Just for being so great with your reviews so far, I'm giving you another update tonight. I really hope you like it. Read, Enjoy, & Review!

Chapter 12...

"So why exactly isn't this guy here?" Cory asked, sitting in the kitchen of James' very nice townhouse, eating banana chips she found in the pantry.

"He had to work later than he expected so he told me to just let myself in," Jessica explained. "He's bringing food with him."

"He better bring something good," Cory rested her chin on her hand. "So what does he do?"

"He's a financial consultant," Jessica explained.

"That sounds exciting," Cory rolled her eyes, eating another chip. Jessica was too busy looking for something in the refrigerator to see the gesture.

"So, what was it like hanging out with John?" Jessica asked, getting out two bottles of water.

"I wouldn't call it hanging out," Cory shrugged, as her sister opened one of the bottles and handed it to her. "We were just sitting around talking. But it was..not too bad."

"Not too bad?" Jessica smirked.

"Don't get all excited, we didn't kill each other, it doesn't mean we're in love," Cory said.

"But it means you're a step closer," Jessica smirked.

Cory shook her head, "You need help."

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"Who shows up late to their own dinner party?" John asked, looking at the items on the mantel in James' living room.

Hunter shrugged, "Got me. Jess says he got tied up at work."

"Well he better be bringing some steaks with him," John said. "We haven't eaten all day."

"What did you guys do while you were at your apartment?" Hunter asked.

"We just talked," John shrugged. He laughed a little, "She told me about this one guy she dated that used to try to bring his mother out with them."

"Nice," Hunter laughed. "So you guys didn't fight?"

"Nope," John shook his head. "I was surprised, it was actually kinda ni..not horrible."

"You were about to say nice," Hunter accused.

"No I wasn't," John insisted. "Why would I say that?"

"I don't know, you tell me," Hunter smirked.

John sat down on the couch, "I don't know what you're talking about."

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"I'm surprised she came," Matt said, looking over at Viveca who was talking and laughing with Norah and her mother.

"Me too," Jeff said. "But I'm glad she did."

"Believe it or not," Matt smirked. "I think she is too. You might actually have a shot little brother."

"I don't wanna get too far ahead of myself," Jeff smiled. "Adam said I should just relax."

"I've been telling you that forever," Matt said. "But Adam says it and you listen?"

Jeff laughed, "Sorry."

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"I'm so glad we could finally meet you," Norah smiled. "We've heard a lot about you."

"You have?" Viveca asked, surprised.

"Oh yeah," Norah's mother, Lucy, nodded. "And of course we always watch the boys on TV so we've seen you a lot."

"Well I hope you're fans," Viveca smiled.

"Of course we are," Lucy insisted. "Any friend of Matt and Jeff's is alright in my eyes. Especially a pretty, single one."

Viveca felt herself blushing a little, "You know, Jeff has quite a crush on you."

"Momma, I don't think Jeff would want you telling her that?" Norah said.

"Oh I'm sure she already knows," Lucy laughed. "Jeff's not very good at hiding things."

"I had a feeling," Viveca shrugged.

"How do you feel about him?" Norah asked. "And don't worry, we wont tell him what you say."

Viveca laughed, "You know, honestly..I'm not sure."

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"I say five more minutes and we go get McDonald's," Cory whispered to John as they sat on the couch. Hunter was sitting on the loveseat and Jessica was standing near the fireplace, looking at her watch.

"I'm in," John responded. "I saw one on the way here."

"What are you two whispering about?" Hunter asked.

"Nothing," they both answered quickly.

"I'm sure he'll be here any minute," Jessica assured everyone.

"Have you noticed that like everything in here is white?" Cory whispered to John.

John nodded, "It's a little weird. And there's no TV in here."

They heard a key in the lock and Cory was momentarily disappointed that she wouldn't be getting McDonald's fries. They all stood up as the man of the hour rushed into the apartment with two bags full of takeout. Cory looked him up and down as he apologized to Jessica for being late. He was probably about 6' give or take an inch, kind of pale with brown hair and brown eyes. He wasn't bad looking, he was just kind of..average.

"James," Jessica smiled as everyone stood up. "I'd like you to meet my sister Cory, John Cena, and Hunter Levesque."

"Nice to meet you all," James said, shaking hands with everyone while Jessica took the food into the kitchen.

"Weak handshake," John whispered in Cory's ear, putting his arm around her shoulders. She nodded in agreement.

"Are you two...?" James gestured back and forth between John and Cory.

"They're quite the happy couple," Hunter confirmed.

"Yup," Cory put an arm around John's waist. "Couldn't be happier."

1/2 Hour Later...

"So, how long have you guys been dating?" John asked as everyone ate their dinner, everyone except Cory, who was pushing her food around on her plate and eyeing it suspiciously.

"About three months," James answered, drinking from his wine glass.

"Really?" John asked. "And we didn't hear about you until just now?"

"Don't you find that a bit odd James?" Cory asked.

He looked like he wasn't sure how to answer the question.

Jessica gave Cory a look, "I was just waiting for the right time to tell you all."

"Interesting," Cory said, picking up some food with her fork and then deciding against it, setting the fork back down.

"How did you meet?" Hunter asked.

"Well, this is a pretty funny story," James leaned forward, showing the most enthusiasm he had all night. "I was going to a Dudley Boyz signing with my nephew and I didn't even know Jessica was gonna be there..."

"This ought to be good," Cory whispered.

John laughed a little, then took a drink to hide it.

"So I asked her to sign a picture for me after I introduced myself and...get this..."

"Here it comes," Cory whispered.

John choked on his wine and Cory patted his back, trying to look loving instead of amused.

"She signed Jimmy instead of James," James laughed, looking around the table expectantly. Cory downed some more wine in lieu of a fake laugh. John's expression didn't change at all and Hunter just looked confused.

"It's probably funnier if you were there," Jessica suggested.

"No, I really doubt that," John whispered to Cory and this time she laughed, causing her wine to go down the wrong way. He patted her back, rubbing it gently, "You okay baby?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm good."

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"That's the last of them," Jeff laughed, waving out the door as Matt backed out of the driveway.

"That was so much fun," Viveca smiled. "Your family is great."

"Yes they are," he nodded. "You and Norah seemed to hit it off."

"I love Norah," Viveca smiled. "I cant believe someone that cool is related to you."

"Do you wanna get tossed in the pool again?" he threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," she glared.

"You're right," he said, closing and locking the door. "But only because I'm too tired and full."

"I'm with you," she said. "I cant remember the last time I ate that much."

"I think my aunts are on some sort of mission to put some weight on you," Jeff laughed.

"I think I look healthy," she put her hands on her hips.

"You look great," he smiled at her as they walked into the living room. "They just have a tendency to over-nurture everyone. They think I need to gain weight."

She laughed, "Well, you could use a little."

"Oh thanks," he said, picking up a t-shirt from the back of the couch and putting it on.

"I'm kidding," she laughed.

"Sure, sure," he smirked, walking into the kitchen. She followed and they ended up out on the patio again. It was dark and the air had cooled significantly. He laid on one of the lounge chairs by the pool and she got on another.

"So," he sighed. "I realized earlier today, I've never heard you talk about your family."

Viveca sighed, looking up at the sky, "I don't really like to."

She could feel him looking at her as he asked, "Why not?"

"It's a long story," she sighed. "I don't wanna go into it."

"Well, if you ever do wanna talk about it," he said. "I'm here to listen."

She looked over at him and felt a smile touch her lips, "Thanks."

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John thought he was going to fall asleep on Cory's shoulder as James talked. He truly had to be the most uninteresting man in the world yet somehow, he seemed to think he was hilarious. What was Jessica doing with someone like him?

Cory was looking down at her nails. He'd noticed her yawning several times. Even Jessica looked bored.

"You know James, I bet you have to get up really early tomorrow, don't you?" he asked.

"5 or 5:30," James nodded.

"We do too honey," Cory said. "We have uh..that thing."

"Right," John nodded. "We have to be there at 7."

"It is getting pretty late," Hunter looked at his watch. "As fun as this has been, it might be time to call it a night."

"You guys whimping out on me already?" James asked.

John stood up, taking Cory's hand and helping her up, "Yeah, this one needs to get to bed. I don't want her to be cranky in the morning."

"It's true, I'll snap at him," Cory laughed, picking up her purse. "Nice meeting you Joe."

"James," he corrected.

"Right," she pointed. "Sorry."

"See you tomorrow Jessie," Cory hugged her sister.

"Thanks for coming guys," Jessica hugged John, then Hunter.

"It was great meeting all of you," James said as they walked toward the door. "We gotta do this again soon."

"Yeah, definitely," John lied, opening the door. "See you guys later."

They walked down the stairs and towards John's car.

"God that was like torture," Cory said once the door closed behind them.

"What is Jessie thinking?" John asked.

"God only knows," Cory shook her head. "Can we go to McDonald's? I didn't eat anything."

"Yeah, no problem," John said, as they reached the car. He opened the door for her and just as he did it, he realized they were still holding hands. He let go quickly and her hand hit the car door.

"Ouch!" she stared at him.

He winced, "Sorry."

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"So you know where everything is, right?" Jeff asked.

Viveca nodded, "I think so."

Jeff had walked her upstairs and was helping her get settled in the guest room.

"I'll scream if I need you," she smirked.

"See you in the morning," Jeff gave her a wave before turning to walk out of the room. Viveca unzipped her suitcase to find some pajamas when she saw something large and furry dart across the floor. She nervously looked around, praying she was seeing things. She had seen Jeff's animals and that definitely wasn't one of them. Then she saw it again, more clearly this time. She screamed, jumping up onto the bed.

"Jeff!" she yelled.

Jeff was at the doorway in seconds looking concerned, "What? What's wrong?"

"There's something in here!" she pointed, her arm shaking. "I don't know what it is but there's an animal in here!"

"What?" he came into the room, looking around. "The dogs don't usually come in here."

"That was no dog," Viveca shook her head.

"Well what is it?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, her voice much higher than usual.

"Well I can't do anything if-"

Viveca saw it again and screamed, pointing, "There it is, there it is, there it is."

"Where?" Jeff said, still confused. "How would it get in here?"

"How the hell should I know? I don't live here!" she squeaked.

Jeff sighed, getting down on his knees and looking under the bed.

"Be careful!" she said.

After a few seconds, he got up, "I don't see anything."

Then Jeff jumped, "Shit!"

They both looked into the corner of the room and Viveca screamed when she saw a raccoon.

Jeff slowly walked toward the animal, speaking softly, "It's okay buddy..I'm not gonna hurt you..We just wanna help."

He reached for it and the animal came at him, it's teeth latching to Jeff's pant leg.

"Oh my God!" Viveca shrieked as Jeff tried to shake it off. "Let him go!"

Not knowing what to do, Viveca grabbed a book from the nightstand next to the bed and launched it. Unfortunately, she had bad aim and hit Jeff in the thigh.

"Ouch!" he yelled, staring at her for a second before concentrating again on trying to get his pant leg away from the raccoon. Frantic, Viveca grabbed a bottle of lotion out of her bag and threw it. Once again, she hit Jeff.

"Will you stop throwing things at me?!" Jeff yelled.

"I'm not throwing them at you, I'm throwing them at the raccoon!" she defended herself. She got another bottle, this time of perfume.

"Viveca!" he yelled. "Put it down!"

"Okay, okay," she dropped it onto the bed. "What should I do?"

"Just stay up there," Jeff said, his voice a little shaky. "I can handle this."

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"There better not be any suspicious stains on this bed," Cory said as John helped her fold down the covers.

"Oh shut up," he said, tossing the t-shirt she had laying on the bed at her. She caught it and gave him a triumphant look. She was almost ready for bed wearing only a very short pair of red shorts and a black tank top. She was biting down on her toothbrush as she took her hair out of it's ponytail and ran her hands through it. He couldn't help but notice how good her body looked. It was the closest thing to perfect he'd probably ever seen. He couldn't believe he was thinking it but he was. She crawled onto the bed, making sure the fitted sheet was snugly on the mattress and John found himself staring at her ass. He tore his eyes away, rubbing a hand over his face.

What the hell is wrong with me?

She got off of the bed, walking into the bathroom.

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Cory finished brushing her teeth and then washed her face. Once that was done, she started brushing her hair as she did every night.

"We did pretty good fooling James tonight," she heard John talking in the bedroom.

"Yeah we did," she agreed. "Although, for a financial consultant, he didn't seem like the brightest bulb."

John laughed, "You're right. But I think Jessica was right, the more we work on this, the better we are."

She put her brush away and opened the door, "Yeah my sister has a way of being right about thi..."

She trailed off as she stepped into the room and saw John taking off his shirt. He had his back to her and his muscles flexed as he pulled the shirt off over his head. She involuntarily bit her bottom lip as she watched him. He could be annoying as all hell but he she couldn't deny that he was all man. Tall, handsome, built man. She shook her head, realizing the thoughts she was having.

"What is wrong with you?" she whispered to herself.

"What?" John turned around and Cory found herself without words.

"Huh?" was all she could muster.

"Nevermind," he laughed.

Cory regained her composure, "Um..I was just saying that Jessie is usually right...just don't tell her I said that."

"I'll try not to," John laughed. "So..is there anything else you can think of that we need to do?"

Cory tapped her finger against her chin, trying to think of something. They were both quiet for a little while.

"If I suggest something," John spoke up. "Will you promise not to get mad or think that I want it and that it's not just for the sake of our act?"

"Depends on what it is," she arched a brow at him.

"Well, at some point you and I are gonna have to...we're gonna need to um..kiss each other," he said, running a hand over his hair, not meeting her eyes.

"Try to what each other?" she stared.

"Nevermind," he shook his head, turning to walk out, obviously embarrassed.

"No, wait," Cory felt a little guilty. "You're right...we should at least try...as long as you know that this is in no way for pleasure."

"Obviously," he laughed. "It's the last thing either of us wants to do."

"Right," she nodded as he stepped closer to her.

She moved forward until they were merely inches apart. She looked up at him but neither of them moved.

"Well...do it," she said.

"Do it?" he repeated. "It's not like I'm punching you in the face Cory. You kind of have to put forth some effort here."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine."

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John slowly leaned down, knowing he wasn't going to enjoy this. He pressed his lips against hers quickly and then they both jumped away.

"Why'd you jump?" he asked.

"You did it too," she pointed.

He sighed, wondering how long this was going to take. They stepped together again, "Okay, let's try this one more time.."

Cory squared her shoulders as if she was going into battle as he leaned down. Their lips touched and John's brain told him to pull away. He started to but then something about the softness of her lips called him back. He kissed her again, quickly. This time, he pulled away and looked into her eyes. To his surprise, she moved forward and their lips met again. John wasn't sure what was happening but his body reacted before his mind had time to figure it out. He deepened the kiss, running a hand through her hair. Her hands were on his chest and her lips parted. Their tongues touched for a second before they both pulled away, staring at each other.

"Oh my God," she put a hand over her mouth.

"I'm gonna...I...I'm going to bed," John turned quickly, leaving the room, She closed the door behind him and he saw the light go out. This certainly wasn't how he expected the night to end.
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