Chapter XXIX: Knowing Smiles and Blushing Cheeks

Lita and Shawn ushered the confused two into the living room to where the patio doors were opened and a dining table for two was set, adorned with white taper candles. "Because you two are so stubborn, we took it upon ourselves to make you sit down alone for dinner," the redhead announced.

Both Rob and Samia started to back peddle to the front door but Lita jumped in front of Rob and Shawn grabbed Samia by the arm. Both were escorted to the table and stared down until they acquiesced. She allowed Shawn to pull her chair out for her and take her wrap. The breeze from the patio doors was cool on her bare shoulders but welcome from the embarrassing moments she had had to endure from the time she had step foot in the place.

Rob and Samia glanced at each other awkwardly when the lights were dimmed and music began playing in the background. Lita lit the candles and poured them each a glass of white wine. She leaned down close to Samia and whispered, "Start talking," and then disappeared into the kitchen.

"I thought I was going to a charity ball and ended up at a 'friend's'," she made rabbit ears in the air, "house to pick up a donation. How 'bout you?"

"I thought you were still in Atlanta and I was taking your place by going with Lita to a friend of hers' wedding," Rob replied. They glared over at Shawn and Lita who looked like a million bucks despite their hands in different pots and arranging plates.

"Whose house is this anyway?" Samia asked, looking around.

"Lita's, I guess," Rob said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I'm staying at Lita's." Once again, they sent a menacing look at the two but quickly turned back around as Shawn carried over a bowl full of salad. Samia mumbled a 'thanks' as he dolled out their portions. "Are you okay with Shawn being here?" she asked after the blonde had returned to the kitchen.

"Don't have a choice, do I?"

"I've forgiven him for using me and there's nothing between us."

"Samia," he stated matter-of-factly. "You were going to a ball with him."

"Because he needed someone to go. I've never lied to you about him."

"Like everything else?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Rob, I never lied to you. I just left out a lot of information."

"In an essence, isn't that the same as lying?" he asked, the same hint in his voice. Samia looked down at the salad on her plate and took a bite, searching for a way to answer him.

Shawn pulled the rolls out the oven and glanced over at Lita, who was adding the garnish to the plates of chicken, resting on a noodle bed, and covered with a thick sauce. "Are they done with the salad?" he asked.

"Uh, not hardly. It doesn't look good. They just now quit snapping at each other and started eating."

"They quit talking?" Lita nodded her answer. "We've gotta keep this warm," Shawn muttered and began rearranging plates in the kitchen. When he was done, they both leaned up against the counter, side by side, and inconspicuously watched the scene in the living room. The stereo was softly playing and Travis Tritt's "Anymore" began.

"You slipped that song in anyhow, didn't you?" Lita asked. Shawn glanced away with a knowing look in his eye. "I can't believe you," she said sternly but couldn't hold back the smile as she remembered what led up their argument earlier in the day.

"I filched these from Samia's suitcase this morning…" Lita said, dropping the CD book on the coffee table, "…and these are my mine." She added two large cases to the table.

"I'll let you in on a guy secret," he replied, "We don't care too much about romantic music."

"And I'll let you in on a secret too. We don't care what you care. We like romantic music. Help me pick some out for tonight."

"I know that. I'm just picking at you," Shawn responded with a crooked grin. She picked up an Evanescence album and set it aside. "What are you gonna do with that—depress'em?"

"And that Alan Jackson CD won't?"

"Samia likes country music."

"And Rob doesn't," she curtly replied.

"I thought we were doing this for her." Lita shook her head with a grin. "Is that a Lisa Marie Presley album?" Shawn asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Yeah, I know," she said, echoing his sentiment. "Somebody got it for me because they thought I looked like her."

Shawn took the album cover and held it up to her face. He untucked some of her hair behind her ear and pulled a little to cover part of her eye. "I see it. You're definitely prettier."

Lita found herself blushing and quickly took the cover away from him. "Maybe we should just do some instrumental music."

"How 'bout something that reflects the situation? There's plenty of songs out there about broken love or something sappy like that."

"This is no joke," she said, her face growing serious.

"I didn't say it was. I'm just trying to get you to lighten up," he replied, flipping through more of the pages.

"I know they love each and they're just too stubborn not to get back together. I really want this to work out. I've tried everything I know and I think they've both caught on."

"It'll work. If I know her, she just needs a little nudge in the right direction."

"And to get past whatever wall it is that Rob's putting up," Lita said and grew quiet, a wistful look crossing her face.

"All of this is reminding you about Matt, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she said softly.

He reached a hand out and placed it on her arm. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could say to make it better." She looked up at him in surprise. "I know I've used my share of women but I'm not that way anymore. I really wish something like that hadn't happened to a girl like you."

"Thanks," she replied and patted his arm. They went back to flipping through the CD books.

"This is what I mean," he said and pulled out a Travis Tritt album.

"That song is as old as the hills."

"But it's perfect."

"It's cheesy," Lita quickly replied, rolling her eyes.

"So?"

"It's chee-sy," she repeated as if he didn't hear her. "No way. I'm putting my foot down on that one."

"We'll see about that," he said with a twitch at the corner at his mouth.

"I'm warning you, Shawn," she replied with narrowed eyes but he laughed and flashed her a sexy grin.

Now, Samia was inwardly groaning at the choice of song and she viciously stabbed another piece of lettuce, trying to ignore the words…My mind keeps recreating a life with you alone and I'm tired of pretending I don't love you anymore…

Rob seemed to be oblivious to the song, which made her feel as if her feminine predisposition was kicking in. Let me make one last appeal to show you how I feel about you…Trittcrooned on.Glancing up at him again, she thought about how Stacy had been flirting with him, even if it had been to make her jealous. That didn't mean that any woman couldn't do the same and win him over while she was trying to convince herself she didn't love him.

My heart can't take the beating, not having you to hold; a small voice keeps repeating deep inside my soul, it says I can't keep pretending I don't love you anymore… continued the song, making Samia wonder if it was possible for a song to describe her life at the moment but then shefelt stupid for acting on the words of a song that just happened to be playing on the stereo. She gulped down the worry and decided that the minute she found a way to bring the subject up, she was going to suck it up and dive in feet first.

The entrees were delivered as soon as they had taken the last bite of salad. When their two conspirators had disappeared, Samia took a sip of the wine and sighed, "They went through all this trouble to get us to talk. The least we could do is talk."

"You look great tonight."

"Thank you. So do you do," she replied, appraising him with her eyes. It wasn't every day that someone could get Rob Van Dam in a suit. "But that's not exactly what I meant."

"And what exactly do you mean?" He knew but didn't want to be the first to start the conversation.

She sighed, hoping he would be the first to begin since he always seemed to be the one confronting her. "You've not said anything since I apologized to you. You come to my room, demand answers, I try to give them to you, and you just leave. I really haven't figured out what to do about us since then."

"That's the problem. There is no 'us,'" Rob replied.

"Just in case you missed it, Lita seems to think there should be."

"Mmm…"

"Apparently Shawn does too. They'll quit if we'll just…" Samia searched for the right words. "…just decide on..."

"I know what you mean."

"I'm tired of this—this not knowing between us. I have thought about you everyday since I came back and then some. In reality, I've never quit thinking about you. I don't have a clue what you're thinking and I'm tired of windering. If you'll just tell me, I can make an attempt to move on with my own life or…maybe we can try this again," she explained, as part of the song echoed through her head…I've got to take the chance or let it pass by if I expect to get on with my life…

"How many agains can there be?" he asked, laying his fork down and concentrating on her eyes.

"As I recall, there never was one," she replied, returning his hard stare. "You didn't trust me and left me for Adrienne Bradley and since then we've had this tension between us—"

"I thought we were back together after we slept together that night."

"Which I've already said I didn't mean to happen."

"There's this thing called trust," Rob replied flippantly and picked his fork back up.

"And it's going to take some time to trust me again. I know that," she said, trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice. "But you have to start somewhere…that is, if you plan on starting. I wish I could say something that would make you trust me. I will say this anyhow. I love you. I'm tired of trying not to. I never have the intention of breaking your heart again. It's all up to you."

Rob regarded her words carefully. "We can't immediately go back to being like you and Lita."

"I know. I'm not asking you to."

Rob glanced in the direction of the kitchen to see the cooks bringing desserts to exchange for the now empty plates. When they disappeared again, Rob spoke. "I don't want to talk here."

"Let's appease them and then go somewhere else."

Lita and Shawn glanced around the kitchen at the dirty dishes. "I'll do them tomorrow," she offered and leaned back onto the counter where she had spent most of the night watching. He joined her, their arms touching. "They've been talking like that for a while. I think it's progress."

"I agree," he said, taking her hand. "You've not had a bite to eat all evening. Think we can leave them alone now?"

"Yeah, I'll pour them some more wine and tell her we're leaving."


As Shawn and Lita awkwardly stood outside her house, Rob was explaining why he had abruptly left Samia's hotel room and why he felt he couldn't get close to her again. They were now sitting side by side on the couch that they learned belonged to a first cousin of Lita that she was particularly close to and was out of town for the weekend. Samia's head lay on his shoulder as he picked at her curls and they talked. She told the same story that Shawn had told him but added much more to it. He had hardly listened to Shawn's words as he dealt with knowing that all she had done was false. Now he listened to her every word.

"No matter what happens between us," she whispered, "I will always love you." She raised her head from his chest and wrapped a hand around his neck, pulling him down into a tender kiss.

At the same time Samia's and Rob's lips met, Shawn leaned in towards Lita and she willingly tilted her head up to his. She had no idea what compelled her to take Shawn's offer to go out for a meal or now she was definitely clueless as to why she wanted him to kiss her. The feeling had been there all day as they put their plans in motion. Shawn had felt like he was supposed to have made the move sooner but the short conversation about Matt Hardy had stalled him until he felt the moment begged to be taken. Lita started to ask him in but thought twice about it and wished him a good night.

As the redhead climbed into her own bed to wrestle with her feelings about Shawn, Samia and Rob had fallen asleep on the couch, her head resting on his chest and his cheek cushioned by her curls.


Samia stood outside of Lita's house early in the morning, debating on how to get in. She had her suspicions about Lita and Shawn and she wasn't ready to be confronted by either of them if he had stayed the night. Carefully picking her way around the house in her heels, she checked a few windows and then the back door. No hope. Traipsing back around to the front, she pushed the door bell several times to wake Sleeping Beauty and possibly her cohort.

It wasn't long before Lita pulled open the door, her hair a mess but at least she was clothed. She glanced over Samia's wrinkled dress and grinned. "No," the blonde curtly replied.

"Well, what happened then?"

"We talked," she bluntly replied, having no intention of telling her anything until she got some answers.

"That's it?"

"That's it. I could ask the same of you," Samia answered and headed down the hall to the guest bedroom, sneaking a peek into Lita's room and seeing it empty. "But since it's so early, I'll just leave you alone to go back to bed," she added, waiting to see what Lita would say about the previous night when she got back up.

"I'm awake. Might as well stay up. Want some breakfast?"

"Sure," Samia replied and disappeared into her room to change out of the evening gown. When she came back, she stopped in the doorway of the kitchen to hear Lita humming. "What are you so happy about?" she asked, coming in and settling at the table.

"Oh, nothing," the redhead replied and turned back around to the stove.

I bet, Samia sarcastically thought. "I would have never thought you owned a dress like the one you wore last night. Is that new?" Bought especially for Shawn, she thought with a laugh.

"No, I've had it for awhile. Only had one occasion to wear it besides this one," Lita answered, wondering herself why she wanted to impress Shawn by wearing it.

"Next time I want to catch a man, I want to borrow it," Samia replied, baiting her.

"Mmm…" she muttered and pulled two plates out of the cabinet.

To Samia, her silence said it all. She would definitely be getting some answers out of the woman later.


"So, who're we beating up today?" X-Pac excitedly asked as he bounced into the Wolfpack's dressing room.

"Nobody in particular, I don't guess," Scott replied, looking over at Shawn and Kevin for confirmation, "outside of Evolution."

"They're no fun anymore. Unless you wanna strip'em down and spraypaint'em."

"Uh, no," Shawn replied.

"Alright. Let's look at the list of the guys that did us in with Samia. Undertaker's gone, Bradshaw's gone—"

"What're talking about, Kid?" Kevin asked, dropping the pen he was using to work on their travel schedule.

"Booker T's around. He was in that group. C'mon, guys. It's time to dole out some punishment for walking on the nWo."

"That was over two years ago. Just let it go," Shawn replied, picking up the schedule and making a quick correction.

"There is no way the nWo would have let—"

"This isn't the nWo," Kevin interrupted. "That's a lifestyle we've put behind us. Just deal with it."

X-Pac opened his mouth to say something but shut it and flopped down in a chair to say nothing else for the rest of the evening, even when Shawn turned his full attention to the monitor when Samia and Lita appeared.

They were minding their own business in catering with a few other male friends including RVD, all lounged out at a table playing cards to pass the time. The two women and Rob ignored Stacy Keibler as she pranced up to the table but the rest dropped their cards to stare at her. She situated herself between two of the guys and asked what game they were playing. One of the guys from a dark match, his name Samia couldn't remember, immediately answered and asked her to join. She pulled up a chair between Rob and Samia who scooted theirs as far away as possible.

Samia caught sight of a cameraperson, one of the annoying flies who seemed to virtually be everywhere even though it wasn't their fault, and debated on whether she should make quick work of humiliating the woman or just let Stacy do that on her own. "Whose dressing room did you get kicked out of this time?" she asked.

Stacy laid cool eyes on her and replied, "It's not whose did I leave but whose I'm trying to get into." She then turned back around to Rob and giggled something to him.

Lita poked Samia in the arm and whispered, "Let me do it, please."

"I wouldn't dare give up the pleasure," she said and carefully picked one hair on Stacy's head and jerked. She yelped but then whirled around and tossed a cup of soda on Samia. Lita was instantly out of her seat but the no name wrestler was pulling Stacy away. Shane Helms had a hold of Lita and Rob was restraining Samia. "Tell her to go away and maybe she'll leave me alone," she bit out to him.

"It's not about RVD, it's all about you now," Stacy yelled at her.

"You start with Mia, you start with me," Lita angrily replied.

"I think there's a tag-team match begging to be made here, ladies," the ever-so-prompt GM announced striding into the room. "Samia and Lita versus Stacy and a partner of her choosing." Seeing the grin spread on the ex-cheerleader's face, he added, "A female partner of Stacy's choosing. This match will take place in two weeks at No Mercy."

"Aptly named," Samia stated to Lita and gritted her teeth as Stacy wrapped an arm around Mr. No Name Wannabe and escorted him out, cooing words of gratitude to the enamored wrestler.


Samia knocked on Rob's door and waited for him to invite her in. He laid the comic book that he was reading beside a stack of others. "Looks like you hit a goldmine this morning," she said, gesturing at the books.

"Yeah, I came across several rare ones and a couple more to complete some of my series," he answered with a smile.

"Lita's out with some friends she hasn't seen since we came through here last. So you wanna get something delivered and then you can tell me about what the books you picked up today?"

"Yeah, I loved to," he replied, always enthusiastic to talk about his second love.

Samia wasn't one for comic books but, if it was something he wanted to talk about, she was all ears as they sat side by side, facing each other on the bed. When Rob had finished talking about the last one, he lay back onto his pillow and she did the same, scooting down enough to keep her head from falling off the bottom of the bed.

"Can I ask you something?" she somberly said.

"Go ahead," he answered, taking one of her feet in his hands and kneading it.

"Have you noticed Lita acting differently lately?" she asked, holding in the groan of pleasure from his massage.

"Yeah, she's all smiles and giggles and cool with everything."

"I think she's found a man," Samia stated, forcing her mind to think as familiar feelings began to stir throughout her body from his simple touch.

"Really?" Rob asked with surprise.

"It's obvious that she and Shawn were working on getting us together and I think something's going on between them but Lita won't admit it." He switched to her other foot and she let the moan slip as he rubbed her heel. "I think they'd make a great couple."

"Maybe so," Rob replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"He's really not as bad as you think he is. Since they tried what they did on us, maybe we should try to set them up…or make them admit something's going on."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm telling you about it."

"Try getting them to go out on a blind date. If they freak out about it, you know something's going on," Rob explained.

"I think I'll try that, but keep thinking about what we could do," she said, pulling her foot away from him and switching ends of the bed to prop her chin on his chest. She then inched up slowly to softly brush his lips with hers and, when he didn't protest, deepened the kiss.

Rob gently pushed her away, seeing the want in her eyes, something he too was feeling. "I'm not ready to go that far," he whispered.

"I'm not asking you to. If we're trying this again, we don't have to start out by jumping in the sack. I just want to…" She ran a finger over his bottom lip. "…kiss you. We can take things slow and when we're ready, we'll both know it." She sighed and then continued, "I know I'm not a perfect person and I never meant to do those things to you..." Where did that come from? she thought but continued with the words that were streaming out. "I'm so sorry that I hurt you. It's something I have to live with everyday and all that pain I put you through. I wish I could take it all away. I found a reason—"

"Wait. Aren't those Hoobastank's lyrics?"

"That's where I've heard them before," she said and sheepishly smiled. "They just started coming out and I couldn't stop'em."

"You're a mess."

"I know," she giggled. "Everybody's got a song. That could be ours."

"Maybe," he replied and straightened out his smile before drawing her lips in.

At the same time, Lita was sitting on Shawn's bed, running her fingers through her hair. "Nothing's happened since what I told you Sunday. We got somewhere because they're talking but what now? They are on to us after the dinner, so what can we do from here?"

"I don't know. Have you actually talked to either of them about getting back together?" Shawn asked and she shook her head in reply. "Maybe they don't want to."

"Have you watched them around each other? Trust me, they are meant to be together."

"Alright, start throwing out some ideas."

The two brainstormed for some time, not coming up with anything in particular that both liked. Lita finally decided to talk to them separately and see what was holding them back. Maybe just plain conversation would do the trick.

Despite the fact that the door was within spitting distance of the bed where Lita sat, Shawn still saw her out. "I guess I'll see you Monday, then," she said, glancing down at the floor and then back at him.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, stuffing a hand in his jeans pocket.

"Okay, then," she replied and reached for the doorhandle.

"Yeah," he muttered, quickly taking his hand out of his pocket and pulling her to him to kiss her.

She finally pushed away, blushing a beet red, and slipped out the door with a smile, one that he was not oblivious to.

TBC…

rev. 5/12/05


Author's Notes:

A little boring and a little slow (and a lot late!), I know, but I needed to write this chapter as a way of beginning to wrap things up. :(

The use of Travis Tritt's "Anymore" may feel a bit awkward. This chapter was written before it was handed down that we could not 'copy and paste' song lyrics into our chapters. Therefore, I did my best to rewrite it and make it obvious that it was not a 'copy and paste' and that I did not write the song.