She glared at him. It used to have a chilling effect on him, but now he found himself laughing again.
Dustin slapped his hands down on the table. "Okay," he said, turning to Tonya. "Travis is in hysterics and you must be exhausted. You go on and take his bed and we'll work through this in the morning."
"Thank you, Dustin," she said, shooting a glare at Travis, who didn't notice.
When she was gone, Travis laid his forehead on the table with a thud and laced his fingers behind his head. "My life is over," he groaned.
"You're more melodramatic than a teenage girl."
Travis laughed again. "That's what Arden says, too."
"Don't mention that name. One woman-problem at a time. You need to get some sleep."
Travis nodded best he could with his head on the table. After a few moments, he felt calm returning. He was so tired that there was no room for anxiety. He sat up and leaned back in his chair. "Dustin," he said, "You stay as far away from this as you can."
"You're my brother, Travis."
"I know that. But you stay out of this. I'll take care of it. I promise."
Dustin stared at him for a moment before nodding. Then he went to bed and Travis made his way to the couch where he barely slept at all so that by morning he was even more exhausted than before.
It was the last week of school before Christmas vacation and Arden was hustling to get all of her tests graded. She took them over to Sweet Nothings at 3:30 Monday afternoon, just as soon as school let out. She sat in a corner booth and sipped coffee while she graded. Shannon had stopped to visit for a few minutes before returning to the kitchen.
She was down to the last test when she looked up and saw Kristen Miller walking toward her. She was wearing scrubs and carrying a fake couture purse. Her black hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. She stopped at Arden's table.
"Arden?" she said hesitantly. "I'm Kristen Miller...I don't think we've ever really met." She held out her hand and Arden shook it. "Do you have a minute?"
Arden gestured to the seat across from her. Kristen sat. Arden tried to think friendly thoughts. Her initial reaction at seeing Kristen was to want to claw her eyes out. It took Arden a moment to realize that it was jealousy, or some like irrational emotion. She remembered that Travis had mentioned Kristen once or twice and for some reason Arden felt territorial about him. With that realization in mind, she dismissed the emotions and pushed them to the back of her thoughts.
"I was just wondering," Kristen said, "if there was anything going on between you and Travis Lanier?"
Arden opened her mouth to answer.
"Because," Kristen said, "you know how the rumor mills get going. And I heard some things."
"I..."
"It's okay if there is. It's just, he asked me out for tonight and I was going to go. But if you have feelings for him...I mean...you have the prior claim...so I just wanted to check with you."
"No," Arden said, quickly trying to get a word in. "No prior claim here. Just baseless rumors. You know how it is." She smiled, but seemed to have failed to put Kristen at ease.
"He's a really good man," Kristen said.
"I agree. But I have no feelings beyond friendship for him. Have fun on your date."
"Oh." Kristen seemed surprised at the dismissal. But she stood and thanked Arden, shaking her hand once more.
A few minutes later Arden realized she'd been staring down at the last test since Kristen had left. She shook herself, took up her red pen and finished the job. Maybe she would call up Nick, see if he wanted to have a romantic evening at home. If the thought didn't turn her stomach, she would have done just that.
She was about to get up to leave when Emma arrived, plopping down in the booth across from her. "Guess what?" she asked.
"What?" Arden replied.
"I've got a date with Dustin tonight."
Dammit, Arden thought. Everyone's getting action but me. "That is so great!"
"There's more. He kissed me yesterday. Can you believe it?"
Arden raised her brows in shock. "No. I can't believe it. Was it good?"
"It was amazing," Emma said. She leaned back and gazed into the distance. "It was just like in the movies."
"Yes, well. Keep your wits about you," Arden said. "There's more to relationships than romance."
Emma pressed her lips together. "You are such a downer. Lighten up already."
Arden's jaw dropped slightly.
"There's more gossip," Emma said. "Do you want to hear? Or are you much too sensible for such nonsense."
"What's with the sarcasm? Of course I want to hear it."