Chapter Text
It was a beautiful Monday in Los Angeles and Taylor was supposed to be resting to prepare for the six shows she had coming up. Instead, she paced her room absentmindedly tapping her phone against her thigh, trying to psych herself up enough to text Travis Kelce. It had been 7 years since she had reached out to a man she didn’t know in a personal way. And well, she hadn’t exactly been lucky in love. Dying a slow painful death for 6 years, and then whiplash; a quick violent end to her decade long fantasy. Bitterness rose from her stomach along with the memories.
She thought back upon all the events of the previous week that had gotten her here. She first learned of Travis’ callout when Gigi’s sister had mentioned it on the plane ride to Santa Clara. She insisted her tarot reading revealed he would be a fun time. Taylor had brushed it off; she had sworn off men this summer and was frankly more interested in the song inspiration that sprung from consulting tarot cards for dating advice.
The next morning she had woken to a text from Ashley. It was the clip of the podcast, “Kind of cute if you ask me. Have you seen this?” She pressed play but exited out of the video a few seconds in when she realized he was a football player. She had a strict ‘no athlete’ policy; she had met her fair share over the years and they never seemed to have anything in common. It did, however, spark a funny little idea in her head for that night’s surprise songs: Stay Stay Stay.
But it wasn’t just Ashley, the texts kept coming. Throughout the week, half a dozen friends had reached out, each one sending her the clip and asking if she was interested, or even going so far as to vouch for him and urge her to give him a chance. She had ignored all of them, politely declining and reminding them all she was focused on her sparkling independent girl summer.
That was until this morning, when her mother had called. She knew immediately it was going to be an interesting conversation.
“So you’re not going to like what I have to say but would you just hear me out for a second?”
Taylor was in her walk-in picking out the day’s outfit, she plopped down in her vanity chair with a sigh. She didn’t know what this was about, but it couldn’t be anything good, “Okay. I’m listening”.
Andrea proceeded cautiously “Okay, there’s this guy. And he’s really cute. And I spoke to some of our people who know of him and say he’s a great guy.” Andrea paused to allow the information to sink in.When Taylor did not protest, she continued “His name is Travis Kelce, he’s a football player for the Kansas City Chiefs and-”
“Oh god, this guy! Mom, you know how I feel about athletes”.
Andrea persisted, “Taylor I asked you to hear me out. Listen, cousin Robin knows all about him, you remember she’s a Chiefs fan? She said he’s a big family guy; great relationship with his mother.”
“Mom, I love you and I know you just want me to be happy but I don’t have anything in common with athletes, our careers and mindsets are so different”.
Andrea was not accepting ‘no’ as an answer, “Maybe different is good, maybe you gotta start doing something different!”
Taylor was about to retort when the statement settled into her bones. Maybe her mother was right. After all, look where men in her own field had gotten her. “You’re not wrong. And I hate that you’re not wrong”. There was quiet between them while Taylor slowly caved. “Finnneeee. I’ll give it one date! One.”
Andrea did not try to hide her giddiness “Eeeee! Okay I’ll have the team reach out to his and get you his number!”
“Actually,” Taylor recalled the text from Keleigh she had ignored a few days earlier, “I think I can get it from Keleigh, she text me about him too and the less people involved, the better”.
“Oh! Perfect, see you’ve already got things in common!” Taylor rolled her eyes and breathed out a small laugh at her mother’s excitement.
“Call me later and tell me everything!”
“You know I will, mom. Love you”
“Love you more!”
Taylor scrolled through her texts until she found Keleigh’s name, opening the thread. She didn’t remember exactly what Keleigh had said because she closed out of the convo as soon as she had realized what it was about. She read through the text now:
Keleigh: I’m sure you’ve seen the video of Travis Kelce by now since it’s going viral but I had to reach out and tell you that if you’re at all interested, Miles knows him through his brother, and they’ve hung out a bunch. They actually just golfed together earlier this month. He’s a great guy and you two would have so much together! I promise he is nothing like Aaron!
Taylor was skeptical. Keleigh promised Travis was completely different than Aaron, another football player Keleigh had introduced her to earlier in the year, who gave off major creepy vibes, but Taylor still had her reservations. She wasn’t sure what he wanted from her; clout for his podcast? The chance to brag about hanging out with Taylor Swift? She figured she should at least learn a little more about him before she got Keleigh involved, in case she found something that would confirm her reservations.
She started by watching the podcast clip again, in full, this time. She found herself smiling at the mention of her 44 song set and the friendship bracelet tradition of the tour. Okay, she thought, he had done his homework. She also had to admit, begrudgingly, he was hot. And that was only reaffirmed as she continued her investigation, moving now to google. He was not the type of hot that necessitated a qualifier, but the type of hot that caused grandmas, middle aged women and teens to fawn about him equally; inarguably hot. He had a great smile with natural looking teeth and his buzz cut and beard framed out his masculine jawline, but what she really noticed were his eyes, they looked like seaglass. From what she had gathered, he was one of the best players at his position; tight end (yes that was actually the name of his position), and from the pictures she had seen, he lived up to the title. He also seemed to have a great sense of humor. He had hosted SNL in March and the skits he had done had her stomach hurting from laughter. She also noticed there are a lot of videos of his family. SHe learned he had just played his brother in the superbowl, which was apparently a big deal, so there were a bunch of interviews with his brother and parents.They seemed like really genuine, good people. They kind of reminded her of her own family in some ways.
She had to admit he had piqued her interest. “Fine, give me his number” is all she texted Keleigh. Her phone lit up with an incoming call immediately. The ensuing conversation would have lasted hours if she didn’t threaten Keleigh that she would delete his number if she didn’t hang up already. Keleigh meant well and truly just wanted love and happiness for her but sometimes she got a little over excited. Taylor knew how things worked in her world. She was not just a normal person, she was a brand .And while she, herself, knew the boundaries between the two, not everyone else was so good at the distinction. She had to be cautious.
Yet, here she was, in her bedroom with his number in her phone. The nerves had passed and were replaced with resolve. She was going to give him one chance and she was going to be upfront with him about that. She typed out the text and then paused to re-read. She had a fleeting thought that it may be too bitchy, but she quickly batted the thought away; if he couldn’t handle a strong woman, he wasn’t worth her time. Sent.