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  “Josie we have known each other for 2 years and when I asked you to move in, it was because I felt we belonged together. However, over the course of these 4 months I don’t know that I feel that anymore.”

  Her eyes got big and she moved further away from him. “What?”

  “I know that you feel it too. We barely see each other; we don’t touch anymore and the few times we’re together we aren’t really together.”

  “W…What;” he stared at her; she wasn’t getting it.

  “I loved you, but over the course of living together I am sorry to say that I have fallen out of love. I don’t know what else to say, but I know that you feel there’s something off in our relationship too.”

  “I…I…” she began to sob and he reached over for a tissue. He hated to see her cry, but he hoped that she realized it was for the best. “I thought you were going to propose tonight.”

  “You did?”

  She nodded as she blew her nose. “I still love you.”

  She looked at him with her big round eyes and he had to look away. “I’m sorry; I’m only being honest with you and myself.”

  “I understand that, but I sold my things and I moved in here. Are you kicking me out?”

  “Uh…” he was confused; it was his house so it was obvious that she would have to be the one to move. “I guess you can stay until you find a place of your own, but the clear choice is for you to leave since this is my place. I will stay on the couch tonight and tomorrow I will go stay with Todd until you can move out, but it’s only for a couple of days.”

  She sniffled. “Can I have one last kiss?”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  “Travis, you have been with me for 2 years and you won’t even give me a goodbye kiss?”

  “Fine, whatever;” he leaned in as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He made it as brief as possible and then pulled away. “I’ll get some things out of my room;” he mumbled. The look of pain in her eyes was still hard; even if it was necessary. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he finally felt a weight lifted off of him and he was ready to move on.

  Chapter 2

  “Abby?”

  “Hm;” she was half in and out of sleep, but she knew she heard Todd’s voice.

  “Abby?”

  “What?” She called from her bed; she sounded disgusted, but she couldn’t help that.

  “I have to go to a meeting this morning; I won’t be home till closer to supper tonight.”

  “Okay; have a good day.”

  “You too; I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay;” she started to go back to sleep, but she was already too wide awake. She looked over at the clock and groaned. It was only 7:00 and she didn’t know if she would ever get accustomed to waking up at that time. She rolled out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror. “I need a shower;” she groaned as she grabbed her towel and headed down the hallway. There were tons of bedrooms filling the house, but she didn’t comprehend why there was only one bathroom with a shower on the 2 floor. She was glad that Todd was gone; that gave her a chance to just use his shower.

  She ran the water and waited for it to warm up and then removed her clothes and got in; it felt good to feel the hot water on her body. She slowly washed up; there was no need to hurry. She did want to see her parents, but they wouldn’t have been up. She also needed to start job hunting, but no place would have been open for applications.

  When she was satisfied with the length of the shower and the water was starting to get chilly she turned it off. She reached out of the stall and grabbed a towel. She shivered as she stepped onto the cold tile. She suddenly regretted not bringing her clothes with her. She pulled the towel closed and stepped out of the bathroom. As she was about to reach the room she was staying in she heard footsteps on the stairs. She quickly looked around and was about to dart into the room when she knew it was too late. Travis stood standing there gawking at her. “I…” he then looked away. “I am so sorry.”

  She knew her face had to be a million shades of red as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. It was 7:30; what was Travis Jessup doing at her brother’s house?

  ***

  Travis paced back and forth in the living room; he had thought about leaving, it would have been the sensible thing to do, but he never had much sense and he had to apologize. He didn’t’ even notice her car still parked in front of the house. He was sure he was just too wrapped up in his thoughts. He wanted to talk to Todd and in that moment that was the only thing he was thinking about. When he heard footsteps heading down the stairs, he braced himself for what he was sure was going to be a cold front. He looked up at her; her eyes were one of anger and embarrassment, he had seen her red face and knew it was more of the latter. “Abigail, I am so sorry.” She moved past him and he knew that any hope of her ever forgiving him for treating her the way he used to, was quickly dwindling. “Abigail, please just look at me.” Again she went on as if she didn’t hear him. “I’m sorry; I don’t know what else to say, I…”

  “Travis, please just drop it. I’m too disgusted and embarrassed to even talk about it.”

  He stood there in shock as she went on to put on a pot of coffee. The more he thought about it, the more angered he became. “You’re disgusted and embarrassed? How do you think I feel? I didn’t expect to see you half naked.”

  He paused for a moment and he realized how that sounded. It wasn’t like he really objected, but seeing her so mad at him was irritating. She turned to look at him. “Why are you even here?”

  “I could ask you the same question. You don’t live here.”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “Yes, and he’s my best friend.”

  “Okay; well, brother takes precedence over friend. He invited me to stay here. So, what’s your excuse?”

  “I needed to talk to someone; he was the person that came to mind.”

  “Huh…that’s sad.” She turned around and continued to work with the coffee pot.

  “Maybe so, but it’s all I’ve got.”

  The room remained painfully quiet and he knew that she felt it too. “He’s obviously not here; so, I will let him know that you stopped by.”

  He started to turn away, but something stopped him. “I am sorry Abigail; I know that there is nothing I say or do that will convince you of that, but it is what it is. I just want you to know that.” He remained facing her back and when he was convinced she wasn’t buying his story he started to leave.

  “Travis, wait;” he was afraid to turn around for fear that he would see more anger on her face. Reluctantly he faced her and to his pleasant surprise he saw that it wasn’t anger present on her face. “It will be hard for you to believe this, but I do believe your apology and I know that it isn’t your fault. I’m not completely heartless. It was an accident. Next time I’ll be sure to holler to make sure no one is going to be sneaking up the stairs.”

  He snickered. “That would be helpful.”

  “With that being said…would you like a cup of coffee? You look like you could use it.”

  “Why Abigail Johnson that is the nicest thing you have ever said to me.”

  She shook her head. “I take that as a yes?”

  He really didn’t know where else to go; so he decided to kindly accept her invitation. “Thank you!” He took a seat at the table as she fixed the coffee. “I was hoping I would get here early enough to not miss Todd. I take he’s at a meeting?”

  She nodded as she kept her back to him. “He left at 7:00 this morning. What about you; you don’t work?”

  When she turned to look at him, he saw the teasing grin. “Today’s my day off. It has its ups and downs. If you get off a day in the week, you have to work weekends.”

  “Where do you work?”

  “I’m the manager at Berkley’s Warehouse.”

  “Isn’t that the warehouse that specializes in men’s clothing?”

  He nodded. “Retail isn’t my ideal j
ob, but it pays the bills.”

  “You’re a manager, which has to stay something. I thought I noticed a difference in how you dress.”

  “Hm...Is that a good or bad thing?”

  She looked away and he heard a slight chuckle escape her lips. “You’ll never know.”

  He thought about that reply for a moment and knew he would go instance if he tried to analyze what she meant by that statement. “Since we’re discussing the changes, I will just say that you have changed quite a bit. You no longer have braids and your hair color has changed. Not to mention, you have…” she would have slapped him if he would have completed that statement. So, it was best to just stop. “Nevermind.”

  She placed a cup of coffee in front of him. “You can’t do that; I have what?”

  “You’ve grown up nicely.”

  He could have slapped himself; it was so corny. To his surprise she started to laugh. When he looked at her he could tell that she found something quite amusing. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

  “Why do you say it like that?”

  She placed the coffee pot down and snickered. “Travis, in the 23 years I have known you I have never heard you compliment anyone; especially me. So, I just find it funny; that’s all.”

  “That is not true; I compliment many people.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Okay; then it must just be me that you have never complimented.”

  He didn’t know if he should have apologized about that or just let it go. It was easier to just let it go. “Anyway, I am surprised to hear about you moving back to this small, sleepy town of Jasper Oklahoma.”

  “Why are you so surprised?”

  He took a drink of the coffee. “I guess for two reasons. I would have thought that once you saw how a big city worked you wouldn’t want to come back.”

  “I realized that I am just really a country girl. What’s the other reason?”

  He took another sip of his drink and hesitated for a moment. “I thought there would be a boyfriend that was keeping you there.”

  “Nope; there’s no boyfriend. How about you;” Travis stared at her and then started to laugh.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend either.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ve always wondered.”

  “I’m sure you have.”

  Their eyes met and for a moment he was afraid to break the connection. Their interaction seemed so real; he didn’t want it to end. She was the first to look away. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

  “I would have thought that Todd would have told you all about her.”

  “This may be hard to believe, but when Todd and I talked your name rarely came up.”

  He touched his heart and acted like he was in pain. “I am crushed; you never asked about me?”

  “Uh…no, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not now interested in hearing about this girlfriend you have.”

  “There’s not much to tell and it’s a girlfriend I HAD.”

  “Oh; did she learn how you really are?”

  He looked down at his coffee cup and laughed. She wasn’t going to let that go. “Something like that.”

  “I thought you were living together.”

  He looked up at her and started to smile. “So, Todd didn’t tell you anything?”

  “Okay; maybe he might have mentioned that some girl was moving in with you, but that’s it. Is this the girl?”

  He nodded. “Yeah; I told her she could stay at my place until she found some place to go.”

  “Won’t that be awkward?”

  “That’s where your brother came into play. I was going to ask him if I could stay here for a couple of days. However, I now see that that’s not an option.”

  She looked away and he wondered if she would ever consider sharing the place. Todd was rarely ever home, but there was no way he would have ever made the suggestion. “Yeah; that’s not happening.” She answered the question as if she was reading his mind. He shrugged; it was a thought that she would never know he had in his mind. He would figure something else out.

  ***

  Abigail walked Travis to the door and she smiled. “I have to admit, it was nice talking to you.”

  “This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” He laughed.

  “Don’t press your luck.”

  “Thanks for the coffee.” She waved as he left. When she closed the door she looked at her watch; they had visited for nearly two hours. She was in shock that she could manage talking to him that long, but their time talking seemed genuine She headed up the stairs. She was going to make her bed and head to her parent’s house.

  When she reached the top of the steps she paused and looked down the hallway. She had her room she was using, Todd had his room, and there were still 3 rooms that were unused. She couldn’t believe she was even considering it; she would never have imagined being okay living in the same place as Travis. It was true; it was only for a matter of days. It wasn’t like they would be in the same room. She would do her thing and he would do his. She made a choice she would talk to Todd, but if Travis needed a place to stay it wouldn’t kill her to help him out. As long as they had their ground rules and there would be plenty of those

  ***

  Travis couldn’t believe when he got the call from Todd. He was asked to stop back at the house and they could discuss the living arrangements. He nearly drove off the road when he realized that it was Abigail’s idea. Now as he was pulling into the driveway, he wondered if she was only trying to appease her brother. Worse yet, he hoped that she wasn’t planning on pulling a prank on him. Act like she was onboard and then rip the room out from under him. It would have served him right; especially all the times he kidded around with her. He knocked on the door and it was Abigail that was the one to answer.

  “Hello;” he quietly spoke as she backed up for him to enter. “Abigail, are you sure that you really want this?”

  She looked over to where Todd was standing and talking on the phone. “I know that it must seem strange; believe me, it wasn’t what I was expecting. However, I surveyed the arrangements and we could be on opposite ends of the hallway. That makes me feel better.”

  He laughed. “So, you’re thinking that we wouldn’t even need to see each other?”

  “I suppose so, but that’s not to say that today didn’t shock me.”

  “Yeah; we actually made a couple of hours without raising our voices.”

  “Maybe we could set a record.”

  “What record would that be?”

  “Two people that despised each other once, how long can they go without getting annoyed with one another?” She laughed and he was a little put off by that.

  “I never despised you;” he started to object.

  “Let’s not argue about it; or else the chances of breaking the record will be over.” She snickered as she turned around headed towards the living room.

  He got into the room as Todd hung up the phone. “That was Carolyn; she’s going to come over tonight.”

  “It’s about time I get to meet her.” Abigail laughed. “Where did you two meet?”

  “She’s a junior at the University. We met at the bowling alley.”

  “Where’s she from?”

  “She lives in Colorado.”

  Abigail nodded. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

  “Well before that, let’s get to why we’re here.” He turned to Travis. “I hear you are in need of a place to stay and I can’t say that I’m stunned.” Travis groaned and Todd laughed. “However, it is your place and I do think that you went about it the wrong way. It’s over and done with; so, Abby has been gracious enough to agree for you to stay.”

  Travis rolled his eyes as she giggled. “What’s the rules; I am sure the top rule is that we yell whenever we’re about to run around half naked?” When he looked at her she glowered at him; it was fun to watch her squirm.

  “I suppose that could be one;” Todd shook his head. He clearly had no idea of th
e predicament Travis and Abigail was in earlier in the day. “I do only have two showers; so you guys may have to share.”

  “What?” Abigail yelled.

  Todd started to laugh. “Not at the same time; get your mind out of the gutter. I simply meant that the shower downstairs can be yours, but you’ll have to work out a schedule.”

  Travis about died laughing inside seeing the expression on Abigail’s face. When he started to laugh quietly she gave him another evil eye so he quickly stopped. “I really appreciate this Abigail and Todd; you both have no idea how much.”

  “I’ll remember that when I need a favor.” She raised her eyebrows and he smiled and nodded.

  “Okay; does anyone else have another request?”

  Abigail shook her head. “I’m good!”

  “Me too;” Travis agreed as there was a knock on the door.

  “That must be Carolyn.”

  “It better be, because we’re running out of rooms to give out.” Abigail added with a grin.

  Todd laughed. “Remember what you promised Abby.”

  He hurried away and Travis turned to Abigail. “What did you promise?”

  “I told him that if he ever needs time alone with her to just let me know and I’ll make myself scarce. I do believe that goes for you too.”

  He would go with that; he looked at Abigail as she went off to meet Carolyn. He would agree to just about anything; they were the one offering him a place. He would not take that for granted.

  Chapter 3

  Abigail took in a deep breath; it was a beautiful night, but she didn’t expect to be spending it outside. When they had finished eating and had carried the conversation to football she knew that it was time to make her getaway. She wasn’t interested in sports, but the 21 year old College junior seemed all too eager. Abigail had to laugh when she realized that her brother’s girlfriend was younger than she was. It seemed strange, but she had to admit she saw the love in both of their eyes. She knew it was real and Carolyn did seem authentic.

  “Can anyone sit on this bench?”