5- This slope is treacherous

"Can we go skiing tomorrow?" Taylor asks. The two women are eating dinner together, sitting at the kitchen table.

Karlie lets out a laugh. "Skiing?" She asks, her voice surprised. "Ive never even done that."

"What?! What kind of spy are you?!" Taylor exclaims, her arms in the air for a dramatic effect.

"Oh yeah.." Karlie says. "Spies and agents are supposed to know how to ski." There is, of course, a lot of sarcasm present in her voice.

"Please? I love skiing. Can we? Were in Austria for god's sake.." Taylor asks again, pouting at the younger girl.

"You can go." Karlie replies easily, shrugging her shoulders.

"What?! You're supposed to protect me Karlie." Taylor says, raising one eyebrow.


"Lets just see how the weather is tomorrow then. It has been snowing all day today. Im not gonna go if its snowing all day." Karlie says, taking a bite of the pizza on her plate. 

"Fine.." Taylor sighs. "I don't like you anymore, you're boring."

"Boring? Im a fucking secret agent and a spy. It doesn't get more exciting." Karlie says, trying not to blush at the 'liking' comment. "Or did you like that policeman better, two months ago? Was he more 'exciting'?" The green eyed girl asks with a smirk on her face.

"OH. MY. GOD!" Taylor shouts. "NO! How do you even know! What the hell, you stalker!" The singer buries her face in her hands and Karlie just cant stop laughing.


"Sorry. I had to." The younger girl says. "You did seem to like him a lot though, you were all over him." She adds.

"KARLIE, STOP!" Taylor shouts, her face bright red. "Oh my god, im so embarrassed." She says, getting up from the table and walking towards the living room. "Were you there? In the bar?"

"I told you im a good spy." Karlie says drily, following the older girl into the living room and sitting down next to her on the couch.


"Thats horrible." The blue eyed girl says, not even looking at the other girl. "How is it even possible that I never saw you?"


"You went home with him didn't you?" Karlie asks boldly, ignoring Taylor's question.

"NO!" Taylor shouts. "No, I didn't. I went home with Selena." She pulls her knees up to her chest and avoids Karlie's gaze by looking at the tv, embarrassed that someone found out about her making out with this random guy, something she usually never does. She remembers how drunk she was that night, and how miserable she had felt. Which was why she had accepted all the drinks that the guy had ordered for her.  

"I know. I was just teasing you." Karlie says, studying the girls red face.


"Oh gosh. Of course you know." Taylor says dryly. "Gosh, that guy was horrible. I looked him up on Facebook the next day and saw that he even had a girlfriend, asshole."

"Oh.." Karlie replies. "She must have liked it a lot that you kissed the douche all night. What a loser."

"Yep." Taylor replies her cheeks still red, and the conversation ends there. They sit on the couch in silence, both looking at the tv but not really watching.

"Karlie?"

"Yeah?" The green eyed girl looks at Taylor and meets blue ones.

"I think its super strange that you followed me for half a year and saw everything I did. But.. did you.. were you.. could you also see me.. inside my apartment?" Taylor asks, mumbling the last part of the question.


"No." Karlie replies, sitting up straighter. "No I didn't. I really didn't. The only building I was in together with you, was that same bar I met you. I never wanted to intrude your privacy like that."

Taylor smiles at the other girl. "Thank you."

"I.. my job is to protect you. Not to break into your house and stuff, that would be sick." Karlie adds, still unsure if she calmed Taylor's nerves.


"It still is kinda sick." Taylor says softly, not meaning it in a bad way.

"It is.. sorry." Karlie says, looking away from the singer. 

"Its okay." Taylor says. "I.. Im glad we met.. even if its just in this weird way.."


Since the conversation this morning, about Karlie's fears about being close her 'clients', they hadn't spoken about anything serious today. They had watched series on the couch, Taylor's head on Karlie's shoulder almost the whole time.


"Yeah.. me too." Karlie says softly. She turns her head to Taylor and smiles a small smile at her. Taylor smiles that same small smile back at her and scoots over to her side. Karlie stretches her feet out so she is sitting in a way that Taylor can reach her. The singer lays her head back on the younger girl's shoulder. Karlie lets out a long, content sigh and lays back comfortably. Taylor wraps her arms around the younger girl, to which Karlie stiffens.

"Relax, Karls." Taylor says softly, lifting her head up from Karlie's shoulder slightly and watching her face. "You're cute." She says as she notices that Karlie is now holding her breath nervously. The green eyed girl sighs deeply then.

"Im not." She says stubbornly, putting one arm around the blonde.

"Yes you are." Taylor whispers as she lays her head back on the younger girl's shoulder.

——————————————————————————————————

"Taylor?" Karlie's voice sounds through the dark bedroom.

"Taylor?"

"Hmm?" The blonde grunts. "What?"

"Uhmm.. I cant sleep." The green eyed girl whispers.


"So?"

"I uhh.. I.. do.. you ehhm.. would you like to.. uhm.. Im cold." Karlie stutters, making the blonde laugh even though she is still half asleep.

"Is this you asking me to come and cuddle with you?" The singer asks her voice raspy with sleep.

"I.. ehm.. Yes.. maybe.. I.. I think.." Karlie mumbles, almost inaudible.


"Come here." Taylor says, a smile on her face as she rolls over in Karlie's direction and drapes an arm and a leg over the taller girl's body while cuddling her from the side. "Is this better?" She asks, taking in the younger girl's scent with her eyes closed. She smells something like lemons and lavender mixed together. She just smells like Karlie and only Karlie. Pretty good and pretty amazing and addictive, according to the blue eyed blonde.

"Yes." Karlie replies softly, the places where Taylor's limbs are touching her are burning. "This is better." She says, a smile on her face. She knows she is supposed to keep a little distance in between Taylor and her. She knows she cant like her the way she does. But she cant help it.

"Good night, Karls."


"Good night, Tay."

—————————————————————————————————

"Please, please, please tell me that the sun is shining?" Taylor wonders out loud as she jumps up from the bed the next morning. She rips the curtains open and sees the white snow reflecting a big amount of sunlight coming from above. "Yes!" She shouts, looking at Karlie for the first time this morning.

"Oh god.." The younger girl groans, turning away from the sunlight and the singer and closing her eyes again. "Taylor, what time is it? I wanna sleep still."

"Its 8.30. Come on, you promised me we would go skiing." The blonde says, jumping on the big kingsized bed. "We've been here for like five days now and all we've done is nothing."

"Well.. not nothing-" Karlie starts groggily.

"You know what I mean." Taylor interrupts her. "Not enough."

"Is this a secret hint?" Karlie boldly asks, a small smile playing on her face.

"No dummy. I just wanna go skiing with you." Taylor replies, now crawling on top of the girl who is still laying on her side with her eyes closed.

"But I cant ski." Karlie complains, being pushed to lay on her back by Taylor, who is pouting at her. She sighs deeply, secretly liking the way that Taylor was sitting on top of her. Liking it.. a lot. "Fine." She says, poking the blonde's side. Taylor shoots away from the younger girls touch and lets out a giggle.

"Ticklish much?" Karlie asks, poking the other side of her belly. Taylor shoots away again, smiling and grinning. Karlie decides to go for the full attack and starts tickling the older girl in her sides, making her scream and laugh.

"Stop! Pleaaaseee!" Taylor yells at her. "Karlie.. Aaaah! Stop!"

Eventually the younger girl stops tickling the singer who is half laying on top of her and half off the bed. Karlie feels bad then suddenly, this is too close, too couple-ish. She turns around so that Taylor rolls off her and she sits up straight in bed, her eyebrows furrowed, her hands massaging her temples.

"Wow, hey whats up?" Taylor asks, sitting down next to her but keeping some space in between them.

"I uhmm.. I wanna.. get ready and stuff." Karlie says then, grabbing a pile of clean close and heading into the bathroom before locking the door behind her. Taylor remains seated on the bed, confused by what has just happened. 'did I do something wrong?' She thinks to herself as she lays back down on her back. She wonders why Karlie can suddenly close off like that. Its like the fun and sunshine leaves her body and she just turns cold. 

"Is everything okay?" She calls out loud, wanting to know if the younger girl was feeling okay.

"Y- yeah.. yeah im fine. Just getting ready." Karlie says, trying to get her voice under control. She is sitting on the bathroom floor, with her back against the door, crying. She feels horrible, miserable. Every single memory of her come flashing back into her mind. She knows by letting Taylor in, she risks bringing the girl in danger and bringing her own emotions in danger in that same way. But Taylor is so sweet, so innocent and just so pure. Nothing bad could come from being closer with her, could it? 'She is Taylor fucking Swift, asshole. Of course you cant have any feelings or what so ever for her. Don't you remember what happened last time, when you dated that model?' Karlie angrily wipes the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand and gets up from the floor to look in the mirror. She wants her thoughts to stop speaking to her. She sometimes feels like she is in one of those movies where theres a good and a bad angel on you shoulder and they both tell you what they think is best. Her thoughts are a mess.

She wishes she would've never fallen for her in the past. She had failed her job just as how failed her job as a friend and lover at the same time. More tears start streaming down her face, making it impossible to even see anything.

"Karlie?" A voice sounded. The green eyed girl knows its Taylor and she knows it sounds so close to her that she must now be in the bathroom too. "Oh gosh, Karlie whats going on? Whats wrong?" She asks, kneeling down to the girl that is now sitting on the ground again, her whole face red and wet with tears.

"I always fucking fail. She died.. she died.. because of me. Because I loved her." Karlie stutters angrily, her fists bawled. "If I would've just kept my distance from her. If I wouldn't have fallen for her.. she would've never been there at that time. They never would've gotten her. She would've still been alive."

"Hey, tell me the story." Taylor says calmly, wanting to hear the younger girl out.

"Toni.." Karlie sighs. "Her name's Toni. She was my client five years ago, I was new in the job. She was the first one I protected."

Taylor nods, signing Karlie to continue. Both girls are now sitting on the bathroom floor, staring at each other. 

"She was being chased by some kind of gang that wanted her dead and I kidnapped her, just like you, and brought her to different places in the States to get her away from them and to protect her." Karlie explains. A deep sigh escapes her lips then. "We.. we fell in love." She says. "And after protecting her for a few months, the danger for her was so low that she was not longer allowed to be a client of mine. I stopped officially being her protector and took another, new client. We kept on seeing each other though.."

Taylor is nodding again now that Karlie stops talking, knowing its hard for her to talk about all this.


"We were together for half a year when we went out for dinner at a local restaurant when she.. she got shot.. by this gang.. with a sniper.. through her head." Karlie says, the last part of the sentence almost inaudible.

"She was gone instantly." The green eyed woman says, her voice cracking with every word that comes out of her mouth.

"Oh Karlie.. I am so sorry for you.." Taylor says, pulling the girl in for a hug. Karlie sobs onto her shoulder and hugs her tightly.

"This is why..I.. don't.. want any closeness with any.. any client.." The green eyed girl sobs. "because.. I don't want to bring.. them in danger." Her eyes are watering like running waterfalls. "Im scared of that."

"I completely get that." Taylor says, rubbing the girl's back with her hand. "Im so sorry.."

Both girls sit there, hugging for a while until Karlie's sobs turn into steady, deep breaths that she takes with Taylor's help. "Thank you for telling me all this. I appreciate it that you trust me with this." Taylor says, pulling away from the hug as she speaks.

"Thank you for listening." Karlie says softly, laying her head on the other girl's shoulder. She knows its bad and wrong to show the older girl her feelings and fears, especially since she's her client. Even sitting there, on the bathroom floor with her head on the girl's shoulder is all wrong. She cant help it though. She cant help but feel her heart slowly being pulled more towards the blonde. 

——————————————————————————————————

Since their earlier encounter was pretty heavy and intense, both girls have decided tomorrow would be a better day to go skiing.

"You really don't mind?" Karlie asks the other woman for about the 100th time.


"Karlie!" Taylor says loudly. "Stop it. I told you its fine. Lets just have a movie marathon and relax in bed."

Karlie nods and smiles shyly at the girl that is sitting next to her. The same girl that had made breakfast for the both of them and that was eating it in bed with her right now. "We don't have a tv here though." The darker blonde one of the two says. 

"Ha. No worries my friend. We have a laptop, wifi and netflix. We will be just fine." Taylor says, happily getting up from the bed and running over to her bag to grab her laptop.


"Netflix and chill. Really?" Karlie asks the blonde drily when she returns into the bedroom and hops onto the bed.


"Oh hell yes." Taylor says, opening the laptop and seeing more than 1000 messages and emails floating in. "Oh my god." She whispers. She opens a few of them, the most recent ones. There is one email from her publicist, asking her if she is okay and where she is staying and that she is hoping that its all a joke. Taylor feels her eyes are starting to burn when reading a couple of other messages and emails. Especially the ones from her family are hard to read.

"Im sorry." Karlie says, also for the 100th time today. 

"It.. its not your fault. You're the good one." Taylor says, making sure her tears stay in her eyes and don't fall down. "Its just.. hard to see that.. that im here and life just goes on you know. Like who cares that Taylor Swift is missing, she's just another pop star."

"Hey, thats bullshit." Karlie says, putting an arm around the singer. "Look how many messages you have from friends and your family. You're very loved, Taylor."

Taylor sighs, clicking the messages and emails away as she opens netflix. 'Time for some distraction. A lot of distraction.' She thinks as the two women start searching for a movie. They settle on a romantic comedy and lay together comfortably, the laptop in between them.


Karlie cant stop thinking about the fact that Taylor is really Taylor Swift the superstar. Taylor Swift the brand, the name, the face, the everything. "Is it weird being.. you know Taylor Swift?" She asks randomly, in the middle of the movie.

"I.. ehm.." Taylor says, looking to her side to see Karlie looking at her with those green eyes.

"Never mind, sorry. It just crossed my mind." Karlie says quickly, trying to focus on the movie again.

It stays silent for a while, the movie the only sound in the lonely cabin on top of the mountain.


"It is weird sometimes." Taylor says then, out of nowhere it seems, but Karlie knows what the girl is talking about. "I mean, im just me. But I also have to be this big example for everyone. I have to entertain people constantly. I have to put a smile on my face every time im outside. Its horrible sometimes." The singer says, looking in Karlie's direction, who looks back into Taylor's blue eyes. "But its also amazing. Even now still, after all those years." The singer continues. "I love performing. I love writing music and sharing it with the world. I love being able to communicate with people who are grateful for the things I do. I love it."

I nod, smiling at the singer who is smiling too. "It must be amazing, being able to meet so many people in the industry." Karlie says.

"It is." Taylor says. "It.. it does still get lonely sometimes though. I.. I mean I don't wanna come off as some kind of spoiled bitch.. those houses I have are great. But sometimes I.. sometimes im just.. alone. Even though the media will keep on telling every single person on the earth that 'man eater' Taylor Swift has dated every single man in the world." The blue eyed woman's voice had gone down and so had her head. She is looking at her hands and fidgeting with her fingers. Its some kind of nervous habit the singer has, Karlie has learned. "That sucks. I hate the media in that perspective." Taylor says, her voice soft now.

"I get that yeah. And I don't think you're a spoiled bitch. And I know you're not what the media made you look like the past couple of years." Karlie says, pulling the singer closer towards her. "You're just Taylor."

The singer looks up at Karlie with two big blue eyes and a surprised but content look on her face. "Thank you." She says softly. "Its nice that you.. like me.. for me."

"My pleasure, miss Swift." Karlie jokes, getting a playful push from Taylor right after.

The two focus on the movie again, this time for real even though they have missed half of it. Taylor sighs when the credits start rolling. "Why do they always make it like that.." She says.

"Like what?" Karlie asks.

"Happy. Kissing. Sex. Fights. More sex. A dramatic event. Happy. The end." Taylor says dramatically.


Karlie starts laughing. "Is this how you picture every romantic movie?"


"Pretty much." Taylor says seriously.


"Well, maybe thats how 'normal' lives work then. We wouldn't know anyway." Karlie replies nonchalantly, looking at the blue eyed girl beside her.


"Don't make me cry again please." Taylor says, looking at her with seriousness in her face.

"Huh? What? I didn't mean to." Karlie says, throwing her hands up in the air. "I just mean. You are you and I am me and we both have extraordinary jobs. Its hard for us to.. love.. I guess." She grows more silent towards the end of the sentence.


"Its funny because all I do is write love songs. But what is love even? You know." Taylor asks the green eyed woman next to her.


"Its a strong and powerful feeling that connects people." Karlie replies simply. "And its very dangerous." She stares into Taylor's eyes, seeing how many different shades of blue they posses. She snaps out of her gaze when the blonde says: "But sometimes, you have to take the risk."

Karlie's eyes wander down to the blonde's lips and linger there for a little while before the green eyed girl awkwardly clears her throat and sits up straight in bed. "Yeah. So whats up for lunch?" She asks. "I will have a look in the kitchen." She gets up from the bed, struggling since her feet are actually sleeping. "See you in a bit." She says, stumbling out of the room.

"Ooohkay?" Taylor says when Karlie had slammed the door shut. She cant help but smile. She had seen how Karlie had looked at her when they talked about.. that. About love. Sure its a little bit early for all of that stuff, but Taylor does know she likes the green eyed girl. A lot. She knows its not good. She knows its pretty much impossible to ever even be with the girl.. like that. Especially after all of this, when she is just 'Taylor Swift' again instead of just Taylor. 'If theres even ever going to be an 'after this'' The singer thinks as she gets up from the bed too. 'What if im always going to be hunted by psycho's?" She thinks as she opens the bedroom door and walks into the living room. She shakes the thoughts off her, not able to do anything about this whole situation anyway.
 She walks into the kitchen and sees Karlie sitting at the kitchen table, looking at her own hands. She seems to be in deep thoughts, not even having heard the singer approach her. 

'I have to stop liking her. How do I stop liking her?' The green eyed girl thinks as she taps on the table with her fingers. 'I like her too much. More than a friend even and thats already too much.'

"Wanna share?" The blonde asks, sitting down across from her protector.


"I.. uhm.. not.. not really." She stutters, surprised by the blonde's presence. 

"Okay." Taylor replies easily, a smile on her face as she puts her hands underneath her chin and leans her elbows onto the table. Karlie just looks at the singer, secretly stunned by her beauty. Taylor isn't wearing any make-up today, she has her shoulder length hair, loosely hanging down in its natural curls, and she is wearing a simple shirt with some jeans. Yet she still manages to looks amazing in the the green eyed girl's opinion, who is now staring into her ocean blue eyes.

"Your eyes are really blue." She comments. It was actually a thought but it had just rolled off her tongue like that. She starts blushing immediately, looking away from the singer.

Taylor giggles, another thing that Karlie happens to find extremely cute. "Don't do that." Taylor says. Karlie looks at her, her cheeks still warm. She remembers the singer saying this sentence before. "Don't look away when you blush. Its so cute when you do that." Taylor says, smiling a toothy smile at the younger girl who starts blushing right away.

"Im not cute." She says, as stubborn as she is. 



"Ugh.." Taylor sighs. "Not that again, you are cute, miss Kloss."


"Am not." Karlie repeats stubbornly.

"Whatever." Taylor says, smiling at the younger girl's reactions. "Im gonna make lunch. Are you in for some of the best pancakes you have ever had?" Taylor asks the younger woman enthusiastically, who nods happily. 

Both women wonder what the next couple of days will bring, since they're falling more and more for one another. They might not know what it all means yet, but they both secretly do want to find out.

——————————————————————————————————————

A/N

Gosh, the feelz are growing stronger and stronger. But is one of them ever going to take that first step, or do they both find it too dangerous?

I hope you likeddd ittt? Thank you all for reading this. I really appreciate the votes, comments, etc. THANKS!

X