PART 21

A WEEK LATER

Adam stood by the bar in a noisy, crowded nightclub, sipping a beer and talking to Kurt Angle. The two men weren't really all that big of dancers, at least not to songs like 'Hot in Herre.' So, they merely stood at the bar, laughing and talking as they watched their friends goof off on the dance floor.

"They're certainly growing on each other, aren't they?" Kurt said, drawing Adam's gaze away from the dance floor.

He turned to face his bald friend, sending him a questioning look. Then, he noticed that Kurt was gesturing behind him, so he turned to see just what he was looking at. Once he had turned halfway around, he noticed that Stephanie and Chris were sitting by themselves at a table towards the back. Adam smiled as he watched Chris reach out and brush away a few strands of Stephanie's hair away from her face, tenderly running his finger down her cheek. If it had been anyone else, Adam would have wanted to vomit, but because of how much he knew the couple had been through just to be together, it was heartwarming. Chris and Stephanie were finally beginnging to be more open and public about their displays of affection, and just about everyone was taking notice...

Including Paul Levesque.

What made Adam, and the rest of his friends for that matter, even happier about the situation was how angry it made Paul. Getting stood up at the alter by Stephanie McMahon turned Levesque into even more of a bitter individual than he was before. Nobody talked to him anymore, with the exception of his Evolution buddies Flair, Orton, and Batista, and even they seemed to be slowly shying away from him. If Adam hadn't known him better, he'd almost feel sorry for him. But, he *did* know Paul, and he knew what kind of rotten excuse for a human he was, so Adam didn't feel sorry in the least as he sat back and watched all of the 'hard work' Paul had done to get to the top blow up in his face. He deserved everything he got after all he put Stephanie through.

"So Adam, what's going on with you and Trish?" Kurt asked suddenly, out of the blue. Adam shook his head. No matter how much he tried to play it down, his friends would *never* get off of his back about Trish.

"Well, to be honest Kurt, I have no idea," he said honestly. "I mean, I've hardly talked to Trish at all lately. It just seems like I was almost closer to her when she was still *with* Orton. I can understand that she probably doesn't want to be around too many guys right now, but..."

"But you miss her already," Kurt finished for him, smiling knowingly. "Adam, there's one simple solution for this." Adam frowned, glancing over at Kurt and shaking his head.

"No... I'm not telling her. Not yet. I can't put that on her now, after she's just getting out of her relationship with Randy. It just has to wait," he explained.

Kurt nodded perceptively... Adam's reasoning was logical. He supposed that the Canadian didn't want to be merely a rebound fling for Trish, and wanted to wait until he was positive she was over Randy Orton. The only problem with that was, Kurt wasn't so sure that was *ever* going to happen. A small grin formed on his face, as he decided he would just have to help the two along. He wasn't going to push much, but just enough to get their friendship rolling again.

"You know what?" he said, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "I'll be right back."

With that said, he left Adam standing at the bar. Adam watched curiously as Kurt sauntered over to where their friends were mingling and dancing, tap Trish on her shoulder, and then say something into her ear. Then, he turned and left her, walking over to the front of the club, where Adam lost him the sea of people. He could only imagine what his bald friend was up to, and when he saw Trish approaching him, he knew it was no good. He put on a smile as Trish walked up to him, wondering what in hell Kurt said to her.

"Hey," she called cheerfully, placing a hand on his arm. "Kurt said you wanted to talk to me."

Adam's stomach dropped as his gaze shot out to where he had last seen Kurt. That bastard... he set him up. When I get my hands on that Olympic ass I'm going to kill him, he thought silently. He looked back at Trish, sending her a nervous smile.

"Yeah... I... um..."

"Hey, listen!" Trish called, pointing to the speakers on the ceiling. Adam glanced up at the speakers, listening as he recognized the song being played as 'Open Arms' by Journey. He and Trish had always both been huge fans of the band. "Wanna dance?"

"Uh... sure," he said, hesitantly at first.

He took Trish's hand and allowed her to lead him to the dance floor, where the two met up with their friends. As he wrapped his arms around her slender waist, he glanced over and saw Chris and Stephanie joining everyone. Chris winked at him, gesturing to the woman Adam was standing with. Adam grinned and shook his head, his eyes darting around the club. Where the hell was Kurt? He knew he was responsible for this. Sure enough, when he found him, Kurt's eyes were locked on the two of them, and when he met Adam's green eyes, he gave him a thumbs up. I need some new friends, Adam muttered to himself, even though he was secretly very thankful for Kurt's bold actions. He gazed back down at Trish, smiling as their eyes met.

"I haven't talked to you in forever," he noted.

We sailed on together

We drifted apart

And here you are by my side

"I know," she agreed. "I'm sorry Adam, it's just that I've been... kind of like a hermit lately. I haven't really talked to anyone. It's... it's been a little rough." Adam nodded solemnly as the two swayed back and forth to the music.

"I'm sure it has Trish. I didn't mean it like that. I just miss talking to you, you know? But I do understand that it's been hard... just remember that I'm always here for you," he said honestly.

Trish glanced up at him, noting the seriousness in his gaze. Being around Adam again made her wonder why she had avoided being around him and all of her other friends in the first place. They were what really mattered... and after all, she couldn't mope around about Randy for the rest of her life. She sent Adam a small, gracious smile, moving in closer and hugging him tightly.

"I know that Adam," she said, resting her head on his chest, "and you have no idea how thankful I am." Adam smiled at her response, wrapping his arms securely around her.

So now I come to you

With open arms

Nothing to hide

Believe what I say

So here I am

With open arms

Hoping you'll see

What your love means to me

Open arms

Adam all of a sudden got butterflies in his stomach, ones he hadn't experienced in weeks. Being this close to Trish sent him a reminder of how strong his feelings for her really were. He knew he gotten himself way deeper than just a crush now. He had somehow managed to fall in love with her, and there was no stopping that now. He realized that now more than ever, it was time...

"Trish?" he called, watching as she pushed herself back enough to look up at him.

"Yeah?"

"I... I have to tell you something," he said, his voice slightly shaky. He felt his hands literally trembling, and he wanted nothing more than to pull them off of her waist, only they felt as though they were glued there.

"Okay... what is it?" she asked, sending him a curious gaze.

Adam knew as soon as he responded that there was no way he would be able to respond in words. His mouth was suddenly dry as ashes, and he found his knees feeling like putty. Still, it was too late to turn back now. He had to do something. So, he did the only thing that came to his mind...

He leaned down, and he kissed her.

Heey! Hope you guys are still into this!!  I wonder how you think Trish will react… LOL, let me know!!