It was amazing how much life could change in the course of a few months. Bayley was feeling antsy, restless, unsatisfied. A few months ago she'd been riding high, she was the Raw Women's Champion, her friend Finn was returning from injury and she'd had a flirting, teasing, almost-there thing going with Seth. Now she'd lost the title, she'd barely seen or spoken to Finn, and she'd crashed and burned with Seth.

She wasn't sure what was going on with her and Finn. She'd expected to fall back into the easy friendship they'd shared back in NXT. She'd really missed him while he was out on injury and she was finding her feet on Raw, but things had been off between them ever since he got back. They'd hung out once or twice, but it had been way more awkward than it used to be. He'd been almost cold to her on more than one occasion and she'd pulled back, confused and uncertain on where she'd stepped wrong.

At least with Seth she knew exactly what had gone wrong. The fact of the matter was that she was too nice, too naive for Seth. He hadn't seemed to mind earlier on. He'd endured her artless school-girl flirting and still seemed interested, but as things started to heat up it became obvious he was way out of her league.

She wasn't a virgin, but with Seth she might as well have been. It had quickly gone from white-hot to bumbling awkward as her lack of experience met his expectations, and the one and only time they'd ever hooked up had been...disappointing. After that it had fizzled out fast, and she was left feeling inadequate.

With Tyler, Carmella, Becky, Charlotte and the New Day all on Smackdown, the state of her friendships with Finn and Seth, and with Sasha on a different schedule this week she'd been left without a travel companion. She probably could have found someone to ride with, but her mental state meant she'd almost prefer to be alone right now, which is why she'd decided she was going to power on through the night instead of staying here and heading out tomorrow. She was stopping at the gas station, hoping she could get a decent cup of coffee, and digging around for her keys when she looked up to see Finn right in front of her. She hadn't seen Finn in days, so of course she would run into him on a night when he was on her mind. If he cared enough to notice anymore she would have worried he'd be mad. He'd always hated when she drove by herself after a show. She quickly found out that even if he hadn't seemed to care that much about her recently, he was still angry.

"Bayley."

"Hi Finn."

"What are you doing?'

"I'm heading on tonight."

"With who?"

"Just me."

"Aren't you tired?"

"Yeah, but I'll be fine."

"You know how much I hate when you do that. It's not safe for anyone to drive by themselves when they're tired, but it's even more dangerous for a woman at night. You can't just pull over and get some rest without taking even more risks."

"I've driven at night before. I'll be fine."

"Dammit Bayley! That's not the point."

"Why do you care? You haven't talked to me in weeks. I'm none of your concern."

"Look I'm sorry, I know I've been an ass lately, that doesn't mean I don't care about what happens to you."

"You have a nice way of showing it," she snapped back. She could tell she'd pissed him off, his ice-cold blue eyes were staring her down.

"Look I've needed to talk to you anyway, why don't you come back with me, you can tell me why you're really sneaking off, and if you still want to leave in an hour I'll ride with you."

She really didn't want to talk about what was bothering her with Finn when he'd been a big part of her worries to begin with, but she knew him and the way he was looking at her told her it would be more trouble than it was worth to hold her ground, so she said, "Fine."

They both paid for their coffee, and she followed him back to the hotel. By the time they'd gotten settled in his hotel room, her anger had faded leaving her back to where she'd started, unsettled and unhappy. She was not in a good place right now. She was way too emotional, and she knew if he made her talk about it he was going to bear the brunt of that emotional storm.

"Not really. If you'd cared at any point over the last few months it might be different, but you don't really have any right to act like you do now."

"I'm sorry, truly Bayley. I let something someone said get in my head and screw me up for awhile. I shouldn't have listened to them, I knew better, but it still got to me. I shouldn't have brushed you off like I have been. I know I haven't been a very good friend lately, but please let me be one now." For a moment she felt like giving in when Finn looked at her like that. She'd always been a sucker for his blue eyes and that look, but then she replayed what he'd said in her head and suddenly the anger returned.

"What do you mean 'something someone said'? About me?"

"Yeah."

"Who? What did they say?"

"It was Seth, and it wasn't one thing he said so much as what he implied. Back when we were in rehab together, he kept dropping little hints, sneaking in little references, implying that you were acting a whole lot differently than the person I'd know. He knew just how to manipulate it to make it all seem plausible. He knew I wouldn't talk to him about it so he never had to come out and say anything outright. I know I shouldn't have let him get to me."

"No you shouldn't have. You should have talked to me."

"I know Bayley. It was stupid, but I can't change it now. I can't do anything but say I'm sorry and hope you will forgive me."

"Look I know just how manipulative Seth can be, I get that, but you really hurt me. At a time when I could have really used a friend, instead I was left worrying over what I'd done wrong."

"I know, and I'll find a way to make it up to you as long as you'll let me," he paused then said, "I thought you were friends with Seth, what do you mean you know manipulative he can be?"

"I thought we were friends too. Hell I thought we were heading towards being more than friends, but it turns out Bayley is too much of a little girl for Seth Rollins," she confessed bitterly.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Look I really don't want to talk about this with you Finn, it's really personal."

"I know I'm not the ideal person right now, but it's obviously bothering you enough to make you want to do stupid things like drive at night by yourself. You need to talk about it with someone, and right now I'm all you've got."

"Fine. You want to know all about how poor little Bayley can't ever keep a boyfriend because I don't have enough experience to know what I'm doing when it comes to sex? Apparently I'm too vanilla, too unsophisticated to know what men really want. You want to know how humiliating it is to feel like you might actually have a chance to find out what the big deal is about sex only to have the whole thing crash and burn again because you don't already know?" Finn looked at her. She knew he didn't know what to say to that, and she felt a little bit vindicated because he had been the one to insist that she talk about it. When he finally spoke he said,

"I know this is crazy coming from someone who listened to him when I shouldn't have, but if you know how much of a bastard Seth is now, why would you let his opinion matter that much?"

"Because it's not like it's the first time I've felt like this. When you have more than one guy tell you something like that, you start to believe it. Apparently I'm inadequate in that area, I'm just too naive to get it."

"You're not naive," he said and she scoffed at him.

"Okay, you're not naive in a bad way. You have a goodness and sweetness that is rare. There are plenty of guys who find that desirable. Not all guys want some kind of sophisticated super-model any more than all girls want some over-muscled action hero. Different men are attracted to different things. There are also the douche-bags of the world like Seth who see something like your innocence and they want to break it. He didn't drop you because you weren't enough, he dropped you because he realized he wasn't going to subvert who you are like he wanted to."

"You know this because you're best buddies with Seth now."

"Look I said I'm sorry. I messed up. I had already changed my mind about him before I ran into you tonight. It didn't take long after I got back to see what kind of person he is. Hell, the only reason I tried to be friends with him in the first place is because of you."

"It doesn't matter anyway. That doesn't make me feel any better. It doesn't make me feel like I'll ever be enough. I need something, I don't know what, but I can't shake this feeling just because you say so," she became more hystyrical as she spoke, "You don't know anything about me in that area, so how can you know it isn't me that's the problem? What I need to do is find someone to teach me." Though she hadn't intended to say that, hadn't even thought of it until now, the idea suddenly took root.

"What?"

"Yeah, actually now that I've thought about it, that's exactly what I need. Guys like the whole no strings attached thing right? I can find someone who will help me practice, show me all of the stuff I've never done that they all seem to expect."

"What the hell are you thinking Bayley?! That's crazy! Please tell me you're not going to do that."

"I can't leave things the way they are Finn, I can't."

"There's no way you could find someone you could trust enough not to tell the entire world after, and not all guys like the no strings attached thing. Yeah, some do, but the kind of guy who would be good to you Bayley wouldn't want that from you."

"I'm not looking for someone to be good to me. I want to know how to be good enough to keep that guy if I ever find him."

"God, please don't do this Bayley. That innocence that bothers you so much is a part of you-a really good part. You pick the wrong guy and he'll ruin that, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"Fine, you have so many objections, why don't you do it then. You say I have to have someone I can trust, someone who won't ruin me. Well I trust you, you're my friend, or at least you're supposed to be. I can count on you to be good to me, right, and I know you're not with someone right now or you wouldn't have invited me in here, so why not?"

"Are you out of your damn mind?! I might not ruin you, but it could damn sure ruin our friendship-forever."

"Yeah like that bothered you a few months ago. The truth is you've kind of already done that, so I don't have a whole lot to lose in this situation and you owe me after what you did."

"I know okay. I know I owe you. I can't take it back, but please don't ask this of me."

"Why don't you just tell the truth, you don't want me anymore than they did. It is me that's the problem," she said practically shouting in his face. She felt like she was about to break.

He growled at her in frustration, running both hands over his head forcefully before he grabbed her shoulders, pushed her back against the wall and kissed her hard. He bruised her lips with his then demanded entrance with his tongue. She yielded to him completely. His whole body pressed up against hers. There was no part of him that was soft, but it still felt so good. Her hands automatically went up to his chest to brace herself, and as soon as she touched him she felt his hands on her lower back. He found the bottom edge of her shirt and slipped his hands underneath, running his palms up her bare skin. His tongue danced with hers, coaxing her until she grew bolder and embraced the sensation. She'd never felt heat like this, never felt like every part of her was connected to his lips on hers. Right when she was at the point where she forgot who she was with or what was happening, when she forgot even her own name, he jerked away. Backing up and breathing hard, he brought his hand up over his mouth, looking at her incredulously like he couldn't believe he'd done that. They stood staring at each other and breathing heavy for a moment before he stepped back towards her. His voice was low and rough when he said,

"Are you sure, are you absolutely sure?" and suddenly she wasn't. What the hell had she done? The way his eyes were burning into hers, she felt like she'd goaded him to his breaking point. Even so she felt herself nodding yes anyway.

"If we do this I have a few rules. I don't do no strings attached. I don't share. Ever. As long as we are doing this we see no one else, that's nonnegotiable. If either of us want out for any reason we say so, and we keep it low-key and we don't try to hide it.

She felt out of sorts. None of his rules were unreasonable, but they were a lot closer to an actual relationship than what she'd intended. The whole point of the original idea was to know exactly where she stood. His rules sounded like she wouldn't have a clue, and she didn't like that, but he was right that it would be really hard to find someone that she could trust the way she trusted him, and she knew that after that kiss there was no way she could back out now. It had been irrevocable, she would never look at him the same again, never be able to see him as just a friend.

"Okay," she said.

"Are you on birth control?"

"Yes," she replied feeling her cheeks warm. It was really weird to be answering that kind of question with Finn.

"Have you been tested recently?"

"Yeah, after Seth and there's been no one since."

He nodded but didn't say anything else. He took her mouth again kissing her feverishly. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her towards him. He quickly tugged her shirt up and off of her, his hands raking up her back before unhooking her bra and discarding it to the side. She gasped breaking away from the kiss, but he didn't give her time react before he attacked her neck, biting sharp at first and then gently as he applied more pressure. She felt molten heat shooting through her, delicious tingles making her ache for more. Her skin burned where he touched. His hands slid down over her ass and cupped it giving him the leverage he needed to pull her against him, grinding her into him. She felt almost faint and overwhelmed from the pleasure, her senses completely overloaded.

He turned them towards the bed and gently lowered her onto it before stepping back. She had a moment to catch her breath only for it to hitch again as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and popped the button on his jeans and pushed them off. Clad only in a pair of black boxer briefs, he leaned over and began tugging her jeans off. He gave her a slow appreciative grin when she wriggled to help aid the process. As soon as they were off he laid down on top of her, thrusting one hard thigh between her legs, the pressure causing everything to throb and tingle. She grasped at the sheets as he pressed his body down into her, skin meeting skin. He reclaimed her lips, her eyes closing automatically as his tongue sought hers. She felt faint from the pleasure, moaning low, completely lost in sensation. The kiss built the fire higher and higher until they both had to pull away gasping for breath. He kissed along her jaw until he reached her ear where he spoke barely above a whisper,

"Touch me."

His words helped bring her back to the moment and she released her death grip on the sheets. She ran her hands up his back luxuriating in the feel of his smooth skin and hard strength. The moment she touched his skin he moaned low, a sound that added more sparks to the flame growing inside of her and made her want to do anything to hear it again. Her hands reached his shoulders and she raked her nails lightly across the skin causing him to shiver and moan again, then she ran her hands through his hair pulling him towards her where she initiated a kiss this time. They both got lost in the kiss for a few moments, but the fire between them had reached a boiling point. Finn broke away running his hands down her body until he hooked his thumbs into the sides of her panties and pulled them off leaving her completely naked to him. He stepped back a moment running his gaze over her making her feel flushed. His eyes were so intense upon her she didn't have a chance to feel the embarrassment that she might have otherwise. He pushed his underwear off his hips, his lean chiseled frame a sight to behold. He didn't give her long to adjust to their state of undress. He spoke again and asked,

"Have you ever done any position besides missionary?"

She shook her head no, her cheeks starting to burn at the reminder of why she'd asked for this. He didn't give her time to dwell on it, he said,

"Good, turn around and get on your knees," the command brooked no argument, and she shifted to do what she was told even though it felt really awkward. As soon as she got into the position she heard him make a sound low in his throat then he said,

"My God, you are beautiful," his voice rough. She felt herself flush again, this time with pleasure as he ran his hands over her starting with the outsides of her thighs, up and over her ass pausing briefly to cup it, then all the way up her back and back down again, his hands ending on the insides of her thighs caressing her more intimately than she had ever been touched. If she thought she'd been faint from the pleasure before it was nothing compared to what he did next. His thumb found her clit stroking it first gently and then harder as she became accustomed to the feel of it. Her legs trembled as he found a rhythm and she lost track of reality. She sobbed when he pulled his hand away, but he didn't waste time as he entered her from behind in one quick movement, both of them groaning in pleasure. She'd never felt so full, and as he moved he hit a spot deep inside of her that caused a burst of pure ecstasy to run through her whole body. The whole world disappeared as everything focused on seeking that feeling, the only sounds those of their bodies moving together and their heavy breathing, gasping each time they met. She could feel something deep inside of her building higher and higher with every thrust.

He shifted their position, pulling her up so that they were both upright on their knees, her back against his chest. He fell back into rhythm as he ran his hands over her cupping her breasts, rolling the nipple between his fingers with one hand while the other continued down until he found her clit again. Whatever it was inside of her continued to build, the combination of all of the sensations proving too much as she felt like everything inside of her exploded, her vision going white as waves of pleasure crashed over her, each one overlapping the next.

The pleasure was almost to the point of pain before it began to ebb and she finally became aware of the world again. He was still moving with her, his movements becoming more frantic until he roared in pleasure finding his own release. He slowed, breathing hard, he dropped a kiss between her neck and shoulder and gently pulled out. She collapsed to the bed as he got up and walked into the bathroom. She heard the water running and a moment later he returned with a warm, damp cloth and gently cleaned her off.

Her muscles felt like lead, she couldn't move, couldn't do anything but enjoy the pleasant buzzing under her skin, everything still tingling. She knew this must be the afterglow she'd heard about but had never experienced, of course she'd also never had an orgasm like that. For now she couldn't help but be happy that she'd goaded Finn. Tomorrow she might feel different, but right now the inevitable consequences couldn't compete with almost nirvana like state that the amazing sex had left her in.

Finn returned a moment later. He turned off the lamp and climbed into the bed with her pulling the blankets over both of them. He pulled her up against him, wrapped his arm around her and relaxed. With the feeling of his warm skin cocooned around her she was asleep in minutes.