THE SILENT DECLARATION
Winn was a chicken. She couldn't help it, but she was. She didn't call Isaac. Instead, she reasoned with herself that it was probably too late to call, though she was sure it wasn't, and opted to text him instead. "Just now got your messages. I'm sorry I didn't get them earlier. Headed to bed, hope to talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."
He never replied.
When she walked into work Monday morning, she almost hated being there more than she did on a normal day. No. That wasn't fair. Work was stressful, but she couldn't say she hated it. If she hated it, she wouldn't have taken the relocation. But after the weekend she'd had, Monday was the last day she wanted to come.
It helped that 3CG was across the street, out the window, but there wasn't a Hanson in sight that morning. Winn didn't even spy Taylor's truck there. Maybe he decided to sleep in. Maybe he was sitting in his living room eating cereal and watching bootleg cartoons. She smiled at her computer screen at the thought. If she were allowed to be on her cell phone at work, she would have texted him.
They'd been in the office for half an hour, calling account after account, Tina at the desk diagonally from her towards the front, Stephanie, her assistant, in the desk in front of hers, and Charles, the other assistant, at the desk right across from her. With the headset on her head, a device that Winn personally preferred not to use, Tina turned around in her seat and eyed Winn. "So how was your weekend?"
"It was...interesting," Winn said in thought. "Good, actually. Pretty good."
Tina turned up a corner of her mouth. "From what I understand, it seemed to be."
Winn was confused and she knew her expression read so as she dialed her next number. "What does THAT mean?"
"My best friend is a waiter at Lucky's. He worked Saturday night."
Winn's eyes immediately locked onto Tina's and she nearly fumbled her words on the voicemail she was leaving.
Tina left her voicemail and dialed her next number. "I'm proud of you for getting out. You need to. Just wasn't expecting it to be with him."
At this, Stephanie turned around and looked between Winn and Tina. "Who? You went out with somebody?"
"It was just dinner," she mumbled.
"Still, though," Tina pressed on. "I figured if you were gonna go out with anyone, it would be Taylor."
"Why would I go out with him?"
"Don't be like that," Tina said. "You know."
"Who?" Stephanie pressed. "WHO did you go out with?"
Tina smiled across at Steph. "Winn went to Lucky's with Isaac Hanson Saturday night."
Steph turned around in her seat and widened her eyes at Winn. "Oh, Winn, no. That's bad."
Winn had been getting annoyed at the lack of calls being made, but now a new alarm went off inside her that made her finally rest her own phone on the receiver. "What do you mean that's bad? I had a nice time, he's a great guy."
"Of course he's a great guy," Tina said. "Cause he wants something from you."
Winn's heart pounded. What was going on here?
"Isaac has...a sort of reputation around Tulsa," Steph said, trying to be as easy with it as possible.
"What sort of reputation?"
Tina and Steph glanced at each other. "Well...they don't call him Tulsa's Most Eligible Bachelor for nothing," Tina said.
Winn looked from Tina to Steph. "What are you talking about?"
Steph sighed. "Look, it's no secret he's been with practically every woman in the city..."
"So, he's single, so what?" Winn said, an obvious desperate attempt to try to reason with herself. "He's allowed to date around."
"Not to the point where you date the same girl twice and forget you dated her the first time," Tina pointed out, matter-of-factly.
Winn's eyes widened. "Did that actually happen?"
"That's the word on the street," Tina said.
Steph looked concerned. "Yeah," she agreed. "Why not just go out with Taylor? Quit with Isaac while you're still ahead."
Winn was growing annoyed with the conversation. "Because I like Ike. He's a great guy. And Taylor and I are just friends. That's it."
"Does HE know that?" Tina inquired.
Winn furrowed her brow at her. "Does he know what...? You know what, we're getting off task. Let's stay on these phones, we have a lot to get done today." As the ladies turned back around in their seats, Winn knew this was something she just couldn't let rest.
*******************
The rest of the week was quiet. Quiet, busy, and lonely. Work was bustling with activity, the phone constantly ringing nonstop with loan applications galore. Growth season was in full swing and Winn barely had time to remember her own name.
At home, however, was a different story. She still hadn't heard from Isaac and that weighed heavy on her mind. She couldn't get over that kiss and his smile and the sound of his voice. So, then, why wasn't she glued to her phone all day Sunday, waiting for his call? And was that seriously the reason he hadn't called? Had she blown it that quickly? That easily? Did he have that many women waiting in the wings that he didn't have time to give just one a chance before moving on to the next?
Winn wanted to talk to Taylor. She wanted to pick his brain about his brother and she wanted him to make her laugh and tell her she was crazy and that everything was okay. But was that appropriate, though?
She'd texted Taylor through the week, but the conversations were sparse. They were apparently extremely busy with writing, meetings, and prepping liquor stores for beer sales for the upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving was next week. How had she already forgotten?
A new restaurant had opened at the end of her block recently and she'd heard rave reviews from her customers, specifically about the breakfast menu. Winn wasn't much for breakfast unless she got a hankering which happened once in a blue moon, and that Friday morning, she got a hankering something fierce.
She drove into town extra early, earlier than she would have ever dared to, on nothing more than a mere hunch. Something in Taylor's short and choppy texts to her late last night told her that she might find his truck still at the studio and her hunch had been right when she drove past the alleyway at six in the morning. Parking at her office, Winn made her way to the end of the block and walked in the new restaurant, preparing to place an order.
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Taylor sat over his keyboard, his elbows propped against it, his head in his hands. Why was he pressuring himself like this? His brain had checked out on him hours ago. He wasn't functioning. But yet he forced himself. He figured his logic was, he'd been in the studio this long already, might as well just push until he was finished.
Except it wasn't right. It was never right. Just when he thought he'd gotten exactly what he wanted out of what he'd written, the whole thing just sounded so wrong and he lamented and he nitpicked and combed the composition over, trying to figure out EXACTLY where it was wrong and changing it, but yet not really changing a thing.
As he held his head in his hands, his eyes grew heavy and he began to doze off when he heard the buzzer go off in the building and his head jerked up and he looked around. He checked the time. It was nearly seven in the morning. What the hell?
Brushing his hair back with both his hands, he made his way to the front in confusion. Normally he would buzz back, but at this time of the morning, and the state he was in, he didn't really care, so he unlocked the door and opened it up, shock suddenly waking him up. "Winn?"
She stood before him, smiling, two large, white bags in her hands, and balancing a tray of beverages. Her red hair flowed over the black pea coat that was wrapped around her and the leather boots she wore over her leggings caught Taylor's eye for a moment longer than they should have. "Good morning," she said cheerfully.
Confused, he shook his head. "Uh, do you know what time it is? What is this?"
"I had a feeling you might be here. So I decided to return the favor for, like, the gallons of coffee you've brought me lately. I went to that new place at the end of the block and I told them to just hook me up and, boy, did they! I think there's everything in here. Biscuits, eggs, bacon, some form of potato...there might be a pancake or a waffle in there somewhere, too..."
He looked her over one more time, his stomach suddenly reminding him of how ravenous he was, and then he held the door wider open and said, "You had me at bacon. Get in here."
As she stepped into the studio, he locked the door behind her and took some of the load off of her hands. He led her toward the back and she asked, "Are you alone?"
"You think either one of them would seriously be here this early?"
"Good," she laughed. "I only brought enough for us."
"Do you have any idea how glad I am to see you?" He said to her, his voice groggy.
She smiled as she walked beside him toward the office. "Aww. I missed you a little this week, too."
"I'm fucking starving."
Winn's face fell for a second. "Oh. Well it's a good thing I showed up, then, huh?"
"You have no idea."
He led her into the office and flipped on the light, the florescent overhead blinding him momentarily. He made room on his wrap-around desk and pulled a chair up for her and they began unloading the bags. For a minute or two they ate in silence before he finally glanced up at her, his cheek full of food and asked her, "What's wrong with you?"
She sipped her coffee and blinked at him. "Nothing is wrong with me. It's just--it's early, that's all. I'm not a morning person."
"But yet here you are, an hour and a half before your office opens."
"I came here for you," she said meekly.
He looked across the desk at her and swallowed the bite he had in his mouth. "Shit, Winn. I'm sorry. I just--I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours and I'm just--I'm delirious and my manners seem to have taken the proverbial hike. I appreciate you, do you know that? I really, truly do. Forgive me."
"I wish you would go home. Stuff like that concerns me, being awake for so long. I'm even scared for you to drive."
The way she seemed to care made his heart pound and his nerves provided a new dose of adrenaline that the caffeine from the coffee just wasn't producing fast enough. "I'll be okay," he assured her. "I practically have this down to a science."
They ate in silence for another moment or two before he said, "You never answered my question. What's going on?"
She looked across the desk into his eyes for a moment before she sighed. "I kinda didn't want to talk to you about this, but I kinda didn't know who else to turn to. I feel like such a drama queen, I hate talking about my problems."
"That's what I'm here for," he said gently. "If you have a problem, you can talk to me."
She looked up at him again and poked around at her plate. "Has, uh, has Ike said anything about me?"
For some reason, this wasn't quite what he was expecting to come out of her mouth. He expected a work story. Maybe even a family one. But he assumed that it was inevitable that at some point she would seek his advice about his brother. This was the conversation he dreaded. Even still, it pained him to tell her the truth, because he knew it would hurt her. He shook his head. "No."
Her eyes dropped and she nodded. "Oh. I, uh, I figured so much. I think he's mad at me. Or given up on me. Or both, I don't know." She sighed. "I guess I'm just not his type."
He looked up at her from his plate and furrowed his brow. "What makes you think that?"
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and let out a breath. "He hasn't called me all week. And I'm not sure why--well, I mean, I have a couple of theories, but--I thought better of him, you know?"
"Didn't you go out last weekend?"
"Yeah. That's just it. I thought everything went well. And I don't know if he's decided to ditch me because we didn't sleep together or because I forgot about him."
Taylor nearly choked on his food and he coughed a little bit. He wanted to laugh, not out of humor, but out of joy. She didn't sleep with Ike AND she forgot about him? This was priceless and it felt like a personal victory. However, he kept his composure and dug back into his plate. "What do you mean you forgot about him?"
"When you came over Sunday, I kinda--well, I forgot about my phone and I didn't check it all day. And he said he would call. And I don't know if maybe my subconscious didn't believe him or not but I just--didn't think about it. And then after I got in bed I found that he DID call. And text. Multiple times. And now I feel horrible about it. I mean, I did text him that night. And on Monday. But he seems to have...returned the favor, I
guess."
He looked up at her, studying her face for a moment. "It's been a week..."
"I know. And I wonder if maybe I'm just not his type. I just heard recently that...well, he's kinda known around here...and--and I don't wanna be another notch in his bedpost, but I don't really wanna be associated with it, either. You know? That's not me. But I like him. So I'm kinda torn..."
Taylor sighed in defeat. "Look, Winn...people--people TALK. You know? They just talk. It's something we've always kinda had to live with. Ike's a good guy. He really is. He may be a little misguided at times, a little misunderstood, maybe falls off the rocker once in awhile, but he's a good guy. And I would know." He felt horrible. He felt horrible for saying any of this because what she'd been told was probably one hundred percent the truth. The truth was, his brother was a dog. And the entire city's social scene knew it. And it broke his heart to see Winn falling under the spell just like all the rest of them did and he wished she would snap out of it. But the truth was, she liked the guy. And if that's what she wanted, well, then--he really had no one to blame but himself for not making the move the first time like Zac suggested. Now it was too late. "Plus, it's been a really busy week, so..."
"You took time out for me this week."
"If that's what you wanna call it," he muttered.
"Well, we may not have spoken much, but it was more of an effort than he made." Then she sighed. "I just--I wanna know what I did wrong. I mean, I know what I did wrong, I didn't answer when he called..."
"But you DID return his texts. Twice. So by doing that, you're NOT at fault here. He is. And I'm sorry, he's my brother, but I gotta say, I'm disappointed in him."
Winn looked down at her plate, her eyes solemn. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come here and unload like that. I haven't seen you in a week, I just wanted to have a nice breakfast with you, you know? Chill out, take a load off. Not just pile it back on."
"No. Don't apologize. I'm here for you. And I want you to be there for me whenever I need to unload. Okay? And this IS nice. Thank you. I'm glad you're here this morning. And not just because you brought me food." He nodded and pointed at her plate. "Now eat that, it's getting cold. Don't let that go to waste, it's amazing."
"I think...I think I maybe shouldn't have told him something I told him last week..."
Dammit. She was still on this? But the statement made Taylor's heart pound and his stomach churn. Honestly, he didn't want to hear what was coming next and he braced himself. "What, uh, what did you tell him?"
"Don't laugh."
For some reason, that calmed his nerves a little and he calmed down and smiled. "I'm sure I won't."
"I, um, I haven't been on a date in nearly two years. I haven't even--" she sighed in frustration. "I've just been out of the game for such a long time."
He looked at her and shoved another forkful of food in his mouth. Table manners eluded him this morning and he didn't really care. "Why?"
"I was engaged. And I caught him cheating on me. And then I just haven't dated."
"Not at all?"
"Not even close."
"Hm." He swallowed and poked around on his plate. "If it makes you feel any better, it's been awhile for me, too. I mean, not THAT long, but..."
"Anyone serious?"
Taylor shook his head. "Never really been in a serious relationship." Then he paused and looked up at her. "Define serious."
Winn shrugged. "I don't know. Have you ever been in love? Needed someone so bad it physically hurt you to think about them?"
He studied her face in thought for a moment, searching for his answer. Then he shook his head and went back to his plate. "Then, no."
She shrugged again and speared some egg with her fork. "Probably for the better. Love is for chumps, anyway. And you're looking at the biggest one."
"Oh?"
"I wear my heart on my sleeve. It's a curse, I wish--sometimes I wish I couldn't feel anything at all."
"Ended that badly, huh?"
She scoffed a laugh and nodded. "Yeah." Then she looked up and looked around. "So this is where the magic happens, huh?"
"No." He pointed out the door and across the hall to the studio. "THAT is where the magic happens. This is where I slave."
Winn giggled and sipped her coffee. "Slave? You must really hate the business part of it."
"I really don't. I just--I hate being cooped up here at this desk, I feel like I'm chained to it sometimes. But, things have to get done, you know?"
"You're preaching to the choir, trust me."
"So why do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Why do you do the work you do? Why do you sit, chained to your desk all day?"
"Because it's all I know."
"That can't be true."
"It's absolutely true. I got this job right out of college. I don't hate it. It's a good job, excellent company to work for--free insurance as long as I don't have dependents..."
Taylor grinned. "Oh, so that's it," he teased. "You stay single for the free insurance. Clever girl."
She laughed and shook her head. "Shut up. You're so stupid."
"But I'm not boring."
"That, you're not."
After a short while, they wrapped up their meal and cleaned up, and Taylor was walking Winn to the front door. "Look, thanks again for breakfast," he said. "I really needed that. Probably more than I thought I did."
She smiled. "Any time, it's my pleasure. This was fun. Maybe we should do super early morning breakfasts like this more often. But not too often. Getting up this early this morning has been brutal."
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Then she shocked him. It came out of nowhere and he swore he held his breath the entire time. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a quick hug. Then she pecked his cheek and tousled his hair. "Go home. You look terrible. Don't make me worry about you today."
Gaining his composure, but barely, he laughed nervously and ran his own hand through his hair. "Gee, thanks for the bout of confidence, there."
"I mean it. Go home and go to sleep."
"Have a good day," he smiled.
And with that, she was out the door and bounding across the street.
A grin was permanently glued to Taylor's face. He felt like he was on top of the world in that moment.
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Zac liked hearing about Isaac's conquests, strange as that seemed. He liked to live vicariously though him, as his own days of being single were long since gone. Not that Zac was any kind of playboy himself back in the day. That had never really been his style. But it was always interesting to hear Isaac tell his stories anyway. It let him experience a lifestyle he wouldn't otherwise experience on his own.
On this day, Zac was getting an earful about the redhead across the street. Curiously, though, Zac had to pull the information out of Isaac himself. Isaac didn't volunteer it. And that was a little out of character.
"Of course she wanted it," Isaac was saying in response to a question about whether he'd slept with her and the reason why he hadn't. "But sometimes--well, sometimes you just gotta keep them wanting more, you know? I have her wrapped, it's no big deal. Besides, you know what they say about redheads..."
"Oh, what, about how they love it when you don't call them for a week?" Taylor's voice suddenly sounded from the doorway he was leaning in. Isaac and Zac both looked up at him, surprised to see him. Taylor walked over and stood next to Zac, busying himself by retrieving a stack of envelopes and a few packs of copy paper.
"What?" Zac asked, confused.
"Oh yeah, redheads love that shit," Taylor continued, matter-of-factly. "Leaves them open and more susceptible to other men. It's like freedom, you know? Which reminds me," he said, a twinkle in his eye as he smirked at both his brothers. "Breakfast tastes SO much more amazing when someone else is buying it for you at seven in the morning."
On that note, he raised a knowing eyebrow at Isaac and consequently left the building.
Zac's jaw had dropped at Taylor's deliberate sarcasm. He looked over at Isaac, who looked toward the now-empty doorway, red-faced, with murder in his eyes. The blood drained from Zac's own face when he realized what was going on.
Both of his brothers were after the same woman. And Taylor had just declared war. This would NOT end well.
Winn was a chicken. She couldn't help it, but she was. She didn't call Isaac. Instead, she reasoned with herself that it was probably too late to call, though she was sure it wasn't, and opted to text him instead. "Just now got your messages. I'm sorry I didn't get them earlier. Headed to bed, hope to talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."
He never replied.
When she walked into work Monday morning, she almost hated being there more than she did on a normal day. No. That wasn't fair. Work was stressful, but she couldn't say she hated it. If she hated it, she wouldn't have taken the relocation. But after the weekend she'd had, Monday was the last day she wanted to come.
It helped that 3CG was across the street, out the window, but there wasn't a Hanson in sight that morning. Winn didn't even spy Taylor's truck there. Maybe he decided to sleep in. Maybe he was sitting in his living room eating cereal and watching bootleg cartoons. She smiled at her computer screen at the thought. If she were allowed to be on her cell phone at work, she would have texted him.
They'd been in the office for half an hour, calling account after account, Tina at the desk diagonally from her towards the front, Stephanie, her assistant, in the desk in front of hers, and Charles, the other assistant, at the desk right across from her. With the headset on her head, a device that Winn personally preferred not to use, Tina turned around in her seat and eyed Winn. "So how was your weekend?"
"It was...interesting," Winn said in thought. "Good, actually. Pretty good."
Tina turned up a corner of her mouth. "From what I understand, it seemed to be."
Winn was confused and she knew her expression read so as she dialed her next number. "What does THAT mean?"
"My best friend is a waiter at Lucky's. He worked Saturday night."
Winn's eyes immediately locked onto Tina's and she nearly fumbled her words on the voicemail she was leaving.
Tina left her voicemail and dialed her next number. "I'm proud of you for getting out. You need to. Just wasn't expecting it to be with him."
At this, Stephanie turned around and looked between Winn and Tina. "Who? You went out with somebody?"
"It was just dinner," she mumbled.
"Still, though," Tina pressed on. "I figured if you were gonna go out with anyone, it would be Taylor."
"Why would I go out with him?"
"Don't be like that," Tina said. "You know."
"Who?" Stephanie pressed. "WHO did you go out with?"
Tina smiled across at Steph. "Winn went to Lucky's with Isaac Hanson Saturday night."
Steph turned around in her seat and widened her eyes at Winn. "Oh, Winn, no. That's bad."
Winn had been getting annoyed at the lack of calls being made, but now a new alarm went off inside her that made her finally rest her own phone on the receiver. "What do you mean that's bad? I had a nice time, he's a great guy."
"Of course he's a great guy," Tina said. "Cause he wants something from you."
Winn's heart pounded. What was going on here?
"Isaac has...a sort of reputation around Tulsa," Steph said, trying to be as easy with it as possible.
"What sort of reputation?"
Tina and Steph glanced at each other. "Well...they don't call him Tulsa's Most Eligible Bachelor for nothing," Tina said.
Winn looked from Tina to Steph. "What are you talking about?"
Steph sighed. "Look, it's no secret he's been with practically every woman in the city..."
"So, he's single, so what?" Winn said, an obvious desperate attempt to try to reason with herself. "He's allowed to date around."
"Not to the point where you date the same girl twice and forget you dated her the first time," Tina pointed out, matter-of-factly.
Winn's eyes widened. "Did that actually happen?"
"That's the word on the street," Tina said.
Steph looked concerned. "Yeah," she agreed. "Why not just go out with Taylor? Quit with Isaac while you're still ahead."
Winn was growing annoyed with the conversation. "Because I like Ike. He's a great guy. And Taylor and I are just friends. That's it."
"Does HE know that?" Tina inquired.
Winn furrowed her brow at her. "Does he know what...? You know what, we're getting off task. Let's stay on these phones, we have a lot to get done today." As the ladies turned back around in their seats, Winn knew this was something she just couldn't let rest.
*******************
The rest of the week was quiet. Quiet, busy, and lonely. Work was bustling with activity, the phone constantly ringing nonstop with loan applications galore. Growth season was in full swing and Winn barely had time to remember her own name.
At home, however, was a different story. She still hadn't heard from Isaac and that weighed heavy on her mind. She couldn't get over that kiss and his smile and the sound of his voice. So, then, why wasn't she glued to her phone all day Sunday, waiting for his call? And was that seriously the reason he hadn't called? Had she blown it that quickly? That easily? Did he have that many women waiting in the wings that he didn't have time to give just one a chance before moving on to the next?
Winn wanted to talk to Taylor. She wanted to pick his brain about his brother and she wanted him to make her laugh and tell her she was crazy and that everything was okay. But was that appropriate, though?
She'd texted Taylor through the week, but the conversations were sparse. They were apparently extremely busy with writing, meetings, and prepping liquor stores for beer sales for the upcoming holiday. Thanksgiving was next week. How had she already forgotten?
A new restaurant had opened at the end of her block recently and she'd heard rave reviews from her customers, specifically about the breakfast menu. Winn wasn't much for breakfast unless she got a hankering which happened once in a blue moon, and that Friday morning, she got a hankering something fierce.
She drove into town extra early, earlier than she would have ever dared to, on nothing more than a mere hunch. Something in Taylor's short and choppy texts to her late last night told her that she might find his truck still at the studio and her hunch had been right when she drove past the alleyway at six in the morning. Parking at her office, Winn made her way to the end of the block and walked in the new restaurant, preparing to place an order.
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Taylor sat over his keyboard, his elbows propped against it, his head in his hands. Why was he pressuring himself like this? His brain had checked out on him hours ago. He wasn't functioning. But yet he forced himself. He figured his logic was, he'd been in the studio this long already, might as well just push until he was finished.
Except it wasn't right. It was never right. Just when he thought he'd gotten exactly what he wanted out of what he'd written, the whole thing just sounded so wrong and he lamented and he nitpicked and combed the composition over, trying to figure out EXACTLY where it was wrong and changing it, but yet not really changing a thing.
As he held his head in his hands, his eyes grew heavy and he began to doze off when he heard the buzzer go off in the building and his head jerked up and he looked around. He checked the time. It was nearly seven in the morning. What the hell?
Brushing his hair back with both his hands, he made his way to the front in confusion. Normally he would buzz back, but at this time of the morning, and the state he was in, he didn't really care, so he unlocked the door and opened it up, shock suddenly waking him up. "Winn?"
She stood before him, smiling, two large, white bags in her hands, and balancing a tray of beverages. Her red hair flowed over the black pea coat that was wrapped around her and the leather boots she wore over her leggings caught Taylor's eye for a moment longer than they should have. "Good morning," she said cheerfully.
Confused, he shook his head. "Uh, do you know what time it is? What is this?"
"I had a feeling you might be here. So I decided to return the favor for, like, the gallons of coffee you've brought me lately. I went to that new place at the end of the block and I told them to just hook me up and, boy, did they! I think there's everything in here. Biscuits, eggs, bacon, some form of potato...there might be a pancake or a waffle in there somewhere, too..."
He looked her over one more time, his stomach suddenly reminding him of how ravenous he was, and then he held the door wider open and said, "You had me at bacon. Get in here."
As she stepped into the studio, he locked the door behind her and took some of the load off of her hands. He led her toward the back and she asked, "Are you alone?"
"You think either one of them would seriously be here this early?"
"Good," she laughed. "I only brought enough for us."
"Do you have any idea how glad I am to see you?" He said to her, his voice groggy.
She smiled as she walked beside him toward the office. "Aww. I missed you a little this week, too."
"I'm fucking starving."
Winn's face fell for a second. "Oh. Well it's a good thing I showed up, then, huh?"
"You have no idea."
He led her into the office and flipped on the light, the florescent overhead blinding him momentarily. He made room on his wrap-around desk and pulled a chair up for her and they began unloading the bags. For a minute or two they ate in silence before he finally glanced up at her, his cheek full of food and asked her, "What's wrong with you?"
She sipped her coffee and blinked at him. "Nothing is wrong with me. It's just--it's early, that's all. I'm not a morning person."
"But yet here you are, an hour and a half before your office opens."
"I came here for you," she said meekly.
He looked across the desk at her and swallowed the bite he had in his mouth. "Shit, Winn. I'm sorry. I just--I haven't slept in over twenty-four hours and I'm just--I'm delirious and my manners seem to have taken the proverbial hike. I appreciate you, do you know that? I really, truly do. Forgive me."
"I wish you would go home. Stuff like that concerns me, being awake for so long. I'm even scared for you to drive."
The way she seemed to care made his heart pound and his nerves provided a new dose of adrenaline that the caffeine from the coffee just wasn't producing fast enough. "I'll be okay," he assured her. "I practically have this down to a science."
They ate in silence for another moment or two before he said, "You never answered my question. What's going on?"
She looked across the desk into his eyes for a moment before she sighed. "I kinda didn't want to talk to you about this, but I kinda didn't know who else to turn to. I feel like such a drama queen, I hate talking about my problems."
"That's what I'm here for," he said gently. "If you have a problem, you can talk to me."
She looked up at him again and poked around at her plate. "Has, uh, has Ike said anything about me?"
For some reason, this wasn't quite what he was expecting to come out of her mouth. He expected a work story. Maybe even a family one. But he assumed that it was inevitable that at some point she would seek his advice about his brother. This was the conversation he dreaded. Even still, it pained him to tell her the truth, because he knew it would hurt her. He shook his head. "No."
Her eyes dropped and she nodded. "Oh. I, uh, I figured so much. I think he's mad at me. Or given up on me. Or both, I don't know." She sighed. "I guess I'm just not his type."
He looked up at her from his plate and furrowed his brow. "What makes you think that?"
She shifted uncomfortably in her chair and let out a breath. "He hasn't called me all week. And I'm not sure why--well, I mean, I have a couple of theories, but--I thought better of him, you know?"
"Didn't you go out last weekend?"
"Yeah. That's just it. I thought everything went well. And I don't know if he's decided to ditch me because we didn't sleep together or because I forgot about him."
Taylor nearly choked on his food and he coughed a little bit. He wanted to laugh, not out of humor, but out of joy. She didn't sleep with Ike AND she forgot about him? This was priceless and it felt like a personal victory. However, he kept his composure and dug back into his plate. "What do you mean you forgot about him?"
"When you came over Sunday, I kinda--well, I forgot about my phone and I didn't check it all day. And he said he would call. And I don't know if maybe my subconscious didn't believe him or not but I just--didn't think about it. And then after I got in bed I found that he DID call. And text. Multiple times. And now I feel horrible about it. I mean, I did text him that night. And on Monday. But he seems to have...returned the favor, I
guess."
He looked up at her, studying her face for a moment. "It's been a week..."
"I know. And I wonder if maybe I'm just not his type. I just heard recently that...well, he's kinda known around here...and--and I don't wanna be another notch in his bedpost, but I don't really wanna be associated with it, either. You know? That's not me. But I like him. So I'm kinda torn..."
Taylor sighed in defeat. "Look, Winn...people--people TALK. You know? They just talk. It's something we've always kinda had to live with. Ike's a good guy. He really is. He may be a little misguided at times, a little misunderstood, maybe falls off the rocker once in awhile, but he's a good guy. And I would know." He felt horrible. He felt horrible for saying any of this because what she'd been told was probably one hundred percent the truth. The truth was, his brother was a dog. And the entire city's social scene knew it. And it broke his heart to see Winn falling under the spell just like all the rest of them did and he wished she would snap out of it. But the truth was, she liked the guy. And if that's what she wanted, well, then--he really had no one to blame but himself for not making the move the first time like Zac suggested. Now it was too late. "Plus, it's been a really busy week, so..."
"You took time out for me this week."
"If that's what you wanna call it," he muttered.
"Well, we may not have spoken much, but it was more of an effort than he made." Then she sighed. "I just--I wanna know what I did wrong. I mean, I know what I did wrong, I didn't answer when he called..."
"But you DID return his texts. Twice. So by doing that, you're NOT at fault here. He is. And I'm sorry, he's my brother, but I gotta say, I'm disappointed in him."
Winn looked down at her plate, her eyes solemn. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come here and unload like that. I haven't seen you in a week, I just wanted to have a nice breakfast with you, you know? Chill out, take a load off. Not just pile it back on."
"No. Don't apologize. I'm here for you. And I want you to be there for me whenever I need to unload. Okay? And this IS nice. Thank you. I'm glad you're here this morning. And not just because you brought me food." He nodded and pointed at her plate. "Now eat that, it's getting cold. Don't let that go to waste, it's amazing."
"I think...I think I maybe shouldn't have told him something I told him last week..."
Dammit. She was still on this? But the statement made Taylor's heart pound and his stomach churn. Honestly, he didn't want to hear what was coming next and he braced himself. "What, uh, what did you tell him?"
"Don't laugh."
For some reason, that calmed his nerves a little and he calmed down and smiled. "I'm sure I won't."
"I, um, I haven't been on a date in nearly two years. I haven't even--" she sighed in frustration. "I've just been out of the game for such a long time."
He looked at her and shoved another forkful of food in his mouth. Table manners eluded him this morning and he didn't really care. "Why?"
"I was engaged. And I caught him cheating on me. And then I just haven't dated."
"Not at all?"
"Not even close."
"Hm." He swallowed and poked around on his plate. "If it makes you feel any better, it's been awhile for me, too. I mean, not THAT long, but..."
"Anyone serious?"
Taylor shook his head. "Never really been in a serious relationship." Then he paused and looked up at her. "Define serious."
Winn shrugged. "I don't know. Have you ever been in love? Needed someone so bad it physically hurt you to think about them?"
He studied her face in thought for a moment, searching for his answer. Then he shook his head and went back to his plate. "Then, no."
She shrugged again and speared some egg with her fork. "Probably for the better. Love is for chumps, anyway. And you're looking at the biggest one."
"Oh?"
"I wear my heart on my sleeve. It's a curse, I wish--sometimes I wish I couldn't feel anything at all."
"Ended that badly, huh?"
She scoffed a laugh and nodded. "Yeah." Then she looked up and looked around. "So this is where the magic happens, huh?"
"No." He pointed out the door and across the hall to the studio. "THAT is where the magic happens. This is where I slave."
Winn giggled and sipped her coffee. "Slave? You must really hate the business part of it."
"I really don't. I just--I hate being cooped up here at this desk, I feel like I'm chained to it sometimes. But, things have to get done, you know?"
"You're preaching to the choir, trust me."
"So why do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Why do you do the work you do? Why do you sit, chained to your desk all day?"
"Because it's all I know."
"That can't be true."
"It's absolutely true. I got this job right out of college. I don't hate it. It's a good job, excellent company to work for--free insurance as long as I don't have dependents..."
Taylor grinned. "Oh, so that's it," he teased. "You stay single for the free insurance. Clever girl."
She laughed and shook her head. "Shut up. You're so stupid."
"But I'm not boring."
"That, you're not."
After a short while, they wrapped up their meal and cleaned up, and Taylor was walking Winn to the front door. "Look, thanks again for breakfast," he said. "I really needed that. Probably more than I thought I did."
She smiled. "Any time, it's my pleasure. This was fun. Maybe we should do super early morning breakfasts like this more often. But not too often. Getting up this early this morning has been brutal."
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Then she shocked him. It came out of nowhere and he swore he held his breath the entire time. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a quick hug. Then she pecked his cheek and tousled his hair. "Go home. You look terrible. Don't make me worry about you today."
Gaining his composure, but barely, he laughed nervously and ran his own hand through his hair. "Gee, thanks for the bout of confidence, there."
"I mean it. Go home and go to sleep."
"Have a good day," he smiled.
And with that, she was out the door and bounding across the street.
A grin was permanently glued to Taylor's face. He felt like he was on top of the world in that moment.
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Zac liked hearing about Isaac's conquests, strange as that seemed. He liked to live vicariously though him, as his own days of being single were long since gone. Not that Zac was any kind of playboy himself back in the day. That had never really been his style. But it was always interesting to hear Isaac tell his stories anyway. It let him experience a lifestyle he wouldn't otherwise experience on his own.
On this day, Zac was getting an earful about the redhead across the street. Curiously, though, Zac had to pull the information out of Isaac himself. Isaac didn't volunteer it. And that was a little out of character.
"Of course she wanted it," Isaac was saying in response to a question about whether he'd slept with her and the reason why he hadn't. "But sometimes--well, sometimes you just gotta keep them wanting more, you know? I have her wrapped, it's no big deal. Besides, you know what they say about redheads..."
"Oh, what, about how they love it when you don't call them for a week?" Taylor's voice suddenly sounded from the doorway he was leaning in. Isaac and Zac both looked up at him, surprised to see him. Taylor walked over and stood next to Zac, busying himself by retrieving a stack of envelopes and a few packs of copy paper.
"What?" Zac asked, confused.
"Oh yeah, redheads love that shit," Taylor continued, matter-of-factly. "Leaves them open and more susceptible to other men. It's like freedom, you know? Which reminds me," he said, a twinkle in his eye as he smirked at both his brothers. "Breakfast tastes SO much more amazing when someone else is buying it for you at seven in the morning."
On that note, he raised a knowing eyebrow at Isaac and consequently left the building.
Zac's jaw had dropped at Taylor's deliberate sarcasm. He looked over at Isaac, who looked toward the now-empty doorway, red-faced, with murder in his eyes. The blood drained from Zac's own face when he realized what was going on.
Both of his brothers were after the same woman. And Taylor had just declared war. This would NOT end well.