A week had gone by since Ashley, Chris had slept together, and today Smackdown was in Chris' hometown. Chris sighed as he exited the hotel room in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was glad that Smackdown was here so he could go see his lawyer. He walked down the street quickly and into the law office of Dan Markum. "Hey Dan." He said to his high school friend.
"Chris! What a pleasure to see you!" Dan said with a grin as he came over to shake his hand.
"Yeah same with you. Can we talk in private?" Chris asked.
Dan nodded and they walked into his private office. "So what's up?" He asked.
"I want a divorce from Jess." He said.
Dan nodded again. "Okay. Let me just ask you a few questions."
Chris sat down in the chair. "Okay."
"Has there been a break down of the marriage for a last a year?"
Chris thought for a moment and mumbled. "Yes."
"When did the break down begin?" Dan asked.
"Late January early February of 2006." Chris said.
Dan nodded again. "Alright." He said.
"Dan I want this divorce to go over as smoothly as it can. Jess gets the house, alimony, we share custody." Chris said sadly.
"You still love her?" Dan asked.
Chris shook his head. "No, I still care and respect her. She's the mother of my children Dan." He said.
Dan smiled. "I understand. Do you want to give the papers to Jess personally?" He asked.
Chris nodded. "Yeah she's in Miami right now." He said. "Is it possible to have these papers drawn up by tomorrow morning?"
Dan nodded. "Yeah. You can stop by at eight to get them."
Chris nodded and smiled. "Thanks Dan." He said and left the office.
He sighed and enjoyed the sunlight for the first time in a great while. He felt like a huge boulder had been taken off his shoulders.
He checked his watched and walked down the street to a small park. He sat on the bench and watched all the people in the park. Someone's hands clasped over his eyes. "Guess who?" Ashley's voice said from behind him.
"An incredible exquisite woman who should let go of my eyes." He said.
Ashley laughed and walked around to sit next to him. She smiled and took his hand into hers. "I've missed you." She said.
"I've missed you too. What's with the hand holding?" He asked.
Ashley shrugged. "I wanted to see what it felt like."
Chris smiled. "How does it feel?" He asked.
She grinned and looked into his eyes. "It feels right like it's meant to be like this." She said.
Chris smiled and kissed her on the lips. "I love you."
"And I love you. Do you know what I especially love?" She asked looking up at him.
"What's that?" He asked looking down at her.
"Our secret dates." She said with a grin.
Chris nodded. "I love them too." He said. Ashley and Chris had started the dates two days after they had slept together. They had promised each other it would not go beyond dates, and kisses. Sex was strictly out until they were sure they wanted to be together. "So how long do you have?"
Ashley shrugged. "An hour, maybe less." She said referring to Brian's match run through.
"Let's go to this really great restaurant I know." He said.
"Chris, you know we can't." She said.
"It's my house. Its ten minutes from here. I have a bunch of food stocked up." He said with a laugh.
Ashley grinned and nodded. They got up still holding hands, and Chris waved down a taxi.
That night Ashley sat next to Brian. Tonight she wasn't wrestling but she was Brian and Paul's valet. She sighed and looked at Brian. "How long do we have before your match?" She asked suddenly.
Brian shrugged; he was busy talking to Paul. "I dunno like ten minutes."
Ashley nodded and looked over at Chris and then walked out of the room. Chris got up and followed her out. He walked slowly down the hallway until he felt her hands pull him into a darken office room. "God I feel like we are in high school." He said.
Ashley laughed and nodded kissing him. "High school just on a grander scale."
"Brian is ignoring you tonight. Do you think he knows?" He asked as Ashley bit his lip.
She shook her head. "Brian is oblivious; Chris now shut the hell up and kiss me." She said.
They kissed passionately until Chris pulled away. "You're demanding you know that?" He asked.
She laughed and nodded. "Only with you. I should be getting back."
"You know you shouldn't be a valet, you should be wrestling for the woman's championship." Chris said.
Ashley chuckled and walked out of the darken office. She sighed she hated lying to Brian but she adored both men and being with both made her very happy. She walked back into the room and Brian smiled. "There's my girl!" He cried. "I was worried about you." He said as he kissed her.
Ashley smiled. "I was just getting my thoughts together." She said with a smile.
Brian nodded and pulled her out of the room. "So after my match do you want to go to dinner?" He asked.
Ashley nodded. "Dinner sounds good." She said.
"Good." He said and they kissed softly. "I want you to wear something special so Shelby and I picked out something for you okay? It's hanging in the locker room."
Brian showered and dressed quickly after his match. He walked out dressed in a nice red silk shirt, and a pair of black slacks. He smiled when he saw Ashley in the strapless black cocktail dress, her hair was pulled back by a claw-clip and two curls framed her face. "You look gorgeous." He said as he kissed her cheek and handed her a rose.
"Thank you. You look great." She said and looked at the rose. "This is great."
"Come on we have reservations at Step 'N Out." He said.
"Really?" She asked.
Brian nodded and they walked out of the arena. They walked hand in hand down the street making small talk. Once they got to the restaurant, they were taken to a small candle lit table. Ashley grinned as Brian pulled out her chair for her. "Thank you." She said.
"Your welcome." He said as he moved around and sat in his own chair.
"I think this is our first real date." Ashley said with a smile.
Brian nodded. "I think your right sweetie." He said.
"This is a really nice place. How'd you learn about it?" She asked.
"Jericho told me about it." Brian said.
Ashley nodded. "I should've known that." Ashley said.
Brian laughed and nodded. The rest of the dinner went by quickly. Brian excused himself right before the meal ended. Ashley was surprised when Chris slid into Brian's chair. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
"My friend owns this place." He said with a smile. "So you wanna come spend the night with me tonight?"
Ashley shook her head. "No sex you know that. Plus I wanna spend some time with Bri tonight." She said.
Chris nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Love you."
"Love you too." She said as he left.
Brian came back and smiled. "Excuse me." He called to the server.
"Yes sir?" She asked.
"Can we have the check please?" He asked.
She smiled. "It's been taken care of already, by the owner." She said.
"Why?"
"Mr. Jericho said you were close friends." She said.
"Well thank them for me." Brian said and then turned to Ashley. "You ready to go?"
She nodded and once again, he pulled out her chair for her. They walked down the darken streets of Winnipeg, Manitoba holding hands. "This is perfect Bri." Ashley said and leaned against him.
"Yeah. It was a good first date." He said with a grin.
Ashley looked up at him and thought. 'God I am really falling for him.' She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you being so sweet." She said as they walked into the arena parking lot.
"Your chariot awaits." He said with a huge grin as they walked over to the rental car.
Ashley laughed. "You're such a dork!" She cried.
"And yet you love me dearly." He said with a laugh.
Ashley nodded. "I do love you." She said as he opened the car door and she got in.
Brian grinned and got in. They speed away to the hotel. Once there he hopped, out of the car and ran over to open her door for her. She smiled and looked at him. "Did you know you're the first guy who ever pulled out a chair or opened a door for me?" She asked.
Brian looked surprised as they walked towards the door. "Really?" He asked.
She nodded sadly. "Well I didn't date anyone until I went to college. My first boyfriend was a senior and he treated me okay but nothing like you. Then my second boyfriend, Luke I was with him for a long time and he was abusive." She said softly.
"I am only your third boyfriend?" He asked surprised.
She nodded. "Come on my dad is Steve Austin know one wants to upset him." She said at they got on the elevator.
"I promise I'll never hit you baby girl." He said as he went behind her and kissed her neck softly. "I love you."
"I love you too and I know you won't hit me." She said as the doors opened.
They walked into the hallway and down towards Brian and Paul's room. Ashley laid her head on his arm as they walked. Brian smiled and looked down at her. They reached the room and Ashley slide the keycard in.
She gasped when she walked into the room. There were hundreds of candles and rose petals scattered around the room. "Oh my god Bri." Ashley said with a huge grin.
He kissed her softly. "I love you and I wanted out first time to be special." He said with a smile.
Ashley smiled and kissed him gently. "I love you and this is going to be very special." She said with a laugh.
Brian kissed Ashley awake in the morning. "Morning." She whispered in the sleep-filled voice.
"Same to you darling." He said softly. "Breakfast is on the balcony." He said and jumped out of the bed.
Ashley smiled as he handed her a terrycloth robe, much like the one Brian was wearing. She put it on and they walked out on the balcony. Ashley smiled and grinned like a five year old. "My favorite pancakes with strawberries and whip cream!" She said happily.
Brian smiled. "I know." He said.
"How did you do all this anyway?" She asked as she stuck her finger into the whip cream and licked it off.
He smiled as he sat down. "Shelby and Paul helped out. Shelby told me your favorite breakfast." He said.
She grinned. "I love you Brian." She said.
Brian smiled. "I love you too; I would do anything to make you happy." He said.
Ashley couldn't help but smile but it faltered when she realized that she was cheating on him with Chris. 'Damn you Jericho.' She thought to herself. 'And damn you Bri why couldn't you be just like every other asshole I've dated.'
"Ash?" He asked. "Is everything okay?" He asked looking at her with a worried expression.
She forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I was just thinking how perfect you are." She said.
Brian laughed. "I am far from perfect, Beautiful." He said.
Ashley sighed and kissed him. "You are perfect." She said as she took a large bite of the pancakes.
Chris woke up early that morning and walked over to Dan's office. "Hey Dan." He said with a small smile.
"You okay?" Dan asked.
Chris nodded. "I am fine." He said with a smile.
Dan smiled. "Good. Well here are the papers." He said handing Chris a blue folder. "It has idiot proof taps. Red arrows you sign, yellow arrows Jess signs. Understand?"
Chris nodded. "Yup."
"Once they are signed just mail them back to me and I'll finalize the divorce okay?"
Chris nodded again. "Alright. Thank you." He said.
"Bye."
Chris exited the offices once again and looked down at the folder. It was all very real now; in the folder, he had the one thing that could make his dreams come true, and the one thing that would crumble Jess' world.
