“Do you have to pee in here? You have your own bathroom.”
“Shep has been in there for half an hour with the beer shits. Not going in there.”
“Nice.”
“I hear you have a date tonight. Travis is pissed!” she lilted.
“At six! He is so sweet, America. He’s just…” I trailed off, sighing. I was gushing, and it wasn’t like me to gush. I kept thinking about how perfect he had been since the moment we’d met. He was exactly what I needed, the polar opposite of Travis.
“Rendered you speechless?” she giggled.
I poked my head from the curtain. “I didn’t want to come home! I could have talked to him forever!”
“Sounds promising. Isn’t it kind of weird that you’re here, though?”
I ducked under the water, rinsing away the suds. “I explained it to him.”
The toilet flushed, and the faucet turned on, making the water flash cold for a moment. I cried out and the door flew open.
“Pidge?” Travis said.
America laughed. “I just flushed the toilet, Trav, calm down.”
“Oh. You all right, Pigeon?”
“I’m great. Get out.” The door shut again and I sighed. “Is it too much to ask for locks on the doors?” America didn’t answer. “Mare?”
“It’s really too bad you two couldn’t get on the same page. You’re the only girl that could have….” she sighed. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter, now.”
I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. “You’re as bad as he is. It’s a sickness…no one here makes sense. You’re pissed at him, remember?”
“I know,” she nodded.
I turned on my new hairdryer and began the process of primping for my date with Parker. I curled my hair, and painted my nails and lips a deep shade of red. It was a bit much for a first date. I frowned at myself in the mirror. It wasn’t Parker I was trying to impress. I wasn’t in a position to be insulted when Travis accused me of playing games, after all.
Taking one last glance at myself in the mirror, guilt washed over me. Travis was trying so hard, and I was being a stubborn brat. I walked out into the living room and Travis smiled, not the reaction I expected at all.
“You…are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said, rattled by the absence of irritation or jealousy in his voice.
Shepley whistled. “Nice choice, Abby. Guys dig red.”
“And the curls are gorgeous,” America added.
The doorbell chimed and America smiled, waving with exaggerated excitement. “Have fun!”
I opened the door. Parker held a small bouquet of flowers, wearing slacks and a tie. His eyes did a quick once-over, from my dress to my shoes and then back up.
“You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen,” he said, enamored.
I looked behind me to wave to America, whose smile was so wide I could see every one of her teeth. Shepley had the expression of a proud father, and Travis kept his eyes on the television.
Parker held out his hand, leading me to his shiny Porsche. Once we were inside, he let out a puff of air.
“What?” I asked.
“I have to say, I was a bit nervous about picking up the woman Travis Maddox is in love with…from his apartment. You don’t know how many people have accused me of insanity today.”
“Travis is not in love with me. He can barely stand to be near me sometimes.”
“Then it’s a love/hate relationship? Because when I broke it to my brothers that I was taking you out tonight, they all said the same thing. He’s been behaving so erratically—even more than usual— that they’ve all come to the same conclusion.”
“They’re wrong,” I insisted.
Parker shook his head as if I were utterly clueless. He rested his hand on mine. “We’d better go. I have a table waiting.”
“Where?”
“Biasetti’s. I took a chance…I hope you like Italian.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Wasn’t it short notice for reservations? That place is always packed.”
“Well…it’s our restaurant. Half, anyway.”