02. Opinions and Enchiladas

It had been two months since she'd last seen Chris, and here she was, still waiting in catering for him to show up. She'd watched his match. She watched Melony's match. She'd watched Kennedy's match. She'd watched MVP invade Raw. There was only ten minutes left in the show. So where the hell was he?

Autumn sighed, leaning back in her seat and glancing at the dozen roses that lay on the table. She had been so happy at the prospect of seeing him, and now she was fuming inside with anger. He'd never done anything like this before. And when he called her that morning at her motel right before she left for the airport, all he could talk about was how excited he was to see her again, and how he wasn't going to leave her side. Sure, how can he leave my side if he's never by my side? She sighed.

"Autumn!" She looked up at the mention of her name and saw Chris running towards her. She stood from her seat, ready to yell at him, but when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, she forgot all about being mad at him. "Baby, I'm so sorry." He said softly, kissing her hair, "I got caught up with some fans who won backstage passes and their friends and their friends and their friends' friends, and...I'm so sorry."

"It's ok." She laughed softly, looking up into his blue eyes, "I was mad but, I understand. I've forgotten how easily it is to get caught up with the fans."

He smiled down at her, "It's so good to see you, baby." He cupped her face in his hands, pulling her into a tender kiss, "I feel like it's been forever."

"It may as well have been." She smiled up at him, "I saw your match. It was amazing."

"Not as amazing as you."

"Not as amazing as you. Blech!" Kennedy teased as he approached, gym bag slung over his shoulder, "God, you two make me ill."

Chris frowned, ignoring Ken as he looked down at Autumn, "He didn't give you any trouble earlier, did he?"

Autumn smiled, pulling out of his embrace to pick up her roses, "No, Ken was a sweetheart. I enjoyed your match, by the way."

Ken nodded, "Thanks. I did my best hoping to gain your approval. You know, for Chris."

"Your sarcasm is gonna get your ass kicked one day." Melony snarked as she approached, kneeing Kennedy in the leg. "Um, ow!" Ken groaned, reaching down to rub his thigh, "Look, stop trying to take away my manhood, ok? It just too much for one woman to handle."

"Oh, God!" Melony groaned, stifling a laugh. Autumn shook her head, bursting into a fit of giggles, "I'm so glad to be back." She looked at Mel, "Where's Carlito?"

"Right here!" Carlito walked up, weighted down with two gym bags, a backpack, and two suitcase on wheels, "Apparently I'm no longer her boyfriend, I'm her luggage valet."

"Here, man." Kennedy mumbled as he took a gym bag and a suitcase-on-wheels. "Oh, thanks." Carlito let out a sigh of relief, "I'm gonna put these in the car, ok?"

"Ok. I'm sorry, babe." Melony smiled, kissing him softly on the lips. He made a face, "Yeah, yeah, sure you are." He smiled, "I'll pull the car around and meet you guys out there. Ken, you ridin' with us tonight?"

"Nah, I'm goin' solo. I'll help you and then follow you four to wherever we're eating tonight."

--

"So, what's your take on Autumn?" Carlito asked as he and Kennedy threw the luggage haphazardly in the trunk of the car and slammed it down. Ken shrugged, frowning, "I dunno. Why's my take so important?"

"Cause you gotta big mouth and always have an opinion about everyone and everybody."

"Oh yeah." Ken mustered a small smile, "I dunno. She's ok, I guess. I don't get what Jericho's been talkin' about for the past year. She's cute I guess, but as far as anything else..." He shrugged again, "Then again, I've only talked to her for like, ten minutes."

Carlito nodded, "She's a nice girl. I think you'll like her when you get a chance to know her."

Ken shook his head, "Who said I wanted to like her? Or know her? I mean, I'm not dating her. As long as Chris likes her, what the hell does it matter?"

"Geez." Carlito frowned, "I was just makin' conversation. I forgot you're a total asshole."

"Hey, I don't deny it." Ken smirked, and chose to change the subject, "Anyway, where are those other douches? I'm hungry and ready to go."

--

Melony poked at the philly cheese steak on her plate with her fork, nervously glancing at her watch. Eyebrow raised, Autumn picked up a peanut out off the dish in the center of the table and tossed it at her sister, "Dude, what's on your mind?"

"What?" Melony looked up, shaking her head, "No, nothing. I just thought Montel was coming."

"Montel? Tavious?" Autumn smiled, "I saw his match. I was hoping I'd run into him, but I didn't. You talked to him?"

Mel nodded, "Yeah, then I texted him later and told him where we were going. I thought he'd be here by now."

"Well, you know how he is. He has to organize his bling just right so it reflects perfectly off the light and makes him look all shiny." Autumn shook her head, smiling as she took a bite of the nachos on her plate, "Speaking of, I thought Maria and Candice were coming, too."

"I can't even keep up with whose supposed to come out with us, anymore." Mel sighed, "I just show up somewhere and see who I run into."

Autumn laughed, about to respond when she looked up to see Carlito and Kennedy approaching with drinks in hand. "I'm expecting a tip." Carlito grinned as he slid into the booth next to Mel, setting her Rum&Coke down in front of her and taking a sip of his beer. "Alright, I'll give to you later." She winked, and Autumn gagged. Melony made a face as she slid her arm around Carlito's shoulders. Ken cleared his throat, "Now you know how it feels to witness you and Jericho. Here you go." He set Autumn's beer down next to her plate and took a sip of his own as he slid in next to her. "Thanks. Where's Chris?" She picked up her beer, and he rolled his eyes, "Where he always is during our after-show excursions--signing autographs." He pointed across the room, where Autumn saw Jericho standing, a huge smile on his face and surrounded by fans who were eager for autographs. She wanted to be proud of him for not ignoring the fans--she herself was guilty of spending much too long with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures--but the selfish side of her won, and she found herself angry at him again. How could he pick the fans over the woman he loved and hadn't seen in nearly two months? Not to mention, how little he'd seen her over the past year. She leaned back in her seat, downing her beer in one go without coming up for air. Ken's eyebrows flew up, "Wow. Ok."

"She learned that from me." Mel spoke up, and Ken nodded, "Right. Sisters. Forgot." He shivered, "Scary."

"Oh, you're movin' up to two syllable sentances. Good for you!" Carlito held up his beer in salute, and Ken scrunched his nose, "You're hilarious, Carly. I mean, really, have you ever thought of doing stand-up or anything?"

"Yeah, but I don't perform well under pressure." Carlito grinned and took a swig of his beer, and Kennedy rolled his eyes. Autumn placed a hand on his shoulder, "Ken, will you let me up? I need another beer--or six."

"Here, I'll get it. Maybe I can drag Chris back over here too." Carlito stood up, "Mel, Ken, you want something else?"

"Yeah, get me a refill, too." Mel spoke up, and Kennedy shook his head.

--

"Chris, this is a dinner, not an autograph signing. Autumn's getting cranky and Ken's eyeing your enchilada combo plate." Carlito called from the opposite end of the bar, and Jericho merely waved him off from the other side. Carlito shook his head, "Alright, fine. Suit yourself, Jerko." He ordered two more beers and another Rum&Coke and leaned against the bar to wait. It was times like this he was glad he and Mel's relationship was so stable. They were perfect for one another, and had been since the get-go. They appreciated the fans more than anything, but were also respectful towards each other and never let anything come between them. Carlito had known Autumn as long as he'd known Melony--they were basically a package deal, he thought with a small smile--and he could tell that Autumn was less-than-pleased with Jericho's actions. Truth be told, it sort of pissed Carlito off. He and Mel had visited Autumn during her recovery every week atleast. It took a little extra money and effort, but it was worth it. She was as much his little sister as she was Mel's. Jericho had visited her every other weekend, if that much. She'd proclaimed that it didn't bother her--that she was the reason because she pushed him so hard to fulfill his goals and dreams. But what kind of man would neglect the woman he supposedly loved, especially when she was sitting at home with a painfully slow healing spinal injury? Carlito shook his head, remembering way back when Melony had broken her leg and was out for six months, right before she was supposed to go up against Mickie James for her first Women's Championship title shot. It didn't matter what Melony told him, he took off for six months as well so he could stay with her. It jeopardized his career, he realized that now, but it didn't matter. He wanted to be with her and help her through her recovery, and be there to remind her that she would always get another title shot because she worked hard and deserved it more than any woman on the WWE roster. He couldn't even fathom not being there for her, injury or not.

"Carlito! Ya'll still here?"

Carlito turned around, smiling at MVP as he approached, "Hey, man, long time no see. Mel said you were supposed to come with us. I thought you were a no-show."

Montel shrugged, walking up next to Carlito and ordering a beer, "Yeah, I got caught up in traffic. It's crazy in this city."

They talked a bit more, casual conversation at first and then laughing about old times. Carlito told him to grab a chair and come over to sit with them at their booth, and Montel gladly obliged, balancing his drink in one hand and a chair in the other as they returned to the threesome waiting for them. They exchanged their hello's, Autumn showing enthusiasm at seeing Montel again for the first time in a year and Ken made a joke about Montel's bling, to which he retorted by stealing one of Ken's french fries. "Hey, order your own!" He glared, sliding his plate over, "Why not eat the enchilada plate? Apparently, no one's coming back to claim it."

"Yeah, help yourself, Tavious." Autumn spoke up, clearly agitated as she smothered her nachos with hot sauce and remembered to thank Carlito for the beer.

Melony quickly chose to change the subject, "So what's up, I mean, what do you think your prospects are of coming over to the Raw side of things?"

Montel shrugged, "I'm hoping they're good, but the crowd reaction tonight seemed a little bland. I thought the match itself went over well, though, so we'll see."

Mel nodded, "Yeah it did--it went great. When you went off the top turn-buckle, my stomach flipped. I mean, that was almost Hardy-worthy!"

Montel laughed, shaking his head, "I wouldn't go that far, Mel, but I did my best. Anyway, believe it or not, I don't want to talk about me. What's new in everybody else's life?"

--

After everyone finished their food, they eventually moved to the bar. Carlito and Kennedy ended up making dollar bets on what would happen on the football game playing on the tv behind the bar and Autumn, Melony, and Tavious were catching up a few seats over. Autumn excused herself to go the ladies room, leaving Mel and Tavious alone to talk. They ordered another beer apiece, and settled down for conversation. "So, how are you doing, Mel? Honestly." Tavious asked, taking a sip of his beer. Mel shrugged, smiling, "I'm doing great, Tavious. Everything's fallen into place for me, you know? Carlito and I are back together and happier than ever, my sister's back, I'm the Women's Champion..."

"Congratulations on that, by the way."

She smiled, "Thanks. I mean, there's really nothing to tell. If I wanna sound cliched I guess I could say everything is perfect."

"Good. You know I'm happy for you, Mel." He finished off his beer and set it down, opting not to order anymore, and turned to look at her, "You deserve it all. I've never told you that before have I?"

Mel froze, swallowing hard. She wondered how long it would take him to venture into this conversation. "You know you have, Tavious. Every day we spent together on SmackDown you told me. You're the reason I didn't give up back then. Because then, everything in my life was falling apart. You were the only one there for me..."

"Because Carlito was on Raw, and your sister was in the hospital. I was all you had."

She sighed, pushing her empty beer bottle away, "What are you getting at, Tavious? I knew you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? I thought maybe we could pick up where our friendship left off, but that's just not enough for you is it?"

"No, it isn't." He reached over, softly brushing his hand over hers, "Mel, we were good together. We could've had so much."

"Tavious, we were never together."

"Not in the physical sense maybe, but you know it as well as I did that we had something."

She shook her head, pulling her hand away from his, "Stop it, Montel. Why do want to do this? Everything is going great for both of us. The past is the past, and I'd like to leave it at that. I honestly don't want to lose you as a friend, but if this is how it's going to be? Goodbye, Tavious." She stood and walked away, leaving MVP feeling like an idiot. He shook his head, running his hands over his face. Maybe he'd come on too strong, he thought. But he couldn't wait forever. He didn't deny his feelings for Mel. Sure, their relationship on SmackDown had been limited, purely emotional. He'd been there for her during one of her darkest times. He was the only one there for her. But that hadn't stopped him from falling in love with her. He was man enough to admit to himself that he truly did love her. And he knew, deep down, she loved him too. But he didn't deny that she loved Carlito as well.