Chapter 15

Kerrigan was smiling as she and Cody entered the hotel after their date.  They’d had a good time.  Cody had taken her to eat at a little pizzeria place one of the hotel staff had told him about and then they’d gone to the movies.

At first it was really awkward for Kerrigan.  She’d had a couple boyfriends in High School, but they were never real relationships.  Never went on a real date.  Nothing like this.  And to say she was nervous was putting it mildly.  But after they got to the restaurant and ordered and actually got into a conversation, the tension and awkwardness seemed to just melt away.  She felt completely at ease around him, and they seemed to have a lot in common.

The night only got better from there.  They finished their dinner and then headed to the movies.  They decided on an action flick that was playing, and then headed inside.  Cody got them a small tub of popcorn, since neither were really hungry, having just ate, and some soda’s and then they went to find their seats.

The theater was nearly empty, but they chose to sit in the back of the theater.  It was just what Kerrigan was used to.  Going to the movies with Justin was no simple task, and they always ended up in the back row.  And of course Cody didn’t have a problem with sitting in the back, but his reasoning was that of male reasoning.

At some point during the movie, although Kerrigan couldn’t really remember for sure what point that was, Cody had taken hold of her hand.  And that’s how they sat throughout the remaining portion of the movie, fingers interlocked with each others.  It made Kerrigan a little nervous at first, because she wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, but at the same time it felt right, so she didn’t fight it.

And now they were back at the hotel.  They had talked the whole way back from the movie theater.  About everything and anything.  Her friendship with Justin was discussed, because it was noted by Cody that she brought him up a lot.  But as Kerrigan had defended, when you spend so much time with one person they happen to be a part of a lot of your past experiences and memories.  So it was only normal that his name would come up a lot.  At least that was her reasoning for it.

She couldn’t help but get the feeling that Cody was somewhat jealous of Justin.  Or at least she got that impression when he asked about why she talked about him so much.  There was just something about the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes when he had asked.  And though something inside of her told her she should be a little leery of that, she was more intrigued by it.  It made her feel important.  Appreciated.  Wanted.

They were still holding hands when they made their way off of the elevator and started their way down the long corridor that would lead to Kerrigan’s Hotel room.  She had told him it wasn’t necessary to walk her to her room, but Cody had insisted.  He had picked her up from her room, he was going to take her back to her room.

When they finally reached the door, Kerrigan dug into the back pocket of her jeans to pull out her key card, and then looked up at Cody.  “Well, I had a lot of fun tonight.  Thank you for dinner and the movie.” she smiled.

“It was my pleasure.  We’ll have to do this again sometime.  Except next time I’ll take you somewhere a lil’ nicer than a pizzeria.” he laughed.

“I happen to love pizza.  It was fine.”

“Still.  I’d like to take you somewhere a little nicer next time.  A little more upscale if you know what I mean.” he said, looking into her eyes.

Kerrigan smiled in response, but couldn’t form any words.  When he looked at her the way he was doing at that very moment, she just went all blank on the inside.  She couldn’t form any thoughts, let alone any comprehendible words.  He was looking at her in a way she had longed for.  There was desire in his eyes.  Something she hadn’t seen in a guys eyes before, at least not reflecting back at herself.  And it gave her goose bumps.

“Well, it’s getting late, I better let you get some sleep.” Cody said, finally breaking the silence.  “We all got an early start in the morning.”

“Yeah.” Kerrigan smiled, she didn’t know what else to say or do.

“Ok, well then I’ll talk to you in the next city?”

“Of course.”

“Ok.” he said, still staring at her.  He wanted to kiss her so badly.  He’d wanted to all night long, but had never felt that it was the right time.  And it was now or never.

Kerrigan watched as Cody slightly licked his lips, continuing to star at her.  He gave her a slight grin, moving his hand up to caress her cheek.  He softly ran his thumb back and forth over her cheek a couple times before he finally started to lean in towards her.

Following her instincts, Kerrigan began to lean into him as well, her eyes drifting shut.  A thousand emotions coursing through her body at that moment in expectation. She couldn’t believe this was finally happening.  That this incredible man before her actually liked her and wanted to kiss her.  It was like it wasn’t real at all.  Like it was all a dream.

Until of course his lips finally met hers, in a soft, brief kiss.

Cody pulled back slightly to see the expression on her face.  She was wearing the faintest of smiles, and when her eyes slowly fluttered open there was this sparkle in them that pleased him very much.

As he began to lean back into her, he softly whispered, “I really like you, Kerrigan.” before his lips met hers once again.  Only this time the kiss was a little more intense.  And no where near as brief as the previous one.  But at the same time it was a sweet kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Kerrigan looked up and smiled at him.  “I like you too.” she replied.

“Good.  I’m glad the feelings are mutual.” Cody smiled.  “But I should really go now.  I didn’t realize we had an audience when we got off the elevator.”

“An audience?” Kerrigan questioned, looking down to the end of the hall.  Where she saw Joey, Chris, Trace, Justin, JC and Lance standing there, staring at them.  Blank expressions on their faces.  Or more accurately, shocked expressions.

“Oh, man.  I’m never gonna hear the end of this.” Kerrigan groaned looking down to the floor.

“What do you mean?” Cody asked, confused.

“They’re gonna tease me about this forever.” she sighed.

“It’ll be alright.  Just ignore them.” Cody grinned.

Kerrigan bit her lip, trying to ignore the guys presence at the end of the hall.  She could tell they were still watching them.  She could feel their eyes burning a hole into the side of her head.  “Ok, well I’ll see you later then.”

“Alright.  Goodnight, Kerrigan.” Cody whispered, leaning in to give her one more brief kiss on the lips before he turned and headed down the hall to the elevators.

Kerrigan stood there and watched him walk down the hall.  She was glad she didn’t have to go with him, because he was going in the same direction that the guys were in.  And there was no way she could face them right now, she was too embarrassed.

So she quickly turned, ran her key card through the door mechanism and when she saw the green light, she bolted into her room.  Totally missing the way the guys were all staring at Cody as he simply looked over at them and smirked before he stepped onto the elevator.

Justin stood there in a mixture of shock and anger.  He wasn’t sure which emotion was raging the strongest inside of him, but he knew they were both there.

For some reason it was just really weird for him to see Kerrigan kissing a guy.  He’d never been around when she was in high school for any of her high school boyfriends, so he’d never been privy to any of that.  So to see some guy all up on her, kissing her the way Cody had been it was just weird.  Especially, to see Kerrigan reacting to his kiss.

And then there was that smirk that was on Cody’s face as he got onto the elevator.  Justin knew it was directed towards him.  The guy was trying to prove some kind of point or something and Justin knew it.  Causing his apprehensions for Cody to grow.

Chris could tell by the look on Justin’s face that he was about ready to explode.  And the rest of the guys were just standing there in a shocked silence.  None of them had expected to see that.  And though it was weird for Justin, it was also weird for all of the guys.  They’d all thought of Kerrigan as a little sister over the years, and none of them, with the exception of Trace had ever seen Kerrigan kissing anyone.  So to say the least, it was just a little weird for them.

But Chris could tell Justin was fuming.  Justin had stated to him that he didn’t like Cody.  That there was something about the guy that he just didn’t like.  And while Chris at first just figured it to be some kind of jealousy.  Or Justin’s ever present protective streak coming out, he now saw what it was Justin was talking about.

That smirk on Cody’s face was one of triumph.  Like he’d just proven something.  Or done something he knew he wasn’t supposed to have done.  And he had directed that smirk specifically to Justin.  It was almost like a challenge.  A challenge that Chris knew Justin would not let slide.  Especially, since it was concerning Kerrigan.

Trying to break the silence and hoping to calm Justin in some way before he blew up and made a complete ass out of himself, Chris spoke.  “Well guys, it’s late we should all probably hit the sack.  We gotta get up early tomorrow.”

All the guys mumbled their agreement to that statement.  All but Justin.  He was just standing there.  Staring down the hallway.

“J, you gonna hit the sack?” Chris persisted.

“I need to go talk to Kerrigan, then I’ll crash.” he said as he started to make his way down the hall.

Chris looked to Trace, who was merely shaking his head in disapproval.  He knew all too well what Justin’s little talk with Kerrigan would do.  If he went down there and started spouting off at the mouth, like he had a tendency to do when he was angry, then all hell would break loose.

JC caught the looks being passed back and forth between Chris and Trace, which was a silent war of who was going to stop him and took off down the hall after Justin.   “J, why don’t you talk to her in the morning.  I’m sure she’s tired after her date, so why don’t you just let her sleep.”

Yikes!  Wrong wording, JC quickly realized when Justin spun around on his heal to glare at him.

“What do you mean, she’s probably tired from her date?  Are you suggesting that something happened?” Justin spat angrily.

“Justin, I did not mean it like that.  I was simply saying that it’s late, and she’s probably tired.  We both know Kerrigan, and we both know better than to think THAT of her.”  JC defended.

“Yeah, well I didn’t think she’d be making out with some guy in the hotel hallway either, but she just was!”

“Justin.” JC said shaking his head solemnly at him.  “They kissed.  It happens all the time.  It was the end of their date, he kissed her goodnight.  It’s not like you don’t know how that stuff goes.  You’ve been on enough dates to know how it works.  Why are you getting so upset about this?  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Kerrigan, is a beautiful woman.  Guys are ALWAYS looking at her.  I can’t believe it’s taken this long for one to ask her out.  And although you may not agree with her choice, it is just that.  Her choice.  You can’t make these decisions for her.  And if you go in there right now and start spouting off about how much you dislike the guy, and how wrong he is for her, then you’re just going to create more problems.  Wait until tomorrow.  Cool off, and then talk to her about it.”

“You don’t understand, JC.  There’s something about that guy.  I don’t trust him.  And I don’t want to see Kerr get hurt.  I need to put a stop to this now, while I still can.”

“I care about Kerrigan too, J.  We all do.  She’s like our little sister and I don’t want to see her get hurt anymore than you do.  But again it’s her choice to make, not yours.  And while I can honestly say that I now share your feeling of mistrust for the guy, I still must insist that you not go in there and yell at her about it.  Or scold her about it.  If you do, you’ll push her straight into his arms.”

“What do you mean, push her straight into his arms?” Justin asked, confused.

“It’s a well known fact, that people have a tendency to rebel when being told not to do something.  You tell them not to do it, so they do it anyways.  The more you insist for her to stay away from him, the more likely she is to get closer to him.  Just ask Chris.  He was the psychology major.”

“I don’ think so.  Kerrigan and me are close.  She’ll listen to me.  She always does.  She trusts my judgment.” Justin insisted.

“That may have been true in the past or with other things Justin, but this is different.  This is a guy we’re talking about.  Her first real boyfriend I guess you could say in a way.  And it’s different with that stuff.  I mean look at you.” JC said, motioning towards Justin.

“What about me?”

“One name.  Britney!  We all told you not to get involved with her like that.  But did you listen?  No!  The more we told you to stay away, the closer you got.  I guarantee you, if you try that with Kerrigan it’s gonna backfire in your face.  So just try a different approach.  Just go with it.  Hell, it may not even last that long.  Do you really wanna risk messing up the friendship you have with her, over something that could be nothing at all?”

Justin sighed.  JC presented several very valid points.  Even though Justin would never openly admit it, he had to concede within himself that JC was right about that one thing.  The guys had all told him to stay away from Britney.  To not cross that friendship line with her, but the more they had told him to stay away, the more he wanted her.  It was that all time cliché.  You always wanted what you couldn’t have.  And the more people told you not to do it, or you couldn’t have it, the more you wanted it.  And there was no way he was going to push Kerrigan any further into Cody’s arms.  No way in hell.

“I see what you’re saying, JC.  But what the hell do I do in the mean time.  Just grin and bear it, when I know the guy is gonna hurt her?  I mean what in the hell am I supposed to do?  She’s my friend.  My best friend, and it’s my job to protect her the best I can.”

“But Justin how are you supposed to protect her if you get her pissed off at you?  If you go and start running your mouth and mess up your friendship?  Then what?”

Justin looked down at his shoes.  Again, JC was right.  He really hated when he was right.  “FINE!  I won't say anything.  But I’m gonna be watching that guy really close.  And if he makes one wrong move, I swear to God I’m gonna eat him alive!”

“And I’ll be right there with you, buddy.  Like I said, I care about Kerrigan too.  She’s like my lil’ sister.  You don’t fuck with my sister!” JC grinned.

Finally a smile spread across Justin’s face.  “I believe you, C.  I still can’t forget the way you tortured that one guy that screwed over Heather.  I swear you were like a different person.  I’d never seen that side of you before.”

“Well, as long as no other guys do that to Heather or Kerrigan for that matter, you wont have to.  But it is there and waiting to come out if the need arises!” JC said growing serious.

“Thanks man.  I’m glad you talked me down.  Cause I was so ready to storm in there and tell her that she could never see him again.  And I already know the first words that woulda come out of her mouth.  “You’re not my dad!  You can’t tell me what to do!”  I swear that’s like her favorite thing to say.”

“Well, she has a point man.  You’re not her Dad.  You’re her friend.  And sometimes that requires just standing by and letting your friends make their own mistakes, but to be there to help them pick up the pieces afterwards.  Life’s all about learning, Justin.  You can’t deny her that.”

“I can try.” he grinned.

“Yeah, you can.  But I know Kerrigan.  And you WON'T succeed!” JC laughed.

“Too true!” Justin too laughed.

“OK, so are you two done with your little pep talks, so we can all go to bed now?” Joey asked from a few feet away.  Justin and JC had been so caught up in their conversation, they hadn’t noticed that the others had approached to see what was going on.

“Yeah, we’re done here.  Let’s head to bed.  We do have to get up early in the morning.” Justin said, heading for his room.

Chris stopped and plastered a disbelieving look on his face.  “In all my years, I NEVER thought I’d hear Justin utter those words.”

“Yeah, well I’m just full of surprised tonight.” Justin smirked.