Chapter 45 - Registration

Arik was particularly jumpy today. He never walked anywhere, he sprinted, or he swaggered with deliberate slowness. When he was sitting down, he was either drumming his fingers on the nearest piece of surface that wasn’t going to spear straight through his fingers or he was tapping his toes impatiently. When he wasn’t sitting, he’d pace around the room, muttering to himself.

Kerri observed all this quietly, refraining herself from making sarcastic comments from time to time. She did everything as calmly as she could. She walked gracefully and elegantly—except for the time she tripped over the rug and was about to hit the stairs headfirst, thank God for Arik who saved her just in time—she sat down as calmly as possible, and she stood as calmly as possible in one spot.

See? Opposites do attract. The only thing they had in common was that they didn’t speak. Not one word.

“Okay,” Drake snapped at breakfast. “This is unnatural.” He pointed at Arik, who had already scalded his tongue on hot coffee twice and was now gulping down cold water, then at Kerri, who was sipping quietly—and calmly—at her orange juice.

“You,” Drake said, pointing a finger at Arik, “are going to pull yourself together.” The finger swivelled towards Kerri. “And you,” Drake continued, “are going to stop sitting there looking like a nun.”

Kerri and Arik exchanged a look, then switched drinks and continued doing what the other had been doing five seconds ago before Drake had told them off.

Drake pursed his lips. “You’re lucky that I’m sitting too far away and that I’m too lazy to get off my @$$ to come over and slap you.”

Kerri shrugged. “It’s not my fault that Arik’s freaking out over nothing,” she said coolly, speaking for the first time that morning.

“I’m not freaking out over nothing,” Arik muttered. “I’m freaking out very reasonably.” He winced and held the orange juice away from him. “Can I have my water back, please? The orange juice stings my tongue.”

Kerri rolled her eyes and they exchanged drinks again.

“What is wrong with you two?” Drake demanded.

“Nothing,” they answered simultaneously.

Drake narrowed his eyes. “Snap out of it. It’s going to be fine. We have the whole day to get ready, to practise, to warm up. We’ll be fine.”

“The boss knows,” Arik suddenly said from beside her.

“Oh, crap. What did he say?”

Arik cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Nothing. Except for Kerri and I to…uh…register ourselves in as True Loves.”

“Well, hop to it.” Drake dismissed his friend with a wave of his hand. “Kerri,” he started.

“Uh,” Kerri stuttered, wanting to escape from the interrogation she was going to get. “I think I should go with Arik. To register.”

“Kerri, get back here,” Drake called, looking at her pleadingly.

“See ya!” She broke into a run. “Arik!”

He stopped, turned around, and smirked. “Avoiding the grilling session?” he asked as she came to a stop next to him.

“That’s a rhetorical question, right?”

He slipped his hand through hers. “Let’s go. The uh, registration department closes early on weekends.”

***

“Arik!” A young bubbly, blonde girl said happily at the reception.

“Hi…” Beside her, Arik trailed off, obviously trying to remember the girl’s name. “Jenny,” he said cautiously at last.

The girl frowned. “It’s Annette.”

“Oh, right. Of course. I forgot. Jenny was the one that wasn’t as pretty.” Arik winked at her, and she giggled.

Kerri mentally shook her head. That poor girl.

Shut up.

How can she not know you’re fooling her? That must be the saddest line I’ve ever heard in my life. And believe me when I say that I’ve heard some pretty bad ones.

Well, I did mention that the girlfriends I had weren’t exceptionally bright.

“So, Arik,” Annette said, still oblivious to Kerri standing next to him. “Are you here to see me? You stopped coming a few months ago.”

“Uh, well, I actually came to register something.”

The girl winked. “Of course.” She lowered her voice. “I’ll meet you in the photocopying room in five minutes, okay?”

Kerri raised an eyebrow while Arik flushed red.

Really? The photocopying room? Not even the broom closet? That’s so unoriginal. No, not unoriginal, SAD.

Nobody went there, so shut up.

I wonder why. Maybe the banging noises scared them off.

Arik grew into an insane shade of bright red. “Actually, Annette,” he said in a strained voice, slipping his hands into Kerri’s and squeezing it as tightly as possible while dragging her close to him. “Kerri and I are…registering as Mates.”

Annette looked stricken. “Oh, right. Mates. Well, congratulations, you two.”

Kerri tried to smile through the pain and raised their clasped hands. “I’m so happy,” she said. “I mean, what can I say?” She brought their hands back down. Very swiftly. Into his crotch area.

Arik choked back a yell of pain.

“See?” Kerri continued, smiling sweetly. “He’s speechless.”

“I’m speechless all right,” Arik choked out. “No words can describe what I’m feeling.” Except maybe for intense, excruciating pain.

“All right,” Annette said, typing something into her keyboard. “So, Arik Channing-Driscoll and…”

“Kerrien McCarthy.”

“Actually, Annette,” Arik said. “It’s only Channing now.”

Annette looked surprised. “You’re dropping your father’s—”

“Yes,” Arik said shortly.

“Alright.” She obviously knew when to butt out. ”So Arik Channing and Kerrien McCarthy.” She double clicked on something. “Congratulations, you two are officially Mates.”

Arik grinned. I would kiss you right now, but my groin’s still hurting.

How does that have anything to do with it?

Believe me, you don’t want to know.

Kerri wrinkled her nose as he led her out after they said goodbye to a forlorn-looking Annette. I thought we were called True Loves. Why are we uh…Mates?

True Loves sound sappy. And it’s kind of a nickname. Made up by the people who didn’t believe in it and were being sarcastic and bitter, probably. Mates is the correct term.

Mates sound so much better.

Agreed.

“Hey guys,” Carter greeted them. “Did you guys just register?”

“How’d you know?”

“I saw you coming out from the registration department.”

“Oh.”

“So, Arik,” Carter said after a pause. “I was wondering whether we should meet up sometime today to…work on the tactics and stuff like that.”

“Oh, of course. Right.” Arik kissed the top of Kerri’s head. “Uh…go spend the day with Joshua. Or Mel. Or Drake. Whoever.”

Someone caught Kerri’s eye. She grinned evilly. “Or Mandy,” she said innocently.

“Kerri,” Arik started in warning tone.

“Toodles,” she trilled. “I’m off to spread some good news.”

Kerrien McCarthy, come back here.

Please. Just because we’re Mates doesn’t mean you get to control me.

No, but I get that privilege being your trainer. Kerrien McCarthy, I hereby summon you to spend some time with either Drake, Mel or Joshua until I come back and avoid Mandy completely.

Kerri groaned when she tried to test whether his order worked or not. It did. Party-pooper. Then an idea crossed her mind. She whipped out pen and paper—she always had some handy—and scribbled quickly into it. Then she called out to a random stranger.

“Hey, you!”

“Uh…hi.”

She smiled sweetly. “You know Mandy right?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you give this to her? Say it’s from Kerri.” She flashed him another megawatt smile and elbowing Arik when he tried to speak.

Arik pursed his lips after recovering. “You are in deep, deep trouble. How can—”

“Oops, got to go” Kerri chirped as Mandy crossed the room towards them after reading the note. “She’s coming and I have to avoid her, remember?” She shifted away before Arik could get his hands on her.

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