First Sight (7 page)

Lunch in an hour?

“They want to meet for lunch in an hour,” I said.

“
Okay
, that sounds good.
  We can do a few more runs—you’ll be an expert by lunchtime.
”

“
Yeah
,
right.
 
I’ll
let her know we’re up for lunch though
.”  I pulled off one glove and sent
Marissa
a quick reply, before tucking the phone back into my parka.  Pulling the glove back on
,
I looked up at Travis.

“Ready to go?”

“I guess it’s now or never
,
”
I replied.

We did a few more runs down the beginner’s slope, but I was already getting exhausted and dragging behind Travis as we finished another descent.
  “Do you want to head back to the lodge early to
wait for
the others?” Travis asked.

“Yeah, I could use a break,” I said gratefully.

I followed him over to the
wooden
chalet
,
and while he gracefully came to
a
stop and popped off his skis, I
struggled to get
mine
off while trying to maintain upright.  Travis came over to help, offering his arm for me to hold onto.  I stabbed at one ski with my pole again, trying to hit the release, and fell
against
Travis in the process.  His arms came around me as he steadied me
, and I laughed in embarrassment.  Travis grinned back, seemingly amused by my predicament. 
After I straightened myself out, w
e propped our skis up against the
outside
wall and walked into the lodge—Travis easily
striding a
cross the floor,
while I followed
a bit more unstead
ily
as I got used to
walking
in ski boots.

The room was cozy and warm,
with
exposed
ceiling
beams and
dark wood
paneled walls
.
A pair of
old wooden skis were hung in a crisscross pattern
near
the entrance, and I noticed snowshoes and other alpine equipment decorating the
interior
. 
There was
a roaring fire at
the center of the room
, and a folksy,
bluegrass trio playing music at the far end
. 
A
few people
were
seated at
the
tables
and bar
, but it
was still early, so it
was mostly empty
.
  I pu
lled off my wool cap and ran my fingers through my hair to fluff it up a bit
and
then pressed my hands to my cold cheeks.

Travis sat down at the bar and
pulled out the
barstool next to him
for me to take a seat
.  “Do you want some hot chocolate?”
he asked
as he watched me
.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Two hot chocolates, please,” Travis said to the bartender.

I took off my parka and slid onto the barstool next to Travis. 
It felt really good to sit down and relax. 
M
uscles I didn’t even know I had would
probably
be sore tomorrow if I was already this tired from a couple hours of learning to ski. 
The bartender
brought over two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and then squeezed fresh whipped cream from
what looked like a
pastry bag on
to the
top of our drinks.  She slid them over toward us, and I wrapped my fingers around the warm mug, lifting it up for a sip.

“
This is really good
,” I said happily.

“
You looked cold,” Travis replied
with a grin.
  “
Your cheeks are rosy
.”

“
I am cold,” I said with a laugh.  “
The rest of them can stay out there freezing, but they are missing out
on this
.”

Travis finished taking a sip
and set his mug down on the bar.
  “
You’re right, t
his is
really
good
,
”
he agreed
.  We
both turned
toward the music playing
, looking over at the bluegrass band
,
which
had just started a new song.  We listened to the
m
and continued talking
for a good half hour or so
as we
wait
ed
for the others to arrive.
  They showed up at 12:30 on the dot and came loudly over to where we were sitting.  Rather,
Marissa
and Mike
came
loudly laughing
and joking around
as they walked over. 
Elizabeth
and Steve were following behind them, seemingly amused at whatever story they had been telling.

“Hi guys!” I said, waving at them.

“
Maddy
, you survived!”
Marissa
squealed, coming over to give me a hug.  “How’d you like skiing?”

“It was fun,
” I said.  “It wasn’t
nearly
as bad as I thought it would be.  Luckily
,
Travis helped me—he’s definitely a patient teacher.”

“How’d she do, Travis?”
Marissa
asked, turning to him.

“Oh,
Maddy
did great,” he said in his deep voice
, a smile on his face
.

“Do you guys want to get a table?”
Elizabeth
asked.
  She and Steve were shuffling in their places, looking like they really wanted to sit down
and peel off some of their layers of heavy clothes
.

“Sure, I think there’s one over there,” I said, pointing to an empty round table near the middle of the room.
  I pulled some money out of my pocket and turned back to Travis.  “How much were the hot chocolates?”

“I
already
paid for them
.”

“Oh, well here you go,” I said, starting to hand him
some of the money in my hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said easily, waving my hand away.  He stood up, grabbing his jacket off the stool next to me.  “Let’s go order some food—I’m starving.”

We all gathered at the table and ordered drinks and appetizers. 
I could tell everyone was hungry, because there was more eating than talking once the food arrived. 
Marissa
said she’d hit the beginner slopes with me
after lunch
so that Travis could go down the more advanced runs with the others. 
When he protested that he didn’t want to desert me, I insisted that he go
and have some fun. 
I was pretty worn out
anyway
,
and I think
Marissa
was as well, because we lingered at the table as the other
s stood to go.

“You’re sure you don’t mind?
” Travis
asked as
they got ready to head back out into the cold.

“No really, go ahead,” I said
.

He flashed me a grin and then pulled on his black wool cap. 
“You two stay out of trouble,” he said
before following
Mike outside.

We remained seated at the table, sipping on our sodas, unwilling to move from the warmth inside the room.  I took off my wool sweater, placing it next to my parka, and was now left wearing my black thermal undershirt. 
Marissa
, however, still managed to look elegant and sophisticated in ski wear.  She’d taken off her patterned wool sweater as well but was wearing a silk turtleneck beneath it.  The cream color of her
top
set off her blonde hair, and a few males walking by had appreciatively noticed her sitting there.

“
So
, what was that about?”
Marissa
asked as soon as the others had left.
  “I think someone likes you….”

“I don’t know,” I said, fiddling with my straw.  “
He probably
just
didn’t want me to think that he was
abandoning
me or anything.
  I needed a lot of help skiing,
”
I r
eflected
with a laugh.

“
So he’s
hot
and
swee
t,
”
Marissa
said with a
grin
.

“He even took
the
beginner’s ski lesson with me this morning.”

“Really?”
  Her eyes grew wide.  “What did I tell you the first day he started working here?  You two should go out!”

“
Marissa
, please,” I said rolling my eyes.  “We’re just friends.  I barely know him.”

“Just friends for
now
,” she insisted.

“Whatever,” I said, laughing.  Leave it to
Marissa
to
keep
insisting on
setting me up with
one
guy or another.  Never
mind that Travis was actually someone that I could be interested in.  We worked together,
so that
pretty much made it out of the question for me
,
and as I told
Marissa
, I hardly knew him. 
In fact, he probably had tons of girls chasing after him
already
. 
A guy as good looking and easygoing as Travis?
  There was no way that he could
stay
single for long. 
Still, there was something about his eyes, his
smile, that
captured my attention. 
I thought over the mor
ning that we had spent together and
how easy he was to talk to. 
I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better, but I was pretty sure that h
e just considered me a friend.

Marissa
started telling me about her morning skiing with Mike and how they had already made plans to
do something
together tomorrow afternoon.  I was halfheartedly listening to her debate
whether they should see a movie or do something more active, like walking around DC to do a little sight-seeing
, because a
s
the afternoon wore on and
our conversation
turned
to
different
topics
, I noticed that I
still
couldn’t get Travis out of my mind.

The next morning
,
I climbed out of bed and immediately felt my muscles
ache
.  I’d figured that I’d be sore, and
the s
tiff
ness as I moved confirmed my suspicions
.  We’d gotten back late last night, pulling into
the
parking lot
at
Marissa
’s apartment around
10
:00
p.m.
  By the time I’d gotten back to my apartment, I’d taken a hot shower and immediately collapsed into bed, falling into a deep sleep.  I glanced over at my clock
as I stretched
and saw that it was already
9:00
a.m. 
I was
so
used to getting up early for work
that
it was unusual for me to sleep this late
, even on a weekend.
 
I pulled
on
a
warm
robe over my soft
flannel pajamas and
padded down the hall
way
to my kitchen.  I put on a pot of coffee and grabbed a bagel from the bag on my counter.  Neglecting the table in my dining room, I carried my bagel and mug of steaming coffee to the more comfortable couch in my living room.  I picked up the remote to turn on
Today Weekend
when t
he sound of the phone ringing startled me
.
  I reached over to the end table to pick it up.