Walking Disaster

more.
    I glared down at Ethan, and then at his hand. “Travis Maddox.” My voice was as low and menacing as I could manage.
    Ethan’s eyes grew wide, and he awkwardly pulled back his hand. “Travis
Maddox
?”
    I stretched my arm behind Abby to grip the bar. “Yeah, what of it?”
    “I saw you fight Shawn Smith last year, man. I thought I was about to witness someone’s death!”
    My eyes narrowed, and my teeth clenched. “You wanna see it again?”
    Ethan laughed once, his eyes darting back and forth between us. When he realized I wasn’t kidding, he smiled awkwardly at Abby, and then walked away.
    “Are you ready, now?” I snapped.
    “You are a complete asshole, you know that?”
    “I’ve been called worse.” I held out my hand and she took it, letting me help her from the stool. She couldn’t have been that pissed.
    With a loud whistle, I signaled Shepley, who saw my expression and immediately knew that it was time to leave. I used my shoulder to cut through the crowd, shamelessly knocking over a few
innocent bystanders to let off steam until Shepley headed us off and took over for me.
    Once outside, I took Abby’s hand, but she jerked it away.
    I wheeled around and yelled in her face. “I should just kiss you and get it over with! You’re being ridiculous! I kissed your neck, so what?”
    Abby leaned back, and when that didn’t create enough space, she pushed me away. No matter how pissed I was, she knew no fear. It was kinda hot.
    “I’m not your fuck buddy, Travis.”
    I shook my head, stunned. If there was anything else I could do to keep her from thinking that, I didn’t know what it was. She was special to me from the second I laid eyes on her, and I
tried to let her know it every chance I got. How else could I get that across to her? How much different from everyone else could I treat her? “I never said you were! You’re around me
24-7, you sleep in my bed, but half the time you act like you don’t wanna be seen with me!”
    “I
came
here with you!”
    “I have never treated you with anything but respect, Pidge.”
    “No, you just treat me like your property. You had no right to run Ethan off like that!”
    “Do you know who Ethan is?” When she shook her head, I leaned in. “I
do
. He was arrested last year for sexual battery, but the charges were dropped.”
    She crossed her arms. “Oh, so you have something in common?”
    A red veil covered my eyes, and for less than a second, the rage inside me boiled over. I took a deep breath, willing it away. “Are you calling me a
rapist
?”
    Abby paused in thought, and her hesitation made the anger melt away. She was the only one that had that effect on me. Every other time I’d been that angry, I had punched something or
someone. I had never hit a woman, but I would have definitely taken a swing at the truck parked next to us.
    “No, I’m just pissed at you!” she said, pressing her lips together.
    “I’ve been drinking, all right? Your skin was three inches from my face, and you’re beautiful, and you smell fucking awesome when you sweat. I kissed you! I’m sorry! Get
over yourself!”
    My answer made her pause, and the corners of her mouth turned up. “You think I’m beautiful?”
    I frowned. What a stupid question. “You’re gorgeous and you know it. What are you smiling about?”
    The harder she tried not to smile, the more she did. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
    I laughed once, and then shook my head. “Wha . . . ? You . . . ? You’re a pain in my
ass
!”
    She was grinning from ear to ear from my compliment, and the fact that I had gone from psycho to ridiculous in less than five minutes. She tried to stop smiling, and, in turn, that made me
smile.
    I hooked my arm around her neck, wishing to God I
had
just kissed her. “You’re making me crazy. You know that, right?”
    The ride home was quiet, and when we finally arrived at the apartment, Abby went straight to the bathroom, turning on the shower. My mind was too fuzzy to rifle through her shit, so I grabbed a
pair of my boxers and a T-shirt. I knocked on the door, but she didn’t answer, so I went ahead and walked in, laid it on the sink, and then left. I wasn’t sure what to say to her
anyway.
    She walked in, swallowed by my clothes, and fell into bed, a residual smile still on her face.
    I watched her for a moment, and she stared back, clearly wondering what I was thinking. The trouble was, even
I
didn’t know. Her eyes slowly traveled down my