First Sight (37 page)

“Travis, you’ve always been there for me when I needed you.  I don’t want you to feel bad about one misunderstanding.”

“I’m glad that you could come today,” he said, his voice deep, as he looked back up at me.

“Me too,” I said, holding his gaze.

S
lowly
he
leaned closer, his brown eyes warm
, and when h
is face hovered a few inches
from mine
,
I
felt my lips part at his closeness.  He lifted his hand
from my grasp to gently caress my cheek.
Without
saying a w
ord
, he leaned in
closer still, and
at last his lips met mine.

***

We drove back to
Travis’s
apartment
with the top down on
the
convertible
, the
wind
tousling
my hair as we coasted along the
road
.
  I watched as people jogged along the bike trail that paralleled the water, while others lounged on picnic blankets in the grass, enjoying the late afternoon sun.  A few guys tossed a Frisbee back and forth, their dog running around happily amongst them, and as we passed by I saw the dog jump to catch it midair.

“Do you have any plans tonight?”
Travis asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“No, how about you?”

“Not yet,” he said with a grin.
 
“
What do you think about letting me occupy your evening
?”

“I think that can be arranged,” I
sai
d
, pretending to consider his offer
.  “What
did you have in mind
? 
Dinner?
 
Movie?”

“You’re not going to pull a
Marissa
on me, are you?” he asked, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he teased me.

“A
Marissa
?”
I asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, picking out some chick-flick that only three other guys are willing to see?”

“So if I did, you’re saying that you wouldn’t want to spend the evening together?” I asked, unable to hold back my smile.

“I’d probably manage,” he replied lightly,
glancing back over at me.

We
took the next exit and headed over
the bridge back
to
DC.  After we’d parked
at
Travis’s building, we walked down the block to pick out a movie and grab some Chinese carryout.
 
Travis held my hand as we walked side by side, and we laughed as a little girl pointed to us and asked
, “Mommy, are they on a date?”

Despite his teasing earlier, I’d won, and Travis agreed to watch a girly movie with me.  I picked out the one I wanted to see, and we headed next door to pick up our food.
 
A
fter we’d carried our bags back to Travis’s place, we
spread everything
out on his dining room table.

“
Mmmm
, this is good,” Travis said
, dipping his eggroll in sweet and sour sauce.
  “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“I know,” I agreed, taking another bite of my own.
  “
I think this might be the
best eggroll I’ve ever
eaten
.”
 
I finished chewi
ng and took a swig of my beer.

“Sorry I didn’t have any diet coke
,” Travis said
with a grin
.

“That’s okay,” I said,
smiling back at him
.
  “You know me too well already.”

He chuckled. 
“
I have eaten lunch with you a couple
of
times
per
week for the past several months. 
I’ll have to pick up some for the next time you’re over.”

“Okay
.
”

Travis’s brown eyes were watching me, and he smiled at my simple answer.  It felt good knowing that I’d be back here again, and I could tell he
was
just as happ
y as I was at the realization.

After we had dinner,
Travis put the leftovers in his refrigerator, while I tossed our empty beer bottles into his recycling bin. 
We
walked into the living room
,
and
I
sat down at one end of the couch
while
Travis put the movie in his DVD player
.  He came over
and sat down
beside
me, draping his arm along the back of the couch behind my shoulders.  He
joked
a couple of times about how cheesy the movie was, but it didn’t exactly appear that he was having a bad time.
 
I found myself starting to yawn as the movie neared the end.  It had been a long couple of days, and between that and being out in the sun this afternoon, I was completely worn out.

“You look sleepy,” Travis said, putting his arm around me and gently pulling me to him.  I let my head rest against his shoulder and relaxed against the warmth of his body.

“Yeah, maybe a little,” I agreed.  Travis slipped his other arm around me, so that he was now holding me in his arms.  I snuggled closer, and Travis softly kissed my forehead, before turning his attention back to the TV.

I managed to stay awake until the end of the movie, but as the credits started to roll, I realized that I should leave soon if I wanted to be able to drive myself home.  “
Mmmm
…I should go, Travis.  I can barely keep my eyes open.”  My voice was soft as I spoke, but it was so cozy in Travis’s arms that I didn’t move from his side.

He seemed quite comfortable as well, quietly holding me against him.  “
You can stay here if you’d like,
” he said, gently stroking my arm with his hand.

“Well, maybe…
,
” I said drowsily.

“Look, I’ll take the couch.  You can sleep in my room.”  His fingers traced small circles on my skin as he spoke. 
“Unless you’d like for me to drive you home?
  You can always get your car tomorrow.”

I lifted my head up to look at him.  “No, I’ll ju
st stay here,” I said with a sleepy smile.

“Okay.”  He smiled
back
and suddenly scooped me up in his arms, standing up and carrying me toward the hallway.

“Travis, I can walk!” I protested weakly.  He chuckled slightly to himself,
then
carried me into his bedroom, flipping on the light as we walked in.  I was too tired to really notice the surroundings, not to mention too absorbed in the fact that Travis was cradling me in his arms.

“Here you go, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, ca
refully placing me on the bed.

I sunk back into the pillows and smiled up at
him.
“I had fun today, Travis.”

“So did
I
,
Maddy
.” 
He placed his arms on either side of me and bent down,
leaning closer until his
face
was i
nches from my own,
and he
gently kissed my lips, before straightening back up again.  “Goodnight,” he whispered.

“
Goodnight
,” I said softly.
  He started to turn away when I
reached up and grabbed his hand
.  “Wait,” I said
, pulling him back.
  “Stay with me.”

He
smiled down at me
.
 
“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding.

“All right.”

I watched as he walked over to flip off the light switch. 
I snuggled under the covers in the darkness, and then t
he bed shifted as
he sat down
. 
I was so tired that the jostling of the mattress did not bring me out from my sleepy state. 
Soon Travis
was sliding under the covers beside me, putting one arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.  I closed my eyes as I felt his warm body
beside
mine, his chest risin
g and falling against my back. 
I was so comfortable in his embrace; it
felt
like we were meant to be together all along.

“
Mm
m
m
…I like holding you in my arms,” he s
aid, nuzzling against my neck.

I smiled and then realized he probably couldn’t see my reaction in the darkness.  “I like it, too,” I said dreamily.

“
Goodnight,
Maddy
,” he whispered, his breath soft on my skin.

“Goodnight,” I whispered
back
.  The last thing I remembered was him moving his lips
up
, just below my ear, and kissing the edge of my jaw as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the next morning
feeling slightly
groggy,
confused by my surroundings. 
Looking
around
,
I
remembered that I’d stayed
at Travis’s
place
. 
I was lying alone in his bed,
resting on a pile of pillows against a
dark cherry wood
headboard
, and nestled inside a navy blue comforter.
I looked at the nightstand next to the bed and noticed the red LED
display on the
clock said 8:20.  A copy of
a men’s
fitness
magazine
was
tossed beside it
, along with a stack of CDs. 
A
large dresser stood against the wall opposite of the bed, made from the same
dark
wood as the
bed frame
.
  A 32-inch flat
screen TV hung on the wall above the dresser.
I noticed a few DVDs scattered about nearby.

A door to the left of the dresser was slightly ajar, and I heard the water
from the shower
running.
A few minutes later Travis
emerged
,
hair damp,
dressed only in jeans.  My
heart
skipped a beat as I caught a glimpse of him
shirtless,
my eyes sliding over
his muscular arms and chest
.
H
is skin glisten
ed
slightly
with droplets of water
and
his jeans h
ung
a few inches below his waist.

“Good morning,” he said softly
,
when he realized that I was awake.

“Good morning,” I said with a shy smile, wondering if he’d noticed how I’d been
staring at
him.

“Did I wake you up?  I thought I’d get dressed and go grab some breakfast for us.”

“No, you’re fine,” I said, sitting up in bed.

“How’d you sleep?”

“
Good
,” I said yawning and stretching my arms in the air.
“
Your bed is quite comfy.”

“Well, feel free to stay over anytime you want.”  He winked at me, and I knew that although his offer was genuine, he was teasing me.

He
turned and opened
a
drawer to his dresser
,
taking out
a
black
tee shirt.
 
I noticed the way his biceps bulged as he pulled it over his head.  He ran one hand through his hair
,
trying to smooth it out,
as he turned back to me.

“I put some
extra
towels in
the bathroom for you.  Do you want to borrow a
c
lean tee
shirt or anything?”
  His dark eyes met mine, and
in that instant
I wondered how many times
in the future
I
might
be waking up in his apartment. 
Would I keep a change of clothes here?  Stash a bag of things in my car? 
Would he stay at my place most of the time? 
It almost seemed like he
might be thinking the same thing. 
He hadn’t moved and stood across the room from me, seeming both polite and almost formal
. 
We’d somehow gotten to the awkward first stages of a relationship—we’d slept in the same bed but not actually
slept
together,
we didn’t know each other’s morning routines, and
yet
we’d been friends for months and knew so many other things about each other.