Dylan and Taylor (Soul Mates 101 Series)

by Scarlet Wolfe

  I grab her head and kiss her face all over. “Please, sunshine, don’t cry. I feel terrible. We have a lot to talk about, but I want you to know I’ll never leave you again if you’ll forgive me for putting you through all of those days of pain.

  “I was an idiot. I swear I was coming to see you at your apartment before we got the call that you were here. I’m sorry, and I love you so much.”

  “I’m sorry for this and for going behind your back,” she says as she wipes tears from her face.

  “Don’t ever apologize for that again. You told me you were sorry a million times, and I should’ve forgiven you right away. You have no idea how happy I am to know you’re OK. I better get a nurse and your parents. I promise I’ll be right back.”

  I stop at the nurse’s station and tell them Taylor’s awake before I head to the waiting room. Brenda and Vincent are there along with everyone else.

  “Taylor’s awake and talking! She seems fine to me. I think she’s going to be OK.” They all talk to each other excitedly. I can see their weary looks lighten. Tory grabs Nate and plants a big kiss on his cheek. I see him nervously look to Vincent, who’s too busy hugging Brenda. I walk over to my brother and give him a hug.

  “Thanks for being here, Nate.”

  “No problem. I’m glad I came. The Page girls are pretty special.” He’s smiling at me.

  “Oh, man. She got to you, didn’t she?”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to leave, but I don’t have a choice. We’ve been all over the television, bro. I guess there’s nothing else exciting going on in the world of celebrities. You and Taylor aren’t going to have any peace when you go back to school.”

  “I don’t care if the whole world knows I’m with Taylor. I’m going to be with her, so I have to deal with this. I’m just sorry you got stuck in the middle of it.”

  “It wasn’t all bad.” He tilts his head toward Tory.

  “I’d love to see you happy with her, but you’re young, so don’t jump into anything.”

  “Don’t worry about me, just take care of Taylor. I’m gonna head home. I have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “Don’t worry about Mom and Dad. I’ll call them tonight and take the heat off of you. You’ll have enough to deal with at school.” I give him one last pat on the shoulder before I hurry back to Taylor’s room. I can’t wait to see her and hold her again.

  Nate

  I tell everyone bye and turn to Tory. I don’t know how to tell her goodbye.

  “Can I please walk out with you?” she asks.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Tory. I’m afraid you’ll get bombarded again by the paparazzi.”

  “It’s worth it. Please.”

  I gaze down at her pretty eyes that have some life in them again. I really want to kiss her, and the only way that’ll happen is if she walks out with me.

  I take her hand. “Come on.”

  We’re shocked when we get outside and don’t see a single person with a camera. We reach my old truck in the dimly lit parking garage. I grab Tory’s waist and gently push her against the side of it. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since I met you, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop if I did it in your bedroom.”

  Tory’s sexy eyes tilt up at me. “I’ve been waiting for you to kiss me.” I can see that her breathing is becoming short and shallow. I slowly cup one side of her face and lean in. She lets my tongue slip right into her mouth as she grabs both sides of my waist and pulls me against her.

  She slowly and teasingly swirls her tongue with mine. This girl is so hot. We stop our kiss a few times to get our breath and gaze at each other, but unable to resist, we kiss again and again. After several minutes I let her go.

  “Damn, Tory, I’m going to miss you.”

  “You’re always welcome to come see me.” She gives me one last kiss on my cheek and moves out from between me and my truck.

  “I’m sure I’ll be complaining at you through text when I get home and have to explain all this. See you soon, angel-face,” I say as I get into my truck. Dang, I think she’s keepin’ a little piece of my heart. Leaving her sucks, and August can’t come fast enough.

  The End is Just the Beginning

  Hannah

  The girls and I are talking in the waiting room when I hear the guys snickering. I look up and see Tory coming toward us. Now I know why they’re laughing. “Chick, you’re fire engine red, and your chest is even flushed,” I say.

  A big grin appears as she looks down at her chest and back up at me. “He kissed me, and it was amazing.”

  “You can’t fall for Dylan’s brother. That could get complicated,” Chelsea says.

  Tory scowls. “I don’t want a boyfriend when I start college, so I don’t plan on dating him, but he’s so sweet that I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist. You all treat me like a baby. I’m not even two years younger than most of you.”

  “Tory, we’re just trying to look out for you. I can tell you right now that relationships are hard,” Morgan says, looking over at Matt. He sees her and pats his lap.

  “See, I’m being summoned, and if it’s for what I think, then it will be the last time. Here goes.” Morgan gets up to go over to Matt.

  I see him kiss on her neck after she sits on his lap. Then I see him whisper in her ear. Shit. She looks really angry. Morgan pulls away. “Are you asking me if I want to go back to the house just to have sex?” she asks loudly.

  I can’t hear what he says back to her, but it must’ve been the wrong answer. Morgan jumps off his lap. “You’re an asshole, Matt, and I’m sick of you using me. We’re finished this time!” She storms off to the bathroom in tears.

  “I don’t need this bullshit,” Matt says as he tears out of the waiting room doors.

  Brett looks over at me. “I don’t know what caused it, but I don’t like who he’s become.”

  I give him a sympathetic look. The longer the girls and I have known the guys, the more Matt’s become Jekyll and Hyde. He seems to love spending time with us one minute, but then changes right in front of our eyes. It’s as if he realizes he’s enjoying his time with us and has to change that.

  I know he’s a great person inside, but he’s determined not to let his guard down, and he’s going to regret it. Brett says Morgan’s the best thing to ever happen to Matt. I really want all of our friendships to stay intact, and now this will have me working overtime to make that happen. I have a feeling this is just the beginning to a crazy year.

  Taylor

  It hits me that the rest of the furniture I ordered is arriving at my apartment today, so Mom says she’ll go there and wait for it to be delivered. I think she wants to clean up the mess I made, too. I can’t believe what I did. I was exhausted and devastated thinking I wasn’t getting Dylan back and was just trying to numb my pain. I didn’t mean to hurt myself.

  I’d never felt that kind of sadness before and didn’t know how to deal with it. I shut everyone out, which was the first mistake, and then to drink the way I did was wrong. I did exactly what I watched my parents do so many times when I was little. I’m never letting that happen again. My mom and dad leave Dylan and me alone in the room, so we can talk.

  “Where do you want to go when you get out of here? Do you think you should stay with your folks until you get some strength back?”

  “I want to go to the apartment, but only if you want to stay there at night with me. Otherwise, I should probably go to my parents.”

  “You have no idea how bad I want to stay with you. I am not leaving you again, Taylor. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand why, but we’re not supposed to spend a night apart, sweetheart.”

  Dylan

  Vincent comes into Taylor’s room to talk to her for a minute, so I go to the waiting room and sit next to Cody.

  “You missed it, buddy. Matt tried to get Morgan to go back to the house, so she dumped him in front of everyone. It was ugly. He got mad and left.”

  “He’s a dumb ass. She’s the m
ellowest of all the girls and caters to him. She’s smart, beautiful, and Matt’s going to regret letting her walk away. I’m grateful I get another chance with Taylor.”

  “Oh, and I’m just giving you a heads up, so there are no surprises, man. Vincent was being real nosy about our house, and how long we’ll all be living there. I don’t know if he has something planned, but I wanted to let you know about it,” Cody says.

  “Taylor had to learn her behavior from someone, so it wouldn’t be a shock if he’s up to something.”

  Taylor

  My dad runs Dylan out, so he can talk to me. “Darlin, are you wanting Dylan to stay over some, or do you want him to move in with you?”

  “I want him to live with me, but I don’t think he’ll leave the guys. He’ll probably have to go back and forth.”

  “If you want him to move in, then you need to ask him.”

  “I don’t want to put more pressure on him. He might feel like he has to do it since this happened to me.”

  “Darlin’, that man has cried more tears this last week than I’ve ever seen. He loves you like crazy, so ask him. If he says yes, it’ll be because he really wants to live with you. I want to do something nice for the guys. They’ve been such a good friend to you. They’ve stayed here every day because they were so worried.

  “I guess Austin’s parents own the home they live in, but the guys pay the utilities and upkeep. I’m going to take care of that for a while, so they can save their money to get out of there sooner. This way, Dylan won’t have any worries over moving out. I’ll tell him ahead of time, of course.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I love you, and I’m sorry I put you through this.”

  “You don’t need to apologize to me after all you’ve been through. Just don’t shut us out if you ever have problems. I want to be there for you. Dylan finally got you to open up, and I don’t want that to change. I have a lot of years to make up to you. I love you, and I’m going to go back out and send Dylan in, so you can talk to him about the apartment.”

  Dylan comes back into my room with his charming gaze. “You know you suck women in with that smile of yours,” I say. Now his head is swelling, and his grin is growing.

  “Scoot over, chick. I’m lying next to you. Now, don’t forget about my gorgeous hair and these long, dark eyelashes.” He bats his eyes at me as he climbs into the bed. “I often hear how great they are, too.”

  “Yes, I can’t forget about those. They’re the prettiest lashes I’ve ever seen.”

  “Well, you can use a different word besides pretty.”

  I giggle, which I do a lot when I’m with him. He’s so funny. We face each other, smiling continuously.

  “Dylan, I need to ask you something, but don’t think because I’m hurt you have to do it.”

  “I’m going to do whatever it is, so let me hear it?”

  “Would you want to live with me?”

  “I would love to live with you, Taylor, but I have to pay rent at my house, so I can’t pay for the apartment.”

  “The apartment is already paid up for a year. I know you’re really close to your friends, and it’s already been an adjustment for them to have Brett gone, so I understand you’ll need to be over there a lot.

  “I’d never try to keep you from them. I know you’ll sleep at the apartment every night, so you need to be able to call it home and have everything you need. It’s really nice. I think you’re going to love it.”

  “I can’t wait to live with you.” He gives me a sensual kiss, and I know the first thing we’ll be doing when I get out of here.

  “You’re going to love the bed. I bought the largest one with the nicest mattresses. I haven’t slept in it yet. I was waiting for you.”

  He puts his hand behind my neck and pulls me toward him, resting our foreheads together. “I’m so sorry, Taylor. I promise to wake up with you in that awesome bed every damn day. I love you.”

  Nate

  My parents and I are eating dinner when the news comes on. Shit! There are pictures of Tory and me kissing in the parking garage. I did not see those cameras. My dad’s going to kill me. I should only hope because if he doesn’t, then Vincent’s going to get hold of me!

  I glance to my dad. His eyes slowly move from the TV to mine before he smirks at me. “Can you try to be more discreet, son?”

  I knew my dad had a cool side. “Sure thing, Dad.” I can’t look at my mom, but I feel her pat my hand. She’s always cool, so I’m sure she’s smiling, too. After I eat, I go to my room and text Tory.

  Me: Hi, peanut. Everyone stared at me today at school, but I guess I won’t have to deal with it for long since Vincent’s going to kill me! There are pics of us kissing all over the television and Internet!

  Tory: I know, it’s cool, isn’t it?

  She would say something like that.

  Me: If I’m going to be treated like a celebrity, I’d at least like a fat bedroom and restroom like you have. Oh, and let’s not forget the Lamborghini. I need one of those, too.

  Tory: I’m glad to hear from you, but sorry you had a rough day. My dad won’t kill you. He’s too cool a dude. You can use my bed and shower anytime, by the way.

  Me: Don’t talk like that. I’m gettin’ excited, and we both know I’m not gettin’ any here now. Ha ha! When everyone gives me grief, I’ll just picture your gorgeous face.

  Tory: I’m sure the girls will look at you as a challenge. They’ll want to be the one that stole Tory Page’s man. You’ll have them lined up, and since I can’t say you’re mine, you can misbehave free of guilt. Aren’t you a lucky guy? I miss you already. Sweet dreams.

  Me: You’re the only girl on my mind, angel-face. Sweet dreams.

  There’s No Place like Home

  Dylan

  I had to go back to school and work today. All across campus, people were staring at me, and friends from my classes were coming up to me, letting me know how shocked they were to find out Vincent Page’s daughter goes to Vandy, and I’m dating her.

  None of it upset me like I thought it would. I want everyone to know she’s mine. I feel protective of her though, and I don’t really like people knowing she’s here in Nashville. I’m going out of my mind not being with her right now, but the Pages promised to take good care of her.

  The hospital released her this morning, so they took her back to their place. I’m on my way home to shower and pack some things before going to get her. I’m nervous but really excited to take her to the apartment.

  ***

  “Dylan, come in. I know you want to see Taylor, but I need to speak with you for a minute,” Vincent says when he answers the door.

  “What’s going on? Is she OK?” I follow him into the family room.

  “Yeah, she’s great. The doctor said she should make a full recovery. She told me you’re going to move in with her.”

  “I should’ve asked her if you have a problem with that,” I say nervously.

  “I don’t. As a matter of fact, I’m glad you’ll be there with her. I don’t want to do anything behind your back, so I want to know if you care if I do something, but I’ll tell you, I’m used to getting my way,” Vincent says.

  “OK, what is it?”

  “I’m going to give Austin’s parents some cash to cover the expenses at the house until every last one of the guys move out of there. I don’t want you worrying about helping them out.” I watch him make a drink at the bar.

  “They weren’t expecting you and Brett to move out already, and Cody said Matt will probably move out in June. I hear nervous boy won’t move in there until August when he moves here for school, so I don’t want you worrying about it.

  “I can’t tell you what it means to know that many people were worried about my girl. Your friends stayed at the hospital all those hours because they wanted to be there for you and Taylor, so I want to do something for them. All the girls want for nothing, but I know you guys have busted your asses working and going to college. This is the least I can do.
”

  “That’s really generous of you. I’d love to see them be able to move out of there sooner, and that would make it happen, so sure.”

  “That was easier than I expected.”

  “I’d do anything for any one of those guys, so I’m not going to tell you no when it’ll make their lives easier. I also don’t want to piss you off.” I chuckle.

  “Good, just get me the name and number of Austin’s parents. There’s one other thing I want to do for you all. I have an awesome place in Los Angeles. I want to fly all of you there right after you and your buddies graduate. It’s perfect timing because I’m having a big party before I leave to go back on tour. You’ll get to meet some bands, which will be good for your career, and then you all can stay in the house for a week.”

  “Wow, that’s awesome. I don’t even know what to say.”

  “I’ll get you the dates, so tell everybody for me. Oh, and invite nervous boy, too. Tory pestered me until I agreed to let him come along. Tell him I saw the pictures all over the television of his lips on my daughter’s. That’ll stress him out good until I see him again.” Vincent lets out the biggest laugh. Nate had this coming.

  “I really appreciate everything, and I umm ... I’ve been wanting to tell you that as soon as you want to get in the studio, I’m down for it.”

  “Awesome, man. I can’t wait until we can jam together.”

  I hang my head and shake it in wonder. “I never thought I’d hear my idol, Vincent Page, say that to me. Meeting Taylor has really changed my life, but all for the better. I love her and promise to take good care of her.”

  “I know you will. Now, go get her spoiled ass out of my house.” He pats me on the back before I take off up the stairs.

  I run to her room and knock on her door. She opens it and grins. All the light is back in her eyes, and it’s radiating around her.

  “Are you ready to go? I’m taking you to the apartment and putting you in our damn bed.” I pick her up and start carrying her downstairs.