Here We Go Again

"You almost ready?"

I turned towards the door, my fingers up to my ear, fastening my earring.

"Yeah," I replied. "One sec."

I finished doing up my earring before taking a look at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a navy blue dress with a white cardigan over top, and my hair was up in a fancy ponytail to show off my earrings. I smoothed down my dress before turning and heading out into the living room, where Taylor was waiting.

I smiled as I caught sight of him by the door, pulling his sneakers on. He was wearing jeans and a nice grey sweater that hugged his arm muscles, and my stomach fluttered a bit at the sight.

I walked over to him and he looked up as I approached. His blue eyes lit up, and I blushed as he looked me over.

"Wow."

I rolled my eyes and reached out my hand to hold onto his arm as I slipped on my shoes. When I finished putting them on, I was about to release Taylor's arm when his hand found my waist and pulled me into him. He kissed me swiftly, and I was blushing as he pulled away. His hand lifted up to brush his fingers against my cheek softly, and he smiled.

"I still make you blush, huh?"

"No," I mumbled, turning to open the door. I heard Taylor laugh and I leaned against the wall as I waited for him to lock the door. He pocketed the key, still grinning, and reached for my hand. He intertwined our fingers, and we headed down the hall.

When we got into Taylor's car, we drove for a bit and I watched the scenery through the window. Taylor refused to give me hints as to where we were going, other than, "It's in Edmonton". We eventually started driving through downtown, and I looked up at all the buildings. I had only ever been in and around Rexall, and this was all new to me. Taylor pulled into an underground parking lot and we headed to an elevator that took us up to the main floor. We exited the elevator into a lobby filled with pictures of Edmonton and a front desk. It was Tuesday evening, so the lineup wasn't long, and Taylor and I waited in silence, our hands interwined. When we got up to the front desk, Taylor said he had made a reservation under his name, and I was immediately confused. A reservation? I had no idea what this place was, or where we were. Taylor threw me a smile before taking the tickets from the woman and thanking her.

We entered another elevator at the opposite side of the lobby, and I begged Taylor to tell me where we were going. He ignored me, a smile playing on his lips, and I finally gave up. The elevator filled up, and when it began to rise, I gripped Taylor's hand tighter. I let out a tiny gasp as the concrete wall disappeared and we were met instead by Edmonton's city lights. I watched in awe as we rose further off the ground. The elevator finally stopped, and I had to tear myself away from the view. Taylor tugged on my hand and we exited the elevator.

My mouth hung open a bit as I looked around. We were in a tower, somewhat like the CN Tower - although not nearly as high - and it appeared to be set up into a restaurant. La Ronde, read the name on the counter where a woman greeted us with a smile. She asked for Taylor's name, and he gave it to her. Immediately, we were whisked away to the far side of the circular restaurant, and were seated at a table by the glass window that surrounded the entire room. We sat across from one another, and I looked out at the city as the waiter said he'd be back in a moment.

"Wow," I breathed. I felt Taylor looking at me, and I turned to face him.

"Nice, isn't it?"

I nodded, biting my lip. Taylor and I had never been anywhere this fancy on a date. It was intimidating and beautiful all at once.

The waiter returned and took our drink orders. Taylor and I fell into easy conversation, as per usual, and decided on what we were going to eat. We ordered and a short while later, our food came. It was incredible. Taylor and I continued on in conversation, pausing sometimes for comfortable silences while we ate. It was nice to be in his company again knowing that we were... Together

We were in a bout of content silence when I blurted out, "Do you want kids?" I watched as Taylor's eyes widened and he set down his fork.

"Uh..."

I quickly recovered. "I don't mean with me, loser. I meant in general." I was kind of disappointed. Of course I had meant with me, but that was just awkward, wasn't it?

"Of course," he replied. "Yeah, one day." He gave me a reassuring smile that said, 'Don't worry about it', and I smiled back as convincingly as I could. But for the rest of the night, all I could think about was my question. Why had I asked that? We had just gotten back together and I was bringing up kids?

Idiot.

***

The next morning, I woke to Taylor's arm around my waist, and my back to his chest. The night before, after returning home, I had told him I was tired, and when we had laid down, he had fallen asleep quickly. But I lay awake all night, thinking about the conversation at dinner that night.

Part of me knew I was dumb for bringing it up. But the other part of me wondered if he had ever thought about our future. We had gone through all of this together... He did see himself marrying me, didn't he? Was I thinking too far ahead?

My mind was a huge jumble, and it stayed that way even as we got up and headed out to breakfast. We ate at a little diner just down the street; it was quaint, full of bright reds and smiling faces. There weren't very many people around at 10:30 in the morning, and Taylor and I got a cozy booth in the back.

Taylor had been given a few days off because of his head injury, and had been told to take it easy. The team had gone on a road trip for three days, and were back the next day. I knew it was coming down to the end of my time here in Edmonton, and Taylor and I had to talk about it. As much as we didn't want to.

"Vee?"

I looked up from fiddling with my napkin and smiled. "Yeah?"

Taylor's blue eyes held mine for a few moments. "I love you."

I laughed gently. "I love you too." I looked down, and continued fiddling with my napkin. I wondered if he could tell what I was thinking about.

"Vee?" I glanced up again, and he continued, "About last night..."

I lifted my hand up to cover my face. "Taylor..."

"No, no, no," he said, reaching across the table to pull my hand away from my face. "Listen," he said gently. He reached up to gently brush a piece of hair behind my ear before continuing, "I'm sorry. You just caught me off guard. But," he paused, and I lifted my eyes to meet his for a fleeting moment. "I see myself marrying you, Vee. And, yes, having kids..." My eyes were glued to his now, and he smiled before putting emphasis on the words, "With you."