Chapter 13

Stacy had always enjoyed working for the WWE; there was never a dull moment. However, she was a little disappointed when she found out Randy would have to train for six hours on his day off. The previous night had been amazing; Stacy couldn't put it into words if she tried. Randy and she had an undeniable chemistry together, so they took advantage of it. As of last night, they were an official couple. She wasn't just traveling with him anymore to remain a safe distance from that devil of a man Scott, but now she truly had a reason.

Since she couldn't spend this wonderful sunny day with her new boyfriend, Stacy decided to do the next best thing every woman loves doing – shopping. After all, New York was said to be one of the best places to shop in the world, right? Stacy figured she might as well benefit of it while she was here. Now her block of time was viewed in a slightly different way - there were countless stores to visit, and she only had six hours.

Walking around in New York has its similarities to driving. Walking on the right side of the sidewalk and lingering among groups of strangers while waiting for the stoplights to change were just a couple, but there was obviously more foot traffic around here than in most places Stacy had visited.

During small amounts of time, Stacy saw numerous faces, none of which she'd remember even ten seconds later. One man who'd passed by her offered a warm smile, which she gratefully accepted by sending a friendly wave in his direction.

That one simple interaction made her wonder. 'That was a really sweet thing of him to do. I mean, I don't even know the man, and he uses his best manners with me. Most other people stare, which is kind of creepy, actually. It's almost like all the manners that were taught to children as they grow up disappear. Why is that,' she thought to herself, 'why is it that these kids can't get a good education become doctors or something instead of some… I don't know, hooligans or something,' Stacy paused for a moment and looked down at her shoes before continuing with her self-talk. 'Well, mom and dad didn't approve of what you were doing with your life either, Stacy,' she reminded herself.

"Whatever," she muttered out loud. It had been a random topic that had popped into her mind, and all the thinking it provoked had made her hungry. Stacy was satisfied with the purchases she'd made, so she stopped by McDonald's, a restaurant which seemed to be an abundance in New York, grabbed a salad and snacked on it as she walked back to the hotel.

At around seven that evening, Randy strolled through the door, his gear in a gym bag over his shoulder. Stacy immediately jumped up off the bed to greet him at the door with hugs and kisses, which were eagerly returned.

"I missed you today," she told him as her arms curled around his neck.

"I missed you more," Randy replied, smiling. "What's that you got there?"

"Ice cream! I called room service and they brought some up for me. You want some?" Stacy asked innocently. Her boyfriend nodded in response, unaware of the hidden meaning behind her offer. Stacy lifted one of her arms and moved it towards her, but her eyes remained on Randy's.

"I hope you like vanilla," Stacy informed him as she found herself smearing vanilla ice cream all over Randy's face and giggling uncontrollably. All he did in retaliation, however, was to just stand there and tolerate it… for now. The coolness of the ice cream caused a tingly feeling to spread throughout the skin on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you done yet?" he questioned.

"Nope," she replied as she touched up a few spots she'd missed. "Okay, now I'm done," were the last words she said with an ear-to-ear grin on her face. Stacy stood back, admiring her beautiful artwork and enjoying every minute of her little prank.

"Ha, you enjoy your victory now, but you just wait until I get my revenge," Randy responded with a wicked smile of his own.

"Can I get the camera?" Stacy pleaded. When the young wrestler shook his head, she hit him with the puppy face.

"Oh, come on. That's not fair!" He laughed as he sauntered toward her. "Okay, look, I'll make you a deal," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist, "you can pick the movie for us to watch tonight if we forget about the camera."

"Hmm, this is proving to be a very tough decision for me to make," she answered sarcastically. After swiping her finger down his cheek and treating herself to some ice cream, she said, "You've got a deal. And I know what movie we're watching, too," she beamed as she skipped to her suitcase, leaving Randy a chance to go wash up.

Stacy put a movie in the DVD player, adjusted herself until she found a comfortable position on the bed and started the movie. Randy exited the bathroom, turning off the lights in the room and laid down next to his girlfriend. He put his arm around her and Stacy instinctively rested her head on his chest.

"So what movie are we watching?" Randy asked.

"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," Stacy replied calmly.

"We're watching… a chick flick?" her boyfriend recited slowly.

"Yup."

"Let me go grab the tissues for you. Should I get your make up case, too, so you can touch up your make up?" Randy said, pointing to the bathroom.

Stacy lightly hit his arm and ordered, "Shush! The movie's starting."

He laughed and replied with a simple "Okay."

As the movie was coming to a close, Stacy was sniffling violently and tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving black trails of mascara behind.

"Oh, that was so incredibly cute," she declared between sniffles.

"Are you sure you don't want those tissues? Now would be as good a time as any," Randy stated.

Hitting him again, she laughed as she sarcastically told him to "shut up."

"Hey, now. You know better than that, missy. You know what I'm going to have to do now," he said with a smirk.

"What?"

With that comment, Randy began to tickle Stacy's sides as she screamed and kicked with laughter.

Once he stopped, the Diva instantly commented.

"You know I hate being tickled."

"No, I didn't," Randy protested.

"Well…" Stacy hesitated, "you do now!"

"I got you to stop crying. Maybe you don't like being tickled, but I don't like seeing you cry," he admitted earnestly.

"Aww, baby," she said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he smiled and gently kissed her forehead.

At that moment, being in Randy's arms made Stacy feel so loved and so appreciated, she never wanted to leave his side. Not one of the hotel rooms they stayed at every week would come anything close to home, but laying there in his protective hold was different. Being in his arms was like home.

Author's Note: Another chapter, kind of slow, but to move things along a little, let you get to know the characters better. If you're still out there, please review! Almost at 100!