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To You, I Belong

Chapter 4: Second First Impression

***

"What do you think provoked Brittany to go off on her own?" Kerri asked as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Do you think it's because of us?"

Aaron crossed and sat next to her. "I wouldn't think or worry about it too much." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "She probably just wants to look around on her own, like she said."

"She might get lost. I mean, why didn't she take you?"

"She probably has her reasons." He smiled warmly to try and calm her nerves. "Don't worry. I think she's old enough to do what she wants..."

Kerri pushed her husband playfully. "Hey now! I didn't need sarcasm."

Aaron smiled furtively. "See? You need to relax. You're way too high strung." His other hand made its way to the first. Gently, he began to massage her neck and shoulders. Kerri began to melt under his grip. She slowly slumped over and groaned in bliss.

"Unh...Aaron, this feels so good."

Aaron readjusted himself so that his wife could lie back against him while his hands continued to knead at her.

"So...are you happy that Brittany didn't ask me to go with her?"

Kerri looked up and smiled. "With this kind of attention, yeah. Besides, do you hear me complaining anymore?" She placed her hand on his leg. "Aaron, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Remember when you told Erik last night that you might not have met me had you gone to Penn State any longer than a year?"

"Yeah...what about it?"

She turned herself around. "What would you have done had you never met me?"

Aaron looked into Kerri's eyes and softly smiled. "I can't imagine going through life without you. I don't know what I would do."

"Come on now, I'm serious," she sneered. "What do you think you would be doing if you had never met me?"

Aaron was silent in thought for close to a minute. He didn't expect her question on such short notice; let alone being serious about it.

He smirked. "Fair enough." He thought for a moment longer. "If I had never met you, I probably would be pursuing my music degree more so than I did. I've always wanted to be a composer or a conductor for a symphonic orchestra." He chuckled. "In a sense, I am now. It's just on a smaller scale." He leaned in closer. "But what about you? How about you answer your own question?"

"No need to get nasty." This time, Kerri was the one who had to think for a moment. "Truth be told," she said, "I don' think much would change. I'd probably still be working at the hospital, but I'd still be singing at Sakura Vixen to make a little extra on the side."

"Looks like my life would be a hell of a lot more different."

"So it seems," she replied. "But like you said before..." She leaned up and kissed him softly. "...I don't think I could imagine going through that life without you by my side."

"Neither could I," Aaron added sincerely. An idea popped into his mind. "Kerri, will you do something for me?"

"Anything."

"Will you sing for me? I want to hear your beautiful voice again."

Kerri blushed lightly and giggled. "You've got it. Any requests?"

Aaron didn't need to think for more than a moment. "The song you sang the day I first laid my eyes on you."

The Siberian husky shook her head and smiled. "I should've known," she said with a small laugh. Slowly, she rose and began to sing in front of her husband. Aaron's eyes watched her every movement.

His eyes saw her as she was in front of him, but his mind saw her on a stage and dressed in a glossy black dress. He then envisioned himself sitting at a table after a long day of classes, sipping on a glass of wine. They were at the Sakura Vixen once more, just like it was those several years ago.

Aaron let his mind delve further into his daydream as Kerri's song continued. He watched her as if he had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. Every motion was fluid and flawless in his eyes. As time went on, the spotlight on Kerri faded as she ended her song, triggering Aaron to return to reality. He remained motionless, letting every note sink into his memory again.

"Your voice is beautiful. It just about puts me in a trance every time I hear it."

Kerri smirked slyly. "Good," she said softly. She kissed him and pushed him back so that he was lying down on the bed. "That means you're under my control..."

***

The sky above began to cloud up above Brittany's head. Brittany, however, didn't take notice to this; her mind was focusing on more "important" topics than the weather. Sure, she wanted to see the area on her own terms. However, she also wanted to try and find any clue on Erik from someone or something. Her hand felt her cell phone in her pocket. She started to pull the phone out, but shoved it back in quickly.

"I should've put that number into my phone while I had the opportunity," she muttered to herself. She then remembered the paper with Erik's number on the table. "Damn. Knowing my luck, Kerri has already found it and probably called the number." Brittany looked ahead of her, then behind her towards the distance where the hotel would be. She looked at her watch. It read 12:45pm.

"My self guided tour can wait," she decided. "I think I'll duck in the student center and get a quick bite before I head back."

Brittany looked at the campus map and quickly found the building. Just as she began to walk again, something hit the sidewalk behind her, causing her to stop. Brittany looked around her to try and find what had hit only to find nothing.

"Must be my imagination," she said to herself. "Either that, or I'm hearing things." She continued to walk again. Her destination came into the distance. Just as it did, she heard the same noise as before, causing her to stop yet again. This time, it was accompanied by two more of the same kind soon after.

"Now, I know I didn't imagine that," she said. Brittany decided looked around once more. Suddenly, something went by her field of vision quickly only to disappear as quickly as it came. Curiously, she looked up and finally saw the grey sky above. As she did, a cold, wet raindrop greeted her nose.

"Just my luck," she muttered. Her pace began to steadily increase as her destination drew closer and closer. With her quickening pace, the rain began to fall right with it. "Come on...just hold off for a little longer," she hissed worriedly. Her quick walk turned into a brisk jog as an awning came into sight with the building. She ducked under the awning just as the clouds opened up and the rain began to pour down fiercely.

Brittany sighed in relief. She checked herself to see how wet she might have become. Outside of some dots of rain, she arrived rather dry. "Could've been worse," she joked.

The door opened and Brittany walked into the main lobby. She looked around, only to see closed and locked doors among the dimmed lights of the inactive areas. The bookstore to her right was the only open room near her.

'At least I can get my umbrella while I'm here,' she though. Brittany shrugged her shoulders at the thought and coolly walked into the store. A student working inside nearby heard the door shut and gazed over to see her.

"Hello there," he said as she entered. "Welcome to the bookstore. How might you be today?"

She stopped for a minute. "Oh, I'm fine. Thank you." She laughed a bit and held her thumb and index finger close together. "I was this close to getting caught in a downpour while I was walking around outside. I ducked in here at the last second."

"Well then," the jaguar said, "I'm guessing that you'll be looking for an umbrella, am I right?"

"You must be psychic."

"I try when I can," he laughed. "Anyhow, the umbrellas are right over there." He pointed to an area behind her where they could see a barrel containing a few umbrellas. "I'm sorry to say, but we don't have many left. Since it's getting close to fall, and ultimately winter, we really haven't had much need to get more."

"Oh, it's all right. I don't mind at all," she assured him. "As long as it gets the job done. Thank you for your help."

He smiled and nodded in response before getting back to his post behind the counter. Brittany then made her way to where the umbrellas were located and searched the barrel for one that suited her.

While she did, another customer entered the store and made his was past the front counter where the jaguar stood. He was engrossed in a magazine too much so to notice the new arrival.

"Hey there, Trent," he said cheerfully, getting his attention. "Working hard as usual, I see."

Trent looked up and immediately started laughing. "Yep. I guess you caught me again. How are things going for you, Erik?"

"Surprisingly well, despite the weather. I'll have to have a word with James when he gets back this afternoon," Erik said with a laugh. He looked around the empty store and shook his head with a sigh. "It looks as though it's going to be another slow day for you. No one is here."

Trent tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? A girl came in here just a few minutes ago." He pointed over to the umbrellas again. "She was right over there. Said she needed one, because she didn't have one and almost got caught walking outside when it began to rain."

"Did she leave?"

Trent shook his head. "She couldn't have. She never paid for her umbrella." He leaned over the counter and grinned. "Erik, you'd really like her," he said in a loud whisper.

"How do you figure?"

He tapped his head with his finger. "Call it intuition. I've been around the dating block a few times to pick up on things like this. But back to reality for a moment, what brings you here?"

Erik shrugged. "Just here for some gum this time." He picked out some spearmint flavored gum and placed it on the counter.

"Ooooooooo...big spender," Trent jeered. Erik got a dollar from his wallet only to have it pushed back at him. "Don't worry about this one. It's on the house," Trent said with a smile.

"Heh. Thanks, Trent," Erik replied. "Well, I guess I'll be off. James might be back, and I said that I'd be back at the apartment."

"You can wait a little longer, can't you?" He smirked. "Don't you want to see the girl I was telling you about?" Erik stood in place. He didn't look amused at his friends persuading. Trent sighed. "What's the deal with you and women? Every time I try to set you up with someone, you pull the 'I don't want to play games' routine on me. It's almost like you don't trust my judgment!"

"You just explained my position for me."

"Come on, Erik," Trent pleaded. "Just trust me on this one."

Erik took a long look at his friend and thought of the possibilities. Eventually, he heaved a long sigh and admitted defeat.

"Fine...fine. I'll wait. I'll be just on the other side of the doors." Without another word from him, Erik turned and exited. He then turned and leaned back against the glass door and muttered under his breath.

'I knew you'd come around sometime,' Trent thought with a smile.

***

On the other side of the magazine rack, Brittany remained motionless and completely silent. A very firm grip, placed over her umbrella, was just starting to be released. Her breathing also began to come down to a normal pace along with her heartbeat. Slowly, she peered her head around the corner of the rack to see if he was still there. A large amount of tension was released all at once at the sight of no one at the front counter.

"Well now, that was unexpected," she said softly to herself. She thought for a moment and winced in anger "Dammit! Why did I hide away like that? This was the perfect opportunity to talk to him again." Brittany looked around the corner once more to make sure that he was gone, and then she made her move to the counter to pay for her umbrella.

"Did you find everything that you might have been looking for?" Trent asked her.

Brittany smiled and nodded. "Yep. This is all."

"All right then." Trent then went about his usual routine and had Brittany pay for her purchase.

"I'm assuming that you won't be needing a bag for that, am I right?"

Brittany giggled. "You're right again. Thank you for your help."

"You're most certainly welcome. Have a good day!" Trent responded. Brittany waved back and headed for the door. As she walked away, Trent leaned forward on the counter and watched intently, his elbows resting on the flat top.

'Intuition, fail me not.'

***

Erik remained at the other side of the entrance with his head down and his gaze at his feet. His mind was racing on what Trent could possibly have in store for him. 'Who knows,' he thought, 'maybe this won't be so bad.' He reached for his cell phone and dialed his apartment number only to receive the response of his answering machine.

"Hey James, it's Erik," he said for the recording. "This is for just in case you get back before I do. I'm at the bookstore, and I'll probably be going into town for lunch. See ya later." Erik then hung up and returned his phone to his pocket.

After a few moments, the door to his left opened. 'Must be the girl Trent was talking about...' he thought. Erik kept his head down, but shifted his gaze to his left to see his mystery girl. Despite partially blurry vision, he could at least make out her general figure. An eyebrow elevated itself in intrigue.

"Hmmm..." Erik wondered. "She's pretty, but there's something about her that I can't put my finger on." Out of curiosity, his head slowly rose to get a better view of her.

This time, it was Erik's turn for everything around him to stop.

His eyes caught a glimpse of her face; that was enough for him to start to remember their encounter from the night before. Everything about her was fresh in his mind: her eyes, her smile, and the beautiful dress she wore. Everything about her...except her name. His mind began to scramble for a name to match with her.

'Geez...of all times to forget a name! Dammit!' he yelled in his mind. He groaned. 'I know it began with a "B", but what was it!? Barbara...Brenda...no...ARRRGH!' Just as he was about to give up, the light went on. 'Brittany! That's her name! It's Brittany!' He looked over to see if she was still there only to see Brittany already half-way out the door.

"Brittany! Is that you?" he called out to her. She looked back to identify who called her. Almost immediately, she began to go back quickly to where he stood.

"Erik! Hi!" she responded. She went to give him a hug, but stopped herself and regained her composure. "What a coincidence to see you here," she lied innocently.

"Likewise," he said smiling. "What brings you around here?"

"Just walking around the campus," she said. "I wanted to see the place on my own. Things were fine until it started to rain. I ducked in here just before it started." Brittany looked behind her out the glass doors. "Looks like it hasn't stopped yet, either."

"That would explain the umbrella," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah. I was hoping that there would be a place here that was open so I could grab a bite to eat. As you could probably see right now, there's no such luck to be had."

As Brittany explained her situation, Erik looked up in suspicion. 'Is there something going on up there that I should be aware of?' he asked. He came back down to earth just as Brittany finished.

"Not exactly," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

Erik started to blush. "Well...I was actually on my way into town to get something for lunch myself. Um...would you like to come with me? I could show you around the town while we're there."

Brittany's eyes lit up. "Sure! That would be great." This time, Brittany didn't hold back, and she hugged him. "Besides, I'll be able to put my umbrella through its first test run," she laughed.

"So, what type of restaurant would you like to go to?"

"Oh, I don't know. Surprise me. Your choice."

"You've got it," he said.

As the two began towards the exit, Trent leaned forward a little more to get a final glimpse through the window of the store. He was able to watch the entire "episode" right as it happened. When they finally were out of view, he grinned slyly and chuckled under his breath in triumph.

"Oh yeah...I've still got it."

***

END CHAPTER 4

Next Time!

"To You, I Belong" Chapter 5: Getting Warmer