Chapter 21 – Changing Places

Mandi sat watching Stu work out, trying to gain as much strength and power back as possible in his arm. Though the physio tested him both physically and mentally, she knew he was strong enough to get through everything. The main thing that was taking its toll was the inability to get in the ring. Watching his friends either on the TV or at the FCW shows left a bitter taste in his mouth, one that was hard to swallow. But he strived to turn that bitterness into hunger; hunger and longing made for will power that he needed.

The book in Mandi's hand hadn't turned a page since she had locked her eyes on Stu. He had pulled his sweat soaked shirt off, leaving her with a glorious view of his body as he worked out. "Enjoying the view?" Stu raised an eyebrow as he glanced over his shoulder, the white towel in his hand quickly swiped over his face.

"Yes, so do you have to stop?"

"My arm's starting to ache." He winced slightly as he ran two fingers over the thin scar. Before he wouldn't have admitted that to her, but they had promised to be honest with each other, and this was a start.

"I should really get dressed." She glanced down at Stu's massive shirt covering her. The comfort it provided her with made her want to curl up on the couch with a glass of wine, but it was 9.30am and that wasn't an option. Closing her book Mandi stood up, keeping her eye on Stu as he slowly strode over to her. The closer he got, the more the space around her was consumed by his overwhelming size and dominance. His steely gaze dragged across her body from her head to her toes then back up again. Reaching forward, Stu took a handful of his shirt covering her body and pulled her towards him. His lips crashed against hers, the force making her drop her book and stumble back slightly but Stu kept a tight grip on her shirt. He moulded her to his body as her arms snaked around his neck, her fingers delving into his hair. "Stu, I need to get dressed."

"You don't want me right now?" her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she shook her head. His big hand slipped beneath her panties, one finger plunging into her honeyed depths. "You're lying again." Mandi gripped as tight as she could onto his biceps, whimpering against him under his powerful touch as he added another finger. Her hand slipped to his wrist, trying to get him to move but he quickly gathered up her wrists and held them behind her back. He pulled his fingers out, bringing them up to her lip. Dragging his fingers across her bottom lip, she took them into her mouth and sucked gently, her eyes sparking with mischief. He pulled them out and kissed her roughly whilst freeing her wrists. "Go get dressed then."

"Stu-"

"Now, Mandi." He watched as she reluctantly bent down to pick up her book then took a step forward to close the gap between them. Her lips gently touched his, grazing lightly then pulling away. Stu almost growled at her, feeling his control slightly slipping. Before she left him, he gripped onto her arm and brought his lips close to her ear. "Later I'll give you a good workout."

"Is that what you're calling it now?" Stu grinned and spun her around, he brought his hand down hard on her backside then pushed her forward slightly.

"Get dressed, then we can head to Fran's and pick up some of your stuff." Mandi glanced over her shoulder one last time, the grin on her face happily mirrored by Stu.

Arriving outside Fran's house, Stu and Mandi came across the carnage the storm had created to Fran's car; the tree still where it had landed the night before. Mandi had sent Fran a quick text to let her know she would be coming back, she definitely didn't want to walk in on her and Stephen. Though it would be a tiny bit of payback for what Stephen saw the previous day. Upon walking into the kitchen, the smell of fresh coffee hit Mandi. It was the usual case; Fran would cook breakfast and the smell of coffee would quickly persuade her to get out of bed. Stu was still outside; his phone had rung and he needed to take the call.

"Hey Fran." Mandi glanced between her friend and Stephen, wondering how well their date had gone exactly. "Stephen." She narrowed her eyes slightly as she saw humour framing his eyes. If he had told anyone about their little encounter there would be trouble.

"Mandi! Did you see my car?" Her friend shot up. Of course she had seen her car, the whole neighbourhood could see the damage. "Someone is coming in a few hours to remove the tree."

"And you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad Stephen was here." The look shared between Fran and Stephen said it all, there was something between them. The way Stephen looked at her, sneaking glances then looking away when he was caught.

"Ah've got to go soon though lass, work calls."

"Oh." Fran's smile fell slightly, forgetting that Stephens busy schedule meant he was back on the road.

"I guess now's a good time to tell you, I'm moving in with Stu." Mandi grinned, saying it out loud made it all the more real.

"Living together? Really?" Mandi frowned, wondering why Stephen had a hard time consuming her words.

"Yes. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"No reason." Stephen quickly shut up as Stu walked back into the room. He nodded at his friend, silently acknowledging him.

"That's great news, Mandi." Fran immediately pulled Mandi into her arms for a hug.

"Thank you for letting me stay here, you're an amazing friend. The best in fact."

"I should hope so." Fran moved over to the stove and started to pour eggs into a pan; she was making Stephen scrambled eggs.

"We'll leave you two alone and go grab some of my stuff to take back." Stu said a quick bye to both Fran and Stephen, telling his friend that they would meet up next time he was in town.

After gathering up the few belongings Mandi had at Fran's, they were soon on their way back to Stu's house. They decided to collect her stuff from storage when she decided what she wanted to do with it. The few things she had she would probably sell since Stu wouldn't need them.

"Where the hell do we start?" Stu bellowed into the room as he manoeuvred his way around the boxes. Mandi stared at everything, her arms crossed under her bust. Surveying what she had in Stu's big house felt like she owned next to nothing.

"There isn't that much stuff." There really wasn't. Mainly boxes full of clothes and little things she kept around the house like photographs.

"Alright." Stu bent down to pick up one of the boxes, before he could even lift it Mandi swiftly stopped him.

"Wait!" He glanced up, bent over and ready to pick up the box.

"What?" Standing upright again he frowned slightly, was he not allowed to touch her stuff?

"Are you okay doing all this heavy lifting?" She asked quietly; she didn't want him to think she was nagging him but concern raged in the back of her mind.

"Mandi, you saw me this morning." She nodded; that was true, but she was still concerned.

"I know, but I don't want you to overdo it."

"Maybe now is a good time to tell you." Stu started speaking but stopped to make sure he had Mandi's full attention. He did; she stared back at him, her lips pressed tightly together. "That phone call was from my doctor, I took some scans last week and he's predicted I'll be 100% in about four to five weeks."

"That's great news." Mandi wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing herself to his body. "So you'll be back on the road in no time?"

"If everything goes as planned." Stu pulled her back and pressed his lips against hers. "And you're happy about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? It's my fault you're not on the road now."

"I'll probably start doing a bit of training back at FCW for a bit." Mandi couldn't help but smile as he rattled off all the things he couldn't wait to start doing. Stu was getting his life back on track and so was she.

30 minutes later, boxes still littered Stu's bedroom, various ones pulled open and things pulled out. To be quite honest, Mandi didn't have a clue where to start. The first thing she did, was change out of her jean shorts and shirt and slipped on a cool summer dress. The thin blue cotton stopped mid thigh and the straps tied around her neck.

Stu rooted around in one of the boxes labelled 'lingerie'. "What are you doing?" Mandi asked as he slowly pulled out a deep purple suspender belt, grinning wildly as he did.

"You wear these a lot?" Stu raised an eyebrow as he glanced between Mandi and the lace dangling from his finger.

"Special occasions."

"Like today?"

"Today? Why is today special?"

"Moving in day." Mandi couldn't hep but laugh at Stu's poor excuse. She took the few steps to get to him and gently prised the lacy material out of his hands.

"I may change into something more uncomfortable later." He brought his lips down to her neck, tilting her head back with a fistful of hair.

"Now." He slipped one hand down to the back of her thigh, teasing her under the thin cotton of her summer dress.

"Why?"

"My house, my rules." Stu slowly let his hand graze up her thigh. "Off with the clothes."

"How about I cook you dinner?" Mandi stopped his hand sliding any further up her leg. "Then take my clothes off. Say, for dessert perhaps."

"I like the sound of that." He squeezed her thigh gently. "I might get too used to this."

"What? You didn't plan on kicking me out if I bored you, did you?" She pouted and ran her finger down his chest, over the thin cotton of his shirt.

"Depends how well you entertain me."

"Then how about you go and relax whilst I finish sorting these out." She gestured to the few boxes left in the room. "Afterwards, I'll make dinner and entertain you all day long."

"Now that's an offer I can't refuse." He kissed her again before leaving her to finish unpacking everything. So far things were going well, she just hoped they stayed that way.

A/N – Thank you WhitneySheree, peeps8705, wades wife, celticfighter, cenachick1981, DeansTrueGirl, mrsa87, miamitravel, hOtlilmofo, dolldarlingcliche, Tiffyxox, thatGirl54, moxxie23, xFindTheEnigmaWithinx, poisenousprincess, inlalaand and DefinitelyProbablyMaybe for the reviews. Sorry it's taken so long to update, most of you know the blackberry story already :P. Lou x