The next day I rode with Zac to pick up the girls at the hotel and bring them to the airport instead of going to the studio like Isaac had asked. I don't know if Zac got the same message I did but he didn't say anything about going into the studio. Usually we talked about these kinds of things a lot, but I'm sure if I confirmed it with Zac we would have to go and frankly I didn't want to miss seeing Kris off at the airport.
When we got to the hotel I was kind of antsy to see Kris again. Zac noticed immediately and cracked a joke at my expense. I hit him and he shut up. He knocked on the door to the girls' room and waited for someone to answer. Ginger opened the door and subconsciously looked at me first before looking at Zac. My heart sank. I'd all but forgotten about her. I didn't want anything to do with her anymore but I knew that wasn't going to happen if I was now dating her best friend, and she was still dating my brother. She threw her arms around Zac and I slipped past them inside. Kris was sitting at the table with a box of tissues, looking not entirely healthy.
"Hey you," I said, sitting down next to her. She looked up at me and offered me a small smile. "How are you doing?"
"Not so well," she said. "Ginger got me sick."
"Ginger?"
"She was sick a couple of days ago and I guess I caught the last wind of it," she said.
"Kris, are you ready to go?" Ginger asked impatiently from the door. Obviously Zac hasn't mentioned his revelation to her just yet.
"Yeah, yeah," Kris said. She got up and grabbed her box of tissues. She reached for her bag but I picked it up and she looked grateful for it. From just looking at the way she stood, I don't think she really would have been able to carry it. I held her probably disgustingly snotty hand in mine without really caring where it'd been.
In the car I sat in the back seat with Kris, my arm around her and her head against my chest. I could feel the fever on her forehead. Ginger kept sneaking looks back at us and after a few times it got very annoying. "Is there something wrong, Ginger?" I asked.
"No," she said, turning back to the front quickly. When no one else was looking I kissed Kris's head and I saw a smile grow over her face. This feeling was so weird. I loved it, don't get me wrong, but it was so new. She was sick and all I wanted to do was touch her (not in a sexual way or anything) and be around her. The last time I was around anybody who was sick I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole and here I am with my arm around Kris.
At the airport it turned out the flight was delayed an hour already and other flights were following. It was getting incredibly stormy outside so who knew how long we would be stuck in there. "Well," Zac said, "I'm starving. I need to get something to eat."
"I need some soup," Kris said.
"I'll find you some soup," Zac said. He took her hand and walked off with her, leaving me and Ginger by ourselves. As soon as Zac and Kris were gone, Ginger stood up.
"Come on," she said.
"What?" I asked.
"Let's go. I'm sure we can find a place to be alone for ten minutes." I paused. Oh my God. She still wanted to do this.
"Um, no," I said.
"What?"
"Oh, come on Ginger," I said. "I'm not going to do this anymore. It isn't right." She put a hand on her hip.
"You never seemed to think that before."
"I'm with Kris now, Ginger," I said. "This would be cheating on her and I'm not about to do that." She huffed.
"You're not 'with Kris' now, Taylor! You two went on one date. You've been on lots of dates and frankly, I don't care." I shook my head. "What the hell? Are you, like, in love with her or something?" I didn't say anything. "Oh my God!"
"I'm going to find them," I said, getting up. Ginger followed behind me and tried very hard to get my attention but I kept pushing her away.
"You really don't want to do this anymore, do you?"
"No, I don't," I said. "There they are." I saw Zac and Kris sit down. Zac had a sandwich and Kris had a steamy bowl of soup. Ginger and I sat down with them.
"I had a feeling you were going to show up," Zac said. "It going boring without us, didn't it?"
"Very boring," Ginger said, giving me a pointed look. I ignored it. Zac took the pickles off his sandwich and Ginger ate them. Despite the fact that Ginger and I have been sleeping together the two of them looked so happy together. I don't know what she was like when it was just the two of them, or how she was going to act in the future, but I can see them going somewhere�if she doesn't mess things up.
Zac finished his sandwich in record time and he and Ginger left, leaving Kris and I alone for the first time. I moved across from her so I could see her better. She was halfway through her soup. "You know Ginger almost convinced me that you weren't going to come along today," Kris said. She sounded so cute with her voice clogged like that.
"Well I guess I proved her wrong, now didn't I?" I said.
"Yeah, you did. So you're really serious about this, aren't you?" she asked. I nodded.
"Of course I am. You are one incredible person."
"Stop flattering me," she said, blushing like she did the first time I complimented her. "I might get used to it."
"I doubt you will." She looked like a person who didn't receive compliments often. I couldn't understand why, she was absolutely breathtaking, but I guess living alongside Ginger could make anybody feel inferior. Ginger had her fame and fortune, and although I thought Kris was much more beautiful than Ginger, Ginger stood out while Kris remained behind the scenes. I guess Kris liked it that way, but it wasn't a glamorous lifestyle, living in the shadow of someone like Ginger. "So," I said, breaking my train of thought, "When can I see you again?"
"I'd have to check out my schedule," Kris said. "I'm a lot less busy than Ginger is, so I have a lot more time off."
"I've got a while before I'm really busy again," I said. "My schedule's kind of weird. I have weeks where I hardly get a moment to myself, and then a lot of free time, and then back to no free time."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kris said. "Ginger's like that."
"What are you like?" I asked.
"Nothing like her."
"Good." I sat back. "Oh, by the way, can I shoot some rapid fire questions at you?"
"Shoot away," she said, grinning.
"What's your last name?"
"Carter."
"Birthday?"
"March 5th."
"Hey, that's close to mine. Favorite color?"
"Green." I nodded. It never hurt to know the facts, and frankly it would be embarrassing if I talked about her and I didn't even know her last name. "Well, I'm done." I looked at her bowl and she hadn't finished.
"I don't think you are," I said. She gave me a look.
"Are you my father or my boyfriend?" For the first time in my life I was proud to say the latter.
After Ginger and Kris left, I found myself a phone hog with a long-distance bill sky high because I was talking to Kris so much. I didn't know I could talk to somebody for so long. I don't exactly have a lot of girl friends and the only people I really talk on the phone for longer than ten minutes is Leo and sometimes Zac, when he's being unusually chatty and most of the time he's talking about Ginger.
I was on the phone with Kris a few weeks later, the both of us watching a movie that was playing on cable. She and Ginger were in New York, stopping in with the publisher before they returned to Europe for promotions. "She is such a bitch," Kris said as a character appeared on the screen for the first time. "I hate her."
"Yeah, me too."
"Oh, before I forget," she said, "I'm not needed in Europe for another two days so I can come by to see you."
"Oh, great."
"I haven't made a flight yet but I'll tell you when I come in."
"Okay."
"Are you going to busy?"
"No. I'm off for the next few days." A large smile spread over my face as I thought about seeing her again. I've spoken to her nearly every single day since she left and I still can't believe how amazing she is. It just gets better and better and although I've become subject to much teasing, I love it.
"So do I get to meet Leo?"
"Sure," I said. I talk about Leo more than I talk about anything else. "Just make sure to ignore him when he talks about�um�anything."
"Then what's the point of meeting him if I can't listen to him?"
"Well he'll probably just embarrass the hell out of me and you don't want to hear that�"
"Of course I do!" she said, laughing. "Oh, the bitch just got killed." I looked up at the screen and smiled. The chick just got an arrow through the eye and I couldn't help but laugh that Kris was only not scared, she was happy about it. I've been to scary movies with chicks and yeah it's all fun and good when they get scared and jump into my arms, but frankly it is so relieving to watch a scary movie with someone like Kris. She just doesn't get scared.
"This one's really good," I said. Another person got brutally murdered and Kris laughed.
"That looks so fake."
"Yeah, but they can't make it too real, you know," I said. "Criminal investigation�"
"True." My front door opened and Zac came in. I made a face. He really, really needed to stay at home. I can't have a decent conversation without him interrupting.
"Hey Zac," I said.
"Hi Zac!" Kris said.
"Kris says hi," I told him. He waved, looking through my mail without a word. "All right�so anyway I�" Zac walked into the room and changed the channel while falling onto the couch. "What the hell, I was watching that!"
"Whatever, Taylor."
"Kris, I'll call you back."
"Okay, I'll look for a flight, sweetie."
"Okay. Bye." I hung up the phone. "What's wrong?"
"I was talking to Ginger on the way over here," Zac said, sitting up. "And I don't know, somehow we got onto the topic of something that happened, like, a month ago and her stories conflicted. They've been doing that a lot lately." I paused.
"So�what does that mean?"
"I think she's been cheating on me." I took a moment to think of a reaction that wouldn't pin me as the culprit. I couldn't think of one so I just went with my gut.
"Are you sure?"
"No," he said, sighing. "No. It's just different between us now, you know? At the beginning it was a certain way and then it changed. I don't know where it went wrong but it changed and I don't know what happened. Then she started telling me these stories of where she'd been and what she'd been doing, and they would change all the time�it makes sense, doesn't it?"
"Maybe it does," I said, "but give it some time. Don't think about what happened before! Concentrate on right now. If it's still wrong now then maybe something is happening and maybe�maybe she just isn't right for you."
"It feels right, though."
"Well sometimes it takes more than that. You know relationships take work," I told him. He snorted.
"Why am I taking relationship advice from you?" he asked. "You've never even been in a relationship."
"Hey, this is damn good advice and you better listen to me," I told him, wagging a finger in his direction. He gave me a look and I quickly put my hand down. "I'm sorry." He sighed.
"So what did Kris have to say?"
"She's coming tomorrow," I said. I could see a little bit of disgust in his face. "Alone." The disgust went away.
"Oh," he said. "Good. So, are you going to do her?"
"Come on, Zac�"
"What?"
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe." Zac shook his head. "What? What does that mean?"
"You are so in love with her."
"Whatever, Zac."
"Taylor and Kris, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S�" I only shook my head.