Beautiful Disaster 01 (29 page)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

jealousy

I awoke on my stomach, naked and tangled in Travis Maddox’s sheets. I kept my eyes closed, feeling his fingers caressing my arm and back.

He exhaled with a deep, contented sigh, speaking in a hushed voice. “I love you, Abby. I’m going to make you happy, I swear it.”

The bed concaved as he shifted, and then his lips were on my back in slow, small kisses. I remained still, and just as he had made his way up to the skin just below my ear, he left me to walk across the room. His footsteps leisurely plodded down the hall, and the pipes whined with the water pressure of the shower.

I opened my eyes and sat up, stretching. Every muscle in my body ached, muscles that I never knew I had. I held the sheet to my chest, looking out the window, watching the yellow and red leaves spiral from their branches to the ground.

His cell phone vibrated somewhere on the floor, and after clumsily searching the crumpled clothes on the floor, I found it in his jeans pocket. The display was lit with only a number, no name.

“Hello?”

“Is uh…is Travis there?” a woman asked.

“He’s in the shower, can I take a message?”

“Of course he is. Tell him that Megan called, would ya?”

Travis walked in, tightening his towel around his water-splotched waist, and smiled as I held out his phone.

“It’s for you,” I said.

He kissed me before looking at the display, and then shook his head. “Yeah? It was my girlfriend, what do you need, Megan?” He listened for a moment and then smiled, “Well, Pigeon’s special, what can I say?” After a long pause, he rolled his eyes. I could only imagine what she was saying. “Don’t be a bitch, Megan. Listen, you can’t call my phone anymore….Well, love’ll do that to ya,” he said, looking at me with a soft expression. “Yes, with Abby. I mean it, Meg, no more phone calls…Later.”

He tossed his phone on the bed, and then sat beside me. “She was a little pissy. Did she say anything to you?”

“No, she just asked for you.”

“I erased the few numbers I had on my phone, but I guess that doesn’t stop them from calling me. If they don’t figure it out on their own, I’ll set them straight.”

He watched me expectantly, and I couldn’t help but smile. I had never seen this side of him. “I trust you, you know.”

He pressed his lips to mine. “I wouldn’t blame you if you expected me to earn it.”

“I’ve got to get in the shower. I’ve already missed one class.”

“See? I’m a good influence already.”

I stood up, and he tugged on the sheet. “Megan said there’s a Halloween party this weekend at The Red Door. I went with her last year, it was pretty fun.”

“I’m sure it was,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“I just mean a lot of people come out. They have a pool tournament and cheap drinks…wanna go?”

“I’m not really…I don’t do the dress up thing. I never have.”

“I don’t, either. I just go,” he shrugged.

“Are we still going bowling tonight?” I asked, wondering if the invitation was just to get some alone time with me that he no longer needed.

“Well, hell yeah! I’m gonna kick your ass, too!”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Not this time you’re not. I have a new superpower.”

He laughed. “And what’s that? Harsh language?”

I leaned over to kiss his neck once, and then ran my tongue up to his ear, kissing his earlobe. He froze in place.

“Distraction,” I breathed into his ear.

He grabbed my arms and flipped me onto my back. “You’re going to miss another class.”

After finally talking him into leaving the apartment long enough to attend History class, we raced to campus, and slid into the seat just before Professor Cheney began. Travis turned his red baseball cap backwards to plant a kiss on my lips, in full view of everyone in the classroom.

On our way to the cafeteria, he took my hand in his, intertwining our fingers as we walked. He seemed so proud to be holding my hand, announcing to the world that we were finally together. Finch noticed, looking at our hands, and then to me with a ridiculous grin. He wasn’t the only one, our simple display of affection generated stares and murmuring of everyone we passed.

At the door of the cafeteria, Travis blew out his last puff of smoke, looking to me when I hesitated. America and Shepley were already inside, and Finch had lit another cigarette, leaving me to go in with Travis alone. I was certain the gossip had soared to a new level since Travis had kissed me in full view of everyone in our History class, and I dreaded walking out onto the stage the cafeteria presented.

“What, Pigeon?” he said, tugging on my hand.

“Everyone is watching us.”

He pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed my fingers. “They’ll get over it. It’s just the initial shock. Remember when we first started hanging out? Their curiosity died down after awhile and they got used to seeing us together. C’mon,” he said, pulling me through the door.

One of the reasons I had chosen Eastern U was for its modest population, but the exaggerated interest in scandal that came with it was at times exhausting. It was a running joke; everyone was aware of how ridiculous the rumor mill was, and yet they all shamelessly participated in it.

We sat down in our usual spots with our food. America smiled at me with a knowing expression. She chatted as if everything was normal, but the football players at the other end of the table were staring at me like I was on fire.

Travis tapped my apple with his fork. “You gonna eat that, Pidge?”

“No, you can have it, Baby.”

Heat consumed my ears when America’s head jerked to look at me.

“It just came out,” I said, shaking my head. I peeked up at Travis, whose expression was a mixture of amusement and adoration.

We had exchanged the term a few times that morning, and it hadn’t occurred to me that it was new to everyone else until it tumbled from my mouth.

“You two have just reached the level of annoyingly cute,” America grinned.

Shepley tapped my shoulder. “You staying over tonight?” he asked, his words garbled among the bread in his mouth. “I promise I won’t come out of my room cussing at you.”

“You were defending my honor, Shep. You’re forgiven,” I said.

Travis took a bite of the apple and chewed, looking happy as I’d ever seen him. The peace in his eyes had returned, and even as the dozens of people watched our every move, everything felt…right.

I thought of all the times I had insisted being with Travis was the wrong decision, and how much time I had wasted fighting my feelings for him. Looking across the table at his soft, brown eyes, and the dimple dancing in his cheek as he chewed, I couldn’t remember what I was so worried about.

“He looks awful happy. Did you finally give it up, Abby?” Chris said, elbowing his teammates.

“You’re not very smart, are ya, Jenks?” Shepley said, frowning.

The blood instantly rose to my cheeks, and I looked to Travis who had murder in his eyes. My embarrassment took a back seat to Travis’ anger, and I shook my head dismissively. “Just ignore him.”

After another tense moment, his shoulders relaxed a bit, and he nodded once, taking a deep breath. After a few seconds, he winked at me.

I reached my hand across the table, sliding my fingers into his. “You meant what you said last night, didn’t you?”

He began to speak, but Chris’ laughter filled the cafeteria. “Holy God! Travis Maddox is
whipped
?”

“Did you mean it when you said you didn’t want me to change?” he asked, squeezing my hand.

I looked down at Chris laughing to his teammates, and then turned to Travis. “Absolutely. Teach that asshole some manners.”

A mischievous grin spread across his face, and he walked down to the end of the table where Chris sat. Silence spread across the room, and Chris swallowed back his laughter.

“Hey, I was just givin’ you a hard time, Travis,” he said, looking up at him.

“Apologize to Pidge,” Travis said, glowering down at him.

Chris looked down at me with a nervous grin. “I…I was just kidding, Abby. I’m sorry.”

I glared at him as he looked up to Travis for approval. When Travis walked away, Chris snickered, and then whispered something to Brazil. My heart began to pound when I saw Travis stop in his tracks and ball his hands into fists at his side.

Brazil shook his head and huffed in an exasperated sigh. “Just remember when you wake up, Chris…that you bring it on yourself.”

Travis lifted Finch’s tray off the table and swung it into Chris’ face, knocking him off his chair. Chris tried to scramble under the table, but Travis pulled him out by his legs, and then began to wail on him.

Chris curled into a ball, and then Travis kicked him in the back. Chris arched and turned, holding his hands out, allowing Travis to land several punches to his face. The blood began to flow, and Travis stood up, winded.

“If you even
look
at her you piece of shit, I’ll break your fuckin’ jaw!” Travis yelled. I winced when he kicked Chris in the leg one last time.

The women working in the cafeteria scampered out, shocked at the bloody mess on the floor.

“Sorry,” Travis said, wiping Chris’ blood from his cheek.

Some of the students stood up to get a better look; others remained seated, watching with mild amusement. The football team simply stared at Chris’ limp body on the floor, shaking their heads.

Travis turned, and Shepley stood, grabbing both my arm and America’s hand, pulling us out the door behind his cousin. We walked the short distance to Morgan Hall, and America and I sat on the front steps, watching Travis pace back and forth.

“You okay, Trav?” Shepley asked.

“Just…give me a minute,” he said, putting his hands low on his hips as he walked.

Shepley shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m surprised you stopped.”

“Pidge said to teach him some manners, Shep, not kill him. It took everything I had to quit when I did.”

America slipped on her large, square sunglasses to look up at Travis. “What did Chris say that set you off, anyway?”

“Something he’ll never say again,” Travis seethed.

America looked to Shepley, who shrugged. “I didn’t hear it.”

Travis’ hands balled into fists again. “I’m goin’ back in there.”

Shepley touched Travis’ shoulder. “Your girls out
here
. You don’t need to go back in there.”

Travis looked at me, forcing himself to stay calm. “He said…everyone thinks Pidge has…Jesus, I can’t even say it.”

“Just say it already,” America muttered, picking at her nails.

Finch walked up behind Travis, clearly thrilled by all the excitement. “Every straight guy at Eastern wants to try her out because she landed the unattainable Travis Maddox,” he shrugged. “That’s what they’re saying in there now, at least.”

Travis shouldered past Finch, heading for the cafeteria. Shepley bolted after him, grabbing his arm. My hands flew to my mouth when Travis swung, and Shepley ducked. My eyes darted to America who was unaffected, accustomed to their routine.