A/N: Such a delay, I know, I'm sorry! With the holidays finally ending, my husband's birthday, grocery shopping, an issue with one of the dogs, and actually rewriting what happens next in this story, I was just wrapped up in things I didn't realize it had been a couple of weeks already. Thanks to LivHardy and to msgemgem for their reviews. msgemgem, she won't be a staple in this story. Just an appearance here or there from what I'm working out in my mind. I'm not particularly crazy for her either - sorry to all the JoJo fans. Thank you to all the readers for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy this one!
Rita woke up, feeling a warm arm wrapped around her waist. Oddly enough, it didn't belong to who she thought it did. The memories flooded back to her. This morning... picking Jon up late last night... Seeing that Randy had so quickly moved on from her... It hurt her, even now. She hadn't wanted things with Randy to end like that, and she still hadn't talked to him about it. She ignored him, wanting him to soak in everything that he had brought to himself.
He was at fault for this. For their relationship... for their friendship falling apart. Randy should have known better than to try to make something out of nothing. Benefits should have been all they ever had with each other. And now, the anger surged through her as she thought about him even asking her to be his... Why ask if he wasn't going to remain faithful to her? Stupid ideas... Stupid thoughts. They should have just stayed as ideas in her mind. She'd be better off right now.
Rita looked over to her left, the sandy blond-haired man laying next to her... She felt herself heat up at the mere thought of him touching her, caressing her body. What was even better was the fact that Jon had made it known to her from the very start how he wanted things to be. Jon wanted her all to himself. He wasn't going to be satisfied with her or himself if he couldn't have her completely. Jon wasn't going to think it was okay for either one of them to continue sleeping around.
No, sharing themselves with other people wouldn't be decent. It amazed her how she had known Jon but a fraction of the time she knew Randy, yet in that shorter amount of time, Jon had made it more clear to her where they stood. If she didn't realize it this morning, she totally understood it now... Randy had lost her. There was no getting her back.
Carefully, she pushed his arm away from her, slowly standing up. Or trying to anyway. Her legs wobbled beneath her, the slight ache between them making itself known as she made her way into the master bathroom. She turned on the shower, welcoming the warm stream of water to soothe her tense muscles. Either Jon had worked her better than she thought, or thinking of the entire messed up situation with Randy just tired her out.
"""""
"Rita?" Jon mumbled out, his arm swiping over the empty spot next to him. His head popped up from the pillow beneath it, and he glanced around the room, not seeing a trace of her. Beyond her empty place in bed, he saw that their clothes were still strewn over the carpet. He thought it was odd she didn't pick them up, seeing to how immaculate the rest of her house was. The foggy thoughts of Rita squeezing herself around him finally cleared from his mind, and he was able to hear the shower running.
He stood from the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and made his way over towards the open bathroom door. There, he saw her shapely figure through the wavy plexiglass shower. Her elbows were raised above her head, shampooing her hair. He stood there leaning against the door frame, watching as she rinsed the suds from her hair. When he saw her slide open the shower door a bit and her hand reach out for the washcloth placed on the ledge of the tub next to the shower, he stepped up, grabbing for her..
"Fuck it, Jon!" she shouted out at the feel of his hand on hers. She snatched up the beige cloth, hastily pulling her arm back into the shower.
"That was the gist of it this morning, yeah," he grinned, amused at her reaction.
"Oh shut up," she quickly said. "Don't scare me like that."
Jon didn't know why, but he felt good when she didn't immediately shut the shower door on him. Placing his hand on the edge of it, he slid it open more. "Can I join you?"
"If it would make you shut the shower so the cold air doesn't get in, then yes."
Rita watched him carefully as he stepped inside, the warm spray of the shower soaking his hair as he bent down to kiss her. He shut the door, closing them inside a moment of intimacy. Jon's actions sent a chill down her spine, and a throbbing between her thighs that made her once more aware of how sore she was. It had been their first time together, yet he was unrelenting on the amount of effort he put into pleasuring her.
She pulled back from him, looking down, almost ashamed with herself for wanting to deny him.
"Rita," he said softly. "It's okay. I won't do anything that you don't want. That's not how this works."
Not saying anything, a bit confused over his words, she soaped up the washcloth. Her hands were gentle as she ran it over his skin, going across his chest, down his stomach, reaching behind him even as she washed his bottom and back. They were pressed together, water seeping between their bodies, and Jon couldn't have been more relaxed.
His woman washing him. She was caring for him in ways he truly never had before. In ways he believed he wouldn't get from anyone. She reached down to gently scrub his legs, lowering herself next to his most private area. She could have taken him right then, knowing he wouldn't deny her, but she resisted. Resisted from breaking these shower walls riding him against him.
He pulled her up the arm, taking her bottle of body wash and returning her the same kind favor. She wrapped her arms around his neck, throwing her head back as his hands worked lower down her body. Her cheeks flushed as she felt his hand slip between her thighs. But he didn't do anything more than wash her. Biting on her bottom lip, she moaned as he rinsed her free of soap.
"You okay?" Jon quietly asked her as he reached behind her to turn off the water.
She nodded, slowly bringing herself back into reality. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Did I hurt you last night?" When she nodded again, he felt his heart drop into his stomach. But as she spoke again, the happiness in her emerald green eyes said more than she ever could.
"And it felt so good," she told him. Pulling herself away from him, she opened the shower door, stepping out around him. She grabbed a towel from the linen cabinet first for him, and then for herself. He accepted the towel and watched her as she wrapped hers around her body.
Rita left the bathroom, stepping into her bedroom for clothes. He remained in the warm bathroom, drying himself off. Though he was relaxed, a thousand thoughts ran through his mind. He wanted so much from her, but he didn't want to scare her away. He would give her as much time as she needed to adjust to him being in her life. It wasn't easy to let someone in a world that was kept private. Though, he would gladly open up like a book to her. He had nothing to hide from her.
"Do you want me to bring your bags up here?" Rita asked him, breaking him from his thoughts as she leaned in the bathroom doorway.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "They're too heavy for you."
"A few hours in me and you already forget what I do for a living," she mocked with a laugh as she left his sight again.
"Just bring me something to wear!" he called out after her, knowing she was going down to his luggage.
"""""
"You sure you want to leave?"
Jon heard the sadness in her voice as she spoke. They were halfway to the airport now. He figured the faster they got there, the less it would sting when he did leave her home. It felt like he belonged there, and being with Rita was something so thoughtless and natural. Why Orton let her go, he didn't really know, and didn't care. All Jon knew was that he would seize any opportunity to be with her.
"Do I want to, no," he replied, roughly sweeping his hair out of his face.
"We can always turn back," she told him with a sad smile.
"I have things to take care of at my place," he said. "Besides, you should enjoy the rest of your little vacation without someone bothering you."
That made the corners of her mouth drop. "You didn't bother me, Jon," she said, taking a hold of his hand and squeezing it gently. He ran his thumb over the smooth skin of her hand, but he pulled away from her, watching as she placed her hand back onto the steering wheel.
"You should enjoy your time alone," he simply said.
Distancing himself was something he was good at, and right now, he needed to do just that. Sure, he had claimed Rita was his, but he knew it was only a matter of time. A matter of time before Orton put his grip around her again. There was no way he could compete with whatever relationship thing they had for the past few years. He didn't want to compete with Orton trying to buy her out. Now that he had seen her home, Jon knew that Rita wasn't the overly fancy type. She was simple, earthy even.
He noticed her shift uncomfortably in the driver's seat of the Jeep. She had pushed the sunglasses that adorned the top of her head down over her eyes, and she was fidgeting some more as her hands squeezed the steering wheel. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought she wanted to cry. Rita crying over him was not something he wanted to think about. But the small sigh that escaped her lips as she flipped on the blinker for their exit confirmed his thoughts.
When they entered the ring of traffic at the airport, he hoped that she would drive around a few times just to prolong their time together. She didn't, however, slowly approaching an empty spot near the entrance to the terminal. Her hands dropped from the steering wheel, falling into her lap with a sense of retreat.
"Hey." His voice rumbled lowly within the space, the tips of his fingers bringing her chin up. "Don't be sad, sugar. We'll see each other in a week."
Rita's lips pouted. Those lips... They alone made him want to stay. The faster he left her car, the easier it would be. He brought her closer as he leaned in, his lips covering her sweet ones.
"You need help?" she asked when they finally pulled apart. "With your bag."
"No, darling." He exited the car, and after grabbing his luggage, he started walking away, waving at her. A week was all he had to get his head straight about Rita. He couldn't fall for her. She wasn't available. An infatuation is what it was. It was hard to ignore the passion that sparked between them though. How does someone walk away from something that strong? After having her even for just one day, he knew this was going to be harder than he imagined. He could feel it in every single bone... They belonged with each other.
"""""
Returning to work was welcomed. So far, Rita hadn't bumped into Randy, and if she were completely honest with herself, she didn't want to see him. Ever. She just wanted to dive head first back into the grind of things. The chatter of the other girls around her faded from her mind as she changed into her Shield gear. Stephanie had already pulled her aside earlier not five minutes after she entered the building to explain to her what she would be doing. She was more than mentally prepared after hearing that she would kiss Jon again. After spending such an intimate time with him last week, it was the physical aspect of it that she was worried about.
Jon could make her body feel things that she didn't even know were possible. Whatever he had awaken in her, she couldn't contain it around him. She didn't want to make herself look like an idiot in front of the RAW audience tonight. It didn't help that she received a few comments, some a little more catty than others, from a few of the girls tonight. It was almost as if they knew that she and Jon shared a moment together.
She pulled out the nylon vest, then stored her bag away. Heading towards the locker room door as she slid the vest on, she was walking down the corridor as she pulled it tightly over her chest.
"Rita!"
The voice sounded almost hateful as it called out to her. She stopped in her tracks, quickly snapping the plastic buckles together as she slowly turned around to face the man who said her name. He didn't bother saying anything as he roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him. She nearly tripped over her own feet as he all but dragged her down the corridor, only letting her go when they were inside of his dressing room. He let the door slam behind them, and turned fiery blue eyes to her.
"Thank you for being so gentle with me, Randy," she sarcastically remarked as she rubbed her arm where his hand had wrapped around it.
"What the fuck have you been doing?" he asked, ignoring her.
"No, really, I appreciate it."
"I'm not fucking around, Rita!" He stepped closer to her, the anger in his eyes becoming even more noticeable. "You haven't answered my calls for three fucking weeks!" Backing her up to the wall lined with metal lockers, he pressed himself against her. "Where the fuck have you been?"
"I was at home, you know, that house you never really went to because you're too fucking uppity to visit me," she snapped. "Or maybe it's because your house has revolving doors, open to any female that wants to come through."
Randy looked away from her, sighing as he backed away. "I swear, Rita, I didn't know she'd still be there."
Rita's brows crinkled. "She was there, Randy. Period. That's all I will ever need to know."
"You're taking this where this doesn't need to go," he told her.
"You've already taken it there when I saw her coming out of your shower. I'm sure she'll love spending just as much time with you as I have," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Will she last as long as I did? Did you get another stupid one that will stay with you regardless of anything else, including her own dignity?"
"Oh, come on, Rita."
"No. Did you? One that will ignore her own emotions just for the sake of making you happy?"
"I don't want you to ignore how you feel, Rita," he stated, becoming irritated with her. "You know I love you."
"I'm sure you do, just like you love the rest of them, right?"
Randy stood in front of her once more, and she could see he was clenching his teeth. "Where is all of this coming from?" he asked her. "You spend a few weeks by yourself and you've had some sort of revelation about the world?"
"Who said I was alone?" she spit out before she could stop herself. The veins in his neck popped, rage coursing through them.
"Who?"
"Seeing to how you invite your little girlfriends over, it's none of your business who I invite to my house."
His hand suddenly collided with the metal behind her. She flinched, swallowing a gasp as she saw the metal door pop from her peripheral vision. It swung open away from her and came to a slow stop. She didn't even have to see it to know there was now a dent on the door. Adjusting herself against the wall, she looked down between their bodies.
"You better not be seeing him, Rita."
His threat was crystal clear. Rita knew exactly what he meant. Saying that she wasn't seeing Jon would have been the truth. Telling him that she didn't want to see Jon would be lying. It would just be best if she didn't give him any answer. It was unknown even to her what she and Jon were. Shuddering at the thought of being a fuck-buddy to someone else, she didn't say anything as she removed herself from the wall and walked out the door.
"""""
Rita sat on top of stage equipment boxes, watching as Rollins and Reigns cut their promo. They were no longer after the tag team titles. Their latest conquest was the destruction of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. She had seen their tag matches in the few weeks she spent at home. The chemistry between the four were undeniable, although she honestly thought the character of Dean Ambrose would have been better suited instead of Roman Reigns. But understanding the logic of the WWE Creative team was never something she could do.
Though she liked Reigns, she had to admit that having four wrestlers that had known each other in the independent scene prior to signing to the WWE would have been better off. But Creative's decision to pair up her character of Cherie Green and Dean Ambrose excited her just as much. As much as she loved her off time with Jon, she enjoyed working with him that much more. Several months ago, if anyone had told her that she would actually enjoy being around Jon, she would have punched them. She really should thank Stephanie...
Her thoughts were brought back to the scenario at hand as Rollins and Reigns walked up to her.
"You're back!" Rollins said, patting her on the thigh. "It was empty without you here."
Reigns was tall enough to give her a slight hug. "How was your time off?"
"Pretty good," she smiled out.
Rollins nudged Reigns, laughing. "That's more than we can say about Jon."
Rita froze at his words. Had he told them? She didn't take Jon for being one to reveal all of his private moments. Maybe he had told them what happened, but not the person it had been with.
"Yeah, man," Reigns said, his lips curling in that sensual way they always did. "Don't know what's up with him, but he's all twisted."
Rita laughed nervously. "More than he already is, you mean?"
Rollins placed his gloved hand on her leg, obviously thinking of his friend's behavior. "Way more than that." His other hand tapped Reigns on the chest. "Hey, you think he met someone?"
Rita's eyebrow shot up and she folded her arms in front of her. "What do you mean, met someone? He was with – "
Reigns and Rollins both looked at her, waiting for the words to come out of her mouth. The grin on both of their faces told her that they were wanting some confirmation of something. She scoffed, jumping off the equipment box, a sarcastic grin of her own on her face.
"Very funny, guys," she said as she stood in the middle of them. "You almost got something out of me."
"So, there is something to get then?" Rollins prodded some more. He laughed as Rita turned to him, playfully pushing him in the chest.
"Were you guys up to anything else besides making trouble for nearly a month?" she asked, the smile still evident on her face.
"Now, Rita, you know better than that," Reigns joked.
"Speaking of knowing better," Rollins started, poking at her arm. "Did you not work out at all while you were home?"
"No," she answered shortly, rubbing her arm where his gloved finger had jabbed her. "I didn't. I kind of didn't think about work at all."
"Yeah, I can see that." He laughed when Rita's arm wrapped him into a headlock. "Maybe you should ask for another week off to regain your strength." She squeezed her arm tighter, making him tap on her forearm. "Okay, okay, you still have that awesome strength of yours."
"Damn right," she said as she let him go. "And you better not forget it."
"We're needed," Jon's voice said from behind her, making her jump and spin around to face him. "At gorilla."
"Okay," she softly said, accepting Jon's arm around her shoulders. "See you guys out there."
Jon waved lazily at them, turning with Rita. The two watched them disappear around a corner, Reigns with his hand on his chin.
"How long until they figure it out?" he said.
"I give it until tonight," Rollins answered. "If starting this storyline doesn't make them realize it, we may have to bash their heads together."
"""""
Randy thought he heard Michael Cole wrong, but when he stood in front of the monitor and watched as Rita slowly walked her way down the ramp next to Ambrose, his blood began to boil. It seemed as if Paul and Stephanie were determined to ruin the relationship he had with Rita. He didn't care what she thought; She was still his. Ambrose was talking on the microphone to the two of his former faction members in the ring.
"You see, guys," Ambrose wrapped up his little speech, Rita right by his side. "What you didn't understand... What none of these people could ever understand... Is that me and Cherie were sick and tired of the two of you taking our spotlight."
"Taking their spotlight?" Cole put in with the brief pause Ambrose took as he and Rita entered the ring.
"We are sick and tired of being the secondary half to this group, the group that would be nothing without us. We make the two of you interesting." Ambrose had an expression on his face that Randy couldn't even begin to read. "We make the two of you exciting. Without the two of us... You'd be the garbage that the authority throws out every week."
Ambrose's words were met with an eruption of jeers from the crowd. Reigns held his arms out, shouting something that was unheard clearly while Rollins stepped up with another microphone in his hand.
"That's the problem with you," he started in on Ambrose. "You always think everything is a joke. We'd be nothing without you? Is that what you really believe?"
"Yeah, really!" Ambrose shouted, being heard without the microphone up to his mouth. His lips were twisted into a sarcastic grin.
"Really?" Rollins continued. "Because what I believe is that you took Cherie, and you kept her away all to yourself. You wanted this to happen, Dean. You knew this was going to happen, and you didn't care one bit."
"What's gonna happen here?" Lawler asked as Rollins dropped the microphone back down to his side.
Randy watched on as Ambrose came back with a response, unimpressed by the man. Since talking to Rita earlier in the night, he tried biting back the unnerving feeling that she was with him. That she had been with him. But that wasn't possible... Rita knew better than that. She knew better than to give herself to anyone else. Deep down, she knew that the only man she would ever belong with was him.
Folding his arms over his chest, he watched as Rita took the microphone from Ambrose, bringing it up to her plump lips. She had a hand placed over her heart, pretending to be offended over whatever was said.
"I feel hurt, really guys. Seth... Seth, you and I," she said pointing between the two of them. "We were the closest. We clicked, you know? And I'm just... I'm hurt that you would even say something like that." She paused, pulling the microphone away from her face and turning a tearful expression towards Ambrose. Randy could feel the anger spike in him as Ambrose rubbed her back, soothing her. Rita brought the microphone back to her mouth, a solid expression now on her face. "But you know what's going to hurt even more?"
She didn't give either men a chance to answer as the hand that held the microphone came crashing down on Rollins' head. Ambrose began attacking Reigns, pushing him into the turnbuckle with a shoulder to the gut.
"What is this?!" Cole shouted. "Cherie Greene and Dean Ambrose turning! Turning on Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns! I can't believe this!"
"Oh, you better believe it, Michael!" JBL commented. "I believe that we're going to see a new era of The Shield."
"A new Shield era?" Lawler repeated. "It seems as though there might be two Shields!"
Randy started to turn away from the monitor as Rita grabbed Rollins into a headlock and delivered a DDT to him, planting him into the mat. He tilted his head to the side, knowing just how much impact that DDT could have. She had never hurt anyone, but she sold her moves so well, anyone would be fooled otherwise.
He couldn't watch anymore of it though. He couldn't take it anymore. Rita was supposed to be in a storyline with him, not Ambrose. Why Rita even agreed to any of this was beyond him. He should have told her no. He should have put his foot down with her long ago, before she gathered this crazy notion that she could just do whatever she wanted. The more he thought about it, the more it gnawed at his mind, eating away through his brain... the more the realization set in. It made his stomach turn, the thought of another man touching her in ways that only he should.
Rita had slept with Ambrose.
"""""
"That was great, Rita!" Stephanie cheered on as the four of them walked past the little makeshift office. "Fantastic!"
"Thanks," Rita said, stepping her way behind Rollins to stand next to Stephanie. Jon managed to keep his hand on her backside, sidestepping his way to stand beside Rita.
"Oh," Stephanie said, holding out her hand to Rollins and Reigns. "Your tag match against Punk and Bryan has been moved back a slot. It will now be the end of the second hour instead of up next."
They continued walking to their dressing room, Rollins walking backwards for a moment as he gave the three a thumbs up.
"And you two," Stephanie said brightly, "will be doing a segment with me in just a moment for your tag match at Extreme Rules."
"Okay," Rita said, nodding her head as she took a deep breath. Noting Stephanie's just-too-happy grin, and the eying she was passing between the two of them, she pushed it out of her mind. At least for now. She and Stephanie could have their girlie talk later. There was a job to do and a show to continue.
"Okay, just step back some," Stephanie directed. "Give it a moment before you interrupt us though. Paul, we're starting in thirty seconds."
Paul smiled at Rita, making Rita turn her head at him. Whatever had been on his wife's mind was clearly on his as well. Paul's eyes shifted between she and Jon as well, the cheeky grin on his face even wider. Rita turned to Jon. He was looking around them, watching the camera crew members and stagehands dance around them. He had pulled Rita back with him after a few seconds, returning his hand to her backside, firmly securing it there.
"And two, three!" a crew member shouted.
"And can you believe what just happened out there?" Paul picked up as he spoke to his wife in front the camera.
Stephanie clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "I know, I mean, who knew Cherie could do something so... " She paused, seeing the couple walk into the office. The camera panned to capture to view of Rita and Jon standing next to Paul and Stephanie. "Speaking of which... Hello to the two of you."
"Yeah, yeah," Jon said in the character of Ambrose, impatiently waving his hand in a circular motion. "Enough with the pleasantries, McMahon. We want them... Rollins and Reigns in a match. Right now."
"Well as much as I would love to make that happen, Ambrose, I'm afraid it won't happen tonight. You see, they will just barely be able to perform their duties tonight in their tag team match against CM Punk and Daniel Bryan."
The crowd cheered at the mention of the two fan favorites.
"Yes," Paul continued on. "But seeing how you and Cherie believe the two of you can just attack them whenever, why don't we make it official?"
"Great," Rita spoke up, her brows raised in challenge. "When?"
"Extreme Rules," Stephanie said, holding her hands up, her palms out towards the camera. "Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins versus Dean Ambrose and Cherie Greene, in a no disqualification match."
The crowd rumbled with cheers. Jon shook his finger at them for a short moment, then gripped Rita tightly around her waist. Rita gave Stephanie one last glance before allowing Jon to pull her away from the shot. They waited for a camera crew member to shout out it was done before Rita walked back to Stephanie, Jon's hand still planted to her backside.
"So," Stephanie grinned. "Details?"
Rita's eyes squinted at her friends. "About what?"
Paul's low laugh came from the side of Stephanie. "We see it, Rita."
"See what?" Rita asked coyly.
Paul's lips parted, obviously wanting to call out his wife's friend. "You mean other than – "
"Paul," Stephanie stopped him, nudging her elbow in his rib. She turned to Rita, a finger pointed to her. "You. Me. Talk later."
Jon watched the husband and wife couple walk away from the area. "You think they know?"
Rita looked up at Jon, an unbelievable look on her face. "Really, Jon?"
"What? Not like it's a bad thing, right?" He held her to his body, bringing her chin up and kissed her.
"""""
Randy couldn't believe the sight his eyes had landed on earlier. Rita – his Rita – kissing that poor excuse of a life. Rita must have fell ill. She must have came down with something. It was the only thing that would explain why she would pick Ambrose over him. It just wasn't reasonable to Randy... She had picked Ambrose. Didn't she hate the guy six months ago?
What he couldn't believe even more was the fact that Rita seemed to enjoy herself around Ambrose. In the minutes before they had to go out to interfere in the tag match that Rollins and Reigns was in, he saw Rita with her hands on his face, laughing. They were laughing together. Rita never did that with him. She always just sort of hung back with him in his locker room. If they weren't out with John and Nicole, they really weren't seen being social like she was with Ambrose.
It irked him. There was no way Rita actually liked Ambrose. She was classy. She was elegant. She fit right in with his lifestyle; Not Ambrose's life. Ambrose couldn't provide her what she needed. Even if she said she didn't want anything, Randy knew she did. It was how Rita worked. Besides, seeing her face light up when she received something she wanted was the best thing in the world.
No, there was no way Ambrose could provide that for her. Randy had to stop this. For his sanity. Even if Rita truly decided not to be with him, she just couldn't be with Ambrose. It wasn't a mentally sound judgment on Rita's behalf. She never knew what was best for her. But he couldn't wait until after his segment with John. Rita would be gone by then. He'd have to stand right where he was near gorilla and wait for her to come back through the curtain.
The monitor playing near the black curtain showed just what was going on. Rita and Ambrose circling the ring like sharks. A camera focused on Rita, and Randy was able to see the intensity on her face. His sorely missed that passion from her. The thought of Ambrose now having passionate nights with her felt like a punch to his gut. Biding his time until the match ended on a disqualification on behalf of Rita and Ambrose, giving Punk and Bryan the win, waiting for their segment ending with Ambrose talking trash to Rollins, who was laid out in the center of the ring.
"And that's what's going to happen at Extreme Rules," Ambrose's rough voice said. "The rules will work against you, and you're going to lose." He stood, passing the microphone to Rita, who stood over Reigns to the side of the ring near the ramp.
"Believe in the shield," she spat out before the microphone landed on the mat with a thud. She dropped down and rolled out of the ring. Ambrose's arm wrapped around her waist as they walked backwards up the ramp, and Randy could have swore he did it out of instinct now. It appeared to come too naturally to Ambrose.
What infuriated Randy the most was the sloppy kiss the duo shared on the stage at the top of the ramp as they cut to commercial break. That was it... Randy had now seen enough. They were taking this storyline way too seriously.
The two appeared out the black curtain within a few seconds, Randy's patience nearly snapping in half like a twig when he saw Rita's hand still intertwined with Ambrose's.
"Rita!" he called out. She turned back around, looking at him, her smile dropping.
"You go ahead, I'll meet you there," she was telling Ambrose as Randy stalked up to her. She let go of Ambrose's hand, but he only stepped a few feet back.
Randy's eyes stayed on the man for a slow moment before he turned his attention to Rita. "What is going on with you?"
Rita's eyes narrowed at his tone of voice. "What are you talking about? I'm doing my job."
His eyes glanced at Ambrose again for a moment. "Yeah, seems like you're doing it too well."
"Why don't you go get ready for your match?" she returned, ignoring his obvious dislike towards the man standing not even four feet behind her.
"I know what I need to do." He started in on her, slowly closing the gap between them. "Don't worry about me."
Their intense moment was broken by Rollins and Reigns coming through the curtain. Rita looked over at them, appreciating the fact that Rollins seemed to know exactly what to do. The hybrid-hair Superstar walked up to her, throwing his sweaty arm carelessly over her shoulders.
"If I hadn't of taken that DDT earlier, I think I would have won that," he said with a grin.
Despite Randy's hateful attitude, she smiled, laughing at Rollins. "You'll wish you would have saved that comment for this Sunday," she told him lightly.
"Oh, me and Joe will totally win that," he said, squeezing his arm tighter around her. Rita knew he was purposely trying to pull her away from the icy blue stare of Randy. She took his sign, turning her body with his as they walked away from Randy. But just as Ambrose's arm wrapped itself around her waist, she looked back to Randy, a stone cold look on her face.
"Don't worry about me either," she told him right before they left the area.
Randy heard her loud and clear, her words hanging over his head. Everything was coming back at him. Every little thing. He learned earlier that he would be dropping the belt to Cena again, and there was a possibility that they would use him to boost some of the other talent. Yet Rita slipping away from him was the worst. He could deal with losing a championship. He could even handle falling down his career ladder a few rungs – he could easily climb to the top again. But Rita... She was irreplaceable to him, and had been since they became close.
Sighing heavily, he looked back to the monitor seeing that they were promoting his upcoming match at the next pay-per-view. He'd have to talk to Paul and Stephanie about pulling Rita out of this ridiculous storyline with Ambrose. They couldn't deny him this one request. They had to know that she didn't belong with Ambrose.