I tried to put off writing this chapter, because I wanted to slow down some.. And I guess 4 days is the best I can do.. lol

Oh, and just so you know, there's 2 more chapters before the wedding: this one and one more. And let me tell you, I have had soo much fun planning this wedding. There will be tears, fuzzy feelings and laughter! So, stay tuned! Anyways, on with the chapter!

Chapter 8- The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things

Randy

The days flew by for me while staying at my parents. Almost as if I blinked, and woke up to find that it was Saturday and Lora and I were already in California for our run there. I never liked leaving my parents, but it wasn't so bad this time. Because I knew that in seven days, I would see them again. In exactly one week from now, Lora and I would be getting married. I checked my watch, with the hands telling me it was around one in the afternoon. This time text Saturday, Lora and I would be married. The thought made me shiver. She would finally be mine, in the last possible way I could tie myself to her.

Stepping out of the cab, at the arena for our off-air event, I zipped my jacket up against the harsh cool winds of California. This state was supposed to be the warmest states in winter. The sun was shining brightly, but did nothing to fight the winds whipping around us. I saw Lora, how was getting out on the opposite side of the cab, wrapped her thin shawl tightly around. I quickly made my way towards her, pulling her into my chest. I hoped that my body heat would ease the chill. She leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder. Ever since the start of her pregnancy, a trip by plane wore her down fast. It was still early in the afternoon, and I could tell she would gladly accept a bed right now. I worried about her health in the situation she was in and all the traveling we did. I didn't want her determination to perform her job, and the unwillingness to leave me affect her condition. She would be so much better at my house, but I knew early leave was out of the question for her. Or, our house really. I smiled to myself, remembering that conversation where we talked about her moving in with me, and await the birth of our baby.

Vince wouldn't take no for an answer when he insisted that a month before her due date, that she would have to go on leave. She huffed about that for a week, much to my amusement. And Vince cut me a break, arranging an injury for me to get into at the same time, so I would have three months off to be with Lora and the baby. Lora got over her sulkiness when I shared that bit of information with her. I had two months before I wasn't wrestling three days a week. And three months before my son came into this world. I leaned down and placed a kiss on Lora's head as we entered the warm arena. I couldn't believe that it had almost been five months since Lora told me she was one month pregnant. The days slipped by, so fast it seemed. Time was only bringing me closer to the moment where we would, finally, have our child. And I would never admit to anyone, especially Lora, that I did have my slight feelings of fear.

It wasn't because I was having second thoughts about having a child. Nor was it that I wasn't completely thrilled that Lora was carrying our son. No, it was my own insecurities. My own fear that I wasn't going to be a good enough father for my son. I had an excellent example growing up. My father was the be all end all of role models. Something that I'm still reminded of to this day. Point proved at Thanksgiving, when he offered to walk my fiancée down the aisle. I was beyond speechless at that moment. And the look of utter shock and wonder that shown from her eyes when she accepted, was something that still is etched in my memory. However, I am not my father. I have made mistakes that I know I shouldn't have. Things that I have done, that I am ashamed of. I would never want to lead my child down the same road I took. The only thought that comforted me, was that Lora would be by my side, to tell me when I was doing wrong.

I walked Lora to her titantron room, not wanting to leave her there. She just looked so tired. I sighed, and headed back to my locker room. The solitary of the room did nothing for my haphazard thoughts. The only thing I could do, was to over concentrate of getting myself ready for the show. And I welcomed the sound of the door opening, meaning I was no longer alone.

"Hey man," John said, flanked by Matt and Adam. I carefully sat in a metal chair, not wanting to get the couch greasy from the oil on my body. I watched as my friends sat on the over-stuffed leather sofa, all dressed in the in-ring attire. "What are you doing after the show?"

"Nothing I guess. Probably head back to the hotel with Lora. She looks drained today," I commented, bringing her back to the forefront of my brain. I looked up to see all of them smiling, and John shook his head.

"Not a chance. Casie and Edoin will stay with Lora tonight. We," John laughed, pointing to him and the other two, "are taking you out tonight."

"Like a bachelor party?" I summed up. Even though it was a rhetorical question, John smiled and nodded his head. "Man, I don't know. The weddings' not for another week. Isn't that supposed to be celebrating my last night as a single man? It doesn't really make sense, when I'll have another six nights."

"I know that," Adam said, throwing his opinion in, "but, with the two of you leaving the Tuesday after this Raw for the resort to finalize everything, we won't have any time to have this."

Despite my own efforts, a smile crept across my face. The idea of going out with the guys, to have one hell of a night, certainly appealed to me. It had been too long, way too long since I had gone out with just the guys. Though, I didn't like the idea of leaving Lora alone. But if she was in the company of Casie and Edoin, I felt mildly better. I finally gave in, and agreed to let them take me out. Although, it sort of scared me that they wouldn't tell me what they had planned. They didn't stay long, and soon John, Adam and Matt were headed towards the door. I hastily called Adam back into the room.

"I have been sworn to secrecy, so I can't tell you anything," Adam laughed as he headed back into the room. I laughed softly, shaking my head.

"No, that's not what I wanted, though it would put me at ease a little," I smiled, earning a laugh from Adam. "No, I wanted to talk about you and Lora, and what happened last week."

The smile fell from Adam's face. "I am so sorry that I dragged Lora into that; you have no idea-" I cut him off. He was getting the wrong idea.

"Wait a minute; I don't blame you for anything. You had no idea of messed up that Jessica really was. It could happen to anyone. No, I just really wanted to thank you. Lora told me about how you tried to protect her from Jessica. That you even stood in front of her when the gun was aimed at her." All of this had been on my mind since Lora and I had talked. But I just haven't found the right moment to have this conversation with Adam. I watched as he blinked, taking in my words.

"I—um, you're welcome," Adam said, and I could tell that he was reliving that night; something that I wished he wouldn't do. "She reminds me of my sister. That fiesty attitude and big heart. I couldn't let anyone harm her. That, and that she's pregnant."

I fought the shiver that tried to run through me. I hated to think about that night. If something would have gone wrong, or awry, I would have lost my whole world. Just the thought, shook me to the core. Forcing me to realize that my world no longer revolves around only me. But Adam's words made me smile. His description of her was absolutely correct. And how he thought of her as his sister. I didn't know if Lora knew it, but she was gaining more brothers the longer she is in this business.

oo

After the show, I was back in my locker room, showering the baby oil off. It was one of the pains of my character that I had gotten used too. I towel-dried, and pulled my streets clothes back on. I left the bathroom, only to find that my locker room was full of people. The first person I noticed was Lora, stretched on the couch, her legs lying in the laps of both John and Adam. Matt, Edoin and Casie were all sitting around them. I walked to the side of the couch, and ran my fingers through the red strands of Lora's hair. She looked up at me sleepily.

"So, I hear that you have a bachelor party tonight?" Lora mused, as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. I smirked down at her, wondering who had told her. I wouldn't deny that I was happy that she already knew about it. I really didn't want to be the person to tell her I was going out tonight. I nodded my head. "Do I need to mention that I don't approve of strippers?"

Laughter rippled around the room, and I rolled my eyes at Lora's turned back. John held up his left hand, and put his other over his heart. "I promise, no girls were hired for tonight."

I saw Lora smile at John's over-assurance and went to stand up. I didn't need to help her this time, but I did pull her into my arms. The rest of the group gathered by the door. "I don't have to go if you don't want me too."

Lora shook her head, smiling up at me. "Go. I want you to have fun before you are sentenced to be shackled to me forever."

I rolled my eyes again. Lora couldn't have been any farther from the truth. To think that it would be my punishment to be married to her was laughable. Completely ridiculous. I gently kissed her on the corner of her mouth, giving her something to think about until I got back. "Call me if you need me, promise?"

She smiled. "I promise."

Our group walked out of the arena together, but we didn't leave together. We waited in the cold night air, making sure the girls got off safely. Then I felt hands pushing me on my back. "Finally; now, let's get this night started!" John exclaimed.

I growing ever more worried the longer John became excited. He was up to something, and I'm sure it wasn't good. I ws tossed into the back of John's rental SUV, with Matt beside me, and John drove us out of the parking lot. Adam plugged his iPod up, and started blaring songs that were my favorites; Queen, Led Zeppelin and Metallica. They had really done their research about me. The radio jammed out as we drove through the streets of California. John pulled off onto a road that was less populated, and drove for another fifteen minutes before he turned into a well-lit parking lot.

We all piled out of the car, and I looked around. In front of me, was a stretch of field about the size of a football field. But scattered all around on the grass were several empty wooden spools; the kind that heavy wiring would have come on. And in the very middle was wooden shack with two open door ways on either side. The next thing I noticed about all the wooden structures, they were all covered in splatters of different colored paint. I grinned widely, looking back to John.

"Paintball?" John nodded, laughing as he drug us to the office building. I had never seen paintball set up to play at night. But there were several high-standing stadium lights all around us, making it easy to see.

Soon, we were all fitted in our protective gear; pants and long-sleeved jackets of various shades of black and another color. The color of our outfit determined the color of ball. John was in yellow, with yellow paint; Adam had red, with Matt getting blue. I chose green. I held my helmet in one hand, and the gun in the other, and waited for John to talk again.

"Okay, the object is to get to the wooden shack," he said, pointing to the center of the field, "and fetch the object that's inside. The first one back to their starting positions is the winner."

I was just about to ask what inside the shack when a whistle sounded from somewhere above, signaling to get in your starting positions. Matt and Adam walked to the other end of the field, and John took one corner of the side we were on, and I took the other. I fitted my helmet in place, and moved my neck from side to side, to get used to the helmet. There was another whistle, and I ran into the field, automatically ducked behind a spool, as I heard John shoot in my direction. Yellow paint splattered on the spool in front of me, and the ball exploded on impact. I narrowed my eyes; if that's how John wanted to play, then he would get it. I peeked around the wood, and saw John sneaking around in open space. I smirked, and my gun, and shot. John hollered out in the night sky, and held on to his arm. I laughed and ran from my spot to the next spool in front of me.

And that's how the game went on; for the next thirty minutes John and I would shoot at each other, trying to get closer to the shack. John managed a shot on my leg, spraying yellow all over my clothes. The pain shot through me, causing me to falter and prop against a wooden spool. The next thing I knew, I was in front of the shack hiding behind the last spool. I looked around seeing no one around. I assumed that Matt and Adam were engaged in a fight someone on the other side. I ran from my spot, escaping a yellow paintball as I went. As the rules went, if you were in the shack, it was like home base. No one could shoot at you. I looked around the empty shack, for the object John had mentioned. My eyes landed on a chair, and I groaned.

"You have got to be kidding me?" I rolled my eyes at the inflatable doll in the chair. They had in her dressed in a shirt and shorts, with painted on red hair. Apparently, this was a game of damsel in distress. And I didn't miss the connection between myself and the game. And again, Lora ran through my mind. But, not wanting to be the one to lose, I picked up the doll, squeezing it under my arm, and readied myself to run back.

Now that I was the one with the doll, I was fair game for everyone else. I slid behind a spool as all three colors, red, yellow and blue whizzed in my direction. Without looking, I aimed the gun behind me, and pulled the trigger. I heard Adam yell from behind me, but I didn't wait there to see where I had hit him. I took off, in the direction that I had arrived in. Paint was flying everywhere, and I was ducking and hiding behind everything I could. But I looked up, and saw the boundary line. I shot out behind me, hoping to fend off my attackers, and raced for the line. And when I was five feet from the line, I felt an impact that sent me tumbling over the line. Not caring that I had won, I yelled out in pain. I reached around, rubbing my hand in the paint, and found that my glove was covered in yellow paint. I heard a whistle ring out, signaling the end of the game. I looked around and saw that the guys were taking off their helmets.

"You shot me in the ass!" I called out to John, pulling my helmet off, letting it drop to the floor. John doubled over in laughter, along with Adam and Matt. I looked around at the three of them, all covered in multi-colored paint. I rolled my eyes, and held up the near-lifesize doll in my hand. "Oh, and very funny."

Their laughter did nothing to help me stay mad. I soon was laughing along with them, and headed back to change into our street clothes. I had thought that the game would have been the ending of the night, but I was wrong. John drove us back into the life of the city, and found a local bar. Adam got us a table out of the eye of everyone, but we were still able to see the action. I gingerly sat down on the uncushioned wooden chair. My backside was beginning to sting from the paintball impact. John ordered the first round of beers, and we just sat talking for a long time. About round five, Adam looked at his watch.

"The entertainment should be here any moment," he laughed towards John. I looked with wide eyes between Adam and John. Matt was silently laughing between them. I wouldn't think that he would find this funny, being a married man himself.

"Are you trying to get me into trouble?" I groaned, and contemplated pleading with them. Being on my fiancée's bad side, so soon before the wedding, was not what I wanted. I turned to John. "Dude, you promised Lora no girls."

John laughed at my expression. "Who said anything about girls?"

And before I could move, or think about the words that had just came from his mouth, I heard music begin to play. Music that sounded so familiar to me. John stood up and grabbed my chair with both hands, and turned me around swiftly. There, standing in front of me, was short man with dark brown hair, that was cut short. A black velvet bow tie was around his thick neck. He was dancing in front of me, with his shirt off, squirting oil all over his front. His large, hefty stomach bounced around and jiggled with his every move. Chris DeJoseph, otherwise known as "Big Dick Johnson", stood dancing to his music in front of me. I tried to get up from my seat, but John and Adam held me back. I groaned, not wanting to watch. But it was like trying not to watch a massive car pile up on the freeway; impossible. I shook my head violently as Johnson slipped his hands into his pants. And with a swift movement, he ripped his pants from his body, leaving only the skimpy, almost invisible yellow thong in its place. I struggled harder as he jiggled and shook more in my direction. I closed my eyes, and tried to look away, but I felt hands on my face, forcing me to watch.

And after what seemed like hours, he finally stopped dancing, and I had to force myself not to think about the near-lap dance I just received. I turned my chair back towards the table, and downed the rest of my beer, as the guys all laughed around me.

oo

I slipped my room key into the slot, and pushed the door open when the light turned green. I noticed that Casie and Edoin were still awake, but sitting on the foot of the bed, talking quietly to themselves. My eyes roamed over to see Lora, curled up on top of the covers, fast asleep. I whispered a good-bye to the girls, and they left the room. I headed immediately for the showers. I wanted to wash off the dirt from the paintball game, and the oil from my "stripper". I walked back into the bedroom, after slipping on some boxers, and gently shook Lora awake. I didn't want her to get cold because she was on top of the blankets. She groggily stood up, so that I could turn down the bed, and I helped her crawl back in, and wrap up in the warmth. I went around to the other side, and slid in beside her.

"Did you have fun?" she mumbled softly. I turned towards her, pulling her back against my chest. I murmured "yes", in hopes that she would just go back to sleep. She needed her rest. But, knowing Lora, I knew it wasn't going to be that easy. "What did you do?"

"Don't worry about that now, there's pictures," and I fought off the groan at the idea of anyone seeing those. She turned around to face me, and I rolled over on my back. But I hissed in pain, because this position was not at all comfortable for my battle wound.

"What happened to you?" Lora asked, noticing my pained expression. I returned to lying on my side, smirking down at her. Her eyelids were dropping dangerously.

"John shot me in the ass."

"Oh, that's nice," her words garbled by her sleep. I struggled not to laugh at her, because she clearly didn't hear me right. But, then, her eyes popped open, and stared at me with alarm. "Wait, what?"

I ran my hand across her cheek, trying to soothe her fears. "We went to play paintball."

Lora's look of distress quickly turned to amusement, and she giggled softly. I pulled her close to me, and I watched as she fell back asleep, with the smile still on her face.

oo

I laced my boots up, while waiting for my match in the locker room. This day was slipping by so slowly. I wanted to get the next two days over with, so that Lora and I could get to the resort, and relax before the wedding. I left the room, with fifteen minutes to go before my match. I was so caught up in my thoughts, that I didn't hear anyone calling my name, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Casie behind me. I smiled in hello.

"So, did you boys have fun last night?" she laughed, and walked next to me down the hall. "We didn't get a chance to talk last night."

I smiled, thinking back on my party. "Well, I enjoyed up all up until John hired 'Big Dick Johnson'," I laughed along with Casie.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I was tempted to give you a little heads up, but John would have been disappointed."

I was about to retort that she should have warned me, but the scene my eyes landed on when we turned the corner stole all thought from my head. John was about thirty feet in front of us, ready for his match. But there was a woman standing right behind him, with her hands over his eyes, matching him play a guessing game. She was a little taller than Lora, with long dark black hair. Her tanned skin gave away her ethnicity. I watched in confusion, as she walked in front of him, still blocking his eyesight. My mouth dropped open as he wrapped his hands around the woman's waist, pulling her in for a kiss. A kiss that wasn't your average friendly hello. I didn't know how long I stood transfixed at the scene before me, but I heard a strangled noise coming from next to me. I looked down and saw Casie, staring wide-eyed at her boyfriend kissing someone else. I had nearly forgotten she was next to me.

I cleared my throat loudly, causing John to tear himself apart from the dark-haired woman. He blinked rapidly, staring at the woman, then turned his eyes in our direction. He had a dazed, unbelieving look in his eye. I felt the air move around me, and I turned to see Casie running off in the opposite direction. And I stood torn, not knowing which friend to go too. What in the hell has John done? was all I could think.

A/N

So, did yall love the bachelor party? It was very amusing, yes? But, I hated to end it like this. There was no other way! I swear, I don't like being cruel like this. I won't keep you waiting too long. I promise! REVIEW please!

KimmieCena, Xandman216, Queen Islanzadi, babyxbxgurl, xLou26, miamitravel, Eisac Namhort, undermyumbrella, alana2awesome, barnsley gal 09, littleone999, FireFlyFlicker, vipergirl86, Bingobaby and dreamin'BIG keep up the love!