Dirty Deeds

CH 26: Aftermath

"Feel better?" he asks, when I'm done crying all over him.

"No," I say. "I'm completely miserable."

He hugs me again with a sigh. "It'll be okay, sunshine. If she's not willing to be happy for you, then she's not much of a friend."

The words make sense, but they're still hard to hear. "Punk?"

"Hmm?" He leans away from me for a moment to retrieve the tissue box that's on the dressing table. Normally, I use it to blot lipstick. Tonight, I'm using it to blot tears. I clutch the tissue that Punk hands me and meet his eyes.

"Please tell me you're not going to run off on me, too."

"Of course not. Unless Luke and Serena kill me in my sleep."

It's meant to cheer me up, but it doesn't. "Aside from Matt, you're the only friend I have left. Wow, how sad is my life?"

Punk smiles at me. "It's not all bad. I got Layla to sign that picture for you. "

I blink at him. "You did?"

He shrugs. "She stormed into catering, and I cornered her. Told her that her little fan would be disappointed if she didn't sign it."

"And that worked?" I ask in disbelief.

He smirks. "Of course not. But me mentioning that Vince doesn't like Divas who are rude to fans and that we've lost one Diva already this year made her pick up the pen and scribble her name."

"You threatened to go to Vince?"

"Yes. And since I heard that she was trying to make waves in creative yesterday..."

"She told me she'd asked about disbanding Lay-Cool," I say.

Punk nods. "She needs you more than you need her, McCool. If she demands Lay-Cool get disbanded and then it's mentioned to Vince that she's not on board with her fans, well. That's probably the end of her career."

"I'm not trying to get her fired, Punk."

"Fair enough. I..." A knock interrupts whatever he was about to say. "That's probably Hardy," he says, standing up and heading to the door. He pulls it open and sure enough, there's Matt.

"I couldn't find her..." Matt trails off when he sees me. "Michelle?" He sweeps into the room and takes up the seat Punk vacated, his arms around me.

"Well, you look like you've got this handled," Punk says. "If you two will excuse me, I'm going to go change my shirt. Mine seems to be soppy, for some reason." He makes a face at me, and I manage a small, watery chuckle.

"Punk?" I say, before he can step out.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

He grins at me. "Just remember, you owe me for the signing. The house call's free, though." And with a wink, he's gone, the door falling closed behind him.

"Are you all right?" Matt asks me, his warm eyes meeting mine.

"I will be," I say, snuggling close to him.

"What happened? I saw Layla come in and grab a water, but you never came back. When Layla left, Punk handed me the picture, signed, and said that maybe we ought to see what was keeping you."

"Layla," I said, taking a shuddery breath, "has decided that she no longer wants to be my friend."

He squeezes me. "I'm sorry. Was it because of me?"

"It's not you so much as it's us," I say.

Matt sighs. "Look, Michelle, if you don't want to do this, I'll understand."

"Do what?"

He shrugs. "Date? Be friends? Whatever it is that we're doing that seems to be getting in the way."

"Matt..." I shake my head. "Are you saying that you want to end this?"

"No! I just... don't know if you do."

"I don't. You and Punk are the only friends I have right now, and if you decide to go, too..."

He kisses me, long and slow. I can feel the sparks between us, and it's amazing. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead against mine. "Does that answer your question?"

"If I say no, will you kiss me again?"

Matt laughs. "I'll kiss you again anyway, if that's what you want. But if you're still not clear how I feel about you, I'd like to know. You're amazing, Michelle. You're beautiful and funny and smart. I have no idea what led you into the park a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still sorry for running you down with that box and all..." We grin at each other. "But honestly, I have to say that was one of the best days of my life. Except they keep getting better from there, and it's because of you. I love how you light up when we talk. I loved how good you were with Tara. I love how you didn't even hesitate when I asked you to be ringside last night." He pauses. "And I really think I'm falling in love with you."

As much as Layla's words had felt like my heart being shredded, Matt's are doing something else again to my heart. "I'm falling in love with you, too," I say softly.

Matt smiles at me and grabs a tissue from the box on my lap so he can wipe away my tears. "Then let's try to put the sadness behind us and be happy tonight, okay? We can rent a movie and cuddle up on the couch."

"Where?" I ask.

He says, "Oh, did I forget to mention that I've got a studio suite tonight? There's a very nice living area. It's bigger than my first apartment."

"That sounds nice. But maybe we'd better have something to eat first. I haven't had anything since we got here."

"Good point," Matt says. "Well, my dear, what would you like for dinner?"

"I don't care," I say, "so long as I can steal your french fries."