Hero Worship Pt. 05

I looked at my house. It wasn't a mansion. It had three full floors, only two of which were visible from the driveway. The property itself sloped away going front to back, so the bottom level opened out onto the back patio and pool area. Compared to a lot of the homes just within five minutes drive it was quite modest. I'd never thought anything of it. To me it was just home.

"Doesn't matter what it looks like, Taylor. The people inside are going to love you, just like I do." I grinned at her. "Well, maybe not exactly the same."

My Lady shook her head, and I turned off the car, hopping out and coming around to her. I opened her door. "C'mon, let's go."

It was odd. I'd never seen Taylor scared like this. She climbed out, and I took her hand. "You've been here once before, you know."

"Yeah, but then I was coming to defile their rich, spoiled daughter. Didn't much care if they liked me." She grinned at me.

I smiled back, giving her my best innocent eyes before putting my other hand on hers. "Is that so? You know, if you want, I'd love some defiling later tonight."

"You can count on it, baby."

Oh, there she was again, My Lady looking down at me, that fire that lived inside her flashing in her eyes for a moment. I couldn't help lifting my chin towards her, and she covered my lips with hers. And for a moment everything was perfect. When we broke apart the fear seemed to creep back into her eyes, so I put my hand on her cheek. "I love you. No matter what."

Her eyes misted over for a moment and she nodded.

"You ready, My Lady?"

Her hand tightened in mine. "Yeah. Let's meet the family."

***

"That was an amazing meal, Mrs. Winterberg." Taylor dabbed up a bit more of the mushroom gravy with a dinner roll.

"Thank you, Taylor. And please, call me Jessica."

"Yes, ma'am."

My mom chuckled. "You're not like most California girls. I don't think any of them know that word." Taylor looked confused for a second. "Ma'am. I don't get called that much. Where're you from, Taylor?"

"Boise, Idaho, ma'am."

It was really odd watching Taylor be so formal. I kept thinking of a parent warning their normally willful daughter to be on their best behavior. And she was trying so hard. I was going to have to reward her tonight. That'd be fun.

Kelsey was being really quiet, only stealing short glances at the woman who'd saved her life.

Mom smiled at her younger daughter. "You know, Aly, you're not the only one doing well with romance these days. You tell your sister about your date on Friday?"

"Mom!"

"Really? Was this with the infamous Devin? So it worked, huh?"

Her nervous scowl cracked into a wide smile as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "He sat by me at lunch on Monday. He was just as nervous as I was. He said so anyway. He took me to a movie on Friday." All of a sudden she looked at Taylor, and snapped her mouth shut, remembering suddenly that we weren't alone.

I was still pushing around the lima beans from the mixed veggies my mom had made. Yuck. At least she didn't make me eat them anymore. My dad wiped his mouth with his napkin and set it on his clean plate.

"So Taylor, how long have you been a lifeguard?

"Four years full time, but I worked summers before that while I was in school."

"What did you study?"

"Art."

I felt like Taylor's nightmares about coming over here were starting to come true, so I decided to butt in.

"Taylor's an amazing artist, dad. You saw her at work at the fair, it's incredible. She won the top prize, and she sold all but two of her pieces, and even those were picked up by a studio. And she's going to have a show this spring, at Beville Studios. It's a big deal."

Now it was Taylor's time to be embarrassed. I had spoken way too fast and it was obvious that I was being overly defensive. My dad shot me a look that told me I wasn't the one he'd been talking to. It was the same thing he'd been doing to me since I was five, and it still made me swallow and look down.

"So you're in lifeguarding. Not doing anything with your degree?"

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. This was exactly what I'd promised her wouldn't happen. I was terrified to look at her. She'd be staring at me, accusation written all over her face for dragging her into this hell. Instead I heard a strong voice answer.

"I don't actually have a degree Mr. Winterberg. I had some personal issues at the end of my junior year. I didn't go back. It's, um, not a decision I'm proud of."

She started to get emotional toward the end, but she got through it, and never dropped her gaze.

"Have you thought about going back?"

"Pepperdine is very expensive. I was only able to go because of a swimming scholarship. Without that, it'd be a lot of debt for something that isn't terribly practical."

"That sounds like something someone else has beaten into you. Dad or mom?"

Taylor smiled. "Neither, actually. Guidance counselor. He thought me wasting a D-I scholarship on a BA in art was a crime. My parents were only interested in me getting my 'Mrs.' degree. Art was as good as English as far as that went." She grinned. "Of course, they imagined me demurely painting in a sundress. You know, something with oils, or watercolors, like Amy Marsh from 'Little Women'. Coveralls and power tools were not what my parents had in mind."

That made my mom and dad both laugh, and the mood lightened significantly.

My mom reached over and put a hand on hers. "I know exactly what you mean. The argument my parents and I had when I told them I was moving to LA..." She shook her head and sipped her wine.

Taylor sipped hers as well before setting her glass down. "There are two things I've loved for as long as I can remember, swimming and art. I love the way the water supports you, and carries you. It inspires me. I like being close to it. It's why I lifeguard."

"Sometimes it carries you a little too far, though, doesn't it?" Mom gave Kelsey a stern look. My sister's face turned sheepish, and she looked down at her plate and ran her fork through what was left of her meal.

"Yeah." Taylor turned a mischievous eye at Kelsey. "What were you doing out that far, anyway?"

"She was trying to impress a boy, of course."

"No I wasn't! Not really. They were arguing about who could swim out to one of the buoys. I said I could do it. I thought I could."

Taylor shook her head. "Swimming in the ocean is harder than doing laps in a pool. You're fighting the current, and things can look closer than they are when there's no frame of reference."

"Yeah, I, um, found that out."

Taylor helped Kelsey clear the table, while my mom fussed at her that she was a guest and shouldn't have to help. Mom and I set to the dishes. After a moment I realized that the table was clear and that Taylor had disappeared into the living room with my father. That realization sent a shiver of panic up my spine. I couldn't hear anything over the running water from the sink. Mom wasn't as bad as my grandma in Kansas, who didn't trust dishwashers at all, but she still insisted on prewashing the worst of it. Not being able to hear anything the only thing I was sure about was that dad and Taylor hadn't come to blows yet.

"You okay, sweetie?"

I turned back. "Yeah, I'm just worried about Taylor with dad."

Mom chuckled. "What do you think your father's going to do to her?"

"Disapprove. She was really nervous about coming here. And after what happened yesterday. What I did. I think she wonders what I would do if he doesn't like her."

"What would you do?"

My eyes suddenly burned with tears, and I looked down at the platter I was holding.

"Honey, where did this come from? I mean, this just really feels like it's coming out of left field, sweetheart. How long have you felt like this?"

"For two months. Since high school. I'm not really sure, mom."

"Aly, this is a big thing not to be sure about. I mean when did you even start thinking about this?"

"Mom." I whined a little and she turned a hard gaze on me.

"No, you don't get to get out of this one, Alyssa. You come in and announce you're a lesbian, after, what? Two months of dating this woman? And she is not a kid, that is a grown adult in there. I mean, how do you know this isn't just a phase? That's not fair to her, or to us. I mean, if we hadn't stumbled on you yesterday, would you ever have told us about this?"

I was almost in tears now. "I was trying. I even talked to daddy about scheduling a dinner like this at Kelsey's party. I was scared mom."

"About what? When have your father and I not supported you? But what I said is still relevant. How sure are you about all this?"

I looked out toward the living room. "She's the most incredible person I've ever met. When I'm with her I feel so alive. When she's h-holding me, I know I'm safe, cherished. She has a beautiful mind, the things she makes..." I sighed heavily. "I've never been close to this, not with any boy I ever dated. I hope it lasts forever. I want forever, mom, like you and daddy, and I want it with her. I love her, so much it scares me sometimes."

My mother's face twisted with emotion, and she held her arms out to me. And as I went into them, all the distance I'd been feeling since August disappeared.

Taylor

I eased down at one end of their sofa as Aly's father sat in his easy chair. I ran my hand over the couch cushions, feeling the high-end material. I looked at the carved wooden side tables, recessed overhead lighting, beautiful hardwood floors complete with huge, expensive looking rug. There was a huge flat screen on the wall with built in cherry wood shelves and cabinets on each side. I bet the cheapest thing in this room was more expensive than anything in my little apartment.

Kelsey had disappeared off somewhere, probably to her room if she was anything like me at that age. Which left just me and Mr. Winterberg. Pay him a compliment. That might help.

"Your wife is a wonderful cook, sir."

He smiled at me. "Thank you. Do you cook at all?"

I returned his grin. "More than Aly does, I know that."

That earned a chuckle. "Yeah. She never really seemed interested." He heaved a sigh. "So, you're dating my daughter. To be honest I'm at a loss here. If you were a man, I'd know exactly what to ask, but for some reason the standard fatherly intimidation line just doesn't feel appropriate. Or is that just being sexist of me?"

Honestly just seeing him sit there was intimidating enough. Growing up, my father's chair had been where he ruled the home. He dominated the TV, mom served him his evening coffee there. My siblings and I had all been turned over his knee in that spot more than once.

Seeing Aly's dad in that same position, accounting for the obvious differences of a strange home, it instilled a bone deep respect that made me feel like a child again.

"It's okay, sir. I was raised very conservatively. I remember listening at the door as my father dressed down a young man for bringing my older sister home late one night. I can take it."

"So the conservatism didn't stick, huh?"

I chuckled. "In some ways it did. Aly still teases me about it from time to time." My bumbling idiocy in the adult toy store sprung to mind, making me blush.

"So, do you see yourself doing lifeguarding long term?"

His gaze had turned from friendly to appraising. I recognized that face from when my professors would look over my work back at Pepperdine. It was critical, but not disapproving. At least, not yet.

"It's something I think about. It's a physically demanding thing, so no, probably not. And for your next question, no, I'm not sure what I'll do after."

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are, Taylor?"

"Twenty-five, sir."

"And what would be the dream?"

"Making a career out of my art. I never really thought it possible, but after this weekend, maybe. I just, I don't know."

"So you did well, then?"

"I made more this weekend than maybe the whole rest of my art career put together. And with the show at Mr. Beville's, it's just a lot closer to being a reality than I've ever felt before. And it's all your daughter's fault."

He chuckled. "How's that?"

"She inspires me, sir." I felt my cheeks heat up as I said it, and hearing it out loud sounded corny, but it was the truth. "She's giving and supportive. My biggest fan. And she takes in the world with this wide-eyed innocence, like all she can see is the beauty. I didn't know there were still people like that. And she's fearless, most of the time. I'm always afraid. I don't think I realized how unhappy I was until I met her."

Mr. Winterberg leaned forward. "Taylor, this family owes you an unpayable debt." I opened my mouth to protest, but held up his hand. "But that does not mean that I can blindly approve of you dating my daughter. Firstly, I worry about my daughter being with someone who has no set career goal." I dropped my head some.

My mother had actually been happy at my choice of major when I'd told her. "You won't be able to support yourself with that, you know. But God will provide you a man who will, if you let Him. You'll see."

I tried to respond confidently. "I understand. I can only say that I'm not the kind of person to sit around. I won't let myself be a burden, even if that means waiting tables or teaching swim lessons at the Y."

"I appreciate that, and I'll admit it would bother me a lot more if you were thirty five instead of twenty five. Plenty of people are still figuring themselves out at your age. The second is more delicate." He hesitated for a moment.

"Is it about me being a lesbian?"

"Not you, so much."

"But her. You don't want her to be gay." There was a touch of accusation in my voice, but I tried to temper it.

"You said she was innocent. I agree. I don't think she has any idea what a life as a lesbian would entail."

I wanted to ask him if he thought that he did, but ignorant as he may or may not be, he wasn't wrong. I'd been feeling the same things, the same fears, the ones I'd been telling myself didn't apply to Aly. She was different.

"Sir, one thing I know about your daughter, is that she can and will do anything she sets her mind to. Realizing you're gay is one of the most stressful things that can happen to a person. But she'll survive. She's the most determined person I know. Like this morning. I told her that she didn't have to call you, that she didn't have to do this if she wasn't ready. But here we are."

Mr. Winterburg shook his head. "And I think she doesn't know what she wants. She's never shown any interest along these lines. And suddenly now she thinks she's gay. And..." He shook his head, and I felt about three inches tall. He was right, after all. I was a nobody. I didn't deserve Aly. I tried to push the thought back, but one glance around their palatial living room told me the truth. Aly was slumming, even if she didn't realize it, and I'd drag her down. She deserved better than that. Man or woman, she deserved better than me.

The others came back into the room. Aly moved towards me, and I looked up at her. She'd been crying, that was obvious, but she didn't look upset. Instead her face furrowed into a look of concern.

"Sweetheart? Are you okay?"

I tried to smile at her, but she didn't buy it. She slid in next to me, leaning against my shoulder. Almost by instinct my arm went around her, and she put her hand on my knee. I felt better immediately. Better, but not perfect.

Aly's mom was all smiles. She sat on the far end of the sectional, nearest to her husband. With her there, the tone of the conversation shifted. She wanted a recap on how we met, what our first date was like, things of that nature. I let Aly take the lead with that. She just leaned into me like it was the most natural thing in the world. She'd be talking, and she'd just look up at me with those doe eyes and that devastating smile, and every time it'd make my heart twist inside my chest.

God, I loved her. But I had never in my life felt so out of place as I did on that couch. I can't explain how much I wanted to be back in my apartment holding my baby, cuddling with her under the covers as she snuggled into me. That was us, not here, in the palace.

"Hey, sweetie, want me to give you the tour?"

No, I really didn't. "Sure."

***

"And finally, my bedroom." Aly had a wicked little grin on her face, which made me shiver inside a little. It was the best feeling I'd had in the last twenty minutes as Aly had taken me through her house. We'd gone downstairs first, which was smaller than their upstairs, but sported a huge recreation room, complete with a huge pool table, foosball game, even a couple of cabinet style video games on the wall at one end and a huge three sided sectional across from a massive 3D television.

It was a big enough room that it had to have two weight bearing pillars in the middle. The whole thing opened directly onto a sculpted stone patio and an in-ground pool. The house I grew up in might have fit in that one single room. Probably not, but it sure felt that way.

And now walking into Aly's bedroom was just the final kick.

"Damn. This was just your room?"

"Yeah. Don't you like it?" Her voice was coquettish, her bottom lips pouted out just a little, foot twisting on the floor. I shook my head and laughed. I walked into the middle and looked around.

"It's huge. The whole place is huge."

"Yeah, I guess so." Aly sat down on the edge of her bed, patting the space next to her. "Close the door and come sit with me." I obeyed, and when I was next to her she took my hand.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, just letting me breath. She put a second hand on mine. "Taylor, do you want to go home?"

I tried to laugh, but it came out as a weird half sob chuckle thing. I don't know don't know why I thought I could hide how I was feeling from Aly. Two months, and she knew me better than anyone.

"What's got you upset?"

"I, God, Aly, I just can't compete with this."

Aly's face twisted into confusion. "Taylor? Compete with what?"

"This." I waved my hands around at her huge, king size bed, dressing table, walk-in closet, even out the door to the massive homestead beyond. "I can't give you this. I'm just ..." my emotions choked me up and I couldn't finish.

Anger flashed across Aly's face. "You're what?" She reached up and took my chin, turning my averted eyes towards hers. I'd never seen that look in them before. "You are My Lady, and I love you. You, the woman who works so hard to protect people, who sees such beautiful things in the world, and shares it through the things she creates."

Her words were running off me like water. Nothing she could say would penetrate in this place, with the reality of the gulf between Aly's life experience and mine all around me. I could feel Aly's critical gaze on me, and I couldn't look at her.

"Alright, let's go home."

"Aly, you are home."

"No I'm not." I started to respond, but Aly cut me off flat. "Are you going to stay with me here tonight?"

That came out of left field, at least to my slightly overwhelmed mind, so I answered truthfully. "I can't, Aly, I have to work in the morning and..."

"Then I'm not home. C'mon, let's go." She pulled me to my feet and we walked back into the living room, where her mom was sitting with her laptop open and her father was reading a book.

"Mom, dad, we're going to head out."

Mrs. Winterberg closed her computer and looked at her daughter. "Okay, sweetie. You sure?"

"Yeah, Taylor has to work in the morning and we've had a long weekend."

"Taylor, it was wonderful to meet you." She gave me a warm hug. I thanked her for a wonderful dinner, told her she had a lovely home, stuff like that. Mr. Winterberg stood up and shook my hand. My heart was thumping, but I didn't look away. His gaze was sincere.