Chapter 13

It was her third day at the new job and Ivy sat at her desk, staring at the computer screen. She felt like her mind had gone blank, even though she was trying her best to prove herself to her new employers. She had been assigned with the task of designing a logo for a new client. It would have to pass through three levels of approval before being presented to the clients. She had three days to design it and she was already on the second day and running out of fresh ideas.

Wasn’t this exactly what she wanted to do? Ivy couldn’t help but wonder if she had made the wrong decision. If perhaps this wasn’t her calling after all!

She swiveled in her chair, tinkered with the cursor again and deleted the design she had been working on for the past two hours. She needed the idea to be perfect, to meet all standards and pass through all the levels of approval. She knew she had it in her somewhere, but it was refusing to come out. Had she lost her drive? Had she run out of her talent in art? Or was it entirely to do with Travis?

It had been over a week since she last saw him, leaving the room without turning to look at her. She couldn’t get those images out of her mind. The smell, the sensations, the sounds of his heavy breathing as he drove into her. But most of all, it was that kiss on her forehead when they lay in each other’s arms that had stayed with her. She had seen a different side to Travis that she didn’t even know existed. Did anyone know it existed? She had peeked into the person he might have been twenty years ago before he lost the woman he had chosen to spend the rest of his life with.

His words kept ringing in her ears, she reminded him of Mia. Was that such a bad thing? Ivy shook her head, trying to steer her focus back to the computer screen again. He was gone now, there was no point thinking about him any longer. The next hour went by in the same fashion. She had run out of ideas and her mind was filled with thoughts of Travis. She was worried that she would never get over him.

At six, when everyone around her had started to make their way out of the office; Ivy got up from her chair and picked up her trench coat. She took the elevator down, feeling dejected and like a failure and when the doors pinged open, she found Travis on the other side.

Ivy’s lips parted and her heart stopped for a few seconds.

“Coffee?” he said, holding a styrofoam cup out towards her, and Ivy couldn’t respond. The elevator doors were closing, and Travis held out a hand, wedging himself in between so that the doors drew apart again.

Ivy stepped out after him and they were now standing in the middle of the lobby. Several of her colleagues, the receptionist and even one of her Bosses were in the lobby, looking at them now. Everyone in the building knew who Travis was and Ivy’s cheeks flushed at the thought of being the center of attention.

“I brought you coffee,” Travis said and her gaze fell to the cup in his hands. Just hearing his voice again brought back memories of their afternoon together in his room. She’d never thought she would see him again in person. When she didn’t reply, Travis cleared his throat. When their eyes met, she realized that he looked different somehow; almost nervous.

“I didn’t know how you take your coffee, so I just went with a regular cappuccino,” he said and gently, Ivy pried the cup out of his hands.

“Two sugars,” he added and she finally managed to smile.

“Thank you,” she said and Travis thrust his hands into his pockets.

“Are you here for a meeting?” she asked, cradling the cup in her hands and trying to hold his gaze. Travis grinned and shook his head.

“No, I came here to bring you coffee.”

“How did you know I got the job?”

“How did I know your home address?”

Ivy pursed her lips together and realized that her throat was dry again.

“You’ve brought me coffee to my office, so I figured that you wouldn’t mind if I returned the favor,” he said and Ivy grew more self-conscious of the people who were looking at them. Nobody was outrightly staring, but she could sense them being watched from the corners of eyes.

“No, I don’t mind,” she said and then took a sip of the coffee out of politeness. She wanted to ask him how he was. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, but the words were stuck in her throat. She couldn’t formulate them or think straight.

“Are you wondering what I’m doing here?” he asked, and she looked up at him again. Travis’ buzzcut looked thicker today, and there was a stubble on his face…contributing factors to why he looked different. His clothes were creased as well, and his tie looked lopsided. Almost like he had dressed in a hurry, or not bothered with his usual routine. Ivy’s brows crossed as she thought about what had happened to make him look different.

“I’ll tell you anyway,” he said and she realized that she hadn’t replied to his question yet.

“I’m here because I wanted to see you again, and I’ve been thinking about you constantly since that day,” he said and Ivy gripped the coffee cup even tighter. She wished he would just stop. He was only making it worse for her. Whatever effort she was able to put into getting over him, was now all crashing down in ruins. He must have seen the strain in her eyes because he looked away from her and clenched his jaw.

“You might not want to hear this, and I’m sorry if I’m upsetting you but I regret just leaving you alone in my room that day,” he said and Ivy parted her lips to speak. He was watching her every move, drinking her in.

“It’s okay, Travis, you’re not upsetting me. It’s good to see you,” she said, surprised that she was able to keep herself this calm when her heart was hammering away inside her.

“Ivy…” he said and stepped towards her abruptly. She nearly choked when he did that and she felt the goosebumps on her arms again. He had an immediate physical effect on her that she couldn’t deny. She couldn’t think of one plausible reason why he would be here, why he would come all this way to see her…except for…sex? When the realization struck her, Ivy felt the knots in her belly tighten again. Of course, that was it. That was what it was. And she couldn’t help but acknowledge that she wanted it too. But was that all she wanted?

“Have dinner with me,” he said, not in a commanding voice anymore. She peered into his eyes, the blood rushing to her brain. She was aware of how red her cheeks must have become and she nodded her head. All she had thought about was him. She wasn’t going to throw away an opportunity like this.

“Yes, I will. At your house?” she asked, feeling her hands begin to tremble again.

“No, I know a quiet little Italian place we can go to,” he said and she crossed her brows.

“You look surprised,” he said and she didn’t reply. She didn’t think Travis would actually be interested in food, that he would bother taking her out. She thought that he was pleased to have found a girl he could use to his pleasure in his bedroom.

I’m just…” she began to say.

“You think this is just about sex for me?” he asked and stepped closer to her again. It didn’t seem to bother Travis that there were people watching and that they were in the middle of the lobby of her office building now. As far as he was concerned, she thought, they could have been alone in his house again.

“It isn’t Ivy, I want us to get to know each other. I want us to date. The gifts, the flowers, the long phone calls…I want all that again. And I’m surprised that I do!” he said and a laugh escaped his lips. Ivy couldn’t suppress the smile that had erupted on her face.

“Travis…” she said his name, forgetting where they were and he placed his hands on her waist and drew her into his arms. She didn’t think this was possible, that he would be capable of something like that.

“It’s crazy, I know, but I want us to move on like I said. I want to move on from old memories and move on with you,” he said and brought his face closer to hers. She could feel his breath again, taste him again if she wanted to. Their lips grazed and he was whispering into her ears.

“I don’t want to miss this second chance, Ivy and I don’t want to waste time,” he said and Ivy was laughing. It was an uncontrollable throaty laugh and she threw her head back and pressed her eyes close. Travis had his arms wound tight around her waist, pressing her close to him, watching her as she laughed. She was completely oblivious to who was watching them, what they were thinking and what the consequences of their actions in public were going to be. She had never felt this joyous in her life before.

“Let’s get out of here, we have so much catching up to do,” he said and she leveled her face to his again. She was the one who pressed her lips to his this time, sinking into his arms as she slid her tongue over his lips. He kissed her back, gently this time, tasting her with soft prods of his tongue. Their limbs were entwined and their bodies were fused together. Ivy was certain that nothing could separate them from this hold they had on each other.

When she did pull away, she was conscious of eyes on them but Travis was beaming.

“Let’s go. I’ll call and make reservations on the way,” he said and grabbed her hand.

“No, I have to do something first,” she said and tugged him in the direction of the elevator.

“What? Where are we going?” she heard him say, as he allowed himself to be led in. Ivy was laughing again, her cheeks flushed with happiness as she pressed the button for her office floor.

She kissed him again, wildly and still laughing. When he pulled away, Ivy bit down on her lip.

“What is it? What is so important?” he asked as the doors pinged open for them.

“I have an idea for the design I’ve been working on and I want to draw it before we leave,” she said, breaking away from his clasp and running towards her desk. The floor was nearly empty, and whoever was still there, leaned over their chairs to see what the commotion was about.

“You have a design idea? Now?” she heard Travis say as she fumbled with the keyboard to get the computer up and running again. She turned to throw him a happy smiling look. Travis was standing a few feet away, staring right at her butt and now lifted his gaze to her face again. His face was flushed too, his blue eyes glittering and as blue as the sea. He smiled back at her.

“Yeah, it’s back,” she said, turning to the screen again.

“What’s back?” she heard him ask.

“My inspiration. My ideas. They’re back. You did it,” she said, smiling.

***

THE END

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