"Wasn't that good?" Terri sighed, as the four emerged from the theater.
"It was a kid's movie." Chris stated.
"But a good one!" Terri countered.
"It was okay. Kinda sweet. And funny." Danica said, yawning.
"Tired?" Joe asked, lacing his fingers with hers. Danica nodded as she yawned again.
"Maybe we should head home." Terri looked sideways at her friend.
"Yeah, I have to get up early tomorrow. I'm sorry to make this evening a short one." Danica smiled, as she apologized to the two men.
"It's okay, I don't mind." Joe smiled at her.
"Me, either. I had fun, once I stopped being ignored." Chris said, looking at Terri. "Why don't I walk Terri to your car, and we'll come pick you up. You and Joe can say goodnight while we're gone." Chris offered.
"Thanks, that would be nice." Danica smiled at her friend and Chris. Terri returned the smile, and started walking towards her car.
"So, did you have fun tonight?" Chris asked, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I did. I realized just how long it's been since I've been out with Danica and other friends." Terri smiled, bemused.
"You and Danica aren't always going out, picking up guys?" Chris teased as they reached Terri's car. Instead of walking to the passenger's side, Chris followed Terri to the driver's side door.
"Uh, Chris, only one person can drive this car at a time, and that's me tonight." Terri said, trying to ignore the look Chris was giving her. It was impossible to miss the look of romance in Chris's dark eyes.
"I know that I just wanted to talk to you for another second, before we had to go get Joe and Danica." Chris lowered his voice to a soft whisper.
"About what?" Terri was looking at everything she could find, except Chris.
"I had a really nice time tonight. You're a great girl. I was wondering if we could go out again, the two of us, get to know each other better." Chris said, finally succeeding on getting Terri to look him in the eyes. The second her blue eyes met his brown ones, sparks shot up so high, people thought there were fireworks.
"I can't. I have a boyfriend. I though you knew that." Terri said, gently.
"I know, but you can't blame a guy for trying. Please? As friends, at least? I really do like you and want to get to know you better." Chris pleaded his eyes not leaving hers.
"Look, Joe has my number, I'm sure. Call me, and we'll see. Jason and I have been together for a long time, and I really love him. I'm not going to leave him after one meeting." She kissed Chris quickly on her cheek, and turned, unlocking the door and sliding into her car. She waited for Chris to walk around to the other side and hop in, then drove to the main entrance to pick up Danica.
"So, did you have fun tonight?" Terri asked as she and Danica collapsed onto the couch.
"I did. Joe's a really nice guy. We're going to go out for dinner in a few days. Alone, this time." Danica added winking.
"Good, I'm glad you two hit it off." Terri yawned.
"What about you and Chris? You seemed pretty friendly." Danica said slyly.
"He's a nice guy. Maybe if I wasn't with Jason…but I am. So Chris and I are going to be friends. Hang out sometimes, but nothing serious. We have similar personalities, so we get along well." Terri stretched across the couch to pick up the ringing phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Chris."
"When I told you to call, I didn't mean tonight." Terri rolled her eyes.
"I know, but I wanted to say goodnight and sweet dreams." Chris explained.
"Aww, you're sweet. Slightly obsessive and stalker like, but sweet." Terri teased.
"From you, that's a complement."
"Goodnight Chris."
"Goodnight and sweet dreams Terri." It seemed that as soon as she clicked the phone off, it rang again. Terri gave Danica a baffled look, and picked it up again.
"Hello?"
"What are you doing for lunch tomorrow?"
Terri mouthed to Danica, "It's Chris. Again."
"Um, nothing. Coming home, most likely," she answered.
"Want to go get something to eat after class?" Chris asked.
"Sure, if it'll mean you stop calling me." Terri was half-joking, half-serious.
"Deal. See you tomorrow then."
"Bye." Terri hung up the phone, only to have it ring once more.
"I told you to stop calling, Chris!" Terri paused. "Oh, Jason, I'm sorry…."
Danica smiled, getting up and going to her room.
"Where have you been, Ter? I've been calling for the past hour." Jason's voice was one of worry and anger.
"I was out with Danica and some friends. We went to the movies. Nothing big." Terri explained. Jason got jealous easily, and she didn't feel like fighting with him at this point. She was too tired.
"And who's Chris? Should I be worried?" Jason asked crossly.
"No, you shouldn't. Danica had a date tonight, and she brought me along in case he was a loser. He brought a friend so I would have someone to talk to. Chris is just a friend." Terri rubbed her hand over her eyes. "I thought about you the whole time, baby. I miss you." She could hear Jason relaxing at her words.
"I miss you, too, Ter-bear. I'm coming home tomorrow, so I'll swing by when I get back and maybe we can go out to dinner?"
"Sounds wonderful. I'm beat, though, and I have to get up early tomorrow for class. I'll see you sometime in the evening, then?" Terri smiled, as she stood up and stretched.
"Yes, but I don't know what time exactly. It depends on the meeting tomorrow morning. Sweet dreams Ter-bear. I love you."
"I love you, too, baby. Goodnight." Terri clicked off the phone and stumbled into her room for a few hours of much needed sleep.
The next afternoon, Terri and Chris found themselves at Terri's apartment, talking.
"You know what," Terri said, setting down two plates of grilled cheese sandwiches and chips on the table, "I just realized I know almost nothing about you." Terri smiled as she sat down. "Tell me about your life."
Chris took a bite of his sandwich and swallowed before answering. "Well, I was born in Pennsylvania, I grew up with my mom, sister and step-dad, I graduated from high school in Ohio, went to college at University of Florida and I have a degree in psychology. Now I'm trying to start a band. All my life I've wanted to be famous. What about you?"
"I lived in Baltimore, went to college at William and Mary, and moved her about a year ago to teach. I met Danica a few weeks after I moved here, and we became roomies." Terri said simply.
"What about your family?" Chris wondered why she hadn't mentioned them. He didn't know where he would be without his mother.
Terri just shrugged. "I don't have one. Or, at least none that I would call family. I don't really like talking about it." Terri abruptly stood up from the table and took the plates to the sink.
Chris stood up quickly,, turning Terri around so he could see her face. He saw the tears in her eyes, and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Ter. I didn't know. I shouldn't have asked."
Terri pulled back and leaned against the sink, wiping her eyes. "Don't worry about, it's just something I don't want to even remember. So, tell me more about this band you're starting."
Chris smiled dreamily. "Well, its 5 guys, so five-part harmony, just singing together. We just got our 5th guy, so right now we're trying to get a manager and hopefully a record deal. Joe's part of it, too, then there are three other guys Justin, Josh and Lance."
"That sounds great. I'll have to heard you guys sing sometime." Terri was about to say something else when her doorbell buzzed. "I'll be right back." Terri excused herself, wondering who it could be at 1 in the afternoon. She opened the door to see her boyfriend of 7 months standing there.
"Jason!" Terri wrapped her arms around the man, giving him a long kiss. "I didn't know you were going to be here so early."
"The meeting got canceled, so I got an early start." Chris walked into the hallway, jacket in hand. "Who are you?" Jason asked, his eyes turning cold.
"Jase, this is Chris Kirkpatrick, the friend I was telling you about last night. Chris, this is Jason Gardener, my boyfriend." Terri looked from one man to the other, suddenly nervous.
"Nice to meet you. Terri talks about you a lot." Chris said, as he and Jason shook hands.
"Yeah, I bet she does." Jason practically snarled.
"Look, I gotta get going, Ter. Thanks for lunch. I'll see you in class tomorrow?" Chris said, opening the door.
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." Terri smiled, closing the door behind Chris. She turned around, smiling at Jason, but her smile faded quickly when she saw the look on his face. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the living room.
"What the hell was that all about?" Jason exploded, squeezing her upper arm.
"Jason, you're hurting me, stop. He's just a friend, I told you that." Terri winced, tears filling her eyes. She knew Jason got jealous easily, but he had never acted like this before.
"Right, just a friend. I'm not as blind as I look. I'm not even gone for 48 hours and you have another man in the apartment." Jason continued to rage as he dragged Terri into her bedroom. He threw her onto the bed as he searched the room for evidence of her infidelity.
"Jason stop it! Chris and I are friends, nothing else. Why are you doing this?" Tears of hurt and pain poured down her face. Jason stopped searching and looked at her, and it was as if some internal switch had been flicked.
"Oh, Terri, sweetie, I'm so sorry." He fell onto the bed next to her, burying his face in her stomach. "I don't know what came over me. I love you so much, I just don't ever want to lose you. You're so beautiful, I'm scared some other guy will come along, some guy who's better than me, and you'll leave me. I love you Ter-bear, I love you so much."
Terri ran his fingers through his hair. "Shh, it's okay. I love you, too. I'm never going to leave you, baby."