Cover Story

by Rachel Lacey

She looked powerful. And gorgeous. A combo that had Taylor’s pulse racing.

Okay Taylorrrrrrrr

she went down, hard, the back of her head smacking into the pavement.

Oh no

Taylor’s voice. Which meant Natalie hadn’t hallucinated the face hovering over her, looking so concerned it made Natalie’s heart beat funny.

and she hated to cause a scene.

Aw man she probably feels so vulnerable and embarassed right now :(

one hand rubbing Natalie’s back, which felt so nice,

That is a really nice feeling

Embarrassment surged, heating her skin. This was mortifying.

Aw Natali I'm sorry about that :(

turning her face into the welcome refuge of Taylor’s shirt.

AT least she's finding some sort of comfort!

Taylor said, tugging Natalie closer against her.

This is cute honestly. And quite sweet <3 or is this the bare minimum in this situation...

“I’m fine. Just need a minute.” Natalie was practically in Taylor’s lap at this point, one hand fisted in her shirt while Taylor’s arms held her. It felt . . . good. Natalie let some of the tension out of her spine, settling more comfortably against Taylor’s chest. Her shirt was so soft . . .

Just this whole section <3. It is really great she's finding comfort with Taylor

Her cheek pressed into the softness of Taylor’s chest.

I want my cheek to press into the softness of a girl's/woman's chest… Is that too much to want

Their eyes met, and something warm fluttered in Natalie’s stomach, chasing away the nausea.

Taylor still felt the warmth of Natalie’s body where it had pressed against her heart.

maybe even romantic.

Oooooooo

Natalie’s expression softened at the use of her nickname.

“Um . . .” When she turned, Natalie had sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and was watching Taylor with a combination of amusement and something else Taylor didn’t want to try too hard to identify sparkling in those brown eyes.

Very interesting…

“Cassie,” Taylor clarified, warmth becoming full-blown arousal as she realized she’d just invited Natalie into her bedroom this late at night.

Oooooooooooo

revealing the swell of her breast.

Of course you're paying attention to that Taylor (I would too. And probably be very obvious about it)

“Stay here tonight,” she murmured, tugging Taylor down beside her. “It’s easier this way.”

she couldn’t help feeling the intimacy of the arrangement too.

Then there was Taylor, so strong and capable. While Natalie was hurt, she’d taken charge in the best—and sexiest—way.

she’d wake feeling warm and vaguely aroused.

In a few months, she’d be gone, and what would happen to Natalie then?

Ideally, they continue communicating and have a relationship. in reality Taylor doesn't have time for a relationship but also has feelings for Natalie. But Taylor doesn't want to hurt Natalie's feelings so she's gonna continue pushing the point of her lack of time for a relationship. I predict that will be or will be part of the main reason they push away from eachother later on in the story

Natalie was acutely aware of how much she wished she had an excuse to touch her. She wished for an audience to give her a reason to hold Taylor’s hand or lean into the welcome warmth of her body.

Yes, Natalie wanted to say, because a movie sounded warm and cozy and romantic, but it also sounded like . . . blurred lines.

Natalie please just say yes

it was all Natalie could do not to sink her fingers into the cotton of Taylor’s hoodie and pull her in for a kiss.

“Actually, I’m giving you the weekend off.”

D:

a mess who was smitten with her bodyguard.

Smitten and they have a kitten... heh.. Okay I'll stop now

Was she always going to live in the cage of his making?

A good question

the only positive thing she could say about her evening was that she hadn’t spent it fantasizing about Taylor.

Likely story

she had no idea why Natalie was using it now. “Glad you had a fun weekend.” Natalie’s tone was a little bit too sharp.

Oh dear <\3

even if she’d missed Natalie more than she was willing to admit.

She’d felt their growing closeness, and she’d panicked.

Taylor the smart one (for recognizing why exactly Natalie became distant all of a sudden)

“If you could have seen yourself, Taylor, sprinting across the lot to get to her. So damn romantic, I’m telling you.”

Taylor’s job hadn’t had anything to do with her reaction. She’d just needed to make sure Natalie was okay.

She wasn’t supposed to still have pain, and yet . . . it kept happening,

Uh oh

She lifted her head, and they brought their noses together in greeting.

Yayyyyyy the pets are getting along

greeted by the sight of Natalie with her eyes closed, face pressed against the side of the bedspread, fast asleep.

Aw Natalie is so tired

She wanted Natalie naked beneath her, gasping and moaning with pleasure.

LMAOOOOO THIS IS A HUGE JUMP IN THOUGHTS

Maybe, once all was said and done between them, they’d have a night to explore this chemistry, but a night was all it could ever be.

This is a good point

carried her this way. It was probably terrible for her back, but right now, she didn’t fucking care.

And Taylor resisted—just barely—the urge to lean down and press a kiss to her cheek before she left her there.

Aghhhh

And why did she like it so damn much?

Natalie, girl, lets be so fr

Natalie stripped out of her jeans and her bra and crawled into bed wearing only her T-shirt and underwear, too tired to find pajamas.

Okay so I'm thinking two things could happen. 1) Taylor is gonna come into the room and see Natalie like this 2) Natalie WILL fantasize about Taylor and her. OR A SECRET THIRD OPTION, BOTH

It was already attempting to whirl ahead to today’s busy schedule, sabotaging her.

This is so so so so so so so real

Taylor bounced on her toes, practically bursting with excitement,

Awwwww she's so excited for Natalie. This is sweet

Adrenaline burned through common sense, and Natalie closed that remaining inch, pressing her lips to Taylor’s,

YES

“What were you thinking about, then?” Suspicion crept into Jeremy’s tone. “Because you never forget your phone. Oh my God, did you hook up with Taylor?”

Lmaoooo Jeremy

Taylor, who was trying valiantly to act like she couldn’t hear every word Jeremy said, was strong.

Oh this is so fking funny

the way she’d spent a sleepless weekend without Taylor and then basically collapsed in exhaustion the moment she was back.

Oh she feels so safe around Taylor I love this

One congratulatory email didn’t change the fact that Natalie had grown up feeling like a burden they were forced to bear.

Aw man :( also "bear" like… Freddy Fazbear? Har har har har har