"Hey…hey it's me" I heard Adam's voice as he held me tight against his chest "Let's go" He whispered to me as he began walking us to the door.
"Adam, I'll take her you stay with Beth" I heard Stu say as he followed us out the club, security had all run inside and there was now no que due to the late time.
"It's fine I've got her, thanks" He snipped in response without so much as a look back.
"What is your problem man?" Stu snapped, Adam's grip on my arm tightened as he stopped walking and spun around.
"She's my best friend and I want to make sure she gets back to the hotel safe" He argued.
"I can do that for you" He took a step forward "She'll be perfectly safe with me Adam" Stu reassured his hands were out in front in gesture that said he meant no harm.
"Judging by what I saw earlier your intentions aren't exactly innocent" Adam said through gritted teeth.
"Jeez Adam" I finally spoke up "It was one kiss" I pointed out "Go be with Beth, you leaving with me will only antagonise her more" He let out a deep sigh and let go of my arm running his hands over his face.
"Just make sure she's safe please" Adam conceded before going back into the club without another word or even a glance back. Stu took his jacket and put it over my shoulders, and we began to walk back towards the hotel.
"That was intense from Adam" He chuckled.
"Like I said earlier he's protective" I shrugged my shoulders "And I appreciate that about him" I defended.
"He just punched a guy in the middle of a club for you" I frowned in response to Stu's reaction to what had just happened.
"That guy was being a creep he deserved it" I spoke angrily defending Adam's actions.
"Yeah, he did deserve it I won't disagree there, but I've never seen Adam move so quick" He said "One minute he was sat talking to Mike and Beth and the next he was all but running across the club and punching some guy in the face" He explained, I pressed my lips together trying not to smile at the fact Adam was like my own personal superhero. "I'm telling you Beth looked pissed" He added.
"Yeah, I don't think she likes me all that much" I chuckled.
"Well, you are absolutely beautiful so I can see why she would worry about Adam with you" He said looking deep in to my eyes, I blushed taking off his jacket and handing it back to him as we entered the hotel reception. "I hope that we can spend more time together when you start travelling with the WWE" Stu admitted.
"Me to" I agreed biting my lip.
"I'd like that" He grinned "I like you" He added raising an eyebrow.
"Look Stu, I've been dealing with a lot at the moment and I just don't know where my heads at right now, you seem great you really do but I think I need time to wrap my head around this new life I have" I explained as we stopped at my room door.
"I think you'd be worth the wait" He smiled leaning in and planting a kiss on my lips for the second time in the night. He pulled away and I blushed trying not to smile as I looked everywhere but at Stu.
"I guess I should go" I said turning to open the door to hide my now bright red cheeks.
"Good night"
"Good night" I smiled before shutting the door behind me and leaning against it for a second to catch my breath. After a moment I changed into my pyjamas and got into bed.
A low knocking at the door pulled me from my drunken sleep, I groaned and pulled myself up off the bed and walked over to the door to open it. Before I could even say hello or register properly who was stood at the door Adam pushed past me and stepped into the room.
"Ummm…Hello" I said in shock as I closed the door.
"I just wanted to make sure you got back ok" He said rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly "You didn't answer your phone…so I thought…" He trailed off.
"Sorry I fell asleep" I apologised grabbing my phone to find 5 missed calls from Adam waiting for me "Adam it's 4 in the morning" I sighed realising the time.
"Yeah, I was really worried" He admitted "I'm sorry I should have just waited until morning to come by" He added.
"I'm sorry I should have texted you" I apologised again rubbing the sleep from my eyes "Wait…Where's Beth?" I asked suddenly realising that if he was here at 4 in the morning then something must be wrong.
"Asleep" He responded with a quick shrug of his shoulders.
"Well, isn't she going to be mad if she wakes up and you're not there?" I asked, he chuckled in response.
"I told her about the storyline" He admitted quietly.
"Oh…" I uttered "And how'd she take it?" I asked.
"Well, I'm here at 4 in the morning" He laughed "I don't think it takes a genius to figure out how it went" He added sitting on the end of the bed and putting his head in his hands.
"Shit I'm sorry" I sighed sitting next to him and placing a comforting hand on his leg "Are guys done then?" I questioned giving his leg a slight squeeze.
"Looks that way" Adam exhaled "She was really pissed Jay" He grumbled running his hands through his hair.
"We knew she would be" I pointed out "I'm sure she'll come round" I suggested, it wasn't easy seeing Adam so upset but to see him upset over another woman was the most painful part of all of this. I knew he'd chosen Beth over me, but it didn't make it any less painstaking to see him hurting over another woman, I couldn't help but think to myself that I wouldn't have made him feel like this.
"She made me choose" He brought his hands up and rested them on his chin, his elbows on his knees.
"What do you mean?" I asked putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.
"Between you and her" He spoke, I let out a large breath and leant my head against the side of this taking his presence here as proof of his answer "I couldn't do it Jay" He sniffed, a stray tear running down his cheek. "I couldn't choose her" He admitted "The thought of never seeing you again was too much" My stomach twisted as I processed the words, he had chosen me over Beth, the wind was knocked out of me at the mere thought of it. "My fiancé told me to choose and I just stood there not saying anything, I couldn't find any words" He shook his head in disbelief "What kind of man can't even choose his fiancé?" He sniffed trying not to cry.
"The kind who is a good friend" I suggested giving his shoulder a quick squeeze. "But you shouldn't have…" I began.
"No" He shook his head furiously as he cut me off "I made the right choice" I couldn't help but smile slightly at how sure he was he had made the right choice "You mean far too much to me for me to just cut you out and never speak to you again" He explained "And as my fiancé she shouldn't ask me to choose" He spoke.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.
"What's to talk about?" He shrugged "I just broke her heart because I couldn't choose my relationship over my best friend" He stated "She then threw me out the room and told me we're done" He added.
"Where are you going to stay tonight?" I asked, I got no response from Adam other than a small shrug.
"Come on you can stay here" I told him "I'll sleep on the sofa in the corner" I stated going over to the sofa.
"What's wrong with the bed?" He asked clearly confused as we had slept in the same bed together multiple times, I sighed in exasperation.
"Adam, we have shared a bed together twice" I pointed out "And how did that turn out for the both of us?" I joked earning a laugh from Adam.
"Come on Jay" He laughed in disbelief walking over to me and grabbing my shoulders, dipping his head so I had to look at him "What about that night at your house when we snuck in and got trapped because John was awake?" I'd completely forgotten about that night, the first time I had slept properly since moving to America, we had snuck in the house so I could give Adam back his t-shirt, but my uncle John had been awake, and we had ended up falling asleep waiting for him to go to bed.
"I remember that" I whispered trying to hide my smile spreading across my face.
"Sharing this bed doesn't have to be any more than it was that night" He reassured me, although I was trying to move on from my feelings for Adam, deep down there was a small part of me that was disappointed that despite choosing me over Beth he still didn't want more. Reluctantly I got in to bed facing away from Adam, a few minutes later I felt Adam climb in next me and face the opposite away, slowly I began drifting back off to sleep. I woke up a couple of times each time Adam was still asleep but in is unconscious state he had rolled over and pulled me close.
I blinked slowly as I came around from a deep sleep rolling over to find that Adam was gone. I sat up straight looking around the room expecting to see Adam somewhere in the room, but all sign of him was completely gone, including his phone. Accepting that he was gone I got up and made my way to the shower.
"Jay?" I heard Adam call as he entered the room.
"I'm in the shower" I shouted back as I finished up and wrapped a towel around my body, I stood for a moment before realising that I hadn't brought any clothes in to the bathroom with me because I didn't realise Adam was coming back. "Shit" I muttered as I dried myself off. I paced back and forth a few times before taking a deep breath and exiting the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.
"I got coffee…" Adam trailed off when he see my attire, I could feel his eyes burning into me as I rummaged my suitcase for something to wear.
"Thank you" I grinned looking at the two Starbucks takeaway cups on the side "Sorry…" I mumbled "I thought you weren't coming back" I told him, he swallowed hard and cleared his throat.
"I w-woke up and th-thought I'd grab us a c-coffee" He stammered still not tearing his eyes off me, I smiled in thanks and went back to the bathroom to get dressed, I emerged a moment later wearing tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt.
"Thanks" I smiled picking up one of the cups and taking a large sip.
"No problem" He responded.
-knock knock-
I turned and walked to the door opening it to reveal Stu stood in front of me. In my now sober state, I was able to really take in his full stature, at 6 foot 7 he was over a foot taller than me, and he was broad, I couldn't help but just feel intimidated by his presence, I couldn't remember feeling like this the night before. Now sober I was able to really seem hi properly, he was rugged looking but not in a threatening way, aside from his stature, his eyes were kind and his smile genuine. There was something about him that made me feel calm.
"Hi" I smiled up at him, he looked me up and down for a moment before looking over my shoulder and spotting Adam behind me.
"Should I come back another time?" He asked gesturing behind me towards Adam, I looked behind me at Adam whose Jaw had now tightened in annoyance, even from across the room I could see how dark his face was and the hostility he was directing towards Stu.
"No" I shook my head in defiance, there was no way I was letting whatever problem Adam had with Stu get in the way "What can I do for you?" I asked, I had to look away from him for a second as a small suggestive smirk spread across Stu's lips.
"I just wanted to come by and check you were ok after last night, but it seems I've been beaten to it" He explained again gesturing to Adam behind me.
"I stayed the night" Adam said in such a way that suggested more had happened, I let out a deep sigh in annoyance.
"He turned up at 4 this morning because Beth kicked him out" I stated with a smug smile.
"Christ Jay shout it a little louder" Adam snapped clearly annoyed that I had outed him to Stu.
"Don't lead people to think that anything more happened last night than you kept me up with your snoring then" I snapped earning a sarcastic eye roll and a low laugh from Adam in response.
"I'll leave you guys to it" Adam said walking towards the door, he stopped just short of Stu for no longer than a second but long enough to come across as threatening they stood making an eye contact "I'll see you in a couple of hours when we leave for the airport Jay" he said over his shoulder with that he walked off down the hallway and out of sight.
"I really just wanted to make sure you're ok" Stu told me rubbing his chin.
"I'm fine thank you; I think the alcohol hit me when I got back, and I just passed out on the bed" I laughed.
"Well, I'm not surprised with the way you were knocking those shots back" He joked "Listen, there was another reason I stopped by…" He said changing the subject "I guess I wanted to know where you stand on maybe…" He trailed off clearly nervous about what he was trying to stay, I couldn't help but smile that this absolute tower of a man was nervous about something, it almost made him seem like a little boy. I stood silently waiting for him to find his words completely oblivious about what he wanted to say. "I know you've not long split up with your husband" He babbled "But I thought maybe when you come on the road we could maybe go out sometime?" He smiled "Like on a date" He clarified, I blushed and looked down at my feet nervously.
"I think…" I began "I'm only just beginning to heal from everything I have been through and it wouldn't be fair for me to say yes to you right now" I admitted "It's not that I don't want to Stu but I'm still a mess at the moment" I told him. The past few months had been a whirlwind, I'd left my husband, got back with him and left him again, I'd developed feelings for Adam, and I'd been offered a job that I'd never even considered before in my life but was now a dream of mine. I knew deep down that despite the fact I was definitely attracted to Stu I knew that the way Gavin had treated me had broken me and that realistically I hadn't begun to piece myself back together enough to start dating again. Stu leant in so he could whisper in my ear.
"I think…You're full of it" I stepped back completely surprised at what he had just said to me "I think that you're scared, for whatever reason your ex-husband completely destroyed you and you don't know how to trust again" He told me, I stood completely dumbfounded at Stu's sudden confidence.
"You should probably go" I told him as I went to shut the door.
"I'm sorry if I've overstepped" He apologised "I can just see in your eyes that you're hurting I just want you to see how a real man treats a woman" He explained, I let out a deep breath and forced a smile.
"I'm fine" I nodded "I just need time" I admitted.
"Then that's what I'll give you" He told me "I like you Jayme and I want to get to know you" He said, "And if that's going to take time then so be it because I think there's something here" He gestured between us both "Like I said last night I think you're going to be worth the wait" He smirked.
"Thank you" I smiled "I really appreciate you giving me time" I told him.
"Jayme, I don't know what's going on between you and Adam but…" He began before I interrupted.
"Jesus" I laughed punching the bridge of my nose "There really is nothing going on there" I sighed "We are friends and that's it" I told him sternly.
"Ok, sorry" He put his hands up in surrender "I'm just saying if he's not smart enough to admit how he feels and snatch you up then someone else will because you're beautiful" he told me making me blush for what felt like the thousandth time.
"I hardly think he would be heartbroken if I went out with someone" I rolled my eyes.
"I see the way he is with you Jayme and if he isn't willing to admit it to you then that's on him" Stu stated matter-of-factly "I'm here now telling you how I feel" he said.
"I know how he feels about me Stu and it's not romantic" I told him "If I want to go out with someone I will…. but right now, like I said, my head is a mess and it's going to take some time"
"I know and I respect that I'm just saying I'm making how I feel clear" He pointed out "And whether it's in 2 weeks or 2 months I want to take you out on a date but in the meantime, I would like to spend time with you as friends" He explained. Unsure of what to say next I took a step forward and gave him a hug, he wrapped his arms around my waist. Hugging Stu was different to hugging Adam, despite being pretty much the same height they were both built very differently, Adam was not as broad as Stu, Stu was like a building, he was tall and wide and rock hard. Although the feeling of hugging them both was very similar, I felt safe and secure even though I'd only known Stu for 12 hours there was something about him and his presence that made me want to trust him deep in my gut.