“So talk,” Travis said, popping something breaded and fried into his mouth.
I fidgeted, noticing the curious eyes of everyone within earshot. When Travis still didn’t move, I grabbed his arm and gave it a good tug. He stood up and followed me outside with a grin on his face.
“What, Pidge?” he said, looking at my hand on his arm and then at me.
“You’ve got to let me out of the bet,” I begged.
His face fell. “You want to leave? Why? What’d I do?”
“You didn’t do anything, Trav. Haven’t you noticed everyone staring? I am quickly becoming the pariah of Eastern U.”
Travis shook his head and lit a cigarette. “Not my problem.”
“Yes, it is. Parker said everyone thinks he has a death wish because you’re in love with me.”
Travis’s eyebrows shot up and he choked on the puff of smoke he’d just inhaled. “People are saying that?” he said between coughs.
I nodded. He looked away with wide eyes, taking another drag.
“Travis! You have to release me from the bet! I can’t date Parker and live with you at the same time. It looks terrible!”
“So quit dating Parker.”
I glared at him. “That’s not the problem and you know it.”
“Is that the only reason you want to leave? Because of what people are saying?”
“At least before I was clueless and you were the bad guy,” I grumbled.
“Answer the question, Pidge.”
“Yes!”
Travis looked beyond me to the students entering and leaving the cafeteria. He was deliberating, and I grew impatient while he took his time making his decision.
Finally, he stood tall, resolved. “No.”
I shook my head, sure that I had misunderstood. “Excuse me?”
“No. You said so yourself: A bet’s a bet. After the month’s up, you’ll be off with Parker, he’ll become a doctor, you’ll get married and have your 2.5 children and I’ll never see you again.” He grimaced at his own words. “I still have three weeks. I’m not giving that up for lunchroom gossip.”
I looked through the glass window to see the entire cafeteria watching us. The unwelcome attention made my eyes burn. I shouldered past him to walk to my next class.
“Pigeon,” Travis called after me.
I didn’t turn around.
That night, America sat on the tile floor of the bathroom, babbling about the boys while I stood in front of the mirror and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I was only half listening, thinking about how patient Travis had been—for Travis—knowing he didn’t like the idea of Parker picking me up from his apartment every other night.
The expression on Travis’s face when I asked him to let me out of the bet, and again when I told him people were saying he was in love with me, flashed in my mind. I couldn’t stop wondering why he didn’t deny it.
“Well, Shep thinks you’re being too hard on him. He’s never had anyone he’s cared enough to—”
Travis poked his head in and smiled as he watched me fuss with my hair. “Wanna grab dinner?” he asked.
America stood up to look at herself in the mirror, combing her fingers through her golden hair. “Shep wants to check out that new Mexican place downtown if you guys wanna go.”
Travis shook his head. “I thought me and Pidge could go alone tonight.”