Randy Orton was comfortable and warm as he stretched out across the king size bed, hovering in that hazy place between sleeping and waking. He could tell that it was still early and he was content to have a lie in, taking advantage of the fact that he had actually slept well once again. Then came the familiar ringing tone of his cell phone, interrupting his slumber. A frustrated growl left the mouth of the Missouri native as he rolled over and snatched the device from the bedside table, answering the call ready to yell at whoever dared to wake him at this ungodly hour.
"This better be important."
"Good morning to you too." John Cena's voice echoed down the line.
"John, what are you calling me at-" he paused to check the time, "Six thirty, seriously?"
"I've been hitting the gym early." the Massachusetts native explained.
"And you figured you'd wake me?" Randy frowned, rubbing his temples.
"Well, it kind of got me thinking."
"About what?"
"Speaking of hitting the gym, have you been hitting anything?" John enquired.
"John, I've already told you, I have not had, nor will I have sex with my fiancée's sister!"
"Would you tell me if you had?" the Massachusetts native asked, his voice laced with genuine curiousity.
"Probably not. You're seeming way too interested in my sex life so I'd hate to encourage you."
"I'd know anyway." John told his friend.
"Then why bother asking me?" Randy frowned.
"Honestly, sometimes I just like messing with you. But seriously, keep it in your pants, bro."
"I'm hanging up on you now." the Missouri native told his friend, before ending the call and tossing the device onto the bedside table.
John's nonsense phone call had gone on so long that Randy was never going to drift back to sleep. Accepting this fact, the Missouri native got out of bed and walked over to the window, stretching his tattooed arms above his head, eyeing the sunrise over the lush green fields that surrounded the house. It was too early for him to consider eating breakfast, so he opted instead to take a shower, ridding himself of his shirt before opening the door and strolling down the hallway towards the bathroom.
"Oh, shit!" Randy cursed as he walked into the bathroom.
Standing in front of him, dripping wet having just stepped out of the shower, was a startled Lucy Winters, hurriedly enveloping her body in a fluffy white towel.
The man known to wrestling fans as the Viper stood frozen to the spot for a moment, locking his blue eyes with her green ones as he attempted to process the situation that he had found himself in. His mind was telling him to stop staring, but the message was somewhat delayed as he allowed his gaze to cast ever so briefly over the woman in front of him. He could barely hide his surprise as he realised that the seamstress had an enviable body underneath the loose sweaters and pants that she usually favoured. The next thought that came to his mind was that he should say something, anything. But it was Lucy who broke the stunned silence.
"Randy!" she exclaimed, her voice sounding higher in pitch than usual.
"Sorry, I'm sorry!" The WWE superstar covered his eyes with his hands, backing slowly out of the bathroom, leaving a blushing Lucy in his wake.
As he made his way downstairs to the kitchen Randy was filled with an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could get over the awkwardness, that wasn't an issue. The issue was that he recognised something; an urge, an emotion, an attraction. There was no denying that he had felt what most men felt upon seeing a beautiful half naked woman. But most men do not and should not be looking at their fiancée's sister that way, nor should he be entertaining the thoughts that had entered his head upon seeing her.
He wished for a moment that John was there, to slap some sense in to him, to spray him with the garden hose, to do something. This was exactly what the Massachusetts native had been afraid of. Not willing to confess his mishap to his friend, Randy began to reason with himself. He reasoned that he was a man and it was natural to appreciate a beautiful woman. He reasoned that he was missing his fiancée and her company in his bed. He also reasoned that the reason he'd felt some level of attraction to Lucy was because she was the only woman he'd seen in days.
Randy's mind had gone into overdrive, so much so that he didn't hear Lucy's footsteps approaching the kitchen a little while later.
"I'm sorry about barging in like that. I didn't realise you'd be awake so early." the WWE superstar apologised upon registering her presence.
"It's fine. I guess I forgot that I had a guest, otherwise I'd have locked the door." Lucy shrugged.
"Locked the door, huh? Afraid I might join you in the shower?" Randy raised a brow and showed off his trademark smirk.
"In your dreams, Orton." the seamstress laughed.
"Should I be locking the door when I'm showering? I don't actually know that much about you. You could be a sexual predator." the WWE superstar joked.
"Excuse me, you're the one who's literally nicknamed the Apex Predator." Lucy pointed out.
"True."
"What?" the strawberry blonde raised a brow as the man folded his tattooed arms and narrowed his eyes towards her.
"I'm trying to recall if you have a nickname." Randy shrugged, still concentrating his steely gaze on the younger Winters sister.
"Wait, Leah never told you?"
"No, she never mentioned you by any other name. So come on, what is it?"
"I'm not going to tell you that." Lucy shook her head.
"Oh, come on! It can't be that bad, can it?" the WWE superstar raised a brow.
"Give it up, Randy. I'm not telling. And why do you want to know anyway?" The strawberry blonde asked him.
"Because I don't know much about you, and that would be a start." he admitted.
"I'll think about it." Lucy shrugged, making a start on breakfast.
Randy Orton was sitting on the back porch of Lucy's house, taking a well earned break from his continued work on the garden, which he had been working on for the best part of three hours. Lucy had been hard at work in her sewing room all morning, but had now gone out to an appointment in St. Louis with a prospective client. She had seemed enthusiastic about the meeting over breakfast, explaining that the client worked for some glossy magazine and had seemed eager to have the younger Winters sister design and make them a gown for an awards ceremony.
The WWE superstar was mostly glad to have avoided any embarrassment following the bathroom incident, but he had enjoyed seeing the seamstress so optimistic about something. She had always seemed so passive and indifferent in their previous meetings that this level of enthusiasm was a pleasant surprise. Her conversation over a breakfast of waffles had been a revelation; animated and full of childlike excitement. Randy recognised it as the same enthusiasm he had for wrestling, something that he found endearing. Everybody needed something to be passionate about, and for Lucy it was obviously her work.
Putting out and discarding the cigarette that he had been smoking, the Missouri native reached down and petted the woman's two dogs, who had been patiently sitting at his feet for the past few minutes. Jace and Dolly wagged their tails appreciatively as the WWE superstar scratched behind their ears, willingly accepting attention from the man that had moved into their home a couple of days previously. It seemed that the pair were enjoying his company around the house, leaving him to wonder whether or not their owner felt the same way.
Upon hearing the sound of tires on the gravel drive at the front of the house, Randy frowned, not expecting his host to have returned from the city yet.
"Can I help you?" Randy asked, appearing from the back of the house.
"I'm here to see Lucy, is she here?" replied the woman climbing out of a blue SUV.
"Not right now. She's gone to see a client in St. Louis." the WWE superstar replied.
"Oh, I see. I was just dropping off some fabric for her." explained the visitor, who looked to be older than Lucy.
"I guess that should be ok." Randy agreed, recalling something being said about a fabric delivery over breakfast.
"I'm Janet," the woman introduced herself, "And you are?"
Randy couldn't help but smirk. Obviously the woman was not a wrestling fan. Anybody who had watched WWE since 2002 could recognise the Viper, the Legend Killer, the Apex Predator, and son of WWE Hall of Famer "Cowboy" Bob Orton. It was a little difficult not to recognise Randy Orton, with his muscular six foot five frame, tattoo-covered arms, and piercing blue eyes.
"Randy, I'm engaged to Lucy's sister." he told her. It wasn't exactly untrue. He just had no idea if that engagement still stood.
"Oh, you're Randy... I can see now why you're a wrestler." Janet replied, eyeing the man's tattooed arms as he folded them across his chest.
"I take it Lucy's mentioned me?"
"She told me what happened, with the wedding and all."
"News travels fast." Randy gave a low chuckle.
For the first time since he had arrived there, the WWE superstar allowed his mind to wander to his missing fiancée and the wedding that never was. The subject had been avoided by Lucy for the most part, not wanting to rub salt in his wounds, but she had mentioned in passing that her parents had heard from Leah. Although she would not say where she was or why she had left, she had wanted her family to know that she was safe and well, and apparently staying with a friend.
"I don't suppose you could help me with these?" Janet enquired, motioning to the rolls of fabric in the trunk.
"Sure." he nodded, reaching into the trunk and gathering a few rolls in his tattooed arms and heading inside the house.
"How long have you known Lucy?" asked Randy, seeing an opportunity to learn more about his host.
"About fourteen years now. She and Leah went to high school with my youngest brother." Janet explained.
"Oh, really?" the man raised a brow.
"When Lucy started up on her own she came to me to buy her fabrics. My husband owns a textiles factory, you see." Janet continued.
"She's a very talented seamstress." Randy acknowledged.
"Oh, yes! She made my daughter's prom dress. And she's always been so talented at designing too. I remember as a teenager she was always sketching designs on bits of paper, napkins, anything she had to hand. "
The man known to wrestling fans as the Viper nodded, placing the rolls of fabric down on the table in Lucy's sewing room. He made a decision there and then to get to know his host better. It would certainly help with their living arrangements. But Randy was actually interested in discovering more about a woman who was almost family, yet gave very little away about herself, save for the fact that she had sewing skills. For the next couple of weeks the WWE superstar was determined to learn all he could about Lucy Winters.
