First Sight (35 page)

“This isn’t warm?”

“Sure it is,” I said with a laugh.  “I just meant that I haven’t been here recently.  I don’t like to come here as much in the winter.”

Travis laughed
,
too.  “I know, I was just teasing you.”

“I know,” I said with a smile.  I loved that the easy banter was back between us.  This felt just like how things used to be.  We chatted easily through dinner, almost like our old selves, and our conversation this morning and fi
ght yesterday did not come up.

“That’s a nice color on you,” Travis said suddenly, after the waitress had cleared away our plates.

“Thank you,” I said, feeling myself flush under his intense gaze.  I’d changed after work into a deep red, short-sleeved blouse and slim black pants.

“You’re blushing,” he said softly, a smile on his face.

“You look nice, too,” I said, changing the subject.  I wondered if he would notice that I had ignored his comment about my blushing.  His mouth twitched slightly, and I was certain that he had, but rather than say anything more about it he thanked me for the compliment.

“Would you like anything else?” he asked sincerely.

“No, that was perfect.”

Travis slipped his credit card into the billfold the waitress had left sitting on the table.  The waitress collected it
,
and we sat there for a few minutes, gazing out at the water.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Travis said, after signing the receipt and tucking
his card back into his wallet.

I slid out of the booth after him, and
h
e took my hand as we walked to the front of the restaurant. 
Once again
I thrilled at the touch of his skin, the nearness of him, as his strong hand securely held mine.  Pushing open the door, Travis led me outside.  The air was soft and warm, fragrant with the scent of early spring.  We strolled leisurely along the boardwalk, passing couples sitting on benches, parents pushing their young children in strollers, and groups of teenagers laughing and goofing off.  The sun was setting, and the sky was brilliant shades of orange and red at the horizon.  We slowly walked toward a gazebo at the end of a pier, and I noticed after we reached it that we were
finally
all alone.

I put my hands on the railing and looked out over the sparkling water, watching as a lone sailboat went by, on its way back to the dock.  The river stretched out wide before me, the sunlight glinting off the water, and in the distance I saw other boats bobbing up and down, tethered safely for the night.  Travis stood beside me, and we watched them for a few minutes, neither of us speaking, just content to stand there together in the evening light.

After a while, Travis leaned one elbow on the railing, turning so that his body was facing mine.  “So, do you remember the first time we met?” he asked easily.  I turned to him and looked u
p, and his dark eyes met mine.

“Of course, you were standing in the reception area when I walked in.”

“Wearing that dress,” he added, with a fond smile.

“You remember what I was wearing?” I asked in surprise.  A warm feeling spread through me at the thought of Travis r
ecalling
all these months later
the very first time we’d met.

“I knew I was in trouble right then,” he said with a laugh.  “First day of work, I haven’t even gotten to my desk yet, and you come walking in.”

A smile pursed on my lips as I listened.  Travis raised his eyebrows.  “You seem to like this story,” he said with a grin.

“It is rather enlightening.”

“So then,” he continued slowly, seeming to enjoy himself, “not only do I find out that you work there, but you’re also a writer.  And you’
re on the same project as me.”

“You must have thought it was too good to be true,” I joked, trying to keep the mood light.

“Something
like
that,” he said, his deep eyes burning into mine.

A slight breeze off the water blew a strand of hair into my face, and he reached out and tucked it behind my ear, his fingers gently caressing my cheek as he laid the tendril back in place.  I looked up at him and noticed
a trace of stubble on his strong jaw—a five o’clock shadow that had not been there earlier today.  Even his hair seemed darker now, unlike when the rays of sun had
gleamed
off a few strands in the morning light.  It felt like days had passed since we
’d seen each other in front of the office this morning.

His full lips part
ed
slightly, as if he were about to speak, but he closed them again, studying my face as I
watched him
.
 
His fingers did not move from my cheek, and the warmth of them burned into my skin.  They slid down slightly, beneath my chin, tilting my face up toward him.  And slowly, ever so slowly, he leaned over toward me until his face was inches away, until I could smell the scent of his aftershave,
until
at last his warm lips found mine.  I closed my eyes, and then I was kissing him back, aware only of his soft mouth an
d the gentleness of his touch.

Af
ter a moment he slowly pulled back, his eyes not leaving mine.  It was a perfect, sweet first kiss.  I was only vaguely aware of
the water lapping
below
us
, the faint shapes of the boats
bobbing up and down in the distance,
and the moon rising in the sky
.  At this moment my entire world was him.

As we stood there watching one another in the darkness, the atmosphere
between us
suddenly shifted. 
I could feel the heat in the air, the electricity
connecting
our bodies,
and the longing I had to be in his arms
.
 
My mind flashed back over
a million different moments
: lunch together his very first day,
drinking hot chocolate in the ski chalet
, dinner after the museum, standing in my office crying as he held me,
walking to breakfast together at the
retreat,
sitting in
Travis’s car
after happy hour.  All of that had led up to this very
instant
.

The distance between us closed, and I was suddenly in his arms.  His lips hungrily sought out mine, and they felt hot against my own.  My arms wrapped around his neck, my fingers in his hair, as he pulled me closer to him, his strong arms wrapped tightly around me.
My heart beat faster as
I felt his
body pressed against mine, his
warm breath
on
my skin
,
his lips mov
ing
along my jaw line and neck
.
  I never wanted this moment to end.

“I’ve wanted to
kiss you
for so long,” he whispered,
planting gentle kisses on me as he moved his lips upward and once again met my mouth
.

“I
wanted that
, too,” I
whispered back
.

He gently kissed me
once more
before letting me go, and I shivered slightly in the night air as I was released from his warm embrace.  “You’re cold,” he murmured, lowering his hands to my
bare
arms, and softly running them up and down to ward off the chill from the breeze off the water.

“Just a little—I’m okay.”

“I should have realized that it’d be cool out,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and gently pulling me closer again.

I slid my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest, relaxing against him.  “You’re nice and warm.”

He chuckled and rested his chin on top of my head.  “Hmmm, maybe I should have asked if you were cold that day we went skiing, back when I first moved here.”

I laughed as I thought about the first day we’d spent together.
“Maybe so,” I said with
a
resigned sigh.

“Think things would have been different then?”

“Who knows,” I said with a smile.  “Well, yes, according to
Marissa
.  She thinks we should have gotten together from day one.”

He laughed and bent his head lower then, so that his lips brushed against my ear.  “It’s going to kill me to have to admit that she was right
about something
.  We’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Ugh, don’t I know it,” I agreed.  “I’ve already been listening to
her opinion on the matter
for the past several months.”

“So you two talked about me often,” he joked, his breath tickling my ear as he spoke.

“
S
omething
like
that,” I said, pulling back and smiling up at him.

He leaned down and gently brushed his lips against mine.  “So, you’re not busy tomorrow are you?”

“No, not really.
 
Do you have something in mind
?”

“It’s supposed to be gorgeous out.  I thought maybe we could come back here and
have a picnic by the water
.”

“
That sounds
perfect
.
  Do you want me to bring something?  Or we could pick up carry out.”

“How about if you just let me take care of everything.”
  He leaned down and nuzzled his
face against mine, gently kissing
me once more
.

“That sounds even better.”

He laughed, and as he did, I noticed how the corners of his eyes crinkled a little when he smiled.
“It’s getting late, and it’s been a long
day.  I should
get you home.”

We started to walk out of the gazebo, and he kept one arm around my shoulders as we slowly headed back down the pier, holding me close.  I relished feeling the weight of his arm on my shoulders, the warmth of him beside me.  I was exhausted from such a long and draining week
and
the enormity of all that had happened today,
but nothing else mattered now that Travis was here beside me.

I woke up Saturday morning
feeling a surge of happiness.  It was almost like I was trying to remember a really great dream
, but
it wasn’t a dream
at all
—
I
really had been with Travis last night
. 
How much had changed in the last
twenty-four
hours, I muse
d.  On Thursday night I had barely s
lept, waking up feeling miserable the next morning and wishing that I didn’t have to face
Travis
at work.  Last night I fe
l
l asleep with the deepest type of contentment, worn out from the long day and ready to give in to sleep, but full of happiness about Travis.

The sun was beaming in through my blinds, sending slats of light across my bedspread.  I stretched in the warmth of my bed, enjoying the
warm
rays
of sun and the delight of sleeping in.
  It looked like the weather was going to be perfect today. 
As I thought about the picnic with Travis in a couple of hours
,
I
wondered if
he
was thinking about me
,
too
. 
How long it had been since I’d felt this way
about someone
…like first love all over again.
 
I climbed out of bed and
leisurely
walked down the hallway to my kitchen. 
There was nothing like having a relaxing breakfast on weekend mornings, unlike during the workweek when I was frantically rushing around. 
I put on
a pot of
coffee and
cracked a couple of eggs in the skillet. 
I stood there scrambling them as
t
he scent of brewing co
ffee filled the air around me.
  A few minutes later,
I carried my plate
of food
and mug of coffee into the living room.  I settled onto the couch, tucking my legs under me
,
and turn
ed
on the TV
while I enjoyed my breakfast
.
 
Glancing down at my phone
on the coffee table
, I r
ealized that I had a new text.

I c
an’t wait to see you later on.  T.

A feeling of
warmth
spread through me as I realized that Travis had indeed been thinking about me this morning.
  My mind briefly flashed back to him dropping me off last night after dinner.  He’d
taken my
hand
as we stood
in the doorway, given me a sweet kiss goodnight.  I’d
thought about
inviting him in, because even though it was technically just our first date, we’d known each other for months.
  Neither of us seemed eager to rush things though, and I savored the thought of all the upcoming moments we’d have together.