Then came the moment of awkward silence. The element of dates I dread. To kiss or not to kiss, I hated that question.
Before I had a chance to wonder whether he would kiss me or not, he touched each side of my face and pulled me to him, pressing his lips against mine. They were soft and warm and wonderful. He pulled back once, and then kissed me again.
“Talk to you tomorrow, Abs.”
I waved, watching him walk down the steps to his car. “Bye.”
Once again, when I turned the knob, the door yanked away and I fell forward. Travis caught me, and I regained my footing.
“Would you stop that?” I said, closing the door behind me.
“Abs? What are you, a workout video?” he sneered.
“Pigeon?” I said with the same amount of disdain. “An annoying bird that craps all over the sidewalk?”
“You like Pigeon,” he said defensively. “It’s a dove, an attractive girl, a winning card in poker, take your pick. You’re my Pigeon.”
I grabbed his arm to remove my heels, and then walked to his room. As I changed into my pajamas, I tried my best to stay mad at him.
Travis sat on the bed and crossed his arms. “Did you have a good time?”
“I had,” sigh, “a fantastic time. A perfect time. He’s…” I couldn’t think of an adequate word to describe him, so I just shook my head.
“He kissed you?”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “He’s got really soft lips.”
Travis recoiled. “I don’t care what kind of lips he has.”
“Trust me, it’s important. I get so nervous with first kisses, too, but this one wasn’t so bad.”
“You get nervous about a kiss?” he asked, amused.
“Just first kisses. I loathe them.”
“I’d loathe them, too, if I had to kiss Parker Hayes.”
I giggled and left for the bathroom to scrub the makeup from my face. Travis followed, leaning against the door jamb. “So you’re going out again?”
“Yep. He’s calling me tomorrow.” I dried my face and scampered down the hall, hopping into the bed.
Travis stripped down to his boxers, and sat down with his back to me. A bit slumped over, he looked exhausted. The lean muscles of his back stretched as he did, and he glanced back at me for a moment. “If you had such a good time, why are you home so early?”
“He has a big test on Monday.”
Travis wrinkled his nose. “Who cares?”
“He’s trying to get into Harvard. He has to study.”
He huffed, crawling onto his stomach. I watched him shove his hands under his pillow, seeming irritated. “Yeah, that’s what he keeps telling everyone.”
“Don’t be an ass. He has priorities…I think it’s responsible.”
“Shouldn’t his girl top his priorities?”
“I’m not his girl. We’ve been on one date, Trav,” I scolded.
“So what did you guys do?” I shot him a dirty look and he laughed. “What? I’m curious!”
Seeing that he was sincere, I described everything, from the restaurant, to the food, to the sweet and funny things Parker said. I knew my mouth was frozen in a ridiculous grin, but I couldn’t stop smiling while describing my perfect evening.
Travis watched me with an amused smile while I blathered on, even asking questions. Although he seemed frustrated with the situation regarding Parker, I had the distinct feeling he enjoyed seeing me so happy.
Travis settled in on his side of the bed, and I yawned. We stared at each other for a moment before he sighed. “I’m glad you had a good time, Pidge. You deserve it.”
“Thanks,” I grinned. The ringtone of my cell phone reverberated from the night table, and I jerked up to look at the display.
“Hello?”
“It’s tomorrow,” Parker said.
I looked at the clock and laughed. It was twelve-oh-one. “It is.”
“So what about Monday night?” he asked.
I covered my mouth for a moment, and then took a deep breath. “Uh, yeah. Monday night is great.”
“Good. I’ll see you Monday,” he said. I could hear the smile in his voice.