Harper yawned and stretched as she made her way into the kitchen. She looked at the clock and saw that it was after eleven. It was late morning, almost noon and she couldn't believe that she had been in bed all that time. She was exhausted though. There was definitely more to the WWE than putting on the televised Raw and Smackdown broadcasts every week. There was the mass preparation that went into the on air shows and the house shows and all the extensive traveling. It gave her a newfound respect for what Matt and all the other guys went through. Grabbing an apple, she rinsed it off and grabbed a paring knife to carefully remove the peel. Sitting atop the granite counter, she looked up as she heard the back door open.

"Well, if it isn't Sleeping Beauty?" Matt grinned.

"I feel like a bum," Harper laughed. "You could have woke me up."

"I know you're tired. You deserve some rest," Matt said as he kicked off his running shoes.

"Did you work out?"

"Not at the gym. Just went for a quick four mile run along the shoreline."

Harper laughed out loud.

"Somehow quick and four mile run don't seem to mesh together with me."

"One of these days I'm gonna get you to come running with me in the morning. It will refresh your soul."

"My soul is just fine, thank you very much."

"You know, the peel is good for you," Matt said as he opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a carton of milk.

"I don't like it," she whined through mouthfuls of apple.

Matt took a seat at his kitchen table.

"So you survived your first set of shows traveling with the WWE. Three shows, three cities, three nights. Any thoughts?"

"I think you have the wildest, craziest, most unpredictable life of anyone I know…and I think it's great. I love it."

Matt grinned.

"I knew you'd have a good time, Harper. I knew you would understand. Yeah, it gets a little hectic sometimes and some of the guys hate the spontaneity of not knowing where you're going to be from night to night but that's part of the reason why I love it so much."

Harper looked at him.

"You always were the guy that flew by the seat of his pants. You live in the moment. This is the perfect existence for you. You know, you never would have been satisfied if you'd kept that VP job."

"You're right. I wasn't happy. Wrestling is my love. It's my passion."

"It was so cool watching you the last few nights. You are insane the way you defy gravity. I love it and it's super exciting but sometimes I admit I have to cover my eyes watching you."

"You sound like my mom," he chuckled.

"How is she with all the wrestling stuff nowadays?" Harper asked. "I know she wasn't exactly thrilled when you quit your job to pursue it full time."

"She wasn't. Neither of my parents were. They believed in me and they wanted me to be happy but it was such a pipe dream that they wanted me to have something to fall back on. Especially with them both being schoolteachers. Man, they were so adamant about me getting my degree. That's partly why I finished college, for them. They were upset when I quit my job but I think they respected the work I put into everything. They're proud of me now and knowing that is a great feeling."

"How do they feel about Mike getting into the business now?"

"They're letting him pave his own way and so am I. It is what it is. Besides, he's really good. He's paying his dues just like I did and I tell you, nothing would make me happier than to tag in the WWE with my little bro. Maybe one day."

"I hope so."

"How is everything going here?" Matt asked. "Are you settled okay? Do you need anything?"

Harper shook her head.

"I'm fine, Matt. Really. Thank you. I have everything I need. This is a great place you have."

"I like it. Just want to make sure you're comfortable."

"I am."

"Don't get too comfy, though. We hit the road again tomorrow night."

Harper smiled.

"I know. I can't wait. It's new and exciting for me still. Don't think I'm corny or anything but I bought this map of the United States at this flea market back home in St. Louis, one of those you can hang up on the wall. And I have a bunch of little push pins and I am tracking my, our, odyssey through the country. How cool is that?"

Matt took one look at her and burst out laughing.

"That is so not cool. You are as corny as ever, Harper," he balled up a piece of paper towel and threw it at her.

"Am not!"

"Yes you are."

"Shut up," she turned on the faucet behind her and flicked sprays of water at him.

"You shut up," he rushed towards her.

"What are you gonna do? Dude, you will always be Matt Korklan, the poor dork that used to eat glue in Mrs. Light's first grade class. The whole Evan Bourne thing does not impress me."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow. "Well how about this?"

He wrestled her small arms as she giggled. Holding her arms over her head with one hand, he used the other to tickle her mercilessly as she screamed and kicked, eventually wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her off the counter. In their playful banter, neither heard the front door unlock and open. The squealing and animated laughter stopped as the pair heard someone clear their throat. They looked over to see a pretty, petite blonde with a smirk on her face. Crimson rushed Harper's face as she realized what the situation looked like. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen in a wet sleep shirt hiked up past her waist with her legs wrapped around Matt.

"Hi," she said embarrassed.

"Hi," the blonde waved.

"I, I'm Harper Reynolds. I'm Matt's best friend and uh, I'm staying here while I intern with the WWE but I guess you know that already. Oh God, you must be Chloe. I know what this looks like…"

"It looks like you two escaped from the geek squad," a familiar voice laughed as someone rounded the corner. "Some things never change."

"Mike!" Harper hopped down and ran towards the younger man.

"What's up, Harper?" Mike picked her up and swung her around. "It's good to see you.

"You too. It's been a long time."

"And this is my girlfriend," he pointed to the blonde. "Bryn Martin. Bryn, this is Harper Reynolds, our friend from back in St. Louis and as you can tell, nerd extraordinaire."

"Shut up," Harper swatted at him as she extended her hand to Bryn. "Don't pay any attention to him. It's nice to meet you."

Bryn shook her head and smiled warmly.

"Most of the time I don't. Nice to meet you as well, Harper."

Mike made a beeline for the fridge.

"Harper, you've been in town a full 12 hours. How come there's no food cooking? I'm a growing boy."

"A growing boy will fully equipped hands to use the pots and pans and fully developed eyes to say, maybe read the instructions in a cookbook."

Mike frowned.

"Way too complicated. Plus it tastes better when you do it."

Harper playfully rolled her eyes and took her cue. She began searching the cupboards for ingredients to whip up her world famous homemade whole wheat pancakes.

"You guys are all nuts," Matt shook his head. "I'm gonna go hop in the shower. Bryn, try not to let the St. Louis crew drive you too crazy."

He walked off leaving the other three alone in the kitchen.

"So how have you been, Harper?" Mike asked.

"Good," she sifted the wheat germ into a mixing bowl. "School is a lot of work but it's going really great and I am thrilled to be almost done. And the internship has been nothing short of amazing. Everyone I've met associated with the WWE has been so nice and being on the road has been really cool so far. Plus I miss that dork of a brother of yours. We've had fun hanging out. It's like old times."

"That's cool."

"What about you? I hear you're doing your thing in Ring of Honor, kicking ass and taking names, both of you."

Mike shrugged.

"Getting my feet in the door. It's been pretty awesome so far and I met this beautiful woman right here so who's complaining?" he pulled Bryn in for a kiss.

"You two are so cute," Harper grinned. "Sorry, Bryn, I mistook you for Chloe."

Bryn rolled her eyes.

"You're forgiven this time. I take it you haven't been in Matt's bedroom."

"No. Why?"

"That explains why you don't know what Chloe looks like. You missed the mini shrine he built to her," Bryn joked. "Her pictures are everywhere and I do mean everywhere."

"Leave him alone," Mike drank juice straight from the carton. "He can't help it if he's whipped."

"He talks about her all the time," Harper began cracking the eggs. "He really loves her. He says she's great. I can't wait to meet her."

"Meet her first, then come talk to us," Mike said.

"What?" Harper frowned.

"Harper, have you ever dated someone that you knew wasn't necessarily the right person for you or even a good person for that matter but you dated them anyway?" Bryn asked. "Maybe it was the sex or how they looked or whatever but it made you put on blinders to the real them."

Harper thought for a minute.

"I guess so. I mean, unfortunately we've probably all been there. Why?"

"Well, that's kind of where Matt is right now."

"What Bryn means is that Chloe is a major bitch," Mike pulled his girlfriend onto his lap.

"Are you guys serious?'

"Oh yeah."

"Come on. She can't be that bad."

Bryn chuckled.

"Wait until you meet her. And trust me, if that had been her standing here instead of me when you and Matt were joking around, World War III would have started. She is so dramatic, it would have been the performance of a lifetime."

"Matt and I are just friends. I grew up with these guys. We play around all the time. It's totally innocent."

"I know but it doesn't matter. Laughter, fun, good…all things happy Chloe can't stand them. You'll see."

"That sounds like fun," Harper mumbled sarcastically.

"Let's not talk about the Wicked Witch of South Beach," Mike chimed in. "Bryn and I are in town for the night so how about the four of us partying tonight? Harper, we can show Bryn how we do it in St. Louis."

"Sounds like fun. I'm down for sure."

"Good deal, just can we get our pancakes first? I'm really hungry."

Harper dipped her finger in the batter and put it on Mike's nose. As Matt emerged from the bathroom, he couldn't help but smile. He was in the middle of living his dream and he had his best friend, little brother and his brother's girlfriend to share it with. It was nice when all the people that mattered most were surrounding him. Well almost. All that was missing was his beloved Chloe but she would be back in Tampa soon enough. Then things would be perfect, not that he was complaining. He couldn't. Life was just too damned good.