The last few weeks have been almost... nice. With the holidays and everything, Alicia and Ricardo had spent more time together than they have in weeks, had reconnected. But now she's back on the road with WWE and he watches as she confronts Noam Dar in the hallway, and Noam is his usually slimy self... just for Alicia to grip him, dip him, and lay the kind of kiss on him that makes Ricardo equally digusted and a little hot under the collar all at the same time as his imagination branches off in a million different directions with that one ridiculous act.

He's not sure what to think about it and, through another night of rough insomnia, fights not to speculate because until he has her face to face, talking it through, there's nothing he can really do about it anyway. But 205 Live continues it the next night when Alicia assists Noam in defeating Cedric and Cedric breaks up with her... just for Alicia to scream so loudly that the electronics around her malfunction. He cringes and settles in for another long, horrible night, just to be relieved when he falls into a restless sleep that's somehow worse than lack of sleep he'd had the night before.

Alicia looks happy, self-assured when she returns home later Wednesday afternon and all Ricardo can do is stare at her, not sure where to begin. "I have so much to tell you!" she gushes, lunging at him and kissing him happily. He cups her face and slowly kisses her back, still confused, still hurting. She guides him to the couch and smiles at him, all wide eyes and hopeful gazes. "After we spent our time off the last few weeks together, when I returned to Cedric, it just reminded me how boring he really was. He has no... fire, no interest."

"So you kissed Noam," he exhales, some of the pieces falling together as he considers everything she's saying, what he'd seen.

"I wanted a way to get Cedric to end things, so I kissed Noam." She chuckles. "The next day, he broke up with me."

"That was quite some yelling you did, I think my ears are still ringing." He attempts to smile at her, still thinking about how that could be him someday. Where the break up is nowhere near as simple as the Alicia's split with Alex, or even as quickly done as his and Paige's. "Do you like Noam now?"

"Absolutely not!" she says. "It just dawned on me... Cedric is too boring, and Noam is too sleazy. And I felt more like myself when I was with you than I have in a very lnog time, and I never want to lose that." She reaches out and kisses his hand, a happy look spreading across his face before it fades away and he shakes his head.

"I think I get what you're saying," he tells her. "But it's a lot to take in all at once. I'm still digesting you even being with Alexander to begin with and now you're done with him and onto the next?" He scrubs at his eyes. "Look, I want to be your friend, I enjoy being there for you, but anything beyond that... I uh, I need to think. I need to confirm that you're the one I want to be with romantically," he explains, sighing. "Alright?"

She looks frozen. In shock. Eventually finds it in her brain power to nod and stares at her hand. "Of... of course. I understand. I'll give you all of the time you need," she says dazedly.

Ricardo appreciates it but he's not sure any amount of time would ever be enough to help him figure out the anxious tangle his insides have been since he'd seen her kiss Noam.