i can't want you (i'm taking you anyway)

part 4

Taylor's POV

Before I knew it, the trip was over. The last few days had sped by in a whirlwind, and all of a sudden, the car was pulling up into our driveway at home. We were all quiet; tired and wanting a proper shower and then an early night since all of us had work tomorrow. Well, except Austin. He was staying a few more days before he went back to college. 

We dragged everything inside from the car, and Travis took his things over to his car where he'd left it in our driveway for the week. Once I'd taken my things up to my bedroom, I came down to find him talking to my Dad in the kitchen. They glanced up when I paused in the doorway and Dad nodded, clapping Travis on the shoulder before moving off. I swallowed, suddenly a little nervous. It was like coming home, coming out of the haze, had changed something. It felt...more real maybe? That week in the middle of nowhere hadn't felt connected to the world. 

"So." Travis said after a long moment.

"So." I repeated, and he held out a hand. I slipped mine into his, staring up at him as his fingers weaved through mine and held them there.

"I just got 'the talk' from your Dad." He told me. "The whole make sure we're safe, no closed doors thing." I wrinkled my nose, realizing that I'd probably be getting that same talk soon. 

"Well maybe we don't tell him we had sex in the middle of the woods with no immediate protection then." I whispered, and Travis laughed quietly.

"Maybe not." He agreed. "You did take some though, right?" I nodded; I hadn't forgotten that. "Okay." Travis murmured. "I have to go. I promised my parents I'd stop by on my way home and I want to get everything sorted. Working early tomorrow." Even though Travis didn't live with his parents anymore, he still lived in town, just on the other side with his flat mate Patrick.

"You telling them about us?" I asked.

"Depends if you'd rather be there or not."

"Yeah, I'm good, that's all you." I laughed, and he shook his head fondly at me. "You have fun with that." I loved Donna and Ed, I really did, but there was no way I wanted to be there when they found out their son and his best friends little sister had finally become an item. They'd be over the moon. Like, REALLY over the moon. They'd wanted this to happen for years. 

"What are you doing tomorrow? I'll take you out on that first date you were after." He told me with a wink, and my smile grew.

"I get off work at five."

"I'll pick you up." Travis murmured.

"Okay." I blushed, delighted. 

Travis pulled me close - god, the way he handled me sometimes was an out of this world type of hot - and tucked his fingers under my chin, lifting it. I stretched up on my toes as he kissed me, sliding his other hand into my hair and holding me there. My head was swimming when he pulled back and I bit down on a smile as I looked up at him. This was like a dream, like a movie. His thumb brushed over my bottom lip and then he was letting me go. I watched him leave, leaning against the kitchen counter until the front door closed behind him. 

Then I turned, heading out the back door into the back garden. It was five-thirty, so Abigail was probably home from work by now. We worked together at the same place, so I could just tell her tomorrow, but in what world do you not tell your best friend something the second it happens? 

Crossing the back garden over to the fence that separated our property from her parents place, I climbed up the ladder into the little treehouse we'd been using ever since we were little. Our families had been friends before we were born, and since Abigail and I had been glued together at the hip, they'd built us a treehouse we could access from both properties inside the big tree on our side. We were almost too big for it now since it had been built when we were five, but if we still fit inside, we'd still use it. It would probably just sit there useless soon; Abigail and I were going to finish our gap year and go off to college in Cincinatti. We'd both been accepted and had managed to snag each other as roommates. We were both super excited, since it was only a month away now.