Chapter Four

With You

That night, Lilian Garcia couldn't sleep. She was curled up in bed, under the thin baby blue blanket, tossing and turning. John was in the room adjoining hers. She wondered how he was sleeping. He was probably sleeping like a baby, she reasoned. After all, he wasn't the one who had a stalker trying to kill him and his family.

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the abyss that was the ceiling. This was the life she had chosen. The life that she had wanted since she was a teenager.

Her mother had called a few hours ago to let her know that she and Dahlia had made it to London all right and they were just getting settled in. They urged Lilian to join them when the tour was over. Lilian hoped to, but as a vacation. She was hoping that John could find this guy before anything worse happened. To her, the last few months had been incredibly brutal. The loss of Kurt Angle, followed by his publicity tour about her was hard on her. She had a hard time sleeping because of it.

She rolled onto her side and stared at the clock. It was two o'clock in the morning. She couldn't sleep and she hated it. Throwing back the blankets, she sat up and took a deep breath in the darkness.

She knew she couldn't go for a walk. If John found out she had gone out without him close by, he would freak. Lilian inadvertantly rolled her eyes at the idea. She hated the idea of having to answer to somebody. It royally pissed her off. If John wasn't so funny and so hot, she'd be inclined to hate him.

She laughed softly at her own thought.

Getting out of bed, she grabbed her baby blue silk robe to put over her nightgown and tied it up. Placing slippers on her feet, she stretched out slightly and walked over to the sliding glass door.

The air felt cool as she opened the glass. Slowly stepping out, she quietly closed the door behind her. She stared out into the night, at the empty road. Everything was a navy color, with the trees almost a black in outline. It was a beautiful image. She looked up to observe stars pasted against the velvet sky like dozens of tiny diamonds. It was a crisp autumn night, with the breeze not too cold, but not humid and muggy either.

Her eyes fell on the adjoining glass door in front of her on the balcony. The curtains were closed.

It was John's room.

Meanwhile, John Cena couldn't sleep. He was on the phone, the room illuminated dimly by a bedside lamp. He was on the phone with Stephanie, trying to gather some more informaton on Lilian's stalker. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't get a decent night's sleep until he caught Lilian's stalker.

He knew he was falling for her. A major no-no in the bodyguard business. But there was something about her that was so vibrant, and so fun.

"Steph, what's been happening?" He listened intently as she relayed the information to him. His lips pursed tightly together as he stared at the gun on his nightstand. "Do you guys have any leads?" He listened again. "Okay, Steph, just promise me you'l keep me posted. Lilian's not really sleeping and she is terrified for her mom and sister." He listened again. "Okay. Night, Steph." He hung up the phone and went to the kitchen area to grab a beer. He could feel the pressure of catching this guy catching up to him. He popped the lid open and chugged the can back, placing the empty contents on the counter.

He heard a small thump and saw a silhouette outside.

The glass door opened and Lilian wheeled around to see John walking out towards her. "What are you doing out here?" he inquired. She looked away from him and stared out into the night.

"I couldn't sleep," she answered. "I just keep thinking: what if something's happened to them? How am I going to live with myself if something happens to them and it's all my fault because we can't seem to catch this fucker?"

John approached cautiously and slipped an arm around her waist for comfort. "Hey – you said yourself, they're in London. They're safe. If you're the target, why would he run off to London. I mean, if he has all this information about you, he should know that you weren't with them."

She turned into his arms. Grabbing his other arm, she placed it around her waist. His eyebrow arched, his eyes conveying surprise. She placed her head against his chest, which was clad in an unbuttoned Red Sox jersey. It wasn't long before he felt her kisses on his chest.

He took a deep breath. "Lilian...what are you doing?"

She stared up at him, her eyes innocent, yet coy at the same time. She didn't answer; instead, she wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed him. It started out as somewhat innocent, but soon gave way to something more. John began to get into it and he slipped his arms around her tighter...

He suddenly pulled away. "Lil, we can't do this."

"Why not?" she inquired. Her tone was shaky, almost like a nervous child.

"Lilian, you're scared. I understand. But..there's no delicate way to say this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it...Lilian, you're emotional right now. You've been through a lot. I'd feel like I'd be taking advantage of you."

"Stop being such a gentleman," she purred, trying to nuzzle her head in the crook of his neck. He held onto both of her shoulders and pull her back. Her eyes began to tear.

"I thought you liked me."

"Lilian, I do like you. But this isn't a good time."

The tears flowed freely and he went to wipe them away, but she slapped his hand away, hard. He rubbed his hand and stared at her, in surprise. Her face flushed red in embarrassment and humiliation before she pushed past him and into her hotel room. The door slid shut and locked with a click. John took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He could hear her sobs in the room.