Chapter Text
“Good morning, Taylor” Karlie said cheerfully as she walked into the bedroom, balancing a breakfast tray.
She put the tray down on her side of the bed and smiled when she saw that Taylor had hogged the blanket completely on her own side. It was a quite familiar scene. One that she knew she could see every morning if she wanted to.
“Taylor” she repeated and nudged the singer’s shoulder to wake her up.
“I got cinnamon rolls from the bakery.”
That did the trick, and Taylor turned around.
“Oh, good morning” she said sleepily.
“You’re already up.”
“It’s 9 am, Taylor” Karlie giggled. “And it’s our last day here. I want to go for a little hike before we have to spend all our afternoon in the car.”
“Okay, okay, I’m up” Taylor mumbled and sat up.
“The coffee smells amazing.”
Karlie leaned over for a good morning kiss, and Taylor happily provided it.
She scooted over a little, making room for Karlie. The taller girl sat down on the bed next to her and laughed as Taylor pulled the blanket back around her body.
“I’m cold okay” the singer mumbled and pouted.
“See, that’s why a hike is perfect to warm you up today” Karlie said and cuddled close to Taylor as best as she could without spilling her coffee.
They ate in silence for a while. The only sounds were the slight breeze going through the leaves outside and that of a bird hopping up and down on the roof. The wooden cabin was a few hundred yards away from the others, allowing privacy. It stood between tall trees and next to a bed of bright blue and purple blooming autumn daisies.
The couple had been enjoying their time away from the rest of the world, like other anniversaries spent here. Over the past four years, Big Sur had come to take on an important meaning between the two of them.
“Man, these cinnamon rolls are so good” Taylor said with her mouth full. “Why didn’t you get them for the last three days?”
Karlie grinned sheepishly. The best part of waking up first on holidays was getting to decide on the breakfast.
“Just wanted a special treat for our last day.”
Taylor simply hummed in response.
Karlie wanted to add something but decided against it. The morning was too peaceful for her to whine about having to go back to NYC alone and go back to her job and apartment. She took another bite of her cinnamon roll. Her negative thoughts didn’t belong here. She would have plenty of room for them in the next days.
They finished their breakfast. While Karlie was waiting for Taylor to get ready, she packed her bag, washed the dishes and prepared a little snack for their hike.
“We need to check out by 11, better put our bags and the rest of the groceries into the car now” she said to Taylor who was entering the kitchen.
“God, you’re beautiful” Karlie blurted out when she finally turned around to look at Taylor.
Taylor’s hair was still damp from the shower and her natural curls were showing. She wasn’t wearing any make-up except for a little bit of mascara.
They locked eyes and blushed. They still had that effect on each other. Karlie didn’t know what to do with herself for a moment. The next moment, she couldn’t help but take a step towards Taylor and embrace her in a hug. She smelled sweet of shampoo. Taylor hugged her back just as tightly.
They separated after a while, and Karlie smiled sweetly at Taylor, her eyes roaming over her face, taking in her features. Taylor, on the other hand, had other plans in mind. She took Karlie’s face in her hands, holding it in place, and started kissing her hard. Karlie stumbled backwards in surprise, but caught herself quickly, holding on to Taylor’s waist. The sudden movement brought them closer together, causing Taylor to sigh at the contact. Karlie kissed her back just as urgently.
After a while they broke apart to breathe. Karlie took the opportunity to gently pull down Taylor’s shirt at her collarbone to examine the mark she had left there the night before. She smirked when she saw it was a dark blue, causing Taylor to blush again.
“Shut up” Taylor mumbled and shoved Karlie’s hand away playfully. They leaned in again, and Karlie let herself get lost in the kiss.
The past few days with Taylor had been perfect. They had gone hiking, taken long walks on the beautiful beach, and eaten good food. Every second spent together was worth more than either of them was able to put in words. Especially because after today, they wouldn’t see each other for at least two weeks. Karlie pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind again and instead pulled Taylor in even closer.
After a while, Taylor broke the kiss again and trailed her thumb along Karlie’s jawline.
“Alright, let’s pack up and go” she said quietly, then gave Karlie another quick peck on the lips and let go of her. Karlie stood there for a second longer, mourning the loss of contact.
They finished packing up and carried their bags towards the car. After Taylor had dropped off the keys at the reception and thanked the staff, they took off for the last hike of their stay.
Both were wearing comfortable clothes and a small backpack. The hiking trail started behind the last cabin on the campground.
“Let’s go to the waterfall?” Karlie suggested when the campground was out of sight.
There had not been many people on the campground to begin with at this time of the year, and now they were completely alone, with only the birds chirping in the trees.
“Yeah, sure” Taylor agreed.
“The one look-out is close by too, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I think so. Let’s check the map later. You brought it, right?” Karlie replied and laughed.
“Yeah, I think I did.”
Taylor seemed to try to remember something, then suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Karlie asked concerned, almost bumping into her.
“I forgot the extra film for my polaroid camera in the car.”
“You brought your polaroid camera on a hike?”
“Come on, it’s not like we’re going rock-climbing” Taylor replied drily.
Karlie simply nodded in agreement, knowing better than to argue about the impracticability of bringing the item along when they might as well use their phone cameras.
Taylor kept walking, mumbling something to herself. Karlie simply followed her, not knowing what else to do or say. Taylor stopped again at a park bench some hundred yards further down the trail. She sat down and opened her backpack.
“What, snack time already?” Karlie teased.
“No, dummy. I’m getting the film for the polaroid camera.”
“I thought you left it in the car.”
Taylor in turn looked at Karlie and rolled her eyes.
“I’m a conjurer, remember?”
“Oh!” Karlie said in understanding, leaning her head back. She sat down next to Taylor.
“Yeah, ok, good idea. Do you need me to look the other way again?” she kept teasing.
Taylor raised her chin. “No, I’m good. I’ve been practicing.”
“Alright! Let’s see what you got!”
Taylor put the Polaroid camera next to herself on the bench. She then put her hands into her lap, palms facing upwards. She intently stared at them for a few moments and mumbled something.
Karlie watched her, an amused expression on her face. She had seen Taylor’s attempts at conjuring up items go wrong many times. She remembered half empty packages of almond milk and baking soda, and most recently – and her personal favorite – a pair of glasses instead of a drinking glass Taylor had wanted to replace. She had been in a hurry, before her mum would notice she had dropped and broken one. But she was practicing, Taylor always assured her. It had become an inside joke between their families. Karlie’s younger twin sisters, who were more well-trained in their conjuring skills than Taylor, were always teasing the singer, too.
Karlie was pulled out of her thoughts when Taylor let out a squeal.
“Look Karlie, it worked!”
She quickly opened the small package. Her eyes started shining. “It’s ten sheets too, not half-empty!”
“That’s great!” Karlie said, genuinely excited for Taylor.
The singer turned the package around in her hands.
“Hmm, something is … oh! It’s not name-brand!” she said disappointed. “Oh well, this will do, too.”
“You did great!” Karlie said, wanting to reassure her.
“As long as it’s functional. Ten sheets of film should be enough, right?”
“Yeah” Taylor replied, smiling now.
“Do you have a headache?” Karlie asked. She knew that even using her skills a little always caused Taylor to feel unwell and used a lot of energy.
“No, it’s okay. That’s one thing that did get better with practice” Taylor said. “It did take a bit longer than usual though, the appearance of the thing, I mean” she added with furrowed brows.
Karlie stood up from the bench. “Maybe the bad reception here in the woods” she joked.
Taylor snort-laughed in response.
“Come one, let’s go!” the taller girl added and reached out her hand to pull Taylor up, too.
They kept walking. They listened to the birds and the sounds of the forest, only talking every once in a while.
After about an hour or so, they arrived at the small waterfall. At the end of the trail there was a lookout with a wooden picknick table. They found it occupied, with a family with two small children sitting there. They seemed to be packing up, however.
“Let’s wait here” Taylor suggested quietly, squeezing Karlie’s hand.
Karlie didn’t need further explanation to understand. Even in a remote place like this, people would always recognize Taylor. The singer appreciated her fans, but this vacation had been all about privacy and getting away from people.
Karlie squeezed Taylor’s hand in response and smiled at her. Taylor had become an increasingly private person during the year. Being in control of what the world could see and know about her had become more important than ever, and she was extremely protective of their relationship in particular. Karlie was grateful for it.
They let go of each other’s hands and non-chalantly walked the trail next to the river up and down. The family left after a few minutes. They walked by the couple without taking notice of Taylor’s presence. When they were gone, Taylor sighed a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay” Karlie whispered and took Taylor’s hand again.
Taylor simply hummed in response and let herself be led to the picknick table. They sat down on opposite sides and unpacked their snacks and water bottles. Taylor put on a long-sleeved shirt, finding the air chilly in the shadows. She then unpacked her polaroid camera and put in the newly conjured up film. Karlie flashed her wide signature smile when the camera was pointed at her. Taylor snapped a picture.
The camera whirred and spit out the photo, and Taylor gently shook it to dry. When she looked at it, an astonished “oh” escaped her lips. She looked from the picture to Karlie. The taller girl was still sitting there in a similar manner, staring intently at Taylor. She felt her pulse quicken.
“What is it?” Karlie asked and leaned forward.
“Nothing” Taylor murmured, not meeting Karlie’s eyes.
“You’re just beautiful.”
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the photo, in awe of the moment she had captured. Had she been looking up, she would have seen Karlie blush furiously – and for the second time that day.
“Thank you” Karlie mumbled, feeling shy. She turned her sandwich around in her hands, looking down on it as if it was an exotic culinary.
They both looked up at the same time and their eyes met. Taylor smiled softly, and Karlie smiled back at her. Taylor let herself drown in Karlie’s ocean blue eyes, never wanting to come up again. Karlie stopped fiddling around and sat completely still once more, not daring to move and ruin the moment.
Suddenly, Taylor blurted out “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Just like that, the moment was over. Karlie shifted her weight, not knowing how to reply. Great timing, Taylor internally scolded herself. Great way to ease into this conversation. Great.
She put the polaroid down on the wooden table and ran a hand through her hair. Great. An uncomfortable silence had cast itself over them. Somewhere in the forest Taylor could hear a woodpecker. She cleared her throat.
“Sorry, that came out weirdly”, she chuckled.
Karlie regained her composure and between being worried and finding Taylor’s awkwardness adorable, she asked “What’s wrong?”
She hoped the question had conveyed her concern and not made the situation more uncomfortable. Taylor’s eyes briefly scanned the photo in front of her, then she looked up at Karlie again.
She took a deep breath.
“I want to come out.”