He pressed his lips together. “I’d like to take you out again in a couple of weeks, after your month is up with Travis. Then we can concentrate on getting to know each other without the distraction.”
“Fair enough.”
He leaned down and closed his eyes, pressing his lips against mine. “I’ll call you soon.”
I waved goodbye, and then returned to the cafeteria, passing Travis.
He grabbed me, pulling me onto his lap. “Breakin’ up is hard to do?”
“He wants to try again when I’m back at Morgan.”
“Shit, I’m going to have to think of another bet,” he said, pulling my plate in front of me.
· · ·
The next two weeks flew by. Other than class, I spent every waking moment with Travis, and most of that time we spent alone. He took me to dinner, for drinks and dancing at the Red, bowling; and he was called out to two fights. When we weren’t laughing ourselves silly, we were play-wrestling, or snuggling on the couch with Toto, watching a movie. He made a point to ignore every girl that batted an eyelash at him, and everyone talked about the new Travis.
My last night in the apartment, America and Shepley were inexplicably absent, and Travis labored over a special Last Night dinner. He bought wine, set out napkins, and even brought home new silverware for the occasion. He sat our plates on the breakfast bar and pulled his stool to the other side to sit across from me. For the first time, I got the distinct feeling we were on a date.
“This is really good, Trav. You’ve been holding out on me,” I said as I chewed the Cajun chicken pasta he had prepared.
He forced a smile, and I could see he was working hard to keep the conversation light. “If I told you before, you would have expected it every night.” His smile faded, and his eyes fell to the table.
I rolled my food around on my plate. “I’m going to miss you, too, Trav.”
“You’re still gonna come over, right?”
“You know I will. And you’ll be at Morgan’s, helping me study just like you did before.”
“But it won’t be the same,” he sighed. “You’ll be dating Parker, we’re going to get busy … go in different directions.”
“It’s not going to change that much.”
He managed a single laugh. “Who would have thought from the first time we met that we’d be sitting here? You couldn’t have told me three months ago that I’d be this miserable over saying goodbye to a girl.”
My stomach sank. “I don’t want you to be miserable.”
“Then don’t go,” he said. His expression was so desperate that the guilt formed a lump in my throat.
“I can’t move in here, Travis. That’s crazy.”
“Says who? I just had the best two weeks of my life.”
“Me, too.”
“Then why do I feel like I’m never gonna see you again?”
I didn’t have a reply. His jaws tensed, but he wasn’t angry. The urge to go to him grew insistent, so I stood up and walked around the bar, sitting on his lap. He didn’t look at me, so I hugged his neck, pressing my cheek against his.
“You’re going to realize what a pain in the ass I was, and then you’ll forget all about missing me,” I said into his ear.
He puffed a breath of air as he rubbed my back. “Promise?”
I leaned back and looked into his eyes, touching each side of his face with my hands. I caressed his jaw with my thumb; his expression was heartbreaking. I closed my eyes and leaned down to kiss the corner of his mouth, but he turned so that I caught more of his lips than I’d intended.
Even though the kiss surprised me, I didn’t pull back right away.
Travis kept his lips on mine, but he didn’t take it any further.