The alarm the next morning rang harshly at 4:30 am. Taylor sleepily rolled over and smacked his hand down on the snooze button before rolling back towards the warmth that was Exhale and winding his arm around her waist, snuggling as close as he could without being on top of her.

“You should get up,” she said groggily, still not fully awake herself, but coherent enough to know that Taylor had to catch a plane in a couple of hours.

“But I don’t wanna,” he whined, burying his face in her hair.

In the midst of her sleepiness, Exhale managed to laugh and turn towards him. “Well, maybe if you would have just gone to sleep last night instead of seducing me…twice…maybe you would have gotten some sleep, and maybe you wouldn’t be so tired this morning,” she teased.

Grinning, Taylor replied, “Maybe so, but I didn’t hear you complaining. All I heard was-”

Exhale clapped her hand over his mouth and pinched his nose, preventing him from the impressions of her mid-sex that he so loved to embarrass her with. She removed her hand slowly to ensure she was still close enough should he decide to continue his sentence where he’d left off, but he didn’t. Instead, he only continued to grin knowingly at her. “Well, I think you just successfully put an end to any and all pre-going-out-of-town-sex for the rest of our lives, Taylor. Hope it was worth it.”

The grin quickly disappeared, but the ringing of the alarm once again stopped him before he could continue their playful banter. He rolled away and smacked the alarm, this time turning it completely off. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up slowly. “I really do need to hurry up, now. Ike’s gonna be here soon to pick me up…”

“Told you so…” Exhale replied in a sing-song voice before turning over and attempting to fall back asleep.

Rising slowly off the bed and to his feet, Taylor stretched his arms over his head, feeling the familiar burning sensation travel down the muscles of his back before he grabbed some boxers from the dresser and shuffled to the master bathroom. Cranking up the hot water in the shower, the entire bathroom quickly became enveloped in steam. The water was nearly scalding by the time he stepped under the spray, but that was the way he liked it. It could be close to 100 degrees outside and he could come in drenched in sweat, and he would still take a steaming hot shower. Closing his eyes, he put his face under the shower head and let the water run down his cheeks. He tried not to think about how in about twenty minutes, his brothers would be knocking on his front door, waiting to be taken to the airport by one or both of his parents. He tried not to think about how hard it was going to be to have to say good-bye to Exhale, knowing he wouldn’t be able to see her or hold her or kiss her for the next two weeks.

When he had finally finished washing his hair and scrubbing his body, he threw the door of the bathroom open quickly, eager to allow some of the steam to escape. He stepped into the bedroom, wrapping and securing his dark red towel around his waist as he did. Exhale was still fast asleep in the cherry wood four poster bed that Exhale had fallen in love with immediately when they had gone furniture shopping. He remembered how he had fought hard against her on that one, thinking the bed looked too girly for his house. But now, as he looked at Exhale curled up on her side under the thick, deep red comforter, he thought it looked amazing.

In the two years since they’d been together, things had been far from perfect. They had broken up twice before, though it was never for more than a couple of days at a time. The breakups had been more tests of will than anything else, each of them trying to see who would give in and apologize first. It was soon after the last breakup and reconciliation that Exhale had begun staying over at Taylor’s house for extended periods.

Since his stint of intense fame in 1997 and 1998, Taylor had always thought that he would never be able to completely trust anyone outside of his family and close friends that had been there since his childhood. Then he had met Exhale, and he couldn’t believe that he really had her sometimes. It was almost too good to be true. She was someone who loved him for who he was in every day life, not who he was in magazines or in interviews or on album covers. She was someone he could trust with his life. He couldn’t say that about many people.

Glancing at the clock, he knew Isaac would be banging on the door any second. Of the three of them, Isaac was definitely the most punctual. Even though as a band, they were known for being late for everything, it was never because Isaac didn’t at least attempt to get them places on time, especially the airport. Taylor threw on a pair of his favorite worn jeans and a snug-fitting Rolling Stones T-shirt with his black Chucks. After running a brush through his hair and brushing his teeth, he was sure he would have only enough time to tell Exhale good-bye before being rushed out the door by his brother.

He sat down on the side of the bed, carefully so as not to scare her, but with enough movement to wake her up. Exhale opened her eyes and looked at him blearily, trying to focus on his face. “Whassamatta?” she mumbled.

“I’m about to leave, baby,” he said, smoothing his hand over her dark brown hair, tucking it behind her ear. “Are you gonna tell me bye?”

Exhale sat up, rubbing her eyes with her fists and stretching. As she did, her pale blue tank top crept up her torso, exposing her navel for just a split second. Taylor smiled, knowing he’d miss waking up to that in the mornings. She crawled across the bed to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sitting on his lap sideways, laying her head on his shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you so much,” she whispered, tears prickling her eyes.

“I know, baby,” he replied, putting an arm around her waist and patting her hip. “I’m gonna miss you too. But I’ll be home before you know it, and you’ll be sick of me again.”

Pouting, Exhale lifted her head and shook it from side to side. “No I won’t,” she protested with an exaggerated whine.

Taylor laughed, planting a kiss on her forehead before touching her cheek and guiding his lips to hers. “I love you, Haley,” he whispered when they had pulled apart.

“I love you too,” she whispered back, kissing him again, wishing she could bottle up this feeling of being with him and open it every now and then for the next two weeks to sustain her until he returned.

Standing up and taking her with him in his arms, Taylor held her close for a second before turning and laying her gently in the bed, pulling the covers up around her and kissing her once more. “Go back to sleep, baby. I’ll call you tonight when we get there, okay?”

“Okay,” she murmured, keeping her arms around his neck and not wanting to let go. “Be careful, okay?”

“I will,” he assured her, gently prying her hands apart and removing them from around him. “I have to go now, baby.” His voice was teasing, but in reality he wished he didn’t have to make her let go. “I’ll see you soon.”

Taylor left the room, carrying only his pillow with him under one arm. They had moved all of his luggage to the living room the night before so that it was one less thing he had to do that morning. He closed the door quietly behind him, trying to let Exhale go back to sleep. But both of them knew that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, Exhale turned onto her side with tears in her eyes, wishing she could throw some clothes in a bag and leave with them. As she lay there, she could hear Isaac’s distinctive forceful knock on the front door, followed by murmured chatter and laughter as Isaac and Zac helped Taylor carry his bags out to the car. When she heard the beeping of the security alarm being set and the firm closing of the front door, she knew she was alone. And the tears that had been filling her eyes began to spill down her cheeks.

INDEX | CHAPTER THREE