Walking Disaster

it?”
    “Travis!” A girl said, playing with her hair. Abby kept going, leaving me stuck listening to this girl’s irritating babble.
    “Sorry, uh . . .”
    “Heather.”
    “Sorry, Heather . . . I’m . . . I’ve gotta go.”
    She wrapped her arms around me. I patted her backside, shrugged out of her grasp, and kept walking, wondering who she was.
    Before I could figure out who Heather was, Abby’s long, tan legs came into view. I popped a Marlboro into my mouth and jogged to her side. “Where was I? Oh yeah . . . you were
thinking.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Have you thought about coming over?”
    “If I say yes, will you quit following me?”
    I pretended to mull it over, and then nodded. “Yes.”
    “Then I’ll come over.”
    Bullshit. She wasn’t that easy. “When?”
    “Tonight. I’ll come over tonight.”
    I stopped midstep. She was up to something. I hadn’t anticipated her going on the offensive. “Sweet,” I said, playing off my surprise. “See you then, Pidge.”
    She walked away without looking back, not the least bit affected by the conversation. She disappeared behind other students making their own way to class.
    Shepley’s white ball cap came into view. He was in no hurry to get to our computer class. My eyebrows pressed together. I hated that class. Who doesn’t know how to work a fucking
computer anymore?
    I joined Shepley and America as they merged into the flow of students on the main walkway. She giggled and watched him yap at me with stars in her eyes. America was no vulture. She was hot,
yeah, but she could have a conversation without saying
like
after every word, and she was pretty funny at times. What I liked most about her is she wouldn’t come to the apartment for
several weeks after their first date, and even after they watched a movie all snuggled up at the apartment, she went back to her dorm room.
    I had a feeling the probationary period before Shepley could bag her was about to end, though.
    “Hey, Mare,” I said, nodding.
    “How’s it going, Trav?” she asked. She acknowledged me with a friendly smile, but then her eyes were right back on Shepley.
    He was one of the lucky ones. Girls like that didn’t come along very often.
    “This is me,” America said, gesturing to her dorm around the corner. She wrapped her arms around Shepley’s neck and kissed him. He gripped her shirt on each side and pulled her
close before letting her go.
    America waved one last time at both of us, and then joined her friend Finch at the front entrance.
    “You’re falling for her, aren’t you?” I asked, punching Shepley in the arm.
    He shoved me. “None of your business, dick.”
    “Does she have a sister?”
    “She’s an only child. Leave her friends alone, too, Trav. I mean it.”
    Shepley’s last words were unnecessary. His eyes were a billboard for his emotions and thoughts most of the time, and he was clearly serious—maybe even a little desperate. He
wasn’t just falling for her. He was in love.
    “You mean Abby.”
    He frowned. “I mean any of her friends. Even Finch. Just stay away.”
    “Cousin!” I said, hooking my elbow around his neck. “Are you in love? You’re making me all misty-eyed!”
    “Shut up,” Shepley grumbled. “Just promise me you’ll stay away from her friends.”
    I grinned. “I promise nothing.”

CHAPTER TWO

Backfire
    “W HAT ARE YOU DOING? ” SHEPLEY ASKED. HE STOOD IN the middle of the room, a pair of
sneakers in one hand, a dirty pair of underwear in the other.
    “Uh, cleaning?” I asked, shoving shot glasses into the dishwasher.
    “I see that. But . . . why?”
    I smiled, my back turned to Shepley. He was going to kick my ass. “I’m expecting company.”
    “So?”
    “The pigeon.”
    “Huh?”
    “Abby, Shep. I invited Abby.”
    “Dude, no. No! Don’t fuck this up for me, man. Please don’t.”
    I turned, crossing my arms across my chest. “I tried, Shep. I did. But, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “There’s something about her. I couldn’t help
myself.”
    Shepley’s jaw worked under his skin, and then he stomped into his room, slamming the door behind him.
    I finished loading the dishwasher, and then circled the couch to make sure I hadn’t missed any visible empty condom wrappers. That was never fun to explain.
    The fact that I had bagged a good portion of beautiful coeds at this school was no secret, but I didn’t see a reason to remind them when they came to my apartment.