♫♥ just ɑ city girℓ, born ɑnd rɑised in North Chicago..she took the midnight trɑin goin' ɑnywhere♥♫
Jon went home that night after making sure I was okay. Sam and Nick hung out for a while then I decided I’d turn in for the night.
“You sure?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, I’m beat. You guys should spend some time alone anyways!” I said.
“It’s no big deal,” Sam said. Nick looked at her.
“Gee, thanks babe,” he said. I laughed and Sam pet his cheek.
“No seriously, I’ll be fine. Thanks for a fun night though guys!”
Sam stood up and hugged me.
“No problem!” she said. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yep! Night Sam. Night Nick!”
He waved and I walked to my room.
“Don’t you dare go on the computer!” Sam yelled behind me. I smiled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
I did anyways.
After a few minutes of scrolling I just gave up. There was no use making myself feel bad.
“Turning in early tonight, thx for spending the day w/ me! Night Jon!” I sent him a goodnight text. He responded.
“Thx for having me all day! :) Night love, see you tomoro <3”
I smiled. I shut down my computer, crawled into bed, and went to sleep.
The next day I got up and got ready for work as usual. I said bye to Sam and got in my car to head to work. I had a mini-panic attack on my drive over to the Blackhawks Store. I just hoped that it hasn’t gotten out that I work there.
I parked my car, gathered my things, and walked to the door. Zak was at his usual place behind the counter and looked up as I walked in. I gave him a slight nod and he imitated the gesture in return. I went into the back to put away my things.
I really should thank him for letting me take off so much lately. It’s not like I was just taking advantage of him.
I walked back out into the shop and saw a stack of magazines on the floor. I picked them up and walked them over to the counter, placing them where they belong. I took a breath as Zak typed away at the computer. I cleared my throat.
“Hey, so…” I bit my lip. “I appreciate you and Jon being able to work out me taking the day off yesterday…”
He looked up at me, surprised that I was talking to him. He nodded.
“It was no problem! Jon and I talked about it and we worked it all out…” he said. I nodded.
“Well…good,” I said.
Zak walked around the counter so he was standing next to me.
“I’m really sorry this all happened to you…” he said. I nodded, not looking at him.
“Thanks…” I said. Zak raised his arms ever so slightly and turned his palms right side up. He offered me a hug and after a moment of hesitation I took it. I hugged him for what felt like a long time. I still like and miss this Zak, the nice Zak.
Hopefully we could try to grow up and move on and this could be some kind of peace offering.
We broke our hug and I smiled a bit. Zak smiled, too.
“I’ve missed that,” he said. I nodded a bit, looking at the ground.
“Me too,” I said. Zak smiled. We stood in silence for a moment and then Zak pulled me in for another big hug. I hesitated momentarily, but then put my arms back around him and hugged him, too.
As time went on, Zak and I started to get along a little better. We talked more and laughed more and it made work less and less painful.
“I’m starting to get alone with him again,” I told Jon when we were hanging out once. “I feel like I’m talking to his old self again.”
Jon just kind of nodded blankly.
I looked at him.
“You don’t like the idea.” I kind of said it more than asked it.
Jon shrugged his shoulders but had a stern look on his face.
“I just…I don’t think he’s a good guy to be spending your time with…” he said. I smiled.
“Jon, don’t worry. I think…I HOPE he’s getting back to who he used to be,” I said. Jon looked up at me.
“See! You’re not even sure,” Jon said back.
“Everyone deserves a second chance, Jon.”
Jon sat quietly for a moment.
“Not everyone…” he said.
We dropped it after that.
I could tell Zak was a sensitive subject around Jon and I didn’t want to push it.
One day, after work, I was getting my stuff together and getting ready to leave.
“Zak, I’m leaving,” I called into the back room.
“Okay. And hey!” He jogged in from the other room.
“You doin anything tomorrow night? I think me and a couple other of the workers are goin out for a drink, you interested?”
I thought about it for a minute.
“Sure, I’ll tag along!” I said. It would probably be us and a few of the weekend staff.
“Awesome!” he said. “I’ll send you more stuff later.”
“Alright,” I said. “See ya!”
I left and started walking to my car. I thought about it.
I think it’d be good for all the workers to hang out for once. I wondered though if I should’ve talked about it with Jon first. He really doesn’t see eye to eye with Zak.
I made a mental note to tell him after it was over.
The next day when I got home from work, I started to get ready to go out. I threw on a nicer outfit and started to head out. Sam was sitting on the couch working on some school stuff as I walked out of my room. She looked up.
“Where are you off to?” she asked.
“Goin out for drinks with my work people. Probably me, Zak, and a couple of the weekend staff. Wanna come?”
She looked.
“Uhm, can’t drink remember?”
I smiled.
“P-shaw!” I said. Sam laughed.
“Only a while longer!” she said. I nodded.
“Okay, see you later then!” I said.
“Yep!” she said. “Have fun!”
“Thanks!”
I closed the door behind me and headed to my car. I drove down to a little bar we were meeting at on Michigan Avenue. I parked and walked in the door and up to the bar. I looked around. It didn’t look like anyone was here yet. I checked my watch. I was actually a bit late.
I looked behind me. I spotted Zak sitting by himself at one of the further away booths.
This was weird.
I started to panic.
Should I just leave? I couldn’t just not show up.
I saw him start to look around and he spotted me. He smiled and waved for me to come over. I hesitantly did.
“Taylor, hey!” Zak greeted me. I smiled a bit.
“Hey Zak!” I said. He motioned for me to sit down.
“Have a seat!” he said.
“Uhm…” I turned a bit. “Don’t you wanna go sit at the bar?”
“Nah, I got a booth for us. Sit down!” he said. I looked at him. He patted the seat across from him. I sighed and took a seat.
“Sorry I’m late, where’s everybody else?” I said.
“Oh,” he said. “Actually they couldn’t make it…Ha, funny story, turns out they meant next week! Ha ha. So I guess it’s just you and me!”
I blinked.
This was beyond fishy and onto down right obvious. I was feeling very uncomfortable. He smiled.
“So how was your day?”
~Jon’s P.O.V.~
“Knock, knock!” I said knocking on the door of Taylor’s apartment. I placed my hands behind my back and waited to be let in. The door started to open and Sam stood there.
“Oh, hey Sam!” I said surprised to see her.
“Hey Jon!” she said. “Come in.”
She led me into their living room.
“Well, Taylor’s not here actually,” she said.
“Oh,” I said. “Will she be back soon?”
“Not sure, she said she was going out for a drink with a couple people from work and she didn’t leave all that long ago.”
I nodded.
“You’re welcome to stay and wait for a few if you wanna see where she is. I’m just getting a few things done,” she said. I sat down.
“Thanks Sam,” I said. I took my phone out and started to wait for Taylor to get home.
~Taylor’s P.O.V.~
Zak laughed from across the table. I smiled a bit. I was holding the necklace Jon gave me and turning it in my hand. I really should try to get going.
Zak looked up at me.
“Nice necklace,” Zak said making more conversation. “Is that in French?”
I looked down at it.
“Yeah, um, je t’aime. It means ‘I love you.’ Jon gave it to me,” I said. Zak nodded. He made a face that looked like he smelled something funny. It’s like he remembered Jon just now.
“Ah,” he said. There was an awkward silence.
“I really should be getting home…” I said.
“No, but…you haven’t even finished your first drink yet.”
Was he expecting me to have more than one?
“Here,” I pulled out a ten. “Tell the bartender sorry.”
I started to stand up.
“Oh, don’t be silly. I’ll pay for you,” he said standing up with me.
“Um, no you won’t.”
This wasn’t a date.
“Zak, I have to go.”
I started to walk away when I bumped into someone.
“Oops, sorry sir-”
He was holding a camera phone in my face.
“Jonathan Toews’ supposed girlfriend…” he said.
I froze. He looked at Zak.
“Not anymore!”
His camera flashed and he winked at Zak, walking away. I turned around.
“You bastard, you set me up!” I shouted.
“Taylor! We are meant to be together!” He grabbed me by the arms. “You just need a little push to see that, why can’t you see that?”
I grabbed my drink off the table.
“See this jerk!”
I threw the remains of it at him so he would let me go. I grabbed my purse and ran out of there. Tears were streaming down my face and my stomach was in knots. I crossed my arms and ran to my car.
I needed to get home.
I needed Jon.
I put my keys in the car and started to drive.
I heard distant yelling coming from somewhere in my building as I walked down the hallway to my room. I looked around.
Nothing.
I got out my key and opened my door, walking in and throwing my stuff down. I looked up and Jon was there.
“Jon!” I said with a smile of relief. He walked up to me. He looked mad. My face fell. Sam walked after him.
“Jon, calm down,” she said.
“What the hell is this?” he said holding his phone in front of me.
It was a picture. Of me and Zak.
Tears welled up in my already swollen eyes again.
How did this get out so FAST??
“He set me up,” I said, shaking my head. “We were supposed to be going out as a group but…he had this planned all along.”
Jon shook his head at me.
“Oh, bullsh!t Taylor!” he yelled. I looked up at him.
“Wha-what…?” I said.
“You heard me.”
I couldn’t speak.
“Excuse me?”
“You were out with the guy! Alone! What am I supposed to think??”
I blinked. I wasn’t even able to find something to say.
“Jon, I didn’t know-”
“And why didn’t you tell me, huh? Why didn’t you tell me you were going out with him?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know, I mean…You don’t seem to like him and…It wasn’t even supposed to be with just him anyways!!”
“Well it was, wasn’t it?!” he said.
I was getting mad now.
“You know what Jon, I don’t answer to you! And you’re not even giving me a chance to explain!!”
I wanted you to comfort me. To hold me. Not to fight with me.
“Oh this photo is all the explanation I need! Do you know I had to find out about it on Twitter? TWITTER! Not even you but an online social network.”
I blinked.
“You don’t even have a Twitter!” I said.
“Jonathan-Toews-gets-cheated-on is trending. Was I supposed to ignore it??”
“No, but you should always come to me first!”
He dropped his hands to his sides.
“Well, obviously that wouldn’t work…If you liked him, why didn’t you just tell me?”
Angry tears were in my eyes.
“I don’t like him! I HATE him! He’s a jerk and a liar and is trying to sabotage our relationship so he can have me for himself!”
“See, that’s what I thought. Until you tagged along.”
I ran my hands through my hair.
“Jon, I keep telling you. He set me up!”
Jon shook his head and walked around me.
“You know what, just…forget it!”
He stomped out the door and slammed it behind him. I crossed my arms and threw a bracelet at the door after him. I stood in my place and cried. Sam ran over to comfort me.
“Tay, what happened?”
I told her everything. About the invite. About the setup. About Zak.
“You threw water at him??” she said. I smiled a bit and laughed at her.
“Actually alcohol. So if it got in his eye it would sting,” I said.
“I hope it did,” she said.
“Me too.”
I smiled.
“I just don’t know how Jon found out so quickly,” I said.
“One of his friends sent him a text about the tweets. Jon went on Twitter right away and he was pissed,” Sam said.
“Oh no,” I said frowning.
“I know. I tried to calm him down but Zak just set him off. Before he saw it was him he wasn’t that bad.”
I shook my head.
“I knew the minute I saw him in that booth I made a mistake,” I said.
“It’s not your fault,” she said. “As an outsider’s opinion this all sounds like one big misunderstanding.”
“You think so?” I said.
“I do.”
“I hope so,” I said. “I was coming home because I needed him.”
Sam smiled.
“Well sorry but you got me instead!”
I smiled.
“Which sorry but you got me instead!”
I smiled.
“Which is just as good!” I said.
She gave me a hug.
~Jon’s P.O.V.~
I slammed the door shut and stomped out of her apartment.
Great. Now you did it, Jon. You blow up at the girl you love and now she’s upset with you. She’s probably in her room calling Zak for comfort right now.
Great. Just great. You really screwed up Jon.
You really screwed up and…you love her. You love her, Jon.
Maybe she just made a mistake…Forget about what happened in the past, Taylor’s different. She’s not like the others…
I got into my car and slammed the door behind me. I sat for a moment and took out my phone. I opened the picture of her and Zak. My stomach turned into a ball just looking at them. I looked at the picture more. I zoomed in on Taylor and looked at her.
She was holding something, looking down at it. What was it?
I zoomed in more.
My necklace. The one I gave her.
I swallowed. I made a huge mistake. I felt like such a jerk.
I had to make it up to her. Show her that I trust her somehow.
I leaned my head on my hand and shook my head.
I made such a mistake…
~Taylor’s P.O.V.~
I tossed and turned in my bed as I tried to go to sleep. All I could keep thinking about was Jon. I sat up in my bed.
I didn’t know what else to tell him. I picked up my phone off my night stand. But what was I supposed to do? Call Jon and try to talk to him? Call Zak and confront him?
I confronted him pretty well when I was at the restaurant and threw that drink in his face.
I put my phone back down.
I guess I know what I had to do.
For now, I just had to get some sleep. I laid back down and closed my eyes, hoping that soon I could fall asleep and this day would be over.
“You sure?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, I’m beat. You guys should spend some time alone anyways!” I said.
“It’s no big deal,” Sam said. Nick looked at her.
“Gee, thanks babe,” he said. I laughed and Sam pet his cheek.
“No seriously, I’ll be fine. Thanks for a fun night though guys!”
Sam stood up and hugged me.
“No problem!” she said. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yep! Night Sam. Night Nick!”
He waved and I walked to my room.
“Don’t you dare go on the computer!” Sam yelled behind me. I smiled.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
I did anyways.
After a few minutes of scrolling I just gave up. There was no use making myself feel bad.
“Turning in early tonight, thx for spending the day w/ me! Night Jon!” I sent him a goodnight text. He responded.
“Thx for having me all day! :) Night love, see you tomoro <3”
I smiled. I shut down my computer, crawled into bed, and went to sleep.
The next day I got up and got ready for work as usual. I said bye to Sam and got in my car to head to work. I had a mini-panic attack on my drive over to the Blackhawks Store. I just hoped that it hasn’t gotten out that I work there.
I parked my car, gathered my things, and walked to the door. Zak was at his usual place behind the counter and looked up as I walked in. I gave him a slight nod and he imitated the gesture in return. I went into the back to put away my things.
I really should thank him for letting me take off so much lately. It’s not like I was just taking advantage of him.
I walked back out into the shop and saw a stack of magazines on the floor. I picked them up and walked them over to the counter, placing them where they belong. I took a breath as Zak typed away at the computer. I cleared my throat.
“Hey, so…” I bit my lip. “I appreciate you and Jon being able to work out me taking the day off yesterday…”
He looked up at me, surprised that I was talking to him. He nodded.
“It was no problem! Jon and I talked about it and we worked it all out…” he said. I nodded.
“Well…good,” I said.
Zak walked around the counter so he was standing next to me.
“I’m really sorry this all happened to you…” he said. I nodded, not looking at him.
“Thanks…” I said. Zak raised his arms ever so slightly and turned his palms right side up. He offered me a hug and after a moment of hesitation I took it. I hugged him for what felt like a long time. I still like and miss this Zak, the nice Zak.
Hopefully we could try to grow up and move on and this could be some kind of peace offering.
We broke our hug and I smiled a bit. Zak smiled, too.
“I’ve missed that,” he said. I nodded a bit, looking at the ground.
“Me too,” I said. Zak smiled. We stood in silence for a moment and then Zak pulled me in for another big hug. I hesitated momentarily, but then put my arms back around him and hugged him, too.
As time went on, Zak and I started to get along a little better. We talked more and laughed more and it made work less and less painful.
“I’m starting to get alone with him again,” I told Jon when we were hanging out once. “I feel like I’m talking to his old self again.”
Jon just kind of nodded blankly.
I looked at him.
“You don’t like the idea.” I kind of said it more than asked it.
Jon shrugged his shoulders but had a stern look on his face.
“I just…I don’t think he’s a good guy to be spending your time with…” he said. I smiled.
“Jon, don’t worry. I think…I HOPE he’s getting back to who he used to be,” I said. Jon looked up at me.
“See! You’re not even sure,” Jon said back.
“Everyone deserves a second chance, Jon.”
Jon sat quietly for a moment.
“Not everyone…” he said.
We dropped it after that.
I could tell Zak was a sensitive subject around Jon and I didn’t want to push it.
One day, after work, I was getting my stuff together and getting ready to leave.
“Zak, I’m leaving,” I called into the back room.
“Okay. And hey!” He jogged in from the other room.
“You doin anything tomorrow night? I think me and a couple other of the workers are goin out for a drink, you interested?”
I thought about it for a minute.
“Sure, I’ll tag along!” I said. It would probably be us and a few of the weekend staff.
“Awesome!” he said. “I’ll send you more stuff later.”
“Alright,” I said. “See ya!”
I left and started walking to my car. I thought about it.
I think it’d be good for all the workers to hang out for once. I wondered though if I should’ve talked about it with Jon first. He really doesn’t see eye to eye with Zak.
I made a mental note to tell him after it was over.
The next day when I got home from work, I started to get ready to go out. I threw on a nicer outfit and started to head out. Sam was sitting on the couch working on some school stuff as I walked out of my room. She looked up.
“Where are you off to?” she asked.
“Goin out for drinks with my work people. Probably me, Zak, and a couple of the weekend staff. Wanna come?”
She looked.
“Uhm, can’t drink remember?”
I smiled.
“P-shaw!” I said. Sam laughed.
“Only a while longer!” she said. I nodded.
“Okay, see you later then!” I said.
“Yep!” she said. “Have fun!”
“Thanks!”
I closed the door behind me and headed to my car. I drove down to a little bar we were meeting at on Michigan Avenue. I parked and walked in the door and up to the bar. I looked around. It didn’t look like anyone was here yet. I checked my watch. I was actually a bit late.
I looked behind me. I spotted Zak sitting by himself at one of the further away booths.
This was weird.
I started to panic.
Should I just leave? I couldn’t just not show up.
I saw him start to look around and he spotted me. He smiled and waved for me to come over. I hesitantly did.
“Taylor, hey!” Zak greeted me. I smiled a bit.
“Hey Zak!” I said. He motioned for me to sit down.
“Have a seat!” he said.
“Uhm…” I turned a bit. “Don’t you wanna go sit at the bar?”
“Nah, I got a booth for us. Sit down!” he said. I looked at him. He patted the seat across from him. I sighed and took a seat.
“Sorry I’m late, where’s everybody else?” I said.
“Oh,” he said. “Actually they couldn’t make it…Ha, funny story, turns out they meant next week! Ha ha. So I guess it’s just you and me!”
I blinked.
This was beyond fishy and onto down right obvious. I was feeling very uncomfortable. He smiled.
“So how was your day?”
~Jon’s P.O.V.~
“Knock, knock!” I said knocking on the door of Taylor’s apartment. I placed my hands behind my back and waited to be let in. The door started to open and Sam stood there.
“Oh, hey Sam!” I said surprised to see her.
“Hey Jon!” she said. “Come in.”
She led me into their living room.
“Well, Taylor’s not here actually,” she said.
“Oh,” I said. “Will she be back soon?”
“Not sure, she said she was going out for a drink with a couple people from work and she didn’t leave all that long ago.”
I nodded.
“You’re welcome to stay and wait for a few if you wanna see where she is. I’m just getting a few things done,” she said. I sat down.
“Thanks Sam,” I said. I took my phone out and started to wait for Taylor to get home.
~Taylor’s P.O.V.~
Zak laughed from across the table. I smiled a bit. I was holding the necklace Jon gave me and turning it in my hand. I really should try to get going.
Zak looked up at me.
“Nice necklace,” Zak said making more conversation. “Is that in French?”
I looked down at it.
“Yeah, um, je t’aime. It means ‘I love you.’ Jon gave it to me,” I said. Zak nodded. He made a face that looked like he smelled something funny. It’s like he remembered Jon just now.
“Ah,” he said. There was an awkward silence.
“I really should be getting home…” I said.
“No, but…you haven’t even finished your first drink yet.”
Was he expecting me to have more than one?
“Here,” I pulled out a ten. “Tell the bartender sorry.”
I started to stand up.
“Oh, don’t be silly. I’ll pay for you,” he said standing up with me.
“Um, no you won’t.”
This wasn’t a date.
“Zak, I have to go.”
I started to walk away when I bumped into someone.
“Oops, sorry sir-”
He was holding a camera phone in my face.
“Jonathan Toews’ supposed girlfriend…” he said.
I froze. He looked at Zak.
“Not anymore!”
His camera flashed and he winked at Zak, walking away. I turned around.
“You bastard, you set me up!” I shouted.
“Taylor! We are meant to be together!” He grabbed me by the arms. “You just need a little push to see that, why can’t you see that?”
I grabbed my drink off the table.
“See this jerk!”
I threw the remains of it at him so he would let me go. I grabbed my purse and ran out of there. Tears were streaming down my face and my stomach was in knots. I crossed my arms and ran to my car.
I needed to get home.
I needed Jon.
I put my keys in the car and started to drive.
I heard distant yelling coming from somewhere in my building as I walked down the hallway to my room. I looked around.
Nothing.
I got out my key and opened my door, walking in and throwing my stuff down. I looked up and Jon was there.
“Jon!” I said with a smile of relief. He walked up to me. He looked mad. My face fell. Sam walked after him.
“Jon, calm down,” she said.
“What the hell is this?” he said holding his phone in front of me.
It was a picture. Of me and Zak.
Tears welled up in my already swollen eyes again.
How did this get out so FAST??
“He set me up,” I said, shaking my head. “We were supposed to be going out as a group but…he had this planned all along.”
Jon shook his head at me.
“Oh, bullsh!t Taylor!” he yelled. I looked up at him.
“Wha-what…?” I said.
“You heard me.”
I couldn’t speak.
“Excuse me?”
“You were out with the guy! Alone! What am I supposed to think??”
I blinked. I wasn’t even able to find something to say.
“Jon, I didn’t know-”
“And why didn’t you tell me, huh? Why didn’t you tell me you were going out with him?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know, I mean…You don’t seem to like him and…It wasn’t even supposed to be with just him anyways!!”
“Well it was, wasn’t it?!” he said.
I was getting mad now.
“You know what Jon, I don’t answer to you! And you’re not even giving me a chance to explain!!”
I wanted you to comfort me. To hold me. Not to fight with me.
“Oh this photo is all the explanation I need! Do you know I had to find out about it on Twitter? TWITTER! Not even you but an online social network.”
I blinked.
“You don’t even have a Twitter!” I said.
“Jonathan-Toews-gets-cheated-on is trending. Was I supposed to ignore it??”
“No, but you should always come to me first!”
He dropped his hands to his sides.
“Well, obviously that wouldn’t work…If you liked him, why didn’t you just tell me?”
Angry tears were in my eyes.
“I don’t like him! I HATE him! He’s a jerk and a liar and is trying to sabotage our relationship so he can have me for himself!”
“See, that’s what I thought. Until you tagged along.”
I ran my hands through my hair.
“Jon, I keep telling you. He set me up!”
Jon shook his head and walked around me.
“You know what, just…forget it!”
He stomped out the door and slammed it behind him. I crossed my arms and threw a bracelet at the door after him. I stood in my place and cried. Sam ran over to comfort me.
“Tay, what happened?”
I told her everything. About the invite. About the setup. About Zak.
“You threw water at him??” she said. I smiled a bit and laughed at her.
“Actually alcohol. So if it got in his eye it would sting,” I said.
“I hope it did,” she said.
“Me too.”
I smiled.
“I just don’t know how Jon found out so quickly,” I said.
“One of his friends sent him a text about the tweets. Jon went on Twitter right away and he was pissed,” Sam said.
“Oh no,” I said frowning.
“I know. I tried to calm him down but Zak just set him off. Before he saw it was him he wasn’t that bad.”
I shook my head.
“I knew the minute I saw him in that booth I made a mistake,” I said.
“It’s not your fault,” she said. “As an outsider’s opinion this all sounds like one big misunderstanding.”
“You think so?” I said.
“I do.”
“I hope so,” I said. “I was coming home because I needed him.”
Sam smiled.
“Well sorry but you got me instead!”
I smiled.
“Which sorry but you got me instead!”
I smiled.
“Which is just as good!” I said.
She gave me a hug.
~Jon’s P.O.V.~
I slammed the door shut and stomped out of her apartment.
Great. Now you did it, Jon. You blow up at the girl you love and now she’s upset with you. She’s probably in her room calling Zak for comfort right now.
Great. Just great. You really screwed up Jon.
You really screwed up and…you love her. You love her, Jon.
Maybe she just made a mistake…Forget about what happened in the past, Taylor’s different. She’s not like the others…
I got into my car and slammed the door behind me. I sat for a moment and took out my phone. I opened the picture of her and Zak. My stomach turned into a ball just looking at them. I looked at the picture more. I zoomed in on Taylor and looked at her.
She was holding something, looking down at it. What was it?
I zoomed in more.
My necklace. The one I gave her.
I swallowed. I made a huge mistake. I felt like such a jerk.
I had to make it up to her. Show her that I trust her somehow.
I leaned my head on my hand and shook my head.
I made such a mistake…
~Taylor’s P.O.V.~
I tossed and turned in my bed as I tried to go to sleep. All I could keep thinking about was Jon. I sat up in my bed.
I didn’t know what else to tell him. I picked up my phone off my night stand. But what was I supposed to do? Call Jon and try to talk to him? Call Zak and confront him?
I confronted him pretty well when I was at the restaurant and threw that drink in his face.
I put my phone back down.
I guess I know what I had to do.
For now, I just had to get some sleep. I laid back down and closed my eyes, hoping that soon I could fall asleep and this day would be over.
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~Jon’s P.O.V.~
I woke up and blinked bringing everything back into focus. I glanced down next to me expecting to find Taylor. I jumped up. She wasn’t there. My heart started to race and I started to panic. All that was next to me was my closed laptop. I got p and ran into the other room.
“Taylor!” I shouted. “Tay-”
I walked in my living room and found her asleep on the couch. I sighed with relief. I tip-toed backwards slowly. I didn’t want to wake her up. I rubbed the back of my neck.
What happened after I fell asleep? Did I push her too hard?
A million thoughts ran through my mind was I thought about losing her. I walked back in my room and my laptop caught my eye. I walked over to it and sat on my bed. It was on stand-by. I clicked the mouse, unlocking the screen and looked. Tons of messages and hate filled this website logged into Taylor’s account. Some of these things even made my stomach turn. I read them.
“He deserves better.”
“That b!tch!”
“That wh0re!”
“Who does she think she is?”
“You might as well just die.”
“You don’t even matter.”
“Go kill yourself.”
I covered my mouth with my band, trying to keep myself under control. I shook my head and kept scrolling.
This girl, this poor girl did nothing to any of you and look what you’re all doing!
I felt a lump grow in my throat and I wiped my eyes,
This poor girl…
I got up and splashed water on my face, shaking myself out of it.
C’mon Tazer, hold yourself together.
I walked back out into my room and peaked into the hallway. Taylor was still asleep. I walked over to my dresser and picked up my phone, dialing Sam. She picked up right away.
“Jon?” she said.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said. She could already tell something was up.
“What happened?” she said.
“She saw Tumblr.”
“…No…”
I sighed.
“Well, what…what did she do??” she said.
“I’m not exactly sure,” I said. “I think she was looking while I was asleep. She must’ve been upset because she got up and moved to the couch.”
Sam sighed.
“What do we do…?” I said feeling completely helpless.
“I’m not really sure…It’s not like I’m there,” Sam said. “Wake her up gently and make her something to eat. But don’t push the subject if she doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, will do,” I said. My head was spinning.
“I’ll call in to work for her,” Sam said. I just thought of that. Work. I shook my head.
“No, no…I’ll do it,” I said.
“You?” she asked. I nodded.
“Yeah…this Zak guy and I may not be on best terms right now but I’ll handle it.”
“Well alright…” she said. “Good luck. Tell Taylor I love her,” she said.
“Will do…” I said back.
We hung up. I looked around the room and tried to find Taylor’s stuff. I saw her clothes laying in the corner and walked over to them. I picked up her shorts and looked through her pockets. I stopped when I found her phone. I took it out and scrolled through her contacts and found Zak. I hesitated for a minute.
Be a man, Tazer.
I clicked on his contact and hit the green “call” button. I held up the phone to my ear.
This should be interesting.
Zak picked up the phone.
“Hello?” he asked confused.
“Zak? Yeah, this is Jonathan.”
“Oh, Jonathan huh?” he said. “Holding the Mrs.’ phone now, too are we?”
I shook my head. I was too worried about Taylor to even feel my fury toward him. I breathed.
“Listen, I know we’re not exactly great friends here-” I said.
“That’s an understatement,” he said. I clenched my jaw.
“I know. But Taylor has to stay home from work today.”
“Getting a little too rough are we?” he said. I threw my phone at my bed.
“Damnit Parker! You don’t even know, alright?! Have you ever cared about someone?? Someone so much that when they hurt, you hurt? Have you??”
He paused.
“Of course I have,” he said. I threw my hands up in defeat.
“Well then, you understand…Taylor’s hurting right now…so she has to stay home from work,” I said.
“What happened?” he asked.
I don’t know what I was thinking in my frantic mine but I told him. There was silence a minute and then he chuckled a bit. I felt a flash of hatred run through me.
“This is all your fault, you know that?” he said.
Then the line went dead.
So many different emotions were running through me right now. Anger, sadness, helplessness, guilt…I walked into the other room and up to Taylor. I sat on the edge of the couch gently next to her. She didn’t stir. I had to smile a little but at her sleeping self. She looked perfect. I smiled at myself feeling a little guilty for peaking at her while she was changing last night. I shook my head to clear my head of the thought. I rested my hand on Taylor’s shoulder and gently started to rub it.
“Taylor…” I said softly. “Taylor, it’s time to get up.”
She moved a little on the couch next to me and made a small little waking-up noise. I but my lip and smiled a bit.
“Taylor…” I said. She opened her eyes and looked at me. They were sad and red. We shared a look and then she rolled over on my lap and started crying. I helped her sit up and held her in my arms. I rubbed her back and talked to her gently. Sometimes you’ve just got to let it out.
She sat at the kitchen counter and looking sadly down at her hands. She didn’t speak. I fixed her a plate of breakfast and placed it in front of her.
“Anything else I can get for you, love?” I said. She picked up a fork and shook her head.
“No, thank you…” she said softly. I walked around the counter and kissed the top of her head. She placed her hand on her head.
“I’ve got a headache,” she said. I got her some aspirin. I didn’t know what else to do. I felt so bad and wanted to help her somehow. I couldn’t help but think Zak was right…This WAS all my fault.
I sat next to her and rubbed her back. Suddenly, she dropped her fork and started to stand up.
“Damnit, work!” she said. I took her hand and pulled her back.
“No, no, it’s alright! I called in for you. You don’t have to go,” I explained. She looked at me.
“YOU called in for me?” she said surprised.
“Yeah,” I said smirking. “Surprised?”
She laughed a bit.
“Yeah, a little!” she said. “Was it awkward…?”
I shrugged. I didn’t need to be worrying her with this now.
“A little,” I said. She smiled. I smiled back, finally seeing what I’d been waiting for.
“Thank you, Jon…” she said looking at her hands. “I know I’m a mess…”
I stopped her.
“Taylor…no,” I said. “I WANT to take care of you, I WANT to help you
…please, let me.”
She leaned over in her chair and hugged me and I wrapped my arms around her tight.
She changed back into her regular clothes and she let me take her home. She asked me to spend the day with her and I gladly accepted. I brought a change of clothes with and she told me I could shower there.
When we got to her place, she ran in her room for a quick shower first. I waited patiently for her on her couch and turned on Sportscenter.
“Jon, shower’s open,” she said from her room after a few minutes. I clicked the remote, turning the TV off and walked inter her room. She was facing the bed and folding some clothes. I walked up behind her and kissed her neck.
“Be back in a bit,” I said, a smile creeping on both of our lips. I kissed her again then went to use her bathroom.
~Taylor’s P.O.V.~
I smiled as Jon kissed me and ran in the bathroom. He somehow always knew how to make me feel better. I heard the water start and sat on my bed. I leaned over, grabbing a yearbook that sat under my bed. I don’t know what always possessed me to look at these when I’m upset, but I did anyways.
I flipped though. Page after glossy page of nice-looking people. Nice looking people who, in fact, turned out to be not so nice at all.
I heard the bathroom door open and Jon walked out dressed with his dirty clothes in his hand. He set them on the floor and plopped on the bed next to me. I smiled.
“Whatcha doin?” he said.
“Lookin at old yearbooks…” I said back.
I flipped through a couple more pages and Jon looked with me. We stopped on a page that was defaced and written on the sides. Jon looked at the picture of the girl who it was written around.
“Who’s that?” he asked pointing.
“Kassidy,” I said staring blankly at the picture. Jon’s jaw tightened.
“Oh,” he said. I nodded.
“And that’s Cooper…And that’s Levi.”
Jon followed my finger as I pointed out some other people I used to know.
“Were any of these people your friends?” Jon asked. I shook my head.
“Oh…then why do you still have this?” he said curiously. I looked at the yearbook.
“I don’t know…” is aid distantly. I really didn’t.
Why did I hold onto that for this long? Why did I constantly keep putting myself through this?
“I don’t know,” I said again, more to myself that to him this time. He nodded beside me and I looked another minute.
“Hmm…” Jon mumbled, getting up. I looked at him.
“What are you doing…?” I asked. Jon looked at my desk and found my cup of writing utensils. He riffled through it and took out a Sharpie, coming back and sitting on the bed. I looked at him confused.
“What’s that for?” I asked. He took the book out of my hands and put it in his lap.
“They deface your yearbook, fine! Two can play at that game.”
He took the fine-tip marker and took the time to draw a few mustaches here and there. I grabbed the marker from his hand.
“Jon! That’s terrible!” I said smiling. He held his hand out, asking for the marker back.
“So…!” he said. We stared at each other for a minute. Jon lunged at me and tried to grab the marker. I laughed and laid down trying to keep it away from him.
“Gimme!!” he said. He climbed on top of me with one of his knees on either side of my. He tickled me and I giggled.
“Stop!!!” I said laughing. He grabbed it from my hand.
“Haaa!!” he said waving it in front of my. I jumped up and pinned him back by his arms, jumping on top of him this time. I smiled.
“Haaa!” I mimicked. He stretched his neck out and kissed me with a smile on his face. He laid back down and I touched his face. I smiled.
“Thanks Captain…” I said. He rested his hands on the back of my thighs. He smiled.
“Pass me your yearbook, will you love?” he said to me. I narrowed my eyes. He chuckled.
“No, seriously!” he said. I hesitated a minute then passed it to him. He rested it on my legs and flipped to the last page. He took the Sharpie to it and started writing. I looked up over the top of the book and he hid it from me.
“Gah! No! No peaking!” he said smiling. I giggled and sat patiently. I looked at him sitting there next to me. He was so perfect. Jon, just sitting there under me. Maybe I was ready to try again…Maybe soon. He got done writing, reread over his work, and then closed the book. He handed it to me.
“There,” he said. “Now every time you feel upset and look at this book, think of me. Read my message instead of theirs.”
I looked down at the book in my hands.
“Mine is more accurate than theirs anyways,” Jon said. I smiled. I leaned over and kissed him, holding the book close to me.
We spent the rest of the day just being together. Goofing around together, watching TV, making out on my bed. We sat on the couch in the living room and just talked with each other but it was so nice! I couldn’t help but wonder if this is what life with Jon would be like…
Later on in the afternoon, when it started to get dark out, Sam got home. She smiled, seeing us.
“Hey Sam!” I said happy to see her.
“Hey Sam,” Jon said. She put her stuff down and walked over to us.
“Hey guys!” she said. She hugged me. “How you doin?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Better,” I said. I smiled and nudged Jon lightly in the stomach next to me.
“I had this guy taking care of me all day so it’s all good,” I said. He smiled. Sam smiled, too.
“Hey Jon, you gonna be here for a while? Maybe I’ll call Nick and ask him to pick up dinner. We’ll make a night out of it!” Sam said. Jon nodded.
“Yeah! Sounds good!” he said smiling at me. He took my hand and I smiled back.
Nick came over later and brought bags of dinner with him.
“Hey Nick!” we all greeted as he put the bags in the kitchen.
“Hey guys!” he said. He walked over to us and said hi, kissing Sam and shaking Jon’s hand.
“How you doin, Taylor?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I’m okay,” I said. He nodded back.
“Good.”
Nick and Sam sat down with us in the living room and we ate dinner. I smiled, watching everyone laugh and talk together. People on the internet could say what they want but either way, I felt lucky.
I ate and laughed along with them as Jon held my hand.
I woke up and blinked bringing everything back into focus. I glanced down next to me expecting to find Taylor. I jumped up. She wasn’t there. My heart started to race and I started to panic. All that was next to me was my closed laptop. I got p and ran into the other room.
“Taylor!” I shouted. “Tay-”
I walked in my living room and found her asleep on the couch. I sighed with relief. I tip-toed backwards slowly. I didn’t want to wake her up. I rubbed the back of my neck.
What happened after I fell asleep? Did I push her too hard?
A million thoughts ran through my mind was I thought about losing her. I walked back in my room and my laptop caught my eye. I walked over to it and sat on my bed. It was on stand-by. I clicked the mouse, unlocking the screen and looked. Tons of messages and hate filled this website logged into Taylor’s account. Some of these things even made my stomach turn. I read them.
“He deserves better.”
“That b!tch!”
“That wh0re!”
“Who does she think she is?”
“You might as well just die.”
“You don’t even matter.”
“Go kill yourself.”
I covered my mouth with my band, trying to keep myself under control. I shook my head and kept scrolling.
This girl, this poor girl did nothing to any of you and look what you’re all doing!
I felt a lump grow in my throat and I wiped my eyes,
This poor girl…
I got up and splashed water on my face, shaking myself out of it.
C’mon Tazer, hold yourself together.
I walked back out into my room and peaked into the hallway. Taylor was still asleep. I walked over to my dresser and picked up my phone, dialing Sam. She picked up right away.
“Jon?” she said.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I said. She could already tell something was up.
“What happened?” she said.
“She saw Tumblr.”
“…No…”
I sighed.
“Well, what…what did she do??” she said.
“I’m not exactly sure,” I said. “I think she was looking while I was asleep. She must’ve been upset because she got up and moved to the couch.”
Sam sighed.
“What do we do…?” I said feeling completely helpless.
“I’m not really sure…It’s not like I’m there,” Sam said. “Wake her up gently and make her something to eat. But don’t push the subject if she doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, will do,” I said. My head was spinning.
“I’ll call in to work for her,” Sam said. I just thought of that. Work. I shook my head.
“No, no…I’ll do it,” I said.
“You?” she asked. I nodded.
“Yeah…this Zak guy and I may not be on best terms right now but I’ll handle it.”
“Well alright…” she said. “Good luck. Tell Taylor I love her,” she said.
“Will do…” I said back.
We hung up. I looked around the room and tried to find Taylor’s stuff. I saw her clothes laying in the corner and walked over to them. I picked up her shorts and looked through her pockets. I stopped when I found her phone. I took it out and scrolled through her contacts and found Zak. I hesitated for a minute.
Be a man, Tazer.
I clicked on his contact and hit the green “call” button. I held up the phone to my ear.
This should be interesting.
Zak picked up the phone.
“Hello?” he asked confused.
“Zak? Yeah, this is Jonathan.”
“Oh, Jonathan huh?” he said. “Holding the Mrs.’ phone now, too are we?”
I shook my head. I was too worried about Taylor to even feel my fury toward him. I breathed.
“Listen, I know we’re not exactly great friends here-” I said.
“That’s an understatement,” he said. I clenched my jaw.
“I know. But Taylor has to stay home from work today.”
“Getting a little too rough are we?” he said. I threw my phone at my bed.
“Damnit Parker! You don’t even know, alright?! Have you ever cared about someone?? Someone so much that when they hurt, you hurt? Have you??”
He paused.
“Of course I have,” he said. I threw my hands up in defeat.
“Well then, you understand…Taylor’s hurting right now…so she has to stay home from work,” I said.
“What happened?” he asked.
I don’t know what I was thinking in my frantic mine but I told him. There was silence a minute and then he chuckled a bit. I felt a flash of hatred run through me.
“This is all your fault, you know that?” he said.
Then the line went dead.
So many different emotions were running through me right now. Anger, sadness, helplessness, guilt…I walked into the other room and up to Taylor. I sat on the edge of the couch gently next to her. She didn’t stir. I had to smile a little but at her sleeping self. She looked perfect. I smiled at myself feeling a little guilty for peaking at her while she was changing last night. I shook my head to clear my head of the thought. I rested my hand on Taylor’s shoulder and gently started to rub it.
“Taylor…” I said softly. “Taylor, it’s time to get up.”
She moved a little on the couch next to me and made a small little waking-up noise. I but my lip and smiled a bit.
“Taylor…” I said. She opened her eyes and looked at me. They were sad and red. We shared a look and then she rolled over on my lap and started crying. I helped her sit up and held her in my arms. I rubbed her back and talked to her gently. Sometimes you’ve just got to let it out.
She sat at the kitchen counter and looking sadly down at her hands. She didn’t speak. I fixed her a plate of breakfast and placed it in front of her.
“Anything else I can get for you, love?” I said. She picked up a fork and shook her head.
“No, thank you…” she said softly. I walked around the counter and kissed the top of her head. She placed her hand on her head.
“I’ve got a headache,” she said. I got her some aspirin. I didn’t know what else to do. I felt so bad and wanted to help her somehow. I couldn’t help but think Zak was right…This WAS all my fault.
I sat next to her and rubbed her back. Suddenly, she dropped her fork and started to stand up.
“Damnit, work!” she said. I took her hand and pulled her back.
“No, no, it’s alright! I called in for you. You don’t have to go,” I explained. She looked at me.
“YOU called in for me?” she said surprised.
“Yeah,” I said smirking. “Surprised?”
She laughed a bit.
“Yeah, a little!” she said. “Was it awkward…?”
I shrugged. I didn’t need to be worrying her with this now.
“A little,” I said. She smiled. I smiled back, finally seeing what I’d been waiting for.
“Thank you, Jon…” she said looking at her hands. “I know I’m a mess…”
I stopped her.
“Taylor…no,” I said. “I WANT to take care of you, I WANT to help you
…please, let me.”
She leaned over in her chair and hugged me and I wrapped my arms around her tight.
She changed back into her regular clothes and she let me take her home. She asked me to spend the day with her and I gladly accepted. I brought a change of clothes with and she told me I could shower there.
When we got to her place, she ran in her room for a quick shower first. I waited patiently for her on her couch and turned on Sportscenter.
“Jon, shower’s open,” she said from her room after a few minutes. I clicked the remote, turning the TV off and walked inter her room. She was facing the bed and folding some clothes. I walked up behind her and kissed her neck.
“Be back in a bit,” I said, a smile creeping on both of our lips. I kissed her again then went to use her bathroom.
~Taylor’s P.O.V.~
I smiled as Jon kissed me and ran in the bathroom. He somehow always knew how to make me feel better. I heard the water start and sat on my bed. I leaned over, grabbing a yearbook that sat under my bed. I don’t know what always possessed me to look at these when I’m upset, but I did anyways.
I flipped though. Page after glossy page of nice-looking people. Nice looking people who, in fact, turned out to be not so nice at all.
I heard the bathroom door open and Jon walked out dressed with his dirty clothes in his hand. He set them on the floor and plopped on the bed next to me. I smiled.
“Whatcha doin?” he said.
“Lookin at old yearbooks…” I said back.
I flipped through a couple more pages and Jon looked with me. We stopped on a page that was defaced and written on the sides. Jon looked at the picture of the girl who it was written around.
“Who’s that?” he asked pointing.
“Kassidy,” I said staring blankly at the picture. Jon’s jaw tightened.
“Oh,” he said. I nodded.
“And that’s Cooper…And that’s Levi.”
Jon followed my finger as I pointed out some other people I used to know.
“Were any of these people your friends?” Jon asked. I shook my head.
“Oh…then why do you still have this?” he said curiously. I looked at the yearbook.
“I don’t know…” is aid distantly. I really didn’t.
Why did I hold onto that for this long? Why did I constantly keep putting myself through this?
“I don’t know,” I said again, more to myself that to him this time. He nodded beside me and I looked another minute.
“Hmm…” Jon mumbled, getting up. I looked at him.
“What are you doing…?” I asked. Jon looked at my desk and found my cup of writing utensils. He riffled through it and took out a Sharpie, coming back and sitting on the bed. I looked at him confused.
“What’s that for?” I asked. He took the book out of my hands and put it in his lap.
“They deface your yearbook, fine! Two can play at that game.”
He took the fine-tip marker and took the time to draw a few mustaches here and there. I grabbed the marker from his hand.
“Jon! That’s terrible!” I said smiling. He held his hand out, asking for the marker back.
“So…!” he said. We stared at each other for a minute. Jon lunged at me and tried to grab the marker. I laughed and laid down trying to keep it away from him.
“Gimme!!” he said. He climbed on top of me with one of his knees on either side of my. He tickled me and I giggled.
“Stop!!!” I said laughing. He grabbed it from my hand.
“Haaa!!” he said waving it in front of my. I jumped up and pinned him back by his arms, jumping on top of him this time. I smiled.
“Haaa!” I mimicked. He stretched his neck out and kissed me with a smile on his face. He laid back down and I touched his face. I smiled.
“Thanks Captain…” I said. He rested his hands on the back of my thighs. He smiled.
“Pass me your yearbook, will you love?” he said to me. I narrowed my eyes. He chuckled.
“No, seriously!” he said. I hesitated a minute then passed it to him. He rested it on my legs and flipped to the last page. He took the Sharpie to it and started writing. I looked up over the top of the book and he hid it from me.
“Gah! No! No peaking!” he said smiling. I giggled and sat patiently. I looked at him sitting there next to me. He was so perfect. Jon, just sitting there under me. Maybe I was ready to try again…Maybe soon. He got done writing, reread over his work, and then closed the book. He handed it to me.
“There,” he said. “Now every time you feel upset and look at this book, think of me. Read my message instead of theirs.”
I looked down at the book in my hands.
“Mine is more accurate than theirs anyways,” Jon said. I smiled. I leaned over and kissed him, holding the book close to me.
We spent the rest of the day just being together. Goofing around together, watching TV, making out on my bed. We sat on the couch in the living room and just talked with each other but it was so nice! I couldn’t help but wonder if this is what life with Jon would be like…
Later on in the afternoon, when it started to get dark out, Sam got home. She smiled, seeing us.
“Hey Sam!” I said happy to see her.
“Hey Sam,” Jon said. She put her stuff down and walked over to us.
“Hey guys!” she said. She hugged me. “How you doin?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Better,” I said. I smiled and nudged Jon lightly in the stomach next to me.
“I had this guy taking care of me all day so it’s all good,” I said. He smiled. Sam smiled, too.
“Hey Jon, you gonna be here for a while? Maybe I’ll call Nick and ask him to pick up dinner. We’ll make a night out of it!” Sam said. Jon nodded.
“Yeah! Sounds good!” he said smiling at me. He took my hand and I smiled back.
Nick came over later and brought bags of dinner with him.
“Hey Nick!” we all greeted as he put the bags in the kitchen.
“Hey guys!” he said. He walked over to us and said hi, kissing Sam and shaking Jon’s hand.
“How you doin, Taylor?” he asked.
I nodded.
“I’m okay,” I said. He nodded back.
“Good.”
Nick and Sam sat down with us in the living room and we ate dinner. I smiled, watching everyone laugh and talk together. People on the internet could say what they want but either way, I felt lucky.
I ate and laughed along with them as Jon held my hand.
Three comments 1 like
A few weeks went by and Jon and I were growing closer. Zak and I haven’t really been talking at all since he was confronted by Jon. I missed him, well, the old him. It’s like he turned in to something else.
One day, I was texting Jon after I got home from work. I haven’t seen him since the weekend but we’ve been talking every day.
“I miss you…”
He sent.
I smiled and replied back.
“I miss you 2 :)”
I was looking through a couple new pictures I took on my laptop and my phone buzzed again.
“When can I see you again? I’m dyin here :)”
I giggled and replied back.
“Soon! Soon soon! I promise :) I am too, trust me”
A minute passed by and Jon replied again.
“:) I really should stop texting you all day during work…you probably have stuff to be doing!”
I laughed at him.
“You mean like actual work?? Psh :P”
He replied.
“Lol! Yeah ur right, we’re more important :P”
I was about to reply when I got a follow-up text from him.
“So, are you busy tomorrow after work?”
I smiled a cheesy smile to myself and hit reply.
“Nope, why? What’ve you got planned?”
I waited a moment and I got a picture message. I opened it. it was a picture of Jon’s hand holding two tickets with the caption under it, “Cubs game?”
I bounced up and down on the couch in excitement and smiled at my phone. Jon knew how much I loved the Cubs.
I replied back an excited “Uhm, YEAA!!” when I heard Sam clear her throat from behind me.
“Ahem…” she said. I smiled back at her.
“Having fun?” she asked. I giggled and nodded.
“That obvious?” I said she thought a minute.
“Well…you were jumping up and down on the couch.”
“I was not!” I said. But I was. I laughed.
“I guess I do that a lot now.”
“As long as Jonny isn’t on that couch with you!”
I looked up.
“Wait, what?
“What”
“Very funny, Sam!”
She smiled at me and sat on the couch next to me. I smiled back.
Oh, Sam.
“So where are you going this time?” she asked. I smiled.
“He’s taking me to a Cubs game!” I said.
“Awesome!” she said. “Be sure to wear a hat or something, you don’t want all the fans all out to get you.”
I nodded and snapped my fingers.
“Good call,” I said.
The last thing I needed was the fans on my tail. Sam nodded.
“So how’s school been?” I asked. She shrugged.
“It’s been…school,” she said. I rested my head on her shoulder.
“It’ll be alright Sam, I promise,” I said. She shrugged her shoulder.
“I guess,” she said.
I was determined to keep that promise.
The next day, I woke up and got ready for work. It was Wednesday, so a half day, and Jon was picking my up right after to go to Wrigley. It would be fun!
I threw on some shorts, a pair of Converse, and a dark blue tank top with my jersey over it. I walked out of my room and gathered my stuff. I saw Sam on my way out in the kitchen.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were going to a Cubs game!” she said. I smiled.
“Bye Sam!” I said. She smiled back.
“Have fun,” she said.
“Thanks! Good luck at school.” I gave her a hug.
“Thanks,” she said.
And I was off.
I walked to work, enjoying the nice summer day, and looking forward to the afternoon ahead. This was going to be fun! Once I got over the chunk of my day that was work, it would be a fun afternoon with Jon.
I walked into the store and saw Zak in his normal place. He looked up and I nodded to him, walking in the back and putting away my stuff. I walked back out and started to do my work quietly and to myself. The bell rang, letting us know someone came in. Zak greeted them and I continued working. They got really quiet all of the sudden and they started whispering. I turned around.
“THAT’S Tazer’s girlfriend!” one whispered disgustedly to the other. I stared at them. They looked about fifteen. I turned back to my work.
“Ew, what’s he doing with HER? He could do so much better.”
I turned around with an aggravated sigh.
“You know, there’s really no point of whispering if other people can hear you!” I said extra loud, staring straight at them. They rolled their eyes and started walking around the store. I rolled mine in return, turning around again. They started talking for a minute then got really quiet again. I clenched my jaw, holding myself back. I dealt with enough of this crap in high school, I didn’t need this now.
Suddenly, I heard Zak slam his hand down on the desk and say, “Why don’t you take a picture?! It’ll last longer!!”
I looked at him. The side of my lips twitched a bit. The girls just stared at him.
“This is none of your business, okay?” the one said. Zak crossed his arms.
“Uhm, ya it is,” he said mocking them. “You’re harassing MY employee. I could get you in major trouble for that.”
They crossed their arms, too.
“You like can’t do that!” one said.
“Uhm, like I actually can like…And I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said. He pointed towards the door and left the girls staring at him.
“Psh, fine!” said the other. They pushed open the door and left. I was silent for a moment and wiped an unshed tear out of my eye. Amazing a bunch of fifteen year olds could still do this to me. I breathed in and looked at Zak. I half-smiled at him.
“Thanks…” I said. He half smiled and nodded back to me.
“No problem,” he said. I nodded, looking away from him.
“I’ll be right back,
I said excusing myself. I walked to the back and into the bathroom, wiping my eyes. I looked in the mirror and sighed. Just another day at work.
After my half day was over I gathered my stuff back up and took out my phone checking my messages. There was one from Jon.
“I’m outside whenever you’re ready :)”
I smiled. I walked back towards the front and slipped a pair of sunglasses on my face. Zak was watching me.
“You goin to the game?” he asked quietly. I nodded.
“Yeah,
I said. “Jon’s taking me.”
“Oh,” he said nodding. “Cool.”
I nodded back at him.
“Well I gotta get going,” I said pointing towards the door. Zak nodded.
“Okay,” he said. I walked across the store and started to open the door when he called me.
“Hey, Taylor…” I turned around.
“Have fun, okay?” he said. I actually and genuinely smiled at him.
“Thanks Zak… I said. He nodded and I walked out the door.
I turned the corner and saw Jon standing in front of his car. He smiled at the sight of me.
“Hey babe,” he said pulling me into his arms and kissing me. When he was kissing me, I just felt all the bad things that happened today just fade away.
I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed my hands down his back. We broke our kiss and he smiled.
“Hi Jon…” I said. He kissed my lips quickly again. I smiled back at him. He looked cute. He was wearing a black t-shirt, shorts, and his Cubs hat with a pair of sunglasses resting on it.
“Ready to go?” he said. I nodded.
“Yep!
“Oh!” he said remembering something. “One more thing…”
He opened the passenger side door and leaned over, grabbing something from the driver’s seat.
I always saw people posting stuff on Tumblr about Jonny’s ass. I put my hand over my mouth, smiling and covering my blushing cheeks.
If Sam were here, I could see her mocking me now.
He faced me then and put a Cubs baseball cap playfully on my head. I smiled.
“To complete your disguise!” he said smiling back. I fixed it on my head.
“Now I’m ready!” I said. Jon smiled.
“Excellent!” he said. “Let’s go!”
He let my get in the passenger seat and closed the car door behind me. I smiled snuggling myself in Jon’s seat and touched his hat on my head. I smiled thinking about wearing my boyfriend’s hat. Jon got in the car. He smiled at me. I felt my cheeks lightly blush and he started the car.
We arrived at Wrigley and parked in a nearby garage.
“Hey! It’s Tazer!” the garage owner said. Jon smiled.
“How much?
He said taking out his wallet. The man shook his head.
“It’s on the house for you today!” the man said nicely. Jon thanked him and we walked down the street to Wrigley. I smiled.
“That must be nice!” I said referring to free parking. Jon shrugged.
“It’s okay I guess. I mean, getting free stuff is nice but sometimes I just wanna be normal…” he said. I took his hand and kissed it, giving him a little smile. He smiled back and slipped his fingers through mine.
We got to the park and they scanned out tickets, welcoming us and letting us in. Jon took my hand and we walked through the Confines and into the bleachers. We sat in left field and took a seat towards the back. As people started to come in, Jon bought both of us a beer. He handed one to me and I gladly took it. He held his cup up to me, sliding his pair of aviator sunglasses on his face. I smiled and raised mine to his.
“Go Cubs,” he said. I took a drink.
“Go Cubs!” I said back. He took a drink too and then I looked at him.
“So wait, are you a Cubs fan or a Sox fan??
I asked. Jon smiled sheepishly.
“Now why would you ask me a question like that?” he said. I smiled.
“Well I HAVE seen you at Sox games before…” I said. He raised his eyebrows at me.
“Well well Mrs. I’m-not-a-giant0superfan!”
I laughed out loud at him.
“I admitted I was a giant superfan!” I said. “I just make you work for it that’s all.”
He stuck his nose up in the air and thought a minute.
“Well if you HAVE to know, I only go to the Sox games with the Blackhawks,” he said. I smiled.
“Or are you just saying that because your girlfriend’s a Cubs fan?” I challenged him. He leaned over and kissed me.
“Well…maybe a little,” he said. I laughed and kissed him back. Oh, Tazer!
We watched the game together and were able to have a good time! Nobody really even recognized us, well him, at all! Everyone just kind of left us alone.
When it came time for the seventh inning stretch Jon put his arm around me and we stood up and sang. Well, I sang. I don’t know what you’d call what Jon did. He stuck his tongue out at me for making fun of him. I laughed.
An inning or so later, after we sat down I felt my phone in my pocket start to vibrate. I took it out and answered it.
“Hello?” I said.
“Tay?” It was Sam.
“Hey, Sam, what’s up?” I said. Jon looked at me.
“You guys are at the game right?” she said.
“Yeah, why?”
“You both were just on the FanCam.”
“Oh…” I said already knowing what was going to happen.
“How bad is it?”
“It’s already hit Tumblr,” she said. “It’s pretty bad.”
I rubbed my forehead, worrying a bit. Jon put his hand on my leg.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered. I shook my head. I turned my attention to Sam again.
“So what are they saying?” I asked. She was silent.
“Sam.”
“Let me talk to Jon for a minute, okay?” she asked.
“Sam!”
“Please,” she said. “It’s okay, I promise.”
I sighed.
“Okay…” I said. I gave up the phone and handed it to Jon. He took it from me.
“Hello?” he said confused, still looking at me. He swallowed.
“Uh-huh. Already? Well what did they-Oh.”
I was getting bits and pieces of information. Jon was looking away now.
“Okay, well I’ll talk to you later then. I’ll tell her. Bye.” He hung up my phone and handed it back to me. I looked at him.
“Sam says bye and talk to you later,” Jon said. I shook my head.
“Jon, what’s happening?”
He shook his head back at me.
“Nothing, nothing.”
I looked at him.
“Jonathan!” I said getting frustrated. He sighed and took my hand.
“Taylor, it’s nothing, okay? Just…don’t go on Tumblr for a while okay?”
I swallowed. He tilted my chin up.
“Please, love…” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
I nodded.
“Okay…” I said. He kissed my nose.
“Good,” he said.
I spent the rest of the game in his arms, one of them around me and the other holding my hand for comfort.
The Cubs won that game! We got to sing Go Cubs Go and Jon did his best to keep my mind occupied. When the game ended, we waited a few minutes for the crowd to let out. Jon and I stood up and started to walk. He stopped when we got to the railing.
“Picture?” he said. I smiled what I think was a giant and goofy smile (though I really didn’t care).
He stood next to me and I took a picture of us with the field in the back. I looked at it.
“Yup. We’re cute,” I said matter-of-factly. Jon laughed.
“Well, I know YOU are!” he said. I stuck my tongue out at him.
He held my hand and we walked out of Wrigley and into the crowded streets of Wrigleyville. Jon held me close to him as we made our way through the crowds of people and into a nearby bar. We walked in and found a couple stools to sit on. I smiled at Jon ad we ordered our drinks. There were highlights of the Cubs game on the TV in front of us and Jon and I were talking about the game. We were talking and laughing when someone tapped Jon on his shoulder. We turned around.
“Tazer! Hey man, it really is you!” It was a few fans greeting him and shaking his hand. There were three guys that looked to be around Jon’s age. He said hello to them and he smiled.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” he said. They all beamed.
“Man, I can’t believe we’re talking to you Tazer…” one of them said.
“Stanley Cup Champ!!” said another. He high-fived Jon. I smiled.
Man crush.
“But hey, we didn’t mean to interrupt with you and your lady here,” said the first. I smiled.
“It’s okay boys, a girl’s gotta learn to share!” I said. They all laughed.
“So this is her Tazer, huh?? She’s a keepeeer!” one said, nudging Jon’s arm. I laughed.
“Yeah, she’s a keeper alright,” he said flashing me that beautiful smile. The guys laughed.
“Well hey, nice meeting you Tazer and go Hawks!”
They started to walk away and one of them gave Jon a thumbs-up, pointing to me then walking away. I laughed again.
“Well at least SOME fans approve of my!” I said. Jon laughed.
“That’s because they all think you’re hot!” he said.
“They do not!” I said.
“Uhm, yeah. They do. One was practically undressing you with his eyes!”
I put my hands on my hips.
“Jonathan Toews, are you jealous?” I said. Jon smiled a big smile and looked down at his hands. “No…” he said. I smiled at him. My inner fangirl was screaming “AWWW!!” but I resisted the urge. I turned his face to mine and I leaned over so I was only inches away from him.
“Well, I don’t know why you would be but if you are, they’ve got nothing on you…” I said. Jon smiled. I grabbed his face in my hands and started kissing him. Somehow I ended up on the bar stool on top of him. I was sitting on his lap and he kissed me hard. He ran his hands down my back.
“Jon, we’re in public,” I said breaking our kiss. We both kind of just remembered that. He kissed my neck.
“Nobody’s watching,” he said, which was true. I stopped and looked at him anyway. We both kind of smiled in spite of ourselves. We laughed a little and I sat back in my chair. He looked at me.
“So what do you wanna do now…” he said awkwardly. I tried to get my head on straight.
“I don’t know…” I said. We thought a minute.
“You hungry?” Jon asked. “We could go back to my place and I could make dinner…?”
I raise my eyebrows.
“You can cook?” I said.
“I most certainly can try!” he said. We laughed.
Jon paid for our drinks and we left the bar. We walked and picked up the car and started heading to Jon’s place. I texted Sam letting her know I’d be home later. She texted me back.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
I laughed and texted back.
“And what exactly is that??”
We both laughed at each other and I turned my attention back to Jon.
When we got to his place, he unlocked the door and let us in.
“Welcome back!” he said closing the door behind me. I smiled.
“Thank you!” I said.
He took me into the kitchen and I sat at his counter and watched him cook dinner. It was cute! He tried to be all impressive by throwing a spoon in the air and barely catching it. I just laughed and shook my head. He made us spaghetti. Nothing fancy, but good enough for me!
We sat across from each other at his countertop and ate together. He smiled at me.
“You know what this reminds me of?” he said.
I looked up.
“Lady and the Tramp,” he said. I giggled.
“Jon you’re so cheesy!” I said. He was blushing. I leaned across the table to him.
“But I love it,” I said. He smiled. I leaned a little more and kissed his lips passionately. They moved with mine. I smiled.
“I figured the spaghetti was unnecessary,” I said. He giggled. A little part of my melted on the inside!
We finished eating and then Jon cleaned up out plates. I tried to push past him and offer to help do the dished but he would just booty-bump me out of the way. I laughed.
“Get your ass out of the way and let me help you!!” I said.
“Never!!” he yelled back.
We goofed around a little longer and once Jon finished the dishes we walked into his bedroom. My heart raced a little.
This is where it almost happened.
We stopped in the doorway.
“Wanna watch TV?” he said. I smiled.
“Sure!” I said.
We sat on Jon’s bed together and watched the TV on the opposite wall. We played with each other’s hands and looked through the pictures that I took at the game. It was nice. That’s why I liked Jon, too. we didn’t have to do anything fancy all the time, just sitting together and keeping it simple was good for us.
Occasionally we’d break out into a heated makeout session. One of us would start and not stop for a few minutes until we had to catch our breath. Jon made sure not to push me, though. I let him know it was all okay.
It got late into the evening and it started to get dark. Jon had his arm around me and I was leaning on his chest. We both looked outside.
“It’s getting late…” he said. I nodded.
“I know.”
He held me tighter.
“I don’t want you to go…” he said. I traced the muscles on his stomach.
“I don’t either…” I said. We were silent for a minute.
“Do you want to…stay over…?” he asked. I looked up at him.
“Really…?” I said. He sat up.
“Yeah!” he said. “Just stay over, no strings attached!”
I smiled. I believed him.
“That is, unless, you don’t want to then-”
I touched his hand, calming him down.
“You don’t have to convince me, Jonny,” I said leaning over and kissing his cheek. I looked at him.
“Are you sure you want me here?” I said. He took my hands.
“Yes…please, stay…” he said. I laid down and pulled him down to kiss me.
Was I really supposed to say no to that?
I texted Sam and told her I was staying by Jon’s so she wouldn’t worry. Her reply was as expected.
“OH MY GOOOOD!!”
“NOT LIKE THAT!!” I sent back.
“Suuure! Well have fun” she said. I smiled.
I walked back into Jon’s room from texting and he was standing, waiting for me. He smiled.
“Do you, uh…want to…borrow…a pair of pajama pants or something…?” he said noticing my jean shorts. He rubbed the back of his neck. I smiled.
“Uh, sure,” I said. Jon nodded. He walked past me to the dresser behind us and riffled through his drawers, looking. He pulled out a pair of pants and turned back toward me.
“These okay?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I said. He walked up and handed them to me. He stopped.
“I’m, uh…I’m just gonna…” He pointed over his shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked out of his room and I smiled after him. I looked down at his pants and turned them over in my hands. They were soft and warm.
I looked towards the door to make sure Jon wasn’t there them slipped off my shorts and changed. I threw them in the corner along with my Cubs jersey, which I took off so I was wearing just my tank top. I sat on Jon’s bed and called him in.
“Oh Mr. Toews, you can come in now!”
He poked his head in the room.
“Okay, good.” he said running over and kissing me. I screeched at him running over and laughed. He smiled at me.
We laid on his bed, me in his arms, and talked for hours. We cuddled together as I laid next to him with his pajamas on. As the night went on our eyes grew heavy and our conversations were only whispers.
“I’m starting to fall asleep,” Jon said smiling. I smiled, too.
“Maybe we should turn in for the night,” I said. His lips twitched.
“Okay…” he said. I situated myself more comfortably on Jon’s chest. He kissed my head.
“Goodnight my love,” he said. I smiled and rubbed his chest.
“Goodnight Caption,” I said.
We laid together and within minutes Jon was asleep. He snored lightly, which was more like breathing, his chest rising and falling under my weight. I tried to close my eyes with him but I couldn’t sleep. I sat up from his arms being careful not to wake him. I ran my fingers through my hair, still having something on my mind. My eyes glanced over to a laptop on Jon’s dresser. I bit my lip and glanced over to Jon spread out on the bed. I though hard about this. I got up slowly, not moving the bed, and grabbed the laptop. I lowered myself back on the bed and hit the power button. I heard a light snore and I glanced at Jon. He was still sleeping. The laptop started and I clicked on the internet. I picked at one of my nails, debating on whether to do it or not. I did. I typed in my Tumblr and logged in. I scrolled down my dashboard and looked at my messages. I put my hand over my face, muffling my light sniffs. I angrily closed the laptop and cried lightly to myself. I looked at Jon through my tears. I couldn’t wake him up, not for something as stupid as this. I sighed an uneven sigh. I got up from the bed and laid down on a couch in the other room. I curled up in a ball and cried myself to sleep.
One day, I was texting Jon after I got home from work. I haven’t seen him since the weekend but we’ve been talking every day.
“I miss you…”
He sent.
I smiled and replied back.
“I miss you 2 :)”
I was looking through a couple new pictures I took on my laptop and my phone buzzed again.
“When can I see you again? I’m dyin here :)”
I giggled and replied back.
“Soon! Soon soon! I promise :) I am too, trust me”
A minute passed by and Jon replied again.
“:) I really should stop texting you all day during work…you probably have stuff to be doing!”
I laughed at him.
“You mean like actual work?? Psh :P”
He replied.
“Lol! Yeah ur right, we’re more important :P”
I was about to reply when I got a follow-up text from him.
“So, are you busy tomorrow after work?”
I smiled a cheesy smile to myself and hit reply.
“Nope, why? What’ve you got planned?”
I waited a moment and I got a picture message. I opened it. it was a picture of Jon’s hand holding two tickets with the caption under it, “Cubs game?”
I bounced up and down on the couch in excitement and smiled at my phone. Jon knew how much I loved the Cubs.
I replied back an excited “Uhm, YEAA!!” when I heard Sam clear her throat from behind me.
“Ahem…” she said. I smiled back at her.
“Having fun?” she asked. I giggled and nodded.
“That obvious?” I said she thought a minute.
“Well…you were jumping up and down on the couch.”
“I was not!” I said. But I was. I laughed.
“I guess I do that a lot now.”
“As long as Jonny isn’t on that couch with you!”
I looked up.
“Wait, what?
“What”
“Very funny, Sam!”
She smiled at me and sat on the couch next to me. I smiled back.
Oh, Sam.
“So where are you going this time?” she asked. I smiled.
“He’s taking me to a Cubs game!” I said.
“Awesome!” she said. “Be sure to wear a hat or something, you don’t want all the fans all out to get you.”
I nodded and snapped my fingers.
“Good call,” I said.
The last thing I needed was the fans on my tail. Sam nodded.
“So how’s school been?” I asked. She shrugged.
“It’s been…school,” she said. I rested my head on her shoulder.
“It’ll be alright Sam, I promise,” I said. She shrugged her shoulder.
“I guess,” she said.
I was determined to keep that promise.
The next day, I woke up and got ready for work. It was Wednesday, so a half day, and Jon was picking my up right after to go to Wrigley. It would be fun!
I threw on some shorts, a pair of Converse, and a dark blue tank top with my jersey over it. I walked out of my room and gathered my stuff. I saw Sam on my way out in the kitchen.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were going to a Cubs game!” she said. I smiled.
“Bye Sam!” I said. She smiled back.
“Have fun,” she said.
“Thanks! Good luck at school.” I gave her a hug.
“Thanks,” she said.
And I was off.
I walked to work, enjoying the nice summer day, and looking forward to the afternoon ahead. This was going to be fun! Once I got over the chunk of my day that was work, it would be a fun afternoon with Jon.
I walked into the store and saw Zak in his normal place. He looked up and I nodded to him, walking in the back and putting away my stuff. I walked back out and started to do my work quietly and to myself. The bell rang, letting us know someone came in. Zak greeted them and I continued working. They got really quiet all of the sudden and they started whispering. I turned around.
“THAT’S Tazer’s girlfriend!” one whispered disgustedly to the other. I stared at them. They looked about fifteen. I turned back to my work.
“Ew, what’s he doing with HER? He could do so much better.”
I turned around with an aggravated sigh.
“You know, there’s really no point of whispering if other people can hear you!” I said extra loud, staring straight at them. They rolled their eyes and started walking around the store. I rolled mine in return, turning around again. They started talking for a minute then got really quiet again. I clenched my jaw, holding myself back. I dealt with enough of this crap in high school, I didn’t need this now.
Suddenly, I heard Zak slam his hand down on the desk and say, “Why don’t you take a picture?! It’ll last longer!!”
I looked at him. The side of my lips twitched a bit. The girls just stared at him.
“This is none of your business, okay?” the one said. Zak crossed his arms.
“Uhm, ya it is,” he said mocking them. “You’re harassing MY employee. I could get you in major trouble for that.”
They crossed their arms, too.
“You like can’t do that!” one said.
“Uhm, like I actually can like…And I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said. He pointed towards the door and left the girls staring at him.
“Psh, fine!” said the other. They pushed open the door and left. I was silent for a moment and wiped an unshed tear out of my eye. Amazing a bunch of fifteen year olds could still do this to me. I breathed in and looked at Zak. I half-smiled at him.
“Thanks…” I said. He half smiled and nodded back to me.
“No problem,” he said. I nodded, looking away from him.
“I’ll be right back,
I said excusing myself. I walked to the back and into the bathroom, wiping my eyes. I looked in the mirror and sighed. Just another day at work.
After my half day was over I gathered my stuff back up and took out my phone checking my messages. There was one from Jon.
“I’m outside whenever you’re ready :)”
I smiled. I walked back towards the front and slipped a pair of sunglasses on my face. Zak was watching me.
“You goin to the game?” he asked quietly. I nodded.
“Yeah,
I said. “Jon’s taking me.”
“Oh,” he said nodding. “Cool.”
I nodded back at him.
“Well I gotta get going,” I said pointing towards the door. Zak nodded.
“Okay,” he said. I walked across the store and started to open the door when he called me.
“Hey, Taylor…” I turned around.
“Have fun, okay?” he said. I actually and genuinely smiled at him.
“Thanks Zak… I said. He nodded and I walked out the door.
I turned the corner and saw Jon standing in front of his car. He smiled at the sight of me.
“Hey babe,” he said pulling me into his arms and kissing me. When he was kissing me, I just felt all the bad things that happened today just fade away.
I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed my hands down his back. We broke our kiss and he smiled.
“Hi Jon…” I said. He kissed my lips quickly again. I smiled back at him. He looked cute. He was wearing a black t-shirt, shorts, and his Cubs hat with a pair of sunglasses resting on it.
“Ready to go?” he said. I nodded.
“Yep!
“Oh!” he said remembering something. “One more thing…”
He opened the passenger side door and leaned over, grabbing something from the driver’s seat.
I always saw people posting stuff on Tumblr about Jonny’s ass. I put my hand over my mouth, smiling and covering my blushing cheeks.
If Sam were here, I could see her mocking me now.
He faced me then and put a Cubs baseball cap playfully on my head. I smiled.
“To complete your disguise!” he said smiling back. I fixed it on my head.
“Now I’m ready!” I said. Jon smiled.
“Excellent!” he said. “Let’s go!”
He let my get in the passenger seat and closed the car door behind me. I smiled snuggling myself in Jon’s seat and touched his hat on my head. I smiled thinking about wearing my boyfriend’s hat. Jon got in the car. He smiled at me. I felt my cheeks lightly blush and he started the car.
We arrived at Wrigley and parked in a nearby garage.
“Hey! It’s Tazer!” the garage owner said. Jon smiled.
“How much?
He said taking out his wallet. The man shook his head.
“It’s on the house for you today!” the man said nicely. Jon thanked him and we walked down the street to Wrigley. I smiled.
“That must be nice!” I said referring to free parking. Jon shrugged.
“It’s okay I guess. I mean, getting free stuff is nice but sometimes I just wanna be normal…” he said. I took his hand and kissed it, giving him a little smile. He smiled back and slipped his fingers through mine.
We got to the park and they scanned out tickets, welcoming us and letting us in. Jon took my hand and we walked through the Confines and into the bleachers. We sat in left field and took a seat towards the back. As people started to come in, Jon bought both of us a beer. He handed one to me and I gladly took it. He held his cup up to me, sliding his pair of aviator sunglasses on his face. I smiled and raised mine to his.
“Go Cubs,” he said. I took a drink.
“Go Cubs!” I said back. He took a drink too and then I looked at him.
“So wait, are you a Cubs fan or a Sox fan??
I asked. Jon smiled sheepishly.
“Now why would you ask me a question like that?” he said. I smiled.
“Well I HAVE seen you at Sox games before…” I said. He raised his eyebrows at me.
“Well well Mrs. I’m-not-a-giant0superfan!”
I laughed out loud at him.
“I admitted I was a giant superfan!” I said. “I just make you work for it that’s all.”
He stuck his nose up in the air and thought a minute.
“Well if you HAVE to know, I only go to the Sox games with the Blackhawks,” he said. I smiled.
“Or are you just saying that because your girlfriend’s a Cubs fan?” I challenged him. He leaned over and kissed me.
“Well…maybe a little,” he said. I laughed and kissed him back. Oh, Tazer!
We watched the game together and were able to have a good time! Nobody really even recognized us, well him, at all! Everyone just kind of left us alone.
When it came time for the seventh inning stretch Jon put his arm around me and we stood up and sang. Well, I sang. I don’t know what you’d call what Jon did. He stuck his tongue out at me for making fun of him. I laughed.
An inning or so later, after we sat down I felt my phone in my pocket start to vibrate. I took it out and answered it.
“Hello?” I said.
“Tay?” It was Sam.
“Hey, Sam, what’s up?” I said. Jon looked at me.
“You guys are at the game right?” she said.
“Yeah, why?”
“You both were just on the FanCam.”
“Oh…” I said already knowing what was going to happen.
“How bad is it?”
“It’s already hit Tumblr,” she said. “It’s pretty bad.”
I rubbed my forehead, worrying a bit. Jon put his hand on my leg.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered. I shook my head. I turned my attention to Sam again.
“So what are they saying?” I asked. She was silent.
“Sam.”
“Let me talk to Jon for a minute, okay?” she asked.
“Sam!”
“Please,” she said. “It’s okay, I promise.”
I sighed.
“Okay…” I said. I gave up the phone and handed it to Jon. He took it from me.
“Hello?” he said confused, still looking at me. He swallowed.
“Uh-huh. Already? Well what did they-Oh.”
I was getting bits and pieces of information. Jon was looking away now.
“Okay, well I’ll talk to you later then. I’ll tell her. Bye.” He hung up my phone and handed it back to me. I looked at him.
“Sam says bye and talk to you later,” Jon said. I shook my head.
“Jon, what’s happening?”
He shook his head back at me.
“Nothing, nothing.”
I looked at him.
“Jonathan!” I said getting frustrated. He sighed and took my hand.
“Taylor, it’s nothing, okay? Just…don’t go on Tumblr for a while okay?”
I swallowed. He tilted my chin up.
“Please, love…” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
I nodded.
“Okay…” I said. He kissed my nose.
“Good,” he said.
I spent the rest of the game in his arms, one of them around me and the other holding my hand for comfort.
The Cubs won that game! We got to sing Go Cubs Go and Jon did his best to keep my mind occupied. When the game ended, we waited a few minutes for the crowd to let out. Jon and I stood up and started to walk. He stopped when we got to the railing.
“Picture?” he said. I smiled what I think was a giant and goofy smile (though I really didn’t care).
He stood next to me and I took a picture of us with the field in the back. I looked at it.
“Yup. We’re cute,” I said matter-of-factly. Jon laughed.
“Well, I know YOU are!” he said. I stuck my tongue out at him.
He held my hand and we walked out of Wrigley and into the crowded streets of Wrigleyville. Jon held me close to him as we made our way through the crowds of people and into a nearby bar. We walked in and found a couple stools to sit on. I smiled at Jon ad we ordered our drinks. There were highlights of the Cubs game on the TV in front of us and Jon and I were talking about the game. We were talking and laughing when someone tapped Jon on his shoulder. We turned around.
“Tazer! Hey man, it really is you!” It was a few fans greeting him and shaking his hand. There were three guys that looked to be around Jon’s age. He said hello to them and he smiled.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” he said. They all beamed.
“Man, I can’t believe we’re talking to you Tazer…” one of them said.
“Stanley Cup Champ!!” said another. He high-fived Jon. I smiled.
Man crush.
“But hey, we didn’t mean to interrupt with you and your lady here,” said the first. I smiled.
“It’s okay boys, a girl’s gotta learn to share!” I said. They all laughed.
“So this is her Tazer, huh?? She’s a keepeeer!” one said, nudging Jon’s arm. I laughed.
“Yeah, she’s a keeper alright,” he said flashing me that beautiful smile. The guys laughed.
“Well hey, nice meeting you Tazer and go Hawks!”
They started to walk away and one of them gave Jon a thumbs-up, pointing to me then walking away. I laughed again.
“Well at least SOME fans approve of my!” I said. Jon laughed.
“That’s because they all think you’re hot!” he said.
“They do not!” I said.
“Uhm, yeah. They do. One was practically undressing you with his eyes!”
I put my hands on my hips.
“Jonathan Toews, are you jealous?” I said. Jon smiled a big smile and looked down at his hands. “No…” he said. I smiled at him. My inner fangirl was screaming “AWWW!!” but I resisted the urge. I turned his face to mine and I leaned over so I was only inches away from him.
“Well, I don’t know why you would be but if you are, they’ve got nothing on you…” I said. Jon smiled. I grabbed his face in my hands and started kissing him. Somehow I ended up on the bar stool on top of him. I was sitting on his lap and he kissed me hard. He ran his hands down my back.
“Jon, we’re in public,” I said breaking our kiss. We both kind of just remembered that. He kissed my neck.
“Nobody’s watching,” he said, which was true. I stopped and looked at him anyway. We both kind of smiled in spite of ourselves. We laughed a little and I sat back in my chair. He looked at me.
“So what do you wanna do now…” he said awkwardly. I tried to get my head on straight.
“I don’t know…” I said. We thought a minute.
“You hungry?” Jon asked. “We could go back to my place and I could make dinner…?”
I raise my eyebrows.
“You can cook?” I said.
“I most certainly can try!” he said. We laughed.
Jon paid for our drinks and we left the bar. We walked and picked up the car and started heading to Jon’s place. I texted Sam letting her know I’d be home later. She texted me back.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
I laughed and texted back.
“And what exactly is that??”
We both laughed at each other and I turned my attention back to Jon.
When we got to his place, he unlocked the door and let us in.
“Welcome back!” he said closing the door behind me. I smiled.
“Thank you!” I said.
He took me into the kitchen and I sat at his counter and watched him cook dinner. It was cute! He tried to be all impressive by throwing a spoon in the air and barely catching it. I just laughed and shook my head. He made us spaghetti. Nothing fancy, but good enough for me!
We sat across from each other at his countertop and ate together. He smiled at me.
“You know what this reminds me of?” he said.
I looked up.
“Lady and the Tramp,” he said. I giggled.
“Jon you’re so cheesy!” I said. He was blushing. I leaned across the table to him.
“But I love it,” I said. He smiled. I leaned a little more and kissed his lips passionately. They moved with mine. I smiled.
“I figured the spaghetti was unnecessary,” I said. He giggled. A little part of my melted on the inside!
We finished eating and then Jon cleaned up out plates. I tried to push past him and offer to help do the dished but he would just booty-bump me out of the way. I laughed.
“Get your ass out of the way and let me help you!!” I said.
“Never!!” he yelled back.
We goofed around a little longer and once Jon finished the dishes we walked into his bedroom. My heart raced a little.
This is where it almost happened.
We stopped in the doorway.
“Wanna watch TV?” he said. I smiled.
“Sure!” I said.
We sat on Jon’s bed together and watched the TV on the opposite wall. We played with each other’s hands and looked through the pictures that I took at the game. It was nice. That’s why I liked Jon, too. we didn’t have to do anything fancy all the time, just sitting together and keeping it simple was good for us.
Occasionally we’d break out into a heated makeout session. One of us would start and not stop for a few minutes until we had to catch our breath. Jon made sure not to push me, though. I let him know it was all okay.
It got late into the evening and it started to get dark. Jon had his arm around me and I was leaning on his chest. We both looked outside.
“It’s getting late…” he said. I nodded.
“I know.”
He held me tighter.
“I don’t want you to go…” he said. I traced the muscles on his stomach.
“I don’t either…” I said. We were silent for a minute.
“Do you want to…stay over…?” he asked. I looked up at him.
“Really…?” I said. He sat up.
“Yeah!” he said. “Just stay over, no strings attached!”
I smiled. I believed him.
“That is, unless, you don’t want to then-”
I touched his hand, calming him down.
“You don’t have to convince me, Jonny,” I said leaning over and kissing his cheek. I looked at him.
“Are you sure you want me here?” I said. He took my hands.
“Yes…please, stay…” he said. I laid down and pulled him down to kiss me.
Was I really supposed to say no to that?
I texted Sam and told her I was staying by Jon’s so she wouldn’t worry. Her reply was as expected.
“OH MY GOOOOD!!”
“NOT LIKE THAT!!” I sent back.
“Suuure! Well have fun” she said. I smiled.
I walked back into Jon’s room from texting and he was standing, waiting for me. He smiled.
“Do you, uh…want to…borrow…a pair of pajama pants or something…?” he said noticing my jean shorts. He rubbed the back of his neck. I smiled.
“Uh, sure,” I said. Jon nodded. He walked past me to the dresser behind us and riffled through his drawers, looking. He pulled out a pair of pants and turned back toward me.
“These okay?” he asked.
“Perfect,” I said. He walked up and handed them to me. He stopped.
“I’m, uh…I’m just gonna…” He pointed over his shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked out of his room and I smiled after him. I looked down at his pants and turned them over in my hands. They were soft and warm.
I looked towards the door to make sure Jon wasn’t there them slipped off my shorts and changed. I threw them in the corner along with my Cubs jersey, which I took off so I was wearing just my tank top. I sat on Jon’s bed and called him in.
“Oh Mr. Toews, you can come in now!”
He poked his head in the room.
“Okay, good.” he said running over and kissing me. I screeched at him running over and laughed. He smiled at me.
We laid on his bed, me in his arms, and talked for hours. We cuddled together as I laid next to him with his pajamas on. As the night went on our eyes grew heavy and our conversations were only whispers.
“I’m starting to fall asleep,” Jon said smiling. I smiled, too.
“Maybe we should turn in for the night,” I said. His lips twitched.
“Okay…” he said. I situated myself more comfortably on Jon’s chest. He kissed my head.
“Goodnight my love,” he said. I smiled and rubbed his chest.
“Goodnight Caption,” I said.
We laid together and within minutes Jon was asleep. He snored lightly, which was more like breathing, his chest rising and falling under my weight. I tried to close my eyes with him but I couldn’t sleep. I sat up from his arms being careful not to wake him. I ran my fingers through my hair, still having something on my mind. My eyes glanced over to a laptop on Jon’s dresser. I bit my lip and glanced over to Jon spread out on the bed. I though hard about this. I got up slowly, not moving the bed, and grabbed the laptop. I lowered myself back on the bed and hit the power button. I heard a light snore and I glanced at Jon. He was still sleeping. The laptop started and I clicked on the internet. I picked at one of my nails, debating on whether to do it or not. I did. I typed in my Tumblr and logged in. I scrolled down my dashboard and looked at my messages. I put my hand over my face, muffling my light sniffs. I angrily closed the laptop and cried lightly to myself. I looked at Jon through my tears. I couldn’t wake him up, not for something as stupid as this. I sighed an uneven sigh. I got up from the bed and laid down on a couch in the other room. I curled up in a ball and cried myself to sleep.
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~flashback~
High school. Junior year. Before prom.
I walked to my locker after school, in a hurry just to get my things and go. I got rid of what I didn’t need and exchanged it for what I did. I closed my locker and walked to my boyfriend, Cooper’s locker. We’d been dating a while now and he was nice. He gave me someone to lean on.
I smiled when I got to his locker.
“Hey Coop!” I said. He smiled and nodded.
“Hey,” he said. I watched him get his stuff out of his locker in silence. I thought a minute.
“So, are we still on for the movies tonight?” I asked breaking our awkward silence.
“Oh! Movies tonight?” He seemed jumpy. “Actually, I, uh- I can’t because, um, something came up.”
I nodded,
“Oh,” I said a little disappointed. “Well, um, okay then. But we’re still on for prom right?”
Now he perked up.
“Oh, yeah. Prom!” he said winking at me and nudging me a bit. I half smiled. He was making me nervous a bit.
“Well, hey, I gotta go but I’ll see you tomorrow night for prom,” he said. He moved towards me and tapped me on the shoulder instead of kissing me like I expected. He turned around and I watched him leave.
That was odd…
The next day I got ready and dressed for prom. Cooper met me at my door and took us to prom in a limo. Overall, it was a pretty fun night!
Cooper, though, kept hinting different things to me all night. To most kids, prom was a lot of couple’s first times and stuff but I just wasn’t sure if I was ready.
After prom, cooper took me back out to the limo which was parked in a secluded area by itself. No driver.
I took a breath as Cooper opened the door for me and let me get in the car.
It was over. I’m not sure if it was nice, what we shared, or just made me want to die.
Cooper smiled, zipping up his pants as I lay there undressed.
“Well, thanks for the fun kid,” he said buttoning up his shirt and getting redressed. I sat up.
“Whoa, wait…You’re leaving?” I said.
“Psh!” he shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, yeah. This was nice and all but I gotta go meet Kassidy in a limo of our own.”
He raised his eyebrows.
Wait, Kassidy? Like Cheerleader Kassidy?
So that’s where he’s been going when we were supposed to be on dates. Why he’d been acting so funny.
I watched him as he opened the door.
“Wait, Cooper!”
He stopped.
“So, that’s it…? After all we shared, that’s it. You can leave and cheat on me just like that.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Sorry Taylor, but what can I say girl?” he patted me on the shoulder again. “Cheerleader’s got game!”
I watched him as he turned and walked away, clinging my nice prom dress to my chest to cover myself. He looked over his shoulder.
“The driver can take you home if you want. His number’s in the front seat,” he said. I watched him go. It’s like he didn’t even care that I had just gotten my heart broken.
I slipped on my dress and called the driver, asking to take me home.
~ ~ ~
I woke up the next morning in my bed, the pictures on my camera still downloading from the night before.
I smiled, stretching and sitting up in bed.
Las night was perfect. Well except for the almost thing. I mean Jon was really understanding about anything I throw at him. And he knew I got nervous.
He probably assumed it was my first time, but I don’t know for sure.
All I could do in that moment was think about prom. Think about being lonely and abandoned.
I sighed thinking about it.
Not that I think Jon’s the kind of guy who would do that, but I just couldn’t be used again.
I took a breath and looked at the clock. I really should go to work today. I sighed and got up, grabbing a set of clothes and going to take a shower.
I walked out of my room once I was ready and grabbed my stuff.
Well, it’s now or never.
I checked my phone before putting it in my bag. I had a new message from Jon.
“Want a ride to work today…?”
I smiled at my phone. He somehow just knew.
I responded, a little bit of relief coming over me.
“Yes please <3”
He was there within minutes. He knocked on my door and I rushed over to open it. I turned the doorknob and Jon stood there waiting for me. I half-smiled at him.
“Hey Jon…” I said.
He smiled a little back.
“Hey babe,” he said. He took a breath. “Ready?”
I nodded, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Jon started to lead me out of my room but I stopped him.
“Wait, Jon,” I said. He looked at me. I breathed.
“About last night…” I started to say. He gave me a sweet smile.
“Tay, it’s okay,” he said. I sighed.
“I know, I just-” I couldn’t find the right words.
“C’mon,” he said holding his hand out. “Let’s talk on the way there.”
I nodded, taking his hand and giving him a huge hug. I closed the door and walked with him.
“Thanks for the ride, by the way.” I said.
“Of course! Sam told me,” he said. She must’ve heard me get up. I looked up at Jon and smiled.
“Thank you Jon,” I said. He put his strong arm around me.
“You’re welcome Tay,” he said.
He pulled up in front of the Blackhawks Store and I wiped a tear from my eye. Jon shook his head.
“That kid was such a d-bag!!” he said. I nodded.
“I know…” I said. He blinked.
“How the hell could anyone even think of doing that to someone as great as you…?” he said angrily. But he made me smile.
“Well his nickname did rhyme with ‘poop.’” I said. Jon laughed.
“Cooper the party pooper for sure,” he said. I laughed a bit. Jon smiled at me.
“Taylor, I promise you…I will NEVER EVER even think about doing anything like that to you…”
He tipped my face towards him with his thumb. I smiled at him blinking back tears.
“Jon…”
I kissed him from the passenger’s seat. He kissed me back. I wish this moment would never end.
We sat together for a few more minutes then I looked at the clock and sighed.
“I should go…” I said. Jon nodded with a serious expression on his face.
“I’ll walk you in….” he said suddenly. “If you want?”
I smiled, feeling a bit better.
“Yeah…” I said. “Okay.”
We got out of the car. Jon looked at the entrance. He took my hand.
“Let’s go,” he said.
We walked into the store and the bell rang as we walked in. Zak was behind the desk and turned around to see who was there. He looked at me and opened his mouth, ready to angrily say something, but he stopped, seeing Jon. He blankly looked at Jon. I looked at Jon from the corner of my eye. He was staring right back. Zak walked from around the counter, closer to us. I moved closer to Jon, strengthening my grip on his hand. He didn’t flinch. Zak moved closer and I squeezed Jon’s hand even harder. My heart was pounding. He walked up to Jon. They stared at each other for moments with narrowed eyes. It’s like they were playing chicken with which one of them would speak first.
I took a breath.
“What are you doing in my store…?” Zak said cautiously, staring Jon down. Jon chuckled.
“Oh YOUR store now, huh?” Jon said. Zak walked closer to him.
“Yeah, MY store,” Zak said pushing Jon with both hands. Jon stepped back but barely moved.
I held my breath. Zak was getting physical. I had never been so scared in my life.
“Heh, heh,” Jon chuckled a bit. Zak narrowed his eyes.
“Well, whose name is on the merchandise…?” Jon said coolly pointing to the wall of jerseys. If I wasn’t so scared I probably would’ve laughed. Zak was silent.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here and talking to me like that,” Zak said.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve touching my girlfriend like that!” Jon said.
Zak rolled his eyes.
“All I did was kiss her,” he said smugly. “And I’m sure I was a hell of a lot better than you.”
Zak turned around.
“At least when she kisses me it’s because she wants to, not out of fear of getting hurt!” Jon said.
Zak turned around again and snickered.
“I did not hurt her,” he said.
“You have a lot to learn about abuse then, pal.” Jon said. Zak walked back up to him.
“I did not ‘abuse’ her,” Zak said narrowing his eyes.
“Psh!” I finally made a sound for the first time in this conversation. Both their eyes turned to me.
I took a breath and pulled my collar to the side, revealing my shoulder and the blackening around it. Zak’s face fell. He walked quickly toward me.
“Taylor, I-”
I jumped back.
“Don’t touch me!” I said.
Jon jumped forward in front of us.
“Alright Parker!” Jon said looking at Zak. “Here’s how this is gonna work.”
Zak took a step back and took a breath.
Jon began.
“She doesn’t have to interact with you if she doesn’t want to…” he said. Zak opened his mouth to protest.
“You will not touch her,” Jon said over him. “You will not talk to her unless it’s work related or she wants to talk to you...Hell, you won’t even look at her if it makes her uncomfortable!”
Zak opened his mouth to say something again, but then closed it before any words came out. He looked at the floor.
“I’ll pay you for yesterday’s hours as a sick day…” he said.
I nodded, biting my lip and not looking at him either.
“Fine,” I said.
I let go of Jon’s hand, realizing how tense and sweaty mine had gotten. I attempted a smile at him in apology. He shrugged his shoulders. He whispered to me in a hushed tone.
“You gonna be okay here?”
I sighed and nodded my head.
“I think so…” I said. I looked at Zak through the corner of my eye. I could feel his stare boring into the side of my head. Jon put his arm around my waist.
“I’ll pick you up later,” he said pulling me close to him.
“Thanks,” I said as he kissed the top of my head. I hugged him tight. He smiled.
“See you later,” he said.
I smiled back.
“See ya.”
I walked him to the door and he kissed my hand goodbye. I smiled and he left.
I turned around nervously and looked at Zak. His jaw was clenched and he was looking at the floor.
There was an awkward pause.
“I’ll open the doors in ten minutes,” he said in a monotone voice. I nodded.
“Fine,” I said.
We exchanged quick glances for a moment and I walked off to the back to drop off my things. I walked out back into the store and, avoiding Zak’s stare, started doing my work.
Work went by terribly slow the rest of the day. It’s amazing how slow time went by without talking to anyone. Eventually I just put on my headphones and drifted to somewhere else. I put my iPod on shuffle and the Backstreet Boys came on. I smiled a bit. It made me think of Sam, Nick, Jon, and I at Navy Pier. I looked down at a stack of Toews sherseys I was folding. I smiled.
I sighed and glanced at Zak. I shook my head and folded another Toews shirt.
Was it time to go yet?
Finally, after the remaining hours have slowly gone by, I recorded my time and got my things. I walked back into the store.
“Uh, I’m gonna get going,” I said awkwardly, facing the door.
“Ok,” Zak said. “See you tomorrow.”
Ugh, tomorrow.
Today had one by so slowly and it was only a half day.
I sighed and nodded my head,
“Yeah,” I said. I walked out the door. I pushed the hair out of my face and looked up to find Jon. I smiled at him. Just like he said, he was standing in front of his car and waiting for me. I ran up to him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and let me rest my head on his chest.
“Long day?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah, and I was only there a few hours!” I said. Jon chuckled.
“Well, you’re here now!” he said.
I smiled, stretching upwards and kissing his neck.
“And that’s all that matters,” I said.
He kissed my lips and then let my get in his car. I smiled from the passenger’s seat.
“So, pretty lady,” he said smiling next to me “Where to?”
I smiled and thought a little.
“Not sure,” I said to him.
We could go anywhere.
“What about just a walk on the beach?” I asked. Or what Chicago passed as a beach.
He nodded and smiled.
“You got it.”
We drove through the city and I rested my head on the back of the seat. Jon opened the sun-roof and rolled the windows down. The warm Chicago breeze blew in as we drove down Lakeshore Drive. Jon turned on the radio and we listened and laughed with each other on the way there. He didn’t object to my mindless singing.
“Beauty queen of only eighteen, she had some trouble with herself…” I looked out the window and felt the sun on my face.
“I don’t mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain,” Jon said, almost whispered.
I looked at him. He glanced back.
“I don’t sing…” he said to me. “But you make me want to.”
A smile spread across my face and I looked over and kissed his shoulder. I rested my head on him and I listened to the song continue to play.
~Jon’s P.O.V.~
I looked at her sitting next to me and looking out my window. The breeze blew her light brown hair toward me and the sun put a light glow on her tan skin. I had never seen anything so perfect…
She started to lightly sing along to the radio and her voice sent a chill down my spine.
I didn’t know if it was possible to love someone after only knowing them a week, but I felt like I’d known Taylor my whole life.
I watched her trace a light circles on the window sill with her finger.
She’d been through so much in her life. I didn’t want her to go through anymore. I wanted to protect her, no matter what it takes.
We got to the beach and I parked in tan empty space. I grabbed a Hawks blanket out of the back seat of my car and walked over to Taylor, holding her hand.
We walked down the beach together and set up the blanket when we needed a rest. I laid down on my back and Taylor laid next to me. We looked at each other on our backs and I smiled. I opened my arms up, inviting her to lay on my chest, she smiled and rested her head on my. I smiled down at her.
“Taylor,” I said. She looked up at me.
‘I love you.’ I wanted to say so badly.
I smiled at her.
“I would do anything to keep that smile on your face…forever,” I said honestly. She kissed my chest.
“Thank you, Jon,” she said.
I leaned down to kiss her. I wrapped my arms around her and lost myself in her. I kissed her soft warm lips that seemed to fit perfectly with mine.
I hadn’t felt this good since I won the Stanley Cup!
I looked at her. She was perfect.
I moved a strand of hair out of her face.
I love her, I thought kissing her again.
I really did love her.
High school. Junior year. Before prom.
I walked to my locker after school, in a hurry just to get my things and go. I got rid of what I didn’t need and exchanged it for what I did. I closed my locker and walked to my boyfriend, Cooper’s locker. We’d been dating a while now and he was nice. He gave me someone to lean on.
I smiled when I got to his locker.
“Hey Coop!” I said. He smiled and nodded.
“Hey,” he said. I watched him get his stuff out of his locker in silence. I thought a minute.
“So, are we still on for the movies tonight?” I asked breaking our awkward silence.
“Oh! Movies tonight?” He seemed jumpy. “Actually, I, uh- I can’t because, um, something came up.”
I nodded,
“Oh,” I said a little disappointed. “Well, um, okay then. But we’re still on for prom right?”
Now he perked up.
“Oh, yeah. Prom!” he said winking at me and nudging me a bit. I half smiled. He was making me nervous a bit.
“Well, hey, I gotta go but I’ll see you tomorrow night for prom,” he said. He moved towards me and tapped me on the shoulder instead of kissing me like I expected. He turned around and I watched him leave.
That was odd…
The next day I got ready and dressed for prom. Cooper met me at my door and took us to prom in a limo. Overall, it was a pretty fun night!
Cooper, though, kept hinting different things to me all night. To most kids, prom was a lot of couple’s first times and stuff but I just wasn’t sure if I was ready.
After prom, cooper took me back out to the limo which was parked in a secluded area by itself. No driver.
I took a breath as Cooper opened the door for me and let me get in the car.
It was over. I’m not sure if it was nice, what we shared, or just made me want to die.
Cooper smiled, zipping up his pants as I lay there undressed.
“Well, thanks for the fun kid,” he said buttoning up his shirt and getting redressed. I sat up.
“Whoa, wait…You’re leaving?” I said.
“Psh!” he shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, yeah. This was nice and all but I gotta go meet Kassidy in a limo of our own.”
He raised his eyebrows.
Wait, Kassidy? Like Cheerleader Kassidy?
So that’s where he’s been going when we were supposed to be on dates. Why he’d been acting so funny.
I watched him as he opened the door.
“Wait, Cooper!”
He stopped.
“So, that’s it…? After all we shared, that’s it. You can leave and cheat on me just like that.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Sorry Taylor, but what can I say girl?” he patted me on the shoulder again. “Cheerleader’s got game!”
I watched him as he turned and walked away, clinging my nice prom dress to my chest to cover myself. He looked over his shoulder.
“The driver can take you home if you want. His number’s in the front seat,” he said. I watched him go. It’s like he didn’t even care that I had just gotten my heart broken.
I slipped on my dress and called the driver, asking to take me home.
~ ~ ~
I woke up the next morning in my bed, the pictures on my camera still downloading from the night before.
I smiled, stretching and sitting up in bed.
Las night was perfect. Well except for the almost thing. I mean Jon was really understanding about anything I throw at him. And he knew I got nervous.
He probably assumed it was my first time, but I don’t know for sure.
All I could do in that moment was think about prom. Think about being lonely and abandoned.
I sighed thinking about it.
Not that I think Jon’s the kind of guy who would do that, but I just couldn’t be used again.
I took a breath and looked at the clock. I really should go to work today. I sighed and got up, grabbing a set of clothes and going to take a shower.
I walked out of my room once I was ready and grabbed my stuff.
Well, it’s now or never.
I checked my phone before putting it in my bag. I had a new message from Jon.
“Want a ride to work today…?”
I smiled at my phone. He somehow just knew.
I responded, a little bit of relief coming over me.
“Yes please <3”
He was there within minutes. He knocked on my door and I rushed over to open it. I turned the doorknob and Jon stood there waiting for me. I half-smiled at him.
“Hey Jon…” I said.
He smiled a little back.
“Hey babe,” he said. He took a breath. “Ready?”
I nodded, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Jon started to lead me out of my room but I stopped him.
“Wait, Jon,” I said. He looked at me. I breathed.
“About last night…” I started to say. He gave me a sweet smile.
“Tay, it’s okay,” he said. I sighed.
“I know, I just-” I couldn’t find the right words.
“C’mon,” he said holding his hand out. “Let’s talk on the way there.”
I nodded, taking his hand and giving him a huge hug. I closed the door and walked with him.
“Thanks for the ride, by the way.” I said.
“Of course! Sam told me,” he said. She must’ve heard me get up. I looked up at Jon and smiled.
“Thank you Jon,” I said. He put his strong arm around me.
“You’re welcome Tay,” he said.
He pulled up in front of the Blackhawks Store and I wiped a tear from my eye. Jon shook his head.
“That kid was such a d-bag!!” he said. I nodded.
“I know…” I said. He blinked.
“How the hell could anyone even think of doing that to someone as great as you…?” he said angrily. But he made me smile.
“Well his nickname did rhyme with ‘poop.’” I said. Jon laughed.
“Cooper the party pooper for sure,” he said. I laughed a bit. Jon smiled at me.
“Taylor, I promise you…I will NEVER EVER even think about doing anything like that to you…”
He tipped my face towards him with his thumb. I smiled at him blinking back tears.
“Jon…”
I kissed him from the passenger’s seat. He kissed me back. I wish this moment would never end.
We sat together for a few more minutes then I looked at the clock and sighed.
“I should go…” I said. Jon nodded with a serious expression on his face.
“I’ll walk you in….” he said suddenly. “If you want?”
I smiled, feeling a bit better.
“Yeah…” I said. “Okay.”
We got out of the car. Jon looked at the entrance. He took my hand.
“Let’s go,” he said.
We walked into the store and the bell rang as we walked in. Zak was behind the desk and turned around to see who was there. He looked at me and opened his mouth, ready to angrily say something, but he stopped, seeing Jon. He blankly looked at Jon. I looked at Jon from the corner of my eye. He was staring right back. Zak walked from around the counter, closer to us. I moved closer to Jon, strengthening my grip on his hand. He didn’t flinch. Zak moved closer and I squeezed Jon’s hand even harder. My heart was pounding. He walked up to Jon. They stared at each other for moments with narrowed eyes. It’s like they were playing chicken with which one of them would speak first.
I took a breath.
“What are you doing in my store…?” Zak said cautiously, staring Jon down. Jon chuckled.
“Oh YOUR store now, huh?” Jon said. Zak walked closer to him.
“Yeah, MY store,” Zak said pushing Jon with both hands. Jon stepped back but barely moved.
I held my breath. Zak was getting physical. I had never been so scared in my life.
“Heh, heh,” Jon chuckled a bit. Zak narrowed his eyes.
“Well, whose name is on the merchandise…?” Jon said coolly pointing to the wall of jerseys. If I wasn’t so scared I probably would’ve laughed. Zak was silent.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here and talking to me like that,” Zak said.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve touching my girlfriend like that!” Jon said.
Zak rolled his eyes.
“All I did was kiss her,” he said smugly. “And I’m sure I was a hell of a lot better than you.”
Zak turned around.
“At least when she kisses me it’s because she wants to, not out of fear of getting hurt!” Jon said.
Zak turned around again and snickered.
“I did not hurt her,” he said.
“You have a lot to learn about abuse then, pal.” Jon said. Zak walked back up to him.
“I did not ‘abuse’ her,” Zak said narrowing his eyes.
“Psh!” I finally made a sound for the first time in this conversation. Both their eyes turned to me.
I took a breath and pulled my collar to the side, revealing my shoulder and the blackening around it. Zak’s face fell. He walked quickly toward me.
“Taylor, I-”
I jumped back.
“Don’t touch me!” I said.
Jon jumped forward in front of us.
“Alright Parker!” Jon said looking at Zak. “Here’s how this is gonna work.”
Zak took a step back and took a breath.
Jon began.
“She doesn’t have to interact with you if she doesn’t want to…” he said. Zak opened his mouth to protest.
“You will not touch her,” Jon said over him. “You will not talk to her unless it’s work related or she wants to talk to you...Hell, you won’t even look at her if it makes her uncomfortable!”
Zak opened his mouth to say something again, but then closed it before any words came out. He looked at the floor.
“I’ll pay you for yesterday’s hours as a sick day…” he said.
I nodded, biting my lip and not looking at him either.
“Fine,” I said.
I let go of Jon’s hand, realizing how tense and sweaty mine had gotten. I attempted a smile at him in apology. He shrugged his shoulders. He whispered to me in a hushed tone.
“You gonna be okay here?”
I sighed and nodded my head.
“I think so…” I said. I looked at Zak through the corner of my eye. I could feel his stare boring into the side of my head. Jon put his arm around my waist.
“I’ll pick you up later,” he said pulling me close to him.
“Thanks,” I said as he kissed the top of my head. I hugged him tight. He smiled.
“See you later,” he said.
I smiled back.
“See ya.”
I walked him to the door and he kissed my hand goodbye. I smiled and he left.
I turned around nervously and looked at Zak. His jaw was clenched and he was looking at the floor.
There was an awkward pause.
“I’ll open the doors in ten minutes,” he said in a monotone voice. I nodded.
“Fine,” I said.
We exchanged quick glances for a moment and I walked off to the back to drop off my things. I walked out back into the store and, avoiding Zak’s stare, started doing my work.
Work went by terribly slow the rest of the day. It’s amazing how slow time went by without talking to anyone. Eventually I just put on my headphones and drifted to somewhere else. I put my iPod on shuffle and the Backstreet Boys came on. I smiled a bit. It made me think of Sam, Nick, Jon, and I at Navy Pier. I looked down at a stack of Toews sherseys I was folding. I smiled.
I sighed and glanced at Zak. I shook my head and folded another Toews shirt.
Was it time to go yet?
Finally, after the remaining hours have slowly gone by, I recorded my time and got my things. I walked back into the store.
“Uh, I’m gonna get going,” I said awkwardly, facing the door.
“Ok,” Zak said. “See you tomorrow.”
Ugh, tomorrow.
Today had one by so slowly and it was only a half day.
I sighed and nodded my head,
“Yeah,” I said. I walked out the door. I pushed the hair out of my face and looked up to find Jon. I smiled at him. Just like he said, he was standing in front of his car and waiting for me. I ran up to him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and let me rest my head on his chest.
“Long day?” he asked. I nodded.
“Yeah, and I was only there a few hours!” I said. Jon chuckled.
“Well, you’re here now!” he said.
I smiled, stretching upwards and kissing his neck.
“And that’s all that matters,” I said.
He kissed my lips and then let my get in his car. I smiled from the passenger’s seat.
“So, pretty lady,” he said smiling next to me “Where to?”
I smiled and thought a little.
“Not sure,” I said to him.
We could go anywhere.
“What about just a walk on the beach?” I asked. Or what Chicago passed as a beach.
He nodded and smiled.
“You got it.”
We drove through the city and I rested my head on the back of the seat. Jon opened the sun-roof and rolled the windows down. The warm Chicago breeze blew in as we drove down Lakeshore Drive. Jon turned on the radio and we listened and laughed with each other on the way there. He didn’t object to my mindless singing.
“Beauty queen of only eighteen, she had some trouble with herself…” I looked out the window and felt the sun on my face.
“I don’t mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring rain,” Jon said, almost whispered.
I looked at him. He glanced back.
“I don’t sing…” he said to me. “But you make me want to.”
A smile spread across my face and I looked over and kissed his shoulder. I rested my head on him and I listened to the song continue to play.
~Jon’s P.O.V.~
I looked at her sitting next to me and looking out my window. The breeze blew her light brown hair toward me and the sun put a light glow on her tan skin. I had never seen anything so perfect…
She started to lightly sing along to the radio and her voice sent a chill down my spine.
I didn’t know if it was possible to love someone after only knowing them a week, but I felt like I’d known Taylor my whole life.
I watched her trace a light circles on the window sill with her finger.
She’d been through so much in her life. I didn’t want her to go through anymore. I wanted to protect her, no matter what it takes.
We got to the beach and I parked in tan empty space. I grabbed a Hawks blanket out of the back seat of my car and walked over to Taylor, holding her hand.
We walked down the beach together and set up the blanket when we needed a rest. I laid down on my back and Taylor laid next to me. We looked at each other on our backs and I smiled. I opened my arms up, inviting her to lay on my chest, she smiled and rested her head on my. I smiled down at her.
“Taylor,” I said. She looked up at me.
‘I love you.’ I wanted to say so badly.
I smiled at her.
“I would do anything to keep that smile on your face…forever,” I said honestly. She kissed my chest.
“Thank you, Jon,” she said.
I leaned down to kiss her. I wrapped my arms around her and lost myself in her. I kissed her soft warm lips that seemed to fit perfectly with mine.
I hadn’t felt this good since I won the Stanley Cup!
I looked at her. She was perfect.
I moved a strand of hair out of her face.
I love her, I thought kissing her again.
I really did love her.
4 comments 3 likes
Hockey. Baseball. Blackhawks. Cubs.
Hey poly-buddys!! I'm Taylor and I am me :) I love hockey and the Chicago Blackhawks and I'm also a huge Cubs fan! I love to read (Twilight, Harry Potter, Nicholas Sparks, Hunger Games) and LOOOOVE to write!! I love watching Glee and love the Jonas Brothers and a bunch of other stuff too! Heehee! Check out my sets and read my stories!! I'd LOOOVE some feedback!! :)
also check out my bestie, chi-townlove!! she's so much like me and is awesome :)) fav her sets and read her stories!! :D
╔═╗ ♥Jonathan Toews♥ is my
║═╬╦╦═╦═╦═╦══╦═╦═╗
╠═║║║╬║╩╣╔╣║║║╬║║║
╚═╩═╣╔╩═╩╝╚╩╩╩╩╩╩╝
════╚╝════════════
♫(¯`'•.¸(¯`'•.¸*♫♪*¸.•'´¯)¸.•' ´¯)♫
--=- Jonas Brothers Rock! -=--
♫(_¸.•'´(_¸.•'´*♫♪*`'•.¸_)`'•. ¸_)♫
Hey poly-buddys!! I'm Taylor and I am me :) I love hockey and the Chicago Blackhawks and I'm also a huge Cubs fan! I love to read (Twilight, Harry Potter, Nicholas Sparks, Hunger Games) and LOOOOVE to write!! I love watching Glee and love the Jonas Brothers and a bunch of other stuff too! Heehee! Check out my sets and read my stories!! I'd LOOOVE some feedback!! :)
also check out my bestie, chi-townlove!! she's so much like me and is awesome :)) fav her sets and read her stories!! :D
╔═╗ ♥Jonathan Toews♥ is my
║═╬╦╦═╦═╦═╦══╦═╦═╗
╠═║║║╬║╩╣╔╣║║║╬║║║
╚═╩═╣╔╩═╩╝╚╩╩╩╩╩╩╝
════╚╝════════════
♫(¯`'•.¸(¯`'•.¸*♫♪*¸.•'´¯)¸.•' ´¯)♫
--=- Jonas Brothers Rock! -=--
♫(_¸.•'´(_¸.•'´*♫♪*`'•.¸_)`'•. ¸_)♫
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