First Sight (46 page)

He carefully cut a piece of chicken, speared it with his fork, and brought it to his mouth, taking a bite.

“Well?” I asked, looking at him expectantly.

“This is
really
good.”

“You sound surprised,” I said, laughing.

“Not surprised, just impressed.”  He grinned at me, and I took a sip of my wine.

“This wine is delicious.”

“The guy at the wine store helped me pick it out,” he said with a
sheepish look. 
“I hardly know a thing about wine.”

“Me either,” I said.  “I’ve thought about taking a wine tasting course sometime but never got around to it.”

“We should take one together,” he suggested.  “That would be fun.”

“Yeah
,
definitely,” I agreed.  “I have the information around here somewhere.
But really, how can you go wrong with wine tasting?”

“You can’t.”

I laughed and thought how easy things were with Travis.  We were lucky that it had been such an easy transition for us from coworkers to friends to
more
.  Maybe because we’d been interested in each other all along, always dancing around the fact that we were perhaps a little bit more than just friends, it didn’t feel strange to now be able to say that we were dating.  Even so, I was thrilled that things had worked out this way.
 
We continued to leisurely chat and eat dinner,
doing much more laughing together than actual eating
.  Travis finished his meal before me, and when I told him there was more in the kitchen, he stood up to help himself to seconds.

“I can get it for you,” I said, starting to rise.

“No, I got it,” he said easily, flashing me a smile as he walked away.  “Do you want anything?” he called from the kitchen.

“No
,
thanks
.
”
  I heard him replacing the lid o
f
the pan on the stove, and I smiled to myself at how Travis had already made himself at home here.  After we’d finished eating, Travis insisted on helping me clean up.  He loaded the plates into the dishwasher as I filled the pans in the sink to soak.

“Let’s go sit in the living room,” he said
after we were done
, gently taking my hand.  I dimmed the light over the dining table as we walked past it, and we settled down on the sofa, my hand still in his.  I kicked my sandals off and curled my legs beneath me, turning slightly so that I was facing Travis.  His thumb moved in small circles across my skin, and I felt a rush of tingles spread through me at his touch.

“I remember the first time I came over to your apartment,” Travis said after a moment, his deep brown eyes locking with mine.

“When you dropped me off after happy hour?”

He nodded.  “I so wanted to walk you to your door right then, kiss you goodnight….”

“And now here you are,” I said softly.

“Here I am,” he agreed.

“I wanted that, too,” I said, giving him a gentle smile.  “Although at the time I really thought you were just being a nice guy though, offering to drop us off.”

“Well,” he said, slowly lifting my hand up and softly brushing his lips against it, “I much prefer things how they are now.”  He let our hands fall back into my lap
and then
reached out and gently caressed my cheek.  His thumb brushed across my lips, and my breathing become shallow at his touch.  I was captured in his gaze as he leaned forward, and my heart fra
ntically pounded in my chest. 
My eyes closed a
s
I leaned toward him, and then
our lips met in a tender kiss
.

I reached up and cupped Travis’s face
in my hands, holding him to me, and
Travis eagerly respond
ed to my action, his warm mouth crushing against mine.
  His hands moved to my back and my neck, and he gently leaned me back, so that my head
was
resting on the arm of the sofa, his body hovering
over mine.
 
Travis shifted, and
I felt the weight of hi
m
on top of me as we
continued to kiss
.
My hands trailed up his shirt, feeling
the
hard muscles
o
f
his chest
beneath the thin material. 
He planted kisses down the side of my neck
and then moved his lips down far
ther, just along the edge of my low-cut top, until I was sure
that
he noticed my chest rapidly rising and falling.  His warm fingers grazed my bare legs, softly running up and down.  My body shivered at his touch, wanting more.  I gasped as his fingers slid just under the edge of my skirt so that they were barely grazing the skin on my thigh. 
He paused and pulled his face back a fe
w inches to look into my eyes.  There was a question in his.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered, leaning forward to meet his lips with mine.  He kissed me tenderly then
sat up, pulling me with him.

“Let’s go in the bedroom,” he whispered huskily,
suddenly standing and scooping me up into his arms.

“Okay,” I whispered back, my
arms snaking around his neck. 
“That way,” I
mumbled
between kisses as h
e carried me down the hallway, and
my mind briefly flashed back to last weekend, when he’d carried me into his own bedroom.  This time I didn’t let go of him as he placed me onto the bed
, and h
e
fell beside me, our bodies intertwined
as we lay
eagerly
kissing
one another in the darkness. 
My hands trailed over his chest
and strong shoulders
, amazed that
at last
he was
here beside me. 
His fingers slid beneath my top,
gently caressing my skin,
and
then
he
paused, bring
ing
one hand up to my face.
 
He
stroke
d
my cheek, his warm brown eyes
tenderly
gazing into mine.

“
Maddy
,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion, “I’m so in love with you.
”

My heart swelled as I looked into his eyes, and I swallowed, trying to keep happy tears away. 
“I love you, too, Travis.”

He leane
d forward
, kissing me again,
and
s
uddenly h
is
h
ands and lips were
everywhere
,
his mouth and fingers burning into my skin with their touch,
and
I
wasn’t aware of anything
but him,
here
in my
bed
room
,
alone
in the dark night.

The
next morning
,
I awoke to the sun streaming
in through
my
blinds
.  Travis lay sprawled out beside me, his long body filling up my bed.  His bare arms and torso peeked out from beneath the sheets, and I took in the peaceful look on his face, the way his dark hair was tousled on the pillow, and the sound of him
quietly
breathing beside me.  I smiled as I remembered
finally
falling asleep
i
n his arms
last night
.  I watched his chest rise and fall as he slept, and I decided to
sneak
into the kitchen
to
make some coffee
before he got up
.  Travis stirred as I sat up
in bed
though
, and I looked down to see him sleepily opening his eyes.

“Good morning,” he said huskily, his voice deep with sleep.

“Good morning,” I said softly, smiling at him.

“Where were you going?” he asked, confused.

“To make coffee,” I said, yawning.

“No, come here.”  He reached out and gently pulled me to him, and I was once again
snuggled up against him
, wrapped in his
strong
arms. 
I felt the warmth of his body next to mine, the firm muscles of his torso. 
“
Mmmm
,” he said dreamily, moving his head closer to me. 
“That’s better.” 
His lips softly brushed against mine, and I
nestle
d
even
closer to him.

“Just think,” he said, softly brushing the hair back from my face.  “
W
e can spend every weekend together like this
.”

“I know,” I said, smiling as I looked into his dark brown eyes. 
“
I can’t wait.”

“Me either,” he said,
giving me a sleepy smile
.

“
So, w
hat do you want for breakfast?”
I asked.

“Anything
sounds good
.”

“Hmmm…I could make pancakes.”

“
I like pancakes
.  I could take you out to breakfast though.”  He looked at me, his eyes soft, as he waited for my response.

“No, I’ll make
something
,” I replied.  “
G
oing out means we have to get ready first.”

“You do look pretty cute now,” Travis said with a grin, glancing at the black
camisole
and boy shorts that I had
on
.

“Come on,” I said, swatting him playfully.

“You do. 
Very sexy.”

I smiled, half embarrassed and half flattered. 
I gave Travis one last kiss before sitting up, disentangling myself from him.  He lay stretched out in his boxers, and as I kicked the sheets back when
climbing
out of bed
, I got a good view of his muscular arms and chest.

“Y
ou know,” I said as I stood up,
“You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Travis laughed and hopped out of bed, following me into the kitchen.  His arms caught me around the waist as I pulled the coffee out of the cupboard, and he kissed me softly on the cheek as he nuzzled against me.  “What can I do to help?”

“How are you at making coffee?” I teased, holding
up the bag of
coffee and scoop
as I turned to face him.

“Oh, I ma
ke an excellent cup of coffee,
”
he said, leaning down to give me a gentle kiss.  “I may even be available to make coffee for you
on
other mornings as well.”  His brown
eyes
gleamed as he gazed down me, and I grinned back at him.

“
Well how could I s
ay
no to an offer like that?”

I whipped up some pancake batter as Travis fiddled around with my coffee maker.  Soon he was setting
plates on
the table as I was pouring batter onto the griddle.  I caught myself watching him move around the dining room, admiring his tall, athletic body. 
After all the time we’d spent together the past few months, dancing around the fact that we were supposedly just friends,
we were finally
a couple
. 
We’d spent
an amazing night together
,
and he
’
d told me that he loved me.
  Life couldn’t get any better than this.

“What are
you
smiling at?” Travis asked
, a
smile playing on his lips
as he turned and saw me watching him.

I shook my head as my smile grew wider.  “Nothing, I’m just glad you’re here.”

He raised his eyebrows, like he didn’t believe me at all.  “You’re not a very good li
ar, you know that?” he teased.

I shrugged as he sauntered over.  “Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything bad.”

“Oh really
.
  Do I get any hints?”

“Nope.
  Now come on, breakfast’s ready.”

About the Author

Laura Donohue
is a graduate of George Mason University.  S
he spent ten years working as a technical writ
er
and editor
and
lives in the DC metro area with her
husband and daughter
.  This is her first novel.