The Scars That Burn

Chapter 32

My head feels like it's caught in one of those drill press vises they use to use to torture people. I hate drinking beer. Also drinking beer followed by wine doesn't help either.

I roll over to find Travis dead asleep, snoring slightly. A tuft of blonde hair falls over his right eye. He looks so peaceful and I don't want to disturb him. He doesn't get many days to sleep in so I roll out of bed as quietly as I can.

I make my way into the bathroom and do my business, wiping the mascara that has smudged under my eye. Even though my head is throbbing, I feel rejuvenated.

I actually slept. All night, with no bad dreams, no tossing or turning, just hard sleep. Travis' mattress is amazing but I think it also had to do with the man in the bed next to me too. He has this way of calming me. His easy-going energy is hard not to feed off of.

I exit the bathroom and check that he is still sleeping before making my way out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me silently.

The kitchen is on the other side of the apartment so I should be able to make breakfast without waking him until it's ready. I think I'm more excited to use his fancy espresso machine.

I grab my phone from my purse in the living room on the way. Checking it I find a couple texts from Jeffery and Jess wondering how my night went and if I won the tournament. Jeffery of course asked if I "banged the shit out of him" to which I replied no but I would call him later with details. He was on LA time now so I knew it would be a while until he replied.

I entered the kitchen and went immediately to the espresso machine. It looked simple enough. There was a pod that went in the top and then a tube on the side where you steam the milk. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get that fancy so I chose a regular espresso and would just add cream in after.

I started the machine and then opened his fridge that revealed it was basically empty. I should have known, especially when he said we could go get breakfast last night. I wanted to surprise him with something but guess that was out of the cards now.

I grabbed the heavy cream, at least he had that, and added it to my espresso when it was done brewing. I looked through his cupboards and found some Stevia packets which was exactly what I used so I gave a little air pump to myself.

"Never seen someone so excited about sugar substitute before."

I jumped at the sound of Travis' voice from behind me. I grabbed my chest out of reflex.

I turned towards him still holding my chest. "Jesus Christ you scared the shit out of me." I let out a breath. "Don't you know I have a shitty heart."

He laughed. "Had a shitty heart. We fixed that."

He walked over to me and without hesitation gave me a kiss on the lips. "Morning."

I smiled. "Morning."

"I see you found the espresso machine." He grabbed my cup and moved it aside, putting a new one in its place.

I reached over and took it from him. "Yea sorry I hope it didn't wake you. I was iust so excited to try it."

"You didn't. I set an alarm so I wouldn't sleep too long and mess up my sleep. I have overnight shift tonight. I try to take a nap before hand."

I nodded, stirring in the Stevia. "Gotcha."

I took a sip of my coffee and marveled in its deliciousness.

"Mmm. This is heaven."

He took a sip of his own. "Yea this thing is the best investment I've ever made. I wouldn't have survived my internship without it."