CHAPTER TWO

SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020

Chapter Song: 'F*** Up the Friendship' by Leah Kate

"So, where are you guys going tonight?"

"Somewhere romantic?"

"Somewhere magical?"

"Somewhere where nobody knows you so you can pretend to be rich celebrities and get your meal for free?"

The other three turned to look at Cori in confusion.

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"We're going to Olive Garden." Kiera rolled her eyes, "Nothing fancy."

"Nothing fancy, but nothing not fancy." Steph nodded her approval, "Maybe he's planning something and you just don't know it."

"Planning what? We've been going on dates for like three weeks. It's not a big deal at all."

Steph shrugged.

"It could be a big deal. You wouldn't know if it was going to be a big deal; you would assume it was a regular date."

"Don't get her expectations up," Rose muttered in Stephanie's direction, stirring her pasta on the stove absentmindedly. "It could easily be a normal dinner date. Just, go and have fun Kiera."

"Thanks," Kiera replied. In her head, she knew she shouldn't be getting her hopes up about anything major happening, but if truth be told, it was the first thing that had crossed her mind when he asked her to go out to dinner. It seemed like a more serious date than any of their previous ones, and she had dressed the part: black fitted dress pants with a faded purple mock neck sweater and her favorite pair of black boots that had a slight heel to them. The heel was crucial to the outfit as a whole.

A knock sounded on the apartment door and Kiera bolted for it before any of her roommates could grab it first. She still hadn't introduced them to Taylor, and she didn't plan on introducing them until she was certain that something would come of it. Kiera's three best friends had met far too many boyfriends that didn't turn out to be anything important, and she didn't quite feel like repeating those offenses.

"Bye, guys," Kiera grinned slightly as she slipped out the door.

"Still not meeting the roommates?"

Kiera turned around to look at the tall boy whose deep brown eyes always seemed to penetrate her soul. Tonight was no exception.

"Not yet," she shook her head, smiling as they began walking down the stairs of the apartment building, "Maybe soon."

Olive Garden was relatively busy for a Sunday night, but the almost below-freezing temperatures seemed to have discouraged many from leaving the comfort of their homes for a dinner out. Taylor pulled out Kiera's chair for her as the two were seated at a small table in the corner of the restaurant, before sitting down across from her.

"So, how was your weekend?" Taylor asked, a bit louder than Kiera expected. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"It was good," Kiera laughed, "Are you alright? You seem kind of off."

Taylor nodded quickly.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine. Just excited about dinner, I'm starving." He looked over as a waitress started to head over to their table. "Just...really hungry."

Kiera wanted to ask another question, but refrained as the girl walked up to them.

"Hey guys, welcome to Olive Garden! I'm Kayla and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get ya'll started with something to drink?"

"Just a water for me, please." Kiera nodded.

"Same here." Taylor echoed. Kayla nodded and walked off as Kiera turned back to Taylor.

"You're sure that you're alright? Are you feeling sick?"

"No, I'm fine, I swear." Taylor replied, laughing a bit. "I just...I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Kiera nodded, her chest suddenly tightening and an immediate headache setting in. She had had the "we need to talk" conversation too many times before; solid proof that she had been right to not introduce him to her friends yet.

"Alright," she nodded, folding her arms as an unconscious defense against what he was about to say. "What's up?"

"Well, I...I didn't want to do it like this, but I also don't want to wait, so...and this feels so high school, but..." he stumbled over his words a bit and paused, looking up to meet Kiera's eyes, "Kiera, do you want to be exclusive? Like, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Kiera's arms uncrossed and she struggled to keep her mouth from falling open. They had been on less than ten dates in the past three weeks, and yet she had never wanted to date anyone more than she wanted to date Taylor Walker.

It definitely didn't have anything to do with the fact that she had been in love with him for over a year. Not at all.

Kiera felt like she was in some sort of movie; the kind where the dramatic protagonist felt the world spinning on its axis and everything started to glow and the entire universe seemed to come together in their favor. She was that dramatic protagonist. And it was an incredible feeling.

"Hello? Kiera?"

Kiera jolted out of her main character fantasies and looked at the man sitting across from her, realizing that she had most definitely been staring at him with a blank look on her face for at least a minute.

"What? Oh, yes! Of course. I would love that." She nodded, trying not to appear too enthusiastic and most likely failing miserably. "I would love that."

A smile the size of Texas swept across Taylor's face as the two laughed nervously and the waitress came back with their drinks.

"I guess it's finally time for you to meet the roommates," Kiera grinned. She felt her phone buzz and looked down to see a familiar sight: the unknown number with one photo attachment.

"Would you excuse me for one second? I just have to check this."

"Of course." Taylor nodded and Kiera stood to head for the bathroom.

She unlocked her phone once she was safely in a stall and looked at the picture, hoping that it would be one of her and Taylor. There had been a few of those over the past year: pictures of the two of them at different places, eating different foods, and enjoying themselves together.

But today's picture was just of Kiera's feet. It looked like she was looking down at them from a sitting position, but she recognized the shoes she was wearing as her own. That was all the picture was: Kiera's feet with her favorite sneakers and nothing around her except for the shadow of someone else sitting beside her.

A different picture than usual, but fine nonetheless.

()()()

"So...am I meeting them now?"

Kiera nodded, laughing a bit.

"I guess that would be fine."

The two walked up to the apartment door and Kiera unlocked it, walking in to see all three of her roommates and best friends sitting on their couch, face masks on and popcorn in hand, the glow of the TV making them look like aliens. All three looked up like deer caught in headlights when Kiera and Taylor walked in.

"Um...hi," Taylor mumbled as all four girls burst into fits of laughter, "I'm Taylor."

"Hi Taylor, I'm Cori. Cori van Syckle," Cori stood up first, obviously trying to control herself. "I'm Kiera's favorite."

"That's a lie," Steph stood up next to walk over closer to the couple, "I'm Stephanie Borrier, and I'm Kiera's favorite."

"Good grief," Rose remained seated on the couch, reaching for the remote and pausing the television, "I'm Kiera's favorite because I'm nicer than all of you. Rose Frenzick." She nodded in Taylor's direction, smiling slightly. "So did something happen that made us worthy of meeting?"

Taylor looked over at Kiera, his eyes big and excited. Kiera couldn't help but smile as she answered.

"Well, I believe I have a boyfriend now, so...yes."

She could tell that the other three wanted to squeal and jump up and down as if they were in middle school and not in their last semester of college, but they refrained in Taylor's presence.

"Awh, congratulations." Steph smiled, looking Taylor up and down while giving a very slight approving nod. "I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks," Taylor smiled, "So what are we watching?"

Three hours later, Kiera bid Taylor goodnight, walked past her sleeping roommates crashing on the couch and carpet of the living room, and turned off the Schitt's Creek reruns that they had all agreed to watch. She brushed her teeth, wiped away her makeup, did her skincare routine, and climbed into bed, snuggling herself under the warm comforter in an effort to ward off the January freeze that happened to be the only terrible thing about living in New York City.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying and failing to be tired enough to fall asleep. She had a boyfriend. Not only did she have a boyfriend, but Taylor Walker was her boyfriend. Taylor Walker. The only person she had ever found herself so incredibly infatuated with in her entire life. She never chased men—she had never needed to. But Taylor Walker had been something of a chase for her. She hadn't actively shown her feelings for him early on, but they were there, and they weren't reciprocated at first. It had made everything in the past few years of their friendship feel like a chase.

Except, maybe not a chase? She didn't want anyone to think that she had been trying to date him while he had a girlfriend. That wasn't her style. Not at all. She had never been cheated on before, and she firmly believed it was good karma for her never going after another girl's man.

Not that people who got cheated on deserved it by any means. She wasn't thinking that. Or at least, her mind was convincing her that she wasn't thinking that. Because that would be bad.

Anyway.

Her mind continued to run in every direction as she tried to convince herself that she was tired and ready to go to bed. Eventually, her convincing worked, her eyes closed, and she fell asleep smiling on the night of January 24, no longer a single woman.