Chapter 7

"Hey, man, what the heck is up with you?" John asked as he and Randy walked towards their locker rooms.

"Nothing, why?" He said shrugging off his friend.

"You're just acting weird, that's all," John said as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

"I don't think I'm acting any differently than I always do," he said as he stopped in front of his door.

"Well, whatever it is that has seemingly made you smile more, keep it around," John said as he walked into his locker room.

Randy stood there for a minute and let John's words echo in his mind. "Maybe he's right, maybe I am acting differently," he thought to himself. Sure his daughter made him smile, but she always had that affect on him so that couldn't be what John was referring to. "What the hell could he be talking about? I don't get it, the only thing that has changed is that I'm getting a divorce, my daughter really is mine, and I have a wonderful new best…oh, shit, I bet he thinks April is the reason I am acting so differently. I have got to set him straight. We are just friends and that's it," he said aloud.

He made his way into the locker room and saw his two best girls playing peek-a-boo. It was then that he realized maybe John wasn't so far off about his new attitude change. While he acknowledged that there might be something there, it was just too soon. His divorce wasn't final and he didn't want to go through all the heartache of falling in love only to have his heart ripped out and thrown back at him. Nope, that wasn't gonna happen and he'd do anything to make sure that we were nothing more than friends, period.

"Hey hot stuff, whatcha thinkin'?" I asked as I noticed the far off look in his eyes.

"Oh nothing really, just have a lot on my mind," he said as wiped his face with a towel.

"Ok, well if you want to talk about it, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me. Listen, I'm gonna go and grab a quick shower before we get outta here and I was wondering, and you are of no obligation to go, but I'm somewhat hungry so I thought maybe we could go grab something to eat or maybe order up some room service?" he said as he walked towards the showers.

"Sure, I'm up for anything, but it might be best to order room service at this point because little bit here is rather sleepy." I said as I rubbed Alanna's back.

"Makes sense to me," he said as he disappeared into the shower.

I stood up and gathered all of Alanna's toys and her blanket. I glanced down at Randy's phone and a smile spread across my face. The picture of me and Alanna was his front screen wallpaper. I couldn't believe that he actually kept it. Shaking my head, I placed the phone back on the table next to his Rolex and continued getting the locker room back in order.

"Whatcha shaking your head about?" He said as he appeared in the doorway.

Once again, I was completely speechless. Wrapped in nothing but a towel, he made his way across the room as beads of warm water dripped down his tanned pecs and abs. He was nothing more than a masterpiece chiseled to perfection. I could feel my heart begin to race and my breathing grew ragged very quickly. If I didn't turn away now, I knew I would do something I would only end up regretting in the long run.

"So," I started, "I'm just gonna finish getting Alanna ready to go."

"Ok, but you still didn't answer my question, and why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not, and what question might that be?"

"Why were you shaking your head just a few minutes ago?"

"I just couldn't believe that you actually had the picture you took of me and Alanna as your wallpaper on your phone. I thought it was really sweet."

Of course it's my wallpaper, that's why I took the picture. Did you think I was jerking your chain or something?"

"No, it's not like that, I just meant that I didn't know that you'd actually go through with it."

"Something tells me that you haven't always been able to trust in people. Would I be right about that," he asked pulling his shirt over his head.

I really didn't want to play 20 questions with the Viper, so I turned my back to him and continued to pack Alanna's diaper bag. I think he sensed that something was definitely wrong so he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

"It's ok, sweetheart, you don't have to talk about it. I completely understand that there are some things that are better left unsaid. Just know that like you always tell me, I'm here if you ever want to talk to me."

"Thank you for understanding and for not bombarding me with questions. Yes, I have had my fair share of screw ups and complete losers, so yeah, I have a slight problem with being able to trust people. I would imagine that after everything you've been going through with Sam, that you probably have the same issue." I said as I turned to face him.

"Yeah, but I'd like to think that I can trust the one person who is taking care of my little girl," he said as he looked into my eyes.

"Yes, of course you can trust me. I would go to the ends of the earth to protect her and even more so to protect you. I wouldn't dream of doing anything to keep you from trusting me and that's one promise I can keep."

Taking my face in his hands, he began to lean down towards me and just when I thought I would feel his lips against my own, Alanna interrupted us. We both began to blush and quickly moved away from each other. He finished getting dressed as I comforted Alanna. Things suddenly became somewhat awkward and neither one of us could speak to the other one. Leaving the arena was my only saving grace because I could drive back to the hotel without him in the car. I knew I needed that time to figure out what in the hell was going on. What were we thinking? His divorce isn't even final and we're both just friends. How could we let ourselves get carried away? This was going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I just needed to keep reminding myself that I was here to do a job and nothing else. That would be easy, right?

"Room Service," the hotel worker yelled.

"I'll get it," Randy said as he walked towards the door.

Every since we got back to the hotel, things had been completely different. We didn't talk as much to each other and we constantly tried to avoid the subject of what had happened less than an hour ago. It weighed heavily on my mind, and I knew it had to be bugging Randy too. Once he sat back down on the floor with me, I decided to bring it up. I was tired of all the avoidance and I knew eventually it was gonna have to be talked about.

"Um, Randy, I think we need to talk about what happened between us."

"Yeah, I think you're right," he said taking a bite of pizza.

I sat there for a minute trying to figure out exactly how to say what I was feeling. I didn't want to hurt him but I knew that I needed to be honest and upfront.

"Are you okay?" he asked taking a sip of his diet coke.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just don't quite understand what happened between us."

"I know it kind of shocked me too. I think it started with John asking me questions."

"Questions? What kind of questions?"

"He just sensed that I was acting different and he wanted to know why. Honestly I think he's got it in his head that you and I are more than friends."

"Well, that's crazy. Why would we be anything more than friends? You're going through a divorce right now, and pardon me for saying so, but I believe that the next woman you end up with should be someone you completely trust and know longer than a month."

As I took a bite of pizza I looked over at him and I could tell that what I said must've hurt him.

"Hell, Randy, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I just thought I was pointing out the obvious."

"You have to admit that what you said was kind of harsh. I don't think it's crazy that you and I could be more than friends, just not right at the present moment. Trust me, I want to be sure that I'm 100% ready for the next relationship I'm in. Right now I'm just happy that I have someone I can talk to about things that I don't feel like I can talk to the guys about. You understand me on a whole other level and I like that. As for what happened tonight, I'm not sure what it was or why it happened, but what I can tell you is that obviously we must feel something for each other or we wouldn't walk away feeling so awkward about it afterwards." he said taking another bite.

"I agree with you and I want you to be sure about things before you get into another relationship. You owe it to yourself and more importantly to that precious little girl to be ready for whatever woman enters your life. As for us, I'm glad to be a part of your life as a friend and I hope I'm always someone you feel you can talk to. I just think that it would be best for us to try not to let that happen again. I respect you and I would never do anything to screw up what I have right now. As with any job, I try and stay strictly professional. You hired me to take care of your little one, and that's what I intend to do."

"I appreciate that more than you know and that's why I hired you. I've never met anyone who would ever put up with the endless amount of crap you put with and still be so unbelievably respectful. People like you just don't exist, and if they do, then they are few and far between. My daughter is crazy about you and it's easy to see why. You have a way with her that I never saw with, well we won't mention her name anymore," he chuckled.

We continued talking about things until we realized how late it was. I picked up the pizza boxes as he walked over to check on Alanna.

"Well, I guess I should head on back to my room," he yawned.

"You know, you really don't have to leave. There are two beds in here and I know you want to be near your daughter. If you promise you won't coil up and strike, then you can stay," I said with a laugh.

"Oh ha ha very funny," he said as he reached out to tickle me.

He missed and I ran from him but it didn't take long for him to catch up with me. We ended up across the bed laughing at each other and for the first time it didn't feel awkward. Everything felt right and completely natural. We sat up trying to catch our breath and ended up hugging each other. He thanked me for letting him stay as he stripped down to his boxer briefs and slid beneath the covers. I checked on Alanna one last time before changing clothes and heading to bed myself. I glanced over at him before I turned out the lights. A smile crept across my face as he looked over at me.

"Good night, sweetheart," he said as he flashed me a quick smile.

"Good night, honey."