Chapter 9

"Cash rules everything around me. C.R.E.A.M. get the money…dollar, dollar bill, y'all." John Cena's head steadily nodded to the beat of the song. He sat at the dining room table with a pencil in hand, in front of a blank piece of paper, trying to find something good to say. Somehow, C.R.E.A.M. wasn't giving him the inspiration he needed, but he wasn't worried. The Wu-Tang Clan were poets in their own right and by the time the iPod shuffled, he would find his inspiration. And if he didn't… he was still jamming.

He closed his eyes and let his body sway to the music. He barely heard the back door open, but he definitely heard the sucking of teeth that forced him to open his eyes. "What up, Shorty?"

"Nothing." Ave sat her bag down and opened her bottle of soda. "Trying to write your vows again?" She nodded toward the blank page and raised her brows.

John nodded in response and hit the button on the remote to lower the music. This shouldn't have been this hard. All he needed was something profound to say. He had never been at a loss for words before, but somehow now, nothing would come to him. He was going to be standing in front of an entire church full of people and look like a complete idiot. X was going to be all poetic and gushy and so far the only thing he could think of saying was, I love you like I love my dick size. Somehow, he knew that wasn't going to go over so well. "Yeah."

"Papi, you're thinking too hard. Just…try to think about something that you like about Mami." It seemed easy enough to Ave. At age thirteen, you couldn't tell her that she didn't hold the keys to the universe. She knew everything, or at least she thought she did. She was always a child that was wise beyond her years and in this situation, it was no different. "Just say something sweet for the wedding. Then you can tell her all that stuff that I don't wanna hear on your honeymoon."

She had a point, but it still wasn't enough. If he just had an idea of what X was planning on saying to him, he could tailor his vows to be as long and in depth as hers. Now the problem he faced was how to get his hands on said vows. "You wouldn't happen to know what your moms is gonna say to me, would you?" The way she shook her head and tossed her blonde braid over her shoulder, let him know that she was lying. "Come on, Shorty. It's me…I'm your boy. Hook me up. You don't want me looking like a new fool in front of everybody, do you?"

Ave giggled. It wouldn't be the first time. "How 'bout I make a deal with you? I've got a proposition and if you agree…I might be able to get my hands on her vows."

Making deals? Ave learned quickly. John was proud, he had taught her well. Nothing in life came without a price. Just how big of a price it would be for him, he would soon find out. "Alright. Hit me."

Talking to John had always been easy for Ave. Once she got over her initial crush on him, she found that he was like a big ass kid. They had fun together, they played together, got in trouble together, and got grounded together. If he wasn't so much older than she was, and dating her mother, she would consider him like her big brother.

Though she called him Papi, he was no a disciplinarian. In fact, he was the one that often dared her to do things that got her in trouble. There was no fear when it came to talking to John about anything. Yet, Ave felt her heart start to race at what she was about to lay down. "Okay…just hear me out first." She lifted her blue eyes at him and then back at the blank pad in front of him. "You know how you're gonna marry my mom? Well…that'll kinda make you my step-dad." She took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to say it so that he wouldn't ask her a bunch of questions. "And you know how my real dad's dead…and after you get married, I still won't really have one…"

John nodded at the way she was stalling in an attempt to get her to continue. He had an idea of where this was headed, but he had agreed to hear her out. Apparently, this was difficult for her and he didn't want to make it worse. He had to admire how determined she was in her setup though.

"So, by law…if you didn't adopt me, you still aren't considered my legal guardian; only my mom is. So like, if she was gone and say I need a permission slip signed or if I had an emergency at school or something, you couldn't really do anything." She tapped her fingers against her soda can. "So I was thinking…maybe after you get married, you'd wanna maybe adopt me and become my dad for real? That way we won't be breaking any laws or anything."

John tried to contain his smile. She asked him to adopt her. She wanted him to be her father, not just in the name she called him, but legally. Wow. That was amazing. He had to stop himself from flipping the table over to get to her to hug her. But, this was a business arrangement, so he had to keep his cool. "Cause we wouldn't want to do nothing illegal. And you know…sometimes you got a field trip or some shit, that you might a parent's signature."

"Or like, if I get detention…"

"You can't take that shit to your moms. She'd kick your ass. You'd need another adult to cover for you. Or, if you wanted to get into an R rated movie…" He was thinking of all of the benefits for her that having him as father would bring. His only benefit was seeing her smile; that was enough for him.

"Exactly. Or like the Freshman Father/Daughter dance? I might need a father to go to that."

"Cause you can't be the only there without a Pops…I can respect that." John sat back in the chair watching the way she played with her fingers while she tried her best to convince him that this was a good idea.

She lifted her eyes to him and raised her brows. She had pled her case, now it was up to him. "So what'cha think? Everyone wins this way, right?"

Folding his arms across his chest, John studied Ave's face. She was going to be his daughter. This little, blonde haired, blue eyed, spitfire was going to be his. "I don't see nothing wrong with that because you know, I ain't trying to break no laws. But I just got one question. Why'd it take you so long to ask me?"

Ave flicked her wrist like that was an easy question. John wasn't exactly father material. The way he walked around the house, cursing and scratching himself, didn't exactly scream, responsible father. He ate standing up at the kitchen counter and drank from containers. He'd let one rip no matter who was around and wouldn't hesitate to embarrass her in front of her friends. John wasn't a dad; he was more of a frat boy. Not that that mattered to Ave, he was more of a dad than she had ever had. Being raised by her grandparents was great, but her grandfather was a distant man. Although he was always around, he wasn't overly affectionate and he didn't play with her. John would randomly come up to Ave and give her wet Willies or a wedgie without even batting an eye. And when he was home, he would take her to school and put her in a headlock before kissing her hair in front of all of her friends. Big brother or father figure, it didn't really matter. Ave wanted John Cena in her life permanently. "I was waiting for you to ask me."

Well shit. That wasn't something that he had ever considered. Not that he didn't want to, but because he knew how X treated Miklo's memory like he was the Messiah. "You know your moms is gonna have a fucking fit." The pressures of the wedding coupled with this little request, might just send Christina permanently over the edge. "But I'll talk to her. If she says yeah, let's do it."

"Really?" Ave's smile broke across her face. "And can I change my last name, too? I mean, Ave Velka is cool. But Ave Cena…can't you just see that up in lights and printed in magazines?"

With a chuckle, John agreed. "What happened to Timberlake? I thought that was your stage name."

"Yeah, but not until I'm old enough to get married. Cena's just a temporary last name." She was going to marry Justin Timberlake, there was no doubt in her mind.

John watched as Ave got up from the table. This kid never ceased to amaze him. He was going to have a daughter. Playing the role was one thing, but actually being a parent was something else. He was going to have to step up his game and get some advice from his father on child rearing. He had watched Dave long enough to know what not to do with regard to girls. Granted, he could understand why he was so overprotective, but he couldn't see smothering Ave like Dave did his daughters. Ave wasn't that kind of child. She was too much like her mother. She'd cuss him out before he had the chance to try to lay down the law.

He didn't know the first thing about what all it entailed, but somehow he couldn't help but to think that it was going to be incredible. "Hey Shorty? Te amo. Did I say that right?"

Turning back around, Ave looked confused. "You do?"

Nodding, he confirmed his statement. He did love her. He had never told her that before but he felt it. "Yeah. I do."

"Te amo, Papi." She nearly flew across the room and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You just want those vows, don't you?" When he shook his head, she hugged him tighter. "Gracias a dios." Thank God.

This was going to be good. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to convince her mother.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Three pairs of eyes stared at him intently, instantly making him feel uncomfortable. He was like a slab of meat on display at the butcher, the way they were smiling and standing there, with their heads held high and beckoning him with their eyes. Alone in the living room with three women glaring, he let out a sigh of relief when he noticed her legs peek through the slits in the banister.

By the time she reached the midway point of the stairs, Maddy looked out into the living room and her heart sped up. She couldn't stop the huge smile that crossed her face as she ran down the rest of the stairs. "Oh my God!"

"There's my girl." Randy smiled brightly as the small brunette bolted across the room and landed with a loud thud against his chest. It felt too good to hold her again. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and buried his nose in her fruit scented hair. "Hey, Sweetie."

She hadn't been expecting him, not for another two days, but there he was, in the living room, looking just as fine as you please. The fact that she hated her history class and was destined to fail the first quiz was secondary. All she could think about was Randy's arms around her. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming until this weekend."

"I told you I was gonna try to get up here. I have a signing tomorrow in DC, so I figured I'd come by here first." He didn't really care that the other girls in the room were still gawking. He had to kiss her. He had been weeks without kissing her. Very gently, he let his lips reacquaint themselves with the taste that was distinctly Madison before pulling back when someone cleared their throat.

Maddy turned around, but never let herself out of Randy's arms. She rested her back against his solid chest with a blush on her face. "Randy, this is Brenna, Tammy, and Kat. This is Randy."

Nodding his head, Randy lowered his neck to brush his lips over the skin just below Maddy's ear and raise his eyes to her roommates. He didn't know these girls, but judging from the looks they gave him earlier, they really didn't care if he was in a relationship or not. Another strike against the damn Gammas. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'll admit it. I thought she was lying." The red head that was introduced as Kat spoke up. The way she folded her arms across her chest signaled trouble for the couple in front of her. "Like, I know who her dad is, but, you? I was like, no way."

"I know, it's so random." Randy looked at Maddy confused when she spoke. Since when did she talk like a surfer girl? These damn Gammas were a bad influence, in more ways than one.

Taking a seat on the arm of the couch, Brenna looked at her friends. "You know what would be so hot? If you could come to our party tomorrow. There's gonna be all these different chapters there. It would be so cool to have a famous person there."

Lord, why in the hell did she want to be in a sorority? It was fine pleading your loyalty to a group with the same interests, but the Gammas? They were nothing but a bunch of partying, rich, snobby bitches that didn't care about anything but their reputations. Randy had thought that John was kidding about some of the stories of the chapter on his campus. But after reading about them online and now seeing just a select few up close…Randy was convinced that this was the worst mistake Maddy had ever made.

"I don't know. We're supposed to be going to the beach." It was Ocean City, not the cruise, but it would have to do. The Caribbean would have to wait until Maddy pulled up her grades, but in the meantime, they could make their own tropical paradise near the boardwalk.

Maddy turned and looked at Randy with big brown eyes. She had worked so hard on the committee, planning everything from the venue to the DJ. It was the first real assignment that she'd carried out under her chapter's name and she definitely didn't want to miss it. Especially not since Randy was there earlier than expected. If he would have come when he said he was going to, she could have gone to the party, studied for her quiz, and then packed for the beach. Now, she was going to have to rearrange her schedule. That quiz? Fuck it, she was going to fail it anyway, no amount of studying was going to change that. The party? Oh Randy's ass was going, whether he wanted to or not. And the beach? Did she really need clothes anyway? "Please?"

If there was one thing about Maddy that drove Randy crazy, it was the fact that he couldn't say no to her. She had this thing with batting her lashes and making her voice soft when she wanted something. He had seen it before. It was the same thing Britain did to Dave when she wanted her way. It was ironic that he had always joked Dave about being a bitch because he would always give in. And there Randy was, in front of the Gammas, about to become the biggest bitch of them all. "Why not?"

Getting up on her toes, Maddy kissed Randy on the cheek and smiled. "I love you."

"You wanna show me how much?" He raised his brows and smiled. Nodding his head in the direction of the girls still sitting in the living room, Randy let himself be dragged by the hand up the stairs. He looked at the pictures on the walls, denoting all of the Gammas that had come before Maddy. They all looked the same. They all had the same cookie cutter expressions on their faces, all with their expensive cars, breast implants, and gold digger tendencies behind their eyes. It was enough to make him scoff. "Why the hell did you pick Gamma?"

"Stop. Please? Not today." She wasn't arguing with him, not when he had just gotten there. They didn't argue much, but ever since she told him about pledging, the Gammas seemed to be the root of every disagreement they had. She opened the door to her room and stood to the side to let Randy walk in. "So? What do you think?"

The room was pink, very pink, with white trimmed window and door frames. On the dresser was the porcelain carousel that Randy had bought her, surrounded by a shrine of pictures of Randy and her family back home. Her entertainment center was stocked with the latest DVDs and CDs, she had a mini refrigerator, a small microwave and a stockpile of microwave popcorn and diet coke. On the bed rested her laptop and several magazines. It was obvious that Maddy had been hard at work.

"It's pink."

"I like pink." Closing the door behind her, Maddy walked over to the bed and started to clear it off. "Where's your stuff?"

"At the hotel." Randy picked up the issue of Vogue and thumbed through it. "You were studying hard for that test, I see."

Rolling her eyes, Maddy took the magazine out of his hand. Not even there for ten minutes and already he was already starting. "I was taking a break. And why would you leave your stuff at the hotel when you can stay here?"

"I'm not staying here. This room is pink." He wasn't staying there because he didn't trust those vultures downstairs, he didn't like the idea of sorority life, and he wanted to spend sometime away with Maddy alone. "I was thinking that you could pack your stuff and come back with me. You can go to class while I do this signing. Well go to this party thing and be on our way to Ocean City on Friday morning." His time was limited but he was determined to make the most of it and staying in a pink room in the Gamma house hadn't been part of the plan.

Maddy pulled on his arm until he leaned down to her seated position. "I got you for five days?"

Nodding his head he kissed her. Five days wasn't nearly enough time as far as he was concerned. "And if you hurry up, we can go back to the hotel. You can show me just how happy you are to see me."

"Why wait? We've got a perfectly private room right here." With a coy smile, she let her hands snake underneath of his t-shirt. She had a way of getting what she wanted and at that moment what she wanted was Randy. So what if he wanted to go back to the hotel? They could do that after they christened her room.