Chapter 11: Lovers and Liars by: Matchbook Romance

A/N: Yes, the last chapter was pretty sad. Bet you all didn't expect that. Hehe! But yup. Here's the eleventh installment. Please don't forget to review if you want this story to continue. :p

…

Stacy got teary as the previous song finished playing. Her lips trembled as she vaguely remembered that time in her relationship with Randy. That was probably the most painful break-up she had ever gone through. Kinda ironic how she still ended up married to him.

"Are you okay, babe?" Randy asked, cupping her chin and giving her a soft kiss.

Stacy smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got carried away."

"You do know that up until this day, I still regret doing that, right?"

"What's done is done, Randy. At least you learned a lot from that experience. Makes you know better now," she told him, leaning into his chest and giving him a hug.

Randy sighed. "Hell yeah. I love you too much to be letting go of you, Stace. You really do mean the whole world to me."

Stacy smiled. "I love you, too, Randy. I love you, too."

…

Let's start out by starting over.

What did I expect?

You're no good at lying and I'm no good at comebacks.

You're so untouchable.

I'm oh-so-terrible at this.

I'm terrible at this, you know.

…

Four grueling months passed for Randy Orton as finally, the doctors told him he was back in shape to be wrestling in the ring. After getting a call that he was drafted to Smackdown to be continuing his feud with the Undertaker, he groaned loudly but obliged.

After all, he did miss being in the ring and he did want to beat the ass out of the Undertaker for ruining his life. Speaking of which, the only con to it was that he left Stacy Keibler in Raw where she was now probably dating some other guy and was very much over him. That thought alone broke his heart for the millionth time. Of course, he couldn't blame her. He was the one, after all, who ended things with her.

Packing his bags, he waved a goodbye to his parents who reminded him to take care before flying to San Antonio where Smackdown was to be aired.

…

"Do you have any plans today, Stace?" Amy asked as she and the taller diva entered the women's locker room.

Stacy shrugged. "Nope. You?"

"I'm going to a bar. Me, Trish, John and Matt. And you are going with us."

Stacy gave her a pointed look. "Amy, you're inviting me to a couples' fest with me being the only single one. No, thank you."

"Come on! I can ask Matt to bring someone from you. You've got a wide variety of guys from both Raw and Smackdown to choose from," the redhead winked, making Stacy snicker a bit.

"Speaking of Smackdown, did you hear Randy's back from his shoulder injury and was drafted there?" the blonde asked, receiving a blunt stare from Amy.

"So? I could care less, Stace. The guy broke your heart. Meaning I hate him."

Stacy smiled a little, understanding her friend. "Fine, count me in," she said, referring to the redhead's offer. "Where are we going?"

"Phantasma, the bar near the hotel."

Stacy nodded. "I'll see you then."

"Alright!" Amy cheered, hugging her friend.

"Oh…and Amy? He better be cute."

…

"Yo, yo, yo! It's muh man!" John exclaimed, giving Randy a hug.

"I see both Raw and Smackdown are in town," the Legend Killer smirked, giving his best friend a high-five.

"Dawg, how are you? Company's been shitty without you, man. According to the boss, ratings dropped after all the chicks decided to stop watching 'coz they haven't been seeing you!" the Doctor teased, obviously boosting Randy's ego.

"I heard about it. What can I say?" he shrugged. "At least I'm back…so will the chicks," he winked.

John laughed. "Shut up, dawg. So any news?"

"You tell me."

"Well…you've been drafted to Smackdown. I've been drafted to Raw. You've got no girl with you. I've got the lovely Trish Stratus, a.k.a. best friend of a certain girl you're still not over."

Randy lightly punched his best friend in the shoulder. "Who said I wasn't over her?"

"Don't you bullshit me. I know my best friend," John smirked, resulting to Randy rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. What are you doing tonight?"

"I've got a date. Actually, I think it's a double date. Lita and Matt might be coming."

"And Stacy?"

"Heard the redhead was pulling her along. Pairing her up with someone, I think."

Hearing this, Randy crunched his eyebrows. "With who?"

John shrugged. "Beats me."

"John, you need to spy for me, man."

"Come on, Randy! You can't stop Stacy from seeing other guys. You've got no right over her anymore. She deserves to be happy. Don't get in the way of that."

Randy glared at him. "Are you siding with me or not?"

"This isn't about sides, dawg. You haven't seen her for four months. I did. And she's been really shitty. Even broke down to me twice, man."

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"Do I have to? You guys have long been over. Besides, she's been recovering," John said. "Look, that's not even the point here. Point is you guys are over. She's moving on. You have to move on. She deserves to be happy. You deserve to be happy, too."

Randy sighed. "It's not that easy, John."

"No one said it had to be."

…

Her long hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. She wore a very short, white denim skirt from Guess and a long, pink tube top from Elizabeth Arden. Hanging from her neck were long, white beaded necklaces and on her feet were her white pumps from Jimmy Choo.

Grabbing her phone, she dialed the redhead's number. "Hello, Lita?"

"Hey, Stace. You ready?"

"Yup. I'll just meet you guys there, okay?"

"Okay. I'll see you later, Stace."

And with that, she flipped her phone close, grabbed her white purse from Chanel and rode her silver, Mercedes Compressor, driving alone to the said bar.

…

Don't hold this against me.

I've already said I'm sorry.

And I bet you've got every word I said memorized in your head.

And you'll use every one of them against me.

…

His eyes fell upon the dance floor, eyeing every blonde girl in sight. He took a sip of his drink, dressed hotly in a dark green polo and a pair of dark slacks. Finally, his eyes landed on a tall, slender figure. She looked deadly familiar. Holding the small of her back was Gregory Helms and she looked to be enjoying her time with him. When her face turned and he saw her entrancing smile was when his jaw clenched and his eyes remained firm. He held his glass tight, any tighter and he was sure to break it.

He continued to watch her, admiring her from head to toe. As if feeling someone watching her, her eyes turned and met his. A wave of electricity washed over the two of them. He smirked at her; she glared at him. Taking Greg's hand, she led him to the dance floor. They were dancing so close, Randy almost couldn't contain himself. After remembering his best friend's words, the more he got angered. Downing the rest of his drink, he scanned the crowd and found a scantily-dressed girl batting her eyelashes at him. Without a word said, he walked over to her, took her hand and led her out of the bar and to his hotel room.

Stacy saw all of this of course. Her heart twisted in sorrow and for a moment, she wished Randy took her and brought her back to his hotel room instead. Fighting the tears that were sure to spill, she continued to dance with her partner, pretending he was Randy Orton.

…

Don't hold this against me.

I've already said I'm sorry.

Tell all your friends about me.

Don't hold this against me.

I've already said I'm sorry.

…

"What the fuck is wrong with you, man!" John Cena bellowed. "Stacy was crying to Trish all night last night! Dawg, what's up with that!" he asked, eyeing his best friend who leaned back casually into his seat, as if he didn't care.

"I took your advice," Randy Orton answered smugly. "Like you said, both Stacy and I deserve to be happy in our own separate ways. And that's what I did," he smirked.

"So it makes you happy that you hurt her by hooking up with some random slut—"

"Why should it matter for her, John! Huh! I want to be happy! I went to that bar to get a fucking drink! I went there to hook up with someone! I went there to have fun! It's not my fault Stacy was there in the first place to see everything!"

"Oh…so now you're blaming her! Come on, Randy! I know you better than that! I'm your fucking best friend for crying out loud! Dawg, you followed us to that bar and planned for her to see everything! Randy, I never thought I'd say this but you're an asshole!" John exclaimed, punching his best friend on the shoulder.

Randy didn't move. He didn't even wince. Slowly, he got up and quietly left the room, leaving John to watch his retreating back.

As soon as Randy reached the parking lot of the arena and entered his car, he sped away crazily to ponder on everything. He felt like shit. No, he felt worse than shit. He didn't know whether he should give Stacy a call and tell her he was sorry. But what good would that do when they weren't even together anymore? With a sigh, he shook his head. Maybe it really was better off for him to be letting go of Stacy Keibler.

…

I hope you choke on every word you spoke when you were screaming at me.

I realize how many times you tried, but that's wishful thinking.

All I want is an apology for what you did and how you treated me.

Get me far away, or at least as far as this car will take me.

Tell all your friends about me.

…

"What's up with these meetings, man?" Randy complained, crossing his arms in a huff. "I hate them," he told JBL who grunted in reply. Smackdown was to air live in a few moments as Teddy Long gave out several reminders before the start of the show.

Lately, Randy had been doing fine getting over his whole ordeal. Late night outs with the boys accompanied by little games of pool and heading to strip joints or bars were definitely some reasons why. But of course, somewhere in the back of his head…and his heart, he knew he could never just get over a certain long-legged blonde.

"Randy! Randy Orton!" Teddy Long suddenly called out to the young Superstar and motioned for him to come.

"Yes, sir?" he asked, curious as to why Smackdown's General Manager needed to talk to him.

"Listen playah, next week, two divas from Raw will be coming over here in exchange for two divas from Smackdown jumping over there. Now I need you to do me a favor—"

"Woah…wait, who are the divas?"

"Hold on, playah. Let me finish. I need you to go pick them up next week from where Raw is to air and bring them here. Understood?"

Randy nodded.

"Raw's gonna be at Sacramento but we're gonna have a meeting in San Francisco. That's about an hour drive. Got that, playah?"

"Yeah, okay. But can't the other guys do it?" the Legend Killer slightly complained.

"Nope. Sorry, playah. You're one of the few who's got nothing booked. Most got autograph signings and tours."

"Fine," Randy sighed. "Who are the divas?"

"Christy Hemme and Stacy Keibler."

…

Don't hold this against me.

I've already said I'm sorry.

Don't hold this against me.

I've already said I'm sorry.

…

"Hey Randy," John Cena greeted, nodding his head towards the young brunette.

"Hey," he greeted back, giving him a light high-five.

"I think Teddy Long's looking for ways to torture me but I gotta be here right now to pick up two divas. One of them, I'll bet, might not be too happy about it."

John snickered. "Dawg, you don't look too happy about it either. But it's ayt. You got Christy in the car. She'll probably stir things up."

Randy inwardly prayed she would. "I hope."

"Anyways, it's good to see you, Dawg," John said before giving Randy a hug. "But I gotta go get ready for my match. Bischoff's biting my ass again," and with that, he left a laughing Randy, who wasn't so sure he'd still be laughing once he picked up the two future Smackdown divas.

As he continued to walk down the halls, he searched for the women's locker room and finally found it near the arena's entrance. Knocking twice, a certain Canadian diva came and answered the door.

"Oh hey Randy," Trish Stratus greeted with a smile.

"Trish," Randy acknowledged, smiling back his infamous smirk.

"She'll be with you in a while," she said but before she could even close the door, Randy stopped her.

"Woah…what do you mean she? Don't you mean they?"

"Christy's running late but I'm sure she'll be joining you guys. In the meantime, Stacy hasn't eaten dinner yet and I promised I'd go with her but I have to accompany John down to the ring for his match. I was hoping you could take her?" she asked hopefully, biting her lower lip.

Randy gave her an unsure look.

"Look, I know there's still some unresolved issues between you guys but don't you wanna fix them sooner rather than later? Listen, I really gotta go. She knows you're here. Just don't do anything stupid or I'll have John kick your ass unless I can't do it myself," and with that, she gave Randy a light hug before jogging away to find her boyfriend.

Randy sighed, shaking his head. Knocking on the slightly ajar door, he heard a faint, "Come in," as he entered slowly and found Stacy zipping the last of her bags, wearing a pair of faded DKNY jeans and a brown tank top from Juicy Couture. Her feet were cutely painted in off-white as her white Havaiianas flattered them more. She wore no make-up as her hair was tied in a messy bun, adding more effect to her pretty, laid-back look. "Hey, Randy," she greeted softly. "Let me just go get my earrings," she said, jogging to the bathroom and wearing a pair of dangling, bohemian earrings.

He acknowledged her by nodding curtly, eyeing his ex-girlfriend from head to toe. His heart raced as he fought it but his mind kept doing nauseating swirls, it made it so difficult for him to just stand. "What time is Christy coming?" he asked, taking a seat beside her bags.

"I'm not so sure," Stacy replied, coming out of the bathroom. "Maybe in an hour or so. Are we going to be late for the meeting?" she asked.

Randy shook his head. "Teddy moved the meeting tomorrow morning."

"Oh…okay," she nodded, grabbing all her three bags.

"Here, I'll take them," Randy offered, getting all three bags from Stacy as he led her out of the room and brought them to the trunk of his car. "Trish told me you hadn't eaten. If we still have an hour to wait, where do you wanna go?"

"Oh…ummm…" Stacy awkwardly spoke, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I don't really mind not eating. I'm not so hungry anyway," she assured but only received a scoff from Randy.

"Come on," he said, taking her wrist, opening the door of his car and letting her enter. "We'll go eat," and with that, he rode the driver's seat and sped away to a quiet restaurant.

The silence was deafeningly awkward with both Randy and Stacy occasionally looking up from their menus to catch a glimpse of the other, only to fight the urge to say something before continuing to ponder on what they wanted to eat.

"Ummm…I'll just get a salad," Stacy told the waiter softly.

"Add some sweet spare ribs and mashed potatoes with that," Randy interjected, looking up from his menu.

"But Randy, I can't—"

"Trish sounded worried when she told me you hadn't eaten," he pointed out. "I'm just making sure you're eating properly tonight."

Stacy opened her mouth to say something and took a while to find the words. "Are you trying to imply something?" she asked, her voice still soft but her eyes dangerously displayed the exact opposite.

"No. I'm just making sure you're eating right."

"That's the same thing, Randy. What? You think I'm bulimic?" she raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and leaning back into her seat.

Randy remained cool, calm and collected as a smirk played on his face. "That's not what I meant, Stace. Why are you being so defensive? Is it true?"

She sighed in defeat, ordering what Randy had just told the waiter. It surprised her how he still knew what she liked and disliked but pushing the thought away, she waited as he ordered before toying with the tip of her wine glass. Randy drummed his fingers on the table, looking around the restaurant in desperate hopes of seeing someone he knew to avoid the uncomfortable silence he was sharing with Stacy. This gave her the opportunity to eye him from head to toe. He was still basically the same Randy she knew; always wearing collared shirts, polos and slacks. This time though, he wore denims and a green collared shirt with a pair of expensive sneakers from Nike. He still carried a calm and confident demeanor, the same behavior that always took Stacy's breath away. Suddenly, his voice broke her thoughts as he asked her, "So…you dating anyone?"

Stacy raised an eyebrow and looked away. "What's it to you?"

He shrugged. "Just curious."

"Well if that's the case, then no. I'm not seeing anyone. Not because no one has been asking me out but because I've decided to take a break first. Besides, I was too much into the la la world that I forgot to keep in touch with the real world. I thought by now, I'd be married but no. That didn't happen now, did it?"

Randy's initial reaction was to be shocked by her words. "You thought you had a future with me?"

"That's what I thought," she shrugged. "But I was wrong."

The rest of the night, Randy remained silent. Stacy's words echoed through his ears repeatedly as he paid for their bill, picked up Christy and drove in silence all the way to San Francisco. If it wasn't for Christy's occasional conversations with Stacy, the night would've been long dead.

Only one question lingered in his head as both divas fell asleep while he drove through the roads of California. Did he make the biggest mistake letting go of the best thing that ever happened in his life?

The answer to that was simple.

And it was no doubt a yes.

…

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