Inspire (19 page)

“She will,” Travis said reassuringly. “By the way, Sherriff Clark asked us if you two wanted to press charges last night?”

“I would love to lock him up to get him away from Britney, but I don’t necessarily think things went far enough to warrant that,” Ashley said.

“Yeah, if he weren’t completely drunk, I would say yes. I don’t think he deserves jail time, but he definitely needs to learn that he should never do this to a female ever again,” I said.

“Well, his dad said he was going to make sure Corey isn’t left unaccompanied. So, he’s going to have him come to work with him at the Sherriff’s department every day and do clerical work. That means he won’t be running the rafting with his brother anymore. His dad will escort him to and from work, and then will be taking him to AA every night. He hopes that Corey will start to understand the consequences that come to the dirt and scumbags that behave in such a way by being in the office and witnessing it first hand. Corey is smart enough that he’ll get the picture and hopefully he’ll get over his drinking problem too,” Travis said.

“So he does have a drinking problem?” I asked.

“Yes, since his mom left he’s been out of control.” A piece of the puzzle fit into place, and I could see the bigger picture. “Hey Trav!” Scott called back from ahead.

“What’s up?” Travis responded. “The creek has like tripled in size so we can’t jump it anymore. We need to take our shoes and socks off and wade it,” Scott said.

“Yuck, I don’t want to walk in that water. There could be snakes in it,” Ashley whined as we made our way up to where the group was stopped. I looked at the mucky water and couldn’t agree more. Although I would if I had to, I didn’t really want to go through it either. Travis looked over at my face and then turned back to Scott.

“I say we have the girls hop on our backs and we carry them across. They can carry our shoes for us,” Travis offered his idea.

“Works for me,” Scott said, and the others agreed.

Travis let the others go first before picking me up. The girls were busy complaining about the stinky shoes, and the guys were laughing about who had it worse. Travis and I held back for just a minute and when all of them were in the creek making their way across, he quickly turned and gave me a kiss.

“Ready?” he asked, pulling back and looking into my eyes.

“Yes, I’m ready for more of that too,” I said, brushing my fingers across his lips. He bit his lower lip as lust filled his eyes, and I found myself having a hard time holding back. It was becoming more and more difficult restraining myself when every other minute I wanted to hug him, kiss him, or jump his bones.

“Later baby, I promise. Now, hop on,” he said, giving me a wink and crouching down.

I climbed up onto his back and then leaned over right to his ear. “I don’t think I can wait till later, I want you Travis,” I whispered seductively and then nibbled his earlobe. He let out a low moan, and I could tell how much I affected him.

“Hey guys, we’ll meet you at the falls. I’m going to take Paige off the trail so that she can go to the bathroom,” he called out to the crowd and then whispered, “Sorry” to me under his breath. I was embarrassed by his announcement but understood his plan.

“Okay, we’ll meet you all over there,” Scott answered.

“Make sure you give her some privacy Travis,” Ashley teased. Travis stood, taking my hand and walked me through the woods to some giant boulders. He didn’t speak a word until we got there. Then he turned and pressed me up against the rocks. We were out of sight and completely out of earshot from the others, and I delighted in the fact. My body ached for him, so I was ready to take advantage of the moment.

“You don’t have to wait now,” he said and then pressed his lips to mine. I immediately responded and found his tongue. The heat of his mouth matched the heat radiating between my legs, and our tongues came together with need. Travis let his hands wander my body and slid them up my shirt. He slowly and softly slipped his fingers under the cups of my bikini top and brushed over my breasts. My nipples peaked at his touch, which made him reward them with a light squeeze between his fingers. I moaned into his mouth as the sensation vibrated throughout my body, and then felt Travis begin to explore my breasts more firmly. My hands were gripping the back of his neck holding on and pulling him closer to my body.

Travis released one of my breasts, letting his free hand slide down the side of my stomach. I felt his fingers dip below the rim of my shorts and glide across the skin under my waistline. It seemed as though they were asking permission for entrance, so I nodded my response. Without hesitation, his fingers slid down to my core and began lightly massaging between my legs. The feeling was incredible and heightened because of our forbidden circumstances. It wasn’t long before he was sweeping me over the edge and circling me to my climax. “Yes,” I whispered into his mouth as I found my release. I threw my head back to catch my breath and calm my pulse. It was the most intense moment I had ever experienced and I needed a second to recover. I found his eyes full of pride and desire when I finally opened mine to look up at him.

“You are so sexy Paige!” he whispered, kissing me lightly.

“Now it’s my turn,” I said.

Our eyes stayed locked, while I slowly slipped my hands below the material of his swim trunks to find him rock hard and ready. I pulled him out so that he wouldn’t make a mess of his clothes, and began exploring the length of him with my hands. His skin was so soft and yet his shaft was so hard. I relished in the feel of him as I swept my hands up and down gripping onto his desire. It took him less than a minute to find his release, and I was pleased with my handiwork.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever come that fast,” he said, catching his breath and shaking his head.

“Ditto!” I said.

“We should probably get back to the group before they start to worry,” Travis said, trailing kisses around my mouth and down my cheek.

“We should,” I reluctantly agreed, finding the fire igniting again by his touch.

“I can always say we needed to go back to the boat because you weren’t feeling well,” he said, kissing around my neck and down the vee of my shirt.

“As much as I want that Travis, I would rather not have them think that I am held up in the toilet stinking up the boat all afternoon. This is my first day with everyone and I would rather not leave them with that impression,” I said, giving my explanation.

“Okay. But I want more of you later,” he said, coming back up to my lips. I kissed him back hard, and then responded to his remark.

“You can have all of me later.” His eyes grew large at my comment and he smiled.

We caught up with the rest of the gang and found them picnicking at the falls. “Wow, so these are Willow Falls,” I said, admiring the beauty of the cascading water. The falls and the surrounding area was absolutely breath taking. It was so peaceful and calm that I completely understood what everyone was saying.

“Now, you can see why we named the grounds after them, huh?” Travis said.

“Yes,” I answered, taking it all in. Travis and I sat down with the rest of the group to have some lunch and neither of us could remove the goofy grins from our faces.

After lunch, we all spent some time swimming around in the water and playing under the falls. The guys wagered on a game of chicken, so us girls got roped in for that. I was on Travis’s shoulders playing against Ashley and Scott, but we had to call it a truce since neither of us could take the other one down. The boys finally took it upon themselves to dunk us both, so we waged a war against them. Of course, they were too much for us little girls, but we gave it our best shot. It was fun spending the afternoon with everyone, talking and laughing. I was relieved that it had gone so well.

When we got back to the campground it was close to dinnertime, so we all decided to get cleaned up and go into town for burgers. Travis sat next to me at the restaurant, and found ways to touch me and stroke my thigh underneath the table. For some reason the fact that we had to hide our affections heightened the arousal of it all. I was finding that I liked sneaking around with him and might want to prolong telling everyone about our relationship. But I decided that although it was exhilarating for the time being, it might not be the healthiest choice.

Chapter 17

I changed into my black leggings and a yellow tank top, then sat down at the kitchen table with my dance notebook to get some work done. After we had returned to the grounds from dinner, Travis was called into work to help with some firewood deliveries. Everyone else headed to the game room to play pool, but I decided to come back to the RV so that Travis and I could have some alone time together. He told me he was going to come get me when he was done, so I figured I would get some of the dance finished while I waited. The moves were coming to me quickly and I was finding it easier to concentrate now that everything else seemed to be falling into place.

Before long, there was a tap on the door. I went to open it thinking that it was Travis, but was surprised to see Britney standing there instead. I immediately worried that something was wrong, and then reality set in that she was probably there to ream me out about what happened to Corey. From what Ashley had told me earlier, Britney somehow felt that I was the enemy in all of this. Hoping for her to go easy on me, I sweetly greeted her. “Hey Britney! Is everything okay?”

“Can we talk Paige?” she asked. Her voice was not threatening but almost somber.

“Sure. Do you want to come in, or would you rather sit outside in the chairs?” I asked.

“Out here is good. It’s a nice night out,” she said.

We took a seat in the chairs that surrounded the empty fire pit and in unison, we both rested our heads against the chair backs and looked up at the clear night sky. The stars were shining bright and the moon was round and magnificent. It was a quiet night except for a few crickets in the distance, but other than that not much could be heard. My parents were playing cards with the Medlers, so Britney and I had our privacy.

I lifted my head back up to look at Britney. She seemed calm, but I was still bracing myself for the conversation. “So, how are you?” I asked.

“Not so great,” she admitted quietly. “I found out that my boyfriend harassed my best friend last night mistaking her for you; apparently threatening rape, or attempting rape in his state of inebriation. Then this morning I get into a big fight with my best friend over it, of course, blaming everyone else for the problem except the one at fault, and now I am sitting here wondering how in the heck things could crumble so fast.” Her voice cracked and although she was trying to come across sounding sarcastic I could hear how fragile she was at the moment. With all that was going on, I was sure that she was holding on by a thread.

“I’m so sorry Britney.” I didn’t know exactly what to say, and found myself at a loss for words.

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I’m actually the one that’s sorry for what you two had to experience last night. I knew Corey had a thing for you, he definitely made me aware of it,” she mumbled, rolling her eyes. “But, I had no idea he would take things as far as he did.” Britney’s admission was shocking, but it clued me into why she had treated me the way she had from the beginning. Clearly, the guy was an asshole across the board, and I hoped more than anything that Britney was finished with the jerk.

“Did you go and see him today?” I asked, curious as to the status of their relationship, but trying not to be too direct.

“Yep. Corey admitted everything. He said he had had way too much to drink, as usual, and then came over to the grounds to hang out. In his drunken state apparently, he found himself looking for physical attention and thought that you might want to give him some.”

I was horrified by Britney’s remark and wanted her to know that I would not have done anything with the guy no matter what the circumstances, so I interrupted. “Britney, I just want you to know that there were no mutual feelings there. I would not have done ANYTHING with him,” I said adamantly, trying to get my point across.

“I know Paige. Corey thinks that he can get away with murder because of his good looks, and that no girl can resist his charms, but I am well aware of his delusions and what the truth really is. Anyway, he said that he thought he would surprise you with a kiss, but ended up with Ashley in his arms. He decided in the moment that he was lonely enough that she would suffice, and found himself being rejected. He was offended by the fact that she wasn’t interested in him, again, him and his delusions got him into trouble,” she said, shaking her head at the thought.

I was surprised that she was holding herself together so well in spite of the fact that she was discussing Corey’s admissions of wanting to be with someone else. The way she was speaking was so matter of fact it was as if she was numb to it. “Corey said he started pressing further to see if Ashley would give into him, but that’s when you showed up. Once he had been denied by both of you, he said his bruised ego got carried away, and he began saying and doing things that he is not proud of. Although he swears on his life that he would never have followed through with anything.”

It amazed me how open and honest Corey had been with Britney. I couldn’t imagine how crushing it must have been to listen to the guy that you are in love with tell you that he acted with the intentions of hooking up with another girl. The fact that he swore he wouldn’t have actually raped either of us didn’t make him look any better in my mind. I just hoped that Corey wasn’t trying to use the honesty tactic to somehow convince Britney to stay with him.

“So, where do you and Corey stand now?” I asked.

“We are done,” Britney swore, staring blankly at the empty fire pit. I wasn’t a hundred percent convinced on the matter and something in me wanted to make sure that Britney had no intentions of ever getting back together with Corey EVER, so I decided to ask.

“You are done for good? Right, Britney? As in you won’t fall back into his arms if he begs for redemption.”