She couldn�t believe it.
Lita covered her face with her hands as the replay showed and once again the image of Matt Hardy screwing his brother out of his title shot flashed across the screen.
�Oh no�Jeff�� The whisper was broken as the camera suddenly zoomed in on Jeff�s face. The abject misery in his soulful eyes was enough to break Lita�s heart in two. The young daredevil was kneeling on the mat and staring in shock as RVD celebrated his win, the older man leaping up onto the turnbuckles and raising his arms in victory as the crowd cheered.
What was Matt thinking?
Lita was startled by the sound of her cellphone ringing in her purse. Despite the dull roar inside the club, the sound seemed to cut through everything and echo shrilly in her ears. Retrieving it from the small bag, she held it up into the light to look at the call display.
M. Hardy.
It was Matt. Probably calling to gloat, Lita was sure of it. She contemplated letting it go, but quickly discarded the notion after about the fifth ring. She knew that he would only keep calling if she didn�t talk to him. Sighing heavily and turning away from the television screen, Lita hit the �talk� button and held the phone up to her ear.
�Hello?�
�Hey baby! Did you see it?� Her stomach roiled at the pride she heard in Matt�s voice. Didn�t he realize what he had done? Couldn�t Matt see that he had just destroyed his baby brother�s trust in him?
�Baby�?�
�Yeah I saw it.� She shook her head in disgust. �How could you do that to him? How could you do that to your own brother?�
There was silence on the other end of the line as Lita�s words sunk in.
�You sound angry.� Matt�s voice was suspicious now.
�I sound angry? Matt, you just gave the Twist of Fate to your own flesh and blood. You intentionally ruined his chances of getting a shot at the IC belt. Tell me why I shouldn�t be upset.� Lita�s voice shook as her anger bubbled up to the surface.
The bastard wasn�t sorry at all.
�So you�re taking his side against your own boyfriend? Is there something I should know about, Lita?�
That did it.
Her face flooding an angry shade of red, Lita clutched the phone tightly to her ear. Her knuckles were white with the strength of her grip.
�You son of a bitch. I can�t believe you would be thinking about something as trivial as this when your brother is laying in the ring wondering why you betrayed him. Don�t you dare accuse Jeff and I of seeing each other behind your back!�
�Well I don�t know, it seems to me I�ve been seeing you two together more often than not these days.� Matt�s tone was smug.
�That�s funny you should mention that Matt, because I haven�t seen you around at all lately. So unless you�re clairvoyant - which you�re not, how in the hell would you know what is and what isn�t going on between Jeff and I?�
�Now you�re just being stupid, Lita.� She hated the condescension she heard in his voice. It was like the man thought he was talking to a five-year-old. Well, Lita had had enough of that.
She�d had enough of HIM.
In the months since the operation Matt had barely been around to see her. In fact, she could count on one hand the times he�d visited her since she�d been sent home to recover. Alone and stuck sitting at home on the couch for months on end, it had seemed to Lita that everyone had forgotten that she even existed.
Everyone but Jeff.
Jeff was the one who came to see her whenever he was home from the road. Jeff was the one to bring her silly little presents and cook supper for her when she was feeling down. Jeff was the one who made her feel pretty when she knew she looked anything but. But most importantly of all, it was Jeff with whom Lita was starting to fall in love with more and more each day.
Everything was Jeff.
�Matt, this conversation is over. Goodnight.�
�No, this conversation isn�t over, and you need to shut up and listen to me.� As the words registered with Lita�s brain, something inside of her seemed to snap.
�No, you know what Matt?� Lita�s voice was steady even as her heart pounded crazily inside her ribcage.
�Not only am I going to hang up on you now, but I�m dumping your sorry ass.� A faint smile pulled at Lita�s lips when Matt began sputtering on the other end of the line.
�Goodbye Matthew. Have a nice life.� With that, she hit the �end� button on her cellphone and tossed it back into her purse. Sitting back in her chair, she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes.
And then for the first time that night, Lita smiled.
*****************
One Week Later�
Lita hummed softly to herself as she sat in front of the vanity mirror and fussed with her hair. Twisting and pulling the crimson strands this way and that, she struggled to get the wild mane into some semblance of order.
Jeff was coming home tonight.
She was actually giddy. After finally breaking up with Matt and accepting what she was coming to feel for the younger Hardy brother, Lita couldn�t possibly feel happier.
She was going to tell him tonight.
God, she was nervous. There was no denying the fact that Lita was scared that Jeff would rebuff her tonight. After all, she and Jeff had shared a perfectly platonic relationship for all these years, what if Jeff still thought of her as a little sister? It was a decidedly depressing possibility.
�Hey beautiful��
Startled, Lita jumped a little when a pair of warm, strong hands suddenly dropped down and rested on her shoulders. Carefully tilting her head back, she smiled when she saw Jeff�s emerald eyes gazing back down into hers.
�Jeff!�
Jumping up to her feet, Lita turned and wrapped her arms around the tall man�s neck. Burying her nose in the silky softness of his multi-colored hair, Lita inhaled deeply.
�God, I missed you.� She murmured.
Grinning foolishly, Jeff tightened his arms around the slender redhead and returned her embrace. Glancing into the mirror behind her, he took in the image of them standing together and felt a twinge somewhere deep inside him.
This was right.
Stepping back reluctantly after a few seconds, Jeff gently took Lita by the arm and led her out of her bedroom and into the kitchen. Lita stopped in her tracks when she saw the bouquet of roses on the table. Feeling her breath catch, she turned and looked at Jeff. Shrugging, the young daredevil threw her a sheepish grin.
�I thought for some reason that they would be appropriate for tonight.�
�They�re perfect,� Lita whispered softly.
Moving towards the table, she reached out and gently fingered the velvety petals, sighing happily when they tickled between her fingers. Then, knowing suddenly that this was the right moment, she turned to Jeff.
�I need to tell you something.�
�I know�� Came the softly spoken reply.
�Jeff, I�wait, what did you just say?�
Moving across the floor and pulling Lita into the shelter of his arms, Jeff rested his chin on top of her head. He smiled at the confusion he heard in her voice.
�I said I know.�
�But�how?� Chuckling softly, Jeff straightened up and reached down to gently lift Lita�s chin with his fingers. Gazing deeply into her eyes, he smiled adoringly.
�Because I have to tell you the same thing��
And then he kissed her.
Sighing happily, Lita twined her arms around Jeff�s neck and moaned softly when she felt Jeff�s tongue trace the seam of her lips, begging entrance. Letting him in, their tongues dueled passionately with one another�s. When the kiss broke seconds later, both were flushed and out of breath. Grinning foolishly, Jeff glanced back towards the bedroom.
�Wanna finish telling each other something somewhere a little more�um, private?� Eyes sparkling, Lita smiled slyly and grabbed hold of his hand. Tugging him along behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and grinned wickedly.
�I have a feeling this is going to be a long conversation.� Laughing, Jeff shook his head gleefully.
�God, I hope so��
THE END!