One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

“Are you ever going to tell me?” Lauren asked Travis from the open garage door.

He ventured inside to retrieve his bike, leaving Lauren very frustrated.

“Yep, just not here. Hop on,” he said as he mounted his bright yellow Suzuki.

She eyed him funny before complying. A grin never left his face from the time she climbed on and wrapped her arms tightly around his core until he arrived at what he had planned.

“I built something while you were gone,” he said as he slowed to a stop.

“That’s surprising,” she said sarcastically. He guessed that she had rolled her eyes too. “It looks pretty amazing, considering the fact that I can’t see,” she went on as she pushed off Travis’s shoulders to get off.

“You’ll see it. Come on,” he said taking her hand and venturing into some trees.

He ignored all the comments she made on the way. They were mostly complaints about the darkness and her inability to see anything. He managed to smile. That was Lauren to a T.

“Close your eyes,” Travis said once they were closer.

“Why? I’m already blind,” she said with an attitude.

“Close your eyes,” he repeated with his same ‘Travis tone’.

Apparently, she did what she was told. All the comments had come to a stop and she held Travis’s hand tighter. He led her deeper into the dense trees. He slowed when they reached an opening.

“Do I hear… water?” she asked sounding confused.

“I’m surprised you haven’t opened your eyes yet,” he smirked.

“Can I?”

“Go for it.”

She opened her eyes slowly, disappointed to just see Travis’s grinning expression.

“What am I supposed to be seeing? There’s nothi…” she started before looking past him. “Whoa,” she pushed out.

Travis smiled as he led her closer. In front of them was a huge pond. It seemed to go on for miles. Lauren had never seen anything soperfect beautiful. It seemed to be a scene from a movie or an elegant painting. The full moon reflected brightly in the midnight blue water. Stars twinkled all around, making the night sky appear to be blinking. She was too caught up in the scenery to realize that Travis had guided her to a dock. Once her hands rested on the railing, she looked at him… and frowned.

“A pond? Out of all things it had to be a pond,” she voiced.

“Yeah. There’s not much else to build. I got the storage facilities, foam pit, dirt jumps, ramps, a rally course. This seemed to be one of the few things that were missing,” he said as he slowly dropped his eyes from her’s that the moon lit up.

“What else could possibly be missing? Travis, you have everything.”

“No, I don’t have everything… I don’t have…”

‘I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better…’

She rolled her eyes as the ringtone kept playing. She dug the device out of her pocket, staring at Travis, but not answering.

“Come on, Travis. I can only tolerate this song for so long. Finish what you were going to say,” she said impatiently.

“No, its fine. I’m sure what he has to say is more important,” he said with a shurg of his shoulders.

She rolled her eyes at him this time before answering. Travis couldn’t help but listen.

“How many times have you called me today?” she answered with.

All that was audible from the other end was a static mumble that Travis couldn’t make out.

“Whatever. What do you want?... No… Get the fuck out… Oh my god, that’s amazing… Alright, later,” she conversed and shut her phone with a smile.

Travis couldn’t help but to feel jealous again. He didn’t ask questions, though, knowing that it wouldn’t make him feel any better.

“What were you going to say?” she asked forcing him to look at her by the sound of her voice.

“What’d he want?” he spat unconsciously.

She looked at him, not blinking without any reply. The phrase dear in headlights came to his mind.

“He… just wanted… to talk,” she stumbled over he words. Travis saw right through her.

“What’d he want, Lauren?” he asked letting his anger show through.

“Hescomingtovisit,” she said quickly.

“Fan-fucking-tastic. Where does he think he’s going to stay? My hou…”

“He said Rockstar was getting him a hotel room for three weeks,” she said quickly. Gone was her always-present confidence.

“That’s just great now isn’t it?” he said as he started back for his bike.

Surprisingly, he didn’t get a reply from Lauren. She was too stunned to. Out of all the years they have known each other, she had never seen him act like this. Once she made it to him and his bike, she climbed on and he took off quickly.

Travis couldn’t believe how he was acting towards her. His jealousy has never been at this high level ever before. Once his house came into view, he started to soften up a little.

“Lauren, look, I’m…”

“Just save it. I don’t want to hear it,” she cut him off as she climbed off his bike. She managed to do so without touching him.

“Lauren, just please listen to…”

“How do you expect me to listen to you? Do you realize how dumb this is? You’re getting upset because Luke, my friend, is coming to see me.”

“But that’s not…”

“Then what is it Trav? I know you don’t like him, but that doesn’t give you right to get all bent out of shape if I want to hang out with him,” she said almost yelling at him.

“I don’t know,” he said dropping his eyes to the ground.

“You really need to know. I like hearing your opinion about guys, but this is too much. You haven’t even met him and…”

“Lauren, I love you,” he said quietly as she went on.

He looked up at her when she stopped talking. Her jaw had seriously dropped. A shocked look had replaced her livid one. Travis felt so stupid. Even though it was what he wanted to say all night, he didn’t want it to come out that bluntly.

“I really shouldn’t have said that,” he said not looking up at her and going inside.

His hand ran through his hair all the way up the stairs to his room. The night wasn’t supposed to play out this way. When he made it to his room, he stripped his clothes off until his boxer where left. While lying in his bed wide-awake, he couldn’t keep Lauren from his mind.

“Trav… Travis,” he heard her outside his door, knocking lightly.

He didn’t respond. All he did was close his eyes when he heard the door creak open. As she walked closer, he stayed as still as he could. He wanted so badly to open his eyes when she climbed into his bed and wrapped her arms around him.

“I love you too,” she said as she kissed the top of his head. His eyes flung open and he was about to turn over, but she didn’t stop there. “But I can’t be with you. You’re my best friend in the world. I can’t lose you if things go wrong,” she went on as she kissed the top of his head again.

To his surprise, she didn’t leave. She stayed with him the whole night in that same position. What was even more puzzling was that he didn’t have a night terror. He was hoping that more nights could be like this.