Chapter 28

He eyed the trunks, not able to tell where the original tear had been. She was just that good and he gave them an experimental tug, eyeballing said stitching and wasn't surprised at all when it didn't give. "Your talents are wasted here, Tressa." He informed her, kind of serious about it, actually. She could probably be peddling her sewing abilities somewhere else and making more with less travel. "Sewing up trunks and sequins." But if it was what she loved…he flashed her a bright smile. "Not that we're not all glad you're here." And by 'we', he meant himself.

That tug had not been light either. He pulled on those damn things just to really test the durability and she blushed at his compliment, waving him off. "I wouldn't want to work anywhere else. WWE is home."

She'd been here over 10 years and Vince paid her well worth her talent, probably more than a lot of people realized or could fathom. The man may have lost his touch with storylines and creative, but he was very generous with his pocketbook. She also caught what he'd said, the slight change in his voice with that last statement and it took every ounce of willpower not to pull him down for a kiss.

Keep it professional, Tressa, she mentally scolded herself, having a feeling she would be spending the night with Drew again in the very near future.

Tabitha was minding her own business because she didn't want to get into trouble with Tressa again, but Suzanne was listening. She was working, but also listening, wondering if she had mistaken that change in his tone or if it was just her.

"Thank you." He nodded at Suzanne before locking eyes with Tressa. Whistling the same song he had been humming last night, he walked away.

"He seems to be in a chipper mood too." Suzanne ventured casually.

"Yeah, he does, huh?" Tressa played it off with a shrug and sat back down, knowing if she turned around to watch him walk away, that probably wouldn't bode well with the girls. "Can't judge a book by its cover. Maybe he's not as bad as we thought." It wasn't Drew's fault he was an intimidating specimen…a hot, sexy Scottish specimen with an ass she could bounce a half-dollar off of and…Tressa cleared her throat, taking a sip of water and went back to work.

Halfway through the show, the seamstresses went on their breaks as Tressa headed outside, a pack of cigarettes in hand. It was time to quit, but she'd have to wean herself off them instead of just quitting cold turkey. Phoenix, Arizona was in the 80's, which was weird considering it was winter time, but that was the beauty of traveling all over the world. Different climates and weather changes…there wasn't another job that would allow her to do this. Leaning against the building, she lit up the cigarette and took a long drag from it, letting the nicotine flow through her body slowly. Drew was on the forefront of her mind, though she remained focus on her work, refusing to let any man distract her enough to screw up her work reputation.

On her break, however, she could think about him all she wanted.

Jon stepped out almost as soon as she finished that first drag, a cigarette hanging from his bottom lip, his icy blues broody. He halted when he seen her, though at the same time, he wasn't surprised. How many times over the months had he met her out on her break?

"Kitten," He greeted in his rasping voice, taking a slow step toward her. "Can we talk?"

The last time he had tried talking to her had not ended well and now he had serious regret, knowing he had not only botched what was likely his one and only shot with her, but also shredded their friendship. Her guard was up because she knew how Jon felt about her now. He loved her. He wanted to be with her, and she just didn't feel the same way he did. Tressa had her head in the grave and wasn't pulling it out any time soon, if ever.

"Sure." She heaved a sigh, taking another deep drag and let the smoke filter out of her mouth and nostrils, watching him move toward her slowly. Reaching up, she felt the spot on her shoulder he had marked and rubbed it absentmindedly with her free hand. "What would you like to discuss, Jon?" Tressa wasn't in a playful mood, not with him.

"What do you think? It's obvious what needs to be talked about between us."

"I told you sex complicates things and you didn't listen to me. And now you have to ask my permission to talk to me instead of just coming up and doing it." Tressa shook her head, so much hurt and pain in her eyes while looking at the man she trusted to help her through this. "I didn't want our friendship ruined over this. You're my best fucking friend, Jon, and I don't know what I'll do if we can't fix this." Why couldn't they just go back to the way things used to be before sex and feelings complicated everything? "I do love you." That got his attention, his blue eyes alighting with fire and she immediately held her hand up. "Let me finish, okay? I love you…the same way I love Joe. The same way I love Colby. Granted, me and you are closer – closer than we've ever been, or we used to be." Until sex got involved. "You're my family, all three of you, but I can't…I don't have the same feelings for you that you do for me. Believe me, I wish I did, but I don't and it really hurt me when you said my head was stuck in the grave. I've got news for you, Jon, my HEART is in that grave with Joseph and I don't foresee anyone coming along to steal it. My heart went with him when he died; he was the love of my life, the ONLY man I ever wanted to be with, to grow old with, to have children with…" Her voice cracked as tears began sliding down her cheeks, the grief taking over again as she took another shaky drag, sniffling.

"God, Tres," Jon dropped his cigarette and moved towards her. They were both stiff as he pulled her into his arms, though once he relaxed he felt her relaxing as well. "I'm sorry, darlin'." He whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I know…I know you did, and I was an ass for pushing it." Tressa was right; sex had complicated things, especially since he had already had feelings for her prior. "I know I can't fix what I broke, Tressa, but if you'll let me, I'd like to try. Fix our friendship." And that meant no more sex because he couldn't have sex without the heart eventually getting involved.

"I-I've lost so much already, Jon…" Tressa sobbed against his chest, having dropped her own cigarette to hug him close, her tears soaking into his bare chest. "I can't lose you too…" Maybe it would happen anyway, if and when he discovered who she slept with last night…and probably other nights to come. Now wasn't the time to tell him, however. Andrew and Jon were currently feuding, and they did NOT like each other at all. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for using you…I never meant to use you and I didn't know how you felt about me…" Why hadn't Jon told her about this sooner?

Tressa NEVER would have allowed this to go to the next level if she knew beforehand!

"Well, if I hadn't been such a bitch about it, you never would have known, darlin'." He pulled away to stare down into her face, using his thumbs to brush away the tears that streamed down her face. "You're not going to lose me, Tressa, not unless you want me to go away. I'm done drinking."

Because he had been drinking prior to that event and it hadn't panned out very well at all. If he hadn't been running on liquid courage, he wouldn't have done or said even half of that. Tressa wished she could be done with booze, with Vodka, but she couldn't give up the one vise that helped her sleep at night. Granted, Drew had done a magnificent job of substituting that, but this situation with Jon made her realize she was truly alone.

She couldn't rely on anyone except herself.

"No more sex between us, Jon. We're friends and that's where it has to stay." She cupped his face softly in her hands, his forehead resting against hers and felt his arms tighten around her. "Please don't go away. Please…" Maybe she was selfish, but Tressa needed him in her life in some capacity and wrapped her arms tightly around him, letting him hold her close while she cried into his neck. "I'll never ask you to go away, you hear me? We don't need sex to make our bond stronger, to make our friendship last." That was her hope anyway.

Ouch, he had known it was coming, he had even made that decision in his own head that this was how it was going to have to be. Still, it did nothing to lessen the pain, but he also knew that was all on him. "Nah darlin', we need less sex to make it stronger." He joked, just barely managing to keep his voice from cracking. "I got 5 more minutes, Kitten, join me in a smoke?" Give up alcohol, sure…he was probably going to wind up with a two pack a day habit, however, on the downside.

"Okay, Daddy." She whispered, slowly pulling back to look into his deep pale blues and could see the pain, the hurt, she caused him.

Tressa wanted desperately to take it away, but she had her own pain and hurt to overcome and…her feelings did not mirror Jon's. No matter how much she wanted them to, they didn't. She felt more connected, surprisingly, with Andrew than Jon, at least in the bedroom. Only time would tell if their connection grew stronger than her and Jon. Pulling out a fresh cigarette, she allowed Jon to light it for her as they leaned back against the building, side by side, staring out at the parking lot while smoking. Why did she have a feeling this was the beginning of the end of their friendship? Why did she have a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach they wouldn't share cigarette breaks together anymore like this?

"I'm going to give you a head's up, darlin'," Jon said quietly, staring out over the parking lot. "I'm going to be distant for a bit, get my head on straight, so I don't…so this doesn't happen again. I never wanted to hurt you, Tres." And he had wound up doing more than just hurting her, he had hurt himself, them, in the process. "I'm still here, and I'll never stop being your friend, but I can't just switch off the way I feel either." He finally looked down at her, offering a smile. "You know me, doll, balls to the wall and all that."

Tressa smiled sadly up at him and nodded, completely understanding where he was coming from. "Take as much time as you need, Jon. I'm always here for you, if you ever need to talk or just bitch about whatever's bothering you." She finished her cigarette, flicking the butt across the way and knew he would need time to get over her, to stuff his feelings deep down. Instead of hugging him, she squeezed his bicep gently and pulled back, both having a mutual agreement on how this would go from now on. "See you around and good luck tonight." Then, Tressa walked back inside and went to the bathroom to wash her face, not wanting the girls to know she'd been crying. She splashed water on it, patted it dry and stuffed her own grief and pain down to head back to work, needing to focus on her tasks.

Jon snorted, remaining there on the wall long enough to puff on another cigarette, letting the nicotine filter through his system. There wasn't enough nicotine in the world to fix what was wrong with him. Just talk or bitch to her, he smiled and let his head drop back against the brick building behind him. Yeah, there would be no venting to the woman who was giving him his issues…issues that she had cautioned him against having from day one and yet, here he was, dancing a hole over his own heart. He was such an idiot. No, it wasn't her giving him issues, it was him and he knew it…knew it was unfair to blame her. That was why he was going to take some time, put some space between them, to get his head on straight and salvage what he could of his pride and their friendship.

Being sick while on the road sucked. Big time. Tressa had some kind of stomach bug and she couldn't quite figure out where it came from. Nobody else in the WWE was sick and she didn't interact with the fans like the Superstars did. The only person she had been talking to lately was Drew – more sex than anything, though. He wasn't sick either. This stomach bug had been lasting a few days, even on her days off, which she spent at home like normal. It was now late February and it was supposed to be the happiest of days because Joe was coming back to the company. They announced it on social media last week about his return and she had a good feeling he had great news to deliver to the fans and locker room. Nobody knew what it was; she hadn't really talked to Jon and Colby, keeping her own distance from them after what transpired between her and Jon. Honestly, she didn't think Colby wanted anything to do with her since she was no longer hanging out with Jon on a nightly basis, sharing a hotel room with him, etc.

Groaning, she pulled herself away from the toilet in the women's bathroom and wiped her mouth, sweat and tears pouring down her face. Tressa HATED vomiting and couldn't keep anything down, which would eventually, if not already, dehydrate her. Still, she had a job to do and managed to pull herself up, stumbling to the sink to splash cold water on her face and rinsed her mouth out. The weird part was she didn't have a fever – it was just vomiting, almost on an hourly basis. What the hell was going on with her body? It had to be a horrible virus of some kind. Tabitha and Suzanne begged her to go back to the hotel, but Tressa refused, having too much work to get done.

Feeling weak, she patted her face dry and headed out of the bathroom, her complexion pale and her hand was on her stomach because the nausea feeling hadn't gone away. She just stopped vomiting. The sex had stopped when the vomiting had started because, even though she wasn't showing fevers or anything, Drew couldn't risk getting sick. He was in a pretty big storyline right now, for him anyway, especially when one considered where he had been during his first run in the company.

"Still, lass?" He asked when he spotted her in the hallway, frowning when she nodded. "Tres, you need to get in and see a doctor. If it hasn't gone away by now, you might have something wrong…" His mind jumped to the worst conclusions, like cancer or something. "Go see the trainers, pet, you can't keep going around like this." His tone dropped to a gentle burr, reaching out to press the back of his hand against her forehead. "Please?"

"Don't give me those big blue eyes, Andrew…" Tressa groaned softly, already knowing what she had to do and sighed heavily, reluctantly nodding. "All right, all right, fine I'll go. I'll go to the trainer's right now. I promise." That got a smile out of him and she rolled her eyes, cracking a very small one of her own. "Don't worry about me, go get ready for the show, honey. I'll text you to let you know what it is." She didn't touch him because she didn't want him to get whatever the hell this was she had. Tressa went straight to the trainer's as promised and knocked on the door, stepping back just as it opened and Jon came barreling out, nearly knocking her down. "Whoa!" Racing past him, she barely made it to the trashcan before hurling again and Larry stared down at her with wide eyes.