Taylor lay in her bed and thought about her date that evening. She had gone home for two days and had arrived the night before; now she was thinking about what to wear and where the night might lead her.
David had called Sunday night—the day they had all gone to the beach—and had set up a nice enough sounding date. They were going to go to an early showing of the new Rachel Stevens movie and then to The Pink House for dinner; she was excited about that. The restaurant had struggled in relative irrelevance for five years until a new chief and a new manager had transformed the place with a paint job and a new menu. The chief had brought with him an amazing recipe for mushroom risotto with venison loin; it was a hit—all those who had thought the restaurant so-so before now fell in love with it. In short, The Pink House was the restaurant de jour and Taylor was very impressed that David had nailed down a reservation.
Sunday. It had been such a strange day; Ryan had been very distant at first but slowly, very slowly, he had melted some. It had been a long process; but after repeated efforts, she had broken him down a bit and had gotten him to say a few words to her at a time—he had even smiled at her and shared a joke. She wasn't sure what was going on with him, but Summer was sure he was jealous. Taylor had been such a success at that party, why wouldn't Ryan had been a little bit jealous about her? Maybe there was something there in his heart that he was trying to hide? She didn't know and she knew that Ryan wasn't about to come out and share.
It was nearly noon now—time to get up. She rose and stretched her body, feeling each muscle expand; it was a beautiful feeling.
"I wish Summer was here." She always liked having her around, she had such an eye for outfits and makeup. Taylor hoped that Summer wouldn't be late in coming home tonight; she needed at least an hour to get things together and tonight she wanted to look really good for her date.
It was dull around the house though, with no one around. Seth was usually down town all day and Summer worked in an office, so there was not much for her do during the days. She had thought maybe she'd go in with Summer today and shop around, but she had gotten in late and wanted to sleep in. "Maybe tomorrow." Taylor mused to herself. She certainly couldn't sit around all day doing nothing though; maybe the pool?
"Food sounds like a good idea." Nothing in the kitchen appealed to her however; there were eggs and bacon but cooking didn't really interest her. "A bagel would be nice." Only problem was, there were no bagels in the apartment, nor coffee. "Looks like I'm going out."
As she drove down into the city she thought about her mother; it had been an interesting trip to San Diego. Ever since the great earthquake of 07 Victoria Townsend had become a kindler and gentler woman. Though she knew she would never have a real experience with her, it was better now then it ever was; Taylor felt that she could actually learn to love her mother.
The day was dry and sunny and the sun glared down on her hard. It was an ordinary summer day in Los Angeles; the smog was already starting to thick and Taylor could imagine what Paris would be like today. It would be smoggy to be sure, but the smells and sounds of Paris would also be thick in the air and Taylor missed it all for a moment.
She pulled into one of the fancier coffee shops and ordered a latte and bagel. As she ate in silence, relishing the bitter taste of the latte, Taylor noticed a familiar form coming towards her: it was Ryan.
"Hi Taylor." He seemed awkward and a little bit humble besides her. "How are you?"
"I'm good. Want to sit down?" She felt very nervous next to him too—she didn't know why it was happening but she felt herself becoming more and more drawn to him. He looked amazing and his scent as he sat down next to her reminded her of the times when they dated, when she fell in love with him and convinced herself that she wasn't, because she was scared.
"Thanks." He was silent for a moment or two as she sipped her coffee. "I wanted to apologize."
"For what?" She knew what but she wanted to hear it from his own lips.
"For acting the way I did Sunday. I was a jerk and I shouldn't have been."
"Is everything okay with us?"
"Yea—I was just not feeling myself." Taylor was disappointed; he was lying to her because he didn't want to tell the truth—he had felt a stab of jealousy, there was something there.
"Oh-well, that's okay."
"Your date is tonight isn't it?"
"Yea—I'm actually kind of nervous."
"Don't be—David is a great guy." What it must have taken to say that, Taylor wondered. "Where is he taking you?"
"The Pink House." She wondered if he had ever been there.
"It's not very good; Ryan was one of the few people who did not agree that the mushroom risotto and venison loin was divine—Amelia had pressed him to order it and maybe his palate was just not that refined.
"Oh." Taylor pouted, slightly disappointed that something she had set her pin on had been deflated a bit. "Well a girl can hope." He smiled—Ryan Atwood was obviously warming up some.
"Make sure he treats you right." He got up and left; Taylor smiled and said her good-byes. Finishing her coffee, she felt much better about her date tonight.
