Randy Orton exhaled deeply as he lowered a set of weights to his chest. Slowly he pushed them back up until his tattooed arms were straight in the air. Without a workout partner, he had decided to tone it down a notch and only attempt to bench press 300 pounds, a number well below his personal best. But he continued his routine, wrestling with a much heavier weight…the one on his heart. It had been a week since he had given into temptation and conquered what had been his greatest conquest. He had coveted and damn near obsessed over Memphis Kramer from day one and finally he'd had her…all of her. The actual sex had been all fun and games for him. Getting laid was his favorite leisure activity and in a world where he was used to getting everything and every woman he wanted, the cat and mouse game with Memphis had been a welcome deviation from the usual boredom of easy skirt chasing. He had wanted her for a very long time and was sure the feeling was mutual, despite her resistance and protests to the contrary. She had played hard to get, right down to the very act of physical consummation. And when they had finally given in, the moment had been downright explosive.

Afterwards, they had collapsed sweaty in each other's arms. Within seconds it seemed that Memphis had been out like a light. Normally that was Randy's cue to make his exit, pass out himself, or at the least go make himself a sandwich but with Memphis it had been different. He had laid there and watched her sleep. He had watched the steady rise and fall of her chest. He had traced the soft and feminine line of her jaw with his index finger. The blanket had haphazardly fallen away from her svelte body and for a long time Randy just admired how gorgeous and sexy she was. Then he had gingerly pulled the sheets up to cover her body. Smoothing the hair from her face, he had surprised himself and done the unorthodox, the unthinkable and placed a sweet kiss on top of her forehead. Then had had held her close in his arms as she never moved an inch, obviously succumbing to long built up physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. He had fallen asleep just like that, content and satisfied. At that one moment, it became clear that this was no longer about sexual attraction. He had real feelings for this woman and he hadn't felt like that about anyone since Samantha Speno.

The next morning had brought about a new mood, one filled with regret, guilt, and shame. She had freaked out, which he half expected. Memphis was emotional. Whether she was angry, happy, sad, or scared, you knew how she was feeling because she didn't mind letting you know. When he looked into her eyes, he saw fear. He never let it show but it touched him. He felt bad that she felt so bad but comfort from Randy had appeared to be the the last thing that she wanted. Part of him wanted to protect her, tell her it was going to all be okay but the reality of the situation was that it was not okay. And until she faced her real feelings and made a concrete decision about who she wanted to be with, nothing was going to be okay. Randy grunted and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Working out was a necessary evil. He had always taken great pride in sculpting his physique and it often brought about an hour or so of release from the problems of the real world. But the Memphis thing had greatly distracted him and on the last repetition, he struggled with the massive weight.

"Maybe you should have stuck with 100 pounds, you light weight," came a voice followed by a large set of hands that safely spotted him. "You could always work out with the girls, they should be in any minute."

Randy rolled his eyes as he sat up and reached for a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"And once again, Super Cena saves the day."

John smirked at his friend.

"Somebody's got to. And you're welcome, by the way."

"What are you doing here? What do you want, man?"

John shrugged.

"It's a gym. I came to work out just like you did."

Randy looked him right in the eye.

"Whatever."

John watched as Randy guzzled some water. He acted nonchalant as if it was just another day at the office. Eight whole days had passed and Randy hadn't breathed a word. John had managed to keep his own lips sealed. Instead he had had just sat back and peeped the situation. And what a situation it was. Life behind the scenes at WWE was always like a soap opera but now more so than ever. The others hadn't noticed but John Cena had a unique insight into what was about to come the messiest love triangle in backstage history. He had noticed the change in Memphis. She seemed constantly nervous and distracted and a little sad. She looked uncomfortable around Phil and avoided Randy like the plague. The only place she seemed to be in her element was inside the ring. Phil, preoccupied with his physical rehabilitation, appeared to be oblivious. And then there was Randy. There hadn't been much change in his behaviors but John had taken notice of the quiet way he was always studying Memphis, especially when she was in the company of her boyfriend. It was tense and awkward and nothing good would ever come of it.

"You were expecting something else?" John raised an eyebrow.

"Nope," Randy said casually, as he polished off the water bottle.

John watched as Randy began racking the weights and a week of biting his tongue finally sent him over the brink.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Don't play stupid with me. I've been waiting for you to tell me what's going on. I gave your ass a week and yet you haven't said a word. Been walking around like nothing is going on."

"What are you now, my Old Man or my therapist?" Randy sarcastically chuckled.

John pulled his friend by the arm.

"None of this is funny and if you think it is, you're gonna be in for a real rude awakening. You're playing with people's lives, man…"

Randy looked down at the hand grasping his forearm and roughly pulled away. Anyone else and that would have been immediate justification for an RKO or least a punch in the face. But he and John went way back and shared a bond that was unique to them. Each let the other one get away with things no one else could and this was one of them. But one look in John's blue eyes and Randy knew that he knew.

"So. How long have you been sitting on all this?" Randy folded his arms.

"Long enough. Ever since I saw the immediate aftermath of your handy work last Sunday. I was one of the first people to arrive in Calgary. I know most of you guys took the same flight in. Well one person took an earlier plane and when she got to the arena she was completely frazzled to say the least. Looked like she was having a nervous breakdown or something. I looked at her and all I could think about was all the conversations you and I have been having for months. That time I saw her leaving your bus the day you two decided to squash that stupid beef going on between you. That night at the Japanese steak house. I saw it. Dammitt, I saw this shit coming for miles. I tried to talk some sense into your stubborn ass but you didn't listen. That's the problem, man, you never listen. For a split second I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, that this new positive change inside you was real but I took one look at the way that girl looked at Phil and bust out crying and I knew. I knew what you did."

"That's none of your business, not that anything like that has stopped you before," Randy began in a monotone voice. "But it is what it is."

"It is what it is?" John repeated in disbelief. "Are you silly? What is that supposed to mean? That's a copout and you know it. It's a weak one at that. How could you do it?"

"Memphis and I are adults. We both wanted it. I didn't force her or anything like that, if that's what you're getting at."

John shook his head.

"Of course not. I know that, numb nuts. But you should have stopped it. You should have never put yourself in that situation to begin with."

Randy shrugged.

"Things happened. What can I say?"

"You're right. Things happen. In the moment, it must have been fun. You finally got a piece of the sweet, unattainable ass you've been salivating after for months. And in the back of your mind, you're gloating because you know you got the best of Phil Brooks once again. Sleeping with Maria just wasn't enough, was it? That stung a little bit but it really didn't count because they were broken up at the time. You had to one up it. You slept with his girl and you're on cloud nine about it and you're eagerly waiting for the moment when he finds out, and trust me, he will. But the thing is, then it's not going to be all fun and games."

"Memphis doesn't want anyone to know. She made that more than clear the morning after. I respect that. So if you think I'm gonna go blab to Phil just to piss the guy off, that's not the case. I'm not gonna kiss and tell, not this time."

Randy seemed serious and genuine and for that, John could at least breathe a small sigh of relief.

"Well at least you're doing one stand up thing in all of this."

"Thanks for the support there, buddy," Randy muttered sarcastically.

"Look, we've been friends for a long time. I love you like a brother but you know I'll call you on your bullshit in a second. What you did was wrong. It was more than wrong. It was seriously fucked up. You've done enough to this poor girl. Memphis is a strong one but she's human. There is only so much more that she can take. Using her like that is just downright cruel, even for you."

"I'm using Memphis?"

"Cut the crap, man."

"I know I haven't always been the best guy. Through it all, you've always had my back and I appreciate that. A lot of times it was like you were the only one who didn't see me as some ruthless, heartless monster…"

"Cause I know deep down that isn't the real you."

"You're right. In the past with women, I was an asshole most of the time. I've played games with a lot of hearts, used a lot of people but uh…this time, it's different."

John narrowed his eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"I've always been attracted to her. You know that. You know why. Yeah, at times it may have been about the challenge of actually getting her into bed or getting a dig at that loser boyfriend of hers but when it comes down to it, it's just like I told you in Green Bay. I really like Memphis. I care about her. That means more to me than any challenge or any slap in the face to Phil."

John looked at Randy and saw that he was being sincere, which made it even scarier.

"Okay, I'll bite," John sighed. "You have real feelings for Memphis Kramer."

"I do."

"Okay. Now what? What are you going to do about it? And just what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know. I'm not a fortune teller," Randy snipped. "It's up to her now."

"Randy…"

"She's just fooling herself with Phil. She doesn't love that guy. He's safe. She doesn't want to lose that friendship. She's scared. When she finally realizes that, when she finally decides to own it…"

"Then what?"

Randy just smiled.

"Then I guess we'll just have to see, won't we?"

With that, Randy threw his towel at John and walked away. John just bit his lip and cursed. Things had just gone from bad to worse.