Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Twenty-Nine

She'd won her match.

With Melina out there at ringside, Maria hadn't had a chance to try for any sort of weapon, and aside from a sneak attack backstage before the match and landing a few wild and angry blows at the start, Maria really hadn't managed to get much offense in at all. Eve had pretty much dominated the match, and the crowd had been behind her the entire time, the fans all aware of what Maria had done to Kelly just five days before on the night of The Bash. While the incident hadn't been caught on tape, it had been reported on extensively, both the night of the pay per view and at the WWE's website, and the attack had been mentioned more than once again tonight, with an update on Kelly's condition being given by Josh Matthews, who had been conducting backstage interviews that night. He'd interviewed Teddy Long on the situation, and the SmackDown General Manager had told the basics once again, then stated that he had made the divas' match tonight at Eve's request so that she could get some payback for her friend. So Eve had gone out there with the backing of the fans and Maria, for perhaps the first time in her career, had walked to the ring to the sound of boos. The woman had looked more than a little startled by it, clearly off her game, and Eve had almost ended it then with a quick surprise roll-up. Truth be told, she was almost glad that Maria had kicked out at that point, if only because it meant she had more of a chance to get some revenge on the other diva. And she did get some revenge, eventually managing to twist Maria's arm back behind her in a submission hold, the older diva finally having to tap out. Damn, but that had felt good.

Letting out a breath, Eve let herself smile for a moment, then quickly sobered again as she thought about what had happened *after* her match. Not to her or to Melina - they'd both gotten out of there just fine, Maria not really in any condition to try any sneak attacks, especially with two of them out there... No, she wasn't thinking about anything that had happened to her or her friend. Instead, she was thinking about what had happened to CM Punk. He'd ended up getting both his eyes raked and poked in the eye during the tag match tonight and, much as Eve had expected, Jeff had basically deserted the man, feigning his own eye injury to avoid taking the tag. Punk had still managed to get the GTS on Jericho then, but Edge had gotten him with the spear afterwards, leading to Edge and Y2J picking up the victory... And Jeff revealing that he was okay and just pretending. The fans, of course, had thought it was just oh-so-funny.

She wondered if they'd find Jeff so damn funny if they knew that he was an abusive, drugged-out asshole when he wasn't in the ring.

Hell, half of them would probably find some excuse for him. And then some of the others just wouldn't care.

Shaking her head, Eve stepped away from the mirror, the woman pulling her robe more tightly around herself as she made her way into the main part of the room... Jerking slightly when there was a knock on her door. A smile almost immediately came to her lips, the woman fairly certain she knew who it would be. After all, he'd said he would be by after the show was over. However, she also knew there was a chance that it would be someone else at the door, so Eve quickly looked through the peephole before unlocking the deadbolt and unhooking the chain, pulling the door open and stepping back to give her visitor entrance.

"Good job tonight," CM Punk said as he stepped inside the room, tugging his hoodie off and tossing it on one of the chairs as Eve shut and locked the door, the man now standing there wearing a t-shirt and a pair of baggy shorts.

Eve smiled slightly as she looked over at him. "Thanks. It's not like it was that tough of a match, though. Maria's not exactly... Most of her wins have been flukes, you know. Or with the help of someone else."

"Whose idea was it for Melina to be out there?" he asked, and the diva shrugged.

"Hers, actually. After what Maria did to Kelly, she was worried that Maria would pull out a weapon against me, too, and she didn't want me to be caught off-guard or anything."

"Well, thank goodness for Melina, then. I wouldn't put it past Maria to have tried something. In the past, I might have, but now that she's actually attacked Kelly? Goes to reason that she would attack you, too," the champion said, making his way over to where Eve stood, his hands coming out to rest on her hips as he looked at her. He started to lean in toward her, stopping when the diva reached up and put her hands on his face.

"How's your eye?" she asked, fingers moving lightly over his cheeks, a small frown on her face as she met his gaze. "I know that Edge got you in the eye earlier - his was possibly an accident... But Jericho poking you in the eye later definitely wasn't an accident. Jerk."

His hands moved lightly up her sides before sliding back down to settle at her waist again. "I'm okay. Really. It hurt at first, yeah, but my vision's fine and I'm not hurting anymore. I'm fine. I swear. How about you?" he asked. "I know you dominated tonight, but she still got a few hits in, especially since she didn't exactly wait until the match had started before attacking you."

Eve sighed at that. Backstage before the match, Maria had come after them, knocking Melina into an equipment crate and going after Eve, though the attack had been short-lived. That incident backstage and a few wild punches later on had been the main part of Maria's offense that night, , the diva raining down blows on her then until Eve had gotten her foot up and managing to kick Maria right in the nose, ending the other diva's offense not just for the moment, but pretty much for the rest of the match.

"Maybe she didn't. Maybe she tried to blind-side us... But I still won. And if I have a bruise or two, then oh, well. They were worth it," she told him. "Maria hurt Kelly. She took a tire iron and hit her in the ribs... Repeatedly. Enough times that Kelly has broken ribs. She'll be out for weeks because of it. I couldn't let her get away with that."

"I know. From the moment that I heard what had happened to Kelly, I knew you wouldn't let it go. You'd get the payback for your friend. It's who you are. Kelly believed you when Maria didn't, and Jeff may not have explicitly told Maria to take out Kelly, but I imagine that he pointed her that way. You weren't going to let that stand. Just like I'm not going to let what Jeff did to you stand. Every single day that passes that I have the title and he doesn't? Is just one more knife in the gut for him. It kills him to see me with the title," he said, then smirked. "Is it wrong that I enjoy that as much as I enjoy being the champion?" he asked.

Eve smiled back at him. "No. Because I really like seeing you with the title, too. Partly because I want you to be champ, but also partly because I know how badly it hurts him. How much it kills him to see you with the title when he thinks it should be his." She shook her head. "You know, after you cashed in on him, when you gave your whole speech about how you were just doing what you were entitled to do and how you didn't know that the contract stated that you could cash in on anybody except Jeff Hardy..." The woman shook her head, smiling. "I loved that moment. Because it's exactly what he thought. That you had the right to cash in your contract on anyone but him. That's how damned arrogant he is. It's nice to see him knocked off his high horse a little. Although... he kind of tried to get you back tonight."

Punk shrugged his shoulders. "It was just a tag match. I expected him to pull something... Whether it was just walk out on me or attack me or something. I'm not surprised. And it's not like anything was on the line. I still have the title, and he has to whine and wait for another shot at it," the man said, then sighed, reaching out to grab Eve's hand, leading her over to the couch in the room and flopping down on it. He grinned as he pulled the diva down with him, his free arm coming up to wrap around her waist, pulling her so that she landed on his lap instead of sitting down beside him. She let out a yelp of surprise, her hands coming up on his shoulders, her eyes wide as she looked at him.

"Punk?"

"I don't expect anything. I just want you close to me," he told her, one arm still wrapped around her. His free hand moved up and down her back, moving over the satiny material of the robe she was wearing. Thankfully, the robe wasn't all she was wearing, because if it was, the fact that the belt had come loose would have meant he was getting a free show. As it was, the tiny shorts and tank top she had on beneath the robe wasn't covering much.

Her eyes on his, Eve leaned closer to him, letting her hand come up to play with the material of his t-shirt. "Maybe... Maybe you should. Expect something," she said quietly, able to feel him stiffen slightly at her words, the man sitting a little straighter, his fingers pressing more firmly against her back.

"Eve... What are you saying?" he wanted to know, and she took a deep breath, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth before she spoke.

"I mean... I mean what I said. Maybe you should expect something. Something more."

"Why? Because you think that it's expected? Or because you want there to be more?" he asked, his eyes still on hers, and Eve felt as if he were looking right into her, taking in all her thoughts and feelings... or at least trying to.

"I just... When I'm with you... And we're kissing and you're touching me and... Sometimes I don't want to stop. It's getting more and more difficult to stop. And I know you said you don't want to push me... And you're not. I don't feel pushed into anything," the woman stated. "I just..."

"You're not sure yet," he said quietly, watching her, and Eve heaved out a sigh, rising to her feet, the man letting his arms drop from around her as she rose from his lap. She wrapped her arms around herself, securing her robe once more as she started to pace.

"It's not that I... I want to be with you. But... Part of me is still second-guessing myself. And I hate it. I hate that I do that because I know that, if there's any guy in this company I can trust, it's you. I just-"

"Jeff Hardy messed with your head. I know you were never together, but you're his manager. And he hurt you. He violated your trust, and he left you alone in the middle of nowhere. He knocked you around. He's sent someone to go after one of your friends-"

"And I can't help but wonder how I managed to be so wrong about him. It makes it hard to trust my own judgment. But... I want to be with you. I really, really do."

"And I want to be with you. But I think that you deserve to be sure. And you deserve... It should be something special. Not... Not tearing up the sheets at some hotel room when I can't even spend the night because we're worried about being caught," he said, Punk getting to his feet and making his way over to her. Standing in front of her, he rested his hands on her hips. "I'm not going to lie. I want you. But I don't want you to have any regrets, no second thoughts. And when we're finally together... I want to take my time. No rushing. And I want to wake up with you in my arms. I don't think that's too much to ask."

She shook her head. "It's not."

"Then that means we wait. Until we don't have to worry about whether someone sees us leaving your room together in the morning. Until you're away from Jeff Hardy and everyone knows you're with me. Until I can spend the whole damn night with you instead of sneaking away at four in the morning."

"You're not making waiting any easier, you know."

"Good. Because I want you to anticipate this just as much as I am."