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AJ stared at Karen with shock. Had he heard her correctly? No... It seemed impossible to believe that he had. He opened his mouth to speak, but he was so dumbstruck that no words came for long stretches.
"I... I'm sorry," the brunette finally stammered. She was truly sorry she'd said anything. As the saying went, silence spoke volumes. And it definitely stung that apparently he didn't feel the same way about her.
"Why?" the young man asked.
Karen met his gaze, not certain what he meant. Was it in regards to her apology, or to the fact that she was in love with him?
"Why would you be in love with me?" AJ asked, unknowingly answering the question she'd had in her head. "I'm just... Karen, what about Kurt?"
She licked her lips and squarely met his gaze.
"What about Kurt?"
"He's your husband," the dark-haired man reminded her. "Don't you love him?"
The waitress suddenly came back with their food, but Karen wasn't hungry anymore. The truth was, she hadn't wanted AJ to question her, or to even really think. She'd merely wanted him to respond by telling her he felt the same way toward her - or, at the very least, that he cared deeply for her.
"I'm separating from him," she murmured. She picked up her fork, poking through her food despite her sudden lack of appetite. "And I have to be honest with you, AJ... Yes, I do love him. But it's not the same anymore."
The young man, although famished, paused in diving into his meal. His blue gaze caught her brown eyes. He hated denying the truth, but he was the type of person who believed in at least trying to save some things, especially the sanctity of a marriage.
"So... even though you love Kurt, you're just gonna give up on him? And on your marriage?" he asked.
Karen winced ever so slightly. It had been so easy for her to go out there earlier that evening and break the news to Kurt. Then again, he'd reacted so indifferently, just like he'd been doing for months now. He was seemingly exactly what he and fans called him - a wrestling machine. He was so focused on his career, and on holding onto the TNA Heavyweight Championship at all costs. How could she ever compete with that? She couldn't... More importantly, at this point, she really didn't want to.
"My marriage has been over for six months now."
AJ stared blankly at her.
"Come again?"
The brunette nodded as she went on.
"Exactly as I said. It's over. AJ, Kurt puts me last in everything. It gets to a point where a woman has to say enough is enough," she stated. "Last month, I gave him an ultimatum. I told him to drop the title at the next pay-per-view, or drop me."
The Prince of Phenomenal stared at her in shock. Obviously, he knew that Angle hadn't given up the championship. So, basically, the man had chosen the gold over his own wife.
"I'll be honest with you," she continued, "back when we recruited you for the Angle Alliance, I had no interest in you - other than to get what I wanted... or what Kurt wanted." She reached across the table for his hand as she noticed a sad expression cross his face. "But I soon realized how sweet and real you were, AJ. You are the exact opposite of Kurt."
He raised his gaze to meet her warm brown eyes.
"I think your sweetness and caring nature are what made me fall for you," Karen elaborated. "And you treat me like a lady. What girl doesn't melt for that?" She smiled, prompting the young man to do so as well. He couldn't help it. After all, this was Karen Angle, and she was infectious.
It was a few minutes before he could even find his voice again. They ate in relative silence until he finally started to speak.
"Karen, I..." It seemed there was a touch of doubt in his voice.
"You don't have to say anything, AJ... I understand if you... don't feel the same way I do." Inside, she was breaking at that thought. "Just take some time to think about how you truly feel... I'm a patient woman," the brunette said with a small smile. "And we can always talk, no matter what."
He nodded slowly, his blue orbs fixed on her lovely face.
"Okay... I think I will," he said, and he then continued to eat. There was certainly a lot on his plate, figuratively speaking. It was almost enough to overwhelm a guy. It wasn't that he didn't care for Karen... He absolutely did. It wasn't that he wasn't attracted to her... Hell, he couldn't remember being so undeniably attracted to another woman in his entire life, not even his ex-fiancee from a few years earlier. And several weeks prior, when he'd told Tomko that Karen was into him, he hadn't actually known for sure that this was the case. He had hoped like crazy that it was, and it was easy to convince himself when she always seemed to touch him - but he hadn't really known deep down. Now, he knew for sure. And what was he going to do about it? The ball was in his court right now, a position he never would have thought he'd be in.
Despite all the revelations and confessions, the rest of dinner went by comfortably. They didn't even have to resort to awkward small talk. It seemed to AJ that Karen was the easiest person to talk to.
He walked her back to the hotel afterward. The warm Florida air picked up a slight breeze, and the young man actually had his face tickled by the brunette's soft long hair. He couldn't help but smell it as he had the chance. Coconut... Karen's rich tresses were definitely fragrant of coconut.
AJ shuffled his feet just a bit as they reached the hotel room. He was suddenly feeling anxious, his mind working overtime. How could he ever keep this woman in suspense? How could he deny her either, for that matter?
"Well, thank you, AJ," she said as she faced him. Her back was to the door, her keycard in her right hand. "Thanks for dinner and for hearing me out."
The Prince of Phenomenal nearly melted at her smile. She was so breathtakingly beautiful.
"It was my pleasure." He reached out for her free hand just as she was about to turn and kissed her full on the lips.
They barely heard the gasp that came from the woman who stepped out of the neighboring hotel room.