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Chapter 21

They were under the stars again, basking in their twinkling glory. He had one arm wrapped around her shoulders while she lay on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. The other hand was entwined with hers and occasionally he would kiss the top of her head.

"Why didn't you come into my life sooner?" She asked him, sighing contently as she snuggled closer to him.

"I was always here, you were the one that was hiding," he answered. She lifted her head of his chest and looked at him, a look of wonder on her face.

"You've found me now," she whispered.

"And I don't intend to let you go," he said to her before pulling her lips towards his.

Scarlett's eyes shot open, her stomach squirming while her breathing was ragged. The pain from sleeping at an odd angle knocked at her and she let out a groan. Sitting up slowly, ignoring the protest of her sore muscles, Scarlett stretched and let out a deep sigh. Clearly, her body was reprimanding her for her poor choice in sleeping location for when they'd returned home, Scarlett had fallen asleep on the chair that was placed in her room in front of the large window.

Returned.

Memories of what had happened the night before came flooding back to her and Scarlett's heart plummeted.

The kiss.

Dean had kissed her the night before; under the stars, while they were laying on the hood of his car. A shiver ran through her body as she remembered the feeling of his hands on her body, but her stomach twisting reminded her of the way he'd acted once they'd broken apart.

Their drive back home had been silent; Dean was focused on the road while Scarlett was staring out the window, trying to muster up the courage to inquire about what had happened. Once they'd gotten home, before she could even open her mouth, he'd bade her goodnight and had locked himself in his room. Scarlett had ended up sitting on the chair in her room to think but it seemed she never made it to the bed at all.

Scarlett pulled herself onto her feet and dragged her body to the bathroom. A quick shower later, she was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and Seth's shirt that he'd sent her way at Payback. Scarlett wandered out of her room after throwing on a scarf around her face loosely and pulling on the lace gloves that the girls had given her the day before. The moment she stepped out of the room, she was greeted with the smell of pancakes, a smell that had her raising her eyebrow. Upon entering the kitchen, she found a young woman at the stove working to put together a stack of pancakes.

"Esme?" Scarlett asked, remembering the name Dean had mentioned. The woman jumped and turned to look at her.

"Oh good. You're finally awake. Mr. Ambrose told me he had guests," she said curtly before turning back to making pancakes. "He's taking a swim."

Scarlett bit her lip as she made her way towards the sliding door that would lead her to the pool. She swallowed and stopped a couple feet away from the door, hesitating when she remembered the way he had acted the night before. She had to talk to him at some point, it would leave her with some closure with what had happened. After pondering her choices, Scarlett chose to wait for him to say something about the events from the night before. Taking a deep breath, she slid open the door and stepped through into the backyard.

The scene that met her caused her to freeze a couple feet away from the pool. Dean was in the middle of doing a lap across the pool, he glided through the water effortlessly with measured freestyle strokes, the water sliding past him easily. Once he reached the edge of the pool, he stopped and ran a hand to slick back his wet hair then picked up the stopwatch.

"One twenty-two. Five seconds slower than last time. Think I can do better?" He asked Vitani, who was sitting at the edge of the pool watching him with her yellow eyes; her tail flicking lazily. She stretched her neck and bopped him on the nose causing him to chuckle and pat her head.

"Your faith in me is astounding," he said before he pushed off from the edge and went for another lap. Seeing the two interact had her heart fluttering and Scarlett couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. It was the sweetest moment she'd ever witnessed with him. She watched him do the entire lap from where she was standing and smiled even wider when he grinned and held out his hand to Vitani, the cat handing him her paw in a somewhat high five action, when he'd reached his desired time.

While she was busy admiring the way he interacted with her cat, Scarlett completely forgot that swimming required less clothing than usual. When he pulled himself out of the water, her eyes widened and her mouth went dry as she stared at him. He was a fine piece of man that had her blood rushing through her veins as she took in the sight almost greedily. His body glistened under the rays of the morning sun, kissing every dip and contour of his abs deliciously. It was in that moment that she realized that she had never seen the man shirtless up until now.

Or wearing anything other than jeans. Her mind screamed at her as her gaze slipped down past his navel. Her gaze snapped up to his face as her face heated up, the sun and heat playing no part in her heightened temperature whatsoever. His hair was slicked back and he squinted as he grabbed a towel and slung it around his neck, rubbing his hair with one end; Vitani curling around his legs. She caught the sight of her mistress and immediately detangled herself from Dean to pad over to Scarlett.

Vitani's meow caught both of their attention and Scarlett's gaze flicked up at Dean when he turned around to see what had caused Vitani's reaction. Bending down she picked up the feline and hugged her close.

"I was wondering where you disappeared off to," she whispered to the cat.

"Sorry about that. She was snoozing on the couch and woke up when I came down for a swim. She makes a good cheerleader," he said. Scarlett refused to look at him, knowing that if she did, she would lose all coherent thoughts. Her mind was still replaying the image of him pulling himself out of the pool, the water cascading down his body.

"Esme's making breakfast," Scarlett said, scratching Vitani behind the ears. Dean made his way over to her and Scarlett felt her heartbeat quicken with every step he took closer to her.

"Pancakes. Turns out that's all she knows how to make for breakfast," he said. Her resolve breaking, Scarlett turned her gaze to him, infuriated with herself for the lack of self-control. It was a mistake. Close up he looked even more endearing and it took everything in her to not stare at him blatantly. Water droplets adorned his face and his eyes were sparkling like the ocean when the sun hit it just right. Under the morning sun, he looked ethereal; it took everything in Scarlett to avert her gaze, biting her lip and pushing away those forbidden thoughts that were plaguing her mind.

"Shall we?" She asked turning around.

"Scar?" He called.

He's going to talk about the kiss.

"Roman called earlier. Seth and him wanted to talk to you, you can call them while we're having breakfast."

Or not.

"Sure. I'll wait for you in the kitchen," she replied, surprised at how calm her voice sounded while her heart was hammering away in her chest. She stepped back into the house and made her way back to the kitchen where Esme was finishing up the pancakes and placing the stack on the breakfast table.

"Mr. Ambrose told me to ask you what should be prepared for lunch," Esme said.

"What?" Scarlett asked, surprised at what she'd said.

"Mr. Ambrose told me-."

"I heard you the first time, but why did he leave lunch to me?" Scarlett asked. Esme shrugged and finished setting the table.

"You're the lady of the house," Esme said, surprising Scarlett with her coldness.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Whatever you say will happen now that Mr. Ambrose has found you. I can find work somewhere else if you don't want me here," Esme continued. It finally clicked in Scarlett's head what Esme was saying and Scarlett shook her head sharply.

"Nothing like that, Esme. I am just a guest, not a lady of the house. You do not have to find work anywhere else. In fact, I wanted to ask you if you could help me make some omelet for Mr. Ambrose," Scarlett said. The woman looked at her sharply but when she found Scarlett to be serious, her gaze softened.

"What would you like me to do?" She may have been curt but there was a softness to her voice that hadn't been there before.

"Please get me a bowl and chop some onions and peppers," Scarlett said, grabbing a spare apron that she spotted in one of the drawers. Tying up her scarf tighter, Scarlett set to work, Esme guiding her around the kitchen to help her familiarize herself. Esme turned out to be the perfect help that Scarlett needed and by the time she had the omelet mixture poured into the skillet, Esme was pouring the blueberry orange smoothie that Scarlett had prepared into two glasses.

"Ms. Rayer, would you like me to pick up the chicken when I return in the evening?" Esme asked, her tone much kinder and happier after spending more time with Scarlett. She had insisted on having Esme call her by her given name but the woman had outright refused.

"That would be perfect. Thank you, Esme," Scarlett said bidding the woman goodbye as she left for the afternoon. Scarlett finished setting the two glasses on the table just as Dean strolled in, showered and dressed in a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt.

"Omelets?" He inquired taking his seat and looking at what was prepared for breakfast.

"Something told me you wanted something other than pancakes," she said, sitting down on the opposite side, clicking her tongue at Vitani to keep her off the table.

"You're an angel," Dean said as he helped himself to some omelets and dug in while she preened from his compliment. He let out a groan of approval and Scarlett smiled to herself at seeing him so happy. A few moments passed in silence with Dean digging into the breakfast and Scarlett watching him as she petted Vitani. He stopped when he noticed her plate was empty and looked at her.

"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"I'll eat later," she replied. Dean frowned and set down his cutlery, something that made Scarlett raise her eyebrow at him.

"I always eat alone. At least join me while you're here," he said.

"Dean-."

"And you can take your scarf off. Don't feel constricted," he said. That made her fall silent and she looked at him, her gaze questioning him whether or not he was being serious.

"Scar, how many times do I have to say it? None of us care about what's underneath that scarf," he said, sighing heavily.

Again with the "us". Scarlett frowned at the thought but pushed it away, looking down at her empty plate. She heard movement and looked towards him, only to find him not in his seat. She felt her scarf loosening and her hand shot up, only to grasp Dean's wrist that was slowly tugging it off.

"Dean, eat first," she almost pleaded, not wanting him to have to see her face while he ate. He glared down at her and she fell silent as her scarf slowly fell away. He gently pulled it off of her and hung it on the back of her chair.

Scarlett steeled herself, her back going rigid and her mind on high alert as the skin on her face felt the cool air of the air conditioner that was cooling the entire house.

"There. Much better. Now eat, that omelet is too delicious to go to waste," he said returning to his seat and picking up his fork. When she didn't move, he looked at her and found her looking down at her plate. Dean didn't need to be an expert to see that she was protecting herself. Her body language screamed vigilance and that only made him look at her disapprovingly.

Scarlett's gaze turned to him when she heard the chair screech as it was pulled across the floor and found herself facing Dean as he moved closer to her.

"Open," he ordered roughly. His sudden change in demeanor had her obeying his command and her mouth fell open, allowing him to deliver a morsel of food into her awaiting mouth. Scarlett could hardly taste the food as her senses had gone haywire when she had felt him move closer to her.

"Swallow," he told her. And just like before she obeyed him. Their gazes connected once more and Scarlett felt a desire to pull him closer towards her flare within her. She saw his blue eyes darken and she shuddered as she remembered the way his gaze had darkened the previous night…right before he'd kissed her.

A lump had formed in her throat and her body seemed to be on lockdown. Her arms felt too heavy to move, her legs didn't even feel like they were there, all she could do was sit in her chair and look into his eyes.

Dean tried to remain at the edge but he was captivated by those chocolate pools of hers that pulled him into their warm depth. Looking at her, sitting next to her, it made him feel a warmth that he'd never felt before. He wanted to move closer towards her, as much as possible. Dean saw the swirl of emotions in her eyes: frustration, fear, pain, and anger. The last emotion came as a light glimpse and Dean wouldn't have caught on to it if he hadn't been so focused on her. He felt as if he was peering into her soul and the thought that she left so much open for him to explore sent chills down his spine as well as a surge of protectiveness. She was suffering. She was suffering and she didn't know how to pull herself out of it.

A loud noise tore across the air and the duo jumped slightly before looking around for the source. Dean's phone was ringing on the table and Roman's name flashed on the screen. Scarlett focused her gaze on her food as Dean reached over to where he was sitting earlier to pick up the device and answer.

"Hey," he said into the receiver.

"Yeah, she's here. Sure," he said a few seconds later before he handed Scarlett the phone. Scarlett took it, ignoring the jolt of electricity that buzzed up her arm when her hand accidentally brushed his in the process.

"Hello," she said, her eyes flicking to Dean as he turned back to his plate and resumed eating.

"Hey Babygirl, how're you doing?" Roman's deep voice was soothing and Scarlett found herself relaxing.

"I'm good. How are you? How is Seth?" She asked, before she opened her mouth and allowed Dean to slide another morsel of food past her lips.

"I'm doing well. Seth's alright as well. He's polishing up his championship belt," Roman said laughing when Seth yelled something in the background.

"Deano treating you well?" Roman asked.

"He's wonderful," Scarlett answered truthfully as her eyes once more rested on Dean while he ate, not noticing the smile that had begun to play hide-and-seek on her lips.

"Good. Listen, I wan-."

"Out of the way! It's my turn!" Seth's voice cut across Roman's as he more than likely stole the Samoan's phone from his hands.

"Hey Seth," Scarlett said as she chuckled.

"Hey yourself! Why didn't you guys call us yesterday when you reached? I was waiting for your call!" He said, Scarlett could hear the pout over the phone and she let out a laugh.

"I didn't know otherwise I would've told Dean to call you," Scarlett replied.

"Did you get a chance to see Vegas?" Seth asked.

"Dean took me out last night and I saw a whole new side of Vegas," she told him.

"Really? Where did he take you?" Seth inquired.

"He took me stargazing somewhere not too far out of town," she replied. Her laugh caught in her throat and her eyes snapped to Dean who had frozen, his fork halfway to his mouth and his azure eyes fixed on her. She knew that look instantly.

So he does remember.

"Stargazing? He took you stargazing?" Seth asked incredulously, breaking her train of thought.

"Yeah, he did. It was very beautiful," Scarlett said, lowering her eyes to Vitani, who was sitting in her lap.

"So let me get this straight, he took you to Vegas promising to show you around, but ended up taking you stargazing?" Seth asked. The way he said it had her laughing wholeheartedly.

"It's not that bad, Seth. Besides, he was right in taking me out to a less busy place on the first day," she assured him. Seth made a noncommittal sound and Scarlett glanced at Dean, who was wearing a frown on his face as he stared down at his plate.

"Seth, so um if you don't mind, I'm going to hand the phone back to Dean. I have some stuff I got to do," she said. Seeing the look on her face was unsettling her. After Seth told her he missed her and couldn't wait to see her and Scarlett responding she would see him soon, she handed the phone back to Dean. She quickly finished up her breakfast then made her way out the kitchen, leaving Dean to his conversation with her best friends.

~oOo~

"You still haven't talked to her have you?" Seth asked when Dean informed him Scarlett had left the kitchen. Pushing his plate away, Dean stood up and made his way out into the backyard to avoid being overheard.

"What the fuck am I supposed to say to her, Seth? She hasn't brought it up and neither am I," Dean growled back at him.

"You ass, pretending as if the kiss never happened is only going to make matters worse. At least try and talk to her to know how she feels," Seth said.

"Give it a rest, Seth. There is no way I'm going to let her come into my life only to ruin hers," Dean said. There was a few moments of silence on the line and he heard Seth take a deep breath.

"Dean, when will you realize that you can't live in your past? You've avoided dating the Divas for your obvious distaste in women that throw themselves at you but how long are you going to avoid a woman who brings out a different side of you that both Roman and I have never seen?" Seth asked. A look of perplex came onto Dean's face when he heard Seth's words.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're possessive, Deano," Seth said, letting out a small chuckle as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No I'm not!" Dean denied.

"Really? You're not possessive of Scar?"

"Scarlett!" Dean corrected hotly.

"My point exactly."

Dean wanted nothing more than to hit Seth as he heard the smugness in the two toned man's voice over the phone. He was fuming on the inside as he heard Seth and Roman's laughter on the other end.

"Call me when you actually have some solid piece of advice rather than useless theories," he snapped before disconnecting the call. Dean stared across the pool and willed his anger to calm down; something furry grazing his legs. He looked down and found Vitani curling around his legs.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your mistress?" He asked, reaching down to pick the cat up. She rolled around in his arms and Dean felt his anger subside as he began to play with her.

"Interesting how spending time with animals takes your mind off of things, no?"

Dean looked up and saw her leaning against the frame of the sliding door, her arms crossed and her face void of any covering; the warm breeze tickling strands of her hair and a little smile on her face. He swallowed as he let Vitani go, standing up so his entire body was facing her. She looked so perfect standing there in his home, how was he supposed to talk to her about what had transpired between them when she looked so much at peace?

"You looked upset when you ended the call, so I thought our resident therapist could help," she told him gently. He let out a breath of relief when he realized that she hadn't heard anything and only observed his body language.

"Everything okay?" She asked, concern filling her eyes. Concern for him.

"Yeah. It's…all okay," he said, pausing in the middle as he searched for the correct words. She didn't look convinced and slowly made her way to him; coming to a halt a few steps away.

"Dean?" She said; her doe-like eyes were glittering and Dean knew what was coming.

"Listen, why don't you get dressed and I can take you out again? This time we can go to a museum; you'll enjoy it," he said before she could say anything further. She looked at him for a few seconds before her shoulders slumped and her gaze turned down to her feet; nodding her head in acquiesce.

"I'll meet you at the door," she said turning around to leave. Dean, acting on pure impulse, caught her wrist to halt her.

"Wear my shirt," he said, almost pleading. She turned sharply to look at him and Dean didn't let his gaze waver from her. He didn't even know why he had made the odd request but all that it mattered to him was that she wear that shirt.

And there we have it. Chapter 21. I seriously cannot wait to hear from you guys and my sincerest apologies for updating late.

I'll be honest. I'm still reeling from the after effects of Money in the Bank and everything that went down on RAW the following night as well as the day after. It was one big blow one right after the other.

Let me know what's happening in your heads! Both about the story and your thoughts on Roman's suspension.

- K.

Member Reviews replied through PM, Guest Reviews replies below:

To Anonymous Guest: It's heart shattering but it'll lead to something better. I promise. :) xo

To Kaidence: I think I've said it before too, I love your name. It's so unique! Glad you enjoyed the update! :) xo

To Lou: I'm glad you found this fic too! Welcome aboard the Inferno Express and I hope to see you around as we keep going further into the lives of Scarlett and Dean. xo