Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I associated with the WWE or WWE Superstars.
Kendall was back in the gym the following day; the conversation with her Uncle Dwayne still on her mind. Kendall finished her workout on the bags and climbed onto the balance beam as she pondered over his words. She wanted to beleive that her uncle was right, that Jeff still cared, but she wasn't sure. She'd never seen him this angry at her and she hated that she had been the one to anger him. She was just so confused.
She knew she had messed up, but she didn't think she had messed up bad enough to ruin one of the relationships she held dear. Jeff was her foundation. Her security blanket. Being without her foundation, her security blanket had made her realize just how much she needed and wanted Jeff around her, and not only as a friend. Without him, she felt like she was falling. It was a feeling she didn't know how to cope with.
Kendall got so wrapped up in her thoughts, she failed to see Jeff standing in the doorway. She finally spotted him, mid flip across the balance beam. She was so startled by his presence, she didn't rotate enough and came crashing down head first against the bar and crumbled to the floor. Immediately, she turned on her side, curling into a ball. She grabbed her head, wincing in pain. Jeff was at her side in an instant, his hand feeling along her scalp for injuries.
"Damnit! You startled me." Kendall said through clenched teeth as she sat up, rubbing her head.
"Sorry. You'll probably have a bump on the head, but it should be better in a couple days. You okay?" he asked. Kendall rubbed her head and nodded. Being so unstable when it came to Jeff, having him here, next to her, touching her...only made things ten times worse. She couldn't think about anything but the feel of his fingers and the smell of his cologne. She wanted to embrace the feeling, but she held back. She was still so confused.
"I've noticed you been working out a lot lately. Any particular reason why?" Jeff asked. Jeff inwardly sighed as he watched Kendall retreat within herself.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for Mike's prom?" he asked, trying again.
Kendall shook her head, saying quietly. "Mike and I...uh..we broke up."
Jeff looked at her in shock. "What? When? Why?"
Kendall drew her knees up, resting her arms on top her knees. She gave a small smile, looking at her hands. "The other day. I was gone all the time and even when I was home...I wasn't really here. I was always talking about training or a match...or you."
Jeff sat down beside her upon hearing that. He kinda liked that she talked about him all the time. Kendall sighed as Jeff sat down beside her, listening. "Mike wanted to be with someone normal...someone who did normal things. But I'm not normal and I never will be."
Jeff sighed. "I'm so sorry, Kendall. You must be upset."
Kendall looked at her shoes, a small smile on her face. "You know...I'm not as upset as I thought I would be. I mean...it's kinda ironic isn't it? I worked so hard at trying not to lose him and in doing that, I not only lost Mike but also someone I cared about more than him. I lost you."
Jeff cocked his head to the side, confused. "You didn't lose me, Kendall. I'm still here."
Kendall finally rose her head and looked at him. "Are you, Jeff? Because...I gotta tell you...lately, it doesn't seem like it."
Kendall stood and moved away from him, to lean against the wall. "Jeff, you've barely spoken to me since I got here. And the only time we hang out is if we're eating, and even then the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Do you realize that it's been almost a week since you've even smiled at me?"
She threw her hands up in the air in frustration and gave a nervous laugh. "What you did...spanking me...I deserved it. I get that and I'm not upset about it. I made mistakes, ...huge ones, I'll admit, but that's all they were Jeff. Huge mistakes. I've tried to show everyone that I won't make them again and I've apologised over and over again. Everyone else forgave me, Jeff..why can't you?"
Kendall slowly slid down the wall, as tears poured onto her cheeks. "I miss you Jeff. I miss smelling your cologne when your near me and I miss spending time together. I miss calling you Fruit Loops and I miss hearing my name from your lips. And I miss the way your hair is all wild in the morning when you wake up and your grumbling when there's no cofee in the coffee pot. I miss being held by you on the couch when we stay up all night talking. I want it all back, Jeff. I want you back. Just tell me what I have to do. I'll do anything. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it, Jeff. Anything...I'll do anything...just please...come back to me."
Jeff went to her, gathering her into his arms. He had no idea she was feeling like this, and his feelings were mixed. He felt horrible that she was hurting. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of satisfaction in finding out she felt for him, how he felt for her.
Jeff sighed as he rubbed circles on her back. "Shhhh...I never left. I'm right here, baby."
Jeff stayed there with Kendall in his arms, soothing her until her sobbing turned to sniffles. When he tried to set her back from him, Kendall tightened her hold and snuggled closer. It felt so good to have his arms around her, and frankly she wasn't ready to give that up.
"Kendall..we gotta talk." Jeff said, chuckling. Sighing, she sat back and lifted her eyes to his.
"Listen Kendall...All those things you did...I know that they were just mistakes. Your 16, almost 17...I understand you're gonna make mistakes...that's how you learn. Hell...I've made the same mistakes you did...and more than once." he said with a tiny laugh.
"Well, then why did you get so angry?" Kendall asked.
Jeff sighed. "Just because I made those mistakes doesn't mean I don't worry about you when you make them. You were drinking and driving, Kendall. You could have been pulled over and arrested. You could have been in a car accident. Someone else could have been hurt, possibly even killed. You could have gotten hurt."
Kendall watched as Jeff stood and started pacing in front of her.
"I know nothing happened, but it could have. I could be talking to your tombstone right now, instead of being here, talking with you. I love you too much to let anything like that happen to you, Kendall." Jeff said.
Kendall's head snapped up and she stood, moving closer to him. "I love you too Jeff..."
Jeff, not hearing her, continued his tirade. "And then...you ran off and Lillian went into labor. And when I find you...your playing strip tease with Mike, in your parents swimming pool! And all I could think was how much I wanted to be in that pool with you...how much I wanted to be Mike at that moment. I was so mad that it was Mike and not me!"
Kendall took a step closer: "I wanted it to be you too, Jeff."
Jeff ran a hand through his hair, once again what she's saying not processing. "And then you slapped me...and I just snapped. And well..."
Kendall tried to interject again, but Jeff just wasn't listening.
"I know I shouldn't have spanked you Kendall, but I just didn't know what else to do! And it's not like you didn't deserve it, it just probably shouldn't have been coming from me and..."
Jeff's words were cut off as Kendall grabbed his face between her hands and softly pressed her lips to his. After a moment, Kendall felt one of his arms circle around her waist, and the other running through her hair to rest at the back of her head. Her lips parted under his, and thier tongues met in a harmonic symphany as the kiss deepened. When they finally pulled apart...Jeff and Kendall took a quick step back, dazed. There were definitely sparks between them.
"What...um...what were you saying...before?" Jeff asked in a breathless whisper.
Kendall looked at him from half lowered lashes, her voice deep and rich with passion. "I said I wanted it to be you...in the pool...the other day, I wanted it to be you too."
Without a second thought, he pulled her to him and once again, sampled the sweet taste of her lips. When Kendall reacted with such raw passion, he almost forgot who she was. Almost. Kendall stood in shock as she was suddenly pushed back from him. She looked at him in questioningly.
He looked at her. Lord, she was beautiful. The swell of her breasts were floating up and down as she panted, out of breath from the kiss. Her lips were slightly swollen and bruised from his lips and her eyes were hazy, glowing with desire and passion. He wanted nothing more than to bring her back in his arms for more, but he couldn't. At age 24, he was eight years older than her and legal, but she wasn't. She had another year to go.
"Kendall..." he began, "I would love nothing more than to be with you, but...I can't."
Kendall's face fell. "Oh..."
"At least not until your 18, anyway. And by then...you probably won't even want to be with me anymore." he said, turning away, closing his eyes to the thought. Slowly, a smile replaced Kendall's frown. Walked to him, she let her arms travel around his waist. She waited until he looked at her, then whispered the words he'd been hoping to hear.
"I'll wait for you...If you'll wait for me."