Footprints on my Heart

Chapter 11 -- Allegro

Allegro:

An Italian musical term meaning quick and lively. In ballet, allegro steps are
completed in fast tempo without your arms flapping about.

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Right at eight and exactly as planned, A Gray Maserati pulled up outside my house and honked his horn. I knew it was Travis, because he always honked the same way, two short toots followed by a longer third one, and was always the most punctual person in the world.

I trod warily at first, forbidding my heart to sing every time I heard the throaty roar of his sports car arriving for me, but my heart just wouldn't listen. I'm pretty easy-going overall, but I still get hurt and I knew I wouldn't be able to laugh off this relationship if it all went bottoms up. I was madly in love with this guy... end of!

He gave a start as the door to my bathroom burst open, to reveal a disheveled and rain-damp man. Upon seeing my shocked face and reddening ears, his own ears wiggled up as his face split into a grin.

"Sorry I'm early..." he said, mocking a shamed face as his eyes traveled my length. Spluttering, I tried to reply, but couldn't push coherent words through the bubbly forms of toothpaste and toothbrush. Holding up a finger, I sidestepped into the bathroom with a stern look

Flashes of our night together crossed my mind and I shivered at the memories. It had been hot, from that first moment against the wall to the second in my bed, and the third sometime in the middle of the night

"Would you like to have coffee with me? There's something I needed your help with" he asked.

I blinked for a moment.

"I don't know," I answered. "Are we friends? Can we have coffee?"

Travis eyed me on the mirror after I was done brushing my teeth. He followed me behind as I made my way to my bedroom, still I was in my towel

"It's really up to you. I want to talk. But if we can't, then that's okay too."

"That's great," I said with little enthusiasm and grabbed my underwear lying on my bed. I could feel Travis eyes penetrating my skin as I put it one

After that, I went to my walked in closet and grabbed a tight oxygen shirt with printed horizontal stripes in it and put on a purple skater skirt to match it with.

I walked back to my bedroom to find Travis sitting comfortably on my queen-sized bed

"It's... Nice. Nice to be back in a familiar place, you know? And it's kind of interesting to be back in the place I grew up and look at all those places that I thought were so important as a kid, through adolescent"

Travis laughed as I sat beside him to put on my Rusty Lopez flats with stud. "Places like what?"

"Oh you know. Like Kamuning, Eastwood and the shed in Fernwood Gardens. Oh, and especially Polilio Island"

He flashed a grin. "Remember all those... Movies we went to?"

I laughed again, and closed my eyes in shame. "Oh yes. I remember. My mom still doesn't know about those. And with any luck, they never will. Those were some pretty wild... Movies."

The room went quiet again as the awkward settled, taking the place of chirping bird. I know we could both feel the other flashing unwittingly through the memories of better days.