Kevin and Nick grew closer as friends. Sam didn’t even mind that Nick had fallen asleep in Kevin’s room twice that week because she saw the bond that was growing between the two.
Even though Nick and Kevin were becoming incredibly close, Nick couldn’t stop Kevin from his descent into depression. Nick swore to himself that he’d somehow find Ericka and try to talk some sense into her. It was ripping him apart inside to see Kevin look so miserable.
Ericka yawned and put her seat in the upright position. Where am I again? She thought, is it Paris, Milan, New York, Japan, or Germany this week?
Her company had sent her to so many different places since her father died that she could barely remember where she was now.
She climbed off the plane and looked for the driver holding her name. She quickly found him and stumbled to the car. Climbing inside, she laid down on the seat and fell asleep almost immediately. She had a dream about Kevin and woke up crying.
They arrived at the hotel and she checked in under a false name. She went up to her room and collapsed on the bed. She reached over to the bedside table and picked up the phone and called her agent.
“Hey John, I’ve got two questions for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Where the hell am I and what the hell am I doing here?”
“You’re in Milan and you’re going to do a show for Donatella tonight. After that, you’re off for a week.”
“Thanks. Now I’m gonna go to sleep or something.”
“Okay, bye Ericka.”
She hung up the phone and got off the bed. She quickly changed into a pair of shorts and went to find a work out room. She gave herself an intense workout session. After lifting weights for about half an hour, she did some aerobics and then ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes. All the while, she thought of Kevin. She remembered his gentle kiss, and the feel of his fingertips as they moved over her body. She jumped off the treadmill and moved to the punching bag, then went back up to her room to cry.
At the show, Kevin was a little distant. Donatella noticed, but didn’t say anything. As he walked off the catwalk and went backstage to change, he ran into a model who was about to go on.
“I’m sorry,” a familiar voice said.
He looked down and stared into Ericka’s piercing blue eyes and they both froze in place.
“Hello,” he said coldly.
“Hello.”
Their reunion was cut short but someone pushing Ericka on stage.
Kevin thought about her during the rest of the show. At the after party, Nick and Sam couldn’t get him to talk. They’d both seen Ericka and Nick knew what was wrong with him. Sam guessed that it was her that was bothering him. They decided to go get her because Kevin hadn’t made a move from their table in over two hours.
“Rik!” Sam shouted.
Ericka looked up from her untouched beer and motioned for them to come sit with her. Nick asked Sam if he could have a moment alone with Ericka. She turned and sat down next to Kevin, who still hadn’t moved.
“Ericka,” Nick began, “I know about you and Kevin.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. He’s really upset about it, he really does love you, you know?”
“He does?” she asked, choking back tears.
“Very much. Why did you leave? What happened?”
She took a deep breath and quickly drank her beer, “When Kevin and I slept together, I was dating someone else. I really did love Kevin, I still do, in fact, but I couldn’t do that to either of them. I know about that Beth girl, and I didn’t want to hurt him like she did.”
“So what happened with your boyfriend?”
“We split up right after I left. I told him what happened between Kevin and me. He was upset, but he understood. It just wasn’t working between us, and breaking up was better for us. Besides, I couldn’t be with him while I was in love with Kevin, it’s not right.”
Nick stared at her, taking this all in, “Why didn’t you try to get in touch with Kevin? Why did you ignore all his letters and not return any of his calls?”
“I don’t know. I think maybe the reason is that I needed some time to myself. At least, I thought I did. I need him too much for this.”
“Ericka, you need to talk to him. It’s not fair to either of you to torture yourselves this way.”
“I know, but what if he’s too pissed at me to talk?”
“He’s not, I promise.” Yet.
She wiped her eyes and gave Nick a weak smile, “Thanks.”
"No problem.”
She got up and walked slowly over to the man she loved. He looked up at her and Sam left unnoticed. Kevin and Ericka both said a silent prayer at the same time.