Chapter XVIII: Bombs Away!
"I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to be here," Therese coolly responded to the security guard's question.
"You are obviously not one of the superstars and you don't have a staff ID. Therefore, you don't belong," he firmly replied.
"Yeah, she does. She's my sister," a male voice behind the security guard said. Not knowing to whom the voice belonged, Therese looked up to see Test coming their way.
"That true?" the man asked.
"Sure," she replied and jerked her arm away from his.
He stepped away and glanced back and forth between the two, trying to see the resemblance. Giving up, he commanded, "Next time your sister comes, she needs a visitor ID. You might want to get one for her now."
"Thank you. We'll do that," she responded.
When the guard was gone, Therese thanked Test and put her hand on the doorknob. She wanted as little to do with him as possible, knowing his abuse of his former girlfriend. "So, tell me, sis, what do you think about incest?" he casually asked, running his hand through his spiky blonde hair and closing most of the distance between them.
"No, thank you," she replied and started to turn the knob.
He put his hand on hers to stop her and stepped in close. "I know you know who I am but I don't know your name."
"Does it matter?" she flatly replied.
"Guess not, just as long as you go out with me," he said, putting his other hand on the other side of her.
"How about not? How about you just go away and leave me alone," she said, straightening up to his hunched over height in an attempt to defy him.
"Come on, now," he replied and lightly took the glasses from her face.
"I don't want you to get hurt. Please go away."
"And who do you think you are that I would get hurt?" he replied, his breath hot on her face.
"Try Kevin Nash's girlfriend," she stated, hoping it would get him to leave.
"Oh, honey, he doesn't need to know," he responded as Kevin walked up behind him.
"If she's my girlfriend, I need to know." Test quickly jerked around, wide-eyed, and Therese pulled the glasses from his hand.
"She was coming on to me," he said, crossing his arms.
"Not from what I heard," Kevin replied, looming over him. "If I ever catch you near her again, I will tear you from limb to limb."
"No slut's worth this," Test said and turned to go. Kevin reached out and slapped him, sending him flying into the wall. He gripped Test by the throat and held him there against the large, white blocks.
"Don't—call—her—that," Kevin ground out through clenched teeth.
"If I didn't have a match tonight, I would kick your ass right here and now," Test strangled out.
"Doesn't look like you're in a position to do so," Nash stated, his nostrils flaring.
"Kevin, just let him go. He's not worth it," Therese said, putting a hand on his arm. Kevin shoved Test away and they watched him stumble down the hall.
"You okay?" Kevin asked, putting his hands on either side of her face and caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.
"Yeah, nothing I couldn't handle. I was about to let him have it when you walked up," she answered with a smile.
"Still, there's no point in treating a woman like that."
"Let it go," she replied, placing her hands over his, and nodded to door. "Stephanie's probably wondering where I'm at."
Kevin put an arm around her and led her in. He disappeared into the bathroom to start getting ready. He later came back, suited up in his leather pants, and, of course, Therese took a long peek. Enjoying the eyecandy, she was startled when the door burst open. Evan stumbled into the room and slammed the metal door shut. He was breathing heavily but had a huge grin on his face. Therese immediately stood up and demanded, "What did you do?"
"Nothing," he immediately stated through hitched breath.
"I know you. What's going on?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Nothing, 'Rese, I promise. It was nothing I wasn't told I couldn't do," he pleaded with innocent eyes.
"Don't try to confuse me. Who said you could do what?" she queried. Stephanie was now paying attention, waiting for the answer that she was almost sure she already knew.
"Well…" Evan started and the door burst open again. As if on cue, Shawn presented the same goofy grin the boy had had on his face. They burst out into laughter and high-fived each other.
"What took you so long?" Evan asked.
"I didn't think the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels needed to be running through the halls of the arena like a heathen."
"Did you get to see their faces?"
"No, but I did hear a few choice words that I don't think your mom would like for you to have heard."
"It was good, wasn't it?" Evan asked, his eyes still lit up.
By now, everyone else in the room had gathered around the two. Stephanie couldn't resist. "Shawn, what did you do?"
"Oh, nothing," he replied, digging his toe in the carpet like a little kid. "Mark found some old fireworks in the poolhouse that I had forgotten about and, well, we hatched a plan. There were a couple of stinkbombs and…"
"You didn't?" Therese muttered.
"Oh, we did," Evan bluntly stated.
"You threw stinkbombs in Evolution's dressing room?" Stephanie asked with wide eyes.
"Oh, yes," they both replied in unison.
"How?" Stephanie asked, dumbfounded.
"Very carefully," Shawn drew out. Kevin gave Evan a knowing wink and went back to the corner to lace up his boots. Therese would have hung Evan out to dry if he had done that on his own initiative but, with Shawn and Kevin backing him on it, she knew it wasn't fair to her brother. Shawn leaned over to her and whispered, "It was all my fault. Please don't tell his mom. I've heard the things you've done before."
She nodded and smiled in response. "We'll pretend it never happened."
"Yeah, but Evolution will remember it all," Shawn replied with a laugh before going off to suit up for his match.
The two wrestlers' matches were sixth and seventh of the night. Shawn was first to leave to face Ric Flair. When no one was looking, Stephanie quickly pecked him on the cheek to wish him luck. They shyly smiled at each other as he left to a chorus of 'good luck' wishes. Stephanie always loved to watch him wrestle, even when he was not on her favorites list. Since the injury, she was now more worried about whether or not he realized how far he could go.
As the match started, Kevin pulled the elbow brace in place and called Therese aside. "So, do I get a kiss from my girlfriend before I go to the slaughter?"
"Girlfriend?"
"That's what you told Test."
"That was because—" He cut her off with a hand around the back of her neck, pulling her to him for a dizzying kiss. "Well," she said with a sigh.
"I'll be back shortly with his head on a platter."
"I know you know to be careful, but Hell in a Cell is…you know. Just be careful."
Stephanie and Evan cheering at the monitor brought the two of them back. Kevin nodded and Therese shut the door behind him before gathering with the others to watch Shawn's match. They held their breath as the wrestlers crashed through the table. Stephanie yelled at the monitor as Randy Orton wielded the steel chair and Michaels went down. Evan tried to comfort her by mentioning that Shawn had gone down numerous times from chair shots. She gave him a nervous smiled and began pacing. Why she was worried, she didn't know. Evan was right, especially since Shawn walked out of his own accord. She almost rushed out to him but then realized the consequences of running through a RAW event screaming, "I'm Stephanie McMahon and I'm not supposed to be here."
"Stephanie, he'll be here soon. Don't worry," Therese said, her eyes transfixed on the steel cage coming down over the ring.
Stephanie sighed and sat back down to wait. Only she was aware when Shawn returned to the room while Evan and Therese stared at the brutality of the match. When they finally noticed, both rushed over to him but he shooed them all away so he could take a shower and make good on a promise for a massage from Stephanie. He was out in time to see the last of the match in which Kevin took a sledgehammer to the back from Triple H.
"We have to go check on him," Therese suddenly said, standing up.
"Just hang on," Shawn stated. "The trainers will get him out of the ring and in the back and then they'll check him out. We'll just be in the way."
Now, it was Therese's turn to pace. Shawn gathered up his things and began pulling Kevin's together. She noticed and told Evan to get ready to leave. When all were ready, Shawn led them through the halls to where the trainers were set up.
Kevin was the only one laid out, face down, on a table. A lady was rubbing his back while one of the guys was sitting on chair talking to him. Through hazy eyes, Kevin noticed them and tried to roll over. He grunted in pain and the trainer helped him over.
"How are you, buddy?" Shawn asked, looking down at him.
"In a lot of pain," he muttered. "Or was. The shots they gave me are starting to kick in. I don't wanna even think about tomorrow."
"Kev, I don't think you're gonna be wrestling tomorrow."
"I don't either," he groaned in reply.
Shawn pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "Question is, do you want to go home tonight or in the morning?"
"I wanna be there now."
Shawn sighed in thought and looked at his watch. "Therese, you could have him home shortly before two. You wanna take him?"
She had been plotting in her mind how this could work out, but nothing was coming. Not even thinking, she said, "Yes. But I take the Suburban so he can stretch out in the back."
"We'll take the truck," Kevin mumbled. "I'm too tall. They need the Suburban."
"Can you leave now?" Shawn asked.
"Whenever he's ready," the trainer replied.
"Kevin, give me a couple of minutes and I'll have you out of here. Okay?" Therese asked and he nodded with a wrinkled forehead.
"We've got two rooms reserved, so Mark can stay with us," Shawn stated before she even thought of what to do with her brother.
Therese acknowledged him with a nod and pulled Stephanie aside. "I can't do this. I don't know why I agreed. Help me figure out what we're, me and you, are gonna do."
"I'm going back to the hotel with Shawn and Evan. You are going back to Shawn's house with Kevin."
"Stephanie, I can't just leave you without me but I just can't let him suffer through two nights in a hotel room."
"Then you have your answer. Take Kevin back with you."
"You come back with me."
"No."
"Yes."
"Look, this conversation is not going to be solved this way," Stephanie stated. "I will take full responsibility for myself if something happens."
"If I'm fired over this, you owe me a job," Therese angrily stated, pointing a finger at her.
"Okay," she said lightly. The blonde stared at her for a moment, taken aback at her answer. "Well, let's get outta here. We're waiting on you."
It wasn't long before luggage was rearranged in the vehicles and a half-conscious Kevin was hoisted into the over-sized truck. Therese admonished Evan to stay out of trouble but keep his eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. He puffed his chest out and stated that he would take care of Stephanie and protect her. She warned him to immediately get Shawn instead of trying to be heroic. The air rushed out of his lungs as he agreed.
Therese drove non-stop with a lead foot back to San Antonio. Kevin wasn't much of a conversationalist and the radio went in and out of stations as she broke speed limits, so she was left to deal with her thoughts. She chided herself for leaving Stephanie and for letting herself care this much about Nash. The damage was done and she kept telling herself there was nothing she could do to change it but just get him home and take care of him.
Her back popped as she slid out of the driver's seat and she stretched her aching muscles before attempting to get Kevin out of the vehicle. He barely woke up enough to realize he was back. She slung one of his arms around her shoulders and almost bowed under his weight as they struggled into the house together. She left him on his bed and checked the bathrooms for the largest tub. The master bath held a massive one that she was sure had seen several trysts. Pushing aside Stephanie's toiletries, she ran a steaming bath. Before she was done arranging the needed things, Kevin showed up in the doorway. "Who're you sharing that with?"
"Nobody, it's yours since you smell pretty bad. Can you imagine what I went through in the truck having to smell you?" she asked with a wrinkled nose.
"If you think I smell, you should have got a whiff of Triple H after that stinkbomb," he said with a groan and lumbered over to the tub to sit on the edge
"I was just kidding. Now, get in."
"I just wanted to know if you would bring me up a glass of water," he said, apologetically. "You didn't have to run me a—"
"Get in." He tugged at the shirt but couldn't get it up over his arms. After another try, he asked for some help. She pulled it over his head and started to leave with it. After a loud groan, she turned around to find him clutching his back with one hand and the other holding an untied shoelace. "Let me," she muttered and knelt down to divest him of his shoes and socks.
He pulled his belt out as she tossed aside the last sock. "Do you mind helping me with the rest?" Her face turned a bright red but she nodded her answer. "You don't have to if you don't want to," he said with a pouty lip. She shook her head and tugged him up from his seat on the tub to peel off the rest of his clothes. She tired to avoid looking directly at him but it seemed everything she did brought her face to face with some naked part. She was ashamed for being turned on when all he wanted was to get undressed so he could soak in a hot bath.
He let out a moan of pleasure as he slipped into the tub and the pink tinge crept back into her cheeks. She handed him a bar of soap and washcloth before setting out to find a heating pad and painkillers. She left them beside his bed with a glass of water before returning. "How's it going?" she asked, her eyes focused on his face.
"I can't get my back or my hair," he muttered. She attempted to settle herself around the tub but nothing would give her access to helping him.
"I'll be back in a minute," she stated before leaving to return in a pair of shorts. She slipped her legs in on either side of him and situated herself on the edge of the tub.
"See, you are sharing the bath with someone." She grunted a response and continued to scrub, carefully avoiding the angry bruise already rising. "Right there. Harder," he muttered as she found a spot on his lower back. "Don't stop," he groaned as she continued to massage his flesh with the washcloth.
Isn't that what a woman's supposed to be saying when…when… She had to draw herself back to the task at hand. "I have to. My arm's getting tired. Slide up and then lean back. I'll support your neck and dunk your head." It was one of the most awkward things she had done as she tried to rinse the shampoo out. Once they were finally done, he leaned his head back into her lap, soaking her shorts with his wet hair. She said nothing as he picked up one of her now wrinkly feet and began to massage it. It was now her turn to groan in pleasure. "Where did you learn to do that?" she said, breathless.
"I can do that with the rest of your body too."
"If you hadn't taken a hit with a sledgehammer, I might have taken you up on the promise. Raincheck?" she asked and began tracing her fingers around his tired eyes.
"Yeah, but you have to stop before I fall asleep." She agreed and slipped out of the tub to help him out. Water dripped off of him onto her as she supported him and handed over an oversize towel. "Sorry 'bout that," he mumbled when he noticed she was almost soaked.
"Don't worry and don't move." She left him alone long enough to change and bring him a shirt and boxers to sleep in. He hobbled on back to his bedroom with her help and she settled him with the already warm heating pad under him. "You know where I am. Please call me if you need me. I'll be back in a little while to turn off the heating pad. Go to sleep." She tucked away an errant lock of his hair and turned to go.
"Can I have a kiss from my girlfriend?"
"You're not gonna let me live that down, huh?" she said, turning back around.
"I'll think about it after a kiss." She leaned down across the bed and barely brushed her lips across his, causing him to shiver from the sensuous touch.
"Goodnight. Sleep well." She slipped into her own bed, her eyes so tired that she was amazed she was still revved up from helping Kevin, the image of his naked body emblazoned in her mind.
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Stephanie smiled as she handed Evan her bag as he adamantly insisted on carrying it up to her room for her. Shawn promised that he would come see her after he saw Therese's little brother settled. She thanked Evan when he carefully placed her luggage on the bed and ran out the door with a deep blush. She hurriedly showered and dabbed perfume in all the right places. Just as she finished a light application of make-up, a knock sounded at the door. After checking the peephole, she pulled the door open to Shawn, who was still in a pair of black, butt-hugging jeans.
"It's too early to go to bed but too late to go out. So what do we do?" Stephanie asked, leading him into the room.
"I don't know. Anything good on TV?" She shrugged her shoulders and flipped on the television. After searching the channels, they gave up and started talking. "Did you see the look of Flair's face when I asked him why he smelled like a rotten egg?"
"That's what that face was for. I was wondering," she laughed. "I really can't believe you guys did that."
"Yeah, I think it's already around the lockerroom that we did it."
"Who do they think is 'we'?" Stephanie asked, worried that she would be connected to Evan being there.
"Now Mark is my nephew," he said with a snort of laughter. Poor boy, Stephanie thought, How many identities does he have now? "Speaking of Mark, did you see how worried Therese was over Kevin? I think we might have pulled it off," Shawn said with a smile.
"How good are we?" she asked, giving him a high-five.
"We are good together," he replied, much softer.
"I think so," she sensuously replied. She slid closer to him and leaned in for a kiss. He obliged and pulled her close, drinking in the fresh shower smell and the tantalizing sweetness of lavender.
Stephanie sucked in her breath as Shawn lightly brushed her lips with his. He cupped her cheek with his hand and stroked her hairline with his thumb. She ran her tongue along his bottom lip and drew it between her teeth to suck on it, which elicited a soft groan from him. He ran his other hand through her hair as she placed a feather light kiss on his lips and began tracing a line of tiny ones along his jaw. She traced the outline of his ear with the velvety tip of her tongue before gently nibbling it. Shivers coursed throughout his body and his breathing became labored.
Shawn couldn't stand this slow torture and pulled away from her. Her blue eyes were misty with desire and only served to heighten his. He forcefully drew her to him and devoured her mouth. She moaned deep in her throat and tangled her fingers in his hair. He trailed hot, wet kisses down her throat to the neckline of her robe. She quickly undid the tie and he helped push the silken material away from her shoulders to reveal deep purple lingerie. The thought flitted through his mind that Stephanie was planning for this, but he sighed, taking in the exposed skin.
She was beyond the blushing maiden and her fingers found the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. Every fiber of her being screamed in want of him. She ran her fingers through the blonde hair covering his chest and then drew her eyes up to his face. He opened his to reveal clouded, hazel ones that raked over her body. She was perfect to his eyes, not a slip of a thing but beautiful curves everywhere. So what if there's a little bit of plastic under there, he thought, I would want her either way.
They came back together in a sense of urgency, placing hot kisses over the skin revealed as each article of clothing was anxiously tossed aside. Shawn eased her down on the pillows and ran a hand across one of her breasts. She shuddered from the touch of his calloused hands as his fingers deftly raised each nipple to a taut peak. He tried to slow down and lavish attention on each but the need was growing so immediate between the two that foreplay was forgotten as their mouths met in a sensuous tango.
Shawn slipped effortlessly from her side to nudging her knees apart. He paused for a moment to gaze at her face, flushed with passion. She opened her heavy-lidded eyes when he stopped. She appeared much as he imagined her when she and Triple H would disappear for hours at a time. Instead of an available, beautiful woman who desired him, he saw before him his best friend's wife. Rolling away from her, he felt like a traitor.
A confused Stephanie sat up, open-mouthed. "Shawn? Wha-what…" she tried to ask as he gathered up his clothes.
"Steph, I can't. I just can't," he said and presented his backside as he quickly made for the door. He pulled it open and realized he was about to walk out into the hotel hallway naked, holding his jeans and shirt in front of him. He let the handle go and hastily dressed. Before he was done, Stephanie had pulled on her robe and was at his side. "Shawn, wait…"
He cupped her cheek with his warm hand. "Steph, it's not you. We'll talk tomorrow, princess." With that, he was gone.
She was too bewildered to cry. Her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment and anger. She was mad, mad that he had played her for the fool. But did he? she thought. Would he not have used me if… She shook her head, befuddled by it all. Did I do something? He said it wasn't me and still called me princess… Just when I think I've got Shawn Michaels, I don't, she thought with a sigh and climbed into bed, trying not to agonize over it even though it was a worthless attempt. She had made herself vulnerable by opening up to him and thought that he wanted the exact same thing. She was not embarrassed by her physical condition—all of America had seen certain parts of her anatomy at the worst times. No, she was more angry than ashamed and, if he didn't have a good reason, Shawn was going to get an earful tomorrow.
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TBC…