"Ya know, I was just sitting here thinkin, while you were asleep,"
Jeff said as I picked my tired head off his lap and stretched.
"You were thinking? That could be scary," I said seriously. He stuck his tongue out at me and I gave him a sarcastic smile.
"Anyways, well I've had nothing to do since this lay over is goin longer than expected, I was thinking that yesterday was your 20th birthday and we didn't even do anything," he said.
"Yeah we did. We flew from LA to Austin where we now sit here for 3 hours waiting for our next flight!" I exclaimed loudly.
"No, there was no happy birthday Case, no cake, no gifts, nothing. So to make up for it, I'm gonna pay for your bed," he offered.
"No, you really don't have to. You guys have already given me so much in the past year."
"I want to. We'll go looking after we paint the place," he smiled.
"I know you well enough to know that I'm not gonna win this fight, so fine," I said as he brought me into a playful head lock.
"That's my girl!" he said rubbing my head roughly. I looked up at him and gave him a glare. He smiled innocently as I shook my head.
"I hate you," I said harshly.
"I love you too!" he laughed kissing my forehead.
"What colors did you want for the room?" Jeff asked as we walked into the paint shop.
"I really don't know. My room at home is baby blue so I was kinda thinking bout goin for a different color. What about that black chalk board paint stuff? We could do like a wall or part of a wall in that," I suggested.
"That's a really cool idea. It'll be fun to draw on too," he said with a smile.
"But what else?" I said as I looked through the color palettes.
"You know what else would be really cool?" Jeff asked.
"What?" I wondered worriedly.
"What about just doin the whole room in black and then splashing bright colored paint on the walls?" he suggested. I looked up as if in thought and smiled.
"You know what Hardy, you may just have an idea there!" I laughed. "And we could still do the chalk board idea. It'd just blend in with the rest of the walls."
"Right. We make a pretty damn good thinking team," Jeff smiled as he placed some black paint in a cart. "Now, what colors do you want to splash on the walls?"
"This could be fun," I laughed as I began picking up random jars of paint. By the time we left I had collected 2 different blues, a red, a couple greens, purple, a pink, white, and a silvery color. Jeff and I immediately went to Matt and Amy's mostly empty house and carried all the stuff up to the room that they designated as mine.
"Have you thought about furniture and rugs?" Jeff asked.
"I was thinking of just leavin the wood floor. I want a full sized bed," I stated.
"Why full? Might as well go for the king," Jeff said as he looked around the open space as I mixed up the can of blackboard paint.
"Because I wanna get a futon or a couch," I smiled as I began to paint a mis-shapened circle on the wall.
"Hmmm, not a bad idea," he replied as he mixed up the black paint.
"I know, cause I thought of it," I said smugly.
"I guess we wait now, huh?" I said as I sat on the floor next to Jeff. I looked at his black painted body and laughed.
"Oh, like you look much better!" Jeff laughed nudging my shoulder. "Add the colors tomorrow?"
"Yeah, after we go futon shopping," I answered.
"Why'd you leave that blank spot around the blackboard?"
"Maybe cause we need to know where it is. When we add the colors tomorrow I'm gonna paint a rainbow ring around it."
"Not a bad idea. Ready to get cleaned up and get some food?" Jeff asked pulling me to my feet.
"Oh, clean......that's the worst part about wearing a damn cast," I said in disgust as I looked down at it.
"Yeah, I know," he smiled as we climbed in the vette and drove to his house. We ordered out for pizza and relaxed in front of the tv. He looked over at me and smiled as he tried to run his fingers through my hair.
"What are you doing?" I asked looking up at him.
"You're so painty. You have so much black paint in your hair. It's almost like we painted your head instead of the walls," he laughed.
"I know. I just don't know how I'm gonna get it out. To get the paint off my body is easy. Just sit in a bath, but my hair is a little more difficult."
"Do you want help?" he asked quietly.
"Jeffrey, I do NOT want you in the shower with me," I joked.
"I didn't mean that," he said sounding almost hurt. "I mean do you want me to like wash your hair over the sink or something?"
"You would do that for me?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'll do it as many times as you want until I leave Sunday. If you want me to that is," he replied.
"I'd like that," I smiled as he helped me to my feet.
"Just let me know if I do it wrong or something. I don't know how you girls like your hair washed," he joked as I laughed lightly at him.
"When are you gonna get a new girlfriend?" I asked out of the blue.
"What?" he asked.
"You've been single for quite a while now. Don't you want a new girlfriend?" I asked curiously.
"Well, I, umm, well, you see I like this girl but she's taken. So I'm just waiting my turn, if you will," he said.
"Do I know this girl?" I asked.
"Yeah, you know her very well," he nodded.
"Awe, Jeff, you still like Trish?" I asked as he suddenly yanked on my hair. "OWE!"
"Sorry," he laughed. "No, I don't still like Trish. Someone else."
"It's not Amy is it?" I asked. "Cause Jeff that's wrong. She's married. TO YOUR BROTHER!"
"Case, it's not Amy," he answered continuing to laugh.
"It's not Stacy is it? As much as I love her, she's just not really your type," I said with a disgusted look.
"It's definitely not Stacy," he replied.
"Then who?" I asked.
"Well, why don't you move in with Shane?" he asked trying to change subject.
"Are you trying to get out of answering the question?"
"Are you?" he shot back.
"Cause he's never asked. And we've never talked about it. And I have two perfectly nice rooms here," I replied almost sadly.
"Do you wanna move in with him?"
"I guess a part of me does, but I mean we live together on the road. We should have some space, don't ya think?"
"I don't know. I suppose. I mean if you were my girlfriend, I know I'd ask you to move in," Jeff said shyly.
"Jeff, I practically have moved in," I laughed.
"Yeah, true," he replied with a half smile. "Okay, you're done." He wrapped a towel around my head as I sat up. "How's that?"
"I think you did a great job. Thanks," I smiled up at him. He smiled down at me as we stayed in that moment for what seemed like forever, when we heard a car pull up the driveway. "Pizza must be here."
"Yeah, must be," he said softly as he grabbed his wallet and walked to the door. I stood up and walked into the living room where I took my place on the floor in front of the tv.
"Why does it feel like things are getting weird between us?" I whispered to myself as I shook my head.
"What do you want to drink?" Jeff called from the kitchen.
"Ummm, whateva," I replied. He walked in the living room and sat next to me, placing the pizza box and a can of coke in front of me. He popped the top off of a corona and I looked at him with pouty lips.
"Don't give me that look. You can't drink with those painkillers in your system," he said sternly.
"Pwease?" I asked childishly.
"NO! N-O spells NO!" he exclaimed as seriously as possible before bursting out in laughter. "Just eat."
I chuckled and pulled out a piece of pepperoni and bacon covered pizza. After we had finished ¾ of the pizza, we relaxed and watched some old wrestling tapes of him, Matt, Shane, and Shannon during Omega. They had so much talent, even at those young of ages. Their looks and outfits were a little interesting, but all in all, it was a good time. We eventually retreated to his room to go to bed around 2 in the morning. I curled my body up against his and hear him release a sigh of contentment.
"I like this black one!" I exclaimed as I sat down on a futon that was set up in the furniture store.
"That'd go great in your room. With a different color seat cover it would be great," he said as he plopped down next to me. "We'll take this one."
"Alright sir. Anything else for you and your wife?" the salesman asked.
"We're not married. I'm just helping her do a room in my brother's house. She's........" Jeff started.
"I'm his sister," I finished for him with a smile.
"Certainly," the man nodded.
"Beds. We need a bed. Well, I need one," I laughed.
"Right this way if you'll follow me," he replied. I linked arms with Jeff as we followed him towards the back.
"Case, try this one!" Jeff announced as I ran towards him and jumped on the bed. I laid flat on my back and turned over a couple times.
"No, this is no good," I replied as I slid off the bed. I walked towards another bed and fell onto it. "Now this is good! Jeff, get over here!" He laid down next to me and let out a sigh. I laughed as I curled up next to him. "Hmmm, Shane's gonna love this bed."
"I love this bed," Jeff muttered as he stroked my hair gently.
"So, have you come to a decision on the bed?" the salesman asked.
"I'll take this one," I said as I sat up with a smile on my face.
"It's a good thing that we took dad's old pick up," Jeff said as he tied rope around the mattress. "Otherwise we would have had to pay for the deliver which is really just one more way for them to get money outta ya!"
"I think it's tight enough," I yawned. "I'm so tired. I think those painkillers make me drowsy."
"Probably. Just sleep on the way home," he said as we climbed into the truck. I nodded and laid my head back, instantly falling asleep.
I slept the whole way home and then some. The next thing I knew I was laying down on something fluffy and soft with arms wrapped around me. I opened my eyes and looked around me, seeing nothing but black walls. I looked next to me and Jeff laid there, fast asleep. I smiled slightly and decided to wake him.
"Jeff," I whispered gently shaking him awake. " Jeffrey." There was no response except for his light snoring. "Jeffrey!" I was talking louder now and still he didn't wake. "Good Lord man! You sleep like you're dead!" I was now yelling and he opened his mouth to yawn.
"Good afternoon," he said sleepily.
"Dude, we need to find an easier way to wake you cause you have to be one of the most sound sleepers!" I laughed.
"Sorry," he chuckled. "It's your bed. It's just so comfortable."
"How'd you get it in here without help?" I asked looking around.
"I pulled it up the stairs. It's just sitting on the floor. I didn't set anything up. Figured the truck might get uncomfortable if I took too long." He smiled at me as I stood up. "Ready to do the walls?"
"Totally!" I said excitedly as I covered the mattress with an old sheet. "Hey! You already set up the futon too! You were one busy bee!"
"Buzz Buzz baby!" he joked. I laughed at him as I began to paint around the blackboard with different colors.
"Wow, looks like we're finished," Jeff said as we stepped back and looked around.
"It looks great," I said as I reached up to kiss his cheek.
"What was that for?" he asked blushing slightly.
"Thanks for your help," I smiled. He gave me a shrug and wrapped his arm around me.
"Wanna spend the nite here? I could just move the tv from my house to here and hook it up."
"That'd be great. I could spend the nite in here. Test out the bed. And you could test out the futon," I said slapping his shoulder playfully.
"Oh, yippie, my life is complete now," he replied sarcastically.
"I knew you'd be thrilled!" I shot back as I pulled his bandana off his head. He grabbed at his head as his bandana hair, sometimes worse than hat hair, flopped forward.
"You are giving that back to me," he said holding out his hand. I waved it at him and scrunched up my nose before I booked it out the door and down the stairs. "CASEY!"
"Lata Jeffy!" I exclaimed as I ran down the road.
"Casey Lee Piniarski!!! Get your ass back here!" he yelled as he chased after me. I ran into the field behind his house and towards the lake. I stopped suddenly when I didn't hear him running after me. I turned around and searched for him, a frown growing on my face.
"Jeff?" I asked. I began to panic as I looked around me. "JEFF?!"
"Got ya!" he yelled as he jumped at me from behind. He picked me up at the waist and laid me on the ground. He straddled my hips and pinned my arms to the ground. He took the bandana out of my hand and smiled down at me. "Don't mess with the master!"
"Well, this master had better get off my wrist before I have to KILL HIM!" I screamed in pain.
"Oh shit! I'm so sorry," he said as he let my arms go. I brought my casted wrist to my chest and scrunched up my face in agony.
"You should be!" I pouted. He gave me a smile I had never seen him use before. He moved his head down towards mine and whispered in my ear.
"Does Shane tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked.
"What?" I asked in disbelief.
"Well, you are beautiful."
"Jeff?" I asked softly.
"Shhh, just let me compliment you," he replied.
"I can't."
"Yes you can. You need a man who's going to love every inch of you. From your dyed hair to your tiny feet. You need a man who's going to tell you how beautiful you truly are."
"Shane is that man," I whispered back.
"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Only time will tell." Jeff pulled back and smiled at me before he stood and left me lying in the middle of the field.
"Jeff?" I questioned breathlessly.
I gasped as I sat up in a cold sweat. I looked around the room breathing heavily. I was in my room in Matt and Amy's house. I looked over at the pulled out futon and saw Jeff fast asleep. I slowly got up and walked towards him. I quietly laid down next to him.
"Thought you were testing out the bed tonite," he said softly.
"I lied. I suddenly have the need to be with someone," I replied.
"You wanna sleep with me?" he questioned.
"If it's okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course it's okay." He turned over and wrapped his arms tightly around me as I nuzzled into his warm body. "Sweet dreams baby."
"You were thinking? That could be scary," I said seriously. He stuck his tongue out at me and I gave him a sarcastic smile.
"Anyways, well I've had nothing to do since this lay over is goin longer than expected, I was thinking that yesterday was your 20th birthday and we didn't even do anything," he said.
"Yeah we did. We flew from LA to Austin where we now sit here for 3 hours waiting for our next flight!" I exclaimed loudly.
"No, there was no happy birthday Case, no cake, no gifts, nothing. So to make up for it, I'm gonna pay for your bed," he offered.
"No, you really don't have to. You guys have already given me so much in the past year."
"I want to. We'll go looking after we paint the place," he smiled.
"I know you well enough to know that I'm not gonna win this fight, so fine," I said as he brought me into a playful head lock.
"That's my girl!" he said rubbing my head roughly. I looked up at him and gave him a glare. He smiled innocently as I shook my head.
"I hate you," I said harshly.
"I love you too!" he laughed kissing my forehead.
"What colors did you want for the room?" Jeff asked as we walked into the paint shop.
"I really don't know. My room at home is baby blue so I was kinda thinking bout goin for a different color. What about that black chalk board paint stuff? We could do like a wall or part of a wall in that," I suggested.
"That's a really cool idea. It'll be fun to draw on too," he said with a smile.
"But what else?" I said as I looked through the color palettes.
"You know what else would be really cool?" Jeff asked.
"What?" I wondered worriedly.
"What about just doin the whole room in black and then splashing bright colored paint on the walls?" he suggested. I looked up as if in thought and smiled.
"You know what Hardy, you may just have an idea there!" I laughed. "And we could still do the chalk board idea. It'd just blend in with the rest of the walls."
"Right. We make a pretty damn good thinking team," Jeff smiled as he placed some black paint in a cart. "Now, what colors do you want to splash on the walls?"
"This could be fun," I laughed as I began picking up random jars of paint. By the time we left I had collected 2 different blues, a red, a couple greens, purple, a pink, white, and a silvery color. Jeff and I immediately went to Matt and Amy's mostly empty house and carried all the stuff up to the room that they designated as mine.
"Have you thought about furniture and rugs?" Jeff asked.
"I was thinking of just leavin the wood floor. I want a full sized bed," I stated.
"Why full? Might as well go for the king," Jeff said as he looked around the open space as I mixed up the can of blackboard paint.
"Because I wanna get a futon or a couch," I smiled as I began to paint a mis-shapened circle on the wall.
"Hmmm, not a bad idea," he replied as he mixed up the black paint.
"I know, cause I thought of it," I said smugly.
"I guess we wait now, huh?" I said as I sat on the floor next to Jeff. I looked at his black painted body and laughed.
"Oh, like you look much better!" Jeff laughed nudging my shoulder. "Add the colors tomorrow?"
"Yeah, after we go futon shopping," I answered.
"Why'd you leave that blank spot around the blackboard?"
"Maybe cause we need to know where it is. When we add the colors tomorrow I'm gonna paint a rainbow ring around it."
"Not a bad idea. Ready to get cleaned up and get some food?" Jeff asked pulling me to my feet.
"Oh, clean......that's the worst part about wearing a damn cast," I said in disgust as I looked down at it.
"Yeah, I know," he smiled as we climbed in the vette and drove to his house. We ordered out for pizza and relaxed in front of the tv. He looked over at me and smiled as he tried to run his fingers through my hair.
"What are you doing?" I asked looking up at him.
"You're so painty. You have so much black paint in your hair. It's almost like we painted your head instead of the walls," he laughed.
"I know. I just don't know how I'm gonna get it out. To get the paint off my body is easy. Just sit in a bath, but my hair is a little more difficult."
"Do you want help?" he asked quietly.
"Jeffrey, I do NOT want you in the shower with me," I joked.
"I didn't mean that," he said sounding almost hurt. "I mean do you want me to like wash your hair over the sink or something?"
"You would do that for me?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. I'll do it as many times as you want until I leave Sunday. If you want me to that is," he replied.
"I'd like that," I smiled as he helped me to my feet.
"Just let me know if I do it wrong or something. I don't know how you girls like your hair washed," he joked as I laughed lightly at him.
"When are you gonna get a new girlfriend?" I asked out of the blue.
"What?" he asked.
"You've been single for quite a while now. Don't you want a new girlfriend?" I asked curiously.
"Well, I, umm, well, you see I like this girl but she's taken. So I'm just waiting my turn, if you will," he said.
"Do I know this girl?" I asked.
"Yeah, you know her very well," he nodded.
"Awe, Jeff, you still like Trish?" I asked as he suddenly yanked on my hair. "OWE!"
"Sorry," he laughed. "No, I don't still like Trish. Someone else."
"It's not Amy is it?" I asked. "Cause Jeff that's wrong. She's married. TO YOUR BROTHER!"
"Case, it's not Amy," he answered continuing to laugh.
"It's not Stacy is it? As much as I love her, she's just not really your type," I said with a disgusted look.
"It's definitely not Stacy," he replied.
"Then who?" I asked.
"Well, why don't you move in with Shane?" he asked trying to change subject.
"Are you trying to get out of answering the question?"
"Are you?" he shot back.
"Cause he's never asked. And we've never talked about it. And I have two perfectly nice rooms here," I replied almost sadly.
"Do you wanna move in with him?"
"I guess a part of me does, but I mean we live together on the road. We should have some space, don't ya think?"
"I don't know. I suppose. I mean if you were my girlfriend, I know I'd ask you to move in," Jeff said shyly.
"Jeff, I practically have moved in," I laughed.
"Yeah, true," he replied with a half smile. "Okay, you're done." He wrapped a towel around my head as I sat up. "How's that?"
"I think you did a great job. Thanks," I smiled up at him. He smiled down at me as we stayed in that moment for what seemed like forever, when we heard a car pull up the driveway. "Pizza must be here."
"Yeah, must be," he said softly as he grabbed his wallet and walked to the door. I stood up and walked into the living room where I took my place on the floor in front of the tv.
"Why does it feel like things are getting weird between us?" I whispered to myself as I shook my head.
"What do you want to drink?" Jeff called from the kitchen.
"Ummm, whateva," I replied. He walked in the living room and sat next to me, placing the pizza box and a can of coke in front of me. He popped the top off of a corona and I looked at him with pouty lips.
"Don't give me that look. You can't drink with those painkillers in your system," he said sternly.
"Pwease?" I asked childishly.
"NO! N-O spells NO!" he exclaimed as seriously as possible before bursting out in laughter. "Just eat."
I chuckled and pulled out a piece of pepperoni and bacon covered pizza. After we had finished ¾ of the pizza, we relaxed and watched some old wrestling tapes of him, Matt, Shane, and Shannon during Omega. They had so much talent, even at those young of ages. Their looks and outfits were a little interesting, but all in all, it was a good time. We eventually retreated to his room to go to bed around 2 in the morning. I curled my body up against his and hear him release a sigh of contentment.
"I like this black one!" I exclaimed as I sat down on a futon that was set up in the furniture store.
"That'd go great in your room. With a different color seat cover it would be great," he said as he plopped down next to me. "We'll take this one."
"Alright sir. Anything else for you and your wife?" the salesman asked.
"We're not married. I'm just helping her do a room in my brother's house. She's........" Jeff started.
"I'm his sister," I finished for him with a smile.
"Certainly," the man nodded.
"Beds. We need a bed. Well, I need one," I laughed.
"Right this way if you'll follow me," he replied. I linked arms with Jeff as we followed him towards the back.
"Case, try this one!" Jeff announced as I ran towards him and jumped on the bed. I laid flat on my back and turned over a couple times.
"No, this is no good," I replied as I slid off the bed. I walked towards another bed and fell onto it. "Now this is good! Jeff, get over here!" He laid down next to me and let out a sigh. I laughed as I curled up next to him. "Hmmm, Shane's gonna love this bed."
"I love this bed," Jeff muttered as he stroked my hair gently.
"So, have you come to a decision on the bed?" the salesman asked.
"I'll take this one," I said as I sat up with a smile on my face.
"It's a good thing that we took dad's old pick up," Jeff said as he tied rope around the mattress. "Otherwise we would have had to pay for the deliver which is really just one more way for them to get money outta ya!"
"I think it's tight enough," I yawned. "I'm so tired. I think those painkillers make me drowsy."
"Probably. Just sleep on the way home," he said as we climbed into the truck. I nodded and laid my head back, instantly falling asleep.
I slept the whole way home and then some. The next thing I knew I was laying down on something fluffy and soft with arms wrapped around me. I opened my eyes and looked around me, seeing nothing but black walls. I looked next to me and Jeff laid there, fast asleep. I smiled slightly and decided to wake him.
"Jeff," I whispered gently shaking him awake. " Jeffrey." There was no response except for his light snoring. "Jeffrey!" I was talking louder now and still he didn't wake. "Good Lord man! You sleep like you're dead!" I was now yelling and he opened his mouth to yawn.
"Good afternoon," he said sleepily.
"Dude, we need to find an easier way to wake you cause you have to be one of the most sound sleepers!" I laughed.
"Sorry," he chuckled. "It's your bed. It's just so comfortable."
"How'd you get it in here without help?" I asked looking around.
"I pulled it up the stairs. It's just sitting on the floor. I didn't set anything up. Figured the truck might get uncomfortable if I took too long." He smiled at me as I stood up. "Ready to do the walls?"
"Totally!" I said excitedly as I covered the mattress with an old sheet. "Hey! You already set up the futon too! You were one busy bee!"
"Buzz Buzz baby!" he joked. I laughed at him as I began to paint around the blackboard with different colors.
"Wow, looks like we're finished," Jeff said as we stepped back and looked around.
"It looks great," I said as I reached up to kiss his cheek.
"What was that for?" he asked blushing slightly.
"Thanks for your help," I smiled. He gave me a shrug and wrapped his arm around me.
"Wanna spend the nite here? I could just move the tv from my house to here and hook it up."
"That'd be great. I could spend the nite in here. Test out the bed. And you could test out the futon," I said slapping his shoulder playfully.
"Oh, yippie, my life is complete now," he replied sarcastically.
"I knew you'd be thrilled!" I shot back as I pulled his bandana off his head. He grabbed at his head as his bandana hair, sometimes worse than hat hair, flopped forward.
"You are giving that back to me," he said holding out his hand. I waved it at him and scrunched up my nose before I booked it out the door and down the stairs. "CASEY!"
"Lata Jeffy!" I exclaimed as I ran down the road.
"Casey Lee Piniarski!!! Get your ass back here!" he yelled as he chased after me. I ran into the field behind his house and towards the lake. I stopped suddenly when I didn't hear him running after me. I turned around and searched for him, a frown growing on my face.
"Jeff?" I asked. I began to panic as I looked around me. "JEFF?!"
"Got ya!" he yelled as he jumped at me from behind. He picked me up at the waist and laid me on the ground. He straddled my hips and pinned my arms to the ground. He took the bandana out of my hand and smiled down at me. "Don't mess with the master!"
"Well, this master had better get off my wrist before I have to KILL HIM!" I screamed in pain.
"Oh shit! I'm so sorry," he said as he let my arms go. I brought my casted wrist to my chest and scrunched up my face in agony.
"You should be!" I pouted. He gave me a smile I had never seen him use before. He moved his head down towards mine and whispered in my ear.
"Does Shane tell you how beautiful you are?" he asked.
"What?" I asked in disbelief.
"Well, you are beautiful."
"Jeff?" I asked softly.
"Shhh, just let me compliment you," he replied.
"I can't."
"Yes you can. You need a man who's going to love every inch of you. From your dyed hair to your tiny feet. You need a man who's going to tell you how beautiful you truly are."
"Shane is that man," I whispered back.
"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Only time will tell." Jeff pulled back and smiled at me before he stood and left me lying in the middle of the field.
"Jeff?" I questioned breathlessly.
I gasped as I sat up in a cold sweat. I looked around the room breathing heavily. I was in my room in Matt and Amy's house. I looked over at the pulled out futon and saw Jeff fast asleep. I slowly got up and walked towards him. I quietly laid down next to him.
"Thought you were testing out the bed tonite," he said softly.
"I lied. I suddenly have the need to be with someone," I replied.
"You wanna sleep with me?" he questioned.
"If it's okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course it's okay." He turned over and wrapped his arms tightly around me as I nuzzled into his warm body. "Sweet dreams baby."