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"Yeah," Trish said, desperate to contain the extreme sadness she felt. It threatened to overwhelm her, and she hoped she wouldn't start crying. "So... I heard you're... leaving after tonight?"
"Mmhmm," Jay said with a slow nod. "I am." he stared deeply into the little blonde's beautiful brown eyes, and a calmness just came over him. He always knew he could just about lose himself in those soulful chocolate depths. He hated the thought that he would not be able to gaze into those dark, serene orbs on a regular basis come tomorrow. Why had they ever broken up? He'd loved her... He *still* loved her.
"I..." Trish stammered as she got the notion of an uncomfortable silence hanging between them. "... I'm sorry you weren't voted into that interbrand tag match." She reached out with her right hand, just brushing it against his arm. "Personally, I thought it should have been *you* and Rey to compete."
Jay glanced down at her hand upon the brief, delicious contact. It seemed as though it had been so long since he'd felt her touch, even as innocently as this.
"Yeah... Thanks," he said dejectedly. He glanced down for a beat, not exactly knowing what to say. Well, that wasn't actually true. He could think of a dozen things he wanted to say to Trish Stratus, but he just couldn't work up the nerve. He'd had that problem ever since they'd broken up.
"Well, I..." The blonde woman crossed her arms over her breasts for a second, her thumb hooking over her shoulder. "... I've got a match to get ready for, so I'll go." Despite the words, her feet felt as though they were mired in mud. She bit her lip, about to turn around, but then stopped herself. "... Jay, I..." Trish's face began to crumple with emotion as she met those incredible cerulean blue eyes of his. "... Oh, hell - I'm really going to miss you!" Easily, she allowed herself to fall against him, the tears rolling down her cheeks as she felt the blond man's arms wind around her in an embrace. And God, it felt so good to be in his arms once again.
Jay was dumbfounded by the tiny blonde's reaction. Never in a million years would he have expected her to break down and cry - especially over him. She was normally so strong, so in control over her emotions. He almost didn't know what to make of this. But he kept her in his embrace, enjoying the feel of her small body against him. He burrowed his face into her long blonde hair, inhaling deeply of the lovely fragrance of her shampoo. She smelled like fresh strawberries.
"Shh..." he soothed, his right hand stroking up and down over her back. To think that before a mere two months ago, she had been out of action and away as she'd been suffering from bulging discs in that graceful back. "... Hey... Trish, it's okay." He pulled back just enough to gaze down into her sorrow-filled little face, the expression on it and the tears in her eyes breaking his heart. He placed one hand under her chin, tipping her head up so that their eyes met. "It'll be okay - I promise."
Trish blinked through still more tears, her chin quivering. How could it ever be okay as long as Jay would be away from her? It had been bad enough when they'd broken up, and even worse when he'd been drafted to SmackDown - but now he was leaving the WWE altogether. She didn't think her heart could take that.
"Hey," the short-haired blond man said, forcing a smile for her benefit, "I'm only going to TNA, not to the moon." He gently pinched her chin, hoping to get at least a tiny semblance of a smile out of that remark. There really wasn't one, though.
Trish nodded, although she didn't seem capable of speaking anymore at this point.
"I'll tell you what," Jay said, his expression grown serious once again. "How about later, you and I go out for some coffee and talk? Just the two of us."
The little blonde gazed up at him, tears still shimmering in her eyes. She parted her lips to speak, but
all she could manage was to nod.