SURPRISE! Back to back updates! I was on an idea roll, I think...

Thank you all for all of the reviews, favorites and love- it's my favorite thing about writing this story.

There's still much more to come: Australia, the big move, Summerslam and a birthday...

But happy reading for now! Let me know your thoughts about what's going to happen next!

Carter was trying to quietly move about the room she always occupied while at her brother's house. It was early and she didn't want to disturb Seth more than she had to.

They had headed straight to Nashville once they were done with RAW in Atlanta the night before. Carter insisted on driving since it was a drive she had done more times than she could count. They had planned to stay at the hotel across from the arena everyone else was staying at but her brother had argued with her until she gave up arguing. He didn't care if it was eight pm or six in the morning; she was his sister and his home was always open.

They had gotten in around three am and by the time they settled and crawled into bed it was almost four.

Five hours later and Carter was packing up a change of clothes for her post-workout and getting ready to leave for her busy day.

She tiptoed across the hardwood floor to the night stand next to the bed to retrieve her bracelets and birthstone ring she always wore.

Seth was asleep on his stomach and he stirred at her movement.

"For somebody who says she loves sleep you don't do much of it," he grumbled.

Carter smiled, tightening her bracelet, and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Go back to sleep. I'm done, you'll have some quiet."

"You're leaving already?" He asked, rolling over to his back.

"Yes."

He motioned for her with his hand and she gave him a sweet look before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"What time is it?"

"Almost nine."

He groaned, "what all do you have to do today?"

"I told you this last night."

"I was half asleep."

"I'm meeting Becky to work out and I think Lana is coming. I'm having lunch with Dolph and then I promised the other Carter, one of my old radio buddies, I would do an interview for his wrestling show they air on Sunday mornings."

"And shopping," he added.

"Maybe. We're supposed to go by the boutique that Lana got her wedding dresses from and they made some ring gear for Nattie and Becky, but it just depends on what time it is. I do want to try and go to the Nashville store, though."

"So I'll see you around midnight. Got it."

She frowned at him. "No, grumpy. I should be at the arena around 4 or 4:30. Jacob and the boys are supposed to get there at 5. And you're going to be in Cookeville most of the day with your man crush so don't complain."

He was scowling at her and he reached for her arm, pulling her down to him and then rolling her on to her back, supporting himself above her.

His hair was falling out of the man bun he always slept him and Carter brushed it out of his face, smiling at him before resting her hands against his bare chest.

"Have you ever considered shaving your chest? Or waxing?"

"No, it makes me feel manly. Why?" He frowned at her.

"It was a legitimately random question," she laughed at the look he was giving her. "I love everything about you."

"Do you think you can pencil me in for 15 or 20 minutes around 5:00 my busy bee?"

"If it's important I may be able to make that happen," she shrugged.

He caressed her face with one hand and dipped his head to brush his lips along her jaw line before biting softly on her lower lip.

"I was thinking of a locker room quickie…" He gave her the same dark look that didn't even need words to go with it. She felt the tingle of her arousal, she felt the heat where skin was touching skin, and she felt the all too familiar surge of her heart racing. "I've barely seen you in a week."

"I think I'll be free then..."

"Good." He kissed her forehead and winked at her, "now get the fuck out of here before you have an angry Irish chick yelling at you."

Carter scoffed lightly at him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You're a damn tease."

"All good things come to those who wait, sunshine."

She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly on the shoulder. He laughed as he sat up and leaned against the pillows and headboard.

"Please be careful today," he took her hand as she sat up.

"I will. This is my home, I got this."

"I mean at lunch. Don't lose your cool or anything. Call me if you need me."

"I never lose my cool," she gave him a haughty look over her shoulder as she stood up and straightened out the hem of her tap out racer back tank.

"I beg to differ," he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Shut up," she leaned down to kiss him. "Have fun with my brother today. I love you."

"I love you too."

He squeezed her hand and she broke their contact, grabbing a small bag from the chair in the corner and heading to the door. She opened it and ran in to Jackson.

He gave her an excited smile and wrapped his arms around her waist in a hug.

"Well good morning little man."

"Good morning! I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

Jackson leaned around her to peer at Seth and shot him a mean look. "Good morning, Jack," Seth said, biting back a smile.

"No."

"I'm sorry I made fun of the Braves last night. You can't be mad at me forever."

Jackson narrowed his eyes at him and then looked at Carter before he turned and started back down the hallway.

Carter turned to Seth, giving him an amused look. "You deserved that."

"I'm going back to sleep. Bye."

She chuckled and blew him a kiss before shutting the door behind her.

Carter had showered and changed at the gym after her workout with Becky and Lana. She had spent the whole time she was getting ready at home that morning worrying about what she was going to wear; she knew she had other things to do that day and needed to be presentable but at the same time she had to sit down with Dolph and she felt the need to be conservative. She had finally settled on a plaid shirt dress and sandals and was giving herself one last look in her rearview mirror before heading in to the restaurant she had directed him to. She ran her fingers through her wavy hair, puffed out her cheeks with a sigh, and got out of the truck she was borrowing from her brother for the day.

Let's do this, ma'am, she thought to herself and headed inside. She sent a quick text to Renee telling her to send prayers and one to Seth letting him know she was there, and then looked around the restaurant.

Dolph was already there, sitting at a table for two next to one of the large windows overlooking the parking lot.

He started to stand when he saw her approaching the table and she waved him off, shaking her head. "You're good," she said, pulling out the chair and sliding in to it.

He quietly looked at her from across the table.

"I'm glad you were able to find your way here," she added.

"Uber will pretty much get you anywhere you need to go in any city."

"True," she replied quietly.

Her heart was racing, not in the same way it had been racing that morning; she was nervous and anxious, and a part of her was a little defensive. They stayed quiet for a few minutes. The waitress finally popped up and took Carter's drink order and asked them if they wanted menus.

They met eyes across the table and Dolph shrugged, "that's your call. You asked me to meet you."

Carter looked at the waitress and gave her a sweet smile, "I'll let you know."

He watched the waitress walk away and then looked at Carter, "all the talk I heard about Nashville and it took all this time for us to do something together here."

"I asked you to come to Nashville before, you didn't want to."

"I never said I didn't want to come here with you. It was just bad timing when you asked."

Carter cocked an eyebrow at him, giving him a smug look. "It was bad timing because you were spending your time with someone else."

He sighed. She could see his shoulders drop slightly at her statement. "You aren't going to hold back any punches today are you?"

"No."

The waitress came back and sat Carter's sweet tea in front of her. She gave her a smile and then squeezed the lemon in to the tea, mixing it with her straw, then took a small sip and met his blue stare over the table.

"To be honest, Nick, I didn't ask you if you would sit down with me so we could have a friendly chat and make everything between us sunshine and rainbows. I'm sorry if you were hoping for that. I really just wanted to sit down with you, away from our work and everyone involved with our work, and clear up this bullshit that's apparently been going around. I have enough on my plate and I have enough scrutiny about my relationship already. I don't need and I don't want my character to be questioned, especially by you."

"Fair enough."

She cupped her hands around the mason jar her drink was in and licked her lips, trying to word what she wanted to say in her head.

"Why would you ever tell people that you think I was cheating on you? After everything, you made me out as the bad guy? The cheater himself pointed the finger."

"I never said that about you. Not directly."

"What did you say? Directly."

"Ashley and I went out for some drinks with Paige and Del Rio. Paige asked about you and asked if I knew how long things had been going on with you and Rollins, if I thought it had started before he got hurt. I told her I didn't really know and that it really didn't matter because both of us had moved on and there wasn't a point in talking about it. However she decided to construe that, that's not on me." He sat up in his seat and leaned against the table.

"Do you really think that?"

"I don't know. I can't say I would have blamed you and he doesn't have the best track record himself. Three or four months ago you were snapping at me in the hallway of an arena that you were just having a meal together and that was it and now you're moving in with him."

"I don't know that I feel like I really owe you this but when I was snapping at you in the hallway; there was nothing going on. I had feelings for him but that was as far it was; feelings. And me snapping at you was more so because you didn't really have a right to be questioning me. You were in a relationship. I didn't really start talking to Seth until he went home from Ireland for surgery. You and I were already over by then. And even then, he was just my friend. I was a wreck and being able to give him some support and friendship and have his friendship kept me from feeling so shitty."

Dolph's face softened and he stretched out his hand to reach across the small table and touch her hand. She pulled both of her hands back, sitting against the back of her chair and folding her arms across her chest.

"Don't."

"Can I at least apologize to you?"

She shrugged, "I don't know that it matters at this point."

"It may not matter but I owe it to you."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Will you just let me say what I want to say? You had your turn, let me have mine."

"The floor is yours."

"I am sorry, Carter, for everything that I did. I was shitty. I was a very shitty person. You're one of the best people I know; you're beautiful and you work hard and you have a big heart and you're just…you're a good person. I know that and I knew that but I screwed that up. I wasn't faithful to you, I wasn't honest with you and I never deserved anything that you gave me. I hate that I hurt you."

"It's easy to look back now and regret something."

"You can give me a little more credit than that, I've regretted it for a long time. I regretted it from the start."

"Yet you still did it."

"Yeah I did. I don't have an excuse for it and an excuse wouldn't matter. I'm at least owning up to the fact that I did something wrong and I am sorry for it. If you would let me talk to you I could have told you all of this a long time ago."

"You did give me an excuse; you told me I wasn't the type of person you could have a future with."

"Well…looking back on it, we weren't meant to have a future. You've obviously found that, now. This was all on me, though, you didn't do anything wrong. I want you to know that."

Carter bit her lip and gave him a hard look.

"Honestly, I'm happy you're with Seth. You're different with him. I can't explain it but you're just different and I like being able to see that. I hope he knows what he's got."

"He does," she replied quietly.

"Good. I know you don't want us to be friends, and that's fine, but I'm still going to be pulling for you. Whether it's with him or with work; I hope you're happy and successful."

"Thank you." She looked out of the window for a moment, watching a few pedestrians pass by. "I've never wished bad things for you, or for Dana."

He gave her a disbelieving look.

"I didn't," she defended. "I've always just hoped that things worked out better for her than they did for me. Don't get me wrong, I don't like her, but I don't want bad things for her."

"I don't really like Seth, either."

"I know," Carter's lips curved up slightly with a small smile. "I was mad at you for a long time and I was mad at myself for even letting any of this happen. We weren't good together, ever, we shouldn't have even been together. I especially know that now. I appreciate your apology. I know you're sincere, and no, it wasn't needed, but I appreciate it anyways." She took another sip of her tea. "I just wanted to get the air clear. Get our closure or whatever."

"If it helps, I'll talk to Paige."

"I would appreciate that."

"Since we're both here, will you at least stay and eat lunch with me?"

Carter sighed, considering the offer. "I have a lot on my schedule today, so I'm going to say no, but thank you for asking and thank you for coming to talk to me. Maybe one of these days we can sit down and actually have a friendly meal together…"

"I hope we can."

Carter narrowed her eyes at him. Was he just trying to throw a flirty line at her, after the talk they just had? She shook her head and reached for the small purse she had discarded at her feet.

"Have a good day, Nick."

"I'll see you guys at the arena tonight," he smiled, looking up at her as she stood from the table.

Carter gave him another look and turned on her heel to leave the restaurant. She pulled out her phone to check for any messages as she unlocked the door to the truck and slid in to the driver's seat.

She had an "I love you" text from Seth and a response from Renee and then a group text message between Renee, Lana, Becky and Nikki, who had landed in Nashville while she was in the restaurant. She sent the group a message so she could meet up with then, responded to Seth, and took a moment to just sit in the vehicle and sigh. At least she had cleared the air. If nothing came of it; she had at least made the effort. There was a small piece of her that had already started to wonder if he really was, or ever could be, genuine and sincere; but it wasn't her problem anymore.

She arrived at the arena later that afternoon, phone to her ear, trying to call her brother. She was slightly later than she anticipated being and she just wanted to be sure he and the rest of her family got squared away. The only problem was Bridgestone Arena in Nashville had notoriously bad cell phone reception. She made a face as her phone cut out and looked at her screen. She had a text from her brother:

Stop freaking out. We're here and all good. Your boy took care of us.

She let out a small sigh of relief. He was a good boyfriend.

She made her way through tunnels, giving a few waves to people, sending a text to Seth to let him know she was there, and made her way on to the arena floor to find her brother's seats near the ring. She spotted him in the second row, alone, his attention on scrolling through his phone.

"Where's the fam?" She asked, sliding in to the chair next to him.

"Well look at that, you made it here," her brother smiled at her.

"I had a more hectic day than I anticipated. And I underestimated downtown traffic. I'm sorry," she frowned.

"It's fine, Carpie, Seth took care of us. The family is off getting food or burning a hole through my credit card at the merch table or something. I don't know, they're with their mom," he shrugged, making a face.

"Sometimes I question your parenting skills, bub."

"They can only get in to so much trouble. It's Megan's issue right now."

Carter chuckled and shook her head. She glanced at her phone when she felt it vibrate in her hand.

"Seth?"

"Yeah he was telling me where he is. How did everything go today? Were you nice?"

"I'm a little offended that you asked me that question. Of course I was nice. I'm always nice."

"You're also a big brother," she smiled.

He cut his eyes at his younger sister and matched her small smile, reaching out to drape an arm across the back of her chair.

"I promise I was nice, he'll vouch for me. And I have to tell you…" he paused and looked at her, studying her for a moment. "I'm glad I got to talk to him one on one some today. You found a really good guy, Carp. He really loves you. I'm happy for you."

"Ew, don't get all sappy on me," he scrunched up her nose and elbowed him lightly.

"Excuse me for trying to have a moment."

"Well I'm going to go find that good guy and say hello. I'll be back out later."

Her brother stood with her and hugged her, and watched her head off the line of monitors and sound boards behind them so she could slip backstage. She did her best to make a beeline to his locker room. She got stopped briefly by Becky asking about her family. Carter promised she would get to meet them and finally made it to the locker room.

The door was propped open and she stuck her head in; finding Seth sitting on a bench, legs stretched out in front of him, scrolling through something on his phone.

Her movement when she entered the room caught his attention and he looked up at her, smiling as she slid her arms around his neck and settled on his lap, greeting him was a kiss.

"Well, hello," he said.

"Hi."

"What was that for?"

"I just missed you today and that was a thank you for being a good boyfriend and making sure my family was squared away. I'm sorry I was running late."

"You're fine, it happens," he smiled. "And you don't have to thank me. They're practically my family, too. Although I will never turn down getting greeted like this."

"What did you say to my brother today, by the way? He got all sappy and emo on me a few minutes ago."

"What did he say?"

"Just…singing your praises and 'he really loves you, Carter'"

"We talked about you a little bit but nothing out of the ordinary," Seth shrugged. "You smell good, that's a new perfume."

"I bought it today, it's Dior. Don't change the subject."

"I'm not. I didn't say anything to him."

She frowned slightly, tilting her head. "You're very close to slipping in to your Seth Rollins in ring voice which means you're not being completely truthful…. but I'll let it go."

"How was everything at lunch?" he caressed her face.

Carter shrugged, "I don't know. I said what I needed to say, he said he would talk to Paige, he apologized to me, told me he was happy for me. I believed him for about five minutes and then he gave me a flirty line when I was leaving and I didn't believe him anymore." She cracked a smile at the change of look on Seth's face. "Stop, it's not worth it. In a couple of weeks we don't have to travel with him anymore. I cleared my mind; everything is good."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Thank you for being so understanding."

"You did the same for me."

She wrapped her hand around his wrist and turned her head to kiss the palm of his hand. She met his lips, kissing him deeply and shifting on his lap to get closer to him. He could feel her entire body against his. She broke the kiss and found the spot below his ear, trailing light kisses down his neck, drawing a low, almost growl from him.

"I missed our appointment…" she muttered against his skin.

"I know…and sadly Dean and AJ are also using this locker room…"

"Well that's unfortunate," she frowned and looked at him.

"Yes, it is," he sighed.

"Well…. good things come to those who wait, so 'the Man' Seth Rollins says…"

"That Seth Rollins guy sounds like an asshole."

"He's not that bad," she gave him an amused look and scratched his beard. "Will you come eat dinner with me before the show starts? I promised Jack I would sit with them. And I want to hear about Rich."

"Yes. I need a good distraction now."

"Settle down, tiger."