Book Boyfriend Page 14

  “Brent,” I spoke softly.

  “Only you,” he whispered again. I could tell he was still dreaming, but I closed my eyes and envisioned him saying those words to me. And there it was, the pull I couldn’t release. I didn’t know how it happened, but my lips were just inches from his now.

  “Brent,” I said his name again, but I did not intend to wake him up this time. And what happened? He started to freaking wake up. I jumped back as if I had been in contact with scalding hot water, and I yelped, too.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, rubbing a hand over his face, looking like he was in a daze.

  “Uh, you looked uncomfortable, and I was trying to wake you up.”

  “Oh.” He looked kind of disappointed. Yeah, well, he wasn’t the only one. I briefly wondered what he had been dreaming. Who had filled his mind?

  “Sorry I fell asleep,” he told me.

  I snorted. “I guess I should be sorry I fell asleep, too. But I’m not. You’re comfortable, and I really needed that. Thanks.”

  “Glad I could be there for you.” He said it with such sincerity that I might have melted a little.

  And then my phone beeped and it was a message from Travis telling me he was only making it home now after his study session and didn’t want to wake me up. So, yeah, I was one horrible girlfriend.

  At least no one knew what a little shit I was. Brent slowly rose, we said our good-byes, and I went to bed. Dreams of me being a royal bitch plagued my mind. This wasn’t fair to Travis. Did that mean I should let him go? Or was that even worse?

  chapter twenty-eight

  I avoided Brent for like a week, which felt like a huge chore and not so great. Just because I was a stupid girl didn’t mean I didn’t miss him. The good news was that when I woke up the day after I almost kissed him, I had come to a decision. I was not going to like Brent anymore. Travis loved me. I loved him too, even if it wasn’t the same. I didn’t want to hurt him, and breaking up with him because I was a dummy would hurt him. So I would just stop having improper feelings for Brent. There. Simple. Yeah, who was I kidding? And that was why I had avoided him for a week.

  I was planning to avoid him for much longer, but the universe decided I had no such luck. It would have been so appropriate if I had run into him and made a fool of myself or if he caught me in an awkward moment or if I saw him with his arms wrapped around some bimbo. But even that didn’t work out the way it was supposed to.

  I made my way over to Travis’ place after class one day. I had told him that I’d stop by later but hadn’t given him the exact time. So, when I heard yelling when I was just outside his door, I figured he either had friends over or was playing video games with his roommate. No biggie; I’d hang out with them, maybe get some work done in Travis’ room. But I stopped short when I heard Brent’s angry voice.

  “Are you fucking kidding me with that excuse?” he yelled.

  “What fucking excuse?” Travis screamed back.

  “How do you think Kim would feel if she had seen you guys?”

  My heart sank. I was torn between running away and staying rooted to the floor, waiting to hear what Travis would respond with. Just because I had been thinking about Brent didn’t mean I would cheat on Travis. And yes, I almost kissed him but almost didn’t count. That two-timing, no-good, cheating asshole!

  “So what!? I didn’t do anything!” Travis yelled.

  “You didn’t throw her off. You didn’t set her straight!”

  “She fucking hugged me, Brent. You’re acting like I let her give me a blowjob or something.” Wait? What? Huh? I was so confused.

  “She likes you, man. And you’re not discouraging her.”

  “She knows I have a girlfriend.”

  “She’s the type who wouldn’t give a fucking damn if you had a wife and kid. She’s going to try to get you to take her to bed.”

  “What the fuck is it to you?”

  “Kim is my friend. I care about her. How would you feel if she was friends with someone who wanted to get into her pants and was just fine with it?”

  “Really?” Travis asked sarcastically.

  “What the fuck do you mean?”

  “Nothing, man. Nothing. Look, I don’t want to fight with you. And I sure as hell don’t give a shit about some fucking chick who does or doesn’t want me. I don’t want her. Never will. I just want Kim. The chick is just someone in my study group. I already told you that I ran into her today and she asked for some notes. She thanked me after and hugged me. That’s it. I don’t know what you think was going on, but I fucking love Kim and I would never do anything to hurt her. Fuck, I don’t even want anyone but her. You, of all people, should fucking get that.”

  Travis’ voice strained as if he was frustrated and pissed and hurt all at the same time. And I felt like an even bigger ass after listening to their fight. I had jumped to conclusions, and I had justified my actions as being nothing compared to Travis’. And here he was, fighting with the second objection of my affection about hugging some bimbo, pouring his heart out about how much I meant to him.

  “I know, Trav, I know. You’d never hurt her. I know how much you care.” Brent sounded defeated.

  “I wouldn’t and I do. But that’s not even what I meant.”

  “What did you mean?” Brent asked, his voice sounding hoarse, maybe from the yelling.

  “You’re my best friend, Brent. You think I don’t see, that I don’t understand? I see it. I know. Fuck, I don’t blame you.”

  I heard a sharp inhale of breath, and I wasn’t sure who it came from, but I could have guessed it was Brent. What the fuck were they talking about?

  “I’d never,” Brent stuttered.

  “I know, don’t worry. I know,” Travis cut him off. “I won’t keep her from you, if you’re worried about that, either. I’ve known for a while, and I trust you both. And if I have to admit, it makes me feel better knowing you’d protect her with your life if need be.”

  Now, I was really fucking confused. I was sure they were talking about me, but I didn’t have the slightest clue what they meant. Of course, Brent would protect me; he cared about me, and the rest didn’t make any sense whatsoever. I racked my brain for a few minutes and managed to miss some of their conversation before I gave up. Guys. I didn’t think I’d ever fully understand them, and it was probably better if I didn’t even try. My brain was starting to hurt from doing too much thinking, and I was getting emotional whiplash. And I was sure I heard the telltale noise of guys slapping each others’ backs.

  I decided this was as good a time as any to announce myself. Wouldn’t want them to open the door and see me there gawking or eavesdropping. I guess in my worst-case scenario that I could pretend to faint. It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t believe me.

  I took two more steps and knocked on the door before pushing it open and plastering a giant smile on my face.

  “I thought I heard the voices of my two favorite guys. Well, aside from my dad, but if you tell him that, then I’ll never hear the end of it, so you better not rat me out.” I was rambling. What’s new?

  Travis tensed a little while Brent’s faced looked like he would rather be under a giant sumo wrestler, getting the life squeezed out of him than here.

  “Why the long faces?” I asked, blocking the conversation I’d heard out of my head.

  “Oh, uh, Brent’s a sore loser,” Travis covered. Wow, the boy was learning. I felt proud. He must have gotten it from me.

  Brent just kept staring at me.

  “What? I have toilet paper stuck on me? I wouldn’t be surprised. Why the look?”

  That snapped him out of it pretty quickly.

  “Uh, nope, just a little out of it. Had a long night,” Brent replied. And wow, he was getting good at bullshitting, too. Aw. Good boy.

  I was tempted to call them both out and tell them I heard them going at it. Tell Brent he was incredibly sweet and wonderful for defending my honor, especially since he had to do it against his best f
riend. And then tell Travis that even though I wasn’t jealous, he better make that skank back down or I’d have to cut a bitch. But I kept those thoughts to myself and just kept smiling.

  “So how about I make us all dinner,” I replied to cut the tension. I was sure one or both of them were going to protest, but I put my hand up to stop them. “No buts. I’m making dinner and we are all hanging out. The three musketeers.”

  “Uh, they were all guys,” Travis replied, smirking.

  “Yeah, well, I’m a girl. Deal with it.”

  And just like that, Kim the magician broke the tension. And the rest of the night was surprisingly without drama. And my pasta was the bomb. Brent and Travis both agreed. Of course, they knew if they didn’t, I might have to stick the heel of my shoe into some unwelcoming places, but I was sure they meant it anyways. Now, if only every day with both or either of them could go so smoothly. If only.

  chapter twenty-nine

  Things were more or less back to normal the following week. Brent and I were good; well, as good as we had been before. That was me avoiding thoughts about him as anything but a best friend and him being said best friend. Things with Travis were still great. He was still the ever devoted, amazing boyfriend.

  And now we were finally getting a night alone, just me and him—no roommates, no distractions, and no freak interruptions. Travis made dinner; well, okay, he ordered dinner, but he had laid it out nicely. We even drank wine as if we were sophisticated or something. I could see the lust-filled look in his eyes all night, and it was making me feel like goo inside. I was going to finally get laid. My lady parts were doing a secret victory dance. Yes!

  After dinner, I somehow found myself wrapped in Travis’ arms, his hands gently rubbing the bare skin at my back while his tongue found the sensitive spot just beneath my ear. I was in my own little la-la land, the feel of his lips on my neck and his touch was unnerving, which was probably why I didn’t hear my phone blaring. But Travis did because he stopped what he was doing.

  “Why’d you stop?” I asked.

  “Your phone.”

  “Huh?” And then I heard it.

  “Ugh,” I groaned. “I should have put it on vibrate. Just ignore it and keep doing whatever it is that you were doing.”

  He chuckled. “Why do I feel so used?”

  “You love it,” I teased.

  “You can use me whenever you want,” he said and went back to work, but this time, I heard the ringing again. What the fuck?! I tried to ignore it and focus on what Travis’ extremely experienced tongue was doing to my body, but I couldn’t. The moment was ruined and whoever was calling clearly needed me or they would have stopped after the first time.

  Travis must have felt me pull back because he stopped. “You should probably get that.”

  I groaned again but went to retrieve my phone. I had three missed calls from Lauren, and I was about to call her back when she started calling again. I was officially freaking out before I even had a chance to say hello. She never called me like this. And she knew I was out with Travis, so this must have been an emergency. Oh God, please don’t let anyone be dead, I thought before finally answering.

  “What’s wrong?” I said instead of saying hello.

  I heard her sobbing and my heart sank. Crap. Not good. “Lauren, babe, tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I’m calling in the girl code,” she said between sobs.

  “What?! Why?” The girl code was what we called “sisters before misters.” It was always said in jest, but it was the unspoken rule that if we needed each other, we would be there, come hell or high water. We had never needed it before. Even when Will had messed me up, I was in too much shock to call Lauren, but when she finally came home, she took one look at me and canceled all plans she had for the next week.

  “Brian is a lying, cheating piece of shit,” she gritted out. It was hard to understand her through her tears, but luckily, I understood Lauren-speak, even when she sounded like that.

  “You home?” I asked.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “On my way, babe.”

  I started gathering my things before I realized I had left Travis, sitting on the couch, waiting to find out what was wrong.

  “Uh,” I started.

  “I kind of heard. Well, sort of. I figure it’s Lauren?” he asked. I nodded. Funny, he hadn’t met her yet, but he knew all about her.

  “Some sort of emergency?” he asked.

  “You could say that. I’m sorry, Trav. I have to go be with her.”

  “I know,” he responded dejectedly. “Sucks for me, but your loyalty is one of the many reasons why I love you.” Turn my insides into mush, why don’t you?

  I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. He pulled me to him and held on, increasing the intensity of the kiss, but it was still soft and sweet. There was some other emotion in it, something I couldn’t figure out, but I didn’t have time to process it. Lauren needed me, and I had to go be there for her. I pulled away, and I couldn’t help but notice the defeated look flash across Travis’ eyes. I kissed him once more and left.

  It turned out that Lauren’s amazing, wonderful, loyal, exceptional boyfriend was anything but. He had even fooled me; I’d give him that. I thought he was all that and a bag of chips, too. Apparently, he thought so, too. And he thought the entire female population deserved a chip from his bag. I didn’t know how he got away with it for so long. Will hadn’t lasted nearly as long, but I was also naïve at the time. Both Lauren and I had learned our lessons after that, and we were cautious when something sounded sketchy. But Brian had covered all his bases. I mean, Lauren had even surprised him at his place and at work, on numerous occasions, and there was never anything going on there. He had scheduled a certain time where he would meet with his ladies and every semester, it was different, so it was like he had a class. Why would Lauren question one of his classes, right? And he was very clear with all his hookups that he had a girlfriend and this was just fun. And for months, they were all okay with it, until one she-devil, or maybe we should thank her, decided she wanted some more and when Brian wouldn’t give her any more, she confronted Lauren and physically dragged her to see Brian in action. Needless to say, Lauren was devastated. So was I.

  I spent the next few days binge eating junk food, watching sappy movies, and bitching about guys until I thought Lauren was okay enough to go out on her own.

  *****

  I had been spending my days with Lauren, alternating between cheering her up and trash talking her ex. I only saw Travis a few times for short periods – a quick lunch, a cup of coffee. But after a week, we were finally going to have some time together.

  Lauren had signed her and I up for some fundraiser months before. It was like a cheaper version of bidding on a date, considering it was all college students who were attending. Girls were up for auction for the evening. It was only for the duration of the dinner-and-dancing event, but it was for a good cause, so I had agreed. I had also been single at the time, so I didn’t care. When I had told Travis about it after we started dating, he said he would win me for the night because the thought of someone else having that time with me was “unbearable.”

  That would be the first real evening I would have spent with Travis after Lauren and Brian broke up. And it would have been the time when Lauren finally met Travis. Notice I keep saying “would be” or “would have been” as if it didn’t happen. Why? Because it didn’t happen.

  I swear the sex gods hated Travis and me, or maybe just me.

  “Kim, I’m so sorry,” Travis said over the phone as he coughed and sneezed through the entire sentence. Needless to say, he was sick.

  “No, I’m sorry,” I told him, and I meant it. I felt so bad for him, and I really wanted to find a way out of the fundraiser so I could go take care of him, but I knew I couldn’t do that. “I’ll come over right after it’s done and bring you some soup and medicine,” I told him.

  “I don’t want you getting sick.”<
br />
  “It’ll be worth it,” I responded.

  I literally heard his smile through the phone when he said, “And whoever wins you better keep his hands off of you.”

  “Then how will I dance with him?”

  “You won’t,” he deadpanned. I knew he was only half-joking. He wasn’t jealous, but he had shown his possessive side a couple of times. It was flattering and endearing.

  Lauren and I got all dolled up and were just about to head out when there was a knock on our door.

  “Who’s that?” she asked as I went to open it. I think my jaw literally hit the floor when I saw Brent in slacks and dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a half-smile playing on his lips and one eyebrow raised up.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Travis?” Lauren called out.

  “No, Brent,” I yelled back.

  “I’m your escort and I plan on being your date,” Brent responded to my question.

  “I … uh ... what?” I asked.

  “You didn’t think Trav was going to let you be auctioned off to some random guy, did you?”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I asked.

  “I don’t blame him,” Brent said. “I’d never let anyone else get my hands on you if you were mine.” Then he looked me up and down as if to make his point, but I definitely felt a blush creep up my body at his perusal.

  “Wow,” Lauren said right beside me. I hadn’t even heard her walk up to me. “So you’re Brent,” she said with a knowing smile. I almost elbowed her, but that would have been too obvious.

  “The famous Lauren,” Brent replied. “Nice to finally meet you.”

  “Likewise,” she said.

  “We gotta go,” I said as I looked at the time.

  “After you,” Brent said and stepped aside as we walked out. The event was only a couple of blocks away, so we all walked together. Lauren asked Brent questions about himself, like if he had any siblings, where he was from, what was his major – the usual small talk. When we made it to the building, Kim and I had to go to our meeting spot and check in.