Chapter 36: Wake Up Call

I hear voices in my head

They counsel me, they understand

They talk to me

"Did you just sing your entrance theme in my ear Mr. Apex Predator?" I couldn't help but mumble out as I felt his arm tighten itself around my waist, which was both strange and comforting at the same time. It was comforting because it was nice to cuddle with a guy like this, and it was strange because I don't remember falling asleep in his arms last night.

"What? You don't like me singing my theme song to you as your wakeup call? I thought I was being quite charming." he answers in defense as I finally manage to crack my eyes open.

"Well . . . Your singing voice needs a little work, but overall, it was a nice gesture," I say with a chuckle as I turned around in his grip so that I was now face to face with him. "I don't remember falling asleep last night with your arm around my waist Randy."

"You don't remember that? You must have a faulty memory because I remember that moment perfectly." he tells me with a smirk as he pulls me into his chest.

"You remember sliding your arm around my waist before falling asleep last night?" I ask with a suspicious look on my face.

"Yes, yes I do," Randy says with a grin before pecking my forehead. "You fell asleep first, I wrapped my arm around your waist, and then I fell asleep. Pure and simple . . ."

"Well that explains it . . ." I say as I try to sit up, but Randy tightens his grip around my waist, preventing me from moving more than a few inches. "Excuse me?"

"What? No kiss good morning?" he asks me with a smirk as he leans toward me. "I'm not counting that kiss to the forehead I did just now you know."

"You are one greedy son of a gun, you know that right?" I ask as he tries to lean in for a kiss, but I stop him before he could get his lips five inches close to mine. "No way! You tend to have bad morning breath and I'm not kissing you until you've had a date with Ms. Mouthwash."

"But Ms. Mouthwash doesn't kiss like you do!" he exclaims, quickly playing along so well that I started to chuckle. "She always leaves a stinging taste in my mouth whenever I kiss her. I don't think she likes me too much."

"I don't care if she hates you or not, I still think you need to arrange a date with her," I playfully reply back as I pull out of his grip. "Now go into that bathroom and make nice with her if you still want that kiss! If you have suddenly decided to change your mind, then I guess you don't want that kiss after all!"

"No! I still want that kiss!" he exclaims before jumping out of the bed. "That smooch will be mine!"

"You can be such an idiot at times, but I must admit. I admire your persistence," I say with a smile as he shoots me a smirk. Once Randy entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, I checked my phone to see if I had received any messages from last night. There was only one message that was pending, but it was dated this morning.

Mara,

Woke up this morning to see that neither Randy nor you were at the hotel! What happened to you guys? Call me back after you read this.

Ted

"Aw . . . Ted's worried about us!" I say with a playful pout on my face. I quickly dial up his number just as Randy walked back into the room, hopefully, with fresher breath. The dial tone only rang once before I heard my friend's voice coming from the other end of the line. "Hello Ted! I have read your text message and I'm now calling you, just like you wanted!"

"Where the fuck are you two?!" Ted cried into the receiver as I put the call on speakerphone, his outburst prompting a loud chuckle to emanate out of the Viper. "A full 24 hours haven't even passed yet and Cody's already driving me crazy with his demands. I can't survive the next two weeks like this man. I was hoping to complain to you guys in person, but you guys are complete no-shows! Care to explain your absence!?"

"Calm down Ted. I'm sure you're blowing things way out of proportion here," Randy tells him as he finally stops chuckling. "And in regards to our location, our bus broke down so we stayed the night at the hotel. If our driver still doesn't have the bus fixed by the time we check with him later this morning, we're going to have to rent a car to get to the arena!"

"Then you better get your asses moving then," Ted advises us as Randy wraps his arms around my waist. "Hunter wants everyone that's supposed to appear for the SmackDown taping to be at the arena by 4:00 PM sharp today, and it takes a while to get here from where you guys are at right now."

"We hear you loud and clear Ted," I say as I check the time to see that it was already 8:15. "If we're going to get to the arena on time, we better get out asses moving then . . . I'll call you back once we're on the road okay?"

"Fine, but hurry! At this rate, Cody is slowly going to drive me insane . . ." Ted grumbles before I end the call. I couldn't help but chuckle again as I put my phone down and turn around, instantly receiving a searing kiss at the hands of the Apex Predator himself, his momentum sending me back on the mattress back first.

"Now are you happy you got your good morning kiss today?" I ask, completely breathless after Randy finally releases my lips.

"I am, very much so. Now I can officially look forward to my day," he tells me with a smirk as he grabs his phone from off the top of the other bedside dresser. "First things first, I'm going to check with Carl on the progress of our bus. If it's ready to go, we'll head straight back to the arena parking lot. If not . . ."

"Rental place, here we come . . ." I say with a shake of my head. I gather a set of clothes from my luggage before hightailing it into the bathroom. I quickly shower, brush my teeth, and fix my hair before reemerging to see Randy was still sitting on the bed, still dressed for bed, and with a disgruntled look on his face. "Aw . . . don't tell me the bus is still a no go!"

"Oh . . . It's a no go alright, and it wasn't because of some rusty or worn out part or anything like that," Randy grumbles as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Someone sabotaged the engine!"

"Someone actually messed with the bus, on purpose?" I couldn't help but blurt out as I returned my toothbrush to my bag. "Do you think it was Ziggler and his cronies?"

"I was thinking that it was Ziggler at first, but that idea went away once Carl sent me a photo of the item used to sabotage the engine."

"Let me see this photo Mr." I order as I walk over and sit next to him. Randy lets out a deep breath before showing me the photo, and it was quite the eye opener once I finally viewed it. Wedged right into the deepest parts of the engine was what looked like a woman's hot pink thong.

That's right, a hot pink thong was used to sabotage the engine of the Viper's bus.

"How are you so sure this wasn't an act done by Ziggler and his Showoff groupies?" I question as I brush a hand through my hair. "The thong could easily be AJ's. Hell, it may be even Ziggler's for all we know."

"I know that it's not from any one of them, even though I wish it was, because I have seen that same exact thong once before," he tells me as a guilty look comes across his face, his admission making me quiet in an instant. "I've seen that thong before because that was the exact thong that I stripped off of Cameron during our one night stand weeks ago."

"Ah . . . oh . . ." I say at a loss of words as I turn away from the Viper. "Now I just feel awkward . . . Very, very awkward."

"My morning goes from good to bad with just one photo. . ." Randy sarcastically says as he finally gets up from his seat. "It started great with our kiss, and then it just goes sour thanks to my ex's thong."

"I don't know what to say to you about this one Ran. This one has got me at a loss for words," I reluctantly say with a shake of my head. "What do you think we should do now?"

"Let's just get out of here and get to a rental shop okay? I just want to get out of this city as soon as possible right now," he manages to growl as he stalks over to his suitcase.

"Fine, but promise me something first," I say as I jump to my feet and make my way over to him. He slowly turns around and as he finally put me in his sights, I pulled his head down and gave him a big kiss. His body, tense at first, slowly relaxes as our kiss continues. Eventually, we stop to take a breather, our foreheads now pressed together as we take in some deep breaths. "Promise me you will not let this whole 'thong' fiasco get to you. Cameron is just trying to play mind games with you, and I know you're better than that, way better. You are the current World Heavyweight Champion, and you're not letting something this petty mess with your concentration, you hear me!"

"I hear ya," he tells me with a nod of his head, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I promise I won't let Cameron get to me."

"Good, now get ready!" I tell him in a commanding tone as he grabs his clothes. "The sooner you get ready, the sooner we can leave."

"Yes ma'am," he tells me with a military salute as he jogs over to the bathroom. However, before he enters the smaller room, he turns to me with a grateful look on his face. "And Mara . . . Thanks."

"You're welcome Randy," I say with a nod before he enters the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a soft click. " . . . You're welcome."

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