A/N: Big thanks to xPunkifiedx, Mrs. Barret, KayBugs50143, EmilieCW-DXfan0119, Claire O'mack and alliedoll for the reviews in last chapter, you guys are great ;)

ChaPtEr 4

"Man, that was brutal." Kofi said in an amused chuckle while Phil sat down in the middle of his locker room floor, his legs crossed underneath him and his olive green colored irises settled far into a distant wall. "I mean it was like BOOM, one moment you are kissing her and next thing you know she is slapping the taste out of your mouth. I bet you weren't expecting that."

"Can we just not talk about that? Thank you." Phil replied through clenched teeth as the memory of his last encounter with Beth invaded his mind… again.

"No way! I have material here to talk for a lifetime and trust me, Punk, I'm not going to let you live without reminding you about it every day of my life. Kissy-kissy-Boom!"

Tilting his head slowly to the side, Phil stared at Kofi through half closed eyes and tensed his jaw. Right in that moment, his so called friend was in his list of people he wanted to punch in the face and he wondered what would happen if he did it right there…

Not that he was going to, mind you; but in his mind he could imagine it and the feeling was so sweet. His fist connecting to his nose, blood sprouting all over the place and he getting all wild while yelling, I bet you didn't expect that, uh? Uh?

If only…

"But you really want to know what's funnier? That I was right since the beginning and that all that elaborate plan of following Beth around and then ruining her date was because you were jealous; just like I said you were."

"Don't be ridiculous. I wasn't jealous-" Phil began to say but Kofi lifted a hand in the air and cut him off with a gesture.

"Yes you were. Man, if it wasn't because you got jealous you wouldn't have even step over the line and kiss Beth." Kofi said knowingly, his lips curving into a smile as he stared down to Phil.

Snorting and shrugging, Phil shook his head. "I am not jealous, trust me. Let alone because of Cody fucking Runnels."

"No? They why were you so adamant that Cody should leave her alone and most importantly, why did you kiss her?"

"Because…" Puffing out a breath, the man known throughout the wrestling world as CM Punk shrugged once again and kept his answer in hold.

He didn't know why he kissed Beth; three days after the incident he has tried to come up with a reasonable explanation to justify that little moment of insanity and every time he would think about it, he has come out blank.

Sure, he could say that he did it in a moment of desperation where he wanted to prevent her from slipping through his fingers so she could go after Runnels; but if he would accept that, he would also have to accept that he was jealous and that maybe, just maybe his interest in Beth went beyond a very platonic friendship.

Thing that was not true; of course. Hell, they were not even platonic. They were just friends, friends in the same way that he was friends with Kofi… the only difference was that he has never nursed the idea of kissing his former tag team partner while he went ahead of himself and did it with Beth.

"You know what? I long ago swore to myself that I would never mind your business but I just have to say this, man. With such a brilliant mind that you have, sometimes you are really dumb."

Snorting at the incongruence of that statement, Punk arched an eyebrow and kept listening. It was weird, but from acting all funny a minute ago, Kofi was now looking kind of serious and the change in him made him be very interested in what he was going to say.

"Do you know that backin that night I had to go after Beth and take her back to the hotel because one, her date walked away on her because of you and two, because she was too upset to go on her own?"

"I'm going to apologize." He said in a low tone, almost as if he wanted to defend himself and maybe he was trying to do that. He knew he has been an ass and he wanted to apologize to Beth about everything.

He was just postponing the encounter because he knew it was going to be awkward and because as a rule, he hated to apologize.

"It's not about apologizing, Phil; it's about you being blind about everything that surrounds you if it's not a ring. Why do you think Beth was upset?"

"Well duh, because of the whole Cody thing…" Oh, she was probably upset about the kiss because like Kofi said, he just stepped over the line with her.

"Wrong; she was upset because you kissed her without even meaning it. Damn it Punk, you really need to pull your head out of your ass. Beth likes you, I think everyone but you knows about this. She likes you, but because you 'supposedly' have no interest in her she remains the loyal friend that asks nothing in return while you take everything she has."

Being caught by surprise by those words, Phil blinked a couple of times and tried to register in his mind all the information Kofi was feeding him.

Beth liked him? He has never even thought about the possibility of that. Fuck, even in the last three days when he has been thinking about the kiss he has never played with the idea that she actually liked him in other way that wasn't purely friendly. After all she has never said or acted in a way that he would make him feel otherwise and yeah, in that one and only time that he kissed her she slapped him and told him never to do that again.

Sure, for a moment she has kissed him back… but it has been just for a little while before getting back to her senses.

"So I don't know, take that blindfold of your eyes and think very well on what you say to her next time you see her." With that said, Kofi gave him one last glance and then turned around to leave Phil's locker room.

Once he was back alone, Phil chewed on his lower lip, sucking his ring into his mouth and musing about what Kofi told him.

Beth liked him…

In some weird kind of way the notion that Kofi may be right made him smile and he thought about all the time they had been spending together. She was his favorite gym partner, his favorite movie companion and as of lately he would even go as far as saying that she was his favorite person to have around.

Maybe that was why he reacted so badly when she told him that she wanted to go out in a date with Cody, because deep inside he knew that if she started to date around, she wasn't going to spend much time with him and being the egoistical jerk that he was, he wanted to prevent that.

That didn't necessarily meant that he liked her too… it just meant that he was a prick.

Lowering his head in unusual shame for a few seconds because he has never meant to act like that with Beth of all people, Phil breathed in and after thinking about it briefly, he decided to get his ass moving so he could go to her and apologize for what he did once and for all.

So, with that thought in mind, the Straight Edge superstar got to his feet, walked out the door and headed directly to the place he knew he could find her, the Divas locker room.

Once standing in front of the door, he pulled his cap as far as it would go down his face, lifted a hand and knocked. Waiting and waiting until the door was opened at last.

But instead of getting the woman he has been hoping to get, the one that opened the door was one of the Bella twins and he quirked his lips in annoyance. "Is Beth here?"

Not even bothering to ask, the twin swirled on her heels and called out. "Beth, it's for you."

After the call has been made, Phil hid his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and waited for his friend to show her face. And she did soon after that, walking to the door with all the calmness that characterized her but without showing him that smile she always had in her lips whenever they would see each after long days apart.

"Hey," He said, feeling a bit unsure of himself while his eyes fixed in her baby blue orbs, watching her as she walked out of the room to rest her back against the wall.

"What do you want?" She asked dryly, crossing her arms to her chest and casting her eyes down to the floor.

By her posture, it was obvious in Phil's eyes that she was still mad or upset about the other night and he could honestly say he didn't know how to act.

Especially now that he knew she liked him.

Sure, he could go straight to the point and mumble a very convincing I'm sorry. Who knew, he would have gone for it if it has been the Cody thing only. He would have half apologize and half reproach her that she has gone out with him in the first place, all in a good nature of course and in a way he was sure would make her smile and forgive him.

But the matter that was heavy between them was the kiss and he didn't even know how to approach that one.

Sucking in a breath, the Chicago native looked down to the floor as well and shrugged. "I just wanted to apologize about the other night." He said, lifting his face up and staring directly into her eyes. "I was out of place and I shouldn't have done it."

Beth nodded and bit down on her lips, but she said nothing.

Chuckling and lifting his hand to his face, the tattooed wrestler shrugged. "You know I suck at this apologizing stuff but I'm really, really sorry that I ruined your night and all that."

Arching an eyebrow, the blonde Diva shrugged as well. "Apology accepted." With that said, she tried to move from her spot so she could sneak back into the Diva's locker room.

But Phil knew her too well to know that Beth accepting his apologies in such a dry manner was as fake as a three dollar bill so he grabbed her by the arm and prevented from moving. "I'm not… are you still mad at me?"

Blinking slowly and pursing her lips, Beth sighed in exasperation. "I'm not mad; I just want to go back there so I can get ready for tonight."

"You are mad." He stated the fact as he got a bit closer to her. She didn't have to say that she was angry, he could see it in her smoldering blue eyes and in the way her face was a bit flushed as she stared up at him.

She looked pretty when she was mad and a weird realization hit full force him. He kind of wanted to kiss her one more time and he didn't want her to be mad at him, ever. "Beth…"

"You know, maybe I am still mad at you, Phil. I mean you always-"

"Is it because of the kiss or because of the Cody thing?" Cutting her off, Phil took another step towards her and the blonde actually tried to take a step back only to find that the wall behind her wouldn't let her do it.

"Both. You had no right, Phil, no right."

Nodding, the Chicago native looked down to her. "I know… I've been thinking about it and you are right, I had no right in ruining your night and I shouldn't have kissed you. But you know what?"

He asked as he casually took one his hands off his pockets to place it against the wall behind her.

"I'm also glad that things turned out that way because I didn't want you going out with Cody."

"You are impossible." Chucking in disbelieve, the Buffalo Diva tried to push him away. But Punk stood his ground and remained in place. "Get off my way, Phil; I'm really not in the mood for this."

"No, I mean now that we are here, why can't we be honest with each other? Is it true that you like me?"

Pursing her lips, Beth blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath. She was looking at him in calm, but Punk knew that her mind was running a thousand miles per second and that she was trying to figure out who told him such a thing.

"You answer me that and maybe I'll admit that I did all that because I was jealous."

At his words, Beth licked her lips and tilted her head to the side. "I like you." She said, plain and simple and Punk smiled.

"Well, I was jealous because you were going out with Cody."

Arching an eyebrow, the Glamazon shifted her weight to her left foot and shrugged. Punk took that as his green light to go on and he leaned into to her, getting so close that his lips were brushing against hers.

But before he could do as much as pressing his lips fully against her in a proper kiss, Beth moved her head to the side and placing her hands against his chest, she forced him back a step.

"Don't even think about it, Phil." She said in a warning; but instead of her voice carrying the bitter tone she was been using on him earlier on, he thought he notice a small change in her… maybe even playful.

But before he could ask or think too much about it, she sneaked away from him and walked directly into the divas locker room; leaving him hanging there while the corner of his lips curved into a smile.