Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 14 - Part 2

Nick pushed through the doors and strode into the gym, scanning the whole place for Kerri. "Is she still here?" he asked when one of the gym's staff noticed him.

"She's in there."

He hurried over to the room he was directed to and burst in without knocking.

"So run, j—" Scott looked over at him. "Nick? What are you doing here?"

Nick had already moved toward Kerri. He hooked his hand under her elbow and lifted her arm. "She hurt you?"

"You're hurt?" Scott asked, looking at her from head to toe.

Kerri shook her head and pulled her arm back. "I'm not."

"The photos are all over the Internet."

"That's fast," she said and sighed.

He lifted her other arm and found the scratches.

"I'm fine. It was an accident. I pulled my arm from her hand and got scratched. She didn't do anything."

"Why was she grabbing your arm in the first place? What was she even doing with you?"

Kerri looked over at Scott. "Can you give us a minute?"

Scott nodded and left the room.

"Can you really blame her?" She gently pulled her arm from his hand.

Nick frowned.

"Nick, she's your girlfriend." Kerri went over to the corner of the room where her face towel was. "And we're hanging out way too much," she said without turning back to him.

"What are you saying?" That sounded very much as if Kerri was trying to break up with him though they weren't even together.

She turned back to him and studied his face for a moment. "I'm not saying anything." She licked her lips and continued. "Your performance is tomorrow. You should be practicing."

"Kerri," he held her shoulders and bent forward so their eyes were level, "Hannah means nothing to me. She isn't my girlfriend. Right from the start, I've made it clear that we aren't exclusive."

"Nick." She took his hand. "I'm not angry. I promise. I don't blame you or Hannah over what happened. And I'm fine. Two scratches won't kill me. If the bruises haven't, neither will the scratches." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "Go back to your practice. I'll see you tomorrow, and your performance will be phenomenal."

"Kerri—"

She took a step forward and kissed him, and he knew she was merely trying to shut him up with a kiss. She didn't want to say anything that would distract him from his performance, but he wasn't going to let her go.

He hooked his arm around her waist the moment her lips lifted from his and tugged her back. His free hand weaved into her hair. He held her in place as he looked into her eyes. He wasn't going to ambush her with a kiss. He wanted her to know what he was about to do.

Kerri gazed back at him without a word, without a movement.

Slowly, he leaned forward, savoring each second before their lips met again.

He wasn't sure how long they kissed, but she eventually broke the kiss.

She took a step back and held her arm out. "We shouldn't have done that."

"Why?"

"Nick." She stared pointedly at him.

"I told you, Hannah means nothing to me."

"She doesn't seem to think so!" She shook her head. "Get back to your practice. We'll talk tomorrow, after your performance."

"I won't be able to concentrate." He moved closer to her. "Talk to me—now."

"I'm not interested in being the other woman."

Kerri really was breaking up with him. But now that he had her back, now that he had a taste of her again, he couldn't let her go. "There's nothing serious between Hannah and me."

"You're not exclusive."

"Exactly."

"But I am. That's the only kind of relationship I'm interested in."

"Kerri, I haven't seen Hannah since that day in church."

Kerri pursed her lips, and Nick thought about what she'd said. "Wait," he said. "Are you saying you want to be with me?" Because he had been reacting based on the thinking that she wanted nothing more to do with him. "You want us to be exclusive?"

"I ..." Kerri blinked and licked her lips. "We've both changed. I don't know if what I'm feeling for you is out of familiarity or ..." She looked up at him when he took another step closer. "I'm ..."

"Still fickle-minded," he said with a grin.

And she laughed, pursing her lips as she looked down.

"Hmm." He hooked his index finger under her chin. "You're being rather difficult. You don't want me seeing other people, but you can't decide if you want to be with me."

"I—"

"Okay."

She blinked. "Okay?"

"I know what I want."

"And what if it's just familiarity?"

"I love you, Kerri. I love you for many things, but definitely not because of familiarity or convenience. When I said I'd mess up the performance for you, I would. I'd give up everything for you in a heartbeat. I was stupid before, and I let drugs and jealousy come between us. As you said, I've changed. I've grown a little wiser, I hope." And he had a great mentor now, someone who would knock him on the head if he were to screw things up.

"Nick ..."

"I'll make things clear with Hannah."

"After your performance."

"No," he said. "I'm doing it once I leave. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss. When he broke the kiss, he straightened, but kept her close.

"Habit again?"

"Yeah, if you say so." He leaned in again, and her lips parted without hesitation.

When they finally broke their kiss, Kerri took two steps away from him. "You should get back to your practice."

"What time will you be done? I'll pick you up."

"I'll see you tomorrow. I still have to run, jump, drop, and roll another thousand times before I can go."

"What's that for?"

Kerri narrowed her eyes. "You have somewhere else to be."

He narrowed his eyes as well. "Exactly how dangerous will filming this movie be?"

"Nick."

He nodded after a moment. "All right. Be careful," he said and tucked her stray hair behind her ear. "I still want to pick you up later."

"I'd rather you get enough rest. Don't worry about me. I drove. I'll probably just crash at my parents' place."

"Drop me a text when you get there, then."

"I will."

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