January 1, 2015

January 1st, 2015

The buzzing of her cell phone roused her from sleep and she groped on the nightstand groggily before realizing that it wasn’t there. One eye opened as Nessa Wall rolled over, feeling positively awful. Her throat was sore and her nose was definitely stuffed up-- she had a cold for sure. Stumbling out of bed after she wrestled with the sheets twisted around her legs, she went in search of her missing phone, figuring that she’d left it in the tiny purse she’d been using the night before. Finally spotting it on the chair she’d tossed it on, she fished out her phone and swiped her thumb across the screen to bring it to life. A few missed calls-- probably from Mika and Harmony although she didn’t bother to check. Instead she immediately pulled up her messages as she shuffled back towards the bed.

There was only one amid the dozens of random well wishes that mattered and she pulled up his conversation as she plopped back down on the mattress, stifling a yawn.

Feel better, sorry you didn't get the night out you were hoping for, talk to you soon, M

The words brought a smile to her face as she typed out a reply.

As far as nights go, it wasn’t awful. I blame the company, of course.

Unlike with her, he was already awake when his phone vibrated on the end table beside him. He glances over, seeing Nessa standing with his back to him in that lovely black dress and he reached for his phone to see what she has said. He paused the video he was watching, the replay of Night 1 of When Worlds Collide and scanned the screen, a smirk slowly spreading on his face. Nessa was always at worst a pleasant distraction and that’s what he needed rather than simply seething over his loss earlier in the week. However, knowing her like he did, he figured he was going to be in for an analytical discussion about the previous nights events. Regardless of any potential awkwardness, he wanted to talk to her, so he replied to her text message.

You really were in a no-lose situation I suppose, just a shame it wasn’t as much of a win as you had hoped. On the plus side, you limited my exposure to Mika and Harmony, so thanks -_^

The phone went off in Nessa’s hand almost immediately, her smile brightening as she flopped back on the mattress. Grinning, she typed out a reply, laughing to herself.

Blasphemy! Harmony is a peach. Although I honestly would be jealous if you’d been excited about their company.

His off went off again and he hadn’t even set the phone down. He read her message and paused for a second, reading it over a second time. It was almost as if Nessa was inviting him to mess with her, but rather than do that, he settled on just playing it straight, really having no interest in upsetting her at this point.

I like how you couldn’t defend Mika. Regardless, you haven’t anything to be jealous of in regards to tweedledee and tweedledum. I’ll let you deduce who’s who in that.

She laughed upon receipt of that one, feeling slightly better already. Her fingers flew over the virtual keys but she paused before sending the message, finally deleting it. Instead she very deliberately typed something else out instead.

I’m pretty sure I didn’t dream what happened last night. So what does it mean?

Well there it was, Nessa was always one to cut to the chase, probably the journalist in her. What it meant was not a very easy question to answer, and rather than try to at this point, he thought the best way to handle the situation was to stall for time.

That’s pretty vague Ness, you know I don’t like dealing with vagueries. How are you feeling?

She sniffled, reading over his reply. “Really, Matt? Dodging the question?” She said it aloud, shaking her head as she typed a reply.

I’ve definitely got a cold, although I don’t feel that awful right now.

She fired that off and then immediately typed another.

The fireworks weren’t just on television. At least they weren’t for me.

Smirking, she sent that one off, wondering what his reaction to that would be.

He read her text and smiled, seeing that he had successfully dodged the bullet. He was halfway through replying to the message she sent before he received her second one, pausing again. He backed out of the text he had written to read her second one. Once again she was cutting to the chase, though she was quite flattering in the way she did it.

Evil spirits were banished from our area in large amounts on my end too, if that’s what you’re getting at. Care to grab a bite?

He wasn’t sure if she would understand, but it amused him and that’s all that really matters, right? On her end, Nessa stared at the screen, frowning for a few seconds before she realized just how unbelievably literal he was being. Then she let out a frustrated little growl before typing a reply.

Give me twenty minutes to shower and get dressed?

He nodded to his phone, as if that would somehow translate into a text message as he rolled off the bed.

k

The one letter response, normally obnoxious but really all that was called for in this situation as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, adjusting and gelling his hair. He wanted to look good for her, after all.

Back in her room, Nessa glanced at the message as it popped up before walking into the bathroom. Cranking on the shower so that it would get as hot as possible, she rummaged through her back, coming up with a pair of skinny jeans and a pink tee. Digging further, she unearthed a silver scarf. “Good enough,” she said to herself, stripping off her pajamas as she moved back towards the bathroom. A few seconds later she was underneath the blistering spray. While Nessa was cleansing, Matt was trying to think about exactly how he could explain tp Nessa why last night happened, the only problem is that he didn’t know how to explain it, or what he felt about it as well. In the past, he might have just left and forgotten the whole thing, but he wanted to talk to Nessa, so that must mean something. Arriving at her door several minutes later, he knocked.

“Just a second!” The sound of her voice was muffled behind the door, but it carried well enough to his ears. Before he could grow impatient, she pulled it open, standing there with that familiar crooked smile on her face. “Good morning, Matthew,” she said softly.

He greeted her with the same smile she’s grown accustomed to seeing on his face when he laid eyes upon her. “Good morning, yourself. It’s good to see you up and about given the state of you last night. Are you ready?” He asked, looking her over at quick glance.

She nodded, “are we leaving the hotel? Do I need a jacket?”

“The responsible thing to do would be to wear a jacket regardless, you wouldn’t want to catch a co...oh wait a minute” He grins, teasing the poor blonde.

“Fiiiiiiine,” she rolled her eyes, stepping back into the suite and grabbing her leather jacket. Shrugging into it, she lets the door close behind her as she brushes past him, close enough that she actually bumps into him. “So, what were you thinking?” She paused long enough for it to grow awkward before she clarified, “for lunch, I mean.”

He glanced down at her as she brushed past, feeling the warmth of her touch for just a fleeting moment. ‘Thinking’, he thought to himself before she clarified, a hundred thoughts entering his mind as to what that could mean. Fortunately, it was merely a question of cuisine and he relaxed just a bit. “Well” he started, looking into her captivating pupils. “There’s a quiet little diner about two blocks from here, we probably won’t even get recognized if we’re careful.”

"You had me at quiet, really." She grinned, "as long as they have food, I'm in. Starving, really." She couldn't help but notice how good he looked, as if he'd put in a little extra effort today. "You look wonderful, Matthew. I hope you didn't catch this bug I have."

“Aww, thank you for noticing Ness. We should waste no more time with pleasantries though, you need to keep your strength up, are you taking any medicine from your, how did you put it? Shopper’s bag?” He asked with a slight smile, loving the reference, closing the door for the petite blonde and leading the way to the elevator.

“I did,” she grinned triumphantly, “washed it down with some of that juice you got for me last night. I really don’t feel that awful right now. Just a little scratchiness in my throat.” She paused to consider, “maybe it was an allergy. A convenient one.”

“Well that’s good” He said in response to her medication taking. “I’m not sure I see how convenient that was last night, though” He said glancing over at her, remembering a few specific interruptions they had to endure on her part.

“I meant getting to leave the party early more than… well, you know. Because if I was planning something specifically, sneezing in your face wouldn’t really be at the top of the list.” She smiled up at him, shaking her head.

Getting to the closed doors, he reached out and pressed the button to summon the elevator, looking down at her. “Really? Cause that seemed like your top priority last night Ness. Maybe I just bring it out in you, then” He said, giving her nose a playful flick as if to taunt it.

She pretended like she was going to bite his finger before chuckling softly, “you bring out something in me-- just not that.”

With the doors opening, he steps back to allow the lady first entry. “I do, eh? What, pray tell, could that be?”

She stepped inside the elevator and then grabbed the front of his jacket, pulling him closer. “Besides happiness?” The grin on her face was back in full force. “I’m not sure it’s something I can really put into words.”

Stepping onto the elevator, he waited for the doors to close to respond to her. “Obviously happiness, that should go without saying. After all, I’m just a beacon of positive energy, aren’t I?” He pressed the button for the ground floor before turning back to her. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard words failing you before, this must be pretty serious Ness.”

She reached up to toy with the necklace around her neck, drawing his attention to it deliberately. “I’m not at a loss for words, Matt,” the fact that she actually called him by the shortened version of his name spoke volumes. “I’m just not sure I really want to sully what I’m feeling by slapping a label on it.”

“Well” he started, looking at the necklace she was toying with, her plan obviously working. “Is there a need to worry about things like labels? I don’t see what good that would do, and it some cases, it could actually be a detriment, don’t you agree?”

“I do. Wholeheartedly.” She glanced at the numbers creeping by slowly before inching closer to him. “The last thing I want is another public spectacle surrounding my personal life. I would… however… really love to know...” she trailed off, looking up at him expectantly.

Well, she wants him to say something, that much is evident. What, exactly, isn’t as clear. As he looked down into her eyes, several things flashed in his head, though most likely not what she would want to hear. He put his hands on her shoulders as he spoke. “Ness, you know as well as I do how much you mean to me, at least I hope you know that.”

“I do,” she murmured and then stretched up on her toes, kissing him right on the lips. There wasn’t any hesitation or second-guessing. She just went for it.

To say he was caught by surprise would be an understatement. His hands slowly slipped down her shoulders to her back as their lips pressed against one another, Stone having no reason to try and break this moment at all, simply enjoying it.

When she pulled back, it was reluctantly and only because the elevator chimed to signal that they’d arrived on the ground level. That devilish smirk was on her lips as she reached up and patted his cheek. “Just in case there were any evil spirits lingering… I figured it couldn’t hurt.”

Matt just stood there for a moment, looking at the devilish smirk on her face, almost like it was her goal to silence him, even if it was temporary. The first time they had kissed, or really showed any sort of non-verbal affection was the previous night and here she was kissing him in an elevator like it was nothing. The gentle touch of her hand on his cheek brought him back to the elevator to hear her familiar words, forcing a genuine smile from him. “Yeah...of course” He managed to stammer out.

She took a step back, looking as pleased as the cat that got the canary as the doors slid open with a muted ping. “You lead,” she said with a cheeky smile, looking back at him, “and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Having still not completely composed himself from the surprising embrace he was just a part of, he simply nodded and took a step off the elevator, leading her towards the front door. He glanced back at her after a few steps “Is there anything you need while we’re out?”

“Not that I can think of,” she replied, huffing, “and don’t walk so fast… little legs have a hard time keeping up.”

He stops dead, hearing her pleas and turns around, a slight grin on his face having apparently made his point. “This is why I’m usually the one walking behind you, dear.”

She stuck her tongue out childishly, “and here I thought it was just because you couldn’t get enough of looking at my lovely lady lumps.”

Matt blushed a bit when she said that, not realizing he was that obvious with it. “That’s uhh, not the only reason…” He said quietly, looking around awkwardly for a moment.

Stepping in close to him, she lowered her voice, “don’t worry, honey-- it’ll be our little secret.”

“Good” He said back to her in the same lowered voice she was using, though realizing that no one was actually listening to them, spoke normally again. “It’s not really my fault, either, I swear you do that deliberately.”

She looked shocked, clearly feigning the expression. “That’s… a vicious lie!”

Trying to play along without breaking, he rose an eyebrow at her. “So you’re telling me that your perfect seductive walk is completely unintentional?”

“You dare accuse me of chicanery like that? I’ll have you know, Matthew, that I possess a unique and flawless grace-- there’s nothing artificial about me.” She posed, cocking her hip as she stared back at him.

His eyes darted down to her now extended hip for a moment, looking back up in her eyes. “Unique and flawless are two words I would certainly use to describe something about you…” He ends his compliment with a wink.

“Something, hmm?” She tapped her finger against her lips, pondering the statement, “well, I wonder what on Earth that could possibly be.”

“Well Ness, you’re quite the smart lady, I’m sure if you assess the context of the comment, you can figure it out.” He says with a smug emphasis on the word before heading back towards the hotel’s front door.

This time she matched his stride, laughing softly to herself over his obvious entendre. “Freya ain’t got nothin’ on me, sweetie.”

Upon reaching the door, he opens it for the ill Nessa like a gentleman would, despite him being anything but in most cases. “Who, dear?” He asks with a sly grin.

She nodded, walking out into the morning sunshine, already fishing into the pocket of her jacket for her pair of prescription sunglasses. “Exactly.”

Following Nessa out into the morning sun, he averts his eyes from the rays and gets a pretty good view of the beauty in front of him. “Well, regardless of who you were talking about, they really don’t.”

“Hurry up,” she chided, turning around and catching him in the act of getting a good eyeful of her ‘assets’. “I might waste away to a shadow if I don’t eat something soon!”

His cheeks started to turn a slight rosy pink upon being spotted and he hurried up beside her. “Right, sorry, onward to food. Wouldn’t want you to start shrinking and be smaller than you already are.” He added, trying to sound nonchalant despite still being embarrassed.

She wrapped her arm around his, resting her head against his shoulder for a second as she let out a contented sigh. “First day of the new year… and it’s full of possibilities. Are you going to make any goals or resolutions this year?”

Glancing down at her, he thinks about questioning the affectionate way she’s walking with him, but with her being sick, he lets it go. “I don’t really like making resolutions at the start of a year, so often people postpone things they want to do for today and then fail weeks later when things get too hard. If there’s something I want to do or change I do it then, I don’t wait. As for goals, clearly I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.”

“I’d say you’re already well on your way to making that happen with little to no effort.” She grinned, glancing up at him before her eyes moved away again, almost shy as she pulled back slightly. She kept hold of his arm though, “I just want people to take me seriously in this business. That’s not really… a goal, per se. It’s more the big picture result in the back of my head with every little thing I do.”

Feeling her pull away, he brought her back in tight, wanting to make sure she was warm in this cold weather. “People will take you serious when you start taking you serious Nessa, and not before. Learning from me was a good start, and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you’re as prepared as you can be.”

“Wait… you think I don’t take myself seriously?” She felt a little stab of hurt at the implication.

“Not per say” He started, making sure to word this properly. “But joining a reality show that features some wrestling but also things like go karting and volleyball isn’t exactly the best way to break in. You’re on the right track now, of course, and you have the Pride Title to your name, so clearly I’m the best thing to happen to you.” He adds in a self pat on the back for good measure.

“Without a doubt, you are-- God, I never should have let myself get talked into that second chance season. It was just a trainwreck from the beginning.” Sighing, she shook her head, “but I can’t dwell on that. You have to make mistakes to learn, after all.”

“Like Houser” he says aloud before realizing it.

“Any port in a storm, Matthew. That’s all it was. He was… well… he wanted me back. After everything, all the humiliation, I suppose that was good enough. I was willing to settle.” She tossed her head, getting the hair out of her face as she let out a bitter laugh.

“Of course he wanted you back, probably wanted your front, too” He said with a smile, trying to lighten the conversation. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad things didn’t work out between the two of you, it’s best for you.”

She nodded in agreement, “I’m far better off without him. And let’s be honest, really. You were far better on commentary during my matches than he ever was.”

Matt chuckled at that line, believing it himself. “I’m not convinced he actually knew a wrestling move. I didn’t know him well, but it always seemed like you were dating a fan of you rather than an equal.”

“An equal?” She blushed at the words, laughing it off, “honestly, sweetie. That’s really kind but you’re light years beyond my level and we both know it.”

He looks at her for a moment, not sure if he should burst her bubble or not, having not actually said that he was an equal, but again, poor sick Nessa shouldn’t be trolled today, so he lets it go. “You’re the champion between us, Nessa. That’s all that matters in this business, darling.”

“Let’s not ruin a perfectly good morning bringing up the heavy stuff, hmm?” She looked up at him, a little hint of fear in her eyes that was thankfully hidden by her shades.

“So then we should talk about you, then, since you’re looking skinnier than ever. You’re wasting away, Ness” He says with a chuckle, opening the door to the diner they finally arrived at.

She elbowed him in the stomach on her way past, stepping inside and immediately breathing in the scent of the grease-laden air. Something tickled her sinuses, making the inhale turn into a few sniffles. There was no hostess or a sign that said they had to wait to be seated so she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards a booth in the back. “This place reminds me of that one from Grease... “ she murmured, looking up at him as she slid into the booth. “Wonder if they have a jukebox full of moldy oldies.”

Taking her hand, he follows her to the booth located in the back looking around at some of the patrons in the area, none of whom are looking their way, thankfully. Having learned his lesson from the last time, he was ensuring his eyes didn’t find Nessa’s assets again, getting into the booth with enough room for her to either sit beside him or opposite. “You mean like Surfin Bird? That song’s the word, I hear.”

“Gross,” she wrinkled her nose, shaking her head, “I was thinking more like Elvis or Roy Orbison. The real schmaltzy stuff.” Her eyes drawn to a little advertising placard on the table, she grinned, “oooh, we could order a milkshake and split it! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

“Sure, why not? I’m sure it won’t add to my chances of catching whatever it is you have.” He added with a smile, liking how excited she sounded there.

One eyebrow rose as she looked straight at him. “You kissed me last night, so you’ve already stepped right past that invisible germ barrier, really.”

“Oh Ness” he starts, looking across into her eyes, trying to sound as sincere as possible. “Everyone knows the safest time to kiss someone who’s sick is right after they sneeze. It’s just common sense.”

“Really?” She frowned, considering his words, “you know, I’ve never heard that. I mean the whole ‘feed a cold, starve a fever’ adage, sure… but never anything about sneezing.”

“Well I certainly didn’t just make it up to suit the situation we are in, that’s for sure” He says with a chuckle as a waitress comes over with two menus for them, asking for their drink orders. Matt takes a moment to look at her, noticing her vintage outfit she’s wearing as Nessa asks for the milkshake with two straws. The server heads to the back to retrieve the beverage, catching Matt’s eye for another second.

Nessa’s eyes are riveted to the menu as she pretends that it’s of great interest, pretending not to notice Matt checking out the waitress. “Hmmm,” she murmured, “everything sounds delicious. I’m not even sure what to order.”

Matt looks back to Nessa, seeing her focus on the menu and smiling, thinking she didn’t notice. “Well, needless to say it’s on me, so get whatever you like, you need your strength dear.” He picks up his own menu, looking it over.

“Oh, their cheeseburger has applewood bacon on it… I wonder if they do poutine fries here.” She continued to stare at it for a few more seconds before setting it down. “Maybe I’ll just get breakfast.”

“Breakfast does sound good. They say it’s the best way to start the day.” He spoke without looking up from the menu. The waitress came back over with their drink, setting it down between them, standing there for a few more seconds waiting for their order.

Nessa met the woman’s gaze cooly, “I’ll have the breakfast special. Over easy eggs. Instead of the potatoes, I’ll substitute the fresh fruit. Whole wheat toast, please… multigrain, really… if you have it.”

“I’ll have the meat lovers omelette, same bread as the lovely lady here.” He added, looking up at the waitress, glancing down for just a moment at her cleavage before going back to her eyes. “That will be all.”

“Actually,” Nessa called out as the woman turned away, “bring me a glass of water with a slice of lemon in it too.” As the woman turned to walk away, Nessa kept her eyes on her, measuring the woman’s attributes against her own. Her bust size was definitely bigger… but she was downright ugly in the face. Sighing, she turned back to the table and picked up one of the paper-wrapped straws that had been left, peeling it open slowly.

“You okay?” He asked her, blissfully unaware of what was bothering her. “Is it the place? I thought you’d appreciate the ambience.” He noted as he unwrapped his own straw rather quickly and injected it into the thick milkshake before him.

“It’s fine, really.” She finally liberated the straw, adding it to the glass across from his. Sniffling, she looked up at him, forcing a smile. “I’ve just got a little bit of a headache brewing,” she lied, “probably because I’m hungry.”

“Well yeah, but is that everything that’s bothering you? I thought you might want to revisit that earlier discussion now that food is imminent.” He said, somewhat trepidatiously, though if it would elevate Nessa’s mood, he’d do it for her.

She reached for the milkshake, bringing it closer before taking a small sip. It was wonderful and served as a nice distraction for a moment before she licked her lips, looking up at him again. “Now that the food situation has been resolved… I’m feeling like I was a little,” she paused, “interrogatory earlier. I just couldn’t get it off my mind-- honestly for a little while I thought I’d dreamed it. Sometimes that happens when I take the strong stuff. I have weird dreams that seem real. So, we can revisit it if you have anything you want to tell me on the topic. Otherwise… you know, making quips about the origin of firecrackers was clever enough, I suppose.”

“I thought it was clever at least” he said about the fireworks remark, though he was getting the feeling that humor wasn’t going to carry him through this conversation. “Well, I can confirm that it wasn’t in fact a dream, if that helps you. You were kind of tired, and a bit out of it, I didn’t want you to think I was taking advantage of you or anything, cause that’s the last thing I would want to do to you, Ness.”

“You can’t take advantage of the willing, Matt.” She said it softly, taking another small sip of the shake before pushing it towards him. “I wouldn’t have given you the spare card… or asked you to come back to my room if I didn’t trust you completely.”

“Well I know you trust me, and you know that trust is reciprocated but with you on the medication and I know we both had some drinks at the party beforehand...I just didn’t want something we would do, to be, you know, rushed into and regretted.” He said, realizing how that sounded. “Not that I think I would regret doing anything with you, it’s just…” He paused, trying to find the right way to phrase it, having very little experience in being at a loss of words.

“I know,” she interjected, “we already went over this. You don’t want to be the rebound guy.”

“It’s not just that, though no one wants that. You sort of have a history of being in this long term relationships and I’m, well, I’m not that good at those. I’m kind of horrible at them, in fact, as made evident by any of my past attempts.”

“You’re good at being you.” Nessa’s baby blues were locked on him, “and that’s all that matters. The label… whatever this is… I don’t care about that. I don’t want a set timeframe. I just want to spend time with you.”

“Spend time with me?” He questioned, looking back with his piercing emerald eyes. “Ness, there isn’t anything that would prevent that from happening, I hope you know that. We’re partners, and not just in the ring, either. I’ll always be there for you.”

She nodded, “good. I’m glad we feel the same way. I just would--” she broke off at the arrival of the waitress with their food. Nessa watched her set down the plates before finally speaking again, all traces of friendliness dropping from her voice, “you forgot my water.”

Matt doesn’t say anything on this, knowing that Nessa is equipped well enough on her own to get what she wants, when she wants. He does, however, glance over at the waitress again while Nessa has her attention, taking a few more seconds out of his day to see what she has going on before going back to his plate, looking at the scrumptious meal before him.

Watching the girl go, Nessa turns back to the table and picks up her fork, stabbing at the yolks on her eggs as though she wishes they were something else. “Do you have anything else planned for today?” The question was meant to be casual, but it came out sounding anything but.

“Well” He started, looking up at Ness aggressively dissecting her eggs. “I thought we would head back to the hotel and I could look after you, but you seem to be doing well as it is, so I might see if I can get to a gym.”

She froze, looking up at him while the yellow oozed all over her egg whites. “You were going to look after me? That’s so sweet I don’t even know what to say.”

“I’m sure you would do the same for me, Nessa” He said casually, taking a bite of his omelette. “After all, it’s usually an eventful time around you, I’ve discovered. You’re quite exciting” He punctuated the last line with a smirk.

“Exciting?” One eyebrow lifted as she cut a section of white away from her egg, nibbling on it daintily. “I’m not sure if you’re being facetious or not.”

“I’m not, you’re a barrel of laughs, Nessa” he said, keeping up his serious tone as well as he could. “Besides, it would give me a chance to spend more time with you.” He added, sounding sincere.

“That would be…” she wrinkled her nose, actually feeling a sneeze coming on. Looking up, she saw that the waitress was on her way with the glass of water, finally. “Ah…” she hesitated, trying to hold it back and failing. Her aim was perfect when she let it go, right in the waitress’ face, “choo!”

Matt was mid bite when he saw the look on Nessa’s face, recognizing it from the previous night. He didn’t notice the waitress coming over though and was almost as surprised by the turn of events as she was, though he found it much more humorous than she did, for sure. “Bless you, dear” He said to Nessa, almost as a sign of approval for what she did.

“Oh my goodness!” Nessa’s acting was superb as she reached for her napkin, dabbing at her nose, “sweetie, I’m so sorry. There’s just far too much pepper on this plate-- terrible sinus allergies, I’m afraid.”

Matt rose an eyebrow at that comment, not remembering Nessa even touching the pepper shaker on the table, but he didn’t harp on it. “Fair warning though…” he started, looking at the waitress now. “She’s never done with just one.” Hearing that, the waitress set the water down on the table and quickly scurried away from them, looking both worried and revolted.

Nessa was trying her best to contain her laughter, hiding it behind the napkin as she dabbed at her nose again. “Now that was priceless,” she said as she reached for her fork again, “did you see how horrified she looked? She’s probably gone to the back to roll around in Purell.”

“Yeah, poor thing” he said, clearly not sounding at all concerned for the waitress. “I guess she doesn’t understand just how special you have to be for you to do that, eh?” He asked, referencing their earlier conversation.

“She’s the exception rather than the rule,” she grinned, “but she deserved it.”

“I thought I saw you notice her coming, but I wasn’t going to say anything. How, if I may ask, did she deserve it? It was just a glass of water she forgot, dear.”

“You were checking her out.” The answer came out simple enough, revealing far too much about the petite blonde in that single sentence as she went back to consuming her breakfast.

“I was…” He started, thinking about it for a moment. “You noticed that, eh?” He asked, although the answer was obvious.

“I’m sick, Matthew… not blind.” She said archy, reaching for a slice of her toast before dabbing it into the yolk. “Not that I mind, really. Look at whatever and whomever you want.”

“So you don’t mind, but you’re willing to..” He stopped himself from finishing that sentence, realizing that he had done something she didn’t like and it’d behoove him not to criticize her as well. “I’m sorry, Nessa, it’s just a reflex, I’ll try and stop” he offered, hoping the sentiment would make her feel better.

“Don’t worry about it, honey,” she said the words with a soft sigh, looking back up at him, “it was a knee-jerk reaction because I’m sick and feeling pissy. I don’t want you to change who you are… it’s just… that whole kiss business has me on edge.”

“I hope you weren’t expecting me to kiss her, Ness. I assure you that you will always mean more to me than that waitress” He said, somewhat sarcastically like he could believe those words would actually provide her some comfort.

“I wasn’t expecting you to… no.” She laughed it off, waving her hand, “and I mean, she does have a great set of boobs-- probably paid top dollar for them, too.”

“I don’t think one can afford top dollar working at a place like this, especially when she sees the lack of tip I’ll be leaving her. Besides, there are things more important than a set of boobs, as I’m sure you’re well aware of.”

She nodded, “mmmhmm, like wit and a charming personality?” The grin on her face was devilish as she watched him, clearly baiting him now.

“Oh yeah, wit and a charming personality are certainly what I was talking about, it’s like our minds were magically linked together there.” He said, sarcasm almost literally dripping from every word.

With her eyes locked on him, she flicked her wrist, knocking her napkin to the floor. “Ooops,” she murmured, sliding out of the booth. “Lemme just pick that up real quick,” she bent over, making sure that he had a perfect view of exactly what he’d been talking about. Grabbing the napkin, she snapped back up, dropping it on the table.

Like an idiot, he almost suggested that Ness not worry about knocking it on the floor, someone who’s paid far less than they are can come around and clean up, but then he noticed what she was doing. Like metal to a magnet, when Ness bent over Matt’s eyes went straight to the view she was providing. His mouth was slightly open, unable to think of anything to say even after she had snapped back up to a vertical base.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” She laughed as she slid back into the booth, grabbing the milkshake and taking another drink of it as she waited for him to recover.

He stammered out a few syllables that didn’t make any sense before pausing, taking a breath and looking at her, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “Nothing’s wrong” though his voice was shaky, at best.

“Well, I think I’m done,” she set her fork down on her plate, leaving the last few bites untouched.

He’s still trying to compose himself properly from that display. “Are you uhh, feeling better now?”

“Slightly, yes.” She nodded, “I think I’ll pull through.”

“Even still, I’d like to see you in bed” He said, not realizing how suggestive that was.

“Phrasing,” she said with a straight face, reaching out to pat his hand.

He thought about it for a moment, then smiled, hearing it back. “Well played” he chuckled, feeling her hand on his. “If that waitress would ever come back, I could get the bill.”

“She probably put in a call to the CDC, has the hazmat suits on the way to stop the contagion.” Nessa laughed, giving his hand a squeeze.

“The contagion of your alleged pepper-induced outburst?” He asked, knowing that it wasn’t actually the case. “You must be running a fever, that sounded like something Mika would think.” He added with a grin.

She lifted a hand to her head, “you know, I do feel warm. Maybe we should go back to the hotel and you can take me to bed.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, fuck it.” He said, getting up from the table and dropping a fifty dollar bill down. “Shall we?”

She slid out of the booth, smiling as she grabbed her jacket. Looking longingly at the half-full milkshake, she reached out and grabbed it. “I’m taking this with me though. It’s too delicious not to finish.”

“Not to mention it will help cool you off” He added as the two of them headed towards the door, Matt wrapping his arm around Nessa’s shoulders to provide her with warmth and comfort.

She leaned into him, resting her head against him as she looked up into his gorgeous green eyes. “Thank you for breakfast, Matthew.” The way she said the words made it clear that wasn’t what she was really saying, the look of adoration in her eyes making that obvious.