Kevin was confused. After Amber’s rejection Tuesday night, he decided the one he really wanted to be with anyway was Corinne. She was also unavailable; still dating one of his best friends. He didn’t know how serious Corinne and Nick were, but he hesitated to mention anything to her because a) he didn’t want to cause problems with their relationship and b) it was quite possible that Corinne did not love him anymore. He decided to play it by ear. He had not seen her in a few days and wondered how she was doing. When she found him online last night, he was thrilled to chat with her. It was like old times; exchanging playful banter and laughing. It hurt to get shut down like he did in the end, but understandable.
It was now Thursday night and he was sitting at home, debating whether or not to try to catch Corinne online. He should leave things well alone he told himself as he opened his lap top and sent her an IM…
Corinne had had another full, but lazy day in Big Bear. She wrote some more and laid around thinking about her life. She thought about Kevin much more than she had previous to last night. Ever since last night he was all she thought about. What the hell was the matter with her? She loved Nick! But Kevin crept into her thoughts more and more and she was helpless to stop it.
“Oh!” Corinne exclaimed as BooTrain71’s message popped up on her computer screen: “How’s it goin in the woods there, Smokey?”
She laughed out loud and Riniabsb typed, “Oh, I’ve been trying to prevent forest fires, but I’m failing miserably!” Corinne wrote as she puffed on her cigarette. She was sitting on the deck on one of the chairs, ashtray on the table next to her along with a margarita and her bare feet propped up on top of another chair.
Kevin laughed, sat cross legged on his bed and typed: “No doubt you’re still drinking, too!”
“You know it.”
“Do I dare ask about the other thing?”
“Cold showers work!” She laughed.
“No good. It’s the real thing or nothing, Baby!”
“God, I know!” She paused, got brave—she was a little drunk after all and wrote:
“The real thing was always good for us.”
Kevin smiled. Thank God she was getting into this again. “Never a complaint from me.”
“I miss…” Corinne stopped and backspaced. How could she tell him she missed him? Wouldn’t it be cruel since she was with Nick? You’re assuming he still wants you, Corinne. Besides, they had already admitted they missed each other that day at the studio. What harm could it do?
“I do you miss you, Scotty.” She wrote and held her breath, downing the rest of her drink.
Kevin’s heart soared as he read that. She missed him! She still cared.
“I do, too, Rinna.”
Corinne sucked in her breath. Oh, God, what had she done? Had she opened up a can of worms? To change the subject, she quickly typed:
“Hey, did you see that article about you, me and Nick in this month’s People Magazine?”
Kevin sighed. Okay, moving on… “Yeah, I did. Wild, huh?”
“To say the least! Some guy at the liquor store recognized me from that article. I read the whole thing. They actually got most of the facts straight surprisingly enough.”
“Yeah. Nice pictures of you BTW.”
Corinne blushed. “Thanks! You looked good, too.” She didn’t write “as always” like she wanted to.
“Thanks. So, don’t shoot me, but what are you wearing?”
Corinne laughed and wrote: “A t-shirt and shorts. What about you?”
“The same. Remember when we stayed there that weekend and there was a knock on the door? You panicked and threw on my sweatshirt to answer the door!”
Corinne giggled. “Yes! I freaked! I thought it was my parents and it turned out to be a neighbor who wanted some firewood. You couldn’t stop laughing at me, you jerk!”
Kevin laughed now. “You were hilarious! You looked very hot in my sweatshirt though.”
Corinne stopped smiling. It was fun reminiscing with him, but difficult when he kept getting intimate.
“Thanks.”
The word hung in the air and Kevin decided to let up. “Hey, Nick and the guys miss you.”
She smiled. That was really big of him to throw that in. She suspected that it was really Nick who missed her and it might be tough on him.
“That’s nice. I miss them, too. Hey, how's your family doing?”
Kevin was touched she asked. "They're great. My parents are still upset over our break-up, though. You know how much they love you."
Corinne smiled. "I love them, too. Tell them I said hi, that is if it won't bother them."
"No, I think they'll really like that." Kevin smiled.
"Hey, do you think after you guys tour, that you'll go back on Broadway and do another play?"
“I don’t know. That's a long ways away. We still have the album to finish and the long tour after that. I'll just have to wait and see." He was waiting on her; waiting to see if he got the courage to talk to her about his true feelings and see if she reciprocated them.
“Well, good luck with the album and whatever you decide to do. Hey, I hate to say goodbye, but I’m getting really tired. It must be the alcohol. Maybe we can chat another time.”
“No problem. I need to get to bed anyway. It’s been wonderful talking with you. Take care.”
“You, too. Goodnight.” Corinne closed her lap top, got up and went to bed. As much as she loved conversing with Kevin, it was time to say goodnight or was it goodbye?
On Friday Corinne shopped in town for Megan’s baby gift and found a beautiful photo album that she purchased immediately. She had brought the pictures of Nick and Tyler at the hospital, as well as some others she took of her Megan, her mom and Amber and Tyler. It was the perfect gift and she couldn’t wait to present it to her sister.
Recording got under way late on Friday so the guys were forced to stay late Friday night. It was close to 10pm when they finally made their way out of there. The five-some agreed to check out a bar in at The Beverly Hills Peninsula Hotel called The Club. AJ ordered the first round of drinks and the guys conversed and laughed affably. Live music performed by a band called “Metamorphosis” blared out two giant speakers flanking a stage. Their music was an eclectic mix of rock, pop, rhythm & blues and punk. The boys were enjoying the sound and all of them ended up on the dance floor at some point during the evening.
“Shit, don’t you think Marty knows what he’s doing with that mix? I mean, that was fucking awesome what he came up with today!” Nick was saying, downing another beer; his fourth one of the night.
The guys agreed and carried on their conversations. Kevin was pretty mellow. He was content to sit back and have a couple of drinks, but mainly keep his wits about him and reflect on his time with Corinne. He watched Nick be his usual cool, animated self, talking, laughing and being the life of the party. Kevin knew what Corinne saw in him; he knew what most women saw in him; but would Corinne want to spend the rest of her life with him? And if not, would Kevin be a welcome alternative?
It was approaching midnight and the guys with the exception of Kevin were pretty smashed. Brian had already taken off to go home to Leighanne, but Howie, AJ and of course, Nick were happy to continue their merry reverie of drinking, smoking and picking up women. Kevin perked up when he saw a tall, lanky, voluptuous blonde walk up to Nick, lean over to give him a glimpse of her generous cleavage and whisper some sweet nothing or something in his ear. Kevin watched as Nick laughed at whatever she said and stood up to dance with her. He watched them dance two or three dances and then Nick finally made his way back to his seat. A few minutes later, Nick got up and walked towards the restrooms, where the mystery woman intercepted him, put her arm around him and pulled him into the men’s room. Kevin was tempted to follow them, but decided not to. He knew what was going on. He thought, I should feel elated that Nick was about to cheat on Corinne, but he wasn’t. He felt horrible about it. Damn you, Nick, she deserves better than that. He had seen it before with Nick, but he thought he was going to stay true this time. He knew it was the alcohol doing the talking, but he still needed to learn how to keep his dick in his pants where it concerned other women.
Several minutes passed until Kevin finally decided to go talk to Nick. But it was obviously too late, because the woman came stumbling out the restroom, lipstick smudged, hair in disarray, blouse untucked and she walked in Kevin’s direction. She arrived at the table opposite of them and said to her girlfriend in a slurred voice, “God, Nick definitely lives up to his reputation. The sex was incredible!”
Kevin stood up when he heard that just in time to see Nick emerging from the restroom, unkempt, with a look of confusion on his face. He started to approach their table and stopped when he saw Kevin. When he realized Kevin knew what had just happened, his eyes opened wide and he looked panic-stricken.
Kevin, in his disgust, turned around and headed towards the door. Nick caught up with him just as he exited the bar and was about to leave the hotel.
“Kev—wait! Did you see…?”
“Yeah, Nick, I did and I wish I hadn’t.”
“Wait, you can’t tell Corinne! Please!” Nick begged.
Kevin stopped and turned around to face his friend. “Fuck you, Nick! I can tell Corinne if I want to, but you know what I’m not going to because I think you should tell her!” He was furious.
Nick looked remorseful. “I know, I know, I should. But Kev, it all happened so fast, man! This woman totally seduced me. Her mouth was on my cock and then she was riding me before I knew what was going on! Shit! You know how I get when I drink… Fuck! I can’t believe this just happened!” Nick hissed in a low voice so they wouldn't draw an audience.
“That’s just the thing, I can.” Kevin kept walking towards the hotel entrance and felt the breeze hit his face before Nick grabbed him.
“Why the hell are you mad at me and why the fuck do you care if I cheated on Corinne! I would think you would be happy so you can win her back!” This time Nick raised his voice.
Kevin faced Nick. “I’m pissed because Corinne deserves better than that, Nick! In all those months, I never cheated on her!”
“Yeah, you can’t tell me you didn’t want to though! Women throw themselves at you all the time! I know for a fact you came close more than once!”
“That may be, but I abstained! You didn’t! You let your dick do the talking and you did it when I was present so now that puts me in a fucking awkward position that I don’t want to be in! Not only is Corinne my ex-girlfriend, but she’s my friend and like I said, she deserves better than that!”
“You mean better than me, don’t you, Kev?” Nick spat at him. He didn’t need this fuckin’ lecture from Kevin of all people. He already felt bad enough.
“Well, that’s up to her.” Kevin said.
“So, are you saying if I don’t tell her, you will?”
“I don’t know what I’m gonna to do right now, but I don’t feel right about keeping this from her. She loves you, man and I just don’t want her to love you under false pretenses.”
Nick thought about that one. It made sense, but there was no fuckin’ way she would ever forgive him if she found out. He didn’t plan to tell her. He screwed up. It was one time. It would never happen again.
“Look, I hear what you’re saying. Let me think about it, okay? Please promise me you won’t say anything until I figure this out!”
Kevin looked at Nick dubiously, wondering whether to trust him or not but he ultimately decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Okay.” Kevin said finally.
“Promise me, man.”
“Okay, I promise. Just don’t make me regret this.” Kevin said.
“I won’t. Thanks. She comes home in two days and I plan to do something really special. I really love her, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know. See ya.” Kevin was out of there. He didn’t need to be reminded one more time of Nick and Corinne’s love for one another.
Kevin’s heart soared as he read that. She missed him! She still cared.
“I do, too, Rinna.”
Corinne sucked in her breath. Oh, God, what had she done? Had she opened up a can of worms? To change the subject, she quickly typed:
“Hey, did you see that article about you, me and Nick in this month’s People Magazine?”
Kevin sighed. Okay, moving on… “Yeah, I did. Wild, huh?”
“To say the least! Some guy at the liquor store recognized me from that article. I read the whole thing. They actually got most of the facts straight surprisingly enough.”
“Yeah. Nice pictures of you BTW.”
Corinne blushed. “Thanks! You looked good, too.” She didn’t write “as always” like she wanted to.
“Thanks. So, don’t shoot me, but what are you wearing?”
Corinne laughed and wrote: “A t-shirt and shorts. What about you?”
“The same. Remember when we stayed there that weekend and there was a knock on the door? You panicked and threw on my sweatshirt to answer the door!”
Corinne giggled. “Yes! I freaked! I thought it was my parents and it turned out to be a neighbor who wanted some firewood. You couldn’t stop laughing at me, you jerk!”
Kevin laughed now. “You were hilarious! You looked very hot in my sweatshirt though.”
Corinne stopped smiling. It was fun reminiscing with him, but difficult when he kept getting intimate.
“Thanks.”
The word hung in the air and Kevin decided to let up. “Hey, Nick and the guys miss you.”
She smiled. That was really big of him to throw that in. She suspected that it was really Nick who missed her and it might be tough on him.
“That’s nice. I miss them, too. Hey, what’s happening with you? Are you going to do anything on Broadway soon?”
Kevin was touched she care about that. “I don’t know. I’ve been mulling things over. Some offers have come my way, but I haven’t decided yet.” He was waiting on her; waiting to see if he got the courage to talk to her about his true feelings and see if she reciprocated them.
“Well, good luck with whatever you decide. Hey, I hate to say goodbye, but I’m getting really tired. It must be the alcohol. Maybe we can chat another time.”
“No problem. I need to get to bed anyway. It’s been wonderful talking with you. Take care.”
“You, too. Goodnight.” Corinne closed her lap top, got up and went to bed. As much as she loved conversing with Kevin, it was time to say goodnight or was it goodbye?
On Friday Corinne shopped in town for Megan’s baby gift and found a beautiful photo album that she purchased immediately. She had brought the pictures of Nick and Tyler at the hospital, as well as some others she took of her Megan, her mom and Amber and Tyler. It was the perfect gift and she couldn’t wait to present it to her sister.
Recording got under way late on Friday so the guys were forced to stay late Friday night. It was close to 10pm when they finally made their way out of there. The five-some agreed to check out a bar in at The Beverly Hills Peninsula Hotel called The Club. AJ ordered the first round of drinks and the guys conversed and laughed affably. Live music performed by a band called “Metamorphosis” blared out two giant speakers flanking a stage. Their music was an eclectic mix of rock, pop, rhythm & blues and punk. The boys were enjoying the sound and all of them ended up on the dance floor at some point during the evening.
“Shit, don’t you think Marty knows what he’s doing with that mix? I mean, that was fucking awesome what he came up with today!” Nick was saying, downing another beer; his fourth one of the night.
The guys agreed and carried on their conversations. Kevin was pretty mellow. He was content to sit back and have a couple of drinks, but mainly keep his wits about him and reflect on his time with Corinne. He watched Nick be his usual cool, animated self, talking, laughing and being the life of the party. Kevin knew what Corinne saw in him; he knew what most women saw in him; but would Corinne want to spend the rest of her life with him? And if not, would Kevin be a welcome alternative?
It was approaching midnight and the guys with the exception of Kevin were pretty smashed. Brian had already taken off to go home to Leighanne, but Howie, AJ and of course, Nick were happy to continue their merry reverie of drinking, smoking and picking up women. Kevin perked up when he saw a tall, lanky, voluptuous blonde walk up to Nick, lean over to give him a glimpse of her generous cleavage and whisper some sweet nothing or something in his ear. Kevin watched as Nick laughed at whatever she said and stood up to dance with her. He watched them dance two or three dances and then Nick finally made his way back to his seat. A few minutes later, Nick got up and walked towards the restrooms, where the mystery woman intercepted him, put her arm around him and pulled him into the men’s room. Kevin was tempted to follow them, but decided not to. He knew what was going on. He thought, I should feel elated that Nick was about to cheat on Corinne, but he wasn’t. He felt horrible about it. Damn you, Nick, she deserves better than that. He had seen it before with Nick, but he thought he was going to stay true this time. He knew it was the alcohol doing the talking, but he still needed to learn how to keep his dick in his pants where it concerned other women.
Several minutes passed until Kevin finally decided to go talk to Nick. But it was obviously too late, because the woman came stumbling out the restroom, lipstick smudged, hair in disarray, blouse untucked and walked towards Kevin’s direction. She arrived at the table opposite of them and said to her girlfriend in a slurred voice, “God, Nick definitely lives up to his reputation. The sex was incredible!”
Kevin stood up when he heard that just in time to see Nick emerging from the restroom, unkempt, with a look of confusion on his face. He started to approach their table and stopped when he saw Kevin. When he realized Kevin knew what had just happened, his eyes opened wide and he looked panic-stricken.
Kevin, in his disgust, turned around and headed towards the door. Nick caught up with him just as he exited the bar and was about to leave the hotel.
“Kev—wait! Did you see…?”
“Yeah, Nick, I did and I wish I hadn’t.”
“Wait, you can’t tell Corinne! Please!” Nick begged.
Kevin stopped and turned around to face his friend. “Fuck you, Nick! I can tell Corinne if I want to, but you know what I’m not going to because I think you should tell her!” He was furious.
Nick looked remorseful. “I know, I know, I should. But Kev, it all happened so fast, man! This woman totally seduced me. Her mouth was on my cock and then she was riding me before I knew what was going on! Shit! You know how I get when I drink… Fuck! I can’t believe this just happened!”
“That’s just the thing, I can.” Kevin kept walking towards the hotel entrance and felt the breeze hit his face before Nick grabbed him.
“Why the hell are you mad at me and why the fuck do you care if I cheated on Corinne! I would think you would be happy so you can win her back!”
Kevin faced Nick. “I’m pissed because Corinne deserves better than that, Nick! In all those months, I never cheated on her!”
“Yeah, you can’t tell me you didn’t want to though! Women throw themselves at you all the time! I know for a fact you came close more than once!”
“That may be, but I abstained! You didn’t! You let your dick do the talking and you did it when I was present so now that puts me in a fucking awkward position that I don’t want to be in! Not only is Corinne my ex-girlfriend, but she’s my friend and like I said, she deserves better than that!”
“You mean better than me, don’t you, Kev?” Nick spat at him. He didn’t need this fuckin’ lecture from Kevin of all people. He already felt bad enough.
“Well, that’s up to her.” Kevin said.
“So, are you saying if I don’t tell her, you will?”
“I don’t know what I’m gonna to do right now, but I don’t feel right about keeping this from her. She loves you, man and I just don’t want her to love you under false pretenses.”
Nick thought about that one. It made sense, but there was no fuckin’ way she would ever forgive him if she found out. He didn’t plan to tell her. He screwed up. It was one time. It would never happen again.
“Look, I hear what you’re saying. Let me think about it, okay? Please promise me you won’t say anything until I figure this out!”
Kevin looked at Nick dubiously, wondering whether to trust him or not but he ultimately decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Okay.” Kevin said finally.
“Promise me, man.”
“Okay, I promise. Just don’t make me regret this.” Kevin said.
“I won’t. Thanks. She comes home in two days and I plan to do something really special. I really love her, ya know?”
“Yeah, I know. See ya.” Kevin was out of there. He didn’t needed to reminded one more time of Nick and Corinne’s love for one another.
