Victoria grinned to herself, sniffing the large bouquet of roses in her hands for what had to be the fifth time in the last minute as she cheerily strolled down the hall. She had never really thought of herself as the sappy, romantic type, but something about receiving flowers from her boyfriend on Valentine's day made her downright giddy. She reached the women's locker room, humming sweetly as she pushed open the door and headed inside. She went to carefully place the set of roses down, when she caught a glimpse of one of her best friends, Stacy Keibler. The ear-to-ear grin worked its way back to her face as she turned on her heel, facing the younger woman and holding the flowers out to her.
"Stace, look what Chris got me!" she squealed excitedly, extending the flowers to her. When Stacy didn't so much as glance up from the magazine she was entranced in, Victoria frowned. Sticking the flowers in her face, the raven-haired diva tried again, "Stacy, look!"
Stacy lifted her head from the magazine, rolling her eyes as a bouquet of red roses was stuffed under her nose. She swatted them away as though they were a fly, shaking her head with disinterest as she went back to her magazine.
"Stace?" Victoria said, reluctantly pulling the flowers away, a look of great concern crossing her features. "What's the matter?"
"Absolutely nothing," she replied automatically, as if she'd programmed the response in her brain.
"Are you sure?" she asked, placing the flowers down gently on a nearby table and taking a seat next to the blonde woman, placing a hand on her knee. Glancing up again, Stacy closed her magazine, throwing it almost angrily across the room.
"Look, I think it's *real* cute that Jericho got you flowers and all, but I don't really care right now," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.
"Wow, someone's bitter," Victoria noted, carefully removing her hand from Stacy's knee, almost in fear of what the tiny blonde would do if she were to push the wrong buttons.
"I'm sorry Vic, but you'd be bitter too if you were having the worst Valentine's Day of your life," she replied. "And I'm not even single!" Victoria arched her brow curiously.
"You mean, Randy's not taking you somewhere, or doing anything for you tonight?" she asked. Pursing her lips together, Stacy shook her head.
"Nope, not a thing," she replied. "Apparently, Randy Orton and romantic do not mix."
Victoria shook her head in utter disbelief. Stacy had been with Randy for nearly nine months. How in hell could he simply *not* do anything for her on Valentine's Day, the most romantic day of the year?
"You can't tell me that he's not planning on doing anything. It's Valentine's Day for Christ's sake... don't tell me he's one of those 'Valentine's Day is nothing but a commercial holiday' people," she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. She had always believed that the people who believed such things were only jealous.
"No, he's not. I don't think he even realizes that today *is* Valentine's Day," Stacy replied, shaking her head. "He hasn't said a damn word about it."
"Aww, Stacy," Victoria said sympathetically, wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulder tightly. "I'm willing to bet that he's got something planned, he just doesn't want you to know about it." Stacy laughed bitterly, shaking her head yet again.
"I don't think so Vic. He's doing what he always does... partying with his 'boys'... I swear, if I hear Ric Flair or Triple H's name one more time, I might kill someone," she said, her tone dripping with disdain.
It was no secret that - with the exception of Dave Batista - Stacy didn't like Randy's Evolution buddies one bit. Victoria's opinions on Flair and HHH were quite similar to Stacy's... both men were rotten, and both men openly resented the fact that Randy was 'limiting himself to one woman...'
"Ugh..." Victoria spoke, scowling at the thought of a sweet guy like Randy associating with such bastards. "Wow Stace, I'm really sorry. You're more than welcome to come along with Chris and I tonight... he won't mind."
"No way Vic... I don't want to intrude," she replied instantly, placing her hands up in protest. "Just go, and have fun. I'll be fine... it's only one night, right?"
Victoria felt her lips curling up in a smile at the sudden optimism in Stacy's voice. She patted her on the shoulder, winking at her as she stood.
"That's my girl," she called as she headed to the door, picking up her flowers and bringing them with her. She glanced over her shoulder, calling again, "But if Randy needs an ass beating, you know where to find me!"
* * * *
Later that night, Stacy found herself alone in her hotel room, flipping through the channels on the television as she blankly stared at the screen. She rested her head back against the headboard, shutting her eyes tightly as she willed herself not to cry. There was no way she would allow herself to come to tears over this. It was only Valentine's Day...
Suddenly getting the strongest urge to scream at the top of her lungs, Stacy grabbed the remote and shut the TV off, hurling the remote across the room. She winced as the remote knocked over a glass on the table by the window, knocking it to the floor and causing it to shatter in about a thousand pieces. Clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, Stacy jumped up and hurried across the room, grumbling a string of curses as she grabbed the trashcan and slowly began to pick up the pieces of broken glass. She was almost finished, with only a few small pieces to go, when she heard her cell phone ringing from the dresser by the bed. She raced back across the room, answering it.
"Stacy?" she heard a voice call, one that distinctly belonged to Randy. Rolling her eyes, she groaned, purposely making it loud enough for him to hear.
"Hi Randy," she replied.
"You're not mad at me, are you?" he asked, the hopeful hint in his tone nowhere near enough to make Stacy melt. She wouldn't let herself give in to him... not this time.
"No Randy, not at all," she said sarcastically, clenching her teeth together.
"Good," Randy replied, as though he had been oblivious to the tone she was speaking to him in. "Now, I need you to do me a favor..."
"Randy, are you crazy?!" Stacy cried suddenly, stomping her foot down on the floor. "I don't even want to *talk* to you right now, and you think you're in the place to be asking me for favors!"
"Stacy, calm down," he suggested, the smoothness in his tone making her want to punch him. "Grab your coat and meet me at the park, the one that's across the street from the arena."
"Randy, what if I..." she began, stopping when she realized that he had already hung up.
She sighed, glancing across the room and noticing her coat, hanging over top of the back of a chair. Frowning, she slowly walked over to it, picking it up and grabbing her car keys.
"I can't believe I'm doing this... it better be worth it, Randy."
About twenty minutes later, Stacy pulled her rental car into the parking lot of the small city park, coming to a stop. She exhaled deeply, twisting the rear view mirror in her direction to see how she looked. It wasn't that she was out to impress Randy - *especially* not after the way he ruined her Valentine's Day - but it was just a habit of nature. Satisfied with what she saw, she shut the car off, stepping outside and locking the door behind her. She shivered, wrapping her jacket tightly around her to shield her from the wind, locating a small path and heading off on it. She walked on for a short distance, muttering to herself along the way.
"It would help if I knew where the hell I was going," she grumbled.
"I think I might be able to help you with that."
Stacy froze, turning on her heel as she matched the voice with its face. Randy stood behind her, the expression on his face more than serious. He took a step toward her, placing one hand in the pocket of his slacks, the other coming out to touch her shoulder. Stacy gave him a look over, her mouth dropping open as she studied him, standing in a model-like pose in his black sweater and gray pants. God, just looking at him made her feel all of a sudden a bit warmer.
"Come on, I have something to show you," he said, taking his hand in hers and leading her along the path.
Stacy entwined her fingers in his, temporarily forgetting how angry she was with him, her curiosity overpowering any tension in her system. She raised an eyebrow as he cut through some bushes, pushing the branches out of the way so the two of them could make their way past them. When he stopped, she raised an eyebrow, puzzled as she eyed her surroundings.
"Randy, what's going on?" she asked, glancing all around her. Standing close to her, Randy leaned down, whispering in her ear.
"Shh, just wait... you'll see soon enough."
Stacy shrugged, leaning into the warmth his body was providing, waiting as the two drifted into silence, the chirping of the crickets the only sound to be heard for miles. Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud bang, causing Stacy to nearly jump out of her shoes. She looked up, her eyes widening in awe as she watched fireworks - bright reds, greens, and blues - exploding rapidly in the sky. A smile came to her face as she watched the spectacular display, listening carefully as Randy leaned down again to say something in her ear.
"Here comes the big finale," he called, winking at her. Stacy looked up expectantly, her heart nearly stopping as she watched
a message being lit across the sky. Right above her, in fluorescent blue colors, were the words, "I love you Stacy," flashing before her very eyes. She felt tears building in her eyes again, only this time, she didn't try to stop them. She looked up at Randy, touching his cheek gently as she drew his face down to hers, kissing him softly.
"Randy, that... that was amazing. How did you..."
"It's amazing what money can buy," he replied with a casual wink. He leaned down to kiss her once more. "It was worth every penny, too."
"Oh my God..." Stacy breathed, placing a hand over her mouth. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I love you too, Randy."
Smiling, Randy pulled her to him, hugging her tightly as a cool wind whirled around them. He placed a light kiss on top of her forehead, a strong sense of pride running through his system. He had always had trouble with his feelings, but for once, he finally managed to make her happy.
"I'm a little surprised, ya know," Stacy quipped, lifting her head from where it was resting on his collarbone. "I didn't think you were the romantic type." Laughing softly, Randy nodded...
"Guess it's never too late to start."