Page 44 of Tailored for Them

“Not bad, huh?” Taylor smirked, tugging me to sit on the ground. We sat with our backs against the brick wall of a bakery, sweets perfumed the air, mixing with the salt of the ocean in front of us.

“What a view,” I smiled at them with my words, loving how they leaned their body against mine as much as possible. We leaned into each other’s warmth against the cool ocean breeze.

I pulled out one of the daisies from the bouquets we just bought and started fidgeting with it in my fingers as I broke the silence we had settled into.

“So…” I focused on the daisy in my hand while a nervous smile tugged at my lips, “This is what it’s like to go on a date with Taylor Desmond.”

Taylor laughed, rubbing a hand over their face once before they turned to give me a hooded look with their eyes, “This is what it’s like to go on a date with Nicole Young.”

I snickered.

“…I pegged you for a chill date kind of gal,” Taylor added.

I raised my eyebrows at that, “You’re not wrong, but what gave you that idea?”

Taylor smirked at me before responding, “Remember Jacqueline’s dance at rugby?”

I nodded. It was a grand gesture of sorts, from my understanding. I was mostly excited to call the group of women at work my friends. I was just happy to be invited to watch the whole thing.

“You were secondhand embarrassed the entire time,” Taylor snickered.

I widened my eyes at them, “How could you tell?”

They gave me a disbelieving look before shaking their head, “You have no poker face, babe. It was obvious you appreciated how sweet it was, but as I watched you watch Jacqueline shake her ass for Leo in front of our team, you looked like you wanted to crawl into a hole.”

I barked out a laugh because they were completely right.

“So, that translates to me liking laid-back dates?” I asked.

“I translated that to mean, though you like gestures, you don’t like big showy ones. It would make sense that you felt the same about first dates. Nothing crazy, nothing exotic. Just… connection. Intimacy.” Taylor lifted a shoulder.

I stared at them, shocked that they thought about a singular moment for so long, so accurately, that they could get a read on me from it.

“What kind of dates do you like, then?” I asked, snuggling against them. I rested my head on their shoulder, and they plucked the daisy from my hand to tuck it behind my ear.

“I like being active.” Taylor smiled against me, pressing their forehead against mine, “Going on hikes, playing pickleball, strolling Laguna Beach with a handful of flowers.” I lifted my head to look at them more directly.

“Do you want to keep moving? There’s a ton of new shops here, we could—”

Taylor stopped me with a kiss, a quick peck, just enough to get me to stop talking.

“I like this,” they whispered, resting their forehead against mine. They slipped one of their legs under both of mine, somehow bringing us even closer. “I like walking around, and I like having this quiet moment, too.” They plucked a daisy from one of the bouquets, tucking it behind their own ear. We now had matching daisies, “I like hearing your soft laugh. I like watching your smile pull against your cheeks, revealing your cute little smile lines.” I tried to fight it, but I blushed and smiled widely at that, tilting my head down against theirs, “I like getting you to open up to me more, even though your last relationship didn’t end well.”

I bit my lip, looking up at them under my lashes. They were a little blurry this close to my face, but I felt safe with them. Hidden behind a building, the noise of the waves protected our conversation from anyone who might discover us back here.

“I’m…scared of this. Us.” I admitted.

Taylor licked their lips in thought.

“Because of your ex?”

I lifted a shoulder, “Because we have mutual friends.”

They leaned back a little bit, not out of shock, but curiosity. They waited silently for me to elaborate.

So, I did.

“You and I get along so, so well.” I whispered, “Our chemistry is obviously there.” I released a small laugh, but Taylor only smiled, waiting for me to continue. Not bouncing on theopportunity to change the subject to something sexual and flirty. “You’re so different from me, and yet, I…” I inhaled a breath for bravery, “I feel like we just…fit.”

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