“Baby, I need your lovin’ … got to have all your lovin’!”

I opened my eyes sleepily and let them adjust to the light that was filtering through the window. I fumbled for my phone and saw that it was seven thirty-nine in the A.M. And that voice that I heard crooning in the bathroom was none other than Taylor Hanson’s, of course. Only he sang this cheerfully in the morning.

I groaned, rolling over and pulling the blanket over my eyes to shield myself from the sunlight. I was not ready to wake-up yet and I definitely wasn’t ready to hear Taylor’s voice.

“Empty nights echo your naaaaame!” he belted out. From the way he was singing, you’d think that he was singing for an amphitheatre full of people and not himself (and me).

I shut my eyes tightly and willed myself to go back to bed. Go back to sleep! I tried willing my brain. You need the strength to move all of those boxes!

“Baby, I need your lovin’…” Taylor kept singing.

I sighed. It was useless, trying to go back to sleep with him singing like that. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and stretching. It was going to be a long day for me; I was moving into the dorms in a few hours, with my boyfriend by my side. He hadn’t been there last year, my freshman year – it was my family that had come to help me and see me off to college. This year, however, Taylor insisted that he help out and I gave into his begging. So I packed up my stuff and took a flight out to California, where Taylor and I booked a hotel room in Los Angeles. I suggested booking a hotel in Santa Barbara – makes sense, right? – but he booked one in L.A. His brothers were flying out a day later anyway, to work on some music stuff. They were also going to go apartment hunting, since they felt they needed to be in L.A. to work on some stuff for their record label and a new album. I was happy about this; them being closer automatically meant that I’d see Taylor more often.

The door to the bathroom opened and out stepped Taylor, his hair wet and clinging to his head and a white hotel towel wrapped around his waist. God, how could anyone look that good? I mean, really?

“Good morning, Starshine – the Earth says hello!” was his singing greeting when he saw me.

“Hello, I love you. Won’t you tell me your name?” I answered back, grinning at him.

Taylor came over and kissed the top of my head. “I’m Taylor.”

“That’s not a song.” I looked up at him and smiled.

He kissed me lightly and smiled back. “It can be.”

I giggled, standing up and stretching some more. “I’ve had enough of your singing for the day, thank you.”

“Aw, Swishy, you know you love my singing!” he grinned, wrapping his arms around me. “Who can resist this voice?”

“I can.” I smiled. I kissed him and then got out of his grip. “I gotta go shower now, though. I feel dirty.”

“I don’t blame you, especially after the stuff we did last night,” he grinned wickedly and winked; I blushed at his comment, going into the bathroom and shutting the door behind me.

My first year of college had been filled with its ups and downs – though I had expected it, I didn’t expect all of the drama that came along with it. By drama, I of course meant crap that happened between Taylor and I. Our first year together as a couple was incredibly rocky, filled with many fights and break-ups and make-ups. There were so many in the beginning that I couldn’t even keep track of them, it was that bad. We fought over what happened in the summertime, of course. Though I had reassured him millions of times that it would never happen again, that what had happened in the summer meant nothing to me, he still had trouble trusting me. Because of this, I never saw Zac and I rarely saw Isaac. They’d be in Los Angeles doing some promotion or working on something for their record label and the only person I would see was Taylor. He was always the one coming up to visit, never picking me up and letting me stay with them. I didn’t question him, because the one (and only) time that I did, we fought in the car on the way to dinner and he almost dropped me off in the middle of State Street. Not like I couldn’t have gotten home; bus rides were free for UCSB students. But that wasn’t the point.

Towards our one-year anniversary, things improved. Taylor stopped questioning me and began to trust me more, but still, I never got to see Zac. I missed the boy, I really did. I didn’t even get to talk to him on his eighteenth birthday, for crying out loud. When we were younger, we had big plans for that day; we were going to buy cigarettes, porn and lotto and then give them to Taylor or Isaac. But with me in college, several hundreds of miles away from him and the inability to see him, it was hard to do that. I ended up calling him, only to get his voicemail. I left a quick and simple message: “Hi Zac, it’s Trish. Just wanted to say happy birthday; you’re legal now. Um … see you soon. Bye.” I never heard from him after that – no e-mails, no phone calls, no voice messages, no texts or anything. Because of this, I assumed that what had happened between us during that infamous summer was done and over with for good. I accepted that; I was with Taylor, anyway.

When my freshman year was over and I was back home in Tulsa, I found out that the boys were doing another tour. Isaac immediately called me up after plans were set, wanting to know if I wanted to work with them again. I almost immediately agreed; I ended up turning down the offer, though. Isaac wanted to know why, how could I say no to spending another whole summer with him? I hesitated, but then replied, “Um … I don’t think that’s a good idea … I mean, with, y’know, Zac and all …”

That was all it took for Isaac to go, “Oh, uh, right.”

I ended up getting a job at a local coffee shop anyway, attending the shows in the Tulsa area or in places like Houston and Austin. Even during those times I hung out in the back, watching the boys from afar. I’d watch as the girls in front of me screamed and shouted their love for the boys; I’d watch as the boys brought the house down each and every time. There were times where I’d just be standing (or sitting) there, gazing up at Taylor and thinking, Dang, he’s my boyfriend. And then I’d naturally look over at Zac, who looked incredible. And you’d think that I’d run into him, but I never did. I’d see glimpses of him, but that was it. No quick hellos or anything, even though I desperately wanted to just look at him and wave or something.

And though the boys were touring, Taylor took time out for a few days to celebrate our one-year anniversary. By this time, things between us had greatly improved and he was being the boyfriend that every girl wanted to have. He’d send sweet little text messages to my phone while I was at work, e-mail me, or call me just to tell me that he loved me. I knew I was lucky to have him.

“Well baby, thanks for helping me out,” I said, as he dropped the last box on the floor. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem,” he panted, brushing the hair out of his eyes. “That’s the last of the boxes, right?”

I nodded. “That’s everything.”

Taylor collapsed on my bed, which I had already put the sheets, pillows, and blanket on. “Whew, I’m tired.”

“You should be, you woke up at the butt crack of dawn this morning,” I answered, as I ripped open a box and began to decorate my desk.

“I actually didn’t sleep at all last night,” Taylor said, a small smile on his gorgeous face.

“Tay, we may have had a wild night but we didn’t go at it all night.”

“I know,” he beamed. Ah, so adorable was my boyfriend.

“So why didn’t you sleep?”

His smiled softened. “I was busy watching you sleep.”

“You were not.” I took out a picture of Taylor and I that he had given me and placed it on my desk. “You slept at least a little bit; I know because I heard you snoring.”

“That was to throw you off, babe.”

“Why would I care if you were sleeping or not?”

“I don’t know? Maybe you were planning something against me …”

I laughed. “Like what?”

“Oh I don’t know … maybe you were planning to tie me up, take my money and run?”

I laughed again, going over to sit by him on the bed. “Aw Tay, you know I’d never do that to you!” I said, as he lay there grinning at me. “I’d do something more devious than that.”

“Oh really?”

“You know it.” I leaned down and kissed him. “I’d sex you up, then take your money and run.”

Taylor laughed. “Ah, that sounds more like you.” His arms went around my waist and he yawned. “I’m really fucking tired.”

“You can sleep here if you want to and leave later on tonight, I don’t mind.”

Taylor pulled me down next to him, which took me by surprise, and held me close against him. “I’ll nap only if you nap with me,” he whispered sweetly, gazing into my eyes.

“Babe, I’ve got things to unpack and—“

“Eh, it can wait until later. Come on sweets, you know you want to sleep with your man …” He kissed my neck softly and I closed my eyes, feeling a silly grin on my face. “And maybe later we can break in the new mattress?” I felt his lips on my cheek this time.

“Mm, maybe,” I answered, turning my face to him and meeting his lips. “Now go nap so you’re not tired when you’re driving back to L.A. later.”

Taylor yawned again and snuggled against me. In a matter of minutes he was out; it was his steady breathing and body warmth that made me drift into dreamland with him and forget about the boxes I needed to unpack.