Miss Me; When I'm Gone (editing)

CHAPTER 23 (Travis)

Travis

This was not how I wanted to spend my last night with Blair. I wasn't sure when I could get another weekend to come stay with her. I had spent most of the morning staring at the ceiling while I held her, thinking of ways to persuade her to come to California. I was ready to move her into my house. That's how far gone I was, and we hadn't even had sex yet.

Luckily, Sean Kenny's fiancée, Leslie, wasn't one of the uptight Miami Place females who made everything black-tie. She had worked at the Country Club with her aunt for years. This party had been planned under her supervision, so we were all dressed for a party on the beach.

I glanced down at Blair, who was holding onto my arm tightly, she was wearing s bikini under her sundress, and I could see the straps perking out. Swimsuits were the suggested attire.

After the ground breaking ceremony for Sean's brand new five-star hotel, everyone was moving to the Country Club pool, which was more like a tropical island with waterfalls and palm trees.

"It seems like my wife can get you to do her bidding, too." Dave Peterson said with a smirk as he walked up to us.

"Hello, Blair. Glad to see my brother- in-law has good taste."

"Hello, Mr. Peterson," she said, her voice giving away how nervous she was.

Dave frowned.

"You're dating Travis, and having cookie breaks with my wife. You can call me Dave. Please."

He turned his attention back to me.

"You staying in town long?"

Blair tensed beside me but only for a second. If I wasn't so attuned to her every move, I would have missed it.

"I have to leave tomorrow. I left things in a bit of a mess," I admitted.

Dave chuckled, and his eyes flickered over to my left.

"Yeah, I hear you swooped in and stole Elijah's date for the night. He's currently heavily drinking and has a woman on each arm. So, he's recovering."

I didn't even bother looking. I don't doubt Dave for a second.

"Where's Karleah?" I asked, changing the subject.

"She's feeding Adelia Jane. I offered to do it, but she said I was the one who needed to be out here show in my face, not her."

"I have to say,I like the relaxed atmosphere. I'm not sure Karleah could have gotten me to come out if this were formal." Dave chuckled like he didn't believe me.

A sever appeared with a tray of champagne flutes. I took two, and handed one to Blair.

"You thirsty?"

She grinned and looked st the glass, then to me.

"What is it?"

"Champagne," I replied, unable to take my eyes off her face.

Every expression she made was something I wanted to etch into my memory.

"I've never had champagne before," she said softly.

"I think you'll like it. Just take a small sip."

She placed the glass to her lips, and her eyes stayed locked on me as she tasted the blush colored drink. Her eyes lit with pleasure and excitement. She liked it. And watching her experience it was fucking amazing. It was just a drink, but she made everything an adventure.

"Its really good. It tickles my nose."

There were several places I wanted to tickle her. But I kept that thought to myself. Glancing over, I'd realized I'd forgotten about Dave, but he'd moved on from us anyway.

"Hello, I'm Jane. You must be Blair?"

I turned around to see Jane Doyle, Kevin's wife, smiling at Blair. Jane was a nice person. I felt safe with her approaching Blair. She hasn't come from this world, either, although she was now the wife of owner of the Country Club.

"Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you," Blair said, with less nerves this time. It seemed to be only men who made her withdraw.

"Its lovely to meet you, too. I've heard so many good things about you from Karleah."

Blair's eyes went wide, and glaced over at me quickly before smiling back at Jane.

"Oh. Well, I enjoy working for Mrs. Peterson. They're a really nice family."

Karleah would hate that Blair still felt she had to call her Mrs. Peterson. I didn't correct her, though, although I could see the confusion flash in Jane's eyes. She wasn't expecting Blair to be so formal about her relationship with my sister.

"Yes, they are," Jane said smiling.

"I look forward to seeing more of you in the future."

She gave me a knowing glance.

"You two enjoy yourselves. I've got to go rescue my husband from Mr. Forbes. If you'll excuse me." She turned towards Doyle, who was listening to an older man talk and looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"She's beautiful," Blair said, as she watched Jane walk away.

"I didn't notice," I replied, then tugged her closer to me.

Elijah was headed our way with his two dates, one on each side. I wasn't sure what his plan was, but I wasn't letting him say or do anything to embarrass Blair. He also needed to understand; she was mine.

Elijah's hair was tucked behind his ears, and his eyes weren't glassy or bloodshot from too much to drink. The girls at his side were already in their bikinis. They had forgone the cover ups or dresses, unlike everyone else.

Blair's hand tightened on my arm the second she noticed him. I tucked her against me and leveled a warning glare at Elijah. He just grinned at me as if I was overreacting.

"Blair, Travis, hope you're enjoying yourselves," Elijah said, as his stupid, dimpled grin flashed. I hoped Blair didn't have a thing for dimples.

"Yes, thankyou. Its a beautiful spot for a hotel," Blair said sincerely.

"I hadn't planned on coming, but since my evening plans fell through, I figured I'd bring a couple of dates to entertain me," he said with a wink, then did something to the girl on the left to cause her to squeal and giggle.

"I can see you're torn up about those failed plans. If you excuse us, I want to introduce Blair to Jessica and Dean," I said, placing a possessive hand on her lower back.

I didn't wait for home to say anything else. I has seen Dean and Jessica arrive a few minutes ago, and I knew Jessica would be a safe person to talk to; plus, she was part of my family, so to speak. Dean and I both had father's in the rock band Power Demon. Although Dean grew up more in that life than I did, we understood what it was like to have father's the rest of the work idolized.

Dean also wouldn't look at Blair like he wanted a taste. Because I was going to throttle Elijah if I had to watch him lust over Blair another second.