First Sight

by Donohue, Laura

  I nodded thoughtfully, listening to his explanation. It was hard to imagine just picking up and moving to a new city. I’d grown up in this area, and all of my friends and family were here. I was happy in my job, so that wasn’t a reason for me to leave either. Travis certainly was different than the other guys that I’d dated. He always seemed so sure of himself, so confident in his actions. I decided that he must be older than me—no guys my age were this mature about everything.

  We chatted easily throughout dinner and after we’d finished eating, walked outside into the night. Travis held the door open for me, and I smiled up at him as I went by. It had started to snow again, and tiny flakes were falling softly down, dancing in the light from the lampposts. As they swirled around in the air, they were landing on both of us. “Wow, it got cold,” Travis said, the fog from his breath filling the air between us. He zipped up his jacket as he stood facing me.

  “I know,” I said, brushing a few snowflakes out of my hair. I noticed that he watched me as I did so.

  “Should we head for the metro?” Travis asked.

  “Yeah, definitely,” I said. “It’s freezing out here.”

  “I don’t know this part of DC, so you lead the way.”

  “There’s a station right around the corner.” I started walking down the block with Travis at my side.

  “What line are you?” he asked.

  “Orange line. How about you?”

  “Same thing.” Travis silently walked along beside me, although I felt content next to him. It was a comfortable silence. He slowed his long stride to keep pace with mine, and it actually took me a few minutes to notice that neither of us had said anything in a while. “Are you okay to get home?” Travis suddenly asked in his deep voice. “I can drive you back to your apartment after we get to my metro stop if you’d like.”

  I looked up at him, surprised. He was gazing down at me, his brown eyes intense, but I couldn’t read the expression on his face. Still, as I watched him, I felt a tiny surge of pleasure at his concern, at the idea of Travis driving me home. “Oh, uh, yeah; I’ll be fine,” I stammered.

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

  “Really, I’ll be fine. It’s not late. Thanks for the offer though.” I smiled up at him, telling myself that he was just being polite. He probably would’ve offered anyone a ride if he thought they needed one.

  We arrived at the metro station and rode the escalator down beneath the city streets. A train had just pulled into the station, and we strode right on. I selected a seat next to the window, and Travis sat down beside me. The train was not very full, and he stretched his long legs out in the aisle. As we pulled away from the platform, the walls were soon whizzing by us, and then we were in the dark tunnel. A young couple was sitting near us, and I wondered if they thought that we were a couple, too. The guy had his arm casually draped around his girlfriend’s shoulders, and he was whispering in her ear. Although Travis and I were seated side by side, I was quite aware that no parts of our bodies were touching.

  The conductor announced the next stop, which came out sounding completely garbled over the intercom. “This is me,” Travis said, glancing over.

  “Okay. So I guess I’ll see you Monday?” I asked. We’d had such a fun afternoon and dinner together, I was kind of sad that he was leaving. Maybe I should have taken him up on the offer for a ride. Did he want to spend more time with me, too? I could have always invited him up to my apartment for a drink after he’d driven me home. There was no time to analyze the situation now, though, because the train was coming to a stop.

  “Yep,” Travis replied with a smile. “I’ll see you on Monday. Goodnight, Maddy.” He slowly stood up, and I watched as he walked toward the doors. His broad shoulders filled out his black leather jacket, and he had an easy saunter to his step. He pulled his black wool cap back over his head, covering his dark brown hair. As he turned to leave, he looked back at me. My breath caught as my eyes met his. Neither of us said anything, but as his dark eyes bore into mine, I knew in that moment that I was starting to fall for him.

  Chapter 6

  After a lazy morning spent reading the Sunday paper and drinking coffee in my pajamas, I couldn’t put off the chores that needed to get done any longer. I threw some laundry in my washing machine and then headed out to do my grocery shopping. The cold air blasted against my face as I walked outside, but at least it had stopped snowing. I drove to the store, trying to decide what to make for dinner that night. As I walked in the door, a cute guy in gym clothes smiled at me. I gave him a brief smile back, but kept walking, not feeling like getting stuck in a conversation with a complete stranger.

  I decided to make fajitas for dinner, and I wandered around the produce section, picking out green and red peppers. I walked along the outer aisles of the store, grabbing a container of low-fat sour cream, package of tortillas, and finally a steak. A couple near me was doing their shopping, and I wondered what it would be like to have someone to eat dinner with every night. My ex and I had spent a lot of evenings together, even going grocery shopping to pick out the ingredients for that night’s meal. But since we hadn’t lived together, there were certainly plenty of times that I’d eaten dinner alone. It must be nice to live with someone else—to have someone to make dinner with each evening, to spend each night with. I sighed, realizing that it would be a while before I was in that stage of a relationship with anyone again. Not only was I currently without a boyfriend, I wasn’t even dating anyone now. My cell rang, and I pulled it out of my purse to see Marissa’s number on the screen.

  “Hey Marissa,” I said into my phone. “What are you up to?”

  “Ugh, I just woke up,” Marissa moaned.

  She sounded sleepy, so I didn’t doubt it. I glanced down at my watch. “It’s almost 1:00!” I said, laughing.

  “I know; I stayed out way too late. We went out dancing. I tried calling you yesterday afternoon to see if you wanted to come, but you weren’t answering your cell phone.”

  “Oh, yeah, I left it at home by mistake,” I said distractedly. I pushed my cart along, grabbing some skim milk from the shelf. I decided that I wanted cheese on my fajitas, so I picked out a pack of shredded cheddar while I was still in the dairy section.

  “What are you doing?” Marissa asked.

  “Grocery shopping; good times,” I joked.

  “I need to do that, too. That was fun hanging out Friday night. What’d you end up doing yesterday?”

  “I went into DC because I really wanted to see this new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art—”

  “Oh that’s right,” Marissa said, interrupting me. “I remember you mentioned that the other night. How was it?”

  “Good. I ran into Travis, actually.”

  “Travis? Really?”

  “Yeah, I was walking around the sculpture garden by the National Gallery, and he saw me. We ended up walking around the museum all day together. Then we grabbed dinner at that tapas place we like.”

  “You had dinner together?” Marissa asked breathlessly. “Sweet. He is so hot.”

  I laughed as I walked through the aisles, and a few people turned to look at me. Maybe I was talking too loudly. “Yes,” I said in a low voice. “He certainly is.”

  Marissa laughed, too. “Hmmm, sounds like you’re finally coming to your senses. Well, I was actually calling to see if you wanted to get brunch, but it sounds like you’ve probably eaten already.”

  “Yeah, I ate hours ago,” I said, smiling to myself, still lost in thought about my day yesterday.

  “All right, I’ll let you finish your shopping. Tell me if you have any more hot dates with Travis.”

  “It wasn’t a date!” I protested.

  “Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

  “Okay, bye.”

  I finished my shopping and after loading the bags into my car, headed back to my apartment. The parking lot was half empty when I returned to my building. I waved to my next-door neighbor Matt as I pulled i
nto my parking space. He was pulling out—probably heading to a bar to watch some hockey. Too bad Emily wasn’t with me today—she’d be sorry that she missed seeing Matt alone. Then again, maybe he was headed out to see his girlfriend.

  I opened the trunk and gathered up my things. As I carried my groceries inside, I realized that I was happy it was already Sunday afternoon. Although I hated to admit it, I was actually looking forward to the end of the weekend. Monday meant that I would be at work, and work meant that I would get to see Travis. My phone was ringing when I walked in the door, and I picked it up, dropping my grocery bags on the counter.

  “Hi, Mom,” I said, glancing down at the caller ID screen.

  “Hi Sweetie, I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight.”

  “Oh—I actually just picked up some food from the grocery store for dinner. Maybe next weekend?”

  “Sure, that sounds good. Your brother’s coming over, so I just wanted to check.”

  “Okay, say hi to him and Dad for me. I’d love to chat, but I need to put my groceries away.”

  “All right, bye Sweetheart.”

  “Bye.” I clicked off my phone and turned my attention back to the kitchen, starting to unload the groceries. My brother, Brian, was a couple of years older than me and lived in Baltimore, MD. I wondered why he would randomly stop by my parents’ house for dinner, which was a couple of hours from where he lived, and then I decided that he’d probably made plans with them earlier in the week, and my mom had simply forgotten to mention it to me. Oh well, I thought. I’d see them all again soon enough.

  ***

  “Good morning!” Travis called out the next morning, smiling at me as I walked into the lobby of our office building. He had just come from the elevators and seemed to be heading out.

  “Hey,” I said, giving him a big smile back. Luckily I was holding my coffee cup, lunch, and purse, because at that moment I wanted nothing more than to run over and throw my arms around him in a big hug. What a strange urge, I thought. It was just a coincidence that I ran into him over the weekend—it wasn’t like he’d taken me out on a date or something. But I couldn’t deny that I was more than a little happy to see him.

  As he walked closer, I admired his dark navy suit and noticed that his hair still looked slightly damp. “You got all that?” Travis asked politely, nodding toward my things. As he leaned closer, I also noticed that he smelled incredible—a soapy scent mixed in with his aftershave.

  “Yeah, I got it,” I answered, hitching my purse onto my shoulder to free one hand. “So where are you off to this morning?”

  “It looks like I’m following in your footsteps,” he replied, gesturing to my cup of coffee.

  “Ah,” I said, nodding. “You can’t start Monday morning off without a little caffeine fix.”

  “I completely agree,” Travis said with a laugh. “I’ve got a meeting with HR later on though—thirty-day review or something like that.”

  “Oh, right. Think they’ll let you stay?” I joked.

  “I sure hope so. I just extended the lease on my apartment.”

  “Maddy, Travis!” Marissa called out from behind us.

  I turned to see her coming into the building in a navy peacoat, her blonde hair swinging behind her in a ponytail. Somehow she managed to make even a ponytail look chic—it must’ve had something to do with the way her hair was smoothed back. I doubted I could wear a ponytail to the office and somehow make it look professional. “God, I totally overslept!” she exclaimed as she came closer.

  I glanced down at my watch. “You made it here on time.”

  “Barely!”

  “Big night out?” Travis asked.

  “Right,” Marissa said. “I was actually up late on the phone with my sister—that girl can talk.”

  I laughed, remembering the one time I’d met Marissa’s sister. She was exactly like Marissa—always in a good mood, up for an adventure, and full of nonstop chatter. I wondered how the two of them could actually carry on a conversation together. They were probably constantly interrupting one another.

  “Come on, let’s get upstairs,” Marissa said, grabbing my arm.

  “In a hurry?” Travis asked, smiling. He looked over at me, and I wondered if he also found it funny that Marissa was in such a rush to get to the office this morning.

  “I want to check my email.”

  Travis and I both looked at her, confused. “Your email?” I asked.

  Marissa looked pointedly at me. “Gym Guy is supposed to email me back this morning. I only gave him my office email address.”

  “Oh, well you better not keep him waiting,” Travis joked. “I’ll let you ladies be on your way. I’m going to grab some coffee.”

  We said goodbye and headed over to the elevator bank. Marissa and I walked into an empty car, and as soon as the elevator doors closed, Marissa squealed in excitement. “Now, I want you to tell me all about your date with Travis.”

  ***

  We sat around the conference room at our weekly meeting later that morning, wondering what our boss Jennifer’s big announcement was. Jennifer was single, in her late-thirties, and actually quite easy to work for. Organized and fair about everything, I enjoyed working in her group. She was sitting at the head of the table, wearing a dark grey suit and black cat-eye glasses that were a stark contrast against her fair skin and baby-fine, light brown hair. She flipped through her papers as she organized the materials for our meeting. Elizabeth sat to her right, wearing a floral dress and oversized cardigan. It was slightly frumpy, but then again, that was her usual style. I think she preferred comfort above all else. Travis was next to her, looking unbelievably handsome. He’d taken off his suit jacket and was wearing a maroon button-down shirt that looked great on him. I tried not to stare, but it was awkward since he was directly across from me. Marissa was sitting beside me, flipping through her yellow legal pad. We’d already been there when Travis and Elizabeth had walked in a few minutes ago, and Travis had selected the seat right across mine.

  “Hey,” he said as he pulled out his chair. His deep voice sounded slightly gruff, and I wondered if he was out of breath from rushing around all morning.

  “Hi,” I replied with a smile. As I watched him, I noticed that he held my gaze as he sat down. He set down his notes and cup of coffee, and the warm aroma drifted across the table.

  “So, how was everyone’s weekend?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Too quick, as always,” Marissa answered. “I went out dancing Saturday night, which was awesome. I tried to call Maddy to invite her, but she was busy showing Travis around DC.”

  “Oh, that’s great,” Elizabeth said, seeming slightly confused by this piece of information.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Travis had a slightly amused expression on his face. His mouth was twisted slightly, like he was trying to hold back a smile. Did he think that I’d run to Marissa this morning, telling her that Travis and I spent the afternoon together on Saturday? I flushed, feeling slightly embarrassed at the thought. Maybe he just found it funny that Marissa was the one telling everyone how Travis and I had spent our weekend. He spoke before I could gather my thoughts enough to respond.

  “Yeah, I ran into Maddy on Saturday afternoon,” he said easily. “I was wandering around the sculpture garden at the National Gallery when I saw her.” He started telling Elizabeth and Marissa about the exhibits that we saw when Jennifer interrupted us.

  “All right,” Jennifer said, bringing our conversation to a close. “Let’s get started. The website is doing great. The restaurant section is immensely popular, and we’ve had a continued increase in traffic overall, which is exactly what we want.” She paused, looking around at us to make sure that she had our attention. “But the big news is that instead of producing our magazine twice a year, we’re now going to make it a quarterly publication. This will help to really get our presence known in the DC area. We’d like to become more competitive with the monthly m
agazines, and publishing twice a year just doesn’t allow us to do so. With that being said, management wants the first quarterly magazine to be published in April.”

  “But that’s two months earlier than we’d planned,” Marissa said, looking surprised.

  “I know,” Jennifer said, looking serious. “I’m going to need all four of you working on this. I know Elizabeth usually focuses on the Web side of things, while Maddy and Marissa do the print work, but we don’t have enough time this go around. We can hire extra freelancers if needed to write some additional reviews to meet the new deadline, but the responsibility of editing and doing the layout falls on us.”

  We all nodded and took notes as she continued to explain the details of the changes. I hastily scribbled down a few of her ideas, but I found my mind wandering as I imagined the new things that we could now incorporate into the magazine. Moving to a quarterly publication would allow us to more prominently feature seasonal activities, such as the Cherry Blossom Festival in the spring, outdoor concerts and movies on the Mall in the summer, and the numerous fall festivals that took place in September and October. I was looking forward to hopefully incorporating these new activities and to the challenge of producing a quarterly magazine. Although I enjoyed working with Marissa on our twice-yearly publication, it would be fun to work on something different. We’d be able to see the results of our work much sooner since this was a quick turn-around project. And, I had to admit to myself, I was very much looking forward to the idea of working closely with Travis.

  “Maddy will be the team lead,” Jennifer said. “I’ve divided up the initial workload, so that you’ll each know where your focus and responsibility lies. After that, if you have any questions about how to proceed, you can go to her. And on top of all this, I do have some other news. The company’s decided to have an off-site next week—a teambuilding type of thing. The four of you haven’t all worked on a project together since Travis joined us, so this will be a good opportunity to work together and get to know other people in the company better as well.”