Disclaimer: Still not mine.. Sadly, this is true.
Spoilers/Summary: All in the previous chapters
Notes: Nothing that hasn't been said already..
Thank You: To everyone who has reviewed! And- Latisha C. I've actually argued about the finer points of mini-golf with my friends.. T'was a very odd and random conversation but it is possible!

…………

As the six strolled down the sidewalk, they drifted into private conversations. Dawn had dropped back to consult with Lita, Jeff and Victoria taking the middle of the group. John subsequently found himself on the receiving end of a 'lecture' from Chris. Of course, John took it in stride -literally and figuratively- promising the blonde man that his intentions were good. With a laugh, John also mentioned that Jeff had already given him this talk and warning.. The Cameron native ending the discussion with a death threat. And while Chris' closer wasn't quite as violent, he promised bodily harm should the redheaded Diva get hurt in any way, shape or form. And once the two had gotten that all cleared up, the conversation switched to another topic. John didn't mention that Dawn had also given him this little talk, nor did he mention that the brunette Diva had given him this talk two months ago. Whatever the case, the West Newbury native half expected for Victoria to 'lecture' him but he never found out as the group finally reached a slew of restaurants. The six huddled together, scanning the laminated menu tacked to a post before they came to a decision. Lita decided that it wasn't for her, thus the group set off to the next restaurant a few feet away. Again, the redhead didn't agree with the menu.. The group trudging another few feet to the next eating establishment.

"Li, sweetie.. I love you like a sister." Dawn began patiently when it looked like the redhead would nix this restaurant. "But at this point, I don't care if you don't like the menu. The rest of us are starving."

Lita rolled her eyes, tucking a rampant strand of hair behind her ear. "Dawn.. I wasn't going to do that. I was going to say let's go in and get a table."

"Finally," Chris let out an overdramatic sigh as he and Dawn lead the way, "I tell ya Li, if you had said no to this place? I woulda dragged you in here anyway."

"Thanks for your concern," Lita drawled sardonically, "And you know, I coulda just been a pain in the ass and said no.. just to piss y'all off."

"You? A pain in the ass?" John feigned shock, holding a hand to his face. "I never woulda guessed."

Lita crossed her arms over her chest, turning her face purposely away. "Bite me."

John raised an eyebrow, "Like I said earlier.. Where?"

"Please, like I'd really let you." The redheaded Diva scoffed, "You just keep deluding yourself, Cena."

The West Newbury native rolled his eyes, "Uh huh.. Whateva. You keep makin' the offer an' yet- it seems to me that you're scared."

She snorted indignantly, "I am not scared."

"Sure you aren't.."

"I'm not," she turned so she was facing him, an eyebrow raising in challenge. "I don't see anything stopping you."

The corners of his mouth twitched, "Now now.. You jus' said I shouldn't delude myself."

The redhead smirked, teasing playfully. "Who's scared now?"

"I ain't scared of nothing." John declared promptly, "But we are in a public place.. I figured I'd save ya the embarrassment."

"Okay, whatever." Lita rolled her eyes, "admit it- you're scared."

The brown haired wrestler scoffed, "I already told ya- I ain't scared." He took a step closer to the redhead, "I still think you're the one who's scared."

She waved it off, "Believe me sugar, I am not scared." Lita tossed her hair while adding: "An' especially not of you."

"Uh huh," he took another step, the two separated by a few inches now. "An' what makes you think I'm scared?"

She feigned indifference, motioning with a nod of her head to the others. "They're already headin' to the table.. We should go catch up with 'em, don't you think?"

He smirked broadly, grasping her wrist in his hand. "It won't be too hard to find 'em."

Lita arched an eyebrow, "I don't even wanna know what you're thinking right now.. Come to think of it? I really don't wanna know what you're thinking right now. I'd rather just catch up with them, sit down and order my food."

In a bold gesture, he ran his hand up the length of her exposed arm. Languidly so, if you asked her.

She shifted uneasily, "I don't recall giving you permission to touch me."

John inclined his head, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Ah.. But you did give me permission to bite you. Twice, I might add." His hand came to a rest at her shoulder, fingers splaying over the lightly tanned surface.

Lita held his gaze, stating coolly. "You make one more move, and I will not hesitate to find a dull knife to castrate you."

The West Newbury native raised an eyebrow; his hand retracing the path from her shoulder to her wrist. He remained silent, his eyes still locked with hers as he gently grasped her hand in his. "They're polly wonderin' what's takin' us so long."

The Sanford resident blinked at the sudden mood change, "I said that already."

"I know," he smiled fully, leading the way through the restaurant in search of the others.

Lita followed behind, not that she really had a choice since he had a firm grip on her hand. All the same, a baffled expression was on her face, the redhead clearly stupefied as to why he had just done what he had.

Dawn glanced curiously between the two when they appeared, the four waiting at the bar for the moment. "We were starting to wonder about the two of you." An eyebrow indiscreetly raised at the joined hands, "We've got two options.. They've got a table outdoors, but that won't be ready for another fifteen minutes. The other option is to sit inside, no wait.. But at a booth instead of a table."

"Whatever," was Lita's intelligent reply. "Really Dawn, why don't you decide."

The New Jersey native blinked in shock, shrugging her shoulders as she replied. "Well, like I said before- I'm starving.. So, booth it is."

……

The six soon found themselves settled in a semi-circle shaped booth. Because of that, it was necessary for two people to be on the absolute inside. And thanks to Dawn and Jeff's careful direction of traffic; John and Lita found themselves to be those two people. The brunette Diva occupied the spot to Lita's left while Jeff took the spot to John's right. The two well meaning mischief makers found themselves on the receiving end of a death glare from Lita. Dawn smiling innocently before she buried her nose in the menu, while Jeff outright smirked. Somehow though, the meal progressed in peace. Somewhat tense peace, but peace none the less. The only problems arose when they had started eating.. The naturally left handed John knocking elbows with the naturally right handed Lita. Still, they forged ahead; the redhead eventually compromising instead of taking Dawn's suggestion to feed each other. That had earned the brunette Diva a swift kick to the shins, Dawn eating dessert in silence.

"So, where to next?" Jeff questioned as they convened on the sidewalk again, "There's a few places down that way.. An' a few places in the opposite direction."

Chris patted his stomach appreciatively, "I'm actually kinda stuffed."

The Cameron native frowned thoughtfully, "Well.. We can always just walk 'till we find somethin'.. Pick your poison- sidewalk or beach?"

Lita was already in the process of unlacing the boots on her feet, "Beach.. I don't care if I ruin my damn stockings.. I have plenty more at home."

The remaining blinked, looking on for a moment while the redhead made her way to the beach in her stockings. They had just caught up with her when she stashed her boots underneath a bench, the others following suit quickly after.

"Li?" Jeff queried as he caught up to the redhead, "Is somethin' wrong?"

Her shoulders lifted in a shrug, "Nah.. You know me, Jeff.. I like mindless walks on the beach."

He chuckled softly, "Yeah I do know that.. But, it jus' looked like there's somethin' botherin' ya."

Lita offered a tiny smile, turning her face sideways to regard him. "Nothing's bothering me, okay? I just got a lot on my mind."

Jeff sent her an incredulous look, "An' that usually means there's somethin' botherin' ya."

"Jeff, honestly.. Nothing's wrong." The redhead wrapped her arms loosely around her waist, "Hard as it may be to believe.. Just because I have a lot on my mind, doesn't mean something's botherin' me."

Jeff held up his hands in mock defeat, "If you insist.."

"An' I do," she intoned firmly. "I'm fine."

The pair fell silent as they continued to stroll through the sand, the others not far behind them.

"You know John," Dawn began casually. "You could go up and talk to her."

"You're right, I could." John conceded with a shrug, "But it seems to me that she wants her space.. I don' wanna set her off so, I'm gonna give her that space."

The brunette Diva looked impressed. "Well yeah but.. That doesn't mean you can't talk to her.. Try and figure out what's bothering her."

He shrugged, "Again I could.. But there's a chance she don't wanna talk 'bout it. If that's the case, she's likely to rip my head off."

The New Jersey native rolled her eyes, "I highly doubt that's gonna happen, John.. Just go talk to her."

The brown haired wrestler nodded ahead, "Jeff seems to be doin' a fine job."

Dawn huffed, "Fine.. Don't talk to her then." An impish grin curled at the corners of her mouth, "That just leaves you free to talk to me."

John regarded her suspiciously, "'Bout what?"

"Oh nothing," she stated loftily, "What do you wanna talk about?"

He smiled wryly, "Nu uh Dawn.. You ain't gonna bait me like ya did last time."

Dawn feigned innocence, "I've no idea as to what you're talking about." She glanced away briefly, "But since you can't think of a topic.."

John let out a short sigh, "Jus' go on an' ask.. I know you wanna."

She raised an eyebrow, "Why haven't you asked her out yet?"

The West Newbury native snorted, "Hello? She an' I are jus' getting to know each other. You were the one who said before I did anything? I had to get to know her first.. Not to mention that Jeff an' Chris said the same."

"But you've had twenty four hours already," Dawn pinched the bridge of her nose, "And haven't you heard enough about her?"

"Dawn.. Hearin' 'bout someone an' getting to know someone are two completely different things." He threaded a hand through his hair, "I mean, don' get me wrong.. I think she's good looking an' all that, but.. I'd still like to get to know her a little bit better."

Dawn rolled her eyes, gesturing pointedly ahead of them. "All the more reason for you to talk to her now, genius."

"On my terms, not yours Dawn." John shook his head, "Please, jus' do me a favor.. Back off."

The brunette Diva scowled as they fell into silence, Chris and Victoria wisely choosing to remain silent throughout the conversation between Dawn and John.

……..

Ten minutes of walking later, found them all turning in the opposite direction to head back to the bench where they had stashed their footwear. As Lita had anticipated her fishnets were somewhat ruined, but still wearable where it mattered. At any rate, she still took the longest out of them all to get her boots back on and once they were done the six set off in search of a club. That process started much in the same way as the restaurant hunt had, Victoria nixing the first option while Lita and Jeff nixed the second. But, before the six could completely escape the blaring music, Dawn shoved them all into the short line formed outside. No sooner had they entered, did Dawn grab Lita by the wrist.

"Dawn.. I'm really startin' to think you left your brain in Jersey." Lita glared as the brunette dragged her through the club. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You'll find out in a minute Li."

"Dawn, I swear-"

"Hi there," Dawn smiled sweetly when the two approached a random patron. "My friend and I were just wondering if you might be able to help us?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "An' jus' how might I be of assistance?"

The brunette Diva smiled broadly, quite thrusting Lita in front of her. "Well.. It's just, we don't have anyone to dance with." She nudged Lita forwards. "But, if it's too much of a bother-"

"None at all, m'am." He bowed slightly to the two Diva's, offering his arm and a charming smile to the redhead. "It'd be an honor."

Lita tossed Dawn a look, and the brunette glared before placing Lita's hand on the man's arm.

"Thanks but, this really isn't necessary." Lita stated uneasily as he lead her to the dance floor. "Really.. I mean, you have to excuse my friend's behavior. She was just released from the mental institution and this is her first night out in public."

He smiled winningly, "Jus' one dance then?" His brown eyes sparkled with warmth, "One dance won't hurt, right?"

In spite of herself, the redhead nodded. "I don't see why it would hurt.."

He responded by smiling, spinning her outwards before drawing her back close as the two found a rhythm.

Meanwhile, from a table at the edge of the dance floor; Dawn had joined the others to observe their redheaded friend.

Victoria glanced quizzically at the brunette, "Umm.. Dawn? Who is Li dancing with?"

The New Jersey native shrugged, "I don't know actually.. I just picked him out from the crowd."

Jeff nearly choked on his iced water, "You what?"

Dawn rolled her eyes, "Should I say it slower? He stood out from the rest of the guys here.. So I took the liberty of asking him to dance with Li."

Victoria raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't you just let Li pick for herself?"

Dawn snorted, "Because she wouldn't, that's why. She'd just park herself at the bar and not budge an inch all night."

The raven haired Diva remained skeptical, "How do you know that tonight wouldn't have been different?"

"Just a feeling," Dawn replied breezily. "You heard what she said earlier, she's here to have fun.. I'm just helping." The brunette nodded to the dance floor then, "Look for yourself Vikki, it seems to me she's enjoying herself out there."

Victoria did in fact look, all of the occupants at the table looked. And as Dawn had stated- Lita looked like she was enjoying herself.

Jeff regarded them suspiciously, "He's holdin' her awful close.."

"Calm down Jeff.. It's not like she can disappear or anything." Dawn inclined her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. "Although.. I haven't seen her looking that free in awhile."

Chris blinked at the sight, "Li always told me she couldn't dance."

"Oh, I don't know about that." The brunette gestured casually with her hand, "By the looks of things, I'd say she was lying." A thoughtful frown crossed her features, "Or it could be her dance partner.."

The five fell into a relatively comfortable silence watching on as Lita continued to dance with the unknown male. Relatively comfortable since John had yet to say a word. They watched as the song switched, the man asking Lita for another dance, to which she politely declined. Dawn watched on, sneaking a glance to John when Lita's dance partner escorted her to a nearby table. The five near blinked in unison as he gave Lita his phone number, kissing the redhead's hand before he disappeared into the crowd.

"So.." Dawn began as the redhead joined them, "Does he have a name?"

"Well uh.." Lita glanced down to the napkin in her hand, "His name is Richard."

"Dick," Chris stated with a frown, "Nice name."

"Richard," Lita corrected with a frown of her own. "Back off Chris, you aren't my father."

The blonde man held up his hands in mock defense, "Sorry if I hit a nerve.." he rolled his eyes before adding: "So, did Mr. Footloose ask for a date?"

Lita tossed her hair over her shoulder, placing the napkin in the purse slung over her shoulder. "No, he didn't Chris.. And even if he did, I don't see why it's such a big deal."

"Right so," Jeff cleared his throat, "Are you gonna dance some more or were you planning on sittin' down?"

The redhead shrugged, "Well I don't really dance, so-"

"You sure proved us wrong then," John stated evenly. "For someone who says she can't dance.. You looked fine to me."

Lita arched an eyebrow, "I can't honestly. I've got two left feet on the dance floor."

Chris smirked, "Well maybe Dickie boy can give you lessons."

The redhead sighed, "Is there something wrong with me dancing with some stranger?"

"Of course there isn't," Dawn spoke up before Chris, Jeff or John could say a word. "You're entitled to have fun, now and then."

"Thanks.." Lita replied uneasily, yanking the purse from the table. "I'm just gonna go order a drink or something." She offered a short lived smile to the five, turning on heel shortly after to head for the bar.

Dawn made a show of smoothing out her dress, sneaking glances back to John every now and then. Even if she wouldn't say it outright, it appeared to her that he was the tiniest bit jealous. Now, she couldn't find out by outright asking.. But, her assumptions were good enough for her. The only thing left to see was if he would act or just let this slide. The brunette Diva hoped for the former, not really wanting to seek out another random dance partner for the redheaded woman that night. She already knew that Lita was pissed for setting her up in the first place.. But it had been necessary.. For Dawn's purposes anyway. At any rate, when Lita returned from the bar, Dawn selected Victoria as her first dance partner for the night. Chris and Jeff meandered off to play a game of darts, leaving John and Lita to watch over the purses at the table.