The Reunion Pt. 02

Taylor awoke to her alarm. She dismissed it as she opened her eyes and took in the warm glow of the room. Getting out of bed, she walked over to the source of the warm light. Looking out the window, she found herself at a loss for words at how beautiful the sunrise was. The light created rays through the trees and the clouds in the crisp silence of the morning air. She allowed herself only another minute to take it in before she started getting ready for her day.

She made her way to the bathroom to shower, trying to wash off the steamy memories of her dream and fingering herself to the images of Jacob eating her. When she was done showering, she wrapped the towel around herself and exited the bathroom, heading back to her room. As she entered the hall, she heard the sound of a door clicking. She looked over and saw Jacob staring back at her. He was shirtless, wearing only black sweatpants. His eyes instinctively scanned over her scarcely covered body. A moment passed and all she could hear was the sound of her wet hair dripping on the floor.

"Sorry!" she said under the blush spreading across her cheeks and down her neck. She didn't know if the blush was from her embarrassment, or her taking in his beautiful muscular torso. "I didn't think you would be awake yet."

Jacob chuckled and smiled casually as he said "No need to apologize. I told you to make yourself at home. I just came out to grab some coffee before heading back to my room and getting some work done. Would you like some?"

"Um," Taylor said, buying herself time to clear her head. "Yeah, that would be great. I will be out in a second!" With that she hurried into her room, and Jacob made his way down the hall toward the kitchen.

Taylor dressed quickly in her go-to casual outfit, seeing as the brunch today was to be a casual event. She pulled on her tight high-waisted blue jeans and her fitted white cropped t-shirt. Between those two pieces, only a small slit of skin showed around her midriff. She didn't worry about putting makeup on just yet. To be honest, she had never mastered how to do makeup in the way all the other stunning women seemed to. With or without makeup, she looked pretty similar. She brushed out her hair, but left it wet as she made her way out to the kitchen. As she walked out, Jacob turned toward her, a cup of coffee outstretched to her. As he scanned her quickly, she could have sworn she saw something flicker across his face, but it was gone before she could identify it.

"So," Taylor said, trying to break the ice after the awkward incident in the hall. "Do you always wake up this early to get work done?" She wanted to know if she should adjust her morning schedule to avoid another run-in like that. She couldn't even begin to imagine what her dreams would be filled with tonight.

"It depends," he said as he fussed around the kitchen, cleaning up after making the coffee. "I don't tend to sleep very well, so if I find myself awake, I usually just get up and get some work done." Taylor nodded in understanding. "What about you? I didn't expect you to be up either with brunch still a few hours out."

"I also have work to get done. I wanted to give myself time before brunch so I didn't have to worry about it." She replied.

"Well," Jacob said, lifting his cup in a sarcastic cheers "have a good morning, and I will see you at 10 to depart for brunch?"

"Sounds good," Taylor said. Jacob returned to his room, and Taylor brought her laptop out to the kitchen where she answered emails, ordered products, and scheduled meetings for when she returned from the reunion. She left a few minutes to run a curler through her hair and apply her minimal makeup. On her way out, she shrugged into her fitted leather jacket and met Jacob by the front door. As they drove out, Taylor was able to get a better look at his property. It was so private and peaceful.

As they drove, Taylor asked him more about his real estate career. Jacob shared that he sort of fell into it and decided to keep up with it because he made good money and it supported his hobbies and lifestyle. He returned the question to her and she shared that she loved what she did. She loved creating a space that elicited a feeling, an emotion when someone entered the room. And each person had different experiences, different memories that tie into those emotions. Her job was never boring, never repetitive.

"You look really happy when you talk about what you do." He simply stated, when she looked over at him with a raised brow after she caught him stealing glances toward her. She just smiled softly at him in return and they continued making light chit chat.

The brunch was buffet style, in a large conference room with round tables set up for people to sit at. They walked over and helped themselves to a selection of pastries, eggs, and meats. Taylor found one of her friends seated at a table with another classmate and decided to head over. As she sat down next to her friend, she was surprised to find Jacob taking the seat next to her. Taylor's friend reminded her of who the other classmate was at the table and the four of them engaged in polite conversation.

After a while a few bodies filled the other seats at the table. When Taylor turned to see who had joined them, she was surprised to find that Lucas, Evan, and AJ now sat across from her. Unlike Jacob, they WERE the popular jocks that had lived in their own perfect worlds during high school. The exact people that she felt certain had no idea who she was.

"Taylor! It's crazy to see you after all these years!" Lucas said.

"For real!" AJ chimed in. "You look great! How have you been?"

Taylor scanned to the others that were sitting at the table with her. They all seemed equally surprised, except for Jacob who had a sheepish grin on his face as she made quick eye contact with him out of the corner of her eyes.

Finally, Taylor collected herself and said "I have been good. What have you all been up to?"

Each one of them dove into an extensive history about their college sports careers, followed by career history, and threw in any impressive people they had dated or been with. They each tried to one-up each other with stories and throwbacks to high school. It felt very much like they were reviewing a resume with her and each trying to beat out their competition. Several times She caught Jacob smirking, seemingly holding back a chuckle as Taylor tried to plaster a smile over her unimpressed and confused expressions.

Not once did they ask her about her life or career, only stating multiple times that she looked great and occasionally comparing her to people they had dated in the past. After what felt like ages, there was a lull in the conversation. Taylor checked her phone and pretended to be surprised. She turned to Jacob and said "Oh! We better get going! I have that meeting that I need to call into, remember?"

Jacob knew what she was trying to do, and for a second looked like he might not play a long, if simply for his own entertainment. Taylor raised an eyebrow at him, so subtlety she doubted if anyone else saw it. Finally Jacob said "Ah! That's right! We better head out!" He turned to the men at the other side of the table and said "A pleasure, as always, gentlemen."

Taylor nodded at them as she stood. They muttered goodbyes to her and watched as she walked away and Jacob placed a guiding hand on her lower back. Taylor looked over to him, and though he kept his head forward, she could see his lips pressed together holding a laugh. Taylor chuckled, shaking her head as they made their way out.

When they exited the hotel, and we're certain they were out of earshot of their classmates, Jacob let out a howling laugh. Taylor paused looking at him in surprise, but unable to stop the laughter bubbling up inside her. "It's not funny!" She said, but her laughter betrayed her.

Jacob collected himself, somewhat, and said "I have never seen anything like that! You were SO uninterested and they were SO oblivious!" He laughed again, turning to continue toward the car. "I told you they were jealous."

As much as she didn't want to believe it, evidence suggested at this point that they were interested in her. As they got in the car she looked over to him. He was still smiling from ear-to-ear and shaking his head at the nonsense of it all.

"What was with the hand on my back as we walked away?" She asked teasingly.

Jacob chuckled and said, "I couldn't help it! I knew it would drive them mad!"

Taylor shook her head, running her hand through her hair and flipping it to one side. As they drove back to his house, Jacob reviewed all his favorite parts of the morning, every comment and expression. Taylor laughed in return at each memory. It HAD been pretty ridiculous.

Once back at the house Jacob turned to her and asked, "So did you have more work to do, or did you want to try your hand at throwing pottery?" The grin that tugged on his lips was so child-like, revealing how much he really wanted her to experience it. "I'm down to throw some pottery," she said, "but I didn't exactly pack anything to wear for an activity like that."

The grin that spread across Jacobs face as she agreed to experience his beloved hobby was stunning. "Don't worry about it! I will scrounge up something for you to wear!" And with that he disappeared into his room. He returned a moment later with some folded clothes and said that he would meet her in the garage after she changed.

Taylor entered her room and changed into what he had provided, black drawstring sweatpants and an undershirt. She could smell him on the clothes and forced herself not to let her mind wander there, though as she pulled on the black sweatpants, she couldn't stop herself from wondering if they were the same ones she had seen him in this morning. The baggy sweatpants were a stark contrast to the fitted undershirt he provided. The grey tank top was ribbed and hugged her curvy breasts and waist well. Parts of her lacy black bra showed on either side of the tight undershirt. She had always felt that her breasts were her best feature. Though she was tiny, she sported an impressive DD cup, naturally. She stole one more glance in the mirror before heading out to the garage.

As she walked in, Jacob was fussing about, getting things ready for them. He had changed into dark gray sweats and a tight white undershirt that were already clay-stained. As the door closed behind her Jacob looked over, doing a double take. He slowed what he was doing, turning his full attention toward her. She felt so vulnerable under his stare.

"What?" She finally mustered, heat spreading across her face.

Jacob opened his mouth but took a moment before he responded, "It's nothing... I just..." he paused again, a blush seeming to spend across his cheeks that matched hers. "I never would have expected I would ever see Taylor Rodburn wearing my clothes." He let out a nervous laugh, shaking his head and returning to what he was doing before she came in.

"You say that like it's something you would have fantasized about back in the day." She responded sarcastically. She made her way over to one of the wheels.

"Would you even believe me if I told you I had?" He responded, keeping his back to her as he worked. Eventually, when she didn't respond, he turned to look at her over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised.

"Nope." She responded flatly. He let out a soft laugh. He made his way over to where she now sat at one of the wheels. He dropped some clay on it and then went over to the other one, facing hers.

"I'm just going to start, and explain what I'm doing as I go. In my experience that's the best way to understand how to do it."

Taylor nodded and observed as he wet the surface with a sponge from a bucket of water. He slapped the clay down and started kicking a wheel at his feet. As he centered and worked with the clay, he explained that he liked the kick-wheels because they made him feel more connected to the process, and they made the experience more serene. Taylor watched as his hands shaped and molded the clay, pulling it up and pushing it down in an easy rhythm.

She started kicking her wheel and working on centering her own, much smaller chunk of clay. After some more effort than she cared to admit, she got the clay centered. It was so satisfying to feel the silky clay spinning seamlessly between her hands. She could understand why he enjoyed this. She looked over at him to find him watching her smiling, the most warm smile she had ever seen.

"Nice work!" He said, proudly. It was at that point Taylor turned her attention to what he had been creating. In the time that she took to center her clay, she had created a large intricate vase. Her jaw dropped.

"That's amazing!" She exclaimed. Jacob pulled his attention back to his own clay and shrugged before taking his hands and crushing the vase.

"What are you doing?! That was beautiful!" Taylor said, getting up from her wheel.

Jacob looked at her with a serene smile and said "It's not always about what you make. It's about the experience. I could pull hundreds of vases like that, it's nothing special." He said as he worked the clay again, centering it.

He continued to teach her how to open and pull the clay. She tried as best she could not to look at him working. His muscles tensed and moved in a way that was so soft, but powerful, and if his hands were this good with clay, she couldn't imagine how he could make her body feel with those same hands. In the haze of the fire that was being lit through her, she heard him try to get her attention, calling her name.

"Huh?" She said looking to him. He was staring at the work in front of her. Whatever she had been trying to make, was now very lopsided and collapsing on itself. She looked back over to him and they both burst out in laughter. "It's, uh...." She laughed again. "It's just what I was trying to make!" She declared proudly.

Jacob roared with laughter and Taylor thought it must have been one of the happiest sounds in the world. "And what, exactly, is it that you made?"

Taylor looked back to her lumpy clay, turning her head to one side trying to take in the monstrosity from a different perspective. "Well, CLEARLY, it's a candy dish! A very abstract candy dish." She beamed sarcastically. "I'm not surprised you can't appreciate it's beauty, I'm very ahead of my time!" She jabbed. Jacob laughed again and then got up, pulling her plate off her wheel, her "candy dish" with it.

"Well then," he started, "we best take good care of this masterpiece!" He set it on the counter. She followed him and watched as he prepared it for the next stage, whatever that was. He turned around, not knowing how close she was behind him and bumped into her, bringing them face to face. He instinctively grabbed her arms as she rocked on her feet in response to the collision. They both froze in that position, him looking down at her, so close she could feel his breath on her face. He glanced down to her lips. Her heart started racing. After a moment, he looked down to his hands that were still gripped around her bare arms, and then released her, stepping back.

The space between them felt heavy and tense. "Sorry!" He gestured to her arms. Taylor looked down and noticed that there were now clay handprints where his hands had been.

Taylor chuckled, releasing the tension between them slightly. "Don't even worry about it." She said, taking a step towards him, pinning him against the counter. He looked unsteady at the distance closing between them. A sly smile spread across her face as she stepped closer still and said, "Throwing pottery is dirty work!" On the last two words she thumped her clay slathered pointer finger on his nose, leaving behind a small mask of clay.

Jacob exhaled a breath that Taylor hadn't noticed he'd been holding. He smiled and said softly "That it is." He stepped around her with a nervous chuckle and started cleaning up. She helped as best she could but she didn't know where things went so she spent most of the time hovering awkwardly. When they were done she made an excuse that she probably should check her email again after getting cleaned up. She went to the bathroom and used cold water to clean the clay off her arms and hands, letting it extinguish the fire that had started to build in her.

Taylor paced around her room after getting ready for dinner, not wanting to seem too eager to head out with him. She glimpsed herself in the mirror and was pleased with how well she wore this dress. The dinner tonight was to be a more formal affair, so she wore one of her classier dresses. It was a simple black dress that shimmered if the light hit it just right. A leg slit ran up to the top of her thigh. While the fit around her legs was loose and flowy, the top was fitted and had a slightly plunging neckline that accentuated her best feature. Thin straps reached over her shoulders, holding the dress in place and giving her cleavage a nice lift. She kept her hair down in loose curls and had done a little more makeup than she usually did, adding some dark eyeshadow.

She heard Jacob out in the kitchen, and decided that it was an appropriate time to go out. As she made her way down the hall, she saw him sitting in one of the barstools sipping on a glass of whiskey, focused on his laptop in front of him. He wore a black suit and black button up that hugged every curve of his muscular body just right.

As she emerged from the hallway, he glanced toward her and immediately stopped what he was doing. He stood from his chair, facing her, taking her in. She had never felt so vulnerable under someone's stare before.

"You look," he finally said. A smile pulled at his lips, unable to find the word to finish his sentiment. "Those poor men are going to be fumbling all over themselves tonight." He forced himself to break the stare and looked at his watch. "Ready to head out?" He asked casually.

Something sank a little in Taylor's chest. She didn't know what to expect, but she had to admit she was a little disappointed with how casual he was being. She nodded and they headed out. The ride to the hotel was quiet this time, a deafening silence. Taylor decided that it was all in her head. She shook it off and was determined to enjoy herself tonight.

They arrived at the hotel and Jacob kept his distance as they entered the ballroom. She made her way over to get a drink as he immediately found someone he wanted to talk to. While waiting at the bar for her red wine, someone came up behind her, placed a hand on her back and said "There you are! How was your meeting?"

Taylor turned to find Lucas beside her. It took her a moment to remember the lie she used to excuse herself from brunch earlier. "It was fine." She replied, forcing a smile. Lucas was a very traditionally handsome man. He would probably catch most people's attention on the street, with his messy sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes, and bronze skin. Exactly what you would expect from someone that was the quarterback in high school.

"I have to say, you look amazing!" He stated as he stepped back taking her in.

"You clean up pretty well yourself." She replied. It wasn't a lie, he did look nice and he seemed a little less slimy than he had earlier today. She scanned across the room and found Jacob, looking in her direction. He raised a brow, asking a silent question: Are you okay? Several thoughts flew through Taylor's head at once until she decided to lean into this thing with Lucas. Maybe she would just have some fun flirting, maybe it would make Jacob jealous. Either way, she turned back to Lucas and linked her arm with his asking if he would escort her to a table.

Lucas happily obliged. It didn't go unnoticed by Taylor or Jacob that he deliberately picked a mostly empty table, away from AJ and Evan. As they sat and ate they laughed and she found herself touching his arm and smiling in a way that she hoped made her eyes twinkle. As dinner ended, Lucas asked if she would like to accompany him on a walk through the courtyard. Taylor agreed, taking his arm again as they made their way out of the ballroom. Before she left she caught a glance from Jacob who seemed tense, but quickly looked away.