Chapter 178: We’re best friends, right?
Kellen didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t even sure how to broach the topic. Taylor, knowing that they weren’t going to talk about it unless she spoke up, sighed, and ran her hand over her face before she spoke. "I’m not mad. I mean, I am upset, but not mad." Kellen winced, as Taylor leveled him with her gaze. "You told them about everything first? After I’m the one who helped you realise what you were really feeling? When Kellen finally met her gaze, there was a deep hurt there. Frowning, Kellen reached out and took her hand in his.
"Hey, it was against my will. I was excited to see you today and was looking forward to talking with you about this once our session was over." Kellen wasn’t lying. He had been excited to talk to her. The same way he’d been anxious to contact Gwen and let her know what had happened too. After their interaction at the photoshoot, he’d been afraid to reach out to her.
Taylor was the one who’d gotten him to this point. He had a feeling that if he hadn’t had her around, it would have been months, maybe even years before he came to realise what his feelings were. He would have had years of feeling like he was going insane, or was anxious, or even jealous of those around the Captain. Kellen wouldn’t haven’t been able to put any of his feelings and thoughts together coherently without her.
He was pretty sure that he would have pushed everything to the back of his mind without her help. And her diagnostics.
Unsure how to appease her, Kellen sighed, rubbing his thumb against her hand where he held it, making Taylor stare at him in confusion. He licked his lips, nervous, and glanced at the door where Rhys was standing outside. He inhaled, before letting out a shaky exhale.
"We talked a lot yesterday. I learned a lot about the Captain. Things I wasn’t sure I should say when they pestered me. But if it makes you feel better, I could tell you what we talked about." Her eyes widened at his words, her hand giving Kellen’s a squeeze.
"Kellen, those are personal moments between you two. I don’t want to steal those from you. That’s not what I want." She sighed, closing her eyes, before she opened them again. "You should have messaged me or something, let me know everything went well before I found out that Brent and Hill cornered you." Her words made sense, but...
Kellen’s whole face went red, and he stared down at the hand he held.
"That would have been impossible. I didn’t take my phone with me when I went to the gym this morning, and that’s where they stole me from." He couldn’t make eye contact with her. "Before going to the gym...I was busy." His voice was barely above a whisper as he admitted that. Taylor’s hand squeezed his before she burst into laughter.