The sun shone brightly that morning, waking me up as its light invaded my room through the windows whose curtains I had forgotten to close the night before. I sit up on the bed and stretch my arms slowly with a lazy yawn. The brightness makes me squint my eyes a little, but it seems to be a beautiful day and I feel energized.

I walk to the bathroom to do my usual hygiene routine and I don't mind the cold water on my skin. I dry my face in a towel and smile at the mirror when I see my features still a little swollen in sleep, matching my messy bun.

I look hot today, huh?

After moisturizing, I head to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I hear the sound of the shower as I walk down the hall, signaling that Taylor would join me later. This is good, at least I have time to surprise her with fresh food.

I'm pouring the rest of the pancake batter into the pan when my cell phone rings announcing a video call. I roll my eyes with a smile before answering.

"Cara Delevingne."

"Karlie Kloss." She smirks. "You look hot today, huh?"

"Right? I thought so, too." I joke, still blushing a little at the compliment. "How is everything over there?"

"Great. Perfect. Couldn't be better."

I look at the screen and find Cara gazing at a specific spot, her eyes looking a little dreamy. I flip the pancake on the pan and continue to watch my friend.

"What did you do?" I ask in an accusing tone.

"I did nothing."

I keep looking at her with inquisitive eyes until I notice someone climbing on her bed, making the mattress wobble. Cara smiles at Martha, who doesn't notice the ongoing video call, and just has time to ask a soft "what?" before being crushed by the blonde, receiving a firm kiss from the girl, that's interrupted by their laughter.

I watch the scene with wide eyes until Cara drops the phone on the bed while trying to dodge the insistent kisses, the camera only shows me the ceiling until she finally manages to recover the device.

"Karlie just saw us making out," she says and Martha's eyes widen, giving a surprised laugh.

"Hi, Kar..." The girl lies on Cara's back, who is now face down on the bed. Just by looking at her through the camera, I could tell she was already well recovered from the virus. My friend looked well rested, which was a huge relief.

"Hello..." I shake my head confusedly, making the two of them laugh with amusement at my shock. I transfer the last pancake to the plate and turn off the stove to finally ask, "What's happening? Are you guys happening??"

"Not in the way you're thinking," Martha assures with a laugh.

"Yeah, we're not dating or anything."

I still look at them suspiciously.

"Look, I'm not gonna lie, you know I've been into Mar for a while, but we never hooked up, unfortunately." Cara explains and Martha smiles at her. "And then suddenly we were stuck in this apartment alone, with no forecast of leaving. A woman has needs, Karlie!"

"Tell me about it ..." I mumble.

"Well, so I wanted to kiss her, she wanted to kiss me. We just killed two birds with one stone."

"Yes, why shouldn't we have fun together?" Martha wiggles her eyebrows and takes a light bite of the girl's shoulder. "No strings attached, just fun."

We continued talking for a few more minutes and I found myself studying my friends' behavior closely. They seemed well and looked very happy with it, that's for sure. It didn't seem like things were weird or their friendship had changed.

Could it be that easy?

The thought crosses my mind when I hear the sound of the shower turning off. Taylor and I were in a similar situation, but we both kept ourselves on a tight leash in fear of destroying our friendship.

"Hey, that's Taylor Swift in your apartment!!" Cara gasps in fake surprise when she sees Taylor above my shoulder entering the kitchen.

Taylor's blue eyes instantly light up at the sight of our two friends on the cell phone screen and she runs to my side, hugging me tight to appear on the camera.

"What's up bitches? Cara, why are you up so early?"

"To watch Justin Bieber's live on Instagram," she jokes making me laugh loudly.

"Ew, gross."

I tell the girls that our breakfast would get cold and we quickly say goodbye with the promise of another call soon. If Taylor notices their different behavior, she doesn't comment on it.

Before I hang up, Cara calls me.

"Hey, Karlie?"

"Yeah?"

"Loosen up," she smiles softly, her eyes telling me what exactly she was talking about. "It'll be fine."

"Bye, you crazy," I smile at my friend and end the call.

Breakfast goes by peacefully, with a light and relaxed conversation. Internally, though, I can't stop thinking about Cara and Martha and how that could be an alternative for me.

Would it be possible?

I look at Taylor while she tells me some story about her cats and think about what it would be like if we just let go and allowed ourselves to just be with each other in the way we truly desired.

***

"Karlie! Why did you never tell me you have a record player???"

"What? I don't," I walk over to the guest room, where Taylor is sitting on the floor fiddling with the boxes I had kept with things I didn't find space for in the apartment when I moved in.

"Then what is this?" Her eyes sparkle in excitement as she shows me the old object inside one of the cardboard boxes.

It is a large box made of carved wood. On its front there were some buttons and a display showing radio frequencies. Taylor opens the wooden lid revealing the inside of the record player, with an untouched disk still on the spinner.

"This is ... my mother's," I smile with sudden emotion when I see the relic there in my apartment. "Kristine must have put it among my stuff by mistake. I don't even know how to use it, actually."

"Well, today you will learn!"

Taylor lifts the record player with some effort and I help her to take the object to the room. The box where the record player was in is full of vinyl records and Taylor tells me to plug the thing on while she looks through the vinyls.

"I never met someone who has so many James Taylor records," she gazes lovingly at the collection. "Besides me."

"Well, my mom's a huge fan of him."

"I was named after him." The way her blue eyes direct that same shine towards me does something I can't quite explain to my heart.

I stare at Taylor for a moment, remembering Cara's words earlier in the morning.

Loosen up!

"Do you wanna have dinner with me tonight?" I blurt out, making her look up in surprise, "Like, a special dinner."

"A special dinner?" Taylor's eyes shimmer at the words.

I think of everything I would like to do to make it a perfect night and I decide that it is worth trying. So what if I wanted a romantic night with Taylor? Romance doesn't mean dating, not necessarily.

"I want to cook something nice for you," I say, looking her in the eye, "and then we can open a good bottle of red wine, play one of these records and dance a little..."

I'm sure her cheeks flush slightly with the intensity of my gaze.

"Karlie, that sounds like a..."

"Date?" I ask and she nods. "It doesn't have to be, it's just a special dinner."

Taylor watches me longer than the comfortable one and I find myself hoping that she accepts and that my proposal doesn't make things weird between us. Her eyes study mine for a moment until she offers me a shy smile.

"I'd love to have a special dinner with you," she mutters and her eyes fly back to the records in her hands.

Yes!

I smile widely and internally throw a fist in the air in victory.

***

In the end I was unable to cook for Taylor as I expected, since I ended up almost burning the ceiling while attempting to flambé the food to impress her.

The only thing that impressed her was how quickly I almost killed both of us.

She laughed like a kid, however. It comforted me to know that we could have fun with each other's company without needing much. We cooked together and Taylor showed me the right way to flambé ingredients.

"Pay attention, it happens very fast," she said seriously, with the bottle of brandy in her hand. "First you put the drink in the corner of the pan, far away from you," I roll my eyes at the call out. "And then..."

Taylor carefully, but with a swift and precise movement, tilts the frying pan until the alcohol touches the flame of the stove, making me gasp in surprise when the food is engulfed in flames instantly. The singer does not even blink at the reaction, stirring the contents in the pan for a few seconds until she extinguishes the fire with a lid.

She seems so indifferent to what she just did, that when she looks at my shocked face a small playful smile dances on her lips.

"You know, I already thought about applying for Masterchef, but I think it would create a lot of unwanted attention."

I ignore her joke, staring her up and down. She tosses a dish towel over her shoulder, which ends up fitting inexplicably well with her casual outfit, consisting of light denim shorts and a T-shirt.

"That was hot, Taylor," I voice my thoughts with a smirk.

"Hot is what your hand will get if you try to do that without my supervision."

I laugh out loud at her serious look with the spoon aimed at me and I raise my hands in surrender. Taylor rolls her eyes with a smile, but directs her attention back to the food as she turns off the stove. She's wiping her hands on the towel and I can't help myself from noticing how well she fits in my apartment.

I walk closer so I can bend down to whisper in her ear.

"You're delusional if you think you can threaten me with a spoon."

Taylor immediately turns and we face each other, our faces inches away. She smiles cynically and stretches out an arm to reach the drawer behind her.

"Do you prefer a knife?" Her fingers play with the utensils, but I notice the effect my sudden approach has on her.

"You are very aggressive today," I grab her wrists, pinning them both on the counter behind her. "I don't know whether to like it or be scared."

Something sparkles in her eyes, that glance at my lips for a fraction of a second. I can say that she did not expect such boldness on my part, but she didn't seem willing to stop me so far.

"Why would you be scared?" She questions, her eyes shimmering in desire and playfulness, "I don't bite."

Taylor brings her lips close to mine, just enough to make me inaudibly gasp, to then move them to my ear and whisper.

"Are we going to eat dinner, or what, Karlie?"

I let out a nervous laugh, releasing his wrists reflexively. Taylor smirks and slides away from me, starting to set up the dining table for two.

"Open the wine bottle, will you?"

I can only just do as she says.

***

Taylor and I are sitting in the living room floor, both sipping on our glasses of red wine and sharing a piece of cake that I had in my fridge. The fluffy carpet feels nice on our bare feet as we are illuminated only by the TV light. We had been listening to her favorite James Taylor record and I have to admit that something is really different in music when it comes from a vinyl record.

The last song stop leaving us with the soft noise of the needle on the blank part of the disc.

"I feel like so nostalgic right now," Taylor comments while resting her head back against the couch.

She has her eyes closed probably feeling the effects of alcohol getting to her and I take that moment to study her features. Her hair is wavy and showing some pink locks that I had dyed for her a couple days ago. They matched perfectly the rainbow printed on her shirt.

A small smile dances on her lips as her head hangs to the side and the TV light allow me to see the perfect contours of her face. She looks peaceful and happy, carefree as a little bird. I loved to see this Taylor. Sure, it was fun to have her superstar version around, but this simple girl beside me was the real essence of my best friend.

Her eyes open suddenly and there's no way to run from them as I get caught staring.

"What?" She asks lightly.

I can tell by those glossy blue eyes that she had alcohol enough to forget all about her promise of not causing problems.

"Let's dance," I propose as soon as the thought crosses my mind.

Not waiting for a response, I walk up to where the record player was set. I lift up the needle just as I had seen Taylor doing and then turn it off. Then I proceed to turn on the radio embedded in the box, praying that it would still work.

Taylor is curiously watching me, not standing up until I get to a good station.

"Oh my God, this song is perfect!" She chimes recognizing the sound immediately and finally standing to her feet.

I don't know the song, but I gladly accept her arms around my neck as we start swaying to the slow and pleasant beat.

Taylor places her head on my shoulder and I can't tell if it is in search of proximity or balance. Maybe it's both.

The feeling of having the singer in my arms makes me feel like my head is spinning. I'm not sure for how long I'm stuck in a trance until I hear her voice whispering the lyrics in my ear.

"Our hearts are free, so tell me what's wrong with the feeling..." Her voice is soft and a little light due to her drunkenness and I finally start paying attention to the song.

I'm a flower, you're my bee
It's much older than you and me

It makes me close my eyes for a moment and I take one of her hands to guide our steps with more confidence. Her body seems to respond automatically as we sway in perfect sync.

Let's forget who we are for one night
We're not animals baby
It's the people who lie

Taylor and I break apart just enough to look at each other as we dance in the living room.

There's something unspoken in the air between us as our eyes refuse to look anywhere else. We don't need to say anything as we exchange meaningful smiles.

I want real love baby
Ooh, don't leave me waiting
I've got real love maybe
Wait until you taste me

Something lights up in her eyes as the song goes by.

"We're having a very romantic night, Karlie Kloss."

I smile.

"Yes, we are, Taylor Swift."

"Aren't you scared?"

The question makes it clear that her drunken state isn't as bad as I thought. I knew Taylor worried about our boundaries just as I did, she was just better at hiding it.

"No," I say confidently, "You don't bite, remember?"

That makes her laugh and loosely cross her arms behind my neck. I hold her firmly by the waist.

"You're right, I don't," she moves her head back to my shoulder and I feel her lips grazing my jaw, "Only if you ask."

I don't even get the time to hide the shock in my face before she moves back to stare at me.

I'm in love, I'm alive
I belong to the stars and sky

The music, her scent and those blue eyes getting close enough to lose focus, it is all too much and I don't notice the exact moment we start gravitating towards each other. Suddenly we're just a few inches apart and I know Taylor feels just as overwhelmed, because she ends up resting her forehead on mine, as a way to keep our lips apart.

"You smell nice," she whispers with a smile, "You smell really nice and I'm really tipsy."

We let out giggles filled with nervousness.

"Are you sober enough to remember this tomorrow?"

"Why do you ask?" Her eyes challenge me and I stare at her plump lips.

It takes me only a second to make the decision as I move forward, slowly but surely closing the distance between us. Her eyes drop to my lips as she allows me to invade her space.

I want real love, baby
There's a world inside me
Got the key, just use it
Just if for a minute (and gone)

Warmth spreads through my entire body when I'm met with the softness of her mouth. Our lips encase one another in a perfect way and I can't help but sigh into her mouth when she moves her hands from their previous position around my shoulders to my neck.

The kiss is as firm as we can make it be due to our bubbly states and I'm glad I had declined an extra glass of wine. I'm not sure when we stop swaying to the music, but then we're just standing in my living room, kissing each other softly and slowly as if in respect for the moment.

I was kissing Taylor Swift.

I'm kissing my best friend.

The thought makes me alert, but not enough to make me stop my motions. I can't think of a good reason to freak out in that moment, so I throw caution to the wind and move one of my hands to her hair, deepening the kiss.

Taylor lets out a soft whimper when I flick my tongue asking for entrance and she easily grants it. We keep that pace for a while and I'm not sure how much time we spent relishing on each other's mouths until her body feels a little heavier in my arms.

"You okay?" I breathe out noticing how she seems to grip on my shoulders to keep her balance.

"I think the wine is getting to me," she chuckles with reddened cheeks and I smirk.

"Nah, that was just the natural effect of kissing me."

Taylor shoves me as I laugh at her shocked yet amused face at my remark. My laughter is quickly suppressed as she pulls me back by my shirt to smash our lips together one more time.

"You're so annoying," she mumbles before wrapping her arms tightly around my neck and pulling me to the couch.

We share many other kisses that night as some random movie plays in the TV. None of us seems like getting off of that couch soon, so we silently agree to fall asleep together there, as Taylor lies on top of me playing with the collar of my shirt.

I kissed my best friend.

Once again I repeat the words internally, but I still can't bring myself to feel frightened, even with a sober mind.

That makes me fall asleep peacefully with the blonde in my arms.

***

A/N: FINALLY!! Tell me what you think of the story so far, I love chatting with you guys. I'm also taking prompts for this story if you have any.

See ya!