Page 39
Story: Taylor (Glendale Magic #3)
38
Taylor
T aylor was leaving the bathroom after cleaning up. The sight of Alice on his bed brought a smile to his face. He would marry her someday. There was still time for that, but it would happen. She was his. And he was hers.
“Does it make me a total caveman to love that I am the only man you’ve ever done that with?” he asked as he walked over to her.
“Maybe... But I like it, too. I’m glad it is a part of me that is all yours.”
He climbed into bed and pulled her close to him.
“You, sir, were on fire out there. Two hat tricks!”
“Well, kind of... but, yeah, it was a great night,” he said, running his hands through her hair as she settled on his chest.
“And you got in a fight! I’ve never seen you fight before.”
“Hey, I can fight,” he said in mock defensiveness.
“Clearly, I just hadn’t seen it before.”
“Yeah, I don’t do it much. But can we please talk about the important thing?”
She looked up at him like she wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about, like she hadn’t just told her father and his coach they were dating.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your dad. How did that go?”
“Good.”
No. That wasn’t going to do. She couldn’t just leave it there.
“I’m going to need more than a simple good. My head can spin that fifty different ways.”
She turned her head and propped it on his chest, looking him in the eyes.
“He asked if you made me happy, and I told him you did, and he said he was happy for us... but to let him know if that changes.”
“Well, I’m going to ask you to let me know if that happens, too, because I would really like a chance to fix it,” he said, worry creeping into his voice.
“I will, but I don’t know how you could ever not make me happy. You make me feel like I’m something special,” she said barely above a whisper.
“You are very special to me,” he said before kissing her forehead. “I love you. I know that you have trouble trusting that. And I know part of that is my fault with how I dropped off the face of the earth after we got back. I’ll never do that. I want you to know and trust how much I love you.”
She tilted her head and gazed up at him with a smile. “Taylor, I love you... I think I’ve loved you since the cabin. I know that sounds crazy, but I fell that fast. When I thought you didn’t feel that way, it almost tore me apart, but I trust you. I believe you.”
“Good,” he said, smoothing her hair and holding her close, “because I have a crazy confession of my own.”
“What’s that?”
“I was thinking, since I have the space, and you have a studio here now... What if you moved in? It doesn’t have to be now, or even before the season is over... I just really like having you here?—”
“Yes! I would love that.”
“Really?”
“Of course! My lease is up in June.”
“And you want to move in here with me?”
She nodded, and his heart was fit to explode out.
He bent his head and kissed her, then glanced at his phone.
It was getting late.
“What time are we meeting your dad?”
“Lunch? We didn’t agree on a time. I’ll text him in the morning.”
He nodded, still nervous.
“It’s all okay. I promise,” she said, trying to soothe his worry.
“At least one of us is confident.”
“I am,” she said, turning out the light. “I’m also exhausted. Good night.” She reached up to kiss him one last time before turning over for sleep.
Snuggling in behind, he held her to his chest. She wasn’t kidding about being tired. Before he knew it, her breathing turned rhythmic, and she relaxed fully in his arms. He wanted her like this every night and to take care of her because he needed her sunshine. He wasn’t even aware of how much his life had been missing it, but he would do just about anything to make sure it stayed this way.
The next day, they were sitting in a booth, waiting for her dad.
“Are you okay?” she asked, reaching for his hand under the table.
As her fingers intertwined with his, it helped anchor him. It was needed because, as certain as she was that everything would be okay, he was nervous. Two things hung on the line, and they were two things he wouldn’t live without: hockey and Alice.
“I’m good,” he grunted.
She gave him an uncertain glance. “It’s really going to be okay. I swear, he was happy for us last night. And plus, it’s my dad, I know dads are supposed to be big and scary, but trust me, my dad is the family member to meet first. The rest are difficult.”
“Your brother is one of the team physicians, right?”
“Yes, and he’s not bad, either... Really, it’s just my mom and my sister you have to look out for. My dad is amazing. My brother doesn’t give a fuck, but my sister and my mom... seem to give too many fucks.”
Taylor cocked his head. “I’m not sure I’m following. Isn’t caring about you a good thing?”
“No... caring about me is fine. My dad cares about me... My mom and my sister care by thinking they know what is best for me.”
That made sense to him.
“Alice, Taylor,” a voice called from behind him, sending a bloom of nerves up his spine.
He stepped out of the booth and turned to see Coach standing there with a stern expression.
“Coach,” Taylor said with a nod.
“Hi, Daddy,” Alice said as she slipped out of the booth and gave him a hug.
The stern expression evaporated as he hugged his daughter.
“Let’s eat, shall we?” he said, sliding into the booth opposite them. “So, Taylor, I understand you’ve been seeing my sweet Alice.” He looked at him over his glasses, like how he would at players when he would let them have it.
“Yes, sir.”
“And you’re treating her well?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Daddy,” Alice said in an admonishing tone.
A smile stretched across Coach Wagner’s face, and Taylor glanced between the two in confusion.
“I’m just giving you a hard time, son. I’m happy for you guys as long as you treat Alice well. And I know you enough to know she’s in good hands,” he said, offering a kind smile to his daughter. “Now, should we eat? I’m starving.” He picked up his menu.
Taylor did the same, picking up the menu and perusing it for something close to his nutrition plan.
“Daddy,” a voice said next to him who wasn’t Alice.
In fact, she had gone rigid next to him.
“Isabelle, what are you doing here?” he asked, looking up at her seemingly as surprised as they were.
“Scoot over,” she said, gently nudging her father’s shoulder.
“I didn’t know you would be here,” he said, glancing between Alice and Isabelle.
“After I talked to you last night, I decided since I was still in town, I might surprise you. So... surprise!” she said, smiling at Alice.
“Surprise,” Alice said in a voice Taylor didn’t like one bit.
When he rested his hand on her knee under the table, Alice relaxed and scooted closer to him. That gesture settled him, and he may not have known exactly what was going on, but Alice trusted him to have her back. He wouldn’t let her down.
“Hi, I’m Isabelle,” she said, reaching her hand to Taylor.
Taylor inspected it before shaking it. “Taylor.”
“Nice to meet you.”
During their awkward introduction, the server had come back to the table.
“Are you guys ready to order?”
“You guys order first. I’ll be ready by the time you get to me,” said Isabelle, picking up a menu.
The fake smile plastered across Alice’s face had Taylor on high alert.
He hadn’t quite figured out what was happening and how to best respond, but he would follow her lead.
There have been moments in his life he wished he was better at picking up on the subtlety of social cues, and this was definitely one of those moments. Even though he had no idea how, he wanted to help Alice navigate this minefield. To help her navigate it, he needed to understand where the bombs were and what kind of damage they could do, but he was flying blind.
Hoping it would help, he rested his hand back on her thigh.
After the waitress had left, Isabelle turned to Alice. “I was wondering. What ever happened with the job you had a Christmas? I don’t think you ever told me the whole story.”
She gave Alice a look Taylor couldn’t read.
“Ummmm... I actually left the job before Christmas,” Alice said.
By the look on Isabelle and Coach’s face, this was new information to them.
Isabelle pulled back in surprise. “Why didn’t you come to the city, then?”
“Well, I just needed some space.”
“So, you didn’t have a work thing?”
Alice gave her head a small shake. “I didn’t. I took the time to relax at the cabin.”
“By yourself?” Isabelle asked.
Alice and Taylor glanced at each other.
“But I thought you were at the cabin over Christmas?” said Coach Wagner.
Taylor opened his mouth but then shut it again. Fuck if he knew what to say.
“Yeah, I was surprised when he came. Then he got snowed in... and, well,” Alice said with a shrug.
“Hmmm,” Coach hummed as a small smile crossed his face. “It’s making a little more sense.”
Alice glanced up at Taylor with her big, beautiful eyes, and her soft lips pulled in a wide smile, and he beamed right back at her.
“So, you guys are like together now?” Isabelle asked in a tone laced in disbelief.
“Yes,” Taylor blurted.
Alice laced her fingers with his as his hand rested on her thigh and gave it a squeeze.
“Daddy?” Isabelle looked to him like he had a problem to solve.
“What is it, Isabelle?” he asked with more gruffness than Taylor had expected.
She gave her head a slight shake in exasperation, making her perfect ponytail wave behind her. “What do you have to say about this?”
“I say they’re two consenting adults who are entering a relationship, and I have no say in it. But with that being said, if he makes your sister happy, that’s all I care about,” he said with finality.
Isabelle huffed at him and Taylor’s blood pressure rose. Emotional dysregulation threatening to settle in. He took a deep breath and tried to stay calm.
“Well, I’m just going to say it because I worry about you, Alice.” She said it like she was talking to a child. Taylor didn’t care for it one bit. “I know that you sometimes spin up these fairy tale stories in your mind, and I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Alice’s lips parted as all the breath seemed to leave her body, and she deflated next to him. Fuck no, he would not stand for that.
“I can assure you, what is going on between me and Alice is very real,” Taylor said softly, giving her hand a squeeze under the table.
Isabelle’s eyes cut to him. “For now, but what happens when it’s not. I just don’t want to see her get hurt again. She just got a new job, and she needs to focus on that.”
“Are you insinuating I’m not serious about her?” Taylor asked his blood pressure rising even higher.
Isabelle held up her hands as her perfect ponytail swung behind her as she took in Alice and Taylor. “No, I’m just saying that Alice doesn’t have a track record of sticking things out, and maybe she should work on herself first before she brings someone else into the picture.”
Alice gaped at her sister.
“Isabelle, that’s enough,” Coach warned.
“I can’t believe you’re okay with this. You know how badly this could go. He’s one of your players. If you’re going to get the cup this year, you need all your players focused.”
“Isabelle. Enough.”
Taylor exhaled a long breath. His heartbeat was pounding in his head. Did she really think Alice was anything besides magic for his game? Magic for his whole life for that matter? He opened his mouth to say just that but stopped.
“Why are you doing this?” Alice asked quietly.
“Because I care about you,” her sister said with genuine concern.
“How can you say that when you don’t even know me?” Alice said calmly.
Her voice held a quiet confidence, even though the death grip she had on his hand told him that confidence might be shaky.
“Alice,” she said, tilting her head in disbelief. “How can you say I don’t know you? We’ve been sisters since we were seven.”
“I know, and even still, you and mom seem to know who you want me to be, and not who I actually am.”
Isabelle’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“I’m not like you guys. I’ve tried, but I’m just different. The things you want are not the things I want... and I’m beginning to think the way my brain works is not the way your brain works.”
Alice’s voice was quiet, but it was steady.
A small crease appeared on Coach’s brow.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Isabelle huffed.
“I don’t know... I just feel like things are harder for me. I try. I try so fucking hard, but I just can’t seem to get my act together?—”
Taylor shot a look at her and set his mouth to defend her, but she squeezed his hand.
She had this.
“I think I need to allow myself to be who I am because I’ve been trying to be who everyone seems to think I should be. All that has done is left me with no sense of who I am, only a sense of how much I suck at everything.”
“Alice. You don’t suck at everything,” she said softly.
“I know, but I’ve felt like that for a long time. Taylor helped me to see that maybe I’m not the problem. Maybe I can’t meet the expectations you put on me, but that’s not my fault. I’m trying to be kinder to myself, and I would love it if you could join me in that. But I’m making some changes in my life, whether you support them or not.”
Isabelle tilted her head, seeming to look at Alice in a new light, while Coach sat silent, eyes wide, taking in Alice.
She was magnificent.
“I’ve been talking to Taylor’s mom. She’s an author, and she hired me for some character art, and lots of her author friends are always looking for artists. I’ve also been working with Sasha on a series of drawings with the players. The organization might buy them from me for social media.”
“Really?” Taylor asked.
This was new information to him, but he was so happy.
She looked up at him and nodded. He gave her hand another squeeze under the table as she continued.
“I know I’ve tried to use my art as income in the past, but I was still trying to do it the way you and mom thought I should. I’m not going to be good with that mentality of push and generate and sell. I need to do this my own way. And if my own way includes getting someone to deal with the business part of it, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll figure it out. I’m going to work at my own pace at the things that fill me up and make me feel like myself.”
“I only ever wanted to help,” said Isabelle, defeated.
“I know... but it wasn’t helping. I need to do this. I need to figure out how I work and who I am. I can’t figure those things out if I’m always trying to be something I’m not.”
The waitress brought their food, and everyone sat in stunned silence.
“Can we get a to-go container?” asked Coach.
Alice deflated next to him. Heat surged through him.
Was Coach really about to walk away from this conversation?
“Isabelle, I think you need to leave. I came here today to enjoy my time with Taylor and Alice, not put her on trial.”
“Dad . . . I was just trying to help.”
“You’re not helping, and it sounds like you haven’t been helping for quite some time,” he said firmly, looking at her over his glasses.
Her mouth snapped shut, and she looked around the table.
“Alice, I’m sorry. You’re right. I haven’t been as accepting as I could have been. While my intentions were good, it is possible they were misguided.”
“It’s okay,” Alice said quietly.
“I’m going to go. Sorry I interrupted your lunch,” she said, packing up her food. “I really am sorry, Alice. Can we talk soon?”
Alice nodded as Isabelle stood.
Isabelle just looked at Alice for a moment before reaching over and giving her shoulder a squeeze. Her ponytail swung once more as she turned to leave. The three of them sat at the table and the silence hung over them.
“I’m sorry, too. I should’ve known what was happening,” Coach Wagner said softly.
“It’s fine, Dad. If you’ll excuse me. I need to use the restroom.”
She let go of Taylor’s hand and moved to slide out of the booth. He grabbed her hand back and looked at her, searching her eyes for whatever emotion she was feeling.
“I’m okay,” she said softly and cupped his face and stood and walked to the bathroom.
Taylor sank back into the booth across from Coach, who seemed to be lost in the pasta before him. After a long pause, he looked up at him.
“Thank you,” Coach said so quietly he could barely hear him over the hum of the restaurant.
“For what?” Taylor asked.
“For seeing her when I couldn’t.” Coach cleared his throat, and Taylor wouldn’t mention the glassy quality of his eyes.
“She’s a remarkable woman,” Taylor said, trying to convey his honesty.
Coach nodded. “Yeah, she is. She gets hurt easily. Take care of her.”
Their eyes met over the table, both recognizing the importance of this moment.
“Always.”
He would always take care of Alice. He needed her sunshine just as much as she needed his steadiness.
“And if she’s any part of the way you played last night, she might just be our secret weapon for playoffs, not a hindrance like her sister hinted.”
Taylor laughed. “Yeah, she’s pretty good for my game.”
Alice slid back in the booth next to him, and the tension slipped away.
“What are these drawings about the team and the mascot?”
“Oh, I’ve been doing them when I’m in the press box and have downtime,” Alice said.
Taylor pulled them up on his phone, since a lot of her artwork was saved on his phone. He handed the phone over to Coach as he scrolled through the images.
“Are these done on the computer?”
“Well, a tablet, but they are digital.”
“These are wonderful! Where’s the one of Coach with Mr. Wizard?”
A genuine smile spread across Alice’s face as she laughed at her father, and Taylor felt the remaining tension fall away.
“That’ll be my next one.”
“It better be,” Coach answered as she handed Taylor back his phone. “Those are incredible. I’ll support you in any way I can.” He reached across the table and took her hand.
“Thanks,” she said as he squeezed her hand.
They finished their meal and enjoyed their conversation. Before they left, her dad gave her a big hug. They both came away glassy eyed.
“I’ll talk to your mother,” he said as he let go of her.
“Thanks, I’ll talk to her, but I might need a couple days,” she said with a rough chuckle.
Taylor took hold of her hand as they all made their way out of the cafe. He unlocked his car, followed her to her side of the car, and opened her door. “I’m proud of you.” He pulled her into a hug.
She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him. “Thank you.”
“I adore you,” Taylor said because it seemed to be the only thing he could think of to say.
A warm smile spread across her face. “Not as much as I adore you,” she answered back.
“Well, we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that,” he said before kissing her forehead and helping her into her car.
Once they were back at the condo, they were walking onto the elevator when a voice called, “Hold the elevator.”
Wes and Kate came into the elevator with them.
“Are we still pretending this is nothing?” Wes asked with a cocky grin.
“No, this is definitely something,” she said, snaking her arms around his waist.
And that was it. One small gesture claiming him in public, and everything was right with the world.
She was his, and everyone could know.
He kissed the top of her head and decided not to be bothered by Wes’s shit-eating grin.
Alice Wagner was his sunshine, and that’s all he needed.
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