Author's Note: Well, this is the last chapter. But don't worry, there will be an epilogue to follow shortly afterwards. This chapter also contains my first attempt at writing a play-by-play wrestling match. I have to admit, it's a short read, lol. So please be gentle with me in the reviews.
And because so much happened in this chapter, it is pretty lengthy. But I think I covered everything.
Once again, thank you for all of your wonderful support of this story!
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Once the much-anticipated match between Randy and Dave was announced, there was a fury of attention drawn to the superstars. The internet was going nuts deciphering the match based on both men's experience, prowess and stamina.
Protecting Rae's interest and her sanity, both men agreed not use her in a storyline. Instead, they decided to use a suitable replacement: Layla, the Diva Search winner and Randy's sometime bed playmate. The storyline was the typical love triangle with both men fighting for Layla's heart.
Too close for comfort, Rae quipped.
Since the match was announced, many wondered how Rae was coping. She would be lying if she thought everything was going to play itself out. She knew both Dave and Randy too well to think that it was going to be a clean match. They both hated each other with a fierce intensity. And the match was no-holds barred. I'm going to somebody's funeral soon.
Right before the match, Rae caught up with Dave as he was doing last minute preparations. He was drinking water and stretching his limbs. "Hey." She said.
Dave briefly turned around. "Hey."
Rae couldn't stop fidgeting. She didn't know if she was more nervous about approaching Dave or about the match itself. She briefly wished she drank some water before approaching him. She must've swallowed ten times as she watch him get ready. "Ready for the match?" She nervously smiled.
Dave nodded as he continued stretching. "Yeah."
"A lot of people were looking forward to this match." Rae commented.
"Yeah, so I've heard."
Rae could no longer control the emotion she was feeling. If she didn't say something, she was going to explode. "Promise me that you won't hurt, Randy, Dave." She blurted.
Dave shrugged off his ex-girlfriend's concern. "Rachel, we're professional wrestlers. We're bound to get hurt."
"I don't want Randy to end up like Kennedy." She worried.
"Rachel, you have my word. I'm not going to hurt Randy." Dave shrugged.
Not sure if she really believed what he was saying to her, Rae nodded. "Okay."
Dave took another sip of his water and smiled. "I'm going to destroy the motherfucker."
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Rae took her usual spot in the sound booth as she watched the various matches of the evening. Randy and Dave's match was close to the end of the show and Rae never felt sicker to her stomach. She just wanted the match to be over and done with. She wanted all three of them to go on with their lives in peace.
She especially wanted Randy to walk by the end of the match. And there was no guarantee that was going to happen. Where's the trashcan?
Just before the match started, promos of the events leading up to the match replayed on the Titantron. It all started with Randy expressing an interest in Layla. When she went to Smackdown to do some promotional work, Layla was squired by Dave. A number of events occurred from Randy surprising Dave with a RKO on his date with Layla to Dave sprinkling Randy's underwear with itch powder before his date with Layla. The storyline was the typical love triangle with a wrestling twist and rating went through the roof for both Raw and Smackdown.
Of course, that was a nice consolation prize for the real-life parties of the situation. Rae was notoriously quiet on her feelings about the storyline and no one dared to speak to her about it. The uncomfortable and pain she was feeling was evident on her face. Her eyes were tired; her face was drawn. And worst yet, Rae lost weight because of the stress she was experiencing.
Since Randy was the challenger, his music hit first. The crowd immediately booed Randy. It was clear that he was not the crowd favorite, even though most people expected him to win. He walked to the arena with a smirk and licked his lips. He has been training hard for his match with Dave and he was eager for it to get started.
And to give Dave the beating of his life. I'm going to fuck that old motherfucker up.
When Dave's music hit, the crowd rose to their feet. The energy was electric and not short of a rock concert. After Dave made his appearance, he walked casually to the ring. He was smiling. A part of it was the persona he was holding for the match. A part of it was retribution for Randy interfering with his relationship. And that bitch is going to get his ass handed to him.
When both men were in the ring, there was a lot of smack talking between both guys. Rae was watching the match religiously and could read what both men were saying.
I'm going to fuck you up, Orton.
I like to see you try, you gimpy-ass motherfucker.
With a hard slap from Randy, the match was on. It was a non-stop match from beginning to end, with both men pulling out their best moves and encounters. Randy got a RKO early but Dave surprised him—and everyone, for the matter—by kicking out.
Soon, the men were out of the ring and through the crowd, slamming each other against the barricades and up the ramp. No surprise that Jim Ross and The King were losing their minds trying to follow the men.
For a good portion of the match, Randy had the advantage by focusing on Dave's left knee, which he made weak by hitting it with a chair. Dave retaliated by giving Randy not one chair shot but several in a row, subsequently opening a gash in Orton's head. He Batista Bombed Randy through the Spanish announcers table and on the steel steps. When Dave was getting ready to clothesline Randy, he caught him by surprise and RKO'd Dave for the pin.
After Randy won the match, the crowd was on their feet. They were cheering and clapping for both men. Randy and Dave could barely move and both were bloodied messes. Emergency workers were en route to the ring as both men breathed hard. As the crowd continued their cheers, Randy spoke to Dave. "Is it over now?" He managed to say.
"You tell me." Dave replied.
Randy rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. "It's over."
"Good." Dave nodded. "I'm getting too old for this shit."
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Several months have passed since the turning point at Survivor Series. Dave won the World Title again, just to lose it to Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Randy fought Hulk Hogan again at Wrestlemania and won, silencing critics of professional wrestling. While Rae and Randy occasionally still slept with each other, they both decided to not to date each other. But they remained extremely close.
The same couldn't be said about her and Dave. While they were on friendly terms with each other, there was an awkward tension between them and neither could understand why. Dave moved on to date Diva Search contestant, Rebecca DiPietro—a choice that Tracy and their daughters strongly objected to. Even Dave admitted that Rebecca's place in his life was mainly to keep him company while he was traveling.
Over the holidays, Rae made peace with Dave's daughters. She personally apologized to them for causing hurt and everything was back to normal. The girls were often at Rae's home for movie night. Cianna, Elani and Kaira tried to play matchmaker but Rae remained single. She had enough drama in her life.
On her lone day off, Rae decided to take a stroll in the park. She fed the ducks while she sipped on a soda while reminiscing on her life. While her broken relationship with Dave was a nagging feeling in her gut, she was happy with her life and how everything was progressing. Things are pretty damn good right now.
"Good afternoon, Beautiful." Dave said as he stood beside her.
Rae was too concentrated on feeding the ducks to notice Dave walk up beside her. She smiled at him and continued to feed the ducks. "Beautiful day." She commented.
"It is." He replied.
Rae turned her attention to a nearby playground. She watched various children playing in the park. She always imagined that one day her and Dave would have a child of their own, preferably a boy so Dave would at least have an even playing field with the girls. She secretly hoped that things would work out between them but she wasn't getting her hopes up. With Dave sporting a new girlfriend on his arm, Rae concluded that she would just have to settle for messing up the best relationship in her life.
"So what's going on, Rae?" Dave asked, hoping to break any awkward feeling between the two. "What's been happening in the life of Rae?"
"Nothing much, same ol' stuff. Kinda like the saying, 'same shit, different day.'" She smiled. "What about you? How is the world of David Bautista?"
"The world of David Bautista is chaotic." He grinned. "I'm sure you know that Tracy is getting remarried so I have nothing but wedding planning going on in my house with the girls being over. Absolutely no peace and quiet in my house. But I wouldn't want any other way."
Dave glanced over to his ex. With her hair pulled tightly in a ponytail and her light make up sun kissing her face, Dave admired how beautiful Rae looked. While his current girlfriend had to spend what felt like hours on her hair and makeup, Rae was content on just having some lip gloss, mascara and blush. "You look amazing." He admired.
Rae smiled and blushed slightly. "Thank you."
There was awkward silence between the former lovers as they stared ahead at the children playing in the park. There was something heavy on their minds and both were too apprehensive to be the first to say anything. Wanting to break the forever silence and leave what was left of their relationship on a good note, Rae stood up. "Well, I guess I'll see you around." She said before walking off.
Dave watched her walk away. He was going to let her go about her merry way until something stirred inside him to stop her. "Rachel, wait." Dave said as he stood up.
Rae turned around. "Yeah?"
Dave approached her and stood just merely inches from her. "It was good seeing you." He said.
"It was good seeing you, too, David." She grinned. She turned and started to walk away again until Dave grabbed her. She turned again. "Yes?"
"What do you want?" He quietly asked.
"I want you to let go of my arm." She teased.
Dave smiled and released his grip from Rae's arm. "You know what I meant, Rachel."
Rae bit her bottom lip and sighed. "I want to have a career, David. I want to get married and have babies. I want…I want…"
"You want?"
"Us. I want us, David." Rae finally admitted. "But I can't have us and I'm okay with that." She said.
"Are you?" He questioned.
Rae nodded. "I am."
"I'm not." He replied.
"Huh?" She asked. Rae felt she needed Dave to hold her again so she wouldn't lose her balance and crumble to a heap on the floor. "What are you saying, David?"
Dave grabbed Rae's left hand and kissed it. "Can we talk at my place? Or yours, if you feel comfortable enough."
"Your place is fine." Rae said.
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Once arriving back to Dave's town home, Rae took off her jacket and settled on the sofa while Dave poured them both glasses of wine. He sat down beside her as he gave Rae her glass. "What are you thinking?"
"That I probably shouldn't be doing this." Rae said as she sipped her wine.
"Why?"
"You have a girlfriend, Dave. I don't know why I'm here."
"I have a situation, Rachel, and you know why you're here."
Rae again shook her head. "I can't do this." She put her wine glass down and picked up her purse.
"You can't do what?"
"This! I can't do this!" Rae exclaimed. "I can't do this, David, alright? I can't pretend that everything is cool between us when it's not. I can't pretend that I'm happy that you're dating another woman. I can't pretend that I'm okay with this little polite "situation" that we're in. I'm not, okay? I'm not. And it's better that we just left each other alone."
Dave set his wine glass down. "Is that what you want?"
Rae knew it was something far from what she wanted. But it was the one thing that would make her life that much easier. "Yes." She whispered.
Dave knew Rae was lying. Her mouth was saying something her heart and eyes were not feeling. But he wasn't about to convince Rae otherwise. "Alright." He said quietly. He got up and opened his front door. "Thank you for coming over, Beautiful."
You called me Beautiful. "Thank you, David." She then left his town home.
A few minutes later, Rae returned. Dave opened the door to greet her. "Yes?"
"I forgot my…um…jacket." Rae pointed inside.
"Oh, allow me." Dave stepped aside as Rae entered his place.
Rae retrieved her jacket and headed towards the front door. "Well, good-bye."
"Good-bye, Rachel."
Rae stepped a foot outside Dave's apartment when she turned around. "I forgot to kiss you good-bye." She gave him a peck on his cheek.
Dave grabbed Rae's waist and kissed her lips. Rae didn't resist her ex as she closed her eyes and grabbed onto his back. She missed feeling Dave on her lips, playing with her tongue, and making her heat rise.
With a quick motion, Dave picked up Rae and walked to his bedroom where they made love all afternoon. They both fell back into a natural rhythm that they shared many times over, exploring each other beings and souls. Nothing ever felt as welcoming as Rae's moans echoed off Dave's walls. And Dave couldn't get enough of her generosity with her hands and her mouth as she pleasured him to no end.
Falling into a peaceful sleep in each other's arms, the pair was content. They didn't know where their relationship was going to go or what the future held. But they were happy that for one night, there was resolution.