_________________________________________
Amy sat on one of the pair of beds in the hotel room, fidgeting with her hands while Adam got ready for bed in the bathroom.
She was feeling nervous, but it wasn't simply because of what had happened to her. She didn't think Paul would dare try anything with her when she was in the company of another man - same as he'd never attempted anything with Stephanie when Chris Jericho had been in her presence.
The redhead had a sudden flash of memory - she recalled how, back in the spring of 2001, before she had broken up with Paul, how he and Stone Cold Steve Austin had attacked her. It had all been part of the script, when the Two Man Power Trip had competed in a six-person intergender tag team match, teaming up with Stephanie to take on Team Xtreme. Once the match had ended, Triple H and Austin had attacked Lita - and although Paul had not become as vicious as he eventually had, his hits had all been much more brutal than the Rattlesnake's. Austin had been extremely gentle in delivering those chairshots to her - not one of them had hurt. He'd even executed the Stone Cold Stunner gingerly, as he'd known that one false move could have left her seriously injured. But Paul's Pedigree had hurt. She'd been sore for nearly a week afterward.
Amy hadn't really given all that much thought to this back then - but now, she wondered. Maybe Paul had always had a cold, black heart, but she hadn't known because he was damn good at concealing his true nature. She shuddered at that thought - that he really was "That Damn Good."
She looked up as Adam stepped out of the bathroom and back into the room. The distinct smell of mouthwash chased him out of the small lavatory.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed opposite hers. He ran a hand through his long blond hair as he eyed her with concern. He'd been so worried about her. Her crying certainly hadn't been a surprise, given all she'd been through, but it had been quite harsh and uncontrollable, and he'd been afraid it wouldn't stop for a long time. The redhead had surprised him when she'd ceased her crying within minutes of starting.
"I...I think so," she replied, meeting his eyes before shifting her gaze briefly to the floor. She was already dressed for bed and was wearing a pair of feminine pajamas - powder-blue bottoms with a satin drawstring and a matching tank top with, oddly enough, glow-in-the-dark stars and moons on it. Adam could tell the little designs glowed in the dark by their color. He found it cute and very girlish. His heart melted when he'd first taken note of the high-flying diva in such pajamas. She appeared much younger than her nearly twenty-eight years.
Amy tilted her head to one side, her auburn hair over one shoulder as she appeared suddenly distracted. She wondered how she was going to get through this night - not because she was afraid of Paul breaking into the room or attacking her or anything, but there were other things that had her worried. The first was that her back was messed up enough that she worried about possibly turning over onto it - she was a very restless sleeper and had been for awhile, due thanks to her relationship with Paul - she'd always had to keep on her toes with him, and the habit hadn't been broken since she'd left him.
The second thing was that she was afraid of being in a hotel room all night with Adam - not because she had any fear of the tall blond man, or of him doing her any harm - she knew he would never hurt her - but she was afraid that if she approached him in the way she wanted in the worst way to, he might reject her. She was feeling as though she wanted to go over to his bed and request that he hold onto her all night - if he didn't want anything more at the moment, that would sit fine with her - but she was feeling particularly vulnerable and needed someone. She needed someone strong to lean on, to support her emotionally as well as physically. And she felt as though she didn't need simply anyone, but him.
"Is your back still hurting you?" the Canadian asked, surprising Amy by scooting over from his bed to hers, sitting beside her. Very gingerly, he put an arm around her, making certain not to come into contact with the injured flesh of her lower back.
The redhead gazed up into his incredible emerald-green eyes, blinking slowly as she detected something on his face. He was looking at her with such tenderness, she could practically feel his gaze caressing her.
"I...I'm still sore, yeah," she said softly. She shifted her gaze from his eyes lower, finding herself looking at his bare chest. He was wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants to bed.
"I'm so sorry I left the arena when I did last night," Adam said in a gentle voice, his hand just grazing the middle of her back.
The diva felt a series of chills chasing each other up her spine at the almost feather-like touch of his fingertips on her. She raised her hazel eyes to meet his gaze again. "What...what do you mean?"
"I mean," he replied, tilting his head slightly to one side as he continued to gaze gently into her lovely face, "that if I'd left a few minutes later, I probably would have run into you...before that bastard got to you. I...could have spared you the agony of what he did to you." A slight look of guilt crossed his handsome features, and Amy was shocked by that.
"No...Adam, you couldn't have done anything. I mean, who knows what might have happened if you'd left a little later?" she said. "We can't say things like 'what if' - they do us no good." She reached up and gently touched his arm. "But I do appreciate that you're here for me now."
The blond man's green eyes still appeared to be filled with anguish, but he didn't voice a word about it. Instead, he moved his face ever closer to hers. "God, you're beautiful..."
Amy was suddenly speechless, her eyes widening just slightly as the Canadian raised a hand gently to her face. He moved still closer to her until his lips were on hers, and the redhead shut her eyes upon his tender kiss, kissing him back fervently, her breath nearly gone from her body at the sheer intensity of it.
She felt as though she were melting as the kiss continued on and on, and the blond man's tongue became more dominant as he explored her mouth. The redhead clung to him, one hand raising to curl into his long silky hair, the other still gripping his arm.
Amy couldn't help but feel relieved, for she no longer had to worry about Adam rejecting her. And something told her that, despite the condition of her back, she would regardless be getting no sleep that night.