Disclaimer :As much as I wish otherwise, I do not own Randy Orton or any other entity associated with WWE. I can only claim property rights of OC.

The Galleria Mall was bustling , even considering the mid-week timing. Most of the stores were filled with tourists and mall-walkers. The four of them had separated after making plans to meet back at the food court. Claire made a beeline for the escalators. The first place she needed to stop was Victoria's Secret. She was making sure she marked the necessities marked off the list before she ran out of time. Her trip to Victoria's was followed by a mad dash into Old Navy and then Macy's.

Claire was out of breath by time she made it back to the food court. She'd made it with a few minutes to spare. Scanning the gathering crowd, Claire dropped into a chair. She had found everything on her list and a few things that weren't. She had bought the cutest black dress at Macy's. She really shouldn't have bought it but a girl never knew when she'd find herself in need of a little black dress.

"Finished already?" Claire startled at the sound of a male voice so close to her ear. She looked up to find Cody leaning over the back of her chair.

"You scared the crap outta me."

Cody laughed and sat across the table. "Sorry."

"Make some noise next time, will ya? You took ten years off my life."

Cody laughed, taking in Claire's serious expression. "Did you leave anything in the stores?" Cody nodded toward her mountain of purchases.

"I only bought what I needed!"

Cody arched brow and counted all the bags. 14. Wow – she might think she was never going home again. "I'd hate to see you pack for vacation."

Claire looked down at the cascade of bags. Maybe Cody did have a point. She'd bought more than she'd realized. Which presented a problem. She had less than 6 hours until the next flight. How the hell was she going to get all her goodies to L.A.? Damn. That was a problem.

"Do you think the airline will let me claim all of this as carry-on?"

Cody really laughed at that. "Only if you put it all on and wear it."

What was she going to do? Maybe she should have marked a few things off the list before starting. Claire's eyes moved around the food court as she thought about her problem. What she needed was another suitcase. Surely in a mall this size, there had to be a luggage store. Claire grabbed her purse and stood suddenly. Bag'n Baggage was only on the second floor. She'd have plenty of time to go there and get back.

"Can you watch these for me? I need to grab one more thing."

Cody watched as Claire darted toward the escalators. He watched as she disappeared. The girl had way too much energy. Cody leaned his chair back on two legs, linking his hands behind his head. He hoped she would be back before Randy and Ted showed up. He really wasn't in the mood to listen to Randy's mouth. His luck wasn't going to hold out for long. He could make out Randy's form coming toward him. Ted was with him. Damn, Claire was going to catch another round of crap for being late again. Randy stopped just in front where Cody was sitting. His eyes moved over the collection of bags at the other man's feet.

"Since when do you wear Old Navy?" Randy dropped into the chair Claire had vacated. Randy moved the bags around, looking at the store logos. He moved aside the bag from Macy's and grinned. "What do we have here? A little something from Victoria Secret? " Randy arched a brow and picked up the pink-striped bag.

Cody leaned forward, trying to grab the bag from Randy. "Come on, man. Put it down."

Randy moved the bag out of Cody's reach. Cody was tempted to lean over and knock the smirk from his friend's mouth.

"Let's see what we have here." Randy pulled out the pink tissue paper. Before Cody could stop himself, he stood and grabbed the bag from Randy. No way in hell he was going to sit there and let Randy go thru Claire's purchases. Especially something from THAT store. Randy'd never let Claire hear the end of it.

"I said no." Cody sat back down, tucking the bag out of reach. Randy leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his chin. Now isn't this interesting? Cody was dead set against him taking a peek in the bag. Could it be Cody was more interested in the person wearing what was in the bag??? Yep, things are definitely getting interesting.

Claire stopped in her tracks. SHIT! She was too late. She took in the scene before her. Randy was sitting with Cody. Ted was nearby, talking on his cell. Slowly she made her way over to them. Claire set her newly purchased suitcase next to her bags and knelt on the floor. She hurriedly began shoving the bags in. She didn't want to keep them waiting any longer. Claire blinked slowly as Cody handed her the pink-striped bag. What the hell? What was Cody doing with her bag of undies? Claire arched a brow but took the bag without speaking. She glanced at Cody, watching the looks passed between him and Randy.

What the hell happened while she was gone? Claire glanced back at the pink bag then again at Randy. Slowly she closed the suitcase. Surely Randy hadn't been low enough to go thru her things. Had he? Her gaze moved to Cody, and saw the muscle ticking in his jaw. She looked back at Randy and saw the pink tissue paper under his chair. HE HAD! The jerk had actually been low enough to open her bag. Before Claire could stop herself, she stood and took a step toward Randy. She didn't realize she had raised her hand until she felt Cody's cool fingers wrap around her wrist.

"You're an asshole, Orton!" Claire spat the words she'd been thinking since the minute they'd met.

Randy grinned and leaned back in his chair. "Is that what you think?" Claire tried to raise her hand again. She was going to knock that shit-eating grin off him if it was the last thing she did. Cody pulled against her, stopping her before she actually made contact with Randy's cheek.

Ted snapped his phone closed and strode over. "Problem, Cody?"

Taking a step back, Cody pulled Claire with him. "No, no problem. It's time to go."

***A/N – Can you feel the tension yet? As always – please read and review ***