Convalesce

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Being married to a WWE Superstar wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, including being on the road with them.  Even having a wife, husband or spouse on the road, having sex on a nightly basis, didn’t satisfy some of them.  A man or woman could have their spouse with them on a daily and nightly basis, but it still wasn’t enough.  That was what Jilysa believed, anyway.  It’d been two weeks since she’d caught Drew McIntyre, her husband, in his dressing room, banging another woman.  Not just any woman either.  None other than Leah Van Dale – everyone knew her better in the company as Carmella.  She was married to Jon Moxley, who used to be Dean Ambrose in WWE, before he left the company to pursue a new road in his career.  Jilysa wasn’t close with Leah at all, but she knew the woman got around the locker room and now she had sank her talons into Drew. 

 

Jilysa’s contract was up with WWE and there was nothing holding her in the company anymore, so leaving was her only option.  She’d already called her lawyer to set up the divorce from Drew since he obviously didn’t respect or love her anymore.  She gave him everything, all the sex he could possibly want, and he STILL wasn’t satisfied because he had sank his dick into another woman!  It made no sense to Jilysa, but at the same time, it did.  She hadn’t gotten along with Drew lately, they had been arguing over the fact she wasn’t pregnant yet and they’d been trying for almost two years.  Made her wonder if her husband wasn’t shooting Scottish blanks, but every time she had brought up the matter and asked him to get checked out, he lashed out at her and told her he was perfectly healthy.  She had gotten checked out and all the tests came back normal, so if it wasn’t her, then it was definitely something to do with his boys not finding their mark, or simply no boys coming out to play.

 

Either way, Jilysa was at a crossroads now while she stared at the new WWE contract in front of her.  It had been hand delivered to her a few days ago and she still hadn’t made her mind up on what she should do.  She was one of the social media coordinator’s for WWE, watching the Twitter page and reporting anything obscene or against the rules to the higher-ups.  It paid well and she actually had benefits, unlike the actual Superstars within the company.  Her insurance covered Drew, not the other way around, so now he’d have to take care of his own backside as far as his health was concerned.  Shaking her head, Jilysa ripped up the contract before she second-guessed herself and tossed the pieces in her paper shredder, leaning back against the couch.  Drew hadn’t dared come back to the condo on their days off and even if he did, he wouldn’t be getting in because she had changed the locks.  The condo was solely in her name, thanks to Drew having some debt and now the best credit history, so this was HER place, not his.

 

Now, the only question was what would she do with her life now?

 

~!~

 

For someone with his busy schedule, Chris Irvine, better known worldwide as Chris Jericho, spent a LOT of time on social media.  He had accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Hell, he probably still had a Myspace account floating around out there.  He was a family man, the front man of FOZZY, AND a living legend in the wrestling world.  He had started out his wrestling career as the underdog, too small to make anything of himself.  Now, so many years later, he had proven himself as consistently entertaining on the microphone with serious promo skills and just as good in the ring.  He was ignoring the several botched Codebreakers from his time in the WWE.  After all, contrary to popular belief, he wasn’t God and he wasn’t perfect either.  Close, but not quite.

 

He paid attention to the wrestling world, including the dumpster fire that was his former playground.  When word of a new cheating scandal hit him, his jaw nearly hit the floor. JJ, baby, what’s up? He was in the back of an SUV, on his way to one of his many appearances, really hoping this one didn’t take too long because his son had a game tonight. Word is two of my besties are about to be single.  Any truth?

 

Now, even though she wasn’t on camera, Jilysa had attended several functions with Drew, so the world knew her as his wife.  She had done a few segments on the pre-shows for pay-per-view events when they had the Twitter lounge thing going on, but it had fizzled out pretty quickly.  If the rumors were already swirling around regarding her and Drew, did that mean people knew about Carmella being Drew’s new lover? 

 

Hmm…Jilysa contemplated responding to Chris, who was one of her best friends, chewing her thumbnail. If you’re referring to my divorce to Drew, then yes, it’s true.  And I don’t know what rumors are flying around, but he cheated on me with another coworker. There was no reason to tell him who unless he asked and then she would oblige because Jilysa did not keep anything from Chris.

 

OMG! That seemed both appropriate and yet not enough; Chris’s baby blues widened as he stared at the text, shaking his head. 

 

Jon’s wife had been caught coming out all disheveled from Drew McIntyre’s locker room and whoever had spotted it had put a few bees in the right bonnets.  Those bonnets had done their vicious rumor mongering and then someone had mentioned it happening before, not so long ago.  It had been Jilysa who had come storming out of that room.  So, McIntyre had done this once, been caught by his wife, who was now divorcing him, and then again just last night.  It was already spreading like wildfire.  He pitied anyone who pissed off Carmella’s husband once he found out, if the man didn’t already know.

 

Want to come stay with me and the fam?  I’ll help you come up with some awesome revenge ideas. Chris knew that she wasn’t that kind of person, not really, but it wouldn’t be him if he didn’t offer.

 

Would Jessica have a problem with that?  This was Thanksgiving week, the start of the holidays, and Jilysa had no idea what she planned on doing for it.  Her family lived clear across the country and, even though she had the money to fly to see them, she really didn’t want to.  They had basically cut her off once she joined the WWE and married a wrestler.  Her and Drew had eloped in Scotland, during a vacation, and only his family had been in attendance during the very small ceremony.  Their second year anniversary had just passed and now they were getting divorced.  It was funny how life worked.

 

I don’t want to impose, Christopher. She sent back with a sigh and wasn’t surprised when he responded moments later.

 

Jessica is demanding you come to Thanksgiving dinner with us.  My hands are tied, JJ.

 

Groaning, Jilysa couldn’t deny beautiful Jessica anything and rubbed her temples, reluctantly agreeing to join them. All right, but I’m only staying for Thanksgiving and then coming back home.

 

Yeah, whatevs.  You already know you’ll cave as soon as we all start flashing our pretty blue/brown eyes at you.

 

Chris had blue, Jess had brown, and then there were the kids, his adorable blonde haired angels.  LIES!  Pre-teens and teens were not angels AT ALL, especially HIS spawns.  It was great!  He had totally lied about Jessica too.  His sweetheart didn’t know a thing about this, but she wouldn’t care.  She didn’t even know about the cheating scandal yet, so he’d tell her when he got home from their kid’s game.  His wife of over 15 years was just as chill as he was.

 

My sexy ass is getting ready to walk into this studio and wow some poor people with my charm.  Ttyl, JJ.

 

Yeah, TTYL Christopher.  Let me know what time you want me to come over for dinner?

 

Jilysa resided in Tampa, Florida, the same city as Fozzy’s lead singer.  Whenever they had time off, she was over there seeing her goddaughters, laughing and joking around with Jessica and enjoying their company.  Drew joined sometimes, but mostly, he was too worried about working out and keeping his body in tip-top shape.  He cared more about his appearance than spending time with his wife and friends.  That should’ve been a red flag for Jilysa, however, love blinded people and made them do stupid things.  Sighing, Jilysa stood up from the couch and went to take a much needed shower, feeling a little better now that she wouldn’t be alone for Thanksgiving this year.

 

After his appearance, Chris texted his beautiful wife to let her know he was on his way to the game and to meet him in the high school parking lot.  He changed in the back of the SUV, out of his suit and formal wear, and into more casual gym shorts and a tank top, pulling his hair back.  Then, a bottle of water between his knees, he retrieved his cell again.

 

Mox, my man, what’s up? He knew Jon was not very active on social media, he generally had a fan run it or…someone.  However, the man DID text, a lot.  In fact, he was good for dirty jokes and pictures that would have gotten most married men in trouble.  Jessica found it hilarious.

 

Fck.ff.

 

Vowels broken on the phone?

 

F-U-C-K. O-F-F.

 

So…Jon knew about his whoring wife.

 

Of COURSE, Jon knew about his whore wife!  Why wouldn’t he?  Even though he wasn’t a social media fanatic, like some of his other friends, Jon could NOT miss the headline from TMZ.  Carmella and Drew McIntyre CAUGHT in a SEX SCANDAL!  To say Jon was livid would’ve been the understatement of the damn century!  A lot of fans thought and believed he was actually married to Renee Young, who was an absolute sweetheart and one of his best friends.  They still kept in contact after he left the company, but were only friends and Jon was completely faithful to Leah. 

 

He refused to go back to Las Vegas, where he currently resided with his whoring wife.  Both of their names were on the house, and she had established residency there, so it would be difficult to kick her to the curb.  Instead, Jon opted to stay in Cincinnati, Ohio, planning on having a Thanksgiving meal at his favorite bar and getting piss-poor drunk.  He wanted to get so lit, he didn’t remember his own name, let alone he was married.  The ring tattoo on his left ring finger was a bad enough reminder.

 

You should come here, visit and have Thanksgiving with us.

 

Jon got that a few hours after the initial text, gathering Chris had been busy being a giant pain in someone else’s backside.  Any other time, he wouldn’t have minded the older man bothering him.  Chris was undeniability charismatic, even when he was being a jackass, so it was HARD to not like the man.  Right now…Jon didn’t like anyone.

 

No.

 

Seriously.  It’d be good for you and give Jess a chance to show off her culinary skills.  Also, my kids, you like my kids.

 

Fuck your kids.

 

Chris didn’t take it personally, not that he would ever tell said kids that Uncle Jonny had said that about them. Not taking no for an answer, Mox.  You’re probably halfway toasted by now.

 

That was true enough.

 

Would it really be that bad to spend Thanksgiving with Chris and his family?  Jon and Chris knew each other since 2014, during their feud in WWE they had.  It was one of the ONLY feuds Jon actually enjoyed doing in that godforsaken company.  Then, Jon did three podcasts with Chris on his channel and his final one had been an all-out venting session regarding how much WWE creative sucked.  It felt good to get it all out and to do it on Chris’s podcast just made it even sweeter.  They were like brothers and Jon did consider him family…and he did love Chris’s kids.  Groaning while staring at his half-drank bottle of whiskey, Jack Daniels, Jon scrubbed a hand down his face and decided maybe going to Tampa, Florida wasn’t a bad idea.  He didn’t know what to do, honestly.

 

I’ll think on it.

 

“Chris, Jon is coming.” Jessica informed her husband, having been the one to text him via Chris’s cell while her gorgeous husband showered.  Whistling, she strolled into the bathroom, smiling at the sight of him toweling his hair dry. “Getting them both out of their holes is going to be the best thing ever.” He had filled her in on what had happened to both Jilysa and Jon with their dirtbag spouses after they had gotten back from Ash’s game. “For the record, I would slit your throat if you EVER cheated on me.”

 

“Same, baby, same.” He laughed, hanging the towel up onto the shower rod before pulling her to him for a kiss. “So, did he say he was coming or are you interpreting it that way?”

 

“He’ll come, you’ll wheedle him tomorrow a bit more and he will.”

 

~!~

 

Why the hell was she here?  Sure, loneliness had a lot to do with it, but a bigger part of her just didn’t want to be alone for the first holiday without her backstabbing, cheating, sad excuse for a husband.  She knew Drew had gone back home to Scotland for Thanksgiving, the same every year, and she should’ve been with him, but that wasn’t the case.  Jilysa refused to acknowledge his existence outside of court and couldn’t wait to be Jilysa Queen again instead of Jilysa Galloway.  Knocking on the door, carrying a blackberry pie she had gotten from some pie shop in the city, Jilysa took a deep breath and waited for it to open.

 

“Get OFF me, you little fu-!” Jon was the one who opened the door, frowning when he realized who was standing there…with a pie.  Well, this wasn’t awkward at all!  He had gotten in extremely early, around four AM because that was how flights worked sometimes, stupid hours.  Fortunately, Chris was more then used to it since he was a wrestler and it hadn’t been a big deal.  Grunting, he bent down to pry the way too old to be doing this twins off his legs.  12 years old and still acting six, they thought they were funny.

 

“Don’t call them ‘fucks’, and good job girls.” Jessica appeared behind Jon with a bright smile. “Hey JJ, Jon was trying to escape us and I had them stop him.”

 

Giggling, the twins let go of him and took off to find their Dad.

 

“Jon, help her in, I got to get that turkey back in the oven.”

 

The other member in this clusterfuck affair thing…the other one who had been cheated on.  Chris and Jessica were ASSHOLES.

 

I’m going to KILL Christopher! Jilysa was not happy about this arrangement and was tempted to toss this blackberry pie right in her friend’s face. 

 

She didn’t want to ruin anyone’s holiday, however, so she decided to swallow her pride and deal with it.  Chris and Jon were friends, it wasn’t a secret to anyone.  They were closer than brothers and had been since their WWE days.  Even though Chris and Jilysa were good friends and close, that didn’t mean their circle of friends within the company had been the same.  The problem was what the hell was she supposed to say to THIS particular man?  Sorry his wife fucked her husband?  No, that wouldn’t bode well for either of them or anyone in the house.  Best to keep that to herself.  Stepping into the house as he backed up, Jilysa shut the door behind her and locked aqua eyes on icy blues.

 

“Happy Turkey Day, Jon.” There was nothing ‘happy’ about it, but she felt the need to say it anyway and headed past him towards the kitchen.

 

Bitch. Jon mentally snorted, not about to say it out loud because he wouldn’t ruin the Irvine’s Thanksgiving. 

 

However, he was definitely going to beat the ever loving hell out of Chris the next chance he got.  She hadn’t even given him a chance to return the sentiment…he probably would have had said something along the lines of sorry her scumbag husband was boning his slut wife.  So, maybe she wasn’t a bitch and she was just having the ‘what do I say?’ and ‘great, a reminder of THAT’ issue the same as him.  Sighing and running a hand along his head, Jon shut the door and reluctantly headed for the kitchen.  Jessica was talking to Jilysa, trying to coax her into conversation while Chris was setting up a row of beers.

 

“You’re an asshole.” He muttered, swiping one of those beers.

 

Chris grinned, taking that as a compliment and took a long swig from the beer bottle, glancing over at Jilysa before back at Jon. “Look, you both are my closest friends and I didn’t want you guys being alone for Thanksgiving.  Jess didn’t either.  She loves you both and the kids are happy you’re here too.” They loved their Uncle Jonny to pieces. “So, slap on a happy face, have some beers or hard liquor, if you prefer, and enjoy the meal my lovely wife has prepared for us all.  And then we can crack open a little bit of the bubbly, if you want.” He laughed when Jon rolled his eyes and took another swig of his beer.

 

Meanwhile, Jilysa was doing everything in her power not to talk about or mention Drew, listening to Jessica tell her about how the twins were doing in school.

 

Chapter 2

 

As far as Jessica was concerned, nobody needed to mention Drew or Leah.  She had realized that inviting both Jon and Jilysa was a…semi-bad idea due to the fact they would remind each other of what happened.  They also might be awkward, uncomfortable, and a little angsty.  However, since it was Chris, she figured if anyone could smooth things between the pair, and maybe even find them some common ground to weather the upcoming divorces, it would be her husband.

 

“The bubbly…speaking of the bubbly, Mr. Irvine, I need some bubbly.”

 

“That’s where the champagne thing came from, by the way.” Chris was a beer drinker through and through, and he worked very hard for his body, so when he had a beer, it was FULL CALORIE.  All the delicious, fattening taste.  He was popping the bottle, however, pouring a glass for Jilysa. “Here, baby, try it.” He passed her a glass before walking over to set Jessica’s down on the countertop.

 

Jilysa wasn’t a big ‘bubbly’ type of person and really could go for something stronger, but…she didn’t want to be rude.  She could always drink the hard stuff later on when she was alone, after dinner and dessert. “Thank you, Christopher.” She took a sip from the flute and it didn’t taste nearly as bad as she thought it would, especially since Chris had dropped a slice of strawberry in it. “Not bad, actually.  Not as good as a beer or liquor, but the bubbly isn’t horrible.” Eventually, she would have to talk to Jon about their lying, cheating spouses, but for now, she didn’t want to think about what Drew did.

 

“Well, you COULD have taken a beer and quit calling me Christopher.  You know I hate it.” He wasn’t calling her Mrs. McFuckNuts McIntyre now, was he?  No, he was being courteous.  Chris gestured to the beers lined up on the counter, rolling his eyes when she shrugged and sipped her champagne.

 

“Champagne is nasty.” Jon fluttered his eyelashes sweetly when Jessica gave him a look. “Anything I can do?” He felt useless, standing around and doing nothing.  He could have done that back in Cincinnati in a bar with fake turkey legs and real beer.

 

“Can you peel potatoes?”

 

“Sort of, yeah.”

 

“JJ, could you help him?  Chris, I would appreciate it if you could haul the big table to the dining room, you know, use those muscles for something other than looking pretty.”

 

“Whatever you need, Jess.  And Christopher, I’ve called you that since the day we first met.  I’m not stopping now, so deal with it, Painmaker.” Hopping off the stool she occupied, Jilysa let Jon grab the bag of russet potatoes while she grabbed two peelers, both sitting at the table facing each other with the garbage can between them.  Her long black hair was pulled back in a braid that hung over her shoulder, her aqua eyes focusing on peeling the potato in her hand. “Could they be more obvious?” She muttered, watching Jon shake his head as the peels began falling into the garbage can.

 

“They are well meaning jackasses who need to be bitch smacked.” Jon wasn’t amused with them either, wondering why she would call Chris ‘Christopher’ anyway, regardless of how long they had known each other.  The man hated it and it sounded stuck up as hell.  He was really prickish today and he knew why, the only saving grace being that it was all in his head.  The first time he said any of this aloud, he was going to get smacked himself. “Look, I’m sorry…about them, my cunt wife…about this whole fucking mess.” Not that he had anything to be sorry for, but…Jon still felt the need to say it.

 

It was just something she’d always done since knowing Chris.  She could’ve called him Chris like everyone else, but Jilysa enjoyed using his full name.  Jessica got a kick out of it the first time she heard it and she knew Chris would never stop asking her to stop using it.  That was their ‘thing’, what molded their friendship into what it was today.  Nobody would understand and she got that, she wasn’t stuck-up, it was just something between her and Chris.

 

“Unless you’re the one who told your wife to hop on my husband’s dick, you have nothing to apologize for.  I was going to apologize to you on behalf of your wife, but…it’s not my fault either.  I am sorry it happened to both of us, though.”

 

“See, in our wedding vows, I kinda thought that ‘don’t hop on dick that’s not mine’ was part of the deal…” Jon joked dryly, his electric blues focused on the potato he was trying not to murder with this stupid peeler.  Who used peelers?  Where the hell was the cheap paring knife with the equally cheap plastic handle? “I didn’t think I’d have to ask the preacher to put that in for me.” He understood what she was saying, nonetheless; he had nothing to apologize for, neither did she.  They had both gotten screwed over with this whole deal, heartbroken, and hurt. “You divorcing him?”

 

“Already filed.” Jilysa wasn’t wasting any more time on a man who couldn’t be faithful to her. “God only knows how much pussy he’s gotten behind my back, not including your wife.” She too was trying super hard not to murder the potato and set it in the bowl before grabbing another one, shaking her head. “I filed the day after…and changed all the locks in our condo, so he can’t get in even if he tried.” After the third potato was done, she grabbed a fourth. “What about you?  Are you divorcing her?”

 

“Yeah, through a lawyer, I don’t even want to set foot in Vegas.” And he LOVED Las Vegas, along with his house.  He knew, he had KNOWN, marriage was a stupid idea.  Jon had been a player, a slut, in his younger years, so marrying someone had just been him taunting the universe, saying to come get him and let him reap what he sowed. “I can prove she’s a cheating cunt, so…that helps.”

 

It wouldn’t be completely impossible getting Leah out of his house.  WHY had he put her name on it, Jon would never understand what he’d been thinking at the time.  Oh right, the whole married and living together while married went hand-in-hand with sharing a home, didn’t it?  He’d just have to be patient is all.

 

“I think I killed this one…” He had half peeled it, half crushed it. “Skin is where the vitamins and shit is anyway…” He tossed it in the bowl, leftover skin and all.

 

“Before you mutilate another one, mind if I finish these?” Jilysa plucked the skin and crushed one out of the bowl to salvage what she could, which was only half, but it was better than nothing. “Here, you can start cutting them up, so they boil faster when she puts them on the stove.” That would be something to get his frustration out on while she stood to retrieve a knife, setting it on the table in front of him before resuming peeling. “Even if Drew tries to fight it, doesn’t matter since he’s committed infidelity and it’s all over the internet and social media.  Our divorces should go straight through if the judges are any kind of decent human beings.”

 

“Yeah…”

 

Jon began haphazardly cutting up the potatoes, reaching for his beer after a moment and took a long swallow.  There was evidence of those scumbags cheating, but Jon’s experience with terrible people was even after they had been caught, they kept on being horrible.  Leah and Drew…they’d think they were entitled to more than they’d be given and offered, which in his case was a clean divorce.  He knew Leah would fight it, want everything she could take him for, because some people, no matter how much money they had, were still scumbags.

 

Quietly, Chris set down two beers off to their side, figuring since she was more of a beer person…then went to finish hauling that massive table his wife loved to use about twice a year.  Women sometimes made no sense.

 

Luckily, Drew and Jilysa signed a prenuptial agreement prior to getting married just in case things didn’t work out between them.  He had approached her with it, explaining it was a merging and protection of assets.  They both made a good amount of money with WWE, and the other promotions he worked for after being fired back in 2009 from WWE, so Drew wanted to make sure THAT money remained his.  Jilysa understood and agreed to it, very thankful at that moment because she had investments without Drew she didn’t want him part of or tampering with.  It made her wonder if Jon and Leah had signed a prenuptial as well and Jilysa immediately dismissed that thought because it was none of her business.

 

“Okay Jess, potatoes are done.” She announced, after Jon cut up the final one and carried the bowl over where Jessica stood at the stove.

 

“Yay, awesome!  Now carrots and celery!” Jessica usually had her kids in here helping, but she figured leaving Jon and Jilysa to their own devices, or without something to do except brood, was a bad idea.  So her kids were off enjoying not having to help their parents in the kitchen for once on Turkey Day and these two were hopefully not brooding.

 

Jon caught the bags Chris tossed him from the fridge. “How’s that table coming?” He both teased and sneered at the same time.

 

“Got the leaf up, now to assemble and…Lysol…it…”

 

“Don’t forget my chairs!”

 

Jon glanced at Jilysa, shaking his head and cracked open his second beer, passing her the other.

 

Jilysa did not mind being kept busy and appreciated what Jessica was doing.  Besides, the woman was only one person and she could use help with this beautiful, huge Thanksgiving meal she was preparing for everyone.  She smiled at Jon, mouthing ‘thank you’ before cracking it open and held it up, taking a long swig of it.  Then, she began cutting up the carrots while Jon helped Chris clean and assemble the leaf table that would hold all of the food.

 

“I’m surprised Christopher isn’t trying to get out of helping because of the football game.” This wasn’t the first time Jilysa had Thanksgiving with them, but it had been several years.

 

“I threatened to poke his eyes out with a fork if he even went near that television.”

 

Jilysa laughed, shaking her head and wished she had the type of relationship Jessica and Chris had. “That would scare any man, especially Le Champion.”

 

“Yup, can’t wrestle without eyeballs, after all.”

 

“True.”

 

“Whatever, Jess.” Chris snorted, bending down to retrieve the Lysol from beneath the sink, which was right where his delectable wife was. “Usually we have a TV in here and you’re watching it right along with me.” While he helped with the dinner.  She made the jokes, but he was good for helping and not bailing on her when it came to things like this.  

 

For good measure, he nipped her thigh before going back to the table.

 

The kids, they’d be in here helping as well.  Dinner was a family affair when they were all here.  Chris’s schedule sometimes didn’t allow him to be home on certain holidays or hadn’t.  He was on a break from FOZZY, so that helped.

 

“He could wrestle without eyeballs, it’d probably make him better.” Jon grunted, setting the last two chairs down.

 

“Oh fuck you, assclown!”

 

“Daddy, language!!  Uncle Jonny is not an assclown!”

 

“Hey!  You’re not allowed to say that!”

 

“You said it first!”

 

“Go to your rooms, both of you!”

 

The girls rolled their eyes and stomped off, giggling as soon as they thought they were out of earshot.

 

Jilysa and Jessica laughed, shaking their heads while Jilysa worked on the celery and Jessica began the sweet potato casserole. “Your girls are something else.”

 

“Tell me about it!  You have no idea how hard it is raising twin teenage girls.”

 

Jilysa did NOT envy Chris and Jessica one iota.

 

“And it doesn’t help that dickhead over there,” Jessica turned and chucked one of the cut up carrots right at the back of Jon’s head. “Cusses like a sailor!”

 

“Fuck off…”

 

“See?”

 

Snorting, Jon stooped to retrieve the carrot, miming tossing it back at the blonde wench.  She hurled another and he caught it in his mouth, grinning as he chomped on it.  When Jilysa shook her head, he waited a second before coming up behind her, dropping the carrot down the front of her top.

 

“Mox, come help me dust these damn chairs and quit harassing the wenches!” Chris was trying not to laugh.

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll leave Carrot Tits alone.” He winked at Jilysa before going to dust the chairs.

 

“Carrot tits?!” Jilysa couldn’t believe he just did that!  What the hell?! 

 

Jessica was snickering and she elbowed the woman none too gently, trying not to smile.  And failed miserably.  There was something about Jon Moxley; Jilysa had been attracted to him when he worked in WWE, but Carmella had her claws into him already.  Then Drew came back and she had fallen in love with the Scottish Psychopath.  There were a few times Jilysa and Jon hung out whenever Chris came back to WWE to do a feud here and there, but once he left completely, they didn’t hang out at all.  It was why they didn’t have to introduce themselves to each other.

 

“So, I wasn’t going to ask, but I read the rumors on the internet and social media, so I have to know.  Did you really quit WWE?” Jessica asked, mixing the sweet potato casserole by hand now that all the ingredients were in it, including ground cinnamon.

 

“Oh, there is?” Jilysa had no idea, frowning. “Well yeah, my contract expired and I was going to re-sign with them, but…after what’s happened with Drew, I don’t think I can work for the same company as him anymore.”

 

Jessica nodded in understanding. “I don’t blame you, but what are you going to do now?  Do you have some money saved up until you can find something else?” She really hoped Chris was paying attention and eavesdropping on this conversation since they weren’t too far away.

 

Shrugging, Jilysa honestly didn’t know what she would do for a job. “I have some money saved up, so I’ll be okay for a little while until I can figure it out.  I just want to enjoy the holidays as much as I can.” Christmas was her favorite time of the year and it sucked this had to happen RIGHT before her favorite holiday. “Once the new year rolls around, I’ll get my ducks in a row.”

 

“Yeah, Jess, leave her alone until the New Year.” Chris laughed, having indeed been listening in and already the cogs were rolling.

 

AEW was still a fledgling company, but they were making waves.  They didn’t use scripts or seamstresses, so there was no place for people with those skills in the company.  Not outside of maybe individuals freelancing for a wrestler who had personally hired them anyway.  However, she was a social media coordinator and that was something they could use, given Cody was trying to manage everything and the man’s shoulders were only so broad, even with his wife Brandi’s help.

 

“Let’s just get through today, yeah, sweetheart?”

 

Jess read the intentions in his eyes and smiled, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right.” Good husband.

 

Chapter 3

 

It went right over Jilysa’s head. 

 

She did not see the intentions in both of their eyes and refused to worry about the future right now.  Everything would work out the way it should, she was a firm believer in that.  Finishing the celery, she got to work on the next thing, which was the mashed potatoes.  She peeled them and Jon cut them up, so Jessica asked if she’d finish them off with the butter and cream cheese.  The men turned on the football game and were watching it while the women finished cooking, doing anything that was required of them.  It was one big happy family – or so it looked like it.  Jilysa didn’t harbor any ill feelings towards Jon and she hoped he felt the same way about her.  Once everyone was fed and stuffed like the delicious turkey they just ingested, the adults cleaned up while the teenagers went upstairs to crash in their beds and then the adults were finally able to kick back with their feet up and beer.

 

“God…I am never going to get my girlish figure back.” Chris sighed, patting his very full stomach with a groan.  He wasn’t a spring chicken and he knew he got a lot of flak for rocking the wrestler version of a ‘Dad’ bod.  Honestly, Chris was completely on board with that.  Given his career spanned over 20 years, he was now 49, and didn’t think he would ever look like he had a decade ago.

 

“I said the sammmmeeee thing after the twins.”

 

“You got your boobs back, Mrs. Irvine.”

 

“Mmm, that I did.”

 

Jon shook his head when they toasted each other.  It was both good and depressing to see them.   Good because it gave him hope, bad because screw marriage and love!  He glanced at Jilysa, wondering if he was the only one jaded here.

 

Surprisingly, Jilysa felt at peace and could smile at the happily married couple.  It also gave her hope that maybe she would find someone out there who was exactly right for her.  Drew wasn’t.  She had doubts on their wedding day because there’d been rumors swirling around he’d been caught fornicating with one of the seamstresses.  Drew had sworn to her he was loyal and faithful…and she believed him.  Love blinded people and she did love him and was in love with him.  All that love, however, slowly vanished the longer they were married, which was why she wasn’t as hurt as Jon probably was.  He was completely in love with Leah.  Everybody could see it, but apparently, being apart in different wrestling organizations wasn’t the best idea.  Hell, being in the same wrestling company as a spouse could be detrimental to a marriage as well, especially when the couple saw each other all the time. 

 

It was a catch .22 situation, really.

 

Jon HAD been madly in love with his wife.  Hell he was STILL in love with Leah, which was probably why this hurt a great deal.  Jon had been blindsided by this completely.  He had heard the rumors when he had left for AEW and ignored them because he loved her.  This, with concrete proof, wasn’t something he couldn’t ignore.  It had broken something in him while also reaffirming what Jon had lived by in his younger, wilder days.  Bitches weren’t for anything but sex.

 

Not true.

 

He knew it, Chris and Jessica were the perfect example of that.  They had been married nearly 20 years now, or something like that.  However, Jon was wallowing in his bitterness and his own stupidity.  Or he would when he was alone because, right now, it was hard to feel anything sort of happy around this very fortunate family.

 

“You fucks make me sick…”

 

“Nuh-uh, Uncle Jon,” Cheyenne tossed a pillow off the couch in his face. “We’re adorbs and you need to watch your mouth.  We’re impressionable.”

 

“Where’s your sister?”

 

“Out cold.  She’s in food comatose.”

 

“Don’t blame her there.” Jilysa commented, leaning her head back against the recliner she was in, her feet propped up, feeling completely relaxed. 

 

Mostly. 

 

Her mind kept rewinding to that moment she walked into Drew’s dressing room and saw Leah’s legs around her husband’s waist.  His trunks were down and he was plowing in and out of her like a man possessed, his grunts and her moaning filtering the locker room.  She could still hear Leah’s cries in pleasure, Drew’s name spilling from her mouth, panting, writhing, with a pure euphoric expression on her face.  Drew had responded in kind, growling how much he loved her pussy in that Scottish accent of his, how tight and wet…It was only for a few brief moments, but Jilysa still had that image burned into her memory and it popped up at the most unexpected times.

 

“I’m gonna go for a walk.  Need some air.” Sitting up from the recliner, Jilysa took her beer with her and headed out to the backyard, breathing in the cool night air as much as she could as soon as it hit her.

 

Chris and Jessica exchanged looks before they both glanced Jon’s way.

 

“Nuh uh, fuck you both.” He hissed, watching as Cheyenne headed out of the room.  Ash was lurking around somewhere, probably texting his girlfriend or something.  He was 14, boys that age liked girls, right?  He knew he had. “It’s already fucked that you brought us both here.”

 

“Wait, how is it fucked?”

 

Jessica smacked Chris upside his head. “You already know.  It is fucked, Jon, you’re right, but we’re both your friends and we didn’t want either of you spending this time alone. This is for family, and we’re family.”

 

“Yeah, you’re about as annoying as family.” He grunted, pushing himself up to his feet, reaching for his pouch of chew. “Give her like…five minutes and then, then I’ll…think about it.” Good meaning pricks that they were, he sighed when Chris grinned. “I hate you.”

 

“No, you don’t.” Chris leaned back into the couch again, dragging his wife down with him and they both looked towards the television. “Take her another beer when you go.”

 

And Jon did too, it was hard arguing with the older man when he used that ‘I’m so wise I’m practically Yoda’ voice.

 

Finishing the beer, Jilysa crushed the can in her fist and tossed it in the trashcan before starting to trek the fenced-in backyard.  It was huge and Chris had transformed part of it into a playground for the twins and Ash.  They were great kids, got good grades in school, but she had a feeling this playground would be going sooner or later.  They were all teenagers now.  Her phone buzzed, jolting her out of her thoughts and she plucked it out of her back pocket to read the text message.

 

Where the fuck are you?  I can’t get into the condo!

 

Boohoo for you, I changed the locks, dearest.  Better find a place to sleep, like between Carmella’s legs!

 

YOU BITCH!!  This is my place too!!

 

Think again, asshole!  That condo is solely under MY name, not yours, because of your bad credit!  Did you suddenly forget or do you have amnesia?  Get fucked!

 

You’ll regret doing this, Jily!

 

Oh really?  Well here’s another piece of news for you – I quit WWE, so you won’t be seeing me around the company anymore.

 

WHAT?!

 

Buh-bye, cheating asshole! Jilysa promptly blocked him and his number after sending that last text message and then hurled her phone as hard as she could, watching it smash into pieces against the wooden fence.  She would get a new phone in the morning. 

 

Black Friday always had great deals on phones, after all.

 

“That seems excessive, darlin’.” Jon rumbled from behind, having come out with two cans of beer, which he had set on a tree stump Chris seemed to use as a place to sit around his rather large fire pit, his hands now in his pockets.  Ambling out of the house towards her, he obviously did not overhear anything, but the play of emotions across her face before she had hurled that cell spoke volumes.  It didn’t take a genius to guess who she had been angrily texting.  He watched as she moved to go pick up the pieces of what had likely been an expensive cell, moving to help her.

 

“It’s fine.  I was going to buy a new phone anyway.  Need a new number.” For obvious reasons she didn’t need to state.  She finished picking up the pieces, along with Jon, and they walked them over to the trashcan near the door. “Thanks…” Jilysa took the beer he handed to her, once they moved back to the tree stump and she cracked it open, taking a long swig of it. “He’s pissed at me because I changed the locks on his dumbass, so he can’t get inside MY condo now.  It’s solely in my name because, at the time, his credit was terrible and mine wasn’t.” She shrugged nonchalantly, looking up at the stars. “He can burn in hell for all I care.” Along with your wife. “I told him he should find a home between Carmella’s legs and he didn’t like that very much.” She was buzzed because, sober, those words would’ve never left her mouth. “Sorry, not sorry.” Screw them both as far as she was concerned!

 

Now Jon knew that was a load of drivel because a person could keep a cell phone and just change the number.  Those two things were not a mutual one goes, they both go, type of deal.  No, Jilysa had been angry, frustrated, and probably hurt when she had done it, but since he was the same way, he was the last one to be judgmental.  Jon wasn’t very happy with her comment about his wife, his first instinct to defend Leah, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he deflated because she wasn’t wrong in saying it.  Chances were, Leah and Drew were still knocking boots.

 

“Fuck ‘em.” He grunted, cracking open his own beer.

 

“Cheers to that, Mox!” Jilysa crowed, crashing her beer can against his and took a long swig from it, not walking around like she wanted to. “I don’t know why you came out here…well actually, I know why, but I appreciate it, nevertheless.  Walk with me for a little while.” It was why she came out here, to get some much needed air after that memory of walking in on Drew and Leah flashed in her head. “I need to tell you something now that it’s just the two of us out here.  I don’t…hate you or anything.  I don’t resent you and I don’t blame you for what happened.  I don’t think you’re a bad person either.  You’ve never come across as one in the few times we spent together with Christopher while in WWE.  And I’m sorry about your marriage.” She meant that too, shoving a hand in the pocket of her black dress pants. “They didn’t deserve us.  We were too good for them and they’ll realize one day what they lost.  Karma will bite them in the ass so hard, it’ll make THEIR hearts feel like they’re being ripped out of their chests and stomped on.”

 

Was she buzzing?  They had been friendly, he wasn’t sure if he would consider them friends, though.  Truth be told, Jon had adhered a lot to Steve Austin’s ‘Don’t Trust Anybody’ motto in WWE, with the exception of a few people.  He kept those few people close, but the rest were at arm’s length.  Studying her thoughtfully, Jon turned his head to spit tobacco juice and grunted again.

 

“I don’t want her to realize what she lost,” He admitted, his voice coming out low and gritty, a bite of steel in it. “I want her to get STDs and resent her own whoring ways.” Kind of like he resented HIS former whoring ways because this was obviously karma coming back to bite him in the backside. “You’re not a bad person either, darlin’.  McIntyre is a worthless cock who wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit him under that fucking kilt.”

 

“Touché.  And I completely agree with you.”

 

Jilysa didn’t blame him for not trusting her completely, not after what happened to him.  She didn’t bother telling him the other part of those text messages, how she told Drew she had left WWE.  Even though she had said ‘quit’, she really left because her contract was up. 

 

Clean break, no bridges burnt, just the way she preferred leaving a company.

 

“So, how do you like AEW so far?  I know it’s been a couple months since the debut and everything, but from what I’ve watched, it’s far better than anything WWE offers.  Do you like it better?”

 

Jon already knew she had left the WWE; he had been in the kitchen oh so helpfully dusting chairs when they had been talking about it.  He had no idea what she’d do now.  If she was smart, she’d steer clear of the wrestling industry because it was a miserable life.  That was his moody issues and cheating whore of a wife messing with his way of thinking and he knew it.  Jon absolutely loved professional wrestling and it would always be his first love in life.

 

“Yeah, a lot.  There’s a lot less bullshit, less rules and shit, nobody is breathing down my neck for breaking PG rules.” Jon got to be himself, which was what had originally gotten the WWE’s attention, or at least that was what he had thought.  Then they had watered him down and…his stomach rolled.  He had enjoyed his time, some of it, but then things had gone downhill. “I get a say now, we all do, and none of that PG bullshit.  Why?  You looking to jump ship, Kitten?” He smirked when she raised a brow. “I saw you toss that cell and heard your mouth,” Her ‘between Carmella’s legs’ comment. “You got claws.”

 

“No need to do that since I no longer work for WWE.” Jilysa stopped to finally look at him, not sure if she liked the nickname Kitten.  It was strange, but not necessarily in a bad way. “My contract expired last month and we WERE in the middle of negotiating a new one when I found Drew and your wife in his dressing room fucking.” This was something nobody knew; it had all been speculation on how Drew and Leah were caught.  Now, Jon knew exactly HOW this had come about. “I caught them and immediately went to Mark Carrano and told him I wasn’t re-signing with the company.  I was done.  He tried convincing me to stay and I told him to go fuck himself, along with my husband and your wife.  His eyes nearly bugged out of his head at that.” Jilysa laughed darkly, remembering that definitive moment that changed her life forever. “I walked right out of the building, got in my car, went to the airport, got a flight to Tampa, and immediately changed the locks on the condo.  Then, I threw all of his shit out the three story window right into the dumpster.” Including some of his very cherished Scottish heirlooms. 

 

Well, now Jon knew how gossip had gone to undeniable fact.  Jilysa was the one who had caught the pair in the act, with their pants down literally, and immediately snitched them out.  Mark must have let it slip as well and, in the WWE, when gossip got going, it was a like an unstoppable river.  It would keep going and tear down anything that stood in its path.

 

“Man!” Jon whistled, because she had done a lot more than he had about this infidelity situation. “Someone is gonna hock that shit on eBay.” Dumpster diving in Florida was a thing and if anyone seen her doing that, those heirlooms were history.  McIntyre was screwed and it warmed his icy, black heart up just a little bit.

 

Drew made his bed and now he was going to lie in it, along with Leah.  Jilysa did not care what happened to his belongings and hoped someone made a killing off all of it.  Her wedding ring was currently in a box in her jewelry armoire at home and she planned on selling it on eBay for at least 10 grand.  It would hopefully cover her lawyer costs, unless Drew was forced to pay them since he was the one who committed infidelity.  She had no idea how Florida laws worked as far as marriage went and honestly didn’t care.  Changing her last name back to Queen was first priority the moment her divorce was finalized.  Never again would she be known as Drew Galloway’s wife – Jilysa Galloway.  Now, she would forever be known as Drew Galloway’s ex-wife and that alone left a bitter taste in her mouth.

 

“I hope they do.  Serves him right for hurting me and destroying our marriage.”

 

Chapter 4

 

“B – double E – double R – U – N, beer run!” Jessica trilled, coming out with four more while the pair had been talking and walking around the yard.  She set them down on the stump before waving. “We’re cutting into the desserts here in an hour or so.  Everyone is laying down for a nap until then.” Food comatose was a thing and Chris had passed out on the couch.  She had been laying on him and then realized he was snoring softly.  Given how hard he worked, she’d allow it.  Jessica waved again before heading inside, leaving Jon and Jilysa to their own devices.  Well, the two weren’t fighting, so that was a good sign.  She didn’t know how either would handle being forced together after their spouses cheated on them with each other.

 

“She would have made a great barmaid.” Jon commented, walking over to retrieve two of those beers, passing Jilysa one. “You doing that Black Friday shopping shit?”

 

“No, I usually do my shopping online, unless I need to run out for shit like wrapping paper, bows, tape…Amazon Prime is a beautiful thing, truly.” Jilysa cracked open hers, able to hold her own, and she loved having some cold beers. “So,” She sat down in the grass and Jon joined her, both sitting across from each other Indian style. “Listen, I know things are rough right now in our lives, but…I hope that doesn’t put a damper on the holidays for you.  I love Christmas, it’s my favorite time of the year and I won’t let Drew take that away from me.  Just…if you need to talk or you wanna hang out for Christmas this year, my door is open.” Maybe they could help each other get through this painful time in their lives.  Jilysa wasn’t inviting him into her bed or anything like that, simply extending an olive branch as a friend and nothing more.

 

“I’m gonna do for Christmas what I planned on doing for Thanksgiving.  I’m going to get obliterated.” There was no way Chris or his perky wife would sucker him in for Christmas, not like they’d try anyway.  That was definite family time and his moody backside would not be intruding. “Fuck, my house is already decorated…she did that shit at the beginning of November.” Jon nodded when Jilysa snorted, watching her bring a hand up over her mouth, and hoped she hadn’t just snorted beer. “I’ll be tearing all that down when I go home…” If he ever went home.  That was HIS house and he hadn’t gone back yet.  If she were smart, Jilysa would’ve gotten her belongings and left her own place. “I need to get home soon…” Stop hiding in Cincinnati and make sure that heartbreaking, whoring bitch hadn’t stolen any of HIS things.  

 

Jon was not a woman beater, but he had been tested several times since this had happened to change that status.

 

“Well, the offer still stands if you don’t want to get obliterated alone.”

 

Jilysa planned on doing the same thing, with spiked hot chocolate.  Bailey’s was delicious and it was a holiday tradition with her to have at least half a bottle with coffee and hot chocolate.  Drew loved eggnog, which she thought was absolutely disgusting, so they had both every year they were together for the holidays.  This year – she would be alone, also refusing to barge in on the Irvine’s.

 

“I have to put my tree up and everything when I get back to the condo.  I always put my tree up the day of or after Thanksgiving.” It was another tradition of hers. “We’ll be okay, Jon.  I believe that and you should too.”

 

“Kitten, I’m not gonna lie, I really don’t want platitudes or reassurance.  I actually want to be miserable for a while.” He confessed without a lick of shame and grinned when she gave him a look, shrugging his massive shoulders.  Florida was nice in fall/winter, not as nice as Vegas, but nice; he could get away with t-shirts and shorts without freezing his backside off. “And then, when I’m done being miserable and shit, I’m going to channel it and kick ass.” Had to find a purpose for pain and channel it into something positive after Leah ripped his heart out and crushed it to dust. “Though…” Jon stroked his chin thoughtfully, draining the last of his beer. “Yeah, I’ll take you up on it.”

 

No doubt Leah and Drew would probably find out.  Someone would spot them and screw those two!  Let them stew on the possibility of him and Jilysa being together when that wasn’t the case at all.  Now her jaw was on the ground because Jilysa honestly didn’t think he would take her up on her offer.

 

“Really?  Well, okay then!  And if you wanna spend the holidays in Vegas, tearing down Christmas shit, I’ll fly there instead of you staying here.  Up to you.”

 

The more he called her Kitten, the more she liked it and Jilysa had no idea why.  It sent a warmth through her stomach and she found herself drawn more to Jon than she ever had before.  Was it normal to feel like this for someone she heard knew so soon after finding her husband banging another woman?  Again, Jilysa had no idea, this was all new and foreign to her.

 

“And if you do change your mind and want to be alone in your misery, just tell me.  I’ll understand.”

 

“I will, and maybe, yeah, come to Vegas.  Fuck Florida.” He and Leah had spent a lot of time here and he knew Jilysa and Drew had, especially since they had shared her condo here. “We’ll burn all the Christmas shit she put up in the backyard, it’ll be fan-fucking-tastic.” Maybe he’d toss some wedding memorabilia in there too; he lived right outside the city limits, so it wasn’t like he would get in trouble for a massive, controlled fire. “You got anything you wanna burn that you can bring in a carry-on?” Jon laughed, beginning to explain his intentions about the fire to her.

 

“I’m sure I can gather up some things to bring with to burn.”

 

Jon was actually inviting her to Vegas and she couldn’t hide the excitement, not able to think of a better way to spend Christmas.  It would definitely be unconventional, but at the same time…maybe that was what she needed.  Part of her wondered if the alcohol was really talking for them both, so Jilysa decided she would wait until they were both completely sober before bringing this up again.

 

“And as long as you can control the fire, I don’t care how big you make it.”

 

Jon was not one to think of others.  He had with Leah because he had loved her and still did because he was a fool.  He knew with time, the love would fade, and he would help it along any which way he could.  Jilysa was suffering the same as him and she was right; maybe they could help each other through this, at least through the holidays, which he was not looking forward to at all.  Honestly, did he really want to be alone in that house, drinking enough that would lay an elephant low and probably have him crying like a bitch?  No, no he did not.

 

“Don’t you worry about the fire, Kitten,” He rumbled, his blue eyes sparking wickedly for a moment. “I never lose control of ‘em.”

 

An hour later, they ventured back into the house, with Jessica’s insistence, and had pumpkin pie with everyone.  Then, it was time to say goodbye and she hugged Chris, Jessica, the twins and Ash before turning to face Jon. “See you soon, Mox.” Jilysa extended her hand to him and cracked a smile when he took it, both nodding in understanding. 

 

She was buzzed, but nowhere near drunk enough not to drive home, which was just on the other side of the city.  The pie and coffee also sobered her up.  Waving to them, Jilysa headed to her car and slipped behind the wheel before heading home, really hoping she could learn to be happy again once the pain of what Drew did to her faded away.

 

“Was letting her drink and drive a good idea?” Jessica asked, having never lived the life of a wrestler, or someone who traveled a great deal.  For the most part, she had been a wife, a mother, and throughout the years had worked fulltime and then parttime local jobs while Chris struggled to break out past the low expectations most of the wrestling world had set for him.


“She’s…probably fine.  I drink and drive.” Not full-blown drunk, but Chris had made a few bad decisions over the course of his very full life.

 

“You’re an idiot too, my love.”

 

“I can go follow, make sure she makes it there okay.”

 

Jessica nodded, aware Jon was sober because he had stopped drinking after they had come inside, and apparently, he was a budding alcoholic.  That and a big man, he had the metabolism to go with it. “I would appreciate it.”

 

This wasn’t her first rodeo and she had coffee, instead of beer, with her pumpkin pie, so Jilysa felt completely sober.  The buzz was gone and the closer to came to the condo, a sense of dread washed over her.  What if Drew was here waiting for her?  What if he found all of his stuff in the dumpster, unless someone ransacked it already?  Why was she worrying about all of this now?  Sighing, Jilysa never regretted anything she did in her life…or she hadn’t until she walked in on Drew screwing Leah’s brains out.  Now she had one regret in her life and that was marrying the Scotsman.  She wished she’d never met him or fell in love with him, and she damn sure wished she’d never married him.

 

Sure enough, Drew WAS there and he was NOT amused at all about his belongings being tossed out.  He had scavenged some of it, which was now sitting in the back of his truck.  When his vindictive wife pulled in, his ocean blue eyes lit up with barely contained fury.  What in the bloody hell did this trollop think she was doing?!  Tossing out PRICELESS heirlooms?  Didn’t she realize she could wind up in trouble for that?!  It was tantamount to theft or something, right?  He had no idea how those kind of laws in this country worked because he had never been in this position before.

 

“Ye’ve lost ye damn mind, lass!” Was his less than pleasant greeting when she got out of her car, his long black hair hanging down his back as he stormed towards her. “Ye know I cannae replace half of those things and ye tossed ‘em out!”

 

“Oh really?  Well, since I can’t replace my broken heart you caused me, or repair the marriage YOU destroyed, I think we’re even, Andrew.  And for the record, I don’t give a damn about any of your shit and I hope you can’t replace half of it!  Serves you right for sticking your dick in someone that’s NOT your goddamn wife, PRICK!” She slapped him, unable to hold back and the sound echoed around them, her entire small frame trembling with barely contained fury, just like him. “If I were you, I’d leave.  You are not wanted nor needed here any longer.  The divorce is already set in stone and you don’t live here anymore since this condo is in MY name, not OURS.  It’s MINE, so find someplace else to live or go back to Scotland where you belong!”

 

“Oh ye cunt…!”

 

Drew was tonguing the inside of his cheek.  Jilysa had actually nailed him hard enough where he had cut the inside with his own teeth.  He was tempted to backhand her into next week; she knew how he felt about being slapped across the face.  She had done it once to him, playfully, and the hit had landed harder than it should’ve.  Drew had blown his fuse and then apologized once he had calmed down.

 

“If ye were even half the woman I thought ye was when I married ye worthless arse, maybe I wouldna cheat!  Ye dinnae know a damn thing about satisfying a man!”

 

“Fuck you!  So having sex with your wife on the road every night wasn’t enough for you?!  Sucking your dick and swallowing your cum night after night wasn’t enough for you?!  Letting you go down on me and fuck me, even in the arena, against the rules, WASN’T ENOUGH FOR YOU?!” She slapped him again, harder this time, and felt the tears boiling in her blazing aqua eyes. “I hate you so damn much, Drew Galloway!!  I HATE YOU!!  I wish I’d never fallen in love with you and married your OLD ass!!” That made his eyes nearly pop out of his head and she began laughing bitterly. “What’s the matter?  Can’t handle the fact you’re OLD and withered down to a toothpick!  I’ve got news for you, Galloway, you DIDN’T satisfy me and I SETTLED for the likes of you!  I faked every orgasm because you couldn’t find my clitoris even if someone pointed at it with a neon arrow!!  You’re lucky I wasn’t the one to hop on another dick because you couldn’t satisfy a GOAT!” That was a direct shot to his Scottish roots and Jilysa did not care.

 

Wow…that was the only thing that came to Jon’s mind as he eavesdropped on this…shit show.  That was the only way to describe it, a shit show.  No, it was a shit storm, and they were spewing some mean, hateful words that neither had liked hearing, both of them aiming for low points and hurting egos.  People said some insane things when they were mad, hurting, and he made a mental note to duct tape his lips when he eventually seen Leah, not about to give that bitch ANY ammunition in court because he KNEW she’d try taking him for everything he was worth.  When it looked like Drew was about to strike her for her running mouth, Jon didn’t think twice about stepping forward, catching the hand.  Then, he just jabbed his free hand into the other man’s face, sending him backwards with a gushing bloody nose.

 

“What the hell are you doing here, Jon?!” Jilysa blurted out, shock written all over her face while Drew was too busy holding his gushing nose.  There was A LOT of blood, that had been a straight shot to the man’s nose. “Shit come on, COME ON!” There were no witnesses besides them, so hopefully, if the police were called, they could lie and say Drew was mugged or something.  Served the asshole right for trying to hit her! “Come on, come inside, please!”

 

Dragging him by the arm, feeling how tense he was, Jilysa made her way to the front door of their condo upstairs, still having hold of Jon’s arm.  He was allowing her to guide him because, if he truly wanted to stay down there, he would’ve fought her off easily enough.  Shutting the door, she deadbolted it and put the security code in before heading to the window to look out, seeing Drew was stumbling to his car.

 

“Good, he’s leaving, maybe, I think…”

 

Chapter 5

 

“Yeah, he is, he’s not a total idiot.  He wants to keep his face pretty.” Jon grunted, frowning slightly. “Look, Jess was concerned since you’ve been drinking and I don’t even think it was that.  I think she just had a ‘Mom’ moment and to be fair, it kinda worked.  He ever hit you?” Because that had been pretty horrible and Jon was…80% certain that Drew had been about to hit her. “I’m a witness if you ever need it.  I’ll even give you a minor black eye if you want to get his ass in jail for the night.” That was a joke.

 

“No, that’s one thing he’s never done is strike me or abuse me.” Not even emotionally or mentally, Drew had always been a gentleman with her.  That was why she didn’t understand how he could do something like this, cheat on her with another coworker. “I brought you up here because I was more afraid of you killing him than what he planned on doing to me.” The last thing Jilysa wanted to happen was Jon going to prison for murdering her soon-to-be ex-husband. “And Jess is a worrywart.  I stopped drinking and had coffee along with the pie, and it sobered me up.  I’m not even buzzed anymore.”

 

“Yeah I figured, but that’s how it works I guess.  She mother hens everyone.” Him included, which was annoying as hell.  However, since he knew it came from a good heart with equally good intentions, Jon tried not to complain too much about it.  “Though, it kind of worked out, considering he looked about ready to smack you.” A slap from a man like Drew would not feel good, she was tiny.  He snorted, looking around the condo, taking in all the empty space, and guessed those spots had held items of the scumbag’s. “You’d think I would’ve tried jumping his ass…I guess I was worried more about you than beating him for nailing my wife…”

 

That surprised her.  It was blunt and honest, two traits Jon was good at having. “I thought you’d be jumping on him too, which is why I dragged you up to my condo away from him.  It’s not worth you going to jail over.  So, I guess I was worried about you too…” Jilysa knew this was a messed up situation of the highest degree.  Both of their spouses had cheated on them with each other. “Just…wait a little longer here until I make sure he’s really gone and then you can be on your way.  Or you can hang out here if you want.  I have beer in the fridge if you want one?”

 

“No, I’m not hanging here because you’re worried.” Personally, Jon thought after all that venom she had spewed at him, she should LET him beat Drew down.  Especially after the man had about nailed her. “Don’t you worry about me, Kitten.  I can handle myself and you can bet your sweet ass I’m not going to jail over that worthless prick, not for him fucking Leah.” That’d just be like giving them icing on their cheating cake, no thanks, he’d pass. “Will take the beer though.” This was BEYOND a terrible situation; Jon didn’t even know how to describe it or where to begin.

 

“Glad to hear it and go for it.”

 

Jilysa felt emotionally and mentally exhausted suddenly, sinking down on her couch with her head lulled back.  Drew was going to hit her.  He was actually going to strike her down.  She had felt the malice in that arm, that moment, and if Jon hadn’t arrived when he did…Jilysa didn’t want to think what would’ve happened.  Shutting her eyes, tears trickled slowly down her cheeks as she squeezed her hands together tightly, knowing she was about to have a breakdown.  She hadn’t had one since discovering her husband’s infidelity, keeping it all bottled up inside, and seeing Drew tonight made it all come pouring out.

 

When she opened her teary eyes, Jon was crouching before her, two beers set on her coffee table behind him.  He was holding a blue bandana out to her.  Watching quietly as she took it with a trembling hand, Jilysa dabbed at the tears on her face, his own eyes solemn. “Haven’t cried it out yet, have you?” It didn’t even need to be asked.  He’d had a rage, a few of them actually, but hadn’t cried.  Jon didn’t think he could at this point; everything had gone numb whenever he let himself think about his wife and Galloway together.

 

She slowly shook her head, so much pain and anguish, heartbreak, in her watery aqua orbs. “H-He never did that before…raised a hand to me.  I guess it scared me so much, it sent me into a shock and that shock is slowly fading now.” Jilysa explained quietly, the tears not stopping and dropped her hands in her lap, clutching the bandana.  Jon was so sweet to give her something to mop up her face with; he could’ve walked out the door and left her to her misery, but instead, he was here checking on her.  Making sure she was all right. “You didn’t deserve this either, Jon.  Neither of us did.  We were faithful and loyal to our spouses…and they shit all over that faith and loyalty without a second glance.” Taking a deep, shaky breath, Jilysa slowly released it and felt herself calming down, taking the beer he handed her. “I-I need to get out of here…I don’t think I can stay in this condo another night alone…not with all the memories and times I shared with that cheating bastard.”

 

“Come back to Chris’s with me.” Jon suggested gently, knowing leaving her here alone tonight would be a bad idea, even if she HAD wanted to stay, which Jilysa had made it abundantly clear she didn’t. “I’m crashing there until tomorrow.” His belongings were in one of the guest rooms since Chris had taken no for an answer to allow Jon to sleep in a motel. “Pack some shit and let’s go, we can get drunk in his backyard with a fire.” That had been his intention from the start.  Chris’s company was totally optional.  

 

Helping her to her feet, Jon watched Jilysa pop the top on the beer and took a very long swallow, frowning as more tears slid down her face.  Drew and Leah were heartless bastards and seeing her in pain, being miserable, was a sad distraction from his own.  Sad and welcomed.  Did that make him a bad person?  No, it didn’t and Jilysa really hoped this didn’t make her a bad person, but she needed a hug.  She just needed to feel arms around her for a minute or two and hugged his waist, pressing her forehead to his chest.

 

“Okay, that sounds great, actually.” She murmured, sniffling and really hoped Jon didn’t mind her doing this.  His arms hesitantly settled around her to hug her back and she shut her eyes, the crying slowly subsiding. “Thank you, Jon.” Jilysa whispered, looking up at him after pulling back and used the bandana to wipe at her eyes and nose. “Do you mind driving?  I don’t think I’m in any position to drive back there tonight.”

 

“No, that’s fine, I borrowed Chris’s truck.” Not that Chris knew, and Jon smirked because that truck was Chris’s customized baby.  Jessica had been the one to tell him where the keys were, so…as long as one Irvine was okay with it, he didn’t see a problem.  He eyed the bandana when she held it up, immediately shaking his head. “Keep it, I got more.  Let’s get you packed, Kitten.”

 

Jilysa was definitely not in the right frame of mind to drive and looked like she might have another crying fit and instead of it making him uncomfortable, it…actually, he’d prefer her to let it all out.  However she needed to, if she needed to cry or fight someone, or just find a place and scream herself hoarse.  The last two options sounded good and he kind of wished she had let him belt her soon-to-be-ex-husband.

 

“Think he’s gone?” Drew had been stumbling to his car and they hadn’t seen if he had driven off.

 

“Yeah, but I don’t think he’s going to leave Tampa and he’ll be back.  I don’t want to be here when he does.” Drew wouldn’t be able to get inside the building because she had also changed the code on him.  Selling the condo would be on her to-do list, after the new year arrived, that was for sure.  Walking into her bedroom, with him following, she dragged out a luggage bag and opened it, clothes already in it. “I had planned on going on vacation away from here, but then Christopher called me and I decided to spend Thanksgiving with them instead of going to Hawaii.” It had clothes, toiletries and everything else she needed for at least two weeks. “Good thing I didn’t unpack, eh?”

 

“Yeah, no shit.” Jon grunted, reaching for his pouch of chew and tucked a dab behind his lip, studying the bag.  

 

She was a lot neater than he was; all his things had been shoved in haphazardly and he hadn’t even gone home.  He wasn’t looking forward to it, even with the promise of her company, inwardly cringing.  That was going to be bad.  He had seen Jilysa’s few ‘moments’, so he was a bit concerned about her seeing him having his own breakdown.

 

“You ready?” At her nod, he took the luggage from her, stepping aside so she could pass him. “Where were you planning on taking your vacation?  Or nowhere in particular, just taking off and getting away?”

 

“I was gonna go to Hawaii, actually.  One of the islands, can’t remember which one off the top of my head.  I have my plane ticket in my bag and it’s refundable, so I can use it at any time.  Maybe after the holidays, I’ll treat myself to a vacation to get away from it all.” Jilysa shrugged while explaining, making sure she had everything before wheeling the luggage behind her out of the bedroom. “Let me set the alarm and then we can leave.” After that was finished, they walked out of the condo with her locking the door and deadbolting it behind her.  Then, she put the code in on the front door, which prevented intruders from entering the building. 

 

A few minutes later, they were on their way back to Chris and Jessica’s house.

 

Hawaii…Jon did the mental math, wondering just how screwed up he would sound while working out the logistics of this and his schedule with AEW. “What if we go to Hawaii tonight?” It came out before he even finished processing the entire train of thought going on.  Even driving, Jon did not miss Jilysa give him a doubletake, shrugging one shoulder. “What?  It beats being depressing guests at Chris’s and Hawaii sounds fucking awesome.  We don’t have to hang or anything if you don’t want to, Kitten, I don’t care one way or the other.  But I feel like I need to celebrate my new single status instead of moping about it.” Because FUCK Leah and FUCK Drew!

 

“All right, let’s go.”

 

Now normally, any other woman would’ve freaked out and asked a million questions, but that wasn’t who Jilysa was.  She lived life as it came, never expecting anything and never taking a moment for granted.  There was a reason Jon and her agreed to go to Thanksgiving at Christopher and Jessica’s.  There was a reason their spouses, out of everyone on the planet, cheated together on them.

 

“Pack your bags, Moxley!  Because this time tomorrow, we’ll be sunbathing on a beach, with drinks that have little umbrellas in them, staring at the ocean and hanging out together.” There was no way in hell she’d leave him alone on their vacation and the barest hint of a smile crossed her lips.  FUCK Leah and FUCK Drew!

 

“Can we have like a personal butler or some shit?  Isn’t that what chicks do?” He laughed, guiding her out of the condo.  Jon had to retreat back to Chris’s just to get his belongings; he knew Chris would get a kick out of this, if they even told him.  Just bailing without a word to anyone sounded like one hell of a game plan. “Nah, it’d be weird, having someone around to wait on us.  I sure ain’t built for that shit.” Jon would probably NEVER be like that.  Sure, he had money now, but he still did his own laundry and got his own ice cubes, so he couldn’t imagine having a maid or someone doing that for him. “I drive, you find the quickest flight out of here.”

 

“Good, you grab your shit while I stay in the car booking our flights.  And since this was my idea originally, I’m paying for your ticket.” She held her hand up when he went to protest, shaking her head. “Already done, just accept it, Moxley.”

 

Jilysa began scrolling through the list of flights, miraculously finding two that were leaving in 3 hours to Honolulu, Hawaii.  She booked them instantly, paid for it on her card and informed Jon they had exactly an hour and a half to get to the airport to make their flight.  Christopher lived about 40 minutes away from the airport, so…they had to book it big time if they were going to make it.

 

Exactly 50 minutes later, they were in the airport going through security before running to catch their flight.

 

It had been great.  Nobody had been awake when he had gone inside to retrieve his bag.  Leaving the guest key he had been given on the counter, Jon locked up on his way out the door.  He figured Chris would see his bags were gone, text him in the morning when he would hopefully be arriving at a luxury hotel or something and ask where he had ventured to.

 

“So, Kitten,” Jon paused while settling into their seats on the plane, wondering if he would ever get used to flying.  If he had been meant to fly, he figured he would have been born with wings. “Since this was MY idea, you just had a ticket, and you paid for mine, I’m paying for the hotel.”

 

Leaning her head back against the seat, she took his hand to squeeze it gently while looking at him. “All right, fair enough.” There was no point arguing with him just like there was no point him arguing with her.  They were both set in their ways and stubborn to a fault. “Jon, thanks for doing this…suggesting we take this vacation.  I know you have to be back on Tuesday for AEW.” They had four glorious days before having to come back to reality in the states.  Unless Jon just flew back to do AEW and then came back to Hawaii, which was a huge possibility. 

 

Jilysa planned on staying in Hawaii at LEAST two weeks.

 

“We’ll see how it goes.  Tony understands I might need a little solo time.” Tony Khan was a gem, that was for sure.  Moving to AEW was the best thing that had happened to him since his original signing with the WWE, before Jon had become disillusioned with their watered down, political madness. “Maybe I can do some kind of promo or something from…” Jon stared at her thoughtfully, the gears in his head turning.  

 

AEW didn’t have scriptwriters, the wrestlers were able to do their own thing.  Not that they DIDN’T talk about it with everyone and get it approved through Tony Khan, because they did, but everyone had a say and it was glorious.  They were also not above taunting WWE and its stable of poorly used talent…and Jon had a very terrible, dark idea, wondering if Jilysa would even go for it.

 

Chapter 6

 

Luckily, Jilysa was oblivious to what was going through Jon’s mind at the moment. 

 

She simply sat there beside him, waiting for the plane to take off and buckled herself in, along with him.  This would be a long flight, but at least it was with someone she could tolerate, who she did enjoy spending time with.  Even with the short amount of time they spent together during Thanksgiving, Jilysa felt something and it scared her because she didn’t want to feel anything with another man.  She was sure Jon felt the same way as far as she knew, but then again, she didn’t know him that well to make that assumption fully. 

 

Maybe while they were in Hawaii, she would get to know Jon better.

 

Jon wasn’t sure what he felt towards Jilysa besides a lot of pity and admiration.  He was busy not focusing on feeling about his wife, her affair, and that whole mess, which was easier than someone would think, considering who he was hanging out with.  Jilysa was a literal walking, talking reminder of what had happened, what Leah did, but focusing on her helped him, a lot.  He wasn’t going to overthink it, currently having other thoughts in mind.  It would be amusing, a jab at Leah and Drew, and probably great for ratings.  Not to mention, he was feeling petty.  Once they had rest after landing, maybe had some breakfast, he would bring it up his idea to her.

 

~!~

 

Honolulu, Hawaii was absolutely breathtaking. 

 

Jilysa was in heaven the moment they stepped off the plane, the blue skies surrounding them, along with pure sunshine and warmth.  They were each given a flower lei upon arrival and she couldn’t help smiling, feeling like the weight of the world was off her shoulders.  Together, they headed to the rental car place and grabbed their luggage, with Jon taking them both.  Jilysa retrieved the keys since the rental was in her name and looped her arm through his as they headed out of the airport.  However, Jon plucked the keys out of her hand and informed her he would be driving.  Once again, she didn’t fight him, letting him do what he wanted and slipped in the passenger seat, simply staring out the window in awe at the beautiful scenery.

 

“Have you ever been here before, Jon?”

 

“For a few shows, sure, but it was always…busy, so I didn’t explore.” There hadn’t been time.  It was land, eat, work, sleep, leave and in that order.  Coming to Hawaii was expensive and bringing a show was probably a waste of money, given the income rates here and recouping the expenses wasn’t likely. “This your first time?” It was gorgeous and he was very glad for the sunglasses, having dropped them over his eyes the second they were off that plane.  Warm, a delicious breeze, and everyone was smiling and…friendly.  Considering the week they both had, this was just what the doctor ordered. “Now which island is it we’re on, Kitten?” Jon really hoped not the one with the infamous ‘room for one car, but a two way lane’ road.

 

“Oahu, and this is the third-largest Hawaiian island and the capital of the state.” Could Hawaii be considered a state with all the different islands?  Apparently so.  It was weird since the islands weren’t connected and one could only get to them via boats. “I’ve only been to Hawaii a couple times with WWE once; they don’t come here too often.  I’ve never been here for vacation though, so this is my first time too.” They would be experiencing their first time together on vacation in Hawaii and she wouldn’t mind going to the other islands to explore.

 

“Well, aren’t you just full of facts!” Jon laughed, following the signs for the hotel.  The road was narrow, so he took it slowly, not that he minded.  The scenery was stunning. “Now, for the record, we got a suite, two bedrooms and then a main room, kinda like a sitting room or something.” It had actually been CHEAPER than getting two rooms, also…he had applied all these reward points he didn’t know he had been acquiring.  Chances were, they were Leah’s since she had been the one to set up the rewards points and whatnot.  Jon was just putting them to use.  Screw her and her reward points, he and Jilysa were getting some sweet suite at her expense and it was great!

 

“Sounds amazing, thank you, Jon!”

 

Jilysa was getting more excited by the second and didn’t realize that, not only did they have one of the best suites the hotel had to offer, but it was right off the ocean.  They had an oceanfront view, so she would be waking up to the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore every day.  They also were on the lower floor, so they had a deck that connected directly to the beach.  A quick slide of the glass side door and the smell of the ocean and sand would hit her in the face.

 

“I can’t wait to see it.  I can’t wait to get on that beach and just lounge and soak up some much needed vitamin D.” Everything else would fade away for a while, hopefully.

 

“Sounds like a game plan to me, Kitten.”

 

Jon got plenty of vitamin D in Vegas, but Vegas was also a desert, which he loved, but he had never spent time on the ocean.  Now that he had the money to do anything he wanted, the things he had only dared to dream about as a kid, he never had the time or made the time.  In fact, he had a horrible habit of making time for the wrong people, the wrong reasons, and this trip was the beginning of all that changing.

 

“There, right there, you see it?” He pointed down the rather steep road they were driving down now.  Hawaiian islands were not flat by any stretch of the imagination and it was probably a good thing he wasn’t a timid driver or else they would have been boned. “Fuck yes.” This was paradise, Jon was sold the minute they pulled through and into parking, flashing her an excited smile.

 

Slipping out of the car, since the place had valet parking, they grabbed their luggage to bring inside, but…were stopped.  They had bellhops waiting to cater to them, first taking their luggage, though Jon kept his backpack and she kept her purse.  They were guided, after checking in to receive their key cards, to their beautiful suite.  Stunning did NOT do it justice!  This room was the most extraordinary thing she’d ever seen in her life!  Jilysa could not get over how luxurious and posh the place was, yet it had a very homey, relaxing atmosphere.  Walking over, she opened the curtains and felt her heart nearly stop at the breathtaking view before her.

 

“Oh wow…”

 

Jon was still trying to get over the fact that there had been people to CARRY their luggage.  Wrestling star or whatever he was now, and this was a first for him.  He walked up behind her, his eyes widening slightly and his chin rested on top of her head since she was almost the perfect height for that, with her short frame and height.

 

“This was the best idea ever…we’re awesome.” This was the most insane thing he had done in a while and he had made a career of being crazy and unpredictable.  This was just…surreal. “I’m still having a hard time believing we’re here, doing this…” Running off and just having a ‘fuck you’ get away from their slimy spouses. “Hell, maybe after this you won’t want to come to Vegas, you might find I’m an asshole.”

 

“Yeah well, you may find I’m the biggest bitch on the planet.”

 

Jilysa leaned back against him and drew his arms to rest on her waist, her hands on his forearms.  There was only one way to find out, but for now, they were getting along and watching the gorgeous sun glistening on the water.  Neither could pull their gaze away and Jon didn’t move an inch, his arms tightening around her ever so slightly.  Unlike Drew, she felt this raw, natural connection to Jon that felt so easy and pure…it somewhat scared her.

 

“You were right.  This is the best idea ever and we’re stellar.”

 

Finally, Jon pulled away from her, not wanting to send the wrong impression…yet.  He was still on the fence about his rapidly shifting feelings towards Jilysa.  The last thing either of them needed was to be a rebound from their marriages with each other.  The hurt was still too fresh and raw, especially after what had happened last night with her ex.

 

“I'm going to live in this tub…this is a pool.  Kitten, come look…” Jon was in love with this place officially.

 

So was she. “Screw food, I say we get into our bathing suits and start enjoying this pool tub now.”

 

Jilysa grabbed her bag to go to one of the two suite bathrooms when a knock sounded at the door.  Jon stopped her from going to answer it, just in case it was an unwanted visitor.  It was a very WANTED visitor – the bellhop again with a HUGE fruit, cheese, and crackers basket.  Jon carried it in, setting it on the coffee table and they both looked each other before back at the basket.

 

“This has to be a dream.  Pinch me, Jon.”

 

Jon pinched her right on her pert backside, laughing when she let out a laughing shriek of her own as she hopped away from him. “You asked me too, Kitten.” He teased, eyeballing the basket and then snatched the card from it, eyeballing it with a snicker. “So, this is apparently the honeymoon suite, which I did not see on the mobile website…” Shaking his head, Jon tried not to laugh, but the irony was hilarious. “We’re…married to other people…gonna get divorced, and I booked us in the fucking honeymoon suite!” That was HYSTERICAL! “Stand with that damn basket, I want a picture to send to Chris.” This was just too good not to share with the man, he’d find it hilarious too.

 

Jilysa couldn’t stop laughing for the picture, but Jon finally snapped one where she was just smiling before she burst out again.  This was a honeymoon suite…this place thought they were honeymooners instead of friends!  Wiping tears away of mirth, Jilysa took her own phone out and forced Jon to take a picture as well, which was him smiling with the middle finger up.

 

“Classy, Moxley.” She giggled, sending that picture to Chris and Jessica while he sent his to them as well. “Okay, they have fresh pineapple, strawberries, mangos, kiwi…” All the fruits of heaven.

 

“Of course there’s pineapple in there, that’s Hawaii’s main cash crop.” Jon laughed, plucking a piece and popped it into his mouth, letting out a soft groan of pure pleasure. “Oh, that’s delicious,” Cool and tangy, sweet…he watched as she went for the kiwi. “You can also have allll the mango.  You know,” Jon helped himself to another piece of pineapple, contemplating investing in stock in this because he could see himself living on it for a while. “Apparently, if you eat a lot of pineapple, eventually your sperm starts to taste like it.” Random fact. “Oh shit, don’t choke!” Laughing, he walked over to gently thump her on the back. “Maybe I shouldn’t blurt out shit like that, huh?”

 

“N-No, it’s o-okay…”

 

Jilysa did not expect that to come out of his mouth, but she was laughing too hard, and trying not to choke to death, to be bothered.  Why would it bother her in the first place?  Jon was blunt and it was one of the traits she liked about him in the short time they knew each other.  They did work together in WWE, briefly, while he was in the Shield because of the social media stuff.  The other two members, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, were more into it than him, so she worked more with them than Jon.

 

“I wonder if a woman is the same way.” Now THAT was random. “I think the Kardashians did something like that on their show.  Two of the sisters went a week eating pineapple everything to see if they were sweeter below the belt.  And no, I don’t watch the show anymore.  I used to.” It was a guilty pleasure of hers.

 

“What’s the Kardashians?” Jon asked after a moment, frowning slightly.  It sounded familiar and, when she began explaining, it took a while to click.  Reality television was, in his humble opinion, stupid.  He hated it.  He liked his privacy WAY too much for something to do something like that. “Ohhh...okay, I know who they are.  They got famous for one of the girls being in a sex tape or something, right?” Jon also had a guilty pleasure of his own to watch and that was The Bachelor…another Leah influence.  He would NEVER watch that show again as long as he lived.

 

“Yeah, Kim.  That actually wasn’t a bad episode, the pineapple one.  Actually, the whole show really isn’t as bad as people think.  It’s funny and even sad at times.” She shrugged, knowing everyone had a guilty pleasure at some point or another in their lives. “I’m gonna go get changed now.”

 

Taking her bag, Jilysa headed into the bathroom to undress and slip on her silver stringed bikini, something she had randomly picked up during an off day in Tampa.  She never wore it since there wasn’t a lot of time away from WWE, even as a social media coordinator.  Staring in the mirror, Jilysa let her hair down from the messy bun she had it in and instead pulled the front of it back to tie it.  The rest of her ebony locks flowed around her shoulders and down her back in natural waves.  Applying some clear gloss, she grabbed one of the soft, terry cloth robes and a towel before exiting, seeing Jon already had the water going.  However, he was nowhere to be found, so he was either still in his own bathroom or had ventured out somewhere.

 

He was outside enjoying the breeze coming off the ocean and mentally asking himself WHY they were using that pool-sized tub when they literally had this to swim in?  Why?  Because he was an idiot who was going to put himself in close quarters with a beautiful woman and probably do something stupid.  Jon wasn’t sure if it would be stupid because it would either be a spite thing, a rebound, or a genuine attraction.  Leah had him twisted up; he had never thought this hard about something so small.  Sighing, Jon turned and slipped back inside, stopping dead in his tracks.

 

“What the hell is the robe for?”

 

“Because I’ve decided I’m not wasting away here in this tub.  It’s nice and everything, but…” Jilysa didn’t realize she had the same thought as Jon while he was outside. “How many times in my life will I ever be able to swim in the actual ocean?” It was a beautiful sunny day and it was warm.  She had a feeling the water would be more than welcoming and inviting. “The robe is comfortable, have you tried it?  It’s so SOFT!” She nuzzled it and walked past him before turning to look over her shoulder. “What’s it gonna be, Moxley?  The ocean or the tub?”

 

Chapter 7

 

“The ocean of course, we got plenty of time to use that tub.”

 

Jon knew she was here for a few weeks.  It wasn’t like she had a job to go rushing back too.  He was still on the fence about whether or not he would go or just cut a promo here.  Jon was still also debating on if he could talk Jilysa into letting him use this…situation going on in their lives.  It’d be a slap in the face of their cheating exes as well as probably light a fire under the WWE’s backside, Vince in particular, which he would find amusing.  Her, not so much, since there were a lot of people who didn’t want to air their dirty laundry and he didn’t blame them.  He just wanted to light the world on the fire and watch it burn right now.  Snorting, Jon went to grab his own towel, rolling his electric blues and took the robe as well, already in his swimming shorts before taking off after her.

 

Finding a spot between two gorgeous palm trees, Jilysa set up her spot with her towel and the silver of her string bikini glistened in the bright sunshine.  She looked like a silver star and her long ebony hair and aqua eyes just made the vision that much more dazzling.  That was how she appeared to others, Jon included, but Jilysa didn’t see any of it as she raced off to jump into the ocean.  The waves were gentle today and she groaned at the first touch of the water enveloping her, closing her eyes.  This was paradise – she was in paradise with a man who was NOT her husband and Jilysa felt zero guilt about it.

 

Jon, like several other men and a few women, were just gaping as that silvery sexpot with a LOT of glistening skin went diving into the water.  He groaned, reaching down and adjusted the erection he didn’t think he was capable of all things considered, without giving two fucks who seen him do it. “Down boy.” He muttered, taking his own sweet time in walking into that water, groaning when it finally reached his junk.  That felt terrible and awesome at the same time and his darkened blues zeroed in on Jilysa again. “You just made half the beach fall in love with you, and not for your sparkling personality, Kitten.” Her personality was just as banging as her body, but…nobody here besides him knew that.

 

Jilysa wiped water from her eyes since she’d just surfaced and draped her hair over one shoulder, just enjoying lounging in the water. “My god, this feels SO good and look how clear this water is!” She splashed him lightly, giggling since it only got his chest…his glistening, tanned, delicious, muscular chest… Down girl, she thought, mentally coaching herself and ducked underwater again just to cool off for a moment or two. “Now, why would the beach fall in love with me, Moxley?”

 

“Because you have a hot body and your face isn’t so bad either.” He complimented without a lick of shame and a hint of amusement in his tone, raising a brow as he looked down at himself, watching water run down his own muscular chest.  A second later, he had tackled her, gently since he wasn’t that big a brute, and taken her under water with him, holding that hot little body against his as he swam for a moment before letting her surface. “Yeah, this was a brilliant idea!” He laughed once he had surfaced, wiping water out of his eyes and flashed her a boyish grin, the sunlight glinting off both that silver and the water; it was like seeing her sparkle. Wow. He shook that thought away immediately.

 

The way he looked at her…Drew never looked at her that way.  Jon had beautiful electric blue eyes and she could see they were somewhat smoldered over at the moment while he looked at her.  Any normal woman would’ve played coy and pretended not to notice, but that wasn’t who Jilysa was.  It did not help matters that her hands were on his broad, muscular shoulders and they were soaked from head to toe, pressed to each other.

 

“Yeah it is…and I hope this is too.”

 

Gripping the back of his neck, Jilysa brought his mouth to hers and passionately kissed him, that spark she felt between them at Thanksgiving igniting into an instant forest fire.  It was wrong to kiss him because she was still a married woman and he was still a married man, but…how could something so wrong feel so damn right?  Damn near perfect, even.  So what if they were using each other to get through their pain?  Maybe that was why they were brought together and on this vacation in the first place.

 

The first thing that came to mind was fucking her because before he had been watered down via the WWE and then his sham of a marriage, Jon had NOT been a saint by any means.  Skanks and easy lays, rich bitches looking to be treated like scum by the bad boy, the good girl next door and then the just don’t give a fuck women…he’d taken them all on, gladly.  So…yeah, this was awesome.  Second thought, if they were photographed or something here, that might not work out so well for them in their divorces.  Hearsay on Leah and Drew’s part since Jilysa was the eyewitness and he didn’t know if she’d want to reciprocate that at all.  Yet here they were in the ocean, in Hawaii, with his hands on her pert backside, bringing her to press against him, so she could feel his erection grinding against her.

 

Drew hadn’t made her feel desirable in months and now she knew why.  If they were photographed, so be it.  If they were videotaped, so be it.  Jilysa didn’t care.  The only thing Jilysa cared about was the man kissing her back and feeling his pulsating cock brushing up against her.  Breaking the kiss, those blues of his were smoldered cerulean and hers were a burning teal, their breathing heavy.  Yes, she was forward and somewhat blunt when the situation called for it…and her sex-depraved body was practically screaming at her to do this.

 

“Maybe we should’ve tried out the tub first,” She murmured against his lips, both floating into the water and her hand snaked down between them to start stroking him, feeling how hard he was through those trunks. “That way we could fuck without prying eyes.” Jilysa began kissing down his strong jaw to his neck while still fondling him beneath the water. Your move, Moxley.

 

Jon was seriously considering boning her right here.  In the late morning / early afternoon sunshine, in this crystal clear ocean water, with dozens of people watching and absolutely no ignominy.  Obviously, she didn’t either, which only made her that much hotter.

 

“Holy shit, that’s Dean Ambrose!”

 

Oh for fuck’s sake, no…he wasn’t Dean Ambrose and this jackass was interrupting the best moment ever. “Yeah, definitely inside.” He rumbled against her lips, his hips rocking his cock in her hand, groaning when she pulled away. “Fuck…” Speaking of fuck…he let her down in order to fix himself in his trunks, stepping back from her. “We should go inside and use that tub.” And each other, he wanted to use her in the best of ways.

 

They wanted and needed to use each other in the best of ways and Jilysa would gladly let him do whatever he wanted to her.  Stepping out of the water, Jilysa wrung her hair out by twisting it on her way to retrieve her towel.  Jon stayed back in the water for a few minutes and she knew why, a smirk curving her lips.  That erection felt hard and painful in her hand…and she really wanted to take care of it for him.  Licking her still glossy lips, she headed back to the suite and got the tub started once again.  Since they were doing this, she untied the strings of her bottoms and top, letting the silver bikini fall from her body.  Then, she stepped into the hot, inviting water and poured some jasmine scented bubble bath in, turning the jets on.  Now, it was a waiting game to see if Jon actually showed up and continued what they started in the ocean.

 

Jon was delayed a little bit, mostly because after she had sashayed her teasing, pert backside inside, he had remained and talked down his erection.  Apparently, that had been an invitation for people to come swarm him and chat him up, which was not all right, at all.  So many questions and getting out of the water had been a chore, trying not to knock some of these guys out while potential blue balls threatened to occur.  By the time he made it inside, he was kind of grouchy.

 

“Fucking dicks…” He muttered, locking the door behind him and pulled the shades, turning to take her in. “You can quit smiling now, Kitten.  Trust me, it wasn’t THAT funny.”

 

“Oh, on the contrary, it was VERY funny, Moxley.” Jilysa argued, moving through the bubbly goodness to lean against the edge of the huge tub.  She could’ve gone out there to save him, but…Jilysa also didn’t want to overstep her boundaries.  He was a man and could take care of himself…and she rather enjoyed watching the man candy make his way back inside. “So, we’re completely alone now.  No prying eyes or ears…no cameras or people yelling out your former wrestling name.” Leaning back into the tub, she crooked her finger at him with darkening eyes and slid her tongue out to wet her lips. “Get that sexy ass in here already.”

 

She was easy. Awesome. He was too.  Since she had already made him ‘work for it’ by suffering all that idiocy alone.  Being cheated on had a way of turning people into savages or give into their inner ‘fuck it’ mentality.  In his case, it had just reverted him back to who he was to begin with: a savage with a ‘fuck it’ mentality and a hungry libido.

 

“Just remember that shit tomorrow, darlin’,” He teased, shedding his swim trunks and kicked them aside, not having a shred of indignity about his body.  

 

Jon had worked very hard to get in this kind of shape and to maintain it, he was proud of it.  Jon half-hoped those fans, who now knew which room they were in, were listening at the door because she was definitely going to be screaming ‘Moxley’ here in a bit, he would guarantee it.  Smirking, he stepped into the water, opposite side of her, just because he could be a tease too, sinking down into it.

 

“Mmmm….”

 

“Mmm, I’ll remember this moment, this vacation, for the rest of my life.” She would not be screaming ‘Moxley’.  She would be screaming his name, however.  Jon. 

 

Instead of pouncing on him, Jilysa stayed right where she was because the sprays against her lower back felt too good to move.  The bubbles were covering up all her vital parts, so he couldn’t see much of anything.  She slid the water up her arms, not believing how soothing the water itself was.  Forget the jets and jasmine bubbles…the water itself was so cleansing and pure, it ALMOST made her feel guilty at the sinful bodies in this water.

 

“Me too, been awhile since I’ve done something spontaneous.”

 

Being a wrestler was not really conducive to spontaneity, not unless it involved wrestling itself and even then, there were limits, just certain things that should never be done.  In his personal life, not so much…his job required a lot of travelling and he always had to stick to a schedule to make sure he arrived at places on time, fit in workouts…no wonder his wife was cheating on him.  He nixed that thought instantly, leaning back against the jets and shut his eyes.

 

“This would be a lot better, Kitten, if you got your sweet, teasing ass over here.”

 

“Oh, and you’re not teasing me?” Jilysa shot back, knowing the struggles of being on the road constantly, making appointments and whatnot. 

 

Even though she wasn’t a wrestler, she still had a lot of obligations with her job for WWE.  Thank Christ, that was over.  That chapter in her life was DONE.  Jilysa had no idea what she would do, but that had been the most toxic company she’d ever worked for in her life.

 

“Hey, I made the first move by kissing your sexy ass in the ocean, so it’s YOUR turn to make a move, Moxley.  I’m very content right here and I’m in love with this tub.”

 

“Same.”

 

Since she had left him there with an erection and fan boys, Jon was just as content to remain where he was, grinning lazily at her.  He folded his hands behind his head, leaning back and closed his eyes.  He was just realizing now how tense and tight his body had been, dealing with all this stress, on top of trying to work and everything else, so this was heaven.  With or without her over here riding his dick, though he would have preferred the with.  It made him wonder if Chris hadn’t been doing some foreshadowing or foresight when he had sneakily invited them both for Thanksgiving.

 

“Oh, before I forget,” Since Chris was now on the brain and the older man had dropped a bee in his bonnet. “We need a social media coordinator at AEW.” Totally off-course, but there it was.  He began laughing when he heard water moving, opened an eye and got splashed. “What the hell, woman?” Growling, he cut through the water and playfully snatched her up into him.

 

Being crushed against his rock hard body felt amazing and she brought his mouth down on hers, passionately kissing him like she did in the ocean earlier. “So what you’re saying is there’s a job opening in the same company as you and Christopher, eh?” She murmured against his lips, caressing his bubbly, soaked body with her hands before reaching down to start stroking his cock again. “How about we talk business after we fuck each other’s brains out?” While she spoke, Jon sank back down into the water, right where he was, with her straddling him.  Just like he wanted her to earlier and had envisioned it. “And just so you know, I’m on birth control.”

 

One had to be in this day and age in this business and…after discovering the possibility of Drew cheating on her, she had gone back on birth control, refusing to have a baby with him.  That was one of the many problems they had was trying to have a baby and being unsuccessful at it, despite the fact Drew refused to get tested or help the situation any.  Made her wonder if he wanted a baby in the first place.  Jilysa didn’t tell him about going back on birth control either and about two months after the fact, found him with Leah in his dressing room banging the hell out of her.

 

“Good to know, what makes you think I can even have kids, darlin’?  See,” Jon ran his strong hands down her sides.  Jilysa was wet and slick, she smelled delicious too, which was a good thing considering they had just been in the ocean.  They definitely needed to wash that off before they went bumping uglies, he wasn’t looking to get some weird bacteria in his nethers. “Here I am, thinking about STDs and shit, and you got babies on the brain.” He was teasing, smirking wickedly when her eyes narrowed. “I’m clean, by the way, I got in and tested after finding out what slutbag did.”

 

Who knew how many dicks Leah had hopped on behind his back?  Jon hoped she wound up pregnant and didn’t know who the baby daddy was; he was just that spiteful.  AFTER their divorce went through, he didn’t want it delayed for a kid that wasn’t his.

 

“I am too and I did the same thing.” Jilysa didn’t trust Drew hadn’t been with other women after or before Leah.  She didn’t trust Leah either since she didn’t know the woman from a hole in the ground. “Your hands feel so good on me, Jon.  I haven’t been touched and caressed like this in so long…”

 

Sex with Drew was mediocre and always over before it could really began.  It was boring, missionary sex where she lay on her back, pretending to have an orgasm and he shot his load inside of her after a few minutes.  It almost felt like an obligation to have sex since they were married more than WANTING to have sex.  Jon wanted her and she felt it in the way he touched and kissed her, making her body instantly react.

 

“I haven’t been properly fucked in a long time either.  Make me cum for you, Jon.” She spoke against his lips before they began devouring each other’s mouths, his fingers fisting her hair and her nails digging slightly into his shoulders, her body trembling.

 

It made Jon wonder why she had married Drew if she hadn’t been touched properly in a long time and if she was able to move on so quickly.  Not that he had any room to talk, though sex with Leah had been great.  Not mind-blowing or earth-shattering, but great, nevertheless.  Overthinking again, his mind was right back on her luscious body, hands moving everywhere until finally settling on her hips, guiding her so she was rocking against him, the head of his cock brushing against her clit.

 

Chapter 8

 

Sex with Drew had been amazing at first and they couldn’t keep their hands off each other.  They were crazy about each other, stealing kisses in the halls of the arenas and sneaking into empty dressing rooms for quickies.  She remembered attacking him a couple times in the shower at the arenas and it was mind-blowing.  The way Drew made her feel and the sweet little things he would do for her, like bringing her a coffee and Danish whenever he knew she was stressed about her job.  And she would do the same thing for him, only it wasn’t Danish, it was usually a donut with coffee.  Or how he would pull her into his arms at night in their hotel room and just hold her, neither of them speaking.  Just staring out the window or at the wall, being with each other.  They had excellent communication too, always talking about what was on their minds and never lying to each other.

 

Where had it all gone wrong?

 

She noticed it three months ago.  The change.  Jilysa felt the distance between them start to grow and it only got worse the more she ignored it.  Every night, Drew wound up in her bed, but there was no love, no comfort, and the way he fucked her was cold and hard.  There was no feeling, no desire or passion in it.  He couldn’t even look at her while they had sex and she had to fight back tears several times because she hadn’t enjoyed sex with her husband.  He no longer held her at night and they barely spoke a word to each other, both sleeping with their backs to each other.  Silently, Jilysa cried herself to sleep almost every night for those three months and finally, the day came when she decided it was time to talk.

 

That was also the day she caught Drew and Leah screwing in his dressing room.

 

Had she waited too long to talk to him?  How long had he been screwing Leah behind her back?  Behind Jon’s back?  They would probably never know the answer.  That was why Jilysa didn’t feel guilty for doing this, for being with another man…the jilted husband of the woman who was screwing her husband.  It was why she agreed so easily to go to Hawaii with Jon and throw caution to the wind, to kiss him in the ocean to see if there was a spark or any kind of connection between them.  Jilysa felt it at Thanksgiving and she knew, even through his anger and pain, he felt it too.  That was why it was so easy to sink down on his cock in this tub, in this gorgeous honeymoon suite, and ride a man who was not her husband.

 

“Oh god, Jon…oh fuck, baby, you feel so good…” Jilysa moaned, actually meaning it because it did feel good to have his cock inside of her.  It felt good to feel WANTED and DESIRED by a man for a change since she hadn’t gotten any of that from her own husband lately.

 

Guilt, that was all probably guilt from Drew’s part.  Guilt and maybe misplaced anger at her.  Cheaters usually resented their victims, their significant others, for ‘making’ them cheat, it was stupid.

 

“Goddamn right!” Jon had some pent-up aggression and frustration he would NOT mind venting on her beautiful body.  Drew was a moron, giving THIS up for Leah.  Jon would admit, Leah had some…flaws he hadn’t noticed until he was PISSED at her for being a cheating whore.  Tiny lips, wide jaw…Jilysa was perfect, she had had an entire beach gawking at her.  She was just that naturally beautiful.  Her old man had not stretched her out any, she was tight as a velvet glove.  His hands guided her, bringing her down on him each time his own hips pushed up.

 

“Fuck, Kitten…”

 

Jon was perfect as well.  Perfect arms, chest, and he had the sexiest back of any man she’d ever seen, including Drew.  Now, Drew was a very good looking man and had a stellar body, but…there was something about Jon that felt BETTER.  Jilysa couldn’t put her finger on it since Jon was only an inch shorter in height from Drew.  It wasn’t the height factor.  Even during their most intimate moments, when they were in love and couldn’t keep their hands off each other, Jilysa did NOT feel what she felt currently.  This was on another level entirely and it made her breathless, her body craving more.

 

“This water is stopping me from riding you properly, Jon...” With his cock still inside of her, Jon lifted her from the water without preamble and carried her to the bed, which wasn’t far off.  They were both soaking wet and the mattress felt as if they were on a cloud while she dug her nails into his chest, rolling her hips the way she wanted to. “Mmm yeah, this is more like it…” Water was great and everything for relaxation, but she preferred shower sex because at least there were no restrictions with the water coming down ON her instead of being submerged in it.

 

Sex in the water was only fun for slow lovemaking, including the shower.  Jon had gotten lost in the heat of the moment more than a time or twice and wound up nearly crushing his fuck, throwing his back out from slipping, and he had conked his head twice.  A person couldn’t cut loose without risking death.  He much preferred this, or on the floor, or anywhere he didn’t have to worry about water trying to kill him because he was overly engrossed in who he was doing.  Kind of like this, she could ride him now and he was feeling it a million-fold, none of that restraint from the water’s pressure against them.

 

“Kitten, just like that…” His darkened blues were fastened on her, the way she rose and fell on his cock and then his gaze turned to her bouncing breasts, growling hungrily as his hands moved up to her chest.

 

Jilysa did not want to make love with Jon.  There was no love in what they were doing.  Both were hurt, confused and angry…and they were using each other to get over what their spouses did to them.  She knew exactly what this was and milked it for all it was worth.  However, as much as she enjoyed riding him with those eyes staring up at him, Jilysa wanted something a little dirtier.  She leaned forward, while gliding her pussy up and down his cock, and traced his lips with the tip of her tongue.

 

“Don’t move.” Jilysa ordered before getting off him and turned, sinking right back down on that delicious cock with her back facing him.  Now, he could watch her ass bounce on and off his dick, her hands using his muscular thighs for leverage. “Mmm…how’s that, Jon baby?  Tell me I’m fucking you right…”

 

His response was to slap her backside, watching each cheek redden after he had enjoyed the little jiggle, she had a deliciously pert rump.  He did it again, smirking slightly when Jilysa let out a husky moan. “Like having that ass slapped, darlin’?” He was enjoying the color for sure, red was her color.

 

“Mmm, yeah…yeah, I do…” He did it harder and her pussy spasmed around him, making them both groan.  Jilysa rose and fell on him harder, trying to get every single thing she could out of this.  Her hands gripped her breasts, tweaking her own nipples before moving to her hair, getting lost in the moment. “Jon!” She cried out breathlessly, feeling her orgasm building, that hot coil deep in her abdomen threatening to spring free.  Close…she was so close, she could TASTE it…and it’d been a long time since she orgasmed from sex instead of her finger or a vibrator. “There!  Oh, I’m there!!”

 

That GUSH came spilling forth, her walls clamping down around him as she kept grinding, yelling out because it felt SO damn good to orgasm for a change!  Even though she’d gotten hers, the beautiful thing about a woman was she could climax multiple times and she knew Jon wasn’t close to reaching his end yet.  And she wanted to cum again, to feel that euphoria wash over her that only an orgasm could cause.  She was still riding him and it was a good pain, because her pussy was spasming around him, tightening, so it was like a million soft, slick hands pulling at him every time she moved those hips.

 

“Fuck all!” Jon wasn’t cumming, not yet; he had always had good control and having to basically fuck himself hadn’t changed that.  

 

As soon as she stopped quivering around him, he exhaled slowly before grabbing Jilysa and guiding her off of him.  A second later, she was pinned face first on the bed with her backside in the air, looking all delicious and rosy, his handprints still there.  Growling his approval, he bent down to nip at each rosy cheek before slamming home inside of her again.

 

This was heaven.  It had to be.  Or maybe it was purgatory.  A delicious purgatory she never wanted to escape. 

 

There was nothing quite like being pounded from behind by a man who knew what the hell he was doing.  Drew was good enough at doggy style, but NOTHING compared to how Jon was molding her body and controlling it to his liking.  The sounds of their flesh slapping together echoed throughout the room and neither cared, their panting, moans, and growls creating beautiful music.

 

“God harder…HARDER!!” Rising up, her nails dug into the bedding and Jon buried his fingers in her hair, drawing her up until their bodies aligned together. “J-JON!!” She gasped out, feeling his hand wrap around her throat and he began to gently squeeze, not realizing what he was doing to her body. 

 

Her pussy GUSHED far more than it had the first time she climaxed and she choked out his name, especially when his finger snaked down to manipulate her clit.  Jon had enough common sense to know now that a lot of women did not get off just from being penetrated alone, not unless it was at JUST the right angle.  Admittedly, in his younger years, an older broad he had banged told him off for NOT knowing that.  Doggy style was not that angle, adding fingers to the mix and manipulating the clit was the ticket to ensure the woman came, most of the time.

 

“Fuck, such a tight little cunt!” He rasped, feeling her spasming again, nearly cutting off all circulation to his cock. “Oh fucking cum again, Kitten, cum all over me!” This woman was sending him to hell and it was great.  This was a slow, agonizing death and he was dancing happily along to it.

 

“Yes – YES!!” She shrieked out, nodding her head rapidly and wanted to cum for him again more than anything. 

 

The sound of his husky, gritty voice in her ear, how low and raspy it was with a rough tone sent her already spiraling world on its axes.  Lulling her head back, with his hand still on her throat, they kissed each other hungrily, her fingers gripping the back of his neck tightly.  Jon didn’t have a lot of hair like he did in WWE.  He had cut it all off during his time off from WWE when he tore his triceps tendon.  How could Leah give this man up?!  Hell, if it was her and this was her husband, Jilysa would’ve said buh-bye to WWE and went with him to AEW in the blink of an eye.

 

“J-Jon…god, cum for me…explode inside of me, I wanna feel it…” She panted against his mouth, pleading with him to reach his end since she was on the verge of reaching her fourth.

 

Not yet.  He was going for five.  Jon didn’t like even numbers, or at least that was what he was claiming tonight.  Five delicious orgasms from this beautiful, vibrant woman who was writhing and panting for him, her entire body convulsing for him.  He could feel it in every last nerve ending.  Maybe four. “Not… yet…” He growled through gritted teeth, pressing an open mouthed kiss against her pulse point, sweat running down his face as he inhaled her intoxicating scent.

 

Had Drew ever caused her to climax this many times in one session?  No.  No, he had not.  Jilysa could never remember being overworked and overstimulated this much in her life.  No complaints – zero.  Jon was going to make her literally explode all over the place.  There would be pieces of her laying all over, splattered on the walls, the bed and him.  What a way to go, though!  Her own body was slick with sweat as her head lulled against his shoulder, feeling him plummet in and out of her and all she could do was hang on for dear life and enjoy the ride of a lifetime he was taking her on.

 

“Jon!  JON!!” Her voice was going to be hoarse or completely gone before this completely ended.

 

Five!  He hit five and, as soon as they rolled into that sweet number, Jon bellowed out Jilysa’s name, hoping those idiot fanboys out there were taking notes if they were stalking the room.  His fingers dug into her hips, keeping her firmly against him as he shot his load into her very receptive, still spasming body, groaning as she writhed back against him.  Jon already knew this was NOT a one and done deal.  They had two weeks and he planned on sexing her up again.  

 

“Fuck, Kitten, fuck!” Even as he finished cumming, Jon groaned because it hurt a little after denying himself this entire session.

 

Her body was STILL quivering after Jon filled her to capacity with his seed, both draining every ounce of fluid they could out of each other.  Every drop of ecstasy.  Jon released her and Jilysa collapsed on the bed in a sweaty, satisfied heap, trying to coach herself to breathe, so she didn’t pass out.  Passing out would not be a good idea right now, not after that intense sexual bout.  It was a good thing she had removed her wedding ring prior to coming on this vacation because she really didn’t need the reminder she was married at the moment.  However, Jilysa made the mistake of turning her head just as Jon lifted his left hand up and there it was.  A bullseye right on his left ring finger.  His marriage tattoo he’d gotten, so he didn’t have to wear an actual ring.  It should’ve bothered her.  It should’ve made her sick to her stomach that she just had sex with someone else’s husband.

 

I just fucked a married man.  I just fucked a married man, whose wife fucked my husband. And the weird part was she not only enjoyed it immensely, but…no guilt whatsoever. Her loss is my gain. Jilysa planned on taking full advantage of having this man with her in Hawaii for the next two weeks.  That was if Jon wasn’t feeling regret and shame for screwing a married woman like she should’ve felt and didn’t. 

 

Chapter 9

 

Jon did NOT feel any regret at ALL.

 

His wife had fucked Drew Galloway, which meant she could have been letting OTHER dick in before that one dipped into her crusty pussy.  Now, he knew Leah hadn’t had that issue when they had been together constantly, before he had jumped to AEW, but Christ…her contract would have been up soon enough!  They were supposed to be working through this.  Love was supposed to be strong, right?  Nope!  And now – now Jon felt nothing except disdain at her and pissed with himself for letting himself fall into that trap and situation.  Leah had begged him to get married, to make him show how much he loved her, to ‘prove’ it and he had by marrying her.  Women could be just as shady as men and sometimes worse, so no…there was no guilt.  Jon let out a satisfied grunt, rolling to pin Jilysa against the mattress with a grin on his face, his electric eyes alight with life.

 

“You are fucking amazing, Jilysa.”

 

“I am, huh?” She smiled back up at him with glittering aqua eyes and enjoyed the weight of his body on hers. “Mmm, you’re not so bad yourself, Moxley.” Softly, she kissed him and slid her fingers through his short hair, or rather over it, moaning in his mouth while tasting each other again.  Every kiss they shared made her toes curl and her breathing change. “I want you to know that I didn’t plan on this happening between us.  I didn’t agree to come here with you on vacation to have revenge sex.” That wasn’t the type of person she was. “And I didn’t fuck you because of what’s happened to us.  I fucked you because I WANTED to fuck you.  And I WANTED to kiss you out in that ocean to see if there was a connection between us and I don’t regret doing it.  I WANTED your dick inside of me and I wanted to cum for you, Jon.  No regrets, no shame, no guilt.  And if I’m being even more honest, I want to fuck you again…” A kiss against his lips. “And again…” A kiss against his chin. “And again…” A kiss against his nose. “And again…”

 

“Doll, I am the LAST person you are ever going to need to justify yourself to.  I’m not exactly wallowing in my own misery here either.” He wasn’t about to cry or have a meltdown over feeling guilty or have regret.  If anything, he felt like maybe he should have stayed single just so he could have done this sooner.  The chemistry between him and Jilysa was unlike anything he had ever felt before. “Besides, it’s only revenge sex,” He kissed her this time, grinning wickedly. “If we tell them.” He saw no reason too, not unless he got into a fight or something and then his mouth would probably run away with him.

 

“Hey, they fucked around on us first, so as far as I’m concerned, I don’t care who knows.  It’s nobody’s business, but I’m not gonna go out of my way to be secretive or anything.” Jilysa wasn’t ashamed of being with Jon, married or not.  She was glad Jon didn’t feel guilty over what happened between them, the same as her. “Enough about them.  We’re here to forget they exist and to have fun.” Whether it be dirty or clean fun, though Jilysa preferred to get dirty before she had to clean herself up, personally.

 

“Wait, stop…” Jon waved a hand, moving to kneel back on his haunches, staring down at her. “I kinda care who knows and you should too, Kitten.  We can’t actually PROVE anything unless you were snapping pictures and even then…a judge might not let that be used as evidence.  I moved that bitch into my house and Vegas has some fucked alimony and property laws.” He would probably KILL Leah first if he had make payments or something, OR give up half his property, which would mean selling it. “I don’t know if Florida is the same.” Jilysa had a condo whereas he had actual property with land and all.

 

Groaning, she knew he made a valid point and wished she would’ve never gotten married in the first place.  Marriage really complicated things, especially when people didn’t work out. “Okay – okay, you’re right.” She conceded and stood up from the bed, walking over to grab her tablet from her purse. “Though, this WILL help our case tremendously and I’ll send you a copy for your lawyer, if you want.” Even in her shocked state, Jilysa managed to snap a photo on her cell of Drew and Leah getting it on in Drew’s dressing room. “I had a suspicion for a couple months he was cheating on me, so when I walked in on them, my shock was finding your wife’s legs around his waist.  I didn’t think Leah would be capable of doing something like that because she seemed so nice and secure.  Guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.  So, do you want me to send you a copy of it?” Thankfully, even though Jilysa shattered her phone, Verizon had this Cloud app where one could store photographs and videos.  She made sure to store this puppy in multiples places, including her email.

 

Jon felt this overwhelming need to ask her to NOT talk about Leah and he wasn’t sure why.  He wasn’t sure if it was a residual instinct to defend his slut wife or because he just didn’t want to hear about her, or THAT incident.  He was riding happy at the moment and this conversation was bringing it down.  Reality sucked balls.  Needing some water, along with either chew or a cigarette, cigarettes were way worse than chew and he rarely smoked anymore.  Jon needed his lung capacity for work.  To be fair, he didn’t think Galloway was capable of doing something like that either.

 

“Sure.”

 

Frowning, she watched him walk out of the room with his chew and water in hand, after slipping a pair of shorts on.  He couldn’t very well stand out there naked, not with other people out there.  Sighing, Jilysa slipped on a terry cloth robe and sat on the bed, setting her tablet down.  Maybe sleeping together wasn’t the best idea, after all.  It was obvious Jon loved Leah very much and this cut him deeper than he’d ever admit.  No amount of sex with another woman would change that either.  Only time would heal the wounds inflicted.  Walking over to the mini bar, she pulled out a tiny bottle of whiskey and poured it into a tumbler.  Beer would not cut it this time, she needed something stronger.

 

I’m an idiot.

 

It was just complicated.  And easy.  Jon didn’t even know where to begin describing it.  Adulting sucked sometimes and things right now weren’t easy.  He loved his wife and had changed his ways a LOT for her, trying to make himself into the man he had thought Leah deserved.  He couldn’t just flip that switch and stop, even though there were definite moments where Jon didn’t feel it.  However, then one thing, or one word, or even just hearing Jilysa talking so casually about her, cut him deeply and made it all hurt again.

 

“This shit sucks.” He grunted when he came back inside, spotting the whiskey on the counter and the tumbler in her hand.  At her raised brow, he snorted, shaking his head and grinned sheepishly. “Just…everything about them and this fucking situation, darlin’.”

 

Jilysa couldn’t look up at him and nodded, taking another sip of her whiskey. “Yeah, it does.  I’m sorry for…mentioning her and the picture.  I should’ve just kept it to myself and my mouth shut.”

 

No matter how much she wanted to deny missing Drew and being hurt by him, she couldn’t.  The hurt was real and it had nothing to do with having sex with Jon.  That was something Jilysa thoroughly enjoyed.  Still, she missed her husband and wished this pain could be ripped out of her, so she never had to feel it again.  Setting the tumbler down, she stood from the bed and walked over to Jon, sliding her hands up his back before wrapping her arms around his waist.

 

“We need to go find something to eat, unless you wanna order room service.  I’m sure the food here is delicious.”

 

“No… no,” Jon shook his head, dropping his arms down to rest on hers.  This was odd, but nice being held from behind.  That was also new. “This is supposed to be a vacation for us, we definitely deserve it.” For appearances sake, he would go down and get the room next to this one to make it look like they were in separate rooms.  Maybe.  Just maybe.  Jon would check with his lawyer because now that he was thinking about it, he shouldn’t have to pay alimony or anything.  Then again, Leah had probably already moved out since she had not cared for Vegas at all.  For months, she had been begging him to move back to Queens in New York and he adamantly refused.

 

“So, let’s get cleaned and dressed up and do the vacation-y thing.”

 

Honestly, Jilysa wanted him close and to spend time with him.  Couldn’t do that if they were in separate rooms.  Jon was a great distraction from everything that happened to her and she knew she was the same for him. “The vacation-y thing, eh?” She pressed a few more kisses against his back before releasing him, not before pinching his backside. “Just know at the end of the night, I want you in bed with me.  Don’t make me sleep all by my lonesome, Jon.” This suite was too big for just one person and it would be a waste of money to get another room.  Walking into the bathroom with her bag, Jilysa began to change, already knowing what she would wear tonight while Jon did the same thing in the other bathroom.

 

Had she read him mind or something?  Jon realized he had been voicing his thoughts aloud, shaking his head.  Appearances, she was reading his voiced aloud thoughts entirely wrong.  Shaking his head, he took a quick shower, rinsing off the scent of them and regret it because she had smelled delicious.  A quick shave, some cologne, he was clean, smelled amazing, and had even dressed in something besides a beater and comfy pants, which was his general go-to.  Humming under his breath, Jon ran his fingers through his very short hair and walked out to the main room, eyes moving to the other bathroom.

 

“Come on, Kitten!” He called, laughing when he heard her ‘just a minute’. “You could wear a paper sack and it’d be fine.”

 

A shower was needed, which was what took her a bit and she had done her makeup and hair.  Jilysa wanted to look and feel sexy, which was why she packed certain things for this trip.  It was supposed to be just her, but with Jon, and after what they did earlier, she really wanted to look as beautiful and sexy as possible.  Her outfit consisted of a deep red short sleeved tight ruched wrap mini dress.  It went several inches above the knee, had a wrap design and hugged her curves, along with her pert backside.  She put large gold hoops in her ears, left her hair down and added gold bangles to her right wrist.  Her makeup was foundation, thin black liner and red gloss.  Slipping her black heels on, Jilysa fluffed out her hair a bit before finally exiting the bathroom, watching Jon turn to look at her.

 

“You said dressed up, so I hope this is what you had in mind?”

 

Jon’s idea of dressing up was a pair of black slacks and a black muscle shirt, tucked in.  That was it, especially in Hawaii where it was hot as balls.  A chain around his neck, and he had put on one of his old rings, covering the wedding band tattoo. “That is…beyond what I had in mind.” He honestly hadn’t given much thought to what SHE would wear besides ‘clothes’.  Man, those legs seemed to go on forever, making him absentmindedly lick his bottom lip, his electric blue eyes slowly working their way up. “You look gorgeous, darlin’.”

 

“Really?  It’s not too casual?” Jilysa did a slow turn to show off a little more and smoothed the dress down her thighs, taking his extended hand.  She noticed the ring instantly on his left ring finger, wondering why he would wear one and then remembered the tattoo.  Even though her own left ring finger felt naked without her diamond rock, she couldn’t wear it without feeling betrayed and horrible. “Look at you.  You clean up very well, Jon.” He gave her another slowly twirl, blushing at the way his eyes were devouring her and she soaked every bit of it in. “Shall we then?”

 

“Yeah, maybe you should break out your cell and figure out where you want to go on this island.”

 

Since it wasn’t the main island, Jon had no idea what there was here.  From what they had seen, it was a very quaint place, definitely a tourist trap, he was sure they would find something where they weren’t out of place.  Even then, he didn’t care, she was too beautiful right now to be wasted in this hotel room.  Drew Galloway was an idiot for cheating on his wife…that thought got shelved instantly because Jon wasn’t thinking about his wife, not with this delectable morsel.

 

“Well, you forget I broke my phone when I threw it in Christopher’s backyard, so I’ll have to either take out my tablet or…” Jilysa smirked, sliding her hand on his backside and dug into his back pocket, pulling out his own cell. “I use yours to locate the best restaurant here.”

 

Jon shrugged, putting the lock code in and she began sifting through them, holding them up for him to see.  They finally settled on a steakhouse that had seafood and headed out, his hand on the small of her back.  That was until they arrived in the lobby and then they just walked side by side, knowing any kind of touching or showing affection wouldn’t bode well for them.  As far as people were concerned, they were just friends going out for a nice dinner.

 

With everything breaking right now across the internet, however, at least the wrestling related stuff, he already knew word about what had happened had spread.  So…seeing them out, people who knew what was going on might not think too much of it. “We should get you a new cell, darlin’, you weren’t really planning on staying here two weeks by yourself without one, were you?” When Jilysa simply nodded, he rolled his eyes and halted before the host, waiting patiently until they were gestured forward.  Then led the way to a table located in a corner and Jon was a bit curious about the walls since they were thick paned glass. “It looked solid when we came in…”

 

They were in the far back of a room with the thick paned glass, so nobody would be able to see what they were doing.  The table was quaint, round and the lightning dim with candlelight.  Jilysa looked outside through the glass at the ocean before staring back at Jon. “So, I know you’re into rock and mountain climbing, so I was thinking tomorrow we could go on an adventure and find something to climb.  I’ve done it a few times, but I’m sure I’m no expert like you.  There’s a spot somewhere on this island that has a spectacular waterfall and I’d love to find it, if we can.”

 

Chapter 10

 

“Oahu has the Mokule-ia Wall.” Jon tried to remember if he had ever mentioned rock and mountain climbing to her.  He already knew any type of mountain climbing was not happening here.  Hawaii had volcanoes and he wasn’t THAT big of an adrenaline junkie…yet.  Maybe one day. “It’s cliff and crag climbing.” He wondered if Jilysa would be able to do something like that. “I know there’s up to 50 or 60 spots to climb, so something beginner level would be a good idea since neither of us are familiar with the territory.  I’m not sure about any waterfalls…” He was sure there were some, but the island was a bit big for them to be traipsing about.

 

Once again, she read his mind and swirled her wine around in her glass before sipping it. “Christopher told me about your hobby, by the way.  I didn’t stalk you on the net or anything like that.” It was a well-known fact that Jon loved mountain and rock climbing, along with biking and hiking.  Anything to do with nature, he was all for it. “When he was still in WWE, he mentioned something about you climbing the Red Rocks in Vegas.  That must’ve been spectacular to do.” And very dangerous since the Red Rocks were said to be unforgiving. “I think we should start small and work our way up, like you said.  And I’m sure we’ll discover uncharted territory.”

 

Jon smiled, amusement written all over his face as he stared at her, his gaze dropping down to her finger, which was slowly sliding along the rim of her wine glass. “Darlin’…maybe it is a popular spot,” He drawled, shaking his head and reached for his own rather posh looking glass.  Beer, he was drinking beer and they had served it in something as fancy as this.  It was surreal to him. “We’ll have to sign the waiver…” At her politely interested look, he sipped from his glass. “A few years ago, some people died, some got seriously hurt, so they shut it down.  Now, everyone has to sign a waiver and violating the terms of agreement is a mandatory court appearance.”

 

How did he know that?  Had Jon done some research?  It made her smile.  They couldn’t stay in that suite the entire time they were here, after all.  It was just too beautiful in Hawaii to stay indoors.  She was glad to see he felt the same way since he was all for her suggestion.

 

“First thing tomorrow, let’s head to the place where we have to sign that waiver and then find some gear.” Holding her glass up, he clinked hers gently as they both took a sip before the waiter arrived to take their order.  Steak and lobster sounded too good to pass up, so Jilysa ordered that with a baked potato and steamed vegetables.

 

“And for you, sir?”

 

“I’ll have what the lady is having, thank you.” That DID sound delicious.  

 

Jon had been fiddling on his cell, looking things up, yes.  He knew they could sign the waiver as well as get gear at a shop along the way to the Wall.  Figuring they’d do some beginner routes, Jon knew those would be stressing if she wasn’t in proper shape.  She wasn’t overweight or anything, but he had learned the hard way that a person could LOOK fit and still not have the proper conditioning.  For once, the circumstances between this spontaneous vacation were nowhere near the front of his mind.

 

“You ever done anything like this, Kitten?  Climbing?” He asked curiously, leaning back in the chair with a satisfied smile.  

 

“A few times, yeah.  I did it with some of the women in WWE and they have some rock climbing in Tampa.  Nothing…naturistic like here or in Vegas, though.  I’m nowhere near an expert, but I enjoyed it and it really gives you a great cardio workout.  Sometimes, it’s just nice to get out in nature, or to do something different than go to a gym for a workout.” Jilysa explained, feeling completely comfortable talking to Jon like this. 

 

Drew never wanted to do anything like this.  She asked him several times to come with her, but…he said he was ‘too big’ for rock climbing.  Jilysa didn’t believe a person was too big or too small to rock climb.  He simply didn’t want to do it with her and she had gone by herself quite a few times.  It was nice to be with a man who actually ENJOYED doing something she did for a change.

 

“So, I wanna change the subject and discuss something you brought up earlier today.” That gained his attention and she took a sip of wine, feeling parched suddenly. “You said something about AEW needing a social media coordinator and I want to know if that’s true or if you were just joking with me.”

 

“No, it’s true, AEW does need a social media coordinator.”

 

Jon took another sip from his posh beer glass, his eyes fastened on her.  He wasn’t bothered at all in the shift in conversation, that sort of thing never bothered him and he was able to fluidly switch from one topic to the other, even if it made no sense.  Something that surprised a lot of people.  The dumb jock stereotype was alive and well, especially with people who knew all the dumb things he HAD done.

 

“Right now, Cody and his wife, Brandi, are running the social media accounts, but you know that’s practically a fulltime job, especially when you have to coordinate with outlets and shit.”

 

“Wait, on top of helping to produce the entire show every week, the media, they also handle the social media platform of AEW?” Jilysa blinked when Jon nodded and she had to wonder how two people could juggle THAT much. 

 

Social media coordinating was a FULLTIME job and required hours upon hours of organizing and creativity.  She worked 10 plus hours a day in WWE coordinating and moderating their social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Those were the main three, though they had tried others, but those platforms had died in a short amount of time.

 

“That’s insane, Jon.  When do these people have time to sleep and take care of themselves?  Social media is crazy and the number one way for fans to communicate with the wrestlers and to get their voice out there about things they like and dislike regarding the product.  I’m assuming AEW wants to use social media as their main platform to get their voice out there like WWE does, correct?”

 

“We already do, darlin’, and they already know all of that.” Jon laughed, a bit amused at how she had gone totally professional on him and was explaining things like he had no clue.  It was cute. “But so far, everything is working out.” AEW was, for the most part, exploding and causing quite a stir in the wrestling world, which was great. “So, a lot of the rules that the WWE follows, they tossed out.” The wrestlers, for example, didn’t have to watch their Ps and Qs unlike the WWE.  Their accounts were off-limits to the social coordination aspect outside of linking things like advertisements and sharing. “This is Tony’s baby, as well as Cody’s, and they’re protective of it.”

 

“Still, that’s a LOT to take on by themselves and, if he doesn’t delegate some of that workload, it will eventually crush him.” Jilysa had seen it happen time and time again in WWE.  Cody was a smart man and very business savvy, but everyone, no matter the circumstances, had a limit. “See, the problem with WWE is they don’t listen to their fans the way AEW does.  I’ve noticed it and I’ve been paying attention to the fans online who have switched over from WWE programming to AEW.  Cody wants to do what’s best for both the company and what the fans want and that’s very admirable.  I just hope he understands everyone has a limit and he should really think about bringing in a professional who knows the social media platforming inside and out.  I really think it would help the company grow that much more.” It didn’t have to be her.  There were TONS of social media coordinators out there for AEW to hire and Jilysa just wanted the company to succeed. “Sorry…” Her aqua eyes averted to her wine glass. “Sometimes I get a little too carried away talking about stuff.  Anyway, thank you for telling me.”

 

Jon waved off her apology, inwardly laughing because she was amusing and in a good way, but he knew that might not translate well if he tried explaining it.  Or if he laughed out loud. “He knows all this, we all do, it’s why Chris and Jess were talking about it at the house, Kitten.” Chris rarely did anything in front of other people without an ulterior motive.  The man was sneaky and Jon felt grateful to have him as a friend because he knew Chris looked out for his friends and family. “You should reach out to Cody, I’m sure he remembers you and, at the very least, he’ll be aware of what you did for the WWE.” Cody had a LOT on his plate these days, so Jon tended to forgive the memory lapses about things not necessarily essential to right here and now.

 

That was why Christopher and Jessica brought up the job at Thanksgiving! 

 

Jilysa had overheard them and couldn’t believe they had basically set it up that way.  No, no she could totally believe it because that was how Christopher was.  Very sneaky in his methods and he was the reason she became WWE’s social media coordinator in the first place!  Now, he was doing it again, trying to get her involved with AEW.

 

“Maybe I will.  I do need a job now that I didn’t re-sign with WWE.  I’ll think about it and see how I feel after this vacation.” It made her curious what would happen if she did start working in AEW…the same company as Jon.  Would they pretend none of this happened and be strictly coworkers?  No, Jilysa wouldn’t think along those lines, not when she was still married to a cheating cocksucker.

 

Jon wasn’t thinking that far ahead in relation to them and what they were and were not.  He was just trying to personally live in the moment and let what was going to happen – happen.  Jon had enough on his plate to eventually address without trying to add more.  He was just thinking that she was without a job and going to need one, especially if Drew tried being a scumbag and drawing out what in theory should be a cut and dry divorce.  People got dumb about that kind of thing when it came to money and assets.

 

“Seems fair, there really isn’t a rush until the new year anyway.”

 

“Right, and I think spending Christmas here instead of back in Tampa is how I’ll bring in 2020.”

 

Jilysa made a lot of money from WWE and she wasn’t a huge spender, cutting corners wherever she could.  Drew, on the other hand, enjoyed the finer things in life.  Good thing she signed a prenuptial agreement before they got married, so he wouldn’t be able to touch anything she had during the divorce proceedings.  Jilysa wasn’t stupid and she always planned ahead for the future, even if it wasn’t the ‘romantic’ thing to do.  Drew had tried dissuading her when she brought it to his attention, but in the end, she had gotten his signature on the document.  It protected her assets and they had separate bank accounts, which was something Drew insisted on.  Thankfully, she didn’t have a problem with it, so all the money SHE had was HERS and he had no leg to stand on as far as touching it.  Maybe she was a shrewd businesswoman, even in marriage, and Jilysa was proud of herself for being protective and putting herself first.

 

“Well now, darlin’, that’s gonna be longer than two weeks.” They had literally just celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday?  Or was it the day before? “You going to hole up in Hawaii for about a month?” He could see it; it’d be pricey, well…after extending the trip, he had used all of Leah’s reward points on this room for these two weeks, smirking slightly. Fuck her. “I’d do it, if I didn’t have work…” What did they have lined up?  Jon could barely remember, but he knew he was working with Chris, something they had been discussing for a while now.  Being able to work their own ideas, do their own thing, was tremendous.

 

She smiled back at him softly and reached across the table to caress his face with her hand. “I didn’t expect you to.  I know you have shows to do and whatnot…” Her words trailed off as an idea popped into her head suddenly, making her aqua eyes grow wide. “Hmm…”

 

“What is it, Kitten?  What’s going through that beautiful mind of yours?”

 

“Well…” Jilysa knew it might be a long shot, but if she truly wanted to work for AEW, this could be her opportunity to meet with Cody and Brandi to discuss the possibility. “No, forget it.”

 

She pulled her hand away and looked a little troubled, trying to push it out of her mind.  Granted, Jilysa wanted to wait until after the new year to start any job, to give herself time to decompress and relax.  However, this could be her only opportunity and after hearing Jon’s confession about why Chris and Jessica had brought up the social media coordinator…would it be too much too soon to go with Jon to a show and try to meet with Cody and Brandi?

 

Probably, considering he doubted anyone had mentioned her at all to Cody and Brandi and he knew very well the suggestion hadn’t come from Cody himself.  It had come from Chris, who would eventually put that bee in Cody’s bonnet. “Wait until your two weeks are up, Jil.” He advised, sort of reading her mind and reached out to reclaim her hand. “Enjoy the vacation and wait until he calls you, because he probably will because Chris is all up in everyone’s business.” Also, Jon was still debating that one idea, it was kind of evil, but…now that he knew she wasn’t exactly pristine, maybe she’d go for it.

 

“You think Cody will call me because of Christopher?” Jon nodded without hesitation and she smiled at that because it felt good to have someone else have confidence in her and her ability. “That sounds like a great idea.”

 

Two weeks in paradise and then Jilysa would hopefully have a meeting of some kind with Cody and Brandi.  It sounded like Chris was already at work trying to get her into AEW and he was the champion and face of the company, currently.  Having an endorsement by him was a big deal in her eyes.

 

Chapter 11

 

Their dinner came, which was scrumptious and by the time they finished eating, both were ready to pop. “How about a walk on the beach to burn some of this off?” It was a gorgeous night, the moon and stars were out and the breeze was cool and gentle. “It’ll also settle our stomachs.” Jon got dessert to go, not telling her what it was and paid for the meal before they were off, walking side by side on the beach.  She had taken her heels off to let the sand squish between her toes and looped her arm through his, letting them dangle from her fingers, while he had the bag with their dessert in his other hand. “Thank you for a wonderful meal tonight, Jon.  And of course, your company.”

 

“Well, that was definitely the highlight, Kitten, my company.” He teased, his strides a little slower than usual because he wasn’t taking his shoes off to walk in the sand.  The dessert was malasada, which was a type of fried dough.  He knew that the dessert hadn’t started here in Hawaii way back when, it was brought in via immigrants, but the Hawaiians had definitely adopted it as their own, putting their own spin on the dessert by adding fillings and whatnot.  It was delicious. “I feel like we’re doing this whole deal ass backwards, but it’s working for us.”

 

Most people did the date first, whether it was dinner, dancing, seeing a movie, anything like that, and THEN had sex.  They had gone a totally different route.  They did not have a conventional friendship, acquaintanceship, relationship, or whatever this was by any means.

 

She laughed softly, nodding in agreement with him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, but you have to admit, it’s been a lot of fun so far.  And I don’t know about you, but…” Moving, she began walking backwards with him while holding his free hand, their eyes locking. “I don’t like doing things the ‘traditional’ way.” Releasing his hand, Jilysa began to twirl in the sand, her arms stretched out in the air and giggled when a wave came crashing up her legs.  Jon didn’t move in time, so the bottoms of his pants were soaked, along with his shoes. “Something tells me you’re not into tradition either.  Or maybe you just took a leap of faith because I came onto you and made the first move.”

 

Jon had never been one for tradition, but even he was a bit surprised at how fast they were moving together on whatever this was.  He was going to call it a fling, a post-breakup, pre-divorce, fling.  Regardless of what Jilysa said, he knew she was cut deep by what Galloway had done with cheating and then by his almost violent outburst the other night.  Hell, that was probably his own catalyst for all this.  However, there was no denying that if they hadn’t been with their respective partners, when they had first met, he would have probably pursued something with her.  There had always been something about Jilysa, through the few times they had hung out via their mutual friends, that drew him in.  He was betting that he knew what it was now; she was a kindred spirit, someone who was business oriented when need be, but at the same time, spirited and wild.

 

“Not going to lie, you’re not the first one to make a move before I got to it, but you ARE definitely the most interesting, darlin’.”

 

Jon was always with Leah.  That was about all she could remember of him from WWE.  They had met down in developmental and stayed friends ever since before eventually moving from friendship to lovers, to boyfriend and girlfriend and then husband and wife.  It was cute…until it wasn’t.  Until Jon decided he was done with WWE making a fool out of him and wrecking his wrestling career.  He had ridden his contract out and left, not saying a single word to anyone about it until Chris had him on his podcast.  Jon had UNLOADED on WWE and, more specifically, Vince McMahon in that podcast.  He basically spilled the tea on everything that was wrong with creative in the WWE and, thanks to him, a lot of other wrestlers had opened their eyes, wanting away from the career killing company of WWE to explore their horizons. 

 

Jilysa had been content with her job in WWE…until she wasn’t. 

 

Until she walked in on her husband banging someone else’s wife and not just anyone.  NOBODY thought Leah would be capable of cheating on Jon because they loved each other so much and she constantly talked about him on social media while they were apart in separate companies.  Maybe Drew had seduced her and it was her moment of weakness because of loneliness, but whatever the case, Jilysa knew she could not stay with a company where her cheating, lying, piece of trash husband worked.  Now, she had noticed how gorgeous Jon was, but he was hands-off and Jilysa steered clear of him, unless she needed something from him regarding social media.  Most of them stemmed from the Shield and she normally dealt with the two other members since Jon HATED social media with a passion.  Fortunately, he had changed his tune about social media ever since leaving WWE and now he was on it regularly.  He knew that was the only way to promote himself, to get his foot in the door of other wrestling organizations, since AEW allowed the wrestlers to work for other promotions in the Indies.

 

Jilysa knew what this was between her and Jon and she accepted it.  They were using each other to get over their loneliness, grief, and anger over what the loves of their lives did to them.  It was just sex, nothing more – nothing less.  There were no strings attached, they were having fun, and when it was over, it was over.  Even if she wound up working for AEW, they wouldn’t get together like this again.  This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for both of them and Jilysa didn’t want to waste a second of it as she stopped in the sand suddenly.  Jon managed to stop himself and before he could demand why she stopped, Jilysa took the dessert he bought to set it down gently in the sand, along with her shoes.  There was nobody else around, the part of the beach was deserted and they were in front of some palm trees that would hide them from sight.

 

“You know, this dress of mine has easy access,” Pausing, she shuffled it up to reveal she had no panties on beneath and pulled it back down again, watching those eyes of his darken. “So, if you want to have more dirty, sexy fun with me, right here on this beach, I’m all for it, Moxley.” Risky, yes, but it was worth taking it to feel this man’s cock inside of her again on this beach.

 

Jilysa was going to get them arrested in Hawaii and Jon was all for it.  He could remember some social media incident with a couple from the WWE.  They had been on vacation or something, on personal time, and some of their ‘things’ had gotten them in hot water.  This woman was going to drive him insane, already knowing in the era of drones and the zoom button, they were likely to get caught and he was completely fine with that.  Hell, that was part of the attraction, knowing they were likely to get caught.  This WAS a hotspot for tourists, after all, along with the entire state of Hawaii.

 

“You are a very dirty, very naughty girl, aren’t you, Kitten?” And he was hard as a rock.

 

“Mmm, only when I want to be.” Jilysa wanted to be dirty and naughty with Jon in every way possible, her aqua eyes smoldering over. “For some reason, you bring out my wicked, dirty, naughty side, Jon.” Her voice dropped to a seductive pitch as she slowly backed him up until he was against the palm tree, her fingers unfastening the buttons of his shirt.  Then, she moved down to unsnap his pants, delving her hand inside to feel his hardened shaft. “I want to suck your dick right here.  Any objections?” Not waiting for his response, she pushed his pants down enough to free that delicious cock and began stroking it. “Mmm, I’m ready for my dessert…”

 

This was not a malasada, but Jon was not complaining either, especially when she dropped to her knees in the sand before him.  Jon groaned, watching through darkened eyes of his own as Jilysa freed his throbbing cock from the confines of his black slacks. “Fuck, Kitten!” He hissed, his eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head at the first touch of her tongue to the top of his dick, feeling her licking away the precum that had gathered.  Leaning one arm forward, Jon braced his hand flat against a palm tree, the other dropping down to bury his fingers in her hair.

 

Surprisingly, they did not get caught. 

 

Jon did not let her finish him off because he wanted to do it inside of her, which she had protested against.  That was until he lifted her up against that same palm tree and hiked that dress up before thrusting inside of her receptive body.  Jilysa didn’t need to be stimulated because she was soaking wet already for him…and only him.  His cock felt amazing inside of her, pulsating, while he pounded her right against the palm tree.

 

“Oh Jon, oh god!” She cried out and his mouth instantly covered hers, turning her cries into muffles. 

 

Eventually, he had pulled her away from the palm tree and had her on all fours in the sand, both of them staring out into the ocean while copulating.  Half-dressed, panting, moaning, and groaning while the waves crashed against the shore, her nails buried into the sand.  Jilysa would burn this moment in her memory to last forever, never wanting to forget it, no matter what happened between them once their time in Hawaii ended.

 

She was protected, he was STD free, and there was no reason that she needed to ruin her pretty face with the torrent of sperm he was definitely going to unleash.  They obviously didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant, which was a plus.  Jon already knew he was way too selfish to have kids at this point in his life, even if he had been in a stable, loving relationship.

 

“Almost there, Kitten, cum with me girl!” He ordered, knowing this was going to go down as the best and most memorable vacation ever, no matter the circumstances or aftermath.  

 

This was beyond anything he had ever dreamt of doing.

 

It didn’t matter if the whole damn universe could hear her at this point.  Jilysa bellowed out his name as they came together, their bodies tensing and convulsing in unison and she felt his seed explode inside of her.  It was almost as if their fucking was in sync with the ocean waves and it was the most beautiful sound in the world.  They definitely had a connection with each other that was out of this world…and it somewhat terrified Jilysa because she’d never felt THIS intense of a connection with Drew.  Not in all the time they were married and even before that when they were dating.  Feeling Jon shudder and slowly grow limp inside of her, Jilysa groaned as he reluctantly left her body and turned to face him, bending down to lick his limp dick clean of both their essence.  Being mindful of the sand, that was delicious tasting both of them on her tongue, and she moved her way up to capture his lips with hers, letting him get a sample of them both as well.

 

“I’ll never forget this night with you, Jon.” Jilysa whispered, rubbing her nose against his before pulling back to stand on shaky legs, pulling her dress back down. 

 

Then, she got a splendid idea, grinned at him, and jumped into the ocean since she felt their juices seeping down her legs.  This would at least clean some of it off and then she could finish up once they arrived back at the room.  Emerging from the water, the dress clung to her like a second skin, showing off her curves and especially how plump her backside really was.  It wasn’t Jennifer Lopez size, but she still had some junk in the trunk.

 

“Ready to head back now, lover?”

 

This woman was insane!  Jon just stared at her with a totally ‘man’ grin on his face, very lewd and without a lick of infamy in it. “Woman, that’s a rental car,” He paused, no malice in his tone as his eyes raked over the body he had just been hammering in, groaning softly while fixing his slacks. “And you’re soaked.” Still no complaint in his tone, just amusement and admiration because she was gorgeous and had the right amount of curve to her luscious body.  When Jilysa simply sauntered past him, Jon shook his head and followed, after retrieving the dessert bag.

 

“That was SO refreshing!  Both the sex on the beach and the dip in the ocean.” Jilysa exclaimed, having grabbed her heels, but she didn’t bother putting them on as they headed back to the rental.  She felt so alive and free, once again looping her arm through his.  Slipping in the passenger seat, Jilysa waited until they pulled away from the restaurant to head back to the hotel before leaning over to kiss along Jon’s neck. “Maybe when we get back, we can take another dip in the ocean together.  I think you should be soaked too, just like me,” It would be dark, so they wouldn’t be spotted easily. “Preferably naked.”

 

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re basically a guy with tits and a pussy?” Jon asked curiously, glancing over at her before turning his eyes back to the road.

 

He remembered the dangerous curves and narrow lane going back to that hotel, no wonder it was so expensive.  Not only was the scenery breathtakingly beautiful, but they probably had to recoup their losses for any accidents.  Not to mention, the insurance they were likely paying out every month.  Yikes.  At her amused snort, he grinned, rolling down his window to let the breeze wash over them both, relishing in how it felt against his heated skin.

 

“You talk like a man, not many women do.” It wasn’t a bad thing, it was just odd hearing that kind of language from her pretty mouth.

 

“You mean speaking my mind and being honest?” Jilysa shrugged at his nod and pulled back, crossing one leg over the other. “I never really thought about it.  I guess when I want something, I go for it, consequences be damned.” The kiss in the ocean had given her great sex.  The blowjob on the beach lead to mind-blowing, unforgettable sex.  Hawaii was a very sensual place and had stirred up her libido.  Or maybe she was just addicted to the man driving. “Either women and men are too forward and get called out on it or they’re not forward enough and are called prudes.  I guess I’d rather just be honest about what I want instead of playing coy.  Life’s too short for that.” She had wasted the past two years of her life with a man who clearly didn’t want her.

 

“Fair enough.” It WAS weird the way she sounded because not many women spoke like that, but he supposed that was because of how men and women were viewed.  How they were raised, how all the ‘men do this’, ‘women do that’, philosophies that were ingrained into everyone from day one. “Just don’t go getting too honest on me, Kitten.  I don’t know that my fragile, male ego can handle it.” He was teasing, grinning as the hotel eventually came into view while they cleared the top of this overly large hill.

 

“I’ll try.” Jilysa winked at him in response, having a hold of his hand while they finished making the drive. 

 

As soon as they were in the room, Jon was on her, removing her soaked, ruined dress from her body and carried her to the shower.  Sometimes, words didn’t need to be said.  Actions spoke louder and he was already hard again, ready for another round while the hot sprays poured down on their bodies.  The sand and dirt washed away, along with their own bodily fluids from the beach sex.  Jon could fuck her all he wanted, Jilysa was not complaining about all the attention and sang his praises all over again.  Drew, divorce, and everything else was the furthest from her passion haze-filled mind.  If she wasn’t careful, she could get used to this and immediately pushed that thought aside, moaning while holding onto him for dear life.

 

Eventually, they did eat the dessert Jon bought at the restaurant, naked in bed, talking about whatever came to mind, before getting dirty all over again.

 

Chapter 12

 

“Oh wow!” Jilysa gasped, beaming brightly at the beautiful waterfall staring back at them and stood there for a moment to just admire it. “It’s so spectacular, isn’t it, Jon?”

 

They had gotten up around 9 AM, had breakfast at the hotel and then ventured out to see about the rock and mountain climbing.  They informed Jon and Jilysa about the dangers and they were not responsible if they were injured or died, while they signed their waivers, then found a shop nearby to purchase equipment.  She had on a pair of dark hunter green shorts and a tan tank top, her hair pulled back in a ponytail.  Jon joked about her looking like Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider games and Jilysa shrugged, informing him she loved those games and had played every one of them. 

 

It was just after noon and they had climbed their first rock crag on the island of Oahu, finding a breathtaking waterfall surrounded by woods.  And the water looked crystal clear and BLUE.  It WAS gorgeous and they were very lucky that it was a weekday and not a weekend because most people were spending the holidays with their families, not doing the tourist thing in Hawaii or out climbing.  Or else this place would have been swamped.  The entire expanse of the rather ‘large’ Mokule-ia Wall and it’s 55 potentially plus climbing routes was a natural attraction that brought in locals and tourists alike.  He took Jilysa’s hand, guiding her further in so they could rest by the waterfall and the pool it was filling, his eyes scanning the bottom of the crystal clear water to see if there was a tunnel or something.  This water was obviously going somewhere, so it wouldn’t surprise him if it fed a spring somewhere else.

 

They had gear to go diving, to explore under the water if they wanted to.  Jilysa just wanted to swim under that waterfall and feel the water beat down on her.  She wondered if there was a cave behind it and took her new cell phone out to snap a picture.  Jon had insisted on her replacing her cell phone while they were out that morning, so that was the last stop they made before starting the climb.

 

“Take a picture with me.  I promise I won’t post it on social media or anything.” Reluctantly, Jon took it with her, wearing sunglasses and cracked the barest hint of a smile with his arm around her.  This would be a picture she’d look back on fondly once their time in Hawaii was over. 

 

It would be nothing more than a memory.

 

Jon felt the urge to delete it almost as soon as she took it and refrained.  There had been hundreds of pictures of him all over Leah’s social media since she was constantly taking pictures.  He rarely posted personal things online and, given Jilysa was a social media coordinator, she’d know that so he didn’t bother reminding her to keep it to herself, especially once she told him she wouldn’t be posting it.  It may have seemed stupid to other people, trusting someone he barely knew, but there was some connection here between them.  Something that made Jon want to be around her, believe in what she said.  He really hoped he wasn’t having post-relationship rebound issues.

 

“Let’s sit and rest for a minute.  Have some water.” He suggested after Jilysa had stored away her camera, grinning down at her.

 

“Sounds like a damn fine idea, Moxley.”

 

They moved down a little more to where they could dip their feet into the water, after removing their climbing boots.  Those suckers were heavier than she realized, but at least Jilysa was getting a great workout in.  Together, they sat there sipping their thermos of water and her head leaned against his shoulder with his arm around her.  This was nice just sitting, looking at a beautiful waterfall and relaxing for a change.  There was nobody else around, it was just them and she rubbed his back up and down gently, no seduction whatsoever in her touch.

 

“What’s on your mind?”

 

“I’m hoping I’m not playing the rebound game with you.” Nobody would ever accuse Jon was someone to pussyfoot or sugar coat what he felt or thought, that was for sure.  

 

If feelings were hurt, that wasn’t his fault when he was trying to be honest, but at the same time, it was just…wrong and disrespectful to assume a person couldn’t handle the brutal truth.  So far, she was very good at dishing it out, so Jon figured she’d appreciate the honesty.  Especially after what had happened with them and their spouses.

 

“This all happened so damn quick, not that I mind.  This is fun and exciting, being here with you, I just don’t want shit getting complicated or stupid.”

 

“Ah, I see.” Jilysa didn’t move away from him and continued rubbing his back absentmindedly. “Well, there’s no rebound game when you’re just having fun with someone, right?” She looked up at him the same time he looked down at her, their eyes locked. “I mean, we’re not ‘together’ or anything, Jon.” Did he think of them as together?  If so, she had been clueless and just thought they were having fun together with no-strings. “Oh god, I’m sorry, I thought this was…a no-strings type of deal between us.” They were both still married, on the verge of divorces, so they couldn’t be ‘together’ even if they wanted to, not yet anyway. “Wow, I feel like an idiot now…”

 

“Why?  Because I’m voicing a thought?  Kitten, as far as I’m concerned, this is a no-strings thing, but…I’m also aware enough to know that given what we just went through with slut and sluttier, we’re both not the most emotionally stable right now.” It was a well-known fact sex gave the appearance of emotions such as love because of the chemicals the brain released during those times. “Maybe I’m checking in, or maybe I’m the woman today and seeing where we stand.” Jon could also admit when he was overthinking something or coming across too sensitive.  It was rare, Jon was more…blunt force trauma than caring about feelings until recently.

 

“Mmm, you’re all man in my eyes.” Jilysa assured him in a soft purr, kissing the side of his neck and nipped it with her teeth.  It was playful. “We don’t need to put any pressure on what this is.  I know we don’t know each other that well, but I do consider you a special friend, Jon.” Moving, she swung her leg over to straddle his lap and cupped his face to passionately kiss him, only pulling back when they needed oxygen to breathe. “A VERY special friend.” His hands slid down to grab a handful of her backside and she smiled, kissing him again. “How about we reverse roles now and I’ll be the woman?  Because there’s nobody else I’d rather be with here, in paradise, than you.  And if all of this is a rebound, than so be it.  I don’t regret a single second with you, regardless.  Hell, maybe you’re a rebound for me too and I just don’t know it yet, but I’m not gonna overthink it or question it.  I just want to have fun with you, Moxley.” She brushed her lips against his and nipped his bottom one. “Dirty, sexy fun.” Like they did the previous night on the beach after having that five-star meal.

 

Because there’s nobody else I’d rather be with here, in paradise, than you. 

 

That was so helpful; he didn’t WANT it to be a rebound because there was a reason why it was called ‘rebound’.  Because it came BACK usually very bad, like a rebound.  However, it was hard to think about how not ‘overthinking’ wasn’t helpful at all when Jilysa was all up in his business and his hands and dick had taken over thinking.  Thinking was never Jon’s strong suit anyway.

 

“Darlin’, you being all woman was never in question.” He rumbled, biting gently on her bottom lip in return while his hands continued massaging her pert backside.

 

Was it possible to keep her hands off this man?  No, not here in this current moment when it was just the two of them in front of a breathtaking scenery like this.  And Jon couldn’t keep his hands to himself either and she loved his hands on any part of her body. “I like you, Jon.” She murmured in his ear, nipping his lobe and began kissing his neck softly.  There was no urgency in her movements or kisses and touch; it was all gentle and slow, both going at their own pace. “I like everything about you, from what I’ve learned and I want to know more.” Pulling back, she stared down into his eyes since he had laid back in the grass with her on top of him. “You’re definitely not a rebound to me.” If she was to him, then she would gladly be the rebound until he found someone else he could connect with.  However, Jilysa highly doubted this type, this kind, of connection they had together would be found with other people. “Here’s a really huge ‘woman’ thing for me to say, ready?  I want to get to know you and I don’t want you just for your dick.  I want you for YOU.” And not because your wife is fucking my husband either.

 

“This isn’t no-strings either, darlin’, now is it?” Jon asked shrewdly, grabbing her hands before she could touch him anywhere else and distract him.

 

He was 34-years-old and had been around this block many times, maybe one time too many.  Usually feeding lines to women in the hopes of bedding them, then bailing in the morning or whenever he felt the urge had run its course.  Man had karma come back and KICKED him below the belt hard for all the women he hurt over the years, thanks to the situation with Leah!  However, the original point was a person couldn’t say no-strings in one breath, then in the next one confess they wanted the person they were screwing for themselves.  He wasn’t even being mean, just matter of fact.  Rebound, no-strings, whatever, there was a connection here that neither had felt with anyone else and they both knew it, whether they were acknowledging it out loud or not.

 

“Why can’t it be both?  We’re not putting any pressure or label on whatever this is and just going with the flow and getting to know each other at the same time.” Jilysa sat upright, not pulling her hands away and tilted her head slightly when he sat up with her. “If all that comes out of this vacation together is friendship, that’s fine with me.  If it turns out to be more, that’s fine too.  But you’re too good of a man to be used for a rebound, that’s all I’m trying to say.  I don’t consider you a rebound; you’re a special friend to me and we have fun together.  And until we get rid of the sluts in our lives, currently, that’s all we CAN be is special friends.” Jilysa was not ready to jump into another relationship after being cheated on, not even with Jon.  They could be special friends that slept together and had fun, but absolutely no commitment could be made until they were both fully divorced and ready to move on. “Did I clarify it for you?”

 

She was rebounding and so was he; there was no other logical explanation for it because even for him, this was moving way too fast.  

 

If it had been just sex, that would be one thing, but it wasn’t.  They had JUST had Thanksgiving with Chris and his family and only hours later come here, at his own urging after she had mentioned her tickets.  Jon groaned, rubbing his temples, considering the impending headache and ramifications of this getaway.  Did he honestly care?  Jon had to think about that, remaining quiet while his eyes moved out towards the waterfall, focusing on that.  No, not really.  That was one of the reasons he had wanted out of the WWE, so he didn’t have to deal with the hassle of living in a glass bubble that was carefully dictated by people who had no business in his personal life.  So what the hell was his deal now?  Nothing, except Jilysa was taking the lead and he snorted at himself, turning back to her.  Jon figured actions spoke louder than words so he leaned forward, capturing her lips in a steamy kiss.

 

Slowly, they undressed each other from the waist up, pressing their naked chests together for the skin on skin contact.  It was incredible feeling each other’s heat and warmth while they continued devouring each other’s mouths, necks and chests.  Eventually, they were both completely naked with him on top of her and an idea popped into her head.

 

“Ready for a dip, lover?” She asked breathlessly and gasped when Jon lifted her with ease, carting her to the water.  Together, they dropped into it and it was…surprisingly warm.  Not too hot and not too cold. “Let’s go see if there’s anything behind that waterfall.” Jon nodded, both of them swimming towards it and were hammered briefly from the waterfall.  It was a small cavern and Jilysa didn’t even have to tell Jon what she wanted.  He came up behind her as soon as they pulled themselves out of the water, and his arms were around her, his mouth attached to her neck. “Mmm, Jon…” She moaned, fisting what she could of his short hair and lulled her head back, giving him complete control.

 

Having sex behind a waterfall, it was loud enough where nobody would be able to hear if by some chance other people did come this way.  Given it was a weekday, he highly doubted it.  Though, their clothes were out there…Jon smirked slightly, not caring. “Bend over, Kitten, plant your hands on the rock wall.” It was smooth, shorn from time and the waterfall, probably during the wet season when this waterfall wasn’t so gentle, including a small jutting type of shelf, also worn smooth.  He watched as she did, taking in the way her skin glistened in the dim light, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “Fucking gorgeous…” He rumbled, running his palm over the curve of her hip.

 

Just his touch alone sent shivers down her spine and made her nipples harden instantly.  She would bend over for him anytime he wanted.  It was no surprise to him when he slid that hand from her hip to her dripping sex, his fingers slowly delving past her slick folds.  She was soaked and ready for him, watching over her shoulder as he licked those fingers clean.  If she thought sex on the beach, in front of the ocean with the crashing waves was memorable, then this was on an entirely different level.  Who else could say they were shagged behind an actual waterfall in Hawaii, in a small cavern?  Not very many, she wagered…and all other thoughts slipped out of her mind as soon as Jon slammed balls deep inside of her.

 

“Oh, Jon!” Her voice echoed around the cavern, her nails digging into the wall slightly. “Oh fuck, baby!”

 

With all the sex they had within the past 24 hours, this woman was turning out to be a nymphomaniac and he would need a lot of electrolytes soon before she killed him via dehydration.  Jon was honestly surprised she was still tighter than a velvet glove.  She had been neglected, quite a bit, during her marriage and he was going to rectify that. “Fuck, Jilysa!” He brought his hand down on her butt cheek, leaving it bright red instantly and caressed the area with his palm before doing it again, in time with his thrusts. “Such a naughty girl…” Another slap and then he bent over her, still buried in her willing body, nipping at her shoulder blade.

 

Jilysa was sore, but it was a delicious ache between her thighs and she could not get enough of Jon.  The last time she had this much sex in a 24 hour period was on her honeymoon with Drew.  The man did have excellent stamina in the bedroom, but it was still nothing compared to this.  He had taken her to a castle in Scotland, where they were also married, and they had barely left that room.  Jilysa would’ve been happier with a honeymoon like this, being hammered in a cavern behind a waterfall.

 

“Yes, I’m so fucking naughty…oh god, harder, Jon, make it hurt!”

 

Pain and pleasure combined was a feeling unlike any other.

 

Chapter 13

 

Jon was mindful to not make it ‘hurt’ too much since he was a large man with a great deal of strength.  He could easily damage her and he knew it, making sure to never slap the same spot more than two or three times.  Making sure not to bite too hard, nothing that would leave lasting marks anyway.  Then, he wrapped a hand around her throat, squeezing ever so slightly and the way Jilysa tightened around him took his breath away, literally.  He could practically feel her heartbeat when she began spasming, each pulse against his cock sending jolts throughout him.

 

“You like that, darlin’?” He let go so Jilysa could inhale before doing it again, his other hand moving to bury in her thick hair.

 

“Oh fuck yes!  Yes!” It was nothing more than a breathless gasp since he was temporarily depriving her of oxygen while mating. 

 

Jilysa wouldn’t have minded if he left a mark on her, as long as she could keep it covered at all times.  A mark from him would’ve been a delicious reminder of all the dirty, sexy fun they’d been having together.  Gripping the back of his neck, their bodies moved in sync as she looked back at him, their lips meeting in an explosive, fiery kiss.  Their bodies were slick with water and sweat combined, much like in the hotel room the previous night after their bubble bath.

 

“Jon!” She rasped out against his lips, the kiss breaking because she would’ve passed out if she didn’t get some kind of airflow in her lungs. 

 

It just made her pussy gush that much more and her body almost convulse from the intensity.  Every time she gushed like that, clenched around his cock, Jon had to relearn how to breathe.  If this was what heaven felt like, he wouldn’t be sorry to go.  This woman and her pussy were incredible.

 

“I’m gonna cum!” He growled, knowing she was close as well, her entire body quivering with anticipation, just like his own.  This was a first for him, choking a woman during sex, even if it was gently, and the rush he got from the way she responded to it…he didn’t have words to describe it. “Fuck, Jil, cum with me, darlin’!” Dropping his hand from her throat completely, he moved down to manipulate her clit.

 

“Y-yes…YES!  I’m there…JON!” Her voice reverberated around them in a loud echo as her walls caved in around his cock, milking him for everything he was worth. 

 

Her climax triggered his and it was his turn to bellow out her name, once again his voice echoing around them.  She cried out with him, both holding onto each other for dear life as their bodies tensed and shuddered, the euphoria of their orgasms washing over them.  She felt his seed explode inside of her, filling her and it was an indescribable feeling, something she’d never felt in her entire life except with him.  He slowly released her enough to let her turn to face him and Jilysa very softly brushed her lips against his, their breathing heavy and their hearts pounding in their ears.  Yes, they had a lot of sex since coming here, but it was obvious both had been deprived by their spouses and…it helped the sex was better between them than with those sluts.  Jon definitely wasn’t a rebound to her…he was becoming something so much more and Jilysa could already feel herself falling for him.  And she knew there was no stopping it, the seed in her mind had been planted and all she could do was enjoy what time she had left with Jon before it all came crashing down around them.  This wasn’t just sex to her or fun anymore and it wasn’t infatuation either…this was the one thing she swore to never feel with another man again as long as she lived.

 

Love.

 

And love sucked.

 

Jon would have ended the vacation right then and there if he so much as HEARD the L word.  It was only their second day in Hawaii, third or fourth day from Thanksgiving with the Irvine’s, and he had already warned Jilysa about the rebound effect, and his fear of falling under it.  They had both been hurt badly by what had happened, and then to dive into this vacation and sex headfirst…all those negative feelings being buried beneath temporary happiness and exhilaration of a new thing that was pretty much built on sex.  Jon was not looking to be burnt again or hurt her in return.  He cared about her too much to do that.  Maybe after divorces and time alone to reflect, make sure everything was as it should be and not the result of trying to bury sad emotions and feelings…maybe then they could be together.

 

Love. Sucked.

 

There was no way in hell Jilysa would voice what she was thinking, not this time and not in this moment.  She was also afraid of the same thing – of the euphoria from sex making her THINK she was falling in love with Jon.  Immediately stuffing that down as far in the depths of her mind as she possibly could, Jilysa pressed her forehead to his, both slowly coming down from their intense sexual high.

 

“Come on, time for another dip, lover.”

 

Pecking his lips, she then jumped through the waterfall back into the crystal clear water, laughing when Jon joined her with a cannonball of his own.  They spent the next couple hours just splashing each other and having a good time, swimming and talking.  They didn’t spend all their time in the water, though it was tempting and eventually got their clothes back on to venture back to the hotel for some much needed sustenance.  The return trip went faster than the original one out.  Jon knew it was because they had become sort of familiar with the route.  He had made notes of the others from the map they had been given, including their challenge level.

 

“You know,” He paused once they had hit solid ground and stepped out of their climbing gear. “I’d love to come back and try these harder climbs.” The one that had shut down the entire thing for a year because of a few people dying had been removed from the official guide he had noticed. “It’s been ages since I’ve even climbed the Red Rocks, so thank you for suggesting this, darlin’.”

 

She smiled back at him softly and nodded, shrugging out of her own gear. “My pleasure, but I’m sure you would’ve found something like this to do if I hadn’t.” Since it was one of his few hobbies whenever he wasn’t wrestling or on the road doing something else. “And we both got to do what we wanted.  I wanted to find a beautiful waterfall and you got to do your mountain climbing.”

 

It was a perfect day…and also sad because Jilysa came to a decision on the trek back.  She wanted to go a couple of days without sex with Jon, just to see what would happen and if they gelled without it.  Only time would tell, during the rest of this vacation, if they truly liked each other for more than sex or if it was the sex that brought them together.  And if that was the case, then it wasn’t love she felt for Jon, it was lust.  Jilysa had to be smart about this after what happened with Drew; she refused to be hurt again like that and she had jumped headfirst in the romance and love with Drew.  Never again would she jump without thinking and rationalizing first.  No more following her heart and ignoring her brain.

 

To be fair, she had initiated a lot of the sex, not that he was complaining.  It was always nice when a woman took charge like that even if it could be rare.  Admittedly, it also tended to knock him off guard.  However, with Jilysa, Jon was learning to curb that because the woman was not normal by any stretch of the imagination and it was refreshing.

 

“Yeah, we did get what we wanted.  Right now, I’m starving, we should find a touristy place and see what we can scrounge up.  Or do a luau.” Maybe even a genuine one and not one hosted by people who were NOT natives.

 

A luau was a Hawaiian party or feast that was usually accompanied by entertainment.  It could feature food such as poi, Kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi, and haupia, beer, and entertainment such as traditional Hawaiian music and hula.  That sounded like a lot of fun, actually, but where would they find one?

 

“I think a luau sounds fabulous.”

 

After showers, they really needed to clean up after their climb, dip and shag session in the waterfall cavern.  Both agreed on a luau and each took a shower separately, both needing space and time to themselves.  It felt nice to shower alone for a change.  Maybe being alone wasn’t that bad after all.  Jilysa washed her hair and body before stepping out, her bag already in the bathroom.  Since they were going to a luau, she decided on a simple long wrap dress that had flowers all over it.  Jilysa braided her hair over her shoulder and put a flower pin in it before lightly doing her makeup.  Slipping into her sandals, she exited the bathroom and decided to have a glass of wine before they left.

 

Jon had gone back to his basics, a pair of shorts and a beater.  He had even scrounged out his sandals.  Humming some random AC/DC song, he used his cell to browse the local scene to try to find what they were looking for.  Now, there were generic luau’s, stuff that was a stereotype from movies and television shows, things tourists expected to see.  Then there were actual luau’s, which were not so…Elvis ‘Blue Hawaii’, an actual party with actual people and not some company putting on a display to awe the easily impressed.

 

“Okay, so I’ve narrowed down a few, darlin’, here,” He strolled out of the bathroom, passing over his cell, then halted. “Nice dress.”

 

“Thanks, so what do you wanna do?  Do you wanna go to one, see if we like it and if not, go to the next one?” Jon nodded and she finished her glass of wine, setting the empty glass on the counter and put the wine back in the fridge. “Before we go, I just want to say that…I’m sorry if I’ve been too aggressive.  I’m not sorry about all the sex we’ve had, but…I think we should take a step back and see if we enjoy each other’s company without sex.” That was a very woman thing to say and she reached up to caress his bearded face with her hand. “I just didn’t want you to think you did something wrong since I won’t be making a move on you tonight like I have been since we got here.” Restraining herself would be a chore, but it had to be done if she wanted her test to be successful. 

 

Was it love or lust Jilysa felt for him?

 

Jon took a moment to think about that, wondering if she had finally let what he had said sink in. “Okay.” He agreed easily enough, shrugging his massive shoulders as he smiled down at her.  Given sex confused things, especially with what they were going through, this wasn’t a bad idea.  Jilysa looked a hint surprised, but a lot relieved and he reached out to cup the side of her face, bending down to kiss her forehead. “That’s not a bad idea, Kitten, and I’m not going to lie, I think us having clear heads is going to be a good thing.” They had thought with their respective sexes and gotten out some urges, so now they could hang out and see where things went naturally, without sex muddling it.

 

Jon was not a typical man.

 

He truly was one of a kind and it wasn’t a bad thing either.  She hugged him around the neck, letting him know how much she appreciated his understanding. “Thank you.” She murmured in his ear and kissed his cheek before taking his hand, lacing their fingers together. “All right, lead the way.” Together, they headed out and Jon released her hand as soon as they were outside, just in case any paparazzi was out here trying to snap photographs. 

 

A few minutes later, they were off to find a luau to attend and talked on the way. 

 

Considering they had had sex in a few public places, not to mention that steamy kiss in the ocean when she had groped his junk their first day here, keeping distance now seemed silly, but…Jon still did it, mentally shoving that all aside.  If they were going to do this ‘no sex, see where it goes without sex’ thing, then playing everything safe seemed to be the way to go.  Also, they had been here long enough and out enough that someone was probably aware of who he was, minus that cringy guy from the first day.

 

“Okay, it said 30 minutes and that went fast.” They had already been in the rental for a while, but he was learning that Hawaii time was not ‘time’ as he knew it. 

 

Everyone was fairly chill here, being late was common and not frowned upon.  He could live here.  Of course, 30 minutes wasn’t much and it HAD gone by fast; they had found they had a lot to talk about.  What neither of them realized was that sexual bout in the waterfall cavern would be the last time they had sex in Hawaii.  Being out in public with Jon was a lot more frustrating and tedious than it needed to be.  They couldn’t be themselves with each other because of paparazzi all over the place, wanting to catch a glimpse of the betrayed spouses of Drew McIntyre and Carmella.  There were pictures that surfaced online and throughout social media with her and Jon together, but none of them were scandalous.  They were friendly and that was it.  Because of that tension and unable to relax on vacation together, Jon left early to head back to the states to face the music. 

 

And he left without saying goodbye.

 

Jilysa had woken up on day five in her own bed and noticed immediately something was amiss.  Sure enough, she went into the room Jon took over, since they had agreed to cool down on the sex, and all of his belongings were gone.  Except one t-shirt that was stuffed under the bed he’d forgotten.  Slowly, she walked over and picked it up, sitting on the bed to press the material to her nose, closing her eyes.  He had left and she was alone again…and something shattered inside of her as all the grief, pain, anger, anguish…everything she’d stuffed down that she felt towards Drew came rushing to the surface.  Her tears soaked the t-shirt she had clutched tightly in her hands and all she could do was lay down in the bed Jon occupied, his scent surrounding her.  She wasn’t angry at him for leaving, it was at Drew for betraying her and being a cheating douchebag.  There wasn’t a doubt in her mind Jon felt the same way – that anger, resentment, betrayal, hurt, pain, anguish, grief…the same as how she felt. 

 

Now Jilysa knew it was lust with Jon…and a way to mask how she was truly feeling inside about what Drew did to her.  The sex was spectacular and she would always treasure the short time she shared with Jon here in Hawaii, but…it was all a distraction.  A delicious distraction, but a distraction, nevertheless.  Something to do to make them forget about their cheating spouses for a while.  Eventually, sometime that night, Jilysa peeled herself from the bed and showered, having another crying jag under the hot sprays.  Then, she decided to venture out of the hotel and get something to eat, avoiding any spots she had frequented with Jon.  Maybe going to a different island entirely would help her situation.

 

In the morning, she checked out of her room and ventured to the next island, which was Kauai – a mere 63 miles from Oahu.

 

Chapter 14

 

Jon had done what he should’ve the moment he found out what that cheating cunt had done.  He went home, to Las Vegas, to HIS house, HIS Red Rocks.  Just as he had predicted to Jilysa, Leah already had the place decked out for the holidays, no doubt done by some interior designer she had hired, and he had lost his mind.  Everything hit him.  Leah cheating on him.  His spur of the moment trip to Hawaii with Jilysa.  All that sex and they both had known better, no-strings…no, there had been ropes…ropes they had been hanging themselves with because they had both been hurting a lot more than either one of them would ever admit.  Jon didn’t sleep, he was exhausted, but he tore through HIS house and snatched down every Christmas decoration he could find, not caring about the garland and expensive mistletoe, or the gigantic fake tree, or any of it.  

 

Eventually, sometime very late the next day, he sent Jilysa a picture of his bonfire, burning the Christmas décor. Fuck. Christmas.

 

She was on the beach, laying on a blanket, staring at the ocean under the stars and moon, when she received that text message.  It was a huge inferno and she recalled making plans with Jon for Christmas to have that fire.  Apparently, he couldn’t wait and had gone back home sooner than he wanted…and snapped.  Jilysa didn’t blame him, knowing going home to see all those Christmas decorations up had more than likely sent him over the edge.

 

It’s a beautiful inferno, Moxley. She sent back, fighting back the urge to tell him to be careful.  No, it wasn’t her place as she set her phone down beside her and laid back to stare up at the stars.

 

It wasn’t Christmas yet, that was a few weeks…or maybe a week away. You still have an invitation to come get fucked up and have another fire with me.

 

He knew leaving without saying anything was a bad idea, but at the same time, Jon had been getting annoyed with the stalkerazzi, the fans, the hassle of just trying to breathe outside that hotel room, on top of them coming to the realization that they had literally been ‘fucking away the pain’.  It had worked, very briefly, and Jon did like her, but not enough to stay and continue being miserable, not yet anyway.  He was working on that and contacted his lawyer.  Jon wanted this divorce over with as soon as possible without giving up anything he had. Fuck that whore.

 

Shutting her eyes, Jilysa wasn’t sure if that was a good idea.  Now that she was alone for a couple days, she realized this what she needed.  Tranquility.  No distractions.  No sex.  Just her with her thoughts and alcohol helped too. I’ll keep that in mind. She didn’t want to be rude, so she sent that in response and wondered if he was looking up at the same stars as her at that moment.  Jilysa wanted to call him, but she stopped herself because they both needed time to move on and heal from their cheating spouses.

 

Another text message came through the phone moments later. I miss you. It was Drew.

 

Jilysa gritted her teeth upon reading that and had to set her phone down on the blanket, heading straight for the water to take a dip.  He missed her?  Since when?  Was Leah not giving him pussy anymore?  Her blood boiled as she drove into the ocean waves and stayed underwater for at least 30 seconds before surfacing, letting the air back into her lungs.

 

Since there were still a few weeks left until Christmas and he knew exactly when her vacation in theory ‘ended’, unless she decided to extend her stay, Jon wasn’t worried about her reply.  There was time.

 

I’m sorry about what happened at the house, Bonnie. Which was Gaelic for Beautiful, what he had always called her from the day he had met her, his beautiful one. You know I didn’t mean it, I’ve never lost my temper with you and I’m sorry it happened. Forgive me?

 

Once she arrived back on the blanket, soaking wet, and looked at the message, it made the pain wash over her all over again. Don’t ever call me that again, you cheating bastard!  I’m NOT your Bonnie and I never will be again!  And no, I don’t forgive you!  You have a lot of balls contacting me after what you’ve done, Andrew!  You fucked another woman and not just ANY woman, but Carmella!  How could you do this to me, to us, to her husband?!  All the love I used to feel for you has been replaced with hatred – I legitimately HATE you and I never thought I’d be capable of actually hating someone, but you damn sure proved me wrong!  Now lose my number and stay away from me!  I’ll see you in court for our divorce! That felt good to send, even as the hot tears slid down her cheeks mixing with the droplets from the ocean. 

 

She would NEVER forgive Drew for doing this to her as long as she lived! “Screw him!  He never loved or cared about me at all or he wouldn’t have fucked another woman WHILE I was on the road with him, working for the same company as him and giving him pussy every single night!” That was what she didn’t understand most of all. 

 

Why would he screw someone else when he had his wife RIGHT THERE?  Any time Drew wanted sex, Jilysa gave it to him, even if they weren’t supposed to sex it up at the arenas or in the elevators at the hotels they stayed at!  Jilysa would’ve somewhat understood if they were apart and he was on the road while she was at home, but that wasn’t the case with them at all.  So why?

 

Because he was a man and he thought he was untouchable.  Because sex with the same woman, every night all the time, it had gotten him wondering if he was missing out on anything with another woman.  Maybe a woman who was into things Jilysa hadn’t been.  Leah had been giving him the ‘come hither’ look for a while now and finally, Drew had taken her up on that offer, knowing he had been returning the look, with interest.

 

I love you, Bonnie. I’m not giving up on us.

 

An hour later, she read that and promptly sent an emoji middle finger along with the message: See you in court, asshole! 

 

If Jilysa had known what Drew was thinking at that moment, she would’ve castrated him, so he couldn’t have sex with another woman again as long as he lived.  What kind of man wondered about other women while married?  That was the WHOLE reason to get married in the first place – to have that ONE woman or man for the rest of their lives!  Luckily, Jilysa had no idea and poured herself another glass of wine before deciding to text Jon.  Maybe it was the alcohol talking or maybe she just needed some companionship or someone to talk to that WASN’T her cheating bastard of a husband.

 

That asshole texted me and said he misses me and he’s not giving up on us and he loves me.  I really wish you could throw him in that fiery inferno you have in your backyard right now, Moxley, and burn his cheating ass alive!  That would really make me happy.  And we could add your cheating wife to it too and watch them both burn! Jilysa sent a devil emoji with that message and hoped it wasn’t crossing the line, but she was a BIT tipsy at the moment.

 

A man got married to one woman because they LOVED her and wanted to spend their life with her, not necessarily fuck ONLY her for the rest of their life.  Drew was a pig and he knew it, but…there it was.  He had won her heart once and he would do it again; he’d just have to work overtime so Jilysa didn’t have the chance to divorce him.

 

Probably shouldn’t send that shit over a text, Kitten. However, Jon included a grinning emoji so she’d know that he was on board with the idea.

 

She giggled softly at the emoji and sent a winky face back at him. I’ll delete the messages.  But I won’t delete this one – I miss you.  And I wish you were here with me on this island, looking up at the stars on this blanket I’m laying on.  The offer extends to you – you can always come join me again if you don’t want to be in Vegas.  I’ll welcome you with open arms. Jilysa sent a grinning emoji with that message and did not regret it because it was the truth.  She DID miss having Jon around and it wasn’t because of the mind-blowing, distracting sex. And there’s no stalkerazzi on this island either.  I went to another island and it’s been blissful.  You’d love it. There was no harm in sending him that, along with a picture of the scenery before her at the moment.

 

Jon studied the scenery and had to admit, it DID look beautiful and the isolation was a plus.  He wondered if she missed HIM or his dick, not that he blamed her.  He did have an amazing dick and knew how to use it.  He felt the same about other parts of her too, snorting at himself.

 

Nah have to pass, Kitten. I’m going through the house and removing her shit. She had all this time to get her crap out and didn’t take everything. Donating it to some charity or something. Because then she couldn’t claim he was being malicious by destroying it or throwing it away. Red Rocks are also beautiful, fyi.

 

Did he miss her or what she could give him? Yeah, they are, but I’ve never seen them in person.  I’d love to do that sometime. With him, preferably. 

 

And was it wrong to admit she missed him AND his dick?  Sex with Jon was incredible, but she also missed talking to him, hearing his low, gritty voice.  It was a definite mixture of both.  It was probably the same with him regarding her, which was fine.  Jilysa hoped he missed sex with her, anyway.  In all the times they’d done it in a 48 hour span, there had to be SOMETHING he felt towards her when they had sex.

 

You’re tempting me to join you for Christmas for that fire, Moxley, you know that?

 

Jon grinned, dropping down into the chair he had dragged out near his rather large bonfire.  He had burnt every single picture of them and they had loads.  Leah had been old-fashioned on the ‘print’ thing, wanting zillions of pictures of them together for her eventual ‘photo albums’.  He thought a few were fine, she had informed him a ‘few’ was nowhere near enough.  Vacations, dates, their wedding…he fed them all to the hungry flames.  Her wedding dress, gone.  His wedding clothes, he had tossed that too.

 

Kinda the point, J. I did invite you. Bring some burnables.

 

She could picture it now.  Both of them burning pictures and various items that reminded them of their spouses and the love they had shared together.  And then, in front of that raging inferno, they fucked each other – they fucked more of that pain away.  That was a delicious vision and she opened her eyes, sliding her tongue along her bottom lip.

 

Do I have to wait until Christmas for that invitation? Jilysa would have to fly back to Tampa to gather as many things as she could and then fly to Vegas for the inferno…and it would all be worth it just to watch everything burn to ashes while fucking a man who actually wanted and desired her. Do you want me, Jon?

 

“And right there, desperation…” Jon muttered, flicking the cigarette he wasn’t supposed to be smoking, but had been right into those flames, exhaling a stream of smoke from his nostrils.  

 

That was to be expected given Drew had reached out to her and was being a dick, wanting her back.  Jon knew how that went, he had felt the same way after seeing all those pictures.  Nothing like sex, fucking that pain away and getting swept up in the feelings they knew weren’t real, but it was nice to pretend they were anyway.

 

Damn right I do. Feeling naughty again, are we? Damn, he was getting hard just thinking about Jilysa and her very wicked ways, groaning as he reached down to adjust himself.

 

Maybe it was desperation.  Did it matter?  Jilysa didn’t want to be alone anymore and she needed a distraction.  Jon was the perfect distraction and they were both in pain.  That pain had to be unleashed somehow, so what better way than doing it on each other’s bodies?

 

I’ll be there on Wednesday for some dirty, sexy fun…after we start our own inferno and burn shit that reminds us of them.  See you soon, lover. Along with that message, she sent a wink and kiss emojis before getting busy on booking the first available flight to Tampa. 

 

Jon had a show to do for AEW on Tuesday, and she knew that because his match had been advertised all over social media.  It was Sunday night, so she would fly to Tampa, arrive sometime Monday night, pack on Tuesday and leave for Vegas on Wednesday.  Hopefully, if all went well, she’d land in the City of Sin sometime in the afternoon.

 

Rolling his eyes, Jon tossed his cell aside in the grass, getting up to retrieve another box of pictures.  He had a huge pile going, everything she had left behind.  Jon had been a gentleman and had his lawyer inform her she had 24 hours to retrieve what she had left behind or it would be disposed of.  Her lawyer had responded in kind that she had taken what she wanted.  He felt like there was a catch here…though, there was also the chance she had taken something of his and he just hadn’t noticed it yet.  Wednesday…he had some time to clean up the hellhole that was his house since he had torn through it like a madman.  He was STILL burning the Christmas décor, including the fake tree.

 

If cops came out here, he would be fined heavily.

 

Chapter 15

 

Three P.M. on Wednesday afternoon, Jilysa’s plane landed in Vegas and she felt anxious, especially since she had to dodge and hide from the paparazzi.  They were all over the city, but Jon had informed her, via text message, he lived in a place the paparazzi could not get to.  Not to mention, NOBODY knew where he lived besides a few select people.  And Leah was forbidden from spreading that information, thanks to his lawyer.  Jon was not taking any chances.  An hour later, after grabbing her belongings and renting a vehicle, Jilysa was on the road on her way to Jon’s house.  It was on the outskirts of Vegas and he had quite a bit of property, all fenced in.  Jon liked his privacy for sure. 

 

Around 5 o’clock, she finally pulled up into the driveway at the address Jon texted her and had to admit, it was very nice.  This was the house he shared with that cunt, cheating wife of his, but Jon had informed her it was originally HIS house and Leah had moved in with him.  Deciding to dress simple, Jilysa stepped out of the vehicle, wearing black shorts and a black cropped top that tied around the neck and back, showing off her toned stomach.  She had a tan going on as well from spending over a week in Hawaii, giving her skin a bronze glow.  Pushing her sunglasses on top of her head, Jilysa made her way to the door, leaving her stuff in the car for now and knocked, waiting for Jon to answer.

 

“Nice digs you got here, Mox.” Was her greeting as soon as he opened the door, those deep icy blues meeting intense aqua.

 

“Yeah, I guess, inside is shit though,” AC/DC was blasting inside and he was in nothing but a pair of black workout shorts, a blue bandana wrapped around his head to keep sweat from falling down into his face. “We’re currently under construction.” Because some of the changes he had reluctantly let Leah make had to GO, he had been out of his mind, he had had the impulse to say NO back then now he knew he should have followed through with it. His gut had been warning him and that was the last time he ignored it for anyone. “Come on in, Kitten, promise the entire house isn’t fucked.” Just a few areas, for now.

 

“Don’t mind if I do.” Jilysa could not stop herself from sliding a finger down his sweaty bare chest, catching a drop and popped the digit in her mouth, on her way past him. “Take a breather, give me a tour and then I’ll carry my stuff inside.” Most of it would be burned, so she hoped he didn’t mind that she’d brought three very large suitcases, one of them being Drew’s.  It had his personal Scottish emblem on it, his family’s, and she was about to burn it to a crisp with no fucks to give.

 

She was feeling spiteful if she had flown in with those, baggage did not come cheap on flights. Jon figured he had no room to talk, he had been steadily feeding a fire that hadn’t gone out once since he had gotten home. Well, it hadn’t DIED. Every day he came out to embers still ready to be brought back to a roaring inferno. “Sure.” Shrugging, he led the way inside, ignoring the literal pyramid of beer cases -unopened- that took up a good chunk of his hallway. He had been working his way through them, alternating with water because dehydration was a thing out here. “If you want one, there’s cold ones in the fridge.” All three shelves no less.

 

“Awesome.” Jilysa didn’t mind one bit, looking around while Jon showed her the house, all of it, even the destroyed parts that would be renovated.  It was still a beautiful house and it broke her heart because Jon had shared this place with his wife.  A woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with. “I’m selling the condo in Tampa and moving somewhere else.” She announced, once the tour was over and smiled at the surprised look on Jon’s face. “I can’t live in a place I shared with him, no matter if I get rid of everything that reminds me of him.  There’s still memories that I CAN’T forget, so…I’m selling it.” She had no idea where her new home would be either, only that she couldn’t go back to that condo again, unless it was to pack up her things to leave.

 

“I thought about doing that,” Jon said after a very lengthy silence, having been digesting that. It wasn’t the same, her condo versus his house and property. Well, it WAS, but it wasn’t. “But… this was the first piece of land I ever owned, you know? I designed this house, most of it, and had it built, I’m not giving up what was my dream home because of that fucking cunt. I’m just gonna erase her from it, change it back to how I had it originally, hell… maybe I’ll just change it up, who knows? But it’s MINE and new memories can be made. Better ones.” Like, with her, he grinned at Jilysa, the idea taking root in his mind.

 

“I don’t blame you.  I wouldn’t give up this beautiful house either.  And it was yours in the first place and I can tell how much pride you have in it.  And before this all happened, asshole and I were talking about moving from the condo to a house anyway.  I think it’s time for me to plant roots with an actual house like you have.” Jilysa felt like he needed a hug, so she wrapped her arms around his waist, sweat and all, not minding it a bit and squeezed gently.  She could still hear the pain in his voice and she wished she could take it away, make it disappear.  It’d been a day shy of a week since Jon left her alone in Hawaii and she missed him, especially moments like these where they talked.  That was one thing in her marriage she hadn’t realized was missing and it was communication with Drew.  They had HORRIBLE communication, always getting mixed signals from the other person.  With Jon, there were no mixed signals or miscommunication.

 

The only time they had mixed signals was when it came to sex and how they were feeling, which usually was right after or right before. That was where things got shady but they had also addressed that too, in Hawaii when she had said she didn’t want to have sex for awhile, see if they felt the same when sex wasn’t involved. Sex complicated shit. Hell, he was thinking about going celibate for the rest of his damn life, just to avoid that complication and potential fallout because as Jilysa had so eloquently worded it: love sucked. “Make sure, darlin’, that you love the location. Houses can be rebuilt but the scenery… you’re screwed on.” He had been given that advice himself by his realtor, and it had really made a difference because at first, he had been fixated on the house aspect.

 

There was no way she’d allow that to happen.  This man was too gorgeous and great at sex to go celibate.  They had a lot of sex in the span of 48 hours in Hawaii, but now…now they had some space from each other for almost a week and, in Jilysa’s eyes, that was plenty of time for a break.  She was not here just to burn things that reminded her of her marriage to Drew. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He smelled so good and the sweat on his body intoxicated her…and before Jilysa could stop herself, she began kissing and licking his chest. “What would you say if I told you I wanna give you a tongue bath, Jon?  You’ve been working so hard, I think you need to be pampered a little, don’t you?” While she spoke, she continued on and glided her nails down his slick back for added effect.

 

“I’m beginning to think you’re only interested in my dick, Kitten,” He laughed though Jon was also serious about it. If he had been the overly paranoid kind and didn’t know for a fact that she had also been cheated on, he would have thought she was a friend of Leah’s, out here to fuck up his side of the divorce or something. At her smirk, Jon rolled his eyes, catching her hands and brought them up between their chests, keeping his grip gentle enough to not hurt her but tight enough she wasn’t getting away either. He hadn’t thought they were having a ‘break’ so much as trying to get to know each other without the sex and then shit went sideways in Hawaii with being harassed and everything else, ugh. “You don’t even want to settle in first?” He laughed, bending down to brush his lips against hers. “Bring your bags in at least?”

 

People channeled pain differently.  Some wallowed in misery and resorted to drugs and alcohol.  Others used sex as a way of coping.  This was her way of coping with what Drew did to her.  She wasn’t sure how Jon was coping besides ripping apart his home to renovate and burning everything he could of Leah’s.  Jon had used her for sex as much as she used him and…if she didn’t tell him she wanted to tone it down in Hawaii, there wasn’t a doubt in Jilysa’s mind he would’ve gone as many rounds with her as she allowed.  However, it sounded like he wasn’t in the mood for sex at the moment, so she simply smiled up at him and brushed her lips against his before pulling her hands away. “Sure, I’ll go get them.  Two of them will be burned in that inferno we’re gonna have tonight, so you gotta tell me where I’m putting my bag.”

 

He was a man, he was going to take it when it was so blatantly offered to him but he wouldn’t have made the first move. Not so soon out the gate when she had literally just seen her husband and gotten into it with him. Even Jon wasn’t that big of a dick. He would have given it…. maybe three days, maybe. She WAS a stunning woman, inside and out. “My room.” He said with a shrug, following her out to the car to help her retrieve the bags. “Guest rooms are a bit occupied at the moment.” He had been going to town on this place, eventually he’d have to get a dumpster out to start tossing shit, what he couldn’t burn anyway. “Unless you object?”

 

“Not at all.” Jilysa didn’t want to assume he’d be all right with sharing his room with her.  His answer told her, eventually, he would have sex with her again.  He did want her.  Her self-esteem had taken a huge nosedive since catching her husband cheating on her.  Jilysa tried not to show it, but there was that insecurity now and she hated feeling like that.  She hated second-guessing herself and her beauty because, up until that night, she did find herself attractive.  Now…she wasn’t sure anymore. “Just put those bags outside where the fire will be.” He had shown her where his room was, so she headed there to settle in, putting her bag against the wall out of the way.

 

As shallow as it was, Jon did not fuck around with ugly chicks -anymore. There had been some questionable ones in his youth but those days were long beyond him. He wanted to be attracted to not only a person’s personality but their looks, the older he got… well, those two things went hand in hand sometimes, banging body and banging personality. Confidence went a long, long way too and he noted how her shoulders had rounded, her posture changing, placing a hand on the small of Jilysa’s back as he guided her towards his balcony, it overlooked the backyard and you could see beyond that obviously. “THIS is why I live here.” He pointed, knowing she wasn’t going to miss it.

 

How could she?  Jilysa stared at the beautiful Red Rocks that were in the far distance, but she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, it was them.  They were beautiful from a distance, so she couldn’t imagine how they’d be up close. “Wow…” She breathed out, watching the sun hit the Red Rocks since it was slowly beginning to set.  Daylight savings time was in full effect, so they were on the verge of nighttime already. “A view like this is one of a kind.” He moved to stand beside her, his hand still on her back and she leaned on the railing, admiring the view. “It really is breathtaking here, Jon.”

 

“Yeah, it is,” He glanced down at her, seeing the genuine admiration on her face and grinned in response. “When I’m not being a drunk, moody prick,” Which he currently was due to coming home and finding all his expectations of misery had been met. “I like to get up before the sun rises and ride out that way.” He loved biking, it was a great form of exercise on top of being able to clear his head and enjoy the view. “And the climbing… it’s awesome, darlin’.”

 

“When you go next time, I want to go with you, if I’m still here.  I’d love to climb them at least once.” Jilysa felt his arm wrap around her shoulders and she leaned into him, nothing sexual about it at all.  Just pure comfort from one special friend to another. “I bet the sunrises here are spectacular too.” She would witness one of those before leaving as well, already having it in mind. “You are so lucky to live in a place like this.  I thought Hawaii was paradise, but…I had it all wrong.” She slowly looked up at him, their eyes locking. “This is paradise.” Without an ocean and all.

 

“Well… I’ll admit, Hawaii is gorgeous, and those sunsets and sunrises over the ocean were…” Jon shook his head, not having the words to describe it. “They are both beautiful but in very different ways. I’ll take you out into the desert, Kitten, show you the colors.” Most people thought it was just sand, or just brown and more brown. When you were at the right place, at the right time, the hues of red, purples, oranges and yes, the browns, were enough to make a grown man cry. Especially one like him, who had grown up in a grungy part of a grungy city. Maybe that was why he appreciated nature and the solitude, it was a literal world apart from where he had come from.

 

“I’d love to see that.” Not tonight, obviously, because they had plans with the inferno and burning things in the backyard.  Jilysa decided right then and there Jon would have to make the first move on her if they would engage in any more sexual activity.  She was doing all the work and she realized that wasn’t the person she wanted to be.  Sometimes, spontaneity was great, but…she was acting like a cheap slut when it came to Jon.  In Hawaii, especially.  Grief, pain, anger, heartache…it had all clouded her mind and now that she was in this place, looking out at those Red Rocks…her mind never felt clearer and her conscience was screaming at her to stop acting the way she was.  And a huge part of her wanted to know if Jon really wanted her or had just taken what was offered to him. “Thank you for inviting me here.  I feel like I can finally breathe and think clearly for the first time since all of this happened.”

 

“Less with your invisible dick?” Jon asked in his usual blunt, take no prisoner’s manner. He HAD informed she was like a guy back in Hawaii, with the shit she said and did. Guys were usually not called out on their bullshit. Jon was able, in his wise old age of not even thirty-five, capable of calling bullshit now because he had BEEN on the other end of the heartbreak stick. At her nod, he grinned, stepping away from her and tugged off the bandana from his head, tucking it into his back pocket. “Yeah me too, pretty angry lately though, I’m not going to lie. But, for the record,” He took her hands, wanting to make this clear. “I don’t regret Hawaii, and I AM glad you’re here, okay? We talked about stopping with sex and seeing where things went, but we never got the chance.” Not with the stalkers and shit. “We could try that now, slowly.” Since, you know, they were still married to assclowns.

 

“I don’t regret anything we’ve done, Jon, not a single second.  But I have been using sex as a way of venting…and that’s not fair to you.” Pressing their clasped hands against her chest, she stepped closer to him, deciding to say what was in her heart. “You’re too good of a man to waste on something like that.  So, when I have sex with you again, I want it to be because we want each other completely and not because we’re angry and vengeful at what’s happened to us.  I don’t want to use sex as a way of dealing with my pain, not with you.” They could get to know each other like she wanted to in Hawaii and see where things went.  Would they have sex again while in Vegas?  She had no idea, but the ball was in Jon’s court now and he would have to initiate sex if it was going to happen. “There is one thing I still want to do with you.” Leaning up, she softly brushed her lips against his, cupping the side of his bearded face and felt that fire inside of her ignite instantly. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m done with the soul-searching shit for a while and I need a beer.”

 

Chapter 16

 

“Darlin’, I offered earlier,” He laughed, brushing the back of his hand down along her cheek, watching those beautiful aqua eyes flutter shut for a moment. “About the beer, remember? I’m well stocked for at least the next six months.” Jon teased with a wink once she was looking at him again. He cleared his throat, nodding as his face got his serious. “I feel the same, Jilysa. The sex was great, don’t get me wrong, mind blowin’,” Dear God was it mind blowing! “But sex complicates things, especially after what we went through and neither of us need our own minds fucking with us anymore than they already are. I want to get to know you outside the bedroom, more then what I already know anyway.” Obviously, what he already knew about her was enough to have him interested in her, in learning more, so that was a good sign.

 

There was truth and honesty in his voice, in his words, and in his eyes.  She believed him wholeheartedly and Jilysa felt the same way, nodding in complete understanding. “We know we click very well sexually together, so there’s that, but you’re right.  We should get to know each other intellectually, spiritually, and in other ways instead of letting sex lead the way.  I want to get to know you better too, Jon.  I like talking to you.” They had some conversations, in between the sexual bouts, in Hawaii that were deep and profound.  She wanted more of those moments with him, to know what was in his mind and heart. “I missed hearing your voice, holding your hand, laughing about the stupidest things and talking about anything that came up.” Jon had told her and described what Vegas was like, as much as he could, especially the Red Rocks.  His description did NOT do them justice, however.

 

Moving downstairs, they both grabbed a beer with a bag of her stuff to burn she brought.  Jon had his own pile already set up and the moon had formed in the sky.  Jilysa had slipped on one of his old Dean Ambrose sweatshirts and Jon had retrieved a blanket for her since it got very chilly at night in Vegas during the winter months.  Together, they began tossing pictures into the fire he stoked back to life and sipped their beers, the sound of the crackling soothing.

 

An hour later, they began to really talk and Jilysa decided to be brutally honest with Jon about how she was feeling. “It wasn’t a fling in Hawaii, like I thought, like I envisioned…there’s something between us that’s deeper, a real connection, and I know you feel it too.  Maybe it’s one of the reasons why you left without saying goodbye and came back home.  I’ll be even more honest with you – this connection between us scares me.  Being with you and hanging out scares me.  THIS, right here in this moment, scares me.  This connection I first felt the moment you answered the door at Christopher’s…and I tried everything in my power to ignore it, to ignore you.  Didn’t work, obviously.” She took a long swig of her third beer, staring into the flames now and tossed another picture in. “I think that’s why I initiated sex so much in Hawaii because I DID want just a fling with you and to go our separate ways when the vacation was over, but…” Jilysa sighed, sliding fingers through her hair and wrapped her arms around herself. “Something happened – that connection was too strong to ignore and it’s made me question everything I’ve done with you up until now.  It’s made me question why I feel such an intense, strong connection with you that far surpasses the connection I had with my own husband…and that terrifies me because I thought Drew was the one for me just like I know you thought Leah was the one for you.” She looked back at him, trying to register the expression on his firelit, handsome face. “Am I alone in feeling this way, Jon?  Because if I am, I don’t want to go any further with this than we already have.”

 

Jon was quiet for a very long time, smoking a cigarette, his pouch of chew discarded on the patio table up near the back of the house. He kept his eyes on the fire, frowning as he considered it, considered her. “I don’t know, Jilysa.” He said finally, shrugging his massive, bare shoulders before finally shifting so he could look down at her. “I like you, too much to lie to you, so here’s my truth,” How he felt, what he thought, and she’d either respect it like the grown woman she was or she’d do something that would be childish and dramatic, he had thought he had women all figured out, obviously he was wrong, he couldn’t predict much anymore. “I want to try something with you but at the same time, I’m terrified that you ARE a rebound, that I’m so fucking desperate right now because of what she did, I’m looking for anything to hold onto so I don’t sink. I WANT this connection to be real between us but at the same time, everything I thought I knew was wrong, so what if I’m wrong about this too?” He felt… like a vulnerable chick right now, shifting again so he could look back into the flames, blaming the heat for the red in his face.

 

Why wouldn’t she respect his truth?  His feelings?  Only a stupid bitch would lash out at what he said and she was not one of THOSE women. “I’d rather you be honest with me than lie to me, Jon.” She assured him, cracking a small, sad smile and mulled over his words while also staring into the fire. “You may very well be wrong about how you feel and what you think because of what they did.  That is a huge possibility.” Her voice was kind and understanding. “It’s like you’re doing everything in your power not to fall apart, not to shatter into a million pieces.  Keeping a brave front and face on, even though inside, you feel like you’re dying.  That’s how you know you loved the person unconditionally, without reserves, without a second thought…is when you feel like you’re dying and losing yourself when that person betrays you.” That was how Jilysa felt for a long time because Drew rarely gave her the time of day. “I know that’s how you’re feeling right now because that’s how I felt for the past six months…until the night I walked in and found my husband screwing another woman.  And then it was like this HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders because I no longer had to pretend everything was okay.  I no longer had to play the part of the oblivious wife, who didn’t know her husband was fucking around on her.  I no longer had to carry that burden of wearing a ring that no longer meant anything to me because the vows were broken, the promise of always and forever were long gone.  It still hurts, yes, and it will for a while, but I felt the majority of that pain and anguish and heartache BEFORE I caught him in the act.  All of this is brand new to you and you have to embrace all of it, because stuffing it down will do more harm than good.  You have to go through the grieving process, all the stages of it, until one day you wake up and realize you have to move on with your life, without that person next to you, and keep living.” Tossing another picture in the fire, another piece of her heart began to slowly mend back into place. “That’s how I know what I’m feeling for you and this connection between us, for me, is real.  Because I’ve gone through the grieving process and, even though I’m not completely through it, the worst of it was over the span of those six months before I caught him.  But you should also think about this: If you truly didn’t feel any kind of connection with me, you would have no problem seducing me and fucking the pain away with me.  The fact you agree with wanting to get to know each other and you want to go slow tells me your feelings and this connection, to you, is also real.  I could be wrong though.  Want another beer?” She crushed the third can in her fist and waited for Jon to nod before heading over to grab them both another one out of the cooler.

 

Well, so on one hand she had validated what he was feeling and then in the other, used a weird card about how he obviously felt something for her. He didn’t know if that was manipulation at its finest, her reaching for straws because she wanted this connection to be the real deal, or what. Regardless, she had apparently been grieving her relationship for months, he hadn’t even hit the month mark yet, or had he? Other than work, Jon was losing track of the days. Probably not a bad thing all things considered. He didn’t say a word when she passed him the beer, just popped it, drained it and moved to grab another handful of pictures, passing them over to her.

 

No, it wasn’t manipulation.  It was HER truth and how she felt about the situation.  Jon wasn’t sure how he felt and that was fine, he would figure it out in time.  But in her eyes, if he truly didn’t feel any kind of connection with her, he would simply use her for sex and move on.  Hell, he wouldn’t have invited her to his home to burn pictures and items from both of their marriages either.  If he thought she was manipulating him, he couldn’t have been more wrong.  The picture she held on top of the pile was hard to burn because it wasn’t just her and Drew.  It was Drew standing beside his mother’s tombstone the last time they went to Scotland for a visit.  He always made sure to pay his respects to her and Jilysa had gone with him, doing the same.  She wasn’t in this picture…and she didn’t feel right burning it, no matter what he’d done to her.  Setting it aside, she proceeded to burn the other ones, tossing them in one at a time.

 

Wedding pictures were the worst. Jon had sworn up and down he would only get married once, and it would be for life. Snorting, he began pitching them in one at a time, refusing to look at them. Those smiling faces, they seemed so happy and for a while, they were. For the first time in his life, he had felt true contentment, and a desire to share his life, his everything, with another person. Jon had had trust issues and it had taken Leah a long time to break through that barrier. It was irony at the finest that she was also the one to do him dirty and shatter everything the way she had. “Well, that was therapeutic.” He grunted when the last of his pictures were in the fire, glancing over at her, seeing the picture she had set aside. “What’s that one?”

 

“I-I can’t burn it…” Jilysa lifted the picture and showed him, fighting, warring with herself on whether or not to do it. “Drew’s Mom died several years ago, back when he was first in WWE.  It was one of the reasons he floundered and they fired him, actually, because his depression got the best of him.  And he had to go to the Indies to reinvent himself…and heal from the loss.  He loved her…and I don’t think it’s right that I burn this picture because she did nothing wrong.  It’s him, but it’s also her and I still love and respect his family.” They were her family and always would be, even after they were divorced. “I never met her, but…she sounded like a loving, caring woman.  I only wish she would’ve rubbed off on Drew with those traits.” She shrugged, setting it back down on the grass and took a handful of pictures, not bothering to look at them before tossing them into the fire.  Most of them were of them from Scotland, including their own small wedding.

 

She made no sense, she loved and respected his family but he had seen her toss and destroy shit that had the family’s crest and whatnot. Even Jon knew that was highly disrespectful, or maybe that was Drew’s personal crest. He had no idea how that worked. “Meh, I wish I could sympathize but I can’t, my in-laws kinda suck, darlin’.” Actually, that made him perk up, a genuine smile spreading across his ruddy face. “Hey, I don’t have to put up with their asses anymore!” He knew he’d find some silver lining here, bit weird it came from her and her in-laws but he’d take it.

 

Because it was Drew’s personal crest his family gave him, she didn’t feel one lick of remorse or sadness destroying it.  This particular picture, however, was of Drew’s mother’s tombstone, her grave, and she couldn’t bring herself to burn it.  She laughed at what he said about the in-laws and tucked her legs beneath her, holding up her beer. “Cheers to that, then!  I take it they weren’t the best in-laws in the world?” Jon made a face and she giggled, leaning her head against the seat while he launched into one story about how Leah’s mother had come for a visit.  And it was also the first time she had met Jon…and it had been awkward because the older woman had hit on him several times in front of her daughter.  Jon did not feel comfortable around the older woman from that day forward and Jilysa was trying hard not to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. “Wow, so her own mother, your mother-in-law, was trying to get a piece of you, eh?  That’s so messed up.” She giggled harder, thankful her in-laws weren’t that disrespectful or weird.

 

“Turns out she had been a fan of mine from back in my Indy days…” Jon laughed, reaching with his hand to rub the back of his neck. He bent down to grab the cooler, gesturing for her to follow him. Time to restock. Jon was able to drink with the best of them and at this point, they were going down like water. “And admittedly, I was a whore back then, a slut.” And that’s why he firmly believed that Leah, and her cheating on him, had been karma’s way of coming around and bitch slapping him down finally for the shit he had done to women, the hearts he had gleefully broken. “Ugh…Leah thought it was hilarious, that should have probably been my cue not to marry her, huh?”

 

“Well…people have different senses of humor.  You have a very dry sense of humor, Jon.  I just hope she didn’t actually want to fuck you because THAT is gross.” Jilysa helped him restock the cooler with the cans and closed it, after putting more ice in there to keep them nice and chilled.  She still had half a can left of her own, so she wasn’t quite ready for another.  They both lifted their heads up at the same time, locked eyes and smiled before pulling back, going back to their respective chairs.  As much as she wanted to make a move on him, Jilysa didn’t want to screw this up before it even began.  Jon wasn’t ready for anyone right now, needing to go through the grieving process, like she had.  They had to be strictly friends, though it would be hard as hell sharing a bed with him.  Maybe she would take the couch or something instead, just so there was no temptation between them. “I don’t blame her though.  You are a great fuck and you’re sexy.  Any woman would be lucky to have you.” She meant that before taking a long swig of her beer and finished it off.

 

Jon began laughing, raising the cooler up onto his shoulder, one arm wrapped around it to keep it steady as they headed back towards the fire. “I should probably figure out something for dinner if I’m going to keep plying you with beer.” She hadn’t been chugging, she was only on her third -maybe-, but she was tiny. If not for the fact that they were burning some chemicalized shit, or things that would release toxins, he would have done something over the fire. As it was, some places would -for a price- deliver this far out of town. He didn’t even have anything really unthawed… minus hot dogs. “You hungry, darlin’?” He was going to have to stop overthinking everything, stop letting those pictures send his mind wandering, it wasn’t doing him any favors and he had invited her here to enjoy a massive fire, not… mope.

 

“Sure, I’ll eat whatever you wanna scrounge up and I’ll help if you want.” It would give them something to do besides look at these pictures and feel sorry for themselves.  Jon nodded, ushering her inside while the fire continued to burn and pulled out the hog dogs from the fridge. “You got some chips to go with those?” She grinned when he pulled some out and did a double thumbs up. “Hot dogs and chips, my kinda meal, Mox.” She bumped her hip against his playfully while opening one package of the hot dogs and he did the other.  Knowing him, he’d probably eat 4 or 5 of these within minutes.

 

“Better grab another pack, Kitten,” He could easily mow through one by himself, regardless of how bad those things were for you. Beer, chips and hot dogs, he was BLOWING his diet this week and had absolutely no fucks to give. He figured the cycling in the morning for as long and as fast as he did it, especially given the terrain, was probably keeping just this side of the ‘okay’ on the calorie scale. “Hell, toss in some ghetto, cheap ass brand of mac ‘n cheese and that’s like my childhood right there.” Mostly, minus the chips.

 

“Do you have any?” Why wasn’t she surprised when he pulled out a box of macaroni & cheese, Kraft, from the cupboard?  Shrugging, Jilysa pulled out a pot, after Jon directed her where they were located, and filled it halfway with water before beginning to boil it on the stove.  Electric, ugh!  She really hated electric stoves – gas all the way.  This was his place, though, so she would keep her critique to herself.  Suddenly, her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket to look at the caller ID, seeing it was a number she didn’t recognize. “I need to take this.  Watch the water.” For some reason, she felt the need to answer this call and stepped outside, sliding her finger across before holding it up to her ear. “Hello?”

 

Chapter 17

 

“Hi, is this Jilysa Galloway?”

 

Soon-to-be Queen again. “Yes this is she…may I ask who’s calling?”

 

“Oh Jily-bean, you don’t recognize my voice?”

 

It took her a minute to place it and Jilysa felt her eyes widen to the size of saucers. “Oh my god…BRANDI?!”

 

Jon, who LOVED his glass stovetop because fires weren’t a major risk with them which was kind of essential in the desert AND they looked gorgeous with the rest of his kitchen, nearly jumped when Jilysa SHRIEKED that name. “Goddamn woman!”

 

Brandi raised one eyebrow, having heard that very distinctive, gritty voice in the background but didn’t comment on it. “The one and only, my dear.” She chuckled, a little surprised that Jilysa herself hadn’t made the call. Chris had come to them, mentioned her leaving the WWE and Cody had JUMPED. The WWE’s loss could very well be AEW’s gain if they had their way and since they weren’t jackasses, OR employed Drew McInCrap, plusses all around.

 

Brandi was a good friend of hers from when her and Cody were in the WWE.  She did a lot of work with them with social media and they clicked well together.  However, WWE shot down a lot of their ideas – even ideas that she had helped create, but Vince had a wild hair up his ass and refused to listen to anyone except himself. “How did you…never mind, I already know.” Christopher had given her number to Brandi, Jilysa would’ve bet her life on it. “I already know who gave you my number and I’m gonna take a wild guess you’re not calling to check up on me.”

 

Brandi chuckled, flipping a pen back and forth between her fingers. “Not exactly, no.  Shall we get straight down to business, then?”

 

“Sounds good to me.”

 

“So, you need a job, we need a social media coordinator. We’re operating across the Big Three,” Which was Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. “And Cody and I run it. I know we’re not as big as we WILL be soon enough but still, you of all people know how important social networking is in the business. Unfortunately, with everything else he’s doing, even with my help, Cody is running himself ragged.” Chris mentioning this, well actually… he had TOLD them but nobody took offense because that was just Chris, he had a way of ‘telling’ you but it wasn’t offensive and by the time he was done, you half thought the idea had been yours to begin with. But him bringing this up had been the godsend they had been looking for. “The guys, the wrestlers, they run their own accounts and we don’t interfere with that, we don’t tell them what they can and can’t post because we’re not trying to micromanage their lives. All we ask is that they share links and whatnot with their followers.”

 

Brandi was offering her a job with AEW.  This quickly?  Jilysa couldn’t believe how fast Christopher decided to move, but when the man was on a mission, nothing could derail him. “I know you guys have a show coming up on Wednesday.  How about I fly in and we have a meeting to discuss this further?  I want the job, but…I want to also make sure we can negotiate on how this will work.” The wrestlers running their own social media accounts…she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea because there was no filters like there was in WWE. “I want you both to lay everything out to me and hopefully, I’ll sign a contract at the end of the night.  Would that be all right, Brandi?”

 

“Jily-Bean, before I okay it, I’m going to tell you this right out the gate. We need someone to handle the AEW accounts, not interfere in the boy’s.” Brandi was well aware how things had worked in the WWE and that old habits made have been ingrained. They had not gotten this far, so quickly given that AEW hadn’t been off the ground that long, by doing anything by the WWE playbook and they weren’t going to start now. “Actions have consequences and sometimes we may have to come out and say something, but at the end of the day, it’s THEIR account, their words, and we mind our own.” Hence why Jon actually sometimes used social media now, he didn’t have to filter himself or act like someone he wasn’t. Politics was bullshit. “So, with that in mind, if you still want to come Wednesday, that’s awesome. If not, I understand.”

 

AEW accounts only, eh?  The company as a whole, not wrestlers.  That sounded easy, but something told her there was more to it. “See you on Wednesday, Brandi girl, I’m looking forward to it.” Honestly, Jilysa needed a job and far away from WWE, but she wanted to read the contract they’d have ready for her before she signed anything. “And tell Cody not to run himself ragged anymore.  I’m pretty sure what my answer is going to be already, but…we still should sit down and have a meeting.  Dot the I’s, cross the T’s, and all that jazz.”

 

“Sounds good. FYI, we won’t need you really until January. We have a pretty relaxed schedule and with the holidays coming up, a lot of people are going to want to be home, us included.” Fortunately for everyone, they were now in December. “I’m looking forward to seeing you, Wednesday, Jily-Bean.” Brandi considered it for a moment before giggling sweetly. “Tell Moxy I said hi, okay? Bye, see you soon!”

 

Jon had already tossed the hot dogs on his propane grill, figuring he’d give her privacy on the call. He looked up when Jilysa walked out the sliding glass door and raised an eyebrow. She looked curious and confused. “What’s up, darlin’?” Had that call not gone the way she had hoped? It wasn’t like it was anything new to her, she had done this before for a much larger company.

 

Why did it bother her so much that Brandi knew exactly where she was?  Or rather WHO she was with?  She really hoped the woman could keep her mouth shut about this because rumors in the wrestling business spread like wildfire. “Well…it looks like we’ll be attending the same show on Wednesday.  Only, you’ll be out there kicking ass and taking names…and I’ll be looking over a potential contract for a job with AEW as the new social media coordinator.” Jilysa still had that curious expression on her face. “And Brandi told me to tell you hi and called you Moxy.  She overheard you when you shouted at me earlier during the call because of my outburst.”

 

“Ah yeah… me and my big mouth,” Jon grinned sheepishly, hoping Brandi didn’t read into it. He didn’t see her running her mouth, not with the bullshit TMZ had put out about him and Jilysa’s respective spouses and the infidelity. He didn’t see her doing it also because she wasn’t a total tool who was prone to malicious gossip. They had a mutual friend in Chris Irvine so it might make sense that they were also friends. Maybe. He inwardly groaned, hoping this wasn’t a mistake in the making. “You don’t sound overly excited about the prospect of this job, Jilysa. What’s that look for? She tell you it’s going to be boring?” He doubted it, AEW was still running hot and he was honestly surprised Cody had fingertips left given how much he was on his cell doing stuff across the social platforms.

 

“No.” Jilysa was thinking about the long game, knowing divorces took a lot of time and energy to finalize. “If she talks to the wrong person and it gets out I’m here…and it gets out on social media…Jon, we could be in serious trouble with our divorces.” He had pointed out to her about being spotted together in Hawaii, which was why they had to be sneaky when it came to their sexual activities. “I didn’t want anyone to know where I was or that I was coming here because we’re both still married and have those divorces coming up.  I know Drew and he’ll be ruthless and try to claim infidelity on me.” Technically, she had committed it, several times, in Hawaii. “Fuck.”

 

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” She had a point, that was for sure but he had a feeling if they needed too, they could get Brandi and Cody, and Chris to bat for them all. “Brandi isn’t going to say anything to anyone, except maybe Cody and he won’t say shit. One of his bigger issues with the WWE was the bullshit rumors breaking and making careers, he’s trying to avoid that with AEW.” Gossiping, unfortunately, was something that was going to occur but so far, Brandi and Cody hadn’t been partaking in it and they tried stemming it when they could. Making the jump from WWE to here had been the best idea ever, especially for his career and mental health in retrospect. He wouldn’t have been able to work with his whoring wife though that begged the question: would she have cheated if he hadn’t left the company?

 

No…no this was wrong.  This was so wrong on all levels.  Everything they’d been doing together – everything was backwards!  Screwing each other silly in Hawaii and then coming here to HIS house…Jilysa could feel her panic attack rising and shut her eyes, squeezing her hands into tight fists. “I have to go.  I have to leave.  Now.” Not tomorrow, not in a few days, not in a few hours – RIGHT NOW!  Before Jon could say anything, she was already out of the kitchen and up the stairs to grab her belongings from his room. “Fuck…oh fuck…” If Drew found out about this, any of this, not to mention Leah, it would screw up their divorces.  They would try to say they were the ones to commit infidelity instead of themselves and…Jilysa needed to breathe and knew, as hard as it would be to do, she had to keep her distance from Jon until they were both fully divorced.  He still had his mourning period to overcome, the five stages of grief and all that…he had a long road ahead of him and she could not help him because it was too risky.  Jilysa hadn’t thought logically since all of this happened, since she walked in on Drew and Leah screwing in his dressing room…it was almost as if her brain had shut down and now, after that phone call with Brandi, it had decided to start working again.  Jon was going to think she was a complete whack job, but…this was for their own good.

 

“What the Hell, Kitten?” Jon was thinking she was a whack job but since he knew she wasn’t exactly going through the best period of her life right now, he tended to overlook weird shit. Her husband cheating, the man raising a hand to her, Hawaii, that phone call about a job, shit got overwhelming. “Jilysa,” Jon caught her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. “What’s going on? What’s got you in a tizzy?” She looked ready to have a panic attack, her bag had never been unpacked and now it was on her shoulder, he frowned. “Jil?”

 

“Jon…” Jilysa could not go weak in the knees right now.  There was too much at stake for both of them. “I’m leaving.  I’m going back to Tampa and looking for a new place to live.  I will be at the arena on Wednesday to meet with Cody and Brandi for the job offer.  But as far as you and me go…we need to keep our distance.  For now.  Until we’re both fully divorced and single again.” A few tears slipped down her cheeks and Jilysa hated herself for what she was saying, but the truth hurt. “If we’re caught together, those cheating assholes will take us down.  We were wrong about all of this.  We were wrong to go to Hawaii together and RISK being exposed there by all of those paparazzi assholes!  We were wrong to fuck each other in the first place because we’re both STILL married!  There’s too much at stake and, I don’t know about you, but I REFUSE to let Drew have his way or to win this.  He’s the one who betrayed ME first, just like Leah betrayed you first.  I want him to pay and to suffer…and I know you want the same thing for Leah…and the only way to do that is getting through these divorces and THEN…THEN we can try this whole ‘getting to know each other’ again.  But right now, me being here, is not a good idea.  I don’t regret what’s happened between us, but it never should’ve happened.  Now, please, get out of my way and let me leave.”

 

Well goddamn it. Jon knew he was conflicted about this whole thing because he was still warring with himself about Leah and their sham of a marriage but to hear all this. Jilysa had been the more confident of them, she had been the one to initiate a lot of their sexual encounters, Jon had honestly thought she was unflappable but here she was, thoroughly flapped. “You’re right,” He sighed, pulling her into him. Hell, nobody was around and he felt her tensing against him. “You’re right, darlin’.” He kissed the top of her head before stepping away, holding out his hand, which felt odd all things considered but… there was nothing normal about this situation, about them.

 

“I-I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, Jon.  I-I know I’m not making sense and it seems like I’m bipolar or something, but…I never realized how much of a risk it was to, um, be together.  Not a relationship or anything, but to be seen together, spotted, while we’re still married to those assholes.” Jilysa was trembling, knowing she had to get a hold of herself and took a few deep breaths.  He was still standing there, with his hand extended and she took it, but instead of shaking it, she pulled him down for one last passionate, deep kiss. “I’ll miss you, Mox.” Then, she was gone, leaving him standing there in the bedroom while she hopped in her car, driving away from his house towards the airport.

 

And she cried the entire way, screaming at the top of her lungs, hitting the steering wheel and felt her heart break all over again.

 

Jon waited until he was sure she was gone before very calmly walking out of the bedroom. He could smell his hotdogs, they were probably dead by now from overcooking on that propane grill. Quietly, he went to the kitchen, shutting off the glass stovetop before the miniscule amount of water in the pan boiled off completely and then went to scrape his grill clean. He remained calm all throughout those mundane tasks, realizing that she had been a distraction from what was going on in his mind and now, now it was coming back with the added bonus of this shit going on with Drew and Leah STILL fucking them over!

 

Chapter 18

 

“So, you’re saying I’m legally separated now from my soon-to-be ex-husband?”

 

“Yes, Mrs. Galloway.  You are free to do whatever you want and be with whoever you want while waiting for your divorce to finalize.” Her lawyer assured, smiling at the relieved look on her client’s face. “However, I STRONGLY advise that you keep whatever relationship you want to pursue as quiet as possible since you have been in the media spotlight a lot.”

 

Luckily, the only story that came out with the paparazzi from Hawaii was Jon and Jilysa eating dinner.  It was that restaurant and then afterwards, they had mind-blowing sex on the beach.  They were very careful while there, even with all the sex they had, so nothing would come of it in the divorce proceedings.  Jilysa kept the fact she had slept with a married man secret, deciding her lawyer didn’t need to know that bit of information.  What was done, was done.

 

“I understand, ma’am, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize my divorce.”

 

“Good, we’re done here then.  See you next year and Merry Christmas.”

 

Jilysa smiled sadly, wishing it would be, but she would end up spending it alone, along with the new year. “And Happy New Year to you too.”

 

Walking out of the building, Jilysa shut her eyes and breathed in the fresh air, knowing she did the right thing.  If Jon was smart, he would get legally separated from Leah as soon as possible, just so he COULD be with someone else, if he wanted to.  Pushing him firmly out of her mind, Jilysa looked at the watch around her wrist and groaned, knowing she had a very small window to catch her flight on time or else she wouldn’t make it to her meeting with Brandi and Cody.

 

With five minutes to spare, she made it on the plane.

 

~!~

 

Nevada was a no-fault divorce state, cheating and fucking around did not have an influence on marital assets. Jon had filed for divorce which went along with legal separation. His concern was the community property law Nevada had adopted. If Leah decided to try claiming the house as partially hers, it would fall on him to prove he had had it prior to their marriage, which was stupid. Obviously he had had it.

 

“Fuck her.”

 

“No, gross.” Jon muttered, arriving with Chris at work, having informed the older man what was going on -minus Jilysa. Speaking of, she should be here tonight.

 

“Jil should be here tonight.” Chris decided to bring her up, just to see the look on Jon’s face and he smiled, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “So cheer up, brother!  The night is only beginning and you never know how it will end.”

 

Just as the entered the building, Jilysa pulled up and parked her rental, which was only a few down from Chris’s.  Not that she knew that.  Looking in the mirror one final time, she hoped she looked professional enough for this meeting.  Black pencil skirt with nylons, black pumps and a crisp cream long sleeved, buttoned up shirt made of silk.  Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun and her makeup was natural, nothing too over-the-top.  Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her vehicle with her purse in hand and headed inside, explaining to security who she was.

 

“I’m sorry ma’am, but without a pass, we can’t let you through.”

 

“But…”

 

“Please, exit the way you entered.”

 

What the hell was she supposed to do now?!

 

“See, this is why Jess is perfect for me, twenty years and NO cheating, NO bullshit, no-“ Chris probably shouldn’t be bragging but… it wouldn’t be him if he didn’t crow about his perfect wife, his ‘Sweetie’. “Hey, there’s Jil.”

 

Jil who had her elbow in the grip of a security guard who was grimly walking her out of the building. He had no idea that she had asked the man to contact Brandi or Cody via his device and that said guy had declined.

 

“Hey, she’s supposed to be here.” Chris strode up to security buffoon confidently, reaching out to pry the beefy hand off her elbow. “She has a meeting with the bosses.”

 

“But she doesn’t have a pass, sir…”

 

“I TRIED to tell him, but he won’t listen to me, Christopher…” Jilysa rubbed her elbow because the security guard had a vise grip and she was sure it would bruise by the end of the night.

 

“Junior, if you don’t contact Brandi and Cody right now, you will be fired.” Chris threatened, stepping up to the security guard with blazing blue eyes.  He could not believe how this guard just treated one of his best friends and he really wanted to send him flying on his backside.

 

“Sir, rules are rules…”

 

Jilysa did not realize who else was there and currently standing beside her until familiar hands gently took her elbow she was clutching.

 

“Look, assclown, it literally only takes a few seconds for you to get on the cell I know Cody issues to everyone and CONFIRM what I am telling you. Two seconds, you really don’t have time for that?”

 

“But-“

 

Jon glanced down at Jilysa, his blue eyes moving to her elbow which she was rubbing. “If you don’t call them right now, I’m cramming your phone down your throat.” He informed the guard matter-of-factly.

 

“Ouch, that’d suck.” Chris didn’t sound concerned at all, if anything he was starting to get impatient. “Fine, I’ll do it for you.”

 

“Sir-”

 

Chris was already on his own cell, texting of course.

 

Within five minutes, Cody and Brandi had arrived, both NOT looking happy with the security guard. “What is the problem here?”

 

“The problem is your damn guard just hurt your new potential social media coordinator because he’s a dick.” Jon growled, not amused because she had rolled her sleeve up enough to show the bruise already forming on her elbow.

 

Cody blinked, his eyes narrowing and rubbed his hands together, shaking his head. “Under NO circumstances do you put your hands on people around here unless they are a threat.”

 

“But sir…”

 

“You’re fired.  I will be notifying your company about this incident and there will be a report made…Hershey.”

 

The man swallowed hard, knowing he had made a colossal mistake by not simply checking to see if this woman was telling the truth.

 

Snapping his fingers, Cody ordered the fired security guard to be escorted out of the building and off the premises, finally turning his eyes to Jilysa. “I am SO sorry about this, Jil.  Are you all right?”

 

“You should get your arm checked out, Jily-bean, just to be on the safe side.” Brandi suggested, feeling awful this had happened to one of their good friends.

 

“Cody, I gotta talk to…” A strapping, long curly blonde haired man approached them, wearing black leather chaps with a black vest and a bandana around his neck. “Oh, sorry man, didn’t realize ya were in the middle of somethin’.  Everythin’ okay?” He had a smooth southern accent and deep blue eyes with a perfectly trimmed goatee.  And those eyes landed on the woman in the middle of the current situation, a gentle smile crossing his face. “Friend of yers, Rhodes?”

 

Cody chuckled, nodding. “You could say that, Adam.  This is Jilysa Galloway.”

 

“Soon-to-be Queen again.” Jilysa added with a smile of her own, suddenly not worried about her arm.

 

“She’s here for a meeting with us to discuss taking a role in AEW.  And the security guard that I just fired decided to rough her up a bit instead of simply contacting me and Brandi.” Cody was still pissed about it and it showed in his tone of voice.

 

Now Adam wasn’t happy. “Oh really?  Where’s the punk now?”

 

“Escorted out of the building already.” Brandi was still concerned about her friend’s arm, however. “How about we take her down to the trainer, babe?  Have her looked at?  I really want to be sure her arm is all right.”

 

“The punk hurt her?”

 

“Bruised her arm.”

 

Adam narrowed his eyes at her hand still clutching it. “Yeah, best to get it checked out, honey.”

 

“Okay, okay, fine you all win.” Jilysa groaned, hating to be the center of attention and finally looked up at Jon, who had a weird look on his face.

 

“Mox, you mind taking her while I talk to Adam for a minute here?  Then, we can have our meeting with her and get everything situated.”

 

Jilysa watched him nod before Cody, Brandi and Adam walked away, leaving her with him and Chris. “Well, this is a hell of a way to be welcomed into AEW.”

 

“That is a shitty way of being welcomed, that usually doesn’t happen.” They didn’t have a lot of permanent security, AEW ‘leased’ security from the local agencies when they were in a specific area and this was a first. She had been all smiles for Adam, Jon wasn’t sure if he liked that, wondering if the pair had ever met. No, they hadn’t, introductions had been made. He cleared his throat, glancing down at her. “Let’s hope it doesn’t set the tone for things, darlin’.” There were so many things he wanted to ask her right now but nothing came to his tongue, knowing right now wasn’t the time.

 

“Baby, you’re going to need some salve for that.”

 

“Yeah, that guy had a very tight grip.” Jilysa pulled her sleeve down as the three of them headed down to the trainer’s room.  Chris had to take off for a meeting, promising to meet up with her later and ordered Mox to take care of her.  She rolled her eyes, waving him off and silence reigned between her and Jon on the way to the trainer’s.  He looked good and she had felt bad for leaving him the way she had, but she didn’t regret doing it either.  Her lawyer told her she had made the right decision, after she admitted to going to Vegas to hang out with him.  It was ill-advised until she was at the very least legally separated, so it didn’t look like she was committing infidelity.  When she was asked if she had slept with Jon, Jilysa had done the right thing, in her mind, and lied through her teeth, denying the allegation.  Hopefully, that wouldn’t come back to bite her on the backside.

 

“Hey, Mox!” Kelli Walker, the main on-road AEW trainer and doctor, greeted with a smile, not recognizing the woman he had with him. “What can I do for you tonight?  Need a new bandage for your elbow?” She was a knockout with long blonde hair, light brown eyes and a curvy figure.

 

“Not right now, darlin’, had it rewrapped before I came in.” Jon said, glancing down at his arm out of habit. He was going to be susceptible to MRSA in this arm, in his elbow, for the rest of his life and this profession, that wasn’t good because a lot of accidents happened. But… he wasn’t going to walk away from doing what he loved because his body went stupid, he’d just have to take extra precaution to avoid getting another infection. “She, on the other hand, needs HER elbow looked at.” It was probably just bruised but he knew Cody and Brandi 1) didn’t want any lawsuits or to risk anything with someone who was interviewing for a job and 2) she was their friend. “A guard grabbed her a bit too harshly.” Cockbag.

 

“Really?” Kelli blinked, surprised to hear that and patted the bedding. “Well, hop up here and let’s have a look at it.  I have salve that I can put on it that helps with pain and swelling.  It’ll also help with bruising too.” She gently rolled the sleeve up to inspect her arm, bending it a few times and frowned at the deep bruising already forming. “We need to get salve on this now.  You’ll have to keep your sleeve rolled up unless you want me to wrap it with the salve.”

 

“Whatever you think is best.” Jilysa hissed out a little when the trainer pushed on the bruised spot and then began applying the salve she was talking about.  In no time, the pain and soreness was gone. “Thanks.”

 

“It’s my job.  Now, I want you to take ibuprofen tonight for both pain and swelling.  Also, you should apply ice for 20 minutes and then heat for 20 minutes.  I’ll give you some ice and heat packs to go, and I want you to wait 20 minutes in between each icing and heating.  Do it for about two hours and you’ll see a significant difference tomorrow.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Jon had quietly snapped a few pictures of that bruising, with and without flash, because if that security guard got uppity about losing his job and tried coming back after the company or Jilysa, he wanted proof. Not to mention, that was some seriously deep, terrible bruising already and this incident had literally just happened. He sent them to Cody and Brandi before backing them up, smiling when Jilysa hopped off the table. “Feel better darlin’?” He asked, reaching out to ruffle Kelli’s hair. “Thanks, doll.” He laughed when she mockingly swatted him away.

 

“Watch out for Mox, he’s not as tame as he comes across, are you, Jonny?”

 

“Don’t call me that… you suck.” Jonny… he hated that.

 

Leah used to call him that.  Jilysa knew that because Jon had told her so when she called him ‘Jonny boy’ in Hawaii.  She swore to never do it again because it had soured his mood greatly.  Kelli probably didn’t know why Jon loathed being called that nickname and it wasn’t Jilysa’s place to call her out on it either. “Thank you again, Kelli.” They shook hands and she walked out with Jon. “Sorry you were kinda forced to be my escort, Jon.  I appreciate it, though.” And she did miss him this past week while getting everything sorted out with her divorce. “Do you think Cody and Brandi are done talking to that cowboy guy from earlier?”

 

“Adam? I don’t know, maybe. But they’re expecting you so they won’t mind if you show up.” Jon said, guiding her down the hallway. He wanted to wrap his arm around her but knew better. He very vividly remembered what she had said at his house, knowing divorces took some time. Hopefully not too much since nobody had kids or were married but… he inwardly sighed. “I don’t mind being your escort, Kitten. Truth be told, I was a little worried I wouldn’t catch you at all tonight, you left Vegas pretty… abruptly.” And in a depressing, heartbreaking manner, he could still see the pain in her eyes from that day, hear it in her tone.

 

Jilysa sighed heavily, knowing that had bothered him leaving the way she had. “I know…and I’m sorry about that.  I just…we didn’t do things the right way and I didn’t want to screw anything up for you or me.  But…” She stopped, looking up into his eyes and smiled softly, not reaching out to touch him like she wanted to. “Everything is different now.  I talked to my lawyer and I’m legally separated from Drew now, officially, so I can do…and be with whoever I want.” Her voice had lowered a little to where only Jon could hear her. “I know you still need time, so take all of it that you need.  I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Jon smiled, almost sadly, and reached out to brush a stray wisp of hair off her face, tucking it back behind her ear. “Legal separation is considered along with the divorce filings, so I don’t have to worry about that, darlin’. Come to find out, I didn’t have to worry about her using ‘cheating’,” And he, as far as he was concerned, hadn’t cheated because he and Leah were no longer together. “To try fucking things up. Nevada has a community property law but so far she’s playing ball so…” He shrugged. “We’ll see, I guess, I could be divorced soon enough.” And he was working on getting through the emotional aspect of this, knowing it would take time, but that did not mean they couldn’t hang out -in public settings if need be- and get to know each other as more than casual acquaintances and fuck buddies. “I like being around you, Kitten, being with you.”

 

Chapter 19

 

“Nevada is different than Florida, then.  Adultery is a misdemeanor in Florida, Jon.  A second degree misdemeanor and is punishable by law.  But my lawyer assured me that since I am now officially, legally separated, it’s no longer a crime to date or be with someone else.” Jilysa had every right to panic and leave Vegas after everything came rushing over her at once.  Florida did not condone infidelity of any kind very well.  Not that they didn’t know what their states did at the time when they decided to go to Hawaii.  Now that they knew, and they were doing this the right way, Jilysa saw no reason why she couldn’t be with Jon.  However, she wouldn’t give her heart to him unless she was absolutely, 100%, sure he wanted her completely. “And I feel the same way about you.” Hesitantly, she reached up to caress his bearded face with her hand and felt him lean into her touch.  She pulled back a few seconds later because she had done that with her bruised arm and it had twinged a little.

 

Jon didn’t miss that either, his electric blue eyes moving to her arm and they narrowed, a sheen of ice filming them. Hershey. That was the name Cody had dropped and Jon did not forget faces when someone made such a GREAT impression. Florida had some shitty laws and he had thought that community property one was messed up. Adultery was kind of par for the course in Nevada, people got married for stupid reasons or drunk in Vegas all the time. “Want to get a bite to eat after the show?” He asked after a moment, knowing she really had to get into the ‘office’ but at the same time… thoughts of rebounding were barely there, he was starting to realize that even with his issues regarding Leah and what he had thought about their relationship, there WAS a connection. Jilysa hadn’t been wrong about that.

 

A brilliant smile lit her face as soon as that question popped out of his mouth and she nodded, no hesitation, no second-guessing.  They could talk more without others around as well.  Jilysa also didn’t miss that ice in his eyes or the way he had glanced down at her arm briefly. “Jon, I know you’re upset at that guard for what he did to me, but please, I’m asking you, don’t do anything crazy, okay?  My arm is fine, it will heal and yes, I’d love to have dinner with you.  Now go on and get ready to tear the house down as only you know how to do, Mox.  I’ll be watching and cheering you on.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Jon dropped a kiss on the top of her head, not bothering to respond about that guard comment because it was really none of her business if he decided to do something about the situation. Well, the situation was being resolved so he supposed more of if he wanted to create another situation. In a back alley. With a dumpster. “Go sign up and get this job, darlin’, I’ll catch you later.” The job was hers, all that was really needed was her signing the contract.

 

Adam, when she walked into the room, was still there, laughing as Cody read him something off his cell phone. Brandi was shifting through paperwork, looking up and smiled at the sight of Jilysa. “How’s the arm?”

 

“Bruised, nothing I can’t handle though.  Kelli was very helpful and put some salve on it, wrapped it up, so it’s good for now.” Jilysa answered with a smile and felt awkward she had walked in on something with the cowboy. “If you two are busy, I can come back later or…”

 

“Not at all, honey.” Adam waved her off dismissively and walked over, pulling out a chair for her to sit in like a gentleman. “We were just talkin’, nothin’ important.  Good luck and hope to see ya around.” He nodded his head and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

 

Brandi chuckled at Adam’s charm and shook her head. “Adam is harmless and very sweet.  You don’t need to worry about him being a psycho or anything.”

 

“I-I wasn’t thinking that…”

 

“Good now, let’s get down to business and hopefully, you’ll be working for us by the time this meeting ends.”

 

Cody remained quiet while Brandi went over everything with Jilysa, stepping in only when he was required to answer something his wife didn’t know.  She was highly intelligent and had been his rock from the moment they met.  This was their vision they had created together and now that it had come to fruition, they were determined to be successful.

 

“So,” There hadn’t been all that much to go over. It was very similar to what Jilysa had been doing for the WWE minus the wrestler’s individual media accounts. Those were off-limits. They didn’t dictate, monitor, none of it. All they required was the occasional share or link or something, most of the guys had no problems in promoting their employer and all that jazz. “Did you have any questions or concerns you want to discuss?” She knew how they implemented things and their rules were different from the WWE but that was the point, to be different and to not force people into fishbowls.

 

They were insane to let the wrestlers dictate their own media accounts.  What happened if things got too out of control?  What happened if one crossed the line with racism or something and there were no rules to stop that?  The wrestler wouldn’t be held accountable because of AEW allowing them to say whatever they wanted on their social media accounts.  There had to be limitations.  Jilysa didn’t agree with it, but kept her thoughts to herself and shook her head, reading over the contract. “Not at the moment, no.” It was standard and they were paying her more than WWE, which somewhat surprised her.  Holiday pay and…benefits? “So, you’re offering benefits to all of your employees?”

 

“Yes, Tony insisted on it.” Tony Khan was the owner of AEW and had more money than Vince McMahon himself, even with his juggernaut of a company. “He wanted everyone to be well taken care of here in AEW. However, any activity outside of AEW is their responsibility.” Such as Indy matches and going overseas to Japan, like Moxley, Jericho and Omega did occasionally.

 

“That’s…really nice.”

 

WWE did not offer any benefits to their employees.  They were responsible for their own travel expenses, their own insurance and developing their own retirement and life insurance policies.  They were considered ‘self-employed’, or freelance, in other words.  However, they were not allowed to work for any other company, unlike AEW, while under contract with WWE.  Vince McMahon was a heartless bastard.

 

“If the price isn’t to your satisfaction, we can negotiate, Jily-bean.”

 

“No, it’s fine, but…before I sign this, I do need to say something about the wrestlers running their own social media accounts.  From my experience, if there are not SOME guidelines and rules set in place, things could become…chaotic.  People are very…vicious these days on social media, especially if the wrong thing is said or people take it the wrong way.  Racism, for example.” There was so much racism throughout social media these days, for a number of reasons. “I really think you should at least implement some rules and guidelines for the wrestlers to follow to avoid any conflicts.  Not everyone will get along with everyone in the company, that’s just not realistic.  What happens if one of your wrestlers decides to go after another’s family on social media?  Attack them verbally, send pictures, etc.?  Would you allow that to slide?  Or using derogatory words that are hurtful and uncalled for, no matter the circumstances?  I’m not saying to be like WWE because they were a dictatorship, but you also shouldn’t give them complete free reign on social media without setting boundaries.  Unless you want them to run free, then ignore everything I just said.” Jilysa clicked the pen and signed on the dotted line, setting it down.  The only thing she was responsible for was the AEW main social media accounts. “And one more thing – if they want my help in any way with their social media accounts, I’d be happy to do it.  I know some of them aren’t social media savvy and it can get rather tedious, so my door is open to those who want me to handle it for them.”

 

Brandi smiled, looking over at Cody, who nodded in agreement. “We’ll send a message out regarding that to all the employees in the company.” She extended her hand. “Welcome aboard, Miss Queen.”

 

“Soon, I have to be divorced first.” Jilysa appreciated Brandi using her maiden name and shook her hand, then Cody’s, before they all did a group hug together.

 

She was officially working for AEW.

 

Personally, Cody didn’t think many people would jump for her to take over or help. In WWE, everyone’s accounts were considered part of the WWE, personal or not, and everything they said was under scrutiny, which was bullshit and many people had not been okay with it. “Everyone here gets the same warning: if you post something stupid and there is backlash about it, AEW puts out a statement. The statement says how the individual’s opinions do not represent the company, etc. etc. etc.” Chris had called it ‘being tossed under the bus’, but he had been joking.  Essentially yes though, if one screwed up, they KNEW ahead of time they’d be tossed under the bus, so… it was on them not to screw up. “So, you can officially take over in January, I’ll start the process of getting you access to the accounts and we’ll transition everything to you.” December was almost over, yay!

 

Jilysa understood that logic perfectly and nodded, glad the company would take some kind of action if a wrestler got out of hand on their social media account.  Even though the wrestler ran it themselves, posted what they wanted, the company was still covering their backsides with those statements.  That was good enough, she supposed.  Jilysa would not mention it again and felt better after she’d done so, regardless if they agreed with it or not.  Obviously, Cody and Brandi knew what they were doing and Jilysa would toe the line and only run the accounts designated to her. “I can’t believe Christmas is in two weeks.” Two weeks from today, actually. “That’s insane how fast time has flown this month.”

 

“I know, you have no idea how stressed out I am about the holidays.” Brandi hadn’t even started Christmas shopping yet and had no idea how she was going to fit everything in that needed to be done by the time Christmas rolled around. “We’re having Christmas at our house this year and girl, the struggle is REAL.”

 

“You’ll get through it.” Jilysa placed a hand on Brandi’s shoulder. “We all struggle and get through it somehow, someway.” Scotland was supposed to be where she’d spend Christmas this year, but that was not happening now.

 

“You have no idea…” Being married to a Rhodes was… insane, to put it mildly and Brandi was looking forward to actually have Christmas at their house, minus the guests and all that that would entail. She was honestly considering getting one of those seasonal personal assistants who were there for the sole purpose of helping with the holiday season.

 

“We’ll be fine, you worry too much.” Cody laughed, wrapping his arm around his wife’s shoulder and dropped a kiss on the top of her head with a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll have me there to help. Do you have plans, Jil?” He asked kindly, turning his gaze onto his newest acquisition, Khan was definitely going to approve of this, she had been top of her game during the WWE tenure, they had seriously lost out.

 

“Not at the moment, no.  I was supposed to go to Scotland, but obviously, that’s not happening now.” Jilysa had gifts for Drew’s family too and she had no idea what to do with them, not wanting to think about it right now. “I’m sure Christopher will probably invite me and coerce me into having Christmas with him and Jess, so I’m covered.”

 

“Well, if that falls through, you’re always welcome to spend it with us.” Brandi offered, leaning into her husband and felt him nod in agreement.

 

“I appreciate that.  Thanks again, for everything.  I’m gonna head out now and try to find a monitor to watch the show on.  I’m curious how you guys differ from WWE.” Winking, she walked out of the meeting room and headed down the hallway, pulling her phone out to check her email.

 

They differed because they weren’t afraid to go brutal, let the wrestlers have their say in their careers, though Cody was aware that the honeymoon phase of AEW was ending and they would have to work to maintain their game, up it, so they didn’t fall into the same trap of other promotions before them and wind up out of business or fucking cannibalized by the company they were competing with.

 

The backstage area wasn’t overly crowded but most of the people who weren’t in a dressing room were smiling, relaxed, this was a very different atmosphere from the WWE. Sure, there were some with issues with another person, that couldn’t be helped but for the most part, a lot of the guys were just grateful for being a proper chance and not being buried as fodder for ‘superstars’ or slotted into a career killing gimmick.

 

Like the God he was, Chris was right there in the thick of it, passing out advice, swapping stories, all of it. He knew he was a bit old for this, being one of the faces of a fledgling company but that wasn’t the end-all be-all for him here. He wanted to have an influence on the next gen of wrestlers, and then some.

 

“So, this is what it’s like to be Le Champion, eh?” Jilysa commented from behind, laughing when Chris turned to face her. “What?  Do I have something on my face?”

 

“Woman, out with it.  You with us or not?” Chris demanded, folding his arms in front of his chest with his boys behind him.  Mox was elsewhere getting ready for his match that night against Darby Allin.

 

“Geez, you are bossy as Le Champion, Christopher.” She scolded playfully, folding her arms in front of her own chest as they sized each other up.  And then they both busted out laughing, unable to keep their poker faces. “Yes, yes, I’m officially part of AEW.”

 

“A LITTLE BIT OF THE BUBBLY NOW!” Chris roared in excitement, lifting her up and spun her around in circles, making her squeal out.  Her arm wasn’t hurting anymore, thanks to the salve, but holding onto his shoulders twinged it a little as he set her back down. “This is a celebration!”

 

“Okay Irvine, tone it down a bit, all right?  And…thanks for the recommendation.  I know it was you in Cody and Brandi’s ear about me and I appreciate the confidence.” She kissed his cheek in a purely platonic way and accepted another hug from him. “Now, point me in the direction of a monitor, so I can watch what you guys and gals do best.” Also, she wanted to cheer Jon on.

 

“Right here with me, baby,” He laughed, gesturing and two men moved aside to reveal the monitor. Chris at work was his normal self with the volume cranked. Given Chris tended to be larger than life in his normal, day to day, that was a serious crank. “Ah, here we are,” He grinned when a champagne bottle was brought to them, waving it at her. “You know, we’re actually selling these online now, they sold OUT really damn quick.” Chris was a social media genius, interacting with his fans across Instagram and Twitter mostly though he had a Facebook account that he rarely touched, someone else did that for him. He interacted with fans for wrestling, Fozzy, and just in general, living his life out in the open. He was also one of the wrestlers who was inclined to inform people they were asshats, let Home Depot know their delivery sucked balls, and that sort of thing with zero shame.

 

“Did they?  Wow, I’m so out of the loop since leaving WWE.  Congratulations on that.” She clinked her glass against Chris’s as they both partook in the delicious champagne. “So, your group is called…The Circle?”

 

“The Inner Circle, baby.”

 

“Right, the Inner Circle.” Jilysa corrected herself, knowing it would take time to get everything down as far as names and groups went.  Studying.  She would have to do a lot of studying and hoped Cody had some kind of list to go by.  Otherwise, the Internet was her friend, as it had been for most of her career. “Was that your creation?”

 

“Of course.  Now, you sit tight and watch Le Champion work his magic out there.” Chris was the first segment of the night and Jon’s match had been changed from Darby Allin, to a rookie nobody he’d squash in less than a minute or two.

 

Blinking, Jilysa watched him, along with the Inner Circle, take off and left her there in front of the monitor just as the show kicked off.  And there was Jon, entering from the crowd, looking hotter than ever.  Was it warm in here suddenly?  The man was definitely in shape, no doubt about it and he had a small strip of bandage on that elbow he’d been having problems with.  MRSA.  That was a deadly thing to have if not treated and he’d had it twice already.  She hoped he’d be all right going forward in his career and immediately pushed that out of her mind, focusing on Jon absolutely destroying the guy in gold and black tights.  Why was Jon in camouflage cargo pants making her hot under the collar?

 

Chapter 20

 

Jon was HAPPY with his work and it showed, this was the one thing in life he counted on and now that he was in a company where he wasn’t being underutilized… awesome. His body was in proper shape, despite all the grieving beer he had gone through lately, and he was more comfortable. Being Mox was easier, more natural, then what he had been reduced to in the WWE. His eyes were fastened on Chris, who looked like he had stuffed himself in those ‘pants’ and that damn sparkling jacket. Chris was…. flamboyant, Jon was rather understated in comparison and it worked.

 

That gold sparkling jacket was blinding, but it also worked for Chris.  Jilysa was giggling at the way Chris was talking to Jon and Jon’s facial expressions were priceless.  He was looking around the arena, raising eyebrows, acting as if he was interested, but something told her he wasn’t.  Jon had come out two weeks ago, according to her research on her phone via the internet, and confronted Chris silently.  He had stood in the crowd, looking at Chris after the man’s match and basically declared he was the number one contender for Chris’s AEW championship.  This was gold – all of it.  The following week, Chris had intervened in Jon’s match, but they hadn’t traded blows, he had just come out to ‘observe’.  Now, they were face to face in the ring and her eyes widened when Chris offered a spot in the Inner Circle to Jon, leaving a t-shirt on the man’s shoulder before the group departed.  Jon was left in the ring, looking around, not saying a single word.  His face, on the other hand, spoke volumes.  This was better than ANYTHING WWE had to offer and Jilysa found herself completely hooked already, sipping her champagne slowly.

 

One of the beautiful things about this company, about AEW, was the fact that there were NO scripts, NO writers. Everyone was allowed to have a major say in what happened with their ‘character’, with how things played out and when Chris had informed Jon he wanted to work with him, Jon had been game. They hadn’t decided yet how this would all play out, winging it for the most part week by week, though they did exchange ideas and talk about a lot of shit throughout the week. By the time he got backstage, Jon was smirking, rather enjoying this. He wasn’t surprised when he was greeted with a spray of champagne right in the face, letting out a string of curses.

 

“Looking forward to working with you again, Mox!” Chris crowed, winking at Sammy, who had been the one to pop the cork and spray Jon in the face.  He laughed, guiding his friend down the hallway towards his dressing room.

 

Jilysa was busy watching the next match when the door swung open and she looked up to see Chris and Jon walk in.  Jon was soaked, the champagne flowing down his chest and he was rubbing his eyes.  He hadn’t expected to be blasted in the face with champagne after the segment. “Does he need water?” She was already up getting him some to splash in his eyes. “Here, lay down and I’ll pour it in your eyes for you.”

 

“Damn Sammy, you really got him good, man!”

 

“I didn’t mean to get it in his eyes!”

 

“You’re an ass, Sammy,” Jon muttered, though good-naturedly, this was NOT the worst thing he ever had in his eyes though being blasted in the face had not been the highlight of his night. “Wait, Jil, don’t touch me… get her away…” he had SNOT coming out of his nostrils damn it, this was NOT an impression he wanted to leave.

 

“Ah yeah, the man is gross…” Right up the nose, Jon had been making some pretty interesting noises on their way here. “Here.” Chris tossed over a hand towel, smirking when it landed on the top of Jon’s head.

 

Jon didn’t care, snatching that up to wipe at his face.

 

He needed to flush his eyes out, but if Jon didn’t want her to see his grossness, she had no choice except to comply.  She stepped aside and sat back down while Chris and boys helped Jon wash his eyes out, her own fastened on the monitor.  There, in front of her, was Adam ‘Hangman’ Page in all his cowboy glory, sauntering down to the ring for his match.  Holy cow…the man had QUITE the body on him and those leather chaps were…insanely sexy.  She could NOT pull her gaze away from that monitor, watching as he stepped into the ring and took the bandana off that had covered half his handsome face.  Those curly blonde locks and deep blue eyes…they were a different shade than Jon’s, crisper, and the man had a very nice ass in those black trunks.  The bell rang and she watched, captivated, at how well he moved in the ring, having a completely different style than Jon and even Chris.  WWE was in trouble with stars like this in AEW, that was for damn sure.

 

Well, the good news for Jon was that the guys helped him get his eyes washed out. The bad news was that it was in time to see Jilysa gawking over Adam on the monitor. He blinked a few times, bringing her into focus and realized her attention was very raptly on the man in the ring, her lips curved into the barest hint of a smile. He did not like that, not at all. He knew things between them were a little dicey given everything they had both recently gone through, his own issues regarding his dead marriage, and then her taking off because they could fuck up their own divorces but… still, seeing her staring at another man like that was a no Bueno for him. “So, darlin’,” He got her attention back on him, feeling a little bit better. “We’re still on for a late dinner, right?”

 

“Oh, yeah – yeah!  Why wouldn’t we be?” The match had just ended when Jon got her attention and she kept her eyes firmly on him. “Are your eyes okay?” Jon nodded and she turned her attention back to the monitor, that smile back on her face. “This is incredible.  This product, this company…it’s completely different from WWE.  The wrestling is better, the promos are on fire and I have enjoyed every match I’ve watched so far.  There’s nothing disappointing about any of it.  That segment with you and Christopher earlier was GOLD, Jon.  I’m looking forward to seeing what else you guys have in store for your feud.” Jilysa was a wrestling fan before she found her niche in social media and the Internet.

 

“Still crazy as ever over wrestling, eh?”

 

“Yeah well, been a fan for over 20 years.  Hard to simply stop being one, but I’m so glad there’s an alternative now.”

 

“Just remember who your first heartthrob was, Jily.”

 

“Undertaker, so what?” She remarked without missing a beat, giggling at Chris clutching his chest.

 

“You wound me, baby.”

 

“I should really start watching more Japan and Indy stuff too.” Jilysa would admit Adam Page was gorgeous, but she admired his athletic ability in the ring, which was why she was so enamored with his match. “And…” She took Jon’s hand, her eyes firmly back on him. “I should watch your pre-WWE stuff too sometime.”


“You mean the death matches that nearly killed him a time or two?”

 

“Well, he obviously survived, so I’m sure they’re not THAT bad, Christopher.”

 

Jon was lucky to be alive from Chris’s standpoint.

 

Jon decided right then and there that Jilysa should probably NOT watch his old matches because he knew now how stupid he had been. Granted, he had enjoyed the ride and probably would NOT do it all differently if he had the chance for a do-over but… in this profession, the wear and tear on your body was three-four times as much as a person did in their average life. “Yeah, no, you should skip that shit, darlin’.”

 

“Listen to the man, he was dumber than a box of rocks.” Chris agreed, smirking when Jon gave him a look. “His fans were worse though. He had broads carving themselves up for him.”

 

“Yeah well, that can’t be any worse than people, women, sacrificing themselves for Mark.” That had been one HELL of an era in wrestling, during the Attitude Era.

 

“True.” Chris shuddered, remembering those days and it was when he first debuted as well in the WWE, which was known as the WWF back then. “Didn’t he have a cult following, of sorts?”

 

“Something like that, yeah.  I was his fan, but I never went THAT far.  I was goth for a bit, though.  Dyed my hair, wore heavy makeup and chains all over the damn place.” Jilysa laughed at the look on Jon’s face, nodding to let him know she wasn’t kidding.  It really happened.

 

“Baby, I want proof!  I want pictures of that!”

 

“Yeah, not happening, Le Champion.” Jilysa turned back to face Jon, really hoping she hadn’t turned him off since she revealed she was a fan of wrestling.  They really didn’t know each other at all.  Neither really had a chance to sit down and have a normal discussion about who they were, their childhoods, where they grew up, their families, hobbies, likes and dislikes, favorite movies, color, food…all of it.  There was so much she didn’t know about Jon because she hadn’t done any research on him. “I’ve watched wrestling since I was a little girl and I’ve been in love with it ever since.  I met Chris one night outside of the arena and I was only 18-years-old, fresh out of high school, and I had a blog going online about certain wrestlers.  He was one of them.”

 

“She was damn talented too.” Chris placed a hand on her shoulder. “We got to talking after I recognized her.  She wasn’t goth then and explained what she did for her blog, why she did it and her passion for the business.  I saw something in her, so I pitched it to Vince.  It was in 2004, I believe.”

 

“Yeah, 2004 is right.  I started in July of 2004, actually.  And now you saved my ass again, Christopher.” She kissed his cheek, truly appreciative of everything he did for her. “Thank you again.  I’ll never be able to repay you.”

 

“Nah, don’t worry about it, Jily.  Just keep kicking ass and taking names and keep that passion of yours alive and burning strong.”

 

“I will.” She promised, looking back at Jon again since Chris had come over to sit beside her, sandwiching her between them. “So…do YOU still want to have dinner with me tonight, even after hearing all of that, Mox?”

 

“I’m trying to figure out what the Hell you were doing in the company back in 2004.” Jon said honestly, somehow not surprised she had been in the business that long. It was surprising, however, that she had walked away from a company she had been with for over ten years with. In 2004, social media wasn’t really a thing and it hadn’t been until recent years that the WWE had really upped its game on the various social networks. If he remembered rightly, Twitter hadn’t even launched until like 2005 or 2006, and even back then he could remember thinking ‘that’s stupid’. Jon was the first to admit he was not always the brightest when it came to that shit.

 

“Ah yes, you’re probably wondering what I was doing in the company for that long.  Well…”

 

“She ran WWE’s website and helped with photography as well.  The girl was a natural behind the camera and took some rather interesting photos you’d probably recognize in the old magazines.” Chris winked down at her, not believing he’d known her for 15 years.  Wow…he really was old!  No, no he was not, he was just well-aged, damn it!

 

“Right.  Eventually, once social media launched with Twitter and got off the ground, the company promoted me to social media coordinator.  It took a bit of time, though.  I didn’t become that until roughly around 2007-2008, somewhere around there.” Jilysa was a great photographer, but her talent was keeping everything organized and pristine online with social media.  Also, she was a great interactor with the fans that went on the company’s social media accounts. “I had no experience when I was first hired, besides my blog, and Vince had been against the idea of giving me a job without a college education…”

 

“But I talked her up, showed him her blog and what she could do…and he hired her.  Surprised a lot of people, but some people just don’t need a college education to make it in the world.” Jon was the prime example of that and never went to college, wrestling since he was the age of 16.

 

“So, if you were with WWE that long, why didn’t you stay with them?” Sammy asked, chiming in since the rest of the Inner Circle had been listening in.

 

Her eyes lowered at that question, clearing her throat. “It was just time to leave.” Jilysa did not leave WWE because of what Drew did, though that was a huge factor in her decision not to re-sign with the company, who had given her a shot in the first place. “I needed a fresh start, broaden my horizons…sound familiar to all of you?”

 

They all mumbled a ‘yes’.

 

Unfortunately, some people who did not know her very well and were still trying to figure out Chris, were going to make some terrible assumptions. People who knew Chris knew he was one to go out on a limb for a person if he saw talent there, and not just in-ring talent, any kind that could be utilized for the business he had grown up knowing he was destined to be a part of. People who didn’t know Chris that well were probably wondering if he had a younger piece on the side, hence getting her a job where he worked, twice.

 

“Okay, enough with entertaining the dirty masses, you two apparently have a dinner thing so get lost.” Chris chuckled, shooing them towards the door. “Mox, you smell great, you smell like Le Champion’s soon-to-be patented Le Bubbly cologne.”

 

“You’re not right in the head, Irvine…”

 

Chris was like a brother to her, an older brother that was protective and treated her like family.  Jessica loved her like a sister – they were all very close and she had spent a great deal of time with both of them prior to meeting Drew.  He came back into the company around 3 years ago, they had their whirlwind romance, married after six months and now were divorcing after 2 years of marriage.  Chris always supported any decision she made in life and kept in contact with her, even after he left WWE to pursue his Japan and now AEW career.  People could think what they wanted – she didn’t care because she knew the truth and that was all that mattered.

 

Chris sure as shit didn’t care and he made sure most people knew it. The people who mattered knew him and knew better, they knew he was madly, desperately in love with his wife of twenty years. “Okay, seriously, go.” He even made the shooing gesture, watching as the pair took the hint and left the room. “Jesus… kids, am I right?” He made sure his voice was loud enough for Jon and Jil to hear.

 

“Man, I always have to wonder how I am friends with that guy, he’s… something else,” and that was putting it kindly. Jon shook his head as he walked down the hallway, guiding her, and then stopped. “I got to get my bag.” Even though he hadn’t really done overly much tonight, he always brought it just in case. One of the things about never really having a set idea of what you were doing meant you needed to be ready for anything.

 

“Oh, yeah, go ahead, I’ll wait here for you.” Jilysa leaned against the wall, pulling her coat on and leaned back against the wall while he jogged off to grab his bag from one of the locker rooms.  Nobody had a designated locker room within the company besides the owners and the champions.  That was it.  That was how it was supposed to be.  When 10 minutes ticked by and Jon still hadn’t returned, Jilysa began to get a little worried and decided to go hunt him down, wondering what was detaining him.

 

Jon had gotten delayed by Kelli wanting to change out his bandage since he had said ‘later’. She had seen him passing the room and snatched him up, also eyeballing the area that was prone to MRSA outbreaks. This woman, he had learned the hard way, could very easily injure you just by pressing the ‘right’ spot, pressure points were a thing and the pain was temporary but memorable. He wasn’t fighting her.

 

Chapter 21

 

“You look a little lost, honey.” Adam had grabbed a very quick shower, his curly hair pulled back at the nape of his neck, still only slightly damp from the toweling off he had given it. “I’m Adam, again.” He gave her an easy grin, knowing some people didn’t always remember a name right away. Like him. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name. Jel, was it?” His tone was apologetic, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he stared down at her. “No, Jil.” Was it Jil? He was pretty sure it was Jil.

 

Yes, she was lost and felt her cheeks redden a little. “Jilysa, but you can call me Jil and I remember you, Adam Page.  Pleasure to meet you.” Damn, he looked so good in a buttoned up shirt and those jeans looked painted on.  Even the cowboy boots looked sexy as hell on him.  She extended her hand and he shook it, both of them becoming acquainted properly. “I saw your match tonight.  You’re very talented in that ring and I enjoyed it.  And I’m looking for Moxley, have you seen him?”

 

Adam gently enclosed her hand in his, his hand warm and the grip firm but not to the point of being overbearing or crushing her fingers. His smile never faltered nor did he look away from her face, maintaining that eye contact. He knew how he could come across on TV but everyone who knew him knew his mama had raised him to be -mostly- a gentleman. “Pleasure to meet you, Jil. And Mox, if I recall, was with Kelli a few minutes ago. It was pretty funny actually, she popped out of a room and snatched him up. I’ve never heard him yelp.” He had also seemed in a hurry but Adam hadn’t paid no mind to that, it wasn’t really any of his business. “I’m sure he’ll be right out. Or I can take you to him, if you’re not sure which way to go.”

 

The second his hand touched hers, Jilysa felt a jolt rush up her arm and she didn’t mind it a bit.  As quick as the handshake began, it ended and the contact was gone as they both pulled away simultaneously. “Ah, the trainer that helped me earlier.” Was there something going on between Kelli and Jon?  They had seemed friendly earlier, but then again, she seemed like a genuinely friendly woman, no matter who she was treating.  Then she remembered Kelli mentioning Jon’s arm, the MRSA, and immediately shook her head at Adam’s offer. “No, no that’s okay.  I’m sure it’s important if it’s detaining him.  I’ll just leave him be and head out.  Thank you, Adam.”

 

She looked… well, Adam wasn’t entirely sure how to describe it but it made him want to stop her so he did. “I was getting ready to head out myself, Miss Jilysa,” He said quietly in his slow southern drawl. “There’s a place down the way that serves late dinners, and it’s even clean and delicious,” He laughed at that one, knowing not many places open late and in big cities were as nice as this. It was a bit of a diamond in the rough and he knew a lot of the guys frequented it. “If you’d care to join me?” He had no idea that she had been with Jon and was supposed to be going out with him tonight, Mox wasn’t one to tell many people about his plans, or his life to be honest.

 

She was hungry and Jon was detained at the moment with his arm, thanks to Kelli.  She had no idea how long he would be and the diner wouldn’t stay open all night.  Not to mention, it was a long day of flying to get here and she was running on fumes from lack of sleep lately.  Makeup was working miracles right now on her face to hide the dark circles under her eyes.  This man was kind and Jilysa didn’t sense any danger from him.  It was harmless going out for a meal together with one of her new colleagues.  She would have to get to know everyone in the company, eventually. “Sure, I’d like that, Adam.” There was something about the way he said her full name that sent a shiver down her spine and made warmth pool in her belly.  He extended his arm and she took it, both of them leaving the arena to head to the diner down the street with her following him her rental.

 

Basically, as soon as they had left the arena, was when Jon finally ‘escaped’ Kelli’s incessant mothering. She was the best at what she did, there was no doubt about it, and she was very aggressive about ensuring that they were all in the best condition, best health possible. AEW was world’s different from WWE, that was for sure. He went looking for Jilysa, knowing he was really, really late and should have texted her. He hadn’t even thought about it. He was such an ass. Where you at? Sorry for disappearing. Kelli wanted to look at my elbow and bandage it up.

 

She was in the parking lot of the diner, walking inside along with Adam, that’s where she was.

 

They grabbed a table and waited for the waitress to come over, sitting in a booth facing each other.  This was a nice change of pace, though Jilysa knew she should be here with Jon.  Her phone was shut off still since she didn’t want any distractions during her meeting with Cody and Brandi.  Then the incident with her arm happened and everything had snowballed from there.  She still hadn’t turned it on, so all the texts and phone calls Jon was doing were for naught. “Coffee, please.” She requested, once the waitress got to them and Adam ordered the same thing. “Need a caffeine rush, eh?  Adrenaline wearing off?”

 

No answer. Jon was starting to get worried. He wasn’t sure how familiar with the area Jilysa was and she didn’t really know many of the people backstage. It wasn’t like her to not respond, she had always been quick before, so what had changed? Maybe because he HAD been late but he figured she would have texted him. “Fuck…..”

 

“Nah, honey, coffee is just my way of winding down a long night.” Adam laughed, shaking his head. “I’m so used to caffeine at this point I don’t think it does anythin’ for me, ya know? It’s just the smell of the coffee, feel of the mug hot between my hands, that sort of thing, it’s calmin’.” Which he was aware sounded odd since it was coffee but there it was.

 

“It is a calming sensation, isn’t it?  Just to feel that warmth in your hands.  It’s almost as if it courses through you.” Jilysa understood what he was saying and enjoyed doing the same thing, though her preference was hot chocolate for the ‘soothing’ effect.  Coffee made her stay awake due to the caffeine.  The waitress came back a few minutes later to take their order and she decided on a cheeseburger with fries while Adam decided on chicken fried steak with gravy and sides. “You really are a country boy, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes ma’am,” He laughed, knowing it was probably a stereotype, the way he was, but it was all authentic. “From Aarron’s Creek in Virginia.” He was NOT surprised she had never heard of it, the place was so damn small there wasn’t even a recent census on file for it. “It’s just a tiny blip in Halifax county, ain’t nothing there but a few homes so it seems anyway.” He pulled his arms back when the waitress returned with an urn of coffee, two mugs and a little basket of creamers and sugars, flashing her a smile. “Thank you.”

 

“Yer welcome and the food will be out momentarily, handsome.” The waitress drawled, winking back at him before sauntering to the back.

 

Adam definitely had a way with women, that was for sure.  It also explained his wrestling persona and why it fit him so well. “Virginia is a beautiful state.  I’ve been there a time or two, but never to Aarron’s Creek.”

 

Adam cracked open some creamers and sugar packets, loading his coffee up. “Not surprisin’, a lot of people haven’t.  So, where are ya from, honey?”

 

“Originally, I was born in Chicago, but my family quickly moved down to Tampa while I was still in diapers and I’ve lived there ever since.” It was how she had met Chris at a signing in that very same city. “I live there now, but…I’m thinking a change in scenery is in order.  Just don’t know where yet.” She smiled sadly, thinking about her failed marriage and sipped her coffee slowly, wondering if the pain of what Drew did to her would ever fully go away.

 

“Now, normally, I’d always tell a beautiful lady such as yourself that you can’t find a more prettier place than Virginia but… the insurance is Hell so I’d avoid it.” He joked, well, mostly joked. House insurance WAS expensive because Virginia was not very flat, a lot of houses were built on mountains or very steep hills, landslides and erosion were common, requiring specialty insurance. But it WAS beautiful, and he’d argue anyone who dared say otherwise. He wanted to ask why a change of scenery was in order but hesitated, knowing snooping wasn’t all that polite. However, the sad little smile on her otherwise gorgeous face made his heart twinge something fierce. “Now Florida is pretty nice, honey, you looking to relocate outta state or just Tampa?” That wasn’t overly nosy.

 

“Out of the state.  As far away as I can go.  I was thinking maybe Maine or Washington.  Definitely not touching California.” Nevada…that was an option too, but things with Jon were complicated and Jilysa was wondering if they could even salvage what they had.  What DID they have?  They had awesome sex, some conversation, but had never really sat down like she was with Adam and just talked.  This was nice, getting to know someone instead of hopping into bed with them. “And I’ll definitely steer clear of Virginia because of what you just said.” She chuckled, taking another sip of coffee.

 

What she was doing with Adam was what she was supposed to be doing with Jon. They had discussed this sort of thing, getting to know each other properly outside of bed. Whether they liked it or not, regardless of whatever connection they had, they had jumped into things because they had been hurt and angry with their exes. It was a very typical reaction of the wounded party, getting comfort elsewhere.

 

“Oh, now don’t steer clear of it, come visit and stay a bit, vacationing there is a good idea.” He was grinning as he teasingly backtracked on what he had said, letting her tone via his tone and body language that he was just playing. Adam took a sip from his coffee before wrapping his hands around it, enjoying the warmth. “Washington IS pretty far, and wet.”

 

“Yes, it does rain a lot, but it is also a beautiful state.  Maine has horrible winters, which I wouldn’t like too much, but it’s absolutely breathtaking.” Jilysa had lived on the road so much, she didn’t really care where she ‘resided’ because of her job.  Now, she was with a different company, who didn’t have house shows and weren’t on the road 300+ days out of the year.  Now, she actually had to care where she did reside and Tampa was the last place she wanted to be. “I just wish there was a state out there, a place, where it was 70 degrees all year round.  Someone told me a place like that exists in Arizona, of all places, and I think they need shock therapy or something.”

 

"Arizona? Seems like it would be pretty brown. You know, Jilysa, Virginia and Kentucky are pretty moderate all year round. Oklahoma too. Though those places are all kinda close to Florida." She was not having Florida, he had gotten that right quick. Then there were places like California and Nevada. He had noted the tan line on her finger, gathering she was freshly single. "So when are you startin’?"

 

“Starting?”

 

“Your job with AEW.”

 

“Oh.” The smile was back on her face fully. “Beginning of the year.  Cody and Brandi need a few weeks to gather everything, but if they need me before then, they know I’ll start sooner.” Jilysa wasn’t fond of those states he mentioned, but didn’t say anything, deciding to keep her opinions to herself for the moment.  The right place at the right time in the right state would come along sooner rather than later. “So, what got you started in the wrestling business?” Truthfully, Jilysa had never heard of Adam ‘Hangman’ Page until tonight, so it made her wonder if he was strictly Independents until the launch of AEW. 

 

So Adam told her about how he had gotten started in wrestling. He knew coming from his background -he had been a fulltime teacher prior to wrestling- it seemed a little odd that he would be here now but… here he was. "And that's really it, nothing very special about me." He had kept it brief because it really wasn't an interesting story. "My mama likes to joke I totally wasted my college degree but…" He shrugged, flashing the waitress a smile when she returned with their food.

 

How did a full-time teacher become a professional wrestler?  That was…very interesting and a transition she never thought could happen. “I’m sure she’s proud of you, no matter what you decide to do with your life.  It’s obvious you’re passionate about it.” Her stomach gurgled softly as her eyes moved from his to look down at her plate, that cheeseburger calling her name. “Oh man, this looks so good.” Picking it up with absolutely no shame, she took a big bite and really wished she had a beer with this.  It would’ve hit the spot instead of the coffee.

 

This was not the kind of place you went to for a beer, it was a mom and pop diner that served Coca Cola and apple pie, that sort of joint. Finding something like this in a city had been pretty awesome for a small town country boy, though Adam was NOT averse to a beer. “Now, this is almost heaven,” He chuckled after sampling his country fried steak.

 

The good news was that Jon had found Jilysa. The bad news, she was eating dinner with someone else and he wasn’t sure what to do. He definitely wished he didn’t feel like this, disappointment… maybe even some resentment.

 

Jon had been detained with Kelli and his elbow, so Jilysa didn’t want to bother him.  MRSA was nothing to mess with.  It could be fatal to a person if not treated properly.  To an athlete, it was incredibly important to keep an eye on things, even after it was healed.  They were very susceptible to getting MRSA in that same spot again and again, which is what happened to Jon.

 

“Let me guess, missing a beer?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

Jilysa laughed, agreeing with him wholeheartedly and took another bite out of her cheeseburger. “I think I have found the world’s best cheeseburger, Adam.” She declared, after chewing and swallowing, taking a sip of her water.  Coffee with a burger and fries did not sound good. “Excuse me, miss?  Can I have an iced tea, please?”

 

“Sure, comin’ right up, sugar.”

 

Neither noticed the icy blues watching them through the window they were in front of, both enjoying their meal and conversation in between bites.

 

Adam was a gentleman, with a slow, southern drawl and good manners stemming from his literal country boy upbringing. The man had a college degree -Jon hadn’t even graduated high school- and had even taught fulltime before transitioning into wrestling. He was younger, less wear and tear on his body, Jon groaned, leaning his bandaged arm against the window of the diner, resting his head against his forearm. What the Hell was he doing?

 

“You know, a beer would go a lot better with this then coffee, not that the coffee is bad.” Adam had noticed her switch out and didn’t say a word about it, not everyone was a coffee drinker at all hours. His own folks only drank it in the morning. When she nodded, his grin broadened. “My kind of woman.”

 

“I was just thinking an ice cold beer would go perfectly with this burger and fries.  Good to know you’re a beer drinker yourself, cowboy.” Jilysa winked at him, continuing to eat and polished off everything on her plate, along with Adam.  Her head was starting to hurt, so she pulled the tie out of her hair to let it tumble down her back and over her shoulders.  It rested to the middle of her back, pure ebony and really made her aqua eyes pop. “Ugh, that’s so much better.  No wonder I was starting to get a headache and here I thought it was lack of food intake.”

 

“Nah, honey, you had it done up tight and that is a lot of weight to be carryin’,” Adam knew how that went, he had had his hair LONGER than what it currently was, he was able to sympathize with long hair problems. “You know what always helps me, takin’ my fingers and rubbing my scalp,” He even flexed his fingers, grinning when she nodded and began doing it, half-tempted to offer but… he wasn’t that forward of a guy with women he had literally just met. Instead, he retrieved his wallet from his back pocket, sliding the check the waitress had brought them and laid out the cash to cover not only the meals but a generous tip. “I really hate for this to end, I’m enjoyin’ getting to know you.” He informed Jilysa, his blue eyes returning to her, smiling as she continued massaging her scalp, strands of her silky ebony hair shifting through her fingers.

 

“I’m enjoying getting to know you too, Adam.” She chewed her bottom lip, contemplating if she should end the night here and go back to her hotel room or continue hanging out with him.  It was chilly outside, a crisp 39 degrees, so taking a walk was out of the question. “Next time, I’m paying.” If there was a next time.  Together, they walked out of the diner and she felt better after that scalp massage, not minding Adam placing his hand on the small of her back. “Thank you again, cowboy.  That was a great meal and the company wasn’t half bad either.”

 

“The company wasn’t half bad you say? Honey, keep flatterin’ me that way and my head will swell too big for my hat,” Adam laughed, shaking his head at her as he tucked his thumbs through his belt loops, rocking back on the heels of his boots. “Well, it was nice meetin’ you and I look forward to seeing more of you in January.” Which was right around the corner as it were, everyone just had to survive the remainder of the holiday season. “I don’t know this part of the city very well, outside of point A to point B,” And it was after business hours so to speak. “Since we’re both parked over there, mind if I escort you to your car?”

 

Jon was leaning against said car, playing on his cell.

 

Chapter 22

 

“Sure, I…wait…who is that standing against my car?” Jilysa couldn’t see who it was from this distance and felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach.  Adam ordered her to stay back while he assessed the situation.  There were hardly any lights in the parking lot and they had chosen the darker part of it without realizing.  Slowly, she moved towards her rental and felt her eyes widen at the sight of Jon and Adam face to face, both with tense expressions on their faces. “Jon??” What the hell was he doing here? “Jesus, you scared the hell out of me!  I didn’t know it was you by my car and that’s why Adam wanted to check it out first.” Even in a small town like this, anything was possible at night.

 

Adam immediately stepped back now that they knew who it was, though he was curious why Jon was waiting for Jilysa by her car. “It’s cold out here, Mox.  You should’ve come in and joined us.  Damn good food here.”

 

“Yeah, how long have you been out here?”

 

“Just a few minutes, darlin’,” Jon lied smoothly, without batting an eyelash. Basically throughout their entire meal since he had come and seen them through the window. “I tried texting you.” He watched as Jilysa went for her phone, realizing she had turned it off and inwardly sighed. “So much for dinner, huh?” That was totally on him, he should have went in when he had arrived and he hadn’t.

 

“Well, if you want to grab a bite to eat man, I’ll come sit with you.” Adam offered with a friendly smile. He and Jon were working together and while Mox was nowhere near as friendly as he was… all the same to him.

 

Something told Jilysa he was lying about how long he’d been here.  Christ, what if he thought something was brewing between her and Adam?  They were getting to know each other, but that didn’t mean she wanted to fuck him. Don’t jump to conclusions, Jilysa. She mentally chastised, keeping the smile on her face and her eyes moved to his bandaged arm. “How’s your arm?  Adam told me you were with Kelli when I came looking for you, and I didn’t want to bother you.  I know how serious MRSA is and that should be first priority, so Adam invited me to eat with him.  Come on, they’ve got great burgers in here and we’ll sit with you while you eat.” Then, they could go back to the hotel and talk alone, if he wanted.

 

“Nah darlin’,” Why in the blue Hell would he want to be made some sort of pity, or charity case? It felt wrong that she hadn’t bothered waiting, it hadn’t taken THAT long to get his arm looked at and he had said ‘later’ to Kelli when he had taken Jilysa to get her own arm examined. He had thought she might wait while he did it, though he had also forgotten until Kelli had snatched his ass up. “I’ll order some takeout and call it. I just wanted to make sure you were all right since you weren’t answering your phone.”

 

“Sorry, I had my phone off because of my meeting with Cody and Brandi, then I sat down to watch the show with Christopher in his dressing room and one thing lead to another.” Not to mention, the guard bruising her arm, which was starting to hurt a bit. “I never thought to turn it back on and I didn’t know how long you’d be with Kelli, so that’s why I took Adam up on his offer to eat.” She smiled at him apologetically, hoping he forgave her for this, even though Jilysa really didn’t do anything wrong. “Okay well, go get your takeout and we’ll go to dinner some other time.” Turning to face Adam, Jilysa extended her hand to him. “Thank you again for the meal, Adam.  Goodnight.” They shook hands and she slipped behind the wheel of her vehicle, starting it up to turn the heat on.  She was freezing, not believing how cold it was in Texas, of all places!

 

Jon and Adam both politely waved at her, both turning to watch as she finally pulled out of the parking lot before facing each other. Jon’s eyes narrowed slightly as Adam’s widened.

 

“Hey man, if I would’ve known…” He probably still would have asked her out. “Yeah no, I woulda done it anyway, Mox.” Because as far as he knew, Jon was still married. Not that that stopped some people, he also knew Jon was in the process of getting a divorce.

 

Jon just inwardly rolled his eyes. “Yeah.” He grunted, already walking away.

 

She was still married as well, but on the verge of a divorce and legally separated, so having dinner with another man was allowed.  Even fucking another man was allowed.  Did she want to fuck Adam?  He was a delicious looking specimen, a hot cowboy and she bet his bedroom skills were great too.  Then, there was Jon…and Jon was complicated.  Hot, great in bed, but complicated.  He was still going through his mourning period with losing Leah, so Jilysa was treading carefully with him.  She honestly didn’t mean for this night to end the way it had, but…she didn’t regret it either.  Hanging out and having dinner with Adam was a fantastic time and she wouldn’t mind doing it again.  Her feelings for Jon were still there, beneath the surface, but she knew he needed more time to get over Leah’s betrayal.  Adam, on the other hand…that had a lot of possibilities and Jilysa refused to be bogged down by one man again, so she decided to leave her options open.

 

~!~

 

The fuck you mean you watched? That’s just creepy. That was WAY creepy actually and Chris was pretty old so he knew creepy, it came in a lot weird forms. Watching people eat through a big ass, public street window was downright stalkerish actually.

 

I didn’t know wtf to do?! There were no goddamn manuals on this. Now old Jon would have gone in and made a scene. A bit more aged Jon who had been through the ringer and he was pretty sure he had been bitchsmacked via karma, knew that would definitely be a display Jilysa would NOT have appreciated because he would have probably been a rude punk bitch.

 

~!~

 

“Wait, wait, wait, back up a minute, what do you mean he was standing out by your car?”

 

Jilysa needed someone to talk to, so she called Jessica, after a nice relaxing shower and was currently moisturizing her skin with lotion. “I mean exactly as I say.  He was standing there and said he’d just gotten there.  I don’t believe that for a second, Jess.”

 

Jessica smirked, already knowing what Jonny boy’s problem was and snickered. “Sounds to me like Jonny boy was a little…HOT under the collar seeing you go out with the hot cowboy.  Adam, right?”

 

“Yeah, but it was just dinner.  It’s not like I hopped on the guy’s dick and said ‘giddy up, cowboy!’” Jilysa shot back, holding the phone against her ear and shoulder while continuing with the lotion. “Do you think he thinks it was more than just a dinner?”

 

Jessica was laughing so hard, she keeled over on the bed, not believing Jilysa just said that! “Oh my god, oh my god, I’m crying right now, you bitch!” She exclaimed, laughing harder and clutched her stomach, not remembering the last time she laughed this hard. “I-I don’t know…oh my god, I can’t breathe!”

 

“It wasn’t THAT funny, wench.” Jilysa muttered good-naturedly, trying not to laugh at herself, but she had to admit, that was very uncharacteristic of her to say. “Come on, I called you to help me!”

 

“Okay, okay…oh my god, whew…” Jessica had to take a few deep breaths, her stomach aching from how hard she laughed and wiped the rest of her tears away. “And yes, I think he does.  And you don’t need to say a damn word to him either unless he confronts you about it.”

 

“What if he doesn’t?”

 

“Then go on with your life and chalk it up to a friendly dinner with a hot cowboy.”

 

“If you say so…”

 

~!~

 

She probably believed you. Maybe. Women are arrogant AF. Chris would know, he was practically female when it came to certain things. Fortunately for him and his wife, he was ALL male where it counted. Not that that ever stopped her from harassing him -always in private because she was a gold woman- about his flamboyant ways of dressing.

 

Probably. Mostly because Jon had always prided himself on being an excellent liar, something that had been required in his youth when he was juggling multiple women or when he would lie about his age, about his background. Maybe he had just fallen out of practice. It was a matter of pride he supposed, not being able to casually lie about something rather embarrassing.

 

Chris snorted when Jessica sent him a laughing emoji, so glad Jon couldn’t see his face. Yeah, wouldn’t worry about it. Just try again. And lie better, he mentally added.

 

~!~

 

Now because she wasn’t starting until January 1, 2020 in AEW, Jilysa had the rest of the month off for the holidays and to ring in the new year.  What she didn’t know was Jon had the same time off; he was not scheduled for the final AEW show in 2019.  Chris was, but he was given the time off to get his head on straight and figure out his divorce.  Adam also had to wrestle on the show.  Jilysa had nowhere else to go, so she reluctantly went back to Tampa and holed herself up in her condo, drawing the shades.  She didn’t want anyone to know she was here and had made sure to change the locks, so if Drew showed up, he wouldn’t get in.  Last she knew, he had gone back to Scotland for the rest of the year to be with his family.  Jon hadn’t texted her since that night he ‘caught’ her and Adam Page together having dinner.  He was probably throwing a fit over it, in his own way, and she honestly didn’t have time to deal with jealousy.  No thanks, she’d take a hard pass.

 

So, were you going to have Christmas with Jon?  For some reason, Chris seemed to think that was the plan between Jilysa and Jon. Maybe it had been but she was under the impression the two hadn’t talked. Not that she was necessarily privy to everything going on in their lives but… Chris. It was Chris.

 

Jon was actually at his house, busy composing a text message. He had invited her to spend Christmas with him, even though his house no longer was festive thanks to those bonfires. He wasn’t throwing a fit over anything, he was well aware she was free to do whatever she liked, he had just expected her to… well, he didn’t know. It seemed rude as fuck, taking off with another man and given what his soon to be ex wife had done to him, it bothered him. A lot. You have a ticket waiting if you still want to come spend Christmas in a place with no snow and no stupid tree.

 

The text message from Jessica came shortly before a text from Jon, both on the same day.  It was the 23rd when she received that text message from him.  It’d been 12 days since she’d heard anything from him and now he was sending this.  Jilysa stared at it for a while, contemplating if she should go or stay and let him deal with the turmoil she knew he was experiencing.  Damn it, she missed him and that was the part that sucked the most about this whole situation.  She groaned out loud, not knowing what to do because she was torn on the situation.

 

I don’t know. Jilysa sent to Jessica, ignoring Jon’s text message for the moment. I don’t know what to do…hold on, I’m calling you. And she did and Jessica answered within the first three rings. “I don’t know what to do.  He just texted me saying there’s a plane ticket waiting for me if I want to go to a place with no snow and no stupid tree.” She lay on her couch, holding a hand over her eyes with her knees bent up. “Tell me what to do, Jess, please.”

 

“Honey, I really don’t know what I’m supposed to tell you.” Jessica said simply, honestly and sighed as she shifted on her bed, glancing towards her open bedroom door to make sure none of the kids were lurking. “I married my first love and we’re still together, I’ve never been in your position.” Granted, she and Chris had had some hard times, what couple hadn’t, but they were always able to make it through them together and come out stronger. “If you really like Jon, then go hang out with him, just remember he’s still coming off a difficult time.” Jilysa seemed to be handling her divorce a lot better actually, she supposed those memes about women being heartbroken for a little bit and then bouncing back while guys were okay right out the gate before it came hitting home were true. “Also, he’s afraid. Big, bad Moxy is afraid of your tiny ass.”

 

“I know he’s going through a difficult time.  That’s why I don’t know if going is the right thing to do.  He still has to go through his mourning period, Jess.  I did it while I was still with Drew…before I caught him cheating on me.  I KNEW my marriage was over long before that night.  And when I finally caught him in the act with her, I felt…relief.  I was relieved to not have to be that stupid, ignorant, oblivious wife, to not have to play that role any longer.  It took me months to get over my heartbreak, to go through all the different stages of grief and I finally felt free once I walked in on him banging another woman.  I know it sounds strange, but…I’m happier than I have been in months.  Jon was blindsided by this…it’s different for him than it was for me because I at least had suspicions about Drew cheating and being a scumbag.  He had no idea Leah was like that, so his world is falling apart all around him right now…and I’m afraid if I go, I’ll just make it worse.” She admitted, feeling her heart twinge because she did want to be with Jon. “I’m scared of him too, Jess.  I’m scared he’ll use me as a way to get over her and then drop me like a bad habit.  I’m scared of letting myself fall for someone else, especially when that someone is still married and going through a divorce like me.  I don’t want my heart broken again.”

 

“Well he already told Chris he was afraid of doing that to you, so you both are way too good of people in my opinion.” Jessica informed her seriously, though she was smiling, not that Jilysa could see it. “He’s afraid he’s going to hurt you because it may just be a rebound thing. But apparently, and I’m REALLY breaking my husband’s confidence right now and in turn Jon’s so please, please, do me a solid and never mention it to anyone, not even Jon. So, you had your cell off, and he couldn’t get a hold of you and there no message left for him with someone, nothing. He finds you having dinner with another guy, after he invited you out. That apparently gave him issues because of what Leah did, it’s still pretty fresh. Now he’s worried about letting you in too much. Who knew men were so much like us when it came to that?”

 

Jon was feeling the same way as her…and that WAS surprising.  Usually, men brushed it off and moved onto the next fuck in their life, at least that’s what she thought.  Jon wasn’t like other men, however.  He was a different breed entirely. “Okay, I need to tell you something else and I don’t want you to freak out.” Jessica did not know about their time in Hawaii together.  Nobody did, they made sure to keep it under wraps, unless Jon spilled his guts to Chris.  That was a possibility, but something told Jilysa he hadn’t.  For the next half hour, she explained what happened between her and Jon the night of Thanksgiving.  How they managed to arrive in Hawaii together and the amount of sex they had. “We didn’t really…talk that much.  It was mostly sex and I thought we were using each other to get over the pain of what happened.”

 

“But it changed, didn’t it?”

 

“Yes.” Jilysa moved to stare out the window, pushing the shade aside and heaved a sigh. “We did everything backwards and…I’m afraid every time he looks at me, I remind him of what he lost.  I remind him of what Leah did to him.  I don’t want to cause him further pain.”

 

“But how do you feel about him?”

 

“I have strong feelings for him and I care about him a lot.” More than she should. “That’s why I’m torn on what to do – should I stay and be alone for Christmas or should I go be with him?”

 

“I don’t know.” Wow, Jessica was never more glad to be in a committed relationship then she was now. She and Chris had skipped a lot of that dating drama and she could only imagine how trying it was to navigate the field when you were fresh out of a marriage. “Have you guys tried getting to know each other, without the sex?” She asked curiously, not realizing that was their issue, they kept making plans to do it and… nothing was working out very well on that front. “I know sex is great for emotional connection but without actually knowing more than someone’s body…”

 

“We tried to do that in Hawaii, but the goddamn paparazzi wouldn’t leave us alone.  Then, I went to Vegas a week after he left me in Hawaii and we were gonna try again, but…I freaked out.  I freaked out and I left because neither of us were divorced or even legally separated yet.” That was smart on her part due to the laws in Florida when it came to infidelity.  She REFUSED to have a misdemeanor on her record. “And then we made plans to have dinner last week, after the show, but he got detained with Kelli for his arm.  It’s just…obstacles keep stopping us from getting to know each other.  Maybe it’s a sign…”

 

“Maybe…” Jessica honestly didn’t know what to say because it did sound like the universe was against them. “Well, if you need some place to spend the holidays, you know where to find us.  We’re always here for you and Jon.”

 

“Thanks, Jess.” Jilysa hung up with her a few minutes later and stared at the text message again from Jon, feeling her heart being pulled in two different directions. “What to do, what to do…”

 

Chapter 23

 

Twelve hours later, a knock sounded at Jon’s front door, on Christmas Eve.  When he opened it, there stood Jilysa in a sexy Santa outfit.  It was sleeveless, had a very LOW neckline, a white furry hood with a fur hem and white furry boots.  There was a black, thick belt around it to really cinch everything into place and it hugged her curves, especially her bouncy backside.  She held up a case of beer with a smile. “Merry Christmas, handsome.” On top of the case of beer was a present with his name on it from her.

 

The way she was dressed told Jon this might not be social call, women did NOT dress like that just to hang out. She was here for sex for sure, he wasn’t sure about anything else, well… he was good for something. “Hi.” He grunted, wearing just a pair of basketball shorts, his face in need of a trim, and his hair was probably due for one as well. He held the door open, watching as she stepped in and shook his head, kind of wishing he had worn something tighter because he was tenting the front of these shorts. That neckline was probably illegal in a few states. The way her hips sashayed, he let out a low whistle, grinning when she glanced at him over her shoulder.

 

“So, I was thinking about all these times we’ve TRIED to set up getting to know each other strictly with no sex.  And it occurred to me that why can’t we do both?  Why can’t we have dirty, sexy fun together and get to know each other better?” Jilysa set the beer down with the present and turned to face him, noticing the tent in his shorts, but didn’t pay attention to it.  Instead, her eyes were locked with his as she reached out to take his hands, that familiar spark between them igniting. “Jon, I don’t want you for just sex.  I really like you and I’m pretty sure you like me too.  So I say to hell with the rules, we do our own thing and fuck what everyone else thinks or says.  No more pressure on getting to know each other first because it’s not working for us.”

 

Jon had thought it before, he was thinking it again. Thirsty. The woman was thirsty and forward as Hell. This time however, it didn’t knock him for a loop because he had come to learn that that was just how Jilysa was and Galloway was a fucking idiot for letting her go, for cheating on her. HOW did you cheat on a woman who was as sexually confident as Jilysa? It made NO sense at ALL. “Seems fair, darlin’.” He hoisted her up, feeling her legs wrapping around his waist and pinned her to the wall, capturing her lips in a steamy kiss. He was pretty damn thirsty too, smirking as his mouth moved down along her throat. “You’re a naughty fuckin’ elf, that’s for damn sure.”

 

This was more like it and it felt right.  Some people did connect more sexually than intellectually and there was nothing wrong with that. “A-Actually, it’s um, a sexy Santa outfit…oh god…” There was one spot on her neck, just below her ear that made her panties soak instantly and Jon was attacking it.  She figured making a grand gesture like this would be the way to go, after the poor guy caught her out with another man having dinner.  Even if she didn’t do anything wrong, it was supposed to be Jon, not Adam, she dined with that night. “Jon…I missed you…and I couldn’t let you spend Christmas alone…” While she spoke, his mouth traveled down her neck to the valley of her breasts since it was bare and crying out to him for attention.  She lifted his head back up until their smoky, smoldering blues swirled together, both completely consumed by each other. “Let’s jingle each other’s bells until we can’t physically move, baby…” His hand slid beneath the dress and Jon quickly discovered just how naughty she was because Jilysa was wearing crotchless panties.

 

What a sexy slut she was. Jon would never say that out loud however, well… actually, if dirty talk and hearing those less then loving terms of endearment in the heat of the moment were her thing, then he’d gladly inform her. He had reached the conclusion that anything with her was based on sex and since he was tired of trying to figure women out or understand their motives behind shit, he was just rolling with it. “You’re no Santa, darlin’,” She was missing the parts, beard included. This woman was shaved as smooth as a newborn baby, definitely not a Santa.

 

“Oh Jon, yes…YES!!”

 

~!~

 

“No!” Jilysa shot upright on the couch, breathing somewhat heavily and looked around, blinking several times. “Oh HELL NO!  There’s no way I would EVER do something like that!  What the HELL, brain?!  I wanna get to know the man, not just use him for sex!  Christ!” She was berating herself for having a sex dream about Jon.  Groaning, she hopped up from the couch and looked at the time, knowing she could possibly get a red-eye flight, at an extravagant price, to Vegas if she hurried.  There was NO way in hell she was showing up in a sexy Santa costume with crotchless panties though!

 

Twelve hours later, on Christmas Eve, Jilysa pulled up to Jon’s in the early afternoon and cut the ignition on her rental.  She was wearing a pair of black leggings with a short-sleeved red top – full panties intact.  Grabbing the case of beer and present, she stepped out, her luggage in the back of the car and headed up to the front door, shutting her eyes. Just knock, idiot. Before she could stop herself, she did and tried really hard to push the sex dream she’d had prior to coming here out of her mind.

 

So Jon had said fuck it, he wasn't going to be miserable on Xmas. He hadn't heard back from Jilysa and shrugged it off the best he could. His house no longer looked like a disaster from his emergency clean and destroy of Leah's stuff. He had gotten himself a tiny blue fake as shit tree and put it over his fireplace -which was fake right now. Crackling and beautiful but no heat. He was dancing around in just a Santa hat, his Christmas boxers with a cigar in one hand, spiked eggnog in the other and heavy metal Christmas Carol's blasting. He didn’t hear the knocking but when his doorbell rang… he danced over to it, figuring it was the Grub Hub thing he had done because he wasn't cooking for the next two days but pizza was great cold so… he had ordered a few pies. This was not the delivery boy.

 

WOW!  This was NOT what she was expecting to see as soon as that door opened.  Here she was all dressed up, or as dressed up as she’d get, and Jon was in…Grinch boxers.  They said ‘Naughty?  Or Nice?’ on them and she could not help covering her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh.  It was not happening.  Not only did he have those boxers on, but a cigar was sticking out of his mouth as well! “Well someone sure is in the holiday spirit!” She called out over the very LOUD, blasting heavy metal music.  Maybe Jilysa should’ve told him she was coming, but she wanted to surprise him. “So…surprise and Merry Christmas?”

 

Now Jon could have gone the embarrassed route but he did not, he squished that potential awkwardness and shrugged, grinning around the cigar. "Merry Christmas to you too, Kitten." He reached out to take the case, planting it on his shoulder and stepped back to let her in. On the way to the kitchen he stopped long enough to drop the volume a few notches on the stereo, putting the entire case in the fridge and drained his eggnog before turning to look at her. "This is…. I didn’t think you wanted…. Fuck all, darlin." He pulled her in for a hug. "And quit laughing at my boxers."

 

“I should’ve called, but I wanted to surprise you and…” Jilysa could not have a serious conversation with him in those things.  She started giggling all over again while hugging him, breathing the scent of him, along with that cigar, in. “I wanted to be here with you.” Pulling back, she looked up into his eyes with a soft smile on her face full of hope. “Um, this is for you.” She handed the gift bag to him, watching his brows furrow together. “I hope you like it.  I had it made for you.  If you don’t want to open it right now, you don’t have to…”

 

“No.” Jon did not want to open it right now. “Here.” He led the way, purposefully shaking his boxer clad ass in time to the music before putting the bag besides the tree. He had a gift for her too but bringing it out right now felt awkward given she had shown up out of the blue and he had bought it on a whim. Maybe in the morning. “You are staying right?” He asked, turning to stare down at her and reached up to pull the Santa hat off his head, plopping it down on hers.  She hadn’t brought in any luggage… she hadn’t last time either until after the tour and that trip had ended very abruptly.

 

“Well, I didn’t fly across the states not to stay with you.  My bag is out in the car.  I couldn’t carry it in since I had the beer.” Jilysa wasn’t sure if he wanted her to stay either, which was why she didn’t bring her bag in presumptuously. “I’ll go get it and where do you want me to put it?”

 

“My room.” Jon answered without hesitation, shooing her out of the room to go get her bag out of the car.

 

Fixing the Santa hat on top of her head, Jilysa had a flashback to that dream and immediately dismissed it, tossing her bag over her shoulder before heading back inside.  Last time she had been in his room, she had freaked out, but it had been for a good reason.  Now she was legally separated and could do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted without any repercussions.  Setting her bag down beside the bed, Jilysa looked around the room for a minute and turned, nearly jumping out of her skin at the sight of Jon leaning in the doorway. “You really need to wear a bell, Mox.” There was hesitation on his face and she knew why.  He was worried she would have another panic attack over being here.  Walking up to him, she leaned up and lightly brushed her lips against his, her hands resting on his delicious bare chest. “See?  No freak out this time.  And since you’re already cozy in those boxers, I’ll change into my pajamas and then we can go back downstairs to start our celebration.  Sound good to you?”

 

“Uh, I’m pulling on a shirt or something… I feel like a little boy who got caught doing something silly, darlin’,” Which was the honest to God’s truth, his face flushing a bit when she bit her bottom lip, obviously trying not to laugh again. “It was these or the one with the built in cock-trunk with a candy cane design.” He even managed to say it with a straight face and in an even tone, smirking when those aqua eyes actually dropped to his crotch, as if trying to imagine it. “Need some mistletoe?”

 

Jilysa giggled softly, stroking his bearded face with her hand. “I don’t know, do I?” Jon kissed her this time and that spark between them ignited like it always did, her arms wrapping around his neck to press her body against his.  There was passion in it, but nothing overly aggressive about it like there had been before.  Slowly, they broke it at the same time and she hooked her hands around his neck, enjoying the moment standing here in his arms again. “I think you should stay shirtless.  You have a great body and there’s no need to be shy around me.” They had sex already, there was no hiding a damn thing from each other now.

 

“One, I’m not shy around you, that’d be redundant. Two, thank you and I know,” He grinned arrogantly at her, not bothering letting go or trying to move away from her. “It’s mostly because I feel silly in these.” Thankfully, she hadn’t walked IN on him, dancing around the way he had, that would have been awkward. Or hell, maybe he’d get her liquored up on some spiced eggnog and she could join him. “All right, get in your jammies…” He slapped her ass before finally stepping back. “You eaten or should I just make you a drink, darlin’?”

 

“I’m starving, actually.  I was thinking, if you have some, we could make some burgers on the grill or something.” It was only 2 in the afternoon, hardly dinnertime and the sun was shining brightly in the sky.  It was a crisp 57 degrees outside, which wasn’t the coldest Las Vegas could get during the winter months. “And drink, of course.  Make me that drink, definitely.” She smacked his backside in those boxers, laughing at his playful growl and stepped away from him to place her bag on the bed. “Or we could order a pizza, if that’s easier and a better option for you.”

 

“Already got some on the way, I thought you were my delivery driver,” Jon laughed, having no intention of going outside. He had had his blackout shades drawn, totally ignoring the fact that it wasn’t even evening yet. Given how his end of the year was going, Jon was just glad he wasn’t black-out drunk yet, he was actively working on NOT being depressed or mopey, or wondering stupid shit about that bitch. He had mostly moved out of the grieving thing and was currently in alternating between anger and ‘fuck it’. “You change, I’ll make drinks and I may even let you pick the next round of Christmas music.” He honestly had no idea what she listened to, what kind of music she liked.

 

“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute or two.” Jilysa pulled something out of her bag and waited for him to leave before changing.  It was a simple red nightshirt that went past her knees and said ‘Dear Santa Baby, Jingle My Bells Instead’ on it in white lettering.  It also had little gold bells attached to it, so every time she moved, they jingled and they were rest in the chest area too.  It was a gag gift from Chris and Jessica they sent her and she had tossed it in her bag on a whim.  Now, she was thinking it was perfect to wear given the type of mood Jon was in.  Slipping it on, she freshened up a bit, applied some red lip gloss and placed her Santa hat, or rather his, back on her head.  Looking in the mirror, she smirked and headed back downstairs, with matching cozy red furry socks, and cleared her throat to get his attention. “Is my drink ready yet?”

 

“Uh huh, two seconds,” Jon was busy with said drink, wiggling around as he sang along to the song he had blasting throughout the downstairs. It was by his favorite band: AC/DC and called ‘Mistress for Christmas’, which was hilarious as fuck all things considered. “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the day,” A little spiced rum, he even measured a proper shot. “I just can’t wait til Christmas time,” John also couldn’t sing to save his life but that didn’t stop him. “When I can grope you in the hay.” Now for the eggnog. He stirred it with a sizzle stick and turned to hand it over, his blue eyes raking over her and he began laughing outright.

 

Eggnog…oh god, Jilysa did not want to be rude and deny the drink…and Jon was laughing at her.  She didn’t blame him, it was pretty hilarious what she was wearing. “Christopher and Jess’s Christmas gift to me.  Gag gift, I should say.” She took the drink he handed over, really hoping it didn’t taste too bad and took a sip of it.  Surprisingly, it was delicious with the rum and she decided at that moment, with rum, eggnog was not so bad after all.  Regular, straight eggnog – hell no!  But this combination she could handle without gagging. “Okay, you can stop laughing at any time now, Chuckles.”

 

“Uh no, no I cannot, because,” Jon didn’t like straight eggnog either, but when you paired it with spiced rum, the weird flavor was overpowered by the spice and it was actually good. Not that he would drink this shit year round, because he would not, but at Christmas, sure. “Because… I’m pretty sure,” He took a slow sip of his own refill, trying not to choke on it because she had just shifted and goddamn it his ears worked perfectly. “I’m pretty sure I just heard your tits jingle.” Chris and Jessica had a messed up sense of humor and he was soooo glad he had NOT opened the gift they had sent him. It was hiding out in his closet because he did not trust them.

 

She smirked, jingling them again purposely and made him snort eggnog that time, which in turn made him curse.  Jilysa was laughing so hard, she had to sit down and set her drink on the coffee table while Jon wiped the eggnog from his nose and chest. “Oh god, oh god are you okay?!  I didn’t mean to make you snort that…” That had to burn like a son of a bitch with the rum! “Here, let me help you…” She took the wet cloth he handed her and leaned his head back, beginning to dab at his nose.  Every movement she made, however, those damn bells jingled and they both started laughing all over again.

 

Chapter 24

 

“Okay, you crazy broad, get the hell away from me,” There was no malice in Jon’s tone, just amusement and barely contained laughter as he took the cloth and cleaned his own self up. At least this time there was no snot everywhere, not like there had been that night of the show when he had gotten champagne right up both his nostrils. When he was finished, he took his drink, eyeballing her and shook his head. “Come on,” Lacing his fingers through hers, Jon led Jilysa back out to his main room, beginning to sing. “I want a mistress for Christmas, a mistress for Christmas…” He was not really a Bing Crosby ‘Little Drummer Boy’ kind of guy. When she went to look at his measly little tree, Jon reached out and jingled her tits.

 

She laughed again, smacking his hand away and looked at the small blue fake Christmas tree with the tiny ornaments and lights on it. “It’s beautiful.” Her eyes slid over to him, their fingers still linked together. “I thought you said you didn’t want a tree?” Jilysa recalled him say that and she knew he had burned everything Leah had put up as far as décor went.  The fact Jon had gone out and gotten his own tree, unless it was an old one, proved that he wasn’t about to let his cunt of a wife ruin the holidays for him. “You want a mistress for Christmas, eh?  I’ll be that mistress if you want, Grinchie.”

 

“Oh no, you’re no mistress, you’re legally single and so am I.” She was too damn good a person, at least he was hoping, to be a mistress. “What you are, is my new favorite toy.” He jingled her again, making a mental note to send Chris and Jessica a thank you text. Whoever had invented this get-up was a fricking genius because he or she had realized it did NOT take a whole lot to entertain a man. “And I bought this tree, seen it at some store downtown and thought it was hilarious. It’s tiny and blue. Get it? A Blue Christmas?” Which was a sad Christmas song but he had found it ironic and amusing.

 

“Your new favorite toy, huh?” Jilysa didn’t take that as an insult like most women probably would have.  She found it amusing and slid her hands up and down his chest, pressing soft kisses against it.  Yes, they were both legally single and consenting adults to do whatever their hearts desired. “Then you’re my new favorite piece of man candy.  Especially that candy cane in your shorts.” That was a pretty smooth line if she did say so herself and that dream instantly flashed through her head. “Sorry, sorry…” She pulled back, mentally cursing for being too forward again. “I’m being too aggressive again.” Sitting down on the couch, she took her eggnog drink and sipped it, staring up at the tree. “I love a blue Christmas tree.”

 

But she had totally ignored the amusingly ironic part of a blue Christmas tree given their respective circumstances. Well, not so much blue anymore, and Jilysa had told him about the why of it for her, why she had been able to ‘bounce back’ so quickly, because she had started her mourning process while still in the marriage, before the cheating. It made him wonder if Drew hadn’t somehow sensed it and gone looking for comfort and shit in the arms of someone else. Jon did not drop onto the couch with her, he went back to his system and began shuffling through his ‘Christmas’ mix, none of them were ‘traditional’ Christmas songs, all were funny ones or rock, metal, a few old classics with a rude twist. “What do you want to hear, darlin’?” And pray he had it.

 

“It doesn’t matter.” When Jon shot her a dark look, she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.  Honestly, she didn’t have very many Christmas songs she liked, but she did have a favorite. “Carol of the Bells is my favorite Christmas song.  It doesn’t matter who sings it, I just love the melody.” He wanted her to choose and he probably didn’t have it, so she waited to see what he would put on instead while sipping more of her drink.

 

Jon shuffled through his MP3 player, finally hitting play on Carol of the Bells as performed by the Tran Siberian Orchestra. A second later, his doorbell rang and he went to get it, pizza was here. Jon had ordered two fully loaded, with sides of wings and shit like that, including bottles of pop -a very guilty pleasure but since it was Christmas…. Splurging was his gift to himself. He helped the poor pizza guy carry everything in, straight to the kitchen, as if walking around in Grinch boxers was perfectly normal and made sure to tip the guy on the way back out.

 

“I didn’t know you listened to Tran Siberian Orchestra!” Jilysa exclaimed from behind, having watched the mountains of food being brought in and the pizza delivery guy leave. “Holy shit, Jon, are you feeding an army or what, babe?” He snorted and she giggled, retrieving the paper plates while Jon opened up the containers that had the wings and whatnot.  He had literally ordered everything on the menu, it looked like. “I absolutely love this song.  And I think Tran Siberian Orchestra did it the best.  Haven’t heard a better rendition of it, honestly.” After they piled their plates, they headed back into the living room and sat down to eat.

 

“Well, darlin’,” Jon was eyeballing his two plates because he was famished and he wasn’t going to keep on drinking on a fairly empty stomach, he wasn’t looking to be overly stupid this holiday season. “I wasn’t planning on cooking at all for Christmas, or the day after, or today, so I ordered enough to feed myself three unhealthy squares a day.” Mostly. He did have a LOT of cereal and Jon had no problem eating it dry and straight from the box. “And I like Trans Siberian, not big on shit like Penatonix or whatever they’re called though.”

 

“I don’t blame you a bit.” Jilysa had never heard of that band and understood why Jon ordered so much food now.  She didn’t blame him for not wanting to cook either.  That was for big families and gatherings full of love, magic and wonder.  That wasn’t realistic for them this year.  She did remember last year’s Christmas in Scotland and it was truly magical.  They had gone ice skating, followed by chopping down a beautiful tree, trimming it and decorating it together, along with Drew’s Dad and stepmother.  Would Jilysa ever have that again?  She was in her 30’s, about to be divorced after only 2 years, and with a man she didn’t know if he wanted her or not.  Jon was scared of her and she was scared of him.  Yet here they were, having pizza together on Christmas Eve in funny pajamas, listening to Christmas music. “I need a beer, eggnog and pizza do not taste good together.  Do you want one?”

 

“Nope, I’m good with my nog. Leave yours and I’ll finish it.” Jon had been drinking this shit since noon, he was way more than used to it right now and he did not feel like switching over to a different kind of alcohol just yet. Not when he had one more of these little cartons to get through and plenty of spiced rum. He watched as she nodded and got up to head to the kitchen, setting down his glass and headed upstairs. He retrieved the gift he had bought her, he had had it professionally wrapped right there on the spot since he was terrible with it, hesitating. Was it too much? Not enough? Would it raise awkward questions? Damn it.

 

Looking up at the gift sitting next to the blue Christmas tree, Jilysa set her pizza down on the plate and wondered if it was a good idea to give him a gift.  To bring him something to open…from her.  It was nothing special…well, it was because she had it specially made for him.  Damn it, she really hated second-guessing herself with this!  He didn’t seem excited about receiving anything for Christmas, so would he notice if she snuck it back into her bag? Yes he would, idiot!  Just leave it alone.  He probably won’t even open the damn thing. She took another bite of pizza and set her plate down on the coffee table, sucking down her first beer like water.  Beer tasted SO much better than eggnog, that was for sure.

 

Goddamn right he would have noticed, Jon was fairly decent at realizing something in his home was out of place. Since he had set that bag down himself, if she touched it, he was going to know. He had ended his own internal debate about the gift, he would bring it out before she was awake tomorrow. She’d wake up to a present beneath his little blue tree. “There’s a bad porn joke in there somewhere…” He muttered, heading back downstairs to finish his food, stopping long enough to hit shuffle again. “So before dumbass, what did you do for Christmas?”

 

“I would go to my family’s for Christmas, but…now they’re scattered throughout the world.  I think my Mom is in Paris and my Dad is in Japan…I’m not sure.  I haven’t talked to them in months.” Jilysa admitted, crushing the empty beer can in her hand and tossed it in the nearby wastebasket. “It used to be important to them, but…after my Mom left my Dad for her now husband, who lives in Paris, everything fell apart.  That’s why I would spend Christmas with Drew’s family when we were together.  I think I’m more heartbroken over losing them than him, honestly.” She let out a strained laugh and cleared her throat, cracking open another beer. “What about you?  What did you do for Christmas before you met…her?”

 

“Got drunk a lot,” So not much had changed in retrospect. “When I started making money and moved here, I’d hit the Strip.” Jon had a lot of love for his adopted town, he loved the Strip and the bright lights, the casinos and the noise. Hell, even the litter and the homeless, that was like a taste of Cincy right out here in the event he ever got homesick. Then there was the naturistic side he adored, outside the city. “Christmas in Vegas is not magical, at all, I don’t know why I love it but I do. I’d go out hunting for the Elvis impersonators and the street performers, all dressed up Santa’s and shit.” He hadn’t missed the way her voice had changed, deciding not to ask any questions about her parents or in-laws, yet.

 

Didn’t he have a mother?  Christopher mentioned her in their latest segment for AEW, didn’t he?  It wasn’t her business and she would not pry.  If Jon wanted to discuss his family, he would do it himself. “I bet the lights are magical though.  They don’t call Las Vegas the City of Lights for nothing.  And yes, yes I know it’s also called the City of Sin.” Jilysa wouldn’t mind seeing what Vegas had to offer as far as Christmas lights went.  Something told her Jon wouldn’t want to do something like that, so she didn’t bother asking if they could.  Hell, maybe she would go out herself on Christmas night to look at them alone.  Being alone was something she would have to get used to, unfortunately.

 

“Yeah, they are…” Jon considered it, considered her and then glanced at the time. “You know,” He took another bite of his poorly neglected pizza, he had been popping wings in his mouth and talking around said mouthfuls. In Hawaii, he had been careful not to be a manner less brute, tonight he was just not hitting any of those gentleman marks. He supposed once you were interrupted at two in the afternoon, drinking already, dancing in a Santa hat and boxers around a sad little tree, dignity and manners went out the window. “Hey, you’re probably tired from that flight… and I could be a little less… buzzed.” He was buzzed, he drained his nog and then what was left of hers, grinning and washed it down with another bite of pizza. “We could nap, clean-up after we wake, and hit the Strip.” It was Christmas Eve, there would be a LOT going on.

 

“Wait, what?  Seriously?” Jilysa stared at him in shock, seeing how serious he was with that offer and glanced at the clock.  They had plenty of time.  It was just a little after 4.  They could nap for two or three hours, get up and hit the Strip to see the lights. “I’ll be honest, I was just gonna go by myself tomorrow night because I didn’t want to…upset you or anything.  But if you really want to do this, then yeah.  Yeah, I’d love to see the Strip with you, Jon.” Standing, she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him against her. “I’m so glad I came here.”

 

“Me too, and it’s not upsetting for me, darlin’,” Jon kissed the tip of her nose, smirking when she made an eggnog breath remark. “Damn right. It’s been a few years since I’ve hit the Strip for Christmas, this will be fun.” And he had never done it with someone, not even Leah. Leah had not appreciated Vegas the way he had, she had never been able to see past the cliché of it all. “And maybe with you here, I’ll actually sleep.” He had had insomnia lately and it looked like she hadn’t been all that well either. Jon lowered the volume on the music and wrapped his arm around her again. “C’mon, Jingles.”

 

Rolling her eyes and giggling, she let him guide her out of the room and upstairs for that nap.  They were both exhausted and really needed some rest. “Do you want to set the alarms on our phones or just wing it and see if we wake up in a few hours?” Jon told her to ‘wing it’ and she shrugged, deciding if they overslept a bit, Vegas never fully shut down.  They could go at all hours of the night.  Laying down, Jilysa shifted on her side and felt Jon pull her into his arms, spooning up against her.  It was comforting, warm and familiar…she rested her hands on top of his and snuggled against him in return, the blanket coming over them moments later. “Sweet dreams, Grinchie.”

 

“Here’s hoping, Kitten,” He yawned, his breath hot against her neck as he lazily bounced her titty with his hands, just to hear the jingling. Jon chuckled softly before closing his eyes, burying his face in her hair. Within seconds, he was asleep without the aid of liquor, sleeping pills or anything, and it would be the best sleep he had had in a while.

 

Chapter 25

 

Jon woke up naturally a few hours later. It took him a moment to realize he was in bed with Jilysa and he smiled, raising his head up to check the time. Seven, that was perfect, it meant the night was still very young and Vegas wasn’t that far of a drive. “Wake up, darlin’,” He rumbled against the shell of her ear.

 

“Mmm, five more minutes…” Jilysa mumbled, not wanting to leave the warmth of the bed or the body pressed against her yet.  She knew it was Jon, even with her still half asleep and sighed at the feeling of his lips caressing her ear and neck.  He was trying to rouse her awake and it was slowly working, though she kept her eyes closed. “You’ll have to do better than that to get me up, Mox.” She murmured playfully, feeling him begin to jingle her tits all over again and that made her giggle softly.  Still, her eyes were not opening yet. “Still not working…”

 

Snorting, Jon rolled out of the bed. A few seconds later, he had disappeared into the bathroom and got the shower running. She hadn’t stayed long enough the last time to enjoy the delight that was his wickedly awesome shower. Jon returned and scooped her ‘not working’ ass up, tossing her -jingling her in the process, that would NEVER get old- over his shoulder. “Shower time, darlin’. Vegas awaits.” He sing-songed, feeling like a million bucks right now. That nap hadn’t been very long but damned if it hadn’t energized him. He deposited her on the bathroom floor, promptly dropped his boxers and slid through the glass doors of the shower, whistling cheerfully.

 

Jilysa wanted a kiss and instead, Jon had manhandled her!  Not that she was complaining because she wasn’t.  Smirking, she removed her own clothing, the bells jingling even as they hit the floor and stepped up to the sliding glass door.  Pushing it open, she stepped inside the very spacious shower and slid her hands up his wet, bare back.  The sprays were like a waterfall spitting down on them since there was one directly above their heads as well as one pointing directly at them like normal. “Mmm, this is nice…” They actually slept together in the same bed without having sex for a change.  However, Jilysa didn’t want to close that door completely as her hands moved down to grab a handful of his deliciously toned backside. “I think we should get dirty before getting cleaned up, Jon…”

 

“Do you now, Kitten?” Jon didn’t even turn to look down at her, he was already busy lathering his hair. What hair he had, he had been keeping it short, he needed a trim. Smirking wickedly, he ducked beneath the spray, which meant she had to let go of his ass or follow him, it was a large shower. After rinsing his hair, Jon turned and lifted Jilysa up, planting her against the wall. “Sorry, Jingles, I’m halfway clean,” He teased, feeling her legs going around his waist as his mouth descended to capture hers in a slow, teasing kiss.

 

The dream flowed through her mind again.  One thing stood out above the rest and that was what she told Jon.  They could get to know each other and have sex.  They didn’t have to hold themselves back.  She moaned softly in his mouth, sliding her fingers through his lathered up hair and the taste of him was exquisite, just as she remembered.  Oh, did she miss those lips against hers.  There was no rushing or eagerness in the kiss either, it was slow, deep and passionate and she felt his cock brush up against her.  His lips left hers to start traveling down her neck and she held onto him tighter, reaching down between them to guide his cock where it needed to go. “Jon…”

 

Sex was sex, Jon had learned that he didn’t need to base a damn thing off of sex with any woman. He already knew she was a fantastic lay so check that off the ‘are we compatible’ list and she loved his cock, which was fantastic since he loved her pussy, that worked. “Patience, darlin’,” He rumbled with a wicked smirk, gliding the tip of his cock up and down her soaked slit, feeling her body trembling in anticipation. He was mildly curious to know if she was fucking around with anyone else, not curious enough to ask because if so, it was obviously not good enough to keep her away from him.


There was nobody else.  The cowboy might’ve been a suitable choice, but there was something about Jon – something that kept Jilysa coming back to him.  Yes, she loved his cock, but that wasn’t all she loved about him.  His spirit, tenacity, fire, determination, grit, sense of humor, and it did help he was incredibly sexy.  Jilysa wasn’t the type of woman to screw multiple men at the same time.  Some women could, she couldn’t and until whatever this thing was between her and Jon ended completely, she wouldn’t go to anyone else. “Better hurry before the hot water runs out, lover.” She purred, hearing him chuckle and he pointed at something within the shower.  Was that a thermostat in the shower?  What the hell?  Before she could question anything else, Jon began teasing her breasts with his teeth and tongue while continuing to teasingly probe her.

 

Hot water was NOT a problem. Jon had bought this place because he had loved it and then he had made changes so he would continue loving it forever. As a poor kid in a place where winters got dangerously cold, he had learned to DESPISE cold water. Maybe that was one of the reasons he had fallen for Vegas, for this state, the constant warmth. When she was moaning his name and he could hear the need in it, the need tinged with a bit of sexy desperation, he sheathed himself into her very receptive body in one smooth thrust. “Fuck yes!” Just like he had remembered, fit like a velvet glove and felt like home.

 

He was doing more than jingling her bells, he was rocking her world and stuffing her like a turkey.  It reminded her of Hawaii, but then again, this might’ve been better…besides the beach sex.  Nothing would ever top that moment with the moon, stars and ocean, after Jon had taken her out for an extravagant meal. “Fuck, I missed you…oh god, harder…” She wasn’t above pleading, gripping his shoulders as he began slamming in and out of her and she managed to meet him for every thrust.  Suddenly, going to see the lights in the city was the last thing on her mind as this man once again spun her world off its axes.

 

Nope, Jon was greedy, he wanted it all. He wanted to go into Las Vegas and hit the Strip, visit all the Christmas displays and enjoy the outrageous light shows that would be going on for the holiday AND he wanted to fuck her. He was going to have his cake and eat it too. Quickie now, lots of sex later. It was Christmas after all, the perfect time for everyone to get what they wanted. This was great but shower sex was not the best for anything but a quickie, and it popped into his mind that he wanted to fuck her later while she was wearing her silly nightgown, just so he could reach beneath her while pounding her from behind and jingle her.

 

A quickie was perfectly fine with her.  And he could have as much sex with her as he wanted.  Jilysa would not deny him because she wanted him just as much.  Truthfully, her and Drew NEVER had this kind of raw, sexual connection.  He never made her toes curl when she climaxed the way Jon did.  She felt her orgasm building rapidly and shouted out his name, along with a bunch of ‘oh’s’ and ‘yes’s’.  Their voices reverberated around the shower as they climaxed together, reaching their end with the shower sprays STILL warm as when they first began. “Mmm, thank you…” She murmured in his ear, resting her head against his shoulder while trying to catch her breath again and slow her racing heart.

 

“Mmm, no thank YOU,” Jon laughed breathlessly, kissing the side of her wet hair before moving his face down to nuzzle her neck. Gently, once he was sure they both could move around in the slippery shower without killing themselves, he let her down. He kept his hands on her hips just in case, hazy blue eyes landing on her flushed face and he smiled tenderly, dropping another kiss on her head. “Okay, darlin’, now that we’ve gotten properly dirty…” He reached for the body wash, wiggling his eyebrows. “I get to clean up the mess I made.” Which was her, he wanted to clean her, feeling a lot more relaxed and at ease with the world. They were going into Vegas and he was looking forward to it, he was looking forward to Christmas period, thanks to her.

 

After they washed each other and finally stepped out of the shower, Jon wrapped his arms around her, with a towel, pulling her back against him.  They both stared in the mirror and she turned to tilt her head up enough for his lips to meet hers in a soft kiss. “You better be careful, lover.  I could get used to this.” She laughed when he smacked her backside and ordered her to get ready. “Yes, sir!” Jilysa saluted him, wiggling her towel covered backside and danced out of the bathroom toward her bag.  What was she going to wear?  Since she knew Vegas was chilly at night, she packed for both warm and cool weather.  She decided on a deep red long sleeved top that had a V neckline and it shimmered, along with a pair of black skinny jeans and red knee-high boots.  She brought three different pairs of boots, shoes and sandals, just to be on the safe side.  Looking in the mirror, she brushed her hair, deciding to leave it down and put minimal makeup on, just enough to accent her natural beauty.

 

Black slacks for Jon along with a white 3-button, long-sleeved Henley shirt, with the top button left undone. He took a few moments to trim up his facial fuzz and fix the mop of hair he had not had trimmed or cut in a few weeks, finishing up that with a dash of his favorite -kind of neglected- cologne. A silver chain around his neck, a watch on his wrist and he was ready to go, stepping out in his black socked feet and came to a halt. “Holy shit,” He blurted out, blue eyes widening as he took her in, she was a vision in red, that was for damn sure. “You look beautiful.”

 

“Thank you.” Jilysa smiled softly back at him, not believing how amazing he looked in white.  She was so used to seeing him in black, but that white really made his icy blue eyes pop and showed off his muscular form. “You look very handsome yourself.” Taking a chance, she had gone downstairs to grab Jon’s gift from her and hoped he would open it before they went out. “Listen, I know you wanted to wait to open this, but…I really think it would look great on you for our night in the city.” She swallowed hard at the look he was giving her and walked up to him, extending the gift. “It’s Christmas Eve, so you can open it early.  I’m sure Santa won’t mind.”

 

Jon eyed the present in her hand, frowning slightly. “Okay.” But… if he was going to open this, then she was going to open hers. He didn’t take it but instead moved to his closet to retrieve the gift he had gotten her. “Here, you open this too.” Because it was a wearable. He had been on the fence about it, buying jewelry for a woman was iffy because sometimes people misread the intentions behind it. He had seen it, thought of her, and bought it, simple as that. He out it in her hand and took the one from her, smiling slightly. “Together then?”

 

“Yeah, together.” Jilysa remembered the last gift Drew had gotten her, which was a Celtic cross necklace.  She had tossed it away, along with a bunch of other things Drew had bought her during their relationship.  No matter what this gift was, Jilysa already knew it would go down as her favorite Christmas gift ever because it was from Jon.  Slowly, they both unwrapped their gifts and her eyes watered a little at the beautiful necklace staring back at her.  It was a snowflake, blue and white topaz, pendant in sterling silver. “Oh, Jon…” She murmured, covering her mouth with her hand and looked up at him. “It’s so beautiful!” Even though she was wearing red, there was no way she would not wear this gift as she pulled it from the box, carefully, and fastened it around her neck. “Thank you so much…” Now the question was: Did he like his gift?

 

Jon’s gift was… unique, he simply stared at it. Finally, he began smiling, realizing she had caught herself up on her AEW history -as brief as it was. Well, more to the point, HIS history since leaving the WWE, which bounced around AEW but before that he had been playing in Japan. It was an hourglass -HIS actually, well a replica of it- and he just KNEW if he turned it, he’d see MOX as the sand ran out. Only it was… smaller, and had been incorporated into a bracelet. “I love it, Jilysa.” He rumbled quietly, carefully pulling it out of the box to examine it even more. “Is yours okay?” He had seen the topaz and it had reminded him of her aqua eyes, and it seemed Christmas -at the time- was going to be an iffy day for them. He had seen the necklace and had a corny, emotional thought that maybe it’d remind her that Christmas didn’t have to be a sucky day thanks to sucky exes.

 

“Very much so.” She fingered the snowflake with a smile, loving how it sparkled back up at her and then looked back at him. “I love it, Jon, truly.  You didn’t have to buy me anything.  I will cherish this forever and I’m glad you like yours as well.” He had figured out the little mechanism with the bracelet, though it wasn’t hard to find.  Stepping up to him, she reached up to hug him tightly around the neck, feeling his arms wound around her waist to press their bodies together. “Merry Christmas, Mox.”

 

“Merry Christmas, Kitten,” He kissed her forehead before pressing his head to hers, just enjoying the moment. Didn’t have to buy her anything… he inwardly snorted. She had bought him something and he was beyond happy he had gone with that impulse buy of his because he would have felt like a real jackass opening a gift without one to give in return. “All right, darlin’,” He reluctantly pulled away, though the reluctance was quickly enough replaced with excitement at the thought of exploring Vegas with her on Christmas Eve of all nights. “Let’s go have fun.”

 

Vegas on Christmas Eve was magical.  That was the only word to describe the City of Lights.  Millions of lights lit up Vegas and it was hard not to get into the Christmas spirit.  Some twinkled and sparkled, others flashed on and off…the MGM with the water fountain was a spectacle in itself.  Arm in arm, Jilysa and Jon walked the streets of downtown Vegas, admiring everything it had to offer.  Jon took her to a really interesting Ferris wheel ride, only it was in circular pods that would show the entire city off.  Jilysa felt his arms wrap around her waist to hold her from behind while they rose up slowly, showing off the entire city in all its magical glory.  It made her wonder if him and Leah ever did something like this together.  Did it really matter?  She was with him now, not that cheating slut and Jilysa refused to let anything put a damper on their time together.

 

Not at Christmas, he had brought Leah here but it had been at her request when she had first started coming to Vegas. She had been immersing herself for him and never had had the heart for Vegas, the intense summer heat and the lack of snow had been a serious peeve. At their cores, he and Leah had been very different people who had wanted very different things. Thank Christ they had never had kids, he could only imagine how much different -and miserable- his life would be now, knowing they would have tried to work things out for a baby or some such shit and children never held things together. If anything, kids made it worse when the relationship was already broken. “What do you think of the view, Jil?” He asked in the shell of her ear, his eyes fastened on the city beneath them. Vegas at night, like this, was WORLDS apart from Vegas during the daytime.

 

“I think I’m falling in love with this city.” Jilysa did not mean to say those words out loud, but it was how she truly felt.  Vegas was incredible in every way.  The mountains and Red Rocks, the city all lit up at night with the city bustling with life…it wasn’t anything like Tampa.  Tampa, Florida was BORING compared to here!  Her hands gently pressed against the glass as she took all of it in, aqua eyes wide in wonder and amazement. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.  Tampa lights up for Christmas, but…NOTHING like this.  This is on another level entirely.” The best part was she was experiencing this with Jon. I’m falling in love with him too…and I can’t stop it and it terrifies me.  I can never tell him how I really feel because he’ll bolt…and I wouldn’t blame him. What would Jon say if she told him she was actually thinking about moving to this city?  Vegas was definitely on her list of possible places to move now.

 

Chapter 26

 

Because Jilysa wasn’t one to really sit on what she thought, she did blurt out the idea of moving to Vegas almost as soon as it popped into her head. Jon didn’t say a word at first, though admittedly his first reaction was to have a mild panic attack for… reasons. Nothing very logical but there it was. “I don’t blame you,” Was what he said when he finally spoke, his voice calm and even. “Vegas is awesome.” He wasn’t going to entertain the possibility that it had something to do with him, he didn’t want too. He was enjoying himself with their nothing planned thing they had going, he was trying NOT to overthink things.

 

“It’s not just because of you.  I really love this city and I have a feeling, once I see the Red Rocks and climb them with you,” It was something they had been discussing while in Hawaii together. “I’m going to fall even more in love with this place.  I understand now why you moved here and why you love it so much.  It’s almost as if you’re in another world.” There were other places outside of Vegas to look into.  She didn’t have to move directly TO Vegas, she could look into a few towns and cities over. “I was also looking on the east coast since there’s nice cities on that side as well.  I don’t think I’d like the south or north too much.”

 

“Well, I’ll take you to where I grew up sometime, you’ll really understand then.” This was the polar opposite of Cincy, at least to Jon. He was aware that the homeless and litter issues were identical, Hell Vegas was worse in some ways. But it was warmer, and more inviting. It screamed rich as well, and for a poor kid who dreamt of being a wrestler, it had been everything he never knew he wanted until he could have it. “Oh, here we go,” Now they were on the downward descent and the city shifted with them. “Visit Vegas during normal hours, make sure you see the shitty side of it too.” He advised once they were on solid ground, taking her hand to lace his fingers through hers.

 

“Will do.” Jilysa made a mental note to do that since there was good and bad sides to every state, every city, one lived in.  Vegas was not an exception to that at all.  They left the wheel and continued on their journey to see the different lights and Christmas spectacles, even getting their picture taken with Santa Clause.  She insisted on it and Jon had finally caved in, taking it with her.  They had two copies made, one for him and one for her.  After grabbing a bite to eat, they finally sat down to rest their feet from all the walking they’d done and Jilysa could not believe how delicious the food was.

 

“So what do you think of the pretty side so far?” He asked, knowing he probably shouldn’t take her down some of the more grungy areas because then things got dicey. Amusing, if you were someone like him who enjoyed slumming it every now and again, but dangerous and shady as fuck. “And if you do get serious about moving out this way, the company I went through to find my house is pretty decent.” Meaning they didn’t try screwing you over, it had been a very odd experience, people actually LISTENING to what he wanted and not trying to take him for a ride. But then again, it had been an expensive house and bit of land, so… yeah, maybe that was just what having money was like.

 

“It’s beautiful, lively and very colorful.  Definitely ten times better than Tampa, but I’m aware there’s spots in every city where the less fortunate live.  I was actually thinking of maybe looking a little outside of the city.  Maybe go to the next city over and see what’s there.” It wouldn’t be that far away from Vegas and she was sure the rest of the state was just as beautiful, as far as mountains and country, as it was here.  The Red Rocks were infamous, but there had to be other places that were just as beautiful and majestic.

 

“Ah, I don’t mean the poor in general, I just mean… like New York, New York has a major homeless problem and crime problem, a lot of places are gross, right?” At her nod, he nodded as well, reaching into his back pocket for his can of chew. Jon took a moment to dip into it, considering the view before them. “Same here, and the tourists can be just as bad. I’m not going to lie though, if you have money,” Which she did, he was assuming anyway. “Then this city is awesome and you don’t really have to worry about too much, not unless you wind up in the wrong part of the city.” He had been poor as dirt, growing up in the wrong part of a city, he was NOT ashamed or embarrassed about how wealth seemed to change shit up for a person.

 

“Yeah, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.  I don’t judge anyone for their lifestyle because you don’t know what a person has been through and how they got to where they are today.” Jilysa tried to help the homeless and needy families as much as she could, donating and even volunteering on her days off in Tampa at the shelters.  It wasn’t much, but she did what she could for those who needed help because her life was truly blessed. “I admit, I don’t come from a very bad family.  Well, we were well-off financially and my parents seemed to be happy, for the most part, while I was growing up.  And then out of nowhere, one day, my Mom leaves.  Just up and leaves my Dad, me and my sister, Gloria.  No explanation, nothing.  She ends up sending a letter to me three weeks later with some guy she met in Paris, France and he’s her new husband.  I don’t know how she managed to divorce my Dad as fast as she did, but her marriage to the schmuck is valid.  So she moved to Paris, France with some strange dude and married him on a whim and now they travel the world together.  My Dad is still working as a truck driver, so I rarely see him and he doesn’t call me or anything.  She doesn’t either.  Parents suck sometimes.”

 

Well, she was a better person than he was. Jon did charity for kids and that was about it. He knew he was a selfish person, he had busted his ass for what he had and that poor inner kid was like a dragon, hoarding it all. He wasn’t sure about the new husband bit, not that quick, citizenship and marriage was weird, he knew that from his own marriage and his wife lived literally right across the border. Her mother sounded like a selfish cunt who had been out to either purposefully hurt everyone she had left behind or just so self-absorbed that she hadn’t realized the impact she had had on her children. “Parents do suck. I don’t know who my dad is,” He offered finally, taking her hand and squeezing gently. “My mom is, well was, a crack head. She’s cleaned up now, living with her girlfriend.” His mom had written off dick, he did not blame her at all.

 

“At least she cleaned up and it sounds like she’s happy now.” Chris had mentioned Jon’s mother a time or two throughout the years since their friendship had begun.  When all three worked in WWE, and they would go to Cincinnati for a show, Jon always made time to see his mother.  Chris had explained during one of the times Jon ditched them to go see his mother instead of going to dinner with them.  Jilysa, at the time, thought it was incredibly sweet.  Most boys were attached to their mothers, it wasn’t uncommon, no matter how foul their childhood was. “Vegas seems to agree with you and you have this newfound energy about you that I know comes from living here, as well as being away from the poison that WWE is.”

 

“Yeah, then there’s that.” Jon was a fairly private person, or he tried to be. When he got comfortable and got talking, like with Chris, then he opened up but it took a lot. Jon’s relationship with his mother hadn’t always been so solid, for a very long time it had been quite shaky because of their respective choices but… here they were. Actually, now that he was thinking about it, it gave him hope for his relationships with other people. “Okay, darlin’, the night is young and so are we, let’s go see what the casinos are doing for Christmas Eve.” He stood up, reaching down to help her to her feet as well and smiled, leaning in to brush his lips against hers.

 

“Ooohh, a gambling man, eh?” Jilysa purred playfully, resting her hands on his shoulders and leaned up to kiss him softly. “I’m game if you are.  Been a while since I’ve gambled, so maybe lady luck will be on our side.” They tossed their trash away in the nearby garbage and Jon took her hand once again, lacing their fingers together.  It was so nice being with someone she could talk to.  Drew wasn’t a very good communicator and didn’t like to have deep conversations the way Jon did.  There were so many differences between them…and Jilysa was quickly realizing there was A LOT of things she did NOT like about her soon-to-be ex-husband.

 

If anyone would have asked, Jon would have said he was NOT a great communicator. He wasn’t one to talk to people he didn’t know well, he wasn’t one to share a lot of information just because but Jilysa was kind of like Chris. Easy to talk too and once he got going, he just didn’t stop. It took a special kind of person for Jon to feel that comfortable with. Though… Chris also had a big mouth so Jon did sometimes worry he’d say something to the wrong person about what he had confided. He took Jilysa to his favorite casino, not surprised at all to see the place decked out for Christmas and man was a party in full swing. He nearly cringed when bells and whistles went off, followed by green, red and white confetti and balloons coming down on them.

 

As they found out within the next five minutes, they were a certain number upon arrival and had won a surprise Christmas gift. A two night stay in the penthouse suite and a thousand dollars of gambling money. Jon had absolutely no words as they were asked to pose for a promotional pic, his blue eyes on her.

 

There was no point in hiding it and…it would be a nice slap in the face for both Drew and Leah.  A win-win in her book.  She nodded, letting him know it was all right and Jon moved to wrap his arms around her waist, standing behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder.  They both smiled into the camera, their eyes sparkling because they had just won the two-night stay in the penthouse suite, the most luxurious the casino had to offer and the hotel attached to it, along with one grand.  That was insane and amazing at the same time!

 

“Thank you both, enjoy your stay and when you’re ready to head up to the penthouse suite, please let us know.”

 

“Thank you.  Will that be posted online by chance?” Jilysa was curious and wasn’t surprised when the man nodded his head.

 

“On our social media platforms, ma’am.  Is that a problem?”

 

She shared a look with Jon, both having identical smirks on their faces full of evil and shook their heads simultaneously. “Nope, post away!  Come on, lover, let’s go see if we can win some more money.”

 

They had nothing with them, no clothes, no nothing but the lovely part of this hotel was the boutique. It was an upscale joint, a place Jon would have NEVER dared step foot in twelve years ago. Now, he had no problem in coming in, even in casual, somewhat grungy attire because the staff now knew him and knew he had money to ‘blow’. They could get toiletries -what wasn’t provided anyway- and fresh clothes. Hell, they could just do Christmas here, he knew damn well there would be a virtual Christmas FEAST tomorrow, one he was not responsible for cooking and who needed leftover pizza? “What’s your poison, darlin’?” He asked in her ear, making himself heard over the noise of the games and slot machines, the live music playing from the next room over.

 

“Mmm, can I spoil myself a little?” He nodded and she grinned, turning to softly brush her lips against his. “Jack on the rocks, then.” Otherwise, it was beer.  Sometimes, she drank Tequila and Vodka, but for the most part, she enjoyed a nice stiff Jack and Coke.  That was the ONLY time she drank Coke since Jilysa wasn’t a very big soda drinker in general.  Jon smacked her backside and went to retrieve their drinks while she picked out one of the slot machines to start playing on.  Yes, they could do Christmas here, in that beautiful penthouse suite, and sex each other up while staring at the beautiful lights of the City of Sin.

 

Jon got himself a Jack and Coke as well, not much of a whiskey drinker unless it was a social situation. Whiskey had a tendency to bring out the mean in some people and he had never and would never put him or anyone else in a position to find out if he was a mean drunk just because of what he was drinking. He already knew he COULD be one, if he was in the mood, or if someone pissed him off while drinking but never just from a damn drink. When he returned, he took a seat beside her at the empty slot machine and eyeballed it. They had divided the winnings between them and did what everyone else did, got tokens to play certain games and vouchers for the more luck/skill based ones such as poker and blackjack. “I think we need to make a pact, if one of us wins millions, we both retire to some island.” He joked, setting her drink down on the small ledge between them.

 

“Then why don’t we just retire now since we’re both well off financially?  Something tells me you’ll never retire from wrestling, lover.” Jilysa giggled at his snort, knowing she was right in that assumption and took her drink from the ledge to sip it.  She pulled the lever down and blinked when she got three pictures in a row, winning a crap ton of coins.  She did it again and another small jackpot came rushing out. “This is so much fun!  I think I picked a good machine.” Almost every time she pulled the lever down, she was winning.

 

At that moment, the casino had posted that picture of them all over social media and it was BLOWING up.

 

“Okay, enough with that machine, move on,” Jon laughed when Jilysa started FINALLY losing. Now technically, machines and games weren’t allowed to be rigged outside of the standard ‘odds of winning’, so he knew she was about to hit a streak of bad spins and that was how the casinos got their money back. People would wind up convinced they could get it back. “Here, let’s try these.”

 

People who recognized Jon were trying to take pictures as well, violating the casinos no ‘cameras’ on the premises rule. Social media was beyond blown up. When they had posed for that promotional picture, Jon had thought about his original idea from back in Hawaii and figured tomorrow would be a good time to talk to her about it since the groundwork was already laid out for him, them.

 

“Nope, it’s your turn to see if you can strike some gold.  I’m good with my winnings for now.” Jilysa nudged him toward the machine and watched as he began to lose a few, win a few, lose more, win more – gambling was not a good idea, all things considered.  They nursed their drinks, laughed at each other whenever they lost and won, even hitting up some of the card games like poker and blackjack.  Jilysa ended up winning more on those than the slot machines and they walked away, up to the penthouse suite, several hours later with five digits between them.  It was a very memorable and amazing Christmas Eve and the night wasn’t over yet. 

 

Chapter 27

 

Stepping inside, her jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out at how luxurious and beautiful it was, her hand coming up to cover her open mouth.  She looked back at Jon, who let out a very low whistle of his own and his arm encircled her waist as they slowly made their way further inside.  Jon tipped the man who guided them up here and shut the door behind him, even putting the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign on the door handle.  They had gone and bought some clothes and toiletries from the casino shop, so Jilysa dropped the bag on the floor and stared around in complete awe.  This was a dream.  It had to be a dream.

 

So, Jon was comfortable these days and fairly frugal with his money because he knew that bouncing on shit didn’t mean a thing when you could fall back down into it. Being in a room like this, this outdid the Hawaii honeymoon suite. That had been simple and elegant, this was… “Holy shit, this is extravagant.” He said after a moment, half afraid to touch anything because he was pretty sure that was legit gold inlay. “I kind of feel like that kid from Home Alone right now.” He admitted, moving to stand by her, almost wiping his palms on his slacks because chances were his hands were way too dirty for the likes of this place.

 

“Yeah…I feel you there.” There was so much to take in, Jilysa didn’t know where to start.  However, she knew where she wanted to start and figured they only had two nights here.  Might as well make the most of it.  Reaching down, she pulled her red top over her head, with her back still facing Jon, and dropped it on top of the bag of items they purchased. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to stop gawking and start enjoying this.” She kicked her knee high boots off, along with her socks, and unsnapped her jeans, bending over with straight legs to push them down.  Underneath, she had on a red silk thong with a matching red silk lacey bra.


So, that was not as easy as women made it look, keeping your legs straight while pushing your stuff down. It was a move meant to entice and show off the goods and Jon had no problem in enjoying the fruits of her labor, her teasing antics. Cocking his head to the side, he took in the delicious view of her bare ass cheeks, that red thong showing only a hint of fabric right above said delicious ass and then when bent over, there was the glimpse of her nethers, hidden only by that little swatch of fabric. “Come on now, darlin’, now the rest,” He ordered in a husky rumble, gesturing for her to continue with one lazy, twirling finger.

 

“Mmm…nope, I’ll let you remove the rest for me.  Or better yet, you should do a strip tease for me, lover.” Jilysa suggested coyly, twirling her own finger the way he had and watched as his hands began removing the thermal top he had on.  She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth at the sight of Jon’s massive, muscular chest.  It truly was a sight to behold and Leah was out of her MIND to cheat on a man like this!  They had been really good so far that night, besides the shower sex quickie and hadn’t really made any advances towards each other.  Stealing kisses here and there, holding hands and hugging…all things considered, they were getting to know each other with the perks. “Come on now, show me what’s under those pants, Mox.” Just as he was about to unsnap and unfasten them, a knock sounded at the door.  She rushed off out of sight and wound up tripping over the carpet, sliding face first on the slick, newly waxed floor. “SHIT!”

 

Jon was torn between answering the door, rushing to help her, and laughing because holy fuck that had been something right out of a cartoon! “Hold on!” He shouted while moving to get her off the floor, minding his own socked feet because it wasn’t happening to him, no Bueno. “Darlin’, are you okay?” He asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his tone as he got her onto her feet, turning Jilysa so he could see her face. Who the hell was knocking? Probably hotel staff or something, maybe a complimentary meal… with an order of ice, these floors were dangerous.

 

“Besides being mortified, I’m fine.” Her hands had broken her fall, so they were a tad sore, but at least her face hadn’t biffed it.

 

“Complimentary libations for the winners!”

 

“Christ, just go answer the door.” Jilysa mumbled, wrapping her arms around herself and was slightly annoyed by the amusement in Jon’s voice.  How would she react if he ended up going sailing across the floor?  That image made her crack a smile because she would’ve laughed at him outright.  Sighing while he dealt with whoever was at the door, Jilysa stood up and groaned at her skidded knees, deciding a dip in the jacuzzi was in order.  It was on the terrace, outside, and it was glassed in, so they could still look out at the city while soaking in the jacuzzi.  It was also heated, so being in her bra and thong didn’t make her cold.  Starting it up, she stripped out of the rest of her clothing and stepped inside the hot, bubbly liquid, groaning as soon as she submerged.

 

Libations indeed. Jon finally came inside with his arms LOADED with what could only be described as a massive, over-the-top gift box and he knew damn well this was all a drug fueled trip because there was no way that they had won THIS. “Uh… top shelf whiskey, some really expensive wine…” He set the large gift box on the bar counter, not caring if he marred the polish because the box was HEAVY. “Chocolates…. Glasses with the hotel’s logo, tequila… more chocolates…” John took the whiskey and followed her out onto the terrace. “You okay?”

 

She smiled at him with a nod and raised a brow at the whiskey in his hand, wondering where he’d gotten it.  Either it was part of that delivery he just got from the hotel, she assumed, or from the liquor bar.  This place HAD to have its own liquor bar. “I’m much better now, yeah.” Being sexy wasn’t in the cards for her.  She had been so smooth in Hawaii and now she was a fumbling mess in Vegas! “This jacuzzi is definitely making me feel LOADS better.  Who was at the door?”

 

“Uh, hotel management with this massive box. They had it tricked out in gold wrap with bows, bells, the whistles. This,” John waved the whiskey that he would never buy unless it was for a very, very special occasion just because of how pricey it was, and this was a pint. He could get a fifth of Jack Daniels a lot cheaper than this pint. He set the bottle -it was already cold which was very nice- down by the ledge of the jacuzzi, beginning to shed the rest of his own clothing. “There were expensive ass chocolates, some gold foil wrapped snacks, I think, and some pricey wine. Any of that sound good, darlin’?”

 

“Any woman who denies chocolate, unless it’s for a medical reason, needs to be slapped.  I bet those snacks are delicious too.” She had noticed the very expensive whiskey too and grabbed the bottle to read the label. “I’ve never heard of this stuff before.” She raised a brow at Jon, having a feeling he either had heard of it and never drank it before or…he was just as lost as she was. “Is it even whiskey or is it scotch?  It looks more like scotch to me.  Wanna open it and test it out?”

 

“You do that, I’ll go get that box, might as well put these muscles of mine to use.” He was completely naked now and without any shame. She had seen his goods multiple times. He returned with that big ass box and began unpacking it while she opened the bottle of potential scotch, setting everything out so Jilysa could see it. Chocolates, some weird rich people snacks, more liquor, that wine he had mentioned. He raised an eyebrow when she finally sipped the now open bottle. “Well?” Jon was admittedly curious, he had never had scotch before though he was also unwrapping one of the chocolates. He agreed with her ‘needs slapped’ statement, it applied to men too.

 

It was strong…strong and smooth at the same time and did NOT taste like whiskey.  At least, any whiskey she had ever drank.  She could be wrong, but this definitely tasted more rich and had depth in flavor. “I’m not sure, give it a try and tell me what you think.” She handed the bottle over and reached for a chocolate, unraveling it to pop it in her mouth.  It was an almond truffle and it was DELICIOUS.  If the rest of the chocolates and rich snacks tasted like this, she would be in heaven for the duration of their stay here. “I don’t think it’s whiskey.”

 

If they kept getting foods like this over the next day, or however long this stay was, Jon was going to have to do an OMAD diet or some shit on TOP of hitting the gym like crazy to lose all the empty calories he was definitely planning on ingesting. Binge days, cheat times, were well worth it and he was planning on doing a lot of binging. “Mmm…” Jon slowly took a sip, letting it roll over his tongue before finally swallowing. “not whiskey, though I’ve never had scotch before.” But this was definitely not whiskey. It did make him wonder where she had had scotch at, was that something her husband drank?

 

Suddenly, it was as if a light bulb clicked in her head and she actually backed away when Jon extended the bottle to her.  She slowly shook her head and took a few deep breaths, doing everything in her power to fight back tears.  That wasn’t just ANY scotch.  That was Drew’s favorite kind of scotch, the brand and everything.  The taste and texture…the smoothness, she recalled drinking it with him a time or two. “I’m sorry, you can have it.  I don’t want anymore.  I’ll drink the wine instead, if you don’t mind.” Her voice had changed, a deep sadness lacing it and she leaned her head back as the jets began massaging her back.

 

Jon had a feeling his thought had been either right on the mark or pretty damn close and he shook his head. He capped the bottle and put it right back in the box, hoping out of sight and out of mind would help here. He slid down into the water beside her, after popping opening the wine and wrapped his free arm around her. “Would it be a total chick thing if I said drinking wine and eating chocolates sound like a game plan?” He asked quietly, feeling her body give a shake with a single laugh and smiled slightly. Well, that was something.

 

“It IS a total chick thing, but I won’t tell anyone if you won’t.” Jilysa snuggled against his side, taking a drink of the wine and then leaned up to share it with him, feeling him tighten his hold on her a little.  She moved to straddle his lap, so it was easier for them to share the bottle back and forth and…Jilysa just wanted to be close to him. “That is scotch and I know it because it was the bastard’s favorite.  The brand and everything.  When I took a drink, I remembered it because I shared it with him a few times.  He had bottles of the stuff in the condo back in Tampa, thousands of dollars’ worth, and I opened them all and poured them down the sink.” She shrugged, having zero fucks to give and nuzzled his neck affectionately. “I’ll drink beer, cheap whiskey and wine and eat chocolates with you any day of the week over drinking that expensive shit.  Thank you, Jon.”

 

Jon KNEW those bottles were expensive, his memory of the bottle being top shelf came from a club, most likely anyway. Now he just had another reason not to drink it, on top of the ridiculous price. “You… all of it?” He asked, trying not to grin because the reality was ouch. At her nod, he popped another chocolate in his mouth and washed it down with a sip of the wine, his electric blue eyes practically glowing with wicked amusement. He bet the idiot Scotsman bawled like a bitch if he ever found out. “My kinda woman.” He laughed, letting his head fall back against the ledge as he stared into her face.

 

“Hey, he wanted to fuck another woman, or multiple women, for all I know, behind my back.  He deserved to lose all 20 bottles of that shit.” Drew was a heavy drinker whenever they were home, which was another issue in itself with the marriage.  He didn’t go out and party hard with the others while they were on the road, but at home, he could knock back a bottle of that scotch in one night by himself. “He bought it in bulk and kept it in our room in the closet in an airtight compartment.  Then he’d come home, throw a bottle in the freezer, already having a bottle ready in the fridge.  I asked him one time when we were home off the road if he wanted to go out and do something, like a date, instead of staying at home drinking and he turned me down.” That had been the beginning of the end, now that she thought about it because shortly after that incident, Jilysa noticed a change in Drew’s demeanor and attitude. “He loved that scotch more than me.” Sad but true.

 

Twenty bottles, that was like… a mortgage for a small house or something, Jon’s mind was rebelling against that knowledge because that was some EXPENSIVE scotch, who the fuck had TWENTY bottles of that shit?! The man had issues, serious fucking issues. Obviously, he had cheated on this lusty, vivacious, beautiful woman with Leah… who had overly thin lips and a weird chin. Jon knew he was getting over that bitch and his nose wrinkled in disgust. Apparently, he and Jilysa did not have good taste or make good decisions when it came to picking out a potential life partner. “Sounds like he’s turning into an alcoholic, darlin’,” Providing he wasn’t already there. Jon knew he drank a lot but he didn’t stock up on the shit just to have it there constantly. He bought what he knew he was going to drink as a general rule and this shit with the divorces and all that didn’t count as far as he was concerned.

 

“The thing is, he was never like that when we first started dating.  It was his favorite scotch, but he never bought it in bulk like that.” Jilysa admitted with a soft sigh, just enjoying snuggling with Jon and talking…actually conversing with him.  They were completely naked, pressed against each other and there was no sexuality in it.  This told her instantly they had a connection that went beyond sex and that was a huge relief. “He rarely drank because he was obsessed with keeping his body lean and in shape.  I know he was really frustrated with the injuries he sustained after signing with WWE, though, and I noticed he started drinking more frequently a year after we were married.  He was depressed, frustrated and angry because he had put his faith into the WWE system to make him a star and it amounted to nothing.” Jon had been there partially for it and they had some wars together right before Jon’s exit from the company. “Then, he started picking fights with me, staying out late with the boys, coming back at obscene hours smelling like smoke and perfume.  He admitted to going to strip clubs with the boys, and at first I believed him and thought it would just be a onetime thing the first time it happened.  But it started happening a lot and I noticed he had marks on his body that I didn’t put there, so I stopped fucking him.  I stopped sex with my husband cold turkey because I knew he was cheating on me.  It wasn’t just going to strip clubs with the ‘boys’ for a night out here and there, like he claims.  And I still don’t know if SHE was the only woman he fucked around with or if he banged those nasty strippers at the clubs he went to with the boys.  Thank god, I got myself tested as soon as I discovered the markings on his body and I didn’t get any awful diseases or STDs from his screwing around.” Secretly, she had Larry, one of the WWE medical staff, test her and her insurance took care of it.  Due to the WWE NOT providing insurance to their wrestlers, because they were considered independent contractors, only the employees that were behind the scenes and in corporate were offered insurance.  The wrestlers, unfortunately, had to find their own insurance and Jilysa had stuck with WWE’s policy while Drew had found his own, so he had no idea about the testing she had done.

 

Chapter 28

 

That was just gross. That whorebag could have spread some seriously nasty shit to her, and it occurred to Jon he could have also been on the receiving end of said nastiness because they never used condoms. But then again, they both had gotten tested and both had come back clean, thank the Lord. She had been lucky in that she had gotten out as quick as she did because Jon had seen Drew’s temper and he still swore that the man had been about to hit her that night at her condo, after Thanksgiving with Chris and his family. That would have been a short leap to outright abuse other than mental and emotional. His arms tightened around her briefly as he kissed her temple.

 

Jilysa knew, without a doubt, Drew would’ve struck her down that night, if Jon hadn’t been there to stop him.  Granted, they didn’t have an abusive marriage, but…he had hit her once before while drunk.  It had been a month and a half prior to catching him and Leah in his dressing room.  They had been fighting about him going out with the boys again because she wanted to try to work things out with their marriage.  Drew had gone for the door, she stopped him and his elbow had flung back, colliding with her face.  Now, Jilysa didn’t know if it was done deliberately or not, but after that incident on Thanksgiving night, outside of the condo, she wasn’t so sure anymore. “It’s easy to talk to you, Jon.” Slowly, she began kissing up his jaw and caressing his chest, taking her time. “You actually listen and pay attention to what I’m saying instead of blowing it off or pretending.” Her lips brushed against his cheek before her aqua eyes met his, her breasts brushing his chest. “It means a lot to me.” Her mouth captured his in a slow, sensual kiss, both tasting each other and her fingers slid over the top of his short hair, dampening it.

 

“Mmm, does it now?” Jon rumbled once the kiss had broken, the taste of her, chocolates and wine now dancing on his tongue. His eyes had darkened to a deeper shade of blue from that slow, sensual kiss. Today, tonight, had turned out way different than what he had been anticipating this morning when he had put on those Grinch boxers and been dancing around his little tree with his stogies and beer, not that he was complaining, at all. Everything had turned around since she had shown up at his door and this so far, was turning out to be the best, luckiest Christmas ever.

 

For the next several hours into the early morning of Christmas Day, Jilysa and Jon christened that penthouse suite, not able to get enough of each other.  She didn’t know if it was the wine and chocolates or just Jon in general, but Jilysa never had so much sex in her life.  Well, besides Hawaii, but there was something different about being with him this time around than back then.  Both penetration and foreplay.  Lots and lots of delicious foreplay from both sides.  Jilysa never came so hard and so much in her life, losing track of all the orgasms Jon got out of her.  She didn’t jingle for him like he wanted, but boy did she sing his praises until her voice went hoarse.  In that basket, along with the chocolates, sweets, wine and scotch, there was also lubricant and a bag of sex toys they had experimented with.  It had been hidden discreetly in the basket and the lubricant had a warming sensation as soon as it was applied.

 

Waking up sometime after noon, Jilysa was deliciously achy all over and slid from the bed, needing a shower.  Jon remained asleep in the bed and she looked back at him, touching her still slightly swollen lips with her fingers, grabbing her phone in the process.  First, she sat on the toilet to relieve herself while the shower sprays warmed up.  As SOON as she opened her social media, there it was clear as day in front of her.  The picture of her and Jon, looking happy together after winning the 2-night stay in this penthouse suite, along with the money.  Fans all over the world were BLOWING the comment thread up and it was then Jilysa had text messages galore on her phone.  It had also been blown up.

 

WOOO you got him good, girl!  I want details!! Jess being Jess.

 

Please tell me you hit that! Another friend of hers from Tampa, who knew all about what had transpired between her and Drew.  She was actually their neighbor in the condos.

 

Since when are you and Jon hanging out and sharing penthouse suites together in a casino? That was Christopher and she laughed at the text message following that one. Please tell me you two had a little bit of the bubbly, at least!  Call me!  Merry Christmas, you filthy animals!

 

WHAT THE FUCK, JILYSA?!  CALL ME RIGHT FUCKING NOW, YOU WHORE!  YOU ARE STILL MARRIED TO ME!  YOU ARE STILL MY WIFE!!  HOW COULD YOU FUCK AROUND WITH AMBROSE LIKE THAT?!  IT WAS ONE TIME WITH ME AND LEAH!!  YOU HAD NO RIGHT DOING THIS TO US AND THEM!! Naturally, that was from Drew and he had apparently gotten a new cell phone because she didn’t recognize the number.  She had blocked his old number and promptly blocked that one too, refusing to acknowledge him.

 

Jilysa, I need you to call me immediately!  It’s urgent and regards your employment with AEW! That was the one that caught her attention immediately. “Shit…” Was there a no fraternizing rule within AEW or did Brandi just want the details of what happened between her and Jon?  Something told her it was more than that, so she decided a shower first and then she would deal with all this backlash.

 

Nah, that was Cody. Before he had passed out from sheer exhaustion last night, Jon had sent both Chris and Cody a text to warn them about the social media explosion that may occur and to run his idea from Hawaii to the boss man. Now, technically, he should have run it by her first but after that sad bit about Drew, Jon hadn’t felt right in bringing it up, especially not after he had gotten her into a good mood and they had started celebrating THEM, fuck their exes.

 

Jilysa had no idea Jon had done that because she had passed out before him.  So many thoughts ran through her mind, thinking it was Brandi who wanted to talk to her.  Either way, she didn’t regret taking the photo and didn’t care who knew her and Jon were hanging out together.  People would talk, spew hate, talk crap and she didn’t care and she knew Jon didn’t either.  After a shower, she wrapped a towel around her head and body before slipping on a terry cloth robe and took her phone, walking out onto the terrace to make the inevitable phone call.

 

“Okay, first of all, I think this is a brilliant idea.” Was Cody’s excited voice greeting her, totally skipping the hello’s. “I’m not even going to lie, part of the brilliance is being able to stick it to those bastards.”

 

“Good morning, by the way,” Came Brandi’s voice, sounding amused and apologetic. “He’s been up for hours chugging coffee. And has Jon spoken to you yet? He said he was going too.” Not that Cody was giving Jon any time, that text had been sent rather late last night, or this morning rather.

 

“B-But I…um…no, no I haven’t yet…” What the hell had Jon done?  Jilysa was beyond confused at the moment and listened as Cody literally RAMBLED in her ear for 10 minutes about this idea he had in mind.  And he admitted it to being Jon’s entire idea.  In a nutshell, Jon had an idea from back in Hawaii he wanted to run by Cody, but never got the chance to.  He wanted to use Jilysa by having her on television with him, by his side, to stick it to Drew and Leah.  Was that the whole reason why Jon invited her out here to Vegas in the first place?  Was all of this because of a stupid storyline he wanted to pitch to Cody?  It was one thing to take a picture together and have it posted on social media, but this…Jilysa felt something harden inside of her and she shut her eyes, not believing how stupid she was to believe Jon cared about her.

 

“So, you interested?”

 

“I’m sorry, Cody and Brandi, but no.  I’m not interested in doing anything on television with Jon or anyone in the company.  I just want to do the job you hired me first originally and that’s it.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a flight to catch and I’ll see you all on Wednesday.” She hung up before Cody could try to convince her otherwise and walked over to stare out the window, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

 

Now, that all sounded pretty bad but it was NOT Jon’s intention to use, not like that. It had never been his intention to use her in a way that would hurt her. However, by the time Jon woke up, Jilysa was in the middle of another phone call, he could hear her scheduling the soonest available flight out of Vegas. Frowning, he sat upright, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he focused on her. “Kitten? Everything okay, darlin’?” He asked, his voice harsh from literally just waking up and began untangling himself from the Egyptian cotton sheets, his bare feet hitting the waxed floor a second later. His first thought was that there had been a problem or an emergency, something, back home.

 

She held her hand up in a one second gesture, nodding while the airline finished booking her flight. “Good, thank you so much.” Her payment had gone through on her credit card and she had two hours to get to the airport.  She was fully dressed back into the clothes she came here in and had taken half the money they had won because it was rightfully hers. “I got a call from Cody this morning, Moxley.  No, actually, I got several text messages first and then I called him because he wanted to talk to me about something you discussed with him.  I don’t see HOW I missed it, but I missed it.” Taking the necklace off, she set it on the bed in front of him on the Egyptian cotton sheets, trying to fight back fresh tears.  Jilysa had been crying on and off since that phone call with Cody and Brandi ended. “So glad to find out that all I was to you was a way to boost your career.  I thought you were different, but I was wrong.  All wrestlers are exactly the same – users!  And for the record, I would NEVER do a storyline with you in AEW because I never want to be in front of a damn camera!  And I don’t appreciate you going behind my back and talking to Cody and Brandi about this before discussing it with ME first!  I would’ve told you fuck no, just like I’m doing so now!”

 

“Wait, what?” What the fuck was she talking about? Jon went to stand before her but was smart enough to stay out of slapping or kicking range, his eyes landing on the necklace. The snowflake he had bought her, hoping it would signal that Christmas didn’t have to suck. Well, it was Christmas morning and so far, it was sucking and he finally realized what she was talking about. “Darlin’, Jilysa, that is NOT what I was trying to do. I WAS going to talk to you about it, AFTER Cody cleared it. I didn’t want to bring up an idea that might not go anywhere and I’m not trying to use you!” Why would she think that?

 

“It’s just awfully funny how you invite me out here to Vegas, we come to THIS casino that you frequent often, ‘win’,” She did the quotation marks with her fingers. “This 2-night stay in this extravagant, luxury penthouse suite, ‘gifted’ chocolates and wine and Drew’s favorite brand of scotch, have hours of mind-blowing sex and THEN…then you call Cody and you tell him about that picture we took.  You warn him about it and then you proceed to tell him about this stupid, ridiculous storyline idea you’ve had in your head SINCE HAWAII!” Her voice had risen with those last words and the tears began to fall down her cheeks.  Jilysa stepped back when he took one forward, shaking her head. “You used me.  You fucking USED me for your career!  You used me to get back at your cheating wife!  And it wouldn’t surprise me if ALL of this was planned out by you from the beginning since you’re a conniving, ruthless BASTARD!!”

 

“Are you fucking kidding me, Jilysa?” Was she STUPID? She really was if she believed any of that. Life was not a TV soap opera, shit didn’t work that way and he was very obviously NOT THAT SMART because he kept going for psycho women! “I invited you LAST month on a spur of the moment thing, darlin’, and I warned him about it, it’s all over social media.” God, was he really going to argue with her? None of this, with her, had benefitted him in any way outside of his dick getting wet and he knew in this moment, she wasn’t going to believe him. “The idea was just that, an idea I had in passing and I didn’t think about it again until last night. I don’t CARE what you think or believe.”

 

“And I don’t CARE what YOU think either!” She wanted to believe him.  She really wanted to, but a lot of coincidences factored into this.  Too many. “You should’ve talked to ME about it first before you pitched it to Cody and you didn’t.  And you’ve obviously had this on your brain since Hawaii, so don’t try to feed me some bullshit about not thinking about it until last night!” Jilysa had trust issues and Jon knew that, so for him to go to Cody to pitch this idea, without her consent, did not set well with her at all.  What else had Jon done behind her back that she didn’t know about?  For all she knew, he had skank after skank in his house screwing them while she was in Tampa after leaving him in Hawaii! “By the way, I told him I’m not doing it and I just want to do the job I was originally hired for.  And I’m done with all of this.  I’m done being used.” First Drew and now Jon…she had reached her limit. “I have a flight to catch.  Merry fucking Christmas, Jon.” What had started out as the best Christmas Eve of her life had turned into the WORST Christmas Day ever.  Sniffling, she stormed out of the penthouse suite, leaving him standing there naked and flew out of the casino to head straight for the airport, crying the entire way. 

 

Men sucked, all of them SUCKED!

 

Women were nothing but stupid, drama inducing bitches! All of them! Cody had obviously not bothered to inform her that Jon had said it didn’t really matter either way, it had JUST been an idea. Hell, Cody would have come to Jon if Jon hadn’t said a thing because the man had a brilliant, somewhat twisted mind but at least he wouldn’t have forced it on them like the McMahon’s might have tried. Jon remained in that stupid, posh penthouse, letting her take her ignorant ass back to Hell where she belonged. He had KNOWN better. Any woman who was that eager to basically hop on his dick CONSTANTLY like she had when they had gone to Hawaii was the one doing the using and she hadn’t liked the idea that it could be done to her. Even though he hadn’t been even thinking along those lines. Fuck women.

 

Chris got it from BOTH of them when he was stupid enough to ask them each how it went. For the first time EVER, he didn’t push or press for more info. What. The. Shit.

 

Jilysa made it CRYSTAL clear to Chris and Jessica to keep their noses out of her personal life from now on.  Whatever went down in her life, unless she wanted to talk about it, they weren’t to press or ask.  Only talk about information SHE volunteered to them and nothing more.  Her love life was OFF-LIMITS!  By the time the first show of AEW in 2020 rolled around, which was exactly one week later, Jilysa was back to herself…mostly.  She met with Cody and Brandi to discuss the website and social media aspect of it before being shown to a small office, where she could work quietly.  Or as quietly as the arena would allow.

 

Chapter 29

 

“Did she seem…colder to you, babe?” Brandi asked, once they left Jilysa’s office and felt Cody wrap his arm around her.

 

“Yeah, but as long as she does her job to the best of her ability, that’s all we need to focus on.”

 

Brandi nodded in agreement, looking back at the closed door with no name on it and headed with her husband back to their own office.

 

Pulling her laptop out, it was time to get to work her first night in the company and Jilysa would not disappoint.  Her first order of business was posting on the AEW website and on all of the social media platforms that Jon Moxley was named Sports Illustrated Wrestler of the Year.  That was a HUGE accomplishment and she would never take anything away from the man’s brilliance in the ring.

 

If Jilysa couldn’t do her job because of personal issues, she never would have been. Cody didn’t know that she was HAVING issues, all Mox had said was ‘scrap it man, it was just a lousy idea anyway’ and that was that, but he DID know she was very professional. Jilysa had never once taken her personal animosity with someone out on their career as a social media coordinator, she had had that position for a brief while yet after the cheating incident and he knew she had still done right by Drew McIntyre and the WWE, even though Drew Galloway was a giant cunt.

 

Jon was working AEW and Japan, he was going to keep himself busy and his head down until his divorce was finalized. He was done with women, they were nothing but trouble, and he wasn’t looking to have his heart ripped out, semi-repaired and then crushed ever again, no thanks. He had informed Chris to mind his own business and Chris had seemed to take it to heart, Jon didn’t trust him. Chris was a busybody, prying jackass who would wind up with a bottle of his ‘le bubbly’ up his fucking ass if he didn’t mind his own. He had wanted to chuck that bracelet, throw the damn thing in the burn pit with every other bad memory he had burnt. He hadn’t. Instead, he had tossed it in a jewelry box with her necklace and buried them at the back of his closet.

 

Professional all the way.  Social media was no place to post personal feelings because backlash was a huge problem on the platforms.  It was best to keep what she was feeling on the inside and strictly focus on doing her job.  Truthfully, despite staying in the wrestling business, Jilysa loved what she did for a living.  Brandi had texted her a few times, asking if she needed anything and she had sent back she was fine, but to look at some headlines she had in mind for the website.  Jon and Chris were about to go head-to-head in weeks at the next pay-per-view event.  February, actually, so a little more than a month.  They had to start getting the ball rolling with this and it helped that Jilysa also watched the program, so she could understand all the storylines happening.  For the past week, she had caught up on all of the AEW programs and pay-per-views thus far, just so she knew exactly what was going on in the company.  Deciding to take a small break, she stood up from her desk, closed her laptop and left to go grab a coffee from catering.

 

“Well hey there, honey,” Adam looked genuinely pleased to nearly be running into Jilysa, his blue eyes lighting up at the sight of her. He had been heading to catering for a quick bite and a coffee and nearly walked right into her at the door. “Sorry about that, Jilysa, I wasn’t even paying attention.” He opened the door for her with an apologetic smile. The last time he had seen her, well the only time really, they had gone for dinner at a diner down the way and had a great time -at least he thought they had- and it had been a bit creepy to come out and find Moxley hanging out around her car.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Adam.  No harm done, cowboy.” Jilysa smiled back at him, recalling the only time they had gone out for a bite to eat, after Jon abandoned her.  Granted, it was for a medical reason, but then again, that could’ve easily been a lie.  The man wasn’t trustworthy, as far as she was concerned.  No man was trustworthy in her eyes, not now anyway. “I was just on my way to grab some java before getting back to work.”

 

“Same here,” He laughed, ducking in after her and inhaled. Yes, Cody had listened to valuable feedback and stopped serving that swill he had called coffee. That shit had been just as bad as the stuff you would find in a cheap motel’s ‘coffee’ packet, disgusting. “First night, right?” She nodded and he remained behind her, letting her get her coffee and whatever fixings she wanted first. “Slow going?” He was expecting it to be, not many of the wrestlers were going to want to hand their accounts over to a former WWE employee. Someone would have to take that step and show she wasn’t the enemy. Or, maybe some would just be embarrassed to ask for help. Hm.

 

“Actually, no, I’ve been pretty busy throughout the night so far.  Some of the women wrestlers came to me asking for advice about their accounts and I’ve been completely revamping the AEW website and social media platforms.” Not only was she hired for social media coordinator, but Cody and Brandi had asked if she would do some web design as well.  Jilysa had a degree in it, which she’d done online while in WWE and they had paid for it while she worked for them.  Going to school and working at the same time – it all just gelled really well together for her.  That was prior to the company going down the drain.  She sipped her coffee and made a face before adding more creamer to it, trying it again. “Mmm, better.  I like a little coffee in my creamer.”

 

Adam’s eyes had grown a bit on the large side as she had kept adding that creamer, finally laughing at that cute little remark of hers. “Clearly, Jil,” He chuckled, moving to make his own -sugar and no creamer tonight. “Sometime you oughta try it the other way around, I hear it’s damn good that way.” He was teasing. Adam had his online persona and he was usually pretty good about keeping his personal business off his social media accounts, his Instagram, for example, was… a lot of AEW shit lately. “Do anything interesting for the holidays?” Hopefully something not depressing since her divorce and whatnot… he felt like a jackass for even mentioning it.

 

“You don’t have to play coy with me, cowboy.  I know you saw the picture, like everyone else, on Christmas Eve with Moxley.  And I’m not going into detail about it.” Jilysa needed a sip of coffee, or creamer coffee, whatever one wanted to call it and walked over to sit down at a nearby table with him. “All I will say is we had a falling out and I left on Christmas Day to go back to Tampa, where I currently live.  I’m trying to find a suitable place to move right now, actually.  What about you?  How was your holidays?”

 

“Wait, what picture?” Adam asked curiously, shaking his head when she raised an eyebrow. “I went home for Christmas to see my folks, honey, Aaron’s Creek don’t have much in the way of signal for anythin’ so I took a social media break.” Not that he had had much choice. His folks still used a landline just because it was more reliable than their cell phones, especially in the winter. So she had spent her Christmas with Moxley, he was guessing there was a story here and made a note to check out social media later and catch up on what he had missed that she wasn’t willing to talk about. Falling out with Jon, not that hard to do, the man was a dick lately.

 

Now she felt like a colossal douchebag for assuming he had seen the picture on social media. “I’m sorry, I thought everyone had seen it by now.” Yes, she had spent the holiday with Jon and it was both the best and the worst of her life.  Why did she get sucked into the possibility of him wanting her for more than just sex and to use her for a storyline?  She really thought she could build a relationship with Jon and be with him.  The fact she had already fallen in love with him was the most crushing part.  Jilysa pulled her phone out and swiped her finger a few times on the screen before handing it over to Adam to see. “We won a 2-night stay at a casino in Vegas in their penthouse suite, along with $1000 dollars.  I guess when we walked in, we were the 500th customer that night or something.  I don’t really remember.”

 

“Hey, that’s pretty damn cool,” Adam said with a grin, though the grin faltered when he seen the flash of pain flickering through her aqua eyes. It was said that eyes were the window to the soul, to the heart, and hers were very expressive, revealing everything and it tugged at his heartstrings. Curiosity had him wanting to ask what had happened but the manners his momma had instilled in him reminded him it was none of his business. Whatever had gone down in Vegas hadn’t ended well, or at least he was assuming and assuming made an ass out of people. That one came from his daddy. “You want to grab a bite after the show? I don’t really know any places in this town,” Not like the last time. “But I’m sure there’s somethin’ good out there.”

 

They were in Jacksonville and, lucky for him, she had been here quite a few times and knew the area well.  Even though she had sworn off men, would it be wrong to have one as a friend?  Jilysa didn’t know a lot of people in AEW besides Chris, Cody, Brandi and…Jon…at least, she thought she was getting to know him, but she’d been dead wrong in that assumption.  Adam seemed like a genuinely nice man and they both had to eat dinner, eventually. “Sure, what are you in the mood for?  There’s a lot to choose from around here, but I will warn you, almost every place will have some kind of seafood.”

 

“That’s fine, I’m sure I can avoid it all the same,” He joked, nodding down at her. “I don’t care where we eat as long as it’s not fast food.” Stuff made at sit down restaurants, especially the smaller more mom and pop places, were marginally healthier. “I’ll let you get back to your work honey,” Adam needed to exchange numbers with her or something but felt it would be rude to offer or ask when she was likely busy and he had already taken up a lot of her time. “Meet you here by the coffee after the show?”

 

“Or you could text me when you’re ready to leave, if you want?” Jilysa made that offer and took his hand, pulling a pen out that was tucked in her hair on her ear.  She jotted down her number for him, clicking it closed and winked at him, seeing his cheeks tinging red. “You better get going and try not to let Omega take all the glory this time.” Feeling a lot more at ease and better about being here, Jilysa made her way back to her office while Adam went to gear up for his match.  He was currently doing a tag team thing with Kenny Omega, but something told Jilysa that partnership would be short-lived.  They would eventually feud, according to what she’d watched thus far and how they interacted with each other.  She was looking forward to how that would unravel and entered her office to get more work done.

 

Jon had caught the ass end of that exchange and it only cemented what he had began assuming about her. She had jumped his dick in Hawaii like right out the gate and continued doing so. He had invited her to Vegas for Christmas as a spur of the moment thing, after expressing his doubts to her about anything other than sex because he was concerned about the rebound effect or one of them getting hurt. Still, came and jumped his dick again. She had bailed the first time in Vegas, bailed the second after assumptions and now Jon was just thinking that she was a bit of a slut because she was moving onto the next guy quite easily.

 

But he would never say those words outside of his head and he knew why. Because he was just as wrong as she was. He hadn’t been using her and she hadn’t been a slut. There was just a lot of miscommunication and distrust here and he wasn’t planning on fixing it because he didn’t think it would be worth it in the end, not if she was already setting up dates.

 

It wasn’t a date with Adam.  They were going to get something to eat after work and that was it.  What was wrong with that?  Absolutely nothing!  Jilysa would not be sleeping with another man anytime soon, deciding she was staying celibate for a while.  She had trust issues with all men, even Adam, and it would only take time to get over them.  Adam was a complete gentlemen and she could see them being friends, but nothing more.  People could think what they wanted and talk behind her back about jumping from one man to the next.  It didn’t matter because she knew the truth of her situation.  Men could use women and not be stigmatized for it, so why couldn’t women use men for their own needs?  It was a double-edged sword.

 

Nobody but Jon was thinking that. Jon wasn’t one to spread gossip or trash talk someone he had been intimate with -not anymore anyway. Besides Leah, the cheating whore and even then, what he had said had been said to friends, in privacy and with the understanding it wasn’t going anywhere else. Fact of the matter was, if she kept bouncing from one wrestler to the next, she was going to get a reputation because that was the way the world worked.

 

Jon for example, had had one HELL of a reputation in his earlier days and he had been a self-professed man whore. This was all karma coming back down and around to knock him on his stupid ass for being such a cock bag in his youth. “No.” He grunted when Chris fell into step alongside him.

 

Chris didn’t say a word, at least not whatever Jon had been expecting. “Don’t let it fuck up your work, babe.”

 

“It won’t.”

 

One thing about Jon was he remained professional and did not let anything cloud his judgment or distract him from doing his job in that ring.  The ring was his life.  Wrestling was his life.  Chris wondered if Jon had been on social media recently because Leah had posted a rather…interesting picture of her and Drew together.  Apparently, they were dating now, out in the open, while still married, just legally separated.  They had absolutely no fucks to give and looked…sickeningly happy.

 

Chapter 30

 

At that moment, Jilysa came across the picture and just sat there, leaning back against her chair with narrowed eyes.  As if cheating on her wasn’t bad enough, Drew was FLAUNTING that betrayal for the entire world to see!

 

Equally bad was the fact that only days ago Drew had sent her that horrible text, berating her cheating ass for FUCKING AROUND ON HIM and openly flaunting it! Now he was just paying her tit for tat. Drew was a scumbag, plain and simple, and this was him being petty. He wanted to try reconciling with his cold fish of a wife and she had been fucking Moxley of ALL people, that mangy mutt. If she wasn’t able to work through their rough patch, then he wasn’t going to waste any more time on her.

 

Adam, back on social media now, had taken the time to catch up on everything he had missed and cringed. He usually was one to post what he wanted without any fucks to give and had to actually stop himself from speaking up about that. None of his business…. But damned if that wasn’t cold.

 

It was extremely cold and evil.  Part of Jilysa, a very small part, was happy that Drew realized they would never reconcile, while the other very LARGE part of her felt the familiar heartache and betrayal wash over her all over again.  This was the woman he cheated on her with and now Jilysa knew, without a doubt, it wasn’t just ‘one time’ like Drew had sworn.  No, they had been screwing each other for a while and if Jon didn’t believe that, he was dumber than a box of rocks.  That meant Leah had probably started cheating on Jon even before he left WWE since Jilysa knew Drew had been cheating for six months prior to catching him in the act with her.  Granted, it was all speculation, but seeing this photo of them together, looking happy…it got the wheels turning for sure.

 

So, eventually, as the night wore on, Jon got wind of what had been posted on social media. It was annoying, seeing people giving him weird looks, some even pitying and that just didn’t settle well with him at all.  Finally, he had asked Chris what was going on and then had had to apologize for snapping because Chris being the cock he was had made a comment about ‘not supposed to be telling anything’ because Jon had made it clear earlier he wasn’t talking about ‘it’. Ugh. Drew and Leah were a couple, he felt so gross right now. So very, very gross and it was just another nail in his ‘not dating ever fucking again’.

 

Once the show ended, Jilysa had contemplated canceling dinner plans with Adam and going back to the hotel to drink a fifth and cry.  Then she thought about Drew with Leah and how, if she wallowed in self-pity and heartache, they would be winning.  She REFUSED to let them win.  So, she swallowed down all the negative feelings and decided to go to dinner with Adam, responding to him when he sent her a text message. I’ll meet you in the parking lot in 5. She texted him back and began shutting everything down, zipping her laptop in her bag before heading out, making sure to lock the door behind her.


Jon was there, leaning against the hallway wall across from her office, his eyes guarded. He wasn’t surprised when her entire body stiffened, betting he was probably making her night even more spectacular. “Now that we’re both a bit calmer, and hopefully less pissed with each other,” He said slowly, his voice carefully measured and modulated. “I wasn’t using you, Jilysa. I actually liked you. It was an idea I had in Hawaii and obviously, I never went anywhere with it until that social media post from the hotel, that’s what reminded me about the stupid idea and why I got a hold of Cody. I should have ran it by you first and I didn’t, I’m sorry for that. I still don’t care if you believe me or not.” Because this was for HIS peace of mind. Whether she recognized truth anymore wasn’t his problem, he was retiring for the night with a case of beer and a massive salad loaded with all the good stuff, including strips of steak. “Night.” It came out gruffly but at least he had said what he wanted, heading down the hall.

 

I’m already out here. See you soon.

 

“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Jon.” She called out to him, stopping him from walking away from her.  He had only taken a few steps before she opened her mouth, refusing to let him get a say in without her responding. “I don’t know if you’re lying to me or not…and I want to believe what you just said is true.  You’ve never given me a reason not to trust you, but…it’s hard for me to trust anyone right now.  Man or woman.  And I know you either heard or seen those cheating bastards of ours together splattered all over social media…” Her aqua eyes turned icy suddenly, her fists clenching at her sides and she could feel the hatred slowly filling her heart for those two. “I want to make them pay.  I want to bring them to their knees and make them WISH they never laid eyes on us.  And since WWE is exploiting them for all its worth…then…” Jilysa could not believe the words that were about to come out of her mouth. “I’m in.  We both really have nothing left to lose at this point, so think it over tonight and if you still want to do this idea of yours, we can meet with Cody and Brandi to discuss how to go about doing it.  I really should go, Adam is waiting on me to go to dinner as friends.” She had sent him a quick text asking to wait a few more minutes and he told her to take her time in response.

 

“It was a stupid idea and it cost me something I thought I wanted,” Jon said after a moment, shaking his head. “Best just to let it lie and move on, Jilysa. Those two can have each other and you know eventually, they’ll wind up cheating on each other.” No relationship got started the way Drew and Leah’s did and didn’t wind up going through Hell, doubt would eventually creep in and maybe even another round of cheating, let them sit and stew. Why she bothered putting ‘as friends’ in there, he didn’t even care, he felt so goddamn tired right now, reaching up to rub between his eyes. “I need to go get my elbow wrapped, enjoy your night.” With Adam. As friends.

 

So now he wasn’t interested in doing the storyline with her because she had freaked out?  Jilysa shrugged it off, deciding it wasn’t worth trying to convince him.  Once Jon’s mind was made up about something, there was little that could change it.  She had learned that much about him in the short amount of time they knew each other.  Hurrying to the exit, Jilysa was relieved to see Adam still waiting for her and he’d been out here for a while. “I’m so, so sorry, Adam.  I did not mean to make you wait this long for me.” Dinner was on her tonight.

 

“No, you’re fine, I was just playing a game,” Adam laughed, showing her his cell phone screen. Some puzzle game he occasionally played to while away the time when he was waiting or on the road and not behind the wheel. He liked reading too but carrying a book in his back pocket wasn’t as convenient.

 

Jon wasn’t interested in doing anything with her period, not when she had had two freak outs in a relatively short amount of time. This woman, who he had known as more than an acquaintance for a little over a month now- had crushed him twice in that short amount of time because of her irrational, jump to conclusions or spazzing behavior, he was NOT setting himself up for a third time. Nope, not doing it. Nuh uh. “Fucking sucker…” He muttered, talking to himself now.

 

Jilysa was done with Jon Moxley.  They had some great times together and she would cherish them, but she had to move on.  Yes, she had freaked out twice and there was no excuse for either time.  Then again, she STILL didn’t trust Jon completely and didn’t know if he had only invited her out to Vegas to use her to catapult his career.  It sucked she missed him and she knew she’d been in love with him…no, she still was.  It happened too fast and that was a dangerous kind of love.  Jilysa wore her heart on her sleeve and had fallen very fast for Drew and then Jon…she was done doing things fast with men. “Follow me in my car.  I know the perfect place to go for a bite.” Adam nodded and they went their separate ways to go to their rentals.  Tonight was strictly going out to dinner as friends – nothing more.

 

Story of her life. As friends. Nothing more.

 

Adam was amused at the place she had picked, it was honestly not what he would have expected but she hadn’t been kidding about the sea food thing. Everywhere he had seen advertisements or neon signs about sea food. Fish fries, all you can eat shrimp, it made sense given Jacksonville’s location. “So, any particular reason for this place or you just know it’s good eatin’?” He asked conversationally once he had joined her before the door leading into the place. He frowned, tempted to reach out and brush away a lock of hair that had escaped her do, her aqua eyes looked sad again. He imagined what she had seen tonight hadn’t done her any favors. “We don’t have to do this, Jil. I can find my own way, honey.”

 

“What?  Oh no, no I’m fine, Adam.” Jilysa cracked a small smile while they were waiting to be seated and were guided to a booth, taking their seats.  Adam waited for her to do so first and she took a sip of water, feeling parched.  Then, she shrugged her black cardigan off, her top a white silky sleeveless buttoned-up blouse.  She had black dress pants on and black pumps, wanting her first night to be as professional as possible.  Her hair was pulled back in a bun still, but little wisps of hair had managed to escape and she had a simple white gold necklace on with a small cross, something her father had given her.  Jilysa wasn’t that religious, but she had her own beliefs she didn’t shout to the world.  This was a memento from her father and it was why she wore it frequently, especially when she needed a dose of faith in her life. “Thank you for inviting me out tonight.  Did you spend all of your holiday in Virginia?”

 

“Yes ma’am, I did.” Adam was drumming his fingers lightly on his menu, perusing the section that wasn’t seafood. Nothing against it and he wasn’t allergic but if given a choice, he’d take steak over shrimp and lobster any day. Now shrimp ON steak was also good and he seen that they had that, grilled shrimp with onions over steak, with a side salad and a baked potato, he knew exactly what he was having and not at her expense. “I keep a residence there, close to the family home and help out with the horses when I’m there.”

 

Jilysa had eaten so much seafood the last few weeks, she was over it.  Hawaii, Vegas, Tampa…no, she needed something MORE than just freaking seafood.  So, she decided to get their chicken fettuccine alfredo with broccoli, bacon bits, extra sauce and made sure the chicken was well-done – grilled, not fried.  Adam went with steak and shrimp, both ordering a beer.  One wouldn’t hurt them to drive back to the hotel since they were eating and drinking. “That’s nice to be around family during the holidays.  My family is scattered, so I wasn’t able to see them this year.” And she wound up spending Christmas Eve with a man she didn’t fully trust and made a mess of things.

 

She had told Jon her mother was probably in Paris somewhere with her latest husband and her father was a trucker who she didn’t have much contact with. She never volunteered that information to Adam so he took it at face value and nodded. “Well that’s a shame,” And it was, he figured that was something people in this line of work had to deal with though because of the constant travelling and sometimes making it home just wasn’t in the cards. Not for her it sounded, it sounded like the issue was on the other end. “Tell you what, next year, if you’re scattered, you can come home with me and hang out in the stables.” He joked, winking at her to let her know he was just playing.

 

Virginia…what would Christmas be like there?  Probably a lot of snow and it’d been so long since she saw snow, besides being on the road for work.  But to actually stop and appreciate nature and snow, in general, hadn’t happened in a very long time. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She joked back, taking another swig of her beer and tried not to think about what Jon was doing at that moment.  Here was this deliciously handsome cowboy in front of her and, even though she was slightly interested in what he had to offer, she could not get Jon off her mind.  That troubled Jilysa and scared her because she didn’t want to be hung up on another man so soon. “Your match was great tonight.  I’m just wondering when either you or Omega are gonna turn on each other and start feuding, though.”

 

“Oh, now that would be tellin’, honey,” Adam drawled, amusement sparkling in his blue eyes as he considered her. One of the awesome things about AEW was the fact that nothing was scripted and there were no writers. Well, he shouldn’t say not scripted but the guys had reign over their storylines and that meant only a handful of people, or just the ones involved, usually knew what was going on. Less leaks that way as well as keeping everyone on their toes and the people entertained. “What do you think is gonna happen? If you’re anywhere near close enough, I might… think about telling you.”

 

“Nah, I will sit back and wait and watch what happens.  My prediction, however, is you turning on Omega since you’re on a roll right now.” She leaned forward a little, dropping her voice with a smirk on her face, feeling more at ease the longer she sat here with Adam. “Between you and me, I think you should’ve won the first ever AEW championship.  Christopher is great and all, he’s a GOAT, but new blood is always better and I think you had that match with him in the bag.  I understand why the company made him champion because he is a household name and all, but you also proved you could stand toe to toe with him in the ring.  You’d be surprised how many people are talking about you these days, cowboy.  And your female fanbase has exploded.”

 

“Ah now, I already know all that,” Adam was well aware of his female fanbase though he did not exploit it like some of the guys did, no thanks. He liked his body STD free and without all the drama. He cleared his throat, pushing a strand of his naturally curly hair back behind his ear since it had escaped his tail. “As for Chris, given who he is and all he’s done, putting him as the face for now of the company was a smart move, but he’s been working with a lot of us backstage too.” Which was NOT a bad thing because the man had YEARS of experience.

 

“It sounds like the younger generation is actually listening to what he has to say too.  Smart move because you can’t go wrong with following his lead.” Chris truly was one of the greatest of all time, a veteran and his name was stapled in the minds and hearts of every wrestling fan on planet earth.  He was a household name and brand, not to mention a Rockstar.  In order to get them off the ground and to be taken seriously, they needed a household name like Chris Jericho as the AEW champion and it was working.  They would be at one million fans before long and would keep rising until one day, they could compete with WWE head-on instead of with their developmental brand, NXT.  It was sad that NXT was better than anything Raw and Smackdown! had to offer, which were the main brands of WWE.

 

Chapter 31

 

Adam wasn’t concerned about the competition with the WWE, all their talent lay with NXT and everyone knew it. He figured competition was a good thing because it forced everyone to up their game, not that AEW wasn’t already doing that, they were new, they had to come out swinging and maintain that every night. Since Chris had been with WWE and then wrestled basically everywhere, he knew enough to be more than useful. But right now, that was neither here nor there, and he was hoping 2020 was a year of great things. For the company, for his friends and family, and for himself. “Yeah, well, we’d all be foolish if we didn’t,” He laughed, knowing that a lot of them were foolish.

 

“Very true, cheers to that.” She chuckled, clinking their beers together when he held his up and they both took a long swig of it.  That hit the spot.  She really needed a cold beer after what she discovered earlier at the arena…and her talk with Jon.  If it could even be called that.  No!  Jilysa would not think about him and pushed the guilt aside she felt for the way she’d treated him.  Deep down, she knew she was wrong for the accusations she tossed his way, but he STILL should’ve come to her before Cody about his idea.  That bothered her greatly that he’d gone behind her back to their boss with a storyline idea, when she wasn’t even part of the active roster in the first place.  That made it look like he was trying to take control of her career and being sneaky about it. “So cowboy, you got a special lady in your life waiting for you back in Virginia?” If this man was single, she’d be shocked.

 

“Nope,” Adam said without hesitating, shaking his head. “I thought me and my childhood sweetheart would turn into something but…” He trailed off with a slight frown, finally shrugging as he finished his beer. He knew their food would be out soon enough and he inhaled, trying not to groan at the mouth-watering smells emanating from the kitchen. She had picked a great spot if he was going by aromas alone. “Being with a wrestler isn’t for everyone, I think we all know that, anyone who is in the business in any capacity,” And being a wrestler meant it was hard maintaining a relationship when you were on the go a lot. He didn’t fault anyone for not wanting to pursue something with a person who was never home.

 

“Yeah, it is very difficult.  I dated a hometown boy for about 2 years before I met Drew.  I had my job with WWE and he couldn’t handle all the days I was on the road with them.  He kept telling me ‘oh you can work from home as a social media coordinator, that’s not a real job anyway!’,” Jilysa mimicked her ex’s voice, shaking her head sadly. “Needless to say, it was the best decision I ever made to leave him and then about a year later, I met the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with.  Oops, I was wrong about that too.  So it doesn’t matter if you date in or out of the business – love sucks, period.” Wow, that came out of nowhere and she finished her beer off before requesting another one.  It actually felt really good to say that out loud, however. “Anyway…” This hadn’t turned awkward at all…NOT!

 

Wow that came out bitter as all holy Hell and Adam didn’t fault her for it one bit though he was also concerned that she had just blurt all that out to him and she barely knew him. He kinda wished it was because he was just that kind of guy, she was comfortable with, he had a feeling it wasn’t and she had just gone through way too much, too fast and too soon. “If it makes you feel any better honey, I’m not looking for love, sex, or anything else besides company and the occasional dinner.” He was trying to lighten the mood, feeling a mite relieved when the waitress appeared with their food.

 

“Thank you.” Jilysa murmured, after the waitress set their food down and left, appreciative of his sweet words. “Because all I can do right now is friendship with you, Adam.  I wasn’t sure if these dinners were meant to be something else or not, and I’m glad you set my mind at ease with that.” She gave him a genuine smile, wanting to be his friend and she did feel some sort of trust towards him. “This looks amazing.” She had eaten here every time the WWE rolled into Jacksonville and made sure to order something different every time.  So far, nothing – absolutely nothing – disappointed her as far as the menu went and they had excellent beer too.

 

“Nah honey, if I ever start looking to dip my toes in that pond anytime soon, with you, I’ll be sure to give you a proper heads up,” He was busy cutting his steak while all the delicious butter, cheese and sour cream finished steaming in his baked potato. Adam glanced over at her with a grin, winking to let her know he was teasing. Unlike some people, he wasn’t out to look for love or sex with someone who was still having issues from her prior relationships, that was just a recipe for disaster and he had a lot more common sense than that.

 

Some people being Jon. Jon had absolutely no common sense when it came to Jilysa. Everything he knew he should do, he tended to do the opposite.

 

Dinner was delicious and made in silence since both were starving and the food was too good for conversation.  That was how one knew the food they consumed was insanely good is when all that could be heard was silverware scrapping against plates and sips of their beverages.  The melting ice still clinking against the glass with each sip.  By the time they were done, both were stuffed and Jilysa felt like she could fall out right there at the table.  Everything, all the emotional turmoil she’d been through lately, was starting to settle in and weigh her down.  She didn’t sleep very well these days and was actually contemplating taking something to help with her insomnia issues. “So, since AEW doesn’t do house shows or live events, do you work in other promotions like some of the other wrestlers?” Like Jon, for example and Chris.

 

Adam had a toothpick in his mouth, leaning back comfortably in his seat as he let his stomach settle. He hadn’t eat to the point of bursting, that was in no way healthy, but he definitely would not be ordering dessert tonight. Not unless it came in a to-go box. “Not at the moment, I don’t. I did the whole bounce from promotion hustle and this suits me a bit better at this time, this slow pace.” He still had money socked away and then there was the family business he helped with on his downtime, which he was also a part of. Adam loved his horses. “In time, that may change but for now, I like this. It’s a good balance for a wrestler, the work and personal/home life balance with AEW.”

 

“One thing I will say about AEW is they definitely care about family.  I’m really glad they gave all of you guys the entire holiday week off to be with family for Christmas and even New Year’s Eve.” There had been a party the previous night, but Jilysa hadn’t flown in until earlier that morning and she spent New Year’s Eve at home in the condo, searching for a new place and state to live.  WWE pushed their talent far too much and overworked them to the point where there were always injuries floating around.  It wasn’t a good work environment, especially after two weeklong tours overseas WWE did.  Sooner or later, that took a toll on even the strongest and now she was in a company that actually cared about their employees instead of looking at them like they were expendable.

 

Nope. Nope. Nope. Wrestlers used to push their bodies to the breaking point for this job, and he had too at first. Maybe that was why now he wasn’t in a hurry to rush out and work elsewhere even with that option, because he knew he wasn’t going to be wrestling into his 70s like some of the Legends and he wanted his body to be decent shape, not agonizing every day. “Yeah. Hey, since you know Jacksonville, want to recommend me a place to stay tonight?” Because he had not handled that ahead of time like he should, he had been a bit late getting in.

 

He needed a place to stay?  Oh boy…Jilysa took a sip of her third beer and pulled her phone out to start checking if there were any other vacancies in the city. “Okay, well, there is ONE vacancy, but it’s on the outskirts, about a half hour from here.  Fortunately for you, I have another suggestion, if you’re interested.”

 

“I’m listenin’.”  Adam had picked his beer up to take a pull from it, leaning forward a little.

 

“Well, there are no other vacancies in the city because of the show and another huge event going on.  The hotel manager told me when I called a few days ago to rent a room for the night.  Turns out, they had to give me a room with two queen beds.  It was all they had.” Jilysa didn’t know if this was fate or what, but they were friends and friends helped each other in a time of need. “If you want, you can have one of those beds for the night, unless you want to try your luck at that sleazy motel a half an hour from here.  I wouldn’t recommend it, though.”

 

Adam was now in the process of getting out his wallet, refusing to let her pay for his expensive meal though when the waitress appeared and Jilysa handed over a card immediately, with a serene smile no less, his jaw dropped. “Oh now honey, you have to pick out a dessert to go, my treat.” He wasn’t even kidding, wondering if they also did coffee to go and asked.

 

“Yes, sir, I think we have apple pie, chocolate cake and cheesecake left, just a slice or two of each.” Maybe. She was a bit surprised when he said box it all up.

 

Mostly because he’d probably wind up having dessert for breakfast and then hit a gym. Adam sighed and settled back again, his blue eyes returning to Jilysa. “I’m not looking to put you out or put you in a stupid situation, honey, though I do appreciate the offer.” It was a damn good one too and much more appealing than risking a sleazy place but he also knew she had just gotten double dosed with social media bullshit.

 

“Cowboy,” She folded her hands on top of the table with that same serene smile on her face, after setting her wallet to the side. “We’re friends, right?” He nodded. “And friends help each other, right?” Another nod. “Well, I’m SURE if the situation was reversed, you would offer the same thing to me that I am to you.  It shouldn’t matter that we’re opposite sexes.  We’re friends and you’re a friend, who needs a safe place to sleep tonight and I have an extra bed.  We’re not sharing a bed.  We’re just sharing a room.  I don’t see anything wrong with that and there are so many rumors going around about me and Moxley and my soon-to-be ex-husband right now, I really don’t care what people think or believe.  I’m telling you, I know this area really well and that motel a half hour from here is HORRIBLE.  I stayed there once and there were bedbugs.  Do you really want to wake up with a bunch of bedbug bites on your body?”

 

She was something else. No, none of that shit should have mattered and in a perfect world it wouldn’t have but this was not a perfect world. Social media was already having a field day with her romantic drama and he had become acutely aware that people were now looking up Jilysa Galloway due to her romantic links to Drew McIntyre and Jon Moxley. “Not particularly,” He admitted slowly, already exhaling slowly because he knew he was going to agree to this. “I’m just not keen on being a reason to ruin your reputation or anythin’, Jil.” Because people were jackasses.

 

She chuckled at that, shaking her head. “Believe me, cowboy, my reputation is already in shambles.  If anything,” The chuckling stopped, the carefree tone in her voice gone and it had turned serious. “You should be worried about your own reputation by associating yourself with me.” It was the harsh, cold truth of the matter. Until this divorce blew over and people moved onto the next thing, she’d have to endure and deal with it.  The waitress returned and she slipped her card back into her wallet before jotting down a 25% tip, finishing her third and final beer. “Well then, shall we?”

 

**Make a note to change what happens with Adam on this night 1/1/2020 Jacksonville, Florida – Commentary, followed by refusing to join the Elite in the ring after the tag match with Omega and the Young Bucks and Cody comes out to join them too**

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Adam carefully took the bag with the boxed desserts in it and passed over her to-go coffee. “You’ll have to add your own creamer, honey, I hope they left you at least three-fourths of that cup empty for it.” He teased, not worried about his reputation. Sad fact of life was that men didn’t usually take hits in their reputations, not unless a smear campaign went on.

 

The actual fuck. This was just not Jon’s night. He had remained at the arena to grab a shower before coming down this way. Bars, food, he was grabbing food to go before heading to his cheap as fuck motel and depositing it in the equally cheap fridge before knocking back a few in somewhere grungy, lowkey, someplace that felt like home. And this… this made his stomach drop, the sight of Adam and Jilysa walking out of that damn diner together, another dinner date, chatting animatedly with each other.

 

“You really shouldn’t have bought dessert.  I’m too stuffed from dinner, it’ll probably go to waste.”

 

“Honey, don’t worry about that.  It’ll be eaten one way or another.” Adam drawled teasingly with a wink, placing his hand on the small of her back while walking her to her car. “I’ll follow you over then.”

 

“Sounds good, see you there, cowboy.” She decided to let him handle the dessert and slid behind the wheel of her rental, not surprised when Adam didn’t immediately head to his own.  Jilysa buckled up and started her ignition before waving at him and he finally went to his own to hop in behind the wheel.

 

Neither saw the icy blues watching them leave the parking lot together with Adam following her.

 

Adam figured dessert would keep in the mini fridge, all hotels and motels had them, and could be eaten cold. He liked his sweets. He sang along to the radio as he followed her, unaware that Moxley had seen them again and that he had just made an enemy.

 

Hell, Jon wasn’t even aware Adam had made an enemy. He just knew he was PISSED. She had spazzed on him more than once, decided because he hadn’t come to her first over an idea he had forgotten and then remembered a month later….. ugh. He felt like ripping out what was left of his hair. The woman, that freaking thirsty, nympho had wormed her way into him in ways he was NOT liking.

 

The only one Jilysa was thirsty for was Jon, trust or not.

 

Chapter 32

 

Once they arrived at the hotel, Jilysa checked them in and guided Adam up to the room they would be sharing.  Just as she told him, two queen beds, one bathroom, small fridge, TV and dresser.  That was the gist of it. “Okay cowboy, make yourself at home and if you don’t mind, I need to use the bathroom and change into something more comfortable.” She also needed to get out of these damn pumps that were killing her feet. “I shouldn’t be too long.” Grabbing her bag, she made her way to the bathroom and shut the door, groaning as soon as she slid the pumps off. “Oh sweet Jesus…”

 

Sure enough, as Adam had predicted, social media had already gotten wind of them arriving at the motel together. A fan, in town for the show no less, had been outside in the parking lot, smoking a cigarette and uploading pictures from the show to her Instagram. She was tagging the shit out of Chris Jericho, hoping to get his notice, when she spotted Adam Hangman Page, nearly shrieking. The shrieking died when she realized he was there with some woman.

 

Adam was not on social media, or his cell. He was busy rifling in his bag -after putting away the dessert- for sleep attire. He didn’t need a shower, he hadn’t wrestled and had showered prior to the show but he was also in the habit of sleeping in the nude. For obvious reasons, he would NOT be doing that tonight.

 

With a Mickey Mouse black and white nightshirt and black socks, Jilysa walked out, running her fingers through her hair.  It had been pulled back in that bun for HOURS and it felt incredible let it loose.  She had natural waves in her hair, so it pooled all around her shoulders and down her back. “Bathroom is all yours, cowboy.” She announced, watching him turn with his black flowered long sleeved dress shirt unbuttoned all the way, showing off a nice expanse of his muscular chest.  Adam really was a beautiful man, both inside and definitely outside, but…he wasn’t Jon.

 

Nope, he sure wasn’t. If he had been in Jon’s shoes, he would have done things a lot differently and he wouldn’t have been dumb enough to let them get hurt via acting out of grief and sadness mixed with lust. Adam may not have been as worldly as Jon but he definitely had his shit together a lot better. “Nice shirt, honey,” He chuckled, having let his own hair down, it was falling in a buttload of curls, something he had hated as a kid but now… now he rocked it proudly and it worked for him. “I’m a Donald Duck kinda guy myself.”

 

“Donald Duck is awesome.  Not as awesome as Goofy, though.” They both laughed at that comment and she knew she was decent since the nightshirt went to her knees. “I actually love the Disney Villains, but it’s hard to find pajamas with them and Mickey is classic, so can’t go wrong with the mouse.” Adam saluted her, making her giggle and then made his way into the bathroom to change into the clothes he had in his hand.  She picked the bed near the window and sat down, finally pulling her phone out to check a few things.  Just because they both entered the same hotel together, didn’t mean people knew they were sharing a room.  This was actually the hotel most of the AEW stars were staying in and they did arrive in separate cars, so it didn’t look as bad as it should have.

 

What the shit?

 

That was Chris Irvine and Adam was a bit confused why the big dog was texting him. ??? He set his cell on the counter, shucking the rest of his clothing and folding it neatly to rest on the back of the toilet.

 

You and Jilysa arrived together.

 

Chris was a nosy one but then again, he had known Jil a long time and Adam could see why he might be concerned. I followed her back, she told me about an extra bed in her room since my dumb self didn’t book one. It was a little white lie mixed with some truth since it really wasn’t anyone’s business and he wasn’t looking to add fuel to her already burning fires.

 

Chris, knowing Adam was a decent guy, took his word and let it rest.

 

Staring out the window, it began to rain and Jilysa stood up to push open the curtain to look out, wondering what Jon was doing at that moment.  She wanted to call or text him, to apologize for being an irrational idiot.  Drew had given her so many trust issues with his betrayal and it didn’t help he was now in a relationship with the same woman he cheated on her with.  A text message was currently written on her phone, three simple words she couldn’t bring herself to send to Jon. I miss you. That was until she sat down and accidentally hit the send button, her eyes widening at the screen lighting up. SHIT! Was there a way to cancel a text message or delete it after it was sent?!  No, no there wasn’t and she collapsed back on her bed, placing a pillow over her face. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

 

Yeaaaahhhhhh, sure you do, Kitten. Jon thought with a snort as he read it, a bit surprised she had actually sent it. He was on his third draft of the night, sitting at the bar in some shady joint, listening to guys playing pool, classic rock on an old-school jukebox. Jon had a very terrible thought and it was a damn good thing his cell was right there on the bar top before him and not in his hand or he would’ve sent it. He was curious if she missed his dick opposed to him. That would be the anger talking. Why? He finally sent back, glad he hadn’t jumped the gun on that one. Things that he initially thought right out the gate and then what he thought after having a moment to think were two very different things.

 

That was a fair question and Jilysa didn’t know how to answer it.  Or if she even wanted to answer it.  Why did she miss him?  Was it the sex or did it go beyond that?  No, it definitely wasn’t just the sex.  She missed his voice and talking to him about anything that popped in their heads.  He had a weird sense of humor that was dry and she loved it.  She missed being in his arms as he held her and holding his hand while they walked along the Vegas strip, looking at Christmas lights.  She couldn’t convey all of that into a text message.  There was also the trust factor because she didn’t know if Jon had only invited her to Vegas because of that storyline idea, to add more fuel to the fire.  He claimed he didn’t and the idea had come to him in Hawaii, but he hadn’t mentioned it.  Then, he went to Cody after that picture they took at the casino.  Everything about that night fell into place TOO easily and it made her uneasy, as a result.  Did Jon use her or was it all just big coincidences? I have no idea, but I do and I didn’t mean to send this, so just forget about it, okay?

 

Do chicks learn ‘just forget about it’ in school? From books or movies? Is it passed down as a catchphrase? It’s stupid and saying it is just as stupid. Nobody is going to forget just because you say so and even then, all it does it make the other person curious. It’s like click bait. Jon would never understand it and he was now on his fourth beer -his last because he wasn’t getting drunk here, buzzed was even pushing it because the last thing anyone needed was him blasted everywhere for getting drunk and being a fool. He wasn’t apologizing for the idea thing anymore, he had already told her twice, once during their tiff once while calm. Stupid idea that had popped into his head in Hawaii when the hurt had been very fresh and then it was lost just as quickly. The only reason he had thought about it again was the fact that their picture had wound up alllllll over social media.

 

What the hell do you want me to say, Jon?  Fine, you really want my answer to ‘why’, here it is.  I miss talking to you.  I miss hearing your voice.  I miss holding your hand while walking around Vegas or on the beach in Hawaii.  I miss your smile, your touch and arms holding me, the way you make me feel.  Sex was fantastic with you, but I don’t miss JUST that.  I miss your sense of humor.  I miss how you talked about wrestling and seeing the fire in your eyes whenever you explained a certain match you had.  I’m sure there are other things I miss about you, but those are the ones that popped in my head.  And I don’t know if chicks did learn that phrase from a movie or not, but…in my experience, we say it because we’re scared of saying what’s really in our hearts and minds. She sent all of that back to him in a long text and set her phone on her lap, blowing out a huge deep breath.  He wanted to know ‘why’, he just got his answer and she felt something harden in her stomach, knowing what it was.  Fear.

 

A hundred bucks said, after reading that serious load she had dropped on him, that his dick was what she missed the most and Jon knew it was definitely time to vacate because his thoughts were remaining mean. He knew why too, because she had Adam with her, or had. He didn’t want to know, he did want to know, this woman was fucking him up and he wasn’t entirely sure where it was coming from. Normally, he’d like to think it was his own feelings but now he wasn’t sure of anything because he knew their prior relationships, which had NOT been very long ago, had totally boned them both. Well, it’s a stupid thing to do. Silence is better. He was such an asshole and wished he hadn’t sent it the second he had hit send, seeing the ‘delivered’ status. Fuck all. Sorry. That was out of line. Maybe. I miss you too. Mostly, sometimes.

 

What a DICKHEAD!  She could not believe that was his response and felt tears fill her eyes.  Another man making her cry. Silence is what you’ll have from here on out.  Goodbye, Jon. Jilysa didn’t bother reading his other messages, not wanting to know what else he had to say.  In fact, she deleted the entire conversation and blocked his number, deciding to give him what he wanted.  Silence.  Silence was better, he was right and she was a fool to think and believe something could be salvaged out of this.  Tossing her phone on the nightstand, Jilysa crawled into bed with her back facing Adam’s bed and stared at the wall for a while, letting the silent tears cascade down her face and drip off her nose.  Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.

 

ur a giant btch, you know that? You spaz on me over petty shit and I still tried explaining myself. I makea comment and immediatelye appologize fore it, and you stone wall me open your eyes Jilysa, if ure still looking for your White Knight8, he’s not out there. Noman is perfect and its ducking shitty that you demand that. I’m human I say shit I shouldn’t but at least I own it andapologize. Oops. Forget about it. That was sent AFTER he had gotten back to his motel, knocked back his six pack and was nicely buzzed and fucking livid. In the morning he would so regret it. There was a REASON Jon tried avoiding first reactions because they were stupid, they made you look like a dramatic jackass, and you said or did shit that made no sense because it was based off a first impulse. Jon had totally fallen into that trap. This woman…

 

Luckily, she didn’t receive that message because she blocked his number, which meant no phone calls or text messages could come through.  Jilysa woke up the following morning and Adam was already gone, but he was kind enough to leave a note for her.  Basically, it was thanking her for giving him a place to stay for the night and if he ever needed a friend, he was here for her.  Very sweet.  She tossed the note in the trash and changed into regular clothes because it was time to catch a flight to Tampa.  It would be very short, but still quicker to fly than drive from Jacksonville.  As much as it hurt her, silence was what she would give Jon.  Unless they had something to discuss about his social media account, Jilysa would leave him alone and just focus on getting her divorce finalized and keep looking for a new place to start the next chapter of her life.  Half of her stuff was already packed away in boxes in the condo, but she still hadn’t found anything.  It was time to get serious and start narrowing down where she wanted to move.

 

Yeah, his number was blocked, he got that when he got a ‘message failed to deliver’ return and was immensely grateful that his moment of impulsive stupidity had NOT been witnessed because she was a gun jumper when in her normal frame of mind and there would be no coming back from the impulse hell she’d unleash. So, Jon did what any idiot would do, he went to where she lived, or was staying, whatever, at her condo and waited for her to arrive. He was nursing coffee, he had a bit of a rough morning and had slept for shit, his blue eyes hidden behind sunglasses when he spotted her car pulling in.

 

“Okay listen, Jodi, I really don’t want to go anywhere north while it’s wintertime.” Jilysa hadn’t noticed him at first because she was busy on the phone with her realtor, grabbing the bags from her front seat.  She had gone to the store to grab something to make for dinner tonight since she hadn’t packed her pots and pans away yet.  None of her kitchen, actually.  Just the guest room and part of the living room thus far. “Arizona?  When?  Well, I…” Then she froze with the bags in hand at the sight of her visitor and Jodi saying her name several times, yelling it, jolted her back to reality.  What the HELL was Jon doing here?! “Y-Yeah…Jodi, let me call you back.” She didn’t wait for a response and press the button on her earpiece, ending the call abruptly.

 

Jon really had no idea what he was going to say to her. He had woken up from a rather shitty night of iffy sleep with this half-cocked idea that he was going to go to her damn condo and they were just going to get this all sorted out, one way or another. They were both acting like idiot children at this point and he knew they were both better than that. He was, admittedly, pleased that the cowboy was not with her, not liking the jealousy that had crept in at all. Jon hadn’t even felt like that when it came to Leah banging Drew or being with him publicly, he felt absolutely nothing other than ‘karma is gonna be a bitch’. He drained his coffee before leaning into his rental and setting the now empty cup in the holder before sacking up and walking over to her, slowly removing his sunglasses, ice blue locking with aqua.

 

Chapter 33

 

Thought you wanted silence? Luckily, she didn’t say those words out loud and instead went with something more pleasant. “Hi.” Jilysa really needed to get these bags inside and didn’t know why Jon was here, but the bags were winning. “Come inside, I need to set these down before my arms fall off.” Or one of the bags ripped and then she would be pissed.  Turning, she headed up the stairs to her condo and could hear him following, managing to slip her key in to unlock the door. “Shoes off, please.  I don’t want the carpeting to get ruined since I’m getting ready to sell this place.” She called out behind her, slipping her own off before heading into the kitchen to finally set the bags down. “Christ, my arms…”

 

Well, if she had waited half a second, Jon would have taken some of those bags and helped her out. Neither here nor there, and he removed his shoes, turning to go help her unpack her bags even though he had only been in here briefly once before, not wanting to just stand there and watch like a jackass. “We’re both fairly reasonable, mature adults, this sniping and snarking is bullshit.” That might’ve been a stretch, they were both irrational asshats lately. “And I miss you too.” He didn’t know WHY since she drove him insane in every which way possible but there it was.

 

She cracked a small smile with her back to him while putting away groceries, scratching the back of her neck. “You do?” Jilysa was tempted to ask him why the same way he did her, but that would’ve fallen under the category of snarky. “You’re right, we are fairly reasonable, mature adults and we should be able to have a rational, calm discussion with each other.  I know I’m an assuming bitch and I know I have trust issues.  I’m not perfect.” Far from it since she couldn’t even keep her husband satisfied and happy.  That made her slam a can of tomato paste on the counter harshly. “I meant what I texted you last night, even though I didn’t mean to send you anything.” It wasn’t just sex for her that she missed with him.  It was the whole package, everything.

 

Never in his life had Jon felt… conflicted about a woman using him for sex, until her. He knew a lot of women had that issue, wondering if they were only wanted for what was between their legs. He also knew he had left his fair share of women in that state in his younger years, and it wasn’t something he was overly proud of these days. Feeling uncertain, not knowing if what she said was true, it was a terrible feeling and the brash, ego part of him was informing him to stop being such a whiny bitch and take everything with a grain of salt. He decided he was listening to that voice. “Well, sounds like fate to me then, darlin’.” Hesitantly, he reached out, moving slow so she could see what he was going to do and rebuff him if she wanted. When Jilysa didn’t stop him, he wrapped his fingers gently around her wrist, pulling her towards him. “I’m sorry.”

 

How many times would they do this?  Things were so complicated and Jilysa kept feeling like she was being whiplashed when it came to this man. “No.  It’s my turn to tell you I’m sorry.  You have nothing to be sorry about because you didn’t do anything wrong.” She pressed her finger to his lips before he could protest. “Let me finish, please.  I understand why you went to Cody instead of me first with the idea.  Everything that happened on Christmas Eve is coincidental to you talking to Cody, but I get it now.  It was stupid and immature to storm out and leave the way I did and I’m really sorry.  I have trust issues and it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of patience to be able to fully trust someone again.” With my heart, she finished in thought, slowly pulling her finger away from his lips. “The connection I feel with you is more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt in my life, not even with Drew.  And it scares me, this whole thing between us scares the hell out of me.  And I know that’s why I’ve been irrationally lashing out at you because I’m trying to sabotage it because of my fear.  I’m afraid to give myself fully to another man because I really don’t want my heart broken again.  And somewhere inside of you, I know you feel the same way because of what Leah did to you.” Jon had to have trust issues, just like her…they were one in the same.

 

“I’ve been saying that for awhile, darlin’,” He had told her, several times, he was concerned they were using each other and it was going to backfire. He had been concerned about the rebound effect, and to some extent, he still was. He was worried they were using each other. Or that they were so goddamn damaged from being burnt by their spouses that they had no idea what they were doing besides fucking and fighting, which was not healthy at all. “Every time we do this,” And it had been two, maybe three. “It ends as quick as it starts.” And now it was starting to ache, in ways he didn’t understand, hurt in ways he hadn’t felt with Leah, and he hadn’t even properly known Jilysa all that long outside of Chris. “I want you, to be with you,” Which was him admitting quite a bit and he knew it, inhaling deeply. “But not like this, where we sabotage ourselves.” They had to figure that part out, because if not for her blocking him, he would have dug himself a six foot hole last night with that text. Hell, if she unblocked him and it went through, he might very well find himself there anyway.

 

His words hit her like a ton of bricks and she had to sit down, feeling lightheaded and her knees were weak. “I-I need to sit down.” Not letting go of his hand, or rather him letting go of her, they walked out of the kitchen and sat on the couch.  Jon got her some water and she took a sip of it, then another, not realizing how parched she actually was. “I want to be with you too, Jon,” Her voice cracked under all the intense emotions currently flowing through her body and she laced their fingers together tightly. “But I think if we’re going to do this, then we both need to learn to trust each other.  We need to build that trust and show each other this isn’t just another rebound or because we’re hurting and angry over what those assholes did to us.” Reaching up with her free hand, she caressed Jon’s bearded face lovingly and fought the urge to kiss him. “I truly don’t think you’re a rebound to me because I have feelings for you.  I don’t want just sex from you.”

 

Well, now it was his turn to sit down, dropping down in a chair he pulled up to sit directly across from her without the table between them. He took both her hands in his once she had stopped touching his face, squeezing gently. This wasn’t anything she hadn’t said before, he was having the whole ‘we’ve done this’ feeling again but this time it was going to be different. “How do you want to do this, darlin’?” He asked quietly, knowing taking time to build trust was going to be an ordeal in itself given they both had some issues. “Just… try like before?” Where they had just been going with it, for one day at that, and up until Christmas morning, it had been a glorious day.

 

“I…don’t really know.  We should establish some rules.” That was something they hadn’t done before.  They had been winging it and that didn’t work out for them because Jon had gone to Cody and then she had spazzed because she was still married without being legally separated.  Now, they were both legally separated, could be with who they wanted, but Jon had gone behind her back and she was not all right with that. “How about we pick three rules for each other that we have to abide by?  I’ll go first – no secrets or lies between us.  We need total honesty.  Now you choose one.”

 

Rules wound up broken and Jon let her see the doubt on his face. “I don’t know, darlin’…” He didn’t even know of a ‘rule’ he’d want in place, though it occurred to him that he could probably say something about ‘not dating other people’ and kibosh whatever was going on with her and Adam. Ugh. He needed to just kibosh that in himself right now because he was being a jealous dick for no reason, they were most likely just friends. “What’s going on with you and the Cowboy?” Total honesty and it just kind of flew right out of his mouth, his eyes widening. “I- It’s not my business and I know it.” Jon made a mental note to regain his smoothness.

 

Instead of getting her panties in a bunch, Jilysa found his jealousy adorable and slid her hands up his muscular arms, a soft smile spreading across her face. “Adam and I are just friends.  He’s a sweet guy and he even told me he’s not looking to get me in bed or anything.  To prove it, we shared a room last night with two queen beds.  He didn’t book a room for himself and he asked me if I knew any places around Jacksonville.  I looked up the hotels and the only one that was vacant, I wouldn’t let him stay in because they have bedbugs there.  They screwed up my reservation and gave me two queen beds, so I offered him one.  He was a complete gentleman and left before I woke up.” Total honesty, indeed. “Even if I wanted to have something with him, I can’t because you’re all I can think about.  I don’t have any romantic feelings for cowboy, whatsoever.”

 

Well that was a big relief and a weight off his chest, now Jon didn’t have to pound Adam into paste and ship it back to his parents in whatever hellhole in Virginia he claimed he was from. “So, you two shared a room and that’s proof?” It did not work that way, however. He didn’t care how sweet Page presented himself to be, she was a gorgeous woman inside and out and Page wasn’t a total dipshit. “No more of that, please,” He even made it a request, not as amused by this as she was, she was trying not to smile. “Woman…” He’d turn her over his damn knee…

 

Jealous Jon was adorable and she found herself becoming aroused at his command, not really understanding why.  If she knew what he was thinking, Jilysa would’ve let him spank her and she would’ve enjoyed every second of it.  He had spanked her during sex before and it made her pussy tingle. “I promise, it won’t happen again.” If they were going to be together, then she assumed they’d be sharing a room from here on out when they were on the road for AEW. “Okay, how about communicating with each other instead of assuming things or making shit up in our heads?”

 

If Jon knew she found him adorable when jealous, he would have rectified that. He was in his thirties, that shit wasn’t cute and he was going to have to teach himself to quit it. To not give into those impulses to knock Adam Page straight the fuck out. “That sounds awesome.” Since there wasn’t a lot of ‘traveling’ for AEW like there had been in WWE and he was fixing to spend a lot of time in Japan… mmm. “Want to come to Japan with me?” There he went, with the spur of the moment thing again.

 

“Wait, what?” Then Jilysa realized what was coming up for Jon and her eyes grew wide. “Oh shit.” Jon had a rematch for the IWGP United States championship against Lance Archer, the current reigning and defending champion. “Oh my god!  Shouldn’t you be on a plane right now heading to Japan for your match?!” Was that why he came here, to invite her to Japan with him?  It was the 2nd and his match was on the 4th, so if he didn’t leave today, he would not make it in time for it overseas.  Jilysa had to focus on selling her condo and finding a new place to live, but one look in those icy blues and she found herself agreeing to go. “You have a plane ticket for me already, don’t you?  When do we leave?” Did she even have time to pack a bag?

 

“My flight isn’t for another two hours and no, I don’t have a plane ticket.” He didn’t know she was assuming again. “Honestly, darlin’, I woke up, grabbed coffee and came straight here with absolutely no idea what the shit I was going to say or do, I just knew I needed to see you, to talk to you.” Whether she realized it or not, Jon was not very often a man with a plan, it was one of his more annoying traits and yet one of his best. He had seen and done a lot of nifty things thanks to his habit of being spontaneous and now with the luxury of time thanks to AEWs lighter schedule, he had plenty of time.

 

There was zero time for her to pack and call the airline for a flight to join him in Japan. “I thought you were…never mind, you need to get to the airport.  You still need to be checked in through customs and security before they’ll let you board that flight.” She knew because WWE had plenty of shows overseas throughout the years she’d worked there.  Jilysa had read Jon was stripped of the championship because he couldn’t make it to Japan, due to a damn typhoon.  Mother Nature had screwed him royally and now he was going for revenge and to get his belt back. “Go.  We can talk when you get back at the next AEW show.  But you need to go NOW.” If she had to, she would kick his backside all the way to his car.

 

“Nah, I have…” Jon looked at his cell. “Twenty minutes. Go pack.” Given the insane amount of times he had done this over the past year, he had the routine down. It was basically like flying a domestic flight except you had to have your passport and he did. He was already scrolling for an extra ticket, eyeballing it. “Seriously, go pack. It’s only gonna be for a few days and they have shops over there, Jilysa. They even have a few Wal*Marts now, with costumed characters roaming them.” In fact, it was hella amusing and fun to visit a Japanese Walmart. It was coming OFF the flight that was the fucking hassle, having to clear customs and shit.

 

Chapter 34

 

“Jon, I…” Jilysa squealed when he smacked her backside and she flew into her room, grabbing her bag that wasn’t even unpacked yet.  She shoved clean underwear and bras into it before rushing back out, with her carry-on of what she needed for the flight. “I never unpacked…so I’ll just buy a couple new outfits over there and I already have my toiletries and shit I need…” Was she really doing this?  Running off to Japan with Jon on a whim, just like they did going to Hawaii?  Yes, yes she was. “Did you get me a ticket and how much is it because I’m paying you back.”

 

“Yes, and shut up, just grab your passport and let’s go. You got a copy of a recent physical?” At her nod, he grinned. “Grab that too, darlin’.” A very few short minutes later they were off and he was laughing because for all their issues, they had a lot of great moments, and that’s all they were, moments. But it was the moments like these, where they just did something unexpected and so random, that were turning out to be the basis for what would hopefully be a relationship that would last. “You’ve been to Japan before, right?” He could not honestly remember if she had, if he had seen her at one of the WWE shows but to be fair, she wasn’t someone he had really known until recently. Acquaintances, casual so-so friends, and then Chris’ Thanksgiving had changed it all.

 

“Yes, WWE did frequent overseas tours over there and I do remember the Tokyo Dome is one of your favorite arenas to wrestle in the world.” Jilysa winked at him when he gave her a questioning look, remembering how popular the Shield was in the WWE. “I will admit, I’ve never had much time to really explore Japan since the tours were always so demanding.  And I AM paying for my ticket, Jon.” One way or another, she would find a way to do it since the man wanted to be stubborn.  He merely shrugged as they drove to the airport, holding hands and about to embark on another adventure together.

 

Considering when they had gone the Hawaii route, she had paid for his ticket, and it was his idea. It wasn’t happening. She was just going to have to do the tit for tat on the paying thing with him. Sometimes, he’d pay, sometimes she’d pay, and maybe one day they’d learn how to go dutch. Boarding took two hours, as per usual for this kind of flight and then the flight itself. They weren’t really on a time limit once the show was over, so long as they were back for the next AEW show. He had no commitments or anything, so if she wanted to explore Japan, he was game. In fact, he told her as much during the flight, grinning when Jilysa got a look on her face. “C’mon Kitten, you know you want to say yes.”

 

“As long as we’re back for the AEW show in Southaven, Mississippi, I’ll do whatever you want in Japan.  We’ll have to celebrate once you win your title back.” Jilysa had that much confidence in him.  She didn’t have a doubt in her mind he would win.  Japan had rules and she understood that, but to strip him of the title because of Mother Nature’s fury was a bit much.  He didn’t deserve to lose that title by being stripped of it, but Jon didn’t let it get him down.  He kept trekking forward and she would support him every step of the way, glad she had come with him.  The best part was they were in first class instead of coach, so the chairs were much more comfortable and they had given each of them a blanket and pillow.

 

Like, it had royally sucked that he had been stripped of the title though he had understood the rules. Still sucked. However, there had been silver lining, now it made for great storytelling, him coming back to reclaim HIS belt, all that jazz, etc.  “If you can nap, do it, this is a 15 hour flight, darlin’.” He advised, already arranging himself comfortably, knowing when he got to that wrestling match, he was going to go above and beyond. Things were so different in Japan and it was refreshing, he got why Chris had pushed so many people to try wrestling overseas, it was a valuable experience. “But yeah, we’ll be back in time for the Mississippi show, don’t you worry about that.”

 

“Okay.” Jilysa hadn’t slept very well because of all the chaos between her and Jon.  She felt her body relaxing now that she was back with him again and she would do everything in her power not to lose him a fourth time.  Stretching out in her chair, she didn’t let go of Jon’s hand and squeezed it during take-off, which was the most unnerving part of flying, unless there was turbulence. “I’m glad you invited me to come with you, Jon.” She murmured, letting out a yawn and closed her eyes, out like a light within minutes after take-off.

 

Jon slept like a log. He had slept like shit last night, tossing and turning over that text he shouldn’t have sent and everything else that decided to take up residence in his mind. He woke up long enough to eat, rousing Jilysa as well -first class airplane food was like two rungs above coach, which wasn’t really saying much- and then it was back to lights out. Once they landed, it was another long time in an airport, this time clearing customs and security. It was ass backwards, how this was done, and he had seen more than his fair share of people get turned back around and put on the earliest flight back to their home country for not having the proper documents.

 

Everything cleared, thankfully, and they were released from customs to go grab their belongings. “Do we have to head straight for the arena?” Jon nodded, letting her know they only had a few hours before the event started and he wanted to chat with Lance prior to their match.  He also needed to find out who would be winning the match and all the information, along with giving some of his ideas on what should happen in the match.  Jilysa was simply along for the ride and told him to lead the way, so they hopped into a waiting cab and headed straight for the arena with belongings in hand.  They would have to wait until later that night to go back to the hotel, though he did offer to drop her off and she could find her way to the arena on her own.  Jilysa didn’t want to complicate things for him, so she went with him, even though it was a pain in the backside to bring their stuff with them.

 

Adding her to his room hadn’t been a big deal and the Japanese were polite to the point that it could get uncomfortable, especially with Americans. Since he was becoming known at this place, he always got the added honorific of Mr. Jon Good-San, or if it was one of the guys, Moxley-Kun, which was informal. It was all weird. “We’ll have plenty of time tomorrow to explore, all right, Jily-Chan?” Thankfully, they had a week before the next AEW show which gave them a lot of leeway. He began laughing at the look she gave him. “Just you wait, you’ll get called Chan after your name a lot here.”

 

“That doesn’t mean you have to call me that though, Mox.” Jilysa smirked, thankful they had enough time to stop to drop their stuff off before booking it to the arena.  Jon had noticed they had quite a bit to drag with them, so he ordered the cab to make a pitstop and she was shocked he knew how to speak Japanese.  Where’d he learn that?  It shouldn’t have surprised her since he came over here frequently to wrestle.  Learning the language and whatnot was probably second-nature to a wrestler, who traveled all over the world like Jon did.  She did manage to change her clothes as well, so she was in a pair of black jeans and a red sleeveless top, nothing fancy or over the top.  Tonight, she was DEFINITELY showering since she felt gross from the 15 hour flight.  Jon would be able to shower at the arena, so the shower at the hotel would be all hers, unless he wanted to join her.  She wouldn’t object either.

 

If you weren’t used to it, Japan could be a big culture shock. Fortunately for Jilysa, she didn’t have to use the locker rooms, unlike him. Private, individual rooms were really not a thing and women were not allowed, he realized that AFTER they had gotten there. Of course, there were other backstage areas that they could use. She would get used to being called ‘Chan’, it was basically the Japanese version of Ms., Mrs., and Miss for females whereas San was the formal version of Mr. for men, Kun the informal. Then there was ‘sama’, which was for business and professional use, very formal and he inwardly rubbed his poor migraine away, hoping this trip they could skip the linguistic lesson.

 

Ah, nope, they would not. He had sent a message ahead, letting the powers that be know he was bringing a companion. “Ichiko-Sama,” He said as the small, petite woman in business wear approached them, bowing at her. “May I present Mrs. Jilysa Galloway?”

 

Ichiko bowed to Jilysa. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Galloway-Sama.”

 

She bowed in return, knowing it was the respectful thing to do in this country and smiled. “Pleasure is all mine, Ichiko-Sama.  Thank you for being so kind to allow me to accompany Good-San for his match tonight.”

 

“Not a problem, as long as you follow the rules.  Right this way.”

 

Jilysa was aware of the rules already.  Women and men were separated in the locker room, not allowed in each other’s for any reason.  There was a designated area for guests that came with the wrestlers, whether it be women or men.  Jon and Jilysa were split up for the time being and she softly kissed his cheek, wishing him luck before being escorted to the guest part of the backstage area.

 

“There is a front row seat for you, should you want to watch Good-San’s match later on or the entire show.”

 

“Much appreciated.” Another bow. “Thank you, Ichiko-Sama.” The woman walked away and Jilysa took a seat, pulling out her phone to browse social media since she had nothing else to do for the moment.

 

Jon showered, discussed what was going to happen and idle banter with Lance, chatted with the rest of the guys and sent texts to Jilysa now she had unblocked his ass. He had also learned how to remove messages so he had done that as well with his ‘failed to send’ mistake from the other night. When he was done tapping up, he went to go visit with her briefly, a bit amused the way her eyes widened briefly when she spotted him. “Painted on was a fabric option.” He joked, knowing the material did look tight but it was flexible, and gave his skin breathing room so to speak, which was vital since the MRSA thing.

 

“Well, I’ll give you this much, at least you look more like a wrestler in those than what you wrestle in for AEW.” Jilysa was a little hot under the collar, but it would be disrespectful to do anything sexual with him in front of all these people.  So, she kept her dirty thoughts to herself and could NOT believe how incredible he looked in wrestling tights.  They were shorts instead of the underwear ones, with barbed wire on the hem.  They were hot, plain and simple and the fact he showed off that muscular body of his, made it even better. “You ready for your match?  I know you can’t tell me what happens in it, but please tell me I won’t end up in cardiac arrest watching you tonight?  Can you at least tell me that?” She groaned when he shook his head and felt his arm go around her, leaning against him. “Be careful, Jon.”

 

“I’m always careful, darlin’,” He dropped a quick kiss on her head, squeezing her gently with his ‘good’ arm before stepping away. He had already gotten the elbow prone to MRSA wrapped and just because the medic had slathered it in some kind of triple antibiotic for prevention of staph, MRSA, etc. as a just in case. NOT that he would be telling that to Jilysa, however, she’d probably freak out. But it was Japan and considering the time, effort and money to come overseas for this, he liked to give these bloodthirsty yet excessively polite people a show. “If you need anything, just ask Itchy-Sama.”

 

“Ha, ha, ha.” The woman said from her place without looking up from her tablet. “So funny, Jonny-Kun.”

 

“She’s not as upright and tense as she appears, and she’s good people. She’ll take care of you.” He had to get back to work, frowning slightly at the look on her face. “I’ll be fine, Kitten. You worry too much.”

 

“I care about you.  I wouldn’t worry if I didn’t.” Jilysa noticed how heavily bandaged his elbow was and really hoped he was doing it for precaution. “I’ll be front row, cheering you on.  Ichiko-Sama was kind enough to reserve a seat for me.”

 

Ichiko smiled serenely at Jon when he looked back at the Japanese woman before those icy blues turned back to Jilysa.

 

As much as it sucked she couldn’t hang out with him in the men’s locker room, Jilysa knew they would have plenty of time together at the hotel after the show that night.  She was also grateful for Jon’s advice to nap on the plane because the time difference would’ve really screwed her up.  He dropped a kiss on her forehead before taking off and she remained there until it was time to head out into the arena to take her seat.

 

“Jon-San will be fine,” Ichiko had relocated to sit beside Jilysa, her tablet tucked away and she had even retrieved two cups of coffee. Americans drank, she had noted, a LOT of coffee and she had even acquired a taste for it, during these events anyway. She usually kept to tea during her usual hours. “He is very well liked and respected here.” She wasn’t entirely sure the nature of their relationship, though there were definite rumors even here across the world, but she wasn’t one to assume based on social media. “Unless,” She added with a quirk of her lips. “He calls me ‘Itchy’ again, then I may have to harm him.” Jon thought he was cute.

 

Jilysa giggled softly, nodding in agreement with her. “If someone called me Itchy for a nickname, I’d probably have to hurt them too.” Jon could be such an ass when he wanted to be and she had NO doubt in her mind this tiny Japanese woman could hurt Jon in ways he only dreamed of. “He may be well respected and liked around here, but he also has a mouth that writes checks his ass can’t cash sometimes.” That made Ichiko laugh.  It was so refreshing to talk to someone in Japan that spoke very good English, for a change.

 

Turns out, Jon had to change out of those tights of his because this wasn’t a regular match.  This was going to be a hardcore match with tables, chairs, kendo sticks and anything else.  So, back to the triple zipper pants, he wore for his AEW match earlier that week, it was.

 

Jilysa was not going to like this, at all. Jon really hoped she didn’t go into cardiac arrest since he had told her he was going to be fine, all that jazz, etc. etc. etc. He hadn’t been lying, he WAS going to be fine but hardcore matches… were brutal, especially if done right and not the watered down stuff of the PG Era. Well, this was his job and if she wanted guarantees of ‘all right’, she was in the wrong profession and should probably stop dating wrestlers. As it was, he was psyched up, pacing and ready to go. When it was time, his eyes snapped forward.

 

“They love Moxley here.” Ichiko said, moving to watch as he made his entrance. “If he ever wanted to come overseas fulltime, he would have a place.”

 

Something hardened inside of her upon hearing that because Jilysa knew Ichiko was right.  The fans LOVED him.  He made his entrance through the crowd, who was chanting for him and an overwhelming wave of sadness swept over her.  She was proud of him, but at the same time, she did wonder if he would ever consider moving to Japan fulltime to wrestle. “I don’t doubt it.  I wouldn’t blame him if he did.” She responded in Ichiko’s ear since it was so loud in the arena.  They called him Death Rider and there was a reason for that.  Jilysa instantly noticed the change of attire and swallowed hard, having a feeling in the pit of her stomach this would not be for the weakened heart.

 

And it wasn’t.

 

Chapter 35

 

It was a BRUTAL Texas Death Match to say the least and Jon won it by dropping Lance through two tables with the Death Rider. Lance couldn’t get up for the ten count, Jon had won. But he wasn’t finished. After a discreet check on Lance to make sure the man WAS going to walk away mostly fine, Jon took the mic. Tomorrow night, he and Juice Robinson would be settling up.

 

Ichiko had plugged her ears at that announcement because it had gotten loud. It made sense, from a professional point of view, Jon was in Japan and there would be a show tomorrow, performing back to back since this wasn’t an extended trip was good for business.

 

Not only that, but Juice Robinson was the reason Jon Moxley had been eliminated from the G1 Tournament.  Jon Moxley was the reason for Juice Robinson losing the IWGP United States championship in the first place…in his DEBUT match, no less!  He made a FOOL out of Juice and Juice retaliated the only way he knew how.  Tomorrow night, they would settle the score once and for all.

 

Jilysa had a feeling that match would be even MORE brutal than tonight’s encounter with Lance.  Christ…there were several moments in that match where her heart nearly stopped, but she had enjoyed it, nevertheless.  Instead of going to the back to congratulate him, she stayed where she was to watch the remaining matches on the card, thoroughly enjoying what NJPW had to offer.  Besides, Jon had a press conference to do, along with photographs to take since he was the new IWGP United States champion.  Chris had a match as well and he won, which was an outstanding contest that made Jilysa truly glad to be a wrestling fan.  Ichiko had to leave her halfway through the show to perform other duties backstage, but promised to watch Jon’s match with her the following night against Juice.

 

By the time Jon was able to excuse himself, he bet Jilysa was regretting this trip. They had tomorrow night, and then a few days ‘off’ before catching the flight straight back to the next show. He would just have to make those days off count since tomorrow was going to be a bit on the busy side. “Hey darlin’,” He greeted, washed and back in street attire, which was a pair of black jeans that also came in ‘painted on’, and a black thermal shirt, smiling when she turned to look up at him. “I’m sorry for the delay, I forgot about all the extras.”

 

She didn’t respond to him with words.  Instead, she reached up to gingerly touch the small bandage on his forehead and then hugged him around the neck.  She didn’t do it too tightly, knowing he was sore from that Texas Death Match. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Some of the stunts and moves he pulled out there with Lance legitimately scared her.  Even as a fan, she’d been worried for their safety.  Pulling back, she softly brushed her lips against his and grinned at the title over his shoulder. “I had no doubt you would win this bad boy again.  But are you really going to be okay wrestling tomorrow night against Juice Robinson?  You just went through hell in this match, Mox…” Jilysa looked down at his arm, which was covered by the thermal shirt, but she knew beneath it was bandaged. “Is your arm okay?”

 

“Yeah, oh yeah, they don’t mess with that over here.” A lot of Japanese took the idea of infection and sickness very seriously, it was NOT uncommon to see people walking around in medical masks just to avoid risking picking up something from someone in the general public. “It was bandaged and slathered in some shit before the match and they did it again after my shower. You ready to get out of here? I’m starving.” He had worked up a serious appetite. Considering they had eaten on the plane and not had time since they got here… he had eaten a little in the back but nothing much. “Hungry? I know of some places in the area.”

 

“Yeah, I’m starving too, actually.” Jilysa didn’t have much of an appetite during that event, even though Ichiko asked if she wanted any refreshments.  She politely declined, not wanting anything on her stomach during Jon’s match.  Now that it was over, yes, she was hungry and could really go for some Saka.  That was what they called it here, right? “Just no sushi, please.” She was NOT a fan. “Lead the way, 2X champ!”

 

“No sushi? Fish of any kind or just the raw?” He asked teasingly, his bag over one shoulder and he used his free arm to loop around her, pulling her into his side as they walked out of the building. “There’s places that do western food too if you want to keep it simple, but you have to have sake, at least once.” In fact, they would probably wind up getting sake bought for them anyway, the polite culture here was insane, especially for Westerners. Sake was a rice alcohol, and it was delicious though the last time he had been here, he had made the mistake of trying a sake bomb. No thanks, ever again.

 

“You read my mind.  I was just thinking about getting some Sake wherever we decided to eat.  I don’t mind fish, but the raw stuff, no thanks.  I got sick on it the last time I came to Japan and never again.” Like the sake bomb he had – never again.  She didn’t have a clue about what he’d gone through, but she was in the same boat as him as far as certain things she would NEVER try or eat again.  Sushi was on that list. “I take it you’re a sushi guy?” She wasn’t surprised when he nodded and chuckled, tapping her chin in thought. “Is there a place that serves both cold and hot food?  You could get your sushi I know you want and I could order chicken teriyaki or something like that.”

 

“Yeah, I know of a few, I’ll take you to one of the nicer ones,” He laughed, coming to a halt on the street. “But first we’ll go drop my bag off, yeah? And if you want to take a moment to freshen up, you can do that too, Kitten.” Since she hadn’t had time for anything but a change of clothes when they had arrived. He was surprised neither of them were feeling jetlagged, but he was attributing his to the fact that he had gotten used to this shit. Sleeping on the flight had also helped.

 

“Mmm, my hero!  Thank you, I was hoping I’d have enough time for a quick shower before we headed out.” Jilysa felt relieved since she currently smelled like that arena and stagnant Japanese food.  No, she really needed to wash this scent off her.  They headed back to the hotel, talking about Jon’s match mostly.  Actually, it was more him telling her about the different spots he’d discussed with Lance prior to their match.  They had emailed each other throughout the week and then finalized everything tonight before the show. “Wow, you guys are amazing to be able to do that and come up with such a great, dangerous match.”

 

“You know, this is going to sound weird, but I didn’t even think it was dangerous. Like, when you trust someone you’re working with,” Which was especially important in THIS line of work, lives could be literally on the line. “For the most part, yeah it can hurt or leave you stiff and shit afterwards, but not dangerous.” Probably stupid to think that way but at the same time, he never ever forgot that regardless of the trust wrestling WAS dangerous and his life WAS on the line as well as someone else’s life was in his hands. It was a crazy contradiction. “You freshen up and I’ll do a currency exchange with whoever is in charge tonight.” A few of the larger hotels were licensed for currency exchanges, which was why this one was his preferred. Japan was slowly transitioning to accepting debit and credit cards but cash was king and local currency was the thing.

 

“Sounds good.” Jilysa accepted a quick kiss from him before heading into the bathroom to strip out of her clothes, looking more than forward to a shower.  Never in her life had a shower felt so good and refreshing.  She took for granted the little things in life like showers because a lot of people in the world weren’t fortunate enough to have showers.  Some only had baths.  Showers were a blessing, even in Japan.  By the time she finished cleansing herself and dressed in fresh clothes, Jon had returned and was waiting on her.  Quickly, she brushed her hair, leaving it down and didn’t put makeup on, slipping her shoes on. “Okay, okay I’m ready, sorry!”

 

“No, you’re fine,” Jon laughed, busy messing around on his cell. “I was just thinking that I really like this hotel.” At her look, he explained the currency exchange thing and then the heat that they were enjoying, beginning to grin at the next look. “A lot of places in Japan don’t have heat, it’s just not something they do. So they use space heaters and whatnot.” And he had thought Cincy got cold in the winter, he couldn’t imagine living here fulltime. “You,” He walked over to gently place his hands on her hips and bent down to brush his lips against hers. “Look beautiful, never apologize for taking your time.” Because he thoroughly appreciated the hard work. She was naturally beautiful and he had noticed she didn’t wear much in the way of make-up, the woman was rare.

 

Normally, she did wear makeup, but tonight, she didn’t feel the need to.  The fact Jon thought she was beautiful just as she was sent tingles throughout her body.  She smiled at him, blushing a little and slid her hands up his strong arms to rest on his chest. “Thank you, Jon-San.” Jilysa laughed at his recoiled expression and stepped back to take his hand, hearing his stomach growl moments later. “All right, the stomach has spoken, time to get some grub.” Then some rest because Jon had to be tired after that grueling match tonight and she knew his adrenaline would be wearing off in a few hours.

 

“Jon-Kun, you know me very, very personally darlin’,” He corrected her as he led the way out of the room, navigating the hotel with ease because he had been here a lot since leaving the WWE. He was even familiar with a lot of the nighttime staff at this point, something he had learned early on was to be good to the people who most people thought ‘beneath’ them and they’d be good to you in return. Kind of important considering a lot of these people filled some rather important job roles. They made small chatter on the way to the restaurant, something that served a variety of things, his sushi included, but enough variety that she would find something she’d like. And of course, sake.

 

The place looked and smelled great upon arrival as Jilysa stepped out, taking Jon’s hand.  It was really strange to sit on the left side of the vehicle, but overseas, cars were made backwards from the United States.  It was interesting, to say the least.  They walked inside and were seated a few minutes later at a table.  Some portions of the restaurant had pillows to kneel on since the Japanese had certain traditions when it came to dining and eating.  Both ordered sake to start off and Jon asked if they could have a few minutes to peruse the menu.  It was in all Japanese, but there was a section that was for tourists as well and it was in English. “I understand now why you like this place so much.” She showed him the English part of the menu.

 

“Yeah, it’s like the best of both worlds,” Jon laughed, returning to his own menu. He could speak the language enough to get by but damned if he could read it. “Sometimes, I’ve thought about maybe just packing up and moving this way.” Because Japan was beautiful, especially once you were outside the major cities, it was a stunning place and the mix of the old and quaint, the tradition melding with the new and modern, more progressive aspects was interesting to witness and be a part of. Jon had no idea that she had already thought about him and Japan, if he would ever relocate here, and now he was basically telling her. “One day, I’m doing a proper vacation here to really enjoy everything it has to offer.”

 

Damn, that sick, hard knot was back in her stomach again.  She recalled her conversation with Ichiko at the arena and didn’t know what to think or say about it.  Even now, she had no idea how to respond to any of that. “It would make sense for you to move here, especially if the AEW plan doesn’t work out.  I know you only have a contract with them for a year, to see how things go and to keep your options open.” It had been all over social media after he dropped that Jon Moxley Returns video, not even 15 minutes after his WWE contract officially expired.  The man had balls, no doubt about it. “Ichiko said you would have a place here because the fans adore you and I can’t argue with her on that.  They do love you here.”

 

“Yeah, they do,” Jon didn’t sound arrogant or anything when he said it either, he was simply agreeing with her. “Chris said Japan was one of the best places to wrestle, if you love wrestling.” Not really for mainstream because even now, it still wasn’t ‘big time’ like it was in the States, but there was definitely more respect for it and the money wasn’t too bad. It’d be better if he wasn’t hopping international flights every so often, those got pricey after awhile and he had learned to appreciate the rewards program. “And I’d probably be taken care of when I retired.” He laughed, knowing that was still a ways off. “But you wouldn’t be here, would you, darlin’?”

 

“I honestly don’t know.” Would she ever consider moving to Japan?  So far, she enjoyed her job with AEW and she had friends and some family in the states…Jilysa didn’t see herself moving to Japan unless it was for a specific reason. “My job could take me anywhere, really.  I mean, once my contract expires with AEW.” She was not one to break contracts and that was why she had waited until hers expired in WWE before leaving, just like Jon had. “I’d have to have a REALLY good reason for moving to Japan, truthfully.”

 

Mmm, so in the future and he was thinking YEARS and YEARS from now, not anytime soon, if he decided he really wanted to make that colossal leap across the world, he’d just have to give her a good reason for coming with him. Or if they were that serious in the future… maybe he’d just have a good reason himself to remain Stateside. “We’re talking years from now darlin’, and this is all that is at this point, talk. You know I love my Red Rocks and Vegas.” Though Christmas on the Strip might be screwed for him for a few years given how theirs had ended.

 

“It may not be though, Jon.  If things don’t pan out with AEW and you really find a home here in NJPW, you might find yourself living full-time here in Japan.” Jilysa was realistic and she knew there was always a chance of this deal with AEW floundering.  If they didn’t do right by him and started treating him poorly, he would leave just like he did with WWE.  That was why he only signed a one year deal with them, just to see what the company would do for him.  So far, they were making him out to be a beast, but all of that could change in the blink of an eye. “Same with me. I only signed a one year contract with AEW, I don’t know if I told you that.  Cody and Brandi wanted me to sign a three year and I told them no because I wanted to get a feel for the company first.” That was news to him, more than likely as the waitress brought over their sake.

 

It was news, he hadn’t realized they were going to try pushing for longer contracts given that nobody could predict where AEW was going to be next year. Cody was planning long term along with Tony, that was for sure. However, in this business, nothing was concrete except the WWE and even that was going down the toilet. At least in his opinion. “I guess we’ll see where we’re both at next year. Have you figured out where you’re moving too?” He had seen her condo was rapidly becoming empty, she might’ve already had a place lined up, his stomach doing a weird twist.

 

Chapter 36

 

“I have it narrowed down to either a place in Maine or a town outside of Vegas.  I didn’t want to live right IN the city, but close enough to where it doesn’t take a long period of time to get to the airport.” It was right on the strip. “It’s a beautiful three bedroom ranch with a large patio in the back with an inground pool.  Here.” Pulling out her phone, she began to show him pictures of the place near Vegas. “I’ll probably end up taking it just because I’m in love with the property and the house itself has great character.” The doorways were arches instead of regular rectangles, for example. “The one in Maine is really nice too, though, and it’s on the ocean.  I’d have to worry about hurricanes and I know the winters get rough up there too…”

 

“New England winters suck tits, darlin’, Vegas is the place to be.” Jon didn’t even have to think twice about it, moving around the table so he was sitting right beside her, watching as she showed him the pictures. “I like the architecture of this place.” Then it was pictures of the property and he grinned slightly, feeling almost homesick for Vegas, he’d probably never leave his home, nestled between the canyons and the city, it was the perfect balance for him. “Now, how about this place in Maine you were looking at? It had to be something special for you to consider those winters.”

 

“You sure you wanna see it?” Jilysa felt his arm wrap around her and she leaned into him, feeling like she was at home whenever she was with Jon.  How weird was that? “Okay, this is the one in Maine.” It was on the ocean, on what looked to be stilts, had stairs, was two stories tall and had three bedrooms as well.  It was a lot more spacious, had a swimming pool and her backyard was literally the ocean. “I’ve always wanted to live on the ocean, but the more I think about it, the more I’m wondering if that’s a good idea because like I said…hurricanes and winter.  I’m probably not even going to go look at it because I really love this place in Vegas.” It had the perks of being near Jon too.

 

“If you want to live on the ocean darlin’, Cali has some good spots though Cali also has earthquakes… wildfires…” Wildfires were a THING and he shook his head, that was a bad idea. Nevada had them too to be honest though he had never had to deal with one, he could only imagine that devastation. “I bet the insurance on that house is ridiculous.” Just because it was on stilts AND on the ocean. “Not going to lie Kitten, the idea of WINTER on the OCEAN terrifies me.” He had thought winter in Cincy was cold, Maine would be a lot worse.

 

“I know, that’s why I’m going to tell my realtor not to worry about that house and just focus on the one near Vegas.  It’s about 30 minutes from the airport, which isn’t too bad.” Forty from him since he’s a little bit on the outskirts on the opposite side, but still not bad. “And I’ve never been a fan of California.  WWE went there WAY too often and I saw the grungier side of that state.  No thanks, hard pass.” Jon lifted his cup, toasting to that and she chuckled, returning it as they took a nice swig of the sake. “I want be in Nevada.  It’s a beautiful state and…” She softly brushed her lips against his, squeezing his hand. “You’re there.  And I want to be wherever you are, if we’re really going to try this…this time.  That’s another reason I don’t want to live in Maine.  I wasn’t thinking when I told my realtor to check that state out because of our last fall out.  I figured it’d probably be wise to live in the same state as you because seeing each other once a week for AEW won’t establish a good foundation for us.  Don’t you agree?”

 

“Yes, and no,” They had agreed to be completely honest, though that three rule thing had not really gone anywhere. Complete honesty was basically it, that and having solid communication skills because they both had shown that they sucked when it came to that. Her with her instinctive reaction prone to spazzing thing, him with his going to other people before her when it should have been the other way around and his really terrible text messages… yeah, they had issues. “I don’t want you making me one of the central points of your move, I want you to do this in a healthy manner, darlin’.” He hoped that came across okay.

 

“I promise, it’s not ONLY because of you.  Though, you did show me how wonderful Vegas is and how beautiful Nevada is, in general.” The Red Rocks, for example and the warmth. “How about I say this instead?  You’re a bonus.  Honestly, I’ve tried looking in other states, like Maine, and North Carolina, even Minnesota and none of them compare to Nevada.  I thought about Arizona too, briefly, and there was a place out there I was interested in, but…then I found out about Arizona’s monsoon weather and no thank you.  Hard pass on that too.  And if things don’t pan out between us, I’ll still have a beautiful house and Vegas will just be a reminder of the good times we had together.” She shrugged, making it sound so simple, when in reality, it wasn’t.

 

“Uh huh,” Thank God for sake, and Jon sipped his, his blue eyes thoughtful and focused on her though he had moved back to his seat. She was leaving Florida, not just the city she lived in, but the entire damn state because of her last failed relationship. Jon was hoping that this was not a pattern because he didn’t want to be responsible for her moving out of another state if things didn’t work out. “What about Tampa? Nothing good there, darlin’?” He was asking it as an honest question because they both knew the logic was iffy at best though he was smiling at her, his eyes drinking in her beautiful face.

 

If he didn’t want to believe what she said, that was on him.  She was being honest, maybe too honest and she immediately dismissed that.  No!  There was no such thing as being too honest with someone, especially a potential spouse. “You lived there before, Jon.  You know how horrible Tampa is.” He nodded in agreement, unable to argue that point. “I hate Tampa now.  I never really loved it – it was home for a while, but after everything that’s happened, I need a fresh start.  And even if you didn’t want me to move closer to Vegas, I’d do it anyway because that’s where I want my new start to be.  I’m doing things for myself from now on and what I want to do.  And getting as far away from Tampa, Florida as possible is one of those things.  You just happened to show me the perfect place to move…and I’m still 30 minutes away from the actual city.” Because she hated city life – Tampa was too loud and she wanted some peace and quiet for a change.

 

“You know I want you to move to Vegas but that’s not the point. I think we both know that one of your reasons is because of me, and there’s no sense in denying it.” She had the entire United States to pick from and there were places just as beautiful if not more than Vegas itself. Hell there were other places in Nevada. This wasn’t even an ego thing, he was just being honest. “I just don’t want this to go south and you be screwed in a place you hate because memories hurt, darlin’.” They both knew memories hurt and he had a feeling, given their short time ‘being together’ such as it were, they were either going to make a wildly passionate love affair or a monumentally disastrous one.

 

Why was he doing this to her?  Why was he making her second-guess herself and fighting her on moving near Vegas?  Jilysa wondered, deep down, if Jon even knew what he wanted out of life anymore.  Leah had completely screwed him up. “I understand.” Maybe telling him about the house she found near Vegas was a bad idea.  No, it definitely was a bad idea, there was no maybe about it.  The way he was acting made her think and believe he really didn’t want her in ‘his’ state. “You’re right, I should keep looking and I shouldn’t move somewhere just because you’re there.” Even though she wasn’t, Jon was convinced otherwise. “I’ll figure it out.  Oh look, our food is here.” She put her phone away and downed the rest of her sake before pouring some more.  Jilysa was no longer hungry, but she would force herself to eat and decided she would be looking at other places before making a final choice on where to move.

 

Jon reached out to take her hand before she could drink that second cup, squeezing gently and felt his heart twinge when she raised sad aqua blue eyes up to meet his. Drew had fucked her up. Leah had fucked him up. They could be fucked up together. “I want you in Vegas, Jilysa, I’m just… I don’t want you to get hurt again, I don’t want to be hurt again. I’m not saying don’t do it, I’m saying have a lot of good reasons too. I’m beyond flattered, beyond happy that I’m one of those reasons, don’t ever doubt that, darlin’. I’m trying to put ME aside though and make sure you’re taken care of.” Because Drew had totally failed there. “I care about you a lot, and I know we’ve had our issues in the very short time we’ve been doing this, I’m trying to keep that from happening again. I want this to work, I want us to work.”

 

He really did.  She could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice…and it made her heart soar to the heavens. “I know we have and I care about you a lot too.  I don’t want this to be some fling.  My feelings for you are stronger than that.  I want to be with you, Jon, only you.” If she moved to a different state, they would hardly see each other, even working for the same company.  So in a way, yes, she was moving outside of Vegas to be closer to him, but it was also because she had fallen in love with the city. “It’s overwhelming, you overwhelm me because Drew never once took my feelings into consideration about anything.  I just went along with whatever he wanted to do, regardless how I felt about it.  You actually care about me and my wellbeing…and that’s very new to me.  It’ll take time for me to get used to that, to being cared for instead of the other way around.”

 

He could see that, not that it bothered him. It was nice, taking care of someone instead of the other way around. Leah had been overwhelming at times, her need to baby and coddle him. Jilysa wasn’t like that. She wasn’t looking at making him a pet or some such bullshit and for the first time in a long time, he wanted to return that, make someone feel that way. “Get used to it.” He grinned, glad to see the color returning to her face and was met with a smile from her. “When we get back to the States, can I see this house? Have you even seen it outside of pictures?” Probably not, she was a busy woman. He had noticed the address, it was within comfortable distance from his own place, she had been right about that, this relationship wasn’t going to go anywhere if they were living on opposite sides of the country.

 

“Once.” The look Jon gave her made her giggle. “I flew to Vegas and went to see the house and it was an hour walkthrough, followed by deciding if I wanted to make an offer on it.” Jilysa had and she was still waiting to hear back from her realtor if the seller accepted it or not.  It was reasonable, a little lower than the seller wanted, but she didn’t lowball them either. “And yes, I can arrange for that to happen once we’re back in the States and you have a stretch of days off.” Now that he was the IWGP United States champion, Jon would have to come to Japan frequently to defend his title instead of just having AEW to do.

 

Jon was considering if it would be cheaper for him to just lease a suite of rooms here or something opposed to this per night each time he was here. He bet it would be, there’d be a discount or something. “Yeah… let’s just enjoy the small stretch after tomorrow and before the next AEW show,” He laughed, already knowing proper time off was going to be a rarity and it was by his own making. Maybe that was why it wasn’t bothering him and he was still fairly relaxed about it, because it was HIS decision and not some company cramming it down his throat. “Well darlin’, if you get bored with being a social media coordinator or if it’s not enough to keep you occupied, I think I may need a personal assistant / love slave.” That addition of love slave was mostly a joke and he wiggled his eyebrows at her even as he was picking up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks.

 

“Ooohh, a love slave, eh?  Color me intrigued.” Jilysa teased back, taking a bite of her food and couldn’t believe how delicious it was compared to back in the states.  She knew why.  They used ACTUAL herbs and spices to create their teriyaki sauce here as opposed to using preservatives. “And what would these qualifications have to be?” She asked coyly, sipping her sake, which mixed fantastic with the chicken teriyaki.  Jon didn’t answer at first and ate some of his sushi while she did the same with her meal, both a lot hungrier than they thought.  It was like once they started, they couldn’t stop.

 

Qualifications… Jon had inwardly had a good chuckle over that. Considering he knew for a fact she could be a borderline nympho and had tested out her qualifications many times… she was definitely acing any requirements for a love slave, providing he actually wanted one. Nah, he wanted what he had wanted when he had gotten married. He wanted a partner, a lover, an equal… that especially, an equal. So far, Jilysa was all of those things, if they could keep everything level between them. He supposed the real test to see if they could do this, be together in a proper relationship, would come when they were back in the States. All of their problems seemed so small and far away right now.

 

Chapter 37

 

After they were full of both food and sake, Jon paid for the meal and they walked out together, both only slightly tipsy.  Good thing for cabs or else they’d be sunk.  Once they were back at the hotel, Jon kicked his shoes off and removed his shirt immediately while she went into the bathroom to change into a nightshirt.  It was only worn once, so it didn’t smell bad, but she’d have to find a laundromat tomorrow to wash clothes for sure.  Walking out, she crawled on the bed to settle behind Jon and began massaging his tight shoulders and back.  She frowned at the slight cuts from the table spot he performed with Lance earlier that night, pressing soft kisses against them as if it would heal them faster. “Does that feel good, Jon?” She asked in his ear, sitting up on her knees to be level with his height.

 

“Mmm, yeah it does, darlin’,” Jon let his head drop forward as she resumed rubbing his shoulders and then his neck, feeling the tension draining from his body. That had been a brutal match and he had one more to look forward to tomorrow, his body was going to be thanking him later. A full belly from a delicious meal, a clean bed, and this beautiful vixen giving him a rub down. Jon could not keep himself from grinning because this was the good life, right here and now. She smelled good, she was warm, and when he felt her pressing a soft kiss right beneath his ear, Jon shivered.

 

Jilysa found herself wanting to take care of him.  She didn’t feel obligated to do it, she just wanted to.  He was a hard working man, honest, decent, loyal, handsome…devilishly handsome…those looks could make a nun wet…what the HELL kinda thought was that?!  There wasn’t a doubt in her mind he could make it happen, however. “You’re knotted up, baby.” She murmured in his ear, her nightshirt covered chest pressed against his bare back and she had no idea what that was doing to him.  The fabric was a tease to what was beneath, what he KNEW was beneath, as she continued massaging and taking care of him.

 

Jon was considering sex, if it was going to be worth it because fatigue was settling in and so was doubt that he was going to be able to get her off properly. Not off, he could do that, just… properly. He had standards when it came to pleasuring his woman, she either saw stars and fireworks or he wasn’t doing his job right. “Mmm,” He groaned, reaching behind him to start tugging her around until she was finally sitting on his thighs. “Don’t start something I can’t finish, Kitten.” He teased, cupping her face between his palms.

 

She smiled softly, continuing to rub his shoulders and brushed her lips against his, rubbing their noses together. “Then I’ll finish it for you.” Jilysa knew he was tired, she could see it in his drooping eyes and guided him down on the bed.  Reaching down between them, her hand began to gently stroke his cock through his jeans and then she unsnapped them, delving inside. “Tonight, it’s all about you, Jon.  You can return the favor later, but I wanna pleasure you and make you feel good.” It would help him sleep soundly too, especially after a release of endorphins. “Don’t worry about me, lover, just lift those hips and let me do the rest.”

 

Now that was mighty tempting and Jon did lift his hips, letting her undress him and he even let her push him down onto the bed. He watched, head on the pillows, as she shed what little clothing she was wearing. No panties, she had been bare beneath that nightshirt, such a naughty vixen. As soon as she moved, presumably to do wicked things with her mouth, Jon reached down and hauled her up onto him. “Plant that pretty pussy on my mouth, darlin’,” He rumbled, her offer HAD been tempting but tasting her was even more tempting.

 

The look in those smoldering cerulean eyes made her obey his command and she scooted up, gripping the headboard. “Ohhh…” She moaned out as soon as she felt that sinful mouth of his engulf her, her eyes nearly rolling in the back of her head. “Oh fuck, I missed this…” Jilysa declared, tightening her grip on the headboard while Jon went to town on her wet sex, devouring it.  That was fine, he could have his fill of her all he wanted, but in the end, she would be pleasuring him in return.  Looking down and watching him devour her sent a whole new warmth rocketing through Jilysa as her breathing quickened.

 

Jon devoured her, got her warmed up and then when she was a hot, writhing mess mewling his name, he pulled his mouth away. Her juices were covering the bottom half of his face. “Turn around, darlin’,” He ordered, his voice coming out lower and raspier than usual. Shaking, she began doing so, and he helped her, one massive hand going to her back to gently push her down. 69 was a thing and pleasuring each other at the same time… along with her bouncy ass right there in his face, this was his idea of heaven.

 

This had to be heaven.  Jon was a genius and Jilysa had no problem saying so.  They both got what they wanted in this position as her tongue began pleasuring him, licking his cock up and down like a lollipop.  She sincerely hoped these walls were soundproof because the moans, groans, cries and growls they were making weren’t quiet.  At all.  It wouldn’t surprise her if they were called on by security for noise disturbance.  She lost count how many times she climaxed, but she could feel Jon was close and began fondling his balls while bobbing her mouth up and down as fast and deep as she could.

 

The noises were loud sure but muffled, shrieking with cock in the mouth wasn’t exactly easy but damned if she wasn’t giving it her best effort. He could feel her cumming, his face getting soaked each time. “Close, darlin’,” He growled against her clit, giving her heads up he was about to drown her in a sea of cum. The last time he had gotten off had been with her, he hadn’t even been using his hand because he hadn’t felt any desire. She had sort of both ruined his sex life and drive and rescued it all at once.

 

She hummed around his cock and that pretty much ended it for Jon.  He exploded like a geyser inside of her mouth and she tried to swallow as much of it as she could.  Some of it got on the bed, unfortunately, but that was to be expected with a man of his stature.  It was well worth it though and she cleaned him up the best she could with her tongue. “Come on baby, time for a shower and then bed.” They were both sticky, sweaty and she refused to go to bed smelling like sweat and sex.  She knew how Jon was with hygiene, especially after that MRSA outbreak.  Together, they headed into the bathroom and luckily, the shower was spacious.

 

Jon did NOT want to shower, he wanted to lay there and pass out. He had showered after his match and he would have been perfectly fine with a sponge bath because it was only his nethers and face that were ‘gross’ and not even gross, not his face. His face was fucking delicious as far as he was concerned. However, he wasn’t about to turn down a shower with her either, even if it did feel like his legs were going to give out on him. “I’m going to sleep in tomorrow, darlin’, fair warning.” He yawned after they got beneath the sprays, enjoying the dual showerheads at opposite sides of the shower. He loved Japan. Their toilets even had options for warm seats, a jet of water for cleaning up your bits and bobs, but mostly… warm seats.

 

“Good, because you have another match tomorrow night against Juice Robinson and you need to be well-rested for it.” Tonight’s battle had taken a lot out of Jon, but she knew with a proper goodnight sleep, he would be raring to go tomorrow night.  They quickly finished showering with no funny business and then collapsed in the bed…well, Jon did.  Jilysa made sure every curtain in the room was closed, so no sunlight could stream in and wake them up tomorrow.  She also made sure to send her realtor a text to cancel looking at that house in Maine, but was still open to the one in Arizona.  Jon was right; she had to make absolutely sure Vegas was where she wanted to live, or near it…and it couldn’t be because of him.  It had to be what SHE wanted, so that house in Sedona looked promising.  She wouldn’t discuss it with Jon until she made her final decision on what house and what state she would end up moving in.  Within minutes, Jon was out cold and she kissed his forehead before getting into bed as well, looking at her phone and social media until eventually, she too fell out.

 

~!~

 

Arizona. Vegas. Maine. Jon knew that it wouldn’t matter where she wound up living because they would make this work, they COULD make this work. Jon hadn’t slept all that well lately, he had had a lot on his mind and it felt like he had been walking around with a weight in his chest, the weight was gone. Granted, tonight he had to ‘work’ and he knew it was going to be hellacious but today… he had some time to kill and he wanted it to be with this beautiful vixen who was still asleep, one shoulder peeking from beneath the blanket. “Darlin’…” He whispered against the shell of her ear, smiling when she murmured something. “Jilysa…”

 

“Mmm, comfy…” Jilysa did NOT want to wake up yet, but hearing that low, gritty voice in her ear had stirred her.  She turned to look up into those beautiful blues of his and accepted a soft kiss, followed by a yawn. “What time is it?” Didn’t Jon say he was sleeping in today?  She had no idea it was close to noon until Jon showed her his phone, with the Japan timezone and felt her eyes slowly widen. “Oh wow…” They DID sleep in, holy hell! “How long have you been awake?”

 

“Long enough to order up some brunch and brush my teeth,” Have his morning piss, the usual stuff nobody wanted to know about and he wasn’t gross enough to get into. There wasn’t going to be time for much today, not with as late as they had slept in and he knew he’d have some media things to do for the Japanese audience, he was also prone to making himself a little more accessible over this way since the fans were a lot more respectful and less inclined to do crazy shit to and or with him. “We have a few hours before I need to be working, I could show you around the main streets if you want, Kitten.” After food.

 

“We must’ve been really, REALLY tired.” Jilysa commented, slowly sitting up in bed and stretched her arms in the air, not caring that she was naked.  Her nightshirt was currently on the floor, bunched up in a ball from when she took it off last night.  And Jon was eyeballing her like a piece of juicy meat he wanted to sink his teeth into.  She smirked, pulling the comforter up to cover her chest and let out another loud yawn. “I need coffee if we’re doing anything today, lover.”

 

Hint taken and to be honest, he wasn’t looking to get distracted in bed. They could have sex later but he had a feeling getting her to come with him to Japan might not happen again, not if he wound up coming back and forth a lot, she wouldn’t be able too. Not to mention, traveling like that was tiring, he wouldn’t be surprised if their lie in today was partially from jetlag. “Should be here any minute darlin’,” He kissed the top of her head before moving away from her, slipping into a pair of jeans and had just gotten them buttoned when there was a knock on the door. “Damn I’m good.”

 

“Mmm, indeed you are.  Coffeeeee…” Jilysa moaned out playfully, acting like a zombie with her hands and laughed at the look on his face. “Oh come on, where’s your sense of humor, Moxley?” Honestly, she wouldn’t mind coming back and forth from the states to Japan.  If Jon thought traveling bothered her, it really didn’t.  She was used to doing it A LOT with WWE and that hadn’t been all that long ago.  Granted, the flight was long, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.  He didn’t know her very well, however, so it was something he was learn very quickly about her.  One cup of coffee and she would be good to go.

 

Jon wasn’t rushing through the meal, refraining from tipping as he would have normally done in the States because it wasn’t expected here and more often than not, it was refused. He had learned the hard way early on that some people even got offended when you tried tipping them. He poured her creamer with a bit of coffee, as was her running joke, still preferring his black and spread out the simple but delicious meal between them on the bed. “Okay Zombie, here’s your creamer.”

 

“Mmm, my hero.” Jilysa took the coffee, feeling it warm in her palms and took a sip, sighing in sheer contentment. “And all is right with the world again.” She loved her coffee, almost obsessively, but it also helped her in quite a few snags she’d been in throughout her career with WWE.  She took a piece of food off her plate and groaned at how delicious it was.  The Japanese really knew how to make a gourmet meal with rice.  Everything had rice in it, even breakfast and it was delicious!

 

Breakfast/brunch in Japan was the stuff every athlete needed to get behind and if he could do this in the States, he would have. Rice porridge with pickled plums on the side. Boiled fresh fish and chicken rolled in eggs almost like an omelet. Miso soup. All simple, all nutritious, and the bananas were a welcome splash of sweet as well as color. By the time they were done, he wasn’t overly full but he was definitely sated, exchanging smiles with her. “Ready to get on with this day, darlin’?” He wasn’t even hurting from last night’s match, she had relaxed him before he fell asleep, this woman was amazing.

 

Chapter 38

 

Within 20 minutes, they set out of the hotel with laced fingers to start their day, wanting to explore as much of Tokyo as they could.  Japan was a lot bigger than Jilysa realized, not to mention breathtaking.  There was anime everywhere they went and Jilysa picked up a few trinkets.  Nothing big, just small things to stuff into her luggage when they left.  While they walked, Jon got another call from NJPW and they wanted him to do a third show, a run-in, the night before he was booked to fly back to the states.  Of course, he accepted since it would be a quick run-in shot and then they would have to hop their flight straight afterwards.  Never a dull moment around Jon and Jilysa didn’t mind when he informed her what he’d signed up for. “You act like I don’t understand a wrestler’s grueling schedule, Mox.  I’m used to the traveling and the hustle, I get it.  We’ll do what we can as far as sightseeing, but I know you’re here for work with NJPW.  I’m having fun, I promise.”

 

“You know, I hated that shit with the WWE, being on the go all the time and never having a moment to breathe. I don’t know why I don’t mind it now,” Actually, it was probably because HE made his schedule now and this wasn’t something he did EVERY damn week. Jon reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette. He hadn’t been able to bring his chew and buying chew here was a pain, it wasn’t as available as cigarettes. “Stop here.” Japan had designated smoking areas everywhere, you could buy a pack of smokes for 500 yen from the vending machines that sold EVERYTHING -food, drinks, sex toys, anime shit, clothing, it was insane. There were even places you could still smoke inside, not that he would. He wasn’t a big smoker, preferring the chew but… “So, what do you think of Tokyo so far? Pretty crazy isn’t it?”

 

Jilysa forgot Jon used to smoke cigarettes, so it shocked her a little when he pulled a pack out to light one up.  She recalled the chew, making a comment about how nasty it was, but she never tasted it on his tongue when she kissed him.  It was strange, unless it was just a good mixture with his taste in general.  That was a possibility. “Now that I’m getting a chance to actually explore it instead of being on the go constantly, yeah…it’s pretty crazy.  I love it though.  So much anime and gaming stuff.” Japan was famous for their gaming franchises like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, etc.  She used to be a huge gamer prior to getting the job with WWE and then never found the time afterwards to actually do any.  Maybe that was something she could invest back into on her days off when Jon wasn’t around.

 

A lot of this stuff was built off of stereotypes and shit from the United States. Japan had its… quirks for sure though. “It’s a lot quieter outside of the city, a lot more traditional too.” It was quaint and beautiful, and the culture was usually on full display in the more rural areas. Jon noted the mild surprise on her face at the cigarette and went to remind her he had lit up in front of her before, in Vegas…. When he had been having that little bonfire of his. Wait, maybe that had been before she had gotten there. “Tomorrow, we can catch a bus or a train and explore, unless you want to cover more ground here in Tokyo?” Tokyo was a vacation unto itself, it was just that big.

 

“Only if you have time.  You have another show tomorrow night.” No match, just a run-in, from her understanding and what she’d overheard during his conversation. “I don’t want you to exhaust yourself to simply show me around and be my tour guide.” Jon had smoked in front of her before, but then he’d gone to chew and she thought he had quit cigarettes.  She thought he would bring his chew with him to Japan, but apparently not. “Let’s just take one thing at a time, keep an eye on the time and if it’s feasible, then we’ll do it.”

 

“You worry too much, Kitten, learn to have fun.” He laughed, seeing she was taking this all a lot more serious than he was. He made a mental note to that if she took the PA thing he might have to curb his impulse issues, he didn’t want a conflict between if she was in charge of his schedule. She might not be lax at all and Jon, with his newfound ‘freedom’ was prone to wandering around when he wasn’t in Vegas moping, or drunk in hotel rooms contemplating beating up his curly haired coworkers. Jon stubbed out the remains of his cigarette, blowing the last bit of smoke from her before gently gripping her by the arms, pulling her towards him. He was mindful not to kiss her, not wanting her to have to taste his nasty bad habit.

 

She kissed him instead, showing him it didn’t bother her that he smoked and hooked an arm around his neck to press her body closer to him. “Don’t ever hesitate to kiss me if you want to, Jon.  I don’t care if you smoke, you still smell and taste amazing.” She knew she had to cool it with worrying about his schedule.  Jilysa couldn’t help it, she was a natural-born planner and always liked to be a couple steps ahead. “I’ll try to relax more and trust your judgment, so lead on, my private tour guide.”

 

“Uh huh, you say that now, darlin’,” He was teasing her, he would never miss a show, especially one he had booked himself, that was his word there on the line. “If we don’t stay up too late tonight and don’t sleep in all day tomorrow, we’ll have plenty of time to visit a few places outside the city and still make it back for that run-in and our flight.” He needed to take a proper month or two off or something, with her, which was going to be impossible since she had literally just started with AEW.

 

That was what they did.  They went all over Tokyo, visiting as much as they could, drinking in as much as possible and it was so much fun.  Jilysa listened as Jon pointed out several things that were a huge part of the culture in Japan, not believing how knowledgeable this man actually was.  The more she was with him and spent time together, the more Jilysa was starting to really get to know the type of man Jon was.  He was very smart and knew a lot about Japan, because of all the time he’d spent wrestling here.  Several hours later, they were on their way to the arena for Jon’s second match for Wrestle Kingdom 14 and they had eaten prior, so they wouldn’t be completely starved this time around after the show.

 

“So, tonight, Ichiko has hooked us up with a private room.” Jon informed her as they were taxied to the arena. “I think she was able to do it because I agreed to one more night here, even if it is just a run in.” They took this shit seriously, his time seriously, and for that, he was appreciative and inclined to give his best performances.  “She said it’s small but we can hang while I’m waiting and you won’t be stuck with a bunch of strangers.” He owed Ichiko-san a night of her proper name, he would not be using Itchy.

 

That made Jilysa’s aqua eyes light up, a big smile crossing her face. “Really?!  That’s so nice of her to do that!” She didn’t mind watching the show front row, but not being able to hang out with Jon while he prepped for his match last night sucked.  She felt out of place, though Ichiko helped with that by keeping her company. “She’s amazing, I’ll definitely have to thank her if we see her tonight.” Jilysa was looking more forward to spending time at the arena now that they had their own private room.

 

“You’ll see her, she’s bringing me my paycheck.” Jon laughed, though paycheck was kind of wrong. She was bringing him a notice of funds being wired to his account because trying to cross borders with an obscene amount of cash in any currency could be a hassle if you wound up being patted down by TSA. “I also need to find a Coke machine and get her one, she has a thing for Cokes in glass bottles…” He would never understand it, at all. He was a soda drinker… if it was mixed with his liquor.

 

“Okay, are they well-known around here or in the arena?” Jon nodded and she made a mental note to get a glass bottle of Coke before they met up with Ichiko. “I could get used to doing this, you know.  Coming with you to your wrestling gigs when AEW isn’t a priority, traveling together.  So you better not spoil me too much, Moxley, or I’ll get used to it.” She winked up at him, feeling his arm tighten around her and snuggled against him for the next several minutes until their arrival.  Then, they were guided to the private room by security and even gave him a fruit basket as a way of thanking him for all his hard work. “Ooohhh…mango!”

 

“Hey, I did say I needed a personal assistant, darlin’,” Jon teased, eyeballing the basket and noted the plushie… of him and rolled his eyes. He picked it up and examined the damn thing, wondering if he’d get in trouble for signing it and tossing it to the fans. Maybe. He’d keep it, it’d be a great memento. “Here.” He handed it to her with a grin. “So, you always have me with you to cuddle while you sleep, you can even choke my bulbous little head if I piss you off.” He then popped a few grapes in his mouth, dropping his bag on the table with a thud.

 

“Aww, he’s cute and it even says Death Rider on the shirt!” Jilysa grinned, hugging it and then throttled it with a laugh, making him shake his head. “Hey, I had to test it out to make sure it could withstand my strength.” Leaning up, she softly kissed his lips and hugged the stuffed animal again. “Thank you.  Now give me that mango.” She loved mangos and sat down on the comfy couch, biting into it. “Mmm…so good!” The stuffed animal remained by her side, tucked securely and safely.

 

She was going to keep it which amused Jon to no end. "Just think Kitten, you'll always have Lil Jon in bed with you." He joked, pulling out his attire for the night, setting it on top of his bag before peeling off his thermal top, muscles rippling with each move. "I see pins or some shit in it though and I may take it personally." His hands dropped down, undoing his button and zipper on his jeans, pushing them down slowly.

 

“Mmm, so you would take it personally if I were to mutilate the poor thing, stick a vibrator in there, sew him back up and let him play with my kitty while you’re away?” That made Jon snort the water he’d taken a swig of out of his nose and Jilysa cracked up laughing, trying not to, but it was impossible.  Jon’s eyes had grown three sizes because she’d said it so casually and she knew she caught him completely off guard. “Yes, no, maybe so?”

 

“Fuck, I don’t give a fuck what you do with him,” He growled, turning away from her because the last time he had been in this position, he had been sprayed in the face with champagne. There had been snot EVERYWHERE and he hadn’t been prepared for that embarrassment. Sure enough, more snot and he used his dirty thermal to wipe at his face, taking that bottle of water to use it to get anything else off said face and finished up, growling. “Just record it for me, you wicked tease. Also, dry clean only…” That poor plushie.

 

“Do I want to know what’s going on in here and why you’re using a dirty shirt to wipe your snot on?” Ichiko had made her presence felt, barely missing that crack Jilysa tossed at Jon and the woman could not stop laughing. “Um Jon-Kun, you do know there’s a bathroom in this room, right?” That made him curse harder as he flew in there like his backside caught fire. “Wow, you kiss your mother with that mouth, sir?”

 

Jilysa was crying, actually crying, from how hard she was laughing, trying to settle down because her stomach actually hurt from all the laughter. “S-Sorry, Ichiko-Sama…” There was no way in hell she was telling this woman what she told Jon and sincerely hoped he didn’t either.

 

“Ask her what she’s doing with that plushie!”  Jon yelled from inside the bathroom, rewashing his face. He had totally missed a gob, Jilysa was a pain in the ass sometimes.

 

Ichiko hid a smile behind her own hand, shaking her head as her eyes searched for the plushie. “Ohhhh, little Jonny-Kun? Isn’t he adorable? They’re selling them with the merchandise.”

 

“Wait, what?” Jon, still bare chested and not in anything but a pair of unbuttoned jeans, emerged, snot free.

 

“It’s one of the things I was going to tell you, there’s a substantial amount in the monies transferred to your account and if you like it, we could include it as part of our regular offerings.”

 

Jilysa could NOT resist the next thing that popped out of her mouth. “Isn’t that great, Jonny-Kun?  That means your female fanbase is going to be doing the same thing I am!” That made him curse all over again and she giggled harder.  Sometimes, it was too easy screwing with this man and she loved his reactions. “I think he’s super adorable.” She hugged hers with wicked aqua eyes locked directly on Jon. “I’m going to sleep with him EVERY night and I’m sure others will too.” It was said so innocently, but there was a hidden meaning beneath her tone and she winked at a giggling Ichiko. “Seriously though, they are cute.”

 

“I know, aren’t they?  I’m buying one for myself.”

 

“Just don’t be sticking a vibrator in it.”

 

“A what?”

 

“Never mind,” Jon gave Jilysa a look, a bit amused that her face was flushed and growled when she blew him a kiss. “So, about these plushies, give me the paperwork, Itchy.” She had lost all rights to not get called that.

 

“Here you go, you can take it with you tonight and let me know tomorrow, Jon-Kun,” Ichiko bowed after handing the paperwork over, smiling when he returned it. “They are adorable though, and the few we had made are selling quite nicely. It would only be here in Japan, however.”

 

“Seems fair,” Jon was reviewing the paperwork, blue eyes widening on the number and it was in English. “Holy-… crow.”

 

Ichiko cleared her throat, now bowing to Jilysa. “I will see you two later.”

 

Jilysa bowed back to her respectfully. “Oh and thank you for setting us up with this room, Ichiko-Sama, that was very kind and thoughtful of you.  OH!” She rushed to Jon’s bag and pulled out the glass bottle of Coke he found for her, grinning at the sheepish look on the woman’s face. “He said it was your favorite and it’s his way of saying thank you as well.” Jon was too busy gawking at the number on that piece of paper for the Death Rider plushies and she could ONLY imagine what they were offering to sell them for.

 

Chapter 39

 

Not what they were selling them for, what they offering HIM as a cut of the profits. First there was the amount for using his likeness and his character. Then there was the percentage for sales, paid out quarterly or until they stopped selling them. “Wow…” Itchy had vacated when he finally surfaced from the paperwork. “I’ll catch her later and thank her…” He was still a little shocked, passing over the paperwork for her to read since it was all in English. To put some perspective on these numbers, Japan was seriously pricey when compared to the United States. A two liter of Coke, for example, cost about a buck and a half across the board, it was the median. In Japan… three to four American dollars for a 1.5 liter. Shit was expensive here and that had translated over into this contract… which was very beneficial for him. “Shit, Kitten…”

 

Wow.  Jilysa did not think he would share this kind of information with her and something inside of her warmed even more.  Jon really did want to be with her and wanted a relationship or else he wouldn’t care to show her these things.  It made her heart fill with hope for the future with them. “That’s…quite the sum, Jon.” There was no joking in her voice or teasing.  This was serious money they were offering him for his cut and he’d be a complete imbecile to turn it down. “So, what are you gonna do?”

 

“Well, it’s only a plushie and all they’re asking for is rights to use my likeness and character…” Jon said slowly, knowing he would wind up reading and rereading the thing before tomorrow. “There’s also a note with an apology about the few prototypes, says that they only made a few to ‘test the market’, and they included payment for that as well.” Man, Japan was REALLY, REALLY good to him, it was definitely number one on his places to retire list. “And it only runs for as long as I’m working with them… this is a really good offer. What do you think, Jilysa?” He looked at her, wanting her honest opinion. He respected her and knew she was very smart when it came to things like this.

 

“Well…” Was it really wise to give the man advice about his own merchandising?  Jilysa decided to be honest with him since he trusted her enough to show her this paperwork, the offer, and asked for her advice on the situation. “If it was me, as long as you trust NJPW completely, I don’t see why you wouldn’t sign on for this.  It is temporary and it’s a plushie, they’re harmless.  It puts more money in your pocket to stash away for a rainy day.” She knew Jon didn’t give a flying fig about the money, but this was A LOT of money they were offering. “Jon, you need to trust your instincts and your gut.  What are they telling you?  Does your gut say to go for it?  Because if you even have a sliver of hesitation, then you shouldn’t do it.  It only benefits you, however, as well as all of your fans in Japan.”

 

All Jon could do was stare down at her, smiling in both amusement and a little bit of adoration though he was quick to tamper them both off. Was it possible to fall in love this fast, this soon after some seriously bad shit? That was an exhilarating, terrifying thought even though he had known for awhile now this was no rebound and that he had feelings for Jilysa. “Everything you just said has already crossed my mind, darlin’.” He informed her gently, taking the papers back and put them at the bottom of his bag where they’d be safe until later. “Good to know I’m not as big a fool as I thought, not if you’re thinking along the same as me.” She was way too smart for the likes of him and he knew it. “I’ll probably do it, it’s more money to pocket.” He didn’t necessarily care about money but he also wasn’t opposed to having more of it, the poor boy in him liked the security.

 

“Sounds like you already made your mind up and I don’t blame you.” Jilysa knew somewhat of Jon’s background in Cincinnati, but not the darker parts of it.  It was strewn all over YouTube and the internet about how his mother had to give herself to men in order to put food on the table and a roof over their heads.  It was no wonder the woman was now gay; she probably would be the same way if she had to force herself to be with men in order to support her and her child.  Jilysa couldn’t imagine a life like that, thankful she’d been brought up in a stable home with loving parents…until her mother decided to run off to Europe and left her family behind. “You know I was just kidding about the plushie and vibrator, right?  I would never ruin something you gave me.”

 

“I would hope not, least of all that damn thing. It’s a prototype darlin’, it’s not the finished product. If I do all right, it could be worth a lot down the road.” Memorabilia of someone, an entertainer in one of the mediums -sports included- could wind up worth something if the entertainer was remembered kindly or had had an incredible career. Jon wanted to be remembered for an incredible career. “Besides,” He bent down to drop a kiss on her forehead, smiling slightly as he inhaled her deliciously sweet scent. “What would you need a vibrator for when you got me?”

 

“Well, when you’re not around and I’m in the mood, I do have the means to satisfy myself.” Jilysa slid her hands up his bare muscular chest until her fingers hooked around his neck, standing up on her tiptoes to reach him.  He really was a lot taller than her and the poor guy had to bend to meet her most of the time. “Doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of you when I use it, though.” She lightly pecked his lips and stepped away, knowing she was distracting him from preparing for his match.  NOW she understood why spouses and people that weren’t part of the show generally weren’t allowed in the locker room.  It made sense to have that rule.  She planted her backside on that couch and vowed not to move until Jon was fully prepared and ready. “So, I take it you’re wearing the pants again that you did last night?  You forgot your tights, didn’t you?” The sheepish grin on his face told her everything she needed to know.

 

“To be fair, I had a bit of a distraction,” And it wasn’t her, well it was, but he wasn’t going to outright use her as his excuse, his copout. Jon kept the grin on his face, hoping it conveyed that he was teasing her. At her raised eyebrow, he shrugged, beginning to start his warm-ups. “I wanted to show you around Tokyo and like the man-child I am, I forgot some shit.” Good thing they were here another night. Though to be fair to himself, if it were their last night, all his stuff would have been packed and with him, that was one thing he was good about.

 

Was he doing push-ups with his FINGERS?  That was seriously hot. “Everyone forgets things every now and again.  I think you’re sexy in anything you wrestle in.” Jilysa sprawled out on the couch, propping her head up with her elbow and watched him, completely mesmerized.  Not everyone could do push-ups on their fingers, but Jon sure did.  She didn’t realize this had been his regiment to get pumped for his matches since he began wrestling.  Her eyes were glued to him and when he looked up at her, after the 100th one, she snapped out of the daze she was in and smiled at him. “What?  I can’t watch and admire my man do push-ups and get ready to kick some ass in that ring?” It was her turn to tease him. “Keep going, I don’t think you’re quite ready yet.” No, not at all.  In fact, she could watch him do push-ups on his fingers all day long.

 

“Oh I don’t think so, darlin’, you trying to wear me out before I even make it to the ring?” Doing push-ups this way was a great way of warming up, as was the other shit he did, but he knew better than to go past a certain count or number or reps, he wasn’t about to blow something out in the ring because he had overdone it on the warming up process. “I’ll need to go get my arm wrapped here soon, you going to stay in here or want to come with? Meet the doc?” Who was an older man, who was very… quirky.

 

There was a slight nervousness in Jon’s voice that made her decide to go with him.  At first Jilysa wasn’t going to, but hearing that little edge in his voice made her quickly change her mind. “Yeah, I’ll go with you…” Now he was shadow boxing.  SERIOUSLY?!  First finger push-ups and now shadow boxing…this man was going to be the death of her!  While he did that, she watched again, mesmerized by the way his arms swiftly flew through the air with each air punch. “I need water.  I’ll be right back.” Jilysa flew into the bathroom and shut the door, immediately splashing her face with cold water. Get a GRIP, you act like you’ve never seen the man naked before!  You’ve fucked him so many times, you can’t keep track!  So what the hell is your problem?! Drying her face, thankful she didn’t put makeup on today, Jilysa grabbed a bottled water from the cooler that was kept in the bathroom and walked back out.  A few minutes later, they were on their way to the doctor.

 

Quirky, the man was quirky, and he was also very anal about making sure nothing happened infection and sickness wise to the wrestlers. Jon was no exception, in fact, Jon usually got a lot of shit for wrestling because he was susceptible to MRSA now and the Doc chided him every time Jon was here, for putting his health at risk over a career that was NOT going to be kind to him as time went on. Jon knew the old man didn’t mean any harm by it, he took his medical vows and training very, very seriously. Jon hoped he was that goddamn spry and shit at that age, providing he made it.

 

“Well now, who do we have here?  Hello, young lady.” The doctor bowed to her with a smile before nodding at Jon.

 

Jilysa bowed back respectfully. “I’m Jilysa, Jon’s…girlfriend.” Boy, that sounded weird to actually say out loud since she was still technically married.

 

“Ah, I see.  I am Doctor Ito.” He patted the bedding. “Shall we get started, Jonny-Kun?”

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Doctor.”

 

“Likewise, now let me see that arm, Jonny-Kun.” The doctor ordered, snapping his fingers and Jon extended it while he looked it over, shaking his head. “You really should think about putting less wear and tear on this arm.”

 

Jilysa sat down, listening to the doctor lecture Jon and it looked like he was used to it from the way he was nodding and muttering something about the doctor being overprotective.

 

“Not overprotective, Jonny-Kun,” Doctor Ito was in his 70’s and had seen quite a bit in his very long medical career. He had only started working in the wrestling business a short while ago and he had been both appalled by the damage these people knowingly inflicted on themselves as well as admiring because he knew why most of them did it. It was surely NOT for the retirement perks. “You are susceptible and I do not wish to see you lose your arm.” Jon Good was a strange man, even by Ito’s standards. One moment he was a good man, quick with an easy grin, and humor in his eyes and the next, dark and vicious. He wondered how the ‘girlfriend’ had reacted to that flip, providing Jon had done it before her.

 

Even with all the times she had spazzed and left him high and dry, in the short amount of time they’d hung out, Jon hadn’t shown his darker side to her.  Not once.  Even when she walked out on him, leaving behind the necklace he’d gotten her for Christmas.  It was such a beautiful snowflake too, she wondered if he destroyed it since she had accused him of betraying her.  Trust issues were something Jilysa would have to learn to deal with and overcome with time.  So far, this time around with Jon was a lot better than all the others because they had actually communicated with each other instead of just sexing each other up.

 

Jon had flipped his switch, once, and he had been in a dark mood, not helped by drinking, and it had happened after seeing her coming out of a diner for a second time with that curly haired idiot, Adam Page. Fortunately, luck had been on his side -FOR ONCE!- and he had been blocked by her, which hadn’t seemed so awesome at the time. That had given him time to come to his senses and delete that shit before it did go through when she had unblocked him.  People got stupid when they were angry and hurt, and that led to more anger and hurt. He was being very mindful of himself and his temper, but he knew it was easier over here, away from anything and anyone that could get between them or cause their own insecurities to screw them over.

 

Now honestly, if Jilysa would’ve seen that text message, she would’ve been upset, yes, but after a while of thinking it over, she would’ve understood.  Adam was her friend, her colleague and the last thing she wanted to do was make enemies in her new workplace.  He was a complete gentlemen, nothing like Jon, and she didn’t know if she could handle a cowboy in a relationship.  Maybe, maybe not.  She would never know because she found her next relationship in Jon…and it was one she intended to fight for. 

 

With Drew, she didn’t really fight for her marriage as hard as she could have.  They could have went to counseling to try to work things out, but…she didn’t want to.  Drew had burdened her with so much and made her feel insecure about herself, forcing her to question if she was good enough for anybody in the world.  Questioning if she really was wife and girlfriend material.  It wasn’t worth feeling like that constantly with a man, who ripped her heart out and stomped all over it.  Her marriage wasn’t worth saving. 

 

Her relationship with Jon, on the other hand, WAS worth the fight and struggle.  That was how Jilysa knew, without a doubt, she was in love with him.  Within two months’ time, she had fallen irrevocably in love with Jon and it scared the living hell out of her.  Maybe that was why she kept spazzing on him and running away because of that fear gripping her heart.  She was scared of being cheated on again.  She was scared of giving her heart to another man.  She was scared of being hurt again, in general.

 

Chapter 40

 

“Mmm, any stiffness, tenderness?” While Jilysa was lost in her own thoughts, Doctor Ito had begun examining Jon’s elbow, just like he had the night prior. He would even slather it in the triple antibiotic before sending Jon out in that ring, doing what he could to prevent any problems.

 

“Nope.”

 

“And you haven’t been doing anything stupid in your downtime, correct?”

 

Jon gave Jilysa a dirty look, wiggling his eyebrows. “Nope, nothing stupid.”

 

“Hm.” Ito caught the tone and caught Jon giving his lady friend a look, clicking his tongue and shook his head but kept his commentary to himself. “All right, you’re free to go. Try not to screw anything up.”

 

“Of course not, thank you, Doctor Ito.” Jon bowed to the older man, amusement in his tone.

 

Jilysa didn’t notice Jon give her the dirty look and snapped out of her thoughts when Jon cleared his throat, letting her know they were good to go.  His elbow was freshly wrapped and he had slipped his elbow pad on for good measure.  She had no idea what kind of match with Juice Robinson he would have, but could only imagine it wouldn’t be a regular one.  That would shock her if they actually did have a regular match.  Jon didn’t like regular matches for some strange reason, even though he was a damn good wrestler. “Everything okay?” She asked, once they were out of the doctor’s office on their way back to their private room.

 

“Yeah, Ito-san was just being Ito-san, he’s always like that,” Jon laughed, reaching back to scratch at his hairline. “Actually, he was a little bit nicer today, I think beautiful women always have that effect on him.” And she was the very definition of a beautiful woman, double points for the fact that it was a natural beauty and not accented or contrived via artificial means. “You got a look, darlin’, what’s on your mind?” When she asked what kind of match he was having, he grinned. “An easy one darlin’, just a regular old-fashioned match.” And then a run in after the fact, on him.

 

Jilysa breathed a silent breath of relief because she didn’t know if she could handle another Texas Death match and watching Jon take all that punishment.  At least this would be a regular match for the title.  Jon would not tell her who was winning and she was fine with it, refusing to ask.  Jilysa was a wrestling fan at heart and loved the sport, especially watching her man reign supreme in the ring. “Good, I’m looking forward to it.” Taking his hand, she laced their fingers together as they continued walking with Jon nodding to a few of the wrestlers they passed by.

 

“Want to go get a bite after this or just eat back at the hotel? If we call ahead, it could be ready and waiting for us.” Since tomorrow they were going to do the tourist thing as much as they possibly could. Also, he had every intention of reminding her why no vibrator was ever going to take his place in the bedroom, it’d always pale in comparison. Anything would, when compared to the real deal and he was arrogant to say it, hell, later he WOULD say it.

 

“Since we’re going out tomorrow exploring, why not just eat at the hotel?  I’ll give you another backrub since something tells me you’re going to need it after this match.” Juice Robinson was not a man to be taken lightly.  He was a serious competitor, amazing in the ring with his high-flying skills while Jon was more ground and pound.  Jon could soar with the best of them, but he preferred to just beat the hell out of his opponent as much as possible…or make it look like it anyway. “Go ahead and call them, I’ll take the chicken teriyaki bowl they have.” She perused the menu of room service earlier that morning while drinking her coffee.

 

Jon did it right away, ordering in Japanese since that was the language he had been greeted with. He also included a dessert with their meals, along with more mango since she loved it, and then…. A bottle of wine, figuring she might enjoy the sweet plum wine tonight instead of more sake. There was also sake wine but… not as sweet and he figured they could try something new, wasn’t that one of the reasons to go abroad? Trying new things? “Okay, that’s sorted.” Tonight was going to be fight, shower, leave and he grinned when she dropped down with the damn plushie. “I’m starting to think you like that thing more than you do me, Kitten.”

 

Whatever he ordered sounded amazing, even though she could not speak a lick of Japanese.  Maybe that would change since they were really trying this whole relationship schtick.  Jilysa would be coming abroad with him to Japan more often, just so they could spend time together because once a week wouldn’t cut it.  She loved to travel and rarely got jetlag, so it worked. “Oh come on, don’t start getting jealous over a plushie, Moxley.  What would your peers have to say?” Jilysa teased, crossing one leg over the other with the plushie settled on her lap.

 

“They would remind me that I also have a FunkoPop out there and that it is way cooler.” Jon said without missing a beat as he tucked his cell away, his tone deadpanning. At her snort, he cracked a grin and began shadow boxing, eyes darting to the clock on the wall. The show had started, he could hear the fans and the music, baring his teeth. Tonight was going to be fun, though he did wonder if he shouldn’t maybe warn her about the run in… no. That wouldn’t be any fun and she was a wrestling fan, she could be in surprise just like everyone else who didn’t know, which was a lot of people, they kept things under wraps as much as possible here.

 

“Okay, I’m heading out there.” Jilysa announced, not able to sit and watch him shadow box without doing something about it.  It was best if she removed herself from this room right now. “See you out there.” Brushing her lips against his, Jilysa made her way out of the room with plushie in hand and made her way to her seat, which was front row again.  Ichiko truly was the best!  There was a girl, around seven, maybe eight, seated beside her and she had a Jon Moxley Death Rider shirt on.  She was in a wheelchair, clapping her hands and talking excitedly in Japanese.  The little girl looked over at her with a big smile and Jilysa returned it, seeing the child eyeball her Moxley plushie.  She turned back to the ring as the announcement came it was time for the IWGP United States championship match to get underway.

 

Now nobody would ever accuse Jon Moxley of being a good guy, nor would they ever accuse him of being a villain. He was mostly just somewhere in the middle, he liked to call himself chaotic neutral. When Jon came out for his match, he took his time in getting to the ring, his eyes surveying the fans. He spotted Jilysa and then the kid beside her.  He rounded the ring, finally coming to a halt and just glared at that damn plushie like it had done him a personal wrong before taking it from the woman with the aqua eyes. He kept his back to the camera, his actions seen but not his face as he shouted at her, asking ‘what the hell was this’ while winking. Then, he held the damn thing to the camera, rolling his eyes before lightly tossing it in the little girl’s lap.

 

The little girl squealed and clutched it tight against her chest.

 

Jon was not surprised at all when Jilysa didn’t move to take it back, seeing the approval in her gaze. Yeah. He had totally made the right call in women this time.

 

“GO MOXLEY!!” Jilysa shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth and the camera zoomed in on her face full of mirth and happiness.  That was her man in that ring, strutting around like he owned it and, in her eyes, he damn sure did.  She did not mind what he did with the plushie and was happy the little girl was thrilled to receive it from her hero.  That was a moment the little girl would NEVER forget.  Hopefully, Jon would be able to catch her after the show and sign it to make it even MORE special.  Jilysa would see about talking to her father, who was with her, if she could find a translator somewhere to convey what she wanted to happen.

 

Jon had had the same thought, conveying it to the referee since nobody could hear him. Hell, they probably thought he was talking shit or something. He’d catch the kid after the match, after the show or something and shoved it out of his mind, eyes narrowing in on Juice. It was a pretty straight forward match actually, he could practically feel the relief coming from his woman, who he caught a time or two cheering him on. It was after the match that shit went sideways, from a fan’s perspective.

 

Watching Jon being dropped on his head, at least from what she could tell, along with the rest of the fans, wasn’t pleasant.  At all.  Granted, Suzuki had come out and stood toe to toe with Jon in the ring, after the match, and they went at it with Suzuki getting the upper hand.  Jon just had a grueling match with Juice Robinson, so he was out of gas whereas Suzuki was fresh as a damn daisy!  Jilysa covered her mouth with her hand, worry clear as day written all over her face as the Young Lions hopped in the ring to check on Jon.  She breathed a HUGE sigh of relief, however, when Jon slowly came to, attacked one of the Young Lions thinking they were Suzuki and slowly made his way out of the ring.  It looked like he’d just gotten his bell rung and the daze in his eyes wasn’t good either. God, I hope he’s all right. She thought, already making her way out of the arena towards the backstage area to meet up with her man.

 

So fun fact, no matter how well your head was tucked, being dropped on it still left you dazed. It was kind of like thunking your head on the freezer door or something, when you were in the fridge. Dazed was not a bad choice of words. Jon stumbled around to that little girl, realizing Jilysa was not there, and took a second to sign that plushie before continuing on his stumbling backstage. There was no way she was getting his autograph once he was beyond those curtains. “Ouch, fuck…” He muttered as soon as he was behind the curtain, catching concerned aqua eyes flashing on him.

 

Frowning, Jilysa didn’t care if it was against the rules or not and went to him, draping an arm around her shoulders instantly. “I got you.” She whispered, nodding at the men looking at her in concern, including the same one who had done this in the first place.  She knew it was just business and slowly made her way down the hall with Jon, really hoping this daze would wear off, unless he had a concussion.  That was a possibility, no matter how ‘safe’ Jon tried to make himself from the impact.

 

“English.” Jon ordered roughly when Suzuki came over to them, talking a little too fast in Japanese for Jon’s boggled brain to catch up.

 

“I don’t think your head was tucked all the way, Jon-Kun.”

 

“I don’t think so either…” Though most of it was, just maybe not the top and contrary to what people liked to tell him, he did NOT have a thick skull. “Don’t feel like puking or that my neck is fucked though, we’ll call it a win.”

 

Suzuki bowed to them both, gesturing towards the medical room. “You should see Doctor Ito.”

 

“Probably.” To be told he had a thick skull no doubt. Jon wrapped his arm around Jilysa, pulling her into him and kissed the top of her head. “I’m fine.”

 

“No.  No you’re not fine because if you were, you wouldn’t need me to help you walk right now.  And you’re going to see the doctor right now.” Jilysa tried like hell to keep the worry out of her tone and failed, already heading towards the medical room.  She remembered how to get there from earlier, it wasn’t that far away from their private room, thankfully. “Doctor Ito…”

 

“Bring him in now.” Doctor Ito ordered gravely, stepping aside to let them both enter and closed the door behind him. “On the bedding.”

 

Nodding, Jilysa helped Jon settle on the bedding and sat down, remaining silent while chewing her thumbnail nervously.

 

Personally, Jon thought they were going overboard. He hadn’t been leaning on her, he had been walking with his arm around her, there was a difference, right? Maybe.

 

“Bah, he’ll be fine.” Ito announced after a very thorough examination. “Of course, there is always a possibility of concussion regardless if symptoms are present or not. You know what to look for and when you return home to the United States, I suggest you check in with your doctor there as well.”

 

“I’ve got a run in scheduled here for tomorrow night.”

 

“Well, see me beforehand and I will CONSIDER allowing it.”

 

Jilysa did not want Jon doing that run-in tomorrow night with Suzuki, not after tonight.  He was pushing himself too hard over here and she understood he wanted to make a name for himself, and give the people what they wanted, but…there had to be a limit.  There had to be!  Jon would be stubborn and do it anyway, even if Doctor Ito denied him.  He’d run out there like the stubborn idiot he was and do whatever the hell he wanted.  That was why she kept her mouth shut because Jon was going to do what Jon was going to do, regardless of what anyone said or thought. “Come on, let’s get you packed up and head back to the hotel for some R&R.” She murmured on the way back to their private room.

 

Jon felt an obligation to these people. He didn’t come over this way as often as one would think all things considered and Japan was good to him, the people were good to him. Even the people who did not like his character in the ring, they were still good to him. That meant a lot to Jon, especially after some of the shit he had endured in the WWE with some of THOSE fans, some of them could be like rabid dogs. He had learned to appreciate those who appreciated him, he must’ve been getting wiser. “I’m fine, Jilysa,” He said once they were back at the hotel, the desk clerk letting them know their food would be right up. “The run in isn’t going to be much tomorrow and Suzuki isn’t going to nail me again, not if he thinks I’m seriously hurt.” He could see his words were not reassuring her at all and waited until they were in the elevator before cupping her face in his palms, staring down at her. “I promise you, if I thought that I was injured, concussed beyond a minor deal, or something, I would not step foot in that ring. I’ve already almost lost my career, I’m not doing it again.”

 

“I-I didn’t say anything…”

 

“You didn’t have to.  It’s written all over your face, darlin’.”

 

Jilysa lowered her eyes, wishing Jon couldn’t read her so well and felt his hands put a little more pressure on her face, forcing her gaze back up to meet his. I love you and I don’t want you getting hurt again!  Why can’t I just say those words?  Why are those three little words so hard to say?! “I know you’re smart and you’ll do what’s best, Jon.  I just…I care about you so much and I don’t want you to push yourself too hard.” Her voice cracked and she mentally cursed herself for being so weak.  She was always weak when it came to him and that would never change.  Tonight had really scared her because she hadn’t watched him as a wrestling fan, but as a concerned loved one, who watched the man she loved get dropped on his head.  That could’ve ended very badly…and she did not want to think of the other possibilities. “I support you no matter what you do, even if I don’t agree with it.  I will ALWAYS support you.”

 

Chapter 41

 

Jon both heard and felt something change in her tone and he dismissed it immediately because it could be thought upon when she wasn’t in immediate distress. “Darlin, trust me, have faith in me,” He whispered, bending down to brush his lips against hers. Given the number of times he had had MRSA and each time brought his career almost to an end, Jon was very aware of his body and when something was wrong at this point, his head was already starting to feel better and he was still self-monitoring for signs of concussion. His stomach rumbled loudly when the elevator dinged, signaling their arrival to their floor where their room was located.  Her tone change and the way her body language had shifted came back to him as his eyes searched hers.

 

Jilysa took his hand and they stepped off the elevator, arriving at their room not even a minute later.  Jon unlocked the door, letting her inside first and she sat on the bed, removing her shoes. “I do, Jon.  I do trust you and I have faith in you.” She finally spoke, breaking the silence between them. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted that way at the arena.  You know your limitations, you’ve been doing this a long time now.” I’m just worried you’re going to push yourself too hard one day and break. Even someone as unbreakable as Jon was breakable.  MRSA was his enemy and, unfortunately, he’d have to deal with that the rest of his life, that susceptibility of getting it in that arm or somewhere else in his body.  A knock on the door made their conversation cease for the moment while Jon went to answer it, the cart rolling in with their prepared dinners.

 

Given Jon personally had known and experienced the fear that was not knowing if you would be able to return to what you loved doing the most: in his case wrestling, he had learned to pay strict attention. He had been in the spot of potentially having to walk away from the game and when he had been given clearance to return, been told that he wasn’t losing his passion, he had about hit the floor and thanked God in front of everyone there. “You have to try this.” He grinned after rolling the cart to the small table, picking up the bottle of sweet plum wine. “It’s alcohol, not sake.”

 

Was it really a good idea to…no!  Jilysa was overthinking things again and smiled at him, wondering what kind of wine Jon had ordered.  Sake was great and all, but apparently he’d found something he wanted to try with her. “You pour the glasses and I’ll set things up on the table for us.” They had a small table that overlooked the city of Tokyo outside their window.  She was comfortable enough with her shoes off, she didn’t need to change into her sleep attire yet.  Walking the platters over to the table, she saw they had silverware and chopsticks with them, along with napkins and felt Jon’s arm wrap around her waist.  He put the bottle to her lips and gave her a small sample of the sweet plum wine, her eyes widening at how delicious it was. “Mmm, that’s really good.”

 

“It is,” And just this side of teeth grinding sweet, something so sweet it made your entire face pucker as if it were sour. It was good but not something he would drink all the time and tonight, only one of the small cups they had included for the wine. just because he didn’t feel like he had a concussion didn’t mean that it wouldn’t manifest anyway, concussions were tricky, it could take up to two weeks to show signs. He was still comparing that thud with his head to bashing it against a freezer door from standing up to quick without paying attention. “Let’s eat, darlin’, then a shower.”

 

“Okay.” Jilysa would keep an eye on him to make sure everything was all right.  Other than that, only time would tell if that bump on the head would do anything.  She sat down and began eating with him, both silent since they were hungry, the food was delicious and it’d been a rather intense evening, so they were winding down in their own way.  After they were done, Jilysa cleaned up while Jon went into the bathroom to get the shower going, rolling the cart out into the hallway.  She could hear him whistling in there and smiled, glad he was in good spirits.  Removing her clothes, she tossed them on top of her luggage before padding into the bathroom, joining him in the shower moments later.  She announced her arrival by sliding her hands up his muscular back and pressed a kiss against the scar on his right shoulder blade he’d gotten during a barbed wire match in his CZW days.

 

Grunting, Jon finished washing his hair, which wasn’t all that much to begin it and then did his beard, grinning when she giggled as he turned around. The lower half of his face was lathered up he imagined, making him look like some weird two-toned Santa Claus. “My friends swear by beard balm and combs, I don’t wonder if I shouldn’t try it someday. Not,” He grinned when she cupped water in her hands, beginning to rinse out his sparse facial hair. “That there’s much of a beard to groom.” It wasn’t a goatee but it wasn’t what one usually thought when ‘beard’ came to mind. However, with as much as she touched his face, it had occurred to him that maybe something softer was in order.

 

“It’s fine the way it is.  You don’t need to put all that shit in your beard to soften it.” Jilysa continued rinsing his beard out with water until he stopped her by taking her wrists and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Mmm…it’s perfect.” She murmured, rubbing her cheeks against it while Jon caressed her back.  His hands anywhere on her body was pure bliss. “I especially love feeling it on my OTHER set of lips.” She confessed against his lips, feeling him press her tighter against his body and softly brushed them with her own. Instead of diving right into a passionate kiss, Jon’s tongue slowly snaked out to meet hers.  The softest of touches, the softest of kisses and it was lighting them both on fire.

 

Yeah, he was going to start taking better care of the facial fuzz, one day he was going to wind up giving her other, more delicate lips a rug burn or something from his beard and mustache. He was gathering she wasn’t worried about his potential concussion anymore, not with the way she was starting to melt against him and he inwardly grinned because he preferred it this way. Being worried about, especially by her, didn’t set well with him, he didn’t like the idea that he was causing her concern. Though, it also felt nice, if that made any sense.

 

“Wait…wait…” Jilysa realized what they were doing and had to put a stop to it, shaking her head. “Jon, your head…” He growled, making her words trail off and captured her lips in a sizzling kiss that dazed her, the passion haze returning to fog her brain.  It was obvious he didn’t like her worrying about him, but that was tough.  She would worry about him because she cared about him and loved him.  Pressing her against the shower wall, all Jilysa could do was allow him to assault her neck and body with his sinful mouth and hands, molding her to his liking.  Before she knew what was happening, he had lowered himself to be eyelevel with her sex, draped one of her legs over his shoulder and began devouring her, making her cry out in ecstasy.

 

Jon spent some serious quality time showing her that his upper head was JUST fine. He had been concussed more times than he would have liked and since this literally felt like nothing before and it didn’t even bother him anymore, he wasn’t going to go painting problems where there weren’t any. What he WAS going to do was eat her out until she was screaming his name, seeing stars and drowning him with her pussy juice. This was a very good place for him, on his knees, hot water beating down on them from dual shower heads, and her spread wide for his tasting and viewing pleasure.

 

Screaming his name, seeing stars and flashes of white light and climaxing more times than she could count was exactly what Jilysa did.  Her body submitted to him in every way and all she could do was writhe against that wall, with the hot water and his delicious mouth forcing her body to succumb to him. “J-Jon…JON!  B-Baby, I can’t take a-anymore…just get up here and fuck me, please!  Please fuck me!” Her voice was a quivering, raspy mess, the plea in her tone conveying to him she was on the verge of exhaustion. “I-I need you inside me…please…”

 

She was fucking beautiful. Jon was staring up at her from his place on the shower floor, very grateful that the hot water had not run out and took her in. Her body was flushed and he bet if not for the running water, it would also be damp with perspiration, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly, he grinned wickedly. A feeling of arrogance, of I did that was welling up inside of him and the way she begged, so sweetly, so desperately, had his already straining cock informing him it was time to end his own misery. Carefully, he didn’t want her slipping and falling, Jon got up onto his feet, hoisting her up until her legs were around his waist, the tip of his cock probing her soaked entrance.

 

She kissed him, tasting herself on his tongue, even with the water, which suddenly turned ice cold.  Jon cursed, making her breathlessly giggle and carted them out of the shower, without slipping and falling.  Jilysa kissed on his neck on the way out of the bathroom and felt her back hit the bedding moments later.  Hooking her legs around his waist tightly, Jilysa felt him slowly begin to push inside of her, their soaking wet bodies finally coming together as one. “Fuck, I love your cock inside me…” Jilysa moaned out in pleasure, feeling her walls clinging to him in a vise grip that made him growl against her ear.  She shivered, their lips meeting again before Jon began to slow thrust in and out of her receptive body. “Mmmm…”

 

A second later the bedside phone rang, causing him to jump and her to let out another moan because that had made him hit some pretty sweet spots. “For fuck’s sake…” He actually picked it up, hearing an automated Japanese voice informing him that he had gone over his allotted water temperature usage hence the sudden cold water thing, well now he knew. He slammed the phone back in the cradle before reaching over and unplugging the damn thing. There would be no more distractions while he assaulted this woman in ways she was definitely going to like.

 

That did not ruin a damn thing between them because Jon hadn’t left her body while he answered the phone.  She didn’t bother asking if everything was all right, more focused on making her man cum inside of her.  Jon could assault her body all he wanted, she enjoyed every second of it, especially when he rolled to where she was riding him like a Stallion.  Eventually, she was on all fours in front of him and felt him slam back inside of her, feeling her pussy begin to ache the harder his thrusts came.  Jilysa didn’t care, bordering on the pain and pleasure line and desperately wanted to ride it for all it was worth.  Jon was definitely showing her there was nothing wrong with him with actions instead of words and he had proven his point.

 

“Mmm, you ready for me to cum in that pretty pussy of yours?” He asked, kissing his way up her spine even as he continued thrusting in her, his free hand sliding up to grip the back of her neck. “Hmm, darlin’? Would you like that?” She had gotten off so many times he wasn’t surprised that the bed sheets were soaked, potentially even ruined, and he bet things were starting to hurt in a fun way. When she began nodding, his fingers moved to grip her hair, wrenching back though he was careful not to do it too harshly. “Say it, Kitten.”

 

Panting, Jilysa could barely get the words out, but she managed it nevertheless, all while meeting him for every thrust he gave her. “C-Cum in me…J-Jon…C-Cum in my p-pussy, baby…” Before she collapsed from exhaustion and exertion!  Granted, it was a good thing they had eaten prior to this bout and she could not remember their sexual encounters being quite this intense.  This was definitely the most intense of them all and she hissed out when his fingers tightened in her hair, his hand reaching around to start fondling her still sopping wet sex. “P-PLEASE!  JON!” It was an agonized, cracked moan, the sensations overwhelming her and she knew it was only a matter of time before Jon finally reached his end.

 

When she finally managed to get a raspy gasping plea out, again, Jon finally allowed himself to cum. His hands dropped down to grip her hips, pulling her back tightly against him as he filled her with his seed. Eventually, his body sagged against hers and he felt like every last drop of fluid had left him, along with his energy reserves.

 

It was the most euphoric feeling in the world as he exploded inside of her, or more like erupted like a volcano.  SOMEHOW, she managed to climax one final time for him again and her body was done.  Jilysa was waving the white flag and collapsed on the bed in a wet, sweaty heap, not giving a damn what they were laying in at the moment.  She could not move an inch, her breathing uneven as she tried to get it back to normal.  Closing her eyes, Jilysa wound up passing out right there, on her stomach, in the middle of the bed, completely dead to the world.

 

Wow… and Jon thought he was tired. He did get her cleaned up, which was a lot less awkward then he had thought it would be, and then cleaned himself up. Neither of them wanted to wake up with crusty crotches in the AM. Then he carefully, lovingly moved her up onto the bed properly and tugged the top sheet, the one they had totally ruined off, tossing it aside. He retrieved a fresh blanket from the closet and crawled beneath it, pulling her against him. Letting out a contented rumble, he kissed her forehead before closing his own eyes, feeling her tiny body scooting into his even further. It was the last thing he felt before he fell asleep, with a smile on his face.

 

Chapter 42

 

The next day was full of adventure, going all over Japan, since Jon was good to go.  Jilysa felt terrible for questioning him, knowing if he really did have a concussion, which was still a possibility, he would be smart about it.  They already had their things packed, so all they had to do was rush back to the hotel to grab their bags before going to the arena for Jon’s run-in with Suzuki.  Then, it would be on a plane back to the states and AEW was in 2 days.  They would land in Vegas, spend the night at Jon’s place and then fly the morning of the AEW show to Tennessee.  Hopefully, their traveling went without any problems because they would be cutting it close to arrive to work on time.  Right now, however, Jilysa was having fun exploring Japan with her man, listening as he pointed certain things out.

 

Like Jon had said, outside of Tokyo was more rural and there was a bit of a culture shock. Less relaxed, less English, and his Japanese took on a more formal tone when they would ask someone for directions. Tokyo was quite progressive, the smaller towns and country sides, not as much. Not that they were treated badly, they weren’t. “Okay, look,” Jon had brought her to a rose garden. The roses weren’t in bloom, not in the winter, but it was still very beautiful. “We need to come back in the spring, this place is gorgeous then.”

 

“This is a rose garden?” Jilysa wanted to make sure she understood and smiled because roses were her favorite flower.  Did Jon know that?  She didn’t recall telling him that bit about her.  Roses weren’t exactly a unique flower for a woman, however. “I’d love to see some cherry blossoms someday.  I know Japan is famous for them.” They were exquisite, even more so than roses.  If she had to choose her absolutely favorite flower, it would be a toss-up between roses and cherry blossoms. “Have you ever seen a cherry blossom before?”

 

“Yes ma’am, I have. Japan has a lot of cherry blossom trees, obviously none in bloom right now.” Jon laughed, using his gloved hand to brush snow off a marble bench and patted the spot beside him. They were layered, thankfully, though sitting here longer than a few minutes would mean cold creeping into their ass cheeks. The garden was circular in form, to allow nice ‘flow’ and all that crap. “Like I said, we need to come back in the spring. You’ll cry at the beauty of it.” One thing about Jon, he appreciated nature.

 

“Then, consider it done.  Even if you don’t have a show going on over here in the spring, we’ll come back when we have some vacation time and look at this beautiful rose garden.” And cherry blossoms, hopefully. “It’s still beautiful out here though, even when they’re not in bloom.” Her nose was turning red from the cold and every word out of her mouth, her breath could be seen.  It was colder in Japan than she thought it would be.  Jon wrapped his arm around her and she leaned her head against him, both enjoying the tranquility and peace this place brought. “This has been better than Hawaii, you know.” Hawaii had been a complete clusterfuck. “We should go there again too, to wipe away those tainted memories.”

 

“I don’t know, I liked Hawaii. It was beautiful there.” Though they had royally stirred up shit their very first day, starting to fuck around in the ocean after only just arriving. Stirring up the fans and the rumor mill. Sex everywhere. Then there had been the scenery, a room right on the ocean, rock climbing along the famous Mokule’ia Crag… “We should go back though, I agree.” They were listing off bucket place vacations to most people but he was bound and determined that they were going to do this. He had tried, and so had she, going the traditional route in a relationship and it had not gotten either of them anywhere but hurt. Maybe it was time for something less traditional, being spontaneous worked a little better for them.

 

“I’m game.  Hawaii was spectacular, I just wish it would’ve ended on a better note for us…” It was because of her fear and spazzing out over not being legally separated that ruined the time with him. “I know I told you why I had to leave and apologized, but…I am sorry I left you the way I did.  Three times.” Once in Hawaii and twice in Vegas…she was a train wreck, coming and going, not sure what the hell she wanted.  Well no, she knew what she wanted, but fear was what kept driving her and she refused to let it control her anymore. “I think I’m over the whole spaz and leave phase.  This trip with you has been amazing and I don’t want it to end.” Jilysa was scared of what would happen once they were out of their Japan bubble and back in the states.

 

Jon was actually thinking along the same lines that she was. It was easy, being with her over here, away from everyone and everything they knew and that included their issues. Once they went back to the States, things could go sunny side up again for all they knew. “You sure, darlin’?” He teased, gently pulling her up because he was starting to get a jacked nose and he knew she was probably experiencing that lovely downside to being outside in the winter. “I don’t know, without those spaz attacks…” He trailed off, catching her hand before she could nail him and growled, pulling her into him before bending down to brush his chilled lips against hers. “Spaztastic, that’s what you are.”

 

She giggled against his cold lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her forehead to his. “I want to be like this no matter where we go or what we’re doing.  I want to be with you completely, Jon, out in the open.  No hiding and the paparazzi can take however many pictures they want and say what they want about us.  It doesn’t matter because…you mean a lot to me, you make me happy and I care about you so much.  It feels empty when you’re not around.  So promise me, none of this changes once we’re back in the states.  I want a relationship with you and I want to build a life with you and go on adventures with you.  So, if you don’t want any of those things, if you’re unsure about being with me because you think this is a rebound situation, then please tell me now.” So I don’t give any more of my heart to you.

 

It kind of sounded like she already had, given her heart to him. the weight of her words were not lost on Jon, he felt it immensely and he took his time, giving himself time to think and then time to respond without blurting out the wrong thing or sounding like a total spaz himself. “I’m not unsure.” He said finally, smiling down at her and was relieved that she had merely been waiting patiently instead of ‘spazzing’, that was the nice thing about being a proper adult, WITH an adult, they took the time to let others really reflect and think, not do decisions or speak out based on first impulses. “And this isn’t a rebound, darlin’, but you’ve known that all this time, haven’t you?” Whereas he had had doubts, she had not and he shook his head, the grin never fading.

 

“At first, I thought I was just going to use you for sex to get over what happened with Drew.  That we both were gonna use each other to get over it.” Jilysa admitted softly, brushing back some hair from her face with her gloved hand. “But then I went to Hawaii with you.  It was fun and spontaneous, it was the most fun I’ve had in a very long time.  And I freaked out because, in such a short span of time, and the raw connection we had during sex, I quickly realized it wasn’t just a fling with you.  There was something more between us and it scared the hell out of me because I was still married, you were still married, and we weren’t legally separated or anything.  And when I left you in Hawaii, I was sad.  I was more sad than I was when I first discovered Drew was cheating on me, before I walked in on him that night at the arena.  And I couldn’t figure out why and then you texted me, inviting me to Vegas.  Once again, I freaked out and let my fear get the better of me because I didn’t want to get hurt again…and then I got that call from Cody and Brandi and…that’s when I realized I needed to get a legal separation from Drew if I was going to go any farther with you.  I could’ve gotten in BIG trouble if the state of Florida found out what happened in Hawaii.  I could’ve been charged with a misdemeanor for infidelity.  Everything was happening so fast, I just needed to leave and get my head on straight.  And then you invited me to Christmas and…I couldn’t refuse the offer.  I HAD to see you, to be with you.  And then chaos ensued again, Cody called and told me about the idea you had and you’d had it since Hawaii, but he really didn’t explain what exactly that meant.  I really didn’t give him much time because all I kept thinking in my head was ‘he’s using me, I have to get out of here, I’m an idiot’ and all that jazz.  If I would’ve just STOPPED and actually thought about it for two seconds, I would’ve realized you didn’t do anything wrong because it was just an idea.  Granted, I wish you would’ve come to me first about it, but…I understand why you didn’t.  Third time – fear got the best of me and I ran away like a coward.  And then you finally came to me, tracked me down and asked me to come here with you.  So, I’m making this promise to you right here and now, Jon, I won’t let fear get in the way of us ever again.  No matter what obstacles are in front of us, no matter what road we travel, I want to do it together with you.” Pulling her phone out, she showed him the email that cemented her decision on where she was moving. “I’m moving to that house 30 miles from Vegas, 40 miles from you, and I’m starting the next chapter of my life where I WANT to be.  This is what I want and regardless if we work out or not, I KNOW where I belong and it’s not in Florida and it’s not in Maine and it’s not in Arizona.  It’s in Nevada with the Red Rocks and the desert, the mountains and zero humidity.” Just dry heat that would be easier to tolerate. “And I hope you’ll be apart of my new chapter, but I wanted to make it crystal clear to you that I’m moving to Nevada for ME, not you, not anyone else.  Every decision I’m making in my life is for ME and I’m doing what makes ME happy for a change.” Then, she kissed him passionately, cupping his bearded face with her gloved hands and felt his arms tighten around her. “And no, you were never a rebound to me.  I never once thought of you that way and I never will.”

 

“Arizona was in the cards?” Why THAT was the first thing out of his mouth was beyond him but there it was, she hadn’t mentioned Arizona at all when they had discussed the housing thing and he had told her not to make him a central point of that decision. Famous last words and all that. Jon waited for it, inwardly cringing at himself but she simply smiled and shrugged, and it made something in his heart swell and this time, he didn’t squish it down or ignore it. He opened his mouth, closed it, did it a few more times and finally just pulled her up so her feet left the ground, capturing her lips in a soul searing kiss, pouring everything he wanted to say but it just wasn’t coming out into it.

 

She thought about it for all of two seconds, after sending the email to her realtor about Sedona, and then sent another one telling her to ignore it.  She was undecided and would make her decision when she got back to the states.  Well, after this incredible time with Jon, this trip made her see that they COULD work and they wanted to be together.  This was for real and she was willing to take the risk to make herself happy.  Her realtor told her the people accepted her offer on the house, now all she had to do was hire an inspector and then finalize everything.  It would still be a good month before she moved to Nevada officially, but at least things were starting to roll.  Her toes curled at that kiss because she felt everything Jon wanted to say to her and more, and she returned it with just as much intensity and feeling, telling him silently she loved him in that kiss.  Jilysa was having a hard time saying the words out loud and didn’t know when she’d be able to, but at least she could convey them with actions.

 

Given they were still moving faster than the speed of light, they hadn’t even known each other outside of Chris and acquaintances type shit for two months, Jon was content at this moment to use actions to convey what he was feeling because he wasn’t sure if he should be saying what was in his heart this soon. He knew Jilysa wasn’t a rebound but at the same time, they were for once, on the same page for more than a day and he didn’t want to ruin it by moving even faster than he already was.

 

After a wonderful day sightseeing, it was time to head to the arena for the show.  Jon did his run-in with Suzuki, getting the upper hand and dropped he man on HIS head this time with a Paradigm Shift.  However, Suzuki did it correctly by protecting himself, so he wasn’t dazed like Jon had been.  Once that was done, it was off to the airport to hop a flight back to the states.  Jilysa told Jon more about her house in Nevada, showing him more pictures her realtor sent her and couldn’t wipe the smile from her face.  She had plans for landscaping and all kinds of things, including repainting a few of the rooms and whatnot before moving in.  Jon listened, giving her pointers and offered to call his contractor about the landscaping, along with the company that painted his house.  Jilysa appreciated him wanting to help her and took the information down that he got from his phone.  They talked a little while longer before both fell asleep, holding hands.

 

Chapter 43

 

Once back officially in the States, it was off to the races. They had exactly one day to do their personal business and for him, to recover and have some damn downtime because jet lag had officially caught his ass up. She had all this shit to do for selling her condo and closing on the new place and Jon was so glad he had already done all that shit because he remembered the anxiety of all that, he was good. “So, what’re your plans, darlin’?” He yawned once they were out of the airport, instantly shedding the jacket he had been wearing because Vegas was beautiful and warm, he had missed proper sunshine.

 

“Well, I’m going to stay with you tonight because I don’t want to step on another plane until tomorrow.  Then, we’re gonna go do our jobs with AEW and then I’m hopping the first flight I can back to Tampa to start packing the rest of my shit.” Jilysa had so much to do, it was mind-boggling, but if she took one thing at a time, she’d get everything done. “I told my realtor I’d fly back out here on Friday, to give myself a full day in Tampa to pack, and I know my inspector is coming on Friday as well to look at the place to make sure nothing needs to be fixed.” Wow, that sounded like a train wreck the more she spoke. “And then I’m flying back out to Tampa Saturday to continue packing my condo up.  Oh!  I wanted to ask you something and feel free to say no to this, but…I kinda need a place to stay until my house is ready to be moved into.” Jon stopped and placed his hands on her shoulders, ordering her to slow down and back up. “Sorry.  So…I got someone who wants to buy my condo…and they want to move in next weekend.” That was why it was really crunch time for her to get everything done. “I already accepted their offer and…they want me out by next Friday, so…I need somewhere to crash until my house is ready to be moved into.  I’m gonna put my stuff in storage until then somewhere in Vegas.”

 

“Going to be a bit though, before you can move in, yeah?” Jon wasn’t surprised when she nodded and since he already knew he was going to say yes, it occurred to him that they were already ‘together’ and maybe her getting a house was a bad idea since she was practically already moving in with him. Wow, that came out of nowhere and he dismissed it, knowing regardless they needed their own space, whether they used it or not. Knowing that you HAD the option to go somewhere else was important. “Sure can darlin’,” His smile turned wicked. “Should I set you up in a guestroom?” He was obviously teasing.

 

She returned the smile with her own cheekiness. “Sure, I know you probably want your own space, even with me there.  I’ll be the perfect roommate, roomie.” Winking, she walked ahead of him and squealed when he lifted her over his shoulder, smacking her jean covered backside. “Hey!  If you can’t take the heat, then get outta the kitchen, Moxley!” Another smack and she wiggled her backside, giggling in his ear. “You have a very nice ass from this view, I thought you should know that.”

 

“Just remember you said all that cause now I AM gonna set you up in a guest room, right across from mine.” He laughed, making sure he palmed her pert ass since it was literally right there. “Seriously though, you can have the room across from mine so you have a place for whatever you want to bring. You need storage space for your household stuff? I know a guy who rents units and he’s affordable AND there’s around the clock security.” Which was a bonus because he could easily remember losing shit to people breaking into the cheaper units.

 

This man was the greatest. “Yeah, actually, I do need a storage unit and I wasn’t sure where to go, so once we were settled for the night, I was gonna ask if you knew someone.” She smiled at him sheepishly, once he set her down outside of the airport and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You really are incredible, you know that?” He was allowing her to stay with him until her house was finished…and they were trying to establish a relationship between them on top of it.  Jon really was a man who took everything in stride and would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need. “Okay so, after I’m done with the Tampa shit, I’ll be moving in with you temporarily until my house is done.” That would also give her time to get everything established in Nevada as far as her residence, change of address, driver’s license, etc.

 

Jon was an overly nice guy and a sucker for pain all rolled into one. Well, sometimes he was a nice guy. Sometimes, he was a spiteful prick who unleashed hell just for shits and giggles but she hadn’t encountered that part of him yet and hopefully she never would. He had seriously considered doing that -unleashing hell- on Leah and he hadn’t bothered. Mostly because Jilysa had proven to be a great distraction and then a healing salve. Not saying he wouldn’t be a spiteful bastard to that bitch NOW or Galloway for that fact, if they provoked him in even the least bit. “I’ll get the room ready, you’re really not going to need the bed so much as the closet and I’ll get a few dressers in there, whatever you need, darlin’.”

 

“Sounds good to me, but let’s worry about all of that after we get through this week.  While I’m gone in Tampa, you can get everything set up that you want for me.” They grabbed their luggage and were on their way to Jon’s house within an hour.  TSA could be such a bitch sometimes and they had to pat them both down since they had come from overseas.  The asshats!  It wasn’t the first time, but Jilysa had a rather unpleasant experience with a TSA agent when she first started working for WWE and…the man ended up losing his job for sexually assaulting her.  She had filed a complaint against him and the video showed he had clearly done her pat down a little TOO thoroughly.  He was fired the same day and she was compensated for his actions.

 

Jon was overly used to this and it had showed with the boredom on his face though he had cracked a comment that was probably very inappropriate about reaching a little to the left. The TSA agent, a man no less, had laughed right along with Jon. Then it was off and straight home because they had to work tomorrow and he didn’t want to do shit besides relax and take it easy. With her. While she was in Tampa, he’d get that room around and eyeball the place but since Jilysa had been here twice before, he didn’t foresee himself making any changes. It also occurred to him, that when she ‘moved in’, her snowflake necklace would be back out, waiting for her.

 

The rest of the day and night was spent together, ordering take-out because neither felt like cooking and watching television.  Movies, shows, whatever came to mind.  Jon had Hulu Live, which was amazing and a lot better than Apple TV.  Eventually, they couldn’t keep their hands off each other for more than a couple hours before kissing turned into making out turned into her straddling his lap.  So what if they had a lot of sex?  It was great sex and they both enjoyed it, along with the raw connection it gave them.  This time it wasn’t nearly as intense as it’d been the previous night.  It was a slow, steady burn with her riding him, taking her time, and they couldn’t keep their lips off each other. “Oh god…Jon…” They were going to ruin this couch and neither had any fucks to give because all they cared about was getting each other off at the moment.  Without realizing it, they weren’t fucking, they were making love to each other for the first time.

 

They were definitely making love, this wasn’t anything like they had done before. Well, yes and no, the sex definitely but the way it was going, how tender they were, how slow and leisurely, and the way feelings were being telegraphed. “That’s it, Kitten, nice and slow,” He rumbled huskily, his hands lazily plucking at her nipples when she broke the kiss to straighten herself, feeling her palms moving to rest on his abs. He could watch her riding him all day, the way her body undulated, the look on her face, in her eyes… her eyes had him trapped now, unable to look away.

 

Those deep smoldering now cerulean orbs had her in a trance as she kept riding him slowly, not changing the pace.  As much as she wanted to, this felt too good to pass up and this would be the last time they were together for about a week.  She would not see Jon again until AEW the following Wednesday because all of her time would be spent going to Tampa, then flying to Vegas to go to her new home for the inspection and then flying back to Tampa to finish packing.  Jilysa had a busy week and a half in front of her coming up, but right now, all she wanted to focus on was this man and caressed his arms and shoulders lovingly, everything slow and gentle between them. I love you, I love you so much, Jon… Those were what her eyes were conveying to him silently before her lips met his again.

 

Those words would not be coming out of his lips anytime soon. What if they were said out loud and it ruined everything? What if it courted some fucked up shit and she spazzed and he lost his temper again? What if, for the first time ever, HE scared HER off with a spaz attack instead of the other way around? That was almost amusing. However, even as her lips descended on his again, he was thinking along the same lines she was, I love you too and it came through in his own kiss.

 

That was what Jilysa was thinking as well.  What if those words came out of her mouth and Jon ran for the hills?  What if he wanted nothing to do with her and thought she was moving way too fast?  Granted, they WERE moving fast, but it was comfortable for both of them.  At least, for her it was, she didn’t know how Jon truly felt about it, but so far, he was enjoying being with her.  That was enough for her.  Eventually, Jon took the reigns and guided her down on the couch, lifting her leg to hook around his waist and continued making love to her, though he did up the pace a fraction.  She went right along with him, their eyes locked again in two pools of different shades of blue and didn’t pull away even as they both reached their end.

 

~!~

 

“So, we want you to go out into the crowd tonight and get a feel for the audience, see what they’re about.  Get really up close and personal with them.”

 

“I’m sorry?” Blinking up at Brandi, Jilysa was having a hard time registering what exactly this woman wanted her to do. “Would you explain this to me, so I understand what exactly you want me to do?” They wanted her to go out into the AEW crowd and…do what?

 

“Hang out, talk with other fans, haven’t you ever…” No, Brandi would stop right there. The answer was probably not because Vince had probably held onto this little gem and kept her away from the unwashed masses. “The best way to connect with our fans, to get an idea of who they are, is to be out there WITH them. The boys, well, most of them,” She amended. “Get involved with them or vice versa, one way or another, and we encourage management to engage with them as well. We don’t ever want the fans to feel like their voices aren’t heard.” Kind of like with WWE and their bullshit.

 

It made sense since she was the social media coordinator.  Social media was all about the people, so it made sense why they wanted her to interact with the fans.  The people.  Vince never entertained the thought of sending her out there with the masses before, so this was definitely different.  Jilysa wasn’t sure how to feel about it, but if this was what the bosses wanted her to do, she would do it to the best of her ability. “Okay, so to recap, you want me to go out there and sit a couple rows back, in the middle of the people, and interact with them while watching the matches, right?”

 

Brandi grinned. “Exactly!  Don’t be so tense either, get to know them and find out who they’re favorite AEW wrestler is.”

 

“Okay, I can do that.”

 

“Yeah, you got this girl,” It just made sense. How could you be a SOCIAL media person without the social aspect? Jilysa definitely had the technology part down and she knew how to word things to get across in the way her employers wanted but they wanted someone who felt a connection with the fans, hoping to leverage that into a superior product and a superior experience. “You’ll be great at it, you’re already a people person, Jil.” Brandi slung her arm around the other woman, her grin broadening. “Hell, get yourself a beer and enjoy the show, it’ll be an experience!”

 

They wanted her to drink on the job, on the clock?  Somehow, Jilysa didn’t think that was a wise thing to do and she just smiled at Brandi, assuring her it would be done.  Brandi also told her she wanted Jilysa to write an article about her experience and to take a notebook to jot down some quotes directly from the fans she interacted with.  Jilysa left the office in somewhat of a daze, really hoping she could pull this off and headed to her office to grab what she needed.  They had already given her a pass, so she could go anywhere in the arena she wanted and Brandi had a seat already picked out for her in the arena.

 

Yes, they wanted her to have a fricking beer. Brandi somehow wasn’t surprised that Jilysa had gotten a quick look at that one, seeing the idea immediately dismissed and sighed, shaking her head. “That girl needs to loosen up,” She informed her husband when he walked in. “I think it’s going to take her awhile for her to adjust from WWE shit to ours.”

 

“I told you she’d get a look at the beer.” He laughed, knowing his wife was a card sometimes. “She’s a professional.”

 

“I know, it’s why I hired her.” Was the cheeky response. “But there’s a balance and I want this to be fun for her too, we need her invested in the company.”

 

Drinking on the job was not only unprofessional, but it was unsafe as well.  That was how Jilysa viewed it and she wasn’t used to such a laid back environment.  WWE was NOTHING like this at all.  She knew she would have to change her mindset about this job and hoped she could do it, but she’d worked for WWE so long, it was ingrained in her what was appropriate and what wasn’t.  There was no way she could drink on the job, it wasn’t happening.  Sitting out with the people and watching the matches, talking to them, that was one thing, but drinking alcohol while working – absolutely not.  She sent Jon a quick text message to let him know what was going down tonight, just so he wasn’t confused to see her out there, if he even did.  Then, she looked at the clock and knew it was time to head out to find her seat.  The show would be starting in about a half hour and the doors were already open for fans to come piling into the arena.

 

Chapter 44

 

“Where are you going, baby?” Speaking of the devil, Chris intercepted Jilysa on her way to the seats, cocking an eyebrow at her attire after she shorthand gave him the run down. She was wearing what could best be described as ‘business casual’. “Uh…. Maybe put on a t-shirt or something so you don’t stand out like a sore thumb?” So she didn’t get heckled and harassed, one blonde eyebrow raising. “Hell, wear one of mine, you can promote me.” He wiggled those blonde eyebrows down at her. “I’ll even consider signing it for you.”

 

Jilysa laughed at him and looked down at herself, seeing she was dressed like a businesswoman. “This isn’t at all like WWE, is it?” She was finding that out the hard way.  Chris shook his head at her, actual pity in the man’s eyes because this was an ENTIRELY different world she was used to. “Okay, so jeans and a t-shirt would be best?  I brought my bag with me and if you want me to promote the Inner Circle, I can do that.” She grabbed her bag from her office, since they were right here, before Chris lead her to his dressing room, which was also the Inner Circle’s.  Sammy was there, along with Jake, both nodding at her with smiles.  She returned them and Chris gestured to the bathroom for her to change, tossing her an Inner Circle t-shirt. “Why thank you, Le Champion.”

 

“Not a problem, just let me know if you ever decide you want a career as a valet, I MIGHT consider letting you be arm candy.” Chris informed her as she headed for that bathroom, snorting when he got flipped off in response along with a chuckle. He grimaced once she was in there, sharing a look with ‘his’ boys. Mostly, he was showing them the ropes, giving up advice when they asked -sometimes when they didn’t-, and just passing on along what he had learned. He knew he wasn’t doing this shit for that much longer, he wanted his hands involved in the up and running of this company however, his legacy was going to be… EPIC. He knew the jump from WWE to this, to AEW, was startling, especially since the WWE had a very strict way of running things. “Shut up.”

 

“Didn’t say a word.” If she was as brilliant as Chris insisted, she’d figure it out.

 

This is not professional at all.  What the hell am I doing?  Jeans and a wrestling t-shirt? Sighing, Jilysa looked in the mirror and had tucked the t-shirt into the jeans, to show more of her figure off.  It was a small, so it didn’t hang off her.  She let her hair down, the ebony tresses flowing down her back in natural soft waves and pulled her brush out to fix it a little.  Then, she added some gloss and black thin liner before slipping out of her pumps, putting her tennis shoes on in their place.  She looked about as much a wrestling fan as she was going to get and made sure to put her pass back on around her neck before exiting the bathroom. “All right, do I look like I would pass for one of the fans or not, Christopher?”

 

“Yes, yes you do,” She had to learn to have fun with her job. It was one of the reasons he had signed with AEW instead of continuing with his freelancing thing after his contract with the WWE had expired. He had stopped having fun and he was old enough to know a job that you didn’t enjoy properly wasn’t going to do yourself any favors. “Look,” He had sent everyone else packing, knowing she had to be out there like… now. Chris wrapped his arm around her shoulder, walking her towards the door. “I know this probably seems weird as shit considering where we’re from, how things were done in Hell… but let your hair down, kid, enjoy this. Even when it seems weird and you know a lot of us, so the professional thing… while there’s always a time and a place for it, you need to learn when to drop it, baby.” He squeezed her gently. “Smile kid, you get to sport my shirt and enlighten those fucks out there who don’t get it yet.” He was slipping into his full blown, arrogant, Le Champion shtick. 

 

“Okay, okay, I got it.” Let her hair down and have some fun, huh?  Well, it’d been a long time since she did that, remembering when she’d go to wrestling events as a kid.  They were a blast, before WWE went all topsy-turvy with their PG-rated crap.  She supposed one beer wouldn’t kill her and since she’d gotten the thumbs up from the bosses, Jilysa would do it.  She would drink and have fun with the AEW fans…and hopefully discover some information in the process for her job.  Squaring her shoulders, she headed out of Chris’s dressing room and jogged out to find her seat…with a beer in hand.

 

“I’m so proud of my baby,” Chris joked, watching her finding her seat from behind a curtain, smirking when Mox appeared at his side. “All grown up and buying the adult beverages.” He knew, since he had known her a long fricking time, that shaking off those shackles and the way you had to act all the time since you representing the company, was not easy.

 

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Jon laughed, she had herself a beer and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Hopefully she has a good time.”

 

“So, how was Japan?”

 

“Eat me, Champion of Nothing.”

 

“Man, of all the things you COULD have said, that’s what you come back with? Babe, really?” Clucking his tongue in mock disappointment, Chris ruffled Jon’s already short hair and walked away. “Catch you later, Mox.”

 

A man in his 30’s sat on one side of her a woman in her 20’s, with little to no clothes on, sat on the other.  Jilysa felt like she was sandwiched in the middle of a porno flick.  Sipping her beer, she smiled at both of them and the woman was the first to strike up a conversation with her.  Turns out, she was 22, in DEEP love with Kenny Omega, and had been a fan of his for about 3 years.  Jilysa was friendly enough with her and then turned her attention to the 30-year-old man, smiling kindly at him.  She asked who his favorite wrestler was and he answered with Hangman.  So she was stuck between two fans of the men that were kicking off the show in a tag team match.  Jilysa would never admit this outside of her own head, but Adam looked jacked and delicious in those leather chaps and tights.  If she wasn’t with Jon, she definitely would give him a shot, especially with that bouncy, muscular ass of his.  Again, she could look, she just couldn’t touch.

 

Well, I’ll be damned, Adam thought when he caught glance of Jilysa. She was sitting in the audience, in a fricking Le Champion shirt of all things, or whatever the hell it was Jericho was hocking these days, Inner Circle bullshit. The man was a genius, that was for damn sure. She looked normal, her hair down and he was pretty darn sure she was drinking! Adam was definitely amused with this beautiful woman who was apparently back with Jon Moxley, he had gotten word of some thing about them being overseas together and he knew not to be trying anything with her. Which he wouldn’t, he was a gentleman as he had already told her.

 

Also, Moxley was crazy.

 

Jon was only crazy in the ring, not outside of it.  Though, Jilysa hadn’t seen the darker side of Jon yet.  She only saw the nice and gentleman side of him, the humorous part, but not his darkness.  Jilysa smiled when Adam winked at her while standing on the apron and she winked back at him, shaking her head while sipping her beer.  She was sipping it every couple of minutes, just to blend in, but found herself thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere.  It wasn’t…tainted the way WWE was.  It didn’t feel forced and there was a lot more organic elements.  The match wasn’t half-bad either, though…when Adam accidentally butted heads with Kenny Omega, that made her frown.  She wanted them to win, or rather Adam to win, and Private Party was not making it easy for them at all.

 

Well, lucky for her, he -they- won and Adam was all smiles as his hand was raised in victory.

 

That curly haired idiot, Jon was watching from the back. In Japan, he hadn’t worried about Adam Page. It was amazing and stupid, because they had only JUST had a fight the night before taking off together, and he had seen her with said curly haired idiot, having dinner. Again. Ugh. He didn’t like that, he didn’t like Page, which Jon knew was irrational but there it was, and it all stemmed from the man’s ‘friendship’ with her. He watched as that Cowboy fuck began taking drinks from the fans, drinking them no less! Wasn’t he afraid of catching something from someone?! And then, then he was IN the fans and he was THERE with Jilysa. His eyes shone pure ice as they narrowed to dangerous slits.

 

“Well howdy honey,” Adam laughed, taking her cup next and then raised an eyebrow, it was near empty. “We need more beer!” Lo and behold, a dozen red cups were thrust their way as he draped his arm around her loosely.

 

“HANGMAN, HANGMAN, HANGMAN!”

 

“HANGMAN!” Jilysa was laughing at Adam’s antics, chanting along with the crowd, and took one of the many red cups, toasting the cowboy before downing it.  He did a wolf howl before giving her another one, downing his own, tipping his head back and all. “You better go give the fans some attention, cowboy.” She murmured in his ear, feeling him plant a wet kiss on her cheek and watched him head through the crowd, her cheeks a nice rosy red now.

 

“OH MY GOD, HANGMAN KISSED HER!!”

 

On the cheek, but yes he did and Jilysa knew it was platonic, so she wasn’t worried about it, shrugging when the woman started asking a billion questions. “I’m a fan of his, yeah!” She answered, watching as Adam made his way slowly up the stairs, drinking beers handed to him, though half of it poured down his muscular chest from the cups.  Once he was out of sight and the cameras were back on to start the next bout, Jilysa focused on the next match, not realizing she’d been spied on by her boyfriend the entire time.

 

Adam was careful not to be drinking a lot of that shit and he had hopefully been a little smart, trying to pick out beers from people who didn’t have obvious signs of issues. Like herpes. That would have been majorly bad. Anyone who looked sick, red noses, watery eyes, that sort of thing, he steered clear of too. Pecking Jilysa, well… she was his friend and she knew he wasn’t macking on her, but it was also good for the fans, seeing him let loose and he was sure he’d be greeted with some weird shit at the next show. He was laughing as he made his way backstage. Adam made it as far as a fairly empty hall, most people were gathering, preparing for their cues, and he was greeted to a boot to the face, dropping instantly. “Fuck!”

 

Yeah, fuck. Snorting, Jon stepped over him, aware that Adam was covering his own face, eyes clenched shut with pain.

 

Which was his bad because it meant he didn’t see who had nailed him.

 

Good thing too because, if anyone saw that happen, including the man currently laying on the floor with a bloody nose, there would’ve been hell to pay.

 

The rest of the show, or most of it, Jilysa enjoyed watching the guys and gals perform.  The women’s title match was a clusterfuck and she didn’t enjoy it at all.  She didn’t like the Nightmare Collective group Brandi had going on, but she didn’t have to like everything about AEW.  For the most part, the show was solid and the fans really enjoyed what they were watching.  She jotted down a few notes here and there to remember, nursed her third beer and finally, it was time for Jon Moxley’s decision on whether or not he was joining the Inner Circle.  Christopher looked so full of himself, it made her grin because she knew the man deep down inside had a heart full of gold.  He was one of the kindest men she’d ever met in her life, but boy could he pull off a heel character like no other.  He truly was a GOAT.

 

Goddamn right he was, and he was showing a LOT of trust in Jon for this segment. Obviously, they had discussed it earlier because Chris wasn’t letting just anyone nailed him with a freaking glass bottle. Jon hemmed and hawed for the fans, making it seem like he was going to join the Inner Circle and he got himself a bottle of Le Bubbly because Chris was just awesome that way.

 

And then, then Mox laid Chris Jericho right out by smashing that champagne bottle right over his head.

 

Brandi was biting her nails in the back, wincing as Chris went down. They had already gotten in a bit of trouble over purposeful ‘blading’, a practice that had been forbidden in professional wrestling, and she knew this was something that was borderline if the wrong person got a cob up their ass. When Chris roused himself, sorta, she exhaled slowly, consummate professional.

 

Jon went through the crowd, like he had in his entrance, tearing the Inner Circle t-shirt off he’d hidden under a leather bomber jacket.  Jesus, that was hot.  Jilysa couldn’t take her eyes off him with that delicious muscular bare chest and he was jingling the keys to the new car Chris had bought for him as a bribe to join his group.  That was hilarious.  Jilysa really hoped Chris was all right after that blast to the side of the head with the champagne bottle, but seeing Jon in the crowd, standing tall, was a sight she wouldn’t soon forget.

 

The best part was the damn car. It obviously wasn’t his, it had been leased to the organization at a nice price, and product placement was a thing. But, he got to use it for the night if he wanted, as long as he remembered to return it. He was seriously considering it, and filming it for his social media accounts, showing off him taking the ride but leaving the assclowns behind. It’d be good for the ‘story’. Hell, he could even ‘hijack’ the social media coordinator to record it, he doubted she’d mind. What he had done to Adam was totally out of mind, he felt a lot better about that situation.

 

Adam didn’t. He had been taken to the ER to make sure nothing was broken or something.

 

Chapter 45

 

Sure enough, when Jilysa made it backstage, after the show was over, not interested much in the ‘dark’ matches, she was, in a word, kidnapped.  Jon had yanked her behind the curtain, waiting for her and she immediately kissed him, feeling him press her back against the wall.  Jilysa had no inkling something happened to Adam, her mind solely on the man kissing her and lighting her on fire.  She had a flight to catch in a few hours, but damned if she wasn’t tempted to postpone it until tomorrow. “Jon…” She breathed out, trying to keep her voice down and was glad the curtain was shielding them from sight while his mouth and tongue danced along her neck, her hand in his short hair.

 

Yeah, Jon, not Adam and he inwardly smirked. Adam might even think it was someone setting up a line or something for down the road, who knew. The man was a moron, thinking he could have a friends only relationship with a beautiful woman like Jilysa, even sharing a room with her, yeah no. No, the real world did not work like that and especially not with HIS woman. “Feel like being kidnapped for a few hours and I’ll drop you off at the airport when we’re done?” He rumbled once he had left her a breathless mess. Jon then proceeded to explain his idea about taking ‘Chris’ car for a ‘joyride’ with her recording it for his social media, grinning wickedly at the dazed look in her wide blue eyes.

 

“Only if you promise to take me to the airport tomorrow morning.” Jilysa yanked him back against her, cupping his bearded face in her soft hands and passionately kissed him, wrapping her arms tightly around his upper body. “Take me away, baby.” He reluctantly pulled away from her and took her hand, guiding her down an abandoned hall towards the exit, after stopping really fast to grab her bag from Chris’s room.  She’d left it behind when she changed into being a ‘normal fan’ for the night for her job. “Oh wow, now THIS is a beautiful car.  It reminds me a little of the batmobile, only it’s not black, it’s blue.”

 

“Yeah, it’s gorgeous all right,” All thoughts about Hangman -Boot to the Face- Page were gone as Jon took a moment to admire the car. It was beautiful and he bet it got some delicious speed to it. “I thought your flight was in a couple hours?” Last he knew, she had to leave out a few after the show, or the game plan had changed somewhere. He wasn’t asking the why’s of it though when Jilysa gave him a tiny, amused smile it hit him like a ton of bricks, he was such a blockhead sometimes. “Oh. Well, get in darlin’, your chariot awaits.” He had her for the night. His own flight was first thing in the AM and then they’d be apart for a week, he was going to make this count.

 

“The video first, right?” Jilysa already had her phone out and decided they could do a selfie type video with her in the car with him.  She hopped into the passenger seat, grinning from ear to ear and her aqua eyes were admiring everything about this bad boy.  There would be NO room in here to have sex, but damned if she wouldn’t try, if given the chance.  Jon got into the driver’s and she put her phone up to where it showed both of them. “So, someone decided to kidnap me tonight in this beautiful ride Le Champion gifted to the one and only, Baddess son of a bitch in wrestling today, Jon Moxley!” She flipped the phone to where he sat, smirking. “Say hi to the world, Mox!” The man had sunglasses on, at night, and did the peace sign with a smirk on his face that made her panties instant dampen.

 

Well, he hadn’t been sure how the video thing would go down. Jon had figured she could just recorded him and wouldn’t have to be apart of anything but… since she had decided she WANTED the world to know she had been kidnapped, whatever. It would definitely make good story-telling and probably piss off a few people which made it even better. This was a leased car, there wasn’t going to be any sex in it, well… actually. Jon was seriously considering buying the damn thing, maybe he’d get a discount if he pointed out any ‘issues’. Jon flipped the camera off, obnoxiously chomping on his gum. “Le Champ, nice ride, man! How many bottles of that disgusting piss water you call champagne did you have to hock to get them to even let you near it?”

 

Since she was already seen in the crowd, thanks to Jon coming through the crowd in his entrance, not to mention what happened with Adam, there was no point hiding any longer.  Drew and Leah were flaunting their relationship all over the place with Leah posted pictures and videos of them together almost every day.  They were happy and she was happy with Jon, so why not let the world know they were indeed together?  She didn’t giggle at that, but she smirked, knowing better than to badmouth Le Champion.  That was Jon’s territory as she continued holding the phone up to record him while he continued running his mouth.

 

That phone was shaking because she was trying not to laugh at some of the shit he was saying. He was always mindful -in the back of his head- to keep it within boundaries, because he was airing this bad boy basically as soon as they were done filming it. Brandi would adore it, she was Cody’s perfect match in that she was an evil little vixen. Jon figured anything that stepped out of the social media ‘okay’ zone, Jilysa was going to either say something or indicate something. Jon finished up the entire kit and kaboodle with a direct shot at Le Champion, informing him that he could NOT be bought. Once it was done, he parked the car, man did he love this beauty, she handled like a dream, and watched the playback, nodding his head. “What do you think, Kitten?”

 

“I think I was an idiot and we need to cut out that first part with me in it and kick it off with you driving and you say that line about the bottles of piss that are his champagne.” Jilysa answered honestly, glad they were able to rewatch it before he posted it. “Cody said there’s a media truck any of the personnel can use as long as it’s appropriate.” She informed him, remembering them telling her that in the first meeting they had before she signed her contract. “Why don’t we head inside really fast, edit this a bit and then you can post it on your Twitter?” The fans did not need to know she was with him and the last thing she wanted to do was stir the pot with Drew and Leah since their divorces weren’t finalized yet.

 

Jon raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, reaching out to take the phone from her. “Watch this.” He navigated to the video and began editing it right there on the cell, adjusting to the time where his comments about Le Champion’s pissy champagne took off and trimmed the beginning. He hit the playback and grinned, right how she wanted it. “Baby boy’s come a long way on this technology thing.” He laughed, passing it over to her. It was actually something he had learned from his soon to be ex-bitch of an ex-wife when she would edit videos to remove the first clip where her face would look stupid before the actual recording aspect had kicked off.

 

“Yes, that looks absolutely perfect.” She wasn’t in the shot, acting like an idiot and it was all about him and Chris.  The way it should be.  They didn’t need her intervening since she wasn’t part of the active roster. “And since we’re not seeing each other until next Wednesday, I figured I could book an early flight in the morning instead of leaving tonight.” After that delicious display he put on in the ring with Chris, Jilysa definitely wanted to spend the night with him before going back to Tampa to pack her ass off. “I already have my flight booked.” She had done it while out in the arena, during a commercial break and half of a match that didn’t interest her.  Not everything was going to be gold in AEW and she knew that.  Just like everything wasn’t always gold in WWE, especially this last decade, at least.

 

“Sounds like an idea, darlin’,” Jon was already backing the car up, figuring he should probably contact someone about it since it technically wasn’t his and it was leased to the company for the night. He was saved the trouble because his cell went off. Totally ignoring the driving and on a phone law, he answered it, blue eyes fastened on the road. “How’s the head?”

 

“All things considered, babe, pretty good. Thanks for watching it, I’m too pretty to be fucked up.” Chris laughed, though it was a bit short. “I’m at the ER, you will never guess who is here with me.”

 

Actually, he could. “Who?”

 

“Page. Someone nailed him apparently.”

 

Huh, imagine that.

 

“Wait, what?!  Adam is at the ER?” Jon had made the mistake of putting the conversation on speakerphone and frowned when Chris reiterated what he said. “Someone kicked him in the face?!” What the HELL?  Who would do something like that?! “But…he was fine when he got out of the ring to have beers with the crowd.  What hospital are you at?”

 

Chris rattled it off.

 

“We’re on our way.” Jilysa looked at Jon with worry in her aqua eyes and could see he wasn’t that concerned for his comrade. “Go to the hospital, please.  I want to check on Adam and Christopher and make sure they’re okay.” They were her friends and she cared about their wellbeing.  Whoever attacked Adam was a damn coward, especially since it wasn’t part of the show!

 

She wasn’t concerned one bit about Chris and Jon couldn’t keep the darkness from flickering across his face. Though given it wasn’t bright in this car, it was dark actually, she probably didn’t even notice it as he inwardly cursed as he guided them the way of the hospital. If she had been worried about Chris, she would have made seeing him a priority right AFTER the show instead of fucking off with him. This was all about that fucking diner date cowboy trash friend of hers. Friend… he inwardly snorted, though his outward expression was calm as he drove, finally turning down the street the hospital was on. “ER entrance, right?” At her nod, he pulled into a parking space, really hoping nobody fucked with this car. “Okay, let’s go.”

 

Jon would have to deal with own issues because Jilysa had FRIENDS outside of him and some of them were men.  Contrary to what he thought, yes, she was concerned about Chris as well as Adam.  In fact, she walked up to Chris, who was in the waiting room with an ice pack pressed to the side of his head and hugged him gently.

 

“Kiss it and make it better, baby?”

 

“I’m telling Jess on you.”

 

Chris chuckled, pulling her in for a tighter embrace and kissed the top of her head. “Adam has to stay overnight for observation.” He frowned, his eyes growing dark suddenly. “He may have a concussion, they don’t know yet.”

 

“Seriously?  Who would do something like this?  And nobody saw a thing?” Jilysa was visibly upset, worry evident in her eyes and frowned along with Chris when he shook his head. “Christ, can I see him?  Or are visitors not allowed?”

 

Chris didn’t know what the relationship was between Adam and Jilysa…and it wasn’t his business, but he nodded, gesturing down the hall and gave her the room number. “His face is…jacked, baby.  Just…prepare yourself.  They think he might have a fractured nose, the x-rays haven’t come back yet.” Adam was his friend and he was pissed something like this happened under his nose, when he was STILL in the backstage area.

 

“Got it.  I’ll be back in a bit, Jon.” She kissed his lips quickly and headed down the hallway towards Adam’s room.

 

Fact of the matter was quite simple, regardless of what she thought or how she felt, she hadn’t said a word about visiting Chris after he had gotten jacked with that bottle. Not a thing about him until Page had been brought into the equation and that spoke volumes. In fact, it looked like she cared more about Page then Chris and he knew she didn’t have any feelings outside of friendship towards the older man. “They doing an investigation?”

 

“Well, they’ll have to, won’t they? There were no cameras in that part of the building and the arena is older, so the building itself has shit security outside of the contractors Rhodes brings in for each show. So, either someone got in who wasn’t supposed to be or someone had it out for Page.” Which was not a good thought since Adam was genuinely a nice guy.

 

He looked awful.  His face was bruised heavily, a mixture of black, blue and purple and his nose was thankfully straight.  That didn’t mean it wasn’t fractured though.  She frowned, slowly walking inside the room and towards his bed, covering her mouth with her hand.  He was perfectly fine earlier and now here he was, laid up in the hospital because of a cowardly attack.  Jilysa did care about him, but she didn’t have any romantic feelings for him, not like she did Jon.  And she was concerned about Chris as well, she had no idea Chris would be going to the hospital after that bottle stunt because she thought he’d be fine.  She had no idea of the circumstances until Chris called, telling them he was in the ER and Adam was here as well.  She cared for Adam the same way she did for Chris, only she thought of Chris as family more than a friend. “Oh, cowboy…” She whispered, taking his hand that didn’t have the IV in it and blinked back tears.

 

“Oh, it looks worse than it is, honey,” Adam rasped, opening his eyes as much as he could, a strained smile on his face as he took her in. “I’ll be outta here in no time, Jil.”

 

Dumb woman, of course Chris would come to the ER, he had gotten hit with a champagne bottle, a heavy glass bottle. No matter how careful Jon was, a trip here was mandatory because shit happened. Jon chatted with Chris, both men speculating on who had attacked Adam and all that shit, knowing Cody would probably be questioning everyone now. Eventually, Jon went to go find Jil and see Page himself, leaving Chris to talking to his wife who had called.

 

“Who did this to you?  Who would be cowardly enough to attack you for no reason?” Jilysa did not let go of his hand and let a few tears trickle down her cheeks, only for Adam to reach up to wipe them away. “They said you might have a concussion and a fractured nose, cowboy.  You really don’t remember anything or you didn’t see anything?”

 

“The only thing I saw was a blurry pair of black boots.” It could’ve been anyone because 90% of the wrestlers wore black wrestling boots.

 

“Christopher said Cody is on it and they’re doing a full investigation on what happened.” Jilysa showed him the text Chris just sent her and reached up with her free hand to wipe her tears away. “I wish there was something I could do for you, Adam.  You don’t deserve this.”

 

Chapter 46

 

Adam didn’t have the heart to tell her he hadn’t been able to read that text, it was small and blurry, he definitely had a concussion. Luckily for him, when he had come too, they had been pushing fluids and drugs into him, including one to keep him from vomiting which was an unfortunate side effect of a concussion. “I don’t expect much to come from it, honey, but I’ll definitely be more on guard from here on out.” He hadn’t been expecting to get his ass handed to him by someone’s boot either but… that would never happen again, ever. He imagined even if they didn’t find out who did it, and he was doubtful they would, security would be upped quite a bit. “And I have no idea who’d do it, I’m on pretty good terms with almost everyone.”

 

“Maybe a fan or something got backstage?” Jon asked softly from the door, flashing a smile when Page’s eyes shifted to him and winced. “Ouch bro.”

 

“Tell me about it.”

 

“Now I am definitely the prettier one.”

 

Adam began laughing and groaned. “Don’t make me laugh…”

 

Jilysa cracked the barest hint of a smile, but that was all she could muster up. “I hope they do find out who did this to you, so you can kick the shit out of the coward.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead gently, in a purely platonic way. “We’ll let you get some sleep.  I just wanted to see with my own eyes that you and Christopher were okay.  I didn’t even know he was coming here or I would’ve gone with him right after the show.” She felt terrible for not checking with Chris and running off with Jon. “God, I’m such a shitty friend.”

 

“What do you mean, honey?”

 

“I didn’t even think to check on Christopher after that segment.  I mean, you broke a BOTTLE over the side of his head, Jon, and I…I didn’t even check on him to make sure he was okay…” Was she so engrossed with Jon that she was losing sight of other people and things around her?  Yes, yes she was and that stopped tonight. “Get well soon, Adam, and call me if you need anything.” Then, she was out the door and headed straight for Chris, finding him in the waiting room still on the phone with Jessica.

 

Yeah, she was distracted by him and Jon knew he was being selfish but he did not like the relationship between her and Adam. She had known Adam for only a few weeks and they were already sharing hotel rooms, he had known she moved fast but Jesus H. Christ. Jon knew if Adam said they hadn’t slept together then they hadn’t slept together because Page was kind of an old-fashioned gentleman in some respects but still… he didn’t like it. “You ever gonna be seen?”

 

“I’m getting ready to go back, it’s not that bad.” Chris yawned, holding up a finger. “Okay sweetie, I’ll call you in a bit. I love you.” Then he hung up, turning his tired eyes onto them. “They were actually out here a second ago but I asked for another minute so I could hang up with the wife. He’s fucked up, isn’t he?”

 

“You weren’t kidding, man.”

 

Unable to hold them back any longer, huge tears slid down Jilysa’s cheeks as she walked right into Chris’s extending arms, burying her face in his chest. “I-I’m so sorry, Christopher…” Being consumed by a man wasn’t good, especially for her because of what she’d been through.  She was starting to alienate her friends because her brain was on the Jon Moxley channel 24/7.  No longer.  Jilysa was putting a stop to it, starting tonight. “I-I didn’t even know you were going to the hospital or I would’ve come with you.  My brain is all over the place lately.” That was a lie, but she wasn’t about to tell him the REAL reason this had skipped by her.  And it was the man standing behind them with a stoic expression on his face. “You’re my best friend and I’m supposed to be there for you, and I wasn’t tonight.” The guilt was eating away at her for being such a terrible friend.  Chris was always there for her, ALWAYS, and she was a stupid bitch for not paying more attention to what was going on around her. “And yeah, he’s jacked up pretty good.  I hope they find whoever did this and beat the shit out of them.”

 

“Why are you crying?” Chris really did not understand this woman, at all. Well, no he did, but right now it was awkward because he and Adam were the ones having issues and not even him, mostly Adam. This was just a courtesy thing for the company and to make sure his brains were mostly intact. “Don’t cry for me, baby, I’ll be right as rain, just wait.”

 

“Darlin’,” Jon pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket, a little amused at Chris’ discomfort. He had explained it once before, he felt obligated to make people stop crying when it happened, Chris was a weird ball of wax and he bet that made hospital visits fun. Jon made a mental note to test it out, the next time something serious but not deathly happened, to see if Chris put his own discomfort and pain aside to deal with a visitor who was having issues. Jon’s personal theory was ‘it’s not about me’, so any issues or tears, or fretting, he kept in check until he was away from the other person, so he didn’t put their already broken ass on the spot. “Here.” This woman and her heart of gold, he knew she was starting to have issues regarding not being here sooner and felt something in his own heart soften, wishing he hadn’t been the cause of her pain, not that he would ever tell her that. Then he’d have to confess his sin. Nope.

 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry…” Jilysa knew she was making a spectacle of herself and took Jon’s handkerchief, wiping her tears away before taking a deep breath. “This isn’t about me, I know that.  I’m glad you’re okay and I know Adam will be too.” She cracked Chris a smile, just to hopefully feel better about this whole situation. “I don’t care what time it is, I want you to call or text me when you get out of here, when you’re released, okay?  I mean it, Chris.” She only called him that when she was serious about something and it was amusing to watch the man instantly nod his head. “Okay, we’re gonna head out now.  I have an early flight in the morning back to Tampa to pack up.” Speaking of that…Jilysa had another issue on her hands now.  Was staying with Jon really the right decision until her house was ready to move into?  They would be apart for a week, so maybe that would change some things for her.

 

Unfortunately for Jilysa, she had made a LOT of her decisions based around her feelings and desire for Jon. Even when they were bad, spazzing ones. Moving to Vegas after only seeing a portion of it, was because of him. Going from mad at him to flying to Japan with him. Hell, right AFTER their relationships had ended, they had flown to Hawaii together! They never did anything the normal way, it had been one hundred percent tossed in at full speed without regard to anything or anyone else. For them both.

 

Jilysa seemed to be having issues with it all of a sudden and Jon was very aware that tonight he had done something out of anger over another man and HIS woman that was probably not a very smart move.

 

“Okay, baby, don’t let me keep you. I’m fine, seriously. Jonny boy took good care of me.”

 

“Of course he did, because he’s a good man, a professional, and he doesn’t go around attacking people like a coward.” Jilysa had no idea how wrong she was in that statement and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. “You call or text to let me know what’s going on.” Kissing Chris’s cheek and hugging him again one-armed, she walked out of the hospital with Jon, wiping what little tears remained on her cheeks away.  There would be no sex tonight.  She was no longer in the mood and felt exhausted suddenly, wishing she would’ve just stuck to her guns and left to go back home tonight instead of tomorrow.  Another decision based on Jon – Jilysa really had to stop doing this and vowed silently, on the way back to the hotel that night, to start making decisions that weren’t based on him.

 

Word of the day: coward. She had dropped it so many times that it was starting to actually grate on his nerves. He was not a coward, he was a fucking snake. He had lie in wait and then he had lashed out, quick and potentially deadly. It occurred to him that she was not fucked up enough in the head to stay with him if she found out, she genuinely cared about Page even though she barely knew him. “You going to be okay, darlin’?” He asked once they were back at the hotel, shifting in his seat to look at her, concern in his blue eyes.

 

“Yes, no, maybe so?” Jilysa shrugged, getting out of the car and shut the door, raking a hand through her hair.  Who attacked Adam?  Was it Kenny Omega, maybe?  They were getting ready to feud, so he was going to be suspect number one.  It never occurred to her the very man, the coward, was the one she was sleeping with.  Because in Jilysa’s eyes, Jon was a good-hearted man with a heart of gold and nice, respectful, professional…all amazing qualities.  It never once crossed her mind he could be the culprit.  However, she had a lot of thinking to do as far as their building relationship went because, after tonight’s events, her eyes were open and the blindness of Jon Moxley had cleared.

 

Jon was all of those things, like 80% of the time. Very few men could claim the full one hundred. He had his demons and his dark side just like anyone else, he had just gotten better at curbing them and hiding them as he got older. Did the fact that he was for the most part a good person out-weigh his sins when he committed them? Not in the least, life did not work that way. “Food and bed, Jil?” He asked softly, walking around to stand before her though he didn’t reach out to touch her. Everything about her right now screamed she was tired and her mind was anywhere but here with him.

 

“Yeah…” Jilysa didn’t want to neglect Jon completely and needed to get her mind off what happened tonight.  Sighing, she stepped up to wrap her arms around his torso and hugged him close, soaking in his warmth as much as she could. “I just need you to hold me, Jon.  I feel safe with you and I know nothing bad will happen to me as long as I’m in your arms.” Pulling back, she looked up into his beautiful blues and softly kissed him, recalling what happened at the arena.  That hot and heavy kissing session they had behind the curtain. “Actually, I want food, sex and then bed.  Distract me, Jon, please.”

 

Growling softly, Jon scooped her up into his arms, stooping long enough for to grab their bags and he freed one arm to sling them over his shoulder, displaying not only his strength but his balance because that had been an interesting feat. “You are always safe with me, darlin’,” He informed her softly, already heading inside. They’d order up something and then he’d do his best to make sure she was thoroughly distracted from the night’s events. Events that were his fault but that was neither here nor there, he wasn’t going to worry about repercussions because honestly there wasn’t shit he could do if he was found out besides own it. He carted her straight to his hotel room, finally laying her down on the bed and perched beside her, shifting so he could pull her feet into his lap to remove her shoes.

 

“You were incredible tonight.” Jilysa slid her hand up his bare back, feeling the tennis shoes leave her feet and those blazing blues turned to meet hers.  She didn’t realize it at that moment, but Jon was dangerous for her.

 

Very dangerous.

 

~!~

 

It was Thursday night when she got an unexpected visitor at her door.  Jilysa had been packing and cleaning for nearly two days, doing everything she could to get this done on time.  She was in a pair of cotton white shorts and a white tank top, her black hair piled up on top of her head.  Florida was a balming 80 degrees today, so she had her AC on, and it hadn’t dropped much at night, maybe 10 degrees to 70.  She wasn’t sure and didn’t care, the humidity is why the AC remained on.  Lifting a box, she set it on top of another one in the kitchen when a knock sounded at her door and she glanced up at the clock, frowning.  It was after 8 PM, who the hell was here?

 

Her husband, soon to be ex, was at the door. He stood there with her favorite flowers, a combination of roses and cherry blossoms, looking appropriately sheepish at her slack jaw when she opened the door. It was definitely a weird night for her, or a tired, rushed one if she hadn’t used her spyhole first. “I’m just here to talk, lass,” He said quickly when it looked like she might slam the door in his face, slowly extending the flowers. He hadn’t seen her in quite some time though she was all over social media, pictures of her with Jon and Adam being tossed around every which way these days it seemed.

 

What could he possibly want to talk about?  They hadn’t seen each other in a couple months, ever since the night he almost backhanded her.  Jon had saved her that night, but he wasn’t here.  Nobody was.  Still, this was Drew and she did trust him, just not with her heart anymore. “Okay.” Taking the flowers, she opened the door further for him to step inside and closed it behind him, walking the flowers to the kitchen to grab a glass vase she hadn’t packed away yet.  Roses and cherry blossoms…they smelled divine and it reminded her of their wedding day in Scotland.  Drew had gotten over 20 dozen roses and cherry blossoms because they were her favorite flowers. “What do you wanna talk about, Drew?” Jilysa had pulled herself out of memory lane and looked up at him with guarded aqua eyes.

 

Chapter 47

 

“Ach lass, I really messed this up between us, dinnae?” He could see it in her eyes, the way she was keeping herself on guard with him and once upon a time it hadn’t been that way. It had actually been a fairytale wedding in every sense of the word and now, now they were so far removed from that that it sometimes made his head spin when he stopped and thought about it. Her body language wasn’t helping, though he also knew he deserved it, reaching back with a sigh to run his fingers through his long, loose hair as he stared down at her. “Sold it?” That had a wave of sadness coursing through him, another one anyway, they had lived here together, planned their future here… this was not how it should have been and it was his fault.

 

“Yeah, I did.” Why would that surprise him?  There was no way she could live in a place they had planned to spend the rest of their lives together.  And yes, he did screw everything up between them by cheating and not being honest with her.  She loved him so much and would’ve done anything to be with him, but not after he cheated.  With another married woman, no less!  Jilysa may have understood had she not worked for the same company as him and was stuck at home while he was on the road.  Loneliness was a bitch, she got that and people did make mistakes.  However, it also proved that Drew never really loved her or cared about their marriage enough not to cheat. “Considering the last time you were here, you would’ve struck me down, I’m keeping some distance between us based on that night, Andrew.”

 

“Lass, I never-“ Drew stopped himself there, unsure if he would have struck her down that night or not. No man ever wanted to admit that he was capable of laying hands on the woman he loved but Drew… maybe? That did not settle well with him, at all. “I’ll not be comin’ any closer, bonnie.” He informed her with a grave nod, showing he respected where she was coming from and he could not honestly blame her for it either. “I know our divorce will be finalized here soon enough, I dinnae want to end it with us on hateful terms, ye were a large part of me life. I’m not askin’ for us to be friends or even friendly, nay, I know better than that.”

 

Tears filled her eyes at his words and Jilysa didn’t know how to respond to them, feeling an overwhelming sadness wash over her. “You were a big part of mine too.” Her voice cracked and she mentally cursed herself for being so weak in front of the man who had nearly destroyed her. “I-I loved you so much, Andrew.  I just…don’t understand and I wish you would give me the answer to this burning question I’ve had on my mind since all of this happened.  Why?  Why did you cheat on me?  If you weren’t happy, why didn’t you just TELL me?  I understand people fall out of love with each other and I would’ve understood if you cheated on me while you were on the road and I was stuck at home, but I wasn’t!  I was at the SAME company as you, working, providing for us, sleeping in the SAME damn bed as you EVERY NIGHT!” The tears began cascading down her cheeks like two rapid streams and she hated herself for doing it, for crying in front of him and showing any weakness and vulnerability. “Why wasn’t I good enough for you?  W-What does Leah have and do for you that I didn’t?”

 

Drew actually felt terrible because he had an answer for her but she wasn’t going to like it, she wasn’t going to be able to accept it and his eyes filled with sorrow as he simply stared down at her. “Lass, it wasn’t that ye weren’t good enough for me. It was the other way around, ye ken, I wasn’t good enough for ye.” He inhaled when she just continued staring. “Jilysa… you’re intense, lass, and you’re also clingy.” Not that he knew she had already started exhibiting those behaviors with Jon, who was likely to reciprocate them no less. “Ye made decisions based on me, decisions ye shouldn’t have. I loved ye,” Emphasis on loved because while he cared for her, he didn’t love her anymore. “But eventually, coming to ye, going back to the hotel and knowing ye were going to smother me… it got to be a bit much and I dinnae know why I never said anything before. Instead I did terrible by you when I should’ve been honest.” It was easier being honest now though, he wasn’t going home with her. In fact, she was selling their home! “I’m sorry Jilysa, I shoulda manned up back then and I didn’t.”

 

She was intense and clingy?  It was like a cold ball of ice formed in her stomach upon hearing those words from her soon-to-be ex-husband.  Making decisions based on him.  They were MARRIED, of course he would be part of her decision-making!  But then she started thinking back to Jon, to all the times they fell apart because of her fear.  Was it her fear or was it the fact she had clingy issues?  First, it was discovering she had revolved her world around Jon and didn’t pay attention to those closest to her.  And now this…was she the reason their marriage failed?  Did she drive Drew away because of her clinginess?

 

“I…smothered you?” Did she do that with Jon?  Did she smother him? “Yeah, you should’ve and it makes me wonder why the fuck you married me in the first place since I ‘smothered’ you and I was too clingy.” Then, another terrifying realization dawned on her and it was as if the final piece of the puzzle locked into place.  It was all from the guilt-ridden look on Drew’s face while he stared at her. “You used me because of your shitty credit, didn’t you?” Now his eyes lowered and she couldn’t believe how stupid she’d been to actually think he loved her. “No, you never loved me, you loved what I could give you and you’re right.  I am NOT good enough for you.  I’m BETTER than you and I’m better off without you in my life.” Now she understood everything and the hatred for him was at a boiling point, her aqua eyes nothing more than ice.

 

There was a major difference in including someone in their decision-making processes and making all their decisions on another person entirely. It could be overwhelming at times, especially when it came to smaller things, things he considered petty and not worth too much scrutiny let alone two people involved in calling a decision over. But… she wasn’t wrong about the credit issue. “No, I did love you, just not in the way ye deserve or need, lass, and I did use ye to rebuild my credit.” He wasn’t going to deny it, shrugging his massive shoulders and slid his hands into the pockets of his black slacks. There was no point in lying to her, their marriage was over. “Ye are better than me, I’ll never deny it, but I’m not lying to ye about your issues.” She had basically been abandoned by her mother and her father was always absent due to his truck driving, she had serious issues stemming from all that. Or at least that’s what he personally believed. “I wish ye the best Jilysa and I hope ye find someone who is just as… intense,” He was trying to be diplomatic, that word coming out a bit stressed. “As you are to love.”

 

Taking the flowers, with the vase, she shoved them at him as hard as she could and opened the door, not having anything left to say to him.  She had cried, showed weakness and if he didn’t leave now, she would end up busting that vase of flowers over his head.  His parting words really stung, though she’d never admit it out loud.  Maybe she did have clingy issues and maybe she was intense in a relationship. “Get out.  And don’t EVER talk to me again, Andrew.” Her voice was dark and even, not believing she allowed herself to think he actually loved her, when in truth, he didn’t.  He used her to rebuild his credit and she was foolish enough to fall for his lies and charm.  Never again would she allow that to happen to her with another man.  As soon as he stepped out, she slammed the door in his face and flipped the deadbolt on it, before dropping to her knees to sob her heart out.

 

Drew did not feel the least bit bad as he left because she had asked for honesty and she had gotten it, brutally and in spades. She was a lovely woman, inside and out, but she was intense. She was needy, whether she was verbal about it or not, and he had known that when he had proposed. The credit thing… he was a scumbag and he knew that too, he had used her for her body, her sterling credit history, and he had loved her, in his own way.

 

Just not enough to stay with her any longer, let alone remain faithful. Nah. This divorce was for the best.

 

~!~

 

“Kitten, you’re kinda worrying me.” Jon had been calling and texting quite a bit and Jilysa had not responded, not once. He had noted the ‘message delivered’ thing but that told him jackshit. He sighed, hanging up after that voicemail -how many had he left?- and raked a hand through his short hair, blue eyes glancing at the clock. Hmm.

 

With black sunglasses covering her blood-shot, swollen eyes, Jilysa boarded the flight to Vegas, then she would drive the 20 minutes to Spring Valley, where her new home would reside.  She had miscalculated when she told Jon it was a half hour away driving time, but in mileage, it was only 10 miles away from Las Vegas.  Jilysa spent the majority of her night crying and curled up in bed with her cell phone off.  She turned it completely off, not wanting to talk to anyone or read any text messages. 

 

Drew’s visit came at the worst time because she had a lot on her plate with the moving, selling the condo, packing and now…now she was questioning everything about her relationship with Jon, thanks to her scumbag husband.  She still hadn’t turned her phone on, not giving a flying fig who wanted to get a hold of her and leaned her head back as the plane took off.  Jilysa still had so much left to do and had to pull herself out of the depression fast because she simply had no time for it.

 

Jilysa had shared with him the time and date of her inspection, there was quite a bit she had shared with him, and Jon had a stellar memory. He also knew exactly where her new house, inspection providing, was located at thanks to general knowledge of the area along with Zillow which had the property currently listed as pending. So, when Jilysa arrived, the realtor and the contractor were already there, so was he. He was chatting with the contractor actually, sunglasses over his eyes while the realtor made some outside inspections of her own.

 

What the hell was Jon doing here?  That was the first thought that crossed her mind as soon as Jilysa pulled up into her potentially new driveway.  She wasn’t in the mood to see him, just wanting to get this done and over with, so she could fly back to Tampa to continue packing.  Sighing, she slowly pulled the shades from her eyes, having put some makeup on at the airport and the redness and swelling had gone down from her eyes at least.  Makeup was a beautiful thing.  Taking a deep breath, she exited her vehicle and plastered on a smile, walking over to hug her realtor. “Michael, so nice to see you again.” They kissed each other’s cheeks before she finally turned to Jon. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

“Well darlin’, I didn’t expect to be ignored for a week.” He replied with a good-natured grin though behind the sunglasses, his eyes were concerned and a little guarded, maybe even a little annoyed. Was she still upset over Page? That curly haired idiot had been released from the hospital with no lingering damage, lucky him, though he’d be rocking the bruised look for awhile. She looked tired beneath that make-up, though he doubted anyone who didn’t know her would realize it. “Everything okay?” He asked quietly when the realtor -Michael- went to let the contractor inside the house to get started. “I was getting worried Jil.” He stopped her from immediately following, removing his sunglasses so she could see the concern in his eyes, the annoyance having faded as he really took her in. She seemed weary and there was something sad about her as well. “What happened, Kitten?”

 

Shaking her head, Jilysa did everything in her power to keep the tears at bay and stepped away from him.  This had nothing to do with Adam at all. “I can’t.” She whispered, swallowing hard and looked up at the sky, closing her eyes to will the tears to stay away.  Just for a couple of hours and then she could have a breakdown once she was done with her business. “Please, I can’t deal with this right now and I can’t talk to you about what happened right now.  I need to focus on this and then get back to Tampa to finish packing.” She also had to figure out if she was staying with Jon or not until her house was finalized and ready to move in.

 

What. The. Shit. Obviously, Jon had missed something because if not for those two people in the house she was supposed to be buying, there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she wouldn’t be having a spaz attack right now over something, over whatever had happened during the week. The only thing that had kept him from hopping a flight to Tampa was the fact that he had known she was going to be here today. “The hell am I missing here, Jilysa?” He asked, trying to keep his tone even and calm when all he wanted to do was snatch her up and either shake it out of her or kiss it out of her, growling when she simply wrapped her arms around herself and took a step back. “What happened that’s got you punishing me?”

 

Jilysa couldn’t hold back anymore, feeling the tears cascade down her cheeks again.  This man had a lot of balls to say what he just did! “I-I’m not punishing you, Jon!  Christ!  I’m trying to buy a house and you showing up here, out of the blue, is NOT HELPING!  I don’t need you here, okay?  I am a grown ass woman capable of doing this BY MYSELF!  And I’m not talking about what happened with you right now because I have more IMPORTANT things to do!  My time can’t always be about YOU!  My choices can’t always revolve around YOU!  I have to look out for myself because the only person who is going to take care of me IS ME!” Wow, that actually felt pretty good to say and get off her chest.  She hadn’t meant to yell all of that at him just now, but the man wasn’t getting it through his head she could not discuss what happened right at this very minute. “I’ll call you later when I get to Tampa or something.” Then, she walked into the house away from him, wiping her tears away and squared her shoulders.

 

“Don’t bother,” He called before she reached that door. “I spent two days trying to get a hold of you and worrying about you. I don’t need your fucking pity call.” Scowling, Jon stormed to his truck, coming here had been a mistake. He had been concerned for her when she hadn’t returned any of his calls or texts for two goddamn days and apparently, HE was selfish for wondering what the Hell was going on! Hadn’t she been the one to ask for total honesty and communication? Sneering, he backed out of the drive, shaking his head. Fuck all, HE had been the one to tell her NOT to make decisions involving her life revolving around him, now hadn’t he?! Yes, he had and here she was, yelling at him about HER life.

 

Way to kick me when I’m down, Jon. Couldn’t read between the damn lines?  Yes, something happened in Tampa and she didn’t want to talk about it in front of her realtor and inspector!  Was that so much to ask?  No, he had to spout nonsense about her punishing him instead of simply saying ‘okay, I understand, we’ll talk later’.  What the HELL was it with men?!  Pushing all of it in the back of her mind, Jilysa focused on her house and nodded as the inspector explained to her what needed to be fixed.  Not very many things and when it was all said and done, she signed on the dotted line to take the house officially.  Looking at the clock, Jilysa had enough to time to grab something to eat and head to the airport for her flight back to Tampa.  She was sleeping the rest of the day away, since it would be late afternoon by the time she arrived -stupid timezones- and then she’d get busy on finishing up packing and cleaning tomorrow.  Jon could sit and spin for all she cared, he wasn’t a priority at the moment.  However, she did send him one text message before shutting her phone off.

 

Bombarding me during my house inspection today and accusing me of punishing you wasn’t right, Jon.  Sometimes, you have to prioritize shit and I would’ve told you what happened…AFTER my inspection.  That’s fine though, I won’t be needing a place to stay.  I think we need to put some space between us because I’ve been too clingy with you, too intense and everything can’t always be about you.  If you never want to talk to me again, I’ll understand, but if you DO want to talk like rational adults, you know my number.

 

Within minutes after the plane took off and ascended into the sky, Jilysa was out cold, exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally from the past few days.

 

Chapter 48

 

I spent two days trying to talk to you, don’t bother lecturing me about rationality. You wouldn’t know the meaning of the word if it bit you in the ass. Would be what was waiting for her when she finally deigned to check her phone, if ever. Jon was overly tired of Jilysa and her habit of yo-yoing him. Hawaii had been great, until she had freaked out and she had ran. He had to wait for her to simmer down. Same her first time in Vegas. Then right before their trip to Japan when he had gone to apologize to her. I can’t keep being your yo-yo, Jilysa.

 

When she received that message, something inside of Jilysa hardened and the wall around her heart began to build.  If Jon only knew what happened that night with Drew’s visit, maybe he would’ve been a little more understanding. Then don’t be. She had no idea what else to say to him and tossed her phone aside while continuing to pack and clean.  Never again would she be clingy and intense in a relationship, if she ever had one again.  It was obvious her and Jon were over – Jon thought he was her yo-yo and she was setting him free.  She didn’t have time to deal with a relationship right now anyway, not with her new job, new house and starting the next chapter of her new life.  Jilysa did want Jon to be part of it, she meant that and she did love him, but maybe it wasn’t meant to be after all.

 

“Maybe I’m better off alone.” She murmured, cranking her radio up and put her cell phone on silent instead of turning it off, not wanting to be distracted any longer.  There was work to be done here.

 

He couldn’t be a little more understanding because she hadn’t even bothered to check her messages or contact him at ALL for two days. All he knew was that he had worried, blown her up enough that his mobile provider was probably flagging him as a stalker and gotten the cold shoulder when he finally did see her. Yeah, showing up like that hadn’t been smart but he had been worried. Worried enough he had even booked a flight to Tampa. He had missed that.

 

Jon was thinking the same thing ‘better off alone’ as he stared at the bracelet, the custom made one she had gifted him Christmas Eve in one hand and the snowflake necklace he had given her in the other. He had had an around the clock bonfire, it was cool enough for one to be comfortable, just enjoying the downtime. He had a case of beer, his dog, he was good. Sighing, he was half-tempted to toss them both in the fire but didn’t, instead closing them in each fist and closed his eyes. How many times was he going to have to be understanding for this woman? Each time she chose to do something that wound up pushing him away, he had understood, when did that stop?

 

Well, now apparently. Then don’t be. Fine. It was probably healthier this way anyway. He couldn’t be with someone who didn’t care that he had been concerned after two days of no contact. He got it, people had their own issues, their own pain, his could be shelved, he was getting good at that. “Fuck it.” He tossed both pieces of jewelry into the small safe he had kept them in, knowing he’d return them to the back of the closet tomorrow. He had had the necklace out, waiting for her over a mirror on a dresser in the room he had cleared out and cleaned up for her. A room that wasn’t going to get used now.

 

After three days of packing, it was now Monday evening and she was surrounded by boxes, sitting on her couch, with a bottle of Jack Daniels in front of her.  She was drunk and pulled her phone out, frowning at the last text message Jon sent her.  For some reason, she decided to send him another one in her nearly obliterated state.  Now that she was calm and thinking rationally again, Jilysa still thought he was out of line to come to her house and accused her of punishing him.  However, he also deserved to know the truth about what happened with Drew and she was ready to tell him now that everything else was done.

 

Drew came to see me Thursday night.  Brought me flowers, said he screwed up, and then told me why he cheated on me.  I’m too clingy and intense in a relationship.  And he used me to rebuild his credit.  He married me for my credit, not because he loved me like I thought.  I believed in a fairytale with him and I was made a fool.  I was never punishing you.  I just wanted to get through everything else that needed to get done before dealing with this.  I’m sorry I hurt you repeatedly and made you feel like a yo-yo.  I never meant to.  Maybe Drew’s right.  Maybe I am too clingy and intense for a relationship…

I’m sorry, Jon

 

After sending those two messages, she turned her phone off and slept on the couch, her bags she would be taking with her to AEW packed by the door.  Everything else would be sent to a storage unit -good thing she had a lot of money from WWE stocked away- and she would be renting a hotel room until her house was ready to be moved into.  Closing date was in a month, she hoped it didn’t get pushed back farther than that.  On the plus side, she would be on the strip at least and the cost to rent a hotel room for a month really wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be.

 

What she didn’t realize, in her drunken stupor, was she hadn’t sent those messages to Jon…she’d sent them to Chris instead.

 

Now, Chris liked to think he was a gentleman and all that and for the most part, he was. Especially when it came to someone’s personal business. He only aired and blabbed about what he had PERMISSION to air. This, however, was a puddle of what the fuck and he had no idea what to do about it. Delete the text and pretend it never happened? Obviously, Jilysa had never meant for him to get it and she’d realize who it had been sent too in the morning. He was betting she was drunk, or crying. He slept on it.

 

Baby, I don’t know what went down between you and Jon but I do know you both were happy. He wasn’t picking sides or anything or going out to stomp Jon, they were both his friend and honestly, they had both been happier together then they had after their marriages initially fell apart, it was a little sad that they weren’t together. I bet if you actually sent this text to him, he’d understand. And just to make sure she’d obey him, he had driven over there the next day, before her flight.

 

Oh, her head was killing her!  She had killed a bottle of Jack Daniels by herself and had spent the morning vomiting all of it up.  No food on the stomach with Jack Daniels wasn’t a good idea at all.  After she had nothing left to empty out, Jilysa took a shower to try to sober herself up a little more and then dressed.  She had a flight to catch and would spend the night in Miami, Florida before the show.  They were calling it ‘Bash at the Beach’, a throwback to WCW and it was at the Atsco Center at the University of Miami.  Hearing a banging on her front door, she stumbled over to answer it and blinked at the sight of Chris.  Jilysa hadn’t checked her phone yet, so she didn’t see his messages…or know she had sent what was supposed to go to Jon to him. “Christopher…what are you doing here?  Is everything all right?”

 

“Uh, wow, you look like shit, Jil,” Chris said with an amused grin, betting she was hungover as fuck. She looked a hot mess right now, it would have been hot if he were about thirty years younger and still stupid enough to find that attractive. Hungover chicks meant easy chicks to young bucks. Fortunately, he was older and wiser and way more picky. “Need some water?” He waved his bottle of aqua at her, glad he had even stopped to pick up croissants and Danishes, she definitely needed some heavy carbs in her system. “And I don’t know, you tell me, IS everything all right, babe?” She hadn’t been on her cell yet, that was obvious.

 

Jon probably called him was her guess as she shook her head and guided him inside, taking the water from him.  She knew not to chug it, so she began to sip it while they sat down, the coffee table in front of them clear of boxes.  She reached for the Danish and took a bite out of it, groaning at how good it tasted. “Drinking with no food on your stomach is a bad idea.” She took another bite and sip of her water, really hoping she started feeling better soon. “Shit, where’s my phone?” Chris handed it over to her and she swiped the screen while eating, seeing if she had any missed calls or text messages.  And it was a good thing she swallowed that bite of Danish before reading the latest text messages…from the man sitting beside her. “Oh fuck.” SHE SENT CHRIS THOSE TEXT MESSAGES THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR JON?!

 

“Mmm, yeah, oh fuck sounds about right.” He agreed, taking a rather dainty bite of his Danish, eyeballing the filling inside. That was delicious, too bad he wasn’t going to really have a reason to come this way anymore. “So, again, you tell me, is everything all right?” No, no it was not. She had drank without eating and drunkenly sent HIM a text meant for Jon. “I will give you this, baby, even lit you’re spelling and grammar were on point, that takes talent.”

 

“Shut up.  Oh my god…” Jilysa groaned, putting her pounding head in her hands and shut her eyes, not believing she did that. “That is why you should never drunk text.  You could be sending it to god knows who.” Oh god, what if she sent it to Adam?!  That made her eyeballs shoot open and she immediately checked her phone to make sure she hadn’t sent it to anyone else except Chris.  He was laughing at her and she flipped him off before finishing her Danish, grumbling. “You read the text, Christopher.  So no, everything is not all right.  Drew came here for some reason the other night and told me that he only married me because of my outstanding credit score.  Then proceeded to tell me I’m too intense and clingy and that’s why he cheated on me.  So it’s my fault that my marriage ended because I loved him too much!  Ow, my head.  Can’t yell.” Sipping more water, she leaned back against the couch and rubbed her temples with her fingers. “I’ve been making decisions based off Jon.  Moving to Vegas, or near Vegas, was partially because of him, so we could build whatever it is that we have.  Drew said I based my decisions on him and you damn right I did!  He was my husband, of course my decisions will be based on him!  I don’t know what these men want from me and I’m just done trying to figure them out!  Ow…” No more yelling before her head exploded.

 

Chris got up to go rifle around in her fridge, figuring she’d at least have an icepack or something. Nope. But she did have ice, in a single tray, it was very sad actually. He rifled some more, eventually picking up a discarded dish towel and wrapped the ice before walking out to place it near her head. “So, baby, question and I’m being serious now,” Her pain filled, still glassy from her drinking the night before aqua eyes opened. “Have you even figured out what YOU want, Jil?” Because it sounded like she was being young, dumb and in love. He had been there too.

 

Suddenly, tears began falling down her cheeks and neck from both the pain in her head and that question. “Of course, I do.  And it’s unbelievable to say because I hardly know him, but…I know what I feel in my heart and my mind.  Whenever I’m with him, it’s a connection unlike any other I’ve felt before.  Stronger than the one I had with Drew, or what I thought was a connection.” Turns out, she was all alone in that department. “I love Jon, Chris.” More tears fell as she placed a hand on her stomach, the words feeling like a bolt of lightning shot through her skull and an enormous weight was lifted from her shoulders all at the same time. “B-But he thinks I’ve been treating him like a yo-yo and I swear to god I haven’t…or I didn’t mean to if I have!  He wanted to know why I didn’t talk to him for 2 days straight, he came to my inspection at my house that I’m in the process of buying and I told him not everything can be about him.  I can’t revolve my world around him.  I didn’t even realize you went to the ER the other night from that bottle shattering over your head and if I wasn’t so consumed by Jon, I would’ve noticed that.  I would’ve asked if you needed me to take you and stay with you while you were evaluated.” Like she used to back whenever he’d need care in WWE.  They joked around about her being his road wife and Jessica got a kick out of it, dubbing her that very name until Chris left WWE to pursue other avenues in the wrestling world. “He accused me of punishing him and I wasn’t!  I just couldn’t tell him about what happened with Drew right there in front of my realtor and inspector!  I told him I’d call him and he told me not to, so I decided to text him…drunk, and failed because it went to you instead.” There, he had the whole story and crying wasn’t making her head feel any better.

 

Wow she sucked at this and now it explained why Jon had reached out to him, wondering if he had heard from her. Given how fast those two seemed to move, and he was NOT judging because love was love and it did its own shit, he could see how not hearing from her would toss the other man. From his understanding, Jon had called and texted her and gotten nothing in return. Sometimes, people needed to be by themselves with their shit turned off, there was nothing wrong with that either. “Well, you didn’t fail, I forwarded it to him.”

 

“Great.” Jilysa didn’t have the strength or energy to yell at him for doing that right now.  Maybe later.  She just really wanted her head to stop pounding before she had to get on a plane to go to her Vegas hotel room. “I’m never drinking again.” Chris started laughing and she whacked him before feeling his arm come around her to hold her against close. “I know I was wrong, okay?  I honestly forgot all about shutting my phone off because I just wanted to focus on getting this place done.  And then Drew showed up and I just…I didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even him.  I didn’t punish him for what Drew said to me or anything, I just needed some time.” Jon was a very intense man and if things didn’t go his way, she noticed he tended to lash out sometimes.

 

Yep, he did. She spazzed and said stupid shit. They both had problems. Serious, serious problems that were never going to get fixed because total honesty and communication were NOT their forte. It was fucking hilarious that she had tried doing that 3 rules each thing and he hadn’t even bothered. They couldn’t even adhere to the one or two they had agreed on!

 

“You both got issues.” Chris said diplomatically, still holding that ice pack to her head. “I don’t hold it against either of you.” Though… he was curious if they were going to try making it work, wondering just how many times something like this had happened in their short relationship.

 

This time it wasn’t her fault, though!  Jon had overreacted after not hearing from her for a mere TWO DAYS!  The man couldn’t go more than two days without talking to her.  Hell, he’d flown all the way to Tampa after barely a week.  It should’ve been romantic, but it also kind of scared her because Jilysa never met someone quite like Jon before.  He was a new breed of man entirely. “He probably wants nothing to do with me now.  I was going to tell him what happened, I just needed time and he wouldn’t give it to me.  This time, it’s his fault for not being patient and understanding.” Sometimes, men had to learn to read between the damn lines with a woman! “Ugh, I have a flight in three hours.”

 

Chapter 49

 

Jon had just taken a page out of her book and overreacted with a spaz attack. In this day and age, especially with her streaks of shit luck, nothing for two fucking days was kind of a big deal, especially since he was in love with the crazy, clueless broad. Jon had the worst luck in women. Why tf are you sending me this?

 

“Speak of the Mox and he shall text,” It was accidentally sent to me. Think it was meant for you. With her right there and if she wanted she could even read his messages, Chris had nothing to hide.

 

She okay? Because obviously Chris had gotten in touch with her. Chris was just that way.

 

Hungover.

 
“Oh damn it, Christopher!” Jilysa instantly regretted that as another jolt of pain went through her forehead.  Jesus, it felt like a drum was BEATING against her temple. “Fuck…just…okay, okay, I’m sorry…I’m so sorry for yelling, please stop pounding…” She was whispering, hoping her head stopped making her feel nauseous.  In a few minutes, it was gone and back down to a dull stabbing pain.  The fact Jon asked if she was okay sent a warmth shooting through her because it showed he still cared about her. “Would you mind driving me to the drugstore and then the airport?  I don’t think I can drive right now.”

 

”Yes, if you think you can be a bit more polite. All I’m doing is letting the man know you’re okay.” Chris said it sweetly, knowing damn well if she screamed one more time, yelped, anything loud, her head was probably going to split open like a ripe banana. “You still going to Vegas after everything? Want me to tell him to fuck off and leave you alone when you get there?” Which would probably suck for Jon but Chris was sensing that these two were not done just yet so… he raised an eyebrow when she gave him a look.

 

“No, don’t tell him that.  I was supposed to stay with him until my house is ready to move into, but then we had this falling out…” Jilysa really didn’t want to deal with anything else right now until her head stopped pounding. “And yes, I live in Nevada now, whether I’m with Jon or not.  And I have a beautiful home that I’ll be moving into as soon as it’s closed.” Not everything was about Jon, even if people refused to believe her. “I’ll be at the Marriott – I rented a room there for the month and I don’t know the room number yet.  But I’m going to Miami for AEW first and I’m staying at the Hilton there.” There wasn’t a reason to backtrack when Miami was just a hop, skip and jump away from Tampa.  It was about an hour flight to get there or 4 hour drive, depending on traffic, so she went with flying.

 

Chris felt mildly bad for Jon. She was supposed to stay with him until her house was ready but now she apparently was staying at the Marriott, once she went to Vegas.  Then it made him wonder what all John had done to deserve it because obviously the man had done something if she was turning cold towards him. Sucked to be Jon he supposed, that’s what he got for falling in love all over again so soon and then being a total cock about it and treating her like crap. “Got everything?” It was so bare in here it was kind of depressing.

 

After what happened, she didn’t think it was right to stay with Jon anymore.  Drew really got into her head and she hated her soon-to-be ex-husband for making her doubt her relationship with Jon. I hope you find someone just as intense as you are. “Yeah, I’m ready.” Ready to leave this place and all the memories with that asshole behind, definitely.  On the way to the airport, Chris stopped to get her a greasy cheeseburger, assuring her it would help with the hangover.  By the time she boarded the plane, Jilysa’s head had stopped pounding after she ate and she wound up falling asleep right after takeoff.

 

If Drew would have known that he has basically caused her to end her own relationship with Jon because she was now having doubts, he would have laughed himself silly. She’d take everything to heart, hurt someone because she was having her own issues, yeah, he’d of died from broken ribs that’s how hard he would have laughed. The fact that it was Jon she hurt, that was just icing on the cake. Everyone knew you didn’t rebound the way she had. Especially not with the husband of another cheater, that was just stupid. What he should have said was something about Jon… something to allude to the fact that Leah had cheated on him for a reason, made her have even more doubt about her and Mox working things out. Too late now.

 

When the plane landed, Jilysa woke up and felt marginally better, thanking the stewardess for being her alarm clock.  She yawned, stretched her arms in the air and slid her shades over her eyes before getting off the plane.  She didn’t bother with a carry on besides her purse, so she had to retrieve her luggage and then rent a car to get to the hotel.  It was just a little after 2 PM and she planned on sleeping the rest of the day away to get over this hangover.  Tomorrow was the Bash at the Beach AEW show, so she needed to get as much rest as possible.

 

Bash at the Beach, Jon inwardly rolled his eyes though he was all smiles as he checked in, having arrived not too long ago. He was a bit surprised that Adam was up and running, his face still looked like shit but he was in a good mood. Cody had been calling everyone, working with local police, the works, and so far the running theory was a fan or something had gotten backstage and attacked Adam. Jon realized, he was so far extraordinarily lucky, because if Adam hadn’t been cradling his face, eyes closed, Jon’s ass would have been charged with aggravated assault.

 

It was a tribute to his father and WCW, at least in Cody’s eyes.  He just didn’t want the WWE to take the rest of his father’s legacy, what he had helped build and create in that company.  Cody was working diligently to make sure that security was buffed up at the arenas from now on, as well as bodyguards for anyone who wanted them.  He was not taking any chances because Adam could’ve sued the hell out of AEW for this attack, if he wanted to.  However, the cowboy was a great man with a kind heart and understood that things happened.  Cody told him he would be getting a pay raise for being understanding and to hopefully compensate for what happened, as well as his hospital bill for the night taken care of.  If Cody ever found out that it was one of his own that did this, he’d fired that person on the spot and turn them into the authorities without blinking.

 

Jon was extremely lucky.

 

Jon was and he thought Cody was a bit paranoid, upping security and offering personal bodyguards… that shit came with a hefty price tag and it made him wonder just how deep Khan’s pockets ran when it came to this venture, to AEW. Humming AC/DC under his breath, he headed up to his room, bag rolling along behind him and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. People who wore sunglasses inside were douches, it was a well-known fact, he was probably a colossal douche with no fucks to give right now.

 

Jilysa needed more ice and had stepped out of her room, which was adjacent to… “Jon…” She wasn’t the only one who had the idea to arrive in Miami early, apparently.  Though, Chris had texted him with the information she’d be here.  The elevator dinged, which was near their rooms and outstepped none other than MJF.  She walked past him and Jon to go to the ice machine with her bucket, wearing cotton shorts and a tank top since she had nothing going on today.  Maybe AEW was having some kind of promotional thing, she didn’t know and unless Cody called and told her otherwise, she wasn’t leaving her room.

 

That just kind of cemented it for Jon, the woman had issues. Clicking his tongue he found his room and let his head bang against the door. Right there with hers, God had a great sense of humor and obviously hated him. So, now he knew why she had been ignoring everyone, him included, because she had let her husband get under her skin. Jon hadn’t been wrong, he WAS being punished. He was betting this was karma coming down to bitch slap him for what he had done to Adam. She was ignoring him, after letting him know why he had been an asshat when he had shown up at that inspection. She hadn’t come outright and said it but…

 

“What a fine piece of ass.”

 

Lord forgive him, he was about to commit another assault.

 

On her way back from the ice machine, Jilysa noticed something on the floor and picked it up, frowning.  It looked like a debit card and when she looked at the name, she groaned at who it was.  Jon was forever losing things and she had lost count how many times she had to help the man find his phone, wallet and keys.  Sighing, she noticed what room he walked into and decided not to be coward and simply slip it under the door.  Holding her bucket of ice in one arm, she brought her hand up and knocked firmly on the door, waiting to see if he’d answer or leave her standing out here.

 

“Look, if you don’t want me to fuck you-“ That was not that douchebag idiot who had gotten himself slapped upside the back of his head like the idiot child he acted like. He imagined said douchebag was pouting somewhere, no grown man liked being cuffed like he was a child and Jon had done it anyway because no grown man should be catcalling a woman, calling her a fine piece of ass, c’mon now. “Hi.” It was lame, he knew it, and he inwardly slapped himself. He spotted the card between her fingers, a hand dropping down to his jeans and fumbled. “Well fuck me.”

 

“You dropped it.  I found it out here on the carpet.” Jilysa had no idea who Jon was screwing now and it wasn’t her business.  She had done her civil duty for today and now he could go on with whoever he was waiting for.  The man moved faster than a speeding bullet with women, that was for sure.  She was an idiot for thinking he felt even a fraction of what she did for him.  Just like Drew.  Were all men like this?  Using women to get what they wanted, to get ahead in life, and then discarding them like trash? “Sorry to bother you.” Turning, she headed back to her room, feeling like the world’s biggest fool.

 

Jon was confused. What the shit? Weeks ago they had been making love and plans, and now she was acting like she didn't barely know him! He was never going to understand women and quite frankly, he was tired of trying too. His divorce was on the verge of being finalized thank God and he was going celibate for a very long time because he was done putting his heart through the wringer. If he had know what she was thinking he would have probably laughed her to Hell and back. There was no other women. He was here by himself. He hadn't even looked at another woman let alone touch one since Jilysa had come into his life and he had no intentions of hunting for a new one. "What the hell happened to us?"

 

She froze when she heard that question and turned to face him, tears stinging her eyes.  Just like Drew, she was showing weakness again and this time it was to Jon. Jon isn’t Drew though!  You have to remember that and stop being stubborn! “I didn’t mean to ignore you for two days…and I’m sorry for snapping at you at my inspection.  I understand you were worried about me…and I didn’t make matters any better by trying to brush it off like it was no big deal.” She really didn’t want to have this conversation in the middle of a hotel hallway. “Can I come in for a minute, please?” Maybe if she explained herself thoroughly, he would understand and they could get back on track.

 

Jon stepped back into the room, gesturing her inside. There was nobody BUT him in here, contrary to her earlier thoughts about him already sleeping with someone else. Hell, he had just got here, sort of. He had been delayed by that MJF kid’s comment about Jilysa’s ‘fine piece of ass’ and slapping some manners into said kid’s head. That was who he had thought was at the door, he had been about say something about the lines of fucking you up and seen who it was and stopped dead in his tracks. He didn’t want to fuck her up, he just wanted to know what the fuck had happened. “How’s the hangover?” He asked, a little gruffly and Jon cleared his throat, to remove that gruffness, retrieving himself a bottle of water and since she had drank enough to give herself a hangover last night, he passed her one as well, figuring hydration was probably in order all day long for her.

 

“Getting there.  Thank you.” She took the water from him and sat down on the bed, opening it to take a couple sips.  Luckily, the tears had gone away for the time being and she hoped it stayed that way. “Will you sit with me?” Surprisingly, he did and she took his hand instantly, like she always did when they were in close proximity. “When I got up Thursday morning, I decided to shut my phone off.  To close myself off from everyone, even you, until I got the condo done.  I knew I had my flight on Saturday to go to the inspection and I didn’t even think to turn my phone on.  Thursday night is when I got the unexpected visit from Drew.” A very fucked up visit, at that. “I asked him why he cheated on me because he admitted he fucked everything up between us.  And he said I…I’m…too intense and clingy in a relationship…” Her voice cracked, hating how she could still hear his voice in her head echoing. “He said I smothered him and that’s why he cheated on me with Leah.  I-I don’t know if he’s right or wrong, so I’ll ask you, Jon, am I too intense with you, too clingy?  I-I don’t mean to be, if I am…”

 

Chapter 50

 

Wow, way to put him on the spot and given the tenseness between them, Jon did not appreciate it at all. In fact, he was blaming Drew for this shit and had every intention of knocking the bastard’s teeth out should they ever cross paths again. “Intense yes, clingy no.” He said finally, after thinking about it. Everything about her was intense and that was just a fact. Not that Jon overly minded, he was well aware he could be the same way. She was intense when she loved, when she spazzed, all of it. “I should have been understanding and realized the inspection wasn’t the time or place. In my defense, darlin’, I was concerned.”

 

“I know that.  I know you were and I’m sorry for making you worry in the first place.  I was stupid to turn my phone off like that.  I just…wanted to get everything done and shut everything out until it was.  And then he showed up and…” She tilted her head up and shut her eyes, willing the tears to go away.  Jilysa was fed up with crying, that was all she’d done for the past couple days. “He fucked me up, Jon.  He said he only married me because of my credit score.  I loved him and he didn’t love me…and he threw that nonsense at me about being too intense and then said I hope I find someone just as intense as I am to put up with me.” She sniffled, squeezing his hand and finally lowered her head to let the tears fall.  It was inevitable, they would do it anyway. “After he left, I didn’t want to talk to or see anyone.  And now I’m questioning everything because of him…because I don’t wanna smother you or drive you away.  My marriage failed because of my intensity, so I’m trying to…to…fix myself…”

 

Jon felt his heart sinking at her words, though he appreciated her honesty. But… he was realizing she probably didn’t love him, hadn’t, not if she was questioning it now. Rebound, it had all been a rebound and Drew had plunked her back into a dark place with his poisonous words, making her doubt. Now HE was doubting, Galloway was SUCH a CUNT! “You’re trying to fix yourself,” He echoed, shaking his head. “Darlin’, you KNOW what a slimebag he is, he fucked around on you, USED you for his credit, why are you listening to ANYTHING he says?” She had cared a LOT for Drew on top of having so many insecurities now because of that bastard, Jon had wasted the boot on Adam, it should’ve been Drew.

 

“I’m trying not to, but…I have to wonder if I am too intense and clingy.  You said yes to intense and no to clingy.” That was good since being clingy would turn a lot of people off. “I care about you so much, Jon.  I would never do anything to hurt you.” Not deliberately, anyway.  She had meant to say she loved him, but the word care came out and it made her wonder why she couldn’t say the L word.  Why couldn’t she just tell him how she really felt?  Jon was not a rebound at all, she was in love with him and it hurt every time they were apart. “I thought he really did love me and he never did.  I was an idiot to fall for a whirlwind romance with him and I should’ve known better…I should’ve known with how quickly we got engaged and married that something wasn’t right.  But with you…it’s different, Jon.  My connection with you is far stronger than it ever was with Drew.  Do you believe that?”

 

“I used to.” He said slowly, shaking his head at the look on her face. “Darlin’, we had this talk… right before we went to Japan, remember? Something very much alike this one,” Minus the Drew factor, the intensity and clingy thing. “And we talked about the spazzing, and the leaps backwards only for us to be running forward full speed.” Not much had changed with them, they had just done a bunch of leaps backwards. “I don’t know anymore, Jil. Every time we do this, it’s okay for a few days and then something happens.” And that was where the yo-yo thing came in. “And when we’re like that, when we’re spazzing and then not talking, that hurts.”

 

No, THAT hurt.  Hearing him say those words ‘I used to’.  That hurt her more than words could possibly say.  Jon didn’t believe in them anymore, not after this and she didn’t blame him a bit.  And she responsible for almost all of it because of her spazzing.  Jon deserved better than someone like her and he was absolutely right, she did play with him like a yo-yo. “You’re right.” Jilysa slowly stood up from the bed, releasing his hand and could feel her heart shatter all over again. “You’re absolutely right…it’s like we always have an obstacle that gets in our way.  I don’t want to hurt you anymore, Jon.” She missed Tokyo because they were happy – blissfully happy – there. “And I think it would be best if…if we just stopped this right here and now.  I’m not good for you…I can see how much I’ve hurt you, intentionally or not.  You deserve a woman who isn’t spazzy like I am, who isn’t damaged goods.” That was exactly what she was – damaged goods. “So I’ll let you get on with your life and I wish you nothing but the best.” Sniffling, she wiped her tears away and headed towards the door, each step feeling like it might break her.

 

No relationship was perfect. Granted, they were blowing through fuck-ups in a few months time instead of the years it usually took but… Jon was learning those good moments were making it all worth it. She had been broken by Drew, that was obvious, and he knew his own words hadn’t helped but he wasn’t lying to her, not even to save her heart, because this woman needed the truth. She had lived with lies so long, she needed truth. He also needed her, spaz attacks or not. Before she could get out that door, Jon had her whipped around and pinned to it, his hands moving to cup her face as his lips descended on hers. “You’re not leaving me.”

 

“But Jon, we…I…” Damn, it was hard to think with his lips against hers and his body this close. “I don’t wanna keep hurting you.” Granted, this past time was accidental and it was the first time she had accidentally hurt him. “Y-You don’t believe our connection is strong…” She thought it was unbreakable at one point, but Jilysa was starting to question that too.  And so was Jon or he wouldn’t have said those words. I used to. Jon lifted her to press her against that door and her legs encircled his waist, his mouth capturing hers in a deeper kiss that forced any other words down.  She returned the kiss with equal intensity, pouring everything she felt into it.  All of her pain and love combined…and she could feel his too, radiating from every pore of his body.  There was also something else she sensed that she hadn’t before, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

 

“Then we need to work on strengthening it, don’t we?” He rumbled breathlessly when the kiss finally broke though he did not let her down. Instead, he rest his head against hers, his eyes closing as he inhaled her sweet, familiar scent. Without the rules she had tried doing the last time because those had never gotten off the ground. They were just going to have to do what they were doing now, keep taking on each obstacle as it arose and working to overcome it. He wouldn’t promise her that it would be easy because she knew it was not, they both had issues, problems, and those issues were probably always going to get in the way but as long as she wanted him, he wanted to make this work.

 

“I missed you so much.” She breathed, once she caught her breath and closed her eyes, doing the same thing he was doing with her.  Breathing him in.  Drinking everything she could in.  This man was one of a kind to go through all the shit with her that he had and still want to be with her.  She vowed to never let him go, to do everything in her power to keep him, make him happy and to not hurt him again.  Suddenly, her hangover didn’t exist and she nuzzled his neck lovingly, kissing her way up to his ear to nip it gently with her teeth. “And how do you propose we do that?  Any suggestions?”

 

"Yeah, food and a nap. You look like shit, Kitten," Nobody was ever going to accuse Jon of being an overly romantic guy, that was for sure. "How much did you have to drink, darlin'?" Enough to have her sending messages to the wrong people, though he had also been impressed with how coherent that text was. He couldn't do that, he knew, he'd tried. He brushed his lips along her temple.

 

“I’m not hungry, but…” Jilysa let out a yawn, snuggling against him as he pulled her from the door to carry her to the bed to lay her down.  Truthfully, she hadn’t slept very well since parting ways with Jon…before all hell broke loose.  Once again, they were back on the same page and not even Drew McIntyre could rip them apart.  Whether Jon believed it or not, their bond was strong and it would take a lot to break it. “Do you want me to cancel my room and stay with you until we leave to go back home?” Home being Vegas…and they still had the situation of her staying in a hotel instead of with him.

 

“Up to you,” He yawned, smirking slightly and prepared himself for the slap he was about to receive for the forthcoming comment. “Might want to keep it, just in case we fallout again within the next few hours.” Jon began laughing when he got that smack, right on his chest, bringing her hand up to drop a kiss on the back of it. He wasn’t even thinking about them having a connection, he knew they had one, but he didn’t think it was all that strong. What he did think was they were both foolish people who made foolish choices and he was okay with that. He was not known for being clever or doing the smart thing and that wasn’t likely to change. He could just hope as time went by that they DID actually fix these issues so their bond did strengthen but until time showed him that they were both done being childish, he would have doubts.

 

“You ass.” There was no malice in her tone and she smiled at his dry joke, snuggling against the pillow while he made a call to room service.  Then, he hopped in beside her and wrapped his arms around her, making her turn to face him on her side.  Jilysa was starting to realize how close she was to losing the man in front of her and it rocked her to her very core.  She didn’t want to lose him, ever.  She needed to straighten up and stop her spazzy ways, even though she hadn’t spazzed this time around.  She had snapped because of her soon-to-be ex-husband and shut Jon out, when he’d been worried about her after two days of no contact. “I mean it, Jon.  I want to go home with you after the show and stay with you.” She stroked his bearded face gently and leaned forward to softly brush her lips against his, hooking her leg over his as his arm tightened around her.  The only way they would be able to strengthen their connection, their bond, and their relationship, in general, was spending time together outside of work and away from chaos.  And if this was her being too clingy and intense, well, this was her and she wasn’t changing for anybody and Drew could go hang himself.

 

Jon didn’t think that was clingy at all, it was actually a good idea because when they were apart… things tended to go to Hell and he did NOT like that. Jilysa had come to mean a lot to him an incredibly short amount of time. He had worried a lot about that, about all the sex at the time and there had been a LOT of it, she had been a walking thirst trap and goddamn did she make him thirsty. Then it was just how fast things in general were moving and he had afraid of rebounding, of diving into something they shouldn’t. Now… now he was just afraid of losing her.

 

They needed to stop being afraid of losing each other and just enjoy being together.  That was a major issue between them.  Fear was evil and they needed to make it just a four letter word and not let it get the best of them.  More Jilysa than Jon since she had been the one to hurt him, not the other way around.  For once, it was the woman doing the hurting and leaving, the spazzing, instead of the man.  They continued kissing and touching for the next hour, becoming reacquainted with each other, until room service arrived and reluctantly, Jon pulled away to roll the tray into the room. “I hope you didn’t get me anything because I really am not hungry, lover.”

 

“And you never took that nap.” And she still looked like she needed it but instead they had been fooling around, kissing and touching each other, sleep had not happened. The color was back in her face, her eyes weren’t guarded and sad looking anymore, so there was that. “Did you even eat today?” He listened as she rattled off shit Chris had brought for her and the greasy burger he had gotten her for lunch. Yeah, made sense, the man had had enough hangovers in his life he’d know how to deal with one. Nothing rest and water wasn’t going to take care of he supposed. “I did order cheesecake… just in case.” He was famished, his own appetite returned.

 

“Ugh, you know that’s my weakness and you’re exploiting it.” Jon grinned while handing over the plate with her cheesecake on it, along with a fork.  Jilysa would sleep when she was dead.  She had a lot to make up to Jon, no matter how crappy she was feeling.  In a way, she did rest and let her lips do most of the work, but she figured Jon wanted her to properly sleep. “And I’d rather stay awake making up with you than sleeping, for the record.” Taking a bite of the cheesecake, she groaned and her stomach gurgled with life.  Maybe she was hungrier than she thought.

 

“I would much rather you nap now and then we have all night and we’re both awake and relaxed,” Jon shot back, shaking his head when her stomach gurgled. Yeah, exactly. He knew his woman had a fondness for cheesecake, he had ordered an entire cheesecake, which wasn’t very large but… there was enough for her to have seconds, thirds even if she wished it. Jon would pass, cheesecake was rich, give him ice cream any day of the week. He was helping himself to his steak and baked potatoes, smiling at her. “How is it?” He asked sweetly, blue eyes sparkling impishly.

 

“So good.” One piece was all she’d be able to have because she didn’t want to have an upset stomach.  Once she finished while he continued his steak and potato, she stood up to set her plate on the tray before leaning down to brush her lips against his cheek. “Thank you.” Then, Jilysa was right back in bed, yawning and tried to fight the sleep off, but it was impossible.  The cheesecake hit the spot and soon, she was napping just like Jon wanted her to while he finished eating.  The hangover had really knocked her on her backside and Jilysa would not be touching Jack Daniels again for a very long time.

 

Jon felt very satisfied. The meal had been delicious and long before he had even finished, she was sound asleep on the bed. He pushed himself upright and quietly put everything away, setting the empty service ware back out in the hallway to be retrieved by housekeeping. Carefully, Jon slid into the bed beside her, pulling her into his arms and wasn’t surprised when she didn’t wake up. He stared at her, taking in how peaceful she looked and inwardly congratulated himself on stopping her at the door before she could leave, for not allowing it. This woman had wormed her way into his heart and every time it felt like they were saying goodbye, it hurt more than anything. He had no intentions of reaching that point again.

 

Chapter 51

 

A few hours later, Jilysa woke up in Jon’s arms and smiled for the first time in what felt like ages.  It was a genuine, happy smile because they were together.  Despite all the bullshit, they managed to stay strong through it all.  She felt refreshed, her hangover officially gone and the exhaustion had slowly melted away.  He was sleeping peacefully and she turned to watch him for a little while, burning this moment in her memory. “I’m such a coward for doing this while you’re sleeping, but I can’t hold it in any longer.” She whispered, very lightly brushing her lips against his. “I love you, Jon, and I hope you love me too.” He was sleeping, so she knew it technically didn’t count, but at least she’d said the words out loud.  Pulling away from him carefully, she left the bed and took his key card to go to her room to grab her things and to check out of her room since she wouldn’t need it anymore.

 

When Jilysa made her way down to the front desk to return her key and cancel her room, Adam Page was standing there with a bit of a predicament. He had not arranged for a room. He had been doing so well too after that night he had spent with Jilysa. This week… he had been basically in recovery from the attack delivered by some coward at the last show. “Seriously, you don’t have anything left?” There were usually a few rooms left for walk-ins, apparently not here, not today.

 

“I’m sorry sir but with the event, our rooms sold out and our walk-ins were gone as of this morning. Would you like me to refer you to a sister hotel?”

 

“Adam, what’s going on?” Jilysa walked over to him, setting her two bags down beside her and could see the frustrated on the cowboy’s face.  He reiterated what happened and she smiled, remembering the last time he’d done this.  The man really needed a personal assistant since he couldn’t remember to book himself a room.  He’d lose his head if it wasn’t attached. “Well, today is your lucky day because I have a room that I’m about to vacate and I’m giving it to you.” She turned to the receptionist. “Do you mind checking him under his name and I’ll pay you for the entire day?”

 

“S-Sure…” The receptionist blinked and got to work, stepping away to make the necessary adjustments.

 

“How are you feeling, cowboy?”

 

“Embarrassed, whoa there ma’am, I’ll pay for it.” Because he wasn’t doing that again, his mama would have his hide if he let a lady pay for his room again. Adam whipped out his credit card, point blank refusing to let her pay for a room she wasn’t using and sighed in relief when he was given a receipt to sign, finally flashing Jilysa a grin. “Thank you kindly though, honey, I really needed that room. I’ve been out of it all damn week it feels like.” He was cleared medically to wrestle but had been told he’d probably suffer headaches for another week or so.

 

“I used the room, but I won’t argue with you on it.” Jilysa stepped up to him, concern written all over her face and reached up to brush some of the blonde curls away from his. “The bruising isn’t too bad, so that’s good.  You’re not too swelled either.  Did they clear you to wrestle?” He nodded and she couldn’t understand that logic since concussions could pop up weeks after an attack like this. “Are you going to be okay to wrestle?” Another nod.  He was so stubborn, but then again, most men were. “Well, you get some rest and they have fabulous room service here, I definitely recommend it.”

 

Concussions could go weeks without showing symptoms, and then the side effects could last longer, it was insane. Adam was under care of his personal doctor and under orders to be monitored throughout the night with the medical people at work, especially after any matches. At the event, he had every intention of making sure his head wasn’t purposefully targeted, providing Chris and Cody hadn’t gone out of their way already to inform everyone above the neck was hands-off for the most part. “You already trying out the room service, honey?” He teased, finally taking his key and gave the receptionist a warm smile. “Thank you, ma’am.” He fell into step with Jilysa, heading back the way she had come.

 

“Yeah, they have AWESOME cheesecake here.” Jilysa grinned, walking alongside him towards the elevator and Adam took one of her bags.  They weren’t exactly small, she had no choice except to bring her luggage from the condo with her to Miami before going to Vegas.  Backtracking was not an option.  Her condo was gone, the owners would be taking the keys any day now that she left with her realtor. “Jon had the steak and potato, and he said it was good, so you should try that too.” If he was a steak man, which she was betting he was.  They stepped on the elevator and the doors closed with her dropping her bag, groaning at the heaviness. “I really hate moving.”

 

Now, Adam had heard that Jon and Jilysa were a thing, he had even been told about it in passing by Chris during a casual conversation. He wasn’t sure why the older man had mentioned it, sometimes Chris said or did weird shit without any rhyme or reason.

 

No, there was always reason and rhyme. Chris was just making it clear, incase the cowboy got any ideas, that Jilysa was taken.

 

“You figure out where you’re moving too, honey?” The last time they had spoken, had been… before she went to Japan with Jon, if you didn’t count her visit to him in the ER. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when she smiled slightly and said Vegas. “Things pretty serious then?” He smiled down at her.

 

“I’m not moving in with Jon, if that’s what you’re asking, cowboy.” Jilysa really hoped Adam’s intentions with her remained friendly because she didn’t see him as anything except a friend.  Jon was her one and only…and they’d been through hell on earth together. “I actually bought my own place in a town about 20 minutes away from the City of Sin.  I won’t close on it for another month, but the people who bought my condo wanted me out by this Friday, so that’s why I have these two huge bags with me.” Clothes, shoes and toiletries…the rest of her stuff was being shipped to a storage unit in Vegas by Jessica, who promised to make sure her stuff arrived safely.  She trusted Jessica and Chris with her life and she was very relieved when Jessica offered to take care of that part of business for her. “It’s a ranch with a huge backyard that’s fenced in, in-ground swimming pool and I’m thinking of putting a jacuzzi back there too.  I do love a hot tub.”

 

Adam hadn’t been asking if she was living with Jon, or moving in with him, so much as if things between the pair were serious. He did wonder, however, how much time she would spend at this house which sounded quite lovely. “Sounds perfect, honey, sounds like a good place to raise some rugrats,” Adam laughed amusedly when she began shaking her head no. “Now, now, I wasn’t saying anytime soon but with your caring nature, you’d probably make a fine mama.” Why THAT had come out of his mouth he had no idea because one, it wasn’t polite bringing up children to a woman you barely knew and two, it was presumptuous to even think kids were in her future. His cheeks reddened and he was definitely blaming his concussion for this.

 

Kids definitely weren’t in her future, not that she could see anyway.  She was on birth control, but she also knew that wasn’t 100% effective and if Mother Nature got a wicked sense of humor, she would end up pregnant.  The universe would let her know when the time was right for a baby.  She wanted one with Drew and they had tried for months after they were married…and she was so thankful the universe hadn’t blessed her with a child with him.  No thanks, she wanted NOTHING to do with him and if they had a child together, that would’ve been a whole ball of problem wax. “You should come out and see it sometime.  I have two spare rooms, so if you need to get away, my place is always open to you and any of my friends.” She smiled kindly at him, giggling at his reddening cheeks and knew he was probably embarrassed with what he said about rugrats. “As far as the rugrats go, maybe one day, but definitely not anytime soon.”

 

“I don’t even know why I’d say that, it just kinda popped out.” Adam grumbled good-naturedly, with a hint of sheepishness in his tone. “Just kind of stuck my foot in my mouth.” Hm, she had extended an invitation to her house and considering he did like her -as a friend only, of course- and they had already shared a room once, he nodded. “I’d like that, Jil, coming out and staying a spell. I don’t get out that way much but I like it, I like the dry heat.” Better than Florida and the constant swamp ass that came with it. “I don’t want to be stepping on toes though.” Like… Jon’s toes.

 

Which was smart because Jon’s toes were encases in steel. Adam had already felt it once, Jon might’ve done it a second time.

 

“You’re not stepping on anyone’s toes.  It’s MY house and I’m inviting you.  We’re friends.  A man and woman CAN be friends, contrary to the society we live in.” Jilysa knew there was a stigma surrounding men and women being friends and it really repulsed her.  She would never do anything to hurt Jon, but he did travel a lot more than she did.  On top of AEW, he also had NJPW and other wrestling promotions within the Indies he wrestled for.  She couldn’t always go with him on the road, it just wasn’t possible, so one of those times he was gone, she would invite Adam over to stay with her to keep her company.  There was nothing wrong with it.

 

The stigma was there for whatever reasons but in this day and age, with so much having changed and STILL constantly changing, Adam didn’t get it either. It used to be you could not simply be friends with a member of the opposite gender, sex was ALWAYS involved or so the implication went, especially when it came to women. However, if Adam knew what she was thinking, about inviting him over when Jon was absent, he would have immediately shut that down because that WOULD look bad and it WOULD be stepping on another man’s toes, friends or not. “I hear that.” He grinned at her, finally halting when he realized they were approaching his room and when she moved to the one adjacent, one eyebrow raised. “Right next door, huh?”

 

“Yeah, this is Jon’s room, actually.  I got my own because I didn’t know he was going to be here a day early like me.  So it all worked out.” She took her bag from him and set it outside of Jon’s door, pulling the keycard out she swiped to get back in. “Enjoy the room, I barely touched it and make sure you get some rest, cowboy.” He saluted her and she giggled as Adam entered his room and she was about to slide the keycard in the slot when the door flew open. “Whoa!” She nearly toppled over her bags from the velocity and looked up at a half-awake, pissed off Jon. “Hi.”

 

Adam had entered his room but not gotten to closing the door just yet, busy setting his bags down just against the wall.

 

Jon was pissed because he was half-awake and had woken up to an empty bed, it wasn’t even a rational anger. It had been fueled by still being partially asleep it seemed on top of the fact that they had only reconciled -again- hours earlier. It dawned on him, as he stared down at her, that he now had a stupid little fear about her leaving. He was doomed, this woman had ruined him. “Hi.” He grunted, his eyes moving past her and to Adam, raising an eyebrow. “You still look like shit.”

 

“Hell man, nothing make-up can’t fix.” Adam grinned at them both before shutting the door.

 

“Isn’t that your room?”

 

“It was, but I gave it to Adam because there’s no more vacancies in the building.  I’m staying with you, so I figured there was no point in wasting money on a room for two days.” She shrugged, thinking it was logical and proceeded to carry her bags inside past him, setting them by the wall. “Adam was at the receptionist desk when I went down there to check out of my room and I overheard them say there were no more vacancies.  The man really needs a personal assistant or something because he is not a very good planner.” She had no idea how scared she made this man by having him wake up to her being gone. “I got up and figured I’d check out of my room and grab my things to bring them here while you were asleep.”

 

Jon nodded, running a hand over his short hair, stifling a yawn as he watched her begin to sort through her bags for whatever. He noted she actually had quite a bit of shit for an overnight and then realized she was heading to Vegas after this. That was good, it made him grin as he walked over to the bar, bending down to rifle for a bottle of water and uncapped it. He needed something with caffeine, he hadn’t honestly thought he’d sleep, let alone longer than her. “You look like you’re feeling better.” He decided not to comment on Adam, knowing he couldn’t tip his hand when it came to the curly haired wannabe cowboy.

 

“Yeah, you were right about that nap.  I really needed it, I feel a lot better now.  I’m gonna take a shower and feel even better and more human.” Pulling out a nightshirt with some panties, Jilysa turned to see Jon had his back to her and tossed her stuff on the bed.  She wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing his bare back and nuzzled him affectionately. “I really did miss you.” She began raining soft kisses along his back, as far as she could reach since he was taller than her and caressed his abs with her fingertips.  Adam wasn’t even on her mind anymore, only the man she was holding, touching and kissing…and he was the only man she ever wanted.

 

Jon stood there, his hands dropping to rest on the counter while he watched her fingers dancing along his body. He could already feel his body stirring to life at her touch, at her words, he was head over heels in love with this woman and he bit his tongue. He hadn’t been lying when he had admitted she was intense and he knew he was just as much, was saying those three little words a good idea, even for them? Was there a point where the intensity became too much for either of them? No, not today, he wouldn’t let those words slip, those tiny yet impactful words, she was still coming off of the bullshit Drew had fed her and he wasn’t going to mess that up. “I missed you too, Kitten.”

 

Hey, she said those words to him while he was sleeping, so at least she knew she was capable of saying them.  Now, she just had to find the right time and place to tell him when he was awake.  After a few minutes of loving on him, she squeezed his waist and pulled away to grab her clothes from the bed. “Feel free to join me, if you want, Mox.” Winking, she closed the door and turned the shower sprays on, letting them get as hot as she’d be able to stand it before shedding her clothes.  A hot shower and then an actual meal is what she needed to feel completely back to herself again.  She’d taken a shower earlier that day upon arrival, but she had woken up sweating more of that alcohol out of her system during one of her naps, prior to Jon’s arrival.  What time was it anyway?

 

Chapter 52

 

Time to change the bedsheets, which Jon did while she was in the shower, he knew that odor, he had done it more times then he could count. Sweating out alcohol… it left everything rank. He also figured she could use that time to clean up and then he’d come help her get messy all over again. Jon had just passed over the dirty sheets to housekeeping he had called down for when he heard Jilysa singing in the shower. It took him little time to finish up, smiling slightly and began shedding his own clothes. He had no idea what she was singing but she had a beautiful voice. He was quiet as he crept into the bathroom, trying not to rustle the shower curtain or cause too much of a draft as he slipped into the shower behind her. Though… Jon did have enough sense to reach out to steady her when he announced his presence, not wanting her to slip and fall. “Hi.” He turned her around, noting the scent of her bodywash and bent down, capturing her lips in a hungry kiss.

 

She was singing a song by Casting Crowns, one of her favorite Christian bands, and hadn’t noticed Jon come into the shower until he grabbed her.  The feeling of his lips on hers made her forget about smacking him for scaring her and instead she molded her body to his.  Her bodywash was Japanese cherry blossoms from Bath & Body Works.  It was her favorite besides mangos and they also had a rose scent too, but the cherry blossoms was life.  It made her smell of them and she remembered that promise Jon made to show her the cherry blossoms when they were in full bloom in Japan.  She really hoped they got to go because she wanted to share that moment with him.  Reaching down between them, while they continued kissing, Jilysa began stroking his cock and felt it harden in her palm, moaning in his mouth.  Suddenly, she found herself breaking the kiss and moving down his body, leaving a trail of fire behind with her lips before finally engulfing his cock in her mouth, or as much of him as she could fit.

 

That moment was still a few months off, it would be spring soon enough and then they would go to Japan, during the height of the cherry blossom season and by the time they were done, she’d probably be sick of them. Maybe. He had already rented a small house in the country, surrounded by them, but also close enough for them to visit the actual parks. Not that he had told her that, he had done it straight off their Tokyo trip and he would continue sitting on it until closer to spring. “Holy… darlin’, you don’t- Jesus Christ,” Jon had to plant one palm against the tile wall before him, the other moving to the top of her head as her mouth engulfed his cock. This woman was going to kill him. “Fuck, Jilysa…” He hissed, blue eyes watching as she bobbed her head on him.

 

“Mmm…” That was the only sound she made, too busy trying pleasure her man.  Jilysa had a lot to make up for and it’d been a week since they had any kind of sexual contact.  That was far too long to be without this man.  She knew there would be times they’d be apart, but absence made the heart grow fonder.  Humming around his cock made him growl out and she inwardly smirked, her hands planting on his backside to dig her nails into his cheeks slightly.  Whether he wanted to or not, Jon was going to cum right down her throat and she would swallow every bit of him she could.  Jilysa longed to taste him again and looked up at him with smoldering aqua eyes, feeling his fingers tighten in her hair.  Those eyes were telling him clear as day to surrender and let go.

 

He was afraid of hurting her, he was so much smaller than he was, he knew he was a strong man and letting go meant letting go of that control as well. The look in those knowing, darkened eyes had him groaning from low in his throat, his entire body shuddering as she hummed around his cock. “Fuck, Kitten!” He did as she was silently commanding, he let go, both hands now buried in her hair as he began fucking her mouth. He was gentle at first, though he felt his hands on his ass, urging him on, her moaning around him was coaxing him as well, letting him know she wanted this.

 

Jilysa more than wanted this – she NEEDED this.  She needed to feel Jon explode in her mouth, to satisfy her man and make him see he was the only one for her.  Actions spoke louder than words and after what he confessed to her about not believing their connection was stronger than hers had been with her husband.  It was far stronger than anything she felt in her life.  Jilysa was going to prove how much she loved Jon with actions instead of words because words were meaningless.  Actions were what would seal the deal with Jon, he was a man of action, not words.  So, she would be a woman of action instead of words.  And honestly, it felt damn good to have this man fuck her mouth like he owned it because, in a way, he did.

 

Sex was not the best way to go to prove a connection. Well…. Not anything but a physical connection and they had that in spades, there was no denying that. It was the other aspects that they were lacking in. They’d get there, it’d just take time and the ability to not fuck it up when they were apart as they were wont to do. “Fuck, darlin’, I’m gonna fucking explode, Jil,” And right down her throat, the look in her eyes told him she wanted him too. Such a good little cocksucker she was, he was definitely returning this favor.

 

A few minutes later, he fulfilled that vow and she swallowed almost all of him, the taste making her shiver.  Jon had a very unique taste and she loved it, craved it, and kept driving him in and out of her mouth until there was absolutely nothing left for him to give.  Only then did she release his cock, which was already softening and kissed her way up the length of his body before bringing his mouth down on hers, passionately kissing him.  Luckily, when he joined her, she had already washed her hair and body, so once the kiss broke, she offered to wash his back while he calmed down from that intense orgasm.

 

Jon had to take a breather, his eyes closed as he focused on getting his body to calm down. His blood was still running hot through his veins and hearing her moving behind him did nothing to quell it either. Finally, he pushed away and turned to face her, smiling and reached out to brush wet hair off her face. “Oh you little tease,” He growled without any heat when Jilysa suggestively licked her lips, cupping her face in both hands and bent down to kiss her, tasting himself on her tongue.

 

“Mmm…you’re tasty.” Jilysa purred once the kiss broke, nipping his bottom lip and squealed when he lifted her over his shoulder to cart her out of the shower. “Jon!  You still have soap all over you!” What was he thinking?!  Apparently, he didn’t care because she was deposited into the bed and then ordered to stay put while he shut the water off.  Oh boy, the animal in him was coming out to play, she could feel it and the anticipation made her shiver, especially when he returned to stare down at her.  Those eyes of his were boiling over and she crooked her finger at him, noticing he had indeed rinsed the rest of the soap from his body, beckoning him to her.

 

Jon definitely had taken a moment, he was NOT about to get soap into delicate places on either of their bodies, hell to the no. But there was no denying that she had definitely provoked something in him, with that little tease of hers and while he might not be able to get it up at JUST this precise moment… did not mean he couldn’t do other things to her. “On your hands and knees, Kitten,” He ordered in a rough, low growl, watching as she hesitated for a moment before rolling over and getting herself up into the position he wanted her. He let out a rumble of approval, taking in the delicious view of her delectable pussy and that equally delectable ass he had been dreaming about taking for a ride.

 

The things Jon did to her body that night would forever be remembered and by the time they were finished, it was well into the early morning hours before they passed out in each other’s arms.

 

~!~

 

“WHAT THE FUCK, CODY?!”

 

Jilysa CRINGED at the roaring of Jon’s voice while eating breakfast the next day, both of them solemn after they woke up to the news.  Apparently, AEW wanted Jon to fight for his spot as number one contender for Chris’s AEW championship.  They felt he hadn’t earned it yet and so they were setting up a series of matches for him to go through in order to rightfully earn that spot.  What Jilysa didn’t understand was why the hell was the company allowing Chris and Jon to build this amazing feud with each other if Jon wasn’t the number one contender?  That made no sense to her at all.  And now she would have to post all of this on the social media sites for the world to see!

 

“THIS IS BULLSHIT!!  I’VE WON EVERY GODDAMN MATCH SINCE COMING TO AEW!!”

 

It was the truth.  Jon hadn’t lost a single match since AEW came to fruition, but the company still felt he had to fight for his right to be called number one contender. “It is bullshit.” She agreed, once he hung up on Cody and shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, Jon…”

 

“Just-“ Jon ran his hands over his head, beginning to pace back and forth, trying not to lose his shit. He knew, with as pissed as he was right now, he was liable to take it out on her and that was the last thing he wanted to do after they had JUST reconciled AGAIN. “Fucking Cody, FUCKING CODY!” He was going to hit something, dropping his clenched hands to his sides, still pacing. “AEW is on the verge of something big with the networks… and he thinks this is gonna be good for the company, drawing this fucking shit out!”

 

Jilysa knew she should’ve bitten her tongue and let him vent, but…the wrestling fan in her couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Well, I can see it from his point of view.” Jon shot her the DARKEST look and she shrugged, folding her arms in front of her chest. “From a fan’s perspective, you are the face and Christopher is the heel, right?  Well, what better way to build a story than to have the face, the hero, fight his way to the top of the mountain?  I used to love drawn out storylines in wrestling and then it was almost as if they disappeared overnight.  Jon, they know you’re the number one contender.  Now you just have to go out there and beat everyone’s ass until you are the only one left standing at the top of the mountain with Le Champion.” That probably wasn’t the smartest thing for her to say.

 

“I HAVE beaten them all just about, Jil, haven’t you been paying attention?” Jon had tried, he honestly had, not to let that darkness out but he didn’t want to hear the reasons why this was good for business, he really didn’t. What he wanted was to blow off his fucking steam and have his rage settle and THEN ‘think about it’. “This is fucking bullshit and now I’m wondering what Chrissy had to say about this because Cody wouldn’t come to ME first, not when he has Chris’ fucking ass to kiss!” Now, any other time, Jon would have never said anything like that regardless if it was the truth or not, and it was the truth, Chris was usually in on most decisions because people wanted his input and rightly so. Right now, it was bullshit, Chris’ input was bullshit. He let out a roar of frustration, driving his fist into the wall.

 

That startled her right out of the bed, her eyes wide and could not believe he just put a hole in the wall! “JON!  Stop it right now!  Chris had nothing to do with this!  You’ve lost your damn mind!” Oh boy, Jilysa actually stepped back when those ICY eyes turned on her and she swallowed hard, putting her hands up. “You have to calm down and think rationally, okay?  Please…” A snarl erupted from him and Jon backed her up until he SHOVED her harshly against the wall, making the back of her head smack it.  Christ, her heart had leapt in her throat and she was so shocked by what just happened, she was frozen against the wall.  Jon went a step farther and put his fist through the wall again, right by her head, and Jilysa let out a terrified scream, thinking he was about to drive his fist through her.  Sliding down the wall, she curled up in a trembling ball with her knees drawn up against her chest and silent tears poured down her cheeks.

 

The world would never freaking know what could have happened next because the door had been kicked open. Adam had heard Jon bellowing from across the hall when he had stepped out of his room to get a bucket of ice. He had hesitated at the roaring, heard Jilysa’s terrified scream and reacted on instinct.

 

Naturally, Jon whirled at the whole door flying off the hinges thing, his blue eyes nothing but slits of ice. Cowboy was about to get another boot to the fucking face.

 

“Jil, honey, you okay?” There were two holes in the wall and she was obviously terrified.

 

“Fuck off, Page, she’s fine.” As if he would HURT her like that, no.

 

It felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest from how fast it was pounding and she was still in that fetal position, managing to look up to see Adam standing in the doorway.  No, no she was not fine because her boyfriend just flew off the hinges like that door did when Adam kicked it in.  Not to mention, she didn’t know if Jon would’ve hit her had his fist not gone through the wall RIGHT NEXT TO HER HEAD. Fuck, you need to breathe before you pass out, Jilysa!  Christ, I didn’t think he would go off like that, but he did. It brought her back to that night with Drew outside of the condo building.  If Jon hadn’t shown up…just like Adam did…Jilysa nodded shakily and reached up to use the dresser to her advantage, pulling herself up to her feet.  Never in her life had she been with a man who had a temper like Jon’s…and it was terrifying, to say the least. “I-I’m fine…” She whispered, placing a hand on her stomach and the other on her forehead, trying to get her breathing and heartrate to return to normal.  Her complexion was still pale as a ghost, though the color was slowly returning to her face.

 

“You don’t look fine,” Adam said doubtfully, his eyes scanning over her with pure concern shining in them. “Jil, you-“

 

“She said she’s fine, and now what the fuck are we supposed to do about this door you fucking broke?” Now Jon was irate for a whole new reason, turning to look down at his woman. His gaze softened for a moment. “Pack your stuff, darlin’, we’re going to have to find a different place to stay.” And that was after the hotel got done raping him over a door that he hadn’t kicked in, though the holes in the wall were definitely all his fault.

 

Adam had whiplash from how Jon had gone from raging psycho to totally fine in seconds.

 

Chapter 53

 

Jilysa was feeling the same way and didn’t want to go with Jon anywhere.  In fact, every alarm bell in her head was ringing loudly and telling her to get the hell away from him.  She also knew if she didn’t go with him, if she stayed behind, that would be the end of them.  What the hell was she supposed to do?  Jon had just scared the living hell out of her with that temper tantrum! “T-There’s not…” Damn, she really hated how shaky her voice was at the moment and swallowed hard, seeing the door was completely off the hinges from Adam’s kick. “There’s not a vacancy in all of Miami because of the show and other events going on.” That was why she gave her room to Adam in the first place. “I’m sure if we go down there and calmly explain what happened, they’ll accommodate us somehow.”

 

“There are no more rooms, Jilysa.” Adam said a bit more calmly then he felt, gathering she was going to stay with this piece of work and wondered if that was smart. Or was she afraid to leave? He wouldn’t blame her if she was, Mox had just shown he had a serious temper and it made Adam wonder if the man would ever lay hands on a woman, frowning at the thought. He had only gotten lucky because SHE had had a room she no longer needed.

 

“I doubt they’re going to be accommodating about a broken door and busted walls.” Jon said flatly, his eyes roaming the damage. Two out of three were definitely his fault. Adam was a cockbag for busting in the damn door. Why the fuck had he done it to begin with?

 

“What the fuck is going on here?”

 

“Chris…” Jilysa didn’t hesitate and immediately went to him, not sure how to explain all of this without Jon looking like a douchebag.  Was there a way to do that? “Jon got upset because of what’s going down on the show tonight with the number one contender.” That was an understatement judging by the holes in the walls and the busted down door. “He, um, scared me and I screamed and Adam kicked the door in…” That was the gist of it and she couldn’t stop shaking, doing everything in her power to stop it, but it wasn’t happening.  Her heart was still pounding pretty fast too. “W-We don’t have a room now because of the door…”

 

“Then you’ll stay with me in my suite.  I have one on the upper floor.  It was the only room I could get with a jacuzzi.” His back was killing him lately, but it was nothing a hot dip couldn’t fix. “There’s plenty of room for you guys.” They were his best friends and…he needed to figure out what was going on with Jon.  It wasn’t like him to unleash fury all over a hotel room.  The man was smarter and more professional than that. “Grab your shit, Mox.”

 

Jon was in for it now and he knew it. it was not the first time the veteran had done a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting with younger men, he had done it not so long ago. There had been an issue with tag teams not properly tagging out and basically ignoring the rules and the refs, Chris had held a backstage meeting and let them all have it. He had laid out WHY they still needed to obey the rules, AEW was just as liable to the regulations as any other professional sports company.

 

Sure enough, after excusing himself, Adam had left and Chris ushered Jilysa into the suite before taking Jon out onto the balcony where they’d have a little bit of privacy. “Okay babe,” He watched as Jon lit a cigarette, wondering where the chew had gone. “What happened?”

 

Jilysa knew not to intervene and went to put their bags in the room, needing a minute to compose herself.  Would Jon have punched her and not the wall?  Was he aiming for her?  That thought scared her because he would’ve done serious damage if he had connected with her face.  Before she knew it, tears began rolling down her cheeks and her hands were shaky again as she sunk down on the bed, putting her face in her hands.

 

Jon vented to Chris about how the company had made him the number one contender, but then changed their minds at the last minute. “That shot is MINE.  I haven’t lost a single fucking match in this company since it’s inception, man!  I DESERVE it!  We’re building this amazing feud together and now the company is trying to fuck it all up!  Look, I don’t wanna point fingers or anything, but…did Cody come to you and ask your opinion on this?” Jon took a very long drag of his cigarette, flicking ash from the tip.

 

“Yeah, he did,” Chris said calmly, well aware Jon’s temper was unpredictable and could potentially spike. He was also aware they were on a balcony up quite a ways. “And I told him you weren’t going to be very happy. Did he tell you WHY?”

 

“Just something big was in the works.” Jon muttered, not looking at the older man as he stared out over the city.

 

“Like, a multi-year TV deal for AEW.”

 

Ah. It clicked and Jon wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “So, I get fucked because he got a TV deal?” Sure, it’d make great TV but that was such a shady, McMahon thing to pull and his eyes flashed again.

 

“Dude, listen to me, nobody is screwing you over, okay?  This shot is yours and they all know it.  They just wanna create some drama to get the ratings to go up higher and…” Then, an idea clicked in Chris’s head and a smirk curved his lips. “You know my cruise that’s happening next week and AEW is gonna air live from it?  Well, why not give AEW and the fans a treat?  Granted, it’ll require some pain on your part, but it’ll tell a very compelling story and the fans will hate my guts when it’s over.  AND the best part is the company will have NO choice except to make you the number one contender with what I have in mind.  You in, Mox?”

 

Jon groaned, leaning over the railing and stared down at the city below. Now that he was calming down, everything since that call was catching up and Jilysa… he felt his stomach do a funny flop, knowing he had terrified her. She was probably wondering if he would have hit her, which he would not have. One thing in all his years, even with his temper, was that he was NOT an abuser of women. Physically anyway. There could definitely be an argument made for emotionally, especially in his younger years. “What’s this pain on my part, bullshit?” He finally asked gruffly, hearing Chris’ snort of amusement and scowled up at the other man. “You’re not funny, Christopher.”

 

“I’m fucking hilarious, babe.”

 

“A beatdown by the Inner Circle on Jon Moxley.” Chris made it sound like it was the greatest idea on planet earth. “And then something else happens during that beatdown to push the odds in your favor.” When Jon raised a brow at him, he smirked and crooked his finger, beckoning the man inside his suite to show him something.  They went into his room and Chris pulled out a SPIKY leather jacket, laying it on the bed. “I wear this sometimes in my concerts, but I brought it on the road for this week because I wanna use it against you.”

 

“Use it HOW?”

 

“These spikes unscrew.” Chris showed him, unscrewing one from the shoulder and held it up, tossing it in the air for Jon to catch. “They’re sharp, but not TOO sharp.  We could make it look like I took your eye out with one of those and gain you sympathy from the crowd and the company.  We could make this REALLY personal and vindictive, Jon.”

 

Jon held the spike in his hand, contemplating if this was a good idea or not.  Hell, what did he really have to lose? “Well…I do owe you for that tack stunt in WWE…” He had planted Chris right in a pool of thumbtacks during a match called an Asylum match.  There were all kinds of weapons that dangled from the black cage, including a straight jacket and they used almost all of them.  Jon had whooped the crap out of Chris in that match and sealed it with the thumbtacks.

 

“So, does that mean you’re in, babe?”

 

“As long as you promise not to take out my fucking eye, man, yeah, sure.” What did he have to lose? “But I’m not kidding, whoopie on the deal,” Jon hadn’t signed a long term contract for reasons like this. “But I’m not going to play Dean Ambrose for Rhodes.”

 

“That’s fair, and I get it, I really do. Once shit settles, he’ll stop freaking out about the future and things will be back to normal, babe. Now…. you need to go handle your woman AND make shit right with the front desk.”

 

Jon groaned, knowing Chris was right about both fronts. He was going to get raped for that room… and it was his own damn fault.

 

Jilysa was staring out the window with her arms around herself when she heard the door open, slowly turning her head to look at Jon.  Then, she turned back to stare out the window into the night and took in a shuddering breath, knowing what she had to do. “I’m sorry.” She murmured before he could get a word out, blinking as tears slid down her cheeks. “I-I’m so sorry I pushed you like that, Jon.  I didn’t mean to blow up at you like I did.  Chris is my friend and I…I let my mouth run away with me…” Jon probably hated her now because of what happened.  If she hadn’t screamed out in fright, Adam never would’ve kicked open the door and none of this would’ve happened. “It’s my fault, I’m sorry…”

 

Now Jon felt like the lowest piece of shit in the world. She was apologizing to him for his own actions. In what world did that make any sense? "You didn’t blow up at me, Jilysa. I blew up on you, and I shouldn’t have. That was your opinion and you're entitled to it without me scaring the fuck out of you." He moved towards her, freezing when she flinched and knew he had done some serious damage. "I'd never hurt you, darlin."

 

“I know.” Jilysa believed that wholeheartedly and stepped up to him to close the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I know you wouldn’t.  I-I don’t know why I freaked out the way I did.  Yes, you did scare me, but if I wouldn’t have started yelling at you, you wouldn’t have gotten defensive.” It was on both of them, not just him and she wanted Jon to understand that.  Slowly, she looked up at him and leaned up on her tiptoes, softly kissing him.  She just needed to feel her lips against his for a moment and then hugged him around the neck, letting out another shuddering breath.

 

Jon still felt like the lowest thing on this planet, knowing this was how abusive relationships happened. The abuser fucked up, the victim justified it, he had seen it plenty with his mother. No, NO, he was not… they were not. Jon inwardly groaned, feathering kisses all along her face and sighed, gently pulling away. “I go to go downstairs and handle the room.” Pay for the damages and God help Page if the man crossed paths with him… well, no. No. Because if something happened to Page again, this time fingers would come his way. Fuck that cowboy.

 

This wasn’t an abusive relationship because Jon hadn’t struck her down and he didn’t abuse her in any way.  He was just angry and justifiably so!  The man had worked his backside off in AEW since coming here, since it’s inception and now the company was screwing with his title opportunity.  She didn’t blame him for being angry, she was too! “Adam kicked the door in, Jon, so he should pay for those damages.  You should only be responsible for the holes in the wall, so if you want, I’ll talk to him and see if he’ll reimburse you for the door.”

 

“No, no you won’t.” Jon shook his head at her. “The only reason he did it is because I scared you. Stay out of it, darlin’, let me have some dignity here.” Since he was basically crawling at the bottom of the barrel right now. Not to mention, he didn’t want her around that fucking cowboy who was going to think she was being abused now. Hell, Jon would think the same damn thing! “I’ll be back. You hungry? I could order up something, I’m sure the old man,” Meaning Chris. “Wouldn’t mind stuffing his face either.”

 

Do not argue with him, just let it be and let him do what he wants! “Yeah, I’ll take care of the food and ask Christopher what he wants.  You worry about the room, I’ll worry about the food.” It wasn’t up for negotiation and her tone held finality.  Jon nodded, agreeing with her and left while she got her wits about her before walking out of the room.

 

“Everything all right, Jily?” Chris asked as soon as he spotted her, seeing the color had returned to her face and she wasn’t shaking anymore. “Did you two talk?”

 

“Somewhat, yeah.  Jon is going down to pay for the room damages and I told him I’d figure out dinner while he’s gone.” Jilysa walked over to sit next to Chris on the couch, folding her hands in her lap. “Are you in the mood for anything particular?”

 

“Nah, surprise me, I’m not a picky eater.” Not when it came to the road anyway so long as it wasn’t always fast food, that was a heart attack waiting to happen and Chris had enough vices already killing him without adding Mickey D’s. He studied her, really studied her, frowning slightly. “Now you tell me what happened, Jil, without any bullshit either, I want to hear the truth.” Because now Jon was calm and hopefully not dangerous to anyone anymore. “You were a hot, shaking mess when I stepped in.”

 

“Fine, let me order the food first and then I’ll tell you everything.” Chris nodded, letting her up from the couch and she went to order room service for them.  Chicken salads all around for them.  Jilysa did not have that much of an appetite right now, not after what happened and it was close to noon, so it was lunchtime.  After she was finished, making sure to add beverages, she walked back into the sitting room to join Chris again and proceeded to tell him everything.  The way Jon flipped out, accusing Chris of screwing him over, along with the company, followed by her yelling at him to defend Chris.  One hole in the wall happened before that and then…Jilysa got to the part with the second hole in the wall. “He did it…right by my head.” She let out a shaky breath, squeezing her hands tightly. “I thought for sure he was gonna hit me, Chris.  That’s why I screamed and I was a shaking mess when first Adam kicked the door down and then you arrived.” She would NOT lie to her best friend, not even for her man.

 

Chapter 54

 

Chris’ blue eyes were wide and not even in indignation at being insulted. He had warned Cody that Jon was not going to take this well because it was like setting up a Superman routine, shit Cena and Reigns had had to go through. Of course, Moxley was no Superman, he was an anti-hero at best. It was the part where Jon had thrown a punch so close to her head, that was what had his eyes wide. “What. The. Fuck.” He knew Jon had a temper, most people did, some people even knew Jon had a bit of a ‘dark side’ to him, which was probably why his character rang well with so many people, it was Jon himself amplified and unleashed. “Do you think he would hit you, ever, and be honest.”

 

Jilysa would not lie, even if this put Jon in a bad place with Chris. “I honestly don’t know.  A BIG part of me wants to say ‘hell no’, but there’s a small part of me that wonders if his buttons are pushed too much, would he hit me.” She hated herself for saying it, for letting the words come out, but this was Chris she was talking to. “I would hope not.  I would really hope he would never lose his temper to the point of striking me like Drew almost did the night he saved me.” She leaned back against the couch, sniffling because fresh tears had started falling down her cheeks. “I know nobody is perfect and he was angry…and he didn’t hurt me, he just scared the hell out of me.  And I didn’t help matters by yelling at him to defend you either, Christopher.  He was enraged at Cody after getting off the phone with him and I should’ve just left him be and let him vent instead of trying to rationalize with him.”

 

Chris would never say it out loud but yeah, she should’ve kept quiet. Usually, when people were THAT level of pissed off, they didn’t want someone to calm them down or rationalize things, they wanted to fricking vent and blow off some steam and THEN rationalize. He knew how he got when he was livid but he also knew no matter HOW pissed off he got, he’d never lay hands on the woman he loved. “Well, baby,” He said finally, not knowing what to really say because this entire situation sucked all the way around and he wasn’t sure where to even begin having conversation with Jon, IF he should have this conversation with Jon. “What do you want to do? Think you can be with him if you’re scared of him?”

 

Jilysa frowned at that question, wanting to say ‘of course’, but there was still that little part of her that wondered if it was the right thing to do. “I love him, Chris.  I’m not scared OF him, I’m scared of what he did today.” There was a difference between the two. “Of course I’m staying with him.” If it happened again, however…Jilysa would cross that bridge if they ever got there. “He makes me happy and he is a great guy.  A little rough around the edges, but that’s just part of who he is and his charm.  Everyone has flaws and nobody is perfect, so I’m not going to leave him over one incident.”

 

“Well, a word of advice then because I’m not even going to bother trying to tell you not too,” Because she’d ignore him and maybe even alienate him and he valued their friendship too much for that. He also valued his friendship with Jon, which was why hearing all this was bothering the shit out of him. “If it DOES happen again, you need to really think about this relationship, Jilysa, because eventually… he’s not going to hit that wall, accident or not. Understand me?” He cupped her face, making her stare into his eyes, letting her see just how serious he was.

 

“Trust me, Chris, if he EVER lays a hand on me, I’m gone.  I don’t tolerate being smacked around by a man and you know that.” Before Drew, she’d had one other relationship that ended with the asshole being sent to the ER with crushed nuts.  He had backhanded her and she responded in kind by taking his pliers and attaching them to his balls.  Needless to say, their relationship ended after that and Jilysa had went on with life, proud of herself for not allowing any man to abuse her.

 

Chris remembered that because he’d been in Japan when she called him crying, explaining what happened.  He had ordered her to go to Jessica’s and she had stayed with them for a week, making sure she got an order of protection on her ex.  The man never came around again and left Jilysa alone; he was a lot smarter than Chris gave him credit for.  The best part was the guy didn’t press charges for assault against Jilysa because then he would’ve gone to jail for assaulting her.  The cop had told them both to either drop charges against each other or they were both going to jail for assault.  Both decided to drop it and then the cop had called an ambulance for the man’s crushed balls.

 

Probably not a bad thing that the cop hadn’t explained that with a weapon, the pliers, that was aggravated assault. The cop had personally agreed with her choice of dealing with her abuser because sometimes, the law just didn’t work quickly or efficiently enough in those kind of cases. Chris had a hard time seeing Jon abusing a woman but… he also knew Jilysa had come in shaken up and crying, which told him there was a problem. He made a mental note to talk to Jon later, in private.

 

Jon had been TAKEN for those damages, just like he had anticipated. This was karma instantly punishing him for what he had done to Jilysa.

 

In her heart, Jilysa believed Jon would never abuse her, but because of her past, her mind refused to agree with her heart.  When Jon returned, an hour later, the food had arrived and she was eating with Chris, both looking up at him.  He did NOT look happy and she had a feeling the hotel tore him a new one financially for that room. “Your salad is here when you’re ready to eat.  I got us all a chicken salad.” She informed him before taking another bite, sipping her iced tea calmly.  That talk with Chris really helped her and she felt more at ease and relaxed, especially since she wasn’t completely alone with Jon at the moment.

 

Salad… Jon’s jokes usually involved shit like ‘MY food eats salad’ but there would be no joking from him today. He caught Chris giving him what was decidedly a ‘dad look’ and it almost made him squirm like he was a ten-year-old boy. No doubt he had asked Jilysa about what had happened and she had rightly, honestly told him. Jon was thoroughly expecting an ass reaming later and he knew he’d deserve it. “Thanks, darlin’,” He said quietly, taking his food and plopping down on the floor, a bottle of water in his free hand, and leaned back against the wall, setting the salad on one knee.

 

Frowning, Jilysa took her food and joined him on the floor, seeing all the regret in his eyes and on his face for what happened. “Hey.” She smiled when he looked at her and she leaned forward to brush her lips softly against his. “What’s done is done, let’s just learn from this and move on.” Now she knew not to push him when his dander was up, when he was pissed off.  She wasn’t angry with him for what happened since she did partially blame herself for pushing him too hard.  Sometimes, Jilysa did that with people and she’d been called on it a time or two. “Let’s just get through tonight and then we can talk more about this once we’re home.”

 

“You’re still coming to Vegas and staying with me?” Jon had been under the impression that she was getting herself a hotel or some shit, especially after their falling out. he knew they had reconciled but… after today, he had thought she would want to keep that room. At her nod, he felt relief coursing through him and bent down to kiss the side of her head, his appetite beginning to come back. “Thanks for ordering for me, Kitten.” Maybe they’d get past this and he wasn’t as big a fuck-up as he had thought.

 

Chris was definitely listening in though his eyes were focused on his cell phone, scrolling through his Instagram feed.

 

“I’m tired of running away from you when things get a little hairy, Jon.  I need to stop that and we need to work things out.  We need to communicate better.” Jilysa stroked his thin hair while he took a bite of the salad and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to his neck. “So, I already canceled my reservation with the hotel and I’m going home with you.  And we’re going to work on this communication and relationship, regardless of what anyone says or thinks.” That included both Chris and Adam, though she knew Chris would back her up on almost anything she decided to do.  Taking another bite of her food, they all finished eating before getting ready for the show that night.

 

Chris would, because he was listening to them right now and he had heard the sadness and regret in Jon’s tone. He had also heard the disbelief and the love, wondering if they had even said those words to each other yet. Chris was aware that some people would think the pair was moving too fast, especially since they were in the end of their divorces from messy marriages, he wasn’t one of them. Love just happened and when it did… grab that shit and go with it. Life was too short for worrying about other people or what was ‘normal’.

 

Adam wasn’t privy to the inner workings of their relationship but he personally thought Jilysa was insane if she stayed with Jon, that shit just wasn’t right. Not that he’d tell her that, he got the feeling she’d cut him out right quick defending her man.

 

Love made people do stupid things.  Honestly, Jilysa wasn’t being stupid because Jon hadn’t laid a hand on her.  All he did was shove her a little too hard against a wall, but that still didn’t constitute as abuse, not to her.  She’d been in an abusive relationship before and it was NOTHING like this.  Jon was good to her and she loved him; if people couldn’t understand it, that was on them.  Together, hand in hand, they walked out of the hotel and piled into the waiting car that would take them to the arena, nobody noticing the wide blue eyes watching them pull away.

 

Yeah, that was messed up but then again, maybe it was the first time something like this had happened between the pair. Or maybe Jilysa was the kind of woman who liked… a bit of drama. He didn’t think she was like that, not after the conversations he had had with her. She seemed like somebody who had their shit together. Jon definitely did NOT have his shit together, that was just a fact of life everyone seemed to accept about the guy. Not him. He wasn’t going to actively intrude or anything, or ask her stupid questions but he damned sure wasn’t taking his eyes off the situation either. That hole punching thing in the walls was just all shades messed up.

 

Against their better judgment, Chris had pulled Jon aside and asked him not to say a word to anyone, including Jilysa, about their segment tonight.  Jon had a match against Sammy Guevarra tonight, which was one of Chris’s Inner Circle buddies, and afterwards, the beatdown would commence.  Jon agreed and they parted ways for the time being to get into character and ready to light the place up as only they could do.

 

Jilysa had no idea what was going on, but she had work to do and couldn’t lose focus.  Tonight, she was staying in the back to work in her office, having an article to write about the upcoming pay-per-view event in February.  Revolution is what they were calling it.  She thought it was a great title and the card was shaping up to be better than ever…besides this little hiccup Jon had to get past.  She had NO idea that next week, she would be on the Jericho Cruise because AEW was filming live from there and Jon was set for single’s action too, if he won against Sammy tonight.

 

Now, Jon had flat out told Chris that this was a BAD IDEA, the not telling Jilysa part. He had also informed Chris that his relationship was already on tenterhooks because of what had happened earlier with his temper flaring, so doing a segment that was going to terrify her… and he had known it would happen PRIOR… yeah, he was going to look like a royal cock bag to her.

 

Chris assured him it would be fine. If she could forgive him his outburst earlier, she’d forgive this.

 

Chris was betting a LOT on Jilysa’s sanity.

 

If Jilysa knew what was coming, it probably wouldn’t have been so bad.  She would’ve understood because this was what they did for a living.  Told a story and she knew Chris would never do anything to really harm Jon.  However, when she actually witnessed the beatdown, in her office on the monitor, followed by Chris STABBING Jon in his EYE with the metal spike, she felt her heart nearly stop in her chest.  What the FUCK?  Why would Jon allow Chris to do that to him?!  Jilysa stood up from her chair, covering her mouth with her hand and hoped to hell Jon’s eye wasn’t permanently damaged from Chris.  Maybe Chris was a little more pissed off about what happened earlier at the hotel than he let on. 

 

No, this was just business, and Chris would NEVER purposefully try taking someone out of action or cost them a limb. Mick Foley had told stories about trainers who would purposefully maim potential students, teach them that this was ‘real’, Chris had dealt with assholes like that. He would NEVER. This particular spike had a very thin, barely noticeable rubber sleeve type thing on it, it practically blended in with the actual spikes and not many people would realize it was different unless they were looking for it.

 

Chris also aimed for the corner, angling at the last moment to ensure that the spike got skin and flesh right past that eye corner, not that anyone picked up on that.

 

That was how stellar Chris was at his job. 

 

Chapter 55

 

Jilysa had walked…very fast…down the hallway, trying very hard to keep her composure.  Jon was holding his eye as soon as he went through the curtain and then immediately pulled it away, once he knew the cameras were no longer on him.  Jilysa breathed a huge sigh of relief and leaned against the wall, needing a minute because that segment had legitimately scared the hell out of her.  He was bleeding, but it was nowhere near his eye and she could only shake her head at these fruitcakes.  At least Jon was all right, that was all that mattered to her or else she would’ve hurt Chris by stabbing HIS eye out.  Luckily, Jon was fine and she didn’t have to resort to violent tendencies to stand up for her man.  Shaking her head, she went back to her office to get some more work done, knowing Jon wasn’t through yet for the evening because they were already wrapping his ‘injured’ eye with black tape.

 

Now, Jon didn’t walk away without anything to show, though nothing as gruesome as what people would assume. He groaned as they ‘tended’ his eye, beneath the tape was legit swelling and legit soon to be bruising because that rubber spike thingy HAD nailed him pretty damn hard and he was grateful Chris had been professional and careful or else that would have been bad all the way around instead of what it was, something he’d deal with and have no lasting problems from.

 

“You power walked like crazy, honey, you okay?” Adam had seen her, white as a sheet and near trembling, until she had seen Jon. He grinned when she slowed down. “Chris is a pro, and he knows how to make it look good without busting us up too bad, it’s why we trust him. Got a minute?”

 

She smiled at him, the color returning to her face and nodded, letting him walk with her a lot slower down the hallway. “I was worried about him.  I know Chris is a professional, but…after what happened today, I thought for a split second maybe he would be vindictive towards Jon.  I’m glad to see that little part of me was wrong.  If fans don’t believe that he actually stabbed him in the eye, I’ll be shocked.  So, what did you want to talk about, cowboy?”

 

After what happened today, I thought he would be vindictive… that right now spoke some volumes about just how messed up that situation, their relationship, might be and Adam swallowed down the urge to counsel her. Now if they had been closer friends and knew each other better, he would have done it without a second thought and he’d expect the same in return if he were in a messed up relationship. As it was… he bit his tongue and reminded himself to just… eyeball things. “About your expertise, honey, social media.” He grinned at her, rolling his eyes when she mimed being shocked. “Not my Twitter, I got that just fine, but I got an Instagram I don’t really use and I probably should. Brandi said something about ‘utilizing’ it for ‘business’ since I suck at using it for personal.”

 

“I’m going to be honest with you, cowboy, you really need a personal assistant.  Someone to make your hotel reservations, car rentals, book your flights for the events you perform at, etc.  I’ll help you with Instagram, but I really think you need to talk to Cody and Brandi about hiring a PA for you.  You REALLY need one.” Unlike Adam, Jilysa was not afraid to speak what was on her mind and he could take her advice or leave it.  He didn’t really know her that well, so it wouldn’t surprise her if he blew it off.  However, he had problems with TWO hotel rooms now and she didn’t have a doubt in her mind a third would pop up sooner rather than later. “Come to my office since your match was on first and I’ll show you how to work Instagram.  By the way, it’s much easier on your phone than a computer.”

 

“Hey now, these last two times are the ONLY times and I’m blaming you since you were there for both and I’ve already booked rooms for the rest of the month, honey.” Adam replied good-naturedly, clucking his tongue at her and shook his own head. “No, no, I KNOW how to use Instagram.” He wasn’t even offended that she was assuming he was an idiot who didn’t understand how social media worked or even which technology was better to use it on. Some people were just that way. “I’m saying I DON’T use it for anything besides a random picture about once every three months.”

 

“Ohhhh okay, so you want to start using it to build your platform like Brandi wants?” Adam nodded and Jilysa understood, setting her phone down on the desk to lean against it.  She proceeded to launch into several different ways he could use Instagram to his advantage.  The first thing was since he had other social media accounts to post stuff on, he needed to get in the habit of posting on Instagram ALONG with the other outlets. “There were some people in WWE that really hated using Instagram, but in the long run, it helped them because a lot of people are on that particular platform these days.  So, get into the habit of doing that and also promoting the company, as well as yourself.  Take the Jericho Cruise coming up next week,” She still didn’t know Jon was part of it yet since her monitor was muted, so she could watch the match without hearing the announcers. “Why don’t you start posting about that match you and Omega are going to have against SCU for the tag team championships?”

 

That sounded like a work for a platform he hardly used. He didn’t even have the app on his cell, he had deleted it awhile ago. “Ugh… sounds like shit, Facebook and Twitter let me cross post,” He knew Instagram allowed you cross post on Twitter but he wasn’t sure about vice versa and Twitter was really his thing. “Is Instagram THAT big a deal?” Maybe he’d find someone to turn the account over to, to post on his behalf. Hadn’t Jon done that at one time? Let someone else run his social media accounts because he hadn’t had any interest in them? Or, he just do a lot of ‘sharing’.

 

“Yeah, it is and a lot of people and organizations use only IG.  Facebook and Twitter have too many rules and regulations.  Actually, Twitter is a cesspool, if you want the truth and it’s full of negativity.  IG and Facebook are more secure to use, but Facebook has TOO many rules now and they will put you in ‘jail’ if you don’t abide by those rules.  IG doesn’t do that.” Jilysa didn’t realize she was about to suggest the very thing Adam had been thinking. “If you want, like I said, I’m here for any social media help you guys need, so…I’d be happy to keep track of your IG account and post for you, cowboy.  That is, if you trust me to do it.”

 

Instagram was run by Facebook and it was just as susceptible to banning people or suspending accounts for what they considered terms of violating. Adam preferred Twitter, he got to say a LOT of shit and got away with it. “Aw hell, I don’t care, it’s not linked to my Facebook but a throwaway email.” So it really had no connection to him outside of his official verification checks. Maybe. Had he done that? He had no idea. “I’ll text you the information. Unless you got enough on your plate?” And not just with work either, Moxley was a handful and then some.


“Cowboy, what did I just say?” Jilysa planted her hands on her hips, giving him a look and he blushed in return. “I said I would do it if you want me to, if you trust me to do it, didn’t I?  No, I don’t have too much on my plate and I’d be more than happy to help you with your IG account.  Send me all the information and I’ll even gussy it up for you a bit, make it look good.” She winked with a smile, having a few ideas in mind to lure more people to his IG account. “And if you don’t like something I post or do, just tell me.”

 

“Gonna be honest, honey, I don’t get on Instagram but only when I remember, which ain’t that often. So I really don’t care what you do with it, I trust you, I know you’re a professional.” Hell, maybe he would check on it from time to time, it’d give him an excuse to talk to her at work since he had a feeling Jon was going to nix any chance of them having dinner at low key diners after work from here on out. Or he’d insist on coming with them, which would be terribly awkward since Adam wasn’t convinced that Jon wasn’t a woman abuser.

 

“Good, I won’t let you down.” Jilysa had no intention of ending her friendship with Adam just because he had come to her rescue.  Jon would have to get over it.  It was his fault for acting like a psychopath in the first place and putting holes in walls!  Adam had reacted because he thought something terrible happened to her.  Something inside of her warmed to the core at that, but she had to stuff it down because she loved Jon and wanted to be with him.  Her feelings for Adam had to stay in the friendzone, no matter what.  She decided to say something about what happened at the hotel, wanting to set Adam’s mind at ease. “Look, I need to change the subject and talk to you about what happened earlier at the hotel.  Jon didn’t hit me.  He didn’t lay a finger on me.  He was angry and lashed out, which he shouldn’t have done, but I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did.  I was in an abusive relationship prior to meeting my soon-to-be ex-husband and I can tell you right now, standing here, that Jon is not abusive.  He feels really bad about what he did and he paid for all the damages.” Including the door Adam had smashed in with his foot. “So, I just wanted you to know that everything is fine with us now and you don’t have to worry about me anymore, cowboy.”

 

Adam had been a teacher, he had gone through some weird training -weird because at the time he hadn’t found it necessary- but it had involved a lot of stuff consisting of abuse, how to recognize it, the types, behaviors, etc. Right now, his mind was informing him that either she was being honest and there was nothing to worry about, she THOUGHT there was nothing to worry about, or she was aware there might be an issue but was defending her man or downplaying it. Obviously, he didn’t know her that well so he kept those thoughts to himself. “That hole looked pretty close to your head, Jilysa.” He said calmly, and it shouldn’t have been that close to her head no matter what she had said.

 

“It was, I won’t deny that.  And I’m not saying what he did is all right because it’s not.  And he knows that.  I don’t think something like this will ever happen again.” Both her mind and her heart did believe that much, at least.  Jilysa now knew when Jon was angry to leave him alone and steer clear of him instead of trying to make him feel better about the situation.  Lesson learned. “I just don’t want you to worry about me.  Believe me, I can handle myself in any situation.  I do appreciate you coming to make sure I was all right, though.”

 

Maybe, he was doubtful. There was no handbook for Jon, everyone knew he was a wild card and dangerous, he was just good about hiding everything. But the history was there, all laid out in the open for anyone who wanted to go looking back at it. Mox had been a very wild man in his younger years, which were really not that long ago. “You’re welcome. What do I owe him for the damage done to the door?” Because he knew Jon would have gotten charged out the ass for it.

 

“Nope, I tried telling him you should be responsible for the door and all he said was to let him have what was left of his dignity.  So, I have no idea how much the room cost him, but he wasn’t happy when he came back to Christopher’s suite.  And you wouldn’t have had to kick the door open if it wasn’t for me and his temper tantrum, so this time is on him.” Jilysa agreed with Jon, after thinking about it for a bit and could see the doubt clear as day in Adam’s eyes.  She didn’t blame the man for not believing what she said about Jon, not after what happened.  Jon would have to show and prove to the cowboy ex-teacher that he wasn’t as bad as he made himself out to be earlier that morning.

 

Yeah, there was doubt. She was blaming HERSELF as part of Jon’s temper tantrum. Jon was a grown ass man, he was like 35-36, he had nobody to blame but himself. “Mm. Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time honey.” He tipped his invisible hat to her, grinning when she flashed an amused smile, his blue eyes sparkling with a return of humor. “Is it too soon to ask you to eat at some hole in the wall?” Too soon from her issues with Jon, wondering if her continuing on with him -as friends only- would be a problem.

 

“Actually, I’d love to, but we’re heading to the airport right after the show to head home.” Jilysa felt bad when Adam’s face dropped a little and she kept the smile on her face, really hoping he didn’t have feelings for her that were more than friendship.  That would complicate things greatly.  Should she ask him outright about it or wait and see how things played out?  She would wait. “Raincheck.” Jon didn’t know it yet, but she had managed to book them two flights back to Vegas tonight instead of tomorrow morning.  She exchanged their tickets and it was a redeye flight, so they wouldn’t be stopped by any layovers or anything.  After what happened today, going back to Vegas and settling down for a couple days was what they both needed.

 

Adam cared about her as a friend, he had already made that decision. She was with Jon and he wasn’t interested in going any further than friendship because Mox on his ass was not something he needed. No thanks. Maybe if she didn’t have a million strings attached, including the big ass one that was her boyfriend, maybe then he’d consider it. She was a beautiful woman, seemed to have a heart of gold, and she was for the most part highly intelligent. “Ahhhhh… raincheck it is.” He reached back to begin pulling his hair up, nodding. “Well, I’ll see you later then.”

 

“Make sure you send me your information for your IG, that includes log-in and password, cowboy.” Jilysa instructed with a wink, making him chuckle as he sauntered out of her office and she glanced at the monitor, seeing Jon was out there, talking in the microphone.  He was telling Pac to get ready for their match next week because, even with one eye, he was still going to kick his ass.  That title shot was his!  Jilysa nodded emphatically, wholeheartedly agreeing with him and then realized what this meant. “Wait…AEW is on Christopher’s Cruise next week, so that means…” They were going on a cruise! “Oh my god…”

 

Yeah, yeah they were. Chris even had it so there as a section of the liner devoted to the wrestlers and special guests, figuring it’d just be easier to keep them all in one section for security reasons. It wasn’t a very long cruise but damned if people didn’t have a blast, the fans and the celebrities alike. Jon and Jilysa didn’t have a very large room but it was quite nice and the view was awesome, providing you liked the ocean.

 

Chapter 56

 

When the show went off air, Jon went immediately to have his elbow taped and his eye properly tended too, grimacing at the swelling and bruising in the actual area that rubber spike had hit. “Man, and mama said I had such a pretty face too.”

 

“Meh, you’re all right, but you’re nothing like Le Champion, baby!” Chris groaned when he got smacked upside the head from behind and grinned, already knowing who it was. “So, on a scale of 1 to 100, how pissed are you at us?”

 

“Zero.” Jilysa answered without hesitation, standing beside Chris since she didn’t want to get in the trainer’s way.  She longed to hug Jon, just to give him comfort.

 

“Really, Kitten?”

 

“You guys aren’t in ballet, Mox.  And I know Christopher takes care of those he’s in the ring with.  He’s a professional and a veteran, there’s nobody better than him.” He truly was the GOAT in her eyes.  The Greatest of All Time. “I’m more concerned with this cruise we’re supposedly going on next week that you neglected to inform me of.  Both of you.”

 

“You didn’t watch the show?”

 

“I have a job, Christopher.  I muted the monitor, so I could watch Jon’s match.  I’d love to be able to sit there and watch the whole thing, but I had that article to write and publish on the website regarding Revolution.” Her eyes turned to Jon once the trainer stepped out of the way to get another stitch. “I also came to inform you that I got our tickets swapped and we’re leaving in two hours to go home, so as soon as you’re done here, we need to hightail it to the airport.”

 

“Okay, you can’t be concerned with the cruise thing when you’re switching out my flights without saying anything until last minute,” Jon teased good-naturedly, shifting once his elbow was done to let the trainer at his eye.

 

“Chris, if this had been just the slightest bit off…”

 

“The day I accidentally hurt someone because I can’t do my job, is the day I retire.” And Chris was hoping he was aware enough to know when that was. As it was, currently, his eyesight was damn near perfect and his hands did not tremble, shake, none of that shit. “But yeah, I know.”

 

Jon could have lost an eye, that was what Jon was taking away from all this. “Besides, Kitten, it was all over social media, hints about the entire show being on the cruise. Chris isn’t exactly subtle.”

 

“Well surprisingly, Brandi and Cody didn’t have me post something about it until tonight on the AEW site to help promote Bash at the Beach.  And I didn’t know you were going to be on it until near the end of the show.  So bite me.” Jilysa smirked when Jon did an air bite and she shook her head, leaning her head on Chris’s shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, that segment was flawless and fans are blowing up social media right now saying Moxley lost his eye.” She showed Chris her phone, scrolling through the posts and whatnot. “So, a cruise, huh?  Looks like I need to go bathing suit shopping then when we get back to Vegas, after a proper good night’s sleep.”

 

“Just be in Miami on Monday because that’s when the cruise takes off.  We’ll be at sea for four days, we’re going to the Bahamas and then circling back.  The second day on the cruise will be the AEW show and then we’ll have two days of bliss at sea before docking back in Miami.” Chris explained, grinning from ear to ear and couldn’t wait for the Rock N Wrestling Rager At Sea to take place.

 

That meant Jilysa and Jon only had four days at home this week instead of a 6 and they would have to make sure they had EVERYTHING they needed, not to mention booking a flight to Miami post haste.

 

“Don’t lie to her about two days of ‘bliss’.”

 

Chris shrugged, trying not to look amused. “So, what I mean by bliss is that there will also be a few autograph signings, Fozzy is performing a couple times, we’re doing some podcasts live, Jon’s booked for one. So it’s a working vacation and there will be plenty of bliss.”

 

“I’m rocking an eye patch for the entire damn thing.” Jon was laughing, waving Chris off once his eye had been covered with gauze. That was just for show until they were out of the area, minus the band-aid off to the side of his eye where he was actually injured. “Thanks for not blinding me old man.”

 

“Anytime, you know I got your back, baby.” Chris leaned over and gave Jon a kiss on the top of his head, clapping his shoulder. “I gotta get going.  I’ll have your shit dropped off here from the hotel, so you don’t have to make an extra stop there.”

 

“Thank you.” Jilysa had been worried about that because she didn’t know how much longer Jon would be. “Or I could go get the bags and meet you back here instead?”

 

They decided to do that and Jilysa left with Chris to head to the hotel, leaving Jon behind since the trainer wanted to take a bit more time with him. “What made you decide to do this cruise in the first place?  I mean, I know you did one already and now this is the second one – you gonna do this annually or every 2 years?” How did Jessica feel about this?  Were they really that well off financially that they could afford for Chris to do cruises for fans?  Granted, they probably generated a lot of money from these cruises…and she immediately stopped he questioning because Chris was a smart man and would never put his family in a financial crisis.

 

It was going to be an annual thing as far as he could tell and Chris had no problem in informing her of that. He also explained how the expenses coming out of his pocket were minimal. Chris wasn’t an idiot when it came to finances, he and Jessica had just moved into a new house not so long ago, well, a year ago, definitely an upgrade. Having comedians, wrestlers, special guests aboard as well as the other offerings for the general guests incentivized a lot of people to come back for the second year, they had sold out hella fast for this cruise. Then there was also product placement and shit like that where he was making money, this was both fun and lucrative. Chris explained all of that to her on the way back, grinning broadly.

 

Just as she suspected, Chris had all of his ducks in a row and knew exactly what he was doing.  He was MAKING money off this cruise, he was a very good businessman. “Sounds like you got everything covered and situated.” The best part was he had designated one of the suites to be for her and Jon, which was a deluxe.  All the major players on the cruise ship got one of those bad boys and she was actually excited now.  Jilysa hadn’t been on a cruise since her father’s wedding, which hadn’t been that great, but at least they would be on the ocean waters and hopefully, the weather would remain nice for it.

 

The weather was looking fabulous and if Chris would have known that she had been worried about his financials, he would have been a weird combination of amused, insulted, and touched. He had learned from those who had come before him. Some legends had totally fucked their shit up by not being smart -here’s looking at you Shawn Michaels- and some had invested wisely and were financially set: ‘Taker for example. He had bank coming in from Fozzy as well as other sources, Chris was very invested in several things, money would never be an issue. Also, he had Jessica to make decisions with. “Yeah, I do, baby, don’t you worry your pretty head over it.” He laughed.

 

“I’m not worried the least bit.” Jilysa grinned at him, letting him know she supported him to the fullest and soon, they were at the hotel.  She grabbed their bags, thankful they hadn’t unpacked that much and made sure they had everything before booking it.  She kissed Chris’s cheek, telling him they’d see him Monday and off she went with the bags in the back.  Chris was nice enough to let her use his rental to get to the airport and by the time she got to the arena, Jon was outside waiting for her. “Well ahoy there, matey!” She greeted through the window, giggling at his eyeroll as he hopped into the passenger seat. “You weren’t kidding about the eye patch on the cruise ship, were you?”

 

“Nope, I’m thinking about getting an angry red M on the damn thing, you know?” Jon laughed, reaching up to tap the thing. “I won’t really wear it all the time but when we’re on the ship, and not in our private room, I’ll have too.” It had been a long time since Jon had actually gone out of his way to ‘carry on’ something for a storyline outside of work. And to think, that used to be the normal, doing the kayfabe thing. “What do you think, darlin’?” His spirits were high right now, that had been a damn successful segment and everything was already blowing up about it. The events of earlier, with his temper, were currently non-existent in his current euphoria.

 

“Well, I’ve always thought pirates were sexy.” Jilysa winked at him, giggling at the look that crossed his face and reached over to take his hand, lacing their fingers together. “You’re sexy to me no matter what.  You should know that, lover.  I think it’s a great idea, though.  It’ll make the fans believe even more and you know what?  You should do a video before the cruise, like you’re alone in a dark place and you’re talking to Jericho about what happened…and what you plan on doing to him and the Inner Circle for nearly taking your eye.  Make it sound like a serious injury that nearly took half your vision.  I’ll film it for you while we’re in Vegas, if you want.  We can go out to the Red Rocks and do it.”

 

“We’d have to go out at night if you want something dark, darlin’, though that’s not a bad idea. Maybe do it in the desert, with a barely there fire casting shadows.” They could even spend the night out there, Jon could feel himself coming alive at the mere thought of having her out there, surrounded by nothing but desert for miles with the canyons and Red Rocks as backdrop. “Yeah… we should definitely do that. How opposed are you to camping?” Something he didn’t know about her, they had a lot of learning about each other to do and he was looking forward to it.

 

“I don’t really have a preference when it comes to camping because, well…I’ve never gone camping before.” Jilysa jumped when Jon roared ‘WHAT?!’ and she blinked, wondering if he’d just had a mini stroke. “Jon, I grew up in the city and my family was never one for nature.  The most I’ve gotten out of nature is rock-climbing and hiking, but I’ve never actually camped before.  I always wanted to though, so I’d love to share that experience with you.  And you’re right, I think it should be done at night, by a fire, so your face could JUST be seen enough to show emotion with the eye patch and all.”

 

“I grew up in a city too!” But as an adult, he had done a LOT of things he had never even dared dream as a kid. Camping, going exploring places outside of back alleyways and middle class and rich neighborhoods, fucking amusement parks… he had, once he had gotten money, indulged all those things he had always wanted to do but had grown up thinking he’d never get a chance. “Okay, so, we’re gonna go home and relax today, tonight, whatever and a good chunk tomorrow, but tomorrow night or the night after, we’re camping.” Probably the night after, it’d give them downtime and time to just breathe, then a night out in the desert followed by one more night in a bed.

 

“Whatever you want to do, lover, I’m game.” Jilysa felt giddy at the thought of camping for the first time…and a little nervous.  He wanted to camp out in the middle of the desert, where she knew there were scorpions and other various wildlife out there.  Were cougars a thing in the desert?  Probably not, she would think they would be more for the mountains and colder climates.  Jon knew the surroundings better than she did, so she would trust his judgment and knew he would protect her. “So, I thought I should let you know that my lawyer called me this morning and everything is pretty much done.  I have to go to Tampa next month for a court hearing in front of the judge and if he deems us with irreconcilable differences, then I’ll be divorced hopefully by the summer.  And the best part is Drew is being slapped with a HEFTY fine, as well as a misdemeanor on his record because of the infidelity.” She started laughing, knowing this was karma coming back to bite her husband square on the backside. “And the even best part is that the courts have no idea I slept with you prior to getting legally separated because that dumbass posted it all for the world to see with him and Leah.” They were smart and kept quiet – Drew was a moron.

 

That was… weird since most states did not prosecute for infidelity unless there was a pre-nup in place stating that cheating ruled out inheriting or being granted assets in a divorce. It sounded like he never wanted to get married in Florida, if ever again, because he didn’t trust any state that still prosecuted cheating. Yeah, it sucked, but it was archaic. “Sucks to be him, karma’s a bitch.” He laughed, raising an eyebrow when she suddenly asked about desert wildlife. “Uh… normal shit, snakes and rabbits… coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions are a thing too but they usually don’t come in where we’ll be.”

 

As terrifying as that all sounded, besides the rabbits, Jilysa still wanted to experience it with him.  She decided not to mention Adam for the time being and just wanted to focus on them while they were back home.  Maybe she would get the courage to say those three words to his face, while he was awake, instead of while he was sleeping. “Well, I trust you’ll protect me if anything pops up.” Pulling into the airport parking lot, they made a beeline for their flight and made it by the skin of their teeth. “We really need to stop having close-calls like this.” She muttered, sitting down in her seat and buckled up, alongside Jon, and took his hand to lace their fingers together with her head resting on his shoulder. “How’s your injury?  I’m surprised you don’t have a headache from where he spiked you.”

 

“Oh I do, talking has been distracting me from it, darlin’.” Jon informed her, leaning back in his seat and let his head rest on top of hers. “We’d not be having close calls if we didn’t keep changing our flight plans from mornings to the night before.” That was eventually going to have to stop because one day they were going to miss a connection due to their mad scrambling habits. “Maybe we need a personal assistant to handle this shit for us.” He laughed, not realizing that was something she had said to Adam earlier in the night.

 

Adam had also texted her all that information about his Instagram account, including the throwaway e-mail address that didn’t receive jackshit unless it was related to Instagram.

 

Chapter 57

 

“Well, I figured instead of staying in a hotel tonight, you’d want to go home and sleep in your own bed with me.” Jilysa wanted to be alone with him completely and had to prove to herself that she wasn’t scared of him after what happened that morning.  The way she was cuddling up to him, holding his hand and softly talking to him told her all was well. “And we don’t need a personal assistant.  I can be our personal assistant.  Remember, you were gonna hire me anyway.” She winked up at him and accepted a soft kiss in return before she pulled back to very lightly brush her lips against his injury. I love you so much, Jon. “I promise, this is the last time I’ll do it.”

 

“Yeah… sorry, I’m already rethinking the personal assistant thing, darlin’, but don’t worry,” His blue eyes were sparkling with wicked humor. “I have a position for sex slave available and you definitely meet all the requirements.” He knew words didn’t mean overly much on this plane because they couldn’t exactly do anything up here. Jon was not joining the mile high club, not on an airplane bathroom, those things were fucking disgusting. He had made the mistake of using a black light in one, never again. He’d hold it. Jon laughed when she mocked deck his chest, kissing her again. “That a no, Kitten?”

 

“I better be your ONLY sex slave then, Moxley.” She lowered her voice to where only he could hear her and she reached over to stroke him through his pants a little. “Give you something to remember me by until we get home.” Jilysa did love to tease him and pulled her hand away, not wanting to get caught fondling her man on the plane.  He whispered several things in her ear that would happen once they were completely alone and she shivered, her aqua eyes darkening. “Promises, promises.” She murmured, sliding her tongue out to wet her lips, slowly, deliberately, already knowing he was harder in those pants he had on.  Good, she wasn’t planning on sleeping once they got back to his house anyway.

 

Yeah, Jon was sporting wood and he dropped a pillow in his lap to hide it because his pants weren’t hiding a damn thing since he had showered and changed into sweats back at the arena. No hiding a fucking thing in sweatpants, he got why women liked the damn things. Him, not so much, at least not in these kinds of situations. “Wicked tease.” He muttered, flashing the stewardess a charming smile when she appeared to ask them if they wanted drinks, wondering if he’d get in trouble for asking about what he really wanted: a private space to fuck his woman until she couldn’t walk a straight line.

 

“Just some ice water, please.” Too bad these planes didn’t have rooms for people to be private in.  Even though it was first class flying, it would probably be exhilarating to fuck on a plane.  Maybe they would get a private jet one of these days, just to put that to the test and see if it was as hyped as she made it sound in her head.  The stewardess came back with two glasses of ice water and walked away…and the moment she did, Jon hissed out because he’d just stuck a cube directly down his pants on his raging cock.  He wasn’t the only one with issues, her panties were sopped and she couldn’t change them until they were home.

 

Jon would rather have frozen balls then blue balls and he’d fucking deal with the wet pants. She, on the other hand, would have to deal with wet, sticky panties if she was having any issues of her own and when he looked down at her, seen the shade of her blue eyes, he smiled innocently. Yeah, it wasn’t just him. “Ice helps.” He offered with an amused lilt to his tone, though it also hurt, he shivered as he felt water running down a no-go zone. “Not sure I recommend it though.”

 

Such a waste of a perfect erection. Jilysa thought sadly, knowing it would be a few hours before they landed in Vegas, then followed by the trek to Jon’s house.  It was obvious they both needed each other, especially after what happened that morning.  Maybe they were co-dependent on each other a little, but Jilysa couldn’t help loving someone with all of her heart and putting her all into a relationship.  She was intense, Drew had not lied about that, but she doubted she smothered him.  It wasn’t THAT intense – she’d seen much worse with her mother and stepfather. “I’ll take care of that when we get home.” She promised him in a soft purr, kissing his arm and leaned her head back against the seat to take a little cat nap.

 

They were co-dependent as fuck, that was just a solid fact at this point. He had shown up at her condo uninvited after a fight. He had showed up at her house inspection after not hearing from her for TWO days. She had justified and excused his behavior this morning and he had a feeling she’d do the same if he ever got busted for what he had done to Adam -not that he intended on confessing that shit. At this point, Jon didn’t care, he just knew he wanted her, he loved her, he would do whatever it took to keep her, even if it meant busting some heads in.

 

Once the plane landed, Jilysa was feeling surprisingly refreshed and Jon had damp pants instead of wet because they had dried most of the flight.  She tossed the keys at him, letting him drive since she had driven him to the airport.  After grabbing their luggage and managing to exit the airport, they hailed a cab to take them to Jon’s house since he didn’t trust to leave his vehicles at the airport.  He usually took a cab to get there and back and Jilysa didn’t have a problem with it.  This time, it was Jon getting his payback on her by rubbing her through the dress pants she had on.  If she didn’t want to have an orgasm in front of the cab driver, Jilysa had to do everything in her power not to moan out and bit her knuckle, narrowing smoldering blues at him.  He no doubt felt the moisture seeping through her panties and dress pants while teasing her on the way.

 

Yeah, how’d that feel? It was fairly dark so Jon wasn’t overly worried about the cabbie catching them, not that the man was going to see much through the black metal grate between them and him, a small opening for payment to be slid through. Managing to stifle a snort, Jon nudged her thighs apart just enough to let him manipulate her a little better, wishing she had worn a skirt because then he probably would have finger banged her without a second thought. He had issues, he accepted this about himself.

 

All she could do was sit there and let him touch her, lulling her head back against the seat to try to control herself.  She didn’t wear many skirts because she never knew what would be asked of her.  Pants and capris were about it for her, though she also wished she would’ve worn a skirt.  Easier access…maybe she would buy a few for moments like these.  And she had a feeling there would be A LOT more coming their way in the future. “J-Jon…” She whimpered softly, just loud enough for him to hear and could feel herself slowly building to a climax the harder he rubbed her.  She reciprocated by delving into those sweatpants, which WERE easy access and began stroking him since he had nothing on beneath.  They were fondling each other in a cab on the way to Jon’s house…they were insane.

 

Insane and potentially going to jail for indecent exposure if the cab driver caught them and decided to press charges. Wasn’t there an old HBO show called Taxi Cab Confessions or some such bullshit? Or maybe it had been a Cinemax thing, he could remember something vaguely sleazy as a kid, trying to get those channels on by adjusting the antenna on the old television set they had had. Jon had been testing the material give of these sweats, which was saying something since they were quite roomy, he was a well-endowed man before her hand had slid beneath the hem. “Playing with fire, darlin’,” He rumbled in her ear, brushing his lips against her cheek before straightening his upper body back up, shifting his arm so he could use the heel of his hand to grind against her nethers.

 

Yes, yes he was.  Jon was hard as a rock, sliding across her palm in the gentle stroking she would not stop. “Mmm, so are you, lover…” She purred quietly, shivering as his lips moved from her cheek to her neck, hitting that spot behind her ear that drove her crazy.  Christ, how long was this cab ride?!  Her body was screaming at her to get laid, to pounce on his dick and ride him for all he was worth.  Somehow, they both managed to make it to the house and had to pull away from each other.  They grabbed their luggage while Jon paid the driver and the moment they were in the house, they attacked each other. 

 

Lips on lips, hands on each other with his sweatpants being shoved down while his hands removed her dress pants, pushing them down her legs.  He barely waited for her to step out of them before planting her against the front door, her legs wrapped around his waist and pushed past her slick, soaking folds.  It amused her how they couldn’t wait until they were upstairs in bed to fuck.  Jilysa tore her blouse off, buttons flying and yanked his eye patch off, along with his t-shirt while he banged her against the door. “Harder…oh harder, Jon, fuck me as hard as you can, baby!”

 

Beds were overrated. As long as she was ready for him and there was a surface to fuck her either on or against, Jon was good. Given how she had decided to ‘return the favor’ in the cab AFTER initiating the teasing thing on the airplane, if she honestly thought he was waiting any longer than he had to, the woman was out of her mind. “You want me to break you, Kitten?” Because that was what was going to happen, either she or the door gave first and this door was pretty damn solid. Her hands gripping his shoulders, digging into his shoulders told him she did want broken, or as close as he could get and he upped the pace, trying to give her what she wanted.

 

He was fucking her so hard, her ass was literally BOUNCING off the door and she did not care, gripping the back of his neck tightly.  She wanted to be broken, it would be exquisite coming from him.  Jilysa was one woman that did NOT break easily and she plundered his mouth with hers, holding onto him for dear life. “Yes…yes just like that…oh fuck, don’t stop…” She had to take a breath in between words because he was knocking it out of her with his hard, powerful thrusts. “Jon!  Oh god!” It was there…right on the edge…she could feel it building rapidly and her body was about to give into him completely, with or without her consent. “Ohhhhhhhh!!!!!”

 

“FUCK!” It was a bit of a surprised exclamation because her body had just locked him the fuck down, he almost stopped thrusting because he was a bit worried her spasming, clenching pussy was going to keep his cock from moving, she was that damn tight as she came apart for him. Jon wasn’t done though, no. Neither was she and he kept going, his teeth gritting as he held her up against that door, riding out her first orgasm and then nipped at her racing pulse point. “I think you got a few more in you, Kitten,” He informed her, burying his face in her neck and smirked when he felt her body shuddering against his.

 

They were both worked up and the adrenaline was pumping through them, fueling them like a machine.  All she could do was nod at his command to cum for him again, to give herself completely and surrender.  Hi stamina was incredible and she had to wonder if being spiked in the eyebrow turned him on.  That wouldn’t surprise her considering Jon was in countless death matches and dangerous quarrels throughout his career.  Her head was spinning, her mind clouded in a thick passion haze and she felt her back leave the door to be planted on the nearby stairs.  Right there on the stairs, she came for him again, crying out his name as her body’s foundation trembled.

 

Adrenaline from a good segment -and that had been a fantastic piece- was one thing for sure, but not after a few hours on a plane, that shit wore off. No, this was good old-fashioned desire for his woman and the rocky as shit day they had had. Also, they had been teasing each other since the plane technically, he was not going to bed with blue balls and she wasn’t going to bed with her thighs touching, not if he had his way. After making her cum in the stairwell, Jon carried her heaving body upstairs to THEIR bedroom, depositing her on the mattress and gave her a moment to breathe, his own body coated in a fine sheen of perspiration.

 

Jilysa had to admit, sex in a bed was a lot better than stairs, though she didn’t mind the door so much.  Jon gave her about 30 seconds to breathe before he was on her again, making her both gasp and giggle at the same time before pure moaning took over everything.  Before long, she was on all fours with him pounding her and after two more orgasms, on her part, and that pain threshold had been crossed, he finally exploded, forcing yet another orgasm from her body.  Just like before, she collapsed on the bed out of sheer exhaustion and passed out, sprawled and having zero fucks to give.  Jon had literally fucked her to sleep, just like he’d done previously.

 

Jon clicked his tongue and shook his head, dragging his sweaty ass out of the bed and into the shower. He got it going, making sure the temperature was comfortable before hauling her unconscious ass in there and cleaning her as best he could without being overly weird. There would be no funky rashes or infections for them, not on his watch. Then he stripped the top layers of the bed, laying her gently down on the clean sheets beneath before retrieving another top sheet. By the time he was finally satisfied, exhaustion from this extremely long day had crept in. Jon pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head and shut his eyes.

 

Chapter 58

 

Twelve hours later, Jilysa slowly opened her eyes the smell of food and coffee in her face, mumbling something incoherent. “Mmmmorning…” She smiled up at the beautiful man in front of her, who held a tray of breakfast and coffee for her.  Jon was bringing her breakfast in bed.  It was such a sweet gesture and she slowly pushed herself to sit up, not caring she was naked.  There was enough food and coffee for both of them as he softly kissed her and sat down on the bed, the tray in front of them. “What time did you get up this morning, lover?”

 

“I don’t know, a few hours ago.” Long enough for him to go on a bike ride for some morning exercise, get another shower, and then whip this up. Jon grinned at her, watching as she worked to wake herself up properly and began preparing her coffee the way she liked it. Creamer as the main, coffee on the side. The woman was weird. “You kinda passed out on me last night.” And it was something he was rather proud of, that was the second time he had fucked her to exhaustion. Jon made a mental note not to be doing that too often, there was no way it was good for her.

 

It was also the jetlag that had exhausted her, not to mention the emotional toll her body took with what happened earlier that morning.  That and the mindblowing sex with Jon had exhausted her to the point where she could not stay awake a second longer. “No kinda about it, baby, I DID pass out on you.” She corrected him with a smirk, feeling her stomach gurgle and took a bite of food, groaning at how delicious it was.  Pancakes…he knew the way to her heart. “And I’m not apologizing because I really needed to sleep.”

 

“I never asked for an apology and if you pass out because I fucked you to that point, you’ll never need to apologize,” Jon said arrogantly, spearing a piece of sausage, pancake and egg on his fork. He wasn’t even taking all other forms of exhaustion into account, men could be arrogant beasts that way and he was definitely an arrogant beast. “That’d be a bragging point for me if I were the kind of guy to do the locker room talk sort of thing.” Anymore, which he was not, he had done that shit when he was younger and more of a jackass.

 

“Good, glad we’re on the same page with that.” Jilysa winked at him while devouring her food, not believing how hungry she was.  Then she realized they didn’t stop for dinner last night.  They had come straight to the airport, flew here and then screwed each other’s brains out until she literally passed out on him.  That was probably also why she had passed out, now that she thought about it.  Sipping her coffee, she groaned at how delicious it was and could get used to doing this with him.  Having breakfast in bed with coffee…it made her fall even more in love with him, if that was possible. I’m going to tell him when we go camping.  I can’t keep this to myself anymore, regardless of how he feels for me. It would be the perfect opportunity because they would be completely alone, in the desert, under the moon and stars with a fire.  And it would be her first time camping and she was sharing that experience with him, which made it even more special. “So, tomorrow we’re gonna head out to the desert, right?”

 

“Yep. We’re relaxing today.” Which was why he had gotten in that ride earlier, get some heavy cardio -which was what that had turned out to be with as fast as he had gone and the terrain- in and then relax with his woman. “I don’t know if we even know HOW to relax but we’re gonna try.” The last time they had done the ‘relax’ thing here had actually been a ‘burn the exes shit’ thing and then the disastrous Christmas. “Oh!” Jon crammed the last of his pancake in his mouth before rolling out of the bed. Her necklace.

 

Raising a brow, Jilysa continued eating while Jon retrieved something from the safe she knew he had in his room.  She didn’t know the code to it and didn’t want to.  It wasn’t her business.  When a necklace dangled in front of her, however, she nearly choked on a bite of food she’d just taken and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh shit!” It went down the wrong pipe!  She remembered on Christmas Day she took this off, this gift from Jon, and threw it in his face.  She had noticed he wasn’t wearing his bracelet she’d gotten him, not blaming him a bit. “Jon…” Reaching out, she touched the snowflake and blinked as tears began to slide down her cheeks.  He kept it.  He didn’t destroy it and she nodded when he asked if she wanted him to put it on.  This time, she would not take it off except to shower or whenever water was involved. “Thank you.”

 

“Shit, I didn’t mean to make you choke… or cry, darlin’,” Jon had watched as she coughed more after he had put that necklace on her, moving to get her a glass of water from the bathroom. “I wanted to get rid of it,” He admitted once she had calmed down, sitting on the bed again. “I was so mad but I knew once that passed, I’d regret it if I did so I put it away, along with the bracelet you had made for me.” He pulled that out of the back pocket of the shorts he was wearing -about all he was wearing, he hadn’t been kidding about the lazy day. Jon was so glad that for once during his anger he had actually listened to that voice in his head telling him not to do something rash.

 

Staring into his eyes, Jilysa wanted to say the words right then and there, feeling them burning her tongue practically.  They would NOT come out!  She looked down at her necklace again, honestly believing she would never see it again and sniffled, clutching the snowflake in her hand. “I promise to never give this back, regardless of what happens between us in the future, Jon.” Reaching out, she caressed his bearded face with her hand and leaned in to passionately kiss him, naked and all.  Then, she took his bracelet she bought him for Christmas and clasped it on his wrist before kissing him again. “You cooked, I’m cleaning up while you relax.  No arguments, lover.” Slipping a robe on, Jilysa took the tray downstairs with plates and all, needing a minute to compose herself.

 

Jon didn’t argue and for good reason. He began chuckling when he heard her downstairs, leaning back on the bed and folded his arms beneath his head, letting out a contented sigh. He had cleaned while he cooked, the only thing dirty was the dishes they had eaten off of and the tray. Everything downstairs was tidied and put away, including the damned dishes. This had been a brilliant idea and he almost went after her when she didn’t immediately return but then hesitated, realizing Jilysa might need a moment or four. He’d give her… two more minutes.

 

When she was gone past those two minutes, Jon arrived downstairs and Jilysa was nowhere to be found.  She was outside on the downstairs patio on the phone with her lawyer, who was informing her that Drew was fighting the divorce.  He really had no leg to stand on, but he refused to show up for the proceedings next month.  This would drag out and prolong the divorce being finalized…and she groaned, rubbing the heel of her hand against her forehead. “So, what happens now?” She regretted asking as soon as her lawyer answered her.

 

“Counseling.  He thinks you two can work out your differences and can reconcile if you go to counseling.  He’s basically claimed you are not in your right frame of mind with this divorce and he wants to prove that through counseling…and the judge is allowing it.”

 

“Oh my god!  He’s the one who cheated on me!!” Jilysa could not believe this, scrubbing her face with a groan. “So, he’s claiming I’m insane, is what you’re saying?”

 

“Yes.  And he’s also claiming you cheated on him as well.  He’s fighting the misdemeanor because he feels you deserve one too since you were with someone while married before being legally separated.”

 

“There’s no proof of that and no I wasn’t!”

 

Her lawyer knew better, but they were friends and she personally thought Drew was a cheating douchebag herself. “I know, Jil, I know, but this is what his lawyer has thrown back at us and we have to toe the line if we want to get you divorced.  We have to play their game until there’s no other cards for them to play.  And then we strike him hard.”

 

“I don’t even want to see him, not after his last impromptu visit…” Jilysa was afraid she would end up showing her ‘insane’ side that Drew claimed she had and wrap his long black tresses around his neck to choke him out.  She was so pissed off right now and held onto her snowflake charm tightly, tears stinging her eyes. “I don’t want to be with him anymore.  I don’t want to be married to him.  I’ve moved on and he needs to do the same!”

 

“I’m sorry, Jil, but this is what we have to do unless…”

 

“Unless what?”

 

“Let me make some phone calls and I’ll get back to you.”

 

Jilysa hung up and felt like throwing her phone, putting her head in her hands. “You mother fucker…” Drew didn’t want to see her happy and this was his ego playing around with her now because of that misdemeanor he was being slapped with.  TOUGH!  He was the one who cheated on her first!!  He deserved it!!

 

Jon had been listening from the open patio door, hearing the one side of the conversation but it was enough to tell him that Drew was being a cockbag and dragging her through Hell. It made him wonder if this was Drew lashing out over what had been said in her condo the night that had sent her in a tizzy with the clingy and intensity shit. “How bad is it, darlin’?” He asked quietly when she finally turned around, seeing the tears of frustration in her eyes and moved towards her. Maybe Drew needed to have a fucking accident. A fatal one.

 

“He’s such a fucking asshole!” Jilysa cried out, burying her face in his chest and felt his arms tighten around her while she poured her heart out. “H-He’s fighting the divorce because of the misdemeanor and now he wants us to go to fucking counseling to try to repair our marriage!  There’s no repairing about it!  I don’t love him anymore!  I don’t want to be with him anymore!  He hurt me, he broke my heart and he USED me to gain better credit!  He never loved me, he only married me out of convenience!!” Venting felt good and she needed to let it all out, her entire body trembling from head to toe. “He doesn’t think it’s fair that he’s being slapped with a fine and misdemeanor and I’m not since I cheated on him, technically, before getting legally separated.  There’s no proof of that, but there’s TONS of proof with him and that stupid bitch wife of yours all over the internet, flaunting their affair!  And now he has to pay for it and he doesn’t want to, so he’s doing everything he can to prolong the inevitable!”

 

Well, actually, there were probably some pictures of them from Hawaii floating around out there. That was one of the things that he had worried about, especially so fresh into this mess with their exes, being caught with her, or the rebound thing. It had all been a blur of hastily made decisions and delicious sex at that time. Jon inwardly groaned, holding her tight against him. “If your lawyer is worth her salt, she’ll get this bullshit overturned because no rational judge is going to make the victim attend counseling with her cheating husband, darlin’,” He rumbled, not really knowing what else to say. “Would it help if I spoke up about him nearly decking you that one night?” Or would it help if he backed off, his heart protesting violently.

 

“No because then the judge would demand to know why you were there in the first place.  And everyone knows we’re together now, so that would raise suspicion since we weren’t legally separated at the time.” Jilysa looked up at him, seeing the protest written all over his face and brought his lips down to hers, passionately kissing him. “Whatever happens, whatever I have to go through to get this divorce finalized, I’m going to do it.  I don’t care how many obstacles and hoops I have to jump through because I don’t love him anymore.  I’m with YOU, Jon.  I found something so special with you and damn it…” How did he feel about her?  Was it too soon to say these words?  It wasn’t in the desert under the full lit moon and stars…it was while she was distraught over a phone call with her lawyer, but…she had to say them.  She had to say them to him out loud. “I love you, Jon.  I’ve fallen in love with you and I only want you, not him!”

 

Jon didn’t know what to say, he could only stare down at her. She had just overloaded him. First, with refusing to fight this bullshit. He knew many states required the party pursuing the counseling bit to PROVE that there was hope for the marriage to work out, Drew was a cheater and there was evidence of that, what proof did he have to say this marriage wasn’t over? She was going to bend over and dance through these hoops instead of laughing that weasel out of the courthouse. Then she had sprung the L word on him and it kind of overrode and overloaded the anger that had instantly jumped, leaving him this weird mess of what the shit. “Then fight this.” He said finally, his voice coming out harsh with emotion. “I love you too, Jilysa, and I’m with you for the long haul but don’t let him hurt you anymore.” Not how he had planned this moment but… here they were.

 

“What makes you think I won’t fight?  I told you no matter what obstacles I have to go through and no matter how many hoops I…have…to…” The words tapered off as it finally sunk in what Jon just said to her.  He loved her too…he loved her?!  He felt the same way about her as she did him?!  Jilysa looked up at him and the biggest smile crossed her face before she reached up with a shaking hand to touch his beard cheek, tears glittering in her eyes. “He can’t hurt me when I have someone like you that loves me as much as I love you.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and poured everything she felt into it, breaking the kiss only when they needed oxygen to breathe. “Say it again.”

 

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Jon said it repeatedly, raining kisses along her face with each time he said it, cupping her face between his strong hands. “Fight the counseling bullshit, all you should have to do is prove the marriage is broken beyond repair.” Again, the cheater forcing the victim into counseling, most judges would have laughed Drew Galloway to Hell and back. Unless she were pregnant, then he could see the counseling being forced down her throat, fucking states were weird that way, putting a fetus ahead of a woman’s personal wishes and best interest.

 

“I am, don’t worry, lover.” Jilysa assured him, after giggling at the kisses being rained all over her face and she held his face in her hands as well, their foreheads pressing together.  It was somewhat cool outside, in the low 70’s and she felt heat pulsating through her for an entirely different reason. “My lawyer is really good and she said she’ll get back to me about this whole situation.  I know she’s going to fight right alongside me too.  As long as I have you through all of this, that’s all I care about.  I meant what I said – I’m all yours and I love that you’re all mine.” She had his heart as much as he had hers.

 

Would they have said these words if not for Drew trying to back her into a corner? Why did that thought jump into Jon’s mind? He hated that it did but then… then it really didn’t matter, as long as they knew the truth and they did, they loved each other. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly against him and let his head drop down to rest on top of hers. Things had just changed, whether either of them realized it or not, just by saying those three little worlds.

 

Everything had changed…but they didn’t know if it was good or bad.

 

Chapter 59

 

It was Halloween night 2021 and Jilysa had just given out some more candy to the neighborhood kids, when Jon came stumbling up the driveway from the Uber he’d taken from the airport.  It was a lot easier and faster than driving himself since traffic was horrendous around the airport.  Jilysa was on temporary leave from the company due to her impending divorce from Andrew.  The order for the counseling had been tossed after Andrew refused to show up for the first appointment, claiming he couldn’t take time from his busy schedule with WWE.  Her lawyer sought cancellation and it was granted with the judge ordering Andrew to pay the fee since he wanted to no-show the session.  That also included Jilysa’s part of the bill as well since the courts were not paying for it.  The divorce was set to be finalized the following day, November 1st, and she would finally be a free woman again with nothing tying her down or holding her back from being with Jon.

 

Jon, on the other hand, was not doing very well, both emotionally and mentally.  He was a wreck in every sense of the word, in every way possible, and a huge part of it was the fact his demons had caught up with him he thought he’d left behind in the Indies long ago.  Drinking, in particular.  The divorce with Leah wasn’t going nearly as smoothly as Jilysa, even though she wasn’t technically divorced yet.  They were legally separated, but Leah was fighting the divorce, claiming they could work things out and she still loved him, anything to prolong the inevitable.  Jon made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her and Leah was also claiming she wasn’t in her right frame of mind upon committing infidelity.  ANYTHING that could be done to avoid the end, she was doing and making Jon’s life miserable.  He had a little pudge forming in his stomach from all the alcohol he consumed on a nightly basis, both on and off the road, and Jilysa did whatever she could to keep him distracted, but ultimately, it was only a temporary reprieve.

 

No matter what, Jilysa vowed to stay by his side because this was just another obstacle they had to overcome and she wanted to help Jon any way she could.  She smiled at him, even though he had an annoyed expression on his face while walking towards her.  She was in a black dress with gothic makeup on and heels on her feet, a witch’s pointy hat on top of her head.  Halloween was one of her favorite holidays and since she was home for it, the house was spruced up and she decided to dress for the kiddos.  Jon took one look at her, even past the dark makeup, and cracked the barest hint of a smile, though it held sadness as well.  There was something he had to say to her, but first…he had to have his woman right now.

 

The bowl of candy was taken from her hands and Jon pushed her into the house, dropping his bag to the floor before kicking the door shut.  The next second, his lips were on hers, lighting Jilysa on fire, and her back connected to the door, barely hearing him flip the lock on it over the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.  Even though she could taste the Jack Daniels on his breath, the taste of him in general sent warmth coursing throughout her body and she could not stop herself from returning the fiery kiss, the touch…everything.  Denying Jon would only push him further into despair and she refused to do that, wanting him more than the air she breathed.  Jilysa did not expect to see him tonight since he’d just had a match the previous night with Sami’s organization, Wrestling Revolver.  Jon had a match against one of his old friends and rivals from his Independent days, Jimmy Havoc.  It was a hardcore match, short and brutal, with Jon being the victor and it was the main event.

 

“Hottest witch I’ve ever seen, you know that?” Jon rumbled against her lips while reaching beneath the dress to tear away the panties she had on.

 

“Oh yeah?  Didn’t think you fucked many witches in your day, Moxley.” She smiled at his compliment, loving the sound of his low, raspy voice and tilted her head to give him further access to her neck, after he pushed her hair away. “Fuck, I missed you, baby…” Her feet left the floor with her back pressed firmly against the door, her legs encircled around his waist, and those pale blues of his were darkened, clouded over.

 

“Me or my dick.”

 

“All of you, Jon, every piece.”

 

He loved that answer and pushed his pants down enough to free his cock, capturing her mouth with his while burying himself to the hilt inside of her. “Same here, hold onto me, darlin’…”

 

“You gonna leave me since I’m an alcoholic bastard now, Jily?”

 

“Of course not.” Jilysa moaned out, pulling her face back to stare into his eyes while he kept thrusting in and out of her, tears forming in her eyes.  Why did this feel like a goodbye with Jon?  Why did it feel different? “I’ll never, EVER leave you, Jon.  I love you, no matter what.” Then, she kissed him and poured every ounce of feeling into it she could, all while he slammed in and out of her like a man possessed, holding her tighter against him.

 

Those sweet words only spurred him on, lighting a fire inside of him and Jon knew what he’d have to do if he wanted to keep Jilysa, if he didn’t want to lose her.  In the heat of the moment, it didn’t matter what was said because he knew he had a major problem he had to deal with.  He had to be fixed and the only way to do that was seeking professional help, which meant he’d have to go away for a little while.  This was something that Jon had been mulling over in his head over the past month.  If he truly wanted a fulfilling life and future with this beautiful woman, his Jilysa, he had to do this.  They were used to being apart for weeks at a time, so this wouldn’t be anything they couldn’t handle.

 

“Fuck me too, fuck I love you, Jil…”

 

Once they were finished, Jon managed to carry her on trembling legs to the couch, both of them dropping down on top of it in sweaty, satisfied messes.  Jilysa refused to let him go, kissing his neck and snuggling against him, bringing his mouth down on hers.  She could not get enough of him and the feeling was mutual as Jon became lost in that kiss, in her.  Jilysa was his true addiction and one he did not mind having for the rest of his life, but this drinking issue on the other hand had to go.

 

“I’m checking myself into rehab tonight, darlin’.” He rumbled once the kiss broke, staring into her beautiful eyes and slid a finger down her cheek, waiting to see how she’d react.

 

Jon wanted to go to rehabilitation…Jilysa was trying to wrap her mind around his words and frowned, not expecting this turn of events. “For how long?”

 

“However long it takes to sober my ass up and stay clean.  There’s a facility I’ve been looking into and…I made arrangements to be picked up tonight.” Jon explained, slowly pulling back and wasn’t surprised that she went with him, both sitting upright on the couch now. “Darlin’, if I don’t get help now, it’s only gonna get worse from here.  I have demons that I’ve been fighting off for years and they’ve finally gotten the better of me.  I need help.”

 

“Tonight?  You’re leaving tonight to go to rehab?” Jilysa felt a little jilted and slowly stood up from the couch, taking off her witch’s costume completely because it was uncomfortable. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner, Jon?  Did you think I wouldn’t understand or something?  Or did you think I’d try to stop you?”

 

Jon sighed heavily, expecting a little animosity shot his way because he had kept this to himself. “No…yes…I don’t know, Jilysa.  I didn’t know how you’d react to this.” He stood up from the couch, feeling that overwhelming urge to pour a drink and could already feel himself become twitchy. “This has been hell on earth for me, darlin’.  I can’t do it anymore.  I can’t live like this anymore.  I feel like I’m drowning and no matter what I do, I keep going under that damn water.  My biggest fear is losing you.  Hell, I might anyway since you probably don’t wanna be with an alcoholic moody asshole like me.”

 

“Jon…” Jilysa could hear the defeat in his voice and it broke her heart. “How could you say that?  How could you think that?” Walking up to him, she wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. “I will always support you and if this is what you need to do, so be it.  I’m not going anywhere, I told you that.” She looked up at him, the tears gliding down her cheeks freely and he cupped her face to brush them away with the pads of his thumbs. “Go.  Go get clean and sober and come home to me.  I’ll be waiting for you, however long it takes.” A month, a year, it didn’t matter to her because Jon was her forever.

 

“You mean that, don’t you?” He whispered against her hair, breathing her in and shut his eyes, holding her close to him. “I won’t be able to contact you or anything while I’m gone.  They take your phone and everything once you check in.  And I don’t know how long I’ll be in there, Jilysa.  I know your divorce finalizes tomorrow and you’ll finally be free, so if you can’t deal with this, you need to tell me now before I leave.”

 

“What part of I’m not going anywhere did you not hear or understand, Moxley?” Jilysa pulled back to look up into his bloodshot blues and leaned up to passionately kiss him, pressing her naked body against his.  Jon had removed his own clothes after they collapsed on the couch. “I’m not saying goodbye to you and I never will.  Go get your shit straight and come back to me.”

 

Jon smirked against her lips as she spoke, falling more in love with this woman more and more every day. “When I get back and I’m clean and sober, and my divorce is finalized, I’m marrying you, Jily.  I’m not waiting either and I’m not taking no for an answer.  You will be my wife.  That’s one of the reasons I wanna do this.  I don’t want you dealing with an alcoholic husband.  I love you far too much to put you through that.”

 

Her eyes widened at his declaration of marriage and what would happen once he returned from rehabilitation.  Jon wanted to marry her.  He meant every single word that came out of his mouth and Jilysa felt as if her heart may burst.  This man constantly surprised her and she knew he was still going through a messy divorce with Leah, so it wouldn’t happen overnight.  His rehabilitation wouldn’t make things go any smoother either with the court system, but at the same time, it would also show he was willing to do what it took to better himself.  The biggest watery smile crossed her face and she nodded, brushing her lips against his softly and tenderly.

 

“Yes.”

 

“I didn’t even ask you yet.”

 

“My answer will always be yes, Jon.  I want to be your wife more than anything and the fact you wanna clean yourself up just makes me love you more.  And I don’t care how corny that sounds, it’s the truth.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, Jilysa held him tight against her and closed her eyes, knowing she didn’t have much time left with him.

 

For the next hour, they sat on the couch and talked about whatever came to mind, just spending time together.  Blue was right at their feet and she had pulled on one of his Moxley t-shirts, which went past hips and thighs, hugging them.  Jon loved it whenever she lounged around in his shirts and that started another round of lovemaking on the couch…with his shirt left on.  Not one drop of alcohol entered his system that night as the car pulled up to take him to the rehabilitation center.  Jilysa wanted to drive him there, but Jon declined and told her it was hard enough leaving her at their home.  He wasn’t sure if he could do it with her at the actual facility.  This was something he had to do on his own.  She understood that, respecting his decision, and walked out of the house with Blue, their hands clasped together.

 

“When I get back, we’re gonna go ring shopping.”

 

“You should wait until you’re divorced first, lover.” Jilysa stroked his beard with her fingers, so much turmoil and sadness in her eyes. “I’m going to miss you so much and I promise, the moment your divorce is finalized, we’ll go ring shopping together.”

 

Jon nodded, tossing his bag in the backseat of the car and held his hand up in a one minute gesture to the driver, who nodded in understanding. “Do you want a big wedding or a small one?  Or would you mind eloping?”

 

Smirking, Jilysa clasped her hands around his neck and rubbed her nose gently against his. “Eloping sounds fantastic.  And then we can take a two week hiatus and go to the Bahamas or somewhere tropical we haven’t been yet.” Preferably with some mountain climbing and hiking since they were both into those hobbies.

 

“Mmm and here I thought you were gonna suggest Hawaii.” Jon chuckled, the memory of that vacation flowing through his mind.  Those memories would help him get through this, he was certain of it. “We could get the honeymoon suite again and this time, we’d be actual honeymooners.”

 

Her eyes sparkled at the thought, the same memories flooding over her, including the one where she sucked him off right on the beach. “Whatever you wanna do, baby.  I’m game for whatever.  Now go get better and I’ll see you when you get back.  I’m picking you up at the facility too when the time comes.”

 

“Sounds like a plan.  Take care of our boy for me.” He bent down to scratch Blue behind the ears, kissing the top of his head and then rose back up before yanking Jilysa flush against his body. “I love you, never forget that.” The kiss he laid on her was full of passion, fire, and promise of things to come in the future.

 

By the time the kiss broke, Jilysa was breathless and stopped him from getting in the car, kissing him a second time for good measure. “I love you too, come back home to us as soon as you can, baby.”

 

“Count on it, darlin’.” Jon ducked in the car and as soon as it drove away, Jilysa dropped to her knees in the grass beside Blue, crying her heart out right into his fur.

 

How long Jon would be gone for was a mystery, but Jilysa was bound and determined to stick by his side, no matter what.

 

Chapter 60

 

So much had happened in the span of the next year. 

 

It still amazed Jilysa the more she thought about it while she sat in Jon’s dressing room.  Halloween 2021 had changed both of their worlds forever…and they didn’t even realize it.  It changed Jon for the better because he had gotten the help he needed and hadn’t had a drop of alcohol in over a year.  Halloween had marked one year sober for Jon.  He was in rehabilitation for a little over a month before they released him.  It wasn’t easy for him at first, but what got him through it was Jilysa letting him know he was going to be a father.  They had conceived on Halloween night and six weeks later, she had taken a pregnancy test after missing her period and having horrible nausea.  Morning sickness.  Jon was floored and couldn’t believe they were going to be parents, so that snapped him out of his post-rehabilitation depression in a heartbeat.  Near the end of January of 2022, he had returned to AEW after a near three-month hiatus, taking more time off after getting out of rehabilitation to cope with his new life…and to spend time with Jilysa.

 

The divorce with Leah was finalized in late March, after months of fighting it, and Jon was ecstatic for it to finally be over with.  They were at home when he received the news from his lawyer and that night, he had taken his five month pregnant girlfriend out for dinner, popping the question to her.  It wasn’t really a question, more like a statement that he wanted her to be his wife and he had asked if she remembered what he told her the night he left to go to rehabilitation.  Overcome with emotions due to her raging hormones, Jilysa burst out into tears and hugged him tightly, squeaking out a ‘yes’ before Jon slipped the beautiful rose gold diamond ring on her finger.  It was so beautiful, he had it specifically designed with her in mind.  There was a rose gold hibiscus, Hawaii’s state flower, wrapped around the diamond in a beautiful setting that took her breath away.

 

Whisking her off at five months pregnant, after that night, Jon took them to an all-night wedding chapel in Vegas to make everything official.  He did not want to be engaged more than 24 hours before married to Jilysa.  There was no sense in waiting.  They loved each other, they’d been together for a while, even when the road got bumpy and rocky.  She stuck by him through rehabilitation, never faltered, and was there the day he was released to pick him up just as she said she would be.  Not to mention, she was the mother of his unborn child and he was completely in love with her.  Jilysa had no qualms about eloping and they flew straight to Hawaii afterward for a small getaway to have a proper honeymoon.  The same honeymoon suite on the beach too.  Since she was pregnant this time around, they stayed in and enjoyed each other to the fullest, including Jon worshipping her beautiful small round belly.

 

Naturally, news broke of their prenuptials all over social media with pictures of them in Hawaii, looking happier than ever and Jilysa was glowing.  They took a picture together in front of the sunset with Jon holding her from behind, his hands on her baby bump and her head against his chest.  Someone on the beach had taken it randomly for them and it was one of Jilysa’s favorite photos.  Jon sent both Chris and Jessica a special thank you present for bringing Jilysa into his life, so they had tickets to Hawaii any time they wished, including the kids.  He would never forget his adopted nieces and nephew.  They were ecstatic, thanking both Jon and Jilysa because it was also their wedding anniversary present.

 

The pregnancy itself was full of ups and downs because Jilysa had high blood pressure throughout most of it.  Her second trimester had her hospitalized twice for it and she had to take blood pressure medication to keep it down.  It had nothing to do with her health, it was just something that could happen with pregnancy.  Jilysa was not happy that she could not travel with Jon on the road and had to stay bedridden.  Travel would be too stressful on her body and the baby, so the doctor ordered her to rest as much as possible until her due date.  Because of the high blood pressure, they scheduled a C-section, so Jon was able to tell everyone he worked for and be there for the birth of their little boy.

 

David Christopher Good was born in late August, one week before her due date, at 9 pounds, 9 ounces, and 21 inches long.  He had wisps of dishwater blonde hair, but otherwise he looked bald and his eyes were a beautiful blue.  It wasn’t that noticeable at first when he was born, but a month later, Jilysa noticed the color had changed a lot.  He looked just like his Daddy too.  It warmed Jilysa’s heart and she loved David with all of her heart and soul.  Jon had asked her if Chris could be the godfather and Jilysa wanted to do something even better.  They wanted to incorporate Jon into the baby’s name, but didn’t want to name him a JR, so Jon suggested using his middle name David.  Jilysa fell in love with it instantly and added Christopher as his middle name to pay homage to the man who had brought them together.  Chris hadn’t met the baby boy yet and Jilysa was able to travel, so Jon brought his family with him on the road for this pay-per-view event.

 

Full Gear.

 

They were backstage in Jon’s dressing room and he’d requested a couch for his wife and son, wanting them to be comfortable.  Jon was the current AEW World Heavyweight champion, but tonight, he was dropping the title to some new blood in the company.  Maxwell Jacob Friedman.  MJF.  Personally, Jilysa did not think the company was doing the right thing by making MJF the face of AEW, but this wasn’t her company.  It wasn’t her call to make.  Even Jon wasn’t happy about it, but he needed a break from carrying the company on his back after three years of doing it, on and off.  Honestly, there was nobody better in Jilysa’s eyes, besides Chris, but they couldn’t keep bouncing back and forth between the two veterans.  She understood that and there was much better talent on the roster to make a champion, but Tony Khan was adamant about putting the title on MJF.

 

A knock on the door jolted Jilysa out of her deep thoughts and she looked up to see Chris poking his head in with a grin. “Well, well, if it isn’t the former Le Champion.” She spoke quietly, not wanting to spook David in any way.

 

“Haven’t been that in a while, baby.” Chris also kept his voice down as he walked in, shaking hands with Jon and they embraced before he went over to peer down at the bundle in Jilysa’s arms. “So this is the newest edition, eh?”

 

There was something they hadn’t told Chris yet because Jon wanted to wait until this moment when they were on the road for Full Gear. “Yes, this is your godson, David Christopher Good.” She announced proudly, locking eyes with Chris and could see the different emotions splay across the older man’s face.

 

It took Chris a minute for the full name to sink in.  All Jon had told him was the first name and now he knew why. “That’s a solid name, Jily.” Holy hell, his voice was cracking from trying to hold back emotions. “I’m gonna assume Christopher isn’t coincidental, huh?”

 

“What do you think, man?” Jon retorted with a snort, busy doing his warm-up exercises in the corner for his match. “It flows good too, so that was also a deciding factor.”

 

Jilysa rolled his eyes. “He’s such full of shit.  The moment I asked him if we could make the middle name Christopher, he jumped at it.”

 

“Come on, darlin’, you gotta throw me under the bus like that?”

 

“It’s not nice to lie to your best friend, Moxley.”

 

“Meh, he’s all right.” Jon grinned, watching as Jilysa stood up and carefully laid David into Chris’s arms. “Why don’t you sit down with him?”

 

It was Chris’ turn to snort derisively. “Relax Mox, I’ve had three kids, remember?  I know how to hold them, but if it’ll make you feel better…” He did as Jon requested, remembering how overprotective he was when his children were born. “He looks like his Dad.  I’m sorry, Jily.”

 

Jilysa sat down next to her and gently slid her finger down David’s cheek. “I’m glad he does.  He’s a very handsome.”

 

“Well, if you have a girl, hopefully, she won’t have his ugly mug.” Chris could not help teasing, chuckling at Jilysa’s head shaking. “I’m only kidding, baby.  He’s a handsome son of a gun, even I know that.”

 

“Man, don’t be hitting on me in front of my wife, fuckface.”

 

“Jon, language…” Jilysa was trying to train herself not to use foul language in front of their son, sleeping or not.

 

“Fine, piss ant.”

 

“Try again.”

 

Jon narrowed his eyes at her. “Jackass.”

 

Jilysa thought about it for half a second and nodded. “Fine, you can use that one since it does mean donkey.” She walked over to where he stood and leaned up, brushing her mouth against his softly.  He looked so damn good working out and it was already lighting her on fire.  Just a few more weeks of recovery and they could hop back into the saddle again. “Thank you, handsome.”

 

“Uh huh…” He wrapped an arm around her waist to press her against him, passionately kissing her this time. “As soon as you’re healed, your ass is mine, darlin’.”

 

“Just my ass?”

 

He smirked, electric blues igniting down at her. “ALL of you.”

 

“Same.”

 

She was tempted to go against doctor’s orders and have sex with her husband anyway, but Jilysa also didn’t want to cause any damage to herself.  C-sections took too damn long to heal from, in her opinion.  Her face contorted as a shot of pain zipped through her stomach and Jon immediately lead her back to the couch, ordering her to stay put.  There was no way Jon would put his wife at any risks for sex.  They had the rest of their lives to sex each other up, she needed proper time to heal and she was going to take it, whether she wanted to or not.

 

“Jess had the same thing happen.  It’s like a phantom pain from the surgery you had.”

 

Even though it’d been a little over a month and everything was healed properly, Jilysa still experienced some discomfort once in a while. “Yeah, it’s cramps and I hate it.  I just wish I would be healed already.” She wanted to feel normal again and scrubbed a hand down her face.

 

Chris set his hand on her shoulder with a knowing smile. “You will, but you gotta give it time, Jily.  You just had a baby and it takes a while to heal from that.  I told Jess the same thing after she had all three of our kids, especially the twins.” That had taken a lot of time to heal from and Chris smiled when the baby boy moved in his arms. “I think he’s stirring and…he definitely crapped himself.  Ugh!”

 

“Wanna change him?”

 

“Hell no, take your kid back.  I gotta get ready for the show.” Chris groaned, handing David back to her and stood up from the couch, watching as she expertly laid the baby on the couch to unswaddle him to change his diaper. “He’s perfect, baby.  Congratulations and…thanks for the shout-out with the name.” He had not expected that, giving Jon a brotherly hug.

 

“Yeah well, it’s because of you I have her and now my son.  You and Jess.” Jon couldn’t thank them enough for what they did for him and he was glad he took them up on their invitation for Thanksgiving three years ago.

 

“Hey man, we just wanted to help our two friends out and the fact it brought you two together, that was all on you guys.  I think Jess is just as shocked by the fact as I am since you and Jily are very different people.  Or were.” It seemed like Jilysa had changed Jon for the better, especially after the man had gone through rehabilitation for his excessive drinking. “You’ve been through a lot, Jon.  I’m proud of you.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“And I’m sorry for what you’re being forced to do out there.”

 

Jon shrugged, not bothered by it as much as he was before. “It’s what Khan wants, so I just hope it’s not another fuck-up like Punk was.  But hey, if it is, I’ll be there to save the day again, like always.”

 

Chris had to admit, Jon had been the cornerstone, the heart and soul of AEW, since it’s conception and there was nobody on the roster better than him, including himself.  He was winding down in his career, while Jon’s was in its prime and, without meaning to or realizing it, Jon had become a locker room leader in AEW.  Him, Chris, and Bryan Danielson were all leaders and planned on carrying AEW into the future while helping the younger guys become stars.  In fact, the contract Jon had just signed recently with AEW was a five-year deal with a lot more mentoring and training involved because he wanted to take on more responsibility within the company.  He was here to stay and AEW through and through as long as the company was alive.

 

Three hours later, Jilysa watched from the locker room while feeding David as Jon was clocked in the face by brass knuckles, courtesy of William Regal.  He had betrayed Jon and helped MJF win the title, after MJF swore he’d do it all on his own.  He called himself the Devil for a reason and that just proved he couldn’t defeat Jon Moxley without assistance.  The fact they had Regal turn on Jon shocked Jilysa, but come to find out, there was a reason for it.  Jon explained to her later that evening, after all was said and done, that Regal was leaving AEW to go back to WWE to be with his son in NXT, to help train him.  Regal never wanted to leave WWE in the first place, but Vince McMahon had fired him and now that the old man had retired, thanks to sexual allegations, Triple H had taken charge and wanted him back.  Jon did not feel one ounce of anger or resentment towards Regal, wishing him well and they embraced before he had returned to the locker room to retrieve his family.

 

After putting David down in his bassinet, all tightly swaddled and comfortable, Jilysa stepped out onto the balcony where Jon was having a cigarette.  He was leaning against the railing and flicked it off into the distance just as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, kissing his bare back gently.  He turned, bringing her against his side with his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, both enjoying the peace and quiet for a change.  Having a newborn didn’t give them moments like these often, so when they happened, they both cherished it.

 

“David asleep?”

 

“Yeah, he was out like a light after I changed his diaper and fed him.” Jilysa murmured, snuggling against her husband’s side while looking out at the skyline. “I love you, Jon.  And I’m so proud of what you did tonight, even though I know you didn’t want to do it.”

 

Jilysa was always supportive of his career and anything Jon wanted to do, even the death matches he signed up for to do in other companies.  He was the GCW World Heavyweight champion for over a year and those matches weren’t easy for her to watch, admittedly.  However, she never gave him any grief and kept encouraging him to do what he loved most in this world.  Jon loved her even more for that, for accepting him fully for who he was in and out of the ring.

 

“I’m over it, but thanks, darlin’.  I love you too.” Jon leaned down, softly kissing her and let it linger a little before pulling back. “Come on, time for bed.  Davey boy will have us up in a few hours, so we need to rest as much as possible right now.” He planned on being the one getting up to tend to the baby to let his wife rest, especially after that cramping episode earlier at the arena.

 

Staring at his beautiful sleeping wife beside him, Jon didn’t think he’d ever be able to love another woman after what happened with Leah.  His heart had been shredded when he found out through social media about her and McIntyre having an affair.  Jilysa thought the same thing, but they had found each other at the lowest points in their lives and turned a really horrible situation into something else entirely.  They never expected to find each other and, after a lot of convalesce from each of their marriages, they found their way in life together.  It wasn’t an easy road, very dark at times, but at the end of that road, there was light, true happiness, and love for both.

 

The End.