Page 76 of Take Care, Taylor

I sighed. “The rest involves the ocean, a rug, and me losing all sense of time.”

Her scream nearly blew out my speaker. “Youbitch.You’re living in a damn romance novel.”

“Trust me,” I said, glancing toward the bathroom door, “it feels even more surreal than that…”

TRACK 31. SO HIGH SCHOOL (2:12)

TAYLOR

In the morning, I opened my eyes to find Audrey fast asleep on my chest.

She was so fucking beautiful—hair a tangled halo, lips parted slightly, one hand resting over my heartbeat like she’d claimed it overnight.

I thought of all the time we’d wasted in high school. How those two miserable semesters could’ve led somewhere entirely different if we hadn’t been so damn stubborn.

Smiling, I adjusted her a little so her arm wasn’t cutting off my circulation. Her lashes fluttered, and a sleepy noise slipped out of her throat.

“What are you doing?” she croaked, voice gravelly from sleep.

“Making you more comfortable.”

“I was comfortable.”

“Okay, then I’m making myself more comfortable,” I said, grinning. “You were crushing my chest.”

She rolled to my side, curling into the pillow. “Better?”

“Much.”

For a moment, I just looked at her—the sunlight hitting her skin, the faint marks I’d left along her neck, the tiny smile she didn’t even realize she had.

“My teammate was interested in you,” I said finally, half-teasing. “He told me to let you know you’re the sexiest woman he’s ever seen.”

Her brow arched. “Is there a reason you waited until now to give me the message?”

“I thought the same thing he did.” I smiled. “Tell me about one of your former boyfriends.”

She blushed, cheeks pink against the white pillowcase. “They were all the same.”

“Well, tell me about them as a collection.”

“They don’t exist,” she said softly, sighing. “If we last long enough, you’d be my first one.”

“What?” I sat up. “What about that Craig guy who sent you flowers?”

“You were right,” she said. “I mean, we were together, but I was waiting for him to fully commit before… full-blown sex. We’d done stuff, but?—”

“You don’t have to finish that,” I said, laughing under my breath.

Her eyes met mine—steady, unflinching—and something in the air between us changed.

She slid her hand beneath the blanket, brushing against my hip, her touch slow and deliberate. I looked down at her, daring her to keep going.

When her fingers slipped into my briefs, my breath hitched.

“Careful,” I murmured. “You start that, you’d better be ready to finish it.”

Her lips curved in a small, wicked smile. “Then don’t stop me.”