I looked down at the sparkling diamonds on my wrist. “I told you I liked it.”
The waitress handed us menus and took our drink orders. Parker updated me on his Spring schedule, and talked about the progress in his studies for the MCAT. By the time the waitress served our beers, Parker had barely taken a breath. He seemed nervous, and I wondered if he wasn’t under the impression that we were on a date, regardless of what he’d said.
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. I think I’ve monopolized the conversation long enough.” He tipped his beer bottle and shook his head. “I just haven’t talked to you for any length of time in so long, that I suppose I had a lot to say.”
“It’s fine. It has been a long time.”
Just then, the door chimed. I turned to see Travis and Shepley walk in. It took Travis less than a second to meet my stare, but he didn’t look surprised.
“Jesus,” I muttered under my breath.
“What?” Parker asked, turning to see them sit in a booth across the room.
“There’s burger place down the street we can go to,” Parker said in a hushed voice. As nervous as he was before, it had been taken to a whole new level.
“I think it would be more awkward to leave at this point,” I grumbled.
His face fell, defeated. “You’re probably right.”
We tried to continue our conversation, but it was noticeably forced and uncomfortable. The waitress spent an extended period of time at Travis’ table, raking her fingers through her hair and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She finally remembered to take our order when Travis answered his cell phone.
“I’ll have the tortellini,” Parker said, looking to me.
“And I’ll have….” I trailed off. I was distracted when Travis and Shepley stood up.
Travis followed Shepley to the door, but he hesitated, stopped, and turned around. When he saw me watching him, he walked straight across the room. The waitress had an expectant smile, as if she thought he had come to say goodbye. She was quickly disappointed when he stood beside me without so much as blinking in her direction.
“I’ve got a fight in fourty-five minutes, Pidge. I want you there,”
“Trav….”
His face was stoic, but I could see the tension around his eyes. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t want to leave my dinner with Parker to fate, or if he truly wanted me there with him, but I had made my decision the second he’d asked.
“I need you there. It’s a rematch with Brady Peterson, the guy from State. It’s a big crowd, lots of money floating around…and Adam says Brady’s been training.”
“You’ve fought him before, Travis, you know it’s an easy win.”
“Abby,” Parker said quietly.
“I need you there,” Travis said, his confidence fading.
I looked at Parker with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you serious?” he said, his eyebrows shooting up. “You’re just going to leave in the middle of dinner?”
“You can still call Brad, right?” I asked, standing up.
The corners of Travis’ mouth turned up infinitesimally as he tossed a twenty on the table. “That should cover it.”
“I don’t care about the money…Abby….”
I shrugged. “He’s my best friend, Parker. If he needs me there, I have to go.”
I felt Travis’ hand encapsulate mine as he led me away. Parker watched with a stunned look on his face. Shepley was already on the phone in the Charger, spreading the word. Travis sat in the back with me, keeping my hand firmly in his.
“I just got off the phone with Adam, Trav. He said the State guys all showed up drunk and padded with cash. They’re already riled up, so you might wanna keep Abby out of the way.”
Travis nodded. “You can keep an eye on her.”
“Where’s America?” I asked.
“Studying for her Physics test.”
“That’s a nice lab,” Travis said. I laughed once and then looked to Travis who had a small grin on his face.