Seven: Gold Digger
A week and zero days with Taylor later, I was standing at my locker in the hallway packing up at the end of the day when I felt warm, large hands cover my eyes.
“Guess who, beautiful?”
He tried his best to lower his voice as much as he could, but even in that quick uttering I could tell it was him. His voice was as distinct as his charm.
“Taylor Hanson.”
“Damnit!” he cried, letting go and stepping in front of me.
“Way to try and sound like a forty year old rapist.”
“Yeah, I know. It didn’t work.”
I chuckled and tossed some books into my backpack.
“Nice clothes,” he commented at my gap outfit.
For a quick second I wondered if I was supposed to be wearing them. Perhaps he had changed his mind about the gift and he was here to ask for them back, only to see me wearing them.
“They really look awesome,” he smiled.
Before I could respond, both of us turned around to see the swarm of girls making their way towards us. I don’t even think any of them were big Hanson fans. They were just delighted to see a celebrity in their school. He made eye contact with a few of them and gave them a nervous smile, which was a mistake, because they all rushed towards us trying to talk to him.
“It was really stupid of you to come to a high school!” I yelled over the crowd of girls that had begun asking him to sign their book covers.
He graciously began signing and making small talk with them, so I assumed he hadn’t heard me. After about five minutes, he finally said he had to go and grabbed my arm, pulling me out the door with him.
“It was really stupid of me not to get your cell phone number. That’s what was stupid…” He breathed as we walked through the parking lot towards his car.
“I don’t have a cell phone.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry. Home phone,” he said, blushing a bit at his slip and opening the car door for me like a gentlemen. He had never done that before.
When he sat down too he explained, “I’ve been wanting to see you all week, but there was a lot of going on with my record company and I didn’t have your number….so I decided to come here and get you. Let’s go to my house for a bit.”
“What makes you think I don’t have plans this afternoon…?” I asked, and I was offended when he simply snorted.
We walked into his house in the middle of a fight between Zac, Taylor’s younger brother, and his mom. Taylor gave me worried eyes as we walked into the kitchen to their screaming. I’d even say he felt awkward about it, which was rare for him.
“It’s not fair to punish Kate just because you’re mad at me!” Zac screamed at his mother, “She didn’t do anything and now you’re ruining her plans too! That’s not fair! Take something else away!”
Taylor pulled me over to the fridge and opened it so I could find something to drink.
“Kate is Zac’s girlfriend,” Taylor narrated in a whisper.
“I am the mother here and you are the son! I will pick the punishment that I see appropriate, and I am telling you that you need to call Kate and tell her she can’t fly up here this weekend!”
I noticed Zac was near tears as I pointed to the bottle of Twister.
“Zac’s in trouble because he was caught experimenting with drugs for the first time,” Taylor whispered as he got out two cups. “We booked the flight two months ago! I haven’t seen her since CHRISTMAS!” Zac cried, “I haven’t seen her for two months and you’re actually going to make me tell her she can’t come? Well then fine! I’m going to Georgia!”
“Alright, my sixteen year old son is going to somehow book a flight and fly on his own to Georgia. Alright, Zac…”
“Taylor will put the flight on his card!” Zac pointed at Taylor who was pouring us drinks.
Taylor whipped around and looked back and forth between his Mom and Zac, “Woa…leave me out of this. I am not involved with this fight.”
“Tay!” Zac said, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. I felt like an intruder standing there watching the entire thing, “Tay, you know how important it is to me to see her! You know that….please…if Mom won’t let her fly here, will you buy me a ticket to see her?”
“Taylor…” his Mom warned him. He stood there- frozen- staring at the two of them.
“Dude…” Taylor started, “I really think Mom is in the right here. I think your punishment is more than appropriate…when I got caught doing the same thing as you I was grounded for a month and had to clean the house top to bottom. You got off easy man…”
Diana Hanson gave Zac a smug look, which just sent Zac over the edge. He threw his hands up and stomped out of the kitchen, probably in tears, screaming, “Fine! Screw all of you!”
“Zachary Hanson….you don’t speak like that!” their mom yelled, running after him.
“Mom! Leave him alone!” Taylor yelled at her. She stopped in her tracks, “Mom…let him cool off. He’s just really upset. I’m sure he’ll apologize later…”
His mom nodded and turned to look at Taylor, “I just don’t understand how he has the nerve to act like I’m being unfair to punish him. After what I found out this morning…”
Taylor nodded, “Zac’s just a bratty sixteen year old who’s head is too big for his own good. Just let him cool off. His priorities are just screwed up right now and he thinks that not seeing Kate is the end of the world as we know it.”
Taylor’s mom actually smiled. She came over, kissed Taylor on the cheek, smiled warmly at me, and left the room. Taylor blushed and handed me my juice.
“Momma’s boy,” I grinned.
“Proudly,” he smirked, putting the juice away in the fridge and sipping from his cup, “Sorry you had to arrive in the middle of a family drama. It’s not usually that nuts here…I promise. We’re usually a lot more functional.”
I laughed, “Your family is like…the Tanners or the Huxtibles…or any happy TV family you can think of compared to my own.”
He smiled, “We’re sorta cheesy, yeah.”
I followed him up to his bedroom. I still wasn’t quite sure why I was there, but I didn’t ask. Taylor usually explained everything for me. As if he knew what I was thinking, he began to talk when I sat down on the edge of his bed next to him.
“Want to go to the movies with me tonight and a few other people?”
“It’s a Wednesday,” I reminded him, “A school night?”
“Oh c’mon. You’re so school, school, school. Can’t you blow off homework for the night? You’re already accepted to college.”
“I…it wouldn’t feel right to just blow off my homework…but maybe I could do it ahead of time?”
“You’re the best,” he smiled, before I even said yes. He always did that, I decided. He always assumed things he wanted to hear, and it usually worked out for him.
“Who are we going with?”
“My friend Jacob and his girlfriend, Sarah,” he mumbled, and then got up from the bed and went over to his closet.
“Wait…”
“Yes, it’s a double date,” he said quickly, turning to look at me again, “You can say no if you don’t want to go with me…”
I shook my head, “No…it’s fine. I’ll go.”
He smiled and pulled open his closet doors. I watched as he searched through his clothes, “Do you mind eating dinner with the family and then we can go from here? It’s kind of an early movie…like seven or something.”
Taylor was so casual. He just picked me up from school, brought me to his house, invited me to dinner, and casually asked if I would go on a date with him. No matter how much time I spent with him, his down to earth nature always caught me off guard.
“Sure…if your mom doesn’t mind.” I was actually relieved to not have to go home to my mom and Brad, who’d been fighting all week.
Taylor waved my comment off, “She’d be thrilled. She loves cooking for company. Hey, which shirt do you like better for tonight?” He held up two shirts.
I pointed to the button up tan shirt.
“With these jeans?” He asked. He really did seem to love fashion in a very feminine way.
“No, just that shirt. No pants, no underwear, just the shirt.”
He laughed out loud and tossed the shirt down on his desk chair. As he busied himself picking out a belt to go with it, I set my drink down on his night stand and laid back on his bed to look up at the ceiling. I noticed the few glow in the dark stars stuck to it and chuckled to myself. It was strange really, how comfortable I felt laying on Taylor’s bed while he just picked out an outfit to wear to the movies. In one sense it felt so wrong laying on a pop star’s bed and yet at the same time, nothing had ever really felt more right. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at home than I do at the Hanson household.
For the next two hours, Taylor and I sat on his king size bed each working on our own homework. He was obnoxious to work next to, which didn’t surprise me. When he wasn’t tapping his pen on his book he was humming, and when he wasn’t humming he was loudly scribbling drawings in the binding of his book.
“Why did you decide to go to college?” I finally asked him after we had been working in silence for awhile.
“Huh?” He looked up from his reading.
“Why did you decide to go to college? You have all the money in the world, you have the career you want…why college?”
He thought for a moment, tapping the back of the pen against his lips. “I guess…well I’m only taking three classes this semester, first of all. And mostly…my mom encouraged me. She thought it would be good for me to get out there and meet some people and get a little bit more of an education under my belt, I guess.”
I nodded. Before I could reply, there was a shout from downstairs.
“Dinner!”
“Let’s go eat,” Taylor said, dropping his book on the bed and waiting for me to walk downstairs. We entered a dining room of blond haired Taylor look-a-likes. They all looked at me curiously. I had met some of them the previous day I was over, namely Zac and Taylor’s sister Jessica, but other than that all the faces looked new to me. I had forgotten just how many siblings Taylor had.
He pulled out a seat for me, which I thanked him for, and sat down. He sat down next to me.
“Guys, this is my friend, Gabrielle,” then he looked at me, “Gabrielle…this is my family.” He began to introduce them all one by one, but I admit that I didn’t pay attention to a single name. I was still too busy taking the whole family scene in. It shocked me that people actually lived like this…sat down for family dinners. I was even more shocked when the entire family bowed their heads in prayer as Diana Hanson began to say grace. I closed my eyes with them.
When grace was over, hands and arms started reaching everywhere. Meatballs were being passed over me towards the left, and parmesan cheese was being passed to my right. Taylor was polite though. When he got himself food, he also served me. I appreciated it more than I could express with my simple, “Thanks.”
I noted that Zac didn’t say anything all dinner. He seemed to still be mad about earlier, but it was clear that both of his parents were still mad at him as well. Taylor, his older brother Isaac, and the youngest brother Mackenzie did most of the talking. Isaac told a five minute long story, that probably could have been told in one minute, about the oldest Hanson daughter, Jessica, trying to use band aids to wax her legs when she was younger. I noticed rambling was something this family had in common.
I regretted resenting their rambling when the conversation shifted to me.
“So Gabrielle, are you going to college or not?” Taylor’s father, Walker, asked me.
“Hopefully. I was accepted to OSU. I’m just waiting to see how much financial aid they give me. I should hear back next month.”
“What do you plan to study?” Diana piped in.
“I want to be a doctor,” I replied, “Saving people and making a lot of money doing it.”
No one really smiled though. They just nodded. Maybe they didn’t understand my need, craving, for money.
”How do you like the local high school?” Walker asked.
“It’s alright…all your kids are home schooled right?” He nodded. “Heh, keep them home schooled. The public school is alright, but the kids can be kind of mean and the teachers aren’t the brightest.”
“That’s why I’m glad I never want to public school,” Isaac confessed, “Kids can be brutal sometimes.”
The conversation eventually shifted to the Hanson family babysitter being caught having a crush on Taylor, who just sat there and grinned. As I listened, I found out their previous babysitter had actually stolen Taylor’s journal and taken it home, posting some of the information on the internet. She was fired on the spot.
I was busy studying the label on the parmesan cheese when I heard my name come out of Taylor’s mouth a few moments later.
“…Gabrielle could baby sit them!”
I looked up.
“Mom, do you think? If she was willing to, could she?”
I looked up at Diana helplessly as Taylor made the entire dinner table awkward. This really should have been discussed in private…hell…I hadn’t even agreed to anything and here he was asking his mother to give me a job!
“Taylor…I’m sure your mom….” I started
“That might be a good idea…Gabrielle have you done any babysitting?”
“That’s the thing,” I explained, “I am probably not a good applicant. I’ve never really done any real babysitting. The woman next door to me has a three year old and so sometimes she’ll drop the three year old off at my house when she’s having like…little breakdowns and I’ll watch her for the day…but it’s nothing professional…and I don’t even get paid so…you probably want someone with more experience.”
Diana looked at her husband, “She watches a woman’s daughter for free. Sounds good to me. What do you think?”
Walker shrugged, “Why not? Do you think maybe you could watch the kids this Friday night and we’ll see how it goes?”
Oh my god. I was shocked. I was just sitting there innocently eating my spaghetti and all of a sudden I was being offered…my dream job. Of course I would want to come to this safe, loving house Friday night and watch my crush’s adorable siblings. Of course I would.
“Sure.”
“Yes!” Taylor cried, “You needed a job too!”
“Can Taylor pick you up at six and bring you here?” Walker asked.
“If he doesn’t-”
“That’s no problem,” he smiled, “Guess what, Zoe? Gabrielle is going to baby sit you this weekend.”
The four year old with spaghetti sauce splashed across her shirt looked me over and nodded, “We can play with my new dollhouse, Gabrielle. I got it from Santa for Christmas.”
“You’ll just have to watch Mackenzie and Zoe. Avery will be around but she’s pretty good about looking after herself.”
“I am 11,” she reminded her father.
He grinned at me, “She is 11.”
Taylor and I finished up our meals and excused ourselves from the table so we could get ready to go to the movies. I sat on Taylor’s bed and covered my eyes as he took his shirt off and put on the tan one.
“You know, it’s not a big deal if you see my bare chest. I am a boy,” he reminded me as he changed.
“It feels awkward,” I explained. He took forever primping. First he had to change, then he had to straighten his hair and put on cologne, and finally had had to search through a closet full of shoes for a pair that matched his outfit. After he tried on three pairs, he finally decided he was ready to go.
We met up with his friend Jacob and his very skinny girlfriend at the movies. She was even skinnier than me, and I hardly have enough money to eat half the time. We waited in line for tickets to see Cast Away for what seemed like forever. Because of Taylor’s obsessive primping, we were late to the movies and some of the last people in the theater. It was surprisingly packed for a Wednesday night, and after much searching we found a row all four of us could sit in towards the back, left hand corner of the theater. I was absolutely shocked when Taylor put his arm around me the second I sat down, and my expression revealed it.
“What?” He whispered.
“You’re just being awfully touchy feely,” I said, trying to explain it without making the conversation completely awkward. Taylor, who looks awkward situations in the face without fear, had to take the conversation there.
“What? Cause I have my arm around you? Does it offend you?”
“No.”
“Alright then. My arm stays. I like it there,” he gave me a tight smile and sunk down in his seat, putting his feet up on the guys seat in front of him. The guy turned around and shot him an annoyed look, so Taylor put his feet down and laughed underneath his breath.
I was thankful that Jacob and his girlfriend were not the type of couple to make out during movies. The truth is, I didn’t know if people actually did that. I always saw it on television and on teen movies growing up, but I had never known how common it was. It felt good though to just sit there in the theater, relax, and watch the movie. I hadn’t been to the movie theater in years.
It was after nine by the time the movie got out, and I was eager to get home and do some laundry so I could wear one of my new pairs of pants again to school the next day. I also had a grueling math assignment I hadn’t been able to finish at Taylor’s house due to all his distractions.
“We’re gonna go get some ice-cream,” Jacob told us, “Do you two want to come?
I shook my head, “I really can’t…I have a lot to do.”
Taylor gave me pleading eyes, “Aww, Gab…please?”
I sighed. He was going to give me a nickname whether I liked it or not.
“I can’t. Don’t ask again, kay?” I had learned that the only way to stop Taylor’s whining and begging was to simply and calmly tell him no, and to sound like you mean it.
He nodded and then turned to Jacob, “Sorry dude. She’s a book nerd and she needs to get home since she has school tomorrow.” He shot me a grin.
“Oh okay. It was good meeting you Gabrielle. Have fun…doing whatever you smart people do…”
On the ride home, I expected Taylor yap my ear off. He usually did. I assumed he had thoughts about the movie or about me babysitting for his family…or something. But he was quiet. He hardly spoke a word.
When we pulled up to my house, he began to talk.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight. Jacob and Sarah are nice, huh?”
“Yeah. They’re really nice.”
“And I guess…I guess I’ll pick you up here…Friday? I’ll get you at 6:45 or something cause I think my parents have to leave at 7. I had plans Friday to go out with friends, but if you want me to I can stay at home with you and help you baby sit?”
“Go out with your friends. You should keep those plans, and I should just spend time watching your siblings without you distracting me.”
I began to open the door.
“Wait.” He said, “Ummm…oh! Can I have your home phone number…in case I’m running late again on Friday.”
I nodded and told it to him as he put it into his phone. I had a quick, angry flash back of Melissa McChavey giving Taylor her phone number, and then reminded myself I had just gone on a date with him- not her. It was the first time in my life I could remember feeling competitive over a boy.
“Gabrielle! Bring your boyfriend inside!”
My heart sunk. The last thing I wanted was to bring Taylor into my nutty home after a perfect evening. I looked at my mom standing on the porch.
“Mom! I think he’s got to-”
“We’ll be right in!” Taylor shouted over me. My mom flashed us a satisfied smile and went back inside.
“Why did you do that?!” I scowled at him.
“Because. She can meet me. Why not? You’ve met my mother.” He took the keys out of the car and stood up in the dark night.
“There’s a big difference between your mother and my mother!” I said with a slam of the car door. He tried to reason with me that it was only fair that he got to meet my mom too as we walked up to the front door.
I turned to him before I opened it. “My mom sort of thinks…we’re…”
“I know.”
“Not because I told her that…but because Bobby did…and I told Bobby that because I was trying to get him to keep away from me.
“Gabrielle, I understand.”
I opened the door to find my Mom and Brad sitting on the couch. Fortunately, I didn’t see Bobby anywhere in sight. The two of them were sitting there with beers in their hands watching Wheel of Fortune.
“Mom…this is Taylor. Taylor, this is my mom.”
My mom looked up at him and set her cigarette to rest in the ash tray, “Hey Taylor. Where were yall?”
“We actually just went to see a movie, ma’am.” Taylor said with his usual charm, “We saw Cast Away. It was pretty good.”
I watched as my mom studied Taylor. Finally, she said what I was hoping she wouldn’t say, “Are you Taylor Hanson?”
Taylor shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded, “Unfortunately.”
My mother laughed, “Gabrielle…you’re dating a millionaire?! You said he was rich…but I was thinking daddy’s money here.” I wanted the floor to swallow me up whole. “But you’re dating Hollywood’s Taylor Hanson!”
Taylor winced and smiled, “I actually just live here in Tulsa these days. It’s a lot more relaxing.”
“Who’s Taylor Hanson?” Brad finally spoke up.
“He’s Taylor Hanson!” My mom pointed. Taylor stood there awkwardly- probably wanting to be swallowed up with me.
“Well I know that! Who the hell is he?”
“He’s got his own pop band. Him and his brothers. Right Taylor? The Hanson Brothers?”
“Yeah…Hanson…that’s us.”
“Well what do you know. Gabrielle’s bagged a pop singer,” Brad mumbled.
I shook my head in embarrassment. They made it seem like I was a gold digger.
“Well…Taylor really has to be home so he should go.”
Taylor gave them a hearty smile, “Good meeting you.”
“Good meeting you too…Taylor Hanson,” my mother said and then collapsed into a fit of giggles. “Is your father single…?” I heard her giggle underneath her breath as I dragged Taylor out of the house and onto the front porch.
“I’m so sorry…” I said, covering my face with my hands. “They’re just really…”
He chuckled, “I don’t care. I get strange reactions all the time when people meet me…”
“Don’t let them make it seem like….I bagged you…that’s not…”
He grinned, “I know. Trust me. You freaked out when I tried to buy you shoes. I know.”
Somehow, in between Taylor’s soothing voice and his naturally honest attitude, I believed him and I was reassured. I was busy standing there thinking about how ridiculous my mother was when he leaned in and kissed me.
To say I was shocked is an understatement. I was floored. I don’t think I even responded to his kiss at all. I was too confused to do anything but stand there. He pulled away after a brief moment and put his hand on my shoulder.
“I’m just as confused as you are. Okay?”
How did he know what I was thinking?
“I really…I really just meant for this to be a psychology project…but you turned out to be so…so beautiful.”
I stood there with my mouth parted hardly able to listen to him speak at all. I was still replaying the kiss in my mind.
“I’ll pick you up in two days okay?”
I managed to nod.
He began to step down the steps, and then turned to look at me again. He chuckled, “You haven’t spoken…since…sorry if you didn’t want me to…”
“I wanted you to…well no. I mean…I don’t care that you…did.”
The smile on his lips grew and he looked me over for a moment, “Night Gabrielle.”
“Night.”