Hey, ya'll, I'm really sorry for not updating. And now, the groveling and explaining begins: Work, my part-time job has gone from scheduling me 15hr/wk, to 29hr/wk. Not only that, but college is draining me dry, getting up and having to be in class at eight in the morning five days a week. Also, I have taken up a SECOND job at the library on campus, because I'm poor and in need of money, so the work-study program should help with that.

Unfortunately, because of all of these hectic schedule conflicts, I scarcely have any time to chill out, much less write. And I hate it. I love to write, and I hate letting people down. I know my little updates and my humble fan fictions aren't that important to all your lives, but I know you seem to like to read it, and I love to provide it. So, I assure you that I'm going to keep on writing, and I'll try to keep my updates exactly that: Up to date. Okay, that being said, on with the chapter!

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Chapter Fourteen: My Funny Valentine

Rose rolled over into a cold, empty space. Her eyes flew open and searched the room. It was quiet with no sound of a shower, no sound of a television, and no breaths, save for her own. She slowly sat up, thinking that perhaps it had all been a dream, but to her own treacherous dismay she realized that everything had really happened. She was, in fact, in Rene's room.

She and Rene had made love, and what's more, she had told him that she loved him. She hadn't meant for that to slip from her mouth, but it did. It had come out so naturally, so easily, as if she had known it all along. He had told her that he loved her too…sort of. Rose crinkled her brow in contemplation.

She looked around the room again, confused and a little dizzy. She shook her head and felt something warm leaving her body and she looked down. Blood. She was bleeding. At that sight, it hit her. The reality of it all. Her body hurt, she was bleeding, she had given herself to a man for the first time in her life, and the most harsh part of it all, was that the man she had given herself to and confessed her love for, was no where to be found. She was alone.

Rose felt herself shaking in her skin. She didn't know she was supposed to bleed this much. Where was it all coming from, and what the Hell was she supposed to do now? Tears starting flowing down her cheeks. Was this it? Had he just left without saying anything? She was frozen there, on the bed looking down at her plight, crying and scared. Then the door opened.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ro-" Rene stopped before finishing his sentence, dropping the box of twenty-four long-stemmed red roses at his feet. Rose was sitting on the bed, the sheets growing red with her blood and her eyes leaking tears; tears of fear, confusion, and doubt. He rushed to her side, "Rose? Are you okay?" he asked as he pulled her into his arms.

Rose sat there, frozen in his arms before wrapping her arms around his neck and releasing her tears into his chest. "Rene?" she choked, "Where did you go…I thought that you…you might have-" she broke off.

"Left?" he finished her question as he took off his shirt, wrapped her in the sheet, then picked her up bridal style and carried her to the bathroom. He felt her nod in response then kissed her forehead. "I did leave," he smiled.

Rose looked at him in confusion as he sat her on the toilet seat and then grasped her chin to meet her gaze, "It's Valentine's Day. I had to get you a gift. Besides, you looked like an angel lying there at twelve. I couldn't wake you."

"Oh," was all she could manage. She then noticed that he was turning on the bath faucet, "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," he said as he began to leave the room. Rose instinctively reached out and snatched his hand to keep him from going anywhere. Rene smiled and lifted her fingertips to his lips, lightly kissing them, "I'll be right back, mes aimer (my love)."

Rose sighed in both relief and frustration. She was relieved that he wasn't leaving her, and she was frustrated because she felt weak. What had happened to her. Where was her inner strength, her determination, her willpower? Where was the independent, Rosalyn Bryant? Her thoughts were interrupted when Rene came back into the room carrying some kind of bottle.

He flashed Rose a thoughtful smile before pouring in the Lavender bubble bath. Rose closed her eyes as soon as the fragrance hit her nose. She then felt herself being stood up and the sheet leaving her body. Her eyes snapped open to see Rene tossing the sheet to the ground.

"Are you okay, baby? Are you still…" he trailed off motioning his head toward the direction of the discarded sheet.

Rose shook her head, "No. I don't think so."

"Good," he smiled, bending down to turn off the running water. "You relax and take a bath, okay? I've got to go out for a little while, but I'll be back at about seven. Will you stay here while I'm gone?"

Rose tried not to frown and hide her disappointment. 'He's leaving…again?' "Yah. I'll stay." She looked at the clock. Three-thirty. Had she really been out that long?

Rene gave her a peck on the forehead and exited the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaving her to her thoughts. He picked up his keys from the nightstand, then picked up Rose's pair of discarded pants and checked the size. Smiling, he picked up the roses he had dropped earlier and placed them on the chair in the corner.

Rene looked at the bed and frowned. He felt bad for making her bleed. He hadn't meant to hurt her or to have been so rough. He thought that he had been extremely gentle with her. Sighing, he picked up the phone and asked to have the room cleaned and the bed made a.s.a.p.

Finally, he decided that he was ready to hit the town, and he left, heading for the mall, determined to get Rose something really nice for Valentine's Day. He hadn't known what to get her earlier, and had settled for the roses, but after seeing her just now, he concluded that she deserved more.

~~~

Randy drew in the scent of blueberry pancakes as he awoke from his slumber. He noticed that his lovely woman was no where to be found…or actually, ravished, so he pushed himself out of bed and headed downstairs, pulling on a pair of sweats as he went.

The blueberry scent grew stronger as he descended the stairs, and the smell of bacon and eggs also flooded his nostrils. When he finally reached the bottom of the staircase, he was greeted by Tim Davis' ornery grin. "Hey, Tim," Randy nodded.

"Mornin', Randy," Tim greeted back. "I didn't hear you two come in last night. It must have been pretty late. Annie told me ya'll took the redeye."

"Yup," Randy yawned. "Speaking of Annie, is that her in there cooking or am I just smelling things?"

"Nah, you're just smelling things," Tim chuckled then motioned his head toward the kitchen.

Randy nodded with a smile and made his way toward the scent. His mouth watered at the sight before him. Blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, grits, and a sexy chef to go with it. He smirked as he realized that Annie had yet to notice his presence. He snuck up on his prey easily, taking each step quickly, yet silently. His smirk growing, Randy made his move.

"EEK!" Annie squeaked as she felt a hand grab a hold of her butt. She spun around to come face to face with none other than Randy Keith Orton and his priceless cocky smirk.

"Hey, good looking," he grinned, reaching around her and grabbing a piece of bacon, tossing it in his mouth.

'Oh that's it,' she thought to herself. She smacked his hand as he reached for another piece, "You're just going to have to wait until everything is done!" she lectured.

"Aww, c'mon, Annie…" he whined, "What am I gonna do in the meantime?"

"I don't know. You're just going to have to figure something out," she said haughtily before turning her attention back to her cooking.

Randy tightened his jaw, his smirk ever-growing. He spun her back around and pinned her against the counter, "I could think of a few things that would take my mind off my hunger," he rasped huskily into her ear.

Annie ignored the flame he had just ignited within her and reached for a piece of bacon, "Fine. Have it your way, you big jerk," she said teasingly as she stuffed the bacon in his mouth when he tried to kiss her.

He chewed his bacon happily, "Fair enough," he said as he pretended to walk away. Annie, as predicted, turned around and tended to her scrambled eggs. She was humming again when she felt another firm grip on her ass. "RANDY KEITH ORTON!!!" she yelped.

Outside the kitchen, a chuckling Tim shook his head. 'To be young again,' he thought mirthfully to himself.

~~~

Rose bit her lip as she looked around the room to make sure everything was in place. She felt so silly for everything that she had done. After the housekeeper had arrived, Rose had gone out and bought rose petals and candles. She had actually even called up for room service, which had just arrived. She was, at the moment, grateful that it wasn't daylight savings time.

It was six-thirty and Rene would be back soon. She couldn't believe how nervous she was or what she was doing. Rose had never shared Valentine's Day with anyone, and she felt kind of foolish doing up the room like she had done, but she really wanted to show him how much she…cared about him. She knew that she must have scared the crap out of him earlier when he walked in on her and the way she was sitting on the bed.

She looked around at all the candles she was about to light as she pulled out the large lighter she had bought earlier. 'I better get busy,' she thought to herself as she made her way around the room and lighted the numerous candles. When her task was done, she opened the containers of rose petals. She made sure that the bed was covered, and then started on scattering them about the floor and even putting a few on the table where they would eat.

She was spreading the last handful when she heard whistling in the hall. She quickly threw the remaining petals onto the floor, lit the candles on the table, and ran to the peephole to see that it was, in fact Rene, coming down the hallway. "Sure enough," she spoke aloud.

All the nerves in her stomach were jumping and she was suddenly very warm with anticipation. 'What if he laughs at this? In the movies, it's usually the man who does all of this stuff,' she contemplated with a sigh, 'Oh well. Too late now.' She hoped he at least liked her dress.

Rene turned the key, as he knocked on the door, "Honey, I'm-" he didn't finish as he took in the sight of the room. There were an assortment of candles: Tall ones, short ones, skinny ones, fat ones, but all of them were white, and lit. Also, the room was covered in crimson rose petals. The bed, the floor, even the table had some strewn atop it. His eyes then stumbled upon the fairest site in the room: Rose.

She was dressed in a black, figure fitting, spaghetti strap dress that stopped halfway down her thighs. Her blond hair was down and curled under, resting on her shoulders. Her emerald eyes sparkled in the candle light that also illuminated her features, making her seem dreamlike. What made him smile, other than the fact that she was barefooted, was that she was holding one of the long-stemmed roses he had left for her earlier. That, and the fact that she had done all of this for him.

She came toward him with the rose, her eyes unsure, "Happy Valentine's Day," she whispered in the sweetest tone.

Rene sighed happily as he held out his gift for her, "Happy Valentine's Day to you too."

Rose took the medium-sized gift-wrapped box from his hands, "You didn't have to. You got me the roses," she smiled, gesturing to where the box of roses still sat on the chair in the corner.

"I know, but I thought about it and I decided that you needed another gift," he grinned anxiously, "open it."

Rose did as she was told, and her jaw dropped when she pulled out a red, strapless, lace on satin dress. It was fine material that shimmered in the dim, glowing light. "I don't know what to say," she finally said breathlessly.

"Don't say anything. May I?" he asked as he reached for the dress.

Rose blushed as she handed it over and he came closer to her and unzipped the dress she was wearing. Her skin tingled as his fingertips grazed her skin while pulling down the straps around her shoulders. Her black dress fell to the floor with a silent thud. Rose felt suddenly very embarrassed, but that emotion soon left her when Rene gave her a slight nibble on her bare neck. He put the other dress on over her head and pulled it down, zipping it up in the back.

Rene stepped back to take her in, "A perfect fit. God, you're beautiful."

Rose blushed and looked down, not used to getting so much attention, "So…do you like the room? I kinda redecorated," she smiled, trying to move his attention somewhere besides solely on her. She just couldn't bear him looking at her like that. It made her want to do very unspeakable things. Things that were reminiscent of the previous night. She was brought out of her thoughts by his reply.

"Are you kidding? I love it…" he paused as he came back to her and drew her into his arms. He looked down into her emerald eyes, "…I love you."

Looking back into his loving eyes, Rose couldn't keep the words or the happiness inside her heart, "I love you, Rene," she confessed. She was speaking the truth. It had to be. There was a time last night where she lay awake, wondering whether or not she had meant what she said to him about loving him.

She wondered if she was just still in after shock of their love-making or if she truly had any idea of what she was saying. However, now, looking into his eyes-into the windows of his soul, she could see herself. She could see her dreams, her future, his love, and in her heart, she could feel herself mirroring his affection. She loved him too. It was an unquestionable fact now.

How it had come to be, she had no idea. But she did know one thing. She never wanted to lose it. With those thoughts she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him warmly, "I ordered room service. Are you ready to eat dinner?"

"Only if I get to eat you for desert," he said smacking her playfully on the ass.

Rose leaned back to look him in the face, "Oh, you'll get desert," she smiled wickedly before lightly squeezing his package through his pants.

Rene was left gasping as she walked away and seated herself at the table,

"Well, are you going to sit here and eat with me, or are you going to stand there with that deprived look on your face."

Rene smiled and walked over to where she sat, "Neither, actually."

"Huh?" Rose stared at him confused.

"I'd much rather dance than eat," he smiled.

"We don't have any music," Rose pointed out.

Rene held out his hand, "Doesn't matter."

Rose smiled and took his hand, and they danced among the candle light and rose petals. There was no music, just two people dancing to the rhythm of their hearts and their new found love.

That night they made love for the second, third, fourth, and fifth time on a bed of rose petals and a room of candles. Their dinner went untouched, but it's the thought that counts.

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Well, there it is. Sorry, it ain't all that great, but I tried. I'm really sorry for the lack of updates, ya'll. I'll try to keep getting them out, though.

REVIEW!!!

Pammi