Railroad Tracks (Taylor&Calvin)

2. One Long Day

"Okay, so let me get this straight! You mean to tell me that you met a Scottish underwear model yelling at a train?" Abigail asks again, still incredulous at the idea.

    "I mean, yeah, I guess!"

    "You guess??"

    "I know, I know," I concede. "Look, here's a picture of him." I show her.

    Abigail grins deviously at the picture. "Ooh, girl, he is hot! You gotta jump on that!" She says, a bit too loudly for an extremely public restaurant.

    "Abigail!" I chastise.

    "What?? Oh, fine. So did you get his number?"

    I feel my cheeks redden. "Well, yeah."

    "Who asked for who's number?"

    "He just... I don't know, he just gave me his. There wasn't really any asking involved."

    "Oh you are SO in! So have you texted him yet?"

    "No. I figured I'd have gotten yelled at by you if I had."

    "Good, good. You know what that means? Flirting time! Everything has to be timed PERFECTLY."

    "Isn't this exactly what I've stood against my entire life? Game-playing?"

    "Yeah, but guys love the game. They'll play it. And I can tell you love the player!"

    "Maybe.. Oh, alright. Let's do it. I'm looking forward to this," I admit. "So, what do I do next?"

    "Wait until tomorrow after lunch to text him."

    "Tomorrow??" I ask, shocked. "Why after lunch?"

    "Because, then, if he wants to make plans, and soon, it has to be dinner, which is totally a date! If he says coffee in the morning, it's a casual thing, but can still be totally flirty!" Abigail explains knowingly, her ginger curls bobbing excitedly.

    "This seems like a lot of work.."

    "Oh, Taylor," Abigail sighs. "You have so much to learn!"

    Olivia's pathetic little mew wakes me, her hunger obvious. "Ugh, Dibbles!" I groan. The sun hasn't even risen yet!
    I drag myself out of the warm, comfortable covers that I miss more and more by the second and into the kitchen. Yawning, I scoop out a can of wet cat food. "This crap smells disgusting," I comment. "I don't know for the life of me how it could be appealing to you." Meredith shoots me a crabby look, most likely mirroring my own makeup free, tired face. "Well, it's true." I set the bowl down and let the cats fight over who gets which side of the bowl and busy myself with making coffee.

    "Hmm.. Hazelnut or breakfast blend?" I ask myself, grabbing a mug and setting it in the Keurig. I decide on Hazelnut and put the KCup in, letting the coffee machine do its caffeinated magic. As it brews, I grab cream from the fridge and sugar. Finally, it finishes, so I stir in my add-ins and drink it.

    The cats are a sight to see, wolfing down the nasty food. Olivia looks up at me, smiling that distinct kitty smile. "There's food stuck to your whiskers, dork!" I point out, but the meerkat takes no notice.

    I look out the window and smile. The sun is just beginning to rise, and warm colors streak through the sky. I take a deep, relaxing breath. The coffee cup is warm in my hands. Maybe being up this early wasn't such a bad thing, I concede.

    From my bedroom, I hear my phone vibrate, probably Abi checking to make sure I've followed the list of rules she's put in place for my texting Calvin. Sure enough, when I reach my phone, there's a text that says "you haven't texted him, right, bitch?" I laugh, typing back "no, but I think I'm ready for lunch!" No sooner have I sent it when she replies "if you text him earlier than 1pm..."

    I sigh. It's going to be a long morning.

    Finally, lunch is over, it's the afternoon, and I know I can safely test Calvin without Abigail cutting me. I grab my purse, looking inside for the scrap of paper he had scrawled his number on. A small knot of panic settles in my stomach as I realize its not in there.

    I dial Phil's number and he picks up quickly. "Hey, Phil, I know I said I was just hanging out at home today, but could you do me a favour and look inside a The Beast for that phone number I got yesterday?"

    "I took it to get cleaned yesterday, remember?" Phil says about the car we fondly call The Beast because of its over the top, slightly monstrous safety features.

    "Shit," I swear. "Thanks anyways.. Hopefully nobody calls the number and figures out he's kind of famous. Ugh. Sorry to bother you!"

    "No worries Taylor. And hey, off-the-record, as a friend instead of a bodyguard, I bet one of your friends has his number."

    I agree and thank him again, ending the call. Suddenly it hits me: Karlie. Surely she would have the number! I mean, she's an Angel, or she was. If not her, maybe Ellie? Gah! I thought this morning was long.

Two Days Later

    Karlie and I finish our warm up and move around the gym, deciding to lift some weights first. I pick up a 15 pound dumbbell, then settle for 20. "So I'm guessing there's something you have to ask me?" Karlie addresses.

    "You sure don't beat around the bush," I say through heavy breath as I finish a few bicep curls.

    "You just have that Taylor look of thought today," she comments.

    I laugh and nod, setting the dumbbell down. "Well, the other day I met this guy, Calvin Harris?"

    "Oh yeah, I know him," Karlie smiles, a knowing look on her face.

    "Really? Good." Karlie is still doing some other arm workouts with the weights, so I sit down and do some Russian twists. "The thing is, he gave me his number, right?"

    "I know it's gotta be a good story when you finish every sentence with a question!"

    "Oh, shut up!" I tease. "Well, long story short, I waited a day to text him, and I lost his number."

    "You waited an entire day to text a cute guy?" Karlie asks, surprise obvious in her voice.

    "It may have been per Abigail's instruction," I admit with an embarrassed laugh. "Ugh, can we just go do the bikes for a while? Maybe some yoga? My abs look fine!"

    "I see. In ten minutes! Your abs won't stay that way if you don't exercise like that 6 times a week!"

    "Fine," I groan.

    "Back to the cutie," Karlie says. "You were going to ask me something?"

    "Right. Well, see, you know... I do want to text him. Do you have his number, by any chance?"

    Karlie grins. "Why, it just so happens, I do."

    Suddenly, I'm grinning too, and the Russian twists seem that much easier.

Author's Note: 90 reads in one day? I'll take that!! :) thanks for the feedback. This chapter is 400 words longer. Guess you'll have to wait for Tayvin to really meet up ;) anyways, comment, vote, and share! I updated this 10 reads early, but I'm not updating again until 200 total reads on the whole story (100 on this chapter) okay, love you guys! XX Emma