“Why on earth would you want me to stay with you, anyway?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Everything’s better when you’re around.”
Shepley and America waited in the Charger for us to show up with Abby’s extra things. Once they took off, we walked to the parking lot and straddled the bike. She wrapped her arms around my chest, and I rested my hand on hers.
I took a breath. “I’m glad you were there tonight, Pidge. I’ve never had so much fun at a fight in my life.” The time it took her to respond felt like an eternity.
She perched her chin on my shoulder. “That was because you were trying to win our bet.”
I turned to face her, looking straight in her eyes. “Damn right I was.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Is that why you were in such a bad mood today? Because you knew they’d fixed the boilers, and I would be leaving tonight?”
I got lost in her eyes for moment, and then decided that it was a good time to shut up. I ripped the engine and drove home, slower than I had driven . . . ever. When a stoplight caught us, I found a strange amount of joy in putting my hands on hers, or resting my hand on her knee. She didn’t seem to mind, and admittedly, I was pretty fucking close to heaven.
We pulled up to the apartment, and Abby dismounted the bike like an old pro, and then walked to the steps.
“I always hate it when they’ve been home for a while. I feel like we’re going to interrupt them.”
“Get used to it. This is your place for the next four weeks,” I said, turning around. “Get on.”
“What?”
“C’mon, I’ll carry you up.”
She giggled and hopped onto my back. I gripped her thighs as I ran up the stairs. America opened the door before we made it to the top and smiled.
“Look at you two. If I didn’t know better . . .”
“Knock it off, Mare,” Shepley said from the couch.
Great. Shepley was in one of his moods.
America smiled as if she’d said too much, and then opened the door wide so we could both fit through. I kept hold of Pidge, and then fell against the recliner. She squealed when I leaned back, playfully pushing my weight against her.
“You’re awfully cheerful this evening, Trav. What gives?” America prompted.
“I just won a shitload of money, Mare. Twice as much as I thought I would. What’s not to be happy about?”
America grinned. “No, it’s something else,” she said, watching my hand as I patted Abby’s thigh.
“Mare,” Shepley warned.
“Fine. I’ll talk about something else. Didn’t Parker invite you to the Sig Tau party this weekend, Abby?”
The lightness I was feeling immediately went away, and I turned to Abby.
“Er . . . yeah? Aren’t we all going?”
“I’ll be there,” Shepley said, distracted by the television.
“And that means I’m going,” America said, looking expectantly at me. She was baiting me, hoping I would volunteer to come along, but I was more concerned with Parker asking Abby out on a fucking date.
“Is he picking you up or something?” I asked.
“No, he just told me about the party.”
America’s mouth spread into a mischievous grin, almost bobbing in anticipation. “He said he’d see you there, though. He’s really cute.”
I shot America an irritated glance, and then looked to Abby. “Are you going?”
“I told him I would.” She shrugged. “Are you going?”
“Yeah,” I said without hesitation. It wasn’t a date party, after all, just a weekend kegger. Those I didn’t mind. And no fucking way was I going to let Parker have an entire night with her. She’d come back . . . ugh, I didn’t even wanna think about it. He’d flash his Abercrombie smile, or take her to his parents’ restaurant to parade his money, or find some other way to sleaze into her pants.
Shepley looked at me. “You said last week you weren’t.”
“I changed my mind, Shep. What’s the problem?”
“Nothing,” he grumbled, retreating to his bedroom.
America frowned. “You know what the problem is,” she said. “Why don’t you quit driving him crazy and just get it over with.” She joined Shepley in his room, and their voices were reduced to murmuring behind the closed door.
“Well, I’m glad everyone else knows,” Abby said.
Abby wasn’t the only one confused by Shepley’s behavior. Earlier he was teasing me about her, and now he was being a little bitch. What could have happened between then and now that had him freaked out? Maybe he would feel better once he figured out that I’d finally decided I was done with the other girls and just wanted Abby. Maybe the fact that I had actually admitted to caring about her made Shepley worry even more. I wasn’t exactly boyfriend material. Yep. That made more sense.
I stood. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
“Is there something going on with them?” Abby asked.
“No, he’s just paranoid.”
“It’s because of us,” she guessed.
A weird floating feeling came over me. She said us.