Chapter 12:
Spending the afternoon talking to Zac was refreshing to say the least. One thing that had been rooted deep inside of Taylor since the day he was born was the importance of family. Then taking into consideration his career choice, his brothers were truly his best friends. Isaac and Zac knew everything about him: his likes and dislikes, the way his mind worked, his habits, his insecurities...everything. And he, in turn, knew theirs. Being away from them like he had been the last several weeks was hard, but realizing how well they knew him made it even more dangerous to face them.
Luckily for Taylor, Zac mostly just listened in Starbucks that day. He didn't give his own opinions or tell Taylor what he should do, probably because he knew that Taylor wasn't ready to hear those things yet. Of his two siblings, Zac was the better listener and usually only solicited advice when asked, unlike Isaac, who tended to force advice down your throat whether you wanted it or not. As the oldest brother and the one who had been married the longest, Ike often seemed to think he had all of the answers and maybe he did, but Taylor didn't want to hear them. However, the longer it took Taylor to face Isaac, the longer Zac was forced to stay in New York in very close quarters with him, listening to their older brother obsess over and criticize the decisions that Taylor was making. A slight pang of guilt crossed with sympathy washed over Taylor because he knew how painful and tiring it was to put up with Isaac when something was bothering him. In parting, Zac made Taylor promise that he would get in touch with Isaac soon because they both knew there was no way that Ike was going to leave town without seeing him.
Back at the apartment, Taylor laid low in his room. Alexa was at work, and Mason was in some angry, neurotic cleaning frenzy. He figured since he was part of the cause of the fight between the two girls, he should keep his presence as scarce as possible. He decided he was lucky that he had become such a homebody lately, because even though he was sick of being in his room all the time, he was able to find peace in the solitude. If he was still the old Taylor, he would've gone positively insane with restless energy and would've needed to flee the cramped apartment as soon as possible. Instead, he opted to settle down on his bed with a book that he'd found in the living room two days prior.
When Alexa got home that night, Taylor could hear the continued argument between the two girls. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but at least this time, he was safely within the confines of his room and not standing outside their bedroom door. It wasn't his fault that they were so loud he could hear them through the walls.
Their conversation basically went like this: Mason was upset that Alexa wasn't putting enough time and effort into their relationship, and Alexa was trying to understand just how she was supposed to put more time into everything when they worked completely opposite schedules. Mason snidely remarked that despite her work schedule, Alexa apparently had more than enough time to spend with Taylor, and Alexa shot back a low blow of her own by claiming that Mason was jealous. It was a pointless, circular fight that had no beginning, middle, or end.
It wasn't until the next evening that Taylor dared to show his face around them. He felt very strange, creeping around the apartment in order to make a quick meal or grab a drink to immediately bring back to his bedroom, but he was too afraid that his presence would worsen an already bad situation. Much to his surprise, by the following evening the fight between Mason and Alexa seemed to be long forgotten.
"Hey, stranger," Alexa teased as Taylor emerged into the living room. Both girls were sitting on the couch, Alexa's legs draped over Mason's lap. "We were wondering if you were ever going to show your face again."
"Didn't know if it was safe," he joked.
"Yeah, sorry about all the tension," Mason said. "I hope you know it has nothing to do with you being here."
"Well, that's good to hear. I was starting to worry," he said, taking a seat on the arm of the couch.
"Trust me, it has nothing to do with you," Alexa reassured him.
"So, we're going out tonight," Mason announced, changing the subject. "I have the night off, and we're going to go have some fun at our favorite bar. And you're coming with us."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to impose. You guys should go have some fun alone," he began.
"No! You're coming!" Mason insisted firmly. "Since you moved in, we haven't had a real night out, just the three of us. It's about time we fixed that."
Taylor wasn't entirely sure it was a good idea, but he also didn't think it would be wise to argue with Mason when she was in such a feisty mood. He shrugged helplessly and managed a small smile.
"Alright," he agreed. "Just let me go change."
The group got ready and caught a cab outside of their apartment building. The ride to the bar was fairly quick by New York standards and before Taylor knew it, they were three shots in and preparing for their fourth.
"Okay, let's spice things up a little. This time, we're doing body shots!" Mason decided as the server lined up three tequila shots before them at their high top table.
"Um, you two knock yourselves out with that. I'm just taking mine," Taylor said, reaching for the small shot glass.
"No, that's no fun!" Mason said, pushing her tall stool back and standing up. She licked her own wrist and rubbed it on her neck, and then she grabbed the salt and dashed it onto her neck. She took the shot glass out of his hands and placed it in her cleavage.
Taylor chuckled nervously. "Lex, why don't you take this one."
"No, it's yours," Mason encouraged, taking a few steps closer and leaning her neck into him.
Taylor glanced over at Alexa for a sign that it was okay for him to go ahead, since Mason obviously wasn't going to let it go. Alexa just shrugged, so Taylor did the shot.
"My turn," Mason then said, brushing the hair off of Taylor's neck and sensually licking his skin before he even had time to react.
Mason knew what she was doing. She remembered the spot on Taylor's neck that drove him crazy and she made sure she lingered there. It was then Taylor realized that this evening wasn't about getting out and letting loose. There was a definite ulterior motive, one that indicated that whatever had been going on between the two girls clearly wasn't over yet.
"I'm gonna go grab some more drinks," Taylor excused himself once Mason was done with her shot. He quickly scooted off to the bar, leaving the couple alone at the table.
"What are you doing, Mas?" Alexa asked as she downed her own shot.
"What do you mean?" Mason laughed.
"Body shots? With Taylor? Really?"
"What's wrong with that? I'm just having a good time. You could be doing the same thing," Mason said.
"No, because if I was the one doing it you'd be throwing a temper tantrum right here in the middle of the bar," Alexa challenged. "Plus, he's your ex-boyfriend. That's just wrong on so many levels."
"Don't create drama tonight, Lex. We've had enough of that the last few days. I just want to have some fun."
"Fine...then I'll just have fun, too," Alexa said, just as Taylor returned with three beers.
"I thought we could take a break from the shots," he said, setting the bottles down.
"Aww, you're no fun," Mason pouted.
Just then, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard came blaring through the speakers in the room. A handful of people started to drift toward the large jukebox in the middle of the room.
Alexa took a huge gulp of her beer before asking, "Does this Hanson boy dance?"
Taylor laughed a little. "No, not really."
"I'm sure you can manage. Come on," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the group of dancers, which mostly consisted of scantily-clad girls all but peeling off their clothes to one of the most notorious stripper songs ever.
Alexa placed Taylor's hands on her hips as she began to shake and grind up against him, allowing their bodies to be far too close for two people who weren't already having sex on a regular basis. Alexa knew that against his better judgment, Taylor was enjoying it. She could feel how much he enjoyed it when she rubbed up against him. She continued to just go for it, bringing their bodies even closer together if that was at all possible. She didn't dare look over at Mason, but she knew she was livid and Alexa had just declared war.
The girls continued playing tug-of-war with Taylor throughout the night, and the drunker they got, the more risqué their actions became. Taylor, knowing full well what was going on, resisted at first but eventually just gave in and allowed the alcohol to take over. After all, it did feel nice to be desired and close to a girl again, even if it was actually two girls who happened to be in a relationship with each other.
They were beyond wasted by the time they climbed into the cab to take them home, and that was when Mason officially crossed the line. Taylor and Alexa had been flirting openly with each other for the last several hours, laughing, touching, and practically ignoring Mason altogether. So, in an attempt to force the attention back on her, Mason managed to straddle Taylor's lap, grab his face, and crush her lips against his. She then grabbed Taylor's hand and placed it on her chest as she began to grind down onto him. Taylor was too drunk to stop, but Alexa was quickly sobered by her girlfriend's blatant disregard for their relationship.
When they reached the apartment, without any words, Mason led Taylor into his bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind them.