"What are you doing here?" My eyes widen and my jaw drops like a cartoon character as I watch in shock as Travis towers over my 'date' and looks at him as though he's about to commit murder
"What the fuck is he doing here?" His muscular arms fold over his grey t shirt with some random band slogan drawn across the front.
"He dropped me home"
"Well as far as I can see you're home" he turns to Jared and gives him the fakest smile I have ever seen in my life "Good job my hairy friend, you got her home in one piece, you are dismissed" he then turns to give me his full attention and I feel my heart begin to thump hard under the weight of his gaze.
"Travis..."
"Uh, who is this guy Taylor? He's not your boyfriend is he?! Look brother I'm sorry I didn't know she was taken..."
"Of course I'm not her fuckin boyfriend, if I was her boyfriend you would have been a dead man the second I saw you giving her those 'I'm going to try and kiss you eyes' which by the way you don't ever give her again or I will pop each one out and then play ping pong with them"
"For the love of God Travis stop!" I gasp again in shock.
Why is he being like this?
Why is he acting like an overprotective guard dog???
As he's just confirmed I'm not his girlfriend so why is he acting as though he just caught me cheating on him?
"Are you still here?" He asks Jared as though he's running out of patience and I know how he can be when he's provoked so I take Jared by the hand and pull him down the path towards his car.
"What the eff is going on with that guy?" He asks and I cringe at his attempt to curse without using curse words.
"I'm sorry, that's Travis he's... Well he's a friend I guess but he's a... character?"
"Is he an ex?"
"No not a boyfriend and not an ex just a... friend? Kind of... I guess" I chew on the corner of my nail anxiously, not sure how much longer Travis will tolerant Jareds presence
"He seems pretty..."
"Intense?"
"I was thinking scary"
"Damn right I'm scary!" Travis yells and I know it's time to bring this pantomime to an end.
"Look, thank you for tonight" I run my hand over his soft bicep and hope I sound sincere. "I'm sorry about Travis"
"If he hadn't turned up I was hoping to kiss you" he says it whilst dragging his tongue over his top lip and I see Travis straighten dramatically as he obviously hears his words
"Just try it dickhead!" Travis shouts and I roll my eyes.
"Look tonight was nice... but it wasn't... what I mean is... I... I wouldn't have kissed you back"
"On your way asshole you don't stand a chance brother"
"TRAVIS!!!!"
"Its okay, I can tell you have a situation going on here. If it you know...calms down, give me a call?" He reaches for his phone but I place my hand over his letting him know his number won't be necessary
"I um... I think I have something I need to sort out here without complicating things" and with that I lean over and kiss his temple to let him know this is goodbye
"Swift!" Travis' voice reacts almost as soon as my lips make contact and I thank Jared for the night as he slips quickly and quietly into his car, obviously pleased to escape the 'Travis Situation' in one piece.
I on the other hand am not going to let Travis off the hook so easily so I watch Jared drive away and then turn and walk up my garden path, approaching Travis and then walking right past him as I walk into my house and then slam the door shut in his face
"Swift!" He yells as he pushes open the door and follows me inside and I regret ever telling him my parents and my sister were going to my aunts for the weekend
"Leave me alone!" I say as I kick off my black strappy heels and then throw myself down in to our brown leather sofa.
"What?!" He stands there wide mouthed like he had behaved like an angel the entire night and I have decided out of nowhere to punish him .
"You acted like a complete jerk to Jared!"
"So what?" His eyebrows knit together in confusion as he stare down at me "You weren't interested in that loser"
"And how do you know that?!"
"Because you were looking at him and thinking about me" his voice drips with confidence as the drops down onto the sofa next to me
"Was not" I throw my arms over my chest and then one leg over the other and I don't miss the way his eyes roam my exposed thigh
"So how was It, good? Or nah??"
"It was terrible"
"Good, I'm glad" he crosses his arms over his own chest and we sit there in a sulky silence.
"What's going on Travis? What the hell was tonight all about?" I sneak a look at him out of the corner of my eye and see his face his tense, like he's really thinking hard about something so I allow him time and I just sit there and wait.
Eventually he pushes himself forward on the couch and clasps his hands together as he stares down at the wooden floor of my living room.
"I think it's safe to say I'm not okay with you dating other guys" he finally says and then leaves a silence hanging between us that feels like it's filled with a thousand words
"And why's that?" I finally ask, my voice trembling, my heart desperate for him to say what I'm dying to hear but he just continues to stare at the floor
"This isn't easy for me" it's not what I expected him to say but as he runs a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath I realise he isn't finished and my pulse begins to race in anticipation. "I could kiss you and know I could do it well, fuck you and make you feel great but can I date you? I've never done that before"
His hand runs through his hair once more and I can tell how hard he is struggling with this so I reach out and place a hand on his back
"I'm not what you need Taylor, I'm not what anybody needs"
"But you're what I want" I assure him and he turns his head to finally look at me
"You're the first person that's ever said that to me and not been talking about sex" his eyes look wet for a second and then he blinks "But I hope sex is included in that 'want' somewhere along the line otherwise that's a huge blow to my ego" he grins widely and I realise whatever kind of 'moment' we'd been sharing has now passed
"One day... maybe" I wink and his smile grows even wider
"Come out with me. On a date. I guarantee I will say the wrong thing and act like an asshole but I do that anyways, might as well do it over dinner and a movie???"
He looks at me expectantly, like a little boy in an 18 year old man's body and I feel my heart begin to melt for him
"Its a date" I say unable to keep the ridiculously huge smile from my face
"Its a date" he confirms and then returns his gaze to the floor, his smile matching my own in size"
It's a date...
