If you're reading this, thank you for bearing with me! It's definitely been another long coming. And thank you to therealchamps, cena's baby doll, awesomeone21, and 1222mercedes1222 for giving the last chapter a review. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Finally!

A Month Later

"Winner gets a back rub."

"Wait-you started before-ugh! Cena!" Alyssa dashed through the terminal gates, making strangers blur into speed. She shifted her body from side to side as she quickly maneuvered a route to surpass John. Despite her efforts, the wrestler's stamina was just too strong. There was no way she could've defeated him in any physical competition, much less with his head start. She found him laughing once she finally caught up.

"I win," he said, a big grin plastered on his face. The dimples on his cheeks seemed more prominent than usual.

Alyssa didn't wait to catch her breath to roll her eyes. Her irritation was spiking like her heart rate.

"Clearly, I got to our gate first." John kept his lips perked. "Don't be a sore loser now, baby."

"I'm no loser. You can't lose to a cheater."

"And you can't win to accusers. We never agreed to start at the same time. Therefore, I did not cheat." John attempted to hold her hand, but she jerked it away with a swift motion.

"Oh, you wanna play like that?" She crossed her arms and formed a smirk of her own. "No touching until you get your three-second back rub."

John opened his mouth to protest then decided to smile instead. "Fine, fine. Just because I like you so much, I'll forfeit my back rub and give one to you."

"Oh yeah?" Alyssa loosened her shoulders. She didn't realize how tense they were. "How bout you give me a sample right now?"

John gave a charming nod before slipping behind her. He placed his large hands over her shoulders and began working his thumbs.

Alyssa moaned. It was surprising how good it felt, but the sight ahead distracted her from full enjoyment. Her eyes widened at the vision of Randy and Candy walking side by side. Their shoulders were continually brushing against each other with each step they took.

Alyssa turned her head to the side, her hair spilling around John's hands. "Do you see that?"

John didn't avert his eyes from his girlfriend's back. He couldn't think of anything better to look at. "Mm?"

"Randy and Candy."

"Has a nasty ring to it, don't it?"

"Are they dating?" Alyssa directed her eyes back to the surprising duo. They didn't appear to be aware of anyone else around them. Stacy was all smiles and all stares at Randy. He was doing the same with her.

"Does it matter?" John continued his massage with a slightly heavier hand. "Better question is, do we even care?"

She let the questions linger for a moment before forcing herself to look away. Her life hadn't intertwined with Randy's in weeks. She quickly figured this surprising sighting shouldn't change that. Moving away from John's hold, she turned to face him. This sight was much better, much easier, to look at. "Should we check in or have breakfast when we first land?"

Before even registering her question, he threw her a challenging one of his own. "If they were dating, whadda ya have to say bout it?"

The skin around her eyes began to crease. She didn't understand his intent. "I- I would say nothing. There's nothing for me to say."

"Then why did you ask about it?"

"I-I don't know, John, can I not share with you my initial shocked reactions?

"Okay. Okay." John cupped her elbow. "There's no need to be defensive."

"I wasn-" Alyssa's eyes softened. She frowned at the realization of herself. "It's just weird that of all people, those two are together somehow."

"And it's none of our business." John drew his fingers to the hairs framing her face. He tucked them behind her ear before planting a kiss on her temple.

"Nope." Alyssa pursed her lips.

"Croissants and maple glazed donuts," he whispered in her ear.

"What?"

John smiled. "For breakfast. Let's have some. Now, turn back around and let me finish that massage."

"You're a lot of fun, you know that?"

Randy wanted to throw the words right back but instead was distracted by the way his buttons came undone. He barely made it into the driver's seat, after running through a twelve-foot fountain, when Candy's hands went for his shirt. She stretched herself from the passenger's side.

"Your clothes are all wet. I think you should just take em off," she said.

He didn't protest– couldn't protest. A beautiful woman was stripping him bare, how could he say no to that? "You're pretty wet yourself."

"But that's nothing new, is it?" The sensual implication wasn't hard to pick up on her lips. She knew how much she riled him up. He was already looking at her by the time she looked at him.

"Wait, I think we're on the wrong side of the car," he said.

Candy bit her lips and looked behind at the larger space. Then, to Randy's surprise, she shook her head and moved closer. Her hand slipped past him and onto the controls of his seat. Then, he gradually began to recline and move backwards. By the time he grasped her idea, she was already on top of him with her back parallel to the steering wheel. She released him from his shirt, their eyes locked together.

"I rest my case, I think we're fine here," he said.

"We're more than fine here." She then brought her attention to the fabric stuck to her own skin.

As she began to take it off, a ringing sound emitted from the center console. Neither of them had intentions to tend to it but Randy couldn't shake his natural tendency to simply glance over. And when he did, he noticed his ex-wife's name on the screen. She was calling him. Sam was calling him. He stared at the letters forming her name, suddenly feeling conflicted.

His body was pulling towards Candy but his mind was running at the surprise of Sam. Sam, his ex-wife. The curiosity was creeping fast and just when his hand twitched, Candy pulled his face towards her. She didn't say a word but instead twined their lips together in a lock. Thoughts of Sam quickly dissipated. Instead of moving his hand to his phone, he dug it into Candy's hair instead.

"Neal Torreto is one persistent bastard," John said.

Alyssa dug her spoon into the creamy contents inside her Ben and Jerry's carton and raised her eyebrows.

"You declined his job offer. What makes him think you'd be interested in going to the company's gala?" John placed his large palms flat on the counter.

"To make me re-think my decision?" Alyssa shrugged.

"You're not bothered by him?" Wrinkles between John's eyebrows appeared.

"I'm not phased. Why are you?"

"Well…" John brought his hands together, his muscles flexing beneath his shirt as he did. "I don't appreciate how aggressive he's been with my girlfriend."

"Men in his position tend to be assertive." Alyssa picked up her spoon. "He's just a little extreme. I like to think it's because he believes in my work."

"You don't need anyone to tell you how good you are. Your work attests to it already."

"Exactly my point. His aggressiveness is a reflection of my abilities."

"Well…" John grabbed the spoon from her grip. He dipped the silverware into the ice cream before inserting the cold in between his lips. "Neal's aggressiveness is unprofessional."

Alyssa grinned. "John, I'm staying with the WWE. You don't have to worry about him."

"I'm not worried. I'm just saying."

"You're jealous."

"No."

"You're threatened."

"No."

"So why are we still talking about him?" Alyssa shot him a look, but he dodged it by looking away.

"Because he keeps trying to talk to you." He locked their eyes again.

She smiled some more. "So? It's not like I keep trying to talk back. You talk about him longer than I do."

"Because- I- I-"

Shaking her head, Alyssa chucked the carton to him and peeled off of her stool. Her flats hit the ground within a second and silently made their way around the counter. She pulled on the fridge handle and reached for a chilled beer. The sweat from the glass transferred quickly to her fingertips. "I think you need a drink."

"I think you're right." John gave a slow nod at the bottle in her hand.

She passed it over the counter and stared as he popped off the top with a lighter. His lips touched the tip, allowing the fizzing substance to enter his mouth. He was still chugging when his phone lit up and started twirling around the granite. He continued to drink as his girlfriend took it upon herself to check his cell.

"Oh, what the hell."

John connected the bottom of the bottle with the counter and stared. "What?"

"Neal just texted you."

"Hey Sam, sorry I missed your call earlier. I was a little preoccupied with something. Anyway, I hope everything's alright. Give me a call back when you can. Take care." Randy waited a beat before hanging up the phone. The disappointment that came when she didn't answer was a little surprising. He hadn't talked to her in weeks. He never as much even thought about giving her a call, but now here he was, giving her a call back. What could she want? Were there news to tell? Was she checking up on him? Is she alright? He mulled over these questions in circles.

Albeit the fact that their marriage went down tumbling, they still had something special. They spent many years together, and they were great years. Sam will always have a part of him no one else will ever have. Sam will always be his first wife. And most significant of all, Sam will always be the first one that got his mind off of Alyssa. What failed between them, ultimately, was that she didn't get his heart.

Where his heart was now–whether with Alyssa, himself, or no where–it didn't really matter. Randy successfully kept his distance from his best friend, and he was going to keep it that way. Besides, another brunette was occupying his time. Candy was the best mission and distraction he ever sought after. She was fun, crazy, and best of all, under his control. After planning on getting close to her to keep her from Alyssa, things between them developed into something spontaneous. He never planned going this deep, but he didn't stop it either. Candy was a nice girl– a girl he could handle. Although a bit psychotic with her prior tactics on Alyssa and John, Candy had done no harm to him. So, he planned on keeping her around.

When he noticed his phone was still free of Sam, Randy opened up his contacts and followed his routine of calling Candy.

Alyssa rolled her shoulders at the tension building in them. John had left to phone with Neal in the balcony, and the seconds kept rolling on. She could barely see him through the closed blinds, and it was making the anticipation spike higher than she could handle. Subconsciously, she started tapping her fingertips in a frantic rhythm.

What could they be saying to each other for this long? Why did John feel compelled to leave the room?

As much as she didn't want Neal Toretto to be a big factor in her life, it seemed like he wasn't going away that easy. For one, he wasn't the type to take a no for an answer. And two, her boyfriend wasn't the type to ignore men like Neal.

Prying her eyes off the sliding doors, Alyssa went after the beer and chugged the remaining liquid. She set the bottle down with her hand in a fixed grip. "John, John, John. Why can't you just ignore men like I do?"

She knowingly received no answer and decided to flop down on the couch. She figured it'd do her better since she couldn't see the sliding doors from there. The pale wall of their hotel room filled her view. Unfortunately, it did nothing to placate her racing heart. She leaned on the plush backing of the couch, feeling her hair spill all around her. She closed her eyes.

Moments later–the true duration unclear–John reentered the room.

Alyssa's eyes fluttered to his direction and waited for the debrief.

"He called to invite me to the gala."

"What the hell? And so?"

John smirked. "We're going."