A/N: HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! Heres a little chapter for yall 3
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE WWE, OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS!
Tuesday, after school:
'Trish: ur father offered to make cookies for my campaign' 'Trish: we both agreed there's no room for mint chocolate'
Jeff couldn't help the smile on his face, as he started down at his phone screen and the stream of text messages he had going on with Trish.
'Jeff: then i don't think i can offer u my vote stratus'
'Trish: good!!'
'Trish: i don't want a sociopath's vote :P'
"Tell me whatever I need to do, to get your attention like that phone," Shannon Moore teased, handing a water bottle to a shirtless and sweaty Jeff Hardy.
"Thanks," came Jeff's reply. They had been training hard all week, preparing for his next match—Mark had made the call to confirm the card, it'd be Jeff Hardy versus Seth Rollins. The undisputed warriors going head to head for the victory.
"We've got two more weeks before the big event," Shannon said, he was Jeff's self proclaimed manager. "How are we feeling, Jeffero?"
Jeff took a minute to think about his response—he was nervous, but for all the wrong reasons. He knew deep down inside that he could take on Seth Rollins, he had beaten bigger and scarier opponents before. The nerves were due to the fact that in two weeks time, he'd have to give Seth Rollins the beaten of a lifetime. He knew the rules of the game, they both did and he knew that they'd both give it their all. Seth wouldn't go down easy, Jeff will have to pull out his best fight. That's what truly scared Jeff.
Like any other fight and opponent, Jeff got to training the second Mark Calaway made the call. Which, brings him back to present time; he had been hitting around the old worn out punching bag in the corner of the gym. Shannon was there to observe, take notes of the timing of Jeff's punches and how high his kicks could go.
The sound of his phone pinging, alerting him to a new text notification, snapped him out of his thoughts.
'trish: how do i tell steph that 'stop & vote for the girls with the smiles, who will go the extra mile' is the lamest campaign slogan in history?'
'jeff: if u didn't lose my vote before that will deff do it'
"Look at how you smile at that damn phone," Shannon teased.
"It's Trish," Jeff replied.
"Trust me, I know," Shannon laughed.
Jeff bowed his head in hopes of hiding the blush he felt creeping onto his cheeks. For the last three weeks or so, Trish had become a new fixture in his day to day life. After school, Jeff would drive them back to his home, where without a doubt, Gilbert Hardy and the rest of the boys would be waiting on them to try out one of the older man's dishes. No one was allowed to touch the plate until Trish walked in, a rule set by Gilbert Hardy himself. They'd then continue to work on their English protect together in his cozy basement, where they exchanged little tidbits here and there about each other—it had almost become like their little safe heaven away from the rest of the world. Just something for the both of them.
Things started to change around normal school hours too; it wasn't uncommon to see Trish join Jeff and his friends for lunch from time to time, or to have Jeff wait outside the gymnasium for Trish after her cheer practices. They were attached to the hips, their friends and peers had started to notice, but both parties ignored the whispers and gossip. Jeff was too afraid to address it, whatever it was, in fear of scaring Trish off. He had been given the opportunity to get to know her, uncharted territory to any other person—sans Amy, of course—and he wasn't about to blow it over a silly little crush.
"So, is your girlfriend coming to watch your big match or what?" Shannon continued to tease his best friend, nodding his head towards Jeff's phone, indicating he was referring to no other than Trish.
"For the hundredth time, Trish is not my girlfriend and to answer your question—I don't know, I haven't really asked her yet," Jeff replied honestly. Sure, he and Trish talked about his underground fighting from time to time, but only whenever she asked. He didn't want her thinking he was just another tool.
"You should," Shannon replied. He moved around to retape Jeff's fist, making sure to wrap tightly with the gauze. "And for the hundredth time, ask the girl out, you dingus," Shannon shook his head, trying to convince Jeff to live life a little was not the easiest task. But Shannon knew his best friend had something special going on with Trish Stratus. "Enough about girls, let's see you spare with Morrison," Shannon informed the younger boy, signaling with a hand for John Morrison to join the pair.
"Did he ask the girl out yet?" Came John's reply as he joined the pair for another sparing session with Jeff. He too had recently joined in on the relentless teasing, anything to see the usual calm and cool Jeff grow embarrassed and squirmy.
"Not yet, I say give it another week," Shannon replied.
"You two seriously need to get girlfriends and leave my love life alone," Jeff replied.
"So you admit you have a love life?" Shannon was quick to reply.
"We're living through you, bro," John laughed.
"Whatever, let's get in the ring," Jeff responded.
Wednesday, the next day at school:
"Guess whoooo?" Small hands covered his eyes and he could make out the soft voice of Trish near his ear. Her vanilla scent had given her away the second she walked by, not to mention the warmth of her hands over his green eyes. He could distinguish her miles away, but he decided to play along instead. "Hmm, Lesnar is that you?" He playful asked, smiling big at the small giggle Trish let out. She brought her hands back down to her sides, leaning against the rows of lockers next to Jeff's own.
"Truthfully, how much did you have to strain yourself to reach my eyes?" Jeff playfully teased, making fun of the blonde girl's shorter stature.
Trish in response lightly shoved his shoulder, mocking fake offense, as she dramatically flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I've had to climb human pyramids much taller than you, Hardy," she retorted.
Jeff simply chuckled in response, fishing out the tupperware from his locker before shutting the metal door. "We've got tiramisu for dessert today—you?" This was their usual pre lunch conversation, Jeff came with the desserts and Trish the lunch. "Chicken salad sandwiches," she replied, pulling out the brown paper bag from her bag, and holding it out to eye level.
Before either could reply, they were interrupted by none other than Candice Michelle. She crept up on them from behind Jeff, her hand resting on his shoulder. "There you are," Candice replied. "I wanted to personally invite you to my annual Halloween bash this Friday night. Maybe we can have a repeat of last year's activities," Candice suggested, pushing her chest further out and twirling a strand of her jet black hair around her slim fingers.
Trish cleared her throat, both to hide the hurt from her features at the mention of Candice and Jeff's past, and to alert the other girl to her presence.
"Oh, Trishy! I didn't even see you standing there," Candice's fake shock was very apparent to Trish—sure, you didn't, you little floozy. "You should totally come, the rest of the team will be there!" Candice stated, the hand on Jeff's shoulder moved down to his biceps. Trish risked a glance at Jeff, already finding him staring at her with a helpless look on his face. This is why she didn't date, okay, so it was one of the many reasons. She didn't want to compete for anyone's attention, she didn't want to have to prove herself or her worth to anyone. She was awesome, and full of depth and wisdom… and she was hot, okay! She's didn't like that she was already having to stroke her own ego to make herself feel better. She didn't want to dimmer another girls light in favor for her own—she was a girls girl! Even if said girl was Candice Michelle.
"Yeah, maybe… Hey, Candice?" Trish replied, gaining the other woman's interest, Candice hand trailing up and down Jeff's biceps. "Jeff's dad makes a mean tiramisu, you two should probably go enjoy it together," Trish quietly said, placing the brown paper bag full of sandwiches over the tupperware in Jeff's hands. She found that her appetite had suddenly gone away.
"Trish, what—," Jeff was cut off and ignored, as a squealing Candice swiftly pulled Trish into a tight hug. Trish looked over the girls shoulder at Jeff, giving the boy a tight smile before she pulled out of the embrace with a very excited Candice, ignoring the hurt and confused look on Jeff's features, she offered the pair a final farewell. "You two enjoy," Trish whispered before she turned the corner out of sight.
Wednesday, After school:
"She's jealous!" John Cena was the first to declare, he was currently sat around the Hardy's garage, passing around the joint Randy had just rolled.
Jeff Hardy simply rolled his eyes in response. He had just finished telling his group of friends about the incident earlier between Trish and Candice. He was going to question Trish about it but then she canceled on their usual after school meeting, citing student council as the excuse.
"Hold on, I think Cena, might actually be onto something here," Matt joined in on the conversation, taking the joint from John's outstretched hand. "Trish sees you flirting with Candice, hence, she's backing down," Matt added.
"One, I'm definitely not flirting with Candice and two, backing down from what?" Jeff asked, looking around his friends who were all looking at him like he was the stupid one here.
"From you, you idiot!" Randy Orton finally replied. "Jeez, how you managed to get Trish to like you, is beyond me," Randy shook his head, going back to work on the other joint he was tasked with rolling. "I spent two semesters trying to bag Trish up, and you're telling me all I had to do was have my old man bake her some treats," Randy mumbled under his breath, much to the amusement of John and Matt.
"What Randy here is trying to say, is Jeff you have an opportunity no other man has had, you my dear Jeff have thee Trish Stratus crushing on you," John replied as if it were that obvious, passing the lit joint to a stunned Jeff.
"Crushing hard, man," Matt replied in agreement with the rest of their friends. "Ball is in your court, baby bro."
"But you've gotta cut Candice out, and fast, that girl moves like a shark," John commented.
"He's right, Trish is never going to take you seriously if you don't stop flirting with Candice," Randy added.
"I'm not flirting with Candice!" Jeff replied, frustrated with having to defend himself against the Candice allegations.
"Okay, tell us this, bro—when Candice was all over you, throwing it on heavy, did you try and stop her?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, did you let her know you weren't interested," John replied, backing Matt's theories up.
"No… but, Candice knows already that I'm not interested in pursuing anything with her. We haven't even hooked up since Summer break," Jeff replied, beginning to wonder if maybe he hasn't made himself clear enough to the girl in question. "I don't think it's that much of a mystery to her guys."
"Orton and I tagged that last year, Matt here had his little funny freshman year—,"
"This was before Amy!" Matt made sure to interrupt.
"Anyways, we all knew to keep that a one-time thing," John replied, pointing to himself and the two other men in the garage who nodded in agreement. John then pointed the joint in Jeff's direction. "You on the end hand, kept going back for more."
Jeff thought about what John had just said. Was it possible that Jeff had lead Candice on? He made it very clear to her during their encounters that it was strictly sexual, she had agreed, otherwise Jeff wouldn't have kept her around for the occasional booty call… he never thought it mattered, anyways… he was single, and it's not like he or Candice hadn't been hooking up with other people in between their fling. He hadn't been returning her calls since that last Summer. I mean sure he has extended an invite to her for the Hardy bonfire, but that was only because his friend Shane had a massive crush on her best friend Torrie Wilson. They were a package deal, as Torrie had reminded him when he reached out to invite the girl. And he hasn't exactly been vocally showing Candice disinterest, I mean sure, every time he tried to something always stopped him… Trish always showed up. God, had he ruined any chance he had with Trish, due to his indiscretions?
"Holy fuck, guys… am I a fuckboy?" Jeff suddenly asked the group who in turn burst into laughter. Matt choked on the smoke from the joint, from laughing too hard and Randy in return placed a loud smack on the boys back, he too not being able to stop laughing at the expense of their friend.
"Hardy, listen to me when I tell you this," John turned towards Jeff, not wanting to get distracted in the antics of Matt and Randy—who were still in the corner, laughing from Jeff's sudden revelation. "You're no better than any other hot blooded man, but you're also probably the better man. You've got a great opportunity here, someone like Trish Stratus won't come around again, and even those two idiots over there can tell you, you've got nothing to worry about. Trish obviously likes you, man."
"Yeah, bro, it's particularly a given," Matt finally joined back in, recovering from the intensive laughter and coughing.
"Do it for us, bro!" Randy cheered from his seat on the beanbag.
Thursday, the next day at school:
That morning before class officially began, Jeff sat in his usual spot in AP English, his leg shaking as he drummed his pen on his desk. He was terrified at what he was about to do, but his friend's pep talk has given him the courage he needed to take the leap of faith and ask Trish Stratus out. 'It's particularly a given' his brothers words kept repeating themselves in his head. His friends were so convinced, the ball would swing in his favor, if he just put himself out there. He could do that… yeah, he could definitely do that.
Speak of the devil, Jeff stopped his nervous drumming when his eyes fell on the girl of his affections, watching as she took the desk next to him and offered him a quiet greeting. 'you've got nothing to worry about. Trish obviously likes you, man' John Cena's words passed through his thoughts.
"Did you get through reading the revise paragraph I emailed you?" Trish asked him, snapping him out from his thoughts, before he could psych himself out too much.
He cleared his throat before answering. "Yeah, I could see what you mean now, by changing the character's backgrounds up a bit. Good call," he replied. "So, uh… Trish, do you have any plans this Friday?" he started off, carefully studying her every move, he didn't want to miss any reaction.
"Yeah, isn't that Candice's Halloween party?" She replied, her perfectly shaped eyebrow going up as she turned her full attention to Jeff.
Here goes nothing, Jeff thought. "Well, yeah, it is… but, uh—I was thinking, maybe you and I could go see a movie or something?" he asked. Jeff could hear his own heart beating, his palms sweaty, as he held his breath waiting for her response, her reaction—anything, to put him out his misery.
"Oh," came her short response, as her lips formed into a little 'o', not doing a good job at disguising her surprise. Not exactly what he was hoping for, but he could take a hint. "Jeff, I'm sorry—,"
"It's cool, don't worry about it," Jeff quickly intervened, trying to stop the disappointment and rejection he felt coming on.
"No, Jeff, it's not like that!" Trish cut him off, trying to explain herself before he walked himself off the edge. "It's just that I had already agreed to go with Cody to Candice's this Friday," Trish replied. Before Jeff even had time to understand the weight of her statement, Cody Rhodes strode into the classroom, smiling like an idiot as he took his seat in front of Trish.
"Hey, Trish, I forgot to get your number earlier," Cody turned around, a smug smile on his stupid face. He pulled his phone out and slid it across Trish's desk. She in response chewed on her bottom lip, taking the phone and typing her number into the screen. Telling Cody she'd text him costume details.
Jeff watched as the two interacted—had he missed something? Trish and Cody? Okay, so, maybe his friends and he hadn't gotten it right, but when the hell did this new connection happen? How did Cody end up with his girl? Oh, gosh, his girl? Right, Jeff… so much for that.
The bell sounded, signaling the start of the school day. Ms. Runnels walked in, cheerful as ever as she requested the class's attention.
"Hey, Jeff…?" Trish whispered.
"Hmm?" Jeff replied, not able to look up and face the girl.
"I just thought you should know, Candice is going to dress up as a pirate… just a heads up," she spoke so softly, he wasn't sure how to reply.
"Thanks, Trish," he settled for, his full focus on whatever the teacher was writing on the board.
He had done the one thing, he was looking to avoid. He had lost any chance with Trish Stratus, and he could only blame himself.
Friday night, Candice Michelle's party:
That Friday had started out pretty uneventful, truth be told, this whole week had sucked. In a matter of days, all his hard work at trying to get over Trish Stratus' walls had been gone to waste. Their texting ceased to exist, after yesterday's failed attempt of asking her out, and he was almost certain she kept coming up with excuses to miss out on their after school arrangements. He barely saw much of her at all anymore. He didn't know how things had gone left so quickly, but he knew that he hated it.
Which is how he ended up at Candice Michelle house party that evening, crowded around her kitchen with his friends, dressed as Heath Ledger's version of DC's very own beloved villain, The Joker. Jeff Hardy couldn't lie, he found great enjoyment at the prospect of dying his blue hair, green for the costume. He was starting to outgrow the blue anyways, he could try rocking the green hair for a few more weeks after. It was a win-win for Jeff.
"Do you think anyone would notice if I spiked the punch?" Shane Helms asked his friends, dressed in his ghost face costume.
"Shane, that defeats the purpose of there already being alcohol at the party," Shannon Moore replied dressed in his best cowboy getup.
"I'm still gonna do it," Shane decided, aiming to pour half the bottle of vodka into the fruit punch—however, someone bumped into him during the process, thus resulting in the entire vodka bottle getting poured in. "Avoid the fruit punch," he sheepishly replied, walking off to try and find Torrie Wilson.
"Jeff, you came!" Squealed Candice Michelle from the foyer, dressed as Trish had informed him, a pirate or at least if that's what you could call the little to no clothing she had on. She had a bejeweled bra on for a top and a very short skirt, a red banana over her head tied the costume together.
…...
The party had been going on for an hour or so, in its full swing. Jeff had already started to forget that weeks events, just drinking with his best friends and catching up with everyone. He was in such great spirits, that he was almost able to ignore how Candice followed his every step that night like a lost puppy.
"I can score us some molly," Torrie Wilson shouted over the loud music.
Shannon, Candice, Torrie, Shane and Jeff all stood around a plastic table. The guys were taking turns playing beer pong, with the two girls cheering for their favorite player.
"Oooh, that can be fun!" Candice replied excitedly. "What do you think Jeff?" she asked.
All eyes snapped towards the entrance as new party guests began to make their way into the jam packed house. Matt Hardy walked in dressed as a prisoner, hand in hand with Amy, who had chosen to dress as a somewhat sexy cop. Adam and Jay Copeland weren't too far behind, both dressed as the super Mario brothers. John Cena was dressed as Superman and Randy Orton trailed behind dressed in his best baseball uniform. They all looked great, but nothing could prepare him for Trish.
She had on a silky turquoise floor length dress, the left side had a high thigh slight that left much to the imagination and the back of the dress was backless, showing off her tone and smooth back. She paired the look off with gold heels and a blonde bob cut wig. She was captivating, she somehow managed to look beautiful while still showing a little skin, but leaving more to be desired. Jeff nearly missed Cody Rhodes trailing behind her, dressed in an all white suit with a red button up dress shirt. Scarface, Jeff recognized.
"Hey, guys! Join us!" Shane shouted the group over.
The group of friends all gathered around the makeshift table, greeting one another and complementing each other's costumes. Jeff drank from his beer can, peering over the lid and locking his eyes with Trish. Green clashed with brown, and how could she not feel this pull? He couldn't look away even if he wanted to. He was enchanted by the sight of her.
"Trish and Cody, you guys look so cute!" Candice cheerfully shouted. "Don't they look like the perfect couple?" she asked the group of friends, all whom awkwardly avoided the topic, no doubt each had heard about what was going on between Trish and Jeff, from their respected parties. All, of course, with the exception of Candice and Torrie.
"We're going to go take advantage of that free alcohol," Amy said, taking Trish's hand and leading her away from the room and into the kitchen.
"Well, that was certainly awkward," Amy laughed. She maneuvered around the kitchen island, mixing different drinks into a tray of red solo cups. Trish didn't dare ask, her friend looked like she knew what she was doing.
"Jesus, Amy, who are you trying to kill with that much tequila?" On second thought, Trish was certain Amy was just mixing up a bunch of different alcohol at this point, in hopes of getting them all shitfaced.
"Relax," Amy rolled her eyes, stirring the drinks with a spoon she had found. "But if you think I can do some serious damage with these drinks, then I'll be serving them up all night to Tony Montana over there and that whore of a pirate."
"You said you'd play nice!" Trish reminded her of her earlier promise, right after she had informed her of what happened between her and Jeff that week.
"This is me being nice," Amy retorted, holding a single cup out for Trish to take.
Trish hesitantly took the plastic cup, bringing it up to her lips and taking a small sip. She nearly spat everything back out. "That's so gross."
"Then it's perfect!" Amy declared, smirking at her best friend's commentary. She picked up a cup of her own and took a long sip. "Remind me again, why you're here with that cocky bastard?" She asked referring to Cody Rhodes.
Trish rolled her eyes, grabbing an empty cup and deciding to full it up with some fruit punch—that was definitely the safer choice for the night. "I told you—he's been asking me out ever since we started off senior year," Trish repeated what she had told her best friend earlier when they were getting ready at Amy's house.
"Yeah, I remember that, what I don't understand is why now?" Amy challenged. "I thought you had told me you thought he was an annoying lil' shit."
Trish sighed, looking into her fruit punch to try and avoid her friend's line of questioning. Why now? Well, for starters Trish had gone home that Wednesday evening after Candice was basically humping Jeff's right leg like a dog in heat—okay, maybe she was exaggerating. But the way Candice talked about her past encounters with Jeff, the way she comfortably touched Jeff… it made Trish feel like a shell of the woman she was and it also reminded her that Jeff hadn't done anything wrong. Jeff deserved someone who could love him, give him a relationship. Even if that woman was Candice Michelle, because Trish could never offer him the things Candice could. Trish had plans, and Jeff Hardy wasn't included in those plans. And yes, Cody Rhodes was as Amy put it 'an annoying lil' shit', but Trish knew she didn't have to promise him anything. Cody was just looking for fun, and Trish had decided she could be fun, she didn't need to meet any of his ecxpectations. But she couldn't rid herself of the slight guilty she felt when she had to turn Jeff Hardy down. In another life, she decided, her and Jeff would probably have something really really great.
"Why are you torturing yourself blondie?" Amy pressed.
"I'm just trying to live a little here, isn't that what you've been telling me to do all this time?" Trish replied, walking over to refill her cup with more punch. Whatever was in this punch was already making her feel light and loose. This was some damn good fruit punch.
"Yes! But I didn't mean this!" Amy rolled her eyes.
"So what did you mean?" Trish questioned.
"I meant go climb Jeff like a tree!" The redhead shrugged as if it were that obvious and easy.
"Amies, I feel you should know Matt just bet John 100 and his car, that he could do a kegstand," Jeff Hardy entered the kitchen, leaning against the entrance.
Trish had to fight off the growing heat rising up to her cheeks at Amy's previous comment and Jeff's timing.
"That idiot! That's our only way back home!" Amy stormed out of the room, already cussing her boyfriend out.
"Amy is going to chew him out," Jeff chuckled, further stepping into the kitchen and fetching himself a beer from the fridge. He walked over and took the seat in front of Trish.
"You think he'll actually lose?" Trish asked, once again refusing to look up from her cup. She swirled the red contains around, taking the occasional sip here and there. Anything to avoid looking into the eyes of Jeff Hardy.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure Matt eats his cereal with beer instead of milk," Jeff replied.
Trish laughed, finally looking up at the boy in front of her. The joker. His purple blazer and dressed shirt looked great, he had the top buttons undone, giving a preview into his tone chest. Here she was thirsting over Jeff Hardy in a costume for crying out loud! Some much for putting him out of her mind.
"Trish?" She snapped her eyes back up to his emerald hues—whatever was is this fruit punch was making everything feel so much more intense. Or maybe that was just her feelings playing tricks on her.
"You look beautiful," Jeff stated, the beer in his hands helping him find some of his lost courage.
"Thanks…," she quietly replied, smoothing over nonexistent wrinkles on her dress. Anything to distract herself from the way her heart fluttered at his compliment. "You look really good too," she offered with a small smile.
The conversation pretty much ended there, as a silence fell over the pair and they both found a interest in their respected drinks.
When had they gone back to strangers? This didn't feel like trading secrets in his small basement, or the friendly banter they had developed. Had she done this to them? She hated it.
"Trish, we're up next against the winners. Beer pong," Cody stated, popping his head into the kitchen looking for his date and finding her hanging out alone with none other than Jeff Hardy.
"Okay, cool… I'll, uh, be right out," Trish replied forcing a tight smile on her face, as she turned her attention to her date.
"Alright, we're on in fifteen minutes," Cody replied, disappearing back out the kitchen, but not before shooting Jeff one last knowing look.
"You don't drink beer do you?" Jeff suddenly asked.
"God, no, I hate it," Trish shook her head at the mere thought. She always found beer to be too strong and didn't like how bloated she felt afterwards.
"What are you drinking?" He asked suddenly interested in the contains in her plastic cup.
"I've been having some of that fruit punch over there," she nodded her head in the direction of the punch bowl. "But now I'm starting to think it might've been mixed with something else, unless you suddenly have a twin?" She giggled.
"How many cups have you had exactly?" Jeff asked, going over to stand in front of a suddenly giggly Trish.
"Two full cups," she replied. "I think," she giggled, bringing the cup back up to her lips for another drink. She groan in protest when Jeff gently pried the plastic cup out of her small hands and dumped what little remain down the kitchen sink.
"Trust me, you don't want to drink that," he replied knowingly.
She pouted her bottom lip out, feigning upset at the loss of her drink.
Jeff chuckled, he thought she look adorable. "Here," he handed her a can of hard seltzer. "This should be more up your alley," he said.
Trish popped the can open and curiously took a long swing. She had to admit, he wasn't wrong. It wasn't too strong and it offered a nice bubbly taste.
"Well?" Jeff asked.
"I like it," she answered. The hard seltzer alone wasn't enough to get her intoxicated, the two full cups of fruit punch however? She was starting to feel the effects now. "What was in that punch?"
"Vodka. A whole bottle of Tito's to be exact," he replied. "You okay?" He asked sincerely concerned. He knew she was a lightweight, and from what she had shared with him in past conversations, she wasn't much of a drinker either.
Trish stopped to think for a moment. Was she okay? She felt very light, a nice buzz ran its course through her body and she suddenly felt very happy and warm. "I think so, yeah," she finally answered.
"Sucks that Cody has a terrible aim," Jeff informed her, reminding Trish that she only had a few minutes left with him before she had to go back out there into the overly crowded room and drink terrible beer.
She didn't want to go back out there and she especially didn't want to have to leave Jeff. She already had barely seen him that week, though she only had herself to thank for that. She'd later tell herself it was the vodka messing with her brain, but for tonight she was going to allow herself to enjoy his company.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Trish asked Jeff.
He had to take a second look at her, to make sure he had heard her correctly. He watched as she stood there, biting her lip and starting at him with those big brown eyes. Who was he to refuse her?
"Wait right here," he instructed.
Jeff stepped out into the living room, eyes scanning for the right person. He ducked behind a door as he was nearly seen by Candice Michelle, who seemed to be looking around for something, or someone… maybe him? yeah, he was definitely not going to stick around to find out. He quickly spotted Shannon Moore, tucked away in the corner talking to a short red head. Perfect. Jeff thought.
"Shannon, man, I need your help," Jeff said, as he approached the duo.
"Hey, Jeff, I'm a little busy right now, in case you hadn't noticed," Shannon replied, trying his back to the girl he was talking to, an exhausted expression on his face as he tried to communicate with his best friend.
"I need a favor," Jeff simply replied.
"Yeah, and I need you to get lost," Shannon replied, turning his head around to offer the red head girl a bright smile. He turned his attention back to his friend, throwing an arm around his shoulders to bring him in closer as he whispered. "I'm totally about to nail this chick."
"You mean the one who just walked away?" Jeff asked pointing to the girl as they both watched her disappear into the crowd of dancing bodies on the makeshift dance floor.
"Ah, man!" Shannon dropped his hands back down to his side. He has been working that chick up for an hour, he had spat his best game to her. He nearly had her right where he wanted.
"So anyways, I need you to distract Cody and Candice," Jeff said.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Shannon retorted.
"I don't know, get Shane to help you?" Jeff replied.
"And why do I need to distract Candice and Cody?" Shannon asked.
"Look, I'll tell you later," Jeff started, knowing he didn't have much time left before Cody went searching for Trish. "Just do me this one favor. Please?"
"Fine," Shannon sighed. "But you owe me," he warned with a pointing finger at Jeff.
"Shannon, I love you man," Jeff tossed over his shoulders, heading back towards the kitchen and doing his best to dodge Candice, who was coming back down the stairs still hot on her search party.
"I was beginning to think you had forgotten all about me," Trish joked.
"Nah, never," Jeff smiled, taking her soft hand into his rough one. "C'mon," he responded, leading them down a hall and out a glass door in the dinning room.
The pair were instantly greeted by the cold air of the night. Jeff looked to Trish, the thin material of her dress doing nothing to keep her warm. He could slightly make out the shape of her hardened nipples against the delicate silk fabric of her garment. Jeff cleared his suddenly very dry throat, licking his lips and trying to rid himself of any inappropriate thoughts. "Here," he shrugged off his purple blazer, and helped her fit her arms into the sleeves.
"Thanks," Trish replied, looking down at herself in his blazer she couldn't help but to giggle. She looked like a little girl playing in her parent's closet. The blazer rested halfway down to her thighs, and she had to roll the sleeves up just to see her fingers. She couldn't help but to wrap herself tightly in the blazer—it smelled just like him. Earthy and clean, she felt warm and safe.
She barely had time to recover before she felt his hand back in hers. She let him take the lead as she followed closely behind, liking the way his skin felt against her own.
...
"I'm serious, don't laugh!" Trish said, bumping her shoulder with his, trying hard not to giggle herself.
The pair laid side by side on the roundabout at the playground, just two blocks down from Candice's house. They had been playing twenty-one questions at the suggestion of a very tipsy Trish. She had also suggested they did some star gazing, so they laid down and began taking turns asking each other questions.
"Really, though? Randy was your first crush?" Jeff chuckled, waiting for her confirmation to the news.
"Yessss," she rolled her eyes. "I don't know, I could always appreciate some serious eye candy," she replied.
"Randy glued himself to the gym bench in middle school," Jeff retorted, still in disbelief at the revelation.
"Middle school Trish knew he had biceps and a six pack before anyone else in our grade," she pointed out. Randy wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but anyone with eyes could admit, he was smokin' hot.
"If Randy ever knew his ego would shoot through the roof," Jeff laughed.
"Whatever," Trish smiled. "My turn—who was your first crush?"
"Amy," he replied without a second thought.
"No way!" Trish rolled to her side, holding her head up against her hand to get a better look at Jeff.
"Yeah, it was around freshman year I believe," Jeff smiled and turn his head slightly to look up at her.
"Is it weird that, I could totally see how that would've actually worked out?" Trish laughed.
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.
"You and Amy, you're both very similar and share a lot in common," she responded.
"I actually think that's why we wouldn't have worked out. We're too alike," Jeff replied. He loved Amy dearly, and while he might've had a small crush on her at the start of high school, he sooner realized he liked their friendship much more than anything else. His crush on her left right on time as she began dating his older brother, and he never thought twice about it.
"My turn," Jeff said. He already knew what he wanted to ask, the first few rounds had been on the funnier side. "Why did you agree to come with Cody tonight? As his date?" He asked.
Trish sighed, they hadn't set any rules—the game was fairly simple, ask the other person any question you wanted to. She assumed at some point they'd switch up the tone, but she hasn't expected it so soon in their line of questioning. "Honestly?" Trish sat up, leaning back on her hands. She chewed on her bottom lip as she watched him sit up too, offering her his undivided attention.
"Only because I can't stand Cody," she replied honestly.
Jeff quirked an eyebrow at her response, more confused now than ever. "I'm sorry, what?"
Trish sighed and rolled her eyes at having to further explain herself. "I don't like Cody, meaning that I won't care that I basically ditched him back there to come hang out with you. I think he's annoying and if I have to hear him compliment himself one more time, I'm going to smack that blonde dye off his head."
"I'm not sure I'm following here," Jeff said. "You don't like Cody, so you agreed to be his date?"
"Yeah, basically…," Trish shrugged not seeing what the big deal was.
"Why?" Jeff asked.
"Because after tonight, I don't have to give anything of myself to him—not any promises, not my heart and definitely not my body. He won't care that I never want to speak to him again, and even better, if he gets upset with me and decides to never speak to me again tonight, I won't care," Trish explain herself.
"You think, I like Candice," Jeff stated.
"You mean, I know you like Candice," Trish replied.
"I don't." Jeff replied confidently, searching for her eyes, hoping to convey how serious he was.
"Oh, so you just like her body," Trish remarked. "Big difference, Jeff." She snorted in distrust.
"Listen to me, when I tell you that anything that ever happened between Candice and I, was purely psychical, Trish," Jeff replied.
Trish studied him between her squinted eyes, ignoring anything he had just told her. "You don't just have the best fuck of your life, constantly week after week for a year straight and not have feelings for the other person, Jeff."
He froze at her words, the best fuck of his life? Where had he heard those words before… realization hit him all too late. "Is that what Candice told you?" He asked already knowing the answer. He had told Candice that once, but in his defense he was a horny sixteen year with not much to compare it to.
"You're not denying it," Trish pointed out.
"Why are you so driven in convincing me that I like Candice?" He questioned her.
Trish briefly closed her eyes, she wasn't sure if it was the conversation or the alcohol from earlier, but she could feel a headache coming on. She sighed. "I just don't think you're giving her a fair chance."
"Trish," Jeff licked his lips, resting his hand on her exposed knee. "I. Do. Not. Like. Candice." He spaced out each other word, making sure he got his point across. "Not then, not now or ever," he replied needing her to believe him.
"Okay…" Trish replied rather defeated.
"Okay," Jeff repeated, squeezing her knee, he breathed in deeply.
"I've missed you," came her small voice, avoiding his eyes, instead choosing to play with her fingers.
"I've missed you too. A lot actually," Jeff confessed. "My dad refuses to try a new recipe until you come back," he told her. They had been eating lasagna for a week straight now.
"I've never met a more loyal man," she laughed finally looking back up into his green eyes. She couldn't keep depriving herself of this… at least not his friendship. She enjoyed their silly little conversations, how he shared secrets with her and no one else. She hadn't been lying, she missed him baaaad. Maybe she couldn't offer him what he truly deserved, but no one said they couldn't still be friends.
"Do you want to come to my fight next weekend?" Jeff asked timidly, he wasn't sure he could afford more rejection from her.
"Do you want me to come to your fight?" She asked.
He thought about it for a second—did he want her to see him like that? He wasn't sure, but the one thing he was sure of was that he wanted more of her in his life.
"Yeah," he finally answered.
"Alright, so I'll be there," she replied as the two shared a big smile.
"Cool. So should we start walking back to my truck?" He asked her as he stood to his full height in front of her.
"Only if you carry me back," she joked poking him with the tip of her high heels.
Jeff suddenly crotched down before her, slipping her gold heels off for her. Her feet felt so relieved at the gesture she didn't even bother processing the action. Jeff turned his back to her, heels in one hand. "Hop on, Stratus," he said.
"Jeff, I was just joking," she laughed. He couldn't be serious.. could he?
"I'm waiting," he teased.
Oh, he was serious.
Trish carefully stood up on the roundabout, gently pressing her front to his back and making sure to not close her arms too tightly around his neck. With one final push off the playground equipment, she braced her legs on either side of his waist. She had to psychically hold herself back from moaning at the feel of his very strong hands gripping the back of her thighs for added support as he started walking with her on his back.
"You're the best, Hardy," she giggled softly near his ear.
He was glad it was cold and she couldn't notice the way his body shivered at the feel of her hot minty breath that blew over his face. She was very light, but even still the job was harder than it seemed. Mainly because usually just a simple touch from her made his brain short circuit. But he had never had her this close. He could feel her bare thigh, from where the open slit on her dress started. Her skin softer than he imagined—get a grip of yourself, Jeff, you're simply giving her a piggyback ride so she wouldn't have to keep struggling to walk in her heels. Be the gentleman your father raised you to be. But he could've sworn she was trying to break his focus because now he could feel her nuzzling her nose into the back of his neck, humming softly. She truly had no idea of the effect she had on him. He knew he was going to fall in love with Trish Stratus, he just didn't know if she would ever let him.
A/N: Currently working on the next chapter! And yes, this is a slow burner and the rating will eventually change for more mature content! As always R and i hope you enjoyed!