Chapter 107

I was actually permitted to venture out alone to cover the 17 blocks to the lawyer’s office where Susan, Chris and I would finalize the transfer of the deed to my former home.

Well, as alone as I figured I was going to be for awhile, at least. Dayton was with me but Liz didn’t send a cavalcade of security to make sure I looked both ways before crossing the street.

I didn’t mind having Dayton around. He was a lot like Brian in that way. I could see us becoming friends – if he stuck around long enough to get used to me.

“We could walk,” I proposed as we rode the elevator downward. It was a perfect Southern California day. There was bright sunlight but enough of a breeze off the water that it didn’t feel oppressive.

I caught Dayton glancing at me.

“That way Bobbi and Liz can have the car to get around,” I noted.

“I heard about the last walking trip you took,” Dayton said. “How’d that work out for you?”

“Yeah, fine,” I said.

“If we were in shorts and T-shirts, I’d say we go for it,” Dayton added as we waved to security. “In fact, later this evening, if you want to take a two-mile hike, we’ll saddle up and hit the trail. But I walked a beat in Baltimore for most of my time there. Walking a couple of miles in these shoes isn’t my idea of fun.”

“Good point,” I said. “I was trying to think of ways to avoid coming back here later. The lawyer’s office is about four blocks from the hotel.”

“Jill and Ryan came in a separate vehicle to make sure we didn’t have to return,” Dayton told me. “Liz has some things she wants to do this afternoon.”

I frowned slightly.

“I’ll be fine on my own if you need to stay with her,” I said as we passed into the glorious sunshine.

“I’m with you,” he said, stepping in front of me. It took me a second to figure out why. There were at least 15 people coming toward me in a rush.

“What the fuck?” I muttered.

The television crews had caught wind of Liz’s appearance in town and had stopped by for a quick statement. They would run it on their noon news segments – which were still about 10 minutes away.

The people approaching consisted entirely of females in their teenage years and I wasn’t too worried about an attack.

“Oh my God!” the first one to reach us said. “Dakota was totally right!”

I searched my memory for the name. I saw a flustered teenager and then put it into context.

“Dakota Phillips?” I asked as I moved out beside Dayton.

“You totally know her!” another girl said. She started bouncing up and down – her skimpy top barely containing her rather generous assets. “She texted us and told us you were here. This is so phat!”

“Can we get autographs?” the first girl asked.

I glanced down at my arm, covered by my suit jacket.

“Uh, no,” I said.

“Oh, shit,” the girl said, her hand covering her mouth. “I’m such a ‘tard sometimes.”

“God, Britney, shut up,” a fresh voice said. “Now he thinks we’re stupid and offensive!”

I laughed and held up a hand.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I don’t go for all the PC crap either. I’d sign autographs if I could but I haven’t perfected writing with my left hand yet. I guess I could put a big X on the paper but you can probably do that yourself just as well. Would a picture work? Dakota took one with Liz but I wasn’t invited.”

“She’s about half lez sometimes,” the girl named Britney offered.

“Shut up, Britney!” the third girl said again.

“Well, she is!” Britney protested. I caught Dayton trying to suppress a grin.

“Would it be OK if we took selfies with you?” the girl with large breasts inquired. Her bra was pretty thin if she wore one at all because her nipples were pushing outward from her purple shirt.

“That’s fine,” I said, glancing at Dayton for confirmation that he wouldn’t choke any of the girls out for coming close to me.

“Too cool,” Britney said. “You’re like ... the only celebrity from here. And we get to meet you.”

I began to wonder if Britney wasn’t being serious when she described herself as “retarded.”

She was the first one to step up beside me and extend her phone. The line worked its way as I was told names I immediately forgot until the last one arrived. The young woman in the purple shirt – or almost in a purple shirt – was last. It was designed for open shoulders and a plunging neckline. By the time she made her way over to me, the girl had managed to push the shirt downward another two inches – and put on a fresh coating of lipstick.

Once again, Dayton bit his lower lip to keep from laughing at me. In three or four years, this girl was going to be a knockout. But now she was just a 16- or 17-year-old girl trying her hardest to look 25. The others were clustered around in a group, checking their phones and texting pictures to one another. They had been content to keep actual contact to a bare minimum. They had put a hand on my shoulder or I had put my hand on theirs. There was almost always at least six inches of space between me and the girls. It was in deference to their ages, as well as the fact that I was dating the hottest woman on the planet.

This girl was different.

“I’m Alexis,” she declared just before she slid her arm around my waist.

I was in a quandary. I could either return the gesture or have my hand rest on her ass. I looked to Dayton but he was just shaking his head at me and grinning. I put my hand on Alexis’s bare shoulder and shifted to try to open some distance between us. She just shifted with me as she lifted the phone in the air and took a picture. I started to shift away but she stopped me again.

“You weren’t smiling!” she said.

“Sorry,” I said. “I’m still a little uncomfortable having people I don’t know well this close to me.”

“Yeah,” Alexis said with a nod as though she understood. “That was some fucked-up stuff.”

She made no effort to move away. Instead she used the interim to push her shirt another inch downward. The elastic must have been really heavy-duty to keep her entire breast from popping free. I closed my eyes and forced a smile to my face.

“God, Lex, you are such a slut!” Britney stated.

“Totally,” Alexis agreed as she fired off a couple of pictures. She was happy with them, it appeared, and she sauntered away with her hips swaying.

The one girl that seemed to have any sense at all stood, pinching her nose and shaking her head at the display. I remembered her name was Capri or Caprice or something like that.

“So sorry,” she said as Dayton rejoined me. “Britney really isn’t that dumb; Alexis isn’t that sleazy and the rest of them aren’t so shy. It’s just ... it was cool to meet you. We all saw it when it happened and we’ve all heard ... you know ... that you’re from here. We sort of had a meltdown when Kota texted us to let us know she met you. She’s not ... gay. I mean, not really. She said you were hot.”

The girl blushed slightly. I was saved from replying when Britney’s voice rang out again.

“That’s nipple!” she said. “You can totally see pink right there!”

The girl in front of me blushed deeper.

“We’re going to go now,” she said.

“Wait!” I said and she turned back. “Don’t let her post anything online that has me and her nipple in the same picture. OK?”

She nodded but I suspected a photo of Liz Larimer’s boyfriend with a half-dressed underage girl would be making the rounds before I ever got back from the lawyer’s office.

I lifted my sunglasses and rubbed my eyes tiredly.

“Hey, what the fuck!” I heard. “Give that back!”

I glanced at the gaggle of girls. Britney had grabbed Alexis by the arms and was holding her tight while Capri deleted the offending image.

“Let’s go before she decides she wants a retake,” I said to my bodyguard.

“Let’s go before she decides she wants a sex tape?” Dayton replied with a laugh. “I’m sure that’s what I heard.”

He was still laughing when I got into the SUV.

“And that, my friend, is why Liz wants me with you,” he declared as we drove away. “The last thing we need is for some girl to release the ‘I Banged Travis’ movie to the Internet.”

Liz was already at the hotel by the time Dayton and I arrived. She was bustling around the suite in only her skirt and her bra when I ran my keycard through the reader and opened the door. I stood for a moment just to enjoy the view.

“Hustle up,” she said. “We’ve got a workout scheduled in 20 minutes.”

She pushed her skirt to the floor and headed back to the bedroom. I naturally followed.

“We’re scheduling our workouts?” I asked. “I can go through Skye for that if you want.”

Liz had unhooked her lacy bra and let it fall to the bed. She had her matching French-cut panties halfway down her thighs but she stopped when I spoke and pointed a finger at me.

“You better watch yourself,” she said in a mock chiding voice. “First you’re flirting with my assistant and then you’re enticing a gang of teenage girls to track down and delete pictures of you fondling an underage girl.”

“I wasn’t fondling anything!” I said.

“Uh-huh,” Liz said. “So why did you have those girls thug her?”

“I didn’t have anybody ‘thug’ anybody,” I protested.

Liz laughed at me as she pulled a white cotton thong up her legs.

“I know,” she said. “Sonya Phillips called. Poor Dakota was so upset.”

“I figure,” I said. “Her friends told a total stranger that she was gay.”

“What?” Liz asked, stopping with her sports bra half over her head.

“One of her friends ... Britney, maybe Bethany ... something with a B,” I said, more interested in Liz’s boobs than the conversation. “She said that the kid wanted a picture with you because she’s ... half lez.”

“Travis!” Liz said.

“Her words, not mine,” I said, offering my half shrug.

“Still, that’s terrible to repeat something like that,” Liz scolded. “It’s her business, not ours.”

“That’s my point,” I noted. “These girls had no boundaries and no filters. They just said the first thing that popped into their vapid little heads. The last of Dakota’s friends pretty much popped her tits out for a photo.”

“That girl isn’t really Dakota’s friend,” Liz told me. She pulled out something I didn’t know that she owned – yoga pants – and slid into them. They were gray and they looked exactly as good as I thought they would. I had to reach down and adjust myself below my beltline.

Liz smiled but rolled her eyes at me.

“OK, you made up for ogling a teenager’s boobies,” she said, smiling broadly. She tried to look over her shoulder at her butt but couldn’t succeed. I decided to help her out. I took a quick picture with my phone and handed it to her.

“See?” I said.

“I got a nice butt for an old broad,” she said, winking at me. “Now, let’s get you undressed. When I said ‘workout’ I meant one involving a treadmill. I reserved the gym for four o’clock so move your butt.”

“I’d rather watch you move your butt,” I said.

“Oh, you will,” Liz said, winking at me again. “Bobbi and I went shopping this afternoon. You’re going to have a fresh backside to gaze at this afternoon.”