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“She sure did.”
“O.M.G! The audacity…”
“I’ve encountered a lot of flirtatious women, but that was a first. It’s going to be a long
week. I’ll have to think of something to get her to simmer down.”
A mischievous smile warms Ava’s face. “I think I might have an idea.”
9
AVA
“Come with me.” I grab his hand and extract him from the situation. The touch of his hand sends unexpected tingles through my body. I can feel my cheeks flush. Hopefully, he doesn’t notice.
Poor Travis is being treated like a piece of meat by these ladies. Most of them seem innocent enough, but one woman is really after him–Barbara. She just grabbed his butt in front of everyone! I can tell he’s very uncomfortable and doesn’t know what to do.
I think I have a solution, but if we’re going to do it, we need to act now. I’m a little nervous about telling him, but I think he’ll do it. I lead him back to the kitchen for some privacy.
“What is it?” Travis asks with a hint of annoyance or frustration in his voice. Maybe this isn’t a good idea?
“Ok, well, actually, Roberta gave me the idea…” I’m trying to make this less awkward.
“What? Spit it out. We’ve got to get back out there for lunch.”
“So, after you introduced Kenny, Roberta claimed him as hers.”
“Yeah, they’re married. What’s your point?”
“Well, what if we pretend that I’m–we’re together?” I couldn’t bring myself to say girlfriend.
“Oh.” Travis looks a little stunned. I hope I didn’t overstep and make things totally weird. “Wow–actually, that’s a great idea!” he says with a wave of relief washing over his face.
“It is?” I’m surprised he’s so enthusiastic.
“Yes. And the way you grabbed my hand and led me back here…that laid the groundwork. Barbara saw it. I saw her shooting daggers at you with her eyes,” he says excitedly.
“Great.”
“It is! It means I can flirt innocently with her and the others. It makes them feel good and gets me off the hook. They won't take it too far if they think you’re my girlfriend.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Ok, so how do we let them know?”
“Wow, those ladies are like vultures! Hopefully, they’ll lay off a bit once they have lunch.” Roberta rushes into the kitchen. She stops short when she sees Travis and I standing so close together. “What’s going on here?”
“Ava had this great idea! We’re going to pretend like we’re together!”
“Oh, really?” Roberta says.
“Yeah, I got the idea from you! I saw some of the ladies eyeing Kenny when he came in. But they turned it off once you said he was yours and threatened to feed them burnt toast.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to put up with the stuff they do to Travis. Kenny is mine. Period.”
“And now, Travis is mine?” I say, smiling at him as my stomach does a little flip inside.”
“Well, darling, should we go back out and tell the ladies? Or should we let them figure it out on their own?”
