Chapter 17
The highway was nearly empty, and Mark flew along. He guessed that they'd get there faster than he thought.
Kat was in the front seat with Mark, and Shawn was in the back. Shawn had leaned his seat back a little and had fallen asleep. He had told them that he had trouble sleeping the night before.
Kat found herself yawning.
"Sleepy?" Mark asked.
She nodded. "My eyes are heavy."
"Why don't you take a nap or something?" he asked. "We've still got a long way to go."
She shrugged and closed her eyes. Within ten minutes she was asleep. She was awakened by a hand touching her shoulder.
"Wake up," she heard.
She opened her eyes to find Shawn. They were in a parking lot. She took off her seatbelt. "Where are we?"
"We're about three hours away from Dallas. We stopped for lunch."
"Oh." She hopped out of the truck and stretched. "Where's Mark?"
"He went to get us a table inside."
She nodded and followed Shawn into the restaurant. The air conditioning was on, and the cold air instantly woke her up.
The waitress pointed them to a table in the back. Mark had just sat down. Shawn pulled Kat to sit next to him.
"Is sleeping beauty awake?" Mark asked her with a smile.
She nodded and smiled back. "Yea, I'm up. I can't believe I was asleep so long. Shawn said we're only about three hours away?"
Taker nodded. "You were only asleep for three hours. There was a lot less traffic than I thought. We made good time."
"Still, three hours is a long nap," she said.
"Don't worry," Shawn said. "I was out cold myself."
She laughed. "So I guess we're both sleeping beauties."
They ate their lunch and then headed back to the truck. "If you want to relax Mark, I can drive. It's hard to be in the driver's seat for so long," Kat said as they walked through the parking lot.
Taker shrugged. "If you feel up to it, I don't see why not. I'll just have to tell you which way to go."
She nodded, and he handed her the truck keys. Shawn climbed into the back again and buckled up. Kat slid into the driver's seat and laughed.
"What's so funny?" Mark asked, sitting in the passenger's seat.
"I can't reach," she said laughing again. She adjusted the seat and the steering wheel. "That's better."
"You okay now short stuff?" Mark asked with a grin.
Kat stuck her tongue out at him. "Mean."
Shawn laughed from the back. "Be nice Deadman, before she drives us into a ditch."
Kat laughed. "I wouldn't do that to you Shawn. I dunno about him though," she said giving Mark a mischievous look. She shifted the truck into drive, and got back onto the highway.
"Wouldn't make any difference though," Mark said. "I'm already dead remember?" he said smiling.
"You wanna test that theory?" Shawn asked.
Mark looked at Kat who was smiling at him wickedly. He laughed. "Maybe not."
The car ride was passing pretty quickly. There still wasn't much traffic, and the highway went through some very empty areas. Shawn told Kat that once they got closer to the city, it would get more crowded.
"You'll see," Shawn said. "It's probably as bad as New York City traffic."
Kat shook her head. "I hope not. Rush hour traffic is like my least favorite thing ever."
Shawn laughed. "I should tell you about the time me and Taker got stuck in traffic in L.A."
Taker groaned. "Oh god, don't remind me."
"Why? What happened?" Kat asked.
"Me and Shawn were supposed to be catching a flight. On the way there we ran into some traffic. Apparently there had been an accident on the highway. We sat in a dead stop for three hours before we started moving again."
"That's terrible," Kat said.
"You don't know the half of it," he said.
Shawn laughed. "I had the hiccups, and I couldn't get them to stop. For the whole three hours I was hiccupping. I thought he was going to kill me."
"I was thinking about it," Taker said looking at him over his shoulder.
"You know you like me too much to do that," Shawn said with a grin.
"Whatever you say Shawn."
Shawn laughed. "Why don't you turn on the radio?" he asked. "It'll make the ride faster."
Taker shrugged and turned it on. Country music began floating through the truck. He moved to change the station and Kat caught his hand.
"Leave it," she said. "I like that song."
"You like country music?" he asked.
She nodded. "You sound surprised."
"I've never met a girl from New York that did," he said.
"I like a lot of rock music, but I listen to country too. After all, that's where rock gets its roots." She shrugged. "You can switch it if you guys want, just after this song."
"Leave it," Shawn said. "I happen to like country music."
"No shocker," Kat said with a laugh.
"I like it too, but I like rock more," Taker said.
"Also, no shocker," she said. "You're both from Texas; it doesn't surprise me that you like country music."
He smiled and looked out the window at an approaching sign. "Exit out at the next one," he said. "We're getting there."
The time seemed to pass quickly as they drove along. Before Kat knew it they had reached Dallas. "Which way should I go?" she asked, stopping at a traffic light.
Taker pulled out a sheet of paper from the glove compartment and read it over. He glanced at the street signs. "It's a left, and then straight on for about ten streets."
She nodded and followed his directions. A few minutes later they pulled up outside the hotel. The three of them got out of the truck and Kat handed over the keys to the valet. A bell hop took their bags, and Shawn led the way inside.
He went up to the front, and was greeted by a man at the desk. "Hi there," he said. "I'm checking in for two people. Myself, and another reservation under a Mr. Calaway."
Shawn handed over his license, and the man quickly found their reservations. "You and Mr. Calaway are on the top floor," he said. "Your rooms are right next to each other."
Shawn grinned. "Oh good." He came back over to Kat and Mark. "Well our rooms are right next to each other," he said. "We're all the way up."
Taker nodded. "Alright. You wanna head up? I'm going to wait for the rest of them. John just sent me a message that they should be here soon."
"Yea, I think I'm gonna go up and take a shower. I feel all sticky," Shawn said. He handed Mark an envelope with room keys, and headed toward the elevator.
Kat and Mark sat down in the lobby. "Damn. I left my phone in the truck. I'm gonna go get it from the valet. I'll be right back," he said. Kat nodded and he stood and went to get his phone.
A minute later, she saw John, Randy and Adam walk in. She waved at them.
"Hey," John said. "You guys beat us here."
She nodded. "There wasn't any traffic."
"I'm gonna go get my room key," Edge said.
"I need to pick up a toothbrush in the hotel store. I left mine at the motel," John said shaking his head. He walked off, leaving Kat with Randy.
He sat down next to her and shook his head as he looked at John. "I told him to make sure he didn't leave anything. Idiot," he said with a laugh.
A minute later Edge came back over. "I got my key. I'm heading up to my room. I need to crash for a while."
Randy nodded. "See you later." He turned back to Kat. "I'm going to pick up my key. I'll be back."
She nodded and he went over to the desk. A few minutes later he came back, and he looked angry.
Kat looked up at him. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"That jackass says I have no room reserved for me. He totally recognized me too. I think he lost the reservation on purpose," Randy said, his voice very annoyed.
"That's terrible," Kat said. "Did Janice make your reservation or did management?"
"I have no idea," Randy said. "But Janice won't be here for another day or so. And that guy says they have no available rooms. I guess I'll be sleeping with John."
Kat looked over at the desk and an idea came to her. "Give me a minute. Let me try something." She stood up and went over to the front desk.
The man at the desk had his back turned to her.
"Um excuse me?" Kat asked. He turned around and Kat smiled at him. "Hi, I was wondering, do you have any rooms available? I really need a room, and no other hotel can seem to squeeze me in."
The man smiled back at her. "I'm sure I can find a room for you darlin'. You visiting?"
Kat nodded. "I've never been to Texas before. I've heard some people say that people from here aren't very nice. I can't imagine why. Everyone I've met has been so helpful and nice." She smiled again.
"I've got a nice room available on the top floor. You a wrestling fan?" he asked.
She tilted her head in question.
"There's a wrestling event that's supposed to happen soon. A bunch of wrestlers are staying here. They're all on the top floor."
"Ohhh," Kat said. "That's awesome. I just love the Undertaker. How about you?"
The man nodded. "I agree. Don't care much for some of the other ones though." He paused and looked at the computer screen. "Well I've got your room all booked. Here's your key," he said.
Kat smiled at him again. "Thank you so much."
"You're very welcome, and I hope you enjoy your stay here."
Kat took the key from him and went back over to Randy. She sat down next to him and handed him an envelope.
"Here's your key hot stuff," she said grinning.
Randy looked at her in surprise. "How the hell did you manage that?"
She smirked. "I was super sweet and nice to the man at the desk. I told him I really needed a room, and he was happy to help me out." She shrugged. "I think you were right though. I think he recognizes you and he doesn't like your character. Really stupid though if you ask me, losing a person's reservation over something stupid like that."
Randy shook his head. "I oughta go over there and tell him off." He paused. "But I won't. What matters is you got me my room. Thanks."
Kat smiled. "No problem."
A minute later Mark came back. "I guess you guys got here okay," he said to Randy.
"Yea, Adam went up already, and John's off buying a toothbrush. I'm going to go up now myself, before that dude sees me."
"I'm going up too," Taker said. "Come on," he said to Kat. "And what do you mean before he sees you?" he asked Randy.
Randy quickly told him about what had happened, and Taker shook his head. "Some people are real idiots," he said.
The three of them got into the elevator and went upstairs. Randy got to his room and went in. He said he wanted to relax before dinner. Kat followed Mark down the hallway.
He pulled out a key from his pocket. "Here," he said.
"What's this?" she asked.
"The key to your room," he answered. "It's right next to mine and Shawn's."
"You got me my own room?" she asked. "I'm really going to have to work out how to pay you back for this," she said.
He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I would have let you stay with me again, but I'll be getting up early. I don't think you'd appreciate a light coming on early in the morning. I know I wouldn't."
She smiled. "Once I get my new ATM and credit cards, I'm paying you back for this Mark."
He smiled at her and said nothing to this. He came to her door and stopped. "Your stuff should be in the room already. We're having dinner in an hour and a half. One of us will probably come knocking."
She nodded and went into the room. He bags were already there. She plopped herself down on the bed. She relaxed for about ten minutes then started putting her clothes in drawers. She emptied out the two bags, and found her cell phone charger, makeup bag, hairbrush, and a bottle of aspirin at the bottom of one.
"So that's where they were," she said. She plugged her phone in, and went to take a shower.
She got dressed quickly, slipping on a pair of jeans with a tank top and a sweater. She put on her flats and went into the bathroom. She brushed her hair and put on a little of her makeup. She looked at the clock and noticed that she still had more than forty five minutes to spare. She remembered seeing a bank across the street from the hotel.
She grabbed her purse and the room key and headed out. She got to the bank, very surprised that it was still open. She wasn't overly surprised though. She had seen quite a few casinos around and it wasn't much of a stretch that a lot of banks were still open late. They probably did good business at night.
She stepped in and went over to the teller. This bank was huge, a lot bigger than the one that had been in the other town.
She explained to the teller that her ATM and credit cards had been stolen and that she needed replacements.
The teller punched something into the computer and a few minutes later came out with a brand new set of cards. She explained to Kat that the cards had new numbers, and that she needed to reset her PIN numbers.
Kat quickly did, and signed the backs of her new cards. She told the teller to link the new cards to her bank accounts, and to unfreeze them. The teller was very friendly and was very glad she could help.
Kat stepped out of the bank and smiled. She had access to her money again. She went back to the hotel, and told the woman at the desk to change the method of payment on her room. She made sure Mark's money was refunded, and that the money was taken from her account.
Once that was done, she went back up to her room and sat down on the bed. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. She opened it and found John on the other side. He was dressed very casually.
"You ready?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yea. So where are we going exactly?"
"Shawn says he knows this place that's supposed to have the best burgers in Texas. I don't know how true that is, but we're gonna find out."
Kat picked up her purse and followed John downstairs. The rest of the guys were all there. They got into the two trucks and headed out to the restaurant.
The place was a few miles away, and it was on a lonely road. "You sure this is the place?" Randy asked Shawn.
"I'm sure. I know it doesn't look like much, but the food here is amazing."
"Let's hope so," Randy said. "We don't need anybody else getting food poisoning."
"You said it," Taker said from the driver's seat. Shawn was sitting beside him, and Kat and Randy were in the back. The rest of the guys had gone with John in the other truck.
They pulled into the empty parking lot and went inside. The place was almost totally empty, and the waitress placed them at a large table in the very back.
Kat glanced over the menu. There was nothing on it but different kinds of burgers. "I'm guessing this isn't a place for vegetarians is it Shawn?" she asked with a laugh.
Shawn laughed. "No, it isn't."
They all placed their orders and when the food finally came, they were surprised by how good it was.
"I take it back Shawn. These things are amazing!" Randy said.
"How come you never brought us here before?" John asked.
Shawn shrugged. "I don't know. It never occurred to me."
After they finished eating, they went back to the hotel.
"I'm beyond stuffed," Ted said.
"Same here," Cody said. "I think I'm going to turn in early."
"Yea, me too," John said. "Driving for all those hours wore me out."
Edge stretched. "My back feels weird. I think it's from sitting in the same spot for so long. I'm gonna pop an aspirin and head to bed."
Shawn nodded. "Normally I'd say why don't we go walk around a little, but I have to get up early in the morning."
"Management called you?" Taker asked.
Shawn nodded. "I'm set to fight at the taping. I have to show up there early to get it together."
"I think we're all supposed to get up early," John said. "Well, except you Taker."
He nodded. "I'm not in action this week. I think they're trying to build up suspense or something."
"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to get up or not," Randy said. "Janice isn't here and nobody called me."
"Maybe they'll call you a little later," Cody said.
Randy nodded. The rest of the guys headed upstairs leaving Kat, Mark, and Randy in the lobby.
"So what're you going to do?" Randy asked Kat.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'll go walk around a little. Either of you two wanna come?"
Randy thought for a minute. "I'm going to run up and try to call Janice and see what's going on. If I don't have to get up early tomorrow, I'll come find you."
Kat nodded and he walked off toward the elevator. "How about you?" she asked. "Wanna come with me?"
Mark shrugged. "Why not?"
The two went walking around through the hotel. The hotel had a casino in it, and quite a few shops. The two went walking past some of the shops, and Kat's eye caught sight of a pretty dress in one of the shop windows.
She stopped to look at it. "That's so pretty," she said.
Mark smiled. "Well I like the color," he said wryly. The dress was black.
Kat laughed. "Of course."
They walked around for about twenty minutes when they were met by Randy. He said that he hadn't been able to get in contact with anyone, so he didn't know whether or not he was supposed to show up.
Taker looked at him. "That's not good. It's strange that Janice isn't answering you."
Randy shook his head. "Don't worry about it."
They continued walking when Taker grabbed his shoulder suddenly. Both Randy and Kat looked at him.
"What's the matter man?" Randy asked.
"I just got this tightening sensation in my shoulder," he said. "Like you know how you can feel a knot forming?"
Randy frowned. "You should go take an aspirin or something before it really knots up."
He nodded. "I'm gonna go do that, and go to sleep. You two going up or are you staying?"
"I'll stay with her," Randy said. "We can wander around for a while."
Kat smiled. "Fine by me."
Taker left Kat and Randy outside one of the stores. He walked off rubbing his shoulder.
"So where to?" Kat asked him.
He shrugged. "We can just walk around." A thought occurred to him suddenly. "You know, Ted told me that he made reservations tomorrow for all of us at some really fancy place. Maybe I'll look for a new shirt."
Kat nodded and they headed into one of the shops. "Want me to help you look?" she asked.
"Go ahead. Let's see what you pick out for me."
The two split up in the store, and joined back together by the dressing room. Randy had picked up two shirts, and Kat had picked up two also.
"I'm gonna try them on," he said. "Sit here, you can give me your opinion. Oh do me a favor, hold onto this for me. I always leave it lying around somewhere." He handed her his cell phone and went into the dressing room with the clothes.
There was a sofa by the dressing room doors by a large mirror. Kat sat down and waited for Randy to come out.
He came out in the first one. This was one he had picked up. It was white with black stitching.
"It's pretty," Kat said.
"Pretty…not the reaction I was looking for," he said with a laugh. He ducked back into the dressing room and came out in another one. This was one she had picked up. It was light grey and black.
"That one's better," she said. "But try on the other ones."
He nodded and went back in. He came out in a dark green shirt. Kat shook her head. "I liked the other one better." He looked in the mirror and nodded. "I agree. I don't know why I picked up green. There's still the last one."
He put on the last one and came back out. This shirt was black with a design stitched over the shoulders in the back. Kat whistled lightly and grinned at him.
"Now that's the reaction I was looking for," Randy said with a smirk.
"You look very nice," she said. "It brings out your eyes."
"Then I'll get this one," he said. He went back into the dressing room and put his own shirt back on. He went and paid for the shirt and the two left the store.
Randy looked at his watch. "You wanna have a drink with me before we go up?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not."
The two went to a bar on one side of the hotel and sat down. "Let me order," he said.
"Be my guest."
He ordered two drinks, both the same, and the bartender mixed them. Randy handed Kat one, and she took a sip. It was very sweet.
"It's good," she said. "Really sweet."
He nodded. "It's like you're not drinking anything."
A few drinks drinks later, both of them were feeling a little sleepy. Kat had two, and Randy had three or four. They decided to head upstairs. They split up and went to their rooms. Kat fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
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Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews and the compliments. I'm glad you guys like where the story is going. And just for a little tease, there's something big in the next chapter. I'll have it up soon, so hang in there! =)