Chapter 35

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, not to be taken seriously. So, please don't.

A/N: I apologize for the delay. It has been a hectic month. I have had 3 family members in the hospital, so it hasn't been just me being a jerk. And to the person who cowered behind the 'guest' moniker to call me out about posting stories that "we all know" I'm not going to finish, I really hope you're not following me or any of my stories because with a reader like you, I don't need enemies. I don't know why I've had to explain this multiple times on multiple stories, but I don't get a paycheck to do this. And I work 50 hours a week, as it is. If my updating schedule is sporadic, and you have a problem with that, then, don't read anything I write. I have a lot going on in my life, and unfortunately, this can not be my number one priority, as it clearly is yours. I apologize that I have a life and a family and a job, but I do the best that I can. And in fact, I was going to update on the day I received that review, but I was so irritated by it that I had to take a couple of steps back and let my frustration go. Please don't criticize me for a crappy update schedule. You don't know what goes on in my daily life, and you certainly don't know as much about me as you might think you do. I share a lot, but there's a lot more going on in my life. I try to update as often as I can but sometimes life gets in the way. If that's a problem, and you want to get snotty with me about it, then, please, don't read anything I post. I'll let you down and won't tolerate the rude remarks. It goes the same way, when I read a story and the author doesn't update it when I want him/her to, I don't post anything snarky. I move on with my life and deal with it. People have their own lives/problems/etc. Because when I receive comments like that, it makes me want to just not write anymore. I don't need the aggravation. Trust me, I think about updating more than you might realize. It's always on the back of my mind. But family, work, etc., those have to come first. Okay #endrant. To all of my usuals, who don't cause me that kind of grief, I love you all and apologize for the wait. In this time, I've typed up the next few chapters, so the updates shouldn't take a month. Love you guys. Sorry for the rant. Enjoy! XoXoXo

The next morning, Jon opened his eyes and immediately realized he was alone in bed. He glanced at the clock on the cable box across the room. 9:42. It took a couple of seconds for it to register in his head that the clock was telling him that he had missed the flight to South Carolina. And when that hit him, he shot up in bed. Where was Dallas? His eyes took note of her cell phone charging on the night table. A slight relief flooded him, as he realized that she hadn't just gotten up and left him there. He let out a loud breath.

Getting out of bed, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants from his suitcase and headed into the hallway. The smell of bacon invaded his nostrils and beckoned him to go downstairs, which he did. Ambling over to the kitchen, he saw Dallas, with her back to him, in front of the stove. She wore a large t-shirt. Her hair was thrown messily on top of her head. She had a spatula in her hand and was singing and dancing along with the music playing through the iPod dock that was resting on the kitchen counter.

Jon quickly recognized "Some Kind of Wonderful" by Grand Funk Railroad. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. A smile played on his lips, as he watched her. It relieved him to see that she was clearly in a good mood, after all, they had just missed their flight to their destination. And even catching the next one would make them late for their show.

Dallas continued singing and dancing, as she flipped her pancakes over and turned over the bacon. She spun around, playfully, before a loud shriek escaped her.

"Holy shit!" she cried out, bringing her non-spatula holding hand to her chest, over her heart. "Oh my God, Mox. You scared the hell out of me," she breathed, before the blush rose to her cheeks. "How long have you been standing there?"

He let out a chuckle and walked over to her, taking the spatula out of her hand and placing it on the counter. He took her hand in his and pulled her body against his. "Long enough." He snaked his arms around her waist, as he began playfully dancing. Dallas wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed.

"You're being silly," she breathed. Unexpectedly dipping her, Dallas let out a yelp of surprise.

When Jon pulled her back up, he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "So, missed our flight?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow.

Dallas pulled away from him and headed over to the stove, and taking the pancakes out of the pan, placing them in a neat pile on a plate resting on the counter. "Yeah. I woke up a half an hour ago. So, whatever. We'll have to road trip it today," she replied with a casual shrug.

"I figured you'd be less...okay with it," he commented, stepping up behind her and placing his hands on her hips.

Dallas smiled back at him, as she put more pancake batter on the hot pan. "Yeah, but...I don't hate the idea of being stuck with you, in a car, for eight hours. I could think of worse things I could be stuck with," she replied.

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Anything involving Colby's slutbag or Princess All Red Everything."

"Steen."

"Eh. We talked."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I think we're alright now. I don't know. Don't really care either. He just isn't on my ass like he was, which I'll take as a win."

"Fair enough."

Dallas pulled the bacon out of the pan it was sizzling in and put the strips on a plate that already had a paper towel on top of it. She began blotting the bacon grease a bit.

"This smells delicious," he breathed.

"Thanks. I like to cook. Always have."

"You're good at it."

"Thanks." She went back to tending to the pancakes, while Jon leaned against the counter, watching her.

"Are we taking one of your cars to the show?" he asked.

Dallas raised an eyebrow. "No. Are you out of your mind?" she incredulously questioned.

"I've been told that I am."

"Cute. I'm not going to cart us around the country in one of my cars. I spent a lot of money on them and love them."

"You're no fun."

"You're no fun," she retorted. "Besides, between driving and flying, it's just easier to get a rental. This way, I can drop it off at the airport, before we go flying around."

"Well, that makes sense. But still."

Dallas put the pancakes on the serving plate. "I hope you're hungry," she said, changing the subject.

"Do you even have to ask?" Jon replied, winking at her.

"True."

She picked up the plate of pancakes, as well as the plate of bacon and brought them onto the island in the kitchen, setting the food down in between the two places she had set for Jon and herself.

"I didn't know you were so domesticated," he commented, before taking a seat next to her.

Dallas rolled her eyes. "There's a lot you don't know about me," she pointed out with a smirk.

"I know. But there's a lot that I do know."

She nodded. "You should consider yourself lucky."

He brought his hand onto her bare thigh. "Trust me, sweetheart, I do."

Flashing a quick smile at him, she quickly changed her demeanor. "Eat. Before it gets cold, Mox."

The pair quickly served themselves helpings of pancakes and bacon, before they began eating. "I really thought you would have been really pissed that we missed our flight," he told her.

Dallas shrugged. "I dunno. I think last night was worth it. Besides, if I remembered to bring my bag up to the bedroom, I would've heard my alarm going off this morning. But it was down here, and I didn't hear it at all. Again...still worth it."

"I'm happy you feel that way. I think it was worth it, too. Besides, now we can spend even more time together on the road. Maybe I can hear more about the woman that's been driving me out of my mind."

She gave him a coy look. "I guess we'll have to see how that plays out for you."

"I guess so."

"Ready?" Dallas asked, getting into the driver's seat of the rented Volkswagen Jetta, in the Enterprise parking lot. She immediately began programming the address of the hotel they were staying at into the navigation system. Jon and Dallas had taken a cab from her house to the car rental facility.

"Why do you get to drive?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because it's in my name, and because I say so."

"I'm listed as a driver on there, too."

"So? I'm still number one," she shot, sticking her tongue out at him, teasingly.

Jon stepped up next to the driver's side, his arms unfolding, his hands going to his hips. "Please let me drive."

"No. Get in. Or I'm leaving without you and taking your things with me," she told him.

"You wouldn't."

Putting the car in park, Dallas took her foot off the brake and let the car roll forward slightly. "Want to bet? Because I really don't think you do."

"Ugh. You always play hard ball," he groaned.

"Ah correction. I always play hardball, and I always win," she retorted, enjoying the upper hand she had on him.

"Fine," he conceded and walked around to the passenger's side door. He let himself in and slumped in the front seat, shutting the door behind himself. The car didn't move, while Dallas stared him down. "What now?" he snapped with an eyeroll.

"Safety first. Where's your seatbelt?" she questioned, authoritatively.

Huffing loudly, Jon strapped himself in, eliciting a satisfied smile from Dallas, as she began driving, following the directions the robotic feminine voice called out to her from the speaker.

"You're really difficult, you know."

"I know. And I'm pretty sure you've known that for quite some time now."

He nodded slowly. "That's true."

A comfortable silence fell between the two, as they were heading out on their eight hour drive to South Carolina. Dallas's eyes were on the road ahead, but the majority of her thoughts were on the man sitting next to her. Once they got to the hotel, what would happen? As much as she enjoyed spending time with him and did genuinely have feelings for him, she wasn't ready to make this a full-on, exclusive relationship. They were definitely heading in that direction, but Dallas needed baby steps. She still had a lot going on in her own head to be able to make a serious commitment to someone else.

Jon, on the other hand, had his thoughts in the same place as Dallas, but he was looking at it from the other side. He didn't want anyone else. He hoped that when they got to the hotel and were at the show, things could be a little more stable between them. While he was known as the unstable one and had never really been one for relationships that had any interaction outside of the bedroom, Jon really wanted to try it out with Dallas and see how things went. Although it was a foreign feeling to him, Jon wanted people to know that she was spoken for. He didn't want to run the risk of Kevin or Tom stepping in and trying to ruin what he had been working so hard to achieve.

He was confident that after the night before, she would want that, too. He could see it in her eyes that she cared for him. And he would continue doing his very best to show her that she meant a hell of a lot to him. He just didn't want to push his luck, quite yet. Things were great, but he knew they were still on shaky ground when it came to the residual effects of Dallas's past. He just wanted to make her feel safe and wanted and cared for. Maybe, one day, even loved. But that kind of thing would take time. He knew that, and as much as he wanted to further move things along for the two of them, he certainly didn't want to push her too far and risk having her pull away from him.

The silence was pierced, when Dallas reached out and turned the radio on. She began switching through channels, trying to find something she liked to no avail.

"Where's your iPod?" Jon asked, noticing her frustration.

"In my bag," she replied.

"Is it cool if I get it? I can figure out how to connect it and...make this whole music situation a little easier."

Dallas glanced at him and a smile pulled at her lips. "Yeah. Thanks. But do you even know how to connect anything to Bluetooth? You're not exactly Mr. Technology," she pointed out.

He chuckled. "I can figure these things out."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow but appreciated the gesture, nonetheless. Jon grabbed her bag from the backseat and began digging through, looking for her iPod, which he quickly found in a side pocket. He pulled it out and replaced her bag in the backseat.

Jon looked back and forth between the radio and the pink iPod in his hands. The word 'clueless' didn't even begin to describe the expression on his face. And through the glances in her peripheral vision, Dallas could see that.

"So, hit the button on the top of the iPod. It'll turn it on. On the main menu, you'll want to scroll to the side and enter the settings," she began directing him.

"How?"

"How what?"

"How do I scroll?"

She raised an eyebrow. "With your finger."

"Oh! It's a touchscreen."

"Yeah."

Hiding his smirk, Jon began following her instructions.

"Alright. I'm in."

"Select Bluetooth."

"Okay."

"There should be a little toggle to turn it on. You want to hit that." Dallas began pushing some buttons on the radio. "It's the same radio as my GTI, so I know how to use it. Underneath the toggle, there should be a list of devices populating. One should say VW BT or something like that."

"I see it."

"Okay…" She paused for a moment. "Alright. Select it now."

"Okay." Within seconds, the car had paired with her iPod. "Did it work?"

"Looks like it. Play something."

"Alright…" He, once again, looked at it, unsure of what to do.

"Hit that round button at the bottom. It'll bring you back to the main menu," she told him.

"I knew that," he quickly shot back.

"I'm sure you did."

Within the next few moments, the opening chords of Dallas's entrance theme began playing through the car. "This one's familiar," he spoke, grinning.

"I bet it is. You should know since you're always watching my matches, as if you're my biggest fan in the whole world."

"I am," he replied.

"I think there are some people who'd fight you for that title," she replied.

"Like who?"

"Raya, Claudio, Mercedes, my besties," she coolly replied.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm a bigger fan than them. As far as I know, I've been in and around parts of you that they can only dream of."

"That's awfully presumptuous of you," she playfully replied.

Jon's eyes snapped over to her. "What? Which one? Please tell me it's not Claudio. The others I think I could handle, but not him. Actually, you spend a lot of time with them. Now, I'm feeling a little confused."

Dallas laughed. "I'm kidding. Nothing has ever happened with any of them. Calm down, killer," she replied. "But your reaction? Priceless."

"Har. Har. Har," he shot back, a pout on his face, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're such a baby," she teased, before reaching over and pulling on his arm. When he uncrossed them, she took his hand in hers and interlaced their fingers.

The pout was almost immediately replaced by a genuine smile, before he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He brought the back of her hand to his lips, pressing a small, affectionate kiss to it. She let a small smile make its way onto her face, as the pair relaxed into their comfortable silence, listening to the music and focusing on the road.

Having stopped at a rest stop, Dallas and Jon had finally swapped seats, and he was now driving, as he had wanted to, in the first place.

"I never meant to be so bad to you. One thing I said that I would never do. A look from you, and I would fall from grace. And that would wipe the the smile right from my face," Dallas enthusiastically sang along with the music playing through the car's speakers.

Jon rolled his eyes, having been listening to Dallas sing for the last hour and a half, since he had taken over driving duties. He never expected her to be so animated. But he had to admit that he found her to be the most adorable thing he had ever seen. It made him incredibly happy that she could be this way around him.

"What?" Dallas interrupted her rendition of Asia's 80's classic "Heat of the Moment".

"What?" he questioned in response.

"You keep looking at me."

He chuckled. "You're really cute," he told her.

"How so?"

"You're just...I dunno. You're singing and dancing and having fun. I like this Dallas a lot. She's fun," he told her with a smile on his lips.

She grinned. "You never saw someone sing and dance while riding with you?" she questioned.

"I usually ride with Joe. He's fun and all, but he's not usually one for singing and dancing."

"Well, I enjoy the hits of the eighties and nineties. That's my happy place."

"Were you even alive in the eighties?"

"Nope. Nineteen ninety baby right here, old man."

"Old man? Is that right?"

"Comparatively, you are."

"Compared to you? I'm only five years older than you. Not even."

She smiled, as she enjoyed pushing his buttons, before she went back to singing along with the song.

Jon reached over and placed his hand on her leg. "You're pretty awesome, Dal," he said.

"Oh? And why is that?" she asked.

"Because you're fun...and...I dunno. You're just different...in a good way."

"Well, thank you. I appreciate that."

"I should find a way to ditch the Samoan and ride with you, from now on," he commented.

"You'd have to fight Raya for me."

"Oh...that's true. I mean...for you, I'd do it. But when it comes to you, she'd probably destroy me."

Dallas nodded. "Yeah. She's brutal. She probably would."

He moved the hand on her leg to take her hand in his, once again. As she had before, he interlaced their fingers and placed another gentle, affectionate kiss on the surface of her hand. Then, he rested their joined hands on her lap. Her eyes focused on them for a few moments, trying to ignore the warmness that filled her heart at the sight. It wasn't a feeling that she was used to anymore, and she had forgotten how nice it felt.

Dallas tried her hardest to hide the smile that was forming on her face, but she couldn't. As much as she knew it was a bad idea, she was feeling a lot for the man driving in the seat next to her.

Jon, on the other hand, had no problems with the smile on his face. He wanted her to know that he was happy with her. He wanted her to know that she was the one who made him feel that way.

This time that they had spent together had really pushed them forward. She had opened up to him about her past. They had finally kissed...on the lips. They were no longer just screwing around. There was a hell of a lot more going on between the dysfunctional pair. Jon hoped that Tom would no longer be an issue. He didn't want to share her with anyone. He knew full well that he wasn't exactly in the position to tell her that right now. After all, he knew that doing that would probably be the quickest way to get her to push him away. And he was, in no way, going to let that happen.