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THE EIGHTH
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Thirty Days THE EIGHTH pt2
I wake with a start, vaguely wondering why I am on my couch. Everything floods back to me and my stomach clenches in anxiety. Realising my phone is ringing, I reach for it, noticing the private number, ready to give Taylor another piece of my mind. “What do you want?” I say brusquely. “Um, Abby?” questions a familiar voice softly. “Nicola?” I respond, wondering why she is calling. “Abby, can I speak to Taylor? He isn’t picking up his phone.” “He’s not here,” I say more harshly than intended, and I instantly feel contrite. “Sorry, Nicola. Taylor left a while ago.” I can hear soft crying and low music in the background, and I feel dreadful for talking to her like that. “Are you ok?” “Yeah, um, no, not really…” Nicola trails off. The hairs on my neck are standing on end, and call it women’s intuition or something, but I know something is very wrong. “Nicola, sweetie, tell me what’s going on.” The sobbing continues and a thousand scenarios run through my head, each one worse than
Thirty Days THE NINTH
I wake to find myself looking into Taylor’s eyes as he lies fully clothed beside me. “Why is my baby sister sleeping on the couch?” he asks softly. “What time is it?” I whisper, not wanting to wake Nicola up. “Just after five,” Taylor responds. Great, I have had less than five hours’ sleep. I am definitely going to be grumpy today, I think to myself. “Long story. But the short version is that she couldn’t reach you, so she called me instead!” I can’t quite keep all the venom out of my voice. “What are you doing here anyway?” I ask, wrinkling my nose at the smell of stale alcohol that is wafting off Taylor. Taylor closes his eyes briefly, as if he is contemplating what to say next. “Abby, Henry wasn’t following you. He was following Richard.” Oh. “And I am not keeping tabs on you through Dr Grohl. He just called to say you had had a difficult session and would need some extra support, something I asked him to do so that I can make sure I am there for you when you need me.” Right,
Thirty Days THE TENTH
Excitement is buzzing through my veins. Today is the day that the shop next door and the flat will become mine. Seriously, I never thought this day would actually arrive, but Mr Thompson assures me that I will be able to pick up the keys at midday. Unfortunately, Taylor is in London today for meetings, but my mum and dad are coming with me, which will kill two birds with one stone, as they need to sign our partnership papers. Eeeeek, I think to myself. “Hey, Abs, you are awake early,” Taylor says sleepily in my ear. “I am just too excited to sleep,” I reply, bouncing on the bed like a kid on Christmas Day. Taylor laughs before grabbing me around the waist and then pinning me beneath him, trapping both my hands above my head. “I am so proud of you, baby,” Taylor says, looking deep into my eyes. My breath hitches as I see the look in Taylor’s eyes and feel him hardening between my legs. I can instantly feel wetness as Taylor starts rubbing his cock gently through my folds and across
Thirty Days THE TENTH pt2
“Wow, I mean, seriously wow,” Michelle shouts down the phone at me. “Hey, I am right here. No need to blow my eardrums,” I admonish, chuckling before I carry on bringing her up to speed with the day’s events. My friendship with Michelle changed after my ‘incident’. Despite the fact that when we worked together she knew everything about me, when I came down to Brighton and my life spiralled out of control, I kind of flaked on her. Yet the day after I returned home from The Clinic and Taylor’s crazy midnight drunken proposal, Michelle turned up on my doorstep, bringing chocolate and caffeine, my drugs of choice, and unflinching support. Since then I have been under strict orders to keep Michelle in the loop, so I have done my best to keep her up to date via text and email. In return, she posts random inspirational thoughts on my Facebook timeline and phones me when she has a spare five minutes here and there. “Seriously, Abs, this sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see the place when it
Thirty Days THE TENTH pt3
Glancing outside, I notice that darkness has descended and I remember that Taylor promised to be home early. I head into the kitchen to check out what I have in the fridge to make for dinner and find it empty. Bugger! I am just running through my mental Rolodex of decent local takeaways that I can suggest to Taylor as I just can’t face eating out after my busy day when I hear his key in the lock. “Hey, Abs, you up there?” Taylor calls out whilst making his way up the stairs. “Uh-huh. I am in the kitchen,” I say just before he pops his head around the door frame. “It’s official. The fridge is empty. Takeaway?” I suggest. “Sounds good to me,” Taylor agrees. We argue back and forth, finally settling on Thai. Yum, my favourite. While Taylor calls in our order, I head into the bedroom to change. Shrugging off my jeans, I pull on a pair of fleecy pyjama bottoms covered in cute owls and a long-sleeve T-shirt. I am just pulling on a comfy long cardigan when I hear Taylor’s phone ring. “Sorry,
Thirty Days THE TENTH pt4
With my heart hammering and my stomach full of nerves, I decide to do something I have never done before and, to be honest, never thought I would want to try. I stand up off the couch and move in front of Taylor, interrupting his playing by gently taking the guitar out of his hands and placing it on the side. I kneel down in between Taylor’s legs and capture his mouth with mine. After a second’s hesitation, Taylor is kissing me back with passion, his hands on either side of my face. Before I know it, Taylor is trying to pull me to my feet, but I pull back and Taylor looks at me, confused. “Pl…please, Taylor, I want to do this…” I trail off, unsure of how to phrase what ‘this’ is. A couple of warring expressions flit across Taylor’s face, and I can tell he doesn’t want to give up control, but something in my expression must speak to him because a soft look comes over his face. “Okay, babe, you take the lead.” I let out a breath I wasn’t even aware that I had been holding on to and with
Thirty Days THE ELEVENTH
I listen to the chatter between Nicola and Taylor as we drive across to Taylor’s cottage, wondering what life might have been like if I had had siblings. There is such a connection between the two of them, more so than even between Taylor and his twin, that I envy their closeness. But the fact that Nicola trusted me enough to let me help her means the world to me, and truth be told, she is already feeling like my own little sister. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to help her, which is why, when Taylor suggested we spend the night at the cottage with her, I readily agreed. My thoughts drift back over the morning in Bread. Anna settled in really well with the team, and I could see that Bea was pleased with how fast she was picking things up. Andreas had a slow start with Billy, one of the apprentices we had had in for a trial, but by lunchtime, things were running like clockwork and I had a team of very happy campers. And the quote that James had sent across first thing was spot on with
Thirty Days THE ELEVENTH pt2
A delicious aroma stirs my senses. I crack my eyes open and find that darkness has fallen. I scan the room and see Nicola tucked up on another sofa, watching something on her tablet, the volume turned down low, next to Taylor, who is reading a book. I sit up, rubbing my eyes and then stretching my arms above my head. Noticing the movement, Taylor and Nicola both look across at me with grins on their faces. “How long have I been out?” I croak. “About an hour and a half,” replies Taylor. “You were talking in your sleep,” Nicola tells me with a giggle. I clap my hand to my mouth, mortified. “No! What did I say?” “It sounded like a brownie recipe to me,” Nicola answers. “Trust me to talk cake in my sleep,” I laugh. At least it wasn’t anything too embarrassing, especially in front of Nicola. Or even worse, in front of Taylor. A beep emanates from the oven and Taylor gets to his feet. “Right, ladies, dinner will be ready in ten. Do you guys want to set the table?” “Argh, you are suc
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