Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wrestlers.
Chapter 9: The Future
Back At The House
Storm and Gerri came back from their wide to the roadhouse after AJ , Daniels , Roode , and Harris got back with food .
" You guys hungry after your ride ? " Dani asked with a knowing smile .
" I could eat cow right about now , " Gerri said .
" Would a hamburger do instead ? " Daniels asked as the others laughed .
" Or we could have the Cowboy go and rope a cow for you which ever you prefer ? " Chris shrugged .
" I will take the hamburger , " Gerri said .
" Too late to rope a cow anyways , darlin , " Storm said .
" You can rope one for me later , " Gerri said as they all ate dinner together .
" Who knew , " Bobby said .
" Talking to yourself again , Bobby ? " Kazarian asked .
" I was just thinking who knew these two girls were this could keep up with this bunch , " Bobby said .
" We can be pretty surprising , " Dani said .
" Your thoughts on this ? " Storm asked Gerri .
" I ' m not exactly tamed , so , I ' m good even when it gets a little rowdy , " Gerri shrugged like it was no big deal .
" Storm and Kazarian found the female versions of themselves , " Harris whispered to AJ .
" Yeah , " AJ said .
" So , what are y ' all going to do about a place to stay the night as it ' s getting late ? " Dani asked looking outside where it was getting dark .
" That ' s a good question , AJ ? " Daniels asked .
" What am I a chaperone for this trip ? " AJ asked .
" I don ' t need one of those , " Chris said .
" Aren ' t cats suppose to sleep in trees anyway ? " Gerri asked .
" Ooh , " Storm laughed .
" Burn , " Roode said .
" Spend enough time on top of steel cages and you forget about the trees , " Harris said .
" Hey , in the sake of my neck and sanity could we stay away from the steel cage talk ? " Daniels asked .
" Your neck , my ass and back , " Harris said .
" Boys watch the language and the bickering , " AJ said .
" See you are a chaperone , for them at least , " Storm pointed out .
" Storm , " AJ said .
" You guys could stay here , if you don ' t want to find a hotel ? " Gerri offered making the guys look at her .
" We do have plenty of room , " Dani agreed .
" Thanks for the offer , " Kazarian said looking at the guys .
" Saves a trip back into town , " Cowboy said settling down putting his hat over his eyes .
" You doing that makes you look like a real cowboy , " Gerri said .
" Girl , what are you talking about , I am a real cowboy , " Storm said before tickling Gerri making her laugh .
" Storm , " Gerri squealed in laughter .
" What ? " James asked .
" That tickles , " Gerri laughed .
" I know it tickles , that ' s the point , " Storm said .
" Stop , " Gerri laughed .
" Not until you say it , " James made it clear .
" You ' re a real cowboy , " Gerri said not able to contain the laughter .
" Better , " James said as they realized that some how Gerri had ended up real close to the Cowboy during all of the tickling .
" Whoa , " Dani said .
" We ' ll stay , " Kazarian said looking at the guys as they looked at Storm and Gerri .
Later That Night
After hanging out and watching movies, the girls and wrestlers were ready for bed after the guys had some discussion about the sleeping arrangements, it was desided that since Harris was the biggest he should get the biggest bed while AJ being the smallest settled for the sofa bed , Daniels got the bed furthest away because he snores too much .
" Like a bear , " Kazarian and AJ said getting laughes from the girls .
" Do you really snore like a bear , CD ? " Dani asked .
" I never really noticed , " Daniels shrugged .
Bobby took one of the beds upstairs while Storm and Gerri got comfy in her room and Kazarian and Dani were left to her bed.
" You comfortable ? " Dani asked Kazarian .
" Yep , " Frankie said as he shifted .
" You sure ? " Dani asked .
" Let ' s see , " Frankie putting his arm around Dani .
" Now ? " Dani asked snuggling with Kazarian .
" Yes , now I ' m comfy and you ? " Kazarian asked .
" Very , " Dani said .
" Hmm , I ' m starting to see we ' re not so different , you and I , " Frankie said looking up at Metallica logos glowing in the dark on the wall .
" Hey , I ' m a rocker , too , you know ? " Dani said .
" So , I found out today , it ' s nice not being the only one around here , " Kazarian was wondering what miracle in the universe led him to this cool chick laying snuggled up in his arms .
Just then snoring that sounded like a bear was heard down the hall making Dani look at Kazarian .
" Like a bear , " Frankie said .
" You sure he didn ' t swallow the bear ? " Dani laughed making Frankie laugh , too .
" We never thought of that before , I ' ll have to ask later , " Kazarian said .
" Hmm , " Dani yawned as she put her head on Frankie ' s shoulder still wondering what this amazing man saw in her , he wrestled all over in front of hundreds of people and a number of girls who would probably fall at his feet if he asked . But , yet , here he was holding and talking to her like they had known each other for years , sometimes she wondered if she needed to pinch herself to wake up from this dream she was in only to realize it wasn ' t a dream , it was reality and he was still here holding her .
" So , why all of the glow in the dark stuff ? " Kazarian asked .
" I don ' t like the dark , " Dani said .
" Really ? " Frankie asked .
" I always feel like someone or something will try and get me , and it doesn ' t help that my housemate likes to watch horror movies and weird shows , all the time . " Dani stressed .
" I like horror movies , too , " Kazarian said .
" But , you would protect me from the monsters , right ? " Dani asked .
" Of course , I would nothing will get you with me here , " Kazarian said .
" Good , I will let the Future , Frankie Kazarian handle everything , " Dani said .
" The Future is now , hon , " Frankie said .
" You ' re good at making people laugh , " Dani chuckled .
" It ' s a gift , " Kazarian said as he started humming .
" You ' re musical , too ? " Dani asked .
" Yes , I am , " Frankie said .
" More alike than I thought , " Dani said .
" We are a beautiful combination , the two of us , like two peas in a pod , " Kazarian said .
" And I thought CD was the poet in the group ? " Dani asked .
" He ' s not the only one , " Frankie said as he started humming again .
Dani really wanted to talk to Kazarian some more while they had time alone , but the warmth from Kazarian and his soft humming was making her fall asleep , she had never felt so comfortable with anyone else before meeting Frankie . Once he realized she was asleep Kazarian kissed her on the forehead before going to sleep himself , wondering if this was a sign of good things to come for the future .
Gerri ' s Room
In Gerri ' s room , Storm and Gerri were getting just as cozy as Dani and Kazarian was in the other room . James had to stop himself from freaking out at first at some of the paintings and stuff in the room .
" What ' s wrong Cowboy ? " Gerri asked .
" Was a little taken back by the masks and creatures , " Storm said .
" I find them fascinating , odd things that go bump in the night and different cultures have their different take on the way things work in the world and what ' s out there that no one has discovered , yet . " Gerri said .
" You ' re an artist , a rockstar , curious about the world , and adventurous , but it seems like you are still seaching for something , what ' s stopped you from exploring the world further than college ? " James asked .
" I guess the stalker problem did , I was ready to take on the world after I graduated then that creep showed up and I didn ' t keep going out of fear of being followed by more freaks like that . " Gerri said .
" You can ' t let him control what you do now that he ' s not around anymore , " Storm said as they got closer in the bed .
" Maybe the roadhouse is what I need to get me over that next step , " Gerri said .
" The roadhouse is your answer ? " James asked .
" When I ' m in there pulling out the old stuff and cleaning it out , I feel like I ' m cleaning myself out and pulling out the old , broken stuff . Maybe one day all of that trash and mess will be gone and I can start putting in something new that will start me on the path to a new beginning . " Gerri sighed .
" Hey , it ' s always great to better yourself and find healing , but don ' t forget to keep the good stuff in there as well . After all a building is great with new stuff in it to make it sparkle and shine , but you need a good foundation to stand on , too , or else the whole thing will come crashing in on you , like a sandcastle at the beach . " Storm said .
" Rugged and brilliant , you ' re pep talks are incredible , Mr. Tennessee , " Gerri said .
" I don ' t know about the brilliant part , but I ' ll take the Mr. Tennessee thing as a compliment , " James said making Gerri chuckle .
" Oh , you ' re going to be trouble aren ' t you ? " Gerri asked .
" Only when it counts , " Storm said .
" I think I hear the bear , " Gerri said as snoring started .
" Yeah , that would be him , " James sighed .
" So , " Gerri started .
" You have something on your mind ? " Storm asked .
" How does this work when you go back to wrestling ? " Gerri asked .
" This ? You mean this as in us ? " James asked .
" Yes , you on the road for most of the year and me here , " Gerri said .
" I ' ll have time off to come see you and you can always come to see me whenever , " Storm said .
" And what if I ' m a bit on the wild side and crazy with everything ? " Gerri asked .
" Honey , what is my name ? " The Cowboy asked .
" Cowboy , James Storm , " Gerri said confused .
" I ' m the Tennessee Cowboy , James Storm , I have a swirling tempest inside of me , I ' m just as wild and crazy as they come and I don ' t give a damn who knows it , we ' re not that different you and I , we just have different ways of showing people who we are . I wrestle for a living and you create things , but it doesn ' t mean we have to let go of this , of us , I met you at a wrestling show , I brought you backstage because I thought you were cool to hangout with and little did I know that you would mean more to me than just someone to casually have a conversation with , darlin , " James said .
" Storm , I want to make this work , " Gerri said .
" So , do I , " Storm said his blue eyes met hers showing how clear they were to her .
Gerri put her arms around the Cowboy as he without fear kissed her in the night , at first she was shocked and then she gave in happy that Storm was hers for however long he wanted to stay with her . After that both of them snuggled together happy to have each other's heart before going to sleep holding onto each other .