13. The Girls and a Night of Somethings (Pt. 1)

It was the usual scene: Eve's bedroom served as the backdrop of the pre-party hustle and bustle she, Maria, Kelly, Alicia and Kaitlyn had been partaking in for years. Eve sat at her vanity table carefully curling her long, brown hair; Maria and Alicia sat on the edge of her bed helping each other add last minute touches to their make-up; Kelly stood in front of the floor-length mirror scanning herself one last time and Kaitlyn lay across the bed flicking through her phone. The radio in the background blasted all the latest Top 40 hits that the girls just couldn't help themselves from joining in with as the choruses kicked in, while their general buzz and chatter filled the room on top of this.

"Are you guys sure this outfit's okay?"

Kelly took a break from her frowning in the mirror to turn to her friends. She wore a hot pink bralet paired with a high-waisted, cream coloured mini skirt.

"Uh, you look hot, Kells," Kaitlyn called over. "When do you not?"

Kelly shrugged and looked back at the mirror, once again re-adjusting her outfit and hair. Kaitlyn looked up at Alicia, Maria and Eve, all of whom darted confused looks around the room at each other while Kelly remained pre-occupied with herself.

"Yeah," she said finally, giving the mirror one last lingering glance. "I guess it's okay." She gave her friends a bright smile and walked across the room to take a seat on one of Eve's chairs.

"It's fun getting all glammed up like this," Eve said. "We haven't done this in so long."

"Tell me about it," Maria chimed in. "Thank God for The Miz!"

"Guys, can we at least wait until we get to this party before we start hailing Mizanin as our Patron Saint?" Kaitlyn said as she rose from the bed and went over to Eve's mirror to apply another coat of lipgloss.

"Kait's right," Eve suggested. "I mean, odds are this is going to be a kick-ass party, but let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Kaitlyn and Eve shared a knowing giggle as each leaned over to give another more room to peer into the vanity table mirror they shared.

"It's a shame Justin couldn't make it," Maria said, looking over at Kelly with a sympathetic smile. "He seems like someone who'd love this kind of party."

"He's working through a lot of personal stuff," Kelly replied with a shrug. "He's trying to get some cheap last minute tickets to South Africa for... y'know."

The girls had already briefed on the sudden death of Justin's best friend. The room's atmosphere became solemn for a few moments as the girls gave Kelly respectful and sympathetic looks of support.

"I couldn't even get Wade to come if I tried," Alicia said with a giggle. "He hates these Hollywood glitzy sorts of things."

"Yet he's dating the queen of glitz?"

Alicia threw her arms up with a proud shrug, showing off the sparkly red mini-dress that fit snugly against her slim yet muscular figure. Her dark red hair fell in waves over her shoulders to add an extra shot of 'sexy' to the look.

"He sure as hell better get used to it," she added. "Especially considering..."

Her sentence trailed off suddenly as she looked down at her hands.

"Considering...?" Kelly frowned, picking up on Alicia's quick change of pace. The other girls had noticed too, and all eyes turned to the Foxy redhead.

"Considering," Alicia began, looking around at her girlfriends. "Considering we're moving to New York in a week."

Four jaws dropped at once.

"What?! I thought you were sticking around for a few more weeks?" Kaitlyn stared over in shock, the first to verbalize what Eve, Kelly and Maria were thinking.

"We were..." Alicia said quietly. "But we spoke about it a little while we were in Greenwich and we decided that we're both ready to get going. He's in New York this weekend on business and trying to get things sorted so that we can bring our move forward."

"I can't believe it, Leesh," Maria said with a pout, wrapping her arms around her friend. "You guys are going so quickly."

"I guess that means we're going to have to go twice as hard tonight then," Kaitlyn said with a grin.

Alicia nodded. "I've got some more news for you guys too."

She dug through her bag and retrieved something from it, holding it tight in her palm as she looked around at her friends.

"I've been waiting for the right time to tell you guys, but I don't think there really is one. Especially now that me and Wade are leaving next week."

She took a deep breath and smiled at the confused faces surrounding her. She opened her palm and slid a diamond ring onto her finger.

"I'm getting married."

Once again, four jaws dropped. Alicia held up her hand and glanced around at her best friends; awaiting a response. The first came from Maria, who shrieked and once again threw her arms around Alicia with an even tighter grip. The other three girls quickly followed suit, launching across the room at Alicia and jumping into the pile of hugs as they built up. Each took turns staring at the rock on Alicia's finger, exchanging squeals and shrieks and after some time, tears.

When they eventually began to calm down, questions began flying across the room. Alicia could barely contain her excitement as she shared the details of the proposal, confirmed that she and Wade had yet to set a date, and promised the girls that no duh, they would be her bridesmaids.

"I'm so happy for you," Kelly squealed as she wiped a tear out of her eye. "I can't believe it took you so long to tell us!"

"Yeah," Maria agreed. "Girl code officially states that you should have called for an emergency group Skype the second the man proposed."

"I was far too busy trying to celebrate with my man," Alicia giggled in response.

After some more interrogation and celebration, the girls finally dispersed; returning to their respective stations to finish getting ready.

"Hey Leesh, would you mind helping me finish off my make up in the bathroom?"

"Yeah, sure Kells."

Alicia followed Kelly out of the room, fully aware that they were sneaking off for a conversation that was definitely nothing to do with cosmetics. They entered Eve's large family bathroom, shutting the door behind them.

"Did you put off telling everyone for so long because of me?" Kelly asked with little hesitation, staring Alicia blankly in the face. Alicia looked away, shuffling uncomfortably on her feet. "Alicia..."

"Okay, maybe a little," she mumbled in response. "But I knew what you were going through and I didn't want to suddenly make it all about me..."

"Alicia! That is so unfair. You cannot be putting my silly relationship drama first when you just got proposed to! God, I feel awful; he proposed literally minutes before I called you and begged you to come see me! You spent the night with me when you should have been with him, Alicia!"

Kelly was becoming physically upset, her eyes becoming watery once again. Alicia sighed and went over to her, wrapping her arms around her frame.

"Kelly, you don't have to be sorry. Wade understood. I understood. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, y'know?"

Kelly shook her head. "He must be so happy you're moving to New York," she said with a small giggle. "At least while you're there none of us can be calling you after every little drama and running to see you."

Alicia laughed, taking a seat on the edge of the bathtub. She beckoned Kelly to join.

"I feel like we all need some space from each other," she said softly. "I mean, I love that we're all here and spending so much time together, but you're right in that we need to learn about what to put first and prioritize."

Kelly nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes I definitely think Justin gets mad when I cancel on him or ignore him because I'm busy with the girls. He never complains, but he definitely seems frustrated sometimes. I'm sure Wade must be the same."

Alicia shrugged with a heavy sigh.

"Definitely. But I get it, you know? We just got engaged, we're about to start our lives together in New York; I'm sure he wishes he had more of my attention than I've been giving him. When we were away these past few days it was amazing. I won't give you all the dirty details – " this earned a laugh from Kelly. "But it just being the two of us, having each other's undivided attention... it just really puts things in perspective. It's so hard to remember that although we're us and it will always be me, you and the girls, there are other things going on in our lives too. I owe it to Wade and you owe it to Justin to remember that."

Kelly nodded, finding a great deal of comfort in this impromptu heart to heart.

"I'm going to miss you like crazy," she mumbled, putting a hand on Alicia's knee. "But thank God I won't have the option to run to you every single time I get upset about something."

The two women laughed.

"What are you going to do about Justin?"

Kelly sighed. "Who knows? With all the stuff going on right now I just can't bring myself to do anything about what I saw. I'm definitely not going to let it go, but I just need to be there to support him while he's mourning. I was probably just overreacting that day, anyway. I don't know, Leesh."

Alicia gave her a sympathetic nod and leaned over to pull her in for a hug. They shared a brief yet warm moment together before it was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Taxi should be here in five!" Kaitlyn's voice called through the door.

Alicia and Kelly looked at each other and smiled, before standing up and leaving the bathroom; going back to join their friends as they poured and shared out what Maria claimed to be "celebratory pre-party shots."

As the five girls stepped out of their taxi and stood before the busy entrance to the club being rented out that evening, none could deny the warm feeling of VIP stardom that flowed through them. They looked around at each other and shared excited looks as cameras flashed and bouncers checked names off of clipboards. Maria was the first to put the excitement into words.

"This is going to be the best party ever!"

All five laughed as they began walking the red carpet, flashing dazzling grins at the bouncers as they took their names and let them in.

"My name is on a guest list," Maria squealed into Eve's ear as the two women linked arms and entered the club.

The scene was so perfect it was almost a parody. Brighter Lights was the best, most popular and of course most exclusive club in downtown Hartford. Entry didn't come cheap and neither did drinks. It was a large, spacious venue, with several private group areas and a hip, young DJ stood on a platform filling the club with heavy, penetrating music. The guests at the party certainly fit the scene; gorgeous young people who would not look out of place in the audience at a Fashion Week, and who fit Mike's new LA lifestyle to a tee. Eve, Maria, Kelly and Alicia were making zero effort to conceal how impressed they were, and even Kaitlyn's expression had softened. They all looked around the club, trying to figure out a plan of attack. In the end, they wouldn't even have to.

"Eve!"

Mike Mizanin was dressed to the nines as he sauntered over to the group of women, pulling Eve in for a warm and friendly hug. When they pulled away, he looked around at the four women around her, all with the same sort of unsure look on their faces.

"Maria, Kelly, Alicia, Kaitlyn." He looked at each one of them with a courteous nod.

"Hey Mike," Maria replied, again being the first to break the ice. "It's been a while. You look great and this party is unbelievable."

Alicia and Kelly nodded in agreement while Kaitlyn simply folded her arms across her chest.

"Thanks," he grinned. "I'm glad you guys could make it. I was just blown away when I bumped into Eve recently; it's awesome that I get to share all of this cool stuff with her and of course her girls, too."

"Yeah, thanks for inviting us," Alicia smiled. "This definitely is not a high school party."

"I'll drink to that," he said, ushering over a man who balanced a tray of drinks on one hand. Mike took one for himself and offered the rest to the girls; each of whom took one of the glasses on offer.

"So..." Eve said, inspecting the drink in her hand. "Shall we drink to not being in high school anymore?"

"Cheers!"

The six of them knocked back their drinks and burst into laughter.

"Drinks are on the house all evening," Mike said. "So you ladies better have a hell of a night."

"Believe me, Mike, that's the plan," Eve replied. Mike chuckled in response. While the two shared this exchange, Alicia, Kaitlyn, Maria and Kelly exchanged knowing glances of their own.

"I say we go check this place out," Maria suggested, looking at Alicia, Kaitlyn and Kelly in particular.

"Yeah, let's do that." Kaitlyn agreed, her eyes firmly on the bar area.

Eve went to follow but was stopped by Mike lightly grabbing hold of her arm. She looked at Kaitlyn for assistance, but she shrugged.

"Sorry to drag her away from you girls," Mike said to the other girls, before looking back at Eve. "But there are some people I really want to introduce you to, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Eve agreed, giving the others an apologetic glance.

She followed closely behind Mike as he weaved through the crowd towards the VIP section in the back. He was quite the host; stopping every so often to greet people and schmooze. Eve picked up on this very quickly, pointing it out to Mike as they walked.

"Trust me," he said into her ear over the loud music. "I charm wealthy d-bags for a living."

Eve giggled, shaking her head at the unapologetic nature of Mike's antics.

Eventually they had made their way through the crowded club. Mike strolled past the bouncer standing by the VIP section with ease, beckoning a nervous Eve.

"Maryse is here," he said, almost bouncing with excitement. "You have to meet her."

"Oh, wow, awesome," Eve replied through gritted teeth; following her ex boyfriend along to his current squeeze. Eve's jaw drop the second she spotted the woman she already knew to be Maryse. She was stood speaking to a group of people, but she stood out more than anything. A bright smile was plastered across her beautiful face, which was framed by long, wavy platinum blonde hair that fell to her waist. She had a slim figure that was only accentuated by the skin-tight strapless green dress she had on; with a plunge neckline that showed off her... sizeable features. Mike already had a dreamy look on his face, and she couldn't blame him. Maryse was drop dead gorgeous.

"'Ryse!" Mike called over the noise, waving over at his girlfriend. She turned, grinning as she spotted her boyfriend. She sauntered over, wrapping her arms around him with a dreamy look on his own.

"There you are, Mike," she beamed, with what Eve recognized as some sort of French accent. "You will never guess who just turned up!"

Maryse's expression dulled somewhat as she noticed Eve standing on the other side of Mike, smiling nervously.

"Hi, have we met?" Maryse, to Eve's surprise had a chirpy tone to her voice and friendly smile on her face. "I'm Maryse."

"This," Mike chimed in, stepping back to allow the two women to properly interact with each other. "Is Eve Torres; the girl from high school I was telling you about."

Maryse's face lit up with remembrance.

"Oh my god, Eve! Mike has told me so much about you; it's so crazy how you bumped into each other like that!"

Eve's jaw almost dropped again as Maryse brought her in for a warm hug.

"You are gorgeous," Maryse said as she stepped away. "I can see why you were Mike's... what is it you called her? High school sweetheart?"

Mike burst into laughter as he threw an arm around Maryse's shoulder. He leaned down to kiss her, forcing Eve to quickly turn away. Were they playing a joke on her?

"It's nice to meet you too, Maryse," Eve said, trying her best to maintain a warm demeanour. "Mike has told me so much about how in love with you he is, and I can definitely see that."

The happy couple shared a laugh and another loving look.

"Eve knew me and tolerated me at my worst," Mike said, switching his gaze between Eve and Maryse. "I almost can't believe she's even allowed me back into her life at all."

Maryse nodded.

"I'm so glad that the two of you are good friends now."

"Yeah," Eve muttered, locking eyes with Mike, who gave her a soft smile. "Me too."

"I'll get some drinks," Mike said, clapping his hands together. If you ladies will excuse me..."

Mike wandered off, leaving Eve staring after him, trying to overcome the awkwardness that the situation had quickly driven into. Maryse, however, seemed to refuse to let her remain standing around biting her lip.

"Come and have a seat!" The French-Canadian suggested, linking her arm through Eve's with an excited grin. "You have to tell me everything about Mike from high school."

Eve grinned and followed Maryse to a comfy looking couch.

"Well, has he ever told you the story about the time he..."

It didn't take long for Maria's short attention span to lead her off on a solitary walk around the club; a dreamy look on her face and a fruity cocktail in hand. The scene tonight made her feel like she was living out her LA dreams already, with the beautiful people surrounding her, the lights flashing around above her, and the music transporting her. It was perfect. Alicia, Kelly and Kaitlyn had already claimed a table and were perfectly content remaining there for a while, but Maria had felt the need to excuse herself under the guise of going off to find Eve. Which, in all fairness, was partly true, seeing as if she found Eve, she'd probably also find Mike, and Mike would probably be able to introduce them to the super cool gym owner who was the man behind the party tonight. Maria realized that if she wanted to get anywhere in a city like Los Angeles, she'd need connections; and she was fairly sure that Mike and his friends would be a perfect way in.

After her run in with Punk a few days earlier, Maria suddenly felt like she was on cloud nine. She had already arranged to meet up with him over lunch and could not stop thinking about it. It might not exactly be a date, but it was start; at least, that was what she kept on assuring the girls of.

Before long, she was able to spot the VIP section. She waved madly trying to catch Eve's attention as she sat speaking with a gorgeous blonde woman. Eventually Eve looked up and spotted her redheaded friend, quickly excusing herself from her conversation and running over to meet her and usher her in. Maria's heart fluttered wildly as the bouncer stepped aside with a smile to let her in.

"This is the coolest thing ever!" Maria hissed into Eve's ear.

"Tell me about it! Come over here, I want to introduce you to someone."

Maria nodded and straightened up her outfit, following Eve back over to the sofa area. The blonde woman was now tapping away on her phone, but looked up with a smile as Eve approached.

"Hi Eve," she said, standing to greet the new arrival.

"Hey Maryse. This is my best friend Maria, she's also from Connecticut. Maria, this is Maryse. She's Mike's girlfriend – who also happens to be thinking of starting up her own fashion line."

Maria had frowned in surprise at the idea of Eve fraternizing with her ex's new squeeze, but was grinning wildly by the end of the introduction.

"Oh my god, I love fashion! It's so nice to meet you!"

Eve stood back and giggled as the two women reached in for a hug and began almost immediately to discuss all sorts of fashion gossip and ideas. This was quite clearly all going over Eve's head, so she stepped back and looked around the VIP section. The two women barely even noticed as she left and walked over to Mike. He stood speaking with a group of people, all of whom burst into laughter as he said something. Same old Mike. Hesitantly, Eve stepped towards him, patting his arm softly. He turned around and grinned as soon as he saw her, excusing himself from the group surrounding him.

"Hey," he said, handing her a glass of champagne. "It looks like you and 'Ryse are hitting it off."

"She's great," Eve said with a nod. "Really nice and obviously gorgeous. I think you may have some competition with Maria, though."

The two laughed as they looked over at Maryse and Maria, both deeply engaged in their conversation.

"Maria always loved fashion, right?"

"Oh yeah. It's her dream to move to LA and be part of that world for the rest of her life. She's not the most ambitious person, I know."

Mike laughed at Eve's joke, and then let out a sigh.

"I'm so happy you're here, Evie."

He leaned in to whisper this into her ear, allowing them a somewhat intimate moment in the crowded, noisy club. Eve looked at him with a smile.

"Me too, Mike. Thanks for inviting us."

"It's my pleasure." He grabbed hold of her arm and gestured over to a group in the corner, sat around on couches and passing around expensive drinks. "Come here, I want to introduce you to someone."

"Is the goal for tonight for you to just let me into every single part of your new life?"

Mike chuckled as he led her through the crowd. She hung back for a moment as he went forward to grab the attention of a large framed man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. Eve recognized him instantly. Her stomach turned as Mike brought the man over to her. She tried her best to inconspicuously smooth down her hair and readjust her flattering attire of denim hotpants and a form-fitting black halter top.

"Evie, this is my friend Roman Reigns. He's the owner of Believers and the man of the hour tonight. Roman, this is Eve; an old friend from high school."

Roman licked his lips and gave Eve a warm smile; damn near sending shivers down her spine. When she and Maria had spotted him at the gym it was from a distance, but up close every chiselled feature was in plain sight. Eve was smitten instantly.

"It's very nice to meet you, Eve," he said, his deep voice carrying over the music. "Thanks for coming out tonight." He held out a large hand which Eve fit her smaller one into for a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you too. I am crazy excited to be here."

She didn't even have time to question how lame she sounded, as Mike quickly dived into conversation.

"Eve went to college in California, USC, right? I met Roman back in LA when I was at college. He'd already graduated by then but he was around working with my senior class and we just hit it off. As you can probably tell by tonight, we share a sort of... creative vision."

Roman chuckled. "Something like that. I'm all about business and the nitty-gritty stuff, but Mike here jumped at the chance to help me throw this party."

"Yeah, that definitely sounds like Mike," Eve giggled. "So, are you LA based too?"

"Not quite. I lived there for a while after college but me and a friend of mine decided to do some travelling around, trying to figure out the next step. Mike actually suggested Hartford to me, and he was right. Getting this gym opened here was a really popular decision locally. I have a branch in LA too and it's doing really well. Mike's got a great business – and creative – sense so he's been great at helping me get all this stuff off the ground. I'm sticking around Hartford for a little while though, I'm having a great time here."

Eve nodded, smiling politely as she spoke. Her eyes flitted over to Mike, and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the size of the grin on his face as Roman discussed business. At some point, Roman and Mike began having a conversation of their own, allowing Eve to look back over to where Maryse and Maria were still sat talking. As she lay eyes on the beaming redhead, she had a sudden lightbulb moment.

"Hey, Roman," she said suddenly. "I'd love to introduce you to a friend of mine, she's over there with Maryse."

Both Mike and Roman looked over at the two women, while Eve kept her eyes on Roman trying to discern his reaction. She was slightly disappointed to see the polite smile remain on his face as the three of them approached Maria and Maryse.

"Maria," Eve called, making the redhead look over in surprise. As soon as she saw the man beside Eve, her eyes sparkled in delight. She looked back at Eve with a knowing look. "This is Roman; he owns Believers."

Maria's jaw dropped, and she jumped to her feet. Maryse stood also, going over to her boyfriend and planting a kiss on his lips. Eve looked away quickly. She turned her attention back to introducing Roman and Maria to each other, and left them to chat while she turned to slip away.

"Hey, where are you off to?" Mike asked, one arm around Maryse's waist and the other reaching out to grab Eve's arm.

"Um – I just realized Alicia, Kelly and Kaitlyn are over in the other section, I haven't really seen much of them tonight."

"Why don't you bring them over here?" Maryse suggested. "After all, this is where the party is, right?"

Mike nodded in agreement. "I'll get one of my bouncers to go and grab them."

He set off to go and speak to one of the large men stood around, essentially at his beck and call. Again, Eve giggled at the antics of The Miz.

"He just loves being in charge," Maryse giggled into Eve's ear. "I love that about him."

Eve nodded with a chuckle as Maryse's eyes remained glued on her boyfriend. Eve turned back around to Roman and Maria. She was sure her friend was loving life right about now, and that was all Eve wanted to see. She had been concerned about Maria lately, especially now that Punk had popped back into the picture. Maria's schoolgirl crush on him was certainly intense back in the day, and the last thing anyone needed was for it to make reappearance. Although Kelly and Alicia thought it was cute, Eve and Kaitlyn agreed that they feared seeing Maria get her heart broken once again. Although Maria's hunt for Roman hadn't been particularly successful at the gym the other day, Eve felt that playing cupid for tonight couldn't hurt. Maria Kanellis wanted love but neither she nor her best friends could magically whip that up for her in a night, but having some male company for the evening couldn't hurt either... could it?

Kaitlyn loved her friends more than anything, but being the single one in a group of women with boyfriends – and now, even fiancés – was rarely her idea of fun. Eve had long since disappeared to meet Mike's friends, and she was fairly sure Maria's disappearance to find her had ended in her bumping into a cute guy somewhere. So that left Kaitlyn to continue sipping drinks and scanning the club for some fun while Kelly and Alicia sipped on their own drinks and discussed wedding decor. She was – as much as she hated to admit it – thrilled when a bouncer approached them to invite them into the VIP area, at Mr Mizanin's request.

Eve and Maria already seemed to be into the swing of things, conversing comfortably with a bunch of different people neither Kaitlyn, nor Kelly nor Alicia, recognized. Either way, they were happy to be introduced and make polite conversation with Mike Mizanin's new girlfriend, Maryse Ouellet, and the man behind the new Believers gym, Roman Reigns. Kaitlyn almost burst into laughter at the sight of Maria practically drooling over the large man as she stood beside him.

Kaitlyn was a little less excited about again being in Mike Mizanin's presence; and he seemed to pick up on this very quickly.

"Hey Kaitlyn, can I offer you a drink?"

Kaitlyn eyed Mike with hesitation as he gestured over towards the mini bar with a friendly smile. Her four friends were preoccupied with their various conversations, leaving Kaitlyn little choice but to agree and follow Mike.

"You're looking great," he said politely as they walked. "Did you play much sport during college?"

"A little here and there," she replied, just as politely. "Mostly track but nothing too serious."

"That's cool." An awkward silence ensued. "Kaitlyn, why do you still hate me so much? Even Eve's forgiven me."

"I don't hate you," Kaitlyn said with a sigh. "I'm just not as... over-trusting as the others."

Mike chuckled.

"Man, if you can be this icy with me, I feel pretty bad for your high school exes. How is Johnny Curtis these days?"

This earned a laugh from Kaitlyn.

"Shut up. How's Brooke Tessmacher?"

"Ouch!"

The two laughed as they reminisced about Mike's romantic past with Brooke, whom he had ended up hooking up with after being dumped by Eve. Brooke was on the cheerleading squad, a very popular girl on campus; popularity that had led to her ending her relationship with Mike to get with his ex-best friend, John Morrison.

"Poetic justice," Kaitlyn giggled.

"Whatever. Actually, that reminds me. You can be as mean to me as you like tonight, but please try not to get into a fight with Dolph Ziggler."

Kaitlyn held back a gasp. "Ziggler's coming tonight?"

Mike nodded. By now they had approached the bar, and with his winning smile he asked for another bottle of champagne.

"I hope Kelly doesn't mind," he said. "Eve mentioned something about her having a boyfriend now so I'm sure it won't really matter that much, but..."

By this point Kaitlyn had already drifted off and had taken to scanning to scanning the club in search for a peroxide blonde head. The truth was she didn't know how Kelly would respond to seeing him, but Kaitlyn had a feeling their surprise meeting would be nowhere near as cordial as Eve and Mike's. Dolph's infidelity caused Kelly's self-esteem to take a massive hit, something which lasted for years. Even with Justin now in the picture, Kaitlyn doubted she would suddenly be forgiving.

"Kaitlyn?"

She snapped to attention as Mike began waving a glass in her face.

"Oh, sorry."

"Come to think of it, are you okay with seeing Dolph?"

Kaitlyn frowned, eyeing Mike suspiciously.

"I don't really care," she said dismissively, taking a glass from him and turning to walk back to where her friends were gathered. Mike understood and dropped the subject, following closely behind as she walked.

"I can't believe it's him!"

Maria and Eve had slipped off to go to the bathroom and Maria's excitement had poured out of her the second they entered the large, glamorously decorated room.

"So much for Punk," Eve chuckled, reapplying lip gloss in the mirror.

Maria rolled her eyes and leaned back against the countertop. "It doesn't really matter though. As much as I can stand around and drool over Roman, I don't think he's interested."

"Why not?" Eve frowned. So, her efforts had gone to waste already.

"Because," Maria said with a satisfied smirk on her face. "He's been checking you out all night."

"Mike's so different now, isn't he?" The shock in Kelly's tone was evident.

"Eve was right," Alicia agreed. "I mean, he's handing out free champagne like it's water so I can't even complain."

Kaitlyn nodded along as they spoke, although her attention was elsewhere. Sure enough, she had found Mike over in the distance, greeting his old friend Dolph Ziggler.

"Do you guys wanna go dance?" She suggested as Maria and Eve made their return from the bathroom.

"Duh!"

Maria was the one to lead the charge, grabbing hold of Eve and Alicia's hands as all five girls headed down to the dance floor. Kaitlyn bopped along with her friends, keeping one eye on Ziggler as she did so; thankful that Kelly was now far too preoccupied with one of her songs blasting through the speakers to focus on anything else.

The ever perceptive Eve, however, had already spotted Kaitlyn's wandering eye and was able to follow it back to the source. After some brief deliberation she decided to brush it off. After all, she had her own man to be concerned with...

I decided to split this chapter into two because of how much is going on. The girls have a long night ahead of them and this story is only just getting started!

Next time:

Eve tries her luck; Kaitlyn tries her best and Maria tries something new...

R&R lovelies! xo