Chapter 10:
"You can't do that, that's cheating!" Mason heard Alexa say in between bouts of laughter as she walked into the apartment late that night.
"It's the only way it will stay on," Taylor insisted.
Mason wandered into the living room to see what was going on and what was causing such commotion. Alexa sat on the couch with tears in her eyes from laughing so hard, while Taylor was next to her trying to balance a spoon on his nose. A few slices of what appeared to be homemade pizza sat on plates on the coffee table alongside two empty bottles of wine; suddenly, the whole dying of laughter because of a spoon scenario made a lot more sense.
"Um...hi?" Mason tried to grab the pair's attention. They had been too engrossed in their weird little bonding session to notice that she had even walked in.
"Hey, Mas!" Alexa said, jumping up off the couch. She walked over to her girlfriend and gave her a brief kiss on the lips. Taylor quickly averted his eyes. He was still too fragile to see the two of them engaging in public displays of affection.
"You smell like onions," Mason said, crinkling her nose up.
Alexa's hand covered her mouth. "Sorry, we made a pizza."
Mason looked over at the pieces left over on the table. "Pineapple and onions? That is revolting! You like that crap too?" she asked Taylor.
"It was his idea," Alexa answered, reclaiming her spot on the couch. "How weird is that? I told him it's my favorite, but I'm never allowed to order it because you don't like it."
"Well, I'm glad you two can share in the grossness together," Mason said, flopping down into the armchair.
Taylor reached out for his wine glass and downed the last gulp as they all sat in silence for a moment.
"So what else have you guys been doing?" Mason finally asked.
"Well..." Alexa began with a smile spreading across her face. "Taylor and I were trying to learn how to balance a spoon on our noses because neither of us has ever been able to do it, but Taylor is a big fat cheater and..."
"Hey, you cheated too!" Taylor spoke up and they both laughed. Mason was completely lost; she didn't know what was so hilarious about balancing a spoon on your nose.
"And how much have you guys had to drink tonight?" Mason asked.
"Just these two bottles," Taylor said, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.
Mason eyed the small patch of flesh that was exposed between his shirt and the top of his jeans as he stretched. She used to think that small trail of hair that ran from his navel down was super sexy, and it still was. She was definitely still attracted to Taylor. However, when she forced herself to pull her eyes away, she noticed Alexa looking at the same thing. That didn't sit too well with her.
"I'm exhausted. I need to get some sleep. You coming with, Lex?" Mason stood up and offered her hand out to Alexa.
"Let me clean up here first and then I'll be in," Alexa said as she was pulled to her feet by Mason.
"I'll clean up. You guys can go ahead," Taylor said.
"You sure?" Alexa asked. "We made a pretty decent mess in the kitchen."
"He said he'll clean up. Come on," Mason coaxed, leading Alexa toward the hallway.
"Really, I got it. Don't worry," Taylor said, waving them off.
"Night, Tay!" Mason called over her shoulder as she continued to pull Alexa toward their bedroom.
Taylor sighed and collected the plates, glasses, and empty bottles of wine from the coffee table and headed into the kitchen. It was true - the kitchen was a mess. Although the pizza came out perfectly cooked and delicious, they weren't very graceful in making it. It was all fun and completely worth it, though.
Alexa was a breath of fresh air in Taylor's life. He never thought he would meet someone who just relaxed him the way she did despite all that he was going through. It was the first night since everything happened that he didn't feel absolutely sick and destroyed over his broken relationship with Melanie. That in and of itself was a miracle; for once, he didn't feel like he had such a gaping hole in his chest. Maybe moving in with the girls was a good idea despite all of the possible awkwardness.
* * * * * * * * *
The following morning, Taylor awoke in a very peaceful state of mind. The delicious smell of coffee and pancakes didn't hurt either. He crawled out of bed, slipped on some clothes, and drifted into the kitchen. The sight was a very domesticated one. Mason flitted around the kitchen making breakfast, while Alexa sat at the table with a cup of coffee in hand.
"Morning!" both girls greeted.
"Morning," he replied. "Smells wonderful, Mas."
Mason smiled broadly as he walked past her to the coffee pot. "Cooking is one of the things I am definitely good at," she said.
"I know, I remember," he said as he poured himself some coffee.
Taylor crossed the room over to the table, taking a seat across from Alexa. "You're hard at work, I see."
Alexa laughed. "I told you, I don't cook. I'm good at sitting here drinking coffee."
"I'm good at that, too," he said, raising his mug.
"What are you doing today?" Alexa asked.
"Do you honestly think I have plans?" he replied with a laugh. "I spent nearly all of yesterday in my room. Maybe I'll switch things up and spend today in the living room."
Alexa laughed. "Such ambition."
"Hey, I've been working every day since I was like thirteen. I don't feel the least bit guilty about wasting my time now."
"You should come with me to the park. I..." Alexa began.
"Breakfast is served!" Mason interrupted, setting a plate full of pancakes down between them. "So Tay, Alexa has to work later today, but I thought maybe you'd want to go out and run some errands with me. Getting out of the house and having some fresh air might be good, don't you think?"
"Oh. Well..." Taylor said, his eyes darting back and forth between Mason and Alexa. "I think I might just stay in today. With my luck, going out in public would involve me running into my brothers, and I'm not ready to face them yet."
"I'm sure you could duck out and dodge them completely. You've done it once already," Mason pointed out.
"Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge," Taylor and Alexa both quoted together and then cracked up, laughing at the coincidence of it all. Mason just shook her head and looked at them like they had lost their minds.
"Dodgeball!" They both said in unison again.
"Okay, you two are really starting to scare me," Mason said, but all Taylor and Alexa could do was laugh.