28| Caught In The Act

In the Algebra class, Travis was sitting behind Zoey just like every other day. The teacher was rambling on and on about the equation while Travis had his whole focus on Zoey's back. Her hair was pulled up in a braided bun over her head, leaving her long delicate neck uncovered. He noticed a beauty mark just behind her right ear, hidden behind few curly tendrils of her dark hair. Her skin looked soft and extra sensitive, as if slight pressure would cause it to redden. The thought caused him to imagine kissing the place where the curve of her neck met the creamy shoulder. 'Will it leave a hickey?' He wondered.

"Mr. Anderson, is the back of Miss. Crawford's head more interesting than what I am teaching you?" He stopped right beside Travis' seat who jumped up in surprise and then embarassment filled him on being caught.

Zoey angled her neck to look at him and a teasing smirk appeared on her mouth, reddening his cheeks even more.

"Everything about Zoey is more interesting than what you're teaching." A guy in the back said and the rest of the class burst out laughing, angering Mr. Burke even more.

"Would you please mind your own business Joey?" He said to that guy and then turned his attention back to Travis.

"I... I was listening to you." Travis lied, ignoring Zoey's eyes on him.

"Really? What was I teaching then?" He asked and before Travis could look at the board, he blocked his vision with his body.

"Um... I guess... Well..." Travis's mind went black because this was probably the first time he had been caught not paying attention. And the worse thing was, this was his first year in Mr. Burke's class otherwise his reputation for good grades might have helped him.

"I guess you will remember in the detention, Mr. Anderson." He said and Travis groaned. Never in the last three years did he get a single detention. Huffing, he threw daggers at a very amused Zoey and turned his head to the board.

•••••••••••

"My future is ruined now." Travis exaggerated as he kept his eyes on road.

"Oh stop, you crybaby. It was just a detention." Maya said from the back seat of the car.

"You should have looked at his face in the class. He was about to explode in embarassment." Mario laughed and earned a scowl from Travis.

"By the way, why were you staring at Zoey?" Maya teased and another blush crept up his cheeks.

"He was trying to find the secret entry to Narnia." Mario replied and Maya burst out laughing at this.

"Fuck off. There was something on her shirt that caught my interest." He lied to clear himself.

"On her shirt or inside her shirt?" Mario said and Travis extended his hand to slap his cheek.

Once they reached Mario's house, Mrs. Giovanni invited them in for lunch. She told them that she had made her special Mushroom Risotto and hearing that, Maya and Travis's mouth watered.

Maya called her Dad to tell him they will be late for work today and then they both went inside. As Mrs. Giovanni served them the Rissoto, Mario's all four siblings kept fighting in the background, making it impossible for them to talk. The whole house was echoed with the voices of the stubborn boys who looked ready to tear each other apart any minute now.

Amidst the chaos, Travis took the first bite and his taste buds exploded at the creamy taste. It reminded him of his own mother's food. Since she started the job, it was only on rare occasions when he gets to eat something cooked of her hands. Before he knew, he was digging the food into his mouth as if he had been starving for months.

"I am full." Maya resisted when Mrs. Giovanni filled her plate once again.

"Oh dear, you look so thin. Come on, eat some more." She said and served another spoonful in her plate. "You need to have some flesh on your bones if you want to birth healthy kids in the future."

Hearing this, Travis started chuckling and Maya whipped her head in his direction, giving him a warning scowl. This just caused Travis to grin harder.

"Mrs. Giovanni, don't you think Travis needs to eat too? You can practically see his collar bones protruding out." She said to the slightly plump Italian woman.

"You are right. Poor child." She said in a sad voice and filled Travis's plate to brim.

"I am full Mrs. ---"

"Quite now, child. You both eat, I'll prepare some broth by then. It's good for your health." She said and then went back to the kitchen. Behind her, Maya and Travis threw daggers at each other.

•••••••••••

After spending the whole day with an old friend of hers, Zoey asked the driver to take her home at almost 11 in the night. When she finally walked out of the car, her eyes met with Travis sitting on the swing in the lawn alone. He was probably here to pick up Rose and she  was probably still not free.

Her feet ached due to walking all day in heels but despite that, she started walking towards Travis instead of going inside the house.

He looked like he was lost in some deep thoughts. Zoey used this time to assess his appearance. Like usual, he was wearing a dark T-shirt that hugged the contours of his biceps. His hair was ruffled in a mess due to the wind and there were dark shadows under his light eyes, indicating his lack of sleep.

Hearing the sound of the heels, he lifted his head and his gaze slowly travelled down Zoey's slim figure clad in the orange sundress.

"Hi." She said and seated herself beside him.

"Hi." He said and then asked after a pause. "Are you coming back from a party?"

"I was with a friend." She said and Travis's expressions changed a bit. Realising what he was thinking, Zoey cleared, "Not that kind of friend."

"Hmm." He said and resumed looking at the grass.

"What? My face isn't interesting enough? You want me to turn around so you can stare at my back." She laughed while teasing him and he started to flush at this.

"It was a misunderstanding. I was... There was something at your shirt." He clarified himself.

"I am sure there was." She winked and he took a deep breath to calm himself. "How was detention?"

"It was bad." He said dryly.

"Oh come on, you need to loosen up a little. It was a funny incident. These things happen, Anderson." She said to relieve him of the embarassment.

"They don't happen to me." He said in response.

"But now that you have had a taste of me, you better get used to such things." She winked again in a flirty manner.

"Taste? Wh... What do you mean? You said nothing happened when I was drunk." He exasperated in confusion.

Grinning, she leaned closer to him until there was only few inches between them. His hazel eyes darkened under the moonlight and she felt a tug in her heart. "I said we didn't have sex. There are other things that could have happened." She whispered.

"What other things?" He whispered back and Zoey felt like there was a thread pulling her to him. His scent was addicting, all masculine, urging her to inhale deeper.

"You aren't that naive, Travis. I think you know what other things." She whispered under her breath and slowly darted her tongue to wet her lips.

She heard his breath hitch and a ball of nerve settled in her own throat. His lips looked so soft and inviting that the urge to kiss him overwhelmed her.

"Zoey." He reluctantly whispered as their eyes locked together, both pair darkening with desire.

"Travis." She said and closed her eyes. Slowly, she leaned forwards but the sound of screeching tyres halted her actions.

Immediately, they both pulled away and watched as Richard Crawford walked out of a car in the parking lot. He made his way inside the house in his signature arrogant gait. Fortunately for Travis and Zoey, he didn't cast a single glance towards the lawn where his daughter was about to kiss the son of their maid.

Once he left, Zoey turned her head back to Travis who looked flabbergasted. He immediately rose to his feet and shook his head to clear his foggy thoughts. "I should leave."

As she watched his retreating figure, Zoey leaned back and let out a long sigh. It took her a long moment to calm the tingling in her belly.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••