Inspire (7 page)

I unwrapped the sarong around my waist and then turned to get my lounger situated in the right position. For some reason, I couldn’t get it to stay upright and no matter what I tried it kept flopping down into the flat position. The other girls were probably loving the show. I rolled my eyes at the thought. As I made one final attempt, I heard Travis come up from behind.

“Hey Paige! I’m glad you made it. Can I give you a hand with that?” he offered, moving to the back of the chair and clicking it up.

“Thanks!” I said, embarrassed by the situation.

“Did you have a good run?” he asked, looking at me with his gorgeous smile.

I looked up at him to answer and found myself admiring his blue eyes. I noticed them discreetly glance down my body, which was subtle, but I knew that he had checked me out. The realization made my stomach flip.

“Yes, that trail is great and the lake is absolutely breathtaking,” I finally spoke.

Actually, seeing Travis in his navy swim trunks with his t-shirt clinging to his muscles was just as breathtaking. I had to brush the thought away, because I knew my cheeks were becoming heated.

“So, are you a hard core runner?” he asked. His question puzzled me, but maybe he just had gotten the impression since I had gone running two days in a row.

“No. I love it, but I don’t compete or run marathons or anything.”

“Oh,” he said, looking slightly disappointed by my response.

“Why do you ask? Do you race?” I returned the question trying to understand the reason for his expression.

“No. It just seemed like you didn’t want to break stride today to chat, so I just figured you were timing yourself.”

Travis’s answer made me aware that I had been a jerk in the woods earlier. Maybe Tracey was right, and I needed to give everyone a fair shot and just be myself. Running by him was so out of character for me that I was mad at myself for doing it. “I’m sorry. I just had a lot on my mind this morning and needed to jog it off,” I explained, hoping to smooth over the situation.

“I get it. I run to clear my head too. Is everything okay?” he asked, sounding concerned and I realized I had said too much.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. So, what kind of ice cream are you serving?” I changed the subject to avoid having to reveal my Ashley dilemma and the fact that I was hurt that everyone had shunned me.

“Chocolate and vanilla. I actually need to go get some more containers out of the freezer, but I’ll be back. Can I get you some?” he offered, giving me his sexy smile again.

“Sure. I would love some chocolate.”

“Chocolate it is. Coming right up!”

He winked and then turned to make his way out of the pool area. As he was leaving though, he stopped to pull his shirt off over his head and tossed it down on an empty chair. He turned and gave me another wink before leaving. I was practically drooling over his body, and wondered if he had intentionally stopped to give me the show. With a body like his, he had to have a girlfriend so I forced myself to shake off the inappropriate thoughts that were running through my mind.

As I waited for Travis to return with the ice cream, I began working on my dance. The music over the loud speakers was a bit distracting, since I was trying to come up with moves to a different song. So I plugged my headphones in, and put “One More Night” on repeat. Moves started coming to me, and I began to jot them down in my notebook. Of course I wasn’t about to get up and try them out, but I had been dancing long enough to be able to visualize most of it. Then later, I would practice them on the beach to make sure it all flowed together.

I was thoroughly engrossed in what I was doing and hastily writing in my notebook when I was startled by an ice-cold feeling on my leg. I jerked my head up to see Travis standing next to my chair holding a bowl of ice cream.

“One bowl of chocolate ice cream!” he exclaimed, handing me the dish and offering me a wink. I took my headphones off so that I could hear and thanked him.

“So, what are you busy working on? I’ve been standing here for a minute, but couldn’t get your attention. I was beginning to think you were trying to ignore me,” he said, giving me an adorable pout that came across as a little flirtatious. He then took a seat on the edge of the neighboring chair and put his hands on his knees.

“Just coming up with a dance for something. Sorry, I kind of get focused when I work. Thanks for this!” I said, taking a bite.

“No problem. So you’re a dancer.”

“Yeah, it’s just something I like to do in my free time,” I answered and then glanced over to see that Britney and Ashley were now swimming down towards our end of the pool.

“And you also choreograph? Do you work for a dance studio or something?”

“No. Well sometimes I help out with the younger classes at our local studio. But this is for the annual Labor Day Festival in East Hampton. My friends and I will be performing at it.” I didn’t elaborate or get into any of the details about my organization because I didn’t want him to think that I was trying to brag or make myself out to be a goody-two-shoes.

“So, do you work here all summer?” I asked, wanting to change the subject and put him in the spotlight.

“Yes, I fill in for my dad whenever necessary and then I run all of the youth events,” he said, gesturing his hand toward the party. I looked over and noticed the two girls were now just hanging onto the edge listening to our conversation. The nerves started to build in my stomach, but I had to remember not to let them get the best of me.

“That’s great. Do you enjoy it?”

“I do. I love being out here, and it helps out my dad a lot so it’s all good,” he said.

“It’s pretty great out here. Especially the lake, I’m in love,” I admitted and then the next thing I knew I was being drenched with cold water.

“What the hell!” Travis jumped up and turned towards the pool. “What was that for Ash?” he yelled and I realized that the girls had just splashed us. I was still trying to wipe my eyes and then looked down to see that my notebook was soaking wet.

“Oh no!” I cried, jumping up to grab the towel from my chair to dry off the notebook.

The girls were laughing and called back, “You looked like you needed to cool off,” as they made their way back down to the deep end. I was preoccupied trying to get my belongings dry and was worried about my dance notebook. It held over thirty of my dances and I couldn’t lose them.

Travis turned to help get my things situated. “Sorry about that!” he said in all sincerity. “Is your book ruined?” he asked, noticing that I was frantically trying to dry it.

“It’s soaked.”

“I’m sorry, it’s important isn’t it?” I could hear the concern in his voice and I looked up to see it showing on his face.

“Yes,” I answered, unable to disguise my sadness. I started to feel tears prick my eyes, so I wanted to remove myself from the situation. “I’m going to go to the bathroom and see if I can get it dried off with one of the blow dryers.”

I gathered up my things to leave and was turning to head toward the bathroom when I felt Travis stop me. “Can I help Paige?” He reached out to touch my arm and our eyes met. I felt a tear slip down my cheek, but when I saw the tender expression on Travis’s face I began to calm. His kindness was like a magic potion that soothed me.

“No, it’s fine. I’m going to go see what I can do,” I said and then made my exit.

I spent a good twenty minutes trying to dry my notebook under the hand dryers in the bathroom. The book seemed like it was going to be okay. The pages were a little stiff, but none of the writing had bled so I could still read everything.
Thank goodness
! I thought and picked up the rest of my belongings to leave.

I was just about to open the door when Ashley came rushing in. My nerves exploded in my stomach when I saw her because I wasn’t sure if she was coming in to give me more grief. She was frantic and I could see panic on her face as she rushed by me and went straight into one of the stalls. “No!” she shrieked and I was instantly worried that something was wrong.

“Ashley, are you okay?” I asked, trying to be friendly and wanting to make sure she was all right.

“No,” she snapped back.

“Is there anything I can do? Do you need something?” I wanted to be helpful but had no idea what was wrong.

“Do you have a towel or something?” she reluctantly asked from behind the door.

“Yes, why?”

“I got my period and bled through my suit. That’s why,” she shouted, clearly taking her frustration out on me.

I instantly felt for her. It’s a girl’s worst nightmare to be caught without protection and have a revealing stain show through your clothes. “My towel is soaking wet, so it might not work. Why don’t you take my cover up? It’s dark and you can just tie it around your waist,” I proposed, giving her a different option.

“How am I going to explain that to everyone? What, I went in the bathroom and you lent me your clothes?” She obviously didn’t want to have to come up with an explanation for her friends, but I couldn’t blame her.

“Just say I left it in the bathroom and you wanted to try it on. Then you can tell them you’re bringing it back to me and go to your camper to change. I won’t say a thing, promise, okay?”

She took the sarong from my hands and then tied it around herself. It did the trick and there was no way anyone would notice the blood. “You’re good,” I assured her and then picked up my things to leave. She was checking out her reflection from behind in the mirror to make sure she was okay, and barely offered a thank you.

“No problem,” I said then pushed the restroom door open to leave.

“Oh my gosh!” I shrieked as I ran smack dab into someone’s chest. “I’m sorry,” I sputtered out looking up to see that it was Travis.

“No worries. Are you okay?” he asked as he helped me find my balance.

“I’m fine.”

“How’s the book?” I was warmed by his concern and wondered if he had been waiting for me the entire time.

“It survived!” I cheered.

“Good! Is Ashley okay?” Oh, he must have noticed her panicked escape to the bathroom and been alarmed. I felt instantly foolish for thinking otherwise.
Just checking on his girlfriend
, I thought, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

“She’s good, just using the restroom. I’ll see you around Travis,” I said, turning to make my exit.

“See ya Paige.”

Chapter 6

I spent the rest of the afternoon in my trailer reading, and avoided the social scene. Ashley never stopped by to return my sarong, but I wasn’t surprised. My parents got back around 5:30 and immediately informed me that we were going to have dinner with the Medlers. We needed to be at their place in an hour, so I had to start getting ready. I instantly wondered if Travis was going to be there, or whether that meant he would be filling in for his dad in the office.

“Hopefully, you and Travis will have a chance to chat tonight and get to know each other,” my mom said, answering my unspoken question.

“So, who’s running the office?” I asked, just out of curiosity.

“It’s Sunday, so the shop closes at six p.m. Lucille wanted to make sure Travis could join us, so Scott’s father will be on call tonight just in case anyone needs anything,” she said and I was instantly giddy at the thought of spending time with him. That was probably a bad thing since I’m sure his girlfriend would take it out on me later. Even so, I was going to make sure I looked cute for the evening.

I put on my white lace ruffled mini skirt that showed off my legs, paired it with a light pink lace trim tank top, and added a long beaded necklace. I threw my jean jacket on just in case it got chilly later in the evening, and wore my tan suede boots.

“You look cute sweetie!” my mom said as I exited the RV. Both of my parents were dressed nicely as well, so I didn’t feel too out of place.

We started our walk up the road and I realized I didn’t know where the Medlers lived. I wasn’t sure if they stayed in the main building or had a trailer or what. My parents led the way and said we were looking for campsite number one. When we finally found it, I was surprised to see that it was an RV similar to ours. For some reason I assumed that they would have been in the main house, or in something bigger. After all, they were the owners. But the only difference between our two sites was the fact that theirs was lined with trees that were strung with white Christmas lights. It actually gave it a homey feeling, and made it seem like a little yard. I giggled though at the realization that Travis had to sleep on the couch like me.
Poor guy
!

“Hi! Welcome to our summer home,” Lucille said as she popped out of the camper and came over to greet us. She was holding napkins and utensils in her hands, but still managed to give me a warm hug. The long picnic table was already covered with a tablecloth and the plates were laid out. To the left of the table in their “yard” was a fire pit that had a roaring fire going with a bunch of chairs set out around it. My dad immediately popped a squat by the fire, and Lucille offered him a beer. Then she served my mom and me some lemonade as we helped her finish laying out the utensils and napkins around the table.

Barney and Travis had yet to come out, and I wasn’t even sure if they were inside. “So how was your day Paige? Did you make it to the pool party?” Lucille asked and her question relayed that Travis had not filled her in on anything.

“I had a good day, and yes, I did go to the party for a little bit. It was fun and Travis was very hospitable.” I kept my answer simple and polite leaving out all the drama that took place towards the end.

All of a sudden I felt hands grab my waist from behind and heard a soft “Boo!” in my ear. I screamed, completely startled by Travis’s approach and practically leaped in the air. He had come from the woods behind me, and no one had let on about his presence. Of course, everyone burst out laughing at my reaction, and I turned to see Travis chuckling too.

“Jerk,” I sarcastically huffed and smacked him in the chest. He gave me a wink and then released his hands from my hips. The loss of contact sent a chill down my spine and I realized how flirty his actions had been.