Wary

The week went by slowly. Cassie didn't initiate much contact with Joe outside of work conversation. She was embarrassed a little at her actions and again was frustrated that they were back here again , after yet another sexual indiscretion. She travelled to the arena with Paul , given that they were living together for now. She had sent over the script to Joe and Jey already, purposely choosing to interact in the wider group than face any tough conversations with Joe. " Yo kid you listening to me, earth to Cassie" her uncle said snapping her from her thoughts. "Sorry Paul, just a bit distracted today that's all". Her uncle was as always understanding "Anything I can help with?". Cassie almost laughed out loud at what would happen if her uncle knew that the thing that was bothering her was a six-foot-tall Samoan that was beginning to dominate all of her thoughts. " No its just the stress of the separation and all that, I will be ok". She went quiet again and Paul gave up trying to engage her , she had been like this all week.

At the arena Paul suggested they go to their dressing room to find Joe and Jey , " You go, I will be there in a minute. I need to grab something to eat from catering". Paul shuffled off and she went to find some sugar, and hopefully some confidence too. In the end she found Bayley and Trinity , taking a seat with them and playing with her food. " You OK Cass?" Trinity asked her eventually when she hadn't spoken for a bit " Yeah just some personal things I am working through" she said. Trinity knew about her and Travis and Bayley to her credit didn't push the issue. From the corner of her eye , she saw someone enter catering , she knew him so well she didn't even have to turn and look. But she couldn't help it she looked at him he was talking to Big E , but his eye caught hers and he gave her a little wink. Her heart picked up pace and she stood from the table " I better get going girls, got work to do see you all later". She couldn't avoid Joe , he was between her and the doorway so she tried to be as nonchalant as possible giving a simple " Hey " and a tight smile. She walked on and sighed when she heard footsteps behind her . " Cassie" his voice sounded urgent . She felt his hand on her shoulder and turned abruptly at the feel of his touch , it happened so fast his body collided with hers and she fell backwards a bit. "Shit, sorry I didn't expect you to turn , are you OK?". His two hands were on her shoulders , one of which was still taped . She looked around her and shook his hands off of her. " We're at work Joe, its not appropriate for you to do that". He stared at her for a moment " OK , what's up with you?" he asked . She set her jaw " Nothing" . Silence. Joe looked around him to check they were alone . " Is this about the other night , I thought you were happy with the celebrations and everything else" he said. They both knew the something else he was referring to. " I……just. I cant do this. Its too confusing for me". She blurted it out, but it was the truth. Joe's eyes softened. He went to reach out to her but she just pushed past him and walked away .

Joe was in a hard spot he wanted so much to talk to Cassie and reassure her but what would he say. It was clear that the most important thing was they maintained a good healthy working relationship. But these indiscretions were becoming more frequent and the waters were beginning to muddy a bit. The night began to frustrate him even more as it went on , Cassie would speak business only and while she was polite to him and the group she made no effort to engage too much with him , she was putting her walls up. At the end of the night after his match he made his way back through Gorilla and to the dressing room where they all were. He was bare chested and sweating and he sat down to get his breath back , a towel wrapped around his shoulders. Paul was talking to Jey and Cassie and Joe only listened in when be heard " So you guys will have to hold down the fort". Jey smiled at them both " Of course , you both deserve a vacation. ". Joe interrupted " Wait, who is going on vacation?".. Paul smiled at him " Well Marla and I are going to Hawaii , and we have been begging Cassie to come and bring Aubrey , they need a break after everything they have gone through and tonight she finally agrees to go . Don't worry we will leave strict instructions with the writing team. We leave on Sunday". Joe took a sip of water while his mind whirled. " That's great , you deserve it . Aubrey will be happy". He looked directly at Cassie. " Have a great time".

Two weeks later

Joe fixed his t-shirt as he walked to Paul's porch. He didn't know why he was so nervous but he was. The last two weeks had been pure torture without Cassie. The fact that she had been radio silent too didn't help matters. They were a week out from Survivor Series and Joe was in a match against Drew McIntyre they knew each other so well that he didn't have to do much to get attention on it , this was all about two big guys going at it. So he didn't have too much character work to do , but he wanted to get back to it and grow , truthfully he wanted to spend hours discussing details with Cassie and creating together. Paul had called and invited him to dinner at the house to catch up . He had immediately agreed , but given how cold Cassie had been at their last meeting he didn't know what to expect. He was dressed casually enough , red t shirt , black jeans , hair pulled up and fixed that day thanks to his barber. He looked fresh , and maybe he had put in a little extra effort for this dinner. He rang the doorbell nervously and waited, the pitter patter of little feet told him Aubrey would be answering. The little girl threw the door open and beamed at him " Joe , hi . I went to the beach and the swimming pool and the kids dance party and um…". She seemed to be thinking and Joe hid a smile " Wow sounds like a great vacation, did you have lots of fun?". Aubrey nodded and took his hand naturally he smiled and closed the door allowing the little girl to lead him to the living room. Paul was sitting in a chair and looked up when he saw Joe " Aubrey bringing you up to speed I see?" he said with a smile. Joe made his way over to Paul and gave him a friendly hug " she sure is , sounds like somebody had loads of fun". Aubrey gave him the cutest smile she looked so like her mother it was crazy. He was a suckered for those dimples " I got you a present wait here " she instructed. Joe sat back " Well you look rested Paul , glad to hear it was a hit". Paul smiled " it was just what we needed. Total relaxation, time out from the business, you know how that can be. I think it did us all a world of good". Before Joe could answer a voice called down the stairs " Joe I'm coming down, can you come out here and close your eyes". Joe couldn't help but smirk . He went out to the hallway and looked up the stairs. He saw Aubrey peering down at him " Eyes Closed" she instructed and he played along. He heard her coming down and struggling with something " You need any help sweetie be careful" he said. " I got it" she said cheerfully . He heard her hit the last step and then walk towards him. " Open them" she said dramatically. He opened his eyes to see Aubrey holding what looked like a big poster rolled up. He took it from her " what have we got here ?" he asked. He unrolled it and saw it was an art print, off all Samoan Tribal designs , as he looked closer and recognised the images he saw it was his tattoo designs all put together in a print, the entire story he told on his arm captured in a picture. " Do you like it? It's all your tattoos they have people in Hawaii that do this , Mom showed them and they made it. You can hang it in your house". Aubrey was babbling but Joe was simply touched. It was a beautiful and thoughtful gift , and it was something that meant a lot to him. His tattoos were an expression of art to him. He rolled the poster back up and bent down to give Aubrey a little hug. " Thanks Princess , I love it. This will go in a special place in my house". As he kneeling down and hugging Aubrey he heard someone coming down the stairs. His heart took up the pace and he turned. She was a little more tanned and was wearing a simple long navy dress but she looked phenomenal. His eyes went to hers and he was relieved to see there was warmth there. That and a smile that almost melted him. She got to the bottom of the stairs and looked at Aubrey " Honey , why don't you check with Aunt Marla about how dinner is going". Aubrey ran off. " Hey" she said softly to Joe. " Hey" he said. She picked up on his hesitancy and she couldn't blame him after their last encounter. " I'm glad you like it" she said pointing at the poster . He looked good she thought giving him the once over , she was ignoring the sound of her heart hammering in her chest. " It's a pretty amazing gift, thank you", he said sincerely. His eyes hadn't left hers. She took a little step towards him cautiously and said words that were music to his ears " I missed you". He broke into a huge grin " Good. Because I been going crazy without you. I'm glad your back". Aubrey chose that moment to come out of the kitchen and yell "Dinners ready" , breaking up a lovely moment. Cassie rolled her eyes " Lets eat" she said leading the way.