Walking Disaster

“You made bank tonight. I’ll make it up to you.”
    “You’re goddamn straight you will! Don’t let it happen again!” Adam slammed cash into my hand, and then shouldered past me.
    I shoved the wad of cash into my pocket, and smiled at Abby. “You’re going to need more clothes.”
    “You’re really going to make me stay with you for a month?”
    “Would you have made me go without sex for a month?”
    She laughed. “We better stop at Morgan.”
    Any attempt at covering my extreme satisfaction was an epic fail. “This should be interesting.”
    As Adam passed he handed Abby some cash before disappearing into the waning crowd.
    “You put in?” I asked, surprised.
    “I thought I should get the full experience,” she said with a shrug.
    I took her by the hand and led her to the window, and then jumped once, pulling myself up. I crawled on the grass, and then turned around, leaning down to pull up Abby.
    The walk to Morgan seemed perfect. It was unseasonably warm, and the air had the same electric feel as a summer night. I was trying not to smile the entire time like an idiot, but it was hard
not to.
    “Why on earth would you want me to stay with you, anyway?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. Everything’s better when you’re around.”
    Shepley and America waited in the Charger for us to show up with Abby’s extra things. Once they took off, we walked to the parking lot and straddled the bike. She wrapped her arms around
my chest, and I rested my hand on hers.
    I took a breath. “I’m glad you were there tonight, Pidge. I’ve never had so much fun at a fight in my life.” The time it took her to respond felt like an eternity.
    She perched her chin on my shoulder. “That was because you were trying to win our bet.”
    I turned to face her, looking straight in her eyes. “Damn right I was.”
    Her eyebrows shot up. “Is that why you were in such a bad mood today? Because you knew they’d fixed the boilers, and I would be leaving tonight?”
    I got lost in her eyes for moment, and then decided that it was a good time to shut up. I ripped the engine and drove home, slower than I had driven . . . ever. When a stoplight caught us, I
found a strange amount of joy in putting my hands on hers, or resting my hand on her knee. She didn’t seem to mind, and admittedly, I was pretty fucking close to heaven.
    We pulled up to the apartment, and Abby dismounted the bike like an old pro, and then walked to the steps.
    “I always hate it when they’ve been home for a while. I feel like we’re going to interrupt them.”
    “Get used to it. This is your place for the next four weeks,” I said, turning around. “Get on.”
    “What?”
    “C’mon, I’ll carry you up.”
    She giggled and hopped onto my back. I gripped her thighs as I ran up the stairs. America opened the door before we made it to the top and smiled.
    “Look at you two. If I didn’t know better . . .”
    “Knock it off, Mare,” Shepley said from the couch.
    Great. Shepley was in one of his moods.
    America smiled as if she’d said too much, and then opened the door wide so we could both fit through. I kept hold of Pidge, and then fell against the recliner. She squealed when I leaned
back, playfully pushing my weight against her.
    “You’re awfully cheerful this evening, Trav. What gives?” America prompted.
    “I just won a shitload of money, Mare. Twice as much as I thought I would. What’s not to be happy about?”
    America grinned. “No, it’s something else,” she said, watching my hand as I patted Abby’s thigh.
    “Mare,” Shepley warned.
    “Fine. I’ll talk about something else. Didn’t Parker invite you to the Sig Tau party this weekend, Abby?”
    The lightness I was feeling immediately went away, and I turned to Abby.
    “Er . . . yeah? Aren’t we all going?”
    “I’ll be there,” Shepley said, distracted by the television.
    “And that means I’m going,” America said, looking expectantly at me. She was baiting me, hoping I would volunteer to come along, but I was more concerned with Parker asking
Abby out on a fucking date.
    “Is he picking you up or something?” I asked.
    “No, he just told me about the party.”
    America’s mouth spread into a mischievous grin, almost bobbing in anticipation. “He said he’d see you there, though. He’s really cute.”
    I shot America an irritated glance, and then looked to Abby. “Are you going?”
    “I told him I would.” She shrugged.