Travis Maddox is a bad boy who fights in an underground fighting ring and is known for his many casual relationships. Abby Abernathy is a shy, innocent college student trying to distance herself from her past. When Abby and her friend America attend one of Travis's fights, their eyes meet across the crowd. Intrigued by Abby's resistance to his charms, Travis makes a bet with her that if he loses, he has to abstain from relationships for a month, and if she loses, she has to live with him for a month. Travis is unused to meeting a girl who is not immediately impressed by him, and he is fascinated by Abby's indifference.

1. By Jamie McGuire

3.  Abby Abernathy : Main character, naive-innocent student
 Travis Maddox : Main character, high-tempered, boxer, bad-boy
 America : Abby’s best friend
 Shepley : Travis’ cousin, America’s boyfriend

4. Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has
the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has
enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college
with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by
Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.
Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby
wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating
fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by
Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple
bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must
live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no
idea that he has met his match.

5. Bad boy Travis Maddox fights in The Circle–an underground fighting
ring at Eastern University. Fearless, bulging muscles, covered in tattoos and
known for the gobs of women surrounding him, he is infamous at Eastern.
Always the player and never the one to settle down, Travis is defined by the
punches he delivers and the volatility that his life entails. That is, until he
meets Abby Abernathy at one of his fights. A girl in the crowd. She wasn’t
supposed to be there. Her pink cashmere sweater now splattered with blood.
Abby came with her BFF America, who is the girlfriend of Travis’
roommate, Shepley. As their eyes connect across the swarm of students, Travis
goes after her. In their first conversation, he calls her Pigeon. There’s just
something about her and soon Travis confirms that she is indeed different.
She’s not like the other girls that throw themselves at him. In fact, Abby is
doing everything possible to make him leave her alone. But Travis is relentless
as he begins to lay down the charm…. THICK.

6.  “I’m not impressed with your tattoos or your boyish charm or your
forced indifference, so you can stop the antics, okay?”
Travis is completely amused by Abby.
 “I can’t figure you out. You’re the first girl that’s ever been disgusted
with me before sex. You don’t get flustered when you talk to me, and
you don’t try to get my attention.”