I am going to go ahead and apologize right now for something that some of you may notice and others may not. I was writing this story from the third person view and it just wasn't flowing as I had wanted, it didn't feel right. You will notice from this chapter forward that it will be in the first person. I feel like much of the writer's block on this came from me not being happy with the flow of it all. I may eventually go back to the previous 29 chapters and redo those to be in first as well, but that is a TON of work and I'd surely miss some corrections and so on. Volunteers to do so? Lol! Anyway, thank you all for reading, bear with me on this POV change, and please as always leave your comments and reviews!

Chapt. 30

Claire—2 Weeks later

I was sitting at my desk, in my office at the Performance Center when the phone rang. "This is Claire," I said, answering.

"Hello, Claire, it's Steve. How are you feeling?"

I sighed hearing my bosses voice, so kind and caring. He'd known of the split with Joe and I, and he had been wonderful. He'd pulled me off of the road, relegating me to the performance center in the weeks since. "I'm well actually, thank you. I'm much better than I was in fact."

"I'm glad to hear that. I actually called for another reason today. Now, please, know that you can say no if you wish, but I'd like to ask you to think over what I'm about to present to you before you give me a definitive answer. As you know, the WWE is going overseas in the next few weeks. Italy, France, England, and Ireland. We have a few of the NXT guys who will be on that tour with them. I'm calling to offer you a place on that tour as well."

I was silent a minute, mulling the man's words over. "And just what exactly will my purpose be on that tour?"

"Well, officially, you would be there to scout the readiness of the two NXT workers as they work their two or three matches. It would be much like here, you'd observe performance, mic work, that sort of thing and work up a case for them stating if they should be pulled to the main roster yet or not."

"So, basically what I hear from you is that I'd be on a paid vacation in Europe and all I have to do is watch a few matches and tell you what I think."

I heard him sigh and knew that I'd touched more to the truth of the matter than he'd hoped I would. "Look, technically that isn't it all," he said. "You would in fact be doing some work, so, it wouldn't qualify as a vacation. However, if it did, you more than anyone deserve it. You've been a loyal and hardworking employee for over three years at this point and have yet to take one single day off or as a vacation. Think about it Claire, that is all that I'm asking you to do. Go, work when you have to, then relax and just clear your head. You have a week to get with me with an answer." He disconnected the call leaving no room for a response.

A vacation huh, I thought. I truly couldn't remember the last time that I had taken one of those. Too long. That was how long it had been. I was being offered this amazing trip practically for nothing, and would even be getting paid to go. I knew in my head that I'd be a complete fool to pass that up.

I shook my head as I organized the loose papers on my desk and packed up the work for the day. I wanted to get home tonight. Matt was leaving out tomorrow for some more shows and I wanted to spend some time with him before he left. I was walking out of the building, passing by the workout area, when I heard this laugh that stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't even explain to you why, but it got my attention. In fact, it gave me goosebumps. It was almost like a good whiskey, smooth yet had a fire to it that made me want to see where it had come from. I couldn't take that time today though. I had an hour and a half ride home to get some hang time with my friend.

TAMPA

"Matt you really did not have to go to the trouble of cooking dinner you know," I said when I saw the plates all nicely set.

He grinned that grin only he had as he said, "It was no big deal, really. I missed you and knew you'd be hungry."

I started to tell him how wonderful it smelled and how it made my mouth water to just look at it waiting on my fork to dig into it, then I glanced at the trash can. Ahhh yes, take out. "So, should I get the number off that boxes and call and thank wherever this came from?"

His head jerked up and I saw him blush as he stuttered over his words. "What do you… I mean I… you think I… well hell. How did you know?" He was laughing at this point.

I laughed with him as we sat to eat. Over dinner I filled him in on the offer of the working vacation as I had come to think of it since the call. I told him all about how I wasn't sure if it was something that I was going to do yet or not and laughed out loud when he looked at me as if I had suddenly sprouted another person from my side.

"Wait just a damn minute. You don't know that you want to go? Are you insane? I mean, if it's that big a deal, we can change spots and I'll go," he laughed.

I shrugged. "I mean I likely will, I have wanted to get to Ireland. It could be fun."

"Could be? No doll face, it absolutely will be!"

We talked long after our plates were empty. He told me about his work these days and about this guy he'd met but that nothing seemed to be coming from it at all. We talked about life in general and then he brought up me moving to Orlando and doing away with my drive for work.

"It really makes sense Claire. You're there more than you are here. I'm a big boy and I promise to take great care of this place. And we can always plan our weekends for hanging."

"I'm not saying that there aren't valid reasons for me to move out there, there's more than a few. I guess I've just gotten so comfortable being here. This space, the town, all of it. I like it here, even with the memories that are here, I like it."

"Maybe it's time you get out and make some new memories. Good, happy ones."

I shrugged my shoulders and yawned. "I'll think on it."

We both stood then and did the few dishes in silence. He took out the trash, I started the dishwasher, and then we both stood, staring at each other, and yawned, big, loud yawns at the same time.

"I guess that means we need sleep huh?"

I smiled at him. "Well, I can't speak for you, but I damn sure need some. Goodnight Matt. Please wake me before you leave tomorrow okay?"

"You're off work?"

I nodded and headed for the stairs and my huge comfortable bed. I was more than ready to lay down and just get lost in sleep. After I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair up into a loose braid I headed out of the bathroom and climbed up into the mounds of pillows and thick blankets and snuggled down. I sat my alarm, knowing that if Matt saw me sleeping he'd not wake me. It was just his way. I knew his excuse too. "You looked too peaceful and you don't get enough sleep as it is", same as he always told me when he failed to wake me. He had my best interest at heart though. Before I sat my phone down on the nightstand I sent Steve an email.

"I've talked it over with the people who matter and thought about it and all of that good stuff. I'll go on this tour. Also, out of curiosity, is this performance center stuff going to be more permanent? I'm trying to make some life decisions that need that answer. If I am honest, I prefer it I think. I like the road, but I love home."

I hit send and sat the phone down, turning over and pulling the comforter up to my chin, snuggling down into it and closing my eyes. Just as I slipped into the blanket of sleep, I heard that whiskey laugh again, taking me under, into dreams.