Carry On

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Marrying the love of her life at age 25, Tressa Ellis thought her life couldn’t get any better.  She had a terrific job with World Wrestling Entertainment, which she’d worked for 3 years prior to meeting her husband.  2007 was when she started in the company as a seamstress, after being found online, surprisingly, by Stephanie McMahon-Levesque.  She was Vince McMahon’s daughter; the owner of the company and Stephanie had been in charge of the hiring team.  Nowadays, she was the leader of the script writing team, but back then, it was the seamstresses and other miscellaneous jobs throughout the company. 

 

Tressa had her own business going outside of her home, in Birmingham, Alabama, doing costumes, wedding dresses, prom dresses, and anything else the city needed.  She was the top seamstress in Birmingham and had gone to a few conventions, winning first place for her work.  Tressa had started sewing at age 10 and fell in love with it, honing her skills as the years passed by.  It was how she met her husband, Joseph; he had come in to have his pants tightened in the waist, their eyes met and when he came back to pick them up a few days later, he asked her out on a date. 

 

Shortly after they started dating, WWE contacted Tressa with the job offer to be one of their on-road seamstresses and she couldn’t pass up the money or opportunity to work for a multi-billion-dollar corporation.  Joseph was on the road a lot as a truck driver, so the traveling part wasn’t an issue since they weren’t home a lot and didn’t see each other often.  Three years later, Joseph popped the question, on her three-year anniversary with WWE, and they were married in three months in a very small ceremony in August of 2010.  Just close friends and family, a few people from WWE had attended, like Stephanie, who was one of her closest friends in the company.  Tressa was exceedingly happy – she had the best job in the world and the best husband a woman could ask for.  He was supportive, loving, sweet and kind…everything a woman could’ve wanted in a man and more.

 

And it all came to a screeching, shattering halt one fateful morning that changed and crushed Tressa’s life forever…

 

~!~

 

Snapping out of the daze she put herself in, Tressa blinked and looked down, holding the needle in her hand she was getting ready to thread.  Sighing, she set it down and figured it was time for a break, standing from her chair to stretch her arms in the air.  It was August 13, 2018 and the back was bustling with people since it was Monday Night Raw.  Nothing new since Monday’s and Tuesday’s were always extremely busy, though she only worked on the Raw brand of the company.  There were two brands – Raw and Smackdown!, along with a developmental brand known as NXT.  Just as she turned the corner to head towards the exit for a much-needed cigarette break, her eyes landed on the LAST person she ever thought she’d see.

 

Jonathan Good, who was known to the WWE fans and all over the world as ‘The Lunatic Fringe’ Dean Ambrose.

 

Tressa had been friends with Jon for almost 5 years – wow, had it really been that long?  Jon had been off the road with a horrible triceps tear for the better part of 2018.  Eight and a half months to be more specific.  It was the first major injury of the man’s career and she had tried contacting him a few times, especially recently, but Jon had closed himself off to everyone and everything during his recovery.  She had no idea just the amount of hell the man had been through, too busy wallowing in her own pain and misery to care about anyone else except herself.  Instead of running up to him and giving him a hug, Tressa just nodded her head in his direction to acknowledge him and kept going on her way.  She really needed that cigarette break now.

 

Jon almost didn’t recognize Tressa.  She was… smaller and had lost weight.  Her face was pale, almost pinched, and if not for the fact that she’d had a thimble on her thumb, -she had told him once it was just a habit by now- he might not have placed her anytime soon.  He supposed he had changed too, though by the way she had nodded, she had recognized him, changes and all.  Frowning slightly, he turned to watch her keep walking down the hall, one eyebrow raising when he seen her fumbling in her pocket to pull something out.  Was that a pack of cigarettes in her hand?  Since when did she smoke?  He recalled her very empathetically being against cigarettes. Of course, he had been ignoring the outside world for some time now, including her, so he couldn’t exactly be surprised that things kept going and some things had changed.  

 

Everything changed, people changed.  She had tried calling, tried texting, well… she had texted him; he had ignored them.  Then she had just stopped with the texts, though he had gotten a few calls at weird times.  Then those had stopped as well.  Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck, knowing he owed her an apology or something, probably not an explanation because he wasn’t sure how to explain it.  But an apology was definitely in order.

 

An apology wasn’t necessary.  Tressa honestly didn’t care about why Jon had ignored her calls and text messages.  She wasn’t mad about them either.  Her world was shattered into pieces during his injury leave, which was why she couldn’t bring herself to care.  Igniting the tip of the cigarette, Tressa took a long drag and closed her eyes, allowing the nicotine to filter through her system.  Yes, she used to be against smoking and even got Jon to stop doing it, but…when her life shattered to pieces, she needed something to take the edge off.  Drugs weren’t an option due to her job, but she found cigarettes and alcohol…a lot of alcohol…to be oddly comforting.  Alcohol numbed the pain she was in and cigarettes helped quell her addiction until she could get back to her room to drink herself into a stupor.

 

One would think, after his lovely personal experiences, Jon would have had more appreciation for his body and lungs, but…there was this thing about dying.  He supposed some people took it as a new lease on life and did their living properly.  He had gotten scared and panicked, then depressed and a bit morbid.  Apparently, that was all ‘normal’, but Jon found that to be a relative term: normal.  Normal was in the eye of the person and he had learned that what was ‘normal’ for one person, may not necessarily be normal for another.

 

“Thought that was bad for you.” He rumbled once he had stepped outside, somehow not surprised, and surprised at the same time, at the sight of Tressa smoking.  Not that his tone was anything other than just casual, light, because he was lighting his own.  Old habits died hard. “When did you take up smoking?” He asked quietly, knowing saying ‘hello, how have you been?’, after ignoring her all this time, was just asking to be jack slapped or something and he would definitely have it coming.

 

“Three or four months ago, not really sure when.  Should have done it a long time ago and I thought you quit?” Tressa raised a brow at him, blowing smoke out through her nostrils slowly and flicked ash to the ground, taking another drag.

 

“Old habits die hard.”

 

“Hmm…” Tressa made a weird noise in her throat, knowing that statement to be true and leaned back against the building, dressed in black capri’s with a black sleeveless top, black sneakers on her feet with black socks.  Everything in her wardrobe was black.  Color was not something she wanted to wear anymore because her life was shrouded in darkness and pain. “Welcome back.” She wished it sounded a little more heartfelt, but her tone was flat, and it wasn’t against Jon.  That was just how Tressa spoke to people these days – flat and straightforward.

 

Jon noticed the tone, assuming it was because he had been a jackass and ignored her.  He sighed, inhaling deeply and exhaled the smoke slowly through his nostrils, after letting it filter through his system.  He examined the cigarette between his fingers thoughtfully.  All things considered, this was a death sentence, albeit a slow one, but it scared him less than other things.  Life was insane the way it played out and the mind even worse because of the twists and turns it tended to take people down, him included.

 

“I’m sorry for ignoring you.”

 

He wasn’t entirely sure if he meant it or not, however.  Granted, he was sorry he had potentially hurt her feelings, not that he had ignored the calls, but that he had put her off of him.  It was complicated and, from the way her eyes barely flickered at him, he gathered that wasn’t her damage.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Jon.  And don’t take offense to how I am.  It’s not you, it’s me and…shit I’m going through.” Tressa didn’t want to elaborate or talk about it, taking another shaky drag of her cigarette and looked up at the sky, which was still blue.  They were in Greensboro, North Carolina tonight for Raw, a suitable place for Jon to make his in-ring return. “I’m not mad at you for ignoring my calls and texts.  You have your reasons, I’m sure, and no offense, I just don’t care.”

 

Flicking her cigarette on the ground, she stubbed it out with her toe and turned to finally face him.  The light in her grey eyes was gone.  They were clouds, stormy clouds, and there was no bringing life back into her after what happened.  No happiness.  No fire.  Tressa was on autopilot, just living day to day and destroying her liver slowly, but surely, along with her lungs.

 

Well, see, that was just interesting, and Jon took a slow step towards her.  His own pale, icy blue orbs swept over her blatantly, though there was nothing sexual in it.  He had known for years that Tressa was happily married and had always respected that.  Beautiful woman, yes, but Jon wasn’t a total scumbag.  At least not anymore, but back in the day he damn sure was.

 

“See,” He began in his naturally rasping voice, bringing his cigarette back up for another puff while he considered her. “You say ‘shit I’m going through’ right after ‘not to worry’.  And usually, when people say something like that, it means ‘worry’.” All black.  Her eyes were flat.  Weight loss.  Smoking.  Jon tipped his head to the side, mulling all that over.  He would put money on a divorce.

 

He was scrutinizing her, studying her like a test subject and Tressa took a tentative step back. “I think you have bigger things to worry about, like your comeback tonight and getting back into the swing of things around here.” Her voice had dropped to barely above a whisper as Jon towered over her, the smoke circulating around them. 

 

If only she was going through a divorce…divorce wouldn’t be this painful, she wagered.  No, this was something NOBODY at her age should have had to go through.  She plucked the cigarette from him, took the last drag, and flicked it away, her eyes never leaving his.

 

“Do yourself a favor and worry about yourself.  Break a leg out there.” Turning, she headed back inside to leave him with that one piece of advice and didn’t stop until she was back at her desk, proceeding to get back to work again.

 

Nobody in the company besides Stephanie and Vince knew what happened to her 3 months ago and Tressa made sure nobody ever would.  It was one of the reasons she still wore her diamond wedding ring on her left ring finger, unable to bring herself to remove it.  The wound was still fresh and would take time to heal.  Shutting her eyes to block the pain out, Tressa immersed herself in working on one of the women wrestler’s costumes, forgetting who it was.  There were so many these days, it was hard to keep track compared to when she first started in the company.

 

The thing was, if Tressa really didn’t want people to know whatever her secret was, she’d do a much better job at hiding her depression.  One could not change their attitude, wardrobe, and everything else without arousing suspicion.  Jon was not someone to be put off of anything.  So when she gave him her bit of ‘advice’, that was one of two things.  Purposefully drawing attention to the fact that something was wrong or she honestly believed people weren’t going to go snooping and get curious.  Either way, it was stupid.  But Tressa was right about one thing, he DID have a return to focus on.  Jon put her aside for the moment, knowing he would have plenty of time to dwell on it later.

 

Tressa couldn’t even get excited for Jon’s triumphant return as she watched him walk out to join Seth Rollins -His real name was Colby Lopez- to beat the hell out of Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler.  She couldn’t remember their real names since she didn’t work with them a whole lot.  Dolph was on his way out of the company in a few months, that was about as much as she knew.  Drew had come from TNA, after leaving WWE back in the day, and the company was trying to make him to be this big star, only they were failing miserably.  He was good in the ring, but his character was flat.  Tressa cleaned up her area while glancing up at the monitor just in time to see Jon deliver Dirty Deeds to Dolph Ziggler, not able to crack the barest hint of a smile.  She hadn’t smiled in the past 3 months. 

 

In the words of Shawn Michaels: She had lost her smile.

 

“Hey Tres, you coming out with us tonight to celebrate?” Roman Reigns -his real name was Joe Anoa’i, though she could never pronounce his last name correctly- asked with a smile, knowing Jon would love to have her attend. 

 

“No.  Have fun.” Tressa answered flatly, grabbing her bag to swing it over her shoulder and walked past Joe to head out of the arena, car keys in hand. 

 

Normally, she would have gone out with Joe and Jon to celebrate Jon’s return, but not these days.  No, she went straight back to her hotel room, after stopping at a local liquor store to buy her new favorite beverage – Vodka.  No juice or anything to chase it, just straight Vodka with a shot glass.  Hell, she had so many shot glasses she brought home from the road, Tressa had to buy a curio cabinet to put them all in. 

 

Without realizing it, she had accrued quite the collection in the past 3 months.

 

Chapter 2

 

Joe frowned, wondering what stick was up Tressa’s backside lately and shook his head, immediately plastering on a smile when Jon came through the curtain, looking completely hyped and amped up from his return.  It was good to have the Shield boys back together again as he hugged both Jon and Colby tightly around the neck.  Jon was on a high from that.  Every Superstar, who had to take time off for an injury, always had that worry when they returned, things would not be the same.  He was glad to discover that he had worried for nothing.  

 

It took him a moment to realize what was missing from this little group hug.  Their mascot wasn’t here.  Tressa.  She had sort of been made their little ‘mascot’ and he had been the one to dub her that because he was sometimes a jackass due to how easily she had fit in with their little group.  From the moment the Shield came from developmental, NXT, to the main roster, she had been assigned to take care of their attire.  They were SWAT gear, essentially, and Tressa was responsible for the change in their attire, to make each of them stand out as a Superstar while being a cohesive unit. 

 

Their first night on the job was a disaster. 

 

They wore turtlenecks – black turtlenecks – to the ring and it looked TERRIBLE.  Tressa immediately went to Stephanie, begging her to let her fix the travesty.  It did not look good for the guys or the company.  Stephanie agreed and Tressa came up with three different costumes for each Shield member, making sure they still meshed well together.  Ever since she ‘saved’ the Shield from a fashion catastrophe, Jon had dubbed her their ‘mascot’ and she had been like a little sister to them all.  Little did she know one of the Shield boys had a secret crush on her and had from the moment he first laid eyes on her, but her marriage put a kibosh on that.

 

“Do either of you know what’s up with Tres?” He asked, stepping out of the hug and ran his hand over his damp, much shorter hair.

 

“No man, nobody does.” Colby answered, sharing a worried look with Joe because they both knew these questions were coming.

 

“Look bro, 3 months ago, Tressa took a leave of absence.  You know her, she NEVER takes time off for anything.” Joe couldn’t remember the last time that woman did take a sabbatical, but it had been a long one. “When she came back…she was completely different.”

 

“You remember how we used to tease her about color-coordinating her clothes and shit?  Yeah, she doesn’t wear color anymore.  Only black.”

 

“And she smokes.”

 

“We’re pretty sure she’s hitting the heavy shit hard too.” Colby rubbed the back of his neck, sensing the concern from Jon. “You can see it and believe me, I know one when I see it.” His father had hit the hard liquor pretty hard growing up and had died of liver failure as a result of it.

 

“We’ve tried asking her about it, but…she just says don’t worry about it and to focus on ourselves.” Joe didn’t realize just how familiar that sounded to Jon because it was the exact same thing Tressa had told him earlier in the parking lot.

 

“Well, I didn’t really ask, and she told me to basically mind my own business after hinting she’s having issues.  When it comes to women, if they’re saying things like that, they want to be asked and they want it to be known.” It was like playing hard to get, only a bit in reverse and without the relationship aspect.  Women were weird and, sometimes, Jon wondered why he couldn’t have been born without a libido.  That would have taken care of some of his issues, right? “Her old man cheat on her?”

 

Wouldn’t that be a weird twist when it came to this company?  It was usually the men and women on the ROAD doing the cheating, not the ones staying at home.  That would explain a lot, especially given how in love she had been with the guy.  Depression was a killer.

 

“I don’t think so.” Colby shook his head with a deep frown, all three walking slowly down the hallway toward the locker room.  They had a few things to promote for the company, videos and photoshoots before calling it a night with some cold beers. “She’s still wearing her wedding ring, man.  Usually, if a woman is being cheated on by her husband, they take that shit off.”

 

“No doubt.  My sister did when she found her scumbag ex-husband cheated on her.” Joe had beaten the hell out of him for hurting his sister too.  He didn’t condone anyone hurting any member of his family.

 

“Shit, when me and Leighla broke up, she immediately took the ring off and then sold it on fucking eBay a few months later.” Colby reminded them, shaking his head. 

 

That ring had been worth MORE than $14,000.  Then again, he had cheated on her, but had rectified his behavior since.  Everyone made mistakes in life and Colby had atoned for it.  Joe smirked, remembering Colby’s bitch fest when he discovered Leighla’s post on eBay.

 

“Bro, you deserved that, and you know it.”

 

“Well, not all women…I can name a few who work here, who didn’t…” Jon shrugged when he got looks. “I’m just saying, not all of them do.  Some are either stupid, suckers for pain, or just like having the diamond.”

 

“You don’t have a very high opinion of the opposite sex.”

 

“I have a very high opinion of Leighla.” Jon smirked, folding his arms over his chest.  He turned so Colby’s punch grazed his shoulder.

 

“Asshole…”

 

“Did someone die?”

 

“We don’t know…”

 

Well, there were ways to find out.  Deaths were public records, right?

 

“Bro, come on now.  Don’t be a morbid jackass!” Joe smacked Jon upside his head with a snort, walking into the locker room, so everyone could grab their bags. “You guys go do the promo and then meet me in the parking lot.”

 

“Got it, man.”

 

Colby lead the way in the opposite direction to go to his locker room, which he was sharing with Jon since they were going to be a team, of sorts, at the upcoming pay-per-view event on Sunday.  Summerslam.  He was going after the Intercontinental championship against Dolph Ziggler and, since Ziggles had ‘The Scottish Psychopath’, Drew McIntyre, in his corner, Colby would have a ‘Lunatic Fringe’ in his.  Jon would watch his back and he WOULD reclaim the title he never should have lost in the first place.

 

“It’s not that morbid.” Jon snorted when Colby made a noise that sounded like exasperation. “You guys said she took a leave of absence and she’s drinking.  Plus the clothing thing, and the cryptic things she said, and apparently has said…” He pushed open the door to their dressing room, giving it a cursory onceover before beginning to bounce from one foot to the other in a type of boxer shuffle, his mind still racing over potential possibilities. “So, if it’s not cheating and nobody died…was she pregnant?” If she had lost a baby, he could see Tressa spiraling.

 

“Bro, just stop!” Colby shook his head, staring at Jon out of wide eyes. “If she wants us to know, she’ll tell us.”

 

Except it gave Jon something to think about other than his own weird issues regarding his near-death experience. “Yeah…you’re right.” He agreed, knowing Colby WAS right.  

 

Not that it meant anything.  

 

Jon would do what he wanted.

 

~!~

 

Listening to Kansas ‘Carry on My Wayward Son’ on repeat, while taking shot after shot of Vodka, was the best therapy Tressa could find herself.  This was Joseph’s song.  Every time it came on the radio, they would sing it together or she would think of him while they were apart because of their jobs.  Up until recently, it never bothered Joseph the distance their jobs created, but the last couple of times Tressa had gone home, things were…tense between them.  She couldn’t put her finger on why either.  Joseph would pick fights with her over the tiniest things and, looking back, they were ridiculous.

 

Granted, he wanted a child with her, and they hadn’t had any luck, but then again, they only saw each other a couple times a month.  The majority of her life was on the road, traveling with the WWE, while he drove his big rig all around the country.  With tears in her eyes, Tressa held it up to the ceiling, blasting the song in her ears with her earbuds and downed another shot.  The liquid burning down her esophagus was very welcomed and soon, the pain in her heart would be numbed too temporarily.

 

“I-I’m so sorry, Joseph…” She sniffled, curling up in a ball and pressed play on her MP3 player again, the song filtering through her as her eyes shut.

 

~!~

 

“Joe, why are you picking a fight with me over taking the damn trash out?!”

 

“Because I’m not the only one who should fucking do it!”

 

“I do everything else around this damn house!”

 

“No you don’t, you’re never HERE to do it!  That’s why we have to pay for a fucking maid because neither of us are home to take care of our own place!”

 

That part was true.  They made plenty of money, between the two of them, so Tressa didn’t see the harm in hiring someone to do housework.  The last thing she wanted to do was dishes and clean on her 2 days off a week.  Joseph tried to get the same days off as her, but unfortunately, a lot of times, it didn’t work out due to his hectic schedule.

 

“Will you please just stop yelling at me about the garbage?  I don’t want to fight with you…”

 

“Then what DO you wanna do with me?” Joe shot back with a derisive snort, folding his arms in front of his chest.

 

“I was HOPING we could spend some quality time together and get reacquainted…” Tressa walked up to him, sliding her hands up his bare chest and met his ocean blue eyes. “No more fighting, just kiss your wife.”

 

“We can’t keep sweeping these problems under the rug, Tressa…”

 

She pressed her finger against his lips and rose up on her toes to press her lips against his, feeling him lift her to set her on the counter.

 

The garbage and every other problem were forgotten.

 

~!~

 

Bolting upright in bed, Tressa let out a strangled gasp with sweat pouring down her face, looking around the dark room.  Her hotel room.  She had to adjust her eyes a few minutes and slid from bed, glancing at the clock.  It was 4 AM.  Shit, she still had another 2 hours to sleep before needing to get up, but once Tressa was awake, she couldn’t fall back to sleep.  Sighing heavily, the near-empty bottle of Vodka on her nightstand, Tressa trudged into the bathroom to relieve herself and then take a shower to wake herself up a little more.  She really hated the dreams she had of her and Joseph, reminding her of what they used to have.

 

Had the fighting, the seemingly inconsequential things he had opted to pick a row over with her, had he known what was coming?  Had he known he was sick, but he hadn’t been able to tell her?  Those were questions that had haunted and would probably forever haunt Tressa.  Had he been unwilling to put that knowledge, that burden on his wife, so the end result was the fighting over tiny, miniscule things, a way to gain her attention via desperation?  If she had known, would things be different?  Would there have been less fighting and more loving, more precious time spent together as they made the most of these last bittersweet moments?

 

These were all questions and dark, hopeless thoughts that had plagued her since Joseph had died and there were no answers coming.  The only answer she ever found was at the bottom of her Vodka bottle and it whispered: Sleep and forget, to her, every night.  Sleep and forget, even if only temporarily.

 

Just like every morning, Tressa cried her heart out in the shower, where nobody could see, burying her face in her hands while the water pounded down on her.  Why was her husband taken away from her at such an early age?  Why couldn’t she see the signs he wasn’t feeling well?  The memory of how he died haunted her, but luckily, she hadn’t dreamt of that particular moment last night.  Tressa did not cry at work or show any kind of emotion because she knew, if she did, people would pity her for losing her husband at such an early age.  Even though she was pushing 40 in two years, Joseph had only been 40 years old when he passed away.  Sniffling, she finished her shower and stepped out, feeling both weak and drained since she hadn’t ate dinner, just gone straight to the Vodka bottle.  Maybe stopping for coffee and breakfast wasn’t a bad idea – Tressa had to keep living and eating was a part of that, whether she wanted to or not.

 

~!~

 

“I can’t believe you’re eating those without gagging.”

 

“Well, good to know one thing hasn’t changed – his iron-clad, garbage compacting stomach.”

 

Colby snorted, nodding his agreement at Joe’s assessment as he reached for his cup of coffee, laced generously with a protein-based whey creamer.  He had a body he had busted his backside for and, even when he was indulging, he made sure there were healthy benefits to the indulgence.  He would admit, Jon looked good.  Jon had reshaped his body a bit and definitely changed his look.  It was Jon, but different.  There was also something different personality wise, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  He would assume it had to do with the time off and possibly being worried about the reception he was returning too.

 

“Powdered eggs are gross.”


“They’re perfectly fine rehydrated and cooked.” Jon shoveled another forkful into his mouth.

 

Jon had changed his entire game and regimen during his injury leave.  He ate healthier, worked out more vigorously, without pushing it, and even changed his ring repertoire.  Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to showcase his new abilities in the ring until next Monday, which both irritated and relieved him all at the same time.  Joe knew he was chomping at the bit to get back in the ring and didn’t blame him, remembering when he was out with his hernia surgery for 4 months.  That had royally sucked and when he returned, there was a feeling unlike any other being in that ring again.

 

“Let the man eat what he wants, man.”

 

“Oh hey, there’s Tressa.” Colby had looked up from his food in time to see the woman, frowning at her appearance.

 

Chapter 3

 

All black.  Again.  Her chestnut caramel hair was up in a haphazard bun on top of her head, still wet from her shower.  Shorts and a regular tank top with black shades over her eyes.  They were bloodshot and swollen from crying, so she was waiting for the swelling to go down.  Sitting down, Tressa put her head in her hand to rub her temples and popped aspirin she had in her hand, ordering a cup of coffee with biscuits and gravy.  She needed something to soak up the alcohol in her system and made sure they made the gravy with bacon instead of sausage.

 

Eating alone had become customary for Tressa and she preferred it.

 

“Yeah, no, don’t-”

 

Joe sighed when Jon got up, plate in one hand, drink in the other.  Exchanging looks with Colby, they also followed suit.  Jon wasn’t really the ‘leader’; they were friends off-screen as well as on, for the moment anyway, but they learned early on that Jon had a tendency to do what Jon wanted.  They generally went along for the ride.

 

“Mind if we join you, Tres?” Jon asked without waiting for an answer, dropping down beside her, while Joe and Colby took the other two seats at the small table.  She looked…like crap.  But at least she was eating, so there went another potential theory: She wasn’t starving herself. “Want some powdered eggs?” He held up his fork, eyeballing the slightly weird looking mass of ‘scrambled’ eggs.

 

“Don’t feed her that crap.” Colby muttered, flashing her a small, apologetic smile.  

 

He and Joe had tried talking to her, hanging out with her and she had shut them down at every turn.  She had made it very clear she wanted to be left alone.  Jon wasn’t exactly someone who would take a hint, or he’d just ignore it and do what he wanted anyway.

 

“I wouldn’t eat that shit if you paid me a million dollars.” Tressa remarked flatly, looking at the three men at her table and finally landing on Jon. 

 

Didn’t she tell him to leave her alone and to stay away from her?  Yes, yes she had.  Did he listen?  Obviously not.  Joe and Colby had stayed away from her, for the most part, but now that Jon was back in the picture…she understood why they were following him.  Jon did whatever he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted…mostly.  Not when it came to his character, but other than that, he was a free spirit and roamed wherever he wanted.

 

“What do you boys want?” She reluctantly asked, leaning back in her chair with her cup of coffee and blinked when Jon pulled the shades from her still slightly swollen eyes.  At least the redness had diminished. “That was rude.”

 

“Wow, that’s quite a beautiful look you got going.”

 

Come on, they all knew the signs!  The WWE had drug policies and they were very stringent about them, anyone who wanted to ‘wind down’ just stuck to booze if they wanted to keep their job.  Ten to one she had been drinking, though it registered her eyes could be swollen from crying, or maybe even allergies.  He couldn’t remember if Tressa had allergies; he didn’t think so.

 

“It’s rude and douchey to wear sunglasses inside, darlin’.” Jon folded them and set them down by his half-eaten plate, next spearing a bit of sausage and considered it before popping it into his mouth. “You’re the one who said only douchebag, college frat boys wear sunglasses inside.”

 

Joe choked on his own bite of hash browns, trying not to laugh because he was now coughing, as well as not trying to spray anyone with food.

 

That she did. “Did it ever occur to you that I’m wearing them for a REASON, Jonathan?” She only called him that when she was irritated, setting her coffee mug down by her plate.  Maybe she would invest in cucumbers or something to help with swelling since she cried every morning and night when she was alone.  It’d been three months, she just wondered when this became easier to deal with and wondered if her heart would ever stop hurting. “I know Joe and Colby aren’t over here just to check up on me.  They’re following you, so what can I do for you?” She took a tentative bite of her biscuits and bacon gravy, rubbing her eyes since she had to adjust them to the light.

 

“Tres…we’re worried about you.” Colby decided to give Jon a break and cracked a small smile. “We’re your friends, sweetie, you can tell us anything.”

 

“I know you’re closer with Jon than us, but…we’re still here for you.” Joe added, knowing Tressa and Jon had a connection they would never be able to understand.  She was the only one Jon gravitated to when he came to the main roster. 

 

When she started working on their Shield attire, they became closer as the months and years progressed.

 

“I know…”

 

“So, why won’t you tell us what’s going on?  Maybe we can help.”

 

Tressa started chuckling, the sound pure bitterness and sadness. “Nobody can help me with this.  Sometimes, things just can’t be fixed that are broken, boys.” That was exactly what she was – broken and shattered.

 

“I think you’re wrong,” Jon argued flatly, his eyes fastened on her, not wavering, not looking away, just focused on Tressa. “If you were truly broken, you wouldn’t even say things like that. You’d just walk away each time someone tried talking to you.”

 

Saying things like that, she wanted to talk or at least have someone there.  She just didn’t know it or know how to vocalize it.  Ignoring Colby and Joe’s disapproving looks, -they should have been more then used to the way his mouth ran without a filter after all this time- Jon reached out to take her hand, squeezing gently.  He could feel how thin her hand was, betting if he held her wrist, he’d feel the bones acutely.

 

“Don’t.” Tressa ordered, snatching her hand away from him, acting like Jon just burned her. “I AM broken and there’s no fixing me.  What would you have me say?  You want me to fall into your arms in tears and tell you what happened?  You want to be my knight in shining armor?  Go find someone else to save, I’m not interested.” She kept her voice perfectly neutral and stood up from the table, tossing bills on top of it before snatching her glasses away from Jon’s plate. “Stay away from me, all of you, unless it has to do with your work attire.”

 

Slipping them over her eyes, Tressa grabbed her luggage and wheeled it behind her, immediately pulling a cigarette out as soon as she was outside.  Damn him!  Damn him for trying to comfort her!  She didn’t want to be comforted because she didn’t deserve it!  She deserved to be completely alone after what happened to her husband because, in her mind, it was her fault he was gone.

 

Tressa had begun backing her rental out when Jon opened the passenger side door and slid in, ignoring her disbelieving look. “Well, let’s go.” He ordered, rapping his knuckles on the dashboard. “You don’t want to talk about what happened?  Fine.  But if you don’t want people to be curious or pry, then maybe you should stop speaking cryptic with key phrases and words like ‘broken, fixed, and saved’.  All it does is invite curiosity.”

 

He wasn’t even looking at her, instead out the windshield.  See, it was easy to pretend everything was all right because then nobody asked him what was wrong.  He wondered if her way was any better than his except…no.  Colby and Joe would hound the piss out of him.

 

“What part of I want to be alone do you not understand?”

 

This man really had no sense of boundaries and Tressa could recall the first time they met.  He had walked up to her, slapped the awful turtlenecks on her desk and said he hoped she was up to the challenge because their careers were in her hands.  Tressa had more than delivered and when she showed Jon, Colby and Joe their new attire, Jon had been the one to lift her up to spin her around in circles, hugging her.  Joe and Colby thought she was going to slap Jon silly since they barely knew each other, but Tressa just touched his face with a brilliant smile and told him she liked being challenged. 

 

Their friendship blossomed from there.

 

“Fine, duly noted.  Buckle up.” She ordered gravely, driving out of the parking lot shaking her head and kept her shades on since it was sunny outside.

 

Hey, he had offered her a solid bit of advice.  If she wanted to be left alone, then her best bet was to either not say anything at all, or not say things that just automatically triggered human curiosity.  Jon, by nature, was a very curious person and people loved to tell him how ‘curiosity killed the cat’.  He had one reply to that: Satisfaction had brought the cat back.  He folded his hands behind his head after fastening in and just watched the scenery.  

 

Joe had said he’d bring Jon’s gear, his luggage, which was great because all he had on him was his wallet.  The silence wasn’t overly uncomfortable, but it was definitely heavy.  She was radiating misery in waves and he turned his head to stare out the window, letting his own mind wander.  On the bright side, he had a feeling he wouldn’t have to pull any facades with her.  Tressa was too wrapped in what was going on with herself to pay him any mind.

 

Perfect.

 

This was the most tense, uncomfortable drive Tressa ever experienced in her life.  Jon looked perfectly content with it, and it didn’t make her feel any better.  In the almost 6 years she’d known Jon, never had they shared a vehicle without conversation of any kind.  She had spent plenty of nights keeping him company on the road when he didn’t want Colby or Joe to deal with.  They were his brothers, his best friends, but Jon had said it was great to get a woman’s perspective on life sometimes.

 

“I need to use the bathroom.” She announced 2 hours into the drive.  They still had another 2 to go before they arrived at their destination for the house show that night.

 

“The next rest area is in 3 miles.”

 

He pulled his head away from the window, having been counting the mile markers.  It was boring, sure, but it kept his mind busy and his tongue still.  Jon wanted a cigarette anyway and to stretch his legs.  This wasn’t exactly an overly large car, but he hadn’t bothered to think things through before hopping in either.  One of the downfalls to being as spontaneous as he was…sometimes he had to deal with the crappy outcomes.  Silence reigned for the next 3 miles and they felt like the longest 3 measly miles in the history of miles.  Once she parked, he was out of the car stretching his arms over his head.  He pulled a pack of smokes from his t-shirt pocket, lighting one up, before folding his arms on top of the car and just stared at her, once her feet were on pavement.

 

Tressa didn’t pay him any mind, pulling cigarettes out of her purse and walked away from the car to head down to where the restrooms were located.  Once inside, she peed and then washed her hands, looking at her reflection in the mirror staring back.  No makeup on her face.  Tressa used to wear makeup all the time, but after Joseph’s untimely death, there was no point.  He always did tell her how beautiful she was without it, maybe that was why she chose not to wear it anymore.  Just carmex to keep her lips from getting chapped and that was it.  No foundation, eyeliner, gloss…nothing.  The swelling of her eyes had gone down, thankfully, and she didn’t need to drop anything in her eyes since she’d actually gotten more than 4 hours of sleep.  Sighing, she splashed her face with water, patted it dry with a paper towel and headed back up to the car, lighting her cigarette up in the process.

 

Jon decided the only way to answer his question, since Tressa wasn’t obviously going to volunteer information, or give him any answers willingly, was to start asking direct questions.  He didn’t overly expect her to answer those either, but body language could do the talking for him. “So, darlin’,” He had handled his own business and returned to park himself on the side of the car, the driver side to be more specific, sort of blocking her path, as well as her escape.  Now, in the past, he wouldn’t have banked on her leaving him stranded at a rest stop, but now…he wasn’t so sure. “I’ve been meaning to ask, how’s Joseph?” If they were getting divorced, or having issues, maybe she’d let something slip.

 

Not expecting that question to hit her as hard as it did, Tressa slowly lifted watery greys up to meet curious electric blue, her hand beginning to tremble.  Nobody else in the company had asked her about Joseph because either they didn’t care, or they were too busy wrapped up in their own lives.  She shut her eyes tightly and looked away from him, taking a long drag of her cigarette while wiping the few tears away that fell.  Her eyes glanced down at her wedding ring still on her left ring finger and tightened her hand into a fist, keeping her eyes closed.

 

“I-I’m not doing this with you, Jon.” She stammered out, cursing her voice for shaking as much as the rest of her body and had to take deep breaths to calm down. 

 

How was Joseph?  Joseph was dead.  Joseph was gone.  God had taken her wonderful husband away from her and she hated the entity for it!

 

~!~

 

It was a crisp, late April morning when Tressa woke up to use the bathroom, something she always did.  She had a flight to catch at noon to make it back on the road to do his job.  The first thing Tressa noticed was the slew of water FLOODING the floor leading to the bathroom and the door was closed.  She swallowed hard, hearing the shower going, which was the second thing she noticed.  Usually, Joseph was on the road by 5 AM when he had to go back on the road after having 3 days off to recuperate.  It was one of the few times they had the same days off and they had spent the majority of it making love, trying to conceive a baby.  They both wanted to be parents in the worst way and Tressa already promised she would quit WWE once she became pregnant. 

 

The moment Tressa walked into the flooded bathroom and saw Joseph laying in the tub full of cold water, she knew he was gone.  She knew she had lost her husband.  Her whole body trembled while she stared down at him, her voice choked up as she sat on the edge of the tub and cupped his face, his entire body had a sick bluish tint to it.

 

“Baby, baby please wake up!  Wake up, Joe!” She cried, tears already stinging her eyes and suddenly, she rushed out of the bathroom, nearly slipping on the water, to grab her cell phone. 

 

Calling 911 for an ambulance, for help, was her next step and she was forced, by the 911 dispatcher, to do chest compressions on her husband’s dead body.  Even though she knew he was gone, dead, she still did them while shaking like a leaf and holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder.  Sure enough, the ambulance arrived with the EMT’s and Joseph was pronounced dead a few minutes later. 

 

Joseph was gone – the love of her life ripped away from her and Tressa had been numb throughout the rest of the day while traveling to her sister-in-law’s house, which was just down the street from where they lived.

 

The funeral services were all planned by her since she was the wife while his mother and father paid for everything.  Joseph’s stepmother was a complete cunt about everything, claiming the parents should’ve been the ones to plan the funeral instead of the wife.  Tressa ignored her, refusing to fight with the bitch while planning her husband’s funeral and preparing to say goodbye to him forever.  Not only that, but she had her own family to contend with, which consisted of her very eccentric, loud mother and sister.  They had come up for the funeral and stayed with her and the girls in the house until after the services.  The entire week was a whirlwind of emotion and, when all was said and done, Tressa packed up and took off to live with her mother, to start her life over. 

 

Joseph’s family never liked her or supported their marriage.

 

Chapter 4

 

It'd been 3 months since the burial…3 months since she had lost her soulmate and Tressa only wished for the pain to go away. 

 

Her eyes opened, seeing Jon standing right in front of her and all she could do was burst into tears.  Dropping her cigarette, Tressa fell to her knees, burying her face in her trembling hands.  Jon had realized something was beyond wrong when he had seen the shock immediately replaced by soul crushing grief in those gray eyes.  He had walked around the car, staring down at her, saying her name, but her mind was far away from him for what seemed like an eternity.  When she had ‘snapped to’ and dropped, he just barely caught her before her knees could hit the pavement, his hands gently but firmly catching her elbows.  She wasn’t even aware, as he pulled her up, she was crying.  

 

No…she was bawling, sobbing violently, and these were cries he had maybe heard only once or twice in his life. “I got you, darlin’.” He whispered, unsure if she heard him or not, lifting her up into his arms.  She was shaking so badly, he could feel it vibrating his own body. “I’m here, Tressa…” He stroked her hair with one hand, keeping the other arm firmly locked around her.  

 

He had a feeling and it left a sour taste in his mouth, a sick feeling in the pit in his gut because there wasn’t anything he could do to change it, that he wasn’t the one she wanted.  Truthfully, if Tressa met Jon before Joseph, she would have been with him in a heartbeat.  They had a lot in common, they enjoyed hanging out with each other and could talk about absolutely anything.  Well, almost anything.  Tressa clung to him for dear life, knowing if it was anyone else, she would’ve tried to get away from them immediately. 

 

Not Jon. 

 

His comfort, the warmth of his body against hers and his low, gritty voice in her ear, trying to soothe her, was a welcomed change.  It took her quite a while to calm down the sobs, but the crying didn’t stop as her arm tightened around his neck, her face remaining buried in his neck.  She had soaked his neck with tears, and he hadn’t complained once, letting her release the turmoil deep within.  Tressa hadn’t meant to break completely down, but the moment, the second, that question left Jon’s mouth, it hit her like a ton of bricks.  It brought her back to the morning she found Joseph dead in the home they had shared their lives together.

 

She didn’t even have to say it, not that she could anyway with the way she was breaking down.  This was grief – pure and raw grief.  Joseph hadn’t cheated, there wasn’t a divorce.  The man was dead, and Jon didn’t need to ask or for her to say it aloud.  He just held her, caressing her hair and letting her have this breakdown on him.  Jon wondered how many she’d had.  How many nights she had lay awake crying herself into a sleep that didn’t bring anything except more pain because the mind wouldn’t let it rest?  

 

When she finally stopped crying, he just held her more, slowly rocking his body back and forth, listening to her ragged breathing, the wild pounding of her heart trying to leap from her chest to his.  He let out a ragged sigh of his own, kissing the crown of her hair.  It took an hour before Tressa finally calmed down all the way, her body sagging against Jon’s and she slowly lifted her face from his neck.

 

“W-We need to get going.” She muttered, wiping her tears away and lifted her red-rimmed, swollen eyes up to meet concerned, worried blues.  At least there wasn’t pity in his eyes.  She wouldn’t have been able to tolerate that because she didn’t need anyone pitying her. “Jon, you have to put me down, so we can make it to the show tonight.”

 

Jon had a momentary mind blank.  He almost asked her if she SHOULD be working, if she really wanted to, but…he didn’t.  There was no way she wanted to hear those tired old platitudes that people used to convey their condolences or offer her support.  She already knew it and she had probably already heard it, more times then she could count.  He just nodded, letting her down and took a step backward, putting space between them both.  He lit a cigarette, offering it to her before getting himself another.

 

“We’ve still got time, Tres.” His voice came out its normal rasp, no pity or sympathy in it because she’d shut him down quick.  Hell, who wouldn’t?

 

Nodding, Tressa took a very long, deep drag from the cigarette, almost to the point of it cutting off her air supply, and slowly exhaled while shutting her eyes.  Nicotine did calm her down, surprisingly enough. “Joe’s dead.” If Jon didn’t have his suspicions or figure it out by her breakdown, she just confirmed it for him. “I found him.” Her voice was low and full of sadness, anguish and pain. “Autopsy revealed a heart attack and he had an enlarged heart and was probably born with it.” Another drag forced the tears to stay in her eyes. “And here’s the real kicker – not only did I lose my husband, but I lost our baby I didn’t even know I was carrying.” Miscarriage, one month after the funeral. “We’d been trying to have a baby for years and I finally got pregnant…and lost it because I lost him.  Irony at its finest.”

 

Wow.  Jon didn’t even know what to think, let alone say, and he did the wise thing and didn’t say a word.  He just smoked his cigarette and watched the vehicles on the highway pass them by. “I’m sorry for both your losses, darlin’.” He said gravely, when the silence had gone on long enough to become uncomfortable.  There really wasn’t anything else he could say and that explained everything that had changed with her.  Jon flicked away what was left of his cigarette, turning to stare down at her. “Can I drive?” He held out his hand.  She looked like she needed to try resting; he highly doubted she’d be able too, though.  Well, not her mind at least. “Come on,” He gave her a half-smile. “You drive like a snail anyway and we’re pressed for time.”

 

“And you drive like you’re being chased by the cops.” Tressa shot back dryly, having some kind of humor still and tossed the keys at him, scrubbing a hand down her face. “Only because I’m exhausted from that breakdown.” She added, not sure why she told Jon the truth about everything, but now he knew. 

 

Maybe he would take the hint and leave her alone after this, though Tressa doubted it.  If anything, he would probably swarm her and constantly check on her to make sure she was all right.  She was far from all right but had to keep living her life the best she could.  Buckling up, Tressa leaned her head back against the seat as Jon drove off from the rest stop, placing a hand over her flat stomach and silent tears slid down her cheeks freely.  Crying in front of Jon wasn’t a big deal now that he knew the truth. 

 

Everyone else – absolutely not.

 

No, Jon wasn’t planning on being ‘up her ass’.  He would treat her as he always had, though he would also observe.  Jon didn’t want to push her too far, not when she was still grieving, not knowing what she was apt to do like this.  He almost decided to tell her about why he had been ignoring her, but bit his tongue.  It was weird the way that worked.  A person’s pain and problems were important to the person themselves and, even then, could be slight compared to another’s pain.  It didn’t minimize the impact, or the lingering issues it had caused, but…it still felt wrong and he felt he was handling his issues better than her.  Not to mention, by pretending it hadn’t happened, he did sometimes have panic attacks because now he had a legit fear, besides not being able to wrestle; he was dealing.  She was a distraction, and he welcomed that.  

 

He passed her his bandana, not saying a word.

 

“Please don’t say anything to anyone about this.  Especially Colby and Joe.” Tressa requested in a murmur after Jon pulled into the parking lot of the arena. 

 

Before he could respond, she was out of the car in a flash, grabbed her bag and hurried inside, needing to put some space between her and Jon.  It didn’t take much for her to go off like a geyser about Joseph’s death, but Tressa honestly wasn’t expecting him to ask that question.  Finding her station, Tressa sat down and put her head in her hands, knowing it was going to be a very long night.  After that breakdown, she was really needing something to take the edge off and took a deep breath before pulling out her materials.  Work first – then she could go back to the hotel and cry herself into another stupor with a bottle of Vodka.

 

Jon wasn’t saying a word; it wasn’t his business.  Though, they may be more inclined to leave her alone if they knew.  Or maybe they’d be constantly trying to do nice things to make her feel better.  Who knew?  He leaned against her car, smoking and busy on his cell.  Joe sent him a quick reply, they were pulling in.  Good, he needed his gear.

 

“Did you find anything out?’

 

“She ignored me the entire time.” Jon lied easily enough, shrugging his shoulders.

 

“I find that hard to believe,” Colby accused suspiciously. “You can be very hard to ignore when you put your mind to it.”

 

Joe snorted. “What he’s saying is you’re an obnoxious dick.”

 

“That too.”

 

~!~

 

On her smoke break, Tressa was on the phone with her attorney, nodding at what she was saying.  Her name was Clementine Manners, one of the top lawyers in the country.  Joseph’s mother was trying to take his estate away from her and she wasn’t having it.  The old hag had stepped over the line with Tressa quite a few times during the marriage and blamed her for the death of her son.  It was preposterous considering the MOTHER had no idea her son had an enlarged heart throughout his life!  She understood his parents had gone through a nasty divorce, where Joseph wound up living with his father and stepmother, who his father had cheated on his mother with, but that gave the woman no right to try to take away what Joseph clearly left her.  She was the sole beneficiary to everything, and the old woman could sit and spin for all she cared!

 

“So, she has no leg to stand on, in other words?”

 

“Nope, none at all.  She’s just grieving right now and hopefully, she’ll realize the error of her ways soon enough and drop this.” Or else they would destroy her in court. “It’s her decision ultimately now.”

 

“Good.  Keep me posted, Clem and thanks again.”

 

“No problem, how are you holding up, sweetie?”

 

“Living.  That’s pretty much it.”

 

Clementine understood, not sure what she would do if she was in Tressa’s shoes, and honestly had no idea what to say to make the woman feel better. “I’m so sorry his family is putting you through this.”

 

“Believe me, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.”

 

Sad but true.

 

“Maybe not, but it doesn’t make it right.” Clementine sighed, though this didn’t surprise her either.

 

A death always did one of two things: it either brought out the best in people or the very worst.  In this case, it was the worst, and it wasn’t the first time she had to deal with it on behalf on a client.  She just wished people would show a little common decency because, if they let their grief overrule common sense, they’d wind up regretting their actions once the grief finally lifted.

 

~!~

 

“Fuck…”

 

Jon scrubbed the ever-loving hell out of the small cut he had managed to give himself with a broken metal folding chair.  Band-aid…he had those antibiotic ones in his bag.  No infection.  Ever.  Before, he wouldn’t have blinked twice about something like this, but now…not so much.

 

Why did she care if Jon had a ride back to the hotel? 

 

Tressa should have been worried about herself and, instead, she was standing outside of Jon’s dressing room.  Joe and Colby would get him where he needed to go, yet she was here, acting a fool.  Sighing, she bought her hand up and knocked before pushing the door open, frowning at the sight before her.  Jon was SCRUBBING his skin raw with an antibiotic wipe, his face actually turning red.

 

“Jon, what are you doing to yourself?”

 

She went to him, watching him halt in the scrubbing and the amount of fear she saw in his eyes, when he looked up at her…it took her breath away temporarily.  What brought this on?  This was the same man who had been in COUNTLESS death matches in the Indies and had bled BUCKETS full.

 

“It’s just a cut…and it’s not bleeding anymore…”

 

“Just…stay there, don’t…” He ordered, now red from a combination of irrational fear, embarrassment, and good old-fashioned anger.

 

This was a stupid fear, illogical, and it was giving him compulsion issues when it came to issues like this.  Petty cuts.  She was a seamstress; Tressa pricked her finger routinely with her needles and whatnot and she was still alive, right?  Sometimes, infections on a massive scale happened, it was just bad luck, a once in a lifetime deal.  Cursing under his breath, he dug for his band-aids and quickly put one on, taking a very deep breath.

 

“Just…no.”

 

He didn’t know what to say, other than be quiet, but she was usually doing that these days anyway.  He groaned, staring at the damn bandage on the stupid, small cut.  Frowning, Tressa wondered where this came from because Jon was NEVER one to freak out over a tiny cut like this.  It looked like a papercut, no joke.  However, Jon looked terrified of the damn thing and Tressa wasn’t about to upset him more than she already had.

 

“I-I’m sorry.  I just…came here to see if you needed a ride to the hotel.  I’ll…leave, Jon.” She headed for the door, not looking back and Jon moved quicker than a man his size had the right to, slamming it shut just as she opened it.  It made her jump back with wide grey eyes, staring at him like he’d lost his mind. “What the hell is your problem?!”

 

Chapter 5

 

“I do need a ride.”

 

He had sent Joe and Colby packing before the hysteria set in.  They had been winding down after the show; he had cut his hand and managed to make some small jokes about the situation before ushering them out.  Jon made a remark about catching a cab, maybe hitting up a bar to prowl and they had both just taken off laughing, knowing he didn’t like having ‘wingmen’ when it came to finding himself a friend for the night.  It had been simple enough.  He was slowly calming down, his face finally starting to turn back to its normal shade.  She looked confused and he didn’t really want to explain.  Tressa had lost her husband and her unborn child.  He hadn’t died, just had a near death experience, and had a new appreciation for infections.

 

“Great.  You could’ve just said that instead of scaring the shit out of me.”

 

Lord, maybe she would have a heart attack one of these days and be able to see Joseph again.  That was NOT a good mindset to have.  She nodded, keeping her distance from Jon and regretted coming here to ask if he needed a ride.  Why didn’t she just leave and let him find his own way?  Because he’s my friend, one of my best friends, and I can’t leave him hanging, she answered herself in thought, wrapping her arms around herself.

 

“Hurry up.  I have a stop to make before we go back to the hotel.”

 

“What is it you’re drinking?” Jon asked once they were outside and heading for her car, his luggage bag rolling behind him.  He rolled his pale blues when she gave him a sharp look. “I grew up surrounded by alcoholics, there are signs you can’t hide.” Like the yellow beginning to creep into her eyes, giving her an almost jaundice look.  He bet most people ignored it, arena lighting was terrible at the best of times. “I doubt you sleep very well without it anyway.” Drinking until she passed out, and probably miserable on top of being drunk until welcomed unconsciousness finally took her. “It’s not beer; you gain weight on beer and you’ve lost quite a bit.” So hard liquor then.

 

“Stop studying me like a goddamn test subject!  It’s none of your damn business what I do with what’s left of my miserable life!  Just leave me alone and worry about YOURSELF!” After today, Tressa had gone from being completely overwhelmed with grief and anguish to all-consuming rage.  She couldn’t believe Jon was judging her for drinking. “And no, for your information, I DON’T sleep without it because I’m plagued by nightmares of finding Joe, DEAD, in our bathtub with the shower sprays going!  It numbs my pain, even if it’s only temporary.” Not to mention the unborn child she had lost one month after Joseph was put in the ground from an enlarged heart. “Can we go already?  Fuck…”

 

“I’m not judging you, if that’s what you think” Jon stopped her from walking away and pulled her into the light of one of the streetlamps, frowning.  No, she wasn’t yellow, he could see the rage in her gray eyes, and he hated arenas.  Especially the older ones, the piss poor lighting and he had just made an ass out of himself for nothing. “I’m a tool, darlin’, forgive me?” He reached out a hand, sighing when she looked like she may actually spit in it. “I don’t care what you do, or how you get yourself to sleep, Tres. I’m the last person who is going to…judge.” His finger glanced over that band-aid; he had no room to judge.  Jon was a grown man, a professional wrestler, and he had grown up in conditions that a lot of people didn’t normally survive, but here he was…losing his mind over a small cut.

 

“I only drink at night when I’m alone.” Her voice had lowered again, back to the stoic, flat tone she’d been using lately. “I didn’t mean to snap on you.” In a way, she did, but he didn’t deserve her rage, or her pain inflicted on him. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but…I’m here for you like you’re here for me, if you need to talk about it.  Whatever it is.” Jon was the ONLY person she had confided in since Tressa had blackballed the rest of her friends in the company and out.  Looking down at his bandaged finger, she reached out for it and slid her fingertips over the bandage very lightly. “I won’t judge you either.”

 

“Oh no, you would, darlin’.  I judge myself.” He laughed dryly, his hand jerking against hers before he pulled away. “Come on, let’s get this show on the road.  I hope your stop involves a place where I can get tequila and a lime.”

 

And probably a new box of band-aids and some antiseptic.  What was he thinking, coming back to work so soon?  His JOB was nothing except acquiring new injuries and, on occasion, a cut or two, every goddamn night!  Groaning, Jon scrubbed his hand down his face, shaking his head.

 

“Come on, Tres,” He looped his arm through hers, guiding her towards her car. “Before one of us loses our mind.”

 

“I think we’re way past that point, Jon.” Tressa remarked, not pulling away from him because she found odd comfort being touched by him. 

 

Maybe he felt the same way towards her.  She didn’t know.  Everything had changed so drastically in both of their lives over the past year.  Once they arrived at the rental, Jon put their stuff in the back before slipping behind the wheel, snatching the keys from her.  Tressa didn’t argue and buckled up in the passenger seat, knowing Jon liked to drive and told him where to go.  The nearest liquor store was just down the street from the hotel.  Before he had liked to drive, now he just wanted too.  It was something he could control and he needed that tonight, after his little breakdown she had witnessed.  He hadn’t been able to control that, that was irritating.

 

“I got an infection while I was out, fucking MRSA.” He confessed out of nowhere, his tone flat as he navigated the nighttime traffic with ease. “I nearly died from it; it was so bad.” Of course that was kind of trivial compared to what she went through, but…it was also the explanation for his behavior. “I got MRSA IN the HOSPITAL, the one place you shouldn’t get anything from, you know?  They had me on a drip for a week, pumping me with antibiotics.”

 

MRSA was a very dangerous bacterial infection and, if it wasn’t treated right away, it shut down organs.  It could KILL a person!  Tressa’s mouth went dry at Jon’s confession and she came to a very horrible realization.  Not only had she lost Joseph and their unborn child, but she could have lost Jon too.  All in one fell swoop, all at the same time.

 

“I-I’m glad you’re all right.”

 

Now she understood his reaction to the small cut and frowned, not blaming him a bit.  MRSA was incredibly scary, and she could not imagine going through something like that.  Jon was very brave, tough and strong; it was no wonder he had shut himself off from the world, from her, from everyone.  He had been fighting for his life.

 

“I-I’m sorry you had to go through that alone.” Just like she had to go through the death of Joseph and her unborn child alone.  They had both suffered a great deal and had to do it alone. 

 

Fate was incredibly screwed up.

 

MRSA was a staph infection on steroids.  Typical staph infections were easily treated with antibiotics.  MRSA was, apparently, and this was terrifying to him since he had lived it, becoming quite common, especially in hospitals.  Antibiotic over-usage had led to the rise of superbugs, super MRSA.  He had spent over a month on antibiotics after that week of an IV drip of them, not the best time of his life.  His triceps had been…bad, his arm had looked shriveled and his day-to-day had consisted of vomiting and other fun bodily functions occurring.  Not polite for public or anyone, really.

 

“Don’t be.  I wouldn’t have wanted anyone to see it, darlin’.”

 

She didn’t know what else to say to him, so silence reigned between them until they arrived at the liquor store.  While Jon sifted through the various tequilas, Tressa went for the straight Vodka.  Clear bottle with blue lettering.  Absolut.  She hadn’t found a more potent and better Vodka and made sure to buy a shot glass to go with it.  Tressa paid for her purchase and waited for Jon to finish, rolling her eyes when he finally decided 10 minutes later.

 

“You’re slow.” She commented as they walked out of the store and waited for him to unlock the car before sliding in the passenger seat again.

 

“I was debating on if I wanted cheap, burning tequila or expensive sipping tequila.” He had gone with cheap, burning tequila.  The legit stuff, the GOOD stuff, one sipped like it was a fine whiskey or wine.  The cheap version one shot down with salt and lime.  He had also purchased a few items for his issues with potential, future cuts or anything that may lead to infection. “Absolut, huh?” Vodka…he didn’t care for the taste of it, but to each his, or her, own. “Where are you staying?” Did she have a room reserved?  Probably where everyone was staying.

 

What kind of question was that? “Where do you think, Good?  I stay where the rest of the company stays – the same hotel.” Some of the wrestlers and employees opted to stay elsewhere, but she wasn’t picky.  Jon usually stayed at the same hotel as the majority of the Superstars as well. “And yeah, Vodka has become my best friend at night.  It’s the only liquor that works and knocks me out the fastest.” It numbed her too – no other had, and she had tried almost all of them.

 

“If you’re looking to pass out quick, you should try Everclear.” Jon suggested dryly, knowing where she was staying, where they were all staying.  It was easier for everyone to kind of stay at the same place and it also helped with ‘accountability’ and whatnot.  He only half paid attention to some of these newer policies and ‘suggestions’. “Though…it’s also hell on the liver.” Since the alcohol content was 95% volume or 190 proof, definitely hell on the liver.  Also, highly flammable. “Or why not just get a prescription for sleeping pills?” Less havoc on the system and, since she wasn’t one of the Superstars, she wouldn’t have to worry about violating any of the wellness policies.

 

Tressa snorted, shaking her head. “Why?  So I can get addicted to pills instead of booze?  No thanks, I’ll pass.” She rolled the window down a little and fired up a cigarette since they were nearing their destination. “I’ll stick with Vodka, but thanks for the advice.”

 

The wellness policy applied to ALL employees in WWE, not just the Superstars.  Everyone was accountable and if they pissed dirty, they were fined and suspended.  Three strikes were all it took to be fired from the multi-billion-dollar corporation.

 

“And I’m not only looking to pass out quickly.  I’m also looking to be numb.  Vodka numbs me and until I find a better solution, this is it.  Drinking myself into a stupor every night while crying, so I pass the hell out, wake up with a hangover, cry in the shower and then get on with my fucking day.” Thankfully, tomorrow was the start of her 2 days off and she was going to her parents briefly, before grabbing a hotel somewhere to be alone.  Tressa would house hunt again, but not until she was ready, and her parents were overbearing whenever she was there.

 

“Yeah, just you wait until the fun side effects of alcoholism kick in and Stephanie sends you to rehab.” Jon snorted, lighting a cigarette before cracking the window.

 

He wanted to ask if she had considered therapy, the company offered things like that, grief therapy and support systems, or however that went, but he didn’t.  Chances were, someone had already done so, and she had obviously not tried it and wasn’t interested, or it had made it worse.  He pulled into the back parking lot of the hotel and then into a space, turning in his seat to stare down at her.

 

“Want some company, darlin’?  We can be miserable together.”

 

Why was he miserable?  That confused her because Jon had absolutely nothing to be miserable for.  Granted, he had almost died from MRSA, but he SURVIVED it, so he should have been celebrating.  Instead, he was freaking out over every little cut and putting himself into a state of panic.

 

“They do say misery loves company.” Tressa hoped like hell Jon was prepared for her crying jag because it was coming.  She could already feel the tears brimming in her eyes and needed to get inside, not wanting anyone else to see them. “If you really want to be miserable together…” That sounded wrong on a lot of levels. “Come on, then.  Your room or mine?”

 

“Doesn’t matter.”

 

Jon didn’t care what she thought about him or how she viewed his ‘misery’.  He had already thought it before; everyone had their personal issues and they all took precedence over others, while at the same time did not.  It was weird.  Like, he knew she had gotten the shittier plate and he sympathized, but it also did not diminish his own issues.  If they really wanted to get philosophical, she didn’t have anything to be miserable about either.  She was alive and healthy; she still had a future to look forward too.  It was just a matter of seeing through all the darkness and finding it.

 

“Ugh…” He groaned aloud, shaking his head at himself.  He was no philosopher, no great thinker and he needed to stop now before he got a headache. “Your room, you can pass out there and I’ll make sure I lock the door behind me when I leave.”

 

“No.  If you’re keeping me company and drinking, you’re staying with me all night.  I won’t have you pass out on the way to your room, Jon.” Tressa informed him, stepping out of the car and lead the way inside with their bags in hand. 

 

Jon was insistent on carrying them inside as Tressa checked into her room while Jon did the same with his.  Even though he was staying with her, he still had to check into his own room.  Once they both had their own keycards, Tressa lead the way to her room and unlocked the door, waiting for Jon to step in before closing it behind him.  She kicked her shoes and socks off before pulling the bottle of Vodka out of the brown paper bag, cracking it open.  First shot down and another one followed after that as she moved to the bed and set the bottle and shot glass on the nightstand, staring up at the ceiling.

 

“Gonna crack yours open or what?”

 

Chapter 6

 

Jon had absolutely no intention of spending the night here.

 

He wouldn’t sleep for one.  For two, it would feel wrong.  Crashing here with her would just be wrong while she was grieving for her husband, her lost child…the loss of a future she had had planned out.  He cleared his throat, shuffling off his boots and rifled in his bag.  Jon set out his salt, lime and the bottle on her dresser top, procuring a pocketknife from his back pocket.  In a few minutes, he was using the plastic cups provided near the coffee pot to drink his lime and heavily salted tequila.

 

“Cheers, Tres.” He slammed it down.

 

“Yeah, cheers…”

 

The waterworks had begun with her third shot, tears sliding down her cheeks freely.  She took her shirt off, tossing it to the side and stood up from the bed to walk around to her bag, rifling through it.  Pulling out a t-shirt, Tressa pulled it over her head and took her shorts off next, inhaling the scent of it.  Joseph.  She had packed away a few of his t-shirts to bring on the road with her and it just made the tears fall faster and harder.  Pouring a fourth shot, she downed it without hesitation and laid on the bed, propping up against the headboard with the bottle in one hand and shot glass in the other, closing her eyes.  When they opened, after she felt the bed dip, Jon was right there staring at her and she lowered her eyes, wiping her tears away that kept falling.

 

“I-I warned you…”

 

“You did,” He dangled a bandana over her face, rolling his pale blues when she ignored it and began mopping her face for her. “Joseph would probably be a bit pissed if he could see you now.”

 

Nobody would ever accuse Jon of possessing tact, that was for sure.  Was that annoyance that sparked in those gray eyes?  He wasn’t entirely sure.  The bandana was soaked now, he used his thumb to catch the next tear that rolled down her pale cheek.  Moving to sit on the bed instead of hovering over her, Jon reached for his fresh glass he had set on the bedside stand and drained it.  The bottle of tequila was right there, he would probably drink straight from the bottle. 

 

“I don’t care!  He stole my fucking heart and it’s buried six feet under with him!  He can be pissed all he wants and when I see him again someday, I’m going to beat the hell out of him for putting me through this!” Tressa cried out, taking the bottle of Vodka and took a swig right from it, foregoing the shot glass. “He made me fall in love with him, planned a future with him, and then God ripped it all away from me.” He was up there now, somewhere, with their unborn child and she was stuck down here, in a world of misery, heartache and pain. “I-I don’t understand how he couldn’t have known about the enlarged heart.  Who goes through their entire life without knowing something like that?  It makes no sense to me, Jon.  None of this makes any damn sense to me and I wish it did.  I wish I knew why my husband was taken away from me and why I lost the only piece of him I had left in the baby.  It’s not fair, none of this is fair!  W-What did I do to deserve this?!” As far as Tressa knew, she was a good person and had never wronged anyone in her life.

 

“Darlin’, life doesn’t give a rat’s ass on fair.” Jon informed her, turning his head and brought his fist up to muffle his tequila burp.  That was immediately followed by a tequila burn and he chased it down with yet another shot of tequila, straight from the bottle. “None of us get to pick and choose, we don’t always get answers, and it sucks, but that’s how it works.  What really sucks is when you think you’re at the very bottom, it can’t get any worse, life comes along with a shovel, digs a hole and kicks you right down into it.” Like it had her. “What’s important is that you still try climbing out of it, even if it is just to reach for a bottle.”

 

Hating to admit it, what Jon said made a lot of sense. 

 

He was right, life didn’t care about fairness.  Neither did fate.  When it was a person’s time to leave this earth, nothing would stop it.  The Reaper had a job to do just like everyone else and everyone had a time limit in this world, in this life. “I-I don’t know how else to numb the pain.” Her voice came out in a whisper, sobs threatening to overtake, and she tried to swallow them down. 

 

Alcohol was the only way she could think of to numb herself.

 

“E-Every time I close my eyes, I’m back there…in that house…in that bathroom…with him lying in that tub…”

 

Taking another hefty swig of Vodka, Tressa didn’t realize it, but she was opening up to someone about what happened for the first time since Joseph’s death.  Without comprehending it, she was lifting a huge burden off herself and her heart, by simply talking about it, instead of keeping it bottled up inside.  Jon closed his eyes, his mind doing a great job of painting a mental image for him to explore as she described what she had woken up too, walked into.

 

He had met Joseph a few times over the years he had known Tressa.  She had brought him to a few company events and, since he had driven a semi, there were those rare times when their paths would cross, and they would make the time to see each other.  They had been happy, he definitely remembered that.  It was what had stopped him from flirting with her and pursuing something with her.  He could see Tressa, shaking and sobbing, a phone cradled between ear and shoulder as she was forced to try reviving a dead man, wondering if the operator knew how cruel she was being, the damage it would cause down the road.

 

“I’m sorry you went through that alone.” He rumbled gravely when she stopped talking for a second time.

 

“T-That’s why I tried calling you.  To tell you about his death and…the services.” Tressa admitted quietly, once her sobs had died down and all that was left was slow tears. “I understand why you cut yourself off from the world though.” Dealing with MRSA, on top of trying to heal his arm to get back in the ring, to do what he loved most in this world…Tressa couldn’t imagine what Jon had been through. “I-I know I didn’t give you a warm welcome back, but…” Her watery, swollen greys lifted to meet soft, slightly glazed blues. “I’m glad you’re here, Jon.  I-I missed you when you were gone.  I even told Joseph a few times I felt lost without you because it just wasn’t the same with Colby and Joe…and not you.  He joked that you were my work husband.” That made her giggle, though it still sounded sad. “I agreed with him.  He was all ‘now you have two husbands to look after you, brat’.” Joseph always called her brat.  That was her special nickname from him.  His lovely brat. “God, I miss that man so much…” She took another swig and shut her eyes, leaning her head against Jon’s shoulder.

 

Even if he had answered his phone, responded to text messages, Jon wouldn’t have been able to come to her.  There would have been no way.  A month on antibiotics, after that first initial week, hadn’t left him in any condition to travel.  Not when he was constantly having the myriad of disgusting bodily side effects that kept him within mere feet of a bathroom and change of clothes.

 

“You’re going too, darlin’, he was a great guy.” That was true, what he knew of Joseph from the times he had met the man.

 

He had been kind and friendly to everyone and it had been clear how much he loved his wife.  He had also taken Jon’s relationship with Tressa in stride; there had been no jealousy over their relationship, from Jon’s understanding, and he knew it took a damn secure, confident man for that, given the nature of Tressa’s job.  Jon wrapped his arm around her, moving so they were both leaning back against the headboard, his own bottle of tequila in his free hand.

 

“I-I don’t want to be alone.  And I am.  It terrifies me, Jon.  I have to go tomorrow – or rather today – to my parents’ house and I’m actually considering just either staying on the road or getting a hotel out there where they are.” Tressa had her own bottle of Vodka between her thighs and sniffled, fresh tears falling down her cheeks. “I-I can’t go back to that house where he…where he…” Unable to finish that sentence, Jon pressed a finger to her lips to let her know he understood, having set his bottle of Tequila between his own thighs and let her cry on his chest.  Loneliness had really set in for Tressa over the past 3 months, especially when she would stay at her parents and she had nobody to comfort her or talk to her like this. “Damn it…”

 

Jon hadn’t met her family, which sounded like a good idea, because she seemed to have a love/hate relationship with them.  That seemed fairly normal for the common American family, but in times like these, he figured all the weirdness would get put on the backburner.  That or she just didn’t want to go home and be forced to endure the same old sympathies and coddling that came with being around parents.

 

“Do you want to stay at my place?” He offered without even thinking, which was odd.  Jon valued his privacy, especially in today’s over-informed world. “It’s set out away from the city, but there’s no one around to bother you and maybe the change of scenery will do you some good.”

 

Did Jon just offer her a place to stay?  Would that be cheating on Joseph?  It wasn’t like she would sleep with him or anything.  She’d have her own room, surely, and they weren’t home more than a couple times a month due to the hectic WWE schedule.  Would staying with Jon really be so bad?  Her parents would probably have a coronary if she did this, but at the same time, Tressa had to do what she thought best.

 

“You really don’t mind?” She wouldn’t be alone because Jon would be there, so that was a huge plus.  Jon lived in Las Vegas, a place she had only seen whenever WWE rolled into town and there was never any time to really sightsee or drink the place in. “This might be my buzz talking, but…all right, I’ll stay with you for a while until I can get up the courage to find my own place.  Thank you, Jon.” This meant more to her than he’d ever know. “My parents are going to flip shit and I have no fucks to give.”

 

“You’re a grown ass woman, they’ll deal.  It’s not like you have to tell them anything other than you’re staying with a friend.” Which was all totally true, though she would be smart to omit the part about it being a male friend.  

 

Sometimes, people got judgmental when they had no business too.  Hell, Tressa was probably going to wind up judging herself, staying with another man when her husband wasn’t even in the ground for more than a few months.  He didn’t understand it.  Society and it’s ‘polite rules’, it’s ‘norms’, sometimes it just didn’t make any sense.

 

“You can sleep on it, Tres, I’ll remind you tomorrow.” Jon had no idea if she was the kind of drunk who remembered conversations or not, so…yeah, he’d remind her, after she had dealt with her hangover.

 

“I’ll remember, so you better book me a flight to Vegas with you for tomorrow.”

 

Once Tressa’s mind was made up, there was no changing it.  She was stubborn that way, which was one of the things Joseph always loved about her.  Hell, Tressa wasn’t even worried about sex because, honestly, she was thinking of going completely celibate.  How could she sleep with another man after her husband died?  No, she would pass and would rather drown her sorrows in a bottle instead of dick any day of the week.  Yawning, she scooted further down on the bed and Jon joined her, since his arm was still around her, her hand resting over his heart.

 

“Don’t leave, please.” Maybe, just maybe, he would chase away the dreams and she’d be able to wake up normally instead of from a nightmare.

 

Jon inwardly groaned because he had been planning on leaving once she was asleep, but hearing that plea in her tone…how could he deny her? “I won’t, darlin’.” He whispered reassuringly, kissing the top of her head before tightening his arms around her and pulled her close.  Feeling her body slowly relaxing, bit by bit, his own followed suit.

 

Maybe tonight they’d both get a restful night’s sleep.

 

~!~

 

“Mom…”

 

“Tressa, you need to come home.  You have two days off and we want to be here for you.  Please, sweetheart…”

 

Tressa inwardly groaned, not wanting to disappoint her mother, but the woman was overbearing and too overprotective. “Mom…”

 

“Life is too short.  Joseph is gone and you need us right now more than ever.” Her mother, Eva, started crying on the phone while her husband, Steve, consoled her, rubbing her back. “Please, Tressie…”

 

Glancing over at Jon while they sat in the airport, Tressa knew deep down what was best for her and slowly shook her head. “Life IS too short, Mom.  And I’m spending the rest of mine the way I want.  I’m staying with my friend for a while, so you’re gonna have to deal with it.  I gotta go, our flight was just called.”

 

Not really, but it was the only way to get her off the phone as Tressa hung up to her sobbing mother, rolling her eyes.  As if she didn’t feel horrible enough from both her hangover and her tragic losses.  The woman had no tact or class to throw in her face ‘life is too short’.  She knew that better than anyone.  Jon took the cell from Tressa, ignoring her ‘give it back’.  He powered it down and pocketed it without even blinking.

 

“You can have it back after your days off are up.  I’m not going to have them badgering your ass and making you even more miserable than what you already are, darlin’.” Nope, he fully expected her misery, her grief, and wouldn’t let her family -well-meaning or not- add guilt and other shit to top that all off, not on his watch. “Come on, get up and walk around with me.” Time to get her mind off of that call; her mother was… not someone he would want to meet anytime soon.

 

“She’s such a bitch saying ‘life’s too short’ to me, like I don’t know that!  Is it any wonder I don’t want to stay with her or my Dad?” Though, her Dad wasn’t nearly as bad as her mother. “I get she’s worried about me and wants to help me, but telling me shit like that, trying to guilt-trip me…I’m going through enough with Joe’s family and I DON’T need my own starting bullshit with me.” She spoke while walking with Jon, letting him hold her hand.  It was comforting to not be alone and to be able to voice her thoughts and feelings out loud instead of keeping it all bottled up inside. “Sorry, I’m bitching again.”

 

The walking came to an abrupt stop as Jon pulled her to stand directly in front of him.  He bent down, cupping her face in his strong hands and stared straight into those troubled, sad gray eyes. “DON’T you ever apologize.  Not to me, not to ANYONE.  Right now, what you’re going through, not many people are going to get it and you never need to apologize for what you’re feeling, or what you need to do to get through, and you never have to apologize to ME.  Bitch if you want, cry, rage, I don’t care, darlin’.  I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Tears slid down her cheeks at his sweet, intense words as Tressa reached up to cover her hands with his, nodding in understanding.  He meant every word that came out of his mouth.  She could see it in his eyes and feel it in his touch, his thumbs swiping away the tears that fell.

 

“Thank you.” She whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment and Jon drew her against him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. “I am going to need my phone back, though.  My lawyer is going to call me on my days off and…” Jon pulled back from her enough to lock eyes with her again and Tressa shut her own, suddenly remembering she didn’t tell him. “I just need my phone back.  If my Mom calls, I won’t answer it, I promise.”

 

Jon wanted to ask questions; his curiosity was back up.  What was her lawyer calling her for?  He figured all that would have been handled within the first few weeks of Joseph’s death.  Admittedly, he had no real idea how these things worked since he had never been married, never lost a loved one the way she had.  Maybe Joseph had debts, or some weird insurance policy Tressa was having to dance through hoops for.  Sighing, he contemplated her, finally pulling the cell out of his pocket.

 

“I’m not kidding, Tres, don’t answer for people who are going to make things worse.” He said firmly, placing it into her waiting palm.

 

“Yes, Daddy.” Tressa rolled her eyes, clasping her fingers around the device and laughed at his response.

 

“Don’t make me bend you over my knee, kitten.”

 

“Uh huh, sure you would.” Tressa patted his cheek with her hand as they continued walking, thankful Jon didn’t ask about the lawyer bit. 

 

That was something she didn’t want anyone to know about because she was handling it very quietly.  So far, Joseph’s family hadn’t brought her job into the mix, but it was only a matter of time.  Dirt sheets and tabloids would have loved to get their paws on what was going on in her personal life – the life of a WWE employee, no less.  Sometimes, this job wasn’t as great as it was cracked up to be, but at least the pay more than compensated for the bad.

 

Chapter 7

 

Silence reigned as they walked, though Jon would have to stop every now and then to sign autographs and he even allowed a few pictures to be taken.  Fans were the backbone of a wrestler’s career.  A wrestler could be pushed and pushed and pushed, but at the end of the day, if the fans didn’t have their back, they weren’t going to go very far.  Not without being crammed down their faces and throats, and everyone knew how that tended to play out.  By the time their flight was called, he was feeling it in his fingers; it had been awhile since he had to do that, and snorted at the look Tressa gave him.

 

“You could have swept in and saved me.” He was joking.

 

“And take you away from your loving, adoring fans?  Absolutely not!  I know you’ve missed signing autographs and being swarmed.”

 

There were quite a few women who were scandalously dressed, flashing their goods to Jon in hopes of getting a shot with him.  It happened with a lot of the wrestlers, both male and female.  Fans were crazy, especially at airports.  Tressa was thankful she wasn’t in the spotlight like Jon or the others because she wasn’t sure she could handle the constant grind and satisfying every tom, dick and harry that crossed her path.

 

Truth be told, Jon had had his fair share of crazy fans, a lot of it due to the stunts he had pulled back in his ‘wilder’, Indie days.  One woman had wanted him to sign her rather bountiful breasts.  She had appeared at a show the next night with said tits on display and apparently she had gotten his autograph tattooed over, so his signature was now permanently inked there.  He wondered how, so many years later, that was panning out for her.

 

“Mmm, well aren’t you just a bundle of laughs?” He teased dryly, moving in line with her, their carry-on in their hands, tickets at the ready.  A few days off, downtime, in Vegas was just what the doctor ordered.

 

If he could get her outside for a bit, maybe he could get some color back into those pale cheeks.

 

“What can I say?  You’re a bad influence on me, Good.”

 

Tressa also had a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling marginally better than she had in months.  Even with the hangover, which wasn’t as bad since she hadn’t killed a bottle of Absolut.  With Jon’s warmth and comfort, them talking, she had only drank a quarter of the bottle before passing out.  Her breakdown earlier in the day at the rest stop didn’t help matters either and had tired her out.  Once they were boarded, seated, and buckled in, Tressa leaned her head back against the seat and looked over at Jon, who was staring out the window.

 

“I appreciate what you’re doing for me, Jon.” It was hard to believe a girl that stood a mere 5’4 would befriend a man that was exactly one foot taller than her. “I owe you.”

 

Everyone was short compared to him, so Jon had stopped thinking about ‘she’s tiny’, ‘he’s tall’, ‘she’s a goddamn giant’, a long time ago.  Unless, however, it was Mark Calaway or Glenn Jacobs.  Those two towered over everyone.  Even with only a few inches separating him from them, their sheer presence -on top of just being the legends that they were- tended to make him feel about knee high to a grasshopper.

 

“You owe me a lot, don’t worry, doll.” Jon didn’t bother trying to recline his seat, not in the mood to deal with the inevitable jerks that usually came along with flights like this.  The bright side, it was a short flight with no layovers, thank the Gods of Air Travel. “I’m keeping track.  I’ll collect, eventually.” He winked down at her before procuring his MP3 from his carry-on, offering her one of the buds. “Some AC/DC?”

 

This was not the first time they shared a flight together.  Jon hated flying, so he made sure to always have his MP3 charged on full.  Music helped him deal with take-off and landing.  AC/DC was their band – they always listened to it on flights, especially when they had to go overseas.  Jon made sure she sat next to him, calling her his calming agent.

 

“Always.” Cracking the barest hint of a smile, she took the bud and placed it in her ear, feeling Jon take her hand to hold it tightly.  Not tight enough to hurt, but enough to where she wouldn’t be able to pull away. “You would think after all this time and all the flights you’ve taken, you would be used to this by now.”

 

“Tres, if man were meant to fly, he’d have wings instead of arms, a beak instead of a mouth, and feathers instead of ridiculously hairy arms.” Jon remarked, using his free hand to pop a piece of gum into his mouth once the pre-takeoff spiel started.  Chewing gum kept his ears from doing that annoying, sometimes mildly painful, popping from the shift in air pressure. “Also, we wouldn’t have near pissing ourselves moments when we realize we’re trusting our lives to a man flying what is basically a giant tin can with heavy ass metal surfboards attached to it.” Now that Jon thought about it, he wished he had said that sentence a little bit differently.  Talking about anything related to death or dying, even as a joke, was just in poor taste, even for him. “So…I feel like a jackass now.”

 

Tressa couldn’t help it.  She was laughing at him, giggling uncontrollably and didn’t take offense to anything he said.  This was who Jon was.  He spoke what was on his mind and didn’t give a flying hoot who heard him as long as he voiced his thoughts.  It was one of the many things that drew her to him, and she was the same way, just not as intense as him.

 

“I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to laugh at you, I really don’t.  You just have this beyond serious look on your face and it’s hilarious.”

 

Her stomach hurt from laughing so hard.  Tressa couldn’t remember the last time she laughed like this and it honestly felt incredible.  She didn’t think she’d ever find humor or light in anything again after Joseph’s death.  Yet here she was, laughing alongside her best friend – possibly her only friend – on this planet.  The fact that she was laughing at THAT quip told Jon either he was underestimating her ability on taking jokes or she had an inappropriate sense of humor too.  Which she did, he had known she had, it was one of the reasons they got along so well.  Or maybe he was just overthinking this whole thing and here he was, STILL overthinking it.

 

“Laugh it up,” He growled, bringing her hand up and kissed her knuckles before lowering it back down, his entire body going rigid when the airplane set into motion. “Fuck. Me.”

 

Jon was NEVER going to get used to this, not ever.  He didn’t care how many times he flew; he was never going to be able to stomach this.  Lifting her hand, she began massaging the back of his neck, something she did for him whenever they would take a flight together.  Honestly, Tressa had traveled with the Shield a lot when the boys were together as a cohesive unit.  Nowadays, they were all separate Superstars in the company, but every so often, the Shield did reunite when people got too big for their britches.  Once they were in the air, Jon’s breathing steadied and she nodded at him, squeezing his hand and pulled her hand away from his neck.  The combination of her rubbing his neck with the music and holding his hand with her free one…it was enough to keep him calm throughout the take-off.

 

“You okay now?  Want some water or something?” They could unbuckle their seatbelts if they wanted, but neither did so.

 

“No, I think I want to sit here and pretend I do have wings.” He joked, able to hear her well enough over AC/DC.  

 

Jon could feel his heart rate slowly but surely returning to normal.  He knew it was ridiculous, having this mild phobia, fear, of his, but there it was.  He knew, statistically, he was more likely to die in a car accident then via flight, but also flew more than the average person, so did that mean the statistics changed?  Jon supposed, what it came down to was the lack of control.  He could drive his own car; he was in control.  Being up in the air in a giant tin can, he had no say, no nothing…there was just literally nothing he could do because his fate was in someone else’s hands.  It was an intimidating, lonely feeling.  He wondered if that was how she felt, with Joseph’s death, staring down at Tressa thoughtfully.

 

That was pretty much how she felt.  Joseph’s death came out of NOWHERE.  And she was powerless to stop it.  She couldn’t save her husband because she hadn’t heard him slump down in the shower.  Who would?  He didn’t fall and crack his head.  He simply sat down in the tub to fall asleep and never woke up again because his enlarged heart had given out on him.  It was a VERY intimidating, lonely feeling – that was what bothered and hurt her the most…the loneliness.  Jon wouldn’t always be here for her and Tressa would have to learn to go on with her life, alone.

 

“Just don’t make them broken wings or you’re screwed.” She shot back with a smirk and closed her eyes to listen to some AC/DC, not wanting to think about anything else.  Not Joseph or their dead baby, not her lawyer or the impending court date with his begrudging family, or her sobbing mother…she just wanted to clear her mind.

 

Jon managed to fall asleep on the flight and didn’t know if Tressa did.  Since coming back, in these few short days, he had learned that she didn’t look like she slept.  He knew from last night, she cried in her sleep, that was definitely one of the reasons her eyes were so swollen and red throughout the morning hours the next day.  Getting off the flight and then retrieving their luggage was done in silence.  Once they were in the rental, he had called ahead to reserve since he didn’t leave his own vehicle in the supposedly ‘safe’ storage lots, Jon felt his chest becoming less tight.  Vegas, the city that never slept, was home and he was relaxing.  He adored the busy streets, the people from all walks of life, and the hustle and bustle of the casinos, along with other busy entertainment venues.  He adored the scenery outside of the city as well, just a bit more.

 

No, she couldn’t sleep without Vodka.  It was the only way she could fall asleep and, even then, her dreams were plagued with nightmares.  Last night, she did cry in her sleep because she had been dreaming of her and Joseph’s wedding.  His family didn’t approve of them, so they had to go to the courthouse to get married.  She didn’t regret doing it that way and neither did Joseph, they were happy despite his family.  Now, it was no surprise his family was now putting her through pure hell over his estate.  They didn’t want her having anything and even went so far as accusing her of killing him with stress due to her job.  It was her fault Joseph’s heart gave out.  It was her fault she lost their baby and couldn’t conceive one since they were never home to see each other. 

 

It was all her fault…in their eyes.

 

“Hey, let’s stop for something to eat.” Jon had realized that Tressa’s mind was wandering and that meant he was constantly looking at her, instead of the road.  Her face, pinched and pale again, had shifted from sadness, to resignation, anger, and back to some kind of resigned grief that made his heart twinge.  She seemed a bit surprised that he was talking to her and wanted to know what thoughts had been causing those myriads of emotions to dance across her face. “I’m hungry, babe, and last I checked, I had a stash of beef potpies at home.” Jon couldn’t cook to save his life, but he could definitely nuke something cardboardy into something warm and cardboardy. “Here.” He pulled down a one-way side street, deftly maneuvering into a parking space.  

 

Sub shop.  And soup…she’d probably eat soup, right?

 

“Okay, sor-” Tressa stopped herself before that word flew out of her mouth and cleared her throat, remembering the intense, heartfelt words he’d said to her in the airport only hours ago. “I didn’t mean to ignore you, is what I meant to say.”

 

She just had a great deal on her mind at the moment and looked up at the Mom and Pop sandwich shop.  Something told her Jon came here on his days off and she slid out of the car, wishing she would’ve smoked a cigarette before going in.  Jon extended his hand and she took it, letting him guide her inside to grab a table.

 

“I don’t care if you’re ignoring me, darlin’, do what you want.” Jon knew damn well there was a no-smoking in public businesses ban across most of the country, which was why this was his favorite place.  They had a patio out back, shaded from the sun and enclosed by buildings on the three sides.  Private if no one else was out there, and they could smoke.  He sat down, enjoying the lack of people and gestured for her to sit with him at the table, both of them procuring a cigarette. “You could have smoked in the rental; I pay the extra bit just so I can.” He laughed, watching as she took that first, deep inhale, letting that nicotine make its way through her system.  That was a terrible habit she had picked up.  

 

She’d be able to quit the alcohol with minimal issues, but smoking…that was hard.

 

“I really wasn’t…thinking about it.” Tressa sounded a little sheepish, slipping her fingers through her hair while flicking ash in the tray in front of them.  Her phone went off before Jon could question or say something else, making her heave a sigh as she pulled it out to look at the caller ID. “Lawyer, give me a minute.” Standing, she put her cigarette in the tray and took a few steps away from the table to answer it. “Please tell me you have good news for me.  I could really use some.”

 

“Well, it’s your day off, that’s good news, right?” Clem could hear the desperation in Tressa’s voice and inwardly groaned.  She only wished. “They’re not going to drop it, Tressa.  I’m sorry.”

 

They were going to try taking everything Joseph had left for her and they were going to do it by blaming Tressa for his death.  She didn’t think it would hold up if they went to court.  Mainly because the man had had this problem all his life.  Tressa wasn’t responsible for a condition he had been born with.


Jon was staring at his menu, knowing what he would eat, he always had the same thing.  His ears, however, were busy listening to her conversation as much as he could.

 

Chapter 8

 

Closing her eyes slowly, Tressa tilted her head up towards the sky and began to cry, not believing this was happening. “I don’t know why I’m shocked.  I really don’t.  They never liked me.  They never wanted us to get married and they only were okay with it because Joe told them he would choose me over them.  They were forced to spend holidays with me and everything, but I know they’ve always secretly hated me.  And now they think they’re going to take me to the cleaners and try to blame his death on me.” How much more would she be able to handle before completely falling apart?  Maybe that was what Joseph’s family wanted to happen. “Fine.  Fine, whatever.” She ALMOST wanted to tell her lawyer to just give them everything, but her stubbornness and pride wouldn’t allow it. “I’m going to make them WISH they’d never met me when we’re done with them in court.”

 

“Are you sure?” Clementine asked quietly, wondering how much more Tressa would be able to handle. “They’re not asking for anything you’ve earned, like your wages and stuff.  They want what he left you.” The insurance, house, truck, and a few other things of his, which was not fair, but grief did insane things to people.  If the people were already bad to begin with, morally bankrupt, it just amplified that by a thousand. “I want you to think about what you want to do.  I’ll call you in 2 days, we have a little time with this.  Make sure you can…handle the impact this is going to have on you, Tressa.” And she didn’t mean financially but emotionally and mentally.

 

Jon was on his feet, smoking his cigarette, arms folded over his massive chest, and his eyes were narrowed.

 

“All right, I’ll give you my answer then.  Thanks again, Clem.” Tressa pressed the end button and looked down at her phone, drawing her brows together, not understanding why Joseph’s family was being this way.  The man was gone.  Their brother, their son, their nephew, their cousin…he was gone and, yet, they wanted EVERYTHING he left his wife. “Fuck.”

 

Maybe it wasn’t worth it.  Maybe Clementine had a point to just give them what they wanted and move on.  It would destroy her to give up the house, the cars, everything Joseph had bought and worked for.  They hadn’t signed a prenuptial agreement and Joseph had made her his SOLE beneficiary.  Pulling out a fresh cigarette, she shakily lit it up and slowly turned around, seeing Jon standing there looking tense.

 

“I-I’m not eating.” Not after that phone call.

 

“I ordered it to go, doll,” He said quietly, having done so while she was on the phone and slowly sat back down.

 

No point in them both being up and pacing.  He had ordered her the soup of the day and a small sandwich, figuring maybe he would be able to get her to try attempting to eat it later in the day, when her nerves had settled.  If they did.  Her face had color, he just hated that it was an angry flush.  Whatever was going on, it sounded like family business and the family was being a bunch of dick heads.

 

“Anything you want to talk about?” He asked, making sure to keep his tone neutral and maybe even a little careless, watching as she puffed on that cigarette like a chimney.

 

“I know you overheard all of that, Jon.  You don’t have to pretend like you didn’t.” Tressa hadn’t put Clementine on speakerphone, but everything she said to her lawyer Jon had overheard.  He wasn’t eavesdropping either, but they were the only people at the moment in this outside area.  It was hard for him NOT to overhear. “Joe’s family blames me for his death.  Even though it was from an enlarged heart he was more than likely BORN with, which his mother had NO idea about, for the record, they still blame me.  They think because of my job with WWE, I stressed him out and made his heart give out.  They’re taking me to court, and they want everything he left me.  I’m his sole beneficiary and they don’t care.  They want EVERYTHING and Clementine, my lawyer, is advising me to just give it to them.  They only want what HE had and what he left me, not what I’ve made on my own.”

 

“Darlin’, Joseph was a long-distance semi driver, that could have easily contributed to his death.” Jon knew that sounded heartless, but it was also very true. “That’s a lot of sitting in one spot for extended periods,” And statistics said that that led to stroke, heart attack, etc. for long-time drivers because of how sedentary their jobs were. “Not to mention the stress of carrying certain freight, and then when shit got bad with weather.  All of those things could have easily contributed to it.  Wasn’t there an autopsy done?  Wouldn’t that be able to prove he was born with it?”

 

Jon was a bit curious how this family thought this would play out.  There was no way any judge was going to grant them whatever it was they were seeking, based on that argument.  The fact of the matter was, Joseph had left her everything and it was there in the will, plain as day.  If wills could be so easily overturned, there would be no point in them.

 

“I know they don’t have a leg to stand on, but…Clementine is afraid they’re going to drag WWE into this.” That was a huge, HUGE possibility.

 

If they did, WWE would have negative publicity from it.  Joseph’s family would stop at nothing to drag Tressa through hell and back again to get what they wanted.  His mother was always conniving, manipulative and controlling, but since neither were rarely home, she didn’t have nearly as much control over them, over her baby boy, as she would’ve liked.

 

“I just don’t know if it’s worth it.  I don’t know if fighting them is worth more heartache and pain, Jon.” She took another long drag of her cigarette, really needing a drink right about now.

 

“Wait, what?” Jon was trying not to laugh, wondering if these people were serious. “She thinks they might drag the WWE into this on what grounds?  They’re your employers, not an accessory to a non-existent crime.” Oh buddy, he could just IMAGINE how the McMahon family would react to that, beginning to laugh despite his efforts not too. “Vince would send them…a cease and desist letter,” He was going to cry, this was hilarious!  Were these people out of their ever-loving minds? “And then he’s going to sue the fuck out of them for wasting his time and slandering his company because they don’t know their heads from their asses.  They know you’re a seamstress, right?  Not a superstar, or do they just see dollar signs because of the WWE part?” Jon snorted, deciding he would smoke one more cigarette while waiting on their food, up and pacing now. “You should talk to Stephanie, let her send a lawyer there.  That’d be hilarious.”

 

“I’m glad you think this is so funny.  And Stephanie already knows about it.”

 

Besides Jon, Stephanie was one of the only people who knew about what happened to Joseph.  Stephanie had actually flew in, with Paul, to pay their respects, much to the chagrin to Joseph’s family.  His mother, in particular, didn’t appreciate any of Tressa’s coworkers coming to the services.  Tressa didn’t give a damn and was very appreciative of Stephanie and Paul coming on behalf of the WWE.

 

“I think they see WWE and they think they can slander me and destroy me and make the company lose faith in me and fire me.” That was her guess, anyway. “Don’t ask me what Joe’s mother is thinking because even I don’t know.”

 

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

 

It was now glaringly obvious that Joseph had not only been the decent one in that brood, but also the smart one.  These people were insane if they thought they were going to drag the WWE into something like this and walk away unscathed.  He hoped he was able to at least hear about how this all played out.  Karma had a way of coming back around and dishing out what people deserved.

 

“Now kitten,” He wrapped his arm around her neck, she was damn short, and pulled Tressa into him, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s not YOU I’m finding so funny, it’s them.” His eyes landed on the server bringing their to-go bags. “Also, I ordered for you.”

 

“I told you I’m not eating, Daddy.”

 

That phone call made her nauseous and she rolled her eyes when he shook his finger in front of her face.  She didn’t push his arm from her neck and walked with him over to where the server was.  Jon paid for the food, grabbed the bag with his free hand and guided them right back to the car.  Jon TOWERED over her petite 5’4 frame by a full foot, but Tressa trusted him completely and knew he would never intentionally hurt her.

 

“I don’t want them to win.  I don’t want to give up what my husband left me, and I don’t think I can.  I think I’m going to fight this, even though it’s going to cost me to get a lawyer and shit.”

 

This was a war and she planned on winning it, no matter what.

 

“Don’t you have a lawyer, isn’t that who you were talking too?  Or is this person not that kind of lawyer?”

 

Jon knew the WWE paid their non-TV staff pretty decently, so unless she had been blowing through her money, she should’ve had a fairly decent bank account.  Well…now that he thought about it, her drinking and smoking habits were pretty expensive.  She had expensive taste in vodka, and he hadn’t missed the various shot glasses in her bag when she had packed it up this morning.

 

“Anything I can do to help?  Besides buy you food you say you don’t want, but you’re going to try anyway because it’ll make me happy?” He fluttered his eyelashes down at her, snorting when he got a negative shake of the head. “Get in the car, Tres.  And maybe it’s time to turn off the phone.” Because the deal had been no shitty calls and that counted as shitty.

 

“I told you, that WAS my lawyer.” Did he not hear her or was did he just have selective hearing? “You’re doing what you can to help me, Jon.  You’re fine.  And I’m not turning my phone off because my lawyer could call again.  I told you, I won’t answer any other ones unless it’s Stephanie.” The boss, so to speak, had been checking up on her lately. 

 

Tressa hadn’t been blowing through her money, she did have a nice bank account, along with savings, but the fact Joseph left her everything of HIS, she didn’t want to let that go.  She didn’t want his family to win.  Jon fired up the vehicle and pulled away from the sandwich shop while she just stared out the window, pinching the bridge of her nose.

 

“Will you stop at a liquor store before we go to your house?”

 

Okay, his confusion came from her line about it costing her to get a lawyer, so yeah…excuse him for being somewhat confused by the whole deal.  Jon pushed it out of mind, not his business and he was interfering enough. “Nope.”

 

He had a bar at his place, pretty sure she could probably blow through it very easily.  Jon even had vodka, probably some Absolut, definitely some Grey Goose and some other name brand stuff.  The bar thing had been his idea of a joke when he had ‘made it big’, being brash and cocky, a bit stupid.  Now he just had a well-stocked bar that he wasn’t even putting a dent in because he hadn’t been able to drink while taking all those pills.

 

“Wait, yes.” He needed cigarettes; she probably needed a carton. “You’re not going to buy another shot glass, are you?”

 

“Yeah, actually, I am.  I don’t have a Vegas shot glass and I’m developing quite the collection.” Most were in storage at the moment, besides the ones that were in her bag currently. “I buy one in every city and town WWE goes to and I know, eventually, they’d go to Vegas for a show, so I’m just jumping the gun a bit.  No big deal.” She shrugged, preferring a shot glass to a tumbler or straight out of the bottle.  Last night had been different because she’d been talking to Jon and it was easier to just drink from the bottle instead of pouring shot after shot. “Look, I didn’t mean to confuse you about the lawyer bit.  I DO already have a lawyer, so what I meant to say it’s going to cost me to HAVE one, not get one.  It’s going to cost me to KEEP her as my lawyer until this whole mess and ordeal is done.”

 

“You don’t have her on retainer?”

 

The only reason he even knew what that was because of something Paul Levesque had explained to him when he had made a remark about the PG rating and some other such bullshit.  The WWE kept lawyers via retainer by paying a set monthly fee meant to cover any expenses incurred.  Lawyers sounded ridiculously overpriced for a few court dates.

 

“Do you even wash those glasses before you put them away, after using them?” That was his brand-new phobia surfacing, trying not to think about everything that could be living on unwashed glasses that traveled a lot, in a bag, with other things, potentially dirty things. “Here.” Jon gestured to the building, the liquor store. “This is the last stop, darlin’, after this it’s straight home.” So she’d better grab whatever she wanted now.

 

That was a weird set of questions he just tossed her way and Tressa was starting to see just how much this MRSA scare had affected Jon. “Yes, I clean them after I use them and then I wash them again before putting them in storage until I get my own place.  I already bought a curio cabinet, which is in storage as well, for when I get my own place, eventually.  And no, I got my own lawyer separate from the WWE.  I don’t want them involved, if I can help it.”

 

Stepping out of the car, she flicked her cigarette away since she lit another one up and finished it just as he pulled into the parking spot to the liquor store.  Maybe she wouldn’t buy a shot glass here since Jon’s phobia was on high alert.  She’d just wait until WWE was in Vegas again and then buy one.

 

Well if her husband’s family was going to draw the WWE into this mess, he figured that she might as well use the benefits of being a WWE employee and come out swinging.  Idiot people.  He let it all drop, browsing the aisles and wasn’t getting liquor since he had plenty, if he wanted to get messed up.  Jon was looking for trash bags, and a few other things he knew he needed at home.  His house was clean, but she was definitely going to notice all the small bottles of that antibacterial handwash that didn’t require water everywhere, and the cans of Lysol, the tissues…he wasn’t overly panicking about it.  Tressa knew he had issues now and she wasn’t exactly in a place to be judgmental about it either.  He just shrugged when they met at the cash register and her eyes swept his purchases.  She didn’t say a word and he didn’t comment on her two bottles of Absolut and lack of a shot glass.

 

Chapter 9

 

Tressa noticed the items Jon picked out and didn’t say a word, figuring he needed those things.  It was his house and, in all the years they had known each other, she’d never been to his place in Vegas.  They paid for their purchases and headed out with Jon finally making his way to his house.  The drive was made in silence, each in their own thoughts and when they pulled up to the huge house, Tressa’s eyes widened.  It was beautiful, on the outskirts of Vegas, about 10 minutes from the airport and strip.  She could still see the city lights somewhat, but they weren’t blinding, and it was in a private vicinity with other homes that looked just like his.  It was obvious this place was newly built, and Jon had capitalized on one of them.  Grabbing her Vodka and bag from the backseat, Tressa followed him up to the front door and stepped inside when he opened it for her.  Jon really did have a beautiful house and the décor screamed both him and bachelor.

 

Yeah it did.  It also screamed ‘been trapped via my own body for months’ because there were still signs he had been ill.  He had been let home after a while, under supervision, and there was still a faint, lingering trace of antiseptic in the air.  Jon hadn’t even been gone that long, back on the road, and coming in here smelling that…he groaned deeply.

 

“Come on, doll, I’ll show you to your room.”

 

Jon had thought, when he bought the place, he’d have friends over and entertain, party a little, but not so much.  He had discovered he valued his privacy too much.  Joe and Colby had been over a few times, usually when they were in the area for work and it was just easier to have them crash here then at a hotel, but other than that…nope.  He led the way, taking his time so she could look around and get familiar with the layout.  Jon counted six bottles of Purell, in various states of emptiness.

 

“Here.”

 

It was a nice enough guest room, basic queen-sized bed.  Dresser, private bath, all done in neutral shades because he never used this room.  Jon had just been amused with the idea of having a ‘guest room’, that had been something he had only heard about on TV.  He had never actually known someone to have such a room until he had started making serious money and house hunted.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Tressa didn’t bother looking around and just set her bag down on the floor by the bed, setting the brown paper bag with her sleeping remedy on top of it.  At least she had her own bathroom, so that was something.  There was no bottle of Purell in here, though she had noticed them throughout the house while Jon lead her here.  He really was a huge germaphobe, not that she blamed him.  After dealing with MRSA, she would have been too.  That was probably why he cut his hair short too, no longer having the shaggy look she adored. 

 

Now, Jon was clean-cut, thicker, and beefed up compared to what he used to be.  The man had a delicious body on him for sure, even Tressa wouldn’t deny that.  Jon left her be to go do whatever he needed to around his house and let her get settled in, giving her space.  She appreciated it, closing the door, and shut her eyes while tilting her head back, feeling the tears already starting up. 

 

This was getting old – she was sick and tired of crying and feeling miserable.

 

Jon went down to the kitchen to put away their take-out, his appetite long gone.  He would eat, eventually, just because he had too.  His size, his muscular build, meant he ate a lot of small, frequent meals when he could, especially when he was home.  Then it was unpacking his luggage and tossing things into baskets to be washed, or in the trash, and he washed the hell out of that healing cut again.  Stupid chair.

 

After an hour, and no sign of Tressa, he went to go knock on the bedroom door before poking his head in.  She was laying curled in the bed, crying, and he wasn’t the least bit surprised by it, not after that call she had received.  Quietly, he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, reaching out to place his hand on her hip and gently but firmly rolled her onto her back, bending over to stare into her tear-stained face.

 

She had changed into a black sleeveless nightshirt that went to her knees and kept her bra on, not feeling comfortable without it.  Not even in Jon’s house.  Tressa did warn him she would be awful company and he still insisted she stay with him.  Reaching out, she placed her hand on his since it was on her stomach and shut her eyes to take a couple deep, fortifying breaths.  The word ‘sorry’ was on the tip of her tongue, but she remembered what he said to her at the airport and bit it back.  With her free hand, she reached up to caress his bearded face, silent tears falling, not sure what to say to him in her current state.  He was checking up on her, though she hated the amount to concern in his eyes. 

 

There was also something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

 

Obviously, he was concerned, they were friends and she had gone through a series of traumatic events.  Now, just because the universe liked kicking people when they were down, she was being shoveled even more misery and pain by people who were supposed to be family, even if they were in-laws.  He reached out to take that brown bagged bottle off the nightstand and pulled it slowly out, Absolut.  Her ‘medicine’, he uncapped it, his eyes never leaving hers.  She was a mess.  She was a beautiful, despairing mess and those thoughts surprised him for about two seconds.

 

Jon had always been attracted to Tressa, though he hadn’t pursued her because she was married – happily married, and he had respected that.  It occurred to him, just then, that that had changed and was he a preying scumbag for thinking about that?  She had lost her husband, her unborn child, months before and here he was thinking about how beautiful she was, even at this point in her life.  He took a small sip of the vodka, bending down, his eyes searching hers intently. A second later, his vodka damp lips were on hers, coaxing her mouth open and he was passing that small shot to her, his tongue darting out to catch the drop that tried escaping the corner of her mouth.

 

It took her fuzzy brain a moment to register what was going on because Tressa had to clear out the misery and pain.  It took her several seconds to realize what was happening.  Jon was kissing her…Jonathan Good was kissing her!  Tressa felt the Vodka slide down her throat he passed to her, but he hadn’t stopped the kiss.  Christ, his lips were soft against hers and Tressa ignored the alarm bells ringing in her head, slowly returning the kiss.  It occurred to her this was a really bad idea. 

 

Her husband was dead, along with her unborn child, and here she was, after three months, kissing one of her best friends in life.  The grief, the loneliness is what fueled her not to break the kiss, however.  So many nights she had passed out because of a Vodka induced coma, still crying in her sleep and the nightmares…the nightmares plagued her.  Tressa desperately needed a distraction of some kind, anything to get her mind off the slew of crap her life had become in such a short amount of time.

 

This was wrong on a lot of different levels and Jon had no fucks to give.  He wasn’t about to dissect it, dissect himself, he already knew what he was going to find.  He was a scumbag, accepting that about himself, moving on.  She tasted like the vodka he had just passed her and there was that nicotine taste as well.  Smokers couldn’t avoid it, but he was a smoker too, so it didn’t faze him at all.  He just deepened the kiss, his tongue gliding against hers as his hands moved to hers, entwining their fingers together.  His body weight slowly pressed her into the mattress, feeling just how small and fragile she was beneath his much larger frame.

 

A soft moan escaped her as her fingers squeezed between his, the taste of him making her world spin off its axes.  It was intoxicating…he was so massive compared to her and it was oddly comforting.  The way his huge body aligned with hers on the bed, but he still kept his body weight off her, not wanting to completely crush her while they continued kissing.  What if Jon brought her here to get in her panties?  That thought briefly crossed her mind before she dismissed it, not caring either way. 

 

The truth also washed over her that Jon wanted her…how long had he felt this way?  Or was this just pity on his part?  Pity sex…Tressa wanted to push him off her and tell him to get out, but…her body was betraying her, along with her mind and shattered heart.  It was mostly her body telling her to do this, she needed this release, needed this reprieve from all the trauma she endured in recent months.  It helped a great deal she had obvious chemistry with Jon because their lips slid together perfectly and they both used just enough tongue to emanate sounds of pleasure from both parties.

 

Pity sex it was not, this was just a man kissing a woman and the fact that her life was shit right now was unfortunately just a thing.  Not the driving force behind this at all.  No pity, no concern, just him finally doing what he had longed to do for years, and the situations around her just meant his timing was horrible.  Correlation did not necessarily mean causation.  And, to be perfectly honest, Jon wasn’t exactly a guy who had to go trawling for pussy, it was regularly thrown his way.  Bringing someone home just to get into their grieving panties, no.  Even he, for all his flaws and had plenty go around, was not big of an asshole.  Tearing his lips from hers, Jon began kissing down her jawline, bringing a hand up to move her hair aside so he could get to her neck. He ran his tongue over her pulse point, feeling it going a mile a minute before moving up to her ear, tracing his tongue along the shell.

 

Her heavy breathing was the only sign she gave Jon she was enjoying this.  Sliding her fingers over his very short hair and arching her neck into his lips and tongue was also surefire signs.  Her eyes remained closed, relishing and drinking in the feeling of him against her.  It could all end abruptly, though Tressa didn’t plan on ending this anytime soon.  She enjoyed the distraction and attention too much, as horrible as that sounded. 

 

For months, she had been alone, sleeping alone, hardly talking to anyone and now…now Jon was back in her life again.  If he wanted to help her through this hard time in her life, so be it.  Jon moved from one side of her neck, across her throat, to the other side, nipping, suckling and exploring.  His hands never left hers, keeping her pinned against the mattress and Tressa writhed beneath him, her toes curling and wave after wave of warmth washed over her.  Her panties were soaked by now too.

 

Gradually, he was moving lower, kissing, and tasting what he could over and through her clothes.  He had to let go of a hand, bringing his own up to start tugging her night shirt up over her stomach, bunching it just beneath her breasts.  Jon lowered himself down that tiny body, running the tip of his nose down the middle of her stomach, feeling her inhaling sharply when his lips finally caressed flushed skin just above her panty line.  He could smell her arousal, feel the heat emanating from her and it elicited a low groan of longing from him.

 

“J-Jon…” Tressa finally stammered his name out through heavy breathing, watching those smoldering ocean blues look up at her and she felt her throat lock up for a second or two. 

 

Was this really happening?  Were they really going to have sex?  Her tongue slid out to wet her dry, swollen lips while staring down at him, seeing the burning question in his eyes.  Should he continue?  Pushing herself up more, since he’d released both of her hands the lower he went, Tressa pulled the rest of her nightshirt over her head to toss it to the carpeted floor.  That left her clad in a cotton black bra and dark blue cotton bikini panties.  There were no matching undergarments, she just threw on whatever she could find in her bag.  Tressa had also showered, so her hair was slightly damp, and her body smelled of Dove bodywash, her favorite. 

 

Taking his hands, she planted them at the waistband of her panties before laying back and lifted her backside for him to slide them all the way down and off.  Then, he proceeded to kiss his way back up one leg and then did the other…Tressa was glad she had decided to shave since she hadn’t in a while.  She even trimmed up a bit downstairs since it was bushy as hell and for hygiene purposes.  Never in a million years did she think THIS would happen between her and Jon!

 

“Fuck, that feels so good…” Her tears had dried up and nothing was on her mind except the man pleasuring her and making her feel incredible.

 

Tressa wasn’t telling him no.  If anything, she was encouraging him to continue on, to go further.  She probably needed this after drinking herself to sleep for months on end, that loneliness and bitterness along with her grief, she probably needed this.  To feel close to someone, even if it was just briefly.  Why not him?  He was someone she knew, someone she trusted, and he would never hurt her.  She had to know that, right?  Jon let his palms skim down her ribs until they reached her hips, her beautiful thighs already spread for him, revealing her glistening sex to him.  Without a second thought or doubt, he lowered his head, finally tasting her and was instantly an addict.

 

Her thighs trembled and her pussy was practically crying out in relief.  She hadn’t been touched since Joseph’s death, so it had been almost four months.  Now, she was used to going a week or two without sex, but Tressa had a high sex drive.  Not so much these days due to her grief and sadness. 

 

Chapter 10

 

Jon had changed that the moment his mouth plundered hers, kissing her and giving her a shot of Vodka in the process. 

 

She didn’t know what possessed Jon to do this and refused to question it, just going with her natural instincts. “Ooohhhh…” She moaned out, reaching up with one hand to grab her breast while her other hand tried to grab onto his hair.  Instead, she just caressed it and urged him on, gently grinding her pussy against his mouth to make the moment that much more intense. “I-I need to cum…make me cum, Jon…oh god…”

 

He didn’t know himself what had made him do this.  Jon had just been staring at her and now he was buried face first in her delectable pussy. “Oh, I will darlin’…” He promised in his raspy voice, his mustache and beard soaked with her juices.  

 

Watching her flushed face, he slid two fingers into her core, his teeth gnashing when he felt her walls coming down around them greedily.  She hadn’t had sex in quite a while, that was obvious from the way her body was responding, like it had been starved.  Giving her a few seconds to get used to the size of his fingers before moving them in and out of her, his mouth returned to pleasuring her bundle of nerves.

 

Deprived. 

 

Her body WAS starved for attention and affection, needing this climax to tear through her more than the air she breathed. “Fuck…right there…oh god, right there don’t stop…” Jon was flicking his tongue repeatedly against her clit and he’d found the spot that would surely drive her over the edge.  It took her body a little while to build up, but eventually, Jon had to hold her down as she cried out, her climax rocketing through her to spill her juices in his willing mouth. “Oh god, JOE!”  The combination of his fingers and tongue wreaked havoc on her body.  What she didn’t realize was the name she just cried out, her eyes tightly shut and her body quaking from head to toe, coated in a thin layer of perspiration.

 

Oh. My. God. Jon kept his face right there in her pussy, his eyes closed as he let her come down from her orgasm.  

 

Joe.  

 

She had called her dead husband’s name and Jon wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that, or even what he should feel.  It made sense.  She had probably been envisioning her husband pleasuring her, she missed the guy.  Inwardly sighing, he kissed her thigh before pulling away, running a hand down his soaked face, and moved to sit on the end of the bed.

 

“Going to make it, kitten?” He asked quietly, glancing down at her heaving body, his blue eyes guarded.

 

“S-Sure Daddy, give me a minute…” Tressa breathed in return, trying to take deep breaths to slow her heartrate and slowly opened her eyes to stare up at the ceiling, a soft smile on her face.  She slowly sat up, her thighs quivering from the aftermath of her climax and looked at Jon, seeing he was very tense. “Jon?  What’s wrong?” Was it not good for him?  Did she taste funky? “I-I know I’m not…well-groomed down there, but…fuck, I didn’t expect that to happen between us…” At all. “W-Why did you kiss me anyway?” Christ, she was trying to get her breathing back to normal and reached out to touch his hand, but Jon pulled away. “Jon…”

 

Jon was actually laughing, softly, shaking his head. “Not groomed well?” He chuckled, wondering if she was serious.  

 

She was a grown ass woman who had trimmed everything up; he didn’t expect her to be shaved bare like some twenty something Barbie doll.  Jon rather preferred her this way, all natural.  Such a weird thought to have, though…it was also kind of good, he supposed.

 

“You’re grooming is fine, darlin’.” Calling out Joseph’s name, not so much.  His ego had taken a slight knock via a man who was dead and, Lord help him he knew that was a bad thought to have, but there it was. “I kissed you because you looked like you needed a drink, Tres,” He winked at her, standing up, knowing he was going to have to suck it up for her sake. “You ready to get out of that bed or do you need another minute?”

 

Something wasn’t right.  Even though Jon was joking around with her, he was still tense after what happened between them.  Did he regret being with her?  That was a possibility.  Tressa decided to test the waters and stood up from the bed to stand in front of him, slowly sliding her finger down the length of his sweaty, muscular chest.

 

“Now this can’t just be about me, Daddy.  You went down on me, so allow me to return the favor to you.”

 

She pressed a finger to his lips before he could protest while her hand snaked into the basketball shorts he had changed into.  Much easier access than the jeans he usually had on.  He was already hardening in her hand and she pressed soft kisses down his chest and back up again.

 

“Sit on the bed, Jon.” It would be a lot easier for her to do this instead of him standing. “And drop these shorts before you sit down.”

 

Now here was the dilemma, did he want to let her suck him off when those beautiful, pursed lips had just called another man’s name?  Jon was a male and the answer was a definite yes.  Hell, even if his mind would have been saying no, which it wasn’t, his body was already letting him know it was a done deal.  His hands were undoing his shorts, pushing them and his boxer briefs down his strong, muscular hips.  Aware her eyes were on his sizeable appendage, -no bragging, it was just a fact- he shucked them to the side before slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed, his blue eyes fastened on her face.

 

He didn’t push her away and now Tressa was put on the spot, mentally cursing for assuming he hadn’t enjoyed what happened between them.  Jon was such a beautiful man, chiseled out of stone and she took a few moments to appreciate him in all his naked glory.  Needing some liquid courage to do this, since she wasn’t a big fan of sucking dick, Tressa held up her hand in a one finger gesture and cracked it open, taking a long swig from the Absolut.  Then, she took another and walked back over, this time straddling Jon to feed him a drink of her own.  She sincerely hoped Jon didn’t think anything beyond sex would happen between them.  Joe had her heart in that six-foot-deep grave and no other man would be able to take it, not right now anyway.

 

“You looked like you could use a drink, Daddy.” She murmured against his lips, feeling his hand land on her backside to squeeze the flesh and smirked, her lips starting to trail fire down his jaw, throat and chest, making her way to her knees for the blowjob.

 

Well, she didn’t have to worry about him looking for love.  When he had first met her, before finding out she was married, he had definitely been interested in exploring the obvious chemistry between them, but…Joseph had been in the picture, so he had settled for being her somewhat flirty, somewhat always watching friend.  Whatever thoughts of all that changing that he may have had these last few days, she had kiboshed only minutes ago.  Jon tasted the vodka on his tongue long after he had swallowed it, his eyes darkening as he watched that caramel, chestnut hair moving lower and lower, his cock pulsating when he felt her dropping a kiss on the tip.

 

This was such a horrible thought to have, but Jon was A LOT bigger than Joseph.  She wasn’t used to being with a man who was THIS well-endowed.  Tressa thought Joseph was, but NOTHING compared to Jon.  She was going to hell.  She was going to hell with a big blue bow tied around her neck.  Jon kept himself well-groomed, so she wasn’t flossing with his pubic hair, which was a plus in her book.  Her tongue ran along his hardened cock, up and down, like a popsicle before sucking on the tip.  Even though she was only able to take half of his cock in her mouth, Tressa thanked the stars for not having gag reflexes and began driving as much of him as she could in and out of her mouth.  The sounds of his groans and growls told her she was doing a great job and continued, wanting him to explode in her mouth.

 

No, she was doing a STELLAR job.  She was getting straight A’s and a slew of gold stars in blowjobs.  Jon didn’t care she couldn’t take him all, he felt her wrapping her hand around him, between the base of his cock and where her lips ended their downward slide when she bobbed on him, her hand now working right along with her delicious mouth.  He wanted to grab her hair and fist it, feeling those tresses, but he didn’t.  Instead, he gripped the edge of the bed, his knuckles going white.

 

“Just like that, kitten’…” He rumbled down at her, his eyes nothing more than hazy slits of pleasure. “Jesus Christ, Tressa…”

 

The sound of her name flowing out of his mouth did something to Tressa and she reached beneath to start fondling his balls.  It just added to the pleasure of the moment for him.  And if that wasn’t enough, she pulled back a bit to start humming around his cock, sending vibrations straight throughout his body.  Within minutes, Jon was roaring out her name again and exploding in her very willing, greedy mouth, his seed shooting right down her throat. 

 

Tressa was never fond of the taste of cum, but Jon didn’t taste too bad, not too salty, thankfully.  She continued pumping him in and out of her mouth, sucking on the tip and felt his cock grow limp before finally releasing him completely.  Tressa leaned back on her haunches, wiping the corner of her mouth with the pad of her thumb and watched Jon fall back on the bed in a sweaty, heaving mess.  Rising to her feet, she grabbed her bottle again to take another swig, needing a cool down.

 

Yeah, he was having aftershocks, his entire body thrumming and occasionally convulsing as the pleasure tingled throughout him.  His balls felt considerably more empty, and almost painful, she had literally sucked every last drop out of him and he sort of regret the tequila, lime and especially the salt, wondering if that had been gross for her.  Wondering if she had been comparing his dick to Joseph’s, pretending he was the dead man.  Whatever, he wasn’t going to go down that road because it wouldn’t lead anywhere good.  They had both gotten their rocks off, regardless of who they were envisioning and that was good enough.

 

“Now I’m really starving, kitten.” He laughed harshly, rolling onto his side.

 

“Better go eat before you waste away then, Daddy.” Tressa plopped on the bed precariously and laid on her side, still in her bra since that hadn’t been removed.  Jon had moved up to lay his head on the pillow, so she was staring down at him and reached out to caress his chest, kissing his shoulder. “I don’t know what brought this on between us, but…I want you to know I don’t regret it and I don’t feel guilty.  I thought I would because of Joe, but I don’t.” Joseph was dead and gone, she was still alive and had to live her life without him.  If that meant indulging in occasional sex with Jon or someone else, just for a distraction, she would do it. “And I’m glad it was you I had my first sexual experience with, after Joe, instead of a stranger because I trust you and you’re my best friend, Jon.” Turning his face to meet her eyes, she softly brushed her lips against his. “Thank you for helping me get my mind off everything for a while.”

 

“No problem,” He grinned at Tressa, licking his lips wickedly. “I don’t usually have dessert first, but… I think I could start making exceptions.” He took her hand and dropped a kiss to the back of it before rolling out of the bed and stretching his arms over his head. “You should come try eating something, Tres.” He said quietly, the humor fading.  Jon wasn’t surprised that she shook her head no. “I’m bringing you the broth anyway, darlin’.” He called over his shoulder as he walked out the room, the smile dropping from his face once in the hallway.  

 

Yeah, it was all perfectly natural, her calling her dead husband’s name.  She loved the guy, still wished he was there, Jon got it.  Admittedly, hearing what she had just said, about getting her mind off of everything, that bothered him when it was so obviously clear he hadn’t.  Tressa didn’t know there was a problem and redressed, not needing to stay naked any longer.  Jon only wanted foreplay and she was fine with it.  Sex was sex, whether it was with the tongue or cock.  She looked up at the ceiling, now that she was alone and closed her eyes, taking a sip from the bottle of Absolut.  This was all the food she needed right now as she stood up from the bed to walk over to stare out the window.

 

“If you’re angry with me, I don’t care, baby.  I miss you so fucking much and I’m doing what I can to survive this, to get through this.  If that means I drink myself into a stupor every night.  If that means I have sex, of any kind, with another man in order to get through the pain of you being gone…I’m going to do it.  I love you, and I will ALWAYS love you.” Tears formed in her eyes. “But you’re not here anymore…and I have to go on living without you.” Her voice cracked. “And I don’t know how else to do it besides booze and now sex…” Another swallow of Vodka went down, and she blinked her tears away, pulling away from the window to sit back on the bed.

 

Jon had pulled a pair of loose basketball shorts on from his bedroom, a quick detour before heading downstairs.  He grabbed the remote to his stereo system and hit play, the last station blaring throughout the downstairs.  He was smoking a cigarette, microwaving her broth, which looked terrible, but smelled delicious, while eyeballing his now soggy sub.  Whatever, he was starving.  And thirsty.  Leaving the kitchen, he headed for his bar, eyeballing it.

 

If Tressa wanted to get fucked up, for free, she was in the right house for it.

 

Chapter 11

 

Hearing the music downstairs, Tressa shut her door to drown it out and leaned her head back against the headboard, reaching for the remote on the nightstand to turn the television on.  It was a good thing there was a television in here or else she’d be bored out of her mind, even though she could’ve taken her laptop out.  Now that the passion haze from her mind was gone, Tressa was thinking clearly again, mostly, and wondered if being sexual with Jon was the right thing to do. 

 

They were best friends – the last thing she wanted to do was destroy their friendship with sex.  Maybe she would find someone else, someone who didn’t mean much to her, to have her sexual escapades when she needed the release.  She didn’t feel guilty over being sexual with another man, but with Jon…there was legitimate fear of ruining their friendship.  Losing Joseph and her unborn child was enough, Tressa couldn’t handle losing anyone else in her life.

 

Not bothering to turn off the music, Jon was back up in her room soon enough, glancing at the TV.  He had a TV in every room, though he used them more often for background noise than anything.  Very rarely did he find something he wanted to watch, and he was usually on the road so games he wanted to catch had to be DVR’d or something.

 

“Here.” He set the now warm bowl of broth down on the bedside stand, right by the vodka.  She could mix the two and he’d call that a win. “Just a little bit, Tres.  Please.” He flashed her what most would consider to be a boyish, charming grin.

 

“No…”

 

Tressa was not hungry.  What didn’t he understand about that?  However, those deep pale blues begging, pleading, with her to at least sip a little bit of the broth…she couldn’t say no to him.  Not really.  Jon had a way of getting her to do what she didn’t want to do.  Sighing heavily, she grabbed the broth, swapping the Vodka for it and gave him a sour look.

 

“Just a few sips.” She didn’t know if she’d be able to keep anything else down and took one sip of it from the spoon.  The warmth sliding down her throat actually felt good and Jon sat with her, having his sandwich in his lap on a plate. “How do you do it?” She asked, once she finished the entire bowl of broth and set it on the nightstand, feeling a lot better than she did before. “How do you flash those damn blue eyes at me, and I do whatever you ask me to do?  It’s not fair, you have some kind of witchcraft going on, Daddy.”

 

“It’s cause I’m lucky,” He teased, pointing at his favorite hat.  Jon had spotted it on the downstairs bathroom counter and snatched it up, sitting a bit crooked, but…favorite, lucky hat. “Proof.” He gestured to her bowl, smirking slightly. “Though, if you throw up on me, I’m going to be a bit peeved, darlin’.” He popped the last bit of his sandwich into his mouth, eyes straying to the TV before back to her. “What the hell are you watching?  That’s not that Kardashian show, is it?” His eyes narrowed at her, though his lips quirked into a slight smirk.

 

“Are you kidding me?  I wouldn’t be caught DEAD watching that trash!” Tressa shook her finger at him, not reaching for her Vodka and patted the bed beside her for him to join. “This show is amazing, by the way.  It’s the Big Bang Theory.” 

 

She draped her arm over his chest and curled up against him, his arm wrapping around her.  Why did she get the feeling Jon wouldn’t be leaving her alone very often?  Maybe bringing up what happened between them wasn’t the best idea.  She just wouldn’t be sexual towards him going forward and if he tried kissing her or something, then Tressa would tell him it couldn’t happen again.

 

“Mmm, the one with the nerds?” Following a TV series was pretty much impossible in their line of work.  Jon wondered, and was it morbid or obsessive to wonder, if this was something she had watched with Joe? “Can I watch it with you, doll?”

 

He had a pint of tequila in the pocket of his shorts, it had even short of weighed that side of the garment down, but he saw no reason to break it out.  This was the first time since coming back on the road that Jon had seen Tressa showing even a hint of something resembling the woman he had known.  He wasn’t about to break out the alcohol or ruin this seemingly good mood.  When she nodded, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head and folded his other arm behind his head.

 

This was one of the many shows she had watched with Joseph prior to his death.  They had a slew of shows they DVR’d and would watch whenever they were home together.  That was something Tressa wouldn’t divulge to anyone, not even Jon, and she wouldn’t stop watching their shows just because Joseph was gone.  She loved the shows and knew Joseph would want her to keep watching them in honor of him.  Laughing at the episode on, Tressa let out a soft yawn against Jon’s chest and felt him chuckle as well, the low rumble vibrating his chest.  His warmth combined with a full belly not full of alcohol, Tressa felt her eyes drift shut and soon, she was out like a light.  Jon didn’t immediately realize Tressa had fallen asleep on him; he had actually gotten interested in the show.  It was after another full episode had passed that he realized she was out.  Carefully, he shifted, trying to scoot her beneath the sheet and frowned when she gripped at him tighter.

 

“Shhh, I got you, darlin’.” He whispered soothingly, bringing a hand up to gently caress the side of her face.  A proper sleep, without alcohol to knock her out, he would bet his life she hadn’t had one those in a long time.  He pulled a face when he heard her ragged whisper of ‘Joe’, feeling his heart twinging for her. “I’m here.” He rumbled, pulling her a little closer and let his head rest against hers.

 

The moment she heard those words, her body sagged and she relaxed, an almost relieved smile crossing her sleeping face.  She would fall asleep on Joseph whenever they were home together just like this, wrapped in his strong arms. “I love you, baby.” She whispered in her sleep, never calling a man that nickname besides her husband. 

 

Joseph was her baby and always would be, no matter what.  His arms tightened around her and Tressa continued to sleep like the dead, no more talking, just gentle, even breathing.  This was indeed the first night in almost four months since she’d gone to sleep without being in an alcohol-induced coma.  She was finally getting a proper, full night sleep.

 

Eventually, when he went out with his Joe and Colby, and he got buzzed enough to tell them about this -years from now-, they were going to tell him what he already knew.  He was a fucking sap, an idiot who carried a torch for the wrong woman.  Jon had been that way since day one and now – now he was willing to pretend to be a dead man just so she could sleep.

 

Nice one, Good. He mentally chided himself, hoping when Tressa woke up, she didn’t panic or have a spaz attack on him.

 

Shutting his eyes, Jon inhaled her scent before letting that lull him off, pushing all those negative thoughts out of mind.

 

~!~

 

Back to work after 2 days of Vegas fresh air was exactly what Tressa needed. 

 

She had called Clementine earlier that morning and told her what her decision was.  She was going to fight.  Those assholes weren’t getting a damn thing, not unless it was over her own dead body!  Joseph’s family had pushed her over the limit and, thanks to Jon, she had stopped drinking Vodka for two days straight to clean herself out.  Or start the process, at least.  Staying with Jon was the best decision she could have made for herself.  It was good for her to be around someone who cared about her and wanted to help her, who was there for her. 

 

No other sexuality happened between Jon and Tressa, and he didn’t push for anything more.  It made her wonder if maybe Jon had regretted what happened between them, which would make sense.  Nevertheless, it was time to get back to work and leave all the personal crap at the door.  They parted ways as soon as they walked inside the arena, promising to meet up later that night in the parking lot.  Jon made it abundantly clear he didn’t want Tressa being alone right now and, honestly, she didn’t want to be either.

 

“You look like…shit.” Colby remarked when he spotted the big man coming, raising a brown eyebrow at the grimace that crossed Jon’s face. “What’s your damage?”

 

“I’m on my period.” Jon quipped, then regretted it when Joe, who was married, whacked him upside his head. “You dick…”

 

“Don’t be sexist, asshole.”

 

Grunting, he reached back to rub the spot, blue eyes narrowing.  Tressa hadn’t drank once since that first time and he had even managed to get her to eat some proper solid food.  Not much, but if she had been starving herself -even unintentionally- her appetite would eventually correspond to what her body considered to be the new normal.  He was patient, this was a process, and he just hoped that this progress continued now that they were back on the road.

 

“We know you know what’s going on with Tres, bro.” Joe accused, folding his massive arms in front of his chest and eyeballed his brother in arms. “There’s no way you invited her back to your place in Vegas, your sanctuary, without a reason.”

 

“It’s nobody’s fucking business and I’m not saying what it is.  It’s not my place, man.” Jon snapped, not in the mood to deal with the nagging from his best friends. “Look, Tres is going through something…bad.  And no, I’m not saying what it is.  Just know I’m handling it and leave it at that.  I gotta go tape up.”

 

Colby and Joe watched him walk away, sharing looks with each other and wondered if Jon realized the absolute sour look he had on his face. “Think something happened between them?”

 

“Man, Tres is married.  I don’t think she’s the type to cheat and Jon wouldn’t fuck that up.” Joe stated confidently, shaking his head. “No, something bad happened…and I think if we’re going to get answers, we need to go straight to the source.”

 

“You mean corner Tressa?  Think that’s a good idea, big man?”

 

Joe wasn’t sure, stroking his goatee thoughtfully. “Let me think on it.”

 

No, that wasn’t a good idea and Colby shook his head. “No, don’t bother her.  If she wanted us to know, she would have told us.”

 

Considering they had been on the road all this time, while Jon hadn’t until recently.  Even though they were all friends, it was undeniable that Jon and Tressa were the closest out of the bunch, they had naturally gravitated towards each other.  If not for her being married, Colby bet that their natural course would have been to hook up.

 

“And… he’ll fucking rip both our heads off if we upset her, including yours, big man.” Joe might’ve had some muscles on Jon, but if Jon went off his rocker, as he was occasionally wont to do, there just wasn’t any stopping him.

 

He was a formidable force.

 

“Mmm… yeah, you’re probably right.” Joe sounded doubtful though, shaking his head. “I just wish she’d open up to us, at least give us something… so we’re not worrying about her all the time…”

 

~!~

 

“Hey, lass…”

 

Tressa tensed at the sound of that Scottish accented voice behind her and slowly turned her head to look up at none other than Andrew Galloway.  The WWE Universe and fans knew him as Drew McIntyre, ‘The Scottish Psychopath’.  She personally thought his gimmick was lame, just like him, but was smart not to voice it out loud.

 

“What can I do for you, Andrew?” She asked reluctantly, blinking when he tossed his tights down on her table and, thankfully, they were washed.

 

“Need these fixed, why else would I be here?”

 

“Okay…” Tressa lifted them to survey the damage, tilting her head at the tiny hole right in the crotch area and inwardly groaned.  Great. “I can patch it at best because of the area the problem is in.  Would that work for you?” Hopefully, the man had more than one pair of trunks to wear for the house show tonight.

 

Andrew smirked, bending down to be eyelevel with her and placed a hand on her knee. “Sure, lass.  As long as the job is done properly.” He squeezed a little too hard, giving her a blatant warning not to screw up.

 

Tressa narrowed her eyes at him and shoved his hand off her knee, abruptly turning to face her table with her back to him. “It will be.”

 

Tressa was a fine-looking woman, or at least she had been.

 

She was so…withdrawn lately, even he had noticed it and he was usually pretty wrapped up in his own world.  But when there was a lead seamstress, most of the boys -and of course the ladies of the WWE- dealt with her at one point or another, eventually, people started noticing things.  There were the usual rumors of course, that she was a junkie, an alcoholic…problems at home.  Then she had disappeared with Jon Good almost as soon as the man came back and gossip was definitely flying.  One could not travel and work with people the majority of the year, spend most of their waking hours with people, and not eventually start poking around and getting curious.  It was just human nature.

 

“Aye, it will.” He smirked, stroking his chin before walking away, his mind turning over the slight attitude she had given him.  Well, that was different, she had been so monotone and blank for months.

 

Andrew did love a spirited lass.

 

Narrowing her eyes at his retreating form, Tressa shook her head and tossed his tights to the side, deciding she would get to them LAST.  She did not appreciate when wrestlers, who thought they were too big for their britches, and hadn’t even paid their dues in the business, came up to her demanding their attire to be fixed or done.  Nope.  She had worked for this company nearly a decade and had gained the respect of every single person, whether she liked them or not and vice versa. 

 

Chapter 12

 

Andrew thought he was the king in the WWE and she hoped someone knocked him off that damn pedestal of his sooner rather than later.  Grabbing Natalya’s gear, she fired up her machine and proceeded to get to work.  Andrew would be lucky if he got his tights back by the end of the night; Tressa was a busy woman after all.

 

Tressa wasn’t the only seamstress, there was a ‘crew’ of them, and if his tights were not completed in a timely manner, he was going to ensure she got a good ‘what for’.  Of course, he had a few spare tights, that would just be stupid if he didn’t.  Working nearly every night, traveling constantly, sometimes laundry got shuffled off to the wayside until they were able to stop and take a breather.  Andrew was not about to work every night in unwashed tights that had sweat build-up in them, no thanks, he liked his bits and bobs un-funky.

 

“Darlin’, you need a cigarette break.” Jon announced himself with that, bending down to watch her running her machine.  He had gone and had a talk with officials, ignored his friends until they decided to talk shop, and now…now he was bothering her.

 

Well, checking in on her anyway.

 

She couldn’t pull her hands away from the material that was going through the sewing machine until the line was done.  Jon waited patiently and she finished before turning it off, having handed Andrew’s tights over to one of the other seamstresses.  There were a few others she had delegated work to since she couldn’t do every single thing.  There was a ‘crew’ of them – three seamstresses, to be exact.  WWE didn’t really put much money into the seamstress department, unfortunately.  A lot of the Superstars were responsible for their own gear, though the company did provide SOME things.  Mostly though, Superstars had their gear made and if something happened to it or it needed altered, that was what the seamstress team was here for.

 

“Okay, okay…” She grumbled, standing from her chair, and turned to stare in those deep blues, taking his hand when he extended it.

 

Honestly, Tressa hadn’t heard about any of the rumors and gossip going on about her and Jon.  She didn’t care either.  They were best friends and had known each other a very long time, since Jon’s debut in the company, practically.  Hell, Jon wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch his gear except her.  She had been the Shield’s personal angel seamstress and both Joe and Colby didn’t go to anyone else in the crew either.  Only her.  It was one of the reasons she was the lead seamstress because the Shield boys had credited her so much and given her plenty of positive feedback through the company.  Not to mention, she had been there over 10 years, whereas the rest of the crew were still fairly new at only a few years.  People could gossip and talk all they wanted; her and Jon knew the truth of what they were, what was going on and that was all that mattered.

 

Or so Tressa THOUGHT she knew what was going on between them.

 

“You look irritated.” Jon commented once they were outside the building.  Not near the entrance ways or where fans could get them, but a little alcove off the truck parking lot.  They were nestled between two trucks with their trailers in the docking bay, the arena right behind them, so almost total privacy, if one could ignore the various sounds from everything going on around them. “Someone getting on your nerves already, Tres?”

 

Considering the majority of superstars were responsible for their own crap, unless they were given a very specific costume -that made him grimace because turtlenecks came to mind- when some wrestlers did use the seamstresses, they were total cocks about it.  Jon never understood that mindset, being rude just for discourtesy.  Considering these people could very easily have a wardrobe mishap out in the ring, he didn’t see the wisdom in baiting the person who helped make sure that didn’t happen.

 

Lighting up her cigarette the same time as Jon, Tressa took a long drag and shrugged, not sure if she should tell him all of her problems.  This wasn’t really a problem so much as an annoyance.  She had bigger things to worry about and shook her head, cracking the barest hint of a smile.  It was still hard for her to smile, but Jon did make it a little easier to do.

 

“Just people thinking their shit don’t stink and approaching me, demanding me and my crew to get to their gear first.” Andrew wasn’t the only one they had to deal with tonight. “These people don’t seem to grasp the concept that it takes TIME and EFFORT to get these costumes fixed and ready.  And if we don’t take our time, we’ll fuck something up and then it’s on us for doing a shoddy job.” She took another drag, flicking ash away and leaned against the building. “How’s your night going?”

 

“Oh come on, kitten, if China can whip this shit out in 5 minutes or less-” Jon ducked away from her when she actually tried slapping him, his cigarette dangling from his bottom lip as he laughed. “Not funny?” He teased, fingers coming up to said cigarette, exhaling a smoke ring over her head.  She shook her head in response and he didn’t blame her, some of these people were assholes. “My night is fine, ate, spoke with management, know what I’m doing.” It was simple, easy…and he got to beat up the people who annoyed him, unlike her.

 

“You’re such an ass, Daddy!” She growled good-naturedly, whacking him in the arm for good measure and let smoke exhale out of her nostrils. 

 

China…they were cheapskates and did NOT know what real quality was all about.  Tressa did her job correctly, which was why it took more than 5 minutes to complete a task.  Patchwork was a bitch to perform – anything regarding sewing and knitting…or even creating costumes.  The women, for the most part, were understanding unlike the men, who wanted their stuff done immediately, like Andrew Galloway.  He was in for a surprise when he came back and discovered his tights were in the hands of one of the newer seamstresses instead of the lead and that made a smirk curve her lips.

 

“At least it’s a house show and not a televised event.  I know how much you love house shows.”

 

“Yeah, I don’t have to worry about management busting my balls due to the censors.”

 

Jon had grown up watching wrestling and he had missed all the ‘fun’ stuff from the WWE.  He loved it now, he was just a little miffed that, by the time he had made it here, there were so many rules and regulations, what one could and couldn’t do, what one could and couldn’t say.  It was kind of like being in high school, only he got paid for beating up the other kids.

 

The wrestlers were given free reign, mostly, on house shows and hardly anything was scripted.  They didn’t matter.  House shows were just a way to experiment and see who gelled well together in the ring and who didn’t.  They weren’t televised events and, essentially, had nothing to do with them, as weird as it sounded.  Even with social media outlets and the Internet, Vince McMahon really didn’t care about house shows so much as Raw and Smackdown! due to ratings.

 

“Who are you facing tonight anyway?” When he said Drew McIntyre, her entire body tensed up briefly before another drag of her cigarette calmed her down again. “Oh.” That wasn’t surprising considering it was Summerslam weekend and Jon would be in Seth’s corner while Andrew would be in Nick’s -Dolph Ziggler- corner for their match. “You guys have a lot of media going on this weekend.” Jon was going to be BUSHED by the time it was all said and done.

 

“Yeah I know, trainers said I should use one of those hand strengthening exercisers to get back into ‘signing’ form.” The trainers thought they were comedians, he snorted, leaning back against the wall and studied Tressa intently. “What was that for?” He asked curiously, his head cocking to the side, blue eyes thoughtful. “I said McIntyre and you got… stiff.” Hmm, his gaze hardened just a fraction, though the easy smile never left his face. “He giving you problems tonight, doll?”

 

“N-No, no not at all.  Nobody is giving me problems, Jon.” Sometimes, he was a little too overprotective of her and it’d been like since the day they became friends. “Well, besides Joseph’s family, but you already know about all of that.” Her court date was scheduled for the following month and Tressa was looking forward to putting an end to this issue with them once and for all. “I need to head back inside and get back to work.” Flicking the cigarette to the side, she blew the smoke out from her final drag and placed a hand on his chest. “Have a good match tonight, be careful and I’ll see you later.  Thanks for the break.” She headed back inside to go back to work, really hoping Jon was careful in his match tonight against Andrew.

 

Jon reached out and grabbed the back of Tressa’s shirt, pulling her right back out that door and pinned her gently but firmly to the brick wall between the docking bays. “Now, kitten,” He dropped what was left of his cigarette to the ground, putting it out with his toe. “You either need to become a better liar,” He traced a finger down her nose and then down her lips. “Or just don’t bother.  What’d he do?”

 

She had stuttered, on top of tensing up when he had said the other man’s name.  If the Scottish douchebag was giving her problems, Jon was going to use her high-powered sewing machine to sew Andrew’s daddy bags together, his eyes glinting wickedly at the thought.  Tressa didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but she sucked just the tip of his finger between her lips and nipped it, going against what she’d vowed to herself.

 

“He didn’t do anything to me.  He was just a little…intimidating, but that’s who McIntyre is.”

 

There was no way in hell she was telling Jon about how the Scottish man had put his hand on her knee and squeezed it a little too hard.  There was already a slight bruise forming on her knee, not that she noticed it because it didn’t hurt.  Reaching up, she cupped Jon’s face in her soft hand, her grey eyes shining with truth.

 

“I’m not lying to you, okay?  He didn’t do anything wrong; he’s just an intimidating guy and he’s weirded me out since he came to the main roster from NXT.  That’s on me, not him.” Joe had done the same thing to her until she got to know him, with the help of Jon, and realized just what a big teddy bear he is. “Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill, Daddy.”

 

Tressa was exactly a foot shorter than he was and Jon decided he didn’t care for the height difference right now.  It was already dark enough out here without adding him having to bend down just to get a proper read of her face.  Without thinking twice, Jon’s large hands were on her waist, lifting her up until she was nearly eyelevel with him, her back against the wall and he felt Tressa wrapping her legs around him out of instinct, and probably a desire to not be dropped.

 

“He’s a pussy and if he’s giving you trouble, you need to let me know.” So he could remind Andy boy that manners were a real thing these days.

 

Her arms draped on his broad shoulders and she began massaging the back of his neck, just like she did whenever they were on a plane.  A calming mechanism. “You’re too overprotective of me.  I’ve told you this many times.  I can take care of myself, Jon.” It was a very long way down, a foot nearly, so of course she wrapped her legs around him, even though he would never drop her.  Maybe act like he would, playfully, but never maliciously. “He wasn’t rude to me.” Much. “Just intimidating, and it’s not his fault because he is a big guy.”

 

Braun Strowman, for instance, was a MONSTER and they called him the Monster Among Men for a reason.  The man was the sweetest giant and never had a bad thing to say about anyone, however.  Andrew just came off as…intense and intimidating.

 

“There’s no trouble, okay?  So, don’t go flying off the deep-end, ‘Lunatic Fringe’.”

 

Jon was half-convinced that Andrew had bulked up the ‘good old-fashioned’ now illegal way.  The man had been…small and scrappy, though tall, when he had first come on the scene.  Now he was a goddamn monster. “Mmm…” He wasn’t convinced though…Jon was also becoming acutely aware that he had her pressed up against him, and if he tipped his hips just right…whoa, down there, he mentally coached himself.

 

“I don’t know, been awhile since I’ve gone off, Tres,” And he meant that in more ways than one, his smirk widening when those beautiful eyes widened up at him.  

 

He wanted to kiss her, remind her of the other night, let her know he hadn’t forgotten about it.  Not that Jon ever would, that was the first time in his life he had been called another man’s name, not that he was holding that against her.  But she was here in his arms, sober and not crying…he did it, Jon captured her lips in a fiery kiss.  Just like the other night, Tressa did NOT expect him to do this, even being held in his arms the way she was.  Jon had surprised her again, but this time, she wasn’t a crying, sobbing mess with a foggy head.  No, she had clarity and the alarm bells immediately began ringing in her head, reminding herself of the vow she made after their foreplay.

 

“N-No…Jon wait…” Tressa ripped her lips from his, placing her hands firmly on his shoulders and shook her head, her lips slightly swollen.  Holy cow, that was a kiss full of fire, desire and NEED. “P-Put me down.  Put me down, please…” Even from that simple kiss, her breathing had become ragged and the warmth spreading through her body didn’t help matters either. “I-I can’t do this…I have to go back to work and you need to focus on your match.” It looked like they would have to have that dreadful talk about keeping things friendly between them, after all. 

 

Their friendship, their bond, meant too much to her to destroy it with casual, no-strings sex.

 

Jon’s eyes searched hers intently, looking for just one sign that she didn’t mean what she said because that would be all the invitation he needed.  Her tone was shaky, breathy, and he could see the impact his kiss had had on her.  She was flushed, eyes darkened just a fraction, and her beautiful lips were already somewhat swollen.  Her body was trembling like a leaf against his and he almost kissed her again.  What stopped Jon was the plea in those gorgeous yet somehow frantic orbs and he groaned, bending down to rest his forehead against hers for a brief moment.  

 

Reluctantly, he set her down. “Go on, kitten,” He said gruffly, already reaching for another cigarette, needing a few moments for nicotine and to talk his beast down. “I’m sorry, Tressa.  That was out of line.”

Chapter 13

 

Tears welled in her eyes because the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Jon. “We will talk later, okay?”

 

The chemistry between them was off the charts, that much was obvious.  It couldn’t happen though because Tressa wouldn’t be able to be all in with Jon.  She wouldn’t be able to give herself completely to him.  Jon deserved better than a woman using him for sex to try getting over her husband’s death.

 

“Don’t apologize either and don’t feel bad.  Just…we’ll talk later.” Touching the side of his face briefly, Tressa went back into the arena and stopped in the bathroom, splashing water on her face to keep herself from crying. 

 

Then, she made her way back to her table to resume work.

 

Slumping back against the wall, Jon groaned and let himself slide down until his denim clad ass came in contact with the cool pavement.  He puffed on his cigarette like a freight train, mentally cursing himself out.  Of course, that had been a one and done deal and she had probably felt guilty as fuck about it afterwards.  Like cheating or something, even if Joseph was dead.  He would have to cool his jets and apologize again, let her know he wasn’t trying to damage their relationship or anything.  Unless it was too late for that.

 

“Fuck. Me.”

 

“Fuck. Me.” Tressa groaned under her breath, loud enough for only her to hear and could not get the kiss out of her head. 

 

What the hell?  Her libido was charged up all over again and it was Jon’s fault.  Scrubbing a hand down her face, Tressa continued working on the costume for Natalya, finally finishing it.  She trusted Tressa with her gear and had been with the company as long as her, maybe a little longer.  Setting it aside, she turned around and blinked at the sight of a sweaty, heavy breathing Andrew standing RIGHT in front of her.  Obviously, he’d just had his match with Jon and his blue eyes were ignited with intensity.  Tentatively, she took a step back to put some kind of space between them and bumped the table, trying not to look as nervous as she felt.

 

“Your gear isn’t done yet.  It should be sometime tomorrow.  I checked with Tabitha and she’s halfway done with it…”

 

“Who the bloody hell is Tabitha?” He demanded, running a hand down his sweat soaked face and then flung it to the side, sending droplets everywhere.

 

Drew had worked damn hard on this fine body of his, not about to stay mediocre.  His first ‘run’ or whatever one wanted to call it had been nothing BUT mediocre.  He was fixing that and getting some proper respect, some proper matches.  Drew stepped away from her, though a very shark like grin spread across his tanned face at how this diminutive woman seemed to shrink away from him.  He wasn’t stupid enough to pull something in the workplace; if he happened to meet her in a bar or somewhere, all bets were possibly off.

 

Christ, why was this man so damn intimidating?  Was it his voice?  Was it the size of him?  Andrew stood at 6’5, which was only one inch taller than Jon, but…he was 265 pounds of pure muscle, chiseled like a Greek God.  The man did have an exceptional body and he looked a lot better than his first run with the company, which she remembered when he was part of the group 3MB.  Andrew never had to deal with her, however, until now because Heath Slater had been the one to come to her and the seamstresses with all of their needs.

 

“Tabitha is one of the seamstresses on the crew and she’s handling your tights.” Tressa hadn’t been intimidated by a man since Mark Calaway and for good reason. 

 

The Undertaker was SCARY, period.

 

If he would have known that he had just gotten stacked into the Undertaker category on the intimidation thing with Tressa…Drew would’ve puffed his chest out like the giant ape he was.  He just shook his head, hands now planting on his hips and nodded. “All right, I’ll check back tomorrow, lass.” He squeezed her shoulder as he walked by her, heading to grab a bottle of water.  He’d be fine for another night.

 

“Get the hell off of me, you ox!”

 

“Come on, buddy,” Jon had done a running jump up onto Colby’s back, now rubbing his knuckles into his friend’s skull. “I need a piggyback ride!”

 

Joe sidestepped out of the way when the pair went sideways, laughing his ass off when they went head over heels into a bin loaded with what looked like tights to be mended. “Hi, Tres.”

 

Tressa gaped down at the boys with wide grey eyes and looked up at Joe, who just shook his head at his comrades. “What the hell, you guys?!” She squawked, knowing all of those tights would be stretched to hell because of their weight. “Get outta there!” She began smacking them both in the head with a rolled-up newspaper she grabbed off the table.

 

“I swear, it’s like we work in a damn zoo!” Tabitha grouched, shaking her head, though a smile was on her face while she continued working on McIntyre’s trunks. “When do these need to be done by again?  Because it’s already going on 10…”

 

“He said he’d be back tomorrow, so you got time to do them tomorrow.”

 

“Oh, thank you sweet Jesus!” Tabitha crowed, tossing them to the side and stood up, ready to head out for a drink or three. “Roman, handle the boys, please.”

 

“Hey!  They’re not MY boys…” Well, they were, but…Joe was looked at as the Daddy of the Shield while Jon was the black sheep and Seth was the baby brother.  Jon was the middle, problem child. “All right, enough you two!”

 

“Ouch!  Hey!  Stop it, Tres!  Ouch!”

 

“Get. Out. Of. My. Damn. Bin. NOW!” Each word was a whack to Jon and then Colby, alternating.

 

Colby tossed a pair of trunks right at her, beginning to cackle like a hyena because he was pretty sure those were sequins.

 

“Hey!  Babe!  OUCH!”

 

Sighing, Joe bent down and grabbed Colby first, hoisting his laughing ass right up and out of the bin.  Next, he grabbed Jon, who purposefully went limp, so…dead weight. “You…fat…fricking…cow…” He was trying not to laugh because Tressa was still hitting Jon with that newspaper.

 

Once clear of the bin, he dropped his friend.

 

Jon caught the newspaper before it could get him again, looking down into the bin and then back at her. “So…you have sequins in your hair, darlin’.”

 

Colby and Joe both flinched when Jon got it right on the nose.

 

“Bad dog.” Tabitha snorted.

 

Suzanne had already left for the night, so it was just Tabitha and Tressa left at the seamstress table. “Children, all of you.  Besides Joe.  Thanks for the help, big dog.” Tressa groaned when Jon turned her around bodily to start plucking the sequins out of her hair. “I’m going to kick your ass for this, Ambrose.” She groaned, folding her arms in front of her chest and shook her head to try to get some of them out. “And don’t think you’re off the hook either, Kingslayer.”

 

“Man, he’s the one who-”

 

“Hopped on your back, wanting a piggyback ride?”

 

Seth went red, lowering his eyes and cleared his throat. “You know us too well, Tres.”

 

“I’m aware.” She turned once Jon finished and planted her hands on her hips. “So, what do you have to say for yourself making this mess?  You ARE picking it all up, both of you.”

 

Joe was snickering as he watched both Colby and Jon, grumbling, pick up the mess they’d made.

 

“Geez, how do you get the SHIELD boys, of all people, to do your bidding?”

 

Tressa smirked, shrugging and felt more like herself than she had in a long time. “Couldn’t begin to tell you, girl.” She did have them wrapped around her finger, whether she realized it or not. “Thank you, boys, job well done.  Don’t be horse playing around our area again, please.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.” Colby muttered, then pulled Tressa into his arms for a tight embrace.  Whatever Jon had done for her during their 2 days off, he hoped the man kept it up because THIS was the Tressa they knew, loved and adopted as their little sister. “Are you all right?”

 

Tressa smiled, hugging Colby tightly and nodded. “I’m getting there.”

 

“You don’t have to tell us what happened, we’re here for you though.  Not just the jackass over here.”

 

“I know.” She pulled back and cupped his bearded face in her hands in a purely platonic way. “I’m sorry for…cutting you two off while Jon was gone.  I just…” Maybe Tressa did owe the truth to them. “A LOT of shit happened and I didn’t know how to deal with it or process it.”

 

Joe was next to hug her tightly, lifting her up since she was a shorty compared to him.  He was one inch shorter than Jon, but weighed A LOT more, so he looked bigger by comparison. “We all know you and Jon have this bond, it’s all good, baby girl.  We were just worried about you, that’s all.  You seem like you’re doing okay now, though.”

 

“Why don’t we all go out tonight and get some food, since I know you guys are bottomless pits, and have a few drinks?  I’ll tell you what happened.” Tressa was ready, after almost 4 months, which would be next Friday.  That would be the four-month anniversary of Joseph’s death and she glanced down at her wedding ring, shutting her eyes briefly. “You’re my friends, and I honestly need all the support I can get right now.”

 

Pushing people away wasn’t the answer, especially those she considered family.  Joe and Colby were like brothers to her.  Jon was…something else entirely and she still wasn’t sure what their bond consisted of.  They weren’t family, family did NOT do foreplay with each other, or wasn’t supposed to anyway.

 

“Hell yeah!”

 

“I’m game.”

 

She glanced over at Jon, who remained quiet throughout her reconciliation with Joe and Colby, wondering what was going through his mind. “Go get cleaned up and meet me in the parking lot, then.  I’m almost done here.”

 

“You heard the lady,” Joe wrapped an arm around each of his friends, shaking them. “Shower time.”

 

“Just not together.” Colby shuddered. “Some things are sacred, bro.”

 

“There’s my girl.” Jon winked at her as the three of them walked away.

 

That was the Tressa he had known, well… most of her.  There were some new bits and pieces, that he knew.  He just hoped between now and the parking lot, she didn’t change her mind.  He had a feeling Colby and Joe would mutiny, kidnap her ass, and hold her hostage until she finally explained things to them.  All things considered, they had been really patient…he was impressed.

 

Tabitha had already left, after the ‘bad dog’ comment, so that left Tressa alone to take a few minutes to herself.  She closed her eyes and blew out a deep breath, knowing she would end up breaking down before the night was out.  That hadn’t changed, though sleeping in Jon’s arms had helped.  She wasn’t alone and Tressa didn’t feel that bitter, crippling loneliness when she was with him.  Jon being back was exactly what she needed to try to get back to who she used to be.  Rubbing her hands together, Tressa fought back tears and finished cleaning up her area before heading for the exit, pulling out her pack of cigarettes.  She would definitely need a nicotine fix before arriving at the restaurant.

 

When the trio emerged from the building, all of the clean, groomed and in street attire, Colby and Joe gave Jon shit for lighting up.

 

“You quit! You can’t take it back up when you quit!”

 

“I’m no quitter,” Jon smirked, tucking away his lighter. “My mama raised me right.”

 

“Jesus…” Joe rolled his eyes, waving smoke out of his face. “Now you’re going to smell like an ashtray.”

 

“I’m not riding with him.” Colby laughed, though he was also standing downwind of Jon.

 

“I can- hey there, darlin’,” Jon waved a hand when he spotted Tressa leaning against the rental.  There was his ride. “We still doing this?”

 

“Yeah…yeah we are.  Umm…where do you guys want to eat at?  I was thinking maybe a restaurant wouldn’t be a suitable place for this conversation.” Tressa admitted, rubbing her hands together and felt Jon take them, watery greys meeting his. “I’m okay.” She whispered, taking a few deep breaths and finally looked up at the concerned faces of Colby and Joe.

 

“We can order a pizza.”

 

“And grab some cold ones on the way to the hotel.  We can bunker down together and you can tell us privately what happened.” Joe suggested, seeing how nervous she was and stepped up to wrap an arm around her shoulders while Jon still had hold of her hands. “It’s all right, Tres.  Whatever it is, we’ll help you through it.”


“I know…” She cracked a sad smile up at him and cleared her throat, deciding it would be a Vodka drinking night. “Liquor store and then we’ll order the pizza when we get to the hotel.”

 

“Sounds good, Colby and I will follow you guys.”

 

“Okay.” Tressa handed Jon the keys, not needing to ask him to drive.  She couldn’t right now.

 

Jon already knew her ‘cold one’ would be vodka, she’d have Absolut. “Darlin’, suggestion so you don’t freak the guys out…mix it with something.”

 

Because if they saw her shooting that shit straight after this conversation, they were going to make the very logical jump to alcoholic.  Which, she was, but that was neither here nor there.  He followed the guys out of the parking lot, hearing her fumbling with her pack of cigarettes and reached over to place his free hand on her thigh.

 

“You don’t have to do this, Tres.” He said softly.

 

Joe and Colby would probably not understand, but they wouldn’t push it either.

 

“No, no I said I was going to do it and I am.  They’re my friends and it’s not fair to keep them in the dark about this.  They are like my brothers and you know that.” Even though, she was older than all three of them, she considered them ‘big’ brothers because of their sizes.  She puffed on a cigarette, finishing it just as they arrived at the liquor store and turned her head to look at Jon, frowning at the bruise forming on his jaw. “Jesus, did McIntyre do that to you?”

 

“Yep,” He flipped down the visor to examine it after parking, nodding in satisfaction. “I had it coming, you wouldn’t be able to see where I nailed him.” House shows were great, so much leeway.  Of course, that was a two-way street and Jon knew it.  Which was why he was not only prepared to dish it out, but to also take the ass whippings in return, it was all part and parcel to him. “Come on, kitten,” He was out of the car and leaning on the roof, waiting patiently for her to gather her thoughts and get out as well. “I know, it makes me less pretty, right?”

 

“You were always an ugly bastard, Good.” Colby snorted, walking over to join them. “Don’t kid yourself.”

 

“At least he doesn’t have a pig nose like you, Colbs.”

 

“Pig…HEY!” Colby gaped at a smirking Tressa and growled playfully, narrowing his dark chocolate eyes at her. “That was so mean.  Do I really have a pig nose?”

 

“Big ol’ pig honker, yup!”

 

“Are you serious?!” Colby squawked, immediately going to the rental he shared with Joe to look in the visor mirror.  He was a vain man when it came to his looks and took care of himself to ensure he made panties drop wherever he went.

 

Joe shook his head, chuckling. “And let me guess, I look like that cat from Game of Thrones?”

 

“Yeah, but everybody knows that.  And uses it.”

 

“Touché, sis.” Joe walked into the liquor store with Jon and Tressa following suit, Colby joining a few minutes later.

 

Tressa did not care what the boys thought about her drinking issue and bought the bottle of Absolut, with nothing to go with it.  She paid for it, had it bagged, put her two packs of smokes in her purse and waited for them to finish up.

 

Chapter 14

 

Jon came out with tequila, lime, and salt.

 

Joe and Colby had got themselves a twelve pack to share, neither commenting on the carton of cigarettes their friend had bought or his choice in liquor.  Whatever, they figured they weren’t driving with him or his hangover tomorrow. “Let’s go.  They’re going to order pizza from the car,” One of them was anyway. “Anything in particular you want from Pizza Hut?” Jon thought that’s what they said they were ordering from anyway. “They’re buying.” He added teasingly.

 

“Yeah, with the hundred you handed us.” Joe snorted.

 

“Thanks, and no just get whatever you guys want.” Tressa replied, heading to the rental car and wondered if now was the time to bring up the issues between her and Jon. 

 

No, definitely not.  She didn’t want to talk about it, honestly, and figured maybe he’d gotten the hint after what happened earlier at the arena.  A few minutes later, they were on their way to the hotel with classic rock playing softly through the speakers.  Then, Kansas came on and she immediately shut the radio off, shutting her eyes because she couldn’t listen to ‘Carry on My Wayward Son’.  She would start bawling her eyes out and freak the guys out, which was the last thing she wanted to do before even telling them about Joseph’s death.

 

“Hey, we could have listened to… uh… what’s a Cardi B?” Jon had no idea who the hell that was because he didn’t usually listen to mainstream radio, unless it was a rock station.  He laughed when she gave him a very half-assed snort and an equally half-assed smile, reaching over to take her hand. “I’m sorry, by the way, for earlier.  That was outta line.” And he would so do it again, and more, if she would only let him.

 

“Jon…” She grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing while looking at him since they were at a red light. “It’s not that I don’t like you kissing me, because I do.  I just…you mean too much to me to use you for sex, for a distraction.  I care about you and I always have, and I always will.  You deserve a woman who can give you what you need completely, who can give you ALL of her.” She couldn’t because her heart was in a six-foot-deep grave with her dead husband. “Because that’s all it would be between us is a distraction.  And I can’t…” Tears filled her eyes as she looked down, wiping a stray tear away from her cheek. “I can’t lose you too.  I won’t make it if I lose you, Jon.” Her voice cracked as tears began sliding down her cheeks, her hand trembling against his. “And Cardi B can go suck an egg.”

 

Well, that definitely put a kibosh on anything he may or may not have been planning anytime soon.  Jon brought her hand up to kiss her fingertips before lowering it back down to her lap, squeezing gently. “Tressa, whether we had sex, or we don’t, or if you think I’m trying to steal your heart or…anything, we’re always going to be friends.” If anything would have ruined their relationship, it would have been her calling out another man’s name, dead or not, when he had been the one pleasuring her. “I’ll behave, quit your worrying.”

 

A fact she STILL didn’t realize she’d done. “Thank you.”

 

She clasped her hands in her lap, not reaching for his again and looked out the window, feeling a little better now that Jon knew where she stood.  The rest of the drive was made in silence with Jon turning the radio back on classic rock.  Thank the stars there was no Kansas playing, it was AC/DC and she tried not to laugh watery at him while he sang the song off-key.  Once they arrived at the hotel, Jon lead her up to the room they were sharing with Colby and Joe following.

 

“The pizza should be here in about 25-30 minutes.”

 

“Okay.” Tressa took her bag into the bathroom, telling the guys to make themselves comfortable and she would be out in a minute.

 

“She was crying again.” Joe observed, keeping his voice low and watched Jon nod. “She gonna be up for this?”

 

“If she’s not, she’ll change her mind.”

 

“Okay boys, everyone settled?”

 

Tressa walked out in a nightshirt that went to her knees, leaving her bra and panties on, and cracked open her bottle of Absolut, with her newly bought shot glass, filling it with the clear liquid before knocking it back.  Then another.  And another after that.  Three shots down, she felt she had enough liquid courage to get through this and turned to stare at her friends.

 

“Jon knows about this already, so this will just be a repeat of what I told him.” She moved to the window, looking out of it in thought and silence filled the room for a few minutes. “My husband’s dead.  He died almost 4 months ago.”

 

Colby had been a bit focused on the amount of vodka she had just knocked back like a freaking pro, but those words penetrated his ‘holy shit’ fog. “Joe’s dead?” He echoed, so much suddenly just falling to place for him.

 

It explained so much, especially the drastic change in her behavior, and he felt like a tool for not…knowing, he supposed.  Not that there was any way he could have known, not without Googling or seriously trying to pry into her life, but who thought about looking for someone who may or may not be dead?  Just thinking that ‘who died’ was morbid and not something people did.  No…they usually went to divorce first, then anything BUT death.

 

“Oh… Tres,” He whispered, clearing his throat. “Honey, I’m so sorry.”

 

Joe just stood there shell-shocked, unable to open his mouth to say anything.  He felt as if his own heart was ripped out of his chest at the sight of the tears pouring freely down her cheeks.  She wasn’t making a sound, but the raw anguish and pain radiating from her made his stomach tighten, along with his heart.  He looked over at Jon, who had cracked open his bottle of tequila and then looked back at Tressa, who hadn’t moved from the window.

 

“Jesus…” He whispered, rubbing the back of his neck and really didn’t know what to say to her. “N-Nobody deserves to go through that, Tres…”

 

“He had an enlarged heart.” She had to speak somewhat slow to get through this, her voice cracking and stayed where she was to keep distance between her and the boys. “He always had such a big heart,” Her hand covered her own beating one and shut her eyes. “It put a lot of stress and turmoil on his other organs and…he died in our shower.  I found him.  He basically sat down in the tub and leaned his head back and fell asleep…and never woke up again.  They said he didn’t suffer and there was no pain he felt…”

 

“That’s… good.” Wow, Colby felt lame and awkward saying that, but…wasn’t it good?  That he had died without pain?  He groaned and let his head drop forward. “I mean, at least he didn’t suffer.” Yeah, he probably wasn’t making this any better and just shut the hell up before he really said something stupid.

 

Jon was just calmly squeezing lime into his bathroom plastic cup of tequila, having already rimmed the edge in his salt.  He kept his own head down, focusing on what he was doing.  Having heard this already, it didn’t stop his heart from doing painful twinges, hearing that anguish in her voice, and knowing tonight was going to be a ‘drink until you pass out’ night for her.

 

Joe had cracked open a beer, sipping it quietly while she spoke and when he seen her placing her hand over her heart again, he set it down.  He wanted to go hug her, but… he wasn’t sure if she would allow it and he didn’t want to push.  Not after she had finally opened up to them.

 

“That’s not all.” Another shot went down because she really needed to numb the pain she currently felt in her heart. “I didn’t just lose my husband.  One month after I had to bury him, I…” This was a lot harder to talk about than she thought as she grabbed the bottom, tossing the shot glass aside and took a long swig from it, still staring out the window. “I-I had a miscarriage.  We’d been trying to get pregnant for a while and…I was pregnant when he died…and didn’t know it.  They said the stress of everything caved on me and it was too much for my body to handle.  The stress of losing him…” A nice buzz had started taking over and she rested her forehead against the cool glass.

 

Now that one really did get Joe right in the feels.  He had three children with his wife and he couldn’t imagine the pain that Tressa was feeling.  Joe couldn’t imagine his wife, Galina, suffering a miscarriage.  To not only lose her husband, but then the last piece of him she had left, and she hadn’t even known she was pregnant…he couldn’t wrap his head around just how much sorrow one woman could be given. 

 

No wonder she had sealed herself off from them.

 

“Pizza is here.” Jon’s cool, calm voice interrupted the heavy silence, having answered the soft knock at the door, while she stared out the window and the other two simply stared at her.

 

Why was Jon being cold towards her? 

 

Colby didn’t understand it because he thought Jon would be right by her side, holding her, comforting her, which is what the woman needed right now. “Come here, Tres.”

 

He’d never experienced fatherhood, but he could only imagine the amount of pain she felt losing not only Joseph, but their unborn child they had tried so long and hard for.  His heart ached for her as she buried her face in his t-shirt covered chest, tears soaking right through it.  Colby took the bottle of Vodka from her and lifted her in his arms with ease, carrying her over to sit on the sofa with her sideways on his lap.  Screw the pizza, nobody was hungry at the moment as Colby began crooning in her ear, rocking her slowly back and forth, stroking her hair to try soothing her tormented soul the best he could.

 

All Tressa could do was sob her heart out all over again, though Colby’s comfort made her calm down, surprisingly enough, to the point where she just lightly hiccoughed.  Jon wasn’t being cold, but he also knew how this night ended and hearing it all over again, along with that pain that was still so raw in her…keeping himself cool and collected was the only way he was doing it.  He leaned against the wall, watching Colby coddling her and ignored the look Joe was giving him.

 

Joe got it.  Jon knew all this, this was what he had been hiding and why he had been spending so much time with Tressa since his return.  He also knew Jon had been carrying a torch for the diminutive beauty and, if Jon actually did care about her in the way Joe assumed he did, hearing this and watching her living with the pain wasn’t easy.  Jon never had dealt with his emotions in a healthy manner.

 

“Bro, she’s out cold.”

 

Colby really needed a beer and looked down at Tressa, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.  He nodded when Joe instructed him to lay her in bed, where she would be more comfortable.  With ease, since the woman weighed lighter than a damn feather, Colby moved to the bed to lay her down on it, covering her up.  She didn’t move, her chest rising and falling evenly and her face was streaked with tears.  He walked back over to sit down, grabbing a slice of pizza, even though he wasn’t hungry and cracked open his beer.

 

“Is that all she wanted to tell us?”

 

“Guess we’ll have to wait for another night to find out.”

 

Joe saw Jon’s eyes were fixated on Tressa and he could only hope the man gave her the time she needed to grieve and move on from her husband.  It would happen, but it would also take time.  He chomped on his own piece of pizza and leaned his head back, knowing tomorrow would be extremely hectic with Summerslam weekend. 

 

It was officially upon them.

 

See, the way Jon was viewing this was giving her time meant giving her space and that was bad.  Grieving the way she was wasn’t doing her body any favors and eventually, the drinking game would catch up with her.  Or her body would just say ‘fuck it’ and go into recovery mode.  Being with her so much was distracting her, she was starting to smile.  It was a process, and he pinched his nose, dropping down onto the floor with his drink and leaned back against the wall.  There would be good days and bad days.

 

“Bro.” Joe had set a slice of pizza on his knee and Jon shrugged, taking a bite, ignoring Joe’s speculating looks.

 

Being with Jon did make her happy.  It was one of the reasons she was trying to keep him at arm’s length because Tressa wasn’t ready to feel happiness again.  Then again, maybe she was.  She still wore her wedding ring, unable to take it off unless she showered, but she also didn’t feel guilty or remorseful for sleeping in the same bed as Jon or what they did at his house in Vegas.  When her eyes opened the following morning sometime, it took a moment for Tressa to realize she wasn’t alone in bed. 

 

Her vision cleared and there he was, lying beside her with his hand resting on her side.  Tressa reached up to caress the side of his bearded face with the back of her hand, scooting closer to him and felt his arm curl around her to press her against him.  It felt good to wake up with Jon in bed instead of alone, though she knew the majority of today would be spent by herself.  Jon had a slew of media to do to promote Summerslam and then they also had a house show that night.  Going against what she’d said in the car the previous night, Tressa couldn’t hold herself back and softly brushed her lips against his.

 

Jon was up, both actually awake and of course morning wood, that she wasn’t making go away at all.  His blue, hazy eyes focused on her face and he gently nudged her away.  He seen the flash of puzzlement, maybe hurt, in her eyes and held a finger up to his lips.  Smirking, he pushed the comforter down off of them and crawled to the end of the bed.  When she joined him, she was greeted to the sight of Colby sprawled out on the floor with a sheet over his still dressed butt.  Joe was against a wall, using Jon’s bag as a pillow.  The three of them had stayed up, eating and drinking, very quietly talking.

 

The guys had a million questions and Jon had not been able to answer them all.

 

He supposed it was only natural since they consider Tressa to be like a sister to them.

 

Chapter 15

 

“You realize,” He whispered, his already gravelly voice coming out even harsher from just waking up. “That they’re going to be up your ass now, right, kitten?”

 

“Even more so than they were before.  I know, Daddy.” Tressa whispered back, nudging him playfully and felt Jon press a kiss to the side of her neck.  Turnabout.  She leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment and let out a quiet yawn, glancing at the clock.  Shit.  They hadn’t slept in those positions very well and they had a very, VERY long day ahead of them. “I’ll order breakfast for everyone.  Why don’t you go get a shower before they get up?” She suggested, reaching up to lightly graze her fingertips over his beard while staring into his deep hazy blues.

 

For the briefest of moments, Jon thought about asking Tressa to join him.  Reality kicked in, chances were the guys would wake up soon and he already knew if they even thought that something untoward was going on, they would ream his ass out for ‘taking advantage’ of Tressa.  He didn’t blame them, he might’ve been.  Jon kissed the tip of her nose before rolling out of bed, reaching down to adjust his still lingering morning issues, and snorted when she began laughing softly at him.

 

“Laugh it up, Tres.” He growled quietly, retrieving his bag before disappearing into the bathroom.  Jon ran the cold water in the sink, splashing it over his face and groaned, letting his head drop.  

 

Joe and Colby really were going to be up her ass.

 

After breakfast was finished, Tressa sent Colby and Joe packing to get ready for the media tour.  It would start at noon and go until the house show that night.  Maybe an hour or so before it started. “For the FINAL time, Jon, I’ll be fine by myself for the day.” Jon had been bugging her for the past hour to come with him, but there was no point in doing it.

 

“I’m probably going to head to the arena and put in some extra hours on the projects I have going on.  You don’t need to worry about me so much.”

 

Colby and Joe had been reluctant to leave, but they also had their own rooms and did have to get ready.  She felt bad about them sleeping on the floor and against the wall, but then again, she’d been passed out from drinking and crying.  At least she was cutting way back on the amount of Vodka she drank, so that was a plus.

 

“Do you have everything you need?”

 

“Yes, Mom.” Jon sing-songed cheekily, doing this a million times.  He was pretty on the ball with traveling and packing, learning his lesson back in the Indies on not being prepared or paying attention to what he did and didn’t have. “I’ll get out of your hair, darlin’.” He was a bit concerned that she was going to start reverting to what she had been like when he had first come back on the road, he didn’t know why though.  Maybe because she had opened up and then passed out from those shots, on top of being emotionally tired.

 

He was turning into a damn nursemaid.

 

“Hey,” She stopped him from walking out the door by grabbing his arm, feeling his muscles twitch beneath her touch and cracked a small smile up at him. “Believe it or not, I feel better after last night.  And I appreciate your concern, I really do.  I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Jon.  I know…this is your comeback and having me to deal with, on top of everything, doesn’t help matters any…” Tressa made the mistake of lowering her eyes because the next second, her back was against the door and Jon’s mouth was on hers hungrily.

 

Yeah, he was a bad man.  Jon had figured after the tension and awkwardness from last night when he had kissed her between the semi-trailers, he would back the hell off and give her the space she obviously needed.  At least on the intimate level, but then this morning she HAD to go and kiss him while she thought he was sleeping.  Growling, Jon tore his lips from hers, breathing heavily and smirked wickedly when he seen her swollen, parted lips and the roses in her cheeks.

 

“NOW I’ll get out of your hair, kitten.” Because there wasn’t a doubt in his mind she wouldn’t be thinking about that kiss all day.

 

All Tressa could do was watch him walk out the door and touched her swollen lips with her fingertips, her heart pounding in her chest.  It was just a kiss…just a kiss full of fire that sent warmth coursing through her veins.  It was definitely time for a shower as she walked into the bathroom, after wheeling out the tray with the empty plates on it and started the water.  The ache between her thighs pulsated and she groaned, needing some kind of relief.  Jon was NOT making it easy for her to resist him…and, even after that talk with him last night in the car on the way here, she wondered if she could follow through what she said.  Snaking her fingers down her stomach, she turned the water on warm and moaned, deciding to get herself off.  Maybe it would take the ache away a little bit as her eyes closed, still feeling Jon’s lips on hers.

 

Tressa, even as fragile mentally and emotionally as she was right now, couldn’t say one thing and then the next day completely contradict herself.  Jon did not possess THAT much self-restraint and control.  He fully expected her to lay down the law to him, again, later in the evening.  Now, Jon had to force all of that, her in particular, out of his mind as he focused on the media stuff, knowing he needed to keep his head in the now, focus on this.  Damn if his kitten wasn’t a beautiful distraction, though.  When all was said and done today, he had a feeling when he stopped for her nightly liquor, he was going to have to find himself a travel-sized bottle of baby oil and handle some personal business in the shower.  Maybe he would get his own room, this way she couldn’t hear him dealing with his issues and potentially growling her name.

 

Walking into the arena, a lot earlier than normal, Tressa went to her station to start getting to work.  She groaned, receiving a message on her phone that Tabitha was throwing up and had been sent home for the duration of Summerslam weekend.  Great.  They were down one seamstress.  Tressa was thankful she had come in early because A LOT had to be done before Sunday.  Sighing, she reluctantly grabbed Andrew’s trunks and began work on them.  He would be by tonight to grab them and she had said she would have them done. 

 

Turning on some music on the small portable radio she brought with her, Tressa enjoyed the tranquility and silence while starting up her machine.  Tabitha had done a great job on the trunks and hopefully Andrew wouldn’t mind two seamstresses working on his gear instead of one.  It wouldn’t take long to finish them up and then she would set them aside for him to retrieve.  Then, she could continue on with the other projects for the women such as Sasha Banks and Bayley.  Their costumes always took forever, at least a day or two, to complete.

 

~!~

 

“Fuck… fuck…”

 

Ow, Jon hated his life.  He hated that crazy ass fan that had come running and leapt at him.  Normally, he would have laughed it off, posed for some pictures and cracked jokes.  Today he was suppressing a panic attack until he had some privacy.  Infection, the fricking spot his shoulder had met cement wall was going to wind up infected and he was going to wind up dying from MRSA for real this time!

 

“Man, you got to work harder on getting less crazy fans.” Colby laughed, reaching out to poke the bleeding scrape that partially showed from beneath Jon’s tank top. “Or maybe wear bubble wrap.”

 

Jon grimaced when his friend poked it again.  He really was going to get infected!  When had Colby last washed his hands?!  Joe was at a separate signing, so it was just Jon and Colby together for the moment.  Colby BLINKED when Jon rushed into the nearest bathroom and followed him, only to be shoved on his ass out the door with it locking.  What the HELL?  Colby frowned, wondering what had gotten into Jon and shook his head, deciding to leave him be and headed off to the car.  Hopefully, Jon didn’t take too damn long because they had another venue to go to and then an interview at a radio station afterwards.

 

Twenty minutes later, Jon finally showed up and ordered the driver to take them to the nearest CVS or Walgreens, making Seth stare at him like he’d lost his mind.

 

“We don’t have time, man…”

 

“MAKE FUCKING TIME, THEN!”

 

The driver obeyed Jon’s command and raced off to the nearest CVS or Walgreens, GPS was a godsend.

 

Colby couldn’t believe how BADLY Jon was SHAKING, dark chocolate eyes wide.

 

Peroxide.  Neosporin.  Antibacterial bandages, the large ones, because he was a firm believer in overkill these days.  Small half pint for nerves, definitely needed that.  Fuck it, he just needed a new first aid kit, and maybe he’d hit up the trainer’s for antibiotics or something.  Purell, he grabbed that as well.  When he spotted Colby, he opened the small bottle and poured it all over his friend’s hands.

 

Pretty sure Jon had lost his mind, Colby stood there in the center of the aisle rubbing that shit in, trying to ignore the sterile slightly alcohol tinged smell that was now all over his palms.  Jon paid for everything and disappeared into the bathroom, tending to his issues.  Colby was right there, arms folded over his chest.  His mouth nearly hit the floor when Jon slapped his arm with a grin and said, ‘let’s go man, while the day is young!’ before bouncing off like he hadn’t just been losing his mind.

 

~!~

 

“I can’t believe Tabitha caught that stomach bug that’s going around.” Suzanne grunted, busying gluing sequins to the gear she was working on, shaking her head. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Tired.” It was truthful enough. 

 

At least she hadn’t woken up with a hangover.  Tressa decided she would be laying off the Vodka and getting something a little less…heavy on the system.  Maybe wine or beer would be better than straight Vodka.  The last thing she wanted to turn into was an alcoholic, which was starting to happen.  She had to be careful and rubbed her eyes, glancing up at the clock.  The Superstars were starting to trickle in one after the other for the house show, which meant media for Summerslam was done for the day.  Stifling a yawn, she got back to work after stretching her arms in the air for a minute, deciding she would go out for a smoke break a little bit.

 

She didn’t even get that far. “I need you to look at this.” Unlike Colby, who was probably now off telling Joe about what he had witnessed earlier, Tressa knew about Jon’s minor germaphobia / infection issues.  He pulled her into his dressing room, ignoring the baffled look on Tressa’s face and locked the door behind her.  Then he peeled off his shirt and turned, rolling his eyes because it then occurred to him she was a foot shorter.  Jon lowered himself to his knees and glanced back up at her over his shoulder.

 

“How’s it look?” Because he was starting to feel like it was warm and puffy, but that was likely his mind messing with him.

 

Blinking, Tressa did not expect him to pull her into an empty dressing room like this on her way out to have a smoke. “It’s just a cut, Jon.  A scrape, it’s not even a cut, actually.” What the hell happened to him today?  She went to lightly glide her fingers down the small injury and frowned when he stopped her, his hand wrapping around her wrist. “Jon…” God, he was a lot stronger than her and didn’t know his own strength. “That…hurts…” He was trembling and she felt his hand release her wrist, thankful he didn’t crack a bone in it or anything, taking a step back.  This was just like the cut on his hand…this man was absolutely TERRIFIED of any kind of injury happening to him after what he’d gone through. “Jon, it’s all right…there’s no blood and it’s not red or anything.  It’s just a scrape and you’re fine…”

 

“What the hell am I going to do if I, no when I, finally take one in the ring?” He asked quietly, getting up onto his feet and walked over to his bag, pulling out a t-shirt. “I’m going to have a spaz attack,” Because he wasn’t going to acknowledge it as a panic attack right now. “Out in that ring.” And Vince, Stephanie and Paul would have his ass on the first jet to some therapist.

 

Social media would have a field day.

 

“You have to calm down, Jon.” Tressa walked over to him, swallowing down her fear from him grabbing her wrist and slid her hands up and down his back. “Not every little cut and scrape is going to give you MRSA.  What happened to you was terrible and I can’t even begin to imagine what you went through.  I know you nearly died from it, but…look at me.” Reaching up, she turned his face until their eyes met, wanting him to hear these words. “You are healthy again.  They got rid of it and it’s not coming back.  If you get cut out there, the referees are right on it and you know that.  They even carry gloves on them in case someone bleeds accidentally.” There was no blood allowed in the WWE anymore, not unless it was accidental. “Now take a deep breath, in through the nose and out the mouth, and close your eyes if you have to.” Her hand rested over his pounding heart, hating how scared he actually was of a simple cut and scrape.

 

None of that mattered because Jon had gotten MRSA at a freaking hospital.  He had been in the place people went to be CURED and he had nearly died from it!  He just nodded, staring down into her face, feeling her hands coming up to caress either side of his face soothingly.  It took him a moment, realizing she was…apprehensive, his brows drawing together.

 

“How bad did I hurt you, Tres?” He asked, knowing he’d grabbed her wrist.  Jon hadn’t thought it was hard, but…he hadn’t been in his head at the time either.

 

“You didn’t hurt me.  It was tight, but you didn’t hurt me to the point of breaking anything.” Tressa assured him gently, shivering slightly when he turned his head to brush his lips against the wrist he had clutched. 

 

It made her smile.  This was the same man who used to bleed BUCKETS full in death matches in the Indies and ENJOYED it.  This was the same man who was in a barbed wire deathmatch against Drake Younger, who was now a referee for WWE in the NXT brand, and loved every bit of the pain he both felt and inflicted.  To see Jon THIS freaked out over a cut and a scrape…Tressa wondered if maybe he shouldn’t talk to someone since she knew WWE had on-road therapists.

 

“Are you all right now?”

 

“I’m calming down.” He knew he was going to have to start minding himself when around her and also in the middle of an infection spaz attack.  Bringing her hands up, he began kissing her wrists, sighing. “I’m sorry, darlin’.” Jon let go and stepped away from her, running a hand over his head. “Let’s go smoke.” He needed one, he bet she did too.

 

Hell, it looked like she had been on her way out the door before he snatched her up.

 

Chapter 16

 

“I would love to, but my breaktime is over.  It’s fine, I don’t really need a cigarette right now anyway.  You go and calm down, we’ll talk later.”

 

She kissed his cheek, squeezing his arm and left the locker room to head back to her makeshift office.  Her table, in other words.  Tressa hoped Jon would be all right because, if he did have a spaz attack in the ring over a simple cut or scrape, Vince McMahon was not going to be happy.  Sighing, she moved out of the way for people to rush by her and hoped Suzanne wasn’t upset she had taken a longer break than normal.

 

Jon wasn’t going to have a panic attack out in the ring.  He was going to plow through and then have a panic attack once he was backstage, that was his game plan for when the inevitable occurred anyway.  Really feeling like an assclown, he headed outside for that smoke, knowing he hadn’t done Tressa any favors.  She was already in a weird, fragile state of mind and he was adding his issues to hers.

 

Andrew was waiting for her when the people cleared, having come looking for that one seamstress, Tasha or whatever and she was nowhere to be found. “Hello lass.” He greeted flatly, drumming his fingers on top of her sewing machine.

 

“Hi…” Where the hell was Suzanne?!  Probably on her break too since they normally took them together.  Looks like she wasn’t the only one to take a longer than normal break tonight. “Your tights are ready, Andrew.  I finished them today.  Let me get them for you.” Walking past him, or rather squeezing by him, Tressa reached into the bin of finished products and sifted through it until she came across them.  She turned and had to fight not to jump because he was RIGHT there in her business again. “Here you go.  I hope they’ll work for you.”

 

Yes, he was right there in her business.  The seamstress had a great looking ass he had noticed.  She had been bent over in that tote, rifling, her hips and ass wiggling…that was just something every fully functioning man would take note of. “Thank you,” He reached out and took them, testing the water by letting his fingers brush against hers.  Drew pulled the tights away, studying the patch job and nodded.  He couldn’t even tell there had been a hole. “It looks good, lass.” What was her name again?

 

She immediately pulled her hand away from his, showing him she wasn’t interested and took a step back. “Good deal.”

 

She had on black yoga pants that passed off as dressy with a WWE black logo shirt, nothing out of the ordinary for her attire.  Her chestnut caramel hair was up in a haphazard bun on top of her head due to making the mistake of leaving her hair down.  Tressa had swept it up with some bands and felt better now that her hair wasn’t on her neck anymore.

 

“Was there anything else you needed, Andrew?”

 

Yoga pants.  Drew knew damn well yoga pants were a lie.  Almost every woman’s ass looked great in yoga pants, but that did not stop him from ogling. “Not right yet.” He said finally, deciding to take the hint for the moment and winked at her. “Be seeing you, lass.” Whistling, he strolled off, definitely deciding to come back because the beautiful seamstress had caught his eye.

 

“Sorry I’m late, it’s a cluster bomb in here tonight.” Suzanne came scurrying up, looked flushed and somewhat out of breath. “I swear it’s like everyone is hanging out in the hallways tonight.” She frowned, following Tressa’s gaze and spotted McIntyre rounding a corner. “Was he a jerk to you?  He’s gotten uppity since he came back.”

 

“No, he wasn’t, actually.”

 

Andrew was surprisingly pleasant and even thanked her for the tights.  He hadn’t been too happy when they weren’t done last night, but luckily, he had been patient and received them tonight.  She understood why it might upset someone not to have their wrestling trunks done.  Tressa knew the intimidation factor was in her head due to his size.  She acted the same way around Mark Calaway whenever he was in the locker room, which was only a few times a year these days.  Suzanne flat out REFUSED to deal with Mark, Braun Strowman and McIntyre.

 

“Everything’s fine, did you have a good break?” Now, she really needed a nicotine fix, but that would have to wait until later.

 

Suzanne was short and she was one of those women who did NOT like a giant towering over her.  It wasn’t sexy, it was scary.  She was in the WRONG business for that particular issue of hers, but for the most part, she managed.  There were the gentle giants and then there were the intimidating ones or the jackass ones.

 

“You look like you need a breather.  I can manage here for 10 minutes.” She did owe Tressa one since she had been late. “Go on, go get a water, it’s hotter than Hades in here tonight.” She imagined a lot of that had to do with the narrow halls and the massive amounts of bodies loitering about them.

 

“No, I’m fine…” Tressa groaned when Suzanne’s petite five foot even frame pushed her until she joined the others in the hallway, waving at her. “I was late too, though!”

 

“Don’t worry about it, go get some water and grab me one too!”

 

NOW Tressa understood why the woman wanted her to go to catering and rolled her eyes, heading in that direction.  Maybe she would grab the waters and then go outside for her smoke break, trying to get her nerves back on track.  The show was underway and she had no idea when Jon was on, so she wouldn’t bother him.  The poor man needed some time to himself to get over what happened earlier with that scrape on his shoulder.  Sighing, she turned the corner, keeping against the wall, not wanting to get plowed over since she was tiny.

 

“Whoa, lass!”

 

Apparently Lady Luck was smiling down at him.  Drew hadn’t expected to see Tressa again, at least not tonight anyway.  He had been grabbing an energy drink and a bottle of water when he seen her trying to get away from the wall she was hiding against.  She had nearly gotten plowed from behind and he lifted her right up off the ground and turned, so it was his back getting sidestepped.  She was tiny, he could span her waist with both hands.

 

“What would we do without our sewing mistress?” He joked, setting her down once the hall was decently safe.

 

Don’t freak out, he’s only helping you, she mentally coached, taking a few silent breaths to slow her racing heart. 

 

She had not expected to run into Andrew again, or for him to save her from the chaos in the hallway.  Why did he insist on calling her lass?  Maybe that was what he called all the females in that deep Scottish accented voice of his.

 

“Thank you, Andrew.” She murmured softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled hesitantly up at him. “I was trying to avoid getting clobbered by staying against the wall.  Guess it didn’t work too well, huh?”

 

“It would have, if not for those louts coming running up like a fire was licking their arses.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Need an escort into the zoo?” He offered his arm with a flourish, smiling down at her.  

 

The cafeteria was filled with superstars and staff alike, the sound levels were…high, people eating and talking.  It was like a giant family sometimes, others…a bit like high school.  Drew stepped back with her to make room for two techs carrying long tables, shaking his head.

 

“You’d think they’d have a traffic guard or something to direct this.”

 

“They could just use you.  You’re the perfect traffic guard.” Perfectly pleasant, not a hint of malice in his blue eyes…Tressa couldn’t believe how ridiculous she’d been acting around this man.  That was all Andrew was anyway – a man just like Jon, Joe, and Colby. “I’d appreciate it.” She took his arm, knowing it probably looked funny since he was a little over a foot taller than her. 

 

He was still in his ring gear from his match and she was harboring a guess it had been against Jon again.  They had been battling each other at the house shows, which made her believe a feud was brewing between them on television.  That didn’t matter to her – it was none of her business and, quite frankly, Tressa stayed out of the drama when it came to gossip and whatnot as much as possible.

 

What the shit was this?  Jon was in the cafeteria, sitting on top of a table with Colby straddling the bench on side of him, Joe on the other.  They had been quietly talking about last night, and Colby hadn’t mentioned a word about earlier…so he was hoping his buddy hadn’t said anything to Daddy Joe because Jon didn’t need the man’s paternal crap coming out right now.  They had also started talking shop when he spotted Tressa walking in, arm in arm, with that former kilt-wearing douchebag.

 

“What the…”

 

“Bro!” Joe was getting drenched from Jon’s water bottle.

 

Tressa heard Joe’s roar, knowing it anywhere and snapped her head to the side, suddenly ignoring whatever Andrew was saying to her.  What the hell was going on over there?  They were clear across catering, so Tressa couldn’t make out exactly what caused Joe to start yelling and cursing a blue streak at Jon.  She didn’t want to know and gently pulled away from Andrew, releasing his arm.

 

“Thank you for helping me, Andrew.” Pulling her money out, she went to slip it in the machine and blinked when he hammered his fist against the side, watching not one, but two water bottles tumble down from their supposed secure perch inside. “Oh wow, that’s a neat trick!  Awesome!” Pushing the money back in her pocket, Tressa squatted to retrieve them and stood back up, cracking a small smile up at the Scottish man. “I should head back.”

 

Looks like she would not be having a cigarette break tonight.  It just wasn’t in the cards for her.  Turning, she headed back out of catering and hoped Joe was all right after Jon did god knows what to him.

 

“Okay that was an accident,” Jon was trying not to laugh or watch Drew and Tressa.  Since when were they chummy anyway?  Last he knew, she was intimidated by the guy, but there she was, smiling slightly at the big lug.  Well, that wasn’t- “YOU SUCK DROGO!” He had just gotten what was left of his water bottle poured all over his own head.

 

“Pay attention next time!” Whatever had distracted Jon had been what caused the idiot to pour water everywhere.

 

Down his head and when he had moved, right over his damn crotch.

 

“Looks like you pissed yourself.” Colby said, trying to sound anything but amused.

 

There was NOTHING going on between Tressa and Andrew.  She wasn’t interested in having a relationship with anyone, not after recently losing her husband and unborn child.  No thanks, she would take a hard pass.  However, it was obvious Andrew was interested in her and he hadn’t been as intimidating as he was at first.  What if…what if she used Andrew to scratch an inch?  She meant what she said to Jon, even though she had gone against those words and kissed him earlier that morning.  It was that damn gravitational pull towards Jon she couldn’t ignore, which would be a problem if she wanted to shack up with Andrew a few times.  Tressa pushed the thought of her mind, deciding she would think this over once she wasn’t at work and alone, handing Suzanne her bottled water once she returned to her workstation.

 

Tressa had had an interesting look on her face.  The girls had gotten used to her being quiet, and withdrawn, sad looking, so… to see the relative calm now was nice, but that was just a thoughtful look with a hint of something Suzanne couldn’t place right off the bat. “Any problems?” She asked, taking a sip of the water she hadn’t been brave enough to go get. “Sorry, you just look like you’re mulling over something.” When Tressa just shook her head, she backed off. 

 

Suzanne wasn’t about to pry to the woman who was technically her superior.

 

By the end of the night, Tressa was exhausted mentally and just wanted to go back to the hotel for some R&R.  Not to mention, she was craving a cigarette in the worst way.  Suzanne sent her ahead, letting her know not to worry about the clean-up.  She would take care of it.  Tressa thanked her and made a beeline for the exit with her purse, immediately lighting up as soon as the warm night air washed over her.

 

“Ohhh yeah…” She groaned at the first taste of nicotine and tilted her head up to look at the night sky, letting it filter through every vein in her system.  Taking another drag felt even better as she leaned back against the building and studied the stars thoughtfully, noticing there was a quarter moon outside tonight.

 

“You weigh a ton…” This was a bad idea, a very bad idea.  He was going to wind up biting it on the pavement and smashing his face in.  Then, Jon would no longer be pretty AND have MRSA again. “Jesus, what is your wifey feeding you?”

 

Joe answered that with a very lewd comment, laughing when Jon began shaking him, trying to get him off. “You deserved that shit, bro.” But now the water thing was forgiven. “Mmm, I see why you jump on Lopez…that’s fun.”

 

“First of all,” Colby said with a frown. “Don’t EVER word it that way again.  Second, you BOTH weigh a ton.”

 

“At least we didn’t get Tres’ bin this time.”

 

“I would’ve kicked your asses if that was the case.” Tressa informed them, blowing smoke out of her mouth and nostrils before taking another long drag of her delicious cigarette.  Addiction sucked, but on the bright side, there were worse things she could’ve been addicted to.

 

Seth, Joe, AND Jon all jumped at the sound of her voice, none of them noticing she’d been standing there. “Jesus woman, wear some bells!” Colby squawked, clutching his chest while Joe shook himself and Jon walked over to her to join in having a cigarette.

 

“How are you feeling tonight, Tres?” Joe asked, once his heartrate returned to normal. 

 

Men, even as big as them, could be scared shitless too sometimes.

 

“Tired, but I’m okay.  I feel better now that all of you know what’s going on.”

 

“We tried not to bug you tonight.” Colby was actually kind of proud of himself for that because all he had wanted to do was bug her.

 

Check in with her, check on her.  Going those months with barely even a hello had been hard, but now they knew why.  He got it, didn’t mean that he didn’t want to constantly make sure things were at least good.  Colby guessed that was maybe one of the reasons she hadn’t told anyone, she didn’t want people up her backside and asking shit like ‘are you okay?’ when she wasn’t.

 

“You look ready for bed, darlin’.” Jon pointed out thoughtfully, taking in her eyes.  She did look tired, he bet she had been slammed tonight.

 

Poor choice in words, he inwardly mused, Drew McIntyre popping into his head.

 

Chapter 17

 

“I am.  Tonight was busier than I anticipated, but we were short-handed, so we did the best we could with just two of us.” Hopefully, Tabitha was feeling better in the morning or else they’d really be screwed since it was Summerslam tomorrow. “I couldn’t even get out here to have a cigarette break until now.”

 

She flicked ash away from him, wondering what was going through his mind because he had this intensity in his eyes she couldn’t explain.  It wasn’t an anger so much as just…intensity.  Maybe the adrenaline from his match was still pumping through his veins.

 

“And you can bug me anytime you want, Colbs.  All of you can, we’re friends.  And you really helped me out last night, whether you believe it or not.  I needed to get that off my chest, to tell you what happened, because keeping it bottled up inside all this time wasn’t good for me mentally, emotionally or physically.  Tonight, I don’t even want to stop at a liquor store for Vodka.  That tells me right there that telling you guys was the right thing to do.”

 

Joe inwardly sighed in relief.  Maybe she hadn’t gone down the alcohol route as much as those quick shots in rapid succession last night had indicated.  He knew if she was a true alcoholic, going without for extended periods would mean withdrawal, cravings, and all that other fun stuff.  He hadn’t been down that road, but in this line of work, he had seen it once or twice.  It was inevitable.

 

She also still had vodka at the hotel so there was also that, not that Jon was going to mention it.  He was smoking quietly, listening as the other two chattered at her, and the turned with an eye roll when he heard that accented, Scots voice calling out a ‘goodnight lass’ to her.  What the HELL, who said that?

 

Tressa waved in return at Andrew, not seeing a problem with it and flicked her cigarette away. “Goodnight, Andrew, thanks again!” He waved back at her and she shouldered her purse, feeling a lot better now that she had her cigarette.

 

“Okay Tres, what’s up with that?” Colby demanded before Jon could, folding his arms in front of his chest. “You cheating on us now?” That was a joke and she rolled her eyes at him to show she knew it was.

 

“Oh yeah, sure, I’m all up in Andrew’s grill, didn’t you know?” Tressa’s voice dripped with sarcasm, shaking her head. “He actually saved me from being plowed over in the hallway tonight on my way to catering.  People just don’t watch where they’re going, especially when they’re running.  And then, he saved me a couple bucks by banging on the water machine to drop two waters, so that’s why I was thanking him.”

 

“Ohhh…so that’s why you came into catering with him…”

 

“Yeah, he was just helping me and being as big as he is, nobody can mow him down unlike me.” Tressa knew she was tiny, feeling like an ant compared to the Shield boys. “He was perfectly pleasant and polite.  If he wasn’t, I would tell you guys.” Not likely, but that seemed to put relief on both Colby and Joe’s faces. 

 

Jon was standing behind her, so she couldn’t see his face at the moment.

 

She was lying and Jon knew it.  Tressa had been maybe not afraid of Andrew the night before, or was it the other night, but he had definitely intimidated her enough to give her a slight tremble.  Hell, maybe he was overthinking this entire thing.  The man was a monster compared to her tiny ass, she didn’t know him that well…it was natural to be a little nervous, a little anxious, right?  But if something was wrong, she wouldn’t tell them, at least not without a four-month waiting period.  That was an unkind thought and he felt like an ass for it, bending down to rest his chin on her shoulder.

 

“She’s cheating on us.” He sighed dejectedly, snorting when he got her cigarette smoke blown right into his face.

 

“I am not, you ass!”

 

Tressa felt his hands on her waist and leaned back against him, finishing her second cigarette.  She needed two in a row because she’d gone over 8 hours without one.  Andrew did intimidate her because of his size, but he hadn’t been mean to her or anything.  He hadn’t spoken to her in a weird way, so it was all in her head.

 

“Look, the man is huge.  He’s bigger than Joe and Joe intimidated me at first.  Hell, look at the Undertaker, okay?  Perfect example, that man TERRIFIED me when I first met him because of his size, but he was perfectly polite and very nice.  It’s just the size that gets me, but he helped me and I appreciate it.”

 

“Hell, who ISN’T intimidated by Taker?”

 

Joe smirked, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Even I was at first, but working with him at Mania closely the way I did, and actually defeating him…” He wasn’t intimidated by the Deadman anymore.

 

“Something you didn’t want to do.  Vince forced that on you.”

 

“True.” Joe had fought to make Taker go over in that match, but Vince was against it and Taker had assured him it was fine.  WrestleMania no longer defined who he was or his legacy.

 

“Don’t worry, you boys are still my favorites and always will be.” Tressa heard Jon snort in her ear and kissed his cheek, smacking him on the back of the head. “Ready to go, Mr. Jealous?”

 

“Jealousy implies I’ve got a claim on you, kitten.” He rumbled in her ear, feeling her body shiver against his and smirked, stepping away to give her space. “You look like you need a long hot bath and a solid 8 hours sleep, Tres.” But she also looked better then she had the other few nights.  Maybe last night had been good for her since she’d gotten things off her chest with Joe and Colby.

 

“Wow Good, way to tell a lady she’s not looking her best.” Colby snorted, ducking when a mock punch came his way and began doing a boxer shuffle, fists up.

 

“Oh no, not tonight.” Laughing, Joe broke up the fake tussle, shaking his head. “Enough, children.”

 

“Gee, thanks.” Tressa laughed at their antics, pulling the keys out for her rental. “You riding back with me or are you going with the boys, Jon?” A hot bath did sound nice.

 

“He’s riding with us.  We got some things to discuss.  You go and relax and don’t worry about how you look, baby girl.  You’re still beautiful as ever.” Joe kissed the top of her head, gesturing for the others to follow and Colby did while Jon stayed behind.

 

“I’ll be there in a minute, Uce.” Jon called out, watching the Samoan wave at him and turned his attention to Tressa.

 

They were alone now and Jon had that intense expression on his face again. “Are you feeling better after your minor freak-out earlier, Daddy?” She asked, trying to lighten the suddenly tense mood between them and wondered if he was truly bothered by the fact Andrew had helped her.  Why would he be, though?  They weren’t together or in any kind of relationship, only fooling around every so often. “Jon, what is it?”

 

“Just tired is all, kitten.” Jon blatantly lied, deciding for now he wasn’t going to say anything because he wasn’t even sure what was going on between him and Tressa.  

 

Well, they were friends.  Friends with serious mental damage and equally serious chemistry.  He knew he was pushing her too fast sometimes, or maybe too hard, and then she’d do something like kiss him.  It made him wonder if maybe he wasn’t pushing hard enough.

 

“I’ll text you and let you know what the what is.” Depending on if Joe let him leave anytime soon.

 

“Okay.” Tressa didn’t know why he couldn’t come out and say what was on his mind right now, but maybe he needed time to mull things over.  Whatever he needed she was fine with. “If I don’t answer you right away, I’m either in the bath or sleeping.” She informed him softly, placing a hand against his chest and looked up into his eyes. “Goodnight, Jon.”

 

Walking past him, Tressa headed toward her car and felt his eyes on her the entire time, fighting the urge to look back at him.  Slipping behind the wheel, she fired the ignition up, remembering when Jon hopped into her rental the night of his return and realized this would be the first night she slept alone, without him, since Monday.  She would have to get used to sleeping alone since she no longer had a husband and she had done it for so long while working for the WWE anyway.  It wouldn’t be that hard to get back into the swing of things as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed off to the hotel.

 

Jon had no intention of letting her sleep alone, not so soon anyway, maybe once she needed him less.  Or when he needed her less, if that ever happened.  He was just being held hostage by his friends.  Joe was a lot smarter than his career choices sometimes indicated and that accident spillage with the water bottle had been like some clue or something to the inner workings of Jon’s mind.  He imagined Joe catching a glimpse of Tressa leaving the cafeteria earlier had helped him out.  Sourly, he slid into the backseat.

 

“All right, Papa, let’s get it over with.”

 

“Don’t call me that…”

 

“What the hell was that about tonight in the cafeteria, man?” Colby blurted out the question before Joe could, sitting in the driver’s seat while Jon was in the passenger and Joe was in the back.

 

“Yeah, you SOAKED me with that damn water bottle by squeezing the life out of it.” Joe grunted, glad it was only water and nothing that would stain since the shirt he had on was white at the time. “We know you’re bothered by McIntyre being near Tres.”

 

Hell, they were too.  McIntyre was not a very nice guy in the locker room and thought he should have treated the same as the likes of John Cena.  He didn’t believe in paying his dues and that was a problem for a lot of boys in the back.

 

“He’s a scumbag.” Jon said flatly, knowing bothered was not the term for it.

 

Andrew was playing nice and that was all well and fine, but the man was not to be trusted.  He was arrogant and had no respect for those who had come before him or who were around him.  Entitled, that was the word, the jackass felt entitled.

 

“He also has every right to use the seamstress station.” Joe pointed out.

 

Jon grunted.

 

“And if Tressa wants him to back off, she’ll make it known.” She was a tiny little thing, but her vocal chords were quite loud when she got in a mood.

 

“She’s also too nice for her own damn good.” Joe knew that couldn’t be argued against either. “We’ll just have to keep an eye on things around her for a bit until he either backs off or something happens.”

 

“Without her knowing, right?” Colby didn’t think that would go over well, glancing at Jon. “Does she know you two are feuding right now in the ring?”

 

“Now why would she know that when she’s a seamstress?  They don’t have time to watch the matches, man.”

 

“Good point.” Colby turned red, turning left to head to the hotel. “We’ll have to be sneaky about it because you know how Tressa is.  She’ll accuse us of being overprotective.”

 

“And overbearing.”

 

“And just jackasses in general.”

 

“Hey, we’re not the ones crushing on her, so it’s not like WE’RE going to be the ones in the shit if this goes south.” Colby teased, shifting in his seat to look back at Jon. “You’re timing sucks though, man.”

 

“Don’t I know it.” Jon sighed, slumping back in the seat and brought his hands up to his face. “Is it wrong?”

 

“Well…yes and no, she’s a widow, so it’s not like you’re stepping on toes, but…she’s grieving and you’re either going to ruin your friendship or you’ll be a rebound, and then you both will get hurt.”

 

“If he waits long enough, he won’t be a rebound, but he has to WAIT.” Joe emphasized that word strongly, narrowing his dark brown eyes at his friend in the rearview mirror. “You have to give her time, bro.  She lost not only her husband, but her unborn child too.” That was still a tough one for him to swallow. “Be there for her, but…sleeping together in the same bed and holding her…you know it’s going to lead down a road neither of you are ready for.  She’s definitely not ready to sleep with anyone.” Joe did not know Jon and Tressa had already crossed a line back in Vegas. “If you don’t want to be a rebound, and if you don’t want your heart ripped out, you gotta show a little restraint and patience.”

 

Colby didn’t see that going over well.

 

Jon didn’t either and groaned. “Someone take my phone…”

 

Colby snatched it, a bit surprised. “Uh… should I tell her you’re having a guy’s night?” He offered a bit sympathetically, knowing that was the best reason Jon could give and it would be true.  He had his best friends, his bros, watching his back and if that meant helping him restrain himself -because Jon didn’t know the meaning of the word- then so be it.

 

“For tonight at least, yeah…”

 

Maybe they were right.  Why did it feel wrong then?  Abandoning her like this?  Jon knew, rationally, that was a stupid thought given she had done this for months on her own, but what if she fell back into that pit?

 

Hanging with the boys tonight.  Talk to you later.

 

Tressa went to respond and didn’t, instead tossing her phone on the bed.  If Jon wanted to hang out with Joe and Colby for the night, or any night, who was she to stop him?  Pulling her hair up in a clip from her bag, Tressa slid the robe from her body and padded into the bathroom to sink into the tub, the hot water soothing her instantly.  Instead of Vodka, she opted for wine tonight and had the bottle on the side, her glass halfway filled.  Sighing heavily, Tressa closed her eyes and tried not to let the tears sting her eyes as Joseph popped in. 

 

Work and the boys were a distraction, but now that she was alone, again, the grief was threatening to overtake her all over again.  Taking a few deep breaths, she whispered how much she loved and missed her husband, took a drink of wine and let a few tears slide down her cheeks.  It wasn’t full-blown sobbing, but crying was also a release she needed, knowing holding everything in would only be detrimental to her own health.

 

This was how Joe knew Jon needed a night away from Tressa.  He kept badgering Colby to check his damn cell.  Colby had contemplated giving it back to Jon, but then passed it to Joe.  Jon had badgered once, Joe had thumped his head.  They had dug out Colby’s gaming console and were co-opting on a shooter, Joe had naturally suggested football but been shot down.

 

“She’s fine.  You haven’t even been back that long – damn it, watch your six! – and you’re already probably crowding the hell out of her.”

 

“Shut up, Colby, your ass man, watch your ass!”

 

“Is that what ‘six’ means?”

 

Jon turned to find Colby in game and began wasting ammo on trying to kill his buddy.  Of course it didn’t do jackshit, friendly fire was off, but it was therapeutic anyway.

 

Chapter 18

 

Summerslam went off without a problem and, even being short-handed since Tabitha was still puking her brains out, Tressa and Suzanne got through it with flying colors.  Everything was done in a timely manner and they worked as a well-oiled machine.  Tressa hadn’t gotten any text messages from Jon and figured he was busy, so she didn’t bother him and focused on her work.  Tonight, she wore a black skirt with a white WWE logo buttoned up polo, looking a little nicer than normal.  Suzanne was in black leggings and kept complaining how her ass was way too big for them.  Vince had dinner catered, just like every pay-per-view event, though Summerslam was one of the major four shows out of the year. 

 

Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Summerslam and Survivor Series were the main four.  Her hair was up in a fanned bun on top of her head, having the hairdresser, Jan, do it really quick in between taking care of the women wrestlers.  She hadn’t asked Jan to do her hair in a long time, so when she approached the woman, Jan hugged her tightly and told her to sit her backside in her chair.  Tressa didn’t tell her what happened, deciding Jon, Colby and Joe were the only ones, besides Vince, Stephanie and Paul, who needed to know her personal business.

 

Once again, Jon left her alone and didn’t text her or contact her, not even coming to visit her at the seamstress station.  Tressa tried not to let it bother her, pushing it to the side and left the arena with Suzanne, after the woman convinced her to go out after the show.  Going back to the hotel alone didn’t sound very good, so Tressa reluctantly agreed to go for an hour or two, but first she had to change her top.  There was no way she was going out wearing a WWE logo polo and Suzanne agreed, also needing to change.  She ordered Tressa not to wear any black, wanting the woman to be in color for a change, and Tressa admitted she didn’t really have anything. 

 

Suzanne loaned her a silver sleeveless top that went with her black skirt and Tressa had to admit, it did look better than all black.  She looked down at her wedding ring, contemplating if she should take it off and leave it on, deciding she wasn’t ready for that step yet.  It would also keep prowlers at bay as well if men thought she was married…hopefully.  Suzanne begged to do her makeup and Tressa caved, making it clear she didn’t want to look like a whore.  Suzanne gave her smoky eyes, peach gloss and foundation, making her grey eyes pop.  An hour later, the women were on their way out of the hotel arm in arm, headed to wherever Brooklyn took them.

 

Colby called it a ‘detox’, whatever the hell that meant.  Jon had tried to get his cell back, but once he had given it to his friend, they had both claimed it.  It was the same thing he had tried to do to Tressa except Colby and Joe when together could actually stop his ass.  Jerks.  They kept him up on texts and alerts, let him answer business calls, but they were adamant he ‘take a few days’ because it wasn’t natural to be up someone’s backside apparently.  Liars.  It was perfectly natural.

 

“You can have it back at the end of the night, okay?  When we’re done partying.” Colby teased, combing his freshly washed hair out. “This is our last night keeping you away from her, and you’re going to quit your damn moping.”

 

Tressa had to be led where to go and what to do by Suzanne, feeling completely out of her element.  She was on the dance floor currently, trying to sway her hips, but honestly, she was a horrible dancer.  The most she’d ever done, dancing wise, was slow and that had only been with her husband, no other man.  Tressa hadn’t gone to prom in high school or school dances, staying home instead since she was a nerd.  After a few shots of Vodka, however, she began loosening up a bit more with Suzanne as they let loose on the dance floor together, laughing when Suzanne stumbled against her.

 

“Whoa, easy there, girl!  Come on, let’s take a breather!” She shouted, guiding Suzanne off the dance floor and found their table.  Both women had brought wallets that were securely in their back pockets, so they didn’t have to deal with carrying purses throughout the night.  They also made sure not to leave their drinks unattended either and finished them off before leaving their table, just to be on the safe side.

 

Jon had no idea how long she had been here, but he knew he had been in this packed, two-story club for over an hour and this was the first he had seen her.  She looked…gorgeous.  Tressa was wearing color and makeup, and he was a bit amused that liquid courage had made those delicious hips of hers more confident out on that dance floor.  He had been approached many times and he had sent them all to Joe, who wasn’t amused because Joe was very married.

 

“Fine, go.” Colby sighed, leaning over the railing to see what had Jon’s attention.  Across the floor, dropping into a chair was Tressa, looking happy and…like she was having fun. “Just remember, we did this for your own good.” He slapped the cell back into Jon’s palm.

 

“Uh huh.” He was already gone.

 

Suzanne was telling her a story about what her teenage daughter had done the last time she was home.  She had caught the girl in a very…precarious position with a boy in her living room.  Suzanne was in her 30’s, but had a 16-year-old daughter, Cynthia, who tested her patience everywhere she turned.  Suzanne had her at the tender age of 15 and, against all odds, raised her the best she could.  Having this job with WWE made finances a lot better, but Cynthia resented Suzanne for always being gone and being forced to stay with her grandparents instead of home alone.  Tressa couldn’t help laughing as Suzanne explained how she put the fear of GOD into the boy, who ran out of the house like his backside was on fire.

 

“And then I…Oh, hello Ambrose.” Suzanne waved three fingers at him with a grin, having a nice buzz going on.

 

“Wait, what?” Tressa turned her head and looked up into the deep blues of Jon, feeling her heart skip a beat.  He was in one of those muscle tanks that really showed off his trapezoids and tight blue jeans that looked like they were painted on. “Hi…” What the hell was he doing here in a place like this?

 

Suzanne smirked, deciding to give them a minute alone and went to go get a refill at the bar.

 

To be fair, Jon was sort of wondering the same thing about her.  This was not a place he would have pegged as a hangout for Tressa.  Not that he didn’t enjoy seeing her out and smiling, having a good time, because he did.  It was normal, and maybe that’s what she needed.  Also, she was smoking in that get-up. “Hi.” He took Suzanne’s freshly vacated seat, sweeping his eyes over that silver top. “So…” He drummed his long fingers on the tabletop. “I think you should come dance with me.” And he was right back on his feet again, already reaching for her hand.

 

“Since when do you dance?” Tressa asked curiously, allowing Jon to guide her to the dance floor and pulled her into his arms, their bodies aligned together. 

 

Not even a piece of paper could be pushed between them.  Jon was full of surprises as they began swaying slowly together, the song equaling their movements.  This was more her pace instead of what she’d been doing with Suzanne earlier.

 

“Suzy made me come out tonight, by the way.  I told her I was going back to the hotel and she convinced me otherwise.  And then she made me wear silver because all black is too fucking depressing.” She rolled her eyes at that. “Her words, not mine.”

 

“Well, I for one, am grateful to Suzy Q. because you’re looking gorgeous in silver.” All black was fine, and could be hot, except he knew she wasn’t wearing all black to enhance her looks, so much as she just didn’t give a rat’s ass these days.  He liked that she had let Suzanne gussy her up, it meant on some level, she was starting to care again. “I haven’t been…ignoring you, much.” He said after a moment, knowing going from being around each other nearly 24/7 to nothing, not even a text message, was pretty crappy on his end. “The guys confiscated my cell for a few days.”

 

“It’s fine, Jon, really.  I’ve been…clingy to you this past week and I didn’t mean to be.  It’s just…I was alone for so long after Joseph passed away and…I pushed everyone away because…” They weren’t you, she finished that statement in thought, lowering her eyes from him to look at his chest. “You and I have always had this deep connection to each other, so when you returned last week, I couldn’t help letting you in.  Colby and Joe are nice and everything, but I just didn’t want to feel connected to anyone else.  I even tried pushing you away and you bulldozed your way through.” Tressa looked back up at him, reaching up to caress his bearded face. “It’s one of the reasons I agreed to stay with you at your house in Vegas because…I don’t want to be alone anymore or disconnected, you know?”

 

Jon wasn’t about to tell her WHY they had confiscated his cell phone, not after that bulldoze comment.  Is that what he did?  He frowned slightly, staring down into Tressa’s face intently. “I’m glad to hear it, darlin’.” He brought a hand up to cup the one of hers that was still against the side of his face, squeezing gently. “Is bulldozing bad, Tres?” He had to lower his head, so she could hear him over the music when it changed, there was a lot of bass, he liked it.  It got his blood pumping, not that he overly needed help in that area.  

 

She was doing a great job with that by herself.

 

“No.” She spoke in his ear as well, pressing herself closer to him and kissed his neck softly. “I’m glad you did it and you kept pushing me because opening up to you helped me.  You made me feel more alive than I have felt in months, Jon.” Tressa pulled back to look up into his eyes, thankful she was wearing two-inch heels because at least she was two inches taller than him and he didn’t have to strain as much to talk to her or dance. “I unloaded a lot on you and you took it all in stride.  If you need a night or two or three, however many, without me to be with the boys or by yourself, take it.  Because there will be nights I just want to be left alone to wallow in my grief and I know that’s normal too.”

 

“Kitten, I just spent a few nights with the boys.  You got me spoiled, they reminded me that men in groups are disgusting creatures.” He joked, knowing eventually she would definitely want time away from him, especially if he kept going down the path his mind was already meandering down.  She had said friends, she didn’t want to ruin their friendship. “You can unload on me anytime, Tres, that’s what I’m here for.” He hadn’t meant for it to come out husky, his rasping voice dropping an octave, but it did.  His offer of a shoulder sounded a bit more of a come on.  He was batting solids tonight for sure.

 

Her cheeks tinged red when he said those words, her forehead pressing against his shoulder because she too was warring with herself over him. “Jon…” His name came out in a whimper, turmoil filling her grey eyes because she did want him sexually.  The sound of his gritty, raspy voice did not help matters and she could already feel the pool forming in her panties. “I’ll always want to spoil you, Daddy.  And for the record,” Her hand slowly slid up his rock-hard chest, feeling his muscles ripple beneath the thin material of the muscle shirt he had on. “You can unload on me anytime you want too.  I’m always here for you.”

 

Jon just barely managed to stifle the groan, knowing damn well it would come out tinged with the lust he was currently feeling.  He definitely did not want to unload on her, more like he wanted to unload IN her.  Thank God for tight jeans and blue balls, well...maybe not the second one. “Promises, promises, kitten…” He rumbled, his face inches from hers.  

 

Her tongue darted out to swipe her bottom lip and he was done for, leaning in to brush his lips to hers.  Tingles and warmth instantly spread through every orifice of her body the moment his lips touched hers.  It was the softest of kisses and Tressa craved more, ignoring the alarm bells ringing in her head again.  Jon was her friend!  What was she doing?  Did she really want to risk their friendship being destroyed for a couple hours of sex?  Tressa couldn’t pull away from him, feeling his arms tighten around her and wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss deepening.

 

“Jon…” She mumbled against his lips, slowly breaking the kiss to look up at him with stormy smoldering greys, caressing his bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. “Y-You’re not making this easy, Daddy…” Tressa kissed him again this time, harder and moaned as they tasted each other right on the dance floor. “Take me somewhere we can be alone…” She spoke against his lips, completely contradicting herself and the desire was evident in her tone.

 

“Now kitten,” He nipped her bottom lip with a soft growl. “You know damn well I don’t ever do anything the easy way, always hard.” And he rolled his hips against hers, feeling her body leaning into his almost as if in response.  They had been batting around each other and he had even allowed himself to be kept away from her.  Obviously, he wasn’t about to walk away from her anytime soon, he couldn’t.  He had sort of tried and failed miserably. “You sure, Tressa?”

 

He’d give her one last chance to tell him no, to tell him to fuck off, to change her mind.  Then, if she was still in the right frame of mind, he’d take her somewhere and fuck her until she forgot everything, including her own damn name.  Stepping back, Tressa took his hand and walked off the dance floor with him, making their way through the crowd until they made it outside in the warm fresh air.  Suzanne was busy talking to some young buck inside, so she knew the woman wouldn’t mind if she bounced early.  Keeping hold of Jon’s hand, she made her way to the parking lot and felt him spin her around to where their chests collided, his hand cupping her face before plundering her lips again.

 

“I-I want you…but…this is all I can give you, Jon.” Her eyes searched his intently, wanting to make it clear if they had sex, that’s all it would be between them.  Just sex. “I’m damaged and you know that, so if you want to go down this road with me, sex is all it can be between us.  I’m sure I want you, but…are YOU sure you’ll be okay with it just being sex between us?  Are you really sure you want to go down this road with me?” If not, she would find someone else to get her rocks off with, who didn’t mean nearly as much to her as he did.

 

Chapter 19

 

“You’re worried our friendship will change.” He said slowly, knowing for now sex would be more than enough.  Jon had been around the block enough times to know that eventually sex led to more; this would be the first time for him where he actually wanted that, but… he was patient. “Kitten,” He gripped her by the hips, pulling her up onto her toes, so she was pressed against his rock-hard body. “Don’t overthink it, we’re always going to be friends, friends with benefits if you want.” His hands were moving to her ass, palming her cheeks. “Trust me, Tres.”

 

“I do.” She murmured, taking his hand again to pull him over to the side of the building and brought his face down to hers, passionately kissing him.  It was darkness and nobody would see them. “I need you inside of me, Daddy.  Right now.” She breathed against his lips, already unfastening the belt of his jeans and pulled back enough to pull her panties down, kicking them to the side. “Unload inside of me right against this building…” Parking lot sex sounded incredible and Jon was adventurous enough to do it, a smile crossing her face the moment he lifted her to wrap her legs around his waist. “God, fuck me, Jon…”

 

Aware she was going to regret this in the morning because this brick building wasn’t as giving as his muscular body, Jon positioned himself against her wet sex.  He rubbed his tip up and down her slit, hearing her hissing and felt her hips wriggling, trying to get him inside of her. “Impatient much, kitten?” He rumbled, burying his face in the crook of her neck right before snapping his own hips forward, burying himself to the hilt inside her receptive body.

 

His breath was gone, she felt like she had been made for him, tight and hot, and she was trembling, feeling her hands digging into his shoulders.  Jon kissed her pulse point, moving his arms to wedge them between her back and the wall, keeping her from getting too messed up.  Jon was bigger than she realized or thought, her body stretching to its limits to accommodate his massive girth.

 

“Oh…goddamn…Jon…” She panted in his ear, clinging to him for dear life and knew this would be over very fast. 

 

Tressa did not care if her back got scratched up, but she could feel Jon’s arm, stopping her from being harmed.  This man always put her wellbeing before anything else, even while being balls deep inside of her.  Turning her head, Tressa captured his mouth to sear his lips with hers, moving in rhythm with him and enjoyed the animalistic nature Jon showed her.

 

They were in a public place and, even though it was dark, they could still get caught.  If someone came right up to them.  He doubted it, but he didn’t think the WWE wouldn’t appreciate two of its employees getting busted for public indecency.  If he had hurt her, she didn’t say so, and Jon rocked in and out of her tiny body, knowing if he really went to town, he could probably break her in half.  Hell, maybe Tressa wanted to be broken.  He had to move his hands down, cupping her bare ass and began moving her on him with sheer strength.

 

“You’re so fucking tight, darlin’…” He kissed down her neck, sinking teeth into the fleshy area where shoulder and neck met.

 

Being broken by Jon was a delicious thought as Tressa’s eyes slammed shut, feeling his teeth sinking into her flesh.  She bit down on his shoulder as well, through the material and it caused him to growl.  It was the only way to keep herself from screaming out in ecstasy.

 

“You’re so big, Jon…god, make me cum…make me cum for you…” She panted in his ear, nipping his lobe and another growl escaped him as he pressed used pure strength to let her bounce on and off his dick. 

 

He would not press her back against the building and Tressa could feel her climax building rapidly.  Maybe having their first time in a parking lot wasn’t the best place, but Tressa wasn’t complaining and neither was Jon, both lost in the moment with each other.  Jon definitely wasn’t complaining, though in all the times he had envisioned this potential moment, outside of a club had not been in any of the fantasies.  Sweat was beading on his body as he thrust hip hips up each time he brought her down.  Feeling her beginning to quiver and shake against him, all around him, it sent delicious vibrations through him.

 

“Cum for me, kitten,” He ordered harshly, knowing his own release wasn’t far off. “FUCK!” Jon didn’t care who heard that, her pussy had just locked down on him and he couldn’t breathe.

 

It was the most exquisite torture ever and he powered on, refusing to stop.

 

Slamming her lips down on his, Tressa’s cries were muffled as her climax hit hard, crashing over her intensely and forced her body to shudder.  Her climax forced Jon’s body to submit, his seed exploding inside of her and he kept thrusting, filling her to the brink.  Tressa trembled, not pulling her lips away from his because another cry was muffled, her breathing harsh.  Her back met the wall as Jon settled her there, pressing his body against hers and kept thrusting until he physically could not do it anymore, his limp dick sliding out of her.  They both groaned at the loss of each other and she pressed her forehead against his, laughing breathlessly.

 

“That was better than I envisioned, Daddy.” She kissed him again as he slowly let her slide down the length of his body until her heeled feet met the pavement.  Jesus, her thighs were trembling and Jon kept an arm around her while retrieving her panties with a swipe of his free hand. “Thanks.” She slipped them back on quickly, leaning against Jon’s side while still catching her breath.

 

“So,” Jon huffed, a hand coming up to rest over his rapidly beating heart as he cracked a grin down at her.  He then began tucking himself back into his jeans, feeling more than a little drained, but definitely in a good, relaxing way.  This time, it had been HIS name coming from her lips. “You’ve envisioned that, huh?” He had not missed that at all and needed a cigarette after that short, lusty bout.  

 

Stepping away from the wall, feeling his pockets, Jon pulled out his semi-new pack, offering her one.  Once nicotine had filtered through his system, he felt a lot better and leaned an arm against the wall, staring down at her through the very horrible lighting of the one streetlight that actually worked.  Even muffled, it was clearly Jon’s name she had wanted to shout out to the heavens and nobody else, including her dead husband.  Tressa flushed, realizing what she confessed to him and nodded, taking a drag of her own cigarette.

 

“Ever since what happened between us in Vegas.  I…thought it would happen then.”

 

He had backed off for some reason, however, and she still didn’t understand why.  Other than she’d been a complete emotional wreck, which made perfect sense.  Tressa wished her thighs would stop trembling and wondered what would happen now that they had sex in a club parking lot, of all places.  She had been the one to initiate it all and even took her own panties off.  Did Jon think less of her for basically jumping him?

 

“Do you want to go back inside or head to the hotel to be more comfortable?”

 

“I don’t think either of us want to go back inside.” For one, he wasn’t mixing sweat from that hot club with the need to wash because dry cum on himself wasn’t a fun feeling he had going on, and she probably felt the same.  He had gone off like a geyser and there were several months of pent-up aggression he had just filled her with. “You got your shit?” Jon asked, watching as she felt her pocket for something and then nodded. “Good.” Wrapping his arm around her neck, pulling her into him, Jon was mindful of the cigarette in her hand and guided her away from his new favorite spot. “Hotel it is, darlin’.” They weren’t done with tonight, he definitely had more gas in the tank, but they weren’t going to be shacking up against any more public buildings tonight either.

 

Jon wasn’t going to tempt fate and go to jail.

 

Tressa wasn’t done with him either, holding his hand the entire ride back to the hotel.  Why didn’t she feel guilty about this?  Shouldn’t she feel terrible for sleeping with another man that wasn’t Joseph?  Jon wasn’t just anyone…he was her best friend and not a stranger.  They made small talk on the way back, mostly Jon telling her about what he did with Colby and Joe.  Playing video games, belching, and farting, eating pizza…it sounded like every bachelor’s wet dream.

 

“So, no pornos eh?”

 

She laughed at the look on his face as he pulled into the hotel and parked the car.  Unfastening her seatbelt, Tressa slid out of the car and immediately took his hand again, letting Jon guide her to the back instead of going in the front because there were countless fans swarming the entrance.  The moment they were inside her room, Jon’s mouth descended hungrily on hers again and lifted her in his arms, carting her to the bathroom for a much-needed cleanse.  There would be NO porno watching with other men, that just made it an uncomfortable, half-assed circle jerk and Jon wasn’t into that sort of thing.  He was a pretty experimental kind of guy, but not THAT experimental.  There were lines.

 

“I’m thinking about making a porno with you.” He rumbled, snorting when she began shaking her head, depositing her pert backside on the countertop before reaching in to start the shower. “Arms up, kitten.” He ordered, watching as she obeyed and grabbed the hem of Tressa’s shirt, slowly sliding it up over her stomach, her breasts and finally off of her, tossing it out the open bathroom door.

 

“You too, Daddy.”

 

Tressa slid her hands up his muscle shirt, taking her time to devour his body and pressed soft kisses against his abs.  They were delicious…this man had taken his rehabilitation to the next level and his body made her mouth water.  She pushed the shirt all the way up over his head, having to reach up to the point of straining and tossed his shirt out the door along with hers.  Or rather, Suzy’s.  Jon lifted her from the counter to remove her skirt and panties, then turned her around to unfasten her bra with his teeth.  The bathroom was nice and steamy as she turned to unfasten his jeans, pushing them down his very long legs.  Once they were both completely naked, Jon drew her into his arms under the hot sprays and Tressa took the band out of her hair, tossing it over the curtain before letting him devour her all over again.  Honestly, Jon was more addicting than Vodka and cigarettes combined…a dangerous, delicious combination.

 

“Jon…”

 

“Yes, Tres?”

 

His hands glided down her wet body, slowly lowering himself to his knees in the shower before her.  Tilting his head back, Jon smiled wickedly up at her before slowly running his tongue up along her slit.  He heard her hiss before her fingers were in his short hair, nails in his scalp.  She tasted like both of them and smelled delicious, she smelled like…him.  It was bringing out something primal in him and he growled, burying his face in her pussy, hearing his name coming from those beautiful lips again.

 

~!~

 

Joe had cancer. 

 

Leukemia. 

 

Every employee was surrounding monitors backstage to watch his announcement and Tressa couldn’t feel her legs.  Tears slid down her cheeks slowly, seeing the tears in Joe’s eyes while he announced to the world about battling Leukemia for 11 years.  It had been in remission at a young age, but now it was back, and he had to relinquish the WWE Universal championship he’d been chasing for years.  Suzanne and Tabitha stared at the screen with tears in their own eyes, but they weren’t nearly as close to the Shield boys as Tressa. 

 

Her heart ached for Joe and she excused herself once his announcement was over, Jon and Colby walking out on the top of the stage to meet him.  The haunted look in Jon’s eyes…Tressa would never forget it as long as she lived.  He was doing everything in his power to hold back tears while Colby let them flow freely, along with Joe, who was trying to be strong.  When they got backstage, Tressa was there and immediately walked over to Joe, leaning up to hug him tightly around the neck.  Joe hadn’t told anyone about this, not even his closest friends, so everyone was in shock.

 

“We’re always here for you, Joe.  Don’t ever forget that, all right?” Tressa whispered in his ear, squeezing him probably a little too tight.

 

“I know, baby girl, I know…” Joe murmured in return, knowing he had shocked everyone with his announcement, but it had to be done.

 

Tressa nodded, pulling back and glanced over at Jon, who still had that look in his eyes and all she wanted to do was go to him, but…they decided not to involve their personal lives at work.  They had been sleeping together for just about a month now, sharing hotel rooms together and she was still staying at his house in Vegas.  Things had been going great – sex had taken over her addiction for Vodka, but not cigarettes.  Tressa was getting proper sleep again and sleeping in Jon’s arms felt amazing, comfortable and their friendship had gotten stronger, if that was possible.

 

Now…everything had shattered and had fallen to pieces again.

 

Jon was in shock, so was Colby.  Jon couldn’t even cry, though it felt like he wanted too, or he should.  Hell, nothing made sense right now.  How could Joe hide this from them?  His best friends?  A little nagging voice at the back of his head told him that wasn’t fair because it wasn’t like he was exactly forthcoming with his own health issues, or mental health issues as it were.  Though Tressa, being with her, had been sort of helping with that.  Having sex and getting scratched up had really made Jon stop and start thinking and working through those issues.

 

“Damn it.” He hissed, waiting until Tressa was out of the way before clobbering his friend with another hug.

 

“It’s all right, bro, I’m gonna get through this.  I just gotta go get this taken care of.” Joe murmured in his best friend’s ear, feeling Jon trembling slightly and cupped the back of his head, knowing everything had changed with this announcement. “I gotta jet, man.  Gotta flight to catch to Pensacola to start treatment.” Pulling back, Joe scrubbed hands down his face just as all the women wrestlers came up to crowd him with a group hug, kissing the top of their heads. 

 

Then Nia came up to him, his cousin, holding her close while Jon and Colby were ushered away to have an emergency meeting for tonight’s show.

 

Tressa reluctantly went back to her table, wrapping her arms around herself and instead of going back to work, she went outside for a much-needed nicotine fix…and a good cry.

 

Chapter 20

 

“You all right, lass?”

 

Tonight was not the night she was going to be left alone.  Drew was outside, leaning against the building getting some much-needed fresh air.  That announcement of Joe’s had shaken the locker room to its very core.  He wasn’t a smoker, but on occasion, he would chew some fine loose-leaf tobacco.  Currently, he had a bit in his mouth and turned sideways to look down at Tressa, who had tears streaming down her face.

 

“No, no you’re not.”

 

He reached out to catch a tear on his thumb before pulling his hand away.  Of course not, she was the unofficial mascot of the Shield, everyone knew it, she was one of the ‘group’ with them.  From her reaction, from all their reactions, Joe hadn’t told any of them anything at all, this had been sprung on them along with the rest of the world all at the same time.  Tressa had some run-ins with Andrew, but it was all friendly and he no longer intimidated her.  He was currently dressed in a pair of his trunks and a t-shirt that looked painted on.

 

“No, no I’m not.” She agreed solemnly, trembling while taking a drag of her cigarette and leaned her head back against the building, looking up at the sky shaking her head.  Why was this happening?  Joe was one of the NICEST human beings she’d ever had the privilege of knowing, of befriending!  Just like her husband, he didn’t deserve this! “Damn it…”

 

Drew stooped to catch that cigarette when her shaking hand dropped it.  A bit amazed and a whole lot impressed with himself when he pinched the butt perfectly between his thumb and forefinger.  He hadn’t burnt himself or crushed it, tonight was definitely not a normal night.  He held it out to her silently, watching as she took it and placed it immediately back between her quivering lips.

 

“Are you going to be able to work tonight, Tressa?” He asked gently, knowing those shaking hands of hers were not going to mix well with a sewing machine.

 

This poor woman needed to go back to her hotel.

 

Honestly, she wasn’t sure and really wished Joe would have given her, Jon, and Colby a heads up before he went in front of millions to announce he had a life-threatening disease.  Sighing heavily, she slowly nodded and clenched her hand in a ball to rest over her breaking heart, letting the smoke slowly filter out of her nostrils.  Her hand stopped shaking after a few more drags and Tressa’s eyes slowly opened, not expecting Andrew to be standing right in front of her or his hand reaching out to cup the side of her face gently.  Christ, his hand was huge and she took another deep breath for a completely different reason.

 

“I’m okay.” She assured him quietly, seeing the concern written on his face and cracked a sad smile.

 

He could probably wrap both his hands around her face and his fingers may just touch in the back of her head, he had long fingers and she was tiny.  He liked that, her being tiny, he was like any other male and enjoyed the dominance his sheer size alone usually garnered for him, especially with smaller people and small women.  They also usually enjoyed being dominated, they found it exciting and overwhelming. Maybe not in moment’s like these however and he took exactly one small, measured step backwards to give her a bit of space.

 

“You sure?” That smile said otherwise; it was a miserable, sad, fake smile.

 

“Y-Yeah…yeah, thanks for asking, Andrew.” Tressa went to head back inside, but he reached out to wrap his hand around her upper arm, stopping her from leaving.

 

“I need to ask you something, lass.”

 

Frowning, Tressa turned to slowly look up at him and felt his hand leave her upper arm.  He’d only done it to stop her from leaving, not to hurt her.  She had to keep reminding herself of that whenever she was around this huge man. “What is it, Andrew?” She asked curiously, folding her arms in front of her chest. “You can ask me anything.”

 

He smiled somewhat sheepishly, sliding fingers through his long black hair. “Anything, huh?  Well, I was wondering if ye might wanna have dinner with me tonight.  Ye look like you could use an outing after receiving that horrible news.” His accent was thicker than normal tonight, his tone lower. “What say you, lass?”

 

Andrew was asking her out on a date? “I-I’m married, Andrew…” She held up her hand, trying like hell to keep her voice steady and the diamond ring on her left ring finger sparkled back at him. “I’m going to have to decline, but thank you anyway.” Tressa hadn’t taken her ring off, not ready for that step quite yet, not even being with Jon. “I really have to head back inside.  Have a nice night.” She scurried through the door before Andrew could say much more and went back to her table, trying to push aside the uneasy feeling Andrew gave her outside.

 

Drew watched as she hauled arse like it was lit on fire, shaking his head.  Married.  Of course.  And she was obviously one of THOSE types, the kind who didn’t cheat and there were plenty of those in this business.  A rare gem was Tressa then.  He stroked his chin thoughtfully, wondering if pursuing a married woman would be worth it and then shook his head.  No, probably not.  Well, at least not right now, not when she was obviously having issues because of Joe’s announcement on top of her marriage.  Drew doubted she’d fall to his charms with both those things looming over her.

 

“You okay?” Tabitha asked quietly when Tressa finally made it back to the sewing station, knowing how hard hearing that about Joe must have hit the other woman.  She still looked pale and sick to her stomach. “If you need to take off, Suzanne and I got this.”

 

“I’m okay.”

 

It wasn’t Joe’s announcement that had her insides quaking and she knew it.  Tressa wouldn’t say anything, however, because Andrew hadn’t given her any inclination he meant to hurt her.  He really was a nice guy and she sighed, knowing she had to get her head on straight.  Leaving the arena without Jon wasn’t an option; she couldn’t begin to imagine what he was going through after hearing Joe’s announcement.

 

What nobody knew was that night, Vince had forced the issue of Jon to turn heel against Colby, after their Tag Team match to win the titles.  Jon had beaten the holy living crap out of Colby, even delivering ‘Dirty Deeds’ on the hard concrete after pulling the protective mat up, just to add insult to injury.  Tressa looked up, not knowing what was happening and watch as Jon STALKED down the hallway, no shirt on, black cargo pants and a pissed off expression on his face. 

 

What the hell happened?

 

Colby was wheeled backstage, both for show and because the concrete was not forgiving and Jon in his anger might’ve oversold the move.  Jon had whispered apologies profusely in his ear out there and Colby had reassured him he was fine, shaken the hell up, but fine.  To prove it, he rolled off the stretcher as soon as he could, catching himself on the wall.  He didn’t even need to ask if Jon was around, he already knew his friend had probably taken off to vent some anger or something.

 

“Damn it…” He groaned, wondering what the hell was Vince’s damage.  This night hadn’t been good to anyone at all and for Vince to pull that shit, after Joe’s announcement…Vince was lucky Jon hadn’t performed ‘Dirty Deeds’ on HIS old ass.

 

They had won the Tag Team championships, but then Jon had turned on Colby during their celebration in the ring.  Colby had hugged him and Jon had lashed out, destroying his Tag Team partner.  Where did that leave them as being champions?  Vince had lost his mind to do it on THIS night, but it was also brilliant.  Evil and brilliant.  The emotions the crowd felt was already at an all-time high and WWE had been teasing Jon’s turn for weeks.  If they were going to do it, now was the time and that was Vince’s logic.  Tressa looked up at Tabitha spotting Colby and she was out of her chair instantly, seeing he was holding his head.

 

“You need to go to the trainer, Colbs.” She murmured, seeing he was holding onto the wall to keep himself standing straight. “You’ve got a cut on your forehead…” Maybe that was why Jon had reacted the way he did, stalking down the hallway.  She didn’t know.

 

“I’m fine.” Colby grunted, pushing her away gently but firmly and headed to his locker room, needing a shower.  A technician jogged up, handing him the tag belts and Colby lost it, beginning to cry as he tossed them to the side before storming off.

 

“Shit.”

 

“If he’s like that,” Suzanne said quietly, joining the other two women and began fidgeting with her hands. “How’s Jon?” She bet he wasn’t happy at all with the way this night had played out. “God…tonight’s just been terrible all the way around.” She sighed, shaking her head and turned to get back to finish cleaning up her station. 

 

Thank god the night was over. 

 

Jon was destroying the room he had taken over.  Vince was an evil prick.  Joe was leaving to fight leukemia again.  He had just hurt his other best friend.  Growling, he picked up a chair and hurled it at the wall.

 

Tressa frowned, not sure how to answer Suzanne and wanted to go to him, but she knew how volatile Jon’s temper could be.  Instead, Tressa decided to leave him alone for the moment and cleaned up her station, trying to wrap her mind around everything that transpired tonight.  Joe’s announcement, Jon turning heel on Colby and the uneasy feeling Andrew gave her.  She was ready for a drink and bed, wondering if Jon would even join her at the hotel tonight or if he’d go blow off some steam somewhere else.  She didn’t even know where to begin looking for him in the arena since there was a good chance he wasn’t in his dressing room…the same dressing room he shared with Joe.

 

“Let’s go.” Jon snorted when Tressa nearly jumped out of her skin, watching her ass go about a foot in the air.  He had grabbed his belongings and had an unlit cigarette dangling from his bottom lip, ready to bail and light it up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, kitten.” He offered her a humorless smile, her hand over her heart, he bet it was going a mile a minute.  Tonight was just not anyone’s night. “I need a drink, darlin’, how about you?”

 

“Just…give me a minute, fuck.” Tressa hadn’t been scared like that in a while and was sure she was having heart palpitations. “Christ Jon, wear a bell or something!” She snapped, not meaning to, but tonight was not the night to do something like that. “And yeah, I could use several drinks.  Goodnight ladies, see you tomorrow.” She waved at Suzy and Tabby on their way out, leaving her alone with Jon, who had his bag slung over his shoulder and he was still bare from the waist up. “Not gonna put a shirt on, Daddy?”

 

“Not tonight, kitten,” He didn’t apologize for scaring her again, and he didn’t expect her to apologize for snapping.  It had been totally warranted. “Vince McMahon is a cocksucker.” He growled, once they were outside the building, instantly lighting that cigarette up and glanced down at her. “I’m pretty sure I got Colby a lot harder than I meant too.” He KNEW he had, and now he was going to have to go grovel to one of his best friends, once he was off his period.

 

Or let Colby have a chance at whipping his ass, something along those lines.

 

“I’m sure Colby understands.  Emotions were running high tonight and if the roles were reversed, he probably wouldn’t hammered you harder than necessary too.” Tressa reasoned, hearing Jon snort at that and shrugged, walking beside him while he smoked his cigarette.  She surmised Vince was responsible for Jon turning heel on Colby and silently agreed he was a cocksucker for doing it the same night Joe announced his diagnosis. “If you want to be alone tonight, all you have to do is say so, Jon.  I’m here for you though, whatever you need.”

 

Jon cocked an eyebrow down at her, wondering if she understood what the potential implications of that one little offer were in his current mood.  He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her into him and blew smoke out the side of his mouth, away from her. “What I need, kitten, is to take you back to the room and fuck your sweet ass into the mattress.” He informed her, his intense pale blues searching her face intently. “Any objections?”

 

“Now, how many times do I have to tell you my ass is off limits?  You can fuck me in the mattress all you want, but not my ass.” Tressa smirked, knowing she was being a smartass and laughed when Jon lifted her over his shoulder, smacking her backside firmly with his hand. “Jon!” She squealed out, knowing that would be a LONG way down if he accidentally dropped her and clung to his back. “You do have a great ass, by the way.”

 

“So do you, darlin’,” He was palming said ass vigorously. “You sure I can’t have this ass?  MY ass?” He drawled, carrying her towards the rental. “You might even like it.” He had worshipped every last inch of Tressa, minus that one sacred space.  Which, he respected, ass play and anal sex wasn’t for everyone.  Laughing, he felt her shifting and lowered her until she was riding his hip, nuzzling her nose with his.

 

He was already feeling better.

 

~!~

 

Another month passed by in the blink of an eye. 

 

November drifted into December, making it nearly 2 months since Joe’s departure from WWE.  Jon had tried calling him, but the man’s wife told him Joe wasn’t taking phone calls at the moment.  That made Jon in a sour mood, to put it mildly.  He hadn’t left Tressa alone and the sex had gotten…somewhat violent.  It was nothing Tressa couldn’t handle, however, and she knew Jon needed to vent his frustration on her willing body.  Bruising was about the only aftermath she didn’t particular enjoy, but it was nothing a hot bath/shower couldn’t fix.

 

For the third time, the court date had been continued until 2019 with Joseph’s family and Clementine told her the judge was giving the family ample time to come to their senses.  They had no leg to stand on, no matter how badly they wanted to fight the system.  She was positive Tressa would win this, no doubts in her mind because her client was a FAITHFUL, LOYAL wife to Joseph, even though Terri kept claiming she committed infidelity against her son.  The woman would stop at NOTHING to win this case and Clementine told Tressa to take a deep breath because they had a long fight ahead of them that would result in destroying his entire family for putting her through this.  Because now they were going to sue Joseph’s family for slander, especially since Terri had brought WWE into the picture.  Luckily, it hadn’t gotten to the point where the company had to get involved, but she basically blamed Tressa’s job for her son’s death.

 

It was TLC – Tables, Ladders & Chairs – and Jon was going against Colby for the Intercontinental championship.  Jon had spun this tale leading up to the pay-per-view about being a germaphobe.  He had gone to Stephanie, after freaking out over another cut, and she had given them the idea to incorporate his…issues into the feud.  There was one backstage promo where Jon actually BURNED his Shield vest in a trashcan right next to a beautiful vehicle, which was incredibly hot.  Tressa had caught it on a monitor on her way from catering and stopped to listen, to watch him.  Needless to say, she attacked Jon in his dressing room, going after the rules they had set for themselves, and let him fuck her in the arena, in his dressing room, against the door. 

 

Tonight was the payoff, the match that would show Jon was superior to Colby since he was winning.

 

Sure enough, ‘Dirty Deeds’ led him to his third Intercontinental title reign and Tressa had actually put a monitor in their makeshift office to watch the match.  She couldn’t take her eyes off it, along with Tabitha and Suzanne, all the women caught up with their work for the night.  Tressa was extremely proud of him, though she wished it wasn’t at Colby’s expense this happened.  Jon had made amends with him, they were good, but it still didn’t make it any easier for them to face off against each other.  She pulled away from the monitor and caught Jon’s eye as he passed by their section, the look on his face telling her to follow him.  Suzanne and Tabitha knew what was going on between them, both giggling and ordered her to follow that delectable hunk of meat.  Their exact words.  Laughing, Tressa saluted them and took off to join Jon, not seeing a pair of cool blue eyes watching her from somewhat of a distance. 

 

They watched as she was yanked into Jon’s dressing room and the sounds coming from behind that door…it made the watcher’s blood boil.  So she was married and no better than anyone else on the roster, cheating on her spouse with a wrestler behind closed doors.  Clenching his fists at his sides, Drew stalked away to go mull this over in his head, deciding maybe he would give it another shot with Tressa since she was a cheating whore, after all.  If she could fuck Dean Ambrose, in his dressing room, she could give him the same treatment.

 

Dean Ambrose was a bloody animal and the more Drew thought about it, the more irate he became.  He had been courteous to the woman, friendly and even offered her assistance a time or two, but she had insisted on putting a wedge there.  Why?  He was better than Ambrose, in ALL ways!  

 

Maybe she liked being treated like a bitch, because Ambrose was no better than a dog.

 

Chapter 21

 

“You know, you should just move your sewing machine in here and work naked.” Jon teased when they were done, busy zipping himself back up.  He began laughing at Tressa’s giggle, knowing they were breaking their own rules, but rules were meant to be broken.

 

When it came to her, he’d gladly break them all.

 

“Mmm tempting, very tempting, Mr. Intercontinental champion.” Tressa teased back, pulling on her black slacks and he tossed her the light green polo shirt with the WWE logo.  WWE had different colors in their polos and, ever since she’d been with Jon, Tressa no longer wanted to wear all black.  Tabitha and Suzanne had been right, it truly was TOO depressing wearing all black ALL the time. “You know, I think we should go out and do something tonight to celebrate your victory instead of going back to the hotel.” Her hand slid down his slightly sweaty chest, popping her digit in her mouth mischievously. “Unless you want to celebrate with me privately?”

 

“Wait, you want to go out?”

 

Jon raised an eyebrow, catching her hand and brought it right back to his chest, feeling her palm spreading to rest over his heart.  He had been noticing the changes in Tressa these last few months.  It was hard to miss them when they were practically living together and when he was attuned to someone as they were with each other.  They weren’t bad changes, he felt like she was becoming more like her old self as well as a sort of new woman entirely.  He knew her experiences, both the good and the bad, were constantly shaping her.

 

“We’ll go out, kitten,” He cupped her face between his hands, bending down to kiss her gently. “And then we’ll have a private celebration, sound good?”

 

Her greys sparkled up at him, filled with so much happiness and life.  Tressa didn’t cry in her sleep anymore.  She didn’t cry hardly over Joseph or her unborn child anymore because Jon was a tremendous distraction.  He was more than that and she knew it, deep down.  Tressa wasn’t ready to admit it out loud yet, but her feelings for Jon were building and she felt guilty for falling for another man besides her husband.  She still could not take her wedding ring off.  It wasn’t for lack of trying either.  Tressa felt like she was betraying Joseph whenever she took it off and hated feeling that guilt, so she kept it on.  Jon wasn’t bothered by it and hadn’t mentioned it once, thankfully.

 

“No clubs.  I know that’s not your style.  Let’s just go to a bar with some pool tables, have a couple drinks and then tear into each other at the hotel.” No parking lot sex, even though that had been an adventurous first-time bout between them.

 

“Think I could buy out a backroom and bend you over a pool table?” Jon wasn’t even joking, his eyes sweeping over her and a few pool oriented sex jokes came to mind, but he didn’t voice any of them, smirking slightly. “Get your stuff and I’ll catch up with you at your little sewing cubby.”

 

Office, cubby, room with a lot of fabric and costumes, and as always her sewing machine.  He had asked her once if that was her actual machine and she had looked offended, apparently it was because she hadn’t liked the ones the WWE had initially provided.  Something about the ‘features’ not doing anything they were supposed to, he had no idea how that worked.  Jon couldn’t even thread a needle.  She had bought the sewing machine herself due to the fact she wanted her work done perfectly.  That was why WWE hired her.  The company kept it and hauled it everywhere for her, but it had her name engraved on the bottom.  So, if she ever left the company, that bad boy was coming with her because she bought it with her own money.

 

“See you there, Daddy.  And I wouldn’t be opposed to you bending me over a pool table, by the way.”

 

Winking at him, she giggled at his groan and walked out of his dressing room to let him shower while she went down to grab her belongings at her makeshift office.  Now that the pay-per-view was nearly over, she could change out of her polo shirt and pulled out a light blue top from her bag.  She had started bringing clothes with her to the arenas because leaving with a WWE logo polo had gotten Jon tackled by fangirls a time or two.  Smirking, she headed to the bathroom, which wasn’t far off from her table and stepped into a stall to change.

 

Was it illegal to be stalking her?  Well, stalking implied that he had been following and watching her for a while, he hadn’t.  Drew had been eyeing her from a distance because she was an attractive woman and that’s what men did, they eyed beautiful women.  Not illegal, but stepping into the women’s bathroom was definitely frowned upon.  Drew could hear her shuffling in the stall, his eyes dropping to the floor when a garment landed, she was changing.  He smirked slightly when Tressa paused, hearing her calling out a ‘hello?’ before turning and leaving the bathroom.  He glanced both ways down the hallway before walking away, nobody had seen him and he had decided what he was going to do.

 

Frowning, Tressa opened the stall door and didn’t see anyone there, finishing smoothing the fabric of her top down her stomach.  She had kept the black slacks on, along with her shoes, only changing her top.  It was long sleeved, light material and had flared three quarter sleeves.  They called it a peasant top or a tunic and she loved it because they were very comfortable.

 

“Hmm…I’m imagining things…” She muttered to herself, grabbing her bag and walked out of the bathroom, heading for the exit since her area was already cleaned up.  Jon was waiting for her and she would not disappoint him, ready to go out and celebrate his third Intercontinental championship. 

 

She was so proud of him, remembering the other two reigns, but now that they were sleeping together, it meant more to her for some reason. 

 

She still wore her wedding ring, but she was sleeping around with Ambrose.  That led Drew to start wondering if she had also been putting out for the rest of the now defunct Shield.  It would explain a lot about her little relationship with them, being their ‘mascot’, it had been weird.  She had been an unofficial, off-camera part of their group, friendly with all three men, so…her sleeping and fucking around with them all was only a logical assumption.  Well, if she was that easy for them, he smirked, rubbing his chin, she’d be easy enough for him too.

 

There was nothing easy about Tressa, Jon could vouch for that.  Not that he would.  If he had any inkling about Drew McIntyre’s intentions towards the woman Jon considered to be his, unofficially of course, he would have put Drew’s arrogant head through a windshield.  As far as Tressa was concerned, she was only easy for one man and that was Jon.  She wasn’t even easy for Joseph, though they had given their virginities to each other and they waited four months before that happened. 

 

There were no signs Andrew had ill-intentions toward her, which was why she was fine around him, for the most part.  He was still intimidating just from his massive size, but that was to be expected and Tressa was slowly getting used to him since he wanted the seamstresses to do more of his tights in the future.  If she had an inkling of what was going through Andrew’s head, if she knew what he was planning to do to her, Tressa would have turned him into WWE headquarters immediately.  Stephanie was a good friend of hers, so Andrew really had no idea who he was screwing with and who he was about to hurt.

 

Finding a bar that wasn’t overly crowded wasn’t all that hard to do given the hour.  Jon stayed away from main street, those bars would be full, and anything that had a zillion motorcycles in the parking lot because those bars would be loud and rowdy.  They found something that wasn’t overly busy, had good music coming from inside, and he led her in, inhaling deeply.  People were smoking in here, that was illegal as fuck.  He ordered for them while Tressa scanned for a good place for them to park themselves, finally letting her lead him to the back.  Corner booth, empty, and right next to a table.

 

“Mmm, hope you can play, kitten.”

 

“It’s been a while, but I’ll give it my best shot, Daddy.” Tressa grabbed two of the pool cues, sliding her fingers down the wooden one and handed Jon a black one, sitting down in the booth for a minute.  They didn’t have to play right away. 

 

Suddenly, it was as if her memories began overwhelming her and she shut her eyes, leaning her head back.

 

~!~

 

It was their first date and Joseph had taken her to a bowling alley, that also had pool tables.  He loved playing pool and did it online a lot, but it was nice to step away from the technology of the world to play actual pool.  Tressa loved pool as well, following him and they had already been mini-golfing and saw a movie.  He wanted to take her to the drive-in, but they hadn’t finished mini golfing in time.  That would be their second date.  Tressa smiled while watching him break the balls and called stripes, shrugging since she was a solid gal anyway.

 

“So, what do I get if I win this, Tres?”

 

She looked up at him, into his deep blue eyes and chewed her bottom lip, butterflies erupting in her stomach.  It was the first date, so there would be no sex. “Depends on what you have in mind.” She took her shot then, sinking one solid and then a second, going for a third. “What do I get if I win this?”

 

Joseph smirked, shrugging as well. “Anything you want.”

 

“Anything, huh?” Tressa walked over to him, after missing her third shot and roses had bloomed in her cheeks.  They hadn’t kissed yet. “Hmm intriguing…”

 

“How about you choose what we do on our second date?” Joseph had no doubt in his mind there would be multiple dates because of how amazing this one turned out. “If I win this game, I want to kiss you.” He took his shot and missed, groaning. “Damn, I’m rusty…”

 

“You do?” At his nod, she promptly aimed for the eight ball and sunk it, forfeiting the game. “I do believe you won this round.  Wanna claim your prize?”

 

“Hell yeah!” Chuckling, Joseph drew her into his arms, cupped her face tenderly in his strong hand and softly kissed her, sending sparks through both of their bodies.

 

Only when they needed oxygen to breathe did Tressa break it, both breathing heavily. “I will never forget this night, Joe.”

 

“Me either, babe, me either.” Then, he went back to kissing her and they wound up making out instead of playing pool.

 

~!~

 

“Tressa?  TRESSA!”

 

Blinking, Tressa snapped out of the memory she had immersed herself in and looked down at the pool cue, then up at Jon, tears filling her eyes.  It only happened ever so often, but when it did, the reality Joseph was dead and gone hit her like a ton of bricks.  Her first kiss with Joseph had been while they were playing pool and she had no idea why it bothered her so much to be here with Jon now.

 

“I-I need some air.” She choked out, rushing out of the bar and went to the car, not able to be in there after that memory crashed over her. “Damn it…”

 

Looking down at her wedding ring, Tressa touched it and buried her face in her hands, beginning to cry all over again, grief all over again.  Would this pain ever fully go away?  Would she be able to move on with her life completely someday without him? 

 

Jon had learned the hard way what those looks on Tressa’s face were.  Just a phrase, or something they were doing, or something he said would trigger some buried memory and remind her of Joseph.  Hell, they had been walking along the Strip and she had smelled something that reminded her of her husband and burst into tears.  It was becoming rare, but…it happened, and Jon was amazed at how the mind worked, how one simple thing could break through an emotional dam.  Sighing, he leaned against the pool table and stared down at the balls, knowing she was going to need a minute or two.

 

Twenty minutes later, she finally went back inside and walked up to Jon, leaning up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his. “Sorry about that.  Ready to play?” The haunted look was still in her eyes, but Tressa was determined to push through her pain and smiled when he broke to start the game. 

 

As long as they didn’t make any kind of wager during the game, she would be fine since that was what happened during her and Joseph’s first date.  Jon didn’t seem bothered by her mini freak out and stole kisses here and there during their games, showing her affection and comforting her the only way he knew how.  They stayed until the bar closed and headed back to the hotel, unable to keep their hands off each other.  Tressa ordered him to pull over and Jon obliged, taking her pants and panties off before swinging her leg over to straddle him in the driver’s seat.  Her lips met his and they both groaned as soon as he slid inside of her receptive body.

 

“God, I need you, Jon…” She panted, attacking his neck and throat while rising and falling up and down his cock, riding him as hard as the enclosed vehicle would allow her.

 

They could be caught.  That just made this better.  The knowledge that anyone could walk up and just look through the windows.  At this hour with bars closing Jon knew the cops were out in force, looking for drunks.

 

“Fuck kitten,” Jon growled, hands on her hips as he guided her up and down, compensating for the lack of room by bringing her down a bit hard.  Each time he did, he heard her gasp and would feel another flood of her juices. “Take off that top.” He ordered, waiting until she had before burying his face in those beautiful tits.

 

Her eyes shut as his mouth encased one of her nipples in his mouth, swirling it around his tongue before going to the other.  Her breasts weren’t too big or too small – in Jon’s words, they were the perfect size. “Oh Daddy…oh god, you feel so good…”

 

Tressa moaned, grinding herself on him before popping up and being driven back down again.  She couldn’t wait until they were back at the hotel; she had to have him now.  The incredible thing about Jon was he obliged anything she wanted to do.  They had been up in the nosebleed section of an arena a few weeks ago and she told him to take his pants off.  Jon had thought she was joking until she undressed from the waist down in front of him and then proceeded to fuck him reverse cowgirl with him sitting in one of the chairs. 

 

It was exhilarating being THAT high up having sex with each other.

 

Tressa was definitely good at keeping him on his toes, she was an explorative woman.  He had wondered at least once if she had been that way with Joseph or if this was something that was new in her constantly evolving life. “Mmm, darlin’…” He rumbled, never stopping bringing her down on him, the sounds of flesh smacking hard on flesh in the enclosed space along with their pants and moans was a sweet symphony to his ears. “You like that, kitten, bouncing your pretty pussy on my cock?” And that was HIS pretty pussy.

 

“Y-Yes Daddy, oh god yes…”

 

Tressa was not very explorative with Joseph; she figured life was too short not to be a little daring.  Jon was a different breed entirely from Joseph, which wasn’t a bad thing.  They were polar opposites; Jon was more adventurous and bold while Joseph was gentle, kind and sweet, who enjoyed sex in their bed and nowhere else.  She did not compare to the two men because everybody on planet earth was different.  They were both amazing men, bottom line.  Tressa was fine with it because she wasn’t the adventurous type either…Jon brought it out of her for some reason.  Her breasts bounced with every thrust he managed to give her, going faster, and slamming down harder on his cock, feeling her climax building to its crescendo.

 

“Yes, yes, oh right there…Yes!!  JON!!”

 

He freed one hand to wiggle between them, pressing his thumb against her clit and purposefully added the extra stimulation, feeling her both contracting and gushing around him at the same time. “Just like that, Tressa…” He growled, his cock pulsating inside of her even as his mind tried to stop it from succumbing to the delicious torture she was putting on him.  

 

Roaring out her name, he buried his face in the crook of her neck, biting down on the fleshy area as he arched his hips one last time and exploded.  She never got tired of feeling this man explode inside of her.  It was like a religious experience every time, an addiction she would never be able to break.  What would happen if Jon found someone while they were being fuck buddies, though?  It wasn’t fair to him to keep him locked down to her when he could make a woman exceptionally happy.  Tressa buried her face in the crook of his neck, coming down from the intense sexual high only they could reach together and caressed his biceps, moving her hands up to his shoulders.

 

“It never gets old.” She murmured after a few minutes of silence between them, seeing the windows had somewhat fogged up during their bout and pulled back to stare into his deep blues. “I could never get enough of you, Jon.  You’re incredible.” Brushing her lips against his, Tressa reluctantly lifted off his lap to sit back in the passenger seat and put her panties and pants back on. “Tuck it and let’s get back to the hotel.”

 

Chapter 22

 

As far as Jon was concerned, he was locked down and Tressa didn’t realize it yet.  He wasn’t exactly in any hurry to alert her to it either, given she still wore that wedding ring.  He knew she still did and always would love her husband, love Joseph, and when she was ready for something besides a fuck friend, that ring would be off her finger.

 

“As my deviant sex Goddess commands,” He laughed harshly, raising himself off the seat to fix his pants, smirking when she eyed him. “Gotta give me 5 minutes, kitten, you drained me.”

 

“Mmm, very well, we need to shower anyway.” Tressa giggled, reaching over to caress his bare chest since he left his shirt off and kissed his shoulder. 

 

The incident, the small breakdown at the bar, was long forgotten and she felt content again, walking hand-in-hand into the hotel with Jon.  Once again, they didn’t see the icy blues watching them from the parking lot.  Jon yanked Tressa flush against him to passionately kiss her and lifted her in his arms to cart her inside, making her giggle against his lips.

 

They both had that just fucked look about them, and Jon hadn’t bothered wearing a top.  Drew wouldn’t be surprised at all if this ‘married’ slut wasn’t wearing panties.  His eyes narrowed slightly, watching as Jon’s hand snaked beneath that skirt, hearing Tressa’s low gasp followed by a soft moan before they disappeared inside the building.  Sluts, the pair of them.  Probably the lot of them, she was likely banging all of Shield, well…the last two standing members of the ‘broken’ faction.  Snorting, he spit out his stream of chew, deciding he’d go around the building and come in the opposite side.

 

“I-I thought you needed time to recover…Ohhh Daddy…” Tressa’s eyes nearly rolled in the back of her head when Jon’s erect cock slid inside of her again, right there in the staircase and proceeded to claim her yet again.  One thing was for sure, their sexual chemistry was off the charts and they could barely keep their hands off each other. “Jon…”

 

Neither paid any mind when the door opened behind them, Jon’s bare ass hanging out with his jeans around his ankles while he slammed in and out of Tressa.  Their lips were sealed to each other, completely consumed and Drew watched the entire display, how Tressa’s face contorted the moment she reached her end.  Her cry of Jon’s name was muffled by the man’s mouth covering hers and he shut the door before her eyes opened, having them closed the entire time during the bout.

 

Eventually, Tressa and Jon made it to their room, in the shower, where another session took place under the hot sprays.  All she could do was splay her hands against the shower wall while Jon took her from behind, rocking her world all over again.  The man had an insatiable sexual appetite and it worked for her because sex was the perfect distraction to keep her from having dark thoughts about Joseph and her unborn child’s death.  Using him for sex, for that distraction, wasn’t fair to Jon, but he knew what he was getting into with Tressa and she would not refuse him.

 

Seeing all that on top of what he had heard at the arena earlier in the night just cemented it for Drew.  Tressa was a whore.  She might have been married, but that ring on her finger obviously meant nothing to her if she was out fucking her coworkers in public buildings.  Cheeky little slut, he snorted, slipping into his room.  He went to his bag and dug out his whiskey, the good Scottish stuff, and poured himself a healthy measure.  Oh yes, she would be making those beautiful noises and her face would contort in ecstasy for him soon enough.

 

~!~

 

Something was wrong with Jon.

 

Unable to put her finger on it, he wasn’t acting like himself ever since Joe left the road to get treatment for his cancer.  It’d been 2 months since Joe’s departure and things had been spiraling for Jon, especially at work.  For some reason, the company decided Jon wasn’t Intercontinental champion material and had the untalented Bobby Lashley win the title from him.  It was ridiculous!  Tressa knew he was upset about that, which she completely understood, but…Jon had started taking it out on her.  Not physically, but they weren’t having sex nearly as much as they used to.  It bothered her since two months ago, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other and now…now, Jon almost wanted nothing to do with her. 

 

Tressa couldn’t figure it out and what was worse was Jon had started getting his own room, claiming he needed time to himself instead of being smothered by a woman all the time.  That hurt her more than words could say, but Tressa gave him his space and had started drinking Vodka again to help cope with her inner pain and grief.  Sex with Jon had been her substitute, but now that he wanted his space, Tressa had resorted to buying it again in order help her fall asleep at night.  She didn’t cry herself to sleep, but the loneliness…it was starting to get to her and she just wished Jon would talk to her and tell her what was on his mind.

 

That night came the Friday before the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, which was on Sunday.  Tressa was in her hotel room, ready to kick back with some Absolut, after taking a hot bath, when a knock sounded at her door.  Frowning, she stood up from the bed and padded over, wearing a pair of black pajama pants and a black tank top with her hair down.  There was no peephole, so she just answered it and blinked at the sight of Jon staring back at her.  What was he doing here?  Instead of saying her usual soft ‘hi’, Tressa folded her arms in front of her chest and raised a slow brow at him, tilting her head.

 

“What do you want, Jon?” She asked bluntly, her tone even and somewhat cold.

 

“We need to talk, Tressa.” He said flatly, not fazed by her tone.  

 

He probably deserved it.  He had been having internal issues and instead of just saying it outright, he had been thinking it over, like a giant pussy.  Well, that shit was over.  Work was spiraling, his friendships were deteriorating and the one thing he actually wanted…his eyes dropped to her hand, noting the damn wedding ring, was torn between him and a dead man.

 

“Can I come in?” For a second, he thought she would deny him, it certainly looked like she wanted too, but her nostrils flared and she turned to walk into the room.

 

Jon took that as his cue and followed, closing the door behind him.

 

“So NOW you wanna talk?  Ignoring me for over a month got old for you and NOW you wanna talk to me?  What about, Jon?  What could you possibly have to say to me after almost no contact with each other for a month and a half?” Tressa snapped, not bothering with pleasantries, and stood over by the window, her bottle of Absolut, cracked open, in hand as she took a swig from it. 

 

She was going to need alcohol, and probably a buzz, to get through this conversation.  Yeah, she was going to need her Vodka.  He had a flask in his back pocket of his favorite tequila.  Jon had taken a few shots of liquid courage before knocking on that door.  He had already known he wasn’t going to do this completely sober, mostly, but not completely.

 

“So… I’ve been thinking,” Jon began pacing, watching as she eyed her bottle, her lips glistening with the vodka. “About you and me, and this sex only bullshit.” He stopped his pacing, facing her. “I think it’s more than just sex between us, Tressa.  And I think you know it too.”

 

Frowning, Tressa slowly turned her head to look at him and clenched her fist at her side, the grip on the bottle tightening too.  Her stormy greys pierced right through him and Tressa shook her head, anger welling up inside of her. “Sex…only…bullshit?”

 

THAT was the reason he had ignored her for a month and a half and forced her to move back with her parents.  In a way, it was a blessing in disguise because Tressa had found her own place in the same town as her parents, but at least she had her space.  It was lonely, she was completely alone and Jon hadn’t given her any reason or inclination he wasn’t happy with their arrangement…until now.

 

“You knew what this was when we started and you promised me…you promised me I wouldn’t lose you.” Damn it, the tears had started as she angrily wiped one, then two, away. “You said we would always be best friends and the only difference was with benefits.  And now you’re coming at me with this bullshit about it being more than just sex between us, after A MONTH AND A HALF of SILENCE?  Get the fuck out of my room now, Jon.  You make me sick!” Didn’t she make herself CLEAR when this began her heart was in that six-foot-deep grave with Joseph and she wasn’t getting it back?!  Apparently not.

 

“Goddamn it, Tressa, I’m not going anywhere!” Jon shouted right back, walking over to stand before her. “I thought if I put space between us, it’d go away, I wouldn’t want more.  But it hasn’t changed, if anything, it just makes it fucking worse.  I love you, and I think underneath that grief you like carrying around, you love me too.” He grabbed her hand, pulling it up until her wedding band was eyelevel between them. “He’s dead, darlin’, that doesn’t mean you died with him.  You don’t have to keep grieving and cutting yourself off because you think it’s what you’re supposed to do.  You want me for more than sex, and we both know it.”

 

Why was he doing this to her? 

 

Tressa snatched her hand away from him, more tears falling and slammed the bottle of Vodka down, shoving him next.  Jon didn’t move much; he was a lot bigger than her and she wasn’t that strong. “Y-You can’t do this to me!  You can’t do this to me, Jon!  No!” She shoved him again, gripping her hair in her fingers and let out a pained cry. “You stupid son of a bitch, I KNOW he’s dead!  I know my husband is gone and he’s never coming back!  But that doesn’t mean I’m just gonna jump into a relationship after 8 months!” Joseph’s eight-month death anniversary passed last week, and she started crying harder, wrapping her arms around herself. “I CAN’T love you!  I can’t love anyone ever again, Jon!  My heart is in that grave with him!  It’s JUST sex between us, NOTHING MORE!!”

 

“You CAN and you DO, you’re just in denial because you think your ability to love SHOULD have died with him!” Jon’s pale blues lit up with fire, daring her to lie to him. “You wear that goddamn ring like some anchor to the grave, you can’t even take it off, can you?” His fingers were on said ring now, holding her hand firmly still. “Take it off, Tressa.  Take it off and fucking be alive with me, darlin’!” There was no way Joseph would have wanted her to live like this, to shut herself off like this, he wouldn’t have wanted that.

 

No man who truly loved his woman wanted her to be miserable.

 

“NO!” She kicked him in the shin to make him release her hand and hopped on the bed, stumbling to land on the other side, trembling from head to toe. “GET OUT!  I’m not taking my ring off!  I’m not ready and I may never be!!  I don’t love you!  I love Joseph and he’s the ONLY man I will ever love!” She shouted, not caring who heard them by now and clutched her left hand to her chest, breathing extremely erratically. “I-I can’t do it…I WON’T do it!  It’s bad enough I fucked you and used you as a distraction from my pain and anguish!  I USED YOU!!”

 

And right there was Jon’s snapping point, something in him went dark at those words. “You used me, kitten?” His voice dropped to something dark, something dangerous. “Really?  That all I am to you, Tres?  A fuck toy?” That was a flip, usually it was the other way around.  He was peeling off his top, ignoring the tears streaming down her face. “Just using me…” Jon snorted, grabbing her by the arms and bringing her crashing into his body. “Why don’t you use me some more?” He snarled, slamming his lips down on hers in a brutal kiss.

 

The addiction was back, stronger than ever and Tressa couldn’t pull away from him, no matter the poisonous words they spewed at each other.  She was screaming at him because…Jon was right.  Deep, deep down inside, Tressa knew what he said was the truth.  She did love him.  Sex between them was more than just sex…there were feelings and they were stronger than friendship.  She didn’t want to cross that line, not yet and it didn’t help Jon was PUSHING her to do it before she was ready.  She couldn’t stop crying as Jon tore her clothes from her body and she did the same to him, needing to use him again…needing the loneliness to be sated and her addiction to be satisfied, even if it was for one night.

 

“Yeah that’s right,” Jon licked away those tears from both cheeks before kissing her again. “Use me, kitten.  That’s all I am, right?” He shoved her backwards, watching as she landed sprawling on the bed and was hovering over her before she had a chance to move. “And you want to be used in return, is that it?  You want Daddy to fuck the misery right out of you?” Gripping one thigh in his hand, he drew her leg up over his hip, already positioning himself at her dripping entrance.

 

Yeah, she wanted to be used all right.

 

“Jon…” Her voice came out choked, the tears not stopping even as he slid home inside of her, not giving her time to adjust to him. 

 

Jon had never been this rough with her before and she could feel the anger radiating from him with every thrust.  There was no kissing, no affection, it was straight fucking between them as Tressa did her best to meet him for every sharp thrust.  It wasn’t to the point of hurting her, but Tressa would definitely be sore in the morning and clung to him for dear life, digging her nails into his biceps.

 

“Oh god…fuck!  FUCK!”

 

Chapter 23

 

“That’s right, kitten, that’s right,” He was kissing everywhere except her face, refusing to give her that affection.  No.  Not after she had purposefully ripped out his heart and stomped on it. “NOBODY fucks you like I do, and NOBODY ever will!” He pulled away from her, hands moving her, repositioning her until she was kneeling with her beautiful ass in his line of vision.  Jon took aim and delivered several slaps to each cheek, mildly pleased when he seen the cherry red. “Say it, Tressa,” He leaned over her, nipping at her shoulder as one hand fisted in her hair, pulling her head back. “Go on, tell me how much you want my dick, how much you want to USE my dick!”

 

Her pussy quivered, along with the rest of her body, because it’d been nearly 2 months without him, without any kind of intimacy.  She cried out at the sting of her backside and then felt his fingers rip her up by her hair, making her hiss out in both pain and pleasure. “I-I want your dick more than the a-air I breathe, Daddy…” She choked out, her face a mess of tears and felt his hand move from her hair to her throat, clutching it, but not to the point of cutting off her oxygen.  Not completely anyway. “Fuck me, Jon, god please fuck me!  I need your dick!” She shrieked out when he drove back inside of her full force, pretty sure he had hit her back wall and kept her right where he wanted her.

 

Jon knew it wasn’t possible to plow through her, but damned if he didn’t want to try.  She deserved it, and if she was feeling any pain from this, the way she screamed at him to give her MORE, was not telling him anything other than to give her more. “Damn right,” He slapped her cherry red ass again, alternating cheeks even as he slammed into her repeatedly. “You NEED this dick, remember that,” Because he was considering denying her out of sheer spite, the consideration died as he felt her pussy clenching down on him. “And ONLY this dick!”

 

It did not take long for Tressa to reach her end, not after going as long as she had without any sex.  If it wasn’t with Jon, she refused to do it with anyone else.  That was just how Tressa was.  Her walls clenched tightly around his dick, milking and wrapping him in a tight, warm, wet cocoon, almost to the point of suffocating him.

 

“JON!!” She shrieked out, fresh hot tears streaming down her cheeks and felt that hand on her throat tighten, cutting off some oxygen, which made her GUSH around him even more intensely.

 

“You got more than that in you, Tres!” He cooed darkly in her ear, knowing damn well she did.

 

Her body was STARVED for attention and her pussy was threatening to break him in half.  His own body was informing him that it had been awhile for him as well, but Jon wasn’t having it.  He WOULD get another orgasm out of her before he succumbed to his own.  Pulling out of her abruptly, he didn’t give her much time to do anything other than pant for oxygen, pulling her until she was straddling him and impaled her quivering body again.

 

“Ride me, kitten.” His hands moved to palm her probably sore ass, urging her on. “Use me.”

 

“Goddamn it, Jon!”

 

Tressa raked her nails down his chest, leaving gouge in his skin and didn’t care because he was angering her.  How did they go from yelling at each other to having angry sex?  She should have hopped off his dick and sent him packing, but this felt too good to pull away from.  Addiction was a bitch!  Riding him like a stallion, Tressa raked her nails down his arms next and covered his hands with hers on his hips, beginning to bounce on and off his cock.  Her head lulled back, eyes closed and let the ecstasy sweep her away, her breasts bouncing, gasping as Jon snapped his hips repeatedly to drive deeper, harder and faster inside of her.

 

“That’s right, darlin’…” He rumbled, his own breathing coming in harsh pants.

 

His darkened eyes were fastened on her breasts bouncing with every move from her overworked body.  If Tressa really hadn’t wanted this, she would have found a way to stop him, that’s just how she was.  Yet here they were, she was riding his cock like she had been starved for it.  Jon gritted his teeth, feeling his balls tightening, surges of what was definitely going to be an explosion beginning to sweep throughout his body.

 

Suddenly, he bolted upright and took control, forcing her legs to wrap completely around his waist, their eyes locked.  Tressa pressed her forehead against his, feeling him piston in and out of her and dug her nails deeply into his shoulders.  That explosion arrived and it seared through every part of her lower extremities, forcing her body to climax yet again.  It was both pain and pleasure mixed, and Tressa screamed out his name hoarsely, fresh tears streaming down her streaked cheeks as she tossed her head back.  Those nails left half-moon crescents in his skin and she shuddered, quaked, against him from both of their climaxes colliding together.  Her body was coated in a glistening sweat, her hair still damp from the bath she’d had prior to Jon showing up out of the blue. 

 

Jon sank his teeth right into the fleshy part of her skin where neck met shoulder, leaving his own deep, definitely going to bruise, mark on her.  If she decided to boot him out of her life after this, she was going to have a reminder for a week or so that she hadn’t done it without using him one last time.  Tossing his own head back, he grabbed her hips and held her down against him, sinking himself into her receptive, tired body one last time before exploding in her.  Tressa cried out against his neck and glided her nails down his back, leaving scratch marks all over him.  He would not be able to wrestle without a shirt on for at least a week.  Jon growled, his cock still sputtering inside of her until it finally went limp, leaving her body.

 

“Are you happy now?” She muttered, once she caught her breath and managed to get her heart rate back to a normal pace, lifting her face to meet his eyes. “Are you happy that I used you again, Jon?” Because that was all she did, exactly what he wanted and it shattered her heart into a million pieces. 

 

It was why she couldn’t stop crying because this wasn’t sex between two best friends – this was angry, barbaric sex between two people who felt differently about each other.  Jon loved her and wanted her to be alive with him, but Tressa’s devotion to Joseph and their marriage was a hard egg to crack.  Taking off her ring had to be HER decision and she would not be influenced or pushed into it before she was ready.

 

“The more you push me to take this off,” She held her hand up to him, that diamond rock still on her finger. “The more you’re going to push me away, Jon.  It hasn’t even been a year yet and you want me to just move on from him?  I can’t do that.  I WON’T do that.” Swinging her leg over, Tressa got off him while he lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and snatched the cotton robe the hotel room came complimentary with, wrapping herself in it. “Thanks for the hardcore fuck, you can leave now.”

 

“Physically, you left him a long time ago, Tressa,” It was cold, but truthful.  Snorting, Jon swung himself out of the bed and stood up on slightly trembling legs.  He began redressing, ignoring the sting of sweat getting into those gouges she had left on him. “Is it really Joseph holding you back or is it some misplaced notion that you HAVE to be the grieving widow?  That you’re not SUPPOSED to move on?  Because both are copouts.” Jon knew he was pounding that nail himself, but he couldn’t stop himself either.

 

Sex was just sex. 

 

She was only human and craved intimacy like every other human being on the planet!  Yet, she was being verbally castrated for it! “What part of ‘I’m not ready’ do you not understand, Jonathan?!  What part of ‘I can’t take this ring off because I’M NOT READY’ do you NOT get?!  Do you want me to learn a different language and say it that way?!  There are NO copouts about this!  It’s JUST sex between us and that’s all it’s ever been!!  You knew what this was going into it and it’s not MY fault you allowed feelings to come into it!  I AM a grieving widow, it’s not a fucking act, you dickhead!” She picked up the pillow off the bed and whacked him with it, scowling darkly. “And I will never move on because my heart is in that grave with my husband!  He took it with him, don’t you get it?  I told you from the beginning this is ALL I can give you and you said fine, we’ll be best friends with benefits!  We’ll ALWAYS be best friends, your words!” Another whack, this time harder. “YOU LIED TO ME!”

 

“No, you’re still my friend,” Jon caught that pillow and flung it away before Tressa could nail him again.  He yanked her into his arms, giving her another brutal kiss before letting her reel away. “And I will always call you my friend, but right now, darlin’, friendship isn’t enough.” And that was on him. “When you’re ready to climb out of the grave, you let me know.” And then he was gone, leaving her with a tear-stained face and tender body parts, in almost the same condition himself.

 

He was an idiot, but at least he could say he was an honest idiot.

 

How could they be friends after THIS?  How?!  Tressa took the pillow off the bed and screamed as hard as she could into it, until her vocal cords strained and soaked it with more tears.  Jon loved her…and she loved him, but she was terrified of taking that step with him.  She was terrified to love another man besides her husband and clutched her left hand to her chest again, her heart feeling as though it was being torn in two different directions.  Curling up in a tight ball, Tressa cried herself to sleep clutching the pillow, longing to feel Jon’s arms around her and instead had a nightmare of the morning she found her husband dead.

 

Needless to say, Tressa had a rough night.

 

Jon hadn’t fared any better.

 

He had to drug himself to sleep for the first time in a long while.  Jon had actually gone out and bought sleep aid just for that purpose.  He felt a myriad of emotions warring within him.  He had wanted Tressa for years now, and had curbed all that and just been her friend because she had been married.  Jon wasn’t sure how mourning worked, he also knew however that one couldn’t force the heart into something it didn’t want, no matter how much one was pushed.  He had pushed, hard.  Probably ruined their relationship, their friendship.  That had definitely kept him up.  The very last thing Jon wanted to do was lose his best friend, the woman he loved and yet last night…he had done just that and wasn’t sure if they would be able to bounce back from it.

 

~!~

 

After the house show the next night, Tressa didn’t go back to the hotel. 

 

She was tired of the lonely nights spent cooped up and decided tonight, she was going out.  Jon could go to hell, for all she cared, especially after the horrible things he said to her the previous night.  That was her anger talking and she knew it.  Tressa dolled herself up, wearing a one piece long sleeved black cocktail dress since she had to hide the hideous mark Jon left on her.  It was a deep purple and blue shade at the moment, and she had covered it with concealer, but decided long sleeved was the way to go. 

 

The dress rested just above her knees as she strapped her heels on before heading out, purse in hand.  Her hair was piled up on top of her head with a few tendrils framing her face delicately.  Her makeup was black liner, pink gloss and foundation, simple and elegant.  The hotel had a bar they were staying at, so she decided to go down there for a couple drinks to wind down her evening instead of drinking Vodka alone up in her room.  Sitting down, she waited patiently for the bartender to walk up to her behind the counter and ordered a cosmopolitan, something different than Vodka and crossed one leg over the other.

 

Drew had been extremely patient, biding his time and just waiting.  It had been interesting to see how Ambrose and the seamstress had just sort of fallen apart.  People had noticed, of course, that the duo were…frosty, as it were, to each other these days.  Since he was ‘observing’, -stalking was such a terrible, criminal way of looking at it- he had also noticed that they weren’t in each other’s hotel rooms anymore, not often.  If ever.  That meant she was back on the market, so to speak, as if she had ever been truly off of it.  His cold eyes swept over her, having noted her coming into the bar dressed to the nines.  He remained where he was, watching and waiting, pretty sure if she was dressed like THAT, she had someone meeting her.  Ordering another drink, Drew took his time with it and watched as she simply drank alone, feeling a wicked grin spreading across his face.

 

No…Tressa was drinking alone.

 

Tonight was the night.

 

The look on her face was pure sadness as she switched from cosmopolitans to Vodka on the rocks with a splash of cranberry.  Cosmos didn’t have the same PUNCH or get her tipsy as fast, which is what she wanted.  A nice, solid buzz.  Why couldn’t Jon understand what she was going through?  Why couldn’t he be patient with her?  It’d been 8 months, she understood that, but…8 months was nothing when she had lost the love of her life unexpectedly.  She missed Joseph so much and could already feel tears brimming her eyes, looking down at her wedding ring and rested her head in her hand, staring down at her drink absentmindedly. 

 

When you’re ready to climb out of the grave, let me know. Those words made her cringe as they replayed over and over again in her head.  Tressa finished her third drink of the night and ordered a fourth, just wanting to feel completely numb.

 

Chapter 24

 

“You’re crying, lass.” Came the warm, concerned voice of Andrew Galloway.  When Tressa looked up, he was standing beside her, his eyes sweeping her face. Only a single tear had fallen and his brows drew together. “Is everything all right, Tressa?” He asked quietly, tapping the bar top. “I’ll have what the lady is, and her drinks are on me.” Vodka, she was drinking vodka and cranberry, good way to kill the liver while flushing out the kidneys, he supposed. “May I?” He gestured to the empty barstool beside her, waiting until she gave a one shoulder shrug before sliding onto it.

 

“You don’t have to do that, Andrew…” He held his hand up, insisting on paying for her drinks and waved her off dismissively.  There was no point arguing with the Scotsman as she wiped another tear away with her finger, sipping her fourth drink. “Thank you.”

 

He held his drink up and she did the same thing, tapping them lightly together.  From the looks of it, he was drinking either bourbon or whiskey.  Vodka just had that specific taste for her that was perfect and that’s why she kept gravitating back to it.

 

“Have you ever lost someone, Andrew?  Someone who meant…the world to you, your soulmate, your heart?” Tressa slowly looked up at him with fresh tears in her haunting greys and the amount of anguish on her face couldn’t be missed.

 

And that was the most beautiful look he had ever seen, his eyes riveted on her face.  This woman was born to wear anguish, it gave her this haunted beauty that made his heart almost ache for her.  It definitely made his crotch ache and if not for his briefs and tight slacks, it definitely would have been standing at attention.  Misery on Tressa was gorgeous.  He was a peculiar man with peculiar tastes and the head seamstress had already antagonized him with her deceit, her lies about being married and unavailability, but then whoring herself out to Dean Ambrose and likely the other two members of the now defunct Shield.

 

“Nay, I haven’t.” He rumbled down at her in reply.

 

She sniffled, looking away from him and back down at her drink, swirling the red liquid around in the glass before taking a long swig of it. “Be grateful, then.  Because not all of us are that lucky.” Tressa wasn’t intimidated by him, not like she’d been before, and it also helped he was sitting beside her instead of standing to tower over her.  When Andrew asked who she had lost, Tressa began to cry, unable to hold the tears back and buried her face in her hands, her wedding ring flashing at him. “My husband.” She whispered, not trusting her voice and felt Andrew slowly pry her hands away from her face to once again lock eyes with him. “He died…8 months ago…and I miss him…”

 

All of Drew’s assumptions of her screwing all three members of the Shield had been DEAD wrong.

 

It was her fault his assumptions were wrong because she had lied to him instead of just telling him flat out she was a grieving widow.  That right there told him she had mental issues, and he knew for a fact she wasn’t grieving as much as she pretended too because she had been hopping on Ambrose’s dick for quite some time.  Any normal, rational person would have told the truth.  So she was a lying, attention seeking whore.  Any guilt he might have felt disappeared with that thought.

 

“I’m sorry for your loss, Tressa.” He said gently, rubbing his thumbs along her cheekbones, catching those tears.

 

“Thank you, Andrew.” Tressa murmured, having no idea what he was thinking or feeling towards her at the moment.  If she did, she would have run out of there instantly and gotten away from him.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t a mind reader and he was being sweet towards her, not to mention Tressa was a tad tipsy from the drink she’d had. “Enough about me,” She paused, wiping the rest of her tears away with the napkin he handed her. “What brings you out tonight?” She asked softly, placing a hand on his forearm and had to admit, Andrew was a very handsome man.  He had deep blue ocean blue eyes, not pale like Jon’s, and he had dyed his hair black, which worked a lot better for him than his natural color.  It made him look more menacing and malicious, but then again, his in-ring character was supposed to be those qualities since he was a heel. “Woman troubles?”

 

“I’ve got no woman, and therefore no troubles.” He laughed gently, shaking his head, and reached over with his free hand to squeeze the top of hers before pulling it away.  Considering she had been a bit intimidated by him before and was now touching him of her own volition, that was progress. “Though, I don’t usually get in trouble when I do have one,” He reached into his pocket, procuring a pocket handkerchief, and offered it to her.  When she eyed it, he turned on his stool and slowly reached out, using it to mop up her face. “There you go.” Losing her husband at such a young age…even he couldn’t fathom a loss like that.

 

“You know, I’ll admit, you can be a very intimidating man at first.” Tressa confessed, pulling her hand away from his arm to take a long swallow of her Vodka cranberry, sighing at the burning tartness flowing down her throat. “It’s just…your stature, how big you are…” She blushed, not meaning it the way it came out and cleared her throat. “Your physique.  You’re very intimidating, but…you’re really not that bad now that I’m sitting here talking to you like this.” She held her glass up to his with a soft smile. “Here’s to not judging books by their covers and discovering what’s in the pages first.”

 

“That is a worthy toast, lass, I’ll drink to it.” He laughed, clinking his glass gently against hers. “Now if you were to ask me mam, she’d tell you I was nothing but a big softy.  And God’s own fool for the black hair dye,” Now that he wasn’t on TV, his burr was a bit softer, less rasp. “Now, forgive me if I’m being nosy or overstepping my boundaries, Tressa, but aren’t your friends around my size?” And by friends, he meant the meat heads of Shield, her boys or whatever it was.  He knew the running joke backstage was that she was a mascot, or had been.

 

Her and Ambrose hadn’t exactly been on speaking terms in a while.

 

Tressa lowered her eyes, already knowing what he was probably thinking or assuming about her in regard to her relationship to Colby, Joe and…Jon.  She was still angry at Jon for what happened last night and didn’t want to talk about him, heaving a sigh. “Joe and…Ambrose, yes.” Why couldn’t she just use Jon’s name?  It hurt – her heart hurt after the nasty words he said to her followed by the angry sex they had. “Colby, not so much.  They’re like my brothers…two of them, anyway.” Rubbing the back of her neck, Tressa finished her drink and Andrew immediately ordered her another one. “If I didn’t know any better, Andrew, I’d think you were trying to liquor me up.” Her voice had a teasing tone to it, grey eyes glazing over just a little. “You’re not that kind of guy though, are you?” How could he be when he was mopping her tears up like a gentleman?

 

“You are easier to talk to when you’ve had a few in you,” Drew admitted with a sheepish smile. “Usually, dearie, you cut conversations short whenever I try to talk to you.” His smiled turned self-deprecating. “And I’ll have you know, I’m keeping pace with you now,” He gestured to his own coming refill. “A little liquid courage to help keep me plucky.” Because bravery usually came in the form of alcohol. “Just say when and I’ll have them cut us both off.” And he figured if she seen someone else pouring the drinks, she might be more comfortable.

 

Single woman in a bar, date rape was a thing.

 

She chewed her bottom lip, feeling ashamed for not giving him a chance to at least talk to her.  They were coworkers and it wasn’t very professional or kind of her to brush him off the way she did. “I’m sorry, Andrew.  Like I said, you’re a very intimidating guy and…you scared me, at first.” Alcohol also helped loosen the tongue quite a bit. “I was a fool and like my toast earlier, never judge a book by its cover.” She was also experiencing grief and heartache over her husband’s death and only talked to Jon because of their bond…their friendship.

 

Drew nodded to the barkeep when their refills and fresh napkins were set down before them before giving his attention back to Tressa.  It was easy to spot that wave of sadness that washed over her face before she hitched her smile back into place.  If not for the fact that he had seen it, he wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong.  Even with as many drinks as she had, she was quick on the recovery.  The woman was no lightweight drinker and he had to wonder if she knocked back heavier stuff in private.

 

“Well, now knowing what I do, I don’t think I’ll be holding it against you, Tressa.” He reached out to gently place his hand on her kneecap, squeezed once and pulled it away, his eyes never leaving her face.

 

Oh, if only he knew what she’d been delving in to help cope with Joseph’s death.  Straight Vodka, no cranberry, which lightened it, surprisingly. “You’re a really nice guy, Andrew.”

 

Reaching up, she smoothed away some of the liquor from his goatee on the top of his lip with the pad of her thumb, her eyes searching his.  Tressa didn’t know why she did that and hitched in a breath when his lips kissed her thumb, feeling tingles rush through her body.  Her tongue snaked out to wet her lips slowly, just the slightest bit as her hand pulled away from his face and Tressa suddenly felt the temperature in the room skyrocket.

 

“I-I should probably go back up to my room…” Her voice was low and soft, quiet, with just a hint of hesitation mixed in as Tressa slowly stepped off her stool, not being hasty like she normally was at the arenas. “Don’t stay up too late.  You have a big match tomorrow, mister.”

 

He did, but that match was the very last thing on his mind at this exact moment.  Whatever had possessed Tressa to do that…he wanted to get to know THAT part of her, quite a bit.  He reached out after turning on the stool to take her hands gently but firmly, pulling her to stand between his spread legs.

 

“It’s still early, Tressa.” He rumbled, using his thumbs to stroke her palms, his blue eyes locked with hers, noting the flush in her cheeks.

 

Taking a chance, he ran his palm up her wrist, his thumb feeling her pulse for a moment and noting how rapid it was.  Was she scared or excited?  There went her tongue, darting out to the corner of her mouth again and he inwardly groaned, his hand moving to the back of her neck and caressed her nape.

 

“Have one more drink with me.” He requested, his voice coming out a husky pitch.

 

His eyes reminded her so much of the ocean, so beautiful yet dangerous at the same time.  That husky, Scottish accent of his was sexy…Andrew was sexy.  Her hands slid up his dress shirt covered chest while getting lost in those eyes, dark blue mixing with deep grey and Andrew covered her hands with his own to press against him.  Christ, she could feel the heat radiating beneath the material of that shirt, along with the rippling muscles and felt her heartbeat quicken again.  Would one more drink really hurt?  Did she really want to go back up to her room, to the loneliness and silence?

 

“I think you want more than a drink with me, Andrew.” Tressa finally spoke in a voice that only he could hear and the smirk curving his lips spoke volumes to her. “I-I don’t know if I – if WE should…”

 

“Aye, I want to have more than a drink with you,” Drew admitted, his blue eyes darkening a bit as he took her in.  His hands caught hers, pulling them up until her palms slid up onto his shoulders. This also forced her to step into him since she was so much shorter than he was, and he could feel the heat radiating from her body. “Being the gentleman I am, I am offering that drink down here.” Where there was no pressure.  He bent down, just barely allowing his nose to ghost along her cheek until his lips were near, but not quite touching her ear. “Unless you want to go have a drink upstairs.” In one of their rooms.

 

His accent could melt igloos and the polar icecaps, Tressa thought, shivering at the feel of his hot breath against her cheek and ear and her hands tightened on his very broad, muscular shoulders.  Why did Jon have to pressure her so much?  Why couldn’t he understand all she was looking for was sex, a release, an escape. “Andrew…” His name came out in a breathy whisper as he pulled back enough to stare into her slightly darker greys. “I’m damaged…”

 

In more ways than one because Tressa was confused about her feelings for Jon and now, here she was, in the arms of another man.  He wasn’t pressuring or pushing her either and it felt…right being with Andrew for some strange reason.  Was this Joseph’s doing?  Guiding her where she needed to go?

 

“I think…we’d be more comfortable upstairs, don’t you?”

 

She was damaged all right, but he wasn’t holding that against her because unlike most people, Tressa was honest about it.  Her damage, her misery, gave her a heart breaking, haunting beauty and he nodded, his cheek brushing against hers. “Come on then, love,” Drew felt her hands dropping, catching one and turned towards the bar, using his free hand to procure a few bills from his wallet and tossed them onto the counter. “Have ye ever had genuine Scottish whiskey?” He was guiding her out of the bar. “I ken tell those cranberry drinks are not your usual.” Nor his to be honest.  He had been serious about ‘one more drink’, and it wouldn’t be a quick one.

 

Drew wrapped his arm firmly around her, keeping her tucked into his side.

 

“No, they’re not.  I usually drink straight Vodka from the bottle.” Tressa confessed quietly, leaning into his side with her arm wrapped around his waist and let him guide her up to his room. “I’ve never tried Scottish whiskey, but I’m willing to try anything once.” Life was too short not too. “Within reason, of course.” She quickly amended with a cheeky smile, thankful they were taking the elevator instead of the stairs. 

 

Once they were outside of Drew’s room, he unlocked the door and ushered her inside, a hand on the small of her back.  She walked in, wrapping her arms around herself because there was a slight chill in the air while Drew retrieved the tumblers with the Scottish whiskey.  Instead, that hot breath was back on her neck and ear again, one arm reaching around to hand her a tumbler full of amber liquid with no ice.  She slowly turned around to look up at him and let him clink their tumblers together before they both threw it back at the same time. 

 

That liquor went down SMOOTH and it was delicious.

 

Chapter 25

 

“Whoa, lass,” Drew stopped her from draining that tumbler, his ‘throwback’ a well-controlled sip. “You dinnae want to do that, you’ll have the worst hangover in the morning.”

 

Scottish whiskey was meant to be sipped slowly, and this was stuff from home that had been a pain to get through customs.  Brave, ballsy woman, he smiled down at her, his blue eyes crinkling as he took her in.  If she was cold, she wasn’t saying anything and he kept his rooms at what he considered a moderate temperature.  Scotland was…volatile weather wise, so summers here in the States had been interesting…and hot.

 

“Come sit down with me.”

 

Luckily, she’d only gotten a quarter of it down before Andrew stopped her. “This is really good.” Tressa murmured, following him over to the bed and sat down on it, feeling her dogs barking something fierce.  Wearing heels for a long period of time was NOT a good idea. “Will you hold this for me for a minute?” He was confused as he took her tumbler until Tressa bent over to undo the straps of her heels, removing them with a soft groan. “Damn…that’s better.” She took her drink from him again and sipped it, once again not believing how smooth it slid down her throat.

 

His eyes were on those heels.  She had dressed herself up to the nines for a solitary night in a hotel bar and he was very appreciative of her effort, even though Drew also knew it had nothing to do with him. “The things you women wear…” There was no chiding in it.

 

Heels on a woman were gorgeous and he thoroughly enjoyed the way it made a woman’s legs stand out.  He set his glass on the bedside table, gently but firmly bringing her feet up into his lap.  That forced her to shift sideways and lean back on one hand, the other still holding her drink.  His fingers began rubbing the arch of her foot, and he used his thumb to add pressure when he felt her flex at one particular spot.

 

“Mmm…” Tressa purred, not expecting him to do this for her, but definitely not turning it down either.  She’d be a fool and his strong, warm hands felt amazing against her flesh. “I really should have worn my flats tonight…” She giggled at Drew’s firm head shake, wholeheartedly disagreeing with her. “I didn’t think they’d look good with the dress, though.  Besides, then I wouldn’t be getting this awesome foot massage from a handsome Scotsman.” Was she flirting with him?  Yes she was, and he was the only thing on her mind at the moment – not Jon and not Joseph. 

 

There was something unique and different about Andrew…something mysterious and fresh.

 

“I have to apologize.” Thinking about that had made a bit of shame rise up in the back of his throat. “I… thought you were something you’re not.” He switched to her other foot. “I thought some terrible things, lass, and now I ken see you weren’t lying, not out of spite, but to protect yourself.” Getting past his ego was a hard thing, but his own thoughts had reality-checked him and reminded him that he wasn’t really the egotistical, jacked up man from TV, but Andrew Galloway, and his mam would have his arse for being such a cunt. “I’m sorry for thinking the less of ye.”

 

Setting her own drink aside next to his, Tressa moved her feet from his hands to sit on the bed on her knees, the dress riding up her thighs just a little. “There’s no reason to apologize, Andrew.” Reaching up, she stroked his bearded face with the back of her hand gently and once again slid the pad of her thumb across his lips. “I thought terrible things about you as well.  I thought you were an asshole.  You just…come off like that when you first approach someone and I know I’m not the only one in the company who thinks that.  I was wrong, so I’m sorry for thinking less of you and not giving you a chance,” She paused, moving closer to him and his scent surrounded her. “But I am now.”

 

To be fair, and honest, Drew didn’t overly care what most people thought of him, unless it was the ones who held sway over his career.  He had his own circle of friends and they knew what he was really like.  The good and the bad. “Good.” He whispered, drawing her legs over and bringing Tressa closer until she was sitting sideways on his lap.

 

He took his tumbler off the nightstand and pulled a small sip from it, eyes never leaving hers.  Once he had set it back down, he brought both his hands up and cupped her face, studying her eyes intently.  When she didn’t tell him to back off, but simply tilted her head back, he bent down to kiss her.  It was full of passion and hard yet gentle at the same time, not at all what she expected from this monster of a man.  Andrew was well put together, built like a brickhouse, nothing like the scrawny man he once was back in 2009.  Tressa did not pull away from him, feeling tingles and warmth spread through her at the first connection of their lips.  She could taste the whiskey on his lips and it intoxicated her more than she already was, made her mind fuzzy and heady. 

 

Tressa slid her fingers through his hair, removing the band to feel the softness and returned the kiss with equal passion, moaning softly to let him know how incredible he made her feel.  Andrew growled as soon as her mouth opened to him, both tasting each other for the first time and Tressa shifted to where she now straddled him, her dress bunched up around her hips, her hands caressing his shirt covered chest and shoulders.  Without realizing it, her hands began to unfasten the buttons on his shirt to start exposing that delicious, slightly hairy, chest of his. 

 

He could feel goose bumps erupting over his skin when Tressa had his dress shirt unbuttoned, her palms skimming up his chest.  His own massive hands were on her waist, slowly but surely bunching that dress up higher and he was tempted to tear it off her body but refrained.  It would hurt her and it was a nice dress.  An image of her wrapped in his plaid, laying out on some heather flickered through his mind and he mentally promised himself that, if tonight progressed past just one night, that would be a vision he’d like to see made reality.  But, at the same time, he wasn’t pushing for anything she wasn’t willing to give.  A massive palm moved up her back and then to the nape of her neck, tilting her head back so he could get to her throat, growling softly when he felt her tiny body tremble against his.

 

She really was tiny compared to him, even straddling him, Andrew still towered over her and it should have intimidated her.  Not with the way he kissed her and caressed her, his lips gliding gently over her soft flesh.  Wearing a long-sleeved dress was NOT a good idea because she was burning up.  Andrew was lighting her on fire and it felt as if lava coursed through her veins, burning her from the inside out.

 

“A-Andrew…” She breathed out in a shaky stammer, pulling back enough to stare into his ocean blues and rested her forehead to his, battling internally with herself. “D-Does it…fuck…” Tressa JUST slept with Jon the previous night and there was a goddamn huge bruise on the spot where her shoulder met her neck to prove it.  Would that turn Andrew off if he saw it?  If he saw her marked by another man? “I-I’m burning…” It had to be that damn Scottish whiskey combined with being in this Scotsman’s strong arms. “I-I have to tell you something…before this goes any further…and believe me, I WANT this to go further.  I want you.” Badly – she could still taste him and slid her tongue out to wet her lips like she’d done down at the bar.  Tressa wanted him to know she wasn’t backing out of this or being a cocktease; she wanted to be with him tonight, but…her conscience was getting the better of her. “I-I slept with Jon last night…and we’re not together, but…there’s marks on me and I didn’t know if it’d bother you to see them…” Jon had NOT been gentle with her AT ALL last night during their angry bout and there were bruises on different areas of her body besides just that mark on her shoulder. “Andrew, I told you I’m damaged…and I meant it.  Are you absolutely sure you want me?”

 

Well, that was gross was his initial thought, but as he stared down into her beautiful yet somehow embarrassed eyes, that initial feeling faded and he nodded, running the pad of his thumb over her soft bottom lip. “Aye, I do.” He whispered, though he was glad she had told him. 

 

Now he was mentally prepared for what was beneath these clothes.  She wasn’t with Jon.  But they had sex.  He had to wonder what their relationship was, friends with benefits?

 

“I’m not going to be tromping on any toes, am I?” When she shook her head, that was good enough for him. “You’re not damaged,” He whispered, feathering kisses along her jaw. “You’re beautiful.”

 

It was SUPPOSED to be friends with benefits, but then Jon had to throw a wrench into everything and threw it all into chaos.  Her head lulled back, eyes closing to relish the feeling of his lips against her skin again, her hands pushing that shirt off his shoulders and arms.  As far as Tressa was concerned, it was her life and her choice who she wanted to be with.  Joseph was her only true love, and she lost him and he was gone.  Didn’t mean she couldn’t get her kicks with another man, but her heart was in that six-foot-deep grave and, if Jon thought she could just snatch it back in the blink of an eye, he was sorely mistaken.  What if Andrew wanted more than just sex from her?  She immediately pushed that thought out of her mind and pulled back again, this time capturing his lips in a fire-ridden kiss that sent sparks throughout her body.  She was burning again.

 

“Andrew…”

 

“Mmm, I like hearing you moan that, mo’ leannan,” He added in Gaelic, chuckling huskily when she gave him a curious look.  Gently, he turned with her, pinning her down onto the bed and hovered over her, well aware of just how fragile she was beneath him.  He could easily crush her with his body alone and he let his lower half rest between her parted thighs, mindful of his weight. “It means, pet,” He began, bending down so she could undo his hair from its low hanging tail. “My lover, in Gaelic.” And if they progressed further, that’s what she would be, his lover, even if for one night only.

 

Being called pet would be condescending to most women from a man, but when Andrew did it, Tressa enjoyed the term of endearment.  Just like when Jon called her kitten and she called him Daddy.  Would that change?  Hell, everything had changed the moment she agreed to have this drink in Andrew’s room.  Andrew’s accent had gotten thicker, more prominent and his voice lower, which only intensified the sexiness the man already exuded.

 

“I love your accent…and you really do have an incredible body, Andrew…” That was an understatement.  This man had gotten in shape and hardened himself in the Indies; he was absolutely delicious from head to toe. “I fear, if you don’t get me out of this dress soon, I will pass out from heat stroke, however.” She semi-teased, her cheeks flushed along with the rest of her body.

 

Bringing his mouth down on hers by grabbing hold of that thick, long black hair of his, her body vibrated against his practically.  With the patience of a saint, and he was no patient saint, so this was excruciating for him, Drew began removing that dress from her.  She hadn’t been lying about the marks, Jon had left her in poor condition, unless she liked being fucked like a ragdoll and some women did.  Either way, he wasn’t judging.

 

“You’re gorgeous.” Drew informed her once Tressa lay there in just her undergarments, leaning back on his calves to admire her.

 

Even with the signs of rough, definitely angry sex, she was beautiful.  Pushing himself off the bed, he shed what was left of his own clothes, going slowly because she had propped herself up and was watching him, her eyes darkening as she took him in.  That was probably the same look he’d had when he had undressed her.

 

Wow, he is hung, was the first thought that went through Tressa’s mind, her cheeks turning crimson on top of being flushed. 

 

Now her mouth really was dry at the full sight of him in all his naked glory, her tongue once again snaking out to run across her lower lip.  Jon was not a small man by any means, very well endowed, but Andrew was on another level entirely.  Moving on her knees, Tressa slid her hands up his chest, almost worshipping him, the hair not bothering her at bit because it was sexy on him.  A lot of men weren’t sexy with body hair, but Andrew definitely pulled it off and she began kissing his abs, his toned stomach, while wrapping her hand around his fully erected cock to stroke him.  Then, she leaned forward to slid her tongue along the tip and got the first taste of him, her moan of satisfaction vibrating him.  There was no way in HELL she’d fit all of him in her mouth, not even a quarter, probably, but Tressa was willing to give it the old college try.

 

“Mo’leannan, you don’t have to-” Holy shit, those words died quickly when Tressa hummed around him, using her hand to make up where she couldn’t fit him, most women couldn’t.

 

Not that Drew went around bragging about his cock because he didn’t, and there were even those women who took one look and flat out refused to be with him.  Having a dick this size was both a blessing and a curse.  He threaded his fingers in her now loose hair, being gentle as she bobbed up and down on him.  Christ, she was going to kill him and he was going to go with a smile on his face.

 

“Fuck, Tressa…” He couldn’t stop himself from arching his hips.

 

“Mmm…”

 

Tressa pulled away to tip her head back, enjoying his fingers in her hair.  It was haphazard around her face, somewhat curly from being in the bun on top of her head.  She had natural waves, they weren’t corkscrew curls or like Jon’s hair used to be.  She didn’t have straight hair either, so it was kind of a pain to deal with, but Tressa managed.

 

“Andrew…how do you want to cum, honey?” Her voice dripped with it, kissing the tip of his throbbing cock for added effect and smiled at the way his breathing labored. “Do you want me to try to swallow as much of you as I can…” There was no way she’d be able to take all of him and Tressa was woman enough to admit that aloud. “Or do you prefer to explode inside of me?” Another lick, another kiss, and she continued to stroke him. “The choice is yours.”

 

Chapter 26

 

Drew began laughing, though admittedly it came out labored because this cheeky vixen had stolen his breath. “Oh, pet,” He chuckled, caressing those curls before gently nudging her down onto the bed. “It’ll take quite a bit more to get me off.” He wasn’t bragging so much as stating a simple fact.  He was no minute to win it man and, given how busy they were, going out and patrolling for a one-nighter was usually more work than it was worth, so he handled his needs himself. 

 

Drew wouldn’t be popping his cork like a teenage boy.

 

“And when I do cum,” He pulled her down, so her legs were off the bed and on his shoulders, with him kneeling on the floor. “It’ll be inside your delicious little body.” But first…a snack.

 

Her panties were gone in a matter of seconds as Andrew peeled them from her body, using his teeth.  That had to be the most erotic sight she’d ever seen in her life.  Tressa had no bra on because the dress had a built-in one and, honestly, the bra strap would have bothered her bruised shoulder.  The bite mark.  Jon’s mark.  Andrew didn’t comment or seem bugged by the fact she was with another man the previous night.  Did that make her a whore?  Tressa didn’t care, especially when Andrew buried his face between her thighs, but didn’t immediately go after his snack.  No…she gasped as he sank his teeth into her inner thigh and began sucking, leaving his own ‘mark’ on her.

 

“Andrew!” She gasped out, shuddering against him and buried her fingers in his hair. 

 

Tressa did NOT expect him to do that, but wasn’t complaining either because it felt DAMN good!  No, it did not make her a whore.  If it did, then that made him a poor, desperate bloke willing to take anything he could get and Drew was not a desperate man.  He had his fair share of women throwing themselves at him lately, a lot seemed obsessed with his ‘new’ look, it took all kinds he supposed.

 

“Mmm, yes?” He rumbled with a slight smile, moving to the other thigh and gave it the same treatment, making sure to avoid the bruised area.

 

He was tempted to cover it with his own mark, but that would wind up hurting her.  Once finished, he swiped his tongue right up her slit and to her clit, growling when he felt her thighs quivering.  She was in a world of ecstasy.  Every part of her tingled from head to toe as the feeling of Drew’s mouth on her nethers, stroking her clit repeatedly.  The man was masterful at oral sex and Tressa never wanted it to end, gently grinding her pussy into his mouth just to enhance the intensity.  He didn’t hold her down like Jon would have, allowing her to get lost in what was happening between them completely.  She had released his hair, not wanting to yank it out of its roots and instead laced their fingers together to rest on the bed beside her.  She cried out and whimpered, panting, her body forming a fine sheen of sweat while her orgasm began to build slowly.

 

“Ooohhhh, Andrew honey, please make me cum…make me cum for you…” She wasn’t above begging, her body bowing off the bed somewhat and Drew growled, sending vibrations throughout her tiny frame.

 

Sliding one thick finger between her velvety folds, Drew clenched his teeth at the feeling of her inner walls clamping down just down on his finger.  He could only imagine what that was going to feel like when he finally sank his cock into her.  Drew crooked his fingers, stroking her sweet spot while he kept stimulating her clit with his tongue, lips, and teeth.  When he felt she was ready, he added a second finger, hearing her breathing picking up and now her lower body was both quivering and tensing at the same time.

 

“Come on, lass, cum for me…” He ordered, staring up at her out of hooded eyes, increasing the pressure just a little on that inner spot most men couldn’t find with flashlight and a map.

 

He found it…he knew EXACTLY where it was and her chest heaved up and down, her breathing nothing more than harsh panting and felt her entire body quake.  That rush washed over her, the euphoria and she cried out his name as she climaxed, reaching her end.  Her hot juices flowed into his mouth and Andrew drank her greedily while her pussy quivered and convulsed, almost.

 

“Fuck that was so good…” Tressa laughed out breathlessly, scrubbing a hand down her face, and felt Andrew finally pull away when she had nothing left to give him, those deep, midnight blue orbs locked on her. “Come…here…” She crooked her finger at him, beckoning him to climb up the length of her body and Andrew obeyed until his face hovered over hers.  Tressa gently cupped his face in her small, soft hands and brought his mouth down on hers, moaning at the taste of herself on his tongue. “Andrew…fuck me before I lose what’s left of my mind, honey…”

 

“Oh, I don’t know, lass… you’re a beautiful sight when you’re losing your mind,” He informed her with a chuckle of his own, trailing kisses down along her jawline and then the column of her throat.

 

She was damp with a fine sheen of sweat already and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, feeling her hands on his shoulders, nudging at him.  Nodding, he reached down between their bodies and positioned the tip of his cock at her entrance, knowing even with her being ‘warmed up’, he was going to have to go slow so he didn’t hurt her.  Pulling his head up, he locked eyes with her, just as he pushed forward.

 

“Holy…shit…”

 

Tressa gripped his shoulders tighter, feeling her body being stretched to the absolute limits and wondered, briefly, if Drew would fit all the way inside of her.  His girth was insane!  She swallowed hard, feeling him take this slow and it was both needed and made her crazy.  Her eyes didn’t leave his, wanting to see the look on his face as he pushed further and further inside of her hot depths.  Her confidence heightened at the euphoria on the man’s face once he was fully sheathed, somehow, inside of her.  Christ, her walls were BURNING from being stretched and all she wanted to do was for him to move, but knew if he did, he could possibly tear her up.

 

“A-Andrew…oh god…” Was it possible sex with Andrew was better than with Jon?  So far, that answer was a resounding yes and Drew hadn’t even moved yet, gritting his own teeth to reign in his control. “You’re not hurting me, you can move it’s okay…” All she wanted to do was intensify this raw connection between them, to really feel what this sexy Scotsman had to offer.

 

Drew already knew that tomorrow she was going to be a mass of aches and pains, she’d have muscle soreness in her inner thighs and yeah…she was miniscule compared to him. “You need to let me know if I’m hurting you.” His voice came out strained, his teeth clenching.

 

Wondering how a woman, who was obviously sexually experienced was so goddamn tight, when she had just taken a pounding the night before, Drew refused to treat her like an animal.  Tressa didn’t look like she was in pain, she looked impatient and he shook his head, taking his time in slowly pulling away from her, letting her feel every last bit of him.  Raising himself up, he looked down between them, watching as he disappeared back into her receptive body with a raised brow.

 

“You’re not, it feels exquisite, Andrew…” She assured him, hissing out as he slowly began thrusting in and out of her, bending her knees up to press her feet into the bedding and dug her nails into his shoulders.  Her body arched into him, meeting him for every slow yet powerful thrust he produced inside of her. “Oh fuck, fuck…” She moaned out uncontrollably, knowing the only way to switch positions was to ask him because Andrew was so much bigger than her. 

 

Stronger, powerful…god this man exuded raw power.  Instead, she brought his mouth down on hers, passionately kissing him and pushed herself up to where he pulled back and lifted her legs up to drape over his shoulders, knowing he would go even deeper inside of her in this position.  Their bodies stayed connected and he began thrusting at a rhythmic, methodic pace.

 

“Yes, yes…god harder, please…” This man would not hurt her, and she hoped his trepidation melted away soon because she wanted to experience ALL of what Drew had to offer.

 

“As mo’leannan demands,” He growled, slowly but surely upping the tempo of this dance, though he never stopped watching her face.  Her face and the way her body responded would cue him in on what worked, what didn’t, and how she was feeling.  Drew could definitely be an egotistical, selfish prick as many could attest, but he was a generous lover, or at least he tried to be. “You’re perfect, Tressa,” He informed her, his breathing elevated. “Every last bit of you…” She fit him like a custom made, velvet glove.

 

“So are you…oh god, that’s it…that’s it…” Tressa writhed beneath him, raking her nails down his rock-hard arms and gasped when Drew suddenly left her body. 

 

Within moments, seconds, she was on her hands and knees in front of him, her backside staring him in the face and Drew plummeted back inside of her tight little body.  Now THIS was the ticket – this was what she’d been waiting for and Tressa didn’t care how sore she’d be in the morning.  The morning was far away and she was right here, in the now, pushing back against him as he thrust forward, the sounds of his balls slapping against her pussy lips resonating around his room.

 

“Oh fuck!  A-Andrew!”

 

Looping his arm around her, just beneath her breasts, Drew pulled her up just a bit, groaning when he felt her beginning to grind back on his dick along with her spasming. “That’s it, cum all over me, Tressa…”

 

He snaked that hand down between her legs, finding her sensitive bundle of nerves and caressed her with nimble fingers, feeling her entire body starting to shake.  Drew could feel his own balls tightening, tension coiling in him and inhaled deeply through his nose, reigning his body in.  Not yet.  He wasn’t done with her yet.  If this was going to be a one and done kind of night, he wanted it to be something they both were going to look back on with smiles.

 

She would smile regardless because this had already been a night to remember. 

 

Her first taste of Scottish whiskey and now Scottish dick…Tressa could honestly say she was a fan of both.  Would Drew want her for more than a night though?  Or did he just want to test the waters and see what she had to offer?  Her head lulled back against his sweaty chest, her hand curling up to bury her fingers in his hair as she came hard, screaming his name.  His fingers did not leave her wet sex, even as they were coated in her essence, Drew kept fondling that bundle of nerves.  The orgasm ripped through her body like a tornado and Drew rode it out, refusing to give in, refusing to end this between them.  That followed a second one shortly after and, by now, Tressa was on extremely shaky ground, not sure how much more her body could withstand.

 

“O-Oh g-god…please…PLEASE, ANDREW!!” A third and final orgasm hit hard and this time, he exploded with her, filling her body with his seed while roaring her name in that deep, gritty accented voice of his.

 

“Fuck, Tressa!” Drew groaned when he felt his finally limp dick slide out of her equally limp body.  

 

If not for his arm holding her up, she would have dropped, and it was sheer willpower keeping him up right now.  Drew began kissing down the side of her neck, finally letting his forehead rest against her nape as he focused on breathing properly.  Eventually, he gently lay her down on the bed and tried not to drop too heavily beside her, landing on his side.  He let his hand rest on her stomach, his hair just as tousled as her and he grinned when she smiled at him, still a bit on the breathless side.

 

Tressa relished being in this man’s arms and snuggled further against him, her back against his chest, their sweaty bodies mingling and neither cared.  It was such an incredible feeling and she tilted her head back enough to brush her lips against his before letting him return to kissing her neck and shoulder.  It was the marked shoulder.  Coming down from their sexual high, Tressa was more focused now as the passion haze cleared from her mind and she had to wonder what happened after this.  If anything.  Did Drew want her to stay the night with him or to leave?  The way his arms tightened around her told her he wanted her to stay and she relaxed completely, her breathing slowly returning to normal, along with her heartrate.  Drew was someone who enjoyed post-coital cuddling, the lingering warmth and high taking its time leaving his body.

 

“Stay the night, Tressa,” He whispered in her hair, feeling her head nodding, and smiled. “Good.”

 

Shifting, he rest his head on the pillow and pulled her up, so she was eyelevel with him, his large palm skimming her side as he studied her flushed face.  If she had morning regret…well, he was hoping she didn’t because he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see it in those beautiful eyes or wake up to an empty, cold bed.  Tressa read his mind, sliding the pad of her thumb across his bottom lip, just like she had earlier in the bar, and rubbed her nose against his before kissing him softly.

 

“I’m not going anywhere, honey.”

 

Just for more reassurance, she hooked her leg over his thick, muscular one and scooted as close to him as she could, caressing the side of his face.  Tressa wasn’t tipsy either, just feeling as though she was on a cloud and never wanted to come off it again.  She also wouldn’t mind having another round or two with Drew, after they both recovered a bit or even morning sex. 

 

That was a definite possibility.

 

“Thank you for an incredible night, Andrew.  I really needed this.”

 

“You and me both, lass.  I should be thanking you.” He smiled, bringing her hand to his mouth to kiss her palm. “So, how does this play out tomorrow?” Might as well just get that out of the way now, pull off the band-aid, so to speak. “Pretend it didn’t happen, business as usual?” That would be a bit hard for him, but… he had learned the hard way to respect boundaries. “I don’t want that, just in case you’re curious.” She might as well know where he stood. “I also know you’re not looking for a relationship.”

 

She was still grieving her dead husband.

 

Chapter 27

 

She sat up a little, leaning her head on her propped elbow and raised a brow at him. “Do you really think I’d have this incredible night with you, incredible sex, and pretend it never happened?  Oh, my sexy Scotsman, I assure you, I’m not going to do that.” Truthfully, Tressa had no idea what she wanted from Andrew because this came out of left field.  All of this was unexpected, and she didn’t really have time to mull anything over. “How this plays out, for me, is I won’t be intimidated by you anymore at the arenas.  I’ll talk to you whenever you want me to and not brush you off like I’ve been doing.  And here’s the most important part, so I want you to pay attention, Andrew,” She paused, tracing his goatee with her fingertip. “I plan on fucking you again, spending the night with you again, and sharing some more Scottish whiskey with you again.” Bottom line, she wanted to spend more time with him and see where it went because, as far as she was concerned, her and Jon were done. “I just want someone to have fun with, no strings, no commitment, no pressure for a relationship.  That’s what I’m looking for.”

 

“Friends with benefits.” He summarized, nodding to show he got it.  

 

To be fair, he wasn’t exactly looking to jump into a relationship with anyone right now.  His career was starting to take off, a lot better than his last go-round for sure.  Not to mention, Tressa would need time to get through her grief.  He could do that, be her friend and then be a guy she slept with, without strings.  And it wasn’t like he was stepping on toes, they had already talked about that.  Though…his brows furrowed as an unpleasant thought came to fruition.

 

“Is this going to be a problem with Ambrose?”

 

She shrugged, not really caring what Jon thought because it wasn’t his business. “He ruined what we had with feelings.  I told him from the beginning what this was, and he just HAD to…” Sitting up all the way, Tressa furrowed her own brows while wringing her hands together, frowning. “I love him.  NOT in the romantic way, but I do love him.  He’s my best friend – or was.  I warned him this would ruin our friendship and he didn’t believe me.  He said to give him a chance, to let him help me and he did…for a while.  And last night, he told me how he felt, I told him how I felt and…we clashed.” Tressa touched her the spot on her shoulder, pursing her lips tightly together. “Being with you tonight makes me feel free, Andrew.  I haven’t felt this free, this light, this…content…in a long time.” Her eyes met his as he sat up with her, once again towering over her and it was comforting. “You surprised me tonight…and I don’t want this feeling to go away.”

 

“Well, Tres, just so we’re on the same page,” He was reaching past her for his tumbler and the bottle, filling it halfway full before taking a sip.  Drew then offered it to her, his buzz long gone by now and the small amount in that glass wasn’t going to do anything to either of them.  He’d bank she was a heavy drinker and he knew he could hold his own with the best of them. “I’m not looking to tie you down, or jump into a relationship with you.” Not right now, anyone with a brain could see the woman was still mourning.  She was better than she had been months ago, but still grieving. “Be your friend, and your lover, however…” Because they were not all mutual concepts.

 

Tressa took a sip from his tumbler, feeling the biggest relief crash over her at his words and nodded up at him, handing the drink back to him. “We’re definitely on the same page, Andrew.” She assured him, waiting for him to set the drink back on the nightstand and snuggled against him again, her head resting on his chest to hear his heartbeat and her leg over his. “Friends with benefits sounds great.” Yawning, Tressa could already feel the adrenaline flooding out of her and closed her eyes, feeling his fingers glide through her hair gently. 

 

If he wanted to put her to sleep, he was doing a fantastic job of doing so.

 

Drew had no idea what had gone wrong with this arrangement between her and Ambrose other than the guy had promised things he couldn’t stick to.  Everyone backstage had known Jon had a crush on the seamstress, it had been a bit obvious.  Hell, if the knucklehead had just been patient and bided his time, there was a chance that one day Tressa would have come around and returned those feelings.  Jon’s loss was his gain, however, he doubted this would have happened if not for the other man being a total and utter fool.  He began humming under his breath while caressing her hair, smiling when he felt her shifting against him and brushed his lips against her forehead.  When her breathing evened out, letting him know she was asleep, he let the sound lull him off as well.

 

~!~

 

A soft growl in her ear and a cock inside of her woke Tressa up the following morning, gently rocking in and out of her body.  Lips danced across her neck and shoulder and a strong arm tightened around her midsection.  It felt incredible and it also took Tressa a couple seconds to realize who she was in bed with.  It wasn’t Jon.  Everything that happened the previous night with Drew was reality.  Her hand reached up to bury in his hair as she began pushing back against him, meeting him for every slow, powerful thrust and moaned at how good it felt.  Morning sex with a sexy Scotsman – she could definitely get used to this.

 

“Mmm, Andrew…”

 

“Morning, lass,” He rumbled in her ear, his hand moving down to her hip, guiding her back against him.

 

Drew had woken up to a beautiful, pert ass nestled right against his dick and like any other normal, sane man, had decided to NOT deal with morning wood the traditional way.  There would be no morning shower or jack off session, especially when he had this delicious morsel in his bed.  Obviously, Tressa didn’t mind, he could feel her drenching his cock as she moved with him.  Reluctantly, he pulled away from her, both of them groaning at the loss of contact, though he remedied it quick enough.  He pulled her up onto him, lifting her enough to slide back into her receptive body and slowly lowered her back down, letting her feel every bit of him.

 

“Now ride me.”

 

“With pleasure, honey.” Tressa purred in response, smiling down at him and began gyrating her hips, rolling them, once again getting lost in the moment.  Her hands caressed his chest, his shoulders and arms, going slow at first to get a feel, a rhythm.  Drew didn’t seem to mind as she began bouncing on and off his cock, her head lulling back, eyes closing and used his chest for leverage. “Fuck, oh fuck…”

 

This was the perfect way to be woken up after the incredible night they had together.  She hissed out, feeling his strong hands reach up to fondle her bouncing breasts and her fingers slid through her own hair, gripping it, increasing the pace.  He let her control the rhythm of this dance, knowing after last night’s pounding, she was probably pleasantly achy and some leisurely lovemaking would either make it worse later on, or help to relax some areas due to the chemicals and hormones sex released.  Beginning to murmur encouragement to her in his husky Gaelic brogue, he tweaked her nipples between finger and thumb, loving the way they bounced with each of her movements, his own hips rolling upwards to meet her.

 

“That’s it,” He urged, watching as her face began contorting from the pleasure. “Cum for me, Tressa.”

 

His voice alone sent tremors throughout her body, but actually feeling his cock drive in and out of her, while she rode him, was a feeling unlike any other. “F-Fuck, Andrew…” She panted, feeling her climax building and didn’t want this to end yet, shaking her head.  She would not cum for him until he was ready to explode with her. “T-Together!” She gasped out, feeling his huge hands grip her hips to keep her from being popped right off of him. 

 

It did not take long and they were both cumming for each other, crying and growling out each other’s names in their releases.  Drew sat upright, cupping her face to passionately kiss her, stealing what little breath she had left and Tressa wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen it.  His cock sputtered inside of her, she could feel it and slowly broke the kiss, their bodies trembling against each other while their eyes locked.

 

“Well, good morning to you too.” She laughed breathlessly, nipping his bottom lip gently with her teeth.  That was a hell of a wakeup call!

 

His laughter joined hers, filling the room with it and when they both tapered off, he nuzzled her neck. “Shower, then breakfast?” He offered, knowing he was definitely going to need to refuel both on liquids and then sustenance, she had drained him of everything.

 

Not that he would EVER complain, that had been amazing and he was hoping they did continue with this friends with benefits thing, this woman was incredible.  Jon was a bloody fool, chasing her off the way he had.  Drew hadn’t expected that he would be there to sweep up the remains of that blowout, but…here they were.

 

“Mmm yeah, I’m starving.”

 

She didn’t eat dinner the previous night, so her stomach was eating itself by now.  Drew lifted her with ease from the bed, her legs wrapped around his waist and Tressa trusted him not to drop her.  This man was truly a monster, very tall, and she couldn’t believe an inch made that much of a difference since Andrew was 6’5 and Jon was 6’4.  After a lusty shower, because Drew couldn’t get enough of her, – his exact words – they finally stepped out and dressed, ordering breakfast.  They made small talk, anything that came to mind while waiting for their food and then ate in companionable silence.  Eventually, Tressa had to leave to go to her own room to get ready for the Royal Rumble that night.  She had to go to the arena earlier than the wrestlers since she had a slew of work to get done.  Drew wanted to hit the gym for a quick workout and to burn off what they had just consumed for breakfast.

 

Jon was mentally gearing himself up to talk to Tressa.  He had fucked up and he knew it, he had broken their ‘deal’.  Damn it, love made people stupid, crazy stupid, and he figured she, of all people, would understand that.  He was pumping iron, sorting out how he wanted to word all of this, how he wanted to approach her.  Jon had made a royal mess of things and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to fix it this time.

 

“Damn it…”

 

Drew instantly seen him and just bit his tongue. Idiot.

 

~!~

 

“Tressa, you’re smiling, and I’m scared.”

 

Tressa laughed at Suzanne, raising a brow at the woman. “Why is that?”

 

“Because, well…honey, no offense, but you’ve been…depressed and…moody, lately.” The woman had bitten Tabitha’s head off for getting the sequins wrong on Sasha Banks’ attire.

 

“Oh yeah…that.  Umm…I’m sorry.” Tressa looked over at Tabitha, who hadn’t spoken much to her and sighed as she stood up to walk over to the woman. “I am truly sorry for snapping on you that day, Tabby.  I have a lot going on right now, but that’s no excuse and…I won’t do it again.” Everybody had bad nights and that had been one of them.

 

Tabitha looked up at her somewhat timidly and nodded, cracking a hesitant smile. “It was an accident…”

 

“It’s fine.  It got fixed and everything is fine.  Now stand up, so I can give you a hug.  You really need one.”

 

Chuckling, Tabitha stood up and the women embraced, along with Suzanne, the trio of seamstresses sticking together like glue.  They were a team; a family and Tressa knew she was in the wrong for the way she treated Tabitha a few weeks ago.

 

“Now out with it, woman.  What’s with the sudden change in attitude?” Suzanne demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest. “You look…happy.  Did you and Jon work things out?”

 

The smile deteriorated off her face as Tressa shook her head. “No.” Things were worse between her and Jon than ever. “I just woke up in a really great mood today for some reason.  I don’t know.” Hell, she was even wearing a deep blue WWE polo shirt with black leggings instead of all black, like normal.

 

“Being an asshole again, I take it?”

 

“No, it’s complicated with Jon and I just…I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” Tressa was in a great mood and didn’t want it altered because of that man, not after the incredible night and morning she spent with Drew. “Time to get to work ladies, we can talk later.”

 

They chuckled at her before all sat down to start their projects.

 

“Good evening to you lovely lassies.” Came Drew’s amused voice an hour later, his blue eyes sparkling with humor when Suzanne nearly jumped out of her seat.  Draped along his forearm was his black kilt and when Tressa turned, he held it up, showing where some of the embellishments had frayed off.  He reached into the pocket of his workout pants, pulling out said embellishments. “Anyway this could get fixed?” He asked, knowing this was short notice, but he had only noticed when he had been unpacking his bag. “I dinnae need it tonight.” He could make it work for the night.

 

That man’s voice…Tressa had to suppress a shiver of desire and smiled at him, not at all intimidated by his presence like before.  Not after last night – that would never happen again.  This was the same kilt he wore at the NXT Takeover Wargames pay-per-view event.

 

“Anything can be fixed, Andrew.” This meant a lot to him, she could tell as Tressa carefully took it and placed it on the table with the hanging emblems it came with. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it and I should have it done by next week.” Unfortunately, she had A LOT of people in front of him that needed attire done.  Damn, he looked so good with his black hair pulled back in a low tail…Tressa had to mentally slap herself to keep from ogling him in front of her coworkers and suddenly remembered she did have something for him. “Oh, here.” Digging into the basket, she pulled out the trunks he wanted fixed and handed them over. “I DID get these done for you the other day and just haven’t had time to tell you.  The rip is all fixed and you shouldn’t have a problem from here on out.”

 

Chapter 28

 

He eyed the trunks, not able to tell where the original tear had been.  She was just that good and he gave them an experimental tug, eyeballing said stitching and wasn’t surprised at all when it didn’t give. “Your talents are wasted here, Tressa.” He informed her, kind of serious about it, actually.  She could probably be peddling her sewing abilities somewhere else and making more with less travel. “Sewing up trunks and sequins.” But if it was what she loved…he flashed her a bright smile. “Not that we’re not all glad you’re here.” And by ‘we’, he meant himself.

 

That tug had not been light either.  He pulled on those damn things just to really test the durability and she blushed at his compliment, waving him off. “I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.  WWE is home.”

 

She’d been here over 10 years and Vince paid her well worth her talent, probably more than a lot of people realized or could fathom.  The man may have lost his touch with storylines and creative, but he was very generous with his pocketbook.  She also caught what he’d said, the slight change in his voice with that last statement and it took every ounce of willpower not to pull him down for a kiss. 

 

Keep it professional, Tressa, she mentally scolded herself, having a feeling she would be spending the night with Drew again in the very near future.

 

Tabitha was minding her own business because she didn’t want to get into trouble with Tressa again, but Suzanne was listening.  She was working, but also listening, wondering if she had mistaken that change in his tone or if it was just her.


“Thank you.” He nodded at Suzanne before locking eyes with Tressa.  Whistling the same song he had been humming last night, he walked away.

 

“He seems to be in a chipper mood too.” Suzanne ventured casually.


“Yeah, he does, huh?” Tressa played it off with a shrug and sat back down, knowing if she turned around to watch him walk away, that probably wouldn’t bode well with the girls. “Can’t judge a book by its cover.  Maybe he’s not as bad as we thought.” It wasn’t Drew’s fault he was an intimidating specimen…a hot, sexy Scottish specimen with an ass she could bounce a half-dollar off of and…Tressa cleared her throat, taking a sip of water and went back to work.

 

Halfway through the show, the seamstresses went on their breaks as Tressa headed outside, a pack of cigarettes in hand.  It was time to quit, but she’d have to wean herself off them instead of just quitting cold turkey.  Phoenix, Arizona was in the 80’s, which was weird considering it was winter time, but that was the beauty of traveling all over the world.  Different climates and weather changes…there wasn’t another job that would allow her to do this.  Leaning against the building, she lit up the cigarette and took a long drag from it, letting the nicotine flow through her body slowly.  Drew was on the forefront of her mind, though she remained focus on her work, refusing to let any man distract her enough to screw up her work reputation. 

 

On her break, however, she could think about him all she wanted.

 

Jon stepped out almost as soon as she finished that first drag, a cigarette hanging from his bottom lip, his icy blues broody.  He halted when he seen her, though at the same time, he wasn’t surprised.  How many times over the months had he met her out on her break?

 

“Kitten,” He greeted in his rasping voice, taking a slow step toward her. “Can we talk?”

 

The last time he had tried talking to her had not ended well and now he had serious regret, knowing he had not only botched what was likely his one and only shot with her, but also shredded their friendship.  Her guard was up because she knew how Jon felt about her now.  He loved her.  He wanted to be with her, and she just didn’t feel the same way he did.  Tressa had her head in the grave and wasn’t pulling it out any time soon, if ever.

 

“Sure.” She heaved a sigh, taking another deep drag and let the smoke filter out of her mouth and nostrils, watching him move toward her slowly.  Reaching up, she felt the spot on her shoulder he had marked and rubbed it absentmindedly with her free hand. “What would you like to discuss, Jon?”  Tressa wasn’t in a playful mood, not with him.

 

“What do you think?  It’s obvious what needs to be talked about between us.”

 

“I told you sex complicates things and you didn’t listen to me.  And now you have to ask my permission to talk to me instead of just coming up and doing it.” Tressa shook her head, so much hurt and pain in her eyes while looking at the man she trusted to help her through this. “I didn’t want our friendship ruined over this.  You’re my best fucking friend, Jon, and I don’t know what I’ll do if we can’t fix this.” Why couldn’t they just go back to the way things used to be before sex and feelings complicated everything? “I do love you.” That got his attention, his blue eyes alighting with fire and she immediately held her hand up. “Let me finish, okay?  I love you…the same way I love Joe.  The same way I love Colby.  Granted, me and you are closer – closer than we’ve ever been, or we used to be.” Until sex got involved. “You’re my family, all three of you, but I can’t…I don’t have the same feelings for you that you do for me.  Believe me, I wish I did, but I don’t and it really hurt me when you said my head was stuck in the grave.  I’ve got news for you, Jon, my HEART is in that grave with Joseph and I don’t foresee anyone coming along to steal it.  My heart went with him when he died; he was the love of my life, the ONLY man I ever wanted to be with, to grow old with, to have children with…” Her voice cracked as tears began sliding down her cheeks, the grief taking over again as she took another shaky drag, sniffling.

 

“God, Tres,” Jon dropped his cigarette and moved towards her.  They were both stiff as he pulled her into his arms, though once he relaxed he felt her relaxing as well. “I’m sorry, darlin’.” He whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I know…I know you did, and I was an ass for pushing it.” Tressa was right, sex had complicated things, especially since he had already had feelings for her prior. “I know I can’t fix what I broke, Tressa, but if you’ll let me, I’d like to try.  Fix our friendship.” And that meant no more sex because he couldn’t have sex without the heart eventually getting involved.

 

“I-I’ve lost so much already, Jon…” Tressa sobbed against his chest, having dropped her own cigarette to hug him close, her tears soaking into his bare chest. “I can’t lose you too…” Maybe it would happen anyway, if and when he discovered who she slept with last night…and probably other nights to come.  Now wasn’t the time to tell him, however.  Andrew and Jon were currently feuding, and they did NOT like each other at all. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for using you…I never meant to use you and I didn’t know how you felt about me…” Why hadn’t Jon told her about this sooner? 

 

Tressa NEVER would have allowed this to go to the next level if she knew beforehand!

 

“Well, if I hadn’t been such a bitch about it, you never would have known, darlin’.” He pulled away to stare down into her face, using his thumbs to brush away the tears that streamed down her face. “You’re not going to lose me, Tressa, not unless you want me to go away.  I’m done drinking.”

 

Because he had been drinking prior to that event and it hadn’t panned out very well at all.  If he hadn’t been running on liquid courage, he wouldn’t have done or said even half of that.  Tressa wished she could be done with booze, with Vodka, but she couldn’t give up the one vise that helped her sleep at night.  Granted, Drew had done a magnificent job of substituting that, but this situation with Jon made her realize she was truly alone. 

 

She couldn’t rely on anyone except herself.

 

“No more sex between us, Jon.  We’re friends and that’s where it has to stay.” She cupped his face softly in her hands, his forehead resting against hers and felt his arms tighten around her. “Please don’t go away.  Please…” Maybe she was selfish, but Tressa needed him in her life in some capacity and wrapped her arms tightly around him, letting him hold her close while she cried into his neck. “I’ll never ask you to go away, you hear me?  We don’t need sex to make our bond stronger, to make our friendship last.” That was her hope anyway.

 

Ouch, he had known it was coming, he had even made that decision in his own head that this was how it was going to have to be.  Still, it did nothing to lessen the pain, but he also knew that was all on him. “Nah darlin’, we need less sex to make it stronger.” He joked, just barely managing to keep his voice from cracking. “I got 5 more minutes, kitten, join me in a smoke?” Give up alcohol, sure…he was probably going to wind up with a two pack a day habit, however, on the downside.

 

“Okay, Daddy.” She whispered, slowly pulling back to look into his deep pale blues and could see the pain, the hurt, she caused him. 

 

Tressa wanted desperately to take it away, but she had her own pain and hurt to overcome and…her feelings did not mirror Jon’s.  No matter how much she wanted them to, they didn’t.  She felt more connected, surprisingly, with Andrew than Jon, at least in the bedroom.  Only time would tell if their connection grew stronger than her and Jon.  Pulling out a fresh cigarette, she allowed Jon to light it for her as they leaned back against the building, side by side, staring out at the parking lot while smoking.  Why did she have a feeling this was the beginning of the end of their friendship?  Why did she have a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach they wouldn’t share cigarette breaks together anymore like this?

 

“I’m going to give you a head’s up, darlin’,” Jon said quietly, staring out over the parking lot. “I’m going to be distant for a bit, get my head on straight, so I don’t…so this doesn’t happen again.  I never wanted to hurt you, Tres.” And he had wound up doing more than just hurting her, he had hurt himself, them, in the process. “I’m still here, and I’ll never stop being your friend, but I can’t just switch off the way I feel either.” He finally looked down at her, offering a smile. “You know me, doll, balls to the wall and all that.”

 

Tressa smiled sadly up at him and nodded, completely understanding where he was coming from. “Take as much time as you need, Jon.  I’m always here for you, if you ever need to talk or just bitch about whatever’s bothering you.” She finished her cigarette, flicking the butt across the way and knew he would need time to get over her, to stuff his feelings deep down.  Instead of hugging him, she squeezed his bicep gently and pulled back, both having a mutual agreement on how this would go from now on. “See you around and good luck tonight.” Then, Tressa walked back inside and went to the bathroom to wash her face, not wanting the girls to know she’d been crying.  She splashed water on it, patted it dry and stuffed her own grief and pain down to head back to work, needing to focus on her tasks.

 

Jon snorted, remaining there on the wall long enough to puff on another cigarette, letting the nicotine filter through his system.  There wasn’t enough nicotine in the world to fix what was wrong with him.  Just talk or bitch to her, he smiled and let his head drop back against the brick building behind him.  Yeah, there would be no venting to the woman who was giving him his issues…issues that she had cautioned him against having from day one and yet, here he was, dancing a hole over his own heart.  He was such an idiot.  No, it wasn’t her giving him issues, it was him and he knew it…knew it was unfair to blame her.  That was why he was going to take some time, put some space between them, to get his head on straight and salvage what he could of his pride and their friendship.

 

~!~

 

Being sick while on the road sucked.  Big time.  Tressa had some kind of stomach bug and she couldn’t quite figure out where it came from.  Nobody else in the WWE was sick and she didn’t interact with the fans like the Superstars did.  The only person she had been talking to lately was Drew – more sex than anything, though.  He wasn’t sick either.  This stomach bug had been lasting a few days, even on her days off, which she spent at home like normal.  It was now late February and it was supposed to be the happiest of days because Joe was coming back to the company.  They announced it on social media last week about his return and she had a good feeling he had great news to deliver to the fans and locker room.  Nobody knew what it was; she hadn’t really talked to Jon and Colby, keeping her own distance from them after what transpired between her and Jon.  Honestly, she didn’t think Colby wanted anything to do with her since she was no longer hanging out with Jon on a nightly basis, sharing a hotel room with him, etc. 

 

Groaning, she pulled herself away from the toilet in the women’s bathroom and wiped her mouth, sweat and tears pouring down her face.  Tressa HATED vomiting and couldn’t keep anything down, which would eventually, if not already, dehydrate her.  Still, she had a job to do and managed to pull herself up, stumbling to the sink to splash cold water on her face and rinsed her mouth out.  The weird part was she didn’t have a fever – it was just vomiting, almost on an hourly basis.  What the hell was going on with her body?  It had to be a horrible virus of some kind.  Tabitha and Suzanne begged her to go back to the hotel, but Tressa refused, having too much work to get done. 

 

Feeling weak, she patted her face dry and headed out of the bathroom, her complexion pale and her hand was on her stomach because the nausea feeling hadn’t gone away.  She just stopped vomiting.  The sex had stopped when the vomiting had started because, even though she wasn’t showing fevers or anything, Drew couldn’t risk getting sick.  He was in a pretty big storyline right now, for him anyway, especially when one considered where he had been during his first run in the company.

 

“Still, lass?” He asked when he spotted her in the hallway, frowning when she nodded. “Tres, you need to get in and see a doctor.  If it hasn’t gone away by now, you might have something wrong…” His mind jumped to the worst conclusions, like cancer or something. “Go see the trainers, pet, you can’t keep going around like this.” His tone dropped to a gentle burr, reaching out to press the back of his hand against her forehead. “Please?”

 

“Don’t give me those big blue eyes, Andrew…” Tressa groaned softly, already knowing what she had to do and sighed heavily, reluctantly nodding. “All right, all right, fine I’ll go.  I’ll go to the trainer’s right now.  I promise.” That got a smile out of him and she rolled her eyes, cracking a very small one of her own. “Don’t worry about me, go get ready for the show, honey.  I’ll text you to let you know what it is.” She didn’t touch him because she didn’t want him to get whatever the hell this was she had.  Tressa went straight to the trainer’s as promised and knocked on the door, stepping back just as it opened and Jon came barreling out, nearly knocking her down. “Whoa!” Racing past him, she barely made it to the trashcan before hurling again and Larry stared down at her with wide eyes.

 

Chapter 29

 

Jon immediately turned and about faced, ignoring Larry’s orders to get the hell out of the room. “You okay?”

 

“Does she look okay?”

 

Jon gave Larry a dirty look, frowning as he ran his hand over his head.  When Tressa finally stopped hurling into that trashcan, his eyes widened.  Tressa looked like shit, like death warmed over.

 

Larry was passing her damp towels, already mentally running over the potential checklist of what was wrong with her. “Out, Ambrose.”

 

Frowning, Jon stepped out into the hallway, folding his arms over his chest.

 

Rolling his eyes, Larry stormed over to slam the door shut.

 

Once she stopped throwing up, Larry laid Tressa down and immediately gave her a Zofran to pop under her tongue, letting the medicine dissolve.  Hopefully, it would stop her from vomiting while he checked her over, nodding as he took his gloves off. “Tressa, when was your last menstrual cycle?” He asked, keeping his tone professional and looked at her as she slowly sat up, knowing the Zofran had kicked in.

 

That nauseous feeling was gone for now. “It was…” She frowned, thinking back to when she last had a period and realized, at that moment, she was late.  Very late.  Two weeks late, actually. “Six weeks ago…it was the beginning of January, right after New Year’s Day…” Her voice had grown quiet, thoughtful.

 

Larry nodded, pulling something out of a cabinet and handed it to her. “Go to the bathroom and take this test.  You might be pregnant.”

 

Swallowing hard, Tressa numbly took the test and slid off the bedding to go into the private bathroom, opening the packaging with shaking hands.  Oh god…what if she was pregnant?  Two weeks late would put her at…the Royal Rumble.  Those two nights back to back…if the Zofran hadn’t kicked in already, she would’ve vomited all over again for a different reason.

 

“Shit…shit!” Drinking water, since she was extremely dehydrated, it took a bit to muster up enough piss to take the damn thing and she set it aside, waiting the longest 10 minutes of her life.

 

When she looked at it again, 10 minutes later, Tressa felt her heart plummet to the depths of her stomach.

 

It was positive.

 

When Tressa didn’t emerge after 30 minutes, Larry finally knocked on the door.  He heard a mumbled ‘it’s open’ and pushed the door open, letting out a slow sigh when he seen the look on her face.  There was no doubt about it, he didn’t even need to look at the test, her face was saying everything.

 

“All right. I’m going to send you to the local hospital to have bloodwork to verify, and I’ll write you a prescription for more Zofran and prenatals if you want them.” He kept his tone calm and professional, knowing it wasn’t his place to pry into her personal life.

 

“C-Can I wait until after the show to…” Larry shook his head, knowing letting her wait would only make it worse. “All right, I’ll go now.” She mumbled, taking the prescription and tossed the pregnancy test in the trashcan, covering it up with some toilet paper.  Nobody needed to know her business.  Once again, feeling numb, Tressa walked out of the trainer’s room and saw Jon was waiting for her, immediately feeling tears burn her eyes at the sight of him. “Don’t.” She ordered, holding her hands up and shook her head, not having time for this, for him, right now.

 

“Tres…”

 

“I said don’t, Jon.” Her voice rose a little, a shakiness to it and hated the pain in his eyes while he looked at her. “Tell Joe I said congratulations.  I’m on my way to the hospital.  Dehydration, apparently.” Joe was officially back on the roster, in the company, and cancer-free…the same night she found out she was pregnant and didn’t know who the father was.  Tressa would never forget this night and took off down the hallway, heading straight for the exit.

 

Drew, at the other end of the hall, had caught that exchange, though he hadn’t been able to hear it.  He had seen Tressa emerging from the trainer’s room and even from here, he could tell she had been crying, maybe was crying.  Jon looked confused and concerned.  Masking his own concern, he walked towards the office, wondering what he had missed and if she was okay.  Asking Larry in front of Jon, however, was just asking for trouble.  No, he’d have to text her.

 

Tressa ignored the text messages, knowing it would just worry the Scotsman, but…she needed time to herself.  She needed time to reflect and figure out what the hell she was going to do.  A baby – between two men that she WILLINGLY slept with.  No protection used.  What the hell did she THINK would happen?  Then she kept having sex with Andrew throughout the past month without protection!  The Scotsman didn’t mention anything about protection or ask if she was on anything.  Neither had Jon. 

 

Groaning, she sat in the emergency room while her blood was taken, testing for a few things since it was pregnancy.  They also gave her an IV bag to help with her dehydration from all the vomiting she had done over the past several days.  The doctor was concerned about the dehydration and admitted Tressa, wanting her to get some actual rest and pump fluids through her system.  Tressa tried fighting it, but in the end, she was in a hospital room with her phone, in a hospital gown, sucking down water and contemplating texting Andrew back.  Instead, she just set her phone down on the tray in front of her and turned on her side, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.  Pregnant with another baby…who wasn’t Joseph’s and she didn’t even know who the damn father was. 

 

The universe had a wicked sense of humor, indeed.

 

“I really shouldn’t be doing this…” Came the older female nurse’s voice from just outside the cracked door. “She’s not supposed to have visitors at this hour…”

 

“You’re doing me a favor, ye winsome lass.” Drew had his accent out at full tilt, his blue eyes sparkling wickedly as the older woman practically melted at his feet.  He blamed Harlequin romance novels for this obsession for Scotsmen, they romanticized the piss out of Highlanders.  But, it was now working in his favor, so yay?

 

“Do you ever wear a kilt?”

 

Oh dear Lord above. “Aye, for special occasions.” He winked down at her, sweeping by and into the room when she held the door open.  Creepy old broad.

 

Tressa had just walked out of the bathroom, wheeling the stupid IV stand with her and froze at the sight of Drew staring back at her.  What the hell was he doing here? “Hi…” It was WAY after visiting hours and she saw the nurse walk away from the door, after ogling the Scotsman a lot longer than necessary.  Very professional, dumb bitch, she thought, walking back to the bed with the IV stand and slid beneath the white blanket. “What are you doing here, Andrew?” Didn’t she make it clear she wanted to be left alone when she didn’t respond to any of his text messages or phone calls? 

 

Jon had texted her a couple times and she ignored him too.

 

“Now dearie,” Drew shut the door behind him, but didn’t make a move to go towards her.  She was pretty irritated with him and he supposed he didn’t blame her.  But…All she had to do was text him and let him know what was going on and he would have left her alone. “You were supposed to let me know what was going on, and you’ve been ignoring me instead.  You cannae leave a lad hanging like that.” His gaze softened as he took her in, that IV, her somewhat puffy and pale face. “I’m sorry, Tressa, I was worried.” He admitted, being truthful with her.  Though, since the nurse HAD let him in, he was going to venture out on a limb and assume it wasn’t something contagious.

 

Her face softened, along with her eyes, because it was incredibly sweet of him to come check on her, even if he had to pay off that nurse or coerce her to let him in here. “I’m not mad at you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Tressa was mad at herself for not being more responsible and lowered her eyes from his to stare down at the blanket, wondering if now was the time to drop the bomb on him. “And I’m not sick either…like I thought I was.”

 

How would he react?  Would he want anything to do with her or the baby?  Did she even WANT this baby?  There were so many questions as she slid her fingers through her hair, gripping it.

 

“I’m sorry for ignoring you.  I just…there’s something I need to tell you, Andrew, and…god, I’m scared…” Terrified, more like it.

 

Now his heart had sank all the way down to the soles of the boots he was wearing.  Drew had showered and dressed after the show and then come straight here to her since she had ignored all his text messages.  Jeans, a lightweight button up shirt and these boots, he was probably overdressed for a hospital visit.  His earlier thoughts of cancer and such were now coming back full force and he reached up to rub his temple, mentally bracing himself for the worst.

 

“All right, lass, out with it.” He ordered finally, walking over to pull her hand away from her hair.

 

Staring up into his beautiful ocean blues, Tressa blinked as fresh tears slid down her cheeks and Drew didn’t release her hand.  How was she supposed to tell him this news when it was still so fresh to her?  If he was the father, he deserved to know the entire truth, including the fact Jon could also be the father of her baby.  This was just a surreal, insane situation.

 

“I’m sorry, Andrew…” She whispered, feeling his fingers squeeze hers and took a deep, shaky breath, her free hand resting on her still flat stomach. “This is harder than I thought it’d be.  Umm…fuck…” Ripping the band-aid off as fast as possible was the most painless. “I don’t have the stomach flu, I am dehydrated, which is why they admitted me, but they also did it because…” She swallowed hard, her voice growing quieter with every word that came out of her mouth.  Tressa couldn’t meet his eyes and dropped her gaze to the blanket again, to their entwined fingers. “I’m pregnant, Andrew…and I don’t know if it’s yours or…Jon’s…”

 

And that is how, with mere words, this tiny thing of a woman dropped the Scotsman to his knee.  Literally.  He was now eyelevel with her stomach and all he could do was stare at it, looking for signs of pregnancy.  Obviously, there wouldn’t be anything visible, not at this point, but that didn’t stop him.  His or Jon’s, and that told him the conception time was right when she had finished things with Jon and picked up with him.  Contraceptive never crossed his mind because most mature women were on that, so he was an idiot.

 

“Does he know?” He asked quietly.

 

“No, not yet.” Tressa replied quietly, her grey eyes wide the moment Andrew dropped to one knee at her bedside, his eyeballs fixated on her stomach. “T-They’re saying – the doctor – I’m around 4 weeks along.” Royal Rumble weekend.  It would be impossible to find out who the father of her baby was – it was either Jon or Andrew. “They said that pregnancy symptoms can come on very quickly early…and apparently, that’s what happened with me.  Umm…miscarriage plays a factor in that and…Andrew, I didn’t tell you this and I didn’t think I ever would, but…this isn’t my first baby.  I lost…my husband’s baby when he died.  Shortly after.  I didn’t know I was pregnant and lost the baby because of all the trauma his death put me through…”

 

Now she was openly crying, pulling her hand away from him to cover her face, the guilt crashing over her intensely.  She was having another man’s baby.  Not Joseph’s…she had lost the last piece of him…and now she either had a piece of Jon or Drew growing inside of her.  Those chest heaving, soul wracking sobs of hers wrenched Drew from his thoughts and spurred him into action.  Standing up, he reached out to gently pull her into his arms, not sexual or sensual about it.  

 

This was just one person giving comfort to the other because that was what she needed.  Those were grieving wails escaping her, guilt, and sorrow, and he had a feeling she was thinking about her dead husband.  She had lost so much in such a short span of time, how was any of that fair?  Her husband and then the last piece of him in the span of weeks, he couldn’t wrap his head around what she must be feeling right now, being pregnant with another man’s child.

 

“What do you want to do, Tressa?” He asked quietly once her cries finally started to taper off.

 

Tressa clung to him as he held her and didn’t answer him for a while, trying to stop crying, trying to wrap her own mind around this.  Her arms tightened around his huge body and Drew gently rocked her, kissing her forehead, and murmured in that deep, low accented voice of his.  It soothed her, surprisingly, and the sobs slowly calmed down, but the tears didn’t stop.  What did she want to do?  What DID she want to do?  Tressa had no idea and was terrified to talk to Jon because he did not know about her and Drew hanging out yet.  He was about to get a very rude awakening because she wouldn’t just make a decision without him. 

 

He was her best friend and now possibly the father of her baby.

 

“I-I know we don’t know each other that well…” She sniffled, slowly pulling back to wipe her tears away and looked up into his ocean pools again. “W-What do you think I should do, Andrew?  What do you want me to do?  I-I can’t make this decision without you…and Jon, and I want your opinion.  D-Do you want to be a father?  If you don’t, and you want nothing more to do with me, I’ll understand…” It would hurt, but she would not blame the Scotsman for running in the opposite direction of her.

 

Drew had absolutely no answer to that because there was the chance it wasn’t his baby.  And he had no suggestions to give her on what to do because his mind was a little occupied, dazed, and he wasn’t the one who had to ultimately live with the decision if she made a bad one. “You’re going to have to talk to Jon.” He advised finally, sighing. “I can’t tell ye what to do any more than he can.  All I can do is be here for you.” And apparently the baby she was carrying.

 

This woman had the strangest luck.

 

Chapter 30

 

“Christ…”

 

How the HELL was she supposed to tell Jon something like this, after they had cut ties with each other?  He’d been just outside of the trainer’s room, so he knew something was going on with her.  Drew sounded like he would be here for her…she didn’t know what that entailed, though.  No matter what, she wasn’t a baby killer, and this was her rainbow baby.  She had lost Joseph’s and be forever heartbroken over it, but this was a second chance for her to be a mother.  Honestly, it was one of her dreams to be a mother – her and Joseph both wanted to be parents and have at least three kids.

 

“I’m keeping it, Andrew.” She placed a hand on her stomach, letting out a shaky breath. “No matter who the father is, this is my baby and this may be my last shot at being a Mom.” Tressa wasn’t getting any younger and the older a woman became, the harder it was to get pregnant.

 

“All right,” Even though he didn’t know Tressa all that well, Drew hadn’t seen her as the type who would terminate a pregnancy, especially not after everything she had gone through with her last one. “I’m here for you, Tressa.” He reassured her, though he had to wonder how this was all going to work out once Jon found out.  She was going to likely have them both up her ass until they knew one way or another on who the father of the wee one was.  This was going to be awkward, he could already see it. “Come on.” He gently guided her back onto the bed, mindful of the IV.

 

Drew guided her to lay back on the bed and she took his hand, so much turmoil and uncertainty swirling through her watery, red-rimmed, swollen greys.  Tressa wanted to trust what the Scotsman said, but something told her to keep her guard up. “I told Jon I only wanted friendship from him from and I don’t have the same feelings for him that he does for me.” She confessed, turning on her side to face Drew and reached out to stroke his bearded face with the back of her hand. “That’s why we’ve been…distant with each other, or rather, he’s been distant from me.” Jon needed time to get over her and now she was about to destroy that distance with this pregnancy. “Y-You don’t have to be here for me if this is going to cause chaos in your life, Andrew.  I mean, unless this is your baby and then I hope you would want to be here…” Tressa would understand and respect whatever decision he made.

 

“I’m not going to lie, this is a lot to take in, Tressa.” Drew admitted, dropping down into the chair beside her, never pulling his hand from hers.  

 

Hearing she was pregnant, and it could be Jon’s or his, how did any man wrap their mind around that?  It would have been so easy to walk away from her and, admittedly, that had been his first, selfish reaction, but…here he was anyway.  Another small part of him actually felt bad for Jon.  Jon apparently loved her and it wasn’t returned, and now she was going to spring on him that she was pregnant and it could potentially be his.  This was a giant mess.

 

“But I’m not going anywhere.” He flashed her a reassuring smile, meaning what he said. “You’re going to need support.” He had a feeling she was going to need a LOT of support.

 

Only time would tell if he truly meant what he said. “Okay.” Closing her eyes, the exhaustion from the night took over and Tressa slowly fell asleep, her hand never once leaving her stomach.

 

~!~

 

“Are you sure you can work, Tressa?  Why don’t you go home and get some rest?” Stephanie suggested, looking at her lead seamstress with worry in her eyes.  They had been friends for a long time and she knew everything Tressa had been through, including her first miscarriage.

 

“I’m fine, Stephanie.  I’m pregnant, not sick.” Tressa assured her, having already informed the woman of her condition and the Zofran was doing wonders for her nausea. “I’m just tired, but that’s nothing I can’t deal with.  I’m not leaving, I have a job to do.”

 

Stephanie smiled at Tressa’s tenacity and held her hands up, deciding to let the woman make her own decision. “Very well, all right, I won’t press the issue anymore, but just know, if you need to go home to rest, all you have to do is say the word.”

 

Tressa nodded, thanking Stephanie and headed out, wringing her hands together.  She was still trying to find a way to tell Jon about the pregnancy and wondered if he was at the arena yet.  Drew was at the gym working out and had already texted her to ask if she needed anything.  She didn’t ignore him, letting him know she was fine and at the arena to work.  More than likely, Jon was at the gym as well and she frowned, turning her phone in her hand, deciding maybe a text message was the best way to do this.

 

I’m pregnant, Jon. 

 

She hit the send button before she could stop herself and set her phone to the side, thankful the Zofran had kicked in or else she would have spewed all over the table.

 

Jon was in the gym, ignoring Colby’s taunts about trying CrossFit -he wasn’t THAT big of a sucker for pain- and working out on his arms.  Arm day was a real thing, just like leg day.  He had seen way too many athletes skip leg day and wound up buff on top of toothpick legs.  No thanks.  He heard his cell go off and ignored it, listening as Joe talked about the newest developments at home with his own family.  By the time he was done, he was soaked in sweat.  Sitting up, he took his towel and wiped his face and shoulders, breathing heavily.

 

“Hand me my cell, Uce.” He grinned when Joe rolled his eyes and retrieved it, swiping the lock screen.

 

Drew was across the gym, trying to ignore that the other potential baby daddy of Tressa’s wee one was right there, without a clue.  He nearly smacked himself with the tension pulley he was using for resistance training when he heard Jon beginning to curse.  Joe and Colby both stared at Jon as he cursed a blue streak, using every word, and maybe even making some up, he could think of. 

 

His face was red and he was PISSED.

 

“Bro, BRO, JON!” Joe finally shouted, trying to snap his friend out of his ranting and planted both of his huge hands on the man’s shoulders.  They were trembling.  This man was trembling from head to toe and he’d already broken his cell phone, crushing it in his hand. 

 

What the HELL could have set Jon off like this? 

 

Colby was wondering the same thing, picking up the mangled piece of equipment with a deep frown. “Jon, what’s going on, man?” He asked almost hesitantly, sharing a worried look with Joe as they both stared at their brother.

 

Jon didn’t say a word, mumbling something about needing to get to the arena and took off, not bothering to shower.

 

“What the fuck just happened?”

 

Joe wished he knew.

 

Pregnant.  She was pregnant.  This was God laughing at him.  Jon knew without a shadow of doubt this was his baby.  He was the only man Tressa had been with since Joseph had died and he groaned, raking a hand through his short hair.  He already knew that this wouldn’t change anything between them, not feeling wise anyway, and he let his head drop to hit the steering wheel.  Their relationship, their friendship, was already on tenterhooks because he had stepped back to get his head straight.  To come to terms that, while Tressa would always be a part of his life, it wouldn’t be in the capacity he had wanted.  Now this.

 

We need to talk. He sent her finally, reaching for his pack of cigarettes.  Yeah, they really, REALLY needed to talk.

 

Their spot.  She was waiting in their spot outside of the arena, leaning against the building, without a cigarette in hand.  There would be no more smoking or drinking now that she was pregnant.  Tressa swallowed hard at the screeching tires of the vehicle in the parking lot and knew it was Jon.  Her stomach was twisting violently and it had nothing to do with morning sickness.  What the hell was he going to say when she told him this may not be his baby?  Her eyes didn’t leave the vehicle, watching him storming, stalking, toward her until he was mere inches from her.  She didn’t bother responding to his text message and simply waited for him to arrive for the show tonight.

 

“Jon…” His name came out of her mouth in a soft choke, feeling his hand rest on her stomach and placed hers over his, their eyes remaining locked. “I have to tell you something…and you’re probably going to hate me for it.”

 

Jon was feeling for some physical sign of pregnancy and the only thing he could tell that was different was the fact that her stomach was harder than it had been once.  Sighing, he stepped away from her, he hadn’t missed the way her voice had choked up saying his name.  Putting space between them, he lit another cigarette and just stared down at her.

 

“What is it, darlin’?” He asked quietly, resignation in his tone.

 

At this point, there wasn’t much she could say that would be any worse than the words they had already exchanged.

 

She was terrified.  Talking to her best friend about this situation scared the hell out of her because Tressa had no idea how he was going to react. “B-Before I tell you, you have to understand I never meant for this to happen.  For ANY of this to happen, this baby…” Shutting her eyes, Tressa mentally counted backward from 10 to keep herself calm, but couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down her cheeks. “Jon…the weekend of the Royal Rumble…I was angry with you.  I was angry at myself for what happened between us.  I was drinking and…I wound up leaving with someone else that night.  The night after we had sex…” The angry, barbaric sex that had left her bruised and marred.  Now, those electric blues were locked on her and Tressa felt her heart pounding vigorously in her chest, the intensity in them, the fire…she actually took a step back to press against the wall again. “I-I don’t know if this is your baby or not because I slept with you and someone else, back-to-back, that weekend.  And that’s when I conceived since I’m about 4 weeks along, according to the doctor.”

 

Out of EVERYTHING she could have said, that was the very last thing Jon would have ever expected.  Tressa had been feeling guilty over sleeping with someone who wasn’t her husband, she had railed at him about how she would never love anyone except Joseph and her heart was in the grave with him.  Then she had hopped on another’s man dick.  That was just…he began laughing, not knowing why, but there it was.  Jon leaned back against the wall, his cigarette dangling down by his thigh and just laughed.

 

“Fuck…” He rasped, bringing his free hand up over his eyes.

 

It was just sex between them, to Tressa, and now she knew it was more to Jon than she thought or realized.  That laughter was full of pain and heartbreak – there wasn’t a single solitary happy note in his voice and tone.  She opened her mouth to say something else and closed it, knowing she couldn’t make this right.  What’s done was done and she had to focus on how to keep this baby from dying.  At least he knew the truth and now she had no idea what would happen in the future, but Tressa could NOT bring herself to tell him who exactly the other possible father was. 

 

Quite frankly, it wasn’t his business anyway.

 

“I um, I need to head back inside…” Tressa normally would have gone to him, dropped beside him, and tried to comfort him, but those days were long gone.  Sex really did screw their friendship up, just like she knew it would, even after Jon swore it wouldn’t.

 

Jon caught her gently by the arm before she could go back inside, the laughter dying as his eyes searched hers intently. “Who is the other guy, Tres?” He asked softly, part of him hoping she’d say just some random one-night stand and the other part afraid it would be another coworker.  She had this look on her face and he felt his heart sinking, knowing it was going to be that second option and she wasn’t going to tell him one way or another. “Not my business.” He said, nostrils flaring. “What do you need from me, darlin’?” Besides for him to go away.

 

“Not to hate me.  And I know you’re doing everything you can not to feel that hatred.” Tressa had no idea if her and Drew would continue their friends with benefits deal they had going on.  She really didn’t want Jon to find out the hard way about them screwing around and felt her own heart sink at the look on his face. “Please don’t hate me for this.” She whispered, placing her hand on his chest over his heart, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. “It’s Andrew, Jon.” Confusion registered on his face until she clarified it for him. “Drew.  It’s Drew McIntyre – the other guy.” He immediately released her arm and hauled off, punching the building as hard as he could with his closed fist.  Tressa backed up, covering her mouth with her shaking hand and knew she just shattered the man to pieces.

 

“Are you kidding me, Tres?!” Obviously, something was seriously broken in this woman.  He should have known that from day one when she had pushed him away, while also pulling him towards her, those damn mixed signals.  Can’t do it.  Can do it.  Just friends.  Only sex. “I thought you were afraid of him!” He could easily recall coming out and seeing her shaking because of an encounter with McIntyre. “He knows, doesn’t he?” He was pacing now, ignoring his definitely broken fist as he stared down at her. “He knows you’re pregnant.” He would bet money on it, and that hurt, knowing she had gone to the other guy first.

 

“He came to the hospital last night to see me.  And yes, I told him because he has a right to know, just like you do, Jon.  You BOTH have a right to know because either one of you is the father.” Tressa would have told Jon first had she saw him, AFTER the bloodwork was done. “I didn’t know for sure when I walked out of the trainer’s room and I had to get to the hospital because I was severely dehydrated from all the vomiting.  I didn’t have time to tell you what was going on because, until I knew for a fact I was pregnant, I wasn’t saying a damn word to anyone.  The bloodwork confirmed it and I have a vaginal ultrasound in a couple of weeks to check and make sure everything is fine.” Providing she didn’t miscarry from all this emotional turmoil – it was déjà vu all over again with Joseph’s baby. “I ignored his text messages and phone calls, just like I ignored yours, and he came to the hospital to see me in person, so I told him.”

 

Jon had to wonder if there was any guilt at all in her.  She had felt like shit for ‘cheating’ on her husband, like she was doing something wrong.  Not that long ago, she had told him the only man for her was the one who was lying in the grave.  Now she was pregnant and it could be his OR Drew’s…there was no way even Tressa was oblivious to just how fucked up that was – she was.

 

“Let me know when your next appointment is.” He said in a much calmer tone, finally giving his hand his attention.

 

Chapter 31

 

There was plenty of guilt she felt over this. 

 

Guilt over the fact she was pregnant with another man’s baby that wasn’t her husband’s.  Guilt over the fact she had lost Joseph’s baby and was now pregnant by either Jon or Drew, a guy she didn’t know that well.  Jon, she did, but there was a connection with Drew she couldn’t quite explain or comprehend.  The Scotsman had cast a spell on her and, honestly, she enjoyed being with him this past month.  Jon changed everything when he decided to ignore her and then came to her, drunk, and told her how he truly felt.  That was why she no longer hung out with him because he needed space and made that clear to her.  Nothing would ever be the same between them again.  The guilt she felt…she had to push it down for the sake of her own sanity because, if she allowed it to swallow her whole, like she nearly did the grief, this baby would die just like the other one.

 

“You need to go get your hand checked out.  And try not to freak out about bleeding or else they might send you to therapy.” She cautioned quietly, knowing how much Jon had freaked out over a MINOR cut on his hand, shortly after his return to the ring.  Jon had some outbursts at the house shows, never on television, thankfully, and Stephanie told him if he couldn’t get his act together, they would send him to therapy.

 

Jon’s response was to hold up his hand, looking bored. “I got over my issues, darlin’.” Just one of those things he had taken time to get his head right for.  He had been so focused on her that he hadn’t taken the time for himself and now he was wondering what the hell his own deal was.  Tressa had wanted him for sex and friendship, he had known that.  He was questioning his taste in women. “I’ll talk to you later, Tres.” He did have to go get it wrapped and they definitely needed space between them.

 

He wasn’t sure what he would do or say once he ran into McIntyre.

 

She didn’t stop him, letting him walk back inside the arena first and finally let the tears fall she’d been fighting back.  Tressa didn’t think she did anything wrong, but it felt like it because she had shattered Jon.  She hurt her best friend.  She hurt the ONE person who stood beside her through everything, her best friend, and Tressa clutched her stomach almost to the point of being violent, her entire body shaking.  Instead of going back inside, she slid between the two WWE equipment trucks and covered her mouth with her free hand, dropping to her knees screaming into it.  It was all muffled as she let her own anguish, pain and guilt out in that scream, along with tears staining her cheeks.

 

Of course, he was coming in just as Drew fucking McIntyre was obviously preparing to go out.  Did the man know Tressa was out there?  Jon stopped, barring the exit as they both sized each other up.  The tension was palpable and people walking by kept glancing back as they just stared each other down.  Eventually, Jon snorted and sidestepped out of the way.  This wasn’t the time or the place, but there was no doubt in Drew’s mind now, Jon knew about the pregnancy and Jon knew about him.  He stepped out that door, looking around the darkness and frowned.

 

“Tres?”

 

Tressa didn’t hear anything because she was hunched over, still on her knees, on the asphalt, her hand still over her mouth.  She hadn’t moved from that spot, but had stopped screaming, not wanting to damage her vocal cords.  Jumping when she felt a hand on her shoulder, Tressa’s head snapped up while she continued hyperventilating.  It had gone from screaming to hyperventilation and all she could do was stare up at Drew.  Her eyes were red, swollen and haunting, much like they’d been the night at the bar when he approached her, joining her for several drinks.  She didn’t rise from her knees and instead buried her face in her hands, the hyperventilation returning to tears and all she wanted to do was curl up in a tight ball, crawl in a dark hole somewhere and never come out again. 

 

This pregnancy had completely shattered her already broken world.

 

He didn’t want to know what words had been exchanged between Jon and Tressa to put her in this state.  Obviously, nothing good and he sighed, bending down to gently pull her up onto her feet. “Come on now, lass, you’re going to make yourself sick.” He said quietly but firmly, reaching into his pocket for a bandana, finally pulling it out and began mopping up her face.  

 

She looked broken again, like her entire world had been shattered.  No doubt Jon had lost his mind on her and said some terrible, nasty things.  Gently, Drew wrapped his arms around her, feeling those tears instantly soaking through his shirt and sighed, letting his head rest on hers.

 

“I-I destroyed him.  I completely d-destroyed him, Andrew…” Tressa spoke after she got her sobs and crying under control, her voice low and quiet. 

 

Jon hadn’t told her anything, but she could read his face, the emotions, all of it.  She knew Jon a long time and not very many people knew the man the way she did.  Slowly, she pulled back to wipe her tears away, letting out a soft growl of annoyance – not at Drew, but herself for being put in this situation.

 

“I don’t regret anything that’s happened between us, Andrew.  And even though I don’t know if you’re the father or he is, I don’t regret this baby either.” It was time to pull her big girl panties on and swallow her emotions down because they were at work. 

 

When she was in her hotel room later that night, she could fall apart then.

 

“Nor should you.”

 

If she had destroyed Jon, it was because the man loved her, or at least loved some version of her he had created in his head.  The way Drew figured it, if Jon loved her or valued their friendship, he would come around eventually.  It was a hard thing, swallowing pride, and he bet hearing that he was one of two potential daddies had been a kick to the nads.

 

“It’ll be fine, lass, you’ll see.  He’s going to come around, eventually.” Or he’d just disappear and hopefully not cause her anymore tears.  Drew was learning he didn’t like seeing Tressa cry.

 

Why didn’t she believe that?  Jon was a very stubborn, bullheaded man and when he had his mind set on something, like an opinion of someone, it was almost impossible to change it. “I can’t worry about if he does or not.  He needs to figure out his own issues and I need to focus on taking care of myself and this baby.”

 

Her priorities had definitely changed now that she was pregnant.  This baby was the most important thing to her, regardless of who the father was.  She pressed her hand on Drew’s chest and let him draw her into another embrace, soaking in his comfort because that was what Tressa needed right now.  This Scotsman was surely starting to make the walls around her heart crumble, this connection between them only growing stronger with each day that passed by.

 

“Come on.” Drew was stroking her hair with his long, nimble fingers. “Let’s get inside before someone sends out a search party.” For her obviously, he wasn’t that well liked backstage and he was perfectly fine with that.  Gently, he held her out at arm’s length, his eyes searching her face in the dim lighting and sighed. “You’re a beautiful mess, Tressa.” Tear streaks and puffiness, anyone who seen her was going to ask questions. “Are you feeling any better?” He was really hoping that this wasn’t setting the tone for future nights because her having issues with Jon wasn’t going to do anyone any favors.

 

“A little, yeah.” She managed to crack a smile up at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes and slid her hands up his muscular arms.  This man really was gigantic. “Thanks to you being here.”

 

Tressa would not be breaking down at work anymore over Jon.  She told him what was going on, she was truthful and honest, so it wasn’t her problem that he couldn’t handle the fact she just didn’t feel the same way he did.  With Drew…Tressa didn’t know how she felt, but it definitely was growing and building…and it scared her.

 

“You’re right, we do need to head back inside, but first…come here.”

 

He bent down, lowering his head to rest his forehead against hers and their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss.  Since they were outside of the arena, between two trucks hidden, she didn’t think they were showing PDA in front of coworkers or at work.  It didn’t count – it was a grey area.  Tressa just needed to feel his lips against hers and felt Drew back her up to press against the truck, the kiss deepening a little more.  Carefully, Drew lifted her up, feeling Tressa’s legs wrapping around his muscular waist and used one hand to support her beneath her luscious backside, the other wrapped around her.

 

“The things you do to me, lass,” He growled, once the kiss had broken, nipping gently on her lightly swollen bottom lip. “Come on, we best get inside.” They both had work to get too and she was very distracting. “Do you want company tonight?” Unlike Jon, he would never assume with her.  He would always ask and check in regularly because he wanted to know where they stood.

 

She stroked his face with her fingertips, unable to deny him anything and nodded. “Yeah, I’d love that.” Drew was also distracting as he kissed her again, both getting lost in the moment and only pulling apart when they needed air to breathe. “I have your kilt ready, if you want to swing by and get it, when you have time.” She informed him, sliding the pad of her thumb across his lips and rubbed her nose gently against his. “Set me down, we really do need to get to work.”

 

Feeling the reluctance, her feet landed on the ground as Drew stole one more kiss from her and they walked out from behind the trucks to head inside, each going their separate ways.  Tressa stopped at the bathroom to splash water on her face and tried to get the swelling of her eyes to go down a little more before returning to her table.  Tabitha and Suzanne hadn’t arrived yet, thankfully.

 

“Don’t hurt her.”

 

Well, that was not what Andrew expected to hear. He had made it inside and to his gear, planning on getting ready and pushing everything out of his mind, so he could focus on work.  In that ring was no place for personal drama, that was how accidents happened and careers ended.  Sighing, he glanced over his shoulder at the other potential father of Tressa’s baby.

 

“Dinnae plan on it.” He wasn’t getting into an argument or fight with Jon, not trusting the wildcard.

 

“Good.” Jon had his issues, but at the end of the day, he did love her and regardless of how their current relationship was, he still considered her his best friend.  He walked away.

 

That went better than Drew thought it would.

 

~!~

 

It was a crisp, December morning, one week before Christmas and Tressa was a ball of nerves, sipping a cup of coffee.  She was fine having one cup, it wouldn’t hurt the baby and she honestly needed something to take the edge off her withdrawal.  Alcoholism was no joke – addiction was no joke.  She’d been addicted to Vodka without realizing it and cigarettes, so going through both of them at the same time…it wasn’t fun.  It’d been three weeks since she discovered she was pregnant, which was still a whirlwind in itself.  Drew had been very supportive while Jon left her alone, so she didn’t bother telling him about her appointments or anything regarding the pregnancy.  In her mind, Jon didn’t want anything to do with the baby and it bothered her, but not as much as it probably should have. 

 

Her appointment was scheduled for 10 AM, her first vaginal ultrasound, to finally hear the heartbeat and see the baby for the first time.  She was a little over 7 weeks along and the morning sickness hadn’t been too bad, but the Zofran had played a huge part in that.  Her OBGYN assured her it was fine to use the Zofran and it wouldn’t harm the baby, otherwise she wouldn’t have used it again.  Setting her cup of coffee down, Tressa frowned when she heard the buzzer go off throughout her apartment, which told her someone was here.  She walked over to the machine and pressed the button, glancing at the clock, which read 8:15 AM.

 

“Hello?  Who’s there?”

 

“It’s me, kitten.” Came Jon’s cheery voice, surprising the piss out of her for sure.  He cocked an eyebrow when nothing except static came through the buzzer. “Tres, buzz me in, it’s freezing out here!”

 

Living in Las Vegas had spoiled him on the temperature thing.  He hadn’t liked the cold in Ohio when he was a kid and as an adult, he avoided it when he could.  When he heard the click of the door unlocking, he slid inside, stomping off snow and shook himself out.  He made his way up to her apartment, snorting when he spotted her in the open doorway.

 

“So, 10 huh?” His eyes dropped to her still flat stomach, betting she was wondering just how in the blue hell he knew that. “I smell coffee…got a cup to spare, darlin’?”

 

“Y-Yeah, inside…”

 

Tressa was in shock for a number of reasons.  She hadn’t told Jon when the appointment was and the only other person who DID know was Drew.  Did Drew tell Jon about this?  Why would he do that?  The last she knew, the men despised each other.  She shut the door behind Jon, once he stepped into her apartment, and moved to the kitchen to grab him a mug down from the cupboard.

 

“What are you doing here, Jon?” She finally asked, handing over the cup of coffee with a TON of sugar – just the way Jon preferred it, no creamer.  Jon hadn’t spoken to her since the night outside of the arena, three weeks ago. “And how did you know when my appointment was?”

 

“Scottie boy.”

 

He and Andrew would NEVER be friends.  Jon still thought it was all levels of messed up that, basically, as soon as she stopped sleeping with him, she had jumped into bed with the Scotsman.  That just screamed rebound to him and he was sure those thoughts had crossed Drew’s mind too.

 

“We’ve reached a mutual understanding, and I AM your friend, even if we don’t always act like it.” Not to mention, that was his maybe baby too and one thing Jon would never do was abandon a kid, ever.

 

He sipped his coffee, eyes surveying her thoughtfully.

 

Chapter 32

 

Andrew…she was going to kick that Scotsman’s ass for doing this, for surprising her. 

 

It was also a very noble thing for him to do, to keep the other man in the loop and Tressa felt like a piece of garbage for not reaching out to Jon.  She knew this man.  She knew what kind of person Jon was!  There was no way he’d ever abandon a child that was potentially his, not after the rough childhood he had.

 

“I’m glad you’re here, Daddy.” She meant that, feeling the tears building in her eyes and wanted to hug him, but she didn’t know if Jon would approve of that or not.  Then, she had another thought and felt her eyes widen. “Does that mean…” Her eyes closed when another buzz sounded throughout the apartment and Tressa knew exactly who that was.  Dropping her head, Tressa walked over and pressed the button, knowing this was going to be EXTREMELY awkward in the doctor’s office with two giant men.

 

Jon was more than amused.

 

He had decided that while he loved Tressa, even if she had wanted him back, it wouldn’t have worked.  Not knowing what he did now.  He had his own issues and it was obvious she had a lot of her own, no way. “Hey,” He reached out and pulled her into him for a one-armed hug, the other still holding his mug. “We’re both here for you, darlin’, okay?  And I will ALWAYS be here, no matter what.”

 

Or maybe his ‘love’ had been something that had built up over the years from what had initially been a crush.  Jon had a major flaw: he always went balls to the wall with everything and this time, it had bitten him in the ass.  But…he was moving forward, moving on, and he was going to do everything he said he would.  Be her friend, and if that was his kid, he’d be a Dad.

 

“Hope you don’t mind, but I, uh, gave him your address.” It was the least he could do since Drew had been the one to reach out to him about the appointment.

 

She hugged him back briefly and opened the front door when a light knock sounded on it, greys meeting ocean blue. “Come to join the party, honey?” Tressa tried being lighthearted about this, but she KNEW these men loathed each other.  And they were now in her tiny apartment and she was honestly afraid they would blow up and tear through it like a tornado. “I need pineapple.”

 

That had been her craving as she walked past Jon to the fridge, which was FULL of pineapple stuff and took her smoothie out to start sucking it down.  So much better than coffee and healthier.  Tressa had on a long-sleeved grey tunic top with black slacks and no socks on yet.  Her hair was still down and drying from a shower she’d had earlier prior to Jon’s arrival.

 

“Did you guys eat?  I can whip something up quickly before we go…” This was the most awkward feeling in the world and Tressa wondered if Joseph was laughing at her from up above.

 

“Nay, I had a bite on the drive here.” This wasn’t awkward at all, even though Drew had known Jon was coming as well.  He did have to wonder if Tressa would allow them both to come with her to the appointment and frowned, staring at the other man.

 

“What?” Jon raised an eyebrow.  He listened at Drew began to awkwardly try expressing what he was thinking, finally cottoning on. “Oh yeah…” That could be rough for her, his eyes shooting to Tressa.  The last thing she needed was her doctors thinking she was a slut or something by showing up with two sperm donors.

 

“It’s all right; I’ve already told my OBGYN the situation and she didn’t judge me or anything.  I didn’t know you two would show up like this, but…it is what it is.  You both have a right to be here and there.” This was a bigger deal than she thought, especially since it would be the first time they heard the heartbeat and saw the little blip on the screen. “I slept with you both willingly…and I’m not going to cancel either one of you out.  I don’t really care what people think about me either because, at the end of the day, it’s nobody’s fucking business what I do with my life or who I sleep with or get pregnant by.  You two want to be there or you wouldn’t be here right now, yes?” She looked between the two men, seeing them both nod and she returned it.

 

Jon had so many jokes he could have made and he was seriously tempted to.  However, the look Tressa gave him told him she had read his mind and he’d best mind his manners. He flashed her a grin, toasted her with the mug and then drained it. “I’ll behave.”

 

Drew had missed something, but that smirk made him roll his eyes.  Turning, he clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the apartment.  This was not what he had expected to be honest. “Have you started a room for the bairn yet?”

 

“And for those of us who speak English?”

 

“Baby.”

 

“No because I’m not staying here much longer.” Both men stared at her and she smiled at them. “I hate Minnesota and my parents are driving me nuts.  I need to move somewhere warmer because the winters suck here, as you’ve seen.”

 

“Where are ye moving to, lass?”

 

“I was looking at Texas, one of the southern states, but I haven’t made up my mind yet.  I know Jon is in Vegas and you are in Florida, so I wanted to find a state I could move to that would be halfway between the two of you.”

 

It was only fair, at least in her mind, because until this baby, or bairn in Drew’s case, was born, none of them would know who the father was.  There was a test she could take early, but…her OB did warn of the dangers and anything dangerous with the baby…Tressa would wait.  They would wait if they truly cared.  Even if Jon wasn’t the father, he would always be in her life as her best friend and he could be the Uncle or even godfather to her baby. 

 

Boy, that was messed up just thinking about it.

 

“Behave you two, I’m going to get my socks and boots on.” She tossed the cup in the sink, which was plastic and headed down the small hall to her bedroom.

 

“I think she should stay here until she knows.” Jon said once Tressa was out of the room, pouring himself a refill.


Drew actually agreed, moving to make himself a cup as he considered the tiny kitchen.  This place was small, he imagined for one person it was all well and fine. “What’s this about her family?”

 

“Her family is nuts.” Jon said flatly, wondering if the end of the world was approaching.  He didn’t like Drew, Drew didn’t like him and yet, they were standing here in this kitchen drinking coffee together.

 

“MY family isn’t nuts, but Joseph’s is.  My mother is just…overprotective of me and she has a right to be after what I’ve been through.” Losing her first grandchild and husband at the same time…yes, the woman had been through hell with Tressa. “And she doesn’t know about this baby yet because I don’t want to jinx anything and start telling people until I’m in my second trimester.” The ONLY reason she had told Jon and Andrew was because they were the potential fathers.  Jon knew about her upcoming court battle with Joseph’s family, but Andrew was in the dark. “My mother-in-law, Terri, is trying to take everything Joseph left me, claiming it’s my fault he died.  She’s blaming my career on it and claims he was very unhappy with his life and our marriage, amongst other things.” The woman had also claimed the baby she’d been carrying at the time of Joseph’s death wasn’t even his! “Hopefully, it all comes to an end soon.” She didn’t want to be showing during court and Clementine assured her this was all going to end at next month’s court hearing because the judge was tired of Terri’s games.

 

“I still say you should let Stephanie send in the McMahon lawyers, the fact that shit is STILL being dragged out tells me the court system is seriously broken here.” Jon ignored the question marks basically swirling around Drew’s head. “There was no case to begin with, there’s a reason we have wills.” To make sure the deceased’s wishes were carried out and the fact that this was still going on was just mind-boggling.

 

Drew merely sipped his coffee, trying to sort all this information out.  He and Tressa didn’t just have sex, they spoke too, but he was now becoming painfully aware that he really didn’t know much about her personal life, not like Jon did.  They’d only started really talking and having sex almost two months ago, which didn’t compare to the YEARS Jon and Tressa knew each other.  They were best friends for a reason.  Drew would have to deal with the fact Jon knew her inside and out and the same went for her with him.  Eventually, she would get there with Drew, if he stuck around long enough.  It made her wonder if Drew would be around once they found out who the father was and it turned out to be Jon.  Would he really be with her while she raised another man’s baby?  Her best friend’s baby?  The same question went for Jon – would he still be her friend and be in her life if this was Drew’s baby?

 

“I know, okay?  I know you want me to use the McMahon lawyers…I get it, but this isn’t their problem.  It’s mine and I trust my lawyer.  And there wasn’t a will, Jon.  Joseph made me his beneficiary, but there’s grey areas and it’s complicated to get into.  Bottom line, Clementine and the judge are going to rip Terri apart next month and it’ll be settled.  We ready to go?  Hold on, I need to grab something.” Walking into the kitchen, she grabbed a container full of cut up pineapple with a pineapple juice and placed them in her purse. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

 

“There’s no way that’s my kid.  Pineapple is gross.” Jon informed her, eyeballing the container with a disgusted face.  He grunted when she co-cocked him, rubbing his pec with a scowl. “Pregnancy is making you violent, Tres.” Regardless of who the father was, he’d still be there.  Admittedly, if it wasn’t his, that’d make things a lot easier on him, and probably her, in the long run.

 

“So, are we taking our own vehicles?” Drew asked as he bundled back into his jacket.  He and Jon had brought their own cars, there was no way either of them would have survived driving here together.

 

“I have a Nissan Rogue, which would probably fit both of you, but if you want to take your own cars, that’s fine too.”

 

Jon opted to drive there himself while Drew decided to ride with her, not wanting her to be alone.  He didn’t say it out loud, but she could tell that was what the big man was thinking.  Walking out of the apartment, she locked the door behind her and together, all three headed down the stairs to walk out into the snowy weather.

 

“Follow me, Jon.” She called to him, shaking her head at his hand gesture and walked in the opposite direction with Drew, feeling him take her hand.  Tressa squeezed back with a soft smile and leaned her head against his arm, glad he was here with her. “Does pineapple gross you out, honey?”

 

“It’s not my favorite, but it doesn’t gross me out.” He laughed, shaking his head. “Me mam used to cut it up and put it in cottage cheese when we were kids. I could never get used to the weird combination of textures.” Some things just weren’t meant to go together. “I like pineapple best when it’s cooked.” This was the weirdest thing to be talking about. “You’re not mad at me, are you, Tressa?  For telling him?” If she was, she was hiding it quite well.

 

Pineapple and cottage cheese – why did THAT sound good all of a sudden?  Cooked pineapple with ham – that sounded good too.  Christ, she was having really weird pregnancy cravings! “You’re a noble man, Andrew.  I’m not mad at you at all.  I didn’t tell him because…well, I didn’t think he wanted to know.  But I’ve known that man for damn near 7 years now.  I should have known he would want everything to do with this considering it could be his baby.  You did the right thing.” She stopped, reaching up to caress his bearded face and lips, shivering as his own brushed against her palm. “Thank you for telling him.”

 

“He can’t help how he feels.” He said quietly, shaking his head at her assertions he was a ‘noble’ man.  Drew really wasn’t and could be as selfish as the next bloke. “Though…I also think he’s not as in love with you as he thinks.” He personally thought Jon was in love with a version of Tressa he had built up in his mind and had thought that she’d fall into his arms. “Regardless, I don’t think seven years of friendship is something to give up on easily.  He IS an obnoxious ass though, innit he?”

 

“Yeah, but that’s just who he is.  He has a good heart, a big heart, just like you.  And don’t give me that crap about how you don’t because you DO, Andrew.” Who he was on television – the Scottish Psychopath, the Hybrid – wasn’t the man standing before her right now. “And I agree with you, I don’t think he is either.  I know he loves me and I love him too, but it’s a friend love, it’s not a romantic love.  I don’t think I’ll ever have that…romantic love feeling again and I’m okay with that.  I think the only person I will ever truly love on this planet again, completely, with my whole heart, is this baby.” Again, she was fine with it. “Joseph was my true love and, like I told Jon, my heart is in that grave with him and the only person I’m pulling it out for is this baby, who apparently has an addiction for pineapple.” That got him to crack a smile and she softly brushed her lips against his before getting in the passenger seat.

 

It was a damn good thing Drew wasn’t in love with this woman because he had already seen what had happened to the other idiot foolish enough to fall for her.  He didn’t want to try imagining that kind of one-sided love or the pain it would likely cause.  No thanks.  Did he think she’d never love again?  No, she would, and probably when she least expected it, but he wasn’t foolish enough to think it would happen anytime soon, not when she was still mourning her dead husband.

 

“You should’ve been a writer, lass, you’re quite dramatic.” He teased, squeezing her hand gently.

 

“Shut up, you.” She smacked his arm and shook her head, knowing sometimes her passion got the best of her.  Look what happened between her and these two men!

 

In Tressa’s mind, she hadn’t fallen in love with Drew, but her mind and heart had already made that decision for her. 

 

The Scotsman had her heart already and they just didn’t realize it yet.

 

Chapter 33

 

“All right, Tressa, here we go.  Are you ready to see your baby and hear the heartbeat?” Doctor Matthews asked with a smile on her face, not minding the two giant behemoths in the room with them.  She only asked that they remain silent throughout this portion of it. 

 

Each man was on either side of her, holding her hand and Tressa could already feel the draw to Drew far more than Jon.  She was still happy they were both here with her as the wand was inserted inside of her, making her shut her eyes briefly.  It was not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it had to be done to check the baby.  Doctor Matthews checked various things and pointed at the little blip on the screen, which was the baby.

 

“You’re almost at 8 weeks along, according to your last menstrual cycle and what I’m seeing here now.  That’s about how big a baby is supposed to be at 8 weeks – no more than the size of a bean.” The screen was moving and she pointed at the little heartbeat, the sound resonating around the room. “Sounds very healthy – it’s at a steady 155 right now, but that can change the bigger the baby gets.”

 

“Oh my god…” Tressa had lost her first baby at 8 weeks and now she was hearing her second baby’s heartbeat around her, tears sliding down her cheeks. “S-So it’s healthy?  E-Everything looks good and…normal?”

 

The doctor smiled, nodding. “Yes.  I will print out a picture for you to take home and, if you want, I can record the heartbeat for you and put it in a small device.” This was the same doctor who had informed her of the miscarriage, so it was nice to see her patient was pregnant again, even if it was between two devilishly handsome men.

 

“Okay, thank you Doctor Matthews.”

 

Removing the wand, after recording the heartbeat, she handed over a towel for Tressa to clean off with and grabbed the chart. “I’ll give you guys a minute alone.”

 

She walked out, closing the door behind her and went to retrieve the pictures as well as the heartbeat device.  Technically, an ultrasound technician was supposed to do the ultrasound, but since Doctor Matthews knew Tressa, she wanted to personally do it.  Doctors could perform ultrasounds themselves, if they wanted to.  It just depended on the practice.

 

The size of a bean…how could she love something so much that tiny?  Tressa took the tissue Drew handed to her while Jon helped her sit up a little on the bedding, his hand on her back. “Are you guys okay?” She asked, looking at Jon and then at Drew, wondering what was going through their minds at the moment.

 

“That was the most awkward thing ever.” Jon wasn’t squeamish, but standing in this tiny ass room with another man, and her getting some weird rod shoved up her cooch…that felt even odder than knowing both he and the Scotsman had been in said cooch.

 

He wasn’t even trying to make eye contact with Drew right now.

 

Andrew was most appreciative of that, clearing his throat. “So a bean, eh?”

 

“How can something THAT small have such a strong, steady heartbeat?”

 

They were both staring down at her now, Jon looking amused while Drew was thoughtful. There was a definite danger here.  There was a chance they could fall in love with this baby, only to wind up with their hopes dashed.

 

“You got me.  I have no idea.”

 

Tressa was thinking along the same lines as Drew and frowned, looking down at her stomach with furrowed brows.  Swinging her legs over, Tressa grabbed her clothes from the chair and walked into the bathroom, connected to the room, to get dressed.  So many different emotions flowed through her at once and she sighed heavily, staring in the mirror while caressing her stomach affectionately.  A few minutes later, she walked out just as Doctor Matthews came back with the heartbeat device, the pictures of the ultrasound and a bag of things like pamphlets and a book she really wanted her patient to read.

 

“Thanks.” She turned to Jon and handed him a picture before doing the same to Drew, chewing her bottom lip. “We can go now.”

 

“Straight home?” Jon asked, wondering what now.  Both he and Andrew had been unexpected visitors so to speak and this had definitely fulfilled his quota of awkward and uncomfortable for the month. “Actually, darlin’, as fun as this is, I’m going to hit the road.  I got media this afternoon.” Which was totally true, and now he’d just be a few hours early.  He pulled Tressa into his arms for a tight hug. “Not to mention, this is just a whole new level of uncomfortable, even by my loose standards.” He grinned down at her before planting a kiss on her forehead. “Let me know if you need anything, and when your next appointment is.  I don’t want to hear about it from the skirt wearer.”

 

“It’s a kilt, lad, a kilt.”

 

“Jon…” Her tone held warning, though it was playful as she hugged him back. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the appointment myself.” Her arms were tightened around his neck as she spoke in his ear softly, slowly pulling back to look into his pale blues. “Thank you for being here today.  Now go kick ass in your media appearances.”

 

Tressa kissed his cheek, knowing he was a heel now, so those media appearances would be a lot of fun.  Drew was also a heel, but Jon had recently turned and was rolling with it, having a blast feuding with Colby.  She watched him walk to his car and turned to look up at Drew, cracking a smile.

 

“Do you have to leave too?” Normally, Wednesday and Thursday were their days off, but sometimes, especially at the end of the year, WWE tried to push as much appearances and media on the superstars before their two-week long holiday vacation, which included double-booked shows.

 

“No, I don’t.” Drew snorted when Jon turned to flip him the double bird, shaking his head. “He’s a mature one.” Thank God, Jon Good was one of a kind.  He didn’t think the world would be able to stand multiples of the eccentric bastard.  Whatever she saw in him, he couldn’t even begin to fathom, it had to be a female thing. “I’ve got to ride back to the apartment with you anyway, lass, my car is there.” Not that he was planning on leaving right away, not unless she wanted him too. “Eager to get rid of me?” He teased, realizing that could be a possibility.

 

“He’s definitely one in a million, maybe even a billion.  And no, I don’t want you to leave.  I was hoping you’d stay.”

 

Tressa hadn’t spent a lot of time with Drew recently due to his busy schedule and she was hesitant because of the pregnancy.  They hadn’t shared a hotel room in a while, ever since she told him about the baby in the first place.  Not that she blamed him.  She slid her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders, standing on her tiptoes to reach him since he towered over her.

 

“If you want…you could stay the night.  I have a big enough bed, I think.” It was a queen-sized, so maybe he’d have to curl his legs up and she tried not to giggle at the mental image in her head.

 

“That means nothing and you know it, lass.” He usually got king-sized just so he could lay sideways since that was where the actual variation in size was. “You’ll have to come to my place sometime and see a proper bed.” Width and length, it easily accommodated him and it was worth every penny he had spent on his custom-made monstrosity. “Come on, let’s get out of this wet before you catch sick, you can wheedle me some more in the car.” He teased, cupping the back of her head with a palm before bending down to brush his lips against hers.

 

Tressa purred against his lips with a grin, rubbing her nose gently against his when he pulled back and slipped inside the car, buckling up. “Your place in Tampa or Scotland?” When he said either or, she wondered what it would be like to go to Scotland.  Ayr, Scotland, to be precise.  That was where he originated from.  Granted, Tressa had been overseas before with the WWE, but never got to truly experience any of the towns or cities or countries, in general. “I’d like that.  I wouldn’t mind seeing your place.  I know mine is tiny, that’s one of the reasons why I’m moving and getting out of here.” Drew took her hand while he pulled out of the parking spot and drove off, their fingers lacing together.

 

“Scotland is wet, but it’s beautiful.  I won’t lie, I like Florida, there’s more sunshine.” His home country was beautiful, no doubt about it, but she was also fickle on the weather.  Summer seemed to be so short-lived and even then, the rain came and went.  It wasn’t nothing for everything to be continuously damp. “I understand wanting a bigger place, but is wherever you’re going where you plan on making your life permanently?”

 

“Probably, yeah.  I don’t see myself moving with a baby again and I’m going to do it before I get too far along in my pregnancy to where I can’t lift anything heavy.  I really like Texas for some reason and I’ve looked up a couple places there.  Haven’t really had much time to do more than that.”

 

Tressa would have to make time for it because the clock was ticking and time wasn’t slowing down for her.  She was already almost 2 months along, only 8 more to go and there was a lot she wanted to do once she moved into her new place.  Getting the baby nursery set up for one.

 

“Why do you ask, Andrew?  What’s going through that handsome Scottish mind of yours?”

 

“I was just thinking is all, about when you do find out who the father is, lass.” He said thoughtfully, wondering why in the name of everything holy would she want to live in an arid heat.  Either way, regardless of which man it was, they were in for quite a trip to see said child when they had the time, bouncing between their respective homes and balancing life on the road.  That was going to be…problematic, actually.  Only having a few days off, and needing to go home to get fresh things, and then rushing to spend maybe a couple hours at best with the wee one…he frowned.

 

“Andrew, there is a test I can have done with you, Jon, and the baby to determine who the father is, but it’s…it’s dangerous.  It’s risky.  And I don’t want to take a risk or put the baby in danger just to find out if it’s you or Jon.  It’s not like I’m quitting WWE after I have the baby.” That made him look over at her while stopped at a red light and she smiled tentatively up at him. “I’m going to be on the road with the baby.  I’m not giving up my career just because I’m becoming a mother.  So, regardless if it’s you or Jon, you’ll still see me almost on a daily basis except when we have our days off, unless we spend them together.  I haven’t figured everything out yet, but Stephanie did it and other women who work for the company have done it too.” She placed her other hand over their laced ones and pointed at the upcoming supermarket they were approaching. “Stop here.  I need to grab a few things.” Ham with pineapple and cottage cheese sounded delicious.

 

Once parked, Drew stopped her from getting out of the car. “Actually, Tressa… there is another way to determine who the father is.” He said quietly.  Apparently this was something both he and Jon had looked into, which told him they both were having issues or something. “It’s non-invasive and nowhere near as barbaric as drawing amniotic fluid.  It’s a simple blood draw.” Which she would get done routinely anyway. “And swabs from us.  They check for fetal DNA in your plasma, lass, and compare that to ours.” And it could be done as early as 8 weeks. Modern medicine had come a very, very long way.

 

“What?” Tressa blinked, not remembering Doctor Matthews telling her about this test and could see the seriousness in his ocean blues.  He wanted to know who the father was.  He wanted to know if this was his baby, his DNA.  Jon wanted to know as well, but she’d been terrified of the test with the amniotic fluid. “How accurate is it?” She asked quietly, shutting her eyes when he said 99%.  She would be 8 weeks next week, which was the week of Christmas and all of the Superstars had a full week off. “All right, I’ll set it up.  I’ll text Jon and let him know what’s going on and that he needs to be here next week, same as you, to do the test.” A blood test or cheek swab was nothing to her; it was completely safe to the baby and she had nothing to really lose besides possibly one of these men.

 

He hadn’t been expecting the relief that he felt, nodding as he closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat.  It had been anxiety inducing, knowing that they would have to wait that long to find out who the father was.  He knew damn well both he and Jon were the ones at risk of having something broken if they bonded with this unborn child, only to not be the father.  He was hoping to spare himself that pain and wasn’t surprised at all that Jon had jumped on that chance.

 

“All right, Tressa,” He leaned over, cupping her face in his massive hands, and kissed her gently. “Thank you.”

 

“Yeah, sure.” Tressa pulled away from him and stepped out of the car, not sure why her heart was suddenly clenching painfully in her chest.  That was a weird feeling to have after hearing her baby’s heartbeat for the first time.  What the hell? “I’m grabbing a ham with pineapple and cottage cheese, in case you were wondering.” She informed him once he joined her and they walked into the store to grab what she wanted, a couple things for Drew as well. 

 

An hour later, they were back at the apartment and Tressa stopped just outside her door, turning to look up at Drew again. “If this is your baby, Andrew, I think it would be best if I moved to Tampa, so even on your days off, you’re close to us and it won’t be an issue for you to come see us.” And if it was Jon’s baby…Her new home would have to be Vegas since that was where he lived. “Are you all right with that?”

 

“And Vegas if it’s Jon’s?” He asked, not surprised when she nodded and returned it. “Aye lass, if that’s what you want to do.”

 

He raised her hand up, dropping a kiss to her cold knuckles.  Drew felt no connection with that ‘bean’ in her stomach and he supposed that was natural.  Most men from his understanding didn’t until there was physical, showing proof, but even then…there was the added factor of ‘it might not be mine’.  He still wasn’t sure how he felt about potentially being a Daddy, perhaps it would all become real to him once they knew for certain.

 

Drew did wonder if she had a preference, him or Jon?

 

Chapter 34

 

The results were in.

 

Tressa stood there outside of the arena, having received the phone call she’d been waiting for.  Since their jobs were on the road, the doctor agreed to call her with the test results instead of forcing all three to come back into the clinic in Minnesota.  She was almost 11 weeks along and they were back on the road, doing their jobs and Tressa had brought the New Year in alone. 

 

No family. 

 

No friends. 

 

Andrew had gone back home to Scotland and had invited her, but Tressa declined, not thinking that was a very good idea.  They weren’t a couple…she didn’t even know what to call them at this point.  In two weeks, she would be into her second trimester and, thankfully, the morning sickness had worn off.  Shutting her eyes briefly, Tressa didn’t know how to feel about this news because, honestly, she didn’t have a preference on either man.  Now she knew…and now she had to tell them and probably cut ties with the man who wasn’t the father.

 

“Pull it together, Tressa.” She whispered to herself, taking a deep breath and scrolled through her phone, the text messages, landing on Jon’s name.  She had told him about the pregnancy through text, but this time, he deserved to hear this face to face.

 

Can you meet me in the parking lot?  It’s important.

 

Jon was there not even 5 minutes later, already in the building and Tressa decided once again to just rip the band-aid off to get the pain over with. “It’s not yours, Jon.  Andrew is the father.”

 

“Oh thank fuck,” Jon dropped to his knees, face in his hands.  That was probably not the reaction she was expecting and, to be fair, he wasn’t expecting it either.  But it was the BEST outcome for him, and for her, because their friendship was still in recovery mode. “Christ, darlin’,” Jon peered up from between his fingers, finally pulling himself upright. “I know that sounds bad, but…you know how some people have a baby to fix themselves, and it just hurts the relationship more?  We’d have been like that.” Only without getting pregnant on purpose.  His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared down at her. “Scottie boy know yet?”

 

“No.” Tressa shook her head, glad Jon was happy with the outcome because she felt like she was torn in two. “I have to go tell him now.  I’m glad you’re happy with this.  I’m moving to Tampa since he is the father.  I was going to move to Vegas if it was you, but now we know and we can move on.” He wouldn’t be burdened with a baby he clearly didn’t want.  Hell, she didn’t even know how Drew would react to this. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I gotta go find him.”

 

She walked back inside the arena, placing a hand on her stomach briefly and then pulled it away, wearing tunic tops to hide her pregnancy as much as she could.  Nobody in WWE besides a select handful of people knew about it and Tressa wanted to keep it that way.  She found Drew’s locker room and took a deep breath before knocking on it, pushing it open to hear the shower going.  Instead of bothering him, she just sent him a text message and went back to her table to start her job for the evening.

 

We need to talk when you have a minute, please.

 

One day sure, Jon wanted kids.  But he did not want them with a woman who didn’t, who couldn’t, love him back.  That was just signing themselves, and potential children, up for trouble.  Hearing she was moving to Florida didn’t surprise him, though for her own sake, he hoped Tressa thought this through.  What if Drew didn’t want this baby, or what if he found them to be an annoyance to whatever life he did have in Florida?  Jon still considered her to be his best friend and he didn’t want her to get hurt.

 

Tressa was a jumbled mess and didn’t know what the right thing to do was.  Leaving Minnesota and moving south was a given, but she didn’t know if Florida was the right choice for her and the baby.  Tampa was beautiful, but she had the same thoughts rolling around in her head as Jon.  What if Drew was pissed about being the father and wanted nothing to do with this baby?  She really liked the Scotsman, but they weren’t in a relationship and, even though she didn’t need financial support, Tressa wanted this baby to have both a mother and a father that loved him or her unconditionally.  First, she had to talk to Drew and pushed all other negative thoughts out of her mind for the time being. 

 

One step at a time, she thought, glancing at her phone to see if he texted her back.

 

Nothing.

 

Drew had definitely gotten the text, he was just a bit floored.  He honestly thought he had braced himself for this outcome, but apparently he hadn’t.  He was going to be a father.  Drew had impregnated a woman he didn’t love and was going to have a baby.  Obviously, this situation wasn’t exactly uncommon and people managed it all the time, it was just…mind-blowing.  He was going to be a Daddy.  

 

Trying to reply, Drew couldn’t bring himself to do it because he didn’t know what to say.  He started sentences only to wind up backspacing on them, shaking his head.  Would she move to Florida?  That was kind of selfish of him to expect that, and honestly crazy of her to relocate to parts unknown, just for a man since she could easily raise that baby wherever and he would still come and visit.  He didn’t know.  Everything was a mess.

 

Dinner after work? He finally managed to send something, knowing conversations via text were not always the best.

 

Yes, I will meet you in the parking lot tonight after the show.

 

The rest of the night went smoothly with no problems, surprisingly.  Tressa was craving pineapple something fierce by the time it was all said and done, much to Suzanne and Tabitha’s amusement.  They didn’t know about the pregnancy – she didn’t trust anyone with the information and still had 2 weeks to go.  Her stomach was slowly poking out, but nowhere near enough to show the pregnancy yet.  It was only a matter of time before she completely popped, however, and then everybody would know. 

 

When the show ended, Tressa cleaned up her table and grabbed her purse to head outside, so many different emotions flowing through her.  It was 10 minutes later when Andrew finally joined her outside, freshly showered with his long hair pulled back in a tight tail at the nape of his neck.  At least he was handsome and kind, so those were two qualities their baby would hopefully have.

 

“Hi.” She greeted quietly, still not knowing how he would react and could see the hesitation on his own face. “Ready to go?”

 

It had occurred to him that he could have been misinterpreting her, maybe he wasn’t the father.  Though, he expected if he wasn’t, Jon would have been up her backside and impossible to remove.  Or maybe she hadn’t told Jon yet.  God, this was not doing anything for his nerves.

 

“Aye,” He bent down to kiss her cheek, unsure where they stood at this exact moment.  She looked as nervous as he felt. “Craving pineapple?” He teased, rolling his eyes playfully when she nodded.  

 

It could have been worse.  His mother had craved soil.  Not dirt, but proper, deep, chocolate brown loam.  She had said it looked like cake.  He was surprised he had come out fairly normal.

 

“Pineapple with cottage cheese, actually.”

 

It was the truth.  That was her new favorite snack and it was good for her and the baby, so it was a win-win.  Tressa reached out to take his hand, lacing their fingers together and walked with him to his rental.  They hadn’t come here together, but they could always come back to grab her car after dinner was over with, providing this night didn’t go the way she hoped.  Once they arrived at the car, Tressa stopped them from getting inside and refused to wait until after dinner, or during dinner at a public place, to tell him this.

 

“Andrew…” She took his hand, swallowing hard and pressed it against her small bump forming, watery greys locked on ocean blue. “It’s yours.”

 

Well, there was confirmation of what he had assumed and he didn’t know what to say to her, his eyes fastened on his hand.  She had tears in her eyes, it made him wonder if she wasn’t pleased by it.  Made sense, even with their issues, she had known Jon longer and she knew where she stood with the other man.  They were just fuck friends; they hardly knew each other outside of work and the bedroom.

 

“All right,” Drew nodded, gently palming the barely noticeable bump and cleared his throat. “So what now, Tres?”

 

“I don’t know.” Was he happy about this?  Was he indifferent?  At least he didn’t drop to his knees and yell ‘oh thank fuck’ like Jon had earlier. “Jon was happy it’s not his.  He said it would have destroyed our friendship and he’s probably right, it would have.” Maybe now they could heal that friendship and get back to the way things used to be. “Listen, I know you didn’t expect this to happen and I didn’t either, so…I’m giving you an out, Drew.  You can walk away from this and I won’t fault you for it or hate you or anything.  I’m not going to ask you for anything either, no child support or anything like that.  You have your career to think about and your own life.” This man had just made it back to the WWE not even a year ago and he was on fire right now on the main roster.  She didn’t want to ruin that for him, his second chance in WWE with a baby. “It’s your choice.” Surely, he’d want to have a baby with someone who loved him, and he loved in return instead of a fuck buddy, who was damaged goods and had a TON of baggage.

 

“I’m a wee bit offended, lass, that you think you even need to offer all that to me.” Drew said flatly, without any heat.  

 

Just because he played a villain on camera did not make him one off-screen.  He was a bit surprised that Jon had been happy about this.  Drew figured the other man would have jumped on the chance to have Tressa in his life for a literal 18-year commitment.

 

“You’ll never have to ask me for anything because I will freely give.” His voice was firm, his back straightening as he stared down at her. “You are not in this alone, Tressa.”

 

It had nothing to do with his character on television.  She hadn’t known Drew long, but she could tell he was a man of honor.  He was a man of dignity and pride – a true Scotsman at heart.  He was noble and kind, at least in her eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” Tears slid down her cheeks as he kept his hand on her small bump and she could tell, just by the way he touched her, he wanted to be here for this baby. “I just don’t want you to think I’m trapping you or something because I’m not.” Her voice cracked as Tressa took a deep breath, wiping her tears away that kept falling.  At least they knew who the father was, so that was one obstacle down and one less worry.

 

“Well now, pet,” His blue eyes crinkled at the corner as he smiled down at her, humor lacing his tone. “If you propose to me anytime soon, I may think that.” He reached up to wipe away another tear that fell. “Come on now, at least you know the bairn will have my stunning good looks.” That got a mild chuckle out of her and he looped an arm around her petite frame, pulling Tressa into him and rest his cheek on the top of her head, sighing softly. “We’ll figure it out as we go, Tres.”

 

“Yeah, we will.”

 

It was comforting to know she wouldn’t be alone in this, already knowing Jon would distant himself from her.  Their friendship would never be the same again, not after this and not after they injected sex into it.  Tressa had lost so much in a short period of time, but now came the real test.  They had to tell their families and Tressa had no idea how her mother and father would react.  Or Drew’s family, for that matter.

 

“Are you the only one who lives here in the states?  Or is some of your family here as well instead of Scotland?” They had picked a restaurant to eat at, both starving and, thankfully, they had pineapple with cottage cheese.  She wasn’t surprised when he said all of his family was overseas and he was the only one that had grown up and lived in the states, starting wrestling at the tender age of 14. “How do you think your family will react to this news?”

 

“My mother died a few years ago and my Da is still in Scotland, he’s rather aloof about the idea of me being a father.” Because he had already spoken to his old man about it.  

 

His parents had been very supportive of him and his career choices.  He had gone to train for wrestling at 15 and his parents had supported that as well, as long as he showed the same focus on studying.  Now he had a degree in criminology, so… he had a fallback career if this didn’t pan out, or when he retired.

 

“I think he’s afraid he’ll never see any children of mine.”

 

Her heart broke at the news of his mother’s passing and Tressa couldn’t imagine what she would do if something happened to her own mother.  They were relatively close, she talked to the woman at least once a day and planned on telling her about the baby soon. “I’m sorry to hear that, Drew.  He shouldn’t be afraid of not seeing children of yours because he will see this baby.” She reached across the table to take his hand, squeezing it. “After he or she is born, we’ll take a trip to Scotland to see him and he can meet his grandchild, if you want.  I would love to see where you grew up and meet him too.” Whether either of them wanted it or not, they were bonded for life with this child.

 

“Slow down, lass, one step at a time.” She was not one for doing things slow, that was for sure.  He was mildly panicked at how her words seemed to imply that they were definitely going to be a ‘we’. “Maybe we should get to know each other properly, since we’ll be parents.” They were going about this all ass backwards, he could practically feel his mam’s ghost trying to smack him upside his head for being a total prat about how this had happened and how little they knew about each other. “Come on, pineapple and… cottage cheese, you’ve barely touched it.”

 

She saw the panic in his eyes and took a bite out of her pineapple and cottage cheese, chewing thoughtfully. “We’re not a couple and we’re not together, Drew.  We’re going to be parents and all I’m saying is, if you want to take the baby to Scotland to meet your father, that’s fine, but I’m going with you, if you do.” There was no way in hell she was allowing her baby to fly overseas without her.  Not an option. “And we are going to get to know each other because we’ll be in each other’s lives for the rest of our lives because of this baby.  Sorry, I should have been clearer when I said that about going to Scotland with you.” Tressa did make it sound like they were a couple when that wasn’t the case at all.

 

Chapter 35

 

Well, that was good to know, apparently he had telegraphed his panic or something. “Now Tressa,” He took a slow sip of his water, his throat suddenly a bit dry.  It was one thing to have those thoughts, another entirely to basically newsflash them to the person they were about. “Any man would be lucky to have you, if you were ever open to dating or being in a relationship again.” She wasn’t, she had made that abundantly clear, which was why he probably hadn’t tried pushing for more.  He wasn’t about to make the mistake her friend had.  He knew better than to fall in love with a woman who couldn’t love him in return. “I didn’t mean to…come across like a jackass.”

 

“You didn’t.  I just…saw the look on your face and I wanted to clarify what I meant.”

 

Tressa was terrified to open herself up to a relationship again, slowly turning her spoon in the pineapple and cottage cheese.  She was scared to be romantically involved with anyone, to date, and let another man take care of her and now this baby.  That guilt, that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach…this wasn’t Joseph’s baby, this was Drew’s baby – a Scottish baby, at that.  She wasn’t having Joseph’s baby like she was supposed to and she couldn’t get past that guilt yet, even though she loved this baby with all of her heart.

 

“I have too much baggage and emotional bullshit to really deal with a relationship right now, even if I wanted to try.  No man deserves to deal with that, and they shouldn’t have to.  I know I wouldn’t, regardless of how much I like the person.”

 

“Seems fair.”

 

Drew was definitely ordering her the pineapple upside-down cake for dessert.  The poor woman deserved something pleasant because now she was down in the dumps.  He examined his plate, finally trying the pasta salad he had ordered as silence reigned between them.  Reaching across the table, he took her hand and squeezed gently.

 

“It will pass, you know.” He said quietly. “Not anytime soon, but one day, when you least expect it, it’ll pass.”

 

He had learned that watching his father, who had been married to the same woman for many, many years.  Now he was dating and enjoying his life, though it had taken him a long time to pull himself out of his grief from losing the woman he had lived the bulk of his life with.  All Tressa could do was hope that was true and, little by little, she didn’t realize it yet, but it WAS happening the more time she spent with Drew.

 

~!~

 

Dean Ambrose is leaving the WWE.

 

Dean Ambrose has given his notice to WWE officials.

 

Dean Ambrose is not renewing his contract, which expires in late April.

 

Dean Ambrose turns down multi-million dollar 5-year contract with WWE.

 

What the hell was going on?  All Tressa could do was read the headlines flashing across her screen and couldn’t fathom WWE without Jon.  He was leaving?  He was leaving the largest wrestling organization on the planet?  Granted, things were happening in the wrestling world that were incredible, such as new wrestling organizations popping up.  Chris Jericho had left WWE, refusing to re-sign with them and she knew Jon and Chris were good friends.  What did Joe think of this, though?  Or Colby?  Did they even know this was happening?  Tressa didn’t realize she was crying until she felt a hand on her cheek and looked up from her phone, staring into the sad pale blues of Jon.

 

“You son of a bitch.” She whispered, cupping his face in her hands, and wanted to slap the hell out of him. 

 

Why?  That was all she wanted to ask him was why.  Why was he leaving the WWE?  Was he really that unhappy here?  Was it because of her and his feelings?  Instead, all Tressa could do was crush herself against him, as far as she could because her belly had popped a week ago.  Everybody in the company knew she was pregnant now, but nobody knew who the father was and had only speculated on it.

 

“Please don’t leave…” She whispered in his ear, tightening her arms around his neck and didn’t know what she would do without her best friend here.

 

“I’m sorry, darlin’, but there really isn’t anything you can say that’s going to change my mind.” Jon whispered back, not bothering to try prying her off of him and just held her close.  He could feel Tressa’s tears beating down on him and sighed, letting her cry.  When she finally pulled away, he flashed a sad smile down at her. “This isn’t about you, so don’t think that.” It was about where he was in this damn company and the way the higher up’s ‘seen’ him progressing.  He wasn’t happy with it and he had made it known, a lot.

 

“W-What am I going to do without you?” Tressa knew he wasn’t happy with his spot in the company, especially after coming back from a life-threatening, career-threatening injury.  This man had given his life to this sport, since the age of 16 and he deserved far better than what this company gave him. “That’s why you lost the Intercontinental title before the Royal Rumble, right?” He nodded and she hugged him again, feeling her heart shattering in her chest at losing her best friend. “I’m going to miss you so much, Jon.  So damn much.” What more could fate throw at her?  She was pregnant by a man she barely conversed with, unless it was about the baby, she lost her husband and one baby already, and now Jon was leaving. “I believe in you, though.  I believe you’re doing what you feel is best and I hope you find what you’re looking for out there.  Because you deserve it.  You deserve to be happy, you hear me?” Those words left a bitter taste in her mouth, even though she did mean them.

 

“Then why does your face twist up like you sucked on a lemon, darlin’?” Jon teased, blinking away the wet in his eyes.  Allergies or something.  Part of him was royally pissed that the McMahon’s had used his prior germ phobia, the MRSA fear, and twisted it to something they could put on television.  Sure, it had likely encouraged some kids to get vaccinated or something, but Jesus H. Christ was nothing sacred anymore? “Not like you’re not going to see me, kitten,” She rarely called him ‘Daddy’ anymore, but he hadn’t and probably never would stop with the pet names. “I’ll pop around and bug you, and send you those pregnancy memes still.”

 

“It’s not the same and you know it.  You know once you get rolling in the Indies again, or whatever organization you work for, you’re going to be too busy to see me.  A phone call here and there.  Text messaging here and there, but…Jon, it’s never going to be the same.” Tressa sniffled, wiping her tears away and let out a soft growl of annoyance, hating that her emotions and hormones were raging. “Just…be happy, okay?  I do mean it, even though I don’t want you to leave, I really want you to be happy because, as you very well know, life is too damn short to be miserable, Daddy.”

 

She cracked a small smile when his eyes actually lit up and hoped they would always remain friends, even if they didn’t see each other anymore.  Now, if only she would apply that to her own life, Tressa would be on top of the world, but her fear was holding her back from achieving happiness again.  The grief was gone, mostly, though she would always love and miss Joseph with all her heart and soul. 

 

That would never, ever change.

 

Seeing the waves of emotions in those beautiful eyes, Jon hoisted her pregnant ass up again and felt her nearly squeezing him to death.  He returned it as much as he could without hurting her or the baby she was carrying.  He was planning on just taking it easy for a while and watching to see what happened with the new organization Chris had signed with.

 

“Love you, darlin’,” He kissed the side of her head before putting her down. “Unfortunately, I still have to go work for these asshats, and I’m sure they’re eager to punish me.”

 

“I love you too.  Be careful.”

 

Tressa watched him walk back inside the arena and let fresh tears slide down her cheeks, feeling as though her heart was ripped from her chest.  Again.  She rubbed her stomach through the tunic she had on and closed her eyes for a minute or two, calming herself down the best she could.  Then, she went back inside to get back to work, to do what she did best and stuffed all the other emotional crap in the back of her mind for the time being.  Even though everybody knew she was pregnant, nobody had asked questions and left her alone, which is what Tressa preferred. 

 

It was nobody’s business who the father was, how far along she was or anything to do with the pregnancy.  Tressa got lost in her work, focusing more than she ever had before and couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to rest up.  Tomorrow, she had two days off and, instead of going to Minnesota, she was heading to Tampa to look at a couple houses she had her eye on.  It wasn’t just because of Drew living there; she really did like Tampa and it even farther away from Minnesota than Texas.

 

“Here.”

 

She had been talking about relocating to Tampa and once she had given him what was a laundry list of reasons why, Drew hadn’t blamed her one bit.  In fact, putting distance between herself and her in-laws was the best thing for her, and he preferred her and his wee one to be closer rather than on the opposite end of the states.  So, he had started house hunting for her, knowing she was doing most everything online.  He had a few sheets of papers in his hand, grinning sheepishly.

 

“I was trying to be helpful.”

 

She’d been on her way out of the arena to head back to the hotel, the night over with, when Drew approached her with the papers.  She took them from him, eyebrows furrowing at the houses he had picked out and chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully. “We must be in sync or you’re a mind reader, or maybe a psychic.” She turned the third page over she had turned to and held it up to him with a soft smile. “I’m going to look at this one tomorrow afternoon.” It was beautiful and perfect, four bedrooms with a wraparound porch and a huge fenced in backyard for the baby.  A pool as well, no stairs, it was a ranch, but it did have a basement.

 

“Ah well, this one I wasn’t sure about, but the neighborhood is nice from what my realtor says.” He said with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared down at her. “It’s actually not that far from where I am.”

 

Unlike most people assumed, he did not live right on the beach, that would have been asking for trouble.  Not to mention, he wasn’t home enough to enjoy it and he sure as hell didn’t want to pay the outrageous taxes for something he wasn’t enjoying.  He was sweet to help her with finding a place in Tampa.  She didn’t think he was overstepping his boundaries at all.  Granted, he’d given her space recently and Tressa didn’t think he’d get too involved in her life until after the baby was born.  However, this proved her assumptions wrong and Tressa found herself craving intimacy.  It was in the book her doctor gave her – women craved sex a lot during the second and even third trimesters.  The morning sickness was gone and she was feeling better than she had in months.

 

“Thank you, Andrew.” Reaching up, she stroked his bearded face with her hand and slid the pad of her thumb across his bottom lip, shivering when he nipped it with his teeth.  Her entire body was more sensitive now as the pregnancy progressed and that simple nip sent tremors throughout her frame. “If you want, you can come with me to look at it tomorrow.  Make sure it has your stamp of approval with safety and whatnot for the baby.” Her hand hadn’t left his face, her eyes remaining locked on his and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering what was going through his mind at the moment.

 

“Ah yeah lass, I can tell you right now…nothing besides a giant hamster wheel made out of bubble wrap is going to get my stamp of approval for the baby.”

 

He pulled her hand from his face, brushing his lips against her palm and didn’t miss the way she shivered, one eyebrow slowly raising.  It was none of his business, but he was a bit curious if the last time she had been intimate with someone had been when she had been with him.  That seemed like ages ago.  There was no way she could have sex with another man that wasn’t the father of this baby.  That was just all kinds of wrong.  And it had been almost 3 months since she’d last been touched by a man…him.

 

“I will have you know I will never have a hamster wheel of any kind in my home, Andrew.” She informed him, a teasing tone to her voice and wondered if he still desired her now that she was fat.  Granted, it was for a good reason, but it still didn’t make her feel beautiful – as a matter of fact, Tressa was self-conscious of her body more than ever nowadays. “So, is that a yes or no to come with me?”

 

“Aye, I’ll meet you there.” He laughed, letting his hands drop down to his sides and then stuffed them into his pockets.  Stepping back, he adjusted his bag and grinned down at her. “You can swing by my place afterwards, pet, see just how tame the Highlander is in his downtime.” That was the first time he had invited her anywhere except to dinner or his hotel room, but considering they were going to be parents…now it just made sense.

 

“Sure, I’d like that.” She slid her hand down his chest slowly, recalling how they’d gotten together in the first place.  The hotel bar, the touching and pure fire between them.  Tressa was feeling that all over again and it was even better because, this time, she was sober. “Just so you know, I haven’t been with anyone else except you, Highlander.” He had just given her the perfect nickname to call him and his eyes suddenly darkened a little, making her drop her own hand from his chest. “See you tomorrow.” Tressa walked away from him, looking down at the papers in her hand and smiled at his thoughtfulness. 

 

The Scotsman never failed to amaze her, it seemed.

 

Any other time, Drew would have chased after that beautiful, swinging ass.  He was well aware when a woman was giving him the come hither and she was definitely giving it.  But…Not tonight.  No, she was coming to Tampa and maybe some downtime off the road and definitely out of hotels.  And…After everything, and knowing what he did now, he was trying to keep levelheaded around the beautiful woman, who could probably easily wrap him around her little finger if he gave in to even a fraction of his thoughts.  Smirking, he headed for his own car.

 

Tomorrow would be interesting.

 

Chapter 36

 

Just staring out of the window, Tressa was already in love with the house as she stepped out of the vehicle, gazing at it.  The realtor hadn’t arrived yet and Drew was on his way, apologizing for being late.  She told him the realtor hadn’t arrived yet, so he was fine.  All through text messaging – the man didn’t like talking on the phone for some reason, which she was fine with.  Wearing a white maternity sundress that had a black sash around the waist, Tressa leaned against the car with black shades over her eyes since the sun was beating down on her.  It was 80 degrees in Tampa, currently, but at least the humidity took a break today.  Turning, she saw a car pull up and smiled at the sight of Drew stepping out moments later, heading toward her.

 

“Glad you could make it, Highlander.” She accepted a soft kiss on the cheek from him and felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, giving her a one-armed hug. “Still waiting on the realtor.”

 

“You’re on Florida time, lass,” He chuckled, using his free hand to drop his sunglasses down over his eyes. “Apparently, that means being fashionably late by up to an hour.” He snorted at the look she gave him. “Aye, that’s the look I probably had on me own face when I learned that.”

 

Culture shock had been a real thing for him when he had moved to the states, and then came the other bits of learning various regions personal slang and dialect.  Americans were confusing as Hell.  In Scotland, all he had to worry about was various inflections on the general language, here words all seemed to have different meanings.

 

“Well, until they get here, let’s look around the outside, shall we?”

 

Being this close to him was doing things to her body again, but Tressa figured he wasn’t interested.  Or maybe he was holding back because of what she said regarding never having a relationship again.  Hell, she wasn’t sure anymore and decided she would have to invest in some kind of sex toy to get off with before she went out of her mind with horniness.  It was a real thing and a very big struggle for a pregnant woman.  All she knew was this man smelled damn good, looked incredible and the hunger inside of her had increased.  They walked around the property for a good half hour before the realtor finally showed up and let them inside the house.

 

Drew had dressed for Florida heat.  His hair was in a braid, he had worn loose, comfortable shorts and a black beater.  One thing he did enjoy was the warmth, and the humidity was a little oppressing at times, but one got used to it.  He had to duck to get inside and was glad the ceilings weren’t low like some places, though he would have to mind the trim when going from room to room.

 

“You’d best hope the wee one doesn’t inherit my height.” He informed her with a good-natured grin, his eyes sweeping over the first room thoughtfully.

 

“It’s just the doorways, the ceilings are cathedral.” Tressa pointed out with a grin of her own, looking around the house and ventured into the kitchen. 

 

She loved it, gliding her fingertips along the granite counter and couldn’t believe how big this place was compared to her apartment.  He also had to duck to get inside that one too.  Drew was freakishly tall and a big man, so she could only imagine how big his doorways were just so he didn’t have to duck to get in them.  Tressa would find out soon enough because she was going over to his place after they left here.  Leaving the kitchen, she looked at the living room before going to the room Drew just walked out of and then proceeded to look at the rest of the rooms. 

 

There was no peeled paint or damage to any of the walls or floors, which were mostly carpeted besides the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms.  Three bathrooms, four bedrooms…and the outside had a huge pool with plenty of space for other things, like a playset or swing set in the future.  The pool…it was nice, but would definitely have to be baby-proofed, maybe a deck built around it or something.  Once they both looked at the house thoroughly, Tressa and Drew walked out of the house with the realtor following and she shook the woman’s hand, letting her know she’d be in touch with a decision.

 

“Okay, tell me what you really think of it, Highlander.” She requested, once the realtor was gone and looked up at him with her sunglasses on top of her head.

 

“I think you’ll need to invest in a hard top, locking cover for the pool and a fence.” He said seriously, knowing accidental drowning was one of the lead causes of baby, toddler, and young children’s death. “I don’t know, lass, the neighborhood is nice and all, just…” He shrugged. “I don’t know you well enough to know if this is your style.  Look at the others on your list and then decide.  Me, personally, I’d add a bit of moss and some damp, and it’d almost be like living back home.” That was a joke obviously.

 

“I don’t like it.  I thought I did, but…walking around it and then the backyard is a huge factor.  If I’m going to have a pool, I’d want it somewhere I KNOW the baby can’t get to it.” She did have a few more she wanted to look at and had appointments set up for.  Would Drew want to come with her though? “I know I asked you to come look at this one, but…I do have others to look at today.  The next one is in about 20 minutes, actually.” Tressa had checked her watch and already told the realtor she’d be over there to look at it, with or without Drew. “If you’re coming, follow me.  This is the last one of the day.” Tomorrow would be two more and then she could make her decision, but this one was definitely nixed off the list.

 

Ah thank God, he hadn’t liked that pool at all.  Not where it was located anyway, it was too close to the house.  Whoever had put it in obviously hadn’t thought that one through. “Where’s the next one?” He asked, having nothing else planned for the day.

 

Spending time with her in helping to find a place for her to live along with their unborn child was the least he could do.  That just seemed weird and sounded wrong, even in his head.  He took the piece of paper she offered him, frowning.

 

“No idea where it’s at.” He hadn’t familiarized himself with the entire Tampa area, or even half the neighborhoods around him. “By the way, pet,” He took her hand, twirling her in a slow circle. “I like the dress.”

 

“You do?” She was legitimately surprised by his compliment and the way he twirled her, feeling his eyes devouring her whole.  It made her feel…good and beautiful.  The roses in her cheeks bloomed and she had a genuine smile on her face for the first time in what felt like ages. “Thank you.  Follow me, I can put it in my GPS.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before getting in her car, waiting for him to do the same. 

 

Moments later, they were on their way to the next house.

 

It was the one.  It had a pool in a different, separate sector of the house with a lock on the door, which required a key.  The house was a lot bigger than the first one, with higher doorways and ceilings, so Drew didn’t have to duck to enter.  The backyard was completely fenced in and safe, full of luscious grass and a small area for a garden, though she would probably never use it.  Tressa did not have a green thumb at all.  The kitchen was twice the size of the other house and the rooms were bigger too. 

 

Three bedroom, two bathrooms – it was damn near perfect.  They spent a fair amount of time there looking at the place and once again, there were no stairs, it was all one floor, no basement, which she preferred and there was a huge shed, brand new, in the back to store whatever needed.  When it was all said and done, Tressa made an offer on the house and Drew informed her it was just down the street from his place, even closer than the first house.  She didn’t need to see any others – this place called out to her the moment she pulled up to it.

 

“Well, if you ever decide to take a job closer to home, that’ll be a fine house to live in.” As it was, his own was pretty basic and spartan just because he was rarely here and he also kept a residence in Scotland that he preferred when he had longer breaks.  Jetting across the states was already a pain in the backside, doing it to another country entirely was practically impossible. “You know, I always wondered why practically every house here has a pool when the beach innit that far…” It was a strange thing to wonder, but there it was. “You ready to go see my lair?” Drew flashed her a smile, though to be honest, he was a bit nervous.  

 

This was the mother of his unborn child and he was very aware his relationship with said child hinged on his relationship with her.  No matter what happened between them, Tressa would never take Andrew away from his child.  A child was not supposed to be used as a pawn.  She hated women who did that, who used their children to gain funds and whatever, to manipulate the man.  It wouldn’t happen with her and she hoped Andrew would come to see that eventually.

 

“Your lair, eh?  Ready as I’ll ever be.” She could feel the nervous energy pulsating through him as they walked to their cars, separating to drive.  Tressa didn’t realize how nervous she was until she pulled up to where Drew lived, parking the car, and stepped out to join him.

 

It was not like her house at all.  It was more square almost, more modern looking, and two stories.  He had a pool, but it was currently covered with a hardtop because he didn’t like it opened when it wasn’t in use and he wasn’t leaving himself liable for any accidents if someone trespassed.

 

“Dinnae laugh.” He said seriously, procuring a key from his ring and unlocked the front door, pushing it open. “Ladies first.” He swept his arm, gesturing her inside and smiled when he realized she was just as nervous as he was.

 

This was new territory for them.

 

Why would she laugh?  The place looked nice enough on the outside and she assumed it was nice on the inside.  It was…a bachelor pad, to put it mildly.  The walls were bare, mostly, though there were odds and ends that spoke of Drew’s character.  A lot of Scottish – hell, she was surprised the place wasn’t decked out in plaid.  The room they walked into was the living room, or sitting area, which connected to the kitchen.  She assumed the bedrooms were all upstairs and noticed the pool on the patio.  Minimal furniture – it made sense since he lived his life mostly on the road and he had mentioned having a place in Scotland as well.

 

“Now why would you think I’d laugh at your place, Highlander?” She asked, breaking the silence between them and turned from the window to look at him curiously.

 

There were definite touches of home throughout, though he was the first to admit the motif was bare.  His bedroom definitely had the plaid thing going, his families tartan no less, which was the traditional plaid of their ‘clan’, or what would have been called clan back when. “It’s bare.” He chuckled, though he opened the patio door and took her hand, leading her outside back into the sunshine.  The landscaping was not him, he had had input, but obviously he wasn’t the one doing the maintaining since he was never home. “It’s not Highland heather,” He pointed to the pink and purple flowering shrubs that were kept low to the ground. “It’s Mexican Heather, it does better here because of the hot climate, about as close to home as I could get.”

 

“That’s your favorite flower, isn’t it?  Highland Heather?”

 

Of course, it was because this man was a true Scotsman at heart.  She bent down gently to touch one of the Mexican Heathers and smiled, the smell pleasing.  Drew was right behind her and she could feel his hands burning through the sundress as soon as they landed on her hips.

 

“You have a nice place, Andrew, and it’s beautiful out here.” She felt their fingers lace together as they walked around the backyard, just enjoying the fresh air and tranquility. 

 

Being on the road, they never got to just…be and it was nice doing something as simple as walking hand-in-hand with Drew, enjoying the breeze Tampa had.  His backyard was bigger than average for the normal Tampa resident and that had basically been the only requirement he had had.  Besides tall ceilings, of course.  He had grown up outside it seemed and, when he WAS able to come home and enjoy it, he wasn’t spending all that time inside.

 

“Thank you.” He was smiling down at her, genuinely, his blue eyes sparkling as he guided her to the very sturdy, custom oak swing he had had built. “Moss campion won’t grow here at all nor would bog myrtle…which sounds disgusting, but it smells… citrusy.” He waited until she was seated before easing himself down next to her, draping his arm along the back of the seat and used his feet to gently rock them back and forth. “My mam grew flowers and I always took them for granted.  Now, so far from home, little things like that I seem to miss.”

 

Scooting closer to him, Tressa enjoyed the swaying back and forth, leaning her head against his side. “Your Mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman.” She murmured softly, feeling his arm tighten around her waist a little more and her hand rested on his thigh, sighing gently. “I know I shouldn’t want to get away from my own mother, but…I’ve never liked Minnesota and it holds too many memories for me.  I do not have a green thumb either, so…you’re going to have teach the young one about botany, if you want him or her to have an education in it or to learn how to plant.” That was a problem Terri had with her, actually, though she wouldn’t get into that mess with Andrew. 

 

The court date was set for next week and she couldn’t wait to finally stick it to the old hag once and for all.

 

Chapter 37

 

“Oh I don’t really know much about plants, my bonnie lass.” He chuckled, dropping a kiss on the top of Tressa’s head. “But bless you for thinking so highly of me and my abilities.  I just know some by name, and by smell, and I know where they’ll grow.  I have people come in and do all of this while I’m gone.” His outside interests were actually kind of dorky.  Criminology wasn’t exactly something someone got into just by chance, he had always been a bit of a nerd.  Drew moved his free hand to her stomach, rubbing that pregnancy bump tenderly. “So, when do we find out the gender?”

 

“Between 19 and 20 weeks – basically, halfway through the pregnancy.  I’m 14 weeks now, so I’ll have the ultrasound in another 5-6 weeks, which would put us right at the beginning or middle of March.” Tressa hadn’t made the appointment yet, but she was planning on doing it, amongst other things, on her days off.  Her first priority was getting a place in Tampa and starting the process with that since it would take a little while to finalize. “And you don’t give yourself enough credit, my Highlander.” She placed a hand on top of his on her stomach, which was starting to round out a little more with each day that passed, or so it seemed. “I think very highly of you.” Tressa would not be here, on this swing, snuggling against him if she didn’t.

 

“I hope so.” It would make this, parenting together, a lot easier in the long run. “Have you lined up maternity leave and all that?” This was another thing he had wanted to talk to her about. “I’d like…to take time off too and be there when the bairn is born.  Not in the room when you deliver, of course, I wouldn’t impose that way, but afterwards.” He didn’t want to miss those first few weeks, he just wasn’t sure how to go about convincing his boss that he needed the same time off as Tressa.

 

Stephanie wasn’t a stupid woman.

 

“Not yet, but Stephanie knows about my pregnancy.  She just doesn’t know who the father is yet.  I’m going to tell her, Andrew.  I was planning on doing it on Monday, actually.” Why did it bother her so much he didn’t want to be in the room with her? “Are you sure you don’t want to be in the room with me when I deliver?” Now she was looking up at him, feeling him stop the swing and those ocean blues swept her away again. “You wouldn’t be intruding.  You’re the father and you deserve to be there when the baby is first born, to hear his or her first cries, to hold him or her in your arms.” Stephanie would probably fall over in shock upon hearing who the father of her baby was, but…things happened, and she had three children with Triple H, though they were married.  This was a different situation, entirely. “Unless you truly don’t want to.”

 

“I was thinking you might want your mother, or your sister,” He searched her eyes intently, reaching out to take her hand in his, caressing his fingers against her palm. “And that it might be uncomfortable having me in there.”

 

Not that he was planning on being front and center down below with the doctor when the baby was actually being delivered.  Some things were sacred and he did not need to see how that all worked or changed…no.  He appreciated the miracle that was a woman’s body, Drew didn’t want to see the miracle in action.

 

“I definitely want to be there.  I dinnae want to miss a thing, Tressa.” She was…a rare gem and he stifled whatever warmth that was.

 

Mourning, she was still mourning.

 

The mourning had passed, but Tressa was scared to have another relationship, to give herself completely to another man.  She wasn’t sure she could do it, not completely, because part of her would always be with Joseph.  This warmth Drew made her feel scared her because it was intense, and it seemed to get hotter each time they were together.

 

“I know you don’t, and I don’t want you to either, so…be in the room with me.  My Mom and sister…I don’t know if I want them in there because they can be somewhat controlling.” Not as bad as Joseph’s mother was, but her family was overprotective ever since what happened. “I’m going to need your strength to get through the delivery, Andrew.” It terrified her every time she thought about what she was going to endure in mere months.

 

There were pain management options that wouldn’t harm the baby and he hoped she would at least consider them.  There was no shame in lessening pain, especially when it allowed her to focus on other things, like pushing and breathing, and…Drew frowned slightly, clearing away those thoughts.  Eventually, they would talk about it and whatever she wanted to do, he would support.

 

“So, my bonnie one,” He bent down to rest his forehead against hers. “Why don’t you come inside and I’ll fix dinner for us?” He didn’t want her to leave just yet, which was strange since a moment ago, he had been squishing feelings he shouldn’t have.

 

Tressa didn’t want to leave either, caressing his face with her hand and felt her heart beating fiercely against her chest.  The smell of him and being this close made her heady, his lips mere inches from hers.  She wanted more than just dinner; she wanted the Scotsman and wondered if he could read the desire in her grey orbs.

 

“Andrew…” She whispered his name and felt his arm tighten around her to press her closer on the swing.  Deciding to take a chance and hoping he didn’t push her away or reject her, Tressa leaned forward to softly press her lips against his, a shiver coursing down her spine. 

 

Even kissing was more sensitive while pregnant, who would’ve thought?

 

It had been quite a while since the last time they had been intimate, and he hadn’t taken any other woman to bed since.  It hadn’t felt right, especially after finding out he had impregnated her, bringing another woman to his bed when he had one already knocked up.  Maybe he did possess some shred of nobility or whatever she called it.  Tightening his arms around her, Drew deepened the kiss, feeling her shivering against him and arched an eyebrow.

 

“Cold?” There was no way.

 

“No, definitely not cold.”

 

How could she be in the arms of this man?  They started kissing again and that connection, that fire and passion between them, was stronger than ever.  His tongue swiped across her lips and she immediately gave him access, both tasting each other for the first time in months.  She moaned softly in his mouth, shivering again and that only made the kiss grow deeper and a little harder.  Only when they needed oxygen to breathe did the kiss break, both doing it simultaneously and her breathing was labored, lips swollen.

 

Now he was wondering if this was a side effect of her pregnancy, or maybe of her sobriety.  She had been a drinker when Drew had first started taking up with her and he had definitely noticed the changes.  He wouldn’t have pegged her for an alcoholic, other than drinking a lot, she hadn’t exhibited that many signs, or at least ones that weren’t noticeable at the time.  Her eyes were so much clearer, and the whites were genuinely white, and now the roses in her cheeks were all natural instead of Vodka -or whiskey- induced.  Regardless, he was learning she was sensitive, the way her body was still pressing into him, and how she softly moaned when he ran his fingertips along her upper arm, he liked it.

 

It hadn’t been fun to get over two addictions at once – cigarettes and alcohol, but after what happened to her first baby, Tressa refused to take any chances with this one.  The doctor assured her everything was fine and the Zofran had helped during her first trimester, along with curbing the addictions.  Now her new addiction was pineapple – she had to have everything pineapple or pineapple in it.  It was the weirdest and best craving she’d ever experienced in her life; pregnancy really was an experience unlike any other.  Tressa missed this, missed being with Drew and the intimacy between them, her hand caressing his beard to feel the little prickles against her fingertips.

 

“I’ve missed this,” She pressed her forehead against his again, locking grey on ocean blues and those tingles flowed through her body. “I’ve missed you, Andrew.”

 

Even though they worked for the same company, they had barely seen each other ever since this pregnancy came about besides the doctor visits.  Jon was there, so it was a very awkward situation and they hadn’t been alone, like this, since the last time they had sex…right before she became sick.  Prior to that, they had gone a month sharing hotel rooms and having sex, unable to get enough of each other.  Simply seeing each other wasn’t the same as being held in this man’s arms, feeling his lips against hers or any part of her body, and she was relieved to see the intimacy between them had not vanished with the pregnancy.

 

He had missed this too.  The raw chemistry between them was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life.  He didn’t vocalize that, however, he would take what she offered and no more.  Drew wasn’t going to put himself in the position Jon had.  Never.  If she could only get past her grief, he would have, maybe, shown her that life didn’t have to end all together just because of unexpected tragedies and new, uncertain paths.  He smiled, realizing that, eventually, Tressa would pull herself out of the mental grave she had buried herself in and he would be there.  Drew would be there for a long time to come.

 

“I have too.” He admitted, brushing his nose along her cheek. “Mmm, remember when I said I wanted to lay you out on my plaid in the heather?” Well…now was his chance.

 

“Yeah, I remember that.” Tressa remembered everything and had replayed their moments in her mind, making her believe maybe she knew all along who the father was without the test. 

 

Her and Jon had only screwed once in that time frame and it was an estimate based on her menstrual cycle.  There was a far stronger connection to Drew than she ever felt with Jon in all the years she’d known him.  Maybe deep down inside, Tressa knew this was Drew’s baby and that was part of the reason why she felt so drawn and connected to him.  It was obvious he still desired her, even with her bigger belly and she contributed that to the fact this was his child, his offspring.  Food could wait because her hunger for this man outweighed everything else at the moment, including actual sustenance.

 

“Come inside and take a moment, lass, if you need one.  Just don’t get too comfortable, we’re coming right back out.”

 

She was pregnant, if she had to use the restroom, now would be a very good time for it.  Pregnant women and overactive bladders were a thing.  He gently guided her off his lap and stood up, leading Tressa into the house.  His property was surrounded with an 8-foot -he had to get special permission for it and the fact that was a thing was mind-boggling- privacy fence, so he wasn’t worried about anyone spotting them.  He left her in the living room before disappearing upstairs, rifling in an old, oak chest for one of his few plaids.  His kilts that he wore for work events were all custom-made and fit like a…skirt, he’d imagine.  An actual tartan took some skill to properly use outside of just being a ‘blanket’.

 

Tressa did use the bathroom and grabbed a water from the fridge, her mouth incredibly dry from kissing Drew and how he made her feel.  She was nervous, wondering if he would be appalled or disgusted by the change in her body.  The bump wasn’t that big, but…she still felt fat since she was so used to having a flat stomach.  The change was astounding, and it made her self-conscious, which was why she wore tunics and leggings.  Pulling the band out of her hair, Tressa fluffed it out a little to hang about her shoulders and down her back.  A haircut was definitely needed in the future because there was no way she’d have long hair by the time the baby was born. 

 

Chewing her bottom lip, Tressa was staring out the window again and was so deep in thought, she didn’t hear Drew come back downstairs with his plaid until his hand landed on her hip.  She didn’t jump and shivered at the feeling of his lips against the side of her neck, simply brushing her flesh.  It was cute how she thought tunics were hiding that baby bump, they weren’t.  The way the fabric draped highlighted it and every time he seen her, trying so hard to hide her pregnancy, he had been both amused and pleased.  Pleased because that was HIS baby she was carrying, rounding her stomach.  That had to be a primal male thing.

 

“What’re you thinking, my bonnie one?” He asked in a husky rumble, his hands skimming down her sides to rest at her curvy hips.

 

He really, really liked this dress.

 

“The change my body has taken.  I’m…nervous about you seeing me naked, Andrew.” Tressa was never one to sugarcoat anything and was truthful, for the most part. 

 

Granted, she had lied to Drew at first when he kept approaching her, but it was only because he intimidated her, and she was still mourning over her dead husband.  It was crazy how so much could change in the span of nearly a year.  The tunics HAD hidden the pregnancy until she popped two weeks ago and now everybody knew she was with child in the company.  One could only hide the fact for so long until the body physically showed the proof.

 

“It’s my own insecurities and I’ll get through it.”

 

“You’re beautiful, Tressa,” He reassured her, gently cupping her baby bump with one hand, the other on the back of her neck.  Drew had the plaid draped over his shoulder, now bare from the waist up because he had removed his tank top. “That’s what bonnie means, you know, my beautiful one.” And he was learning, now that she was letting down her walls, she was beautiful both inside as well as out. “Come let me show you.”

 

He laced his fingers with hers, tugging her towards the patio doors.  She was radiant, growing new life in her body.  There was nothing unsightly or unattractive about that and he would very happily spend the rest of the day convincing her of it, if she let him.  She had wondered what that meant because he’d started calling her ‘bonnie’ and figured it was some kind of Scottish or Gaelic term.  She let him guide her back outside, having removed her shoes, so her feet in the cool grass felt amazing.  Tressa watched as Drew spread the plaid on the grass, right by the heather before taking her into his arms gently, but firmly and captured her lips with his.  This man was chiseled out of stone and could easily break her in half, in pieces, if he wanted to.  The way he held her, however, told her he would never do anything to hurt her or their baby. 

 

Carefully, Drew swept her feet from beneath her to lift her in his strong arms, the kiss not breaking, and Tressa felt her back collide with the plaid.  This wasn’t just sex between them anymore – they weren’t just fuck buddies either.  Something was developing between them and Tressa was powerless to stop it, already knowing deep down inside, this Scotsman had a hold on her heart.  She just wouldn’t admit it to herself, not until she was ready because once she did, all bets were off.  Her fingers delved in his long black hair as he hovered over her, being careful not to smash the baby and his lips left hers to start a trail of fire down her neck, making her purr and her toes curl. 

 

Everything was definitely more sensitive.

 

Once she was writhing just from his kisses down her neck alone, Drew pulled back to kneel on his calves, just admiring her.  Her face was flushed, rosy red lips parted, and sprawled out on his plaid with her hair sprawled beneath her and around her.  With the Mexican Heather in full bloom and creeping in around them, it was indeed a lovely sight.  Almost as good as how he envisioned it the first time.  If he had his way, sometime in the future, he would get the proper experience, in Scotland.  He had to shove those thoughts aside, wondering why he was thinking that far ahead into the future when the only thing certain between them was the fact that they were going to be parents together.

 

Chapter 38

 

“Arms up.” He ordered, skimming his fingers up her bare knees and then beneath the hem of that dress to her inner thighs.

 

Just his touch alone was igniting a fire inside of her, every nerve-ending of her body sparking to create an inferno.  She chewed her bottom lip nervously and hesitantly reached her arms up above her head, allowing him to push the dress up, over and off, leaving her clad in cotton white panties and bra.  They didn’t match, but they were at least the same color.  She really didn’t need any color showing through the white of the dress.  Her panties rested just above her small bump and the bra molded to her breasts perfectly, which were tender from the pregnancy.  They HURT at first, but now it was just a dull ache and she was able to wear bras without being in pain anymore. 

 

It was all normal – just her body changing and adapting to the baby growing inside of her.  Drew captured her lips again and made his way down her body a second time, unhooking her bra in the front since the clasp was located there, and freed her breasts from the confines of the cotton material.  Her breasts weren’t getting larger, not yet, that would probably come later down the road.  However, when he slid his palms up her ribs and just beneath her breasts, he was gathering they were experiencing the same sensitivity as the rest of her luscious body.  Drew kissed his way down her throat, taking his time to reacquaint himself with her, nimble fingers now gently teasing her nipples.

 

“If I hurt you, you let me know.” He ordered right before running his tongue along her collarbone.

 

He had never been with, as far as he knew, a woman who was pregnant.

 

“Mmmhmm…” There was no way this man could hurt her as she arched her body into his touch and mouth, which was currently venturing down between the valley of her breasts and back up again.  His mouth took one nipple to swirl it around his tongue, making her shudder against him before moving to the other one, giving it the same treatment. “Oh god…” She breathed out, closing her eyes to relish the attention Andrew was giving her.  It felt like her body was dying of thirst and he was the only relief, the only oasis to quench it.  The only way to quell the raging fire inside of her. “Andrew, please…” Tressa didn’t know if she’d be able to handle foreplay, not with how sensitive her body was and the way it quaked and writhed. “Please, take me, I need you…”

 

“Patience, lass…” He rumbled, kissing his way down her gently heaving body.

 

Drew made sure to pay extra special attention to her bump, a hand gently caressing her side.  Not that he would say this out loud since she was already having body issues, but Drew couldn’t wait to see her blown up with his baby.  The very mental picture was sexy as hell and he growled against her flushed skin.  If she was this way now, this impatient, he could only imagine how she would be once he was done tasting her, lowering himself further until he was between her thighs.

 

He was going to torture her!  Tressa felt his fingers hook in the waistband of her panties to remove them, sliding them down her legs.  She managed to shave them, so they were smooth as a baby’s bottom at the moment.  Veet would be in her very near future because, once she did blow up, she wouldn’t be able to shave regularly.

 

“Andrew…” She hissed out, burying her fingers in his long black hair as his tongue, lips and teeth nipped and licked her inner thighs. 

 

They were trembling against him, quivering, and she couldn’t stop it, her pussy already drenched.  When his head finally delved between her thighs to taste her, feeling his tongue glide up the length of her clit, Tressa’s eyes nearly rolled in the back of her head as it tipped back on the plaid, soft whimpers and moans escaping her.  If she thought he was incredible before, she was in for an experience tenfold.

 

Damn right he was going to torture her!  It had been quite some time, for the both of them, and there was no way he was going to rush this, not when he didn’t know if they’d be together intimately again anytime soon.  He had a feeling with her moving to Tampa, and that she had ‘missed this’, the odds were in his favor, but still…no man in his right mind was passing up on her delicious pussy.  Pregnancy had definitely changed some things, like the way she tasted, her juices were sweeter and he was attributing that to the mass amounts of pineapple she ate.  Greedily, he began coaxing her towards orgasm, knowing more of that sweet nectar would be his reward.

 

The odds were DEFINITELY in his favor. 

 

She would not sleep with another man besides Drew, not while pregnant with his child.  Honestly, she didn’t want anyone else.  He was on the forefront of her mind and, every time she passed by him at work, her heart rate accelerated.  The looks he gave her, whether he meant them to be or not, were smoldering and it made her weak in the knees.  Her body was worked up, so it did not take long for her to reach her climax, those hot, sweet juices flowing out of her and into his mouth.  Instead of pulling back, Drew slid two fingers inside of her, being gentle, and held her down because her hips BUCKED against him.

 

“Oh fuck!” She cried out, her breathing labored and released his hair to grip her own, not wanting to rip his out of his skull. “Fuck, oh fuck!” Holding her down just made the moment more intense and she could already feel her second climax building, going out of her mind with desire.  She was drowning in ecstasy.

 

He didn’t stop coaxing those delicious orgasms out of her, not until in her heightened state of ecstasy, she WAS ripping HIS hair out, both trying to stop him and encouraging him on.  Her body was beyond sensitive and he was preying on it, bringing her higher and higher and draining her each time she gushed for him.  When just his breath was causing her hips to jerk, Drew chuckled huskily and began kissing his way up her body, giving her time to cool down before they got to the main event so to speak.

 

“You taste heavenly, mo’leannan.” He informed her, brushing his lips against hers.

 

When she opened her mouth to him, he let her taste herself on his tongue, growling with desire when she actually sucked on his tongue.  The taste of herself on his tongue was incredible; everything was better now that she wasn’t drunk or tipsy.  This was completely sober, and she wished their first time could have been sober.  It was outstanding, but this was on another level.  She moaned in his mouth, feeling him pull back to break the kiss and reached down between them to unfasten his shorts, her eyes locking with his.  Stormy grey on dark blues…it was like a midnight sky was trying to clash against a raging storm.  Tressa kissed him again, pulling him back down on top of her and used her feet to push his shorts all the way down, feeling him kick them to the side gently.

 

“Make love to me, my Highlander.” She purred against his lips, gasping when his cock brushed against her very sensitive sex and Tressa knew this would be both a mixture of pain and pleasure, ready for whatever this Scotsman had to offer her. “Mmm, Andrew…”

 

The pain she felt was due to her state of heightened sensitivity, the very best kind of pain there was. “Aye, your Highlander, lass.” He chuckled, very slowly sliding into her thoroughly ready, welcoming body.  Drew didn’t stop until he was fully sheathed inside of her, his eyes closing at the feeling of being fully enveloped by her once more. “It’s been a bit of a long time for me, Tressa…give me a moment.” So he didn’t pop his cork like some first-time teenager.  

 

Not helping was the fact that all those orgasms had left her pussy still on the spasming side and he could feel every last involuntary twitch.  A new wave of warmth flooded through her at that confession.  Did that mean he hadn’t taken another woman to bed besides her?  She wouldn’t have blamed him if he did – he was an Adonis and no doubt had women throwing themselves at him on an almost daily basis.

 

“Christ…” Tressa could barely breathe, gripping his strong arms and did her very best not to move, not to urge him on. 

 

She didn’t want this to be over in two minutes either and KNEW Andrew had amazing control.  Her insides felt like they were burning from being stretched and she amazingly forgot how well-endowed this man was.  Tressa didn’t realize it, but her nails had dug into his skin a little, leaving half-shaped crescent moons.  Little crescent moons he would proudly bare, she could have shredded him with those fingernails and he wouldn’t have minded.  It meant he had done something right by his woman.  Ah hell, not the time to be having those thoughts, sex always made things a bit complicated.  Finally, when Drew knew he wasn’t going to embarrass himself or disappoint her, he began moving, taking his time, and smiled down at her, feeling her rolling her hips up to meet him.  Much better and it felt so right with her, he hadn’t been to bed with anyone except her since they had taken up.

 

His tongue, lips, and teeth were amazing, but feeling him fill her to capacity was indescribable. “Yes, oh…yes…” This was exactly what she needed, this feeling, this intimacy, and met him for every thrust he produced inside of her. 

 

She cried out softly from how incredible he felt, their lips meeting to try to keep the noise level down.  They were outside and, even though he had a large gate surrounding them, that didn’t nix the sounds they were making.  Tressa clung to him, already feeling her over-sensitive body building that release, reaching her end, and did everything in her power to hold back.  It made her whimper, her face contorting in a mixture of pain and pleasure, her nails raking down his back the harder, deeper and faster he drove in and out of her.

 

Drew could care less who heard her singing out his praises, or hers coming from his own lips.  They could listen in, take notes and maybe go home having learned a thing or two. “Don’t hold back, let yourself go,” He urged, his hands moving to her hips and helped her probably tired body by gently but firmly pulling her to meet his thrusts. “Cum for me again, mo’leannan.” And then again and again, his mind added, wanting to feel that exquisite pleasure of her cumming around his cock, it really had been far too long.

 

Tressa shook her head, defying him and herself, only for her body to betray what she wanted to happen.  Her walls milked him again, wrapping him in a warm, tight wet cocoon and Drew rode it out, growling his pleasure in her ear. “Oh god, oh god!” She cried out, her entire body being rocked and was sure she’d pass out, the oxygen leaving her body.  Then, Drew pulled out of her aching core and gently shifted her to where she was on all fours in front of him, plunging right back into her tight depths.  This was the best position for a pregnant woman and Tressa dug her nails into the plaid, pressing her forehead against the material and pushed back against Drew, not bothering to hold back her loudness. “Andrew, please!!  I-I can’t…ANDREW!!”

 

“Yes you can, now give me another one!” He ordered, lightly slapping her ass before using his palm to rub the red spot he left behind as he plummeted in and out of her tight, little body.  While waiting for a flight, Drew read an online article about sex while pregnant.  Apparently on all fours, or laying on the side, would be the most comfortable the further pregnancy progressed. “Another, one more, Tres…” One more, he just wanted to feel her milking him, gushing for him, once more and then he’d let himself fill her with his seed.

 

There was no way she could deny this sexy Scotsman a thing and could already feel her body caving into his demands, that accented voice deep and low.  Whipping her head back, she let herself completely go, surrendering every last drop her body could muster up and shrieked his name in her release, which triggered another one with the explosion he erupted inside of her.  She collapsed on top of the plaid in a sweaty, wheezing heap, coughing, trying to stop her heart from leaping out of her chest.

 

“G-God b-breathe, b-breathe…” She stammered out, knowing she just put her body through the ringer with this man and felt him spoon up beside her, taking his hand to place it over her heart. “F-Feel that?  T-That’s w-what you d-do to m-me…” She lost count how many times she climaxed for him, surrendered to him and honestly, Tressa wanted to be claimed by him completely. 

 

If only she would get over her fear over what happened to Joseph…she wanted to be happy and knew Drew could, if she only let him in.

 

“You do the same to me.” He chuckled harshly, kissing the back of her neck and closed his eyes, just enjoying the sensations coursing through him from the aftermath of their lovemaking.  Making a noise that could have been a purr of contentment, he tightened his grip on her though not to the point of hurting her, and kissed her shoulder blade. “Laying you out on a plaid in the heather was one of my finer fantasies…they don’t always play out so well.” He joked, sort of also admitting he had some daydreams of a sexual nature involving her.

 

“Good, I’m glad I-I could make that a r-reality for you, Highlander.” Tressa reached up to caress his face with her hand and shifted to lay on her back with him staring down at her.  She leaned up to softly brush her lips against his and moved back on her side because laying on her back was very uncomfortable at the moment. “I don’t…” Shutting her eyes, Tressa let the warm breeze blow over her and felt Drew’s arm tighten slightly, knowing she had his undivided attention. “You’re not a rebound to me, Andrew.  And this is more than just sex between us, at least it is for me.  I don’t know how you’re feeling about this, but…fuck.” This was hard for her to say. “I feel happy when I’m with you…and I don’t know why.  Even with the times we slept together during that month, before I found out I was pregnant, I could feel a connection between us and…I ignored it because I was scared.  I’m still scared…but being away from you and ignoring how I feel…I don’t like it.  I don’t want to ignore it anymore.”

 

Slowly, he guided her over until she was on her back.  He was still on his side only now he was propped up on his arm, staring down at her.  Drew couldn’t keep the small smile off his face as he considered her.  It wasn’t so long ago that he had said that it would happen when she least expected it too. He just hadn’t imagined it would also be something he definitely wasn’t expecting either.

 

“I feel the same.” He confessed, both to her and himself.  Drew hadn’t been letting his mind consider those possibilities just because he had known it wouldn’t end well.

 

“You do?  Really?”

 

At his firm nod, no hesitation, Tressa felt her heart do a funny leap and swallowed hard, that fear threatening to overtake her.  Instead, she fought it off and cupped his bearded face to softly brush her lips against his, feeling those familiar tingles rush through her.  She didn’t love him, not yet, but her feelings were definitely growing for him.  Or maybe she already did love him and refused to admit that to herself. 

 

One step at a time – baby steps.

 

“I want to try this.  I want to date you.  Exclusively.” Tressa did not share with others and saw the smirk curve his lips, smacking his chest lightly. “You know what I mean, Andrew.  I want to be with you and give this a true chance.  I will always love Joseph, but he’s not here anymore and I know he’d want me to be happy.  You make me happy and I believe he’s been guiding me toward you for a while.  I was just too stubborn to realize it until now.” Taking the ring off her left finger, the diamond that signified her as a married woman, she set it on the plaid and shut her eyes, feeling…light and free for the first time in what felt like forever.

 

Chapter 39

 

What Jon had tried to force, Drew had simply stepped back and accepted, letting what would be, be.  Anything worth having was worth fighting for, but there were also times to be patient, and when to back off. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me, Tressa.” He informed her, leaning down to kiss her.

 

This kiss was a lot different from previous ones they had shared.  It was more tender, a lot more affectionate, and there was hope in it.  Hope for them and a potential future.  Drew reached over to pick up the ring, not wanting it to get lost or brushed off the plaid and into the thick grass, holding it up between his forefinger and thumb.

 

“Would you like a chain to wear it on?” He offered, knowing taking it off had been a major step for her.

 

That kiss made her head spin because it was completely different from the other ones he’d given her.  Tressa could FEEL everything in it, including the intensity of his feelings and all he’d been holding back from her.  She took the ring from him and slowly shook her head, squeezing it in her palm.

 

“No.  I thought about doing something like that, but…if I’m moving on, I have to do it all the way.  And I want to move on with you.  I’ll buy a lockbox or something or put it in my jewelry box at home.  Or maybe a safety deposit box.” Somewhere nobody would get to it or be able to find it. “For now, I’ll put it in a safe pocket in my purse.” She brushed her lips against his softly, tenderly, no longer holding back how she felt either. “Thank you for giving me a chance, Andrew.”

 

A safety deposit box at a secure bank would be her best bet.  His home had been broken in twice before he stepped up his security game, not realizing until it was too late that, when people noticed he was rarely home, they assumed he was an easy target.  Twice they had been right.  Third time, they went to jail.

 

“Nay lass, thank you for allowing me to be the one you take that chance on.” He pushed himself up onto his feet, bringing her up with him. “Stay for dinner.”

 

“I was planning on it.”

 

She smiled back up at him, nodding and bent to grab her dress from the grass along with her undergarments, blushing at the way that smoldering gaze devoured her all over again.  Silently, she hoped that never changed or went away because it really made her feel beautiful and wanted.  Clasping their hands together, Drew lead her back inside, with the plaid over his shoulder and while he went upstairs to dress and put it back, she redressed in the white sundress, along with her bra and panties.  Tressa made a quick stop in the bathroom to clean herself up a bit and to pee before walking out just as Drew came walking back down, in a fresh pair of shorts, no shirt.  He was going to kill her walking around shirtless and had her bottled water from earlier in hand.

 

“So, what’s on the menu tonight, Highlander?”

 

“Grilled chicken, tomato, onion and cucumber salad, and baked potatoes.” He informed her, then began laughing. “And cottage cheese with pineapple for the lady.” Because he STILL could not deal with those two weird textures together, though eating one or the other plain was fine. “See,” He led her into the kitchen to open the refrigerator. “I had the woman who does the grocery shopping for me get you plenty of pineapple.” Already cut and ready to be devoured.

 

He had this planned and it made her smile at his thoughtfulness, leaning up to softly kiss him. “Sounds delicious.” Tressa had already put the ring in her purse, just as she said, and it felt weird not having it on, but in time, she would get used to it. “Let me help you chop up the vegetables or something.” At his firm head shake, Drew gently guided her over to the island and lifted her to sit in the stool, kissing her soundly. “You don’t play fair, Highlander.”

 

“Well, to be honest, I did most of the work when I got in this morning.” He admitted with an easy grin, shrugging one massive shoulder.  The three-veggie salad was already in the fridge, marinating in the vinegar sauce.  Drew had already unthawed the chicken breasts and made up the rub.  He set out said breasts before going to wash his hands. “Besides, back in the ‘olden’ times, a man would have to hunt and all that to prove he was worthy of his chosen’s hand,” He dried his hands off on a dishtowel before turning towards the island she was sitting at and where he was preparing what little was left to do.  He set out the bowl of rub, smiling when she sniffed it. “Nothing spicy.  And I don’t hunt, so I have to show off my cooking prowess instead.”

 

“Good, I was going to say I hope that’s not spicy.  I don’t mind it so much, but the baby doesn’t like it.  I ate some tacos with hot sauce on them the other day and I had the WORST heartburn afterward.  I thought I was gonna have to go to the hospital until Stephanie helped me with a trick.  Lemon.  Straight lemon – sucking on a lemon and it was gross,” Tressa made a face, shuddering at the memory. “But it worked and then she had me drink ginger ale too.  So, no more tacos until after I pop this baby out, then I can eat whatever I want again, hopefully.” She leaned forward a little with an impish gleam in her eyes while watching him cut up that chicken. “Just so you know, I find it sexy you know how to cook.”

 

A lemon to treat heartburn, that was the first he had ever heard of that one.  That actually sounded counterproductive given a lemon’s acidity, but…he wasn’t one to question old wives tales when there were a lot of them that actually worked and were a basis for more modern medicines.  Not to mention his own Ma had had her fair share of them and she’d probably come swat him from the beyond for questioning one.

 

“You do now?  Why?” Most people were just surprised he could or that he would bother. “Surely you know other men who can cook, lass.”

 

“Not really, no.  My Dad only grills, but my Mom is the cook of the family.  She taught me and my sister how to do it and to bake.  And honestly, the only other guys I’ve really hung out with are Jon, Colby and Joe.  And those boys do NOT cook to save their lives.  I don’t know how they function at home – well, Joe is married, so that’s a given, but Colby is single.” Tressa explained, seeing Drew was perfectly calm and collected while she spoke about the Shield boys.  They would always be her friends, especially Jon, no matter where he ended up once he left at the end of April. “I know for a fact Jon doesn’t cook at all.  I lived with him for a couple months in Vegas, when he first came back on the road from his injury, and I had to cook everything.  He can grill, but cooking – like you’re doing now – not so much.  And Joseph could cook, but I did the majority of it when we were home together, which wasn’t very often because he was a truck driver and I was on the road with WWE.  So he had to learn how to fend for himself when I wasn’t there.  I don’t think we ever sat down like this and just talked while he cooked for me, though.” This was definitely a first, a man cooking for her for a change.

 

“Well, I have a brother, no girls for my poor mam.  God bless her soul.”

 

Drew was pleased that they were actually having a proper conversation, and learning about each other.  He was filing everything away, glad she was telling him about her life, even talking about Joseph.  There was no jealousy or tension from him because these people were a part of her life and he knew where she stood with them all.  There was no reason to be upset.

 

“She decided that she wasn’t going to raise sons who couldn’t fend for themselves in the kitchen, so we spent as much time in there as we did with anything else.  I like to think I learned a thing or two from her.”

 

“That was how my Mom was.  At first, she was hesitant, but I’m the oldest out of me and my sister, so I went to her one day and told her I wanted to learn.  I think I was maybe 9 or 10, and she was making cookies.  Something simple, from scratch, and she put an apron on me and we took off from there.  But my passion has always been crocheting.” Tressa admitted, playing with a napkin while talking to him.  Andrew was very easy to converse with and she wanted to know everything about him he was willing to give. “My grandma gave me my first crocheting set when I was about…5, I think, maybe 6.  I was young and my Mom made jokes about how I’d play with it for five minutes and then give it up.  Now, every year, from the time I was 6, I’ve crocheted things for each member of my family for Christmas and birthday gifts.  And then eventually, I learned there were OTHER things I could do besides crocheting, and I got into knitting and then had my first sewing machine at 12-years-old.  It just snowballed from there, and I had my own company going when WWE called me and offered me a job as one of their seamstresses.  Late 2007 is when I signed, and I remember you were there too in 2009.  I think I even did some of the 3MB outfits for you, Slater, and Mahal, now that I’m thinking about it.  Wow…”

 

She smiled sheepishly, not realizing they had crossed paths with each other back in the day until now.  Drew had been fired from WWE in 2014 and he had recently been re-signed in NXT and made his way back up to the main roster as part of the Superstar shakeup in April of last year.  3MB, he winced, those early days had not been…kind at all.  What had been envisioned for him and his character, his career and what had actually happened had been two very different things.

 

“Going from crochet and knitting then to sewing, that’s…something.  Is there anything you can’t do?” Crochet and knitting were fairly closely related, making the leap to sewing the way she did, that was impressive.  His mother would have adored this woman, she possessed all the ‘old fashioned’ homemaker skills.  Not that he would say that out loud.

 

“If there’s a rip or tear in a material, I can fix it.  I don’t care how long or old it is, I will find a way to fix it.” Tressa wanted to learn everything there was to know about seam stressing, knitting, sewing, crocheting, all of it. “I’m sure there are tools out there I could use or different tricks and trades, but…I prefer the old-school way.  It gets the job done and I’ve always prided myself on the job I do for the WWE.” It was why she had been in the company over 10 years, a decade.  She had a passion and drive for what she did and would never want to work anywhere else because she truly did love the company. “That’s how I bonded with Jon, Colby, and Joe.  They came into the company, I don’t know if you remember, but they were in turtlenecks.  They looked HORRIBLE.  I said something to Stephanie and she agreed and she sent them directly to me.  I told them to give me a day or two and I’d have something for them.  I’m the one who came up with their gear and, to this day, they only come to me with their gear.  I don’t really dig Colby’s power ranger look he’s got going on, but to each their own.  The jeans and tank top were my idea for Jon and Joe, as you know, kept his same attire, only changing up the style a bit, but still sticking with the combat boots, cargo pants and the vest.  I wanted each of them to look different, but still look like a team at the same time.” Seam stressing was more than just putting sequins on clothes or fixing rips and tears.  She was also responsible for a lot of the talent’s attire, the designs and even helped out with the merchandise at times. “That’s how I met the Shield boys and they were assholes to me at first, but then when I showed them what I had to offer, my ideas, they warmed up to me.” She blushed, knowing she was blathering on about her job and cleared her throat, taking a drink of water. “Anyway, sorry, I get passionate when I talk about my job, can’t help it.”

 

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

 

Drew had been working while listening to her go on and he had enjoyed hearing her talk.  There was definite passion and pleasure in her tone when talking about her job, that was something he admired because some people didn’t bring that to the table.  Tressa did.  He had finished with the breasts and the rub, setting the tray aside to go wash his hands again.

 

“All right, bonnie, I’ve got to go start the grill.” He kissed her forehead, smiling and then nuzzled her neck, laughing when she giggled.  Music to his ears.

 

Standing up from the stool, Tressa began walking around the house and wound up in the living room, seeing a couple pictures hanging on the walls.  There was one with a woman, graying dark hair and beautiful ocean blue eyes that were mirror images of the man standing beside her.  The background was gorgeous, and she knew it was Scotland…and she knew who this woman was.  His mother.  Andrew seemed to really love his mother, though she could tell it was difficult for him to talk about her.  It was hard for her to talk about Joseph too – they had both suffered incredible losses in their lives.  She wondered what the woman’s name was because, if this was a girl, she wanted to pay tribute to Andrew’s mother somehow.  Maybe name the little girl after the grandmother she would never have the privilege of knowing.  Or maybe that went against his heritage – to name a granddaughter after a grandmother – Tressa wasn’t familiar with the Scottish, but she would have to learn since it would be a HUGE part of this baby.

 

“Her name was Angela,” When Drew came in, he had instantly spotted Tressa standing in the living room, eyeing the pictures he had up. “Angela Anne,” He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her chest and brought her back to lean into him. “I think she would’ve liked you.”

 

A strong, fiery, independent woman who took no man’s shit.  His mother would have insisted she was Scottish and not just aware of it.  His mother had been a fighter until the very end, strong and proud, and he saw the same strength in the woman in his arms.

 

Quiet but there.

 

“Angela…” Her hands came up to rest on his strong forearms, leaning back against him and nodded, really liking that name.  It fit and she could hear the admiration in his voice just saying his mother’s name. “I don’t know if this goes against your heritage, but if this baby turns out to be a girl, I’d like to name her after your mother…the grandmother she’ll never know, but can grow to admire through stories and seeing pictures of her.” Tressa felt him tense and turned in his arms to look up into his eyes, her own mirroring the words she just said. “What is it, Andrew?”

 

“Naming a wee one after a family member is never against any heritage, that is a strange thing to wonder, lass.” He said softly, wondering if she was serious about naming the baby after his mother, if it were a girl. “Now, traditionally, several generations ago, the first-born daughter would be named after the mother’s mother, so yours.  Second-born after the father’s mother.  But nobody much holds to those anymore.  If you…want to name the bairn, if it’s a girl, after my mother…I would be honored, and I know it’d please her as well.”

 

His hand caressed her stomach while talking and she placed her hand over his, feeling his lips brush against her forehead. “Angela Noelle Galloway for a girl.  And we’ll figure out the boy name when or if the time comes.”

 

Something told her, deep inside, the baby she was carrying was a girl, however.  Tressa didn’t know for sure, but she’d had dreams of a little girl, for some reason.  Maybe it was a sign from Joseph or even Angela.

 

“Unless you have an idea for a boy name or do you want to carry on tradition and name this baby after you, if it’s a boy?”

 

“Now I am named after my Da, but we don’t have to name him after the both of us.” Meaning him and his father, Drew was going to wind up confusing himself, talking in terms of it, he and she and they wouldn’t know the gender for a while yet. “I always liked Graham,” He smiled wickedly, his blue eyes alight with mischief. “And of course there is the Scottish classic name: Angus.” He wasn’t surprised when she immediately shook her head. “Aye, don’t blame you, it’s a terrible name, innit?”

 

“I’m not naming this baby after a slab of beef, Andrew.” Tressa absolutely refused to do that and raised a slow brow. “Wait, you’re the fourth, though, so aren’t you actually named after your great-grandfather and your grandfather as well as your father?” Wow, that was very confusing just saying that sentence. “Never mind, I like Graham.  Gavin is another one I’m fond of too.” She had been researching some potential boy and girl names, but the moment her eyes landed on that picture, Tressa knew what she wanted to do if the baby was a girl.

 

“Gavin is a good fine name.” He agreed, and it was also becoming quite common here in the states.

 

Chapter 40

 

“You ready to go back outside?” He suggested, running his hand up and down her side lovingly before caressing that baby bump.  

 

Drew was seeing a lot more of that in the future and knew he would have to get it all out when they were alone since she hadn’t announced who the father of her baby was to the world.  To be fair, he didn’t blame her.  It was nobody’s business except their own.

 

“Yeah, I’ll keep you company out there, Highlander.”

 

Tressa grinned, enjoying the attention he gave their child and could see the love shining in his eyes for the bump.  He or she wasn’t born yet and already they had Daddy wrapped around their finger.  She was telling Stephanie and the higher-ups about who the father was on Monday because, if they were really going to do this, to try a relationship, Tressa didn’t want to hide it.  The notion of a closet romance did not set well with her and she wondered what Drew thought about it.  Maybe he didn’t want everybody to know.

 

“How do you want to do this when we’re back on the road, Andrew?  Do you want people to know about us or…do you want to keep it secret and keep professional and personal separate?”

 

He was leading the way back outside, looking thoughtful. “I don’t know to be honest,” He had taken up residence at the grill and gestured her to the oversized, wooden patio chair with cushions attached.  She curled up into it and he smiled, she was so damn tiny compared to him. “I don’t see the need to hide it, but nor is there any need to go shouting it from the rooftops.” He liked his privacy and, to be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure he trusted the McMahons to not somehow try using this for something stupid.

 

“I’ll be honest, I’m not fond of PDA in the workplace.  I don’t mind an occasional kiss on the forehead or cheek, but other than that, we both have jobs to do.” Tressa was too old for those kinds of games and figured she’d lay it all out for him. “If people find out, great, but I’m not going to scream it from the rooftops or anything like that.” With the dirt sheets and social media these days, it wasn’t easy for a Superstar to keep their lives private. “We’re on the same page.” Or so it sounded like it as she leaned her head back against the cushion on the chair, feeling better now that they were talking about everything.

 

“That we are.” The WWE had their shows and whatnot for the WWE Network, the reality TV crap, he was good.  Several superstars did that, and most had to do at least some appearances or ‘features’, but he preferred to not let the McMahons air his life for the entire world. “All the social networking, and these crap reality shows,” He shook his head, using tongs to flip the chicken breasts and pulled a face. “I always knew being ‘famous’, such as it were, meant having your life sometimes on display, but I think the company sometimes forget there are lines.”

 

“Yeah they do.”

 

There was no way she would ever allow the McMahons, not even Vince, to use her personal life on television in any capacity.  That happened to one of the now ex-seamstresses because of that very reason.  Vince thought she fit the build of being a Diva, at the time, and the woman had crashed and burned, using her personal life for a storyline, which also backfired.  It sank faster than the damn Titanic.  That was back when she first started with the company, during her first year, and Tressa vowed to NEVER let something like that happen to her.  If that old man even THOUGHT about using her pregnancy for a storyline, she would quit the company in the blink of an eye.  Stephanie was a good friend of hers, so that boded well in her favor.

 

“And those lines seem to be getting smaller and smaller because of social media.  In my opinion, wrestlers show WAY too much of their personal lives these days.”

 

“Exactly.  It used to be people were invested in the character.  Now, they know who is who on which side of the screen and get so involved with the person’s actual life…wrestling just becomes a sideline product.” Of course, he was glad he had missed the days of having to be in character constantly, heels having to hang with heels and the like, that would have also been a pain in the arse.  Though not like this new, everything was open to everyone in this modern age. “Now, my bonnie one, since we’re both in agreement on keeping our business our own, would you like to eat inside or out here at the table?”

 

“It’s so nice out here.  Let’s eat out here.”

 

The sun was starting to set on the horizon and the heat wasn’t stifling.  It was relaxing and soothing; Tampa definitely suited her a lot better than Minnesota.  Andrew ordered her to stay put while he went inside to grab everything, setting the table accordingly.  She took the plates from him to help out, along with silverware and after Andrew sat down, he let her make her plate first before helping himself.

 

“This looks delicious.” He hadn’t forgotten the cottage cheese and pineapple either, which was in a bowl separate from the rest of the food, just for her. “Do you, um, is there some kind of grace you say before each meal or are you not into that religious stuff?”

 

Drew was silent, mostly because he wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. “I’m a believer, but I’m not overly religious.” He wondered where she stood on religion.  For some people, that was a make or break thing, a person’s spiritual beliefs. “I don’t go to church, don’t pray regularly…” He was probably a bad Christian, but he also figured since he tried being a good man, it likely balanced out. “How about you?” He asked slowly, hesitating on doing anything else just in case she was and wanted to say grace.

 

“I’m a believer.  Christian Baptist, actually, but…I don’t go out of my way to pray or say grace or anything like that.  I just didn’t know if you were religious and that’s why I wanted to ask.  Didn’t want to offend you.” They were getting to know each other and questions would be asked.  She reached across the table to take his hand, lacing their fingers together briefly and squeezed them. “I don’t go to church either.  We’re bad people, apparently.” She giggled at the smirk on his face and shrugged, taking a bite of the chicken salad and groaned. “Oh, this is so good…” Then she took a bite out of the cottage cheese and pineapple to mix with it. 

 

That was a heavenly taste.

 

Baptist.  Now, after traveling through the southern states, Drew firmly believed that ‘Baptist’ down here and ‘Baptist’ up north meant two entirely different things.  Southern Baptists were hellfire and brimstone to an extreme and it was odd when coupled with the joyous, almost raucous singing of hymns.  Up north, more Jesus loves me and the same joyous, raucous singing.

 

“You’re not good or bad based on if you go to church, lass.” Drew laughed, shaking his head. “I refuse to believe you’re a bad person.  You like my cooking for one, obviously you’re a patron saint.”

 

Definitely not a Southern Baptist, considering she was from Minnesota originally.  She didn’t have the accent either, which a lot of Minnesota people had, thankfully. “Maybe I enjoy being a bad girl, though.” She winked at him, popping another bite of pineapple and cottage cheese in her mouth with sparkling greys. 

 

Drew had lit a candle to give them a little more light since the sun had gone down and the moon and stars were out.  They ate the rest of the meal in companionable silence, both starving after the exercise they endured earlier.  She stood up and stopped him from doing so, leaning down to brush her lips against his softly.

 

“You cooked, let me clean up, please?”

 

“You’re a guest in my home, you don’t raise a finger.”

 

He cupped the back of her neck, preventing Tressa from standing upright and his other hand moved to rest on her baby bump.  Their baby, he liked that, and now knowing she was ready to move on, and she wanted to try a proper relationship with him, he loved it. “Besides, all it is, is putting what’s left in Ziplocs and then the dishwasher handles the rest.” Dishwashers, he would have killed for one of those when he was a kid, handwashing had sucked.

 

“Andrew…” Tressa could see she would not win against him and sighed gently, deciding she WOULD be returning the favor once she moved to Tampa in her new house. 

 

She pressed her forehead against his, rolling it briefly and stepped back to let him rise to his feet, towering over her.  What used to intimidate her now turned her on – it was funny how life worked sometimes.  While he cleaned up and took the food back into the house, including the dishes, Tressa stayed outside and looked up at the starry night sky, wondering if Joseph was staring down at her.  She had to move on.  She couldn’t grieve and be in mourning forever.  What Tressa really wanted to do was name the baby after Joseph, if it was a boy, but she didn’t think Drew would appreciate that, so she kept that to herself.  She just hoped Joseph was staring down at her, along with their own baby, somewhere up there, with a smile on his face.  He would want her to be happy and, from this day forward, she would be with Drew, but she would also never forget her husband, her first soulmate. 

 

Maybe she had it wrong all along – maybe people did have multiple soul mates in life.

 

Still staring up at the starry sky was how Drew found her 10 minutes later when he returned from the minimal clean-up.  Having everything prepped and ready to go ahead of time, as well as keeping on top of things during the cooking process, usually meant for an easier clean-up.  His mam hadn’t gotten daughters, but damned if she hadn’t turned her boys into capable, potential ‘house’ husbands.  He knelt down before her, feeling her tiny hands coming to rest on his shoulders and nuzzled that belly, sighing against her dress.

 

“Penny for your thoughts, mo’leannan?” That term of endearment had taken on a whole new meaning.

 

“Not really, no.  Just hoping Joseph is up there looking down at me and he’s okay with everything, you know?  I just want him to be all right with my decisions and…I feel like he is.  I feel like he’s drawn me to you somehow.” She slid her fingers through his hair, smiling down at him and hoped Drew didn’t think she was having second thoughts about moving on.  That wasn’t the case at all. “I just want him to be at peace and to make him proud.  I’ve noticed something while being with you, Andrew.  I don’t cry anymore when I talk about Joseph.  I can even say his name without tearing up.  That makes me believe I’m ready for this, to really give us a chance, because I don’t feel grief anymore.”

 

He was going to take that as a small win, but also expecting grief to come on suddenly and for no seeming reason.  His father still went through it on occasion.  It was natural, just all a part of life and love. “Good, and glad I am to hear it.” Drew would never try taking the place of her husband, but he knew with patience and time, he would have his own place in her heart, the seed was already there. “If it’s a boy,” He began slowly. “Perhaps you’d like to give him the name Joseph?  It’s a good, strong name, Tressa.”

 

“What?”

 

Now Tressa was staring down at him with wide eyes, not believing the words that just came out of his mouth.  Drew was recommending what she’d only dream of doing, should this baby be a boy?  He didn’t mind if she named the baby after her dead husband, her first soul mate in life?  This man truly was noble, patient and kind with a huge heart, and she felt tears sting her eyes.

 

“You mean it, don’t you?” It was a simple statement and he nodded to affirm what he said. “Are you sure that wouldn’t bother you?  I know you’re recommending it now because of the moment, but…this is your baby and I want you to be absolutely sure this is what you want.  I thought about suggesting his name earlier, but I didn’t think it was appropriate…” They really were in sync; it was somewhat frightening.

 

“I was having similar thoughts.” He confessed, slowly standing up and guiding her back out towards that giant, oak swing.  It was a beautiful night and the temperature was comfortable.  His landscaper had planted natural plants thrown in with his own preferences to help deter mosquitoes, so those were rarely a nuisance here. “Earlier, when we were talking,” He sat down and shifted to face her, reaching out to push a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “I didn’t think it would sound right, or genuine, coming from me.  I do think you should consider it though, Tressa.  It’s a good way of both honoring and remembering him.”

 

“You’re too good to be true.” Tressa let a few tears slip down her cheeks while holding his hands, sliding them up his arms and back down. “I mean it.  You came out of nowhere, out of the blue, and I nearly destroyed this chance because of my fear…because of uncertainty.  There’s nobody else that has made me feel a fraction of the way Joseph did…until you.” Not even Jon. “Joseph Andrew Galloway.” He wouldn’t be the fifth, but…she would still be able to name the baby after the father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great grandfather, along with her dead husband. “Are you all right with that, my Highlander?”

 

“Aye, I am,” He chuckled, squeezing her hands before bringing them up to his mouth, taking his time to kiss each one. “My darling Highland Queen.” He teased, raising a black eyebrow at her puzzled look.  Of course, Scottish royalty had a line that had been interrupted due to English occupation and had to be restored a fair few times. “Oh aye, lass, dinnae you know?  All us fine Scots can claim at least a tenth of royal blood, and dating all the way back to our first King.  King of the Scots, Kenneth MacAlpin.” He was teasing her, mostly. “You’ll find us all to be charming, devilishly handsome.”

 

He was kissing away those tears now.    

 

Chapter 41

 

“Nobody compares to you.  The King of the Scots has nothing on you, Andrew.” Tressa meant that, her tears slowly drying up the more he kissed them away until his mouth captured hers, pulling her against him.  He was careful of the baby, mindful and she moaned in his mouth, tasting her sexy Scotsman again.  It was hard to believe and a little surreal they had chosen their baby names and they didn’t even know the sex yet. “You know, I didn’t get a hotel room yet…and I’d much rather spend the night in bed with you than in another lonely hotel.  Do you want me to stay with you tonight or do you think that’s too soon?”

 

Maybe it was too fast for them, but then again, they were doing everything ass backwards since she was pregnant by him already.  Now that made him pull back to arm’s length, just staring at her in the moon and starlight because he wasn’t sure if she was being serious or not.  She was and that was…odd, but weirdly cute as well.  She was hesitant and nervous, and they had skipped all the traditional formalities a long time ago.

 

“My bed is plenty large for us both and I think we’re long past the point of ‘too soon’,” His hand dropped back down to her baby bump, giving it a firm, pointed caress. “Unless you want to start over and I’ll court you the good old-fashioned way?” Drew doubted it, however.

 

She snorted, rolling her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t need to be courted.  You treat me like a queen anyway and I just want to be with you.”

 

Working for the same company did not mean they would see each other very often.  They could share hotel rooms, she supposed, but maybe Drew wasn’t ready for that step and the last thing Tressa wanted to do was push him into something he wasn’t ready for.  It was bad enough she had gotten pregnant the first time they had sex.

 

“I like the way things have progressed between us, honestly.  Starting over would just feel…mediocre and wrong, for some reason.  We’re continuing what we started, that sounds better, and I’d love to spend the night with you.” Waking up in his arms was her idea of heaven, along with pineapple.

 

Was it too early for bed?  Yes and no, but he didn’t exactly have sleeping in mind and given Tressa’s sexual appetite, on top of how sensitive her body was, due to the pregnancy hormones changing everything, he didn’t think sleep was on her agenda either. “Let’s go get a shower, or a bath.” He suggested, knowing they both still needed one from their earlier romp out here in the yard. “Let tomorrow sort out tomorrow, Tressa.” Back to work, their relationship, it would all progress as it should and he was looking forward to the ride.

 

“Okay.”

 

They still had one more day off tomorrow and then it would be back to the road for the house shows.  She let him guide her from the swing back inside the house and squealed when he actually swept her up in his strong arms, showing just how powerful he was.  Drew cradled her lovingly against him and she rested her head against his shoulder, just enjoying being in this man’s arms.  The way he lovingly undressed her and made love to her was something Tressa would never forget, burning it to her memory.  Falling asleep in his arms, she had a smile on her face and hope for the future for the first time since Joseph’s death.

 

~!~

 

“Andrew is the father, Stephanie.”

 

It took Stephanie a moment to figure out who she was talking about. “Andrew??  Andrew who?  Is he your new boyfriend or something?” Sometimes, she let things fly right over her head.

 

Tressa chuckled, shaking her head and rubbed her bigger stomach, just about 19 weeks along now. “Andrew – Drew McIntyre.  He’s the father of my baby.”

 

Stephanie’s jaw dropped, her blue eyes widening and wondered how THIS came about because everybody assumed it was Jon. “Wow…” She didn’t know what to say or think about this, trying to get over her shock quickly. “All right…are you two together, then?”

 

“Yes, but we don’t want to broadcast it to the world.  We’re not showing any kind of PDA at work and we’re doing our jobs first and foremost.  Once we’re out of the arena and off the clock, it’s our business what happens between us and we want to keep this as private as possible.”

 

Stephanie could respect that, nodding. “Very well.  I will make sure he has leave the same time as you when the baby is set to be born.”

 

“Thank you, Steph.” They hugged and Tressa left her office, feeling marginally better now that Stephanie knew the truth about her pregnancy.

 

~!~

 

Later that night, everyone waited with bated breath as Roman Reigns returned to WWE television 5 months after leaving, after announcing his battle with cancer.

 

“I’m in remission, y’all.”

 

“Oh my god…” Tressa covered her mouth with her hand, watching the incredible moment on Monday night Raw, standing in front of a monitor along with the other employees of the company. 

 

Nobody was doing their job right now. 

 

Every single person was in front of a monitor of some kind, watching this.  Joe was cancer free.  Joe had whooped Leukemia’s ass and he was BACK.  Tressa was more than happy for her friend, someone she considered a brother, and let the tears slide down her cheeks.  Suzanne and Tabitha hugged, both of them knowing how much this meant to her and they watched both Colby and Jon walk down the hallway toward gorilla.  Jon stopped at the last minute, turned around and went in the opposite direction, wiping at his eyes.  He was too emotional to go out there to greet Joe at the top of the stage with Colby…and he was supposed to be a heel in the company at the moment, while Colby and Joe were faces.

 

Jon stopped when he spotted Tressa, wiping tears off of his face.  Being this insane, germophobic villain was not conducive to what he actually wanted to do right now.  He wanted to be out there, celebrating this monumental news with his best friends and, instead, he was probably going to wind up using it as villain fodder later in the evening.  He didn’t even need to say anything when he seen the tears on her face, he just reached out and pulled her into his arms, mindful of that baby bump.  Not bothering to hide his own tears, he buried his face in her hair, feeling her laughing and crying at the same time.

 

Hell, he was too.

 

What Jon didn’t know was the WWE planned on changing direction completely with his character and it would start later that night.

 

“He’s okay, Jon…he beat it.  He survived!”

 

Tressa couldn’t stop crying, clinging to her best friend for dear life and could feel him physically trembling against her.  No wonder he couldn’t go out there with Colby!  Jon was an emotional wreck and she knew this meant the world to him because of how close he was to Joe.  Jon and Joe were like two peas in a pod; Jon even called Roman his ‘road wife’ on the Chronicles special WWE made for him for the WWE Network.  It was a documentary that chronicled the last few months of his recovery, including his return and heel turn against Colby.

 

“You need to go see him.  I know you didn’t want to do it out in front of all those fans, but…you need to go see him in gorilla.  Do you want me to go with you?”

 

“Well yeah, darlin’, you’re our mascot, you have to come and share the good feels!” He laughed, pulling away to brush tears out of his eyes and grinned down at her. “Let’s go.” He laced his fingers with hers, already tugging her down towards the gorilla. “I can’t believe that son of a bitch didn’t say a word to us.” He shook his head, not overly bothered by hearing it at the same time as the rest of the world.  He bet Joe had been sitting anxiously on that bit of news. “Sorry, I’m dragging you.” He slowed his pace, glancing down at her.

 

Tressa rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head. “I’m not made of glass, Jon, and you weren’t pulling me that hard.”

 

He saluted her before they both hurried down the hallway, Jon keeping an eye out for the Superstars plowing through.  He was protective of her, even though she was pregnant with another man’s baby…her current boyfriend.  They arrived at gorilla position and Joe was swarmed with people, Colby right by his side.  Tears of happiness slid down her cheeks all over again and Jon squeezed her hand, both of them waiting patiently to get their chance with Joe.

 

Of course he was protective, she was his best friend, and probably always would be, no matter what.  It had taken Jon longer than he would have liked to come to his senses, as well as work through his own issues about her, but he finally had.  Of course, she was probably not telling him everything like she used to and that was fine, he kept his own shit to himself too.  Some things had been changed and there was no getting them back, but that was life.

 

“Hey Wife, hurry the hell up with your fan club!”

 

Joe heard that and looked over, flipping Jon off before returning to accepting the congratulations of his friends and coworkers.  Thank God the fans couldn’t get to him, that would have been a LOT of people to deal with.  His hand was already hurting from all these handshakes he had to keep accepting.

 

Tressa hadn’t told Jon about her and Drew because, honestly, it was nobody’s business.  They were best friends, but both her and Drew wanted to keep this to themselves for the time being.  Those two days in Tampa at his home, they learned a lot about each other and they were very private people, or tried to be.  She hadn’t told Stephanie right away about who the father was simply because the woman had gone off the road until today to be with her own kids for a bit.  Stephanie wasn’t angry at her, understood where she was coming from and promised not to say anything to anyone besides the people who NEEDED to know.  It was up to Drew and Tressa if they wanted to tell other people about their budding relationship.

 

Joe finally made it toward them and hugged Jon first, murmuring something in his ear Tressa couldn’t quite catch.  He moved to her, saw her belly and his jaw dropped at the sight of her, making her giggle.  Joe had no idea she was pregnant until now; she didn’t want to bother him while he was literally fighting for his life while she was growing one inside of her.

 

“Wow, I can’t believe you two are having a baby!  This is great, bro!”

 

Tressa shared a look with Jon, and she decided to let him break the news to Joe once they weren’t around a bunch of people, simply hugging the Samoan back. “Thanks, good to have you back, Big Dog.” Then, she left them to celebrate amongst themselves and headed back to her table, hoping Jon set the record straight with Joe before the end of the night.

 

Now, in all fairness to Jon, he TRIED.  But getting Joe alone for two seconds was fucking impossible and then he had gotten dragged away for work.  Jon groaned inwardly, knowing he would catch his friend at the end of the night and set everything right then.  It wasn’t like Joe was the kind of person to go running around backstage spouting gossip.  He’d get to it, eventually.  Joe wasn’t going to be bothered all damn night, right?

 

“Package for you, ma’am.” A courier appeared at Tressa’s side, holding out a small manila envelope.  He waited until she signed before taking off.  That was the weirdest package ever.

 

Inside was a small white handkerchief with his initials and a piece of dried Heather pressed in the material’s folds.

 

She smiled at the dried Heather and could still smell the aroma, the handkerchief made out of silk.  She slid her fingertips over the initials and held it up to her nose briefly before carefully putting it back into the manila envelope.  It was Drew’s way of telling her he was thinking about her and it made her heart soar to the heavens.  She placed it in her purse, making sure it wasn’t smashed or damaged and took a sip out of her pineapple smoothie.  That wasn’t the first gift Drew sent her over the past couple of weeks, ever since they decided to give them a shot.  Currently, she had a beautiful silver Celtic cross around her neck Drew had gifted her shortly after they became a couple.  She wore it every day and night, only removing it when she showered because she didn’t want to ruin it. 

 

This one was a bit different from the other gifts, not that she would know that.  Technically, if they had been doing this ‘properly’, it would have been something he would have given her on day one.  Providing he had been inclined to showcase some of his heritage.  Usually, he didn’t bother because most women tended to think of him in terms of his accent and whatever they had ‘learned’ out of historical romance novels.  Tressa was genuinely interested in his Scottish background and he had realized it went a bit further than their baby being half-Scottish.  She wanted to know not just for the bairn, but also because she was interested in him.

 

She wanted to soak in as much of his Scottish heritage, to truly learn about it, as she could.  It wasn’t just because of Drew.  The baby needed to know where he or she came from, their heritage and who exactly their father and his family was.  Tressa didn’t know what the handkerchief signified, but she would find out once they saw each other later that night.  They didn’t leave the arena together, but they did share hotel rooms.  Drew enjoyed driving with some of his other friends in the company and she didn’t mind that, knowing they didn’t have to spend every waking minute together.  At the end of the night, they were in bed together and that was all that mattered to her.

 

“So,” Jon caught up with her at the end of the night, before Tressa could pull her disappearing act. “I set things right with Joe.  He knows now I’m not the father.” He hadn’t told Joe who it was, because it wasn’t his place to reveal that information.  Tressa would decide if Joe needed to know. “I think he was disappointed.” He had his bag slung over his shoulder, fresh out of the shower and ready to go make the big man have a few drinks to celebrate the good news. “He had this whole Uncle Joe thing going, I almost felt bad at bursting his bubble.”

 

“He can still be Uncle Joe, though, if he wants to.” Just because Jon wasn’t the father didn’t mean they weren’t still friends.  She considered Joe and Colby brothers, practically. “I take it you’re off to go have a few cold ones with the boys?” Tressa grinned at the genuine smile on Jon’s face and stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. “Please don’t go, Jon.  You saw what the writers are doing – they’re slowly erasing what happened to you these past few months.  Joe’s back now, you guys can reform the Shield and I know that’s what you truly want.  You want to be with your boys and I think the higher-ups are finally seeing that now that Joe is back.  You know if you leave, you’ll never have connections like you do here.” Unless he was leaving for another reason he hadn’t revealed.

 

“Did Vince put you up to that?” Jon asked, sounding resigned but not surprised. “You sound exactly like he did.  Trust me, kitten, I got connections.” The problem with being the big dog in the yard, so to speak, was that with a lack of competition, business got stale and complacent.  Without that fuel, that HAVE to do better driving things on, things became stagnant and it showed in the WWE. “I’m not staying, Tres.  I shouldn’t have to change my mind just because they decided to change theirs based on Joe being back.” Which told him that they weren’t invested in him, they were invested in Joe.  No, he was good.

 

She frowned, looking up at him with big greys and lowered her head, nodding reluctantly. “All right, Jon.  I won’t beg you again.  I won’t bring it up.” Jon’s mind really was made up if Joe’s comeback couldn’t even convince him to stay. “Go on.  Go celebrate and drink one for me.” He only had a few more months left to travel the roads with Joe and Tressa wanted him to soak every possible moment of it up.  She leaned up and kissed his cheek, touching the side of his face before making her way to her rental vehicle.

 

Neither saw the dark eyes watching their exchange or the sad expression on Jon’s face once Tressa turned her back to him.  It was because of her Jon was leaving and nobody would convince him otherwise.  The only question was: Who WAS the father of Tressa’s baby if it wasn’t Jon?

 

Chapter 42

 

Tressa had nothing to do with Jon’s decision.

 

He wasn’t the kind of man to run because his feelings had been hurt or his heart broken.  Nor was he the type to scurry off and hide because he couldn’t bear to see a woman he loved with another man.  He had gone out a few times with a few different women, he was back on the market, so to speak, and content with just being her friend.  He was just really miserable with his job, truthfully.  That didn’t mean it didn’t bother him at all that his decision was hurting her, because it did.  

 

Jon just had to put himself first this time.

 

Maybe Tressa should have told Jon about her and Drew, but she also didn’t want to upset him on the night of Joe’s comeback.  Maybe tomorrow at the house show she would have time to pull Jon aside and tell him.  She fingered the Celtic cross around her neck and sighed gently, getting comfortable behind the wheel before pulling out of the parking space.  The hotel was calling her name, along with a soothing bath to relax her.  It just sucked she couldn’t be in a whirlpool until after the baby was born.  The jets were dangerous to the baby and the water couldn’t be too hot either.  Suddenly, her phone rang and she answered it, seeing it was Joe’s name on the caller ID.

 

“Well hello there, man of the hour.” She greeted cheerfully, stopping at a red light and heard her phone beep, knowing it was Drew wondering where she was.  Jon had held her up a little bit.

 

“Look, I wanted to apologize,” Joe said with a chuckle, still standing in the parking lot having watched her pull out and Jon disappear off to his own rental.  He drummed his fingertips on the hood of his rental, still waiting on Colby to come out.  The ‘three amigos’ were going out tonight to celebrate. “I thought you and Jon were still together and he was the father.” Well, not that they had been together as Jon had informed him tonight, but that was neither here nor there. “Who is the lucky guy who managed to bring that smile around?”

 

Her and Jon were never together – they were just fuck buddies, but she wouldn’t remind Joe of that.  She bit her bottom lip, not sure if she should tell Joe because she hadn’t told Jon yet.  Did it matter?  Jon would surely tell Joe eventually since they told each other everything.

 

“It’s okay.  I don’t blame you for assuming that because of what happened between Jon and I.” This was complicated to talk about. “Andrew is the father of my baby, Joe.  Drew McIntyre.  I’m surprised Jon didn’t tell you.”

 

Drew McIntyre, now THAT knocked Joe for a bit of a loop.  From the few times Jon HAD let some things slip, and he was usually three sheets to the wind and this had been quite some time ago, Tressa had been ‘scared’ or intimidated by Drew McIntyre.  But to pick that skirt wearing, arrogant mule over the guy who had carried her through her grief?  That just didn’t make any sense to Joe.

 

“I don’t think he was trying to share your business, honey.” He said finally, clearing his throat. “He probably figured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know.”

 

“I wouldn’t mind if he told you.  I mean, I consider you family, Joe, and I’m so happy you’re going to be okay and you’re back.” Tressa truly meant that, the biggest smile on her face and was glad she couldn’t read Joe’s thoughts at the moment. “It breaks my heart that Jon is leaving the company.  I tried convincing him again tonight to stay because you’re back and he’s just not happy with the way the company has treated him.  I just don’t think he’ll be happy anywhere else, but then again, maybe he will be.  Only time will tell.”

 

Joe sucked in a breath through his teeth, wondering if she was serious.  Jon had been carrying a torch for her for years, there was just no way Tressa hadn’t known that.  She wasn’t an idiot; he couldn’t believe she was a naïve little simpleton.  Because then Jon had been double the fool, loving a woman who was not only married, but also a total idiot.  Jon was leaving because she had turned him down and gotten with the wrong man.  Jon had been there for her, helping her through her grief when she had finally opened up about her losses.  Jon was leaving because of HER.

 

“I’m sure he will be.” He said finally, slowly unclenching his fist and staring down at the crescent shaped nail marks he had left in his palm.

 

The change in his tone wasn’t missed by Tressa and she frowned, continuing to drive to the hotel, but there was quite a bit of traffic to get through. “Yeah, listen I’m almost to the hotel, but you boys have fun and again, I’m so glad you’re back home where you belong, Joe.”

 

When he just muttered ‘talk to you later’ and hung up abruptly, Tressa blinked at the phone, wondering what had gotten into the big Samoan.  Trying not to let it get to her, Tressa made it the rest of the way and pulled into the hotel parking lot, cutting the ignition to step out.  She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, while trying to get her bag out of the backseat and whipped around to stare up into the handsome face of her boyfriend.

 

“You ass!  You scared the hell outta me!”

 

Joe didn’t care if she heard the change in tone or anything really.  Obviously, she was selfish and didn’t really care about the impact she had left on his best friend.  What a great way to end what should have been a triumphant night of return.

 

“Sorry, lass,” Drew laughed, bending down to help her with her bag before stealing a quick kiss. “But you do look bonnie with those roses in your cheeks.” He shouldered her bag with his own and let his free hand drop down to her belly to feel the bump that seemed to get larger every day. “I’ll kind of miss this when the wee one is out.”

 

Joe’s words were suddenly forgotten because she was with her handsome, sexy Highlander, who couldn’t help stroking her belly whenever the opportunity presented itself. “I will too.” She confessed softly, knowing the bigger she became, the more she would regret saying those words.  He wasn’t the one carrying this baby, she was.  They walked inside the hotel, taking the backway and, thankfully, there was an elevator because she didn’t feel up to taking actual stairs. “So, thank you for the handkerchief and the heather, but I’m curious what they both mean.  Is that something men in your homeland do for their women?”

 

“Now, if we were back in the ‘good old days’…” He shook his head while they waited for the elevator.  

 

Generally, Drew would have taken the stairs as a form of light exercise and it had become habit at this point, but now…his woman was tired and he found himself making changes to accommodate her.  Changes he didn’t think twice about, she was growing and carrying their baby.  It was probably a good thing men weren’t able to carry babies, he would have tried to volunteer.

 

“It would have been me giving you a sign that I intended to court you and then marry you.  Now, it’s just a token of affection.” They had skipped the courting part, gotten pregnant, and then backtracked a bit.

 

Tressa’s throat locked up when the word ‘marry’ came out of his mouth, but then he clarified what he meant.  He made it clear it was just a token of affection and she relaxed, stepping on the elevator with him. “That was very sweet of you to send me.” She murmured, reaching up to stroke his bearded face and his head dropped instantly to softly kiss her lips. 

 

Even though Joe was back, there was no other place she’d rather be than with this Scotsman.  If Joe couldn’t understand it, if people couldn’t understand it, that was their problem.  She knew who she wanted, and it wasn’t Jon, it was Drew.

 

“You really need to stop spoiling me, Highlander.”

 

“Why?” He asked curiously, quirking a black eyebrow down at her.  He caught her hand, keeping it on his face. “You deserve to be spoiled, Tressa.” If a small token of his affection was spoiling her, he was a bit curious about what her reaction to some of his grander ideas would be. “Spoiling you is sending you off to a spa that specializes in pregnant women.” He informed her, trying to keep the amusement out of his blue eyes.  Nothing harmful for her or the baby, relaxing, pampering…it’d be good for her.

 

Tressa was not a very materialistic person and enjoyed the little things in life, not needing any extravagant gifts from the man she was with. “A spa for pregnant women?” What was going through that devious Scottish mind of his?  The way his ocean blues sparkled mischievously told her, more than likely, she would be going to a spa before long. “Thank you for the gifts and spoiling me, then.  I won’t argue against what you just said.” This man was very stubborn and would do whatever he wanted for her.  And she would have to deal with it. “Oh by the way, I finalize on the house in Tampa next week on our days off.  I know we only get two days, but I really need help to move my things from Minnesota to Tampa.  Or I thought about just leaving everything behind and starting over by buying new furniture and everything.  What do you think I should do?”

 

“Bring what makes you happy, leave what doesn’t.” It was simple enough.

 

Drew hadn’t even thought about moving in because it had only been a month since they had agreed to try being more than friends with benefits.  If she wanted to live with him, she would have backed out of the housing thing.  Since she closed on it soon, he was assuming she was content to live a few blocks from him and he was fine with that as well, for now.

 

“I dinnae know how to drive one of those big trucks, however…” Those U-Haul trucks that seemed to frequent the highways wherever he went.

 

“I mean, you know I went back to Minnesota to pack up what I wanted in boxes,” Drew had gone with her to help, not wanting her to stress or push herself too much.  It was sweet of him and they had gotten everything she wanted done. “Maybe I can just hire people to move everything from point A to B.” She had money and she wasn’t hurting financially, so that was an option for her to do that. “It might be a little expensive, but it’s better than trying to lug all that shit in a U-Haul and driving it from Minnesota to Tampa.” It made sense and she honestly liked her furniture she had in Minnesota too. “I’ll have to call around and see when I can get this done.  Stephanie said if I need a few days off for the move, to take them, so I might just do that.”

 

“I’ll help cover the costs if you want.” Drew offered, really not liking the idea of his pregnant woman trying to make that drive in a damn truck that would guzzle gas and be a pain in the backside to drive, due to the heavy blind spots and other hazards.  

 

One thing they never talked about was money.  He knew obviously she had good credit and made good money.  She was closing on a house next week, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t taking a pretty penny out of her.  She walked into the hotel room, thinking over his offer and chewed her bottom lip nervously, sitting down on the bed.

 

“You will?  Are you sure?” Drew just came back to the WWE not even a year ago and, even though he was on the main roster, it took time to build up savings.  Then again, he had made decent money on the Indies as well and he was very smart, so she assumed he invested some of his money wisely. “No Andrew, I can’t…I can’t ask you to do that.  I appreciate the offer, but…no, I can handle it.  It’s my house and I wouldn’t feel right if I took money from you to help me move.  This was my decision and I’ll take care of it.  I do appreciate your offer though, please don’t think I don’t.”

 

“You’re the mother of my child and you’re moving to Tampa, so the baby is closer to me, to have both parents.” Drew argued reasonably because, in his mind, she was making the bigger sacrifice here and paying beyond her fair share.  She was leaving behind her home, her family, and the only person she knew in Tampa was him. “I think paying to have someone do the actual moving, so you and the wee one aren’t under that stress, is the least I can do, bonnie.” He set their bags down before picking up the room’s menu, offering it to her. “Have you eaten?”

 

“I told you I’m not moving to Tampa just to be closer to you for the baby’s sake.  I really do want out of Minnesota and I have for a while.  Florida makes sense because of you, though.” She conceded that fact, taking the menu from him and set it on the bed before taking his hand to gently pull him to sit beside her. “I want to be close to you, period, Andrew.  And I love Tampa, it’s beautiful there.  And no, I haven’t eaten yet and I know you haven’t either.  I’ll order us some food.”

 

She gave him a gentle kiss and felt his arm encircle her waist to pull her closer to him, deepening it.  Every time this man kissed her, it made her entire body tingle and she wondered if that would disappear once the baby was born.  Tressa hoped not.  The connection they had had manifested before the baby was conceived, they had it in the bar during Royal Rumble weekend.  That deep pull that neither could really explain, and over time, it had only grown stronger, deeper.  No doubt partially fueled by the child they had created together, but it was definitely more than just that.

 

“I’m going to get a shower.” He whispered against her lips, smiling when she kissed him again.  Normally, he showered at the arena, but tonight had been a cluster bomb, thanks to Joe’s return.

 

Everyone had been clamoring in the men’s hallway and making getting in and out damn near impossible.

 

Chapter 43

 

“I’ll order us some food and we can eat when you get out.”

 

Tracing his facial hair, with her fingertips, Tressa just enjoyed being his arms for a minute, soaking it in.  She was falling for this man extremely fast, if she hadn’t already.  It happened quickly with Joseph too when they first met, but she would not drop the L bomb, not for a while.  They had moved fast with everything else and she was sure Drew didn’t need to actually hear that word to know how she felt about him.  If he couldn’t feel it, then there was something wrong with him.  They kissed for another ten minutes or so before Drew finally pulled himself away from her to go shower.  She ordered them both a grilled chicken dinner with a salad, steamed vegetables and cut up pineapple with cottage cheese for her to satisfy her craving. 

 

Just as Drew stepped out of the bathroom, in nothing but a towel, just as the food arrived, -Tressa had already changed into a nightgown-, she padded over to answer the door.  She was surprised to find Joe on the other side of the door instead.  After their conversation earlier that night, Tressa was shocked to find him standing here in front of her and wondered how he’d gotten their room number.

 

“What are you doing here, Joe?” He was supposed to be out with Jon and Colby celebrating his return.

 

Jon had cut the festivities short after he realized Colby AND Joe were going to gang up on him about leaving the company.  Jon had been gracious enough -for Jon- about it, but he had called an end to the night before they had even finished their first beers. “I want to talk to you,” He said with what was meant to be his usual, easygoing smile, but it came across as tense.  His eyes widened and then narrowed when none other than Drew McIntyre, in a goddamn towel, appeared behind her. “About Jon.”

 

“Is he all right?  Did something happen?” Jon was notorious for getting into bar fights back in the day, when he was in the Indies, so she hoped he hadn’t done something stupid tonight.  Drew slid his hands up her arms to rest on her shoulders gently and she reached up to squeeze one of them, feeling him drop a kiss on her head. “Hold on, let me grab my robe and we can take a walk.” Joe nodded and she didn’t see the tense look on the Scotsman’s face.  He wasn’t happy about this at all, considering how late it was and they hadn’t had dinner yet. “I won’t be long.  Food will be here shortly.”

 

“If Jon is fine, there’s no reason you should be going out, lass.” Drew pointed out gently when she turned to come back inside for her robe.  

 

There was something…off, about Joe, and while Drew couldn’t explain it, his gut was telling him not to let her go.  But without good cause, he already knew he’d come across as jealous or controlling.  He knew that she was friends with the trio, but her friendship had always been stronger with Jon, it was Jon she talked about.

 

This was just unsettling to him.

 

She smiled at his overprotectiveness and placed a hand on his chest, after pulling her robe on. “Joe is like a brother to me, Andrew.  So is Colby.  If something is going on with Jon and Joe wants to talk about it, I can’t ignore him.  Joe would never hurt me.  We’re family and he doesn’t come to anyone unless it’s important.” She reached up to caress his face with the back of her hand. “Ten minutes, give me 10 and if I’m not back, you can hunt me down, all right?”

 

How did he explain that there was just a niggling feeling in his gut that there was something wrong?  Hell, maybe he was overthinking and having his own version of hormonal issues due to her pregnancy.  No.  Because, and Drew wasn’t being arrogant, he wasn’t one to have fits of fancy or jealousy, he was a very confident, self-assured person.

 

“Deal.” He agreed quietly, his eyes flickering past her and to Joe, who was standing in the open doorway with his own dark eyes narrowed. “Stay in the hotel, please.” She probably would have anyway, she wasn’t dressed to go anywhere besides the hallway.  Drew kissed her head before she walked out with the other man, shaking his own head.  He turned to get dressed, wishing that feeling would go away, but if anything, it was getting worse.

 

Well, the cat was out of the bag with Joe. 

 

How else was she supposed to explain why she was sharing a hotel room with Andrew?  It was nothing she was ashamed of, though.  She was her own person and could date and be with whoever she wanted. “All right, big man, what’s going on with Jon?  What’s on your mind?” She asked as they started walking slowly down the hallway, keeping their voices down a bit since it was late at night. 

 

They didn’t need security called on them for making a scene or a spectacle and waking every person up in the hotel.  It’d been a while since she last had a one-on-one talk with Joe – again, he only came to people if he cared or had something to say.  That was just how the Samoan operated whereas Colby was a hyper puppy and Jon had no filter.

 

“Did Jon tell you why he’s leaving?” He asked, keeping his pace short, so she wasn’t struggling to keep up.  Tall people problems.  Joe listened as she did, and he noticed her tone was a bit on the doubtful side like she didn’t believe what Jon had told her, as she recapped what their friend had said. “You believe that?  That he’s only leaving because he thinks the job sucks these days?”

 

He didn’t.  Jon LOVED wrestling.  Wrestling had been his lifelong dream, his ticket out of the projects.  When nothing else had been there for Jon, he had always had his beloved wrestling and now he was going to throw away a lifelong passion over a bump in the road?  No, Joe didn’t buy it for a minute.

 

“I truly believe he’s unhappy with the direction he’s taken in the company.  There’s not a doubt in my mind about that.  He HATED the fact they forced him to use your cancer as a way to get heat with the fans.  And then forced him to use his real-life germaphobia…that was a problem he wanted to keep under wraps and tried his best not to let it bother him.  The MRSA really fucked him up and they exploited that.  He hasn’t been happy since his heel turn, since you left, Joe.  He really missed you – it’s like a piece of him was missing because you guys are so close.” On top of Joe leaving to get treated and better, things had fallen apart and then slowly began repairing between her and Jon. “I asked him again tonight to stay now that you’re back and he keeps telling me the direction his character is going sucks.  He hates it and, the fact they are just NOW listening to him, after you’ve returned, pisses him off.  He doesn’t believe the company is treating him right and, honestly, they haven’t been.  I just want him to be happy and I promised I wouldn’t bring it up to him again.” Even though it was going to kill her once Jon did leave the WWE to pursue his dream elsewhere. “Why do you think he’s leaving?”

 

“Because of you.” Joe said flatly, simply, no sugar coating or beating around the bush from him. “Jon knows damn well they’ll change course if he’s really leaving, he could get what he wants.”

 

After tonight, that was doubly true.  Joe refused to believe Jon was going to put the ‘principal’ of the matter above the silver platter he was being handed.  Jon wasn’t THAT good of a person, or someone to stand on a high horse.  No, this went beyond that.

 

“He’s been over the moon about you since the day you two met.” He was pretty sure Tressa already knew this though, and she had still let Jon have her with no intention of going past sex.

 

That made her stop in her tracks and it felt like Joe had just socked her right in the stomach with one of his Superman punches, staring at him wide eyed.  Joe wasn’t drunk, he was very sober and meant every word that just came out of his mouth.  Because of her…Jon was leaving because of her, was that possible?

 

“I’m aware of his feelings for me, Joe.  But when it’s not there, it’s NOT there.  I made it clear to him what we had was just sex and I even tried convincing him not to do it because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” It nearly did, but somehow, someway, they managed to maintain it. “I’ve never had…romantic feelings toward Jon, only friendship.  And I’ve gotta be honest with you, blaming me for his departure is a little out of your nature, Joe.  That’s not fair to me.  And even if it is true, that’s his business, not yours.  If Jon is truly leaving because of me…then I wish him the best and that’s all I can do.  I don’t love him as anything more than a friend.  I can’t force myself to love someone, that’s not how it works.”

 

“Now Tressa…” Joe had to wonder if she was even listening to herself. “You TRIED convincing him not to have sex with you?  How?  Words?  Before you spread your legs?” He seen her flinch, his eyes dropping to her stomach when her hands moved to her pregnant belly. “If you really wanted to convince him, you wouldn’t have had sex with him.” So in other words, she had known Jon loved her and half-assed tried to warn him, but then used Jon to get her kicks because she was a selfish whore who was now carrying an idiot’s baby.

 

“Excuse me?!  First of all, what business is it of YOURS what happened between me and Jon?  Why do you even care?  I don’t know what your problem is, but I thought after having cancer, you’d have a better perspective on life.  Apparently not.” Tressa folded her arms tightly in front of her chest, wondering where this animosity and anger from Joe was coming from, narrowing her eyes at him. “Let’s get one thing straight, Joe, what goes on between me and Jon behind closed doors is NOBODY’S business.  If he’s leaving because of me, that’s on him, not me.  I made it very clear to him how I felt, that it was just sex between us.  And for the record, I was mourning and grieving my DEAD husband, you asshole, and Jon was there for me and I was vulnerable and needed the comfort he offered.  And I DID try to convince him sex wasn’t a good idea, but when you’re vulnerable like I was and the loneliness is too much, you cave.  I caved and he promised me sex wouldn’t destroy our friendship…and it didn’t.” As far as she knew anyway.  Maybe she was wrong in that assumption and stepped back when Joe took one forward, refusing to let this Samoan dick make her feel bad for not having feelings for Jon. “Go ahead and blame me all you want, if it makes you feel better; I really don’t care because like I said, this is between me and Jon.  Nobody else.”

 

“I do blame you.  You make it sound like Jon preyed on you while you were vulnerable.” She made Jon out to be a lovestruck idiot, who had pushed her knowing she was in a fragile state of mind.  He was honestly surprised she hadn’t gone screaming rape or something with the way she sounded. “I think YOU preyed on JON because you knew he was a safe bet.  You used him.  You flat out used him.”

 

Tears stung her eyes because she couldn’t deny that accusation and had even told Jon the same thing. “What do you want from me, Joe?  I told him it was just sex between us and, instead of walking away from me, he did the deed anyway.  He wanted me as much as I wanted him at the time.  I’m sorry for hurting him, but it’s how I feel and, just so you know, I had NO idea how he felt about me until he came to me months ago and told me he wanted more than just sex from me.  After MONTHS of fucking me.  He kept the truth from me how he really felt.  If I KNEW, if I had an INKLING of a clue he had feelings for me, I never would have slept with him in the first place.  I honestly thought what we had was just friends with benefits – I didn’t know how he felt until he came clean to me about it.  I’m not a mind reader and I’m still pissed at him for not being honest with me about those feelings.  You say I preyed on him like I KNEW about his feelings for me and I DIDN’T until the last night we were together!”

 

“You’ve known him for years, you even claim to be his best friend,” Which was a lie because she was nothing, but a snake in the grass, who had preyed on Jon’s friendship.  She had used Jon and then blamed her own vulnerability, spinning it so Jon was the guilty party.  It amazed him how she stood here and just spat out her venom, not caring that she had destroyed a man’s career. “There is no way you DIDN’T know, even you aren’t that stupid, Tressa.”

 

“Screw you, Joe!  I didn’t know!  I had NO idea and if I did, I never would have slept with him in the first damn place!”

 

Did Jon send him here?  Was Jon really THAT cowardly not to confront her about this himself?  She clenched her fists at her sides, refusing to let the tears fall down her cheeks while staring at a man she thought was her friend.  Tressa was dead wrong.

 

“I was happily married with the love of my life and you know Jon as well as I do.  He hides how he truly feels very well – when he doesn’t want you to know something, you WON’T.  Maybe YOU need to talk to him since you’re standing here, spewing bullshit at me and accusing me of being the reason he’s leaving!  Maybe YOU need to hear his side of the story since you guys are SO damn close!  I am DONE with this conversation and you need to stay away from me.” Joe had just destroyed their friendship and she wanted nothing to do with the Samoan as long as he lived. “Oh and here’s another food for thought, Anoa’i, maybe YOU’RE the reason he’s leaving because of your success and how much you suck Vince’s dick to get ahead in this business!  Did you ever think of that?” She left him with that parting shot and stalked away, pissed beyond belief.

 

Joe watched the slut walk away.  Jon hadn’t said a word about Tressa to be honest, but he hadn’t needed too.  Anyone who knew Jon knew the guy had carried a torch.  He and Colby had been the ones to remind him that Tressa was married and to cool his jets, reign that in.  Jon had apparently done a great job of hiding it.  How dare she blame HIM for Jon leaving…Jon had made this decision prior to Joe’s return, the two things were completely unrelated.  No, SHE was the reason.  

 

Her and her stupid Scotsman and their bastard child that SHOULD have been Jon’s!

 

Chapter 44

 

When Tressa returned to the room, she had to knock because she forgot her key card and walked past Andrew as soon as he opened it. “You were right.  I’m taking a bath.”

 

Not wanting to talk about it, she ignored the food permeating the air and shut the bathroom door, not realizing tears were pouring down her cheeks.  Joe’s words really hurt her and now she would have to confront Jon about this.  Or maybe not.  Maybe it wasn’t worth it.  These were Joe’s feelings, not Jon’s.  She knew Jon inside and out, better than the Samoan bastard and gritted her teeth while starting the water, trembling from head to toe.  It wasn’t from fear either – she was PISSED OFF.  No doubt he would run off to Jon now and tell him she was sharing hotel rooms with Drew.  Tressa made a mental note to send Jon a message to let him know she was indeed dating Drew before the Samoan could do it.

 

Too late.  That was the first thing Joe had done, along with a WTF.  Jon had no idea and to be honest, it wasn’t really a surprise.  It was natural, he supposed.  Drew and Tressa had probably been spending time together, getting to know each other since they were going to be parents.  Not to mention, Tressa had said something to him a while ago about moving closer to whoever was her baby’s father.  Not his business though he was a bit hurt by the fact that she hadn’t bothered telling him.  Shrugging, he turned off his cell and went back to the vivacious blonde he had picked up after bailing on the boys.

 

After having a good cry by herself in the tub, Tressa walked out, redressed in the nightgown she’d been in and sat on the bed, glad Drew left her alone.  He seemed to know when she needed to be alone and when to be comforted.  She grabbed the pineapple and cottage cheese, ignoring the other food and sat back against the pillow, eating it silently.  There was no way she could go to bed without not eating anything; that wouldn’t be good for the baby.  Even if she wasn’t hungry, she would still force herself to eat something.  Once she finished, she set the container back on the tray and scooted over to rest her head on Drew’s chest, not needing to say a word, her hand resting over his beating heart while he continued watching ESPN.

 

If she wanted him to know, she would tell him when she was ready.  Of course, Drew was curious and he was also mad because she had come back to their room in tears.  Any man worth his salt would be furious at the sight of their woman in such condition.  But if he pushed, there was a chance she’d take his head off or clam up even more, he was patient.  And sometimes, a shoulder and understanding silence was the best thing anyone could offer.  He kissed the top of her head, his eyes remaining on the program he was sort of watching.

 

“Joe blames me for Jon leaving.  Said I preyed on him and accused me of knowing how Jon felt about me this entire time.” Tressa spoke quietly, finally breaking the silence between them after a while, since sleep was evading her tonight.  She didn’t move her head from his chest or tense up, just talked and caressed Drew’s chest hair.  It was just long enough to be sexy and not grotesque, not bothering her in the slightest by it. “He comes back after battling a life-threatening illness and the first thing he does is confront me about Jon leaving and blames me for it.  I thought he was my friend and he’s not.  He never was.” Did Colby feel the same way Joe did?  Tressa didn’t want to know.

 

“You think he was only your friend through your association with Jon?” Drew asked quietly, feeling her nodding her head against him and inwardly sighed.  Maybe, it was possible, though he doubted that made her feel very good, only having friends because of ‘who you knew’. “Darling,” He was running his fingers through her hair. “Jon’s not leaving because of you.  I think he’d tell you the truth about that.” Most people backstage knew Jon wasn’t happy with the company, he wasn’t exactly trying to hide it.

 

She shut her eyes when he called her that because that was Jon’s pet name for her besides kitten.  Darlin’.  He always called her that and now Drew did.  It didn’t feel right – it was stupid to be bothered by, but Tressa was emotional after the confrontation with Joe. “I know he’s not leaving because of me.  And I even told Joe to basically look in the fucking mirror, because Jon is probably leaving due to his success and sucking Vince’s dick.” Her tone changed to something darker briefly before returning to the normal softness. “And it’s true.  Joe is nowhere NEAR as good in the ring as Jon.  Jon deserves that spot far more than that Samoan bastard and he’s tired of the company using him to get that asshole over.  Look what’s happening now – Jon was on this horrible heel run and now they’re going to put the Shield back together because of Joe’s return.  It’s always revolved around that prick and Jon is sick of it and I don’t blame him.  Hell, maybe Joe was never my friend to begin with – we just got along because Jon and I had the true friendship.” Drew had a valid point when he questioned if Joe was only her friend because of Jon. 

 

Sounded like it.

 

Joe, unfortunately for everyone around him and maybe the big man himself, had been subjected to what was now called the Superman Curse, something they had all seen played out with John Cena.  Sure, the man had eventually won a lot of fans and even some respect, and had had a semi-decent career in Hollywood, but there was always that underlying ‘would he have even made it without Vince cramming him down everyone’s throat’?  It was a blessing and a curse, to have Vince McMahon in one’s corner like that.  Now Joe was Vince’s next ‘Superman’ and that hadn’t earned him any brownie points elsewhere.

 

“Best to let Jon speak for Jon and ignore the rest, lass.” Drew advised, squeezing her reassuringly. “He dinnae seem the type to let people talk for him.”

 

“No, he’s not and I told Joe that.  If Jon doesn’t want you to know something or what he’s thinking, you WON’T know.  That’s just how he operates.  When we first became friends, it took me a LONG time, almost a year, to get him to really open up to me.” Jon did not have a great childhood and some of the things he’d told Tressa gave her nightmares.  He had been through hell to get to where he was today and it was commendable and inspirational. “I’ve always been closer with Jon and Colby than Joe, honestly.  As far as I’m concerned, Joe can burn in hell for all I care.” Especially after the accusations he made toward her tonight. “I’m sorry for venting like this.  I know you probably don’t want to hear it after a hard night at work.” Tressa would shut up now and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers gliding through her chestnut locks.

 

Cupping her jaw in his hand, Drew gently but firmly made her look up at him, letting her see the understanding and seriousness in his blue eyes as he stared intently into her face, “I will never be too tired, or too busy to stop and listen to what you have to say, Tressa.” He informed her. “Dinnae ever be sorry for needing to vent, especially to me.” He personally wanted to vent by ripping Joe’s head off his shoulders.  

 

Joe was a man with a family; Drew had made the mistake of assuming that meant he wasn’t a total tool.

 

He was the sweetest man she’d ever met in her life, besides Joseph, but Drew ranked right up there with him.  Instead of responding, she leaned up to brush her lips against his, resting her hand against his bearded face.  Drew moved her up more to where she was more at his level and nestled her against him, the kiss growing heated quickly.

 

“You’re incredible.” She murmured against his lips, rubbing her nose gently against his and caressed him lovingly, wrapping her arms around his neck to press their chests together. “Mo’leannan.” That made his eyes darken instantly, her speaking his language. 

 

It took a little while, but she had looked it up and made sure to get the word right, deciding now was the right time to say it to him.  It was the same thing he had said to her several times, but she hadn’t returned it until now.  She was learning Gaelic, that was… amazing.  Granted, it was only the one word, but hearing it coming from her beautiful lips…Drew didn’t know how to explain what it made him feel, the things it stirred up in him.

 

“Aye, mo’leannan…” He echoed, moving to kiss her a bit deeper than the prior times, his hands pulling her gently until she was sitting astride him.  

 

Drew had just started tormenting her neck with his tongue, lips, and teeth when he heard her stomach rumble.  Cottage cheese and pineapple hadn’t satiated his baby apparently and he began laughing softly.  She blushed, laughing with him and pressed her forehead to his, knowing she needed to eat more than just the small snack she’d had.

 

“Our bairn has spoken, Highlander.” That was the second word she had learned from him and he made him growl softly, reluctantly lifting her off him to grab her food from earlier.  It was cold, but she didn’t care since it was a salad while he heated up her grilled chicken and vegetables in the microwave. “Thank you.” Accepting another soft kiss from him, Drew rejoined her in bed and held her from behind while she fed herself and their unborn child. “You make me forget all the bad shit in my life and only focus on the good, Andrew.  I don’t know how you do it, but you do.”

 

Because he cared about her and that was what a man did when they cared for someone.  He had never been married, but he had watched his parents and they had been a great influence and model of what marriage should be like.  Compromise, talking things out, learning when to just be quiet and available, and for the first time ever, he was with someone he WANTED to show those qualities too.  This woman had done some strange things to him.

 

“I told you, lass, Scots are lucky.” He teased, nuzzling her neck before giving her space to finish eating. “And you have quite a bit of good in your life.” He rubbed her belly.

 

“Yeah, I do.” Her conversation with Joe was suddenly forgotten as she finished her meal and then went back to snuggling with Drew.

 

They eventually fell asleep with Drew spooned up against her.

 

~!~

 

The following day was HECTIC, to say the least. 

 

Tressa was on the phone with a company for movers, trying to set everything up.  Her and Andrew decided to split the cost evenly since he wouldn’t let her pay for all of it.  They had compromised and he’d done it in a loving way, waiting until after they made love to each other.  She had been relaxed, calm and happy, so he had brought the subject up again.  Smart man.  In the end, it was all planned and she then called her mother, asking her to meet the movers at her apartment and let them in to grab her belongings.  Her mother wasn’t happy about her moving, so she declined and Tressa groaned, hanging up with her.

 

“My Mom is still pissed at me for moving.  She won’t help me, so I’m going to have to fly out there to let them in and stay until they’re done.” She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. “So, I have to fly to Tampa to finalize the house and then fly to Minnesota to let those movers in.” It was going to be a LONG day of flying, followed by an even longer second day of unpacking.

 

“I could go to Minnesota and handle that while you’re closing on the house.”

 

Drew would never call someone’s mother a bitch.  Out loud.  He was seriously thinking it, though.  But he knew better than to say anything bad because one, he didn’t actually know the woman and two, he wasn’t going to alienate himself from her family.  Family was family, regardless, and eventually they would make up and her mother would get over it.

 

“You’re going to overdo it, Tressa, let me help.”

 

“That’s a lot of flying for you too, Andrew…”

 

He pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head.  What she didn’t know was, while he was in the Indies, he would catch three flights sometimes in one day.  Those days were BRUTAL, but when one held seven championships from seven different organizations, and had to defend each of them, that was the life of a true professional wrestler.  Flying to Minnesota for a few hours and then flying back to Tampa would be child’s play for him.

 

“All right, all right…” Tressa would not be stubborn about this because that was too much flying for a pregnant woman. “I cave, you win.  I will call the airline right now and tell them to give you my flight there.  Unless you want to book a first-class flight, providing they have any left.” His sheer size wouldn’t do well in commercial, she wagered.

 

“I don’t mind flying coach.” Flying back and forth the way he had had gotten pricey and Indies did not always pay that great, so he had learned to deal with the smaller seats in coach.  He found if he was polite to the people around him, they generally were accommodating for his size and the impossible to avoid awkwardness that came with it. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll handle Minnesota, lass, and you deal with Florida.”

 

“Okay.  Come here.” Tressa crooked her finger at him and brought his mouth down on hers, knowing they had some time before the house show to spend together.  Drew had already given her a key to his place, opening his life up to her completely and trusting her. “Thank you.” She would make sure to have dinner ready and clean up his house before he got home. 

 

That would be her way of giving him proper gratitude for doing this for her.

 

Chapter 45

 

The following day, Drew and Tressa went their separate ways and she made sure to give him everything he needed for Minnesota.  The movers were scheduled to arrive at 10 AM, which was why they were up at the crack of dawn to board flights.  Tressa would clean the new house, after buying supplies from the store and signing the dotted line to finalize everything, and get everything ready for when her belongings arrived.  Drew assured her everything would work out and made her promise not to push herself too hard…for the baby’s sake.  They were finding out the sex next week and she could tell Andrew was on pins and needles for it. 

 

Admittedly, so was she. 

 

After finalizing everything, Tressa arrived at the house around noon and Drew had already called, letting her know the movers were a quarter of the way through.  Everything was packed up in boxes and ready to go, so all they had to do was literally move everything to the moving truck and then make their way here.  She had already taken off the rest of the week to get this done since the movers wouldn’t be here until late tomorrow night, so she was putting them up in a hotel for the evening and doing everything on Friday. 

 

Drew, unfortunately, could not get the rest of the days off and hadn’t asked because he just made it to the main roster recently and wanted to save his off time for the baby’s delivery.  She understood that and would miss him, but then again, she’d be so busy unpacking, time was going to fly by.  Multiple flights like this were draining and he hadn’t done it in a while, but Drew was also better equipped to handle it.  She was not; she was tiring a bit quicker these days, due to her pregnancy, on top of the stress of everything going on with the house.

 

Whatcha doing, Kitten? They didn’t talk all that much, but Jon was pretty certain she had told him she was moving soon, had moved, was moving…it was all getting lost in the shuffle.  He smirked as he waited for Tressa’s reply, obnoxiously popping a bubble with his gum.

 

Tressa wiped sweat from her brow, even with the A/C cranking full blast throughout the house and set her broom aside, looking down at her phone.  It was Jon.  She thought it was Andrew and was surprised, contemplating if she should answer him or not. Cleaning my new house before the movers come on Friday to bring everything.  What are you doing? She sent back, keeping her phone close to her and proceeded to finish up the floor she was working on.

 

Of course she was, Jon rolled his eyes though he wasn’t surprised.  Was she doing the nesting thing already?  Women were weird, he had long established that. I’m wrapping up something, figured I’d bug you. Which was, hopefully, going to be more than just through text messages. You should take a food break.  I’m starving, let’s get lunch.  What’s a good place to eat at here in Satan’s Armpit? Because Tampa had serious humidity issues, he missed the dry heat of Vegas.  He liked the heat as much as the next guy; he just preferred it not to be a choking heat. 

 

She laughed, wondering if he was serious since he lived here at least 3 years prior to moving to Vegas.  Had Jon suddenly forgotten?  Tampa was where all the developmental stars stayed at, mostly, unless they were insane and didn’t move here and lived elsewhere.  Her stomach rumbled and Tressa groaned, not wanting to stop, but she was hungry and apparently, so was the baby.

 

Somewhere with pineapple, I don’t care where.  You choose.  Let me know where to meet you and what time. When she received a text back not even 5 minutes later, Tressa glanced at the clock and saw she had to stop to shower and get ready to leave.  There was no way she was going out to eat with Jon a sweaty mess.

 

Jon knew Tampa well enough, or parts of it anyway, but he had been trying to be funny.  And admittedly, he had been hoping for a ‘why are you in town’, but nope. “Awesome, we’re meeting Tres for lunch.” He and Joe had been ‘working’, which was the ONLY reason he was in town.

 

Happy coincidence she had finally moved into her new house.

 

Joe nodded, flashing his friend a smile, though when Jon turned away, he rolled his eyes.  Jon was the biggest idiot, the biggest sucker for pain, he had ever met.

 

That was the first question out of her mouth when they met up an hour later at a fruit and vegetable type place, which made her raise a brow.  Was Jon eating healthier?  She DID say some place with pineapple, but she figured it’d be a restaurant or something.  This was fine, it was outdoors, and it was beautiful outside, sunshine all around.  Tressa thought she was meeting up with just Jon, she hadn’t counted on Joe tagging along and fought the urge to leave, not wanting anything to do with the Samoan dick.

 

“What are you doing here on your days off, Jon?” She asked, accepting a hug from him and didn’t bother giving Joe one, just nodded stiffly in his direction with a smile.  Jon was her friend, not Joe, and she would not have this type of opportunity to have lunch with Jon much longer.

 

“Me and Superman had to do some shit for work, and he’s been trying to talk me into staying.”

 

Jon tossed a thumb over his shoulder at Joe, the derision in his tone letting them all know just how THAT was coming along.  Not very well actually.  Vince had been trying to throw money at him, but that was an interesting thing about HAVING money now.  He wasn’t worried about it anymore.  That was nice, considering how he had grown up.

 

“Obviously, it’s not working.” Joe flashed her a super friendly smile, his eyes not as warm as his smile.

 

“Well, you know I support you, no matter what YOU decide to do, Jon.  It is YOUR decision to stay or leave and NOBODY should try convincing you to stay if you don’t want to.” That was a direct message to Joe. “I promised you I wouldn’t ask you to stay again and I meant it.  Doesn’t mean I won’t miss my best friend around, but like you said, our friendship won’t end just because you want to broaden your horizons.”

 

Her eyes weren’t friendly toward Joe either and, as far as she was concerned, cancer should have killed him.  That was an AWFUL thought to have, but she had a lot of malice and hatred toward the ‘Big Dog’ after being blamed for Jon’s departure.  He could eat shit and die for all she cared.

 

“Shall we?” Tressa kept the smile on her face as she sat down at the table, after Jon pulled her chair out for her and her phone suddenly went off.  It was Drew responding to her text message, letting him know she was out with Jon and the Samoan dick for lunch.  Naturally, he was checking on her to make sure she was all right. I’m fine, Highlander, I will call you after I leave here. Then she put her phone away and focused on spending time with Jon. 

 

Joe could leave if he wanted to, it wouldn’t break her heart one bit.

 

Jon was really, royally confused by her stressing all that, wondering what the hell he had missed.  She had promised she wasn’t going to try talking him out of it anymore, but damned if she hadn’t given it her best shot.  He glanced back and forth between Joe and Tressa, realizing there was some ice coming from her and Joe was smiling, but it just seemed weird.  He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, wondering if he should even ask, but then a waiter appeared and Jon practically jumped on that.

 

Tressa waited for the men to order before giving her own. “Pineapple and do you have cottage cheese?” She ignored the looks both Jon and Joe gave her, smiling up at the waitress, who nodded. “I’ll take that along with a turkey sandwich, please.”

 

The waitress smiled at her. “Congratulations, how far along are you?”

 

Tressa beamed, rubbing her stomach affectionately. “Going on 20 weeks next week.”

 

“Oh my god, what are you having?”

 

“Find that out next week.”

 

“That’s so great!  I have two of my own at home.” The waitress jotted down the order. “What do you want on your sandwich?”

 

“Spinach, lettuce, mayo and can you possibly put a slice of pineapple on it for me?  That’s my craving and it’s crazy.”

 

“Sure thing.  Do you want something to drink?”

 

“Pineapple juice and water with a lemon, please.”

 

“Coming right up.”

 

Tressa really liked this place and made a mental note to have Drew bring her here in the future.

 

“That is a LOT of pineapple.” Jon pointed out, clearing his throat and was glad no pineapple was on his order.  She might have filched it off his plate or something. “Is that really a pregnancy craving?”

 

It was so…healthy and weird.  

 

Romantic comedies, which he hated, but since he liked women he had to suffer, made pregnancy cravings seem outrageous.  Hers was so…nutritious.  Joe folded his hands on top of the table as he studied her thoughtfully.  She was sitting there just as calm as a cucumber, having lunch with the guy she had ruined.  She blushed, completely ignoring Joe because she didn’t give a damn what he thought anymore or how he felt.  He could get hit by a car and she wouldn’t shed a damn tear over his ass after the horrible things he said to her.

 

“Yeah well, that’s pregnancy for you.” Tressa shrugged nonchalantly, sipping her water when the drinks were set down in front of them and then immediately went for the pineapple juice.  Her eyes closed, savoring the taste and set it down after sucking down half of it. “So, what are they going to do with you for your final couple months in the WWE?  Please tell me they’re not doing another Shield reunion…” She groaned when Jon nodded, not looking happy about it and she didn’t blame him. “Seriously?  That’s the BEST they can come up with?  Don’t they realize you’re better than that?  You’re better than the Shield and that’s why you’re leaving in the first place.” Now that she really thought about it, Tressa understood completely why he was leaving and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jon.  I’m sorry they won’t at least let you go out of the company your way, sweetie.  That’s not fair to you after everything you’ve contributed and done for them.”

 

Wow. Joe had never been tempted to throw something at a woman before, but here he was, considering it.  And a pregnant woman, no less.  As if Jon hadn’t BENEFITED from being in the Shield, where the hell would Jon be if not for the Shield?  Probably nowhere because his insane ass hadn’t fit in anywhere, or with anyone.

 

“Yeah, well… let’s not talk about it, okay?  No work.” Because while she wasn’t wrong, it felt shitty to badmouth the Shield with Joe right here. “So…tell us about this house.  Is it huge?  Can I have a bedroom?” He grinned at her.

 

“I have pictures and of course you can have a room.  You’re going to be Uncle Jon, after all.  And…I’m hoping…” She placed a hand on Jon’s arm, having already discussed this with Drew, which hadn’t been as awkward as she thought it would.  The Scotsman had, yet again, surprised her. “The godfather of my baby boy or girl?  Will you?  I don’t trust anyone else to take the title and I already talked to Andrew about it.  He said it’s a great idea.” Even though they had their past and history, she still wanted Jon to be in her family, in her life, and saw the smile brighten Jon’s face. “Uncle Jonny, Godpoppa Jonny, you’re going to have a lot of nicknames, you know.”

 

Joe had to sit there and keep on smiling, already knowing Tressa hadn’t said a word to Jon about what had transpired between them.  If she had, Jon would have likely blown a fuse and point blank refused to work with him.  Jon, bless him, was sometimes an idiot and when it came to this woman, he was a blind fool.

 

“Uh…really?” Jon raised an eyebrow down at her, wondering if she was serious. “I don’t have to sign anything, do I?” He teased, a bit surprised that McIntyre had agreed to this.

 

He and Drew were never going to be bosom pals.

 

Yeah, she was STILL using Jon.

 

How was she using him?  She just wanted her BEST FRIEND to be the godfather of her baby.  That wasn’t unheard of. “No, you don’t.  All you have to do is be there for the boy or girl, mostly when they’re older and they can’t stand their parents anymore.” They laughed together and she leaned her head against his shoulder, having missed hanging out with him. “And Andrew is perfectly okay with you.  I already told him you get a room in my new house and I want you to be the godfather to our baby and he said whatever I want is fine with him.  I want you in my life, even after you’re gone from WWE, Jon.  You’re my family and I love you, you understand that, don’t you?  And I want you to be part of this baby’s life.  I never want to lose you or our friendship, our bond, because it’s too important to just brush under the carpet.  And wherever you go, whether it’s to AEW or ROH or back to CZW or anywhere in the Indies, even Japan, when you come back to the states, and you don’t feel like going home to Vegas, I want you to know you have a room always at my place.”

 

“Oh I don’t know, darlin’…” His voice came out a little harsher than usual, she had just overwhelmed him a great deal.  

 

This was how he knew that their friendship had survived the ‘no emotions involved sex’ and his inability to keep feelings out of the picture and then trying to force the issue.  He had used bluntness and it had nearly cost him everything.  Yet here she was, still opening her heart to him.

 

“Tampa humidity might make me grow mold or something.” He was teasing, clearing his throat.

 

“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to the humidity either, BUT that’s what AC is for, so I’m golden.  Oh, and I have a pool too!  Look at this place.” She pulled her phone out and began scrolling through the pictures, handing it over to him and could see his eyes widening. “It’s gorgeous, I love it.” Maybe one day, Drew would leave his bachelor pad and move in with her to really be a family.  Oh boy…she was getting ahead of herself again.  They weren’t anywhere NEAR ready for that step. “That room,” Tressa paused, pointing at the screen and then looked up at him. “That’s yours.  It’s near the pool and kitchen, best of both worlds.” The baby’s room would be as far away from those rooms as possible and her room was just across the way from the baby’s. “What do you think, Godpoppa?”

 

Chapter 46

 

“I don’t know about being called Godpoppa.” Jon pulled a face, that just sounded weird to him.  He always fancied himself as an Uncle Jon or something, this was a step up from the ‘not-family Uncle’ gig. “Got to get used to that one.”

 

He held her cell in his hand, eyeing the room she was designating as his.  This woman had a heart of gold and Drew was a damn lucky man.  If he ever fucked this up, Jon would remove his balls and hang them on a tree as ornaments.

 

“I like it, darlin’,” He rumbled, leaning over to kiss her temple. “Thank you.  Bro, check this out,” Still unaware that the two had serious issues, and his weird feeling from earlier had already been forgotten, Jon turned to Joe, who was being really, really quiet, and showed him ‘his’ room. “How sweet is that?!”

 

“Very.” Joe said gravely, glancing at the room disinterestedly.

 

“You can make it completely yours too, put posters up or pictures, whatever you want.  Just nothing TOO crazy, okay?” Tressa giggled at Jon’s eye roll and kissed his cheek before putting her phone back in her purse, sipping more of her pineapple juice.  She felt fantastic now that she’d finally had a chance to sit down with Jon and tell him all of this. “By the way, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about dating Andrew.  It sorta just…happened and we didn’t want to broadcast it to everyone.  It’s still new to us, but…when I was ready to tell people, you were the first person I was going to tell.  Joey boy over here,” Tressa jabbed a thumb in his direction, her eyes remaining on Jon. “Kinda found out by coming to my room the other night and Andrew was there, but I wasn’t intentionally trying to keep it from you.  I was just…waiting to make sure it worked out first before saying anything.  You know I never keep anything from you, Jon.”

 

Well, that weird feeling was back and Jon cocked an eyebrow, looking back and forth between the pair. “You’re fine, it’s not my business who you’re dating.” And to be honest, at least she wasn’t dating someone who wasn’t the father of that unborn, ravenous, pineapple devouring baby inside of her. “And while we’re on the topic of dating, I’m sort of back in that pool.” Emphasis on sort of.  He wasn’t ever doing the friends with benefits thing again, that was just a bad idea.  “Okay, not that it’s any of my business, but since when do you go to women’s hotel rooms after hours?”

 

“I wanted to talk to her since I didn’t get a chance to at the arena.” Joe lied smoothly, sipping his iced tea and couldn’t believe the can of worms Tressa just opened. “We’re friends, after all.”

 

Friends…RIGHT!  Friends didn’t do what Joe did to her.  They were FAR from friends after that night. “It was late, I admit, and Andrew wasn’t happy about it.” At all. “But we took a small walk and talked.  Mostly about you.” That made Jon’s eyebrow raise even more. “He was trying to convince me to get you to stay and I told him I promised you I wouldn’t and I wasn’t breaking that promise.” That was partially the truth.  Tressa really hated lying to Jon, but since Joe wanted to be a coward and not tell Jon what he’d done, she would leave it up to him to say what really happened. “And I’m so glad you’re dating again.  Any woman is lucky to have you, Jon.”

 

“Damn right they are.” Joe quipped, directing that at Tressa without Jon realizing it and smirked at the slight tense her body gave before she relaxed again. 

 

She wanted to lie to Jon about what happened – fine, he could do it too.

 

This was a double-edged game they were playing and Joe was aware of it.  If they brought Jon into this, it might force Jon to pick a side and neither of them were sure where Jon’s loyalties would lie when push came to shove.  On one hand, Jon claimed Tressa was his best friend and vice versa, though she had hurt him badly enough to send him running with his tail tucked between his legs.  On the other, Joe was his road Wife, his best male friend, the patient one with him and Joe hadn’t burnt any bridges.  Bad spot for Jon to be in and Joe was pretty sure Tressa didn’t want to test what happened if Jon was forced into a corner.

 

He didn’t either.

 

“Not cool, bro.” Jon muttered, shooting his friend a sideways look.

 

Tressa was sure Jon would choose her side, especially since she didn’t attack Joe with accusations.  That had all been the Samoan’s doing.  She wasn’t at fault here and she damn sure didn’t use Jon because, if she did, he would have been out of her life the moment Drew entered it.  Jon was her family and she did love him, just not the way he wanted her to.  Now he was back in the dating game and she was truly happy for him.  He deserved happiness and, whoever he wound up with, Tressa would support because that’s what a best friend was supposed to do.  Supporting their friend, no matter what, and Joe wouldn’t know friendship like that if it bit him square in his cancer-free backside.

 

“Ooooh food’s here!” She was starving, taking her plate and lifted the sandwich, seeing the nice slab of pineapple on it.  This was going to be heaven in her mouth.

 

“I promise to behave and let you make your terrible decisions without further input.” Joe teased, examining his own food.  He was totally unaware that the pregnant bitch across the table was wishing he had died during his bout with cancer.

 

“Much appreciated.” Jon muttered around a mouthful of his own food, busy watching the pineapple addict enjoy her very weird sandwich. “My Mom made open-faced sandwiches when I was a kid.  Put sloppy joes on a slice of bread, popped it into the oven with a pineapple ring and slice of cheese on it.” He informed her.

 

“Really?  Oh my god, that sounds really good now!” She smacked him lightly on the arm, after swallowing her first delicious bite and couldn’t believe how delicious it was.  Turkey and pineapple with mayo and spinach…who would’ve thought? “I’m making that for dinner once I unpack all of my kitchenware.”

 

She wouldn’t make it for Drew, knowing he wouldn’t like it and took a bite out of her pineapple and cottage cheese.  It was wrong of her to think along those lines when it came to Joe and she knew it, but Tressa never claimed to be a saint either.  She could be vindictive and remorseless when the situation called for it.  Joe had crossed a line with her, a major line, and she didn’t care if he lived or died at this point, no matter if it was from cancer, getting hit by a car or even in the ring.  That was just the way she felt and maybe it was the hormones forcing her emotions to feel stronger than normal…nevertheless, she hated him and he hated her and nothing was going to change it.  The damage was done and it was irreparable as far as she was concerned.

 

“I think, once you’re settled, you need to throw a backyard pool party and invite us, and Colby.” Colby was MIA today, though he also had some of his own things going on right now, especially workwise.  

 

Jon chewed his own food thoughtfully, his eyes on the spinach poking out from her sandwich.

 

Yeah, Joe could see THAT happening. “You haven’t seen Gal and the kids in a while.” He offered with a half-smile, his eyes daring her to say something to upset the idiot at the table.  Jon was oblivious sometimes and Joe wondered if it was willfully.

 

She would not fall for his trick, smarter than he gave her credit for and smiled serenely. “We’ll see what happens.  And my pool is not in the backyard, it’s in a separate room of the house.  Completely screened-in with windows that can open.  It’s a sunroom actually and they transformed it into a sunroom/pool room.” It was gorgeous and she couldn’t wait to take a dip in it once it was sanitized and everything. “Seeing Galina and the kids would be great.” She meant that because she had no beef with the woman and her kids – it was her cold-hearted husband Tressa had a problem with. “I’ll let you guys know.” Not in this lifetime, she added in thought, continuing to eat her food.  Inviting Jon and Colby, no problem, but she would ‘lose’ Joe’s invitation somewhere and give a half-assed apology later, if she decided to do something like this.

 

“A pool indoors?” Joe echoed, wondering how she could afford something outrageous like that.

 

That would be a chlorine pit, like a hotel pool room or something.  She was going to wind up murdering her unborn baby!  Tressa was really acing this motherhood thing.  There was no way a woman, who worked with a thimble and a needle, was pulling in enough money to buy a house with an indoor pool in Tampa freaking Florida.  Real-estate was pricey here and he was betting Drew had footed the bill.

 

“That’s really something.” Not.

 

“I’m moving in.” Jon informed her with a grin. “Well, part time, I’d go nuts if I ever moved here permanently.” Florida was okay just visiting.  He could never live here again.

 

Joe was wrong yet again in his assumptions. “I paid for it all on my own.  It’s mine and I’m damn proud of it.” Pride laced her tone. “I can’t wait, and the best part is there’s a lock on the door, so it’s completely baby proof.” She ignored Joe’s tone of voice, laughing at Jon’s comment and shrugged nonchalantly, taking another bite of her food. “You have a room, stay whenever you want.”

 

Unlike Joe, she hadn’t squandered her money and had saved up for this place, along with the inheritance she had gotten from Joseph, but she hadn’t used that yet.  Once everything was solved in court in two weeks, then she could do whatever she wanted with that money.  However, Tressa wouldn’t need it and more than likely would put it in savings or a college fund for her little one.

 

Joe was amused as hell.  It was like she was reading his mind, though to be fair, she already knew what he thought about her, so it wasn’t hard to make assumptions.  She was answering questions nobody had asked, this was too easy.  He had to wonder if pregnancy hormones were making her susceptible to defending herself when no one was verbally baiting her.  He just finished his food in silence, letting Jon fill in said silence with his own ramblings.

 

“You want one of those to go?” Jon asked, meaning her weird sandwich. “Or are you really going to try open-faced sandwiches?” She thought they sounded delicious and he remembered thinking how weird it was at the time that his Mom would put THOSE things together for a meal.

 

Now, he knew better, women were weird.

 

“Nah, I’m good for now.  This place is amazing, thank you for inviting me out, Jon.”

 

Tressa had finished her entire meal, including the pineapple juice and the lemon water, feeling energized and ready to get back to cleaning her new home.  Drew would probably kick her rear-end if he found out just how much work she had done today, but it was necessary.  They all stood up and Jon pulled her into his arms, hugging her with her facing Joe.

 

‘Fuck you.’ She mouthed to the Samoan and tightened her arms around Jon’s neck, nodding when he whispered something in her ear.  Just to add insult to injury, she also flipped him off with both hands briefly before releasing the hug. “This was fun, we should do it again sometime.” Just her and Jon, preferably.

 

“Yeah we should.” Jon grinned, stepping back to allow Joe his chance at a goodbye.

 

Smirking, since Jon couldn’t see his face now, Joe pulled her into a hug, feeling her entire body tensing. “Until next time, Tressa.” It sounded normal enough, his tone, but there was no way she missed the undercurrent of darkness tinging the words. “Ready to get back to it, Jon?”

 

Jon groaned. “No…” He muttered, running his hand over his short hair. “Don’t overwork yourself, darlin’.” He ordered, knowing damn well she probably would.

 

The woman was a force of nature.

 

“Not so hard next time, Big Dog.” She muttered somewhat heatedly and pulled away from him a lot faster than her hug with Jon, rolling her eyes at Jon’s overprotectiveness.  Tressa felt disgusting after that hug with Joe. “See you guys later.” Joe, hopefully, not very often.  She walked away from them and pulled her cell phone out to call Drew, knowing he was probably stressed about her going out to lunch with both Jon and Joe.  It was no surprise when he answered on the first ring. “I just left and both me and baby are fine, Highlander.”

 

Damn right he was concerned about her going out with them!  Well, not so much Jon because Drew knew Jon would never do anything to harm Tressa or the baby, not intentionally anyway.  Joe, after what the big man had said to her and implied, Drew had zero trust.  Who DID that?  No sane, rational person.  If he didn’t know that Joe was already happily married with a family of his own, he would had thought the big man had a crush on Jon.

 

“And how much pineapple did you eat at lunch, bonnie?” He teased, trying to get her mind focused on something else.

 

She blushed, her cheeks turning red while she unlocked her door to slide behind the wheel. “Everything had pineapple in it.” There was no reason to lie to him and Tressa shivered at the sound of his deep laughter on the other line. “Mmm, I can’t wait to see you tonight, leannan.” She jumped out of her skin and let out a scream when the passenger door suddenly opened and Jon hopped in, her grey eyes wide.

 

“Tell him you’ll call him back.  We need to talk, kitten.  Just the two of us.”

 

He had done this to her when he first returned to the WWE, back when she was depressed and drinking, wearing all black and trying to ignore him.  Something had gone down between her and Joe and he wanted to know what it was.  Lunch just seemed too…tense between them, even that hug, which had been very hard, and Jon had ripped Joe’s ass for it.  When she just stared at him like a regular fish out of water, he plucked the phone from her and put it to his ear.

 

“Yo Skirts, she’s gotta bounce with me, but I’ll have her call you back in a little while.”

 

Chapter 47

 

“What?!  Jon!  Don’t you-” She groaned when he hung up on Drew and knew that would NOT go over well with the Scotsman later on. “Okay fine, you have my undivided attention, what is so damn important you had to end MY call with MY boyfriend so suddenly?”

 

“Drive, kitten, we need to get away from here.”

 

Joe was on a rampage currently and Jon didn’t feel like dealing with it.  It might’ve been the fact Jon had sucker punched him in the gut for the way he ‘hugged’ Tressa.  Everyone thought Jon was oblivious because of the way he acted, but Tressa had said it perfectly.  Jon kept things to himself until he was ready to reveal it, he could play the acting game better than Hollywood stars sometimes and today had been a shining example of that.  The fact that Joe had gone to see her after hours and talked about him, that just didn’t settle well with Jon.

 

“So, darlin’, what’s going on with you and Joe?” He asked it casually, but there was steel in his tone.

 

Tressa didn’t look at him, focusing on driving and shook her head, not wanting to get into it. “I don’t want to talk about it, Jon.  You don’t need to worry about it.” There was no way she could tell him what Joe accused her of! “The damage is done and what he said has ended our friendship.  That’s all you need to know.” Christ, Drew was probably going out of his mind with worry after hearing her scream and then Jon taking the phone, calling him Skirts.  The Scotsman was going to be PISSED and she cringed at the thought, stopping at a red light. “He’s pissed your leaving and he’s taking it out on anyone he can.” Including her.

 

“See, kitten, if you didn’t want to talk about it, you’d have just stopped there.” Her adding ‘damage is done’ and ‘ended our friendship’ spoke volumes.  People had to learn where to stop if they really didn’t want to invite curiosity.  This was probably why he was so good at keeping things under wraps.  Jon only tipped his hand when he was ready too. “What’d he say to you, Tressa?  It’s obvious something went down, that hug of his was…rough.” His voice dropped an octave, becoming a little more raspy, a little dark.

 

“I’m not telling you.”

 

That was something Tressa was taking to the grave as she turned left on her street, which wasn’t far away from the restaurant they just frequented.  She ignored the growl that escaped him, remaining silent and could already feel the tears pooling in her eyes.  That night…it hurt her badly and she had cried in Drew’s arms after crying in the bathtub.  Joe made her second-guess and question herself, what she’d done and made her feel horrible about this situation.

 

“If you want to know so badly, you need to talk to your so-called road Wife, though I’m sure he’ll be a pussy about it and spin it to where he’s the victim.  You know, like he’s done his entire fucking wrestling career.” Snorting, she pulled into her driveway and cut the ignition, going to get out, but Jon stopped her, the tears finally sliding down her cheeks.

 

Her calling Joe a pussy about whatever this was, while refusing to tell him, was a bit of pot meeting kettle and he inwardly sighed, examining her face. “I hate it when you cry.” He muttered, feeling a little pissed with both her and Joe right now, though he would never put his hands on Tressa in a violent manner, not like that.  That one night…totally different ballgame, totally different situation. “If I wanted lies, I’d ask him.  I want truth, which is why I’m asking you.” Because unfortunately, Tressa usually gave him brutal honesty, even when he didn’t want it.

 

Damn him!  He just HAD to go there, didn’t he?  He just HAD to say something like that!  Tressa gripped the steering wheel tightly in her hands, deciding she wouldn’t blackball Jon the way Joe had.  If he wanted to know the truth, she would tell him because they were best friends and they didn’t hide anything from each other.

 

“He blames me, Jon.  He blames me for you leaving the company.  He said I used you, preyed on you and hurt you and now you’re leaving because you can’t deal with your feelings for me.” She snorted, not believing a word of it and angrily wiped her tears away. “And if that’s the case then…I don’t know what I can do or say to make things right.  I can’t help that I don’t love you the way you want me to.  I can’t help that I lo-” She stopped herself, swallowing hard because she hadn’t admitted her feelings out loud about Drew. “He accused me of knowing how you felt about me all this time and I swear to god, I swear to YOU, I swear on Joseph’s fucking grave, I DIDN’T FUCKING KNOW!  I had NO idea!  If I knew how you felt, I NEVER would’ve slept with you in the first place and I would’ve found someone else to use!” She hit the steering wheel a few times during that blowup, the tears pouring like two rapid streams down her cheeks. “I hate him!  I hate him so fucking much for accusing me of this!  It’s not true, is it?” Now she was looking at him. “P-Please tell me I’m not the reason, Jon…I was completely honest with you.  Now it’s your turn to be honest with me.  Am I the reason you’re leaving?”

 

“You are NOT the reason I’m leaving, darlin’.” Jon was going to have to repeat that until the day he died most likely, shaking his head as he stared at her. “I need a cigarette.” He muttered, sliding out of the car because he wasn’t about to light one up in her immediate space.  Tressa had quit for her baby and he respected that. “I fucking HATE the company.  I used to love it, it was everything I ever wanted and now…I hate going to work, I hate how they’re now bending over backwards trying to keep me.  Don’t blame yourself and don’t let that motherfucker fill your head with bullshit.” He would handle Joe, and probably today.

 

Tressa had stepped out with him and could FEEL the animosity for WWE radiating off him.  Why couldn’t Joe feel that?  Why couldn’t Joe SEE how unhappy WWE made Jon?  She understood they were close, and he didn’t want Jon to leave, but to accuse HER of it?  She watched as Jon paced in her driveway, smoking the cigarette like a chimney and kept her distance because second-hand smoke was a real thing.

 

“I told him that.  I told him you weren’t happy with the company and he flat out said it was because of me you’re leaving.  I told him he needs to think about the fact he’s had all the success while you’ve been shit on your entire career.” It was the truth. 

 

Every championship Jon had held had been out of a storyline or obligation; not because he deserved it like it was supposed to be.  He had been used for far too long, underutilized and he had finally saw the light after fighting for his very life with MRSA.  He had broken his back for this company, tore his arm, literally, and he was fed up with all the crap they had thrown at him.  Even though he was a Grand Slam Champion, a lot of those runs had been mediocre and didn’t have an OUNCE of credibility behind them because of how horribly booked he’d been.  Joe was Vince’s boy – Roman Reigns was the top dog in the company, and it had overshadowed just how amazing Jon was in the ring.

 

“I’m sorry…I know he’s your friend and I thought he was my friend too, but he’s not…and he never was…and I want NOTHING to do with him anymore, Jon.”

 

Jon blew through that first cigarette in minutes, still pacing furiously as he lit up another one.  He was going to quit soon, though he wasn’t as strong as Tressa was on the cold turkey front.  His ass was going to use medicine and all that other fun smoking cessation aids to help him quit.

 

“He’s not my friend, not if he’s treating you like that,” He grunted flatly, shaking his head. “I don’t know WHO the fuck he is.” Something was obviously very off in Joe’s head, if he had gone to her and blamed her for what was clearly Jon’s choice, and not because he had been ‘run’ off via unrequited love.  That was some juvenile shit right there. “He put his hands on you?” He asked, finally stopping to stare holes through her.

 

If he had, Joe was a dead man walking and the reign of Superman was OVER.

 

“No.” Tressa swallowed hard at the INTENSITY in his electric blues and slowly moved toward him, not caring about the cigarette at the moment.  She was outside in the air and Jon held it away from her. “No, he didn’t.  I don’t think even he’s capable of something like that.” She hoped anyway, then again, they didn’t know Joe very well, apparently. “Besides today at the restaurant with that rough hug, he didn’t touch me the night he came to me at the hotel.  I promise, I wouldn’t keep that from you.” Drew would have maimed the Superman wanna-be in seconds if he had since this was his baby. “Please calm down, please.  I don’t want you going off the rails and doing something you’ll regret later.” She had no furniture here at all, nothing, and she was staying at Drew’s tonight since he was getting in late.

 

“You’ll never be able to stop me…” He sing-songed at her, his eyes showing off the crazy he was usually hiding.  

 

That was one of the reasons he had done so damn well in the Indies, he had been HIM and he was a bit psycho on occasion.  Especially when it came to the people he cared about.  She didn’t have to love him, he was fine with that, he accepted it.  Didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill for her and he bet Skirts would probably help.

 

“Call or text Skirts back, let him know I’m not kidnapping you or something.” And he’d finish his cigarette, pace a bit more, then they’d finish this conversation.

 

“Please don’t call him that.”

 

“Why not?  Skirts fits him to a T.  Better than Scottie.”

 

Groaning, Tressa simply shook her head and walked away from Jon while he finished his cigarette, pulling her phone out to call Drew.  She frowned when it went straight to voicemail and tried again, only to get the same thing. “Fuck.” She whispered, wondering if he was on his way back here already.  It was a question she meant to ask him, but then Jon jumped in her car and scared the hell out of her. “Shit, he’s not answering.” She looked back at Jon worriedly, hoping Drew didn’t really think Jon would hurt her. “Come on, we gotta head to his place and wait for him.  I’m staying there until my shit gets here on Friday.”

 

“Wait, you’re going to take ME to Skirts’ place?”

 

Jon cocked an eyebrow down at her, wondering if she was insane.  Even he knew that that was probably some kind of relationship rule breaker, bringing another man, who she had had sex with, who had admitted to loving her, back to the current man’s place.  When she nodded, obviously not worried about it, he smiled slightly.

 

“You really do love him, don’t you?” He hadn’t missed that half admission she had tried hiding earlier, wondering if McIntyre returned the feeling.  He hoped so because Jon didn’t want to see her hurt, not after everything she had already been through with her first husband and then losing that baby.  Up until today, Tressa had kept her feelings locked away tightly because it wasn’t the right time to tell Andrew those words.  Those words, once said, could never be taken back or changed.

 

“It’s too soon, isn’t it?  I mean, we’ve barely scratched the surface of dating and…” She shut her eyes, remembering how fast and hard she fell for Joseph, dropping her head forward.  Within four months, they were living together, and he’d been the one to say those words to her. “Please don’t tell him, Jon.  I don’t know how he feels and…I don’t want to scare him off.” The pregnancy hadn’t, but that very well could. “It’s too soon and I’m terrified to admit it to him because, when I do, when it inevitably happens, he’ll have my heart.  And I’m not ready for that yet.” What she didn’t realize was Drew already had it and her feelings had become more intense now that they were officially together. “I’m an idiot, just come on.”

 

“Hey,” Jon caught her gently by her arms before she could get too far, pulling Tressa back until she was standing before him. “Look, first, I don’t know him well enough to be telling him anything.  Second, YOU’RE my friend, I’m going to keep your secrets, darlin’, trust that always, no matter what else, just trust in me.” Like he did her, no matter what happened between them. “And as for it being too soon…Tres, you of all people know how short life is.  It’s never too soon, not when the heart wants what it wants.”

 

Fresh tears slid down her cheeks at his words because Jon was right. 

 

Life WAS too short.  She had learned that lesson the hard way losing Joseph. “I didn’t think…I could ever be this happy again, that I would find someone.  Andrew came out of nowhere, out of left field, and maybe it’s because of the baby, but I’m falling for him.  I’m falling in love with him.”

 

There, she finally admitted it and covered her face with her hands, crying her heart out as Jon pulled her against him.  She wrapped her arms around him tightly, her tears soaking into Jon’s beater and felt the biggest weight lift from her shoulders.  Tressa didn’t realize just how much of a burden that had been she carried around with her until now either.

 

“Please don’t hate me, Joseph.  Please don’t hate me for this.” She whispered to herself, but it was loud enough for Jon to hear and that made his arms tighten around her, but not to the point of squishing the baby.

 

Joseph had loved her.  Jon had known that just from the handful of times he had met the guy.  Joseph wouldn’t have wanted Tressa to be miserable, he would want her to find love again, find happiness again.  He wouldn’t want her to be miserable and lonely for the rest of her life.  Nobody who truly loved another wished that on the person.

 

“He doesn’t, darlin’,” Jon whispered, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Come on,” He pulled her face out of his chest, smiling down at her. “We should probably clean you up before you go back to his place, huh?”

 

“He’s not here.” That confused Jon and she smiled tearfully, wiping the rest of them away. “He went to Minnesota for me, to let the movers into my apartment.  I hired movers to get everything from Minnesota to here.  It’ll all be here on Friday and they’re going to move it in for me.  He didn’t want me exhausting myself with flying because I had to be here to finalize on the house, which happened this morning.  He’s more than likely flying back as we speak, so I’ll clean up at his place.”

 

“Okay.” Jon used his thumbs to brush away the stray tears, shaking his head down at her. “Man, this has been…an interesting day so far, hasn’t it, darlin’?”

 

The stuff with Joe and what he now knew about Joe…he would handle that in his own time for sure, and without her knowing what he’d do.  She didn’t need that on her mind, not with everything else she had going.  Then hearing her whispered confession and now he was hoping Skirts returned that love, or would, because seeing Tressa depressed and grieving was something he couldn’t do a second time.

 

Chapter 48

 

Instead of taking Jon back to Drew’s, she drove him to his hotel, at his insistence and once again told her to tell ‘Skirts’ how she felt.  She told him to shut up and mind his own business, no malice in her tone and Jon just smirked back at her.  He would forever be all up in her business, especially since he was the Godpoppa to her baby now.  They hugged tightly and she thanked him for everything before taking off to head back to Drew’s.  Pulling into the driveway, Tressa cut the ignition and stepped out, grabbing her purse to head up to the front door.  Imagine her surprise when it swung wide open and there stood her handsome Highlander in all his glory, bare from the waist up.  Crap, her face was a tear-streaked mess and she hadn’t had a chance to really clean up before he arrived.

 

“How did you get here so fast?” She asked in awe, feeling him take her hand to pull her inside and closed the door behind her.

 

“It’s only a 3-hour flight, lass.” He said gently, wondering if she was aware of just how much time had passed since earlier in the day.  Time apparently did fly when one was having fun…he frowned, taking in her tear-stained face and cupped said face in his palms. “What happened?” He asked quietly, though he had a feeling he already knew.  

 

Joe.  Joe had happened.  That giant arse needed someone to knock him down a peg or four and Drew was thinking he was just the right man for the job.

 

“Everything all right with Jon?  That gave me a few grays, for your information.”

 

“I know, I’m sorry, I…I didn’t know he was going to do that…” He must’ve been at the airport the last time she called him, only to scream in his ear because of Jon. “Jon could sense the tension between me and Joe at lunch today, so…he coerced what happened between us out of me.  He’s good at doing that.” She grabbed his wrists in her hands, those ocean blues drawing her in and she prayed, she hoped, she didn’t wind up drowning in this relationship. “He’s on my side…our side…completely and he said he’ll handle Joe…” She doubted it.  Joe had a lot of stroke in the company because he was dubbed Vince’s ‘golden boy’.

 

What Jon considered ‘handling’ probably wouldn’t occur on company time because Jon was not the kind of man who had a fuck to give.  He was on his way OUT the door, he didn’t care who he crossed or what toes he stepped on.  Couple that with the fact that Jon loved Tressa and she was the man’s best friend, he ALMOST felt sorry for Joe.  Nothing like a wild Jon Good on the loose.

 

“Mmm.” Drew pursed his lips, considering it. “Is that why you’ve been crying so recently?”

 

“Partially, yeah.  I thought Joe was my friend and you know that.  It still tears me up inside with what he said to me.”

 

Tressa knew now wasn’t the time or place to tell him the truth about her feelings.  Maybe she was selfish, but she wanted to do it when the time was right.  Jon’s words kept replaying in her mind – life was too short.  Tomorrow was not guaranteed, and Joseph was solid proof of that.

 

“Jon also made me realize something today, something I’ve kept stuffed down and refused to acknowledge because I was scared – hell, I AM scared.” She released his wrists and took his hand, wiping her tears away with her free one. “Come sit down with me for a minute and I’ll tell you my revelation.”

 

What was she scared about?  Concern and confusion vied for control of Drew’s face as he let her guide him over to the couch.  He pulled Tressa onto his lap, kissing at the tracks those tears had left on her cheeks.  Shit… a horrible thought occurred to him.  Jon had made her realize something…that was not, he couldn’t stop his mind from leaping.  Jon.  Jon loved her.  Had he somehow changed her mind about her feelings for him?  Icy fear gripped at his heart.

 

“All right, Tressa,” He said softly, unable to keep the resignation from his tone. “What did you realize?”

 

There was one other small saying she had learned in Gaelic, along with ‘my beloved’.  Jon had not changed her mind, only helped her realize what she knew, deep down, for a while.  Tressa pressed her forehead to his and needed to feel his lips against hers because she had no idea what came after this.

 

“You came out of nowhere.” She spoke against his lips, caressing his bearded face with her fingers gently and scooted closer to him. “I didn’t think this could happen again, that I’d be happy again and find someone I really, really care about.  It’s not just…care either, Andrew.  It…goes deeper than that…” Closing her eyes briefly, Tressa gave herself a quick inner pep-talk to suck it up and tell him already. “Tha gaol agam ort, my Highlander.” It took her quite a few tries to nail that saying down in Gaelic, but surprisingly, it came out without any hiccups. 

 

Now, the ball was in his court.

 

It took Drew’s panicked mind a few moments to realize what she had just said, in Gaelic no less.  The American accent had him confused for a moment, but as he stared into those beautiful eyes of hers, he knew exactly what she had said.  The panic receded as something else swelled in his chest, coursed through him.  She loved him.  His long fingers were in her hair, unable to do anything but just stare at her.

 

“I love ye too, Tressa.” He confessed finally, his accent coming out thicker, harsher.

 

Covering her mouth with her hand, Tressa couldn’t believe he actually said the words back to her.  He meant them.  She could feel it and see it in his eyes just as he saw the truth in hers.  Her own chest filled with warmth, spreading throughout her entire body and Tressa’s lips met his, kissing him with was much fire, passion, intensity and feeling as she could muster up.  She shifted to straddle his lap, being mindful of the baby and could tell this kiss was different compared to the other ones.  Drew wasn’t holding back anything this time and it made her heart thunder against her chest and her toes curl, her breath stolen.

 

He had known for a while his own feelings for this fiery beauty went beyond just like and caring.  It went beyond the fact that they had created a life together.  There was so much about Tressa he loved.  He loved how she had pulled herself up out of a bog of sorrow and grief, he loved how much she cared for her friends -her legitimate friends-, even when it caused her pain.  She was strong, compassionate…there was so much.  So knowing she returned that love, words didn’t begin to describe it.

 

“Say it again, bonnie one.” He ordered, his breath hot against her neck.

 

“In English or Gaelic?” She purred, pulling his lips away from her throat when he answered either one cupped his face in her soft hands. “Tha gaol agam ort, mo’leannan.  I love you, Andrew Mclean Galloway, IV, with all of my heart, my soul, my everything.”

 

This had to be Joseph’s doing, sending this wonderful, incredible man into her life when she needed him the most.  How could she ever be intimidated by him?  Drew was perfect in every way and had so many amazing qualities, but the most important one, he was a family man.

 

“You stole my heart, and I didn’t think anyone would ever be able to do it.  You broke my walls down, crumbled them with your patience and understanding, your kindness.  The way you told me you weren’t going anywhere, and this was us together with this baby…and the way you hold me and make love to me, even that first night we spent together.  I knew there was something special about you.  I knew it in my heart something was developing between us and it was more than just screwing each other.  It was more than just sex.  The connection was too strong for that and it’s only gotten stronger each day and now that we’re together, completely, it’s off the charts.  You mean everything to me, and I know it’s sudden, I know it hasn’t been that long that we’ve known each other, but…love doesn’t choose how short or long you’re with someone.  It decides for you and it hits you right in the gut when you LEAST expect it.  I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, that’s my only regret.”

 

“Dinnae regret it, lass…” He was standing from the couch, mindful not to hurt her or move too fast to cause her dizziness.  Gently but with a slight smile, Drew effortlessly lifted his pregnant woman into his arms. “I’m taking you to bed.” He informed her, his long legs already moving in that direction.  

 

Drew was going to make LOVE to her tonight, let her feel the difference in his actions because he already knew he didn’t possess the words, not like she did.  They had incredible chemistry since that night at the bar and it had only intensified with each passing day.  There was indeed a difference in the lovemaking that night.  It was more intense, feverish, passionate, and full of feeling.

 

Andrew had NOT held back at all and when he finally finished with Tressa, she was nothing more than a sweaty, panting, breathless mess, passing out minutes later from the exhaustion the day brought.

 

~!~

 

Friday arrived sooner than Tressa would have liked, but Drew had to go back to work for house shows while she stayed behind to get her house set up.  It took her all weekend to do it, but when it was done, Tressa took pictures and even facetimed Drew to show him.  She sent pictures off to Jon, who sent back emoticons, all of them positive.  Wednesday was the day they were finding out the sex of their baby and, after what she revealed to Drew, it made Tressa wonder what the next step would be.  They loved each other, they were in love, they were having a baby and she just bought this beautiful family home.  Would Andrew consider moving in with her?  Tressa would NOT bring that up to him, leaving that strictly up to him and continued unpacking, rearranging and finishing up the house to keep her mind preoccupied.

 

Wednesday morning rolled around before long and they currently sat in the doctor’s office with Drew’s hand in her own.  No wand would have to be inserted inside of her because she was a lot farther along in her pregnancy.  This was a regular ultrasound and they would reveal the status of their baby.  What they HADN’T banked on was the discovery the ultrasound technician found. 

 

There wasn’t just one baby…there were TWO babies. 

 

Twins.

 

“I-I’m sorry, what?” Tressa barked out a harsh laugh, staring at the technician and swallowed hard as it was pointed out to them, her grey eyes widening to the size of saucers. “Oh my god…” Did Drew have twins in his family line?!  She sure as hell didn’t, at least…Tressa didn’t think she did!  Joseph’s family did, but… “Oh god…” Twins…they were having TWINS!! “C-Can you um…can you uh…” This was overwhelming and she was trying to ask what the sex of the babies were, but…maybe it was too soon to find that out. “The um, what’s the uh, sexes?”

 

“Well, let’s see…” The tech said slowly, her eyes fastened on the pair. “Do you two need a moment?” She offered gentle, knowing this was a shock to the soon-to-be parents.

 

Tressa looked like she was going to have a panic attack and Drew was apparently in shock.  He was just sitting there, stone-faced, and obviously mulling this over.  When Tressa shook her head, she nodded and began with little Twin No. 1, which she did not say out loud.

 

“Come on, let’s see…” Sometimes, babies were camera shy and kept their bits and bobs to themselves. “Well, this one is a girl.” She announced with a smile.

 

“A girl?” Drew echoed finally, his voice coming out faint as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing on the screen.  He gently squeezed Tressa’s hand, catching her gaze when she glanced at him and flashed her a smile.  

 

“And the second…let’s see if this baby is going to cooperate with me…” The tech took around 5 minutes, searching over the screen and finally stopped, beaming proudly at the soon-to-be parents. “And this one is…a boy!  You’re having one of each.”

 

“A boy?” Tressa echoed, her voice soft and didn’t know what to think or how to feel.  One baby was fine, but TWO?  They were having TWO now?  One of each…was the universe really trying to tell her something? “Wow…”

 

“I’ll give you two a minute alone and gather your pictures of the ultrasound.  Everything looks good so far.  I’ll be right back.” The technician would be informing the OBGYN of this sudden turn of events, not believing they didn’t catch the fact this woman was having twins until she was 20 weeks along.  Sometimes, not always, but sometimes the second baby liked hiding itself behind the first baby. 

 

It was more common than people realized.

 

Tressa didn’t meet Drew’s gaze, staring down at her lap and had released his hand to wring hers together, trying to keep her emotions in check.  Twins.  Christ, what more could be thrown at them?

 

He was wondering how this was going to work out himself, especially given their jobs with the WWE.  It was one thing to travel with one child, but a second?  And there was no way he could ask her to give up her job, she loved her job.  Not to mention this housing situation, that had been at the forefront of his mind for a while.  Drew cleared his throat, reaching back to run a hand through the tale he had his hair pulled back in.

 

“Tressa?” He reached out finally, placing his hands over hers, forcing her to quit wringing them. “I think we need to discuss the living arrangements.” Because it made no sense for them to each have a house; there was no point in bouncing between two places, not with twins. “Do ye think I can plant Mexican heather in the backyard at your house, mo’leannan?”

 

“What?  What are you saying?” What kind of question was that?  Then it dawned on her what he said prior to that question and her grey eyes went wide, unshed tears in them falling down her cheeks. “Y-You want to live together?” At his firm nod, she knew it made sense; it was fast, but they loved each other and they were having TWINS.  One boy and one girl.  One of each.  This was unbelievable and she tossed her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Plant whatever you want in the backyard, Highlander.  Make it your own.  We also need to talk about what we’re going to do while we’re on the road with…two babies now.  I don’t want to quit my job and I’d never ask you to do it either.” Wrestling was this man’s life. “So, I was thinking about looking into one of those buses, like Stephanie and Paul have.  I know they’re expensive, but…it would be a great investment for our family of four, don’t you think?”

 

“The kind that expand when parked?” Because that would be DAMN useful when they were at an arena, she wasn’t going to be able to cart two babies into a crowded, LOUD arena and having the ‘fold-out’ kind would afford her the extra space required for her job. “Aye, we can definitely look into getting one.” He didn’t care if he had to take out a loan or something.  Something like that was just practical as far as he was concerned, especially since they were having twins.  Jesus and the Saints… “We’re going to have to buy two of everything…”

 

Chapter 49

 

“Y-Yeah…Heh…” Tressa tried making it sound cheerful, but now she was TERRIFIED, swallowing hard at the thought of delivering not one, but two babies.  She wasn’t exactly a spring chicken either, wondering if her body could hold up with this type of trauma it was about to endure. “The…court date to finalize everything is next week with Joseph’s family.  That money will officially be mine and I can use it, along with yours – we can easily get what we want with both of our incomes and savings combined.” She reached out, caressing his face with the back of her hand and could tell he was still onboard with everything. “Your father is going to shit bricks when he finds out we’re having twins, isn’t he?” She did NOT want to tell her mother, not after the way the woman had treated her after moving to Tampa.

 

“Probably not, he’ll probably take it a lot better than we are.  He’s at that age where ‘nothing surprises him anymore’.” He admitted, imagining his father when he was told about this.

 

They were definitely going to have to either get his old man here in the states or visit, eventually.  Drew’s tone was calm and collected, but that was just a front, for her sake.  Inside, he was a nervous wreck.  Fatherhood was a daunting enough challenge looming before him, before them, and now it wasn’t just one kid he had to worry about NOT screwing up, but TWO.  He hunched over, pressing his face into her stomach and inhaled deeply.

 

“We got this, lass.” He hoped.  He prayed.  They loved each other, they had good paying jobs, they weren’t exactly young, dumb kids…they had this. 

 

The technician came back a few minutes later while Tressa continued gliding her fingers through Drew’s hair, smiling up at the woman. ‘Nervous.’ She mouthed, taking the pictures and the technician nodded before walking out, after telling them to take their time.  Drew helped her off the bedding and pulled her against him, bending down to capture her mouth with his. “I love you.” She murmured once he pulled back and took her clothes to go in the bathroom to change out of the paper thin gown she was in.  She wiped the rest of the goo off her stomach and realized just how BIG she was at 20 weeks, swallowing hard. 

 

Two babies…she was going to be the mother of two babies…what the hell, universe?!

 

Andrew moved out to the hallway to wait for her, clasping his hands behind his back as he began pacing back and forth.  He came to a halt when a nurse appeared with a stack of what looked like pamphlets and magazines, cocking an eyebrow.

 

“Here, it’s about twins.” She said with a cheery smile. “Congratulations, by the way, Mr. Galloway.”

 

“Thank you.” He took the stack, looking down at it.  The very first bit was geared towards Dads and he inhaled, nodding.  

 

There wasn’t anything they couldn’t do or couldn’t get through together.

 

~!~

 

Meet me in the parking lot, please.  It’s important.

 

Tressa was pacing back and forth, chewing her thumbnail nervously and waited for Jon to join her.  He was going to be the FIRST person to find out about this, nobody else, not even Drew’s father.  She hadn’t told him about her and Andrew right away, so Tressa felt she owed the Godfather this information. 

 

“Kitten, this better be damn important…”

 

“Are having twins important?”

 

Jon’s jaw dropped promptly. “Get the fuck outta here!  What?!”

 

“Yeah…” Tears began falling down her cheeks as she trembled, wringing her hands. “Twins, Jon, I’m having twins…and I’m freaking the fuck out!” What she wouldn’t give to have a nicotine fix right about now!

 

Jon would do it for her, AFTER hugging her.  Now he was doubly cautious though, stepping back to eyeball her stomach.  No way she was carrying twins, she still wasn’t that big.  He bet when Tressa DID explode, it was going to be fucking epic.  Drew wasn’t exactly a tiny guy and here she was, having two of that monster’s babies.  At the same time.

 

“Shit, darlin’,” He stepped back, smoking one for the both of them. “When you do something, you go balls to the wall.” Twins.  Jesus. “How are you feeling about this?  Excited?  Terrified?”

 

“Both.” Tressa admitted, sliding fingers through her hair and leaned against the truck, rubbing her pregnant belly.  It helped calm her down, a calming agent for her. “I did what you said, or what you advised and I told Andrew how I felt.  And he feels the same way as I do.  And now we’re moving in together.” That made Jon choke on smoke and she blinked, rushing to him to pat his back a few times. “Christ, sorry!  I didn’t mean to just…blurt it out like that.  A LOT has happened though…” Did she tell him about the buses they were already looking at?  Maybe not right now. “Breathe…”

 

“No, breathing hurts, babe,” He growled, coughing again and groaned when she slapped his back. “I’m going to tickle you until you pee, Tres.”

 

Because obviously he couldn’t paddle her pregnant ass.  Skirts wouldn’t take kindly to that, she wouldn’t take kindly to that, and Jon was all about avoiding awkward situations these days.  Finally, when he was able to stop tearing up and coughing out his lungs, he straightened up and stared down at her.

 

“So… twins.  Moving in together.  Got it.  Which house?” He eyed her suspiciously. “What else is going on, darlin’?”

 

“The house I just bought and…well…um…” Tressa really hated this man could read her better than anyone and scratched the back of her head, shuffling her feet. “Since I’m not quitting my job and Andrew obviously isn’t quitting, we’ll be on the road a lot and…with twins, it’s just…it makes sense to um, get a bus.  One of those buses that extend out, so I can work on the bus and take care of the babies at the same time.” Drew wouldn’t be able to always be there and she understood it, but she hadn’t talked to Stephanie about this idea yet, hoping she went along with it. “We’re looking…currently…”

 

“So… you’re getting your own bus and why are you nervous about telling me this?” Jon asked, eyeballing the remains of his cigarette and sighed, taking a long pull on it before letting it drop to the pavement.  He crushed it under the toe of his boot, blowing smoke away from her. “I mean, besides the fact that you’re only like…what, 5 months pregnant, in love, bought a house, moving in together, having twins and are now buying a bus that’ll probably cost more than a starter home?” He began laughing. “Man, that sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” But at the same time, it wasn’t.

 

She had to sit down because that WAS insane – all of it.  So much had happened in the short span of 5 months…how could life change so drastically in that short period of time? “Fuck.” She whispered, feeling Jon sit beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to pull her against him. “Change of subject before I throw up all over this parking lot.  I don’t care what it is, just say anything.”

 

“The Shield is facing Skirts, Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley at the next pay-per-view event.”

 

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I really don’t blame you for leaving.  They’re forcing you to work with that Samoan asshole, when you’re supposed to be a heel.” It made no sense to her at all.

 

It didn’t make sense to Jon either. “That’s not all, kitten.” He didn’t know if Scottie boy had told her this last bit, but…she needed to know. “Word around the locker room is Skirts is having a huge WrestleMania opponent and…it’s Joe.  They’re going to lock horns at Mania this year, apparently.”

 

That did NOT make her feel any better. “Christ…” After what had transpired between her and Joe recently, Drew was going to kill him.

 

“I do have SOME good news.” Jon offered, squeezing her shoulder gently. “Nobody knows how it happened, but Joe must’ve tripped and hit something hard.  Broke his nose.” Of course, Jon’s hand wasn’t THAT hard and Joe hadn’t so much as tripped as walked into what JR would’ve called a slobber knocker.  Jon had been PISSED. “It happened a few days ago.” Which meant it didn’t look as bad as it had been anymore, but Joe had gotten the message loud and clear.  He hoped.  If not, he’d do it all over again and keep doing it, until Joe had learned his lesson about harassing women.

 

Providing Drew didn’t put him out of commission at Mania.

 

“Tripped and hit something hard, huh?” Jon’s fist, in other words.  He wasn’t going to incriminate himself by stating it outright and she didn’t blame him.  Tressa also wasn’t angry with him either because Joe had that coming.  He deserved to be punched for the horrible things he said to her and insinuated. “What did you say to him after his nose was broken?” She asked, trying not to sound amused and failed, feeling better now that they were on a different topic.

 

“I told him the same thing I told you, about why I was leaving.  Granted, I worded it a lot differently and used a lot more F-Bombs with him,”

 

Because Jon had been PISSED.  The only thing that had stopped Jon from putting Joe right back out of commission was the fact that the man had a wife and kids.  Joe stepped out of line again, well…Jon was out the door anyway, he didn’t care if he went sooner rather than later.

 

“Okay.”

 

~!~

 

If Jon thought for a second, he was getting away with breaking Joe’s nose, on his way out of the company, without any repercussions, he was out of his mind.  He could have reported the man and sent him packing already, but…Joe decided to get his revenge the old fashioned way.  In the ring.  It was the last pay-per-view event before WrestleMania.  Fastlane.  The Shield was back together and facing the team of Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre.  This was their final time as a team because of Jon’s departure, which had been acknowledge publicly by WWE on social media and even on television.  A lot of fans thought it was a work he was leaving, but the joke was on them.  Joe and Colby wanted one last hurrah with their brother and Jon reluctantly agreed to it, even with the animosity between him and Joe. 

 

It seemed as though Joe had finally cooled his jets when it came to Tressa, but how wrong Jon was in those assumptions.  The Shield won, after a brutal six-man battle and Joe made sure to get a hit on Jon during the match.  A Superman punch ‘aimed’ for Baron Corbin had nailed Jon, sending him off the apron and against the outside barricade.  Even Colby was shocked by it and Joe feigned innocence, playing the part perfectly.  When it was all said and done, Joe wound up ‘saving’ Jon from disaster with a spear to Bobby Lashley through the barricade, making it seem like he was a hero.  Nobody knew what to think or believe as the Shield embraced in the middle of the ring, hugging tightly and saluting the fans one last time.

 

Now everyone, besides Jon, was on the road to WrestleMania. 

 

The company wasn’t allowing him to partake in any of the events for WrestleMania since he was leaving, not even Axxess.  Jon would stay on television for a few more weeks to be written off in a mini-feud with Drew, which would then turn his attention to Joe for their one-on-one square-off at WrestleMania.  All the matches Jon went out on were hardcore – Falls Count Anywhere, No-Disqualification and Last Man Standing, with Drew destroying him and getting the win every time.  They were building Drew up to be a true Scottish Psychopath, a monster, a terminator, and it was working flawlessly. 

 

If anyone deserved to be put over, it was Drew and Jon had no problem doing it.

 

Two weeks before WrestleMania, Drew McIntyre demanded his answer from Roman Reigns, having called him out the previous week on Raw.  Roman came out and they began brawling with Drew getting the upper hand by nailing the Big Dog between the legs, low blowing him.  He was the heel and played it perfectly.

 

Andrew, the man, had taken GREAT pleasure in doing that after all the emotional turmoil Joe had put Tressa through lately. 

 

Even Jon was cackling backstage, commending Skirts on a job well done.

 

Joe growled while holding his junk in the ring, knowing that shot was deliberate and meant to hurt him.  This slut was going to pay for not only turning his best friend against him, but sending her idiot boyfriend after him too!  Tressa was close to Stephanie and Paul, so no doubt she had gone to them and demanded a match be sanctioned between him and Drew.  The woman must have had a golden pussy or something, he snorted, slowly getting to his knees while holding his junk, tears in his eyes.  He had the perfect revenge in mind and knew it would probably cost him his career in WWE, but honestly, Joe was fed up with everything.

 

The moment Drew stepped on their bus, in all his sweaty, muscular glory, in just those delicious trunks, Tressa guided him back to their bedroom and proceeded to show him just how much she enjoyed what he did to Joe.  Tressa had enjoyed it QUITE a bit and his pregnant woman had literally blown Drew’s mind.  It hadn’t been talked about, scripted, nothing, he had just done it.  As such, Joe hadn’t been wearing a cup and Drew knew damn well that had had to hurt because he had been able to feel the other man’s junk on his forearm getting smashed up into his own body, sucked to be Joe.  

 

Maybe he’d remember his manners the next time Tressa even CROSSED his mind.

 

“I have to say, getting a bus was the best idea I’ve ever had.” Tressa commented several hours later, curled up against her thoroughly satisfied Scotsman and felt his lips brush her neck and ear. 

 

She was getting bigger, especially with two babies growing inside of her and Drew was obsessed with caressing her stomach.  Stephanie was beside herself with joy and all the girls in the company were already planning her a double baby shower.  Half of it would be girl and the other half boy.  She had pointed out there were themes that were intergender and Stephanie had jotted it down, telling her not to worry about anything. 

 

The baby shower would be sometime in June since she was due in mid-July.

 

“Oh I dinnae know, lass, I can think of a few other ideas you’ve had that rank up there in my favorite top three.” Drew chuckled, running his hand up and down her bare back.

 

All was right in the world right now.  Joe was probably having his nuts retrieved from his body and now he was laying here with his woman.  Gently, he moved so he was laying on his side, staring down at her.  The bus had been carefully chosen to not only accommodate their soon-to-be semi-large family, but also the equipment she would need for her job.  Hell, there was even a foldout gym he could use.  Nothing like a proper gym, but the equipment here on the bus would serve him just as well when they were traveling. 

 

She smiled up at him, agreeing with that and went to kiss him, when she felt something inside of her.  At first, she thought it was gas, but…no, this was different. “Andrew…” Tressa jumped the same time he did when he felt it against his hand and their eyes met, it was a little harder that time around.  Tressa couldn’t begin to explain what was going on, but she knew one thing…the babies were moving. “Oh my god…” She whispered, tears pooling in her eyes as another movement went against Drew’s hand and the look on his face was pure awe.  He was floored, staring at her stomach and then up at her, his hand trembling a little. 

 

It was the first time they felt their babies move and Andrew hadn’t missed it – one of many milestones she hoped he was here for.

 

Chapter 50

 

Many men did not immediately feel a connection with the baby their woman -or in this case, two babies- carried.  The woman did because she obviously was aware of the daily changes going on in her body, allowing her to form that vital connection.  It was usually when physical changes occurred that the man tended to start forming the bond, or this, when the babies began moving.  Drew had always felt a connection, he wasn’t like other men, but this…this did something to him he couldn’t even begin to explain.

 

“Hold on.” He rolled off the bed and went to retrieve the small, portable fetal doppler they had bought just so they could listen to the heartbeats.  Within minutes, he had it on and against her bare belly, listening as she felt the twins moving, cocking an eyebrow. “Wow.”

 

“W-Wow…” Tressa echoed in a slight stammer, reaching down to caress his face while Andrew was enamored with hearing their babies movement. 

 

It wasn’t just the heartbeats, it was their movements and, with how tiny she was, her OBGYN did tell her she could go as early as 30 weeks.  It happened a lot with twins because the babies didn’t have enough room inside their mother to grow.  She was scared to go prematurely, but…there was a very high rate of success with premature twins at 30 weeks.

 

“Angela and Joseph, we’re still okay with those names, right, Highlander?” He nodded and continued moving the fetal doppler around, just to hear how much they were moving. “Strong babies, definitely the Scottish in them, eh?”

 

“Aye, no doubt about that, bonnie,” He chuckled, kissing her belly and smiled when he felt it move beneath his lips. “Though, I canna take all the credit, their mother is a strong, fierce lass.” Drew looked up at her, the smile never faltering.  

 

Between the pair of them and their backgrounds, their core personalities, these twins were already off to a great start.  God help them, however, if either got his inclination to find trouble, which he had quite a bit as a wee lad.  Though…They didn’t have an island to go off roaming like he had.

 

“I love you, all three of you.” Tressa stroked his bottom lip with the pad of her thumb, enjoying how his facial hair tickled her skin and Drew moved up to hover over her, capturing her lips in a fiery kiss. 

 

One thing about her Scotsman was he didn’t have a problem making love to her, not even with two babies growing inside of her.  No matter what, she would make sure, even after these babies were born, Joseph and Angela, their sex life and passion for each other never faltered.  They would make time for each other, to be alone, because it was important to keep the fires going in a relationship.  There would be hard times ahead, but one thing was certain, her love for Drew was stronger than ever and she didn’t see it falling apart anytime soon.

 

“I love you too.” He rumbled against her lips before starting to work his way down her body.

 

Recovery time was up and he was already rising to the occasion again.  Drew would never get enough of this woman, whether she was pregnant or not.  He had known that from their first night in his hotel room that once was not going to be enough.  He wouldn’t have pressed the issue had she denied him another tryst, but he sure would have spent the rest of his days wanting her.

 

That connection had been unmistakable and addicting from the very first kiss.

 

~!~

 

“Joe, what the hell are you doing?!  Let go of me!” Tressa shouted, trying to pull away from him, but the man had a vise grip on her upper arm while stalking toward the ring, pulling her down the ramp.

 

In front of thousands of people in Washington, D.C.

 

His segment was supposed to be backstage, followed by being bulldozed by Drew again, but Joe had a better idea in mind.  A much BETTER idea that would no doubt add fuel to the fire between him and the Scottish idiot. “Shut up!” He growled, pulling her up the steel ring steps and shoved her between the ropes, making her crash to the mat on her side.

 

Tressa was bigger, the twins growing like weeds and scrambled away from him with tears in her grey eyes, her breathing labored. “Joe, please…”

 

He grabbed a handful of her caramel chestnut locks and yanked her up on her feet, using his strength to do it and made her cry out.  Her head felt like it was on fire now as she clutched the back of it, her mouth dry while he grabbed a microphone.  She’d been in catering when he grabbed her from behind, carted her to the side curtain, instead of through gorilla position, and now they were out here in front of all these people.

 

Colby and Jon were already on their way.  This was NOT scripted and Jon nearly lost his mind when he seen Joe SHOVE her through the ropes on a monitor they passed.  She was fucking PREGNANT!  They burst through the curtain and hauled ass down the ramp, his ice blues turning murderous when Joe wrenched on her hair.

 

Where the shit was Skirts?!

 

“Boys, come on in!” Joe laughed into the microphone, knowing damn well neither could do a thing, they were live and they were all the Shield.  They wouldn’t break character, not in front of all these people plus the ones watching from home.

 

Tressa was doing everything she could to wrench free of Joe, but he had a tight hold on her hair.  Her watery greys landed on Jon, who looked ready to kill Joe while Colby was trying to talk him down.  Colby had been indifferent with this situation and Joe’s nose was STILL bruised from the sucker punch Jon gave him.  He’d been there when it went down, hearing what Jon said to Joe about Tressa and kept to himself, not wanting to get in the middle of this drama.

 

“Joe…”

 

“SHUT UP!” Joe bellowed in her ear, the microphone up to his mouth and yanked her closer to him, his dark eyes nothing more than slits. “For those of you who DON’T know who this is, let me introduce you to one of WWE’s seamstresses – Tressa.  Tressa, say hi to everyone.” He held the microphone up to her trembling lips and wrenched more on her hair. “SAY IT!”

 

“H-Hi…” She squeaked out painfully, not knowing what would happen or what this maniac would do to her and the twins.

 

“Wow, you actually LISTEN when someone tells you to do something!  Uncanny, isn’t it?” Joe’s eyes landed on Jon, a snarl curling his upper lip. “And for those of you who DON’T know, this little lady here is none other than Drew McIntyre’s WHORE!” He backed up when Jon took a step forward, shaking the microphone at him. “Uh-uh, you won’t get another shot on me, pal.  Back up before I hurt her.” Then, his eyes turned back on Tressa, who was scared to death of him by now.  Good.  He WANTED her to feel that fear. “Are you proud of yourself for what you did to Ambrose, Tressa?  YOU’RE the reason he’s leaving, and nobody is going to convince me otherwise!  You need to pay for your sins against the Shield and I think I know the perfect punishment to give you.” He released her hair and wrapped a quick arm around her to where his hand landed on her stomach.

 

Tressa was nauseous, shaking her head with tears streaming down her cheeks and as soon as Joe’s hand landed on her stomach, the sounds of bagpipes filtered through the arena.

 

‘The Scottish Psychopath’, Drew McIntyre had arrived.

 

Colby, who could not remain indifferent anymore because this was just abusing a pregnant woman for millions to see, would NOT want to be Joe right now.  The look on Drew’s face as he stormed down to the ring was nothing short of murderous. “Let her go, man!” Before they all wound up dismantled by the Highlander and Colby was pretty sure he wouldn’t even try fighting back because he felt complicit in all of this.

 

“I don’t think so.” Joe wasn’t worried at all because Drew wasn’t stupid enough to attack while he had his hands on the whore’s fat stomach.  He wasn’t paying Colby or Jon any attention, his cold stare on the skirt wearing moron.

 

Jon was circling, his eyes meeting Drew’s.

 

“A-Andrew…”

 

“SHUT UP!”

 

Tressa winced, feeling Joe’s hand press a little harder on her stomach and shut her eyes, praying, hoping, nothing happened to her babies.  Their babies.  She had already lost a baby, she really didn’t want to lose two more.

 

“Let me ask you something, Chosen One,” Joe snorted at that nickname – one Vince McMahon, himself, gave to Drew back in the day. “You proud of stealing another man’s girl?  You proud of yourself for chasing Ambrose outta here with his tail tucked between his legs?  And for what?  HER?  She’s NOTHING and she’s about to find out what happens when she pisses off the Big Dog!”

 

“Please…”

 

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” That was non-PG rated and the crowd all began buzzing around them.

 

Tressa’s side was starting to hurt from how tight Joe had a hold of her and there was no way to fight him off.  Andrew, please help us, she silently prayed, her chest rising and falling quicker from how fast her heart pounded.  Security didn’t dare flank the ring because a pregnant woman’s life was in the hands of Joe Anoa’i, who had apparently snapped.  Tressa wondered if the chemotherapy pills he had to take had fried his brain.

 

Something was definitely wrong with Joe’s brain.  Maybe a combination of having to fight off cancer AGAIN and then coming back to find out his best friend was LEAVING because some cunt seamstress hadn’t been able to keep her goddamn legs closed.  All she had to do was go jump on some nameless bastard’s dick, but no, she had messed around with the guy who had been in love with her for years.  Then to deny it, for JON to deny it, he may have been off his rocker a bit.

 

“Stay back, Ambrose.” Joe cautioned, turning, and taking her with him, standing so he could see both men, knowing damn well Jon would join McIntyre in jumping him because Jon was a lovestruck fool. “I’m doing this FOR you, don’t you get that?”

 

“Joe man, come on, you’re hurting her!  You’re hurting a pregnant woman with TWINS.  Think of Galina, think of your own twins and your daughter at home…” Colby SINCERELY hoped Galina shut the television off or they weren’t watching this at the moment. 

 

Watching her husband TORMENT and SCARE a pregnant woman, with twins, to death on national television wouldn’t bode well for the man when all of this was said and done.

 

That was NOT helping matters any. “Shut up, Rollins!” Jon barked, gritting his teeth and couldn’t believe Joe was STILL on this kick about him leaving because of Tressa. “I’m NOT leaving because of her!  I love her, but not like you think, man!  I THOUGHT I did, but I realized I was wrong!  How many goddamn times do I have to say it?!  Let her go, Joe!  She’s done NOTHING wrong!” Christ, this woman was STILL opening her heart to him, making her part of the family she was creating with Drew and he’d be DAMNED if anything happened to his godchildren. “Those babies mean more to me than you know and, if you hurt her, you hurt them, and I will kill you with my bare fucking hands!” That wasn’t a threat, it was a damn promise.

 

“Maybe I’ll just save you the misery and kill all three of them at once, then.” Tressa gasped when Joe wrapped his huge hand around her throat and began throttling her, slowly cutting off her oxygen. “Let’s see how long it takes for her to turn blue, boys.”

 

Tressa was in panic mode by now, struggling and fighting against him while choking out for him to stop.

 

And that right there was enough for all three men to act as one.  There was no time for diplomacy because Joe could not only damage her via strangulation, but the twins via oxygen deprivation.  Drew was in a weird state of panic, knowing this could go either way, but when Joe realized that it wasn’t just him, but him, Jon, and Colby all coming, he shoved Tressa away and prepared to fight back.  Colby diverted to catch her, letting the two bigger men go on the attack.

 

“Fuck, you okay?!” Shit, she didn’t look so good. “Tres?”

 

Shock.  Tressa was in SHOCK.  Her entire body was convulsing, and the air felt as if it was caught in her throat, her face bright red.  And then, the shock wore off of being strangled on national television and she coughed out, all of it feeling as if it took forever.  It was only a matter of seconds and she couldn’t hear anything, her ears ringing.  She slowly looked up, seeing Colby had a hold of her and buried her face in his chest as he held onto her, her hands clutching him for dear life.  Her throat was on FIRE, along with the back of her head…Joe had hurt her mentally, emotionally, and now physically.

 

“G-G-Get…m-m-m-me…” She couldn’t talk, crying too hard and her words were jumbled together, not seeing the damage Andrew and Jon were inflicting on Joe. 

 

Security rushed to the ring to stop them, knowing one of the WrestleMania matches were in jeopardy if they didn’t.  As much as Paul hated to do it, WrestleMania had to come first and THEN Joe would be punished for what he did to Tressa.  Business had to come first, though, he couldn’t worry about the fact his wife’s pregnant friend had just been traumatized on their show, in front of millions.

 

“Hey, fucking back off!” Jon was on the way OUT, these motherfuckers could sit and spin for all he was concerned.  He literally DIVED through security to get to Joe, slamming his fist into the side of his ex-friend’s stupid face.

 

Drew was dogpiled beneath a lot of bodies, using sheer strength fueled by rage to begin lifting himself and them, up off the canvas.

 

“Send more!” Paul ordered, his eyes wide.  Holy…hell!  Drew had just hoisted at least five men off of him!

 

EMT’s had rushed out on the scene as well to check on Tressa, who was still in Colby’s arms and they had to pry her away from him to see she was hyperventilating.  An oxygen mask was placed on her instantly and she was put on a stretcher with tears streaming down her cheeks.  Shakily, she reached up to take the mask away from her mouth and looked up at Colby.

 

“A-Andrew…p-please…” He nodded, understanding what she was saying, and they placed the oxygen mask back over her nose and mouth, carting her to the back while more security tried stopping ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ and the ‘Lunatic Fringe’.

 

Colby turned to survey the carnage in the ring, his mouth dropping while his eyes grew to the size of saucers.  Joe was trying to get out of the ring while Drew and Jon were taking out security.  He was just waiting for one of those guards to bust out a taser or something, shit would hit the fan.  Colby winced, making his way back to the ring and Drew and Jon exchanged looks before diving through the crowd of guards.  Joe had slipped the ropes, holding his head.  Deciding he might as well…Colby went running, using the ring steps to launch himself, sending Joe right into the barricade.

 

NOW, he would get Drew for Tressa.

 

Chapter 51

 

It took 15 security guards on Drew and 13 on Jon to get the men away from Joe, who had scrambled to the back.  Even that wasn’t enough because Drew broke away from the guards, hunting the Big Dog down.  He found him, blasting him in the head from behind and began tossing his body into the equipment surrounding them.

 

“SIX DAYS!!  I WANT YE TO SEE MY BLOODY FACE WHEN YE CLOSE YOUR EYES AT NIGHT!!” Security was trying to get Drew to back off and he shoved them away. “GET OFF ME!!” He roared, beyond pissed off after what Joe did to the love of his life and looked at Colby and Jon, who rushed up to them. “Where is she?” His voice was deceptively calm while staring at what was left of the Shield.  Clenching his fists tightly at his sides while Joe was taken to the trainer’s for evaluation. “I’m killing ye so-called brother at WrestleMania, just so you’re aware.”

 

“Yeah,” Jon was panting, sweat dripping down his red face, his vivid blue eyes standing out in contrast and they were just as wild as Drew’s. “Do you really think I give a fuck?  Kill him, I’ll piss on his coffin.” There was NO WAY he was going to see WrestleMania now, even if they had been considering offering it to him as a way to keep him.  Paul was going to wind up seeing his ass buried for the remaining time he had left.

 

Fuck them all.

 

“What he said, go to Tres.” Colby ordered, also shaking from that explosive situation.

 

“Thanks, mates.  I mean that.” Drew nodded at them before taking off down the hallway, already knowing Tressa had been taken to the hospital.

 

Stephanie was PISSED OFF. 

 

She knew suspending Joe right now wouldn’t be what was best for business, as much as she hated admitting it.  That match between him and McIntyre had to go on, it was a big part of the show and the fans were looking forward to it.  Tonight, with Joe attacking Tressa, had really thrown fuel on the already erupting inferno and everything exploded between the two men.  Then, they managed to follow the carnage from the ring backstage, and everyone saw how Drew once again brutalized Joe for what he did to Tressa.  She shook her head at Paul, who looked flabbergasted and really hoped, once WrestleMania was over with, Joe was punished, but something told her this would be swept under the rug by her old man. 

 

Even with WWE’s zero tolerance policy of violence against women or any of the employees in the company…Vince was a ruthless bastard.

 

~!~

 

Tressa was immediately taken to the maternity floor and devices were strapped around her, which monitored the babies’ heartbeats.  She still had the oxygen mask on, and her hyperventilation had diminished greatly.  She was still trembling while lying in the hospital bed, unable to comprehend or wrap her mind around what Joe had done to her.  Physically putting his hands on her and forcing her out in front of all those people…silent tears slid down her cheeks as she stared at the wall, needing to remain on her back or else the devices wouldn’t pick up the babies’ heartbeats.  Her hand was on the part of her stomach where Joe’s had been and that made her squeeze her eyes shut, the trauma overtaking her. 

 

The trial was set for Wednesday, on her day off, and she would no doubt have bruises on her stomach, throat, and upper arm where Joe had harmed her.  Not to mention, this was WrestleMania week, so Drew had NO days off, having media appearances every which way to promote his match against Joe.  None of that mattered anymore.  All she wanted at that moment was Drew and Tressa hoped he hadn’t gotten arrested or killed someone.

 

No, not arrested, but his ass was in a screaming match with Paul and Stephanie.  Jon had gone on ahead, he didn’t have but one appearance and since he wasn’t even on the card for WrestleMania, he was considering skipping it.  At this point, what could they really do to him?  He wasn’t admitted immediately, he was made to wait down in the lobby.  Jon sent Drew a text message, letting him know they weren’t allowing anyone with photo ID and had to be immediate family.

 

“You can kiss my arse, Levesque.  The pair of ya!” Drew read the message, his eyes flashing. “Some zero-tolerance policy!”

 

Paul understood why the man was so livid.  If it was Stephanie, he would be the same way, but he also understood the show had to go on.  Business had to come before personal issues. “Drew, I promise, after WrestleMania…”

 

“Paul, don’t.” Stephanie shook her head sadly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You know how much my father values Joe.  There’s no way he’s being punished for this.” Those blue eyes flashed on her and she winced, hating the truth sometimes. “I’m so sorry for what happened to her, Drew…”

 

They would be LUCKY if Tressa didn’t sue the hell out of WWE for what their superstar, their EMPLOYEE, did to her.

 

“Aye, I can tell, you’re SO sorry that pig put his hands on a PREGNANT woman on LIVE TELEVISION.” Drew wasn’t having it, his eyes flashing when Paul sprouted a set and got between him and the wife. “Unlike your bloody Superman, I dinnae put my hands on a woman.  You’d better let your Da know to lawyer up, he’s going to have a fight on his hands for this.” Tressa was going to be able to retire early.  Snorting, he turned and stormed towards the door. “And ye best hope my children aren’t harmed, or I’ll come back and strangle the pair of ye and THEN him.”

 

“Christ…” Stephanie looked up at her husband worriedly, wondering if Tressa would go after the WWE in a lawsuit for what happened. “Do you think he means it?”

 

Paul was quiet for a minute, finally nodding. “Yeah.  And I don’t blame him.  Your old man better do something about his ‘golden boy’ or else he’s about to be slapped with a major lawsuit.”

 

“Paul, we can’t let that happen…” Stephanie would always put her family and the business first, even over friends. “It wasn’t scripted, but…”

 

“What do you suggest, Steph?”

 

“We put it in the script, just in case she does lawyer up.  That way it looks like it WAS part of the show.” Stephanie felt like scum, but she had to protect her father and the company as a whole, which would be her and Paul’s once Daddy kicked the bucket.

 

“You sure you wanna do something like that?”

 

Stephanie nodded with no hesitation. “It’s the best thing for the company.”

 

No wonder Jon was leaving this place.

 

~!~

 

“Man, listen to me, you take pictures of her, and you get the records of everything wrong with her from that shit.” Jon said by way of greeting once Drew reached the hospital.  He had received an interesting text from Colby, who everyone had apparently forgotten existed. “I already downloaded shit, videos, from the Internet in case they try pulling some shit.” And since it was the McMahon’s, he wouldn’t put it past them.  Ever.  He had absolutely no trust and ZERO respect for the company he had once loved…that he had wanted to be in forever. “I don’t know how she is, but get all that, cover your asses.  Let me know when I can come up.”

 

Nodding, Drew showed his ID and was buzzed into the elevator.

 

Colby had overheard the entire conversation between Stephanie and Paul, making sure to record it and had escaped quickly.  He would not allow this company to screw over one of his dearest friends, a woman who did NOT deserve the horrible treatment she received tonight at the hands of one of their employees.  That’s all Joe was to him now – another self-entitled employee, who thought the world revolved around him and he was untouchable. 

 

Not only would WWE be sued, but Joe would be too.

 

According to the doctor, Tressa just had a severely bruised trachea from being throttled and bruises on her stomach and upper right arm.  She didn’t have a concussion, though her head hurt from her hair being yanked on.  They were keeping an eye on her throat, just in case it started to swell up to the point where it cut off her air supply.  The maternity floor was extremely secure and only certain people were allowed up, such as the father of unborn or born children.  Currently, she was sleeping with the oxygen mask still on her face to help her breathe and they had given her a gel to swallow to help with the pain inside.  The outside, they couldn’t do anything about, and she couldn’t have painkillers because of the babies.

 

Drew listened as the doctor explained that they were monitoring the swelling in her throat, hoping to avoid having to give her a steroid shot to open up her airways.  He signed off on the form to allow Jon up to see her, but sent the man a text asking him to come back in the morning.  Drew was going to have to go back onto the road, Jon wasn’t.  Not for everything anyway.  He followed the original text up with asking for a favor, a bit amused at how this entire thing had brought together the two most unlikely of people for one common thing.

 

Tressa.

 

Wheezing and her slower heartrate forced the doctor and nurses to rush in, shoving Drew out of the room.  Tressa wasn’t getting enough oxygen for her and the babies, so steroid shot it was.  They injected it right into her IV, knowing it wouldn’t take long to take over and tilted her head back, keeping her breathing with the oxygen mask.  After five, grueling minutes, her heartrate went back to normal, the babies’ heartrates were back up and Tressa slowly opened her eyes, not knowing what the hell just happened.  The doctor instantly gave her a sedative, a mild one that wouldn’t hurt the babies, needing her to rest as much as possible after the trauma she endured.

 

Jon and Drew were both standing outside of her room – Jon hadn’t left after receiving another text from the Scotsman, telling him something was wrong with Tressa, scared out of their minds.

 

“Her throat swelled up, just like I thought it would, so we gave her the steroid shot, along with a mild sedative.  She needs to sleep right now and we’re keeping a close eye on everything.  The babies are fine, their heartrates are back up and so is hers.” The doctor explained, answering all the questions the men had and held his hand up. “Only one of you need to stay, please.  She really needs to rest, and she won’t know you’re here anyway.”

 

“Go on, Skirts, I’ll be back in the morning like we agreed.” Jon really needed a drink after tonight.

 

Nodding, Drew went to wave off Jon and then stopped. “The bus is down in the lot.” He said finally, having driven their ‘house on wheels’ here himself. “You’re more than welcome to use it.”

 

Jon stared at the other man, raising one eyebrow. “There alcohol aboard?”

 

“There’s a small stash of fine Scottish whiskey…”

 

“Deal.” Jon accepted the keys, glancing back towards Tressa. “You going to fly out or…”

 

“I’ll have to, I won’t be able to get around fast enough in the bus.  You stay with her when I leave, the driver will be here in the morning.”

 

“That’ll do.  I’m going to get my shit from the hotel and then I’ll be back.” Raiding Skirt’s liquor, and he would be nice enough to not smoke on the bus.

 

After one last look at his best friend, he sighed and walked out.

 

Drew sat down in the chair besides her bed, burying his face in his hands.

 

~!~

 

Tressa slept throughout the night and most of the morning, the sedative slowly wearing off around 11 AM.  Her eyes slowly fluttered open, coughing out and winced because that hadn’t been smart to do.  Frowning, she heard beeping around her and looked down at the contraptions strapped around her pregnant belly, suddenly remembering what happened.  Everything flooded back to her at once and it was overwhelming, her hand reaching up to clutch her throat without any force behind it.  Joe had throttled her in front of millions…and bruised her pregnant belly, her arm, but her throat was the actual damage.

 

“A-An-drew…” She croaked out, hissing at how much it hurt to simply talk and saw nobody was in the room with her. 

 

Alone. 

 

She was alone.

 

“Mr. Galloway is outside making a call, ma’am.” The nurse had been at the foot of the bed, going over Tressa’s vitals.  She hurried around to the front of the bed, reaching for the Brita pitcher on the stand and poured a small cup of water. “Here…sip, slowly,” It would probably hurt a bit, but at the same time, even with the fluids they were pushing with the IV, her throat was likely dry and water would soothe that. “He should be back soon, he had to call your boss.”

 

He was telling said boss to stick all these appearances up his arse, actually.

 

Drew was here?  He had a lot of appearances for WrestleMania and he just made it to the main roster.  She slowly sipped the water, closing her eyes because it honestly felt more amazing than not going down. “T-Thank y-you…” She whispered, knowing talking with her regular voice wasn’t an option right now.  The nurse nodded, ordering her not to talk and finished checking her vitals. “B-Babies?”

 

“Their heartbeats are strong.  155 and 160.”

 

Tressa breathed a huge sigh of relief, sinking back on the pillow and the nurse pushed a button to make it go up for her a bit, so she could drink the water without it spilling.

 

“The doctor should be in shortly to check your throat.  Are you in pain?”

 

Tressa shook her head, taking another sip of water and caressed her belly, trying not to let the memory of last night plague her.

 

“If you are, you don’t need to try being brave. We’re not going to give you anything that would hurt your babies.” The nurse said gently, having heard the story about what had happened to this woman.

 

It was all over the local news and there was already debate on whether or not it was unscripted or if it was just a storyline like the WWE was now trying to spin it.  Either way, she had submitted a written report and made a copy for Mr. Galloway at his request.  Storyline or not, this woman’s injuries were very real.  Tressa did not have an active roster contract.  She was not a WWE Superstar.  She was a WWE employee, a seamstress, strictly behind the scenes.  She was in no way, shape, or form a wrestler or part of a storyline of any kind.

 

“I-I’m f-fine…” She was still trying to clear her head from the fog the sedative provided, and it was slowly clearing little by little.  Her stomach growled violently, and Tressa realized she hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday.  She had been on the verge of eating dinner when Joe had dragged her out of catering and out to the ring.

 

Unplanned and UNSCRIPTED.

 

Chapter 52

 

“Hungry?”

 

“Y-Yeah…”

 

“Soft foods only, I’ll be back with something for you.” The nurse walked out, closing the door behind her and went to retrieve something soft for her patient to eat.

 

Tressa laid her head back, after finishing the cup of water, scrubbing a hand down her face.  When her door opened 20 minutes later, it was Drew carrying her lunch tray between his hands.  McMahons were NOT happy with him and he hadn’t been amused when Colby’s words about spinning all this into storyline turned out to be true.  He had told them, Stephanie, and Vince to kiss the darkest part of his ass and he had done it with some very colorful, choice words.

 

“You’ve got… Jell-O, cottage cheese, and they pulverized the pineapple for you, bonnie.” He said quietly, ocean blue eyes raking over her.

 

She looked like hell and his blood was boiling all over again.

 

Turning her head to look at the love of her life, her Scotsman, Tressa extended her hand to him, not worried about the food right now.  He was here with her and that was all that mattered. “Y-You’re here…” She managed to croak out, shutting her eyes since it really hurt to talk normally and felt his large hand take hers, after he set the tray down. “W-What about the m-media you h-have?” Whispering would have to be how she communicated until her throat didn’t feel like it was on fire every time she talked regularly.

 

“Hush, lass, don’t talk unless ye really have to.” He had asked that she be brought a pen and notepad, that should’ve came already. “And they can stick the media right up their arses.” Drew sat on the edge of the bed, squeezing her hand gently and used his free hand to trace a finger down her cheek. “They’re trying to make this seem like a storyline, to cover their arses.” Joke was on them, he now had pictures, statements, footage, and a lot more.

 

Jon had been the one to start making back-ups, so nothing got lost.

 

She frowned, tilting her head slightly and wondered if Stephanie would really do that to her.  Yes, yes she would because business always had to come first.  The nurse walked in with a notepad and pen, handing them to her. 

 

She scrawled something on the paper and held it up to him. I’m not suing them.  The only person responsible for this is Joe and he needs to be the one to pay.  If I sue anyone, it will be him and ONLY him.  Stephanie is my friend, please call and tell her I’m not going to sue the company. She had re-watched the footage that played on ESPN, one of the only channels that worked in her room at the moment, and received several text messages from Colby and Jon.

 

“No, I won’t.” Drew shook his head, folding his arms over his chest. “Colby recorded the conversation and they need to be held responsible.  They will put him over you because he’s good for business, Tressa.  If you go after him, the WWE will come into play because it won’t have a choice.  You go for them all.” It happened at work and Joe would claim storyline defense, Stephanie, Vince, and Paul would all be involved, whether she wanted them to or not.  

 

He would bet they’d try to settle with her out of court and he firmly believed she should take them for everything they had and more.

 

Shaking her head, Tressa refused to jeopardize not only her career, but her friendships with the McMahon family.  They had been good to her and this wasn’t their fault this happened.  Joe had acted on his own accord and she had seen how much security had been sent out from the back, along with the EMTs.

 

I’m not suing anyone then.  My job means too much to me and WWE is my home.  Please understand. If Drew wanted revenge for her, he could take it out of Joe’s ass at WrestleMania this Sunday in their match.  There would be no lawsuit or anything when it came to the WWE and she pulled her phone from the nightstand to send Stephanie a quick text message.

 

Stephanie looked down at it, breathing a huge sigh of relief and showed Paul, who also looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

 

This was where they disagreed.  If they allowed this once, without punishing Joe or forcing the company to acknowledge they wouldn’t adhere to their own policies, there was a chance it could happen again.  It likely would.  Drew couldn’t work for a company like that and he couldn’t wrap his head around her wanting to.  She could have died, their twins could have died, and the WWE -Stephanie herself- would have covered it all up to protect the company!

 

“Try to eat your lunch, bonnie.” He ordered gravely, stepping away from the bed to start braiding his hair back.

 

Drew was upset with her and she could feel it radiating from every pore of his huge body, a deep frown marring her face.  He had JUST made it back to the WWE, after being away for four long years, to reinvent himself in the Indies and she didn’t want to destroy that opportunity for him.  She loved her job and mostly everyone she worked with too. 

 

Why couldn’t Drew understand this wasn’t the WWE’s fault, it was Joe’s?

 

Destroy him at Mania.  Get revenge in the ring for what he did to us. Meaning herself and the twins. WWE isn’t to blame for this.  Joe did this on his own, with his own actions.  If they want to make this as part of your storyline, fine, then you go out there and destroy the mother fucker for hurting us.  Be the Scottish Psychopath.  Use this to your advantage and make it look like an accident since they want to make what happened to me part of a storyline.  Be smart about this, Andrew.  Our jobs are too important and Joe wins if we go down the route you want to.  Think about it, Highlander. It took her a bit to write all of that down, but she handed the notepad to him and began eating her lunch, slowly, wincing every time she swallowed. 

 

Tressa hoped Drew annihilated Joe at WrestleMania for what he did to her and the twins.

 

Why couldn’t she understand that this went beyond Joe, this went to the very principal of the matter!  The company would not back her.  Would. Not. Back. Her.  As far as Stephanie was concerned, when push came to shove, Tressa was expendable, someone to be tossed beneath the bus if need be.  Tressa valued these people more than they did her and it broke his heart to see this proud, fierce woman selling herself short.  The company would know now that she would lie down and take it.

 

“I have every intention of destroying him, lass, bank on that.” He informed her quietly.

 

~!~

 

“Jon, I already told you I’m not doing it.” Tressa’s voice was very rough, but she could at least talk, and the swelling was almost gone in her throat completely.  Steroid shots were a blessing.

 

“Come with me to AEW, then.”

 

That made Tressa stop in her tracks while they walked the streets of New York City, staring up at him wide-eyed.  He didn’t have a lot going on for WrestleMania since he wasn’t even on the show, only a couple of signings, no media. “What do you mean?  That’s where you’re going?” Jon nodded and Tressa bit her bottom lip, thinking about Drew. “Jon…Andrew just made it back to WWE.  I doubt he’ll want to leave just because of what happened to me…”

 

“You don’t get how much that man loves you, do you?” Jon shook his head, seeing the hesitation in her eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Tres, Skirts would do ANYTHING for you, including leaving this dump to go explore new horizons.  Did you forget he went to the Indies, reinvented himself and then came back here to dominate?  Trust me, if you tell him you’re thinking about leaving WWE to go to another organization, he’ll back you 100%.  And just so you know, AEW is paying MORE than WWE ever THOUGHT.” He was proof of that. “I’m signing my contract at the beginning of May with them.  Don’t tell anyone.”

 

“Do they even need people like me?  Seamstresses?”

 

“I’m sure they do.  Want me to talk to Chris about it?” Chris was none other than the icon himself, Chris Jericho. “You really need to fight the company on what happened to you, Tres.  I’m serious, they’ll keep getting away with this kinda shit if you don’t.”

 

“Fine, FINE!” Tressa growled, wincing since her throat wasn’t completely healed yet and narrowed her eyes at a grinning Jon. “I hate you.”

 

“You love me.”

 

“That’s debatable.” Tressa smirked, taking her phone out and called Clementine to set up a time and place to meet up after WrestleMania to start a lawsuit. 

 

This would ultimately destroy her friendship with the McMahon’s, but Jon and Drew both made valid points.  They didn’t care about her if they were willing to let what Joe did to her slide.  Maybe going to a different organization was the best option for her.

 

“Been waiting for your call, Tressa.  I’ve already got the paperwork started and everything, just needed your consent to file it.” Clementine had spoken to Tressa’s boyfriend, Andrew Galloway, who was ADAMANT about this going down.

 

“Do it.” Tressa locked eyes with Jon, who nodded encouragingly at her. “I don’t want them getting away with this, or Joe.”

 

“Done.  I’ll be in touch and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Tressa was flying out early in the morning while Drew was at his autograph signings to deal with Joseph’s family, finalizing that mess once and for all. “See you then.  Thanks, Clem.” They hung up and she continued walking down the sidewalk with Jon, sending a text message to Drew about what she just did.

 

Drew let out a breath of relief, knowing Jon had probably added more pressure on her.  He admired her loyalty to the company, but loyalty did not mean she had to get abused and then allow it all to be swept under the rug because she didn’t want to ruin friendships.  If those friendships had meant anything, the McMahons would have never put her in a position where she had to worry about ‘reputation’ and if it would ever happen again.  Which, it wouldn’t, because he was going to retire Joe at WrestleMania and then he was going to let the WWE know exactly where to go on his own way out the door.

 

Even though it had only been 2 days since the incident, Tressa and Drew had barely spoken to each other and it wasn’t because of her throat.  He had been annoyed and pissed with her, but didn’t blow up at her, keeping it all bottled up inside instead.  She lost count how many times he’d gone to the gym instead of staying on the bus with her.  This was their first fight and it was all because she’d been stubborn and set in her loyalty to WWE.  They had given her everything she could possibly want out of life, but she never realized how underhanded and cruel the McMahon family could be, until now. 

 

Jon had opened her eyes and made her realize there were other possibilities out there in the world, other wrestling organizations, who would be loyal to their own instead of putting business first.  Sighing, she hugged Jon and watched him walk off before getting on the bus, hoping she was making the right decision to go against the WWE, the McMahon family.  Tressa also wondered if Drew would follow her to AEW, if they even hired her.

 

Andrew was trying to not fight with her.  He did see her point, her side, but at the same time…he VALUED this woman.  He saw her for what she was worth, and the idea of these bastards throwing her under a bus and she was accepting of it…that had shocked him.  By the time he made it back, he was exhausted from the WrestleMania stuff and all the questions he had been asked about his potential relationship with Tressa.  They were private people and it had all been displayed for the world.

 

“I brought you a…” He eyed the bag in his hand. “Lamb gyro, and they put pineapple in it.”

 

Lamb?  He got her lamb to eat?  Charred meat that tasted like sweat?  Tressa appreciated the thought and decided she would choke it down, cracking a hesitant smile up at him. “Thank you.” The pineapple craving was still strong as ever, so maybe it would help the charred meat taste good.  She set the food aside and wrapped her arms around his huge body, pressing her cheek to his chest and felt his arms encircle her. “I love you, and I’m sorry.” Tressa hated how rough her voice was because she sounded like a guy, at least to her. “I want to talk to you about this.  About that text I sent you.” They were in this together, through the good, bad, beautiful, and ugly. “Sit down, you look exhausted, Highlander.  I’ll get our food, and then we’ll eat and then talk.  Take your shoes off and kick back.” They had a couch, which was surprisingly comfortable, and she watched Drew settle himself down on it while she got the plates and everything they needed for their food.

 

He personally loved lamb, roast lamb was a common meal from his childhood.  Sheep rearing was a major thing, especially given their many uses for wool.  He hadn’t missed the slight wrinkle of her nose when he had announced it, shaking his head. “If you don’t like lamb, lass, I’ll go get you whatever sounds good.” They were in New York, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t have, this place had foods even he hadn’t heard of.

 

Damn it, this man could read her very well and sometimes, she didn’t like it, such as now. “It’s fine, Andrew, I’ll eat it.” Tressa assured him, clearing her throat and rubbed it a little before walking over to hand him his plate while she had her own. “I’ll try lamb with pineapple.  Never had lamb with pineapple before.” She winked at him, trying to ease the tension between them and pressed her finger to his lips when he went to argue. “Stop.  This is fine.  See?” Tressa took a bite out of the lamb with pineapple and her eyes widened because…it was good.  It was REALLY good.  It was delicious! “Oh my god…holy shit, this is good.” The shock was real in her eyes as she took another bite and it tasted even better. “I think I’ve been eating lamb wrong, Highlander.”

 

Chapter 53

 

“I think you have too…” Lamb could be screwed up, though the way she was going to town on it… “Or perhaps my bairns had a craving you weren’t aware of.” He teased, eating a bit slower than she was and reached out to stop her from scarfing another bite. “Slow down, lass!  It’s not going anywhere.” He grinned at her, bringing her hand up to lick away the sauce before letting go.  

 

Shifting, he balanced his plate on his knee and resumed eating, knowing they were going to talk about the incident after this.  He had been a cock, he knew it, venting in the gym instead of speaking to her, but… they had also both laid out their sides and reasons.  Once they finished eating, slower for her, Tressa cleaned up their mess before walking back over to sit on his lap sideways, draping her arms around his neck.

 

“Thank you for dinner and being patient with me.” She shut her eyes, resting her forehead against his and softly kissed him, deepening it just a little before pulling back. “You were right…and I am going to fight this.  I already called Clementine and she’s put in the paperwork for the battle that’s coming.  With that said…” This was where things became difficult because, going to war with the McMahon’s meant she would most likely not have a job anymore. “Jon invited me to join him in AEW…and I think I’m going to accept as long as they want to hire me.  He’s going to talk to Chris Jericho about it and let me know if they need a seamstress.  Andrew…I’m not asking you to come with me because I know how much being in the WWE means to you.  I just hope…we can make this work because I…” Tears filled her eyes and it had nothing to do with the hormones; it was fear of losing her Scotsman when she just found love again after Joseph. “I don’t want to lose you…”

 

“You’re not going to lose me, Tressa,” He reassured her softly, running one massive hand up and down her back in a soothing manner. “I am sorry, for being quiet and tense, I…” Drew inwardly sighed, even he had male pride issues sometimes, even though he also usually considered himself to be a rare breed: a man who communicated.  He had totally botched that this time. “I love you, and I value you,” That part was important. “Seeing what you were willing to let go, for people who do NOT value, or appreciate you, I dinnae know how to explain it, Tres.” His free hand moved to her face. “I wish ye could see yourself the way I see ye.” He said quietly, knowing there were no words to explain it.

 

“I was willing to stay here and let what happened slide under the rug, just as long as we remained together, in the same company, with our babies, but…” Tressa couldn’t stay in a company she was no longer happy with, who didn’t value her, just as he said. “I understand why you were quiet and tense, Highlander, and I don’t fault you for it.  I’m not angry.  The ONLY people I’m angry at are the McMahon’s and Joe because I thought they were my friends and now they’ve shown their true colors.  All of them.  So…” She took another deep breath, caressing his bearded face with her fingertips. “Would you be okay with me working for another wrestling organization or would you rather I stay home with the babies in Tampa?  I will do whatever you want me to, Andrew.  I am willing to sacrifice my job in order for our relationship to succeed because I can always do what I do out of our home, if I wanted to.” She had done it in the past, prior to be hired with WWE.

 

This woman was so talented, she could have her own home-based business if she wanted and she would succeed at it too.  Tressa was able to do more than just sew sequins and mend tights, he had seen her handiwork firsthand.  She had been making baby clothes and décor for the bedrooms at home.

 

“If ye want to go to AEW, if they’ll have ye, I’ll follow ye.” He said it slowly, letting her hear the seriousness in his tone. “I can’t work for a company that treats the ones I love like they’re expendable and minimalizes their suffering and pain the way they did.” He had started taking pages out of Jon’s book lately, the higher-ups were not happy with him.

 

“But you just…” Drew pressed a finger to her lips, stopping her from repeating what she just said moments ago.  Tressa heaved a sigh, watching him slowly shake his head and could tell his mind was made up.  He was leaving the WWE – he would go anywhere she did.  It wasn’t just about her either; he had principles and morals as well. “Okay, okay…” She pushed his finger from her lips and brushed her lips against his to show she understood. “Different question – were you planning on leaving the company regardless if I stayed or not?” Tressa was not surprised when he nodded his head and that both made her heart blossom and break at the same time. “You decided this at the hospital, didn’t you?”

 

The day he had called the McMahon’s and canceled his appearances for WrestleMania media because of what happened to her.

 

“Aye, I did.  I CAN’T work for a company like that, Tressa.  I just cannae do it.” He shook his head, knowing damn well the moral backbone he seemingly possessed could very well come back and haunt him.  In this business, there were a lot of gray areas.  He had been okay with some of them, but watching a woman get beaten publicly and then knowing that the WWE would spin it, use her as a tool and then bury her if need be.  No…he wouldn’t, couldn’t stand for that. “I could always fall back on my degree.  I’m sure there’s a need for criminologists in Florida…” So they could both be home if they wanted.

 

“No, Highlander, I don’t want you doing something you hate.  I know you only went to school because of your parents and you can ‘fall back’ on that when you’re older.” Drew was in his prime, early 33-years-old and had plenty of time ahead of him to pursue his love for wrestling.  When he retired, THEN he could fall back on criminology, but for now, she wanted him to be a professional wrestler. “I’m sure AEW wants you.”

 

Cody Rhodes had worked extensively with Drew and…he was Drew’s final opponent in the Indies, so they were very close friends.  Cody had sent him off with a heartfelt speech after their match.  She had no doubt in her mind Drew would be welcomed with open arms in AEW or anywhere in the world.  He had left his mark in the world of professional wrestling and was a very hot commodity.

 

“Let’s take this journey together.  Wherever we end up, I want it to be with you.  And…” She smiled sheepishly, feeling his hand on her stomach caressing it. “I’d like to see your hometown in Scotland…once the babies are born.” There was no way she could that kind of distance right now, only in the states since they were short flights.

 

They probably wouldn’t be able to fly out anytime soon after the twins were born, especially if she went early, which was a strong possibility. “We’ll figure it out, and I’ll get in touch with Cody.”

 

Cody had been bothering him lately, testing waters, and Drew knew why.  Jon had probably already told Chris what was going on and Chris was a loudmouth, outspoken man who had probably spoken to Cody.  Not to mention, that fiasco had been live, and people had taken videos.  Cody was a man who paid attention to the biggest and really only competition in this pool he was diving in.

 

~!~

 

“So, big bad Drew Galloway wants to come to AEW, eh?” Cody grinned, needing to give the big man a hard time and chuckled at the grumble on the other line. “Seriously though, man, I saw what happened to Tressa.”

 

He remembered the talented lead seamstress at WWE because she had worked on all of his Stardust costumes.  It was her idea for the star to be incorporated into his gimmick, actually.  Just like the Shield, she had helped him a great deal, though he HATED the gimmick, unlike the Shield boys.  One of those boys, Jonathan Good, was on his way to their company and he was looking forward to seeing what the man had to offer.  He already made it clear he wouldn’t be using the Dean Ambrose name because Jon Moxley was him to the core.  Cody had no problem with it; hell, he called himself ‘The American Nightmare’ since his father was ‘The American Dream’, Dusty Rhodes, and it worked for him.

 

“She’s a sweet woman and didn’t deserve what that golden boy did to her.”

 

Tressa was currently on her way to Minnesota to finalize everything with Joseph’s family, to finally beat her in-laws and claim what was rightfully hers and move on with her life.

 

“Nay, she didn’t.  She definitely didn’t deserve the McMahon’s turning on her either.”

 

Tressa had thought that Stephanie was her friend and to an extent, Stephanie was.  That extent being as long as friendship didn’t interfere with the business.  This was a shark eat shark kind of world and Tressa deserved better, especially since she wasn’t an entertainer.

 

“I imagine ye have a need for a talented seamstress.”

 

“I will, and she could help design costumes.” They were working out a deal for television.  It was taking time, but Cody was a patient man. “I’ll send her an offer.”

 

Good Ol’ JR, Jim Ross, a legendary commentator in WWE, along with a producer and talent relations behind the scenes, a WWE Hall of Famer, had recently signed with AEW.  They would be going live on television, on a major network, in October officially to launch All-Elite Wrestling.  Cody had been friends with JR for years – the man had helped him in more ways than one in the cesspool of WWE, navigating its shark-infested waters, and now that the man was officially done with WWE, Cody had jumped at the chance to bring him aboard in AEW.

 

“I’ll send you an offer too, Drew.  We’d love to have you onboard, man.” Drew was not meant for the WWE – the company would inevitably destroy his character and him as a human being, like they almost did Cody.  Cody got out in the nick of time and had made a name for himself, amongst other talented individuals, who were already signed up with AEW as well.

 

“You’re really planning on sticking it to them, aren’t ye, lad?” Drew knew Cody was practically biting at the chance to go toe to toe with the WWE.  Cody had grown up in the wrestling business, he knew how it operated and he knew what should and shouldn’t fly.  Signing Chris, now Jon…and bringing in JR, he was curious about how this would play out. 

 

WWE needed competition, a reminder that they weren’t omnipotent.

 

“No, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand times more, we’re not doing this to compete with the WWE.  We’re doing this because we LOVE professional wrestling.  FUCK the sports-entertainment bullshit, all right?  This is PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING and we’re doing this to prove and show WWE isn’t the end-all, be-all organization.  We may not be as big as they are, but…our following is loyal and I have no doubt we will end up kicking their ass, but if we don’t, oh well.  At least we have a platform to showcase what we can do in the ring.” Cody was very passionate about this business and Vince McMahon had nearly sucked it out of him, but he’d been steadfast and strong.  He left to forge his own path while Drew, unfortunately, had been let go after 8 long years with the company because they hadn’t utilized him properly. “Between you and me, I think our roster is going to KILL what they have going on.  NXT is going to be our main competition because the main roster in the WWE right now sucks, no offense, because of bookings and creative…and Vince.”

 

“Oh feel free to give Stephanie and Paul some of the blame,” About the only thing Levesque was doing right was NXT, but even he stepped in and handled affairs on the main roster when required.  Like the incident with Tressa. “You keep snatching up the legends and you’ll knock them dead.  I’m going to let you go, mate, I’ve got to check in with Tressa.” Who was probably having an emotional day with her former in-laws.

 

“Tell Tressa to call me when she gets a minute and I’ll get her information to send the offer over.  Take care, buddy, and see you soon.”

 

~!~

 

Tressa had her phone in Clementine’s car since it wasn’t allowed to be brought into the courthouse and currently sat beside her lawyer and friend, waiting for the judge.  She ignored the disdainful looks Terri and Joseph’s family shot her way, keeping her head up and eyes forward.  She was the victim here; she had lost her husband, the love of her life, and these assholes were all about money.  She had on a cream-colored long-sleeved tunic on with maternity black pants and cream-colored pumps, her hair braided back neatly.  There was no hiding her rapidly growing belly either, but Clementine assured her all would be fine since Joseph was dead and she was simply moving on with her life.

 

All would be fine because Joseph had been dead long before these babies were conceived, so they couldn’t claim it as the dead man’s baby, or say that Tressa had been cheating on him prior to his death.  It would be hilarious if they tried though.  The judge would probably hold them all in contempt of court and she would laugh her backside off.

 

“This is it.  After today, it’ll all be over with them, are you ready for that?”

 

Are you ready to end this? Drew had asked practically the same thing.

 

She nodded, placing her hands on her stomach to caress it and took a deep, shaky breath, trying to keep the tears at bay.  At least until she was out of the courtroom and far away from her husband’s disgusting, money hungry family.  Clementine nodded, squeezing one of her hands to let her know all would be fine, just as they stood at the announcement of the judge making her entrance.

 

It was short and sweet.  Terri had absolutely NOTHING, no evidence or anything, even with all the times they had continued this sham of a case.  Her lawyer tried to play one last card, the babies, and the judge immediately held them all in contempt for lying.  It was blatant lying since the timeline did not match up at all.  Terri screamed bloody murder while she was removed from the courtroom, calling Tressa every name in the book on the way out. 

 

“YOU FUCKING WHORE!!  YOU KILLED MY SON!!  YOU TOOK MY BABY AWAY FROM ME AND I HAVE NOTHING NOW BECAUSE OF YOU!!  GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!!”

 

The judge waited until the shrieking woman was out of her courtroom before awarding all assets, property, and everything else of Joseph’s to Tressa, hitting her gavel to close the case, officially.  Tressa started crying, burying her face in her hands and Clementine held her close, whispering soothing words into her ear.  This was one case down, one battle won, but they still had a ways to go now that she would be going after the McMahon family, the WWE and their employee, Joe Anoa’i, for what happened to her on live television. 

 

Once Tressa was able to walk out of the courtroom, she once again ignored the hatred Joseph’s sisters, Christina and Jennifer, shot her way, and continued down the steps toward Clementine’s vehicle.  She had to call Drew to let him know the news, knowing the Scotsman was worried about her being here by herself.  He answered on the first ring and she had even read his text message, not bothering to respond since she was calling him anyway.

 

“I won, it’s over and I’m fine, Andrew.” For the most part, besides a little upset by what Terri had screamed at her.

 

Drew was silent for a long moment, having heard her words, but he had been listening to her tone of voice. “Nay, you’re not, lass,” He knew today had probably been emotionally draining, , and probably a small bit of closure for her all wrapped into one. “But you will be.” Because she was a survivor, pure and simple.  There wasn’t anything he didn’t believe she couldn’t overcome. “So what next, bonnie?” He asked, knowing court wise it would be her versus Joe and, by extension, the WWE because their reputation was about to come under fire, as it should.

 

“Now, I’m going to fly back there and watch you destroy Joe on Sunday.  And then, we’re walking out of the WWE together and going to AEW.  Jon called me and told me Cody Rhodes wants to talk to me, so I’m assuming he wants to offer me some kind of deal.” Tressa was right in that assumption.  Looks like the man remembered who helped him with his Stardust gimmick, even though Vince had forced it on him.  She just made it look more…flashy and pleasant. “I’m not staying here.  My Mom didn’t even bother showing up to the courthouse today, so as far as I’m concerned, she’s dead to me.”

 

Blinking, tears slid down her cheeks because she really needed her family’s support today.  She had nobody here with her and figured her mother would get over herself to support her daughter.  Needless to say, Tressa was fed up with Minnesota all together and couldn’t wait to board her flight to fly back to New York in a few hours.

 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there today with you, Tressa.” He could hear the new change in her tone, how thick it had gotten.  She was crying or she was struggling not to cry.  Either way, it broke his heart, knowing he was so far from her right now when she obviously needed someone there to stand with her. “I’m also sorry your family didn’t come when you needed them most.” He was glad, selfish as it was, that they would have their OWN family together in Florida, where they would be able to raise their children to be like them.

 

“It’s okay.  It’s over now and I can finally move on completely with you and our babies.  They’re moving like crazy today, by the way.  I don’t think they like plane rides too much.” She chortled with a watery sniffle, wiping a few stray tears away that slid down her cheeks. “I’m on my way to grab something to eat and then I’ll be boarding a flight around 5.  Do you want me to text you when I get there?” Drew assured her he would be at the airport to grab her since he only had one signing with Axxess to do today, which was why he couldn’t go with her.  Her phone suddenly beeped, and she told Drew to hold on a second, seeing it was Jon and cracked a small smile. “It’s Jon, let me calm him down since I know he’s worried and I will see you in a couple of hours.  I love you, Andrew.”

 

“I love you too, lass, I’ll see you in a few hours.” He sighed, hanging up and groaned, scrubbing his hands down his face with a groan.

 

Soon enough, this would all be over and done with, and he could NOT wait.

 

Chapter 54

 

“Kitten, how’d it go and Cody e-mailed you, so get on that shit ASAP.” Jon ordered, skipping the greeting. “He also talked to Skirts, in case your Highlander didn’t give you the good news.” Considering Drew worried more about her than himself, he doubted it.  Good man.

 

“Wait, what?  No, he didn’t tell me anything and I just got off the phone with him to answer your call.” Tressa would check her e-mail once she was off the phone with Jon and scrubbed a hand down her face, blowing out a large breath. “It’s over, Jon.  I won and Terri was dragged out of the courtroom screaming all kinds of shit at me.  She was held in contempt for attempting to try to use my pregnancy, saying I cheated on Joseph…” Her hormones were raging at the moment and fresh tears began falling. “My Mom…didn’t show up either.  I want nothing to do with her ever again.  I was all alone today and I was hoping she’d show up for me.  I just want out of Minnesota…”

 

Jon snorted the smoke he had just inhaled, wondering if she was the only good egg out of her family.  Fuck, her Mom and his could have been best friends. “I don’t blame you, darlin’,” He didn’t know what else to say, shaking his head. “You’ll be in Tampa, away from them, from all that.” He just hoped guilt over ‘abandoning’ her husband didn’t rise up, it was possible with all the hormone issues pregnancy seemed to give her. “It’s over now, Tres, and they can all go fuck themselves.”

 

They talked for a few more minutes before Clementine took them to a local restaurant to feed their faces.  On the ride there, she checked her e-email and had to go in her spam folder to find what Cody had sent her, raising a slow brow while reading it.

 

Tressa,

 

First of all, I’m so sorry for what happened to you on Raw.  It was a despicable act and it doesn’t surprise me the McMahon family are protecting their Golden Boy, Roman Reigns.  I never forgot about you when I left WWE.  I remember everything you did for me, for the Stardust character, helping me deal with it as much as I could.  You are very talented and All-Elite Wrestling would be honored to have you on our team.  I hereby offer you a seamstress position in our company, but I also want you to help with designs and other things.  We can discuss this further, if you want.  Jon gave me your e-mail to contact you, so if you are interested, please call me at the number below.  I look forward to doing business with you.

 

Take care,

 

The American Nightmare – Cody Rhodes

 

“I need a minute, Clem.”

 

“Everything all right?”

 

“Yeah, just need to make a phone call and it can’t wait.”

 

“I’ll meet you inside, then.  Try to hurry since your flight leaves in a few hours and you need to eat.”

 

Nodding, Tressa waited until Clementine was inside the restaurant and dialed the number in the e-mail, waiting with bated breath for someone, maybe Cody himself, to answer.

 

It was Cody, he was a busy beaver today.  He answered and then grinned when he heard Tressa’s hesitant voice on the line. “Before anything, congratulations on the pregnancy.” He said, smiling slightly.  Her and Drew together, having twins from what he had been told, that was just amazing and maybe one good thing about the WWE, at least for them, it had brought them together. “I’m assuming you got my e-mail?”

 

“Thank you, and yes I did.” That was sweet of Cody to mention the pregnancy as she slid out of the car, leaning against the passenger door. “Forgive my voice, it’s still a little rough from what happened on Monday.” It was only 3 days ago that happened…had it really been that short period of time? “I’m sure you saw it, along with the rest of the world…” She cleared her throat, really needing some water right about now, but she’d finish this conversation first.

 

“Yeah, we did.  Actually, it blew up over the Internet.” Cody informed her thoughtfully, browsing some of the tabs he had open on his laptop. “I’m honestly, and please don’t think I’m making fun or light of this situation, surprised that they haven’t tried to turn it into a storyline between Joe and Drew since WrestleMania is here.” Because that was how the McMahon’s operated, turning real life issues into their soap opera fodder.

 

“They tried, but thanks to my lawyer, it was stopped before they could add it to the storyline.” Tressa swallowed her anger and annoyance now at the McMahon’s and at the entire situation, shaking her head sadly. “Anyway, you said if I was interested in working for AEW, to give you a call.  I’m interested, Cody.  I can’t work for a company that’s not loyal to their employees.  I’ve been here over 12 years and never, ever had a problem with anyone, until now.  It’s definitely time to find a new home and, if your company is looking for a seamstress, I’m your gal and I’m willing to travel with the twins.”

 

“Oh wow, you’re having twins?!”

 

“Yeah.” Tressa smiled broadly. “We bought a bus instead of staying in hotels and it’s easier to travel in general.  I will need time off once the babies are born, maternity leave and whatnot.  And there IS a chance the babies could come earlier than 40 weeks, so…there’s that to consider as well.” The babies would always come first.

 

Cody was pretty pleased with himself; he had been told she was having twins and still managed to sound surprised. “We’re hitting a major network in October, we won’t need an actual on the location seamstress until then.” Which would be after she had delivered and would also keep her off the road during the remainder of her pregnancy. “However, we are looking for assistance in costume design, we have one other person right now, most of the guys already come with their own set-up.” Chris Jericho, for example. “Others would like the help.”

 

Did that mean Drew would be out of work until October too?  Tressa chewed her thumbnail, having second thoughts about this, but costume design she could definitely do.  She was due in July – October would give them just about 3 months until the launch of AEW.  She had plenty of money and she was sure Drew did too, though they hadn’t really discussed their finances.  Maybe that was a conversation they needed to have once she was back in New York.

 

“Tressa?  You still with me?”

 

“Y-Yeah…” She cleared her throat again. “Sorry.  Um, costume design sounds great.” If the babies came early, Drew wouldn’t need to be granted time off either and neither would she, so that was a plus as well. “I live in Tampa, would they be able to come there or do we need to come to AEW headquarters?” Did they even have a headquarters yet?

 

Cody smiled, hearing the uncertainty in her tone. “We’re in Jacksonville, Florida, so that’s not too far away from Tampa.” It was a little over three hours. “If need be, the wrestlers can come to you, that’s not a problem, Tressa.”

 

That made her feel marginally better. “Okay.” It was almost too good to be true, but she really had to talk to Drew before locking anything down. “We’re quitting WWE, as far as I know, right after WrestleMania, so…can we meet up with you once we’re done with this weekend?”

 

“Sure, absolutely.  So you ARE interested in taking the job as seamstress starting in October and costume designer in the meantime?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Excellent, I will draw up your contracts and hopefully, you’ll be AEW once our meeting is done.  I look forward to it.” Cody would call Drew to set up all the details, not wanting this woman to talk any longer because her voice sounded REALLY rough still. “Go eat and relax, we’ll talk soon, Tressa.”

 

She cracked a smile. “Thank you, Cody.  Take care.” Hanging up, Tressa leaned her head back against the window and stared up at the sky, rubbing her stomach, hoping she wasn’t making a mistake by leaving WWE.

 

Three hours later, after a hearty lunch and a small catnap on the plane, Tressa landed back in New York City.

 

Drew was waiting when Tressa landed, worn out from his WrestleMania commitments, but also both pleased and amused because Cody had been back in touch.  It sounded like they were going to have time off and considering how hectic and, to borrow Jon’s current favorite word FUCKED, this year had been so far… some downtime wouldn’t be a bad thing.  It would give them more time together without the stress and fast paced traveling lifestyle, and they would be able to focus on themselves and the wee ones coming.

 

“You look tired.” He said by way of greeting, reaching out to gently pull her into his arms.

 

Wrapping her arms tightly around him, Tressa breathed him in and nodded, not able to wait for this damn weekend to be over with.  Then, they could go home to Tampa, their house, move Drew in properly and spend some real quality time together.  Their bus could be parked in the driveway, she didn’t care because there was room for it.

 

“God, I missed you.” She whispered, pulling back enough to where he could bend down to capture her mouth in a soft, passionate kiss, actually lifting her in his arms bridal style to cradle her against him. “A-Andrew…I’m a lot heavier than I used to be…” If he dropped her, it would be really bad.

 

The look he gave her was a combination of exasperation, amusement, and total adoration.  This woman…he clucked his tongue and shook his head. “You dinnae weigh more than the weights I work out with.”

 

Her concerns about him dropping her could be valid if he tripped, which he wouldn’t.  Drew was taking slow, measured steps.  Her concerns about her weight were not, he wasn’t sure how much she had gained throughout this pregnancy and he would never ask, but she wasn’t as heavy as she thought.

 

“I’ll not be dropping you.” He promised, carrying her out the doors and to their waiting bus.

 

“I forgot how strong you really are.” Tressa murmured once they were back on their bus, feeling a little sheepish at her worry and felt him sit down on their couch with her still in his arms. 

 

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, kissing his ear and nuzzled him, just enjoying the tranquility they had.  Tressa didn’t want to talk about anything regarding the WWE, or Joe, or AEW, none of it.  She just wanted her man to hold her close, to snuggle with him and pressed her forehead against his, rubbing her nose against his.  Drew meant everything to her, him and these babies were her life now and she would not make the same mistake she did with Joseph.  This time, her relationship and especially the babies would come first before her career.

 

They sat in companionable, comfortable silence.  No words were needed, they just held and caressed each other.  This was one of the things he loved most about his relationship with Tressa.  Not every touch had to be sexual or sensual, they didn’t have to fill in silence with small talk, she was content to just BE.  He had never been with someone like her, where he just wanted to be, just hold her, just revel in the small gestures.

 

“I love you, Tressa.” He murmured in his brogue against her head, his hand coming down to caress her belly, feeling his twins moving against his palm.

 

“I love you too, Highlander.  And I missed you so much today.  We did, I mean.” She corrected, placing her hand on her stomach over his and leaned her head against his broad shoulder, their fingers lacing together. 

 

Drew was unlike any man she’d ever met in her life and Tressa couldn’t believe how foolish she’d acted toward him at first.  Granted, when he first came back, he really was a cocky bastard, but never once was he rude or cynical to her.  He was very pleasant, a gentleman, but his size had intimidated her.  Now, his size turned her on and made her melt into a puddle at his feet.

 

“I can’t wait to go home after Sunday.” After he annihilated Joe at WrestleMania, though she had a sinking feeling the McMahon’s wouldn’t let Drew win against their Golden Boy.

 

Drew already knew he wasn’t SUPPOSED to win, that had been made very clear today.  He was supposed to do the ‘right thing’ and lay his ass down, take the final move and sell it.  He had flat out lifted the kilt he had been wearing and revealed the ass cheek he wanted them to kiss first before he even considered lowering himself to losing intentionally to the man who had abused Tressa.  It would never happen.

 

“Me either, as soon as the match is over, we’re gone.” He informed her, knowing the downtime would do them both some good.

 

Hell, their short relationship had been practically done on the road, this would be new for them.

 

~!~

 

WrestleMania had finally arrived.

 

Cody had called Drew to set up a time to meet in Tampa later on that week, but first, they had to finish up with WWE.  Tressa had already put her notice in and, being the petty bitches they were, she wasn’t allowed backstage, not even to say goodbye to everyone.  Stephanie was a heartless bitch and showed her true colors, along with her father and husband.  So instead, she was forced to stay out in the parking lot, in a locked bus, watching WrestleMania on the WWE Network.  She had a bowl of popcorn, with cut up pineapple in it, waiting for Drew and Joe’s match to begin.  And she hoped Drew destroyed Joe and put him right back on the shelf on his way out the damn company.

 

“Hey kitten, let me in!” Jon wasn’t even supposed to be on the grounds, but…here he was, in all his rebel and renegade glory.  He grinned when the doors opened, revealing Tressa with a chunk of pineapple in her hand. “I come bearing a pineapple smoothie for you, and a six pack for me.” He held up his hands. “And if you let me hide in here with you, I’d appreciate it because I was told I’d wind up arrested for trespassing if I tried to ‘pull any funny business’.” He had been told that this morning actually.

 

The McMahons were not happy with any of them.

 

“Hmm, I don’t know…” Tapping her chin, she laughed at Jon’s growl and nodded, waving him inside, hugging him briefly before guiding him over to the comfortable couch.  There were some other snacks as well like chips and dip, a veggie tray, some little smokies she had made in a small crockpot she’d bought at the store yesterday. “Sorry, you know I couldn’t resist teasing you a little.” The bus was allowed on the grounds due to the fact Drew was on the card. “Ready to watch Seth become a ‘Beast Slayer’ and Joe get his ass handed to him by my ‘Scottish Psychopath’?”

 

“Yep.” Jon made sure to lock the doors behind him, inhaling deeply and his stomach rumbled.  He was always hungry though.  He popped his beer in the fridge, minus one bottle and eyed her spread. “All this for just you, huh?  Those twins you’re carrying are beasts.” He rubbed her belly without asking or thinking about it. “How are MY godchildren, by the way?” The fact that after everything they’d been through together, she was going to make him the godfather, it was amazing and Jon already knew he would KILL for these kids.  He’d kill for her too.  Drew, not so much, the man could handle himself. “I heard a rumor that Drew is supposed to lie down for this match, that true?”

 

She nodded, a devious smirk curving her lips and leaned back against the couch, not minding him touching her belly. “Doesn’t mean he’s going to, though.” Drew had already made it crystal clear he was walking out the victor and Joe would NOT walk out of MetLife stadium of his own accord. “He made sure I had all kinds of snacks.  Apparently, I’m ‘starving’ his wee ones.” Tressa rolled her eyes playfully, popping some more pineapple and popcorn in her mouth. “And we’re meeting with Cody this week in Tampa to sign our AEW contracts.  Have you signed yours yet or do you have to wait until the beginning of May?” Jon’s contract ran out at the end of April.

 

“If I sign anything before my contract expires, I’m in legal murky waters.”

 

Jon wondered if Drew was serious about her starving his babies.  The woman, not that he would EVER say this out loud, was huge and she wasn’t even in her third trimester, was she?  Jon had a hard time remembering how that all went, pregnancy was strange.

 

“I could go in and make them fire me.” Kind of like Drew was going to by NOT laying down, they’d fire his ass so fast…which was probably what Skirts wanted.

 

“We’re leaving after he’s finished with Joe tonight.  We’re not staying for the main event or anything because it’s going to take at least a day to get from New York back to Tampa in this thing.” At least they would be traveling in comfort and then Drew would have to start the process of moving all of his belongings into the house, along with selling his old place.  She knew he didn’t rent and hoped they could get everything settled, including the babies’ nursery, by the time they were born. “Oh, here we go.”

 

They showed the silhouettes of Joe and Drew on the virtual reality thing and then began playing the video that lead up to this match.  Tressa lowered her eyes when those scumbags actually added her in the mix, shaking her head and felt Jon’s arm wrap around her shoulders.  That was fine, the lawsuit would go in her favor now they had officially tried spinning it as part of a storyline.

 

“I can’t wait to take these assholes to the cleaners, Jon.”

 

“Me either, doll.” He said quietly, hardly believing the audacity of these people.

 

These so-called friends who had turned their backs on her for a mediocre wrestler that had totally lost his mind on national television.  How could they back that?  He couldn’t fathom it.  But people like Drew, and him, would be punished for their own micro-transgressions, people like Tressa would be eaten alive if they got in the company’s way.  This was NOT the WWE he remembered wanting to sign with, be a part of forever.

 

“If it makes you feel any better, Colby has a friend who works in the production truck.  He’s sneaking us film from tonight on the sly.” Well, sneaking it to Colby.  

 

They had used Tressa officially in their storyline without her consent and, even though the WWE owned all footage shot within their shows and whatnot, she had never signed a waiver, or a contract, granting them use of her image, likeness, or person.  Sure enough, while Joe did his entrance after a stunning one by Drew with bagpipes, another knock sounded at the bus door.  Jon ordered her to stay put and went to see who it was, opening it as Colby, the NEW WWE Universal champion, came inside with the footage in hand.

 

“That was REALLY fast.” She blinked, taking the tape from him and Colby shrugged before hugging her, settling on the couch by Jon while Jon sat by her.

 

“We’ve been friends a long time and I’ll be damned if the company gets away with that shit.” He had opened the show, beat Brock Lesnar and took a shower, not wanting to miss the massacre that was about to go down. “Drew looks ready to kill Joe, man…”

 

“Good.”

 

Chapter 55

 

The intro had been created and all Colby had to do was wait until it aired, before snatching the copy his buddy had made for him, on the sly.  He understood that if it got out that an extra copy had been made and given to someone, he was in trouble for theft.  He was fine with that.  Colby didn’t think, in the grand scheme of things, he was going to wind up in trouble, not when the WWE was about to have their hands full.

 

“Is it true he’s going to make them fire him?”

 

“That’s the rumor.” Jon kept his eyes on the screen.

 

It was hilarious.  Drew didn’t talk to anyone really backstage, he had his friends, but…as far as anyone knew, Skirts wasn’t saying a word.  All these rumors were just that, rumors and assumptions.  This one was a safe bet, he figured Drew would jump the shark and force the WWE to send him packing.  It was smart because it would release him from the exclusive part of his independent contractor status.  Being an independent contractor was such bullshit.  They made good money sure, but it also meant they covered their own health insurance and benefits, and they were screwed if they got fired, no unemployment.

 

Clasping her hands together, Tressa kept her eyes on the screen the entire time and watched Drew DOMINATE Joe in every way.  WWE was about to lose a huge commodity, a star, and all because Vince couldn’t remove his head from Joe’s asscrack for five seconds.  All the shots Drew gave Joe were very real, there wasn’t any holding back at all.  Then, Joe did his superman schtick, five moves of doom and speared Drew, closing in on victory. 

 

Only…Drew kicked out and did a kick up, shocking both Joe and the referee.  The next second, Joe got a LETHAL boot to the face and Drew was on him, pounding him relentlessly with his fists while the referee tried getting him to back off.  Drew shoved the referee away and OUT of the ring with velocity, not stopping his fist hammering against the ‘Big Dog’s’ head.

 

That was where Drew was supposed to lie down.  He was supposed to take that stupid move, the five moves of doom, and lie down like a bitch.  Never mind the fact that he had DOMINATED the match.  Losing like THAT would not only destroyed his credibility, but also cemented to the fans that the WWE would do anything -including selling blatant bullshit- to keep their golden boy up on top where he obviously did not belong.

 

Drew knew he was on his last night and since it WAS the Grandest Stage of them all, he was going out HIS way. “This is for Tressa,” Joe probably knew it, but he was going to hammer it home.  He wasn’t laying down for this piece of shit woman abuser with serious mental damage.

 

“Oh my god…”

 

Drew delivered not one, not two, but THREE devastating Claymore kicks, each nailing Joe right in the face.  It was lights OUT for the ‘Big Dog’ as ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ stepped on his chest, glaring at the referee hesitating to make the three count.  He snarled down at the man who had hurt the mother of his child and the love of his life, wanting to do even more damage, but he also didn’t want to be arrested. 

 

“And your winner – DREW MCINTYRE!!”

 

Instantly, officials swarmed from the back to check on Joe, who was OUT COLD from those Claymore kicks.  Drew smirked viciously at his handiwork and looked right in the camera, winking. ‘For you, mo’leannan!’ He mouthed, looking away from the camera and leaned against the barricade to admire what he’d done while Joe was CARTED out of the stadium on a stretcher.

 

Tressa felt tears slide down her cheeks, touching the Celtic cross around her neck and felt Jon hold her close, giving her the comfort she needed at the moment. “Thank you guys for being here.” She reached over to take Colby’s hand, squeezing it. “By the way, congratulations NEW Universal champion.” She couldn’t believe the show opened with that title match. 

 

Brock Lesnar really was a piece of garbage and she hoped he was done with WWE completely.

 

Colby blushed, waving her off and squeezed her hand in return since Jon was between them.  He stood up to grab another beer, giving them a moment and Colby scooted over to pull Tressa into his arms, hugging her close. “Thanks, Tres.” He murmured, kissing the top of her head and rather enjoyed watching Joe get his ass handed to him by Drew. “So, I take it you guys are hitting the road now?”

 

“As soon as he gets back here, yeah.”

 

“Oh, I bet he’s going to be awhile, they’re going to haul his ass to the bosses and give him an informal dressing down and firing.  Then in a few days, he’ll get the official letter in the mail.” Jon snorted from his place at the fridge, returning with a beer for him and one for Colby.

 

Sure enough, said bosses were waiting for him when he got backstage.  Drew managed to send off a text letting her know he’d be out as soon as he could before smirking and getting down to it.  He had jumped script and WON, he was leaving on HIS terms.

 

“Let’s get this over with, I’ve got better places to be.”

 

Vince McMahon screamed and yelled for a good 10 minutes at the Scotsman, ripping and tearing into him, reminding him of who made him and gave him his very first shot.  The words ‘YOU’RE FIRED’ rang throughout his office after the verbal lashing, followed by security escorting him out of the stadium, after he grabbed his gear from his dressing room.  Stephanie gaped at her father with wide eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, knowing exactly why Drew did what he did.

 

“Dad…”

 

Drew McIntyre – Andrew Galloway – would go back to the Indies, probably their upcoming competition, AEW, and reign supreme there like he should have done in the WWE.  Sometimes, Stephanie didn’t understand her father and she really wished he would realize he had BETTER Superstars on the roster than Roman Reigns.  Not only had they lost a great friendship and longtime employee in Tressa, a rare talent in her field, but now they had lost Drew McIntyre AGAIN, along with Dean Ambrose.  At some point, her father had to open his eyes and see the light, right? 

 

Doubtful.

 

Stephanie was just as complicit as her father and husband.  She had willingly tossed Tressa to the wolves, to defend the company, the family business.  Drew had no fucks to give as he grabbed his gear and strolled out of the building, whistling happily through his teeth.  A weight had been lifted from his chest, this was over.  He and Tressa would go on to start a new chapter in their lives, together, and without the poison of the WWE looming around them.  He grinned when he reached the bus and the doors opened, revealing Jon and Colby.

 

“Good evening, lads.”

 

“Bro…” Jon shook his head, laughing. “Nice match.”

 

Watching Tressa rush to Drew to hug him tightly, him bending to be at her level, so she could wrap her arms around his neck…Colby realized just how much she loved the Scotsman, at that moment.  He glanced at Jon, who had nothing except acceptance and happiness on his face for their friend.  Tressa had been through hell on earth with her husband’s death and the miscarriage she suffered.  Colby wasn’t completely convinced Tressa and Drew were meant to be, but all of his doubts were laid to rest as the Scotsman held her close to him, or as close as he could because of her huge round belly.  She had found happiness again in life, even with all the tragedy and obstacles thrown in front of her. 

 

The fact she was keeping Jon and Colby in her life, even after what happened between them…she was a hell of a woman.  He had been a quiet onlooker, watching to see what happened and if things fell apart between her and Drew.  The way she pulled back to cup his face in her hands, asking if he was all right and their foreheads pressing together…Colby could really see all the love between them.  He NEVER would have thought Tressa would date someone like Andrew, a hard-hitting Scotsman, but fate worked in mysterious ways.  It was obvious one day, soon, Drew would inevitably pop the question to her and Tressa would end up married again, happy with a family.

 

“Keep in touch, Tres.” Colby had his own celebration to have and he really wanted to watch his girlfriend, Becky Lynch’s, match, which was headlining WrestleMania this year and closing the show out.

 

“You too, ‘Beast Slayer’.” She laughed at his blush and hugged him tightly before he took off from the bus to head back into the stadium.

 

“Well, I better get out of your hair and head out myself.  I will see you guys in a few weeks, might pop in for a visit.” Jon pulled Tressa into his arms, hugging her close and gave a nod to Skirts, knowing she was in very good hands. “Let him make you happy, kitten.  He’s good for you, all of you.” He placed a hand on her stomach and kissed her forehead, seeing the tears glistening in her eyes. “Don’t cry, we’ll see each other soon enough and I’ll make sure I’m there when the babies are born.  Gotta meet my godchildren, after all.”

 

Nodding, Tressa was overcome with emotion because she didn’t know when she would see Jon again, knowing eventually it would be in October.  That seemed a long ways off, though, and she hoped he would be all right until then. “Call me.  Day or night.  It doesn’t matter, I’m always here for you, Daddy.” She grinned, not forgetting her nickname for him and chuckled at his eye roll. “I guess I should be calling you something else now, eh?”

 

“That would probably be best, lass.”

 

That made her laugh harder with Jon. “Godpoppa it is, then.” She hugged Jon one last time, tears falling down her cheeks. “I love you, Jon.  Never forget that, okay?”

 

Jon nodded, hugging her just as tight. “I love you too, Tressa.  Always.  Don’t worry about me, I’m gonna be just fine.  Just…there won’t anymore Dean Ambrose.” He was going back to his original ring name Jon Moxley and could not wait to finally be rid of the Dean Ambrose moniker once and for all.

 

“Got it.  Go on, get outta here and go enjoy your freedom.” Tressa watched him walk off the bus, after snagging another beer on the way.  Her and Drew laughed as he did the DX suck it chop to the stadium before running off in the opposite direction.

 

“Ready to head out, lass?”

 

Tressa nodded, taking one last look at the stadium and knew she would never enter another WWE arena, event, any of it as long as she lived. “Yeah, I’m ready.  Let’s hit the road, mo’leannan.” He kissed the side of her neck, ordering the driver to take off and carted her to the back for some celebratory lovemaking.

 

~!~

 

Five days later, after arriving back in Tampa, Drew and Tressa met with Cody Rhodes, signing their AEW contracts.  She would be working out of her home until October, then they would bring their bus back on the road to travel with the AEW.  In the meantime, wrestlers would come to their home to discuss design ideas and she would whip them up, wanting their input on everything.

 

The WWE didn’t take the lawsuit to court and instead, settled on a couple of million dollars, but Clementine still went after Joe himself.  The WWE covered him as well, adding more numbers to the settlement amount.  Even though she wanted to take them to the cleaners, Tressa agreed to it because she wanted to be completely done and finished with the WWE once and for all.  Drew was all right with getting that nice chunk of change, supporting Tressa in whatever she wanted to do.  WWE knew they were in the wrong and it was Stephanie who actually convinced her father to simply settle instead of taking it to a major court.  The company had enough negative publicity from what Joe had done to Tressa on national television as it was, they really didn’t need anymore.

 

At 7 ½ months along, Tressa’s water broke and she wound up having an emergency C-section to deliver Joseph Andrew Galloway and Angela Anne Galloway – both weighing 3 pounds, 5 ounces and they were 12 inches long.  The doctor assured her everything would be fine and they were placed in NICU for the next 2 months, with Drew and Tressa doing everything they could to help their little ones survive.  In the end, in mid-July, they walked out of the hospital, each holding a baby car seat and piled them into the huge Chevy Silverado parked in front of the hospital.  Joseph had Tressa’s eyes and Drew’s dark hair while Angela took after her father with his ocean blues and had Tressa’s caramel chestnut locks – they were fraternal twins, not identical, but still looked a lot alike.

 

A month later, in August, Drew surprised Tressa with a trip to Scotland to finally meet his father and stepmother.  They were pleasant people and absolutely adored their grandchildren, the twins taking to them instantly.  Drew wound up leaving the twins with his father and stepmother while he took Tressa out to a field full of heather, REAL heather, and right there, in the sunlight, professed his love before asking for her hand in marriage.  Tressa was stunned, not having a clue he had planned this and nodded her head, unable to speak while he slid the beautiful Scottish-themed diamond ring. 

 

It had the knots on either side, diamonds on the bottom and a huge circular diamond in the middle with diamonds in the knots.  It came with a second ring -it was a set- and that was lined with diamonds on the top while having the Celtic design all around it to match the diamond ring perfectly.  It was absolutely stunning and Tressa jumped in Drew’s arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck to passionately kiss him.  Right there in the heather, just like Drew wanted, he made love to his soon-to-be wife and Tressa was in heaven.

 

Instead of waiting, they were married while in Scotland, with just close friends and family flying in for the event.  Jon and Colby were there, amongst a few others from the WWE, watching as these two souls, who hadn’t been together all that long, but loved each other unconditionally, exchanged vows and became Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Mclean Galloway.  It was a rush to find a wedding dress, but Tressa managed to pull it off and Drew wasn’t bothered by the baby weight she was still trying to work off.  Eventually, she would get back to her original weight and size, with a few stretch marks, but those were her badges and battle scars from having two beautiful babies, which were being held front row by Jon and Colby. 

 

Instead of having one godfather, Tressa and Drew decided to make Colby a second godfather after everything he’d done for them, to help them overcome what the WWE did to them.  He was a true friend, a best friend and Tressa loved him like a brother, wanting him to be a true part of their lives forever.  He was good with kids too, so that was a huge plus and Rebecca Quin -Becky Lynch- who sat beside him was also incredible with the twins.

 

October rolled around and Drew made his official debut on the opening show for AEW, shocking the fans and feeling at home once again.  This was where they belonged.  With everything they’d been through, seeing the sheer elation and happiness on her husband’s face did Tressa’s heart good while she fed the growing twins.  She looked up at the sky, outside of the window of the bus and pressed her fingers to her lips, holding them up.

 

“Thank you, baby, for everything.  I love you, Joseph, always and forever and I hope you’re happy for me.  I hope you’re happy for this new journey I’m taking.”

 

The wind picked up, blowing through the window, through her hair, and she closed her eyes, feeling his spirit surround her.

 

Tressa had finally found her place in life, with her second soulmate and she made a vow to never, ever take anything for granted again.

 

Life was too short.

 

The End.