Chapter 20- PS I Love You

Randy

The definition of the word depression was simple. Depression is basically termed as feeling sad, hopeless, worthless, or pessimistic. You see it displayed on TV shows and movies, and every now and then you hear about someone being "depressed". You may even call yourself depressed at one time, but not knowing how far from the truth you really are. But seeing John in the back seat, slumped to the side, face against the window, I knew the actual definition of depression. This Casie situation was taking more of a toll on him than he was trying to let on. But he was failing miserably. The moment John had returned without Casie, I knew that he wasn't the same. That something was off. My heart went out to him. I couldn't even imagine trying to be in his shoes. Trying to think of Lora in the same position as Casie, and I with John; I didn't know how John was making it day to day.

Even Lora knew John wasn't right. I saw her, all throughout the plane ride to Texas, watching John closely; as if at any minute he would explode. And I wasn't quite sure that he wouldn't snap. And even now, as we rode in a rental car to the arena, I saw her turn her head slightly, like she was making sure John was still in the back. Lora was worried about him. She was worried about me. She was scared for Casie. And it showed on her face; and in her eyes. I sighed, trying my eyes away from the rear-view mirror, as we pulled into the parking lot. Nothing was said as we piled out of the car, and got our bags for the nights' show. John nodded to the both of us, mumbled something about getting to his dressing room before the meeting with the general manager. Lora and I stood there, at the end of the car, watching him slink away.

"Heartbreaking, isn't it?" came Lora's voice, bringing me from my thoughts. I looked down at her, noticing the funny look in her eye. I nodded, and wrapped an arm around her waist, towing her off towards my own locker room.

The walk was a silent one, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Lora rested her head on my shoulder, reminding me just how perfect she fit to me. I ignored the stares we got as we walked through the halls. Especially from the Diva's. I had heard the stories and ugly rumors that they were trying to spread. I also knew that Lora didn't know any of them; because knowing her temper, she would have acted on them already. But with Casie gone to keep them at bay, the women weren't trying to hide their jealousy or envy any more. It was actually funny, sometimes, to think that those women were trying to catch my attention. Because, albeit, they were beautiful, every single one, none of them compaired to Lora. Not even close. Not of those women would put me in my place when I needed it. Not one would care for my best friend the way Lora is now. Not one makes my heart race the way she does. I pressed my face into her deep red hair, breathing deep. I smiled, coconut. I opened the door to the locker room, and let her in first. Finally, we were safe from prying eyes.

I sat my bag down and walked over to the mini-fridge and grabbed two bottles of water, handing one to Lora.

"I have a meeting soon to discuss tonight's Raw," I said, taking a drink of my water. "If you don't have to go get ready for work just yet, you can come sit in with me?"

She smiled at me, unscrewing the lid from her bottle, taking a long drink. My eyes were drawn to her lips, and how she placed them on the bottle. I watched as she licked the excess of water from her lips, leaving them shining in its wake. My heart picked up, just by watching these simple actions. I turned away from her, to calm my racing heart.

"Life is short," Lora said, and I heard her voice take on a tone that sent a shiver down my spine. "This situation proves us that much." She was a lot closer now.

I felt her hands snake around my waist, and she snuggled herself to my back. We had a meeting in twenty minutes; we didn't need to go down this road. But when I felt her soft hands on my stomach, all thought flew out of the window. I let her hands glide up and down my stomach. Suddenly, it was too much, and I needed her in front of me; I needed to see her. I grabbed her hands, and pulled her around my waist, and my lips were instantly on hers. Her squeal of surprise was cut short. I tasted her sweet mouth, and she had the hint of mint. I groaned into her mouth, clutching her tighter to me. Reaching down, I grabbed one of her legs, hitching it around my waist. Then she pulled away from me.

I looked at her in surprise, wondering what I had done wrong. But Lora just smiled at me, and grabbed me by my shirt and I let her push me up against the wall. She pressed herself against me, kissing me. I tried to deeped the kiss but she would always pull away. I had the thought that she wanted to be in control. And that was fine by me. It didn't take long to realize where she was going with this. When she raked her hands down my chest and her face disappeared from my view, I closed my eyes. I couldn't stop her now if I wanted too. It felt like an agonizingly long time before I felt her hands start to undo my belt. I shivered as her fingertips brushed my skin. My jeans were painfully too tight, and she was taking too long to remove them. It was taking all of my patience not do it myself. But finally I felt the button being undone and Lora slid the zipper down.

I was outside my body. It was like I was outside myself watching Lora slowly pull down my jeans. It was almost instant relief when I wasn't confined anymore. I had to brace myself against the wall. She slid her hands slowly back up my legs, squeezing my thighs. My breath was coming in ragged pants. A groan slipped from my throat when I felt her fingers slip beneath the elastic of my boxers. She revealed all of me and I was slowly losing my mind. I had imagined this a thousand times, but I never pictured Lora being this forward about it. I would have never asked her; when it came to stuff like this, she was a little gun-shy. Or so I thought. Lora grasped me with her hand softly before letting go. She traced my length with her fingers up and back down. I wasn't going to last much longer.

"Lora," I groaned.

That seemed to be all the reassurance she needed. My hands balled into fists as her tongue came into contact with my heated flesh. God, she knew what she was doing, and she was doing it well. From base to tip, her tongue explored me, sending waves of heat up my spine. Her hands traced the definitions of my hips, sending my nervous system into overdrive. It had been a long time since I had a release of my own. I closed my eyes, and laid my head against the wall as her lips closed around me, nearly taking my breath away. I moved my hands to her hair, feeling the soft layers of red between my fingers. She slowly began to take my length in scope of her mouth. I felt her tongue move around my heated erection as she took more of me deeper in. Then she began to pull away, and repeated her movements, leaving me completely helpless, clinging to her hair, and barely able to stand. No women had ever made me feel this completely wonderful and completely helpless at the same time. I felt my body starting to tense and I knew the end was near, and so did Lora. So she re-doubled her efforts to drive me over the wall. And it worked. My back tightened up, and I moaned as Lora sent me over the edge into complete ectasty. From head to toe, I felt the pulsing rush of heat running through me. The room disappeared and all that I knew was Lora and me and my pleasure.

When I was finally released from my orgasm, I collapsed against the wall. I felt Lora slid up my body, her hands softly running over my stomach, until she came into view. She had a wicked look in her eye, and she was smiling softly. Something clicked in my head; I had just been seduced. I should have been irked by that. The old me was never taken by surprised by a woman. But I smirked at her, and wrapped my arms around her, pulled her tight to my body. She could seduce me whenever she wanted too.

oo

When we finally made it to the meeting, we were fifteen minutes late. I usually hate to be late, but this time I didn't mind it one bit. I opened the door for Lora, and I had to bite back my laughter as I watched her nervously fix her hair, and straighten her clothes. The girl meant the world to me, but her acting skills needed work. If there was one way to get caught in the act, it was to show up late, and fiddle with your hair and clothes. And right now, she was two for two. I spotted two empty seats between the new girl, Edoin O'Bryan, and John. He must have saved them for us.

"Nice of you to show up Randy," the new General Manager, Brett Hart said. I saw him raise an eyebrow at Lora and me, and thankfully he didn't comment any further. I don't think Lora would hold her tongue; she was known to have a temper on her. I watched Lora blush a light shade of pink and wave off a question from Edoin, who was smiling dangerously at her. I heard John make a noise from beside me and I looked over to see him smiling at me. I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face. I rolled my eyes and forced myself to look at our new GM.

"As I was saying before Randy came," Brett said, and I had a feeling that was a direct shot at me. I saw Lora shift nervously in her seat from the corner of my eye, and I heard the short outbreak of soft laughter. I tried not to look too guilty as Brett continued to speak.

"Raw will start out with the confrontation between Edge and Evan. Then, Adam will go on his rant, breaking down all four opponants for the Fatal Four way match. Because the main event is Orton and Cena vs Edge and Sheamus. Then, that's where you come in Randy," he looked to me. "You will come out to the ring, and let Adam rant to you some more. I don't want you to say anything. Just out of no where, 'RKO' him."

I nodded, and looked across the table to Adam who rolled his eyes at me, causing me to smirk. I felt Lora fidget uncomfortably, and looked down at her. I knew what her problem was. She wasn't so sure about me being in match so soon, much less being in action at all. She was worried, and I could see it. I squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"But, Edge will retaliate to your actions," Brett said, interrupting my moment with Lora. I pulled my eyes away from her, to look back at the GM.

"What do you mean?"

"You will have a backstage spot in front of your locker room door, with Zack Ryder. He has a running joke tonight with the guest host, Ashton Kutcher, and he thinks that you might be his assassin. But when you tell him off, Edge will be waiting in your room, and slam the door against your shoulder."

"What?" came a voice that I didn't except. It was Lora. I looked down at her, and saw that the worry that had been there had intensified and now it was tinged with anger; anger at the man that had suggested this. I must admit that I didn't like the idea of having a door slammed against my shoulder, but there was nothing I could do about it.

"It'll be alright," I whispered to her, squeezing her hand. She pulled it from my grasp. My hand felt slightly wrong without hers in its reach.

"No, I don't think that's safe," she said, her eyes glinting. "You're still healing."

"Lora, stop," I said softly. I didn't like to see her so upset. There was nothing that I could do about this now. I tried to make her see that through my eyes. I tried to make her see that this was my job. Finally, I saw the flames fade out, and she crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't going to protest any more. Not a comprimise that I was happy with, but one that I was going to have to live with.

oo

"That 'RKO' wasn't too harsh, was it?" I teased Adam, as he sat down on the couch in my locker room. Raw had begun, and things were going as were planned. I had the TV set on the live feed for the arena, and we were watching the events before either of us were needed. Of course, the next time we both would be needed, would be right here in this room; or rather, right outside this room.

"Very funny," Adam said, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Not nearly as funny as Hart calling you out earlier. But I have to know, was there any truth behind that?"

I sat down on the opposite side of the couch, mimicking his actions by stretching my legs out. I was really trying to buy me some time to think. How much was I allowed to tell? How much could I tell without embarrassing Lora? Because I wasn't fazed by letting anyone know, but I knew her position on things like this was more than slightly different than mine.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess that just depends."

Adam laughed softly. "Depends on what? You were never any good at baseball, Randy. So, did you get some practice in today?"

I scoffed. "I am major leagues, my friend. But, I didn't get the chance at bat today." I turned my head to side to shield the look the memories from earlier brought to my face.

"Didn't get the chance, or wasn't allowed to?" Adam countered. I bit back my laughter. I wasn't about to tell how close to the truth he actually was. That, I knew for sure, would be too much for Lora.

"Does it matter?" I smirked. Adam seemed to think about it for a minute before smiling.

"No, not really," he laughed, adjusting his sweatband on his wrist. I noticed that I had never seen that one before.

"Where did you get that one?" I asked, pointing to his wrist.

"Oh, it was sent from one of my fans. I don't normally keep the gifts, but I really liked this one."

Just then the door opened and Matt Korklan walked in with John behind him. John had sweat soaking his shirt, so I assumed that he just came from the on-site gym. I surpressed a sigh, knowing that this was how John was going to cope. He was going to push himself, nearly to the limit, and if that meant everyday in the gym, then so be it. I eyed them both as they walked further into the room.

"Hey man," John said, his voice gravelly, as if he hadn't used it in the last three hours. "Do you mind if come to watch the feed from here? Something's messed up with the cables in my room, and Matt wants to watch Edoin's match."

I shook my head and motioned for them to find some place to sit. We were running out of spaces. I moved to a foldable chair and let John have my place on the couch. Matt perched himself on the arm of the couch next to Adam, and they had already begun talking about something that I couldn't hear. So, I turned my attention back towards the live feed. The next match was a Diva's match. Edoin vs. Nikki Bella. The Bella twins came out first, Brie accompaning her sister. They had long wavy brown hair and were absolutely identical. Well, normally. Tonight, Brie was dressed in regular street clothes, while Nikki was in their usual attire; the bikini style top and booty boy-shorts and knee-length boots. They had this outfit in varying colors, and tonight, Nikki opted for red.

"Tonight I break away,

Break!
Away from everybody
Break!
Away from everything
If you can't stand the way this place is
Take, yourself to higher places…"

There was a pop in the crowd when Edoin ran out. The WWE Universe was really enjoying having a Diva from Ireland. The boy shorts she was wearing wasn't nearly as short as her opponants, and were a solid pale green in color with a swirling lilac purple pattern weaving about on the fabric. Her top was a short tank top style, and stopped just below her chest and had the same design as her shorts. Her shiney red hair flew wildly about as she ran to the ring. She had the fighting spirit of our deemed "Celtic Warrior" Sheamus, but thankfully, not the personality. When she put her submission hold, "First Ede", which was iconic figure four. I knew all too well the pain that move could bring, but I had rarely seen it preformed by a Diva. Edoin was definitely out to make a name for herself, and fast. By the end of her match, I had mentally added her to the list of women to not piss off; of which the list consisted of two, Lora and Casie.

"Randy," Adam said, pulling me from my thoughts, "It's time for our spot."

I groaned. I wasn't really looking forward to having a door slammed into my shoulder. I walked out of the room, leaving the guys behind, and found Zack Ryder and Alicia Fox were already there, ready for the Ashton Kutcher/"assassin" slot. I absolutely could not stand this guys new gimmick; something was seriously wrong with the corporate headquarters when the best slogans they can come up with is "Woo woo woo." I tried not to show my anticipation while the camera was rolling. But it was all I could do to not flinch when I heard Adam whisper his cue.

Blinding pain ripped through my body, and I was instantly on the ground. I was barely aware of Adam still carrying on with the spot, and walking away. All I knew was the excruciating feeling traveling from my shoulder and spread in all directions. The tingling sensation crawled down my forearm and across my back. It was all I could do from not letting go of a string of words that would definitately not qualify as the PG era Raw was in now. I almost cried out in happiness when the cameraman called the shot to a close.

"Shit," I mumbled, trying to sit up. John came out of my room, and was at my side in a flash. I had almost forgotten he was in the room. I felt him take my left arm and wrap it around his neck. The next moment I was on my feet. But it was like Over the Limit all over again. Every little move sent waves of pain from my shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get you to the trainers," John said, as he let go of me. He eyed me quickly, as if I was uneasy on my feet. I couldn't force the words out, because I didn't trust to open my mouth to let the sounds of pain betray me. I just nodded, and followed along side John.

By the time we made it to the trainers' room, there was already a group of people waiting on us. Several men in black shirts rushed to me, ushering me to a table, while Brett, John, Adam, Matt and the surprise arrival of Vince circled around me.

"I hated to do that to you man," Adam said, and I knew he meant it. Though, even his sincerity didn't take away the throbbing pain in my shoulder. I just nodded in his direction, knowing that he would understand.

"How do you feel?" Brett asked. I looked at him incredulously. I'm sure he just witnessed me writhing in the floor in pain, and he doesn't know how I feel?

"Like someone just stabbed me in the shoulder with an ice pick," I grumbled, rubbing my hand over my face. My day was just getting worse; and to think of how great it started.

"Are you going to be able to compete tonight?" Vince asked, butting up to the front of the group. I thought about it, and tried to weigh the pros and cons. I figured my shoulder should start feeling better within the hour, and I had a job to do.

I nodded. "Yeah, just give me thirty minutes or so, and an ice pack with some Aleve an-"

"No."

Every head in the room turns toward the door. It was Lora. Her long red hair was pulled half-way back away from her face, and her bangs were slightly falling in her face. Red stained her cheeks, and her eyes were bright and shined against the flourescent lights. I would have been happy to see her, if she hadn't looked so angry.

"Lora?" I asked, not really sure if I wanted an explanation. She huffed, and passed everyone, breaking the circle, to stand next to the table I was sitting on.

"First, are you okay?" Her voice lowered, and her eyes softened. I smirked at her, watching the blush deepen on her cheeks. I enjoyed the fact that that wasn't because she was angry.

"Nothing you can't help me with," I whispered to her, and I saw her nearly smile and she cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Good, then second, I didn't say anything when you foolishly went along with willingly getting yourself hurt, but I can't sit around and let you do this. It's idiotic, and testosterone-fueled and not thought out," Lora ranted, all in one breath. I pushed back the thought that she was so cute when she was angry.

"Lora, I'll be fine," I said, trying to reassure her. Her eyes glinted dangerously. I had never seen her like this. Well, I've seen her angry loads of times, but this seemed different. She was acting different.

"Yeah? You said that last time, and if I heard correctly, your pain level is an 'ice pick stabbing'."

"Excuse me, Miss Pierce," Brett interupted. I glanced at him in confusion. "It's not of my buisness, and I mean no offense, but it's Randy's desicison. It's his job."

I knew that he had totally sad the wrong thing by the look in her eye. Her whole demeanor changed. She stood up straighter, and her eyes narrowed at Brett. I felt a sudden wave of angery towards the man. That was twice today that he had run his mouth where it was unnecessary.

"Fine!" she spat out at Brett and turned towards me. "Go on with your match if that's what you want. Get hurt worse, and just keep building up that recovery time. With any luck you'll still be hurt at Fatal Four Way. But don't expect me to sit around and watch your stupidity! I have a job too! But don't come crying to me when you end up a gym teacher in St. Louis all because you wouldn't listen to reason!"

And with that, she turned on her heel, and stalked out of the room, leaving the rest of us in stunned silence. Then Vince started to cough, but his coughing soon turned into laughter. I looked up at him with narrowed eyes. This wasn't the time for laughter. He waved me off with a hand.

"It's just that, I always knew I liked her."

oo

I stopped outside the door, pausing for a moment to catch my breath. I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds around me. Loud noise usually calmed me, because I was around it all the time. It was comforting. It was silence I couldn't stand. Steeling my nerves, I turned the knob and stepped into the room. Lora sat at her controls, head bent over a stack of papers, her walkie-talkie at her side. She didn't notice me approach at first, and I was afraid that I was going to scare her. She hated that so much, and I didn't want to start this off badly. Then an idea struck me, I slipped my phone out of my pocket, thankful it was on silent mode, and found her number, and hit the call button. I heard it ringing and waited for her to pick up.

"Cause you're all I want, You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want you're all I need"

Her phone rang out from its spot on the switchboard beside her. But I was momentarily caught up in the choice of ringtone. The soft tune and the words ran into me like a wrecking ball. My brain was in a daze. But when Lora snatched the phone up, and sighed, I knew I was going to have to pull out all the stops.

"What Randy?" She answered the phone without even looking at it. So, it must be a personalized ringtone. I couldn't help the smile that was on my face. I heard her voice in the room, and through the phone.

"Turn around," I said, and I watched her shoulders tense. I knew what she just heard. My voice through the phone and my voice in the room. Slowly, she turned around in her seat. I removed the phone from my ear and placed it back in my pocket. I met her glare with a soft gaze. I knew she was still going to be angry with me, and I was ready for this. Lora gestured her phone at me, and I knew her unasked question.

"I know how much you hate me sneaking up on you." I did notice the falter in her stare, as her eyes softened ever so slightly. I stepped closer.

"What do you want?" Lora asked, crossing her arms across her chest. "I have work to do."

I smiled at her. "I know that. That's why I'm here. I need to tell you that you need to load Evan Bourne's music."

"Why?" Her head cocked to the side in confusion, causing some of her hair to fall over her shoulder, distracting me. I had to force myself to stay on topic. I had a mission to accomplish here.

"Because," I said, pausing for a breath, to build the antipation, "he's taking my place in the main event."

I watched her face carefully. And ever so slightly, as the news sunk in, the anger seeped out of her beautiful features. I didn't get to see what replaced her anger, because she launched herself out of the chair at me. I noticed that she was careful of my right arm, but she clung her body to me. I could feel her heart beat against my chest. I wrapped my left around her waist, pulling her as close as I could. I was expecting to have to gravel more than I did, but I'll take what I can get. I almost complained when she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Lora whispered. "I was so ugly. I don't hope that you're still hurt by Fatal Four Way, and you can cry to me all you want to if you become a gym teacher."

I brushed her cheek with the back of my hand. "You were right though. I didn't need to fight tonight. And I'm glad that I listened to you. And I know you didn't mean any of those things. Your temper matches mine sometimes," I laughed softly at her.

Lora stepped back further. "It's just that I have so much to deal with right now. And I know that's not your fault. But you're the only constant thing that I have right now, and I don't want you to reinjury yourself worse. When I think about you hurt," she closed her eyes, and her breathing picked up. I was mildly reminded of her actions on the elevator. "I just can't stand it. I get these pains in my chest, and that is all your fault. Oh Randy, it's just that I love you and-" but she gasped and covered her hand with her mouth. Her eyes were wide with fear.

My whole body reacted to three small words. My heart seemed to expand against my ribcage, and press painfully for an escape. I could hear it pounding in my ears. I heard Lora whimper and looked back into her deep green eyes. I couldn't tell anything from those eyes but fear, and I instantly hated myself. I took a step closer to her, trying to maintain control of my body.

"Do you mean it?" I asked, my voice was gruff. I hadn't intended it too, but Lora always seemed to respond to it. I watched as she closed her eyes, nodding her head. Then the needy part of my body took over my senses. The one time was not enough, I needed more. "Say it again."

Her eyes popped open, staring at me with a sort of resolution I came to expect from her. "I love you Randy."

I was flying. She finally said what she acted out. I became frustrated with the empty space between us. I wasn't going to be happy until I had her lips under mine. And that's just what I did. I reached out with my left arm, pulling her to me, and brought my face to hers. It wasn't long before she reacted to me, circling her arms around my neck. I didn't heat up the kiss; I just kept the repeating, simple pressure of my lips against hers. I pulled away, and buried my face in her hair. Never would I have imagined in all this pain, could come something so pure.

"I love you Lora."

A/N

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your condolences for me and my family. I really appreciate it! I love you guys!

And heat heat heat! Everyone loves it! =D and can we say, FINALLY, they said it! I love you! About time, right? I know! Lol.. I have one more chapter to write before I'm caught back up.. so, not too bad, right? Lol

Eisac Namhort, Duchan Mandic, Christina89, JoolR, Dreamin'BIG, AshleyBabe86, SuperStar89, Viper-Desi, KimmieCena, Xandman216, Thiala, Barnsley Gal 09, roknpstergrl, miamitravel, southern. dreamz and , southerncharm21, Cecilyyy, undermyumbrella, babyxbxgurl, hardycenagrl and Krista Hardy thanks for the reviews! Much love much love!