Chapter 7
Over the next year Gemma didnt see an awful lot of Matt & Jeff. They
were training & wrestling, that was their life now & she accepted
that. She went to shows whenever she could but she was now away at
college so it wasnt very often. She was studying journalism so her
life consisted of sleeping, studying & eating junk food! They did
always keep in touch & were on the phone to each other 3 or 4 times a
week so that Gemma could keep up to date on their rise to stardom!
Matt actually called his phone calls to her the Hardy Boyz Hotline!!
Gemma missed them so much it hurt. Sometimes when she had spoken to
them she would hang up the phone & cry. In the months leading up to
her going away she had become quite close to Matt. He used to be just
Jeff's big brother, but now she considdered him to be her brother
too! She had long phone conversations with him about what they had
been up to & the subject somehow always turned to Jeff! She missed
him like crazy & so she made sure she got all the gossip from Matt,
the kinda stuff Jeff seemd to overlook whenever he talked to her!!
Stuff like girls!! Matt told her Jeff had his fair share of female
fans following him around after shows, which Gemma thought was quite
funny! He also told her how Mellissa had shown up one night & tried
to push her way backstage claiming to be Jeff's girlfriend!
Apparently she had told half the people in the audience she was
dating Jeff & then looked like a complete idiot when she couldn't
get 'back stage'!! Oh how Gemma wishes she could have been there to
see that!!
In one of these converstaions Matt mentioned a girl called Macey
that Jeff had been out with a few times!
"She's really nice Gem! You'll have to meet her next time
you're home!"
"Oh erm...yeah sure!" Gemma had said, but now that she was
on her way home she wasn't so sure!
She arrived at the station & her Dad was there to greet her as
always. On their way home in the car he commented on how quiet she
seemed, especially as she was going to see Matt & Jeff in a show that
evening! she was usually so hyped when she came home but she didnt
feel the same this time. She put it down to being tired, she was so
loaded down with work from college & hadn't been getting much sleep
lately. But deep down she knew it was something more, something she
couldnt quite understand & didnt want to.
When the time came to get out of the taxi & go into the hall to
see the show she took a deep breath. Her name was on the guestlist as
always so she made her way through the crowd & finally found the
dressing room. She knew better than to walk right in - she had done
that once or twice & found herself in a room full of half naked men!!
She knocked on the door & waited. Eventually a head poked around the
door.
"Oh hi Gem!" it was Shane. "Come on in! The guys are almost
ready!"
She smilled & said 'hi', kissed Shane on the cheek & went in.
There they were, Matt & Jeff! She always felt like smiling when she
saw them, she was so proud of them! She waited & took a long look at
them as they were busy with the final touches to their outfits, it
had been 4 months since she last saw them & her heart pounded with
excitement at the sight of them! As soon as they saw her they ran
over & hugged her! They were always as happy to see her as she was
them. They talked for a couple of minutes - the usual 'how was the
journey?' etc then there was another knock on the door.
"That'll be Macey!" said Jeff jumping up from his seat.
Gemma's stomach turned. "I can't wait for you to meet her Gem! You
two will get along great I know it!"
"Cool!" said Gemma trying to sound enthusiastic. She
caught Matt looking at her with raised eyebrows.
"You OK sweetie?" he asked. He shuffled along the bench & put
his arm around her shoulders. "You dont seem your usual self tonight!"
Gemma shrugged "Im OK I guess Im just tired! It's nothing
really!"
"You sure kiddo?"
"Yeah Im sure! It's just the work load, the
journey....you know how it is dude! And you worry too much! Stop
fussing! Im fine!!" Gemma pulled a face at Matt & it seemed to
reassure him!
"Gemma!" said Jeff "I'd like you to meet Macey!"
Gemma lifted her head expecting to see some gorgeous beauty
queen with red lips & nails to match! What she actually saw quite
surprised her! Macey was about 2 inches taller than Gemma with long
light brown hair, not unlike her own! She was pretty, but not made
up - it was natural. She was wearing jeans & a t-shirt (as was Gemma)
and sneakers. She smilled & held out her hand. Gemma smailled back &
shook her hand.
"Hi! I hear you're the one who's been keeping Jeff under
control while Ive been away!" she laughed & so did Macey.
"Oh yeah well I try but Im glad you're back to help me out!!"
Shit Gemma thought! I actually like this girl! For some reason Gemma
had set herself up to take an instsnt dislike to the new woman in
Jeff's life, but as the night went on she knew there was no way she
could hate this girl! They sat together to watch the show & talked
whenever they could hear each other. Macey was lovely! After the show
they all went out for dinner. There was 6 of them in all, Jeff &
Macey, Gemma & Shane, and Matt & Amy. Amy was a wrestler who Matt
seemed to be very smitten with! Gemma met her a couple of times &
they got on great. They had a lot of fun all night & Gemma was a
little sad when it was time to call a cab! As for the 'Shane' thing
well Greg had been right - he'd had the hots for Gemma for quite a
while, but she had always kept him at arms length. What happened that
night wasn't meant to but Gemma found herself swept away in the
moment & she & Shane had ended the night passionatly kissing on her
Dad's front porch!! She agreed to see him again & even though she lay
awake that night thinking 'What in God's name am I doing??' she just
went along with it. She figured what the hell? He's a nice enough guy
& the best offer she'd had in a long time!
Chapter 8
So a couple of nights later, Gemma found herself out on a 'double
date' with Shane, Jeff & Macey. They went to see a movie & then to
get something to eat. Shane kept putting his arm around Gemma all
night & it somehow made her feel uneasy. She couldnt explain it but
it was a feeling like this was not meant to be happening.
"So Gemma when are you due back at college?" asked Jeff over dinner
"Oh Im not due back for 4 days so Im not hurrying away just
yet! You guys got any more shows while Im around?"
"Yeah we have one on Tuesday!" said Shane
enthusiastically "Will you be able to make it?"
"I should be able to but I cant hang out for long afterwards
cuz I have to get the train early on Wednesday!"
"Cool!" said Shane with a big dopey grin on his face. Shane
seemed to be excited about just about everything tonight. Gemma
noticed how hyped up & happy he'd been all evening & it was starting
to irritate her!
They finishd their meal & called a cab. Gemma's house was first &
when she got out Shane got out too.
"Errm Shane, you really should just go home! You'll never get
another cab this late!"
"It's ok I'll walk!"
"WALK! Shane it'll take you hours! Dont be a nerd! Go on go
home!"
"Shane you commin or not man??" shouted Jeff from
inside the cab.
"No you guys go on I'll catch you later!"
Before Gemma knew what was happening the cab drove away! There
she was, standing in her driveway alone with Shane. How the hell was
she gonna get out of this one? Did she really want to get out of it
at all? She felt confused. Here she was, alone with a guy who clearly
adored her & she was already planning her escape route!! "Get a
fucking grip girl!" she thought to herself "just go with the flow!"
She looked up at Shane who put his arms around her waist & then
kissed her. All the time she just kept thinking 'go with the flow!
Dont be stupid! he's a nice guy! go with the flow!'
So that's what she did, even though the 'flow' she went with
ended up in bed!! Luckilly her Dad & Kellie were at some friend's
place for the night so the house was empty.
When she woke up she thought maybe it had all been a
dream, too much wine with dinner, after all she was alone in her bed!
She started to feel uneasy, like she didnt really know what was real
& what was some stupid drunken dream! Anyway if it had happened then
why the hell would Shane just leave before she woke up? She lay in
bed & listened. The house was silent. She decided to go downstairs
just to check,but there was no one there. She went into the kitchen
to make coffee, man she had been drinking way too much last night! It
was then that she noticed the note on the kitchen table!
"Gemma, sorry to up & leave but you looked so peaceful I didnt
want to wake you! Had to go training! Call you tonight! Love you!
Shane"
Gemma sat down with the note still in her hands. She let out a deep
breath & then read it over again. Something leapt off the page &
smacked her in the face! "love you!" she whispered to herself..."Love
you!" she was stunned! What had she done? She didnt know what to
think, she didnt even know how she felt about Shane. OK so last night
happened & she admitted to herself from what she could remember it
had been pretty good! She had been nervous but Shane was so kind,
so....so....loving! Gemma groaned! what was she going to do now? Her
head was spinning. She decided things would look better after she
took a shower, then maybe she would take a walk to Jeff's place, that
would surely make her feel better & she longed to spend some time
with him on her own!
Over the next year Gemma didnt see an awful lot of Matt & Jeff. They
were training & wrestling, that was their life now & she accepted
that. She went to shows whenever she could but she was now away at
college so it wasnt very often. She was studying journalism so her
life consisted of sleeping, studying & eating junk food! They did
always keep in touch & were on the phone to each other 3 or 4 times a
week so that Gemma could keep up to date on their rise to stardom!
Matt actually called his phone calls to her the Hardy Boyz Hotline!!
Gemma missed them so much it hurt. Sometimes when she had spoken to
them she would hang up the phone & cry. In the months leading up to
her going away she had become quite close to Matt. He used to be just
Jeff's big brother, but now she considdered him to be her brother
too! She had long phone conversations with him about what they had
been up to & the subject somehow always turned to Jeff! She missed
him like crazy & so she made sure she got all the gossip from Matt,
the kinda stuff Jeff seemd to overlook whenever he talked to her!!
Stuff like girls!! Matt told her Jeff had his fair share of female
fans following him around after shows, which Gemma thought was quite
funny! He also told her how Mellissa had shown up one night & tried
to push her way backstage claiming to be Jeff's girlfriend!
Apparently she had told half the people in the audience she was
dating Jeff & then looked like a complete idiot when she couldn't
get 'back stage'!! Oh how Gemma wishes she could have been there to
see that!!
In one of these converstaions Matt mentioned a girl called Macey
that Jeff had been out with a few times!
"She's really nice Gem! You'll have to meet her next time
you're home!"
"Oh erm...yeah sure!" Gemma had said, but now that she was
on her way home she wasn't so sure!
She arrived at the station & her Dad was there to greet her as
always. On their way home in the car he commented on how quiet she
seemed, especially as she was going to see Matt & Jeff in a show that
evening! she was usually so hyped when she came home but she didnt
feel the same this time. She put it down to being tired, she was so
loaded down with work from college & hadn't been getting much sleep
lately. But deep down she knew it was something more, something she
couldnt quite understand & didnt want to.
When the time came to get out of the taxi & go into the hall to
see the show she took a deep breath. Her name was on the guestlist as
always so she made her way through the crowd & finally found the
dressing room. She knew better than to walk right in - she had done
that once or twice & found herself in a room full of half naked men!!
She knocked on the door & waited. Eventually a head poked around the
door.
"Oh hi Gem!" it was Shane. "Come on in! The guys are almost
ready!"
She smilled & said 'hi', kissed Shane on the cheek & went in.
There they were, Matt & Jeff! She always felt like smiling when she
saw them, she was so proud of them! She waited & took a long look at
them as they were busy with the final touches to their outfits, it
had been 4 months since she last saw them & her heart pounded with
excitement at the sight of them! As soon as they saw her they ran
over & hugged her! They were always as happy to see her as she was
them. They talked for a couple of minutes - the usual 'how was the
journey?' etc then there was another knock on the door.
"That'll be Macey!" said Jeff jumping up from his seat.
Gemma's stomach turned. "I can't wait for you to meet her Gem! You
two will get along great I know it!"
"Cool!" said Gemma trying to sound enthusiastic. She
caught Matt looking at her with raised eyebrows.
"You OK sweetie?" he asked. He shuffled along the bench & put
his arm around her shoulders. "You dont seem your usual self tonight!"
Gemma shrugged "Im OK I guess Im just tired! It's nothing
really!"
"You sure kiddo?"
"Yeah Im sure! It's just the work load, the
journey....you know how it is dude! And you worry too much! Stop
fussing! Im fine!!" Gemma pulled a face at Matt & it seemed to
reassure him!
"Gemma!" said Jeff "I'd like you to meet Macey!"
Gemma lifted her head expecting to see some gorgeous beauty
queen with red lips & nails to match! What she actually saw quite
surprised her! Macey was about 2 inches taller than Gemma with long
light brown hair, not unlike her own! She was pretty, but not made
up - it was natural. She was wearing jeans & a t-shirt (as was Gemma)
and sneakers. She smilled & held out her hand. Gemma smailled back &
shook her hand.
"Hi! I hear you're the one who's been keeping Jeff under
control while Ive been away!" she laughed & so did Macey.
"Oh yeah well I try but Im glad you're back to help me out!!"
Shit Gemma thought! I actually like this girl! For some reason Gemma
had set herself up to take an instsnt dislike to the new woman in
Jeff's life, but as the night went on she knew there was no way she
could hate this girl! They sat together to watch the show & talked
whenever they could hear each other. Macey was lovely! After the show
they all went out for dinner. There was 6 of them in all, Jeff &
Macey, Gemma & Shane, and Matt & Amy. Amy was a wrestler who Matt
seemed to be very smitten with! Gemma met her a couple of times &
they got on great. They had a lot of fun all night & Gemma was a
little sad when it was time to call a cab! As for the 'Shane' thing
well Greg had been right - he'd had the hots for Gemma for quite a
while, but she had always kept him at arms length. What happened that
night wasn't meant to but Gemma found herself swept away in the
moment & she & Shane had ended the night passionatly kissing on her
Dad's front porch!! She agreed to see him again & even though she lay
awake that night thinking 'What in God's name am I doing??' she just
went along with it. She figured what the hell? He's a nice enough guy
& the best offer she'd had in a long time!
Chapter 8
So a couple of nights later, Gemma found herself out on a 'double
date' with Shane, Jeff & Macey. They went to see a movie & then to
get something to eat. Shane kept putting his arm around Gemma all
night & it somehow made her feel uneasy. She couldnt explain it but
it was a feeling like this was not meant to be happening.
"So Gemma when are you due back at college?" asked Jeff over dinner
"Oh Im not due back for 4 days so Im not hurrying away just
yet! You guys got any more shows while Im around?"
"Yeah we have one on Tuesday!" said Shane
enthusiastically "Will you be able to make it?"
"I should be able to but I cant hang out for long afterwards
cuz I have to get the train early on Wednesday!"
"Cool!" said Shane with a big dopey grin on his face. Shane
seemed to be excited about just about everything tonight. Gemma
noticed how hyped up & happy he'd been all evening & it was starting
to irritate her!
They finishd their meal & called a cab. Gemma's house was first &
when she got out Shane got out too.
"Errm Shane, you really should just go home! You'll never get
another cab this late!"
"It's ok I'll walk!"
"WALK! Shane it'll take you hours! Dont be a nerd! Go on go
home!"
"Shane you commin or not man??" shouted Jeff from
inside the cab.
"No you guys go on I'll catch you later!"
Before Gemma knew what was happening the cab drove away! There
she was, standing in her driveway alone with Shane. How the hell was
she gonna get out of this one? Did she really want to get out of it
at all? She felt confused. Here she was, alone with a guy who clearly
adored her & she was already planning her escape route!! "Get a
fucking grip girl!" she thought to herself "just go with the flow!"
She looked up at Shane who put his arms around her waist & then
kissed her. All the time she just kept thinking 'go with the flow!
Dont be stupid! he's a nice guy! go with the flow!'
So that's what she did, even though the 'flow' she went with
ended up in bed!! Luckilly her Dad & Kellie were at some friend's
place for the night so the house was empty.
When she woke up she thought maybe it had all been a
dream, too much wine with dinner, after all she was alone in her bed!
She started to feel uneasy, like she didnt really know what was real
& what was some stupid drunken dream! Anyway if it had happened then
why the hell would Shane just leave before she woke up? She lay in
bed & listened. The house was silent. She decided to go downstairs
just to check,but there was no one there. She went into the kitchen
to make coffee, man she had been drinking way too much last night! It
was then that she noticed the note on the kitchen table!
"Gemma, sorry to up & leave but you looked so peaceful I didnt
want to wake you! Had to go training! Call you tonight! Love you!
Shane"
Gemma sat down with the note still in her hands. She let out a deep
breath & then read it over again. Something leapt off the page &
smacked her in the face! "love you!" she whispered to herself..."Love
you!" she was stunned! What had she done? She didnt know what to
think, she didnt even know how she felt about Shane. OK so last night
happened & she admitted to herself from what she could remember it
had been pretty good! She had been nervous but Shane was so kind,
so....so....loving! Gemma groaned! what was she going to do now? Her
head was spinning. She decided things would look better after she
took a shower, then maybe she would take a walk to Jeff's place, that
would surely make her feel better & she longed to spend some time
with him on her own!