Travis pushed his way through the couples on the dance floor, stopping beside me. It took him a moment to steady his feet. “I’m cutting in.”
“No, you’re not. Jesus!” I said, refusing to look at him.
After a few tense moments I glanced up, seeing Travis’ eyes boring into Brad’s. “If you don’t back away from my girl, I’ll rip out your fucking throat. Right here on the dance floor.”
Brad seemed conflicted, his eyes nervously darting from me to Travis. “Sorry, Abby,” he said, slowly pulling his arms away. He retreated to the stairs and I stood alone, humiliated.
“How I feel about you right now, Travis… it very closely resembles hate.”
“Dance with me,” he pleaded, swaying to keep his balance.
The song ended and I sighed with relief. “Go drink another bottle of whiskey, Trav.” I turned to dance with the only single guy on the dance floor.
The tempo was faster, and I smiled at my new, surprised dance partner, trying to ignore the fact that Travis was just a few feet behind me. Another Sig Tau brother danced behind me, grabbing my hips. I reached back, pulling him closer. It reminded me of the way Travis and Megan danced that night at the Red, and I did my best to recreate the scene I had wished on many occasions that I could forget. Two pairs of hands were on nearly every part of my body, and it was easy to ignore my more reserved side with the amount of alcohol in my system.
Suddenly, I was airborne. Travis threw me over his shoulder, at the same time shoving one of his frat brothers hard, knocking him to the floor.
“Put me down!” I said, pounding my fists into his back.
“I’m not going to let you embarrass yourself over me,” he growled, taking the stairs two at a time.
Every pair of eyes we passed watched me kick and scream as Travis carried me across the room. “You don’t think,” I said as I struggled, “this is embarrassing? Travis!”
“Shepley! Is Donnie outside?” Travis said, ducking from my flailing limbs.
“Uh…yeah?” he said.
“Put her down!” America said, taking a step toward us.
“America,” I squirmed, “don’t just stand there!
Her mouth turned up and she laughed once. “You two look ridiculous.”
My eyebrows turned in at her words, both shocked and angry that she found any part of the situation funny.
Travis headed for the door and I glared at her. “Thanks a lot, friend!”
The cold air struck the bare parts of my skin, and I protested louder. “Put me down, dammit!”
Travis opened a car door and tossed me into the backseat, sliding in beside me. “Donnie, you’re the DD tonight?”
“Yeah,” he said, nervously watching me struggle to escape.
“I need you take us to my apartment.”
“Travis…I don’t think….”
Travis’ voice was controlled, but frightening. “Do it, Donnie, or I’ll shove my fist through the back of your head, I swear to God.”
Donnie pulled away from the curb and I lunged for the door handle. “I’m not going to your apartment!”
Travis grabbed one of my wrists and then the other. I leaned down to bite his arm. He closed his eyes, and then a low grunt escaped through his clenched jaw as my teeth sunk into his flesh.
“Do your worst, Pidge. I’m tired of your shit.”
I released his skin and jerked my arms, struggling against his grip. “
He pulled my wrists close to his face. “I love you, dammit! You’re not going anywhere until you sober up and we figure this out!”
“You’re the only one that hasn’t figured it out, Travis!” I said. He released my wrists and I crossed my arms, pouting the rest of the way to the apartment.
When the car slowed to a stop, I leaned forward. “Can you take me home, Donnie?”
Travis pulled me out of the car by the arm and then he swung me over his shoulder again, carrying me up the stairs. “Night, Donnie.”
“I’m calling your dad!” I cried.
Travis laughed out loud. “And he’d probably pat me on the shoulder and tell me that it’s about damn time!”
He struggled to unlock the door as I kicked and waved my arms, trying to get away. “Knock it off, Pidge, or we’re going to fall down the stairs!” Once he opened the door, he stomped into Shepley’s room.
“Put. Me.
“Fine,” he said, dropping me onto Shepley’s bed. “Sleep it off. We’ll talk in the morning.”
The room was dark; the only light a rectangular beam shooting into the doorway from the hall. I fought to focus through the darkness, beer, and anger, and when he turned into the light, it illuminated his smug smile.
I pounded the mattress with my fists. “You can’t tell me what to do anymore, Travis! I don’t belong to you!”
In the second it took him to turn and face me, his expression had contorted into anger. He stomped toward me, planting his hands on the bed and leaning into my face.
“WELL I BELONG TO YOU!” The veins in his neck bulged as he shouted, and I met his glare, refusing to even flinch. He looked at my lips, panting. “I belong to you,” he whispered, his anger melting as he realized how close we were.
Before I could think of a reason not to, I grabbed his face, slamming my lips against his. Without hesitation, Travis lifted me into his arms. In a few long strides, he carried me into his bedroom, both of us crashing to the bed.
I yanked his shirt over his head, fumbling in the dark with his belt buckle. He jerked it open, ripping it off and throwing it to the floor. He lifted me from the mattress with one hand, and unzipped my dress with the other. I pulled it over my head, tossing it somewhere in the dark, and then Travis kissed me, moaning against my mouth.
With just a few quick movements, his boxers were off and he pressed his chest against mine. I grabbed his backside, but he resisted when I tried to pull him into me.
“We’re both drunk,” he said, breathing hard.
“Please.” I pressed my legs against his hips, desperate to relieve the burning between my thighs. Travis was set on us getting back together, and I had no intentions of fighting the inevitable, so I was more than ready to spend the night tangled up in his sheets.
“This isn’t right,” he said.
He was just above me, pressing his forehead against mine. I hoped that it was just half-hearted protesting, and that I could persuade him somehow that he was wrong. The way we couldn’t seem to stay away from each other was unexplainable, but I didn’t need an explanation, anymore. I didn’t even need an excuse. In that moment, I only needed him.
“I want you.”
“I need you to say it,” he said.
My insides were screaming for him, and I couldn’t stand it a second longer. “I’ll say whatever you want.”
“Then say that you belong to me. Say that you’ll take me back. I won’t do this unless we’re together.”
“We’ve never really been apart, have we?” I asked, hoping it was enough.
He shook his head, his lips sweeping across mine. “I need to hear you say it. I need to know you’re mine.”
“I’ve been yours since the second we met.”
My voice took the tone of begging. Any other time I would have been embarrassed, but I was beyond regret. I had fought my feelings, guarded them, and bottled them up. I had experienced the happiest moments of my life while at Eastern, all of them with Travis. Fighting, laughing, loving or crying, if it was with him, I was where I wanted to be.
One side of his mouth turned up as he touched my face, and then his lips touched mine in a tender kiss.
