Alex, Jericho, Rip and Jeff all strolled off the elevator. Talking and laughing amongst themselves. Kane looked watched his brides with their new men as they joined the group waiting in the lobby. ~Rip, Alex…where is Icey and Lashana? We figured you'd all be coming together.~
Rip chuckled, "Lashana and Icey will be here shortly. Steve needed to change and give Jim his shorts back and Lashana wanted to comb her hair and change before she went out. She and Austin are having quite an evening."
The group laughed, just as the elevator doors opened once more. They watched as Icey and Jim rushed off the elevator trying their best to control their building laughter. "Lashana, dammit I'm sorry. I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
Lashana walked off the elevator, doing her best to ignore the man who had apparently put his foot in his mouth once again. The walked up to the group and she smiled, although it was a strained smile, at the crew. "So where are we going?"
Hunter smiled, "There's a place just around the corner that I noticed when we got here earlier, looks like a hopping place."
"Great, sounds like fun…lets go." She started out, figuring the rest would follow her, but stopped when she heard Kane in her head.
~Lashana? Is everything o.k.?"~
She looked at him, and nearly laughed at his question, ~ Other than the fact that I'm mad at Steve, everything is fine. And you already knew that! ~
Storm chuckled, ~ She's got you there Kane, honey. Sometimes you pick the worst time to ask silly questions. ~ Kane looked sheepish, and Taker resisted the urge to laugh out loud at the conversation no one else was supposed to hear. Storm turned to Austin, "Sooo, what did you do this time?"
"All I said was that she didn't need to change her clothes, cause it wouldn't make any difference."
The men standing in the group groaned. Jeff looked at Austin, "Man, I feel for you. That's a rough one to try to fix…its gonna take you a good month to get your foot out of your mouth."
Austin glared at Jeff, "Baby, you know I didn't mean it like it sounded, what I meant was that it didn't matter what you wore, because you look beautiful in everything you own!"
This brought a chuckle from the guys and 'aww, how sweet' from the girls. Lashana rolled her eyes and looked at Austin, "You know…I never can stay mad at you for long." He wrapped his arm around her and chuckled, "That's cause you love me!"
Billy wrapped his arm around Aidan's shoulder and looked down at her, "well, shall we party?"
She looked up at him and chuckled, "Sounds good to me. Haven't really had the opportunity to party in quite a long time." They headed out of the hotel and walked the short block and a half to the bar that Hunter had seen earlier.
As they approached the door, they could hear the music pounding inside. Aidan walked between Billy and Jesse, following the others inside. Taker and Kane found a table near the back of the room where they could all sit and they settled in to listen to the music and relax.
Aidan smiled at Lashana as the music changed to a dance song with a great beat. Lashana noticed the look and knew what she wanted. She stood up and followed Aidan on to the dance floor. They laughed and danced, and soon were joined by Icey and Alex.
The music ended, and they headed back to the table. Austin, Jeff and Jericho had walked up to the bar to get some drinks and Aidan watched as they made their way back to the table.
She leaned over and whispered something to Lashana, who also watched the three men working their way through the crowd. She chuckled as she watched the glances they were receiving from other people in the room. The made it back to the table, but not without each receiving their share of appreciative glances.
Surpressing her laughter, she looked at the other women, and sent them all a message, blocking Kane, Taker and Austin, ~ Ya'll, I think that we should probably get out of here quickly and quietly. This is not a good bar to be in with these guys."
Icey looked puzzled, ~ Why do you say that? ~
~ Aidan just pointed it out to me…take a look around ladies…there's something a little 'different' about this bar. I don't think the guys have figured it out yet, but if they do all hell's gonna break loose. ~
The women looked around the room, and Lashana could see realization dawning on their faces one at a time. They noticed the men and women dancing together on the floor, which wouldn't have been anything unusual, except that they were slow dancing. They saw several single sex couples walking hand in hand and laughing together by the bar and at surrounding tables.
Rip looked at Lashana, trying to supress the laughter, ~ "Oh Goddess…Hunter brought us to a gay bar?? Oh, wouldn't he die if he knew that…"
Storm chuckled to herself, ~ I think, ladies, that we need to tactfully suggest that we go some place quieter, before one of these hunks gets hit on and we end up with a brawl on our hands. ~
Lashana leaned over to Aidan and suggested that she let Leah know what was up and that maybe they should all head to a quieter place where they could drink and chat.
Storm leaned over and pulled Kane down so she could whisper in his ear, "Kane, baby, I think that we should go find some place a little quieter." He looked at her, a little curious as to why she was talking to him in his ear, as opposed to their normal mode of communication, but nodded his approval of her suggestion.
The other Brides had made a similar suggestion to their men, and once Aidan had told Leah what was going on, she joined the women in wanting to find a quieter place. They had nearly made it out the door without incident, when they heard Billy from the back of the group.
"You sonofabitch, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Aidan laughed when she turned around and saw a very cute short blond man with his hand on Billy's butt. He reared back to lay the guy out, and Aidan grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him out of the bar. The other women followed suit, hoping to get out of the bar without any more physical confrontations.
Once they were outside and a good block away from the bar, the women all doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down their faces.
Taker stood there, his arms folded across his chest, waiting for Jakx to regain control of herself. When she did, she looked at him, "Would you like to tell me what the Hell that was about?"
She chuckled, and looked at Hunter, "Well Taker my love, your macho buddy Hunter over there managed to get us into one of the many gay bars in the city."
Austin looked at Lashana, "We were in a WHAT!" The men all turned to glare at Hunter who was immediately on the defensive, "Hey, how was I to know…all I said was the place looked hopping…at it was!"
Billy was still looking wounded and Aidan put her arm around his waist trying not to laugh. "Billy here got the worst of it ya know…apparently on of the guys saw him and decided he wanted to do more than look…grabbed himself a handful of Mr. Ass."
Jesse doubled over with laughter at that statement, as did Jeff and Jericho. Storm, standing arm in arm with Kane suggested that they all head back to the hotel lounge and have a drink before going to bed. This suggestion was met with a round of agreement and they walked back to the hotel, still chuckling over the events of the evening.
They had been back at the hotel for about an hour, and most of the couples had slowly drifted upstairs to their rooms. Aidan, Billy, Lashana and Austin were the only remaining people left, and it was painfully obvious to Lashana that Billy was waiting for the opportunity to escort her baby sister back to her room.
~ Steve, baby, would you do me a favor? ~
~ Sure, darlin, what do you need? ~
~ Well, I was wanting a couple of minutes to chat with Aidan. Since Billy doesn't seem to be interested in leaving with out her, I was hoping you would maybe take the lead and suggest to him that you two should go to bed and leave the women to chat? ~
Austin looked like he might argue, but one look at the impish grin that Lashana was giving him, and he caved immediately, "Hey Billy…I think these two sisters might want to catch up a little, I think we should head on up and give them some time to chat."
Lashana fought back the urge to laugh at the crestfallen look on Billy's face. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He looked at Aidan and smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
She chuckled, "Well, unless you're planning on walking back to Texas, I guess you don't have much of a choice. We ARE sitting together on the plane." He grinned, and squeezed her hand.
"Well then I'm going up to bed." Austin stood and leaned over to kiss Lashana before he headed up the elevator, "I'm waiting up for you, don't be too long." He whispered in her ear, causing a thrill to run down her spine. He chuckled, reading her thoughts and grinned all the way to the elevator.
Lashana shook her head and turned around to visit with her sister. Aidan had watched the exchange, "You two are really close aren't you."
"Yeah, its amazing, but we just sort of clicked when we met and we've been together since. What about you, are you seeing anyone, or is there maybe someone around here you might be interested in?"
Aidan chuckled, "You never were subtle Lashana. No, I haven't really dated anyone in the last year, not since…" She stopped, realizing where her thoughts were going and Lashana nodded.
"Not since I disappeared?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, I was dating Jack at the time, you remember him?" Lashana nodded, "Well, when you disappeared, we all kind of isolated ourselves. Jack didn't understand my pulling away, he didn't understand our need to look for you. He basically gave me an ultimatum…quit looking for you, or quit seeing him."
The guilt running through Lashana's heart was more than she had ever thought possible, "Oh Aidan, that's terrible. I'm so sorry."
Aidan sat for a moment, pondering the past, "Yeah, I know. It's really ok, I'd rather know he was a jerk now, then find out after we had gotten married." The sisters continued chatting for some time about nothing in particular, when they were interrupted by two male voices, "Hey Lashana, who's your little friend here?"
The Bossman and Bull Buchanan slid into the chairs on either side of the sisters and smiled. These two men had always given Lashana the creeps, even more so since the incident when they shattered Kane's hand with a chair. The brides all agreed that they were trouble, and she knew that Steve, Kane and Taker would be irate if he knew she was sitting down here with them, but she fought the urge to call them, knowing that it would just create a bigger problem. Aidan, however had no reservations about chatting with the two new men.
"I'm Aidan. It's nice to meet you."
"Well, Aidan, my name is Bull and this is the Bossman." She smiled at the two men and shook their hands. "So, how do you know Lashana?"
Lashana sat up in her chair and looked at the Bossman, "She's my sister." The two men looked at Lashana, hearing the warning tone in her voice. "Oh, well, isn't that nice, sisters working together." Aidan hadn't noticed the change in Lashana's body language, but she did notice her tone. She gave her a puzzled look and went back to chatting with the men.
Not long after they had seated themselves, the Bossman and Bull excused themselves, saying that they needed to get some sleep. Lashana figured they had just become bored with playing their current game, but Aidan decided that it was her sister's attitude that had run them off.
"Lashana, that was so rude."
"What?" Lashana looked at her sister, wondering what the hell she was talking about.
"The way you treated those two. It was just plain RUDE." Lashana rolled her eyes, and looked at her sister, "Look Aidan, you have to be rude to those two, or they'll make you nuts. Besides, I didn't like the way that Bull was eyeing you."
Aidan shook her head at her sister, "Lashana, whether or not Bull was 'eyeing' me, as you put it, or not, is really none of your business. I am an adult, you know, and free to associate with anyone that I choose."
The argument escalated from there, and finally Aidan stormed off to the elevator, leaving Lashana in the lobby trying to figure out just what the hell had happened. She stood slowly, walking to the elevator, when she got the strangest sense that she was being watched. She stopped and looked around the lobby, trying to figure out who was watching her, but she saw no one. She shrugged it off as being too tired and stepped onto the elevator.
~ She almost saw me, I'll have to remember to be more careful next time. ~
She turned and smiled her evil smile at the man that stood behind her. "She has no clue, no incling that she is in danger. I like that, it keeps them off guard and makes tormenting them so much for satisfying. They will pay for what they did to me, and I will make sure the cost is high."
He smiled at her, an idea forming in his head, something that might just achieve the goal she desired and his own as well. He too wanted his vengance, but his would be of a more personal nature…he would strike where it would hurt them the most.
Lashana stormed into the room, startling a dozing Austin awake. "Lashana, what's with all the racket?"
"That woman! Oooh I had forgotten how stubborn she could be, she makes me so mad sometimes."
She was stripping off her clothes and getting ready for bed, venting her frustrations the whole time. Once she had finished, she crawled into bed with Steve, and tried to relax as he wrapped his arms around her. "Wanna tell me what happened to get you so riled up?" He whispered in her ear, while he was nibbling on her lobe and neck, running his hands down her arms.
Lashana took a deep breath and released it, sending some of the tension that had built up with it. "We were chatting, and having a really nice time till those jerks showed up! Oh I could just kick the two of them!"
That statement got his attention and he stopped his carresses, "Jerks, what jerks?"
"Bull and Bossman. Those two give me the creeps worse than any underling I've ever run across. They sat down at the table and introduced themselves to Aidan. When they left she jumped my case for being rude to them, told me she was a big girl and that I couldn't just show up after a year and expect to be able to run her life for her."
Steve had sat up at the mention of the two men, "Bossman and Buchannan? They sat down with you in the Lobby? Why the HELL didn't you call me?"
"Because I didn't want a scene. They know full well and good that if they did anything to really bother me you, Kane and Taker would kill them, so they just enjoy irritating me. I don't like the idea of Aidan being around them though…she's so young."
He wrapped his arms around her again and she lay her head on his chest, "Baby, she's right, she's an adult and you can't live her life for her. But I'll tell you what, Kane, Taker and I will put the fear into them tomorrow, let them know that we won't tolerate her being hurt."
"Oh, no, cause the minute they start avoiding her, she's gonna jump my ass! I'll just have to keep a closer eye on her than before. Make sure she's not alone with them."
Aidan had stormed into her room, shortly after leaving Lashana in the lobby, "Who the hell does she think she is? Its none of her business who I talk to and who I hang out with. She may be my sister, but she sure as hell is not my keeper."
She thrashed around the room, changing her clothes and getting ready for bed, until she had calmed down enough to sit down with her laptop and check her email. Nothing of use had come in for her, so she curled up in the bed and went to sleep.
Aidan slept soundly and woke up the next morning early, and decided to get a jump on the day. She was dressed and in the lobby before the anyone else had even woke up. She had pulled up a chair in the Lobby and was happily reading the newspaper when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Mind if I join you?"
She looked up and saw Bull Buchanan standing behind her, and she smiled at him, "No, not at all."
He sat down in the chair opposite her and they chatted about the weather and the news and just enjoying each others company. That's were they were when Rip walked off the elevator with Jeff. She saw them sitting there chatting, and was a little concerned. None of the brides were terribly fond of either the Bossman or Buchanan and she knew that Lashana would go through the roof if she saw her sister chatting with one of them.
She wandered over and sat down beside Aidan, while Jeff went to get some breakfast and juice from the side bar in the lobby. She gave Bull and look that said she knew he was up to something and that it wouldn't be tolerated, and then smiled at Aidan, "Morning Aidan, how are you this morning?"
"Ok, been up for quiet a while. Was just sitting here discussing the news with Bull, what about you? How are you this morning?"
Rip, not taking her eyes off Bull, smiled, "I'm just fine, so far this has been a fairly uneventful trip, and I plan on keeping it that way." A look flashed across Buchanans face, something close to hatred for just a split second as he grinned back at Rip. "Yeah, Rip…I think that's a good idea, its sucks when things start going wrong on a trip, don't it?"
She was just about to reply to his comment when she heard Kane, ~ Brides, has anyone seen Aidan this morning? Billy and Jesse just came pounding on my door looking for her. Apparently they've been making the rounds since they didn't find her in her room this morning."
Rip responded to Kane's question, hoping Lashana was still asleep, and would therefore not hear her. "She's down here in the lobby. She was down here reading the news and visiting with Bull when we came down."
"She's visiting with WHO?" Lashana, who had been dozing for the last twenty minutes bolted up in bed. "Dammit, why does she have to do EXACTLY the opposite of what I ask her to, EVERY time?"
Steve, still drowsey, looked at her, "Lashana, what the hell is going on now?" He was still trying to wake up when she had rolled out of the bed and started getting dressed.
"My stupid sister is sitting in the lobby 'visiting' with that asshole Buchannan. Oh she's so stubborn!" ~ Rip, I'm on my way down, could you please keep an eye on them until I get there."
"Lashana, calm down. Bull's not going to mess with her in the Lobby in broad day light…I know you don't like him, and neither do the rest of the us, but coming down here in a rage isn't going to do anyone any good. Probably just gonna piss off your sister."
Kane chimed in the as well, "She's right Lashana…Rip won't let anybody bother Aidan, and if she's anything like you, then she's stubborn enough to talk to him, just because you tell her not to."
Lashana sat on the edge of the bed, frustrated and concerned, she didn't trust Bull, knew he had to be up to something, but there was nothing she could really do about it. Steve pulled her back into the bed and wrapped his arms around her, "Baby, relax. We'll get dressed and go downstairs. Bull never stays around long when we're all together."
~ "You all are right, I'm gonna get cleaned up, and head downstairs in a bit. Rip, could you just maybe keep and eye on him and make sure he behaves himself?" ~
"Of course, Lashana. Don't worry about her, Bull and I have an understanding…he doesn't mess with me, and I don't have his ass beat." All the brides found that statement utterly comical and chuckled to themselves. Lashana and Steve got up and started getting dressed to head downstairs.
Aidan was watching Rip and Bull stare each other down, issuing vaguely disguised threats at each other for the last five minutes. She had been talking with Bull for about ten minutes before Rip had showed up, and saw no sign of whatever caused the other women to dislike him so much. He had been the epitome of a gentleman, even bringing her a refill on her coffee when she finished the cup she was drinking.
Still, there was obviously something going on here, she couldn't think of any reason why they would all dislike him so much, but it was obvious to anyone that they all did. She looked up and smiled when the Outlaws came off the elevator, "Aidan, there you are! Damn woman we've been looking for you all morning."
She chuckled, "I've been right here. Why were you looking for me anyway?"
Jesse sat down on the arm of the chair next to her and gave Bull and quick glance, "Mr. Buchannan, how are you this morning?"
Billy sat on the other arm, and Aidan almost laughed outloud at the proprietary attitude they were showing with her. It was almost as if they were trying to make a point to Bull, although for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. Billy looked down at her and smiled, "Well, actually we were going to grab your bags for you and bring them downstairs, and when you weren't in your room we got a little worried."
"She was fine, she was down here chatting with me. As far as her bags go, I have already offered to get them for her." Bull spoke for the first time since the other men had joined them. He seemed to settle down further into his chair, almost daring them to say something to him.
Although she was surprised at the statement, since he had made no such offer, Aidan silently applauded him for not putting up with their shit and smiled. "Yep, Bull and I were having a nice chat this morning, and we were just getting ready to go upstairs and grab my bags when Rip showed up."
She stood up off the couch and Bull followed her, the rest of the group sitting there with their mouths hanging open. Billy looked at Rip, "What the hell was that about?"
Rip shook her head and sent a message to Kane, ~ Uh, Kane… Aidan and Bull just headed to the elevator, he's going to help her with her bags. I'm not really sure what the hell is going on, but I thought I'd let you know." ~
The elevator doors opened and before Bull and Aidan could get on, Lashana and Steve walked off. "Where are you two going?" Steve looked at Bull, holding on to Lashana who was fighting the urge to grab her baby sister and drag her as far away from Bull as possible. Aidan smiled at Lashana and Steve, "Well good morning to you too…we're heading up to get my bags…Bull offered to carry them for me."
~ Lashana, stay calm, getting upset is not going to help. He's obviously trying to get a reaction out of you.
"Kane, I'm gonna kill Bull…he knows I don't want him around my sister, there's not way he couldn't. What game is he playing?
"I don't know, but we will find out. Just let them be for now…she'll be ok. ~
Lashana pasted a smile on her face, and barely managed to choke out the words, "That's nice of you Bull…" She looked at her sister, "Don't take to long, we are all leaving for the airport shortly."
Aidan nodded, "No problem, sis, we'll be back down in a minute or two."
Bull escorted her past Lashana and Steve onto the elevator and smiled as the door closed. "I get the feeling your sister doesn't approve of you spending time with me."
Aidan looked at Bull, and shrugged, "Well, Lashana is a bit over protective sometimes. It really doesn't matter what she wants though, I am an adult, and I make my own decisions."
He chuckled, "That's good to hear, does that mean that you would be willing to have dinner with me when we get back to Texas?"
"Sure, I'd enjoy that."
"Great, how about I give you a call tomorrow night and we'll work out the details." Aidan smiled and reached into her handbag, pulling out a small piece of paper, "Sounds good, here's my cellphone and pager numbers, this is usually the easiest way to get ahold of me."
They walked off the elevator and once she had opened the door to her room, Bull picked up her bags and they headed back out. They ran into Tori and The Kat in the hallway on the way back to the elevator.
"Good morning ladies, how are you today?" Bull smiled at the two women, and they returned the greeting. ~ these women don't seem to have a problem with Bull…I wonder what on earth the problem is with Lashana and the others? ~ Aidan was in the middle of that thought when she realized she was being addressed, "I'm sorry," she looked at Tori, "were you saying something? I spaced out for a minute there."
They all chuckled, and walked onto the elevator, Tori looked at Aidan, "Yeah, I was just wondering how things were going with the Outlaws."
"Oh, that. They're a lot of fun…never know what they're going to do next." She told them about their brief trip to the gay bar the previous night and when the elevator opened into the lobby all four of them were laughing so hard they were nearly in tears.
The rest of the crew had gathered in the lobby, and she noticed that Austin had a fairly good grip on Lashana, almost as if he were preventing her from going anywhere. ~ I wonder if things are as wonderful as she says; He seems a little jealous and over possessive." ~ She logged that thought in the back of her mind and decided to keep an eye on the couple.
Bull walked off the elevator with her bags in hand and smiled when he spotted the Bossman walking across the lobby. "Hey man…was wondering if you were gonna make it this morning." Billy walked up and picked Aidan's bags up where Bull had set them down and smiled at Aidan, "Well, are you about ready to go? We need to get to the airport and get checked in."
Aidan smiled at Billy, pulling herself out of her thoughts, "Yeah, we do need to get a move on." Bull and the Bossman were standing off to the side and when they both looked up at her she smiled and waved, "I'll see you later…"
"Definitly." Was the response that Lashana and the others heard from Bull as Aidan, Billy and Jesse headed out to the cars. Steve grabbed Lashana as she started to get up from her place on his lap. "Baby, let it ride…you can't very well tell Bull that he is not allowed to talk to your sister when she seems to want to talk to him."
He held her hand and they walked with the rest of the crew toward the door. Lashana still ranting about the situation with Bull and Bossman, "I don't like it Steve…something is just not right with this whole mess."
Taker had been quiet the entire time, watching the goings on in the lobby. He had a bad feeling, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was causing it. He stopped, turning around to watch the two men still in the Lobby, he crossed his arms and watched them, as Tori and the Kat walked up and the four of them became engrossed in a very intense conversation.
~ "Taker Baby, everyone is leaving…you coming?"
"Yeah Jakx, I'm on the way" ~ He walked out of the lobby, still wondering what it was about them that was bothering him. He didn't notice the cold looks that came from two of them aimed at his back as he left the lobby.