chapter 9
I woke up early the next morning, and went ahead and showered in the RV. I had been scarred for life by yesterday’s event, so I would just have to deal with the cramped space from now on. After I got dressed, I saw that I had a missed call from Tracey and had a new voicemail.
Hey Paige! The gang is meeting at my house at three p.m. today to get started on the dance, so please send the video before then. Miss you bunches
I had to get the video sent over right away, so I told my parents I needed to go work on it. Then I got my things together, and headed down to the lake for some privacy. Once I was finished and confirmed with Tracey that she had received the file, I decided to hang around the beach for a bit. I already had on my black bikini, and didn’t have anything else planned for the day, other than to hopefully see Travis at some point, so I flipped on some music on my ipad, and laid out to catch some rays.
I was bopping my head around to the beat of the song, when it was suddenly drowned out by a loud roaring noise coming from the woods behind me. I turned to see what was causing the sound but couldn’t make anything out through the tree line. The noise seemed to be getting louder though, so whatever it was was getting closer. After a few seconds longer, I was able to make out the source and saw a bunch of ATVs driving around on the dirt path.
As they drove closer to the shoreline I could tell who the drivers were as well. On the first one to zip around I saw that Kevin was the driver with Amber as the passenger riding behind him. The next one to come through the trees was being driven by Todd, who was riding with Maggie. Another one followed close behind, and was being driven by Scott with Britney on the back. Which only left Ashley. I figured from the numbers that there was a good chance she was going to be riding with Travis. And yep, just as the ball of nerves hit the pit of my stomach, I saw Travis zip through the trees with Ashley wrapped around his waist.
The sight instantly made me upset. Not only was I disappointed that Travis hadn’t invited me along, but I was also shocked by the fact that he was the one riding with Ashley. After all, he supposedly didn’t like her, and was aware of all of the obnoxious stunts she’d been pulling over the last couple of days. I didn’t understand, but always one to give people the benefit of the doubt, I waited to see what would happen next. They were all slowing their ATVs to a stop, and then one by one turned off their engines. I figured that meant they were all coming over to the lake.
“Looks like somebody’s crashing the party,” Ashley snipped as she made her way onto the beach.
“Let’s just go over here Ash, there is plenty of room for all of us,” Maggie said, leading the way to the opposite end of the beach. I decided to ignore the entire thing and just remained flat on my back with my arm up over my forehead to block the sun from my eyes. The rest of the group made their way down and I made no move to acknowledge them, but kept my ears peeled listening closely. I was curious if Travis was going to come over and say hello.
A few seconds later, I heard a whistle and then Scott yell “Hey Paige!” I slightly waved my hand to him but didn’t look over. Somebody must have done something to him, either Ashley or Britney I’m sure, because his greeting was followed by a loud “Ouch, shit, that hurt.” The girls then sounded like they were getting situated on their towels to work on their tans, while the boys were getting a game of football going. Travis had yet to come over, but I could hear him talking to the others so I knew he was present.
The girls put on some music, and I could barely make out much of their conversation other than the fact that they mentioned the marshmallow roast that was happening later tonight. The boys sounded like they were now out in the water tossing a football around to one another, and still nothing. The longer I lay there, the worse I began to feel about things with Travis. I know I didn’t dream up yesterday or the night with his family, so what the heck is going on? He is completely ignoring me, I thought as I continued to listen carefully to everything.
The next thing I heard was the ball landing in the sand right by my foot. I discreetly peeked out from underneath my arm to see who would come get it and sure enough Travis was running to my side. Relief started to wash over me, as I thought that he had purposefully missed the catch as an excuse to come over to see me. But when he reached the ball, there was nothing. I couldn’t see anything other than his legs standing by me, but he didn’t utter a word, not even a whispered “hi.” Then he was off and running back to the water to join back in the game. My heart sank in that moment, and none of it made sense. Even if he was trying to keep things on the down low because of what Ashley and the others might say, he could have still whispered something to let me know that he acknowledged my existence. Instead, there was absolutely nothing.
As tears began to prick my eyes, I grabbed my phone from inside my bag, and decided to text Tracey. I wasn’t sure what to do, or whether I should just leave, and I needed my friend for support. She would tell me how to navigate this situation and what my next move should be. After all, she was the expert when it comes to boys.
Me: Hey T! I need your help. R u around?
Tracey: yes, what’s up?
Me: I’m at the lake, everyone showed up including Travis, but he hasn’t said anything to me. What should I do?
Tracey: Did you speak to him?
Me: No, I figured he would come over and say hi. I didn’t want to seem forward in front of his friends.
Tracey: Right. So he didn’t say anything or wave? He could be trying to keep things on the DL because of Ashley’s mean streak.
Me: No, nothing. Even Scott said Hi! Travis had the chance to say something discreetly but didn’t. That was my theory too, but still he could have whispered something.
Tracey: ??? Wonder what’s up? Well, don’t go groveling for attention or do anything at all. Let him get a look at your sexy body and come begging ;-) lol
Me: Thanks! I am wearing my black bikini with the gold loops on the side ;-) I’ll make sure I give the boys a show before I head out. LOL
Tracey: LOL Call me later XO
Me: Will Do XO
I took Tracey’s advice and decided that I would leave. Before I did though, I was going to make sure that Travis got an eyeful of what he was missing out on. Not that I wanted to use my body to get the boy’s attention, but it might trigger his raging teenage hormones and get him to drop the façade in front of his friends. After all, I didn’t understand why he was so ashamed of being seen with me. I know we weren’t a couple or anything, but yesterday was really special. At least, to me it was.
I stood up from my towel and then did a little stretch while throwing my head back to ruffle my fingers through my long hair. When I lifted my head back up, I saw that most of the eyes were on me. The girls (specifically Britney and Ashley) carefully observing with looks of jealousy on their faces, and the boys watching with looks of lust. Yep, that’s exactly what I was aiming for.
I took a little longer than necessary to gather up my things, just to see if Travis would come over, but he didn’t. I threw my bag over my shoulder, slipped on my flip-flops and made my way back up the path towards the campsite. Travis never ran to catch up with me, and when I looked back before passing the final tree clearing of the lake, I saw that all of them had resumed their activities and no one was chasing me down. My heart fell with disappointment and I realized that somehow I had misread things with Travis. Either that or I had done something wrong.
When I got back, I immediately gave Tracey a call. I wanted to fill her in on the all of the details, and let her know that our little plan hadn’t worked.
“Paige! You are too gorgeous and too sweet to be ignored. Apparently, the boy is clueless so just let it go. Besides, when I saw Jared earlier today, he mentioned that he was going to call you later. So, that should cheer you up!” she said trying to comfort me.
“I’m just disappointed because Travis seemed like a really nice guy, but maybe I was just blinded by his extreme sexiness,” I said, trying to rationalize my feelings. “But you’re right, I will let it go and get back to reality. So, what did Jared say?” I asked, wanting to shake off the sadness I was feeling, and attempt to distract myself with something else.
“Well, he asked if I had heard from you, which I told him I had. But don’t worry; I definitely left out all of the details. Then he said that he was going to give you a call later to see what camping is like.”
Tracey was extremely excited by the fact, but I found myself unable to share in her enthusiasm. Two days ago I would have been jumping for joy, but now my feelings seemed to be confused. “Okay, well I’ll keep you posted. Thanks Tracey! I have to go grocery shopping with my mom now, so I have to let you go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Definitely let me know if Jared calls. And Paige, don’t worry about everything else. You deserve so much more.” Tracey’s final attempt to make me feel better was appreciated but I still felt completely bummed out.
“Bye T!” I said and we ended the call.
My mom and I headed to the grocery store to stock up on food and supplies. We were trying to buy simple food to make, and things that my mom would actually feel comfortable cooking. As we wondered through the aisles, my mom noticed my mood and confronted me.
“Hey sweetie! You want to tell me what’s got you down?” she asked with concern in her voice.
“Not much mom. Just confused I guess,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
“About what sweetie?”
She stopped and turned her attention toward me. She was never one to let things go, so I decided to talk to her. “Travis and I spent the afternoon together yesterday, and he seemed interested. But today at the lake, he completely ignored me. I don’t know why or if I did something wrong, but I like him so I’m just a little disappointed,” I answered briefly, trying to explain my dilemma without divulging too many of the details.
“Oh, Paige sweetie. Listen to me very carefully. Boys, especially teenage boys, don’t know how to act around girls. Especially beautiful girls like yourself. So don’t take it personally, and just ride the wave. He’ll come around. I could tell the other night that he was interested in you, so just give him time.”
My mom believed she had the answer, and that everything would be fine, but I wasn’t so sure. “Thanks for the advice, mom. By the way, promise me you won’t mention any of this to the Medlers okay.” I knew she was becoming good friends with Travis’s mom and I didn’t want her discussing this over coffee.
“I promise I won’t sweetie. But I do know that they like you. Lucille mentioned last night that she told Travis after our family dinner together that you were the type of girl she hoped he would meet.” My mom’s attempt to make me feel better didn’t really work but I loved her for trying.
After dinner, my parents dragged me up to the main lawn for the marshmallow roast. The fire was blazing in the big pit, and people were sitting around it on the benches. Bags of marshmallows and sticks were being passed around to everyone, and people were busy roasting. Barney and Lucille greeted us and urged us to sit with them. Travis was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he was working. Our parents chatted and laughed while I sat staring at the fire, enjoying the warmth. A little while later, the big kids pulled up in the parking lot and hopped out of two SUVs. They came running down the field to join in the fun. Travis was with them, so apparently he hadn’t been working. There was that little twinge of disappointment again but I kept my focus on the fire, and refused to make eye contact with them.
Travis greeted us as he came over to talk to his parents, and his eyes settled on me. “Travis honey, did you all have a good dinner?” Lucille asked in a motherly way.
“Yes, we did,” he answered, glancing in my direction again.
“You should have invited Paige along with you guys, it would have been a good way for her to get to know everyone,” she added and I was instantly embarrassed.
Before Travis could stutter out some lame excuse that would embarrass me further, I spoke. “Thanks Lucille, but there was no way I was going to miss my mom’s first home cooked meal,” I teased, nudging my mom’s arm.
“I’m happy you didn’t miss it. It took me all afternoon to prepare,” my mom added, giggling at how ridiculous her cooking skills were.
Travis didn’t continue with his own excuse, which I was thankful for, but kept staring and smiling at me. It was a gorgeous smile, one of the ones that he had given me so many times the day before; I couldn’t help but return it. My phone then buzzed in my pocket with a text message, so I was able to break the contact. I pulled it out to see who sent me a message, and saw that it was from Jared. Travis’s mom was asking him to go add more logs to the fire, and make sure that there were enough marshmallows still floating around. Travis immediately took his orders and excused himself from our company.
As I was about to open my text from Jared, I noticed Travis adding more logs and stoking the fire. Ashley and the rest of the group came over to join him. Ashley then handed Travis a stick with a marshmallow on it. He made no move to come back over and talk to me, but instead joined his friends in the roasting. I was so angry by the entire situation, that I decided to leave and have my text exchange with Jared elsewhere. I walked over to the playground and sat on a swing before I opened and read his message.
Jared: Hey Paige! How’s camping?
At the moment it totally sucked! I didn’t want to respond with that message, so I just wrote:
Me: Okay. Lots of trees and lots of fresh air.
Jared: You’ll be there the whole summer?
Me: Yep, the folks are holding me hostage. Lol
Jared: Bummer
Huh? I was surprised that he was basically admitting that my absence was a disappointment. He had never really been this obvious before.
Me: I guess I’ll see you at Columbia next year.
Jared: So long ;-(
His message came back instantaneously without thought, and I was still shocked by how openly flirtatious he was being.
Me: Why, do you miss me?
Jared: Yes, do you miss me?
Although I was excited by his admission, I was confused by my feelings, so I kept my answer general.
Me: I miss everyone.
Jared: Well, maybe Tom, Tracey and I can get up there for a weekend?
Me: Really??
Wow, he really is showing an interest all of a sudden. Talk about poor timing. Not only am I not there, but now I have feelings for someone else.
Jared: Yeah, there’s nothing going on around here. It could be a fun road trip. Would you be up for a visit?
Me: Sure, but let me know when because my parents have a bunch of day trips planned so I want to make sure I’ll be around.
I didn’t want to dismiss Jared’s offer because I had waited two years for this moment, but deep down my heart felt disconnected, so I didn’t want to commit to his visit either. So, I left it open.
Jared: I’ll talk to the others and let you know.
Me: Sounds fun ;-)
Jared: Well, I’ve got to run. Headed to mini golf with the gang.
Me: Sad to miss it. Tell everyone hi for me.
Jared: Will do. Wish you were here XO
Wow, I think we just had our first kiss by text. Can’t wait to share that with Tracey! I’ve waited two years and now I get a text smooch. I didn’t want to leave Jared hanging so I returned the sentiment even though it was probably leading him on. I still needed to figure out what was going on with Travis before I closed the door to my heart. So, I typed out my response and then hit send.
Me: Ditto XO
I went back up to the roast to let my mom know that I was calling it a night. I was now in a slightly better mood after my text conversation with Jared, but still just wanted to cuddle up in my pjs and watch a movie. It had been an emotionally exhausting day. Besides, I really wasn’t in the mood to watch Ashley and Travis fawn all over each other. When I got back up to the campfire, I found Travis sitting with our moms. He smiled at me, but I chose not to return it this time. I wasn’t in the mood to be cordial anymore to the guy that had totally used me for a split second and then spent the day ignoring me. So, I told everyone good night, and left to go back to the RV.