“Travis!” I hear mom yell out.
“It’s all right, Ma,” I assure her. “We’re just going to have us a friendly chat.”
It’s pouring outside, but I don’t care, I shove him out the door anyway. He tries to break away from me to run back inside, but before he has the chance I whip around and push him up against the wall, thrusting my forearm against his throat as a way to keep him from running off.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Russell’s hands fly up, pulling at my arm, but I don’t budge.
“Listen to me, you arrogant little shit. You don’t touch Gracie, ya hear me? I swear to God, Russell, if you even look like you are thinking about her, I will kick your ass and I will enjoy every minute of it.”
I let go of him, shoving him into the wall one more time. Russell pants, clutching at his throat like the pansy he is. “You’re fucking crazy, ya know that?”
I roll my eyes and shrug. “Call me whatever you want, Russell, nothing you have to say will bother me.”
He starts to say something else, but I flip him off and he shuts his mouth. We walk back into the diner, sopping wet and glaring at each other. Aidan walks out of his office and glances back and forth between the two of us. “Do I even want to know?” he sighs.
“Nope,” I say matter-of-factly. “Just settling something.”
Russell hurries into the employee lounge as I make my way back to the counter, ignoring the stares that are following me, no doubt because I am leaving tiny little rain puddles all over the place with every step I make. By the time I sit back down at the counter, I am in an even worse mood than I was when I got here.
Gracie walks by and frowns at my appearance. It’s all her fucking fault. I was fine before she swooped into town. Now she consumes every single thought I have. I hate that I want her so badly. Even more than that, I hate that I am making it obvious to everyone else as well. Russell walks back out in dry clothes and smirks at me. I flip him off again, pick up my charcoal and immerse myself into my drawing.
“Can I get you anything else before I leave, Travis?” Gracie asks.
Leave? I glance at the clock on the wall. Shit. It’s eight at night already. How the hell did that happen?
“No,” I growl.
Her blue eyes widen. “All right then.” She pulls off her apron as she walks into the back. A few moments later, she returns with her purse in her hands. She calls out goodbye to Molly and then she hurries out into the rain. She is only gone a couple of minutes before she rushes back in, her blond hair dripping from the rain.
“Does anyone have an umbrella I could borrow so I can walk home or the number for a cab company?” she asks. “My car won’t start.”
Chapter Ten
Gracie
“Travis, could you be a dear and give Gracie here a ride home?” Connie asks, nodding her head in a way to let him know that she is telling him more than she is asking.
Travis glances up at me from where he is sitting at the counter, sketching with charcoal in his sketchpad. His face is completely expressionless. I wish he would do something, anything to let me know how he feels about giving me a ride. His eyes narrow and his lips turn down into a scowl as he closes his notepad.
Well, at least I know how he feels now.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind walking,” I say.
Connie waves her hand through the air. “Nonsense! Travis doesn’t mind, isn’t that right?”
“Not at all,” he rolls his eyes before mumbling. “It’s not like I was in the middle of doing anything.”
Travis slides off of the barstool he was sitting on. He disappears into the back and returns a few moments later, shrugging his arms into a black jacket.
Connie pulls out her cell phone and tells me she is going to have Remy come tow my car to the shop he works at, so he can have a look at it. I say a silent prayer that whatever it is, it is fixable and doesn’t wind up costing a fortune. I can’t afford a big bill and certainly can’t afford the down-payment on a new car.
“You ready?” he asks, without even glancing my way.
I nod and mumble another goodbye to Molly. I follow Travis out to his dark gray Jeep. To my surprise he walks over to the passenger’s side door and opens it up for me. I pause for a moment, staring at him. His eyes widen in annoyance as he motions towards the open door with one quick flick of his hand. I shake my head, snapping out of my thoughts, as I hurry into the car.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
Travis nods without saying anything and slams the door shut before walking around to the driver’s side and climbing in next to me. I glance over at him. He is still scowling and I feel bad. Just another thing to add to the rapidly growing list of reasons why he dislikes me.
“You can just drop me off at the next corner,” I say as I pull the seatbelt across my chest. “I really don’t mind walking in the rain.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. First of all, it’s fucking pouring out. Second, if you haven’t figured it out yet, my mother knows everything. No matter where I drop you off, she will find out about it. If I don’t drive you to your house, and wait to make sure you get safely inside, she will smack the shit out of me. Rule number one, when Connie Foster tells you to do something, you do it.”
Travis backs out of the parking spot and starts driving towards my house. I frown and my forehead wrinkles. I didn’t give him directions or tell him what my address was.
“How do you know where I live?” I ask him.
“You live in your grandmother’s old house. Everyone knows that,” he says.
“Oh.” I feel a tad silly for forgetting for a moment how nosy this town is. “I’m really sorry you had to stop your work and bring me home.”
Travis makes a face but doesn’t respond. I’m starting to get really annoyed with the way he treats me. I have never done anything to him. We barely even know each other. I twist in my seat to face him. He doesn’t acknowledge me in the slightest. I sit there, staring at him, trying to figure out what it is I want to say. I suppose this was all going to come to a head at some point. No better time than right now, since he can’t exactly walk away from me. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. He’s probably waiting for me to say something, but I don’t. He shakes his head and grips the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turn white.
“Why are you always staring at me?” he spits out.
“Because you’re sort of beautiful.” The words leave my mouth before I have the chance to even think about what I am saying. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks, completely embarrassed by the fact that I just admitted that to him, which is only made worse by the fact that his only response is to roll his eyes.
“What exactly is your problem with me?” I fume.
“You’re being a little over-dramatic don’t you think?”
“No, I don’t. You roll your eyes every single time I talk to you, you never have anything nice to say to me and you constantly give me an attitude.” My fingers clench tightly around my purse strap as I lay into him. “Now, I know I haven’t done anything to you, so what the fuck is your problem with me?”
“I don’t have a problem with you,” he says with a sarcastic laugh.
Is he seriously laughing at me?
“Bullshit.”
“I don’t.” He snorts.
“Then why do you treat me the way that you do?”
“I’m just…different.”
“Wow…that’s a really crappy excuse Travis.”
I cross my arms over my chest and turn to stare out of the rain-streaked window. We are about five minutes from my house. I can’t wait to get there so that I can get out of the rain and away from him.
After what feels like an eternity, we finally pull into my driveway. As soon as the Jeep comes to a stop, I fling the door open and jump out before running as fast as I can up the walkway, towards my front door. I don’t even say goodbye to him or thank him for the ride, which I suppose is a bit rude. I ram my key
into the lock so hard that I am amazed I didn’t break it. Opening the door up, I let myself inside, slamming it shut before leaning my back up against it. Warm tears begin to stream quickly down my face.
I’m pissed – with him for being such an ass and with myself for being so attracted to him.
A knock sounds loudly at my door and I jump. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I turn and open the door, surprised to see Travis standing there, soaking wet from the rain.
“You’re right,” he says. “I’ve been an asshole to you and you don’t deserve it. I’m sorry.”
Part of me wants to tell him to go to hell, but he did just apologize, and he did sound sincere about it. I guess the least I could do is offer to let him come in and get out of the rain. I take a step back and wave my hand out, inviting him in. He steps inside, removing his wet jacket and hanging it on the door knob.
“Do you want a beer?” I ask him.
He shakes his head as he glances around. “No, I don’t drink.”
“How about some coffee since you had to leave before finishing your cup?”
“Yeah, that would be great.”
Travis follows me into the kitchen. He leans against the counter, watching me as I get to work making him a cup of coffee. I turn and set the mug down on the counter next to him, and just as I do, thunder rumbles loudly, shaking the house. A loud pop sounds and the house goes dark. I gasp and jump, bumping into Travis as I do. His hands catch me at my waist and he draws me close to him, wrapping his arms around me. He smells unbelievably good, like a mixture of soap and woods, and I immediately feel a tingle between my legs at the thought of being so close to him. I glance up at him, and before I have a chance to think, his lips come crashing down against mine. My body instantly melts into his. My hands slide up his muscular back, all the way up until my fingers are twisting into his hair. His hands travel down slowly until they are resting firmly on my bottom.
Travis parts my lips with his tongue. My mouth opens, inviting his tongue inside to twirl and massage against mine. My brain turns to mush as I lose myself to him. I feel so warm and alive in his arms, a feeling that quickly disappears when he pulls back, releasing my lips.
“I have wanted to do that since the first time I saw you in the diner,” he admits.
He what? I shake my head.
“I’m so confused,” I say. “I thought you hated me.”
He laughs. “I don’t hate you Gracie.”
“Then why do you treat me the way you do?”
“Because I want you.”
“You’re rude to me because you want me?” I ask dryly.
“That sounds worse than it actually is.”
“Can you explain it to me?”
Travis sighs as he drops his hands from my hips back down to his sides. “I don’t know how to explain it, Gracie. Haven’t you ever wanted something you couldn’t have? Or something you shouldn’t?”
“What makes you think you couldn’t have me?”
Travis studies my face with his intense gray eyes. His muscular chest heaves as he breathes in and out. His tongue slips out of his mouth, gliding quickly across his lips. “Are you telling me that you want me too?”
He dips his head down, his lips so close to mine.
“Travis,” I whisper.
“I want to hear you say it, Gracie.”
“I want you, Travis, I want you badly.”
The words have barely left my mouth when Travis pushes me up against the wall. He stares down at me with stormy, lust-filled eyes. Grabbing a hold of my wrists, he pulls my arms above my head as he presses his body firmly against mine. Leaning in to me, he dots kisses along my shoulder blade and up the side of my neck until he reaches my ear.
“I’m not any good for a sweetheart like you,” he whispers, his warm breath tickling my neck.
“I’m not as sweet as you think I am,” I say seductively. The voice and the words sound so foreign coming from my mouth.
Travis’s gray eyes widen for a moment. He looks completely conflicted, which throws me off a little bit. He lets go of my wrists and my arms fall back down to my sides. My heart drops as Travis takes a couple of steps back, putting distance between the two of us. I don’t understand what suddenly switched in him. We both just admitted that we want each other. That’s supposed to be a good thing, right? So, why does he look like he is about to run away from me like he did the night we had that disastrous dinner at his parents’ house?
.
Chapter Eleven
Travis
I’ve never had a woman want me without having an ulterior motive – drugs, money, scapegoat, whatever. She doesn’t know a thing about me, not anything that really matters anyway. If she knew about the drugs and the arrests, I am willing to bet she wouldn’t be as interested as she is right now.
I sigh. “Gracie.”
She shakes her head. “Don’t say it, Travis.”
“How do you know what I am going to say?”
“I can tell by the look on your face. You already admitted that you want me and I don’t believe for a minute that it is a purely sexual thing. You can’t tell me that you don’t feel the energy between us.”
“It’s not that.”
She takes a step forward and I’m not sure if I want to let her get closer or if I want to take a step back. I should move away from her, put as much distance between us as I possibly can, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.
“You still don’t think you are good enough for me?”
I swallow hard and shake my head. She is treading on dangerous territory. I know it and she has to know it as well. This is the stuff I’m not good with. Feelings and words and shit.
“Give me one good reason as to why, and if I agree with you, then I will back off.”
I continue to stare at her without saying anything. She takes another step closer to me and then another until there is barely any room in between us.
“This is a small town, Travis,” she says, her voice low and husky. “People talk.”
My body tenses, my heart rate speeds up, my breathing quickens, and I am starting to sweat. She knows. I would have done anything I could to keep all of the shit I have done and been through a secret from her forever, but it doesn’t matter because someone already fucking told her. It must have been Evan. It had to have been. That fucking dick.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I growl.
She flinches slightly at my tone but she doesn’t back away. “It means I know about your past.”
“And?”
“And I don’t care.”
“What do you mean you don’t care?”
“It’s not my place to judge you for the things you did in your past.”
“And if I did them now?”
“Do you?”
“No.”
“Then that’s a moot point, don’t you think?”
I’m getting irritated by the things she is saying and I am not one hundred percent certain as to why. Probably because I can’t understand why she can so easily overlook my past, yet there are still people here that knew me before the drugs who can’t get past my transgressions. Or maybe it’s the fact that I don’t need anyone else to make me feel pressured into being some perfect person.
Oh, look at Travis Foster - drug addict turned model citizen.
People are never going to say that about me. I don’t want anyone to say that about me because it is pure bullshit.
“But what if I did? Let’s say I slip up? Then what?” I shout.
“I will never turn my back on you, Travis,” she says calmly.
She reaches one hand up and brushes her fingertips across my cheek. My eyes close and I turn my face in towards her hand. I want her more than I have ever wanted anyone or anything in my entire life. There is just one more thing that keeps nagging at me in the back of my head.
I clear my throat. “What exactly is going on between you and Evan?”
Gracie frowns and shakes he
r head. She drops her hand back down to her side. “There’s nothing going on between me and Evan.”
“I know you guys went out on a date.”
“Yeah, a date where I was thinking about you the whole time.”
I’m not sure why her admission surprises me but it does. Girls typically flock to Evan. As a matter of fact, this would be the first time that I have talked to a girl that wasn’t swooning at the mention of his name.
“You guys didn’t, I mean, you didn’t sleep with him, did you?”
Please say no, please, for the love of God, say no.
She bites her lower lip as she shakes her head again. “He kissed me at the end of the date, but it never went any further than that.”
I hate the idea that his lips touched any part of her body. There are only one set of lips that I want anywhere near her and those lips are mine. It must show on my face how displeased I am with the idea that they kissed, because Gracie reaches her hand up and cups my cheek, turning my attention back to her.
“Hey, I don’t have feelings for Evan the way I do for you. I felt like I was with a friend when I was with him, nothing more.”
I lean my face into her palm, gently brushing my lips across her soft skin. “Good, because I don’t share. You’re either his or you’re mine.”
“I’m yours, Travis. I’ve been yours since the first moment you snapped at me in the diner.”
I laugh out loud, recalling that moment. “That was definitely not one of my finer moments. How on earth did that stir up any feelings about me?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “There was something behind the passion in your eyes for your artwork. I wanted to be something that caused your eyes to glaze over like that.”
I grab a hold of her hips, my fingers digging into her skin as I pull her close to me. She glances up at me with a look of pure lust that makes me instantly harden. She really has no idea the affect she has had on me since the first moment I saw her that day.
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