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He smiled deviously as he watched the car pull out of the driveway and depart down the block. Great... They were leaving the area at least for a good while, most likely going to dinner.
The man waited until the car disappeared completely from his view. Then, he unlocked the door, giving the woman in the driver's seat beside him a quick thumbs up.
"All clear," he said, glee present in his voice.
His companion giggled.
"Here goes." He held up a shiny object in his right hand and gave her a wink before sprinting toward the house. He wore a fanny pack that contained a couple of odds and ends he needed to complete his mission.
Amazingly, and to his pleasant surprise, he was easily able to get into the house. Adam had not yet invested in an alarm system.
Big mistake, he thought. This was just too effortless.
The only annoyances were the two dogs. They weren't in any way vicious, but they sure did enjoy barking.
"Buzz off!" he snapped at them. He had important business to attend to, so it would suit him best if the dogs got bored and left him alone. Then again, so long as they didn't attack him, all was peachy.
He wandered through the house and straight to the master bedroom. Perfect... With the yellow lab, the bigger of the dogs, behind him but no longer barking, he unzipped the fanny pack and reached inside for its contents. He was leaving them here. The aftermath of his handiwork would prove most interesting.
Once he was done, he returned to the foyer and to the front door. His work was done. Now, he would just sit back and celebrate - enjoy what would certainly come afterward.
"So long," he called to the dogs, who stood by, watching him curiously. He stepped outside and locked the door behind him. Then, he returned to the car from which he'd emerged farther down the street.
"So?"
"Mission accomplished," he said to the eager woman.
"Wonderful... You're a genius for coming up with this idea!" she practically squealed.
"Hey, I can't take all the credit. You came up with some brilliant stuff yourself, lady."
The woman grinned.
"So, now what do we do?"
"Celebrate... What else?" With that, Matt Hardy moved forward, gathering Lisa Ortiz into his arms for a mad, passionate kiss.
*
"You're so quiet."
"Hmm? What?" Amy asked as she looked sharply over at her boyfriend. They were out to dinner at a popular steakhouse in the Tampa area.
Adam cocked his head as he studied her.
"You've hardly said two words to me today," he observed. "Is something bothering you, baby?"
"No," the redhead answered quickly, shaking her head. "It's just that... I think I may be coming down with a cold." She'd cast through her mind at rapid speed to come up with that flimsy excuse, so she hoped he would actually buy it.
"Oh, no, poor baby," Adam replied. He slid a hand across the table to grasp hers. "Well, I'll take good care of you... Whatever you need, I'm there." He gave her a warm, fond smile.
The redhead smiled back, hoping he wouldn't see right through her flimsy facade. The truth was that the call on his cell phone from that morning was really bothering her. She'd been unable to stop thinking about it the entire day. She hated all the feelings coursing through her - doubt, suspicion, jealousy.
Twenty minutes later, they were finished with their entrees. The waitress came by with a smile.
"Can I get you anything else? Coffee? Dessert?"
Adam and Amy exchanged glances, and the redhead shook her head. All she wanted to do was get out of there. She was truly having a difficult time relaxing.
"No, thank you... Just the check."
The waitress smiled and plopped the item in question on the table, in front of the blond man. He then paid the bill, left a generous tip, and they left.
Amy was still unusually quiet on the way home, a fact that was not at all lost on Adam. And, knowing her as well as he did, he realized there was something on her mind, something that was really bothering her. He knew her excuse in the steakhouse had been fabricated, and that for some reason she didn't want to open up about what was really troubling her. However, he decided to just let it be for the time being... He knew the redhead would eventually open up about it.
A little while later, as he was in the master bathroom, brushing his teeth, an exclamation from Amy in the bedroom startled him.
"What is this?!" she was shouting. "What the HELL is this?!"
The blond man spit into the sink, then responded.
"What?"
"I'd like to know the meaning of this... Adam?!"
He frowned, wiped his mouth and stepped out of the bathroom. His frown deepened as he took in the sight of his angry girlfriend holding up a skimpy pair of women's panties. She barely held them, in fact, between the very ends of the tips of her forefinger and thumb. She looked absolutely furious.
"I don't know," he said. "It's a pair of your panties." He followed that statement with a shrug.
"No, they're not mine!" Amy yelled. "I don't wear shit like this! And I don't wear this kind of lipstick, either!" She held up a tube in her other hand to show him. "They were right there, barely under the bed! So, you're cheating on me, are you? You bastard!"
"What? No!" Adam insisted. "Amy, I'm not cheating on you... I swear it."
The redhead wasn't listening as she threw the two items at him and raced for her suitcase in the corner. She somehow managed not to cry as she gathered it and lunged away from her shocked boyfriend's touch.
"Get your hands off of me!"
"But Amy!" Adam felt suddenly scared and desperate, and as though he were in the middle of an insane nightmare. He was completely innocent, and that was a fact.
"It's her, isn't it?" Amy asked as she stopped just by the front door.
"Amy, would you please listen to me? I am not cheating on you! There's no one else... no one! Do you hear me?"
"It's Lisa... Oh, my God, I knew it was her when I answered your cell phone this morning." A hand flew up to Amy's mouth as she could no longer contain the tears.
She practically pivoted and fled from the house as Adam was initially perplexed in addition to everything else he was feeling. He had to get to
the bottom of this, but, more importantly, get Amy back.