Travis Read online

  “I don’t know, I have to check with Travis.”

  Molly throws me a dirty look. She grabs a pot of coffee and makes her way around the diner, checking to see who needs a refill. When she returns to the counter, she places the pot back on the warmer, and walks over to me. With her arms folded tightly across her chest, she bends over so that her face is eye level with my ass.

  “What are you doing?” I swat my hand at her in an attempt to get her to move, but she doesn’t.

  “Just checking to see if you had ‘Property of Travis’ branded on your ass.” Her eyes brighten as she flashes me an innocent smile. “Good news. You don’t.”

  “Travis doesn’t own me,” I inform her. “but we are in a relationship.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning I should still let him know if I am going out.”

  “Do I even want to ask what is going on here?”

  I glance to my left to see Aidan standing there. His arms are crossed over his broad chest as he leans against the wall staring at me and Molly, who is still bent over near my ass. It’s funny the way Russell thinks this place should be run and the way Aidan actually runs it. Russell would have scolded us like children. Aidan seems to be amused by our antics. His eyes twinkle with amusement and his lips are turned up in an smile.

  Molly quickly straightens up. “I was just looking for something.”

  I look at her as if she has lost her mind, while Aidan lets out a laugh.

  “I don’t even want to know what you could have possibly been looking for there,” he says. “As long as your customers are being served and aren’t complaining, I simply don’t care.”

  Aidan walks into the dining area, grabbing a chair from one of the tables and placing it at the end of the booth where his mother is having lunch with her friends. Turning around to face us, he sticks his hand in the air, wiggling two of his fingers to let us know that he wants something. Molly pushes away from the counter.

  “Call him and tell him you are going to karaoke. Tell him he can join us if he wants to, and, if not, you will call him when we leave,” she calls over her shoulder as she walks over to the booth to find out what Aidan wants.

  I glance around the diner, looking to see if anyone needs anything. The place is about a quarter of the way full. Every glass is filled and everyone is busy either eating their food or talking with their company. I grab the phone, and am about to punch in Travis’s number, when the front door opens and he storms inside in his typical brooding fashion. With his sketchpad in hand, and a pencil behind his ear, he walks up to the counter and slides onto the stool. Connie calls out for him to join them. He nods to her in acknowledgment, but doesn’t say anything.

  “I was just about to call you,” I say.

  I turn the mug over in front of him before grabbing the pot of regular and pouring it inside. I grab a menu but he waves his hand in front of him to let me know that he doesn’t need it. Grabbing the handle of the mug, he brings it up to his lips and takes a long sip.

  “Oh yeah?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yeah, it’s karaoke night at the Rusty Nail,” I say, leaning over to rest my elbows on the countertop as I talk to him. .

  “Of course it is,” he mutters.

  “You don’t have to go,” I say quietly.

  Travis breathes in deeply and lets out a long sigh. “Well, I was going to see if you wanted to go shoot some pool or something, but I guess we could do that another night.”

  “Or we could go afterward,” I offer. “I don’t have to work tomorrow.”

  “Sure.” His tongue slips out of his mouth and runs quickly across his lips as he glances me up and down. “So…are you going to get up there and put on a show for me?”

  “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

  “I mean, it’s the least you could do, dragging me out for karaoke.”

  “I’m sure you’ll survive,” I tease.

  “I’ll be over around eight.” he says.

  I nod. Travis stands up, bends over and kisses me lightly on the cheek. It’s such a simple, sweet gesture but it stirs the butterflies in my belly. Probably because Travis isn’t usually affectionate with me here. He hesitates, as if there is something else he wants to say, but he doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he bites his lower lip and flashes me a smile.

  “Hey there, Travis,” Molly says as she steps behind the counter, placing her hand on the door that leads to the kitchen.

  “Hey, Molly,” he says. Grabbing his sketchpad in one hand and his mug in the other, he flashes me a wink and turns to walk towards his mother’s table.

  Molly frowns. “He’s awfully chipper today.”

  “Maybe deep down he is really excited for karaoke.”

  “Somehow I doubt that. You probably don’t see it, because, well, you didn’t really know him before, but you are changing that boy.”

  “You think?” I glance over to where he is sitting next to Aidan. He says something to Aidan before opening his sketchpad and flipping to a page. He points to a couple of things, pulls the pencil out from behind his ear and begins to sketch something. Aidan nods, watching Travis as he draws. Aidan says something that must be completely inappropriate, because Travis laughs while Connie’s eyes widen. She reaches her hand out and smacks Aidan upside the back of his head, causing Travis to laugh even harder.

  “Are you kidding? Travis Foster was a goner the first moment he saw you.”

  Travis and I arrive at the Rusty Nail around nine thirty. Karaoke is already in full swing and the place is packed. Molly managed to save two seats at her table, which, unfortunately, Evan is also sitting at. His eyes darken, his lips forming a tight, straight line as he notices us. Travis leads us down to the opposite end of the table, where the two empty chairs are. He pulls one out for me and waits for me to sit down before sitting down in the one next to it, wrapping his arm possessively around my shoulder.

  “Are you going to sing?” I ask him.

  “Uh, no.” He snorts.

  I glance over at him and automatically feel annoyed to see him and Evan in some sort of a staring contest.

  “You know, I could go if you want?”

  “What?” Travis asks, tearing his gaze away from Evan to frown at me.

  I point towards Evan’s direction. “If you and Evan want to sit here and make eyes at each other, I can leave. The two of you can gaze into each other’s eyes all night long and I can go home and binge watch Sons of Anarchy on Netflix.”

  “I’m not making eyes at…” Travis starts to say defensively. Shaking his head, he rolls his eyes and sighs. “All right, I get it. I’m done.”

  He mutters something under his breath that sounds a lot like “for now” but I choose to ignore it. I turn to watch the person singing for a moment and turn back in just enough time to catch Travis flip off Evan.

  “Travis!” I exclaim.

  “What?” he asks innocently.

  Laughing, I shake my head. Molly bounces over and plops down in the lap of the guy sitting next to me. She drops the song book down on the table in front of me and opens to a page towards the middle.

  “I was thinking we could do a duet again and thought maybe we could sing this.” She points to a song on the page, but before I get a chance to see what it is, the DJ’s voice booms out, grabbing my attention.

  “All right, all right, all right, everybody let’s give it up for my boy Evan, who is going to be singing ‘Talk Dirty to Me’ by P-p-p-p-Poison.”

  Evan starts dancing around the stage the moment the guitar intro starts. For a moment, he reminds me of the same Evan I met a few months ago. The Evan with the faux hawk that walked me out to my car at the end of the night. The Evan that I joked around with and had a great time with when we went out to dinner.

  Then, he points straight to me as he starts singing the lyrics, and the image of my sweet friend Evan disappears. Once again, he had to go do something he knew would rile Travis up. Judging by the way Travis stiffens up
next to me, it’s working.

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Travis growls. He leans forward, clasping his hands tightly on top of the table in front of us.

  “It’s just a song,” I tell him in an attempt to keep him from leaping on stage and kicking Evan’s ass, which is what I am pretty sure he wants to do right now.

  Travis turns to me, his gray eyes wide and angry. “He pointed straight at you.”

  “He pointed into the crowd.”

  “No, Gracie, he pointed at you, as he sang a song about you talking dirty to him while he looks at you and touches you.”

  “I really think you’re looking too much into the lyrics.”

  “Oh really?”

  I shrug, not wanting to agree or disagree with him. Travis nods his head a couple of times before pushing his chair back and standing up.

  “What are you doing?” I ask him.

  He doesn’t respond as he makes his way to the stage, pausing for a moment to glare at Evan as they walk past each other. Evan sits down in his original seat and glances over at me, flashing me a wink as we make eye contact.

  “All right, everyone, next up, we have Travis, who would like to dedicate this AC/DC classic to the lovely Gracie.”

  A couple people start to cheer as the guitar starts to play. Then, the drums kick in and Travis starts bopping his head and tapping his foot. Bringing the microphone up to his lips, he flashes me a wink as he begins to sing ‘You Shook Me All Night Long.’

  “Woohoo, Travis!” Molly yells out through cupped hands.

  Travis starts walking towards the table. As he gets closer, he glances at Evan as he holds his arm straight out and lifts up his middle finger.

  “Whatever, man,” Evan calls out.

  Travis grabs a hold of my hand and pulls me to my feet. I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as he turns around and leads me back down to the stage. Travis lets go of my hand and I attempt to hurry back to my seat. I don’t get very far when he grabs a hold of my hand again and yanks me towards his body. I let out a laugh as I crash against him. Travis’s nose brushes up against the side of my face as he sings to me. Everyone around is cheering as they clap along to the beat of the song.

  As he hits the chorus, Travis wraps one of his arms around my waist, pulling me as close to him as he can. He rubs up against my body as he moves along to the music, causing heat to spread through my body like wildfire. I should be annoyed that he only did this in response to Evan, but Travis seems so alive right now that I can’t be mad at him. If anything, I am almost grateful to Evan right now.

  The song ends and Travis tosses the microphone to the DJ, who catches it easily. Travis slides his hands up my back and presses his lips to mine as he dips me backwards. As he pulls me back up, he kisses my neck right below my ear and says, “I do believe you owe me a game of pool right about now.”

  Grabbing my hand, we wave a quick goodbye to everyone as he pulls me towards the door.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Travis

  I grab Gracie’s arm, pulling her close to me and circling my arms around her shoulders as we walk into Q-Stix billiards. The place is packed, though it typically is seeing as this is one of the only places in town for people under twenty-one to hang out that, although the under twenty-one tables are in a separate room away from where the bar is. There are a couple of vacant pool tables towards the back. I pay for one of them and lead Gracie back to it.

  “Be prepared to have your ass handed to you, Foster,” Gracie teases me.

  “Keep talking smack, Whitmore. I’m not going to go easy on you, I don’t care how hot you are.”

  She pulls out of my arms, rolling her hips as she walks towards the table. When she reaches it, she turns her head, flashing me a devilish grin over her shoulder. I reach out, grab her wrist and spin her around, pinning her body up against the table with my hips. Her hands slip inside the back of my shirt, her palms settling on my bare skin, right above the waistband of my jeans.

  Gracie dips her head down, but stares up at me with large, innocent blue eyes. Her teeth sink down into her lower lip. I lean down to kiss her, and just before my lips touch hers, she says in a low voice, “I don’t need you to go easy on me Travis. I have a few tricks of my own.”

  I lean back and chuckle. “I hate to break it to you, baby, but you are no tease.”

  Gracie’s mouth drops open in shock. She blinks a couple of times before shaking her head. “You are going to regret saying that.”

  “You’re really cute when you try to be intimidating,” I say with a laugh. Gracie narrows her eyes, which only makes me laugh harder. I suck in my bottom lip and smile at her. She removes her hands from my back, and brings them around to the front, grabbing my shirt in between her fingers, yanking me towards her. I cradle her face in my hands as I press my lips to hers, soft at first and then a little bit harder. Her lips part and my tongue slides in, exploring every inch of her mouth.

  “Travis?”

  You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.

  Gracie breaks off our kiss first, peering around me to see who it is that interrupted us. I don’t even have to look. I’ve heard that voice scream out my name many, many times. I drop my hands down to my sides and take a step back before turning around.

  “Hey, Mel,” I say.

  She glances back and forth between me and Gracie, clearly waiting for an introduction. I’m not quite sure I want to introduce them, though. The last time I saw Mel, she told me she wanted to be with me and I told her that I wasn’t interested in a relationship with her. I guess to be completely honest, I said I wasn’t interested in a relationship and when she asked me if it was her I didn’t want a relationship with, I didn’t respond. We both knew what my answer was. To be fair, I wasn’t looking for a relationship with anyone at that point and I stayed away from Gracie for as long as I possibly could.

  I open my mouth to say something, I’m not exactly sure what, but before I even have the chance, Dave Essington walks up and slips his arms around Mel’s waist. It never occurred to me that he was the Dave that she was seeing. Dave’s one of those tall, overly muscular guys that looks really tough, but are actually really reserved and laid back. I don’t think I have ever seen Dave actually put those muscles to use.

  “Hey, Trav,” he says. “I didn’t realize you knew Mel.”

  “Uh, yeah, Travis and I were in rehab together a couple of years ago,” Mel says without taking her eyes off of Gracie.

  “Hi, I’m Mel,” she says, “this is my boyfriend, Dave.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Gracie.” She holds her hand out to Mel, who gives her a limp shake.

  Mel looks around the room, pointing to the other tables. “We were hoping to get here before all of the tables were taken, but no such luck.”

  “There were a couple open when we got here. They filled up quick,” Gracie says. “You guys should join us. We can play in teams.”

  “I don’t,” I start to say but I am cut off when Mel cuts in with a quick, “We’d love to.”

  Gracie smiles as she pulls the balls out of the pockets and sets them on the table. “I’ll rack them if you boys want to grab a couple of cue sticks. How do we want to do the teams? Girls against boys or couple against couple?”

  “Couples?” Mel asks, raising one of her eyebrows.

  Gracie smiles at her and nods. Mel shoots me a dirty look just as I turn away to follow Dave over to the wall where all of the cues are hanging up. I grab one for me and one for Gracie and hurry back to the table. I don’t want to leave her alone with Mel any longer than I possibly have to. Turns out I didn’t have to worry about that. Gracie is by herself when we return to the table.

  “Where’d Mel go?” Dave asks.

  “To grab some drinks for the two of you,” Gracie tells him. She glances over at me. “You know, I think I am going to get something myself.”

  “I can get it for you. What do you want?” I ask as I hand Gracie her cue stick.

&
nbsp; “Just a Coke.” She smiles.

  I almost tell her that she doesn’t have to refrain from drinking around me if she doesn’t want to, but I feel stressed out enough having her here while Mel is here. I can’t trust myself to not sneak her drink when she isn’t looking. I don’t even know why I am so nervous about her being around Mel. I guess because I never told her I was “involved” with someone right before her. Is there any easy way to say, “I haven’t had an actual girlfriend since before I went to rehab but I occasionally hooked up with someone to refrain from using and the last time was the day that you walked into my life?” Somehow, I doubt it. It was before her, so it shouldn’t matter, but it still falls under a part of my life that I’m not particularly proud of.

  I nod to Gracie and tell her I’ll be right back before walking over to the bar. I order two Cokes and am standing there waiting for them when I feel someone brush up against my arm. I turn my head to find myself staring straight into Mel’s hazel eyes.

  “You have a girlfriend?” she asks, though I am sure it is more of a statement than a question.

  “Yes.”

  “Since when?”

  I shrug. “We’ve been seeing each other for a little while now.”

  Mel runs her tongue across her teeth. She lets out a short laugh and shakes her head. “You said you didn’t want a relationship. You said –”

  “I know what I said,” I hiss between my teeth, cutting her off. “Things changed. Gracie…she’s good for me. She’s exactly what I need in my life.”

  “And what? I wasn’t? I was bad for you?” Mel leans back and glares at me like she can’t believe what I am saying.

  “Mel…we both admitted, numerous times, that every day was a struggle to not use. I haven’t felt like that since I’ve been with her. It’s not that I think you were ‘bad for me’ but all we had was sex. All we were was a way to take our minds off of snorting and injecting. We would have pushed each other back into drugs. We both know that.”