14
Of course it took a few days, and it was obvious that Dallas was not really trying to get together. Taker was frustrated at first but Michael inadvertently saved him some grief by telling him about Orton's new deal to be in some commercials and the fact that he had gone from Miami to New York to Los Angeles in the space of three days. The man was busy, at least that week.
So Taker cut his promo, on camera, and then he wrestled his first match the next night, against Glen once more, to the same end – a double count out. He thought it was a waste of time but the matches with Glen were more for warming up and getting back into the flow than actually feuding with each other. That would come later on.
It was sort of serendipitous when he got stuck in an elevator with her for nearly two hours on Thursday night.
It was a house show, and he wrestled in the main event, a tag match. By the time he had showered and driven to the hotel, it was storming. The weather was calling for tornados in some areas, and as he walked into the lobby the severe weather sirens started going off. The lobby was deserted, which was a good thing. He wouldn't have to fend off any errant fans.
Rachel had left ahead of him so she could get a head start on taking care of his schedule for the next week. He was fine with that. Rachel was all right, and she surprised him by being fairly efficient. Maybe because she was still contemplating her short-lived crush on Phil. She had made jokes about it.
Taker glanced at is watch and pressed the call button for the elevator. He was tired, and he had to admit it, a little bit lonely. So when Dallas appeared beside him, he thought for a moment he just conjured her up to amuse himself.
She looked at him with the beginnings of a smirk on her face. She wore another one of her naughty secretary outfits – there was no other way to describe them. This time a black shirt and skirt combo, complete with boots with a heel on them.
"Hey." He spoke first. And blatantly eyed her cleavage. The top two buttons of her shirt were undone, and he was at a definite height advantage.
Dallas grinned impishly up at him. "Hey, yourself."
"You're running around late." Taker observed as the elevator arrived and he allowed her to step in first.
"We just got back from LA. And I had a meeting with the higher ups after the show. Aren't I the lucky one?" She jabbed the button for the 4th floor. Taker leaned against the wall.
"A midnight meeting with the bosses? Sounds ominous."
"You would know, huh? That's wh…" She didn't finish. The elevator jerked to a stop and the lights flickered and went out. "Uh…great." Dallas muttered a weak emergency light came on. The batteries must have been old because it barely illuminated the gloom in the small space. "Shouldn't there be a generator or…"
The elevator's alarm buzzed, a steady drone that made Taker's eyes feel like they were vibrating. He opened the small space under the control panel and picked up the emergency phone, not really expecting anyone to be there.
"Yes? This is security." A male voice spoke.
Taker sighed. "Yeah. We're kinda stuck in your elevator. What the hell is going on?"
"Sorry, sir. The storm has knocked out the power, and the emergency generator isn't working properly."
"Great. How long to fix it?"
The man wasn't put off by Taker's gruff voice. "We've just contacted management, who will contact the service company. Can you tell me how many are in your elevator?"
"Two of us. Can I just pry the door open?" Taker held the phone between his shoulder and ear, and tried to gets his fingers into a gape on the sliding doors.
"It looks like you're stuck between the second and third floor. If the doors opened, you wouldn't be able to get out." The man sounded apologetic, and confused. "The storms are pretty bad right now, sir. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience."
"Yeah? Well can't blame you for the weather."
"We're going to get you out as soon as we can. Please just remain calm and I will keep you updated."
Taker hung up and gave up on the door. He went back to his wall and leaned against it with his arms crossed. The alarm stopped buzzing at the same time and he sighed in relief.
"Was this part of a nefarious scheme of yours?" Dallas asked, bracing her arms against the wooden rail that went around the elevator. She crossed her legs at the ankle as well, and he couldn't help but look at the smooth skin in the gap between boot and skirt.
"As much as I'd like to take the credit, nope. Wasn't me this time." Taker dragged his eyes away from her legs and looked up at the ceiling. "And if there's a tornado, I highly doubt an elevator is the safest place to be."
"Ha. Interior room, no windows. Was there nothing in the guide about being suspended by metal cables?" Dallas sighed. They could hear a rumble of thunder, but it was made distant by their location.
The phone buzzed and made both of them jump. Taker picked it up. "Yeah?"
"Sir, unfortunately our generators are not coming online. We've put in a service call but it may be around an hour."
Taker sighed. "Really?"
"We could try to manually lower the elevator, but without at least a little power, we can't control the brake." The man sounded apologetic. "If we have to, we can try getting someone to the roof of the car and cut through the ceiling."
"Not necessary. As long as we don't have to be here all night."
"We'll have you out as soon as possible." The man restated. Taker thanked him and hung up after being assured once more that they would be updated.
When he turned back to his position against the wall, he saw that during his conversation Dallas had sat down on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her, ankles still crossed.
"Decided to camp?"
"I don't think I can do another hour in these shoes." Dallas smirked. "So now we just kill time?"
"Pretty much." Taker hesitated, debated, and thought what the hell. He moved and sat down beside her.
"Are we going to have your talk now?" Dallas asked, half-smiling at him. Taker raised an eyebrow.
"You wanna get into this when there's no escape?"
"I have a feeling there would be no escape anywhere we go." Dallas's smile faded. "So go ahead. You wanted to talk. Now's your chance. I'm a captive audience, literally."
Taker smiled at that. She had a point. "Ya know, a couple of days ago, this would have been perfect. But now I kinda don't know what to say." He reached over and covered her hand with his. "Except I kinda miss having you around."
"I'm still around." Dallas said, smirking as she gripped his hand in hers.
"With me. You know what I mean." Taker met her eyes. "If the physical part is all you want, I guess I'll have to accept it. That's all."
Dallas thought that over for a moment, slight frown on her face. "For a guy, you are weird." She finally said. Random, and it made Taker smile again. "You act like that's a bad thing. I could offer the same thing to any other guy on the roster and the reaction would be completely different."
Taker raised an eyebrow. "How should I be reacting?"
"I dunno. You men say we women are difficult. Obviously you don't spend enough time with each other." Dallas sighed and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes.
"I'm sorry. For acting all weird." He elaborated before could ask. "And I don't wanna rush you into something you don't want. But I gotta tell ya, I feel somethin' more for you than just wanting to get you in bed. So we're clear on that."
"Yeah. I think I got that message, anyway." Dallas smiled. She still had her eyes closed. "If only you could work on that attitude of yours, and stop being such a grumpy pain in the ass out in public…"
Taker snorted. "Can't help my nature."
"Well your nature sucks. And if you want to…ugh…get to know each other, then I guess I can bend. A little. Don't expect me to fawn over you though, because that is never going to happen."
"I wouldn't expect it to."
"Sure." Dallas laughed. "Just in case you ever get any ideas, you should know I am never going to fit your mold."
Taker made a noise and shook his head. "What mold would that be?" He finally asked.
"You know. Your usual type. I get that I'm like the flavor of the month." Dallas opened her eyes and looked at him. "And don't you go trying to argue it with me." She cut him off before he could do more than open her mouth.
"Maybe it's time that I made a change." Taker said softly. Dallas snickered.
"Right. You guys don't change. I could quit and come back in 10 years and I'd still be able to run circles around whoever is here because no one ever really changes. The only thing different would be their names."
"You have a jaded outlook, you know that?" Taker refused to get angry with her. She was right, in a way. He got things right a good portion of the time, but he never learned from his mistakes. Hell, he'd made three very big mistakes in the past, and if he allowed himself to really analyze it, he had to admit each time was the exact same thing. He'd married the trophy wife. Of course they'd been pretty convincing at first that it was him, not his money, his job, or his fame, that they were in love with.
"I'm a realist." Dallas sighed.
They were quiet for a few minutes. Thunder still rumbled outside, so obviously it was still storming. Taker felt Dallas play with his fingers, and relaxed with his head back, staring up at the ceiling again.
"As much as you don't like to hear it…where exactly do we go from here?" Taker finally asked, closing his eyes as she skimmed her fingers over the back of his hand.
"That's a conversation for another time, I think."
"Oh really? Since you're a 'captive audience' I thought we'd get it all out in the open."
Dallas laughed at that. "What exactly are you looking for?"
Taker shrugged. "I don't know." He said, being honest. "I kinda like the idea of no strings, then again I kinda like the idea of being…together. Committed? I don't even know what to call it."
And he could tell without looking that Dallas was trying to figure out how to answer to that without sounding like she was starting an argument. "I'm not dying my hair blonde." She finally said.
Taker chuckled. "I wouldn't expect you to." He looked down at her and raised the hand she'd been playing with to trace the line of her jaw. "Is that really all you think of me?"
"I said before…you have a pattern." She grabbed his hand and lowered it to her chest. "Of course, along with the dark hair, my boobs are also real."
"I noticed." Taker squeezed one breast, his eyes slipping closed at the fell of her through her shirt and bra. It was hard to believe, from his body's reaction, that it had only been a week since he'd last slept with her.
"If you want anything to happen tonight, you're gonna have to promise me you're not going to be a complete jerk tomorrow." Dallas said, a little breathless as his fingers rubbed maddeningly at her nipple.
He opened his eyes at that, and met her steady yet amused gaze. "I'll be on my best behavior."
"Mm hmm. No dirty looks, no attitude." Dallas arched her back and pressed herself into his hand.
"So in other words, I should just keep myself locked in my room until tomorrow is over?" Taker asked, squeezing her again. He smiled as she laughed. Whatever response she had to that was interrupted by the buzz of the phone. Taker sighed, regretting having to let go of her.