Change

I fell back on my bed, letting out a breath it seemed I had been holding forever.

I had just talked to my parents.

They had been stubborn at first, but it appeared that after my storming out the other day, they had realized just how upset I was. I closed my eyes, thinking back to the conversation that had occurred mere moments before.

"We just really miss you when you're gone," my mom said sadly.

"I know, mom," I sighed. I ran my hand through my hair. "But it's my dream school. I know you never wanted me there, but I thought you'd stop trying to change my mind once I actually started going."

My dad sighed. "We really are sorry, honey."

"Yeah," my mom agreed. "And we love you. We went too far."

"And from here on out, we'll be supportive," my dad concluded.

I smiled, opening my eyes. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't extremely, utterly, completely proud of myself.

***

My eyes shot open. I felt my heart race, and I could hear it pounding in my ears. I thought for a second, trying to clear my mind, not completely sure why I was having a mini heart attack. Then the shrill ring of the phone rang again from beside my bed, and I placed my hand over my heart. I nearly laughed at myself.

I reached over to my bedside table and picked up the cordless phone. I completely forgot about being woken up so rudely and smiled at the small screen, the last name that appeared being one I definitely didn't mind seeing. Of course, I wouldn't have minded talking to Belle or a family member, but this was a good wakeup call.

I lifted the phone up to my ear. "Hello?" I tried to sound innocent, like I didn't know who it was.

"Hey, Ronnie." Taylor's voice rang through the phone, deep and familiar. I had noticed a few days before that the sound was now surprisingly soothing to me; I was sure that if I was hysterical, one word out of his mouth and I'd calm right down. There was something about his voice that comforted me.

"Hey, Taylor."

"What are you up to today?"

I glanced at the clock. It was 10:30 in the morning. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Um... We're having a birthday party for dad later."

Taylor was silent for a moment before he said, "Oh, sweet. Wish him a happy birthday for me."

"Okay." We were both silent, and I squeezed my eyes shut before blurting, "Did you want to come? My parents love you." I chewed my lip nervously.

"I'll be there. What time?"

I smiled with relief. I went through the details of the evening with him before hanging up.

***

"You didn't have to come over early, you know."

Taylor shrugged, leaning back on his hands. We were sitting beside the pool, our feet hanging over the edge and resting in the cool water. I mimicked his position. "I had nothing to do." He looked over at me, and a slight breeze ruffled the front of his hair. I watched the strands blowing in the breeze, feeling his eyes on my face. My eyes drifted down to his. We stared at one another, and I noticed a smile forming in the edges of his eyes. His lips were turned up slightly, and I realized that my face probably looked the same.

Don't tell me you don't like that boy.

My mom's voice rang through my head. I looked away from Taylor's clear blue eyes, letting my head fall back and sighing as I closed my eyes. I heard Taylor chuckle and I opened one eye to see him smiling, staring out over the water. I watched him for another second, my stomach becoming even more restless, before I leaned forward, my elbows on my knees.

"So what made you decide to study sociology?"

I felt my stomach flip.

"Hm?"

Taylor glanced at me. "You said the other day, when we were at the restaurant, that you were studying sociology."

I nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah."

"Any particular reason?"

I clenched my teeth nervously, trying to figure out a way to explain without making him feel bad. "Um," I cleared my throat, "High school, actually."

I noticed Taylor's shoulders tense up. "Ah."

I turned my body to face him. He didn't meet my eyes, and I said softly, "Taylor, all of high school. Not just the bad parts. It made me curious as to why all these cliques and things happen, and I became interested in the field."

Taylor nodded slowly, his eyes blank as he stared down at the water. I looked away from him, turning my body back towards the water. I sighed, a bit louder than intended.

"You'll be great at whatever you do, Vee."

I turned back to him, surprised. He gave me a smile. I relaxed a bit at the fact that he had seemed to calm down over the mention of high school, and replayed his most recent sentence in my head. You'll be great at whatever you do. I smiled a bit, chewing on the inside of my lip and looking down at my hands. Then I quickly looked back up at him.

"Did you just call me Vee?" I raised an eyebrow.

Taylor grinned sheepishly, scratching his head. "Yeah, I did. Sorry."

"No," I said thoughtfully. "I like it." Only coming from you, though.

"Okay." Taylor's smile grew wider.

"Can I call you Tay?" I joked.

Taylor's smile faded a bit, but I could still tell there was a smile. "No way."

"Fine, fine." I laughed and turned back to face the pool, the smile ever present on my lips. We both turned at the sound of the screen door sliding open.

"Hi, honey," my mom smiled as she poked her head out from the doorway. She waved to Taylor, taking a step out into the sunlight. "Hi, Taylor."

Taylor waved back and I glanced at him with a smile before turning back to my mother.

"What's up, Mom?"

"I was just letting you know I was home from work, and I was going to ask if you could help me decorate the house, but I see you're busy..."

Taylor glanced at me quickly before replying, "I can help, too, Mrs. Penner. I mean, if that's alright."

My moms face lit up and she clapped her hands together excitedly. "Of course! Thank you, sweetie." She gestured for us to come inside before disappearing into the house.

Taylor stood up. He held out his hands to help me up and I grabbed onto them. I hauled myself up onto my feet, stumbling forward slightly into Taylor's chest. His hands flew to the sides of my arms, and he steadied me. Our eyes met, and for a moment, we stood there, our eyes locked. My stomach started to flop around. My skin was tingling; it started from where his skin made contact with mine, and spread throughout my entire body. The corner of Taylor's lip turned up into a crooked smile. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask if I was okay before letting me go. I hurried inside, trying to get rid of my blushing cheeks before my mom said something completely embarrassing.

***

I waved goodbye to our neighbor and good friend Mrs. Johnson as she left me to go find my mom. We had been talking about her garden. She was a nice lady, but I knew absolutely nothing about plants.

The party had started at 6:00, and it was now around seven. There were tons of people here. Dad wasn't one for throwing parties, but he enjoyed socializing. Mom had a field day planning parties. And she did a good job; there was plenty of food, and although the sun was going down, the backyard, where most people were gathered, was lit up. The pool had built-in lights, so that helped, too.

Belle was absent from the evening. Her parents had surprised her with a trip to Cuba, and she was gone for two weeks. Normally, that would be a problem, but I had someone else to spend time with now. Even though I wasn't sure what we were. Friends? We were at least friends, I knew that for sure.

I looked across the pool, a smile spreading across my lips as my eyes landed on Taylor. He was sitting at the outdoor table with my 5-year old cousin Jeffrey, and he was seemingly engaged in something Jeffrey was saying. I watched for a moment, the smile growing even bigger as Taylor grinned and offered the young boy his hand for a high five. Taylor looked up, still smiling, his eyes casually drifting around the premises. They met mine after a moment and my heart jumped. I quickly looked away, trying to pretend as if nothing had happened.

***

Taylor and I stood side by side beside the pool later that night. The premises had been cleared, and it was now around 11:30 at night. Taylor had helped my parents and I clean up. My mom had ushered my dad inside once we were done, giving me a not-so-subtle-wink on her way.

"That was fun," Taylor declared.

I nodded, crossing my arms. "It was." I smiled at him. "Thanks for coming."

Taylor shrugged. "Like I said, I had fun. Plus, it gave me an excuse to see you again."

I stared at him, my cheeks beginning to heat up. He gave me a crooked smile, and I looked away. I had been thinking, and I felt as though I needed to tell him what I was about to say, even if it would embarrass me. He needed to know... Just in case. I bit down on my lip to hide my own nervous smile before turning back to him and blurting out, "Remember how I said I haven't kissed anyone since?" Taylor nodded. "Well that doesn't mean I don't want you to be the one to kiss me. I mean, if you wanted to. Like, I'm just saying, the past is the past and if we'd both enjoy you kissing me then why not? Like, if it, you know, were to, um... Happen." I cleared my throat, my eyes falling to the ground. I couldn't believe I had actually said that. I mean, it was true, but still...

Taylor turned to look at me, an amused smile spreading across his face.

I blushed as he continued to stare at me. "Taylor, you look like an arrogant 19-year old who thinks there are thousands of girls chasing after him."

"Well," he grinned, "You, a girl, did basically just say you wanted to kiss me."

My jaw dropped slightly and it took me a second to recover. My mouth snapped shut and my hands flew out in front of me to give him a slight push. My hands then flew to cover my mouth as he teetered on the side of the pool, his arms flailing before he crashed into the water with a splash. He resurfaced, water spewing out of his mouth and flying into the air as he shook his hair like a wet dog.

"I am so sorry!" I exclaimed. I bent down, holding my hands out for him to take. He shook his head at me, laughing, before taking hold of both my hands. I tried to pull him up towards me, but instead found myself being pulled the other way and straight into the pool. I pushed myself off the bottom of the pool and surfaced, gasping for air. I pushed my hair out of my face and stared at Taylor, who was laughing uncontrollably in front of me. I gave him a look before pushing backwards and floating on my back towards the opposite end of the pool. I stared up at the starry, clear sky for a moment before it was interrupted by Taylor's face.

"Sorry," he laughed gently. I lifted myself out of the water and pulled all my hair to one side, squeezing it free of water as I waded into the shallow end.

I honestly just wanted to get out of there. I had just blurted out that I wanted to kiss him and he thought it was funny.

"Vee," he called after me. I sighed and slowly turned to face him. He was standing tall and the water only reached his 6'1 figure at his waist. His usually light blonde hair was a shade darker and was dripping wet. I crossed my arms and looked down at the lights reflecting off the top of the water. I heard him gently walk towards me, the water swishing around his body as he cut through it. He stopped a few feet away from me. "Vee," he said again, quieter this time. I still didn't respond. He seemed to hesitate before taking the few extra steps so that he was in front of me. My hands nervously traced the water around me and his hands gently found their way to mine, stopping them from moving. His thumbs caressed my skin and I stared down at them, chills shooting through me every time his thumb moved. Our hands were touching. I gently tugged my hands away after a moment, once the shock set in. I turned and headed to the edge of the pool, placing my hands on top of the concrete, bracing myself to get out.

"What did I say to make you upset?"

I paused, my feet already lifted off the bottom of the pool slightly, ready to push off. I lowered myself to flat feet and turned around again. He was in front of me, and he looked incredibly confused and rejected. Our eyes met and his were full of pleading.

I inhaled a long, deep breath, before letting it out loudly. "Taylor..." I hesitated, my eyes falling to the water again. "You can't... I mean, I... What I said, about... You know, about you kissing me, or whatever, I..." I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make sense of my thoughts enough to put them into complete sentences. I let out a frustrated sigh before I opened my eyes. "I guess you don't want to, but I-"

I was cut off by Taylor's hand finding it's way to my jaw and cupping my face. I felt my heart speeding up in my chest as I stared at him with wide eyes. His black t-shirt was glued to his body, exposing his nicely toned stomach and chest. His blue eyes bore into mine, his entire face serious. His left hand lifted up to rest beside me on the edge of the pool, and he leaned towards me. My mind didn't seem to be working, but my entire body was enveloped by goosebumps. My heart sped up with each centimeter closer that Taylor moved. He was now mere millimeters away. I closed my eyes.

Our lips met gently but firmly. I felt Taylor's chest press up against me, dipping me backward slightly as the kiss lingered. It was one kiss, nothing more; one, long, simple kiss that had my mind spinning.

Taylor pulled away, breathless, and I took a deep breath. He gave me the slightest hint of a smile before letting go of me and saying, "I should go now." His gaze fell to my lips, lingered, then met my eyes again before he turned and waded to the steps by the pool.

It took me a moment to react. My body was tingling from my lips down to my toes... In a good way. Everything about that kiss had been good. Great. Amazing. So simple... But I knew it was going to make things in my head a lot more complicated from now on.

"Taylor?"

He turned, halfway up the pool stairs. He raised an eyebrow. I slowly made my way through the water towards him. I ran my hands through my hair, debating why I had just called his name. What was I going to say? Thanks for kissing me.

I let out a light sigh before offering him a small smile. "I'll get you a towel, so you're not completely soaking wet driving home."

He nodded and I followed him up the steps and to the back door. He stepped aside, letting me go first, and I slid the door open as quietly as I could. I instructed Taylor to stay put, and I jogged up the stairs to the bathroom. I grabbed a towel from the shelf before heading back downstairs. Taylor was waiting for me at the bottom, his shoes on and ready to go. He thanked me as I handed him the towel. I watched, my stomach going wild, as he towel-dried his hair quickly.

"You can keep the towel," I said softly.

"Thanks," Taylor smiled slightly. "I'll bring it next time I see you."

I wasn't sure if he could hear my heart pounding. Next time I see you. There was going to be a next time. Had he enjoyed our kiss, too? The thought nearly drove me insane.

"I'll see you?" Taylor said quietly. Almost hopefully.

I nodded, biting down on my lip. "Taylor?" I said as he opened the door. "Thanks." I quickly added, "For coming."

Taylor nodded, a smile hovering on his lips. "Glad I could make it."