Travis

by Rebecca Elise

  “No, we don’t. I told you I wanted to be with you.”

  “Yeah, after you told me that you had a boyfriend that you failed to mention to me for how long?”

  Mel swallows hard as she straightens up and looks around. “I understand what you went through, she doesn’t.”

  “I don’t care. I’m not an addict to her. I’m just Travis.”

  The bartender hands me two glasses of Coke and I drop a five on the counter before turning to walk back to where Gracie is waiting for me. Mel is right on my heels and I am praying she left our conversation back at the bar.

  Gracie and Dave are laughing about something when we return. Without saying a word, I hand Gracie her drink. She takes a sip and frowns at me over the top of her glass. I give her a quick smile and turn to walk over to a small square table behind our pool table. As I take a long sip of my Coke, I find myself wishing that there was something harder mixed in with it, like maybe the bartender switched my glass with someone else’s, but no such luck.

  How on earth did we manage to come to the same place as Mel and Dave? I haven’t seen her since the day I told her I wasn’t sleeping with her anymore. I haven’t even seen her randomly around town. Even more than that, I haven’t stepped foot inside this pool hall in weeks, and the one night I decide to come, she shows up here as well.

  “Are you okay?” Gracie’s sweet voice sounds from behind me as she links her arms around mine and leans her head against my arm.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” I sigh.

  “Travis,” she hesitates. I turn to look at her. She gives me a small smile and it’s pretty obvious that she’s figured out what is going on. “Please don’t keep things from me. She’s an ex isn’t she? I thought you said you hadn’t had a girlfriend since rehab.”

  I take a deep breath, pausing for a moment before quickly letting it out. “I guess you could say she is an ex, but she was never my girlfriend. I never lied to you when I said that I haven’t had a girlfriend in years.”

  “So if she wasn’t your girlfriend then what…oooohhh.” Gracie’s eyes widen as she realizes the exact nature of my relationship with Mel. “Can I…Can I ask what happened?”

  I pull her close to me, wrapping my arms around her waist tightly. For some reason I feel the need to hold her as close to me as I can. As if she might run when she hears my story and my grip around her might be able to stop her. “We met in rehab, like she said, and we’ve been randomly hooking up since then. It was never anything more than that. We didn’t go out on dates, we just slept with each other and went about our business. Then, one day she told me she had a boyfriend but that she would leave him if I said I wanted to be with her. I told her that wasn’t going to happen and she walked out on me.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  I pause for a moment, glancing around the room before turning back to her. “It was the day I met you.”

  Gracie winces, but she almost seems as though she expected that answer. “And now she’s upset because you have a girlfriend that isn’t her?”

  I nod. “Pretty much.”

  “Hey, lovebirds, are we playing or what?” Dave jokingly calls out to us.

  “Well, are you ready to go play what is most likely going to be the most awkward game of pool ever?” I ask her.

  “Absolutely,” Gracie says sarcastically.

  I start to walk over to the pool table when she stops me. Her hands slide up the front of my shirt, her slender fingers twisting into it as she pulls me down so that I am eye level with her. My eyes quickly flick to her lips and I find myself wanting to kiss her right now more than I ever have.

  “Thank you for being honest with me,” she says quietly.

  I move in closer to her, closing the slight gap in between us. My hands slip into her hair as I capture her lips with mine. “I’ll always be honest with you, Gracie.”

  “Let’s play couple against couple,” Mel says as we join them at the table.

  “Who’s breaking?” I ask.

  Dave holds his hand out towards Gracie. “How about we let your girlfriend do the honors since she is still technically new in town?”

  Mel crosses her arms over her chest and rolls her eyes, clearly displeased that Dave doesn’t automatically hate Gracie. This side of Mel surprises me. I always knew she had a little bit of a temper, most recovering addicts do, but I’ve never seen her act like such a bitch before. Gracie doesn’t seem to notice, and neither does Dave, unless they are just choosing to ignore Mel’s behavior.

  Gracie walks over to one end of the table. She bites her lips and flashes me a smile before bending over. Holding her cue stick in one hand, she slides it back and forth over top of her other hand, eyeing up the shot. She hits the end of the cue stick against the white ball, sending it flying into the perfectly set up triangle of colored balls.

  “Stripes,” I call out, as she quickly sinks 2 striped balls into one of the corner pockets.

  Everything seems to be going fine, until we get to our third game. Mel has been drinking non-stop and is starting to stumble as she dances around the table. Gracie leans over to eye up her next shot. Just as she is about to take it, Mel leans down next to her ear and loudly exclaims, “I fucked your boyfriend.”

  My entire body stiffens. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Dave do the same. Gracie completely misses her shot, grazing her cue against the green felt of the table.

  “Wh-what did you just say?” Dave sputters.

  “Hey man, I think it might be time for you to get her out of here,” I say, giving him a pat on the arm. Dave flinches away from me. I can’t say I blame him. If I was Dave and my girlfriend just said something like that, my fists would be swinging into somebody’s face.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right.” he mutters as he walks over to Mel. Dave reaches out to take her by the arm but she pulls away from him.

  “Travis and I spent four years calling each other for sex. That’s four years of him wanting my body. You think he can just give me up like that?” Mel screams out loud.

  “What the fuck, Mel!” Dave scrubs his face with his hands.

  Around us, games are stopping as people are turning to watch what is going on. Gracie stands there with a horrified look on her face as she stares at Mel. I walk over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist as I pull her close to me. Gracie reaches one of her hands down. For a minute I think she is going to push me away, but she doesn’t. Instead, she clasps her hand tightly on top of mine. Dave tries to usher Mel to the door, but she refuses to budge. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he scoops her up and throws her over his shoulder.

  “That should have been me. He should have been mine!” Mel screams as Dave pushes through the crowd of onlookers, trying to get to the door as quickly as he possibly can.

  Once they leave, everyone turns and stares at me and Gracie. I lean down and whisper into her ear, “I think we should go.”

  She doesn’t say anything, only nods in agreement. I take her cue stick from her, and stop to grab Mel and Dave’s from the ground. Striding over to the wall, I hang them back where they belong. My head feels like it is spinning and my heart is racing. I can’t believe that just happened. I turn around, grateful that the majority of people have gone back to their games, although there are a couple of people that are still standing around, whispering.

  I take Gracie’s hand and don’t make eye contact with anyone as I move through the pool hall, pulling her behind me.

  “Gracie, I am so sorry,” I say once we are both sitting inside my Jeep. “I had no idea that would happen or I would have refused to let them play with us.”

  “It’s fine,” she says, waving her hand through the air.

  I sit there staring at her for a moment before sticking my key in the ignition and turning it, roaring my Jeep to life. “Do you, uh, do you want me to take you home?”

  She nods and I feel bad. This whole evening was ruined because of fucking Mel. Why on earth would she go and do somethin
g like that? Not just in front of Gracie, but in front of Dave as well. I’m lucky he didn’t kick my ass, of course, there is still always the chance that he is trying to figure out the whole story before doing that. Then again, Dave really isn’t a violent guy. I don’t think I have to worry about him coming after me, but I also don’t think he’ll be inviting me over for poker anytime soon either.

  I pull into Gracie’s driveway and hesitate, not sure if I should turn off the Jeep or not. Gracie unclips her seatbelt and turns to me. She nods her head towards her house. “Are you coming in?”

  I swallow hard. “I wasn’t sure if you would want me to.”

  “It’s not your fault, Travis. Yes, you are a part of what happened back there, but it’s not like you knew it was going to happen. I mean, I’m not particularly thrilled that someone you used to be with clearly still wants to be with you.”

  “I swear the last time I was with her was the day I met you. I haven’t even so much as thought about her since then.” I assure her.

  “I believe you. Is there anyone else I need to know about?” she asks, raising one of her eyebrows.

  “No, not that I can think of.”

  She frowns. “Are there people you slept with that you don’t remember, cause that’s what that answer sounds like.”

  “No,” I laugh nervously. “I was always aware of who I was sleeping with. I just don’t think any of them are going to pull a Mel and come after you like that.”

  Gracie nods. “All right then.” She reaches her hand out, trailing her fingers lightly up my bare arm. “How about you take me inside and show me what it was that she can’t get out of her head.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gracie

  It’s been nearly a month since the situation with Mel at the pool hall and people are still obsessively whispering about it. I’m not sure why it is that they think I can’t hear them but I’ve lost count of how many times I have walked by a table and heard someone whisper, “That’s the other woman.”

  The other woman?

  I am not the damn other woman. I am the only woman. The only woman in Travis’s life, aside from his mother, of course. The only woman he kisses. It’s my house he sleeps at almost every single night.

  “This is getting to be annoying,” I say to Molly as I toss a couple of menus down on the countertop.

  “Well, it’s about to get a little more interesting.” She nods towards the door.

  I turn around, surprised to see Dave walk in with Evan and another guy that I don’t recognize. Evan waves to me as they walk over to the corner booth and sit themselves down. I grab the menus that I just threw on the counter and walk over to where they are sitting.

  “Hello, boys,” I say as I set the menus down.

  “Hey, Gracie.” Evan smiles warmly at me.

  “Hi, Evan, how are you?” I ask politely.

  Evan nods his head as he opens his menu. “I’m good.”

  “Hi, Dave,” I say, turning away from Evan. “How are things going with you?”

  “Things are…okay.” He pauses, taking a moment to glance out the window before turning back to me. “How are you?”

  “I’m good.” Wow, this is awkward. You would think we were the exes that had a confrontation in the pool hall or something. “How, uh, how are things with Mel?”

  “They are…nonexistent.” He nods his head before shaking it. “She was apparently sleeping with Travis behind my back, so we broke up.”

  I frown. I’m not sure why that surprises me but it does. Travis has never struck me as the kind of guy that would sleep with another man’s girlfriend. “Are you sure? That doesn’t seem like something Travis would do.”

  Evan snorts out a laugh. I turn to him and raise an eyebrow. He throws his hands up in the air as he leans back in his chair and shakes his head. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. You don’t know Travis like the rest of us do. I, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if he knew she had a boyfriend and slept with her anyway.”

  “According to her, they had been screwing each other since rehab,” Dave tells me.

  “That part I know, but it doesn’t mean that they were sleeping together while she was with you. I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t sound like Travis to me. He isn’t that kind of guy.”

  Evan laughs again. “So you don’t think that Travis was sleeping with other girls while he was sleeping with Melanie? Don’t be that girl.”

  “And what girl would that be, Evan?”

  Evan leans in closer to me. “The girl that wants some asshole to love her so badly that she turns a blind eye instead of seeing him for what he really is. Are you really that desperate? I mean, you do realize that you have options, right?”

  I sputter out a laugh and shake my head as I take a step back. “Is that what this is really about, Evan? The fact that I picked Travis over you?”

  Evan doesn’t say anything. He just stares at me with a condescending smile on his face. The door swings open and Travis walks in carrying his sketchbook in one of his hands. A pencil is stuck behind one of his ears.

  “Speak of the junkie now,” Evan mutters. He glances up at me and smiles. “Why don’t we ask him what happened. Put him on blast.”

  He turns around in the booth so that he is facing the door and calls out in a snobby, condescending voice, “Travis, could you come here for a moment?”

  I spin around, hoping that Travis will just sit down at the counter and not engage in anything with these guys, who are clearly looking to start trouble. Travis drops his sketchbook on top of the counter before making his way over to us. Leaning in, he kisses me lightly on the cheek.

  “Everything okay over here?” he asks, glancing back and forth between me and the guys in the booth. His eyes stop on the guy I didn’t recognize. “Hey, Mike.”

  “Hey, Trav.” Mike nods his head towards Travis.

  “Everything is fine.” I turn to place my hands on Travis’s chest in an attempt to push him back towards the counter. I know that Evan is just trying to stir the pot between me and Travis. What Travis did before me is not my concern. There is no point in starting something that will likely end up in a fight of some sort.

  “Actually, Travis,” Evan says bitingly, “we were told something about you and Melanie that we would like for you to explain.”

  “Oh-kay.” Travis takes a step back and puts two hands out in front of him. “I don’t really know what more it is that you want. Mel and I met in rehab, like she said and, uh, got together occasionally to…blow off some steam.”

  Dave stands up, his face turning bright red. He takes a step towards Travis. I move so that I am standing in between them. “Well, according to Mel, you were sleeping with her while she was with me.”

  “If you have an issue with that then you need to take it up with Mel,” Travis spits out.

  I whip around so that I am facing him. My mouth drops down in surprise. “Travis! So, it’s true?”

  Travis rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “She didn’t tell me she had a boyfriend. She came over one night and stayed the night. When I went to wake her up the next morning, she said ‘give me five more minutes, Dave’ or something like that in her sleep. I asked her who Dave was and she froze like a deer caught in headlights. I figured Dave was her boyfriend and I told her that I wasn’t sleeping with her anymore. I told her she needed to go.”

  I close my eyes and breathe in deeply, relieved to know that Travis hadn’t actually slept with another woman knowing that she was not available. I turn back towards the booth, glancing around Dave to look at Evan. “Are you happy now?”

  “No.” Evan snorts. “I can’t believe you are buying his bullshit.”

  “I’m not quite sure I believe him myself. I think you are only saying that so it won’t be three against one here.” Dave takes another step towards him.

  Travis throws his head back and laughs out loud. “First of all, I have two brothers here right now. Do
you really think they wouldn’t have my back?”

  Travis grabs my arms and moves me so that I am standing behind him. “Secondly, why don’t you ask Mel what happened the day I told her I wasn’t sleeping with her anymore. Ask her about how she told me she would leave you if I told her that I wanted to be with her.”

  “Travis!” I exclaim.

  I cannot believe that this is happening right now. Evan is dead-set on pushing Travis. Travis wants to push Dave. Everyone is watching what is going on, and, of course, no one is even attempting to stop them.

  Dave reaches his hands out and gives Travis one solid push, knocking him back into the table behind him. The salt and pepper shakers crash to the ground and sugar packets fly through the air.

  “All right, that’s enough.”

  I turn around to see Aidan walking towards us. Russell is running behind him like a little puppy dog. I wonder if it was Russell that went and got Aidan. The guys weren’t being loud enough that he would have heard them from his office.

  “I should have guessed you would be involved in this somehow,” Russell hisses as he comes to a stop next to me.

  “Shut up, Russell,” I mutter.

  “You make your way over to the counter,” Aidan says as he grabs Travis by the shoulders and turns him around. Aidan turns back to Dave. “You sit back down in the booth. I don’t know what is going on and I don’t care to know. I’m telling you this right now, whatever it is, it’s over. If you are going to disrupt the other diners, I will make all of you leave, understood?”

  “Yeah,” Dave says, not making eye contact with anyone.

  “Travis?” Aidan asks, turning slightly as his brother walks away from him.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Travis grumbles.

  I watch as Travis makes his way over to the counter. He slides onto the stool and opens his sketchbook up. Grabbing the pencil from behind his ear, he flips through a couple of pages before bending over his book. His pencil moves quickly as he begins to draw furiously. I sigh as I turn back to the booth. Aidan and Russell have both left and I am by myself with Dave, Evan and Mike.