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May 22, 2008, iMPACT! taping
AJ packed a few of his things into his suitcase, clearing his locker out. There were still a good thirty or so minutes left for the show, and he himself had a match soon, but he wanted to be prepared.
He couldn't stop reflecting on that particular night... the night Karen had confessed her true feelings to him.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, AJ... but... you're right," the brunette said breathlessly as she pulled back. They'd been in the middle of yet another passionate kiss, and things had been really starting to get heated. He knew he never would have been able to stop, had things gone any further.
"You're right," the brunette said, raising her left hand to swipe one corner of her kiss-swollen lips. "We should... wait. We shouldn't cheapen the way we feel about one another by jumping too soon."
AJ nodded in agreement, wishing he could somehow hide the very noticeable bulge in his jeans. He sighed deeply, actually feeling somewhat relieved. After all, it had been his idea that they not do anything while she was still a married woman. Should she choose to leave Kurt for good, only then would he allow himself the sheer ecstasy of holding Karen the way he truly wanted to.
"Yes," he spoke, "it's better this way." He lowered his gaze for a beat, only to find her still so intensely gazing at him. "So... what do we do now?"
The brunette reached out slowly, cupping his face with her long, slender hands. Her voice was soft as she replied.
"We just continue being good friends... And we'll just wait for the right time to act on our feelings." With that, she moved closer and kissed him sweetly on the cheek.
Things seemed to be going all right since then, with one exception - Kurt had made a plea to Karen the previous week. He was through with Samoa Joe and had failed to regain the TNA Heavyweight Championship, and so the Olympian wanted his wife and children back.
As though actually reading his thoughts, Karen suddenly stuck her head in through the door. She hadn't even knocked, but AJ would never mind that.
"AJ? Can I talk to you for a minute?"
The young man ordinarily would have cast her a smile that could light up an entire room. However, with Kurt trying to get her back and all, he looked downright sad. Karen's heart melted at the expression on his face, in his blue eyes.
"Yeah, of course," he replied. "You know I always have time for you, Karen - and not just a measly minute."
She smiled at his words and stepped properly inside the locker room. He was all alone, as he'd opted not to deal with Tomko anymore. After he'd entered the Deuces Wild tournament a few weeks prior with Super Eric, he hadn't really interacted at all with the tattooed man.
The brunette took hold of both of his hands as she stood before him. She cocked her head, meeting his eyes squarely, her gaze never wavering.
"I just want you to know... I'm not taking Kurt back."
The man's heart pretty much began to float and flutter in his chest. In spite of Angle's horrible, clueless and classless words for her the last week, he'd actually feared Karen might take him back. He now knew he could breathe easily, that that wouldn't happen.
"Really?" AJ's blue orbs lit up with a sparkle of hope.
"Really," the tall brunette replied. "It's not the same. Like I told you two months ago, he's not the same Kurt I married years ago. I'm done."
The dark-haired man smiled as he gazed deeply into her deep brown eyes.
"Well, that's too bad for Kurt," he said. "But his loss is my gain."
She smiled at him, her heart melting. She wanted more than anything to kiss him right then and there... but they'd promised each other to wait until everything was official. Things would certainly be that way after tonight, when Karen gave her husband her answer to his little plea - so there really wasn't that much longer of a wait.
"It sure is," the woman replied, her tone soft. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and chills running up her spine. It was amazing how AJ could achieve that in her just by running the pads of his thumbs over the backs of her hands. It was funny... Although they hadn't even properly kissed ever since that night, the electricity between them had at the very least doubled. She supposed it was the anticipation of it all. Well, the way she saw it, after she told Kurt what she really wanted, they could move ahead and actually have their relationship.
Unfortunately, neither she nor AJ had any clue of what kind of drama had built up among the company regarding
them. And the night was about to get highly emotional.