Ascension
Chapter 1
Las Vegas
was the most beautiful city in the world.
There was
so much to do. The strip alone could
take days to see everything available.
Casinos stretched as far as the eye could see, the light shows were
spectacular, but Vallea’s favorite part
was Red Rock Canyon. The red rocks –
they were known as the blood of mother earth.
It was her favorite place to be, especially for a workout. Even though she was a travel agent, Vallea
kept herself in shape and climbing the red rocks was so much better than being
stuck in some haughty, high-class gym.
The desert really pushed a person to their breaking point, the heat
scorching hot, but thankfully, there was no humidity.
Just
straight blistering heat.
Vallea didn’t have a death wish, but she also
took a lot of risks in life, especially coming out here alone to climb the red
rocks. Her body was fit and toned from
keeping in shape and working out whenever she had an available minute to do
so. There were some days she simply
couldn’t fit a workout until her schedule, but she at least tried to go 5 out
of 7 days a week. Today was her day
off. The sun was just peeking over the
horizon, lighting up the entire canyon in a warm glow and she smiled, hands
taped up, ready for another climb.
Today was
also one she would never forget.
Vallea had done this a million times before,
so she was used to the rough terrain of the red rocks. She didn’t use a harness because she liked
the rough of adrenaline, the danger of it.
As long as she watched her step, there was no reason for a harness, in
her mind. One wrong step was all it
took. Vallea missed the rock she’d been
aiming for and went falling down the rocks, clutching onto anything she could
get her hands on.
A scream
echoed throughout Red Rock Canyon as her body dangled from a ledge, holding
onto the rock for dear life. If she let
go, she would surely fall to her death.
This was it. She was going to
die. She could see her life flashing
before her eyes as sweat poured down her face, the sun unforgiving and
blistering. Vallea had to find a way out
of this and looked from her right to her left, tears sliding down her cheeks
from both fear and pain of the rocks scraping her knees.
Jonathan
Good had not been expecting anyone out here so early in the morning, which was
how he generally preferred it. He had
always loved rock climbing, so incorporating it into his routine during this
‘time off’ had been both exercise and something that occupied his mind. One couldn’t slack off and not pay attention
or else you were a bloody smear on the ground below. In a pair of workout shorts, climbing boots,
and a sweat soaked t-shirt, he had scaled that wall of blood Red Rock. He had stood at the top, inhaling deeply as
the adrenaline rush continued pushing through his veins. No harness, he liked the thrill, and maybe he
had some other issues.
He had
then noticed the woman.
She had
come out by herself and started scaling that wall like nobody’s business. What was interesting, and amusing, was the
fact that she had done it without a harness herself. Ballsy. Stupid. Reminded him of him. Keeping quiet, Jon had monitored her progress
and nearly snorted when she missed her mark and then her ear piercing scream,
which had echoed back from the canyon. He
could now hear her quiet crying, the desperate whine tinging it and rolled his
eyes. After contemplating it for a few
seconds, he began working his way back down, which was something he generally
avoided when he wasn’t in a harness. Going
up was one thing, one could see what was next, going down was a pain in the
ass.
“Lady,” He
let his feet drop down onto the very slight ledge she had managed to catch,
taking note of how badly her hands were scraped. There wasn’t a lot of room to work on this
ledge and he wasn’t exactly a small man. Carefully, Jon maneuvered himself until he was
crouching, his back pressed into the rock wall behind him. “Hi.” He blinked his
brilliant, icy blues down at her, contemplating her precarious position. “I’m
your Knight in Under Armour,” A play on his clothing,
he was so witty at times. “Jon.” He extended a hand, both to shake and because
she looked like she weighed less than what he pressed.
If she
wasn’t scared to death, Vallea would’ve laughed at his joke regarding his
clothing. “V-Vallea…” Letting go of the
ledge would mean death unless he caught her to pull her up. What the hell was this man doing out
here? Tears streaked her cheeks as she
mentally counted to three before reaching up a hand and felt him pull her up to
stand on the small ledge. “T-Thanks…” She stammered shakily, wincing at her
scraped hands and glad she had decided to wear kneepads or else her knees
would’ve been cut up from the Red Rocks.
And then,
Vallea started laughing and leaned back against the rocks, the shock of the
situation finally wearing off. What
happened wasn’t humorous, but she laughed whenever she was nervous or scared. Finally, she turned her head to look up at
the tall man in front of her and felt his icy blues penetrate through her. He was jacked, muscular in all the right
places and the shirt he had on looked ready to bust at the seams. He had short buzzed auburn blonde hair and a
full neatly trimmed beard.
“W-We should
head back down…”
“Back
down?” Jon echoed, peering over the ledge and then at her, shaking his head.
“No, I’m going back up where my bag is.” She was out of her mind. “And you’ll
follow me because I’m not coming back to save you again.” His chivalry only
went so far after all.
Taking a
moment, Jon looked her over. She looked
more scared than hurt, at least she was wearing knee pads, she had one up over
him. He had only his hands, wrists, and
ankles taped. The last two were for
additional stability.
“Come on,
Val, it’s not a long climb up.”
He was
already pulling himself up, glancing down at her. She wasn’t laughing anymore. He wondered if that was a tic or if she was
just crazy. Looking up at the rocks,
Vallea knew she had to conquer the fear, overcome it, or she would be stuck
here. This was the first time she had
slipped and nearly fallen to her death.
It definitely had her adrenaline pumping.
“Okay.”
She murmured, slowly turning and began climbing the rocks, being very careful
and watching where she was going.
He
probably wouldn’t believe her, but Vallea had done this for several years and
nothing like this had ever happened. She
actually passed by Jon and made it to the top, her own backpack still on her
shoulders. Wincing at her hands, she
took her bag off her shoulders and unzipped it to pull out a bottled water,
gulping half the bottle down. Then she
went back to surveying the damage on her legs, thankful nothing would scar.
She could
pass him by and he had let her, mostly because if she fell again, he’d be able
to get to her easier from beneath her. It was a lot easier catching someone than
climbing down to them. And, if he were
honest, it wasn’t like the view from below sucked. Vallea was, from what he could tell, quite beautiful
and her ass was delicious. He had been
tempted to bite it.
“Why
aren’t you wearing a harness or with a buddy?” He dropped down onto the ground,
ignoring the dust that swirled up around him and reached for his own bag and
water.
“I could
ask you the same thing.” Vallea remarked, wiping her mouth off with the back of
her hand and raised a brow. “Harnesses aren’t fun. I like the thrill, the adrenaline rush. I lost my step, which is the risk you take
when you’re out here. Didn’t think
anyone else came out here to rock climb.” Slowly, she rose to her feet and
dusted herself off, taking several intakes of breath to slow her still pounding
heart. “Thanks for helping me out.
Probably would’ve died if it wasn’t for you. You said your name is Jon, right?” At his
nod, she returned it and finished her water before looking down, already
knowing the way she would take to get down.
“You’re
going to climb down?” Jon asked curiously, wondering if that mishap had rattled
her brains. If she had planned on going
down, she should have never come up with him. “Why don’t you wait until I walk
the path down and around, and I’ll catch you this time, hmmm?” He quirked his
eyebrow down at her, a hint of a smirk curving the left side of his mouth.
“Well
yeah, you climb up and then go back down.
That’s what rock climbing is about, yes?”
She tilted
her head at him, wondering if he’d lost his mind since there was no other way
to go except back down. His smirk was
sexy, she couldn’t deny that and Vallea instantly pushed that thought out of
her head. He was a stranger and she
didn’t know him from a hole in the ground.
Still, she found herself nodding since she was a little shaken up by the
whole near death experience.
“All
right, I’ll go with you. But you won’t
have to catch me again because I’ve learned my lesson to take my time when
doing this.”
Jon had
been here awhile and done the wall a couple of times, that was a full body
workout in itself and the view was a hell of a lot better than anything at the
gym. She wasn’t bad herself, he mentally
added, electric eyes raking over her thoughtfully. Pushing himself to his feet, he brushed the
dust off his backside with one hand and crushed his now empty water bottle with
the other.
“You come
here often?” It was a corny pick-up line, but he came out here a fair few times
a week since his hiatus and this was the first time he had seen her.
Obviously,
she was familiar, mostly, with the terrain.
“As often
as I can, yeah. I travel a lot for my
job, so I’m only in Vegas a couple times a month.” Being a traveling agent,
Vallea went to a lot of places for various clients and a lot of them were
exotic, so she couldn’t complain too much.
There were no sexual favors or anything of the sort since she did NOT
sleep with people she worked for or with. “It’s so beautiful out here. I really didn’t think anyone else would want
to come to the Red Rocks and rock climb.
We must be outta our minds.” She laughed, feeling a little better and
her body was no longer trembling from the near death aftermath.
“And here
I thought crazy was an exclusive club,” Jon chuckled, a hint of darkness edging
his tone. She traveled extensively, wasn’t
here much -he was assuming Vegas was her home-, and she sounded like a perfect candidate
for an affair. Something he hadn’t
bothered with in months. “You hungry?”
He was
famished; he never ate before any type of workout or activity since it tended
to make the workout sluggish and he hated that feeling. Jon shifted, tilting his head as he looked
past her and at the view. The sun was
fully up, he had gotten here quite early, sleep had been alluding him lately
and he knew why.
His little
vacation, if it could be called that, was almost up.
Despite
nearly falling to her death, Vallea could definitely eat and smiled at him, her
deep hazel eyes illuminated by the sun.
Her long chestnut tresses that went to the middle of her back was
currently pulled back in a tight bun to keep all hair out of her face and eyes.
“I DO owe you something for saving my life.
Sure, I can eat…as long as you let me pay for the meal.” She grinned at
his eye roll and shrugged the backpack on her shoulders, making sure it was
secure.
A few
minutes later, they were making their way back down.
“Hope your
traveling gig gets you a lot of money, doll.” Jon cautioned her as they walked
down the hiking trail.
The
direction they were going led to the open area off the dirt road people took to
get here. The other direction was a
trail that led through the canyons and was not for everyone. It was a ‘wear boots, not flats’ kind of path.
He had walked it twice and each time
felt like he might die on the return back, the terrain was beautiful,
awe-inspiring, and likely to kill a person.
At her look, he flashed a wicked grin.
“I have…an
appetite.”
“I’m sure
I can handle whatever you want to order.” Vallea assured him, noticing the area
to the left, which was the rough terrain.
It was for both hiking and biking, if the person was that nuts to drag
their bicycle out here. Why did she get
the feeling Jon was one of those type of guys? “And my job pays me more than
enough, don’t you worry about that.
Leave the bill to me.”
Their cars
were parked next to each other. How had
she missed another person being out here?
It was morning, still somewhat dark when she arrived, so that meant Jon
had come even sooner than that since he’d been at the top when she
slipped. How they’d missed each other
completely coming here was beyond her.
Jon was
taking that as a challenge and he was sorely tempted to take her up on it. He was starving, he had worked damn hard to
get into his current shape, but he also wasn’t above the occasional splurge and
breakfast was definitely the meal for splurging. What really had done it for him was cutting
out things like pop, and vending machine snacks, all those empty calories. Life on the road was not necessarily conducive
to having the perfect body, unless one was a freak like Levesque or Cena.
“I’ll
follow you.” He took in her car and figured this way, she couldn’t lose him.
“Wait, you
don’t want to go home and shower first and then meet up somewhere?”
They were
sweaty from the climb, the sun baking them from the inside out, or so that’s
what it felt like. Even with sunscreen,
it did not stop the sun from doing damage.
Luckily, her burns tanned almost instantly, she rarely peeled,
thankfully. Genes were a beautiful thing
sometimes.
“I won’t
stand you up, but I refuse to go out to eat all sweaty and stinky. Here.” She took his hand that had his phone
and programmed her number into it, handing it back to him. “Call me in an hour
and we’ll meet up somewhere to eat.”
Considering
he spent the majority of his waking time sweaty and stinky as she put it, the
smell did not really put him off. He had
gotten used to certain odors a long time ago, that was kind of a requirement in
his line of work because men as a whole were disgusting creatures. So were women, if he were honest, he had seen
what some of those broads had done to their group dressing rooms and it was
nasty.
“Fine…” He
mockingly rolled his eyes, wondering how she looked gussied up.
She was
damn fine this way and he smirked, reaching out to brush red dust from the
walls off the tip of her nose.
Chapter 2
There
would be no gussying up, not to simply share a meal with a man that saved her
life, even if he was gorgeous. A shower
was a MUST, along with peroxide for the scraps on her hands, arms, and legs.
“Thank you again for helping me, Jon.” She reached up to touch the side of his
face, feeling how soft his beard was against her fingers and pulled back. Those electric blues of his were dangerously
hypnotic. “See you in a bit.” Hopping in her car, Vallea drove off out of the
desert and couldn’t remember the last time she felt so exhilarated in her
life.
If Jon
didn’t call her, she would be very disappointed, but then again, maybe the man
simply wasn’t interested.
After a
shower and doctoring herself up, Vallea pulled on a pair of blue jean capri’s
and an orange tank top, brown sandals on her feet. It was too hot to wear anything else and she
didn’t put makeup on either. Again, too
hot. When an hour and a half passed by,
Vallea began to wonder if Jon had changed his mind about inviting her out for a
meal.
At the 2
hour mark, he finally called and she answered on the third ring, hating how
fast her heart pounded in her chest. “Hello?”
“Doll,
where are we meeting?” Jon said by way of greeting, eyeing himself in his
bathroom mirror thoughtfully.
He kind of
missed the curls, but this shorter cut was way more low maintenance. That was nice. Jon figured he’d give her time to do whatever
she needed to do and he had gotten distracted, which was something fairly
common for him. He had showered,
trimmed, and then pulled on a pair of men’s leather sandals, blue jean shorts,
and a white beater. He was a low-key
kind of guy.
What was
it about his voice that turned her on?
It was
low, gritty and raspy all wrapped up in a beautiful husky package. Vallea glanced at the clock, seeing it was
almost early dinner time and tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Why do I have to
decide? You invited me out,
remember? I think you should be the one
to choose the place and I’ll meet you there, Jonny.” She smirked, the nickname
flowing off her tongue easily. When he
gave her a destination, which wasn’t far from where she lived, Vallea agreed to
meet him there in a half hour and hung up to head out.
This day was
turning out better and better.
Considering
she had insisted she was paying, he figured he’d do her a solid and let her
pick somewhere. The woman was weird as hell.
Not that he was judging, he wasn’t
exactly flying normal either. Jonny…his
nose wrinkled as he pulled into the parking lot of the small hole in the wall
diner he preferred, a few blocks away from the main strip. Low-key, out of the way, and his ego wasn’t
big enough to let him think in Sin City he was anything special. However, the country fried steak was to die
for.
“Well
hello…” He rumbled, spotting Vallea already parked and waiting.
She
smiled, waving three fingers at him while leaning against her Nissan Rogue,
red, and pushed away from it to walk over to him. “Hi again. Shall we?”
Vallea
looked refreshed compared to the sweaty mess she’d been earlier, her hair down
and still somewhat damp from the shower she’d taken. They seated themselves and she looked around,
not surprised by the dive he had chosen to eat at. It wasn’t bad, at least it was clean and she
enjoyed the low-key atmosphere.
“Remember
what I said, order whatever you want.” Vallea actually wanted to take him out
for steak and lobster, but she was glad she hadn’t offered.
Men could
be intimidated by a successful, well-off financially, woman.
“Oh I
remember…” He chuckled wickedly, not even bothering to pick up a menu. This was his go-to for breakfast. The place wasn’t going to earn any five star
awards or nothing, but as far as he was concerned, the portions were always
right and he appreciated a homecooked meal he didn’t have to actually cook
himself. “Darla, baby cakes…” He greeted when the rather old broad of a
waitress ambled over.
“How many
times, son, do I need to ask you not to call me that?” She remarked without any
bite, sounding both amused and exasperated.
“I see
your legs, I bet you’ve been called…other…things.” He smiled sweetly up at her
before glancing at Vallea. “This is Val, she’s buying me breakfast.”
“Oh, you
poor darling…” Darla said sympathetically.
It was
obvious Jon had been here more than a few times if he knew a waitress by her
first name. “It’s almost dinner time, so technically, I’m buying you dinner.”
Vallea corrected with a smile and continued looking over the menu, trying to
decide what to order.
“She’s got
you there, son.” Darla liked this spunky woman. “What can I get for you, dear?”
Splurging
a little after her workout wouldn’t harm anything. “I think I’ll have the
enchiladas, but no jalapeno sauce on it, please.” Vallea had noticed what all
came on them and the only thing that turned her off was that sauce. “Extra sour
cream.”
“All
right, and I already know what you want, boy.” Darla smirked at his snapping teeth
and rolled her eyes, writing down everything. “Drinks?”
“I’ll take
a beer.” They both said simultaneously and Vallea laughed, needing one after
her near-death experience. “Well, good to know we’re both on the same page with
that at least.”
Darla chuckled
along with them, walking away to put their order in.
“So, you
seem to know this place quite well. Do
you come here a lot?” Vallea figured striking up a conversation with her savior
wouldn’t be too hard and took a sip of her water.
“Not at
all.” He dead panned, pushing the complimentary glass of water away from him.
Usually,
Jon was an easygoing man with simple tastes, but water…he had a thing. It stemmed from his childhood. He did not do tap water, ever, unless he was
in a life or death situation. If he
asked for bottled water, he always wanted it straight from an unopened bottle
because, if anyone poured it, they usually added ice, which was generally made
from tap water. He had a few quirks.
“Not as
much as I used too,” He answered honestly. “I had to go on a diet.” This place
wasn’t conducive to that, way too much comfort cooking here.
A
diet? He was joking, right? This man was ripped and jacked beyond
belief! Maybe that was why he went on a
diet. Maybe he used to be some fat slob
that turned his life around or something.
Whatever the case, Vallea was thankful because he was not hard on the
eyes at all.
“I have
one cheat day a week and the rest I try to eat as healthy as I can. It’s kinda hard in my line of work, but I make
do and keep myself fit. What do you do
for a living, if you don’t mind me asking, Jon?”
Just then,
Darla arrived with the unopened longnecks, popping them open before being set
on the table.
Saved by
the booze! Introducing himself to
someone, who obviously had no idea what he did for a living, was always
awkward. Even after all these years, he
still got ‘that isn’t real’ from the uninitiated and it was just as irritating
as it was 10 years ago.
“I’m an
athlete.” He decided to give her a half-answer, examining his bottle before
meeting her curious stare. “What is it you do?” Since she had said in her line
of work it was hard to eat healthy, he knew how that went.
She took a
pull from the longneck, wondering what kind of sport he worked in. With a body like that, it wasn’t a surprise
to discover his line of work. “I’m a traveling agent, of sorts. Basically, people call on me to set up their
travel plans and some request a personal assistant for their trips. Lots of exotic places, which gets old after a
while, but it’s good money and I do enjoy traveling.” Vallea shrugged, seeing
the judgment in his pale blues and took another sip of her beer. “What kind of
athlete are you? Or maybe I should ask
what kind of sport do you play? Football
player?” That was her first guess with his build and height.
A travel
agent, yeah…and as a personal assistant, what kind of travel agent did that? He knew a lot of agents who simply booked the
trips, hotels, and itineraries, but they rarely left their desks. With her rocking body and stellar good looks,
maybe she was a bit more exotic then a traditional travel agent. Jon wouldn’t lie, he was tempted to ask if he
could book her.
“I
wrestle.” He said finally, throwing a wink at Darla when she passed by. Football had always seemed boring, not enough
action. “Usually. I’m on a vacation
right now.” Sort of, more like a strategic retreat.
“He’s so
modest. He’s a WWE Superstar. You’ve heard of them, right?”
Vallea
looked completely confused, raising a slow brow and shook her head. “No.”
Darla
blanched, blinking down at the woman. “Have you lived under a rock your whole
life, honey?”
She
laughed softly, shaking her head. “No, I just travel frequently for my job and
I’ve never really gotten into sports, of any kind.” Besides rock climbing,
obviously. “I think I’ve booked travel packages for people to go to a WWE event
or something a time or two, but that’s about it. I didn’t know what WWE involved, just booked
the events and moved along.”
Yes, she
had a rather…unique job and called it a traveling agent because it didn’t raise
questions nearly as much with new people.
Hell, Vallea wasn’t sure what to really call her job title because
sometimes she was a personal assistant and other times she just booked people
for their vacations. Traveling agent fit
the bill in her eyes.
“So, do
you like what you do for a living, Jon?”
Darla had
walked away, after setting some wings on the table for them to share, which was
part of Jon’s order.
“Course I
do, I get to beat people up for a living and I earn some decent money.” Jon
made a mental note to not tip Darla; she was a douchebag for spilling his beans
without his permission. “You like being…okay, you’re not really a travel agent,
not the normal kind.” That was going to bug him. He was reaching for the Tabasco to go on top
of his already saturated wings. “Travel agents don’t accompany people, usually.
Not unless they’re a guide.”
He was
very observant, she surmised, not reaching for the wings because it was obvious
he was about to devour them all. “I didn’t take you for one that nitpicked
someone’s occupation.” She remarked with a smirk, taking another pull from her
beer and crossed one leg over the other. “I’m not a guide.” Vallea laughed,
shaking her head. “I guess you can call it a personal assistant, but I don’t
stick to just one client. I work for an
agency that does both, basically. Some
are personal assistants that travel with their clients for a certain amount of
time, depending on the contract and how long they need us. Then, there are clients that just need their
vacations scheduled or business trips, whatever. I call it a traveling agent, it doesn’t sound
nearly as complicated as it is. I’m
hoping one day to get away from the agency and do my own thing, though. For now, it’s a job that pays my bills and
keeps a roof over my head and food in my mouth.”
“You want
to be my traveling guide? Agent,
assistant, whatever.” Jon laughed, nudging the platter of wings towards her
because there was no way he was going to be able to eat all of these, plus his
food, and not feel like an asshole afterwards. He liked junk food, and for a
while, it had started showing. “I’ll pay you well.” He grinned at her wickedly,
knowing he probably shouldn’t be teasing, or was it sexual harassment these
days, but he couldn’t help it. “And if you ever decide you want to play the
damsel in distress again, I’ll be right on hand to be your knight.”
“Believe
me, I don’t play damsel in distress for anyone.
That was a legit slip of the foot and near death experience that
happened and you were there, thankfully.”
Vallea
didn’t know this man from a hole in the ground and he wanted her to be his
traveling guide? Maybe that was a better
term to use than agent. The ‘I’ll pay
you well’ told her more than just work would transpire between them and Vallea
did not mix business with pleasure.
Ever. That was just a recipe for
disaster.
“You know,
Jon, I’d LOVE to take you up on that offer, but I have to decline.” She leaned
forward, swiping some sauce from the corner of his mouth and popped the digit
in hers. “You see, if I were to start working for you, we’d have to be strictly
professional.”
“So don’t
work for me and let’s be very unprofessional.” He could be blunt and the look
on her face was worth it. Considering
she was licking her fingers after touching his face, he was going to bet she
wasn’t shy.
“Keep your
pants on junior, food’s here.” Darla remarked dryly, appearing out of seemingly
nowhere with an arm laden with a tray.
“Your
timing sucks.”
“Exactly
my point.”
His blunt
nature was even more of a turn on for Vallea, if that was possible. She would definitely need a change of panties
after this dinner was over with. Maybe
even a masturbation session, unless Jon wanted to scratch the itch she
had. Would he sleep with someone he just
met not even 12 hours ago? She smiled up
at Darla and began drenching the enchiladas in sour cream while Jon fixed up
his country fried steak meal he’d ordered.
They ate in companionable silence, each devouring their meals, both
famished from the rock climbing experience.
Vallea wasn’t able to eat anything after getting home, but now that she
was safe and clean, her appetite had kicked up a notch.
Jon
watched her while he was eating, pleased and a bit surprised to see that she
was packing it away. Neatly, of course,
but the way she ate he would bet she could give him a run for his money. “Want
some dessert?” He asked after a fairly companionable silence, wondering how
she’d feel about maybe extending the meal to something else. She was different, and while it was cliché, it
was also true.
Not many
women out there, who went rock climbing in the wee hours, without safety
equipment or a buddy.
Chapter 3
Working
out and rock climbing tended to make one’s appetite larger than normal, at
least in Vallea’s experience. “I’m always up for dessert. Nothing I can’t work or burn off later.”
She
finished her second beer with her meal and cut herself off since she had to
drive. The food she ate would soak most
of it up and she was confident in herself to make it home safely. Vallea only lived a few blocks away from this
place in a one bedroom apartment.
Everything happened for a reason in life, that was a motto she lived by,
and being saved by this gorgeous man definitely wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe it would lead to more. Maybe not.
Vallea didn’t really think about the future and just lived in the here
and now.
“What did
you have in mind? Here or…somewhere else?”
“Not here,
their dessert here sucks.” Jon made sure to say it loud enough for Darla to
hear.
“He’s not
wrong, everything here except the dessert is homemade. They buy Sara Lee crap out of the local
Walmart and serve it at a high mark-up. Need
the check, Jon?”
“She
does.”
“You’re a
terrible man, making the lady pay for you.”
Jon’s blue
eyes widened mirthfully. “I know, I know…” He sounded chastised, though he was
trying not to smile.
Vallea
chuckled, whipping her credit card out and placed it on the tray before Darla
could walk away. She would be tipping
Darla well since the woman took great care of them. Hoping he’d been talking about a different dessert, Vallea played along
and signed the slip of paper, along with giving Darla a 30% tip and slid it
back to her.
“Shall
we?” They stood up from the table and walked out of the diner, the sun
beginning to slowly descend on the horizon.
There was still a few more hours of daylight left. “So, did you have a
place in mind for dessert?”
Jon halted
before their respective cars, fixing Vallea with a thoughtful stare. “Do you
really want to eat after just having dinner?” He asked, fairly certain he
already knew the answer. That was a
rather filling meal they had just eaten, on top of the appetizers. “Want to
walk the Strip?” He didn’t go inside the casinos and hotels often, but he did
like walking down the street and enjoyed the lights. Vegas was a city that never slept, but Vegas
at night was something else entirely. “Maybe find a back alley to disappear
down?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, the corner of his mouth lifting
slightly.
“Sure, but
first I need to do something.” His thoughtful look had turned questioningly and
she smiled, stepping up to him with mischievous hazel eyes. Before she spent any more time with this man,
Vallea had to know if there was a connection between them, a spark. “Come down
to my level.” He was a lot taller than her 5’6 petite frame, standing just shy
of a foot above her.
When he
did as she requested, Vallea cupped his bearded face in her hand and brought
his mouth to hers, initiating the first kiss between them. Oh there were definite sparks between them,
especially when he deepened the kiss and wrapped his arm around her waist to
press her body against him. Only when
they needed oxygen to breathe did Vallea pull back and break the kiss, his
electric blues glowing down at her.
“A walk
sounds nice.” They were near the Strip anyway, so there was no point in moving
their cars from the diner parking lot.
Instant
chemistry, there was definitely more than a spark between the two of them. Jon decided right then and there, if she
wanted a tumble or two between the sheets, he was game. Admittedly, in the past, he had been game for
encounters with women there hadn’t been much of a spark, but in his slightly
more wiser years, sleeping around with everything wasn’t all that appealing. Not to mention, it was a lot safer and
lessened the chances of both STDs and catching crazy. Lacing his fingers through hers, he pulled
Vallea away from the parking lot and onto the sidewalk.
This was
easy actually, comfortable, and he liked it.
Vallea was
not a prude by any stretch and had her fair share of lovers, the majority one
night stands to scratch an itch or two.
It didn’t happen often – she’d met up with men mostly on the exotic
trips she took with her clients, meeting them on beaches or bars. There was a hot Hawaiian boy she had mingled
with for about 2 weeks before leaving to go back home and it’d been some of the
best sex of her life.
Sex in the
ocean was incredible too.
Something
told Vallea sex with Jon would be better than that and she looked forward to
finding out if that assumption was right.
They walked along the strip with her pointing out various favorite
places and admitting not going to the casinos.
That was just asking for trouble and the last thing she needed was a
gambling problem. Jon, on the other
hand, enjoyed playing at the tables once in a while, just to get out of the
house and do something while on his vacation.
“So, how
long have you been on vacation?” She asked, continuing to hold his now sweaty
hand because of the heat and didn’t pull away, enjoying the contact.
“Seven
months or so, give or take.” Jon replied casually.
More like
seven months, one week, six days. He was
counting. He called it a vacation
because that sounded a lot nicer than the truth. Jon had injured himself and been forced to
step down to rehab his triceps. While
shelved, he had decided to work on some other things, like the junk food habit
and potential for pudge he had realized he was developing.
“What
about you? You on days off? In between clients?” Her gig was still weird.
“Yeah, I
took a week vacation to just decompress and get away from it all. I have plenty of vacation time stored up, so
my boss didn’t mind. This is actually
day one of that vacation.” My what an adventure it had been so far! “That’s a
long time to take a vacation from something you love to do.” Vallea had a
feeling there was more to that story – who else took seven months off from
their job? “I might add a second week to my vacation, haven’t decided yet. Depends on if I can keep myself occupied long enough without going stir crazy from
boredom.”
“I’m
pretty sure we can find ways to occupy you and keep the boredom at bay.” Jon had
a feeling that this was going to be more than a one night deal.
He could
just tell. It had been a long time since
he had felt any sort of connection outside of the basic scratching the itch
with a woman. Jon wasn’t exactly in any
hurry to just let this all end. Up ahead,
there was a crowd and what looked like a street performer, Vegas was full of
them. Tugging Vallea forward, he peered
over the heads to make sure it wasn’t a mime.
It was a
saxophone player and he was extremely talented.
Jazz and Blues that sounded good was right up her alley. Vallea liked all kinds of music, every genre,
even oldies and classics. Jon moved to
stand beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned against
him, both moving their heads to the beat.
When the saxophone player stopped, she pulled out a 20, along with Jon,
both tossing it in his case. The player
smiled up at them, thanking everyone for their generosity and began playing
another song on the saxophone. Much like
Jon, Vallea felt like something was brewing here between them, but refused to
put any kind of pressure on it. Whatever
happened, happened and if it’s only a onetime deal between them, so be it. There was no rush from either of them, both
legitimately enjoying spending time together.
Dessert
was honestly the furthest thing from Jon’s mind. When he had asked her at the diner about it,
it had been as a way to just spend more time with her. A delay tactic of sorts. He was genuinely interested in the woman he
had saved earlier, and so far, she was not disappointing him. He had to wonder how she was feeling about
him. Jon knew some people found his
bluntness, or wisecracking, an annoyance. Given that he had mentioned a seedy alley and
she hadn’t backed away, he figured she wasn’t annoyed or she was crazy, perhaps
both.
If Vallea
was being honest, she had gone on a few blind dates since moving to Vegas and
none of them compared to Jon. There was
something about him – something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. He was different and had an intensity about
him that set her blood on fire. Dessert
didn’t even cross her mind anymore…hell, he WAS her dessert as far as she was
concerned. It was just a matter of when
he wanted her to devour him. Giving this
man a tongue bath was on the forefront of her mind, actually. He did look rather scrumptious out in the
dessert all hot and sweaty earlier, but Vallea had been out of it after nearly
falling to her death.
“You know,
this is the best non-date I’ve ever had.” She commented while they kept walking
the Strip, the city of lights living up to its name.
“It’s a
date, doll,” Jon informed in a syrupy sweet tone, snorting when she glanced up
at him. “Let’s not lie, it’s a date.”
He
squeezed her hand, pulling her around the ground surrounding the saxophone
player as they continued on their stroll. He took a moment to consider their
surroundings and then began to smile. Obviously,
she wasn’t afraid of heights, the woman climbed canyon walls without harnesses.
“You ever
been on the High Roller Observation Wheel?” He asked, figuring given her job,
she would at the very least know about it.
It was a
giant Ferris wheel, of sorts.
“Fine,
it’s a surprise date, then. And yes,
I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never gone on it before.”
His smile
could melt glaciers and he had the cutest dimples. Vallea wasn’t surprised when they crossed the
way to head toward the High Roller Observation Wheel and looked up at it, not a
hint of fear in her eyes. Even though
she’d nearly fallen to her death earlier that morning, it was forgotten. Riding a huge contraption like this alone was
no fun, she hadn’t found someone who enjoyed the same things she did…until now.
The wheel
was huge and had little balls that served as an observation deck. It was gorgeous, especially all lit up and
the sun was just beginning to set on the horizon. They had walked around for hours without even
realizing it and Vallea wasn’t the least bit tired or wanted the night to
end. After Jon paid their way, they
stepped inside the observation ball and he paid the man extra to make sure they
were alone. She walked over to look out
the window and couldn’t wait to be high above to see all of Vegas.
He hadn’t
missed what Vallea had done, paid the man off to ensure they had some privacy. That right there had probably cost her a damn
pretty penny. This was a popular tourist
spot, there had been a line, and she was holding it up. He loved it. She had no fucks to give and apparently money
to burn, he liked a lady who was also a wild card. Keeping his arm around her, Jon watched out
the reinforced glass as they rose above the city slowly but surely. Vegas during the day was okay, at night it was
something beautiful almost, the sky lines and neon lights all visible and
spreading almost as far as the eye could see.
This was
indeed a date, and so far, a killer first date.
There was
a very good reason why she wanted them completely alone and, surprisingly, the
line hadn’t been that long. The guard
hadn’t minded giving them the sphere for themselves, especially since he had an
extra hundred in his pocket now. Turning
to look up at Jon, she caressed his bearded covered face before bringing his mouth
down on hers again, this time wrapping both arms around his neck and squeaked
out when he lifted her to where her legs wrapped around his waist. He wanted her eyelevel with him and she had
no complaints, enjoying his sheer strength.
Unbeknownst to her, it was also a test to see how strong his right arm
was.
“Just so
you know, I’m not a prude.” She murmured against his mouth, breathing a little
heavy and gazed into his electric blues. “Sex on the first date is not out of
the question for me. I just thought you
might want to know that, Jon.”
Well, that
was fantastic news and now Jon didn’t feel bad at all for that condom or three
he had tucked away in his wallet. He
wasn’t shy about putting out on the first date.
Few men ever were, but he was also smart enough to know to wrap his dick
when it came to women he’d never been with before, especially if he didn’t know
them that well. STDs were common in his
business, but that didn’t mean he was welcoming them with open arms.
“Good to
know.” He rumbled, his lips feathering against hers as he smiled. His right arm seemed to be back to working
order, not that she weighed all that much. “What about sex on the first date,
in a glass ball?”
She
laughed, rubbing her nose against his gently and rested her forehead against
his. “As exhilarating as that would be, something tells me we wouldn’t finish
in nearly enough time before the ride ends.
And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a quickie with you.”
Vallea
also did not want to give people a show either.
There were some risks even she would never take. It was ALL open in here, on both sides and
all around them. Birth control was a
must for a single woman in Vegas. Any
woman who didn’t take some form of it was either stupid or wanted to get
pregnant. Vallea did not want children,
not the motherly type and enjoyed her freedom to do whatever she wanted on her
days off or when she was on vacation.
“I’m paid
to put on shows, what’s branching out to me?”
Jon had
worked damn hard to get in this current shape, he wasn’t entirely against the
idea of showing off his hard work. Or
against the idea of her beautiful body naked and pressed against that glass,
tits first…he mentally facepalmed himself because that mental image -it came
rather easily- was more than enough to give him issues. Rolling his eyes, he glanced down, wondering
if it were noticeable in his jean shorts.
They weren’t exactly the painted on variety as he enjoyed having
circulation to his vital parts.
“My place
or yours, doll?” He was ready for dessert, he figured she probably was too.
Chapter 4
“Who lives
closer? Probably me since I’m only down
the street from the diner.” They had quite the trek back to the diner, unless
Jon lived directly on the Strip, which she doubted. A cab wouldn’t be a problem to hail though.
“And you may be paid to put on shows, but I’m definitely not showing MY goods
to the world, Jon.”
A prude
she wasn’t, but she also wasn’t an exhibitionist either. Vallea smacked his arm at the eyeroll and
continued looking out at the lit up city, the stars glittering in the sky with
the moon. It truly was an incredible
sight and she was glad to share this moment with Jon. He nipped her neck and she shivered, feeling
his arm tighten around her further to caress her bare stomach beneath the tank
top she had on. His hand was calloused
and it felt amazing against her soft skin, his touch rough yet gentle at the
same time.
She had
said no to here, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t and wouldn’t torment her. They had come a long way since the diner;
they’d both probably be feeling that walk tomorrow. But it had been easy, walking and chatting
with her. It had been comfortable and
that wasn’t something he had felt with anyone in a long time.
“You got
any roommates I need to worry about?” Or lovers, or exes, he was pretty sure sex
was going to happen. Jon just wanted to
make sure all his bases were covered and he wasn’t going to be dipping his dick
in crazy or crazy’s exes.
“No
roommates and my exes don’t live anywhere near me.” Vallea assured him, placing
her hand over his and could feel her panties flood all over again. There would be no changing them since they’d
be naked before this night ended. Not a
single doubt in her mind it would happen with Jon. “Are you clean?” An STD was
something Vallea did not want to deal with or experience, ever. “I get tested
at least once a year and I haven’t been with anyone in a while.” Close to 8
months, actually. She was in a bit of a
drought and it hadn’t bothered her. “And I’m clean as a whistle, just so you
know.”
“I’m
clean.” Regular STD testing was now part of the regular physicals and
check-ups, along with routine drug tests and all that fun shit. “Doesn’t mean
I’m not wrapping up.”
Some guys
had issues with condoms, not him. Jon
was a better safe than sorry sort, and he wasn’t about to have any little Jon’s
running around until he was damned good and ready. Jon stepped away from her, studying her
thoughtfully. He could feel the ball moving
again, knowing they were heading down now.
“Why don’t
we call a cab and get back to our cars? We
can go from there.”
So far,
Vallea had proven to be rather refreshing to talk too. She wasn’t shy about personal topics and she
was very matter of fact, a lot of people wouldn’t have volunteered that
information right out the gate. That was
kind of a shame actually, more people needed to speak up about their STD status
and stuff. Maybe there’d be less issues.
“Sounds
good.”
There was
no reason to hide anything from someone she was about to bed. Vallea wanted to be sure no issues would
occur during or after their roll in the hay. It was a little late to be shy since she’d
initiated both kisses between them.
There wasn’t a shy bone in her body.
Condoms were fine by her too; she actually preferred them and wouldn’t
sleep with someone unless they used one.
Maybe THAT was a little prudish of her, but once again, even if the
person said they were clean, didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t lying. Vallea could tell Jon wasn’t lying to her,
feeling it in her mind and heart.
“Thank you
for bringing me here. I can’t believe I
haven’t been on this thing and I’ve lived here for a couple years now. How long have you lived in Vegas?”
“About
four years now, give or take. I like it,
it suits me.”
The city
of Sin, fast cars, fast women, a fast lifestyle, it was right up his alley.
Not to
mention, it was a lot different than where he had grown up, which was a
definite perk. And on those occasions
when he got tired of the never-ending nightlife that permeated the city even in
the daytime, the surrounding deserts, canyons, and mountains offered him more
than enough distraction to soothe the city weariness right out of him. Not to mention he had met her out there. Jon was going to have to go out hiking and
climbing more often.
“I’ve made
it a point to explore a lot of the place, and every time, it seems I find
more.”
“I think
it’s been 5 or 6 years for me. I just
one day left home and never looked back, came here to start new and found my
job right off the bat. It’s weird how it
happened so smoothly too. Like it was a
job that was too good to be true, but I’m glad it wasn’t because it’s the
reason I’m stable enough financially that I can take a week or two off to
gather myself and decompress…and meet handsome guys that like to rock climb in
the desert.” Vallea winked at him, letting Jon know that was a definite first
for her. The globe came to a stop and
they walked off with his fingers lacing hers.
A few
minutes later, they were in a cab on their way to the diner to grab their
vehicles.
Five or
six years was a couple of years? Her
perception of time was vastly different then his own. Jon shook his head, shoving it out of mind. He was mildly curious what made her leave her
home and never look back, as she had said. Family troubles, boring small town life? Maybe a mafia husband she had run from. No, that last one was definitely his
over-active imagination.
“So, was
this how you envisioned your day going, doll?”
She smiled
up at him with twinkling eyes and released his hand to squeeze his thigh,
shaking her head. “Not at all. But I’m
glad it happened the way it did. Vegas
is full of surprises, you just never know who you’ll run into or who will save
your life, in this instance.”
If this
was their only night together, Vallea planned on making the most of it and
leaving an impression. Hopefully, Jon
wouldn’t forget her because she damn sure would never be able to forget
him. Rock climbing would always have
that memory of him saving her from death.
“What
about you? Did you envision your day
turning out like this?”
“No,” He
chuckled, shaking his head.
Jon hadn’t
expected anything out of the ordinary actually. For the most part, this ‘vacation’ had been
quiet and low-key, it was both nice and boring, and way too safe. Jon definitely needed to break it up and she
was the perfect way to do it.
“You are
just the breath of fresh air I needed to shake things up.” They arrived at the
diner with Jon paying the fee for the cab and he pulled her into his arms, this
time kissing her passionately. “You sure you want to do this? No turning back, doll.”
She
answered with another kiss and slid her hand down to stroke his short covered crotch, his groan forcing their lips apart. “I
want you, Jon.” Hopefully, he wasn’t having second thoughts because she had
zero doubts in her mind. “Follow me.”
Reluctantly
pulling away from him, she went to her car and slid behind the wheel, waiting
for him to do the same thing. Within 10
minutes, they were parked and standing outside of her condo. Vallea took his hand and unlocked her front
door before pulling him inside, immediately pushing him against it to
effectively close it. Flicking the
deadbolt on it, Vallea pushed his shirt up over his head to expose his
delicious, smooth muscular chest and slid her fingers down his skin in a
teasing manner.
Admittedly,
Jon was somewhat concerned that she was lying. She could be a crazy fan, who was playing him
for a damn fine game, which would explain why she was not shy at all about
putting out after knowing him for less than 24 hours. The concern was short-lived and he didn’t care
if she was lying, or crazy, or both. All
he cared about was that beautiful hand of hers groping him through the front of
his shorts.
“Tease.”
He rasped, gripping her chin in his hand and forcing her head up so he could
nip her bottom lip.
“I can be,
yes.” Vallea agreed, her tone full of seduction and softer than normal.
She didn’t
know a thing about professional wrestling because it was something she’d never
been introduced to. It was never on at
home with her parents when she was younger, which was how most people got
involved in it and grew up with it. She
was not one of those people. Very rarely
was she in front of the television set because Vallea enjoyed the outdoors and
being in nature. Vegas was very busy
with the hustle and bustle, but it had its beautiful natural spots like the Red
Rocks and other canyons and valleys. If
Jon thought she was lying, that was on him because she had spoken only the
truth from the moment he saved her.
“But I
also please very well too.”
“Good to
hear.”
Gripping
her by the hips, he lifted Vallea and turned, planting her ass against the
door. He rather enjoyed the way her legs
automatically wrapped around his waist, feeling the heat emanating from her
body. This time it was Jon’s turn to
tease as he kissed his way down the column of her throat, feeling her tilting
her head to the side, providing him with better access.
“You’ve
been giving me problems all day, doll.” He informed her, biting at her pulse
point before soothing the now red area with his tongue.
“I have?”
Vallea tried to sound innocent and failed, caressing his upper body and loved
the muscles rippling beneath her touch.
He was truly a beautiful specimen and she shivered at the feeling of his
teeth and tongue against her neck, making her world start spinning. A deep, thick passion haze befell her mind
and all Vallea could do was withstand the onslaught as long as he wanted to
tease and torment her. “The feeling is mutual, handsome.” Her eyes drifted shut
as he continued teasing her neck and nibbling on her ear, his body pressing her
further against the door. “The panties I’m wearing right now are ruined, thanks
to you. And they’ve been damp since
dinner…” That made him growl, sending another shiver through her body.
What man
didn’t want to hear that pretty much his presence alone had dampened a gorgeous
woman’s panties? That was one hell of an
ego booster, and it was also good to know that he wasn’t the only one who had
been having issues all damn day. “Naughty girl, walking around in ruined
panties…” He would have gladly removed them earlier for her.
In
fact…Jon let her feet hit the floor and began kissing his way down her body,
lowering himself until he was on his knees before her. Vallea was sure he could smell her arousal
through the thin material of her panties, after removing her jean shorts. She pulled her tank top over her head,
leaving her just in her bra and drenched panties. They were soaked through, she hadn’t been
lying and Jon pressed his nose against them, inhaling her scent. She could feel his hot breath puff against
her damp panties and slid her hands over his short hair, sliding her tongue out
to wet her lips.
“Being
naughty is so much fun, though…” She purred, feeling his thumbs hook in the
waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs, stepping out of
them. She wasn’t clean shaven, but
neatly trimmed, so at least he wouldn’t be plucking pubic hair out of his
teeth. “And you’re a naughty man for letting me drive you crazy all day, Jon…”
“I was
already halfway there, doll.” He rumbled, trailing his lips along her inner
thighs, taking his time to lathe each one with attention.
What was
refreshing was how nonchalant and confident she was. Most women would have scrambled to shower or
at least freshen up after walking and baking in the hot Vegas sun like they had
all day. She didn’t smell rank, she
smelled like sunshine, her own natural musk, and something else he couldn’t
quite place, but it was scrumptious. Those
panties of hers were ruined, he doubted they were coming clean in the wash, she
hadn’t been lying about them being soaked.
“I’m going
to drive you straight through crazy, Vallea,” He forewarned, giving her one
final opportunity to stop this.
“I’m gonna
hold you to that…” Vallea breathed out, her inner thighs beginning to
tremble.
The
feeling of his beard brushing against her soft skin sent tingles throughout her
frame and made her heady. It both
tickled and enticed her all at the same time.
The moment his tongue came in contact with her quivering sex, Vallea’s
eyes shut and she relished in it, gripping his muscular shoulders. Jon lifted her leg to drape over his
shoulder, spreading her even wider for his mouth and tongue to devour and
leaned back against the door, writhing, drowning in ecstasy.
~!~
“Earth to
Valle.” A finger snapped in her face, forcing Vallea out of her deep thoughts
and her client at the time, Monique, smiled at her softly. “Damn girl, what are
you daydreaming about?”
If Monique
only knew…Vallea shook her head, pulling her gaze away from the window and
leaned her head back against the comfortable seat. “Just reminiscencing
about something. Nothing important. Anyway, are you happy to be back home?”
They were
flying into Vegas after spending two weeks in Hawaii, where Monique had a lot
of business meetings to attend. Vallea
had been hired as her personal assistant, needing the organization skills and
help with paperwork and whatnot, keeping everything together. Monique had worked extensively with Vallea
over the years and they were good friends, both single ladies on the prowl. Or so that was what Monique called them. She was fine with it, though ever since she’d
slept with Jon, which was only once, Vallea hadn’t been able to be with anyone
else.
It’d been
2 months since they last spoke; she had woken up to an empty bed and Jon gone,
no note or anything left behind. Even
though she had his number and he had hers, they didn’t call each other and went
on with their lives. Vallea had gone
back to work after a couple more days just for a distraction and hadn’t taken a
vacation since. The plane landed as they
walked through the terminal, heading for the area to grab their checked
luggage. On the drive back to the
office, Vallea caught something out of her eye and stopped the car, startling
Monique.
“What is
that?”
Chapter 5
“What the
hell is what? Are you okay?” Monique
felt like her heart might fly out of her chest and looked at the truck on the
side of them.
Right in
front of her was a GIANT picture of Jon, along with other men and women, and
the truck was huge in itself.
“Oh, it
looks like the WWE is in town tonight.” Monique was a fan of wrestling,
unbeknownst to Vallea, who stared at her like she’d just grown a second head.
“What? Those men are SEXY on television,
girl! Have you ever been to an event
before? That man on the truck is Dean Ambrose
and GIRL, he is HOT.”
That was
an understatement. “No, I haven’t…”
“How about
we go tonight? They always have tickets
for sale the day of the event, usually.
I wouldn’t mind drooling over some hot, sweaty men in the ring.” Monique
nudged her with a grin and looked at her phone. “The show is tomorrow night,
actually. It’s Monday Night Raw and the
Shield is gonna be there. Mmm Roman
Reigns…” She purred, making Vallea shake her head and laughed. “What? Wait until you see these men up-close and
personal, girl. You’ll be FAWNING over
them like me.”
“Uh huh.”
Little did Monique know she’d already had the pleasure of having Dean Ambrose
-what kind of name was that?- in her bed 2 months ago.
“You’ll
see.” Monique said confidently. “All those hot men, groping each other, it’ll
be great!”
~!~
Now in
Jon’s defense, the next day he had gotten a phone call and been whisked off to
make sure he was ready for his return. He
had been very busy ever since. Also, he
kind of figured that since she wasn’t blowing him up, she was cool with just a
one night stand, which was fine, he supposed.
Maybe he’d
hit her up the next time he was in Vegas.
“Ambrose,
what’s on your mind, man? You’re deep in
thought again.” Joe accused, who was known better as Roman Reigns, folding his
arms in front of his chest as the man snapped back to reality. “What’s going on
up there?” He tapped his fingers against Jon’s temple and smirked when Jon
swiped it away.
“Just
leave him alone, Uce.
It’s obvious there’s something on his mind and he doesn’t wanna talk
about it.” Colby was always the voice of reason in their group and fans knew
him best as Seth Rollins. “When he’s ready, he’ll talk about it. In the meantime, we need to come up with a
game plan for tonight’s show.”
Monday
Night Raw was emanating from Las Vegas, Nevada tonight.
“Hey, at
least you’re home, so you can sleep in your own bed tonight. That’s one good thing to focus on.”
“As much
as he spent in that bed, I doubt he’s really keen on going back.”
“Or maybe
he enjoyed the downtime.”
“Or maybe
you’re just assuming.”
“Shut the
fuck up, both of you.” Jon rolled his eyes, not really in the mood to have them
poking, prodding, and dissecting him. They were some of his best friends, no
doubt about that, but he wasn’t about to discuss the one night stand who
resided here with them.
“We won’t
pressure you about it again, but stop daydreaming and keep your head in the
game, man. Not unless you wanna be
shelved for another 8 months.”
Colby knew
Joe had a point. “Tonight, let’s just focus on the show and then he can deal
with whatever’s going on in his head.” He was the Architect for a reason and
could tell Jon was in turmoil about something.
Something
he’d been in turmoil over since he returned.
~!~
This was
not a good idea. This was a really bad
idea. Vallea normally wasn’t nervous
about anything; it took a lot to rattle her nerves, but going to this wrestling
event, where she knew Jon was performing, made her nervous. Monique didn’t get front row seats like she
wanted, but they weren’t far from the ring either. Balcony seats just above floor seating. It would be the perfect view, at least to
her, for all the action. Vallea had no
idea what to wear, so she went with black capri’s and red and white tie-dyed
sleeveless top, pulling her hair up in a fanned style on top of her head. Slipping her white sandals, Vallea took another
look in the mirror before leaving her condo to head to the venue, meeting
Monique there.
This was a
cluster bomb to put it mildly, Monique loved it. She loved bustling crowds and the sounds of
thousands of souls clamoring for the same thing. Basically, Monique was relatively crazy, but
that also seemed to be a prerequisite to be friends with Vallea.
“Well,
don’t you look spiffy!” She teased playfully, wearing one of her wrestling
t-shirts with a pair of shorts. “Ready to see some hot guys in next to
nothing?”
“Sure.”
No, no she
wasn’t. Vallea could only hope Jon
didn’t see her in the crowd and, judging by all the people here, that wouldn’t
be hard to do. She walked up to Monique,
taking her ticket and waited in line along with everyone else.
“Just
wait, you’re about to have your mind blown WIDE open, girl.” Monique grinned,
sounding incredibly confident and jumped up and down excitedly when the line
began to move.
A half
hour later, they were in the venue and guided to their seats. Vallea looked around the arena in awe,
remembering coming here a few times for concerts, but it was a completely
different atmosphere with a professional wrestling event. The ring looked smaller than she would’ve
guessed – did men and women really wrestle in it? She smiled, taking her seat that was printed
on the ticket and continued looking around, taking in the surroundings as
people began filling the place up.
The
squared circle did seem small when there in person, a lot smaller then what you
would see on television, but Monique knew it was also the stage for the stories
they were about to see physically played out. Of course, Vallea would need updated and quick
summaries about who was who and what was going on. Since wrestling was one of her passions,
Monique did not feel it was a chore.
“So,
should I start filling you in or are you going to just try picking it up as it
goes?” She asked, ignoring the sounds of the thousands of others pouring in
around them.
“Something
tells me this is going to be very complicated, so I’ll just watch and try to
work out what’s going on in my head.” Vallea chuckled at Monique’s excitement
and wondered how long she’d been a wrestling fan. Monique told her around 10 years, answering
her question before it could be asked. “Just point out who the wrestlers are as
they come out.” They would be announced per match or segment, but it was nice
to know beforehand since the crowd was so loud, buzzing around her. “So your
favorite is…who again?”
“Roman
Reigns. The Big Dog and I can tell that
man lives up to his name.” Monique swooned with a laugh, the t-shirt she had on
actually saying ‘The Big Dog’, which was Roman Reigns’ newest merchandise. She had ordered it online a few weeks after
it came out.
“Interesting.”
“Just you
wait, when you see him, you’ll see what all the fuss is about. Pictures just don’t do that man justice.”
Monique reassured her, looking down at her shirt before sighing wistfully. “He
is so much better in person.” This was obviously not the first event she had attended.
“Before they get to the actual show, there will be a dark match or two to warm
everyone up.” The audience, she meant, as well as potentially try out any new
people, that sort of thing. “You ready?” It was starting pretty soon.
“Ready as
I can be.”
The show
kicked off with two warm-up matches before the actual show, Raw, kicked off
with pyro. That was something Vallea
didn’t expect and she clamped her hands over her ears because of how LOUD it
was. There were a lot of things in life
she could tolerate, but loud booms and fireworks wasn’t one of them. Usually, for the 4th of July, she
had her MP3 player at full charge and blasted music in her ears to drown out
the major booms. The first hour was full
of action and one in-ring promo by some guy named Baron Corbin.
After that
promo started hour 2 and Monique began squealing out as the sound of a guitar
pierced through the arena followed by some kind of rocker, thrashy music. Her eyes nearly bugged out at the sight of
Jon and watched him in his element, nodding when Monique pointed and yelled out
it was the Lunatic Fringe. Vallea
watched him get in the ring, stalking around like a pissed off bull waiting for
his opponent and ripped his shirt over his head, wrestling in gray pants and
black boots.
Christ, he
looked better than she remembered.
Jon loved
being back to work and after several matches, he knew his arm was back to top
condition. Hell, he was in even better
condition now then he was prior to his forced time off. Ripped, better conditioned body and shorter
hair. He may not look as crazy as he had
before, but he sure still was a ‘lunatic’, he was just more intense and
focused. His eyes scanned the audience,
faces blurring one after another before diverting his attention back towards
the stage.
“Tell me
that is not one gorgeous piece of flesh? The things I would do to him…”
Again, if
Monique only knew the truth of what happened transpired between Vallea and Jon
in the past. “Couldn’t agree more. He’s
amazing.”
Hazel eyes
moved from Jon to the stage as his opponent came out from the back, missing the
name completely. Bray something. Again, she didn’t care and watched the match
get underway between the two Superstars.
The way Jon moved in the ring was so fluid and calculated, he never
missed a step. Granted, there was some
offense by the Bray guy, but other than that, Jon had full control of the
match. It was mesmerizing to see,
especially live in person.
The crowd
was chanting ‘Ambrose’ repeatedly, which only seemed to fire Jon up
further. Even Vallea was joining in
along with Monique, feeling exhilarated for the first time in 2 months. Now she understood why Jon did what he did
for a living because it fit him perfectly and he was damn good at it. When he won the match, both women jumped up
and down excitedly, cheering and clapping for him. He stalked around the ring, growling out like
an animal before rolling under the bottom rope and headed straight to the back.
“His new
character is so damn scrumptious, oh my god!”
Jon was
quite pleased with how that had played out. Obviously, a lot of matches were scripted and
the writers would toss in some specific moves they’d want to see executed, but
after that, it was up to the superstars to choreograph the rest in the ring. It was meant as a way to avoid being seriously
injured, and he got it, but sometimes the element of surprise was what made it
fun. Bray was good for that because the
big bastard would occasionally deviate, though Jon had noticed the other man
had avoided doing anything overly evil on his right arm.
Much
appreciated.
The rest
of the show for Vallea was boring, honestly, and she didn’t like anybody else
on the roster, not even Monique’s favorite, Roman Reigns. He was a big man and could move in the ring,
but he didn’t hold a candle to Jon, not in her eyes. She was biased and unashamed of it, though
she did cheer along with Monique just to show she was enjoying the show. It wasn’t too bad and maybe she would start
watching it on television just to see Jon.
Christ, Vallea had to get a hold of herself already and tried pushing
him out of her mind for the time being.
That
wasn’t happening anytime soon. After the
show ended, with Roman Reigns closing it out and winning, they made their way
out of the arena with Monique stopping at the merchandise stand to buy
something to commemorate and remind her of the great night they had. Vallea wound up purchasing Jon’s new t-shirt,
deciding she would sleep in it for a nightshirt and headed out with Monique
into the somewhat cool night air.
“Man, you
are sweating like a whore in church!”
“You kiss
your mama with that mouth, Jonny boy?”
“Call me
that again,” Jon growled good-naturedly. He was fresh out of the shower. “Besides, I
kiss YOUR mama with this mouth.”
“Oh you-”
Laughing,
Jon was prepared when he was tackled. Not
so prepared when they actually went over the hood of a car, but he never
stopped laughing. It occurred to him
that they probably shouldn’t be out here doing this in the parking areas
reserved for the fans, who had paid premium cash for the best parking, but men
would be men.
Monique
came to a stop. That was her car.
“Oh my
god…”
It was Jon
and the guy Monique had been fawning over on the hood of her car, each trying
to get the upper hand on the other.
Monique was stiff and in too much shock to really speak. She stepped in front of her client and let
out an ear piercing whistle with her fingers that stopped both men in their
tracks, her hands on her hips.
“Now
gentlemen, is that any way to treat a ladies car? Especially a lady who just paid to watch you
two perform?”
Monique
swallowed hard, not expecting Vallea to speak to the two wrestlers and felt her
cheeks turn a deep crimson.
“Doll, you
already know I like it rough.” Jon retorted without missing a beat. Hearing
that voice, he knew that voice, and his head turned to look at his favorite one
night stand. He regret that decision a
second later when Joe took advantage and pressed his forearm right down on top
of his head. “You stink!”
Laughing,
Joe moved away from his friend before helping Jon off the car. “Sorry, ladies.”
He turned to the women, both quite shorter than him and then grinned. Jon was smirking at one of them. “Bro, stop
leering.”
Ignoring
Joe, he approached Vallea, smirking down at her. “Thought you weren’t a fan,
doll.”
“You KNOW
him?” Monique squealed, coming out of her stupor.
Vallea
jabbed a thumb toward a floored Monique and watch the Samoan man approach her.
“SHE’S the fan and dragged me here tonight to see what it was about. I saw your picture on the truck, nearly
rear-ended someone and yeah…here we are.
Didn’t think I’d run into you with all the people here, though.” It was
almost as if fate was entwining their paths and always finding ways for them to
find each other again. “I even contributed to your Asylum?” She raised his
t-shirt, making it sound like a question and looked at it again. “Or whatever
you call your fanbase and bought your shirt.
Say thank you, handsome.”
Chapter 6
Was THIS
the reason Jon has been in the clouds lately,
Joe wondered in thought, his dark eyes moving to the dark haired beauty in
front of him that looked like a regular fish out of water. “I’m Joe.” He
extended his hand, noticing the top she had on and smirked.
“No way am
I saying thank you.” Jon folded his arms over his chest, rolling his eyes.
“Whatever you paid was a rip-off, you should’ve called. I’d of signed one and given it to you for
nearly free.” He would have undoubtedly also extracted kisses or something else
from her as payment, his icy blues sparkling wickedly. “Or did you lose my
number?”
“I’m
Monique.” She shook Joe’s hand, feeling a little out of it.
“I could
ask you the same thing.” Vallea remarked, taking the same stance as him and
raised a slow brow. If he was implying
she didn’t call him, well, he didn’t exactly pick up the phone either. “And I
didn’t want one, but Monique insisted I buy something to remind me of the
event, so I chose your t-shirt. I’m not
into the whole memorabilia unlike her.”
“Valle!”
Monique could NOT believe she was meeting her favorite wrestler like this and
felt mortified, refusing to meet his eyes.
She would melt in a puddle otherwise.
“What? Am I wrong since you’re into all of
this? Don’t get me wrong, great show you
guys put on and I did enjoy myself.” Mostly with Jon’s match, but Vallea
wouldn’t say that aloud. “Might even start watching it, who knows?”
“Okay –
okay we’re settling this right now because…just because!” Monique pointed at
Vallea and then gestured to Dean Ambrose, still not believing they knew each
other personally. “How do you know each other?
And why didn’t you tell me you knew ‘The Lunatic Fringe’, Valle?”
“Because
he’s not ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ to me.
He’s simply Jon and, for the record, the name Dean does NOT fit you,
handsome.”
“Believe
me he knows that.” Joe piped in with a chuckle, knowing how much Jon despised
his wrestling name, but it grew on him after a while.
“Okay…how
do you two know each other though? How
did you meet?” Monique didn’t mean to pry, but her curiosity was burning.
Vallea
giggled at the exasperation in Monique’s voice and looked down at her hands, as
if remembering what happened that fateful day 2 months ago. “He saved me from a
near death experience and I’ll leave it at that.”
“Wait, YOU
saved her?” Now Joe was somewhat skeptical. Jon wasn’t a bad person, and he had interfered
a time or two in some weird situations where he felt it was warranted, but…
“Okay, how?” Because she looked way out of Jon’s league and Joe was having a
hard time picturing them in any situation where Jon actually saved her from a
legit near death experience.
“Hey now,”
Jon was somewhat offended. “She fell off the face of a rock wall and I helped
her back up.” He didn’t mention the lack of buddies or harnesses because Joe
would ream them both out. “In my defense, babe, I got busy with work.”
“It’s
fine. I figured we’d never see each
other again and went on with my life.
Fond memories and all that.” Vallea had a serene smile on her face while
Monique gawked at her.
“Wait,
wait, WAIT, you went rock climbing without someone again?” Monique accused and
groaned at Vallea’s smile, placing her head in her hands. “Girl, how many times
have I told you NOT to do that?! You’re
lucky he was there or you could’ve gone splat!”
“Yes, yes
I know, MOM.” Vallea rolled her eyes and could tell the Samoan was eyeballing
Jon skeptically. “The point is, he saved me from going splat, I bought him
dinner and we had a nice time together.
Case closed. Nothing more to
say.” She did not kiss and tell and that night was meant for only her memories,
as well as his.
“When did
this all happen?” Monique wouldn’t let this rest, wanting as many details as
Vallea was willing to give her.
“Hmm 2
months ago. It was a onetime thing and
like I said, didn’t think we’d see each other again. We both travel for our jobs and are
constantly busy.” Yet fate kept intervening and pushing them together for some
reason.
This was
DEFINITELY who Jon had been daydreaming about lately and now Joe understood why
because Vallea was definitely a knockout.
Not as beautiful as her friend, Monique, though. “We didn’t fuck the
hood of your car up, I made sure to look, baby girl.”
Monique’s
stomach tightened at that term of endearment and smiled. “Thanks.”
“How about
I buy you dinner this time?” Jon offered, a grin on his face as he walked over
to Vallea, reaching out to plant his hands on her hips.
Yep, they
still fit her perfectly, her body had been made to order, all for him. Of course, it was damn presumptuous of him to
assume she was going to want anything to do with him. After he had basically fucked and fled, but…Jon
was arrogant that way.
“Dessert
is always optional.”
Monique
caught that tone and knew damn well Jon and Vallea’s relationship was sexual in
nature. Vallea had a LOT of explaining
to do when it was just them.
“Why don’t
we all go to dinner? I’m famished.” Joe
suggested, flashing Monique a smile. “What do you say?”
Vallea
felt the familiar flood of heat rush through her, those electric blue pools
were already drowning her. She placed
her hands against his bare chest since he only had jeans and sneakers on, fresh
out of a shower in the arena. “We can talk about dessert later, handsome. First, you’re going to feed me and I’m
choosing the restaurant this time.”
“Just
nothing TOO fancy. We’re not into that
kinda setting.” Joe winked down at Monique, wondering if she was high-maintenance
or down to earth.
“It’s
not. Monique, why don’t you let Joe ride
with you and I’ll ride with Jon? You two
can get to know each other.” Vallea grinned at her flabbergasted friend and
client before guiding Jon by the hand towards her vehicle. The second they were out of eyesight, Vallea
pulled his face down to hers to passionately kiss him, their bodies molding
together just as they had 2 months ago.
Well that is
awkward, Joe thought as he stared down at
Monique. She was obviously a fan and he
hoped not a crazy one. He liked living.
“Not going to wear my skin or something, are you?” He wasn’t surprised when Jon
came running back, pulling the keys out of his pocket. “Forget something?”
“Uh huh.”
Jon was grinning.
“You got
lipstick on your face, lover boy.”
The
restaurant of choice was a little Mom & Pop place on the other side of the
city. It was on the strip, but due to
the other popular places, it wasn’t very well-known. Both Monique and Vallea knew it well and
often visited for their mouthwatering coffee cake and delicious coffee. They also had the best pie…not to say their
other food wasn’t good because it was divine.
Jon had showed her a place of his he frequented, so Vallea wanted to return
the favor.
She had no
idea what the future held between them or if it would just be meet-ups every
couple months whenever they were in the city at the same time. That could actually work, though a
relationship couldn’t be built on that.
Sitting down, Monique looked a little less tense and more relaxed,
probably due to Joe working his charm on her.
She wasn’t as fidgety as she’d been.
Vallea took Jon’s hand beneath the table and laced their fingers
together while everybody looked at their menu to see what they wanted to order.
“So, how
long have you been a fan of wrestling?” Joe wanted to strike up a conversation
with Monique, intrigued by her, even though she was a fan of his. Hell,
weirder things had happened and he knew a couple men who had actually married
fans of theirs.
“About 10
years or so.” Monique popped a chip in her mouth, which was complimentary.
“Who was
your favorite before me?” Joe couldn’t help asking and saw her cheeks turn
crimson.
Monique
cleared her throat, not expecting that question. “John Cena. But then the Shield came in and completely
corrupted me. Roman Reigns was always my
favorite out of the three.” This wasn’t Roman Reigns she was having dinner
with, it was Joe and she refused to call him by his wrestling persona he played
on television.
Joe liked
that a lot, grinning. “Cool.”
Monique
was one of those fans and Jon could see his buddy being extremely stupid. Of course, he couldn’t talk much, he was
holding hands with Vallea under the table and had no idea what was going
through her mind. Casual, sexual
relationship could definitely be on the table, but given the fact that they
both travelled extensively for their respective jobs…anything besides casual
and sexual was off the table.
“You on
time off, doll?” He asked curiously, wondering just how much time they had, not
that he had really left a good morning after impression the last time.
“Unfortunately,
no. Just got back in yesterday and I’m
flying out in a few days for a week this time.”
Vallea did
not sound the least bit bothered and could feel his hesitation when it came to
doing something as simple as holding hands.
She missed him, but didn’t want him to be uncomfortable in any way with
her. Casually, she released his hand to
reach for more chips to dip in the sauce provided and kept the smile on her
face.
“What
exactly do you do for a living?” Joe inquired, mildly curious and looked over
at Monique.
“Who are
you asking, big man? I’m her personal
assistant as of right now. And I’ll be
working with her over the next couple months through the agency.”
Monique
felt eyes on her and chewed her chip thoughtfully. “I sell properties all over
the United States. I find houses that
are shabby and spruce them up to resell them for a reasonable profit. It’s a lot of paperwork and that’s where a PA
comes in handy. We’ve been working
together for a couple years now, right Valle?”
“Yeah, I
think 3 years. Time flies.”
“Sure
does.”
“You’re a
house flipper.” The market after the crash was ripe for that, even Jon knew
that. Not that house flipping was ever
something he’d consider, he didn’t have the necessary know how. “So, where are
you ladies flying out too then?” Vallea had said travel agent, sometimes
personal assistant, he was still holding that her job was screwed up. One couldn’t be both. Maybe she was just a ‘fixer’.
No, she
did both with her job and he’d have to get used to it and deal with it. “Hawaii
for another week. She has several houses
out there that are almost ready to be put on the market and there’s last minute
work to be done. I think in a couple
weeks we’ll be heading to New York too.”
Vallea
wasn’t lying when she said she was hardly in Vegas and at home, basically
living out of her luggage. Hell, she
bought new things half the time while on the road working. Monique was her number one client though and
they got along really well, for the most part.
“I’m an
investor. I don’t necessarily do the
work with the houses, I hire people for that shit.” Monique could hear the
judgment in Dean Ambrose’s voice, but it didn’t bother her since a lot of
people didn’t think she could build an empire doing ‘house flipping’. In her eyes, it was a smart investment
because the market was almost always solid for business, depending on where she
found a property. “And yeah, Hawaii is my number one state, surprisingly
enough. I’m gonna move there one day.”
“Nah, I
love Vegas. Nothing beats it.”
“Not even
the ocean, sand, and beautiful sunsets?”
“Woman,
there’s hurricanes and tropical storms too, don’t forget. Vegas doesn’t get that shit often since we’re
not directly on the coast.”
That was a
good point. “Way to crap all over my dreams, Valle.”
Vallea
laughed, sipping her beer that was placed in front of her.
Jon had
zero fucks what Monique was thinking. Flipping
was smart if one had the money to invest and wasn’t paying out the ass on other
people doing everything. That tended to
bring the actual profits down to slim pickings.
“Active
volcano in Hawaii, so why in the fuck would you move there?”
“What are
the odds of it going off?”
Apparently,
nobody watched the news anymore. Jon
shrugged, taking a long drink of his beer. “Vegas has the best views.” He
winked at Vallea.
“Another
good point.” Vallea grinned back at him, leaning back against the booth,
agreeing wholeheartedly with him. “It does indeed.” She tapped her beer bottle
against his gently, taking a long pull from it and ate another chip.
“Meh, I
still want to move there. Worth the
risks.” Monique would not be deterred or convinced otherwise because, honestly,
she hated Vegas. Way too congested for
her liking, even with the Red Rock Canyon and valleys surrounding the city of
lights.
“I prefer
Florida, myself.”
“Way too
humid.”
“Hey,
Pensacola is beautiful.”
“And humid
100% of the time.”
Vallea was
amused by this and Jon was too, both staring at the budding couple before them.
“Florida
sucks if you like your hair.” Jon commented innocently, not surprised in the
least when Monique jumped on that one. He
had definitely noticed her hair.
“Exactly,
the humidity would kill it. Besides,
Florida is terrible for property investment right now, what with all the
hurricanes and the insurance there is outlandish.”
“But
Hawaii isn’t?”
“Hawaii is
worth it.” She smiled sweetly, fluttering her eyes at Joe.
“I might
have to check it out sometime.” He conceded.
Jon tried
not to snort into his beer.
He changed
his tune right quick and Vallea snickered in her beer, rather enjoying the
Samoan being brought down to size by Monique.
She had a way with men, it didn’t matter how famous they were. He could’ve been the biggest star in WWE and
Monique wouldn’t have cared because she was set in her ways.
“Maybe you
should. You might like it being a Samoan
and all.” She nudged him playfully, feeling more relaxed and herself, even with
a man of Joe’s caliber. “Tell you what, prove me wrong, if you can. I’ll come to Florida one of these days and
you can show me just how great it is compared to Hawaii.”
Joe liked
this woman’s spunkiness and held his bottle up. “Deal.” They clinked together
just as the food arrived; everyone was starving and dove into their meal
choices.
Chapter 7
It was
like watching Rome fall and it made Jon’s nose wrinkle in disgust.
Obviously,
they had issues. What was it with men
falling at a woman’s feet? He and Vallea
had clicked, gone their separate ways and then reconnected out of the blue. This seemed to work for them. His electric blue eyes narrowed at her
thoughtfully, his fork dragging through whatever it was he had ordered.
“What the
fuck was that?”
“MoMo Magic.” Monique answered for Vallea, smiling at him.
“Hey, I
only made a deal with her. Doesn’t mean
I’m gonna leave Florida, man.” Joe was his own man and made his own decisions,
but he had to admit, he was intrigued by Monique. “Besides, we’ve been to Hawaii
and all over the world with WWE. Just
not enough time to sight-see a lot of the time.”
“That
sucks. Half the fun with traveling is
sight-seeing and taking everything in.” Vallea pointed out with a slight frown,
wondering what it was like to travel with the WWE that was literally in a
different city or town almost every night of the week.
“Part of
the job, sweet cheeks.” Joe winked at her, taking another bite of the steak he
ordered and knew he’d have to hit the gym twice as hard tomorrow to work this
off. It was worth it though.
Beautiful
women with a great meal – he’d take that any day of the week.
Monique
giggled at the nickname Joe gave her friend, shaking her head and took a sip of
her beer.
“I’ve been
to Hawaii, it’s expensive.”
A gallon
of milk cost about seven bucks, almost three dollars more than Vegas. He made quite a bit of money, but that did not
mean he was set on losing it all because groceries were outrageously expensive.
Jon also liked Vegas a bit too much to move,
he was planning on spending his retirement in this sinful city.
Hopefully,
that was still a long ways off.
“I’ve done
the legwork and I can honestly say Vegas is the best city in the United
States. Maybe not the world, but
definitely the country.”
Vallea did
not see herself moving anywhere else anytime soon, not even somewhere tropical
because that just wasn’t who she was. Her
and Monique had a lot of differences and one of them was where she did her real-estate
or ‘house flipping’. It wasn’t her job
to question her client though, and Vallea kept her thoughts to herself unless
Monique asked for her opinion, which was more often than not.
Everyone
had their preference and was entitled to their opinion.
Personally,
Jon thought Joe and Monique were both idiots. Vegas had the nice hot weather they both
seemed to enjoy without the humidity, hurricanes, or active volcanoes. He couldn’t imagine living on a house with
stilts instead of a foundation, but then again, he also lived in an apartment. An expensive apartment that he was hoping to
not use much for a while after that rather long vacation. After dinner, Monique volunteered to take Joe
back to the arena to grab his rental, which left Vallea and Jon alone.
Neither
minded since they only had a short amount of time together before real life
would bite them in the backside. “Thank you for dinner.” Vallea murmured, both
of her hands slid in the back pockets of her capri’s while walking toward the
car with him, looking up at the starry night sky. It reminded her of the night they spent
together walking the Strip before going back to her condo. “You were in your
element tonight during the show. I
enjoyed watching you perform.”
“I’m kind
of surprised you were there to be honest.” Jon admitted with a chuckle. “But
thank you.”
It was
weird. She had known what he did, but
she had also said wrestling wasn’t her thing, so her being at a show…well, a
very vain part of him was puffing out and assuming she HAD gone just to see
HIM. Jon knew he had ego problems.
“Believe
me, I was surprised when Monique told me she was a wrestling fan. It was because of me cause I almost
rear-ended someone while staring at a picture of you on the side of a huge
semitruck, while on the freeway.” Vallea snickered at the memory of scaring the
hell out of Monique and shook her head, stopping to turn and look up at him.
“She invited me and I could’ve declined, but…curiosity killed the cat. I went because of you. I wanted to see you again and figured that
was the only way to do it.”
See, and
she had just made his ego problems even worse by telling him that. Jon felt something practically purring inside
of his chest, like a jungle cat that was content after a chase. “Way to inflate
my head, doll.” He rumbled, finally coming to a stop next to the car and leaned
against it, folding his arms over his chest as he stared down at her. “So what
now, Val?”
It was the
truth and there was no reason to keep it from him. She stepped up to him, sliding one hand up
his t-shirt covered chest and kept the other one in her back pocket. “I’d much
prefer this head,” Reaching down, Vallea stroked him through his jeans and
smirked at the groan that came from his lips. “Be inflated than your top one
right now. And I don’t know what happens
now. Sex and then we go our separate
ways again, I’d imagine. You all right
with that, Jon?”
Jon was
going to venture a guess that she didn’t overly care about the fact he had
bailed on her, in the early morning hours, without so much as a ‘thank you’ and
goodbye. That or Vallea really missed
his dick. “Keep that up, doll and I’ll bend you over this car right here and
now.” He warned her, reaching down to grab her wrist gently but firmly.
Why would
she care if he left her in the morning hours after they had sex? It wasn’t as if they were in a
relationship. Vallea accepted what this
was between them; she wasn’t stupid by any means. She had left her fair share of beds too
without notifying the recipient, preferring not to say goodbyes to one another. It made things more complicated; feelings
would arise and it was best to wake up without seeing each other after a night
full of hot, unbridled sex.
“I told
you I’m not an exhibitionist.” She reminded him, leaning up to brush her lips
against his beard covered jaw, enjoying the feeling of his soft facial hair
against her. “You can bend me over all you want, but not out in the open like
this, handsome.”
“You sure
about that?” Jon had her pinned to the car, her face gently resting against the
hood in a matter of seconds. “Nobody’s around, doll.”
She had
said no, so he wouldn’t really do it, but that didn’t mean Jon wouldn’t torment
her a little bit. Blue eyes darkened
when she wriggled, purposefully stepping forward and pressed himself into her
pert ass. Suddenly, Jon was YANKED back
harshly away from her by a man almost his size, making her cry out in
surprise.
What the
HELL? “What are you doing?!” She demanded in a shaky voice, eyes wide.
“Miss, are
you all right? Don’t you fucking move, asshole!”
The man, who thought she’d been in trouble, ordered, pointing a finger in Jon’s
direction. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, of
course not! We were just…”
“Miss,
there’s no need to lie.” The man reprimanded gently, placing his hand on her
shoulder and blinked when she scurried away.
“There is
NOTHING wrong here! You’ve lost your –
JON!” Apparently, the man had gotten on Jon’s nerves because he delivered a
punch right to the intruder’s face, sending him flying on his ass. “Oh god…”
“Motherfucker!”
Jon wasn’t amused at all and he aimed a kick at the other man’s ribs. Anyone strong and big enough to forcibly yank
HIM could take their licks as far as he was concerned. “Maybe next time,” His
voice was a feral growl. “You’ll mind your own fucking business.”
This was a
side to Jon she’d never seen before and it scared Vallea, if she was being
honest. She swallowed hard as he
continued kicking the man relentlessly, his eyes nothing more than blue ice and
saw the man’s head was busted open from Jon’s fist connecting to his forehead.
“We have to go. Jon, we have to go NOW!”
She ordered, trying to stop him from inflicting further damage on the man and
pulled at his arm. That was a
mistake. She jumped back when he swung
it to nearly connect with her face, his body whirling around to glare at her.
“If you keep this up…you’re gonna really hurt him and he’ll have to go to the
hospital. Come on, please…” Christ, her
voice was shaky, along with the rest of her body.
Jon’s
glazed blue eyes began focusing on her, finally nodding, his lips compressing
in a thin, grim line. He had almost
punched HER, and with the force of his swing, he could have probably killed
her. His gaze snapped to the man on the
ground before searching the parking lot, thanking God it was off the Strip
itself. He was going to wind up in
prison.
“You
should go.”
“Not
without you, are you crazy? Come on, he
probably won’t remember what happened and we need to get out of here.” Vallea
took a chance, grabbing his hand and swallowed hard at the icy blues snapping
up to meet hers. “Jon, please…”
He was a
celebrity, of sorts, and if the company he worked for found out about this
altercation, he could be fired.
Reluctantly, he went with her and got in the car as she sped away. This was Vegas, plenty of people got mugged
on a daily and nightly basis, so the cops wouldn’t hunt down someone beaten up
in a parking lot. Luckily, there were no
witnesses besides Vallea and she wouldn’t betray Jon that way since the man
actually deserved the beating he took.
“Are you
all right?”
“You’re
insane, Vallea.” He grunted in a monotone, staring out the window. She was basically aiding and abetting him
committing aggravated assault on a good Samaritan. She was doing it without a second thought, after
he had nearly taken HER head off. “Just drop me off anywhere, doll.” His eyes
moved down to his fists.
“No. I’m taking you back to my place. Just…let me help you, okay?”
Vallea
pressed her foot on the gas harder, racing through the streets of Vegas and
managed to make it out of the strip to the other side of the city. She knew what was probably going through his
mind and wanted to comfort him somehow, someway, but the way he stared down at
his balled up fists told her it wouldn’t do a bit of good. Once they were at her place and parked,
Vallea cut the ignition and looked over at him, seeing his eyes were STILL
glued to his fists.
“You
wouldn’t hurt me, Jon. You stopped
yourself from doing it. I trust you.”
“Well,
you’re an idiot then, aren’t you, doll?” Jon snorted, opening the passenger
door and getting out of the car. “All you know about me is that I saved you
once, you like to fuck me, and I just beat the life out of some guy who thought
you were in danger. How are you safe?”
“You
didn’t beat the life out of him, you just roughed him up a little and
rightfully so. He had no right pulling
you off me the way he did. He didn’t
know the situation and he should’ve been prepared for the consequences.” Vallea
folded her arms in front of her chest, hazel eyes narrowing at him. “Believe
me, if I didn’t feel safe, I wouldn’t bring you back to my place and I
definitely wouldn’t want to fuck you.
I’m safe with you, I know it and I don’t scare away easily, Jon. If you wanna leave, let me clean your hands
up and you can be on your way. I won’t
stop you.”
“It’s so
easy for you to justify what I did, isn’t it?” Jon was both amused and
disgusted. The guy had thought Vallea
was being assaulted, and she was totally cool with him getting his ass beaten
down just because she thought the would-be savior had overstepped his bounds by
being helpful. “You’re just as fucked as I am.”
“What do
you WANT me to say?! That you scared the
shit out of me with your temper?! Fine,
you scared me, but I also know you won’t hurt me! God!” Vallea clutched her hair between her
fingers, hating how this night had ended when it was going so well. “Do you
want me to push you away, Jon? Do you
want me to tell you to leave and never come back? Because I won’t do it. Everybody has a temper. You’re only human and you made a
mistake. It happens, it doesn’t mean
I’ll just write you off and think of you as an actual lunatic. That’s just not who I am.”
“And what
about your mistake? I probably broke
that guy’s ribs and you didn’t think twice about leaving his ass there to rot.”
Jon pointed out, without scorn or judgment, now he was just genuinely curious
about where her equally lunatic mind was at. “You don’t know him, so he doesn’t
matter. You’ve known me about thirty-two
hours so I count?”
“Why are
you so hell bent on defending a stranger yourself? And for your information, yes, I contacted
the authorities via text message and they are on their way to check on him as
we speak. I did it anonymously.”
Technology was a beautiful thing sometimes. “I’m not that heartless. And I may not know you that well, but yes,
you DO matter. And you do count to me. Now stop talking crazy and come inside, so I
can doctor your hands up. Then you can
run away, if that’s what you wanna do.” Vallea had to look away from him to
keep the tears at bay, clearing her throat.
“My hands
are fine.” Jon said flatly, wondering why she was so tenacious about that one
little detail. His knuckles were
bruised, there was one scrape along a finger, nothing he was overly concerned
about. He was curious about her
thoughts, the way she did things, because if he was going to be involved with
someone potentially crazy, he liked to know where their priorities lie. That was a fairly good indicator where he’d
wind up some day.
Or in her
case, headless.
“Fine.”
Vallea folded her arms in front of her chest, feeling more confused and
perplexed than she had in her life. “If you’re coming inside, you know the
way. I’m not standing out here yelling
at you anymore for the world to see and hear.” Lord knew the last thing they
needed were the cops called on them after what Jon did. “I’ll leave the
decision up to you.” Pulling the tie out of her hair, she let it tumble down
her back and over her shoulders, shaking it loose a little before turning to
head inside.
Her head
was killing her from having her hair up all that time, along with the drama
that just transpired between her and Jon.
Chapter 8
This was
how Jon knew he was royally screwed, he was very tempted to snatch her up and
bend her right back over the hood of the car. Because he was an idiot who apparently hadn’t
learned the lesson life had just tried teaching him. Not about to be caught in that situation again
anytime soon, he heaved a sigh, reached for curly hair he no longer possessed
and followed her.
“I’m
fucked.”
Vallea
heard the door open and close to her condo, already knowing who it was and had
the shower going, needing to cleanse herself.
She undressed, dropping her clothes in the hamper and turned her head in
time to see Jon step into the bathroom with her. Stepping up to him as he kicked the door
closed with his sneaker, she slid her hand up his chest beneath the shirt and
back down again, this time using nails.
“Shower
with me.” It was a soft, sultry request and she didn’t wait for a response,
just pushed the t-shirt up over his head before going to his jeans, unfastening
the belt and button, sliding the zipper down.
That sound alone made her warm from the inside out, a fire raging inside
of her only he could create and quench.
“You’re
still not tending my hands, doll.” Jon informed her with a crooked grin, blue
eyes searching hers intently as she knelt down to slide his jeans down.
He was
wearing boxer briefs, something that wasn’t the traditional tighty-whities, but
also didn’t need to be adjusted from riding up his ass or getting bunched in
uncomfortable areas. She took those down
along with his jeans, letting his erection spring free and one eyebrow slowly
raised. Not bothering with responding,
Vallea wrapped her soft hand around his dick and stroked, making him harder
instantly. Good, she wanted him a little
riled up and guided him, by the dick, into the shower under the hot
sprays. Jon captured her mouth with his,
drawing her against him and lifted her to where her legs encircled his waist, pressing
her back against the shower wall. They
could have a quickie in the shower and then a longer, drawn out session in the
bedroom afterwards. Vallea was lost in
ecstasy once again, drowning in it and shut her eyes, relishing every second
with Jon she had, the incident with the stranger at the restaurant long
forgotten.
It was no
surprise when Vallea woke up in the morning, Jon was gone once again – no note
left behind or anything.
And so it
was back to reality until the next time fate intervened and drew them together.
~!~
“So that’s
how it works for you? You guys hook up
and then you bail on her while she’s asleep?”
“Hey, she
has my number.”
Joe shook
his head, both amused and a little disgusted. “You have hers.”
“And maybe
I’ll let her forget about me over the next few days and then text her a dick
pic.”
How were
they friends? Joe sometimes didn’t
understand it.
~!~
Hawaii
again.
It never
ceased to amaze Vallea just how beautiful this place was. It still didn’t hold a candle to Vegas, not
in her eyes, but she knew Monique felt differently. They hadn’t talked about their excursions
with the wrestlers, only because Vallea had passed out on the plane as soon as
it was time for takeoff. Jon had worn
her out, not that she was complaining.
What was there to complain about?
She did worry she wouldn’t hear from him again, however. The way he acted after hurting that man…how
he’d been so cold toward her…it would be a shock if he actually did call her or
they ran into each other again in the future.
Maybe they
would, maybe they wouldn’t, who knew?
“Now then,
you’re going to tell me what happened between you and Ambrose last night.”
“First of
all,” Vallea held her hand up, walking along the beach with Monique after a
long day of work. “His name is Jon. I
refuse to call him by his wrestling name or whatever. Secondly, a lady doesn’t kiss and tell. So I tell you what, you tell me what happened
between you and the Samoan and I’ll THINK about telling you some details of my
night.”
“Cheeky
wench.” Monique giggled, looping her arm through Vallea’s and stared out at the
ocean. “He kissed me…and it was wonderful.
We talked for a while and he invited me up to his room, but we didn’t
have sex. Just laid in bed talking. It was nice.
I don’t know if I’ll hear from him again, but at least I’ll have that
night to remember him by.” The difference was, when she woke up in the morning
to a pair of lips on hers, Monique was grateful Joe hadn’t skipped out on her,
even though it was his hotel room. “Now you.”
“We had
shower sex and then more sex before passing out together. There, now you know.” Vallea grinned,
laughing when Monique shoved her into the ocean.
After a
few minutes of horse playing in the ocean, Monique helped Vallea back onto the
warm sand. She was laughing as they both dropped down, drawing her knees up to
her chest. She loved Hawaii, volcanoes or not, and she had every intention of
retiring here and being wealthy enough to do so comfortably. She had a feeling
Jon and Vallea had done another ‘no wake-ups’ type deal but that wasn’t her
business. If it worked for them, it worked for them. She had given Joe her
number but she honestly didn’t expect anything to come from it, and she was
okay with that. She had gotten to spend the night with the guy.
“You two
going to hook up again?”
Vallea
shrugged, honestly not knowing the answer to that question. “I don’t know. He left before I got up this morning again,
like last time. It doesn’t bother me as
much as it probably should.” Maybe she was as fucked up as Jon claimed to be.
“There’s no way to have a fully functional relationship…” Her brow raised when
Monique’s phone went off, which was safely in her waterproof compartment of her
waterproof purse.
The woman
didn’t take ANY chances when it came to her phone because it was her
livelihood.
Pulling it
out, Monique felt her jaw drop at who was texting her and covered her mouth
with her hand.
“Let me
guess, the hot Samoan?”
Monique
nodded with the biggest smile on her face. “He’s letting me know he had a great
time and he’s sorry he didn’t get back to me, but work has been hell on earth
for him. He said he’ll call me later tonight
once he’s back at the hotel from the show.”
“Sounds to
me like he’s interested in more than one night with you.” Vallea teased gently,
nudging her crimson-faced friend and laughed, digging her toes further into the
warm, soft sand.
In
Monique’s humble opinion, that being interested stemmed from the fact that they
hadn’t had a one night stand. There had
been no sex at all. Sure, some kissing,
but mostly talking. That tended to add
to the whole shebang, not putting out straight away. But then again, maybe Jon and Vallea weren’t
meant to be anything except casual one night stands.
“So if it
were possible, you’d want a fully functional relationship with Jon?”
“If
possible, yes.” Vallea answered without hesitation, drawing her knees up to her
chest to stare out at the ocean, the sun setting on the horizon. “I have a
connection with him I can’t explain.
It’s like…a gravitational force and no matter what I do, I can’t shake
him. I can’t shake the pull. It scares me, honestly. I’ve never met a man like him before – he’s
different. And if we could be together
in a fully functional relationship, I would in a heartbeat. Something tells me he’s not the relationship
type though.” She sounded just slightly saddened by that fact and brightened
right back up again. “Anyway, no point in dwelling on it. You gonna answer your Samoan back or not?”
“Oh yeah,
eventually. We’re on a bit of a time
difference here, Valle.” Monique pointed out, glancing down at her phone. “And
he’s calling me later. Always leave them
wanting more.” She giggled, feeling that they had left each other wanting more,
not that she was in any hurry to get to that point. She liked building things up and drawing it
out. The downside to that was if things
fizzled when they hit The Point of No Return. “Outside of him saving you, what
do you really know about Jon?”
Come to
think of it, nothing Vallea could think of off the top of her head. “Hmm that’s
a good question, I really don’t know.” She tilted her head, trying to wrack her
brain and shook her head. “He’s a wrestler?
I don’t really know much about him other than that and the sex is
fantastic.” Monique gave her a stern look and Vallea shrugged it off, wondering
why she hadn’t tried getting to know Jon better. “It’s so crazy because the
first night we went out together, it was both day and night actually, we talked
for HOURS. I know his favorite food is
greasy cheeseburgers and his favorite beverage is beer. That sort of thing, but nothing about his
background. He was hush-hush about it.”
Somehow,
Monique had a feeling that she knew more about Jon than Vallea did, thanks to
Wikipedia. “Um, you never Google’d him or anything?”
She had done that to Joe right after that night. She had spent a lot of time looking him up on
her cell, just to learn everything and anything she could. Monique wasn’t surprised when Vallea shook her
head. “So, you’d be down for a relationship, knowing nothing about him?”
“Okay in
my defense, I never thought I’d see him again after that one night. Second, I didn’t know his last name or his
wrestling name either, so there was no way for me to google him. Third, I’d rather get to know the person from
THEMSELVES than look it up online, even if they are a celebrity.” Vallea ticked
each response off on her fingers and nudged Monique, scowling playfully. “Hell,
I STILL don’t know what his last name is, only his wrestling name and I’m not
gonna google him. If he wants me to know
about him, he’ll tell me himself.”
“Well,
sweetie, if he’s on the hush-hush side when it comes to his personal life and
background, I’m going to venture out on a limb and assume he doesn’t want to
tell you.” Monique sighed inwardly. What
she knew was about the character and again, whatever was on Wikipedia, when it
came to Jon. It wasn’t really her place
to tell Vallea about Jon, if she wasn’t going to search it herself. “Well, if
it gets serious, let me know.”
“I will.”
Vallea
doubted it would, firmly pushing Jon in the far recesses of her mind for the
time being. She had a job to do and
didn’t have time to be hung up on a guy – a one or two night stand at
that. Maybe it was old-school of her,
but Vallea believed in getting to know a person without using the Internet. There was so much technology in the world
these days, too much, and it made getting to know someone relatively
impossible. Everything was for the world
to see, thanks to social media, which she didn’t do much of. She avoided it at all costs, not even having
a Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, none of it.
It was all
nonsense, in her opinion.
It was
probably a good thing Vallea had cultivated some high profile contacts in her
line of work. Because not utilizing
social media, for the most part, was just a bad idea all around when it came to
professional things. Technology was
where it was at and social platforms allowed people to market themselves.
“I really
think I should invest in some affordable housing out this way.” That was a bit
out of the blue to say.
“Affordable
housing in Hawaii?” Vallea began laughing, wondering where that thought came
from because it really was out of the blue.
Monique was all about the Benjamin’s, usually, but every once in a while
she would say something as random as that. “Not a bad idea, if you can find
people that are willing to donate time and money to build the affording
housing.” That was a bitch in itself because everybody was all about the
almighty dollar. “I’m heading back to the hotel, you coming?” She stood up,
dusting the sand off her and couldn’t wait to hop in the shower, knowing she
probably had sand in her vagina right about now.
“Yeah.”
Monique wasn’t kidding about retiring and living here.
She liked
flipping houses and all that, but eventually, she was going to settle in one
spot. This spot. This state.
To that end, she wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to be living in a
slum and a sad fact of life in Hawaii was that there was a lot of homeless
and/or poor people. Housing wasn’t cheap, she knew, she was investing and
selling here. She would much rather have people in cheap apartments then
camping on the streets.
Each going
to their private rooms, Vallea had just gotten undressed and had a towel
wrapped around her body when her phone rang.
Who was calling her? She rarely
received phone calls unless it was from one of Monique’s clients, which were
all taken care of for the time being.
Frowning, she walked out of the bathroom and looked down at the caller
ID, eyes widening at the name on the screen.
Jon…was calling her…Vallea picked it up before it could go to voicemail,
holding the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Doll, I
need you to settle something for me and Joe,” Jon said by way of greeting,
without actually greeting her. He figured by now, she was probably either used
to his less than normal way of doing things or she was just ‘that’ kind of
girl. “Joe says it’s fucked up if I send you random pics of my junk out of the
blue. I say we’re way beyond the point of fucked up.”
“I’m
sorry…what?” Vallea blinked at that greeting and started laughing, wondering if
she’d ever get used to Jon’s randomness. “Umm…I wouldn’t mind the pictures,
no. It’s not like I haven’t seen you
naked before…” What kind of conversation was this? “And why are you arguing
with a man about sending pics of your dick to a woman? Or do you swing both ways, Jonny boy?”
“I don’t
know, never tried it.” Jon said after a moment, sounding thoughtful. “Hold that
thought, doll.” He set his cell down. “C’mere Joe.”
“Hey… what
are you doing? Jon?” Joe sounded confused and then agitated. “DUDE!”
Jon
returned a few moments later, laughing his ass off. “Well, I still don’t know,
but Joe is traumatized.”
Vallea did
NOT want to know what Jon just did to make the Samoan roar out and force her to
pull the phone away from her ear. Nope,
she was good. Jon couldn’t stop laughing
and she shook her head, walking out onto the balcony after tightening her towel
a little more to gaze out at the ocean. “So is that the only reason you called me? To settle a dispute with your bromance?”
“I HATE
YOU, JON!”
Now it was
Vallea’s turn to giggle.
Chapter 9
“This
bromance is entirely one sided, he’s definitely not digging my lusciously soft
lips.” Jon deadpanned, then snorted. “And no, I did call to settle the dick pic
thing. Well, it was a good excuse to call. How are you? What are you doing? Better yet, what are you wearing, doll?” Since
she wasn’t going to call him, apparently, and had been kind enough to show she
was just as insane as he was…he’d make that jump.
“Okay so,
I’m not lying when I tell you I’m in a towel.
I was just about to jump in the shower when you called.” Vallea did not
want him thinking sex was all she ever thought about in life because it
wasn’t. Well, maybe with him, but it
would have to change if they were to be something other than sex. “And he’s
crazy if he doesn’t enjoy those lips of yours.” Now THAT was a sexual
statement. “I’m fine, how are you? How
was your show? Or should I say
match? Yeah, how was your match?”
“I don’t
know yet, haven’t had it. We’re in the
dressing room, actually.” Jon glanced at the time. Oh yeah, they were in different time zones.
“Be in about 30 minutes.”
“Yeah, and
you should be prepping.”
“Joe says
hi.” He said sweetly, flipping his friend the middle finger. “I think he’s
having issues over my delicious kiss.”
Shaking
his head, Joe vacated the dressing room.
Not much
of a time difference at the moment since they were on the West Coast and it was
going on 7 PM, in California, which is where they were tonight for the house
show. It was only a 2 hour time
difference between them, so it was 5 PM in Hawaii. However, Vallea had been up since the ass
crack of dawn and being baked on the beach with Monique had left her feeling a
little drained. “I’m sure he is.” She turned away from the ocean and walked
back into the room, leaving the doors open to let the breeze in for a minute.
“He’s right, though. You should prep for
your match tonight. Wouldn’t want you
getting hurt or anything.” She still had no idea he’d been ‘on vacation’ for an
injury.
“Aww,
doll, you still want to play my nurse?” Jon’s voice dropped to a wicked timbre.
“My hands are healed up, Val, but I got other parts you could tend.” He heard
her snorting through the phone and began chuckling. “I’m warmed up plenty,
doll, don’t you worry about me. You’re
in Hawaii, right? Joe’s been talking
about your friend quite a bit. It’s
gross.”
“I’ll play
nurse for you any time you want, Jon.
You know that. And yeah, we’re in
Hawaii, just closed a few more business transactions and hopefully, the houses
will be sold in a couple weeks.” It wouldn’t be hard since the market was on
fire right now for real estate. “Seems they like each other…” She chewed her
bottom lip, the conversation with Monique about Jon rolling through her mind
again. “Monique actually pointed something out to me today. She asked me if I knew anything about you
and…I told her no. She told me to go on
Wikipedia and I told her I’d rather get to know the person from them than on
the Internet or social media. Hell, I
don’t even know your last name.” That made her laugh a little awkwardly.
“Good.” He
said after a long moment. There was no real reason for her to not know he
supposed. They were way past the point of introductions anyway.
“Oh,
okay.” Vallea had no idea what to think about that. He didn’t want her to know
his last name?
“No, I
mean that’s my last name. Jon Good.” He
corrected, trying hard not to chuckle. “Jonathan Good.”
“Jon
Good.” Vallea tested it out, eyes narrowing and really hoped he wasn’t messing
with her. “That’s…you’re serious about this, right? Because if you’re screwing with me, I will
fly to California and find a way to hurt you.” His reassurance made her feel
marginally better. “Scholar is mine. Vallea
Scholar.” It sounded like either a fancy porn star name or a professor. Jon didn’t know anything about her either,
not even her last name. They stuck with
today topics during their walk around Vegas and mostly flirted to drive each
other crazy.
“We both
have stupid last names.” Jon informed her after sorting out that last name of
hers. Who the hell had Scholar as a last name? He was a bit suspicious that she was messing
with him, or using a porn name or something. “We’re going to have to sort that
shit out quick if we ever get serious, babe. Can’t name our demon babies either of those.”
She
swallowed hard at the mention of babies and had to gulp down her anxiety,
letting out a nervous chuckle. “Good isn’t that bad…I could always start
calling you Jonny Be Good.” His groan made her laugh a little lighter as she
sat down on the bed, chewing her bottom lip. “So, you think there’s a chance we
could get serious then? I mean you’re
mentioning babies, so it’s obviously been on your mind.” Why was her stomach
suddenly tensing and feeling as though it was twisting or fluttering?
Jon fell
silent again, wondering if she were serious. From what little he did know of Vallea, he had
assumed she wasn’t one of ‘those’ chicks. One of those chicks who started with the
exploding ovary bullshit at the mere mention of baby. “No, it hasn’t.” He
corrected her flatly. “It was a joke, Val.” And now he knew what was on her
mind, them getting serious. “What do you want from me?”
She was
NOT that type of woman. In fact, Vallea
never wanted kids – EVER. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Jonny boy. I don’t want kids, never have and probably
never will. And I don’t know what I want
from you. I guess getting to know you
would be a step in the right direction to figuring that out. But we both lead very complicated lives and
we both travel a lot, separately. Do you
honestly think a relationship can be built on that? Or would you rather just stick to sex only
once in a while whenever we run into each other in Vegas? Because I’m all right with both options,
honestly.” Heaving a sigh, she didn’t expect the phone call to turn serious so
suddenly and it threw her for a loop. “I pose the same question to you. What do you want from me?”
“Not
babies.” Jon liked kids, from a distance.
He had
some steadfast rules in his life. No
social media, it caused way too many issues and, quite frankly, he saw no
reason to air his life to everyone. No
children because he had no intention of hanging up his boots and that just
wasn’t fair to offspring or the poor unfortunate soul who bore them.
“How about
another date?”
“Good,
glad we’re on the same page with that.
And I’m sure I can fit you into my schedule.” Vallea was all smiles now
and couldn’t believe Jon was actually asking her out on another date. They had slept together twice and yet they
were going on dates. They really did do
everything ass backwards. “When are your next days off?” Wednesday and Thursday
were the answer. “All right, I’ll be home during those two days for sure, so I
can see you.” It would be a lot easier if they traveled together, but that
wasn’t possible with their lines of work.
If he knew
what she was thinking, about traveling together, he would have seen big, red,
flashing neon warning signs. Very few couples
in his line of work actually did that, unless they were both part of the
company. “Thursday, I’ll come pick you up around 8, in the morning.” His tone
was a lot lighter than it had been moments ago. “Wear hiking stuff.”
Hazel eyes
glittered at his command and Vallea couldn’t wait for Thursday to get here,
hating it was only Saturday. “Okay, I will.” Were they actually going to try
giving this a chance? There was only one
way to find out.
“Ambrose,
we gotta go, man! Get off the phone!”
Vallea chuckled
at the sound of Joe’s voice and could FEEL Jon’s eyeroll. “Be safe and call me
later, if you’re not too tired or you feel up to it.” She wanted to say have a
great match, but Vallea didn’t think that was the right thing to say, so she
went with be safe instead.
“Don’t
wait up, Val.” He hung up, shaking his head, refusing to fall in line with
traditional dating routines. That had
never worked out in the past for him and he wasn’t bothering with it now. Jon had, many times, neglected to call when he
was supposed with prior girlfriends because he forgot, or he was tired, and he
wasn’t doing that with her. “Shut up.”
Vallea
giggled at Joe’s growl, knowing the ‘shut up’ wasn’t directed at her. “Talk
soon, Jon.” She hung up, heaving a sigh and set her phone on the bed before
getting a much-needed shower and masturbation time.
That man
was going to be the death of her, she simply knew it. Hiking sounded fun and different for a date –
if it could even be called that. It made
her wonder what he had in mind as far as their destination went.
A few
hours later, she received a picture of him in a most…precarious position and
chewed her bottom lip before deciding to send one back to him. Naughty photos would only prove useful.
He made
sure to keep his actual head and whatnot out of the picture; he wasn’t
providing too much ammo, after all. Just
in case. He knew her enough to fuck her,
not send full on pics that may make Internet rounds. Jon had issues and didn’t trust easily; he
figured on their ‘date’, he’d lay it all out for her so she knew where he stood
and could make her own decisions from there.
~!~
Thursday
morning, Vallea was up at sunrise, had her coffee, a shower and was ready for
her date with Jon. Excitement bubbled in
her stomach as she paced around her condo, trying to keep herself busy. The Hawaii trip had been cut short due to Joe
asking Monique out on a date, after promising to come to Vegas to take her out
properly. They really did like each
other and she was happy for Monique. The
woman didn’t have much luck with men in the past, but hopefully the Samoan
could finally give her happiness. At 8
AM, her doorbell rang and Vallea took a deep breath before answering the door,
her backpack with all the necessities she figured she’d need over her shoulder.
“Right on
time.”
Her attire
was biker tight shorts and a burnt orange racerback top, her hair pulled back
in a tight bun to keep it out of her face and off her neck. Jon’s icy eyes swept over her, his lips
curving up into an appreciative smile. He
wore his own climbing shorts, something a bit tighter than he generally
preferred, but loose clothing wasn’t really wise or friendly when one scaled
rock walls, not if they didn’t want them torn or caught somewhere stupid.
“We’re
going to hit Solar Slab today, that okay with you, doll?” He reached out to
pull her into him before dropping a kiss on her beautiful lips.
That was
one place she hadn’t gone yet, though Vallea heard about it. She’d read up on it too. It was highly dangerous and they would
definitely need harnesses. She would not
be falling to her death or taking the risk again. The Red Rocks were child’s play compared to
the Solar Slab and, yet, she’d never felt more exhilarated and pumped for
anything in her life. The feeling of his
lips against hers was an added bonus to what would be another memorable day.
“Lead the
way, handsome.” She murmured against his mouth, slowly pulling away and already
had her keys in hand, guiding him out to lock the door.
As long as
he made it to the show tomorrow night, Jon wasn’t overly worried about today
and tonight. “You’re not going to need your car.” He gestured to his truck.
“Already loaded with what we’ll need.” Because Solar Slab had some beautiful
scenic areas to pitch a tent. “Unless…” He hadn’t considered this, but he
didn’t think it would be a problem either.
The woman climbed rock walls without harnesses and obviously had a thing
for being outside. “You don’t like camping?”
Vallea
raised a slow brow at him, trying to decide if he was being funny or
serious. Sometimes it was hard to tell
with Jon. She rock climbed for a hobby
and loved the outdoors, so why wouldn’t she enjoy camping? “I love to
camp. Just never seems to be enough time
to actually do it.” A fire, under the stars, with this man in the mountains
sounded heavenly and almost too good to be true. She reached up to softly kiss him this time
and walked out of the complex to start their adventure.
Some
people were weird that way. They liked
doing things outside, but hated the idea of sleeping outside. With women, it was usually bugs, snakes, and
lizards. Personally, he didn’t mind any
of that. Jon had woken up a time or two
with bugs. Hell, considering some of the
dive hotels he had stayed at, roughing it outdoors was luxurious. He was quiet as he drove towards their
destination, wondering when the shoe was going to drop. Their second ‘date’ and they were going to
camp on a mountain somewhere. Most women
would have shit bricks and she was just rolling with it happily. Jon couldn’t get that lucky, right?
“Oh my
god…it’s so beautiful.” Vallea was in awe at the sight of Solar Slab and beamed
at Jon, her eyes sparkling with excitement at this upcoming climb. “I can’t
wait to get to the top. Imagine the
view!” She nudged him, trying to get him pumped up as well and couldn’t take
her eyes from the window as he continued driving. The moment Jon stopped, she was out of the
truck and opened the hatch to grab everything they’d need. “That’s really steep,
so we’re using harnesses. I brought two
and enough rope and whatnot for both of us.” More than enough, she wanted to be
prepared. “I know you live for the moment and so do I, but…I also don’t wanna
go splat.” She liked living.
“Yeah…I
already have all that shit in one of my packs so unload yours.” Jon ordered,
shaking his head at her.
He was the
one who had asked her out, picked the place without telling her; he wasn’t
going in blind and about to risk either of their backsides on a proper mountain.
Jon was stronger than she was, he had
two sacks, one that would be used to hold their climbing gear and the other
held the tents and everything else.
“It’ll
make room for food, water and whatnot.”
Shrugging,
Vallea did as he asked and emptied her bag, packing it with extra food, water
and supplies, though she made sure to bring her own rope, just in case. One never knew what would happen climbing a
monster like they were about to. It
didn’t matter who was stronger – if Vallea had to, she could pull Jon up if
he’d gotten himself in a pickle as long as she had leverage to do it. When she wasn’t rock climbing or working, she
was usually in the gym, so she was stronger than she looked.
“Before we
go,” Vallea pulled his face down to hers, passionately kissing him and didn’t
break it until they both needed oxygen. “Lead the way, I’ll follow you.”
Chapter 10
The
strength issue was mostly geared towards her.
Jon would be able to carry more without it straining him like it would
have her. She was athletic, no doubt
about it, but his JOB was built around his strength. And devilish good looks. Couldn’t forget those.
“C’mon
doll.” Locking the truck, Jon tucked the keys in the leather satchel around his
waist, where he also kept important copies of equally important papers or
cards, just in case. “There’s a trail at the very top we’ll take that down in
the morning.” They were at the end of the traditional tourist season, so he
wasn’t foreseeing too many other people.
The sight
was absolutely breathtaking and it was just cool enough to be decent instead of
boiling hot like it’d been in August when they first met. October was a beautiful time of year, right
before the Christmas rush would come in.
People, more often than not, went on vacation and Vegas was their
destination for Christmas. It was a sad,
surprising fact. Once they were up
enough, Jon stopped and unzipped his bag, pulling the harnesses out. He twirled his finger, ordering Vallea to
turn around and she did without question, beginning to fasten the safety gear
on her body.
“Thank
you.” She murmured once he finished, feeling his lips brush against the pulse
point on her neck and proceeded to help him with his gear.
He nodded,
securing them both and then triple-checked all the ropes and rigging. If she had fallen from the Red Rock, where
they had been, she might’ve survived with a lot of broken limbs, but it was
survivable. This was not one of those places
and was far more dangerous.
“Ready to
get to the fun stuff?” Jon flashed her a grin, adjusting his sunglasses over
his eyes before looking up and whistled. He was so glad he had skipped the gym, this
was going to be a full body work out.
Slipping
her own shades on, Vallea nodded and had her hands wrapped with tape to keep a
steady grip on the rocks. There were
little crevices to latch onto, but they weren’t that deep. Thank the stars for harnesses! They stayed side by side while climbing, the
altitude something they were used to.
She was all smiles the entire climb, focusing on where to put her hands
and feet, showing she could really do this.
It wasn’t a fluke at Red Rock Canyon.
Once they were at the halfway mark to the top, Jon called for a break as
they stopped to have something to eat and drink, both nestled in what looked to
be a cave within the mountain.
“Mmm
water…” She was breathing heavily, sweaty and her heart was beating a little
fast in her chest, but not too hard. “Damn, they weren’t lying when they said
this was a BITCH to climb.”
“I know,
right?” Jon chuckled, his voice coming out a rasp.
He wasn’t
going to lie, he needed more cardio in his life and it didn’t help that he
smoked occasionally, which screwed him right about now. They were making good time, good progress, and
he wasn’t expecting them to hit the peaks, or plateaus if he were more
accurate, for another few hours. By
then, they’d be ready to find a sheltered area to camp and relax. She had said no, twice, about the car thing,
so he was going to nail her under the stars on a mountain top.
“So worth
it though. This is the best date I’ve
ever been on and it’s not even over yet.” Vallea laughed, her voice full of
mirth while sipping her water.
She knew
better than to down it because it’d make her nauseous and that wasn’t
happening. Jon was too good to be true –
a strapping, strong man that enjoyed climbing mountains and had a carefree,
don’t give a damn attitude. He wasn’t
the only one waiting for the other shoe to drop, so was she.
“Okay
what’s wrong with you? You’re
practically perfect and I’m just waiting to find out the uglier side of you, if
there is one. So, come on, nail me with
it. Give me a flaw, something, anything,
please?”
“I’m
crazy, doll, or haven’t you figured that out yet?” Jon couldn’t believe what he
had heard come out of her mouth. “Woman, you’ve seen me beat the piss out of a
guy for being a good Samaritan. I would
have probably killed him if you hadn’t intervened. How is that practically perfect?” God,
please don’t let her be one of those crazy broads who found that sort of thing
and being abused sexy, he silently prayed.
“No, he
should’ve realized what was really going on and kept going on his way. I wasn’t screaming or crying out for you to
stop. He was an idiot.” Vallea stated
coolly, folding her arms in front of her chest. “If anything, he was probably
trying to get a piece of me after thinking he’d take you out.” That was
laughable. “And you’re only crazy in a good way, Jon. I don’t think you’re crazy in a bad way at
all. I wouldn’t be up here with you
otherwise.” Maybe now was the time to ask him about his background. “Let’s
start with something simpler. Where are
you from originally? I was born and
raised in Ohio before I had to get the hell out of that state before it bored
me to death.” His face had gone a little pale and she touched his arm,
frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“Ohio
blows chunks.” Jon shrugged her hand off of his arm and rifled around in his
bag, procuring a bag of trail mix, a pouch of dried fruit, and some jerky.
“Hungry, doll?” He was changing the subject and he didn’t care that he was
blatant about it. “Good to know you’re on board with me beating down wonder
bread boys.” Plain, stale, do gooders. He couldn’t say anything, hadn’t he rescued
her too?
Something
told her the change in subject was due to her mentioning the state. Was he from Ohio too? Surely not!
There was no way they could be from the same state, but then again, fate
had mysterious ways of doing things. She
took some food from him, eating quietly and looked out at the beautiful view they
had, chewing thoughtfully. Monique was
right; they had to get to know each other better if they had a snowball’s
chance in hell of making this work. Or
they might as well stick to sex only and leave it at that.
“I lived
in the Cincinnati slums when I was a kid, I HATE that place. I hate thinking about it, Valle. Nothing good came from that hellhole.” Jon
finally said after a long, terse silence. “Well…the Bengals are a pretty badass
team, but that’s about it.” He fell silent again, thinking and then glanced at
her. “And maybe you, jury is still out.”
“I didn’t
say anything…you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, Jon.” Vallea
assured him, not wanting him to feel pressured in any way because that wasn’t
what she was trying to do. Hell, she was
still trying to figure this whole situation out in her own head. “Cincinnati,
huh? I’m from Akron, it’s near
Cleveland. And no, I’m not a fan of the
Indians. I don’t like Ohio at all,
actually. Haven’t been back there in
years. I left home when I was 16 and
never looked back. Don’t regret it
either.” She wanted to ask him about his parents, but decided against it and
chomped on some more jerky. “This is really good.”
“Oughta
be, a guy I work with, he hunts. A lot. Like, all his time off, I’m pretty sure he
ignores his old lady and just goes hunting. He makes his own jerky, does his own meat,
that sort of thing.” Which was not Jon’s style, at all, but damned if he didn’t
mind eating the fruits of that beloved labor. “If there’s ever a zombie apocalypse
or some sort of nuclear fallout, this guy will be set. He’s that kind of person.” Stretching his legs
out, he reached out to pull her between them, feeling Vallea lean back into his
chest. “Ohio sucks, I think we’re both in agreement on that.”
Vallea
snuggled against him, feeling his strong arms around her and slid her nails up
and down his forearms gently. She was
perfectly content with staying right here with him, in the crevice of this
mountain, if this was where he wanted to set up the camp. Anywhere with him was fine with her,
actually.
“That guy
knows what he’s doing then. It’s not
spicy, which is weird since most jerky usually is.” She wasn’t a major fan of
it, but this kind she could definitely get used to. “You’re so warm…” She sighed,
closing her eyes to enjoy the tranquility with him.
It just
depended on the jerky, Jon had learned. His
friend did it all kinds of ways. Ghost
peppers, sweet and sour, teriyaki, that sort of deal. All things considered, Jon had not wanted to
risk messing up his or her stomach. Nothing
sexy about an upset stomach and a pissed off ass.
“So what’s
your job really? You’re no travel agent,
Vallea.” The way she had explained her job and what he had seen, she was more
like a personal assistant more than anything. “And how many clients are you
friends with?” Like Monique, she was Vallea’s employer sometimes from his
understanding, but they were also close friends.
“It’s…complicated.”
Vallea meant that honestly because, to this day, she didn’t really know what
her job title was. “I am a personal assistant, but I also make money,
commission, off of setting up vacations for people. I really don’t know what to call myself, to
be truthful. And besides Monique, I’m
friends with three other people that I work for on a regular basis. And yes, one of them is a man in his 60’s and
he’s happily married and thinks of me as his daughter. His name is Stan. That doesn’t bother you, does it?” She looked
up into his electric blues, eyebrows drawn together thoughtfully.
“Only if
Stan likes to roleplay daddy/daughter scenarios and you take pay for them.” It
was out before he could think twice or stop himself and Jon half-expected
Vallea to slap the taste out of his mouth.
Most women
would have. But here she was, surprising
him again and putting to rest that ‘most women’ thing that kept popping up in
his head. Jon was rapidly learning that
Vallea was not like most women. She
wasn’t slapping him, she was laughing at him.
Vallea couldn’t help it. The mere
thought of roleplaying anything with Stan was hilarious because his wife would
string his balls up on their Christmas tree!
She’d given him that exact excuse a time or two, actually. Once she settled down, she smacked him on the
chest and then kissed his chin.
“I assure
you, the only man I wanna roleplay anything with is you. If you’re into that sort of thing. I personally have tried it a few times and
there’s good and bad parts to it.” Standing, she stretched her arms in the air
and grinned, not fazed by what he said regarding Stan. “Come on, we’re halfway
up and if we sit around here any longer, we’ll never make it to the top.”
“Oh we
will…” Jon assured her, smiling as he leaned back on his hands and just stared
up at her. She would roleplay but
nothing in public, so exhibitionism was out. Fair enough. “I’ve done this climb once or
twice.” Never alone because he wasn’t a total idiot; if he fell here, he wanted
someone nearby to help save his big, dumb ass. “I’m enjoying the view just fine
here, doll.”
Her cheeks
flushed at his compliment as she raised a brow down at him, wondering if he
even wanted to make it to the top. “I think you’d enjoy it a lot better up
close and personal.” She slowly lowered to straddle his lap, sliding her hands
up his muscular arms to rest them on his shoulders and brushed her lips against
his softly. “I can give you an even better view, if you want.” That was such a
loaded comment and Vallea knew it. She
felt his hands settle on her hips and it felt as though they were burning,
searing, through the material of her clothes.
Jon was
sorely tempted and, even as he was kissing her, he was considering the pros and
cons. Definite pro, she was gorgeous and
stellar in bed. Given the
disproportionately high number of sexy broads who didn’t know what they were
doing these days, she was a keeper on that merit alone. Con…they needed the light to get to where they
were going and set up. Beautiful place
to spend the night, dangerous if one didn’t get familiar enough with it to not
sprain an ankle or fall to their death. Groaning,
he gently untangled himself from her, pulling himself up onto his reluctant
feet and taking Vallea with him.
“Tempting
doll, realllly tempting.” Jon didn’t even have to
glance down to know he was sporting wood and hoped that disappeared before they
got back to climbing.
He was
determined to get up to the top of the mountain before settling in and she was
fine with it. Nothing wrong with a
little tease, however. “Figured I’d offer, but I do promise I’ll show you a
full view later on.”
Winking,
she walked over to the wall while Jon grabbed their gear and looked up at the
rest of the mountain to climb. If they
went at a steady pace, they would still have plenty of daylight left. She was looking forward to camping on top of
the mountain with him and began scaling the terrain again, following Jon’s lead. He’d been here before, so he knew his way
unlike her.
Hell yes
he was determined to get to the top of the mountain.
Jon had
every intention of having sex with Vallea beneath the starry skies. He had done a lot of travelling, and one thing
he usually disliked was the light pollution blocking out the skies. Even here in his beloved Vegas, the sky was
constantly lit up by the neon lights from the Strip. Out here, it’d be glorious and gorgeous. Determination did not make him careless,
however, he took his time, let Vallea know ahead of time if there was a weak or
crumbling spot in both natural and man-made areas they used to grip and pull. With the afternoon also came the sun beating
down on them both and he was damn glad he had coated himself in sunblock
because they were at risk of baking alive.
“Almost
there, Val!” Jon called down after some time, taking a moment to inhale, noting
the change in the altitude.
Nothing
major, nothing that would cause discomfort, but his ears had definitely popped.
Chapter 11
“Okay…”
Vallea
would’ve smiled up at him if it wasn’t for the sun baking her from the inside
out. Sunblock would only go so far, but
luckily, she burned and then tanned instantly.
Monique hated her for it, complaining about burning in the sun, which
was why Vallea had a nice bronze tan to her skin. It wasn’t too dark or too light, a perfect
blend.
“SHIT!”
One of the rocks had given way, forcing her to slip, but luckily Vallea caught
herself on another one and took a deep, shaky breath to slow her now racing
heart. “Keep going, I’m okay!” She called up, noticing Jon had stopped and
continued pushing herself up the mountain.
This was
definitely a workout she wouldn’t soon forget.
How ironic
would it be if she managed to fall here?
That was
how they had sort of met, so Jon could believe it would be how they ended, or
her anyway. Fate was a tricky bitch that
way. “Take a minute to breathe, and check the tape on your hands!”
He used
gloves, mostly because he worked with these hands; he wasn’t risking cuts or
scrapes on a part of him that spent a lot of time touching oily men. That
sounded wrong, even in his head. After a
few minutes, she flashed a thumbs up and Jon nodded, resuming the climb. Eventually, he reached the top, a relatively
flat area, and moved to the side to watch her progress as well as give her room
to come up over the ledge. If he were
honest, there was nothing sexy about rock climbing. It was fun and there was a rush, but it left a
person a hot, sweaty mess and yet…she was pulling it off. He was doomed if he was already thinking that
way, icy blue eyes narrowing.
The view
was spectacular and well worth the climb as Vallea pushed herself to stand and
felt breathless all over again. The
sweat caked on her body, the slight dizziness she felt from the altitude – all
worth this moment. Nothing a little
water and rest wouldn’t take care of. It
wasn’t too bad and the dizziness melted away at the sheer beauty of Vegas high
up. Why would anyone ever want to move
anywhere else? This was the perfect
place to live, or damn close to it.
“This
isn’t real. It can’t be real.” She
murmured, feeling as though she could reach up and touch the blue sky, hazel
eyes sparkling in the sun.
Jon just
stood there and watched her, her profile in his line of vision. When she actually extended a hand, fingertips
stretched out, he smiled. Quietly, he
moved to wrap his arm gently around her. “Doesn’t it feel real, Val?” Jon rasped
softly, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. He still needed to shed his satchel, the
backpacks already laying a few feet away from the ledge.
“No, it
feels like a dream. I know that’s cliché
sounding and corny as hell, but it’s the truth.
I feel like I’m in a dream.” It was like another world up here aside
from the chaotic mess the actual world was in.
The country was divided on so many topics and it was heartbreaking to
see. “I felt that way about Red Rock Canyon too when I first climbed it. Getting to the top – it was nothing compared
to this though. This is…I don’t even
have the word to describe how incredible this is.” Breathing in the fresh
mountain air was also a huge plus and being with a man who loved climbing
mountains and rocks as much as she did. “Thank you, Jon.”
“You’re
welcome.” Eventually, she would have found her way here. Jon knew that without a shadow of a doubt
because Vallea was that kind of person. She
liked adventure, that was glaringly obvious. “Help me get the tent up.” He
didn’t plan on having a fire, not unless they managed to find something to
burn. There was what looked like a
cluster of fairly dead trees not too far off. “And when the sun sets, you’ll
really think this is a dream.”
Kissing
his cheek, Vallea pulled out everything from the bag with him to set up the
tent, showing Jon she knew what she was doing.
It didn’t take long to put the tent up and she grabbed the huge sleeping
bag, spreading it out on the ground inside to make it comfortable. Once that was finished, she walked out of the
tent and stretched her arms in the air, taking the water Jon handed her to take
a long pull from it.
“I saw
some dead trees a little ways from here, if you wanna help me find some brush
and wood, we can build a fire.” She suggested, not realizing Jon had noticed it
already and knew it would be chilly tonight.
“Sounds
good, doll.” She had read his mind.
Jon was
seriously contemplating asking her out past this dating thing and into
relationship territory, or at least, exclusive territory. It wasn’t like he had taken anyone else to bed
in a while and he didn’t even want to think about her sleeping with another
guy. The idea of it made him
irrationally angry. He wasn’t thinking
moving in serious, just…serious. He’d
think on it. Following her, he procured
his pocket knife, eyeballing the brush and wood.
“Watch out
for snakes, Val.”
“Got
it. They can be real bitches.”
Vallea had
been bitten by a rattlesnake from her own backyard and it hadn’t been
pleasant. The venom had worked fast, but
luckily, she had gotten treatment in time and it hadn’t caused any permanent
damage. The scar on her ankle was a
beauty though and it reminded her to be more careful in nature in Vegas. The brush wasn’t too bad and would burn well,
at least long enough for them.
“Watch out
for scorpions too, you never know where those cocksuckers are too.”
“Scorpions
are considered a delicacy in some places abroad.” Jon informed her, grinning at
the disgusted expression that flitted across her beautiful face. “Just letting
you know. They taste weird though,
almost have a bitter taste to them.” He then proceeded to stomp the piss out of
one that scurried out from beneath the deadwood he lifted, finally eyeballing
the bottom of his boot. Gross. If either of them wound up being bitten by
anything poisonous out here, it was going to royally suck to be them.
Any other
woman would’ve screamed bloody murder and demanded to leave, but not
Vallea. She had jumped slightly, but
that was it and continued piling brush in her arms, finally rising to her feet.
“Come on, let’s get the fire going before the sun sets and then we can finally
enjoy and relax up here.”
They made
their way back to where the fire would be built and she had found some rocks as
well, beginning to outline them in a circle.
It wasn’t perfect, but would also make do and keep the brush and wood
inside. Once the fire was built, she
stepped back while Jon started it by using a lighter. Jon smoked, not often, he chewed more than
smoked and she found the fact he chewed oddly hot.
“So, what
did you concoct or bring up here for us to eat for dinner?”
“Mmm, good
question, I don’t remember what I stuffed in the bag.” Jon laughed, shaking his
head. He knew he had plenty of dry
rations, because they were light to carry in bulk. “Oh yeah, a pot and ramen
noodles.” Because those were also small and light, and he had brought a lot. At her look, he began grinning, trying to
reign in the laughter. “I can add some scorpion for flavor?” If she killed him
up here, he would probably deserve it and nobody would fault her for it.
“Very
funny, Good.” Vallea muttered good-naturedly with a roll of her eyes, rather
enjoying his dry sense of humor. “I’ll try it if you will.” It was her turn to
laugh at the disgusted look on his face and slapped her knee. “That’s what I
thought. Ramen noodles is fine by
me. Give me the pot and I’ll start them
up.”
Jon handed
it over along with the food and she proceeded to put it over the flames of the
fire on a grill Jon had brought. It was
rather light, but would also work for what they needed it for. They would be able to sit and eat while
watching the sunset and it was already starting to drop in temperature a
little. The grill thing was a Walmart
special from a clearance section. Jon
was a man with a retirement plan and, quite frankly, old habits die hard. He had grown up beyond poor and, while he knew
he was fine now, he had that little niggling fear of being poor again. Jon had a healthy sized bank account due to
this fear.
“I’ll go
see about bringing that dead log over here, making sure nothing’s nesting in it
and we can use it to sit on.” He watched Vallea set up shop at the fire a
second longer and then headed over to do it.
Watching
him walk away, Vallea admired his beautiful backside in those shorts and
smiled, itching to get her hands on him.
They hadn’t had sex in a couple weeks due to their busy schedules and
not being able to meet up in Vegas. This
was nice to be able to disappear from reality and come to a stunning place like
this, where they were completely isolated and alone. To most people, the desert was an
unforgiving, treacherous place to be, but Vallea thought it was the most
beautiful and giving since she’d met Jon.
Christ, she really had it bad for him and had to shelve her feelings,
just in case this didn’t pan out the way she wanted it to. Lost in thought, she stirred the noodles a
little more, seeing the water start to boil and looked up when Jon brought back
the scorpion, bug-free log, both of them sitting on it.
“The
noodles are almost done.”
“Good.”
Jon peeled off his shirt, muscles rippling with every moment and draped it over
the tent before stretching his arms over his head. “Last I knew, there wasn’t
any nearby water source, so I brought traveling wipes to clean up with, doll.”
Not as
good as hot water and soap but it beat going straight up grungy and nasty. Vallea had to learn how to breathe again,
wondering if she’d ever tire of seeing the man shirtless. No, probably not. If they were having sex tonight, which Vallea
assumed, she would want to clean up as much as she could to be as fresh as she
could, given the circumstances.
“A con to
being on top of a mountain, unfortunately.” Though, other mountains did have
water sources, just not this particular one. “While dinner finishes, I’m gonna
go change out of these clothes really fast.”
Pecking
his lips softly, she slid into the tent, with the wipes he handed her and
grabbed her bag, contemplating if she should put the nightgown on she
brought. It was still a little warm
outside, but the temperature would drop once the sun was fully gone. Deciding to take a chance, she slipped into
it, along with fresh garments, after cleaning herself up with the wipes the
best she could, and put the sweaty clothing in a separate part of her bag. The nightgown was simple black, went to her
knees, spaghetti strapped and was a silk yet comfortable material. Just as she finished brushing out her hair
and deciding to leave it down, Jon came into the tent to let her know the food
was done. She stepped out with him and
sat on the log again, taking the bowl he handed her along with dry food he’d
brought, more jerky and fruit.
Who in the
hell brought THAT camping? Jon was not
complaining by any stretch, but it was also a first. He brought sweatpants to sleep in and not much
else. The weather here at night did not faze
him a bit, not after Ohio winters in unheated projects. He balanced his bowl on one knee, the dried
stuff on the other, openly admiring her.
“You might
regret that when the bugs come out.” He said, sounding a bit sad, because he
bet she had a hoodie or something for that event.
“It’ll be
a little too chilly for the bugs to really bother us, not to mention the fire
will keep them away. I’m not
worried. Besides, I have a hoodie if
they get too bad.”
She didn’t
know where they were going; Jon had only told her she wouldn’t be home until
the following morning, so she brought sleep clothes, naturally. Granted, she would probably be naked come
morning and would have zero complaints.
They ate in companionable silence, filling their bellies after the
strenuous climb their bodies endured.
“I
didn’t…cross a line earlier with you when we were at the halfway point, did
I? Because if I did, I’m sorry.”
Jon stared
at her, wondering just what on earth she was talking about. Then it came to him and he had an ‘oh yeah’
moment, considering Vallea thoughtfully before finally shrugging his shoulders.
“No, not really. I just don’t like talking about myself.” Which was mostly
true. He’d talk about himself in terms
of the present, but the past, that was something he usually considered off
limits. He had never been with someone
long enough, or liked them or trusted them enough, to discuss his childhood.
“You do
realize, if we want to get to know each other, you’re gonna have to talk about
yourself eventually.” Vallea pointed out in a joking manner, nudging him
playfully and reached up to caress his bearded face with her hand. What could’ve happened to him in his past he
didn’t want to discuss? There were so
many mysteries about Jon and Vallea found herself wanting to unravel them all.
“I won’t ask about your past again. I
can tell it bothers you. So, new topic,
what time do we have to leave this beautiful place and go back to reality
tomorrow?”
She could
get to know him as he was and his past was his business. If they got serious enough, he’d explain that
to her. As it was…they were friends with
benefits? Maybe, he didn’t know how to
describe it and he wasn’t entirely comfortable with labeling it either.
“You in
that big a hurry to get out of here already, doll?” He teased, chuckling when
she gave him an exasperated look. “I have to be on a plane at 5 tomorrow night
and we’re walking down, so it won’t take much time getting down the mountain. We’ll have time to sleep in if that’s what you
want.”
“I don’t
think either of us will be getting much sleep tonight, Jon.” Vallea informed
him with a sly smile before turning her attention to stare into the fire,
having watched the breathtaking sunset with him while they ate. It was glorious – she would never forget this
date as long as she lived and it would honestly be hard to top. “And no, I’m
not in any hurry, I just wanted to know how much time I had with you before you
have to go back on the road again.
That’s all.” Scooting closer to him, Vallea felt his arm wrap around her
waist and she snuggled into his warm chest, shutting her eyes momentarily to
soak everything in.
Chapter 12
“I could
say the same thing you know,” Jon rumbled, having set his own empty bowl and
fork aside. He let his head fall until
his cheek was resting on top of her head. “You travel a fair amount too, Val.”
So on the traveling front, they were going to have a hard time coordinating
schedules. “You know, if I’m in the area, any area you are, we could meet up.”
He suggested, which was his way of letting her know he wasn’t against the idea
of continuing this relationship, such as it was, with her.
“Yeah, we
could do that. I’d like that,
actually. I wouldn’t mind seeing you in
the ring again either.” Vallea did enjoy watching him at work, doing his thing
and dominating his opponent. It made her
all warm and fuzzy inside. Jon wanted to
pursue this with her and she honestly wanted to as well, to see where things
progressed. “I know both of us traveling and being apart a lot won’t be easy,
but…when we do see each other, it’ll be well worth the wait.” Looking up into
his eyes, Vallea cupped his face in her hands and softly kissed him, unable to
hold back any longer. “By the way,” She broke the kiss, breathing heavier and
could tell he was too. “I’m an open book.
You can ask me anything you want.”
“I’m good,
babe,” He brushed his lips against hers. “Learning is the fun part.” Asking was
cheating. Well, depending on what it
was, but for the most part, people tended to learn as they went about others.
“So…if I bring a blanket out here in front of the fire, you going to let me
ravage you under all these stars?”
His eyes
turned upwards, taking in the breathtaking view. This was a view he missed when he was in a
city, or traveling constantly. It was
good to come out here, in the mountains, and just reconnect and get away from
all the technology and crap that came with it.
Nothing beat a Vegas sky, no matter where she was in the world and she
had traveled a great deal of it, even overseas.
Nothing compared to the beauty of the mountains and sky in Vegas. Not a lot of people thought of Vegas the way
she and Jon did. They didn’t appreciate
the majestic, natural beauty it held because of all the distractions and bright
lights.
“Hmm, I
think you could talk me into it…” Vallea slid her hand up his bare chest,
enjoying the smoothness and knew he waxed probably on a weekly basis. “That’s
if I don’t ravage you first, handsome.” Nipping his bottom lip, Jon growled and
a shiver shot down her spine, her nose rubbing against his. “Better go get that
blanket.”
He was up
and in the tent in a heartbeat, growling when he heard her giggling outside. Emerging, John spread the blanket out between
tent and fire, away from the ledge because the worst way to die in any
situation was naked. Mostly because it
meant all bodily fluids and functions would be quite visible to everyone
instead of potentially hidden by clothes. No thanks.
“Get
naked, woman.” He ordered, eyes raking over that silk clad body as she stood up
from the log.
“You
first. I wanna see that beautiful body
of yours in the firelight.” Moonlight too since it was a half-moon out tonight,
along with the stars. Vallea chewed her
thumbnail while watching him, admiring the physique and felt her mouth water
along with her panties drenching. “Mmm delicious…” When he growled at her to
get naked a second time, Vallea knew better than to disobey and slowly slid the
straps of the nightgown down her arms to let the material pool at her feet, wearing…nothing
beneath. She hadn’t put undergarments
on, not seeing a reason or need since she knew how badly Jon wanted to sex her
up on top of this mountain. “Like what you see, Jon?”
“Yes, yes
I do.” Jon then hesitated, realizing that he had not washed himself up or
anything. “Hold that thought.” He was such a moron and knew the wipes were
nowhere near the same as using water and soap, but…he didn’t smell like swamp
nuts anymore either. That was just
embarrassing, the idea of her being anywhere near his junk and it reeked. “Bad
Jon, bad.” He muttered, ducking back out into the night air.
“Everything
okay?” Vallea gasped when he yanked her flush against his rock hard body, the
skin on skin contact feeling incredible.
His mouth
crashed on hers, kissing her with a fiery passion that left her breathless,
shaky and needing more, craving more.
There was something different about this time between them, an
electricity in the air neither could explain or describe. It wasn’t just the simple fact they weren’t
in a bed – this was on top of a mountain, under the moon and stars. Something was changing between them, though
neither refused to admit it aloud. There
was such a deep, raw, unexplainable connection between them and they hadn’t
even known each other that long.
“Jon…” He
lead her down on the blanket he sprawled out and the dance between them began.
Jon didn’t
bother trying to understand, he just went with it. Maybe it was how they had met, her dangling
from that ledge, him rescuing her. Maybe
it was their shared love of Vegas, the glitz and grit of the big city and then
the adoration for the natural, majestic terrain once you left the city behind. Or maybe it was just the excitement of
something new. Either way, tonight,
under those stars with a roaring fire going besides them, he was focused solely
on her.
~!~
“You know,
I think I’m open to that idea of yours to fuck in the glass orb.” Vallea
commented hours later, sprawled on top of Jon’s chest with his hand lazily
stroking her back, her lips gliding over his warm, clammy skin. “Maybe I do
have an exhibitionist in me after all.” She teased, nuzzling his chest and
cooled down from the intense bout, slowly coming down from the sexual
high. It was a high unlike any other, no
drug would ever compare to it. “Look what you’ve done to me, Jon Good.”
“Ain’t done nothing, woman,” He drawled, his voice a low
rasp as he finger combed her rather mussed up hair. Jon had discovered that in the middle of a
lusty bout, Vallea seemed to enjoy having her hair pulled on. “It’s easy to be
an exhibitionist out here, we’re by ourselves.” Not that he wouldn’t like to
have a go in the orb with her. “You get a group of people in line, staring up,
you might change your mind…” He ran a hand down her spine and to her curvy ass,
palming a cheek.
“True, I
can’t argue with that.” Then again, having Jon’s cock inside of her that high
up, there was no way she would pay attention to anything else besides this man
screwing her against the glass. Not a
doubt in her mind. “I want to…talk to you about something, but…I’m not sure how
to go about it. I’m not good with this
kind of thing, never have been.” Her brows drew together in thought, a
hesitation coming over her features. “No forget it. Sorry.
My brain is a jumbled mess.”
Vallea
couldn’t be selfish and ask him to sleep with only her when they barely saw
each other, could she? Would they be
able to stay exclusive to each other given their jobs and how much traveling
was involved, all those nights on the lonely road. Temptation would sooner or later beckon to
them and Vallea had never been one to be pinned down by a man. Something told her Jon was the same way,
which made this a lot more complicated.
Jon
considered her, gathering whatever she wanted to say was important, or at least
she thought it was important. However,
given that they had just had sex, and he knew damn well that tended to mess up
a person emotionally, thanks to chemicals and happy endorphins being released,
he preferred to err on the side of not saying or doing anything out of a ‘moment’
that may not last. “If it’s still on your mind tomorrow, we can talk about it
then.” He offered, figuring that would give her time to sort out if she still
wanted to talk about it and how to go about it.
She
appreciated the sentiment, knowing come morning, when he had to leave and both
returned to reality, the real test would begin.
The night wasn’t over though, it was only beginning as she sat up to
lean forward, capturing his mouth with hers.
Jon had stamina, there was no question about it, but just kissing,
touching, feeling, exploring was enough sometimes too. Vallea was in trouble and she could already
feel herself falling for Jon, if she hadn’t already. What woman in their right mind wouldn’t fall
for a great man like Jon? Eventually, they
made it back to the tent to zip up for the night, the fire dying down and they
fell asleep in each other’s arms just a little after 5 AM.
It was
probably illegal or something, but one of life’s greatest pleasures was the
ability to take your morning piss off a mountain top. Of course, one had to check to make sure the
wind wasn’t going to blow it right back in his face, but still…a pleasure. After shaking, tucking and using wipes to wash
his hands, he stretched and enjoyed the view. The sun was making its morning rise over the
desert, and while it was still pleasantly cool, he knew within the hour it
would start warming up. Yawning, he
turned back towards the tent, smiling slightly at the sight of Vallea’s
sleeping form through the mesh door.
Maybe he’d
wake her up…
“Mmm…”
Vallea
shifted at the warm hand caressing her backside, since she was on her side, and
slowly opened her eyes to meet Jon’s electric blues. She smiled up at him sleepily, yawning and
accepted a soft kiss from him. What time
was it? He told her to get up and watch
the sunrise with him, it would start any minute and he wanted to share it with
her. Vallea couldn’t turn that offer
down, even though they’d only had about 2 hours of sleep and nodded, pushing
herself to sit up with another yawn.
Pulling her nightgown on over her head, along with her hoodie, Vallea
quickly went to relieve herself in the small grassy area the mountain had, the
only place she could go to the bathroom, and then rejoined Jon after using
wipes. On little to no sleep, she’d
never felt better in her life and knew she’d be going to be very early that
night once at home.
Personally,
Jon planned on getting his sleep on the plane. He preferred being awake, there was too much
to do, to see and experience to waste it on sleep. Sleep was an evil necessity. He wrapped his arms around Vallea’s waist and
rested his chin on top of her head as they faced the rising sun. He smiled when he heard her soft inhale as
reds and oranges began streaking the sky.
“We should
do this again.” Different mountain with more time.
“Yeah, I’m
game. This is breathtaking.”
Vallea
felt as if she were in a dream all over again and leaned her head back against
his chest, not remembering the last time she felt so content. There were mountains all over the place
around Vegas, she would not mind climbing every one of them with Jon. Hell, screwing him on every mountain top
sounded like a damn fine idea, actually.
What she’d been thinking the previous night, what she wanted to talk to
him about or simply say, was back on the forefront of her mind again. No, she wouldn’t do it, she wouldn’t ruin
this memorable moment with him and enjoyed the golden glow mix with the colors
in the sky.
Most
people saw the desert as being barren, lifeless and devoid of color. True, there was a lot of brown, but the
various shades, dotted with greenery every which way, Jon saw a harsh beauty. Dangerous and deadly to the unwary and
uneducated yet beautiful, nonetheless.
“Good,
we’ll figure out our schedules and plan something out, doll.” There, they were
already making plans to see each other again, he smiled and dropped a kiss on
top of her head.
Putting
pressure on something like this that budded out of the blue and organically –
the last thing Vallea wanted to do was screw it up. “Absolutely.”
Maybe they
would luck out and their schedules would mesh well together. Only time would tell with that. Vallea wouldn’t stop working for the other
people she’d told him about and that was about to happen because Monique didn’t
have any other work for her at the moment.
She had to keep food on the table and the bills paid, after all. If they were truly meant to be together, to
see each other, it would happen and she had to just let fate take its course.
“Thanks
for waking me up. I would’ve kicked
myself in the ass if I missed seeing something this amazing.”
“I know.”
This was a killer view that too few people got to witness. Their loss was definitely his gain because he
didn’t like the idea of sharing this place, this scenery, with anyone but her.
“You hungry, Val?”
She was
probably starving, they had gotten a lot of exercise and not much sleep. They’d probably need to nap before descending
the mountain. Going down would be easier
since they would be walking but that didn’t make it any less dangerous. Her stomach gargled at that moment, making
both of them laugh.
“I guess I
am, yeah. Why don’t we eat and then try
to get a few more hours of sleep?” She reached up to caress his bearded face
with the back of her hand. “You look tired, even if you don’t want to admit it
and I could use a few more hours myself before we have to leave.” They could
always lay down and talk, but something told her as soon as they did, both
would be out like a light.
Chapter 13
“So, how
was your date with the stud muffin?” Monique inquired a few days later, sipping
her coffee with a cheeky grin.
“Oh, you
know, nothing major. Just climbed a
mountain, stayed the night on top of it, had sex and left in the morning.”
Vallea managed to say all of that with a straight face while Monique nearly
choked on her coffee.
“You…you
went on a date by climbing a mountain??” What was WRONG with these people?
“Christ, at least tell me you two were safe…”
“Do you
see me sitting in front of you alive and well?”
“Yeah…”
“Then we
both made it back unscathed.” Vallea frowned when her phone buzzed and held her
hand up in a one moment gesture to answer it. ‘Office.’ She mouthed, answering
the call. “Hello?”
“Vallea,
it’s Margaret. Listen, I know you’re not
gonna like hearing this, but…Ryan has asked for you again.” Ryan Stand was a
douchebag, to put it mildly, and he’d had several arguments with Vallea over
the years whenever she did work for him. “I’m sorry, but there’s nobody else
and he’s specifically asked for you…”
Shutting
her eyes, Vallea let out a groan of frustration, not bothering to hide it, and
knew exactly why Ryan wanted her services. “Do I have a choice?”
“Unfortunately
no, he said he’ll leave and go elsewhere if he doesn’t acquire your services
for his upcoming trip to Stamford, Connecticut.
Apparently, he’s meeting with the head honcho over there by the name of
Vince McMahon.” Margaret explained, not having any other information than that.
“Something about an investment deal and he needs a PA with him to keep him
organized.”
“Christ…”
Vallea frowned, not liking the sound of this, but what other choice did she
have? “How long?”
“Unknown.”
Fuck, Vallea thought, chewing her bottom lip and could tell Monique
looked a little concerned. “All right fine, tell him I’ll do it.” Monique was
shaking her head vehemently, knowing what kind of asshole Ryan was, but Vallea
ignored her. “When does he need me to start?”
“Tomorrow. You two have a flight to catch in the morning
to head straight to Stamford.”
When
Vallea got off the phone, Monique gave her a sympathetic look. “You should have
turned it down.” She knew what an asshat Ryan could be. “It’s not like you
don’t make money with your other clients.” Her, for example. She made the company quite a bit of money
because of her house flipping business; she was just on a break at the moment
while she scouted a few properties. “Where’re you heading, did they say?”
“Stamford,
Connecticut. Ryan has business there and
he needs a PA to keep organized. She
didn’t say anything else though, you know how that asshole is. He doesn’t give a lot of information on his
endeavors.” Rubbing her temples, Vallea didn’t have much time to pack her
things, but she would finish her coffee date with Monique first. “You better
tell me the second you need me to work for you again, just to get me away from
that dick. Promise?”
“I’m sure
I can find something, I’ve had some promising leads in Ohio, of all places. Apparently there’s a housing crisis for middle
class people.” Monique took a slow sip of her coffee, her eyes sparkling almost
wickedly. “You know what’s based out of Stamford?” She asked, a hint of a
teasing tone in her voice. “The headquarters of the WWE, where Jonny boy
works.” Seeing the flush spread across Vallea’s face was worth the look she
got. “Just thought you’d appreciate that little tidbit is all.”
“Wait a minute…are
you telling me Ryan is going into business with the owner of the WWE, the same
company Jon works for?” Fate really did work in mysterious, uncanny ways.
“That’s very interesting. I wonder what
he would want to do with the WWE in the first place.”
“Hell,
he’s an investor and it could be a number of things. The WWE has their toes dipped in almost every
available pool out there. They’re
global.”
Vallea
caught the part about Ohio and reverted back to that. “Why do you want to
invest in Ohio? Not that they DON’T need
help because I’m sure they do, but…what part of Ohio, exactly?”
“Cincinnati,
Akron and Columbus,” Monique answered, studying her nails. “The housing markets
there are saturated with low-income housing and then the upper class shit
nobody in between can afford. I’ve got
some connections eyeballing specific areas that may be a good investment.” She
liked making money and providing something valuable or necessary in return also
made her feel like she had done the good deed thing. Win-win for her. “Why? You look pale, Vallea.”
Monique
had no idea where Vallea was from or her background and it wasn’t exactly the
best story to tell either. “I’m from Ohio, originally. Akron, actually. And Jon…well, I’m sure you know he’s from
Cincinnati with your Wikipedia research…” This was a little close to home and
Vallea didn’t feel up to visiting the past any time soon, but she also wouldn’t
let Monique down either. “Let me know when you decide to do this and I’m
onboard. I’ll tell Ryan to stick it up
his ass.” They finished their coffee date and Vallea went home to pack up for
her trip to Stamford in the morning, contemplating telling Jon. She decided against it, not wanting to bother
him while he was working.
Monique,
on the other hand, had no issues whatsoever in telling Joe who would then tell
Jon. If by chance Vallea was going to be
working with the WWE, in any capacity, there might be some wiggle room there
for her and Jon. Not that she would tell
Vallea what she had done. Sometimes,
surprises were awesome and Val needed a surprise after agreeing to work with
that asshole Ryan.
~!~
“Vince
couldn’t see me today, so we’re going to the arena to meet with him tonight for
their show. It’s called Raw. Be on your best behavior.” Ryan instructed,
dressed to the nines in a three-piece designer suit that probably cost more
than his current mortgage. It was
important to look the part and he was a rather powerful business man throughout
Vegas. This wasn’t the first time he’d
done business with Vince and it wouldn’t be the last. “Do you have my schedule
for tomorrow done?”
“Yes.”
Vallea was
momentarily shocked at the fact they would be venturing to an arena, an actual
show, and she still hadn’t told Jon about her new temporary job. WWE was emanating from Stamford, Connecticut
tonight? What were the odds of that
happening? Should she call Jon to give
him a head’s up or surprise him? Hell,
maybe he wouldn’t even see her since they would go straight to Vince McMahon’s
office, more than likely.
“Here it
is.”
“Thanks. Stop daydreaming and get on the ball.”
Vallea had
to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at this cockblock.
~!~
Jon
already knew and, thanks to Monique’s gossipy, scandalous backside, he also
knew that Ryan was a grade A douchebag. Being
the guy that he was, he had paid some security to keep an eyeball out for a man
and a gorgeous woman, office people. Sure
enough, he got word almost as soon as Vallea and the douchebag were spotted.
“‘Scuse me, coming through!” He was loud enough to be heard,
but too close for Ryan to do jack other than get plowed as he and Joe hauled ass by. He made sure
to give Vallea a pat on the backside and tossed a wink over his shoulder.
“What the
hell?!”
Luckily,
Ryan missed that backside pat completely and narrowed his eyes down at his
personal assistant scathingly, seeing she was trying hard not to laugh. Did she know them? Not possible.
There was no way she was a wrestling fan, not with all the traveling she
did and the way she carried herself. He
would’ve never thought in a million years she would rock climb and probably
would’ve stroked out if he knew that information.
“Imbeciles!”
“I don’t
think it’s wise to call Vince McMahon’s employees that, Ryan.” Vallea chastised
with a serene smile, making a mental note to beat Monique’s ass the next time
they saw each other and shook her head, unable to stop smiling.
“Make a
mental note, Vallea, you’re here to work and not offer your opinion.” Ryan growled
scathingly, shooting her a dark look. “You would be the best in your field if
not for that mouth of yours.” And there were so many better ways for her to use
it besides her idiotic opinions.
“Then
perhaps you should’ve chosen someone more QUALIFIED to your stature, Mr.
Stand.” Vallea kept the serene smile on her face while his slowly turned red
and checked her phone. “Oh look, it’s my breaktime. Excuse me, SIR.”
Bowing
mockingly at him, Vallea turned on her heel and walked off down the hallway,
needing some fresh Ryan-free air. She
didn’t care if she had a crappy attitude!
When Ryan decided to start treating her like a decent human being
instead of a doormat, she would be more inclined to show him some respect.
She had
absolutely no respect for herself and Ryan knew that because Vallea kept taking
him and his jobs on, which meant she was probably one of those women who got
off on abuse. That or she was hoping
he’d eventually bend her pert backside over and plow her.
Jon
grinned when Vallea turned the corner and nearly screamed at the sight of him
looming there. “Hey babe.” He snatched her up and kissed her passionately, not
caring who the hell was gawking.
Instantly,
her bad mood vanished at the feeling of being in Jon’s arms again and his lips
against hers. “Hi.” She greeted back, breathing a little heavy and felt his
hands settle on her hips. “I’m going to assume Monique ratted me out and told
you what was going on.” He nodded and she hoped he wasn’t angry with her. “I
didn’t want to bother you while you’re working.
That and I’m dealing with a not nice person right now, so you may want
to steer clear of me because of the jackass.”
“Momo
already told me what an asshat he is, except she used a lot more colorful words.”
Jon smirked, though his eyes were glittering almost dangerously. Monique had a great, extensive vocabulary when
it came to people she did not like or who messed with her friends. Ryan was apparently striking off on both of
those. “Want me to fuck him up?” She knew for a fact he could and would; she
had seen him unleash his temper once already.
“Don’t
tempt me to take you up on that offer.” Vallea was highly tempted to unleash
Jon all over Ryan and she knew what the man’s problem was.
She had
turned him down several times when he asked her out, making it clear she did
not mix business with pleasure. Then
once she finished working for him, she refused him again and told her the
truth. She wasn’t interested. He didn’t take too kindly to that and
demanded her services whenever he needed a PA from that day forward, just to
make her life miserable. The man did not
take kindly to being denied or told the word no.
“Monique
hates him. And since when do you call
her Momo?” That was new.
“Since she
told me about sleazeball and then gave him some info that I’m not allowed to
discuss.” Because apparently, Vallea had a bucket list of stuff she wanted to
do or places she wanted to go. Jon liked
adventuring, she liked adventuring, they could start checking that list off
together. “She’s good people, I like her. That and if she and Joe are gonna be serious,
her and I gotta be friends or shit gets awkward quick.”
“Did she
tell you what she’s planning on doing for her next venture into the house
flipping world?” Since they were such good friends, him and Monique, Vallea
would enlighten him on just how big of a heart the woman had. “She’s going to
start looking in Ohio and rebuild or fix up the low-income housing in Akron,
Cincinnati, and one other place, but I can’t remember the name of it. Anyway, she had no idea I’m from Ohio until I
told her and she told me as soon as she gets that underway, she’ll get me away
from asshole. I told her just let me
know when, so I don’t know how long I’ll be working for him or connected to
this place.”
“Actually,
she said middle-class housing because there’s too much low-income housing.”
Jon’s smile tightened into a grim line.
Monique
hadn’t been wrong and he had said something to her about maybe investing in
said low-income housing. Apparently,
that came with a slew of government regulations and Monique wasn’t wading into
that cesspool, not that he blamed her. That’s
how slum lords were created.
“You’re
going to Ohio.” Gross, he was pretty sure his feelings on that were written
across his face.
“Believe
me, I don’t like it any more than you do and it won’t be right away.” Vallea
assured him, knowing he wasn’t a fan of Ohio and neither was she, but it was a
noble thing Monique was doing. “It’s gonna take a couple months for her to get
things organized and settled before she needs my help again. I don’t know how involved Ryan will be with
WWE, but however long it lasts, at least I’m here and we can hang out and spend
time together when we’re not working.
I’m on break right now since he’s getting ready to go into his meeting
with Vince and I’m not allowed in.”
“If he’s
invested in stock or media, maybe that’s why he’s here. Want me to go in?” Jon smirked at the look on
her face. “I can waltz right in and Vince won’t bat an eyelash, he’s used to me
being a dick.” Probably one of the reasons he still had a job actually, he was
successful in the ring because that was who he was outside of it and that
seemed to work. “I’ll smack him for you too, babe.”
“Jon.” Her
voice held warning, a serious expression coming over her face. “Ryan is not
someone you want to trifle with. Please,
don’t do anything to him. I can handle
him.” Vallea couldn’t jeopardize her job and placed a hand on his chest over
his heart, her hazel eyes pleading with him to do things her way. “I promise,
if he crosses any line with me, I’ll let you beat him to a pulp. But not now.
Just stay with me, keep me company for a bit until he’s finished and
then you can go off to do whatever it is you do to get ready for the show.” He
still had a few hours before showtime.
Chapter 14
“I’m going
to go eat, so you’re coming with me.” Jon informed her, having no intention of
hanging out in the hallway just to keep her company. “Come on, doll.” Wrapping
his arm around her shoulders, he led the way down towards the cafeteria,
pointing out who was who as they walked. Most people didn’t give her a second glance,
there was just too much going on and people backstage who didn’t always belong
wasn’t necessarily a new thing. “So, why’d you take this job if he’s such an
ass?”
“Because I
need to keep paying my bills and living in Vegas isn’t cheap. Besides, the company relies on me a little
too heavily and Ryan is one of their biggest clients, so turning it down
would’ve shown I’m not reliable.” Vallea always put her job first before
anything else; she was very career-orientated and driven. “I’ve seen girls get
fired because they turned down work from the agency. I’m not going to be one of those women, so if
I have to work for an asshole like Ryan for however long, so be it. At least my bills are paid and a roof is over
my head.” She honestly didn’t care what people thought of her or why she was
with Jon, her focus solely on him for the time being.
“You’re an
idiot. You’re the dumbest smart person I
know, you know that?” Jon snorted, turning through a door and then one more
before leading the way into the cafeteria. “If your company relies on you
heavily, then that probably means you’re a major asset and you likely have a
little pull, especially with asshats.” She was going to wind up either burning
herself out because she wasn’t smart about her clients or one of them was going
to be the wrong kind of client. Working
for someone who went out of their way to screw with a person, belittle them…no
job was that goddamn important. “Hungry?” He was famished, eyeballing the
offerings.
Maybe she
was stupid for taking the jobs with Ryan, but they paid well and there were no
other jobs within the agency at the moment.
It was a bit of a slow time of year, even though Christmas was around
the corner. They would start booming in
late November again, but until then, she had to take what jobs were
offered. If Jon couldn’t understand
that, it was his problem.
“Not
really, but I’ll try to eat something.” There was a delicious looking salad
made, so she headed that way while Jon stuck with meat. Vallea idly wondered how many times a day he
ate to maintain the physique he had.
Jon had
worked jobs he had hated, but he had never had a boss go out of their way to
run him down, harass him, or anything like that. He probably would’ve lost his mind the first
time it happened. The ‘get tough and survive’ mentality from growing up had
never left him. Sometimes, it tended to
get him in trouble but it had also saved his ass more times than he cared to
remember. After loading up on chicken,
which was good protein that wasn’t overly heavy, he followed her to salad,
eyeballing it. Once they had their food,
Jon lead the way to the back of catering and sat down with her to eat. It was surreal how she was here with him at
his place of work. There were so many
people in this company, no wonder it was a global phenomenon. They definitely had the manpower to back it
up for sure.
“So,
how’ve you been?” She asked cordially, taking a bite of her salad with French
dressing. They hadn’t really talked much
since Jon had dropped her off, though he had left her with one last romp to
remember him by.
A few text
messages here and there was about all the communication they’d had due to his
busy schedule.
“Oh you
know, traveling the world, beating the shit out of people and getting paid for
it, the usual.” Jon answered around a mouthful of chicken. At her disgusted look, he flashed her an
apologetic smile and closed his mouth. “Sorry, doll.” He was hungry and usually
ate five or six ‘mini meals’ because he tended to burn through everything, with
snacks in between and a lot of water. “How about you? Climb any fun mountains lately?”
“Unfortunately,
no. It’s been raining a lot in Vegas
lately and even I’m not crazy enough to climb them when it’s bad weather
outside.” Vegas had their monsoon season, just like Arizona, and it was
currently happening. Flooding would
ensue, but the desert would simply soak the rain up due to the dry heat. At least the mountains nearby would have
their water replenished. “Don’t apologize for eating. I understand you’re a big man and you have a
big appetite.” She smirked, taking another bite of her salad and chewed
thoughtfully. At least she had her own
hotel room, so inviting Jon to stay with her wouldn’t be an issue.
“You would
know that firsthand, doll, wouldn’t you?” His voice dropped several octaves as
he stared intently at her before a wicked grin spread across his face. “You got
any idea how long you’re going to be in town?” He had no idea what the hell she
was doing here anyway, besides following around a King Dick and apparently, he
was the deciding factor if they stayed in town tonight or not. He was guessing that tomorrow they’d be gone,
however, and he pulled a face at that. “I should hire you. Think I can get that written off on my taxes
as a business expense? Having my
girlfriend being my very personal assistant?”
Her heart
began to beat a little faster in her chest at what he called her. His girlfriend. That put a label on what they were. That made it official. Vallea felt a warmth spread through her body
and slid her hand down to squeeze his jean covered thigh gently.
“I don’t
mix business with pleasure and you know that already. We’ve had this discussion before.” She
reminded him, moving her hand from his thigh up to stroke his beard. “Besides,
I’d much rather have you as my boyfriend than my boss.”
“I
remember quite explicitly you telling me that if done right, you enjoy roleplaying.”
Jon said sweetly, though he kept his voice low because he didn’t want to
embarrass her and he didn’t need any of the guys harassing her. “You could make
money while having fun with me.” Then he realized he was basically implying
that she could be his hooker or something, wondering if she would take offense.
“Or not.” Jon took another bite of his food, his free hand dropping down to
squeeze hers.
“Tempting. Very tempting. Not happening though.” Vallea thought along
the same lines as him, not caring what people thought, but she knew if she
became his assistant, there would be serious issues.
For
instance, the agency would fire her on the spot since Jon was not one of their
clients and Ryan would give her grief too.
This was a very new and fresh relationship…god, they were in a
relationship now…and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin it by spending
every waking hour with the man and him growing tired of her. Her phone buzzed and it was Ryan wondering
where the hell she was at, making her sigh.
“Oops,
break over time to get back to work.
Will I see you tonight?”
“If you
want to, yes, text me when you’re done with the asshole, babe.” Jon eyed her
barely touched salad, frowning slightly. “I usually bunk with Joey boy, but
since I knew you were coming…” He hadn’t known about her traveling
arrangements, or where she’d be staying, or even how long, but hope to see her
had made him go solo tonight, instead of being the usual cheapskate. “If he
gives you any issues, let me know and I’ll…nicely ask him to be a decent human
being.” More like stomp his ass into a bloody puddle of goo.
She smiled
at his overprotective nature and stood up from the table, brushing her lips
against his cheek. “I’ll text you when I’m back at the hotel.” She rode here
with Ryan and they would probably be leaving before Jon was done with the show.
“Be safe in the ring.” Squeezing his shoulder, she dropped her barely touched
food in the trash and headed out to meet with the warden, hoping he was in a
better mood.
Ryan was
somewhat in a better mood. “Here.” He held out a healthy stack of paperwork and
envelopes. “I need you to review all of this and then condense it into
something more manageable for my board to go over.” Vince was open to this
little business idea and that meant Ryan had to review and debate the pros and
cons of Vince’s own terms and conditions. Vallea was precise with paperwork, the woman
was brilliant, if only she wasn’t such a cold, frigid bitch.
“Will do.”
Vallea was
used to huge stacks of paperwork and it wouldn’t take long for her to go
through everything. A couple days, at
most. It would get her away from Ryan
too since she’d be holed up in the hotel rooms in order to work privately. He didn’t need to know anything about her
personal life or the fact she was now dating one of the wrestlers that worked
for WWE, for Vince McMahon.
“Looks
like the meeting was a success, so that’s good news for you and your company.”
Being friendly was the right way to go when it came to Ryan; maybe he wouldn’t
be such a dick towards her going forward.
Vallea highly doubted it since the man was probably born a dickhead.
“We’ll
see. McMahon already has this kind of
service and he’s been with them for years.”
Ryan was
also smiling as he began walking down the hall away from the temporary office. Of course, it was renewal time for the old
provider and he had done his homework, swooping in with an offer. The fact that McMahon had agreed to the
meeting and then came prepared with paperwork about what they needed, their
current production rates, incoming and outgoing costs, told Ryan the man was
shopping around.
“Where
were you?”
“Getting
some air.” That was all he needed to know.
Short, sweet and to the point.
Vallea had to tread carefully when it came to Ryan and made sure, when
she booked their rooms, they were on opposite floors of the hotel. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him
anymore than she had to be. “Oh, I feel I should warn you ahead of time, but
Monique is looking into another business endeavor and she’ll be needing my
services once it gets underway. I
already told her I would, but it won’t be for a couple months, so hopefully by
then, you’ll be set with the WWE and you won’t need my services anymore.” It
also would give him time to look for a new PA, if he still required one.
“You’re
already under contract to me for an indeterminate amount of time, Vallea.” Ryan
said without breaking stride or looking down at her. “Monique doesn’t take
precedence simply because she’s your friend.” How unprofessional, and that very
thought drenched his tone, making it clear what he thought of her inability to
prioritize appropriately. Honestly, he
didn’t think this would take very long, the window of opportunity was slim for
both him and the WWE, so a decision would be reached soon enough.
Not that
she really needed to know it.
“But I’m
also not strictly YOUR PA. I do other
jobs for the agency as well and you know as well as I do, those contracts are
usually 6 months along and no more. The
agency sees to it. So, if I have to wait
6 months to be able to work for Monique, so be it, I will. She’s one of my clients just like you
are. It’s got nothing to do with her
being my friend either. It’s good
business, keeping yourself open for new possibilities. You should know that better than anyone.”
Vallea informed him, keeping her tone syrupy and didn’t stop walking either,
all the paperwork already nestled in her bag over her shoulder. “So, do we have
to stay for the show or can I go back to the hotel to start my work, sir?”
“You can
go.”
Ryan was
planning on calling the agency and requesting that Vallea be sent to training
again because she was a snotty little bitch. She was highly unprofessional, talking about
another job already and she had just started for him tonight. He already knew he’d be receiving a discount
on hiring her, having to put up with her crap.
“I feel I
should warn you, when asked for a review of your services, I’m not recommending
the pay raise option. You’ve gotten
terrible with your attitude, Vallea. The
amount of unprofessionalism, I expected so much more from someone of your
supposed caliber.”
“And I
feel I should warn you I will be telling Margaret how you’ve been treating me,
Ryan. I really don’t care what you think
of me, but you WILL treat me with respect when I work for you. I’m not your doormat and I was simply
informing you of a job that is COMING UP in a couple months. I was being PROFESSIONAL in telling you ahead
of time, so you could find someone instead of stopping services with you in the
blink of an eye. My bad for trying to be
professional, won’t happen again.
Goodnight.” Asshole, she thought angrily, stalking away from him
and whipped her phone out to call a cab.
Screw him, she would NOT be taking a ride back to the hotel with him and
if she had to, she’d walk.
Ryan was
already texting her boss, informing the woman that he would not be using their
services again. He was one of their best
clients and had provided fairly steady work for the agency over the years
either via himself or by recommending them. He would be taking his business elsewhere and
that would also include his contacts, unless they rectified this situation with
Vallea. She had chastised him, offered
her unprofessional opinions, and was basically being a condescending snot
behind her sweet fake act. She’d had the
chance to turn down the job, she hadn’t, and now she was being unprofessional. Ryan was not someone to be trifled with and
Vallea would learn.
“You will
return the hotel with me and if you even think about taking that paperwork out
of my sight until you and said paperwork are SECURELY in a building, I will
have you terminated for being a liability to your agency’s clients and
potentially sensitive documents.”
All Vallea
wanted to do was slam the paperwork down on the ground and tell him to kiss her
ass. She was tired of this and being
treated like crap from this guy!
Margaret had assured her it would be different this time and no, nothing
had changed at all. Ryan was even WORSE,
if that was even possible. Not saying a
word, Vallea got in the backseat of the vehicle and stared out the window, not
able to wait to get back to the hotel and far away from him.
On the
ride there, she received a call from her boss and was reprimanded for her
behavior, ordering her to make things work with Ryan or she would be
terminated. He even sweetened the pot
with Ryan and added on additional time to her contract with the douche
lord. All Vallea could do was hold back
tears until she got to her room, after parting ways with the asshole, and
tossed her bag on the bed with the paperwork inside, refusing to even look at
it. A bubble bath and wine were in order
after the day she had.
Of course,
this all made Ryan very happy. Maybe,
just maybe, Vallea would learn her place and remember that she was nothing more
than a lowly assistant. She could do
better, be better, of course, she just had no desire to do so.
Chapter 15
Babe,
there’s a definite lack of texting from you… Jon’s
message arrived a few hours later. He
wasn’t overly surprised by the fact that there wasn’t a text, they didn’t call
or send texts all that often. But
considering they were in the same city, at the same time, that was rare.
Maybe she
had gotten swamped from the asshat Ryan and forgotten.
“Shit.”
She whispered, remembering telling Jon she would text him when she was back at
the hotel and groaned, rubbing her temples.
Ryan had her so riled up and then her boss reaming her out didn’t help
matters any. Vallea sighed, taking a
long pull of her wine and sent him one back. Sorry, came back to the hotel
and took a bath to relax. Are you done
for the night? After her bubble bath and a couple glasses of wine, Vallea
felt a little better about her current situation, deciding not to tell Jon what
happened. The last thing she needed was
him blowing a gasket.
Vallea was
usually pretty good about details and minute things, Jon had noticed that on
their first little date. The day he had
saved her and she had taken him out to dinner, then the Ferris wheel. He had picked up on the detail thing and the
subsequent time he had spent with her only cemented that. So this, even with their infrequent texting
and calling habit, told him that either something was wrong or her night had
gone south and she was swamped with work or something.
I’m done
for the night. Which hotel are you at? Room
number? He’d just come to her, with liquor,
just in case.
Room 392 and I’m at the Marriott, same as the WWE. Asshole didn’t want to be too far away from
his conquest. Vallea knew that would get
a chuckle out of him and wasn’t surprised when she received a text back that
told her Jon was on his way.
After the
day she had, seeing him would make everything go away. She just wanted to forget about everything
else and still hadn’t touched her pile of paperwork, deciding it would wait until
tomorrow. Ryan had pissed her off and
she didn’t want to screw anything up in the current mood she was in.
Jon was
not at the Marriott because the Marriott was expensive and gaudy, in his
humble, poor boy opinion. No, he was a
lot more comfortable at some sleazy motel within walking distance of a bar and
a pool table. Not to mention, staying
somewhere el cheapo meant when he left the room never
to return, he didn’t feel terrible about wasting the money because he had spent
so very little. Jon was one day going to
have to address the lingering poverty issues he had. Soon enough, he was in front of her door, bag
over his shoulder and rapped twice, icy eyes straying down the hallway. He wouldn’t be surprised if asshole wasn’t on
this floor as well. Vallea knew exactly
who it was, so she didn’t bother checking first and opened the door, cracking a
smile up at her boyfriend. That was
still fresh, the fact he had put a label on them and she didn’t mind it a bit. It would just take some getting used to.
“Come in.”
She
stepped aside to let him in and shut the door behind him, wearing one of the
cotton robes the Marriott provided to their guests. Her hair was down and still damp from the
bath she’d had. It was after midnight, a
typical night for WWE Superstars with Raw since the show didn’t end until 11 PM
Eastern time.
“I watched
your match. It was good.” She had caught
the last bit of Raw after her bath and Jon was in what they called the main
event.
“Yeah, it
was all right.” Jon agreed, bobbing his head as he surveyed the room, setting
his not so posh duffel bag down on the floor by the door. “Come here, doll,” He
held his arms wide open, not surprised when she moved into them, feeling her
face in his chest and enfolded her in his embrace. “You smell delicious, Val.”
He murmured, brushing his nose against her damp hair. “How bad was it tonight?”
Part of him was mad at Momo for telling him about Ryan because there wasn’t
really jack he could do without going to prison.
She tried,
really tried, not to start crying and couldn’t help it as the tears began
sliding down her cheeks. Jon comforting
her opened the flood gates and there was no stopping it or holding it back.
“Bad.” She whimpered, sounding pathetic and could feel Jon’s body tense from
head to toe. “It’s better now that you’re here, though.” Vallea admitted,
clinging to him and breathed his scent in, trying to will
herself to stop crying. Hadn’t she done
that enough in the tub?
Carefully,
Jon cradled Vallea’s face in his palms, tipping her head up so he could see
into her face. This Ryan was a royal
prick, making those gorgeous eyes flood with tears and he wanted to find the
man and force him to apologize. Using
the pads of his thumbs, he caught her tears, gently wiping them away.
“You don’t
have to work for him, Vallea.” He said quietly, knowing she would because that
was her job, but walking away was always an option, she had to realize that.
She was
being stubborn and she knew it, but her job was on the line when it came to
Ryan. Her boss had made it clear, if she
couldn’t work with one of their biggest clients, she could find employment
elsewhere. Honestly, Vallea loved her
job and the agency, but it was just this one asshole that got under her skin
all because she wouldn’t give him the time of day outside of work. He wanted what he couldn’t have; she would
have to tough it out and bite her tongue until this contract was over with.
“Yes I
do. If I want to keep my job and stay
with the agency, yes Jon, I have to work with whoever they assign me. I’ll get over it, I’m just being a big baby
right now. Pathetic, right?” She barked
out a harsh laugh and slid her hands up his arms to cover his. “I’ll be fine,
just a bad night is all.”
Jon was
unusually quiet as he studied her, really looking at her and letting what she
had said sink it, rolling it around his head for a bit. “You are one of the
strongest people I’ve ever met, Vallea,” He said finally, sounding oddly
serious, which wasn’t the normal for him. “So for some dickbag bringing you to
tears, that’s not pathetic. It means
he’s a lot of trouble, especially if you’re crying about it.” This woman was
tough as nails, he had learned that a while ago.
There was
no point hiding the truth from him. “Ryan called my boss and my boss
reprimanded me for being unprofessional towards Ryan, even though I
wasn’t. I thought giving him a heads up
I’d be working for Monique in about 6 months was a good thing, but apparently,
he didn’t think so. He’s got
this…obsession with me and he only chooses me to work for him through the
agency. He’s a big shot, brings in a lot
of money, so they bend to his will most of the time. My boss told me if I couldn’t make things
work with Ryan, I could seek employment elsewhere.” Her eyes lowered, sniffling
and reached up between his hands to wipe tears away. “I’ve never been fired
from a job in my life and I’m not about to let this dickhead take what I’ve
built for myself away. I’ll play his
stupid game and then get away from him when Monique needs me.”
Except,
Jon could already see that not playing out the way Vallea was thinking. If this guy was that big of a deal that the
agency was caving to him and threatening Vallea’s job…he could see this Ryan
guy playing the unprofessionalism card if by chance Vallea was still working
for him when Monique needed her. There
was no mistaking the fact that the girls were friends, even a blind man could
see it. Sighing, he simply nodded,
kissing the top of her head.
“Come on,”
He backed her further into the room. “I’m here now, fuck that loser.” Driving
his face into cement with his finisher ‘Dirty Deeds’ didn’t sound half bad.
She smiled
at him, despite how crappy she felt and accepted a soft kiss, her hands gently
gripping his shoulders. Jon lifted her,
making her squeal out because she didn’t expect it and wrapped her legs around
his waist instinctively. He was right;
he was here now and there was no reason to dwell on what happened because there
was no changing it. Jon sat down with
her straddled on his lap and Vallea broke the kiss, rubbing her nose against
his.
“So, I
need to talk to you about something else.
I just want to make sure I understand and we’re both on the same
page. You called me your girlfriend
earlier at the arena…” Vallea didn’t need to elaborate further and waited for
his response while staring into his beautiful pale blues.
Jon
blinked, his mind instantly hitting the rewind button. Yeah, he did say it. It had come naturally out of his mouth and he
had known for a few weeks now that he wanted to be exclusive. The idea of her being with someone else didn’t
set well with him. He was fairly certain
he wasn’t in love with her, but he was definitely in serious like.
“You want
to know if that’s me putting a label on us, right?” She was pretty much a
standard chick with that one, he supposed.
Though, the fact that she hadn’t pressured him sooner or asked sooner
told him she had a lot more reserve than most chicks. A plus in his book. “Well, it is.”
“I didn’t
want…to pressure you into labeling us what we were because we’ve been having
such a great time together. But when you
called me your girlfriend, I just wanted to make sure you meant it and that it
didn’t just fly out of your mouth accidentally or whatever. And just so you know…” Vallea slid her hands
down his t-shirt covered chest until she came to the bottom, sliding her hands
up once again on his bare flesh. “I’m fine with being labeled yours.” He was
the only man she wanted to be with, the only man she thought of and dreamt
about. Her rock climbing savior. Vallea wouldn’t be able to sleep with anyone
else while hooking up with him anyway, that wasn’t her style.
“Damn
right you are, I’m crazy awesome, babe!” Jon rumbled with more than just a
dollop of arrogance lacing his tone. “You’d be insane to not want to be my
woman.” He had some diehard fans who were literally insane and would do
anything including murder, just for a chance with him. Not that he was telling her about those crazy
fans of his. Jon didn’t need her scared
off. He imagined eventually, she’d have
a run in with one and that’d be interesting to see.
“Yeah well,
don’t need that head of yours growing three times your size, Good.” Vallea
playfully chastised, brushing her lips against his and pushed the t-shirt up
over his head to drop it to the side.
She could
never, ever get enough of touching his body, his chest and back were the
sexiest part of him besides his eyes and smile.
Hell, the man just dripped sexuality and he was right, she would be
crazy not to want to be his. What woman
wouldn’t? She squealed out and laughed
when he suddenly shot up from the bed, turned her around to where her back was
against his chest and delivered some kind of wrestling move on the bed. It was a German suplex.
Obviously,
he modified things a bit. The strength
he used, the amount of force, and he made sure every delicate part of her was
shielded, just in case she came up off the mattress. Hearing Vallea’s peals of laughter made
something in him tighten and radiate warmth. The woman was so far perfect for him and he
hoped the good times kept on rolling. He
also hoped Ryan minded his Ps and Qs because something dangerous had stirred in
Jon at the sight of those tears and knowing someone had done it purposefully
just to hurt her did NOT set well with him.
Ryan would
eventually find out about her and Jon because she refused to keep her relationship
a secret from anybody, including that asshat.
It wasn’t his business and she wouldn’t go out of her way to tell him
so, but seeing them together at the arenas was inevitable. A week passed by with no other problems from
Ryan, though he was still a colossal dickhead.
Vallea toed the line, minded her manners and treated him with fake
respect and giving phony smiles. That
was all he was getting out of her.
Ryan
seemed fine with it and everything seemed to be running along smoothly. Until…Ryan informed her that Dean Ambrose
would be their main attraction when it came to making new designs for him for
the new memorabilia Vince wanted. The
man had recently made a comeback and Ryan was capitalizing on the opportunity,
after signing a rather lengthy contract with the WWE. Ryan instructed his PA to go down to Dean
Ambrose’s locker room, with some sketches he had another assistant draw up, and
he wanted to know which one the man liked best.
Vallea numbly walked out of Ryan’s office and headed toward Jon’s
dressing room, wondering how Jon would take this news.
“Babe,
this is a welcomed surprise,” Jon was moderately shocked and a lot pleased at
the sight of Vallea in the entrance of his room. He had left the door open to watch the flow of
traffic and shout profanities whenever Joe strolled by because that was just
hilarious. “You sneak away from your pig of a boss?” He asked curiously,
getting up from the bench where he had been tending to his wrists to walk over
and close the door behind her before snatching her up.
Vallea
kissed him back, basically traveling with him over the past week, without Ryan
noticing. She insisted on them taking
separate vehicles from now on, even paying for her own and Ryan didn’t fight
her on it. Or that’s what she assumed
and told him. When really, she had been
riding with Jon and rooming with him too, building their relationship.
“Yeah, but
there’s a catch as to why I’m here.” They stayed away from each other usually
at the arenas because Jon had his job to do and so did she. It wasn’t done intentionally, just the way it
was. “You are going to be working closely with Ryan for a while.”
Chapter 16
“I’m
sorry, what?” Jon extricated himself from her grip, stepping away to stare down
at her. The smile was still on his face
but the warmth had left his eyes, now replaced with pure ice. “You want to say
that again, doll?”
There was
no way she had just come in here to drop that on him. At Vallea’s nervous smile, he whirled around
and grabbed the nearest item, which was a chair, and hurled it right at the
wall. A string of curses left his lips. Working with Ryan. WORKING. WITH. RYAN.
Jon was
not overly pleased right now.
Vallea
jumped at his outburst, not expecting him to do that and it honestly scared her
a little. “Vince is the one who told Ryan to work with you. Ryan has a huge design company that makes all
kinds of memorabilia and shit for athletes like you. Football players, baseball…he’s into pretty
much every sport you can think of and has his hand in a lot of the product that
goes out. Vince has been shopping around
and found Ryan’s company in Vegas. You
just returned, so that’s why Vince wants to…try Ryan’s work out on you, to see
if you like it.” She explained quietly, unable to meet his eyes and didn’t
blame him for being upset.
Jon let
out a strangled half-scream of annoyance, the sound tapering into a growl
before eventually he just started laughing. Of course, of course…he would have to work
with this asshole because Vince wanted it! And he couldn’t do jack about it without
jeopardizing either of their jobs! How
was he supposed to do this, not kill this pretentious, dirtbag asshole? His eyes landed on Vallea, who looked afraid
and he gritted his teeth, hands moving to grip curls he no longer had.
“Come here,
doll.” He ordered finally, holding out his arms to her. Most likely, near him was the last place she
wanted to be, but he needed her anyway.
That sound
would haunt her for weeks to come.
Vallea
couldn’t deny him anything, no matter how scared she was because she knew Jon
would never hurt her. She went into his
arms with slight hesitation, hoping he calmed down and closed her eyes, hearing
how fast his heart raced against her ear. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, not sure
what else to say and felt his arms tighten around her slightly, but not to the
point of hurting her. “Please tell me you’re okay…”
“I’m
royally pissed that there’s nothing either of us can do.” Jon grunted, his
voice still laced with rage, but now softer, a bit bitter. “I don’t like the
position you’re in with this creep, and I sure don’t like the fact that I gotta
play nice with him. And don’t you be
sorry, this isn’t your fault.” It was men in charge with more power than they
needed and more ego than what should be legally allowed.
Vallea
could only nod, not wanting to upset him further and let him use her body to
calm himself down. She was his calming
agent at the moment and honestly didn’t mind being held by her man. “I know you
don’t. I don’t like it either.”
The sad
part was they could nothing about this.
With Jon and Ryan, it was business pure and simple, but with her and
Ryan, it was more about Ryan having complete control and power over her than
actually being his PA. And they both
knew it, even though Ryan had been playing nice for the past week. Maybe her boss had words with him too, she
didn’t know and immediately pushed that possibility aside.
“Everything
will work out as it should. We just have
to…push forward.”
“Yeah.”
Jon sighed heavily, shaking his head. “Yeah you’re right, babe, you’re right.”
He kissed
the top of her head, his arms wrapped tightly around her and finally placed his
chin on her hair, inhaling deeply. He
could act professional and give the man benefit of the doubt. Ryan was going to want to be all nice with him
since he technically worked for Vince and not the other way around, and he
began to smirk. Maybe he could make Ryan’s
life just a little bit miserable, well maybe. Not if there was a chance the man would take
it out on Vallea.
“Anything
I should know about this guy before I meet with him?” Other than what he
already did anyway.
“Other
than he’s full of himself, thinks his shit don’t stink and he’s the king of the
planet and can do no wrong? Nope. He’s also a very shrewd business man, from
what I’ve heard through the agency. I
don’t know what all that entails and I really don’t want to know. I just do the work he gives me and mind my
own business. Wouldn’t surprise me if he
had some shady business going on though.” Vallea snuggled against him, not
wanting to leave, but knew Ryan would be expecting her back. “I need you to
look over the designs he’s made for you and choose the one you like best. Then I need to report back to him.”
Jon did
not need to know all that; he just needed to know what was pertinent to him
dealing with Ryan. Not that what she told
him wasn’t interesting because it was. Eventually
he may need to know, but not right now, he stored it away.
“And what
if I don’t like any of them?” He snorted, letting go of her in order to resume
his place on the bench and pat his knee. “Come sit down and show me what you
got, doll.”
The designs
honestly weren’t that bad. Ryan wouldn’t
have a successful company if he didn’t deliver top-notch quality. She sat on her boyfriend’s lap and went
through them with him, massaging the back of his neck to soothe him. Jon didn’t seem to mind, going through the
designs slowly to look them over. He
finally chose two out of the 10 he liked the most, putting them on top and
handed them back to her. Vallea agreed
with him on the designs and she knew who had done them; the woman could draw
anything and make it look spectacular.
Ryan’s business rested on her shoulders a lot of the time because she
had to keep delivering insane results and knocked it out of the ballpark every
time.
Grudgingly,
Jon would admit the designs weren’t bad at all, whoever had done them had also
done their homework. He also knew, even
if he didn’t want to admit it, Ryan had to be good at his job with a stellar
company if Vince McMahon had decided to get into bed with him. Especially considering the old man had been
pretty loyal to his vendors for years and then changed it up. Now that he was calming down, his mind was
thinking this out. If Vallea went back
to the man with good news, he was likely to be less of a jerk to her.
“Pick out
another you like and add it to the pile, doll.”
“But this
isn’t…” Vallea trailed off at the look Jon shot her, it was stern and sexy all
at the same time. He truly wanted her
input about this and it made her feel tingly. “All right…” Scanning the
pictures, she pulled the one out that had caught her eye earlier while sifting
through them with him and pointed. “This one.
The ones you picked out are great and everything, but there’s something
about this particular one that stands out to me. I’m not very good with this type of thing…”
“You’re
not a fan, who appreciates the design, that’s good enough for me.”
Jon planted
a kiss on her forehead as he studied the design. It was a good one too, it hadn’t called to him
the way the others had, but he was also aware that what he liked and what his
fans liked were usually two different things. So she was probably seeing something he wasn’t
and it would probably sell like hotcakes.
“If you
say so.” Vallea shrugged, wondering what Ryan would think about the three
designs Jon and her picked out together.
Granted, she wouldn’t tell him about her involvement in the decision
making. It would be just like Ryan to
immediately dismiss the idea simply because she liked it. “I hate doing this,
but…I really do have to get back to work.” She softly kissed him, caressing his
beard covered jaw and became lost in it for a minute or two, almost purring.
“See you tonight and be careful in the ring.” One more peck, she was off his
lap and out the door, stopping at the bathroom to reapply her gloss before heading
back to Ryan.
Every
time, she always said be careful in the ring, and it was cute, endearing even. Matches were worked through, discussed, and
usually they were fairly safe. Bumps,
bruises, aches and pains came with the territory, this was a physical job, but
serious injuries weren’t technically the normal. But…the body did have a way of slowing people
down, like it had him. Not that he wasn’t grateful, he probably never would
have met Vallea otherwise. Sighing, Jon
pushed himself up onto his feet, beginning to hop in place with his eyes closed
as he started warming up.
“Does
this…wrestler,” Ryan wanted to call him buffoon, but refrained and shook his
head at the choices. “Have any idea what it means to make money? The designs he picked out are HORRIBLE
compared to the other ones!” In his opinion, flashy was better whereas Dean
Ambrose went with a more subtle, darker route. “This won’t do. The only one that we both agree on is the
third choice.” Her secret choice. “I’m gonna have to talk to him in person
about this.”
Vallea
didn’t think that was a very good idea considering how Jon had reacted to being
forced to work with him. “Why not invite him out for lunch tomorrow or
something?” She suggested softly, immediately regretting the words as soon as
they came out of her mouth.
Ryan
studied her, contemplating that suggestion and snapped his fingers. “I’ll do
one better. I’ll take the man out for a
steak dinner to discuss these options and see if we can’t come to a mutual
understanding.” Money talked, after all.
Jon was a
bit surprised when none other than Ryan showed up at his dressing room. Considering he was about twenty minutes from
kicking ass and taking names, pumped up with adrenaline rushing, he felt Ryan
was a damn idiot. He flashed a feral
smile, tempted to take the guy’s head off just because he could.
“Who’re
you?” He demanded, spitting into an empty water bottle. His dirty little habit, chew. He knew exactly who this jackass was, didn’t
mean he wasn’t going to be belligerent. “Man, I don’t do autographs when I’m
working, okay?” The look on Ryan’s face had him giggling on the inside.
Ryan
cleared his throat, straightening his tie on the crisp three-piece suit he had
on. “Mr. Ambrose, I take it? Do I look
like the type of man who wants an autograph from you?” He chuckled ruefully,
rolling his eyes. “My assistant came to you earlier with some choices for your
next t-shirt idea. I’m working with
Vince McMahon, you see, and I wanted to discuss the options with you
personally. Perhaps over a meal? Steak sound good to you? I’ll have my assistant make the
reservations.”
”I’m a
vegan,” Jon shot back deadpan, cocking an eyebrow. “And I already made my
choices, what’s wrong with them?” Better yet, why was he being asked input if
the guy was obviously not fine with them. Then he snapped his fingers. “Ohhhh…you’re Vince’s new vendor, new lackey…man, you dress
sharper than the last one. Makes you
almost look important, good deal.” He rolled his head from side to side,
muscles flexing as his glacial eyes raked over Ryan, obviously not impressed.
“I’m sure
they can find you something. And it’s
not that I don’t like your choices, Mr. Ambrose. I wouldn’t have them in the choices
otherwise.” He had to give all of his artists the chance to make money,
however, even if he favored a few of them. “I just think we need to go with
something a little more…eye-catching, flashy.
We can discuss it over a meal like gentlemen since I know you have a
match coming up. And I assure you I’m
nobody’s lackey.”
“No, you
are.” Jon’s smile lost all humor, his teeth completely bared. “Else you
wouldn’t be here bothering me about designs I already picked, out of designs
you apparently already approved.” He knew, in the rational part of his mind,
that he should be nice to this guy so he didn’t take it out on Vallea, but Jon
really hated this stooge. “And there will be no meal…” He fluttered his
eyelashes, attempting to reign his temper in. “You didn’t ask me nicely.”
Ryan
didn’t appreciate the audacity of this punk and squared his shoulders, knowing
better than to get into a fight with one of Vince’s employees. That would not look good for his company and
he was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. “Very well, Mr.
Ambrose. If you won’t see reason, it’s
your career and your choice after all. I
will send the designs to my team and get started on your new…merchandise.” He
hoped they flopped hard, it would teach this punk a lesson in respect. “Good
evening.” Walking out, Ryan gritted his teeth to the point of gnashing and went
back to report to his assistant.
As soon as
Ryan was gone, Jon let out a growl that would have done the Undertaker proud. He knew better, he KNEW he shouldn’t be
provoking the guy, but CHRIST ON THE CROSS! Not only was he an asshole to Vallea, but he
had decided he didn’t like Jon’s personal choices out of designs that Ryan had
likely approved! The man had issues with
control and Jon wanted nothing more than to make the guy know what it was like
to feel truly helpless, to be completely powerless and out of control of your
own fate.
That
actually sent a flood of warmth through him.
~!~
“That punk
thinks he’s better than me? I’ll show
him! I’ll show him what happens when you
don’t respect me!” Ryan ranted and raved for an hour straight to Vallea, who
simply sat there with her mouth closed, pretending to listen.
Jon wasn’t
someone to order around the way Ryan was used to doing to people, even
clients. He thought he owned the world,
that it was his way or the highway and it wasn’t. The man had tricked himself into having that
mindset and Vallea was glad and proud Jon had told Ryan off.
“ARE YOU
LISTENING TO ME?!”
“Of
course.”
“AND WHAT
DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS?”
Vallea
kept a straight face, knowing better than to cop an attitude or speak her mind
right now. “Your reservation has been booked for 11 PM tonight, or do you want
me to cancel it?”
Ryan
wanted to scream at her for her cheekiness, but she looked so serious that he
wasn’t entirely sure if she was screwing with him. “Keep it, that bastard is
going one way or another. Vegan my ass! YOU go deal with him!” He growled when he
heard Dean’s theme blaring through the arena. “After his stupid match, I hope
he breaks his goddamn ankle out there!” The man was hired help, just some
stupid jock, who obviously thought that he was something special since he was
on some shitty soap opera with a bit of groping thrown in. Tossing his hands up
into the air, Ryan resumed his pacing, pretty sure his entire body was red from
anger.
“What do
you mean you want me to go deal with him?
Ryan, if he doesn’t want to go to dinner with you, there’s really
nothing you can do to change his mind.
He made the choices.” Vallea decided a little sweet talk might diffuse
his temper a little. “Besides, if he wants to ruin his career, like you said,
that’s on him. You’re doing your job to
the best of your ability, so if he doesn’t want to listen to you, that’s on
him.” Those words tasted bitter coming out of her mouth, but it seemed to do
the trick because Ryan’s face slowly returned to normal. This asshole had no idea what Jon had been
through and, hell, she didn’t either.
However, the more she spent time with Jon, the more she wanted to know
about his past and what he went through prior to WWE.
“You’re
right, Vallea.” Ryan’s voice had returned to normal and he missed the look of
surprise on her face as he had turned his back to her, busy readjusting his
tie. That was probably the first time he
had ever said that to her. “Considering he’s recently back from an injury and
the wear and tear he’s already put on himself, he won’t last much longer. Why waste time trying to invest in a worthless
commodity? You are absolutely right.” He
was all smiles again, winking down at her before eyeballing the stack of
designs. “Put the three in for orders, if that’s what he’s decided…” Vince
would see that Ambrose was a moron when none of them sold much.
“Will do.”
Vallea let
out a silent breath of relief and knew, as much as it pained her to say those
untruthful words, it also swayed Ryan away from Jon. That was her ultimate goal, to find a way to
keep Ryan and Jon separated. It worked;
Ryan was sometimes too gullible for his own good and stupid. If he couldn’t see the farce right in front
of him, that was his problem. She
proceeded to take the designs over to the fax machine, which WWE graciously
offered, and sent them over to the office immediately. She already knew these designs would sell
like hotcakes for Jon – the man was extremely popular and had a huge fanbase,
according to Monique.
Chapter 17
After his
match, Jon shot Vallea a text. He wanted
to make sure she hadn’t had to deal with Ryan taking his anger out on her
because of him and apologized, just in case the other man had since it would’ve
been his fault. He had provoked the
stiff out of spite and hatred. Hate was
a harsh, hard word, and not one he casually threw around. Hell, he barely knew Ryan, but he knew he
hated the man on a level he didn’t understand.
I convinced him not to work with you anymore and to just send
the designs we picked out to the office to do.
Don’t worry. You won’t have to
deal with him anymore. Vallea sent back,
rather proud of herself for pulling the wool over Ryan’s eyes and glanced over
at him.
He was
currently chatting up one of the women in the company and the blonde didn’t
look interested at all. Vallea blinked
when Ryan had the taste slapped out of his mouth and covered her mouth with her
hand, looking away doing everything in her power not to laugh. Whatever Ryan had said to the blonde pissed
her off and now he had a red welt on his cheek for his troubles.
Jon didn’t
know how she had managed it, but Vallea sent him a picture of Ryan at a very
weird angle. It took him a moment to
realize she had snapped it from waist level, so the idiot wouldn’t realize what
she was doing. Clever girl. He had him a smart woman. Then he really looked at Ryan, able to make
out the red welt on his cheek. He read
her follow-up text and began cackling like a hyena. Jon couldn’t WAIT for whichever woman had got
him to go straight to Vince.
Sexual harassment
of any kind was NOT something the company let slide anymore.
“WE’RE
LEAVING!” Ryan practically bellowed at his assistant, storming past her and
didn’t see the sheer amusement in her eyes due to how pissed off he was.
The blonde
had slapped him for NO reason! All he
asked was if the curtain matched the drapes, trying to be seductive and he’d
been slapped into next week for it! How
was he supposed to know she would take offense to it?!
Vallea
followed silently, smirking at Jon’s text message and promised to meet up with
him at the motel just as soon as she parted ways with Ryan. She already had a key to the room, but Jon
didn’t want her going there until he was with her since it was a rather shady
place to venture by herself. He let her
know he was on his way to said motel. They
had agreed to stick to his usual routine.
One,
because it was comfortable for him. Two,
nobody would think to look for her with him, or in a dump like this, especially
Ryan. He doubted Ryan had ever spent a night
in his life in a place like this. To
Jon, it was comfortable. He stopped by a
liquor store, picking up her favorite drink and a bottle of something fun for
himself. He currently didn’t have a
favorite alcohol, still trying them all out.
They sold
edible underwear, so he bought those too.
At least
the shower worked and it wasn’t rusty water like the other motel Jon had
chosen. He made sure to pick clean
places at the very least. She didn’t
mind staying in places like these, honestly.
The Marriott and five star hotels weren’t really her style, though they
did have some perks. When Jon walked in,
she was busy in the shower lathering her hair and humming softly under her
breath. Damn song was stuck in her head
and she couldn’t get it out. It wasn’t a
loud, rambunctious yelling, just a soft hum that could barely be heard over the
sprays.
Jon
listened as humming became singing as he shed his clothes, having showered at
the arena. The main downside to cheap
ass places was that their showers were so damn tiny. No tubs, just usually a shower in the corner,
a single one person shower that he couldn’t fit in without flooding the floor. He stripped down to nothing and then pulled on
just a pair of loose fitting shorts before setting their drinks in the tiny
fridge that had been clean but seriously old. The edible underwear got tossed on top of her
briefcase, she’d see it.
Ten
minutes later, she stepped out with brush in hand and her body wrapped in just
a towel, not bothering to bring her clothes into the bathroom to change. She smiled at the sight of Jon sitting on the
bed, but first she had to get dressed.
Staring down at the edible panties, Vallea’s cheeks tinged red as she
picked them up and arched a brow at him, seeing him simply shrug. If that’s what he wanted, she’d play ball and
slipped them on beneath the towel. Then,
she walked over to him, standing between his legs. Her hands slid up his arms to his shoulders,
beginning to massage them and could tell he’d had somewhat of a rough night.
“What the
fuck, doll?” Jon rumbled, pinching the towel between his fingers and tugging it
until it came down. That left her in all
her nearly naked glory right between his legs and those panties did look edible
indeed. “Mmm…” The massage felt wonderful and he let his head slump forward
until he was resting against her stomach, the scent of her bodywash, her own
personal scent, and the strawberry aroma from those edibles wafting up to him.
“I’m going to devour you, Vallea.” He promised, hands moving to cup her backside
to pull her closer to him.
“You’re so
tense, let’s see if we can’t work some of those muscles out first before you
devour me whole, hmm?” Vallea never stopped working on his trapezes before
moving down his arms, taking her time to try to ease the tension in his big
body a little. “Lay on your stomach for me.
Naked.” She requested in his ear, knowing he wouldn’t deny her and
nipped his lobe, pressing her chest against his. “Please?”
Letting
out a mock annoyed growl, Jon heaved a great sigh before gently nudging her
away and stood up. His shorts were down
and on the floor in seconds and he wiggled his brows when her gaze dropped
down. He was going to have to lay on
that, she was a cruel woman. Very cruel,
the corner of her mouth had just hitched up into an evil smirk.
“You’re a
terrible person, Val.” He informed her, arranging himself on the bed and
tucking his erection in the least painful way possible.
“On second
thought, on your back. I’ll start with
your front and if you want, I’ll do your back afterwards.” Vallea felt bad for
him to lay on a full-blown erection and waited for him to reposition before
straddling him. She kept her edible
panties away from his erection for the moment and started massaging his chest,
feeling his big hands caress her sides. “I’m gonna take care of you, Jon. Just lay back and relax.” She purred, moving
down to his abs and scooted herself to adjust.
Something
told her if she didn’t take care of his erection, he’d be in a great deal of
pain going forward tonight, so after the massage, Vallea proceeded to pleasure
him orally. That kind of defeat the
purpose of the underwear, her going down on him first. Like most men, Jon was all tired and relaxed
after getting his rocks off, and then on top of busting his backside at work that
night.
“Babe, I’m
putty in your hands.” He was so relaxed and limp, it was pathetic. Rousing
himself, Jon rolled her onto her back, propping himself up on his elbows. “Your
turn.” He was not that kind of lover, she was going to get hers and damn it, he
wanted to eat those panties off of her.
Licking
his lips, he began kissing his way down her chest and stomach.
Vallea’s
laughter quickly turned into moans of pleasure, her hands fisting the sheets
because he didn’t have long enough hair to grab onto. Or else it would’ve been his hair. Her body writhed and arched into his hot
mouth as he devoured her, just as he said he would. The panties were gone with each piece he
pulled and ate off her. She didn’t know
if it was the panties that caused it or what, but Vallea had never climaxed so
hard in her life, not even on top of the mountain.
~!~
“Well,
doll,” Jon said when he had finished his feast, kissing his way back up her
body. This time, she was panting and
drenched in sweat, he loved it. “That was delicious.” He dropped an open lips
on her parted lips, his tongue caressing hers, letting her taste both the
strawberry flavoring and her own sweet essence. “Next time, I’m going with the
watermelon pair.” Jon had no problem bringing toys, or ‘manual helpers’ into
the bedroom. It spiced things up, or was
just an amusing way to get into interesting territory.
“If they
have peach flavored, get those too.
Raspberry would be good too.” Vallea requested as an afterthought,
trying to catch her breath and slowly came back down from the height Jon made
her soar too.
Not every
night had to be about sex. Foreplay was
a FORM of sex, granted, but Jon didn’t always have to be buried balls deep
inside of her to have fun. She smiled,
feeling him snuggle against her and slid her hand through his short hair, in
complete heaven.
“What am I
going to do when I can’t travel with you anymore? I’m getting too used to this, you know.”
“Would you
believe I don’t really care for the taste of peach unless it’s an actual peach?”
Jon chuckled, draping his arm around her as he got comfortable on the bed
beside her. They were face to face and he could feel her fingers grazing his
scalp, feeling like he could purr from satisfaction. “Yeah well…your boss has a
lot of Superstars to get through, and merch isn’t just shirts. There’s hats, and accessories, all that fun
crap.” He got what Vallea meant though, letting his head drop forward until he
could brush his nose against hers. “We’ll figure it out, doll, we were fine
before this and we’ll be fine after. You
know that, right?”
“Yeah,
we’re gonna be fine, even if we have to be apart.”
It
wouldn’t happen anytime soon because Jon was right, Ryan had a lot of plans
with the other Superstars besides him.
Vince didn’t like the vendor for the products he’d been using for
years. He thought it was time for a
change and Ryan had capitalized on the opportunity. Now, Ryan was in charge of all the merchandise
throughout WWE and it wasn’t just t-shirts either. Honestly, there was a very good reason why
Ryan needed a personal assistant because there was A LOT to go through and keep
organized.
“We have
the same days off too, so I say we go back to Vegas on our days off and find
another mountain to climb.”
“How do we
have the same days off?” Jon asked curiously because that was just way too
coincidental and very unlikely to happen. He began laughing at her little pleased look
and shook his head. “You’re devious, baby.” She was the personal assistant, she
was the one who made the schedules and he had given her schedule for the
quarter a while ago, so it wasn’t like she didn’t have access to his
information. “Vegas is quite a ways from here, you sure you don’t want to go
explore somewhere closer?”
“Hmm…I’m
game if you are. And it wasn’t me, as
much as I wish I could take credit.
Whenever the Superstars have days off, so does the rest of the employees
and that means asshole and myself.
Though, if I had to schedule our days off together, I could easily do it
too.” Being a personal assistant had perks and, as long as Ryan had everything
he needed regarding meetings and arrangements, he didn’t really care what days
off he had. The man was a workaholic;
she wasn’t. “We’re not far from mountains around here, are we?”
“Probably
not, a lot closer to some here than in Vegas.” Jon stroked his chin
thoughtfully as he stared at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he
smiled. “We can break out the laptop,” Hers, because he didn’t use his very
often. It was still almost brand new looking, a nice, expensive paperweight.
“And Google it. Maybe find us a cozy
cabin or something to hole up in.”
“A cabin,
huh? That sounds…amazing, actually.”
Excitement
boiled in her eyes as Vallea hopped up from the bed out of his arms to grab her
laptop. She grinned at Jon shaking his
head at her and fired the laptop up. It
was a lot more expensive than his, but she used it a lot and the money was more
than worth it.
“I know,
so not romantic, but it’s already Tuesday and our days off are coming up are
tomorrow and Thursday. Gotta get on the
ball and start researching now, see if I can’t find us something we both agree
on.”
Shaking
his head, Jon pulled himself up and propped the pillows against the headboard. He wasn’t surprised when she moved to sit back
down, laptop in her lap. He sat up as well, careful not to lean into her as she
typed because that apparently annoyed her. “Something close. As long as there’s something to climb and a
place to bend you over, babe, I’m a happy man.” He grinned, chuckling when her
fingers hesitated as she started laughing.
“And I’m a
happy woman to have you bend me over.” Vallea shot back with a smirk of her
own, scrolling through the pages on Google and found a place in Tennessee,
surprisingly enough. It wasn’t far away
from where they were currently, which was Alabama. A stone’s throw away, actually. Moneagle Mountain. There were tons of mountains and bed and
breakfasts to choose from. “What about this one?” She held it up to him, so he
could see the screen clearly. “I know it’s a little pricey, but it’s the
cheapest I can find and I’ll pay half.” She wouldn’t expect him to foot the
entire bill.
Jon
appreciated the offer. She was getting
quite familiar with his cheapskate tendencies and, surprisingly, she didn’t
ride him for it or pry anymore. Because
of that, occasionally, he’d tell her small, not so painful tidbits about his
life growing up. “Hey, it’s a vacation, sort of, doll. That’s the best time to spend a bunch of
money, right?” She was definitely worth it. He didn’t even feel the gnawing, anxious
feeling he usually got at shelling out for anything over 500 bucks. This woman was having an influence on him,
apparently; he was going to have to sort that out eventually without her
around.
“You’re
still not paying for it all.” Vallea insisted, not backing down and giggled
when Jon demanded her to make the reservation for Wednesday and Thursday.
Twenty
minutes later, it was done and she felt excited to be going on another
adventure with Jon. Would it always be
this exciting and adventurous with him?
She sincerely hoped.
Chapter 18
It was a
snowy evening in Cincinnati, Ohio, where WWE was for the night.
Why WWE
would come to this slum of all places was beyond him. The finest hotel in the city didn’t provide
nearly enough class and posh for his style either. Vallea was currently off doing one of the
many menial tasks he ordered her to do.
Doing his laundry had been added to that list along with picking up his
dry cleaning. He was making her
miserable, pushing her to the breaking point and it was all on purpose. He wanted to break her, to make her submit to
him and beg for relief or to simply quit.
Ryan even forced her to work on her days off and he couldn’t remember
the last time she’d had a day off when she wasn’t doing something for him.
The little
bitch would break sooner or later.
Jon
fucking HATED this place, and most people who knew him as Jon and not Dean,
knew he did. Not everyone knew why, but…that
was that. However, tonight, being back
on his home turf, there were some advantages. He had been watching as Ryan steadily pounded
Vallea into dirt and every night it seemed she was crying longer and longer in
the shower. The man was purposefully out
to ruin her, cause her a breakdown, and there was only so much a person could
take before they snapped.
Or before
someone snapped on their behalf.
He
might’ve snapped. Just a little. Proof of that was the number he had texted,
asking for a quick meet-up.
The man in
question was none other than Nick Gage.
He still lived in Philadelphia and wrestled in the Indies, after getting
out of prison in 2011, but he was in Cincinnati for a very specific
reason. Jon Moxley, one of his old
friends and rivals in CZW, called him up and asked to meet in Cincinnati, but
he wouldn’t say why over the phone. Nick
was very intrigued since he hadn’t heard from Jon in a while, so he was curious
what the man wanted. He walked into the
bar of Jon’s choice, looking around and spotted him after a few minutes since
business was booming.
“Hey Mox.” They collided hands, did the shoulder bump and sat
down to discuss what was on the man’s mind.
Nick listened, raising an eyebrow higher and higher until it could go no
more since he was bald, wondering if Jon was serious. He was. “So let me get this straight, you
want me to…”
“Oh I’ll
help,” Jon had absolutely no problem getting his hands dirty, again. Growing up rough, a lot of people tended to do
shady things at one time or another as a matter of survival. Be it for a place to sleep, filling stomaches, or to stop someone from taking whatever one had,
including their dignity. “He’s a sick bastard, Gage.” Now, so were they, but
there had always been lines.
Women and
children were usually where those said lines tended to existed.
Unless it
was a scandalous, knife wielding bitch, then sometimes exceptions were made.
“You will?”
Nick had doubt in his voice because he couldn’t think of a time Jon had gotten
blood on his hands. Then again, the man
had been born and raised in the Nasty Nati and it was the perfect place to pull
something like this off. “No witnesses.
And I want compensated for my part in this, man.” Jon tossed over a
folder stacked with bills and Nick let out a low whistle, knowing there had to
be at LEAST 10 grand in here, maybe more. “When do you want this to go
down? And why do you want this guy outta
the picture?”
Jon had
always kept information about himself on a minimal and there were reasons for
that, not to mention just sheer habit. “Tonight. I already got myself an alibi set up and a few
witnesses to my whereabouts.” Because homeless people did a lot for money,
including lie. That was probably the
most honest and least degrading thing they did, actually. “Because he’s going
out of his way to hurt people I care about.” Vallea’s name was not leaving his
lips tonight. Jon didn’t need anyone
knowing about her or her name, just in case.
Her hands
would stay snow white in this.
“Tonight? You want this to go down tonight? You gotta plan on how to make this happen?”
Jon went
over everything with him, down to the last detail and all Nick had to do was
the actual deed. Jon would hold the man
down and Nick would take care of the rest.
They had an hour before everything would go down, so they had a few
beers and then left the bar to go hunting.
Ryan was
right on time, sauntering out of a grungy motel straightening his tie. He’d just paid a whore off to tickle his
pickle and now it was time to head back to the hotel for some shuteye. Naturally, he called the whore Vallea and
ordered her to go by the name while he took her from behind, something he
wanted to do to his assistant. The whore
screamed out and Ryan relished in causing her pain, just like he did with
Vallea, even if it was only emotionally and mentally. He could tell the toll working for him was
taking on her and loved the agony in her eyes whenever he asked her to do
something very demeaning.
If she
didn’t do as she was told, her boss would get another phone call and she would
more than likely lose her job. Ryan had
her by the figurative balls, so to speak.
The cold night air bit at his lungs and face as he trekked to his car,
which was down the street from the motel.
He didn’t need anybody, especially Vallea, finding out about his
extracurricular activities. Ryan was
checking his phone while walking down the side of the road and stopped at the
sight of two men standing in front of his Cadillac, raising a brow.
“What can
I do for you gentlemen? Here to get your
rocks off too?” He couldn’t see them due to how dark it was and there was no
street lights on this road.
“Something
like that.”
Ryan knew
that voice, he was just having a hard time placing it right now. His eyes narrowed, then widened when one of
the men dared to park his ass on the hood of his Caddy. His baby. “What the hell do you think you’re
doing?!”
“Polishing
it. Nice ride, man.” Nick, like Jon,
wore a grungy old beanie over his head. It
was dark enough that with their heads both down, their faces could barely be
seen. “Who do I gotta kill to get something like this?”
At this
point, Ryan was starting to get some weird, niggly feelings up his spine and in
his gut. It wasn’t very often that he
was anxious, or afraid, money usually tended to buy his way out of problems. Something told him that these two men weren’t
going to care about who he was, his power, or his money.
“A whore,
usually.” He tried joking, walking around slowly as he pulled out his car keys.
Nick
didn’t move, purposely planting his boot on the hood and put a small dent in
it, making Ryan stop in his tracks. He
was nothing more than prey out here.
They were the predators and Nick had a feral smile on his face, his
gangly teeth glinting in the darkness.
“What do
you think, Mox?” He knew better than to use the man’s
birthname right now and heard the deep chuckle. “Would a whore gain us this
beautiful ride, or the owner itself?”
“A whore
would be fun to take on a ride…” Jon singsonged, reaching into his back pocket
and procured a pair of black leather gloves, slipping them on slowly, letting
Ryan sort of get an idea of what he was doing. Darkness made everything scary enough, add
some weird noises…he wanted the man to be terrified. “Hey man, you should give
us a lift.”
“Yeah. You
should.” Nick agreed, his eyes flashing wickedly.
“Now,
gentlemen-” Ryan had no idea who had moved first, but one second they were
right there and the next one of the men had bashed his head against the side of
the car.
He began
cursing and crying at the same time.
“Aww look Mox, he’s crying like the little BITCH he is!” Nick crowed,
wanting to draw this out a little longer and something told him Jon did
too. This man had done something
horrible to Jon, who was like a brother to him, and he was going to pay the
ultimate price for it. Nick didn’t need
to know the specifics; Jon asked for his help to get this done and it
would…with no witnesses. “Tell me something, Ryan,” He watched the man’s eyes
widen in shock at the fact they knew his name. “Do you know what happens to
those who think they have all the power in the world? Do you know what happens to those who THINK
they rule all?” Another bash of his head against the car had Ryan screaming out
in pain and Nick relished in it, the blood slowly pouring down the side of his
face.
“All
right, let’s load him up.” Jon said with a sneer, walking around to snatch the
keys from Ryan. “We’re going to take your car and you on a ride man, it’ll be
GREAT!”
Ryan could
only whimper, hearing them moving around and then he was up in the air. Time went crazy, moving fast and
excruciatingly slow as he was carted around his own car. And he was in a shitty party of town, nobody
would blink twice about this. Most
people would probably look the other way and pretend they hadn’t seen anything. Then he hit something hard, groaning as fresh
waves of pain wracked him.
He was in
his own trunk.
“Time for
a drive.”
Nick had
no idea what Jon was doing and just followed suit, knowing the man was
unpredictable and changed his mind more than his boxer/briefs. He simply slid in the passenger side while
Jon took the wheel and buckled up, safety first and all that. He smirked at his own pun and blasted music
to drawn out Ryan screaming and pounding on the roof of the trunk, trying to
break free. They had made sure to
confiscate his phone and anything else, crushing it to pieces. Jon hummed to AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt
Cheap was playing, his favorite song and what he’d named his wrestling finisher
after. Dirty Deeds. This was indeed a dirty deed they were doing,
but it had to be done. The world would
soon be rid of a dirtbag.
It was a
good long drive, mostly because Jon obeyed the traffic laws, not wanting to
draw attention to them. He knew exactly
where to do this, where nothing would be found for a good long while. Obviously, the car and the man couldn’t remain
together, no, that was just asking for trouble. Jon had every intention of driving it to his
favorite chop shop and just walking away, knowing damn well the car thieves
would have it stripped down within hours, if not less. When they had reached the spot, he cut the
ignition and got out of the caddy, whistling under his breath.
Nick was
pretty sure Mox was whistling…“Bro, is that…It’s
Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas or whatever that song is?”
Probably.
Christmas
was in a couple days, but why Jon would be humming THAT tune, when they were
about to annihilate someone, was beyond Nick’s understanding. Jon was always a crazy, wildcard and he
learned that in CZW. Nobody could
predict what he would do in matches, they were always called on the fly, on the
spot, and somehow, everybody trusted him.
They both got out of the car, hearing the slight sobbing from the trunk
and Nick looked at Jon, asking him silently if this is what he really wanted to
do. Jon answered him by opening the
trunk and ripping Ryan’s sweaty, bloody body out of it into the cold,
unforgiving, deep snow.
This
bastard was humming Christmas carols! Ryan
realized that and began crying even harder, knowing without a shadow of a doubt
he was going to die tonight by these lunatics. He had no idea who they were or what he had
done to them, but he also knew they weren’t going to show mercy and they
couldn’t be bought. That was just
instinct coming through and Ryan knew to trust his gut.
“I kind of
wish it wasn’t snowy, I’d like to stomp your fucking skull in.” Jon sighed,
then looked towards the old rendering plant. “You know who the Joker is, right?
How he got his ass dropped in a vat of
acid?”
“That’s
sick, bro.” But…it was smart. It’d take
a long ass while to find the body, if ever.
“I-I never
watched it…please, gentlemen…”
Nick was
sick of the formalities from this asshole and slammed his foot into the side of
his head, ordering him to shut the hell up.
Ryan clutched his head, whimpering and pleading on his knees in the cold
snow to spare his life. It was falling
on deaf ears. Nick looked up at Jon and
could see the resolve in the man’s eyes, knowing his mind was made up. There was no changing it. Jon had made it clear this dickhead had to
die, but he hadn’t been clear on the specifics or how it would go down. Now he did.
“Up on
your feet, dick. We’re going for a
little walk…” He yanked Ryan up by the back of his neck and punched him in the
gut for good measure, watching him crash to the snow on his knees again. “What
a pussy.”
“That’s
what happens when you get soft, bro,” Jon said scathingly. “You can’t take your
shit on your feet, like a real fucking man!” He planted his knee in Ryan’s
chin, watching as blood spurted out of the man’s mouth and sighed. Bending
over, he grabbed the smaller, older man and hoisted him up over his shoulder.
“Try not to bleed everywhere, okay?”
He led the
way to the old plant, following the well-worn path through the snow. Hobos and homeless, junkies and whores, this
place was somewhere people came, which was cool. It meant nobody would think twice about their
tracks. Tonight it was all clear though,
which was even better.
Nick
followed silently, seeing the man unable to lift his head because of blood loss
from his head injury as well as his face.
Jon wasn’t lying; he was going to dump this sack of shit into a vat of
acid! Where the hell did he find this
place anyway? Then again, it was
Cincinnati, his hometown and where he grew up.
Jon knew this place like the back of his hand and he hadn’t grown up in
the most…pleasant conditions. Once they
were inside, Jon ordered Nick to make sure there wasn’t a blood trail in the
snow on the way here. If there was, it
would be evidence, should anyone come here.
Nick nodded in understanding and went to do as Jon requested, refusing
not to deliver since he’d been paid a shit ton of money to do this.
While Nick
was off concealing evidence, Jon lugged Ryan up onto the rusted, rickety
scaffolding. “So, Ryan, I really think this is for the best,” He said conversationally,
glad he was on the strong side or else this trip with this useless meat sack
would suck. “Because you’re terrible at your job, you know? You question everything about everything and
then you get proven wrong by sales…” His shirts, for example. Those were still selling fantastically. “And
you’re a shitty boss.” Which was the reason they were here. “Smell that?” He
inhaled deeply, setting his boots onto the metal grating and peered down into
one of the vats. “Delicious, isn’t it?”
“P-Please…please,
I-I’ll give you a-anything you want!
I-I’m rich! You can have my
c-car! Y-You can have e-everything I
h-have, just spare my l-life! D-Don’t
kill me…” Ryan was grabbed by the throat, trembling from head to toe and
finally looked into the cold, icy eyes of none other than Dean Ambrose.
There was
light in here and he could see the man’s vindictive face, swallowing hard. Why was he being targeted by this wrestler,
of all people? His words pierced through
Ryan’s mind about being a shitty boss, trying to find the final piece of the
puzzle.
“I-I
won’t…question you…anymore. Please…” He
clawed at Dean’s arm, trying to get the man off him and Dean’s hand just
squeezed tighter.
“See, it’s
not about me, Ryan, bucko. I’m just the
one handling it for her.” Jon purposefully let that last bit out, waiting to
see if there was anyone truly at home in Ryan’s beaten, addled skull.
There was,
but only slightly. Ryan licked his lips
as he mulled that all over, light and comprehension suddenly flaring in his
eyes. “V-Vallea?” He whispered hoarsely, his hands still grasping at Dean’s as
he was raised over the ledge.
“Vallea.”
He dropped Ryan without a second thought. His hands dropped to the railing as
he stared over, watching as Ryan landed right in that vat.
The
screams were instant.
Music to
his ears.
Nick was
still outside cleaning up the mess Ryan had left behind, though it wasn’t a lot
and easy to cover up. He could faintly
hear the shrill scream from the man from outside and knew Jon had done it,
dropping him in the vat of acid. What a
way to die! Nick did NOT envy that man
one bit and made a mental note not to piss Jon off in the near future. He really didn’t want to be dropped in a vat
of acid – that’s not how he planned on leaving this world.
“Hey Mox, everything is cleaned up and the car guys are ready
for us to drop the Caddy off. You sure
you don’t wanna keep it as a souvenir?” He chuckled, turning to look at Jon and
noticed the faraway look in his friend’s eyes. “Yo, Mox, you straight, man?”
“Yeah, I’m
straight, bro.” Jon reached out to grab his friend’s hand, pulling him in for a
one-armed hug. “Thanks man, couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Hey,
we’re brothers, you know I’d do-” Nick didn’t get to finish his sentence.
Because
Jon had snapped his neck. Quick,
hopefully painless, and he really didn’t want Nick to finish that sentence
anyway. This was one murder he would
probably feel remorse over, he didn’t need anything added to that. Sighing, he lifted Nick’s body and turned back
towards the plant. One down and then
he’d get rid of the caddy.
No
witnesses.
There
could be none because Ryan was a well-known man with a million dollar
company. A corporate stooge that enjoyed
abusing his power when it came to his employees. Vallea was the perfect example of that. After Ryan had established himself with WWE,
he had ordered Vallea to take the brunt of the work load that came with
it. Instead of hiring someone more
qualified, he forced his personal assistant, since she was under contract, to
do all the work by herself and bogged her down.
It was his
way of slowly breaking her down into nothing and proving his superiority over
her. When Jon found that out, he had to
act before Vallea wound up dead from exhaustion and stress. She barely slept at night these days because
she had so many deadlines to meet with the designs and whatnot. Now, her problem was solved with Ryan’s death
and hopefully, Vallea would be able to breathe a little easier with that sack
of shit gone and out of her life forever, thanks to her mountain savior.
Her
exhaustion had played out in his favor tonight. Jon had told her he was going to meet up with
old friends from the neighborhood and she had nodded once before passing the
hell out. He had done as he said, and
then come and done this. Once the caddy
was in place, he headed back to the bar he had been hanging out in, pretty sure
a lot of people would swear up and down he had been there all night. He changed in the bathroom, stuffing the
clothes he had just committed double homicides in into a black bag, planning on
tossing them into a hobo’s burn barrel.
Right now,
he needed a drink.
Chapter 19
“ARGH,
where is he?!” Vallea growled, pacing a hole in the floor of her and Jon’s
motel room while trying to call Ryan for the millionth time. He had a meeting with Vince McMahon in just a
few minutes and was nowhere to be found! “Honestly…” His phone kept going
straight to voicemail and it was making her head hurt. “Damn it, I’m gonna have
to reschedule the meeting at this rate…” Would Vince feel jilted over
this? They had only been in business
together a short while…and Vallea wasn’t even halfway done with her Christmas
shopping yet, which she planned on doing today after making sure Ryan made it
to this meeting. “Fuck my life…”
“Babe,
what’s wrong?” Jon poked his head out of the shower, steam billowing out the
door as he pushed it open all the way. In the warm weather, he liked ice cold
showers. In the winter, scalding hot. Vallea had shrieked the first time she had
gotten into the shower with him, for both seasons. He stepped out, a towel wrapped around his
muscular waist and frowned, taking in the phone in her hand. “Problems with the
office?” He snorted, letting his tone convey just how he felt about Ryan.
Vallea
heaved a sigh, rubbing her temples and felt a headache coming on. Liquid Advil gels had become her best friend
lately. “I can’t get a hold of Ryan.
This isn’t like him. No matter
how big of an asshole he is, he’d NEVER miss a damn meeting with the likes of
Vince McMahon. It keeps going to
voicemail and…shit, I have to call Vince and reschedule the meeting.”
Muttering
under her breath, she didn’t see the devious smile cross Jon’s face with her
back to him while she made the call to the owner of WWE. Marlena, Vince’s personal assistant, answered
on his behalf and told Vallea she would relay the message to Mr. McMahon as
soon as she could. Tossing the phone on
the bed, Vallea wrapped her arms around herself and chewed her thumbnail. Ryan hadn’t called her either, which was one
of the first things he did every morning, waking her up most of the time. Today, she had been able to sleep in with
Jon’s arms around her and he’d waken her up in the most delicious, wonderful
way. Having his head buried between her
thighs, tongue fucking her, was an incredible way to be woken up instead of
from a phone call from Ryan.
The smile
gone, Jon walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around Vallea and pulled her
back to lean into his body. There was
nothing sexual about it, just soothing, reassuring. “This isn’t your problem,
doll.” He soothed quietly in her ear. “He’ll probably show up later tonight or
something. After he’s done giving you
gray hairs.” More of them, he mentally amended, eyeballing the few
strands that were slowly but surely graying. Ryan had done a number on her, and even in his
death, he was going to do a number on her.
At least,
just for a little bit longer, it would pass.
Jon was
right. This wasn’t her problem and she
had other things to worry about besides the whereabouts of that dickhead. She snuggled back against him, feeling his
strong arms tighten around her and his lips brushed against her neck in a
purely comforting way.
“You
always know what to say to make me feel better, you know that?” She murmured,
resting her hands on top of his against her stomach and inhaled his fresh
scent. “I’m not doing any work today.
He’ll get over it. I have the
rest of my Christmas shopping to do.” She couldn’t wait to get home to Vegas
and spend the holidays with Jon, even though it would be late since WWE had
events, both house and televised, during the actual holidays. “Besides the
house show, what else do you have planned today?”
“Some rest
and relaxation, babe, maybe some shopping of my own.” She was very secretive
about her shopping and he knew she had a few people she was buying for. Him, not so much. Jon had been sort of eyeballing things for
her, taking note of her likes and dislikes, remembering things she had
expressed admiration or fondness for. “You sure you don’t want to lay back down?”
He gestured towards the bed.
They still
had some time, she looked like some extra sleep wouldn’t go amiss.
As if on
cue, Vallea let out another long yawn and hated how tired she was all the time
these days. “I swear, I feel like I’m never going to catch up on sleep. I don’t remember ever being this tired in my
life, not even after climbing a mountain.” Stress did that to a person and took
its toll on their life. “Maybe a nap with you wouldn’t hurt…”
Jon was
already guiding her towards the bed and Vallea laid down with him, the towel
still draped around his waist. Once
again, he knew exactly what she needed as her lips brushed his, his arm pulling
her closer to him and just his body heat alone relaxed her from head to
toe. Staring into his eyes, Vallea felt
something bubbling up inside of her and it was a mixture of fear and
excitement, such a weird combination.
She caressed his bearded face, noticing he’d trimmed it down, but it was
still soft to the touch.
“I love
you, Jon.” The words left her mouth before she could stop them and Vallea kept
perfectly calm, meaning it with every fiber of her being.
They’d
been together for a while now and she couldn’t hold back how she felt for him
any longer. Well that was unexpected,
Jon blinked down at her, pretty sure he was telegraphing his surprise that she
had actually said that to him. Truth be
told, a lot of women over the years had told him that they loved him and he was
sure they did, in their own crazy ways because they were all maniacs. But Vallea, she was a different breed, a woman
unlike any other he had known and when she said it, he believed her.
“Good,
that helps.” He smiled slightly as he leaned forward to brush his lips against
hers. It did, it made what he had done
even more worth it and he was glad he had done it.
Sure,
there’d be a rough bit going forward, but they’d weather it and she’d be free
of Ryan forever.
Normally,
any other woman would’ve been put out for the man not to respond the same
notion, the same feelings. Not
Vallea. She really was a different breed
and honestly didn’t care if he loved her or not. It felt as if another weight had been lifted
from her shoulders because at least he knew where she stood. Maybe in time, he would say the words back,
but then again, maybe not. It didn’t
bother her like it probably should have.
She simply snuggled against his chest, draped an arm over his waist and
was out like a light in minutes, the sound of Jon’s heartbeat lulling her to
sleep.
Any other
woman would have been kicked the hell out of his bed and out of his life for
dropping those words, when there wasn’t even a year under their belt
relationship wise. So, for him to say
that, with a smile, not a bad thing on his end. He was new at this, at least that’s what he
was telling himself. Besides, he had
killed for her, he got a pass. She
didn’t know any of that and never would. Sighing, he simply let his head rest against
hers, hearing her soft, steady breathing as she slept. Good, she needed it.
“I love you
too, doll.” He murmured, kissing her hair.
She didn’t
hear anything or feel that kiss, too busy in dreamland.
~!~
Ryan was
missing.
It was
official.
Nobody
knew of his whereabouts and they couldn’t even find his car, his Cadillac. He had driven that bad boy all the way from
Vegas to here in order to bring it on the road.
The company put it on the truck whenever they had to fly to the next
town because he refused to leave his Caddy at home. It was nowhere to be found. It’d been 2 weeks since the disappearance of
Ryan and authorities were all over Cincinnati, trying to find his body. It was obvious he was dead. Vallea didn’t know what to think or believe,
trying to wrap her mind around the fact Ryan was more than likely dead. She had no idea what he did in his spare time
while he bogged her down with a job she should’ve been compensated more
for. Still, she couldn’t help mourning
the man because nobody deserved to die under mysterious conditions, more than
likely murder, due to the fact the last place he was seen had been in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Vallea was
currently on the phone with Ryan’s company, the new head honcho named Dorian
Dye and listened to what he told her. “So in a nutshell, you want to hire me as
the new liaison and keep me on the road with the WWE?” She would basically be
the spokesperson between the companies for future merchandise – something she
had already been doing under Ryan’s cruelty. “I would have to leave the agency
I currently work for, I assume?”
“Yes, you
would, but we would be more than willing to pay you a sign-on bonus,
immediately for any distress.” Unlike Ryan, Dorian wasn’t an asshole. He wasn’t someone a person would get
buddy-buddy with, but he understood the concept of basic human decency and respecting
other people. Ryan, according to what
the police HAD been able to find out, had spent his night with a whore…in a
seedy part of town. No doubt he had been
murdered because of how expensive he looked. “You’ve been with him there all
this time, acting on his behalf, so we’re assuming you’ve developed contacts.”
“Yes,
sir. Ryan had me collaborate with WWE
officials and staff on several Superstars with merchandise. I gave them my contact information because
Ryan didn’t want to deal with it.” Vallea would not lie, not even for a dead
man, and heard Dorian heave a heavy sigh over the phone. “I appreciate the
sign-on bonus, truly. That’s very
generous of you. I will call the agency
and put my resignation in and I accept your offer to work exclusively with the
company going forward.” At least she would still be able to travel with her
boyfriend and they wouldn’t have to be apart like before.
“Excellent,
if there’s anything we can do to expedite the process, please call me.” Dorian
said before adding his goodbye and ending the call.
Jon stared
at her. She had been on the phone all
day it seemed, and apparently this was the final call of the day. “Good news,
bad news?” He asked, sorting through his laundry and procuring a fresh outfit
for after his match shortly. “You look a bit…stunned, doll.” She had been
worried, he knew that, this bit with Ryan had complicated her position both
here with him and then with the agency. “Val?”
“Yeah?”
Vallea slowly set her phone down on the bed, trying to digest the conversation
she just had with the new CEO of Ryan’s company. “Yeah…”
Standing
from the bed, she walked over to stare out the window of their hotel room and
wrapped her arms around herself, no snow on the ground. They were currently in Texas, deep south in
Corpus Christi, so there was no snow compared to other parts of the
country. It was currently raining
outside, in the low 70’s, which was about as cool as this part of Texas would
get at this time of year.
“I – um…I
just got a new job with Ryan’s company…as their new liaison…and I have to put
my resignation into the agency…”
It took
him a few minutes to digest all that, finally everything clicking. “Wait,
you’re…the liaison? How does that work?”
What
exactly had he gotten her into? Jon
listened as she explained her new role, which was basically everything she had
already been doing. Ryan had had her
doing all this for peanuts for weeks now and it sounded like the quality of her
life was about to raise exponentially. One
very nice thing about Ryan being dead was that she didn’t have to sneak around
to be with him anymore. Granted, they
weren’t going out of their way to announce their relationship, but they weren’t
hiding it anymore either.
“This is
good news, right, doll?” He asked tentatively, unsure of how she felt about it.
“I-I
yeah…yeah, I guess it is. I’ll be making
more money and finally be compensated for all the work I’ve done while under
Ryan’s tyranny. They’re also giving me a
sign-on bonus, but I have no idea what that entails. I’ve been with the agency for a while, so
leaving is not going to be easy.” That part bothered her because it meant she
wouldn’t be able to work with Monique anymore.
She also had other friends within the agency, but this would change her
life for the better. “Is it wrong to feel…vindicated in a way with his
death? Or am I a selfish, heartless
bitch?”
“Well…”
Jon paused, digging into his pouch of chew as he considered her, tucking a
piece behind his bottom lip. “Mmm.” His icy blues were soft as he studied her
face. She looked sort of disgusted with
herself and he shook his head. “That man was a scumbag, Val. He was running you into the ground, you were
on your way to a heart attack or a nervous breakdown, doll.” That was just a
plain fact. Hell, even now she was
starting to look better and finally sleeping again, properly. “I’m not saying
it’s good that he’s dead, but… it doesn’t make you selfish or heartless.” Nope,
that was all on him.
“Dorian
noticed it too and pointed it out to me, after I told him everything I’ve been
doing for Ryan.” The man was still missing, not pronounced dead yet, but it was
a body search right now. They were
certain Ryan was dead and she thought no differently. Nobody did. “I need to make this phone call
before I lose my nerve and email Margaret instead of telling her over the
phone. Then, I’m all yours and we can do
whatever you want. I know I’ve been busy
on the phone all day, want to go to dinner or something?” Even with her new
position and Ryan’s death, she felt as if she could eat a horse.
“Yeah
sure, sounds good.” Jon gestured at her to have at it.
He was
good at occupying himself. While she
continued working up her nerve, Jon began fiddling in the bathroom, trimming
his facial fuzz and eyeballing his hair. He needed to get into the gym, maybe he’d take
up a routine or something. He’d had a
few sleepless nights since Ohio, both of them revolving around Nick because he
didn’t give two shits about Ryan. It was
a shame he had to take care of a friend though. But Nick had kept asking him if he was sure,
that right there wasn’t a good thing.
“Oh
Vallea, don’t worry about us over here, dearie.
You’ve done more than enough for us and we’re happy for you, truly.”
Margaret assured her softly, after Vallea started crying over giving her
resignation. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“Yes. I can’t pass this opportunity up and Dorian
is so much better to work for than Ryan was.” Vallea murmured, wiping her tears
away and could feel her chest clench painfully because Monique had no idea
about this yet.
“You
always have a home here with us, if things don’t work out. Remember that, Vallea.”
She
sniffled, nodding and could hear Jon in the bathroom, taking a deep, shaky
breath. “Thank you. Goodbye, Margaret.”
She hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed again, shutting her eyes to let
another weight lift from her shoulders.
Now, all
that was left was to call Monique, but she would wait to see the woman in
person to break the news to her.
Chapter 20
“You gonna
call Momo?” Jon asked from the bathroom, having heard Vallea end the call. He
wasn’t surprised by the silence and popped his head out, seeing the look on her
face. “She’s going to be happy for you, Val. She hated Ryan for one, and two, she’s like
your best friend.” And she was cool, he knew because he had made her HIS friend
on the grounds that she was banging his best buddy.
“I’ve been
on the phone a lot today…” Vallea sounded wary and frowned when Jon took her
phone to place it back in her hand, edging back toward the window. “I’ll try to
be quick.” She flashed him an apologetic smile and dialed the number, waiting
with bated breath for Monique to answer.
She did on
the third ring.
“Hey girl,
what’s up?” Monique was cheerful as always, even with the disappearance of
Ryan. She honestly didn’t care for the
guy and hoped he was dead, as awful as that sounded. “Don’t tell me you’re
moping over that asshole. I’ll kick your
ass if you are.”
Vallea
laughed softly, shaking her head. “Not on your life. No, but…something happened and I need to talk
to you about it. You’re not busy, are
you?”
“Nope,
fire away. Wait, did you and Jon break
up?”
“No! Why would you even ask me that?”
“Well, you
sound…off. I don’t know. You don’t sound happy and that man can keep a
smile on your face like no other. So,
what’s going on?”
Vallea launched
into the story of what happened with Ryan’s company and the new CEO, Dorian,
the job offer, her resignation from the agency, all of it. “As much as I love
the agency, this gives me a chance to better my life with more pay and I get to
stay on the road with Jon. I…I told him
I love him, Monique. I’m really serious
about him and…I don’t know, I just feel like I HAVE to do this. That means we won’t be working together
anymore…unless you want me to freelance for you or something…”
Monique
was silent for a moment, digesting all of that and finally she inhaled deeply.
“Okay, okay…” She was calm. “As your friend, I am so happy for you girl, you
have no idea. You got a badass job AND
more time with your badass man.” She liked Jon, he was just what Vallea needed
in her life. “As your sometimes boss, you fucking suck! Where am I going to find someone as awesome as
you?” There was no bite in her tone, mostly teasing.
“Look, I
know I promised you to help out in Ohio and I’ll still do that. I just…need to work it into my schedule,
which I’m sure I can…” Maybe spreading herself too thin wasn’t the best thing
in the world to do, but she had promised to help Monique.
“No, no
absolutely not, no. You’re not stressing
yourself out MORE than what that asshole did.” Monique argued, caring more
about Vallea’s wellbeing than her company or her need of a personal assistant.
“I will find someone else, they just won’t be as awesome as you. And you BETTER keep in contact with me,
woman. I still want our coffee dates
whenever you’re in Vegas.”
“That’s a
promise and I won’t lose touch with you.
By the way, how are things going with the Samoan stud in your life?”
“Hmm, let’s
just say things are progressing very well.
I’m spending Christmas with him and his family in Pensacola this year,
actually. Heading there once Joe has his
days off.”
“Jon and I
are spending it in Vegas, walking the strip with all the Christmas lights and
then staying at either his place or mine.” She wasn’t sure about that yet and
would have to finalize everything with Jon during dinner tonight.
“Christmas
in Vegas, you know, it’s pretty much like any other night other than the big
ass tree.” Vegas was the city of lights and it never slept; Christmas was
pretty much the same. “One day, I might go somewhere that gets snow for
Christmas.” She highly doubted it, she liked her warmer weather.
The only
thing she liked about snow was how pretty it was in pictures.
“Yeah, Jon
is NOT a fan of snow at all. Even though
we’re Midwest kids and grew up in the snow, we both despise it and would rather
just spend it in the desert.” She giggled when Jon shouted out, ‘DAMN RIGHT!’
behind her and shook her head. “Listen, I hate cutting this short, but we’re
getting ready to head out for some dinner.
I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on, though.”
“You
better. Talk to you soon.”
Vallea
hung up, feeling a lot better now that all the phone calls were done and she
could finally breathe, slowly turning to face Jon. “I’m all yours now,
handsome.” She softly kissed him, knowing he had chew in his mouth and simply
brushed her lips against his.
“Yeah, for
tonight. Wait until Vinnie Mac learns
you’re the new liaison, I bet he runs your pretty ass around in circles just to
make sure you-” Jon hesitated and cocked his head to the side as he studied
her. “Shit, Val, I hope Dorian whoever he is can talk Vince into letting you
stay on. The old man is a dick when it
comes to abrupt changes in his business.” But…if Vince sat down and spoke with
Vallea, he didn’t doubt Vince would want her to stay because she was a gem at
her job.
She simply
smiled at him, caressing his beard with a new air confidence. “I’m not worried
about that. I’ve been working closely
with Vince since Ryan handed all the work to me. The only thing Ryan did with Vince was
meetings and I was an attendance for all of them besides the very first
one. I don’t think he’s going to have a
problem with me being the new liaison.
And just for the record, I’m all yours regardless of my job. Now feed your woman, I’m hungry.”
“Oh no,
doll, YOU feed ME,” Jon laughed, shaking his head before brushing his nose
against hers. “You’ve kept me alllll day, Val.” He
was picking on her and winked to let her know it. “What sounds good? Let’s go out, babe.” They’d been living on
hotel food and whatever fast food drive-thru was nearest. Mostly because for a while she’d been too dead
to drag anywhere without risking her falling asleep and now all these damn
phone calls.
“Well,
there’s an Outback Steakhouse not far from here we could go to.” She suggested
lamely, not knowing Corpus Christi at all or where all the small diners were,
which is what Jon preferred. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind sinking my teeth into a
nice hunk of meat.” No pun intended. “Steak sounds good, we’re going there.”
Taking his hand, she lead him to the door with an extra kick in her step,
makeup free and full of vigor for the first time in over 3 months.
Outback
Steakhouse, it took Jon a while before he remembered why he liked the place.
“Onion blooms, blossoms, something.” He said, snapping his fingers with the
hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel. He
grinned when Vallea gave him an amused look from her seat. “Deep fried onion,
oh my god it’s so bad for you, but so delicious…” Yep, he was going to have to
get back into that gym routine. “And of course, doll, a nice juicy piece of
meat for your beautiful mouth.” He caught her hand before she could nail him,
knowing he would’ve deserved it.
He should
have killed Ryan sooner.
“Don’t
make me puke, please. I love you, I
really don’t want to puke all over you.” She mocked vomiting with a finger in
her mouth, rolling her eyes at Jon’s balking face and laughed.
It was
full of mirth and life, the light back in her hazel orbs. It had been gone ever since she started
working with Ryan, even while traveling with Jon. Vallea hadn’t been the same upbeat, energetic
firecracker she’d been when Jon first met her.
Hopefully, she would get back to who she used to be now that Ryan was gone.
“Babe, you
throw up on me and I might have to hurt you.” Jon threatened, pulling into the
parking lot and surveyed the other vehicles. It wasn’t overly busy, that was a plus. He hated waiting twenty or thirty minutes just
to get a seat. And this also meant they
were less likely to be bothered. “I’ll paddle that ass…” He leaned over the
seat to kiss her, biting down gently on her bottom lip. “Or ride it…” That
could fun too, maybe a combination of both.
Her cheeks
flamed up as Vallea groaned at his teasing, her stomach rumbling stopping her
from pursing anything else. “First we’re eating and then we’ll talk about you
riding my ass.”
Anal sex
was not something to fear – if done right, it was the most exotic and intense,
pleasurable experience a woman could have during sex. If Jon wanted to ride her ass, who was she to
deny him, but there would be prep work first.
They would definitely have to work their way up to that point because
jumping right into it wasn’t an option.
Walking inside, they were seated almost right away at a booth in the far
corner of the restaurant and each ordered a beer.
“I can’t
remember the last time we actually went out and had a meal together like this.”
He pushed
all that out of his mind, not wanting to ruin his appetite with disgusting
visuals. “It’s been…a long time,” He couldn’t think of a time either. He knew there was probably something, but
chances were she had been near asleep or on her cell conducting business
because Ryan was an asshole. Reaching
across the table, Jon took her hand and squeezed gently. “You got roses coming
back into your cheeks, Val.”
Tears
pooled in her eyes because she had made Jon suffer right along with her and
didn’t even realize it until now. “I didn’t mean to…” Get ahold of yourself,
Vallea, for god’s sake, she mentally chastised herself, taking a deep
breath and squeezed his hand in return. “I won’t ever neglect you again,
Jon. I should’ve told him to shove the
work up his ass and dealt with the consequences. But I’m here now and I promise, I will make
time for you and our relationship from now on.” How did she get so lucky to
find a man who put up with a woman who put her career first before him? Jon should’ve left her high and dry long ago,
but he hadn’t. He’d stuck by her side,
through all the trials and tribulations, tears and anguish she’d endured from
Ryan.
“Whoa,
slow your roll.” Jon stated sharply, shaking his head. “Vallea, you told me
when we first got together,” More like when they first started seeing each
other. “That you were a career woman and I accepted it, just like you accepted
me being on the road all the time because of what I do. I never had an issue with that. My issue was that bastard abusing you the way
he did.” And that would never happen again because Jon was a problem solving
kind of guy. “I just want you to be happy, doll. If that means working until your eyes bleed,
so be it.” Obviously, that wasn’t happening, but she got the picture.
“I know,
but that was then and this is now. I’m
still career-orientated and that’ll probably never change about me, but…I need
to stop every now and then to smell the roses.
To feel the sunshine on my face and breathe fresh air. I haven’t done that since I started working
for that…that…” Vallea gritted her teeth, knowing it was wrong to curse a dead
man and shut her eyes, reigning her temper in. “Anyway, what’s done is done and
now I can continue doing things without him hovering over me or breathing down
my neck, warning me of deadlines. It’ll
be nice to be left to my own devices.”
That acid
bath eating piece of melted shit, Jon
finished mentally for her, flashing her a sweet smile. “Am I a device?” He
teased, taking a long pull from his beer. “You can get at me all you want.”
Well, within reason. He had a feeling
they’d wind up in jail if they did something on live television or in front of
fans, though the idea of it brought a wicked smirk to his face. “We need a
vacation, babe, I bet you could take one while they’re sorting out all the
paperwork.”
“We never
did go to that bed and breakfast up in the mountains in Tennessee…” Vallea
pointed out wistfully, remembering how heartbroken she’d been when Ryan
demanded her to work on her supposed days off.
Jon was PISSED and let her know it, but there was nothing she could do
at the time. She sipped her beer
thoughtfully, sliding the pad of her thumb around the rim of her beer bottle.
“Speaking of a vacation, what are we doing for Christmas since we’ll be back in
Vegas? Maybe we should take one then
since you’ll have an entire week off and so will I.” Because her schedule
coincided with his and the WWE.
Vallea
covered her mouth with her hand after doing that, eyes wide and couldn’t stop
laughing, feeling as though she was choking.
She had aspirated some of the beer and luckily, none came out of her
nose. “Boston Market? Really? No, if you want to be REALLY traditional, you
make a damn ham or turkey with all the fixings, darling.” She batted her
eyelashes at him, smiling serenely and helped wipe the spit beer from his face.
“And I don’t think there’s gonna be time to put up a tree and decorations
either…” Not with their hectic schedule, even if they had 5 days off coming up.
“Wrong, it
takes me less than an hour to get my Charlie Brown special up.” Jon had done a
real tree in Vegas only ONCE and he would never do it again. Even with water in the container thingy, it
had still been so dry that the damn thing had caught fire from the lights. He was good with his tiny little fake tree
with the LED lighting. “It’s the full nine yards, babe, you’ll see.” He stated
confidently, now mopping beer off his face and inhaled deeply. “Oh yes, food is
coming...” He was starving, his appetite had returned full force, seeing her so
happy and relaxed.
“Charlie
Brown special? I love Charlie
Brown! If you have the Charlie Brown
Christmas tree…” Vallea beamed when a Cheshire smirk curved his lips and
clasped her hands together. “You do!
That is awesome! We’re watching
the Merry Christmas Charlie Brown special too.
I have it on DVD and watch it every year.” They were definitely staying
at Jon’s place this year for the holidays, which was perfectly fine with
her. All she had to do was go home to
grab her belongings for the road and that wouldn’t take too long. Doing laundry was a must too. “I still have
to finish my Christmas shopping too.
Mind if we stop at a few places after this to see if I can knock it
out? I already got yours, so I don’t
mind you tagging along with me.”
“That’s
fine, I’m going to need to work off the onion blooms anyway.” Bad, greasy food
that they were. Why was all the
delicious food bad for people? When he
retired from wrestling, Jon had every intention of getting fat and dying from
fair food, life goals right there. “You’ll still love me when I’m fat, right,
babe?” He asked, smiling at the look on her face, that was a bit of a topic
swerve and he knew it. “And do you know where you want to go?” He didn’t know
much about this area because Texas kind of sucked.
Chapter 22
“I know,
man, I know…” Drake’s voice cracked, more tears falling over their lost friend
and clamped his hand on Jon’s tensed shoulder.
The man
didn’t cry; he couldn’t remember ever seeing Jon cry in all the time they’d
known each other. Even with all the
powerful promos he delivered over the years, which a lot that was said had been
the truth. Jon had made lemonade out of
the lemons life and fate had dealt him by channeling all those negative moments
into the character that was now known as the Lunatic Fringe in WWE.
“Shelly is
gonna let me know when the services are.
There won’t be a body unless they can find him, but she said they’re
only gonna search a few more days and then call it.”
“How can
they call it without a body?” Jon whispered, rocking back and forth after
shrugging away the hand. “What if he ran?” Last he knew, people weren’t
declared dead until 7 years had passed or a body was found. Up until that point, it was missing. He shook his head again, slowly straightening
up onto his feet and stared intently at his friend. “They’ve checked all the
people he used to fuck around with, right? Made sure he wasn’t into anything stupid?”
“As far as
I know, yeah. They said he could be
connected to that guy Ryan because he went missing the same time Nicky did.”
Drake wiped his tears away, shuddering at all the possibilities of what
could’ve happened to their friend. “I mean, he was rich and that Ryan guy had
been with a prostitute, according to reports.
They questioned her for hours, but nothing came of it and she was let
go. They can’t technically call him dead
without a body, you’re right, but…Nicky wasn’t that smart when it came to
running from authorities. You know
that.” He’d been busted within hours after the bank robbery happened – too much
evidence left behind. “Scotty thinks Nicky was involved with that Ryan guy
somehow. Makes you wonder how they both
went missing the same night and there’s no bodies, no evidence…”
Maybe Jon should’ve
offed the whore. “I don’t, man…did Nicky know the broad maybe? Maybe a shakedown gone wrong?” His voice came
out hoarse, harsher than usual. It
wasn’t unheard of, people teaming up to pull a con or something. Nicky wasn’t that bright, he could have been
easily double crossed and then hung out to dry.
Or die in
this case.
“Maybe…that
wouldn’t surprise me, actually.” It still didn’t hurt any less with his
unofficial death. “All the prostitute said was she fucked Ryan, got paid and
left. She didn’t see Nicky anywhere and
she had no idea where Ryan went next. I
don’t think she’s involved, but then again, could be wrong and she could be
lying to save her own ass.” That was also a possibility. “Either way, it’s all
fucked up and I was gonna wait to tell you, but…you deserve to know. I gotta call Sami and tell him.” Sami Callihan was currently working for Impact Wrestling, which
used to be known as TNA before the company was bought out and revamped. “Him
and Nicky were close too…”
“Yeah,
they were…” Jon said slowly, his voice distant. Poor Nicky. This could have been avoided if the man had
quit asking questions and flaking out on him. “I can’t believe this, man…” He
moved to drop down onto a metal folding chair, resting his hands on his knees
and just shook his head again. “You let me know what, if, they find anything
out and about any funeral, please.”
“Yeah, I
will, man. Just…keep your head up and do
what you do best out there. You’re the
best this company has, don’t forget that.” Drake figured a small pep talk was
in order after dropping such a horrible bomb on Jon before his match that
night. Jon waved him off and Drake left,
not realizing he’d been talking to both Ryan and Nick’s murderer or staring him
in the face.
This was
right after the holidays too.
Christmas
had been wonderful for Jon and Vallea, their own Charlie Brown Christmas. They had put up some lights, decorated the
very small Charlie Brown tree and wrapped their presents for each other in
separate rooms. The figurine Jon had
gotten her reminded her of the desert and currently in her bedroom at the
condo. It really was breathtaking. Jon had also gotten her some jewelry, but no
ring, just a beautiful necklace that had an orangish red stone. Jon enjoyed his gifts too, which had been an
AC/DC wall clock that went in his living room.
Luckily, it wasn’t that big, but it still went well with the décor of
his bachelor pad. She also got him a
plain white gold chain since his broke a while back and he’d been talking about
having it replaced. They only got each
other two things a piece, not needing to go overboard since their relationship
was still fresh and new. After
exchanging gifts, they made love on the living room floor, right above the
Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
It was
perfect.
New Year’s
was spent out in the desert at Red Rock Canyon, in the back of his truck with
Hank Williams JR playing through the speakers.
Jon had brought a cooler with beer, champagne and snacks for them, along
with a thick blanket to spread in the bed of the truck. They gazed up at the stars, toasted each
other with glasses of champagne, talked about what they wanted to happen in the
year of 2019 and made love out in the open desert. There was nobody around, they were out in the
middle of nowhere and Vallea had zero problems riding her man completely naked
in front of the Red Rocks. She was sure
screaming his name had echoed throughout the canyon as she climaxed and it was
honestly a powerful feeling.
Now, they
were both back to the grind after their 5 glorious days off and it’d been a
month since Ryan had disappeared with no trace of him found anywhere. It was as if he literally disappeared into
thin air. Nobody could find him or his
remains. They presumed him dead, kept
the case open and everyone had moved on with their lives. It was WrestleMania season now, a few weeks
until the Royal Rumble, which would officially kick off the Road to
WrestleMania. It was supposedly a huge
deal in the company, their Super bowl, so Vallea was bogged down with all new
designs and everything for the event.
Not to the point of stressing her out, but Vince had granted her an
office where she could work privately and have meetings with the Superstars to
discuss their merchandise as well as WWE officials for the WrestleMania
memorabilia. Business was indeed booming
and Vallea was getting back to old herself again.
“That is
one fucking hot bitch.”
Jon had no
idea who dipshit was talking about, he simply nodded. He was busy reviewing a potential script for
this year’s WrestleMania, sitting at a table, drinking something that was
supposed to be healthy, but tasted like piss. That could have also been the chew in his
mouth. Pretty much as soon as Drake had
left, he had put it right back out of his mind. He was a murderer, he was the one who was
going to live with it, die with it, probably burn in hell for it. He could deal with all that because it was
worth it; Vallea being happy was worth anything.
“So is it
true, you’re the one fucking her?”
Jon didn’t
even look up. He knew now who ‘fucking
hot bitch’ was, his woman. He reached
out at a nearly impossible speed, grabbed the other man’s shirt and pulled down
hard, heading face smacking with table. “Yep.”
“Whoa,
whoa Dean, calm down!” Joe was over to his friend in an instant, taking his
hand away from Colby’s throat, who was known to the WWE Universe as Seth
Rollins. “Christ man, what the hell did you say to him?”
“Only that
that’s one hot bit-” Joe slapped a hand over Colby’s mouth, shaking his head
warningly.
“Don’t say
it again. Her name is Vallea, get it
through your head, Rollins.” Joe growled in a low voice, thankful Vince, Paul
and Stephanie hadn’t saw that.
Vallea was
clueless as to what happened and currently had black dress pants, a deep wine
colored long sleeved buttoned down top and her hair was pulled back in a tight
bun on top of her head. She smiled at
something Vince said, jotting down the notes and tapped the pen in her hand
against her lips in thought, suggesting something else. Vince’s eyes went wide and then the old man
cracked the barest hint of a smile, apparently agreeing with her suggestion. She jotted it down as well and stepped out to
go back to her office while the rest of the talent arrived for their
meeting. There was no need for her to be
part of it since it had to do with the Superstars and their upcoming feuds for
WrestleMania.
Jon had
been quite calm when he had done that, he hadn’t turned red, no foaming or
frothing at the mouth. Hell, he hadn’t
even looked up to see the who, what or where, he had just reached out and
introduced Rollins to the table. Word
would reach Vallea, he was sure of it, it might take some time, but gossip was
constantly running in this place.
It was the
downside to the business.
~!~
“-then Dean
bashed his head in apparently, there was blood.”
“I heard
he had to get stitches…”
“I’m
sorry, what?” Vallea looked up at the Bella Twins, Nikki and Brie, raising a
slow brow at them. “Who are you talking about?” She’d been zoned out typing on
her laptop and barely heard them come through the door to discuss their
WrestleMania merchandise. They had
recently made their comeback three quarter of the way through 2018.
“Dean
Ambrose. Apparently, he bashed Seth’s
head into the table at the meeting earlier today.”
“Seth
needed stitches from the cut on his head.” Brie chipped in, folding her arms in
front of her chest. “It wasn’t bad, but I wonder what set Ambrose off.”
“He’s a
lunatic, anything sets him off. That’s
why John doesn’t like him or respect him very much.” Nikki Bella shrugged at
the look of absolute shock on Vallea’s face. “Wait, are YOU dating him though? How the hell can you be with someone like
that?”
“For
real.”
Jon
had…hurt someone at work during a meeting?
That didn’t sound like him at all.
Granted, she knew he had a temper and he’d unleashed some of it upon her
a time or two during petty fights they’d have, squabbles, but never had he hurt
her physically.
“Ladies, I
think we should focus on your merchandise for WrestleMania. I’m not talking to you about my personal
life, no offense.” She kept a cool, calm demeanor, her tone sweet, but it did
not touch her eyes. “Now, I was thinking of this one…” Professional all the
way, but Vallea made a mental note to talk to Jon later on at the hotel about
this incident.
Brie and
Nikki dropped it, sharing looks. By the
time they were done, however, they had already gotten it set into their
identical heads that Vallea was potentially in an abusive relationship or
something. The man was definitely
unhinged and only someone equally crazy would defend him, or someone who was
covering for him.
“Babe, is
it my turn yet?” Jon had been fined so hard that he had physically flinched
because that was a LOT of money and Jon LIKED his money. “Vince said- what’s
wrong?”
Vallea
jumped at the sound of his voice from the doorway, not expecting him to be
standing there and could only hope he hadn’t overheard the gossiping twins. “In
a minute, Dean.” She knew better than to call him by his birthname in the world
place, even referring to Joe as Roman.
It was just the way things operated in WWE. Her attention turned back to the twins.
“Okay, so we agree this is the design you two want?”
Nikki and
Brie nodded simultaneously, thanking her for her time and walked out past Dean
Ambrose, leaving him alone with his girlfriend.
“Okay,
this one and these are out.” Vallea muttered to herself, putting a big X
through the other three designs since they were adamant about the one. She tried not to let what the twins were
talking about bother her and slowly looked up at the man she loved, shaking her
head. “How much of that did you overhear from them?”
“How much
of what?” Jon asked curiously, his head cocking to the side as he stared down
at her out of slanted pale blue eyes. He
hadn’t heard a thing because he wasn’t one for eavesdropping or snooping, that was
just rude. The way Vallea was looking,
however, told him that maybe he should because whatever the topic of
conversation was, she looked…weird. “What’s up, doll? The Bella’s giving you shit?”
“We were
not!”
“Brie!”
Rolling
his eyes, Jon poked his head out and spotted the pair being nosy. “Scat!” He
growled, laughing when they shrieked and took off like their backsides were on
fire. “What the hell is that all about?”
“They
umm…” Vallea waved it off dismissively, not about to question Jon at their
place of work. “Never mind, it’s nothing.
They were just gossiping like they always do and you came up in the
conversation. Not a big deal.”
Jon
wouldn’t lash out at someone unless they really deserved it, kind of like that
man who tried ‘saving’ her from him when he bent her over his car. Granted, he’d been a little rough with her,
but Vallea hadn’t complained, rather enjoying when she was manhandled by
Jon. Not in a bad way either. She was far from being in an abusive
relationship when the man treated her like gold.
“So, let’s
get started on your designs for WrestleMania.
I was thinking of these, but there are others you can look at too.” She
set them on the desk, sprawled out, so he could look at each choice the same.
Jon took
his time, studying each design intently before finally placing a hand on one,
the other hand on another and slid those towards her. “These, I like these.” He
said, looking into her face. “This one more than the other.” He tapped said
design in question. “But they’re both really good.” He had noticed an uptick in
quality of designs since she had taken over. Vallea was taking this job
seriously. She weeded out designs that she knew wasn’t going to make the cut,
unlike Ryan had done. “Which one was your pick?” Because she usually already
knew what he was going to pick before he did it and Jon was not surprised in
the least when she smiled and pointed. “You know me a bit too well, babe. All the mystery is leaving.”
“I’m sure
there’s still some mystery left and secrets to uncover about you.” Vallea
walked around her desk to sit on top of it in front of him, pulling him to
stand between her legs, her hands gliding up his bare chest. “Come here.” She
crooked her finger, beckoning him to lower his head until his lips caught hers,
kissing her passionately, only pulling back to break it when they both needed oxygen.
“You know I love you, right? And if
there’s anything on your mind, good or bad, you want or need to talk about, I’m
here for you.” Vallea caressed his bearded face, kissing him again and felt his
arms wrap around her to pull her against him, her arms encircling his neck to
deepen the kiss further.
Ever since
Ryan’s disappearance, their sex life had skyrocketed back to where it used to
be, fiery, passionate and smoldering.
Well, that
wasn’t suspicious or anything, Jon mused, even while he was kissing her. If he had to chance a guess, he would assume
the Bella’s had come in talking about what he had done to Rollins. “All right, doll,”
He rumbled once the kiss was broken, his hands moving to grip her hips and
rocked into her, letting her feel just what she had done to him. “Out with it. What’d the harpies say?”
Chapter 23
Sighing,
she rested her forehead against his and caressed his muscular arms, a slight
nervousness entering her eyes. “They told me what you did to Seth Rollins. You bashed his head on a table during the
talent meeting regarding WrestleMania and…he needed stitches.” Her eyes never
once left his, not an ounce of fear or judgment, only curiosity in them. “What
happened? Did he provoke you or
something?”
“Mmm, no,
not really.” Jon mused thoughtfully, though a slight hint of ice began glazing
his eyes as he stared at her. “I was sitting there, drinking some new vitamin
water shit they want us to endorse, and he was talking at me.” He stepped away
from her, a hand moving up to stroke his beard as he snorted. “He was talking
about a hot bitch, Val. And it wasn’t
until I realized who he was talking about…” He shrugged nonchalantly. “I got a
little pissed off. Nobody calls you a
bitch and nobody is going to talk about you that way, especially in front of
me.”
Seth was
talking about her that way in front of Jon, KNOWING they were together? Or maybe Seth didn’t. They didn’t exactly announce it to everyone
they were together, but then again…Vallea was so confused and let out a groan.
“Oh, Jon…” Her tone was full of exasperation at him losing his temper over mere
words instead of actions. “Good grief, it’s not like he sauntered up to me and
hit on me. I would understand you
hurting him if he did. I’m sure he
didn’t mean anything by it. Maybe
‘bitch’ is a term of endearment to him or something…” Once again, he had lost
his temper with a man over the silliest things. “You really should learn to
control your temper better and don’t let what others say get to you, especially
about me.”
“It has
nothing to do with liking you or not, and bitch is not a term of endearment to
any man.” Jon snarled sternly. “He knew exactly who you were to me, or I
might’ve let it slide. Seth and I go way
back, Val, he knew he was pushing my buttons.” And he had paid the price for
being a punk bitch button pusher, stitches sucked. “It’s about respect. You don’t have to understand, doll, but that’s
just how it is.” Seth had walked through the door that Seth had opened and Jon
had proceeded to slam it in his face, so to speak.
“You’re
right, I don’t understand it. I’m sure
the man didn’t deserve to be busted open at a meeting, of all places…” Vallea
pulled away from him and slid off the desk to walk around to sit back in her
chair, shaking her head. “So, what are you going to do when someone else
inevitably talks bad about me and calls me names? You gonna lash out and bust them open too?”
She folded her arms in front of her chest, eyebrows drawing together. “Because
that’s a surefire way to get your ass fired.
Handling it in the ring is one thing, but doing shit backstage…your
temper is going to get you in trouble, Good, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Maybe,
we’ll see I guess.” Jon shrugged his massive shoulders, a slightly feral smile
crossing his lips. “It’s one thing for someone to talk shit about you, it’s
another for a guy who is occasionally a friend to purposefully fuck around. Not. Happening.” Did she really want him to
set his temper off in the ring? He’d get
away with live murder because it’d be blamed on an in-ring accident or
something. “Anything else, doll?” Nikki and Brie were indeed gossipy, harpy
women.
“No,
nothing. I shouldn’t have told you in
the first place because I knew you’d react this way.” Leaving well enough alone
had been her gut instinct, but keeping things from Jon wasn’t easy to do
either. It was impossible,
actually. Vallea wanted an open, honest
relationship with him where there were no secrets, no lies, just pure truth,
good or bad. “Just…try not to send anyone else to the trainer’s tonight.”
Didn’t Jon realize she had to deal with Seth Rollins and work with him on his
WrestleMania merchandise? The man was
going to hate her because Jon had attacked him FOR her!
Jon had
attacked because Seth had ran his mouth, because of her, not for her. For her implied he was defending her or
something, this had been a warning to shut the hell up. Jon had issues, he knew it, she knew it,
pretty much everyone around him knew it. If Seth was half the man he pretended to be,
he’d take his issues up with Jon. “Not. A. Word.”
“You ever
consider therapy, bro?” Joe asked, falling into step alongside his friend.
“I did
that, when I was like ten. School counselor sent me.” Jon said, wrinkling his
nose.
“How’d
that work out?”
“They all
quit.” He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“Damn it…”
Vallea hated fighting with Jon, especially at work and pushed it in the far
recesses of her mind, needing to focus on the task at hand.
She filed
away the choices from the Bella’s and Jon, after faxing them over to the office
to get the WrestleMania gear started. Alexa
Bliss, Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler and Drew
McIntyre were just a few of the Superstars that had a meeting with her. They were quick and to the point, she had no
time to dawdle. Her final meeting of the
night, while the show was still going on, was…Seth Rollins.
“Come in!”
She called out, not looking up while finishing filing paperwork away and heard
a throat clear. “Have a seat, I’ll be right with you. Your choices are already on my desk to choose
from, Seth.” Calling him Mr. Rollins was too formal, to her at least.
Colby had
no idea how he felt about this woman. Earlier,
he would have said she was a hot piece of ass he wouldn’t mind taking for a
drive. Now, however, he knew anything he
said was going to get back to Jon and Jon had made it abundantly clear that he
wasn’t tolerating any crap said about Vallea. He fingered his stitches, wincing and scowled.
“Have we
met?” No, they had not. When she looked
at him in surprise, he cocked an eyebrow. “Mr. Rollins, please.” They were NOT
friends.
Of course
he would cop an attitude with her after Jon attacked him because of his
mouth. She could play the game better
than most and smiled serenely at him. “Very well, Mr. Rollins, if that is what
you want me to call you, I will.” She extended her hand, being completely
polite and wasn’t surprised when he didn’t take it. “I’m Vallea.” She heard him
grunt and nodded in acceptance, sitting down behind her desk to get straight
down to business. “Now, I’ve had the company draw up four different designs for
you for WrestleMania, like everyone else.
I need you to choose which one you like best and I will fax it over
straightaway.”
Frowning, Colby
leaned forward to study the designs. He
didn’t see why it mattered so much right now, he doubted he was going to sell
much when a few of the other guys seemed to be the be-all, end-all to the fans
at the moment. Colby was having a crappy
night, he knew it, he knew if he took it out on Vallea, Jon was going to add to
his stitches. His fingers moved up to
sweep against the swollen, tender skin and he sighed. “They’re all kind of
awful.” He said finally, truthfully.
So much
for not taking it out on her.
Seth
Rollins was actually one of the top stars in the company, one of the top
babyfaces and delivered stellar performances night after night. Jon was set to turn heel against him at the
upcoming pay-per-view event, Royal Rumble, and they would start a feud together
leading into WrestleMania for the Intercontinental championship. If Seth didn’t think or believe that, it was
his problem. She frowned, looking at the
amazing designs in front of her and knew he would not like hearing what she
said next.
“I’m sorry
you feel that way, but we’re on a deadline and there’s no way we can draw up
anything else for you.” She informed him kindly, a hint of regret in her tone.
“If you could choose the least awful one, that would be great.” He wasn’t the
first Superstar not to like the designs, but Vince had approved of them all, so
obviously the old man saw something some of the Superstars didn’t.
Vince
McMahon was insane. Colby was quite
happy that Stephanie and Paul were going to be taking over because everything
Vince talked and had tried to do. He was
SO glad he hadn’t been around for the pregnancy thing, when Vince had talked
about passing their child off as his and Steph’s, gross. Vallea had obviously done this many times
before, dealt with people not liking her designs many times before, because she
had sorrowful yet professional tone down.
“This
one.” He tapped a finger on the least stupid design, sighing when she nodded
with a hint of satisfaction. “You do know your boyfriend is insane, right?”
“I don’t
think he’s insane, he just has…anger issues he needs to work on.” Vallea slid
his choice off the desk and set it by the fax machine, turning back to face
him. “For the record, I don’t appreciate being called a ‘hot bitch’. I appreciate the sentiment of being hot, but
that’s not a term of endearment I would use when speaking about a woman going
forward.” The company was very big on women at the moment, a revolution – hell,
all the women wrestlers were known as Superstars, just like the men, and had
their very own pay-per-view event back in November, which was a complete
success. “What Dean did to you was wrong, but you’re not exactly innocent
either, Mr. Rollins. I’m sure if the
company knew what you said about me, in front of my boyfriend, you would’ve
been fined as well.” The Bella’s had informed her of that fact. “Now, was there
anything else I can help you with regarding your merchandise?”
“Add
fucking hot bitch to the back, sweetheart, and it’ll be perfect.” Colby quipped
icily before walking out, snorting to let her know just what he thought about
her. She was as crazy as her boyfriend
and obviously only here because she had followed Jon’s dick. “It’s shady as
fuck that you’re suddenly in that spot, don’t you think?” He had halted in the
doorway. “You went from a lowly assistant to a boss. I don’t think it’s because of your
professional skills, sweetheart.” He smirked, walking out and closing the door
behind him.
Rolling
her eyes, Vallea didn’t give Seth a second glance and walked over to the fax
machine to send over the photo for his merchandise. Not everyone was going to like her and, after
what Jon did, of course the man would lash out at her. It had happened BECAUSE of her, after
all. Seth had no idea – NO IDEA – what
she’d gone through to acquire the position of power she now had. It was honestly none of his business
either. She would stay professional when
it came to him, refusing to let him ruffle her feathers and was silently glad
Jon had bashed the fucker’s head into the table at the meeting. Not so much the fine, but Seth had deserved
it and he proved it by how he spoke to her just moments ago. She owed Jon an apology and would make it up
to him once they were back at the hotel.
Jon
remained oblivious to the fact that Colby had a death wish and he made sure to
be nearby the Bella’s whenever possible just to see them pale and scamper. He was mean that way, but the two idiot twins
needed to learn to stop with their gossip. He knew John Cena didn’t care for him and it
seemed like his dislike was rubbing off on his woman and her counterpart. He hoped he and Vallea never got that way,
part of the fun, part of the relationship was still maintaining who a person
was, their individual likes and dislikes, while still making it work.
“You look
tired.” He commented at the end of the night, bag over his shoulder as he met
up with Vallea in the hallway. “Rough night, doll?”
“I am, but
it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Vallea had her own bag in hand, another over her
shoulder and took Jon’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “It’s a good kind
of tired, an accomplished tired, you know?” He nodded in understanding and she
smiled, leaning against him while they walked out of the arena together.
Why did
people think he was insane? Jon was
pretty laid back and had a level head on his shoulders, too level to be dubbed
insane. Hell, everyone had a little
crazy inside of them, herself included.
“I wish
people would stop pointing out you were crazy and insane to me, though. It’s getting rather annoying.”
“Well, in
their defense, I may be a little off the rails.” Jon quipped good-naturedly,
his mood greatly improved from earlier.
Where that
insanity thing tended to come from was the way he tended to occasionally snap. It took quite a bit as a general rule to push
his buttons, but when it finally happened, he had a habit lashing out
ruthlessly and without warning. Kind of
like what had happened with Colby earlier. “Usually for a good cause, I
promise.” He winked down at Vallea. Her
being one of his new, good causes.
Colby had
more than earned that co-cocking he had gotten earlier.
“As long
as you’re fine with it, that’s all that matters.” Vallea stopped them before
they could get in the rental car to drive back to the hotel, their bags already
tossed in the back. It wasn’t that far
of a drive. “I’m sorry about earlier.
What I said…it was wrong. I
shouldn’t judge you based on what people say about you. Because there’s always two sides to every
story.” After Seth’s parting shot to her earlier, Vallea felt her man defended
her and nothing more with that headshot. “You did what you felt you had to
do. I still think you do have some
temper issues, but…nobody’s perfect and you’re a smart man. You know how far you can take things with
someone who has wronged you. I’ll try to
keep that in mind going forward and everybody else who comments on the fact I’m
with a lunatic or an insane guy can fuck off.”
If only
you knew about my temper issues, Jon
thought dryly, though nothing showed on his face to give away his somewhat
darker thoughts. The fact that she was
apologizing, when she hadn’t really been in the wrong, was weird. Technically, neither of them had been in the
wrong because they each had their own opinions on it and their own methods of
dealing. “You had to deal with him tonight, didn’t you, doll?” He asked, not
even needing to ask.
It was the
Road to WrestleMania, she was dealing with everyone.
“Yeah…and
I handled it. I’ll leave it at that.”
Vallea had
apologized because she felt she had to after the way she treated him
earlier. She HAD been in the wrong to
say what she did about his temper issues, even if it was partially true. What Jon did at work was no business of hers
and she needed to stay out of it. Let
him do what he was going to do. She had
enough on her plate without having to add Jon’s work issues to it. He’d solve them his own way. They got in the car with Jon behind the wheel
and pulled out of the arena to head back to the hotel for some food, shower,
sex and sleep.
She
handled it. That meant something besides
work. That rotten little bastard had
probably said something to her, something that he shouldn’t have and Vallea
wasn’t likely to tell him because she knew how he’d ‘handle’ it. If Colby wasn’t going to mind his manners, he
would wind up getting his ass beaten on a regular basis. Well, maybe not, Jon wasn’t sure he could
afford the potential fines Colby Lopez was likely to rack up.
Chapter 24
“Hey
Vallea, have you seen Jon around?” Drake asked, walking up to her in catering a
few days later, looking solemn and stoic.
Usually,
Drake was upbeat and he had become one of Vallea’s good friends through Jon,
who assured her he was a great guy. Jon
hadn’t been lying. Drake was a sweetheart.
“No, I think he might be out in the ring practicing…” She touched Drake’s
shoulder, concern filling her hazel eyes. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I
just wanted to tell him about Nicky’s funeral arrangements…” Drake saw her
expression change from concerned to confused, raising a slow brow. “You know
our friend that died…”
“Umm…”
Vallea had no idea what Drake was talking about, frowning deeply. Why hadn’t Jon told her about this?
Drake was
wondering the same thing, frowning as well. “Our good friend, Nick Gage,
disappeared around the same time as your boss, Ryan. Jon really didn’t mention anything about this
to you?” He found that hard to believe, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Shit. I probably shouldn’t have said
anything then…”
“No, no
it’s fine, I just…I’m so sorry for his and your loss…” Vallea couldn’t wrap her
mind around the fact one of Jon’s close friends had disappeared the same time
as her old boss, who they still hadn’t found.
Apparently, they hadn’t found Nick either. What the hell was going on? “When are the
arrangements? I’ll tell him about them
when we see each other later, unless you run into him beforehand.”
Drake told
her everything she needed to know and luckily, the funeral was on their days
off, even though there was no body found.
Nick’s girlfriend still wanted to do something to mourn and celebrate
his life because she was certain he was dead.
Suddenly not hungry anymore, Vallea left catering and went back to her
office, so many different emotions rushing through her at once. Drake had also told her one other thing – he
thought Ryan’s death was connected to Nick Gage’s and that alone was unnerving.
~!~
“Ow, ow…”
Jon whined, heading backstage from the ring, where he had been dumb enough to
practice with Joe. “I’m telling Momo you beat me up.” He pouted as they stepped
through the curtains, sidestepping technicians who were finishing up everything
for the night’s show.
“She’ll
probably laugh at you and tell you to man up.” Joe shot back, flashing his
white teeth in a broad grin. His woman
had no problem telling him the same thing either when he complained about aches
and pains. Said it was part of his job
and he knew better. She wasn’t wrong and
also still gave him massages.
~!~
Momo was
currently on the phone with a frazzled Vallea, talking to her about the bomb
Drake Younger dropped on her. “Maybe he forgot, sweetie. I mean, he was friends with Jon and I get
that, but it’s WrestleMania season. Shit
happens. Did he really say this could be
connected to Ryan’s disappearance?”
“Yeah. Those exact words came out of his mouth. What are the odds of Ryan being connected to
someone Jon knows, though? And someone
who isn’t even part of the WWE?” Vallea paced back and forth, chewing her
thumbnail nervously.
“Well, according
to my research, Nick Gage robbed a bank in 2011 and he got out on parole
recently. He broke his probation by
leaving Philadelphia to go to Cincinnati that night, according to reports.” The
man had a 4 year probation period and if he broke it, he’d be right back in
prison. “With Ryan, you know about the prostitute and she claims Gage was
nowhere to be found during their activities.
Ryan paid her off and he left.
That’s all she told authorities.
So unless Ryan and Gage met up somewhere afterwards…”
It was a
huge possibility. Cincinnati was full of
thugs and Jon hadn’t painted the city in the best picture. She was from Akron, which wasn’t any better,
to be honest. A lot of Ohio was full of
scumbags and there were only a few parts of the state that didn’t have drug or
violence issues. She had also read
everything Monique just reiterated to her and rubbed her temples, leaning
against one of the equipment trunks.
“Why
wouldn’t Jon tell me about his friend’s death if they were so close? It makes no sense. We don’t keep things from each other, at
least I don’t keep things from him…”
“Like I
said, maybe he forgot or maybe they weren’t as close as Drake thinks or
believes. I honestly don’t think Jon did
it on purpose.”
“Yeah,
you’re probably right.”
“And
there’s the fact that Jon isn’t the most forthcoming about his past where it
involves Ohio,” Monique pointed out in a thoughtful voice. She knew that from both Vallea and Joe, it
had taken Jon awhile to even start telling Vallea anything and, usually, only
small bits here and there. “It sounds like he had some shady friends, that
isn’t anything to be proud of. Or maybe
he knew about the potential connection and he didn’t want to upset you.” That
one was more likely, Ryan had been a major dirtbag who had nearly broken
Vallea.
“So, what
am I supposed to do about this, Monique?
Should I let Drake tell him about the services or should I tell him and
let him know, subtly, that I know what happened?” Vallea was literally stuck
between a rock and hard place, not wanting to start distrusting her boyfriend.
Monique
was quiet for a minute, contemplating the choices. “Well, if you tell him about
the services, he’s going to know you know.” That was obvious. “However, if you
wait it out and let Drake find him to tell him and keep it to yourself, you’re
not being truthful with him. It really
is a catch .22, isn’t it?”
“It really
is.” Looking at the watch on her wrist, she knew the show was starting soon and
she had more meetings to get done before the night was out. “I’ll call you
later and let you know what happens.
Hopefully by the end of the night, I’ll know what to do.” They ended the
call together and Vallea headed back to her office, troubled and distracted.
Luck was
and wasn’t on Vallea’s side because Drake found Jon before she could see him.
He repeated everything he had told Vallea and then added the bit about already
relaying all of this to her. “Why didn’t you tell her?” That was the burning
question on Drake’s mind.
Jon stared
at his friend like he was insane. “Ryan nearly murdered her with everything he
made her do, she was dying from exhaustion.” He said slowly, frowning. “And
then to hear that Nicky went the same night, potentially connected with
everything?” He shook his head. “No man, that was shit she didn’t need on her
plate at the time.”
“It’s all
right, bro, I understand and I’m sure she does too. Why don’t you go talk to her on her next
break?” Drake suggested, placing a hand on Jon’s shoulder and squeezed it
gently. “This isn’t an easy time for any of us and we gotta stick
together. You’re coming to the funeral,
right?” He wasn’t surprised when Jon gave a stiff nod, knowing the man wasn’t
fond of them. “Listen, I gotta run.” He was the referee for the main event that
night on Raw and headed out of Jon’s dressing room, already in his referee
gear.
Jon had no
time to talk to Vallea because he had to go see the higher-ups about the fine
from before. He knew there would be an
investigation and he was hoping he wasn’t about to be ordered into some sort of
idiotic class or something. Fighting,
drugs, and sexual harassment had all been cracked down on heavily in this new
era for the WWE. On one hand, it was a
good thing, on the other…it was a pain in the ass because sometimes some people
needed their asses beat.
Stephanie
McMahon was in charge of the proceedings when it came to fining the wrestlers,
on top of other responsibilities within the company. Paul sometimes helped, but he was busy with
his baby, NXT, down in Florida. Vince
gave him full power and control over the show and it was honestly better than
the main roster. Poor booking and
writers had a lot to do with it. Paul
knew exactly how to run a show and what was best for business, proving it every
single time NXT went head to head with a main roster pay-per-view event. NXT blew them out of the water every
time. She looked up when a knock sounded
at her door and saw it was Dean Ambrose, nodding at him.
“Have a
seat, Dean. I’ll make this as quick as I
can.”
“How about
as painless too, while you’re at it, Stephy.” He
flashed her his most winsome smile, not surprised when her baby blues narrowed.
“Woman, he can’t be THAT good.”
“He is,
trust me.” Stephanie gestured to the chair across from her temporary desk.
“Park it, Dean.”
Groaning,
he dropped down. Stephanie was like
Linda. She was sweet and nice until
someone screwed up and she did that crazy shit all mothers could do. Scolded the hell out of them and made them feel
lower than dirt.
“Now then,
why don’t we get right down to business, shall we?” Stephanie folded her hands
on the desk in front of her, crossing one leg over the other. “I want to know
what happened between you and Seth in that meeting last week. You gave the man 6 stitches, Dean. That’s unacceptable and you know it.” There
was no blood -color- on their programming anymore unless it was completely
accidental. Things happened and the
network understood that, but it wasn’t complete gore and violence anymore in
WWE. “Seth told me he said something about your…girlfriend and it made you snap
and hurt him. Is that true?”
“He called
her, and I quote,” Jon leaned forward in his chair, knees spread apart. “A
fucking hot bitch.” His pale, icy blues held Stephanie’s as she considered it.
“Followed by asking me if I was… having relations with her, except he used
fucking there too.”
“Do you
have to say it?”
“Well it’s
my side of the story! And I reached out
and bashed his head into the table. Pounding in the manners.”
“You can’t
pound people, Dean.”
Granted,
it wasn’t right for Seth to say something like that about another man’s
girlfriend, especially in front of said boyfriend. What the hell was he thinking doing something
like that? She knew Seth had issues with
Dean; the men did not like each other.
They had amazing chemistry in the ring and called each other their
wrestling soulmates, but in no way, shape or form were they friends. Seth hadn’t been completely truthful and
forthcoming, which Stephanie suspected and that was why she had this little
meeting with Dean to hear his side of the story one on one.
“You two
are hereby ordered to take on-road counseling through the company. And if you don’t comply, I will suspend
you. Same with him if he doesn’t do as
he’s told. There is a zero tolerance
policy for violence in the arenas, for any reason, Dean. If you have a problem, you need to handle it
better and more professionally.” Stephanie instructed, keeping her tone cool,
calm and collected, tilting her head at the disgust written on Dean’s face.
“Seth will be fined the same amount as you because I do believe he deserves to
be punished as well.” Being an antagonist was going to cost Seth Rollins a
pretty penny.
“Therapy?
You’re sending me to therapy?” Jon was not amused at all and he already knew
how this was going to end. “You may as well just put me on suspension,
Stephanie. It’d be kinder to whoever
you’re feeding me to.” He could deal with 30 days off, he’d go rock climbing in
Vegas…drink and gamble a little, fucking lose his mind because Vallea would be on
the road and he wouldn’t. “You suuu-uuu-ckkk.” He
drew it out, whining.
Stephanie
flashed him a tiny smile. “So I’ve been told.” She sighed wearily, not wanting
to do this because her father really wanted to see Seth against Dean at
WrestleMania this year, something they couldn’t do last year due to Dean’s
injury. “If you don’t go to counseling with Seth, I’ll have no choice except to
take you out of WrestleMania this year, Dean.
I know how much you hated missing last year due to your injury and I’d
hate for it to happen again because of your insubordination. Same with Seth. Neither of you will be on the card if you
don’t get your acts together and do as you’re told. So, are you willing to sacrifice WrestleMania
for your pride or attend a counseling session or two to discuss your issues
with Seth? The choice is yours.”
“My issues
with Seth don’t require counseling though!” This was STUPID. “He ran his mouth,
so I pounded him, that’s not ‘issues’, that’s a onetime deal. Issues imply there’s something else and there
isn’t because I don’t have the time for that little punk bitch.”
“It sounds
like issues, Dean. Punk bitch?” If he
had said that out of this office, in front of people, he’d be in so much
trouble. “I’m giving you a choice here. Counseling
or you’ll miss another WrestleMania.”
“Fine.”
“Fine to
which one?”
“I’ll do
the counseling.” He wasn’t responsible when the therapist quit though.
“Good,
glad we understand each other. The
counseling will start next week before Raw.
It will be an hour long and, hopefully, you two will only have to do it
once or twice.” It would be twice, Stephanie would see to it. “I will make sure
the counselor sticks to issues between you two and nothing more, Dean. Nothing personal in your life, all right?”
She knew he had a hard time talking about his past – the Stone Cold Podcast
from hell came to mind instantly. That
had been a complete disaster. “No more pounding people.”
“But
mommy…”
“Grow up.”
Stephanie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand and used the
other to wave him off. “You’re dismissed and I mean it. You need to show some of that street and let
shit slide off your back.”
Jon
huffed. “On the street, it’s a shank to the side.”
“And there
will be none of that.” Maybe three sessions were in order, just to be safe.
Chapter 25
“Come in!”
Vallea called out, busy typing an email on her laptop to send to headquarters
about some last minute changes.
The
Bella’s had changed their mind and went with a different design, which wasn’t a
huge deal. Nothing had started printing
for them yet, thankfully, so the change wouldn’t take long to process. She heard a throat clear and looked up from
her screen, tensing at the sight of Seth Rollins in front of her desk. What could he possibly want from her now?
“If you’re
here to talk about anything else except business, just leave, Mr. Rollins.” She
was NOT in the mood to be trifled with.
“I can’t.”
Colby grunted flatly, not overly pleased at being here.
After Jon
and Stephanie’s meeting, he had been called in and had his ass reamed three
ways from Sunday because Jon was a tattle-tallying little asshole. He had to do therapy sessions with the abusive
idiot, had been fined to hell and back, AND informed that he had better watch
his words from here on out because they could be misconstrued as sexual
harassment. Icing on the cake, he was
being forced to apologize to her and he hadn’t even done anything, technically,
to her.
“I
apologize, for the words I said about you the other day.” He managed to spit
out.
That
surprised her, her eyes and expression conveying it and didn’t bother standing
from her chair. That was it? That was all he came in here for? She hadn’t told anyone, not even Jon, what
Seth had said to her in her office, so why was he apologizing to her? Did he maybe have a change of heart? She highly doubted it judging by the way he
spoke through gritted teeth. What was
she supposed to say to him? Anything
Vallea said at this point would anger the annoyed man, but she wouldn’t leave
him hanging.
“Thank
you. I appreciate that.” Forced or not,
it was an apology and she accepted it. “I thought about what you said regarding
the artwork and told my boss about it.
He’s getting together with the team to discuss alternatives for you, so
I SHOULD have four new designs for you to choose from next week. If you have any ideas you want to incorporate
in your merchandise, let me know and I’ll fax them over to the office.”
Colby was
actually apologizing for calling her a fucking hot bitch, but she didn’t know
that and he didn’t realize she didn’t. “Thank you.”
That was
surprising actually, that she had taken his words into consideration AFTER what
he said to her about the ‘hot fucking bitch’ line being on the shirt. He had meant the bit with what he had said to
Jon. As far as he knew, nobody but her
knew about what he had said to her. He
knew Jon didn’t know because Jon would have put his ass through a window.
“No
problem, I don’t want you unhappy with the product that is brought out for
you. You’re not the only one who didn’t
like the designs for this year’s WrestleMania, which is why they wanted me to
get on this early, just in case changes had to be made.” Vallea explained,
standing from her chair and shut her laptop, deciding to finish the email after
Seth left. This was a team effort on her
part and all of the Superstars, along with WWE.
They all had to work together to achieve victory. “Hopefully, you’ll be
satisfied with the new designs and we can get your merchandise underway.”
Well now Colby
felt like an asshole. She was a hot…female
and she was professional. He had been an
ass wipe to her and he knew it. “I am sorry.” He said again, this time a bit
more genuinely. “And thank you, for the designs. I’ll see you next week then.” She was
decent, he thought as he walked out, flashing Stephanie, who had been
waiting just in case she needed to bitch slap him, a thumbs up.
Too decent
for the likes of Jon, that was for sure.
There was
no reason to be mean to him when he came in here to apologize to her. Seth didn’t have to do that. She was a nobody compared to him, someone
behind the scenes that took care of merchandise. Vallea wasn’t a bitch, not unless the
situation called for it. Maybe she
should’ve apologized on Jon’s behalf and immediately shook that thought out of
her head. No, that was Jon’s business
and if he wanted to apologize, that was on him.
She had no part to play when it came to the issues between Jon and Seth.
“Judging
by Seth’s reaction coming out of here, I’m assuming everything went smoothly?”
Stephanie had poked her head in with a gentle smile to check on Vallea.
Stephanie
had been behind Seth’s apology; it all made sense now, but Vallea still
appreciated it, nevertheless. “It wasn’t necessary, but I appreciate him coming
in here and apologizing. Thank you,
Stephanie.”
“Not a
problem, but we do need to talk about your…relationship with Dean.” Stephanie
shut the door, not wanting others to overhear this. “I understand there’s been
some…talk about him recently throughout the locker room. As long as you remain focused on your job and
don’t get distracted or sucked into the gossip, as long as you two check your
own personal issues at the door when you come to work, all will be fine.” It
was a talk she’d had with all the other WWE couples.
Vallea
nodded in understanding. “I honestly don’t see Jon that often when we’re at
work because we’re both so busy.” It was the truth. If Jon didn’t come to her or they didn’t
catch each other in catering, she didn’t see him until the end of the night.
“Hopefully, nothing like this happens again.”
“Hopefully.”
Stephanie got a concerned look on her face and touched Vallea’s shoulder.
“Just…watch out for Seth, okay? And
anyone else who bothers you, please let me know about it.”
“I will.”
Stephanie
put out a PSA that people needed to chill on the gossip as it was causing
friction between coworkers. Technically,
Vallea wasn’t HERS, she was a liaison between companies, but there were other
people causing issues for other Superstars. So this just served as a blanket warning and
hopefully things settled down. Sometimes,
it was like being a principal of a high school, so many people acted like idiot
teenagers. She seen why her father let
it go unchecked for so many years; grown ass people acting like fools brought
on mega headaches.
~!~
“Jon, we
make pretty good money, right?” He grunted in response and she smiled while
they drove to the motel from the arena. “I don’t think it would hurt us to
splurge every once in a while on a hotel room with a jacuzzi. I know how much you love a hot dip after a
long night at work. You should treat
yourself and I’ll even pay for it if that’s what you want.” Vallea coaxed,
caressing the back of his neck in a gentle massage and wanted to work some of
the tension out of his body. “You and me in a jacuzzi sounds great, doesn’t
it?” Jon hadn’t mentioned anything about Nick’s death and she wasn’t bringing
it up.
“Sure
babe, whatever you want.” Tonight had been a cluster of what the fuck. Drake. Stephanie. Seth. His aching arm because it had gotten wrenched
weirdly. The trainers had assured him it
was nothing damaging or permanent, just a pain that would go away on its own.
“They’re having a funeral for my friend.” He didn’t look at her, she already
knew. “When…when they have it, would you go with me?”
“Of
course, I won’t let you go through it alone.” Vallea assured him softly,
hearing the stammer in his tone and knew it was difficult for him to talk about. She had noticed him grimacing at his arm and
that was one of the reasons she wanted to get a room with a jacuzzi or hot tub.
“I have a little confession to make.” She gestured with her fingers, showing a
small space between them. “I already got us a room at the hotel the WWE is
staying at and I made sure they had a jacuzzi in it.” Kissing the side of his
neck, Vallea snuggled into his side and didn’t care about her seatbelt. Screw the rules, her man needed comfort at
the moment.
Of course
she had, the woman had the best ideas. Shaking
his head, Jon wrapped his arm around her and steered with the other, ignoring
the pain. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Nicky.” He said quietly, figuring
they might as well get this done now while they were in the car, opposed to
comfortable and relaxed in the hot tub. “When I heard he might’ve…been
connected to Ryan somehow, I-” He sighed. “You were already under a lot of
pressure and nearly having a breakdown, I
was trying not to make it worse, doll.”
“I know,
it’s okay, Jon. At first, I was confused
and a little hurt, I admit, that you didn’t tell me, but…I understand why you
didn’t.” Being linked to Ryan, that definitely would’ve been even more stress
on her and Vallea was at the breaking point already. “I’m sorry you’ve been
dealing with this by yourself. I never
want you to feel like you can’t come to me and confide in me or vent to
me. You’re everything to me and you’re
not alone anymore. You don’t have to
deal with pain and grief by yourself.” His eyes looked down at her, after
stopping at a red light, and Vallea reached up to caress his bearded face,
seeing the slight wetness in his eyes.
She leaned up, brushing her lips against each eyelid and then his lips
before he pressed on the gas to drive the rest of the way.
That had
gone better than he had assumed it would and he felt like a weight was off his
shoulders. Nobody was going to associate
Nicky with Ryan, not unless Nicky’s dumb ass had told someone he was going to
Ohio BECAUSE of Jon. He had destroyed
that cell Nicky had had, after deleting everything from him. He had left no stone unturned, so there would
never be a connection back to him. He
wasn’t about to let anyone or anything come between him and Vallea; he loved
her a bit too much and was willing to kill for her. It occurred to him that he was definitely a
bit more than slightly crazy but that was just going to have to be his little
secret.
“Here we
are, babe.”
“Good,
come on. I’ll order us some food, we can
eat and then we can take that hot dip.
I’m gonna work on your arm too.”
Pecking
his lips, she slid out of the car and grabbed her bag while Jon got his,
nursing his hurt arm for the moment. It
was his left one, thankfully, not his right surgically repaired one. They walked inside, checked into the suite
and Vallea didn’t waste time. She
ordered two steak dinners with the fixings, since this was a five star hotel,
and then changed into one of the terry cloth robes. After dinner, she fired up the jacuzzi tub
and walked up to Jon, taking his hand to guide him toward it. Pulling open the robe, she slid it off his
broad shoulders and down his arms, kissing his chest before doing the same
thing. Naked, they both sank into the
hot bubbly liquid, both groaning at how wonderful it felt. Vallea kissed him, straddling his lap and
felt his arms wrap around her waist to pull her closer, moaning softly.
“Mmm down
big boy, not yet. Give me your arm, I’m
gonna try to relieve some of your pain with the help of this lovely jacuzzi.”
His
response was to slide right into her very receptive body, causing them both to
hiss out. “Sorry babe, doesn’t work that way.” He growled at her, his mouth
moving down the column of her throat. She couldn’t straddle him, naked and inviting,
and not expect him to take the bait, so to speak. His hands dropped down to her curvy hips,
moving her on him. “This is the best pain relief, Val.” It was the quickest way
to relax every last inch of him.
“Oh god,
if you say so…”
Vallea
could feel herself spasm around him, stretching her to her limits and gripped
his shoulders as leverage to slam up and down on him. The water constricted them a little, but it
felt amazing the combination of his cock inside of her with the hot water. It was obvious Jon wanted her badly or else
he would’ve restrained long enough to let her work on his arm. No, he needed this, he needed her and Vallea
would not deny him, tilting her head back when his mouth captured one of her
already hardened nipples in his mouth.
Jon could
remember when she had made him lay down for a massage and when his erection
presented a problem, she had made him lay on his back. She had straddled him then, massaging him, and
he had nearly cum like some thirteen year old boy by the time Vallea finally
let him have his way with her. There
would be no repeats of that tonight. The
water kept him from putting all his strength into this, which wasn’t a bad
thing and the feel of her body sliding against his was doing some very wicked
things to him. Snaking a hand between
them, he used his thumb to stroke her nub.
Best idea
ever. The water lapped against the sides
as she tried upping the pace, needing to cum more than words could say. More than the air in her lungs or the beat of
her thudding heart. His name spilled out
of her mouth in a breathy cry as that hot coil within her belly formed and
threatened to spring free. Vallea could
feel it building, driving him deeper and harder inside of her, as much as the
water would allow.
“Cum with
me, Jon…” She murmured against his lips, biting lightly on his lower one and
threw her head back, the ecstasy of it all taking over her, making her body
shudder and it felt as though she shattered into a thousand pieces against him.
“Not.
Happening.” He rasped through gritted teeth, beads of sweat forming on his brow
from both the hot water and the woman coming apart in his arms.
Jon had
every intention of riding this out and making her cum more than once before he
even thought about his own release. If
not for the fact that she was orgasming, he would have thought Vallea was
purposely tightening just to torment him.
It was a delicious hell, the feel of her walls clenching and spasming
around him.
“Again,
Val, you have another one in you, doll.” She had several.
She
whimpered, not sure if she had another one in her and she was already sensitive
from the first orgasm. Her pussy
quivered and clenched his dick to near suffocation, holding onto him as his
thrusts became even more powerful. Was
that possible? Christ, if he wasn’t
careful his dick would go right through her back wall! Never once did he pull his hand away from her
bundle of nerves either, continuously stroking her, forcing her to submit to
him again. Vallea cried out hoarsely,
not taking long at all to fall apart and surrender to him, giving Jon exactly
what he wanted. If he made her go a
third time, she may very well pass out.
She went
through the pain and pleasure mixture from being over-stimulated and Jon
already knew he was going to leave her a quivering mess by the time he was
finished. He carefully lifted her up,
ignoring her whimpers and vacated the tub, pulling her along with him. Moments later, he had Vallea bent over the
bed, not caring that they were dripping everywhere and pulled her back by her
hips, sliding home again.
~!~
“C-C-Can’t…c-c-can’t…god…”
Vallea was
having a hard time breathing, collapsing on the bed in a drenched, trembling
heap, her chest feeling as though it was burning. Jon had literally stolen her breath away, the
intensity of the bout something she hadn’t experienced with him before. Not even up on a mountaintop. There was something…feral and animalistic
about tonight she couldn’t quite put her finger on. No complaints, she never had a bad thing to
say about Jon in bed, but this time was different than the others and she had
to catch her breath before she wound up passing out. Coughing, she managed to roll over on her
back to stare up at the ceiling and shut her eyes, her chest rising and falling
rapidly as she slowly regained oxygen to her lungs.
“H-Holy…s-smokes…”
Jon waited
until the risk of hyperventilating had passed before grabbing her ankles and
hauling her right back towards him, bending down to feather kisses around her
naval. Her chest was still heaving, she
was red and sweaty all over, her eyes wild…he smirked, feeling rather proud of
himself. “You need water.” She was probably parched and he reluctantly left her
beautiful frame there to retrieve her a bottle from the mini-fridge, handing it
over and watching as she chugged it down like she was dying of thirst. “Ready
for more, doll?” He teased, running his fingers up the length of her calf and
back down again, laughing outright when she whimpered.
“Have
you…lost your…mind?!” Vallea could only gape up at him, wondering if he was
serious and shivered at the feeling of his lips against her stomach, her tired
body already responding to him. “Jon…” He was going to kill her! What had gotten into him? It was as if his hurt arm never happened or
he was just ignoring it. That was a huge
possibility with him. “Shit, how can you already be raring to go again?” She
asked once her voice stopped shaking and settled back to a regular tone. Vallea was sure the explosion he had would’ve
been the end of the night for him, even though it took quite a bit to build up
in the first place. Having sex regularly
meant his climaxes took longer to achieve, which was a downside to having an
active sex life. “You’ll have to do all the work, I can’t move…”
“Well
that’s no fun,” Jon laughed, dropping down onto the bed alongside her. He lay on his side, his head propped up on his
elbow as he studied her. His free hand
was nice this time, rubbing quivering body up and down. “Am I wearing you out,
babe?” She had said relax and that was quite relaxing, nothing on him hurt
anymore thanks to the chemicals and endorphins released by that lusty bout.
He felt
great.
“Tonight,
yes.” She reached her hand up to touch his face and smiled as his lips brushed
against her palm. “Let me catch my breath and…maybe I’ll have another round in
me.”
Vallea
loved sex as much as the next person and could go multiple times in a night,
but after that intensity, she really needed a moment or three to
recuperate. Jon had pushed her body to
the breaking point, that line where pain and pleasure met and it was
exquisite. He began kissing down her
neck, just light kisses and his hand slid down her stomach to stroke her sex
again, bringing it back to life in the gentlest way. Her pussy was already throbbing from the
pounding it took earlier, but somehow, her body was able to respond and Vallea
turned her head to catch his mouth with hers.
“Take me
again, baby…” Hissing out as soon as he slid past her quivering folds, Vallea
was sent right back to that place of where pain and pleasure met.
Chapter 26
“Ow, ow,
ow…OW!”
Nothing
was quite as painful in a very annoying, aggravating way as claw gouges from
sex. They were ragged, felt horrible,
and GOD help if the person sweat and the sweat slid into them. Jon was a wrestler, he sweat a LOT. Vallea, while sniggering at him, was
disinfecting the marks and it did not feel so hot.
“Babe,
we’re cutting those talons off… you got my inner thigh too…” She could have
punctured a ball or something.
“Uh huh
and how do you think my pussy feels right now?”
Probably
swollen and bruised from the countless thrusts Jon gave her. The claw gouges would heal fast, he’d just
have to wear a shirt while wrestling for the house shows this weekend. Luckily, they had two days off starting
today, but they had a funeral to attend in Cincinnati, which she knew Jon
wasn’t looking forward to.
“You told
me to ride you as hard as I could…” How was she supposed to know her nails
would dig that far into his inner thighs? “Just hold still, I’m almost done…”
“Doll,
your pussy is gonna be fine, those things are meant to pop out babies…a
punctured ball means death!” Obviously, she didn’t realize there was a major
difference. “Or, it means my balance will be off because they’ll be lopsided.”
Now he was just being a goof and her giggles made him smile. “Want me to do you
next?” Not rubbing alcohol or anything, not in those delicate areas, but he had
some salve that’d help.
Bruising
is all she suffered from his big, strong hands gripping various parts of her
body. “Salve would be nice, yes.” She sat back while he grabbed a jar out of
his bag and came back to start the process, her fingers sliding over his buzzed
hair, dropping a kiss on his forehead. “I love you.” His massaging wasn’t
sexual, only soothing and she turned to where he could get her shoulder blades,
wondering how the HELL he managed to bruise her there. Then again, Vallea was smaller than him and
the man had big hands. “Our flight leaves in a few hours, so we might as well
get ready to leave.” Both would be passed out on the plane before it took off,
that much she was certain of.
“If we’re
quick enough, we can find a place to get something greasy for breakfast.” The
idea of bacon, eggs and a million other things flashed through his mind and
made his stomach growl. He needed to
replenish everything he had just lost, she probably did too. “How about it? I’ll even let you pick the place so you can
have something healthy if you want.” He had started eating a little better, but
breakfast was something there was no compromising on.
Breakfast
was the best meal of the day.
Turns out,
there was a breakfast nook of sorts right inside the airport with delicious
food. Jon got his bacon, eggs, pancakes
smothered in syrup, hash browns and coffee while she had biscuits and gravy
with the same sides. They were in food
comatose by the time they boarded the plane, both leaning on each other and
completely satisfied. Vallea held his
hand, lacing their fingers together and leaned her head back, closing her eyes
just as the plane took off. Just as she
predicted, they were out like lights before the seatbelt sign came on to take
them off.
Arriving
in Philadelphia, Jon had woken up on edge and Vallea chalked it up to him
hating this place. She noticed he became
a little edgier whenever they were in the Midwest for some reason. All she could do was be here for him. The drive from the airport to the hotel was
made in silence with the radio playing soft classic rock. She stared out the window as the snow fell
and was glad she had bought some winter clothes to come out here with since it
was in the dead of winter. His phone
rang and Jon asked her to answer it because he was driving, doing as he asked.
“They
found him, man.” It was Drake Younger’s voice and it was thick with sorrow and
hoarse. “They found that Ryan guy too…”
“This
isn’t Jon. He’s driving. I’ll put you on speakerphone.” Vallea
murmured, pressing the button and could hear Drake’s agonized voice flow
through the phone.
“Mox, they found him.
They found Nicky…and that Ryan guy…” Drake sniffled, not bothering to try
fighting his tears back. “T-They were dropped in vats of acid, dude! It’s a miracle there’s any remains left, but
they managed to find scrapes…”
“Oh god…”
Vallea covered her mouth with her hand, hazel eyes wide and could see the
different emotions playing on Jon’s face. “Vats of…ACID? Who the hell would
do something like that to human beings?”
“I don’t
know. Sick fucks, I guess? Shelly has postponed the funeral until next
week. I know you’re probably already
here, but she didn’t expect their bodies to be found at an old plant on the
outskirts of Cincinnati.” Drake still couldn’t believe it, but at least some of
the mystery had been solved. “Can you believe they dumped the acid out and the
workers there found their remains?”
“Jesus…”
Jon was
silent, his jaw working furiously as he took all of that in. “I thought the
plants were closed?” He managed to ask finally, his voice coming out thick.
“They
reopened them, man. That is…a horrible
way to die.”
Well yeah,
that had been the point in Ryan’s case. He
didn’t want the man to die immediately, he wanted him to be in agony and aware
of how he was dying. “God, yeah…yeah it is.” Jon inhaled deeply. That was his bad, last he had known the plant
was shut down for good, a lot of homeless had moved in. “So what next, Drake?”
“The
investigation is on-going… this is a breakthrough, but… with as mangled and…
melted, as the bodies were, they don’t think there’s any evidence left to
salvage.”
The bodies
were found together, in the same place, so that convinced Vallea Ryan and Nick
Gage were somehow connected.
“It’s
looking like my assumption was right as far as them working together and
something going wrong.” Drake scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling sick to
his stomach and relieved at the same time. “Hopefully, they can figure out what
happened and put this to rest, to give us some kind of closure.”
“Yeah,
hopefully.” Vallea grabbed Jon’s hand, not able to imagine what he was going
through and feeling right now. “We’re in Philly now, Drake. Are you here yet?”
“No, I
canceled my trip and I meant to get a hold of you sooner, but…”
“It’s
okay, you don’t have to explain anything.
We’ll just stick around Philadelphia since the house shows are coming
this way anyway.” Vallea figured there was no reason to fly home for a day,
only to have to come back this way for the house shows and Raw.
“Sounds
good, talk soon.”
Vallea
pressed the end button, feeling overwhelming sadness over Ryan and Nick’s
deaths. Nobody deserved to be killed by
being tossed in a vat of acid – what a horrible way to go! She didn’t bother asking Jon if he was all
right and remained silent, knowing when he wanted to talk, he’d initiate the
conversation.
Well, this
put Jon in a pretty pickle. He had no
intention of talking right now, focusing on driving and lost in his own
thoughts. Ryan and Nicky’s deaths were
going to be investigated probably as a double homicide and he already knew
where that road was going to eventually lead. They both had one thing in common and that was
him. He and Nicky had been friends and
he was dating the woman who used to work for Ryan. Jon had to wonder how opposed to fleeing the
country Vallea would be…providing she didn’t turn him in herself if that
thought crossed her mind. He frowned,
brows furrowing together because he hadn’t ever meant for her to find out.
What would
she think?
It wasn’t
a huge surprise when Stephanie called for an emergency meeting for all talent
and employees in WWE that were on the road with the company. With Ryan’s body finally found, the
investigation was underway. Ryan and
Nick’s deaths were ruled as a double homicide, but authorities weren’t entirely
convinced that was what happened. It
could’ve easily been tossed out, but Ryan and Nick’s families wanted justice
for their lost loved ones, especially Nick’s girlfriend. She wanted to know what happened and why he
was in Cincinnati in the first place since he hadn’t told her a damn thing.
WWE was in
Cincinnati for Raw the night both men disappeared and wound up in the same vat
of acid. Naturally, the authorities
started with the company and its employees, wanting every single person that
was on the road that night questioned individually. Since Vallea was Ryan’s personal assistant at
the time, she was one of the first the authorities pinpointed. To say she was nervous would’ve been an
understatement, even though she was innocent and had no idea what happened to
her former boss.
Stephanie
wasn’t happy because her father had flown in once he learned about this
investigation. The WWE was a globally
traded company and the fact that a lot of the roster was being interviewed
about murders did not look good to their shareholders, or anyone else to be
quite honest. She had been indignant,
her Superstars being questioned, it was insulting, but…the fact that this kid
had been a sort of wrestler once and then Ryan had been working with wrestlers,
that was a bit too much to overlook.
“Where
were you on the night of Stand and Gage’s murder?”
“The
hotel. I was sleeping.” More like out
cold and dead to the world, but Vallea didn’t think that was the right thing to
say.
“Is it
true you are dating Jonathan Good?”
Vallea
nodded with a small smile. “Yes, sir.”
“How
long?”
“Since
late August.”
The police
officer jotted notes down, nodding. “So, it’s safe to assume you two share a
hotel room together, correct?”
“Yes,
sir.”
“Do you
know the whereabouts of Mr. Good on that evening?”
Vallea
frowned at the question because she didn’t remember much past collapsing on the
bed. However, there was one thing she
did recall. “He told me he was going to a bar in Cincinnati called Madonna’s
Bar. Said he was meeting up with friends
after the show since he used to live around here and I told him that was
fine. I passed out in the hotel room
shortly after and didn’t see him until the following morning.”
The other
cop made a weird noise in his throat. “I see.
Very well. We will be questioning
your boyfriend, so hopefully, you’ve told us the truth about everything.” It honestly
wasn’t much to go on since she’d been sleeping throughout the fateful night.
“Awfully coincidental how your former boss and one of Mr. Good’s best friends
just HAPPEN to go missing on the same night, isn’t it?”
Hazel eyes
narrowed at the officer and folded her arms in front of her chest. “What
exactly are you implying? If you want,
slap a lie detector test on me and I’ll pass with flying colors. I have no idea what Ryan was up to that night
other than he shacked up with a prostitute.” It had been in the newspapers,
that fact. “My job was to make sure everything was organized and sent to the
office.” She didn’t bother informing them Ryan had forced her to be a liaison
of the company, without being compensated fairly, not to mention his dry-cleaning
and laundry. “He never once told me anything about his personal schedule or
where he was going. I wasn’t his
keeper.”
The other
officer held his hand up to stop the other from continuing. “Very well, Miss Scholar. Thank you for that information and we’ll be
in touch if we need anything else.” That was his subtle way of dismissing her.
Nodding
stiffly, she rose from her chair and walked out to head back to her office,
feeling nauseous.
Jon was
amongst the Superstars lining the hall, each of them waiting their turn to be
called. He seen the greenish tinge to
her face when Vallea emerged from the ‘questioning’ room the cops had set up
in, the detectives. He wanted to say
something to her, but didn’t, frowning when his name was called next. Of course he was next. Him and Drake both had ties to Nicky. He slapped Drake’s hand when Drake held it
out, inhaling deeply before stepping into the room.
“Have a
seat, Mr. Good.”
That just
sounds wrong, he thought, dropping down
in the wooden chair.
“Where
were you on the night Ryan Stand and Nick Gage were murdered?” The cop cut
right to the chase while the other looked on silently, each having their pads
of paper in hand.
“Madonna’s
Bar in downtown Cincinnati.”
“Mmmhmm
and how long were you there for?”
“All
night, I left around 1 to head back to the hotel for some sleep.”
The
officers shared a look with each other.
They had questioned the bartender at Madonna’s Bar because Nick Gage had
been spotted there earlier that night. “Did you see Mr. Gage that night at
Madonna’s Bar?”
“Yeah,
hung out with him and a bunch of other guys I haven’t seen in a while.”
“And did
you know Mr. Gage was on probation, prohibited from leaving the state of
Maryland?”
This is
where Jon had to lie through his teeth. “Nope.
Didn’t tell me a thing. I was
shocked to walk in the bar and he was there with a bunch of our other friends.”
Drake had been there too, Jon recalled, but by the time he and Nick snuck out
of the bar to kill Ryan, Drake had already left to go back to the hotel.
“Along
with Drake Wuertz?” That was Drake’s birth last name.
“Yes.”
“Now, you
were seen leaving and then coming back.”
Oh boy.
Jon sucked air through his teeth, managing a tight smile. “I was…”
“The
bartender said you were spotted with a blonde.”
He was? Jon had no idea where the hell that had come
from, but he wasn’t above taking mana from heaven so to speak. He didn’t say a word, however, just in case. When they didn’t say anything either, he
groaned. “Look, my old lady will have my balls. What exactly do you want to know?”
There had
been a blonde talking to Jon that night, but it hadn’t turned into
anything. However, drunk people tended
to blur things and exaggerate, so naturally, the bartender had said he left
with the blonde.
Now they
were getting somewhere. “You left with the blonde, correct?”
Jon
thought about it for all of three seconds and nodded. “Yeah…”
“And where
did you go?”
Jon
cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “The parking lot…”
The
officers shared another look, knowing exactly where this was going, but they
had to do a thorough investigation. “Did you have sexual relations with this
blonde? And what was her name?”
“Mindy, I
don’t know her last name. She wasn’t a
prostitute, just a fan of mine and I wanted to show her a good time.” He leaned
forward, clasping his hands in front of him. “My old lady was stressed out from
her old boss and too exhausted to give me what I needed, so I found it elsewhere. You get what I’m saying?” This was the only
way to save his backside and to keep them from finding out the truth.
“Uh
huh. So the parking lot could mean a
variety of places. Where exactly did
this take place?”
Jon
groaned, hating police that were nosy and gritted his teeth. “Against the back
of the building where it was dark. I
didn’t want anyone to see us fucking.”
“And that
lasted 2 hours?”
Now he was
smirking. “I’m not a one minute man…and we wound up in her car after I fucked
her against the building. Backseat with
her on all fours…”
“That’s
enough details, Mr. Good. We understand
what happened.” At least the man had a solid alibi, but it didn’t help he
didn’t know the last name of the blonde he had cheated with. That would’ve helped even more so they could
question her too. “You’re free to go, we’ll be in touch.”
Jon walked
out of that room feeling a few different things. One, he was pretty damn sure he was solid. People had seen him in the bar before and
after the time of the murders, and the bar tender had even given him an alibi
during those few hours he HAD been missing. His dilemma lie with Vallea. She was going to lose her mind if she found
out about what the cops thought, about what he ‘did’, and he’d own that too. He’d rather her think he was a cheater than
know he was a murderer.
Cheaters
could regain forgiveness, murderers went to prison.
Throughout
the night, after the interrogation, Vallea went over the night of Ryan and
Nick’s murder in her head. Sleeping was
all she remembered; she hadn’t even heard Jon come in from being out at the bar
or felt the bed dip as his arms encircled her.
Vallea woke up to find him snoring gently, spooned up against her with
his hand splayed on her stomach. He
didn’t look too worse for wear and it was obvious he had taken a shower prior
to coming to bed.
Something
bothered her though about that night, something she couldn’t quite put her
finger on. There was no way he committed
the murders, but what if someone was trying to pin them on Jon since he was in
the area? She frowned, hoping that
wasn’t the case and decided maybe taking a trip to Madonna’s Bar in the near
future wouldn’t be a bad idea. Nobody
would know her there and she could easily ask some questions. Maybe Ryan was there too and Jon hadn’t seen
him since Madonna’s Bar wasn’t too far away from the motel Ryan had taken the
prostitute.
Hell,
Drake Younger had been there too, so maybe he was trying to pin Ryan and Nick’s
murder on Jon. She didn’t know Drake well
enough to cancel him out as a suspect.
Anyone in the WWE was a suspect and, for some reason, Vallea wanted to
find out what really happened to her old boss.
Nobody deserved to die the way he and Nick Gage did. Looked like Vallea would have to do her own
investigation, wanting this feeling in the pit of her stomach to go away.
Chapter 27
“The cops
asked me about where you were that night.”
This was
not exactly something Jon was ready to do, he had known it was coming after
that story had been spun, but still. It
made sense they were going to corroborate it with the other Superstar who had
been near the scene. His life kind of
sucked.
Jon
sighed, looking at his friend. “Yeah?”
“Man, is
it true, about you…fucking a bar rat?” Drake didn’t want to believe it, not
when Jon had Vallea, but Jon hadn’t exactly been picky on his conquests prior
to Vallea either.
Jon had to
saddle up and he knew it; he had to deal with the lie and keep to the story. At least Vallea wasn’t anywhere around to hear
this. “Yeah, I did.” He set his jaw defensively, eyes narrowing at the look he
was being given. “Drake, things with Val were tense, okay? She was dead half the time or having panic
attacks in the shower. I couldn’t
exactly go to her for…things.”
On one
hand, Drake got it. On the other… “If
she finds out…fuck dude, that’s wrong.”
They
weren’t alone to have this conversation.
The ‘harpies’ as Ambrose liked to call them had listened in and both
twins gaped at each other. Since
everyone in WWE was being questioned and interrogated over Ryan Arrow and
another Indie wrestler’s death, they could all paint a picture of what
happened. Besides that, word spread
around very quickly because NOTHING stayed secret in WWE. If it was spoken about between two people,
chances were, others would overhear. The
twins continued listening and waited for the men to part before scurrying off
without either noticing, contemplating what to do with this newfound
information.
“What are
we gonna do?” Brie asked her sister, seeing the wheels turning in her sister’s
head. “Poor Vallea, she’s such a nice girl too…”
“Yeah, she
really is and she deserves better than that cheating asshole.”
Nikki was
feeling particularly vindictive since her relationship with John Cena had
crashed and burned after 6 long years.
They had even been engaged to be married; he asked her at WrestleMania,
which was coming up, in front of millions of people on the Network and
pay-per-view. Her heart was broken and
why should she be the only one to be in pain?
Spreading the misery helped.
“We’re
telling her.”
Brie
wasn’t sure this was a smart idea because, if Ambrose found out it was them…
“God help us if he finds out…”
“He
won’t.”
~!~
It had to
be done right.
They just
couldn’t burst in on Vallea and tell her, that would be like playground
tattling and nobody liked that. So Nikki
bided her time and it came. Vallea was
walking down the hallway, her nose buried in her smart phone, and Nikki felt
spite warming her up.
“That’s
what he said, he, you know, did her in the bar parking lot.”
“He did
not! Ambrose is a pig!” Brie wasn’t
really on board with this, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t play devil’s
advocate for her twin. They halted when
they realized Vallea was now stopped and staring at them. “Oh honey, we’re so
sorry.”
“At least
he had the balls to tell you, though.”
It’d been
a week, a very long week, since the interrogation went down and so far, Vallea
hadn’t heard anything more from the police.
Jon hadn’t been questioned again either.
They hadn’t talked about their interrogation because neither wanted to
upset the other, at least…that’s what Vallea assumed. She felt her chest tighten at what the twins
were saying, knowing she shouldn’t believe a word they said, but…at the same
time, Jon hadn’t been very forthcoming about his time that night at Madonna’s
Bar. She still hadn’t gotten a chance to
do her own investigation there, deciding to do it the next time WWE was in
Cincinnati for a show, which wouldn’t be for at least another month or so.
“What are
you two talking about?” She demanded, trying to keep the tension out of her
voice and narrowed her eyes at the twins, especially Brie Bella, who looked
very uncomfortable suddenly. “What have you heard?”
This was a
really, REALLY bad idea. “We assumed you knew already…” Of course, that was a
lie and Brie congratulated herself for keeping her voice even.
“Knew
what?”
Nikki
smiled sardonically, shrugging her shoulders. “Your man admitted what his alibi
was the night your old boss was killed…and he was with another woman.”
“A
blonde.”
“Don’t
know her name though.”
“The
referee, Drake, was talking to him about it.”
“And your
man didn’t deny any of it. In fact, he
told Drake things between you were…tense and he couldn’t go to you for certain things. So he got them elsewhere.”
Brie
frowned, seeing the heartbreak in Vallea’s eyes and reached out to her. “We’re
really sorry, sweetie. We wanted to tell
you, but haven’t found the right time due to how crazy everything’s been.”
Jon was
with a blonde at Madonna’s Bar the night Ryan and Nick were killed? He cheated on her while she was dead to the
world, sleeping at the hotel? “I have to go.” Vallea couldn’t hear another word
from these bitches and took off, heading right back to her office, trying to
regulate her suddenly harsh breathing.
Upon arrival, Seth Rollins was waiting for her and she
mentally cursed, needing to push all of this Jon drama in the back of her mind
until she was out of work, remembering Stephanie’s warning.
“Hello,
Mr. Rollins, please come in and I’ll get your new designs out for you to look
over.” She had been on her way from catering and felt like vomiting everything
she just consumed, pushing it down for the moment.
Even Colby
could see something was wrong. Vallea
was damn quick to cover it up and slap on her professional face, but he had
seen that second of anguish and there was something off with her eyes. Something painful. “Is everything okay?” He
asked hesitantly. He knew she had been
questioned first by the cops, but since she hadn’t been hauled off in cuffs, he
assumed it had gone as well as it could.
The smile
on her face was phony and did not touch her anguish-filled eyes as she nodded,
lying through her teeth. “Yeah, never better.”
Vallea
turned her back, closed her eyes briefly and continued pushing the pain down,
ignoring it. She had NO idea what she
was going to say to Jon when she saw him later that night and couldn’t think
about it right now. Slapping him across
his face or kicking him in his junk was a great possibility, however.
“Okay here
we go…” She set the new designs on the table in front of him, making sure each
one was visible and had to admit, they were MUCH better than the first round.
“I hope these are to your satisfaction, Mr. Rollins.”
Colby
studied them, dropping down into the chair and nodded. The quality was definitely a lot better. The other ones hadn’t been that bad, but
obviously, someone had been having an off day or something because the quality
in these new ones showed serious improvement. “I like them all.” He admitted
with a groan, knowing he couldn’t pick them all. “What do you think?”
That was
great to hear, or would’ve been, had she not just discovered her boyfriend’s
infidelity only minutes prior. “I’m with you.
They are all fantastic. But if I
HAD to choose one, I’d go with the third.
The fire is brilliant and really stands out. Your character is all about ‘burning it
down’, after all.” That got a smile out of him and she reciprocated it. “That’s
just me though. They are all fantastic
and you can’t go wrong with whichever one you choose. My advice is go with your gut instinct. Which one stood out to you the second you saw
it?”
“The
third, but it’s a close call.” He nodded, staring at them. “Yeah, the third. If there needs to be a second option, then
this one.” He tapped the design he was talking about, chuckling. “If that’s all
you need.” He pushed himself up and away from the chair, staring down intently
at her. She seemed a little more
animated, but it was obviously forced. “You sure you’re okay?”
Seth was
the last person she should talk to about this, especially since he and Jon
couldn’t stand each other. The men had
to go through counseling to be reminded how to act in the work place. “Yeah,
I’m fine. Are you sure the third is the
design you want faxed over?” When Seth looked at them again and nodded in
affirmation, Vallea took it over to the machine to set it on the pile of others
she had to fax over. “That’s all I need from you then. Glad we finally got this taken care of and
you’re happy with the design.”
“Well, if
I hadn’t been a total dick the first time we met…” Colby trailed off awkwardly
and then managed a stiff smile. “Well, actually, we wouldn’t have these awesome
designs now, still doesn’t excuse the behavior.” Yeah, he wasn’t making this
any better, was he? “Sorry, I’ll go.” Clearing his throat, he headed out,
shaking his head at what an asshat he was.
She was
too distracted to go after him and let him know she didn’t have an issue with
him, her mind reverting back to what the Bella’s said. Did Jon really cheat on her? If they overheard it from both Drake and
Jon…Vallea shut her eyes, willing the tears back. She couldn’t cry at work; it wasn’t an
option. She refused to be unprofessional
and began faxing over the designs from the Superstars, including Seth’s,
feeling a headache coming on.
What
happened now? Did she get her own hotel
room? Did she leave Jon? Why wouldn’t he just come to her and tell her
how he felt if it was that bad? She told
him from the beginning, if he got bored with her or wanted out of this, all he
had to do was say so. THERE WAS NO
REASON TO CHEAT! Maybe he didn’t love
her as much as he claimed…or he said those words because she had, because he
felt obligated.
Once the
final design was faxed over, Vallea packed up her things and headed out of the
arena for the night, not bothering to wait for Jon. She needed time to think and process
everything; lashing out at him wouldn’t solve anything and, honestly, she
needed to have a good, decent cry by herself.
Hopefully, there was a vacancy at the hotel the WWE was staying at since
her and Jon’s motel was on the outskirts of town.
Jon was a
little miffed when he was done working and there was no sign of Vallea. Frowning, he headed to her office and that was
empty. Maybe she had gone to the parking
lot, it had been a hell of a night for everyone. “What. The. Fuck?” Their
rental car was gone. She had left. Without him. Confused, Jon began walking towards the street,
figuring he’d just have to catch a cab or something. He pulled his cell out of his pocket, calling
her. Somehow, it wasn’t surprising that
it instantly went to voicemail.
He called
again.
And again.
Unfortunately,
there was no vacancy for Vallea and since she wasn’t required to be at house
shows, unless she had leftover meetings to do, which she didn’t, she hopped a
redeye flight to Vegas. Stephanie
assured her it was fine since she wasn’t on the roster to perform in the
ring. The entire flight, Vallea cried
while staring out the window silently, already missing Jon fiercely. She hadn’t been without him in months; they
traveled everywhere together and maybe that was the problem. Maybe they spent too much time together and
Jon was bored of her, which was why he cheated.
She hadn’t
been in a good place while Ryan was alive, even she would admit that, but all
Jon had to do was speak up. Tell her he
was tired of being neglected and Vallea would’ve done something to change it. Sniffling, she exited the plane with
red-rimmed eyes, a broken heart and felt as if her soul had been ripped out of
her body, feeling lifeless. It was a
little after 4 AM when she finally collapsed on her bed in her condo and sobbed
herself to sleep.
Jon had to
wait for his next days off to go to Vegas, which is where he was assuming
Vallea had fled. He was furious. She hadn’t returned any calls, any texts,
nothing. It had crossed his mind that
perhaps she had somehow found out about his little white lie that was actually
kind of a big deal, to her and their relationship, but he was fairly certain
that Drake wasn’t about to spill that information. Which meant someone had probably been snooping
and had a goddamn death wish.
When Jon
showed up at her condo, with key in hand, the locks had been changed and he
couldn’t get in. She had made her
decision to end things with him, it was just a matter of telling him to his
lying, cheating face. Vallea wasn’t home
at the moment, she was out having a coffee date with Monique and talking about
what happened. Monique stayed quiet,
letting her vent, which she appreciated and simply hugged her, trying to
comfort her the best she could. Doing
what best friends did best. Vallea left
not feeling any better and had black shades on to hide her swollen, red-rimmed
eyes since she couldn’t stop crying.
Even
throughout the coffee date, she had cried and could tell it broke Monique’s
heart. Upon arrival at the condo, Vallea
spotted Jon sitting on the porch steps and parked her car, knowing he would
show up sooner or later. It was
Thursday, she knew he had to work another house show on Wednesday, so he only
had one day off this week instead of two.
Taking a deep, shaky breath, she stepped out of vehicle and wasn’t
surprised to find him right there in her space, invading it.
“What the
hell do you want, Jon?” She demanded in a monotone voice, not bothering to
remove her shades because she didn’t want him to see how much pain she was in.
“An
explanation, doll, would be awesome.” He said quietly, already resigned. He was guessing that whoever had been lurking
and listening in had gone straight to her and spilled the beans about his alibi
lie. The house key that no longer worked
dangled from his fingertip. “Anything in particular you want to talk about,
Vallea?” His bloodshot eyes finally raised, studying her face intently. She looked like death warmed over.
“No, not
really. I know what this is, okay? I know what happened and you can deny it all
you want, but I know the truth. I know
what you did that night at Madonna’s Bar.” Vallea leaned against the car, not
having the energy to stand for a long period of time and could already feel the
hot tears building in her eyes. “I told you, if you wanted out of this, all you
had to do was say the fucking word. I’m
not the type to pine for a man. I’m not
the type to beg a man to stay with me.
You don’t want me anymore, fine I get it. It was a fun ride while it lasted. You can leave now and go fuck whoever the
hell you want. You’re not tied to me
anymore, you’re free. Now go and leave
me alone.”
“I don’t
want you anymore? You know that’s not
true.” Jon stood up from the steps, shaking his head and stuffed his hands into
his pockets so he didn’t grab her. He
couldn’t tell her the truth, he couldn’t tell her he had murdered not one but
two people that night. “I fucked up, Val, that doesn’t mean I don’t want you. I don’t deserve you,” That was true as hell
and for reasons she’d never understand. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re
sorry for what? For getting caught or
for fucking that blonde in the back of that bar? Which is it, Jon? What are you REALLY sorry for?” Vallea
demanded, feeling the anger cresting inside of her and clenched her fists
tightly at her sides, afraid if he came any closer, she would belt him one.
“The words came out of your mouth – there was tension between us and you
couldn’t ask me for certain things, so you got it elsewhere. That doesn’t sound like a man who is sorry
for screwing a blonde behind his girlfriend’s back. That doesn’t sound like you’re sorry for
cheating on me. No, that sounds like a
man who is sorry he got fucking caught!” Tearing the shades from her bruised
eyes, Vallea tucked them in her t-shirt and blinked as huge tears slid down her
cheeks, scorching them all over again. “That also sounds like a man who doesn’t
want to be tied down in a relationship.
You may say you want me, but your actions speak far louder than
words. And don’t give me that ‘I don’t
deserve you, I fucked up’ bullshit. For
once, be honest with yourself instead of saying shit you think I want to hear.”
“You were
fucking dead, Val, you were hiding in the shower every night bawling because
you didn’t want me to hear! You were
barely eating, your hair was turning gray!” He remembered that vividly because
Jon had plucked some out while she slept, unsure if she had ever even noticed
them. “Every time the phone rang, you flinched. I was out drinking, figuring I’d blow off some
steam of my own because coming to you seemed like adding more pressure you
didn’t need! I didn’t PLAN on her.” What
the fuck was this fake woman’s name? “I didn’t plan on any of it and I AM
sorry.”
“Then you
should’ve told me. Instead of fucking
someone else behind my back, you should’ve told me how you felt. You should’ve left me the RIGHT way instead
of being a lying, cheating dick!” Vallea’s voice rose with every word that came
out of her mouth, the anger boiling in her bruised hazel eyes. “I’m sorry
too. I’m sorry I ever met you and fell
in love with you. I’m sorry I gave you
my heart, only for you to take it and stomp it into the ground. I’m sorry I couldn’t be the perfect woman for
you because it’s obvious I’m not and I wasn’t.
I’m sorry when things got a LITTLE stressful, a little hairy, you stuck
your dick in the first cunt that paid any amount of attention to you! And I’m sorry for being on that mountain the
day you saved me; I kinda wish, looking back, I would’ve fallen to my death
because I wouldn’t be in the excruciating pain I’m in now over a scumbag like
YOU. Now leave, and don’t ever come back
again.”
“Fine.”
This was
the price he was going to have to pay for what he had done. Jon was going to have to own the lie of being
a cheater instead of spending life in prison for the truth. Hell, if it was known what he had done, she’d
wind up under investigation because fingers would point, wondering if she had
egged him into doing something. Of
course not, when she wasn’t having meltdowns about perceived slights against
her person, Vallea had a heart of gold.
“Goodbye,
Jon.”
Vallea
walked past him and didn’t look back, going straight into her condo to close
and lock the door. She slid down it,
burying her face in her hands and sobbed violently, her entire body trembling
from head to toe. Was it possible to die
from heartbreak? Vallea wouldn’t doubt
it and felt as though she was having a heart attack, her chest tightened to the
point where she could barely breathe.
Curling up in a tight ball didn’t help matters either, but it was all she
could do to alleviate some of the pressure.
After several hours, she finally managed to peel herself off the floor
by the door and trudged to the bedroom, once again collapsing in bed.
Chapter 28
By the
time Monday morning rolled around, Vallea had cleaned herself up and the
bruises around her eyes were nearly gone.
It was nothing makeup couldn’t cover up.
She was ready to get back to work, refusing to quit her job just because
her ex-boyfriend couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. Breakups happened every day and, even though
it would suck having to work in the same company as Jon, she would do it with a
smile on her face. The company relied on
her for merchandise and, as long as the numbers kept crunching positively, she
would have a job for a long time to come.
With her hair swept back in a neat French braid, makeup on her face,
black dress pants and a light blue long sleeved top, Vallea walked into
catering to grab some coffee before heading to her office to get started on her
work.
“So, we
heard that you’re single again.”
Of all the
bitches to deal with on Monday, the Bella’s were definitely the worst. Jon was hungover. He had drank in the safety of his apartment,
knowing better than to go out and get toasted in public. There was a chance, with his mood coupled with
alcohol, he would either shoot off at the mouth or he would wind up committing
another murder.
“Go. To.
Hell.”
“Poor
Vallea, when we let her know…”
He cracked
his knuckles.
“You
know,” Nikki sauntered up to him, ignoring his cracking knuckles and slid her
finger down his chest. “If you would’ve just manned up and told her how you
really feel, you wouldn’t be in this situation right now. Just a little food for thought for you,
Looney Tunes.” She cackled, blinking when he lunged forward and Brie pulled her
back just in the nick of time.
“Time to
go.” Brie SHOVED her sister down the hall away from Jon, swallowing hard and
couldn’t believe the audacity of her sister.
Nikki had
officially lost her mind!
Jon and
Bryan, her husband, were good friends from the Independents and had several
matches together. Bryan went to Jon for
advice on several occasions, especially when Jon made it to the main
roster. They confided in each other,
even when Jon was in the Shield and Bryan was doing his own thing with Kane –
their team was Team Hell No. The Shield
and Team Hell No had EPIC matches that had actually put tag-team wrestling back
on the map in WWE.
If Bryan
found out what her and Nikki did, he wouldn’t be happy at all.
Well, now
he knew for a fact which harpies had helped along his own damnation. Vallea was never going to forgive him because
she assumed he didn’t want her, he didn’t love her, and that he had dipped his
dick in some blonde chick he had never met. Jon had made his bed, now he had to lie in it,
he got that. He just didn’t need the
Bella’s egging him on and putting more fuel on the fire. Jon was going to be having a chat with Bryan
about keeping his wife away if he didn’t want to become a widower.
~!~
A month
had passed since the events of that day and word spread around quickly Vallea
and the Lunatic Fringe were over. Vallea
sank herself into her work, hardly coming out of her office and made sure every
single person would be ready for WrestleMania this year. Currently, there were boxes upon boxes
stacked all around her office while she opened each one to see what was
what. A checklist was in front of her to
tick off the ones they received and ones that were still set to arrive. They would all be loaded up on the truck to
be taken from show to show to promote WrestleMania. There were certain boxes that would be saved
for WrestleMania Axxess, since it had its own store,
along with the actual WrestleMania pay-per-view extravaganza. A knock sounded at her door and Vallea didn’t
bother looking up, lifting a box to set on the floor before opening another
one.
“Whoever
it is, you’re gonna have to hold on a minute, okay?” She called over her
shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief when she found Daniel Bryan’s merchandise
and ticked his name off the list. “What can I do for…you?” It was Seth Rollins.
“I’m
supposed to check in about the new shirt and grab one.”
So he
could start wearing the damn thing and advertise. This job was not just wrestling in a ring. It was doing media circuits. Charity events. Wrestlers had to help promote the brand as
well as their own own. It was a lot, actually, and people tended to
crash and burn when they realized wrestling was not just wrestling. He leaned in the doorway, folding his arms
over his bare chest. He and Finn Balor had
been working out together and the tank he had been wearing was now in a laundry
bin somewhere, soaked with sweat.
Sweet
Jesus, save me, she thought, immediately
averting her eyes from his sweaty, muscular body and mentally counted backwards
from 10. Why did seeing this man get her
hot and bothered? Seth had an insane
body and here was a reason people, especially fangirls, referred to him as
CrossFit Jesus. “Okay, let me find yours, give me a minute.”
Didn’t she
just see his merchandise an hour ago?
His name was already ticked off the list and several Superstars had come
in to grab one of the shirts to start promoting them. It took her five minutes and Vallea could
smell his scent wafting in the air, filling her office.
“Finally…”
She muttered, pulling down the box and squealed out when they began toppling on
her. Seth reacted instinctively and
yanked her out of harm’s way, the boxes crashing to the floor where she
should’ve been standing. “S-Shit…”
“You need
help doing this.” His dark eyes roamed the boxes that took up quite a bit of
office space, both vertically and horizontally. “Ask Stephanie for a temporary
assistant.” There were a lot of Superstars and each one looked like they had
quite a bit of merchandise in these boxes. He let Vallea go, watching as she straightened
herself out. After a moment, he began
lifting boxes easily. “Where do you want them?” And not piled on each other,
she was going to wind up dead via t-shirts.
“Mr.
Rollins, you don’t have to…” He shot her a look and she smiled sheepishly,
tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “The boxes won’t be in here
forever. They’re all being put on trucks
sometime tonight and I have to go through each of them to make sure everyone has
their merchandise. Stephanie isn’t going
to hire someone for me…” Why would she?
This wasn’t the WWE’s responsibility, it was hers and Vallea would do it
to the best of her ability. “I’m sure you have better things to do than help
me, so take your shirt and go do it.”
“She has a
bunch of interns, she’d send you one to help out. If you get hurt in the arena, the WWE will
have to foot the bill because you’re in the building they’re responsible for.” Colby
pointed out, not trying to sound like a jackass, he was being truthful. “And it
wouldn’t look good if you died under all this merch.” Considering the WWE had
just gone through the murdering thing with her old boss and that Indies
wrestler and somehow managed to come out none the worse for wear. “And I don’t
have anywhere to be for at least an hour.”
Vallea
smiled softly at him, seeing he really did want to help her. Who was she to deny him? “All right, Mr.
Rollins, if you could put each of the top boxes on the floor for me, I’d
appreciate it.”
Caving
wasn’t that bad and she enjoyed watching him work that toned body of his. He wasn’t as big as Jon, but he still had a
chiseled out of stone body. Vallea was
careful not to be caught ogling and helped him with the boxes, leaving the
heavier ones to him.
“Okay,
that should do it.” She announced 20 minutes later and turned to face Seth,
grabbing up her checklist again. “Thank you for your help.”
“Not a
problem,”
For him,
the boxes hadn’t been that heavy, but the repetition had given him another
workout and he was fairly certain she had checked him out at least once. Colby had, admittedly, eyed her ass a few
times, hopefully discreetly. She was
Jon’s ex and he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jon would probably
break every bone in his body if he knew about the thoughts in Colby’s mind. It wasn’t a secret that the two had split, the
Bella twins, Nikki in particular, had made sure to spread that word everywhere
and to everyone. Bryan had come down on
his wife for the gossip, but it had been a bit too late.
“You can
call me Seth, if you want.”
“You sure
about that? I don’t want to ruffle your
feathers or anything.”
They both
chuckled and she reached up to brush some hair off her neck that had gotten
loose from her French braid. Vallea had
started using the style a lot more, it worked for her and kept her long hair
under control. It was time for a trim
soon, maybe the stylist in WWE could do something with it if they weren’t busy
with the other Superstars.
“I think
your shirt turned out really well.” She held it out to him, letting him spread
it out to take a good, hard look and could see the smile form on his bearded
face. “I’m going to assume you like it then, Seth?”
“Yeah,
this is perfect. You were right about
the flames really standing out and making it pop.” He remembered that chat from
a month or so ago.
A lot had
changed in a month. She was single. He was less of a douche. Jon was still insane, so maybe not much had
changed. Colby draped it over his
shoulder, not about to put it on until he had grabbed a shower. No point in getting the shirt all reeked in
his sweat and stench just yet.
“Thanks,
Vallea. If you need any more heavy
lifting or rescuing from a mountain of boxes, just holler, okay?”
“I’ll keep
you in mind for sure. I’m glad you like
the shirt. Thanks again for your…help…”
The smile deteriorated from Vallea’s face as she spotted the individual
standing in the doorway and knew the reason he was here.
Same as
Seth was. Every Superstar had to start
sporting their new WrestleMania gear in March to hopefully sell their
merchandise like hotcakes come the actual show.
Jon stood in the doorway; they hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since
the day outside of her condo where she told him to leave and never come
back. Vallea had devoted most of her
time to her office since then, working and getting everything ready for the
biggest event of the year, not wanting to disappoint either company. Professional, she had to remain professional
and had to check their personal issues at the door.
“Mr.
Ambrose, please come in and I’ll get your shirt.”
Jon had
been there long enough to hear that they weren’t pissy
with each other and Colby had apparently been flexing his muscles Vallea’s way.
He nodded curtly at the other man,
watching as Colby hesitated.
Colby was
hesitating because…well, just because. He
glanced back at Vallea, who nodded at him and he flashed her a smile.
“Seriously, holler.” He winked before heading out, not closing the door behind
him because fuck Jon.
She looked
delicious. She probably wasn’t falling
asleep with a bottle of something strong with a burn every night either. Jon hadn’t felt much remorse about killing
those two, but her thinking he had fucked around on him was shredding him,
tearing him apart. He was definitely
going to hell.
Vallea
nodded at Seth, acknowledging she heard him and tried not to let Jon’s presence
affect her. He always did and probably
always would. She opened one box and
then another, finally finding his merchandise on the third one, pulling out the
design he chose. It really was a beautiful
design and she silently hoped it did sell well for him, even though he cheated
on her.
“Here you
go.” She walked over to him with the t-shirt in hand and made the mistake of
looking up into his pale blues, feeling her heart start thundering in her
chest. Damn it, she thought,
mentally chastising herself for being so weak and could not pull her gaze away
from his. She missed him so much, this
past month without him had been hell on earth, but she had to stay strong and
keep moving forward with her life. “I – um…I hope you like it…”
“It looks
great.”
His eyes
hadn’t even moved from her face, he was sure the shirt looked great. He took it, careful not to touch her. She had made where she stood quite clear and
he wasn’t going to drag either of them through anymore hell. Vallea was out from Ryan’s thumb, she was on a
good career path and she seemed to be doing just fine without him. No point in mucking it up.
“Your face
is red.” She looked like she had been sweating, actually.
Colby had
too.
He didn’t
like those thoughts.
“Yeah
well, look around.” Vallea gestured with her hand, finally pulling her gaze
from his and wished her heartrate would return to normal. “I’ve been busy with
WrestleMania coming up. Nearly got
smashed by some boxes, which is why Seth was in here helping me.” He saved her
from being crushed, actually, since some of the boxes weighed over 50 pounds or
more. Vallea was strong; she wouldn’t be
a mountain climber if she wasn’t, but even that would’ve sent her to the
hospital or possibly killed her, depending on how many boxes would’ve landed on
her. “Heavy boxes equals a little bit of sweat.”
She had a
thing for needing to be saved. Colby had
saved her. Jon could already see that
relationship forming and crushed down the visions that flickered through his
mind. He opened his mouth to offer to
help her, but what came out was basically verbal diarrhea. “It’s Seth
now? No more Mr. Rollins?” WHAT. THE.
ACTUAL. FUCK? His hand convulsed, nearly
coming up to facepalm himself for that. “Sorry, none of my business…”
Vallea
could SEE the jealousy boiling in his eyes and FEEL the animosity oozing out of
his pores. “He said I could call him Seth, so that’s what I’m going to do.” Her
brow slowly raised, not understanding what the problem was. “I only called him
that because he requested it and was a jackass at the time. People change. It’s not a big deal.” He was right; it was
none of his business because he was too busy sticking his ‘business’ in other
women.
What
Vallea did with her life was none of his concern anymore.
“Right.”
Jon took
the shirt and held it tightly in his fist. She wasn’t his concern anymore. He wanted to rip the weaves right off the
Bella twins heads for their vindictive bullshit. Overall, he wasn’t a bad guy, right? Ryan had gotten what he deserved. The only thing Jon figured was he was being
repaid karmic vengeance for Nicky. People changed. She knew him fairly better than anyone, but
she believed he had cheated; she believed she hadn’t been enough. The woman was insane and his perfect match.
“Thanks.”
“You’re
welcome. Oh, I mailed your things to
your place, so you should have boxes waiting for you whenever you make it back
home.”
Since they
were no longer together, she took her two days off a week to go back to Vegas
and did her thing, having meetings with the company too, mostly Dorian. He was a really nice guy and treated her
well, always asking if she needed anything.
Unlike Ryan, he didn’t want to bog her down with too much work and she
appreciated that.
“Just
thought I’d let you know, so yeah…” This wasn’t awkward at all.
“Yeah…that
shit was probably stolen by now.” Because it was Vegas and the apartment
complex didn’t have the security thing, or a damn person to take packages. He didn’t know his neighbors that well, so…he
tried to remember what he had left at her place. “If you let me know when
you’ll be home, I’ll have a courier bring your things directly to you.” He
wasn’t a scumbag contrary to popular opinion. “See you, Val.” If he couldn’t
remember, then it must have not been that important.
“No, it’s
not stolen because I had your landlord bring the stuff in for you. I called ahead of time and she assured me the
boxes would be brought into your place.” Vallea paid the landlord a little bit
extra to ensure nothing was taken or tampered with, even though it wasn’t
anything too important. Clothes,
toiletries, things of that nature he’d left at her place. “I’ll be back there
on Wednesday and Thursday, so if you want to send it then, I’ll be home to grab
it. See you.” Turning away from him,
Vallea began going through boxes again, opening up another one to see it was
Alexa Bliss’s merchandise and checked her name off the list.
Well that
was illegal as hell and Jon was mildly annoyed as he left her there. The landlord had no business in his unit and
couldn’t enter without giving him so many hours of notice. The fact that the crazy broad had gone in
there on Vallea’s say so ground his ass because the landlord was creepy. He was going to have security cameras
installed, just in case. He didn’t like
the idea of anyone being in his one safe place from this shitty world.
It was
either leave his stuff outside for people to steal or enlist help from his
landlord to make sure the boxes were put in his apartment safely. It was a catch 22 situation, honestly. He’s lucky she didn’t burn any of his items,
which had crossed her mind a time or two.
Vallea was trying to do the right thing for her cheating ex. Sighing, she pushed Jon out of her mind, not
wanting to think about him since he invaded her dreams on more than one
occasion.
Some of
the dreams were good, but a lot of them left her hot, bothered and scared. There was one where he actually let her fall
off that mountain to her death and she could still hear the echo of his
laughter in her ears. Shaking herself
mentally, Vallea kept going through boxes and finally finished just after
midnight, feeling exhausted. Every
Superstar presently in the company had gotten a shirt to wear for the show and
Stephanie had been very happy with the results and designs. Trudging out of her office, once the final
box was taken out to be loaded onto the truck, Vallea was ready for a shower
and bed.
Well, she
HAD said she kind of wished he had never been there to save her, so that was
her own words coming back to bite her in the backside in those dreams. Jon drank himself to sleep, it kept the
nightmares away. The first night he had
dreamed that it was her up on that scaffold, he had shoved her into the vat of
acid, it had woken him up vomiting his guts out. Bring in the whiskey. And there was a lot of working out, it helped
tire him out and kept him busy.
If he
could wipe her from his mind, he would’ve.
Chapter 29
“Another
nightmare?”
“Yeah…I
hate this, Monique. I really do. I miss him so goddamn much…” Vallea had woken
up crying again from another nightmare with Jon and called her best friend, the
only person she could rely on these days. “I don’t know what to do anymore…”
Monique
frowned, wishing she had the answers, but she didn’t. Nobody did when it came to heartbreak. “You
just…maybe you should just quit and come back to the agency. You could work for me again and I’ll even up
your pay, if you want, and you’d be away from Jon. Maybe the nightmares would stop…”
Sniffling,
Vallea had to admit the offer was tempting, but her stubborn pride wouldn’t
allow her to quit. Not over a man and
failed relationship. No, she would stick
it out and hopefully, the nightmares would go away sooner or later. “I just
wish I could stop loving him. All I want
to do is find him and hurt him as much as he’s hurt me and then…”
Monique
suddenly got an idea and a sly smile curved her lips. “Well, if you want to
hurt him the same way he did you…there is a solution to that.”
“Don’t say
it. Please don’t say it.” Vallea
groaned, already knowing where her friend was going with this.
“There is
nothing wrong with a little revenge sex, woman.
Just find a hot, hunky wrestler on the roster that only wants sex and go
to town. Hell, maybe that’s what you
need to do to start healing and forgetting about him. Fuck someone else and see what happens.”
“THAT’S
the best advice you can give me?”
“Yup.”
Vallea was
screwed.
“Just
don’t tell Joe I said that.”
So far,
neither Jon nor Vallea had played the ‘friend’ card on either of them, which
was great because their relationship was still going strong and they were
trying not to get involved too much in this drama. Joe dealt with Jon and what was said between
those two remained with those two. Same
with her and Vallea.
“He might
not find it as amusing as I do. There’s
got to be at least ONE guy since Jon you’ve looked at and went yum.”
“I mean…”
Yes, there
had been one man she had glanced at more than once and Vallea thought it was
too cliché the way he had saved her from being crushed by boxes of
t-shirts. Jon had saved her from falling
to her death on the Red Rocks and Seth had saved her by pulling her out of
harm’s way. Why did she have to be with
men who saved her? Maybe she had a savior
complex. Vallea sighed heavily, hearing
Monique coaxing her to say the name and her eyes shut.
“Seth
Rollins.” She was going to hell in a handbasket.
“CrossFit
Jesus himself, eh?” That made Vallea laugh and it did Monique’s heart good to
hear it. “That’s also who Jon attacked because of what he said about you,
right?” Monique had gotten the story from both Joe, who had been there and from
Vallea, who had heard about it. “Um…how’s that working out? My curiosity is pretty peaked right now, Val.”
Being a wrestling fan and all, Seth was a master in the ring and even she had
to admit, his CrossFit workout videos he posted were scrumptious.
Vallea
chortled, knowing that would definitely peak Monique’s interest and took a sip
of her coffee. “He was an asshole to me at first. Demanded me to call him Mr. Rollins instead
of Seth, but I wasn’t a bitch to him and actually helped him come up with a
design for WrestleMania he loves. The
company’s first batch wasn’t that great, even I can admit that. I don’t know how it happened we just…well, he
came into my office to grab one of the new shirts to wear on Raw and he saved
me from being crushed by a bunch of boxes of t-shirts. And he did apologize for his comments towards
me, so…I don’t know. I’m losing my mind,
girl.”
“Um, yes,
yes you are,” Monique agreed, drinking her own coffee since it was morning and
probably too early for this conversation.
She was game either way. “You have a thing for guys saving you, don’t
you?” Everyone had a kink, maybe this was Vallea’s. Two wrestlers, both saving her, couldn’t be
coincidental that she found each of them yummy. “Maybe he’s not as big an
asshat as you thought…” Obviously. Maybe
their first time meeting had been tainted because Jon couldn’t reign in his
temper.
“Maybe. I don’t know.
I don’t know if fucking him will help me though or make me feel better
about any of this.”
“It’s a
great stress-reliever and it’ll get your mind off of it for at least a few
hours.”
That was a
good point too. “Damn it, you’re actually making me think about this now. Hell, he’s probably not interested since I
used to be with Jon…” That was a downfall, but at the same time, he had called
her hot. A hot fucking bitch, but still
hot. That meant Seth found her
attractive to some degree. “Do you really think it’s wise for me to fuck
someone Jon hates?”
“Who
cares? The bastard cheated on you, why
should you care what he thinks? It’s
none of his business who’s in your bed anyway.”
Vallea had
a lot to think about. “A month is too soon, isn’t it?”
“For a
fuck and duck? Nope.”
Vallea
started laughing. “A fuck and duck?
What, you want me to fuck him and then leave him?”
“Yeah, why
not? Make it clear to him you just want
sex and nothing more. Don’t go into this
with him thinking there’s a chance at anything more than hot sex.”
“Okay…”
Monique
was fairly certain Vallea was going to try this and inwardly cheered her on. She had thought Jon was IT for Vallea, the way
they had been. Hell, he had even gone
out of his way to befriend her because she was Vallea’s best friend. That man was a devil in disguise and deserved
all the bad he had coming his way.
“Seriously.
Be upfront that it’s just sex, most guys like that anyway.”
The
problem was Vallea had no idea how to go about doing this or approach Seth with
the subject. Seth and Jon were facing
each other currently at WrestleMania, feuding over the Intercontinental
championship. Ever since Vallea began
working as a liaison in WWE, she had started paying attention to the product
and had to admit, it wasn’t half bad.
Watching sweaty, muscly guys going at it in the ring, beating the hell
out of each other for the sake of entertainment, was kind of hot. Sighing, she hung up with Monique and
proceeded to go on with the rest of her day, having a great deal to think
about.
Would
sleeping with another man really help her get over Jon?
It might
not help right away, but something had to be the catalyst to start the process. It was glaringly obvious that Vallea was not
over Jon. She was still hurting from
what he had done and still grieving their relationship. She needed to jumpstart her life again and
finding a man who found her beautiful, wanted her for one night only, and made
her feel like the damn fierce goddess she was would probably give her that
boost.
Christ,
what if Seth already had a girlfriend and she was setting herself up for
failure or rejection? Vallea battled
with herself the entire walk up the stairs to Seth’s hotel room. She found out his number from the
receptionist, after proving she did indeed work with the WWE. Stopping off at her room to freshen up and
change into something a little…revealing, Vallea had wrapped herself in a robe
before heading to Seth’s room.
Just do
it, just knock on the door and tell the man what you want, she mentally coached, trying to channel her inner goddess and
stopped just outside of his room. She
knocked three times, heard him approach the door and zoomed away to hide behind
the wall since his room was just off a split hallway, hearing the door
open. No, she couldn’t do it, not this
way it didn’t feel right to her.
Colby
poked his head out and then when he spotted nobody, stepped out into the
hallway. He was fresh out of the shower,
wearing nothing but the towel, rivulets of water still running down his chest,
his stomach…his thighs. Frowning, he
reached back to scratch his neck and shrugged turning to go back into his room.
Probably just some punk kids pranking
people throughout the hotel.
Something
forced her to move around that corner and the moment she did, spotting Seth in
nothing except a towel, fresh out of a shower…something warmed inside of
Vallea. “Seth.” She called out softly, trying not to sound timid and watched
those deep dark chocolate eyes turn to look at her. Her caramel chestnut hair was down, no makeup
on her face and her hazel eyes were full of determination to actually go
through with this. “Sorry, I didn’t um…I didn’t mean to interrupt your shower…”
While she spoke, she took a few steps toward him and stopped, swallowing hard.
“That…
you’re the one who knocked?” Colby asked, his eyes showing his confusion. He tried not to blatantly look her over. “I
was out of the shower.” He was in the process of drying off actually, hence his
towel. She nodded and he tried not to
smile, still confused. “So why were you hiding over there, Vallea?” She looked
nervous now that he thought about it. “Everything okay?”
Vallea
kept asking herself over and over again why she was here, hating that Monique’s
voice kept EGGING her on, demanding her to take the leap. What happened to the headstrong woman who
knew what she wanted in life? Nothing held
her back in life and then she met Jon and he turned her world upside down!
“Yeah,
everything’s fine.” Not really. “Do you mind if I come in and talk to you for a
minute? I don’t wanna have this conversation
out in the open like this…” How was she supposed to come right out and ask this
man to sex her up?
“Uh,
sure?”
Colby was
beyond confused and held open the door, gesturing her inside, then followed,
closing it behind him. This was, he
wasn’t going to lie, weird as hell. Vallea
was here, after working hours, and he could not fathom why. She looked and smelled delicious though, her
hair was still damp so he was guessing she had showered too.
“Is
something wrong?” While he had a hard time believing something was wrong, it
was a bit late for that since the merchandise had been produced on a mass scale. It was also the only thing he could think of.
“No, this
has nothing to do with work.” Vallea had a shot of whiskey before coming here,
liquid courage and wished she would’ve taken a few more. “I need something from
you. I just…don’t quite know how to ask
you what it is.” She was not making any sense and unfastened the robe to let it
fall open, slowly turning to face him.
Beneath the robe was a black negligee that was sexy and showed some
skin, but still left plenty to the imagination. “Before I ask you, I need to
know one thing.” She stepped up to him, wanting to reach out to touch that bare
chest of his and could feel the desire coursing through her while staring into
his confused dark chocolate orbs. “Are you single?” That pretty much summed up
and would tell her if he had any kind of girlfriend, lover, wife…anything of
that nature.
And THAT
was not anything on any level Colby had expected from Vallea from all people. His brown eyes nearly popped out of his skull,
raking over her hungrily as milk chocolate burnt darker. “Yes.” He knew exactly
what she was asking, eyes dropping to the hand that was wavering over his
chest. He reached out and took her wrist, guiding her palm to skin and felt her
instantly skimming, feeling him.
He was so
warm, his heart beating against her palm and her hand seemingly had a mind of
its own, gliding down to feel the small hairs on his stomach. It had a perfect line that probably went all
the way to his dick, a trail she desperately wanted to run her tongue along. Vallea swallowed hard, her stomach tightening
and every part of her body felt as if it was ignited in flames. “Seth…” She had
to get it together, remembering what Monique told her about making it clear
what she wanted from him. Both were
skimming and feeling him now, her hands on his towel gripping it, wanting to
tear it away. “I need you to fuck me.
There can only be sex between us.
No feelings, no strings attached, no relationship…” Leaning forward, she
pressed a soft kiss against his chest and then another, hearing him groan. “Can
you do that for me or should I leave now?”
There was
no chance for a relationship or strings because that would mean going public
and Colby was ballsy, not stupid. He
wasn’t sure how Jon felt about her, but he did know Jon wouldn’t take the idea
of them together on any level very well. “You’re not leaving.” He informed her,
giving her his answer and his hands moved to her hips, drawing her flush
against him, his hips jutting against her.
Her heart
belonged to Jon, but that didn’t mean Vallea didn’t have needs like every
normal human being. It’d been a month
since she found out Jon cheated on her and, maybe that wasn’t a long amount of
time for some, but for her it was. It
wasn’t often a woman went to a man’s hotel room and asked for sex either –
Vallea surprisingly didn’t feel any shame from it.
“I was
hoping you’d want me to stay.” Pulling the towel loose, Vallea wrapped her hand
around his cock and began to stroke, feeling him come alive in her palm and
pulsate. Not as big as Jon, but as long
as Seth could get the job done, that was all that mattered to her. There would be no stay overs either, she
would leave as soon as they were finished, meaning what she said.
Sex only.
Because he
was the very definition of typical male, Colby was okay with the sex only thing.
He had a career he was focusing on and
he knew better than to get involved with someone he had to work with. If that went sour, it led to awkward,
potentially stupid and painful situations. Kind of like her and Jon. That did not mean he wasn’t a generous lover,
he liked giving and receiving, so he let her fondle him for a little bit and
then stopped her, his hands moving to that black lingerie.
Generous,
indeed.
He
definitely wasn’t a one minute man either, thank the stars. She was slightly worried about that
possibility and was pleasantly surprised at how good Seth was in bed. Not mind-blowing, but it was good
nevertheless and she would not mind doing it again in the future. There was no cuddling afterwards or anything;
Vallea slid out of bed since they lay side by side and pulled her robe back
on. The black negligee, sadly, didn’t
make it through the ordeal, but that was fine.
She could always buy another one.
“Thanks
for helping me out, Seth.” Tying the robe, she turned to look down at him while
he stayed sprawled on the bed, a smirk curving his bearded face. “I appreciate
it.”
“Oh
anytime, Vallea,” His voice was soft, every last inch of him enjoying the
lethargic, relaxation that usually came after good sex. She had been a bit stiff, hesitant, and he had
a feeling one night stands were not her deal, that she was new to this.
That was all
right, she hadn’t sucked in bed and, by the end of it, it was like that
hesitation had washed away.
“I’ll keep
that in mind.” Vallea didn’t know if it would happen with him again. Once she came down from the sexual high he
sent her to and reality crashed over her, she didn’t know how she would feel.
“Sweet dreams.” She winked before heading out, closing the door behind her.
It was
done. The deed was done. Monique would probably sing her praises, but
Vallea felt…empty. Luckily, the robe
went to mid-thigh, so it covered her and didn’t show the fact she was
completely naked beneath. Seth had torn
her panties and negligee off her body, showing his animalistic side. Maybe now she could finally get a good night
sleep without being plagued by dreams and nightmares about Jon.
Probably
not. Jon had had a late night, but he
was still sober enough to be allowed to buy a bottle to bring back with him. Or he was just that good at faking it, or they
hadn’t cared. He didn’t care either. He came to a halt at the sight of Vallea, not
wearing all that much and cursed.
Maybe he
was beyond drunk and she was a hallucination.
Chapter 30
Running
into her ex-boyfriend, after just screwing another man, was NOT what Vallea
expected to happen.
Her hair
was haphazard from tumbling in the sheets with Seth, she was still slightly
flushed and she really needed to clean herself up. A shower was definitely in order because she
probably smelled like Seth too. Her neck
more than likely had red marks, burns, from his beard, as well as her inner
thighs. He’d spent a great deal of time
pleasuring her with his lips, tongue and beard, teasing her. Clutching the robe against her neck to try
hiding the red marks, Vallea kept walking barefoot towards him since he just
stepped off the elevator. Maybe taking
the stairs would’ve been a better option.
As soon as
she was about a foot away from him, the stench of another man washed over Jon,
even over his own alcohol breath. He
could smell male bodywash and sex, it reeked from her and his glassy, glacier
eyes widened and then narrowed. That
hadn’t taken her long at all, had it? It
was none of his business, it was none of his business…that was a goddamn love
mark on her neck she was trying to hide and he had to bite down on his tongue
to keep from spewing something he may regret later.
What did
she have to be ashamed of? Nothing! This man cheated on her with a bottled blonde
against the back of a bar building! “Do you have a staring problem, Ambrose?”
Vallea snapped, knowing it was irrational, but the judgment was clear as day in
his eyes.
The
tension between them couldn’t be severed even with the sharpest knife. Without realizing it, tears formed in her
eyes as she stepped on the elevator and then thought better of it, brushing
past him to head to the stairs. Why did
she feel like crying? And why did her
chest feel like it would cave in at any second?
“Sorry
doll, it was an odor problem. You smell
like you were scrubbing someone’s balls with shitty old Spice.” He snapped,
just as the door slammed behind her and he could practically hear her crying. What possessed him to say that? Jealousy. Shaking his head, he stormed down the hallway
to his own room. Of course she had moved
on, she was a vibrant, sexual person…and he had ‘cheated’ on her. “Fuck Karma.”
Of course
she did!
She just
got done having sex with Seth Rollins and if he knew that, Jon would lose his
mind!
Vallea did
not stop until she was back in her own room, slamming the door shut and tore
the robe from her body before heading straight for the shower. Only after she was under the hot sprays did
the tears start to fall and she dropped to her knees, sobs wracking every part
of her body. Damn it, what had Jon
turned her into? What happened to her
carefree, don’t give a flying rat’s ass attitude she used to have? Did being in a relationship really destroy
that part of her? Vallea didn’t know how
to get back to who she was before she met Jon.
After scrubbing her body and washing her hair, Vallea stepped out
wrapping a towel around herself and brushed her teeth and hair. Not bothering to dress, she walked out and
saw her phone going off, narrowing her eyes at the Jon’s name flashing back at
her. Why she answered it, Vallea would
never know and put the cell to her ear.
“Got
anymore scathing remarks for me, Ambrose?”
Jon was
like, ten sheets to the wind, and the fact that he had even managed to dial out
was amazing. It had taken him a solid
five minutes just to get the number in focus he was that inebriated. He did have more scathing remarks, but his
tongue felt thick and getting them out wasn’t going to happen.
“I love
you.” He grumbled, hoping the words came out, he was pretty messed up. “And
you’re fuckin’ around…”
“What
would you have me do? Sit around and
mope and pine for you? YOU CHEATED ON
ME, DICK, not the other way around!” Vallea shouted, tears already falling down
her cheeks at his confession, wanting more than anything to believe him. “If
you loved me, you wouldn’t have cheated on me and we wouldn’t BE in this
situation right now! I love you too, but
I refuse to be with someone who cheats on me when things get a LITTLE
rough. And the only reason I’m fucking
around is because I’m having nightmares about you and I have to do something
before I lose my goddamn mind!” Vallea cried harder, clutching the phone and
covered her eyes with her free hand, the pain radiating through every
nerve-ending of her body. “Damn it…”
“More ‘n lil rough, he was killing ya.”
Jon slurred, though he did have some sense of mind to NOT state what he had
done. Cheating. He had been out fucking around that night. That was the official story, THAT was his ass
biting truth. And she had come out and
said what his heart had already known, on two levels. She still loved him and she HAD been out
sleeping with someone. “Give me ‘nother chance, Val…”
Squeezing
her eyes tightly shut, Vallea gripped her wet hair between her fingers and
shook her head, even as her heart was SCREAMING at her to do it. To forgive him. She cried harder, letting him hear the amount
of pain and anguish she was in over leaving him. “Don’t. Please don’t...” She whispered brokenly,
trembling from head to toe. There were
actual tremors in her voice. Vallea
couldn’t trust him not to do it again and, without trust, there was no room for
a relationship to grow. “Go to sleep, Jon.
You’re in no condition to have this talk right now.” It was a scapegoat,
a copout, but the best she could come up with since he was plastered.
He
snorted, taking another pull from his bottle, not that she could see. His mouth opened to tell her if she only knew
the truth, she’d understand. She’d know
he would never do anything to hurt her, not when all he wanted to do was take
care of her. Even drunk Jon managed to
stop himself.
He hung
up, exhaling shakily and took yet another drink, shaking his head almost
frantically.
~!~
“So, how
was YOUR night? Did you do it?” Monique
inquired the following day, having her daily talk with Vallea while she was on
the road with the WWE.
It was way
too early for this conversation and Vallea’s head was killing her from lack of
sleep. That phone call from Jon bothered
her for some reason and she couldn’t put her finger on why. It was almost as if she SENSED he wanted to
tell her something more, but he was either too plastered or hesitant to say
what was really on his mind. It made her
brain race, along with her broken heart shattering all over again in her chest.
“Yeah…”
She held the phone away from her ear as Monique squealed out. “Christ woman, my
head is pounding, can you NOT do that please?”
“I’m
sorry! So sorry, but oh my god, how was
it?! Did you enjoy it or did he suck in
bed??” Monique had copious amounts of coffee already this morning, on her 4th
cup, so she was buzzing a little bit on a coffee high.
“It was
good. And I didn’t stay afterwards
either, I left. I made it clear to him
it was sex only and he was fine with it.” Vallea popped some Advil liquid gels
and refused to get into the whole running into Jon and their brief phone call
where he begged her for another chance. “I didn’t sleep well…”
“Guilt?”
“Maybe.”
“Been
there, done that. So hey, maybe you just
weren’t ready to have sex with someone else yet.”
Vallea
didn’t know if she ever would be ready for that step, clenching her hand in
front of her in a fist. “I don’t think I was either…”
“Well, I’m
sorry for pushing you into it.” Monique was willing to own up to her part in
the whole affair. She had nudged Vallea
into jumping onto someone’s dick and she did. “At least now we know, right?”
She laughed, shaking her head at herself. “But…it was good, so there’s that.”
Maybe after a day or so, Vallea wouldn’t feel bad about it at all and then
she’d be able to think about what she wanted to do next, if anything.
“Shit, I
gotta go. Meeting with Dorian is in
5. I’ll call you later.”
That was a
small lie, but Vallea didn’t feel like being on the phone right now. She needed her headache to go away and to get
Jonathan Good out of her head.
Hopefully, Seth wasn’t a douchebag about this situation and kept what
happened between them to himself. She
hadn’t really thought past sleeping with him or what the repercussions would
be. Another shower was in order to
hopefully wake her up and then a meeting with Stephanie to discuss the progress
of the WrestleMania merchandise.
Colby had
absolutely no intentions of discussing what had transpired to anyone. Word would reach Jon and Jon would decide they
needed to have a come to Jesus meeting. He was good. He liked his head being where it was. Not to mention, if he started running his
mouth, Stephanie would have his ass flayed raw on top of the fines. Colby didn’t know if Vallea would ever look
him up again,, but…he should probably let her know that door was open.
No
strings. Just sex. He liked that kind of relationship best, where
there wasn’t one.
After her
meeting with Stephanie, Paul and Vince, which went very well, Vallea felt
marginally better about her life.
Professionally, anyway.
Personally, she was a complete mess.
A jumbled, heartbroken mess, but apparently, she had put up the perfect
front with the bosses. On her way to her
office, Vallea ran right into Seth after turning a corner, barely keeping her
footing.
“Shit,
sorry about that, Seth…” She’d been walking a lot faster than intended, once
again deep in thought, when she slammed into him. Once again, he was bare from the waist up and
looking delicious. Even if she was hung
up on another man, she could always appreciate a good looking one, regardless.
“You
okay?” He had reached out to steady her on instinct, even with Vallea managing
to keep herself upright. He let go of
her, smiling down at her and shook his head. “You were hauling ass, Val.” Which
was not a good thing in this place unless she was six feet minimum and at least
250 pounds, then she could withstand the rebound effect from running into
people. He was pretty damn sure his
cheeks just tinted red because she had checked him out again.
“Yeah, I’m
fine just…I was deep in thought and didn’t realize how fast I was going.”
Vallea smiled apologetically, stepping back to smooth her top out and cleared
her throat. “I’ll be more careful. And
slower.” She chuckled, stepping to the side when he did to get out of people’s
way since it was always hectic backstage at a WWE live event. Even house shows were crazy, just not as
tense since they weren’t televised. “You looked like you were hauling your
cookies too. In a hurry to get
somewhere?”
“No, not
really, just had a bit more coffee than I should’ve.” Colby didn’t overly care
for the taste of energy drinks, it was like drinking chalk. He liked strong black coffee, without the
bitter, so he had a habit of adding a pinch of salt just to negate the bitter
taste and leave him with all the rest. “Maybe I’m a little jittery.” He flashed
Vallea a warm smile.
“Adrenaline,
I got it. I should go and get some work
done. Have a good show.” Vallea stepped
around him, not touching him in any way and could feel those dark chocolate
eyes zeroed in on her backside. Seth was
checking her out and she couldn’t help the slight flush rise in her
cheeks. At least someone found her
attractive and desired her.
It just
wasn’t the man she wanted to be with.
Well yeah
he found her attractive. He had said so
in a less than polite way and now he’d had the pleasure of actually having sex
with her, seeing without those clothes on. Vallea was a stunningly beautiful woman and
Jon was a complete tool for cheating on her with some bar fly. Why the hell would the man go to some skank
who probably took it from everyone when he had Vallea waiting in bed for him?
Shaking
his head, Colby kept on going.
~!~
“Wait a
minute, you DRUNK dialed her after catching her in the hallway? Oh man…” Joe was listening to his friend vent
while pumping iron since there was a small gym within the arena.
Nothing
like getting a pre-match workout in. He
loved these types of arenas and could already start feeling the slight burn in
his arms, knowing he couldn’t go much longer.
Joe didn’t need to get hurt in his match tonight, especially with
WrestleMania just a few short weeks away.
He was the Universal champion and would continue to be after
WrestleMania.
“Please
tell me you didn’t go off on her, bro…” What Vallea did behind closed doors was
no business of Jon’s, not anymore, but Joe would never say that aloud.
“I don’t
think I did…”
The only
reason Jon remembered catching her in the hallway and then calling her was this
morning he had been on his cell. He had
a new habit of checking his outgoing calls and text messages to make sure he
hadn’t confessed to his actual crimes. He
had apparently drunk-dialed Vallea and that had brought back some memories he
had been obviously drinking to forget.
“Maybe,
who knows?” He did remember the smell of men’s bodywash, his nose wrinkling.
If Jon
did, he would hear about it because of Monique.
They talked about everything, including what was happening between their
friends right now. Both decided not to
choose sides because people made mistakes and they hoped one day, Vallea
forgave Jon. They were the perfect
match, or damn close to it. Being
biased, Joe and Monique considered themselves the perfect couple and often
joked about it.
“Maybe you
should go talk to her and find out exactly what was said since you’re fuzzy on
the details.” Joe suggested, continuing to pump the iron bar up and down and
finally racked it, finishing his reps.
“Or maybe
I won’t, you big dick.” Jon shot his friend a disbelieving look. “Considering
she wants absolutely nothing to do with me, I can just imagine how awkward that
conversation will be. ‘Yo Val, when I drunk dialed you last night AFTER you were
out with another man, you remember what I said, because I need a playback?’. Yeah, no. Don’t help.”
Joe laughed
hard, shrugging and figured Jon would do what Jon wanted to do. “I don’t think
she doesn’t want anything to do with you, bro.
I just think she’s hurt and confused and doesn’t know why you fucked
around on her. I still don’t get it,
personally.” They had briefly discussed what happened, but Jon hadn’t gone into
details about it, only saying the blonde had been a fan of his and he’d felt
neglected from Vallea. He never thought
Jon would be the type to cheat, but then again, everybody made mistakes and at
least he was owning up to it.
“The world
may never know.”
Jon wasn’t
expecting anyone to ‘get it’ because it hadn’t happened. Not to mention, he didn’t think cheaters were
inclined to say why they had actually done it, just that they were sorry, never
meant for it to happen. When he had said
those things to Vallea, he had meant them because they were true and not a copout.
Chapter 31
“Hey
Vallea, can I talk to you for a minute?”
She looked
up from her computer screen and raised a brow at Drake Younger, wondering what
he was doing in here. Referees didn’t
have merchandise of any kind in the company. “Sure, have a seat.” He closed the
door behind him and walked over to sit in the chair across from her, a troubled
look on his face. “What’s up?”
“I know
it’s none of my business, but it’s Jon.
Something is bothering me about that night and his story. I talked to Scotty Vortekz,
who was at Madonna’s Bar that night Jon claims he cheated on you.” Drake
recalled the conversation and both he and Scotty agreed there was more to the story. Something else happened because Jon wasn’t
the type to cheat. He’d had his fun in
the Indies with women, but once in a relationship, he was the most loyal person
on the planet. “Scotty wasn’t that drunk like the others and he told me the
only blonde Jon was talking to was one of the new bartenders. She never left the bar either, but he did for
a couple hours. He left alone.”
“But the
bartender said…”
Drake cut
her off, holding his hand up. “The bartender is covering for Jon. They go way back, you have to
understand. This is where Mox really planted his roots in both life and
pro-wrestling. He KNOWS these people and
the bartender is an old friend of his.”
“How do
you know all of this?” Now Vallea was confused, her work suddenly the last
thing on her mind and clasped her hands in her lap.
“Because
Scotty went back to talk to the bartender.
Her name is Dianna and she’s an older woman, thinks of Jon like a
son. She’s been working there for years. Scotty demanded to know the truth from her
because shit doesn’t add up and Dianna came clean
about covering for him. He left the bar
for a couple hours and then came back, but nobody knows where he went or why.”
Drake thought back to Nick Gage being in town, but Jon had assured he had no
idea why their friend would break his probation to come to Cincinnati that
night.
That meant
Jon’s alibi was null and void when it came to the police. “Why would he lie to
the police though?”
“That’s
the million dollar question. Why lie to
the police and make you and everyone else believe he’s this cheating douchebag,
when he’s not?” Drake had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach over
this situation and Scotty felt the same way. “Jon claims he didn’t know about
Nicky coming to Cincinnati that night.
Nicky and your old boss wind up dead that night and nobody knows where
Jon went…if this Ryan guy was involved with Nicky in any way, I think Jon was
trying to stop something from happening and…accidents happened.”
“Accidents…? What do you mean? You think Jon KNOWS what happened to them?”
Drake held
his hands up. “I’m just saying he didn’t cheat on you and there’s a lot more to
this story he’s hiding. Maybe he’s
afraid the authorities will arrest him for their murder, but I honestly don’t
think Jon would murder someone. I think
Nicky and Ryan had something going on and Jon met with Nicky to try to smooth
shit over, since Ryan was connected to you, the woman he was dating, and shit
went south. That’s what Scotty and I
think, anyway. The place they were at
wasn’t very safe to begin with, someone could’ve easily fallen to their death
in the acid. Maybe Ryan fell and took
Nicky with him or vice versa and Jon couldn’t get there in time to stop it.”
The only person who knew the truth of the situation was Jon.
“My god…”
Vallea whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and could feel tears burning
her eyes. If all of this was true and
Jon had watched both Ryan and his longtime friend die…she was such a heartless
bitch! “I-I don’t know if I wanna know the truth about what happened
anymore. I’m afraid to know.”
“You and
me both, Vallea.”
Drake took
a long breath. “Look, I’m not saying ask Jon about that night because I don’t
think he’d ever tell the truth of it to anyone, not even you.” It was the cold,
hard truth and he’d known Moxley for years. “But maybe…hell, I don’t know. I don’t know.” He chewed on his bottom lip. “I
just don’t understand how Nicky and Ryan would know each other though, let
alone ever meet. Nicky wasn’t…he wasn’t
the kind of guy to run in anyone important social circle, you know?”
“Ryan was
very shady and had a lot of connections, I know that much. He did a lot of shady bullshit and the
company is just NOW uncovering a lot of it.
There’s still a great deal they don’t know. I don’t either, for the record, and I worked
the closest with him.”
Vallea
rubbed her temples, overwhelmed by this newfound information because she’d JUST
slept with Seth Rollins the previous night.
If Jon didn’t cheat on her, she had done it for no reason and had lost
all this time with him for no damn reason!
She did agree with Drake; Jon wouldn’t tell the truth of what happened
that night if he was involved.
“And I
know Jon would never introduce Ryan to any of his friends because he hated
him. It really is a mystery…”
“I know
coming from me it seems like I’m just trying to do my buddy a favor, but I’ve
known Jon a long time and shit don’t add up. He was insanely happy with you. I don’t think Jon’s ever been like that with
anyone,” Given his rough upbringing, Drake didn’t blame him at all. “And I know
he’s not the kind of guy to mess around, not when he’s in a relationship.” That
also probably stemmed from his childhood and his Mom.
Vallea
felt it in her heart deep down, the entire time, something wasn’t right with
this situation. It came completely out
of left field too. At first, she’d been
so stunned to hear from the Bella twins what happened and then for Jon to come
out and admit it openly, flatly, the way he had…almost callous, almost
forced…Drake was right, something didn’t add up with this. Vallea had to talk to Jon, but how the hell
was she supposed to bring THIS subject up to him? Christ, just to save his ass, he would keep
lying to her about where he actually was and what really happened. And forgiving him right off the bat, after
sleeping with another man, wasn’t an option either because he’d know something
was up. Vallea was stuck between a rock
and a hard place – it was a catch 22 situation – damned if she did, damned if
she didn’t.
“I’m not
saying anything to him, he’s going to lie either way.” Or maybe he was telling
the truth and someone else was lying. Either
way, it was a giant snowball of lies and Drake didn’t want to sort any of it
out because he didn’t want to know where the truth would lead him. “I didn’t
mean to spring this all on you, but…you needed to know, Vallea.”
“He didn’t
cheat on me. I felt it the moment he
told me he did. There was no truth in
his words, no conviction, no sorrow or remorse.
He was…cold, callous about it.
That’s not who Jon is.” In the short amount of time Vallea knew Jon, and
all the time she spent with him, he was quietly passionate and believed in what
he did and said. There was something
about that particular night, however, that changed everything…and changed
him. Not for the better either. “I
appreciate you coming to me with this, Drake.
I promise, this conversation stays between us. You have my word.” It took a lot of guts for
this man to come to her, considering what she was going through. In a weird way, Drake had given her that
glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Jon wasn’t a scumbag after all.
Jon was a
scumbag. He was a murdering prick who
border lined scumbag. He had killed two
people and the only one that mattered was Nicky. He probably should have done it elsewhere, so
the bodies weren’t connected, but…it was what it was and over now. He was also known as the cheating prick who
went off on rages for little reason -thanks Bellas! Jon was considering becoming a full time
functioning alcoholic.
Seth had
come to ask Vallea out on an actual date and she declined politely, having
other plans. Jon never stayed at the
same hotel as the WWE, unlike her, so Vallea had to catch him outside of the
arena. She took a week to figure out
what she wanted to do and the only solution to this problem was confronting it
head-on. Vallea thought about telling Monique
about her talk with Drake and immediately nixed the idea, not needing more
advice from her friend. The last advice
netted her a one night stand with Seth Rollins she initiated and it seemed as
though the man was still interested in her past that night. It was one week until WrestleMania and things
were extremely hectic, but if Vallea waited any longer to have this talk with
Jon, it would devour her. Jon walked out
with Joe since they were traveling buddies ever since Jon and Vallea split and
she pushed away from the truck she’d been leaning against, waiting for him to
come out.
“Hi, how
are you? I’m great, fabulous, thanks for
asking.” Her voice was full of nervous sarcasm. “I need to talk to you. Privately.
I wasn’t coming to your motel room because I have no idea where you’re
staying, so ambushing you out here was the only way to go. Unless you’re busy or you don’t want to…”
“Don’t
want to.” Jon didn’t even stop.
“Bro…” Joe
was a bit bemused by that one. But then
again, after that drunk dialing incident, Jon had basically stopped talking
about Vallea. Maybe he was finally
moving on. He shot Vallea an apologetic
look.
Jon
groaned when she planted her ass directly in front of him. “Make it quick.” He
ordered briskly, his eyes icy and guarded. It wasn’t anything against her anymore, not
really, but he had gotten his emotional ass tromped a bit too much and he had
done what he used too back when he was a kid and teen, retreated and put up the
walls.
“This is
not going to be a quick talk.” Vallea informed him, folding her arms in front
of her chest and could see the hesitation in his icy blues, but also the
resolve. He wanted nothing to do with
her. She didn’t know why it shattered
her so badly considering she had been the one to end things between them. What was she supposed to do? Stay with someone who admitted to cheating on
her? “Forget it. Sorry for bothering
you, Ambrose.” Shaking her head, she walked away to head toward her car, not
looking back at him and Joe. I’m such
an idiot, she thought, pulling her keys out to unlock her rental with her
bag over her shoulder.
What had
she begged? Please don’t do this to
me. Yeah, that was it. It had come back to him during the stupidest
of times. Jon had been working out and
those words had resonated in his head from the call he had made. So here he was, not doing this to her anymore.
He had hurt her more than enough and he
had been hurt more than he thought he ever could be.
“You sure
that’s how you want to play it, bro?”
“It’s for
both our sakes, drop it, man.”
~!~
It was a
long, difficult decision, but if Vallea wanted to move on with her life, she
had to get away from the WWE. She had to
start over fresh somewhere that didn’t remind her of Jon. Working with him wasn’t an option anymore. She had tried to talk to him about what
happened and he wanted nothing to do with it.
Whatever he did that night, whatever went down, would forever be a
secret. She put her resignation into the
company, both of them, and left. Leaving
Vegas behind and all her friends, her comrades…Vallea just needed to start over
with her life. Plenty of tears were shed
in the process while she packed up her condo and Monique begged her not to
leave, but once she made her mind up, there was no changing it.
It was October
now; she had moved to Arizona, someplace where it was warm all-year round and
there were no mountains. She never
wanted to climb another mountain again and had thrown all of her gear away,
giving it up completely. Currently, she
had a boring 9-5 desk job at some law firm, being a receptionist, and it was
slowly sucking the life out of her, but at least it paid the bills and kept a
roof over her head. She didn’t talk to
anyone, kept her head down and spent most of her nights alone on the back
patio, looking up at the stars drinking wine.
She hadn’t spoken to Monique in months or anyone from Vegas, cutting off
all contact.
Anyone
associated with Jon, she cut herself off from to have a fresh start.
~!~
“I hate
this place.” Arizona sucked. It was flat,
hot and boring. He missed mountains and
color.
“You hate
everywhere.”
“Shut it, Aquaman.”
Jon
thought it was hilarious to call him that. A few years ago, it had been Kal Drogo from some television show. Game of Thrones, was it? Joe wasn’t overly amused with the nicknames,
some actor he apparently resembled, but try telling that to Jon.
~!~
WWE was in
town.
She lived
on the outskirts of Phoenix and had read the flyer in the newspaper, having no interest
at all. After leaving the company, she
vowed to never watch it on television or read about it again. Unfortunately, she had a few coworkers that
were diehard wrestling fans and wouldn’t shut up about it. Mondays and Tuesdays were her HELL at work. When they asked if she wanted to go to the
show that night, having an extra ticket, Vallea declined and headed home,
stopping at her favorite diner for some dinner on the way. It would be a cold day in hell before she
stepped foot inside a WWE arena again, or any arena for that matter.
~!~
“Jon, I
ordered for you.”
“What… is
this a salad? Babe, my food eats that
shit, why do I have to eat it too?”
Joe shook
his head, trying not to laugh as Jon’s current ‘friend’ pouted at him. He didn’t understand why Jon bothered with
her. She was trying to get him healthy
and all Jon was doing was passing time. “It’s good for you.”
“It’s
disgusting. Gimme a steak any day.”
Pushing
open the door to the diner, Vallea smiled at the woman behind the register, who
knew her by heart. She stopped here at
least three times a week to grab dinner, not big on cooking.
“Hey
sweetie, the usual?”
“Yeah, add
an extra slice of cheesecake, will you?” Vallea requested, feeling like it was
a two piece of cheesecake kind of night.
Probably due to the fact WWE was in town and way too close for comfort.
“Not a problem, it’ll be a couple minutes, so sit tight.”
Vallea
nodded, taking a seat at the counter and waited patiently, pulling her phone
out to scroll through emails she’d received during the day.
“Jon, we
need ketchup…” Joe was examining his plate, and then had looked for the bottle
of deliciousness. It was empty. That had to be a crime somewhere.
Jon eyeballed
Joe’s steak fries, a bit jealous and sighed. Pushing himself upright, he leaned over and
tapped the woman behind him on the shoulder. “Hey, can we borrow your ketchup?”
Vallea
snapped her head up at the tap on her shoulder, having been engrossed in her
email and set her phone down. “Yeah, sure.” She had heard the man’s request and
reached for the ketchup bottle in front of her.
Each station had their own ketchup bottle and apparently, theirs was
out. “Here you…go…” As soon as she turned around and came face to face with
those icy pale blues, Vallea’s jaw dropped and the glass ketchup bottle slipped
out of her fingers, splattering all over the floor.
What the
HELL was Jon doing HERE?!
“Oh shit!”
Chapter 32
“Well fuck
me….” Jon was inwardly groaning. He had
been awesome lately and had cut back on the drinking. He hadn’t bashed anyone’s head in outside of
the ring. He hadn’t committed murder
either. “I wanted it for fries, doll, not my shoes.”
“Who are
you-” Joe stood up, peering over. His grey
eyes widened slightly at just who that was. “Hello Vallea.”
“Who’s
Vallea?” A hand appeared on Jon’s forearm. “Jonny?”
His teeth
gnashed at that. He hated being called
that.
“S-Sorry…”
Vallea
backed up to give the woman with Jon, a blonde, more than enough room and swallowed
hard, nodding at Joe to acknowledge him.
Her hair was cut short to her shoulders and she looked good as well,
still fit since she’d taken up running instead of mountain climbing. She needed something to keep from going
insane with her current job. WWE was in
town, sure, but this diner was near the outskirts of town, near where she
currently lived, and the arena was on the other side of Phoenix.
Why come
to this particular diner when there were so many others to choose from?
“Vallea,
are you all right, honey?” Bell asked, walking around the counter with the bag
of food in hand and set it down. “Carter, grab the mop, babe!”
“Coming
right up!” Carter called out, rushing out with a mop and gently guided Vallea
away from the mess while Bell took care of the others. “Accidents happen, it’s
all right.”
The shock
had forced her to make this mess. “Carter, I can help you…”
He waved
her off dismissively. “Not at all, Vally.” He winked
at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost
though, sweetheart. Why don’t you take
your food and head home, hmm?”
Bell and
Carter were an older couple, reminding her a lot of her grandparents, which
were now deceased. “Thanks…” Vallea took her food and walked out of the diner,
groaning at the ketchup covering her pants. “Shit.”
“Well that
wasn’t awkward at all.”
Joe watched
with them as Vallea passed by the window. So this is where she had run off too. Boring Arizona. Monique had pretty much lost her mind when
Vallea cut ties with her, he wasn’t about to say a word, not wanting to rip
that band-aid off. He glanced at Jon,
who was now focused on his salad with a bit too much intent.
“Nothing
to say?”
“Shut up,
Joe.” He growled around a mouthful of lettuce. He was going to pretend that didn’t just
happen. Jon was going to pretend that
his heart hadn’t done a funny jump in his chest.
”Wait, you know her?” Blondie asked curiously.
”That’s the love of his life, running from him again.”
“Wait, I’m
supposed to be the love of…” She hesitated. Jon had never said he loved her, ever. Not that they had been seeing each other long.
“What happened?”
“I’m a
serial cheater.”
“Oh, you
son of a bitch!”
And that
was how Blondie was the next woman to storm out of his life.
She wasn’t
running from anyone. Vallea had her food
in hand and there was no reason to stick around to make things more
awkward. Her heart was thundering in her
chest powerfully and Vallea couldn’t remember the last time she had felt
something like that. It looked as though
Jon had moved on with the blonde and that was good on him. Why did it hurt her so much then to see him
with another woman? She sighed heavily,
pulling out of the parking lot and cursed violently when someone nailed the
corner of her vehicle while trying to pull into the parking lot.
“SERIOUSLY?!”
She could NOT win to save her damn life tonight!
By the
time Jon and Joe vacated the diner, Blondie was long gone and a local cop was
taking statements from what looked like a minor car accident. Jon halted when he spotted Vallea looking
mildly annoyed beside a police officer. “She has got the shittiest luck ever.”
“You’re
the one who did it to her.”
“Don’t
remind me.” Jon had thought he was helping her, apparently he had jinxed her
for life.
Vallea
caught a glimpse of Jon and Joe leaving, but she had to focus on the officer
questioning her. By the time she
finished with them, they were long gone and on their way across the city to the
arena. Luckily, there wasn’t any major
damage done to her vehicle and the older lady that hit her handed over all
insurance information. She was on her
way home with a dented side and cold food – brilliant.
Against
her better judgment, for some reason, Vallea turned her television on and
switched to the USA channel, just as Jon was coming out for his match. He was the Intercontinental champion,
currently, and the crowd booed him, which told her he was a heel. Why was she torturing herself like this? It’d been a year since they last saw each
other, besides tonight, and Vallea felt the pull towards him as much as she had
the day he saved her on that mountain.
Pulling out her cheesecake, she began eating while watching him perform,
quietly cheering him on from her living room.
Something
went wrong, Jon could feel it. He had
gotten nailed in the head, but…it hadn’t gone as planned, like it hadn’t been
done the way it should’ve been. He
blinked, groaning as everything began swirling around him. The lights were way too bright. The crowd was too loud and blurred. He had to move, had to turn, he knew he was
supposed to be getting his ass kicked in a second, but he didn’t think he could
move in time.
His
opponent dead stopped when Jon hit the canvas without being touched.
USA cut to
commercial.
“What the
hell?”
Vallea
shot off the couch in an instant, setting her half-eaten cheesecake aside and
frowned, wondering if this was for show or if Jon was legitimately hurt. She had seen him get nailed in the head and
it hadn’t been lightened. It was a
lethal blow, actually. When the show
came back on the air, EMTs were out there loading Jon up on a stretcher. The Superstar in the ring, she couldn’t
remember his name, stared on with a legitimate worried expression on his
face. Oh god, was Jon hurt again?! Vallea covered her mouth with her hand,
watching them wheel him to the back and didn’t show anything more. Without thinking twice about it, she grabbed
her car keys and raced out the door with purse in hand, racing to the hospital
as fast as she could without getting into another car accident.
Somehow,
Joe wasn’t surprised when Vallea came through the ER doors. Nobody was allowed back there because Jon had
everyone pulled off his emergency contact list BESIDES Joe. Joe wasn’t being allowed back because they
weren’t done with Jon.
“The um,”
He began, standing up to meet her, rubbing the back of his neck. “EMTs think he
had a concussion that wasn’t caught.” And those could sometimes take weeks to
manifest. “And tonight’s hit…added to it, did another, I’m not sure how to
explain it, Val.”
A
concussion? Why wasn’t that caught by
the WWE doctors? Weren’t they supposed
to be some of the best?! Vallea had to
catch her breath because she sprinted in here, wearing cotton shorts and a tank
top, her sleepwear. She had tennis shoes
on, no socks, having slipped them on while rushing out the door to get here.
“Is he okay? I just need to know that,
please…” Joe nodded and Vallea leaned against the wall, taking several more
deep breaths. “Is he awake or is he still unconscious?”
“He’s
unconscious.” Joe was lying through his teeth because he had NO idea if Jon was
okay. The doctors here had said that
sometimes when a concussion doesn’t show symptoms for a week or so, it wound up
being diagnosed as everything except the actual problem. “Val, that’s really
all I know. They haven’t come back out
since we got here. When I can go back,
I’ll find out, okay?” He smiled down at her tiredly. She had cut her hair and that was a random
observation that just popped in his head.
“Okay…okay…”
Vallea had a hell of a night already and the adrenaline was slowly wearing off,
but it was clear she was worried about Jon.
The amount of concern in her hazel eyes was unmistakable and if it
wasn’t, the tears certainly were. She
wouldn’t let them fall because at least he was alive. “Okay…” Closing her eyes,
she leaned her head back against the wall to will the tears to stay in her
eyes, to dry them up and let out a shaky breath. “Do you mind if I…stay with
you until you can go back and find out how he’s doing? I promise not to bug you or anything. I just…I can’t leave until I know he’s all
right…”
“Yeah,
sure, that’s fine.”
Joe didn’t
have the heart to send her packing, she looked so pathetic and miserable. It was obvious she still loved Jon, things
just hadn’t worked out for them like it was supposed to. He wasn’t sure if her being here would help or
hurt Jon. Jon didn’t talk about her ever
anymore. Jon hadn’t shown any distress
at seeing her in the diner, but the man had put up some majorly hard, cold
walls. Everyone responded to things
differently. Hers had been to run and
start over, cutting everyone out of her life, including her former best friend.
His had been to become a harder person.
“Thanks.”
Vallea
knew Jon wouldn’t want to see her and that was fine. She just wanted to hear the words ‘he was all
right’ and then she would be on her way.
It wasn’t easy packing up her entire life, leaving everybody behind,
including Monique. Not a day went by she
didn’t think of her best friend. Vallea
couldn’t handle seeing her with Joe though, which was very selfish on her
part. It hurt too much to see her happy
while Vallea was miserable. Again, she
knew she was a selfish bitch and she brought this all on herself by leaving and
starting over. Giving up a great job the
way she had in the blink of an eye…Vallea really was a fool-hearted woman and a
coward. Sinking down in one of the
chairs, she remained silent and waited.
Joe lapsed
into his own silence, his mind going back to Jon. Getting whacked that hard on the head with a
concussion already present, that was a recipe for a few weeks of mind-exploding
headaches, vomiting and probably a whole slew of things Joe didn’t want to
think about. He already knew Jon was
going to be off for at least a week, minimum, because he had been wrestling
with a concussion that hadn’t manifested until tonight after being clocked
again. The WWE wasn’t going to take any
chances.
“I’m
here.” He heard his name being called and stood up.
Finally,
some news.
It took
every ounce of resolve not to shoot up to her feet, but Vallea stayed put and
just listened in as the doctor explained what was going on with Jon. She could barely make it out, but it sounded
like he was being kept overnight for observation. He also couldn’t fly for a week due to the
pressure in the cabin of planes. It
would aggravate the concussion further.
Vallea frowned, knowing this was bad if Jon couldn’t even get on a plane
and watched Joe head to the back to see him.
Instead of leaving, even though she knew Jon was all right, she stayed
put and waited again.
Waiting
sucked.
After a
few minutes, Joe came out, looking amused. “He’s awake and he knows you’re here,”
He began, not surprised she was still here. She and Jon had issues with each other, caused
by each other and he hoped that they could resolve them one way or another. An amicable parting and understanding would be
better than the individual hells they had condemned themselves too. “He’s a
little out of it, but you can come back.”
Joe told
Jon she was HERE? Why would he do that?!
“I don’t…think that’s a good idea…”
Blinking,
the big Samoan stepped up to her and gave her a push toward the doors that lead
to the back, not giving her much of a choice.
Vallea just wanted to make sure he was all right. She never expected to actually see him or for
him to WANT to see her. Hell, Jon had
moved on with that blonde…she walked slower than normal, but it didn’t make the
time pass any slower. Through the
window, she could see Jon hooked up to monitors with an IV in his arm to push
fluids. Looking up at Joe, he nudged her
again by pressing his hand against her lower back and the door pushed open with
her standing in the doorway. One more
push, she was inside the room and the door closed behind her, leaving her alone
with the former love of her life. One
look at him broke her heart into a million pieces; Vallea absolutely hated
seeing him in that hospital bed hurt in any way.
“Hi…”
She hadn’t
thought it a good idea, but she had thought coming here from wherever the hell she
lived was? Nope, Joe wasn’t having that
cowardly malarkey. She had come this
far, she was going the rest of the way, with his help if need be. He figured he’d give them about two minutes
alone. That was probably more time than
Jon had to give in his current state and just a few minutes shy of Vallea
having a panic attack or something.
“Hey.”
Jon’s eyes were glassy, this time not because of alcohol, that would have been
so much more fun. This wasn’t awkward at
all. “Come here...”
His voice
was low, gritty and weak, his hand raising to gesture her over. Vallea had crossed the threshold and there
was no turning back as she walked over to him, so much concern swimming in her
watery eyes. “You scared me tonight.” If that wasn’t obvious. “The one time I
actually turn the damn TV on to watch you perform and you collapse like a sack
of potatoes. What am I going to do with
you, Good?” Her voice was low and soft, not wanting to aggravate his pounding
head more than it already was. Resting
her hand on his, a few tears slid down Vallea’s cheeks she couldn’t stop and
immediately wiped them away.
“I got a
few ideas but none of them are gonna happen at this very moment.” Jon joked
quietly, turning his hand over so his palm was up, feeling her fingers
automatically threading with his.
It was,
however, good to know that on some level she still cared for him. Hell, maybe she had wanted to talk things out
that night he had been short with her, letting her know he didn’t want to hear
her words. He had been trying to not
hurt her any more than he had and royally screwed it up.
“Every
time I try to do right by you, I hurt you more.” He was talking more to himself
than anything.
Killing
Ryan had been the start of all this misery.
Now wasn’t
the time or place to have this conversation, not this particular topic
anyway. She never forgot that talk with
Drake or the night Jon had completely shut her down when she wanted to talk to
him. That night she thought Jon wanted
nothing to do with her, especially since she’d screwed another man. Vallea had been broken completely; that was
the straw the broke the camel’s back and she had fled like a coward. Not a day went by she didn’t think of Jon,
hoping he was happy and safe. Hoping he
was taking care of himself and thriving in his wrestling career. She had no idea what would’ve happened had
she stayed in WWE, but at the time, all she could see was darkness and
despair. Hell, that’s all her life had
really been since moving away from Vegas to Phoenix and starting over –
darkness and despair.
“We can
talk about that later, okay? I want you
to get better first.” Reaching out, she caressed his bearded face tenderly with
the back of her hand.
He made a
growling noise in the back of his throat, neither good nor bad, just a growl.
“Where’s my bitch?” Joe, Joe was his bitch. Momo had agreed to custody terms. Jon got the Samoan when they were on the road,
she got him when there were days off. It
was a fair trade. “Where’s my Aquaman?”
Chapter 33
“Right
here, dumbass.” Joe stepped into the room with two cups of coffee, one for him
and one for Vallea. He set hers down on
the small stand besides Jon’s bed. “You’re stuck here overnight and then you’re
grounded from flying for at least a week. I already called in for you, the boss is
extending your stay at the hotel so you can rest up.” Because Jon made money,
so Vinnie Mac was investing in him.
Vallea did
not know why the next words popped out of her mouth, but she couldn’t stop
them. “I don’t think staying at the hotel by yourself is a good idea, Jon.” Her
eyes never left him as she squeezed his hand, brows drawing together. “I have a
two bedroom house. It’s not too far away
from here, in case you need to see doctors or whatever.” Jon probably wouldn’t
be able to drive either if he couldn’t fly.
She wasn’t sure about that. “Just stay with me, so I can keep an eye on
you.” What happened if his concussion got worse and he collapsed again with
nobody around? Vallea didn’t want to
think about that happening and let out a shaky breath.
“Uh, that
seems like a bad idea.” Because if they had a fight or something, Jon was
royally screwed in a place he didn’t know, without a ride or anything. “Why
don’t you stay at the hotel with him? They
can do adjacent rooms or a two room suite.” If Vallea was worried enough about
him, she’d likely do it. “Besides, Vince is going to have a private physician
check in on him the first few days, it’ll be easier if he’s where Vince is
booking him.”
Considering
how everything had panned out last time, they needed to be on some non-personal
turf. Her house was her private area,
Jon didn’t need that if things went sour again. Vallea didn’t need it either, she’d probably
feel like the place was tainted and move again or something.
“Okay,
yeah…yeah, I can do that.”
Luckily,
she had vacation time stored away she could take from the law firm in order to
stay and help Jon. Joe made several good
points – if everything went sour between them, at least she would be able to
leave the hotel and go home. However,
this was all up to Jon and his ultimate decision.
“I don’t
want you to be alone. If there’s someone
else who can stay with you, besides me, that’s fine, but if there’s not, you
can’t be alone right now.” Joe would have to go back on the road to resume
traveling while Jon was left behind for a couple weeks until he was cleared to
go back. “Do you want me to stay with you at the hotel until you’re better or
do you want to have someone else do it?”
“He’s
out.” Joe looked down, a bit surprised Jon hadn’t been awake longer, but also
not surprised. It was weird. “It’s up to
you, with as bad as his head is going to hurt, I doubt he’s going to care, Val.
But…he might be a big douche.” Because
Jon’s go to pain relief was the one thing he couldn’t actually have with a
concussion: alcohol. “And…” He hesitated. “I don’t want him to get hurt again. I don’t want you to get hurt, but he’s my best
friend. He’s just now picking up the
pieces and you look like you’re doing okay for yourself. If you think for even a second something is
going to go wrong or you two are just going to wind up hurting each other,
don’t stay with him.”
Another
good point.
Vallea
looked away from Joe and down at Jon, her heart breaking all over again. She had so many questions for him and only he
had the answers. Would he even be
truthful with her? Would he tell her
what really happened that night Ryan and Nick died?
“He lied
to me. And I don’t know why. We were so happy, at least I was. And then I was told he cheated on me and…at
first, I believed it. I believed every
word, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t true.
And yet he still claims he did it.
Something happened the night Ryan and Nick died, Joe. Something he’s been keeping bottled up inside
and he won’t talk about. He hurt me by
lying to me and pushing me away, pushing me out of his life.” She pulled her
hand away from his and sat down in the chair beside him, clasping her hands
together. “It’s been a year…and I can’t shake him. I left Vegas to start over, cut everybody off
that had any kind of contact with him. I
lost my best friend because of what he did to me, because of his lying. And it stops now. I am staying with him and I’m going to help
him get better and then…we’re having a long talk about what exactly
happened. Maybe something will come out
of it, maybe it won’t, but I’m TIRED of him hiding the truth from me. He didn’t cheat on me, and I want to know why
he came up with that lie in the first place.
I want to know what he’s hiding.
I want the truth and he’s the only one who can give it to me.”
“And what
if he won’t, Vallea?” Joe asked curiously, staring at her intently. “If he’s
living this lie out, then whatever he’s hiding is something nobody wants to
know most likely.” Most likely, Jon was protecting someone, probably her. “Can
you live with knowing he’s lying to you and still love him, or are you going to
demand the truth or walk away again?” If Jon hadn’t cheated but he was allowing
people to think he did, including her, then something major had happened.
“One way or
another, he IS going to admit to me he never cheated. If he doesn’t want to tell me why, if he
wants to keep whatever happened that night to himself, that’s fine. I can live with that. I WON’T be with someone who lies to me
though, Joe. Who makes me believe they
cheated on me when they really didn’t.
And I never stopped loving him, not even after finding out from those
Bella twin bitches he cheated on me.” Vallea shut her eyes, burying her face in
her hands and slid her fingers through her short caramel chestnut hair. “I just
want the truth. I just need to know,
once and for all, if he cheated on me or not with that blonde. And I already know he didn’t, but I want to
hear it from his mouth that he didn’t.
If we’re going to mend and get back to us, where we used to be, he HAS
to be honest with me.” There was a possibility she would walk away from him
again, but only if he kept lying and being deceitful.
Joe got
that, he did. He didn’t know what he
would do if he were in her shoes and Monique was in Jon’s. Probably lose his mind. He prayed he NEVER was in that position
actually. He enjoyed being happy and in
love, he’d rather not have even a taste of the craziness that had plagued Jon
and Vallea the last year and some odd months.
“I hope
everything works out for you, Vallea.” He was honest and meant those words. “I
just wish I could tell you that things were going to work out the way you want
them to.” It was Jon. He was a damn wild
card and never did anything the way he was supposed to.
~!~
The
following day, Jon was released from the hospital and had to be taken out in a
wheelchair, which he grumbled about the entire time. When he woke up, Joe was gone and Vallea
hadn’t moved, staying by his side beside using the bathroom or getting
something to eat. She was never gone
more than 10 minutes at a time, just in case he did wake up. He seemed perplexed to see her there and she
informed him what would be happening once he left the hospital, not giving him
much of an option. There was nobody else
to help him; she was the only one and had already called the law firm to
request time off for a family emergency.
In a way, this was a family emergency.
“Okay, you
can get up now.” Vallea said once they were in front of her still dented car
and opened the passenger door for him, smiling serenely at his grumbling. “Stop
complaining, at least you’re not in the hospital anymore.”
No flying.
No drinking. No exercising. For a week. He was going to lose his mind in a hotel for a
week with nothing but television to keep him entertained. Jon didn’t see Vallea staying by his side for
very long and, to be honest, he kind of wished she’d go away. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, he wasn’t
looking to hurt her. Being near her,
however, was doing some terrible things to his already scrambled mental state.
“True.” He
agreed with a grudging smile.
If she
knew what he was thinking at that moment, she would’ve nailed him right in his
balls. The LEAST he could do was be
appreciative of her instead of wishing she’d go away. What kind of person wanted the love of their
life to go away? Jon really did have
issues, but Vallea was headstrong and steadfast.
The ride
to the hotel was made in silence with the radio on softly and Jon was told he
could take aspirin to help with the barrage of headaches he’d experience over
the next week. Vallea would not bring up
a single thing to him until he was 100% and then they would be talking. Pulling into a spot in the parking lot, she
grabbed his bag from the backseat and let him lead the way inside. This was a nice hotel, five stars, Vince
wanted Jon to be completely comfortable and had gotten him the best suite the
hotel had to offer. It even had a
jacuzzi, which would make Jon very happy since he enjoyed a hot dip and Vallea
nostalgic.
Vallea had
run off and tossed away relationships and friendships before Jon had even
thought about entering her life. She
should’ve kept her stones in her own glass house. Fortunately for them both, neither could read
the other’s mind. Jon had no desire to
even consider that jacuzzi right now, his luck would be he fell and slipped and
killed himself due to a brain hemorrhage or something. He sat down on the edge of the bed, groaning
as he studied her.
She was
actually here. It was very surreal.
“Arizona,
huh?”
“Yeah…it
was time to move and I wanted a fresh start.” While he was waiting to be
released from the hospital, knowing he was being monitored, Vallea had raced
home to pack a bag and showered. She set
their bags down by the wall and sat down beside him, clasping her hands in her
lap. “I saw on the show you’re one of the champions now. Congrats on that.” Tucking a strand of hair
behind her ear, she looked around the room, any place except him, because those
pale blues of his would draw her in like a moth to a flame. “So besides the
whole concussion thing, how’ve you been?” What she really wanted to ask was how
serious his relationship with that blonde was.
It couldn’t be too serious if she wasn’t here taking care of him instead
of Vallea.
“Been
great…traveling as usual, kicking ass…getting concussions…” That last bit was
sarcastic and he noticed she was actively avoiding looking at him while he had
absolutely no problem whatsoever staring at her. In fact, he was very blatant about it. “Why’d
you cut your hair?” She had been very vain about it, actually, so seeing it
short was just weird. “It’s cute and all, but why?” Fresh start…in Arizona. Jon smelled bullshit.
“Got tired
of taking care of it, honestly. Long
hair is a lot to deal with, especially in this dry heat state. I never thought I’d cut it. And then I did and I cried because it was
over 10 inches that was hacked off.” Vallea had donated her hair to Locks of
Love, where they made cancer patient wigs.
At least it was for a good cause. “But after I felt that weight lifted
off my head, it was amazing. And showers
don’t take nearly as long now either, so that’s a plus.” Short hair was the way
to go. “Also, I think it looks more professional for the job I have now.” When
Jon asked what it was, she finally looked up at him and not an ounce of
happiness over it shined in her eyes like being a liaison had. Or working for the agency in Vegas.
“Receptionist at a law firm, 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, weekends off.” It
didn’t pay nearly as much as her other jobs had, but enough to where she wasn’t
homeless and could afford food in her fridge.
Arizona
was dry. It was arid as hell. Jon was
pretty sure it had Nevada beat for the dry thing. Or he was biased, he knew he was biased. He bet she went through gallons of that lotion
she had used to love slathering herself in.
“Sounds
boring.” Jon remembered when they had met and she had confused the Hell out of
him with her job description. She had
said she was a travel agent who also acted as a personal assistant. She had gone everywhere. A gal like her didn’t seem suited for a
regular, boring desk job. “You like it?”
“Honestly? No.” Vallea shook her head as if to emphasize
that answer. “It’s a job though. It pays
the bills and keeps me…grounded, I guess.”
She missed
traveling and didn’t realize how good of a life she had until everything fell
apart with Jon. Giving that all up
simply because a relationship didn’t work out – why hadn’t she gone back to the
agency or to work with Monique again?
Vegas reminded her of Jon in general, Monique was dating Jon’s best
friend and, in Vallea’s dark mind at the time, she had to get away from it all.
“You’re
right, it is boring. I can’t even deny
it.” Looking away from him again, she stood up to draw the curtains in the room
since sunlight would not be good for Jon’s concussion and currently, it was
streaming brightly while setting on the horizon. It had taken all day to get Jon released from
the hospital, which she knew he was thrilled about. “What do you want for
dinner? I’ll order from room service
unless you want takeout. I’m not
really…familiar with Phoenix, this side of it anyway.”
“Anything
but healthy shit and no salads.” He was DONE with that crap.
Jon liked
chicken breasts sure, but he preferred steak. It wasn’t like he was out cramming cheesecake
and ice cream every night and he drank plenty of water and milk, on top of
working out. Salad was just being a
killjoy. Her job was boring, she admitted
it and she had left behind beautiful Vegas for this arid hellhole.
Chapter 34
“You were
never the salad, healthy eating type.” Vallea knew him better than that and
would never think to order him something healthy. The man worked his ass off to obtain the body
he had, which was still scrumptious to this day. He could eat whatever the hell he wanted. “You
want a cheeseburger?”
When he
ordered her to make it a double, she chuckled and saluted him, placing the
order. Her stomach was still in knots
being here, so she went with a crispy chicken salad, something light. Vallea had gained a few pounds since being in
Phoenix, mostly depression eating, but she still had her figure, just some meat
in other areas.
“It’ll be
here in about an hour.”
“An hour
for a cheeseburger?” What the shit? Jon
flopped back onto the bed and instantly regretted it, closing his eyes as
dizziness addled the hell out of him. “Shit.”
He pulled
himself up, ignoring her confused look as he made his way to the bathroom. There he proceeded to vomit all the Ginger Ale
and lime jello the hospital had given him. They had warned him upon discharge nausea and
whatnot was going to be an issue, he wished they had been lying. Jon had managed to shut the door right before
he started hurling his brains out. Maybe
a cheeseburger wasn’t the brightest idea.
She contemplated changing the order, but decided against it and touched
the door with her hand, wishing there was something she could do for him. When she didn’t hear him vomiting anymore,
she knocked gently on the door and heard him groan out incoherently. Opening the door, Vallea grabbed the nearest
washcloth and drenched it before kneeling down to wipe his mouth off.
“Come on,
let me help you.” This is why she was here as she tossed the rag in the sink,
flushed the toilet and managed to get him back to the bed, laying him down
gently. Then, she grabbed a small
trashcan and set it right on the side of the bed, just in case he had to vomit
again. “I know you’re not gonna like hearing this, but…maybe a cheeseburger
will be too hard on your stomach right now.
Why don’t you try a ham sandwich or something and maybe have a cheeseburger
later on?”
“Dude, no,
cheeseburger and I’ll vomit it all back up if I have to.” Jon groaned out. “I
bounced back, that’s what did it. Babe…could
I get my toothbrush and some paste, please?” His mouth was disgusting and he
was trying not to run his tongue anywhere because he could still taste that
acidic combination of jello and soda, mixed with
leftover bourbon.
Vallea nodded,
going to his bag and found his toiletries, already knowing where he packed
them. She had actually helped him with
his packing regimen and was surprised he had kept up with it because everything
stayed organized. Pulling his toothbrush
and toothpaste out, she also filled a plastic cup of water and went back to the
bed, so he could brush his teeth.
“Spit in
the garbage after rinsing your mouth out.” She smirked at his eyeroll and sat
down on the bed, waiting for him to finish. “Better?”
“Yes, MOM.”
Jon drawled sarcastically, though the corner of his mouth was hitched upwards
into an amused smirk. “Or nurse, you could still be a hot nurse.” She had
gained some weight, something he had instantly noticed. Since most of it seemed to have gone straight
to her ass and thighs, he wasn’t bitching. Thick was yummy. “Don’t cancel my burger,
woman. I’ve been living on lettuce and
fat-free dressing for two weeks. Take
pity on me.”
Something
told her it had to do with the blonde he was with at the restaurant. “In a way,
I am your nurse, so I suppose I have to take pity on my patient.” She teased
gently, taking the toothbrush, paste and cup of water from him to put them in
the bathroom. “Burger it is, just don’t blame me if it comes back up later,
Jon. Do you need anything else right
now?” When Jon shook his head, she decided it was the perfect time to change
into her sleepwear for the evening. “I’ll be right back then. I’m gonna change into my sleep clothes.”
Grabbing her bag, she went into one of the spare rooms and closed the door
behind her.
As soon as
that door closed, his smile fell right off his face and he quietly groaned. WHY hadn’t he insisted on someone else being
here? Or doing this solo? He was a glutton for punishment, that was his
damn problem. Being around her hurt, it
stirred things he had thought he had killed with alcohol and repeating the lie.
But no, it hadn’t, it was there, just
buried. Seeing her, smelling her, so
much was the same and so much had changed.
“I’m
screwed…” But he didn’t flop backwards this time, not about to have another
vomiting episode.
~!~
Over the
next week, Jon put up a front with Vallea and she could feel it, but she
refused to leave him alone. The private
physician told him he was doing well, but he still had another week to go
before he could go back on the road to join the WWE. Vallea contemplated when would be the best
time to bring up what had been on the forefront of her mind since running into
him again. The dreaded TALK. One week wasn’t long enough, but if she
waited much longer, Vallea would miss her opportunity.
How was
she supposed to bring the subject up though?
How was she supposed to approach him with this? Maybe it was best to just rip the band-aid
off quickly. It was three days before he
was set to go back on the road and Vallea sat in her room, feeling the overwhelming
urge to run again. No! There was no more running and she meant what
she said; one way or another, she would get the truth
out of Jon. Taking a deep breath, Vallea
left her room and could see Jon was in the middle of watching some kind of game
on ESPN. She walked over, shut the
television off and stood in front of it, her hands reaching back to press
against the edge of the dresser it was on.
“Why did
you lie to me, Jon?” There was no other way to come out and ask it except
directly, her eyes locked with his. “We were so happy, at least I thought we
were…I damn sure was. So why would you
sabotage that by lying to me?”
“Lie about
what, babe?”
Jon SHOULD
have been expecting this. He had felt
the tension from her, emanating in waves. He had seen the thoughtful, somewhat worried
look on her face from time to time. Like
she had been contemplating something and just didn’t know how to go about
saying it. THIS wasn’t what he had been
expecting. He had quipped so casually,
his pale blue eyes moving to her as he draped an arm along the back of the
headboard.
“Oh…. It’s
not a lie, Vallea.” He had spent over a year with it, he could almost believe
it himself, almost. “Besides, if it was a lie, you wouldn’t have cut ties with
everyone and everything and ran off. You’d
of-” She had tried, and he mentally slapped himself, his face going stone wall
blank.
That night
she had wanted to talk to him and he had shut her down.
He was
really going to do this, wasn’t he? He
was REALLY going to sit there and lie to her face AGAIN! “Yes it is, Jon. You lied to me about cheating! You know how I know?” She wouldn’t drop any
names, but Vallea would make sure he believed what she was about to say.
“Someone came to me and told me what really happened that night.” Now his face
had gone from stone wall blank to slightly pale. “How you were talking to the
bartender, a blonde, and she NEVER left the bar with you when YOU left for a
couple hours. You LEFT Madonna’s Bar
that night…and nobody knows why.
Convenient considering you’ve been putting on this show and trying to
make people think the worst of you, myself included. The moment you told me you cheated on me, I
felt in my heart it was a lie. But my
brain told me otherwise and I listened to the wrong part of myself.” She
pointed at him accusingly, her hazel eyes alighted with new fire. “You. Lied.
To. Me. You pushed me away and I demand
to know why. I DESERVE to know why it
was so easy for you to throw us away on a LIE!”
Whereas
she was getting all riled up and raising her voice, Jon just snorted, shaking
his head. “You don’t deserve anything, Vallea. You threw away your job, your career, and your
friends because of a ‘lie’,” He even did the air quotes gesture, his voice very
calm and collected. “You don’t get to demand answers, or anything from me when
you’re just as big an asshole as I am. I
hurt YOU. You hurt everyone around you. Monique, for example. You just shut her down. Your life in Vegas, you tossed aside very
easily. So no, you don’t demand and you
don’t deserve.”
It was her
turn to scoff. “Do you really think any of that matters to me? You RIPPED ME APART with this lie, Jonathan
Good! Nothing else mattered to me
anymore! My job, my friends, my career,
none of it mattered WITHOUT YOU! And you
threw it away, us away…” Her voice had gotten quieter, the anger slowly draining
out of her body. All the pent up emotion
and frustration had spilled out, leaving her somewhat drained. “I couldn’t…stay
in Vegas because all I thought about was you.
Vegas reminded me so much of you, I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t go to the Red Rocks and I haven’t
mountain climbed since the last time with you.
And I never will again because of you.” He had destroyed that passion of
hers with this lie. “Monique dating your best friend, I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t handle seeing them together,
hearing about them…while I was miserable.
I’m a selfish bitch and I’ve accepted that. But what I will NOT accept is you trying to
weasel your way out of this with your smart remarks and ACT. That’s all it is from you is an ACT. You’ve been lying to me, to everyone, for the
past year. You destroyed me in ways you
can’t possibly imagine and, yet, here I am, punishing myself by helping you
because you’re a disease I can’t get rid of.
I came here to Phoenix to start over because I thought it would help me
forget all about you and what you’ve done to me and put me through. I didn’t even watch WWE programming until
that night almost 2 weeks ago when you collapsed in the ring, after seeing you
at the diner with Joe and that blonde.
Since you won’t come clean to me, I just have one more question and then
I’m leaving since you’re back on your feet again. Did you ever truly love me? Or was that all an act too?”
Wow, what
a selfish bitch, was Jon’s initial
thought.
She didn’t
give a damn about the people she had hurt because SHE had been hurt. Well, Vallea had never said she was perfect,
he would always give her that. His
second thought was a flashback to those crazy fan girls who had lost their shit
and carved his ring name into their flesh. Nothing mattered. Not her job or friends, not without him. Crazy. But…who
was he to judge? He had murdered for
her. If that wasn’t love he didn’t know
what was. She knew she wasn’t perfect,
she hadn’t said she was a scumbag, but she wasn’t denying it either. She was a heartless bitch who cared that her
world had been destroyed and she owned it. He… adored that. He adored her. And she thought he had lied about loving her.
“It wasn’t
an act, you know better.” He growled, icy blues flashing. “I never stopped
loving you.”
“And why
should I believe you? HOW can I believe
anything you say?” Vallea stepped back from him, shaking her head and didn’t
bother stopping the tears from flowing down her cheeks. “You lied to me about
that night fucking that blonde! I gave
you everything – EVERYTHING – I had and more and you didn’t care! You just tossed it away like it was nothing
to you and it probably wasn’t! You got
what you wanted from me. You never loved
me. You DON’T destroy the people you
love!” That was exactly what he did with this enormous, heartless lie of
his. He had completely destroyed her
from the inside out – she was a shell of the woman she used to be and Vallea
would never be the same again…because of him. “If you loved me, truly loved me,
you would tell me the fucking truth instead of sticking to this damn story and
lie of yours.”
“You
believe, no, you KNOW,” Jon was on his feet now, the stony expression melting
into something exasperated, desperate, and pissed off. “That I didn’t cheat on
you, but it’s IMPOSSIBLE for you to believe that I LOVE YOU?” She made
absolutely no sense! It was maddening.
“Did you ever stop to think, Vallea, that maybe the truth is so goddamn
horrible that the LIE IS BETTER FOR EVERYONE?!” She KNEW him. She knew him better than anyone and she knew,
deep down, that he wouldn’t be lying if he thought the truth wasn’t going to
wreck hell, but it would.
Good, she
wanted him angry and fired up because usually, when people got like that, they
spilled secrets. They spilled the truth. If getting him pissed off and riled up was
the ONLY way to get him to admit what she already knew, so be it. “IT’S NOT
BETTER FOR ME! Making me believe you
fucked another woman is NOT BETTER FOR ME!
Making me believe you never loved me IS NOT BETTER FOR ME! YOU NEVER GAVE A DAMN ABOUT ME! YOU NEVER LOVED ME OR YOU WOULDN’T HAVE
DESTROYED ME!! YOU WOULDN’T HAVE LIED! YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TOSSED ME AWAY LIKE
GARBAGE!” Vallea erupted, clenching her fists tightly at her sides since they
were toe to toe, both breathing heavy, both with fire in their eyes. “I don’t
give a fuck what you did that night, Jon!
I really don’t! You don’t have to
tell me a fucking thing about that night, if you don’t want to! The ONLY thing I want to hear from you is the
TRUTH! I want to hear you say you lied
to me and you NEVER fucked a blonde or any other woman while you were with
me!!”
“OKAY, I
DIDN’T TOUCH HER!”
That was
the first time Jon had ever actually admitted that. When those detectives had dropped that lie right
into his lap and he still had no idea where it had come from, he had taken that
gift ball from the gods and ran with it. He hadn’t wanted to go prison, not over some
dickwad like Ryan. And he hadn’t wanted
anyone to think, even for a second, that Vallea was somehow involved when she
wasn’t.
“I don’t
even KNOW a fucking Mindy!”
Chapter 35
All this
time they could’ve been together was destroyed based on a lie, a
fabrication.
Vallea
should’ve been irate and beat the hell out of him for putting her through so
much hell, but all she felt was relief.
Whatever he had done that night, if he was involved with Ryan and Nick,
didn’t matter to her because they were dead and they couldn’t be brought back. The deed was done.
“And the
truth shall set you free.” She murmured, clasping her hands together and didn’t
bother wiping the tears away. “I’m not going to ask what happened that
night. I know you won’t tell me anyway
and I’m fine with it. I can live with
you keeping that secret from me. At
least I know you’re not as big of a scumbag as I thought, but you’re still an
asshole for lying to me about cheating on me.
Thank you for finally telling me the truth.”
“There’s a
reason for the lie, Val.” Jon said darkly, a hint of warning in his tone. And if anyone else asked, he would go right
back to telling it. “There was always a reason for it.” Drake had come to him,
once, a little fucked up and laid out his suspicions and asked a lot of
questions. Jon had lied through his
teeth then too. “And I AM an asshole.” He knew it and accepted it. Hell, she wasn’t part of the WWE, not even as
a liaison, anymore, there was no reason to keep lying to her. It wasn’t like she was going to tell anyone.
“Yeah, I
know there is.” Her voice had dropped to a monotone, feeling both relieved and
dead inside because she had no idea what came next.
She had no
idea if Jon even felt the same way about her anymore. Granted, he admitted he never stopped loving
her, but a person could love someone and not want to be with them. There were different types of love in the
world. Vallea didn’t know what else to
say to him, so she walked back into her room, wiping her tears away
angrily. She told him she was leaving
and she meant it, her bag already packed up.
Now that she had the truth, she had no idea what to do with it or how to
fix what had been shattered.
Had the
truth brought her any relief? Anything
at all? What had it changed? Nothing. She had uprooted and destroyed her own life
because she couldn’t deal with a lie, and now…what was going to drive that now?
Jon knew better than most, anger fueled a
person quite a bit. When the root cause
of that anger had been dealt with it left a person cold and wondering what came
next.
“Do you
even feel better?” He asked, leaning in her doorway. “Or does it leave you
hollow?”
“I feel
relieved knowing you never cheated on me.”
Maybe she
did feel hollow inside and it was his fault she did. This was all his fault – her uprooting her
life and leaving Vegas because she couldn’t stand being in the same city as
him. In a way, Vallea hated him for
lying to her and destroying their relationship.
Vallea also loved him unconditionally, irrevocably, insanely…she was in
love with him and had fallen for him the moment their eyes met on that
mountain. Her world had completely
changed the day she met Jonathan Good and no other man compared.
No man
ever would either.
He hadn’t
made her do a damn thing. That was all
on her. Jon knew where his fuck-ups lay
and he accepted the consequences. “You always knew I never cheated.” He said
quietly. “What do you think happened that night, Vallea?” He wasn’t trying to
tell her the truth, but he was also genuinely curious about what exactly she
thought. There were too many
coincidences and a lot of them led to him.
She was a
highly intelligent woman, he knew it was only time before she pieced it.
“Does it
matter?” Vallea looked back at him, having come to her own conclusion about
that night long ago. The talk with Drake
cemented the fact Jon knew Nick was in town prior to Madonna’s Bar. “You really
want me to tell you what I think?” At his nod, she sighed out shakily and
dropped her bag on the floor, turning to fully face him. “You were with them
that night. That’s what you’re hiding
and what you’ve kept bottled up inside.
You…watched them both die, fall into that vat of acid. What I think happened is your friend was in
cahoots with Ryan. It was a deal that
fell through and they both took the other out…and you couldn’t save either of
them. I also think you knew Nick was in
Cincinnati that night for the deal between him and Ryan to go down and you
tried stopping it, but you couldn’t in time.
You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and with no other
witnesses, you would go down as suspect number one if the cops ever found out
you were there that night with them.” She searched his face, knowing she was
either close or had nailed it. “Am I warm?”
Jon was
STUNNED, she had just…he probably looked like he had taken a hit because he
could feel the blood draining from his face. He hadn’t realized just how highly Vallea
thought of him and that actually made him feel like the lowest of low. She thought he had gone there to stop a deal
gone sour. She thought he had tried to
save them. She couldn’t have been
further from the truth.
“Lukewarm.”
He rasped, feeling like something was caught in his throat.
“Like I
said, I know you were there, but I don’t know why and I’m not gonna ask.”
Lukewarm, what did that mean? Her
curiosity was burning fiercely, but Vallea would stick to her word. If Jon ever wanted to tell her, she would be
ready to listen. She didn’t know if that
time would ever come, though. “I don’t care what happened that night, Jon. They’re dead and there’s no bringing them
back. How they died was horrific, but…what’s
done is done. And I swear to you, I’m
not gonna say anything to anyone about it.”
Vallea
could’ve gone to the cops a long time ago with her theory about that night, but
she didn’t because she didn’t want Jon locked away behind bars. No matter how much he hurt her with lying and
broke her heart, she still wanted to protect him. Reaching up, since she’d moved toward him
while giving her thoughts about that night, Vallea cupped his face with her
soft hand and felt him tense up. She
didn’t pull away and slid her fingers down his cheek to where his beard began,
her eyes locked with his.
“Whatever
happened that night, whatever went down, you have to forgive yourself and move
on.”
“I don’t
need forgiveness, babe.” Because Jon still very firmly believed that Ryan
deserved what had happened to him. Nicky,
well…he had grieved and moved on. “Not…for whatever it is you’re thinking.”
Lowering himself
to his knees, Jon wrapped his arms around her thighs. He could feel Vallea tensing and ignored it,
resting his head against her. His entire
body was trembling, he hadn’t held her like this in a very long time. Vallea hadn’t expected this type of reaction
from him and the way he trembled broke her heart all over again. She slid her hand over his head in a gentle
caress, refusing to push him away.
Whatever kind of comfort she could give Jon at the moment, Vallea would
do it without question or hesitation.
Slowly, her body began to relax against him while he held her, his face
now buried in her stomach, which both felt amazing and tickled, thanks to his
beard. Even through the material of her
tank top, she could feel the heat from his breath puff against her skin and
closed her eyes, her other hand massaging his right trapezoid.
He had
begged, well maybe not begged, but asked for her to come back to him. At the time, he wouldn’t have been able to
tell her the truth even if he wanted to. Not with where they both had worked, not with
everything so fresh. He needed the
alibi, and if she had gotten an honest streak, the story she thought of what
had gone down would have not been viewed at all that way by the cops. He hadn’t wanted to lose her and he had lost
her anyway.
“I still
love you, Val.” He mumbled into her top.
Her eyes
remained shut, squeezing slightly at his confession and a whole new slew of
emotions rushed through her. Vallea went
back to the night he drunk-dialed her and confessed the same thing. He still loved her. That phone call had haunted her because she
had no idea what to do about it. At the
time, she was still under the belief Jon had cheated on her, even though deep
in her heart she knew it was a lie. And
she had jumped into bed with his rival, his nemesis, like a bitch in heat all
to try to forget the pain Jon inflicted on her.
That was a secret she would take to the grave – Jon could NEVER find out
who she was with that night.
“You
already know I never stopped loving you, Jon.” If he didn’t, the man was blind,
deaf or both.
Both, he
was both. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Jon still
wasn’t moving his head away, though he was smiling. She had moved state, abandoned her friends,
quit her dream job, or so he thought it was, because she hadn’t wanted any
memories or reminders of him. If that
wasn’t a lack of love, he wasn’t sure what was. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but
was probably only minutes, he tipped his head back to look up at her, not
entirely sure what he was seeing in her face.
“What now,
Val?”
It was
because of her love, her feelings, she couldn’t stay and be around him. No reminders, in her eyes, meant she could
heal. The healing never started,
however. She just found a job, after
getting her house, and started working to keep herself occupied. Nights were spent alone and it gave her way
too much time to think. Nights were her
hell and they used to be her favorite time in a 24 hour period.
“I don’t
know.” Her voice cracked from the intense emotions coursing through her, not
pulling away from him. “You tell me.” They had proven in the past they could
make a relationship work long distance, hardly seeing each other, but at the
time, she had been traveling and keeping busy.
Now, Vallea had no idea if they could mend what was broken…what Jon
broke between them.
Jon still
went mountain climbing. He had never
returned to Solar Slab, he could never return there, not without her. It hadn’t felt right the one time he had tried
to make that trip. He went climbing and
every time he scaled to where he was going, he felt empty. Jon had gone back to the Red Rocks too, stared
down at the spot she had slipped and remembered how he had climbed down to
rescue her. That had been the start of
the end, or so it had felt. Now, now he
felt something very akin to hope fluttering in his chest. He hated that feeling. Jon had felt it when he was a small boy, that
feeling that maybe something was going to come through, only for it to be
crushed when inevitably the good never came.
“Come back
to me.”
God help
her, she wanted to. She wanted to be
with him more than anything in the world, in the universe, in all the
galaxies. However, Vallea wouldn’t let
him get off that easily and just fall back into his arms, pretending nothing
happened. Jon had lied to her and
destroyed their relationship all to cover up whatever he was hiding from her,
from everyone.
“One
condition.” Slowly, she lowered herself to be eye-level with him and cupped his
bearded face in her hands, fresh tears forming in her eyes. “No more
lying. I don’t care what you do or how bad
it is, you CAN’T lie to me again. I-I
can’t feel this way again, Jon. This
nearly killed me.” It changed her for the worst too. “If you EVER lie to me
again, you WILL lose me permanently. I
won’t be with someone I can’t trust. You
have no reason to lie to me because nothing you say or do will stop me from
loving you or make me fall out of love with you. It’s never going to happen.” She rested her
forehead against his, hot tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. “No more lies –
that’s the only way we can mend this and get back to us.”
“Deal.”
Jon began
kissing away those tears, hurting more than words could convey because he knew
just how badly he hurt her. He knew
because he had felt the same. Joy was
gone. Happiness, the happiness of others
had left him bitter, angry, and depressed. He moved his thumbs to catch her tears when
they didn’t stop falling, returning his head to rest against hers.
“I won’t
lie Val…never again.” He might have to learn how to say: ‘don’t ask because I
can’t tell’, but he would never lie again.
Doing the
one thing she only dreamt of for the past year, ever since their split, Vallea
kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against
his. They were both on their knees, so
Jon was still a lot taller than her and had to bend in order to be at her
level. Instantly, the pieces of her
mangled, shattered heart began to piece back together again and, even as she
began losing oxygen, the kiss didn’t break.
Jon held her tightly against him, returning the kiss with equal passion
and fire, the connection between them never-ending. It had never truly vanished, always there
hiding in the shadows. Finally, the kiss
broke mutually between them and Vallea hugged him tightly around the neck,
closing her eyes to breathe him in, relishing this moment for as long as
possible.
There were
so many things they needed to talk about, to sort out. How was this going to work? Obviously, she couldn’t take over her old job,
that position had been filled a long time ago. She lived in Arizona, he would come here to
her. Jon had to take a moment, his face
buried in her hair. He was already
mentally rushing things, knowing he couldn’t do that. Too much had happened for him to just think
she was going to swan dive right back into things how they had been. If things could ever be like that again…that
would take time.
Once
again, she beat him to the punch and pulled back to stare into his gorgeous
pale blues, sliding the pad of her thumb along his bottom lip. “I miss
Vegas. Take me home, Jon.”
Vallea
didn’t want to spend another day in Phoenix, Arizona, willing to leave it all
behind her and go back to where they were happy. The mountains, the Red Rocks, the valleys and
City of Lights. Her house was very
small, quaint and not her style at all, hardly filled with anything because
Vallea didn’t have that much stuff to begin with. She would absolutely swan dive back into this
with him because he’d never cheated on her and he finally admitted the
truth. There were plenty of jobs in
Vegas. Everyone was always hiring and
something told Vallea, if she went back to the agency, they would welcome her
back with open arms. Her boss had even
told her so when she left to pursue the liaison job since it’d been on great
terms, even giving them notice.
The house
in Phoenix could burn for all she cared; this wasn’t her true home.
Vegas
always would be.
“Gladly,
doll.” Laughing, he scooped her up into his arms bridal style, turning in slow
circles. Jon felt like a million bucks,
no more effects from the concussion, and the doctors had cleared him. This was icing on his cake. This was the cake. This was everything. Maybe she’d move in with him since they were
just diving right back in. “Live with me.”
Chapter 36
“Well, I
need a place to stay temporarily until…” Wait, did he just…was he asking her to
live with him permanently? His apartment
was small, too small for both of them, but it would have to do for now. “You’re
serious, aren’t you? You want to live
together?”
Was this
moving too fast? Hell, Vallea had moved
fast with Jon the day they met when he saved her from the Red Rocks. They slept together that first night and
after that, it was off to the races. Why
would anything change? Why would they
suddenly go slow when going fast was all they’d ever known with each other?
“Okay, I’m
game.” Her blithe nature had been one of the many things that attracted Jon so
much. She had this carefree spirit,
always willing to take a risk, always willing to dive headfirst into any kind
of situation, good or bad. “I think we should talk about finding a bigger place
because your apartment is really, really small for both of us. We don’t have to do it right away though.”
“Wait…wait…”
Jon stepped away from her, shaking his head and put his hands up. If they were going to do this again, they were
going to do it right. Not on the moving
fast issue, but with the clean slate thing, the no more lies and shit. “Wait…”
Because…there
was always that very slim chance that he could one day be found out, before the
statute of limitations and he wanted her…to make her decision, to know that if
she did stay with him, there would always be that sliver of a shadow over him. Or, he wanted to give her the chance to walk
away, or run…if she was any kind of smart, she’d probably run. A lot of women wanted the insane, protective
guy who would literally do anything for them, including kill, it was usually an
entirely new ballgame when they got said guy.
“I need to
tell you something first, Vallea. About
that night.” He sucked in a deep breath.
His whole
demeanor had changed and Vallea mentally braced herself for what was coming. “I
told you I don’t-” Jon pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her and pulled
it back, beginning to pace back and forth.
Whatever
happened that night was eating him up inside and had been for a long time. No matter what came out of his mouth, Vallea
would not be scared off. Love made
people do crazy, insane things and changed morals, values, all of the
above. Seeing he had made his mind up
about telling her, she moved to sit on the bed and clasped her hands in her
lap, her eyes not leaving him.
“All
right, out with it, then. What do you
need to tell me about that night?”
“I’m going
to tell you right off the bat that I don’t feel bad at all for what happened.”
Jon said, wanting that clear. He wanted
it clear because he wanted her to completely understand just what kind of
person he was. “Not a single drop of remorse, babe. Ryan was fucking killing you. You were losing weight, crying when you
thought I couldn’t hear…I was plucking out gray hairs from your head when you
DID manage to sleep!” He was getting agitated just thinking about that.
Ryan had
done a number on her, several in fact and she’d gotten into quite a few
arguments with Jon over the situation.
He BEGGED her to quit the agency and work for him, to be his personal
assistant, but she’d been steadfast. Her
stubborn nature told her she wouldn’t let any man break her, but Jon had in a
way she thought was impossible.
“I know,
Jon.” She spoke quietly, wanting to reach out for him, but touching him wasn’t
an option right now. “I know it was bad with Ryan and I’m sorry for…letting my
stubborn pride stop me from telling him to fuck off. I should’ve, looking back on it now.” Maybe
everything would’ve been different had she simply told the man to go to hell.
“Please calm down…”
Well, if
she had told Ryan to go to hell, there would be a lot different in their lives.
They never would have spent a year
apart, he would have never committed a double homicide. But that was neither here nor there and he wasn’t
one to waste time wishing for things to be different. What was done was done and there was no
changing it.
“I’m the
one who killed him, Vallea.” He said it so quietly, she had to strain to hear.
Vallea
lost her breath, or that’s what it felt like, upon hearing that confession come
out of his mouth. No wonder he came up
with that lie with the blonde at Madonna’s Bar!
He was the one who committed the murders…both of them. If he killed Ryan, he definitely killed Nick
too. There was no two ways about
it. What she thought had been a deal
gone bad between Ryan and Nick had actually been two murders at the hands of
her boyfriend. And Jon only did it
because of her…because of what she was going through at the time.
“Okay…”
Freaking out was not going to help matters any because the deed was done and
they were dead. She licked her dry lips
and didn’t attempt to stand right now because her legs were jelly. “Okay. I get it now.
I get the lie…that…explains a lot…” She swallowed hard, trying to find
the right words to say. What the hell
COULD she say?! “Doesn’t change anything.
I still love you and I still want to be with you. And I swear, this goes to the grave with
me. And we can still go with the whole
lie, just to make sure your alibi stays concrete and you don’t end up as a
suspect. I mean, people who cheat they
get back together all the time, so it’s not far-fetched and people won’t think
it suspicious or anything.” She was talking more to herself than him, nodding
as if to convince herself that was the right thing to do. “Yeah…yeah…it’ll be
okay…” If Vallea was any other normal levelheaded woman, she would’ve RUN as
far and fast as she possibly could away from Jon because he was a
murderer.
Again,
love made people do crazy, stupid things.
“I never said
anything about quitting with the lie.” She was panicking and Jon did not blame
her one bit. He had just disrupted her
happy, naïve notion that he had been trying to STOP what was going down. Jon had gone from hero to cold-blooded killer.
“You need to chill out and process.” He crouched down to be eye-level with her.
“Really, look at me, Vallea,” He grabbed
her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “I killed him, and Nicky.” She had to
get through this or else she was going to panic herself to death.
Fresh
tears rushed down her cheeks as Vallea buried her face in her hands, the harsh
reality of the situation crashing over her.
Jon killed his friend and her old boss…for her. He had murdered two people for her. There were other ways to handle her
situation, such as her walking away from Ryan.
Taking the job offer Jon gave her to be his personal assistant…and she
didn’t. This was her fault. She drove Jon to murder…to protect her. Ryan…she understood why he killed the
douchebag, but Nick…that one had her puzzled.
It took her several long minutes to process this, to get it through her
head what Jon did and finally, she pulled her hands away from her face to look
in his eyes again. Not a single thing
changed in hers, she still loved him and wanted to be with him.
“Why did
you kill your friend? Was he…in on
Ryan’s murder or did he threaten to turn you in or something?” There HAD to be
a reason why Jon would off one of his closest friends. Her voice was shaky, but a lot calmer than
before, an eerie quiet.
“Nicky was
an idiot.” Obviously, the man had broken his probation pretty badly. “He was
also really into beating Ryan’s ass after he came out of that whore’s room, but
when it came down to crunch time, he showed his underbelly.” And that had been
yellow. Vallea wasn’t to blame for any
of this and if she thought as much, she was a dope utilizing the victim card
for no reason. “Ryan was a scumbag, he treated the women backstage like whores,
and he used you like a slave. He had it
coming.” Pure, plain, and simple. “He would have eventually spilled his guts.”
And Jon hadn’t had any intention of going to prison. “This is the kind of
person I am, Vallea.”
“No. No you’re not.” Vallea would never believe
that, shaking her head. “You protected me the only way you knew how. Jon, if you were a killer, you would’ve let
me die on the Red Rocks that day. You
saved my life and that shows me you’re a good person. You’re right, Ryan was a scumbag and he
wouldn’t have stopped until he broke me completely or I wound up dead.” That
was the fact of the matter. Nick was
collateral damage, no loose ends. It
made sense why Jon would off him and set it up to be a deal gone south between
the two men. “And you haven’t killed since that night. I could see how much it bothered you, even
though I had no idea what really happened.” Until tonight. “Again, if you were
an actual killer, you would’ve killed others and you haven’t. You don’t kill people that have wronged you
either. You did this…because someone you
love was being hurt and your friend you asked to help you would’ve more than
likely turned you in. If this is the
type of person you are, someone who is fiercely loyal and willing to kill to
protect the ones he loves…” She cracked the barest hint of a smile. “There are
far worse people in the world than you, Jon.”
“That’s
not what bothered me. I don’t understand
why you keep trying to gloss me over, doll.” Jon shook his head, a bit curious
about how her mind worked. He had been
curious about how she had operated when he had first met her, not much had
changed, had it? “I was upset about Nicky for like…one night.” Mostly. “Killing
doesn’t bother me.” And it never had. He
had grown up in a harsh world and he had learned how to do harsh things to
survive. “Quit prettying me up, babe. I’d
slit someone’s throat in a heartbeat if they fucked with what’s mine.”
“I’m not
prettying you up. You’re assuming I am.”
Vallea wiped her tears away and blew out a deep breath, sliding her hands down
his t-shirt covered chest. “What do you want me to say? Do you want me to freak out and call you a
cold-blooded murderer? Will that make
you feel better? I’m not gonna do it
because that’s not how I view what you did.
Anybody can kill if they’re pushed far enough.” That was the harsh truth
to the messed up world they grew up and lived in. “I accept what you did, I’ll
take it to the grave and, after tonight, we’re not discussing it ever
again. We’re going to move on and be
together, like we should’ve been this past year, with no more lies between us.”
Jon had told her his secret, so it was time for Vallea to return the favor to
him. “And now, I have something to confess to you since this is a clean slate
between us. It’s about who I was with
the night at the hotel…” The night he called her to tell her he still loved her
and accused her of fucking around.
When she
kept saying he felt bad, that was gussying it up. Jon’s full attention, however, snapped to her
when she mentioned that night. The night
he wished he had been able to blackout and totally forget everything. He had drunk dialed her. He had told her she reeked like some dude’s
Old Spice. He had called her and told
her he loved her. Jon had been a total
lovesick, heartbroken jackass and he knew without a shadow of a doubt he would
wind up doing it all over again.
“All
right.” He wasn’t so sure he really wanted to know, but…she hadn’t wanted to
know about his murdering habit either.
“You can’t
kill him, okay? He didn’t hurt me or
anything and he didn’t seduce me either.
If anything, I…seduced him.” Vallea pulled away from him and stood up
from the bed, finally regaining feeling in her legs again. “I only did it
because I was so heartbroken over you…and I was having nightmares about you,
Jon.” She inhaled sharply and could see his face darkening. “Nightmares about
you killing me, actually.” That was way too coincidental. “I couldn’t sleep
because my dreams were filled with you, so…I went to Monique for advice. And she told me how she got over one of her
breakups…by fucking another man. It
snapped her out of her depression, it was onetime and she was back to her old
self. I thought it would work for me…and
it didn’t. It only made me feel worse
and after it happened, I left and ran into you and then you called me and…”
Vallea was never good with this type of things and swallowed hard, throwing her
hands up. “It was Seth Rollins, okay?!
Fuck…”
It took
Jon a very long moment to process all that. He had been following her, doing mental
commentary. She had seduced a guy. Okay, he could believe that. She hadn’t been shy with him, her only real
condition had been not in public, in that glass wheel. She had been having nightmares about him
killing her, that was weird and unrealistic. He loved her. Jon didn’t like the idea of her sleeping with
another man, but he wasn’t going to kill him. It was hilarious that she thought she had to
warn him he wasn’t allowed to kill the guy. That right there told him it was someone he
knew. He had been kind of leaning
towards Joe or something, but then she mentioned Momo, who was a bitch right
now because she gave shitty advice, and his eyes narrowed.
“Seth? The dickbag who called you a hot fucking bitch?”
That explained why he felt like puking whenever he passed the Old Spice wearing
motherfucker. “Really?” He was mad, but not excessively. She had forgiven him for two murders and
lying. “Okay…why HIM?” That had him curious.
Vallea had
a savior complex and realized it when Seth rescued her from being smashed by
the boxes of t-shirts. “He apologized for calling me a hot fucking bitch and I
accepted. That’s not why I fucked him
though or chose him, rather. Do you
remember the day you came into my office and I had all those boxes of t-shirts? Well, before you came in there, Seth did
and…I was nearly crushed with some of the boxes. He pulled me out of harm’s way at the last
second.” It really could’ve been bad and an ER visit she didn’t need or death.
“Monique asked me if I found anyone else attractive besides you in the company
and…I told her Seth. Probably because he
did save me from being crushed by those boxes, kinda like you with the Red
Rocks.” Savior complex, indeed. “It wasn’t that great with him, if that makes
you feel any better.” She wouldn’t apologize for it either because, at the
time, she was single, thanks to Jon’s lie.
Chapter 37
“You got a
thing for men who save your hot ass, don’t you?” Jon didn’t feel better. Well, he did, just a bit. Just a smidge. Of course it wasn’t that great. Nobody was ever going to fuck her, or make
love to her, like he did. “So, why can’t I kill him?” He asked, his tone very
serious and Jon knew it was a dick move, to say that right after he had
confessed to killing people, but… it was also hilarious to see the myriad of
expressions shoot across her face. “Babe, I’m joking!” He laughed only to groan
when he got thunked upside his head. “Concussion, woman!”
“Which
you’re cleared of.” She thunked him again for good measure, shaking her head
and nudged him in the shoulder. “Don’t joke about killing people, please. Not right away, anyway.” Her hands slid up his
chest to his shoulders until she draped her arms around his neck, reaching up
on her tiptoes until he bent down a little to give her some slack. “I love you,
Jon. You’re the only one I want and need
in my life. I wasn’t going to keep this
from you, not after you told me what happened.
I felt I owed you the same thing.” Vallea softly brushed her lips
against his, a soft moan escaping her. “So, back to what we were talking about
earlier, you still want me to move in?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, he was a bit surprised that she still wanted to move in with him. Jon was tempted to crack another joke, about
her being paranoid about sleeping around him, but…he wasn’t taking another thunk to the head. “What was that earlier, about a bigger
place?” He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his forehead to hers. “Why do
we need a bigger place?” It was just them and he didn’t have THAT much shit.
“Because
your apartment is far too small for both of us.” It was literally a studio
apartment, didn’t even have actual rooms that were somewhat sectioned off. “And
I want a place we can call ours. I’m not
gonna be on the road with you, we won’t be seeing each other often, so I want
to have a place I feel comfortable and safe while you’re gone. Apartments are expensive, so maybe we should
invest in a house…” She saw the surprise in his eyes and softly kissed him
again, caressing his bearded face tenderly. “Think of it as an investment to
our future together. It’ll just make
everything feel more…permanent, locked down, unbreakable…”
“You’re
going to need a job.”
A house. She wanted to get a house. He had a feeling she meant to buy and own. That would be weird. It was permanent, it was a commitment. Jon loved that idea, his icy blues lighting
up.
“Unless
you want me to knock you up and you can be my stay-at-home baby machine?” He
got another thunk.
“No! No definitely not, no. No kids.
Ever.” Christ, why would he bring that up? Vallea felt her cheeks flame up and pecked
his lips, moving her legs to sit Indian style. “I know I’m going to need a
job. Vegas is always hiring. If I have to, I’ll go back to the first job I
ever had in the City of Lights.” This was something Jon didn’t know about her
and Vallea had hoped to avoid it, but she was still in fairly good condition
and had a toned body, mostly. “Stripping pays well.” That got a LOUD growl out
of him that resonated around the room and Vallea actually jumped, giggling
nervously. “No? Don’t like that idea?”
“No, I
do,” Jon growled a bit harshly, his lit up eyes practically glowing now. She had been a stripper?! Why was he surprised, honestly? It was Vegas. What woman hadn’t been a stripper at one point
or another in the City of Sin? “If that’s what you want to do, babe…I will
definitely come watch you at work.” He had a raging hard-on all of a sudden,
imagining her fine ass gyrating on a pole.
“That
means I would have to gyrate my fine ass on a pole in front of other men.” Now
the smile deteriorated from Jon’s face, the dark expression back and she
smirked, squealing when he tackled her to the bed suddenly. “See, I KNEW if I
pointed that part out to you, it would change your mind.” Having him on top of
her like this, hovered over her and feeling the power emanating from his body
was reigniting the flames she thought were permanently doused. “Stripping will
be a last resort, but if I can’t find any other job, I might have to do it
until I do find something…I’m not gonna let you support me.”
“Why don’t
you work for me? My last PA just quit.”
That had been Blondie. Bad idea there. He hadn’t hired her and he hadn’t even
realized what she was doing up his backside all the time until after he had
taken her for a spin. “You can be my stripper personal assistant.” He chuckled,
gathering her wrists in one large hand and pinning them over her head. His free hand caressed her face. “And ONLY my
stripper.”
Before,
her excuse had been not mixing business with pleasure, but after everything
that happened, Vallea couldn’t think of a single reason NOT to take him up on
this offer. She was jobless and the WWE
would pay her to be his personal assistant, as long as they rehired her. Then again, she hadn’t technically worked for
them before, it had been Ryan’s company.
“Do you
really think WWE will hire me after what happened? You don’t think things might…fall apart with
us if I’m your PA?” She breathed out, feeling his lips and tongue tease her
neck, melting her into a puddle in the center of the bed. “If you can get the
company to agree, I’m all in.”
“As long
as you don’t try to change my diet or feed me Keto shakes or whatever the fuck
those things are, things will be fine. Also,
thong Tuesdays and Thursdays are officially in effect.” Jon, putting in his
recommendation for a PA, given his history of running them off on top of her stellar
track record, he didn’t see a problem with her being hired. “We were fine being
around each other all the time and you’d be surprised at how little you’re with
me.” She’d have to attend meetings without him, be his go-between with people
for different situations, and it would keep her busy.
At the end
of the night, Vallea would be with him and sleeping in the same bed, feeling
him hold her in his arms. She wanted
nothing more than to be on the road with him again. “Mmm, sounds good and I’m
not a thong wearing type, but…for you, I think I can make an exception…” She
smiled up at him, slowly feeling like her old self again and wiggled her
wrists, trying to break his grip. “And why would I try to feed you healthy
shit? Those keto shakes suck ass, I
tried one once and nearly threw up from it.” They were NASTY drinks. “And since
when do you let ANYONE change ANYTHING about you in the first place, Good?”
“If I tell
you, you’re going to laugh at me and then kick me in the nuts.” Jon made sure
his grip was good and secure on her wrists as he pulled his head away from her
neck to study her face. “That blonde, in the diner, she was my last PA.” That
had been a disaster. “And she’s one of those fucking people who doesn’t know
how to process the word NO. It just got
to be easier to let her have her way and-” He snorted derisively, deciding not
to try bullshitting Vallea. “And I’m a pig, so…” He hadn’t made love to any
woman since Vallea, but he had gotten his rocks off a few times. “She left.”
Women did that, left him.
Maybe he
wasn’t so charming.
“She’s
insane to leave you.” Vallea was glad she did though because she wanted to be
the only woman in Jon’s life. Both
personally and professionally. She
wouldn’t leave him ever again, not unless he actually DID cheat on her, which
she didn’t see happening. Jon wasn’t the
cheating type, not in her eyes. “You eat and drink what you want, I’m not gonna
treat you like a 5-year-old.” That sounded exactly like what the blonde was
doing to Jon. “Come here.” He softly kissed her and it quickly deepened, his
free hand sliding down her side to caress her hip.
The blonde
had been a lifelong fan who somehow managed to hide that fact when she had been
vetted for the job. She had seen him
before and then after his leave due to his arm, deciding she liked fit cut Dean
Ambrose and had done her duty -the salads- to ensure he remained fit and cut.
“I love you,” Jon whispered against her lips once the kiss broke, inhaling
deeply. “I missed you.” He didn’t have words for how much he had missed her and
his hand had moved from her hip to her inner thigh.
It'd been
a year for her since any sexual activity happened and Vallea was pretty sure
she had cobwebs in her vagina. The only
other man she had slept with was Seth and that was just the one time. The feeling of his hand on her inner thigh
made them both start to tremble, her pussy quivering beneath the jean shorts
she had on.
“I love
you too, so much.” Vallea murmured, feeling release her wrists to touch him and
pulled him closer to her, gripping the back of his head as she very lightly
brushed his lips. “Vegas can wait another day.” Pushing his tank top up over
his head, she pulled Jon back on top of her again in another explosive kiss.
“Make love to me, Jon.”
It wasn’t
a huge surprise for him to oblige that sweet request. Jon took his time with her, letting her know
with action how much he truly did miss her.
It was slow, raw and intense, both reaching heights together they didn’t
think possible. Each thrust was made
with precision, his cock driving just a little further inside of her with each
passing second, driving her mad. All
Vallea could do was cling to him, meeting him for every thrust and cried out
his name multiple times at how amazing he felt inside of her again.
After all
this time, they still had magic and explosive chemistry together in the
bedroom. Jon rolled them over to where
she straddled him, his cock still nestled deep inside of her and ordered her to
ride him, to finish them both off.
Vallea was already sensitive and had climaxed more than once, so it did
not take long for her to fall over that edge again. Their fingers laced, their breathing erratic
and soon, all she felt was the explosion of his seed penetrate her insides,
their bodies shuddering simultaneously.
Vallea
collapsed on top of Jon in a sweaty, satisfied heap, not minding the slickness
of his body against hers. It felt
inviting and comfortable, familiar. She
groaned, feeling Jon slip out of her as his dick grew limp and she kissed his
chest, cooling herself down. Never in
her life could she get enough of this man, this delicious specimen, and knew
they were both in for a very long night of reconciliation. Now that the slow lovemaking was out of the
way, there wasn’t a doubt in Vallea’s mind, once Jon managed to get himself
hard again, they would be going for a more hardcore joining. Jon did not disappoint her, both devouring
each other whole and finally, just as the sun began rising over the horizon the
following day, they passed out in bed together with his arms wrapped firmly around
her waist, spooning her.
House
hunting…Jon was using his laptop, he had become sort of good with the
contraption, though he still stayed as far away from social media as he could. Vallea was still sound asleep in the bed; he
had woken up, thinking he was hallucinating or that the concussion wasn’t gone
like it was supposed to be. He had
stared at her for a long time, hardly believing she was here, before nature
made him get up. Jon had ordered
breakfast and coffee, parked his backside back on the bed, and regretted his
decision to browse properties.
Vegas was
expensive and it made the cheapskate in him flinch.
Jon would
not be buying the property alone. It
would take time, but Vallea planned on selling her house and wondered if
Monique would be interested in the property.
It was a beautiful small home, she could easily make a killing off it,
especially in Phoenix. In the meantime,
Vallea had some money stashed away for a rainy day and would put it towards the
house, after she got a job. She had no
idea if Jon would be able to get her this job with WWE and wasn’t holding her
breath on it. The smell of coffee made
her slowly open her eyes and the first thing she noticed was she was naked. The second thing was Jon sitting beside her
and Vallea immediately pinched herself to make sure this wasn’t a dream.
“Oh thank
god…” She whispered, feeling the pain from the pinch and pushed herself up in a
sitting position just as those pale blues locked with hers. “You’re really
here, aren’t you? And this isn’t a
dream…” Almost hesitantly, she reached out to touch his arm and felt the
muscles ripple beneath her touch, along with the warmth of his skin.
Jon wasn’t
looking to buy today, he just wanted to get an idea of what was out there and
how much. Not to mention, some of these
places looked gorgeous, but he noticed the street they were on and nearly died
laughing. Not happening. Those houses were for suckers. He had to wonder how Vallea would feel about a
place out in the country, just outside of Vegas, maybe with mountain or canyon
views. She probably missed that after
moving here to this dry, arid bowl of dust.
“I had the
same reaction, babe,” Jon dropped a kiss on her head, smiling down at her. “No
dream.” It was surreal, how after all this time, they had managed to come back
together. They each had brought their
own little dirty secret, his more illegal than hers, and it still somehow ended
up here. In bed, making love, and waking
up thinking ‘no way that happened’. “And…there’s coffee.”
“Mmm thank
you, but first…” She brought his mouth down to hers, softly kissing him and
caressed his face, just needing to feel his lips again. Vallea would never get enough of him. “I love
you. Now hand over my coffee.” Jon
chuckled, doing as she commanded and she loaded it up with creamer while he put
copious amounts of sugar in his. “What are you looking at anyway?” Glancing
over, she saw the screen and grinned at the houses, clicking on one that caught
her eye. “That one looks to be a little on the outskirts. I’m sorry, but I really don’t want to live on
the strip or anywhere near the City of Lights.
Somewhere on the outskirts would be better, don’t you think? Less hustle and bustle from the city?”
That’s how
he knew he loved her, Jon did not mind morning breath at all. Jon was fairly certain there wasn’t much about
her that would turn him off or be an annoyance. Not even the Colby thing. Though, he did have to wonder how that would
play out when he DID get her a job as his personal assistant in the company,
since obviously Colby was still there.
“You read
my mind, Val.” He chucked, draping his free arm around her. She smelled delicious. She smelled like him, and now coffee. “Not
this house though, I was looking at it before you woke up and the area it’s in
isn’t very far off from the landfill.” They’d wind up suffocating from the
stench when the heat and sun baked all that yummy waste. “Maybe something
closer to the Red Rocks?”
“Yeah, I’d
love that.”
Vallea
wasn’t worried about Seth Rollins; he wasn’t even on her mind at the
moment. If he was smart, he would leave
her alone and finally let her be happy with Jon. They had been through hell to get back to
each other and nobody would tear them apart again. She would only be working exclusively with
Jon, nobody else, so she wouldn’t have any reason to converse with Seth. They continued looking through houses, both
naked and sipping coffee before munching on breakfast. Jon had his usual three breakfast sandwiches
and hash browns and he’d ordered her some kind of pancake meal.
“I have to
go to my house and pack up…” Obviously, the furniture would not be coming with
her, but she’d still had a few boxes to bring with her to Vegas. After moving, Vallea had downsized majorly
and didn’t have nearly as much stuff as she used to.
“And I
have to call Vince and ask for one more day off.” Jon was fairly certain Vince
would grant him because it was a house show. “Going to have a realtor just slap
your place on the market?” Admittedly, Jon was curious about where she lived
and how it was. He had seen her
apartment, condo, whatever, but given her new job and new state, he figured a
lot of things had probably changed.
“Why? You still have another 2 days off, I
thought?” Vallea raised a curious brow at him, wondering what was going through
Jon’s mind and shrugged, taking another bite of her pancakes. “I was actually
thinking that I should call Monique and see if she wants to flip it for a
profit. There’s nothing wrong with it,
she’d probably have to put new carpeting in it since it’s somewhat old, but the
house itself could sell easily. Maybe
she’d forgive me easier if I came to her with it…” She chewed her bottom lip,
knowing it would take more than that to get her friend back, but Vallea was
willing to try. “Do you want to come with me or do you want to get a workout
in? It shouldn’t take me too long…” She
hoped, cracking a hesitant smile.
Jon nearly
choked on his coffee, staring down at her. “Babe, I know you and I are a little
unusual and got things sorted quick, but you might not want to…uh, spring the
house thing on Momo without maybe first saying hi and seeing if she’ll even
talk to you.” Monique had been hurt and then royally pissed off at being shut
aside and out without a word or anything.
Jon had
gotten a lot of text messages about what a bastard he was and Joe had been a
little terrified to go home for the first few weeks.
Chapter 39
Had it
really been 6 months already?
Vallea
sipped her coffee while staring out the window of the beautiful home her and
Jon shared, staring in the far distance at the Red Rocks. It was as close to Red Rock Canyon as they could get, on the outskirts of the city, but not far away
either. The airport was 10 minutes away,
along with the strip, so they hadn’t completely isolated themselves. The house was modern with an open floor plan
and glass windows all around. Jon was
insistent on the glass windows because it reminded him of the glass ball they
had ridden together. Vallea didn’t mind
it since their neighbors were a couple miles apart from them on either
side. She had decorated it, but there
was nothing frilly or girly about the design.
It was a
very crisp, modern décor that fit both of their personalities beautifully. For instance, in the dining room, on the wall
were all of Jon’s nun-chucks he had collected over the years. She had hung them in the shape of a yin-yang
and he loved it, showing her how much by christening their new dining room
table. The kitchen had black granite
countertops, smooth to the touch, along with the white and black tiling on the
floor and black appliances. That was
where she currently stood in just a silk black robe, fresh out of the shower
and ready to start the day.
They had
five glorious days off the road, after Jon had a grueling 2-week tour overseas,
and before that was the pay-per-view event known as Summerslam. Fall was on the horizon, but luckily in
Vegas, it was always warm and never dropped below 60 degrees. One of Vallea’s favorite things to do was
getting up to watch the sunrise, feeling completely content and tranquil. Never did she think in a million years she
would be in a beautiful home, with the man of her dreams, sipping coffee and
being completely at peace.
It was
almost too good to be true.
Jon had
taken up climbing every morning when he was home just because it was a total
body workout and not boring. He stepped
through the door, scuffing his shoes off at the door and grinned at the sight
of her. He had loved coming home and
seeing her in their house. That was
still weird, their house. They owned a
house. He owned a house. Jon never thought something like that was in
the cards for him, especially after all the bad he had done in his life, but
here it was. He tended to pinch himself
occasionally, afraid he was still dreaming and when he woke up, he’d be back at
the hotel with a concussion and she’d be walking out the door to get back to
her life in Arizona.
“Hey
babe,” He walked around her to pour himself a cup of coffee, eyeing her. “I
guess I missed shower time?” He could probably entice her to join him.
She still
climbed mountains and rocks every now and then, but nothing compared to
Jon. He enjoyed doing it by himself and
had admitted it openly because she was a delicious distraction. His words, not hers. Vallea smirked at him, taking another sip of
her coffee and set it down before walking over to slide her hands up his sweaty
back. She pressed soft kisses against
his heated skin and unfastened her robe, letting it drop from her body to
reveal her naked form. Skin on skin
contact, she was certain he could feel her hard nipples against his back.
“Mmm, get
me nice and dirty and I’ll need another one.” She purred, delving her hand
beneath the basketball shorts he had on and lightly stroked him. Every time Jon came in from climbing a
mountain or scaling a rock wall, it lit a fuse inside of Vallea. Maybe it was the scent of him mixed with the
outdoors. “Think you’re up for another workout?”
She was a
dangerous distraction. Apparently a year
without her had given him issues and every time they had climbed, he spent more
time checking out her ass in those delicious climbing shorts of hers than on
the wall he was scaling. Jon had
actually messed his hands up twice doing that. Dangerous woman.
“Definitely.”
He growled, lifting her up and depositing her naked backside onto the granite
counter, guiding her legs around his waist. Jon loved this open floor, lots of windows. They were out in relative privacy, but the
open windows made it feel a bit more naughty. He looked down, watching as she pushed his
shorts down far enough to let his erection spring free and tsked her. “Naughty,
doll.”
He was the
only one she would be naughty with, her hand still pumping his cock and felt it
come to life, bulging against her palm.
Their sex life was right on point; most of their free time was spent
naked, if Vallea was honest with herself.
They did go out every so often to keep things fresh, but for the most
part, they enjoyed each other’s company naked.
Being on the road with Jon also made Vallea take better care of herself
and getting back in shape enough to climb mountains and rock walls. She worked out at least once a day, while on
the road, since they couldn’t eat the healthiest food. For her anyway. Jon ate whatever he wanted and she gave him
no slack for it because the man was in the best shape of his life.
“Mmm, fuck
your naughty woman then, handsome…”
Guiding
his cock inside of her, Vallea felt his mouth capture hers and moaned in his
mouth, tasting him. She could never get
enough of it, of him. Jon planned on
fucking her until one of them called uncle. Right there on the kitchen counter. If he were honest, they had christened every
room in their house, several times, but it wasn’t getting old. At least not for him. He liked the idea of walking into a room and
knowing which places he had bent her over, gotten head, or eaten her out at. It was like marking their territory in a way.
“Christ,
Val…” He grunted, looking down at where they were joined, admiring the view for
a moment before thrusting a few times, smirking when he felt her nails digging
into his upper arms.
“Harder…oh
that’s it, right there…” Vallea had no problem voicing how incredible her man
sexed her up and gripped the back of his head, his mouth sealing to her
neck.
He’d
already ravaged her breasts and knew the spot on her neck that drove her
absolutely crazy. One thing about Jon
was he had tremendous stamina and could go more than once in a night. It also made Vallea feel great knowing she
could turn her man on like the flick of a light switch. Feeling the hot coil form in her belly, it
wouldn’t take long for her to reach her end and continued meeting Jon for every
sharp thrust he produced inside her receptive body. His teeth sank into her shoulder, the spot
where shoulder met neck, causing her to cry out in a mixture of pain and
pleasure and her nails sank into his skin, raking them down his back. Those would sting in the shower for sure,
much like the bite mark.
He was
like a teenager again who had no control of when wood was going to strike, at
least not with her. No woman had done
this to him and he doubted any other woman ever would. Hissing through his teeth, he bit her again,
feeling her nails coming back down over the fresh wounds she had left, glad he
had a few days off or else sweating into those in the ring would suck. Or getting slapped on the back.
“Come on,
Vallea,” He licked at the spot he had just marked, tasting a tinge of blood.
“Cum for me, doll.” He could feel her body quivering, knowing she wasn’t far
off.
It wasn’t
the first time he made her bleed and it wouldn’t be the last. It was such a delicious pain and made the
moment, the bout, much more intense.
Luckily, she wore tops at work that would cover this love mark up, which Jon attacked every chance he could. It was almost as if he wanted her to be
marked by him permanently and Vallea had zero complaints over it. As long as it wasn’t in a spot that couldn’t
be covered up, she had no qualms. The
neck, for instance, wasn’t an option and she’d made it clear to him she would
hurt him if he even THOUGHT about giving her a hickey. Anywhere else that could be covered up on her
body was fine, just not her neck.
Whipping her head back, Vallea was thankfully far enough away from the
window, no cabinets where she sat, where she didn’t crack it.
“JON!”
Shattering into a million pieces, her hot juices flowed and soaked him,
wrapping him in a warm wet cocoon, her body shuddering.
Jon would
eventually get her neck and Vallea would just have to sport a turtleneck for a
week or join everyone else in the 90’s trend that had made a return: chokers. Chokers were hot, actually. “Fuck!” He
grunted, feeling her body seemingly clamping down around him, taking what
breath he had left from him. “One more time, doll!” And he knew she could
because he had spent countless hours wringing orgasm after orgasm out of her
tight little body. One hand moved between their bodies, his thumb finding her
nub and he began caressing her, feeling her starting to shake uncontrollably as
another crest began peaking.
Vallea had
a couple chokers she wore sometimes with certain outfits and Jon attacked her
every time. She hadn’t cottoned onto the
fact he thought the chokers were hot, yet.
Her hair had grown over the past 6 months, no cutting, and it went past
her shoulders now. Vallea planned on
growing it out to the same length it’d been when Jon first saved her, missing
her long hair and she knew he did too.
She could always get extensions like the other women in the WWE, but she
didn’t want anything fake or phony on her person. Hissing out between her teeth, Vallea could
already feel another climax building and pressed her forehead to his, feeling
his teeth nip her bottom lip.
“T-Together…”
She rasped out, hooking one arm around his neck and the other digging her nails
into his chest, but didn’t rake them like his back. “J-Jon!”
Nodding, he
tried to keep a rhythm but his own joygasm was approaching. Soon, the only sounds in that kitchen were
flesh smacking flesh and some growls. Jon
roared her name as he came, his hands now on her waist, fingers digging into
her flesh as he pulled her against him until there wasn’t even a tiny silver of
space between their bodies.
“Jesus!”
It was a breathless gasp, his head resting against hers as he willed his body
to stop spasming like he had been electrocuted.
She would
definitely need that shower now.
Not to
mention, the kitchen would need to be sanitized. That didn’t matter to either of them at the
moment, both relishing in the sexual high they had reached together. Vallea smiled through heavy breathing,
kissing the side of his neck to cool down and felt him leave her body. He never once pulled away from her, his body
had to physically do it for him. She
loved that he wanted to be joined with her until the very end instead of
pulling his own dick out.
“Mmm, time
for that shower…if we can walk without falling on our faces…” She laughed
breathlessly, nuzzling his chest and wrapped her arms around him in a gentle
embrace. “Think you can manage it?”
His
response was to huff and step away from the counter, pulling her into his arms
to cradle her against his chest. He
wasn’t going to lie, his body felt a little drained -not in the bad way-, but
his legs were quite steady. There would
be no question of managing. “I got it, doll.” Smirking down at her, Jon walked
towards the bathroom, not minding his nudity at all.
Perk of
living where they did.
After the
shower, where they only washed each other, both needing time to recuperate
after that romp in the kitchen, Vallea stepped out first to give Jon time to
soothe his aching muscles. He had two workouts
back-to-back and that couldn’t be easy on his body. While he finished, she dressed and went to
the kitchen to start cleaning their mess up, making sure there were no bodily
fluids anywhere on the counter or floor.
Once it was clean and smelling great, she pulled out some lunchmeat from
the fridge to make Jon some lunch while she stuck with a salad. They both had all the fixings and toppings
both loved; she had premade her salad the previous night and it just needed
some French dressing with chopped boiled eggs.
Just as she finished his huge, stacked sandwich, Jon walked out in just
a fresh pair of basketball shorts and kissed her cheek, smacking her backside.
“Down boy,
go sit and I’ll bring your food to you.
Do you want some chips and a beer to go with it?”
“Oh god
yes, please,” Jon was in heaven. The
only thing left to do was basically marry the broad and not have babies since
she was very adamantly against children.
If he were honest, he’d probably be a very crappy Dad. “You’re way too
good for the likes of me.” He said once all those goodies were before him, his
icy blues taking in the food before moving to her. “What’d I do to deserve an
angel like you? Besides save your
beautiful ass.”
She rolled
her eyes at his statement and shook her head, not believing it. If anything, Vallea wasn’t good enough for
him. “I am no angel. Have you seen my
halo lately? It’s black and rusted
through. My horns have to hold it up.”
Vallea joked, sitting down beside him and slid her fingers over his head,
kissing his shoulder. “I enjoy taking care of you, so get used to it. You’re a hardworking man and it’s not often I
get to make food for you. Now eat up.”
Instead of grabbing the remote, she let him watch whatever while she ate her
salad, both content to eat silently while watching ESPN. She also had a beer, figuring the salad would
make up for it.
He was a
hardworking man, but as she very well knew, he played just as hard. Usually with her, in very fun for both of them
ways. “Wait babe, making a sandwich isn’t making food…it’s slapping food
together.” He caught her hand before she could thunk
him, laughing and pressed a kiss to the top of it before letting go. “So,
what’re your plans today?” Now that his workout was out of the way, he had an
open day.
“Well, I
think after the grueling tour we just had to endure…” Vallea had to go with him
everywhere since she was his personal assistant.
It still
amazed her the company had been so understanding and hired her on the spot,
with one stipulation. It was actually a
stipulation they both agreed on. She was
ONLY Jon’s personal assistant and could work for no other WWE Superstar, male
or female. They were perfectly fine with
that and made sure it was in the contract, which was also linked to Jon’s.
“We deserve
some rest and relaxation.” That wasn’t their forte though. Lounging around and watching television,
eating bonbons wasn’t who they were. “I have no plans besides doing some
laundry.” Monique still hadn’t forgiven her fully and Vallea was done trying to
win the stubborn woman over. “Oh, I did get a call this morning about the house
in Phoenix and it FINALLY sold. They’ll
be sending me a check in the mail in a couple weeks, along with paperwork to
finalize everything.”
The
reasoning behind her being only Jon’s persona assistant was actually a valid
one. While she had provided notice last
time, she had still bailed during an important time. Since she was Jon’s girlfriend and he vouched
for her, on top of her stellar work record and ethic, they figured if she left
again, Jon was already usually anti-PA, so it wouldn’t be a big deal. Or at least, that’s what Stephanie had told
him. Followed by a ‘don’t cheat idiot’
line. Stephanie was such a sweetheart. Monique was going to hold that grudge for a
while. Something about throwing away
years of friendship and work history over a man…Momo had a temper.
“Laundry
is boring, let’s hire a maid.”
Vallea
choked on the drink she just took of her beer, pounding her chest since it went
down the wrong pipe and couldn’t stop coughing. “W-What?! Y-You…hire a maid…?” She coughed harder,
groaning since that hadn’t felt good going down. “Y-You’re a cheapskate,
remember?”
Jon nearly had a stroke when he found out the
price of this place and refused to get it, until Vallea promised him every cent
that came from selling her Phoenix home would go toward their home. Jon had agreed after that and now that they
had their home, he didn’t regret buying and owning. They still had separate bank accounts, both
not comfortable with joint and wanting to keep their money separated. It stemmed from their childhoods, more than
anything.
“What do
you want to do? Do you have something
rolling in that brain of yours? And I
didn’t say you had to do the laundry, I said I had laundry to do.” She didn’t
mind doing his along with hers.
“We don’t
have a lot of time off, Vallea.” Jon said patiently, trying not to sound amused
by the fact she had just choked on beer over his remark and that was kind of
hilarious. “Do you really want to spend that time cleaning and shit?”
As if he’d
let her do the laundry by her lonesome, he knew a large chunk of it was his and
he could do his own. He wasn’t asking
anyone to deal with his nasty, smelly socks. That was just rude, especially
since she was his love. Well, he would
PAY someone to deal with them.
“Look at
it as an investment in our time together.” Which could be spent better. Unless she wanted him to entertain her on the
washer, the vibrations from it might be interesting.
“I’m aware
of that. There’s a place on the strip we
could drop our laundry off at to have done.
I don’t want any strangers in our house.
That doesn’t make me feel comfortable, Jon.” Vallea could tell he agreed
with her on that front.
The house
was spotless since, like he said, they rarely got time off. Unless they were on the West coast, they
usually stayed on the road until they were close-by or in Vegas to actually
come home. In the span of 6 months, this
was probably their 5th time actually staying in their house.
“Okay, you
win.” She took his empty plate from him, set her own bowl down and straddled
his lap, kissing him passionately. “How would you like to spend our time off?”
If all he wanted to do was sit here on the couch making out with her, Vallea
would not deny him.
“Naked,
outside, pretending to work on tans, but actually having wild, passionate sex.”
Jon teased, shaking his head. They did
have quite a bit of sex, which wasn’t a bad thing. “Why don’t we go for a drive
in the canyons?” She was getting back into the mountain climbing thing and they
still had a lot of outside Vegas to explore. “Or, we could go on a camping
trip…maybe revisit Solar Slab?”
Vallea was
always up for a camping trip, but climbing a mountain didn’t sound like
something she wanted to do. “Not in the mood for Solar Slab this time,
handsome. But I wouldn’t mind going for
a drive through the canyons and then stopping to sleep under the stars with
you…” After sex, of course.
Vallea and
Jon did not care what anyone else thought or said about their
relationship. It was sexually driven and
there was nothing wrong with that. They
were still in their ‘back together’ honeymoon phase and Vallea never wanted it
to end.
One of
Jon’s brows slowly rose. “Solar Slab or mountains in general?” Because she had
loved camping up on the mountain, the view itself had been worth the climb. When she said mountains in general, he leaned
over to check her forehead, just in case. “Okay, no mountains. We’ll just drive and find a spot.” Since they
had more than a day off, they could pack for a few and just see what happened.
“There’s a river, we could follow that.”
“It’s not
that I don’t love the mountains because I do.
It’s just…we’ve done that already and I wanna do something else. Go on a new adventure and experience something
different with you.”
If they
did the same thing over and over again, it would get boring and wouldn’t be
special. She rubbed her nose against
his, pecked his lips and slid off his lap to clean up their lunch mess. Then, Vallea began gathering all the dirty
laundry they needed done while Jon was outside packing up the car with
everything they’d need. Just as Jon
finished, she walked out with a huge bag over her shoulder and he took it from
her.
“Thanks. That was heavier than I thought…”
After
dropping the clothes off at the laundromat and setting up a time to pick them
up in 3 days, they were off on their new adventure. Jon and Vallea never tired of each other,
always finding something to talk about, no matter how ridiculous. The windows were down to let the warm air
blow throughout the car and their eyes were shielded by black shades. This was Vallea’s happily ever after and she
thought nothing would be able to destroy it, after everything her and Jon had been
through. She thought they would be together
forever and nothing else would ever be able to tear them apart.
She
couldn’t have been more wrong.
Chapter 40
Snapping
her eyes open, Vallea stared at the wall with slightly blurred vision from the
tears in her eyes, knowing letting them fall couldn’t happen. A pair of lips caressed her neck, making her
eyes slam shut because they weren’t the lips she wanted against her skin. The dick rubbing against her backside didn’t
belong to the man she loved…only the one she had to pretend with. Every night was the same with him – he’d wake
her up with his dick and lips and she had no choice except to withstand
it. Tensing wasn’t an option. Fighting him off wasn’t an option. All Vallea could do was lay there and deal
with whatever he wanted to do to her.
“Oh fuck,
sweetheart, you feel so fuckin’ good…” He hissed out, moving her long hair away
from her neck to suckle her soft skin and growled, spreading her thighs apart
to drive deeper inside.
Spoon
fucking was his favorite position, something Vallea had learned quickly and she
was grateful for it. At least she didn’t
have to stare into his dark eyes while he fucked her. He wouldn’t be able to see the sheer hatred
and anger burn in her hazel eyes.
“Tell me
you like my cock inside your pussy, Vallea, come on…”
Rolling
her eyes, Vallea was so used to this game by now, she had perfected fake moaning
just for him in the pitch black room. “Oh yeah, I love your cock inside of me…”
“Say my
name, Vallea,” He growled, smacking her backside none too gently. “Say it again
with my name…”
Again, her
eyes shut and Vallea had to swallow down any scathing remark she had, blinking
the tears out of her eyes. “Oh yeah, I love your cock inside of me…Seth…”
To get
through this, Vallea often thought back to the past, back to when she was
happy…with Jon…
~!~
Jon seemed
to find the most perfect spots, on flawless days where the sun was shining and
at night, the moon was full in the sky.
It reminded Vallea so much of the mountain campout. She helped him setup, knowing they would be
here for a couple days and nights, instead of just a quick night. There was nobody else around them and behind
them was a beautiful waterfall that cascaded into a lake. The water was clear, beautiful and untainted,
it was even drinkable.
“Where did
you find this place?” She asked in awe, looking up at him and could see the
smirk curve his lips. “Jon, this is spectacular…”
Jon didn’t
really like thinking about their year of separation, which is how he now
referred to it, opposed to being split up. However, some good had come of it, like
discovering new places. “Last year, I had a few days off…” He had been a royal
bitch, actually, so Stephanie had sent him home to get over his issues and come
back ‘less of a PMSing cuntrag’. He hadn’t known the Princess even knew words
like that. “I didn’t really have anywhere I wanted to be, so I just drove…and
followed the river.” This place was amazing and he had both loved it and hated
it. Loved it because it was gorgeous and
hated it because there was only one person he wanted to share it with. Now she was here, with him, and it was
perfect. “You make it better, babe.”
Taking his
hand, their fingers laced together as they continued watching the waterfall for
a few minutes, enjoying the sound of it. “It’s things like this, places like
this, I want to explore and discover with you.
All over, not just in Vegas, but anywhere we want.” They had the luxury
of going anywhere and doing anything as long as they abided by his WWE
schedule. Whatever his schedule was,
hers was the same. Perk of being his
personal assistant. “Come on, we’re jumping in this water and going under that
waterfall.”
Releasing
his hand, she slipped her sandals and shorts off, pulling her tank top off
next. She stood clad in white cotton panties
and a red bra, not one for matching her undergarments. They could go for a swim and then get out to
build the fire. Jon had stopped at a
local market on the way to grab stuff for smores and some hot dogs to cook over
the flames with buns. And more jerky, of
course.
“Race
you!”
Jon
feinted running and then stopped just to watch. Cotton panties were not something he would
have ever considered sexy, but goddamn if she didn’t make them so. Her perfect ass, running, Jon grinned and
finally began running after her. Laughing,
he followed her over, diving into that deliciously cool water. He was mindful of the waterfall, not wanting
to get stuck under it and pounded to the likely rocky bottom below. When he surfaced, he wasn’t surprised to find
her treading water, taking in the view of the waterfall from a different angle
and swam over to her, pulling her bra strap back up and laughed.
“Amazing,
isn’t it?”
“Amazing
isn’t a strong enough word to describe how beautiful this is.”
Vallea had
the biggest smile on her face, turning her head to look at him and caressed his
bearded face with the back of her hand.
The water felt incredible against her heated skin; it was the perfect
place for a dip since it was nearly 100 degrees outside. Even in late September, going into October,
Vegas weather remained in near double digits.
She could stay here forever as long as it was with Jon.
“You know,
I think we should get a pool with a small waterfall and slide. I know it would be expensive, but…we do have
a huge backyard and I know you want to get a hot tub…”
Insurance
would go up, that was for damn sure. “I don’t care,” Jon chuckled, reminding
himself that it wasn’t so much as just throwing money away, but investing in
their house, their property, and them. “We can get it built and have the fire
department come fill it.”
That would
save so much money, but that also usually meant if there was a fire in the
area, the fire department had rights to drain the pool to use the water. In that event, Jon was totally cool with it
because it was dry, so fire spread quickly, and the area would likely be where
they lived. He moved so he was floating
on his back, smiling when she did the same and held out her hand, reaching out
to lace his fingers with hers.
“You know,
we should put up a gazebo or something too.” The backyard really was way too
large for them, but considering he had grown up in apartments, Jon loved it.
“Oh! We could get one of those firepits too, the
really nice modern ones.” Vallea added, willing to sink all of her money into
their home to make it theirs. Granted,
they weren’t there a lot, but when they were, she wanted to be comfortable and
live in luxury. Something Jon didn’t
know how to do and neither did she. “We need to go shopping for outdoor
furniture to fill that gazebo too.” Was this what happened when two people who
loved each other got a place of their own and started building their
lives? Apparently so. “I want an
in-ground pool, not one of those stand-up ones.
I want one we can build a patio or deck around. It’d look a lot better than a regular
stand-up pool.”
“Yeah no
stand-up pools, that thing would be dead the first week we left.”
They could
do an in-ground pool, with the proper cover, and the timed pump and cleaning
things, all that crap. First bad weather
for an above ground pool would probably leave the thing in a flooded heap when
they got back. Jon wasn’t about to deal
with a mini-swamp in the desert.
“Patio,
better options, but only like…half of it.” Grass didn’t always grow so well out
here, but there were some varieties that could be ‘rolled out’ and would root,
specially bred for this climate. Jon
realized they were getting all jazzed up over their backyard with these plans
and began chuckling. “I love you, Vallea.” This was what normal people did,
right?
“I love
you too, always. Don’t ever forget
that.” No matter what the future had in store for them, she would make sure to
tell Jon every single night those three words.
They were important, especially with all the hell they’d been through.
“Come here.” They both moved out of their positions and into each other’s arms,
Jon holding her up in the water mostly.
She kissed him passionately, tasting him and broke apart a few minutes
later. “Let’s go see what’s under that water fall.” Turns out, as soon as they
managed to withstand the barrage of water on their heads to get past it, there
was a small cave and an entrance that lead back to where they had set up camp.
“Take off your shorts.” How many people could honestly say they had sex under a
waterfall?
Jon was
studying the cave floor and shook his head. Not a chance. He wasn’t getting any bits or bobs scraped on
that wet, rough looking stone. “How about you come here?” He crooked a finger
at her, smiling wickedly. Jon wasn’t
asking her to get on her knees either. Shorts
were awesome, he could free himself without having to do much more than
unbutton and adjust, wrapping an arm around her when she pouted. “I said come
here, babe!” He growled, his free hand delving beneath the waistband of her
soaked panties.
Well, it
wasn’t exactly sex under a waterfall, but damn good foreplay, if she did say so
herself. Jon had made her climax
multiple times and stroked him until she could swallow his seed, having her
daily protein shake. The taste of him
was intoxicating and it only made her wetter.
A win-win for them both. After
that, they went back to the camp and began setting the rest of it up, including
a fire, since the sun was started to descend on the horizon. It would be a crisp 66 degrees tonight, the
perfect weather for a fire under the stars.
While Jon finished building it, Vallea got out the food and dessert,
both changed into fresh dry clothes. After
eating hot dogs and chips for dinner, it was time to roast some marshmallows
and make some delicious smores.
“Mmm this
is heaven, it can’t get any better than this…” She commented, watching her
marshmallow be licked by the flames.
“No,
probably not.” Jon sighed contentedly, knowing he was going to have to do
something extra after this little mini getaway of theirs to burn off the junk
food.
Maybe
actually use the treadmill she had brought into the house. Apparently, Vallea had taken up jogging in
Arizona and then she had made the suggestion that he try it as cardio would
help improve some things that would be useful in the ring. She wasn’t wrong, he was just stubborn.
“Well,
wait until the fire dies down a bit and the rest of those stars come out, maybe
then it gets better…”
“No, look
at the color of the sky right now.”
It was a mixture
of orange, red and yellow with a splash of blue, all from the beautiful sunset
they were experiencing. She pulled the
marshmallow out of the fire and blew it out before carefully removing the outer
layer. Placing the Hershey’s chocolate
bar on the graham cracker, she added the marshmallow and put another graham
cracker over it, setting her stick down beside her. The first bite was orgasmic; Vallea couldn’t
remember the last time she had a smore and felt Jon’s arm wrap around her
waist.
“You have
the best ideas, handsome.”
“It’s
because I’m still a child.” He informed her, letting his own marshmallow ‘bake’
a little longer. Jon liked his pitch
black on the outside and scalding hot in the inside. He pulled the flaming mallow from the fire,
letting go of her and blew out the flames. “Perfect!” He laughed, glancing down
at her. “All burnt and crunchy and bitter outside, sweet beneath. Kinda like me.” Winking, he retrieved the
crackers and chocolate, wondering if he really wanted to use the crackers or
just stick with the good stuff.
“You don’t
give yourself enough credit.” Vallea waited until he devoured his smore before
kissing him softly and made herself a second smore, looking up at the stars now
peeking out one by one.
This was a
moment she would never forget and cherish forever, even when she was
90-years-old, providing she made it that long.
~!~
It was one
of the memories she held onto because memories were all she had left to keep
from losing her mind. After Seth had his
fill of her and passed out, Vallea slipped from the bed to stare out the
window, silent tears falling down her cheeks.
She wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the three stoned
diamond ring on her left hand, which felt like a 1000 pound weight. They weren’t married yet, but Vallea knew it
was only a matter of time before she was forced down the aisle.
It made
her cringe on the inside; she didn’t want to marry Seth Rollins. Jon was the only man she wanted to marry, to
be with, but it could never happen. What
Ryan put her through was cake compared to Seth; what he put her through and
forced her to do…Vallea never wished for Ryan to be alive more than this moment
in her life. She would give anything to
deal with his overbearing as opposed to being in an involuntary engagement with
a man she loathed, who also forced her to have sex with him whenever he wanted.
“I love
you, Jon.” She whispered, pressing her forehead against the glass and turned
the diamond ring over to where it just looked like a white gold band with no
stone. “I’m so sorry…”
Vallea
could be sorry all she wanted, but this was her only option. Of the possibilities presented to her, she had
never considered any of them except this. This was it. This was the only way. The only thing she could do. She belonged to Seth Rollins now and soon
enough, she would be Mrs. Rollins and there was nothing to be done about it. She would walk down the aisle, smiling and
pretending to be happy, with the man who wasn’t her soul mate, who wasn’t the
love of her life, who wasn’t Jon.
To this
day, Jon still didn’t understand what happened between them. They were so blissfully happy, like a
newlywed couple, without the actual marriage.
So many plans were in store for their home and they talked about even
more that night under the stars, camping by the waterfall. It was like a fairytale; Vallea had finally
found her prince charming, or damn close to it, and she thought nothing would
be able to destroy them.
She
thought they would last forever.
What a
fool-hearted woman she’d been to actually believe that nonsense!
The worst
part of this entire situation was she couldn’t tell Jon why she left him for
Seth. All she’d told him was she didn’t
love him anymore, lying through her teeth, and that she wanted to be with Seth
instead. Seth was right there, front in
center, to make sure the breakup happened exactly as it should have, not
risking her blabbing the truth or the fact he was blackmailing her.
Chapter 41
If that
wasn’t bad enough, she STILL had to be Jon’s personal assistant because of how
their contracts were set up. There was
no breaking them, they were iron-clad and she still had 3 years left on hers
before it expired. Seth already told her
once it did, she would be staying off the road and pumping out babies for
him. He was going to turn her into the
perfect wife, even if it killed her, and Vallea had no say in the matter.
Her life
was literally controlled in every way by Seth Rollins.
What
KILLED Jon was that, even though she had stood there telling him all this bullshit
that he did not necessarily believe, but at the same time there was that slight
hint of doubt, he couldn’t hate her. He
couldn’t bring himself to stop loving her. What had given him that doubt was the fact
that she had alluded to what he had done, without actually saying it or making
it clear for that twat crotch Colby Lopez. She had implied that not only did she not love
him, she didn’t trust him to ‘do the right thing’, and
that had hurt Jon more than their first break-up.
All this
time, she had been living with him with that fear?
Of course,
it was all a lie. Every poisonous word
that came out of her mouth that night was a lie. She trusted Jon wholeheartedly, with every
fiber of her being, and loved him too much to let him get hurt. Seth made it clear she was to ‘hit Jon where
it hurt the most’ if she wanted to protect him…if she wanted Seth to keep his
blackmail a secret. What killed HER the
most was the fact that after making Jon promise there would be no more lies
between them, now Vallea was doing the same thing. She was lying through her teeth and she would
never be able to tell him why. Just like
he wasn’t able to tell her why he had lied about cheating on her, which
everyone still believed happened…everyone except Seth.
The
murders didn’t bother her, as crazy as that sounded. Jon had done it for her because Ryan was
slowly killing her. She accepted it,
understood and they had moved on, never to talk about it again. All skeletons were meant to come out of the
closet though, all secrets were meant to be discovered, sooner or later. How Seth discovered what Jon did was beyond
her. He had approached her outside of
the arena one night…and she would never forget it because it changed every
aspect of her life…
~!~
Thanksgiving
in their new home had been amazing.
Vallea
cooked up a storm, even though it was just the two of them. Jon had told her it wasn’t necessary and had
no idea what they were going to do with all the leftovers. They only had a couple days off before having
to rejoin the WWE. That was what freezer
chests were for…for most of the food, anyway.
Vallea assured him it was fine and she didn’t mind making a Thanksgiving
feast. They ate, drank beer, had pumpkin
pie and made passionate love in front of the fireplace in the living room,
after their stomachs were settled. Jon
had even grabbed the cool whip to smear it on her body and licked every spot
covered, including her nethers.
Two days
later, they were back to the grind and Vallea was outside of the arena, getting
some fresh air. Monique had finally
texted her back, agreeing to meet for coffee, but made it clear she still
didn’t forgive Vallea. It was a step in
the right direction and hopefully, one day, they would build their friendship
to where it used to be. She had just
sent a text back to Monique and slipped her phone in her back pocket when she
heard a voice clear behind her, turning to see none other than Seth Rollins.
He had a
smarmy Cheshire grin on his face. “What can I do for you, Seth?” He wasn’t too
happy to find her back with Jon, especially after their one night together,
only for her to disappear a few weeks later.
However, they never talked about what happened between them and she was
fine with it, thinking he was too.
Again, her
assumption was wrong.
“We need
to talk, Vallea.” Colby’s tone a little too sweet, a little too polite. His grin never faltered and the gleam in his dark
eyes was pure evil and malicious delight. When she rolled her eyes and moved to walk
away, he reached out and wrapped steely fingers around her upper arm, stopping
her from going anywhere. “Trust me, sweets, you’re going to want to hear what I
have to say.” He could already see she was going to give him grief, she was
already shaking her head. “And about the night Jon murdered Ryan and Nick.”
That stopped her cold and his grin widened.
Her hazel
eyes widened and her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as Vallea stared at
Seth, seeing the truth in his eyes. He
knew. He knew what happened…how long? How long had he known what Jon did? Vallea could have tried denying it and
pretended not to know what he was talking about, but the evil in his demonic
eyes scared her. Would he go to the
police? Would he turn Jon in? If that happened, she would lose Jon forever
and that couldn’t happen!
“What do
you want, Seth?” She asked quietly, not fighting him any longer and felt his
fingers squeeze her arm just a little more to assert power.
“You.” Colby
said simply, almost casually, though there was nothing informal about his eyes
or the iron grip he had on her arm. “And to see that crazy bastard suffer.” It
had occurred to him that there was every chance, if his little plan went like
he knew it would, Jon being the insane person that he was, would kill him next,
but…he was also counting on Vallea being his shield, figuratively speaking.
“Two birds, one murderous stone.” And Jon had cast it himself. “You’re going to
be my girl, Vallea, and we’re going to be very, very happy.”
Vallea
couldn’t help it. She started laughing
and it wasn’t full of humor either. It
was a nervous, almost panicked, laugh while she stared at this man like he’d
grown three heads out of his neck. Was
he serious? She would be HIS girl? Seth had lost his mind!
“No, I’m
not. W-We slept together once and the
sex wasn’t even that great…” Vallea gasped when his grip tightened on her arm,
to the point of bruising, and yanked her against him to where their noses
practically touched. “Get your hand off me now, Rollins. Or I will report you to Stephanie and Paul.”
Violence was not tolerated in the WWE for any reason; they had a zero tolerance
policy. “I’ll never be yours!”
“I don’t
think you understand, Vallea,” Colby brushed his nose against hers. “I have
proof Jon murdered them. I know for a
fact that he sent that Nicky guy away to clean-up the blood they left behind in
the snow.” He could see from the way what little color she did have left
drained away that she hadn’t known that little detail. “I know that while Nicky
was gone, he shoved Ryan over the scaffolding railing and into that vat of
acid.” Her shiver was delicious. “And then when Nicky came back, Jon did the
same to him. His friend.”
Jon hadn’t
gone into detail about the murders, only telling her what she needed to
hear. The bare minimum. Of course, the murders were gruesome. Who the hell else would survive being tossed
in a vat of acid? This wasn’t comic
books and villains didn’t magically come out of something like that with
superpowers or whatever.
“This has
nothing to do with me…” Vallea pulled her face away from his, not wanting any
other part of this asshole’s body touching hers and could already feel the
tears stinging her eyes. “H-How do you know all of this?”
Who had
told Seth?
Who ELSE
had been there the night Jon committed those murders?
“It has
everything to do with you, Vallea, because if you don’t do as I want, I’m going
to take the person who WAS there, the testimony they provided on video for me,
and all the pictures we went and took of the areas straight to the police. This person vividly remembers Jon and Nicky
being prior to Nicky’s acid bath. I bet
with this new information and knowing exactly what to look for, they find
something to tie it straight back to him in no time. Not to mention…there never was a Mindy at that
bar, no parking lot bang fest with a hot blonde.” Colby wasn’t an idiot.
“You’re
blackmailing me to be with you…all to make Jon suffer? What did Jon ever do to you besides give you
the greatest rivalry of your entire career?
Some of the best matches you’ve ever had?” Vallea demanded, not
bothering to fight back the tears because, with all that concrete evidence, Jon
would spend the rest of his life in prison.
She wanted to tell him to do what he had to do, but the thought of Jon
being locked behind bars, all to protect her, made her nauseous. “P-Please
don’t do this, Seth…I love him…” They had only been back together for 8 months!
“D-Don’t take him away from me…”
“I don’t
care. If you can love a murdering
lunatic like him, then you can definitely learn to love me.” Colby growled
scathingly, using his free hand to reach out and brush away some of the tears
that were spilling freely. “I’m doing this for you too, Vallea, you just don’t
see it yet. You don’t belong with a
murderer. What’s going to stop him from
losing it one day and you’re his next victim? How many people came before Ryan and Nick? This is going to work out, sweetheart, don’t
you worry.”
“No…NO! No it’s not going to work out because I’m not
going to be with you!” Vallea wrenched her arm free of his grasp, nearly
pulling it out of socket and stumbled away from him, shaking her head
frantically. “I don’t belong with you! I
want nothing to do with you! You’re
crazy and you need to stay the fuck away from me!” She began storming back
inside the arena, only for Seth to stop her again with his scathing words.
“Two
weeks, Vallea. You have two weeks to
leave Jon and come to me, or I will make sure he winds up in prison for the
rest of his fucking life.” Colby had thrown down the gauntlet, making sure
nobody else had overheard this conversation and folded his arms in front of his
chest. “Two weeks, sweetheart.”
“And
what’s to stop you from turning him in, if I agree to this?”
“I will
hand over everything I have on him and you can destroy it…AFTER you’re mine
completely.” Colby had plans and the first phase was having her leave the
lunatic for him. “And I’m going to be there when you shatter him to pieces
too.” He wanted a front row seat to this.
“You’re
sick…” Vallea wiped her tears away angrily, knowing she had no other choice and
could feel her heart breaking all over again.
Her stitched heart Jon had sewed back together. “And how will I be yours
completely, hmm? You’re already
blackmailing me into leaving him to make him suffer, so what more do you want
from me?”
“That’s
for me to know and for you to find out.” Colby walked past her, grabbing her
backside in the process and licked his lips. “Two weeks! Enjoy what little time you have left with
Jonny boy!”
All Vallea
could do was stand there and watch him saunter away, acting as if he didn’t
just destroy her world.
Jon would
go to prison if she didn’t do this, if she didn’t agree to be Seth’s completely
and she had no idea what he meant by that.
~!~
Two weeks
later at Raw, after the show, Vallea had broken up with Jon and put on a show
for the ages, with Seth watching every second of it. She left the arena with Seth, crying her eyes
out as soon as they were on their way back to the hotel. Seth ordered her to dry her tears up because
he wouldn’t stand for a sobbing mess sucking his dick. Once they were back at the hotel, Seth forced
her to her knees in front of him to suck him off and afterwards, he proposed to
her with the ring currently on her left ring finger.
“Once
we’re married and you are mine completely, I’ll hand it all over to you, all
the evidence I have on Jon.” Colby had promised, his words still piercing her
memory to this day. “And we’re only going to be married…when I say so. When I’m ready to make you my wife.”
Hence why
she was still engaged instead of married at the moment.
That had
been 6 months ago and WrestleMania was upon them. Seth was facing Roman Reigns for the
Universal championship, which the Samoan had held well over a year now. Jon had a match on the card as well, but
Vallea hadn’t been paying attention since it broke her heart all over again
every time she saw him. It was bad
enough she was forced to be his personal assistant still.
Stupid
contract!
Seth had
done everything – EVERYTHING – in his power to break that contract, but nothing
had worked and he’d taken it out on her body, showing her his darker,
vindictive side. To say anal sex hurt
would’ve been an understatement, but Vallea was forced to let Seth ride her ass
for the better part of that night…and any night after. Not even Jon had anal sex with her, but Seth
wanted her to know he had complete power, control and dominance over her, both
in and out of the bedroom.
And there
wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it as long as he held that evidence over
her head and had Jon’s future in the palm of his grubby hands.
Jon was a
hot mess. He didn’t fall into drinking,
not like he had the last time, but he was still a mess. Everything she had said when she had broken up
with him, the unsaid word and implications about trusting him and his inability
to ‘do the right thing’, the nonsense she had said about her and Colby
reconnecting on the road. If it hadn’t
been for the fact that Vallea had confessed to sleeping with Lopez after their
first break-up, Jon would have laughed in her face. As it was…with her lover right there, and her
saying matter-of-fact poisonous words to him, he hadn’t known what to do.
Cry. Rage. Drink.
Fuck someone up. None of it.
Time had sort
of stopped there for Jon.
Chapter 42
There had
to be a way out of this.
There had
to be something she could do to get away from Seth Rollins and get back to
Jon.
No, there
wasn’t and she immediately squashed any kind of hope left in her heart. Until Seth handed over all the evidence he
had on Jon with the murders, and she was sure Jon was completely protected,
Vallea had to endure this misery. Seth
hadn’t mentioned the wedding in weeks, which made her wonder if it would ever
actually happen. Maybe they would remain
engaged for the rest of her life and he’d only marry her on her deathbed.
What a
sick, twisted ploy that would be!
Vallea
already planned on divorcing him as soon as she was sure all the evidence
against Jon was destroyed, not that Seth had an inkling what she had
planned. Her acting had gotten much
better the longer she was stuck with a man she hated with every fiber of her
being. Hell, Seth didn’t even realize
whenever they had sex, her eyes would close and she pictured being with Jon,
which was the only way she reached her climax.
If she didn’t, Seth would know, so Vallea devised a way to make sure she
climaxed with her ‘fiance’ every single time and it
was thanks to all the memories she had of Jon.
“Vallea,
come to bed.” Colby ordered in a low, sleepy voice, not bothering to see where
she was at since they were in a regular hotel room. Not very many places for her to escape from
him. “Now.”
Shutting
her eyes, Vallea swallowed down her pride and turned to walk back over to lay
down in the bed, feeling Seth’s arms immediately wrap around her possessively.
“Need me
to put you to sleep, sweetheart?”
“No…”
“Well, you
woke me up and therefore, I think you should take care of me…” Colby’s voice
left no room for argument as he rolled her on her back and hovered over her,
kissing her.
Jon
entered her mind and she pictured him kissing her instead of Seth, returning it
with equal fire and vigor just as he slid home inside of her.
A few
minutes later, Colby was passed out again and Vallea managed to close her eyes
to fall asleep as well.
~!~
“So, I
have something to tell you, Vallea.” Colby announced the following morning over
coffee and breakfast, staring at her from across the table.
Vallea
dreaded hearing this, but plastered a fake smile on her face. “Oh really? Well, are you going to keep me in suspense or
tell me?” She took a sip of her coffee, the diamond on her left hand sparkling
under the lights above them.
He smiled,
taking that hand and slid the pad of his thumb over it, over the diamond,
seeing she was actually interested. “How would you finally like to become Mrs. Lopez?”
Those were
the best words she’d heard in a long time because that meant Seth was finally
ready to marry her and hand over the evidence he had on Jon. “I’d love it. When?” She tried not to sound eager about it
and looked down at the pamphlet he slapped on the table in front of her.
It was for
a Las Vegas wedding chapel. She suddenly
wasn’t hungry anymore and did her best not to let the smile fall from her
face. Vegas was sacred to her – that was
where her and Jon met and fell in love!
Colby was
well aware of the fact that Jon and Vallea had lived in Vegas together, it was
fitting, wasn’t it? Him and Vallea
marrying there, he knew it would drive that dagger home a bit more for both her
and Jon. “Unless you want a giant wedding with all the fixings?” He offered,
his chocolate brown eyes widening almost innocently. “A white dress, maybe?” He
leered, licking his lips. She was
anything but virginal, he knew that for a fact.
Virgins
weren’t anal whores.
YOU SON OF
A BITCH, she screamed mentally, wanting to
splash her hot coffee in his face and tell him to go fuck himself. Instead, Vallea kept her composure, somehow,
someway, and kept the serene smile on her face. “The sooner, the better. No need for a big fancy wedding. I don’t really think that’s your style
anyway.” A Vegas wedding…Vallea knew once this happened, the City of Lights
would forever be her reminder of this never-ending nightmare. Seth was bound and determined to wash away
all traces of happiness from her life with Jon. “And white isn’t my style
either. I’ll find a suitable dress for
the occasion. I’m taking it you wanna do
this after WrestleMania?” They wouldn’t have any downtime until after the event.
“We’ll
pick out a dress together.” This would be perfect. True, it was going to be a tacky, chapel
wedding, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t turn it into something worth the
start of their new life together. “Yes. We’ll head out the following Tuesday and I’ve
already put in for the time off, so we can spend a few days consummating it. Oh, and since you love it in Vegas so much…” Colby
had been browsing the internet. “This house was recently listed…you like
outdoorsy shit, right?” He set out some pictures he had printed off from the
listing.
Her heart
couldn’t take much more of this. “Seth, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but
Vegas is ruined for me. I don’t want to
live there anymore. You have a perfectly
fine home in Davenport, Iowa and I’ll be…happy there.” It would SUCK, but as
soon as that evidence was handed over, she was disappearing off the face of the
planet and NOBODY would be able to find her. “Let’s just get married there and
start our lives in Davenport, where I know YOU’LL be the happiest.” This was
all about HIS happiness after all.
To hell
with hers or what she wanted in life!
“I want
you to be happy too, Vallea.” He said sweetly, tapping a finger on the
pictures, annoyance appearing in his expression. She hadn’t even looked! He had found a beautiful house, outside of
Vegas within ten or fifteen minutes from the airport. Brand new in-ground pool, backyard had been
started on landscaping and patios, the kitchen was gorgeous! Also, he could see her in there cooking for
him and their kids. His smile came back
when she finally looked, apparently caving.
“I said
no. And I mean it, Seth.” She promptly
ripped it up in front of him, the pieces floating to the table and stood,
straightening her top. “I need to use the restroom, excuse me.”
Bowing at
him mockingly, Vallea stormed away from the table and let the tears flow down
her cheeks as soon as she was in the bathroom.
That wasn’t just ANY house Seth had found and he damn well knew it! That was the house her and Jon had lived in
together! Jon had put it on the market,
apparently. Vallea went into one of the
stalls and buried her face in her hands, crying her heart out. She would NEVER be happy with Seth, ever, and
if he thought she was having kids with him, he had another thing coming. They made morning after pills and plan B
pills for that reason. She had also
secretly gotten a birth control shot, which had to be done every 3 months.
Actually, Colby
had no idea who the house had belonged to as it was realtor-listed and that
kind of information wasn’t immediately available. He had just liked the house. The fact that she had shown her spine pissed
him off, especially when he was trying to be nice. Inhaling deeply, he kept the smile on his
face, ignoring the curious look the waitress was giving him as she began
clearing off the table, those pieces of picture with it. Vallea had embarrassed him publicly for the
first and last time.
That
night, she paid for her insubordination.
Seth
didn’t bother coaxing her into bed with sex, he flat out planted her where he
wanted her and took what he wanted violently, viciously and anally. Vallea was pretty sure he split her in two,
but thankfully, there was only a little bit of blood and bruising. His dick was small compared to Jon’s, so it
didn’t do nearly as much damage as it should have. Throughout the rape, Seth reminded her who
owned her, who she belonged to and if she ever embarrassed him like that again
in public, he would turn the evidence over to the police. It was the same threat used over and over
again, and it was effective because she believed Seth would. This was what her life would be like after
they were married – being raped and controlled.
She had to keep reminding herself she was doing this for a reason, she
had no choice in the matter and wouldn’t let Jon wind up behind bars.
“Time for
a shower, sweetheart.” Colby snorted, lifting her trembling body over his
shoulder and carted her into the shower, where he proceeded to rape her again,
this time vaginally. “You were right about one thing…” He grunted with each
thrust, slapping her already bruised backside and yanked her by the hair to
where her back met his chest, pumping in and out of her relentlessly. “I won’t
be happy in Vegas. We are getting
married there though, I already put the deposit down for the chapel. And I want you in red. You’re a whore, you don’t deserve to wear
white on our wedding day. You understand
me?”
“Y-Yes…”
She gasped out, hands planted against the shower wall while Seth powered in and
out of her unwilling body.
Red…he
wanted her to wear red…on her forced wedding day.
“YES
WHAT?!”
“Y-Yes,
sir…” She squeaked out, her face colliding with the shower wall moments later
and her hands managed to catch most of the impact.
Once Seth
emptied his seed inside of her again, making sure it was deep inside of her, he
dragged her out of the shower and ordered her to get in bed. He spooned up against her, making sure their
bodies were aligned and shut the light off before burying his face in her neck.
“Goodnight,
my soon-to-be wife.”
Vallea
didn’t respond, silent tears pouring down her cheeks and eventually fell asleep
from sheer exhaustion after being raped repeatedly by her soon-to-be rapist
husband.
~!~
“Oh Dean,
oh god baby that feels so good…”
Those were
the first words Vallea heard as she approached Jon’s locker room, stopping at
the sound of a woman’s voice echoing through the door. She had his schedule for the week in hand,
wanting to drop it off and felt another piece of her heart break. From the sounds of it, Jon had the woman
pressed against the door, so she couldn’t enter if she wanted to.
“Goddamn,
your dick feels so good inside of me…oh harder, Daddy…”
Hearing
his growl of approval was all Vallea could take as she slid the documents under
the door and walked away, wrapping her arms around herself. If he only knew everything she had put
herself through to protect him, he wouldn’t be screwing someone else in his
locker room. Vallea had nobody else to
blame except herself, knowing she never should’ve gotten involved with Seth in
the first place or tried using him for sex to get over her ex-boyfriend.
Going back
to Seth’s locker room, knowing better than to loiter, Vallea sat down on the
bench and had never felt so alone in her life.
Not even 20 minutes later, banging ensued at Seth’s door and it was
tossed open with an annoyed Jon walking in, forcing Vallea to her feet. She was sore from head to toe and made sure
every part of her body was covered, including her neck, which had bruises on it
from Seth throttling her.
“What’s
wrong?” She asked resignedly, blinking as he slapped the paperwork she’d shoved
under his door at her feet and picked it up. “Did I miss something?”
Jon was
agitated because he had to come here, to Colby’s locker room, when she should
have never left his to begin with. It
didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure why she hadn’t come in, he had been
banging some Suzy Q. Vallea was knocking
boots with Colby, that was so glaringly obvious, she was sporting hickies constantly, giggling whenever he was around. It was disgusting. Jon wasn’t going to deny his own basic nature
because apparently that was all he was. An animal. Not to be trusted.
“Schedule
is wrong for the third week of next month. Everything on it is ass backwards, Vallea.” He
had his schedule memorized now, he didn’t know why, maybe because he was
working himself up to the point when she’d leave.
“What?”
Vallea frowned, flipping to the third page and read through it, shutting her
eyes briefly.
The
giggling and flirting with Seth was all an act, a phony show. She had to do it in order to protect Jon, but
he could never know that fact. He could
never know the truth. He could never
know what she’d sacrificed in order to save him from a life behind bars.
“I’ll get
it fixed by the end of the night. I’m
sorry…” It was very rare when Vallea made mistakes at her job, but Seth had
really been pushing her buttons lately. “It won’t happen again…” She could not
meet his eyes, avoiding eye contact with him every time they had to converse
with each other, which wasn’t often.
“So, word
is you’re getting married soon.” Jon had seen the ring, that had hurt him a
lot. Vallea still didn’t look at him and
he frowned. “What’s the matter?” Why couldn’t she ever meet his gaze? She was the one who had broken his heart. She was the one who had chosen Colby.
“Shouldn’t you be happy? The blushing
bride?” Why was he pushing her? It was
rare, Colby not being around. “Want one last fling before you settle down and
pop out Rollins brats?” He rasped wickedly, the chuckle coming from him bitter.
“There
won’t be any kids.” Vallea couldn’t find it in her to be snarky back, not when
Seth wasn’t around and it was just her and Jon alone.
They
didn’t have these moments often and him calling her a blushing bride made her
blood boil. She turned, setting the
paperwork down on the bench and twisted the diamond on her ring finger around
to where only the band could be seen.
When Jon whipped her around, he saw the tears and fear boiling in her
hazel eyes and Vallea couldn’t fight any of it off. She would not let the tears fall though and
didn’t push Jon away like she should have.
“Jon…”
Chapter 43
“Why the
tears?” Jon stared into her face, icy blues searching her eyes. He seen the fear and immediately let go of
her, shaking his head as he stepped away. “Never mind, I know why. You’re afraid big bad Jonny boy is going to
get you next, right?” The words left a sour taste in his mouth and his lips
twisted into a grimace. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you, Vallea.” He
wanted to hurt Colby Lopez, actually. He
wanted to hurt her on an emotional level, but he had a hard time doing it. “Oh…just
so you know, I put the house up for sale. I’ll make sure once it sells, you get your
half.”
“T-That’s
not…I’m not afraid of you. I never have
been, Jon. And keep the money, I don’t
want it. I just…want you to be happy and
safe…” Vallea winced as soon as those words came out of her mouth and knew
she’d said too much, clearing her throat.
She looked
away from him again, trying to regain her composure and took a deep breath,
blowing it out slowly. There were so
many things she wanted to say to him, to tell him, but it would have to wait
until after she married Seth. The
evidence still loomed over their heads, without him even knowing it, and
keeping Jon in the dark was for the best.
If he even had an INKLING Seth knew what he’d done, Jon would have more
blood on his hands and that couldn’t happen.
“I’ll…have
your paperwork done as soon as possible.”
“See,
that’s not what you said, Vallea. You
said you couldn’t ‘trust me to do the right thing’, you implied you were afraid
when you called it quits, again.” Jon reminded dangerously, his eyes flashing
because he wasn’t amused. “And now you’re saying otherwise, your eyes are
watery, and your fucking hands are shaking. So, remember the deal we made and quit lying
to me. What’s. Your. Damage?” Happy and
safe… “Why safe? Why wouldn’t I be
safe?”
Pull it
together, control yourself, Vallea mentally
chastised, gripping her hands tightly to press against her mouth and nose,
acting as if she was saying a prayer. “I’m not lying to you and I don’t have
time for this, Jon.” Her voice had grown colder, much like it had the night she
broke up with him. Seth could have
cameras in his dressing room, she would NOT put it past that psycho. “You need
to leave. Seth will be back soon and
my…fiancé won’t appreciate you hassling me.
I will get your schedule fixed, it shouldn’t take long.” Christ, Vallea
could barely muster up the haughtiness to her tone and kept her back turned to
him, knowing if he saw her eyes, he would know something was up. “Leave NOW,
Ambrose.”
Nope. He wasn’t buying it. She had said happy and safe and those were not
words she had used when putting that knife in his chest that day she had split
with him…with Colby at her side looking all smug and punchable.
“I don’t think so, personal assistant. I
need some assistance.” He folded his arms over his chest, fingers twitching to
snatch her up and make her look at him. “Why safe? Why are you teary? When did Miss High ‘n Mighty, left everyone
and everything behind because of a LIE, become such a LIAR?”
Those
words stung. “The only reason I left everyone and everything behind is because
YOU LIED TO ME about screwing someone else!
Did you honestly think I was going to forgive and forget that so damn
easily?! I TRIED, okay? I TRIED forgiving you! I tried forgetting what you did to me, but I
couldn’t! Go live your happy, SAFE life
and leave me the hell alone!” The poison in those words made more tears burn
her eyes, but Vallea had to remain strong.
She had gone 6 months, put up with being raped and abused for 6 long
months, and her deadline was almost up.
She just had to wait a little longer for Seth to hand the evidence over,
after they were married, and then she would be free as a bird. “Damn it,
Jon…please…” Her voice cracked, not a hint of animosity or sneer in her tone.
“Go.”
“There you
go, using SAFE again, and you’re voice is breaking like you’re going through
puberty. Don’t give me your shit, Vallea! You’re lying about something, so what is it? We were supposed to face this shit together,
whatever it is you’re hiding, you-”
“Is there
a problem?”
“You’re my
fucking problem, Rollins.” Jon snarled, whirling to glare at the idiot who had
destroyed his life, was marrying HIS girl, and hadn’t given them enough time.
“Goddamn
it, stop! Please stop!” Vallea pleaded,
stepping in front of Jon when he went to confront Seth and extended her hands
to press against his rapidly rising and falling chest. “Please don’t make this
harder than it has to be. I…made my
choice. I chose Seth. It’s been 6 months, Jon. You have to get over this and move on. Be happy.
Be SAFE.” She wanted to reach up and touch his face, but Seth’s hand on
her hip told her that would be a really bad idea. Her eyes conveyed the truth, love for Jon
shining in her eyes, but she would not, could not, act on those feelings.
“Leave. I will get your schedule fixed
and I don’t appreciate you upsetting my fiancé while at work.” Pulling her
hands away from his chest, Vallea folded her arms in front of her chest and
hadn’t pulled her teary gaze away from electric, icy blues.
“You keep
emphasizing that word, babe.” That was probably the first time Jon had used
anything but Vallea in six months, his eyes staring into hers intently, trying
to read what she wasn’t telling him.
“Maybe
because she knows I’m about to fuck your world up for upsetting her, you psycho!”
Colby growled, not overly pleased to hear that Vallea and Jon had been in here
a while and she was apparently having verbal issues with her lunatic ex. “Why
don’t you just fire her already? Don’t
you think it’ll be awkward, seeing her as Mrs. Lopez soon?”
Jon was going to bash Colby’s head in.
What part
of the contract was IRON-CLAD did this idiot not understand?! There was NOTHING they could do to break
it. Jon could try to fire her, but she
wasn’t hired BY Jon, she was hired by the WWE.
Seth was such a moron and he wasn’t helping the situation any. Doing the only thing she could think of to
get Jon to storm out of there, Vallea turned to stare up into those dark
chocolate eyes of Seth. The psycho that
had her chained and controlled in almost every way.
“Mrs. Lopez
sounds amazing.” She purred, suddenly pulling his face down to passionately
kiss him and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, only breaking it when
they both needed oxygen. “I suggest you get outta here unless you want a show,
Ambrose.” Her eyes never left Seth’s, once again putting on a picture perfect
performance.
Jon folded
his arms over his chest, an eyebrow raising. “By all means, entertain me.” He
ordered flatly. “Show me how much you like that ‘tiny dick’ that ‘wasn’t that
good’.”
“Trust me,
she was lying.” Colby smirked, raising his darkened gaze from Vallea to look at
Jon. He purposefully grabbed two
handfuls of her delicious ass, pulling her hips up against him, so she could
feel his physical reaction. “She can’t get enough, can you, sweets?”
This made
her nauseous and she had to fight the urge not to throw up, her nail sliding
down his bare chest. “Never.” Please don’t make me do this, Jon, she
pleaded in thought, hoping he would leave before the show got underway.
She had
made her bed and now she had to lay in it.
When Jon remained standing there, steadfast and stubborn, Vallea felt
Seth’s grip tighten slightly on her shoulders and lowered to her knees in front
of him, beginning to undo the skinny jeans he had on. He wasn’t in his wrestling attire yet, but
all he had was a promo tonight, so a blowjob wouldn’t harm his in-ring ability.
“Already
hard for me, I see. Good.”
Just as
she freed Colby’s cock, Jon finally stormed out, slamming the door shut behind
him with authority and Vallea proceeded to suck her fiancé off.
~!~
Seth did
not win the Universal title at WrestleMania against Roman Reigns, much to the
delight of Vallea. He had changed their
plans to get married the week AFTER WrestleMania because of their hectic
schedule. Raw would emanate from Las
Vegas, Nevada and he had it planned to get married after the show. Instead of going to the arena, Seth ordered
Vallea to get ready for their wedding.
Nails, hair, makeup…he wanted her to look perfect. The dress she would wear was red, strapless
and went to her knees, hugging all of her curves.
Seth had
hired professionals to do her makeup and hair, teasing it into a million curls
on top of her head since her hair was down to the middle of her back now. There had to be at least 200 bobby pins in
her hair and two tons of hairspray to keep everything in check. Her makeup was red lipstick, foundation,
black liner and blush, nothing too over the top. Slipping her black heels on, Vallea thanked the
professionals for doing their job and did everything in her power not to start
panicking or cry. Crying would mess up
the masterpiece Seth wanted her to be.
She was so close now, just a little longer and this nightmare would come
to an end.
At exactly
9 PM pacific time, Seth showed up at the hotel to retrieve her and they drove
to the chapel in a limousine. He
couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked in red and had made sure to help her
pick out the perfect dress for their wedding.
Vallea asked him about the evidence, hoping he kept to his word and Seth
assured her it was back at the hotel, waiting for her. She would get everything once they
consummated their marriage.
That made
her feel a little better and no other words were spoken between them. Walking down the aisle, Vallea had to force
one foot to go in front of the other, to not stop herself and run out of the
chapel away from him. The vows were
said, all generic, nothing personal and before she knew it, Seth had kissed her
to seal the deal. The ceremony had been
one big blur, Vallea hardly remembered any of it.
Arriving
back at their honeymoon suite, Seth had pulled out all the stops and had
champagne on ice waiting for them, along with snacks and a small wedding
cake. There were rose petals all over
the place too. Vallea didn’t care about
any of it, feeling Seth walk up behind her while she stared out the window and
stepped away from him when he went to kiss her neck.
“I want to
see it. Before I do this, I need to see
the evidence and make sure you haven’t lied to me this whole time.” She
demanded, showing spine again and received a backhand across her face for her
troubles.
“Did you
really think I’d just HAND over everything on that piece of shit once you
married me? You’re such a dumb whore,
Vallea. And now, you’re MY dumb whore to
do with as I please.” Colby growled, yanking her up by her hair and thrust her
over the nearby table, the goodies spilling to the floor.
“Seth,
NO!”
He didn’t
take her ass because anal sex wasn’t considered a proper consummation. There was plenty of time to ride his wife’s ass
later, though. He thrust in and out of
her, holding her down and kept spewing hateful words into her ear about how
he’d tricked her into marrying him. The
evidence was his hold over her and he’d never relinquish it unless he was
dead.
Something
sparked inside of Vallea at that moment, a terrifying reality crashing over
her. Unless Seth was dead, she would
never be free of him and he would torment her for the rest of her life. On the table, right in front of her, was a
cutting knife meant for the wedding cake Seth had ordered. Without thinking twice about it, she reached
for it and hid it against her, waiting for her moment to strike. She had nothing left to lose any more now
that Seth had shown his true colors. Gritting
her teeth through the rape, Vallea felt his seed empty inside of her, and felt overwhelming
rage consume her.
“Mmm sweetheart,
I can’t wait until you have my babies…” He groaned in her ear, flicking her
lobe with his tongue and slid out of her, turning her around.
With as
much strength as she could muster up, not thinking twice about it, and in a
panicked state, Vallea jammed the cutting knife right into the side of his neck
as hard as she could. It went all the
way through as Seth gasped for air, stumbling away from her and tried pulling it
out, but he was choking on his own blood.
He managed to grab hold of her throat, squeezing for just a second and
then ripped the front of her dress before collapsing on the carpeted floor,
blood pooling around his head.
“O-Oh
god…Oh god…”
Vallea
covered her mouth with her hand, trembling from head to toe and tears rushed
down her face, the realization crashing over her with what she just did. Grabbing her phone out of her purse, Seth’s
blood was on her hands from plunging the knife into his neck. She hadn’t pulled away in time and it made her
shake even more. There was only one
person she could call and her eyes shut when he actually answered.
“J-Jon…Jon,
please don’t hang up, please! I-It’s
Vallea…I-I need your help, please…” Her voice was in a pure panic.
Of ALL the
people to call him, Vallea was not who he had expected. Jon did hang up. She had called right back and he had
reluctantly listened to her frantic cries, needing help. Colby had them at a ritzy, fancy hotel in
Vegas, instead of the regular hotel WWE staff stayed at. Jon wondered if he was about to walk into his
personal hell. She had gotten married…she
was married.
“Babe,
it’s a little late to have second thoughts…” He drawled when she let him in,
sliding through the tiny gap she opened for him. “Oh fuck…” That was…not what
he had expected.
Vallea
couldn’t stop crying. She had killed
someone, she was a murderer and there was blood on her hands…literal blood.
“I-I did it…I-I killed him…” Her voice was shaky as Jon surveyed the scene in
front of him.
If he was
smart, he would call the police and turn her in. It was bad enough he already had two murders
on his conscience and now she was about to add a third. Half of her dress was hanging off her, revealing
the red lace bra she had on beneath, strapless, her makeup was smeared from
crying so much and the side of her face was heavily bruised from Seth’s
backhand.
“J-Jon…please…”
She didn’t even know what she was pleading from him anymore and buried her face
in her bloody hands.
Chapter 44
She was
panicking.
Not saying
a word, Jon grabbed a spot on her arm that wasn’t covered in blood or bruises.
“You in there. Shower.” He ordered,
pulling her into the bathroom. Panicking
wasn’t going to do anything and he didn’t have time to coddle her because there
was a mess to clean up before housekeeping arrived in the morning. “Vallea,” He
stared down at her intently. “I’ve got to run down the street and pick up some
things. I need you to calm down and
shower, okay? And breathe.” Lye. A big ass duffel bag…or another large rolling
suitcase.
“W-We have
to…call the p-police…”
He cupped
her face in his strong hands, shaking his head vehemently and guided her over
to the shower, turning the sprays on.
Her tears poured over his hands as he once again ordered her to clean
herself up and promised to be back soon.
It was almost as if Vallea went on autopilot, not remembering peeling
her clothes off or stepping in the shower.
All she did was look down at her hands, watching Seth’s blood go down
the drain and silent tears mixed with the hot water. Jon had put hot water on that nearly scalded
her and she didn’t care, deserving to feel some pain after what she did. She killed someone. She killed Seth. She was a murderer and her hands would
forever be stained in his blood.
Jon hadn’t
had any of those issues when he killed Ryan and Nicky. His mindset had been it needed to be done, so
get it done. That was that, but his
background was so different from hers and doing dirty work to get things done,
or survive, had become second nature. Doing
it to protect someone he loved, he hadn’t blinked an eyelash. When he returned, she was still in the shower
and he could hear her crying. No time. He had to get this body taken care of. Jon set the fresh bedding he had nicked from
the linen closet at the end of the hall far away from the mess, sighing as he
rolled out the plastic.
Stumbling
out of the shower, Vallea had to pull herself together and help Jon, not sure
what to do with Seth’s body. Calling the
police wasn’t an option – she really didn’t want to go to prison. Jon owed her one, which was probably why she
had called him to help her. After her
crying jag, she began coming out of her shocked stupor and rationalized the
situation, wrapping a towel around her body.
Jon already had Seth wrapped up in plastic like a cocoon and she quickly
grabbed her bag to pull clothes out.
After dressing, since Jon’s back was turned to her, she went over to him
and swallowed hard at the large suitcase.
“W-What
can I do to help?” She asked quietly, trying like hell not to start trembling
again and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “T-Tell me what to do,
Jon.”
Jon didn’t
owe her jack squat. He’d seen those
bruises and got the impression she had been raging stupid and had left him for
some equally stupid reason involving SAFE. Explained so much. “Stay out of my way.” He
growled, not needing her help or wanting it.
He was
trying not to think about how everything came to this, because instead of
coming to him and trusting him to handle whatever it was, she had been stupid. Maybe she had finally gotten tired of people
saving her and decided to flip the switches. That looked like it went well. Jon crouched down, working the plastic wrapped
body into the overly large rolling case. He had to break and contort the body, it was
amusing.
Screw Colby
Lopez AKA Seth Rollins as far as he was concerned!
Pursing
her lips tightly together, Vallea clamped her hands over her ears, not needing
to hear the snapping bones of Seth’s body.
Left behind, after he was zipped in the suitcase, literally bent in
half, was a pool of blood. How the HELL
were they supposed to get THAT out of the carpet? Jon had grabbed carpet cleaner and thrust a
bottle at her while he had one of his own, both pouring it over the stain. Since it was fresh, it would hopefully come
up with a little elbow grease.
The silver
lining was the carpeting was dark, so at least if they couldn’t get the stain
out completely, it wouldn’t be spotted right away…or hopefully, ever. After everything was cleaned up with fresh
linens on the bed, Jon ordered her to meet him in the back of the parking lot,
where he would have a car waiting. There
was no reason for her to check out of the room since it was under Seth’s
name. She didn’t argue and grabbed her
bag, leaving Seth’s behind to make it seem like he would be back. A few minutes later, Jon sped out of the
parking lot with Vallea in the passenger seat, heading to an unknown
destination to dispose of Seth’s body.
He had a
house on the market and would have to pull it. There was a lot of excavations going on in the
backyard, he had personally rented a back-hoe a week or so ago, and it was
still out there. Jon had been planning
on putting in this rock garden and pool with a waterfall thing. He had needed something time consuming that
also forced his mind to focus. Handling
dangerous, large equipment did that. He
had been digging out the area for the water pool, he’d just dig quite a bit
deeper, bury Colby along with all this evidence there, and then drop a ton of
dirt back over it to finish the area.
As much as
she wanted to yank the ring off her finger and bury it with everything else,
Vallea couldn’t. She was married, the
marriage was consummated and now she was a widow, by her own hand. When Seth’s disappearance came to light, she
would be questioned and had to come up with a convincing backstory or her ass
was going to prison. Vallea didn’t know
what to say to Jon as he pulled up to the house they once shared together, the
house she had fallen in love with.
So many
memories, all good, resided here and now they would be tainted with Seth’s
remains in the backyard. Jon had
explained in a low tone what he planned on doing and all Vallea could do was
nod, trying to stay strong and calm. Jon
brought suitcase to the backyard, thankful they didn’t have neighbors close by
and all Vallea could do was watch as he dug the hole deeper he had started for
whatever project he had going on. Wasn’t
this house on the market? Why was he adding
to it if he was selling it? Apparently
not now, especially with a dead body now in the backyard.
Thank GOD
for no neighbors because they would probably be pretty pissed off by him
running this machine at such a late hour. It was fairly quick work and soon enough, he
had the body buried damn deep and covered by a lot of dirt. He used the flat of the digging part to tap
the ground, making sure nothing would cave in or sink, before shutting
everything off. It looked like it had
before he had buried the body, he was satisfied. Pocketing the key, Jon walked over to where
Vallea stood, staring down at her.
“You need
a drink.” He needed one too.
Vallea
lowered her eyes from him, unable to meet his gaze and shook her head slowly.
“No. Drinking won’t fix this. Nothing will fix this…”
The
evidence was still out there, somewhere, hidden and Seth had died with its
location. Jon was at risk of being
discovered, much like her; they were in the same boat and had both killed
people for the ones they loved, to protect them. She looked down at her hands that were
stained with Seth’s blood only hours ago and clenched her fists tightly,
feeling nauseous.
“I-I have
to start coming up with a story to tell the police…” Her mind was swimming and
Vallea honestly felt like she was slowly drowning, her breathing growing heavy.
“W-What if they find out? Oh god, I-I
can’t go to prison!”
Jon stared
at her, frowning. “Okay, first of all, why did you kill him?” That had been the
question on his mind since walking into that mess, but there really hadn’t been
a moment to ask. Hell, she hadn’t been
in any frame of mind to answer him anyway. She probably wasn’t now. “You’re not going to
prison, Vallea.” She was probably going to have to go back to the hotel,
however, and pretend to be waiting for her newlywed husband, and then start
making calls when he didn’t show up.
Hell, Jon would
have to make sure there were no cameras anywhere, frowning.
That
seemed to snap her out of her panicked state temporarily, fresh tears slowly
sliding down her cheeks. Would telling
him the truth make a bit of difference?
Probably not. “H-He knew. He knew
everything. Everything…and he died with
the truth. No, he didn’t die. He was murdered. He was murdered with the truth…because of
me. By my hand.” She began pacing in
front of Jon, twisting the ring on her left ring finger. “H-He told me…if I
married him, he would turn everything over.
And he lied to me. He fucking
lied to me…” Gripping her hair between her fingers, Vallea suddenly let out an
agonized scream and hurled the shovel Jon had used across the yard, screaming
again.
Everything
she had been through over the past 6 months had been for naught.
Nothing.
“What.
The. Fuck? You did ALL THAT, put
yourself, put ME, through ALL that because you believed him?!” Jon kind of
wanted to kill her right now, he was beginning to see red. “What the fuck,
Vallea?! WHAT THE FUCK?” He bellowed
that one out into the night, this had to be some cosmic joke.
He could
have killed Colby FOR her, goddamn it!
“HE
FUCKING KNEW! He had information that
you never even told me, details about that night, Jon! There’s no way it was falsified and he said
he had CONCRETE EVIDENCE against you!” Vallea shouted back, her heart beating a
million miles a minute, or so it felt like. “There’s a folder and it has
everything in it. Pictures, a video of
that night. He said he got it from
someone that was there that night, who witnessed the whole damn thing! He told me about how you had Nick clean up
the blood outside, how Ryan was bleeding from the head before you tossed him in
that vat of acid.” Now Jon’s eyes were wide and the color had slowly drained
from his face. “Y-You never told me any details, only that you killed them
both. You never told me how you snapped
Nick’s neck before carting him off to be dropped in the vat of acid with Ryan.”
Her voice had gone quiet with each passing second, each word that came out of
her mouth. “Jon, I had to protect you. I
couldn’t let you wind up in prison! He
told me if I married him, he would hand everything over, so I could destroy it
and he lied to me. And then proceeded to
rape me to ‘consummate’ our marriage.
And as soon as he turned me back around, I…stabbed him in the neck as
hard as I could with the cake knife. I
didn’t even think about it. He told me I
would never get away from him unless he was dead. So, I had to do it…I-I had to kill him…”
To be rid
of him forever…evidence be damned.
“About the
only people that would have been in the area would have been maybe a bum or
something, Vallea.” Find him a bum who was going to take a video, not likely.
“Not that he’s wrong about the details.” THAT was disturbing to hear and know. Jon didn’t like Vallea knowing the details,
there was a reason he had never told her and now…now she had put herself
through hell to save him and wound up committing a murder of her own. “You
could have told me from the start, Val.” All of that pain and suffering could
have been avoided. “He didn’t keep that shit with him, did he?”
“No. I have no idea where he could be keeping
it. For all I know, it’s with the same
guy that told him all of this and gave him the evidence he needed to lock you
away. And no, I don’t have a name.”
Vallea swallowed hard, turning away from him to stare out into the mountains
and wrapped her arms around herself, angrily wiping tears away. “Seth wanted
you to suffer. And he said he was saving
me by forcing me to do this because I didn’t deserve to be with a lunatic like
you. He told me if I didn’t do exactly
as he said, he would turn all the evidence over to the police and I could be
with you behind bars. I couldn’t let
that happen to you. I had to protect you. I was going to destroy the evidence as soon
as he gave it to me…And he lied to me…it was all for nothing…”
“But…all
you had to do was COME TO ME, Vallea, I would have taken care of it!” Jon
couldn’t understand that. He couldn’t
understand why she wouldn’t come to him.
She KNEW what he was capable of, what he would and could do. Hell, maybe she had gotten tired of being
saved all the time and wanted to try the hero route. That had backfired brilliantly. “Come on, come
inside, we got to figure this out. You’re
going to have to go back.” At least there was no body. Cursing under his breath, he took her hand and
led the way inside.
Seth
Rollins – Colby Lopez – was dead…this was going to be a clusterfuck within the
WWE.
“Don’t you
understand? I HAD NO CHOICE! I refused to let you wind up in prison!!”
Vallea yanked her hand out of his, not wanting to be touched right now and
hissed at her sore face, breathing heavily. “You had enough blood on your
hands, Jon. Why add more?” Now blood was
on her hands forever, stained and tainted and Vallea wondered if he’d ever be
able to look at her the same way again. “I’m going to call the police in the
morning, after staying in that room.” She shuddered at the thought of being
alone, but it was the only way. “I’m going to report him missing since it’s
Vegas…and I’m going to explain it was our wedding night. He’s a B celebrity, so they’ll take it
seriously and search the city for him.
Once it comes out he’s disappeared and missing…I’ll be questioned
vigorously and I’m going to stick to the same story. Seth left me in the hotel alone and never
came back. I never left the hotel.”
Hopefully, nobody saw her leave since she didn’t go out the front door and
planned on going through the back entrance upon her return. “I have to head
back soon, actually…”
It was
already past 2 AM.
Chapter 45
“I
wouldn’t have gone to prison.” Jon stated flatly, pulling salve down from the
cupboard and set it on the counter, twisting off the top pushing it towards
her.
She had
made it clear she didn’t want to be touched. Raped. She had been raped. He was trying to process everything one thing
at a time. It wasn’t like he could go
kill Colby again, she had done it already.
“You’re
visibly fucked up, Vallea. What are you
going to tell them? Why did Colby leave?”
She needed to get her story straight and all the details done now.
“I’m going
to tell them he hit me, after we had an argument, and he left me alone in the
hotel room on our wedding night.” Vallea couldn’t hide the fact her face was
heavily bruised from Seth’s backhand, even with salve and a ton of makeup.
Leaving
his wife the night of their wedding would make him look like a total douchebag,
which he was. It would gain her
sympathy, especially since she could act when the situation called for it. Taking the salve, she walked past him down
the hallway to the bathroom, not surprised Jon had followed and applied the
salve to her face, hissing out again.
“The
argument, right? I’m gonna tell them the
argument was about where we were going to live since he wanted to get a place
here in Vegas and I didn’t want to.” There was no way she was telling Jon THIS
was the house he wanted to buy with her.
No need for him to know that information. “Am I missing anything?”
“You can’t
tell them he has a history of beating you.
It automatically will slap you on the suspect list, higher up than
you’re already going to be.” Jon watched her intensely, listening to her words.
“It’s your wedding night, right? You
guys drink?” Colby nailing her sober, with no history of it would be weird, but
if she coped to being beaten and STILL went through with the marriage, it would
not look good at all.
This was
going to kill him, Jon groaned, running his hands over his head.
No matter
what, Jon had to stay away from her and keep his distance for a while until
this blew over. It would kill her just
as much, but Vallea didn’t think he’d want anything to do with her after this
anyway. “No, I got it.” She finished spreading the salve on her face and capped
it, feeling the pain already diminishing.
Hopefully, her cheekbone wasn’t cracked or anything; thankfully, Seth
had only struck her once and went right into raping her. “I’m going to tell
them I was mugged on the way back from the chapel and that’s why Seth left me
at the hotel to pursue the attacker.” Vallea frowned, knowing that would put
Seth in the ‘hero’ light, but it was the only way to keep them from suspecting
her. “I’ll handle this and I need you to keep your distance from me besides me
working as your personal assistant.” WWE was in town, so everybody in the
company would more than likely be questioned…again.
She really
hoped Jon was convincing like he’d been with Ryan and Nick’s deaths.
“Why am I
keeping my distance? This is Vegas, shit
like this happens all the time and then some.”
Jon walked
away from her in order to go get himself a drink. He didn’t know what to do now that what she
had needed from him was done. She had
needed a clean-up man, he had cleaned-up. She had been beaten and raped, to protect him…he
took a shot from his bottle, not bothering with glasses.
“Because
it will look too suspicious if we just automatically start hanging out again,
when we haven’t been close in months, and you know that! I’m a married woman and, until Seth is
pronounced dead, I have to stay that way.
I have to play the part of the sobbing wife whose husband is missing.”
Nausea once again settled in her stomach as she took the bottle from Jon,
taking a long swig and didn’t mind the liquid burning down her esophagus.
“Fuck…” Her hands began to shake again and Vallea had a feeling Jon thought all
she wanted him for was to help her get rid of Seth’s body. “I would’ve probably
turned myself in tonight if it wasn’t for you, Jon. You…helped me and I really appreciate it. I hope you believe that…” She handed the
bottle back to him before she dropped it from how hard her hands trembled.
“Yeah
well,” He spat harshly, paused, and staring at the bottle, he contemplated it
for a fraction of a second and downed another shot. “Maybe next time, you’ll
let me worry about me and not fucking do this shit, yeah?” No matter how hard
he tried, he could not look at her. All
he would see is those damn bruises and the guilt and tears in her eyes. Jon was starting to feel a myriad of things
churning in his gut. “You’re going to need a ride back…”
“Don’t
give me that shit.” Vallea remarked, trying to add some malice to her tone, but
all that came out was resignation. “He came directly to ME and if I didn’t do
what he said, you would’ve gone to prison.
Whether you believe that or not is your choice, but you WOULD HAVE. You still have no idea who else was there
that videotaped you killing them. You
have no idea who Seth spoke with, so how about you worry about THAT problem and
let ME worry about this? This isn’t just
about you anymore, Jon. Seth made it
clear he wanted you to suffer and he knew I was the way to make that happen, to
give him his jollies. He saw you
miserable…he got what he wanted.” And now he was dead, buried in the backyard
of what was once their home. “I love you and I refuse to lose you, even if I
can’t be with you. I won’t see you
locked up. If you’re giving me a ride,
you need to drop me off like a block before the hotel and I’ll sneak in through
the back to get to the room undetected.”
“See,
Vallea, I know how fucking smart you are…so I have a hard time believing that
you couldn’t play that fucking bastard like a fiddle and then come to me,
just-” Jon hurled the bottle against the wall.
Let her
worry. She never thought things through
and acted on instinct. When he had lied,
she had taken off and abandoned everyone and everything. And then this, she had made a decision based
on what she thought was the truth. Maybe
it was.
“I
could’ve worried about that problem a long fucking time ago if you hadn’t tried
being a goddamn martyr! Let’s go.”
Before he lost his mind and his stomach.
He would
never understand. He would never
understand just how terrified Seth made her with his words. Seth had put the fear of god into her, making
her believe he had all this concrete evidence against Jon and he would use it
if she didn’t do what he wanted. Jon
would never be able to understand the amount of turmoil and heartbreak she went
through over the past 6 months, how much pain and humiliation she had to endure
to protect him. Love really did make
people do incredibly stupid things. Not
saying a word to him, she walked out of the house with her bag already in the
car and stared out the window the entire drive.
Once they were a block away, Jon pulled into a dark alleyway and Vallea
went to get out, but he stopped her, his hand wrapped around her upper arm.
“What
now? Wanna berate me some more?” She
demanded hoarsely, doing everything in her power to hold back tears and slowly
turned her head until their eyes met, a single tear falling down her unblemished
cheek.
“I want to
shake you until common sense takes up some goddamn space in your head.” He
growled angrily, not caring how vicious he sounded right now. Jon was irate with her. “But it’s way past
that.” She would never possess it. He
knew exactly what love could do to a person, but this…she wasn’t like him. She couldn’t shake this off and killing Colby,
no matter what he had done, would haunt her for the rest of her life. “You’ve
got this.” He sighed finally, reaching out to catch the tear.
“Y-You
don’t understand…”
She
pressed his hand fully against her cheek and shut her eyes, crying all over again. Vallea had to get past this – there was no
choice in the matter. Seth’s blood was
on her hands, but he had caused her to bleed countless times and tore her apart
from the inside out. Time healed all
wounds and, eventually, she would heal from this.
“H-He
scared me to death, Jon. I-I panicked, I
didn’t know what else to do. I told him
no at first, but then he…he made it sound so believable and I STILL believe he
has that evidence on you.” She cupped his face in her hands, seeing all the
anger and animosity in his eyes, expecting it. “I’m not apologizing for what I
did because I would do anything to protect you, to make sure you’re safe.”
Vallea kissed him before she lost her nerve and then hopped out of the car,
rushing off into the night to head back to the hotel, not looking back.
Yeah, she
would do anything to protect him and he had a feeling the cost was way too
high. Vallea was NOT that kind of
person. Colby had evidence. That was great. What good was the evidence doing Colby since the
bastard was dead? She had been abused,
raped, and murdered someone to save Jon and he had a feeling she had murdered
herself in the process.
Stay away
from her…yeah, he could do that. Obviously, neither was doing the other any
favors being together.
This had
to be the most unhealthy relationship in history.
~!~
For half a
day, she was questioned by the police, several in fact, some good, some
bad…drilled until her head felt as if it would explode. Her story never changed, not once, in all 200
times she had to reiterate it. She was mugged
on the way back to the hotel from the chapel and her loving newlywed husband
had left her alone in the room to go hunt the man down. They had grilled her about what this man
looked like and she repeatedly stated it was too dark to see his face. When all was said and done, Vallea was
released from the police station and assured they would find her husband…or his
body. Vallea had shed tears, more over
the fact she had killed Seth than him being dead and missing.
Since WWE
was in town the night of Seth’s murder, a full-on investigation swept through
the company. Stephanie had pulled her
into her office to talk and make sure Vallea was holding up all right. Being a newlywed couple and already losing
her husband, potentially, who was also one of the biggest stars in WWE
today…Stephanie was beside herself with worry.
Vallea assured her she was hanging in there, once again playing the part
of the worried wife and was sent on her way to do her job. Since she’d been questioned vigorously by Las
Vegas finest police, the detectives already had her statement and didn’t need
to do it to her again.
Being
Jon’s personal assistant, with Seth missing, Stephanie ordered her to stay in
Jon’s dressing room. Jon was questioned,
along with the rest of the Superstars, and nothing came of it. When he came back and informed her they
didn’t suspect anything, Vallea breathed a huge sigh of relief, but they
couldn’t relax yet. The person who was
responsible for Seth’s blackmail was still out there somewhere and had to be
found. Until then, Jon wasn’t 100% safe,
which bothered Vallea more than she’d ever admit aloud. She also maintained her distance from Jon,
trying to keep the peace between them by sticking strictly to professional
talk. He barely spoke to her and she
understood why, even though it killed her on the inside being away from him all
this time.
When 2
months passed by, without any luck of finding Seth, the search party in Las
Vegas called it and declared him a dead missing person. Vallea had cried when she received the phone
call, feeling so much relief and knew the only way they’d ever find Seth’s
remains would be to dig up Jon’s backyard.
It would never happen because they didn’t even suspect him or her in the
crime. She thanked the sheriff for
calling her while she was on the road, making money to support herself now that
she was a widow. All of Seth’s assets
and property belonged to her, including the house in Davenport that had 7 acres
of land. She immediately put it up for
sale, wanting nothing to do with it and, miraculously, Seth had added her to
all of his bank accounts. He had three,
each with quite a bit of money inside of them.
She closed two of them, joining them into one and donated half to
several charities, keeping the rest for herself.
On the
night of what would’ve been her three month anniversary, Vallea finally slipped
the three-stoned ring off her finger and closed her eyes, feeling a tremendous
weight lift from her shoulders. The
emotional scars would heal and, even though she still suffered nightmares of
that night, they were few and far between after three months. Maybe three months wasn’t enough time in some
eyes, but it was in hers…more than enough.
She never loved Seth, never gave a damn about him and didn’t regret
killing him either, as much as she probably should’ve. No, he deserved what he got for being a
cold-hearted rapist bastard that manipulated and scared her into breaking the
love of her life’s heart. Instead of
pawning the ring or selling it, she kept it and planned on burying it with him
in the backyard of Jon’s house…if they ever found their way back to each other
again.
Only time
would tell.
Chapter 46
Jon hated
Cincinnati with a passion, had he ever said that?
He waited
until smoke had cleared and dust had settled before taking an extra day off. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going, he
just left, figuring he’d visit his old stomping grounds. And if anyone said boo to him about his
current location -acid vat city, no less- he was paying his respects to his old
buddy, Nicky. When he had murdered those
two, he hadn’t seen anyone. Hell, the
plant had been closed for so long and fallen into such a sorry state, he was
surprised to learn that even the homeless slept here.
Anywhere
with a roof, he supposed.
Jon hit pay
dirt while questioning one of the women in the homeless shelter, the main one
Cincinnati had. There were others, but
this was the one that had the most traffic.
It was the same woman Ryan had paid for sex, the prostitute, the night
of his murder. Jon questioned her about
the construction site that had the vats of acid, where Ryan and Nick had been
found over a year ago, keeping it nonchalant.
“If anyone
was there that night, it would be Gary.
He used to sleep there frequently, but…”
“But
what?” Jon had taken her outside to speak privately, shoving his hand in the
front pocket of his leather jacket. “What do you know? How much will it cost?”
She smiled
at him, though it didn’t touch her eyes. “I don’t do that anymore.”
“I’m not
talking sex, lady.” Jon growled, pulling his wallet out and handed over a
couple hundred dollar bills, crisp. “Tell me what you know.”
She took
the money without hesitation and tucked it in her bra, pulling him to the side
of the building out of sight. “Look, I don’t know what happened that night to
those two guys. All I know is about 5
months after they were found, Gary started bragging he hit the jackpot. He wasn’t lying, and we all thought he won
big on a scratch-off or some shit.” She pulled a cigarette out and Jon lit it
for her, chew in his own mouth. “He claimed he was paid off, but wouldn’t say
why and took off. Now, he lives on the
other side of town, in a fancy condo apartment thing and has claimed he’s
gotten his life together.”
In other
words, Lopez had paid Gary off to keep his mouth shut about the evidence, after
handing it all over.
“Do you
know the address?”
“No, only
that he’s on the other side of town.” She did NOT like the look that came over
this man’s icy eyes and swallowed hard. “I’m just the messenger…”
Jon
nodded, not seeing a reason to hurt or kill her, but Gary on the other
hand…that was an entirely different story. “Thanks for your info. Keep this to yourself and we won’t have
problems, woman.” He tossed another bill at her for good measure and took off,
wishing he had more information to go on than a man named Gary.
The woman
watched him walk off, recalling that night with Ryan and shuddered; he was the
reason she had gotten out of the prostitution game and tried getting her life
on track. Easier said than done in this
day and age.
A homeless
man who had been paid enough to get himself a fancy condo. There was a major what the fuck for the FBI,
he imagined. Someone going from nothing
to something so quickly, that was a pretty good indicator of drugs or sex-trafficking.
Jon had to wonder how smart this guy
was. He had scoured the corners that
would have offered a good view of the scaffolding at the plant, searching for
something that may have belonged to this guy. Most people would have screamed bloody murder,
or kept quiet, out of fear.
This guy
hadn’t, he had taken mental notes.
Gary
wasn’t just any homeless guy that had caught Jon on camera murdering two
people. No, Jon knew Gary, not well, but
knew, nevertheless. Gary lived on the
same block as him growing up and they’d gone to school together. Jon had dropped out at the age of 16 to
pursue the world of professional wrestling and made a name for himself, despite
where he came from. It wasn’t fair. Gary had the exact same type of childhood Jon
had – a mother who whored herself out for money to keep a roof over his head
and food on the table. No father figure
besides men that often raped his mother, sometimes right in front of him.
So, when a
guy, a WWE wrestler named Seth Rollins, came to him with some questions about
that night, Gary caved and told him everything, showing him the physical
evidence he possessed. Gary should’ve
gone to the police with it, but something told him to hold onto the evidence…to
save it for a rainy day. It poured the
day Seth gave him a proposition he simply couldn’t refuse. Two million dollars it took to change his
life completely around and Gary even got a job as a janitor at the high school,
keeping a low profile. The only things
he’d gotten himself were a brand new truck and a condo, putting the rest of the
money away to save and build on.
He wasn’t
entirely stupid, drugs and his mother had ruined his life, but Seth Rollins had
singlehandedly saved it.
Jon had
another motivation for finding this asshole. If this evidence got out, and the information
that it had been in possession of Colby Lopez, nobody was that damn stupid. He and Colby had worked together, both had
relationships with the same woman. Even
if Colby’s relationship with Vallea was forced, it was still a relationship,
nevertheless, and she had married the scumbag.
Things would start to connect for the detectives, dots would be aligned,
and not only would he wind up right back under the spotlight, but so would
Vallea. Jon could go to prison and rot
for all he cared, she was not going to come to any more harm on his watch.
Not from
other people, and hopefully not from her own foolish notions.
~!~
Where was
Jon?
Vallea
frowned, being informed by Stephanie he had taken a leave of absence for the
week to deal with personal issues. She
frowned, wondering what that meant because, as far as she knew, the only
‘family’ Jon had was his mother, who he never talked to anymore. At least to her knowledge he didn’t. Instead of being sent home, Vallea was set up
with Joe to do his scheduling until Jon came back. He had gone from taken a couple days off to a
straight week, which Jon never did. Joe
had no problems with her, even though his fiancée did, which she had somewhat
neglected ever since the Seth incident.
No doubt in her mind Joe knew what happened because Jon told him
everything – they were brothers. Sighing,
she reached up to knock on Joe’s locker room door and heard a ‘come in’,
pushing open the door, seeing Joe was wrapping his hands up from his upcoming
match that night.
Joe only
knew that Jon had needed some time to deal with some ‘goddamn issues’ as Jon
had so eloquently worded it. Jon had a
lot of issues and Joe knew where the majority of them stemmed lately. Seeing Vallea with Colby and now her being
single again, a widow, he bet anything Jon was going through some weird
emotional rollercoaster. Should he try
to rekindle things? How long was it
appropriate to let her grieve? Joe had
no answers because he had never been in a relationship like that and he never
wanted to. Everything with him and
Monique was straightforward and simple, he liked it. Jon needed to clear his head, so hopefully he
was taking the time to do that.
“Hey,
Val.”
“Hi Joe…”
Vallea murmured, cracking a hesitant smile and closed the door behind her,
hoping he didn’t start screaming at her. “Umm Stephanie told me you needed your
schedule done since Jon isn’t here this week, so I hope that’s okay…” She was
extremely hesitant and a little fearful because this man was twice the size of
Jon, just not as tall. They were only an
inch apart, but still. Ever since Seth’s
death, she had been more timid than before, hardly spoke to anyone and kept to
herself, not knowing who to trust.
It was
paranoia, but hopefully with time, it would go away.
Joe was
attributing her new, skittish attitude to grief. It had to be hard, her husband dying on their wedding
night. On the way back from the chapel,
no less. He had to wonder how that
worked out. Would it be a widow thing or
would the marriage be annulled because they hadn’t consummated it? There was no way in hell he would ever ask her
that question, that’d just be hurting her even more, he imagined.
“Okay,
that’s fine. My schedule isn’t
complicated.” He said calmly, smiling at her.
Suddenly,
Vallea remembered Jon hadn’t told ANYONE else about the murders, not even
Joe. She was the only person he had
told. Vallea couldn’t even tell him the
truth of what really happened because it would link back to Nick and Ryan. As far as he was concerned, she had actually
left Jon for Seth and everyone believed she truly loved Seth. The truth could never be revealed because
everything would then be linked together and people would know what really
happened. By being with Seth, choosing
him over Jon, publicly, she had condemned herself to a life full of deceit and
that made her nauseous.
“Thanks.”
She sat down, after he handed over his paperwork and began sifting through it,
already making a few changes she knew Joe would appreciate.
Vallea had
unintentionally condemned herself to the same life she had railed at Jon for. For the same issue she had walked away from
her life, her career, and her best friend for. The same thing she and Jon had promised each
other after reconciling that would never be an issue between them ever again. The full repercussions were finally starting
to come to light. The question now was
if she could learn to live with that and herself again. Love made people do crazy, stupid things
without thinking everything through.
Sometimes,
love also broke those same people.
No matter
what, she would have to live with the consequences of her actions, of what
happened, of what Jon did and keeping his secrets. Running again wouldn’t solve anything and
only create more problems and more depression.
She wouldn’t run again, having learned her lesson from the last
time. No, she would stay and continue to
live her life, doing her job to the best of her ability. People could say what they wanted about her;
Vallea knew the truth of her actions and why she did what she did. She did it all to protect the man she loved,
saving him for a change the same way he saved her that day on the Red Rocks.
The night
went smoothly with no issues; Joe had been right, his schedule wasn’t difficult
at all. She had spaced some appearances
out for him, made some phone calls and arranged things, the normal routine of a
personal assistant. On her way out of
the arena, Vallea’s cell rang and it took her a moment to dig it out of her
purse, seeing the name flashing on the screen.
On the fourth ring, she answered and put the phone up to her ear.
“Are you
okay?” Were the first words out of her mouth and Vallea mentally cursed for
automatically thinking the worse. “I mean hi.
Sorry…”
“You’re
not allowed to worry about me, it makes you do dangerous, crazy shit.” Jon remarked,
a hint of amusement in his tone. That
was not exactly how he expected the phone to be answered, if at all. “Just
checking in, making sure you haven’t run off, or lost your shit.” He knew
Vallea. He bet guilt was killing her,
along with a million other things. “How’s Joe?” She was taking care of his best
friend, who was engaged to her former best friend, who was now HIS friend. It was all very complicated. How the fuck had things gotten to where they
are? “How’re you?” Why did he torture himself, and probably her, this way?
“Hold on.”
Vallea wanted to make sure she was in the security of her vehicle before
another word was spoken between them and slid behind the wheel, shutting the
door to crank the air on. It was July,
and it was hotter than Hades outside. “First of all, I’ll worry about you as
much as I damn well please, Good.” A hint of her old self had peaked through, a
teasing tone to her voice. “And I’m not running away again, so don’t worry
about that. And Joe is fine, I suppose
Stephanie told you who I’d be working with this week since you’re…unavailable.”
Vallea had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach something wasn’t right
with him. “And I’m surviving, taking one day at a time.” It was all she could
really do at this point.
“Good,
good.” He didn’t know what else to say. You’ll
get over it? Well, yeah, she would,
maybe. Or maybe she’d eventually crack
from the weight of the pressure. “You and Joe getting along?” Jon imagined so,
Joe was an easygoing guy who tended to not let personal drama between others
affect him. It was one of his more
awesome traits, though Jon bet that would be awkward if Monique asked him
questions or something.
“I hate
this. I hate this awkwardness between
us, Jon.” When DID things get so jumbled and messed up, complicated? “Joe is
great, as usual, and hasn’t asked me any questions regarding Seth. Probably thinks I’m mourning over that son of
a bitch…” She lowered her voice, just to be on the safe side, even though she
was alone in her car. Surprisingly, she
wasn’t feeling pressured by killing Seth anymore because all evidence pointed
to the mugger being the culprit that killed Seth, or made him disappear. The body would never be found. “Is checking
in with me all you wanted or is there something on your mind?”
“No, that
was it.” Jon replied flatly, not sure if he was convincing either of them. “How
long until you come out of this bullshit mourning phase?”
Nobody who
actually knew Colby was going to really mourn him, except maybe his parents. There was no way he was telling her what he
was doing. Looking for this Gary was
coming up flat, so…currently, Jon had broken into Colby’s old house that had
not sold yet. Go figure. Everything was still here, he wouldn’t have
bought it either. If he were a
conniving, blackmailing bastard, where would he hide things? Technically, Vallea owned this place, so…he
wasn’t overly worried about being caught.
Her heart
began pounding a little faster and those butterflies fluttered in her stomach
again…something she hadn’t felt in quite some time. Vallea found herself smiling, which felt
foreign because there wasn’t much to smile about these days. It was obvious there was more on his mind
than just ‘checking in’ and he proved it by asking her that question.
“I don’t
know. I took the ring off and it’s
currently stuffed in my suitcase somewhere in a plastic bag…” Vallea had no
idea why she told him that bit of information and leaned her head back against
the seat. How long should a widow mourn
for her dead husband, who was murdered on their wedding night and who everyone
believed she loved with all her heart? “Why do you want to know?”
“Because
even fake mourning is way too much.” What was that…Jon aimed his flashlight at
the back of the closet, eyeballing the wooden paneling. It looked so out of place with the rest of the
house. Davenport Iowa, this place
sucked. He was not an Iowa kind of guy.
“Just checking in is all, Vallea. I’m
probably the only person who can right now.” Check in, he meant. Nobody else knew what she had done. “You know
anyone named Gary? Seth ever mention
that name?”
“Gary…Gary…no,
that doesn’t ring a bell…” Why would he ask her that? Was he…Vallea’s eyes widened as the
realization dawned on her where he was at.
Would he kill this Gary guy? Was
that who Seth had been in cahoots with and gotten the evidence from? “That’s
sweet of you to check in on me. I
appreciate it.” She shut her eyes, wondering if asking him where he was at
would be too much. “Where are you right now?
I don’t mean to pry, but since you’re checking on me, I want to do the
same with you. Are you all right?”
“I’m
fantastic.” Jon was nowhere near Gary. Gary
was in Ohio. Jon was in Iowa. Well, maybe a few hours’ drive…give or take. That panel really did look out of place. Everything else was a bit more on the modern
side, that shit was pure 70’s. He leaned
forward and rapped his knuckles against it. “Just getting some downtime,
clearing my head…” Trying to make sure that everything was squared away for
them both.
He was
lying to her and Vallea supposed she deserved it since she had lied to him,
deciding not to call him out on it. “We all need to do that sometimes. I know things haven’t been easy for you…and
I’m mostly to blame for that.” She let out a shaky breath, starting the
ignition of the car instead of merely sitting there.
Vallea
hurt him so much and broke his heart all to protect him; of course he needed
time to get his mind on track after helping her bury Seth’s body. Actually, he’d done all of it and hadn’t let
her help, ordering her to stay out of his way while he did the deed. There were so many things she wanted to say
to him, to tell him how much she missed him and loved him. Hell, Vallea had already admitted she still
loved him the night he dropped her about a block away from the hotel, after
kissing him, three months ago. Now
wasn’t the time or place, especially over the phone.
“I should
head back to the hotel before people start wondering why I’m sitting in the
parking lot in my car. Do you want me to
call you later or let you rest up?”
“Don’t
call me, I’ll call you. Won’t hear my
cell go off anyway, been keeping it on mute.” He didn’t need AC/DC blaring in
this really empty, somewhat plain and creepy boring house. “Hey, I gotta go,
Vallea. I’ll text you later or
something, okay?” Jon hung up, eyes on the panel.
There was
no way Colby was taking that stuff on the road with him, not where Vallea might
be able to get to it, or anyone really. That
was a lot of blackmail to lose. He
procured his switchblade. The board gave
way rather easily, due to the fact it was the only board in the entire house
that hadn’t been touched. Colby’s
special hiding spot. It was in his
bedroom in the far back of his closet.
It was where he hid Christmas presents for his family or anything he
wanted to keep completely hidden. Not
only was there a board to contend with, but also a fireproof safe inside the
board. Luckily, Colby didn’t have
neighbors living on 7 acres of land, so nobody would hear Jon cussing or
attempt to try to open the safe without a combination.
Well there
was some paperwork and other crap not in the safe and Jon pocketed all of that
in his black duffel bag, when he took a break from the safe. He supposed Vallea wouldn’t have a key, he
doubted she even knew about this little cubby hole. He could, Jon supposed, go get the proper
tools and explosives to bust the thing open, but that would probably look pretty
suspicious and then the realtor would have a hard time explaining what this
mess was. Finally, he just took the
heavy safe with him, figuring he’d text Vallea and if she said what the hell,
he’d just blow it open back home in Vegas.
Chapter 47
Wednesday rolled
around with Vallea landing in Vegas for her two days off, staying in a
hotel. She hadn’t gotten a place of her
own yet because everything had happened so fast. Hotels didn’t bother her and she had more
than enough money to set her for life.
Seth had been a grand slam champion in the WWE and did well for himself
financially, every dime going to his wife upon his death. She had just gotten into her room when she
received a text from Jon, asking her to come to the house. He had something he wanted to show her. Jon wasn’t due back on the road until next
Monday for Raw, so he had 5 days left on his ‘downtime’.
I just got in, let me freshen up and I’ll be over. Give me an hour. She texted back, after thinking it over and tossed her phone on
the bed, desperately needing a shower to wash away the travel grime.
Jon then
texted her back asking her to bring any keys she might’ve gotten from Colby,
figuring he really did not want this to be a waste of their time. She was probably thinking he was booty texting
her and that was actually nowhere near the truth. Vallea was seriously damaged goods right now
with a lot of issues she didn’t need him compounding. He figured once they got the evidence thing
sorted out, maybe they could start over, or at least try to be friends. That left a bitter, weird taste in his mouth. Jon had pulled the house from the market and
since he was too cheap to own it and not live in it, he had been tearing it
apart and completely redoing it. He had
hated this house, it had too many memories that made things hurt, now he had a
body in the backyard that tied him down here.
He
wondered if Colby’s corpse was feeding the worms yet, three months,
decomposition started when?
Not
knowing what Jon wanted from her, but unable to deny him, Vallea showered and
slipped on regular clothes. Light blue
jean shorts and a dark red spaghetti strapped tank top since it was over 100
degrees outside. July was one of the
HOTTEST months of the year for Vegas and she was shocked the plane had actually
flew due to the excessive heat. Some of
them were grounded not to fly out, but not to Vegas. It was a morning flight, which was probably
why.
Pulling
her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head, Vallea grabbed her keys and
purse before heading out, having a rental car since she currently didn’t have
one of her own. When she left Jon for
Seth, unwillingly, she left behind everything at the house and never went back
for anything. Twenty-five minutes later,
she pulled up to the house and cut the ignition, stepping out to admire the
home she shared with Jon for 6 glorious months and put one foot in front of the
other until she stood in front of the door.
Feeling weird doing this, Vallea raised her hand up and knocked a few
times, waiting for Jon to answer.
Jon had
been working all day with the AC on, but he had been in and out. The damn safe was out in the backyard, in the
dirt area he had been tearing up to lay out that ‘roll out’ heat and drought
resistant grass sod stuff. He opened the
door, blinking because while he had been expecting her, her knocking was just
weird. Jon held it open, raising an
eyebrow, and wore denim shorts, no shirt, his shoes and a bandanna wrapped
around his head to keep sweat out of his eyes.
“Why did
you knock, that’s weird.”
“Why
wouldn’t I? This isn’t my house anymore
and it’d be rude to think otherwise, or walk in without knocking.” Vallea
remarked and had to do everything in her power to look everywhere except at
him. This man was sex on legs…all sweaty
and naked from the waist up, exposing that delicious muscular chest of his and
arms. Jon was out to kill her; she
simply knew it. “These are the keys I got from Seth’s bag he carried with
him. I don’t know why you need them, but
here…” She handed them over, walking past him and noticed a few things he had
done to the house since she last lived here.
He had
demolished the kitchen and replaced those countertops with something entirely
new…something that didn’t make his heart twinge whenever he came in from a morning
workout. Jon could still see her, there
in her robe, sipping coffee, and waiting on him. “Yeah…let’s see…come on,” He
led the way out the patio and into the backyard, hoping she was able to come
out here knowing her dead husband wasn’t buried far off. “Like the safe? It’s technically yours.” He crouched down by
it.
The black
granite countertops she had loved were gone and Vallea felt a twinge in her own
heart, managing to push that hurt to the side.
This was his house and he didn’t like the granite countertops, so he had
every right to change it. This was his
house, not hers and she got the message loud and clear.
“I’m
sorry, what? I don’t have a…safe…”
Vallea’s voice trailed off, staring at the small black safe and frowned,
folding her arms in front of her chest. “What do you mean this is technically
mine?”
What did
Jon do? Did she even want to know? She crouched down beside him, not bothered by
Seth being buried in the backyard because he was dead and could never hurt,
rape or blackmail her again. He was
gone, never to be seen again.
“Jon…”
“So, that
house you’re trying to sell in Davenport…” Jon spit a stream of tobacco juice
off to the side, away from her before patting the safe. “Yeah, I broke into
it.” He glanced at her, trying to decipher the look on her face. “The guy who
gave Seth the details, and the evidence he had, his name is Gary and he lives
somewhere in Nati, but finding him was turning out to be a bitch. So…I decided to try something else and this
was what I found behind some weird wooden panel in his closet.”
Was Jon in
Davenport, in the house, when he called her on Monday? “You could’ve just asked
for the key and I would’ve given it to you.” She sounded amused, shaking her
head and saw him shrug with such a nonchalance, it made her smile. She couldn’t help it. Vallea should’ve been furious with him, but
all she felt was weird amusement at the situation. “So, you think one of these
keys are going to open this bad boy? And
if the key isn’t here, are you going to bust it open somehow?” Was the evidence
in here? It had to be if Jon took it out
of the house and brought it here. “How the hell did you get this thing on a
plane?”
“First, I
did ask for the key, why do you think I wanted you to bring them. Second, I
hope so, third…I drove with the damn thing because you can’t get this on a
plane without security issues.” 9/11 had made it damn near impossible to bring
some of the most basic of necessities with to travel. Jon was not about to attempt flying with a
safe. It would have been checked in the
cargo hold and he really didn’t need anyone asking him any questions he
couldn’t answer. “If there’s no key,” He was now working through the ring.
“Then yeah, I’m going to use explosives to take off the door. Not a lot though.” He didn’t need major holes
in the yard.
“Wait…explosives???”
Her eyes grew wide as they moved to what looked to be sticks of dynamite a few
feet away from her. “Oh god…oh my god…”
Did Jon
even know how to USE those?! He was
going to blow the damn house up trying to get this damn thing opened! Wouldn’t it be easier to take it to a
locksmith or something to get it open the SAFE way? No, no that was a dumb idea and Vallea
mentally slapped herself for even having that thought. If the evidence was in here, it had to be
destroyed once and for all and then Jon would be 100% safe. Sure enough, there was no key that matched
the safe and Jon immediately began setting up the dynamite, only using two
sticks, just enough to blow the safe open.
Vallea swallowed hard, wondering where he learned how to do something
like this and went back into the house, clamping her hands over her ears to
wait for the explosion.
The
dynamite was not real, it was meant to be a joke or something, he had a horrible
sense of humor. Jon, if he had been
intending on using dynamite, wouldn’t have left something like that out to bake
in this heat. The sun itself would have
set it off. He tossed the sticks right
through the open door, hearing her scream and tried not to laugh.
“Doll,
come back, it was a joke!” Jon let out a curse of pain a few seconds later when
one of those sticks came flying right back out, a hand flying to his forehead.
“Vallea! OW!” The second one nailed him
in his undefended nuts. “Okay…point made.” He wheezed out, dropping to one
knee. Next time, he’d just use the
explosive gel that he could line the seams with, set off and got out of the way
for, WITHOUT the joke.
“YOU
STUPID SON OF A BITCH!! YOU SCARED THE
SHIT OUT OF ME WITH THAT!!” Vallea didn’t know how much more her heart could
take after everything she’d been through over the past year.
She would
definitely need a heart transplant before age 50, due to how FAST it pumped and
thudded against her chest. She actually
thought he’d thrown sticks of dynamite in here and tossed the first one out
accidentally. The second one…was
intentional. Jon deserved that shot to
the nuts after scaring the living hell out of her. She screamed out, clamping her hands over her
ears again when the actual explosion went off and the safe door blew from its
hinges.
“JESUS
CHRIST!”
“That
wasn’t THAT loud.” He grunted, staring at the torn up dirt. It had been a weird noise, but not overly
loud. And that door had gone flying off,
the force driving it, but the ground catching it. Jon had like a foot of shredded grass and a
row about an inch deep now. “Damn…” Crouching down, and trying to ignore the
ache in his poor nuts, he began pulling things out of the safe. “Vallea, come
here.” She’d know what they were looking for better than him. “Just don’t nail
me again…” Considering what she had did to her worm farm dead husband, he was
probably lucky it had been a toy to the junk.
“Sure you
don’t wanna scare me to death by making me think you’re gonna blow me sky
high?” She retorted in a mutter, rolling her eyes the same time he did and
walked over to crouch down by the safe, coughing.
There was
still some smoke and residue left over as she waved her hand to try clearing
it. Reaching inside, she pulled out a
slew of documents and set them on the grass before going back in. When all was said and done, there was a
videotape, an actual VHS videotape, a DVD and a folder FULL of pictures from
that night, along with the camera that’d been used. Seth did NOT pull any punches when retrieving
every DROP of evidence from Gary.
Sitting down on the grass, Vallea began sifting through the documents
and pictures, handing them over to Jon to show him. They were vivid and…brutal to look at,
especially when Ryan was tossed into the vat of acid and then Nick. She couldn’t imagine what was on the VHS and
DVD, not sure if she wanted to know at this point.
“Build a
fire, we have to destroy all of it.”
“Oh I
don’t know, I kind of like this one.” Jon admired the look on his face as he
stared at the picture of him tossing Ryan over that scaffolding. “Look at how
badass I look!” He was committing a murder. Shaking his head, he looked at Vallea,
starting to frown. “What kind of fucking homeless guy has a camera with THIS
good of quality? Seriously?” Did he have
a stalker he wasn’t aware of or something? “Not the homeless people with the
Nikes and Calvin Klein jeans, those aren’t homeless people,” Those were
hustlers. “But the bagging it and sleeping under fucking bridges people, where
do they get that kind of shit?”
“Why are
you asking me? I have no idea…maybe he
wasn’t a homeless guy. Maybe you and
Nick were followed that night and you just didn’t know it. Or maybe someone was
there undercover?” No, why wouldn’t they have gone to the police with this
evidence then? “Whatever the case, we have the evidence now.” What she’d been
raped and blackmailed for by her deceased husband. “I say we build a fire and
burn all of it, every scrap, every picture.” She plucked the one out of his
hand and put it with the rest, not finding any of this amusing. “Unless you
want to keep it for some odd fucked up reason?”
“Well, the
look on my face is pretty badass, that’s a movie shot right there.”
Jon was
aware he might have slight sociopath issues or something. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel or emphasize,
because he did. He just also had no
qualms or doubts, he didn’t lose any sleep over killing Ryan. The man had it coming for abusing her the way
he had all because she had said NO. Sighing, he pushed himself upright.
“We’ll put
everything in a bag and burn it tonight when it’s cooled off. I can’t have a fire right now.”
It was too
hot. Jon would soak the ground until a
puddle formed later in the day -that’d last an hour-, and build a fire then. A paper shredder wouldn’t be enough because
the pieces weren’t completely 100% destroyed or else she would’ve suggested
it. The tape and DVD could easily be
destroyed without the fire, but again, they couldn’t be too cautious. Vallea suddenly realized she would be staying
here for the rest of the day and most of the night, refusing to leave until all
of the evidence was destroyed. She
trusted Jon, but wanted to watch it all burn with her own eyes…unless he wanted
her to leave. Not that she would blame
him.
“Good
point.” She put everything back in the folder neatly and handed it to him,
their eyes locked.
Other than
the one loose end in this Gary guy, this was the bulk of it. All that suffering
she had endured, all the evidence that could send his ass to prison and put her
directly under a spotlight as a murderer, right here in his hand. The chain of
events he had set off by killing Ryan was this close to finally being over for
good and maybe they both could get on with their lives without the shadows of
what they had done looming. “Come on, let’s go inside before we die of a heat
stroke or something.” He said quietly.
She
cracked a smile and nodded, glancing back at the safe momentarily before
following him inside the house, once again looking around. What were they supposed to do until
nighttime. Maybe it would be best for
her to head back to the hotel and come back later since he looked to be hard at
work renovating. Her mind replayed the
phone call they had on Monday, which was the last time they had spoken besides
today’s text message. Jon grabbed them
some bottled water and lead the way into the living room, both sitting down to
take a load off. He had a towel wrapped
around his neck, having wiped some of the sweat from his body and once again,
Vallea did everything in her power not to look.
Instead, she focused on drinking her water, downing half the bottle.
Silence,
it was silent, minus her chugging that water, and Jon let his head drop back
onto the couch, closing his eyes. He had been awake since the ass crack of dawn
and was tired from the heat and everything else. “I’m going to go get a
shower.” He said finally, pushing himself up onto his feet with a groan. He had
no idea what he was going to do with the safe. It was an older style, it’d have
a number somewhere on it, which made it identifiable. Maybe he’d find an
old-school black smith and have the damn thing melted down and make jewelry out
of it.
“Go for
it, I think I’m gonna go and come back later.
I should probably start finding a place to live instead of living out of
hotels.” Vallea stood up from the couch, really not wanting to leave, but it
was obvious Jon didn’t want her here for a long period of time. It was just a little after noon, so they had
a good solid 8 hours before they could set fire to the evidence and be done
with it. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way back…or you can text me and let me
know when to come back.” Maybe she would grab a newspaper on the way back to
the hotel and start looking for a place today – no time like the present since
she refused to leave Vegas again.
“This is
your house too, technically.” He said, pausing in the hallway to look at her,
his face thoughtful. He had no idea if they could ever try again and make
things work. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to try, he was a bit on the scared
side that shit would hit the fan again. Though… all the causes of their
problems were now dead. No, they still had, HE still had this Gary to contend
with. “Just a thought, doll.”
“How can
you say that to me? This isn’t my house
– I gave all of this up when I let Seth scare me to death and blackmail me.”
Vallea frowned, her emotions already on edge and shook her head, not agreeing
with him at all. Hell, he was renovating
the place without her consent because this wasn’t her house anymore. It was strictly his to do with as he pleased.
“It’s fine. I’ve accepted it and shit
has been so hectic lately, I just haven’t had a minute to actually look for a
new place.” She felt like a ping-pong ball over the past 2 years with how many
times she moved.
He was
renovating it because he couldn’t deal with shit that kept harassing him by
triggering fucking memories. He was a bit stuck with this house now, because of
her. He knew she hadn’t meant for any of this, so it wasn’t exactly right
blaming her but that was also the truth of it. He wasn’t going to risk that
body somehow being found. “All right,” He shrugged his bare shoulders. “Offer
stands.”
“What
offer?” Vallea raised a slow brow, gesturing around her with her hands. “Are
you telling me to live here with you, after everything that’s happened?” This
man had lost his mind. It was her fault
all of this happened in the first place, whether Jon wanted to acknowledge it
or not. Vallea took full responsibility
for her actions and she honestly didn’t think there was a shot in hell for her
and Jon anymore at this point. “You make no sense. I think you’re sleep deprived and you need to
shower and get some zzz’s.” How would that look if
they were living together again?
Bouncing around between wrestlers before coming back to Jon…how would
that make HIM look? Granted, Jon didn’t
care what others thought and, truthfully, neither did she, but it was still a
very messed up situation.
“I’m
offering you a room, and that sort of thing, Vallea.” He said, shaking his
head. “Don’t read into it.” He had to fight to keep his face from betraying how
he felt about saying those words. How it left this bitter taste on his tongue
and a churning, acidic feeling in his gut. “Your call, doll.” He disappeared
down the hallway, needing that shower and away from her before the poker face
fell. She’d be gone by the time he got out, he was sure of it.
Offering
her a room…Vallea shut her eyes at his words and could feel what was left of
her heart shatter in her chest. She had
nobody to blame except herself for losing the love of her life, the best thing
that ever happened to her. Her address
for mail was a PO Box currently, since she traveled so much and had been living
out of hotels. Taking a room in the
house she had shared with Jon at one point…could Vallea actually do it? Instead of leaving, she sat back on the couch
and contemplated the offer, chewing her thumbnail. Jon walked out an hour later, freshly
showered in basketball shorts and the surprised look on his face almost made
her crack a smile. “What? You honestly
thought I’d leave and not discuss this further with you?” He didn’t know her
very well then. “Because if you’re offering me a place to stay, a room, then I
have to go grab my things to bring back here.
And I wasn’t making two trips. So,
are you sure you want to do this? You
don’t owe me anything, Jon, and you don’t have to do this if you don’t want
to.”
Uh, yeah,
he had. She was good at leaving and the fact that he had thought that hurt.
Damn today was shaping up to be a downer. “I already know I don’t owe you
anything and you should already know I don’t do things I don’t want.” He was
arrogant that way. “Anyone who knows us isn’t going to really say shit.” Half
of them were probably expecting something to happen anyway. “You need help?”
How much stuff did she have and how many times was he going to move her back in
with him? He rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to smile. Probably a lot.
She had
left behind everything that was in this house, so unless Jon got rid of it,
which was a huge possibility, all she had was her luggage she traveled with.
“No, I only have my two bags I travel with.” There was no way she would ask
about her belongings; she went this long without them and they weren’t a high
priority. When she left Jon for Seth,
she had to buy all new clothes, shoes, toiletries and anything else she used
while on the road. Seth hadn’t taken her
back to Davenport, keeping her on the road for the 6 months he had his hooks
into her, where he could keep full control. “I won’t be long.” An hour tops
since she hadn’t had a chance to unpack her bags.
All the
things she had left behind had been moved down into the basement. He had hired
people to come pack it up and move it because at the time, he couldn’t deal
with it. He would have probably gone into a fit of rage and shredded things,
which Jon knew he would’ve regretted later. “I’ll uh, get the guest room sorted
for you.” Move out his boxes of crap and find those damn sheets and things she
had put away in closets when they first bought the house.
“I’ll help
you do that and then go get my things.” If she was staying here and taking over
a room, Vallea would help sort it out.
Together, they moved his boxes down to the basement, one after the
other. In the far corner, Vallea noticed
boxes stacked on top of each other and had a feeling that was all of her things
she’d left behind. Jon hadn’t destroyed
any of it, boxing it up instead. For
some reason, hope flared in her heart and she immediately squashed it, putting
the boxes where Jon instructed. “Okay, did you keep the clean linens and sheets
in the closet or move them?” He shook his head and she went upstairs to start
making the bed. “Will you go get me the dust spray? Everything in here needs to be wiped down.”
It was DUSTY.
“Okay,
just go get your shit, Vallea. I got this.” It’d be quicker if she went and got
her things and he did this. That and it’d keep him occupied and not fucking go
crazy waiting on her to come back. Why did this feel okay? Right even. Maybe
things would work out eventually. He did feel a tiny bit foolish, hoping this
way. Third time was a charm? “Go on, I’ll get the dust.” He had had this room
shut up for a long while.
“Jon, you
don’t have to…” Vallea groaned when he shoved her out the door, tossing her purse
at her gently but firmly. “Okay Mister Pushy, okay I’m going. Do you want me to grab something to eat while
I’m out? You’ve gotta be starving…” When
Jon told her to grab them some sandwiches from Subway, she smiled and nodded,
ordering him to text her what he wanted on her way out the door.
An hour
later, she walked through the door again, after stopping herself from knocking,
with Subway and two bags in hand. Jon
rushed to help her and she handed over the food, taking her belongings to her room. It was so weird being under the same roof as
him, but not sharing a bed together.
What would happen when he eventually moved on and brought someone home? Vallea didn’t want to think about that
happening, shoving that in the back of her mind and set her bags down, looking
around at the fresh-smelling room with a smile.
In the hour she was gone, he had done an immaculate job cleaning this
place and it looked as if it hadn’t been a storage area. Joining him in the kitchen, she grabbed her
sandwich he handed her, along with the chips and drink, both sitting down at
the table to chow down. “The room looks fantastic. Thank you.” Reaching over, she squeezed his
hand briefly and then pulled back, taking another bite of her sandwich.
“Don’t
mention it,” Maybe they needed to just take this day by day and start as
friends. Maybe become friends. There was no way he could jump back into it
again with her. Last time, it had ended with her leaving him for Seth -and now
he knew why. He doubted that was ever going to happen again, he knocked on the
table, just in case, but he also knew they were never going to be like they
were. “How’s Joe?” He asked after a moment, anything to fill the awkward
silence.
“As far as
I know, he’s here in Vegas for his days off seeing his woman. Don’t know much more than that.” Vallea
didn’t keep tabs on Joe since he wasn’t her actual priority. Jon was the one she was supposed to personal
assist for, not Joe, besides this week.
Wasn’t Jon and Joe best friends?
They probably kept better tabs on each other than she did with Joe. Vallea didn’t consider Joe a friend, only a
coworker and that would probably never change. “I think we should set some
ground rules, if we’re really going to do this.
I know the house is already bought, but…I want to pay to live here. I don’t want a free ride on anything. I’ll pay half of utilities, water, whatever
bills are in this house, I’ll pay half.” She truly meant every word that came
out of her mouth, refusing to let a man she wasn’t with anymore support her.
“And if you need the house to yourself one night, when we have time off, just
let me know and I’ll make myself scarce.”
“No.” Jon
said simply before taking a bite of his sub. He wasn’t playing by any rules,
there would be no setting of rules. They had tried that before. He wasn’t doing
it again. “You’re not likely to use up anymore utilities than I am.” Because
days off were rare, this was the first time he had taken proper time off in a
very long time, or at least that’s what it felt like. “Besides, I had
everything put on auto-pay so I have no idea how much anything costs.” He had
quit worrying about it a while ago. “You can cook.”
“Well,
I’ll just give you a couple thousand every month then. You can do whatever you want with the money. I’m not living here for free.” There was a
finality to her voice he wouldn’t be able to argue against as she stood up from
the table to clean her mess. “I’m gonna go unpack and try to get over this
awkwardness. I won’t have any mail
coming here because I have a PO Box.” That was a random piece of information
for him to know, but she felt it was necessary.
Walking down the hallway to her room, Vallea shut the door behind her
and slid down it, hoping she was doing the right thing. Her life was in shambles and she had no idea
how to fix it or what to do anymore, burying her face in her hands.
Because he
was sooo going to take her money. It wasn’t like she
could just deposit it into his account either because shit didn’t work that
way. She’d be better off donating it to a charity. There was an idea. Sighing,
Jon cleared up his own mess and then tried to sort out what to do. She was in
the house again. He could smell her damn perfume, taunting and teasing. How was
it, they had gone from passionately, madly in love to this awkwardness? He
reached for his beer, draining it. Even with everything that had happened
between them, how could they not at least… be easier in each other’s company?
That
night, Jon built a fire like he said he would and Vallea held the file in her
hand, the VHS tape and DVD already destroyed.
They were still going to burn the pieces, not taking any chances. She looked up at the starry night sky,
clutching the file and looked back at the roaring flames, taking a shaky
breath. “You didn’t win, Rollins. And I
hope you’re burning in all eight circles of hell for what you did to me. To Jon.” To us, she mentally added, pulling
something else out of her pocket and tossed it into the fire first. It was the engagement ring, the three stoned
diamond ring she was forced to wear from Seth.
Piece by piece, they burned the evidence together, the smoke billowing
up to the sky as everything turned to ashes.
Granted, Gary was still out there, but without evidence of what
happened, he wasn’t a threat any longer and had been paid off well to keep his
mouth shut. The final piece burned and
she tossed the folder in for good measure before wrapping her arms around
herself, silent tears falling down her cheeks.
It was over…and just beginning all at the same time because with the
evidence taken care of, maybe Vallea could finally start to heal.
Admittedly,
Jon was a bit worried that this Gary might have copies or something but
something told him that Seth wouldn’t have wanted anyone but him to hold that
evidence. Hold that power, because that’s what it had been to Seth. Power over
Jon and power over Vallea, the power to ruin their lives. The power to hurt.
The man had deserved being stabbed through the neck and more. He seen the tears
glistening on her face as firelight lit her up after he had added more wood,
wanting to make sure nothing remained behind. Frowning, Jon walked around to
her, reaching out with a hesitant hand. He touched her back, palm gently
curving over her shoulder and he felt all hesitance disappear when she turned
and buried her face in his chest. He could both hear and feel her crying now,
her shoulders shaking and his arms wrapped around her, head coming down to rest
on top of hers. “It’s over, doll.” He whispered, his eyes closing as if to ward
himself against the helplessness her tears were causing him. “It’s over.”
Crying was
part of the healing process. For months,
she had cried out of sorrow, pain, anguish, heartache, guilt, fear…Now, she was
crying because she felt so relieved to finally be rid of the monster, to know
that Jon was protected and would never go to prison. Her arms tightened around Jon, feeling his
strength and protection surround her, nodding to acknowledge she heard him. Vallea couldn’t talk, her tears soaking his bare
skin and couldn’t pull away even if she wanted to. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to let Jon go ever
again. Were they ever destined to be
together, to be happy? Or would it come
in intervals until something else ripped them apart? Maybe it just wasn’t in the cards for them
and that made Vallea cry harder because she truly believed Jon was her soul
mate, the one she was meant to be with.
Chapter 49
Jon simply
held her, letting her shed her tears.
The weight
that must’ve been lifted from her, he could only imagine. If he would have known the chain of events he
would start the night he killed Ryan, he wouldn’t have done it. He had wanted to save her, protect her, and in
the end, what had he caused her? Terror.
Pain. Grief. Jon had ripped her world apart and instead of
protecting her, he had put a giant target on her and Colby had homed in like
the vulture he had been, taking advantage and shredding her to pieces.
“I’m
sorry, Vallea.” He rasped, kissing the top of her head. She probably had no idea what he meant, but he
still had to say it.
“T-This
isn’t your f-fault…” Vallea stammered out through hiccoughs, slowly pulling
back enough to look up at him and let him wipe her tears away. “I-I should’ve
told you…I-I let him get in my head and made me believe he would turn you
in. I let fear destroy us when all I
wanted to do is protect you. And I
f-failed at it…because I believed that son of a bitch…” Seth did have the
evidence though and there wasn’t a doubt in her mind Jon would’ve wound up in
prison. So either way, she would’ve lost
him if she didn’t comply with what Seth wanted.
Then again, telling Jon would’ve warranted him having more blood on his
hands, on his conscience because he would’ve killed Seth. Again, there was no doubt in her mind about
it. “I-I destroyed us…I l-lied to you, after making you promise me you’d never
lie to me again…I turned around and did the same d-damn thing to you. A-And I hate myself for it…I h-hate myself
for not being s-stronger against him and not telling him to fuck off, for n-not
telling you w-what was going on…”
Considering
he had railed at her for that, for not coming to him and letting him handle it…Jon
felt like a complete and utter jackass. He had put those thoughts in her head. At the time, he had been livid and scared, along
with a bunch of other things he didn’t want to recall. Now…now he was able to look at it a little
more clearer and at the time, she was doing what she believed she had to. Colby hadn’t given her much choice and Jon
knew it. He had known it then, he just
hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it.
“It’s
okay, it’s done now, Val.”
All the
things she’d done in front of him with Seth, how she’d gotten on her knees to
suck Seth off…all the kissing, touching, affection she had to fake in order to
make it believable. Vallea felt that
dagger dig deeper into her heart. Jon
was too good for her, holding her and telling her it was all over and done with
now, comforting her after she ripped his heart out, put it in a blender and
served it to him on the rocks. Now she
was living with him, putting him through more pain, more heartache.
How was
that fair? How was ANY of this fair?
“I-I’m
sorry…” She sniffled, pulling away from him and wiped her tears away, not
having a right to cry in front of him after what she did. It didn’t matter the circumstances or how
much pressure she’d been under, or being blackmailed…what she said to Jon the
night of their breakup was cold, unforgiving and cruel. “I-I’m okay…I’m fine…”
The expression on her face and the look in her eyes told him otherwise.
“We’re
really going to do the lying thing again?” Jon asked, resignation in his tone. It was written all over her pale, pinched face
that she wasn’t fine. “Fine. You’re
fine.”
Shaking
his head, he gave the fire another good poke before heading towards the house. She was not fine. She would probably not be fine for a long time
to come. Hell, she still had to deal
with the aftermath of Colby’s death, his assets and everything, until she
managed to unload that house in Davenport.
Why did he care? Jon cared,
because he still loved her. He was
probably always going to love her if he were honest with himself.
Letting
him walk away was the best thing she could’ve done…for him. It killed her to do it, but it was for the
best. Jon deserved someone who could
make him happy all the time, not just for 6 months until something or someone
tried tearing them apart. Be it murder
or a conniving coworker. She stayed out
there and continued crying until the fire died down completely, not wanting to
leave it unattended. Jon had gone back
in the house to give her time alone, she supposed. Walking back inside, she went straight to her
room and laid down, crying herself to sleep.
This had
been an exhausting day.
~!~
In the
blink of an eye, three months had passed since the night the evidence was
destroyed and Vallea moved in with Jon.
Nobody on the roster knew due to her not changing her address and both
keeping their mouths shut. Not even Joe
knew of the living arrangements. It was
better to keep it secret from everyone, considering she was still supposed to
be mourning over her dead husband. Fat
chance of THAT happening! The nightmares
had stopped altogether for Vallea, which was a good thing and she’d been
getting proper sleep again. Eating
right, working out, and taking better care of herself than she had in a long
time. She traveled separately from Jon
and still did all of his arrangements and scheduling, not minding her contract
bound to his.
They had
developed some kind of friendship, she supposed, though nothing major or deep
was discussed between them. Jon did his
thing, she did hers and they barely spoke to each other when they were home on
their days off. It was lonely traveling
by herself, but Vallea was getting used to it and had become accustomed to only
relying on herself, nobody else. She
couldn’t believe it’d been 6 months since she killed Seth and, thankfully, the
house in Davenport had finally sold for a little more than she asked for. All that money would go to charity, she
wanted none of it.
“Goddamn
it, Momo,” She had come to the arena, just to make him try on this stupid
monkey suit because he had told her, repeatedly, he wasn’t going to wear the
damn thing. If Joe wanted him to be the Best
Man, Joe could deal with black slacks and a nice shirt. She was insisting on tuxedos. “I feel like an
asshole!”
“Because
you ARE one, Jon.” She said sweetly, her current personal assistant taking measurements.
“It looks good, you look good. Please
tell me you’re not bringing that Darla. Anyone
who calls you ‘Daddy’ has issues.”
“Haven’t a
clue what you’re talking about.”
Vallea sat
in the corner, trying not to laugh and sipped her coffee while typing on her
laptop, minding her own business. She
wasn’t invited to the wedding because her and Monique didn’t speak
anymore. Her fault, naturally. Everything was her fault, but she was dealing
and coping with it. Darla…there was a
nightmare waiting to happen and she really hoped, for Jon’s sake, he got rid of
her. That was NOT the woman for
him.
Hell,
Vallea didn’t even know what kind of woman was right for him and, quite
frankly, it wasn’t her business. She
currently had earbuds in, but no music since she wanted to hear whatever was
said between Jon and Monique. She sifted
through her song list and picked another band before getting back to work. Music had really helped her over the past 6
months; she was going to need a slew of MP3 players at this rate.
First
Vallea had left Vegas and abandoned her because her relationship with Jon
hadn’t worked out. Okay, Monique would
have gotten some of it, or been a bit more understanding, if Vallea had ever
bothered to reply to her. But she
hadn’t. Then…she married Seth fucking
Rollins and broke Jon’s heart, like…it was some weird turnabout game.
“You know
exactly what I’m talking about. She’s
not invited. You don’t get a plus one.”
“Joe said
I do.”
“Joe was
being polite, I am not.”
Vallea
couldn’t make her friendship with Monique right because she couldn’t tell the
woman what happened. She couldn’t tell
her the truth of it all. The woman would
think she was an insane murderer, both of them, and she had sworn never to
bring up Ryan, Nick and Seth again.
People had to BELIEVE she chose Seth over Jon because she fell for the
man instead of being blackmailed. It
really sucked because Vallea missed her best friend and had nobody else to talk
to, to vent with, to cry on their shoulder about how much she missed Jon. She had literally dug herself so deep a hole,
there was no escape from it. And now
Monique would get married without her and have a happy, fulfilling life with
Joe that she deserved. Life wasn’t fair
sometimes, but again, Vallea was coping and dealing with it the best she could.
“Well,
what if I don’t bring Darla?”
Darla was
a fling and one he did not indulge in now that Vallea was sort of back in the
picture. Even as ‘just friends’, it felt
weird and wrong having his busty, blonde sex buddy around. That wasn’t to say he might not have maybe
once, only once, had a lapse in judgment and let her do something terrible to
him with her pink lipstick-painted mouth.
“Well
that’s fine then. Anyone but her.”
Jon
grinned wickedly, his icy blues straying to Vallea.
“I’m sure
you can find someone more…WORTHY to come to our wedding. Just…make sure she’s dressed for it. Black tie, you know the deal.” Monique was
only getting married once in her life and had pulled out all the stops for this
wedding. Whatever she wanted, Joe was
onboard for as long as she was happy.
She completely missed the way Jon side-eyed his potential plus one for
the wedding, talking to her personal assistant about the measurements and
nodded. “All right buster, out of the pants so they can be fixed.”
Vallea was
not at all surprised when Jon dropped them in front of her and kept her eyes
GLUED to her laptop screen.
“You’re an
ass, Good!” Monique shrieked and, not able to help herself, shot Vallea a look
to see what the other was looking at. Vallea
was staring at her laptop like nothing else was going on and that was like…confirmation
or something. She turned back to Jon,
rolling her eyes at the sight of him swaying in his boxer briefs, his hands on
his hips. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Stag
party? Only for you. Get some ones out, Momo, I promise I don’t
cost that much.”
She picked
up the pants and threw them in his face, trying not to laugh.
When Jon
started gyrating his hips and acting like a stripper, Vallea had looked up just
as the song in her earbuds ended and caught what Monique said. “Oh my god…” She
covered her mouth with her hand, laughing hard and wasn’t the least bit
surprised when Monique pulled out some dollar bills to throw at him. “Hell,
I’ll get in on this!” Vallea crowed, pulling out a few dollar bills of her own
and Jon was slowly rained with them just as Joe came through the door.
“WHAT THE
FUCK IS THIS?”
“Hey
honey, it’s my stag party, courtesy of your Best Man!”
Joe tried
to be stern, but all he could do was laugh at his best friend and fiancée.
“I’m a bit
disappointed though. I figured with as
hot as I am,” Jon rolled his hips, hands laced behind his head. “They’d at
least, you know, try stuffing my waistband or something.”
Joe had
out his cell phone. “Go on, keep going, social media is going to love this.” He
knew how much Jon despised Facebook, Instagram, all that ‘shit’ as he called
it.
“Go ahead,
and I’ll skull fuck you before you make it down the aisle.”
Joe winced
at that mental image and promptly erased the footage. “Fair enough. Get your clothes on.”
Vallea
hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time and it felt great, her stomach hurting
as she sat back down on the couch. Jon
made sure she had a comfortable area where she could do her work at every arena
and the company obliged since most of her time was spent in his dressing room.
“Oh come
on, baby, you know you’re the only one for me.” Monique crooned, sliding her
fingers through Joe’s long black hair and smiled at Jon. “I’ll let you know
when your pants are ready to try on again.” The wedding was a month away,
hopefully they could get everything they wanted done before the big day
arrived.
“Yes
ma’am.”
“And no
skanky bitches!” She added as she and Joe walked out with said pants, laughing.
She even nodded at Vallea on her way by.
“Well,
that was fun.” Jon shut the door behind them, shaking his head as he, in
nothing but said boxer briefs, rifled through his bag. Since he had to work…no sense in putting back
on his street attire. “You’re coming as my plus one by the way, so pencil us
both in.”
Water
promptly FLEW out of Vallea’s mouth in a spray as she splattered it everywhere
on the floor, having just taken a drink of her bottled water. “W-What?!” She
croaked out, coughing and hopped up from the couch to grab paper towels,
wondering if she heard Jon correctly. “I-I don’t think…” That was NOT a good
idea! Had he lost his mind?! “No, I’m
not your plus one to that wedding.
Monique doesn’t want me there, not that I blame her. You’re gonna have to find someone else or go
alone and bang one of the bridesmaids or something.” Wow, she hadn’t meant for
that thought to pop out of her mouth. “I mean…You know what I mean!” Damn it,
she was all flustered now, thanks to him!
“Uh, no…no
I don’t think so.” Jon argued, trying and failing to hide just how amused he
was with her. He watched as she stood up
to try mopping water off of her top and sauntered towards her, still in just
his boxer/briefs. He watched as Vallea stepped
back, right into that corner and leaned in, resting his hand over her head.
“Consider it a work date, you’ll be fine.” Monique hadn’t said a word about
Vallea being at her wedding.
She had
said no to Darla.
This was
the first time Jon had been this close to her in a while and Vallea swore her
heart was going to fly out of her chest at any second to bounce against his
muscular chest. It was pounding that
hard and fast, thundering in her ears.
Jon in just his boxer/briefs, towering over her with his hand pressed
against the wall above her head…she could smell the aftershave and his own
personal scent that always made her heady.
“A work
date, huh?” Jesus, why was her mouth suddenly bone dry? The thirst was real for her when it came to
this man. “Jon, you don’t wanna piss Monique off, especially on her wedding
day. If you get the approval from her
for me to go, then fine, I’ll go…as your work date.” She congratulated herself
for keeping her voice steady and calm. “I’m compromising, but I won’t go until
you get her approval.”
“You don’t
get a say. You’ve had way too many says,
I think we’ll try it my way, babe.”
Jon
already knew Momo was going to have a bitch fit, at first. But then she’d realize that he COULD bring
Darla and she’d cave. The fact that she
actually tolerated being in the same room as Vallea without making comments or
being a bitch, well…that was progress. Given
everything she had said after Vallea had stopped talking to her, for a SECOND
time, when they had sort of started texting again, the woman was a saint in his
eyes.
“Schedule
it. It’ll be fun.”
“Excuse
me?” Vallea raised a slow brow, folding her arms in front of her chest. “No,
that’s not how this works. I DO have a
say in the matter and if you don’t get the bride’s approval, I’m NOT going.”
She refused to piss the bride-to-be off; if Jon wanted Bridezilla to come out,
he was doing a great job going in that direction. “Work date or not, I won’t
disrespect Monique like that, regardless of what you say.”
Try it his
way – yeah sure and watch Monique’s head explode.
No thanks,
she would pass on that.
Jon
shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever, Vallea. Don’t go. You act like I wouldn’t have said anything to
her.” Shows what she knew about him.
Vallea had
had a bit too much say when it came to things related to him and her. That was why they weren’t together and had
spent all that time suffering in their own ways, including her personal beating
and rape hell. Talking about
disrespecting Monique, she’d done a bit more than disrespect her. He was away from her now, pulling on his
pants. Abandoning her, then trying to strike
up that friendship again only to abandon her, again. He realized that Momo probably was never going
to really trust other women again and frowned. Well, if anyone could fix some of that damage,
it would be Joe. They were good for each
other.
“Jon!”
Vallea shouted his name in frustration, wondering what was going through this
man’s mind and could see the annoyance written on his face. “Look, Monique and
I…I can’t make things right with her without telling her the TRUTH. Do you understand that? I can’t tell the woman I used to call my best
friend the truth because it would be too risky.
Just like you haven’t told Joe anything either. The LAST thing I wanna do is open that wound
with her and I don’t want her pissed off on her wedding day. She doesn’t deserve that. It’s not that I don’t WANT to go with you, I
just want to make sure she’s okay with it.
And you can say whatever you want to her, but the bride’s word is final
for her wedding and if she truly doesn’t want me there, she’ll make sure I’m
not, no matter what the Best Man says.” He couldn’t deny that fact. “I didn’t
mean to…get an attitude with you over it, but if you think you have a say in
the guest list or what goes on at this wedding, think again.” Monique was a
control freak at times and planning a beautiful wedding in Hawaii…control freak
was probably in overdrive.
“YOU
should have never walked away from her to begin with, Vallea.” Jon shot back in
a flat tone, his eyes narrowed and iced over. “YOU shouldn’t have shut her out
when you probably needed her the most, she didn’t deserve that. As for what she wants, I had every intention
of asking her first before springing you. I’m fairly certain she knew I was too because
that’s how Momo operates.” And Momo disliked Darla a lot more than she disliked
Vallea at the moment. “You act like I don’t think things through, so you have
to have YOUR say and YOUR way and I don’t roll like that. I think. I ask. Got
me?” Her way lost Vallea her friends, her job…and then it cost her all that, all
over again, with Colby. “Just forget it…this is a bad idea. I’m a fucking idiot sometimes.” It had never
been like this. He would have laughed at
what she had said and agreed and now…now he felt the NEED to assert himself.
“Just…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything,
doll.”
“Fine
then, whatever.” Vallea wanted to say so many things to him and couldn’t
because a lot of what he said was the truth.
What was
she supposed to do? Admit to Monique
what Jon did because of her? Go to the
woman about Seth’s ultimatum and blackmail?
No, that wouldn’t have ended well and Monique would’ve probably turned
Jon into the police. Of course, he
didn’t think that way because they were buddy-buddy right now. She sat back down on the couch, put her
earbuds back in and resumed her work, trying to pretend that conversation never
happened. Jon wouldn’t have a problem
finding someone else to go with to the wedding; the man was walking, talking
sex.
She never
had to say anything to Monique about the murder thing. She could have said anything but that. She could have explained she was having
issues and still maintained a friendship. But Vallea was all or nothing, he had learned
that the very hard, painful way. Trying
to forget that they had just had that conversation, Jon finished dressing and
began hopping from one foot to the other, rolling his head. He hadn’t broken up his friendship with Joe
because the man was dating Vallea’s best friend and was insanely happy. Jon just didn’t understand how a person’s
personal pain could blind them to others. His had nearly killed him, that didn’t mean he
was pulling those he cared about down with him. Of course, how people handled things were
different.
“Sorry.”
He muttered again, walking out of the room.
He needed
air and an actual cigarette.
Chapter 50
It was
déjà vu all over again.
Vallea was
standing outside of Jon’s motel room, already knowing where he was staying
because being his personal assistant gave her that perk. The only difference was she wouldn’t run away
like she nearly had with Seth. Why she
even WENT to Seth in the first place…that was how all of this really
started. Why she was on Seth’s radar to
begin with and why he blackmailed her into breaking Jon’s heart to be with him
unwillingly. None of it mattered anymore
because Seth was gone, out of their lives.
Taking a deep breath, Vallea knocked on the door and held her breath
when it opened, looking up into those electric blue orbs.
“I won’t
take up a lot of your time, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened
earlier at the arena. I shouldn’t assume
anything when it comes to you and you were right in everything you said. I just didn’t want to upset Monique more than
I already have and ruin the happiest day of her life. I know you would go to her and ask her
permission because that’s the type of person you are.” Her eyes lowered from
his as Vallea rolled her lips together and knew she was swallowing a lot of
pride coming here. “That’s all I wanted to say.
I’m sorry, Jon.”
“Get in
here.” Jon ordered, reaching out to pull her inside without waiting for her to
do it herself.
He had
been thinking all night and drinking a little. He wasn’t ever going to do the blackout drunk
bit again, especially not with her around because that would lead to him doing
some seriously messed up and potentially humiliating things. Jon resumed the pacing he had been doing, a
lit cigarette dangling from his bottom lip. One of the benefits of staying in shitholes
like this was they didn’t overly care about the smoking ban thing that most
hotels had going on these days.
“I know
I’m an asshole and I’m sorry. Apology
accepted, by the way.” Jon added, wanting to show his appreciation. “I’m…I’m
trying to trust you, Vallea…and I know all that shit that caused this crap
between us is literally dead and buried, but…I feel like I gotta make sure
things are going MY way because I’m afraid you’re going to run off again, or
something.” He was a pathetic mess. “I know you’re not, I know it, but I can’t
make myself stop, doll.” He was trying.
“I’m not
going anywhere, Jon. I did that once
before and I was miserable. I’ll never
do that to myself again.” It broke her heart to see how torn up he was about
this and wanted to reach out for him, but stayed where she was. “I know
it’s…difficult for you to trust me. I
don’t blame you and I know I’ll have to regain your trust slowly. But I also won’t ever take orders from a man
again.” Her eyes narrowed slightly, recalling all the times she had to obey
Seth. “We just need to find a middle ground and stick to it. So don’t apologize to me, you have nothing to
be sorry about and you didn’t do anything wrong. And you’re not an asshole either. Stop beating yourself up over this because
it’s NOT your fault. This is on me – it
was my choice to hurt you the way I did, to destroy us, and I know it takes
time to heal those types of wounds.” She was still healing from everything
she’d been through.
“Twice,
you dick.” He flashed her two fingers, though the side of his mouth was curved
upwards into a hint of a smile. Jon
stopped pacing and kept a respectable distance between them. “I love you,
Vallea, but right now I don’t think it’s enough, doll.” He had never stopped
loving her, would never stop, and Jon wasn’t sure if that was a blessing or a
curse. Sometimes it felt more one then
the other. “I’m not trying to order you…not like Seth. I am NOT Seth.” He added sharply, cracking his
neck on each side, eyes icing over. “I’ve never hit you or raped you, and I’m
not about to start now. Never told you
what to say or how to dress…I did order you to go to a wedding with me.” He
conceded, eyes narrowing slightly. “But I’m not him.”
Christ,
that hurt to hear him say those words to her.
He loved her, but it wasn’t enough.
Could she blame him? If the shoe
was on the other foot, she probably would’ve felt the same way he did.
“I know
you’re not him, believe me. You’re
nothing like him.”
Jon was so
much better than Seth, which was probably why Seth wanted to destroy him. Hell, she didn’t WANT to know what went
through that lunatic’s mind. Jon already
knew how she felt about him, but she wouldn’t say the words again, not after
hearing his confession about loving her not being enough.
“That’s
why I apologized for what I said to you earlier because I know you didn’t mean
to order me around. It just…it reminded
me momentarily of how many orders I had to take from that asshole, but I know
you’re not him. There’s no comparison.”
Jon had
seen the look on her face when he had said love wasn’t enough and felt the need
to clarify. “Vallea, I mean…it’s not enough to just dive back into things with
you.” They had done that before, and here they were, having that conversation
all over again it seemed. “We got together fast, we got back together fast,
and…I want to be with you, but I can’t dive in and I don’t think you can
either.” Diving in wasn’t going to erase hurt or help either of them heal. “And
I hate the awkwardness between us because we’ve seen each other naked and sick,
sometimes both at the same time, so there should be no awkward.” He grinned
when she chuckled at that.
“You don’t
have to explain yourself to me, Jon. I
get it and I can’t deny any of it. You
deserve someone better than me, honestly.
I’m…damaged goods.” Vallea cleared her throat, not wanting any sympathy
or pity because she didn’t deserve any of it, especially from him. “I don’t
know what to do about the awkwardness. I
don’t think there is anything to be done about it.” This wasn’t why she came
here and they were getting off course. “If you still want me to go to the
wedding with you, I will. I’m sure you
can find someone better to go with besides me, though.” She was being brutally
honest with him and herself.
“Doll, I’M
damaged goods.” Was she serious? “We’re both damaged.” Jon could concede that. Well, she was physically AND mentally, so she
may have had one up on him, but if they were playing the ‘one up’ game with
this, they really were insane. “And no, I can’t find someone better. You’ve met Darla, I know you have.” In fact,
he was pretty sure Vallea had overheard one of their sexcapades
and the infamous ‘Daddy’ thing. At the
time, it had been hot as hell. In
retrospect, he had serious issues. “I’m a slum kid, always will be. I will ask Monique first, and if she says yes,
I would like very much for you to be my date for the wedding.”
It wasn’t
a competition who was more messed up than the other. Vallea sneered at the name Darla came out of
Jon’s mouth, not able to forget the ‘Daddy’ thing as long as she lived. Christ, that had been terrible to overhear
and it was one of the reasons she’d gone to Seth. That moment had driven her to go to Seth for
sex, actually. She firmly pushed that
memory away, not wanting to relive or think about it and cracked a small smile.
“All
right, just let me know if she’s okay with it.
And if she wants to talk to me, I’m up for that too.” They had to start
somewhere. “By the way, you’re the hottest slum kid I’ve ever seen.” That was
probably a bad joke on her part, but it got Jon to smile.
“Yeah I
figured you thought so when you started tossing ones at me. I’m worth tens, by the way.” He joked,
stubbing out what was left of his cigarette before running his hands over his
head, staring at her intently. “I’ll get a hold of her tomorrow. She’s probably going to say yes because she
hates the alternative.” Monique didn’t hate Vallea, as far as he knew. Not anymore. Women were strange and complicated creatures
and thank god he wasn’t one. “Maybe I can talk her into doing something like
coffee…she likes coffee.” A lot.
Monique
was a coffee fanatic, as far as Vallea remembered. Times could’ve changed in the past 2 years,
she didn’t know. “Only if she wants to.
I know she has a lot going on with the wedding planning, so…try not to
pressure her into it. I’m not saying
you’re going to.” Jon could be pushy when he wanted to be, when the situation
called for it. “And you’re worth more than tens with
that package you’re carrying.” More like 100’s, 1000’s, even millions. “And on
that note, I’m leaving. Get some sleep
and I’ll see you in the morning.” She had embarrassed herself enough for one
night.
“Night,
doll.” Jon, like the sometimes gentleman he could be, opened the door for her.
He had
made a fool of himself enough for one night, but at least the night was ending
on a better note. They had sort of
cleared the air and that was better than leaving all that animosity hanging
unresolved. He wasn’t going to push Momo
into anything, he knew better. The woman
would remove his balls, bedazzle them, and use them as wedding reception decor
or something. She hadn’t been a major
bitch about her wedding, but the fair few times someone had tried pushing her,
or Joe, into something neither of them had clearly wanted, she had unleashed.
Joe seemed
to find it all amusing, that was sick.
~!~
The
following day, Vallea received a very unexpected guest at her hotel room
door. She was just finishing packing up
when the knock came and she zipped her bag up before going to answer it,
floored at who it was. It was
Monique…alone…and a barrage of emotions rushed through Vallea all at once,
tears filling her eyes. She couldn’t
help it. They had been so close prior to
her life being saved by Jon and everything else that followed had destroyed
their friendship. Vallea had no idea
what to say to this woman and braced herself for whatever was next, doing
everything in her power not to let the tears fall. Monique should have been the one crying, not
the other way around.
Monique
stared at Vallea, her face carefully neutral. Vallea, in her heartbreak, had broken up with
everyone associated with Jon and those memories it seemed. Including her, which she had not been okay
with. She had known Vallea long before
Jon came into the picture and to be cast aside because of a man, well…it had hurt
and broken her heart.
“Jon asked
if he could bring you as his plus one.” She said after a long moment, not
moving to step in.
“Yeah,
he…asked me to go with him last night.” More like demanded, which caused an
argument, but Monique didn’t need to know that. “I told him I would only go if
you were all right with it. And I
understand completely if you’re not.” What she did to Monique, cutting her off
the way she had, was unforgiveable. Vallea
didn’t move to step aside to let Monique inside, having a feeling this would be
a short conversation between them.
“Better
you than that blonde bimbo.” Monique backhandedly was giving her consent with
Vallea coming. “He’s Best Man, so he’ll be a bit busy. You’ll have to fend for yourself during the
actual ceremony when he’s with the wedding party.” A party Vallea could have
been a part of, could have been her Maid of Honor. She wasn’t thinking about any of that. “Here.”
She held out an invitation and a few other pieces of paper. “That’s the date
and time, where we’re staying at, and an invitation to get into the venue
because we had to hire security and anyone without one of those, guest or not,
won’t be allowed in.” That was all Joe’s famous backside’s fault.
She took
the invitation, surprise etched on her face and wanted to hug Monique, but
thought better of it. The woman was
being forced to do this, or forcing herself to be nice. Vallea wouldn’t push the boundaries. “Thank
you, Monique. And I’ll be fine by myself
while the ceremony is going on and whatnot, no worries.” She was only Jon’s
date, they weren’t back together as a couple or anything. “I’m really happy for
you. Joe’s a lucky guy.” If only she
could tell Monique the truth about everything that happened…maybe they wouldn’t
be nearly as tense with each other as they currently were.
“He sure
is.” Monique smiled slightly, then shrugged. “I’m a lucky girl, we’re just both
lucky.” They could have had something messed up like Jon and Vallea, and she
wouldn’t wish that kind of relationship, or whatever it was, on anyone.
“They’re downstairs in the cafe. Come
down and have coffee when you’re ready.” She had promised to be nice because
Jon had gotten down on his knees and pleaded.
The knee
part had been her idea.
The
tension was still there between the women, but in time, hopefully, it would
vanish. Vallea met them down in the
café, ordering a mocha latte and a bagel with cream cheese. Jon had worked his magic and she could only
imagine what Monique had him do to make the bride hand over an invitation. She stayed quiet while Jon and Joe boasted
about the upcoming bachelor party, only for Monique to order there be no
strippers. She wouldn’t condone that
behavior from her future husband and Joe agreed, not wanting them either. Jon had groaned, called her a party pooper
and Vallea laughed at him, smacking his arm playfully.
“How many
times do I have to tell you? Whatever
the bride wants, the bride gets, Ambrose.”
Joe
grinned at his spitfire future wife and kissed her neck softly. “No strippers,
bro. Gotta go with the wife on this
one.”
It was
cute how Joe was already calling Monique ‘wife’ and they weren’t married yet.
Chapter 51
The day
before the wedding had arrived, the days flying by in the blink of an eye. It was a beach wedding in Hawaii at a resort
and the weather was supposed to be spectacular.
This had Monique written all over it, especially the location since the
woman loved Hawaii. She wasn’t the least
bit surprised when Jon informed her Monique had convinced Joe to leave Florida
to move to Hawaii permanently. As sad as
she was to hear Monique was leaving Las Vegas, Vallea was also incredibly happy
for the woman. As soon as they landed,
Jon was whisked away for wedding obligations and Vallea went to her hotel room
to get some work done on his schedule.
He had the rehearsal dinner to go through, practiced toasts and whatnot,
things of that nature and anything else the bride wanted done.
Before
long, it was the day of the wedding.
Since it
was a beach wedding, Vallea went with something simple, a wrap dress she had
found at a dress shop in Vegas on one of her days off. It was pink, had a sexy allure about it, but
not over the top and still appropriate for a wedding. It was backless, which prompted her to wear
nude bra cups since her breasts were a little too big to not wear a bra. Besides, she didn’t want to look sleazy at
Joe and Monique’s wedding by showcasing a bra, so going without one and using
the cups seemed to be the best option.
The dress itself was ankle length, but on the left side, it ran up to
expose let and had loose frills for the hem in a V-shape. The straps of the dress were the same frill
design too. She had decided on light tan
strappy sandals for shoes and had her hair done.
On both
sides of her head, hair was braided back to link with the bun at the nape of
her neck, looking a little messy for style.
It was simple, yet elegant and a few tendrils framed her face, loosely
curled. Her makeup was very simple,
foundation with black liner, nude eye shadow and clear gloss, nothing over the
top. She had thought about doing smoky
eyes and immediately dismissed it, wanting to go for a more natural beauty
look. Slipping her silver diamond hoops
in her ears, which matched a simple diamond choker around her neck and the
bracelet on her wrist, Vallea looked at the clock and had to book it downstairs
to meet Jon. Hopefully, he approved of
her look as she grabbed her silver clutch and made her way downstairs, taking
the elevator.
Jon was
pacing like mad, dressed in the tuxedo. Black,
with the undershirt and silk ‘for looks only’ handkerchief in the breast
pocket. He even had on shiny shoes and a
silver watch to match his silver cuff links. “Babe, you look…gorgeous.”
Beautiful, stunning, fuckable, all aptly described Vallea. He was going with the most appropriate for
their current location. That dress
enveloped her beautifully and he had to wonder, when she turned in a circle for
him, just what she was using to hold her breasts up. “I’m sorry Val, but we gotta
go. I gotta meet up with the Maid of Honor.”
He said apologetically, though he could not quit staring.
Damn this
woman.
He looked
absolutely breathtaking in his tuxedo, sharp and crisp. Vallea was having a hard time not devouring
him with her eyes and blushed at his compliment. “Thank you. So you approve, then?” Vallea breathed a sigh
of relief when he nodded, taking her hand to twirl her around again. The nude breast cups were working wonders
right now and the dress only showed the tops, just enough cleavage to be sexy.
“All right, let’s get moving because if you’re late, you’ll never hear the end
of it from Monique.” Taking his extended arm, they walked out of the hotel and
were on their way to the venue in a rental.
Jon insisted on driving with Vallea to the venue instead of in the
limousine with the rest of the wedding party, which Monique was fine with.
This was
the one and only time Jon would ever do this three ring circus. He’d had to learn how to formally dance with
the Maid of Honor -Caryn- as well as a bunch of weird things that he had no
experience with. Jon had never done a
wedding before either as a guest or a member of the wedding party. The picture thing was going to be awkward, he
had to smile and not grimace.
“I’m
nervous.” He wrestled before thousands live, but doing all this had given him
the jitters.
“You’ll be
fine, it’s just pictures. Think of it as
a photoshoot you do for WWE. Just stand
there, smile and be yourself.” Vallea coached, trying to ease his mind a little
and changed the subject, just making idle chatter until they arrived at the
venue.
Once
there, they parted ways with Jon going to join the wedding party, barely on time. However, Vallea noticed right away the Maid
of Honor, Caryn, cling to him and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure
out she liked Jon. Caryn was a
beautiful, ebony haired goddess that Vallea could not compete with, even on her
best day. Today being one of those
days. Caryn trumped her, looking
spectacular in her baby blue dress that contrasted with her perfectly tanned
skin. Why hadn’t Jon just asked the Maid
of Honor to be his date since they had to spend so much time together for the
wedding? Caryn was fixing Jon’s bow and
sliding her hands down his shirt, caressing him with a bright smile on her
face. It was obvious she was into him. Vallea sat down near the back with her clutch
in her lap and simply watched, trying not to think about her own wedding
catastrophe.
She stood
when the rest of the guests did and watched as each bridesmaid walked down the
aisle, arm in arm with the groomsmen.
Caryn and Jon went last since they were the Best Man and Maid of Honor,
both with smiles on their faces while walking the aisle together. Jon kissed her cheek once they arrived at the
end and took his place beside Joe while the wedding dirge sounded. It was hard to watch Jon and Caryn together
and once again, Vallea had nobody to blame except herself for not being in the
wedding. That would’ve been her if she
wasn’t so stupid and selfish.
Monique
looked stunning as she slowly moved down the aisle on her father’s arm, the
ivory gown she had on simple and elegant, perfect for a beach wedding. The ocean breeze blew off the water, the
waves crashed lightly on the shore and the sun had just set on the horizon,
giving off a golden glow. An hour later,
Joe and Monique were pronounced husband and wife with Joe dipping his newlywed
bride, passionately kissing her in front of family and friends. Everybody applauded them as they moved back
down the aisle together to head up to the venue, where the reception would take
place.
First,
more pictures had to be taken as Jon and Caryn, along with the rest of the wedding
party, followed the bride and groom.
Vallea moved with the rest of the guests to the venue to take their
seats and she was in the far back away from the long table that was
specifically set up for the wedding party.
Jon couldn’t sit with her since he was the Best Man and had a speech and
whatnot to give. Instead, he was seated
next to Caryn and Vallea noticed how they laughed and carried on together while
the reception was underway, though she did it discreetly.
As soon as
the opening dances started, Jon had to wait through the first few before he was
to give Caryn a twirl and then he could just be a normal guest with his actual
date. Caryn was gorgeous, no doubt about
it, and she was funny enough, friendly enough…if not for Vallea and the fact that
his heart still belonged to his murderous little vixen, he might’ve given it a
try. Finally, he was done and he felt
pretty pleased with himself because he had not stepped on her toes or her dress
once, like he had the first million times they had tried this.
“Thank you
for your unending patience.” He laughed, kissing the top of her hand, his mind
already straying to the woman sitting in the back.
Caryn
chuckled, her soft brown eyes practically glowing at him. “The pleasure was all
mine, Jon. I’ll let you take me for a
whirl anytime, day or night.”
If that
wasn’t an open invitation, nothing was.
She brushed her lips against his cheek, slipping something discreetly in
his shirt pocket and walked away. It was
a spare keycard to her room. Hopefully,
he would take her up on the offer.
Vallea was
on her second plate of shrimp, being careful not to drop or drip anything on
her dress and also hadn’t missed how close Caryn and Jon had danced
together. She had no right to be
jealous, even though it was bubbling up inside of her. All she wanted to do was wrap Caryn’s long
black hair around her neck and choke her to death. She looked up when a shadow cast over her,
seeing it was Jon and cracked a smile, dabbing her mouth with her napkin.
“You were
perfect, just like I knew you would be.
Nerves gone?”
“Yep.” Jon
eyed her plate, grinning. She always had
a healthy appetite and he had noticed it had waned drastically. Jon knew why, he got it, but seeing her with a
plate full of food, properly eating, made him happy. “I’m actually a decent
dancer.” He had made Joe pay for those lessons because it had been THEIR demand
that he dance. He and Joe had even
practiced together, not that they told anyone. “You want to dance, babe? After that plate?” Now that the boring stuff
was done, the good music would start.
Was it
indecent to grind at a wedding?
“You
weren’t half bad out there.” Vallea conceded, finishing a crab cake and pushed
her plate away, taking a sip of her beer.
Her body was more filled out now that she’d been eating and taking care
of herself again. The dark circles were
gone from her eyes and she had her hour glass figure back. “I tell you what,
they picked a hell of a menu for this shindig.” Jon wanted to dance with
her? Didn’t he have an obligation to
Caryn? Her insecurities were starting to
shine through and she hadn’t missed the way Caryn had kissed his cheek either.
“Yeah sure, I’m done with it, actually.” She had just finished her last bite
when he showed up.
The
keycard in his pocket was forgotten as he led Vallea out onto the dance floor,
their fingers intertwined together. His
obligation to Caryn was officially over and done with. He had walked down the aisle with her, danced
with her, did the photo thing with her and ate at the wedding party table with
her. She wasn’t his date and he had made
that clear from the start of this shindig. Jon loosened his bowtie, letting it dangle on
either side of his neck before pulling her against him, smiling down at her.
“Did I say
you looked gorgeous earlier?” He asked, pretty sure his mind had been
correcting him with ‘fuckable’, probably because she was sporting that damn
choker.
Diamonds. It had sparkled and shined and gotten his
attention a lot tonight. Sporting wood
during a wedding was probably not socially acceptable. He had wanted to say something earlier, but
with as busy and hectic as everything had gotten, he couldn’t find the time.
Vallea
moved with him smoothly and smiled, nodding. “Yeah, you did. And thank you, again.”
His jacket
was off and Jon had also undone the top button on his dress shirt, along with
the bowtie, wanting to be comfortable while dancing with her. She didn’t mind, enjoying the feeling of his
warm hand against the small of her back.
The dress dipped ALL the way down to her hips and completely exposed her
back. One hand was on his shoulder and
the other was clasped in his while they swayed together to the music.
“I was
hoping this dress would pass be all right since it was a beach wedding. I didn’t want to do anything too over the
top.” Some guests looked like they were going to the damn prom and that wasn’t
how Vallea rolled, not her style at all. “Have I told you how handsome you look
tonight?” Sex on legs was more like it.
“You
might’ve, but I’m always open to hearing it again, babe.” Jon flashed her a
grin, his pale blues lit up with warmth. This was how it was supposed to be. Him and her, enjoying themselves at this wedding. Granted, it could have probably been on
better terms, but he’d take it. “You should see some of the bikinis the bridesmaids
are wearing under their gowns.” Because there was an open bar, things would
eventually get interesting. An open bar
had seemed like a bad idea, but Joe and Monique had both said it wouldn’t be
THAT bad. He was betting someone threw
up somewhere stupid. “What do you have on beneath that itty bitty dress, doll?”
Not a bra, that was for sure, her back was exposed.
How would
he know about the bikinis? Caryn more
than likely told him to try to entice him, she wagered, hoping Joe and Monique
were prepared for the repercussions of the open bar. “Nuh-uh, Good, you said
this was a work date, remember?” Vallea shook her finger at him teasingly,
feeling him press her closer to him and moved her hand from his shoulder to his
neck, massaging it slowly. “Wouldn’t be very professional of me to tell you,
now would it?” All she really had to do was take one part off and her body
would be exposed. “I will say this – it’s not a bikini.” That would make his
imagination run wild for a little while.
“I hope
it’s a G-string or something…” Jon teased, though his eyes got a little darker,
a hint of lust shining through. “You…in nothing but some skimpy panties, with
that choker…” His hand moved up her spine to brush the back of her neck where
the choker clasped. Well, he had
definitely crossed the defined boundaries of a ‘work date’, maybe she’d wind up
nailing him for sexual harassment and the thought of that was hilarious. Clearing his throat, Jon put a little space
between them, pretty sure he’d not be getting his deposit back on these slacks
if he came in them like a 12-year-old boy who had just found his father’s
Playboy stash.
Love
wasn’t enough and he made that clear, but did that mean they couldn’t have a
sexual relationship? Not all sex had to
be about love. Sometimes, pure lustful
sex was the best kind. They had
definitely crossed the professional line and she pulled him against her by the
neck, her grip tightening slightly.
“There’s
only one way to find out. You have to
unwrap me yourself, Jon.”
The desire
had erupted in her hazel eyes as they continued to dance, their bodies pressed
together and he was all she saw. There
was a reason she wore a diamond choker tonight instead of a regular necklace. She recalled Jon saying chokers were hot and
wanted to test that theory, to see if he noticed and how he’d react to it.
Bad Jon,
bad Jon! There was NO way he and Vallea could have a
purely sexual relationship. He already
knew that and he was sure, deep down, she did too. They had way too much history. Jon currently wasn’t thinking with the proper
head though, his dick was going to lead him into making stupid decisions.
“Time for
cake!” Caryn wasn’t overly pleased by all the attention this…whoever she was,
was getting. She smiled brightly as Jon
and his dance partner stopped, trying not to flush under the look Jon gave her.
“I swear,
if you shove it into my face, Joe…”Monique could be heard saying as the cake
was revealed. They had given their
guests time to eat and relax before getting to dessert.
It was attention
by one man, nobody else had batted an eyelash at them. Caryn was treading on dangerous ground as
everyone turned to watch the newlywed couple cut the first slices of cake. Joe didn’t shove the cake into his wife’s
face, but Monique did it to him, laughing as she did. Of course she would! Vallea giggled, feeling Jon’s hand on the
small of her back again and that warm palm had her overheated. Everyone clapped when Joe did shove cake in
Monique’s face, making her squeal out, but turnabout was fair play. Luckily, none of it got on her beautiful
dress. Caryn promptly walked up to them
with two plates of cake and ‘accidentally’ sent Vallea’s right into her chest,
smearing frosting on her dress.
“Oops,
sorry about that.” Caryn didn’t sound sorry at all and handed Jon his cake with
a smile. “Here you go, handsome.”
Even Joe
and Monique had noticed that display, both sharing worried looks with each
other.
The moment
was ruined as Vallea slowly backed up, feeling her temper rising and there were
too many people staring at her. Anxiety
was up, along with her temper, which was never a good combination. “Excuse me.”
She whispered, walking out of the venue and did everything in her power not to
start crying. “I’m such an idiot for coming here…”
Chapter 52
Jon wanted
to throttle Caryn, but the one thing he wasn’t was a woman beater. Or a rapist. Or a murderer of kids. So…all things given, he wasn’t that bad a
person. His hands convulsed, tempted as Hell
to choke her out, but he didn’t.
“This
looks delicious, honey.” He purred, acting as if she hadn’t just sent Vallea
fleeing the room under a cloud of humiliation. Jon took a step forward, tripped and his plate
wound up in her smiling face and he kept falling, because he seen things
through.
Monique
hid a smile behind her hand as Caryn went running out bawling while Jon pushed
himself up onto his feet, apologizing profusely.
Vallea was
halfway up the beach, having to navigate over some of the sand in order to get
to the parked cars, when she heard screeching behind her. Caryn, and her face full of cake, came
barreling by her in tears, screaming at the top of her lungs at how much of an
asshole Jon Good was. Blinking, Vallea
could only imagine what happened and continued on her way, having taken her
heels off to walk in the sand faster.
Sand and heels did NOT mix. She
wiped a few tears from her cheeks, letting some of them fall, but Caryn’s
outburst had temporarily jolted her out of her crying jag.
Jon had to
make his excuses, apologizing up and down for the mishap, but he had to go find
his date.
Monique
and Joe had waived him off, neither bothering to hiding their smirks. Monique had seen the way Caryn had acted, so…Caryn
wanted to act like a kid, she got to deal with Jon retaliating in the same
fashion. Joe was just glad Monique
hadn’t lost her mind over the incident. But
now, now that the ring was on her finger and she was his wife, she seemed all
happy and relaxed.
Jon looked
around, his eyes finally narrowing in on a pink dress way down the beach. Sighing, he took off after Vallea. Dress shoes and sand were not conducive to
running.
Vallea
stopped when she heard her name being called and groaned, not wanting to face
Jon right now because she was a mess. A
cake splattered mess. Granted, the cake
only got on the top of her dress and boobs, but still, she had nothing to wipe
it off with. Grumbling, she slowly
turned to face him as he jogged up to her and couldn’t meet his eyes, hoping
her makeup wasn’t smeared from the light cry she had.
“What is
it?” She asked impatiently, crossing her arms in front of her chest and held
her heels on her fingertips. “I’m going back to the hotel…”
“You’re a
hot fucking mess, babe.” She had been crying, there were faint shimmery streaks
through the make-up she had worn. Her
hair was coming undone and she had frosting still smeared everywhere, that
dress was probably ruined. “Caryn’s worse.” He reached out with a finger to
wipe a smidge of frosting off the swell of her breast, popping the digit in his
mouth. Delicious. “I’ll take you back,
Val. I’m sorry she did that to you.”
“No, no
don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about
me, I’m fine.” Vallea sucked her bottom lip between her teeth when he did that,
making the mistake of raising her eyes to meet his. “You’re the Best Man and
you shouldn’t leave the wedding yet. Go
have fun…” Her voice had grown softer, lower and that desire was back, raging
powerfully inside of her and pulsating through her eyes.
All she
wanted to do was have a fun-filled night with Jon and
it’d been ruined, thanks to some jealous bitch that wanted what she couldn’t
have.
“Oh…well,
uh, after I tripped and accidentally knocked my plate of cake into Caryn’s
face…I was released of my Best Man duties.” Jon scuffed his shoe in the sand,
trying to hide a wicked smirk. “She left, so…besides not like I had anything
else to do. We’re not carrying Joe to
his honeymoon suite because he and Monique are bailing in a few hours…” Which
was why there was an open bar he supposed, so nobody noticed.
Vallea
couldn’t help laughing, wishing she would’ve stuck around to see that go down
and knew he did it because of her. For
her. His overprotective nature had
surfaced again and it made her heart do a funny flutter in her chest. She did not blame Monique and Joe for taking
off – hell, it was their wedding night and they loved each other. They could do whatever they damn well
pleased.
“So, I’m
assuming you’re not taking Caryn up on her offer from earlier?” She slid her
hands up his buttoned up shirt and back down again. “I mean you did pie face
her with cake, unless that was some kind of foreplay between you two…” Vallea
tried and failed to keep a straight face.
“Her
offer?” Jon echoed, confusion in his tone and written on his face. He felt her fingers skimming his pocket and mentally
smacked himself, reaching in to pull out that keycard. “Caryn seemed nice
enough,” Before she had pulled that stunt with Vallea. “But she’s not my type,
babe. I don’t do thirsty bitches.” Well,
not counting Darla, but that was neither here nor there. “Besides, I HAVE a
date.” He looped his arm around her, pulling her flush against his body.
“Remember?”
She
stroked the back of his neck, enjoying how close they were and she could
practically taste his lips against hers. “How could I forget?” Her hand slid up
his buzzed hair and back down, their chests pressed together and Vallea was
sure he probably had a smear of cake on his shirt.
Jon didn’t
seem to mind though, his eyes not leaving hers and the breeze felt wonderful
coming off the ocean. Deciding to take a
chance, a risk, Vallea leaned up and forward on her tiptoes and brought his
mouth down on hers, softly kissing him.
She missed him so much, the taste of him and his lips were just as soft
as she remembered. Vallea moaned,
feeling his arm tighten around her more, the kiss deepening between them.
It was
just a kiss, just a kiss, it didn’t mean it had to lead to other things. Jon’s proper head was telling him this, all
logically and rationally, reminding him that sex with this woman was never
going to be JUST sex, it was impossible. His dick, however, was straining in his boxer
briefs, informing him that it had been an ungodly long time since the last time
they had gotten laid -ever since she had moved back in- and she was willing. More importantly, it was Vallea. He brought a hand up to her face, gently
cupping her cheek and groaned. She
tasted delicious, better than he remembered.
They were
complicated and beyond messy.
Something
or someone always came along to ruin what they had and Vallea didn’t want it
happening again. She couldn’t stand to
have her heart broken by this man one more time or to break his. Who was left to stand in their way, however? Who would be foolish enough to try to destroy
them a third time? Vallea made it clear
she would kill to protect Jon and Jon would do anything for her. They had killed for each other – if that
wasn’t true love, she didn’t know what was.
“Still
curious about what’s under this dress, handsome?” She asked in a mumble against
his lips before kissing him again, not able to pull away fully or get enough.
“If so, take us back to the hotel and unwrap it to find out…”
“Not to
sound like a tool, but I’ve got a pretty good idea what’s under the dress,
Val.” Jon rumbled, amusement in his eyes as he stared down at her.
She
flushed under his knowing look and his mind wandered back to the many, many
times he had seen her naked. Of course,
she wasn’t all skin and bones now, she was eating again, and she looked like a
curvaceous goddess who needed to be worshipped. He bent down, lifting her up into his arms
much the way Joe had done Monique earlier and twirled her in the sand.
“You sure,
doll? You won’t be able to walk straight
for days.”
She
pressed her forehead against his while he twirled her in the sand, caressing
his bearded face with her hand and kissed him again. “I-I know I messed up and
I hurt you really bad. I’m not asking
you to jump back into this with me either.
If all we have is one night together in Hawaii, I’ll take it.” If all he
could give her was sex, at least she would be with him in some capacity and
Vallea would learn to live with it, already feeling her heart beginning to
mend. She missed him so much, his smell,
his touch, his kisses, the way he made love to her and how his cock felt deep
inside of her. “I want you, Jon, only you…” Vallea kissed his neck, using her
lips, tongue and teeth to tease his skin and felt his grip on her tighten.
“We both
know this is going to be more than a night, Vallea.” He hissed, his head lulling
backwards to give her full access to his throat. Teasing wench. “We were never good at not
diving right into things.” He wasn’t sure, still, if that was a good or bad
thing. But who was there left to stand
between them? Nobody. Not unless Caryn turned out to be some sort of
psychopath and even their luck wasn’t that bad, not even combined. “All right,
before I fuck you right here in the sand.” Which wasn’t a bad idea the more he
thought about it.
“I’m just
saying, if this is all you can give me…” Jon pulled back to press a finger to
her lips, kissing her to shut her up. “Mmm hotel now…”
As
enticing as making love on the sand would be, she did not need that stuff in
her lower extremities or wedding guests finding them screwing just outside of
the venue. No, she wanted her reconciliation
with Jon to be completely private, still not into voyeurism. Somehow, they managed to keep their hands off
long enough to get back to the hotel, taking the backstairs up to her room
since it was closer. The moment the door
was closed, Jon was on her and she accepted the onslaught, feeling him lift her
to where her legs encircled his waist, their mouths hungrily devouring each
other. Vallea broke the kiss to once again attack his neck, unbuttoning his shirt to push it
off his shoulders and arms, exposing his delicious bare chest. She moved down as much as she could in this
position to worship, touch and kiss every inch she could, feeling his muscles
rippling beneath her touch and mouth.
Hotel was
better. Nobody needed sand burnt on
their delicate extremities and he didn’t feel like having to irrigate his backside
because he had brought half the beach back with him. Groaning in need, Jon forcefully pulled
himself away from her and put some space between them. “On your feet, babe,
time to unwrap you.” He wanted to see her without that dress, in just the
choker, his eyes lingering on it.
Chokers
were hot, her in one…spank bank material for another time.
“Okay,
it’s really simple. Do you want me to do
it or do you want to do it?”
When he
gestured for her to continue with his hand, Vallea smiled and reached up to
pull one strap down her arm, unwrapping the dress from her body. Most of the cake had gotten on the V-shaped
neckline the dress had and Jon had managed to remove the rest of it with their
making out. Beneath the dress was a lace
pink thong that contrasted beautifully with her skin. Vallea removed the rest of it, taking the
nude cups away from her breasts and let the material fall to the carpeted
floor, dropping them along with it. Now
she stood before him in just the diamond choker and pink lace thong, watching
his eyes darken to a deep cerulean as his eyes slowly scanned her from head to
toe.
“I didn’t
want any panty lines since the dress is so thin as it is…” It wasn’t often
Vallea wore thongs, but in this dress, it was a must.
It was
like god had heard his silent prayers for the G-string -a thong was damn close,
he’d take it- and just the diamond choker. Jon just stayed where he was, committing this
view to memory. Long, luscious legs,
meant to be wrapped around his waist. Those
curvy hips that his hands molded to so perfectly. Finally, Jon moved to his knees before her,
wrapping his hands around her ankles and letting them skim upwards very slowly,
feeling her skin breaking out into goosebumps beneath his palms.
“Mmm…” And
back down again before he brought both hands up to lightly slap both cheeks and
pulled her right into his waiting face.
She would
never, ever wear a G-string, not unless it was for a special occasion involving
Jon and he specifically asked for it.
She moaned at the feeling of his hot breath puffing against her lace
covered sex. The material was so thin,
it was almost as if she could actually FEEL his breath completely. This was how a man was supposed to treat a
woman he loved and desired. Her fingers
ran over his head and massaged his shoulders while he continued kissing and
tugging at the thong with his teeth teasingly.
Vallea had removed the bracelet at the venue and put it in her silver
clutch, which was currently on the floor along with the dress and nude
cups. Without realizing it, she began to
gently grind herself against his mouth and Jon smacked her backside again,
squeezing her cheeks.
She could
grind herself all over his face, he would die a happy man. Eventually, Jon got the thong down and used
his teeth to remove them to the knee, then he let his hands take over. “Mmm…”
Her glistening sex was now properly bared to him and his growl of approval was
probably what cause for the full body shiver she did. Jon ran the tip of his tongue up along her
slit, his eyes rolling back into his head at her exquisite taste.
It had
been way too long.
It was a
VERY good thing Vallea had shaved and cleaned up downstairs prior to the
wedding. Something told her to do it, so
she had a very light strip of hair and made sure to Veet,
wanting to be as smooth as possible. She
had no idea this would actually happen with Jon, but wearing a thong with a lot
of hair down there wasn’t comfortable or sanitary.
“Oh
god…Jon…” She breathed out, grinding harder because his tongue had found that
one sweet spot and she could already feel her climax building.
He was
worshipping her pussy with his delectable tongue and lips, paying close
attention to her clit. All the while,
her hands were on his head, lightly digging her nails into his skull since his
hair was far too short to grab onto. He
was going to worship every inch of her before the night was over. He highly doubted Colby had gone out of his
way to give her any sort of pleasure.
Colby was obviously not that kind of guy. Or hadn’t been. Not if he’d had to blackmail a woman into his
bed. What kind of pathetic, insecure
pencil dick did that? Jon reluctantly
pulled one hand from her backside to move between her legs, adding additional
stimulation. He was waiting for it, for
her to cum all over his waiting tongue.
No, Seth
had only been concerned with his needs and desires and getting his dick
wet. He didn’t care about her, not one
iota, not like Jon. Vallea could feel
the pure love emanating from Jon with every swipe of his tongue and he’d been
the last man to go down on her. Seth
never bothered since all of their encounters had been forced and rape. Her thighs trembled, her knees shook and
Vallea’s entire body tensed as the euphoric climax washed over her, gushing for
him. Only Jon. Her hot juices coated his tongue and he began
drinking his fill, her cries echoing around the hotel room. It was a good thing Jon was holding her up
because Vallea didn’t have the strength to stand on her own at the moment.
It was
like holding up a warm, pliable corpse because she had become dead weight from
the sheer magnitude of her orgasm. He
didn’t mind the weight at all, rather enjoying the feel of her again. Standing up, Jon lifted her off the ground,
feeling her body quivering from the aftermath and kissed the top of her head,
letting her cool down. He set down with
her in his lap, reaching for the bottle of unopened water on the nightstand and
handed it to her.
“Better
refuel babe, we’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
“Open the
double doors and let that ocean breeze in here, please.” Vallea requested in a
murmur, taking the water and took a couple gulps while Jon set her on the bed,
a dreamy smile on her face. If this was
a dream, she never wanted to wake up from it again. She watched him open the doors and instantly,
the breeze blew over her naked body, which felt absolutely amazing. “I’m okay.”
She murmured, seeing the slight concern in his electric blues and reached for
him, accepting a passionate kiss that sent her world spiraling, tasting herself
on his tongue. “Fuck me until I pass out, Jon…”
That was a
request he definitely couldn’t and wouldn’t refuse. Jon began shedding the rest of his clothes,
fairly certain she’d pass out before he did. She had probably been celibate since Colby’s ‘tragic’
death and likely hadn’t gone long when the man had been alive. Crawling up the bed to hover over her, Jon’s
pale blue eyes raked over her hungrily, licking his lips.
“You’re
gorgeous, you know that?” And all his.
“You make
me feel that way…beautiful, wanted, desired, loved…it’s always been you and
nobody else.”
Vallea
didn’t want this to be fast or a quick fuck session. She wanted him to make love to her slowly, to
relish the feeling of their bodies connected again after all this time. Jon’s assumptions were right, she had been
completely celibate since she murdered Seth. Feeling him settle between her
soft thighs, Jon kissed her as he slowly began pushing past her slick folds,
reaching down to stimulate her a little.
He wasn’t a small man, not like Seth’s pencil thin dick and she gasped
out against his mouth, their fingers lacing together to press into the
mattress.
“Oh
Jesus…” She groaned out, her body trembling from the welcoming invasion and
arched her neck, the feeling of him fully sheathed inside of her indescribable.
“Fuck, I missed you so much…”
Jon just
held that position, not moving. Well not
of his own volition, he couldn’t stop his cock from giving the occasional
twitch, it was begging him to move. But
he wanted to prolong this, enjoy this feeling. The feel of her warm, velvety folds wrapped
around him again, it had felt like an eternity and, honestly, he wasn’t sure if
they’d ever be together this way again.
“I missed
you too, doll.” He rasped out in a gritty voice.
After what
felt like an eternity, he slowly began to move, not about to just pound away at
her. He didn’t let go of her hands as he
bent his head down, capturing a nipple gently between his teeth.
~!~
Two hours
later, Vallea collapsed on top of Jon in a sweaty heap, her hair in all
different directions from coming out of the updo she had it in. They had taken each other to the clouds and
back again, neither speeding up the slow, methodic pace they had set. It ended with them both climaxing together,
the intensity off the charts and crying each other’s names. Jon had bolted upright and pulled her on top
of him, emptying his seed inside of her receptive body. It was a perfect night with the moon shining
in the room, the ocean breeze blowing through the open door and their bodies
molded together as one.
“I love
you…and I don’t care how long it takes, I will win you back completely.” She
looked up at him, caressing his bearded face and leaned up to softly capture
his lips, feeling him roll her to the side as they continued kissing. “I’m
gonna prove it to you right now. Marry
me, Jonathan David Good, please?”
All Jon
could do was stare at Vallea, wondering if she was pulling his leg. The world seemed to have sort of come to a
dead stop for him, he could hear either the waves pounding the shore or that
was his heart in his ears. “Say that again?” He asked quietly, listening as she
softly repeated it. She was asking him
to marry her. She wanted to get married
again. Properly. To him, of all people. He didn’t know what to think, though he could
definitely feel something warm engulfing him. “Yes.” He caught her hand and held
it against his cheek. “Yes, I will.”
“Yeah? You will?” Vallea began raining kisses all
over his face and finally planted a passionate one on his lips, wrapping her
arm tightly around his neck. She slowly
pulled back with tears in her eyes, touching his face and gazed into his pale
blues, resting her forehead against his. “I-I’m so sorry I hurt you…and I swear
to you, I swear I will spend the rest of our lives together making it up to
you. Proving to you every day how much I
love you.” Hell, if he wanted to start a family with her, she would do it in a
heartbeat. Whatever Jon wanted, she
would give him because all Vallea wanted to do was make him happy. “You’re it
for me, Jon. You were it for me that day
on the Red Rocks when you saved me. And
if I’m getting married for real, I’m only doing it once and I want it to be
with you. I want to be Mrs. Good and die
when I’m 100-years-old in your arms…” Tears slipped down her cheeks as she
pressed his hand against her pounding heart. “This has always been and always
will be yours. I’ve only given my heart
to one man in my life and it’s you. I’ve
only ever said I love you to one other man in my life and it’s you, Jon.” Seth
had tried to get her to say to him, but she refused and gladly dealt with the
consequences. “You mean everything to me and I can’t be happy without you. I can barely live and survive without
you. And I don’t need a big, fancy
wedding like Monique and Joe had, unless that’s what you want.”
“I’m good
either way, babe, whatever works for you.” Jon was still a little bit dazed.
They were
engaged and he hadn’t been the one to propose. In all honesty, he thought Vallea would never
want to get married again after her Vegas chapel special, he could scratch that
kind of wedding right off the venue and type list. She had just given him words that most women
wanted to hear and he got why. It gave
them butterflies, made them flush, and got their heart racing.
“Don’t we
ever do anything normal?” He demanded in a growl, beginning to kiss her over
and over again. “I love you, Vallea Scholar.
I’ve tried doing this without you, and it don’t work.” For either of them.
“So you say when and I’m there.”
~!~
Jon was
wrong in his assumption of her not wanting a Vegas wedding.
There was
no way in HELL Seth would destroy Vegas for her and Jon. This was where they met and fell in
love. This was where they were happiest
in their home on the outskirts. It
wasn’t the same chapel, but luckily, there were MANY chapels in the Las Vegas
area to choose from. She had chosen a
rather extravagant one and wore a white wrap dress much like the one at Joe and
Monique’s wedding. The diamond choker
was a must, Jon insisted on it and she had giggled before assuring him she
would be wearing it.
With her
hair down, which was now waist length and curled for style, Vallea had gotten
simple white roses with diamonds in them for her bouquet. Jon had a thing about diamonds, which was why
her engagement ring was a beautiful princess cut diamond ring with tiny blue
sapphires on either side set on a white gold band. Her wedding band was outlined in diamonds,
simple and classic. Surprisingly,
Monique agreed to be Vallea’s Maid of Honor when she was asked and the girls
finally reconciled. Vallea had also come
clean to Monique about what happened and what she did to Seth, not mentioning
anything about Jon’s murders. Those
secrets she would die with.
Unfortunately, she had to just say Seth blackmailed her for something
she did a long time ago in her past, before Vegas, and Monique didn’t question
her on it. At least it was the partial
truth and it was good enough to get their friendship back on track again.
Just
before the stroke of midnight, on New Year’s Eve, they were pronounced husband
and wife and Jon kissed his bride at the stroke of midnight. Their wedding anniversary would forever be on
New Year’s Eve now, which both were perfectly fine with. Jon carted her off, driving them out to the
Red Rocks and they made love for hours on end in the desert, consummating their
marriage in front of the very place Jon had saved her life over two years ago.
From here
on out, their love was an ascension, always rising and never falling, even through good and bad times…until death parted them.
The End.