*Ducks head* So, it's been a while and I suck. I kept writing and rewriting this chapter. I don't know why this one was so difficult for me to write, but alas it was. Anyways, I know you don't want to hear my excuses so please read on! I hope you like this chapter (I enjoyed writing it once it began to flow) and please leave me a review! I promise to try and do better about faster updates!

Maria stalked down the halls of the Allstate Arena the next day with one thing on her mind. She had just come from the women's locker room where she had been accosted by Eve, AJ and Layla about last night's events. After getting back to the arena late last night she had assured everyone that she was fine and made no comment on the fact that Phil was the one who had taken her to the hospital. Apparently Phil had not been so tight lipped because after telling Kofi about their 'almost kiss' as Eve called it, Kofi and turned around and told his girlfriend, Layla and so it began. Nothing was ever a secret for long in the WWE and the news of the possible relationship between the WWE Champion and the new girl was spreading like wildfire.

'This is exactly what I wanted to avoid' she thought when she passed some production crew members who's conversation got suspiciously quieter when she walked by. It had been like this since she arrived an hour earlier, only now she knew why and she was going to find the man who started it. By the time she finally got to the door with 'Men's Locker Room' written on it she was fuming. Without knocking she barged in causing several pairs of eyes to widen at the site of her.

"Whoa! Knock much?" Randy Orton asked, only partly joking as he made sure the towel around his waist was secure.

Maria quickly realized her mistake and covered her eyes, face turning bright red. "Sorry! Um, is Phil in here?"

"Right here." Phil's voice came from only a few feet in front of her.

Removing her hand from her eyes she leveled him with a glare that would cause most people to run scared. He smirked. "We need to talk."

"Anything you have to say to Phil you can say in front of us." Randy teased, receiving his own death glare from Phil.

"Fuck off, Orton. Come on." Phil led Maria out of the locker room ignoring Randy's "I thought we were close" comment.

Maria walked into an empty room across the hall and as soon as the door swung shut Phil found himself pressed against the wall, the red head's forearm against his throat.

"What the fuck are you getting at telling Kofi that we 'almost kissed'?!" Maria hissed, enjoying the shock on Phil's face at their sudden change in position. Her training had its perks.

Once the initial shock of being held up against a wall by a 110 pound woman passed, Phil found himself enjoying their new position. They hadn't been this close in a while. "What are you talking about?"

Maria huffed. "Oh, don't do that. You know exactly what I'm talking about! I just finished having to explain to the ENTIRE Diva's locker room that there was nothing going on between us. So I'll ask you one more time, why would you tell Kofi that we almost kissed?!"

"Wow, you're really pissed about this." Phil said, squirming when Maria's forearm pressed harder into his windpipe.

Seeing the slight discomfort on Phil's face, Maria relaxed and took a step back. She hadn't even realized she was applying any force. "I'm sorry." Maria apologized, embarrassed.

Phil rubbed his neck. "Don't worry about it."

Sighing Maria sank down onto the bench against the far wall. "You make me crazy, you know that, right?"

Phil chuckled. "I can have that affect sometimes."

Maria rolled her eyes. "Look, you can't be going around and telling people that we almost kissed. We didn't."

"I didn't tell people, I told Kofi." Phil tried to defend.

"Who told people!" Maria threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "I get it, okay? You don't care what anyone else thinks, but I do. And I can't have people walking around thinking something is going on between us."

Phil ran his hand over his face. He truly did not understand this woman. He had hoped after last night things between them had changed; that she had finally decided to let him in. Obviously he was wrong. Walking over to where she was sitting he crouched down so they were at eye level. "I'm sorry people found out about last night, but you can't honestly sit there and say that you don't feel something for me."

"Don't you get it? It doesn't matter if I feel something for you because I can't." Maria knew she was walking a thin line and this conversation had the potential to go either way. Did she like Phil? Absolutely. Was she attracted to him? If the way her body was screaming at her to close the distance between them was any indication, then yes. She was definitely attracted to him. "I don't even know you." Maria didn't realize she'd said that out loud until Phil answered her.

"Then get to know me."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is."

Maria felt her resolve waning. She had to get out of there, put some distance between them. "I've got to go."

Phil stood with her, blocking her exit. "You can't just keep running away."

"I'm not running away."

"Then what are you doing?" Phil questioned a little louder then he meant to.

"I'm doing my job!" Maria spit back.

"You keep going back to that. But what does that mean?"

"It means I can't get involved with you."

"Is that another one of your boss's rules?"

"No Phil. It's my rule." Maria could smell the soap he had used for his shower and it was only then that she realized how close they had gotten. Again. It's like there was some sort of magnetic pull between them because every time she stopped paying attention she found herself next to him. His hazel eyes bore into hers with an intensity that made her want to look away, but she refused.

"There's one thing you should know about me right now." Phil said.

"What's that?" Maria asked, still refusing to back down.

"One of my favorite past times is breaking rules." And with that his lips were on hers. It took Maria about half a second to register what was happening before she responded. His lips were soft, but insistent and Maria hummed her approval. The cold metal of his lip ring contrasted against the warmth of his lips and without any conscious thought her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him closer. Phil's hands fell to her slim waist, his thumbs pressing into her hips when he felt the tip of her tongue trace the seam of his lips. Immediately he granted her access and he groaned when their tongues met for the first time. His hands roamed lower, grabbing her perfect ass and lifting her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He walked them to the bench she had just been sitting on, never breaking away from her lips, and sat down. Maria straddled him as his lips moved along her jaw and down her neck letting out moan of approval when he found a particularly sensitive spot. Just as Maria pulled his mouth back to hers there was a knock at the door.

Phil pulled away, expecting Maria to jump out of his arms like she had been shocked but didn't. Breathing deeply Maria stared at Phil until the person outside the door knocked again. "Are you gonna get that?"

Phil couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he shouted, "What?" to the person who had interrupted them.

"Phil what are you doing in there man? It's almost time for your match." Kofi Kingston's voice came through the door.

Maria stood up. "You tell him about this and I'll kill you." She threatened under her breath, hoping Kofi couldn't hear her.

"Yes ma'am." Phil winked.

Maria shoved him toward the door, ignoring the shit eating grin on his face. "Go on. You've got a crowd to entertain."

"I'm going, I'm going." Phil walked to the door and opened it. "Come on man let's go before she kicks my ass again."

Maria laughed at Kofi's surprised and confused expression. "Don't ask."

Kofi looked between the two of them and shook his head saying, "I don't even want to know" before walking down the hall.

Maria looked at Phil. "Have a good match."

"I'll do my best." He said, starting after Kofi.

"And wipe that smirk off your face!" Maria called after him.

"Not gonna happen!"

Maria rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see her as he disappeared down the hall. As soon as he rounded the corner and was out of sight her mind went into overdrive. The logical side of her brain was screaming at her that she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. Nothing good could come out of a relationship with Phil. He would be a distraction and could end up compromising her mission. He could end up compromising her. But, despite all of that, despite the risk Maria couldn't help but feel like she had never felt anything so natural before. Like they had known each other for years, not weeks. Her mother had always told her that when she met 'the one' she would know it and as a child she had always questioned how. How did you know something like that? Now, in this locker room, she thought maybe it wasn't about knowing, but about feeling. Because what had just happened had felt more right than anything she had ever done before. With that in mind she made her way back to the women's locker room. Only time could tell.

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