Holy poo! You guys are so amazing! I have never gotten this many reviews for one chapter. I heart you all! I want to give a big shout out to everyone that has read the story so far. I want to send a special 'Thank You' to AngelsDestiny22, KimmieCena, angelshavetheirwickedschemes, psion53, Randy4rkocenahardy, ElleEnein, Xandman216, lookitsria, xDarlingNikki, redheadedsweetheart, adb226, xMyHeartShine and Sarah A. You guys rock! \m/ (^.^) \m/ Here's chapter 10. Enjoy!
I laced my fingers through Cody's as we walked up the sidewalk to my small apartment, right inside the city limits of Atlanta. The two of us were coming back from a romantic dinner. It was a delayed anniversary of sorts dinner. The two of us had been seeing each other, secretly of course, for just over three months now. We had been on the road when the day actually came, so we just waited till we had a few days off before we celebrated.
I knew Cody felt strongly for me but I didn't know if he felt as strongly as I did. I was completely in love with him. And I was going to show him how much I loved him, tonight. I was going to give him my most intimate gift. I was giving Cody all of me.
We stopped at the door as I dug out my keys. I turned to face him, taking his hand.
"Why don't you come inside with me? I know for a fact that you don't have anything scheduled tomorrow." I smiled up at him. He smiled back and kissed me softly. "Come inside?"
"How can I resist a smile like that?"
"You can't." I pulled him inside with me.
We settled ourselves on the couch in front of the TV. I let Cody flip through the channels as I snuggled up against his side. He finally settled on a show that I barely paid attention to. I was so nervous. How does one go about asking her boyfriend to have sex with her for the first time? For her first time. Yeah, I was still the big 'V'. I knew I wanted Cody to be my first but I just needed to find the words to say it.
After about 45 minutes of watching some movie, I decided that now was the perfect moment to lay it all out there and go for it. I sat up and away from him.
"Cody?" He turned his head towards me.
"Emery?"
"I feel bad. You bought me an amazing dinner and I didn't get you anything." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Don't feel bad, Em. You don't have to give me anything."
"That's the thing. I actually have something I want to give you." He grinned at me.
"Really? And what would that be?" I took the remote out of his hand and tossed it to the far end of the couch. I got up on my knees, climbed over and settled myself astride his lap. I pressed my chest tight against his as I kissed him deeply.
"Me." I started to press kisses along his jaw line, his hands sneaking up to lay flat against my back, holding me against him. "Make love to me Cody. Please...make me yours, tonight. I want to be yours in every way." Being held as close to him as I was, I felt his body harden at the mere thought of what I was offering.
"Are you sure that you're ready for our relationship to take that step, Em? Cause I know on my end, once we do, I'm gonna want you ALL the time. I mean, I already want you all the time, but now I'll know I can act on it whenever." I laughed at his nervous rambling as I kissed him, snaking my hands under his t-shirt, pushing it up and over his head.
"I'm sure. I'm more than sure." I gasped in surprise as he stood up with me still in his arms and headed back to my bed room, kissing me the entire trip. As he gently laid me on the bed and followed me down, pressing his deliciously heavy weight against me, I realized that I should probably tell him that I was still a virgin.
"Cody, I have to tell you something." He stripped me of my own shirt and tossed it to the floor, smiling down at me.
"Yes, Em." I smiled back at him.
"This is my first time." He laughed softly and dropped his head to nuzzle at my neck.
"Trust me, Em. I know it's our first time. I've been thinking about you and me together like this since the moment I met you." I placed a hand on either side of his face, lifting him away from my neck so I could look at him.
"No, sugar. It's MY first time." Cody's eyes got big when he realized what I was telling him.
"That means you're still a..."
"Yeah, I guess it does." Cody pushed back away from me and sat on his knees, my legs were still pressed tightly against the outside of his thighs.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like I pressured you into this..." Now, I sat up on my knees in front of him.
"You didn't. You know you didn't." He looked skeptical. I leaned in and kissed him. "I've been thinking about this since the first time I saw you too." I nibbled at his lips, wrapping my arms around him. "I want you, Cody. I want you to be the first." His hands slipped over my hips to rest at the small of my back.
"Are you sure, princess? Are you sure I'm the one you want?" I smiled and lay back on the bed, pulling him with me.
"Yes, it's you. Only you. It'll always be you. Make love to me, Cody." I repeated. He didn't stop this time. Within minutes, he had us both naked, worked up beyond reason and a condom on.
"Ready?" Cody whispered by my ear, kissing the sensitive skin there. I nodded, running my hands softly up and down his back, trusting him fully. I held my breath as he slowly, gently pressed himself inside of me. After a few shallow thrusts, the warm pleasure started to unfurl low in my belly. I moaned out his name as he slipped a hand in between our hips, touching me, driving me higher and higher until I screamed out his name when the pleasure exploded through my body. Cody picked that moment to plunge the rest of the way inside of me.
I flinched and made a soft noise of pain at the slight stinging pain. Cody felt me tense up. He kissed me softly, stroking my side with his fingertips, trying to comfort me.
"You okay, princess?" I nodded, telling the truth. The longer Cody stayed where he was, the more the pain faded. "I can stop. Just say the word Em. I'll stop if you want me to..."
"No. Please, Cody." I arched my hips up against his. He groaned, my name mixed some where in the middle of it. I kept rocking my hips. The more I moved, the less I felt the original pain. "Don't stop Cody. Please...don't stop." He kissed me and started to move again. Slowly at first, gradually thrusting faster, deeper and just a bit harder. I moaned his name over and over as that perfect pleasure built up again and again until finally boiling over. I cried out Cody's name as my release rolled through me. A few seconds later, Cody's release hit him, making him moan out my name. He collapsed half on top of me, breathing just as hard as I was. He lazily lifted his head from where it was pressed against the side of my throat. He hit me with a beautiful lopsided grin. He caressed my cheek, tucking a lock of now sweaty hair behind my ear.
"I love you, Emmy." My heart swelled at his words. I had to smiled back at his choice of nicknames. No one but Cody and my mom called me that.
"Really? You do?" He laughed quietly and nodded.
"Yeah, I really do." I leaned up and kissed him, running my fingers deep into his hair.
"I love you too, Cody. I really, really love you." He laughed again.
"That's good cause I'm so in love with you, princess. I love you, Emmy. I love you, Emmy. I love you, Emmy." He kept repeating it over and over. Only the weird thing was, his mouth was curiously closed and he looked so incredibly sad.
Suddenly, Cody disappeared and the room went black.
I awoke with a jolt. Wow, how odd. I had never dreamt about the first time Cody and I made love. I wonder what made me dream that. I rolled over and reached out for Cody's arm. I wanted to tell him about the dream.
I only found empty space in the bed beside me. Hmm...maybe he was in the bathroom. I rolled back over and clicked on the light. My heart sank as I recognized where I was.
I closed my eyes and let the tears slip from beneath my lashes as the memory of me leaving hit me again, straight in my heart. I had no right to cry. I did this to myself, this self-imposed pain. But it was all for Cody. I wasn't good enough for him and I wasn't sure why I tried to lie to both of us and pretend that I was.
I wiped at the tears on my cheeks and glanced at the clock. Man, I had actually gotten three consecutive hours of sleep this time. That had to be some kind of record. The last two weeks had been hell and I was definitely feeling it. But I guess that's what happens when you're grieving. I was grieving for the loss of our baby that I would never get to hold, never get to love, hell, never even get to name. And, I was grieving for the loss of the love of the most amazing man in the universe.
I sighed and wiped at my cheeks again. I slipped my hand back under the covers, ready to toss them off, when my hand landed on something that felt out of place in my sheets. I gripped it and pulled it up so that I could see it. The tears that had started to subside started anew. It was Cody's shirt that I had taken from the house. I brought it up to my face. I was still able to smell the scent of him in the cotton.
I forced myself out of bed, still clutching Cody's shirt to me and made my way to my desk where I had set up my laptop. It was the only thing, besides some clothes, that I had taken with me. The thing had a huge folder on it full of pictures and videos of me and Cody's life together. I couldn't bring myself to open it again or delete it.
The first thing I had done when I set up my computer here was change the background. The last time we had been on tour in Paris, Cody and I had snuck away from everyone and went to the Eiffel Tower. The picture had been the two of us kissing in front of it. Before we had gone on the trip, I had told him that I always wanted a picture like that. I had said it in passing, but he made it happen for me.
The second thing I did was cancel my email account. Everyone I knew had that address. Including Cody. I needed to cut my ties completely and erase myself from their lives. I had already had a conversation with Mom and Dad. I had asked them, that if anyone called looking for me, that they hadn't seen me.
The first question out of my Dad's mouth, "Are you in some kind of trouble, kitten?"
"No Daddy. Just...things didn't work out like they were meant to and I don't want to go back. I need to get away from all that."
"Are you sure you're not on the run?" Dad joked with me.
"No, Daddy. Please just promise you will. Even if Fallon calls for me. Especially if Fallon calls." They both smiled and nodded.
"We promise."
While I waited the minute for my computer to boot up, I thought about the next morning. I had mentioned something to Mom and Dad about getting a job so that I had something to do during the day. Dad, an English professor at the local collage, the same college Fallon and I both went to, pulled some strings with his friend Gary. He owned and ran the small new/used bookstore right in the middle of campus. I loved that store. I used to hang out there between classes when I was in school. Well, Gary gave me a job. It was 10 to 6, Tuesday through Saturday. That was perfect. But maybe I would look into getting a second job a few nights a week, just to keep me busy. There were plenty of bars around campus. Surely I could get a job waiting tables at one of them.
Finally my computer came up. I went to my favorite search engine and typed in 'How to deal with losing a baby'. I scanned through a couple of articles. One said to talk out your feelings with the baby's other parent. Well, that wasn't going to work. Another said to join a support group. Yeah, that so wasn't going to happen either. I came across one that would actually work for me. A journal. It didn't have to be daily, just when I needed it. That was exactly what I was looking for. I dug around in my old desk until I found a notebook that I had never used. I decided to play on a regular journal and use another idea that I had seen, letters. I closed my computer and flipped to the first page. I dated the top right hand corner. I took a deep breath and started to write.
Dear Baby,
Hey there little one. It's me, your Mommy...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Three weeks. It had been three weeks since Emery left. Since she disappeared, leaving me with that letter. That letter that I couldn't seem to not have on me pretty much all the times. It was really the only connection I had left to her.
When Em left, she took most of her clothes and her laptop and left everything else at our home. The worst was that she left me no indication as to where she was going, no way to find her. She left her cell phone and cancelled her email address, almost like she didn't want to be found. And God knows I wanted to find her. I needed desperately to find her.
The four of us, me, Fallon, Randy and Ted, tried everyone we knew and everyone we knew that she knew, in an attempt to find her. Ted had called Mike for me to see if he had seen her. Of course, he hadn't. Fallon even called her parents, who neither she nor Emery had seen in nearly five years. Her mother told us she hadn't seen or spoken to Emery in almost a year. We had exhausted every other option. Her parents were our last hope.
That was the first time I had ever seen Fallon cry like that.
I pulled the letter out of my pocket and read through it again. Every time I did, I hoped I'd find some clue as to what she was trying to tell me had happened, what changed between us. I hoped it would show me where to find her. Again, nothing.
I put it back in my pocket and took out my phone to check the time. I had to be in the all staff meeting in an hour. Work was all I had going for me at the moment so I didn't want to screw it up. I pushed the button to pull up the screen. I got momentarily distracted when I saw the background picture I had. It was my favorite picture of Emery that I had on my phone. We had been in bed. She was curled up on her side, lying beside me, her head on the edge of the pillow and she was smiling softly at me as I snapped the picture. That smile reminded me of the first time I ever saw her, the day we met.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Randy, Ted and I were sitting in Stephanie's office. We were talking about upcoming story lines. My character had just turned on my tag-team partner, Hardcore (or Bob) Holly to team up with Ted. We were eventually going to join with Randy's character and form some kind of group that still didn't have a name. This was big for me and Ted. Sure, both of us had our last names to fall back on if it didn't workout, but Randy was a headliner. Which meant that, if this worked out the way it should, as Randy's star rose higher, ours would too, just by association. We were getting our big push much like he had at the beginning of his career when he joined Evolution.
"One more thing to talk about before I let you guys go." Stephanie said. "Since we are getting ready to start this new storyline, Cody and Ted, your schedules are about to drastically change. I feel that you both qualify for the 'PA Program'."
"Really?" Ted asked. "You think both Cody and I'll need an assistant?" Stephanie smiled.
"Actually, since you will both be together for a majority of your time, I'm assigning you one assistant, to share. She will be exclusive to the two of you. You will be her only charges." She flipped through some papers on her desk. "Here it is. Her name is Emery Harper. She's got a degree in Business Management so she should be able to handle the two of you with no problems."
"Emery? You got Emery?" Randy spoke up from behind me. We turned to look at him.
"You know her?" Ted asked. Randy grinned.
"She's Fallon's sister." Fallon was Randy's girlfriend and a Diva. We all turned towards the knock on the door. "You done with me Steph?" Randy asked, standing up.
"Yeah, you're done." Randy opened the door, blocking our view.
"Hey Em." Randy said, holding out his arms for a hug.
"Randy!" The female's voice said, completely surprised and obviously happy to see him as she hugged him. The rest of what she said was muffled by Randy's chest. He told her, 'yep, and I'll be around. You'll know where to find me if you need me.' He kissed her on the top of the head and stepped past her and headed out the door, she, Emery, I think, turned to watch him walk away. She stepped inside the office, shut the door and turned around to face us.
I lost the ability to breathe.
I was instantly smitten with this incredibly beautiful woman standing in front of us.
I was struck dumb when she smiled softly, kind of shyly. She walked towards us. Both Ted and I stood up to greet her. Yeah, we were raised good southern boys. Then she spoke.
"Hi. I'm Emery. It's a pleasure to meet you both." She had the sexiest voice I had ever heard. She had the same gently rolling southern accent that Fallon had, reflecting their Virginia roots. I was a goner.
She shook Ted's hand as he introduced himself. And then she came to me. When our hands touched, I felt it through my entire body.
"I'm Cody Runnels or Rhodes." She smiled again and stroked her thumb down the back of my hand. My body instantly reacted, like I was a 15 year old boy. All I can say is thank God I had my trunks on under my warmups. I was surprised that sparks didn't shoot between our hands as we pulled away from each other.
"I know who you are, sugar." She turned and started to walk away. "I've been watching the both of you. Gotta know who I'm working with." As she got to the door, Emery turned and looked over her shoulder at me. "Oh, and Cody...I like when you wear your blue trunks."
Oh shit. I was in some serious trouble.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
I had been crazy in love with her ever since that day. And it hadn't diminished one bit since she had been gone. God, I needed to find her.
"Hi there Cody." The saccharin sweet voice said. I inwardly cringed. There was only one person that voice could belong to and I was in no mood to deal with her. I looked up anyway.
"Hey Barbie." Barbie Blanks, better known to the wrestling community as Kelly Kelly, was staring down at me. I had come out of the back of the building to be alone, but she just had to ruin my solitude. "Did you need something?" I asked. She smiled at me with that infamous stellar grin. It did nothing for me. I knew plenty of guys that thought she was hot. But me, I saw her for what she really was. As nice as Barbie came across, she was still a half-ass Diva that was quickly sleeping her way through the roster till she finally slept her way to the top. I wanted no parts of that. Much to my dismay, she sat down beside me.
"I heard you broke up with your girlfriend. I'm really sorry." She laid a hand on my bicep, slowly rubbing up and down. I moved my arm slightly, trying to let her know I was not comfortable with her touching me.
"Yeah..." That's all I could say. There was no way in hell I was going to spill a damn thing to the biggest gossip in the entire company. She got the hint about my arm, but I had to sigh as she put her hand on my knee. She pressed her ample plastic breasts into my side as she leaned in closer.
"It's a shame that she couldn't see you for the wonderful guy you are." She was trying to turn me on by rubbing her hand along my thigh.
"Come on Barbie." I tried to gently extract myself from her.
"I can make you forget all about her." Barbie whispered in my ear, her hand high on my thigh now.
"That's enough Barbie. And I don't want to forget her." I was starting to get irritated and pissed. I tried, unsuccessfully a few more times to disengage from her grasp. She stuck to me like superglue. I was fighting the urge to yell at her to leave me alone.
"I could be better for you than she ever was." Her hand made the dive to the inside of my upper thigh. "She was stupid for leaving you. I'll be good for you, Cody. She didn't deserve you or your love." That was it. I snapped. I shoved her back away from me and stood up.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Can't you take no for an answer?"
"But Cody..."
"Shut up! Just shut up! Don't you ever compare your ass to her. Emery is a better person than you'll ever be. She deserves everything." I got in her face as she stood up. "Emery will never be the whore you are. Stay the fuck away from me." The look on my face must have scared her. Barbie backed away quickly and ran back inside. The moment the door slammed shut behind her, I knew I screwed up.
I just told the WWE gossip about me and Emery. So not only was she probably on her way to tell Stephanie what I just did to her but I was pretty sure that every person backstage at RAW tonight was going to know that Emery was my girlfriend and that we weren't together anymore. I was more worried about the fact that people were going to know my business than the fact that I was actually getting in trouble for this.
Yeah, this was 'Strike One'.
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