Chapter 3 - The Secret Bet
Walking down the hallway, a subtle smile on his face, he watched her suppress a giggle. He wasn't a funny man, never had been, but like most people, he did have his moments, and his moment happened to have arrived at the right time. Looking up, she suddenly came to a halt, the smile fading off from her beautiful face. Casey stopped as well and stared at John Morrison as he approached them.
"Hey, baby," he greeted, eyes fixed on Michelle, and without casting so much as a glance in Casey's direction. Michelle grinned, trying to hide her annoyance, and shook her head in response. "How are you doing?" he went on to ask.
"I'm okay, thank you," Michelle replied. "And you?"
"I'm great… and hot," he replied, with a smile.
"Typical," Michelle murmured. She watched as Morrison took of his coat to reveal his chiselled body.
"Aw," he moaned. "That is so much better."
Casey tried to conceal his smile as he stared at Morrison, thinking how much of an airhead the man was.
"Anyway, John, this is Casey Cullen," she started to Morrison, before turning to Casey. "Casey, this is John Morrison," she introduced.
"Nice meeting you, and your, well, it is nice meeting you," Casey said, reaching out a hand towards Morrison.
Morrison turned to look at him, an odd look on his face as he stared at Casey's hand. He stared at the new signee from head to toe, snickered as he tilted his head before turning to focus on Michelle once again. Slightly surprised, though somewhat expected, Casey forced a smiled as he slowly withdrew his hand. Michelle didn't look happy about Morrison's action but made no mention about it. She deemed it pointless, and it would have been pointless.
"So, Michelle, what are you doing later tonight?" Morrison asked, as he nodded slowly, the look in his eyes evincing his thoughts.
"Why do you ask?" was Michelle's concise response.
"Because I figured we could probably do something tonight. Just you and me. There's this cool party taking place, or we could go clubbing. I know this really cool club; in short, just having a good time."
Casey was quiet, staring from Morrison to Michelle. She inclined her head, feigned to be thinking of his proposal, when in actuality, she had already made up her mind. "I'm sorry, John; but I've got plans for tonight. Maybe some other time."
"Oh!" he exclaimed, his tone conveying the hurt of rejection he was currently feeling. He exhaled and shook his head. "Cool. Some other time it is."
"Great."
"Out of curiosity, what are you doing tonight?" Morrison asked.
A slightly surprised look formed on Michelle's face as she stared at Morrison, who stared back expressionless. "Err, why do you want to know?"
"Just curious," he answered. Michelle stared at him questioningly, knowing that he wasn't speaking the truth. Now feeling pressured under her inquiring gaze, Morrison continued. "I mean, I'm just wondering what could be more fun than hanging out with me."
A look of disbelief crossed the faces of Michelle and Casey as they stared at the pompous, half-naked, simpleton standing before them. Michelle felt like storming off in annoyance but she knew that would bring her no good. He would stalk her until he got what he wanted, and she wasn't looking to spend her night like this.
"In case you didn't already know this, it's none of your business how I'm going to be spending my night; and besides-"
"I understand that," he interrupted. "I know it isn't, but I was just curious. Satiate my curiosity, baby."
Sill gazing at him, she sucked on her tongue. "You know what killed the cat?" she questioned, finally.
"I don't know. Some drunken driver? Or was it a dog?"
"Funny," she muttered nonchalantly. "Curiosity; curiosity did."
Morrison stared at her oddly, pondering her last sentence. "Curiosity? What a sicko!"
Casey smiled; Michelle grunted her indignation. "Forget it," she snarled, walking past him.
"Mich-" he tried to call but she cut him off as she stopped and turned around.
"As a matter of fact, I've got plans with, with… Casey," she blurted.
"Casey?" Morrison and Casey uttered in unison, surprise etched on their faces. Morrison, with a disgusted look on his face, turned to look at Casey, who forced himself to smile. He stared at him from head to feet, trying to determine what she saw in Casey. He turned back to look at her.
"Why the hell are you going out with this loser?"
"Because he is a better loser than you are and will ever be." She turned around once again and headed off. Morrison watched her retreating figure, trying to make sense of her words. With a small pat on Morrison's back, Casey walked past him and after Michelle. Somewhat stunned, Morrison watched as Casey caught up with Michelle.
"Dude, maybe you need a new approach," a voice spoke, causing Morrison to turn around. Walking towards Morrison, small smile on his face, was Mike Mizanin, better known as The Miz -- one-half of the World Tag Team champions and partner to Morrison.
"Don't tell me what to do. I know what I'm doing. She's just playing a little hard to get."
"Keep it going dude, and you'd be doling out a thousand bucks to me."
"There's no way I'm losing this bet to you, just like I've never lost any other kind of bet to you."
"That may be true, but there's a first time for everything, John. Besides, we're talking about Michelle here. You're not dealing with Brie and Nikki. Those two were too easy."
"Yeah, they were; and I got two thousand bucks richer."
"Whatever. Coming for a drink?" Miz asked his partner and friend.
"Sure. Nothing soothes my aching heart better than a drink."
