Chapter 13: A Shift in the Air

There was tension between Alex and Taylor that could be felt and had been since the night of the cabin. They had gone back to being normal, but the feeling, which was almost like a kiss, still stayed with them like a melody that goes on playing in one’s head. They carried on seeing each other, carrying out their respective jobs, and living their lives, but things were not as they were before. They had that strained relationship that they never used to have—a strain both of them did not know how to handle. One evening, Taylor proposed to cook dinner for Alex at her apartment. The invitation was not strange at all, but when she said it, the tone she used and the pause made Alex wonder if there was more to it. He went to her house with a bottle of wine and had to suppress the nervous energy that was rising in him. The feeling that he got when Taylor smiled at him after opening the door was enough to make his heart palpitate. It was not just a friendly smile; it was something else, somet