Disclaimer, etc., in part 1. Thanks to all that are continuing to read/review this one.

Part Twenty-Five

Seth flicked a look in the direction that Punk was heading, then made his way toward an equipment crate that was propped up against the wall, easily hiding them from view if they stepped back behind it. Glancing around to make sure that no one else was around - thankfully, Punk had been the only other person in the area - Eve ducked behind the crate as well, the diva leaning against the wall as she looked up at Seth. He gestured toward the hallway.

"Sorry about that. He saw me before I could duck away. It was pretty clear I was looking at you, too."

"It's okay. Punk's not the type to gossip... Not to anyone besides Paul Heyman anyway," Eve replied. "And he... He knows what happened at SmackDown," she said, and when Seth's eyes widened, the diva was quick to clarify. "He knows what Kaitlyn did to me... And that Ambrose was the one to keep me from falling. He also knows that I've run into you a couple of times, but not... Not anything else."

Rollins nodded. "I, uh... I wasn't sure you'd actually want to talk to me tonight," he said, and the diva frowned up at him. She'd been on the SmackDown live events that weekend while he and the Shield had been on the RAW ones, so she hadn't seen him since Friday night and the kiss they'd shared.

"Why would you think that?" the divas' champion wanted to know, and Rollins shrugged, looking away for a moment, the behavior striking Eve as almost... shy... or, at the very least, uncertain which, considering the confidence he usually exuded as a member of the Shield, was a little surprising... And oddly endearing.

"You've had a few days to think about... Everything," he said after a moment, though Eve knew full well that by 'everything' he really meant the fact that he'd kissed her. "So I thought maybe... You'd want to keep your distance."

"Well, you thought wrong," Eve replied, the woman shifting closer to him, rising up on her toes slightly to press a kiss to his lips... Rollins blinking almost in surprise at first, then smiling, the man leaning down to kiss her again.

"I guess that means... You haven't decided that I was out of line."

"Definitely not."

"Then... Maybe I wouldn't be out of line if I asked you out after the show... Maybe grab something to eat?" he asked, and Eve couldn't help the smile that came to her lips at that.

"Are you... asking me out on a date?"

"I guess I am."

"Then I guess I'm saying yes," she said, then arched a brow at him. "I'm guessing you guys ride to the show all together, so... We'll be needing to take my rental car?"

"If that's okay."

"It definitely is," Eve replied, and Seth nodded, then let out a breath that seemed almost like a sigh of relief. Eve tilted her head to the side, looking up at him. "Were you actually worried I wouldn't say yes?"

"It might have crossed my mind," the Shield member said, looking a little embarrassed about it, shrugging his shoulders before changing the subject. "Everything okay before? You and Punk looked kind of serious for a minute."

"We were talking about whether we'll have to keep an eye out for Kaitlyn during our match tonight," Eve said, and when Seth arched a brow at that, the diva elaborated. "He was put in a mixed tag, and he had to find his own partner, so he asked me to team up with him. We'll be facing the Miz and Layla."

"And you're worried Kaitlyn might try to interfere? I'd figure that Booker T would already be mad at her after what she pulled on Friday, so she'd have to be crazy to try anything tonight."

"Maybe. That's what we're hoping, anyway. Either that, or she'll figure she has nothing to lose or something. But she has to know that she can't get away with whatever she wants to, not anymore. Not after Booker saw that video. He'll doubt what she says now. And Punk heard a rumor that if I beat her next week, she can't have another title shot as long as I'm the champion... I don't know if it's true, though," the diva said, and Seth shrugged.

"The rumor's going around. Dean heard the same thing earlier. He said a couple of the other divas were talking about it," the man said, then made a face, looking away, and Eve pressed her lips together for a moment, then heaved out a sigh.

"What else were they saying?" she asked him, and he shook his head slightly.

"It doesn't matter."

"Just tell me. And I'd also like to know who it was."

Seth sighed, making a face before he spoke. "Dean said it was Alicia and Layla. And, uh... They were, uh... Wondering how you..."

"How I convinced Booker to put in that stipulation... Which as far as I know, is just a rumor, because he hasn't said a word about it to me. He just said that I could pick a stipulation for the match, and I was sincerely considering a submission match," Eve said, trying to keep her voice from shaking, though she wasn't sure if she was just that upset or that pissed off. She was so sick of the things that people said about her... Things that were completely unfounded.

"I shouldn't have said anything."

"I asked you to tell me. It's not your fault that you did. And it just gives me more reason to beat the crap out of Layla when I team up with CM Punk tonight," Eve stated, the woman managing to get the ghost of a smile on her face. "Besides that, Booker T told me that he was going to air the video that I brought him, which will make those two eat their words... Not that they would ever admit it. I know I did nothing wrong, and there's video proof of it this time. I don't care what anyone thinks of me."

"Hey, they're just mad that neither of them have been able to beat you lately," Seth put in. "And face it... Layla's probably still bitter that you took the title off of her."

"Well, there is that," Eve said, then took a deep breath. "I should get to the divas' locker room and get ready for my match." She pressed her lips together, then looked up at Seth. "I'll meet you in the parking garage tonight after the show?"

He nodded. "I'll be waiting for you," the man replied, reaching out to tuck some hair behind her ear, then leaning down, pressing a kiss to her cheek before walking away, Eve watching him as he left.