Savannah laughed then playfully nudged Aaron in the side. "Stop teasing him. And as much fun as it is to hear Travis sing, I always thought being serenaded on the dance floor would be much more romantic."
They had both lost their minds. Maybe Aaron's concussion hadn't completely healed. That would explain the older man's comment but not Savannah's—unless concussions were contagious. Which they weren't.
Which meant they had both lost their minds.
Something sharp hit Travis in the foot, making him jerk back in surprise. He frowned, noticed Aaron and Savannah both staring at him. Savannah rolled her eyes then quietly motioned to the small dance floor that was filling up with couples.
Couples who were dancing to a slow song.
Travis grabbed Cara's hand and pulled her from the chair, ignoring her gasp of surprise as he led her to the dance floor. He had no idea what dancing would accomplish but it was better than sitting there, trying to figure out how to make her comfortable, how to get her to relax.
He drew her into his arms, holding her close as they awkwardly moved in a small circle around the crowded floor. Travis muttered a quick apology when his foot knocked against hers, muttered a second one when he stumbled against another couple.
Cara's mouth curled in a small smile, there and gone in the space of a heartbeat. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.
"Sorry. I, um, I'm not much of a dancer."
She smiled again, this one lasting a little longer than the first. "Maybe we should just stay in one spot."
"Oh. Yeah. Good idea." He tightened his arms around her waist, breathed a quick sigh when he felt her body relax just the tiniest bit against his.
"What was that comment about singing? That's the second time someone has said something like that."
"Oh. Nothing, really. It's just—I sang karaoke one night and now they won't leave me alone about it, is all."
"Oh." Cara looked away, her smile disappearing once more. Travis swore to himself then gently ran one hand up and down her back.
"Maybe we can come here the next time they have karaoke and I'll sing. Then you can see it's not really a big deal." He had hoped the offer would bring another smile to her face but she simply nodded, like she didn't expect him to follow-through. He mentally kicked himself for saying the wrong thing then searched his mind, struggling for something else to talk about that might bring a smile to her face. "Did you enjoy the game tonight?"
He knew it was the wrong thing to say, even before Cara stiffened in his arms. He swore to himself, ready to change the subject yet again when she looked up and nodded.
"The game was fun. I learned a little more tonight, too."
"That's good. Right?"
"Yeah. I guess." She looked away, pulled her lower lip between her teeth for a quick second. Travis swallowed a groan and ignored the flash of desire surging through him. He wanted to lean forward, capture her mouth with his. Pull her full lower lip between his own teeth. Taste her. Feel her body soften against his as he kissed her—
Travis groaned again and stepped back just a little, just enough to put an inch of space between them so she wouldn't feel his body's reaction to her. He didn't want to scare her off, or make her think he was only interested in having sex with her. He was—but he wanted more than that, too.
He wanted her to open up to him. Trust him. Tell him what was wrong.
"Did, um, did anything else happen tonight? Besides you learning a little more about the game, I mean."
Cara's steps faltered. She tightened her hold on his shoulders then just as quickly let go. Her eyes darted to his then looked away. "They told you, didn't they? Haley and Jenny."
Travis reached for her hand and pulled her off the floor, back to the corner where Haley and Jenny had taken him. It wasn't private, or even really quiet, but they were out of the way and it at least offered the illusion of privacy.
"They did. A little."
Cara's hand stiffened in his and she was going to pull away—he could sense it in the way she shifted her weight to the balls of her feet, in the slightly panicked look in her eyes. He tightened his hand around hers and dipped his head, trying to capture her gaze. She finally looked at him, uncertainty filling her dark eyes.
"Cara, I wasn't flirting with your roommate. I don't even remember seeing her that night. And even if I had seen her, I wouldn't have flirted with her."
"Why?"
"Why?" He repeated the question, not sure what she was asking. "I don't know why, I just wouldn't have, is all. You're the one I noticed. I was trying to work up the courage to go over and talk to you when you finally came over to say hi."
"Me? Really?"
"Yes, really. You don't remember all the glances I sent your way?"
"Well, yeah. Maybe. But—"
"No buts. I wasn't even paying attention to anyone else. And I know she's your friend and all but I don't like her. I don't like they way she talks to you and puts you down."
"Anna doesn't mean anything by it. She just gets in these moods and—"
"That's not an excuse. And that's not the way friends treat each other."
"You don't know her like I do. She really doesn't mean anything by it. And she helped me out in college after my parents died. And she helped by letting me move in with her. After college, I mean."
"Maybe—" Travis hesitated, knowing he might be shooting himself in the foot by saying what he wanted to say. "Maybe you should think about finding another place to stay."
Cara laughed, the soft sound filled more with sarcasm than mirth. "My job doesn't exactly pay enough for that, not when I'm still paying student loans. It's easier to share expenses with someone else."
"Then move in with me." The words came out before he realized he was going to say them. Travis waited for a flash of panic to seize him, waited for the instant regret—but they didn't come. There was no panic, no regret. Just a sense of rightness.
At least, on his part. Cara's eyes widened and he glimpsed the panic in her gaze, felt it in the way her fingers trembled against his. Heard it in the wavering pitch of her voice when she spoke.
"You want me to move in with you?"
"Yes." Travis nodded then just as quickly shook his head as he scrambled to reassure her. "Not—not like you're thinking, though. Not...not with me."
Although the idea of Cara in his bed each night sent a small thrill coursing through him. The idea of waking up next to her each morning filled him with a need he didn't understand. No way could he let her know that, though. The thought would only scare her.
He cleared his throat and kept talking, still trying to reassure her. "I have three bedrooms and I'm only using one. There's plenty of room. And when the baby comes—" He swallowed, pushing away the protective streak that surged through him. "We can turn the third bedroom into a nursery. For...for the baby."
"You want me to move in with you." Cara's brows lowered in a frown as she studied him. "Like a—like a roommate?"
Not quite like a roommate, no. But he couldn't tell her that. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure. I guess."
Her frown deepened and she looked away, nibbling on her lower lip once more. Travis held his breath, waiting, wondering what else he could say to convince her.
Worrying that he had already said too much.
"And you'd be okay turning one of your rooms into a nursery?"
"Cara, it's my baby, too. Of course, I would."
"I'm not sure what to say. I wasn't expecting—"
"I know. Neither was I. But it makes sense, right?"
"I guess. But—"
"Just think about it, okay? And I think you should go home with me tonight. I think you need some space away from your roommate."
"Tonight?"
"Yes. You can sleep in the guest room."
"The guest room."
"Yeah. Then we can talk about it more in the morning."
"You want me to sleep in the guest room?"
"The guest room." Travis nodded then ste
pped back and drew an X across his chest with the tip of one finger. "I won't bother you. Honest."
"Um." Cara looked away, took a deep breath, then let it out in a rush. "Okay. Sure. We can, uh, talk more about it in the morning."
"Okay. Good. That's good." He grabbed her hand again then quickly let it go, afraid she'd get the wrong impression if he took it. "Did you want to leave now?"
"Hm? Oh. Yeah, sure. I just need to get my things."
Travis nodded and watched her walk away, wondering why she seemed a little taken aback at his offer. It was a good idea, right? And it did make sense.
Now if he could only figure out why it felt like he'd just made a monumental mistake.
Chapter Fifteen
"You need your fucking head examined."
Travis adjusted his grip on the double mattress then peered around the side, frowning at Zach. "What do you mean?"
"Christ, Banky, figure it out. I don't even know where to start." Zach placed his end of the mattress on the tailgate of his truck then jumped into the bed. The cold air turned his breath into a cloud of condensation as he slid the mattress the rest of the way onto the truck and braced it against the box spring. He hopped back down, the heels of his boots thudding against the concrete sidewalk.
"Don't you think it's a little soon to be asking her to move in?"
"She needs a place to stay."
"And why the fuck are we taking her bed?" Zach ignored him and kept talking. "Why does she even need a bed if she's sleeping with you?"
"She's not. She's staying the guest bedroom."
Zach and Tyler both spun around, pinning him with identical expressions of astonishment. Heat filled his face and he looked away, suddenly embarrassed by the admission.
"Wait. Hang on. I know I didn't just hear you right." Zach leaned against the tail end of the truck and folded his arms in front of him. "What do you mean, she's staying in the guest bedroom?"
"Just what I said."
"Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck, Banky? Why? That's all I want to know. Why?"
"Because. I mean, it's not like that. What you're thinking."
"You have no idea what I'm thinking right now."
Travis ignored him. "She just needed a place to stay, is all."
Tyler leaned against the tailgate, confusion clear on his face. "And all this since last night? You just decided to ask her to move in like that?"
"Yeah. Jenny told you what happened, right?"
"A little, yeah. But I still don't get it. Why so fast?"
"Because she needed a place to stay." How many times did he have to tell them that? At least a dozen more, if the surprise and doubt on their faces meant anything.
And maybe it was a little sudden, but it still felt right. Travis hadn't wasted any time this morning when Cara came downstairs and told him she had decided to take him up on his offer. She had been just as quiet as last night and her eyes were rimmed with red, making him think she'd been crying. He wondered if something else had happened, if maybe she had called her roommate and that had something to do with her decision. He didn't bother to ask. Not just because he was afraid of upsetting her, but because he was worried she'd change her mind if he did. Worried that maybe she'd think he had changed his mind if he asked.
He had simply nodded, handed her a plate of scrambled eggs and toast and sausage, then grabbed his phone and called Zach and Tyler. Travis had no idea how much stuff Cara had but figured it couldn't be that much, not if everything was in one single bedroom. But Zach had a huge pick-up truck and Tyler drove a big SUV, a little bigger than Travis's. Between the three of them, he figured they'd have plenty of room.
And they did.
Barely.
Travis glanced at the pile on the sidewalk around them. Mattress and box spring. Headboard. Two nightstands. A small bookshelf. An even smaller television set. A small upholstered chair. Two lamps. At least six boxes of books.
Still more boxes: clothes, pictures, knick-knacks. Girly stuff like shampoo and make-up and other things he didn't even want to think about. He had no idea how everything had fit into the small bedroom of the apartment upstairs. Not that it mattered, because he had plenty of room for everything at his house.
But the bed still bothered him for some reason. He stared at it, frowning at the mattress leaning against the box spring. He had wanted to tell Cara she didn't need the bed, that she could keep using the one in the guest room.
But that bothered him, too. The fact that she was in the guest room. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, thinking about her sleeping in the room down the hall from his. He actually got out of bed twice, had gotten as far as the door of his room before stopping and going back to bed. What was he going to do? Barge into her room and ask her to sleep with him?
Yes.
No.
No, he couldn't. He didn't want her to think that he expected anything from her. Not like that.
But the bed still bothered him.
"Yo. Banky. Did you hear anything I just said?"
Travis blinked then looked over at Zach. He knocked the other man's hand away from his face and took a step back. "What?"
"Forget it, Mummy. Travis is in his own little world."
"Then he needs to snap the fuck out of it. Seriously, Banky. What's going on with you and this girl?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. What's going on?" Zach shifted, leaned in a little closer. "Do you like her, or do you just feel guilty for knocking her up?"
Anger washed over him, swift and red-hot. Travis clenched his fists then just as quickly forced himself to relax. Zach wasn't harassing him or giving him a hard time; he was just asking a valid question in his normal blunt way.
"I like her. And no, I don't feel guilty." He didn't, not anymore. He took a deep breath and released it in a rush as he uttered a small confession. "I'm—I'm actually excited about the baby."
Tyler ran a hand over his face but not quite fast enough to hide the brief smile. "Well, that's good a thing, at least."
"Yeah, but it still doesn't answer the question about why she's sleeping in the fucking guest room." Zach shook his head then pinned him with another fierce glare. "Now stop acting as fucking dense as Jason and answer the question."
"I told you—"
"Yeah: she needed a place to stay. I get it. Hell, I got it the first dozen times you said it. But why? I mean, you guys are sleeping together so she doesn't..." Zach's voice trailed off, his eyes widening for a split-second as heat filled Travis's face. "No. Fucking. Way. Seriously?"
"What?"
"Are you really telling me you haven't slept with her? At all?"
"No. Of course, I slept with her. She's pregnant, isn't she?"
"I mean besides that one night."
Travis looked away but it didn't help, not when he couldn't hide the deep blush scorching his face. Even the tips of his ears burned with embarrassment.
Zach let out a low whistle but it was Tyler's quiet voice that made Travis squirm. "What the hell is wrong with you? You seriously haven't slept with her since then?"
"I don't want her to get the wrong idea."
"And what the hell idea would that be? That you like her? Or that you don't want anything to do with her?"
"That's not it at all—"
"Then you better do something before she thinks it is. Christ, Travis. I can't believe you. What do you think she's going to think if you haven't even touched her since she told you she was pregnant?"
"I have. We've, uh, we've kissed." The words sounded lame and immature to his own ears and he wished he could take them back. We've kissed. Even he thought he sounded pathetic. But he couldn't take the words back and he didn't know what else to say, not when both men were staring at him like he'd grown a second head.
He was stopped from saying anything when Jenny rushed through the door of the apartment building, her streaked hair flying around her flushed face. "Um, guys. We might have a situation upstairs. T
hings are getting a little heated with Cara's roommate and—"
Travis didn't wait for her to finish. He took off at a run, brushing past Jenny and hitting the stairs two at a time. Yelling drifted from the partially open door, loud enough to be heard over the sound of heavy footsteps following him. Travis pushed open the door and skidded to a halt, his gaze quickly taking in the scene in front of him.
The last few boxes were stacked against the wall. Cara cradled a small one against her chest, holding it like a shield. Her face was a mask of anger and hurt as her roommate pointed a finger at her, screeching about something. Haley stood next to Cara, looking like a warrior princess ready to do battle.
Zach pushed past him and grabbed Haley by the arm, pulling her against him before she could do more than gasp in surprise. Travis moved closer to Cara, ready to get between her and her roommate if the woman moved even an inch closer.
"Everything okay?" He directed the quiet question at Cara but it was her roommate who answered.
"No. Everything is not okay. She can't just leave like this. We have a lease for the next three months. I have rent I need to pay."
"You have a lease, not me. And I told you I'd pay you the first of each month. Just like always."
"That's not good enough. How do I know you won't change your mind?"
"I've always paid you. I wouldn't—"
"I don't trust you. I want it. Now. All of it."
"I don't have that kind of money, you know that—"
"That's not my problem, now is it? You either pay me now or I'll call the police. You can't—"
Travis stepped in front of Cara, interrupting the screeching woman with a sharp wave of his hand. Her threat to call the police was hollow, empty. He could call her on it but it would be easier this way. "How much?"
The woman's mouth snapped closed as she leveled narrowed eyes at him. "How much for what?"
"How much for the rent?"
"Travis, no—"
"It's seven hundred dollars a month. She owes me for the next three months."
Travis looked over his shoulder at Cara then turned back. "So three-fifty a month?"
"No, seven hundred. She pays half."
"There's no fucking way this place costs that much. Not in this neighborhood." Zach leveled the accusation at her before Travis could. A furious blush filled the woman's face, her gaze dropping to the carpet beneath her feet.
Playing For Love (The York Bombers, #6) Page 11
