My eyes flickered open as my mind became conscious. I became alert to the noise of the vibrating device on the bedside table. Picking it up, the light instantly blinded me, and I had to furrow my eyebrows to defy the pain. The alarm was signalling it was time to get up. 4:30am. I groaned at the thought of how early it was, and didn't even come to terms with the lack of sleep I'd had. The night before was sketchy in my mind, yet one event seemed to stand out clearer than all. Randy. After the little session in the kitchen, I remembered we'd settled on getting to know each other better, and Randy seemed to be more enthusiastic about it than me.
Turning the alarm off, I noticed behind was a notification on my cell, alerting me of a new message.
"Jenna.. I had fun last nite. Plz tell me u remember.. anyway, I'll c u in Lexington. RKO x". Before I could fully react to the sweetness of the text message, the bedroom door had opened, and from the lack of light that was coming from the bathroom, I could see it was Ted. He still looked tired, but considering he was used to getting up this early every day, he seemed pretty chipper.
"Excited about today?", Ted whispered, obviously trying not to wake Kristen.
"Absolutely", I smiled widely to show Ted my honesty.
"Awesome. I'm going to cook some breakfast. Boiled eggs & toast ok?", The tone in his voice was telling me the latter was a question.
"It's perfect, thankyou Teddy", I smiled up at him. He left swiftly afterwards, leaving me to pull myself from the bed. Inside, I was relieved. Maybe last night wasn't so bad, and I didn't make a complete fool of myself. Ted would have said something, wouldn't he? He isn't the type of person to keep something like that.
I pulled myself from the bed and quickly tried to retrieve my slippers. I couldn't have been too drunk if I was able to change into my pyjamas. Deciding to change to save time, I pulled a pair of sweats and a vest from my suitcase, aswell as some clean underwear and socks and proceeded to get changed. I was so indecisive when it came to my hair that I just placed it into a ponytail and left my side bangs down. I quickly put on a bit of foundation and mascara before heading into the bathroom to rid myself of morning breath. As I made my journey from the bedroom to the bathroom, I could smell the toast and eggs cooking. It played crazy with my senses, and it didn't help that I was suffering from a slight hangover. After drinking alcohol, the one thing I craved is toast. So, Ted got it practically perfect when he suggested eggs & toast.
I made my way down to the kitchen slowly and quiet, careful not to wake Kristen. The smell of toast got more prominent, and I could feel my stomach growling at me in desperation. To say I was starving, would be an understatement. I tiptoed into the kitchen, spotting Ted stood at the stove and the egg timer next to the pan.
"You feeling ok?", Ted questioned, turning his head to watch me as I found a seat at the island.
"Yeah, I guess. I'll feel alot better once I've had some food", I informed him, "I wasn't that bad last night, was I?".
"Oh, no. You did fall asleep on Cody though.. so I carried you to your room. Did you sleep ok?", Ted spoke, whilst dishing out the food.
"I guess that's not so bad.. I wasn't sick or.. I didn't try it on with anyone did I?", I looked him deep in the eyes, as I could tell when he was lying.
"Not that I know of. All I know is, you and Cody were sat talking about home, and we put that Clash of the Titans movie on and you were asleep within 10 minutes. He seemed pretty cool with it though, so don't feel embarassed..", Ted reassured me as he put the plate of boiled eggs and toast in front of me. I didn't have to fight with my stomach this time, and tucked in as soon as it was dealt to me.
After breakfast and a quick sort out of my suitcase, me and Ted were ready to hit the road. It was 5:30am, and earlier than I could ever want to be awake. Kristen dragged herself from the sheets to say goodbye, and I felt this was the perfect time to ask her where she got to last night.
"Kris, were you ok last night? I just.. don't remember seeing you the entire night?", I questioned as Ted phoned for a cab.
"Hon, I got a quick shower, and when I came downstairs you were sat with Cody talking so I didn't want to disturb. You honestly can't remember seeing me?", Kristen frowned, confused. I shook my head.
"I guess you really did have alot to drink. But darling, not to worry. I'll be at the Tampa show in three weeks and I'll make sure we have some girl time. Do me a favour, take care of Ted. And don't be scared to tell him no, he can be quite pushy", Kristen instructed me, giving me a peck on the forehead.
"Of course, kristen. I'll see you in three weeks. I may have to call you from time to time, to stop me from going insane..", I joked as I pulled the suitcase out of the hall and onto the porch area.
"That might not happen so much towards the end. Seriously girl, these guys are like family. Just get to know them and they'll give you a memorable time", Kristen smiled. She still looked so tired as she stood there in her comforter and slippers. Her hair was stripped back into a ponytail yet she still looked so stunning.
"Thankyou Kristen. Three weeks might go by faster than I expect...", I grinned, pulling Kristen into a tight embrace before turning to face the cab that was waiting. Ted had retreated back up the path to collect my suitcase before planting a huge kiss on the lips of his wife. She looked so normal, and so content with the fact he was going away for the next god knows how long. I guess she was kind of used to it now. Ted was away 300 days of the year, so Kristen may have grown used to the fact that her husband wouldn't be in the bed beside her everynight.
"Goodbye beautiful, I'll see you in three weeks", Ted smiled down at Kristen, all six foot plus of him towering over her 5ft 5 frame, "I'll miss you, but love you more everyday. I'll call you as soon as we land in Lexington".
"Honey, I couldn't love you anymore if I tried. Now, you best go otherwise you might not make it to Lexington at all", Kristen pulled her husbands head down to her height, and planted a soft kiss to his forehead, "I love you. Keep each other safe".
"We'll call you as soon as we land. And I'll try to keep Ted safe. But I hear he can be pretty wild", I winked at Kristen who burst into a fit of giggles.
"Well, I'll love to hear about your wild times when I see you in three weeks. But you best go! I don't want to keep you from missing your flight!", Kristen hurried us. Ted leant down for one more kiss before pulling my suitcase up again with absolute ease and made his way down to the cab. I waved back at Kristen who was smiling and blowing kisses.
"Have I ever told you how much I adore your wife?", I spoke up as Ted planted the suitcase into the trunk of the cab with no help from the driver.
"No, you've never mentioned it. But I understand why. She's perfect", Ted gushed as he closed the trunk and moved to pull the cab door open for me.
We reached Lexington about two hours later, and surprisingly got through the baggage carousel faster than I expected.
"I think thats..", Ted spoke up as he looked directly ahead, pointing in the direction of a tall, brunette girl making her way towards us with her own suitcase. I frowned, confused. Did he know this chick?
"Teddy", The girl smiled as she pulled my cousin into an embrace. I stood back, confused and slightly wierded out by the sudden meeting.
"Oh, sorry Jen..", Ted apologised,"This is Kayla.. Kayla, this is my cousin Jenna. She'll be spending the next few months travelling with us.. so be nice!".
"Ted.. I'm always nice. You? Not so much", Kayla smiled, shooing Ted away. I laughed at her remark as she looked at me.
"Jenna.. how did Ted get such a pretty cousin?", Kayla joked as she shook my hand.
"Excuse me.. I happen to be impeccably handsome. You better be careful or I'll tell John", Ted almost threatened as he left the pair of us to chatter. I watched him as he walked to the Starbucks coffee stall, leaving his huge suitcase with us.
"I'm John's girlfriend", I gave her a wierd look, asif I was to remember who John was,"John Cena? Big guy, always wears a cap, drinks Bud and likes baseball?". I had met John last night. He was the first person to walk upto me and voluntarily introduce himself. He seemed sweet and asif he actually cared about meeting me.
"Yes, I met John last night. He's lovely", I watched as her face lit up with glee at the sound of her boyfriends name. Ted returned with a few drinks, and I hoped he'd ordered me something consumable.
"I got you both a caramel hot chocolate.. Hope that's ok", Ted proceeded to hand us the drinks.
"Ted.. it's almost summer. We're in 80 degree weather.. ", I questioned how he could be so stupid, "But the thought was all that mattered so.. thankyou".
"Did you and John catch the 5:55 flight?", Ted asked as he took a sip of his drink.
"I think so. He's just gone to the restroom to change into some comfortable clothes as he overslept this morning and had to come here in his vest and baggy shorts. He shouldn't be long..", Kayla assured us. It felt silent, and I wanted to say something to break it but to say just what, was the problem.
"So.. I guess you two are around the same age then?", Ted questioned, trying to get the conversation flowing.
"I'm 21", Kayla informed me, "How old are you?".
"I'm 20, 21 in less than a month", I told her, and her eyes lit up.
"That's actually pretty awesome. I'm sure you'll spend your birthday wisely..", Kayla winked, obviously hinting at the legal age I was hitting.
"I think i'll have to ask Teddy here.. see if he's nice enough to let me have a few drinks..", I then hinted at Ted who just rolled his eyes. His attention was soon averted to the newly arrived John. He stood next to Kayla, completely overshadowing her with his huge shoulders and big arms. He was wearing a grey vest that barely covered any of his muscles at all, and a pair of black gym shorts with nike high tops. A Tampa Bay Rays cap sat on his head, making his ears stick out.
"I'm surprised you're even here, Jenna. How's the hangover?", John spoke to me first, as he placed his gym back over his shoulder and pulled the large suitcase behind him.
"Well, I'm a trooper. Eggs and toast the morning after, I'm completely fine", I assured John as he stood with his arm around Kayla's waist.
"Awesome, so we shouldn't expect to be puked on at all?", John joked. Kayla slapped him on the arm, and he quivered like a girl.
"Leave her alone. You have no room to talk. You came home so late last night, absolutely wasted. You slept in your clothes and you felt the need to wake me up in the middle of the night to let me know I was going to be kidnapped by the marshmallow king...", Kayla looked up at John with a stern expression.
"Excuse me.. At least when I get wasted, I don't take my clothes off", John hit back. Kayla's face turned from slightly irrate to completely sour, and I decided now would be a good time to jump into this 'argument' whilst it was still warm.
"Hmm, Kayla, do you want to come get a few magazines with me?", I spoke up above John who was just about to talk again. Kayla turned to me and nodded. We left our luggage behind and headed for the magazine and candy cart.
"Girls, don't be long. We should be setting off to the hotel in around 20 minutes!", Ted warned us as we walked off. I took note and carried on walking with Kayla. We reached the magazine cart that was occupied by a middle age woman with curly brown hair and the odd grey. A pair of specs were perched on her nose as she greeted us with a smile.
"So, do you have a pain in the ass boyfriend to take care of?", Kayla questioned as she picked up a magazine.
"No.. but seeing the love in the past two hours, I can say I wish I did", I gushed as I picked a few bags of candy from the top of the cart.
"Hmmm.. did you think any of the guys you met last night were nice?", I gulped as she asked. Thankfully she was looking directly at the magazine and inspecting it thoroughly enough to not notice my facial expression had changed.
"Umm.. not really. I mean, they were nice to talk to. But, I don't know.. ", I shrugged as I picked up two magazines and placed them with my candy, ready to pay. Kayla placed the magazine she had in her hands on top of my goods and handed me her money.
"Well, I do know the guys pretty well. So, I can give you the ultimate lowdown...", Kayla suggested as the cashier handed me the change and we headed back to the guys. I had the slightest feeling that Kayla was going to tell me Randy was a lady killer. Asif I was just another notch to his 'impressive' belt. It wouldn't surprise me.