Chapter 146: If the shoe fits

Taylor shuffled closer to Karen, realising she was a ridiculous amount of space away from her. Karen wasn’t some kind of beast. She wouldn’t just attack her. Taylor was pretty sure there would be some signs before that happened.

Would she be able to read them? Probably. But, she’d already said she was here just for coffee and breakfast. Taylor would take her at her word.

“I usually don’t eat anything crazy. I actually prefer yogurt, granola and fruit.” Taylor told her. Karen’s eyes went wide, before it looked like she was going to start beating herself up. Taylor placed her hand on her shoulder, feeling the warm, soft fabric under her hand of her t-shirt. “You didn’t know. I’ll take anything. Preference doesn’t mean I have to have it all the time. I can switch it up.” Taylor said, giving her a shy smile.

Karen exhaled, nodding before she glanced towards the hand that Taylor still had on her shoulder. A lingering touch, that as soon as Karen brought attention to, Taylor yanked her hand away.

Karen turned, smiling at the opened bags and pastries she’d pulled out.

“Alright, I appreciate you pivoting for me. Please, pick your poison.” Karen said, taking a small step back so that Taylor could approach. Taylor did so, looking over the pastries carefully. There was a blueberry scone that was speaking to Taylor, along with a raspberry cream cheese thing that looked delicious.

Taylor was lost in thought, her eyes scanning everything for a long, serious moment before she eventually reached for the raspberry cream cheese thing. She slid the bag to the side, glancing at where Karen was supposed to be behind her and instead found her closer, her eyes staring at Taylor.

“Karen?” Taylor asked, a little confused and Karen just smiled.

“Sorry. I just like watching you ponder things. You get a cute little crease between your eyebrows that I like to watch. Plus, you’re so careful with your decisions.” Taylor didn’t know what to say. She felt her face warm.

This felt like an attack. A full-frontal one.

“Um, thank you?” Taylor replied, confused. Karen smirked.

“You’re welcome.” Karen turned her gaze to the snacks before them before frowning. “Is that it? You’ll need more fuel than that, Taylor.” The way that Karen shaped Taylor’s name made Taylor’s body hyper aware of her. The shiver that rocked Taylor’s body was involuntary, and made Karen pay more attention to her. “Are you cold, Taylor?” She asked and Taylor shook her head, embarrassed.

“No no, just a…little early morning jitter. It’s normal.” Taylor told her, and was thankful that she believed her. Karen nodded, but still kept her eyes on Taylor. Her eyes slid across the items, before she reached for the blueberry scone and slid it towards Taylor. Karen’s eyes watched her carefully and Taylor wasn’t sure what to do with this sudden development.

The awareness that Karen was watching her. Closely, and that didn’t bother her as much as Taylor thought it would. Taylor wasn’t used to people watching her closely like this. She was used to it in the way that the Guides watched every move she made closely.

More like startled, cornered animals, watchful. Cautious. Ready to dart at a moment’s notice if they think she is going to do something that will hurt them. That was honestly a more vamped up version of what most of her patients looked at her like. She may be a healer, and someone that they did trust to fix them, but they were always cautious thinking that Taylor would hurt them.

That was something that she would never, could never do. It went against everything that Taylor believed in, and honestly, it was discussed amongst her fellow Healers if it wasn’t something that had been forced into their genetic code when they awakened. Were you chosen to be a Healer, or were you made to be a Healer? It was a debate between any Healer that had a couple of hours of free time that they liked to have.

Taylor was on the side that they were chosen, but she could see the merits of both sides. She just didn’t like to think that she had been changed more than she already had when she became an Esper. People had said that Taylor hadn’t changed much since she became an Esper. She was pretty much the same person she always had been. Just…Taylor.

“What did you get to drink?” Taylor asked, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to argue her way out of eating both treats. Instead, she accepted her fate and slid the treats across the counter, then rounded around to the side with stools and sat down, leaving the other seat free for Karen. Karen smiled, pushing the rest of the treats closer to the seats before coming around and joining Taylor as she sat.

“I got something less sweet. Still coffee though.” Taylor frowned.

“Why? Don’t you usually like drinks that are so sweet I think my teeth are going to fall out?” Taylor asked and Karen gave a slow, calculated grin.

“Yeah, but what if you didn’t like the drink that the barista said was your usual? I was willing to give you something else that was more your speed.” Karen said it so easily. Taylor stared at her as she held up her cup. “This is called a sugar cookie oat latte? I’m not sure what all that means. I usually just ask them to make me something sweet and caffeinated, but since you got something with lactose free milk, I got something with oat milk just to be safe. Do you not like dairy?” Karen asked, glancing at Taylor. Taylor flushed.

She turned, clenching onto the cup like a lifeline.

“Uh, well, it upsets my stomach so I try to avoid it.” Taylor told her and Karen glanced at the pastries that she had selected. She was still smiling as she raised her gaze to meet Taylor’s.

“So your first choice was the only pastry with a lot of dairy?” Karen asked and Taylor twitched. She dropped her gaze, embarrassed.

“I-It looked good.” Taylor muttered and Karen laughed. It was such a familiar sound, but often heard from afar. Taylor shivered again.

“Mm, well, you should eat, Taylor. I know you have limited time to do so. You have so much on your plate right now I’m amazed you have time to sleep.” Karen said. Taylor was amazed too. Yesterday had been an anomaly. Well, that and Henry came storming into the rooms designated for the found Guides and told Taylor she had to take a rest or he was going to report her to her parents.

A very real threat, with real consequences.

So, Taylor went to check on Gunther and instead hung out with Kellen and then passed out.

“Yeah. I have to choose between eating or getting a shower, so this is nice of you.” Taylor told her. Karen paused. She had the cup raised to her lips, her eyes going wide.

“What? Is that true?” She asked and Taylor shrugged.

“It’s fine.” She said, and felt how Karen completely disagreed with her.

“Fine? How is that fine? The Medical Bay will collapse without you, but you also have a team that you are supposed to be able to rely on. Is that not true?” Karen wasn’t talking anymore, it was Karen the Lieutenant. Or Lieutenant Hill as some called her. Taylor chuckled.

“My people, my team are helping me. We are all stretched thin right now.” Taylor told her. “You can back down, Lieutenant.” Taylor teased and Karen huffed.

“No, I can’t. You’re important to not just me, but everyone. I would hate to see you collapse.” Karen told her. It was a subtle change, a subtle suggestion. The inference of how Karen always cared. Taylor suddenly felt a little too hot in her jacket.

“I won’t. I’m not working that hard.” Taylor muttered, reaching for the raspberry thing to put something in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to talk as much. That was a bad choice as Karen was watching her, as if waiting for her to take a bite.

“Really? I don’t believe that. If you’re having such a hard time finding time to take care of your basic needs, why don’t you strip, get in the tub and I can bathe you while you eat and drink?” Taylor started coughing, Karen reaching out and patting her back gently.

That was when Taylor realised she had positioned herself so that she wasn’t actually sitting side by side with Taylor, but had instead angled herself towards Taylor. Her foot was on the bar underneath Taylor’s stool, her arm had been resting on the back of Taylor’s chair. She had been casually invading her space without Taylor noticing.

Karen wasn’t behaving herself in the slightest.

“You lied.” Taylor wheezed, coughing before she took a sip of her coffee to wash down the flaky pastry. Karen grinned, her eyes creasing at the corners as she smiled at her.

I’d never lie.” Karen told her, and Taylor glared at her.

“I don’t believe you. You’re lying right now. No one who is just coming in for breakfast is saying something like that.” Taylor accused. “Besides, I’m not a patient. I can bathe myself.” Taylor sounded indignant, because she was. It was not a sexy picture that Karen had painted. It was one that Taylor had done for those unconscious from the poison every two days. For their health, and their safety.

Karen smiled at Taylor, something in her gaze that made Taylor stay on edge.

“Well, can you blame a girl for trying? You look so pretty with those sleepy eyes and being so aware of me that it’s cute. I think I’m doing a good job keeping my hands to myself.” Karen told her. Taylor huffed.

“I am not pretty. You’re the only one who thinks I’m cute.” Taylor told her. Karen grinned.

“I’m glad you think that way. It means I have less competition.” Taylor’s jaw dropped. Karen smirked. “Did you think I would argue with you? Absolutely not. I have plenty of time to slowly convince you of what I see, so it’s okay if we’re at odds about how cute and adorable you are. If you give me time, I’m more than happy to convince you otherwise. Slowly. With great attention to detail.”

Taylor was pretty sure her jaw had fallen off and walked out the door. She couldn’t pick it up. No fucking wonder Karen had no problem getting anyone she wanted. Hell, if Taylor didn’t have so much to fucking do, she might just have pulled Karen over to the couch behind them, climbed into her lap and kissed her the same way that her lips were remembering right now.

They pulsed, and Taylor licked them nervously. Karen saw the movement, watched it, and then slid her gaze back up to Taylor’s. It was a taunt. A promise.

Karen wasn’t going to do anything. Taylor would have to be the one to make the first move.

Instead of doing that, Taylor fled.

“I’m going to quickly jump in the shower. Watch the coffee?” Taylor asked and Karen let out a loud laugh as she let Taylor push her stool back, allowing her to escape.

“You’re going to make me sit here and wait for you while I hear you, all naked and wet in the shower?” Taylor’s face turned red as she rushed towards the bathroom. “You’re such a tease, Taylor Green.” Taylor had never been called that before in her life, but right now?

Well, if the shoe fits.

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