A/N: My apologies for once again slacking off where this story is concerned. I just got SO stuck after last chapter on where to go, but I think I've got it all squared away now. Hope you're still with me, thanks for being patient! I'd love to hear what you think!

Part 16
Trish shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes locked on the floor. She had just concluded telling the events following her kissing Dave, and was waiting for a response from either of the two women beside her. She had been trying her best to ignore the issue, but the more she thought about it, the more it angered her. Not so much that she kissed Dave, but that he let her. And then he had the nerve to say he didn't know what to do? Still, after venting her frustrations to the girls, she started to shift the blame to herself.

From her left, Stacy breathed a puzzled sigh. The story Trish told did not match up with what Randy told her after he hung up with Dave that morning. According to Randy, Dave already knew that he wanted to pursue Trish. Then again, Randy was dumb sometimes. According to Trish, Dave hadn't the slightest clue how he was feeling. Then again, Trish sometimes jumped to hasty conclusions.

"Something doesn't add up," she said, her eyes focusing on Trish. "I'd bet my salary that Dave has real feelings for you... you must have misunderstood what he was saying."

From Trish's left, Molly cleared her throat.

"Maybe not," she disagreed. "Maybe he's just confused. I mean, you did pull a fast one on him, Trish."

Trish snorted, rolling her eyes at her do-no-wrong best friend's remark.

"Yeah, kinda like the one you pulled on me when you started sleeping with my boyfriend?" Trish snapped bitterly. A scowl grew on her face as she tore her gaze away, focusing on the floor again.

"Hey, you wanted my opinion, and I gave it to you," Molly reminded her. She slid over in her seat, moving away from Trish, her eyes filling with hurt. "You didn't have to go there. I thought that matter was already settled."

Trish instantly regretted her snappy comment when she heard the remorseful tone in which Molly spoke. Her gaze rose from the floor and she placed a hand on Molly's knee, her dark eyes sending a humble apology. Molly gave her a tiny smile, just wide enough to assure her that she would not take the comment to heart.

"Okay, so I caught him off guard," she admitted. "If he was that confused by it he could've stopped me. He knew I was drunk off my ass, and he kissed me anyway."

Molly shrugged, unable to offer a definite response to Trish's statement. She glanced at Stacy, waiting for the leggy blonde's input. Stacy licked her lips, her expression perplexed. Drunk as she was, she clearly recalled watching Dave from her own car as he drove Trish back to the hotel in his. The concern in his eyes paired with the lazy smile that tugged at his lips when he galnced at her sleeping form had to mean something.

"I don't know about last night," she began finally, "but I will say this. There is definitely something between you two. You're blind if you can't see your chemistry."

Trish nodded in agreement. Even before the kiss, there was a strong sexual tension between herself and Dave. She noticed him checking her out on several occasions, and would be lying if she said she hadn't peeked herself.

"I guess that..." Trish began to address Stacy's comment, but she stopped abruptly when the door swung open. In barged Hunter, his eyes immediately locked on the Canadian diva. He stood before the three women, regarding each with a smirk, both hands behind his back.

"If you'll excuse me, ladies," he said, directing his words to Stacy and Molly, "I need to have a private chat with Blondie."

Hunter's eyes narrowed when both women remained planted on the couch. Molly simply stared, a blank expression on her unaffected face. Stacy looked too frightened to move, her brown eyes filled with worry.

"Girls, go," Trish instructed, her gaze fixed on Hunter.

It was against her better judgement - the three of them together had a much better chance of handling the champion then she did alone. Then again, she had been thinking mostly with her heart these days. Molly sent her a curious look, and Trish nodded her on. The brunette stood, pulling Stacy along as she made a beeline for the door. Stacy kept her gaze down, trying to avoid eye contact with Hunter at all costs. Unfortunately, he blocked the door once Molly slipped past him. He leaned down to her ear, his face so close to hers that he could feel her shaking.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, sweetheart," he reminded her with a wink, before watching her bolt out the door.

He laughed, but his gaze grew serious when he looked back at Trish. He casually approached the blonde diva, coming to a stop in front of her. He removed his hands from behind him, dropping what was in his hands to her lap. Trish glanced down, immediately recognizing the items... her purse and her shoes from the night before. She must have left them with Dave. She bit her lip, wondering how he would react.

"I hope you had a good time with him last night, Trish," Hunter told her. "Because you won't be seeing much of him from now on."

His response didn't surprise her. After all, it must of stung to find out that his Animal was hannging out with the same girl who Chick Kicked his groin. Still, she showed no signs of fear. And even though he hovered over her, she boldly puffed her chest out, pushing into him.

"What exactly makes you think I'm going to take you seriously?" she challenged with a laugh.

Hunter smiled, that smug grin that she knew meant he was pissed off. He inhaled deeply, leaning down further.

"Do you really have to ask?" he replied. "You've had your fun, now leave the man be. He's the number one contender... he should be focusing on Wrestlemania, not going out with the likes of you."

"The likes of me?" she snorted, "I spend more time with Dave then you do anymore, Champ. Who is it he's not hanging around with?"

Hunter continued to grin, "So you screw a guy once and all of a sudden you guys are spending time together?"

He knew every bit of what he said was flase, but he wanted to play with her. If he knew Trish Stratus like he thought he did, she would be an even easier target than Christy Hemme.

"I didn't screw him," she said, much as he expected. Dave had already sworn that nothing happened.

"Oh? I must be thinking of someone else, then," he said in reply. He almost laughed at the confusion that sprang to her face. He knew at that moment that he'd hit a soft spot.

"What do you mean, someone else?" Trish asked him, her tone much softer than it had previously been.

Hunter took a step back, a twinkle in his eyes as he looked her over.

"You think there aren't other women in Dave's life?" he inquired. She shrugged her shoulders, her expectant eyes locked on him. Hunter smiled at her, "Having problems with Christy Hemme lately?"

Trish's gaze fell, her face puzzled. Dave was seeing Christy? If that was true, it would explain why the redhead snapped at her in the locker room the other day. But what hadn't Dave just mentioned her? What if she was not the only one?

The confusion was soon replaced by hurt, as Trish fell back to the couch and closed her eyes. Hunter's grin widened and he backed away, satisfied in knowing his work here was done.


He couldn't get her off his mind. From the second he noticed Trish had fled his hotel room that morning, Dave had been thinking about her nonstop. He couldn't imagine why she would leave without talking to him. Maybe she was afraid to talk to him, or embarrassed by her actions. But even so, why would she sneak out? The way she just up and left without a word perplexed him.

Of course, he did absoultely nothing about it. He didn't hunt her down, didn't call her, didn't corner her and make her talk to him. He didn't even question Hunter when he stormed out of the locker room with Trish's shoes and purse. Instead, Dave moped, sulking around the arena all day. If Trish wanted to talk, she would have come to him, right?

He plopped himself down on an equipment crate some time ago, in the most deserted hallway he could find. He needed to be away from everyone for a little while. He needed to hide from his problems for just a little longer. Dave yawned, resting his head back against the wall and closing his tired eyes. He was drained. All of the pressure, all of the people in his life pulling him in different directions, it was all wearing down on him. He was starting to crack. If Wrestlemania was more than a few weeks away, he'd have put in for a vacation. This was too much for him.

"Dave?" a soft voice called to him, interrupting the slience.

Dave cracked his eyes open, the dark orb lighting up as he noted that it was a female's voice. His eyes - not to mention his stomach - fell when his gaze rested on Christy Hemme. Up until this point, he had done a good job avoiding the redhead. He sent her a weak smile, mouthing a hello. Christy noticed the way the twinkle in his eyes faded when he saw her standing before him. She bit her lip, approaching him carefully.

"Why the long face?" she asked, her eyes filled with concern. "Something wrong?"

Though she wouldn't admit it to him, she hoped Trish was who had Dave so glum. That would certainly make separating them easier. Dave sighed, turning his head away.

"Nothing I can't handle," he replied, his gaze drifting down.

Christy frowned as she watched him pick a piece of lint off of his pants. He wouldn't even look at her. She could sense that he did not want to talk to her, and the notion made her blood boil. What the hell had Trish done to him to make him so afraid to talk to her? She opened her mouth to speak, but Dave cut her off by tossing a hand in the air. He drew his focus back to her, leaning forward in his seat. Since she had finally caught up with him, he figured he owed it to her to explain himself. Time to write one of the wrongs in his life.

"Look, Christy, I know I should have talked to you sooner about this," he began, pausing to take a deep breath. "What happened between us after the Rumble, it was a mistake. We were both drunk, and it just happened. If I led you to believe there was any more to it, then I am truly sorry. This sort of thing is so unlike me."

His eyes dropped to the floor, his cheeks flushing a bit. Christy's eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips together tightly. One of two things happened here - either Dave really had used her for a one night stand, or Trish had done a damn good job controlling Dave. Either way, she'd been taken advantage of, and that was something she did not take lightly.

As she eyed him in silence, she became more and more convinced that Trish had done this to Dave, made him close up like this. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to talk, but that he was afraid to do so.

"You don't have to let her run your life, Dave," Christy told him. "You're a grown man... there's no reason you should let her push you around."

Dave cocked his head to the side, his forehead creasing curiously. He had no clue where her comment came from, but it confused him to no end. Who was the her Christy was referring to? The only woman in his life at the moment was Trish, and she certainly wasn't pushing him around.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, sliding away from her as he sent a strange look her way.

A determined flare lit up Christy's eyes as she moved toward him. She would not let Trish win this. She sealed off the space between them, purposely brushing her legs against his. Placing a tiny hand over his enormous bicep, she dragged her nails across his skin.

"I can give you so much more than Trish ever could, Dave," she promised him in a sultry tone.

Dave almost did a double take as he eyed her playing with the hem on the sleeve of his golf shirt. Was she trying to seduce him? Was this how she got him into bed before? And comparing herself to Trish? Nobody could ever be half of what Trish was to him, he was sure of it. He exhaled slowly, wondering how to start. He hated rejecting women, even if he truly wasn't interested.

"Somehow, I doubt it..." he began.

From just down the hall, Trish turned away and pressed her back against the wall. Her eyes squeezed shut painfully tight as she tried to force the image out of her mind. Hunter had been right. She decided to investigate his accusations, and sure enough, she stumbled upon it. Dave and Christy, looking quite close from where she was standing. She placed her hand over her chest, an uncomfortable thumping feeling in her heart.

She wanted to go over there and knock his head off. For lying to her, for keeping secrets from her, for leading her on. She wanted to go and knock that tramp right on her ass, too, but she didn't. Instead, she bit back a sob and turned away. For the second time that day, she walked away unnoticed.