Taylor scowled at me as he grabbed the other shirt he had chosen and pulled it over his head. He proceeded to lean against the counter, the scowl still covering his face, with his arms crossed. I tried not to laugh at him. In his hostility, he looked like either a shrimpy bodyguard or a policeman who is interrogating a convict.
"Come on, Taylor," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Really, it isn't that big of a deal. Now if I had sent you into a photo shoot or a concert like that, then it would have been a big deal."
Taylor just blinked. I slinked over to him and placed my hands my hands on his chest. As I slid them up and around his shoulders to the back of his neck, Taylor's face slowly lost the unfriendly frown that had adorned his face.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, putting on my innocent face and fluttering my eyelashes.
"It's okay," Taylor whispered back.
We leaned into each other and our lips met. Just as we were getting into the kiss, the bathroom door flew open and in comes Jessie.
"I just can't take it!" she cried. "You two are way too horny! You're getting to be worse than Ike, Tay." Jessie threw her thumb in the direction of the dressing room, nodding her head in that direction, too. "Out. Get out."
"Jessica, go away," Taylor growled. He tapped my head back so it was facing his and began kissing me again.
"No!" Jessica ranted. "I am surrounded by horny teenagers! This is grumpselwumpslegofuhme!" Somebody had covered Jessica's mouth and pulled her out of the bathroom, closing the door. Taylor and I pulled away from each other and blinked.
"What was that about?" I asked.
"Oh I don't know. Anyway…" We began kissing again and Taylor turned me around and propped me up on the counter.
I looked out the window at the shining sun and big fluffy clouds. It was a day that was like no other. The birds were singing, the sky was blue, nobody was fighting, and most of all, I was alone. Everybody had gone out to eat, including Corrine. My parents had decreed that we were not allowed to be on the bus alone together, and nobody would stay with us. Corrine was extremely restless and wanted to get out of the bus, and all I wanted was to have a moment in peace. So, for the first time the whole tour, Corrine and I were apart.
Part of me was a little happy. She could be very high maintenance. Our relationship was beginning to pick up speed, and I was starting to get scared. I didn't realize that telling her I loved her would make her so…clingy, and me so scared. Maybe I was afraid of commitment. Maybe I was afraid to love and be loved. But I was beginning to get scared. And I was the one who had started it.
It had started at the concert at the Wiltern Theatre in L.A. when I had "proclaimed my undying love for her", as Zac would put it. All of a sudden she wanted more physical contact- more kissing, more hugging, more snuggling. And she wanted more communication, too. Corrine wanted long, deep discussions. She wanted all of me and I just wasn't ready to give her everything. Don't get me wrong- I was fine with everything she wanted. But she wanted much, much more than I had to give. And that scared me.
I got up from the couch in the back of the bus and put on my hat and sunglasses. No one would recognize me, as we were in a fairly private parking lot, and I could go for a walk without being bothered. The family wouldn't be back for at least another hour so I didn't have to write a note.
Stepping out into the warm summer air, I inhaled deeply. Ah, the fresh scent of summer. Nothing compares to the smell of summer. Even though I had no idea where I was, I loved this weather, and instantly decided that this was where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Screw Tulsa. It doesn't get like this there.
I started on my stroll, just enjoying my aloneness and the quiet, when a girl about my age fell into step with me. She had straight, long brown hair, about down to her mid back, and a pretty face. She was wearing a green halter-top and short jean shorts. In other words, she was hot.
"Hello," she smiled at me quietly.
"Hey, how are you?" I smiled back.
"Pretty good. I'm Cassandra, by the way."
"Oh, hey, I'm Taylor. Nice to meet you."
"You too."
We smiled and each other and continued walking.
"So are you from around here?" she asked.
"Nope. I'm from Oklahoma."
"Oh that's cool. Are you visiting relatives or something?"
"No." I was definitely NOT going to tell her why I was here.
"Oh," she frowned a little.
"It really is a pretty day," I sighed.
"Yeah."
"Is it always like this?"
"Yup."
"Huh. Wow."
Cassandra laughed. She had a cute laugh, and I looked at her closely. She looked and sounded very familiar, but I couldn't place it.
"How long have you lived here?" I asked. Maybe she had lived in Tulsa.
"My whole life!" she exclaimed, laughing. "No changes for me!"
I chuckled and sighed. "Yeah… So what kind of music do you like?"
"Pretty much everything."
"Same here. Right now I'm on a Lenny Kravitz kick. His new album is awesome."
"No way! Me too!" she exclaimed, hitting my shoulder in disbelief.
I laughed. "What's your favorite song by him?"
"Ooo, that's a tough one. Probably 'It Ain't Over Till It's Over' or 'Mr. Cab Driver'. Oh my god, I played that for my mom and when he cursed she just about had a heart attack!"
We laughed together and I nodded. "Yeah. His version of 'American Woman' was pretty good, but I don't know. The Who's version obviously was better."
"Yeah. I don't think anyone has been able to cover a song a make it up to par with the original. The only band who can that I know of is Hanson."
My ears perked at the mention of my own band. Right now I could go either way: tell her who I was or not.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. They're my favorite."
I decided to tell her. I didn't want to tell lies. "Thanks."
"What?" she frowned.
I pulled off my glasses and hat and stopped, looking at her. "You don't recognize me?"
She gasped. "You're Taylor Hanson, aren't you?"
"Yeah," I laughed.
"Wow, that's awesome!" she laughed again. "That's really cool, I've met Taylor Hanson."
We kept walking and talking about everything we could think of. She was great, and I found myself wishing that I could kiss her. Taylor. Remember Corrine, I reminded myself, shocked at my behavior. By the time we had stopped walking, I looked at my watch. It was two hours later.
"Holy crap!" I exclaimed. "I was supposed to be back at the park an hour ago!"
Cassandra raised her eyebrows. "Do you need to call someone? I have a cell phone." She pulled a little phone out of her purse and held it out.
"Sure, thanks a lot!" I dialed Zac's cell phone number and waited until he picked it up.
"If you are a telemarketer, hang up. If you are a crazed obsessed fan, hang up. If you are-"
"Zac! It's me."
"Taylor! Where the hell have you- sorry, Mom- been? We've been going nuts!"
"I just went for a walk and lost track of time. Calm down."
"Taylor we have the police out looking for you. None of us can 'calm down'."
"Stop sounding like Mom," I rolled my eyes.
"Shut up. Where are you? Dad's coming to get you. Where are you?"
"Where are we?" I whispered to Cassandra.
"The corner of 9th and Mason. It's on the edge of town."
"Did you hear that?" I asked Zac.
"Yeah. Who is that?"
"This girl I met. She's really nice. But…" I trailed off, looking at the ground.
"But what?" Zac asked. Cassandra looked slightly hurt at me saying 'but'. I was going to tell Zac not to tell Corrine. But then Zac would wonder and tell Serena who would tell Corrine. And then I would be screwed.
"Oh nothing. Just come pick me up."
"Okaayy," Zac sung. "Bye."
"Bye." I hung up and handed the phone back to Cassandra. "Thank you so much," I smiled.
"So why did you say but?"
"Oh I don't know. I say weird things all the time," I laughed uneasily.
We stared at each other for a second. It wasn't until her lips were actually on mine that I realized what was happening. But you're Taylor Hanson, my brain told me. Anyway, Corrine won't ever find out. Enjoy it while it lasts.
So, I didn't pull away. So, I cheated on Corrine. She wouldn't ever find out.
Cassandra and I pulled away from each other and smiled. She grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug. "You're great, Taylor Hanson."
"Thanks. So are you."
We pulled away and in the back of my head, in the back of my heart, and in the depths of my soul, I felt awful. I had just committed a horrible sin.