Chapter 10
Mark listened patiently as Alyssa rattled on, grinning and offering his opinion when she seemed to expect it. He loved spending time with this little angel and he didn't know why. Mark was never a big child lover, but with Alyssa, and the way she carried herself along with her attitude, he couldn't help, but want to spend more time with her. "Hey ol' timer, ain't that the script writer's kid?" Came a voice from behind them, interrupting what Alyssa was saying to Mark.
Mark turned to see none other than Steve Austin walking towards them, nodding as he asked, "Guessin' ya'll already met?"
"Briefly." Steve peered up at Alyssa and smiled warmly as he greeted, "Hey there, honey." Alyssa squeaked in response, wondering how she was supposed to tell Mark she wasn't allowed to around this guy either.
"Mark, I gotta pee." Alyssa announced, the first excuse coming to her mind to scare Steve away, still sitting on top of Mark's shoulders.
Mark shook his head, grinning when Steve blanched, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Yer on yer own with that." Steve replied, shaking his own head before walking away, waving his hand as he moved away from them.
When Steve was out of earshot, Alyssa leaned down and whispered in Mark's ear, "Mark, I'm not allowed to be around him either."
Mark frowned, moving her so she was standing in front of him, and questioned, "Steve? Why not?"
"Ask Mom." Alyssa simply said, shrugging her shoulders, looking just as confused at her babysitter.
"Maybe we oughta." Mark replied, his tone laced with confusion and wonder before lifting Alyssa up back on his shoulders and headed to his dressing room. He'd ask Nicoya about it later, knowing she was busy at work, and probably would be seriously ticked if they interrupted her.
~!~
After finishing close to all the scripts, Nicoya finally decided to take a small break, her head feeling like it was going to explode. She kicked her heels off, and leaned in her chair, her feet propped on her desk, and played soft music from the corner. She always had the crew bring her mini radio to all the arenas because it helped her get her mind on track. She smiled softly, hearing a beautiful song come over the radio, and sighed, closing her eyes. She needed just a few minutes of peace.
~!~
"Why are we hitting this?" Alyssa asked about two hours later, hitting the punching bag that was hanging in Mark's dressing room, and had gotten knocked on her butt a few thousands times already.
"Relieves stress, tension…extra energy." Mark replied, watching as Alyssa pounded away on his punching bag, hoping to wind her down and disperse of her energy she had.
"Maybe we should bring Mom down here and let her beat it up." Alyssa suggested thoughtfully, stopping to sip her Sprite he'd gotten her.
Mark looked thoughtful himself, stroking his goatee. "You know…maybe she could do with something to help her with stress." He said, that attentive look on his face and in his tone of voice, seriously considering doing it.
"Hey, I help!" Alyssa protested, sticking her lips out, puckering them in a tight purse, looking positively cute.
~!~
After listening to a few songs to recollect her thoughts, Nicoya decided to head down to the cafeteria for something to drink. She shrugged her cardigan off, her black hair pooling over her shoulders and down her back, and walked out, her heels clicking against the concrete flooring of the arena in her walk. She smiled at a few people, but mostly kept to herself, not knowing hardly any of them. Once she arrived in the cafeteria, Nicoya got herself a cup of coffee, needing a caffeine rush, and began fixing it to her liking, wondering what Mark and Alyssa were doing. Steve arched an eyebrow when he seen Nicoya, watching her while listening to some of the boys joke around, his blue eyes studying her thoughtfully. Finally, he excused himself and strolled over to her, clearing his throat to get her attention.
Nicoya turned around and felt her midnight blue eyes widen briefly at the sight of Steve. "Hello, Mr. Williams." She greeted calmly, trying to sound cheerful, and stirred her coffee with the straw. "What can I do for you?"
"Nothin', just thought I'd come say hi since you were lookin' all lonesome." He drawled playfully, taking a drink of a bottle that was missing it's label, but looked somewhat like Vernors. Somewhat. "Seen yer rug rat with Calaway."
"Yeah, she's gotten close with him. He's her babysitter while I'm busying working. He keeps her occupied." She shrugged absentmindedly, raking a hand through her black tresses, and took a long swig of her coffee, trying to find a way to get away from him. Even though he didn't recognize her, Steve wasn't stupid and would figure it out sooner or later.
Steve studied her thoughtfully, finally reaching out to tap her arm to get her attention, his blue eyes widening when she jumped. "You don't like me very much do ya?" He asked seriously.
"Believe me, Mr. Williams, if you knew who I was, you'd hate me." She replied solemnly, mentally cursing herself for saying that, and immediately backed away from him. "I-I have to go." She then rushed out of the cafeteria, her coffee in hand, her heels clicking harshly against the flooring below, not believing she just said that. "Fuckin' great." She mumbled under her breath.
Mark shook his head, laughing as he chased Alyssa out of the room, frowning when he seen she was seconds from colliding with Nicoya, who had something in her hand. He instantly grabbed Alyssa just as Nicoya went to stop herself, turning his back, and flinched when he wound up with steaming hot coffee on his back. "Mark?" Alyssa whispered, seeing the look on his face, and instantly backed away.
Mark grunted, straightening and quickly pulled his shirt off as he growled out, "Damn!"
Nicoya had plowed into his back, groaning as she fell to the floor, her cup falling from her hand, and felt her head spinning. She slowly shook the cobwebs from her brain, coughing a little, and finally got her vision back to normal. "Shit, Mark, I'm so sorry!" She apologized immediately, wincing when she seen the pained look on his face, and slowly rose to her feet, cringing. "I'm deeply sorry…" She didn't know what else to say and rubbed the back of her neck, seeing her coffee got completely on him.
Mark rolled his shoulders, glancing back at her over his shoulder. "Mind tellin' me how bad it is, darlin'?" He asked in a low voice.
"It's really, really, really red!" Alyssa answered before her mother could, standing on her tiptoes to see. "Mom you got him good!" Mark shook his head, smiling even though it actually hurt like a bitch. On the bright side, it was his back that'd been dunked and nothing too vital.
"Come with me, Mark." Nicoya said, grabbing his hand, her daughter trotting in front of them, and guided him into her office. Once inside, she instructed him to lay down on his stomach on the couch while she dug in her purse for something. She pulled out some burn ointment, having carried it around incase of emergencies, and walked over as she straddled his waist, hoping he didn't mind. "This is going to sting, but only for a minute." She warned him ahead of time and began squirting it on his back, not believing she did this. "I'm so sorry, Mark." She sounded like she was going to cry.
Mark stared at the wall, smiling when Alyssa sat on the floor to stare at him. "Hello little one." He said, wincing a little at the pain the burns gave off.
"That hurt?" She quietly asked in a solemn filled voice.
"Nah, tickles a bit though." He half lied, not wanting to worry the precious angel, and winked at her.
"You're lying." Alyssa said flatly, staring into his eyes, and nodded in clarification.
Mark reached out to cup her tiny face in his hand. "It don't hurt, darlin'. It-" His eyes flew open suddenly. "Okay now that hurt."
Wincing, Nicoya finished applying the burn ointment and began rubbing it into his back, using her hands, not believing how strong his back was. The muscles rippled beneath her fingertips, causing her to smile, but she still felt horrible for what she did. She sighed, continuously rubbing his back, being gentle, and had to scoot up a little on his waist. Her skirt rode up the slightest and winked at her daughter, never stopping the rubbing. "Mark will be fine, sweetheart. No need to worry. Go play with your toys while Mom finishes him up." She gently ordered, causing Alyssa to nod, moving away reluctantly with concern obvious on her face.
Mark sighed, burying his face in the couch cushion for a minute, taking a deep breath before facing the back of the couch, his face inches from it. "You looked like you were in a hurry back there…" He commented, trying to take his mind off what she was doing to him.
"I was." Nicoya simply replied, not stopping the rubbing, and moved his hair to the side, needing to get his neck since the coffee got on that too. "I'm so sorry about this, Mark. I really am. I should've watched where I was going." She quietly spoke, feeling terrible, and furrowed her eyebrows together, wincing when he groaned.
"It's gonna be cleanin' it that'll be the crux of it." He murmured, wondering just how in the Hell he was going to tend to his back and sighed. Knowing he'd be stuck at the trainer's every night for awhile. "Ya didn't have to do this, darlin'. I could've went to the trainer and had'em take care of it. I knew yer a busy woman."
"No, this is my entire fault and I fully intend to take responsibility for it. You won't go to the trainer's. You'll come to me until you're healed and I want no arguments, Mark." It was the least she could do after burning him with her hot coffee, all because she was running away from her brother, who didn't even recognize her. Nicoya was a jittery person and when she got nervous, something always happened. "I'm so sorry, Mark." She whispered somberly.
"Don't be, darlin'. You just gave me a legit reason not to wear shirts." He replied good-naturedly, more of a vest person if he had to wear anything. Though now, it'd be a little painful. "So…it's a little burn, somethin' I blew outta proportion."
"Darlin', that tickles." Mark said softly, not about to tell her it both hurt and sent some more of that electricity through him, sighing inwardly with bittersweet relief when she stopped. "Nico…are ya cryin'? Please don't cry, accidents happen."
Alyssa looked up from her toys, frowning when she seen her mother. "You alright?" She asked, moving to get up.
"I'm fine, sweetheart." Nicoya assured her daughter with a smile and stopped what she was doing. Seeing the burn ointment already working its magic, she slowly slid from his waist, straightening her skirt now. "How does it feel?" She asked quietly, wiping her tears away, and walked over to sit down in her chair behind her desk.
Mark carefully pushed himself up, looking over at Nicoya. "Feels better." He murmured, glancing down at Alyssa. "Yes?"
"It looks horrible. I think you're just acting brave." Alyssa informed him diligently.
"Is that right?" Mark arched an eyebrow down at her.
She nodded, smiling cheekily back at him. "Here's your shirt." She handed it to him, never wiping that pert smile from her adorable face. "I picked it up in the hallway."
Mark took it from her, wadding it in his hand, but didn't move to put it back on. First, it was soaked in coffee. Second, he already knew he wouldn't be able to tolerate anything on his back. "Thanks, angel." He said appreciatively.
Nicoya sighed heavily, putting her head in her hands, and felt like crawling in a hole and dying for the umpteenth time around this man. She couldn't believe she'd actually spilled scalding hot coffee on him and cringed at the memory. She knew he must've been hurting and hoped the burns went away soon. "Here's your script, Mark." She softly said, handing it to him, keeping her eyes focused on the upcoming feud Vince was going to put Jeff in, which was with Glen. 'My fault again.' She thought miserably.
"Thanks." Mark reached down to take it, their fingertips once again brushing, and felt that jolt run up his arm again. He cleared his throat and took a step back. "I'll see you ladies later."
"You coming to our room tonight?" Alyssa asked, walking around to sit on her mom's lap with hope shining in her beautiful blue eyes.
"Angel, I'm sure yer momma would like some one-on-one time with ya." Mark said patiently, already feeling himself melting from her eyes.
"What about your back?" The little girl asked, truly concerned about it, especially with how red it was.
"Alyssa, if he doesn't want to come, he doesn't have too, sweetheart." Nicoya patiently told her daughter, wrapping her arms around her waist, and kissed the top of her head. She began running her fingers through Alyssa's hair, seeing it was knotted up a little, and would have to brush it after her bath that night. She wished she could leave now so Steve didn't come confront her about what she'd said earlier. IF the man kept his distance, she would be fine.
"But you said he had to come get his back tended too every night." Alyssa said patiently, letting her mom finger comb her hair. "Aww…" She made a face when she seen it was just them in the room. "He gets around don't he? Maybe we oughta put a bell color on him or something."
"No, we will do no such thing. He's a grown man and doesn't need an eight year old following him around like a puppy dog." Nicoya replied, shaking her head, and continued combing her fingers through her daughter's hair, sighing. She was still mildly disturbed by that earlier question about Mark making nuns wet and felt her cheeks grow hot just thinking about it. She cleared her throat loudly and kissed the top of her daughter's head before turning to look at the scripts she had left to finish up.
"Mom, why're you blushing again?" Alyssa asked curiously, seeing her mother turning into a strawberry again, and sighed exasperatedly just as the door to the office opened.
"This a bad time?" Steve asked, poking his bald head into the room, and felt his blue eyes widen at the sight of Ms. Harris. "Damn woman, yer red!"
"Christ…" Nicoya mumbled under her breath, setting her daughter down on the floor, and pointed over to her toys, clearly not amused. "Don't point out another thing, Alyssa." She ordered, shaking her head, and cleared her throat, taking a long swig of her water, and finally leaned back in her chair, staring at him. Staring at the man who she thought wouldn't confront her about what happened earlier in the cafeteria.
FAT CHANCE OF THAT HAPPENING!