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*May 2006*
Ashley grimaced and nearly groaned as she instinctively reached down to scratch at her left leg. Darn it, it was still in a cast - a smaller, softer one no less, but the itchy area was still covered up and not accessible to her.
Fortunately, her phone suddenly rang, distracting her from her current irritation. But it wouldn't be much longer now anyway... She could hardly wait.
"Hello?" she asked as she picked up the receiver and pressed it to her right ear.
"Hola, bonita," came the accented male voice.
A huge and bright smile instantly came to the blonde's face.
"Hi, Charlie." She could barely think of anything more to say at that moment, as ripples raced up her spine. She actually hadn't been expecting to hear from Carlito again so soon, as he'd called her last night as well...
... It was more than Matt had called her as of late. She'd dialed him up herself earlier that day, but he claimed he wasn't able to chat for too long. And call her crazy, but Ashley could have sworn she'd heard someone whistling in the background - a woman?
"So," Carlito said, breaking her bitter thoughts, "that cast comes off pretty soon, huh?"
"Yeah," she replied with a small smile and some real enthusiasm. She was surprised at how he had seemingly read her mind through a thin telephone wire. And she could hardly wait to get the damned thing off her leg. Once it was gone, she could get back to exercising normally and scratching her leg. Of course, that was to say nothing about her shaving it again! She shuddered at the thought of how the hair on that leg had to be by now.
"That's good... That's really good," the young man said. "Maybe when it comes off, I'll take you dancing." He paused as Ashley remained silent. "If you want me to."
Ashley let out a soft, pleasantly girlish giggle. She simply couldn't help it.
"That sounds like it would be fun!" she cried. She realized her heart was pounding as hard as a kettle drum and suddenly wondered if they *did* go out dancing, would it be considered a *date*? It wasn't one bit lost on her how excited she was feeling about the idea, but then she nervously bit her lip at that thought. She reminded herself that she was still with Matt.
"Cool."
They talked some more, and Ashley felt better than she had in quite awhile. In fact, she realized that just talking to Carlito made her feel amazing. Of course, it would be better to actually *see* him...
... And that was when he seemed to once again perfectly read her mind.
"Hey... Why don't I drop by?" he asked. "I... Well, I miss you, Ash."
The blonde found herself grinning from ear-to-ear. He missed her... She couldn't help but think how sweet that was.
"I would like that," Ashley replied, unconsciously curling a lock of her golden hair around her finger. "I'd like that a lot, Charlie."
"Great... Well, how about tomorrow?" Carlito inquired. It was one of the usual days off for members of the RAW roster, and he had no appearances scheduled.
"Sure," she replied, still smiling. "That would-" Ashley's words were abruptly halted as she realized someone was ringing her doorbell.
"Hello?" Carlito asked, puzzled.
"There's someone at my door," the blonde stated, her heart beginning to thump nervously rather than pleasantly. "I'd better go see who it is." She gingerly, and with effort, pushed herself up from the couch. "Hang on, I'm not sure I can use the phone while I'm doing this!" she exclaimed. She placed the phone on the small coffee table, straightened and grabbed the crutch leaning against the far end of the couch.
Somehow, she had a feeling she knew the identity of the visitor before she even saw them. He gut seemed to be telling her it was him, even though she'd been unable to get hold of him earlier.
Ashley opened the door with dread, her stomach actually tied in knots. And sure enough, it was Matt, but she found a smile easily sneaking to her face as her gaze caught sight of the small face peering up at her... He'd brought her a puppy!
"Hi! What are you doing here? And who is this?" she asked cheerily. She reached out with her right hand to pat the small black and white dog's head.
"He's yours," Hardy said as he stepped past her and inside. "Just a little 'I'm sorry for being such a jerk lately' gift."
The blonde's smile slowly waned as she glanced over at the phone. Carlito was still on the line, holding on for her. Matt was seating himself on the couch. What if he noticed she'd been on the phone and he got suspicious?
On the other end, Carlito frowned as he realized he was not only hearing Ashley's voice speaking in the background, but a man's as well... Matt Hardy... And then, shock and confusion struck him as he suddenly heard a click, followed by dead silence.
He moved the phone from his ear to briefly stare at it.
"Hello? Hello?"
It was no use. She'd hung up on him.