A Strange Visitor
842 Words
Trevis Kitridge?
What was he doing at her apartment?
"Trevis? Sorry, Mr. Kitridge," she stuttered before opening the door and looking at him like a preschooler who was caught opening the presents on Christmas Eve.
"Trevis would do just fine, Miss Rothen. We're not at work," he said, looking at her, his head c****d to one side, an amused look on his face.
"And, so would Kaylee," she muttered.
"Would you let me in? It's getting kinda cold out here," he said, feigning hesitation.
"Oh, yeah, come in. Sorry about that, my bad." She opened the door wider. He walked in and waited while she closed the door.
"Come in, Mr... Uh Trevis. You're welcome," she said and led him inside.
Trevis bit the corner of his lower lip. What was so sexy about a woman with a few of her shirt buttons undone, the zipper of her flay pants, open, her hair in a mess and her feet, bare?
He mentally slapped himself just as lightening disappeared and thunder roared. He wasn't here to carry out any plan of his naughty thoughts.
"There might be a storm," he said in a bid to start a conversation. Her apartment was comfy and clean. It looked like his play house when he was a bit younger. Teddy bears and throw pillows formed a tidy mess on the couches, the scent of carnation and bluebells from a vase on the center table formed a lovely perfume and wafted past his nostrils, beautiful nature paintings hung on every wall. One was labeled ' Home for Flora and Fauna '. It was larger than the rest, and it was a view of the entrance to H.F.F.
"Is that why you are here? Because of the storm?" She said, breaking into his thoughts in that silent way of hers.
"I don't have an idea why I'm here. And," he stressed, "I didn't follow you. Nice piece you've got there, by the way," he commented, nodding towards the painting.
"Thanks," she replied simply.
"Where'd you get it from?" he asked as he walked over and ran his fingers over the colors on the canvas, slashed with careless carefulness and painted neatly with perfect bright colors. This was surely H.F.F.'s twin.
"I made it," she replied, watching his expression.
He turned sharply to her. "You paint?" he asked.
"Yes. Why do you look surprised?" she asked, tilting her head to one side to watch him. She was smiling; that smile he'd talked about earlier. Maybe this woman's smile was her body, her soul. It never did leave her, never did fade.
"I am. I mean, I've seen ladies paint but not as beautiful as this, not as perfect," he replied.
"I'll take that as a compliment," she said. Trevis looked at her and said nothing.
Suddenly, the rain came down, without warning, playing a tuneless music in the roof. Kaylee walked over to the windows, shut it and brought down the curtains. Then, she headed to the kitchen, with him, following closely behind.
As she prepared tea, Trevis heard himself say, "I'd better be on my way." That wasn't what he had planned to say.
She turned to him with a horrid fierceness that he feared that her head would fall off. In a reflex, he took his hands from his pockets but sent them back in when he saw the dark look in her eyes.
"You come to my house when there are signs of rain. And, when the rain starts, you want to leave? Who does that, huh? You think I would let you go finish in this rain? Why did you come in the first place?" She flared in her silent way.
Trevis hesitated. " My car broke down right next to apartment. I walk to it to find a man who can help only to find that it's a lady, and it's you. Strangely, I didn't want to leave. Maybe 'cause going home to an empty house everyday is a bore," he explained.
Kaylee sighed, walked over and pulled his hands from his pockets and held them, despite the whistling kettle.
"I fix your car, you stay over," she said.
Trevis was surprised.
She rolled her eyes, a smile teasing her lips. "Yup. I paint' perfectly ' and also fix cars. So, what do you say?"
"Nothing, but that I'm embarrassed," he replied.
She laughed. "Why?
"I can't fix a car. Plus, my mechanic has closed for the day, and can't leave his family to attend to me," he said.
"It's fine, Trevis. You know what? " He shook his head. "Let's have tea while waiting for the rain to stop. And when it does, we fix your car. If it doesn't, you stay over."
Trevis put his hands together. "Oh, rain, please stop."
She laughed. "You're still not going to go home."
"But you're about to fix my car," he argued, but his mind kept telling him to shut up.
Kaylee handed him a cup. "Drink up, Trevis. We have a car to fix."
- Writer
