Chapter 10
"Close your eyes." Nick whispered, in Kerry's ear as he stood behind her chair at his kitchen table.
"What are you up to, Nick?" Kerry asked as she closed her eyes.
"You'll see in a second..." he replied, laying a card, bouquet of red roses, and a porcelain figurine of Cinderella on the table in front of her. "Happy anniversary."
Kerry's eyes opened and stared at the beautiful arrangement of flowers and the figurine. She carefully picked up the little Cinderella, smiling, and then grabbed the card, "Anniversary?"
Nick nodded, "Yeah, we've been together for two months today... and it's been well, a month and two days since I told you I loved you."
Kerry bit her lip, and read the card, which was beautiful, though the part she loved the most was seeing "I love you, Nick" scrawled at the bottom in his almost illegible handwriting. She got up out of the chair, and hopped up on the table, pulling him between her knees and hugging him tightly. "You amaze me." she said quietly. "I didn't think guys were supposed to remember things like that."
Nick shrugged and smiled. "I can barely remember my parents birthdays... but I could never forget anything about you."
Kerry put her hands on the back on his head, and gently pulled his face to hers, pressing her lips to his in a lustful kiss. "I do love you, Nick."
He smiled and kissed her forehead, "I know, baby."
*******
Two days later Kerry was telling the girls at work about Nick's latest display of cuteness. "He gave me the most beautiful roses... and this tiny Cinderella, which is now sitting next to my glass slipper... and this adorable card."
"He actually said that?? Oh god, that's so sweet." Meredith said, still lost on the beginning of the story, when Kerry had told them what he'd said about his parents birthdays. "Why can't I find anyone like that? I want someone who's gonna remember the exact date he told me he loved me!!"
Kerry smiled and put her arm around Meredith, "Sweets, when you find him, it'll be worth the wait."
Deidre loved the changes she'd been seeing in Kerry over the past few months- the perma-grin, always a good mood, and obviousness that she was totally in love. She'd often hoped that Kerry would find someone who'd be good to her, and was glad that it had finally happened to her.
Deidre yelled from the back room, "Kerry! Your purse is ringing!"
Kerry immediately panicked, no one called the cell phone unless it was an emergency. She ran into to grab her purse, pulling the phone out as fast as possible. "Hello??"
"Hey, Kerry." Haley said, sounding sick.
"What's going on??" Kerry asked, wanting to know what was going on.
"I was calling to tell you that I had to go home from school, I'm sick, so I can't get Miah from preschool."
"Oh. I'm sorry you're sick, sissy. I'll work something out, maybe the girls can just cover for me. Just take care of yourself, okay?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Just put in some sappy movie and lay on the couch. I'll be back as soon as I can." Kerry hung up and began trying to figure out how she was going to work this.
Meredith came running into the back room. "Kerry! You have a visitor!"
Kerry threw her phone back in her purse, "Huh?"
"Hot guy!" she squealed.
Kerry stuck her head out the door, to see Nick walking around looking at picture frames. She quietly walked up behind and asked, "Something I can help you with, sir?"
Nick turned around quickly and grabbed Kerry in a hug and kissed her deeply, the two other girls watching intently. "Hey gorgeous." he smiled.
"Nice to see you too!" Kerry giggled and waved the other girls away.
They went back to the backroom, chattering about how cute Nick was.
"What are you doing here?" Kerry asked, walking back behind the counter.
"I was in the mall so I figured I'd come see my woman." Nick replied, leaning over the counter to kiss her again.
Kerry blushed, "Your woman, huh? I like the sound of that."
"When do you get off tonight?" he asked.
"Six... oh, crap! I gotta.."
"Oh crap what?" Nick interrupted.
"I gotta find some way to sneak off and go get Miah from school, which means I'll have to stay later." Kerry sighed.
"Huh? Doesn't Haley get her from school?"
"Yeah, but she had to go home from school, cause she's sick, so she can't today."
"I'll go get her, what time?"
Kerry looked at him, "You'll get her?"
"Sure, what time?"
"3:45, over at Highland Tower..." she told him, wondering how Miah would react to this. "I'll have to call them and tell them..."
"So, in about an hour? I'll go get her, we'll hang out for a while, then I'll take her to your house, cool?"
"Uh.. yeah.. you sure you wanna do that? I mean, don't be changing your plans for this."
"I was just hangin' out. I'd love to spend some time with her. Give them a call, and then I'll see you tonight, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be over about eight.. if Hay feels good enough to watch Miah."
Nick leaned over the counter to kiss her one more time. "Love you. See you tonight."
Kerry watched him walk off, then put her head down on the counter and sighed, unaware of her audience.
"AAAHHH!!" Meredith shrieked, unable to contain it anymore. "He is SO perfect!"
Kerry looked up and laughed, "I know."
****
Nick wondered through the mall, killing the time before he went to get Miah. As he passed by Victoria's Secret, his eyes couldn't help but stray to look through the windows. His mind instantly pictured Kerry in the slinky black outfit right by the door. He dared to venture inside, just to investigate the tempting ensemble a little closer. He and Kerry hadn't quite reached that point in their relationship, but he often thought about it. He knew not to push things, if and when Kerry wanted to take things to another level, she'd let him know.
"What the hell are you doing in here?" a voice hissed from behind him.
Nick spun around to find himself staring into the angry eyes of his ex-girlfriend. "I.. uh..." he couldn't any actual words to form, he was so caught off guard.
"Shopping for your new whore?" she asked, her eyelashes fluttering innocently, lips all pouty.
Nick had come to hate that look. It was the one she'd always give him right before she told him to buy her something, because she knew he couldn't resist it. Then she'd want sex, which she always made seem like such a chore. Nick now realized that even though she usually initiated sex, it'd been her idea for them to start having sex in the first place, it was more of a trade-off. Just another part of the exchange of "favors" their relationship had been. Damn, why did she have to be looking at him like that now?
"I asked what you were doing here. Your bitch have you out doing her shopping?" she pressed him, looking smug.
"Nope. Just checkin' it out, cause I know she'd look good in it."
"You never did anything like that for me." she sneered.
'Yeah, I did. You were just too busy trying to figure out what you were going to tell me to buy you next to notice." he replied, coolly. "I gotta be somewhere." He turned and walked out of the store, feeling good he hadn't let her get to him, but unable to get the image of her out of his mind.
Miah was estatic when Nick picked her up from school. They went to the park and played in the creek for a while, talking about Miah's day and the new things she'd learned. Nick enjoyed spending time with her, even without Kerry there. He took her home and checked in on Haley, and then went back to his house to shoot some hoops and think.
After work Haley assured Kerry that she was doing fine and Miah would be no problem, so she should go ahead and go to Nick's. Kerry happily obliged, anxious to see him again, after spending the afternoon talking about him non-stop with Meredith and Deidre.
Nick had just gotten out of the shower when Kerry got to his house. He quickly tugged on a pair of basketball shorts lying on the floor and went to get the door. He smiled as he opened the door and saw her there, grinning back at him.
"Hey you." she said, hugging him tightly, inhaling his just-showered scent.
"Hey.. c'mon upstairs, I gotta get dressed."
Kerry followed him upstairs to his bedroom, smiling as she fixed her eyes on his ass, enjoying the view as he ascended the steps.
Nick ruffled through the closet, trying to find a shirt. "I had fun with Miah today"
"She had a great time with you ,too. That's all I heard about the whole time I was home." she said, sprawling herself across the bed, eyeing him as he came back into the room, still wearing only the shorts. She motioned for him to come over to the bed.
Nick sat down next to her, and bent to kiss her gently on the lips.
"I thought about you all day today, especially after you came by. I couldn't wait to be with you." Kerry said softly.
Nick rearranged the pillows on the bed, propping them up against the headboard and leaning back into them, and didn't reply.
Kerry crawled up the bed and lay beside him, skimming her fingers over his bare chest. She continued to carress his body, and finding the temptation too great, she dared to flick her tongue across his nipples.
He made no sound, the only response to her attention was the deepening of his breathing.
Kerry sat up and looked at him. He was obviously a million miles away, all his concentration on something other than her.
Nick barely realized when Kerry stopped touching him. He could still see her in the store, giving him that look...reminding him of so many things. She'd been bad for him and to him, but still, they'd had good times...
"Nick!" Kerry said for the third time, and he finally blinked, acknowledging her presence. "Where ARE you??" she asked, concerned something was wrong.
"I was, uh.. just thinking..."
"I can see that. What about?" she tilted her head, giving him her undivided attention for whatever he might say.
"I, uh, saw her today..." he said, without looking at Kerry, and quickly drifted back to his previous thoughts of his ex-girlfriend and a particularly romantic evening they'd spent together.
Kerry knew immediately who he was talking about and exactly where his mind had been. "Say my name."
No answer.
Kerry could feel the tears starting to spring up. "Nickolas, say my name." she repeated.
"Wha?" He was clueless to what she wanted.
Kerry jumped off the bed, the tears sliding down her cheeks. "I don't know what the fuck she's did to you, or what kind of spell she's got you under but god damn does it work! Enjoy your memories, Nick- they may be all you have left!" she screamed and ran downstairs, slamming the door on her way out.
Kerry was out of the subdivision by the time Nick had even realized what happened.