Girls Like Boys

Around Here

“I’ve never been in here before,” Travis said as we stepped out into the floor. His eyes scanned the diverging hallways and the lounge as we passed.

I pulled my keys out of my backpack. “Why would you be? It’s an all girls dorm.”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and his eyebrows raised at me. “I’ve been in the both the other girls’ dorms,” he said, smirking.

“Gross,” I grumbled, shoving the dorm door open. It swung open, barely missing the edge of Ram’s desk and I clomped into the room, kicking off my soaked shoes immediately. “I hate wet clothes,” I muttered, moving to the closet. “I probably have something that'll fit you.”

I rifled through the stuff folded up in the bottom drawer of the small built-in closet dresser. We’d barely gotten everything put away so it was easy to remember where it all went. I tossed Travis a pair of guys’ mesh shorts.

“Ex-boyfriend?” he asked, grinning.

“Brother,” I corrected.

“Y’know, I feel a little weird about wearing your brother’s clothes,” he said, the tone of his voice confusing me. When I looked back to him, he was already unbuttoning his jeans and I turned away just as quickly, going back to the drawers to find him a shirt.

He grinned. “Don’t blush, Cody,” he said annoyingly. “Just enjoy the show while it lasts.” I turned to him, about to tell him off for being an arrogant asshole, but he was already pushing his jeans off his slim hips, concentrating as the wet fabric stuck to his skin. He leaned down, balancing on one foot, and pulled the bottoms off his ankles one at a time.

I went back to finding him a t’shirt as he slipped into the gray shorts. I grabbed the first one I could find and handed it to him. “Thanks.” He dropped it down on Ram’s bed and pushed his cotton hoodie off his shoulders, before reaching back to the nape of his neck.

I quickly grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top and slipped past him. I could see the sides of his body in my peripheral vision as I moved out of the room, and I saw the briefest hint of a dark tattoo on his rib cage.

When I came back into the room, he was fully dressed and laying on my bed, legs crossed and elevated on the footboard railing. He had my phone in his hands and I quickly darted across the room to take it from him. He saw me coming and he smoothly tucked it under him.

“Relax, Cody,” he said, hands holding my wrists above his chest to stop me from reaching around him for it. “I’m just giving you my number.”

“I would’ve asked if I wanted it, Travis,” I said, ripping my wrists from his grasp.

“With that shy personality? Come on,” he said sarcastically, grabbing the iPhone once again. “Your sister texted you, by the way. She’s getting lunch with some people from class, invited you to go with but I, well, you - technically - told her you already had plans.”

“I don’t have plans,” I argued. “I have you, unfortunately.”

His dark green eyes flickered to mine for the first time since I came back in the room. “I think I count as ‘plans’,” he said diligently, tucking his arms behind his head.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, then get up and lets go eat.”

He gave me a look and rolled over to open the blinds near the head of my bed. The point he was trying to make was obvious. It was still pouring outside. “I don’t think you really want to led me another pair of clothes, Code.”

“We just have to cross the street,” I complained. “We’re not going to get that wet.”

“I don’t have a meal plan, so we’d have to go eat off campus.”

“I can swipe you in,” I offered, reaching into my closet without his response. I grabbed one of my thicker rain jackets and slipped my arms into it. Travis was slender, but his shoulders were broader than mine and I doubted that he’d comfortably fit into anything that wasn’t made from cotton.

I handed him one of my oversized hoodies. It was a shade of foam green with my high school logo on it. He smirked as he slipped it over his head, musing his damp hair. “I guess this means we’re going,” he told me, watching as I leaned around him to grab my student ID from the desk.

“I told you I was hungry,” I countered.

He stepped up behind me and I could practically feel him standing there. His fingers traced the edge of my hood, pulling it out from where it was tucked in. When it was free, he lifted it over my head. His chest brushed my shoulder as he turned to my side. “Okay, lets go.”

The two of us darted down and across the road to the only residence hall close to here with a dining hall. Travis crashed into me as we threw ourselves through the doors. He arms came around my shoulders from behind to keep from trampling over me and I pushed back into him, laughing as I shrugged the hood off.

“Does it always rain like this?” I asked, turning us both towards the dining entrance as we separated.

“It’s pretty much hot, humid, and overcast all the time,” he answered.

There was a student worker at the desk this afternoon and she smiled pleasantly at us as we walked over. “Welcome to Burke Dining,” she greeted, eyes sliding over me and straight to the dark haired guy at my side. I couldn’t blame her. Travis was 6 foot-something gorgeous and the way he smiled, secretly almost - lips pressed together with the corners turned up, would have any girl dying to get in his head.

I handed her my ID card. “I’m swiping for both of us,” I said, watching as she took it from my fingers and glanced it over a little longer than necessary.

“And what’s your name?” she asked then, leaning forward just enough get her point across.

Travis grinned back, and I didn’t bother to look away. “I don’t think that’s need-to-know information, Cara.” He read the name right off her tag. She wasn’t flustered as her name left his lips, coated in that southern sound that sometimes slipped out when he was trying his best to be charming.

“It could be,” she murmured, folding her arms on the counter. “You know mine, it’s only fair.”

“Sorry,” he said, dark eyes meeting mine. “I’ve got other priorities.” He pointed to my ID, which she still held in her hand. “Are you done with that? I’ve got to get this girl some food and back to class.”

She handed it over with another polite smile towards me and let go of whatever she’d been trying to do. I left her and darted down the stairs after him, letting him slide his fingers into mine as he dragged me further towards the food.

Instead of separating, he went with me to get what I wanted first, his arms wrapping around my shoulders from behind as we waited for them to make my sandwich. I leaned into him and ignored the few glances we were getting from people who passed. Travis insisted on carrying my plate and his, and made me grab the drinks for us while he went to find a table.

I was filling up his Coke when a girl slipped into the spot next to me. I turned and looked at her slowly and she kept her eyes on me intently. “Are you with Travis?” she asked, eyes darting past me for a moment towards the tables. “Travis Laughlin, I mean.”

“‘With Travis’ as in here at this dining hall together or ‘with Travis’ as in ‘with’ Travis?” I replied, setting both glasses down and turning to her with my eyes narrowed.

“Both,” she replied, smiling slightly at my apprehension.

“I don’t know you,” I said finally, grabbing the cups, “so you could’ve just waited and used your eyes like everyone else.”

She blanked for a minute and then shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to - We kind of had a thing last year and I haven't heard from him since, I was wanted to know -" She cut off abruptly shaking her head at the whole conversation.

"We're friends," I answered, hoping it would be enough to subdue her. I could imagine the wreckage Travis left behind when he moved on. I walked away before she could say anything else. Delving into Travis's past wasn't something I wanted to do.

Travis was sitting near the back brick wall, plates set out across from each other. He reached across and grabbed a couple of my fries. “Don’t think I didn’t see that,” I said when I walked up and set his Coke in front of him. “You officially owe me fries, Laughlin.”

He grinned. “What you owe me is bigger than a few fries, so I think yours is overruled, Carrigan.”

“I don’t think so,” I replied lightly. “Be prepared to have to get me fries whenever I want them in the future. Even if it’s pouring like hell and you’re all the way home.”

He stared at me, lips parted slightly as I sipped my drink and focused on my plate. When I looked back up at him, I paused, meeting his eyes. “So, one of your exes came up to me and asked if I'm 'with you',” I told him, munching on a fry, “She must see something special in you that I missed.”

He put his hand over his heart. “Ouch, Cody,” he mumbled, “and here I was thinking I was already special to you. Way to shoot a guy down.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. “I just don’t like getting interrogated at the soda machine.” I glanced at him expectantly, not letting him use his charm to get away from this one. "Do you have a slew of jealous ex-girlfriends hanging around? Should I be prepared to get jumped whenever we're in public together?"

He fiddled with his straw wrapper, eyes on mine. “I don't have ex-girlfriends,” he said seriously, but his lips were curved into the faintest of smiles, “I have close friends.”

I frowned at him. “Close friends that you sleep with and never talk to again?”

“I wouldn't say 'never again'.” He shrugged his shoulders.

I rolled my eyes, trying hard not to mime throwing up my fries. "So you're kind of a pig," I commented, nodding as I took another bite. "I pretty much figured that out on my own, but it's nice to know that I'm right."

Travis shot me a look. "Okay, you're right, Cody. So put those big brain cells to rest for now and eat your French Fries."

I matched his glare with one of my own. “Don’t get cute with me, Travis, It's not my fault your ex-friend came up to me all lovesick over you." I ate a fry for good measure. I knew how to multi-task.

“You think I’m cute?”

My only response was a harsh look and then finally, I set my cup back down on the table. “I can make different friends, you know,” I said briskly, moving to get up, “I’m sure that girl would love to know that you aren't currently seeing anybody.”

I turned and he shot up to grab my wrist. “Cody, wait,” he said, holding me there. "Why do you have to be such a pain sometimes? Just admit that I'm cute and move on. You'll feel much better.”

I pulled my wrist away and he let go automatically. Our little exchange had caught the attention the people sitting a few chairs down from us, but they went back to their dinner the minute they noticed me notice them. I glanced back at Travis. He dropped back into his chair and reached for my food.

“You're not cute,” I retorted. I sat back down.

He lifted his gaze to mine and gave me a look through his eyelashes. He grinned slightly and shrugged. "Okay, but I'm smart, successful, have a really nice car...” He trailed off, ticking the items off on his fingers as he made a list. His grin widened when I glowered.

"Conceded," I added, "and into something illegal."

Travis's hunter eyes landed on me and he raised his eyebrows. "Why do you say that?"

"Your car," I said simply, meeting his green eyes with my own. "No one your age has a car that nice unless they're into something illegal." I finished the last bite of my sandwich and simply looked at him, waiting for some kind of answer.

He looked like he was both slightly annoyed with my persistence and surprised that I had brought it up again, but he didn’t answer me. He shook his head as his form of reply and an amused smile played on his lips. "You done?" he asked. He got his things together and took mine from me too.

"Yeah," I said easily, climbing to my feet as he did. I waited for him at the table as he walked the dirty plates over to the conveyer belt. When he came back, he didn’t stop, he just slowed until I'd caught up and then walked out with me.

We headed back across the street to my dorm. The rain was steadily slowing, but it still pelted us as we passed through it. Travis’s hand on my back urged me through the weather and inside, leading me past the now-familiar desk girls and into the elevator. He hit ‘three’ without a word and his fingers sank into mine, tracing nervous patterns on my veins.

I knew what it must’ve looked like to the girls on my floor as Travis pulled me down the hall and into my room without a word. My body mistook his urgency for something else. When I got the door open, my hands were shaking so bad from the weather that I pressed them into the fabric of my coat pockets, willing myself to breathe and relax and use my brain.

But Travis came close, wrapping his arms around my neck and drawing me into his chest. I was surprised at first, my fisted hands pressing into his lower stomach through our clothes, and then I pulled them out and smoothed my fingers against his back.

"You're freaking me out by being freaked out," he said easily, separating from me. "I'm not a drug dealer or anything." He was smiling when I stepped back enough to see his face. I was surprised by the eagerness and excitement in him. His tone had shifted drastically.

"Then what are you?" I asked suspiciously, stepping around him like he might be concocting bad ideas where he stood. I kicked my shoes off and slipped out of my windbreaker.

“I'm good with cars,” he answered automatically. “I take them in and fix them up. When you're as connected as I am, it's easy to get your hands on something like the M5.” He grinned at me like he couldn't contain his excitement.

"My dad is good with cars too, Travis," I answered in disbelief. "He doesn't have hundred thousand dollar cars just sitting around. And he especially wouldn't park it on a college campus."

He grinned, sprawled out, knee bent up and head leaned back against the wall. “I'm reckless," he said.

"Oh come on," I complained. "I know there's more than that to it. I'm not an idiot."

Travis laughed nodded, agreeing with me easy enough. "Patience, Code. It’s a virtue.”

“And here you are leading me to believe you don’t have any virtues,” I countered. I kicked our shoes under the bed to keep them out of the way. The computer told me it was barely past twelve-thirty. I'd have Travis here until he picked me up from class at three.

We were practically comatose by the time Ramsy made it home. We were laying in my bed. He was sprawled out from the head board to the foot board and I was next to him, diagonal enough to where my legs were crossed over his. Our early conversation had morphed into one about Indiana. About home - Charlie, Wesley, and Esther. Ram was already talking when she came through the door, speaking to me before she even saw me.

“Cody, I texted asking if you were free to pick me-“ She was just inside the doorway when she stopped walking and talking. She saw us. Neither one of us moved. “Travis,” she said in both surprise and greeting, “you were Cody’s lunch plans?”

He beamed at me. “I told you I counted as 'plans'.”

I rolled my eyes and answered my sister for him. “Yeah, we ate across the street. What did you do? I’m guessing you hit it off with someone in class?”

Ramsy grinned and climbed up onto her bed. “God, yes,” she gushed, legs crossed, “and not just someone, Cody. The Greek God of someone’s. I'm really hoping this goes somewhere.”

“A guy?” I raised my eyebrows at her, surprised by how soon she met someone she actually liked.

“No, Cody, a real Greek God from Mt. Olympus,” she retorted. “Yes, a guy. His name is Lukas and he’s a freshman too. He lives in one of the dorms across campus, but he asked me to get lunch with him and it was just really great.”

Travis glanced between us, propping himself up on his elbows. “Do you two talk about me like this when I’m not around?”

Ramsy said “yes” the same time I said “no”. Travis grinned.

“Technically that’s true,” Ramsy conceded. “Cody doesn’t say much about you much at all. I’m usually the one doing all the talking.”

“That’s just because she wants to keep me all to herself,” he claimed, dark eyes on me as that smile ghosted his lips again. He picked up his cell phone from where it laid on the blanket at his side and he flashed the time at me. “You want to get going?”

“Where are you two going?” Ramsy asked.

“He’s taking me to class,” I explained, climbing off of his legs and going for my shoes.

When Travis got up behind me Ramsy noticed his clothes for the first time. She shot me a questioning smile and then directed her words at him. “That’s a good look for you, Travis. I’m so glad you like the John Paul II soccer team.”

“Yeah.” He glanced down at the logo on his chest. “Who knew Catholicism looked so good on me."
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If you didn't see it, I posted some designs on their dorm and house in the author's note of the last chapter. Check those out if you're interested.