Loving Her Was Red: Kaylor AU

Orange

Beside me, I felt Karlie tense up, and I stole a nervous glance at her.

"Oh honey that's great!" Tracy exclaimed, coming over to hug each of us.

I breathed a sigh of relief, grinning at Kar. Then, her dad, Kurt came over, a towering man of 6 foot something, and to be completely honest, I was slightly scared of him. He leaned down until he was eye level with me, and then spoke.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" he said, his voice dropping several octaves.

"I-I- Just." I stammered, my hands becoming clammy and sweaty in .2 seconds.

"I'm just kidding, I'm very glad my little girl's met her soulmate, and you seem like a wonderful girl." he said, shaking the sweaty hand I offered weakly.

After the scare we had, we were ushered upstairs to put our suitcases away and wash up for supper in half an hour. I sat my bag in the corner as Karlie flopped on the bed.

"Was this your room?"

"It is, and it isn't. It's not the room I grew up in, but my parents still have a bedroom for me." she said sheepishly.

I smiled, picturing a little 12 year old Karlie with posters and photographs on her wall, messy room and all. I was forever picking up things she left out at her apartment, and it drove her crazy.

"You look all lovestruck and sappy." she commented.

I stuck my tongue out at her and she pulled me down onto the bed next to her. "Well maybe I like you a lot."

She grinned at me, and kissed the top of my head. "Well maybe I like you a lot too."

///

We went downstairs for dinner 20 minutes later, and I was surprised again at the expanse the Kloss family covered. It seemed they had multiplied in number in the half an hour we were upstairs. Throughout dinner, I was bombarded with questions, and Kar knew I was nervous, she kept reaching for my hand and squeezing it.

Despite her dad being slightly nerve wracking before, I found out after that he seemed like the type of guy that if Kar and I told him we were both quitting our jobs to move to Canada to start an alpaca farm, he'd buy us dozens of books and visit every week just to tell us how healthy our alpacas looked.

Everyone else had congregated into the living room after dinner, but I hung around the kitchen.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

Tracy turned away from the counter, shooting me a smile. "I'd love some help." she said to me, and then turning to the living room where Kar sat, she called, "Karlie, I like this one, keep her."

I  blushed, taking the plate she offered to dry. We worked in silence for a few minutes until she spoke. "Karlie's told us that you're a student at NYU. What do you study?"

"I'm a music therapy major, I go into hospitals, adult day centers, daycares, places like that, and play music. But I'd really love to make my own album one day."

"That sounds wonderful! Karlie's told me about your singing and says you have a great voice."

"I'm okay I guess." I said sheepishly, ducking my head.

"You're not just okay." Karlie spoke up, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

"My chiming in with the hot pocket commercial once in awhile is just okay."

"You could sing the hot pocket jingle and it'd sound like angels."

I rolled my eyes, smiling at her anyway. "Kariann has a guitar, why don't you play something?" Tracy asked. "I mean, if you want to." she offered.

"Please?" Kar asked.

I sighed. "Okay, but-"

"Just one." she interrupted, grinning at me.

I was forever telling her "just one song." and it usually turned into four or five, and I had a feeling that tonight wouldn't be any different. As soon as I followed Kar in the living room, I was handed a guitar.

"Oh, um, okay. Apparently y'all want me to sing for you." I said, chuckling.

I sat down on the floor in the living room, and messed with the guitar for a minute. "Uh, well, I just wrote this a week ago, Kar's heard it, and bugs me incessantly about playing it." I teased her.

I was super nervous at first, but once I got to the second verse, I felt a lot better, and let myself open up more.

"I swear she's destined for the screen

Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh."

I grinned at Kar then, and she blushed. After at least 10 requests, it was almost 11:00, and Kar was ready for bed.

"You're always so tired."

"I'm always tired, but never of you." she teased.

We went upstairs, and she immediately flopped into bed while I went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. Karlie always made fun of me for sticking to a routine, but I hated to go to bed without doing it. She stuck to a routine too, but that was her working out, and eating healthy. Sometimes I made fun of her for refusing to eat much meat and sometimes I just wanted to go out and stuff my face with a giant hamburger or something. But I'd tried making some vegan meals for her, and some had turned out well, but I still refused to give up my hamburgers and "nugs."

"You took FOREVER." she complained as I shut off the light and crawled into bed.

"I was gone for like 5 minutes." I teased. "Are you sure your parents are cool with me sleeping in here?" I asked for the third time that day.

"Babe, they love you. You're fine."

"I can sleep on the couch or something."

"Shut up and go to sleep." she joked.