Chapter 11: Insecurities
Punk decided to skip out on Raw to avoid Vince and Hunter. He didn't want them to think he was anxious to get back or anything. At least with house shows he knew neither of them would be there and could get in and our without causing a stir.
"You should consider coming to LA" Punk said as he kept his arms wrapped around her and held her close "You can come work out with Eve I know she'd be happy to see you"
"I really have a lot to do in Tampa" AJ argued lightly. She would love to run off to LA with him and forget everything "I've got bills to catch up on, I really need to see my sister and see my landlord"
"The landlord huh?" Punk questioned
"Yea I'm having plumbing issues" she shrugged
"Well tell your landlord to suck it and leave" Punk said to her "Get a better place"
"No way that place is perfect" AJ bit back
"Yea if you like small, cramped and crappy" Punk retorted and she rolled her eyes
"Sorry I don't fit into your high class lifestyle Punk" She teased
"Oh you fit in" Punk grinned and kissed her lips "I should go" he said looking over to the cab who was waiting to take him to the airport. He was waiting over ten minutes for Punk to say goodbye to AJ.
"Have fun in LA" AJ said kissing him again
"I will and try to have fun at work" he said to her "If you need me just call me"
"I will" she said then he pulled away and got into the cab and she waved as it pulled away.
"Did I just miss Punk?" Randy asked coming up behind AJ
"Yep" she said turning around "He'll be real sad he missed ya"
"You know if you two are trying to keep this thing quiet I suggest you stop shoving your tongue down his throat in public" Randy said to her "Also I would reframe from dirty bathroom sex at work"
"Well it was worth it" AJ shrugged happily
"Look AJ you seem like a sweet girl so I'm going to tell you all about CM Punk" Randy said to her
"I know him better than you" AJ said to him
"Do you?" Randy questioned "I've known him for years I've seen the women that have come and gone and nobody compares to her"
"You're really trying to plant that seed of doubt in my head" AJ laughed "I'm not worried about Amy"
"I wasn't referring to Amy" Randy corrected "I'm talking about Maria"
"Maria? She hasn't been relevant in years" AJ said to him
"He loved that girl" Randy smirked "I've never seen him more happy. I mean I'm sure you've seen the pictures of them. He wasn't ashamed to show her off and he never hid their relationship. She was the love of his life"
"Well if that was the case I'm sure he'd be with her today" AJ remarked
"She left him" Randy said to her "Didn't he ever tell you about it?"
"No and it's not my business and it certainly isn't yours" AJ spat
"Oh but it is my business" Randy said to her "I slept with Maria."
"I did hear about that" AJ said to him
"So you know all about how he walked in on us and then morphed into this crazed lunatic and beat me?" Randy asked her. Punk had mentioned a fight and the sleeping together but not that he had walked in on it "He's a scary guy AJ. I really thought he was going to kill me that night. Maria was scared to death- locked herself in the bathroom and had to threaten to call the police to get him to leave. She broke up with him right then and there"
"Why are you telling me this?" AJ asked him
"Because you have a right to know who you're getting into bed with" Randy said to her
"It sounds like you're the bad guy of this story" AJ pointed out "How could you do that to him?"
"Oh please AJ I'm a guy and Punk isn't a friend of mine." Randy shrugged "Maria is a hot piece who was I turn her down?"
"It's wrong" AJ said firmly
"So was beating the shit out of me" Randy argued
"Like you wouldn't have done the same if it were Samantha" AJ pointed out and that's when Randy's face darkened
"Don't talk about her" he warned "I don't know why you and your boyfriend think it's ok to even mention her name"
"But it's ok for you to butt into my personal life?" AJ questioned
"Like I said sweetheart I'm just looking out for you" Randy defended "But here's some more food for thought, if Punk cheated on Amy with you what makes you think he won't cheat on you?" he asked her "I mean he sure raced out of here early. Clearly he got what he wanted from you last night and now he's off to his next conquest"
"Mind your own business" AJ said bitterly then turned and walked back into the hotel.
AJ would by lying if Punk's reputation didn't bother her. She tried to push it out of her mind but she was also annoyed that he had lied about Maria. He had told her he found out about Randy and Maria after their breakup not that he walked in on it and beat up Randy on sight. It's not that she was afraid of him and she didn't buy for a second that Maria was either but he still was holding back for her. Part of her wasn't sure if it was because he didn't trust her or simply didn't care about her enough to tell her.
On Tuesday she called him and they didn't speak much since he was busy with Rener and mentioned how he was going to meet up with some UFC guys. She then realized his history with the women of UFC and her stomach started to knot. She came across a picture of him Rener, Ever and Ronda Rousey the previous day- they were all training together, so she went against her better judgment and decided to fly out to LA to surprise him. He had told her which hotel he was staying in so showed up at around nine that night. When she got to the front desk she lucked out by being recognized by the young wrestling fan working the counter. She told me she was staying with Punk and he gave her a key up to his room. Fame wasn't all that bad…
She waited up in his room for hours and even tried to call his phone but it went straight to voicemail. Now she was second guessing coming at all. She fell asleep in his bed above the covers and at about eight the next morning she felt someone nudging her.
"AJ" Punk said causing her to open her eyes "What are you doing here?"
"I came to surprise you" she said sitting up and rubbing her face then saw the time. "Where have you been all night?"
"I was out" Punk said to her
"With who?" AJ asked and Punk was surprised
"Since when do you want a rundown of who I hang out with?" he asked her
"Since you're taking photos with other single women" AJ said getting out of the bed "Coming here was a mistake" she said quickly
"AJ wait-" he said lightly grabbing her arm
"What?" she asked trying to hide hurt face
"I passed out at Rener's" Punk said to her but he could tell she was having a hard time believing that story even though it was the truth "I didn't know you'd be here"
"You would have you had answered my calls" AJ defended
"My phone died" he shrugged
"And what if something happened? Did you not care that no one could get in touch with you all night?" she questioned
"AJ what is your problem?" Punk asked annoyed
"The fact that my boyfriend ran off to LA and has been spending his time with single women, stayed out all night and kept his phone off" AJ said to him. Punk eyed her oddly
"Where is this coming from?" Punk asked her "I told you I'd be in LA you knew who I was going to be seeing when have I ever lied to you?"
"Last week" she said surprising him
"Excuse me?" Punk asked narrowing his eyes
"You lied about your history with Randy and Maria" AJ said to him
"Oh did Randy fill in all of the blanks for you?" Punk asked her
"Well at least someone did" AJ said bitterly "Why didn't you tell me the truth?"
"Because it's not your business" Punk told her bluntly "It's my past not yours"
"You lied to me" AJ pointed out again "You don't see how that's wrong?"
"I didn't lie about anything of importance it was my story to tell" Punk defended "So you heard I didn't tell you the truthful sorry so now you thought I was cheating on you and decided to fly down here?"
"I didn't think you were cheating on me" she said to him
"So why else would you come down here?" Punk asked her
"You have a bad track record" AJ said cutting him off "Am I wrong to think that way?"
"You don't have the best record either darling" Punk pointed smugly
"I suppose you're right" she said coldly "but I've never lied to you"
"I didn't lie about anything that could affect us" Punk reminded her growing frustrated
"The fact that you lied right to my face and think its ok affects us Phil" she said again using his real name, which caused him to cringe slightly "I came down here to surprise you and have fun-"
"No, no you didn't" Punk laughed "You came down here to keep an eye on me and I won't have that" he said to her seriously "That's not how this works"
"That's not what I was doing" she said almost childishly folding her arms
"It's exactly what you were doing" Punk said pointing at her "I would never do that to you" before she could respond there was a knock at the door
"Well aren't you going to get that?" AJ asked him and he just rolled his eyes and opened the door
"Hey Punk you left this at the house this morning" a blonde woman said passing him his dead phone
"Thanks" He mumbled but before he could say anything else AJ was rushing past him and the woman down the hall "AJ!" Punk yelled chasing her down the hall. She was at the elevator pressing the down button. "That isn't what it looks like" he assured her
"Right" she said fighting back tears
"AJ I wouldn't do that to you" Punk said to her "She's-"
"So she spent the night as well?" AJ asked him
"We didn't spend it together" Punk said seriously
"Right" she laughed bitterly waiting for the elevator
"Don't go just stay and we'll talk about-" Punk started but the elevator doors opened and she stepped on
"There's nothing to talk about" AJ said sadly "Have fun" with that said the elevator doors closed and he punched the doors as they closed in aggravation.
AJ arrived back in Tampa the next morning and wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone or be around anyone either. She took a page out of Punk's book and turned her phone off not that he would try to get in touch with her. As she walked up to her door she heard someone calling her name.
"April" the slightly older man said jogging up to her
"Hi James" AJ said turning to look at her landlords son
"You missed our meeting yesterday" he said to her with a frown
"I'm sorry I got caught up with work" she lied "Is everything ok?"
"I'm taking over the building for my dad" James said to her
"Oh I hope he's ok" AJ said to him
"Yea he's alright but he's too old to be running the place" James shrugged "I wanted to go over your lease agreement and talk about your plumbing issues"
"Come inside" she said unlocking her door and letting the man in
"You know April it's really hard to do maintenance here when you're not really around" James said to her
"I know, I know" she said quickly "It's just I'm always traveling with work"
"I mean don't get me wrong your rent check always clears and you keep the place clean but it's impossible to work around your schedule. I'm planning on redoing this entire building" James said to her
"I'll leave you a key" AJ said to him "I mean unless this is your nice way of evicting me"
"I'm not going to evict you" James smiled warmly "It was my polite way of asking for a key"
"I have a spare" AJ said walking over to her side table drawer
"Wasn't there two of you?" James asked her "My dad said your boyfriend used to live here"
"He did but we're not together anymore" she admitted
"I figured which is why we should go over the lease because his name was on it as well" Kent said to her and she nodded "Maybe over dinner?" he suggested
"Oh" she said blushing lightly "That's very nice of you but I'm not ready for that-"
"-business dinner" James assured her "Unless you're busy tonight?"
"I'm not busy" she wasn't even sure that was the right response
"Great and like I said it's strictly professional" James assured her "I'll pick you up at seven?"
"Yea ok" she said still unsure as she walked him to the door "Oh here's the spare key" she said passing it to him and opening the door
"Thank you April" James said "I'll see you at seven then"
"Ok sounds good" she smiled and then noticed Punk was standing outside her door
"Hello" James smiled towards Punk then brushed past him
"What are you doing here?" AJ asked as Punk's eyes followed the man who had just left his girlfriends apartment "Punk" she said firmer
"I came to talk to you" Punk said coolly stepping inside "Who was that?"
"Really?" AJ asked but Punk just glared at her "He's my landlord. I told you I was meeting with him"
"You didn't mention how young he was" Punk said to her and she rolled her eyes "Should I be suspicious?" taking a stab at AJ's own accusations
"No" she said quietly
"What's at seven?" he asked her
"Seriously why did you fly down here?" AJ asked him ignoring his question "I thought you were going to be in LA for the week"
"I didn't like how we left things off" Punk said to her "Nothing went on AJ"
"It's just a little much" AJ admitted "One night you're fighting with Randy over another woman and then you're out all night and some blonde bimbo shows up with your phone"
"She's Rener's sister in law" Punk said to her "She's married to one of his brothers. You can call up and ask Rener and Ever yourself if you don't believe me" now AJ was feeling embarrassed
"Why didn't you just tell me that?" AJ asked him
"You didn't give me much of a chance" Punk smirked "You stormed out"
"Can you blame me?" AJ asked him
"No" he agreed surprising her "Which is why I'm here. I get why you were second-guessing some things but we need to clear it up now. I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me"
"I do trust you" she sighed "It's just Randy was in my ear and I know that I know better than to listen to him but it just stuck. I mean you're a great looking guy and women fall over you all of the time. I guess it's just my own insecurities" she said taking a seat on the couch and Punk took a seat next to her "I just like you a lot"
"First of all don't ever listen to Randy- ever" he said seriously and she slowly nodded "And second of all you have nothing to be insecure over. I want to be with you it's my choice to be with you and if I didn't want to be with you I wouldn't have blown off all of my friends and jumped on yet another flight. I'm seriously traveling more now then I did when I was actually working"
"I'm sorry" she sighed shaking her head "But the story he told me-"
"I'm sure it wasn't accurate" Punk said to her "But I'll tell you what happened"
"You don't have to. You were right yesterday it's your story and you shouldn't feel forced to tell me anything you don't want to" she assured him
"I want to tell you because I don't want anything to come in-between us" Punk said to her "Not that I think this story is even relevant to us"
"It's not" AJ said to him "Like I said you don't have to tell me"
"Maria and I were kind of living together at the time" he started off "I was supposed to be at a Cubs game but I ended up blowing it off. When I got home I walked into the bedroom and she was in bed with Randy" he admitted "I blew up- was it right? No. But I was pissed- I grabbed him and started pouncing on him Maria got freaked out and ran into another room. I came to my senses let Randy go grabbed a bunch of my stuff and never went back to that place. I didn't tell you the story because I didn't want you to feel bad for me"
"I do feel bad" AJ mumbled "You really loved her" she noted and he nodded
"She was my first true love" Punk admitted and she felt her heart sink "But obviously I was wrong. I was young and stupid and so was she."
"I walked in on Trent" AJ admitted surprising him "Here actually" she said with a laugh "I know how you felt"
"You never told me that" Punk said to her
"I didn't think it was relevant" she said with a laugh using his words "I really am sorry about yesterday"
"Me too" Punk said to her "I thought about it a lot and if it was reversed and you were out all night not answering my calls or some strange guy showed up to bring you your phone I would have been pissed too. Look you and I have to be honest with each other I don't want to blow this with you"
"I don't want to either" she agreed giving him a smile
"So besides the history lesson how were things with Randy?" Punk asked almost afraid of what she would say
"Actually it was good" she assured him "He was actually even nice to me"
"Good" Punk said to her "Next time though you hear something about me just ask me. Don't jump to any conclusions"
"I won't" she promised
"So back to my earlier question what's at seven?" he asked her
"Oh my new landlord wants to go over my lease" AJ said to him
"Why didn't he just do it now?" Punk asked
"They're taking Trent's name over the lease he just wants to do it over dinner" AJ said with a shrug
"Oh" Punk laughed "And you agreed to that?"
"I didn't realize you'd be here" AJ said to him "You can come with us"
"He asked you out on a date and you said yes?" Punk asked surprised
"I asked him if it was a date and said if it was I couldn't go" she said to him and he let out a laugh
"And I'm sure he said it was all professional" Punk smirked
"Yea" she said unsurely
"So he wants to go over your new lease because you told him you and your boyfriend broke up so it turned into dinner?" Punk asked
"He's a nice guy" AJ said to him "He's not like that. He just stopped by to pick up a key-"
"You gave him a key to your place?" Punk asked stunned
"He's my landlord he has to have a key" AJ said to him "There's some maintenance work that has to get done and I'm never home to let anyone in"
"So you're going pass your key off to a total stranger so he can come in and out of your apartment as he pleases?" Punk asked her with a laugh
"You make it sound bad" she smirked
"It is bad AJ" Punk said to her "I'm not ok with some guy who is trying to get in your pants walking around with a key to your place"
"Not every guy thinks with their dick" she said to him seriously
"Yes they do" Punk said to her "Every single guy" he confirmed
"Well were you thinking with it the other night?" AJ challenged
"I was thinking of you" Punk said to her with a smirk
"Right" AJ said leaning back into the couch and pulling Punk with her
"So are you still going on your date?" Punk asked kissing her lips
"It's not a date and you can come" AJ said to him "I have nothing to hide"
"I might have to go" Punk said seriously "Let him know that if tries to stick his key into your lock I'll break him in half"
"You made that sound so dirty" she giggled as he began to kiss his way down her neck
"I know" Punk smirked against her key.
"So it's not just Maria and Amy you care about" she noted and he pulled away slightly
"You're in my life they aren't." he said seriously "I'm worried about you not them" she smiled at the fact that he cared about her and showed a sign of jealousy made her feel even more at ease. "How about you cancel the dinner tell this loser you want out of your lease and I'll help you find a new place"
"I already told you I liked it here" she said looking up at him as he hovered over her "It's my home"
"It's a dump" Punk said matter of factly
"Don't talk about my place like that" AJ warned "And not everyone makes millions like you"
"I'll buy you a place" he said with a shrug and she laughed
"That's nice" she said still laughing
"I mean it" Punk said to her "I'll get you a little house and you won't have to deal with pesky landlords or shady neighbors"
"My neighbors are not shady!" AJ giggled
"They look shady" Punk said seriously "I don't mind"
"I know you don't and that's very sweet but I'm a very independent woman I prefer to pay my own way" AJ said to him "But thank you over the generous offer" she peeked his lips and smiled
"If you change your mind the offer still stands" Punk said to her
"I won't change my mind but thanks anyway" she smiled
"So you're going to blow off this dinner right?" Punk asked her "I don't want you going"
"It's just my landlord" AJ sighed
"I don't like it" Punk said seriously "Meet me halfway here? If it was reversed-"
"-I would hate it too" AJ agreed "I'll cancel"
"Thank you" he said sweetly
AJ had tried to reach her landlord all day but he wasn't answering his phone.
"It's almost seven" AJ said to Punk "Why won't he answer?"
"Because he knows you're trying to cancel" Punk said to her "He's just going to show up here"
"Or maybe something terrible happened" AJ said to him seriously and he just scoffed on the couch while playing her xbox
"Doubt it" Punk said keeping his eyes on the game
"I really hope he's ok" AJ said looking at her phone and trying to message him
"Trust me he's out probably getting a fresh haircut and box of condoms" Punk said casually
"Ew Punk" she practically scolded
"I know how the male mind works" Punk said to her and that's when the doorbell rang "Oh he's five minutes early" he smirked pausing the game and standing up
"No, no" she said racing him to the door
"I can't meet your landlord?" Punk asked innocently
"You met him earlier" AJ whispered
"I didn't properly introduce myself to the man" Punk defended
"Punk" she warned but he just opened the door an pushed her aside
"Hello" Punk said smiling wide towards the man
"Hi" James said with the smile "I'm looking for April"
"She's here-" Punk started and AJ managed to push her way in front of him
"I'm sorry my boyfriend flew down and surprised me" AJ said to him "I tried to call you and tell you I couldn't make dinner"
"Oh well you're more than invited" James said to Punk "You're CM Punk right?" he asked shaking Punk's hand
"Yea and I didn't catch your name" Punk said to him
"James" the man smiled "So going over the agreement wont take long do you mind just running through it now?" he asked them
"Sure" AJ said stepping aside to let him in
"It's not going to take long but felt he had to do it over dinner" Punk whispered in her ear
"Are you going to be living here?" James asked Punk
"No, no but I will be visiting- a lot" Punk said to him "That a problem for you?"
"Not at all" James said to him "It's just weird to have such a big celebrity staying in one of my buildings. Honestly I'm surprised April stays" he said smiling towards her
"Me too" Punk agreed
"Well April is a wonderful tenant so she's free to stay as long as she wants" James said and Punk just nodded
"So having the key to her place is necessary?" Punk asked and AJ was ready to crawl under the table and die. She couldn't believe he bought that up. "No offense to you or anything but you could understand my concern right? My girlfriend lives her alone comes in late from flights and like you pointed out is a celebrity I'd hate to see that key fall into the wrong hands"
"I'm the only one with access to the key" James assured him "And it's only to work on April's apartment while she's out of town"
"I told him it was fine" AJ said to James
"No he's absolutely right" James said to her "You can never be too careful. I assure you that April's safety will not be jeopardized or you could GTS me or something" he teased causing AJ to force out an awkward laugh. Punk on the other hand didn't find the comment amusing.
"I'll do worse than that" Punk smirked coolly
"Here all signed" AJ said lifting the lease and handing it over to James "Thanks again for doing this and I'm sorry about dinner"
"Maybe another time" James said to her and before Punk could comment she rushed James out the door
"I don't like him" Punk said to her walking back to the couch and picking up his controller she just rolled her eyes at the comment and watched as Punk went back to the game.