Authors: Courtney Brewer
“Dinner was great; thank you Mrs. Downing.”
“Please, call me Jessica. We’re going to be family.” Abigail smiled. “I really wish you both would consider and stay here. We have plenty of room.”
“We both appreciate it.” Abigail caught
Travis watching her. “We don’t want to impose. We would prefer staying at the hotel, but thanks for the invitation.”
“Anytime dear; if you change your mind you know that the invitation is open.”
“Thank you!”
She then turned to Todd. “Your soon to be in-laws are great. Mom and dad seem to like them.”
“That makes things easier. Before you go, can we talk?” He turned to Travis. “Do you mind?”
“No, not at all; I’ll wait in the car.”
Abigail watched him leave and then glanced at Todd. “So, what’s going on?”
“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Follow me.” She headed around the side of the house until they reached the backyard.
“What are we doing?”
“I don’t want anyone to hear us talk.”
She looked around the backyard and was even more impressed with the Downing home. “They have a beautiful place.”
“They do, but I’m not interested in talking about their lifestyle. I am interested in talking about you.”
“I don’t have anything to say.”
“Hm…I don’t believe that. I know that you and Travis have a love/hate relationship; you love to hate him, but tonight something seems off. Did you have another fight on your trip up here?”
“What all did
Travis tell you?”
“Nothing; he said that he hit a patch of ice and ended up stuck in a snow bank. Luckily you found an abandoned shack that you could stay in.”
She was absorbed in the fact that he didn’t blame everything on her. “You know how things are. We can’t be in a place for too long without wanting to kill each other.”
“I realize that, but is that really it?”
“It’s complicated, but yeah; I guess.”
He laughed. “That’s convincing.”
“Well, if you don’t believe me you must have a theory. What do you think is wrong?”
“I wish I knew, but if I didn’t know better I would say something has changed between you two.”
“Changed? You just got done saying you thought we had another fight and now you think that we’re…what?”
“I know it’s silly, but you guys used to look at each other and people could see the hostility brewing. Today when we were eating I noticed a spark. It was tense, but something seemed to be different in your eyes. I didn’
t see two people that were angry or mad. I saw two people that looked…confused. Like there was more to the story; you didn’t appear to hold hostility towards each other. It was more like disappointment and sadness. At times it looked like more of sexual tension between the both of you.” He shook his head. “I know that it’s crazy; maybe this whole wedding has gotten me on edge.”
“Yeah, maybe;” she looked around the backyard; hoping that he would not sense how close he was.
“Good, because you and Travis would not be a good mix;” she turned back to him and she knew she should just drop it, but she couldn’t.
“Why do you say that?”
He frowned and just shook his head. “You deserve someone that is willing to settle down and start a family. Travis would never be that guy.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Abby; what does it matter? You just said that’s not what’s going on.”
She nodded. “I know, but I’m curious since you have said he’s a great guy. I just wondered why all of a sudden you are saying that I shouldn’t find someone like him.”
“He’s a great guy if you need a friend. By the look on your face I am really starting to question as to if something is going on. Nothing happened; did it?”
She thought about telling him, but she instantly knew that wasn’t the brightest idea. “No; it’s not like that. Maybe someday we’ll be friends, but that’s it.”
“Good!”
“I better go, but don’t mention anything we talked about to
Travis; I’m still trying to break down the barriers that we have between us. Tell mom and dad that I said goodnight.”
“I will; are you coming to the ice rink tomorrow?”
“I think so; we’ll see you tomorrow.” She hurried away; she didn’t want him to see how much the conversation affected her. She knew that if Travis ever found out how Todd really felt she could kiss the chance of ever changing his mind. It was her life and if she wanted to hook up with him, she was going to.
***
Travis
turned to Abigail as she got into the car. “Did you have a nice talk?” He backed out of the driveway and headed towards the hotel. He waited for a moment and when she didn’t say anything he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Abigail?”
“Hm?”
“Did you have a nice talk with Todd?”
“Oh; yeah, it was good.”
He frowned; he definitely could tell, by her shaky voice, that she wasn’t being honest. “That’s good.” He drove the rest of the way, letting any worries about Todd’s and Abby’s conversations vanish. As they parked his truck and walked to their room, neither one said a word.
He watched her fumble for her key and when the door opened she glanced at him for only a split second. “Goodnight.”
She was gone before he could respond back. He went into his room and shut the door. He threw his jacket onto the chair and fell into the bed. He didn’t have the energy to change into something more comfortable for bed. With the light out, the tossing began. He laid in bed praying for his eyes to stay closed, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t fall asleep. After looking at the clock and watching the minutes slowly ticking by, he put it face down and hoped that that would help. He settled his eyes on the door that blocked him from getting to Abigail. He pulled himself and stared at the door as if he was willing it to open.
He heard a knock and for a moment he thought he had dreamed it, but then she knocked again. When he looked at her; she nervously looked away.
“Um…I was just wondering…” the pause between her sentences were nerve-wracking.
“Yes?”
“Are you going to go to the ice skating rink?”
“Really; that’s why you came to my room at…” he looked at his watch. “1:00?”
“I need to know if I have to find an alternate transportation.”
“Do you want to?” He stared intently into her eyes; he was careful to keep eye contact. She slowly shook her head. “Then, I guess that I will be going.”
“Okay; I will see you tomorrow.”
Before she leaved he reached out and grabbed her arm. She didn’t turn
around as he held her still. “Are you positive there’s nothing else you wanted?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
She lifted her head up to face him. “Yeah; neither could I.”
She turned around and instinctively pulled her closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her there; her head rested on his chest. “It isn’t fair.”
“Tell me about it;” he mumbled. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes. He had to keep telling himself that it was only infatuation that he was feeling; it wasn’t love.
She looked up at him and he bit back the urge to kiss her. “No one has to know.” She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She slowly covered his mouth with her lips and he took in the taste of her strawberry lipstick. Their lips parted had he wanted to kiss her again. “It feels so right.”
He reluctantly kissed the top of her head. “Abigail, you don’t know what you’re saying.”
He walked away from her and he felt his chest as it tightened and he felt just how close he had come to making love to her again. “I know that I can make Todd understand that I know what I am doing.”
He processed the words until they thoroughly sunk in. He turned around and faced the determined look on Abigail’s face. “You’re the one that said Todd wouldn’t care and now you think that we would have something to explain?”
“I just meant that IF he had a problem with it.”
“Nice try, but I’m not buying that. Did he say something? Did you say something?” She looked down at the floor. It spoke volumes when she didn’t deny it. “Abigail, be straight with me. You owe me that much.”
“The topic of you might have come up.”
“That’s a start; care to elaborate?”
He was worried that at any moment she would start to cry; when she faced him he was convinced she would. “He said that he thought he saw something more between us, but he was sure that he was crazy for even thinking about it. He just wanted to make sure that I realized you weren’t the guy for me, but I don’t care. I’m an adult and I will see whomever I want. I don’t have to listen to him.”
“Yes you do; you don’t want to have tension with your brother. Especially when what we’re feeling is nothing more than passion; it’s not love.”
Her face fell. “I…”
“It was just a mistake that shouldn’t have happened; we both know that and we have to stop rehashing what happened.”
“
Travis, I don’t know who…”
“Someday you will thank me and we’ll just laugh this off.”
“Maybe Todd’s right; I do deserve better.” He opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it. “Goodnight Travis.” She loudly shut the door. He slumped down to his bed. He didn’t know what hurt the most; the fact that she believed everything he said, or the fact that Todd was saying he wasn’t good enough.
Travis
looked at the clock and hoped that he wasn’t interrupting her too soon. He tapped on her door and was greeted by silence; after 5 minutes of not getting an answer he knew that she was either still sleeping or at breakfast. Another thought that had crossed his mind was that she was ignoring him and that was her best guess. He grabbed his wallet and left his room. It didn’t matter, he would try to forget her and just get over the rest of the weekend. However, that was easily said that done, when he saw that she was sitting in the hotel restaurant and eating her breakfast.
He grabbed his breakfast and carried it to a table that was across from where she was sitting. He hoped it would show that he didn’t want to push her into conversing with him; especially when they only seemed to get their wires crossed. He was watching her and eating his waffle when she looked over at him and caught him staring at her. She laughed and shook her head. He continued to eat, as if nothing was wrong. It was after she was finished with her food that she moved toward his table. “Good morning.”
“Hello Abigail; I didn’t know you were sitting there.” He took another bite of his waffles and then looked down at his paper that he was lackadaisically reading.
“Yeah; I’m sure you didn’t.”
“Was there something else you wanted?” He asked indifferently.
“No; I’ll see you later.”
She was about to brush past him when he grabbed her hand and pulled her back so that she was forced to look at him. “I know you’re through with breakfast, but would you care to join me?”
“I don’t know; am I welcome?”
He smiled. “Have a seat.” He pointed to the chair and was relieved when she joined him. “Did you sleep well last night?”
“I’ve slept better, but once I got to sleep it was alright. How about you?”
“The same;” he took a drink of his coffee and started to laugh. “So, I was thinking…could we come to some sort of agreement?”
“What kind of agreement?”
“We’ve gone about this the wrong way, and I think I know why.”
“You do? Do you care to share?”
“We have spent so many times at odds with each other that we don’t know how to act around the other person. I find myself not being 100% honest with you and you might be able to say the same.”
“I am completely honest with you.” He raised an eyebrow and she shrugged. “Okay; maybe not all the time.”
He laughed. “Let’s try to just change that. I’ll start. I am thinking that maybe what I’m feeling isn’t only infatuation. Now, it’s your turn.”
“I…I don’t think this is a great idea.”
“Why not? We should be able to say just about anything to each other. Come on Abigail, share…”
He could tell that she was uneasy and he hoped that she would stay and share what she obviously didn’t want to say. “What’s this going to prove?”
“It will prove that that night wasn’t a mistake, but for the sake of hurting those we love, it needs to stop there. So, what haven’t you been honest about?”
“I was hurt…”
“Hurt about what?”
She looked past him and then her eyes were drawn to his. “I was hurt that you didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that we made love; that you wanted to just say that it meant nothing.”
He reached across the table and grabbed onto her hand. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Last night, when we kissed, I was close to taking you to my bed.”
“I wanted you to take me to your bed.” He ran his hand through her fingers.
“Doing the right
thing could possibly kill me.” He laughed as he looked down at her hand.
“If we can’t be together, I would like to try to be friends.”
He closed his eyes and nodded. “Me too;” he slowly pulled away his hand. “It won’t be awkward; knowing what we know?”
“It could be, but if we can’t pursue a relationship…it might be the best
option. Plus, Todd would be happy.”
He smiled. He was disappointed; he couldn’t deny that, but their new agreement was better than nothing and he would do everything he could to honor it.
***
“Do you need help to your feet?”
Travis asked as he held out his hand.
“I got it, but thank you;” she looked up into the sun and looked at
Travis. She was glad that they had come to some sort of agreement, but she was still upset that things couldn’t be easier. She did enjoy just talking to Travis; that was why she was so easy to agree to anything he had to say. She would have rather not gone ice skating; she didn’t really have anyone she wanted or needed to see.
“I’m going to go mingle;” she smiled. She left
Travis behind as she stepped out onto the rink. When she spotted Todd and Carolyn skating together, her instinct was to go the other way, but it was too late; she was spotted. He smiled and motioned for her to join them. “I was worried that you weren’t going to come.”
“No;” she was short with her words. “
Are mom and dad coming?”
“I don’t think so. What’s
Travis doing?”
Abigail looked over to where Todd was pointing. “I don’t know; I’m not his keeper.”
Todd laughed. “I take that as you are fighting with him. Did you come together today?”
“Yeah;” she mumbled.
“I’m surprised that you two can be in the same car with each other.”
“You’re the one that kept pushing us to come together?”
“I know I did; I take full responsibility for whatever happens between you guys.”
“Just remember that;” she smiled at Carolyn. “I’ll see you both later.”
“Where are you going?”
“I just need some time to think.”
She skated away from them and almost bypassed Travis, but she saw how much he was struggling. “Hey;” he mumbled.
“You don’t ice skate?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“No; if you’re blind.”
He laughed. “It isn’t my forte.”
She grabbed his hand until his legs stopped shaking. “Focus on me.”
He looked in her eyes as they began to skate around the outside of the rink. “After everything we’ve gone through, why are you trying to help me?”
“Partly because we’ve come to the pact; mainly, because it’s just easier to realize we’ll never always be
in sync about everything and that’s okay. This vacation, of sorts, isn’t about us; it’s about Todd and Carolyn and they’re the ones that matter. After they’re married I can start to worry about my love life.” Travis laughed. “What?”
“Nothing; I know that you’re right.”
“And you, my friend, are skating.”
“What do you know? Two things just happened that I never thought would. I am ice skating and you just called me friend.”
Abigail rolled her eyes. They continued to skate around the rink. It was easier to follow her words; now, if she could just stand behind them.
***
“Abigail, you better hurry or we’re going to be late.” Travis pounded on the door. He put his coat on and waited with as much patience he could muster. “Abigail?”
“I’m coming;” her voice was reeking with irritation. As the door flew open his jaw dropped. She looked at him and cocked her head. “What?”
“You look…”
“I know; I look nice. That seems to be the best you can ever come up with.”
He knew his face had to be red. “Actually, I was going to say you look beautiful.”
“Oh; thank you.”
He nodded. He helped her on with her coat and they left the room. “Tonight won’t be as exciting as ice skating.”
He heard her soft chuckle. “You picked up on it rather quickly.”
“You’re a good teacher; I won’t have to worry about it next time, if there is a next time.”
“I’m sure there will be. I’ll just have to make sure I’m there to coach you.”
He smiled at the thought of that. He liked having her call him a friend; even if she didn’t mean it totally, it was a nice idea. He opened the door for her to get in and then they smiled at each other. “Off to the church we go.”
They only had to go a couple of blocks before making it to the Church. He held back as Abigail led the way. As he expected, they were the last ones there. They walked up to Todd and the pastor when they were called over. “Pastor Mark, this is our Maid of Honor and Best Man, my sister Abby and best friend
Travis.”
“Pleased to meet you Pastor Mark;” Abigail and
Travis shook his hand.
“Likewise; are we ready to start?”
Todd nodded. “We are.”
“Okay; we could have everyone take their places and rehearsal will begin.”
***
Abigail and
Travis looked at each other when the pastor told Todd to kiss his bride. It was just practice, but it was still emotional. “Then the Bridesmaids and Grooms Men will follow the Bride and Groom down the aisle. Travis and Abigail met in the middle and she took his arm.
Once at the end, he bowed and she rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to overdo it.” She turned away and spotted her parents. “Hey mom, dad; how are you guys doing?”
“We are fine; you seem to be getting along with Travis.”
Abigail laughed. “As best as one could expect.” She turned and saw him talking to Carolyn’s best friend
, Becca, and the only other member of her side of the wedding party. She watched for a split second and then quickly turned to her mom; she didn’t want anyone to think she was jealous.
“How are things going with you?” Her mom looked concern and she laughed.
“Don’t look so concerned mom; things are going well. Travis and I are getting along rather well; really, we are. After all, we haven’t hurt each other during this trip.”
“Well, that’s good. I never understood why you were never friends with him. He was always around; you would think that you would have one day…”
“Mom, let’s just drop it. We’re working on making a friendship with each other; let’s just leave it at that. Do they need help in the kitchen?”
The knowing look her mother gave her was startling; she always was intuitive and Abigail wondered if she could figure out everything that had gone on between them. “Nope; they had the food catered. It should be ready soon.”
“Okay;” she turned around and saw that Travis was still talking to Becca.
She watched as they laughed and seemed to be hitting it off. “Wouldn’t they make a cute couple?” Todd whispered as he stood next to Abigail.
“Oh; you mean Becca and Travis.”
He nodded. “The moment I met Becca, I knew that
they would be perfect together. I just had to give Becca a push to talk to him.”
Abigail should have known that Todd had something to do with it. “Does she live here?”
“Yeah, but she has nothing holding her back. I’m sure that she would be willing to move.”
She sadly nodded. “Yeah; they could work out.”
He snickered. “They have a lot in common.” He left her and went to the front of the sanctuary. “We want to thank all of you for being here; it means so much to us. Especially my family; you travelled far to get here and some of you had more obstacles than most.” She wondered if he knew he was staring at her. “There will be an extra something in your stocking.”
Abigail laughed at that. “There better be!” She looked over at Todd; his familiar teasing grin was still present.
“Enjoy the evening, because tomorrow is going to be a long day. Now, let’s eat.” The group dispersed, but she remained stationary.
“Accompany me to dinner?”
She looked at his outstretched arm. “I don’t think so; why don’t you ask Becca.” Before he could argue, she turned away and headed with the rest of the family. If Becca was the type of girl he had more in common with then she wasn’t going to stand in his way.