That Blue Gibson

CH 19

Liz sat on the couch in her hotel room wrapped in a comforter, staring out the window at a plane blinking in the distance. Travis had gallantly given up his bed to Josie, who was snoring loudly in the opposite room and had booked an adjoining suite to sleep in. Liz got up to close Josie's bedroom door when she heard a knock on the front door. It was faint enough that Liz was convinced she was hearing things and she closed the bedroom door before padding across the plush carpet to her own room when she heard the knock again, this time a bit louder. Peeking through the peephole, she sighed. Dave was leaned against the door frame, looking down at his feet. Liz hesitated a moment wondering if she should open the door or not, but her politeness got the better of her and she untangled an arm from her blanket to quietly open the door.

"Hey," she whispered.

He jumped back from the door frame in surprise and Liz watched his face soften when he realized it was her. She forced a little laugh, "That's how doors work, dude. You knock and someone answers."

He looked down and smiled a bit, "Yeah, I just didn't think you'd hold up your end of the bargain."

Liz watched him for a second then stepped back to let him in, waving her free arm when he hesitated. "Let's go in here so we don't wake the beast," Liz whispered as she tiptoed to her bedroom.

"Is she okay?" Dave asked as she shut the door behind him.

"Yeah, she just turns part grizzly bear when she's wasted," she explained, then sat on the bed and curled her legs underneath her. Dave stood awkwardly in front of her, pulling a lock of hair behind his ear and looking everywhere but at her. Liz let him suffer for a full minute before finally breaking the silence, "We okay?" she whispered, looking up at him.

He finally met her eyes and let out a long breath. "Fuck, I hope so," he replied.

*

He stared at her for a long moment, thinking he didn't even deserve to see her like this. Her hair was pulled into a knot on top of her head and her face was bare. The king size comforter she had wrapped around her made her look tiny, though she was only a few inches shorter than he was. Her bare shoulders and legs peeked out of the white blanket and Dave briefly wondered if she had anything on underneath it. His eyes flew back to her face when she finally spoke again.

"Sit, you're making me nervous."

He looked around the room for a chair, finding they were all covered in giant garment bags when Liz slapped the bed next to her. "Here, dummy," she smiled, this time genuinely.

He flopped down next to her, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "What you saw...," He started, trying to think if there was a better way to do this. "That's not what that was." He stared at the floor for a moment but looked back at her when she didn't say anything. She only raised her eyebrows at him, urging him to go on. "I went out to smoke and she followed me in... you came around the corner at the worst possible fucking moment," he looked back at his shoes.

"I have a real knack for doing that," Liz said quietly. A memory of walking in on her ex-husband and his co-worker involuntarily played in her brain. "Dave," she said, a bit louder so that he turned to face her. "I've known you all of what? 72 hours? Are we really having the jealousy conversation?"

"I just didn't want you to think that-," he started, but Liz held up her hand.

"Oh, I thought it all right," she laughed. "Then I saw her claw marks on your wrists and realized you were under a bit of duress." She watched Dave visibly relax and let out a laugh. "And," she added while scooting closer to him, letting her legs dangle off the bed next to his, "you came all the way over here, to a much less exciting after party, to talk to me. Anyone else would have waited till the next morning and sent some shitty text." She gently nudged his arm with her elbow to get him to smile.