Out Of His Mind

"Oh, you are still here." It was almost 11 when Anna returned to our room.

Travis, who had claimed her bed for his as we watched TV, rolled his head to the side to look at her. "Yeah." Then, pointing to the phone on the nightstand, he asked her to call her boyfriend.

Puzzled, Anna asked him why.

"I think the phone is broken."

"What?" She crossed over to the night stand and picked up the receiver, dialing '9' for an outside line. "Dial tone," she held the phone out to him. "It works."

"No," he sat up, shaking his head. "I don't think it's able to receive calls." Anna didn't look too convinced, she hung up the phone. "Look, could you just give him a call and ask him to call you back?"

Telling him she didn't have time for it, Anna started to walk away. "The phone's not broken," she threw over her shoulder. "Your wife just don't want to talk to you."

"Bitch!" Travis spat as he sent her pillow sailing in her direction.

When she disappeared into the bathroom, he turned to me. "Try calling Sara again, maybe she was just sleeping and didn't get your messages."

"If last night didn't happen -"

Travis groaned. "How many times do you want me to apologize? I said I was sorry her friend caught you having a good time but fuck man -"

"But I wasn't having fun," I snapped at him. "I didn't even want to go out!"

"Yeah, right!" He scoffed. "You didn't seem too miserable when you face planted in that chicks' tits with every shot."

"Her tits weren't even that special," I informed him. "They're fake and she smelt funny."

"Like that ever mattered before Tanner!" He laughed. "Are you forgetting that I know the women you've hooked up with?" He paused and then said, "Tammy."

I almost puked at the mention of her name. Cringing, I tried as hard as possible not to remember Tammy's horrible body odor. It wasn't that she didn't shower - she did, we did together - she was just a sweaty woman. "I was drunk most of the time, what the hell did I care?"

"Ok." He slid across Anna's bed to sit on the edge facing my bed. "Candy?"

"Candy?" I stared blankly at him.

"You know," he motioned towards his face. "The chick fucking ugly chick you were banging for a while....the one who was always stuffing her face with whatever candy she could get her paws on."

"Oh!" I rolled my eyes. "You mean...." I frowned. "What was that chick's name?"

Travis shrugged, "Don't know but fuck Tanman, she was ugly!"

Maybe it was cruel. Maybe it was completely uncalled for but Travis and I had a good laugh about 'Candy' and many of the other 'miss' chicks that I've dated.

"With all the losers that you dated, I have to know, what's wrong with Sara? She doesn't seem to be a 'miss'."

"There's nothing wrong with her."

"There's got to be something," he insisted. "Otherwise mom would have her over all the time - getting to know her - like she did with Shelly when..." He ran his hands over his face as he trailed off. "Why isn't she calling me back Tanner? She can't be serious, can she?"

"About leaving you?"

He nodded and then told me something I didn't know before. "This isn't the first time she left." He went on to tell me that Shelly had packed up the boys and her stuff a couple times before. "She always went to the hotel - the one I took her too that night - but I called there and they said she wasn't registered."

"Maybe she went elsewhere," I offered.

"You think?" He sounded so hopeful, I didn't want to tell him that 'no, I didn't think'. "No," he replied before I could. "She wouldn't change hotel's unless she..." All color drained from his face. "She's serious. She's done with me."

What do you say that hasn't been said before?

While I tried to think of something to say, Travis fell back against Anna's bed and rolled onto his side, facing the wall.

The only noise in the room was the sound of the shower running and the TV as it circled through the same old commercials for the tenth time that night. Every now and then I would hear Travis cursing under his breath but I didn't know what he was saying.

Quarter to twelve, Anna was seated at the table by the window with her laptop. Fast clicking of the keys, familiar MSN sounds and the occasional laughter were all I heard from her since she sat down there.

Travis, when Anna came out of the bathroom, got off her bed to lie on mine but he wasn't in the mood to talk; he laid back and closed his eyes. He hadn't moved at all so I assumed he was sleeping.

Me. I was tired but not tired enough to sleep, so I was watching bad late night TV with the captions on so I didn't disturb either of them.

Someone else had other ideas though. At twelve, the hotel phone broke the silence.

Travis and I jumped at the same time; both hoping it was for us. As soon as the first ring finished, I snatched the receiver off the base. "Sara?" Nothing, if not hopeful.

"Sorry, no," Shelly's voice came over the phone.

"Oh! Do you -?"

"No!" She cut me off. "I don't want to talk to Travis. I want you to tell him to stop calling me."

I watched Travis fall back against the mattress again, only to jump up a moment later to disappear into the bathroom. "He's in the bathroom," I whispered. "I can get him, it won't take too long."

"Tanner you aren't listening to me," Shelly sighed. "I don't want to talk to him. Tell him to stop calling me, I'll call him when I'm damn good and ready - divorce papers in hand."

I didn't want to hear that. I didn't even want to be involved in this. "He's my brother Shelly, I can't be the one to tell him that." I asked her if she was sure this was what she wanted to do.

She hesitated, for the longest time. So long that I thought she would tell me that it wasn't, that she wanted Travis to smarten up. Then she finally spoke, "I have to Tanner, it's never going to change and I'm tired of it."

"Ok." What else could I say? Besides, "I'm not going to be the go between, if you want Travis to stop calling you, you'll have to tell him yourself. And I'm not telling him that you won't be willing to talk until you have divorce papers drawn up. I'm not doing it."

Shelly told me it was ok, she understood. "I guess I just wanted to -"

The phone was yanked out of my hand. "Hey!" I tried to grab it back but Travis wouldn't give it up.

"Shelly?" He swung at me as he said her name. "Come on Shelly, don't do this, I know it's you, who else could it be?" He paused but I'm assuming she didn't say anything because he hung his head. "Ok, fine, don't talk, just listen. I -"

"What do you mean you don't want too? Why not?"

"Yeah, ok, I know but -" He let out a frustrated groan. "Damn it Shelly, you know I didn't mean that!"

"What do you...you know me better than that damn it!"

"No!" He started to shake his head. "No, I'm not."

"No!"

"Well I don't care, 'no' is all I have to say to that. I'm not agreeing to it!"

"If you want to know why, come home and I'll tell you why."

"Damn it Shelly, I..." he trailed off when he realized that I was listening to his every word. Turning away from me, he held his hand over his mouth and whispered, "I'll do anything, anything at all for you, but I'm not signing anything that says our marriage was a mistake! We aren't a mistake Shelly - yeah, we argue but all couples argue. It doesn't mean -"

The longest pause of his entire conversation happened at that moment; I believe it was a whole five minutes. As he listened to Shelly, I watched his face turn red as he got angry.

And then he blew up.

"Fuck that shit!" He snapped. "Who the fuck do they think they are, telling you that we aren't working when he's out screwing around every single weekend! Tell your brother to go fuck himself, we aren't getting a divorce."

I'm guessing she told him that she was filing for divorce because he told her that he really didn't want her to do that. "Let's talk about this, face to face Shelly." He told her she could even pick where they talked. "There, at home, somewhere else, I really don't care, I just want to see you."

A few minutes later, Travis asked her to tell the boys he missed them. All the anger that was in his voice moments before had disappeared. "I'm glad you called Shelly, missing you is a bitch when I don't hear from you."

When he hung up, a smile - the first real one since he arrived the night before - appeared on his face but disappeared the moment he looked up and saw Anna and me. "What the fuck are you two staring at?"

Shared Traits

My head was spinning. It wasn't a smart idea to jump up in bed like I did. Closing my eyes, I tried really hard to calm the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I'm never drinking again, I pledged to myself, knowing that the next time the situation presented itself, I would indeed indulge once again.

Somehow, I'm not quite sure how, but I managed to make it off my bed. "Fucksakes Tanner, put on some clothes!" My brother snapped. "No one wants to see that!" For a split second, I thought I stripped before I got into bed the night before.

"I'm dressed!" I told him after checking to make sure I was wearing the pj pants and t-shirt I barely recalled pulling on after talking to Sara. As I made my way towards them, Travis told me I was a dumbass.

Ignoring that comment, I told him I wanted to know what went on between Shelly and him. "Why did she leave...now?"

Travis gave me the 'death stare'. "What is that supposed to mean?" He glanced at Anna before asking me if I expected his wife to leave him.

"Are you kidding? I'm surprised she stuck around as long as she did, you're an asshole. You treated her like crap and -"

Travis got to his feet, his hands clenched in anger as he glared at me. Just when I thought he was going to punch me, he came at me, his shoulder ramming mine as he walked on by. "Thanks for nothing, Fucker."

The bathroom door slamming shut sounded like a gunshot in the silent room.

****

"Are you ready to talk now?"

A few hours had passed since Travis threw a few choice words at me through the bathroom door moments after he slammed it shut. He had stayed in there for the best part of an hour before he came storming back out into the room to grab his wallet. When I asked him where he was going, he flipped me off and walked out.

Over the rim of the newly opened beer he had purchased when he left the room, Travis shot me a dirty look and a "Fuck you."

"Quit being a bitch."

"Fuck off!"

With a shrug, I told him if this was how he acted with Shelly, she had ever right to take the boys and leave.

"Shut your fucking face!" He yelled at me. "I did everything I could for that bitch!"

I laughed. Really laughed. "Everything?"

He nodded.

"You've got to be kidding me! You ignored her. You treated her like crap. You didn't do anything she wanted to do and you always forgot her birthday and your anniversary!"

His face was starting to turn red, like it always did when he got mad. "I worshipped the fucking ground that bitch walked on! She left me! Are you forgetting that?"

From the sidelines, I heard Anna quietly say, "Being called a bitch always makes me feel all warm and tingly inside."

Travis heard her too. "Who the fuck asked you?" He demanded. "Mind your own fucking business!"

Anna stared at him, and for a second, I thought she was going to rip a strip off of him. Instead, she calmly shut her laptop and got off her bed. "No one asked me," she said tersely.

"That's right, so keep your fucking comments to yourself."

"Fine," Anna shrugged. "What the hell do I care anyway? From what I've seen, I'm glad your wife left you and took the boys with her; you're an ass. They all deserve someone who'll treat -"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Travis held up his hand. "My wife loves me - there is no one else."

"I didn't say there was," she replied as she slipped her shoes on. Turning to me, she told me she was going to visit some friends. "I'd say 'have fun' but..." She glanced at Travis. "I'll be back later Tanner."

When Anna left, Travis started ranting and raving about her suggestion that Shelly could be with someone else. "I'll fucking kill any man who so much as looks at her!"

"Calm down! Shelly isn't out with another man."

"How do you know? She could be! She did mention some bastard who was trying to hit on her a couple weeks ago. What if -?"

"Travis! Shelly isn't with another guy."

"She could be," he muttered. "She's hot enough to have someone else."

I tried to make him see that Shelly wasn't seeing someone else but he refused to believe it wasn't true. "Why else would she leave me?" He asked at one point.

I jumped all over that one. "You're an ass."

"Fuck you, I'm not!"

"Why did she leave then?"

With a shrug, he told me he didn't know. "We were watching TV and she started on about what we were going to do this summer for vacation. Next thing I know, she's screaming at me and shoving her shit into a suitcase, threatening to leave me."

"What did you do?"

"I told her if she had it so bad, then she knew where the door was."

Fuuuck! I closed my eyes and just shook my head. "You told her to leave."

He didn't say anything.

I opened my eyes. "You told her to leave!"

He started to deny it.

"Are you fucking crazy?" I grabbed his shirt and started to shake him. "You fucking asshole! You told her to leave! And then you have the nerve to come here and drink yourself stupid, acting like you don't know why she left!"

"I don't -"

Shoving him backwards, I told him he was the dumbest fucker alive. "What woman would stick around when she's been told and shown over and over again that she means nothing? It was only a matter of time before she left your sorry ass." I started to walk away from him. "Congratulations Travis, you destroyed the best thing that ever happened to you."

Later that night, as I was watching TV while Travis tried, in vain to get a hold of Shelly, I realized that I hadn't heard from Sara.

But I did hear from Scott. He had knocked on my door just before supper, looking for Anna. When I told him that Anna was out with friends, he told me that he just wanted to let us know that our original reservations were straightened out. "Come Monday morning, you two will be in two one-bed rooms, like you were supposed to be from the start."

When Scott left, Travis asked if he could change rooms with Anna when the time came. "She's hot bro, why aren't you trying to hit that?"

I didn't bother to answer that. He wouldn't believe me if I did.

Overheard

Sara didn't leave me hanging all that long, it just seemed like forever. "Becca told me that she ran into you and she was having serious doubts that you were half the man I think you are."

"I am the -"

"Tanner," Sara cut me off. "Becca told me that you were taking shots from some cheap whore's chest - is that true?"

"Yeah but -"

"She also told me that you were dancing with her, very close - is that true?"

"What she didn't -"

"All I need is a 'yes' or 'no' Tanner. Were you pressed up against her on the dance floor?"

"I wasn't the one pressed against anyone," I replied defensively.

"Oh? Becca was wrong?"

I wanted to say yes, she was wrong but I couldn't. "Maggie was the one pressed -"

"Maggie?" Sara repeated. "Let me guess, she's blonde with a huge rack."

"Well, yeah but -"

"Doesn't matter," Sara cut me off once again and it was starting to piss me off. "Becca also said that you were taking her back to the hotel with you when she came up to tell you what a scumbag - her words - she thought you were."

It wasn't a question and I thought about not saying anything but I'm not a complete moron. "I wasn't -"

"Yes or no Tanner."

"For fuck sakes Sara, stop cutting me off! Let me tell you what happened. Becca doesn't know every fucking thing that went on, she wasn't fucking there!"

"Don't swear at me," she snapped. "I'm just trying to understand what is going on. I thought we..." She sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "I guess I waited too long."

Closing my eyes, I groaned, "Sara."

"I didn't want to believe her Tanner. I told her you wouldn't do that, not now, not after..."

Rubbing my hand over my face, I shook my head. "I didn't do anything Sara, I swear."

"But Becca said -" I cut her off, telling her that if she wanted to know exactly what happened, I would tell her. She hesitated for the longest time before quietly telling me that she needed to know what happened.

Starting from the beginning again, I told her how Travis showed and wanted to go out. "He thinks I'm whipped," I told her. "He saw your picture and read what you wrote."

"Oh no!" Sara squeaked. "Tanner that wasn't for everyone to see!"

"He just showed up, I didn't have time to close the window before he blew past me and saw it." Then, with a chuckle, I told her that if it's any consolation, he thought she was hot.

By the noise she made, I could tell she was blushing.

"You are, you know."

She quietly said 'thanks' before asking me to continue.

After I filled her in on all the events of the night - good, bad and indifferent - thanked me for being honest with her. "You could've told me that Becca was lying but you didn't, you told me everything. Thank you Tanner."

Following her 'thank you' there was silence; it stretched on for a few minutes. I don't know what she was thinking but I was wondering if what I told her made a difference or if the damage had already been done. I wanted to ask her but somehow I couldn't - I had a sinking feeling that if I did, she would tell me she didn't think we would work out or something.

For some reason, that idea didn't sit well with me.

"I guess I should let you go," Sara said, breaking the silence. "You are probably pretty tired and -" She yawned. "I know I am."

"Yeah..." I didn't want to go, not with everything up in the air.

"Ok."

"Ok," I repeated.

More silence.

"Ok," she gave a little yawn again. "I'll talk to you later?"

It wasn't much but the questioning tone gave me some hope, even if it was just a tiny bit. "Yes, we'll talk later."

After we hung up, I remained in the bathroom, seated on the edge of the counter. It would've been so easy to walk away from my 'relationship' with Sara and I'm sure anyone I talk to about it would tell me it was time to write it off but something told me that it would be the biggest mistake of my life.

And I don't know about anyone else, but I've made enough mistakes in my 29 years. I'm ready for the 'right' thing.

****

I woke up the next morning, wishing I was dead. My whole body ached and my head felt like it was about to explode. I started to curse my brother for insisting on the multiple shots when I realized that the noises in my head, wasn't just noises, my brother and Anna were talking.

"Why don't you sit down?" I rolled my head to the side and, through barely opened lids, I spotted Anna sitting at the table over by the window, with a notebook opened on the table in front of her. "How are you feeling? Headache?"

Travis grunted as he slumped in the chair across from her.

"Stomach feeling nauseous?"

Travis grunted again.

Anna sat up straighter and stared at him. With a eyebrow raised, she asked him, "Memory hazzy? Anything you wish to apologize for?"

"'Polgize?" Travis slurred.

"Yes, apologize," Anna insisted. "You scared me out of a very nice dream about my boyfriend and you grabbed my ass!!"

Instead of looking sorry, Travis seemed happy. "Hot ass," he mumbled. "You liked it."

Anna gasped. "You pig! How dare you assume that I liked, or wanted you to grab my ass?"

"It was sticking out," he informed her as he leaned across the table. "Such a hot ass, it was begging to be groped."

I almost cheered when she reached across the table and slapped his face.

"What the hell was that for?" Travis demanded.

"You know damn well!" She replied and told him that the only man she wanted grabbing her ass was her boyfriend. "And you," she gripped the wrist of the hand he held up to his face. "Your married, what the hell were you doing grabbing my ass? Your wife is going to kill you when she finds out."

Travis yanked his hand from hers and in his move to lean back in his chair, he told Anna that Shelly wouldn't care one bit who's ass he was grabbing.

"Yeah, right!" Anna scoffed. "Men always say that when they do something wrong but you know what? She'll care because she's your -"

"She left me!" He snapped at her. "She won't fucking care because the bitch packed her shit, took my boys and told me to go fuck myself four days ago!"

Despite the nasty headache, I sprung up in bed. "What?!?!"

What Do You Know?

Anna stood at the foot of her bed, a blanket wrapped around her body as she shot daggers at Travis' passed out body. "I'm going to kill him," she hissed.

"Calm down, he didn't mean anything by it."

"He didn't..." she turned her daggers my way. "Who the hell is he? Why is he here?" Motioning towards the table over by the window, I told her I would tell her everything I knew if she calmed down and joined me there. "No, tell me now."

"I need to sit down," I threw over my shoulder as I wandered over to the table. While I settled down into the uncomfortable chair, Anna fumed over by her bed. "Unless you like to stay close to him."

It was hilarious, how pissed she was. I would've laughed but I couldn't be certain what she would have done if I did.

"I wanna know what that man is doing in my bed and in this room," she whispered as she dropped into the chair across from me. "What makes you think you can invite people here Tanner? This isn't just your room!"

Rolling my eyes, I told her I didn't invite him. "Travis just showed up here and told me we were going out." With a quick glance towards the beds, "I have no idea why he's here."

"What? You didn't think to ask?" She went on to ask why men got drunk instead of talking.

"There's nothing to talk about, we just went out." And Travis was all over other women all night.

"Whatever." Anna sighed. "I'm going back to sleep, keep your brother from grabbing me again, or I will kill him."

"Whoa, whoa."

Anna chuckled, "What? Do you honestly think I'm going to share a bed with him?" She climbed into my bed. "You, on the other hand, shouldn't mind, since he is your brother." With a smirk, she pulled the covers up to her chin. "Good night Tanner, sleep well."

Sleeping well wasn't what I did. Travis rolled around all night and tried to spoon me on numerous occasions. I don't think I'll ever be the same again. I'm not sure if it was Travis' spooning or what, but I couldn't sleep at all. I kept replaying the night, the run in with Becca. Was she right, would Sara freak out? Or would she be understanding? Would she know that I had no intentions of doing anything with anyone else.

"I guess there's only one way to find out."

Grabbing my cell, I headed into the bathroom with a nervous churning in the pit of my stomach. I'm fucked. She won't understand. I've screwed up before we could really get off the ground.

The ringing stopped, there was a click on the line and then nothing. "Sara? Are you there?"

"Yeah," she sighed softly. "I was sleeping."

Smiling, I told her to stop teasing me. "I would give anything to have you here....sleeping."

The sound of her laughter was music to my ears. "Missing me already Big Boy?"

"You could say that."

"Ok," she chuckled. "I will. You miss me."

We talked for a few minutes about her night, how Billy is doing and their plans for tomorrow night. She told me that she thinks Billy might have found someone to help him get over Cal. "Of course, he says they are just friends but you never know."

"That's great." I really didn't want to talk about Billy or the possibility that he found someone new when there was a good chance that tomorrow any chance I had of having a relationship of my own was destroyed.

"Yeah, it is. Problem though, the guy he told me about lives a good 6 hour drive from here and -"

"I ran into Becca tonight," I blurted out, catching her off guard. My plan was to wait to see what she would say but suddenly I couldn't. I needed to tell her now. "Travis showed up here tonight, he seemed determined to go out, so we did."

"Oh, well it's nice that he came to -"

I cut her off again. "We went to a country bar that the front desk girl told us about but Travis wasn't too impressed so we ended up leaving."

"Sorry to hear -"

"We ended up at a club I use to frequent when I lived here and -"

"I know."

"Travis wanted to..." I trailed off as I realized what she said. "What?"

"I know," she sighed. "Becca called me about a hour ago, she told me."

"She told you?"

"Yes."

Fuck! "So she told you....?"

Sara didn't say a word.

"Come on Sara," I begged. "Please don't go quiet now. Talk to me."

Tried

I've never been one to buckle under peer pressure but something that night weakened my resistance. I could blame it on the alcohol in my system but truth be told it was Maggie's chest, they called to me. I guess it comes as no surprise that I'm a tit man. It doesn't matter how pretty, smart or skinny a woman is, if she doesn't have a good rack, I don't see her. Maggie had no worries about me not seeing her, she had near perfect tits. The only woman whose chest was better is...

"Tanner!" Travis jabbed his fingers into my ribs. "Take the shot!"

After telling him to shut his trap, I turned back to tell Maggie that, while the offer was nice - really nice - I wasn't about to take a shot from her chest. She had other ideas. Maybe she knew about my beast fetish, or maybe she just felt stupid standing there with a shot glass between her tits. Either way, when she grabbed my hand and brought it to her chest, all while pouting.

Can I just say, not every woman is cute when they pout. Maggie? She was one of those women. Good thing she has a great rack.

I did it. I followed in my big brother's footsteps. I lowered my head to her chest, took the shot glass in my mouth and sucked it back.

"Yeah!" Travis slapped me on the back. "I thought you were going to pussy out." He told me. "For a second, it looked like you were thinking of Sara."

As Maggie slipped her hand up my back and press her tits against my side, I almost had a panic attack. Would Sara understand that it was nothing? Did I even need to tell her? Would it hurt her if she didn't know? She did tell me to have fun. She can't be upset when she told me too, right?

"Let's dance," Maggie gripped my hand and dragged me towards the dance floor. I didn't even have time to tell her I'm not much of a dancer before she turned towards me and pressed her body against mine.

Two hours, a few dances and a couple hundred dollars later, Travis was so tipsy, he was falling all over the place. And the glimpse of temper I saw months ago had reappeared. Every time I turned around, he was in someone's face, asking to be punched.

"You're a fucking pussy!" He yelled at some random guy while I watched the bouncers drag him away kicking.

Rock, the bouncer that was at the door earlier, came up to me. "I suggest you take him home Tanner, he's done for the night."

Outside the club, Travis was trying to convince Nikki and Maggie to come back to the hotel with us. "It's too early to call it a night," he told Nikki as he held her close.

"He's right Nikki," Maggie piped up. "It's only 2 am and you said you weren't going home until -"

"I know what I said!" Nikki snapped.

"Come back to the hotel," Travis slurred against her neck.

It went on for a while, their conversation about the girls joining us back at the hotel. Travis insisted they came, Nikki would say 'no', and Maggie would give me a look as she tried to talk Nikki into going.

"Ok! Fine!" Nikki finally broke.

"Yes!" Travis grinned. "You won't be sorry sweetheart."

A half hour later, we were still outside the bar waiting for a cab. Travis was getting way too friendly with Nikki and the couple times I tried to talk to him, to tell him to smarten up, he was married, he told me to fuck off. Maggie, not happy with the little attention I was giving her, was pouting.

I was in the middle of ignoring Maggie's overly suggestive movements and cursing my drunk ass brother, so I didn't notice right away when the chick from earlier, the one that was watching me, appeared.

Maggie glued herself to my side, clinging so tightly to me, I could barely breathe. Startled, I turned my attention away from my brother's flirtation with Nikki. "What the -?"

"Go away," Maggie told the chick. Barely looking at Maggie, the chick rolled her eyes. The dirty look in her eyes as she turned towards me stopped me from saying anything. "Didn't you hear me? I said go away."

The chick glanced at Maggie before shaking her head and turning back to me. "Sara was so wrong about you."

"Sara?" Maggie shot me a curious look. "Who's Sara?"

"His girlfriend," the chick snapped. "Or at least she will be until she finds out what a jerk he really is." She spun around and stormed away.

"Wait!" I called out, still unsure of who she was and how she knew me. "Wait!" I pushed Maggie off of me and went after her.

"Leave me alone!" She snapped at me when I caught up to her. "And stay away from Sara too! She doesn't deserve to have her heart broken once again!" With a slap across my cheek, the chick told me what a lousy human being she thought I was.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Yeah! Right! I saw you face plant in that chick's chest a few times!"

"I did a couple shots," I told her. "Sara won't have an issue -"

"Sara had been cheated on time and time again!" She yelled at me. "She won't understand this!"

"I'm not cheating on her!"

"No?" She motioned towards my brother and the girls waiting by a cab. "And you aren't going home with her either, right?"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?"

"I'm Sara's friend, you know that. Ken's sister."

"Don't fucking mention that bastards name."

"Why?" She glared up at me. "Because you know you aren't much better?"

I never in my life wanted to shake a chick before, but this one was pushing it. "I'm nothing like him," I hissed.

"No?" She snorted.

"No."

"If that were the case Tanner, you wouldn't be here about to take home some random chick." She told me she had to go but before she did, she let me in on something. "My brother isn't done with Sara, no matter what she thinks. Ken has gone to anger management classes and AA meetings, all because he thinks he can get her back." She gave me a helpless look. "I told him it was pointless because Sara was happy and she would never look at him again but I'm wondering what she'll do when she finds out about this. She'll be crushed Tanner, she really loves you."

"Then don't tell her."

She shook her head. "How can I not tell her? I'm her friend, I can't stand by while someone hurts her, I promised her that."

I sighed. What was I going to do? I didn't have any intentions of doing anything with Maggie, she was too pushy and clingy for my tastes and I didn't want to lose Sara. "I know you won't believe me but I swear I have no desire to hook up with Maggie."

Becca looked away. "You're right, I don't believe you."

Before she left, Becca told me to talk to Sara. "You need to be honest with her and with yourself because if you really want her, you can't be running around with other women."

No fucking way! I thought sarcastically as she walked away.

Twenty minutes later, I helped a pissed off Travis through the hallway of the hotel. "You're a fucking asshole, do you know that?" He asked me for the millionth time since I sent the girls away at the bar. "I was going to lose myself in her and you fucking ruined it for me!"

"Oh shut up!" I balanced him against the wall while I opened my room door. "Anna's probably sleeping, don't wake her up."

"Anna?" Travis perked up. "Is she hot?"

Lying, I told him she was ugly as sin.

"Oh well," he laughed. "I'll keep the lights out."

Helping him into the room, I told him he was a real bastard. "At least I'm not a pussy," he replied.

As we entered the room, I figured I would drop him on my bed and he would pass out but the second we approached the beds, that changed.

Anna in her bed, sound asleep, with her black pantie clad rear end sticking out from under the blankets. "Fuck me!" Travis stumbled towards her bed. "Ugly or not, she has a sweet ass!"

"Travis!" I grabbed for him but it was too late, he fell onto Anna's bed.

Anna jumped up, screaming.

Tempted...

Even though I didn't really want to be out, I found myself slipping into my old ways as I scanned the crowds, looking for someone who fit my needs. There were plenty of women all over the place - standing at the bar, hanging by the pool tables, sitting at one of the many tables and dancing on the floor. It was the last lot of women who held my attention when Travis slipped away saying he needed something to drink.

"Uh huh," I waved him off, not taking my eyes off one of the dancers on the floor.

"Go easy," he laughed before disappearing.

The song ended, the object of my attention slowly made her way off the dance floor. Wishing to speak to her, I moved a couple steps to the left, to put myself in position to make it happen.

Just like I hoped, she was paying too much attention to her friends to notice me and she walked into me; wide eyes turned upwards in shock. Meeting mine, she flashed me an apologetic smile and motioned me closer.

"I'm so sorry." Her breath grazed my ear as her hand came to rest on my upper arm. "I didn't see you there," she chuckled, her hand squeezing my arm. "Hard to believe though." She moved on before I could reply but I was very confident that it wasn't the last I would hear from her.

"Tanner! Tanner!" Turning, I spotted Travis as he made his way back. When he reached me, he grabbed my arm and told me how much he loved me. "This place is fucking awesome Tanman. And the chicks...." he trailed off as a couple blondes walked by, waving their fingers in his direction as they passed. "They're hot - I'll be back."

With a shake of my head, I watched Travis follow the girls back to their table. When he moved between the two of them and wrapped one arm around each of their waists, I decided to find my own blonde - brunette, redhead, whatever - to give my undivided attention to.

My first stop, before I did any body searches, was to the bar to get myself another beer. Armed with a nice refreshing bottle, I slowly began to make my way through the crowds of semi drunk people. As I moved, I was looking for two things, the chick from the dance floor and my 'friends' the bouncer told me were hanging out inside.

I circled the bar once without spotting either one of them, nor did I see Travis in my travels. I wasn't worried though, not about him. Sure he may have seemed like he would do something stupid but I was certain that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his relationship with Shelly. He was just looking to have a little innocent fun.

On my second trip around the bar, I finally spotted the dance floor chick, all wrapped up in someone else's arms. For a moment, I stood watching them together before getting bored. With a shrug, I completely forgot about her and continued on my way.

It was starting to get to me, not finding any action. It was a first for me. Never had I gone to the bar before and not had chicks hanging all over me. Even when I was seeing Nance, there wasn't a night when I was out without her, or even with her for that matter, where I wasn't given a chance to take another woman home, if I wanted. Nance, of course, didn't know this.

An hour later, I was standing in the same spot as before, watching the chicks on the dance floor. Only this time it was different, I could feel someone watching me and it made me a little uneasy. Trying not to draw attention to myself, I turned and scanned the crowds to see who was watching me.

I almost missed her as she sat in the darkness almost hidden behind the group of people around her table. She was familiar, I thought I should know her but I couldn't place her for the life of me. But the way she was looking at me told me that she knew who I was.

Halfway into my struggle through the crowds towards her, Travis reappeared at my side with the two blondes from earlier. "Hey Fucker!" He slurred slightly as he held onto the two chicks. "Come do some shots with us."

For a brief second, I hesitated but one glance towards the direction I was headed, told me that the chick wasn't there anymore. "What the hell," I shrugged and followed my brother, Nikki and Maggie to the shooter bar.

Nikki, the shorter and chubbier one of the two, leaned in over the bar to order the shooters; the bartender nodded, grabbed two shot glasses.

"Why only two?" I barely heard Travis ask when the bartender took Nikki's money.

"It's our treat for you," she replied as she held out a glass to Maggie.

"Ok then...." Travis' jaw dropped when the girls lowered the shot down between their tits. Wide eyed, he turned to stare at me as the girls worked on balancing the glass. After telling me this was the 'best night ever', he turned back to Nikki. I swear I head him say, 'going down' before moving towards her chest.

A moment later, he tossed his head back, emptying the shot glass. "Aren't you going to take the shot?"

I looked from Maggie's chest to Travis and back again.

"Come on Fucker," he hissed. "Take the shot."