Chapter 17
Anna
Travis winks at me, his mouth a straight line. Then he looks at Ben.
His watchful gaze turns into a glower. He looks like a grizzly bear getting ready to rip apart his prey.
Ben’s eyes go wide, and he goes totally pale. He looks like he’s seen a ghost.
The light turns green.
“Drive,” Travis’s stern voice orders from my phone.
Ben nods and speeds ahead. The whole way to the Airbnb, Travis follows us in the other lane.
I watch Travis as he stares at the road ahead, glancing over to me every few seconds.
When it narrows down to one lane, he gets behind us. He practically rides Ben’s bumper the entire way.
There’s a funny feeling in my chest. It’s tight and warm all at once.
It’s the middle of the night. He dropped whatever he was doing to find me and help me get home safely.
He did this—all of this—for me.
That tingly feeling from earlier is back, but it’s ten times stronger now.
Ben stops in front of the gated entrance that leads to the Airbnb. Travis pulls in front of him, but at a slant, like he’s blocking him from leaving.
I hop out of the backseat and rush over to Travis. The second he slides his arm around me, pulling me against him, every muscle in my body relaxes. He feels like a blanket. Instant comfort.
His eyes are watchful as he looks at me. “You okay?”
“I am now.”
He kisses my forehead, and my eyelids flutter. I feel like I’m melting into him.
Maybe he’s doing it just to keep up the act that he’s my protective boyfriend, but I don’t care. I love that he’s touching me.
After a second, he lets me go, then walks over to the driver. He leans down, slams his hand on the open window, and glowers at him.
Ben jerks back, clearly freaked out. “Dude, take it easy…”
“Shut up.”
Ben snaps his mouth shut.
“Apologize to my girlfriend for scaring her.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
I don’t say anything, I’m too disgusted.
Ben turns back to Travis, who’s still looking at him like he wants to rip his face off.
“Do you always do this when you drive women who are alone?”
“D-Do what?”
“Act like a creepy piece of shit.”
Ben shakes his head and stammers.
Travis grabs him by the shirt, yanking him out of the car. My eyes go wide at how easily he does that. Like he’s picking up a rag doll and not a full-grown man.
This is the second time I’ve seen Travis overpower someone, and I’m just as stunned.
I’ve always known he’s huge and muscular, but I’ve never seen him showcase just how easily he can tear apart another human being.
In all the times I’ve been around him, argued and bickered with him, I never thought about how powerful he is.
It’s a quiet strength he wields. Like a concealed weapon. You forget he has it until he whips it out and destroys something.
He tosses Ben onto the pavement, then lowers down so that he’s in his face. “Don’t ever fucking do that again.”
Ben nods frantically, his eyes wide with panic.
“Get the fuck out of here.”
Ben scrambles and climbs into his car. When he reverses his car, his tires bump the sidewalk as he struggles to get around Travis’s car.
“Should you move your car?” I ask.
Travis shakes his head, glaring at Ben. “Nope. That fucker can figure out a way to leave.”
Ben finally moves around Travis’s car, then peels away.
Travis and I turn to each other. We’re standing under the dim light of a nearby streetlight, offering a soft glow in the pitch-black night.
He steps over to me, closing the space between us. “Are you okay?” he asks again.
I nod. He shakes his head. I notice the way his jaw tightens and the wrinkle that rests between his eyebrows, like he’s in pain.
“I need to hear you say it, Anna. Please.”
My breath catches. “I’m okay.”
He swallows, and the pained look on his face starts to fade.
“Let me walk you to the door.” He rests his hand on the small of my back. I feel those tingles again on my back, on the spot where he’s touching me.
I’m staying with Poppy at a condo that’s being rented out through Airbnb, so I type the code into the keypad at the gate, then type the security code at the front entrance of the building.
The door unlocks, and Travis opens it for me.
The whole walk up the stairs to the second floor, his hand stays on me.
“How did you get a car so fast?” I ask, just now wondering that.
“I stole it.”
I stop walking and turn to look at him. Oh. He’s kidding.
“I borrowed it from my cousin. He drove here from Arizona to watch me play in the tournament, and he was helping me take your brother back to our hotel room when you called.”
“Oh.”
I’m still floored. He got to me so fast. He must have broken every speed limit in the city.
When we make it to the door of my rental, I unlock it, then turn to Travis.
“You didn’t have to do all that,” I say, still in disbelief. No one’s ever done what Travis did. No guy I ever dated would have done what he did.
“Yes, I did. You were scared. I wanted to help you.”
His gaze is as steady as his tone. Like he didn’t even have to think. Like he was acting on instinct.
My heart starts beating faster again. Not because I’m freaked out. But because I realize now just how wrong I was about Travis.
He’s not selfish. He’s not a jerk who doesn’t care about my feelings. Not even close.
“What if Nick wakes up and notices you’re not there? What will you tell him?”
A hard swallow moves down his thick, stubbled throat. He doesn’t answer. I don’t think he can.
“I’ll tell him you helped me,” I say.
“Don’t.”
“Why not?”
We’re standing so close, I can feel his hot breath scatter over my mouth. I can see the flecks of gold in his gray-blue eyes.
“Because he can’t know how I feel about you, Anna.”
My breath gets stuck in my throat. Because that’s exactly when the slow-moving gears in my brain finally piece it together—when I finally understand.
Travis isn’t playing around with me. He’s not toying with my feelings.
He likes me. He cares about me…in a way that would ruin his friendship with my brother.
He cups my face in his hands and presses the softest, most gentle kiss to my mouth. My legs shake, and I’m instantly dizzy.
He leans back, breaking the kiss, but holding my eyes.
“The next time you need anything, call me, okay?”
I nod, unable to speak. I step inside and close the door behind me. Then I lean against it as I catch my breath. I can hear Travis on the other side of the door, his footsteps getting softer as he walks away.
I stand there, slumped against the door, my brain in a fog as I try to process the fact that my brother’s best friend and teammate—the guy I hated for years—has feelings for me.
And I think I have feelings for him too.