Travis staggered backward, the hurt plainly displayed in his eyes. “A toast!” he yelled.
I flinched, turning just in time to see him climbing onto a chair, stealing a beer from the shocked Sig Tau brother closest to him. I glanced to America, who watched Travis with a pained expression.
“To douchebags!” he said, gesturing to Brad. “And to girls that break your heart,” he bowed his head to me. His eyes lost focus. “And to the absolute fucking horror of losing your best friend because you were stupid enough to fall in love with her.”
He tilted back the beer, finishing what was left, and then tossed it to the floor. The room was silent except for the music playing in the lower level, and everyone stared at Travis in mass confusion.
&nbs
p; Mortified, I grabbed Brad’s hand and led him downstairs to the dance floor. A few couples followed behind us, watching me closely for tears or some other response to Travis’s tirade. I smoothed my features, refusing to give them what they wanted.
We danced a few stiff steps and Brad sighed. “That was kind of … weird.”
“Welcome to my life.”
Travis pushed his way through the couples on the dance floor, stopping beside me. It took him a moment to steady his feet. “I’m cutting in.”
“No, you’re not. Jesus!” I said, refusing to look at him.
After a few tense moments I glanced up, seeing Travis’s eyes boring into Brad’s. “If you don’t back away from my girl, I’ll rip out your fucking throat. Right here on the dance floor.”
Brad seemed conflicted, his eyes nervously darting from me to Travis. “Sorry, Abby,” he said, slowly pulling his arms away. He retreated to the stairs and I stood alone, humiliated.
“How I feel about you right now, Travis … it very closely resembles hate.”
“Dance with me,” he pleaded, swaying to keep his balance.
The song ended and I sighed with relief. “Go drink another bottle of whiskey, Trav.” I turned to dance with the only single guy on the dance floor.
The tempo was faster, and I smiled at my new, surprised dance partner, trying to ignore the fact that Travis was just a few feet behind me. Another Sig Tau brother danced behind me, grabbing my hips. I reached back, pulling him closer. It reminded me of the way Travis and Megan danced that night at the Red, and I did my best to recreate the scene I had wished on many occasions that I could forget. Two pairs of hands were on nearly every part of my body, and it was easy to ignore my more reserved side with the amount of alcohol in my system.
Suddenly, I was airborne. Travis threw me over his shoulder, at the same time shoving one of his frat brothers hard, knocking him to the floor.
“Put me down!” I said, pounding my fists into his back.
“I’m not going to let you embarrass yourself over me,” he growled, taking the stairs two at a time.
Every pair of eyes we passed watched me kick and scream as Travis carried me across the room. “You don’t think,” I said as I struggled, “this is embarrassing? Travis!”
“Shepley! Is Donnie outside?” Travis said, ducking from my flailing limbs.
“Uh … yeah?” he said.
“Put her down!” America said, taking a step toward us.
“America,” I said, squirming, “don’t just stand there! Help me!”
Her mouth turned up and she laughed once. “You two look ridiculous.”
My eyebrows turned in at her words, both shocked and angry that she found any part of the situation funny.
Travis headed for the door and I glared at her. “Thanks a lot, friend!”
The cold air struck the bare parts of my skin, and I protested louder. “Put me down, dammit!”
Travis opened a car door and tossed me into the backseat, sliding in beside me. “Donnie, you’re the DD tonight?”
“Yeah,” he said, nervously watching me struggle to escape.