Kevin stepped off the plane, the flight from Florida exhausting especially after being there for six weeks, and knowing that he had Brooke to get home to.  She's getting in from California soon, he thought, god she's gonna be surprised to see me on Valentine's day.  Kevin grabbed the luggage he had brought on the plane with him, another van load was on it's way up, he wasn't looking forward to unpacking.  He went to the arrivals desk to inquire about her flight, all he knew was that she was supposed to be coming in from  a connection in Chicago today, but the news he heard wasn't good.

    "Sorry sir, all flights coming in and out of Chicago have been canceled for the time being, there's a storm warning."  The perky employee told him.

    "Well do you know if she got in from L.A. or if she's in Chicago?"

    "I'm sorry I can't give out passenger information."

    "Fine." he pouted, turning away from the desk and making his way to the row of cabs that sat outside the front door of the airport.   He got into the first cab he saw, sitting silently in the back seat as they drove to his mothers house, it had been awhile since he'd seen her.  Kevin watched the familiar Kentucky buildings go by through the taxi's window, his heart was heavy knowing he wouldn't be seeing Brooke today.  It had been hard leaving, and even harder telling her he had to stay another couple of week, but finally his bosses were happy and he was free to go home.  He couldn't have been more happy, Orlando was nice, and he wasn't particularly enjoying the snow, considering it had Brooke stuck God only knows where, but his heart was in Kentucky.

It meant a lot to Kevin that Brooke had stuck with him, and with the relationship they had just begun, especially since he had left just when things were finally going their way.   He had worked his butt off to finish his work early so he could come home for valentines day, he knew Brooke thought of valentines day as just another day, but he had thought he could change her mind about it, I guess that won't happen this year, he thought.
 
 

Annie flitted around the hallway waiting for Nick to show up; she had news that needed to be shared immediately.  She paced up and down the hall and kept looking at her watch.

    “Damnit,” she muttered.  Annie gave herself a few more minutes before she would leave and was just about to go when Nick walked up.

    “Hey baby!” he said happily as he leaned down for a kiss.  Annie’s frustration melted away as she gave in and kissed him.  Nick wrapped his arms around her waist and he pulled her in close to kiss and hug her a little more.  They stopped kissing and Nick playfully whispered,

    “Hi,”  She smiled and hugged him again.

    “C’mon, I have something I need to talk to you about,” Annie said excitedly.  She pushed Nick inside his dorm room and made him sit on the bed.  Annie was practically jumping up and down and giddily laughing.  Nick looked at her strangely.

    “What’s goin’ on?” he questioned.  Annie stopped and stared at Nick and bit the inside of her lip shyly.  She took a deep breath and blurted,

    “I’m moving out!”  Annie stared and waited for Nick’s reaction.  Nick sat there with a blank expression on his face and didn’t say anything.  “Nick?” Annie said.  She walked over to him and sat down on the bed.   Nick wasn’t looking at her so she grabbed his chin and turned his face towards her.

    “Carter, what’s wrong?” Annie asked.  Nick sat silent.  Annie stared at him and began getting frustrated.  “Say something, would you?” she said frustrated.  Nick looked at Annie and sighed.

    “Why are you moving out?” he asked somberly.

    “Because I need to!” Annie stated matter-of-factly.

    “You aren’t happy here?” Nick asked.  Annie looked shocked.  She cupped Nick’s face with her hands and kissed him.

    “Oh, no Nick, that’s not it at all!  I just can’t live here with you and Ryan forever,” she giggled.  Nick shrugged and gave Annie a sad puppy look.

    “Carter!” Annie said excitedly, “Don’t you even look at me like that!”  Nick smiled at her.

    “Baby, you can stay with me here,” he implored.

    “No, I can’t,” Annie stated.  She looked at Nick and said,

    “I can’t stay in my old room with Taylor because of Paul, but I can’t hide here forever either Nick.  I’m not moving away from you.  I like it here, but I think maybe Ryan wants his room back.”  Nick rolled his eyes,

    “Screw Ryan!” he said.  Annie made Nick look her straight in the eye,

    “No Nick!  I’m not coming between you and Ryan.  I’m moving out and that’s all there is to it!”  Nick tried to argue with Annie, but it was no use.  He sighed and asked,

    “Well, will you let me help you move?”  Annie looked at him and said,

    “You bet your cute ass!”  Nick laughed and grabbed Annie into a hug and pulled her down on his bed.  He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled down on his chest.

    “Love you baby,” he whispered.  Annie sighed and giggled a little,

    “Love you too!”
 

The cab pulled down the long driveway of Ann Richardson's house, and he hopped out, paying the cab driver and dashing  up the steps to the front door of the house.  He knocked as he opened the door,  peeking his head in.

    "Mom!"  He yelled, knocking the snow off his shoes, and setting his bags down.  "hello?"

His mother came out of the kitchen, a huge grin on her small face as she bounded to her youngest son, wrapping her arms tightly around him.  Kevin picked her up with his hug, until she told him to drop her, pulling him into the kitchen and making something to eat because she said he looked too skinny.   As his mother prepared the home cooking he missed so much, Kevin called the airport, inquiring about Brooke's flight.  He pulled the flight information she had given him out of the bottom of his luggage,  and sat patiently on hold, waiting and waiting.  Finally the operator came back and offered assistance.

    "Hi.  I was wondering, if United Air Flight 114 made it to Chicago this morning?"

    "Just one second." She said, he could hear her punching things in on her computer.  "Yes sir it did, it arrived at about 1:30 pm Chicago time." Kevin looked at his watch, and continued speaking.

    "Okay, well my girlfriend was supposed to transfer at O'Hare, to fly home to Kentucky on Flight 5604, United air.  But the woman at the airport said there was a snow storm and her flight was cancelled."  She typed in a few more things,

    "That's correct sir. All flights are still currently grounded at O'Hare.  The next available flight to Lexington, provided the storm lets up, is tomorrow morning."

    "What time?"

    "The first flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:49 am."

    "Okay thank you."  Kevin said, hanging up the phone.  "There goes my Valentine's day plans." He said aloud, sitting down with his mother to eat.

    "So tell me about her." His mother said.  Kevin hadn't told her much about his relationship with Brooke, a lot of the story was too strange, and it was still so new.  He told her what he could, their conversation turning into a long one, as Kevin eventually told his mother everything that had happened, and every feeling he felt towards Brooke.  Ann Richardon sat with a smile on her face, listening to her baby talk so passionately about someone she hadn't even met yet, but liking her immediately.

    "So when do I get to meet her?" She smiled.  Kevin looked up from his now empty plate.

    "Soon.  Very Soon." He said with a grin, his green eyes sparkling, as he lifted his plate from the table, planting a kiss on his mothers cheek and setting it in the sink.
 

        “This better be the last box!” Nick groaned to Annie.  Annie smiled at Nick,

    “Hey, I need my shit!”  Nick threw another box onto the carpet.

    “Hey,” Annie sniped happily, “be careful!”  Nick looked at the box,

    “Ann, that is a box of towels, I think it’ll be alright.”

    “Oh, so you don’t think towels have feelings???” Annie joked with Nick.  Nick rolled his eyes and went and got another box.

    “Babe, is this it?” he asked.

    “Ummm, I don’t know, was that the last one in the car?” Annie asked mockingly.  Nick threw the box down and walked over to Annie.  He grabbed her by the waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

    “Ewwww! You’re all sweaty,” she playfully groaned.

    “You like me all sweaty, you can’t fool me,” Nick played along.

    “There is a time and a definite place for one such as yourself to be sweaty with me.  In my new living room is NOT it,” Annie smirked.  Nick looked at Annie and smiled,

    “Baby, your new living room may most definitely be the place you want me to be sweaty with you…you may even get a little sweaty yourself.”  He hugged Annie tight as she tried to squirm from him grip, but gave up and hugged him back.

    “Thank you for helping me Nick,” Annie whispered.

    “I wish you were staying with me still, but I’m glad to help,” Nick said, almost defeatedly.  Annie broke out of the embrace and looked at Nick.

    “You know, just because I moved out of your place doesn’t mean we’re not going to be spending time together.  There’s no RA here Nick,” Annie joked.  Nick eye’s lit up,

    “Ooooh,” he said.  He took his baseball cap off and wiped his hair back and some of the sweat   off his head.  Nick placed the hat back on his head, backwards, as usual.

    “You know Nick,” Annie said as she reached up for the hat and took it off his head.

    “They make these things with the bill facing forwards for a reason,” she said as she placed the cap on his head facing forward.  Nick stared at Annie from underneath the bill of his cap.

    “Yes dear, I know that,” he said as he took the cap off,  “however, if I wear it with it covering my face, you’ll never be able to see my beautiful eyes,” Nick said jokingly as he batted his eyelashes.  Annie rolled her eyes, and grabbed the cap from him placing it back on his head, bill forward.

    “Hat, frontwards!” Annie said.  Nick pursed his lips into a sneer and said,

    “Love you too babe!”  Annie walked in front of him and playfully punched him in the stomach and smiled at him.  She opened up the front door and went to get something from her car.
 
 

Later than evening Kevin had driven out to his house after calling the electric company, the phone company and everyone else he had to contact to get his house back up and running.  With the heat turned on, and the house thawing out, Kevin went into town to stock up on groceries and to pick up a few things for Brooke's belated valentines day surprise.  As he pushed the cart slowly around the grocery store, randomly pulling items from the shelf, he ran into Greg, a friend he hadn't seen since the frat reunion party months ago.

    "Hey man, long time no see.  Where you been?" Greg asked.

    "Working.  Down in Florida."

    "Oh yeah I heard about that."  He was silent for a moment, a thought finally dawning on him. "Hey, a few of us are heading out to play pool tonight, you should come."  He said.  Kevin agreed, knowing Brooke wouldn't be in until tomorrow.  Greg walked away, and Kevin continued his shopping, filling his cart and heading home to his still cold house to fill the refrigerator.
 

        “Shit!” said Annie.  It was getting dark and obviously there was no electricity.  She had tons of windows in the house and hadn’t tried turning on lights before; that was a dumb move.
 
    “Damnit!” Annie cursed.

    “What?” Nick asked as he walked towards Annie who was standing in the living room.

    “I have no lights,” Annie said.  Nick smiled at her and said,

    “Well, I guess you’ll just have to come home with me then!”  Annie frowned at Nick,

    “But I don’t want to!” she said.  She stalked off and tried other switches in the house but to no avail.

    “Damnit! My first night in my apartment and I can’t even stay here!” Nick walked over to Annie and hugged her around the waist.

    “Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered.  Annie’s frowned started melting away.  Nick hugged her tighter.

    “I’m not letting you stay here by yourself Ms. Whitten!  We’ll order some dinner, light some candles, and celebrate the new place together!”  He looked at Annie to see what she thought, she looked pleased.

    “Well Nick, I rather like that idea,” Annie said.  Nick rubbed his hands up and down Annie’s arms and smiled at her.

    “We definitely need something to eat,” Annie said.  Nick nodded his head in agreement and started naming off different types of food and seeing what Annie agreed with.  Nothing he said was pleasing to Annie.

    “Mexican?”
 
    “NO!”

    “Pizza?”

    “Again?”

    “Hamburgers?”

    “Please Nick…”  Nick was becoming frustrated.

    “Ann,” he sighed, “tell me what you want, or think of something quickly!” Nick spat out.  Annie looked at Nick and rolled her eyes,

    “I want Chinese.  Happy now?” Annie glared at Nick.

    “Great!” Nick said as he jumped up.  He pulled out his cell phone and began rummaging through the phone book that was sitting on the floor.

    “Okay, what do you want?” he asked.

    “Sesame chicken!” Annie yelled!  Nick placed the order and hung up the phone.  He walked over to where Annie was sitting and leaned up against the wall.

    “Thirty  minutes,” he said.  Annie smiled and laid her head down in Nick’s lap and closed her eyes.
 
 

The trouble began around seven o'clock.  Kevin, Greg, and a few others were playing pool, drinking beer and recalling their college years with laughs and stories, then they came in.  David, Crawford and some people Kevin didn't recognize walked in, Kevin swore silently to himself and contemplated leaving.  David was draped over a small blond girl, she practically carried him to the bar he noticed, as Crawford looked over, his eye catching Kevin's, he headed straight for them.

    "I'm not leaving man, so don't even ask." Kevin blatantly stated.  Crawford shook his head,

    "Don't worry, wasn't even going to ask.  Although I don't know how he'll react to seeing you."

    "He doesn't seem to notice me."

    "Yet." Crawford said precariously.  "So how are ya doing?  Last I heard you were back in Florida."

    "Yeah I just got back tonight."

    "Where's Brooke?" He asked, looking around.

    "Stuck in Chicago, snow storm or something." He said, as he took his shot in the game he was playing with Greg.

    "I know David is supposed to be my friend and all, but shit, he really laid into her a couple of weeks ago, she doesn't deserve that, she's a great girl."  Mark sighed, as Kevin turned a quizzical eye on him.  Brooke didn't say anything about seeing David, he thought.

    "Why? What happened?"

    "She didn't tell you?"  Kevin shook his head no, "Hmmm, well, we for some reason went to that dance club down on 21st street, and she was there.  David was drunk as usual, he said a few things to her and she took off, he went after her." Mark paused, "He came back like an hour later, really sad or pissed or something.  Just sat down at the bar and did like a dozen shots.  Passed out cold, we had to carry him home."

    "Do you know what happened when he went after her?"  He asked worriedly.  What hadn't Brooke told him about this?

    "Don't know, all I know is that the man is really hard up, all the poor bastard does is drink."

    "Really?" Mark Crawford nodded,

    "Yup, He quit his job, he moved out of his apartment, I let him stay with me, but man I'm sick of him.  He's got to get over this, he's just a pathetic drunk now, all over some chick.  Even if it is Brooke."  He said.  Greg was trying to get Kevin's attention.

    "Hey, Kev.  It's your shot." Kevin was staring at David, who sat at the bar, not talking, not smiling, just looking into the bottom of his glass of beer.

    "Kev."  He felt a shove on his shoulder and turned to face Greg who was handing him a pool cue.  Kevin shook out of his trance and took his shot.  After he missed an easy corner shot, Kevin watched as David practically fell from the stool he sat on and stumbled his way towards them, the last thing Kevin wanted to do was talk to David.

    "I thought I saw you over here.  I wasn't quite sure, didn't see you stealing any fiancee's from anyone." He laughed, his eyes trying to focus on Kevin.  "So did she leave you yet?  Cheat on you with one of your friends?  Ruin your life?"

    "David lay off.  We're sick of it." Crawford said, pushing David back with his arm, but David pushed past it and sauntered over to the pool table they had been playing on.

    "Nah man, I'm good, just wanna say a few things to my buddy here." He draped his arm over Kevin's shoulders, the stench of lord only knows how many days worth of liquor seeping off of him, making Kevin's stomach churn.  Kevin let him talk, hoping he'd get it over with and leave.

    "You know what Kev?"

    "What?" Kevin answered.

    "How long have we known each other?"  Kevin thought for a moment.

    "I dunno, like four or five years." he guessed.

    "Six years.  I've known you for six years in September." He yelled, like it had been an answer in a game show.  "We were frat pledges together, 'Delta Tau Delta' man." He screamed, and Kevin nodded, David calmed down a bit before continuing.

    "Okay, Kev, how many chicks have I gone out with in that time?"  Kevin shrugged, and David started laughing, taking a drink of the bee he was holding.  "A lot man.  A lot." he snickered. "and ya know what?"  His smile turned into a frown, the floor suddenly the only thing he could look at.

    "She was the only one I loved.  That's it, just her.  Twenty six years of life, a bunch of girls and all that other shit, and I've only ever loved one person.  And beer, I love beer."  He said with another laugh, taking yet another drink.  "So, if you figure the ratio, or the odds or whatever the hell you call it.  I have like."  He paused to think, the beer in his hand spilling with his grand hand gestures.  "I have a one in seventy five chance of finding another person I love."  He stepped away from Kevin, looking at him hard and long, a very serious look in his eyes, suddenly turning into the drunken laugh he had busted into all night.

    "You know what's funny?"  he said to no one in particular, his voice getting louder again. "She said she didn't love me the way she loved him." He pointed an accusing finger at Kevin.  "and it was him that made her realize she didn't love me.  So you see.  It's your fault I'm not married to the one person, the only person I've ever loved." He finished the rest of his beer in one gulp.  "Funny huh?"  His face lost his drunken smile.

Kevin stayed silent, what could he say?  David was right, he did steal Brooke, he did love Brooke, and it was his fault David and Brooke weren't together.  All this happened because of me, he thought.   David had walked around the table, empty glass still in hand, so calm and quiet, too calm most people seemed to be thinking.

    "Come on David, let's get out of here."  Crawford said, the scene David was causing had made everyone uncomfortable.

    "No. I feel like shooting some pool, I think I'll stay awhile." He said, balancing a pool cue in the same hand he held the glass, trying to make a shot in a game he wasn't even playing.

    "Well we're leaving Dave.  We'll be at Jenn's when you finally stop making an ass out of yourself."  He shrugged as four or five of them left the building, leaving David playing pool alone at the table next to Kevin and his friends.  It was a few moments  before David said something else,  as he walked slowly back towards them, pool cue in hand.

    "Do you even care?" he asked Kevin.

    "Care about what?" He wondered.

    "Do you even care that you fucked up my life?" He yelled, the familliar angry drunk David always seemed to be coming out.

    "David, back off."  Kevin said, pushing him out of the way to take his shot.   David responded to that by shoving Kevin away from the table.

    "You don't want to start this David."  Kevin said as he balanced himself on the edge of the pool table.  The look in David's eyes  screamed 'yes I do' as he stepped closer to him, and before Kevin could react, or even anticipate what David would do, his fist connected squarly with Kevin's jaw.  Kevin spun around and was knocked down to the floor, springing to his feet quickly and lunging at David.  The fight was broken up quickly, both of them being held back from each other by Kevin's friends as everyone in the pool hall watched.   Finally the guys let go, and both Kevin and David stayed still, their chests rising and falling hard with each breath.  They were both bleeding and Kevin wiped off the blood that ran down his chin with his finger, they stared at each other like two bulls in a fighting ring, hate in their eyes.

    "You both fucked me over."  David said as he snapped his pool cue in half  and charged at Kevin with the splintered stick.  He was quickly stopped and the manager of the building promptly threw him out.  As he was being drug to the door he kept screaming out to Kevin.

    "You did this to me you son of a bitch, she was all I had, and you took her from me.  As long as I live I'll never forgive you for this, Never."  he said dramaticaly as the doors were shit behind him.  They watched through the windows as he stumbled down the street a little, finally getting in a cab and driving off, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, everyone except Kevin that is.

    "You okay man?"  He was asked by Greg,  Kevin still stared out the window, nodding to his friend and promptly deciding to leave.  They all quickly said goodbye as he suddenly picked up his coat to leave, not saying much, but waving as he walked out the door.  He licked the salty blood from his mouth, his jaw throbbing with a dull ache as he walked around the building to the parking lot.

His drive home was filled with the worst thoughts he had had in a long time.  Did I really ruin his life?  I've known Brooke a lot longer than he has, it isn't my fault she fell in love with me.  What the hell am I thinking, yes it is, I pursued her like she wasn't engaged to one of my friends, like she wasn't engaged at all.  I can't believe I put a woman before friendship, even before I really knew her, when she was just a face and a body, and before I knew I loved her.  Fuck, how could I have done that to him, even as much of a jerk he is, he'd never do that to me.  he thought so self loathingly.  And if he did I know I'd feel exactly the same way, I'd kill the bastard if he did that to me.

Kevin turned up the volume in his car, pushing all his thoughts from his mind as he finished the drive home.  The house was still kind of cold, and the cable hadn't been turned on yet, so Kevin grabbed a blanket and sat on the couch, finally deciding to watch a movie before he stared feeling sorry for David again.  Kevin fell asleep as Top Gun played, waking late at night to the ringing of his phone.

he looked at his watch and noted it was three in the morning as he picked up the receiver,

    "Brooklyn?" He asked, assuming she'd be the only one to call at three in the morning.

    "No, Kev it's Crawford." the voice on the other end said, Kevin barely recognized him.

    "What's up man?" Kevin asked in a half sleeping daze.
 

        Nick knelt down and lit the last candle.  He blew out the match and turned around to see Annie opening up the carry-out boxes and placing them on the floor.

    “Smells good,” Nick said as he walked over and sat down next to Annie.  She smiled and handed him some napkins and chopsticks.

    “I have no idea where my silverware is,” Annie said shyly.  Nick nodded and smiled and dug into his lo-mein.  They both ate quietly but every now and again asked to have a little taste of each other’s food.  When they finished their food Nick grabbed some blankets that had been brought in with the boxes and laid them down on the floor; Annie and Nick laid down on the blankets.  The room was basked in a romantic orangey-yellowish glow and it was silent.  Annie rolled over to Nick and he enveloped her in his arms.  She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat for a few minutes.  Nick was lightly rubbing Annie’s back and playing with her hair at the same time.  She giggled every so often but didn’t say anything.  Annie took in a deep sigh.

    “What are ya thinkin’?” Nick questioned quietly.

    “Nothin’,” Annie replied.  They both laid quietly in the dimly lit room for a while longer.  Annie broke the silence.

    “This is so nice,” she said.

    “Yeah,” Nick said quietly.  Annie snuggled a little closer to Nick.   Annie buried her face in Nick’s chest and sighed,

    “How did I get so lucky?”  Nick cocked his head to the side to look at Annie.

    “What?” he questioned.  Annie smiled at Nick,

    “I asked how I got so lucky.  After Paul, I thought I would only ever meet guys like him.  When I met you, I thought maybe you were a phony and would end up hurting me, but you didn’t.  How’d I get so lucky?” Nick looked Annie straight in the eyes and kissed her forehead as he always did.  “

    “I wonder that all the time. Except for me, it’s how did I get so lucky with you?”  Annie smiled and buried her face back into Nick’s chest.

    “You know Annie,” Nick spoke up as he ran his fingers through Annie’s hair, “I always wanted to meet someone like you.  Someone who could make me laugh the way you do.  Someone who I could just sit with and not have to worry whether or not I’m dressed the right way or I’ve said the right thing.  I just wanted someone who I was comfortable with and someone who could show me what it was like to be in love.  Annie, you’ve shown me all of that,” Nick whispered.  Annie’s face was buried in Nick’s chest and he could feel his t-shirt getting wet.  Nick looked down at Annie,

    “Baby?” he whispered.  Annie sniffled a little and looked at him through misty eyes.  She smiled and kissed his chest.

    “How could I have shown you that Nick?”  Annie just couldn’t believe he was saying all of this to her.

    “Ann, don’t you realize how special you are?”  Nick raised Annie face so he could look her right in the eyes.  Annie nodded no and gave a downcast look.  “Annie, you’re the one who made me believe in love,” Nick choked out. Annie looked at Nick,

    “How could I have done that?” she questioned.  Nick tried to find the right words to tell her; he looked around the dimly lit room and searched for what he could say.

    “Before you I dated a few girls but it was never very serious.  I mean, I had fun and I mean, I did things with them,” he nodded as if to signal to Annie what he was trying to get across.  Annie understood and kept listening.  “I did things with them, but it was never what I really wanted.  You came along when I wasn’t even looking, and I fell hard.  I’ve never fallen hard.  Didn’t know I could actually,” he shrugged.  Annie looked into Nick’s eyes as hers began to tear up.  He kissed her lightly, and tightened his grip on her.

    “Nick,” Annie whispered.

    “Yeah?” he answered back.

    “I didn’t know I could have any joy after Paul.  I didn’t want to believe I deserved someone who cared so much about me, who loved me.  I don’t know why you love me, but I’m so thankful that you do,” she said quietly as tears rolled down out of her eyes and onto Nick’s shirt.  Nick sighed softly and kissed Annie’s forehead. He closed his eyes and whispered,

    “I love you Annie.”  Annie said she loved him too, and they both drifted off to sleep in the dimly lit room.