Chapter 6
BONNIE
Two days later, I was meeting Travis in front of Oceanwell Bay Museum for an exploratory trip.
I headed there after I finished work, and I was basking in giddiness.
I tried not to think about the fact that we had an expiration date, but who was I kidding?
I was counting down the days, hating to see him go.
Could I convince him to stay a bit longer?
Maybe the hotel manager would make Travis work harder at convincing him.
I arrived at our meeting point a few minutes earlier and glanced around.
The museum didn’t look as impressive in person as it had in the pictures I found online.
It was old as dirt, and right now it was also closed.
The sign read "Be right back. I went to buy a snack.” The opening hours were until eight o'clock in the evening, which was surprising because I couldn't imagine too many visitors came here.
Travis approached me a few minutes later. He looked triumphant and even more self-confident than usual. He was wearing his black coat with the top buttons open.
"What's with that smug smile?" I asked when he was right in front of me.
"I've got great news. I convinced Tim to join me."
"Oh, congrats," I said. I was extremely happy for him, but a pang of unease settled in my stomach. "How did you manage it?"
"I laid out the pros and cons again and figured out what his weak spot was when I casually mentioned that he can still contribute to the setup. He was interested, so I figured what he really wanted was to have a say in the development, and I was right."
“You’re very good at this," I said.
"Yes, I am. And not even humble."
I was nervous all of a sudden. I licked my lips, fiddling with my thumbs behind my back. "So what does that mean? Are you flying back to Chicago earlier?"
Travis looked at me intently. "I could, but I happen to have a very good reason to stay here until the end of the week, like I’d originally planned."
"Oh?" I asked, even though the amusement in his eyes was a clear indication of what he meant. "And what would that reason be?"
"You," he said simply.
That one word unleashed a heat wave in my body.
"And we can spend that time any way we want." Looking behind me, he added, "Which apparently includes visiting this relic."
I smiled sheepishly. "It does look more… quaint than it did in pictures."
"That's one way to put it. I’d call it dreadful," he said, "and it's closed."
"Yes, the sign says he went out for a bit." And then realization hit me, and I said, “To be honest, though, I'm not sure when the sign was put there. It could very well have been there for weeks. Let's just give it a few more minutes."
"Okay," Travis said.
"You don't really want to be here, do you?"
"I like your exploratory nature." He rested the backs of his fingers on my cheek, drawing the contour of my jaw until he reached my other cheek. A storm was rolling in, judging by the dark clouds.
"That looks like rain," I said. I bit my lip. "Let's give it a couple more minutes, and if no one comes, we can just go."
The thunder rolled in the very next second, and then several things happened at the same time. There was another noise, but it didn't sound like thunder. Belatedly, I realized the museum itself was shaking.
Just then, tiles started to come down from the museum’s roof. Travis pushed me out of the way at the same moment, toward the part of the museum that was stable—for now. Tiles fell where we had stood, and even though we didn't have any falling on top of us, there was plenty of debris all around.
"Oh my God. How do we always have this luck?" I asked.
"Good thing I'm always paying attention."
I looked at both our coats. They were covered in white debris. "Well, what else can we do with these dirty clothes except take them off?"
Travis grinned. "My thoughts exactly."
"I can't decide if you're truly a knight in shining armor or you just choose your moments to get me naked."
He laughed, looking down at me. "You're the one who brought it up."
Swallowing hard, I admitted, “I was actually hoping the manager would play even harder to get and you’d have to stay longer.”
His smile faded. “I can’t. I’ve got to hit the ground running when I’m back in Chicago. But when you’re back—”
I put my finger against his lips, shaking my head. “We’re here now. Let’s not talk about the future.”
He said he wasn't boyfriend material. I’d just get depressed instead of enjoying this moment.
After all, I had him until the end of the week, and I planned to thoroughly enjoy every day we had left.