Leaning forward, I plant another quick kiss on his lips before pulling away. “Okay.”
“Go and I’ll meet you down there.” He smacks my ass as I turn to leave and I shoot him a look over my shoulder before slipping out of his room and practically running down the hallway to the stairs. A few people are milling around in the bar area but they barely give me a second glance as I walk down the hallway to my room. Stopping outside of the door, I grab the handle like I’m going to open it before peeking behind me. Everyone has moved onto something else so I release the handle and sneak over to the back door, squeezing my eyes shut as I press on the bar to open it. It makes a little squeak but I slip outside without glancing back to see if anyone else heard before softly closing the door and booking it across the parking lot to Travis’s Impala. My heart races and I can’t wipe the grin off of my face. I swear, it’s like I’m sixteen and sneaking out of the house to meet up with a boy all over again. Although, I’m not sure if Lincoln would be any less pissed this time around as he was when I was a kid.
Stopping next to the car, I turn toward the front door just in time to see Travis shove it open and stomp outside but as soon as he sees me, a big grin stretches across his face, breaking his cover. No one really seems to notice though and once he reaches the car, he jumps behind the wheel, while I wait for him to unlock my door. Instead, he rolls down the window, leaning across the seat to talk to me.
“Will you get the gate? The code is zero, five, two, zero.”
I glance up at the lock on the gate and nod before running over to the gate and punching in the code. It unlocks with a click and as soon as it swings open, Travis drives the Impala out onto the street before stopping to wait for me. I close the gate behind me and double check that it’s locked. The last fucking thing we need is Warren getting into the clubhouse… not that it’s not already easy enough for him to get to us. Sighing, I walk over to the Impala and sink into the passenger seat before turning to Travis. He flashes me a blinding smile and grabs my hand as he takes off down the street.
“So, where are we headed to?”
He glances over at me and winks. “It’s a surprise.”
Shaking my head, I watch him as we drive, wondering what is going through his head right now. Maybe this is just what he said, an excuse for us to get out of the clubhouse and seize a little bit of normal but it feels an awful lot like more than the casual relationship we agreed to and I don’t know what to do with that.
“What are you thinking so hard about over there?” he asks, pulling me out of my thoughts and I blink at him before leaning my head back against the seat and flashing him a smile.
“Just trying to figure out where we are going.”
He laughs. “You’re not good with surprises, are you?”
“I guess not,” I answer and his brows knit together as his gaze flicks between me and the road repeatedly.
“What do you mean, you guess not?”
I shrug. “I’ve never really had anyone do something like this for me.”
“Come on, you’ve had boyfriends before,” he replies. I arch a brow at the word boyfriend and he releases a nervous chuckle. “Not that we… I mean, I’m not…”
I scoff. “Don’t worry, Travis. I know what this is and even though I’ve had boyfriends before, none of them ever did anything like this. I’ve never even really been on a proper first date.”
“What’s a proper first date?” he asks and I have to laugh at how clueless and inexperienced we both are when it comes to relationships.
“You know, like when you meet someone and you like them so you ask them out. For me, it’s always just been I start hanging out with someone and we like each other so we become a couple before we ever even have a date.”
He shakes his head. “That’s a fucking shame. A gorgeous girl like you deserves shit like this.”
“Oh, how romantic.” I laugh, crinkling my nose at his statement as butterflies flutter around in my belly. When I’m with him, the rest of the damn world just fades away and here in this car, on our way to a date, nothing else exists but I wish I knew more about him. There is this glaring contradiction when I look into his eyes and I can tell he’s experienced real pain in his life. I want to hear about it and if possible, ease just a little bit of his suffering. Leaning on the arm rest between us, I flash him a smile. “Tell me something about yourself.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because,” I say, batting my lashes at him as he fights back a grin. “I asked you very, very nicely.”
He arches a brow. “Did you? It sounded more like a demand to me.”
“Will you, Travis Broussard, pretty please tell me something about yourself?” I ask, laying it on thick as I stare up at him and wait for his answer. He laughs, shaking his head.
“Jesus… like I could say no to you. What do you want to know?”
For fucks sake.
I wanna know everything but I need to ease him into this or he will shut down on me in a second. I run through a list of questions in my mind before landing on one and peeking up at him. This is the most softball question I’ve ever fucking heard in my life so there is no way he won’t answer it.
“Are you from Baton Rouge?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
“Where are you from?” I ask and he scowls as we pull to a stop at a light, searching my face. Jeez, I thought it was a softball question but I guess not. Or maybe he’s locked down so tightly that he finds any question at all probing.
“I thought it was just one question.”
I shrug. “I never said that. Come on, Travis. It’s an easy question.”
“Fine,” he sighs, his gaze locked on mine for a moment before he shakes his head and blows out a breath. “I’m from Texas.”
“What brought you here?”
He fidgets in his seat as he turns to look up at the stoplight. “My mom was from this area.”
“Was?” I ask, my heart sinking for him. Pain splashes across his face and he scrubs one hand down his thigh while the other grips mine tighter and he nods.
“She died.”
Looking up at the clear agony on his handsome face, my heart breaks for him but I don’t say the obligatory “I’m sorry” because it was one of the things I hated the most when my mom died. Instead, I raise his hand to my lips and press a kiss to it in a silent show of support. Something that tells him I know I can’t make it any better but I’m here for him and the look he shoots me almost makes me melt in my seat. It’s full of appreciation, relief, and something else I can’t quite name but it makes me feel all kind of gooey inside as I give him a soft smile.
“Thank you, Rowan,” he whispers, his voice cracking in a rare show of emotion and I nod because I know that more than anything, he just needs me to be here for him right now and that’s what I’m going to do for as long as he lets me.
Chapter Nineteen
Rowan
“Hey,” Travis whispers in my ear, sneaking up behind me and gripping my hips as I startle and my heart jumps into my throat. I peek over my shoulder at him and he flashes me a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows that has me fighting back a smile of my own. “Having fun?”