“Farmer’s market.”
“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, how did that doctor appointment of your mom’s go last week?”
“Oh, it was fine,” I answered, surprised that he had 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 you 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.
“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.
Slowly he leaned closer, his brown eyes warm, and when his 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 word, 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 said, 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. After 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 chewing 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 happy 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 just 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, carefully 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 inches 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 the 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 rising and falling against my back. I was so comfortable in his embrace; it felt like we were meant to be together all along.
“Mmmm…I like holding you in my arms,” he said, 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.
Chapter 16
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. His skin glistened slightly with droplets of water and his jeans hung 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 clean 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.
“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 great.” 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. Yoga 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 table 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, pulled 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 breakfasts 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 here—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: get this girl at the office to notice me, teach her how to ski, impress her with my wit an
d 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 neither 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 last 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 probably still thinks that you hate me.”
Travis frowned. “I never hated you.”
“I know,” I said, shaking my head. “That 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.”
First Sight Page 18