“I don’t want you to be unable to concentrate in class,” I said, kissing him again. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around him.
“I’m not sure what I ever did without you,” he said, holding me up with one hand and unbuckling his belt with the other, “but I don’t ever want to find out. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted, Pigeon.”
“Just remember that when I take all of your money in the next poker game,” I said, pulling off my shirt.
Chapter Thirteen Fourteen
FULL HOUSE
I twirled around, scrutinizing my reflection with a skeptical eye. The dress was white, backless, and dangerously short, the bodice held up by a short string of rhinestones that formed a halter around my neck.
“Wow! Travis is going to piss himself when he sees you in that!” America said.
I rolled my eyes. “How romantic.”
“You’re getting that one. Don’t try any more on, that’s the one,” she said, clapping with excitement.
“You don’t think it’s too short? Mariah Carey shows less skin.”
America shook her head. “I insist.”
I took a turn on the bench while America tried on one dress after another, more indecisive when it came to choosing one for herself. She settled on an extremely short, tight, flesh-colored number that left one of her shoulders bare.
We rode in her Honda to the apartment to find the Charger gone and Toto alone. America pulled out her phone and dialed, smiling when Shepley answered.
“Where’d you go, baby?” She nodded and then looked at me. “Why would I be mad? What kind of surprise?” she said. She looked at me again and then walked into Shepley’s bedroom, closing the door
.
I rubbed Toto’s black pointy ears while America murmured in the bedroom. When she emerged, she tried to subdue the smile on her face.
“What are they up to now?” I asked.
“They’re on their way home. I’ll let Travis tell you,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh, God … what?” I asked.
“I just said I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
I fidgeted with my hair and picked at my nails, unable to sit still while I waited for Travis to unveil his latest surprise. A birthday party, a puppy—I couldn’t imagine what could be next.
The loud engine of Shepley’s Charger announced their arrival. The boys laughed as they walked up the stairs.
“They’re in a good mood,” I said. “That’s a good sign.”
Shepley walked in first. “I just didn’t want you to think there was a reason that he got one and I didn’t.”
America stood up to greet her boyfriend and threw her arms around him. “You’re so silly, Shep. If I wanted an insane boyfriend, I’d date Travis.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with how I feel about you,” Shepley added.
Travis walked through the door with a square gauze bandage on his wrist. He smiled at me and then collapsed on the couch, resting his head on my lap.
I couldn’t look away from the bandage. “Okay … what did you do?”
Travis smiled and pulled me down to kiss him. I could feel the nervousness radiating from him. Outwardly he was smiling, but I had the distinct feeling he wasn’t sure how I would react to what he had done.
“I got a few things today.”