. We bade John and Maybel goodbye and I thanked her for the cookies, listening to Taylor chatter away excitedly on the way to car and on the way back to Santa Barbara. “Did you happen to hear the new song we came up with, sweets?” he asked. “Kinda. I was in the backyard most of the time, but couldn’t really hear it.” “Oh, when did you go in the backyard?” I shrugged. “I don’t remember.” “Oh well, too bad, because this song is awesome. I have it on CD and can’t wait to let Ike and Zac listen to it …” He talked about this on our trip back; I just nodded and smiled and kept quiet, letting him be excited. I wanted to ask him why we stayed so long there when this was my birthday weekend. We were supposed to spend it together, without anyone else. We were supposed to eat together, cuddle together, have great birthday sex together – but I didn’t say any of this to him. When we got back to my dorm, he told me to wait for him in my room and while he got something. I obliged and waited, feeling physically and emotionally drained. He came back in, a silly grin on his face, with his hands behind his back. “Close your eyes,” he said mischievously. I raised an eyebrow. “Why?” “Just do it, sweets,” he grinned. I did so. “Now hold out your hands,” he said. “Tay, if I open my eyes, I won’t find your penis in my hand, will I?” He laughed. “No, no.” I felt him place something on my hand; a box shaped thing. “Okay, open up!” I opened my eyes and saw a brightly wrapped present sitting on my hands. My mood lightened and I looked at him. “What is it?” I asked excitedly. He sat next to me and kissed my cheek. “Open it and see!” I tore open the paper and tossed it aside, finding a plain white box. I tore the lid open off of that thing and pulled out – Something. What the hell was it? I pulled out this strange thing; it looked like pantyhose for … one leg. Or four legs. With a hole between two of the leg things. “What … is it?” I asked him, my excitement waning quickly. “A bodystocking,” he smiled widely. I stared at him. “A what?!” “A bodystocking!” He gave me a devilish smile. “You should try it on, baby; you’d look so sexy in it.” A bodystocking?! I took it out fully and looked at it again. The more I stared at it, the more I saw how it would fit onto a body. As a stocking. I must’ve had a curious look on my face because Taylor asked, “What’s wrong, baby? Don’t you like it?” I hesitated, examining it again. “It’s not – it’s not exactly something I’d …” “Sure it is … you could wear it for me; baby, you’d look so sexy in it …” He kissed my neck. “Just picturing you in it makes me want you so badly …” He kissed my lips and then smiled. “Come on sweets, go try it on …” I didn’t know what to say. This bodystocking he had gotten me was definitely not something I would have expected anyone to get me. Hell, I wouldn’t have picked it out for myself! Whatever happened to him getting me things like flowers, jewelry, cute stuffed animals? “Maybe next time,” I finally said, to his surprise. “My head hurts right now sweets; I think I’d rather go to bed.” “Want me to get you some Advil or something?” I shook my head. “No, it’s okay … sleeping will work better than the Advil.” He hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek again. “Promise you’ll try it on for me next time?” he whispered seductively. I nodded, even though I was already making plans to bury it in the back of my closet. “Yeah … next time.” We got ready for bed and didn’t have the birthday sex I was wondering about, due to my “headache.” Taylor fell asleep rather quickly, snuggling against me. I stayed up for a while longer, eventually falling asleep. We woke up the next morning to the sound of Taylor’s phone ringing; at first, I thought it was my alarm, and I blindly reached over to shut it off. When my arm hit Taylor’s head, I opened my eyes in shock, and nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Taylor looking back at me. He gave me a confused look as I groaned, throwing the blanket over my head. I heard him answer the phone as I tried to go back to sleep. “Hey … no no, it’s okay, I’m awake … oh really?! That’s great! … Yeah definitely, I’ll be there … Cool, see ya!” I pretended to have fallen back asleep as Taylor gently shook me. “Baby, John called … he wants us to go over to his place again, he came up with this great progression for he guitar and thinks I can use it in on the album …” Oh God. “You go,” I said sleepily, keeping my eyes shut tightly. “Oh but baby, I want you there with me. You’re my muse.” Oh God. “I still feel yucky, Tay.” I felt him slip an arm around my waist as he kissed the back of my neck. “I’ll miss you.” “Mm.” Needless to say, within an hour he was on his way back to John’s house. I dragged myself out of bed, really feeling yucky – but not because of a headache. We kissed each other goodbye and he promised to call that night. I watched him drive away, feeling terribly disappointed in my birthday weekend. When I got back to my room, I wasn’t tired anymore – so I showered and got dressed, went to the dining hall to get some breakfast, and trekked back to my room to call Jenn. “You’re calling rather early,” was her comment as soon as she picked up. “Yeah. Tay’s gone … went over to his friend’s house for more recording stuff.” She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry Trish; is there anything I can do for you? Want me to come visit?” “Oh no, don’t waste a plane ride on me,” I said, smiling a little. “I don’t really feel like having anyone over right now anyway. But thanks for your concern.” “I just want to punch that boy sometimes,” she said. “He’s so … boneheaded.” ‘Yeah,” I sighed. “Oh, and guess what my awesome birthday gift was?” “What, Miss Sarcasmo?” “A bodystocking.” “A what?!” “A bodystocking.” “Oh sweet Jesus.” I laughed bitterly. “Yeah. Says it’ll look sexy on me. He must think of me as some sort of porn star or something.” “I’m sorry hun,” she said. “Hopefully the weekend will look up.” “I hope so.” We talked a little bit more and I let her go. After deciding that my room was too stifling, I put on my sandals and headed for the beach, where I walked along the sand and stared at the ocean. The crazy part of me wanted to jump in and swim until I couldn’t swim anymore (kinda like Forrest Gump, except he ran). I eventually sat down and let myself be alone with my thoughts, which were mostly of Taylor. I loved him, I did. But sometimes he did things that he should no better than to do. Like this bodystocking – what in his right (or wrong) mind possessed him to buy it for me? Could he actually picture me in it, parading around in his bedroom, seducing him while I donned something I should be wearing on my legs? I finally went back to my dorm, opting to hang out in the common lounge for a while. A few of my dormmates were there, and I chatted with them while vaguely paying attention to the television. Then I went through my night, going to dinner with a friend from the dorm and falling asleep to Jay Leno. I had a very symbolic dream that night, with me chasing after Taylor while he kept running away. When I finally got a hold of him, he wriggled free and disappeared. The only reason my dream didn’t continue was because my phone rang and jolted me out of my sleep. It was seven-thirty in the morning, and it was Jenn calling, so it had to be bad. “Hello?” I asked, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing’s wrong,” Jenn said, mighty happily I might add. “You awake?” “I am now. What’s up, is everything okay?” “Well, you know how you had a sucky birthday weekend?” “What?” “And you said you didn’t want any visitors, right?” Was this conversation really taking place? “Uh, yeah –“ “Well, you’re going to hate me for this, but I got you a visitor.” “He better be by the name of Brad Pitt and be standing naked outside my door right now.” “It’s someone better than Brad … and he’s probably outside your door right now. Naked though, I’m not sure. But I gotta go, hun! Enjoy your gift!” She hung up the phone and I lay there, dumbfounded. When I did a quick reality check and tried to imagine Brad Pitt naked in front of me, it didn’t work – meaning the conversation really had taken place. Wait, so that meant that someone was waiting outside for me. I scrambled out of bed, nearly falling on my face as I got tangled up in my blankets. I recovered almost gracefully and slipped on some flip flops, grabbing my keys and yanking open my door. I held my breath and looked to the side. No one. Alrighty then. So I stepped out and closed my door, making my way to the front doors of the dorm. I climbed down the flight of stairs. I let out a yawn as I turned the corner, the doors becoming visible. And then, my jaw practically hit the floor. Decked out in jeans, a t-shirt, and a cute little bow on his head, was Zac.
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