Inwardly groaning at how painfully awkward I was, I sagged against the wall, hoping I could blend in with the rustic wood panels.
While trying to maintain a cool demeanor, I overheard some of the conversation Colton and his girlfriend were having. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to overhear because she was practically shouting.
"I can't believe he's being such a douche!"
"He's not being a douche. I told you he never wanted to go on that date," Colton said, his voice much more calm than hers. "She up-chucked on his shoes, Tara."
"It didn't stop him from sleeping with her! I know she stayed over at your place last Friday night," Tara said.
Colton's voice got too low for me to hear what he said next.
Travis slept with Kendra last weekend?
I suddenly felt kind of sick to my stomach as reality came crashing down. Maybe Travis really was a player. Obviously, what he did before he met me wasn't any of my business, but it reminded me he had a life here.
One that wasn't going to include me after I left.
Glancing over at Kendra, I studied her.
Honestly, she was everything I wasn't. Dark hair, brown eyes, and she was at least five inches taller than me. Her bright purple top was tight over her breasts, which were probably a cup size bigger than mine. Or maybe she just had a really good bra.
Her short black skirt showed off her long, lean legs. With her strappy high heels, she almost matched Travis's height.
Travis looked good tonight and he did it so effortlessly. He wasn't wearing his hat, and his hair looked like he'd just run his hand through it a bunch of times. The perfect combination of messy and sexy. It was so unfair how guys could pull that off.
His plain sage-green T-shirt hugged his arms and chest, showing off the definition underneath, and his worn jeans fit his narrow hips just right, accentuating his backside. I never knew I could be so attracted to a guy's butt.
Grudgingly, I had to admit Kendra and Travis would've made a good-looking couple, and that churning feeling in my stomach returned at the thought.
This was either the bitter taste of envy, or the nachos were bad. I was going to go with the former.
I'd really hate to be the second girl to throw up on Travis within a week.
I was snapped out of my small pity party when Tara stormed off to the bathroom and Colton went up to the bar for another drink.
Just as I slipped back into the booth, I saw Kendra head to the bathrooms after Tara. Travis went up to Colton at the bar and they exchanged a few words before he came to sit down next to me.
"Sorry about that," he said with an apologetic look on his face. "I went out on a date with Kendra last weekend and I think she got the wrong idea about us. There isn't going to be a second date."
Well, she probably would get the wrong idea if you slept with her.
I was insanely proud of myself for keeping that thought to myself. It wasn't my business what he did last weekend. Or who he did.
I tried to smile, but it probably came out more like a grimace. "You know, I'm actually feeling kind of tired," I lied. "So I'd be ready to go any time you are."
I looked down at the table and picked at a napkin.
What made me the worst liar ever? Yet again, I didn't know what to do with my freaking hands. I picked at the napkin some more, tearing it up into little pieces.
When he didn't say anything, I glanced up to find Travis studying my face. He stared at me for a beat, his dark green eyes burning into me, then nodded his head. "Yeah, okay," he said, his tone a bit defeated. "I'll just use the restroom real quick, then we can go."
I gave him a tight smile. "Thanks."
A minute later, a different waitress than the one we had before stopped by the table and set a pink-tinted drink in front of me. A cherry floated among the ice and it had a little yellow striped umbrella coming out of the top.
"Someone bought this for you," she told me with a smile.
"What is it?"
"A kiddie cocktail," she answered, then walked away.
I glanced over at the bar to see who might have sent the drink and I didn't have to look too hard. I made brief eye contact with Kendra and Tara before they turned away, busting up with laughter.
My eyes narrowed at them. It was an obvious dig at how young I was.
The part that pissed me off the most is the fact that I loved kiddie cocktails. It's basically a cherry flavored 7-up. With a cherry on top.
Seriously, what's not to love?
I kind of wanted to drink it. Wanted to slurp it down while staring at Kendra, showing her I was enjoying every last drop.
But I wasn't stupid enough to do that. There was a real possibility she put something in it. Like a laxative. Or cyanide.
"What's that?" I glanced up, and Travis was pointing at the offensive beverage.
"Nothing," I said, climbing out of the booth. "You ready to go?"
TRAVIS
I was seeing another side to Angel. She answered me when I asked questions, but her responses were short. This Angel was quiet. Closed off.
I didn't like it.
Clearly, what went down with Kendra bothered her. Even though she tried to act like everything was fine, I knew she was lying. Angel had the worst poker face I'd ever seen.
The whole ride back to my place was silent. She chewed her bottom lip-the same bottom lip I'd had between my teeth just hours ago-while looking intently out the window. There was nothing to see out there. It was pitch black outside and all we passed were fields and a few farmhouses.
For once I'd just wanted a date to go well, but bad luck and my own stupidity had interfered again.
Hoping to finally end my streak of disaster dates, I'd wanted tonight to be perfect. Wanted to start things off right with Angel. And everything had been going great until Kendra showed up.
Sighing, I glanced over at the girl on the other side of the bench seat, wishing I could know what she was thinking.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long to find out. We'd just pulled up to my apartment when she spoke.
"Travis," she let out a breath and speared me with her crystal eyes. "I didn't come here to interfere with your life."
"You're not-" She cut me off by holding up her hand.
"I don't know what this is-" she stopped and waved her hand back and forth between us. "-what this was with you and me … But maybe it's better if we take a step back from it."
Her use of the past tense in reference to us left me with an unfamiliar ache in my chest. We'd barely gotten started. I didn't want it to end before it could even begin.
"I don't want to take a step back from it," I told her, my voice gruff.
When she looked at me again her eyes held so many emotions. Confusion. Hurt. Lust.
"It's not any of my business who you slept with, I know that. It's just-"
"Whoa, hold up." Now I cut her off. "Who did I sleep with?"
"Kendra?" She probably meant it to sound like a statement, but her voice got higher at the end like it was a question.
I couldn't help it-I laughed. "Who said I slept with Kendra?"
Looking down, she toyed with the hem of her dress. "I overheard Colton and his girlfriend arguing. She said you and Kendra had sex last weekend after your date."
My eyebrows went up. "She said that?" I asked, wondering if Kendra lied about what went down after our date. "What were her exact words?"
Angel's face scrunched up in thought, causing an adorable wrinkle to appear on the bridge of her nose. "She said that you slept with Kendra. That she spent the night here with you." She thought for another second. "Oh, she also called you a douche. Her words, not mine," she said quickly and held up her hands. "And Colton said she up-chucked on your shoes."
"Kendra did spend the night here after our date," I confirmed, and Angel's face fell. "But I didn't have sex with her. She didn't want to go home because she was wasted and she didn't want her parents to see her like that. I let her crash on my bed. I slept on the couch."
"Oh." Angel looked relieved, but also a bit embarrassed over the whole conversation. "Well, that makes me feel a little better about it then. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions. And like I said, it's none of my business who you've slept with."
"Yes, it is your business," I said, and she looked surprised. "You like me. And I like you. There's something here between us and I want to figure out what it is."
Her mouth opened like she wanted to say something, but no words came out. She looked speechless, so I decided to get everything out in the open while I had the chance.