Thanks therealchamps, Ty, and 1222mercedes1222 for the feedback! This is officially the most chapters I've ever written for a story. Enjoy (:

Muscles and veins filled Alyssa's view as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning. John was sprawled beside her with a crisp white tank and navy boxers that exposed much of his skin to the cold air. It was a pleasant surprise for his girlfriend, one definitely better than what she got last night. Not only had she missed three consecutive calls from him, but when she entered their hotel room at midnight, he was no where to be found. There was also no answer when she called back which summoned her waiting until past the one a.m. mark. Her hippocampus couldn't recall how or when she fell asleep, but she knew it wasn't with him beside her.

Fortunately, that didn't matter now. The past held no relevance, and they were together again.

Alyssa pulled her mass closer to his body, eager to feel his warm flesh beneath her skin. As an attempt to stir him out of sleep, she trailed her hand up his firm abdomen, chest, and neck before planting a wet one over his lips. He groaned and moved away in response. Firmness between his eyelids remained, and she knew he wasn't going to wake easy. It must have been the late night.

An internal battle ensued as she struggled to decide if she was going to let him sleep or not. She missed him. She missed him the second he left her at the gala; but now he was here, and she wasn't feeling much better. Maybe it was her stomach still full from last night's hefty feast. Maybe it was the lack of company in bed last night. Maybe it was her dream, or nightmare, of Neal Toretto.

The little details of the dream pooled into memory and suddenly Alyssa was seeing Neal's eyes and lips and long fingers and even his wavy hair neatly slicked back. He was just standing there, not doing a single thing as she went on with the rest of her euphoric life with John. She kept seeing him, but he still did nothing, and the last time she looked back, Randy stood in Neal's place. It didn't make sense. The dream didn't make sense. And as she laid beside John, who was still fast asleep, she willed herself to think of reality instead of circling back to the confusion.

Alyssa rose from the bed and pushed the plush white covers off her upper half. She bent her legs in order to fully free herself of any bedding before stepping foot on the roughly textured carpet. The stack of scripts that Jackie handed her yesterday was staring from the coffee table, willing to be a distraction.

The sound of metal clashing together reverberated around the room as Randy finished a dead lift. A thick veil of sweat dripped down his heavily inked limbs, bringing moisture to his tanned skin. His throat, on the other hand, had been pretty dry, and he couldn't help but cough a couple times as he stared at the weights below. Typically, his workouts were a time full of physicality and a time free of mental stress. Neither was the case this afternoon since his phone had been completely void of Candy. It worried him. For the past few weeks, without fail, Candy and him had built the tradition of talking to each other first thing in the morning. They did this through different forms of communication whether in person or with an electronic device. His personal favorite was her in-person wake up calls where she'd knock on his door and jump his gun. Her energy was intoxicating and substituted the coffee well. It was officially late into the afternoon now, and he still hadn't heard back from her. He'd texted her before he slept and as soon as he woke up.

Unable to concentrate, Randy bent down to gather his belongings and trudged his way out of the hotel gym. His body felt heavier today, and it was making him falter with each step. This total 360 turn from yesterday was alarming. Just 24 hours ago, he was at utter ease. The meeting with Sam went well.

"Shit," Randy muttered. His thumb slid over the elevator button, emitting red light from the arrow. "Sam. Did she see me with Sam?"

He mentally cursed himself as the elevator walls enclosed him. He reached for Candy's floor button and watched as the numbers above his head grew larger and larger. The metal barricades split in front of him, willing him to step out and make his way closer to the room.

The walk was silent and heavy, and when he finally reached her door, discomfort began to church deep in his stomach. He brought his hand into a fist to knock. Absolutely everything remained the same, and there was no answer. The grip on his duffle bag grew tighter as he waited in agony.

"Candy, it's me-"

The door abruptly swung open, bringing the woman in question into view. She was dressed in a white baggy shirt and blue flannel pajamas, the appearance of comfort betraying the distraught tinged on her face.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Randy." Her tone was flat and void of emotion.

Randy knew those familiar words; they often escaped a woman's lips and were often a lie. "Can I come in?"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Candy's limp hold on the door knob grew more firm.

"No. I came here to be with you." Randy walked into the room and loosely dropped his belongings on the floor. He figured whatever it was she was feeling, he'd bare witness.

"Oh?" Candy slammed the door shut. She spun towards Randy. "That wasn't the case last night, was it? And you couldn't even call me back?"

"No." Randy calmly waited for her to say more. He wanted her to let everything out before he dared to mull over his own feelings.

"No, because you were with someone else. I saw you!"

"Candy-"

"I fucking saw you."

"Yes, I was with somebody else last night."

"And you say that like it's no problem?"

"I didn't know I had to report my every move to you-"

"You went in her room!"

"She was my wife, okay?"

A struggle appeared in Candy's face as she tried desperately to assimilate what the man had just said.

"I was with Samantha. She wanted to catch up, and so we did. I'm sorry you saw that and was hurt, but I wasn't doing anything wrong. Her and I just talked. That's it. It's like me going out with the guys."

"That's not the same, Randy. It's your ex-wife we're talking about. You couldn't even warn the woman that you sleep with every single night? You didn't think that was important to tell me?"

"No, I didn't," Randy said.

Alyssa crossed her arms and shook her head.

Randy stepped closer to her, his eyes warm and pleading. "But I do now."

"Well-" Candy crossed her arms and stood straighter. "Since we're telling stories now, I have to say, a good did come out of you leaving me hanging last night."

Randy didn't like her choice of words, but he was pleased to see her mood pick up a slight. He pulled some more on his patience and kept the calm tone in his voice. "What happened?"

"Well, John took me out to eat."

Randy's eyebrows furrowed. "Cena?"

"Yes, Cena. We went to a diner and ended up staying till early morning. His poor girlfriend probably felt lonely going to bed. Kinda like how you made me feel when I saw you with Sam."

Randy, still filtering through the shock, stared at Candy in silence. His head suddenly became congested with questions. Why would John do something like that? Was she lying? If she wasn't, did Alyssa know about this? Candy might have had her crazy tendencies, specifically during her timeline with John and Alyssa, but she wasn't a liar to Randy. He knew that much.

"Look, if you don't believe me or if you want more details, why don't you go ask John yourself. Or better yet, go ask your best friend Alyssa."

Randy's jaw tightened. "Candy, you know I'm not talking to her anymore."

"Well, you're not doing much talking here either," she said, waiting for him to say more. He didn't, and so she did. "I'ma take a shower. I'll just see you later, okay?"

Randy parted his lips. He struggled to find the fitting words to emanate so he settled on saying nothing at all. Meanwhile, Candy silently walked around him and slammed the door to the bathroom.

Left all alone with the worries to marinate, he placed his hand over his mouth and felt the prickles from his untamed scruff. Heavy blows met his ribcage, instantly drying his mouth furthermore. He heard Candy's side. He knew he needed to hear John's.

"Baby!" Alyssa gasped for air as the fingers of her boyfriend continued their tyrant all over her body. She was giggling, but it wasn't the laughter she sought after. She hated being tickled.

John was vicious and relentless with his mission, especially for one who had been deep in sleep just fifteen minutes prior. Her legs were locked in between his as she struggled to squirm out of his taunting hold.

"John! Stop!"

"Ah, that's not what you were asking for earlier." John had a smirk planted on his face, and she wanted nothing more than to slap it out of him.

Her free hand found their way to connect hard to his chest. "Well… you weren't…tickling…"

"What was that baby?" John abruptly removed his fingers from her flesh and stared at her innocently. "Having trouble finishing your sentence?"

Alyssa, finally more free, sent another blow to his chest and glared. "Prick."

"What'd you just call me?" John put his hand over his chest and feigned hurt.

"I gotta go," Alyssa said.

John's lips fell, feeling their bubble suddenly pop. "What?"

"I gotta deliver Jackie's scripts." Alyssa placed her hand over his chest once more in an attempt to push him away. It worked with no effort, and she soon found her knees pressed deeply against the bed. She was nearly at eye level with John who sat with a sullen expression. "If you had woken up earlier, we would've had more time. But work calls."

John placed his large hands around her hips. He sighed. "Fine. Fine. I'm glad we were able to get a quickie in."

Alyssa wrinkled her nose and smiled as she lowered her lips to his. They were moist and hungry which made the thought of leaving much harder to muster. His tongue entered her mouth, and she pressed her chest against his in response. A warmness started to grew at her center once more.

"Do you really have to go to work?" John asked against her lips. His hand grazed over her ample chest.

She closed her eyes in desperate concentration to ignore her racing libido. "Yes."

"Can it wait another few minutes?"

Alyssa opened her eyes and shook her head. "You're the one that left me at a party last night for work. I think you can understand, right?"

John dropped his head in guilt. Suddenly, memories of his night with Candy resurfaced, stirring panic as Alyssa got off the bed to put on her clothes. His surroundings grew cold. The thought of the unshared news paralyzed not only his vocal cords but the rest of his body as well. He stared absentmindedly at his now-dressed girlfriend rifling through the thick stacks of paper on the table. She smiled, unaware of the scare burning inside of him. He almost wanted to blurt out what happened, but he retracted the thought when she began to walk towards the door. There needed to be as much time between them when he'd tell her, and now was not the time.

To Alyssa's surprise, the handing of the scripts only took one round. Typically, she'd have to go make her way multiple times in case superstars weren't in their room; but today's process proved to be speedy. She smiled contently at her empty hand and made her way towards the front lobby. For hours, hours too long, she'd been confined to the walls of the Hyatt Residence and was now due for some fresh air. The clear sliding doors parted open, allowing her to bask in the sunlight. The streaks of heat met her flesh, and it felt good. There were people, from all walks of life all around her: an elderly man walking slowly behind an energetic little girl in a green sweater, a woman in crutches with the bellman handling her baggage, Sam rolling out a carry-on in her right hand.

Alyssa opened her mouth at the double take. "Sam?"

The brunette, dressed in black leggings and a chambray top, turned and squinted. When she realized who it was that called her name, she abandoned her navy blue suitcase and ran to her friend. "Alyssa!"

"You're here!"

Sam circled her arms around her and squeezed tightly. "I am. I am!"

The two women released their embrace, but Alyssa planted her hands on Sam's shoulders to study her. "What are you doing here?"

"Randy flew me out here."

"Oh, yeah?" Alyssa titled her head with wonder and retreated her hands to fold them over her chest.

"Yeah, he did." Sam tucked some hair behind her ear and smiled coyly. "After the miscarriage, I felt bad for not keeping in touch, so I gave him a call. I missed him, and I guess the feeling was mutual."

"So he flew you out here," Alyssa said. It was a fact already stated but hearing it the second time brought more resonance. "That's a very nice gesture of him."

"Yeah, it was. It also helped me not get too jealous over the news."

"The news?"

"Of Candy."

"Oh… right. Candy."

"You know about them right?"

Alyssa almost felt ashamed that she didn't but she soon realized that although Randy had been generous with sharing news about Candy, he hadn't been mouthy about her. Evidently, his ex-wife was unaware of Alyssa and Randy's nonexistent relationship.

"Honestly, I've never seen him so crazy over a woman," Sam said. "I mean…other than you of course."

Alyssa ignored the last comment and mulled over the first instead. "Well, Candy sounds good for him, then."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Are you okay?" Alyssa asked.

"Me? Of course. I accepted the divorce a long time ago. Maybe before it even happened."

"Wow, that's possibly one of the most bittersweet things I've ever heard."

Sam smiled. "Anyway, how are you? How's John?"

"He's doing great. We're great. Our lives revolve around work for the most part, but it's been even better with him."

"Aww. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks, Sam. I'm glad I ran into you."

"Yeah, me too!" Sam turned and checked on her luggage. "It was a really short trip, and I'm sorry I couldn't do a sit down with you."

"This can be enough for now. Any Sam time I can get, I'll take," Alyssa said. "Enjoy our flight home."

"I will, thank you. Extend my regards to John, please."

"Definitely."

The women exchanged one more hug before they parted ways. This scene wasn't new for Alyssa; over the course of their friendship, she'd watched Sam and her luggage grow into the distance a myriad of times. The familiarity of it had made each experience easier to endure, but the difference now was, Randy wasn't next to her. There was no Randy to tame the blow of a departing friend. There was no Randy to cheer up and bribe with a session at the gym. The outside air continued to pass, and Alyssa knew that Randy's lack of presence in her life wasn't limited to just these incidents. In general, she knew, there was no Randy at all.

"Cena!"

A loud thud followed, causing John to peel out of bed. His heavy mass hit the floor; the urgency in his motion caused the blankets to fall and pool over the floor. He denied the mess from any attention as he tended to the pressing knocker at the other side of the wall. His hand curled around the knob which he pulled back a second later.

Randy Orton was outside, and his angered expression nearly took the wind out of John.

"Were you with Candy last night?"

The bluntness took seconds to register. It was as if Randy had spoken in slow motion and was still not finished with his sentence.

"Well, were you?" Randy poked his head closer towards the door.

"Yeah," John said.

Randy closed his mouth firmly and studied the other man sharply. His blood was beginning to fizz, but instead of showing it, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why?"

"She was drunk."

Randy furrowed his eyebrows. "So what? I doubt you take every drunk person you run into to dinner."

"No. No, I don't. She was very distraught. I felt responsible for part of it, so I decided to take her out."

"After all that she's done to deliberately piss off your girlfriend?"

"Look, I don't have to explain myself to you."

Randy gritted his teeth as he stared the other man down.

"Hey, is everything okay?" a third voice asked.

Both men directed their gaze to see Alyssa, whose demeanor was strikingly calm compared to theirs, and yet the tension remained dense. John closed his eyes firmly, fearing what else was to come. Meanwhile, Randy recoiled and loosely hung his arms to his side. He looked at John once more and clenched his jaw. He took a step backward.

"Everything will be fine when John stays away from Candy."

Alyssa, feeling a constriction in her throat, was unable to utter a word as Randy walked around her and left. She slowly brought her eyes to John, and the struggle in his face made something inside of her shatter.