Inspire (10 page)

“Inspire,” he whispered and I could see the heat in his eyes. I nodded, unable to speak, and then felt him urging me down to the seat with his hands.

Our eyes met and burned into each other with desire as the current between us charged. I silently beckoned him to kiss me and without hesitation his mouth was pressed to mine. His lips were warm and soft, and we easily fell into a rhythm. There was no awkwardness to the kiss, which caused my nerves to instantly melt away and be replaced by a lustful need. As our tongues began to lightly glide together and explore each other’s senses, I felt his hands sliding up my back. They made their way to the base of my neck, pulling me forward, further deepening the kiss. The intensity of our tongues now thrusting together made him moan which in turn sent electricity sizzling throughout my veins. I found myself needing to be closer, so I gripped the base of his neck making our chests collide. His mouth continued to explore mine for another minute before he pulled away. I internally frowned at the loss of contact, but took the second to catch my breath and calm my heartbeat.

“Wow! You definitely inspire me,” he whispered, resting his forehead on mine. He leaned forward to place another soft kiss on my lips and then pulled back again. “Sorry I’m not being more of a gentleman, but I’ve been wanting to do that since I saw you this morning. Actually, I take that back, since last night.”

I giggled at Travis’s remark and then leaned over to kiss him again. I too had been longing for a kiss since last night.

“Do you want to go on a hike with me?” he asked, pulling back to look into my eyes. His question threw me off guard because my mind was purely elsewhere, but I figured that since the energy between us was too strong to resist it was probably best if we found an actual activity to fill our time. Otherwise, we would probably be finding ourselves lip-locked for the entire afternoon.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Good. Will you drive us over to that side?” he said, pointing to a beach area straight in front of us.

“Sure!” I answered, excited that I was still going to be in the driver’s seat.

I stood to turn around, and got situated back on the seat the right way. As I started up the engine, Travis wrapped his arms around me and this time intentionally pressed his body against mine. I could tell he wanted me to know the effect that I had on him, and I loved knowing it. He kissed my neck, and I melted against him. “Okay, I better stop. Ready when you are!” he said. I took us to the shoreline and parked on the beach.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking and talking about everything. It was amazing how easy Travis was to talk to. I found myself telling him every detail about my life: what it was like growing up in East Hampton, who my friends were, all of my favorite things to do. I even shared some embarrassing moments, and talked about my dreams for the future. He was such a good listener and showed interest in all of it.

When Travis was put back in the spotlight, I learned about his friends and how Scott really was like a brother to him. He told me about his favorite places to go, and what it was like spending his summers on the campground. He shared his aspiration of becoming an architect and designing homes on the water. His dream was to encapsulate the environment in his designs, and make each home blend into its surroundings. He also shared his hopes for having a family, and wanting kids to go rafting with. All of his admissions were sweet, and with each one I found myself falling a little harder for him.

We talked the entire time, never once finding ourselves in an awkward silence. Conveniently though, we both left out details about ex-relationships and our love lives over the years. I was thankful being that it was our first date and I didn’t want to scare him off by revealing my two-year crush on Jared. I was worried that Travis might think I was off limits because of that, and at this moment I was surprisingly, definitely, not off limits.

It started to get late and Travis realized he needed to get back for work, so we hiked back to the wave runner and returned to the campground. Travis pulled up into a large boathouse, where the Medlers apparently stored all of their water toys. There were: kayaks, rafts, canoes, another wave runner and what looked to be a motorboat with an inside cabin. “Wow, you really do like the water, huh?” I said, admiring all of the equipment.

“Yeah, I’ll have to take you on that sometime,” he promised, gesturing toward the motorboat. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Travis finished tying up the wave runner, and we made our way out of the boathouse. After he locked the doors, he turned and suddenly pressed me against the side of the building. His mouth claimed mine as he held my hands above my head, pinning me to the wall. Immediately I joined him in the kiss, and let our tongues dance together again. This time they were not shy, and the kiss was intense. After a few minutes, he pulled back releasing me and then bent his head to mine. “You’re incredible,” he whispered and I realized in that moment that I was gone. The afternoon had been perfect, Travis was perfect, and I had fallen hard.

Chapter 8

When I got back up to our campsite, I found my mom struggling with the laundry. She looked confused as she was sorting out the colors, and had about ten different piles going, each consisting of two items. “Are you going to go do the wash, mom?” I asked, wondering if she even knew how.

“Yes, that’s the plan,” she answered, sounding frazzled by it all.

“Why don’t I take it up, and throw it in? I need to shower and was planning on using the one up at the main building. So I can put the wash in and then change it over to the dryer when I’m finished,” I offered. My mom quickly agreed and I could tell she was truly appreciative that I was taking the task off her hands. I gathered up my things and the laundry and then headed up to the front.

I noticed all of the “Big Kids” out on the basketball court as I made my way into the laundry room, but ignored any stares I might be receiving. When I finished starting the wash, I took my change of clothes and went straight into the bathroom. The shower stalls each had a little changing area with a bench that was separated by two shower curtains. One blocked the shower stall from the changing area, and the other blocked the changing area from the rest of the bathroom. I placed my clothes on the bench and then proceeded to step into the shower to get myself clean. While the water was running I heard some girls come into the bathroom, and I immediately recognized Ashley and Britney’s voices. They were giggling, but I couldn’t make out anything else. I was too giddy about my afternoon with Travis to let anything alter my mood, so I just ignored them and finished my shower.

As I stepped out of the shower, I heard the girls come back into the bathroom.
Okay, what are they doing? Checking out their make-up for the tenth time
? I thought as I wrung my hair out with my hands. I reached down for my towel to start getting dried off and noticed that my things weren’t on the bench. I bent over to check the floor underneath and found my bra and panties crumpled on the ground, but nothing else.
Oh my gosh, you have got to be kidding me
! I mentally shouted.
The girls have taken my clothes
, my mind shrieked again. I quickly slipped on my navy satin demi bra and matching panties, which barely covered anything, and came up with a plan. I wasn’t going to let them know that I was upset, nor was I going to beg for my clothes back. I was just going to play dumb, and go from there.

“Hey, Ashley,” I said, poking my head around the curtain. She and Britney were standing in front of the mirrors by the sink putting on lip-gloss.

“What’s up?” she said and I could hear the humor in her voice hinting at the fact that she knew I was missing something.

“Do you happen to see some clothes over on the counter, I think I might have left them out there?” I asked, keeping my voice calm.

“Nope!” she said, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Oh no! I must have dropped them outside. Did you happen to see some clothes on your way in?” I asked, still not letting on that I knew the truth. The girls then burst out giggling.

“Yes,” Ashley said, nudging Britney’s arm. “We found some clothes on the ground and figured you dropped them on the way into the laundry room, so we added them in with your wash.”
What a bitch
! My mind silently shouted the words that I actually wanted to say to her, but I kept my cool and didn’t show any signs that I was bothered by their prank.

“Oh, thanks. Those were actually the clothes that I needed to change into. Well, I guess I’m lucky I still have my underwear,” I said, revealing myself from behind the curtain. The looks on the girls’ faces showed that they hadn’t realized they’d missed my lingerie. “I’ll just have to go across to the laundry room to get something. Hope none of the guys are out there or they will really get a show!” I said very nonchalantly. I could tell from the expressions they got after glancing over my body that the girls hadn’t thought their plan through. It was obvious that they weren’t excited by the idea of the guys getting to see me this way and they were now regretting their actions.

“Well, I can go grab you something,” Ashley quickly offered, rethinking her plan.

“That’s all right,” I said, walking past them to the door. “It’s kind of like a bikini, so I’ll just go. Thanks though!”

I made my way out of the bathroom and then casually walked across to the laundry room. Some whistles came from the basketball court, and I knew that everyone was watching me. Internally I was so embarrassed, but didn’t want to give anyone else that impression. Good body or not, I wasn’t excited about being seen in my underwear; it was definitely more intimate attire. But there was no way the girls were going to get the best of me so I made no attempt to run.

As I entered the laundry room, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw a man standing in the corner by the change machine. He turned from the sound of the door closing behind me, and I let out a huge sigh of relief realizing it was Travis. “Paige?” he said with an amused but puzzled look on his face. I was trying to cover up my top and bottom with my arms, but was still pretty exposed.

“Please don’t get the wrong idea. The girls took my clothes from the bathroom, because they “supposedly” thought I meant to put them in with my laundry. So they did me a favor and added them to my wash. Luckily, they missed my underwear or I would be standing here naked,” I said, looking down at my ridiculously bare state.

“Man, they’re bitches,” Travis declared and I nodded in agreement. “Although, maybe I should thank them,” he chuckled, walking towards me. I rolled my eyes sarcastically at his remark, still recovering from the entire situation. “Hey sorry! I’m a guy and you are smoking hot!” He winked and then shrugged out of his t-shirt to give it to me.

“Thank you, and thank you!” I said as I quickly slipped it on. It barely covered my bottom, but would suffice until my laundry was done.

“So are you in here washing clothes too?” I asked, admiring his now bare chest, and curious as to why he was down here.

“No. Someone complained that the change machine wasn’t working so I came down to check it out. I’m happy I did or I would have missed the show,” he said, closing the gap between us.

“Ha! Ha!” I smirked.

“I had an incredible afternoon with you by the way, and was bummed that I had to work. But, getting to see you like this,” he said, sneaking his hands under the base of the shirt to cup my bottom, “has cheered me up!” His lips found mine as he pressed me back against the washing machine. He slowly slid his tongue into my mouth as his hands squeezed my butt cheeks. My body once again ignited in flames, and I wrapped my arms around him, grabbing on to his hair as the intensity of the kiss deepened.
They just keep getting better and better
, I thought, as our tongues ravenously explored each other.

Just as Travis began to slide his hands upwards, the sound of the laundry room door opening broke our kiss, and Travis pushed himself away. He quickly moved back toward the change machine. Of course it was Ashley and Britney, probably coming to ensure that I had clothes on before I left here.

“Hey babe!” Ashley purred as she came to Travis’s side. “What are you doing here?” she asked, eyeing his naked chest and then acknowledging that I was wearing his shirt.

“I’m in here fixing the change machine. By the way, thanks for the show, ladies! But seriously, I would rather all the men on the grounds not wonder about what kind of establishment we have, so please spare us your juvenile pranks,” he stated before turning and grabbing his tool bag.

“It was an honest mistake. We thought she dropped her clothes on her way in and were just trying to be helpful,” Ashley said, sticking to the lie. “But you’re right. You should put on clothes Paige; everyone might get the wrong impression about you,” she stated, implying that I’m a slut.

Travis turned without saying another word, and then exited. The girls followed right behind him and I was left alone in the laundry room. It bothered me that Travis hadn’t come to my defense after Ashley’s comment, but I figured he was in a rush to get back up to the office. I was actually thankful in that moment that Travis had pulled away from me when the girls entered, because if they had caught us wrapped up together, than I really would have looked like a slut.

After the laundry was finished, I went back to the camper and immediately gave Tracey a call. I wanted to fill her in on my day and of course, tell her all about Travis. I ended up talking her ear off for over an hour and promised her that I would have half of the dance sent over by tomorrow afternoon. I had been sidetracked earlier and had forgotten all about it. Since I knew Travis was working, the rest of my night was spent playing a never-ending game of Monopoly with my parents, which we finally had to call a draw.

Chapter 9

I woke up early the next morning, and went ahead and showered in the RV. I had been scarred for life by yesterday’s event, so I would just have to deal with the cramped space from now on. After I got dressed, I saw that I had a missed call from Tracey and had a new voicemail.