I finally updated! All my other fics took a backseat for a while because of my comprehensive exams… I didn't even get to celebrate Thanksgiving because I had to study. :-( But now it's finally over and I'm proud to say that I passed it with flying colors (I got a 94 out of a 100… Yay! does a victory dance)! My classmates thought I was weird coz right after our exams, I went straight to my computer and I have been writing this chapter nonstop… I hope you guys like it… Please don't forget to review!
The doorbell buzzed at exactly 7:00. The dinner party was at 7:30, which gave us enough time to travel the short length of my apartment to Amy and Matt's place. I turned back to Randy while I spoke into the intercom, telling Adam that I'll be right down.
"Why don't you ask him to come up?" Randy suggested while he popped open a can of Coke Light and propped his feet up on the small coffee table that faced the TV in my living room. Randy was carrying Alex on his lap, supporting her with one arm while he held the remote in the other, about to switch the TV on.
"Nah, I better not. We're going to be late. Are you going to be OK? I have lots of Coke and… well, lots of take-out menus."
"Don't worry. I'll think of something." He cleared his throat. "So Adam's also gonna take you home?"
"Yes. I gotta go. I'll be back ASAP." I didn't really want to talk about my date. "Are you sure you'll be OK?"
"We'll be fine. Let me warn you though, I heard from Paul and Dave and the other RAW guys that Adam can be quite, you know, opportunistic. You be careful."
"I can take care of myself. Anyway, focus: what do you do when the baby cries?"
"Check if she needs a change of diaper, or if she's hungry or just sleepy."
"How do you put the baby to sleep?"
"Uh, by counting sheep?" he gave his famous smirk once again.
"Seriously."
"Make sure she's full, burped, and lying on her back."
"What is the ratio of water to formula?"
"One scoop to one ounce."
"What will you do if you get hungry?"
"Take out menus is on the fridge."
"Very good."
"Thank you."
"OK, call me when you need anything." I bent down to kiss Alex on her head, accidentally brushing my cheek against Randy's shoulder. I couldn't help but notice how good he smelled. I had a sudden urge to kiss him as well but I thought well not to. If I weren't so self-conscious I would have done in our usual friendly manner, but at the moment I felt extremely shy. It was a strange feeling. I know it was so unlike me to feel guilty because truth was, I felt guilty about going out with another guy just because Randy was sitting there in my living room. I wonder if Randy noticed. He seemed undisturbed, so I just hurried out and closed the door behind me.
"Be good," he called out as I closed the door. I smiled to myself and took a deep breath, before stepping into the elevator to meet, as it were, my "blind date".
I didn't know what to expect. I mean, I've worked with Adam when we were back with the RAW brand, then we both got traded to SmackDown right after I found out that I was pregnant. I had to take a long leave after that. We didn't exactly talk much back then, although we are both Canadian natives, maybe because we moved in different social circles. Besides, he was married, so he wasn't that interesting to me. When I saw him in the lobby, I held my breath. I never noticed that he was such a hunk. He was wearing khaki slacks and a dark blue dress shirt. His blonde hair was tied back in a neat ponytail, which he never did when he was working, and he was clean-shaven. He had big, bright smiling eyes and a long nose. Now that I noticed that he was absolutely gorgeous, it made me wonder all the more why he was divorced. He must be psychologically incapacitated. Was I dating a psycho? I gave him a big smile.
"Hi, Trish." He extended his hand. I felt the warmth from his hand travel my palm, up my arm and straight to my cheeks.
"Hi Adam," I said, my smile threatening to be a permanent fixture on my face. I was suddenly conscious of my little black dress that has a deep neckline that showed just a bit of cleavage. Did I look fat? I still had ten pounds to lose and sitting around just looking after Alex was not helping much. My tummy still needed some serious toning, like all recently pregnant women before me. I wore open-toed stilettos for the occasion, painting both my toenails and fingernails a bright red to make me feel more like a babe than a girl with a baby. I held my small red beaded bag with my left hand as my other hand slowly let go of Adam's. I wondered as how to ask him about his ex-wife.
"I'm right in front of the building. The parking spot is so good I think I'm going to get towed in another two minutes," he said, joking.
"We better go then, a good parking spot is so rare you might just be breaking the law," I said, trying not to do a jig as I walked beside him out of the building. Damn, this guy's cute!
He laughed and walked me to the passenger door of his car, closing the door firmly but gently behind me. So far, so good. Cute guy, charming, previously married, but heck, I am so going to have fun tonight. He must be thinking the along the same lines: cute girl, a bit chubby, has a kid but heck, it's only a date. It's not as if he's going to call me again. I mentally slapped myself. Positive thinking, Stratus. Was it post-partum depression? Why do I always think that no guy will like me just because I have a child? Because men are that way. They will definitely think: used goods, easy lay, needy, even if she's only 28. That's why Amy set me up with an ex-married guy. I didn't exactly believe it, but I could imagine that's how the male psyche worked. Their loss. They're missing out on this body. But Adam was so cute and, so far, such a gentleman that I could not help but think it was the wife who was looney for letting this hunk go.
He smiled as he settled into the driver's seat, started the car and maneuvered his way out of my street.
"So… uh, you hang out a lot with Matt?" I asked as an attempt at an icebreaker.
"Yup. I know you're exceptionally close with Amy but I guess we never really had the chance to hang out, huh?"
"Yeah, well, Matt was always alone when he hung out with us. Maybe we should have hung out sooner then, maybe at a couple of parties," I laughed.
"Yeah, I think so too. It's just that I was working a lot this past years to get my mind off some personal stuff. You probably know that I had a divorce," Adam glanced at me sideways, before looking back at the road.
"Amy did mention it. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," I smiled at him although I secretly hoped that he would talk about it.
"It's OK. I might as well," he shrugged. "She filed for it. We got married when I was still training to become a professional wrestler. She was a teacher and, like normal people who weren't in the wrestling business, she had more time on her hands than I did. I trained all day and went home late even through the weekends and most holidays. I guess I neglected her and she didn't understand. When I got into the WWE, I traveled all the time, and being a rookie, I felt like I had to prove something. As you know, it was crazy, actually, it still is. Eventually she got bored with me and had an affair. We had lots of fights." He looked over to me. "Have I said too much?"
"No, not at all. Go on," I said. "What did you do?"
"It was horrible but once you're married you let yourself to keep at it because that's what it's about. I didn't know that before we were married she had a couple of nervous breakdowns. I still wanted to make a go for it, stick it out. But she told me it wasn't going to work. She was going to leave or turn really violent. Basically, she just asked me to fix everything and when I couldn't convince her any more, I finally did." He looked at me. "Am I party pooper? I think that was too serious twenty minutes into a first date. You do know, don't you that this is a true setup?" he was smiling now, and I smiled back, telling him it was OK.
"Don't worry about it. And yes, I do know that this is definitely a setup. You are aware that I just gave birth, right?"
"Yes. How else could you explain your long absence from the ring? I wasn't fully convinced with the injury storyline that they made up to explain it. And I do know that her name is Alexandra. Nice name, by the way."
"So, did our friends pair a couple of misfits? One previously married and the other a single mother?" I looked at Adam's profile, taking in the bright eyes, long nose and strong jaw. He was an unlikely misfit but there he was, a previously married guy. I was the oddball, I refused a marriage proposal from the guy who knocked me up to become a single mom. I knew it meant trouble.
"You're not a misfit just because you gave birth and decided to raise your child on your own." Adam was watching the road as he said this, his face serious.
"Well, I guess you're not a misfit either."
"Thank you," Adam chuckled as he parked the car right in front of the building where Amy and Matt lived. I felt light and happy, instinctively knowing from that moment that the night would be more than bearable, it might even be fun—notwithstanding being a single, breastfeeding mother.
And I was right. The rest of the evening went smoothly. The food was delicious. Amy had planned an Asian menu to the close group of friends that she had invited for Matt's intimate party. Our close friends from the RAW roster were there, like Chris Benoit, Nidia, Chris Jericho, Glenn Jacobs and Charlie Haas (who was traded to the RAW brand). Our SmackDown friends like Jackie, Mark Callaway, Dawn and Christian (who was traded to the SmackDown brand with me and Adam) were also present, as well as Matt's brother Jeff. Matt was extremely happy, kissing Amy in front of us guests who toasted his birthday.
Adam touched his glass of red wine with my glass of water before taking a sip. I was off alcohol because I was still breastfeeding. After dinner, we all went to the den to have some flourless chocolate cake, which Amy expertly baked herself. The party was perfect, Amy and Matt have a perfect relationship. I was genuinely happy for them.
Adam sat next to me on the couch, whispering the little pranks that he and Matt used to play on some of the guys when he was still with the RAW roster. It was such an intimate and nice evening that I found myself laughing with too much gusto.
On my way to the bathroom, Amy approached me, grabbed my arm and in an I-told-you-so kind of voice said, "He's great, isn't he?"
"Yup. You picked a winner this time."
"I always knew how to choose them," I said as I motioned my head towards Matt who was talking with Chris Benoit. "You should have given me tips a long time ago."
"You always had your type. For the most part, they weren't that bad. And frankly, I'm not as revolted by Randy as I first was but I'm rooting for Adam."
"Hmmmm." I was not going to fall for that so I changed the topic. "The party's great. Do you think you can teach me how to cook?"
"Would you have the patience to chop, peel and sauté?" Amy laughed.
"I don't know." I took a quick inventory of my kitchen gadgets and realized that I only had a stove, a microwave oven, a small chopping board, a knife, a toaster, a coffee maker and a small frying pan to my name. I ate out for most of my meals and when I was home, I called for take-out. "But I'm sure the grocery carries pre-cut stuff, you know, the way you can get de-boned fish, semi-processed food that you can just toss in a pan. Don't you just love living in this age?"
"Adam can cook. Amazing, isn't he?"
"Hmmm, I think I'm going to make you give me cooking lessons someday." When did guys start thinking that cooking was cool? I completely missed that stage in their evolution.
"The day you slave in a kitchen will be a day to celebrate. Wait, I have to go over there and mingle."
"OK, later."
"Tell me what happens when Adam brings you home. Tell me all the details."
I rolled my eyes, "You're impossible."
"You gotta admit, the guy's cute."
"I think you're forgetting that you have a boyfriend and that you recently got engaged. What's gotten into you, talking about cute guys like that?"
"Excuse me, I may be committed but I'm not blind." And we both laughed before Amy walked over to the other guests.
We had a pleasant drive home. Afterwards, Adam offered to walk me up to my apartment. He didn't have to, I told him, but he insisted. So we stepped out of the elevator to my floor.
"Thanks, Adam," I said when we got to the door. "I really had fun."
"You're welcome. I really enjoyed myself. Amy and Matt should have set us up sooner, don't you think?"
"I agree. Well, goodnight then." I tiptoed a bit to reach Adam's cheek to give him a kiss goodnight. But Adam, instead of offering his cheek, turned his head to meet my lips with his own. I was so surprised that my lips froze. Then I felt Adam's tongue pass between my lips. Without thinking, I closed my eyes willing the kiss to deepen but the moment was gone, Adam had already stepped back.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to be so…"
"Don't worry," I smiled. Damn, damn, damn. "So goodnight, then."
"Yup, umm, can I call you?"
"Yes, that'll be great."
"Great. Goodnight." Adam then turned around to walk back to the elevator, waving as he did. I dug my keys out of my purse and unlocked the door. Inside, sitting on the couch with his arms crossed on his chest was Randy, a big frown on his face.
"So how was your 'date'?" I could hear the sarcasm in his voice as he said the word 'date'.
"It went really well, thank you." I kicked off my shoes, put my purse on the table and went to the fridge to get a glass of water. Randy followed me with his eyes. "How was Alex?"
"OK. She woke up a couple of times. I warmed up some of the milk in the freezer, like you told me. I also gave her a couple of ounces of formula. Did you have fun with Edge?"
"What? Oh, Adam. Yeah, I did. Nice guy," I said, smiling to myself.
"I never heard good feedbacks regarding Adam when it comes to women, so be careful."
"Um-hmmm." I looked at him. Was he a little bit jealous? "Thanks for watching over Alex. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it," he said, slowly getting up from his seat. He then walked over to the dining table where he left his keys. "I think I even enjoyed it. Oh, I had to change her diaper and give her a wash. She did a number two. I was going to call you but I didn't want to bother you and Mr. Nice Guy so I called my mom. She told me to wash Alex under the sink. It was almost a disaster. Except for that, I think I did OK." He was laughing now as he said this, and I laughed, picturing Randy wiping a baby's bottom and washing her in the sink.
"Congratulations!"
"Yeah, whatever. I'm going to help look for a nanny just so I can hand Alex over to her when she does number two when I'm around. See ya." And he walked over to kiss me on the cheek, without hesitation.
Now why was I suddenly the shy one? I wanted to kick myself—in the old days, I would have turned my head and made those lips land on mine. Instead, I didn't move and received the kiss the way I would receive a kiss from my best friend, Amy. Oh, well.
"OK," I laughed. "Thanks again." In any case, two goodnight kisses in one night was not bad. Not bad at all for a single mom. It felt like some of the old Trish Stratus was back.
I can now see the shoes being thrown at me because of the whole Adam/Trish pairing… hehehe… But please continue to review, I have really BIG plans for this fic, and I'm trying my best to keep it realistic as possible. Don't worry Trish/Randy fans, you'll never know where this story might end up!