A/N: Thank you to AshlynnxHearts, NastyGrl25, The Hardy Boyz are hot and Queen of Destruction2 for reviewing the first chapter! You guys are awesome! Hopefully, you'll enjoy this one!

Chapter 2: Just Friends

The Animal eased his massive frame onto the barstool. The bartender—who looked like he was barely out of high school—stared at him expectantly. "What'll it be?"

"A beer," Batista answered brusquely, clasping his hands together and resting them on the counter.

"Make that two," Mickie's voice chimed in. The Animal turned to see the former Women's Champion hop up on the stool next to his. Mickie ran one hand through her long brown hair, pushing it back from her face. Batista noted with some amusement that the bartender had not moved, but remained in place, his eyes glued to the brunette Diva, his mouth hanging open slightly.

Mickie must have felt his gaze on her, because she glanced up. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked. The bartender snapped his mouth closed, his face flushing a deep red. Without a word, he scurried off to procure their drinks.

The former Women's Champion chuckled, a low husky sound. "I swear to God—ten bucks says that once he comes back here, he's going to say I look familiar, and hasn't he seen me somewhere before?" She looked over, noticing the expression on the Animal's face. "What? Is it because I ordered beer?" Mickie shook her head. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I automatically order something pink and fruity. Besides…beer's cheaper."

Now it was Batista's turn to shake his head. "No, nothing like that…just wondering if you always talk this much." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he winced at how clipped they sounded.

The expression that flashed across Mickie's face, however, was not one of hurt, but of embarrassment. "Sorry," she apologized, a tad sheepishly. "When I get nervous, I tend to talk a lot."

The Animal started to ask why on earth she might be nervous when the bartender returned with two bottles of beer in hand. He set them down in front of the two Superstars, then hesitated, his attention focused on Mickie again. "Sorry to bother you," he began apologetically. "But you look familiar. Have you been in here before?"

The brunette Diva flashed him a brilliant smile. "Many times," she replied, and before Batista knew what was happening, Mickie reached over and placed her hand over both of his. As soon as she did, the bartender's face fell a little in disappointment and he hurried away, presumably in search of other paying customers.

The Animal glanced down at Mickie's hand covering his, then back up at her face, a questioning expression on his own. The Raw Diva guiltily removed her hand, reaching across the bar to grasp the brown bottle of beer and pull it toward her. "He is going to be hitting on me all night," she finally responded by way of explanation. "If he comes back over here, could you just pretend to be my boyfriend?" A devilish glint appeared in her brown eyes and she grinned impulsively. "I'll take that in lieu of the ten bucks you owe me."

Batista couldn't help but laugh at her comment. "Hey, no fair!" he answered in mock protest. "You had that guy pegged from the second you sat down."

Mickie shrugged. "Hey, when you spend half your week getting ogled by horny guys, you tend to learn a thing or two about men."

The Animal chuckled. "Can't say I've ever had that problem." He nodded in the direction of the bartender. "But in his defense…I don't blame him for staring." As that last sentence rolled off his tongue, his gaze drifted over and met Mickie's. In that moment, a look passed between them, an understanding that temporarily pulled down all the emotional barriers between them. Just as quickly, though, those barriers slammed back into place, and the two of them quickly glanced away.

Mickie cleared her throat. "So…" she began, her voice both cautiously cheerful. "How about that match tonight, huh?"

Batista sighed, grateful at least for the irritation that flooded through him at the mention of the night's main event. The emotion was a distraction, momentarily blotting out the memory of Mickie's brown eyes, of the light highlighting the soft curves of her face…"I don't really want to talk about it," he muttered, taking a generous swig from his beer bottle.

The former Women's Champion looked down at the counter, rolling the bottle back and forth between her palms. When she spoke again, her tone was tentative. "The first time I faced Lita…she hit me in the head with the championship belt."

The comment was so unexpected that the Animal was lost for words. He looked over at Mickie, who stared back at him, her expression slightly challenging. Batista took another long sip from his beer, his eyes never leaving her face. "When I faced Booker T at SummerSlam…Sharmell got involved and caused a disqualification."

Mickie took a sip before continuing. "Lumberjack match…Melina grabbed my foot and tripped me up."

The corner of the Animal's mouth twitched in a smile. "Two words--La Familia."

"Two more words," the brunette Diva countered, a smile touching her own mouth. "Santino Marella."

At the thought of the self-proclaimed Milan Miracle, both of them burst into laughter. "Oh my God!" Mickie exclaimed, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "Remember that night when you told him that Beth could have a title shot if she wanted one?"

"What can I say?" Batista answered, trying to catch his breath in between chuckles. "You can put lipstick on a pig, but at the end of the day—"

"--It's still a pig." Mickie chimed in with him. "The look on Beth's face—I thought I was going to pee myself, I was laughing so hard." This sparked another round of giggles, and several minutes passed before either one of them was able to get themselves under control.

The former Women's Champion swung her stool around, turning to fully face the Animal. "I feel like this is that scene from Jaws when they're sitting around the table showing off their shark bites." She pointed at Batista. "Admit it—you were, like, two seconds away from taking off your shirt and showing me your surgery scar."

"Hey, don't knock that," the Animal joked. "How do you think I get girls? Women dig the scar."

Mickie leaned toward him a little, lowering her voice, so that Batista had to strain to hear her. "So…do I get to see the scar?" Her tone was teasing, but there was a flirtatious edge to it that made her comment anything but.

The Animal leaned forward as well, acutely aware of their close proximity. From this distance, he could smell the scent of perfume rising off of her skin. His voice, when he spoke, held the same seductive undertone as hers. "Do you want to?"

For a moment, the outside world hushed into silence, leaving only the two of them. Then, a subtle change came over Mickie's expression and she leaned back, turning away from Batista. "Maybe later," she replied, picking up her drink and taking a huge sip.

The Animal gazed at her for a second or two, still frozen in that position of anticipation. Finally, with a silent sigh, he straightened up, turning back toward the bar as well. He picked up his bottle, but didn't drink; merely tilted it back and forth, watching the light glint off the glass. "Hey, Mick, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Maybe it was just his imagination, but Mickie's voice seemed to have taken on a huskier tone, as though she was trying to hold back emotion.

Batista looked over at her, setting his beer bottle back on the counter. "Why'd you ask me here?" His voice was blunt, so blunt that it almost made her cringe. The Animal continued. "I mean, there's gotta be a ton of people on the roster who are better company than me. So…why me?"

The Raw Diva was silent for several long moments. She put down her bottle, lacing her fingers together and propping her chin up on her hands. She didn't look at Batista. "You know that we're just friends, right? That this isn't a date or anything—"

"Mickie," The Animal's voice was still blunt, but there was an affectionate tone to it that softened his words. "That wasn't what I asked."

The former Women's Champion didn't reply. Instead, she stared straight ahead, studying the array of liquor bottle arranged neatly behind the bar. Next to her, she heard Batista sigh. "Listen, I'm going to the bathroom, but when I get back…I want an answer to my question. A real answer." She heard him rising from the stool, and then he was gone, disappearing into the crowd.

Mickie let her breath out slowly. With both hands, she finger-combed her long hair back from her face. The truth was that she didn't have an answer. Tonight, when she'd first approached the Animal and asked him to join her, she'd thought it would be nothing more than two former champions bemoaning their losses over drinks. She'd never expected to touch his hand and feel something.

Or to look into his eyes and realize that whatever she was feeling, it was mutual.

The brunette Diva didn't get a further opportunity to mull this over, however, as a new voice intruded on her thoughts: "Hey, Mick, how's it going?"

Mickie looked up in surprise, and forced a smile onto her face at the sight of the former Tag Team Champion. "Hey, Cody," she replied. "Not too bad; how about you?"

Cody Rhodes swirled the liquid around in his glass before raising it to his lips and draining it. "Great…now that I found you." he answered, his handsome face creasing in a cocky grin.

Mickie felt the corners of her mouth start to hurt from the strain of keeping the smile in place. When the second-generation Superstar had first come to the WWE, the Raw Diva had thought he was sweet, like a puppy dog trying hard to please its master. She had even partnered with him a few times in mixed-tag matches. But once Cody had teamed up with Ted DiBiase Jr., his whole attitude had changed and he now walked around like he was God's gift to women. More than once, he had asked Mickie out, and each time, she had politely turned him down. Of course, unlike right now, she had always had the benefit of being with somebody…

"Lucky me," she answered, hoping that her voice didn't sound strangled. "Listen, Cody, I'm actually with someone right now, so—" But Cody was already easing himself into Batista's empty seat, turning around to face her. He grinned again.

"Finally…I've got you all to myself," he remarked. He frowned a little in disapproval when he noticed the beer bottle in front of her. "Is that all you're drinking? Let me order you a shot…" He raised his hand to signal for the waiter.

"No, really, Cody, I'm fine—" Mickie protested, then fell silent when she felt a large hand come to rest on her shoulder. Cody glanced over, then did a double take at the sight of the Animal, his eyes growing wide.

Batista eyed the second-generation Superstar with mild distaste. He turned his attention to the former Women's Champion. "He bothering you, Mick?"

Mickie looked from Cody to the Animal, relief surging through her body. "No…no, Cody and I were just talking." She gazed back at the former Tag Team Champion. "Isn't that right, Cody?"

Cody gulped visibly, his hand closing around his glass. "Listen, um…I just realized…" he stammered. "My friends are waiting for me…I should probably go…see ya around, Mickie." Jumping off the stool, he practically bolted into the crowd of people.

Mickie had difficulty keeping the smile off her face, and when she looked back up at Batista, she saw that he was having the same problem as well. "What's his problem?" she remarked "You would have thought he'd seen a ghost or something."

Batista chuckled. "Damned if I know." He leaned down closer, and Mickie felt a buzz of electricity course through her as his breath grazed her ear. "Listen, it's getting kind of cramped in this place. You want to get out of here and go for a walk or something?"

Mickie stared back at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yeah…yeah, I'd like that," she replied.

Turning back to the bar, she dug in her pocket for her wallet, but the Animal beat her to the punch, laying a twenty-dollar bill on the counter with one hand and gently taking her arm with the other. "My treat." he remarked.

Helping her down off the stool, he led her out of the crowded bar.

To Be Concluded...