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For the first time in days, Ashley actually found herself smiling. She couldn't stop thinking of that past weekend and strangely felt all warm and fuzzy inside.
She ran her good hand through her short, floppy blonde, black- and pink-streaked hair as she entered the building. She may have been out on injury leave, but that didn't mean she didn't have other matters at hand.
She was scheduled for an appearance at a Best Buy in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She'd prettied herself up in a black, lacy midriff-baring top and low-rise black jeans, black heeled ankle boots, her lip piercings in place. Her hair was pinned back at the left side of her head, and she was all made up with eyeshadow, blush and lipstick in shades of pink.
She waved a friendly hello to the cheering fans already standing in line outside, waiting to meet her. A security person ushered her inside, and she briefly checked her watch, noting she was early. She knew Shelton Benjamin was scheduled to do the signing with her but didn't see him anywhere as she took a seat at the table that had been set up.
Ashley was considering doing some quick window shopping in the store, maybe even actually buy a few things, when she overheard a conversation nearby. Two of the security personnel were talking amongst themselves about the day's autograph signing, and she strained her ears, her expression gone serious as she thought she'd heard one of them wrong.
Rising to her feet a moment later and grabbing a complimentary bottle of water, the blonde approached the two men. She stood silently for a beat, hating to be one to interrupt when others were talking, but she just had to know. She gestured at them with a wave of her free hand to get their attention.
"Excuse me... Did you just say Shelton isn't coming?" she questioned.
"Yeah," one of the men said. "He's been replaced at the last minute."
"Oh." That was too bad, because she liked the young man. The day would have gone by pleasantly had she been doing the signing with him. Then, "Do you know who's taking his place?"
"Yeah... Matt Hardy."
Ashley's face fell, as did her spirits as she took in the man's response. Great... This was just terrific! Matt was exactly the last person she wanted to be stuck with for the entire day. She cast the two men as grateful a smile as she could manage and walked away.
All of a sudden, she was feeling as though she needed not water but a nice, stiff shot of bourbon.
*
Ashley had been at Best Buy for about a half-hour, and she'd decided to shop a little as she waited for security to let the fans in. She was just paying for her purchases with her MasterCard at the register nearest the door when it suddenly opened. She heard the screams of fans outside and spotted her ex-boyfriend finally arriving. It was all she could do to keep from rolling her eyes.
She carried her bag of purchases back over to the table where they would meet and sign for the fans, her gaze staying on the man. She set her bag down and instantly reached behind her for the cell phone she'd left in the pocket of her denim jacket. The urge to send a text message suddenly hit her. She flipped her phone open and quickly typed away. She'd gotten to be such an expert at it that she'd managed to get the text typed and sent before Matt approached.
"Well, well, well... How are you, Ash?" her ex drawled as he took off his jacket and went around the table to sit beside her. He offered her a smile that looked more like a smirk.
"I'm just fine, Matt - thanks," she replied dryly. She folded her hands over the table, hoping she would be able to get through the day without incident.
Moments later, the doors were open and the fans who had been waiting to meet the WWE superstar and diva burst into the store. Ashley had a difficult time not bursting into laughter as she suddenly heard a young fan say, "Hey, I thought it was supposed to be Ashley and Shelton! What's Matt Hardy doing here?!" And then, she had an even tougher time keeping a straight face as she caught a glimpse of Matt and his reaction.
Unfortuntely, he'd caught onto her.
"What's so funny?"
The slender blonde faced him, her smile gone. She feigned innocence, giving him a little shrug.
"What?"
He narrowed his dark eyes as he stared at her.
"Oh, you found that amusing, did you?" he said.
Ashley shook her head and somehow refrained from rolling her eyes.
"Matt," she said, "I really have no idea what you're talking about." She fixed a smile onto her face as fans began approaching. She said a cheery hello as she reached out to shake hands with a teenage girl.
For now, Hardy clamped his mouth shut to retorting. He had work to do now, fans to meet. He would deal with his ex-girlfriend and her ridiculing later.
Ashley signed a glossy photo of herself for the girl and felt her cell phone vibrate in her jacket. She knew that meant she'd just received a response to the text message she'd sent earlier. She ignored it for the time being, however, as she smiled and posed with a young man for a picture.
Things seemed to be going pretty smoothly for the most part, until it happened...
Someone actually got up the nerve to question Matt about the blogs he'd recently posted on his MySpace. Ashley's
mood abruptly dropped a great degree. When her former boyfriend cleared his throat and actually began to answer
the fan's question, the blonde could feel her blood beginning to boil - and she knew there was about to be a fight,
and it wouldn't be pretty. Not for the first time, she wished it were Shelton at the signing with her.