Page 113 of Loving Taylor

It wasn't like Eric was doing 'hard' time. It hadn't taken them long to figure out that he wasn't mentally stable and his fascination for Taylor had started at the trial for her parents’ murders. His uncle had been one of the guys who had committed the killings.

"You sure you're okay to go out? If you'd rather stay at home, I'll cancel our plans tonight," I offered her, studying her features because I knew she wouldn't admit how she was feeling inside.

"I'm fine," she assured me and breaking away from me, taking my hand in hers. When Taylor made up her mind there was no changing it so I got into the elevator with her.

I hid a secret smile. I had been planning this night for a while and now that it was about to happen I felt empowered. If anyone had told me I would be doing this before Taylor I would have told them they were crazy.

She had no idea what was going to happen tonight and it gave me a thrill of excitement.

She was quiet while I drove us to the bar where we were meeting our friends. No one except for two people knew what I was planning to do. I gave her a side glance but she was looking thoughtfully out the window. I reached over and placed my hand over hers. She looked at me and gave me a smile that made a warmth spread in my chest.

I hadn't recognized the feeling for what it was before, but now I knew what it was.

When we arrived, everyone was already seated at a table. I led Taylor to the table with a guiding hand on the small of her back. Slater and Jordan were sitting on opposite sides of the table. Now that I had found that special closeness with Taylor, I wanted the same for Slater. But he had to work through his own demons to do that, it wasn't something I could do for him.

For the last few weeks, he'd been going through some major stuff that I still couldn't wrap my mind around.

Then my eyes fell on Matthew, who was seated beside Jordan. It was all coming together. For me it was a decision I had made knowing that it was the right thing and I wanted it. Maybe that's why I didn't feel anxious like some people did when they were about to significantly change their life with one simple question.

"You made it," Jordan said when she stood up to give Taylor a hug.

I shook hands with Slater and then Matthew. Jordan released Taylor, and Slater hugged her.

"Good to see you," Slater murmured to Taylor. She smiled at him before she released him to direct her attention to Matthew.

"I'm so glad you made it," she said excitedly. He hugged her.

It had been a while since she had last seen him. He was working on a new assignment and that kept him pretty busy.

"I'm sorry I've been so busy with work. It's been hard to get time away," he said, releasing her.

"I'm going to get you a drink," I told Taylor. Everyone else already had one. Slater and I headed to the bar.

I gave the orders to the bartender before turning to my best friend. He had been away for five weeks. "How did it go?"

"I thought it would be so much easier but it's not." He let out an emotional breath.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked, not wanting to see him go through this and knowing there was very little I could do about it.

He shook his head. "She needs time to come around."

He had discovered something recently that had spun his whole world off his axis and he was still trying to come to terms with it.

"How are things with Jordan?" I asked.

"Complicated."

It hadn't been that long since I had been in a similar position with Taylor but we had sorted our shit out.

Our drinks arrived and we took them to the table. We were still missing one person but I knew he was on his way. I kept my eyes on the door and it wasn't long before I saw Connor step into the bar. He had impeccable timing. He headed straight for us.

"I have a surprise for you," I whispered to Taylor.

"What?" she asked, looking at me with those big blue eyes that made my heart skip a beat.

"Your surprise just walked into the bar," I revealed. She turned to see Connor walking toward us. She looked at him with surprise and confusion. When he reached our table, she got up to hug him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still sounding a little stunned.