First Sight (36 page)

I quickly
texted
a message back.

I can’t wait to see you either.  :)

My phone instantly beeped with his reply.

XOXO

I smiled to myself and then went to get ready. 
After showering and getting dressed, I headed
out
to run a few errands before meeting Travis
.  My cell phone rang as
I
was carrying my
groceries
upstairs to my apartment.  Glancing at it when I got inside, I saw a missed call from
Marissa
.  She hadn’t left a message, so I decided that I’d call her tonight since I was in a hurry.  I put away the groceries and
did a little last minute primping before heading
out
.

As I drove over to Travis’s place,
I wondered what his apartment was like.  He had moved here fairly recently, so I didn’t imagine that he had
gotten
completely
settled
in
yet.  Plus, being a guy, he probably ha
dn’t done a ton of decorating.
 
I felt butterflies in my stomach as
I parked in the garage of his building, using the g
uest pass that he’d given to me.  I’d spent hours alone with Travis before, and this was just an afternoon together
, so it was silly for me to be nervous now
. 
Still, I felt both nerves as well as the thrill of anticipation as
I
walked down the hallway
to his apartment.  When I reached
413
, I
knocked on the door
and
glanced down at my outfit, wondering if
it was okay for a picnic
.  I’d put on a
breezy
yellow
and white floral sundress and f
lat
leather
sandals. 
I’d taken the time to carefully dry my hair, so that it was straight and smooth, and I had a delicate gold
pendant
on around my neck. 
I heard the faint strains of music coming from inside
and considered knocking again when I heard footsteps.
  A moment later,
Travis opened the door.

He was
wearing a
dark grey tee shirt
and khaki cargo shorts
, his large frame filling up the doorway.  I looked up and saw the dark stubble over his strong jaw, his tousled dark brown hair, and the warmth in his deep brown
eyes as he gazed down at me.

“Hi
Maddy
,” he said.

“Hi,” I said,
still standing in the hallway.

“You look beautiful.”  He
reached out to me, and as I stepped toward him, he enveloped me in a hug.  I hugged him back, my arms wrapping around his waist.  He held me to him,
his fingers gently caressing
the
bar
e
skin
on my arms and shoulders
,
and I felt myself relaxing at our closeness.  My cheek rested against his cotton tee shirt, and I noticed the scent of soap, but not the aftershave I’d noticed yesterday.

“Come in
,
”
he said,
gently breaking our embrace
and
taking my hand to lead me
inside.
  “I just got back from the market.”

I stepped into his apartment and took in the surroundings. 
I hadn’t been sure what to expect, but e
verything was very
sleek and
modern. 
The layout was open, with the kitchen
connecting to the living room.  The ceiling was slanted upward, giving the apartment a feel of vast space.  The ceiling itself was painted a neutral slate grey, which somehow enhanced the depth of the room, but the rest of the walls were stark white. 
The kitchen
was filled wi
t
h
stainless steel appliances—even his coffee maker reflected the overheard
light with its steel exterior. 
As I suspected, Travis did not have much in the way of furnishings or decorations.  There was a newish
-
looking beige sofa in the living room, opposite a sleek flat screen TV.  Travis’s laptop was open on the glossy black coffee table in front of the sofa.  A rectangular dining table sat off to one side of the room, closer to the kitchen.  It was also a contemporary style—just a tabletop mounted on straight legs, no embellishments of any sort.  The walls were a blank canvas.

Travis was watching me look around.  “I really lucked out with finding this place.  This apartment building just opened, and they were offering great move-in specials.  I guess most people don’t want to move in January,” he said with a small laugh.  “I haven’t really had time to decorate it yet though.”

“You’ve got plenty of time.  It’s a nice apartment, though.”

“Yeah, I really like it, and it’s a great location.  It’ll be nicer when I get things set up a bit.”  He gestured toward the living room, like he wasn’t happy with the way things were there now.  I’d been in my apartment several years, and it had taken me a while to pick out
furnishings,
curtains, artwork, and such.  I had a hard time imagining
Travis
spending an afternoon shopping for curtains though.

“Come on,” he said, tugging me into the kitchen.  “I just need to finish packing everything up.”

I followed
behind Travis and
was amazed when I saw a wicker picnic basket sitting on the counter.

“You actually have a picnic basket?” I asked with a small laugh.

He turned and gazed down at me with an easy grin.  “Well, I might have picked it up today for our date.” 
I smiled up at him in delight, and h
e lifted our joined hands to my face, gently caress
ing
my cheek with his knuckles.  I flushed, his touch making me feel
simultaneously nervous and excited
all over again.
 
Our eyes locked for a moment, and I wondered if he was about to kiss me, but
instead
he glanced over to the food sitting on the counter.  “So, should we pack everything up?  I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

***

The gentl
e breeze blew through
my hair as
I stretched my legs out in front of me, basking in the warm sun.  Travis was si
tting next to me, leaning back on
his elbows
as we relaxed on the
picnic blanket that we’d spread out in the grass along the
riverside
. 
A few other picnickers were
settled along the waterfront
, but we had selected a secluded spot and had the
immediate
area all to ourselves.
 
“It’s so beautiful out here,” I said, looking around happily.  It was a brilliant day, with the sun high up and a couple of fluffy white clouds scattered across the robin’s egg blue sky.  The lush, green trees on the riverbank framed the blue water. 
There
were
boats
bobbing up and down
in the
river
, some
with
people sunbathing on deck, a few others
with people
fishing.
  Birds were flying overhead, chirping in the trees.  It was a completely perfect
spring
afternoon.

Travis had packed an amazing picnic lunch for us: French bread
and brie
, grapes,
an assortment of
crackers,
hummus, and an olive tapenade spread.  He’d even snuck in a small bottle of wine, which technically we weren’t supposed to have.
  On top of all that, he’d picked up some fresh chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

I took a sip of wine from my plastic cup and
looked
over at Travis.  He was grinning as he glanced up at me. 
“What?” I asked with a smile.

“I’m just happy you’re here.”

“Me too,” I said, looking into his eyes.

He sat up slightly, and supporting his weight on one arm, leaned over to give me a gentle kiss.  I leaned toward him and closed my eyes as his soft lips met mine.  The wind blowing through the trees and sounds of nature around us faded to the background as my focus fell solely on him.  Travis’s hand brushed against my leg, and I felt his fingertips just beneath the hem of my sundress as he gently caressed my skin.  A thr
ill shot through me, and all I could notice was the burning warmth of his touch. 
Our kiss began to increase in intensity, and as his tongue gently tasted my lips, I felt my breath catch at his closeness. 
After a moment he lifted his hand to my cheek, and
softly pressed his lips to mine one last time.  I met his gaze
,
and
as our eyes locked,
I
wondered what would have happened had
we
been alone together in private, not sitting out on a picnic blanket for
every
one to see.

I straightened up, and
Travis casually draped his arm around my shoulder
, pulling me close
. 
He leaned over and grabbed a chocolate chip cookie, holding it out
toward
me
.

“Did you try these yet?”

“No,” I
replied
, taking a bite as he held it up for me.  “Delicious,” I
said with a grin
.  Travis leaned over and gave me a quick peck on the lips before taking
a
bite of the cookie
himself
.

“Where’d you find all this?” I asked, gesturing to the spread in front of us.

“Farmer’s
m
arket.”

“I have to admit, I haven’t even been to the farmer’s market near me.”

“I try to go
when I can
—it reminds me of living in New York.  I could just stop by little shops on the way home from work, pick up whatever I needed….”

“Do you ever miss New York?” I asked.

“Not with you here,” he said, smiling at me.

“Travis,” I said, playfully elbowing him. 
“Seriously.”

“Some days,” Travis
mused
.
  “I mean, it always takes a while to get used to a new place.”

“Is your family from there?”

“Yeah.
  My parents still live there, and I have a younger brother who has an apartment in the city.”

“Oh,” I said, nodding.

“That’s probably the hardest thing,” he said, “being away from them.  I used to see them all the time.”

“Yeah, that would be tough,” I agreed.  “Are you and your brother close?”

“Close enough—he’s five years younger than me, so we have different sets of friends.  But we’re close as far as family is concerned.  Hey, that reminds me,
h
ow did
that
doctor appointment
of your mom’s go
last week
?”

“Oh, it
was fine
,” I answered,
surprised that he h
ad remembered that conversation
after everything that had occurred between then and now
. 
“They had to put her back on some painkillers, but basically she just needs to take it easy.  You’d think she forgot she was in a car accident or something.”

“I’m glad she’s doing better.”

“Thanks, so am I.  It’s a huge relief actually
.”

“You know, I was worried about you the other day,” he said, his voice gruff. 
He squinted in the sunlight
, his face and strong jaw
appearing
slightly
tense
.

“I know,” I said softly.

“God, I’m sorry I was such a jerk all week.  I
kept
asking
Elizabeth
how y
ou were doing.  She probably thought I was nuts.”

“She didn’t seem to believe that you were mad at me,” I said with a laugh.  “Now I guess I know why.”

“Look, I know I already apologized to you yesterday, and I didn’t mean to drag this all up again. 
But I am sorry,
Maddy
.
I would never do anything to hurt you.”

He looked sad for a moment,
and I reached out and clasped his hand, so that it was resting in both of mine.  I absently stroked
the back of it
, my fingertips grazing over the tendons bulging out
beneath his skin.