He leaned close to my ear, put his arm around my waist, and whispered, “Do you let all your kind of friends fuck you the way you let me?” He pulled away, an amused smile on his face.
I tried to give him a look that said, Not now, despite the tingle I felt in my nether regions.
I turned to Vanessa. “We went to one other book signing and have communicated a few times. We haven’t really hung out together.”
I didn’t know why I was trying to justify our relationship. Maybe because I didn’t want to be disappointed when this weekend was over. I had no illusions that what we were having was a fling. I didn’t want Travis to think that I was expecting roses and a ring after we went back home. I sure as hell wouldn’t mind though.
I had no idea what Travis was going to say after that because a couple of readers approached Travis, looking timid and hesitant. I knew this because their name tags were also a different color.
I had gone to a few book events before I was a writer, and I remembered feeling nervous toward authors. In my head, I always put them on a pedestal.
But, now that I was an author, I knew that most of us were just as unsure as the reader. We wanted readers to like us as much as readers wanted authors to like them.
“Hello,” I said so that they knew they were welcome.
Vanessa chimed in with a, “Hello.”
But their eyes were all for Travis.
Join the club, ladies.
“Um…are you Travis Zehler?” a tall brunette named Giselle, as her name tag showed, said.
Travis stiffened.
It was kind of an odd response since I’d seen him now at two different signings. He’d never seemed to shy away from readers in the past.
I leaned around him. “He is,” I said with a smile. “He gets nervous in front of fans,” I joked.
The readers laughed, and I felt Travis relax.
The other reader, a short blonde called Rose, said, “I saw that you were going to be here, and I hope I’m not being too forward if I ask you a question.”
Travis stiffened again.
What is up with him?
“Ask away,” I answered for him.
Each of them pulled out two books from their big purses they carried.
“Will you sign our books?” Giselle asked and turned her novels, so we could see the covers.
I smacked Travis on the arm. “You’re famous.”
He hesitantly looked at me, so I smiled and waved him on.
“Do you have a pen?” Travis asked.
Rose dug around in her bag until she pulled out a Sharpie.
Travis took each book and signed them.
Giselle and Rose walked away with grins on their faces.
“No matter what else happens, they are going to be smiling all night. You totally made their day,” I said.
Travis smiled shyly. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. “You totally should make me your pimp. I would have charged them five bucks a book signing.”
Travis laughed, and he finally relaxed completely. “That’s mean.”
“What did I miss?” a voice said.
I looked over to see Trevon approaching Vanessa.
He put his arm around his wife as she said, “Some readers just wanted autographs.”
Trevon’s dark eyes brightened. “Yours? That’s great, babe.”
Vanessa laughed. “No, not mine.”
Trevon looked over at me. “Hey, Sydney.”
“Hey, Trevon.”
“Fans of yours?”
I shook my head. “Unfortunately, no.” I pointed my thumb at Travis. “They’re his fans.”
I wasn’t sure, but it looked like Travis blushed.
Twenty-Five
Sydney
Several hours later, we walked into the already-busy nightclub. Vanessa had suggested we all go out after the meet-and-greet was over, and since we didn’t have anything else on the schedule until the book signing at one the next afternoon, we’d decided to go.
I hadn’t really planned to go out when I packed, but I managed to find a cute enough top that I had tossed in my bag. It was black with the shoulders cut out, so it showed a little skin, and then it dipped low in the front, letting me show off my two best assets. I only had a pair of jeans to wear with it, but I thought I looked pretty good.
Travis had pulled on a dark gray henley shirt that fit him perfectly. It wasn’t too tight but snug enough that I could see his chest muscles. He’d paired it with a pair of dark jeans. He looked good enough to eat, but he could wear anything and look great.
The first