Baron woke up naked and alone next morning and with a weird taste in his mouth. He could still taste the tequila, but he could also still taste something else. Something sweet. The taste of Maddie lingered deeply on his tongue, and it made him smile.
He sat up in bed and looked around. The smell of sex was still vaguely hanging in the air, but she wasn't in the room anymore. The door was open, and he could hear the water run. He put on his boxers and hurried to the little bathroom. To his surprise he found the door locked so he chose to knock on it.
"What?" She yelled from the other side.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
It seemed like a stupid question. Why wouldn't she be okay?
"Hungover as fuck," she answered. "What the hell happened last night? I don't remember anything after my tenth tequila."
His heart dropped. She didn't remember what had happened between them. He suddenly felt like a creep that had taken advantage of a drunk, heartbroken woman. It didn't matter in that moment that he had been just as drunk as her.
"Nothing. Nothing happened," he lied. "We got drunk, and the night was warm, so we thought it would be funny to sleep naked. Drunken logic."
It was a crappy lie. Funny to sleep naked. As if anyone would ever buy that. He walked to the sink it the little tea kitchen, opened the cabinet underneath, and looked in the trash can. There on top was the used condom where he had left it the night before. He grabbed some paper towels and buried the condom underneath so she wouldn't see it. He straightened his back as he heard the bathroom door unlock. He turned around with a smile as she came walking out in a black dress with light yellow dots on it.
"Morning," he said. "Should we go out for breakfast again today?"
"Waffles?" She grinned.
"You know it," he said.
He managed to get through the day without letting her know what had happened. He felt heartbroken inside, but he didn't show her. He had finally gotten her after years of longing, and she didn't even remember. He almost sighed in relief that night after RAW when they finally reached Tampa, Florida. He had his driver take her to her brother's house.
"Thanks for everything, Baron," she said.
"Anytime," he said. "Do you need some help moving out?"
"No, my brother will help me tomorrow. We're gonna move in early enough so that Roman hopefully will either sleep through it, or be too tired to put up a fight," she said.
"Take care, Maddie. You know where I live if you need me, and you got my number," he said.
He hadn't actually thought she would show up or even call, so he was surprised to find her Tuesday night around 9 PM outside his front door. She stood there biting her lip in the rain, all drenched. She must have walked to his house instead of driving.
"Shit, Maddie, come in. You're fucking soaked," he said.
"I moved out of his house," she said.
"He didn't take it well?" He asked.
"He said a lot of things, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't stop thinking," she said.
"About what?" He asked. "And will you please come in from the rain before you catch a cold?"
"About you," she answered. "Were you just gonna continue pretending nothing happened?"
"You remember," he sighed.
"Of course I remember," she almost scolded him. "How could I not remember? I've been wanting to be with you for years, and I never thought it would happen. And I'm sorry that I panicked yesterday morning, but I just wanted to move out and move on, you know. I broke up with him and found myself in another man's bed the next day. How fucked up is that? And I didn't want you to think you were just a rebound because you're so much more, Baron. You were always so much more."
He quickly took a couple of steps forward, out into the rain, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a kiss.
"I always loved you," she whimpered. "Even when I was with him, I still loved you too. I loved him too. I'm so fucked up. You should run away and save yourself."
"No matter where I run, I'm already soaked," he laughed and looked up into the rain for a second. "I'd rather stay here and drown with you if that's what it takes to keep you in my arms."
"Baron," she smiled. "You're fucking weird."
"That makes us a good match. And I always loved you too," he said. "And now we're going inside, or I'm gonna end up fucking you out here in the rain, and we'll both end up catching a cold."
"It would be worth it," she chuckled.
"Totally," he pecked her lips. "Inside, sweet cakes. Now! Before I fuck you up against the house."
She woke up next morning the same way she had done on his bus. Her back against his chest, his arm around her waist, his hand on her stomach. She laced her fingers in between his and felt him squeeze her hand.
"I can get used to waking up like this," she said.
"You better," he placed a kiss between her shoulder blades.
She moved around so she could look at him.
"People are gonna call me names when they find out how quickly I landed in your bed," she said.
"Do you wanna keep it a secret?" He asked. "It's no one's business anyway."
"Can we just take it as it comes? We're not teenagers anymore, so we don't have to dry hump each other around every corner and get in people's faces to show them we're together. Let's just let this thing play out the way it's supposed to. Eventually people will catch on," she said.
"Especially when you continue riding on my bus. It's one thing I gave you a way out last week. People will ask questions when we continue traveling together," he said.
"Let them ask," she sighed. "Can we stay in bed all day today?"
"Only if you're naked," he grinned.