Object of My Desire

by R. L. Kenderson

I looked around until I saw someone waving her hand at me. I grinned when I saw it was Vanessa. She was an author I had first become friends with through Facebook and then had met at a previous book signing in St. Louis.

  I rushed over to her and gave her a hug. Vanessa lived in Florida, so this was only the second time we’d ever seen each other in person.

  “How are you?” she asked, her brown eyes shining when we pulled apart from one another.

  “Good. Your hair is so cute.”

  She touched the back of her short black hair. “Thank you. It’s a little cold for Chicago though.”

  I chuckled. “It’s warmer here than back home for me.”

  She shuddered. “Remind me to never visit you.”

  I laughed. “Just make sure you come in the summer when it’s hot.” I looked around, trying to find a tall, good-looking black man in the group. “Is Trevon here with you?”

  Vanessa’s husband came with her to events and helped her. I thought it was so sweet, and I hoped to one day have a husband as supportive as hers.

  Vanessa looked around. “He’s here somewhere. He had to take a phone call for work, so who knows how far he wandered?” She looked back around to me and then behind me. She hit my arm. “Don’t look now, but a nice piece of man meat is coming this way.”

  I glanced over my shoulder.

  “I told you not to look.”

  I grinned. “That’s just Travis. He’s attending the event with me.”

  “That man is not just anything.” She took a sip of her mixed drink and shook her head.

  Travis reached us then and handed me a glass of white wine.

  “Thank you.” I was touched that he’d remembered what I’d had to drink from our dinner together even if he probably had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right just by guessing.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Travis, I’d like you to meet Vanessa. Vanessa, this is Travis.” I made the introduction and took a sip of my wine.

  “Are you two dating?” Vanessa asked.

  Not wanting to spray wine all over the room, I forced it down my throat and, unfortunately, into the wrong tube.

  I started coughing, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

  Travis started pounding on my back. “You okay?”

  I nodded, but then I changed my mind and shook my head. Everyone was starting to look at me, and I felt like an idiot.

  “I’ll … be … okay”—more coughing—“I … think.”

  Travis rubbed my back and looked at Vanessa. “I’m here to help Sydney.”

  I took a drink of my wine, which did help a little. “He’s on the cover … of my new book.”

  Vanessa gasped, and her eyes widened. “That’s you?” Her gaze drifted down to his name tag, which was a different color from my own. “You’re a model.”

  He smiled a little shyly and dropped his arm. “I am.”

  “Where are you from?” Vanessa asked him.

  “Minneapolis.”

  Vanessa’s eyes lit up. “Did you two ride together?”

  I nodded, still not quite confident to speak normally.

  Vanessa gave me a look that said, Tell me everything.

  I took another drink to clear my throat. I should have maybe gotten some water. “Travis and I met last year at a book signing, and we’ve become friends. Kind of.”

  He frowned, and I laughed.

  “What do you mean, kind of?” He leaned close to my ear, put his arm around my waist, and whispered, “Do you let all your kind of friends fuck you the way you let me?” He pulled away, an amused smile on his face.

  I tried to give him a look that said, Not now, despite the tingle I felt in my nether regions.

  I turned to Vanessa. “We went to one other book signing and have communicated a few times. We haven’t really hung out together.”

  I didn’t know why I was trying to justify our relationship. Maybe because I didn’t want to be disappointed when this weekend was over. I had no illusions that what we were having was a fling. I didn’t want Travis to think that I was expecting roses and a ring after we went back home. I sure as hell wouldn’t mind though.

  I had no idea what Travis was going to say after that because a couple of readers approached Travis, looking timid and hesitant. I knew this because their name tags were also a different color.

  I had gone to a few book events before I was a writer, and I remembered feeling nervous toward authors. In my head, I always put them on a pedestal.

  But, now that I was an author, I knew that most of us were just as unsure as the reader. We wanted readers to like us as much as readers wanted authors to like them.

  “Hello,” I said so that they knew they were welcome.

  Vanessa chimed in with a, “Hello.”

  But their eyes were all for Travis.

  Join the club, ladies.

  “Um … are you Travis Zehler?” a tall brunette named Giselle, as her name tag showed, said.

  Travis stiffened.

  It was kind of an odd response since I’d seen him now at two different signings. He’d never seemed to shy away from readers in the past.

  I leaned around him. “He is,” I said with a smile. “He gets nervous in front of fans,” I joked.

  The readers laughed, and I felt Travis relax.

  The other reader, a short blonde called Rose, said, “I saw that you were going to be here, and I hope I’m not being too forward if I ask you a question.”

  Travis stiffened again.

  What is up with him?

  “Ask away,” I answered for him.

  Each of them pulled out two books from their big purses they carried.

  “Will you sign our books?” Giselle asked and turned her novels, so we could see the covers.

  I smacked Travis on the arm. “You’re famous.”

  He hesitantly looked at me, so I smiled and waved him on.

  “Do you have a pen?” Travis asked.

  Rose dug around in her bag until she pulled out a Sharpie.

  Travis took each book and signed them.

  Giselle and Rose walked away with grins on their faces.

  “No matter what else happens, they are going to be smiling all night. You totally made their day,” I said.

  Travis smiled shyly. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know about that.”

  “I do.” I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. “You totally should make me your pimp. I would have charged them five bucks a book signing.”

  Travis laughed, and he finally relaxed completely. “That’s mean.”

  “What did I miss?” a voice said.

  I looked over to see Trevon approaching Vanessa.

  He put his arm around his wife as she said, “Some readers just wanted autographs.”

  Trevon’s dark eyes brightened. “Yours? That’s great, babe.”

  Vanessa laughed. “No, not mine.”

  Trevon looked over at me. “Hey, Sydney.”

  “Hey, Trevon.”

  “Fans of yours?”

  I shook my head. “Unfortunately, no.” I pointed my thumb at Travis. “They’re his fans.”

  I wasn’t sure, but it looked like Travis blushed.

  Several hours later, we walked into the already-busy nightclub. Vanessa had suggested we all go out after the meet-and-greet was over, and since we didn’t have anything else on the schedule until the book signing at one the next afternoon, we’d decided to go.

  I hadn’t really planned to go out when I packed, but I managed to find a cute enough top that I had tossed in my bag. It was black with the shoulders cut out, so it showed a little skin, and then it dipped low in the front, letting me show off my two best assets. I only had a pair of jeans to wear with it, but I thought I looked pretty good.

  Travis had pulled on a dark gray henley shirt that fit him perfectly. It wasn’t too tight but snug enough that I could see his che
st muscles. He’d paired it with a pair of dark jeans. He looked good enough to eat, but he could wear anything and look great.

  The first thing we did was head to the bar to order drinks.

  “What do you want?” Travis asked close to my ear since the music was so loud.

  “A beer.”

  “No wine?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. I’m in the mood for a beer.”

  He smiled. “Beer it is then.”

  When he finally got the attention of one of the bartenders, he ordered two.

  With our drinks in hand, I looked around for Vanessa and Trevon. We’d lost them in our quest to get drinks.

  “There they are.” I pointed to the two of them sitting in a curved booth.

  I headed in Vanessa and Trevon’s direction, making my way through all the people like a human maze. I was concentrating on finding open holes in the crowd, so I didn’t notice I’d lost Travis until I reached Vanessa and Trevon’s table.

  I turned around and saw him a few feet back, talking to a gorgeous blonde. They were only speaking, but I could tell that she was into Travis by the way she was leaning into him and playing with her necklace.

  I was assaulted with many emotions upon seeing the two of them together. They looked great together, for one, and if someone got out a camera and Travis pulled her into his arms, they could be an awesome photo.

  I was also sad. I had been real with myself about Travis and me only being a thing for the weekend, but apparently, I’d thought it would last the whole weekend. Foolish girl I was.

  And, of course, I was jealous. I envied her beauty and the way she probably never had to wonder if a guy was into her. She had a butt I would kill to have instead of mine, which looked like a back with a crack in it.

  I was also jealous because I knew that Travis and most anyone else would choose her over me. And, even though I couldn’t make the feeling vanish, I could acknowledge it and work through it. I would not let my feelings control me or my actions. At least, not this feeling.

  Travis nodded at something Jenna was saying. He’d been surprised to run into someone he knew here, but then Jenna had reminded him that she lived there.

  He had done a couple of photo shoots with Jenna in the past. There was one when he’d let Christy on set, and she had stormed off after seeing the two of them posing. It had been embarrassing and made him understand why some guys didn’t let their girlfriends or boyfriends come on set.

  “Who are you here with?” Jenna asked.

  He pointed to the table where Sydney was just sitting down. “I’m here with a friend for a book signing.”

  “Sounds fun. I’ve been to a couple.”

  “You should come over and meet them.”

  “Sure.”

  They started for the table.

  “Who are you here with?” he asked Jenna.

  “A couple of friends. They’re around here somewhere.”

  “Hey, Sydney,” he said when they reached the table. “This is Jenna.”

  Sydney stood and shook Jenna’s hand. “Nice to meet you. How do you two know each other?”

  Travis studied her for any kind of unwanted reaction, but she seemed genuinely sincere in her greeting to Jenna. He probably shouldn’t be surprised with how she’d acted around the readers who asked for his autograph earlier tonight. She’d been cool about it and even encouraged the readers. Despite having broken up with Christy months ago, she still obviously affected him. He’d been waiting for Sydney to be upset at the attention he was getting now that they’d slept together.

  But it hadn’t happened then, and it wasn’t happening now.

  “I’ve done a couple of shoots with Travis.”

  Sydney’s eyebrow went up. “You’re a model, too?”

  Jenna smiled. “On the side. My day job is HR at a hospital.”

  “I think I’ve seen a couple of your photos,” Sydney said. “And I think I’ve even seen you on a couple of books.”

  “Really?” Jenna asked. “I’m always in shock when someone actually recognizes me.”

  “Same here,” Sydney said. “When I tell people I write books and they’ve read them, I want to jump up and down.” She smiled. “Of course, I play it cool.”

  Jenna laughed. “Same here.”

  “You should stop by the book signing tomorrow,” Sydney said. “I wish I had a book with you on the cover. You could totally come and sit with us.”

  “I might just do that,” Jenna said.

  “Awesome.” Sydney looked behind her. “This is my friend and fellow author, Vanessa, and her husband, Trevon.”

  Vanessa and Trevon stood and shook Jenna’s hand.

  “What is your last name?” Jenna asked Vanessa.

  “My author name is Vanessa Lane.”

  Jenna’s eyes lit up. “I’ve read a book of yours.”

  It was Vanessa’s turn for her eyes to shine. “Really? Which one?”

  “Love at a Distance.”

  “I just finished the sequel to that book. I heard Sydney invite you tomorrow. You should come, and I’ll get you a copy of book two.”

  “That would be great,” Jenna said. She looked at Sydney. “Would you mind if I dragged Travis out onto the dance floor?”

  “Go for it. I can’t wait to see his moves,” she said.

  “You don’t want to. I can’t dance,” Travis told her.

  Jenna took his arm. “He lies. He’s a great dancer.” She stepped back and took Travis with her. “We’ll be back.”

  “I sure hope so,” Sydney said. “I need his cute face to sell my books tomorrow.”

  Everyone laughed, except for him. He didn’t really want to dance with Jenna. He’d rather hang out with Sydney. But, since she hadn’t asked him to dance instead, he couldn’t think of a nice way to tell Jenna no.

  “Come rescue me in twenty minutes,” he told Sydney.

  She laughed and waved him away.

  While Travis went out on the dance floor, I took the opportunity to talk to Vanessa and her husband for a bit. It was nice to have someone in the industry to discuss stuff—from the latest, crazy copyright fiasco to what the new rules were that we had to follow online. It was hard for people who weren’t in the industry to get some of it sometimes.

  It also helped me keep my mind off Travis dancing with beautiful Jenna. Beautiful and nice Jenna. Despite my jealousy, I really did like her and hoped she came to visit us tomorrow.

  Vanessa raised her eyebrow and nodded her head toward the dance floor. “You’d better get out there.”

  I turned to see a couple more girls dancing with Travis and Jenna. I would guess they were friends of hers by how casually and easily Jenna was touching one of them.

  I turned back to Vanessa. “And what would I do?”

  “Go get your man.”

  I laughed. “He’s not my man.” I wished he were. But he wasn’t.

  “I can tell you like him.”

  I recoiled in horror. “Oh God. Is it that obvious?”

  Trevon shrugged. “I didn’t notice.”

  “Whew.” I pretended to wipe sweat off my forehead. “Watch out, Vanessa. I’m about ready to kiss your husband.”

  Trevon laughed, and Vanessa continued on like I hadn’t threatened to make out with her husband.

  “It’s not completely obvious, but I can tell.”

  For someone who mostly knew me through a computer screen, I wasn’t exactly comforted by this.

  Vanessa picked up her drink and finished the little bit that was left. “Let’s go dance.”

  “Okay,” Trevon said.

  “Hey, you can’t leave me here, all alone,” I protested.

  “You’re coming with us.”

  I could see the determination in her eyes. She wanted me to go there because of Travis.

  I stood up, so Vanessa could slide out. “Uh … okay. But I’m going to get another drink first. I’ll meet you ou
t there.”

  Trevon got out on the other side of the booth, and Vanessa took his arm.

  “Okay. We won’t wander too far in.”

  “Okay.” I waved at them and headed back to the bar where I promptly took a seat at the first open stool. There was no way I was going to be a third wheel out of pity. And I wasn’t going to dance with Travis and Jenna either.

  A bartender came over, so I ordered another beer and took my phone out of my pocket.

  I had a couple of messages from my niece and Harper. I hadn’t told her anything that had been going on with Travis yet, except to yell at her for sneaking the condoms in my bag. I’d tell her about the weekend in person once we got back.

  I slid my phone back in my pocket when the seat next to me opened up, and a nice-looking guy with light-brown hair and hazel eyes sat next to me. He was no male model, but he was the kind of guy I was much more comfortable around.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hi.”

  He held out his hand. “I’m Owen.”

  I took his hand and shook it. “I’m Sydney.”

  “Is it okay if I sit here?”

  “You already are,” I pointed out.

  Owen laughed. “I guess I am.”

  The bartender finally brought my beer and told me the amount.

  I reached for my money, but Owen put his hand up.

  “Do you mind if I get this for you?”

  I thought about it and didn’t want to give him the wrong impression by letting him buy me a drink. Even if something happened with Travis and Jenna tonight, I was not taking Owen back to the hotel or going to his place.

  “Only if you let me get the next round,” I told him. That way, I wouldn’t owe him anything.

  He grinned. “Deal.”

  Owen ended up being a pretty good guy. We talked for about fifteen minutes, finishing our drinks, and he helped me keep my mind off Travis. A little.

  I was ready to order us another round since it was my turn, but Owen asked, “Wanna dance?”

  I looked behind me and didn’t see any of the people I’d come with. “Sure,” I told him.

  We hopped off our stools, and I asked him, “Did you come alone?”

  “No, I came with a friend, but he ditched me to dance with someone. What about you?”