"So...Amy seems really cool," Rey said.  He had met the redhead that morning, when Adam had introduced them at breakfast.  Mysterio had instantly liked the diva, and it wasn't just because she had cited him as her biggest influence to getting into the business.

"Yeah," the tall blond man said with a smile.  "She really is...she's really great...she's amazing."

The shorter man eyed his best friend.  "Ahh...I see...you've got a little thing for her, don't you?"

Adam started at Rey with surprise.  In a soft voice, he said, "How did you know?"

The Latino laughed.  "Come on, man - it's so obvious!"

The blond continued smiling, then raked a hand through his long hair.  "Listen, Rey...I'd appreciate if you didn't say anything about it...okay?"

"Hey, it's cool," Mysterio said with a knowing smile.  "I understand."  He returned his attention to his steak when the sudden ringing of his cell phone interrupted him.  Then, checking the caller ID, the young man regarded his friend.  "Excuse me, Adam."  He stood up and stepped out of the small cafe.

Adam continued eating his own steak, and a moment or so later, he looked up as he heard a familiar voice.

Matt Hardy, with Torrie Wilson on his arm, strode in and to a table several feet away.  Adam tried to ignore them as he dug back into his dinner.

"So, you've got me all to yourself now, babe," the elder Hardy was saying.  "Now it's official."

Adam shifted his eyes to the direction in which the pair sat.  So, Matt had changed his mind and decided to take his warnings seriously?  The blond man felt skeptical.  He knew Matt Hardy very well - and knew that he was not one to give up on anything that easily.

"But I've pretty much had you all to myself for the last six months," Torrie put in.

"Yeah, and you know why?  Because I got sick and tired of all of Amy's bitching and whining - 'oh, Matt, why don't you come visit me in the hospital more often?'  'Matt, pay more attention to me...'  'Matt, kiss my God damn feet, because I'm the freaking queen of the universe...'  Matt this, Matt that!"

Adam had finally had enough.  His pulse was throbbing in his temples with all the rage he felt at the other man's petty taunts of his former girlfriend.  He noisily dropped his knife and fork onto the plate, pushed his chair back and stood up.

Matt and Torrie both looked up as one very angry tall blond Canadian stood over their table.  Torrie's eyes widened slightly as she stared at Adam, then shifted her gaze to Matt.

"May I help you?"

"Yeah - you can start by shutting the hell up!" Adam shouted as he leaned over the table, placing both hands palm down on it.

"Why should I?" the dark-haired man asked as he glared up at the man who had been his friend but who was now his foe.  "Oh, are you her 'big protector' now?"

Adam glared back at him.  "You can say that...but mostly, I'm a concerned friend.  Since you now claim to be completely done with Amy, you'd better stick to your word and leave her alone."

Torrie's blue eyes looked more worried than ever as she glanced from the Canadian to Matt.

At that moment, Mysterio returned to see his friend hovering over Matt Hardy and Torrie Wilson's table.  The small man instantly knew what this was all about.  He debated whether he should go over there or just sit down at the table to return to his meal.  He ended up choosing the latter.

"Hey, are you the boss of me?  Um...no - not the last time I checked!" Matt snapped.  "So, how was Amy last night, Adam?" he taunted.

The tall blond was silent for a beat, then he raised his hands and slammed them back down on the table top - loudly.  Torrie and Matt both gave a start, and from his table, Rey Mysterio looked up sharply.  "Look, you asshole...I don't know why you have this crazy idea that Amy and I have been messing around...the truth is, she's been faithful to you - although if you've been this much of a prick toward her, I don't know why..."

"Bullshit!" Matt shouted.  "She's screwed around on me with plenty of guys - you, Jericho, RVD, even Jeff - my own brother, and who knows who else?  She's a tramp, and that's all there is to it.  Get it??  A traaaamp!"

In a flash, Adam reached across the table, grabbing a fistful of the other man's shirt, hefting him up out of his chair.  He was seeing red as he glared at the elder Hardy with wide green eyes.  Matt's dark ones were wide as well as he realized exactly the extent of the blond man's fury.

"Hey, man!  Let him go...it's not worth it," Mysterio cried from behind Adam.  He tapped the taller man on the back in an attempt to snap him out of it.

The blond Canadian ignored Rey and glared into Matt's eyes murderously.  "Don't you ever talk about her like that again...because if you do, and if I hear you, I'll make you sorry you were ever born..."  At that statement, he released the man's collar, and the Hardy Boy gathered his wits about him, straightening himself out.

"How about you and me take this to the ring, hotshot?"

The Canadian turned back to glare at him once more.  "Oh, you got it, pal...just name the time and the place..."

*

"I think I'm in love with Adam..." Amy blurted.

Dawn Marie, putting down her forkful of salad, stared at her friend, a look of utter surprise on her pretty face.  Before she could say or ask anything, the redhead continued.

"...I know it sounds crazy...but Dawn, the truth is that...even since before Matt and I started dating, I'd always been very attracted to him."

"Well, what's not to be attracted to?" the brunette asked rhetorically.  "I mean, look at the guy!"

"It's not just his looks," the redhead stressed.  "Don't get me wrong - his looks certainly add appeal to the package...but Adam and I have always been friends, and he's always been so sweet toward me."

The other diva kept her brown eyes on Amy's, now having just begun to resume eating her dinner.  She nodded a few times and made a few utterances to let her friend know she was still listening with all of her attention.

"Remember the times you visited me in the hospital after my neck surgery?"

"How could I?  Amy, you're my best friend," Dawn Marie said softly.

"Anyway...Adam was there about as often as Jeff was...I don't know how he did it and still managed to be at all the SmackDown tapings," Amy said wonderously, her hazel eyes taking on a faraway look.  "That man is just so precious..."  She raised her gaze back to the other woman's eyes.  "...I've...suspected for awhile that he may have feelings for me," she admitted.

Dawn put down her fork again, brown eyes widening, but this time, she couldn't prevent the smile from forming on her lips.  "Really?"

"Yeah," the redhead admitted.  "He acted so weird when Matt and I became a couple."  She proceeded to explain how the tall blond man had behaved and treated her and the elder Hardy, although they were both still good friends of his.

The brunette looked thoughtful as she chewed a bite of her herb chicken.  Then, when she swallowed, she spoke.

"I'll tell you what I think...I think he's in love with you..."

"You do?"

"Oh, definitely...especially from the way you describe him acting all moody around you and Matt early on.  And the only reason a guy would go out of his way to avoid the both of you like that is because he's jealous."

Amy bit her lip.  She knew her dear friend was right - she had to be.

"I'll tell you what..." Dawn Marie said softly as she reached across the small table to grip the other woman's arm.  "...I'll watch the two of you together - see what kind of vibes I get from Adam when he's with you...and I'll tell you what my honest opinion is...okay?"

The redhead nodded as she turned back to her steak.  After a quick bite, she swallowed and met the brunette's eyes again.

"Dawn?  Do you think...do you think I'm crazy for feeling these things?  I mean, I just broke up with Matt yesterday..."

"Oh, no...not at all, Amy..."

"But you don't think I'm just on the rebound?"

The other diva shook her head.  "My honest opinion?"  As Amy gazed at her in anticipation, she went on.  "I think you've always had these feelings for Adam - but never realized them back then because of distractions - such as one Matt Hardy."

Amy bit her lip as she absorbed her friend's words.  She herself had thought exactly what Dawn had just said.

"I...can I make another little confession to you?"

"Sure...what are friends for, right?"

"Well..."  The redhead bit her lip again, eyes downcast for a beat.  Although she and the other woman were so close, she still felt awkward about what she was about to reveal.

"Matt and I...we'd stopped having sex awhile back...in fact, we hadn't done anything since just before my injury."

Dawn Marie's brown eyes widened a bit.  "Oh, Amy...that was six months ago!"

"Right," the other diva said softly, ducking her head slightly in embarrassment.

"Wow...and I thought I had gone a long time without..."  For the brunette, it had been two months - ever since she'd broken up with Simon.

"Well, that's not exactly the problem in itself," the redhead explained.  "But a little earlier, when I was with Adam in his room...I caught myself wondering what it would be like to have sex with him."  Amy's face reddened as she verbalized these things.

"Well, that's perfectly natural," Dawn said.  "You're in love with the guy."

The redheaded woman rose her gaze to meet her friend's topaz eyes.

"I'd say it's official, Amy...sorry to break it to you, but as Kurt Angle would say, it's true - you are in love with Adam Copeland, with Edge, with the tall, hot Canadian man in the room across the hall from me - whatever you wish to call him - but you are, honey.  And what you've been thinking and feeling is normal."

Amy raised a hand to her forhead, shaking her head.  "Wow...I am so...screwed," she said, a crestfallen expression on her lovely face.

"Why do you say that?"

The redhead ran a hand through her long hair.  "Because now Matt is going to have the ultimate weapon to use against me..."