~ What Lies Beneath ~

Author's Note - Here we go again folks; next chapter. As usual, thank you SO much for every single review, they make me smile, laugh and remind me why I write these things - partly because I'd love to lick CM Punk's face, but mostly because of you lovely people. Thanks again!

Warnings - Strong language throughout and possible scenes of a sexual nature ;)

Disclaimer - I own no-one but Abbie in this story. This is merely a work of fiction; it all came from my brain. At no point do I suggest this story reflects reality, it's entirely made-up. Any other songs, cars or brands mentioned also belong to their respective owners.

~ What Lies Beneath ~

~ Chapter Twenty One: ~

Phil hugged Colt hard, having missed his brother from another mother badly. The WWE had moved into Chicago this week before embarking on their annual tour of Europe so this was his last chance to catch up with his old pals. He sunk onto his couch, sighing contentedly.

Not one to ever allow Phil to enjoy a few moments of peace, Colt began the usual bombardment of questions.

"I hear you got a new girl…how come you never texted me dude? We used to tell each other everything" he chuckled, elbowing Phil in the ribs.

"Yeah" he smiled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"No offense meant man, but she's pretty fucking hot" Colt commented.

"Haha, thanks I guess"

"When do I get to meet her?" he winked.

"…you already know her" Phil said slowly, laughing at Colt's expression.

"Do I? Didn't recognise her in the picture"

"You met Eve when you came to Money in the Bank" Phil prompted.

"Eve? Man you get around. You're with Eve now? I was talking about that new girl!"

"No…you mean Abbie? I've never been with Abbie" Phil corrected, blushing.

"I believe you if you say you haven't…but I know you dude, and that face means you so would" Colt winked.

"Fuck off" Phil laughed, punching him in the arm. They play fought before Colt turned serious again.

"I wasn't joking though, there's nothing wrong with that. To be honest, so would I" Colt laughed, ducking as Phil swung for him again.

"Nah, she's like my best friend so don't" he sighed.

"You and Eve huh?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah"

"When did that happen?" he asked.

"I dunno, it just happened. Apparently she had a thing for me" he laughed.

"All the ladies have a thing for you. Whatever happened to the dorky kid that I used to know?" Colt chuckled.

"CM Punk explodes ovaries" he said as the pair of them burst into fits of laughter.

"Why don't you invite Eve and…what was her name again?...Abbie?...why don't you invite them round for dinner tonight and we can…double date?" Colt suggested, waggling his eyebrows as they stood in the kitchen making fajitas for lunch.

"I dunno, might be a bit awkward"

"Why?" he asked.

"Eve and Abbie aren't particularly good friends" he shrugged. "And Abbie's dating Cody so you can't double date" he added quietly, busying himself chopping peppers.

"Ohhhh, I see" Colt chuckled.

"See what?"

"Why you can't make your move" Colt laughed, surprised when Phil didn't laugh too. An awkward silence followed, Colt feeling a little bad.

"I was only joking. Sorry if it's a sore spot" he said genuinely, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, I got over it" he shrugged. "Eve's a lovely girl. She's beautiful, bubbly and pretty into me so I don't have anything to complain about"

"What's she like in bed?" Colt winked.

"Fuck off" Phil laughed, throwing a whole raw onion at him. "We only got together last week"

"So you're being a good boy and waiting then?"

"I don't know why it's of any interest to you but yes, I am. Though not for her apparently" he rolled his eyes.

"Woah, she's kinky then? And of course it's of interest to me, you're my best bud…it's a bromance thing" he smiled.

"If I didn't love you, this would be weird"

"This is weird because you love me" he ruffled Phil's hair.

The next day when he saw Abbie in the training ring, he could barely look her in the eye. Phil Brooks was never one to be quiet or shy, but after that dream…he was paranoid that she could somehow see it in his eyes. Of course, she did notice something was up…her intuition sniffed that out immediately.

"What's wrong, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just exhausted" he lied.

"When are you not exhausted?" she laughed. "Nice to be back in Chicago?"

"Awesome to be back" he ran a hand through his hair before replacing his cap.

"When do I get to see your crib then?" she asked cheekily, never one to hold back.

"I guess you can come over tonight if you fancy it? It is Saturday after all and it saves you spending all your time at the hotel. And you can meet Colt too if you want?" he suggested, cringing a little inside and trying to fight the voices in his head reminding him of that dream…

"Sounds awesome" she smiled, heading off to practice for her match. He texted Colt the plan and proceeded with his work-out, trying to silence his mind. It's natural, people have sex dreams about their mom…his wasn't as bad as that…it meant nothing…

Abbie had a quick flick through her script for Monday night- same as usual by the look of it. She was pretty excited though; she was planning to pull out some pretty special moves from the indies that would set her up for her championship shot with Beth at the next Pay Per View. She also had a secret up her sleeve; she was learning the shooting star press. If she could pull that off, no one could question that she was one of the best wrestlers in the female division of WWE, if not the USA. She just needed the contacts to do it, and who better than Paul Heyman?

She rang the intercom to Phil's building, pulling her black skinny jeans up and her Daughtry rock t-shirt down.

"Come on up" he told her, buzzing her in.

She entered the modern-looking lobby and climbed the stairs to Phil's apartment. She regretted it immediately when she realised his was on the top floor. Typical Phil, he did like looking out over the city. She was panting a little as she reached his door and knocked twice.

He opened the door dressed in jeans and an unbuttoned white shirt. Although he was wearing what would be considered casual on anyone else, he looked oddly dressed up.

"You're looking awfully suave…if I'd have known I'd have glammed up too" she smiled, taking in what she could see of his pad. It was spacious but obviously a man's living space. There was food all over the place and random articles of clothing strewn about. It smelled good though…like Phil.

"You look lovely as you are, but thanks" he chuckled, stepping aside to let her in.

"Don't lie to me Phil; I look a fucking mess most of the time. But I really can't be fucked with all this getting ready in the mornings, I'd rather spend the extra hour in bed" she laughed.

"You could at least shower though" he held his nose as she slapped his arm. "Hey, I'm joking, you only smell a little…I hardly noticed" he winked. "And speaking of people who smell, Abs this is Colt" he introduced them.

Abbie smiled and shook Colt's hand.

"Nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you from Phil"

"Only bad I hope" Colt joked.

"Of course"

"Enough about me, can we eat now?" Phil interrupted.

"You're such a fat shit" Colt shoved him.

"I'm the fat shit? Look in the mirror porky" Phil retorted, wrapping an arm around him to let him know he was just joking.

They sat down to a meal of vegetable pasta with salad and wine for Colt and Abbie.

"Holy shit, never in a million years would I ever have guessed YOU could cook" Abbie gasped, eyes wide as she swallowed the well-seasoned pasta and went back for more.

"I'm flattered you like my food, and yet insulted you underestimated me" he chuckled. "I'm not bad in the kitchen, eating on the road without putting on a shit load of weight while keeping your weight up for training is hard so you gotta learn some tricks"

"Well I must say I'm impressed" she grinned, taking a sip of wine. "And nice wine choice" she complimented.

"That one was me" Colt winked, finishing his second glass. "You have good taste in wine by the sound of it"

"Thanks" she laughed.

"Where are you from originally? I can't place your accent" he asked, putting down his knife and fork and resting his elbows on the table.

"Wyoming, left when I was sixteen so lost that accent a long time ago" she picked at her food.

"Wow, never looked back huh?"

She shook her head with a weak smile. Sensing he was close to hitting a nerve, he changed the subject. After Colt telling some embarrassing stories about his friend while also revealing how much he loved Phil really, they settled down for the weekly horror film. Colt and Abbie really seemed to hit it off, not that Phil expected any different.

Abbie and Colt opened another bottle of wine as they watched. It didn't touch Colt, he could drink most people under the table but Abbie was a bit of a lightweight. She was somewhere around the tipsy, sleepy stage. As they relaxed on the couch, Abbie began to drift off. Her head drooped and fell onto Phil's shoulder as she fell asleep. He smiled in amusement.

Colt raised his eyebrows at her. She was eerily stunning. Her hair had a shine to it that reflected the light, cascading over her shoulders in stark contrast to her icy pale skin. Her eyes were probably her most drawing feature. The blue was unmistakable. Her long eyelashes were pressed gently closed as she breathed softly. As at ease as she tried to come across; Colt got the loner vibe from her. He knew the one because it was the same vibe he used to get from Phil. She clearly felt at ease around his friend…he couldn't help but think what a good couple they would make. Keeping his thoughts to himself, he smiled and continued watching the movie.

As it finished, Phil felt Colt shift beside him and stretch. "I think I'm gonna head out man…she's buzzed so make sure she gets home okay, I know you will" he said his goodbyes, heading back to his own flat for the night.

Phil watched her sleep a little while. It seemed a shame to wake her. But he was beyond tired and desperate to get some sleep in before the gym tomorrow. He nudged her gently. She slowly opened one eye.

"Abs…the movie finished" he smiled. She opened the other and sat up a little.

"Shit, sorry" she laughed, yawning.

"Did you dribble on me?" he chuckled, pulling at the material of his shirt. Sure enough, there was a damp patch.

"I am so sorry" she said, mortified.

"It's alright, I'll let it slide cause it's you" he laughed.

She went silent for a while and he began to worry she'd passed out on him.

"You alright?" he asked, lifting her chin to check if there was anyone home. She didn't flinch in the slightest as his touch, he was glad he'd helped bring about that improvement - that she trusted him. She rested her head on him again and he knew she was ready for bed; the alcohol had gone straight to her head.

"You want me to walk you to the hotel?" he asked.

He felt her nod and stand up, out of it.

"You really shouldn't drink wine" he laughed.

"I know" she mumbled.

"Do you wanna take my spare room for the night? You look too tired to make it back"

"Are you sure? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a pain" she rubbed her face.

"No, no it's fine" he assured her, leading her there and opening the door. It was the cleanest room, it wasn't used much. It had magnolia walls and a large red and gold bed set.

She wandered over and fell onto it with a sigh. She kicked off her shoes and curled up. "Thanks Phil…you're amazing"

"What can I say?" he laughed. "You probably want to get IN the bed though"

"C'mere" she gestured, patting the bed next to her. He furrowed his brow but did as she asked, sitting down. Silence engulfed the room for a minute or so as she turned over some thoughts in her mind.

"I love you Phil…did you know that?" she smiled, laying on her back and staring up at the pattered ceiling.

"That's cute" he laughed, trusting it was the alcohol speaking. "I'm so tired…I think it's bed time"

"No, I mean it. You're the best friend I've ever had and will ever have…" she emphasised. "Do you love me too Phil?" she asked.

"Yes Abbie, I love you too" he smiled, making to get up. "Goodnight" he told her.

"No Phil, wait. You know when you said you wanted to tell me something a while back? It wasn't about Eve was it? What was it really about?" she asked inquisitively, voicing something that had been on her mind a while.

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said, biting on his lip ring. Was she onto him? Shit…he should have known she would see right through him…

"Yes you do…you were going to tell me something but you changed your mind…I really want to know…"

"It's nothing" he brushed it off, turning out the light.

As he made to close the door, he heard her whisper. "Please Phil…"

She was drunk, she wouldn't even remember this conversation in the morning…and he was so tired, he just wanted her to stop so he could sleep…

"I was going to tell you that yes, I love you Abbie. I like you a lot…that's what I was planning to tell you"

She was silent.

He closed the door, running a hand through his hair. Fuck. He may well come to regret that one…

I just had to get the exploding ovaries thing in there. That must be the best crowd sign EVER xD As always, thanks for reading and thank you for your support and feedback! Let me know what you think; as usual the more reviews, the sooner I update :)