LOVE vs. LUST

Extended Summary: Kaysi & Cody Rhodes are childhood sweethearts who's relationship is often described as something straight out of a romance novel. However, when she joins him on the road will Randy Orton's advances suddenly become too tempting too refuse?

Author Note: So I have this soft spot growing for Cody Rhodes and I just had to act on it. Yes I know, I need to actually finish a story before I start another, but I just couldn't help myself. Please read and review and let me know what you think of this one so far.. I know the chapter is short, but I'm just easing into it. Enjoy!

As always I own nothing apart from my own character, Kaysi (pronounced Kay-See) Matthews.

This story contains sexual content and strong language which should not be read by anyone who is under the legal age of consent in your area.

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July 2nd, 2007 : Raw in Dallas, Texas

Kaysi Matthews face almost hurt from smiling so much. As the girlfriend of an up and coming star, it was almost her job to smile and act polite towards his work colleagues. Playing the supportive girlfriend was a role she had gotten used to, whether it was stood on the sidelines while he defended his high school wrestling title or here, backstage at a WWE event as Dusty introduced them to anyone and everyone who would listen.

She and Cody were best friends who had fallen in love. Their friends and family would often compare it to a romance you would see played out on the big screen and those who watched from a distance were noticeably jealous of what the two had. However as perfect as their relationship seemed, there were always sacrifices that came along with dating a professional wrestler.

She had given up her life in Georgia and had moved to be with him in Louisville as he embarked on a development deal with OVW. She had missed her sister's graduation to be there when he inducted his Dad into the Hall of Fame and she had turned down a college scholarship so that she could be by his side like he had asked her too.

It wasn't a case of him being controlling; he loved her more than anything and would give it all up for her if she asked him to. Really it was because she couldn't stand to be one of those stay-at-home girlfriends who only saw their other half once or twice a week. What was the point in that? Those girls were the ones who ended up paranoid, lonely and afraid of what their partners were doing while they were away from home, and as much as she trusted Cody, she was afraid that the time apart would turn her into one of them.

So here she was, stood proudly by her mans side as he and his father introduced her into the world of wrestling. It was daunting meeting so many new people, but in a weird way it made her feel closer to Cody as she was more able to embrace the profession that had been a part of him his whole life.

"Ah, John! You've met Cody's girlfriend Kaysi, right?" Dusty asked proudly. She was already perfect daughter-in-law material in his eyes and he was more than happy to introduce her to his work colleagues.

"At the Hall of Fame ceremony," She confirmed with a nod, shaking his extended hand. "It's nice to see you again, John."

"Likewise," He smiled, adjusting the gold on his shoulder. "I'd love to stay and chat but I have to see the GM before I head out to the ring.."

"You've got that contract signing tonight, right?" Cody jumped in, his arm proudly around his girlfriends waist as he pulled her in close. Like his father, he was more than happy to show her off to everyone.

"Yup, should be fun." John smirked, sarcasm dripping off of his every word. "I'll catch you guys later."

Kaysi waved goodbye to John and leaned into Cody as he bent his head and kissed her temple. She smiled and turned with him, her eyes moving to a familiar male who had approached them and was now staring at Cody and his father with a grin that oozed arrogance. It was Randy Orton.

"You know, I followed in my fathers footsteps and ended up being better than he ever was, better than your dad ever was," He began, speaking directly to Cody with words that his over-inflating ego actually had him believing. "And one day in the future, you could be just like me."

"God help us," Kaysi mumbled under her breath, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"And you know what, since he wont introduce me, allow me to introduce myself; Legend..." He paused, his eyes traveling back to Dusty with a look that hinted of things to come. "Well, you know the rest.."

Kaysi saw that Cody had noticeably tensed up and was now clenching his fists in anger. "Randy, stay away from my Dad.." He warned, his eyes piercing through his as he left Kaysi's side and took a protective step forward.

"Ooh, you've got a feisty one here," Randy laughed, shaking his head. "What's the matter 'Dream? Can't you stand up for yourself?"

"You know what, that's your problem Randy; you're so disrespectful..." Dusty frowned, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Disrespectful?" He asked incredulously. "You think that's disrespectful!?" Randy paused and laughed to himself before turning and slapping Dusty across the face as hard as he could. Cody immediately lunged forward but was held back by his father while Kaysi stood with her hand covering her mouth in shock. She had never seen someone treat another human being with such disrespect before in her life.

Extremely pleased with himself, Randy backed up and let his eyes wander over to Kaysi whom he looked up and down appreciatively. She felt self-conscious under his gaze but for some strange reason couldn't stop herself from looking back at him. He noticed this and grinned, sending a wink her way before he disappeared around the corner.

"Dusty, are you okay?" She asked once he was gone, the concern evident in her voice.

"I'm fine, darlin'.." He replied in that recognizable Southern drawl. "Been dealing with disrespectful kids like him my whole career."

"I can't believe that guy," She huffed, turning to Cody. "Baby?"

His angered expression softened as soon as he laid his eyes on her. One thing she loved about him was that despite the trials and tribulations he faced both personally and professionally, he never once took any of it out on her. Sure, they had their arguments like most couples - but none of those were because of his frustrations with other people.

He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and pulled her into his arms. "It's fine, babe." He said way too calmly, letting her know that inside his blood was boiling.

"What are you going to do?" She asked quietly, her arms tangling around his neck.

"Don't worry," He answered, brushing her off. "I'll deal with it."

"No, I'll deal with it." Dusty interrupted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I have some business to take care of. I'll see you both later. Cody, stay out of trouble."

Cody reluctantly nodded, knowing very well that his father was telling him stay away from Randy. Dusty placed a kiss on Kaysi's cheek and sent his son another stern look before finally leaving them alone in the corridor. Cody seemed to be somewhere else as Kaysi stared up at him, and she knew him well enough to know that he was already contemplating his revenge.

Family was the most important thing to Cody and he would not stand back and let anyone hurt or disrespect any one of them. She could remember a time when he was seventeen; a group of kids at their high school had made fun of his father, calling him an overweight amateur with a speech impediment - well word had soon gotten back to Cody, and instead of beating the shit out of them there and then he had patiently waited until his next wrestling match where he knew he would be facing one of the perpetrators for his senior title.

Long story short, Cody had him on that mat in seconds screaming and crying for his Mommy. Not only had he embarrassed him, but he had taught him a lesson without having to resort to extreme physical violence. That itself made Kaysi love and respect him even more.

When she thought about what had happened tonight, she knew that his response would be more of a physical one. Randy had laid his hands on a piece of Cody's heart and she knew him well enough to guess that what had taken place would not go un repented.

If Kaysi was honest with herself, than the prospect of a feud with Randy Orton scared her. It didn't matter how many years she had spent by Cody's side as he pursued his wrestling career, or the amount of fights she had witnessed him get himself into - Kaysi still worried like it was his first. She couldn't help it, she loved him and the thought of anything happening to him made her want to crawl into a corner and throw up.

"Lets have an early night tonight?" Kaysi suggested. She suddenly had the urge to be as close to him as possible. "We can order in room service and watch one of those horror movies that you insist on making me sit through when you want to scare me into snuggling up with you.."

"I took you to see Halloween because the movie looked good, not because I wanted to get freaky with you in the movie theater," Cody defended, a grin playing on his lips as he momentarily forgot about the beef he had with Orton and instead reminisced on his first real date with Kaysi when they were just sixteen years old.

"Pft! Our first real date and you make sure we're sat in the back row of the theater while a crazy masked guy runs around killing people on the screen. You knew what you were doing, mister!" Kaysi teased, glad that she could distract him from his thoughts.

"Alright, so maybe I did have a game plan.." He conceded, his hands moving to her hips. "But in my defense, by the time you agreed to go out with me I was already dying to get my hands on you."

She had to giggle at his choice of words. "Well I'm sorry I made you wait so long." She paused, her hands resting on his chest as she thought back on their past. "Weren't you ever scared though? I mean, there was no price we coulda' put on our friendship, Codes - We were best friends. You only get one shot when you decide to take it to the next level, and if it doesn't work, that's it - Your relationship is screwed."

"But it did work," He concluded, taking her hands in his. "And it was worth the risk, baby. We would have been even more screwed if we hadn't have taken it to the next level... It was destiny, you know?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"And besides, you're still by best friend." He winked, giving her hands a squeeze. "Only now I get to see you naked."

She burst out in laughter and playfully smacked his arm, his anger put on the back burner as they shared another kiss. "Four years in a relationship with you... I must be crazy." She joked as they pulled away.

"Four years is nothing, we've got the rest of our lives to go yet babe."

She smiled and fell into his arms, her head buried in his chest as she thought about the prospect of being with him forever. She didn't know why, but suddenly Randy flashed back into her head. What was that look he had given her earlier? And more importantly, why had her stomach done somersaults when he had paid her special attention?