My Cover Model (A Love Like That #1) - R.L. Kenderson Page 0,25

air. This was too complicated.

Then, I realized that it was only about six thirty, and the sun was still out for a couple of more hours, so it was too early for him to think I was inviting him in for sex.

Not that I would turn sex down. Hell no. But I didn’t want him to say no to coming inside because he felt like that was what I wanted.

“Did you want to come in for a minute?”

“Sure.” He shut off his SUV, and we both got out.

I unlocked the front door for us and called out Lexie’s name. No answer.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to make sure my car is in the garage.”

“No problem.”

On my way to check, I set down my purse. My car was safely where it was supposed to be. I let out a deep breath filled with relief. I trusted Lexie, but she was still a sixteen-year-old girl.

I walked back into the living room. “My car is safe and sound.”

“That’s good,” Travis said with a nod, but he seemed different. More reserved.

Maybe he’d changed his mind about Chicago.

“I thought maybe we should exchange phone numbers. But, if you’ve changed your mind about going with me next month, that’s okay. We don’t know each other that well.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re not a serial killer, are you?” I joked.

“No.”

Yikes. He hadn’t even cracked a smile. I always did tend to laugh at my own jokes harder than anyone else.

Something clearly had changed.

“I’m serious. You really don’t—”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Do you have something against how I take care of my body?”

My eyes widened. “No. Not at all. Why would you think that?”

He softened a little. “In the car. I could tell you didn’t agree with the way I or my ex eat or work out.”

This seemed like a heavy conversation for two people who were just getting to know each other, but I could tell it bothered him.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s not that I don’t agree with what you do.” I held up a hand. “That’s not entirely true. I don’t understand giving up an entire food group unless it’s medically necessary. But I’m not going to judge you for it. I understand that you have to look a certain way for your pictures. I actually kind of admire your discipline.”

I shrugged. “But it’s not something I can do, and I’ve been on the receiving end of being judged for liking food and for not being skinny. I dated a guy who wanted to go out and do physical stuff all the time. I like staying home. I like vegging out. Not all the time, but way more than he did. And then there were the subtle hints about my food choices. Obviously, we didn’t date long.”

That wasn’t that bad to tell, but the next story was worse in my eyes.

“One of my good friends from college had always been like me. But, about four or five years after we graduated, she met a guy who was an exercise fiend. She started working out and dieting like crazy. I was happy for her until she lost too much weight. She wouldn’t go out to eat with us anymore, and when I did see her eat, she was like a bird. There was no way she was healthy. But what was worse was that she started to make comments to me and our other friends about our weight and eating habits. I finally cut her out of my life when her boyfriend told me that no one would ever date me if I didn’t lose at least twenty pounds. She didn’t defend me.”

Travis sucked in a breath, a horrified look on his face.

“I know, right? Real winner there. I’m sure he made comments to my friend all the time, and that’s why she got so thin. We encouraged her to leave, but she was in love.”

I shook my head as I remembered how hopeless my friends and I had felt at that time.

“Anyway, society has been telling girls since they were little that they aren’t good enough. It took me a long time to like myself the way I am. I know I’m not perfect, but I’m happy. And I don’t need someone making me feel like something’s wrong with me. I wasn’t judging you, Travis. It’s more like I don’t want you to judge me, even silently.”

He stared at me for what felt like forever. Then, without