"ITVR: Chapter 72"
Consequences.

By Jadedoll, Penumbren, & Raising Kane

Chris came back down to earth feeling as if every muscle in his body, including his brain, had been turned into cotton wool. It was�a kind of light, airy feeling, like when you put on a new pair of ultra-expensive runners and felt all strange and bouncy. Chris wondered for a moment if his fingers were hovering over the sheets, because he couldn't seem to feel anything but tingles. Eyes closed,�he just enjoyed the happy, blissed feeling cradling his limbs courtesy of the wonderful, wonderful human being currently stroking his chest and licking his neck. Wow. Talk about a rush with a capital R. Having just experienced possibly the hardest orgasm of his life, Chris's eyelids fluttered open and tried to focus on the blurry black spots that were jumping all over his vision. Maybe he'd been holding his breath or something because this lightheaded, dazed feeling was kinda funky. He'd never been this wired from anything without a prescription before and was beginning to wonder if Adam could be persuaded to punish him more often. A small, sneaky smile curved the corner of CJ's mouth, he'd just have to do more things deserving of punishment then wouldn't he? much as I'd love to linger here with you... but I could really use something to eat. Nodding mutely up�into Adam's affectionate look, Chris pulled his brain back from its 'happy place' and listened to Adam start packing their things. They really did have a plane to catch and Chris was hoping that a hearty lunch might make some headway in stimulating his lover's refractory period. They had a date in a very small room after all. CJ�lay for a moment on the edge of the bed after twisting�around�so his feet were on the floor and�ran his fingers through his wild hair. It was tangled at the back from where he'd been thrashing his head back and forth during the final stages of Adam's 'lesson' and was in desperate need of a brush. A snag caught his broken fingers, causing a wince; he kept forgetting�he was hurt until something painfully reminded him of the fact.�But that pain soon disappeared as his lover's warm fingers trailed through the mass without catching a lock. Deciding he could get to like this view of Adam... CJ being flat on his back... he frowned slightly at the small pill bottle bouncing on his chest. once we get home, put those somewhere and forget about them, will ya sweetheart? O-kay. Not one hundred percent sure he agreed with that plan, Chris would nevertheless give Adam the benefit of the doubt. Personally he loathed any kind of medications that masked pain too much and was fine with Adam not wanting to become an addict. But there was being careful and being an idiot and Chris was going to make sure he wasn't dating an idiot. Dating. Equals date, equals food, equals... lunch. Although the chicken last night had been perfect considering their 'more violent than usually violent' evening, that had been many, many hours ago and Chris was starving. Nothing like a good erotic wake-up to get the stomach growling. Speaking of a wake-up... Shit that water was cold! But the brisk spray woke CJ right up and turned all the cotton wool back into useful flesh. Dragging his wet hair back into a pony tail, he came�striding and shivering out of the bathroom, fully awake and�hunting for clothes and boyfriend. Not necessarily in that order. You're nuts, sweetheart. "And you're warm Babe," Chris complimented, happily groping Adam and pressing his cold hands underneath the edge of his lover's t-shirt. The smooth skin of Adam's lower back was so toasty compared to Chris's fingers that he ignored the small jump the touch produced. But after a few seconds of sweet contact, he finally released his human hot water bottle and dove into some clothes. Given Adam's tres casual attire, he pulled out jeans and a short-sleeved black shirt. If anyone tried to take them to task for ignoring the dress code, CJ could run interference and besides... fuck them... Adam was hurt, he could wear whatever he fucking well wanted. His plan of avoiding his own injuries was stymied by his taller lover returning from the bathroom with his cast in one hand, a roll of tape in the other and an exasperated expression. The 'not, really, really not'�in any way pleasant experience of having his fingers taped again was mercifully brief, then�he and Adam were soon on the way towards the elevators. no matter what, Jay is not driving Amen to that, Chris would like his hand to be his only injury for the next little while. the codeine's going to have me acting a bit... odd... fair warning Intrigued, Chris wondered what 'odd' meant in this scenario. "Oh yeah, definitely Bunnykins. If Jay drives again, I swear I will throw myself from the moving vehicle and take my chances with the traffic. I did always wonder though..." Chris smiled up at Adam as the elevator door pinged open, allowing them to walk into the foyer. "...did you teach Jay how to drive?" Dropping their bags at the desk, Chris led Adam into the restaurant and surveyed the available tables. They'd missed the breakfast rush and had beat the lunch crowd, so were able to avoid any fan-related stoppages while heading for the food. Halfway along the buffet, Chris froze and began to curse fluently under his breath. The lack of sound was in deference to the three small children�four tables away, but didn't make the words any less virulent. "I'm gonna kill that prick." A brief squeeze to Adam's arm and Chris was stalking across the room towards a far table. Placing his plate down with a care that belied his expression, he looked down at his friend's cold, unhappy face. "I'm guessing someone needs to be in a lot pain right about now?" Chris asked Austin. **** As Austin came into the restaurant, people moved out of his way with an alacrity that would be almost funny, if he hadn't been in such a foul mood. While J.R. snored with all the force of a small earthquake, Steve would have to admit that it hadn't been that thunderous noise that had rendered him sleepless. No... not the snoring. Instead he'd been plagued by visions of warm, tanned skin marked with erotic curls of ink and the feel of short, velvet hair under his fingertips. They wouldn't really have been the worst images in the world to fall asleep to, it was just that each one was coupled with a vicious, stabbing pain of grief and anger that kept Steve's eyes open for hours�so they wouldn't play across the back of his eyelids like a silent movie. Loading his plate with a suspiciously small amount of food, Steve stomped towards the back of the room and annexed a table near the window. The area two tables deep around him became vacant within minutes and Steve felt perversely proud of his room-clearing abilities. Glaring into his coffee didn't help, ruthlessly stabbing innocent sausages didn't help either, but several staff might have some issues in the near future if Austin received just one more offer of "juice sir? grapefruit or guava?" Resisting the urge to ask for beer at nine am just to see the look on their faces, Steve's scowl became progressively lower and lower until it�achieved almost�Neanderthal proportions. The biggest, worst thing about the whole damn thing was that he felt completely, fuckin' helpless. There really was nothing he could do to change the situation. Short of tracking down the lil' shit to have it out again... and really... what the hell would that accomplish? He could�get rejected again, and that would probably just make Steve madder than he already was, which to be honest, was pretty damn high on the mad scale. But there was the chance, very small he admitted but still there, that the kid might decide it was worth a shot and was just waitin' for Steve to make another move. Thing was, while�Austin hoped for the second option, he was pretty fuckin' certain that he'd get the first and wasn't quite prepared for another disembowelment this early in the day. Austin consoled himself with one, gratifying thought. He�hadn't actually said no. He just hadn't said yes. Which could mean 'no', but could also mean 'I'm thinkin' about it'. Might also mean 'leave me alone you freak,' but Steve was trying to be positive in his rage and wasn't going to dwell on the negative. Much. Staring into space with a look more commonly seen on large Rottweilers looking at poodles, Steve tried to not think about it. I'm guessing someone needs to be in a lot pain right about now? He hadn't heard Kitten approach, which was an indication of his severe off-kilterness, since CJ hadn't tried to be quiet at all. In fact the blond had breached Austin's 'Area of Massive Scowl' and was sporting an expression set to rival the time when a big moron from his WCW days had walked into the locker room with a smug grin and Vince's favour. Steve realised that, for all his sassy, smart-mouth attitude, Jericho rarely ever got really angry... at anyone. That this rare event was coming about on his behalf was sweetly flattering in a 'I Am A Man And Do Not Need A Hug' kinda way. Feeling his own sour mood lighten somewhat in direct proportion to a rise in Chris', Steve shook his head slowly. "Nahhh. Forget it Kitten, I ain't gonna sweat it." Because having Chris go toe-to-toe with the kid, while something out of a weird porn-induced fantasy, was the last thing Steve really wanted right now. With another desultory stab at his scrambled eggs, Austin indicated for his Kitten to sit with a jerk of his chin and went back to staring into space. "For some reason I actually thought better of him." Chris' voice had lost most of the ice-cold rage Steve had detected earlier and was now coloured with disappointment. "Sorry I pushed you at him Austin, I shoul..." Steve cut him off with a wave of his fork. "Shut it Kitten. You ain't ever had a chance of pushin' me somewhere I didn't wanna go." Locking blue eyes with guilty sapphire ones, Austin smiled in a way that was quite scary. "We tussled some, he gave me lip, I asked fer more, he punched me, then I left." Chris blinked slowly at the crib notes version of the most important conversation of Steve's life and the Texan felt his smile stretch into almost feral proportions as Copeland joined them at the table. Noting the ginger way the taller blond moved into his seat, Austin asked, "Nice night?" **** The tinny sound of the phone ringing pulled Glen from the exceptionally pleasant dream that he was having. It wasn't hard to have pleasant dreams with a human blanket covering him, especially when that blanket was the man that he were head over heels for. The disturbance of the phone was less than pleasant and he would have let it keep ringing, but he didn't want it to wake Sean. Reaching out with one large hand, he snagged the phone from the cradle and lifted it to his ear with a sigh. "Don't you have better things to do than call around waking people up?" "...too sore this morning... had to find someone else to bother." Glen chuckled sleepily into the phone. Leave it to Kevin to give him that kind of answer. He was comfortable enough with the various members of the family to reply in kind now, though it'd been a different story when he and Sean had first started seeing each other. "Don't look at me man, much as I like you Kev, you're just not my type," Glen said with a sleepy grin. As if that weren't a gigantic understatement. Glen just couldn't imagine being with Kev when he considered their personalities. Last night had been perfect with Sean, but he just couldn't see himself submitting to Kevin and there just wasn't another alternative when it came to the man... unless your name was Scott Hall. Scott was another matter altogether. He didn't have actual evidence, but he was pretty sure that at least from time to time, Kevin was not top dog in their relationship, so to speak. Anyone else would probably have to fight Kevin for the honor and frankly Glen wasn't at all sure he'd come out on top in a contest between them. Considering how long it'd taken him to ask the man he was completely head over heels for to make love to him, he couldn't imagine doing so for anyone else. Glen was pulled from his wandering thoughts by Kevin's suggestion that they all meet for breakfast. Agreeing to wake Sean and meet them in the restaurant shortly, he hung up the phone, then wrapped his arms around his dark-haired lover. "You're going to have to wake up sleepyhead. Kevin and Scott are arranging a family breakfast and knowing how curious you are over the whole Hunter-Shawn-Dave thing, I'm pretty sure you'll want to be there." "Just carry me down and pour me in my seat," Sean replied, his voice husky with sleep, while rubbing his face against Glen's chest. Sean did want to find out how things were going with the trio. Who the hell wouldn't be curious about how that had come about? That wasn't his only point of interest though. Maybe they would all finally find out what the heck was going on with Kev and Scotty. The two had been so close-mouthed that he couldn't help but be curious. He discounted the fact that Kev and Scott had been all over each other in the limo and the fact that they were rooming together wasn't really an indicator of where things lay either. They might be sleeping together, but that didn't mean that things were back to where they once were. The relationship between Kevin and Scott had been severely strained after Scott left rehab. Scott had moved his things from 'their' house the same day. Sean had been there the day that Kevin had returned to find all of Scott's things gone from the house and he had never been scared of Kevin until he saw his reaction that day. Until a couple of months ago, the two had avoided each other like the plague, though Sean knew it was because of the strength of their feelings for each other rather than the lack of. Scott had told him once that he wasn't sure he could be around Kevin unless he could actually be with Kevin... it was just too hard for him. As far as any of them were aware, Scott was still living in his apartment and Kevin was living in the house that the two had bought together. It wouldn't be the first time that someone had succumbed to the old 'sex with the ex' lure or it could just be that Scott had finally admitted he couldn't live without Kevin in his life in some capacity. None of them really knew and neither of them were talking... yet. "Ow!" He'd taken too long thinking about it. Lifting his head and scowling at Glen for the smack to his ass, Sean then leaned up and kissed his lover just to be perverse. "Okay already, I'm moving." Glen grinned at him, despite the scowl. "Good, because I'm not carrying you." Sean stuck his tongue out at his lover before scrambling off the bed and hunting for some clothes. Once they'd both tossed clean clothing on the bed, they headed to the bathroom to shower. Glen slanted a look at the wall separating their room from Mark and Jeff's. "Wonder how things went over there last night?" Sean grimaced as he continued into the bathroom and turned on the water. "I don't know, but I think I'll be avoiding Mark for the next few days." Glen sighed as he joined his lover under the water. He wondered himself exactly how mad Mark might be about what Sean had done yesterday so he couldn't quite blame Sean for his caution. And maybe once Mark had a chance to get over it, he'd have a talk with his friend about why Sean had done what he had. It might not make a difference, but he could always hope that Mark and Sean might eventually find a way to get along. **** Sitting there, watching Jeff intently, Mark could feel rage and shock roiling inside him, almost burying the incredible hurt he felt at Jeff's almost careless words. Almost... but it was still there, piercing through him, wounding the brand-new tiny little kernel of hope that he'd allowed, against all his better judgment, to come into being last night as he fell asleep with his whirlwind momentarily still in his arms. Stupid of him to forget that a whirlwind at rest was still a destructive force, just one posing as something other than what it really was. Stupid, a hollow voice laughed somewhere in the back of his mind. And short-sighted. How could he have forgotten so easily what this felt like? He'd been through it before, after all; Shawn might have loved him, but in the long run he'd never been anything but a substitute for the person Shawn really loved, the one that he could never have. The bitterness in that�thought shocked him in and of itself. All this time, he'd thought he was over that, thought that he'd moved on... apparently not, if part of him still blamed Shawn for what had happened. But that was something that would have to be dealt with later. If Jeff thought that Mark was capable of doing that to anyone else, then last night had been more than a simple mistake. It had been the worst possible thing that he could have done. And this deadly silence stretching between them wasn't helping. Mark knew that his eyes were showing everything he was feeling, but he couldn't help it. However controlled he might be normally, he could never hide emotions that he felt deeply. "No!" The almost desperate word split the air between them, Jeff's voice sharp with anxiety and... fear? Mark continued to watch the younger man, trying to ignore the sliver of hope waving for attention behind the growing wall of hurt anger. As he listened to Jeff as he spoke in half-coherent phrases, the other man's own emotions washing up against him like an ocean of confusion, the soft touch against his leg felt almost like a hammer blow, but he didn't move. If he moved now, he'd crumble, and he couldn't afford that. Not now. Not ever. "Not a game Mark, not for a second." There was sincerity there, hiding behind the desperate pleading tone. Mark could hear it, although he refused to let it touch him. Not yet. "I didn't think that you would... I mean... not like that... just you looked kinda like you were upset that I was here..." God dammit. Jeff had seen the guilt in his eyes, had misinterpreted it... not surprisingly. But if he didn't think that Mark would do what he'd practically accused him of, why the hell had he said it? He didn't have anything to be afraid of---he wasn't the one who was falling apart at the seams with grey hair and arthritis and back pain when he twisted wrong. No, Jeff was young and beautiful and full of life and... "but I did think... that maybe you would have wanted... him... instead." Mark had to bite back laughter. Not pleased chuckles, but bitter barking sounds of ironic amusement. He hadn't been able to escape how much Jeff reminded him of Shawn, although he knew there was more in what he felt for the younger man than mere reminiscence, and here Jeff was, throwing that very thing back in his face. Why Jeff would've felt that Mark wanted someone, anyone, other than him, was beyond him at the moment. He still wasn't sure why Jeff would want him, after all. Oh. Shit. Suddenly the completely distraught, almost destroyed expression on Jeff's penetrated the icy wall he'd instinctively drawn around himself. This hurt... this hurt a lot... but Jeff looked like... like... like he'd just lost something he'd been dreaming about for his entire life. He was partially right, Mark had to admit; Mark wasn't completely over Shawn, but to be honest, he never would be. That didn't mean that he wanted Shawn back or harboured some hidden longing for the man; he didn't. Regardless of the bitterness he'd hidden even from himself until now, he had moved on. Feeling the tremble in the fingers still on his skin, he forced himself to stillness. If he did the wrong thing now, this would be over... and the anger still pulsing through him with every heartbeat practically demanded the wrong thing. Whatever else happened, this had to be dealt with, but he couldn't just open his mouth and let the hateful words hovering behind his lips come spewing out. Especially not to someone like Jeff, someone who was practically begging, acting like... like... Mark's eyes widened a hair, thawed softly, as he looked at Jeff with heightened awareness. Jeff was acting like the most insecure person he'd ever seen in his life. Like he couldn't believe that Mark would want him. "...you were... you are... probably the best fucking thing that's ever happened to me..." Letting the apologies wash over him, the sheer emotion in that unsteady voice caught at him, clawing at that hidden spot of emotion as it demanded attention, demanded acknowledgement. No. Not that. He fought it away, not willing to look at that spot now; with this sort of misunderstanding between them from such a simple thing, he wasn't about to open up that particular Pandora's box, no matter how much part of him wanted to. This wasn't the time or the place, and certainly not when he didn't even know if they'd be on speaking terms an hour from now, let alone ready for... anything like that. He shook his head slightly as Jeff tore his eyes away, searching for his clothes, probably. They were more alike than he'd guessed. "I don't want to go. I can if you need me to, but if I could stay Mark?" This was it, then, wasn't it? This was the crux of the matter, the moment of decision. Before he even opened his mouth, he knew what he was going to say. "Yes." It was nearly a growl, just one short sharp syllable, almost barked in a gruff voice. But it was there. Before Jeff could move, he held up a hand and continued, the anger and hurt still filling him obvious in his voice. "But we need to talk. Now." A deep breath, and he shifted slightly to relieve the pressure on his knee. It had never quite been the same after the last injury, and he didn't want to strain it now of all times. He'd really prefer to be dressed for this conversation, if only for the symbolic shield, but he wasn't going to move any more than necessary until they got things sorted out. It was incredibly likely that they wouldn't be able to make this work out, at least not on a personal level, but if they could at least keep the mentoring relationship reasonably intact, Mark would be content with that. Somewhere in the back of his mind, that hollow voice shrieked with laughter. "I don't know what you think of my past, boy, but you obviously have some misconceptions about me." Pausing, he debated what he should say, but knew even through his immediate reluctance to broach the topic that nothing less than complete honesty would do. His voice slowed as the words came reluctantly, his drawl broadening as the old pain came back up. "The "him" that you seem to think you know so much about is real... and he isn't. I was involved with someone for quite a while, very seriously. When it didn't work out... it damn near killed me. It wasn't Shawn's fault, and it wasn't mine, but I had to end it, and I've never... I've never felt like that for anyone else." Casting a look back up at the wide green eyes in front of him, he frowned. He wasn't making his point clearly, and he wasn't entirely sure that he could. But he had to try. "I have never used somebody for sex. I don't do one-night stands, and I don't do them for a reason. I've been on the receiving end of a few and I don't like feeling used. For you to accuse me of that..." A short laugh, and he pushed his hair out of his eyes, shaking his head again. This was going to hurt more than he knew, and he could feel his anger draining away in the wake of his agonizing honesty. He wanted to be mad, dammit, wanted that anger to hold on to... but he couldn't. Instead, he lowered his gaze, not willing to watch the disgust that he knew would be growing in those captivating eyes as he started speaking again. "I was feeling guilty when I woke up. Y'know why? Because I fucking fought with myself all goddamned night last night not to do what we did, because I didn't want you feeling obligated to me. I didn't want you to feel like you had to fuck me just to get another chance, because you don't. Even if things still worked like that, I wouldn't do that. Hell, I helped stop that kind of thing. And when I woke up with you going down on me like a starving man, all I could think of was that you must feel like you had to do it, because why the hell would you want to do that? I'm no prize; I'm not young, and I'm not pretty and I'm falling the hell apart." Pausing again, he looked at Jeff with mild bemusement. "Why do you want to stay, when you don't have to?" **** Too busy shuddering under Hunter's careful ministrations to actually respond verbally to the teasing words his lover was giving him, Shawn heard the door open and close even as his back arched in response to a bite on the same spot Dave had marked the day before. Apparently his lovers wanted to put a bull's-eye there... not that he was going to be complaining about that. Oh no. Not if it meant that they were going to make him feel like this. "I stopped and got you coffee, but it looks like Shawn found a better way of waking you up." He couldn't stop the snort even as he winced at the soreness it left behind in his throat, but still... just because he'd been moderately polite the morning before---to Dave, anyway---didn't mean that he always woke up that way. Of course, Dave hadn't seen him wake up yet, had he? They'd have to discuss that little sneaking-off thing that he'd done... later. Right now he was too wound up in trying to keep up with Hunter's caresses. He suspected that his body wasn't going to be able to keep up to his spirit, but he'd be more than happy to do whatever Hunter wanted him to... of course, if he could sneak in the suggestion that Hunter and Dave should have a turn, he'd be thrilled to watch his lovers together. "Sure, sure. You say that now. Just wait till I have you trained properly." Oh, Hunter had not... he had. Seeing the mix of insult and amusement on Dave's face, Shawn couldn't hold back his laughter, ragged as it probably sounded. Not to mention the gasps mixed in, since Hunter didn't seem to want to be stopping his exploration of Shawn's chest... Ohhh. Now that was nice. His eyes were practically glued to Dave's lips as the big man teased Hunter. Just the memory of Dave's tongue piercing was enough to send a new round of shivers through him. "Sorry sweetheart, but I need to borrow him for just a moment... if you don't mind?" Like he was going to complain, with what Dave so obviously had in mind. He'd never dreamt of seeing Hunter in this kind of position... well, no. To be honest, he had dreamt of seeing Hunt exactly in this position... just with him in Dave's place. That didn't make seeing the reality any less sweet, or any less arousing. Before he realised he was even moving, Shawn was sliding closer to his lovers, hovering just behind Dave's shoulder for the best possible view. God, that was tantalizing: Hunter over Dave's lap, squirming and protesting and... Shawn jumped a little at the first blow almost in time with Hunter's reaction. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Talk about dreams come true... only these were the sorts of dreams that you never shared with anyone else and could only hope that you had again. Now he could have them every day... in real life. The spanking was brief, but Shawn knew he'd remember every second of the little scene until the day he died. Hunter might have been shocked, might have been protesting... but he'd liked it. That much was obvious. The kiss that Hunter bestowed on their lover afterward had Shawn's breathing quickening even as he wished somewhat ruefully that he was still twenty. He'd have to be a spectator to whatever games Hunt and Dave decided to play this morning... but he'd be a more than willing one. No sooner had he thought that, missing whatever words Hunter had said so quietly to Dave, then Hunter was up and moving and... gone. Blinking slightly as he tried to hold back the worry that wanted to come swimming up, Shawn shared a look with Dave. Before either of them could say anything, the sound of running water was audible, and Shawn's lips curved as he realised that Hunt had left the bathroom door wide open. That was definitely not an accident. His smile turning a little wicked, he tilted his head at Dave. "I think, sweetheart, that you are more than a little overdressed for this particular workout." Reaching down, he tugged the pastel button-up shirt out of the slacks that it was so carefully tucked into even as he wrapped his other arm around Dave's neck and kissed him. Not too intense, since he didn't want to tease---too much---but enough to make up for the lack of a kiss when he'd woken up. Speaking of which... "We have got to talk about this morning thing." He'd even managed to get the pout down without laughing and ruining the effect. Shawn was rather proud of himself for that. "But right now, I think that someone's waiting for us. Definitely no hiding in the bathroom today." Another smile, and he was off the bed, putting a little extra sway in his walk as he headed into the bathroom after Hunter, making sure to leave the door open behind him. Shawn paused just inside, though, as he got an eyeful of naked wet Hunter. Yum. Especially with that lovely pink tinge to his ass. Realising that he was licking his lips, Shawn smiled at himself and joined his lover in the shower, running a gentle hand over said tender skin. "Very nice, Hunter. You will have to share, you know." **** "No... no... I'm fine thanks." Dave's brow started a climb upward; he was surprised that Hunter was going to give in that easily. He should have known better. The hand tangling in his shirt stopped his brow before it made it into a position of question and the kiss that followed distracted him very nicely. Warm, soft, moist lips claimed his along with a rather wickedly probing tongue... not that he was going to complain. The exploration of Hunter's tongue and the weight of Hunter's torso pressing against his thighs was incentive enough to forget for the moment why he'd spanked him in the first place. Hunt saw fit to remind him a moment later though. "I'm not sorry, because if I get reactions like that, then the training program is working just fine." Smartass. Dave shifted his legs once the final word had left Hunter's mouth, intending to dump his ornery lover on the floor. Hunter gained his feet quickly and darted out of the room. Dave knew that Hunter wasn't upset with him, so he didn't worry about the flight. He was pretty sure that Hunter hadn't considered what reaction his comment would prompt, but he apparently hadn't minded Dave's manhandling of him in that circumstance. With his second taunt, it seemed as if Hunter was trying to get him to be a bit more forceful when it came to contact between them, without actually having to ask for it. Since that thought validated his earlier mental wanderings about their relationship, he might just have to try out being a little less thoughtful and a little more proactive when it came to his lover. The look he caught on Shawn's face pulled him from his thoughts for the moment. He could see the slight flare of worry buried in his lover's eyes and planned to soothe it away by repeating Hunter's words to him, but the sound of the shower starting up took care of that for him. The wicked smile that curved Shawn's lips told him that Shawn's worry was being replaced with a much happier emotion. "I think, sweetheart, that you are more than a little overdressed for this particular workout." Smirking at the tug of his shirt from his pants, Dave didn't bother mentioning that he'd already taken a shower. There was obviously another point to this shower altogether. He hadn't missed the press of hot, hard flesh against his thigh through the material of his pants. Shawn's gentle kiss smothered his own devilish grin, though it made an appearance as soon as Shawn's lips left his own. "We have got to talk about this morning thing." Aw hell. He probably should have stayed in the room this morning, but he had really needed the time alone to think. Now wasn't a good time to bring it up though. He didn't really want Shawn to know about the doubts he'd been having earlier. He had promised to give it some time and that was what he was going to do. The only thing that would come out of bringing it up would be making Shawn feel bad and that definitely wasn't something he wanted to do. "But right now, I think that someone's waiting for us. Definitely no hiding in the bathroom today." Shawn's words jerked him firmly back into the present and Dave had to smile over the hiding comment. Good thing that wasn't Hunter's aim, because he'd have hated to add a bathroom door to the damages that Hunter was going to owe for the room. Holding his smile as he watched Shawn cross the room, he then flopped back on the bed for a moment, the wicked smile curving his lips once more. He would definitely never be bored between the two of them, not that that had ever been a real possibility. Unbuttoning his shirt, he sat up and stripped it off. The rest of his clothes quickly followed and a minute or two after Shawn had entered the bathroom, Dave followed. He stopped in the doorway, looking at the two men in the shower. Wet, naked, hands roaming and lips tasting... what an absolutely beautiful sight. He was hard-pressed to decide which view he enjoyed more... the two of them showering together or cuddled up in bed. Either one was enough to drive him crazy. Crossing the tile silently, he slipped into the shower almost as quietly, standing just behind Hunter. He grinned for a moment at the tight fit. Lord, they had to be crazy. Luckily it wasn't quite tight enough that they had to worry about getting stuck in the damn thing. Pressing his body firmly against Hunter's back, he smiled at Shawn over Hunter's shoulder. His hands wandered slowly over the plains of Hunters shoulder's and down the shifting muscles of his back. Keeping his movements fluid, he lowered his hands further still, over smooth skin. Waist, hips, on down to the slightly pink curves of his lover's ass... steady and firmly. He didn't linger on any particular spot, moving his seeking hands over taut thighs before curving around to the front of Hunter's body. Sneaking his hands between Shawn and Hunter, he relished Hunter's reaction as he pulled Hunter's ass into the cradle of his hips. One hand moved slowly upward, seeking the hard shaft hidden between Hunter and Shawn's bodies. Pressing his open mouth along Hunter's neck, he licked and sucked gently as his hand wrapped around the warm straining wet flesh. Lifting his head for just a moment, he winked at Shawn. "My, my. Someone's most definitely awake now. You didn't need that coffee after all, did ya?" Scraping his teeth slowly across the tendons of his lover's neck, he lifted his head once more. "We'll just have to do something about this," he said with a gentle squeeze of his hand, "won't we, darlin'." **** "...did you teach Jay how to drive?" Adam wasn't about to dignify that with a response... he was a good driver and Chris darn well knew it. With a huff and a scowl at his lover, he followed him to the desk so they could drop off their bags. While they were standing in line for the buffet, Adam was wishing a severely bad hair day on his lover for his obnoxious question because that would surely be a tragedy for Chris, he thought with a grin. Oh yeah. The codeine had definitely kicked in if he was having thoughts like that. He was looking at a kinda scary looking pasta salad of some sort and poking it with the serving spoon when Chris started swearing under his breath. Ohhh. Someone was in trouble! Adam grinned and moved on to poking the Jell-o sitting next to the salad. He wasn't quite far gone enough to sing the 'watch it wiggle, see it jiggle' song, but he was fuzzy enough around the edges to wonder if Steph's implants were made of the stuff. Fortunately that was not a thought he voiced out loud either. "I'm gonna kill that prick." Who? What? Where? Adam turned and followed Chris with his eyes until the blond reached an occupied table. Austin... and he looked like someone had just pissed on his shoe or something similarly offensive. Austin, Austin, Austin... there was something he ought to remember about good old Steve, but he couldn't quite remember what it was at that particular moment. He took a few more steps in their direction before he was overwhelmed by the smell of... chocolate cake. Yay! Grabbing an extra big slice with thick white frosting, he walked over to where Chris and Steve were sitting just in time to hear Steve's comments. "We tussled some, he gave me lip, I asked fer more, he punched me, then I left." Ouch. Yesterday's conversation with Steve came flooding back just then and Adam felt just a bit bad that his analysis of Randy's character had been so far off. Good thing he hadn't mentioned that he'd actually caught ol' Randall mooning over the Rattlesnake on an occasion or two. What the hell was wrong with the little shit? He'd be having a serious talk with Mr. GQ Legend Killer come Sunday since they had a match to plan for Monday anyway. But for now... he'd just have to try to cheer up Stone Cold and if anyone questioned his sanity, he had a convenient excuse... drugs. Settling into his seat next to Chris, Adam racked his brain for a plan. "Nice night?" Adam looked up in surprise that Austin had acknowledged his overly cautious movements. It wasn't so much from pain but from the blurry little fog he was wandering in and he wanted to make sure the chair didn't jump right out from under him. It had happened before! "Great. Well... except for having to wake up half a dozen times when I'm supposed to be resting. I had this really hot nurse though with one hell of a bedside manner," he said with a wink in Chris' direction. "You don't look so good though Steve-O and I've got the perfect thing to make you feel better." Pushing his chair back a little, Adam stood up, then promptly wished he hadn't. Freaking codeine... he'd forgotten about the dizzy spells. Luckily, with his grasp on the table, he managed to stay on his feet the few seconds it took to clear his head... or clear it as much as it was going to get. Now, on with the plan that he'd managed to come up with just seconds before. Steve couldn't kill him... right? Grabbing the side of Steve's chair, he pulled it back just a bit from the table and promptly sat himself on the Rattlesnake's lap, a huge grin on his face. Ignoring the looks of surprise on both Steve's and Chris' faces, he turned and grabbed the plate with the slice of cake on it and scooped up a forkful. "Sex with Chris would make you feel better, but then I'd have to kill you, so how 'bout some choc'late cake instead? Come on... you know it'll turn that frown upside down. Open wide." If he were going to act insane, he might as well give it his best shot, so he added airplane noises while zooming the fork around in circles. Steve didn't look very impressed, though he did look as if he were considering calling the men in white coats to come pick him up. Time for extraordinary measures! Adam dropped the fork back on the plate and pouted at Steve with his most pathetically sad pout. That didn't work either. Time for super-extraordinary measures! "I'm sorry I was wrong. He's an idiot. I mean, if I weren't already head over arse in love with Chris, I'd go out with you..." Nope, he just couldn't say and make it sound like he meant it. Steve was a nice guy, really, but so totally not his type at all. "Okay... maybe I wouldn't, but only because you're really scary and always threatening to stick something up someone's roody poo candy a... oh wait. That's not you. I got it! You're really scary and you are always threatening to break someone's ankl... wait, that's not you either." From his perch atop Austin's lap, Adam could see the lights reflecting off the top of Steve's head. He spent a few seconds rather fascinated with the way the light was playing over the smooth surface. "Oh! I got it. You're the one that threatens to stomp a mudhole in people... and... do you shave your head?" He knew he was pushing his luck. In fact he was surprised that Steve hadn't already tossed him on his ass. His sole saving grace was probably the fact that CJ would be upset if Steve did anything to aggravate his injuries, because he was pretty sure that was the only reason he hadn't been dumped on the floor yet. Still, he'd get a smile out of Austin if it killed him... an honest smile, not one of those 'I'm smiling so you think I'm fine when I'm really not' smiles. Blinking quickly, like he'd lost his train of thought, he smiled down at Steve as he raised a hand and rubbed it all over the man's bald head. Hopefully Chris wouldn't kill him for what he was about to do, but it was one thing that he knew would be guaranteed to make him happy, so he figured Steve might get a kick out of it as well. "Can I shave it for you? If you let me, I'll let you hold the video camera when Christopher flashes Shelton before his match on Sunday. You have to promise not to drool on it though, cause it might ruin the tape." Adam fiercely nodded his head and then wished he hadn't... at least the dizziness made keeping the goofy smile on his face that much easier and it kept him from noticing whether or not Chris was ready to kill him. **** Seeing Austin's sudden start at his words, Chris realised that the bald man hadn't heard him approach, too lost in glaring with dangerous intent at his food. He couldn't normally surprise the Rattlesnake under any conditions, certainly not in the bright sunlight streaming through the restaurant windows. The man was completely off his game and Chris had a nasty feeling he knew why. Mind spinning with speculations that were all most likely untrue, he quickly assessed and discarded each thought before moving onto the next. Austin was alone... therefore Randy was still in their room. No. Austin wouldn't leave a brand new lover alone for a second after a night of happy, make-up sex. Austin was alone and pissed off... therefore Randy had left again after a night of happy, make-up sex. No. Austin would be in a large vehicle chasing after his lover and on the way damaging as many expensive cars as possible. Austin was alone, pissed off and not doing anything but performing vivisection on an innocent sausage. Therefore... Randy had turned Austin down flat and the man had spent the night in someone else's spare bed glaring at the ceiling. Dammit. CJ had been certain Steve had gotten lucky when he'd noticed the absence of Austin's bags earlier. It really wasn't fucking fair. There were very few people in this world that�were on a�par with�Steve Austin. Now most of the sane were pretty thankful of that fact, but CJ knew his friend well enough, that even with all the crazy, rough, tough, 'kick your ass as soon as look at you' edges Austin had... the world was a better place with him in it. He deserved to have the same chance at happiness that everyone else did, yet time and time again it didn't work out. Mostly, CJ was honest enough to admit, because Steve was a pain in the ass 97% of the time, but he imagined...and deep down CJ acknowledged he�had imagined... those other 3% would be golden. Feeling the cold anger begin to flood through him, Chris began to calculate just how quickly he could find out Orton's room number and what kind of implements were normally part of�hotel room bar fridge. Difficult as it�probably was to injure someone with a coffee bag and miniature Toblerone, Chris mentally braced himself to do his very best with what he could get. He could always pour hundreds of mini bottles of alcohol on the asshole's head and set him on fire. Chris'�anger and the freaky revenge thoughts had to be showing, because Steve was looking at him with grumpy unhappiness fading slowly into rueful affection. Nahhh. Forget it Kitten, I ain't gonna sweat it. 'Sure you aren't.' CJ agreed sarcastically but in his head. Taking a seat opposite his friend, Chris gave Steve another hard, assessing look before beginning his own meal, appetite lost despite his midnight activities. With his thirst for vengeance stalled by Steve's words, Chris began to feel�an unpleasant tide of guilt rise up inside him. A conversation in a car park came back with startling, painful clarity. "For some reason I actually thought better of him." Chris had thought so�too. Thought there was more to the gifted young star than just bluster and good genetics. "Sorry I pushed you at him Austin, I shoul..." Shut it Kitten..... We tussled some, he gave me lip, I asked fer more, he punched me, then I left. Chris blinked and began trying to sort out what had actually happened from the brief spurts of information he'd been given. Blue eyes narrowing, he located the faint bruising around Steve's chin and caught himself before a brief flash of admiration�could appear. So Steve had propositioned Randy and the guy had punched him? Just then Chris decided that maybe things weren't quite as bad as he'd imagined when he'd seen the downtrodden scowl on Austin's face. If Randy had demonstrated the balls to belt Steve and the ability to walk away from him, then everything wasn't lost. In fact... Randy may have just assured himself a permanent place in Steve's huge rock-like heart with his actions, however cruel they may seem on the surface. Chris' contemplation of Austin's love-life was interrupted by the arrival of his own love-life, chocolate cake in hand. Hang on a minute... chocolate cake for breakfast? Glancing at Adam with a questioning look, CJ stared wonderingly as his beloved proceeded to have some kind of mental break. The words really hot nurse, Sex with Chris would make you feel better, but then I'd have to kill you�and head over arse in love with Chris,�left happy little trails of pleasure in Chris' heart to be rejoiced over later, but in essence were ignored. Because... well... because Adam seemed to be trying to cheer Steve up. In a drugged out, 'three year old on red food colouring' kind of way. Frankly Chris was kinda impressed that the fork didn't end up tines-first in Adam's ass. Austin must be mellowing in his old age. When his beautiful lover began wiggling in Steve's lap and rubbing�the bald man's�head to coos of Can I shave it for you?, CJ dragged himself back to this reality. "Um. Adam... Babe?" When the gorgeous green eyes swung back to him, Chris wasn't surprised to see the glazed look in them. Ahhh... yeah. "Codeine is your 'happy place' isn't it Lover?" he asked, more to let Austin catch on to the reason for Adam's strange behaviour, than anything else. Seeing the look of understanding in Austin's eyes, Chris relaxed somewhat. Till Steve grinned at him like the evil bastard he was and cuddled Adam more comfortably onto his lap. Oh no. CJ really, really should have considered the consequences of Adam and Steve being part of his life. At the same time. "He always�this friendly first thing in the�mornin'�Kitten? Or did you actually screw his brains out last night?" Eyes narrowing at the lust-filled speculation in Steve's words, Chris looked pointedly at the hand resting on Adam's cotton clad rump and bared his teeth at the bald man. CJ's�hand had been suspended in midair during Adam's eclectic performance, the piece of fruit speared on his fork unmoving�inches from his�lips.�Elbow resting on the table, Chris lowered the utensil back to his plate and determined how best to remove Adam from Steve's vicinity without the three of them ending up hurt... or naked. **** I had this really hot nurse though with one hell of a bedside manner... Oh hell yeah. Steve could just imagine his Kitten playing nurse. More likely to verbally tear strips of ya for bein' an ass while rubbing in the ointment. Still... Austin couldn't deny the thought of a different pair of hands�tending his own aches and pains was one he might come to like. He'd even take the mouthy comments if he could get the rubbing. Steve felt he�and Copeland were obviously on the same page if the blissed-out smile the taller guy was offering was any indication. Austin smiled at the slightly unfocussed look in Copeland's eyes and pushed his plate away half untouched. Leaning back in his chair, Steve took a deep breath and enjoyed the undeniably pretty sight of his two companions. Seems that the only thing this 'ole redneck needed to take his mind off a certain brunette was the presence of his favorite blond... and his blond's shiny new boyfriend. You don't look so good though Steve-O and I've got the perfect thing to make you feel better. Huh? Wha... ? 'Shiny' was certainly the word, Steve thought a few moments later as Adam made himself far too comfortable in Austin's denim clad lap. Sure, the man wasn't poured into his usual black-as-hell leather pants, but there was no question as to the condition of the backside contained within the loose cotton sweats currently wiggling on his knees.�Having his head irrevocably turned by one stunning fair-haired handful had left Steve almost immune to the charms of other beautiful men, but Copeland was truly edible and Austin would take his groping where he could get it. Excluding a tanned, toned 'someone-that-Steve-really-really-wasn't-thinking-about', having Copeland in his arms was just this side of the sexiest contact he'd ever had. Damn. He really needed to get laid more often�if some fully dressed squirming was his best chance at it. Come on... you know it'll turn that frown upside down. Open wide. Hands catching Adam's hips to stop the man from tumbling off his lap, Austin eyed the proffered chocolate cake with misgivings. Airplane noises? Okay... now that fork was gonna be bent in half in a second if Copeland didn't stop waving it under Steve's nose. Uh oh... even Steve wasn't immune to a pretty, pretty man pouting at him. "I was wrong. He's an idiot... only because you're really scary... stick something up someone's roody poo candy... threatening to break someone's ankl... wait, that's not you either... stomp a mudhole in people... and... do you shave your head?" Steve's laughter roared out of him in a brilliant guffaw, arms tightening around Copeland as he strained to control his wild chuckling. This man... this beautiful, obviously crazy man had just paid Austin one of the biggest compliments he'd ever heard. While he could admit that the thought of doing some 'horizontal dancing' with the blond�hadn't really crossed his own mind either, that Adam might consider it was certainly flattering. Being compared to Rocky and Kurt however was more a sign of the mentally challenged than anything else.� Boy better stop touching his head too, or that 'horizontal dancing' might as yet still be in the cards. Can I shave it for you?... let you hold the video camera when Christopher flashes Shelton. Austin felt his typical surge of 'over my dead body Kitten' be submerged by his amusement at�Adam's antics.�Looking over at said flasher, Steve caught the stunned expression in Chris' sapphire eyes and the fruit stilled in midair. Obviously Adam's wild and too-friendly behaviour was as much a surprise to CJ as it was to Austin... if not more so. Codeine is your 'happy place' isn't it Lover? Adding two and two together, Steve got the requisite number despite opinions of his brain power to the contrary and loosened his grip on Adam a fraction. While he'd baby-sat a number of friends on all manner of benders, Austin could honestly say he'd never seen a reaction to painkillers quite like this one. It wasn't all the drugs either, if he was any judge. Copeland sure had let his guard down, but the sentiment was honest and Steve was humble enough to accept it with gratitude. Still... Running his palm down the lovely curve of Adam's back to rest on one tight butt-cheek, Austin shot a vicious smile at his Kitten and settled his passenger more comfortably. "He always�this friendly first thing in the�mornin'�Kitten? Or did you actually screw his brains out last night?" Damn... he'd never seen Chris with quite that look in his eyes before. Fortunately, CJ's fork wasn't rammed immediately into the back of his wandering hand... or his eye, as the blond calmly placed the silver back onto the table and rose fluidly to his feet. "C'mon Babe. I think Steve might want his legs back sometime soon." Chris had cupped Copeland's cheek and was bring his attention away from Steve's head. With a show of reluctance, he let CJ tug Adam from his lap and situate the man back into his chair. "Babe... ?Adam...?" Steve continued to smile as Chris tried to catch Adam's eyes, it was�like dealing with a distracted child. "Can I have some cake Love?" Once again pushing thoughts of�feeding cake to him firmly away, Steve settled back to enjoy the show... smirking all the while. **** Looking at that beautiful, untouchable expression on Mark�s face, Jeff legs were almost twitching from his instinctive need to run and hide. Running away wasn�t normally his forte; more often than not, Jeff was the one to take a fight to the bitter, wrenching end, no matter the consequences to himself or his opponent. �You just don�t have the ability to take a step backwards do you Jeffy?� had been one of the more memorable comments thrown at him over the years. But hiding? Oh yeah. He was more than a master at that. Of the emotional if not physical kind. �An enigma.� Huh. Such a stupid, fucking nickname he�d earned and hadn�t Jeff hated that line? He may have appeared to be a goddamn mystery to everybody, but that essentially came from Jeff not even knowing who the fuck he was either. Having spent far more time than was healthy on trying to get his fucked-up self-esteem back on track, Jeff was sick and tired of analyzing himself, his feelings, his place in the world, his purpose, his life, his sex-life and his career. Who the fuck knew what they wanted and who they were? Jeff sure as hell didn�t. Example number one� hot-as-sin guy wants to keep you in bed for a week so what do you do Mr. Hardy? Why, yes indeedy� you not only insult him for the second time in as many days, you also guarantee he�ll doubt your interest for the next fucking year! Bravo Mr. Hardy... not many manage to mess up that badly in such a short space of time. The truly deplorable thought that crossed Jeff�s panicked, desperate mind as he waited the long, long moments for Mark to tear him to shreds, was Did I do that on purpose? Did I tell him to think of someone else hoping he�d react like this? Did I want to fuck this up because I can�t handle it? Knowing his eyes would start to water soon if he didn�t blink, but really not caring, Jeff kept his gaze on frozen jade until the cruel, nasty end. Those questions were echoing over and over in his head, bold, honest queries that Jeff had been too blind to see until he sat here, naked amongst the tangled wreckage of what might have been. The answer to those questions was something Jeff would have to face if he could fix the damage he�d done. If Mark would let him fix it. Yes. Unconsciously, Jeff�s fingers became white-knuckled where they were clenched in cotton sheets. The relief he felt was palpable, but he couldn�t trust it� not yet. Mark was letting him stay, but they were a long way from� anything. But we need to talk. Now. Jeff couldn�t hide his wince, not only at the potential tragedy of tearing themselves apart like this, but also the harsh, unfriendly note in Mark�s deep voice. Understandable, given what Jeff had done, but his sensitized flesh still felt blistered by a tone Jeff had never experienced directed at him. When Mark shifted to get more comfortable, Jeff became aware of his own position, perched on his ass halfway down the bed, naked as the day he was born. The covers they�d kicked back during last night�s wild love-making were bunched at the foot of the bed and Jeff uncurled his cramped legs to settle against the soft fabric. The added foot of space between he and Mark was almost painful, but Jeff reasoned that touching of any kind right now would be the absolute worst thing to do. Uncaring of his own exposed skin, Jeff pushed his hair back behind his ears and scratched his blunt fingernails across the satin edge of the blanket in a minor nervous habit. what you think of my past, boy� you seem to think you know so much about� By not so much as a flick of an eyelid, did Jeff react to that continued matter-of-fact tone, or the obvious pain colouring the words. This time, Jeff kept his response quiet, unwilling to allow more guilt, self-reproach or plain old angst to get the better of him. �You fucked up Jeff�, his conscious pointed out coolly, �now he�s telling you how much, so take it and move on.� Jeff could do that, he could take anything Mark threw at him without question. ...it damn near killed me� Shawn�s fault� Thought so. The similarity was obvious� especially to Jeff. I've never felt like that for anyone else. Unsurprised by this revelation, Jeff kept his mouth shut and his ears open. I have never used somebody for sex� For you to accuse me of that... �was just about the nastiest, cruelest thing I could have done.� Jeff finished the sentence mentally, his own heart cracking just the littlest bit at the hoarse, hurting laugh that came from Mark�s throat. Jeff wanted so very much to reach out and wrap his arms around Mark�s broad shoulders, but he couldn�t risk the damage that might do. The last thing Jeff wanted right now was to make things any worse than they already were. I fucking fought with myself all goddamned night� I didn't want you feeling obligated to me� I helped stop that kind of thing. v So, Jeff hadn�t been the only one unsure if they were welcome last night. It was strange� to think that Mark was trying to protect Jeff from the WWE�s �casting couch�, even one that didn�t exist. Mark had been dead on. That kind of thing just didn�t happen any more. Jeff had never needed protecting from anything in the WWE, most officials and higher ups had seen the large �warning, tends to fuck you up� sign over Jeff�s head and run a mile. Hell, he�d even had to go outside the workplace just to get laid, he was so notorious. That�s why the shower and this morning had seemed so unreal, such a nightmare and dream all rolled into one. The question was, could it stay a dream, or was Jeff just playing in his own nightmare at Mark�s expense? �why the hell would you want to do that? I'm no prize; I'm not young, and I'm not pretty and I'm falling the hell apart�Why do you want to stay, when you don't have to? Jeff�s eyes roamed over the beautiful, strong, decent, interesting, fascinating, sexy man lying naked before him and felt his jaw drop. Huh? It didn�t matter that it was wrong, totally inappropriate or more than likely to be construed as an insult, Jeff burst out laughing. Genuine, unexpected hilarity echoed in the hotel room for several seconds as Jeff�s slight body rocked with amused disbelief. Fortunately for Jeff�s future ability to breathe, the laughter slowed down quickly into chuckles, tinged by a note of almost-sadness at the relative states of their emotional well-being. Mark hadn�t moved a discernable muscle at Jeff�s outburst, a fact for which he was profoundly grateful. If it had been any�. �That says it all really,� Jeff leaned back against the cushions, one hand dangling as his forearm rested on an upraised knee. Tilting his head, Jeff looked deep into Mark�s entrancing eyes and with far more calm that he felt, tried to explain himself. A difficult task to be sure, explaining Jeff Hardy was like walking on broken glass� painful, difficult and eventually pointless. �I swear Mark� if it had been any other man.� Swallowing, Jeff got on with it. �If any other man but you had just explained his feelings to the person who�d insulted him so completely and was answered with laughter� well, I�d probably be dead by now.� Jeff knew it was true. �But you don�t have that in you Mark, I know that. Even now, even with that anger at me burning in you, you�d never hurt me. It�s true�� Jeff wanted Mark to see how certain he was in this, ��even in your anger you are� more� than anyone I�ve ever known. You say you�re no prize? I say bullshit Mark Calaway, you�re a prize I�d like to win� if I can stop ruining it with my own damn problems. You are�.� How? How can Jeff put into words the complete adoration he felt whenever around Mark. The tantalizing mix of hero-worship, school-boy crush, hard-core sex appeal and tentative friendship that was Jeff�s attraction to the tall, dark-haired legend. How? Maybe� �You are beautiful.� It wasn�t enough, even though it was everything he felt, so he tried again. �I mean� I like watching you, looking at you. I don�t care if you�re working or sleeping� I like to look at you. You have a great face and wicked hair and it just really turns me on how much taller than me you are. Do you know I used to have this fantasy about running my tongue over your tattoos? Well... huh... did that. Fantasy come true, but way better. You are such a mystery to me and I find that really enthralling, I wanna know everything about you, what you like, who you are. I know so little Mark, you are the most dedicated worker this industry has ever seen, everyone and I mean everyone, respects you and not just �cos they�re scared or anything, in fact no-one is scared of you at all. You could be the biggest bastard in the locker room but you�re not, you�re decent and creepily funny and you�re friends with some amazing people and I�m just as hooked as everyone else on the person inside the Undertaker. Last night I got another little hint� you�re a romantic at heart� and it�s like the first sip of expensive wine� such a small taste, but I don�t just want more. I want to devour the whole bottle.� Almost embarrassed by his meandering compliments, Jeff tried to bring himself to a conclusion. �So I guess� I want to know you, be around you and if you�ll let me, I want to fall for you Mark.� And because that could be taken the wrong way, Jeff qualified, �In a totally non-stalkerish, I can take a hint, kind of way.� **** to be continued...

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