Disclaimer, etc., in part 1.

Part Fifty-Six

A hand reached out, smoothing over her hair and sliding down her back. "I need you to know something," CM Punk said, and Eve lifted up onto her elbows, turning her head to look at the man that was laying in bed next to her. It was Sunday morning, the day of SummerSlam, and Punk had shown up at her door at about one in the morning, having driven to her house after taking part in the WWE's Saturday night live event. They'd both pretty much fallen into bed after that, Punk tired after his match that night as well as the drive to her place. It was morning now, though still early enough that neither of them have bothered to get out of bed yet.

Shifting a little, Eve reached out, pushing the man's dark hair back out of his face. "What is it?" she asked, her gaze moving over him as he lay there wearing nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts. She couldn't say she minded the view.

"I know Teddy Long pretty much had you banned from SummerSlam," Punk said quietly. "I want you to know that I had nothing to do with that."

"I didn't think you did," Eve told him, the woman sitting up in bed, crossing her long legs, which were currently bare, as she wasn't wearing much more than one of Punk's t-shirts. "I mean, I know you probably could have if you wanted to, by insinuating that you would come after me or something if I was at ringside, but I also think you learned your lesson after the last time you got me banned from being at ringside for a match," the diva said, and Punk actually flinched at that, the man reaching up to rub at his cheek, almost like he could feel the slap she'd given him once again.

"Yeah. I definitely learned my lesson from that one," the wrestler said, the man sitting up as well, shifting so that they were face to face, both of them cross-legged, their knees touching. "I wouldn't do that to you again... Go behind your back like that. It was stupid of me to do it the first time."

"Well, at least you learned your lesson," the diva said, then frowned. "I honestly think that, this time around, it was totally on Teddy Long. I don't think Jeff even had anything to do with it. He might have actually liked the idea of having me out there, to use me as a distraction. Because even if he doesn't realize the truth... Even if he hasn't figured out that I'm ditching him and that I'm with you... He may have noticed what you did at Night of Champions, the way you reacted when Maria came out there to attack me."

"I would have helped you if I could have," Punk whispered, reaching out, his hand cupping her cheek, and Eve gave him a slight smile, her hand coming up to cover his for a moment before dropping back down, her fingers tracing patterns on the comforter as she spoke.

"I know you would have... But it just happened so fast, and Jeff wouldn't let you out of the ring. Maybe he thought you were trying to take advantage of the situation and get counted out or something." She shook her head. "Whatever the case, it doesn't matter. It's happened, it's over now, and I'm better. I'm fine. No more bruises, ribs are healed... I'm fine."

"It still shouldn't have happened," he said, his hand sliding from her cheek, gently trailing down her throat before he dropped his hand back down, his arms resting against his knees as he looked at her. Eve gave a small shrug.

"But it did. And I will get my revenge on Maria when I get the chance. Because even if Jeff gave her the idea or put her up to it or whatever, she's still the one that ran down that ramp. And I'm not the only one that she attacked. Girl doesn't have many friends left."

"Or fans," Punk replied, smirking slightly, and Eve knew he was right on that one. After she'd attacked both Kelly and Eve - with no good explanation, or really any explanation at all - the fans had pretty much turned on her. Of course, once Eve revealed herself to be with Punk, that could change... People could decide that her behavior was somehow okay because they no longer liked Eve or something. Really, it didn't matter.

"True enough. For now." The diva shook her head. "Anyway... As I was saying before, I think banning me from being there is totally a Teddy Long thing. I mean... You said that you two are the last match, right? The for-real main event."

"Yeah. We're even going on after Orton and Cena," the Chicago native said, and Eve arched a brow.

"And this is SummerSlam. One of the biggest pay-per-views of the year, with a few big matches on the card. Having SmackDown guys be the main event... He doesn't want anything to mess that up, I'm sure. He wants it to be one-on-one, just the two of you. No distractions from little ol' me... Even if I wouldn't be causing a distraction in the way he thinks I would be," the woman said, smirking a little at that.

"Can't argue that. I'm guessing he would expect you to run out and dump me off a ladder or something. He sure as hell wouldn't expect you to be on my side."

"Maybe he would if he knew how many times Jeff Hardy had actually tried to contact me since my injury... Which is exactly once," she said, shaking her head, and Punk frowned, concern on his face.

"He's contacted you? I thought he hadn't-"

"He hadn't. Until yesterday."

"Eve-"

"It was just a text. He didn't call me or anything."

"Yeah, well, I don't even like the idea of him thinking about you, much less contacting you," Punk said, making a face, and Eve gave a short laugh, the woman shaking his head, reaching out for his hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Technically speaking, I'm still his manager. And I will be until the night of SmackDown, when I will make it very, very clear that I want nothing to do with him. I'm still not entirely sure how it is that I'll be doing that, but I can promise you that I will," the woman told him, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips, then pulling back, arching a brow at the man. "Anyway... He just sent a text saying that he would see me on Friday, and that he hoped I remembered my role a bit better now."

Punk's eyes flashed with anger that. "Remember your role? Seriously? Why is it that I think that sounds a bit like he intended for your injury to be a reminder of what he thought you should be? He wanted Maria to put you in your place."

"We already suspected that. That he had something to do with it... Even if he didn't explicitly tell her to attack me, then he probably pointed her in that direction. Maybe even managed to make her think that it was her own idea and not his." The diva shook her head. "Whatever the case, it doesn't matter. What's done is done... And I fully intend to get my revenge on Maria at some point in time, though I can't say for sure when that will be... And I know that Jeff Hardy is going to end up sorry for... Well, he'll be sorry for messing with you, that's for sure."

"And he'll be sorry for messing with you, too," Punk said, smirking. "Because as some point, I plan on telling him at least a little bit of the truth. I want him to know that the reason I chose him to cash in on - because I could have cashed in on whatever champion I wanted to - was because of what he did to you. I want him to know that he brought this whole mess on himself. That I took him down because he hurt you and thought he could get away with it."

"And what? Winning the world title was just a bonus?"

"I admit, it was a good one, but it was still just a bonus. The important thing was taking him down a peg. He deserved everything I've thrown at him." Punk's hand came out, trailing over the outside of her thigh, where she'd been scraped up the day he'd found her walking in the tall grass on the side of the road after Jeff had literally thrown her out of the car. "Every cut and scratch and bruise he put on you, everything he said... I'm making him pay... Bit by bit."

Eve reached down, covering his hand with her own, trailing her fingers over the back of his hand. "I shouldn't find it hot when you talk like that. About getting your revenge. I should be telling you that he isn't worth it, which he isn't. But I still want him to pay. Not very nice girl of me, is it?"

"Being nice is overrated. Especially after what he's pulled."

"I guess you're right."

"I know I am," Punk replied, lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it. "I'm going to beat him tonight. I'm going to find a way. People talk about Jeff and his TLC match experiences, but the only difference in a ladder match and a TLC match is the name. Chairs and tables are just as legal in ladder matches as they are in TLC ones. In a ladder match, we just have to reach under the ring to find them instead of them being readily available. And I've been in ladder matches before. In fact, I'm the only person to have won two money in the bank ladder matches at WrestleMania. So he may think he has the upper hand, but he doesn't. In fact, from what I remember about Jeff Hardy and various ladder matches, he's just as likely to take himself out of it as I am. He'll see the high spot, do it, and then he won't be able to get up from it... And I will. I am going to win that title tonight."

"And I will be cheering you on when you do. I still wish I could be there."

"I know. But you'll be there at SmackDown. Maybe I'll throw a big celebration then," he said, then smirked at her. "Or maybe the two of us can have our own little celebration tonight..."

"Maybe so," Eve replied, leaning in to give him a kiss, allowing Punk to deepen it just briefly before she pulled away, laughing and evading his attempt to grab her as the woman got off the bed. She shook her head at him. "Nope... We are not staying in bed all day. In fact, right now, I am going to take a shower so I can get ready."

"I could join you," Punk said, already getting out of bed, and Eve arched a brow at him.

"Oh, really? I thought we agreed that my shower was really too small for that," she stated, making her way into the bathroom, leaving the door open as she did so, the diva already pulling off what she'd worn to sleep in the night before. Punk grinned before getting up to follow her.

"I'm sure we can figure something out."