Uh no, no, no!” He danced past me, singing into his imaginary microphone.
The whole room chanted in harmony, “HEY, HEY, HEY!”
“That’s what I’ll say!” Travis sang.
Travis jerked his hips, and a few whistles and squeals from the girls in the room fired off. He walked by me again, singing the chorus to the other side of the room, the football players his backup singers.
“I’ll help you out!” A girl yelled from the back.
“…cuz I tried, and I tried, and I tried…,” he sang.
“I CAN’T GET NO! I CAN’T GET NO!” his backups chanted.
Travis stopped in front of me and bent down. “When I’m watchin’ my tv…and a…man comes on and tells me….how white my shirts can be! Well he can’t be a man, ‘cause he doesn’t smoke….the same cigarettes as me! I can’t…get no! Uh no, no, no!”
Everyone clapped to the beat and the football players sang, “HEY, HEY, HEY!”
“That’s what I say!” Travis sang, pointing to his clapping audience. Some people stood and danced with him, but most just watched with amused amazement.
He jumped to the adjacent table and America squealed and clapped, elbowing me. I shook my head; I had died and woken up in High School Musical.
The football players were humming the base line, “Na, na, nanana! Na, na, na! Na na, nanana!”
Travis held his fist-microphone high, “When I’m…ridin’ ‘round the world…and I’m doin’ this…and I’m signin’ that!!”
He jumped down, and then leaned across the table into my face, “And I’m tryin’ to make some girl….tell me, uh baby better come back, maybe next week, ‘cuz you see I’m. On. A losin’ streak! I CAN’T GET NO! Uh no, no, no!”
The room clapped to the beat, the football team yelled their part, “HEY, HEY, HEY!”
“I can’t get no! I can’t get no! Satis-faction!” he crooned to me, smiling and breathless.
The entire room exploded into applause, even a few whistles. I shook my after he kissed my forehead, and then stood up to take a bow. When he returned to his seat in front of me, he chuckled.
“They’re not looking at you, now, are they?” he panted.
“Thanks. You really shouldn’t have,” I smiled.
“Abs?”
I looked up to see Parker standing at the end of the table. All eyes were on me once again.
“We need to talk,” Parker said, seeming nervous. I looked at America, Travis, and then to Parker. “Please?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.
I nodded, following him outside. He walked past the windows to the privacy of the side of the building. “I didn’t mean to draw attention to you again. I know how you hate that.”
“Then you might have just called if you wanted to talk,” I said.
He nodded, looking to the ground. “It wasn’t my intention to find you in the cafeteria. I saw the commotion, and then you, and I just went in. I’m sorry.”
I waited, and he spoke again, “I don’t know what happened with you and Travis. It’s none of my business…you and I have only been on a handful of dates. I was upset at first, but then I realized that it wouldn’t have bothered me if I didn’t have feelings for you.”
“I didn’t sleep with him, Parker. He held my hair while I hurled a pint of Petron in his toilet. That’s as romantic as it got.”
He laughed once. “I don’t think we’ve really gotten a fair shot…not with you living with Travis. The truth is, Abby, I like you. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about you.” I smiled and he took my hand, running his finger over my bracelet. “I probably scared you off with this ridiculous present, but I’ve never been in this situation before. I feel like I’m constantly competing with Travis for your attention.”
“You didn’t scare me off with the bracelet.”
He pressed his lips together. “I’d like to take you out again in a couple of weeks, after your month is up with Travis. Then we can concentrate on getting to know each other without the distraction.”