Page 100 of Taylor

“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.

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