Published July 2011; originally written June 2010. This One-Shot story dovetails nicely to be read after reading our published, available tale of "Cody Comes To Tampa," but it can also stand alone.

The Randy portions are by one writer; Cody by another. Please reference our profile for information if you wish to participate and write with us. -Beyond The Mat Authors

Randy designated himself as Cody's kidnapper. For the last 3 years, he'd seen Cody on his birthday. Only once was Cody not with Randy on his own birthday and that was just because that's how the schedule had fallen.

Now they were both out of the house shows tonight, resting up from the neck injuries both sustained over the last week...but that didn't mean that Cody and him weren't going to go out for his bro's birthday.

He'd texted Cody that he was coming to get him and he'd shut his cell off in case Cody protested. He pulled into Cody's driveway, only then turning his cell back on. Now he was ringing the doorbell to the house. "Get your ass out here, we've got a birthday to celebrate!"

Cody was inside, sleeping on the couch from watching TV and eating junk food all day, when he jumped up at hearing Randy's voice. "Shit!" He muttered, looking at all the food everywhere. He hoped Masters hadn't left the door unlocked as he tried to clean up a bit.

Too bad the door was unlocked. His eyebrows flew up, but you know what? It was Cody's birthday. Fuck it. Let the kid have some fun.

Part of Cody's present was a surprise to Randy himself...he pitched in with the cleanup and didn't say a damn word like Cody might've suspected he would. Cody did look pretty shocked when Randy just walked on in, and maybe more surprised when he didn't start reading him the riot act. "Happy birthday, bro" is all he's said so far. Then, "Go get dressed." Randy was in "uniform" of his jeans and a plain white T-shirt. "Casual."

Cody finished up with the place, and ended up wearing the same thing that he wore last year. He did say casual after all. After taking the painkillers for his neck, he came back out and down a bottle of water."Ready when you are." He said, throwing the bottle away.

Randy grinned and unlocked the Hummer remotely. "We're gonna get fuckin' hammered, but I'll take it easy since I'll drive tonight. Where I want to take you doesn't serve alcohol..and it ain't the place I told you about earlier. It's different, and better. But I know a shithole, real hole in the wall, but the people are cool and the drinks are cheap, and we'll start there. Cool?"

"Sounds like a plan, anyone else coming along?" Cody asked, getting in the passenger seat.

"I didn't invite anybody else, but you know how hard it is to go out and not run into people." He had thought about inviting the Sound guy from RAW (Randy could never remember the guy's name but he was cool. But to have a friend named "The Sound guy" was pretty bad, lol), but opted against it.

He pulled out of Cody's and started heading downtown.

"True, they'd probably be out tonight anyway. Hell we go out every night." Cody said. "I have a feeling I'm not going to remember the really good part of tonight."

"We used to go out every night. I miss you, you little fuck," Randy said, eyes on the road. He wasn't big on emotional displays (except sometimes when he was drunk and he hadn't begun drinking yet) but Cody knew what he meant, even though the words were sort of toneless as he concentrated on the road.

"And the best nights are the ones you barely remember," he said with a grin as he pulled up to the space in front of the literal hole in the wall. It smelled musty when they first walked in, and the paneling on the walls was probably older than Randy and Cody's fathers combined. The flooring had to be at least as old as Cody and Randy combined. It was a real shithole, but it was easy to see that this was a comfortable place, where bartenders don't cut you off and they don't assrape you on the price of drinks.

There were mostly guys in there, but was that such a bad thing? They'd go to the juice bar later. All-nude clubs didn't serve alcohol, not that he knew of outside of Vegas anyway. "What are you drinkin', Codes?" he asked as he claimed a spot for them at the bar.

"Surprise me, this was your idea after all." Cody said, as he sat down and looked around the place. He liked it, it had a comfortable feel to it, once you got pass the smell. "This ain't half bad."
-

"Nope, it ain't," he said as he lit up a cigarette and ordered a couple of boilermakers. Randy wasn't a big beer guy, but boilermakers were a good way to start off a birthday party.

"You gonna do it right or are you gonna pussy out?" Randy grinned as the bartender got them ready. A boilermaker ain't a boilermaker unless you down the entire fucking mug after you drop the shot of whiskey in as it combines. "You're not gonna sip the goddamned thing, are you?" The beers were put before them and the shot glasses right beside.

"I'm more of a wine drinker myself." Cody said sarcastically, setting his drink up.
"Ladies first, you never could hold yours down for too long anyway." He teased.

He called Cody something with 4 letters that started with a C, but was not "Cody", the word that bought Randy a 60-day suspension when he called a Diva one, but it was in jest.

He dropped the shot of Wild Turkey, going first as Cody said...hey, the birthday boy could make that request, and chugged that fucker down. He exhaled, putting the mug down and would cut himself off after a couple of these, because these things snuck up on you if you weren't careful.

A couple guys recognized them, but they were chill as hell, buying drinks for Cody and Randy, and not being assholes. One asked Cody if he wanted to shoot some pool.

"Don't answer that until you drink up," Randy grinned/dared.

"Fucker." Cody said with a playful glare before downing his own, shaking his head after he finished. Forgot how good that felt. "I'm in, Randy, you in?"

"Fuck yeah. After another one." He signaled for 4 boilermakers now, 1 for Cody, himself and the 2 guys that were buying drinks, just in case the guys were into them in a sexual way and wanted Randy and Cody to put out later on. Randy buying a round got them off the hook. lol

He did his without prompting and then went looking for a pool stick. Truth told, he sucked ass at pool. But the more he drank, the better he thought he was at pool. 2 boilermakers put a tiny chink in the armor and loosened him up, so maybe he wouldn't suck complete ass. He waited for Codes and would follow his lead, since Randy's only real success with a pool table included a Diva, a drunken party and a basement.

Cody thanked Randy for his drink and took it with him to the pool table, grabbing two pool sticks for him and Randy. He wasn't the greatest in pool, but he was probably the luckiest bastard in the place, often winning without even knowing how it happened. "I aint bettin' any money." He said smiling, downing his drink, truly showing his colors as Dusty Rhodes' son.

They didn't have to bet money. The guys were even paying for them to play pool, the drinks kept flowing, and all the fans wanted in return was a couple of pictures with them. That was cool. Randy and Cody were pretty impervious to pain by the time the pictures were taken and the devil-red eyes in the candid photos that would soon leak onto the internet told the story, between the glassiness and the stupid grin/smirk hybrids plastered on their faces.

"Another game or are we headed out?" Cody asked Randy, almost a slur.

"Odyssey time. If we don't go now, I won't be able to drive," Randy said, as in time to get the fuck out of here and head to the tit and ass bar.

And that's where it started. Well...the stop at a liquor store on the way didn't much help. On a hunch, he called and yes, for an extra fee, you could bring a sealed liquor bottle in and add it to the non-alcoholic beverages you had to purchase at Odyssey.

This is where everything becomes blurry. The all-nude 2001 Odyssey Club had a full downstairs, where everybody went, with the stage and all that shit, and upstairs were private rooms. He ended up slurring a "Happy Birthday" to Cody and had reserved upstairs with 2 girls. Originally they were both meant for Cody but when the bouncer escorted them both upstairs, well, shit.

Claudia gave Cody his lap dance..Charisma, Randy's. And damned if Charisma didn't bear a passing resemblance in ways both to Candice and Sam.

Cody didn't move a muscle, Claudia told him not to. He only nodded, and let her earn her money, not even seeing Randy leave. At this rate, he didn't want to leave. He patted her on the ass and told her to get back on the stage, and she did so, the rest of the guys coming to watch her perform. He stumbled to his feet and cheered her on with the rest of them, and look around. No Randy. "Bastard doesn't know what he's missing." He slurred, before going back to the stage.

He had no idea how, why, who, what guided him out of there. He knows a number ended up in his phone and presumably it was the dancer's. He doesn't know how he and Cody got separated, and he then thought maybe Cody bailed on him.

He ended up calling an unsuspecting Dave Batista for a ride home, and got it.

Cody stumbled back to the car, and drove home. Wasn't the smartest thing, he was drunk, and everything was blurry. Luckily, he made it home and passed out in his bed.

Randy ended up hours and hours later waking up in his own bed. Seriously, blackouts aren't cool...but somehow he knew he had a good time. The Visa bill showed some evidence of a good time.

Him and Cody would have to do it again soon.