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"So, you never answered my question earlier," Chris Jericho quipped as he gave Adam an amused look. "How's it going?"

"He's just flustered," Jay said. "He's *still* in shock about our surprise!"

Adam smiled at the guys. He was glad to have friends like them. He still couldn't believe Amy had planned a surprise party for him. *She* was the one with a birthday coming up in two days. But damn it, she would do anything, go to any lengths to make him feel better. What an amazing woman she truly was... Matt Hardy's loss was definitely the greatest gain of his life.

"It's been a bit rough," the tall blond man admitted. His gaze traveled toward the kitchen beyond, where his girlfriend and the other divas still were. "It's almost impossible to get any rest wearing this thing." His gaze met the dark brown ones of Terry, the big man nodding his agreement. About a year and a half or so earlier, he too had undergone the same surgery after breaking his own neck. "And to be honest," Adam continued, "I'm almost climbing the walls here!"

Jay cocked his head to one side as he regarded his best friend.

"So, you mean you two haven't...?"

"No," the taller man said. "We haven't... Well, she's... you know." Again, his gaze trailed off toward the kitchen. He knew Amy knew that he talked with the other guys, but he wasn't so sure she would appreciate overhearing it.

Rey eyed him slyly.

"So, why don't you just jump her in the shower?" he asked, unknowingly nearly echoing his girlfriend's earlier sentiments to the redhead. "You're allowed to take that thing off *then*, so why not?"

"I had a shower scene in mind this morning," Adam replied in a low tone. Damn, he really didn't want the women to overhear the guy talk - especially a certain redhead he was so desperately and madly in love with.

"So, what happened, Junior? No hot, wet action?" Jericho asked.

"I'm afraid not," the tall blond man said. "But I don't know how much more I can take. I'm going nuts here..."

"Bad case of the blue balls, huh?" The rhetorical question had come from Terry - who Adam had always referred to as Rhyno.

"Big time," he admitted. "And get this - earlier, before you all got here, I was sort of stupid." If he'd been physically capable of shaking his head, he would have done so.

"Well, we already *know* you're stupid," Jay cracked. "It's part of your charm."

The tall blond man smirked at him, really not all that amused, truth be known. It was horrible, what he'd allowed himself to suspect. Then, "Eh, shut up... Anyhow, I sort of caught Amy on the phone earlier - I still don't know who she was talking to, but it was one of you people - about the surprise, I guess."

"Yeah," Jericho said, "it was Trish. She said Amy had to cut the call short."

'Shit,' Adam thought. What terrible things he'd been suspecting, and it was only Trish Stratus the redhead had called. Aloud, he said, "Yeah... about that. I'm such an idiot..." He reduced his voice to a near whisper. "... I actually started thinking she was talking to another man."

"You're right, man," Jay said, a devilish gleam in his blue eyes, "you *are* an idiot - you know she's not like that."

"I know," the taller Canadian said.

"I guess the lack of sex is doing funny things to your brain," Cena remarked with a smirk. It was the first time he'd contributed to the conversation. "Yo, don't beat yourself up, man."

"Yeah," Chris quipped, a half-grin cocking his lips. "Well, *figuratively*, at least."

The other man - all but Adam - laughed their asses off at the very unsubtle comment.

"I bet you've been doing an awful *lot* of beating lately," his best friend teased. He laughed.

"Fuck you *all*," Adam snapped, flipping them off.

"Eww!" Chris cracked, pulling a grossed out face. "Now he's so horny he wants to-" He stopped abruptly as the women began to emerge from the kitchen.

"Who's in the mood for some arroz con pollo?" Dawn Marie asked as she carried two plates of the delicious dish to the dining room table.

"I know what *Adam's* in the mood for," Jay quipped, grinning as he eyed Amy. "But it's not arroz con pollo!"