chapter three

May 5, 2010 (off camera flashback)

Last night was a little bit of a blur. And as the sunlight peeked in through the blinds in his bedroom, it wasn't helping illuminate everything that happened. Her eyes squinted, trying to compensate for the blurry vision of her dried up contacts before the room came into better focus. It was a typical bedroom for a guy his age: a few magazines stacked up on the dresser with a watch and other odds and ends. One or two wrestling posters dotted the walls, and the floor had more than its fair share of clothes in various piles around the room. Her own clothes were laying at the foot of the bed in a small pile of their own.

The memories began to flood back to her mind, much like the sunlight from the blinds in the window to her right. A date for pizza to discuss her joining a new wrestling promotion that was to start in about a month. Then a trip to a local club, dancing underneath the lights. No alcohol was responsible for this, just pure attraction. As the memories came back to her, they brought a smile to her face. Not too many guys that looked like he did were about to become second in command of a wrestling promotion. He was cute, very cute actually. And beyond getting lost looking into his eyes at times the night before, she didn't regret it at all what happened.

Noticing her clothes on the foot of the bed, she glanced down and pulled the blankets back up a little to cover the exposed parts of her body before turning over and looking down into the soundly sleeping face of Cody Kincaid. Doubts that should have been flooding her mind were curiously absent. It wasn't as though she'd made out with a total stranger, after all. And the opportunity he'd talked with her about was beyond awesome, still leaving her somewhat speechless on the subject.

She kept staring at him. Wow, she thought. He really was cute, especially when he was dead to the world with a peaceful little smile on his lips. Growing a bit bolder, she reached out and ran a hand through his tousled hair. Being a fairly light sleeper, Cody began to stir slightly. Turning over towards her with his eyes still closed, he slid an arm across her stomach under the blankets and sleepily hugged her body closer to his. He was obviously not awake totally, but upon feeling the warmth of her pressed against him, he pressed a kiss to jaw and cuddled her against him. The covers already had obscured the rest of his body, but he held her against him as though she needed the warmth, tightly though still gentle.

Grinning to herself, she leaned against him, sighing softly. "Morning, Cody," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. And that was enough to cause him to begin to awaken, his eyes squinting and finally managing to pop open as he was not greeted by the sunlight as she was, instead the sight of her face framed by her hair was his first vision. A sleepy smile crossed his face as he tried to focus on her.

"Good morning...are you alright?," he said in a hoarse whisper before leaning forward just a bit to kiss her lips, and offering a still half alert smile and stealing a second. "Did...I wake you up? I'm sorry."

"You didn't," she blushed, looking away from him, "I just... I'm a light sleeper sometimes and the sun was bright and..." she trailed off, laughing softly as she fell back against the mattress, "this is just a bit... wow."

Cody began to become slightly more alert at this point as he pulled the blankets up on her body just a bit more, in case she was cold. "You should know....this isn't how I typically try to sign new talent." A little grin on his face, he let his hand slip under the blankets now and slide down her side to her hip. "But on the flip side of that, I don't regret it. You're beautiful, and I wouldn't trade it for the world." Turning his head to yawn, he slid the other arm under her, holding her now as he was still waking up.

"I'm...... what?" She said the question so low he almost didn't hear it. "Cody... I..." she paused, licking her lips, "I wouldn't trade it for the world either. Last night was off the charts amazing, even without the incredibly wonderful mind-blowing job offer. I mean... wow..." she fell silent, cuddled up against him as her eyes fixed on the ceiling, seeing stars despite the sunlight that filled the room.

"I just...didn't want you to think that I was using you, or that you had to be with me to get the job. I was going to offer it to you regardless of how you felt about me. I just found you breathtaking. Your pictures didn't do you justice. Then I got to talk with you, get to know you, and see what an amazing girl you are, and I was just....incredibly drawn to you." He leaned forward again, pressing another kiss to her lips. "Like I say, I just don't want you thinking poorly of me. Waking up to you just now....was the best thing that's happened to me in weeks! Well aside of last night too."

"I know, right?" She was positively beaming as she looked deep into his eyes, almost drowning in them. "I mean, I could never think poorly of you, Cody. You're like... the nicest guy in the world. I have a hard time believing that you could even kill a spider." If anyone else had said the words, it might come off insincere, but she said them with such naked honesty that it was obvious she meant them.

"I'm glad you feel that way. It matters to me what you think. After all, we are going to be working together very soon. FFW is supposed to launch next month, after all." He shifted onto his back, wrapping both arms back around her to cradle her against his chest as he kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you are going to be joining. I think I would miss you terribly if you didn't, after everything so far." Staring down into her face, he flashed another smile towards her. "You really are beautiful, Summer."

"You..." her voice was the faintest whisper, "can call me Kasey if you want to. You don't have to but...."

"You're right. You just look like a Summer to me. I see why it fits you so well. Are you cold? Do you want me to grab another blanket or anything?" He asked, pressing a few kisses along the side of her neck before speaking again. "After we get a shower, what do you say I treat you to breakfast somewhere around town? Get out of my brother's house for a little while? How does that sound to you?" Another kiss placed to her collarbone.

She nodded, "breakfast sounds wonderful. Awesome even. I know it's not really ladylike to admit it, but I'm kinda starving right now." A little unrestrained giggle passed her lips as she kissed him back, trailing kisses over his chin until she met his lips.

"Sounds good. I'll go grab the world's fastest shower, and we'll get dressed and go get you something to eat." They shared another kiss briefly before he sat up, letting the blankets pool at his waist as he looked back behind her. "If you need me, just yell. The bathroom is just right across the hall." He stared at her for a moment, another grin coming over his face as he leaned back to kiss her again before heading out of the room.

Collapsing back against the sheets, she rolled over and buried her face in his pillow, inhaling his scent, still completely overwhelmed at what had just happened. "Oh my god, he's so cute," she mumbled into the pillow before rolling back over, stretching like a lazy cat. The sheets slipped down slightly, and before she could fix them, she heard a sound that made her head snap up. There standing in the doorway was another man, obviously not Cody. A boyish grin on his face with a wrestling t-shirt on over some shorts stood a man with chocolate brown hair and seemingly a very fine build.

"Oh..hello there. I didn't realize Cody had company." He took a moment to enjoy the view, or what he could enjoy of it. "He always did have excellent taste. You're perfect. You remember me, right? Christian, Cody's older brother." He didn't seem bothered by her state of undress, stepping forward and leaning against the wall.

Her breath caught in a gasp as she scrambled to fix the sheets, pulling them right up to her chin. Cheeks flushing bright red, she nodded, "y-yeah, I remember. Hi, Christian." The words seemed lame as she looked around the room, trying to find something to focus on. The two brothers definitely had something in common: they were both incredibly good-looking. She remembered drooling secretly over Christian the first time she'd seen him at the school. "I'm Kasey, but most people call me Summer. It's kinda... y'know, my wrestling name and nickname and stuff but you probably already knew that, didn't you?"

Christian nodded his head. "I'd gotten the memo. Listen, don't be embarrassed. I think it's awesome that you and Cody spent the night together. He hasn't been very happy lately, but I'm sure you changed that for him." He moved to the foot of the bed on the other side, knocking Cody's pants onto the floor and taking a seat where they had been. "No reason to be shy or anything. I've seen girls in bed before." He showed a boyish smile on his face as he put his hand on her ankle on top of the covers. "New rule, no more blushing or being embarrassed. We're all adults here."

"Oh, ok." That bright smile began to creep over her lips as she felt the warmth of his hand through the covers. Trying to resist the urge to totally fangirl spazz out, she swallowed hard and tried instead to focus on his words, "Cody's been unhappy? Why?"

"Well he's been going out on a few dates, and just not having a good time. I guess he's not finding one that does it for him. You're the first girl he's brought home in almost a month. So you definitely must have made an impression. Besides a kid his age needs a beautiful and gorgeous girl to keep them happy and out of trouble." His hand patted her leg as he pulled his legs up onto the bed, making himself comfortable. "That's one reason I was happy he was going to be working for FFW, I figure he's bound to meet a girl who will make him happy. Looks like he did!"

"I... wow." She stared at Christian as if he'd suddenly grown another head, forgetting about the sheet as it slipped down when she moved. "I don't think I'm his girlfriend. I mean we were just having a good time and pizza and then... well you know how these things happen." She shook her head, "he asked me to come wrestle for FFW when it opens next month. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for something that level but I'm so excited! Do you think I can do it? I mean, I've been doing good at school and-"

"Well I didn't mean you two had to go get married, but you have certainly done better than anyone else so far in a while." He looked up at her body, as he noticed immediately the sheet had slipped. "But I know you will do great in FFW. I have seen what you can do, you're phenomenal. No flaws in your game so far, and you're still learning, which means you only get better." His eyes remained on her upper body for a moment. "And you certainly know how to cause me to lose my focus for a minute." Another flash of that slightly crooked smile.

She was positively melting at the sight of that rakishly askew grin of his; his words of praise went in one ear and right out the other as she grasped at the last thing he said. "I... do?" She looked down, and realized that she was showing off some cleavage and scrambled to fix the sheet yet again. "Oh... oh God. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, best thing I've seen all morning." He leaned forward a bit, giving her hand a little squeeze. "I think I heard the shower cut off, so I'll let you two do what you were going to do. It was good seeing you again. I hope I get to see everything I missed another time." Pushing up off the bed, he headed out of the room, leaving her alone.

OHMYGODCHRISTIANKINCAIDJUSTTOUCHEDYOU!

She screamed inside her head, biting her lip to contain the giddy squeal that almost came from her lips. Today was totally shaping up to be the best day of her life and it wasn't even ten in the morning yet!