First Sight (20 page)

“My boyfriend?
 
No, nothing like that.”

“Dating?”

“Nope.
  Why are you so interested?
”

“
Y
ou li
ke him,” Brian said knowingly.

I raised my eyebrows as I looked back at him.  “And what makes you think that?”

“I know you.”

“So you think I like him,
”
I said,
feeling
a little
exasperated.  I didn’t exactly relish the idea of talking about my nonexistent dating life with my older brother.
  Sure, he had a new girlfriend
that he seemed to enjoy talking about
, but that didn’t mean that he had to give me the third degree
about the guys in my life
.
  “We work together; it’s not like anything is going to happen.”

“He definitely cares about you,” Brian said simply.  “I could tell by the way he looked at you in the hospital.”
 
I
stared
back at him
feeling slightly dumbfounded
,
wondering
not only what exactly he had
noticed,
but also
if what he said could possibly be true.

“Kids!” my mom’s voice called out from the kitchen.  “Come in here so we can play a game of Scrabble.”

“Be right there
!
” I called
back
.

“Think about it
Maddy
; he wouldn’t have offered to stay if he didn’t care about
you
.”

I shrugged, not really sure what to say.  “He drove me all the way out there; he probably just wanted to make sure I was okay.  Anyway, w
e
should
get going,” I said, gesturing toward the kitchen. 
“Mom’s waiting for us.” 
I heard
her
dumping the
Scrabble
tiles out onto the table
and
asking my dad to get a pencil and pad of paper to keep score.  I
turned
,
walk
ing
toward the kitchen
,
without glancing back at my brother
.

“
I’m right you know,” he said, following behind me.

“Right about what?” my mom asked as we walked back into the kitchen.

“Oh, nothing,” I said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. 
“
Ready to start
the game
?
”

***

A couple of hours later
,
I was in my car once again, clutching my cell phone in one hand as I navigated through the streets
of Arlington
. 
“So you’re almost back?”
Emily
’s voice
asked
from the other end of the line.

“Yep,
I’m
just pulling into my apartment complex now.”
  I steere
d
around the
pizza delivery car
that was blocking the first row and pulled into a space.

“And what do you think?”

“
About tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know,” I said, turning off the
car
and pulling the key out of the ignition.  “I’m kind of worn out.”
  I
glanced
out the window
and
saw a couple strolling across
the parking lot
,
holding mitten-clad hands
.  They looked so cute
together
.
  My mind briefly flashed back to Travis walking with me through the cold
night air
into the hospital
earlier this week
.  He had taken my hand as I’d gotten out of the taxi at his apartment
, but it wasn’t like we’d strolled along together hand-in-hand.
  I wondered what it would be like
if we were that couple
, leisurely walking through the parking lot on a Saturday afternoon
, holding hands as we headed out together on a date.

“But it’s a movie!
” Emily said, interrupting my thoughts.
 
“
You can totally just sit back and relax.”

“I guess so,” I said,
suddenly not really wanting to stay home alone tonight after all
.
“What time was it again?”

“I’ll swing by your place at 7:30.  It starts at 8:15.”

“All right, I’ll see you then.”

***

Later that evening
,
Emily
was ringing the doorbell to my apartment.
  I’d changed into dark
skinny
jeans, flat knee-high boots, and a
long
cardigan.
 
I grabbed my black leather jacket and
wallet
as I went to answer the door.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said.  “I was
doing a little shopping
and
totally
lost track of the time.”

“No problem.  Should we head out?”

“Yeah, let’s go.
”

“Cute
jacket
,” I said, eyeing
the cream
peacoat
she was wearing over her maroon cords
as we walked down the hall of my apartment building.

“Thanks!  I just found this on sale last weekend,” she said, brushing the soft wool with her fingertips.

“I love
it.  Winter white is the best—it totally goes with everything.
”

“
I know!
 
I just hope it doesn’t get dirty too quickly.  But hey, then I just have an excuse to buy a new coat.”

I laughed and pushed the down button for the elevator.

“
So how’s your mom doing?”
Emily
asked as we stepped inside.

She pushed the ground level button, and I was relieved that there was no one else in the elevator to overhear our conversation. 
“Okay, I guess.  I mean, she seems
a little tired, but I’m pretty sure
that’s
normal
after everything she’s been through
.  I’m just glad she’s out of the hospital.”

“Yeah, me too,”
Emily
said, nodding.  “
That was so scary. 
How are you holding up?  You look a little tired
yourself
.”

“I am; this was just such a stressful week. 
It was really good to see her this morning—at home, out of a hospital bed.  I just feel totally drained though. 
I
took a nap
this afternoon
after I got back from my parents’ place
. 
But
it’ll be good
for me
to get out tonight.”

“Definitely.
  And hey, a movie is totally low
-
key.”

“
Just what I need right now
,” I said with a laugh.

“Want to stop and get cappuccinos on the way?
” she asked, glancing at her watch.
 
“
We
should
have time.”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

We grabbed some
to-go coffees
at the Starbucks on my block and
then headed
to the movie theater a few streets over.
  There was
already
a line for tickets, so we
made our way to the back, ending up behind a group of loud teenage girls.

“Oh, I love him!” one of them screeched, jumping up and down excitedly.

Emily turned to me and rolled her eyes. 
“Were we ever that obnoxious?”

“Probably,” I said with a laugh, taking a sip of my
coffee
.

“
Well, anyway, this
movie’s been getting really good reviews,”
Emily
said.

“I know
, I’ve
been wanting
to see it.
  Thanks for dragging me out with you.
”

“
Dragging you,” she joking
ly
scoffed at me.  “What’s the name of the new actor in it again?”

“I
think it’s
—
h
ey
, i
s that Travis?” I
interjected
, spotting a tall guy in an evergreen
hoodie
and dark jeans walk
ing
our way.

Emily
looked in the direction of my gaze.  “Travis?  I’ve never met him, remember?  But if you’re talking about the tall guy in the
hoodie
—he is
absolutely
gorgeous!”

“
S
h
hh
,” I said, waving my hand to shush her.

“Oh
,
he can’
t hear us.  Look how far away he is
.
  Besides, those girls are drowning out what everyone else is saying.
”

“
Maddy
!” Travis called out in his deep voice, catching my eye
as he got closer
.
  He
weaved his way
through the crowd and stopped in front of us, standing just a little closer to me than someone who was just a coworker
might
. 
“How are you?” he asked in his deep voice as he gazed down at me.

“Goo
d,” I said, actually meaning it as I looked up into his dark brown eyes.
  “I saw my mom this morning.”

“How is she?”

“A lot better.
  I mean, she’s out of the hospital, which is great.”

“I’m glad,” he said sincerely,
holding my gaze a moment too long before glancing over to
Emily
.

“Uh, this is my friend
Emily
,” I said, gesturing over to her. “I don’t think you guys have met yet.”

“Hi,” she said brightly, holding out her hand.  “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh really,” Travis said with an easy laugh
as he shook
her hand.  “I’m Travis.”

“Well
,
you know
Maddy
and
Marissa
.  Those girls love to talk,” she teased.

“
Marissa
I could totally believe. 
Maddy
,
not so much,” he said easily with a grin.

“More like
Marissa
and
Emily
love to talk,” I
corrected her
.

“But like you
just
said, I
haven’t met Travis before
.  Why would I talk about him?”
Emily
asked innocently.

“So what are you here to see?”  I asked
Travis
, changing the subject.

“Oh, I’m actually meeting a buddy of mine for a beer.  We’re
gonna
see if we can catch the
Caps
g
ame on TV
at
a
bar
.”

“So what are doing here at the movies then?”
Emily
asked.

“I was across the street,” he said turning and gesturing to the bar on the corner.  “I thought I saw
Maddy
,
so I came over.”

“
He likes you,
”
Emily
mouthed to me, and I shot her a look to be quiet.

“Well
,
I’m glad you came over to say hi
,” I said with a smile.

“We better get our tickets,”
Emily
said, eyeing her watch.

I
looked around and
realized that the crowd of people waiting in line had
dwindled
and
most people had
gone into the theater already. 
“Yeah, we better go
if we want to get decent seats. 
It was good to see you
,
”
I said, looking up at Travis.