“Okay. Um, sure. Hey Trav, when I get back, we will have that talk?” she stated rather firmly.
“Okay,” Travis agreed. Scott took the keys and then he and Ashley got into the car and took off.
“Hey Paige. Let me go change into some more appropriate clothes and then I’ll meet you to work on the dance. Where do you want to work on it?” Britney asked. “How about the back deck?” I said.
“Okay, I’ll be there in fifteen,” she said, turning to make her exit.
“I guess you changed your mind?” I said once Travis and I were alone.
“No. I just wanted to let Scott be the one to take Ashley for the first spin in the car. It’s more of a romantic thing.” Travis provided his excuse, but I found it to be lame.
“Well, I guess you have your priorities,” I stated and then started making my way back towards my campsite.
“Paige, it just wasn’t a good time,” he said, grabbing my arm and halting me to a stop.
“I didn’t realize there was a perfect time or place to tell Ashley that you are in love with me. I’m sorry, my bad. I guess her feelings on the matter are more important than mine,” I snipped and then began my stride again down the path. Travis called out for me, but I chose to ignore him.
I could hear his footsteps catching up to me when all of a sudden a car horn started honking behind us. I turned to see who it was, thinking it may be Ashley and Scott trying to get our attention to show off the Porsche, but it wasn’t them. I recognized the Jeep though, and was completely surprised to see Tracey hanging out of the passenger window.
“Paige!!!” she shouted as they pulled up next to me.
“Oh, my Gosh Trace!” I shrieked and then bounced over to give her a hug through the window. She quickly opened the door and hopped out to give me a real one. Tom was driving, so he put the car in park and got out too. I noticed then the rear passenger door opening and saw Jared climbing out. He had mentioned wanting to visit me during our text exchange, and since I had yet to discuss anything with anyone, I knew the reason behind their trip. I instantly felt guilty that Jared would shortly be disappointed once he learned that Travis and I were together.
“Hey Paige!” Jared said, coming over and picking me up for a big hug. He was tall, with his blond hair all tousled up from the drive but he still looked really good.
“Hey you!” I said, squeezing him back.
“Surprise, surprise!” he said, smiling brightly placing my feet back down on the ground. Tom came over to give me a big hug as well, and I was able to get a glimpse of the expression on Travis’s face. He definitely looked confused by the scene that was unfolding in front of him. I figured now would be a good time to introduce everyone.
“Trace, Tom, Jared, I want you to meet Travis. He is the campground owner’s son, and Travis, these are my good friends from home. This is my best friend Tracey, her boyfriend Tom, and his best friend Jared.” I saw Travis’s expression change when I introduced him to Jared and I knew he was registering what we had talked about last night and realized that this was “THE Jared.”
“It’s nice to meet you all,” Travis said. “I didn’t realize we had people coming in today,” he said, looking over at me accusingly like I had kept the information from him.
“We called last night and spoke to Barney, is that your dad?” Tracey asked. “It was a last minute decision to come and surprise Paige!” she cheered, putting her arm around me. I was thankful for her remark hoping that it would alleviate Travis’s upset towards me.
“Well, let me get you all checked in. I take it you guys are staying on one of our tent sites?” he asked.
“Yes, we went out and bought tents yesterday. Now, we’ll just have to see if these guys can manage to put them together,” Tracey teased.
“Hey now!” Tom said, pulling her close to his side. Jared came up to me and put his arm around my shoulder. I was worried about what Travis would think, but I wasn’t going to brush off my friend. It was innocent and soon enough he would know that I was no longer on the market.
“Hey, can we camp out on your site Paige? Is there room for two tents so that we can all be together?” Tracey asked.
“Why don’t we get our own site, and have Paige stay with us so that we don’t have parental chaperones all night,” Jared proposed.
“Right, good point,” Tracey agreed. Travis was overhearing everything and I could tell that he was bothered by the plan. He should know that I wouldn’t actually sleep in a tent with Jared.
“Hey man! Where’s your bathroom?” Jared asked.
“It’s around the side of the building,” Travis answered.
“Hey, I’ve got to go too,” Tom said.
“Me too,” Tracey chimed in.
“Out those doors to the left,” I pointed, and then the three of them shuffled out together.
“That’s Jared, huh?” Travis inquired once we were alone. “Turns out he has a thing for you after all.” His voice relayed his irritation in the matter.
“He missed his chance,” I stated.
“Probably not. Looks like you’ll be staying with them in the tents.” Travis’s jealousy was getting the best of him, which was a little irritating considering he was the one that was making us keep our relationship a secret.
“Don’t get your boxers in a bunch. I will stay with Tracey, and if for some reason she decides to share a tent with Tom than I will go back to the RV.”
“Right,” Travis said, rolling his eyes in disbelief.
“Don’t be a jerk, Travis. I’m in love with you and am not some slut that would ever cheat on anyone. So quit assuming otherwise. My friends came to visit me and I am going to hang out with them. That’s it,” I stated, grabbing his shirt from across the counter to pull him forward for a kiss. The bells rang as the doors opened, which made Travis pull back before our lips could touch.
“That is one sweet ride man, I’m officially jealous,” Scott told Travis, tossing him the keys.
Ashley and Scott had returned from their little joy ride, and were raving about how smooth the Porsche drove. Ashley bounced up onto the counter, parking herself right next to Travis. “So, are you ready to go have that little chat now?” she asked.
“I can’t right now, some of Paige’s friends just showed up and I’ve got to get them situated.”
“All you have to do is give us our site number and we can figure out the rest,” I said, not letting him back out this time.
“Really? Some of your friends are here? Did you know they were coming?” Ashley asked, excited about their arrival.
“No, they came to surprise me,” I said.
“Is this by any chance the guy that you are kind of with now?” Ashley whispered, gesturing with her head toward the doorway, where we saw Jared enter followed by Tom and Tracey.
“No,” I stated adamantly, shaking my head to reiterate so that Travis would know there was nothing between Jared and me.
“Well, he is super sexy. If he’s not taken, maybe we should introduce him to Britney,” she said.
“Good idea.” I agreed.
Tom, Tracey and Jared came back up to the counter and finished registering for the night. We needed firewood, but I told Travis that he could deliver it when he and Ashley were finished. She pressed his arm, urging him to tell her what was going on and the rest of us made our way out.
Tom and Jared hopped into the car to pull down to the site, but before Tracey and I got in the back she whispered in my ear. “You and I need to have a little chat missy. Apparently, you and Travis worked your stuff out and you didn’t tell me,” she said.
“Yes, you and I need to talk, but how did you know?” I asked, curious as to what gave it away.
“Um, it was pretty obvious. All the stares he was giving you and the jealous glares that Jared was receiving.” I smiled at the thought of how obvious Travis’s feelings were for me, and I just hoped he was able to express them to everyone else.
Chapter 21
While Tom and Jared were busy figuring out how to put the tents together, Tracey and I went to my trailer to talk. She told the boys that she wanted to see my parents, so that it wouldn’t be blatantly obvious that we needed a moment to gossip. I filled her in on everything that had happened, and could tell she was upset I hadn’t kept her in the loop.
“I just thought that you would be disappointed in my choices and want me to break up with Travis. I really love him Tracey, and regardless of this little hiccup, I want to be with him.”
“It’s not a little hiccup, Paige. He’s keeping your relationship a secret. I get how at the beginning it was probably best for you since the Bitches of Eastwick were out to get you. But now that you all have resolved your issues, he should be shouting his love to the world,” she insisted. Tracey was right and I whole-heartedly could not deny it.
“I know. We were in the middle of a fight over it as you all pulled in this afternoon.” I said.
“Yeah, that was weird. Jared wondered who the guy was that was chasing you down and realized he might have some competition. Now I feel like a jerk, agreeing to this trip and encouraging him to come and see you. I thought that you two would kindle things,” she admitted.
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll let him know what’s going on. Hopefully, he won’t be too upset. Although, he did have a year and a half to make his moves and didn’t,” I stated.
“Yep, who knew you were going to run off to the wilderness and fall in love with a local.” she said. “I was purely kidding when I made that joke before you left home. I really didn’t expect it to actually happen,” Tracey said, shaking her head in disbelief that it had.
“Maybe you should tell Ashley yourself Paige, and then Travis won’t have to confront her. It’s surprising how much fear one little girl can instill in so many. Well, I’m not intimidated by her,” Tracey stated.
“I actually think it has more to do with him not wanting to deal with confrontation. He probably is afraid that once he tells Ashley she will go back to Cora and he might end up receiving a sobbing phone call. That’s my theory,” I said.
“Yeah, you are probably right, he doesn’t want the ghosts of girlfriends past to haunt him. Well, he needs to get over that fear if he expects to keep you around.”
I decided to keep Tracey’s suggestion of me telling Ashley myself in my back pocket. Before I let Travis tear us apart over this, I would resort to that.
After Tom and Jared got the tents up, which practically took FOREVER, the four of us decided to go out and grab some dinner. They all filled me in on the latest drama that was happening back home and who was dating whom. Jared was being flirtatious, but I was avoiding his physical advances. The opportunity to tell him about Travis and I hadn’t presented itself yet, so in the meantime I was doing my best not to encourage his flirtations.
We finished our meal and made our way back to the campground. The bonfire was blazing, and everyone was gathered around for a marshmallow roast. We decided to join in the fun, since we hadn’t had dessert yet. Tom and Jared had actually never roasted marshmallows before, so they were eager to do it. As I was watching them awkwardly trying to figure out how not to burn the marshmallows, I couldn’t help but compare Jared to Travis. Although they both come from money and are both very smart, kind and gorgeous, Jared is a bit of a prince who spends his time getting his hair done and making sure his car is washed, while Travis works in a coffee shop and has spent his summers working on the campground in order to help his parents out. The comparison made me admire Travis that much more. I already knew how down to earth Travis was, but seeing Jared in action, especially out of his element, made me more aware of how lucky I was to find Travis. He was the exact guy I’d hoped for but never dreamed I’d find.
Travis and the rest made their way over to us. “Hey Paige!” Ashley cried.
“Hey!” I responded. I was trying to get a read on her demeanor to know whether Travis had spoken with her this afternoon. I figured she would say something, or give me a wink or some kind of signal if she had been clued in, but there was nothing. Trying to brush off my disappointment, I took the opportunity to introduce my friends to everyone. Travis was quiet and didn’t really join in the conversation. It was only when Jared handed me a couple of perfectly roasted marshmallows that Travis finally acknowledged our existence, which was evident by the glares he began giving Jared.
Tracey must have picked up on them too, because she immediately jumped in and pulled Travis into conversation. As I chatted with Tom, I could slightly overhear their conversation and heard Tracey asking questions trying to get to know Travis. I knew she wanted to learn about the guy who had stolen her best friend’s heart. Before long, Travis and Tracey were laughing and I knew he had won her over. It didn’t take much to see what a great guy he was, and judging by Tracey’s attitude she was now a fan.
Jared and Britney were in conversation while the others headed over to the basketball court to shoot some hoops. Tom asked Tracey if she wanted to head back to the campsite, he clearly had something on the brain and was making a ploy to get some alone time. She excused herself from the conversation with Travis, then bid the rest of us goodnight before skipping off down the hill with Tom wrapped around her waist. Travis moved his way to my side, and reached out to discreetly brush my finger. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but couldn’t.
“Hey, do you guys want to join the others for a game of horse on the court or go in the game room to shoot some pool?” Travis asked, pulling Jared and Britney from their conversation.
“What are you up for Paige?” Jared turned to me to ask.
“How about we go shoot some pool?” I said.
“Great. You joining us Britney?” Jared asked. His sudden interest in Britney was cute, and made me hopeful that he might not take my rejection so hard.
After a couple games of pool, Jared asked if I wanted to go hang out back at the campsite. I agreed because I wanted to take the opportunity to tell him about Travis and me. I knew Travis would be upset by the fact that I was leaving with Jared, but he would just have to deal. After all, he wasn’t allowed to be mad at me when it was apparent that he hadn’t told any of his friends yet.