Chapter 25: In Joy and Sorrow

Adela looked at Dave, puzzled. "You're not going to tell me where we're going?"

He grinned. "Nope."

"Not even a little hint?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Come on, Animal, give me something!"

He gave her a quarter from the center console of the car with a big grin on his face. "That's not what I had in mind!" she exclaimed through her laughter.

"You said I had to give you something! You didn't specify!"

She shook her head and laughed. "You're a goof, you know that?"

"So I've been told," he replied.

As Adela was about to open her mouth to reply, "The Call" by the Backstreet Boys started playing. Adela's eyes opened wide as she grabbed her cell phone. "Liana," she muttered under her breath before picking up.

"Hey, Liana," she said.

"Dela Bella!" Liana exclaimed. "You told me you were going to call when you got to Dave's house! I've been waiting since 5:30 for you to call!"

"Sorry, Mother!" Adela laughed. "I did get here okay, though. But now, Dave's taking me out and I have no idea where we're going. He won't say anything!"

Liana laughed. "So, what's going on? Are you and Dave together or what?"

"I think we are."

"'Think?' Come on, Adela, either you two are together or you aren't."

"Can we talk about this later?" Adela sighed, rubbing her temples.

"At least you have Dave," Liana said wistfully. "John's never home."

"You knew what you were getting into when you got together with him."

"I know. I know. Trust me, I know. But hey, I finally found a job up here!"

"Really? That's great! Where are you working?"

"I got a job at a day-care center. It's what I've always dreamed of!"

"Well, you act like a big kid anyway!"

"And that's why it's my dream job!" Liana said, laughing.

Adela looked over at Dave and rolled her eyes. He laughed and shook his head. Then, without warning, he pulled into a parking lot.

"Oh, shit!" Adela exclaimed. "Listen, Li, as much as I'd love to talk to you, we just arrived at.. wherever the hell it is that Dave wanted to take me."

"Okay," Liana said dejectedly. "I'll talk to you later, okay? I want details!"

Adela sighed and promised Liana that she would call her in the morning. When they hung up, Adela shook her head, then looked at Dave. "So, where are we exactly?"

Dave just grinned and got out of the car. He walked over to Adela and opened her door. "Come on."

"But, Dave, where are we?"

He grinned and pointed at the sign behind her. "Karaoke!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "I thought you would have had enough of that."

He laughed as they walked towards the karaoke bar. "Only when you and Liana pick the songs. You two are brutal!"

She shook her head as they walked in. "I beg to differ."

After they were seated, Adela looked at Dave. "Now tell me. We all know you can't sing, so why did you bring me here?"

"I thought it was fitting. Good times, bad singing!" He smiled at her.

"I have to be honest with you, Animal. This is the sweetest thing any man has ever done for me."

"You mean to tell me you've never been in a relationship?" he asked incredulously.

She looked away. "No, I haven't," she whispered. "That was Liana's department."

He took her hand. "Come on, let's kill a song."

She laughed and looked him in the eye. "When you say 'us' you mean 'you', right?"

He nodded. "Yes, I mean me. Like you pointed out earlier, I can't sing."

She grinned. "Does this mean I get to pick out your song?"

He sighed. "Just don't do to me what you and Liana did to Randy!"

She laughed. "That was such sweet revenge!" She got up and walked over to the booth where the DJ was. She picked out a song for Dave, then went back to their table.

"Since you picked out a song for me, it's only fair I choose one for you!" he exclaimed, getting up.

"Pick my song?" Adela squeaked. "Oh, no. No, no, no. You are not picking one out for me!" She started to get up, but Dave held her shoulders.

"Don't worry," he said, smiling. "I won't be as bad as Liana."

Adela couldn't help but to watch Dave walk away. She put her head on the table and groaned. 'He better have picked out a good song!' she thought.

When Dave returned to the table, Adela's head was still down. "Are you okay, Adela?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She lifted her head and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just hoping that you picked out a decent song."

He laughed as he sat down. "Don't worry about that, my sweet Dela."

She shook her head and looked around. "Do you come here often?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Truth be told, this is the first time I've ever come here."

A server came and quickly took their orders before scurrying away. Adela laughed. "I think you scared her, Animal," she said between her giggles.

He laughed and shook his head. "A common misconception. I don't beat up women. It's just not right," he said.

Before Adela could reply, a new voice was heard. "All right, you guys. You all know what time it is!" the DJ said. "That's right. It's time for some singing! Where is Adela Santos? I need her up here!"

Adela paled as Dave laughed. "Go on, Adela. He's calling you up there! Break a leg!"

"Come on, Miss Santos! We don't have all night!" the DJ called.

Adea got up from the table and made her way to the stage. "All right, Adela. Do you have any idea on what you're about to sing?" the DJ asked her.

"No," Adela said, shaking her head. "My boyfriend picked out my song." She realized what she had just said and clapped a hand over her mouth. 'I am such an idiot,' she thought. 'I have no idea if we're together or not and I just blurt out that we are!'

The DJ ignored her as he pressed a button. "In Joy and Sorrow" by HIM had started playing. Adela gasped, but no one heard her. This was one of her favorite songs. She had gone through Liana's rock music collection one day and fell in love with it. How the hell did Dave know that?

She finished the song and quickly went back to the booth. "How did you know?" she asked him. "How did you know that was one of my favorite songs?"

He grinned. "A little bird told me."

"And that bird was named Liana, wasn't it?"

"Possibly."

She grabbed her Coke and drained half of it in one gulp. "You're going to hate me, then."

He looked at her. "Why? What happened?"

"Um," she said, her eyes darting around.

"I need a Dave Bautista up here!" the DJ called.

He looked at her. "What did you do?"

"Um, nothing?"

He shook his head and got up, making his way to the stage. "Dude, you picked out a good one!" the DJ said when Dave got on the stage.

Before Dave had a chance to reply, "Somewhere I Belong" by Linkin Park started to play. Just like before, he killed the song. He thanked the crowd when he was done and walked back to the booth.

"Dave, I am so sorry!" Adela said as soon as he came back.

He just laughed. "There's nothing to be sorry about," he replied. "You're just lucky I like Linkin Park."

She got up and hugged him. "But I was right, though."

"What's that?" he asked, letting her go and holding her at arm's length.

"You really can't sing!"

He laughed. "Well, we all can't be rock gods."

They sat down and ate their dinners, which had arrived while Dave was onstage. Neither said a word as they ate. When the server came back to see if they wanted dessert, they declined and asked for the bill.

Adela had started to take her wallet out, but Dave stopped her. "I'm paying, so put it away," he said.

"Can't we at least go Dutch?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm sure. Your money's no good here."

She sighed and did as Dave requested. He paid the bill and they walked out of the karaoke bar.

"So, what else are we doing tonight?" she asked.

"That's up to you."

Adela smiled. "Want to go back to your place and watch a movie?"

"Are you sure? You don't want to go anywhere else?"

"Dave, we do have two days!" she reminded him.

"Okay, you win. We'll go home."

They walked to his car, hand in hand. He helped her into the automobile, then got in, started the car, and drove back to his house.

"I had fun there, Dave," Adela said. "I haven't had this much fun since Liana and I went on that little road trip last month."

He smiled. "I'm glad, Dela," he replied.

"You're not mad at me, are you?"

"No, Adela, I'm happy," he said. "I'm happy you're here. It sounded like you needed to get away from it all."

She smiled, then looked out the window, resting her arm on the center console.

After a few moments of silence, he looked over at her and placed a hand on hers. She looked back at him, but his attention was divered back to the road. She started giggling.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing," she managed to say. "It's just nice to get away from everything for once."

They didn't speak another word until they reached Dave's driveway. "So, what movie are you up for?" he asked her as they got out of the car.

"Not sure yet," she replied. "I'll have to take a look."

He unlocked the front door, then stepped aside so Adela could go in first. She made a mad dash towards Dave's entertainment center, where she found one of her favorite movies.

"I didn't think you'd be into this kind of thing!" she exclaimed, holding up a copy of The Lost Boys.

He laughed. "I'm full of surprises, Adela. Just like you."

She just looked at him and joined him in his laughter. "I've got an idea," she said. "Since we're staying in, why don't we have a little pajama party?"

"Sounds good," he said. "Five minutes?"

She nodded. They both went upstairs and changed. Adela grabbed her dark purple tank top and black shorts and put those on, making sure the blue rose tattoo on her ankle showed. She went downstairs, grabbed sodas from the refridgerator, and went to the living room.

"What took you so long?" Dave asked, grinning.

Adela stopped and looked at him. He only wore black pajama bottoms, which meant the rest of his body was on display. She had seen him in his wrestling trunks before, but never up close and personal.

"Ready?" he asked her. She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. She put the movie in the DVD player, then sat next to Dave. He put his arm around her shoulder and she scooted closer to him, putting her head on his chest. She heard his heartbeat and noticed it was racing almost as fast as her own.

About halfway through the movie, Adela fell asleep. Dave looked down at her and smiled. He took in the long dark hair still in the braid and her slender body wrapped up in purple and black. 'She's beautiful,' he thought as he watched Adela sleep.

When the movie was over, he picked her up just like he had done hours before. He carried her up to her room and placed her on the bed. It was then he noticed a small tattoo on her left ankle. He shook his head and smiled. He put the covers over her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"See you in the morning, Adela," he whispered before going to his own room for the night.

A/N: You all know what to do! Click on the little button and review!