Part XII: Blind Date
AJ finished out the week and was exhausted by the time Raw rolled around. Thankfully she was given the rest of the week off to make up for all the extra shows she picked up in the Total Divas' absence. She was happy to be working with him again and enjoyed their work together during the pay-per-view last night. Putting them back together onscreen after all those years was still a huge success. She was also looking forward to the game on Thursday and seeing Celeste on Wednesday. Of course she still had to figure out what she was doing with that.
"Hey" Punk said pulling her from her thoughts while sitting in catering
"Hey, want to join me?" she offered nodding towards the empty chair
"You kind of ran out last night after the show, everything ok?" Punk questioned
"Yea I was really tired" AJ said avoiding his eyes
"Please don't lie to me" Punk said lightly "You know you're going to tell me at some point"
"It's nothing really it's just that Celeste and PJ are coming to Chicago on Wednesday and we have plans" she told him
"Oh you haven't told her that we're on speaking terms again?" Punk questioned
"No" AJ said to him "I'm afraid for your safety actually" she teased
"Me too. I'm more afraid of her than her husband" Punk admitted "She's your friend she'll understand"
"It's not that" AJ said to him "A few weeks ago I agreed to go out to dinner with them and a friend"
"Sounds nice" Punk shrugged not picking up on the fact that their friend was a male who lived in Chicago "Again what's the problem?"
"It's a guy" AJ said and he slowly nodded "Who lives in Chicago… but I'll cancel on them"
"Don't cancel go see your friends" Punk encouraged
"And go on the blind date?" AJ asked
"Sure" Punk shrugged. AJ was surprised by his reaction "Where are you guys going anyway?"
"That steakhouse we used to go to a lot" AJ told him and just nodded "You really don't care?"
"We're not even dating" Punk said calmly "Go and have fun"
"But what about the hockey again?" AJ asked
"You want to bring him to the hockey game?" Punk laughed
"No. Do you still want me to go with you?" she asked hopefully
"Of course" Punk said seriously "I'm really looking forward to it"
"And you don't want me to cancel my plans on Wednesday?" AJ questioned as Kofi joined the two at the table
"AJ go on your little double date" Punk laughed "Seriously I'm not worried"
"Ok" AJ said feeling slightly uneasy. Why didn't he care? She asked herself while Kofi looked confused
"Do you want to ride back with me tonight?" Punk questioned
"No I've got my car tonight" AJ told him "But thanks" she said standing up "I'll see you before we go out later" and quickly walked away
"Dude what the hell was that?" Kofi asked
"What?" Punk asked confused
"You're telling her to go out on a date with another guy?" Kofi questioned "I thought you were trying to win her back"
"And that's exactly what I'm doing" Punk responded confidently "I know AJ better than anyone does"
"She clearly wanted you to tell her no" Kofi said to him
"She did just so she could say 'you don't tell me what to do, we're not together'" Punk told him "She'd go anyway" he shrugged "Because she's right. We're not officially back together and I can't tell her what to do I learned that long before we started dating the first time"
"I think she's hurt" Kofi said "She rushed right out of here"
"She's wondering if my feelings have changed" Punk said to him "They haven't"
"So you're seriously cool about this blind date?" Kofi asked
"Of course not" Punk snorted "It won't work out"
"How could you be so sure?" Kofi challenged "What if this guy sweeps her off her feet?"
"How will he be able to do that if I'm there?" Punk asked seriously
"You weren't invited" Kofi laughed
"Celeste loves me she'd be thrilled to have me join them" Punk mocked "And I don't have to be invited to a public restaurant that I regularly eat at"
"Don't" Kofi said seriously "Do not show up there. If you're not comfortable with her going just tell her clearly that's what she wants anyway"
"I'm in the process of winning her back" Punk reminded him "I can't just throw her over my shoulder and lock her away, that comes after I get the ring back on her finger. Trust me Kofi I know what I'm doing trust me"
"I don't know if it's incredibly romantic what you're doing or a suicide mission because Celeste will be there" Kofi remarked
"It will be dangerous" Punk agreed "She's not thrilled with me at the moment but I'll win her back too" he said to him as Kofi just laughed
"There is such a thing as being too full of yourself" Kofi said still laughing
"I'm confident" Punk said to him seriously "That's something that AJ loves about me so I'll just use it to my advantage"
"Oh by the way I heard Paul will be back next Monday" Kofi informed him as Punk's eyes lit up "You can have your little chat with him finally"
"Good" Punk "I was starting to grow impatient and was just going to beat it out of Hayes but I can hold out another week"
"What is his deal anyway?" Kofi questioned "Why is he giving AJ such a hard time?"
"That dates back from when AJ first started at the company" Punk told him "You know Hayes is a party animal and he loves himself some Divas" Punk smirked "AJ went out with him and a few of the girls to try to fit in he was drunk the entire night he made a pass at AJ and she shot him down" he said to Kofi who laughed
"How do you know this?" Kofi questioned
"I was friends with AJ during her NXT time" Punk reminded him "I'm sure it didn't help much that right after she told me I mocked him endlessly about getting shot down"
"You're such a jerk" Kofi said to him
"Come on it was a great story" Punk laughed "If she had told you the story you would have done the same thing"
"That's probably why he hates her so much because she told you the story" Kofi pointed out and Punk just shrugged
"I'm sure she's really broken up over it" Punk mocked
Wednesday night rolled around and AJ was thinking of just bailing on her date plans but she didn't want to disappoint Celeste and she really never got a chance to see her much so she sucked it up and headed to the restaurant. She was running late so they were all already seated.
"AJ you're here!" Celeste said happily standing up and giving her good friend a hug
"Hey PJ" AJ said giving him a hug as well
"AJ this is my friend Bret" PJ said introducing AJ to the man they had invited to be her date. Bret wasn't ugly but not even close to AJ's type. He was built just like PJ, no facial hair and not a single tattoo.
"Hi it's nice to meet you" Bret said shaking her hand as AJ took a seat next to him
"You too" AJ said politely
"We were just talking about how you were mugged" Celeste told her "Have you heard anything from the cops?"
"No" AJ said shaking her head "But I'm not really expecting them to find him or my stuff"
"Are you back home now?" PJ questioned
"Yea I had the locks changed I've been back since last night" AJ said to them
"That's crazy" Bret said to her "There's no security measure for the female talent who travel alone?"
"I don't usually travel alone" AJ said to him "It was a fluke to be honest with you"
"AJ did you know that Bret was on the cover of muscle and fitness?" Celeste questioned
"No that's great" AJ said with a forced smile, this was not her thing at all…
"Yea and he-" Celeste stopped mid-sentence and frowned
"What?" PJ questioned
"Nothing" Celeste said still glaring towards the entrance and watched as CM Punk himself entered the restaurant
"What are you looking at?" AJ questioned looking behind her and that's when she saw Punk talking to the hostess. He saw AJ and gave her a wave and headed towards the table
"What the hell is he doing?" Celeste muttered towards PJ
"Who is that?" Bret questioned
"Hey everyone" Punk said with a smile
"Punk what are you doing?" AJ asked surprised
"Yea what in gods name are you doing here?" Celeste questioned in a more demanding voice
"AJ invited me" Punk told them as the hostess bought over another chair
"You invited him?" Celeste hissed at AJ
"Of course not" AJ laughed nervously.
"Hey PJ" Punk said shaking the man's hand who was clearly amused by all of this "And you are?" Punk asked AJ's date
"Bret" he said reaching over AJ and extending his hand to Punk. AJ was literally in between both of them
"I don't understand what's going on" Celeste said with an annoyed laugh "AJ?"
"I obviously didn't invite him" AJ said in a low voice to Celeste
"I didn't catch your name" Bret said to Punk
"Oh you can call me Punk" Punk told him coolly
"Oh that's right you work with AJ" Bret said with a smirk
"I'm also marrying her" Punk informed him causing AJ to almost spit out the water she was sipping
"You're engaged?" Bret asked AJ
"No they're not" Celeste said to him quickly "Formally engaged. And don't worry when Punk gets bored here he'll just leave, it's actually his specialty" she said shooting Punk a nasty grin
"Maybe I should go" Bret said standing up
"No" Celeste said quickly "He'll be leaving"
"I got you something" Punk said to AJ ignoring everyone at the table
"Punk what are you doing?" AJ whispered
"I'm bringing you your gift" he said pulling a long velvet box out of his pocket and handing it to her
"Are we being filmed?" PJ asked Celeste "Is AJ on that reality show now?"
"Oh Punk" AJ said as she opened the box "It's my necklace"
"I told you I'd replace it" Punk said with a smile
"What is it?" Celeste asked
"The guy who robbed me stole my necklace too and Punk replaced it" AJ said admiring the necklace
"That's smooth" PJ noted giving Punk a solid head nod
"AJ you told me you were on speaking on terms with him" Celeste said gritting her teeth "Not that you two were back together"
"We're not" AJ said to her
"We're taking it slow" Punk informed Celeste
"What are you doing?" Celeste asked AJ "Is this a joke?"
"I really think I should go" Bret said standing up "It was nice meeting the both of you, good luck with your marriage"
"Thanks Burt" Punk smiled
"It's Bret" Bret said with a laugh
"I'll walk you out" PJ offered
"And we're not engaged" AJ added as they walked out together
"We will be" Punk said seriously "Did you guys order yet?" he questioned picking up a menu
"What the hell is this?" Celeste questioned
"There's a lot that has happened" AJ said to her "It's a long story but we worked a lot of stuff out"
"I don't get you AJ" Celeste said to her "You said this wouldn't happen"
"You don't have to scold her like she's your child" Punk said calmly "She's an adult and there's a lot you don't know"
"Well there's a lot you don't either" Celeste shot at him "Like how I had to fly out right after my wedding to take care of her. Did you know she was so depressed she became physically ill? She didn't sleep or eat"
"I know it was rough on her" Punk said softly
"No you don't know because you weren't there I was" Celeste said cruelly "I don't care what your intentions were and I know AJ has mentioned something about looking out for her job but it doesn't change the damage you inflicted on her. And now that she's finally happy and moving on you show up again. Do you just like to torture her? Are you really that sadistic?"
"He's not sadistic" AJ defended "He's been great and he's the one who took care of me after my mugging"
"Oh well let's just give him a gold star" Celeste mocked "Who's going to take care of you after he disappoints you yet again?" she questioned standing up "Because it won't be me. I can't watch you like that again and I won't watch you repeat this vicious cycle" she said standing up
"Where are you going?" AJ asked
"Back to the hotel" she said grabbing her jacket and purse. AJ wanted to stop her but Celeste was fast and already almost out the door but Punk caught up to her
"Look I know you want to beat me up and defend your friend and I get it" Punk said to Celeste who just looked more and more annoyed by Punk
"Please stay for dinner both you and PJ and I will explain some of this to you" Punk said to her "If AJ was willing to listen me you should too"
"What do you even care what I think?" Celeste asked
"You're AJ's best friend and you matter to her" Punk said coolly "I don't want any tension between the two of you over me and I really am trying to make things right with her and I can't do that if you're not supportive"
"Who says I'm going supportive after your little story?" Celeste questioned
"I know I messed up and I know she was in bad shape and I know you hate me because of it but you love AJ and so do I so let's put everything aside for a few hours and work this out" Punk said to her "Just dinner- on me" Celeste was giving it some thought and glanced back at AJ who looked like a sad puppy sitting alone and let out a sigh
"Fine but I'm ordering the most expensive thing on the menu" Celeste warned
"Fine" Punk said relieved
"And you owe my friend Bret an apology" Celeste warned
"Yea I owe a lot of people an apology Burt's a little low on my priority list" Punk mocked as they headed back to the table.
An hour into dinner things were going pretty smoothly even though Celeste was still annoyed by Punk just joining them without an invitation.
"And you haven't spoken to Paul?" Celeste questioned. Punk had filled her in on everything that went down
"No he's been avoiding me but I've been informed he'll be back on Monday" Punk said to her
"Well I'm not surprised by Michael Hayes" Celeste muttered "He screamed at me at a show and I had to beg PJ not to kill him"
"He's an ass" PJ said seriously
"He thinks I'm trying to sell sex" AJ informed Celeste who let out a laugh
"You are the least sexiest person on the planet" Celeste laughed "No offense but it's true"
"I know!" AJ said "He started talking about the way girls would get ahead during the Attitude Era and implied that's what I should be doing or I am doing I'm not even sure"
"And how did the Diva's back then get ahead?" Punk asked her, she almost forgot he was sitting there
"Oh you know" AJ said nervously sipping on her water
"No I don't that's why I asked" Punk clarified with a smile
"Sucking up" AJ said to him and he just nodded
"Right" Punk smirked taking a sip of his own drink "What else did he say to you in this meeting?"
"That was pretty much it" AJ promised "Oh since he's spent more time working with me he completely understands why you left me before our wedding"
"What a piece of crap" PJ muttered "You left at the right time" he said to Celeste "And you should really start looking into other options" he suggest to AJ "You're very talented you can do anything"
"I don't think there's professional gamers" AJ said giving it some thought
"There are a lot of other things you can do" PJ said seriously "You can even come and work for Celeste"
"I'm not a body builder" AJ said eyeing Celeste's muscles
"We can use you in before and after photos, you can be the before photo" Celeste teased
"He's right" Punk said to her "Are you considering re-signing?"
"I really don't know" AJ admitted "I haven't given it much thought"
"What are they really doing for you there now anyway?" Celeste asked "Leave go have a life for a change!"
"I loved it" Punk smirked "But of course you were with me during that time"
"I have a feeling you'd be with her if she took the time off" Celeste said to him
"I would" Punk agreed "If she'd have me" he said glancing over to AJ who felt herself blushing. Just the way he looked at her made her melt "But of course my contract is up next year the same time as AJ's"
"Funny how that worked out" Celeste noted "So AJ told me you both are attending a game tomorrow" she said to Punk
"Yea just like old times" Punk smirked looking over to AJ "But I was wondering if you'd come run some errands with me first" he said to AJ
"Like what?" she asked
"I'm going to be looking at some new places and I want your opinion on them" Punk told her casually
"You're moving?" AJ asked surprised
"Yea" Punk said nodding
"Wow" Celeste said with a laugh "You aren't holding back, are you?"
"Never do" Punk grinned arrogantly
"You don't have to move" AJ said to him "I told you I can work on it"
"You shouldn't have to" Punk said to her "Besides I want a bigger place"
"You don't even use the space you have now" AJ laughed
"I want a game room" Punk told her "Set up all my systems, a couple of TV's stuff like that" he said with a shrug
"Ok we have to go" Celeste said with a laugh "We have an early flight"
"We didn't even order dessert yet" Punk frowned
"That's the best part" AJ said seriously
"Enjoy your dessert together" Celeste said as PJ helped her put on her jacket "And you take care of her" she warned Punk "One more screw up and I will kill you and no one will ever find your body"
"I believe it" Punk laughed. Celeste and PJ said their good-byes and left leaving Punk and AJ alone.
"I can't believe you showed up here" AJ said with a smile "How ballsy are you to intrude on my date?"
"Very" Punk agreed "You didn't think I'd actually sit back and date some tool bag did you?"
"How do you know he was a tool bag?" AJ asked seriously "He seemed nice"
"He's not your type" Punk said to her "Besides I didn't really plan this"
"Liar" AJ snorted
"It's the truth, I went to pick up your necklace and I was passing by here and remembered you told me you'd be having dinner here so I thought I drop your gift" Punk said simply
"I love the necklace" AJ said happily looking at the box
"Really? Well why aren't you wearing it?" Punk questioned
"Honestly? I'm kind of afraid of someone stealing it again" AJ said shyly causing him to frown
"No one is going to steal that off of you while I'm around" Punk promised
"Put it on for me?" AJ asked taking the necklace out of the box and handing it to him. She turned slightly so her back was facing him and moved her hair to the side so he could clasp it closed. He placed a light kiss on the nape of her neck before she turned around and smiled at him "Thank you for trying with Celeste" she said "I know she didn't make it easy"
"Anything for you" Punk said to her simply "If biting my tongue with her helps me get back in your good graces I can do it. How am I doing by the way?"
"Pretty good" AJ admitted "I'm actually starting to feel spoiled"
"Good" Punk grinned
"I might even let you walk me to my car after dessert" AJ teased
"How about we skip dessert here" Punk suggested
"That's not happening but good try" AJ smirked
The next day AJ went with Punk to look at a potential new home. She was surprised by the place he picked when he pulled up in front of the house…that's right house. Not a townhouse, but a large house with a front and backyard.
"Wow" she said getting out of the car as they stepped onto the property "It's so beautiful. Doesn't seem like your taste though"
"I wanted my new place to be more of a home my current place is more like a-"
"Bachelor pad?" AJ questioned finishing his thought
"Exactly" Punk said to her "This is a home where I can have a family"
"Really" AJ said trying to hide her smile
"Yea I mean look at this huge front yard that's what families have right?" he smirked "And the back has a pool and a pool house"
"It is nice" AJ agreed as they met the realtor at the door
"I'm glad you're giving this place a second look" the realtor said to Punk. "Take as much time as you need. If you have any questions I'll be right out here"
"Great thanks" Punk smiled opening the door for AJ to enter first
"I thought this was the first time you were looking at this place" AJ said confused
"I looked at it last week" Punk shrugged "I just need a second opinion"
"Punk" AJ said knowing what he was doing
"Just take a look around with me" Punk said grabbing her hand and leading her up the large staircase "There's four bedrooms here and one of them is going to be the game room"
"The game room does sound appealing" AJ smirked
"Wait until you see the master bedroom" Punk said opening the door. The room was huge and had floor to ceiling windows
"It's so beautiful" AJ noted in awe
"Yea it is" Punk agreed
"It's so peaceful too" AJ said to him "You can see the entire city from here I hate to even say it's better than the view you have from your room now"
"Yea I thought so" Punk said coming up behind her looking at the window as well
"This place is great" AJ said to him happily "I think you'd love it here"
"Do you think you'd love it here?" Punk questioned
"Punk you can't buy a home in hopes that I'll move into with you" AJ said to him "It's not fair to me"
"It's no pressure" Punk assured her "But this will be your home at some point I'm sure of that and I want to make sure you like it"
"How can you be so sure?" AJ asked tilting her head "How do you know that tomorrow something else won't happen and we'll be right back where we started"
"I won't let anything happen" Punk said to her "I'm not asking you to move in with me when I do but I know that this going to be the home we grow old in together and I want to make sure you're ok with it"
"I really like this place" AJ assured him "But you don't have to buy it because I like it"
"I like it too" Punk told her
"If and a big if we work all of this out and I happen to live here at some point with you is there enough closet space for my shoes?" she asked seriously
"There's a huge walk in closet and you can put all your shoes in there" Punk assured her "Or we can convert one of the spare bedrooms into a shoe room for you" he teased "But when we have kids it will have to become their room"
"Kids?" AJ asked stunned "You've really thought of everything"
"I told you I'm not making the same mistakes twice. Looking for a better place was something I should have done it when we first got engaged" Punk said to her "You uprooted and moved into my place and you never considered it yours. It wasn't fair to you"
"I liked it there" AJ assured him
"But you didn't love it" Punk pointed out "You think you could love this place?"
"One day maybe" AJ smirked "But let's get through this hockey game first"
"Ok" Punk said smiling at her Blackhawks t-shirt she was sporting "If it gets hot in there you can tie your jacket around your waist"
"I've told you a hundred times I'm not covering my butt" AJ said as they headed down the stairs together "One guy looks at my butt and now you want to keep it covered forever"
"Just at the games" Punk corrected "You saw that photo from last season"
"You scared the guy off" AJ reminded him "I'm not covering my butt it's the one part of me I really like"
"I really like it too" Punk said seriously as he stopped walking to stare at it
"Don't be a pig" AJ warned opening the front door
"I'm not the pig it's the drunk hockey fans that are pigs" Punk said sternly as they headed to his car. He was going to enjoy these next few days and really try to pull out all the stops because with Paul returning on Monday he knew there would be some issues.