“Do you ever look less than gorgeous?” Parker asked.“Based on the first time she came over here, I’m going to say yes,” Travis said from behind me.”

“The suspense is killin’ me, Pigeon!” Travis called.I walked out, fidgeting with my dress while Travis stood in front of me, blank-faced.America elbowed him and he blinked. “Holy shit.”“Are you ready to be freaked out?” America asked.“I’m not freaked out, she looks amazing,” Travis said.I smiled and then slowly turned around to show him the steep dip of the fabric in the back of the dress.“Okay, now I’m freakin’ out,” he said, walking over to me “Okay, now I’m freakin’ out,” he said, walking over to me and turning me around.“You don’t like it?” I asked.“You need a jacket.” He jogged to the rack and then hastily draped my coat over my shoulders.“She can’t wear that all night, Trav,” America chuckled.“You look beautiful, Abby,” Shepley said as an apology for Travis’ behavior.Travis’ expression was pained as he spoke. “You do. You look incredible…but you can’t wear that. Your skirt is…wow, your legs are…your skirt is too short and it’s only half a dress! It doesn’t even have a back on it!”I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the way it’s made, Travis.”“Do you two live to torture each other?” Shepley frowned.“Do you have a longer dress?” Travis asked.I looked down. “It’s actually pretty modest in the front. It’s just the back that shows off a lot of skin.”“Pigeon,” he winced with his next words, “I don’t want you to be mad, but I can’t take you to my frat house looking like that. I’ll get in a fight the first five minutes we’re there, Baby.”

“I’m done, Travis.”“Don’t say that.”“It’s over. Go home.”“You’re my home.”

“Travis walked me to class, his grip tensing a few times when my feet slipped on the ice. “You should be more careful,” he teased.“I’m doing it on purpose. You’re such a sucker.”“If you want my arms around you, all you have to do is ask,” he said, pulling me into his chest.”

“This is the first time I’m meeting your dad and your brothers…all at the same time…and you want me to calm down?” I said, climbing onto his bike behind him.He angled his neck, touching my cheek as he kissed me. “They’re going to love you, just like I do.”

“All along I believed that I was important to Travis; that he needed me. But in that moment, I felt like the shiny new toy Parker said I was. He wanted to prove to Parker that I was still his. His.“I’m nobody’s,” I said to the empty room.As the words sunk in, I was overwhelmed with the grief I’d felt from the night before. I belonged to no one.I’d never felt so alone in my life.”

“Can I borrow your phone?" she asked.I frowned, unsure what she would do. "Sure." I pulled my phone from my pocket, handing it to her.She fingered the buttons for a moment, and then dialed, closing her eyes as she waited."I'm sorry for calling you so early," she stammered, "but this couldn't wait. I . . . can't go to dinner with you on Wednesday."She had called Parker. My hands trembled with apprehension, wondering if she was going to ask him to pick her up - to save her - or something else.She continue, "I can't see you at all, actually. I'm . . . pretty sure I'm in love with Travis."My whole world stopped. I tried to replay her words over. Had I heard them correctly? Did she really just say what I thought she had, or was it just wishful thinking? Abby handed the phone back to me, and then reluctantly peered up into my eyes."He hung up," she said with a frown."You love me?""It's the tattoos," she said, flippant and shrugging, as if she hadn't just said the one thing I'd ever wanted to hear.Pigeon loved me.”