Shane sucked in a deep breath and counted to 10, willing his body to stay put with all his might. Jeff had no idea how tempting he was making himself with that challenge – particularly since he was still sleep-tousled and sexy in his bed. Getting him to stop seeing Randy Orton without making a play for him was going to be difficult. The dark haired man finally released his breath and broke the gaze he'd been holding, trying to think of another way to convince Jeff to drop the annoying "third generation" wrestler.

"Matt ain't going to like it any better than I do," he finally said.

"Matt knows when to quit trying to make me do what he wants when I tell him to."

Shane glanced back at him and shook his head, knowing he'd have to back off for the time being, or cop to the real reason he detested the guy Jeff had been seeing.

"I'll drop it … for now," he grunted, walking over to his suitcase to pull out a fresh tee.

"I'll consider the matter closed then," Jeff muttered moodily, stepping out of bed and walking to the bathroom.

Shane breathed in his scent as he passed him by and almost groaned audibly, dropping down on the end of his own bed once Jeff was out of sight.

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I guess that's that then, Jeff thought miserably. He'd been sort of hoping after he'd issued the challenge that Shane would take the bait and give him a good reason to leave the thing with Randy alone. It even looked like that's what was going to happen, as Shane's dark eyes flashed with a smoldering heat and slid briefly over Jeff's body. The younger man's groin tightened in anticipation of whatever attack Shane would launch. But nothing came of it. The dark haired man simply sucked in a breath and drew his stare away, leaving Jeff feeling cold and abandoned.

He looked at himself in the mirror. Nothing seemed to have changed drastically that he could see. He wasn't an egotistical guy, but he had a legion of fans, male and female, writing him letters detailing how beautiful he was to them. He'd had many a hookup tell him similar things. Apparently he wasn't attractive enough for Shane though. No. The Hurricane preferred petite little ladies, it seemed. Jeff knew he shouldn't blame Molly for monopolizing Shane's romantic attentions. If a guy's not gay, there's nowhere to go from there for him. He sighed and set about getting ready for the day. They were traveling to a new city and he had to meet Randy in the lobby in an hour so they could start the drive. He hadn't told his roommate yet of his plans, knowing the blowup it would likely cause.

At least he would have a bit of time away from Shane, who was rising with Lance and Jay. Since these new feelings arose, Jeff wasn't entirely comfortable around him. He'd considered asking Jay to room with him for a while and putting Shane with Drew, but somehow the thought just made Jeff sad. Whatever was happening between them, it wasn't something Shane should take the blame for. He'd told Jeff he was straight, and any awkward moments stemmed from Jeff's own imagination.

With a small sigh of frustration, Jeff started up the shower and prepared for the day ahead.

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Once the shower started up, Shane immediately opened his cell phone and speed-dialed Matt. He wasn't kidding Jeff when he threatened to call in reinforcements. And Matt seemed to be the only one his younger brother would likely listen to on the matter.

"Hey, Shane," a sleepy Southern drawl greeted him. "How you?"

"Not bad," he chuckled. "Sorry if I woke you."

"Nah, had to get up anyway. Shanny says we'll miss checkout if I don't." There was a sound of rustling sheets and a grunt as Matt likely stretched, before he continued. "What's up?"

"I hate to worry you," he replied softly. "But did you know Jeff is seeing Randy Orton?"

"Huh?" Matt yawned. "I knew they were flirting around each other and figured they would eventually probably get around to dating. Why you ask?"

Shane pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. If Matt knew about Randy before he left and didn't do anything about it, how could he convince his friend it was a bad idea to let Jeff go out with him? He definitely needed Matt's support if he had any hope of getting Orton out of his roommate's life. But there were ways. Matt trusted Shane's gut instincts on the matter.

"I'm getting a vibe off him, buddy," he sighed heavily into the phone. "And no matter what I say, Jeff's not listening."

"Stubborn as a mule, that one," Matt muttered. "But your vibes have always been right before."

"That's what I told him."

"And he told you to butt out, right?" Matt actually sounded mildly amused.

"In a nutshell, yeah."

"Well, there ain't no hope of getting through to him then, my friend," the older Hardy brother muttered. "I hate to tell you this, but when stuff like this happened, I'd have to just ride it out and wait for the shoe to drop."

"It doesn't have to if he'd just listen."

"This here is Jeff Hardy we're talking about," Matt chuckled. "No way in hell is he going to listen if he's already told you to butt out. Sorry, man. I knew I was saddling you with my problem when I jumped here and I should have warned you better."

"Not your fault," Shane replied. "At least Jay keeps him distracted most of the time."

"How's he doing?"

"Worse than I anticipated, but better, I guess, than he was on Smackdown."

"Yeah, I would say."

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Shane and Jeff made their ay to the lobby to meet up with their respective driving partners. Jeff was nervous, having hoped that Shane would have left before him with Lance and Jay, and Lance was nothing if not absolutely punctual. But, no, that wasn't to be. Shawn was traveling with Hunter on this trip, and Hunter was leaving in a half hour. And Lance liked to spend as much time with Shawn as he could, so he adjusted his own departure time … which, in turn, enabled Shane to see exactly who Jeff was driving with. Oh, Fate, how I loathe thee, he lamented internally.

Lance and Shawn stood amongst a small crowd of colleagues when Jeff and Shane arrived. Drew was taking Stacy's bags to his rental's trunk. They liked to drive and/or fly together on trips to give themselves time to get to know each other better. She was speaking to Randy off to the side while she waited. Rob Van Dam was chilling on the Victorian replica chair nearby, probably waiting for Tommy Dreamer to check them out. Jay was rubbing his arm nervously and listening to something Chris Jericho was telling him … probably a joke to see if he could get Jay to smile. Sometimes it worked, too. But it didn't appear to be happening this morning.

Jeff touched Shane's arm to get his attention, letting him know with a nod that he was going to head over to Jay for a minute. The small contact sent a strong fission of energy through his fingertips that jarred him momentarily. Shane quirked an eyebrow and gave him a smirk in reply before walking over to Lance and Shawn. Jeff shook his head a bit before walking to Jay.

"C'mon, that was a fucking hilarious joke!" Chris exclaimed.

Jay just shrugged and looked down. Jeff poked his shoulder, bringing his gaze back up to eye level. He looked uncertain for a minute then granted his friend a small, rare smile for his trouble.

"That's my boy," Jeff teased.

"Why couldn't you do that for me?" Chris huffed at Jay good-naturedly.

"You have to be funny enough," Jeff answered for him, looking down his nose at Jericho.

"You didn't even say anything!"

"I didn't need to. Jay can read my mind."

"Oh, great! The 'telepathic twosome'."

At the light banter, Jay's smile widened into the genuine article and Jeff winked at Chris who chuckled in response. Just then, Shane and Lance approached to peel their traveling pal away from Jeff and Chris.

"If you'll please excuse us," Lance grinned. "I believe this one belongs in my car."

"Aw, man!" Chris complained. "Why do you always get to have him?"

"Because he actually finds me amusing," Lance explained patiently. "And it's not like you'll be alone. Jeff's here."

"Yeah, my favorite ditcher!" Chris pretended to look insulted.

"I didn't ditch you!" Jeff put in hastily, seeing Shane's amused expression immediately fall to be replaced with suspicion. "I asked if he could join us!"

"Traveling with a newly united couple is not my idea of a fun time," the bleached blonde Canadian blanched. "You can't seriously believe the corniness I would have to endure. 'What's your favorite color?' 'Blue.' 'Really? That's so funny! That's my favorite, too!' Ugh!"

Lance and Jay started laughing but Shane just crossed his arms and glared stonily at Jeff. Oh hell, it wasn't supposed to come out like this! Jeff could only shrug guiltily back at his roommate, a foreboding feeling rising in the pit of his stomach that he was in for another talk later when they got to the hotel.

"So, who are you driving with?" Lance asked.

"I was going to tag along with Dreamer and Van Dam."

"Oh, don't do that," Shane added quickly, making Jeff's skin tingle with goose bumps at the silky tone he was becoming oh-so-familiar with. "You know how crazy they drive!"

"But these two …" Chris began.

"Take my place with Lance and Jay."

Lance and Jay looked at each other in confusion for a second then back at Shane for explanation.

"Seriously," the Hurricane portrayer continued. "I don't mind going with the new … couple." He looked like he'd just sucked on a lemon wedge when he said the word.

"Um … okay," Chris said, looking relieved for some reason. Probably because of Rob's driving. "If you really don't mind."

"Besides, I told Matt I'd keep on eye on his baby brother …. Keep him out of trouble."

"That could turn into a full-time job," Lance joked.

Shane locked his dark determined gaze back onto Jeff, making the younger man gasp slightly. "Oh, I don't mind that either," he replied to Lance as he stepped closer to Jeff.

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NOTE: See? I didn't take THAT long to solve the cliffie. Unfortunately, I did replace it with another, though. Sorry!