Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing.
Chapter 6
Kurt Angle's Hotel Room, Park Hyatt Hotel, Toyko, Japan, May 19, 2008
Kurt groaned as the sound of his alarm clock woke him. It was 3 am and thanks to the redheaded woman lying next to him, he hadn't gotten much sleep last night. He smiled to himself as he thought back on the previous night's events.
Christy Hemme stirred next to him, "What time is it?"
"3 am. We have like thirty minutes before we have to leave."
"Right … Um Kurt?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you call Karen yet?"
"Nope not yet," Kurt replied, evenly.
"Don't you think you should? I mean if she's got amnesia she's gonna wonder why you haven't called," Christy reasoned.
Kurt switched on the lamp on the nightstand and turned to face her, "I was going to call last night but I was kinda busy with other things."
Christy moved closer to him until her arm was resting on his bare chest, "Oh trust me, I know."
"Then why are you asking if I've called my wife?"
The redhead shrugged, "I just kind of feel sorry for her. It must be awful to lose five years of your life like that. And it's not like I hate her or anything."
Kurt rolled his eyes, "If it makes you feel better I'll call her when we get to the airport okay. She should be back home by now."
"Thanks Kurt. Now I was going to take a shower, do you want to join me?" she purred seductively.
Kurt grinned, "As much as I'd love to, we have to leave in thirty minutes."
Christy pouted as she got out of the bed, not bothering to cover her naked body, "Well that's too bad Kurt because I was going to scrub your back," she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.
Kurt dived out of bed, "Why didn't you say so," he called as he followed his mistress into the bathroom.
A.J Styles' Apartment, Tampa, Florida, May 18, 2008
Their salad placed abandoned, A.J stood in front of Karen, "What's wrong … Do you remember something?"
"No, it's just …" she trailed off, unsure of what to tell him. She couldn't exactly tell him she'd just found out she'd spent 4000 on his birthday present.
"Just what?" A.J asked.
"I didn't realise you were so young." Karen said lamely.
A.J made a face, "Young? Thirty isn't young."
"I'm gonna be thirty six in October so from my point of view you're young. And the last thing I remember I was thirty too. I was young then."
Allen sighed, "I wish there was something I could do to make it better."
Karen smiled, "You really mean that don't you?
"More than anything," A.J admitted. "Now, I better get back to the salad or we won't be eating anytime soon."
Ten minutes later the two were sat opposite each other at a round, wooden dining table just off the kitchen area. It wasn't until she started eating that she realised how hungry she actually was.
"Is your salad alright?" A.J asked.
"It's delicious."
"Glad to hear it. I take it you didn't find anything useful on the computer?"
"No, not really," Karen lied, "There was an email telling me my order had been despatched here. It's a watch for Kurt." The brunette felt a little guilty about lying to him.
"Oh yeah, a few days ago when you were in the hospital. The courier guy made me open it and check the watch was okay."
"What?"
"Don't worry, I won't say anything to Kurt. I stand by my recommendation after seeing it up close and personal. That is a nice watch."
Karen frowned in confusion, "I'm sorry, you've lost me."
A.J put down his fork, "About a month ago you asked me about watches because you were buying a present for Kurt. You said if money was no object what watch would I buy. I told you I'd like An Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Limited Edition. It's freaking awesome."
"Have you never thought about buying one?"
"Yeah but they are so expensive and I've never spent that kind of money on anything for myself. Maybe it was a gift for someone else."
Karen used the opportunity to gather a little more information, "Is there anyone special in your life right now?"
"At this precise moment in time?" A.J shook his head, "No. There was … and not to sound like a total girl or anything but until she came along, I don't think I ever knew what love was."
"Wow, she must be something else."
A.J gave her a sad smile, "She certainly is. She's with somebody else now."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Karen didn't want to push him too hard as he was obviously still upset, "And there's no chance you're going to get back together?"
A.J shook his head, "I doubt it. I mean she was with me and then boom … she's with somebody else. I never even saw it coming."
Karen put down her cutlery on her now empty plate, "That must have been awful, especially if you loved her as much as you said you did."
"It's broken my heart. I didn't happen that long ago so it's still raw … you know?"
"Do I know her?"
"Yeah, you know her. If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it anymore." He stood quickly, "I'll go and get you the watch. I put it in my safe." He walked off to his bedroom.
Karen's heart went out to A.J. The poor man was obviously in so much pain from the break up but he'd hidden that for her sake. Maybe that was why she'd purchased the watch for him. "But it's such a lot of money," she said to herself.
Allen returned a few moments later carrying a black watch box in his hand. He placed it on table in front of the brunette. Slowly he opened it, "Here ya go."
"Wow, that's beautiful." Carefully, she pulled the watch loose from the box, "Why don't you try it on?"
"I couldn't … I mean I don't think Kurt's gonna like that fact I wore he watch before he did."
Karen smiled, "And who's gonna tell him? Not me." Karen said, "Hey, you said it yourself, it's a nice watch."
A.J seemed convinced, "Okay, maybe for just a minute." He held out his left wrist for Karen to put the watch on. It was a perfect fit. "That's weird."
Karen raised an eyebrow, "What's weird?"
"It fits me perfectly."
"What's weird about that?" Karen asked, unsure as to why the watching fitting his wrist was a big deal.
"I have funny sized wrists. Watches never fit me like this straight away. It's a pain in the ass to get them adjusted."
"I guess it was fate then."
"I almost had to buy a new watch myself about three weeks ago." A.J told her. "Mine just vanished into thin air. I was turning the place upside down looking for it."
"Where did you find it?" Karen asked, her curiosity was peaked.
"I didn't … you did."
"Me?"
"Yeah. The place was a mess, there was stuff everywhere and I do mean everywhere. I'd pulled all the cushions and seats off the sofa trying to find the damn thing and you arrive and find it …" He clicked his fingers, "just like that."
"That was lucky then."
"Yeah, it was freaky because I could have sworn I'd already looked in the place where you found it."
Karen laughed, "Well, you obviously didn't look hard enough."
A.J scratched his head, "That's exactly what you said to me the first time."
The brunette nodded slightly, "Then it must be true."
"I guess. I better take this off." He carefully removed the watch from his wrist. "I'm sure Kurt's gonna love it."
"Yeah."
A.J placed the watch back in it's box carefully, "Do you want me to put it back in the safe until tomorrow?"
"If you wouldn't mind."
"Sure, I'll be right back" He walked back to his bedroom.
"Damn, I'm sneaky," Karen muttered. She jumped as the phone suddenly starting ringing. Just as she was contemplating answering it stopped.
A.J walked back into the room, holding another cordless handset to his ear. He wasn't looking very happy, "She's here, actually. Do you want to talk to her?" He stopped in front of the brunette, "It's Kurt."
"Finally," Karen thought to herself. She took the handset from the dark haired man, "I'm just going to take this in the bedroom, if that's okay."
"Sure."
Karen walked into the spare room and closed the door behind her, "Hi Kurt, where are you?"
"I'm at the airport, waiting for my flight home," Kurt practically barked.
"What time is it there? You sound grouchy."
"It's 4.15 am. What are you doing at A.J's? I thought you would have been at home. I called there first."
"I would have been but I didn't have a key to get in," Karen explained.
"What are you talking about?"
"They didn't have anything at the hospital," the brunette said. "I guess it was lost in the crash.
"Why didn't you just use the key A.J has?"
"What?"
"Did I stutter?" he asked sarcastically, "Why didn't you use the key that A.J has to our house?"
"A.J has a key to our house?"
"Yeah, you gave it to him."
Karen felt anger rising inside her, "I don't remember that, Kurt and A.J hasn't mentioned it. Look Kurt, I have to go. Have a safe trip back. I love you." She hung up the phone without letting her husband reply and marched back into the kitchen area and straight up to where A.J was standing.
"You," she prodded him hard in the chest, "have a key to my house. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I … er …" he squirmed under her intense gaze.
Karen was getting more pissed by the second, "Answer me damnit."
"I was going to tell you …"
The brunette placed her hands on her hips, "I don't believe you A.J. And if you can lie to me about that … What else have you been lying about?"
"Karen, please. Let me explain."
"Save it A.J, I don't want to hear it. The only thing I want to do right now is get the hell out of here and away from you."
