First Sight (38 page)

“Uh, I think I have a change of clothes
in my gym bag. 
I can go
grab that out of my car.”
  I awkwardly climbed out of bed, unsure of what to do next.  Walk over and give him a kiss good morning?  Go right out to my car to get my things?

“I can
get it,” he said easily
. 
“
Do you want me
to
pick up bagels for breakfast?
I can grab those too while you get ready
.”

“Sure, that sounds g
reat
.”  I
went into the living room to get my keys from my purse and after handing them over to Travis, took a quick shower while he
went out. 
When I turned off the water
a few minutes later
,
I heard the TV from the living room and knew that Travis was back. 
I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out into his bedroom, noticing that he had left my
gym
bag on his bed and shut the
bedroom
door to give me some privacy.  I pulled
on
a
stretchy
light blue
camisole
and
my black yoga
capris
.
 
Since I didn’t have anything else with me, this would have to do
for now
. 
After running a comb through my wet hair,
I walked barefoot out to the living room, where Travis was lounging on the couch reading the Sports section
of the Sunday paper.

“Hey,” he said looking up from the paper.  “
You look cute,” he said, breaking into a grin.  “
Find everything okay?”

“I
did,
thanks. 
Y
oga clothes,” I
added
, gesturing to my outfit.

“Well, I still think you look cute.”
  He stood up from the sofa and walked over to me,
putting his hands on my waist
then bending down to brush his lips against mine
.
 
He pulled me to him, and
I wrapped my arms around
his waist and rested my head against his chest, thinking
how nice it was to be with him first thing in the morning.

“Your hair smells good,” he said, burying his face in my hair.

“Well, it’s your shampoo,” I said, laughing.

“
Hmmm, I like it better on you….”

I looked up at him and smiled;
he beamed as he gazed back at me
. 
I
reluctantly let him go
so that
we
could
have breakfast together
.
  Travis took my hand as we walked to the kitchen. 
“
I forgot to ask what type of bagels you like, so I picked out a few different kinds.
  I got us some coffee
,
too.
”

“
Great
,” I said, picking up a steaming cup of coffee from the t
able and taking a careful sip.

“Let me just grab some plates and silverware.”  He opened the cupboard and reached up to a high shelf, pulling out some
small
plates.

“See, I can never keep anything I use frequently up that high,” I said.  “Not tall enough.”

“Well
,
I can move them lower if you’re going to be over here all the time,” he said with a grin.
  He carried the
plates over
,
and after setting them on
the table
,
pull
ed
out a chair for me.  I
sat
down
and then
Travis opened the
brown paper bag
full of bagels
and offered it to me to make my selection
.

I peeked in and pulled out a bagel at the top.

“Plain, huh?
”
  Travis asked.
 
“
I’ll have to remember that for the future.”

“Oh yeah?”
I teased.  “What future do you have planned
for us
?”

He grinned and leaned down to give me a quick kiss.  “Oh you know, Saturday morning brea
kfasts with you, Sunday morning brunch….
”

I smiled as Travis
opened the tub of cream cheese
and handed it
over
to me to use first.  He stirred cream and sugar into his coffee as I spread the cream cheese over my bagel.

“
What’s your favorite kind?”
I asked.

“Of bagel?”

“Yeah, just in case I need to know for future reference.”

“I’m from New York—I like them all.  Well, except pumpernickel.”
He made a face
,
and I laughed.

“Okay,
duly noted
.
”  I took a bite and looked back up at Travis.  “
These are
really
good
.”

“I found this
great place just around the corner
.  I
pretty much
had two main priorities
when I first moved her
e
—coffee shop by
the office
and bagel place by my apartment.”

“Well, everyone needs goals,” I teased.

“Yeah,
well,
then there was my
main
goal: g
et this girl
at
the office to notice me,
teach
her
how to ski
, impress
her
with my wit and charm
…
.”  He ticked off the list good naturedly,
smiling at me with affection in his brown eyes,
and I felt
a warmth
spread through
me
as I beamed back at him
.
It was nice to have breakfast with
Travis
and talk over coffee
on a Sunday
morning
—definitely a change from my usual routine of breakfast and coffee alone in my apartment. 
He certainly seemed to feel the same way, judging from the
look of
happiness on his face.

We spent the rest of breakfast
leisurely talking
.  I asked
him about growing up in New York and what he missed
about it
since moving here.  He wanted to know about my favorite
places to go
in DC
and the
various
places that I’ve traveled.  We
found out that we
both loved
the beach, had
spent most of our childhood summer vacations at the ocean,
and
wanted to
travel
to
Europe
someday
since n
either of us had been
there yet.

After we’d finished
eating
,
I helped him clear the table
,
and we
carried our dishes over to the sink.  “I guess tomorrow
it’s
back to work,” I said,
wondering
how
things would be
different
once we were back in the office together.
 
Would we kiss each other hello?  Tell everyone that we were together?  Things
would
certainly
be different than
l
ast week
when we weren’t speaking
.

“Yep, I suppose so,” he said absently, loading the dishwasher. 
He said something else, but I was lost in my own thoughts and didn’t answer. 
He turned to look at me, and I glanced up at his face, unable to read the expression.

“Are you worried about going back?”
he asked.

“Worried?
” I repeated, echoing his statement.
 
“
No.  It’s just that things are a little different than Friday. 
Everyone
probabl
y still thinks that you hate me.
”

Travis frowned.  “I never hated you.”

“I know
,” I said, shaking my head.
“T
hat was the wrong choice of words.  I just wondered what people will think.”

“Does it matter?”

“
No,
not really,” I said thoughtfully
. 
“
I was just thinking about how to explain things
.
  I mean, I’m sure someone’s bound to ask questions or notice something….
”
My voice trailed off, uncertain.

Travis walked over to me and
placed his hands on my hips
, looking down at me
with his dark brown eyes
.  “I don’t want you to worry
about anything,
Maddy
.
  We can tell people whatever you want.”

“That we’re seeing each other?”

“
Sure,
we can tell them.
  I’m sure people will figure it out
by themselves
though. 
I know we haven’t
exactly
been dating, but we have
spent a lot of time together the past few months
.”

“
I know
” I
agreed
.
  “
I guess it wouldn’t really be that big of a
deal to anyone.
”

Travis smiled
and a look of seriousness came back over his face.  “Well,” he said, his fingers grazing
my skin as he brushed his hand up and down my arm
, “It’s a big deal to me.”
  Adrenaline shot through me at his touch, and I
leaned
ever so
slightly closer to him, tilting my head up
toward his face
. 
His black tee
shirt showed off his strong chest and arms
,
and
the color of it
made his warm brown eyes look darker than usual.  His strong face and chiseled jaw were set in an unreadable expression. 
He
gazed down at me intently and then reached up to gently
touch
my cheek with his fingertips.  The
ir
warmth
burnt
into my skin, and he lightly brushed his thumb across my lips.
 
My senses felt like they were going in
to
overdriv
e as he stood there before me.

His hand
s
slid through my hair, gently holding my head in place, and he suddenly bent down, crushing his lips to mine as if he couldn’t resist any longer. 
I eagerly kissed him back
, enjoying the sensation of his soft, warm lips against my own, and
I
wrapped my arms
around his neck
.  Travis continued to
passionately
kiss me, and I g
asped as his teeth gently tugged on my lower lip. 
His hands slid down my back, lightly grazing over my bottom, and h
e suddenly
lifted me up
into the air
.  I clung to him,
my legs wrapp
ing
around his waist
and
my
arms
remaining tightly wound
around his neck
. 
I gently tasted his mouth with my tongue, and he took a few steps forward, pressing me up against the wall so that I was pinned between it and him.  I felt his muscular chest rising and falling against my own,
the warmth of his body, and
his strong arms holding me to him.

Travis shifted his head
and
slowly planted a trail of kisses down the side of my neck, moving his mouth toward my collarbone.
  Once again I gasped out loud,
the touch of his lips against my skin the only thing I could focus on.
 
He supported my weight with one arm and slid his other hand to my side, his fingers just edging under the bottom of my camisole, softly caressing my skin. 
My breathing was becoming erratic, and he continued kissing my neck, his mouth hot against my flesh. 
The sound of my phone ringing was the only thing that brought us both back to reality.  He seemed to hesitate, almost as if coming out of a daze himself,
and brushed his lips against me one last time.  Travis
lifted his head,
rest
ing
his forehead
against my
own
, and I slowly opened my eyes.
  “I guess we shou
ld slow down,” he whispered, sounding slightly
out of breath himself
.