Chapter 40: Pinky and The Brain
The next day they were back in Chicago and AJ had opted to work out at the local gym rather then the built in one in their home. Punk hated going to the local gym due to people annoying him but AJ wanted more space and more equipment.
"She's a dedicated little thing isn't she?" Cliff smirked watching AJ on the leg press machine
"Yea she is" Punk grinned
"So how does it feel to be married?" Cliff questioned curiously "Feel like running for the hills?"
"Looking to move in on my wife?" Punk shot at him
"Maybe" Cliff teased
"It's great" Punk said to him "She's amazing. I know I always bashed marriage but AJ makes me feel not alone"
"You've never been alone" Cliff pointed out
"Its different" Punk said shaking his head "I have my sisters and brother and all of you but with AJ I feel like I have my own family finally"
"How is she doing with all of this Amy stuff?" Cliff asked him
"She's taking it harder then she's letting on" Punk admitted as he watched AJ work "I wish I could make it all go away"
"Well I also heard about Maria" Cliff smirked
"Jesus this again?" Punk groaned "I'm so sick of people bringing her up to me."
"You have to understand why I'd be curious" Cliff argued
"Maria isn't AJ" Punk said to him "She's not even on my radar"
"Well I heard she signed a deal with WWE" Cliff said to him and Punk's face fell
"You're shitting me" Punk said stunned
"Read it this morning" Cliff confirmed "She on your radar now?"
"Fuck" Punk muttered "AJ is going to hate this"
"Well she seems like a confidant woman" Cliff noted "And besides she's ten times hotter then Maria"
"That's what I keep saying" Punk agreed
"I mean Maria is pretty and all but that's with ten pounds of makeup and an hour of work on her hair" Cliff pointed out and Punk nodded in agreement "AJ is sweating and has no makeup on and she's already ten times sexier then Maria" he said looking towards her causing Punk to look at Cliff "I mean just look at her"
"I do look at her" Punk said in a low voice "She's my wife"
"Right" Cliff smiled looking back towards Punk "She's hot" he shrugged "That's what happens when you marry a hot woman and in all fairness I've been hitting on her a lot longer than you've even known her"
"Well you should have swooped in when you had the chance" Punk shot at him
"Swoop in?" Cliff mocked "You swooped in before I even had a chance to consider it and by the way I'm still hurt you never told me that you were with her all of this time"
"You were friends with Trent" Punk pointed out "I didn't want to put you in a bad spot and make you lie to him"
"How considerate" Cliff remarked "I'm still pissed"
"I liked my privacy with AJ" Punk defended "It was like I was in my own secret little world"
"Now everyone knows about you guys" Cliff said to him "And you must love all of the snide comments you get about her"
"I've been told I'm not allowed to punch people anymore because of that" Punk informed him
"I'll do it for you" Cliff offered
"Thanks man" Punk said genuinely
"Hey you two" AJ shouted "Stop whispering like a bunch of school girls and come help me"
"I'll come" Cliff volunteered
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Punk asked his friend
"Ew why is your mind always in the gutter" Cliff said disgusted as he made his way over to AJ.
"What were you two talking about?" AJ asked
"How hot you are" Cliff said bluntly with a grin
"Really?" AJ asked blushing slightly
"Yep" Cliff said proudly and Punk just rolled his eyes "And you shouldn't feel at all threatened by Maria because she may be back in WWE-"
"What?" AJ asked alarmed
"Idiot" Punk hissed at Cliff
"She's back?" AJ asked Cliff
"Um that's the word on the web" Cliff admitted as Punk just shook his head in disbelief at his friend
"She wouldn't be coming back unless she was promised something big" AJ said to them
"Such as…" Punk trailed off
"Such as the belt" AJ said to him
"No way" Punk said shaking his head "She can't wrestle" he chuckled
"She's been in ROH" AJ pointed out
"Mostly as a valet" Cliff defended
"They're going to give her the belt because of all the drama I've caused" AJ said in disbelief "I can't believe I didn't piece this together sooner."
"Don't be silly" Punk said to her
"You know how it works back there" AJ reminded him "This would be right up their ally!"
"AJ I really think you're overreacting" Punk said nervously "We don't know anything for sure"
"What I know is that Maria was a fan favorite and now that she's back she's competition for me in the ring and out of it" AJ said firmly "It just means I have to work ten times harder"
"That's a healthy attitude" Cliff said fondly
"What if they try to make you work with her?" AJ asked Punk who laughed
"They won't" Punk assured her
"What if she's back for you?" AJ asked quickly "She's going to take my moment and my man" she said angrily and Punk just laughed lightly at her "It's not funny"
"It really is though" Punk said still laughing "She's zero competition for you in the ring or out"
"He's right" Cliff agreed
"You two just don't know women" AJ said to them
"We know women" Punk said then looked at Cliff "Well I do at least"
"Hey" Cliff said offended
"Did you two even notice those two women checking you out the entire night" she said pointing to the two girls pretending to be working out while watching Punk and Cliff
"Hey they're cute" Cliff said winking towards them and waving causing them to giggle.
"You both are blind" AJ said to him "And there is no way Maria is coming back for anything less than the Diva's belt or you" she said to Punk
"You're a little crazy huh?" Cliff asked her
"I'm not crazy I'm just determined" AJ said to him "Now which one of you is going to spot me so I can lift weights?"
"Me" Cliff said anxiously
"I'll do it" Punk said annoyed "Why don't you go hang out with your admirers but don't let any cops see you because they're probably jailbait"
"No way" Cliff said looking back at them "AJ?"
"Definitely jailbait but hey knock yourself out" AJ shrugged
"Damn" Cliff mumbled
Later that night Punk had emerged from the shower and scrunched up his face when he smelt something funny. Was it a gas leak? He quickly raced down the steps in search of AJ and found her in the kitchen.
"AJ" Punk said walking into the kitchen "You smell that?"
"Yea its dinner" AJ said happily and his face fell. AJ wasn't one to cook and he for sure as hell wasn't either so most of their dinners were ordering in or very simple dishes. "Smells good right?" she asked and he nodded forcing a smile
"What is it?" He asked peeking over but not getting to close to the smell.
"I made vegetarian lasagna" she said proudly "I've always only made it with meat but I improvised just for you. On the side we're going to have salad and bread"
"Lasagna really isn't on my diet" Punk smirked patting his stomach
"You hate it" AJ frowned "You haven't even tasted it and you already hate it"
"No" Punk said quickly "It's just I've been so off my diet these last few weeks but I'm willing to cheat again on the lasagna it looks really good" he forced out
"It does doesn't it?" she asked happily looking at it herself
"I'm just going to finish getting dressed" Punk said backing away
"Hurry before it gets cold" AJ said to him "Oh and your phone went off I think someone left you a message"
"Just see who it's from" Punk said to her as he walked out of the kitchen.
AJ reached for his phone and checked his text messages. He had one from Colt, one from his sister and one from an unsaved number.
Hey Pinky! I just wanted to let you know I'm coming back! I just signed a new deal and I don't want things to be awkward between us. I know we didn't end on the best of terms but we're both going to have to work together and get used to the fact that we're in each other's lives again. Maybe we could have lunch or dinner one night soon? I'll see you in two weeks! –xoxo Brain
"Ok I'm ready" Punk said with a hint of dread "Feed me" he encouraged taking a seat at the table
"Ok" AJ smiled placing down his phone and placing everything on the table.
Punk reached over for the lasagna that not only smelt bad but also looked horrible and took a small spoon full and placed it on his dish and went to reach for the salad.
"That's not enough" AJ said placing three large spoons falls on his dish
"Thanks" Punk said with a wide smile already dreading this. He thought he was well passed the age he had to pretend to like food. He was also mentally kicking himself for not having a dog. He watched as AJ filled her dish with salad and frowned.
"You're not having lasagna?" Punk asked stunned
"I can't eat that" she laughed placing a napkin over her lap "No carbs for me this week"
"But-" Punk started
"I made it for you" AJ said sweetly "All for you and there's going to plenty for leftovers"
"Yum" Punk grinned taking a bite out of his salad
"Eat the lasagna" AJ said in a deeper voice
"Right" Punk smiled and took a fork full of it. It was the worst thing he had ever tasted in his life so he swallowed the rest of it whole practically. "Amazing" he said to her and her happy face almost made this horrible taste in his mouth worth it.
"Do you really like it?" she asked hopefully
"Yes" he lied convincingly taking another bite of it and chasing it with a glass of water
"I'm glad" she said eating her own salad "I mean I'm a wife now I have to know how to cook" she laughed lightly
"Being wife doesn't mean you have to cook" Punk pointed out
"I know and I was thinking of taking cooking classes but clearly I'm a natural" AJ said smugly and he just nodded in agreement "Come on Pink eat up"
"What did you just call me?" Punk asked alarmed
"Pinky" AJ clarified and he dropped his fork and placed his hands under his chin and looked towards her
"Where did you get that from?" he asked her even though he already knew the answer
"From Brain" AJ said to him "I didn't picture you as an Anamaniac fan by the way"
"She sent me a message?" Punk asked and AJ nodded casually as she played with her salad
"Want to read it?" AJ asked looking down at her food
"No" he said still looking at her "AJ you really have to let this go"
"She messaged you" AJ defended looking up at him "It probably wasn't easy to get your number either she probably went through a lot of trouble. She wants to have dinner or lunch with you by the way"
"I'm not even going to respond" Punk assured her
"You can have lunch with her if you want" AJ said putting on a front
"I don't want to" Punk said to her "I know with everything going with the Amy backlash and now Maria is back- it's all really bad timing but you have nothing to worry about"
"I know" AJ said softly "It's just put yourself in my shoes. What if it was Jay trying to weasel his way back into my wife and invite me out to dinner"
"I wouldn't care because I know you wouldn't go" Punk said simply
"Wouldn't bother you in the slightest?" AJ asked him
"No" Punk said with a laugh.
"You wouldn't let a man massage me but if my ex was reaching out to me that would be ok?" AJ asked growing irritated and now he knew he said the wrong thing. He now responded by taking a huge mouthful of the lasagna
"I really don't want to talk about this anymore" Punk said to her "Its tiring AJ. I don't know how many different ways I can say I'm not interested in Maria"
"She's interested in you" AJ said to him and he snorted "I'm serious Phil! She's back and the first thing she does is get in touch with you?"
"That's ridiculous" Punk said to her
"You were right about James" AJ said to him "You told me he was weird and but I was blinded by it and now I'm telling you something is off about this whole Maria thing!"
"She's not like Amy" Punk smirked
"I don't think she's going to have me beat up and rip apart or bed or anything" AJ agreed "But she definitely wants you"
"AJ" Punk groaned throwing his head back "I'll message her back right now and tell her to next talk to me again" he said to her and now she seemed more annoyed. "You don't want me to do that? Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it"
"The fact that you want me to tell you what to do is what bothers me" AJ said to him "If it was me and I had gotten a message like that I would have known what to do especially if it bothered you as much as it does me. But obviously you wouldn't care if my ex wanted to see me again" she then stood up
"Don't storm off" Punk pleaded lightly
"You can finish eating" AJ said to him and then walked out of the kitchen leaving her dish on the table.
While Punk was deciding on what to say to AJ to fix this mess that he didn't even cause he was relieved when Colt and Cliff showed up.
"Ugh" Colt said entering the kitchen "what is that horrid smell?"
"AJ cooked" Punk said to him
"She's not here is she?" Colt asked nervously looking around, he didn't want to insult her.
"I think it smells good" Cliff said taking a whiff of the lasagna "Looks good too" he said fondly and Punk gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look.
"Help yourself" Punk encouraged and Cliff simply shrugged and grabbed a dish
"Seriously where is she?" Colt asked "She promised to beat this level of Mario for me"
"She's upstairs I think" Punk said to him "I think she's mad at me"
"What did you do?" Colt asked curiously
"I guess I said the wrong thing" Punk shrugged "I really didn't do anything" he defended
"Tell me you didn't tell her you thought her cooking was bad" Colt scolded
"No! I even ate almost an entire dish of it!" Punk shouted "If that isn't love than I don't what the hell is"
"This is delicious!" Cliff said with a mouthful
"Maria sent me a message" Punk said to him and even Cliff froze "What?" Punk asked the two "I don't even have her number and I didn't give her mine"
"I thought we agreed the Maria thing was a sensitive issue for her" Cliff said to him
"AJ read my phone messages I didn't even know she sent it" Punk defended
"So what did you say?" Colt asked "I'm sure she was upset"
"I told her it was ridiculous and I told AJ I would handle it anyway she wanted me to" Punk said and both Colt and Cliff shook their heads "What? That was bad?"
"Rookie mistake" Cliff said shaking his head in disapproval
"What the hell do you know?" Punk asked
"You should have said 'I'm going to message Maria back right now and tell her to lose my number'" Colt said to him
"Or you should have said 'Maria who?'" Cliff said and Colt nodded
"That's better" Colt agreed and Punk rolled his eyes
"She then got upset because she asked me to put myself in her shoes and I told her-" Punk started
"Please tell me you didn't say you wouldn't care" Colt warned
"What's wrong with that?" Punk asked and Cliff rolled his eyes
"How you were the first one to have gotten married out of the three of us is beyond me" Cliff said in awe
"What's wrong with that is now it seems like you don't care about her as much as cares for you" Colt said to him and Punk chuckled
"That's insane" Punk said still laughing
"It's also a total lie" Colt shot at him quickly "You would flip out if Trent or Jay messaged her and not only would you demand she ignore it you would handle it personally"
"That's true" Cliff said as he continued to eat the lasagna "Seriously this is amazing" he said pointing to the lasagna "You should buy her something"
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Punk defended loudly
"No but she is upset" Colt pointed out "I mean she's been through hell because of Amy and now Maria…it's just not right and clearly you're saying all the wrong things"
"So tell me what to say" Punk sighed
"Can I take some of this home?" Cliff asked
"Take the whole fucking thing" Punk said annoyed "Get back to the point. How do I fix this without apologizing"
"You're going to have to apologize" Colt said to him seriously "And I know you're a proud guy and did nothing wrong but suck it up. This isn't some chick you've been sleeping with for a few months she's your wife and she's hurt and feeling insecure and that's because you have the worst taste in women"
"Minus AJ" Cliff added with a full mouth of lasagna
"That goes without saying AJ is a saint for putting up with you and your exes" Colt said seriously
"I feel guilty about everything" Punk confided "She never would have been beaten or almost raped if it wasn't for me"
"I don't know" Colt said shaking his head "That James guy was sniffing her hair. He probably would have tried at some point I mean he did attack another woman in the same building. If you really believe in fate maybe the fact that she was beaten first is what saved her" he shrugged
"Good point" Cliff agreed
"None of it would have happened she wouldn't have fans throwing drinks at her face during shows right now if it wasn't for me either" Punk said to her "They should be throwing them at me"
"They're probably just afraid you'll punch them in the face" Cliff mocked "You do have a tendency to do things like that"
"I hit one fan!" Punk defended
"Wow he's testy when the missus is unhappy" Cliff noted to Colt
"Yea we better get out of here" Colt said to him "Let him fix this. Oh! And if you could pass this over to AJ for me I'd appreciate it" he said handing Punk the game
"Can I take this?" Cliff asked
"No you're not stinking up my car with that" Colt warned
"Don't knock it until you try it" Cliff shot back
AJ had just stepped into her spacious bathtub that was filled with bubbles. This was the TLC she needed. A bathroom lit by only candles and bubbles overflowing. She wasn't much of a girly girl but she did love a good bath. She knew she was overreacting and it was her own insecurities getting the best of her but she couldn't help it. Nothing had gone right since they had gotten married and with Maria added to the mix she wasn't sure what was going to happen.
She was going to go downstairs and apologize to Phil but she heard Colt and Cliff there making him feel bad which made her feel worse. He really didn't do anything wrong and she knew that, making him feel just as bad as she did wasn't right. She decided to let him hang out with his friends so she could have more time to think about how to apologize.
"Hey" AJ opened her eyes at the sound of his voice. She didn't even hear him come in the room.
"Hi" she said to him quietly "Colt and Cliff gone?"
"Yea and Cliff left with the rest of your lasagna" Punk said to her
"At least someone liked it" AJ smirked
"I liked it" Punk defended
"Please" AJ scoffed "Even I wouldn't eat it and I made it. You're a good husband for forcing it down" she said with a smile
"You think so?" Punk asked unsurely
"I'm sorry for snapping" AJ said to him "And I trust you completely it's just you've dated some beautiful women and yea it makes me insecure. I'm sure nothing makes me look worse then admitting I'm jealous"
"I admire you for it" Punk said to her "I wouldn't be able to admit it" he confided taking a seat at the edge of the tub "I didn't respond to Maria's message and I don't plan on it. I don't have anything to say to her and I'm not just saying that I actually mean it"
"I know" AJ said to him
"Believe me I know being with me isn't easy" Punk admitted seriously "And you have every right to lash out or snap"
"Being with you has been the easiest thing in my life" AJ said to him "We all have baggage and a past"
"Mine keeps biting you in the ass" Punk pointed out
"You're worth it" AJ smirked "Now how about you lose those clothes and come join me in this ridiculously large tub?" she suggested and he didn't have to be asked twice he was already kicking off his boxers and climbing into the tub.
"I don't really like baths" Punk noted "But this is nice" he said actually enjoying it. AJ moved to crawl over his body and kissed his lips sweetly. "I really like it as a matter of fact" he grinned enjoying the feeling of AJ's bare body resting on his. At that moment the doorbell rang and AJ frowned.
"Who is that?" AJ asked
"Just ignore it" Punk said to her "Probably a fan"
"Are you sure?" AJ asked him
"I'm naked with my wife- the only thing that would cause me to move from this spot is a fire" Punk told her seriously kissing her again