Dylan and Taylor (Soul Mates 101 Series) (12 page)

“Yes, my dad’s a chef. He opened his first restaurant years ago in Atlanta. It was very successful, so he opened more around the country, but it’s not a chain. Each serves Italian but are unique in some way, and it’s very upscale dining. My father runs the corporate office now. My nana is Italian and taught my father how to cook. This is actually her spaghetti recipe.”

“It’s delicious,” Austin says before he shovels in a big fork full of noodles. Everyone compliments her on how good their meal is.

“Morgan took me to the one in Nashville. The food was excellent, but it was definitely a new experience since it was the nicest place I’ve ever eaten at,” Matt says before he smiles at her. She looks thrilled that he’s talking about her. I don’t understand why he can’t be that way more often.

I pour a third glass of wine. I’m going to hyperventilate. What if Cody asks me next what my family does? “I need to excuse myself for a minute.” I get up and go to the restroom. After running my hand under cold water, I pat it on my forehead. I feel flushed from the wine, but my nerves are my enemy right now. When I come out of the restroom, Dylan’s waiting for me.

“Are you sure you’re OK? You’re worrying me.”

“I think we need to talk right now. Are you finished with dinner?”

“Yes. You’re talking yourself out of seeing me, aren’t you?” I see the worry in his fields of green.

I wrap my arms around his neck. “Absolutely not. I’m worried you’re going to run when I tell you something.” I look away from him.

Dylan takes hold of my chin and turns my head to him.

“Ain’t happenin’, sunshine, but we need to go upstairs. You have me very curious. Although, I don’t know if I’ll let you come back down.” He plants a gentle kiss on my lips.

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all. Taking my hand, he leads me back to the dining room. “Thanks for dinner, but Taylor and I need to discuss something, so we might be down later.”

I glance to Brett, Hannah and Chelsea. I’m sure the fear is written all over my face.

“OK, Dylan, if that’s what you want to call it,” Cody says with a chuckle.

When we get to my room, I pace around until Dylan grabs my shoulders, stopping me and leaning down to look into my eyes. “Come on, you’re great. It can’t be that bad, so just tell me.”

I kick off my boots and while I’m speaking, I start removing my jeans. “OK, this is going to sound like a strange request or the hottest one you’ve ever heard, but I’m hoping this will tell you without me having to say the words.”

Dylan’s eyes are huge and hungry as he watches me remove my jeans. Maybe this isn’t the best way to tell him since he’s obviously struggling now to focus on what I’m saying. I walk over to the end of the bed and sit down before I lie back and scoot myself up some. I’m now only wearing my off the shoulder sweater and silky, black panties.

“This—is—hot.” He’s staring at me like he’s a horse about to be let out of the gate.

“Stand in front of me, Dylan.”

“Sweetheart, if you want me to do something to you, all you have to do is ask.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Dylan, I’m trying to be serious.”

“You have me really confused, and I don’t know how long I can stand here and not touch you, so I hope you’re going to let me soon.”

I close my eyes and gasp for air. Giving him the news while almost naked is a little manipulative, but I’m hoping if he already has his eyes on the prize, he won’t be able to walk away.

“Pull my panties down, Dylan.”

“This just keeps getting better.” He leans over and slips a finger into the top of each side of my panties and slowly starts pulling them down. I swear I’d never have the nerve to do this if it wasn’t for the wine and the fact that we’ve been almost naked around each other.

He stops in an instant, a grin appearing as he spots the tattoo on the left side of my lower abdomen that reads ‘Strip it Off’.

“I don’t know why you think this would bother me.”

“You’re the first guy to see it.”

“Even better. Baby, this tattoo is sexy, just like you, and it’s a bonus that it’s the name of my all-time favorite rock band.” He admires it before he looks up at me.

“What’s wrong, Taylor? I don’t get what you’re stressed about.”

I close my eyes and feel as if my heart’s racing out of my chest.

“It’s about my dad …”

One Step Backward

Dylan

I look down at the tattoo and back at her three times before it finally registers in my brain. Information starts flooding my mind. Taylor telling me she grew up with rock music, the guitar playing, the wealth, her edgy rocker style and the two tattoos. Her last name. Fucking—Page.

“Taylor Page, just say it. I need you to say it now.” I’m going into full blown panic mode.

She sits up at the edge of the bed and stares into my eyes. “My father’s Vincent Page from Strip it Off.”

“No—fucking—way,” I say aggressively. I run my hand through my hair, and I’m really missing my hat at the moment. I can’t even comprehend what I’m hearing. My heart pounds harder than it ever has, and I feel light-headed.

“You’re reacting even worse than I imagined.”

“You can’t say how I’m reacting, Taylor, because I don’t even know!”

“Well, you’re not telling me that this is the most exciting news ever with a huge grin on your face, and I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I can’t take you yelling at me!” She flings herself back on the bed and begins wailing.

I storm out of her room, slamming the door behind me. I go straight to my bedroom and grab my coat and keys before running down the stairs. My friends are in the great room.

“What’s with the yelling, man?” Cody asks.

Brett steps in front of the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care. Get out of my way!”

“Dylan, we’re getting snowed in, and it’s dark, so you can’t leave,” Hannah says.

“Move it, Brett.”

He steps aside. “You’re going to regret this.”

I open the door and see the snow. “Just great!” I shut it and turn around.

“Don’t do this, Dylan. Hear that crying?” Brett asks, pointing upstairs. “You’re causing that, not her. She can’t help who she is. It’s no different than Hannah, and you don’t hold that against her, and you sure as hell didn’t want me too, either.”

“I’m pissed that she’s just now telling me. It figures you all fucking knew.” I pace in a circle near the door.

“What’s going on?” Matt asks.

I glance to Brett. I’m so damn confused. “Dylan, I’m the only guy who knows.”

“I’m shocked Hannah’s the one who folded,” I say wryly.

“I’m trying to help you, man, but you better watch your damn mouth. Taylor’s the one who told me and not voluntarily. I busted her sitting outside your room yesterday listening to you play. After talking to her, I realized she was hiding something, so I got it out of her.”

Hannah walks up to me, and I can see I’ve made her mad. “I know it’s a shock and a lot to deal with, but if you walk away from her, even for a small amount of time, she most likely won’t forgive you since you’ll be doing what she hates the most, treating her different because of who she is.”

Cody stands up from the chair he’s sitting in. “Bro, you need to tell me what’s going on.”

“I can’t even say it, someone else tell them.” I finally stop pacing and look at my friends.

Brett looks at Matt, Cody and Austin. “Taylor’s father is Vincent Page, and yes I mean
the
Vincent Page from Strip it Off.”

“No way!” Cody yells.

Matt shakes his head. “That’s messed up.”

“Why did you all keep this from us for so long?” Austin asks, looking at the girls.

“Like I told Brett, we didn’t think it was a big deal since we’ve grown up around celebrities or their kids, either through our parents or private school. Then Taylor asked us not to tell. She’s over the top self-conscious about it,” Hannah replies.

Matt still looks in shock. “Man, this explains so much about her.”

Brett points at me. “Dylan, get your ass up there and talk to her. What’s your problem?”

“I’m angry that she didn’t trust me enough to tell me until today, and we’ve fooled around. He’s my idol, and I’ve had my hands all over his daughter. He’ll probably have me taken out by a hit man or something.”

Chelsea jumps up from her chair, puts her hands on her hips and glares at me. I guess I’m just pissing everyone off. “You’re being ridiculous, Dylan. This is why Taylor didn’t tell you until now. You mean you think he’s a murderer because he has fame and money?”

I throw my hands in the air. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to think about any of this, Chelsea.”

“He’s an exceptional guitar player, but otherwise he’s no different than the rest of us. Actually, he gave Taylor a horrible home life until just a few years ago, so I don’t know if I’d give him that much credit,” she adds.

Hannah’s still in front of me, and now she’s pointing a finger in my face. “She doesn’t tell anyone who her father is, yet she trusted you enough to tell, so if you don’t want to be with her now, then you don’t deserve her.

“I thought you’d react differently. I can’t believe you were going to go out that door and leave her up there crying.” She turns and walks toward the stairs. “I have to go check on her.”

“No, I’ll do it,” I say with frustration. “You need to give me a break. The guys can tell you that since I was a little boy, I’ve worshipped the ground that man walks on.” I go on up the stairs, wondering what the hell my life is going to be like now.

After grabbing some tissues, I do the only thing I know how to do to comfort Taylor. I walk into her room and get into bed with her. I don’t bother knocking. She would tell me to go away when we both already know that I won’t. She cries as I pull her against me, but she doesn’t fight it.

“Taylor, please stop crying. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you again, and I shouldn’t have walked out that door. I’m sorry, but you shocked the shit out of me. Your father is not just any person to me. Please roll over so we can talk.”

Taylor rolls over and takes a tissue from the box I hold up. I feel pain in my chest when I see her red eyes. “I freaked out because he’s been my idol since I was a little kid, and on top of that, I feel guilty because I’ve had my hands all over you.”

“That’s one of the reasons I told you tonight. I want us to ... um ... do more together. I mean, if you want to, so you have a right to know who my father is beforehand in case you don’t want anything to do with me. I can’t have sex with you and have you walk away after. I don’t know if I could recover from that. My feelings are really strong for you, Dylan.”

“I don’t know what I think about all this right now. All I know for certain is how much I care about you. I need a little time to process this and have you answer some questions for me. I’m hurt that you didn’t think you could tell me until today.”

“Once you took care of me that first night, I wanted to tell you, but there hasn’t been a good time. We were either fighting, or we were having such a good time that I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“We haven’t gotten along since I met you in July, so you have to understand why I waited. If I’d told you, and then we started getting along, I would’ve wondered if it was because of my dad.”

“I like you because of the great person you are. It would never have anything to do with fame or money.”

“I know that now, and that’s why I finally felt I could tell you, but you do care that Vincent’s my dad. It’s exactly what I worried would happen.”

“I’ve idolized your father, so I feel like I’ve betrayed him by messing around with his daughter.”

“I believe what we have between us is more than a physical thing, Dylan. That makes a huge difference. This is why I have such a hard time letting people in. People put celebrities on a pedestal and only see them for their talents.

“They have great qualities like everyone else, but they are also flawed with real problems. You’re not being fair to me if you treat me different. You knowing my father could be a wonderful thing for you and especially because of your talent.”

“We’re not going there, so don’t even think about it.”

“It’s too late. I already heard how gifted you are.”

“If you want to talk about fair, it wasn’t fair that you listened to me play without me knowing.”

“I guess Brett told you that. It wasn’t planned. You were just so amazing that I couldn’t walk away from it.”

“Please don’t say that. I’m not that good.”

“If anyone would know it would be me.”

“After everything I’ve had to take in already, I don’t want to have this conversation. You’re overwhelming me.”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

“So, how does your dad handle you dating?”

“I’m an adult, remember?”

“I’m serious, Taylor. You have to talk to me about this if you want me to be comfortable around him.”

“I’ve only had one boyfriend, and that was the asshole. I was sixteen when we dated, and he smacked me around for several months. Then right after I gave up my virginity and we had sex a few times, he dumped me.

“I took it hard because he was my first love, and I gave him my trust, which is very difficult for me. You’re the first guy I’ve let in since. Besides the girls, every time I tell someone about Vincent, they treat me different. That’s why it’s taken me so long to trust that you guys wouldn’t do the same.”

“You’re filling in all the pieces of the puzzle to your personality I’ve been missing, but you still haven’t answered my question.”

“My dad didn’t care for Sam, but he never gave me a hard time about seeing him. He didn’t like him because Sam was more reserved and snobby. He wasn’t into rock music and couldn’t relate to our family. He wasn’t a nice person, but I didn’t want to see it. My dad never found out about Sam hitting me.”

“Are you telling me he’s the only guy you’ve taken around your father?”

“Yes, but believe it or not, my dad doesn’t like it. He thinks he’s really screwed me up, especially since Tory is boy crazy. If you know so much about my dad, I’m sure you can imagine what my childhood was like. To say my parents were wild is an understatement.