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  “Good, I’m so glad!” Kathy said pulling me into a hug. “Oh, and I was the one who took over your job for the last two months. Do you think I’d trust Travis in the hands of anyone but you?” She backed out of the hug, grinning at me, and headed out the door. “See you tonight!” she called over her shoulder, before I shut the door behind her.

  I fell back onto my couch, picking up my now lukewarm coffee and taking a sip.

  What had I just gotten myself into?

  Had I really just agreed to have dinner and watch the finale of the show with Travis and, most likely, the girl he picked? I knew I needed to see Travis again, but there had to be a better way!

  I had just picked up my phone to call Kathy and let her know I changed my mind, when it buzzed in my hand with an incoming text.

  Trav: Mom just told me you are coming over for dinner tonight. Can’t wait to see you!

  I stared at my phone in confusion. This was the first form of communication I’d received from Travis in so long, and he seemed excited I was coming over. Was this family really that cruel that they would be excited for my misery?

  Well, if that’s the case, two can play the game. I quickly got up to take a shower. I was going to look my best tonight. I wasn’t going to let Travis and his girl affect me. I was going to be the strong, happy, independent woman I was before the stupid show broke me. And hell, I was going to get my best friend back.

  I sat in my car in the Grayson’s driveway for twenty minutes before I had the nerve to walk up to the door, where I stood for another ten minutes, debating on what to do. My palms were sweaty, my heart beating too fast, and I was pretty sure I was about to throw up in the bushes.

  Why am I doing this?

  There had to be an easier way to ease back into the Travis/Riley friendship. This just felt like I was getting thrown into the lion’s den. I sucked up my courage and reached out to press the doorbell. Before I could, the door flew open and I was left staring breathlessly at Travis.

  “I wasn’t sure you were ever going to come in. I saw you sitting in your car thirty minutes ago, I was sure you were going to bolt,” Travis said grinning at me as I stepped into the house.

  “Yeah, well if I was in my right mind, I would have.” I walked farther into the foyer while Travis shut the door behind me. I figured I’d go see if I could help Kathy with dinner, not only to help put myself at ease, but also to get away from this greeting with Travis. I was just about to walk down the hall to the kitchen when I felt Travis grab my wrist and pull me back to his body. My head landed against his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. My entire body tensed under his arms and I struggled to get out of his grip.

  “Relax Doll,” Travis whispered in my ear. “Let me hug you.”

  Relax? Was he crazy, we hadn’t seen each other in forever and the last time we did see each other, he broke my freaking heart! Yeah, it was a really bad idea to come here tonight. I finally untangled myself from him and took off down the hall without another word. This was not what one would call easing into the situation.

  I found Kathy in the kitchen like I thought I would. She was laughing and talking to someone I couldn’t see in the corner as I made my way to the island in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Hi Kathy, can I help with anything?” I asked coming up next to her and stealing a sliver of green pepper off the cutting board and popping it in my mouth.

  “Oh, I think we have it all handled dear,” she said, nodding to the corner where the other person had their head in the fridge, before adding the peppers to the salad bowl in front of her. I watched the person in the fridge waiting for her to reveal herself. I hoped it was one of Travis’ brothers new girlfriends, and not someone here with Travis. The girl backed out of the fridge, arms loaded with drinks, and turned toward us, allowing me a full view of her face.

  Taylor! Oh no. Why are they doing this to me?

  “Riley! You’re here!” Taylor squealed, setting the drinks on the counter and running over to me pulling me into a hug.

  Had I entered the twilight zone? What the hell was going on here? Sure Taylor and I sent texts to each other now and then, and she had been mum about what happened during the finale, but did she really think I was eager to hang out with her when she was Travis’ girlfriend? I gave her a small pat on the back, before stepping out of the hug.

  “I’m so glad you decided to come! We have so much catching up to do,” Taylor said before she went back to the counter to pick up the drinks. “Later, okay?” She quickly exited the kitchen, taking the drinks to the guys in the dining room.

  “Kathy…” I started. I was going to tell her that I didn’t think this was a good idea, especially now that I knew Taylor was here and clearly the girl Travis chose.

  “Oh hush Riley. Enjoy the night. Hang out with your friends. Now go, it’s time to eat,” she said pushing me out of the kitchen and effectively ending our conversation.

  I headed to the dining room, thinking about escaping, but knowing if I did, I’d never hear the end of it. I saw the entire Grayson clan sitting around the table when I entered.

  “Riley darling, so happy to have you tonight. It’s been too long since we’ve seen you,” Keith said as he wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me into his signature bear hug. I happily hugged him back, relieved to be around someone who didn’t have an immediate connection to the show. If ever I needed to know what Travis was going to look like when he got older, I only had to take one look as his father. The two looked exactly alike, aside from Keith’s now silver hair and his matured face. Travis even stole his signature grin from his dad, though his dad only used it on Kathy. I was released from his hug, only to be pulled into another one from Travis’ brothers, Steve and Chase.

  “Little sis, why do you hate us?” Steve asked, pushing Chase away so he could get a full hug from me.

  “Um, I didn’t know that I did,” I said, giving him a quick hug, before pulling a pouting Chase into one.

  “But you don’t visit anymore. And Travis has been pouting since he got home. You need to do something about that,” Chase complained as he released me from the hug.

  “Uh…” I started, unsure of what to say.

  “I have not been pouting!” Travis yelled from the other end of the table.

  “Dude, you sit around listening to sappy love songs and eat ice cream all day. I’d call that pouting,” Steve said, laughing as Travis jumped from the chair to try to tackle him. Steve was quick though and escaped Travis, only to hide behind me.

  “Don’t think Riles will protect you,” Travis said, trying to get around me, but every time he would make a move Steve would grip onto me and drag me in that direction.

  “Boys, Riley is not a human shield.” Keith scolded his sons with a laugh. They ignored him and continued to jerk me around. “Sorry hon.” Keith gave me a wink before turning back to his conversation with Taylor and Chase.

  “Just admit it, Travis, and no one gets hurt,” Steve said, now pulling me back to him and wrapping his arm around my waist like I was his hostage.

  “Seriously guys, aren’t we a little too old to be playing ‘hide behind Riley’?” I asked as I continued to get jerked around. Travis chuckled at me, watching Steve’s every move, waiting for the moment to get through.

  This was definitely not the first time this had happened to me. His brothers always thought Travis would give up on his pursuit if I was standing in the way. That was never the case, Travis always tried to find a way to get me free and out of the way before he attacked, and if he didn’t, well, I got to be in the middle of a Grayson brother sandwich. This time though, I didn’t feel like being in that position.

  I opened my mouth to yell at the two of them, when Travis saw his chance and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of Steve’s grasp and into his. I hated that butterflies erupted in my stomach when he touched me. Annoyed, I jerked my wrist out of his grasp and walked around the table to sit next to Taylor.

  “You two need to grow up,”
I said rolling my eyes at the two boys who were currently attempting to tackle each other to the floor.

  “I’ll grow up once he admits he’s been pouting for the last two months!” Steve grunted while trying to keep himself in a standing position.

  “Not admitting it, because it’s not true.” Travis breathed heavily straining under his brother’s grip.

  “You missed Riles, admit it!” Steve fell to his knees panting, but kept his arms around Travis.

  Travis paused and let go of Steve, resting back on his heels. “I can admit that. Of course I missed her.”

  Well if that didn’t just get super awkward in two seconds flat.

  All eyes turned to me as I ducked my head, grabbing the water glass in front of me and sipping it. Thankfully Kathy came in carrying trays of food, so I didn’t have to hide my face for long.

  “Boys, get off the floor and help me with the food,” she told them, holding the food out for them to place on the table. She didn’t even bat an eye at their appearance, as this was a pretty normal occurrence in their house.

  Travis and Steve quickly stood up and took the dishes out of their mom’s arms, setting them in the middle of the table, family style. Everyone sat down and immediately dug in, mumbling their approval to Kathy as they devoured their food. I glanced up and noticed Travis was sitting directly across from me, staring. I found it odd he wasn’t sitting on the other side of his girlfriend, but didn’t say anything about it.

  Maybe she was already really comfortable with their family. Oh hell, this is probably not her first time here.

  How could I have been so naive in thinking Travis wouldn’t have brought her here before tonight? They probably spent all summer here for all I knew. I pushed the food around on my plate, no longer hungry, wishing it would be 10 o’clock and I could just go home.

  “Well, is everyone done? The show is about to start.” Kathy stood up and started gathering the dishes, trying to usher everyone else into the living room.

  “I’ll help clean up,” I said, standing and gathering the dishes in front of me.

  “Nonsense, go join them.” Kathy tried to take the plates from my hands but I stood firm.

  “Please, I just need a break. Please Kathy.” I begged her to just let me have this little moment. Kathy nodded and we began the process of putting food away, filling the dishwasher and cleaning up the dining room and kitchen. All too quickly we were done, just as the show was beginning. Kathy physically dragged me into the living room, throwing me down in the only open spot, which of course was next to Travis. Kathy squeezed in on the other side of me, making me slide so close to Travis that our knees were touching. I shifted around uncomfortably, trying to find a way for our bodies to not touch, since it was causing me nothing but panic. Travis noticed my distress and took pity on me, scooting over just a smidge, so there was a quarter inch gap between us.

  Well, at least we aren’t touching.

  I turned my attention to the TV where Travis and the girls were lounging by the pool talking about something or another. I wasn’t paying much attention, because my eyes were focused on Nicki draping her body all over Travis. She came off on TV just as she did in real life. I have no idea what people were saying about her, because I stayed away from everything and anything about the show, but I could only imagine no one had nice things to say. I turned my eyes down to my hands and started picking at my nails. There was no way I was going to make it through the night watching this show. Every feeling I’d tried to bury for the last two months had come boiling to the surface and hearing Nicki in the background was almost my undoing.

  Can we just get to the end, when he gives the bracelet to Taylor?

  I mean, seriously, why was I here anyway? I clearly knew who he picked! So I did what I knew how to do best—I zoned out. Staring at the TV, but not watching and only hearing a buzzing sound in my ears. This was how I was going to get through the night.

  I thought I had zoned through the whole show, when Travis bumped my knee with his, bringing me out of the daze.

  “You still with us?” he asked, smirking because he knew what I was doing.

  “I am now,” I groaned, knowing I probably wasn’t going to be able to get away with that again and had to actually focus on the show now.

  Travis was standing with Nicki on a platform that was placed on the beach. It looked as if Nicki had just gotten there, and clearly tried to make out with Travis, as he was busy rubbing the lipstick off his lips. Finally he got it all wiped off and glared slightly at Nicki who was once again trying to approach him.

  “I don’t really know what to say to you Nicki, aside from, Riley was right,” Travis began, keeping his hands in his pocket and staring Nicki in the eye. She began to pout when he continued, “You are exactly like every other girl I’ve seen in the past, and quite frankly, I’m tired of that lifestyle.” Nicki started to fake sob, but Travis kept his composure.

  “Honestly, I never expected to fall in love on this show, but I did,” he said giving a far-off smile. My heart dropped hearing those words. He fell in love on the show… he fell in love with Taylor. I sneaked a peek at her, but she was intently watching the TV with a beaming smile on her face.

  “This is the point where I would say I just want to be your friend, Nicki, but I can’t say that. You have been nothing but rude to the other girls since you’ve arrived here. You put on a good show when you were around me, but my eyes have been fully open for the last two days. You are not a person I want in my life, friend or otherwise. Bye Nicki, I truly hope you learn to treat others with more respect.” Travis began to turn, effectively dismissing Nicki when she screamed causing all of us in the room to jump.

  “I will not be dismissed like this Travis. You can’t tell me you believe the stories that tramp told you!” Nicki screamed at him. Travis glared back at her. She’d clearly pushed his last button by calling me a tramp.

  “No, you’re right about that. You shouldn’t be leaving now—you should have left the first night, months ago,” Travis said just before Nicki’s palm connected with his face. Travis laughed and lightly rubbed his cheek, while Nicki was hauled away by two of the crew members, screaming all the way.

  “She really was effing crazy!” Travis said to Tessa who had just joined him. Tessa smiled and nodded but said nothing, before it cut to a commercial break.

  I stared at Travis in shock. I could not believe he had said that to Nicki on national television. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wanted to give him a high five and applaud him for doing what I had been trying to do, but I was shocked he would pick her to go to the finale, only to demolish her like that.

  “I should have listened to you Riles,” Travis said shrugging when he noticed my stare.

  “I…that…um…” I couldn’t form a full sentence. I wanted to tell him that was amazing, but the words got caught in my throat when I saw Taylor over his shoulder grinning at us. I was ready to smack the smile right off her face. I turned back to the TV, pretending to be enthralled in the commercials while everyone else chattered on about Nicki’s dismissal. When Travis appeared back on the TV, everyone quieted down and turned their attention back to the show.

  “Well Travis are you ready to tell your decision to Taylor?” Tessa asked as she set a box containing the final bracelet on the podium next to him.

  “I cannot wait!” Travis replied excitedly. He tugged at the sleeves of his shirt and stared nervously down the beach where Taylor would come from.

  The screen cut to Taylor walking down the beach in a flowery summer dress. She looked gorgeous with her hair pulled off to the side in a low ponytail, the dress floated around her from the breeze off the lake, and she wore the most dazzling smile—much like the one she wore earlier tonight.

  “Taylor.” Travis breathed out her name as she approached him.

  “Hi Travis.” Taylor giggled slightly as Travis pulled her into his arms.

  Oh God, I can’t watch this!

  I was starting to squ
irm in my seat, sitting here with Travis and Taylor in the room was completely uncomfortable. And I could feel all eyes turn to me to watch my reaction to this.

  Seriously, I need to leave.

  I was about to stand up, when Kathy clamped her hand down on my knee.

  “I know this hurts, but you need to watch it,” Kathy said quietly so no one could overhear.

  “You guys are evil. Horrible, evil human beings,” I muttered to her, hoping to get some reaction out of her, all I got was a laugh.

  “I’m sure it seems that way honey. Just watch,” she said nodding towards the TV. I turned my attention back to the TV, hearing the end of what Travis was saying to Taylor.

  “…glad we’ve become so close.” He was telling her while holding her hands in his. “I want you to know I value the friendship we have made here.” Taylor nodded, continuing to dazzle us with her smile.

  “Like I told Nicki, I never expected to fall in love on this show. Heck, when my mom mentioned me falling in love before the show even started, I laughed at her,” he continued. The room around me chuckled, as I remembered Travis and Kathy’s conversation in the hospital those many months ago. “But I did. I managed to fall in love in the most unexpected place with the most unexpected girl.”

  I felt a tear drop down my cheek. My heart was breaking all over again. Watching this was worse than if I had watched my own elimination, I was sure of it.

  “I hope you know where I’m going with this,” Travis said to Taylor on the TV.

  Taylor smiled up at him, before pulling him into a hug. “Of course I do,” she whispered, hugging him tightly. Travis wrapped his arms around her and they stood frozen like that for what felt like hours, until Taylor finally pulled back.

  “You’re pretty special, you know that?” he said to her with an awed expression.

  “I value my friendships more than anything,” she said with a laugh. “Goodbye Travis.” She squeezed his hand, before turning to walk away.