Alright!!!! I finally got my site updated with my responses to chapter eight reviews!! Woo-hoo! I actually did something productive, lol. Anyway, here's the new chapter!

Chapter Eight: Gossip Folks

Annie threw her planner across the room. She was tired at trying to keep up with her busy schedule. She was planning the events, going to the conferences, helping to set up the storylines, the list went on and on. She let out a weary sigh before putting on her best mask.

She had just called Rose to come to her office. Annie wanted to get the '411' so to speak, about her first driving lesson. She jumped when she heard a knock at the door, not expecting Rose to get there so soon.

"Annie? Can I come in? It's me, Rose."

Annie took in a deep breath, still a bit stressed, "Um, yes c-come in," she stuttered, her mind becoming a little fuzzy.

"You wanted to see me? Is everything okay with the show?" Rose asked softly, sensing something wasn't quite right.

Annie cleared her throat, noticing the look on Rose's face, as she shook her head slightly to clear it. She took a short, but deep breath, "Yes," she forced a smile, "I wanted to know what happened during your driving lessons with Rene."

"Oh," Rose blushed as she shyly glanced down at the floor. 'Oh God, why am I blushing?' she asked herself as her eyes darted around the room.

Annie took notice of the slight coloring of the young writer's cheeks, "Is there something I should know," Annie asked, insinuatingly.

"Huh? NO!" Rose answered too quickly.

Annie's eyes widened, "What happened? Did you guys kiss or something??"

"NO…No. Nothing like that, I've just…" Rose trailed off, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"C'mon! What happened? You can tell me," Annie pleaded. She really wanted to know something good. She desperately needed something to keep her mind off of her own little problems. Thankfully, Rose saved her from her thoughts.

Rose took Annie by the hands and walked them both over to the nearby couch to sit down. She then took a breath before speaking, "I don't know what's going on," she admitted with a sigh. "Rene and I are friends, and the driving lesson went well. He's a great teacher. It's just that I…" she trailed off, searching for the words.

Annie raised her eyebrows in question, "You just what?" she asked searching the younger girls eyes before her face fell into understanding, "You like him, don't you?"

"NO! I mean…I don't know," she answered, honestly.

"You don't know?" Annie questioned.

"We just started being friends, and I'm not sure how I feel about him. Plus, I've only known him for what? Four weeks? I mean, when he kissed me… I just don't want things to move too quickly, and even if I did…have feelings for him, I'm not even sure he'd feel the same, you know?"

"Are you scared? Because you look like a frightened puppy," Annie grinned.

"Shut-up!" Rose rolled her eyes, "You don't understand, it's hard for me to get comfortable around people," Rose paused, preparing to give Annie the story of her life, in a nutshell. Finally she continued, "Before I came here, I was living with Ruth and Sam Livingston."

Annie's expression clearly stated, 'What does this have to do with anything?' Annie already knew Rose didn't have any parents, but she didn't understand the connection-

Rose interpreted Annie's confusion, "They were my fifteenth set of foster parents."

Annie's shot up in shock, "What? Fifteenth?"

"Yah. I moved around a lot before I finally got my own apartment five months ago. I haven't really had any friends…let alone boyfriends. And so, I guess my point is…I want to experience friendship before I tackle anything more intimate."

"Wow, Rose. I had no idea…" Annie then cracked a smile, "So that would mean that kiss in the parking lot was your first."

Rose meekly nodded her head.

"Was it good, at least? You never did tell me," she prodded.

Rose beamed a smile and nodded her head, "I think so. I don't really have anything to compare it to, though."

"Well, what did it feel like? Maybe I can tell you," Annie suggested.

Rose bit her bottom lip and looked around the room again to make sure that is was still just the two of them. "Well, when he kissed me, he bit my bottom lip really softly before he stuck his…" she giggled, "you know. And then it he licked underneath my tongue really slowly, and then I don't remember anything after that. I think I just melted," she sighed.

"Yup. It was good," Annie confirmed.

Rose smiled, and opened her mouth to say something when there was another knock, and Randy walked through. Annie smiled her brightest as he was wearing her favorite shorts. She then noticed the bandage on his forehead and the bruise on his left, inner thigh and frowned slightly.

Randy walked across the room to where Annie sat, "So, how're you lovely ladies doing tonight?" he asked in his most charming tone. His eyes moved from looking at both of them to looking directly at his fiancé.

Rose saw the exchange, and chose that moment to excuse herself and leave the two to whatever it was they planned to do, "I better go. I have…um…stuff to do."

Annie smiled sweetly, "Okay, Rose, I'll talk to you later!"

"Later, Rose. Come by any time," Randy waved.

Rose nodded her head as she exited the room. Smiling, she started to make her way back to her little office. She wanted to watch Rene's match. It should be coming up soon. Rose already knew what the results were going to be, but she still wanted to see it. Mainly because she had promised him she would.

Rose started to contemplate the conversation they had shared earlier that day over the phone. She had been curious at seeing his name appear on the caller id of her cell. She figured it had something to do with his next swimming lesson. They never had set up an appointment.

"Hello?" she had answered.

"Rose…hey it's Rene," he greeted. He had seemed a bit nervous, and Rose had wondered about that for a second before going on.

"I know," there was a silence on the other end, "Caller ID," she explained.

"Oh."

There was another awkward silence before Rose found the guts to speak, "So…did you have a reason to call me? Is it about your next swimming lesson?"

Rene thought for a moment. Why had he called? He'd been thinking about her ever since she had left his hotel room a couple nights ago. He just found himself wanting to talk to her, or more correctly, wanting to hear her voice. He shook his head, 'Sure, swimming lessons could be a good reason,' "Um, yah. Sorry. I had one of those memory lapses. I'm getting senile in my young age."

Rose laughed at his joke, then answered the inquiry about his next lesson, "I was thinking we'd pick up where we left off Tuesday, if that's not a problem for you?"

"Tuesday sounds good," he agreed.

"Okay, well then I'll see you later," she confirmed.

"Mm-hmm. Rose?"

"Yes?"

Rene cleared his throat and tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, "So, are you going to watch my match tonight?"

"Well, I already know how it's going to turn out," she shrugged at his question.

Rene paused before speaking, "Oh, yah…that's right, I forg-"

"I'll probably watch it anyway, though. I always watch the show. Besides, I am going to be in the building after all" she laughed, slightly confused at the way his last comment sounded. Did she detect disappointment? Nah, couldn't be. Could it?

Rene took a breath, determined not to be obvious, "Cool…uh…'cause you know, it's your duty as a friend to watch all of matches and support me," he joked, putting on his fake accent.

Rose laughed, "Okay, I get it. I promise to watch, Rene," she smiled into her phone, "What are friends for, right?"

"Right," Rene agreed.

"Okay, so I'll see you later. I've got to get to my meeting."

"Right, see you later."

And with that, their phone call had ended. Rose thought back to how strange it was. She had felt the instant set of butterflies in her stomach that had become persistent ever since the kiss. Rose sighed, the butterflies had been even more intense on the phone call. She knew it had to do with the dream she had succumbed to when she was knocked out.

Rose shook her head. She would not think of that right now. There were more important things to do right now. However, try as she might, she couldn't get him out of her head. She wondered why she hadn't seen him yet tonight, then she wondered why she even cared. They were just friends.

She may be attracted to him, but she had already decided that she didn't want to go any further than friendship. That was the way things had to be. That's the way things needed to stay. Right? Of course. 'I wouldn't mind another kiss though,' Rose admitted to herself before putting up her mental walls.

It was the only way she could stop the thoughts. When she finally did stop thinking about Rene, Rose realized that she had passed her office, and would miss the match if she didn't hurry up and get there.

Finally making it to her monitor, Rose sat quietly and watched Rene make his way down the ramp. She pretty well drunk in the sight of him. She looked at his face, he looked older in some ways, but you could tell he was young.

While his faced took on both mature and young characteristics, his body did not. It did not seem like the body of a twenty-year old. Hell, Rose had been shocked to discover he was nineteen when she first saw him in the ring. It didn't seem like that long, but it had been about a year ago when she'd seen him debut.

Her eyes moved from his chest to his legs. They were huge. Not in a bad way though, she nearly giggled. Rose refused to ponder her motives for, 'checking him out' like she was, but she couldn't seem to stop. Especially when it came to his legs. They were thick and muscled. Powerful.

She suddenly wondered how they would feel under her fingertips. 'Shit! Rosalyn Bryant! Stop thinking about it!' she scolded herself as she forced her eyes to take in the entire match, and not just the one participant.

When the match was over, she was undecided on whether or not she should go see him and tell him 'Good job,' or stay in her office where it was safe. Rose did the wiser thing for once, and stayed put. She had important things to do, she kept telling herself.

~~~

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Randy asked his fiancé. She was looking a little pale, and it had him worried.

"Nothing's wrong," she answered a little too quickly, causing Randy to react.

"Annie…?" he asked in a tone that clearly stated, 'I know you're not telling me something'.

Annie smiled innocently, before realizing he wasn't buying it. She let out a sigh, "I can't get anything past you, can I?"

"Nope. Now tell me what's going on," he said, his voice soft yet demanding.

"I'm just a little stressed. All of these new responsibilities are becoming a bit…overwhelming," she admitted with reluctance. She hated having to say that things were too much. She really prided herself as being a hard worker and dedicated, and she was. The only problem was that sometimes, she just didn't know when to quit or turn down extra responsibilities. Every responsibility Eric had offered her, she had accepted.

Randy was silent for a moment, his face showed a portion of his concern. He stepped toward her and engulfed her in his embrace. His words were soft, "Why don't you lay down on that couch over there and take it easy?"

"Randy, I can't. I have to-"

He covered her mouth with his. His kiss was reassuring and sweet, full of love and a bit of worried frustration. He spoke against her lips, "Go lay down, or I'll tie you down myself. You have an entire week to get caught up, Annie. You don't have push yourself. Eric will understand if one of your projects are late. Just do the really important things first, then tackle the little things."

Annie sighed and let herself collapse into him in surrender, "Yes, sir."

Randy smiled down at her, "Okay. I'll be back after the show, and if you're not on that couch sound asleep when I get back here, there's going to be Hell to pay," he mock threatened.

Annie smiled and pecked him lightly on the lips, "Have I told you I love you?"

"Hmm…only about a million times," he gathered.

"Well, this is a million and one. I love you, Randy Keith Orton," she beamed up at him.

"I love you too, beautiful," he kissed her forehead, "I gotta go now. I'll see you in a little while," he said as he picked her up bridal style and laid her down on the couch. "Relax, alright?"

"Okay," she agreed simply.

With that, he turned and exited the room, but not before looking back and flashing his infamous Randy smile. Annie began to giggle, but a yawn interrupted her, and she suddenly found it very difficult to stay awake.

~~~

Rene made his way to the soda machines. He put in his quarters and collected his water. He looked at the time: 11:45. Raw was almost over. The main event had just started. He was about to walk back to his locker room and get dressed when a thought struck him. He stopped in his tracks and turned around, going the other direction.

Five minutes later, he found himself outside of Rose's office. He knocked, hoping she hadn't left yet. When she opened the door, Rene momentarily found himself at a loss for words. He could tell she had to attend a meeting earlier.

She wore her hair clipped up behind her head. A few loose tendrils graced her face angelically. She wore a lavender blouse that buttoned up to the neck, however, she had left the top two unbuttoned, revealing a silver chain around her neck.

Her pants were creamy white with a thin, silver-chain belt that hung loosely through her pant loops. Her shoes were a pair of brown open toe heals that revealed tiny, flawless feet and lavender toe nails. He noted the change of nail polish.

She smiled up at him now as she greeted him, "Hey Rene, great match," she hesitated. "So, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Rene came back to the present, "Thanks, I was just on my way to my locker room, and I was wondering if you needed a ride back to the hotel. Hell, maybe you could drive."

Rose looked at him nervously for a moment, "You don't have to give me a ride, Rene. I can just take a-"

"I know, but at least with me you won't have to pay. Besides, I don't mind," he smiled honestly.

Rose thought about it for a few minutes before answering, still somewhat uncertain, "Well…if you're sure it's no trouble."

"No trouble at all," he assured her.

"I'll just get my stuff together then and meet you at the exit," Rose said, her voice faltering a little.

Rene nodded and headed off to get his things. His stomach was doing flips, and he tried to convince himself that it was just the tuna from earlier talking. (LOL. TUUUUUUNAAAAAAAAAA! LMAO. Sorry about that ya'll, back to the story).

~~~

Rose leaned against the banister of the exit doors. She immediately straightened herself when she saw Rene approaching. She had nearly drooled at the sight of him earlier when he came to her door wearing nothing more than a pair of button-up workout pants and tennis shoes.

Now, she was sure she could feel the slightest bit of moisture at the corner of her mouth. She quickly licked her lips. He had his hair spiked, glasses on, dark jeans, and a black WWE logo hoody. He looked absolutely edible-Rose mentally slapped herself, cringing inwardly at her bad, bad train of thoughts.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to act natural. Besides, there wasn't a reason for her to act any other way, anyhow. 'You don't think of him in that way, remember?' she reminded herself. Her inner control finally woke up, and for the first time in two days, she was able to think clearly.

"Ready to go?" Rene asked as he finally made it to the doors.

"Yup," she said as they both walked out of the building and toward Rene's rental.

~~~

Randy scooped Annie up in his arms. She stirred slightly, but remained asleep.

"Damn, she's really out of it, isn't she?" Dave pointed out.

"Yah, she's been under a lot of pressure lately, I think," Randy let out a worried sigh.

"Why didn't she tell me she was having trouble juggling everything? She didn't have to take up that spot on the creative team," Stephanie interjected sympathetically as she felt Paul squeeze her shoulders affectionately. Silently expressing his concern for her. He had seen Steph the exact same way he was seeing Annie now: Completely and utterly exhausted.

"I don't know," Randy admitted, "Probably just didn't want to disappoint anyone," Randy figured.

Paul, Dave, Ric, and Stephanie all nodded in understanding before Randy spoke again, "I'm gonna head out of here. I'll see you guys on Wednesday."

"See you," they all said as he left the room with Annie sleeping in his arms.

Randy was worried about her. He hadn't noticed how much she pushed herself when it came to her job. He supposed the same could be said by her about him. It was true, he loved his job, and did work very hard to do well. He sighed as he deposited Annie into the passenger seat and buckled her in. She let out a muffled sound before her eyes blinked open.

"Hey," she cooed when she saw Randy leaning over her.

"Hey," he replied before giving her a light kiss. Annie responded by wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing him to her. She deepened their kiss, her need for him suddenly finding it's way to the surface. He was the one thing on this planet that made her feel completely and totally at peace.

Randy, who was shocked at her leap from asleep to all over him, took a moment to adjust to the sudden change before slipping his hands under her shirt. He moved his fingertips skillfully over her breasts, slightly pinching her hardened buds. She let out a soft moan against his lips as she moved her hands down to his waist band and slipped her hands into his pants. He gasped when her hand enveloped his member, slightly stroking it. He was after all, still halfway out of the car.

He broke away from her, an intense look on his face. He smirked as he pulled her hand from his pants, "Not here," he said, finally able to take control. Annie gave him the puppy dog face. "Awww, you wench," he breathed, narrowing his eyes at her for looking at him like that. He hated it.

That puppy face could do so many things to him. It could make him cave, it could make him smile, but right now, it was doing nothing but turn him on. Randy backed away and shut her door. Five seconds later, they were peeling out of the parking lot and speeding toward the hotel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Large quantities of smut ahead, lol. Randy and Annie get it on, but something they weren't expecting happens.

What happens next with Randy and Annie? What went on during the car ride with Rose and Rene? More importantly, what happens after the car ride??? Will Annie be able to handle all of her new responsibilities without breaking down?

All these questions will be answered in the next chapter. In the mean time, you'll just have to wait, muwhaahahhahahaaha. Now, REVIEW DAMN IT!

Pammi