SECTION FOUR
MEL
Don't ask. Just DON'T ask. But somehow--SOMEHOW--Tay and I ended up in one of the bedrooms at the party. I must say, it wasn't one of our most romantic moments, what with the sounds of sex in the rooms next door and the drunks outside the door, but it was fun anyway. We came so, so close to going all the way, it wasn't even funny. I was extremely turned on and in the mood, but it was Tay who slowed things down this time.
I mean, don't get me wrong, Tay was liking it, too. We were both half naked and really getting into it, when Tay stopped kissing me and sat up, his back turned to me. "Mel, I can't."
I sat up and put my arms around his shoulders. I kissed his shoulder and nuzzled my nose in his hair. It smelled so good. "Can't what, baby?"
He started rubbing my forearm and looked over his shoulder toward me. "I can't do this to you. I care too much about you to take away--you know? I mean, I just--can't."
"If it were some other girl, would you have?"
"Probably," he said. "But I probably wouldn't have cared that much about her. You're special. You don't deserve to have your first time in a place like this. You deserve...I don't know, silk sheets and bedposts made of diamonds or something." I giggled shyly. Tay smiled and turned himself around so he could see me. He took my hands. "I'm serious. You do. But if you were some girl I'd just met downstairs tonight, we'd probably be having sex right now. But you're not and I care about you. You're worth waiting for."
I decided to test him. "So if it took me an unusually long time to be ready, you wouldn't go behind my back...?"
"Never." Tay brushed my hair out of my face and brushed my cheek with his hand. "I'd wait a thousand years for you."
I smiled shyly and looked down at my hands. "Yeah, right," I said timidly.
"I promise I would. See, you girls have us so stereotyped. You think that we're nothing but a bunch of horny guys who only care about getting a little action. And maybe that's so, but when a guy meets that one special girl, he has no problem waiting. Because he knows that she's the only one who could please him in that rare and special way. And THAT is worth waiting for. And I'm waiting for YOU."
I felt tears spring to my eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I didn't think I wanted anyone else to. Tay was the one I'd been looking for all these years...
--------------------------------------------------
I called Tay that Sunday. "Hey, baby!" I said. I was in a good mood. "What are you doing?"
"Actually, I just got up." His voice DID sound a little groggy.
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"No. But it's nice to hear your voice first thing in the morning."
"Tay, it's almost NOON," I said.
"It's that early?"
"Early??"
"Well when you go to bed at 4:30 in the morning, noon's pretty early."
"4:30? Why so late?"
"The guys and I were working on some music downstairs. We started doing instrumentals sometime after two. By then our voices were shot."
"When did you start?"
"Zac had an idea for the song around 9:30 or so, we went down to work on it. So we're down there, messing around, trying out Zac's idea, when Ike comes up with the coolest guitar riff! So he plays it and messes with it until we have it just right and then Zac picks up the sticks and starts playing--it was amazing! He didn't even have to try! He just started drumming and the beat comported with the guitar SO well that we just couldn't ignore it. So we messed around some more, changed some of Zac's lyrics around--half of them we didn't even use--and we ended up writing a totally different song. It was awesome!"
"That's great! What's it called?"
"It doesn't have a title yet."
"Can I hear it?"
"When it's finished."
"Aw! Well at least tell me what it's about."
He laughed. "When it's finished. It has a fast tempo, it isn't slow."
"Keyboard chords?"
"Not really. A little during the instrumental parts but that's about it. I'm pretty much a free man during this song. All I gotta do is sing."
"Kinda like In The City," I said.
"Yeah, kinda. So what are we doing today?"
"Well, considering it's Sunday..."
"...no one's out that much. Best time to go. Let's hit the mall," Tay finished.
"YOU wanna go to the MALL?"
"It's something to do. See you in an hour?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Bye."
----------------------------------------------
I drove over to Tay's and then we left. Hope no one had any questions why my car was in his driveway.
We didn't buy anything, just browsed through the stores. It was nice. Sunday, mall's not crowded...or so I thought.
Tay and I were walking through the mall, hand in hand, when I noticed a couple of girls whispering to each other and looking at us. I should have taken it as a clue but instead I simply thought, 'Yeah, I know my boyfriend's hot,' totally forgetting who he was for the moment.
As we walked, I noticed more and more girls were beginning to take interest. Finally a trio of girls stopped us. "Oh my god, you're Taylor Hanson!" said one of them.
"We, like, LOVE you guys! Where's Isaac and Zac?" said another one.
"Uh, not here. It's just me," said Tay.
"Who's SHE?" asked the third one.
"Oh, this is Mel. She's a very close friend of mine."
Then the autograph thing started and as he signed, I noticed the crowd getting bigger. "Tay, you don't have security," I said to him quietly. "This could get crazy."
Tay smiled. "Nah. I don't think it'll get much bigger than this."
That was an understatement if I ever heard one. Soon the crowd started getting bigger and bigger and the screaming and shouting got louder and louder. Where were all these people coming from anyway? And where the hell was security?
Tay was beginning to notice and I was getting scared. "Tay, this is gonna get out of hand. You don't have security."
"Just stay calm." He kept signing. "Maybe it'll die down soon."
"Uh, no. I used to BE one of these people. It's not gonna die down anytime soon," I said quietly.
As if on cue, the crowd started to swell and was closing in closer around us. People began reaching for Tay. Tay's eyes got wide in fear as he looked around at the crowd. He grabbed my hand and jerked me close to him. "When I say run, run," he said quietly.
"What?" I said, panicked.
"Run." We broke through the crowed and hauled ass down the mall. I looked back.
You should never look back.
If you look back, you'll never be the same again.
The crowd was CHASING us.
As we ran I noticed numerous mall guards spilling out of every nook and cranny, trying to tame the crowd. "It's about damn time!" I yelled as we sprinted toward the door.
We didn't stop running until we got to his car. He pulled out of the parking lot with screeching tires. As we sat at a red light, Tay ran a hand through his hair. "Shit!"
"Please don't say that around me," I said.
"Sorry, but--oh MAN!"
"Scare you?" I asked.
"Yes!"
"Told you, you needed security."
We were silent the rest of the way. That gave me time to think...
--------------------------------------------------
We pulled in his driveway and got out of the car. "I am SO sorry about that," said Tay.
"That's okay," I said. "Um, we gotta talk. I, uh, I think it's best if we give each other some time apart."
Tay studied my face. "What?"
"I think, uh, I think--I think we should see other people."
"See other--WHAT?! Is this about today? Mel, those were just FANS. You're my GIRLFRIEND."
"No--yes--I know--um, just hear me out, okay? In the mall today I was standing there, looking at ALL those girls and I got to thinking. Tay, it's not fair for me to be holding you back like this. I think you deserve more than one chance to be happy. And there are so many girls out there that are willing to do that."
"Don't you even care about my happiness??"
"Yes! That's why I'm doing this. I don't want you to be stuck in a relationship that you feel like you HAVE to be in, just to make the people around you happy--"
"--I never felt that way."
"I know, but--"
"--this is unbelievable!" Tay said, running a hand through his hair. He leaned up against his car. "Who is he?"
"What?"
"Who is he? There's gotta be someone else. Who is he?"
"There's no one else, Tay! Why would there be?"
"Then why are you doing this to me?"
"I told you already! Tay, I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for you. You know I care about you--you mean the world to me--"
"So why are you letting me go?"
Tears sprang to my eyes and I got a little choked up. "Because I have to. I want nothing more than for you to be happy." I felt a tear run down my cheek. "So I have to let you go," I said quietly.
"I should have known this was too good to be true," said Tay. "I finally find you and I can't even have you. But, FINE, okay? Have it your way." He walked away and went in the house.
I was bawling by the time I got home. I decided I needed to talk to Drew. I went to her house and rang the bell. "Mel! What's wrong?"
"Drew!" I said. I started crying fresh tears.
Drew hugged me. "Is this about Tay?"
"Yes!"
She brought me in the living room and Zac was there. He looked at me in alarm. "Is she okay?" he asked Drew.
"Her and Tay again," she said. "This is getting ridiculous."
"I was so STUPID!" I said. "I've NEVER done anything so STUPID! And I don't think I can fix it!"
"I'm gonna call him," said Zac.
"No!" I said. "Don't call!"
"Yes. I'm GONNA call him," said Zac. He dialed the number and asked for Tay. Finally I heard Zac say, "Man, what did you do to her?...Mel! She's sitting here next to Drew, crying her eyes out...well I pretty much have THAT figured out. Talk to her, okay?...Dude, come on." Zac lowered his voice. "You've worked so hard to at least try to have a decent relationship with her and now you're gonna risk losing her?" Zac's face fell. "Oh. Sorry, man, I didn't know that...well, we haven't quite gotten around to that part yet...okay...yeah...bye." Zac hung up the phone and looked up at me.
"So now you hate me, too!" I said. "But why not, though, you know? I practically ruined the little bit of friendship we had!" I started crying again.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The next day Drew took me over to the Hansons'. She was determined to set things straight. After all, it doesn't matter who you are, you don't mess with friends, and Drew was being an excellent friend. I owed her big time for all this.
When we got there, she kissed Zac and asked, "Where's Tay?"
"Oh, he's out with some girl," Ike said, walking into the room.
That hit HARD. I mean, sure I'd said see other people, but that was just YESTERDAY!
We weren't there too long when Tay walked through the door. He saw me and went pale. "Uh, Mel."
I didn't want to stay. I stood up. "I think I'm gonna go." Drew looked at me questioningly. "You can stay," I said to her. "I'll walk."
I walked past Tay and out the door. I hadn't quite made it to the road yet when I heard Tay say, "Mel, wait. Please!"
I stopped and turned around to let him catch up. "You don't waste any time, do you?!" I yelled.
"Mel, you said see other people."
"Yeah but I was thinking it'd take a little more than a day!"
"I did it to keep my mind off you! It didn't work. If anything I thought about you even more."
"Did you like her?"
"She was okay..."
"Did you kiss her?"
"No."
"Why not? What was wrong with her?"
"She wasn't YOU, Mel! Okay? She wasn't YOU! And this is stupid and I don't want to do this. I refuse to see other people. I DON'T want to do it." He took my face in his hands. "Can't you understand that you're the only one I want? That you're the only one I could truly be happy with?"
Suddenly I felt tears streaming down my face. Tay put his forehead against mine and wiped my tears with his thumbs. "Please, Mel, please. Give us another chance."
I didn't answer.
"I'm begging you, please. I want to be with you."
I pulled away and wiped my eyes. "I guess it WAS a pretty stupid thing for me to do, huh? I am so sorry, Tay. God, I am so sorry. I'm willing to give this a chance if you are."
Tay kissed me soft and deep. "What does that tell you?"
I smiled. "That tells me that you're the greatest guy in the world and I don't deserve you."
Tay smiled back. "You wanna go someplace where we can be alone?"
"I wanna go see Nana," I said. "I haven't seen her in about a week."
"Okay. Let's go see Nana."
---------------------------------------------------
We walked into Nana's house to find her in the kitchen. "Hi, Nana," I said.
Nana smiled. "Hello, dear." She hugged me. Then she hugged Tay. "I see you brought Taylor, too. How nice."
"We thought we'd come visit and see how you were doing," I said.
"Melody, honey, you know that you and your friends are always welcome here. Where's Annie, dear?"
"Oh, she's with Zac," I said.
"I thought her name was Drew?" Tay whispered.
"It is. But Nana always called her Annie. Her full name's Andrew. Nana thought Drew didn't suit a little girl so she calls her Annie. She's the only one who does," I whispered back.
"Why haven't I met this boy yet?" asked Nana. "All I hear is Zachary this and Zachary that. I'm beginning to wonder if he really exists."
"He does," I said. "He's Tay's brother."
"Oh, well. What a coincidence, eh?" She turned around and got some plates out of the cabinet.
I took that time to whisper to Tay. "She doesn't do nicknames, either."
She set the table for three. "I was just frying some chicken when you came over. Are you kids hungry?"
"I am now. It smells great!" I pulled up a chair and sat at the table.
"Taylor, have a seat, dear," said Nana.
Tay smiled politely. "Uh, no thanks, I'm fine."
Nana put the plate of chicken down on the table and put her hands on her hips. "Taylor, you sit down this instant and eat. I won't hear anymore about it."
That startled Tay. "Yes, ma'am."
Nana smiled. "There, that's better. You're a growing boy. You shouldn't skip a meal."
Nana served the three of us and we sat down together for lunch. It was great. Nothing beat Nana's cooking. "Never try that again," I said to Tay. "You can't win with her."
Nana reached across the table and touched Tay's wrist. "Well look at that, all skin and bones!"
I smiled. "Uh, no he's not."
Tay smiled at me shyly and went back to his food.
--------------------------------------------------------
Tay called me Tuesday morning. "Uh, look. The guys and I have to go to New York this weekend to do this TV show--"
"Which one?"
"TRL."
"Oh my god, that is so cool! Wait, you're not premiering a video I don't know about, are you?"
"No, no. They just called up our manager and were like, 'Look, we want the guys on TRL, can you come up Friday?' And we were like, 'Okay, cool.' But we also have Jay Leno Friday night, magazine interviews, they want Zac for Modern Drummer--"
"Again?"
"Yeah. Then Saturday night, following interviews, we have a press conference at the Hard Rock, including a three-song set and then, finally, we get to come home Sunday. Then NEXT weekend we're off to LA to do a radio show and to talk with these movie people or whatever about a soundtrack they want us to write a couple of songs for."
"Wow," I said. "Things are really starting to pick up again, huh?"
"Yeah, they are. It could get crazy. Hey, I just got an idea. You wanna come to California with me next weekend?"
"Yes! Yes, I wanna go! I've never seen California before."
"Do you think your parents will let you?"
"I don't see why they wouldn't."
"Well that's good--wait, hold on." There was a pause and then Tay said, "Mel? Mom wants to talk to you."
The next voice I heard was Diana's. "Hi, Mel. The boys and Walker are going out of town this weekend and I was wondering if you could stay the weekend and help out. Normally I could handle it, but Zoe's coming down with something and I'll need someone here in case I need to take her to the doctor, which heaven forbid I'll have to do. They're leaving Thursday morning and if you could come Thursday that would be great."
"Sure. Sure, I'll be there," I said.
"Great, well, I'll see you then!"
_____________________________________________
MEL
Don't ask. Just DON'T ask. But somehow--SOMEHOW--Tay and I ended up in one of the bedrooms at the party. I must say, it wasn't one of our most romantic moments, what with the sounds of sex in the rooms next door and the drunks outside the door, but it was fun anyway. We came so, so close to going all the way, it wasn't even funny. I was extremely turned on and in the mood, but it was Tay who slowed things down this time.
I mean, don't get me wrong, Tay was liking it, too. We were both half naked and really getting into it, when Tay stopped kissing me and sat up, his back turned to me. "Mel, I can't."
I sat up and put my arms around his shoulders. I kissed his shoulder and nuzzled my nose in his hair. It smelled so good. "Can't what, baby?"
He started rubbing my forearm and looked over his shoulder toward me. "I can't do this to you. I care too much about you to take away--you know? I mean, I just--can't."
"If it were some other girl, would you have?"
"Probably," he said. "But I probably wouldn't have cared that much about her. You're special. You don't deserve to have your first time in a place like this. You deserve...I don't know, silk sheets and bedposts made of diamonds or something." I giggled shyly. Tay smiled and turned himself around so he could see me. He took my hands. "I'm serious. You do. But if you were some girl I'd just met downstairs tonight, we'd probably be having sex right now. But you're not and I care about you. You're worth waiting for."
I decided to test him. "So if it took me an unusually long time to be ready, you wouldn't go behind my back...?"
"Never." Tay brushed my hair out of my face and brushed my cheek with his hand. "I'd wait a thousand years for you."
I smiled shyly and looked down at my hands. "Yeah, right," I said timidly.
"I promise I would. See, you girls have us so stereotyped. You think that we're nothing but a bunch of horny guys who only care about getting a little action. And maybe that's so, but when a guy meets that one special girl, he has no problem waiting. Because he knows that she's the only one who could please him in that rare and special way. And THAT is worth waiting for. And I'm waiting for YOU."
I felt tears spring to my eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. I didn't think I wanted anyone else to. Tay was the one I'd been looking for all these years...
--------------------------------------------------
I called Tay that Sunday. "Hey, baby!" I said. I was in a good mood. "What are you doing?"
"Actually, I just got up." His voice DID sound a little groggy.
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"
"No. But it's nice to hear your voice first thing in the morning."
"Tay, it's almost NOON," I said.
"It's that early?"
"Early??"
"Well when you go to bed at 4:30 in the morning, noon's pretty early."
"4:30? Why so late?"
"The guys and I were working on some music downstairs. We started doing instrumentals sometime after two. By then our voices were shot."
"When did you start?"
"Zac had an idea for the song around 9:30 or so, we went down to work on it. So we're down there, messing around, trying out Zac's idea, when Ike comes up with the coolest guitar riff! So he plays it and messes with it until we have it just right and then Zac picks up the sticks and starts playing--it was amazing! He didn't even have to try! He just started drumming and the beat comported with the guitar SO well that we just couldn't ignore it. So we messed around some more, changed some of Zac's lyrics around--half of them we didn't even use--and we ended up writing a totally different song. It was awesome!"
"That's great! What's it called?"
"It doesn't have a title yet."
"Can I hear it?"
"When it's finished."
"Aw! Well at least tell me what it's about."
He laughed. "When it's finished. It has a fast tempo, it isn't slow."
"Keyboard chords?"
"Not really. A little during the instrumental parts but that's about it. I'm pretty much a free man during this song. All I gotta do is sing."
"Kinda like In The City," I said.
"Yeah, kinda. So what are we doing today?"
"Well, considering it's Sunday..."
"...no one's out that much. Best time to go. Let's hit the mall," Tay finished.
"YOU wanna go to the MALL?"
"It's something to do. See you in an hour?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Bye."
----------------------------------------------
I drove over to Tay's and then we left. Hope no one had any questions why my car was in his driveway.
We didn't buy anything, just browsed through the stores. It was nice. Sunday, mall's not crowded...or so I thought.
Tay and I were walking through the mall, hand in hand, when I noticed a couple of girls whispering to each other and looking at us. I should have taken it as a clue but instead I simply thought, 'Yeah, I know my boyfriend's hot,' totally forgetting who he was for the moment.
As we walked, I noticed more and more girls were beginning to take interest. Finally a trio of girls stopped us. "Oh my god, you're Taylor Hanson!" said one of them.
"We, like, LOVE you guys! Where's Isaac and Zac?" said another one.
"Uh, not here. It's just me," said Tay.
"Who's SHE?" asked the third one.
"Oh, this is Mel. She's a very close friend of mine."
Then the autograph thing started and as he signed, I noticed the crowd getting bigger. "Tay, you don't have security," I said to him quietly. "This could get crazy."
Tay smiled. "Nah. I don't think it'll get much bigger than this."
That was an understatement if I ever heard one. Soon the crowd started getting bigger and bigger and the screaming and shouting got louder and louder. Where were all these people coming from anyway? And where the hell was security?
Tay was beginning to notice and I was getting scared. "Tay, this is gonna get out of hand. You don't have security."
"Just stay calm." He kept signing. "Maybe it'll die down soon."
"Uh, no. I used to BE one of these people. It's not gonna die down anytime soon," I said quietly.
As if on cue, the crowd started to swell and was closing in closer around us. People began reaching for Tay. Tay's eyes got wide in fear as he looked around at the crowd. He grabbed my hand and jerked me close to him. "When I say run, run," he said quietly.
"What?" I said, panicked.
"Run." We broke through the crowed and hauled ass down the mall. I looked back.
You should never look back.
If you look back, you'll never be the same again.
The crowd was CHASING us.
As we ran I noticed numerous mall guards spilling out of every nook and cranny, trying to tame the crowd. "It's about damn time!" I yelled as we sprinted toward the door.
We didn't stop running until we got to his car. He pulled out of the parking lot with screeching tires. As we sat at a red light, Tay ran a hand through his hair. "Shit!"
"Please don't say that around me," I said.
"Sorry, but--oh MAN!"
"Scare you?" I asked.
"Yes!"
"Told you, you needed security."
We were silent the rest of the way. That gave me time to think...
--------------------------------------------------
We pulled in his driveway and got out of the car. "I am SO sorry about that," said Tay.
"That's okay," I said. "Um, we gotta talk. I, uh, I think it's best if we give each other some time apart."
Tay studied my face. "What?"
"I think, uh, I think--I think we should see other people."
"See other--WHAT?! Is this about today? Mel, those were just FANS. You're my GIRLFRIEND."
"No--yes--I know--um, just hear me out, okay? In the mall today I was standing there, looking at ALL those girls and I got to thinking. Tay, it's not fair for me to be holding you back like this. I think you deserve more than one chance to be happy. And there are so many girls out there that are willing to do that."
"Don't you even care about my happiness??"
"Yes! That's why I'm doing this. I don't want you to be stuck in a relationship that you feel like you HAVE to be in, just to make the people around you happy--"
"--I never felt that way."
"I know, but--"
"--this is unbelievable!" Tay said, running a hand through his hair. He leaned up against his car. "Who is he?"
"What?"
"Who is he? There's gotta be someone else. Who is he?"
"There's no one else, Tay! Why would there be?"
"Then why are you doing this to me?"
"I told you already! Tay, I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for you. You know I care about you--you mean the world to me--"
"So why are you letting me go?"
Tears sprang to my eyes and I got a little choked up. "Because I have to. I want nothing more than for you to be happy." I felt a tear run down my cheek. "So I have to let you go," I said quietly.
"I should have known this was too good to be true," said Tay. "I finally find you and I can't even have you. But, FINE, okay? Have it your way." He walked away and went in the house.
I was bawling by the time I got home. I decided I needed to talk to Drew. I went to her house and rang the bell. "Mel! What's wrong?"
"Drew!" I said. I started crying fresh tears.
Drew hugged me. "Is this about Tay?"
"Yes!"
She brought me in the living room and Zac was there. He looked at me in alarm. "Is she okay?" he asked Drew.
"Her and Tay again," she said. "This is getting ridiculous."
"I was so STUPID!" I said. "I've NEVER done anything so STUPID! And I don't think I can fix it!"
"I'm gonna call him," said Zac.
"No!" I said. "Don't call!"
"Yes. I'm GONNA call him," said Zac. He dialed the number and asked for Tay. Finally I heard Zac say, "Man, what did you do to her?...Mel! She's sitting here next to Drew, crying her eyes out...well I pretty much have THAT figured out. Talk to her, okay?...Dude, come on." Zac lowered his voice. "You've worked so hard to at least try to have a decent relationship with her and now you're gonna risk losing her?" Zac's face fell. "Oh. Sorry, man, I didn't know that...well, we haven't quite gotten around to that part yet...okay...yeah...bye." Zac hung up the phone and looked up at me.
"So now you hate me, too!" I said. "But why not, though, you know? I practically ruined the little bit of friendship we had!" I started crying again.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The next day Drew took me over to the Hansons'. She was determined to set things straight. After all, it doesn't matter who you are, you don't mess with friends, and Drew was being an excellent friend. I owed her big time for all this.
When we got there, she kissed Zac and asked, "Where's Tay?"
"Oh, he's out with some girl," Ike said, walking into the room.
That hit HARD. I mean, sure I'd said see other people, but that was just YESTERDAY!
We weren't there too long when Tay walked through the door. He saw me and went pale. "Uh, Mel."
I didn't want to stay. I stood up. "I think I'm gonna go." Drew looked at me questioningly. "You can stay," I said to her. "I'll walk."
I walked past Tay and out the door. I hadn't quite made it to the road yet when I heard Tay say, "Mel, wait. Please!"
I stopped and turned around to let him catch up. "You don't waste any time, do you?!" I yelled.
"Mel, you said see other people."
"Yeah but I was thinking it'd take a little more than a day!"
"I did it to keep my mind off you! It didn't work. If anything I thought about you even more."
"Did you like her?"
"She was okay..."
"Did you kiss her?"
"No."
"Why not? What was wrong with her?"
"She wasn't YOU, Mel! Okay? She wasn't YOU! And this is stupid and I don't want to do this. I refuse to see other people. I DON'T want to do it." He took my face in his hands. "Can't you understand that you're the only one I want? That you're the only one I could truly be happy with?"
Suddenly I felt tears streaming down my face. Tay put his forehead against mine and wiped my tears with his thumbs. "Please, Mel, please. Give us another chance."
I didn't answer.
"I'm begging you, please. I want to be with you."
I pulled away and wiped my eyes. "I guess it WAS a pretty stupid thing for me to do, huh? I am so sorry, Tay. God, I am so sorry. I'm willing to give this a chance if you are."
Tay kissed me soft and deep. "What does that tell you?"
I smiled. "That tells me that you're the greatest guy in the world and I don't deserve you."
Tay smiled back. "You wanna go someplace where we can be alone?"
"I wanna go see Nana," I said. "I haven't seen her in about a week."
"Okay. Let's go see Nana."
---------------------------------------------------
We walked into Nana's house to find her in the kitchen. "Hi, Nana," I said.
Nana smiled. "Hello, dear." She hugged me. Then she hugged Tay. "I see you brought Taylor, too. How nice."
"We thought we'd come visit and see how you were doing," I said.
"Melody, honey, you know that you and your friends are always welcome here. Where's Annie, dear?"
"Oh, she's with Zac," I said.
"I thought her name was Drew?" Tay whispered.
"It is. But Nana always called her Annie. Her full name's Andrew. Nana thought Drew didn't suit a little girl so she calls her Annie. She's the only one who does," I whispered back.
"Why haven't I met this boy yet?" asked Nana. "All I hear is Zachary this and Zachary that. I'm beginning to wonder if he really exists."
"He does," I said. "He's Tay's brother."
"Oh, well. What a coincidence, eh?" She turned around and got some plates out of the cabinet.
I took that time to whisper to Tay. "She doesn't do nicknames, either."
She set the table for three. "I was just frying some chicken when you came over. Are you kids hungry?"
"I am now. It smells great!" I pulled up a chair and sat at the table.
"Taylor, have a seat, dear," said Nana.
Tay smiled politely. "Uh, no thanks, I'm fine."
Nana put the plate of chicken down on the table and put her hands on her hips. "Taylor, you sit down this instant and eat. I won't hear anymore about it."
That startled Tay. "Yes, ma'am."
Nana smiled. "There, that's better. You're a growing boy. You shouldn't skip a meal."
Nana served the three of us and we sat down together for lunch. It was great. Nothing beat Nana's cooking. "Never try that again," I said to Tay. "You can't win with her."
Nana reached across the table and touched Tay's wrist. "Well look at that, all skin and bones!"
I smiled. "Uh, no he's not."
Tay smiled at me shyly and went back to his food.
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Tay called me Tuesday morning. "Uh, look. The guys and I have to go to New York this weekend to do this TV show--"
"Which one?"
"TRL."
"Oh my god, that is so cool! Wait, you're not premiering a video I don't know about, are you?"
"No, no. They just called up our manager and were like, 'Look, we want the guys on TRL, can you come up Friday?' And we were like, 'Okay, cool.' But we also have Jay Leno Friday night, magazine interviews, they want Zac for Modern Drummer--"
"Again?"
"Yeah. Then Saturday night, following interviews, we have a press conference at the Hard Rock, including a three-song set and then, finally, we get to come home Sunday. Then NEXT weekend we're off to LA to do a radio show and to talk with these movie people or whatever about a soundtrack they want us to write a couple of songs for."
"Wow," I said. "Things are really starting to pick up again, huh?"
"Yeah, they are. It could get crazy. Hey, I just got an idea. You wanna come to California with me next weekend?"
"Yes! Yes, I wanna go! I've never seen California before."
"Do you think your parents will let you?"
"I don't see why they wouldn't."
"Well that's good--wait, hold on." There was a pause and then Tay said, "Mel? Mom wants to talk to you."
The next voice I heard was Diana's. "Hi, Mel. The boys and Walker are going out of town this weekend and I was wondering if you could stay the weekend and help out. Normally I could handle it, but Zoe's coming down with something and I'll need someone here in case I need to take her to the doctor, which heaven forbid I'll have to do. They're leaving Thursday morning and if you could come Thursday that would be great."
"Sure. Sure, I'll be there," I said.
"Great, well, I'll see you then!"
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