Change

I headed upstairs to my room, my mind, body, and entire being going completely crazy. There was no doubt in my mind that that kiss had been wonderful, and that I had wanted it. I had thought about it before, yes, but now that it had actually happened... 

I sighed contentedly as I crawled into bed. I closed my eyes, picturing the kiss over and over; Taylor's hand on my chin, his chest pressed against me, his lips against mine. I knew, deep down, that I had been wanting that to happen since the day I had told him that I'd forgiven him. 

I nearly squealed out loud, wishing I could contact Belle and have a teenage girl freakout. I needed to tell her that she was right. I nearly laughed, picturing her "I-told-you-so" expression.

I reached for my cell on the desk beside my bed, flipping it open. I had left it there before the party.

1 New Message: Taylor

My heart flipped over. Had he texted me earlier, or had he just texted me now? I checked the time I had received the message: 12:53. I looked at the clock beside my bed: 12:58. I hastily clicked open.

Wow.

I smiled to myself, goosebumps making me shiver. I pulled the blanket up around myself. I typed out a few possible messages, but deleted them just as quickly. I finally decided on one and clicked send.

Yeah.

My phone buzzed again seconds later.

I want to talk, but I should go to bed. We'll talk tomorrow, I promise. Goodnight, Vee.

*** 

I woke up early the next day, around 9:00. The sun was streaming through my windows, and I sat up, stretching. My entire body was wired, as though running on electricity. I felt... Good. Great, even. I glanced around, wondering why my body was on such a high. I lay back down, closed my eyes, and then opened them again abruptly. I remembered. A smile grew across my face, and my stomach began to go crazy as scenes from the night before flooded my mind. I rolled over, trying to go back to sleep with those happy thoughts. I tried for what seemed like hours, but couldn't fall back asleep and finally decided to get up. 

I checked my phone: nothing. I sighed and headed downstairs, throwing my phone on the couch and making myself breakfast. I glanced at the time: 10:02 a.m. I headed into the living room, sitting down and turning on Cake Boss. I settled into the couch.

I was halfway through my cereal when my phone buzzed. I quickly snatched it up and flipped it open to find a message from none other than the boy occupying my thoughts.

Can I stop by?

I instantly grew nervous at the thought of seeing him again, but I sent back a quick yes before I could think about it. 

Would he kiss me again? How was I supposed to act? Was he going to tell me it had been a mistake?

I began to panic.

Did he regret it? Was he coming to tell me not to get my hopes up? 

My mind spun and it continued to spin around until the doorbell rang fifteen minutes or so later. 

I hurried to the door, my heart racing. I took a deep breath before opening the door. Taylor stood on the other side, wearing jean shorts and a blue polo shirt, his hair falling naturally. The sight of him caused the surfacing of thousands of butterflies.

"Hey." He smiled, and I relaxed a bit.

"Hey. Good morning," I replied as I let him inside. I mentally readied myself before asking, "So what's up?"

"Well," he began, standing by the door, "For starters, nice pajamas."

I blushed as my eyes flew down to glance at my flannel apparel. I suddenly realized that I must have looked a mess. My hair was down, but it could have been a lions mane, for all I knew. I ran a few fingers through it, trying not to make my self-consciousness obvious. I felt Taylor's eyes on me, but I continued to stare at the floor.

"You just wake up?"

"Well, like an hour ago, but... Yeah, not too long ago."

Taylor chuckled. "Nice. I wish I could get out of bed and look like that." My eyes flew up to meet his, and I smiled in surprise. He gazed at me, smiling, before continuing, "Anyway. I just wanted to let you know I'm going out of town tonight with my parents."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, we're going to my grandparents' place. We'll be back late tomorrow night, but we'll be back the next day for sure."

I chewed my lip, not quite sure why he was telling me this. "That should be fun." I offered a smile.

"Yeah. I'll see you when I get back, okay?" 

It was then that it dawned on me that Taylor had come to tell me that we could get together another day, when he returned. Was this his way of telling me that things were good between us, so that I wouldn't worry while he was away? My heart pounded at the thought.

"Okay. Just text me when you're home," came my simple reply.

"Okay." Taylor opened the door, and my heart fell. I had kind of been hoping he'd kiss me again. But maybe I was jumping to conclusions. Maybe he didn't want to be with me. Maybe he just wanted me to wait until he came back so he could explain to me, in depth, why he didn't think it would work. I felt a lump in my throat forming at the thought. I was about to close the door when he stopped it. We stared at one another, and he slowly leaned forward. My breath caught in my throat, bracing myself. I didn't have my hopes up for long, though, as he pressed a kiss to my cheek, smiled, and turned to leave.