Okay peeps.. I know it's been...a while since I updated this story and I feel very bad about it. I just got blocked on it and I didn't want to force something that I didn't think was good. But I've reread it and the plans for the rest and I have a renewed love for this story and it's characters. I just hope my readers haven't completely lost interest. This first chapter isn't the most eventful but I wanted to ease back into it. I will do my best to update regularly from now on. And be expecting an update of Truth In Deceit this week as well. As always, Read, Enjoy, & Review!!!!!
Chapter 35...
2 Weeks Later…
"Well that was fun," Trish said as Matt and Jeff walked her out to her rental car.
"Nothing that involves us waking up at 4 AM is fun, Trish," Jeff corrected her. "Nothing."
Trish laughed, shaking her head. Jeff did love his sleep, that much she'd come to learn in the time that they'd been friends. She'd found it rather amusing when they were informed that they would be participating in a radio interview the morning of Summerslam. Matt didn't really seem to care either way but Jeff was none too pleased. The interview had gone well though. Trish and Matt did most of the talking with Jeff interjecting whenever he could manage to stay awake long enough to keep up with the conversation.
"So Trish…is Raquel coming tonight?" Matt asked.
Trish raised a brow at the expectant look on Matt's face. Before she could answer, Jeff was talking.
"Yeah, she's coming with Brianna."
Matt and Trish both gave Jeff a surprised look.
"What?" Jeff shrugged. "I talked to her last night.
"You did?" Matt seemed caught off guard.
"Yeah," Jeff answered. "She called to make sure we made it in okay and we didn't need a ride from the airport."
"She didn't call me," Matt said.
"Probably because she called me," Jeff shrugged. "You know some people tend to think if they talk to one of us it's as good as talking to the other."
"Yeah," Matt laughed sheepishly. "I guess."
Trish eyed the exchange between the two brothers. She wasn't sure if it was because it was so early but Jeff seemed completely oblivious to what was going on and she was wondering if it was her place to tell him.
"Hey Matt, I think I might have left my cell phone in there," she said, patting her pockets. "Would you mind getting it for me?"
"Sure," he looked a little confused but shrugged, "I'll be right back."
"Okay, that was obviously fake," Jeff pointed as Matt walked back into the building.
"You can spot that but you don't see what's going on here?" Trish stared at him.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"You didn't notice how Matt just reacted to Raquel calling you and not him?" Trish asked. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Jeff shook his head. "What are you talking about?"
"He was jealous," Trish insisted. "Clearly."
"Jealous of what?" Jeff laughed. "It was a welfare check. She might as well be social services."
"But she's not," Trish said. "I think Matt has a thing for her."
"Well if he does, it's got nothing to do with me," Jeff put his hands up. "That's between the two of them."
"Are you sure about that?" she asked.
Jeff nodded, "Positive."
"Good job man," John said, offering Randy a hand to help him up after spotting him.
Randy frowned, pushing away his hand and sitting up on his own. For the last two weeks, John had been unusually pleasant at their morning workouts and it was starting to grate on Randy's nerves. John usually harbored a healthy dislike for anything and everything before he ate his first meal of the day. Lately he'd been spreading politeness and love around like Mary Poppins.
"What is your problem?" Randy asked.
"What?" John laughed.
"Your problem," Randy said. "What is it?"
"I don't have a problem," John shrugged. "Do you?"
"I do," Randy said. "My best friend has turned into Glinda the good witch and it's bothering me."
"I don't know what you're talking about man," John shook his head, opening a bottle of water. "So I've been in a good mood, what's the big deal?"
"Good moods are fine, floating around on cloud nine is suspect," Randy pointed. "Are you high?"
"No I'm not high," John laughed.
"Then what's the deal?" Randy asked. "I can only think of one thing that could have you all giddy like this and I know you're not getting…..Brianna."
John turned away when Randy stood up.
"That's what it is, isn't it?" Randy asked. "Something happened with Brianna."
"Brianna is engaged," John reminded him.
"Yeah and something tells me you two idiots have decided to overlook that," Randy shook his head. "I cant believe you."
"What?" John played innocent. "I haven't confirmed anything."
"You're not denying either," Randy pointed out. "What happened?"
"That's none of your business," John smiled.
"You got some," Randy accused him. "I know you did, I can see it in your eyes."
John shrugged.
"You know you're an idiot, right?" Randy asked.
"Why am I an idiot?" John asked, beginning to seem annoyed.
"You're fucking a cop's wife," Randy explained. "Not very bright."
"She's not his wife," John insisted. "And she's leaving him. As soon as the time is right."
Randy shook his head, "I hope for your sake that time actually comes."
Raquel watched as her Brianna and Rob led the dancers through some of the most difficult movements she'd ever seen. Her sister's talent never ceased to amaze her. Sure, Raquel had rhythm but she couldn't do the things Brianna could. She'd tried to take one of her classes once and gave up halfway through, feeling like a complete and total klutz.
"Not too bad," Brianna clapped her hands, smiling at the young couple once they finished the number.
"That was awesome," Raquel smiled at them. "Don't listen to her."
"They have no choice but to listen tome," Brianna laughed. "She may be right though, you guys that was almost flawless. I think we're done."
Both dancers hugged Brianna and waved to Raquel and Rob before exiting the room excitedly.
"That was great," Raquel commended her sister. "Can we go eat now? We're supposed to meet Trish and Maria at the hotel."
Brianna laughed, "Yes, we can go."
"So," Raquel looked over at her sister. "Have you talked to John since he flew in last night?"
"John?" Brianna thought about it for a few seconds. "Uh, yeah, he called to let me know he made it in but we didn't talk for too long."
Brianna started looking through her gym bag and Raquel frowned. She was avoiding something.
"It'll be nice to see him tonight," Raquel said. "He's been so busy with all this Summerslam promotion, he hasn't had an off day."
"Yeah," Brianna found her keys, nodding as they walked down the stairs to the front door. She shrugged, "I doubt I'll see him all that much. Once we get to the arena, I've got run throughs with Brooke and the dancers and he's gonna be working on his match so…We probably wont talk much."
"Are you okay?" Raquel asked, wondering why Bri was going so far out of her way to explain why she and John wouldn't talk.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Brianna insisted. "Why?"
Raquel sighed, putting on sunglasses as they walked outside. She would get to the bottom of this. Maybe not right that second but before the day was over.
She shrugged as they reached the car, "Nevermind."
3:00 PM
"Come on, I wanna go see John before you get whisked away to work," Raquel said, pulling her sister's hand.
"You go, I'm just gonna-"
"Bri, you're coming with me," Raquel insisted. "Don't be silly."
Brianna smiled, nodding, "Okay, sure, I guess I have time."
Raquel let go of her hand as they reached the locker room where John and the other guys were getting dressed. She knocked on the door and waited until someone told her to come in.
"Hey, I didn't know you were coming tonight," Randy smiled as she walked into the room, giving her a quick hug.
"Brianna," he nodded at her sister.
"Hi," Bri waved politely.
Raquel looked around for John and spotted him standing near the back wall, phone pressed to his ear. She walked over to tap him on the back when she heard a sound coming from Brianna's purse. She looked over her shoulder at her sibling but Brianna seemed to be looking around as if she couldn't tell where the noise was coming from.
Raquel frowned, clearing her throat. John turned around and smiled, quickly closing his phone and tossing it into his gym bag when he saw them.
"Hey!" he smiled, hugging Raquel tightly. "How are you?"
"Good, good," she looked up at him. "How are you?"
"Good," he smiled. He cast a glance over her shoulder at Brianna. "Bri, how ya doin?"
"Not too bad," she shrugged.
"You two are acting weird," Raquel said.
"We are?" Brianna looked surprised.
"Well yeah, I cant remember the last time this guy was happier to see me than you," Raquel teased, noting John's arm that was still draped over her shoulders.
"Brianna knows I'm always happy to see her," John said, walking over and giving her a quick hug.
After a few minutes of catching up, Raquel's interest was piqued. John and Brianna weren't acting normal. They weren't stealing glances at each other and staring at each other like love struck teenagers the way they had been for months. It seemed like they were going out of their way to avoid any kind of physical contact and Raquel could count the number of times they'd looked at each other on one hand.
"I heard we were being invaded by little people."
Raquel turned to see Jeff walking into the room with a gym bag over one shoulder and a plastic bag in his hand.
She smiled in spite of his knock on her height, "Jerk."
"Glad you could make it," he walked over, dropping the gym bag and pulling her into a hug.
"What's in the bag?" she asked.
"Face paint," he answered. "What else?"
She shook her head, "I will never understand you."
Jeff said hi to Randy and John and gave Bri a hug before returning his attention to Raquel.
"You look great," he smiled, obviously pleased at the sight of her face without bruises. The last ones had finally cleared up and Raquel couldn't have been happier. She was still dealing with everything on the inside but at least she didn't look like she'd been in a 12 round boxing match anymore.
"Brianna, can I talk to you for a minute?" John asked quietly.
Brianna nodded, "Sure."
The two excused themselves from the room and Jeff looked at Raquel, confused, "What's up with them?"
Raquel shrugged, "That's what I've been trying to figure out."
Brianna followed John to a room down the hall. He opened it and gestured for her to go in first. Once he was in the room, he locked the door behind them.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.
He didn't answer, simply putting his hands on the sides of her face and kissing her passionately. She returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as his hands traveled down her sides and gripped her hips. After a few minutes, Brianna reluctantly pulled her lips from him, resting her forehead against his, "Sorry I left so early this morning. I had to get Raquel and be at the studio before 9."
"It's okay," he shrugged. "I slept in. You wore me out last night."
She laughed, rolling her eyes. She'd picked him up at the airport and then he convinced her that since it was so late, she should just spend the night at his apartment. They hadn't actually gone to sleep until 3:00 AM.
"I'm exhausted," she yawned.
"Well, at least this is the last week everything will be so damn busy," he reminded her. Brooke's Summerslam performance would be over in a few hours and Brianna would be done prepping the So You Think You Can Dance contestants for their tour in 2 weeks. After that, Brianna would be getting a few weeks of much needed rest.
"I know,." she said. "But I'm gonna miss being on the road with you."
"You can still come," he smirked. "Vince has offered you a job like three times now. I promise, I don't mind."
"Yeah, I'm not hurting for money but I don't wanna keep paying for hotel rooms I'm not staying in when I don't have to," she laughed.
"Then don't," he said. "Let's just tell everyone."
She sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"And I just killed the mood," he said as she took a step away from him.
"I'm sorry John," she apologized. "I know how hard this is for you. I just….I cant do it yet. I don't know how to."
She could see his jaw clench and she looked away, feeling guilty. Being with her had to be frustrating for him. She was with him but she wasn't. She was his but she lived with someone else. He was showing an extraordinary amount of patience, putting up with her fear of losing Maya and she just hoped that he could give her a little while longer.
"If you know how hard this is then you're gonna put an end to it soon, right?" he asked, his tone stern.
She nodded, "I will. I promise. I just need to figure out the best way."
"Okay," he nodded.
She ran her fingers over his strong jaw before placing a kiss on his cheek, "I love you."
"You better love me," he tried not to smile as she kissed his other cheek, then brought her lips close to his.
"I do," she smiled, her mouth just barely grazing his.
"Come here," he said, impatiently grabbing her and pulling her into another kiss.
"I think they went in here," Raquel said pointing to a closed door down the hall from the locker room.
Jeff tried the knob, surprised to see that it was locked.
There was a window a few inches from the door but the blinds were closed.
"Maybe we should just go," Jeff said, taking a step back. "I mean, maybe they're…having a discussion about..something."
"Discussion my ass," Raquel insisted. There was a tiny bit of space left open by the blinds, just enough to see in from the correct angle. Raquel pressed her face against the wall, peering into the room. Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted John and Brianna. Actually, all she could really see was John's back and Brianna's hands but what they were doing was no mystery. Her sister had some serious explaining to do.