Money in the Bank is a very tense experience for Ricardo. Not only does Paige take a couple of painful hits so close to where Ricardo's sitting at the commentary desk that he can see the fear of losing- failing- in her eyes during her divas championship match against Naomi, but later on, after she'd won and Ricardo feels like he can breathe again, it's Alberto's turn for the WWE World Heavyweight title match. Ladders are strewn all over the place, all of the competitors taking shot after shot against them, and Ricardo can barely watch when Alberto and Sheamus are exchanging blows between the table and the ring, each yell and groan reverberating through him. He takes a breath and forces himself to watch so he can continue his commentary, despite how difficult it is.

When the match ends, Cena of course walking out with the titles, Alberto glances back at Ricardo and nods discreetly to say, despite everything, that he's ok. Ricardo nods back subtly as he leaves, Ricardo counting the minutes until he can go check on Alberto, on Paige, see for himself that they're both really ok. He's relieved that tonight's over, although Alberto hadn't walked out the winner and he can only imagine what kind of mood his former employer will be in. He sighs and forces his attention back onto the last bit of commentary, regulating his breathing.

It's Alicia Fox's birthday the next night. Alex grins down at her as he leads her into catering, covering her eyes. She squirms and shifts, trying to peek through his fingers, but he just holds onto her tighter, smiling into her hair. "Hold on, just a second," he tells her, using his free hand to push the door open. As soon as they're inside, he moves his hands away and glances down to observe her expression. It's simple, just a few balloons and a banner, with a yellow cake coated in caramel icing waiting on the table for her. "Happy birthday, Foxy," he tells the gaping woman.

Ricardo inches up to them. "No one touched it," he tells Alex lowly, since he had been left in the room to guard it while Alex had gone to retrieve the diva. "Happy birthday, Alicia."

She grins at him and throws her arms around him, causing him to freeze awkwardly. "Thank you!" He pats her back uncomfortably until she moves away, rounds on Alex and hugs him just as tightly, kissing him all over his face as he laughs and hugs her back. "This is fantastic."

Alex follows her as she walks over to get a better look at the simple set up. He would've done a more thorough job for her, but he'd only just learned it was her birthday, and he vows to do a better job at all of this next year, should he and Alicia still be involved by then. "I'm sorry it's not much."

She looks up at him, smiling. "Hey, it's more than I would've gotten otherwise. If you haven't noticed, Alex, I don't have a whole lot of friends." He frowns at her and she shrugs. "But that's ok, as long as I have you, I'm alright with things." He kisses her neck as she grabs the knife- plastic, not sharp- and starts to cut slices for all of them.

Ricardo joins her to get a slice for Alberto, who Alex only just realizes is sitting at one of the nearby tables, staring at his phone. He leaves the two of them at the table, wandering over to him. "Hey, Del Rio."

Alberto glances up at him, nodding vaguely, turning back to his phone. Alex sighs and sits down next to him, turning to watch his roommate and maybe-girlfriend interacting. "Riley," the Mexican aristocrat suddenly mutters, voice low and tense, face hidden behind his phone. Alex blinks and turns to look at him, startled. Alberto's dark eyes glance over towards the table, resting on Ricardo for a moment, before turning back towards Alex. "Do you know what this week is?"

"July 4th," Alex says instinctively before pausing, also looking towards Ricardo. "Oh. Oh. Yes, I do."

Alberto runs his hands through his hair, down his face before staring back at his phone. "Keep an eye on him. If he needs anything..." He hesitates. "... or anything else happens... call me."

Alex nods, staring back at his roommate. Ricardo hadn't said anything, which is why it had slipped Alex's memory, but now that Alberto mentioned it, he wonders how the next few days will go for the former ring announcer. A year ago, he had been suspended and that had started their friendship for real, bonded by charity and a need for distraction. But it had also led them down the path where Alberto ultimately decided to leave Ricardo behind, try to push him into forging his own path... He forces a smile when Ricardo and Alicia brings back cake for both of them, Alicia fitting comfortably in his arms as she settles in his lap, kissing his mouth before leaning back to feed him. He smiles and rests his hand on her midriff, enjoying the sweetness of the cake and the warmth of her skin.

Alberto pointedly ignores them, starting a discussion in Spanish with Ricardo about the World Cup until the cake is gone and the four of them go their own ways, Alex to the preshow panel, Alicia to the divas locker room, and Alberto and Ricardo to the main locker room to see what Mike's doing leading up to his big return to the WWE. How Ricardo convinces Alberto to let Mike borrow his suit, Del Rio isn't sure but he bites his tongue, choosing instead to look through his luggage. This isn't the week to hurt or disappoint Ricardo... the only time period Alberto is dreading more is the week of August 5th. Although, he thinks, the next few months up past October are going to have to be handled delicately where Ricardo is concerned. He sighs and glances up, watching as Ricardo helps Mike put the scarf on properly, tilting his head with a fond smile.

This fades, however, when he hears them talking about the July 4th party and he looks away, clicking his heels against the floor to distract himself from their vague murmurs. "Hmph." He barely talks the rest of the night but Ricardo is too busy to notice, distracted with his interviews and various other things going on around the arena. They sit side by side, watching as Paige's time in the ring shortly after Mike's is interrupted by AJ. Ricardo tenses and Alberto glances at him as AJ confronts Paige, challenges her. The younger man releases a breath that whistles through his teeth, shoulders tense in worry when Paige loses the title.

He gets up quietly and walks out of the door, Alberto blinking a few times before he follows him, watching from the doorway as Paige walks numbly through the curtain, careful not to look at anyone or anything as she goes... only stopping when Ricardo steps in her path. She shakes her head desperately, trying to brush past him, but he gently grips her arm, murmuring to her, and she tenses up before turning sharply and burying her face in his chest, clinging to him desperately. Neither care who's watching, or that AJ and Mike aren't that far away, celebrating in a sharp contrast to the dull disappointment coming from the British diva in his arms. He sighs and turns away, that sense that he's intruding on something private deepening. He wonders when exactly this business had started to leave him behind, and why.

After another series of interviews for Raw, Ricardo sighs and slumps down into his bed at the hotel, carding his fingers through his hair tiredly. "It's good to have Mike back," he says, listening as Alberto finishes up in the bathroom and comes to join him, sitting on the other bed. "The 4th of July party should be fun this weekend."

"Right," he responds grimly, pulling his shoes off and placing them neatly under the bed so neither of them would trip in case they wake up overnight. "Well, I hope you have fun, mi amigo. By what I've heard-"

Ricardo coughs. "Eh, excuse me, El Patron, but que? You talk as though you're not going to be there." He frowns and scratches absently at his jaw, abruptly anxious. "Do you... not want to come?"

Alberto blinks, stares up at him. "It's not that, amigo, I'd like to spend the holiday with you, but I haven't been invited, so I just assumed..."

Ricardo's lips twitch and he shakes his head. "Trust me, when Mike invites me, it's a group invitation. You, Sofia as well if she wants to come. He knows we're..." He hesitates, swallows, looks away nervously. "We're a package deal." His words are slow, uncertain, and Alberto leans forward, squeezing his fingers until Ricardo's eyes rest on his face, searching his expression.

"You're right, of course, Ricardo. I should've known. Lo siento, I just didn't want to impose." He sighs, rubbing his fingers against Ricardo's knuckles distractedly, not sure if he should mention it. "Especially this week."

Ricardo's eyes dull slightly as he nods. "You never have imposed, El Patron. I want you there. Por favor, come?"

"Of course I'll come, and I'll contact Sofia and see if she can make it as well." Ricardo smiles at this bit of news, nodding, when Alberto releases his hand and sits up straighter. "So the main question now is... are you going to invite Paige?"

Ricardo gapes for a long moment before shaking his head. "You... now? I don't know who AJ would kill first if I did- me, or her. Besides, erm, we're just friends and I'm sure she has other plans."

"You never know until you try, mi amigo," Alberto tells him with a smirk, thinking perhaps the diva's presence would be the exact distraction that his friend needs right now. But Ricardo is still shaking his head, no matter how much slower than before. "Fine, fine, I'm not going to push you."

"Right," Ricardo says with a faint smirk. He looks relieved when Alberto drops it, finds the remote and they both settle in to watch some TV before dozing off, needing all of the rest they can get before traveling on to Main Event the next day.

Despite not being used on Raw, it's a busy week for Alberto. He accepts Sheamus' challenge on Main Event, he wrestles and beats R-Truth on Superstars to get over his loss at Money in the Bank, prepare for his US title opportunity. The next night, Ricardo sees him off with a smile and "buena suerte". As Del Rio turns to head to the ring, he spots Paige lurking nearby and his plans for the night spread out like a map in his mind, reminds him of what all he needs to accomplish before the 4th of July party the next day. But all of the well-wishes and anything else in the world wouldn't help, everything going sideways after he tries to do a moonsault from the second rope, pay a little homage to his best friend by winning the match with one of his favorite moves. But it doesn't work, Sheamus moves and not long afterwards, he loses, he's left sore and angry on the floor, but this isn't the only thing he's determined to make work tonight, though it is the one he grudgingly allows to slip through his fingers.

Ricardo's asleep, hand curled around his pillow, lips parting as the soft moonlight drifting in through the curtains sharpen his features, when Alberto grabs his cell phone and keycard, slipping out into the hallway. Dials a rarely used number and leans against the elevator panel as it rings in. "Hola. We need to talk about your little... party tomorrow, Miz..."

The next morning, the group of them get on the flight to California, Ricardo's brows furrowing as he glances around and spots a few unexpectedly familiar faces. He glances at Alberto, who stubbornly stares at the list of flight instructions in front of them, as if he hadn't read them a million times before. The ring announcer rolls his eyes, glances over his shoulder once more, and smiles sheepishly as Paige looks over at him and grins. He swallows and faces front, wondering what's going to happen, why she'd agreed to apparently come to this party hosted by the husband of the woman who'd just taken her title belt away days ago. Hopes that she hadn't been tricked or kept information from with the invitation.

His teeth start to hurt with tension when he realizes that Alicia Fox is on the flight, too, teasing Alex with peanuts. He can only imagine how those three divas and fireworks in the same place could go wrong, considering that the men alone could go from bickering to throwing punches within minutes in the right circumstances. He winces and glances over at Mike and AJ, the two of them holding hands and talking lowly, their heads pressed close together. He hopes they know what they've gotten themselves into with hosting this thing.

His worries slowly drift, however, as they arrive at Morrison's apartment, Sofia waiting on the porch to greet them. She had arrived earlier in the week, taking over John's kitchen to cook some food ahead of time. Ricardo beams at her, eager for Paige and her to meet. The group of them had arrived in two cars to avoid arguments or cat fights, Mike, AJ, Alex and Alicia in one car, and Alberto, Ricardo and Paige in the other. He's not sure how the next couple of days are going to go, but it's a start at peaceful co-existence between the eight of them. He hopes.

Between snacks and the meat and side dishes and desserts and everything else, Sofia had clearly been busy. John himself looks overwhelmed as Ricardo claps him on the arm, greeting him cheerfully. "Hey, man," he sighs. "Look at all of this food, I almost thought my fridge shelves were going to collapse with the weight of some of it."

Ricardo laughs. "You get used to it, you should see Alberto's refrigerator on a normal day." John smirks and shakes his head at the thought of it. "Come on, let's all work together in getting this safely to the cove." He pauses for a moment, remembering that place- where he had been last year, in August, when they'd held the belated 4th of July celebration, emotionally, physically. He shakes it off when Sofia slips in next to him, hugging him, Alberto's hand steady on his shoulder. He turns and catches Paige's eye, smiling at her. He breathes in, out, relaxes. Takes a bowl, starts a chain of hands passing each dish on until it reaches the end of the line and they slowly leave, one at a time, ready to get this party started.

Paige carries the fireworks, AJ has the beach towels, Alicia is trusted with a tightly sealed tub of various toys and other things they'd collected over the years to entertain themselves with on the beach, and Sofia grips one of the cooler with some of the cold food and drinks. Ricardo had been careful selecting which woman was to carry what, so it leaves the things that could be easiest turned into a foodfight for the men to trek through the sand safely with. Mike grins at him, catching on early to it all, shifting his grip on the meat to clap Ricardo on the back as they fall into line towards the cove. Set up thankfully goes smoothly, the women too busy to snap at each other, and before long they're moving around to put their chairs and the towels out where they want them, AJ not even bothering with her own chair as she sits on Mike's lap, resting her head on his chest and watching the others struggle with theirs, smirking slightly.

Ricardo walks down the table, turning as Paige joins him. "Hola, Paige."

"Hola, Ricardo." She smiles up at him, reaching out for a bottle of water.

"I'm surprised you came here. I mean, you're going to be ok, right?" He swallows, realizing he's babbling but unable to stop. "Alicia and you don't get along, and AJ-" She rests her hand on his arm, stopping him midsentence. He flushes. "Ah, eh, lo siento."

She laughs softly. "It's fine, Ricardo. Just breathe, hm? I'm going to be fine, we're all adults here... I think. Either way, I can definitely avoid them well enough to let today go peacefully. When Mike invited me, I figured since I don't know many people, I should at least try to fit in better with the roster. Today could perhaps be the first step..." She brushes her hair over her shoulder and smiles at him. "And I knew there would at least be one friendly face." He flushes hotter as she shifts, grabs a second bottle of water and passes it to him.

He struggles to find the words to thank her as she turns and heads back to her seat, his eyes locked on her as she goes. He numbly follows her, unaware of the knowing glances passing between Mike, Alex and Alberto, the whispers from AJ and Alicia. Not long afterwards, Sofia starts unwrapping the food, watching as the plates of slow-cooked steak and shishkabobs are ooh'd and ahh'd over, large spoons quickly emptying the bowls of potato salad and Sofia's homemade baked beans. She takes the last plate, settling in a chair between Alberto and Ricardo's with a small smile, content to listen to the others talk and laugh, easily the best part of July the 4th for her.

Things are still going well when Alex whispers into Alicia's ear, nudging her up from the chair and leading her into the sand towards the water, her skin glistening in the sun as they walk by Paige at the table, getting another soda, when Alicia kicks sand at the former divas champion, smirking as Paige tenses and turns slowly to glare incredulously at Alicia, who all but coos at her, eyes flashing challengingly. "Gotta problem, Paige?"

"No, do you?" she asks, frowning as she puts her drink down and turns fully towards Alicia as the other diva slips free from Alex and walks calculatingly towards Paige, resting her hands on the table on either side of her. "Alicia, this isn't the-"

Her words die away abruptly as Alicia's face warps into a grin, her fingers wrapping around Paige's abandoned soda. She lifts it and shakes it behind Paige's back, cutting off Paige's next attempt at speaking by popping the top and spraying her all down her back with a wild torrent of sticky, cool soda. She squeeches, everyone freezing and staring up at them as Ricardo scrambles out of his chair and walks over to see what had happened, his eyes wide. Paige reacts before he can get there, however, pushing Alicia back with a scream and tackling her, punching and kicking every inch of her that she can see, her shorts and cream top clinging to her, revealing the lines of her pale purple bathing suit beneath. "What is your problem!?" she demands, gripping Alicia by the neck and throwing her into the sand again and again.

"Whoa whoa," Alex yells, stopping short when Alicia gets control of herself, using her long legs to push Paige off of her, reverse their positions so she's now the one with the offense against Paige, slapping every inch of her that she can reach until Alex grabs her, pulling her off of the black haired diva. "Relax, relax," he tells her as she struggles and pants against him.

Ricardo helps Paige up, looking shocked and a little pale, but as soon as Paige is on her feet, Alicia breaks free of Alex's grip and tackles Paige again, sending them both into Ricardo as Alex again catches Alicia and pulls her away, dragging her back up the beach. Ricardo, already off balanced in the soft sand, slips and falls, bringing Paige with him as he tries to keep her from diving onto Alicia once more. Winded from both the fall and Paige landing on him, he stares blankly at the sky overhead as Paige struggles to get up, mumbling. "Oh, my God, Ricardo, I'm so sorry," she exclaims, twisting around to check on him. "Are you ok!?"

The sky disappears from his sight as she overwhelms his vision, searching his face desperately. He blinks and looks right at her, both of them pausing when they realize just how close they are, only a few inches between them, sharing space, oxygen, everything. Ricardo swallows and tries to work feeling back into his body so he can move, break the awkwardness of the moment. Things were going so well, too, he thinks despairingly. Dammit, Alicia... Paige shifts and he expects her to move away, but instead she comes closer, her brows furrowing slightly as she brushes her fingers through his dark hair. They were friends, nearly from the moment that she'd tried out in England, and he'd always seen something special in her, though they'd never spent much time together until she'd joined the main roster. After that, he'd found himself looking for excuses to be with her, an interview... maybe some dinner... a chance meeting at catering, or just to make sure she's ok after matches. He tries to not overthink her touch now, the feel of her body against his, how he's hot and cold all at the same time, only able to guess what his friends are thinking as they watch this.

"Ricardo? Can you talk?"

He gasps, realizing that he'd been so busy thinking, here poor Paige was worrying the entire time she'd done something seriously harmful to him when she'd fallen on him. "I'm ok," he gasps, still a little winded- not from the fall, not anymore, but from the pressure of her warmth against him. The look on her face, the worry in her eyes... the soft tickling sensation of her breath against his lips.

"Oh good," she whispers in kind. "If you weren't, I suppose I would feel a bit guilty for what I want to do right now." He's about to ask what she's talking about when she bridges the gap between them, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He gasps against her, fingers twitching at her sides, Paige's smile against his lips waking him up as he shifts, kisses her back hesitantly, shyly.

"Paige..."

"Am I hurting you? I'm sorry, I should've-" She's about to get up, move, take that blissful warmth away from him, but he shakes his head, wrapping his arms loosely around her and holding her in place. "Ricardo-"

"I'm fine." He shakes his head, examining her until she blushes almost as red as he is. "I'm good. Just... give me a minute, alright?" She nods, watching him as he cups her face and rubs light circles against her skin. He takes his time, moves slowly, eases his fingers down to her lips where he replaces them with his mouth, a little more forceful this time, giving her the chance to move away. She doesn't.

When reality finally intercedes, in the form of a wolf whistle from Miz, they groan and pull away, staring at each sheepishly. "Well..." she sighs, pulling herself off of him. Holding a hand out, she waits until he meets her halfway, pulling himself up with some help from her. They stare at each other awkwardly before turning to look at the others. Alex and Alicia are already halfway to the ocean, Mike and AJ's faces pressed close together as they whisper. Morrison is keeping himself busy at the table, picking at the last of the steak so only Del Rio and Sofia are unabashedly watching them, a faint smirk on his face and a smile on hers.

Ricardo looks down as Paige quietly finds his hand and squeezes his fingers, smiling at him. It's clear neither of them are sure where this is going to go, if anywhere, but for tonight, the possibilities, on the nation's birthday, are numerous, fun to hold onto, to imagine. He wants to kiss her again, but she's still soaked in soda and everyone is scattered around, sneaking peeks at them sometimes. "Come on, let's get that cleaned off of you before it dries. Want to go for a swim?"

"Yes please," she agrees easily, following him a fair distance away from where Alicia and Alex currently are splashing around, the diva laughing and squealing ecstatically every time Alex sneaks up on her underwater and pulls her in with him.

Mike kisses AJ on the forehead and looks over at John, smirking. "Hey, I told you all of that Sex in the City watching would have a purpose. And so far it's had two in the last month!"

"You're not going to let me hear the end of it either," John mutters around his food knowingly, rolling his eyes.

"Damn straight." Mike laughs and presses a kiss to AJ's arm, nuzzles into her neck. "At least Alicia can listen to instructions."

"You matchmaker," she teases him gently as he rests his hand on her leg.

"What can I say? I'm happy and I want my friends to be also. Just wait until I figure out someone to hook you up with, John," he calls out to his best friend.

Morrison chokes, shaking his head almost violently. "No, you know what, you should try hooking Del Rio up with someone." They both pause, looking over to find him ignoring them, picking at his nails.

"...Shut up, John," Mike rolls his eyes.

Time passes, the hours full of swimming or dozing under the sun, when Ricardo wakes up to find Mike standing over his chair. "What?" he asks, almost expecting to be teased about Paige.

"We have a bit of a surprise for you, man," Mike tells him, one leg bent at the knee as he stands on something. Ricardo tries to see what it is around the edge of his chair but fails to, frowning. He looks around just to find that Morrison and AJ are working together on one side of the beach while Alex and Alicia do the same on the other, Alberto and Sofia hanging around the food tables, talking while she stacks up the now empty dishes..

"What's going on?"

Mike's grin turns into a smirk. "Why don't you stand up and come see, man?" Ricardo frowns up at him but allows himself to be pulled to his feet once more, following Mike blurrily towards Alberto. He's still wondering what Mike had been doing, but the former WWE champion won't allow him to turn around and look so he grudgingly continues to traipse through the sand until he reaches the others.

The closer he gets, the more obvious it becomes what exactly they're all doing. "Oh. Oh. No way!" he mutters. "Are you kidding me?" He stares at Mike, eyes gleaming as it clicks. "We're really doing this?"

"Oh yes, we're really doing this." He kicks the white ball into the goal, testing it out, before dropping his arms around Ricardo's shoulders and smirks, pleased when it holds in the somewhat weak base of the sand. "Four on four football, AKA soccer... right here, waiting for you. We just have to figure out teams... you know, without bloodshed."

"We might not need to shoot off fireworks by the end of that," he sighs, smiling when Mike chuckles. But they try anyway, and eventually they narrow it down to the two four person teams which they hope has the least possibility of violence. Miz, Morrison, Alicia and AJ on one team and Alberto, Ricardo, Alex and Paige on the other. To further limit trauma, Alicia and Paige are made goalies, leaving the other three members of each team to determine their positions. Mike and Ricardo, selected to be forwards/defenders, step forward, shaking hands before they all take their positions. John and AJ, Del Rio and Alex are the midfielders, and Sofia stands to the side, watching them all while holding onto a stopwatch counting down from thirty minutes.

The first game ends when Alex fakes Alicia out and kicks a late-game goal, Ricardo grinning when he turns and locks eyes with Paige, the girl beaming at him as they take back their formation, Mike demanding a rematch loudly until Alberto yells something in Spanish that Ricardo knows better than to translate for any of them.

The second game is tougher, the two teams growing more accustomed to each other's offense and defense, Morrison and Mike alternating between landing goals. Ricardo winces when time runs out, Paige looking a bit disappointed in herself while the former tag partners hug each other before returning to their position. It's still too light out to shoot off fireworks so passing the time with a tie-breaker game seems the best way to handle things, Alex slapping Ricardo on the back as he walks back to his position. This game goes better for them, Ricardo and Mike trading the ball back and forth until Alberto sneaks in and kicks the ball into the goal, surprising all of them. Ricardo follows it up with a goal of his own, Paige focused on Mike when AJ runs forward in time to intercept the ball when Mike kicks it her way, having a clear shot as she kicks it right into the net. Either way, it doesn't matter- time runs out at 2-1, Ricardo's team winning the tiebreaker.

Alberto laughs as Ricardo high-fives Alex, waiting until the roommates separate to hug his best friend quickly before pushing him towards Paige. The two hover awkwardly close together before Paige hugs him, smiling against his neck. "That was fun."

"Yes it was," he murmurs. "You did great defending the goal."

"Oh, not really," she sighs. "We wouldn't have won without you three."

"Hey, it was a team effort," he corrects her softly. "We all four of us won those two games, we all four lost the one. Don't blame yourself, Paige."

She smiles at him. "You're sweet, Ricardo." They continue to stare at each other, a little overwhelmed, when Mike calls out.

"Hey, guys, I think it's finally dark enough. Let's start this fireworks show, huh?" There's a flurry of activity that rivals all three games put together as they rush to find their favorite fireworks. Before long the air fills with light and sound, smoke and beauty, cheers from the group following each explosion.

Ricardo glances around, watching Alberto help Sofia light a Roman Candle, AJ curling closer to Mike while Alex lights a skyrocket before returning to Alicia's side. His and Paige's eyes lock after a moment and he smiles at her, handing her his lighter as she places her fountain, lighting it. He watches as the multicolored tower sparks and reflects off of her eyes, barely caring about the fireworks themselves as she steps closer to him, the cooling air making her shiver slightly now that the sun's set. He wraps his arm around her, sighing softly.

Taking advantage of the startling quiet, the group of them moving to select a new round of fireworks from the ridiculously sized box, he looks around at all of his friends. Remembers where he was a year ago, how vastly things have changed since. Some bad, some good. He swallows and forces a smile, fighting back his emotions. "Happy 4th of July, everyone."

Alberto first, then Mike, Paige and the others, chorusing back, "Happy 4th of July, Ricardo."

He grins.