Chapter Fifteen - Surprise

“Caraline,” Tim said the next day as he stood there in the dressing room of the arena, wearing a light pink shirt with black leather pants, “Please tell me that you’re not seriously considering this, are you?”

“Pink is in,” Caraline said as she held up a pair of jeans, “Would you be more comfortable in jeans?”

“I’d be comfortable in something a little more manly,” Tim said as he looked down at the shirt, “It looks like something Faith would wear -”

“But it’s in! Everybody is wearing pink -”

“Nick’s not wearing pink -”

“Nope but Tim definitely is now!” Caraline said with an excited voice as she turned around, going over to the clothes rack. Tim laughed as he unbuttoned the shirt, throwing it over in a chair. Caraline turned around, handing him another shirt and he looked at it.

“Now see, this is more like it. This is more my style,” Tim said as he took it off the hanger and started to button it up, “This is manly. It says ‘I am a man’s man’,”

“It’s also a women’s shirt,” Caraline said as Tim looked at her and then back down at the shirt, “I’m joking. It’s a man’s shirt,”

“I like this,” Tim said as he looked in the mirror, “The leather pants have to go, but with jeans - definitely. I like it,”

“Good, there’s some more over here and there’s a few more racks outside with some shirts that you can decide -” Caraline said as Tim interrupted her.

“So have you talked to Nick since we left New York?” Tim asked as Caraline looked over at him and then away.

“Nope, I don’t know how to get in contact with him,” Caraline said as she took a deep breath, walking outside of the dressing room as Tim smirked, and started to change into his jeans.

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Caraline walked up to a clothes rack, and began pulling it inside of the room, seeing Tim as he zipped up his pants and she started to laugh, “I’ve gotta learn this is different dressing a guy than it is a girl,”

“Oh forget about it,” Tim said as he laughed, “You’ve seen me in less, I’m not worried about it. I’ve got the same thing Nick does,” he said as Caraline cut her eyes over to him, “Sorry,”

“Nothing is going on with Nick. It’s basically over I guess,” Caraline said as she started looking through the shirts on the rack.

“Sure,” Tim said as Caraline turned around, looking at him, “I said sure, I believe you,” Tim said as he looked down at his outfit, “Is this better? It’s more comfortable,”

“Better,” Caraline said as she smiled, throwing him another shirt, “Try that on,” she said as she turned around. Tim stuck his tongue out at her and smiled again, knowing she was lying her ass off.

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Caraline sat in her hotel room that night after going through hundreds of clothes with Tim that day. She was completely tired and basically just wanted to go to sleep. She needed space from Tim also. He had bugged her about Nick all day long until she wanted to ring his neck but she knew she couldn’t. She knew Faith hadn’t went back and told him anything that she said but he was just teasing her about it.

She looked over at her cell phone on the side of the bed, wondering if she should call the hotel, and ask for Nick’s room. But what would she say to him? ‘Sorry that I left your room and didn’t tell you goodbye?’. There was nothing she could really say to him to apologize for doing that. In fact, she knew she didn’t have to say anything to him

She layed back on the bed, looking at the ceiling and took a deep breath. She moved her hand up to her hair, taking a strand of it and twirled it around her fingers, before looking over to her right at a mirror. She stared at her reflection in it, wondering if she looked half as pretty as he said she did. She didn’t believe him, but something about her must have attracted him to her. She sat up on the bed, crawling up on her knees and faced the mirror, looking at herself.

She reached up, taking the barrette that was holding some of her hair up out of her hair and shook it, making it go a little wild. She looked down at her shirt and started to unbutton it, reaching the top button and opened it up, slipping it off and tossed it over on the floor. She looked down at her pink bra and then back up at herself in the mirror. She did look pretty good, but not like the way Nick was talking about. He acted as if she was the most beautiful girl in the world and she wasn’t anywhere close to that. She reached down, unbuttoning her jean shorts, showing her stomach and then looked back up in the mirror. She reached her hands back, pulling her hair on top of her head, and started to smile a little when she heard someone opening the door. She jumped, and paused because she didn’t know what to do until she saw who it was.

“Oh damn,” Nick muttered as he stared at her and she stared back at him, with a confused look on her face.

“Nick!” Caraline yelled as she crossed her arms over her chest, “What the hell are you doing here?!? How the hell did you get a key to my room?!?” Nick smiled, throwing his bags over on the floor, shutting the door back, and reached up, locking it, “Hello? Are you going to answer my question?”

“Not important,” Nick said, tossing the key over on the dresser as he walked up closer to her, “What’s important is why you left like you did?”

“Hello? It is important,” she said as she looked him in the eyes, “Did Tim or Faith talk to you?”

“No, I actually found them,” Nick said as he walked up closer to her, putting his hands on her arms, “Why did you leave the way you did?”

“Okay,” Caraline said as she moved away from him, walking around the room, “I need to like regain my composure here,” she said as she leaned down, picking up her shirt and putting it back on, “I want to know how you got here?”

“Had someone find your mom’s number. She told me where you were and I told the hotel that I was your boyfriend and I wanted to surprise you,” Nick said as he shrugged his shoulders, “Surprise,”

“Nick, you’re not my boyfriend,” Caraline said a she ran her fingers through her hair and looked around, “You’re supposed to be in New York!”

“I’m not and I’m here now, so tell me what happened?” Nick asked as he moved closer to her and she backed up a little, “What? Why do you keep moving away from me? What? Are you scared of me or something?”

“Yes!” Caraline yelled as Nick looked at her with a confused look, “I’m scared of you okay?”

“Why are you so scared?”

“I’m scared because of what I feel for you and I’m scared that I’m going to get hurt and I knew that I didn’t need to stay in New York with you and miss this job opportunity,” Caraline said as she started crying, “I’ve never felt this way about someone so fast and I’m scared okay? I don’t want to get hurt again and be used!”

“For God’s sake,” Nick said as he put his hands on top of his head, “How the hell am I supposed to hurt you, huh?”

“How do you think?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Nick asked as he looked down at the ground and then back up at her, “I have feelings for you too and it’s messing with my mind because I’ve never been so taken to someone so fast but I’m not scared.”

“I’m scared,” Caraline said as she backed herself up against a wall, staring at him, “I can’t help it. I didn’t have the guts to tell you goodbye so I left,”

“You should have,” Nick said as he looked at her, “I was so confused when I woke up and then I read that letter and I just didn’t understand -”

“I’m sorry -”

“Why didn’t you tell me goodbye?”

“I was scared,”

“I don’t understand why you’re so scared,” Nick said as Caraline looked away, “What are you afraid that I’m going to do to you?” he asked. Caraline looked down at the ground, before looking back up at him. “Is this about the groupies and shit?”

“I’m scared you’re going to be with me and then wake up, forgetting about me,” Caraline whispered as she moved her hand up, wiping tears from her face. Nick looked away, pressing his lips together, before looking back at her.

“I’m not going to forget about you,” Nick whispered back to her as he walked up closer to her, “We don’t have to sleep together if you don’t want to,”

“I want to,” Caraline said as she looked at him, looking down at his lips and back into his eyes, taking a deep breath, “I want to so bad,”

“Is that why you’re scared?”

“I’m just scared,”

“Why are you so scared?” Nick asked as he reached down, taking her hands into his and she jerked away, walking to the other side of the room, “What the hell? Caraline, are you okay?”

“You want to know what’s wrong with me?!?” Caraline yelled as Nick turned around, looking at her.

“Yeah,” he said as he crossed his arms across his chest, “I want to know what the hell is so wrong with you,”

“It’s how you use girls and you sleep with them for one night, a hour or two. You get so drunk you don’t have any idea what you’re doing and then you don’t know who they are when you wake up or you don’t even notice that they’re gone when you wake up. You don’t even remember them the next time that you see them,” she said as Nick blinked his eyes, looking at her.

“But Caraline, I don’t want that with you. I want you! Don’t you get that?” Nick asked as Caraline nodded her head, “Then what’s the problem?”

“I’m scared,” Caraline whispered as she looked at him, “Don’t you get that?”

“No,” Nick said as he shook his head at her, “Why are you so scared?”

“Because,” Caraline said as she rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath, “I don’t want you to be with me and forget me like you do all of your other groupies,”

“But I wouldn’t do that,” Nick said as he walked up closer to her, “You’re not one of them. I wouldn’t do that to you,”

“You did before,” Caraline whispered as she walked past him, walking to the other side of the room.