Beautiful Disaster (37 page)

Travis shrugged. “Wanna dance?”

“What? Megan's not here?”

He shook his head. “You used to be a sweet drunk.”

“Happy to disappoint you,” I said, turning toward the bar.

He followed, pulling two guys from their seats. I glared at him for a moment, but he ignored me, sitting down and then watching me with an expectant expression.

“Are you gonna sit? I'll buy you a beer.”

“I thought you didn't buy drinks for girls at the bar.”

He tilted his head in my direction with an impatient frown. “You're different.”

“That's what you keep telling me.”

“C'mon, Pidge. What happened to us being friends?”

“We can't be friends, Travis. Obviously.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don't want to watch you maul a different girl every night, and you won't let anyone dance with me.”

He smiled. “I love you. I can't let other guys dance with you.”

“Oh yeah? How much did you love me when you were buying that box of condoms?”

Travis winced and I stood up, making my way to the table. Shepley and America were in a tight embrace and making a scene while they kissed passionately.

“I think we're going to the Sig Tau date Valentine's date party again,” Finch said with a frown.

I sighed. “Shit.”

America hadn't been back to Morgan since her reunion with Shepley. She was consistently absent at lunch, and her phone calls were few and far between. I didn't begrudge them the time to make up for the time they'd spent apart. Truthfully, I was happy that America was too busy to call me from Shepley and Travis's apartment. It was awkward hearing Travis in the background, and I felt a little jealous that she was spending time with him and I wasn't.

Finch and I were seeing more of each other, and I was selfishly thankful that he was just as alone as I was. We went to class, ate together, and studied together, and even Kara grew accustomed to having him around.

My fingers were beginning to numb from the frigid air as I stood outside Morgan while he smoked.

“Would you consider quitting before I get hypothermia from standing here for moral support?” I asked.

Finch laughed. “I love you, Abby. I really do, but no. Not quitting.”

“Abby?”

I turned to see Parker walking down the sidewalk with his hands shoved into his pockets. His full lips were dry under his red nose, and I laughed when he put an imaginary cigarette to his mouth and blew out a puff of misty air.

“You could save a lot of money this way, Finch,” he smiled.

“Why is everyone trashing on my smoking habit today?” he asked, annoyed.

“What's up, Parker?” I asked.

He fished two tickets from his pocket. “That new Vietnam movie is out. You said you wanted to see it the other day, so I thought I would grab us some tickets for tonight.”

“No pressure,” Finch said.

“I can go with Brad if you have plans,” he said with a shrug.

“So it's not a date?” I asked.

“Nope, just friends.”

“And we've seen how that works out for you,” Finch teased.

“Shut up!” I giggled. “That sounds fun, Parker, thanks.”

His eyes brightened. “Would you like to get some pizza or something before? I'm not a big fan of theater food, myself.”

“Pizza's great,” I nodded.

“The movie's at nine, so I'll pick you up at six thirty or so?”

I nodded again and Parker waved goodbye.

“Oh, Jesus,” Finch said. “You're a glutton, Abby. You know that's not going to fly with Travis when he gets wind of it.”

“You heard him. It's not a date. And I can't make plans based on what is okay with Travis. He didn't clear it with me before he brought Megan home.”

“You're never going to let that go, are you?”

“Probably not, no.”

We sat in a corner booth, and I rubbed my mittens together, trying to get warm. I couldn't help but notice we were in the same booth Travis and I sat in when we first met, and I smiled at the memory of that day.

“What's funny?” Parker asked.

“I just like this place. Good times.”

“I noticed the bracelet,” he said.

I looked down at the sparkling diamonds on my wrist. “I told you I liked it.”

The waitress handed us menus and took our drink orders. Parker updated me on his spring schedule, and talked about the progress in his studies for the MCAT. By the time the waitress served our beers, Parker had barely taken a breath. He seemed nervous, and I wondered if he wasn't under the impression that we were on a date, regardless of what he'd said.

He cleared his throat. “I'm sorry. I think I've monopolized the conversation long enough.” He tipped his beer bottle and shook his head. “I just haven't talked to you for any length of time in so long that I suppose I had a lot to say.”

“It's fine. It has been a long time.”

Just then, the door chimed. I turned to see Travis and Shepley walk in. It took Travis less than a second to meet my stare, but he didn't look surprised.

“Jesus,” I muttered under my breath.

“What?” Parker asked, turning to see them sit in a booth across the room.

“There's burger place down the street we can go to,” Parker said in a hushed voice. As nervous as he was before, it had been taken to a whole new level.

“I think it would be more awkward to leave at this point,” I grumbled.

His face fell, defeated. “You're probably right.”

We tried to continue our conversation, but it was noticeably forced and uncomfortable. The waitress spent an extended period of time at Travis's table, raking her fingers through her hair and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She finally remembered to take our order when Travis answered his cell phone.

“I'll have the tortellini,” Parker said, looking to me.

“And I'll have …” I trailed off. I was distracted when Travis and Shepley stood up.

Travis followed Shepley to the door, but he hesitated, stopped, and turned around. When he saw me watching him, he walked straight across the room. The waitress had an expectant smile, as if she thought he had come to say goodbye. She was quickly disappointed when he stood beside me without so much as blinking in her direction.

“I've got a fight in forty-five minutes, Pidge. I want you there.”

“Trav …”

His face was stoic, but I could see the tension around his eyes. I wasn't sure if he didn't want to leave my dinner with Parker to fate or if he truly wanted me there with him, but I had made my decision the second he'd asked.

“I need you there. It's a rematch with Brady Hoffman, the guy from State. It's a big crowd, lots of money floating around … and Adam says Brady's been training.”

“You've fought him before, Travis, you know it's an easy win.”

“Abby,” Parker said quietly.

“I need you there,” Travis said.

I looked at Parker with an apologetic smile. “I'm sorry.”

“Are you serious?” he said, his eyebrows shooting up. “You're just going to leave in the middle of dinner?”

“You can still call Brad, right?” I asked, standing up.

The corners of Travis's mouth turned up infinitesimally as he tossed a twenty on the table. “That should cover it.”

“I don't care about the money … Abby …”

I shrugged. “He's my best friend, Parker. If he needs me there, I have to go.”

I felt Travis's hand encapsulate mine as he led me away. Parker watched with a stunned look on his face. Shepley was already on the phone in his Charger, spreading the word. Travis sat in the back with me, keeping my hand firmly in his.

“I just got off the phone with Adam, Trav. He said the State guys all showed up drunk and padded with cash. They're already riled up, so you might wanna keep Abby out of the way.”

Travis nodded. “You can keep an eye on her.”

“Where's America?” I asked.

“Studying for her Physics test.”

“That's a nice lab,” Travis said. I laughed once and then looked to Travis, who had a small grin on his face.

“When did you see the lab? You haven't had Physics,” Shepley said.

Travis chuckled and I elbowed him. He pressed his lips together until the urge to laugh subsided, and then he winked at me, squeezing my hand once again. His fingers intertwined in mine, and I heard a small sigh escape his lips. I knew what he was thinking because I felt the same. In that sliver of time, it was as if nothing had changed.

We pulled into a dark patch of the parking lot, and Travis refused to let go of my hand until we crawled into the window of the basement of the Hellerton Science Building. It had been built just the year before, so it didn't suffer from stagnant air and dust like the other basements we'd snuck into.

Just as we entered the hallway, the roar of the crowd reached our ears. I poked my head out to see an ocean of faces, many of them unfamiliar. Everyone had a bottle of beer in their hand, but the State students were easy to pick out of the crowd. They were the ones that swayed with their eyes half closed.

“Stay close to Shepley, Pigeon. It's going to get crazy in here,” he said from behind me. He scanned the crowd, shaking his head at the sheer numbers.

Hellerton's basement was the most spacious on campus, so Adam liked to schedule fights there when he expected a larger crowd. Even with the addition of space, people were being rubbed against the walls and shoving one another to get a good spot.

Adam rounded the corner and didn't try to hide his dissatisfaction with my presence. “I thought I told
you that you couldn't bring your girl to the fights any more, Travis.”

Travis shrugged. “She's not my girl any more.”

I kept my features smooth, but he had said the words so matter-of-factly that I felt a stabbing sensation in my chest.

Adam looked down at our intertwined fingers and then up at Travis. “I'm never gonna figure you two out.” He shook his head and then glanced to the mob. People were still streaming in from the stairs, and those on the floor were already packed together. “We've got an insane pot tonight, Travis, so no fuckin' off, okay?”

“I'll make sure it's entertaining, Adam.”

“That's not what I'm worried about. Brady's been training.”

“So have I.”

“Bullshit,” Shepley laughed.

Travis shrugged. “I got in a fight with Trent last weekend. That little shit is fast.”

I chuckled and Adam glared at me. “You better take this seriously, Travis,” he said, staring into his eyes. “I have a lot of money riding on this fight.”

“And I don't?” Travis said, irritated with Adam's lecture.

Adam turned, holding the bullhorn to his lips as he stood upon a chair above the multitude of drunken spectators. Travis pulled me against his side as Adam greeted the crowd and then went over the rules.

“Good luck,” I said, touching his chest. I hadn't felt nervous to watching his fights other than the one he'd had with Brock McMann in Vegas, but I couldn't
shake the ominous feeling I'd had since we stepped foot in Hellerton. Something was off, and Travis felt it, too.

Travis grabbed my shoulders and planted a kiss on my lips. He pulled away quickly, nodding once. “That's all the luck I need.”

I was still stunned from the warmth of Travis's lips when Shepley pulled me to the wall beside Adam. I was bumped and elbowed, reminding me of the first night I watched Travis fight, but the crowd was less focused, and some of the State students were getting hostile. Easterners cheered and whistled for Travis when he broke into the Circle, and State's crowd alternated between booing Travis and cheering for Brady.

I was in prime position to see Brady tower over Travis, twitching impatiently for the bullhorn to sound. As usual, Travis had a slight grin on his face, unaffected by the madness around him. When Adam began the fight, Travis intentionally let Brady get in the first punch. I was surprised when his face jerked hard to the side with the blow. Brady had been training.

Travis smiled, his teeth a bright red, and then he focused on matching every punch Brady dealt.

“Why is he letting him hit him so much?” I asked Shepley.

“I don't think he's letting him any more,” Shepley said, shaking his head. “Don't worry, Abby. He's getting ready to take it up a notch.”

After ten minutes Brady was winded, but he still landed solid blows into Travis's sides and jaw. Travis caught Brady's shoe when he tried to kick him, and
held his leg high with one hand, punching him in the nose with incredible force and then lifting Brady's leg higher, causing him to lose his balance. The crowd exploded when Brady fell, but he wasn't on the floor for long. He stood, but with the addition of two lines of dark red streaming from his nose. In the next moment, he landed two more punches to Travis's face. Blood rose from a cut on Travis's eyebrow and dripped down his cheek.

I closed my eyes and turned away, hoping Travis would end the fight soon. The small shift of my body caught me in the current of onlookers, and before I could right myself, I was several feet from a preoccupied Shepley. Efforts to fight against the crowd were ineffective, and before long I was being rubbed against the back wall.

The nearest exit was on the other side of the room, an equal distance to the door we'd come in. My back slammed against the concrete wall, knocking the wind out of me.

“Shep!” I yelled, waving my hand above me to get his attention. The fight was at its peak. No one could hear me.

A man lost his footing and used my shirt to right himself, spilling his beer down my front. I was soaked from neck to waist, reeking with the bitter stench of cheap beer. The man still had my shirt bunched in his fist as he tried to pull himself from the floor, and I ripped his fingers open two at time until he released me. He didn't look twice at me, pushing his way forward through the crowd.