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Chris Jericho tapped his foot impatiently, his gaze going to his watch for the umpteenth time. Where the hell was she? They had agreed on meeting down here in the lobby an hour before checkout time to go train at the arena for awhile before the evening's show. She was already a quarter of an hour late, and the blond man wondered if she'd simply forgotten.
Y2J was contemplating just leaving when he suddenly heard her voice calling. She was running toward him, her wheeled suitcase behind her as she tugged it along. Her long blonde hair was damp as it flew off her shoulders and behind her as she ran.
"Chris, wait!"
He stopped and allowed Trish to catch up with him. She was out of breath by the time she did so, and he scanned her over quickly from head-to-toe. She smelled fresh and clean from a very recent shower.
"You're late, Stratus."
She looked almost forelorn as she stared up at him, her brown eyes like those of a puppy.
"I know. I'm sorry, Chris," she murmured. Inside, she was cringing. If he only knew the reason for her tardiness... She knew he would despise her. She honestly didn't want that. She'd really grown to depend on him and valued him as a friend, as a person.
"No harm done, sleepyhead," Jericho teased with a winning smile. "C'mon, you ready for some training?"
"Sure thing."
Trish bit her lip as she followed him out of the hotel. She felt guilty and decided that once they arrived at the arena, she was going to have to break it off with him. It wasn't fair to string him along anymore. He was a decent, good man and deserved someone who appreciated him as much as Christian did her. She recalled the way she and the other blond Canadian had spent their morning together.
She woke up in his arms, warmth rushing through her as she opened her eyes to him. He was already awake, and, from the looks of it, had been peacefully watching her for awhile.
"Hey, you," she murmured. For some reason unknown to her, she didn't experience that now familiar emptiness inside of her in this scenario. Instead, she felt all good, warm and fuzzy. She snuggled up against him, her blonde hair fanning out as she lay her head on his chest.
With his arm still securely around her, he held her even closer and leaned down just enough to lay a sweet kiss on her forehead. He smiled.
"Hey yourself."
She caressed his arm as she simply laid there happily and smiled, listening to his heartbeat. She loved him. She knew that all too well. And she wanted to be with him again, for real and not by playing childish games. She was getting too old for that, anyway. And that was when she decided she was going to tell Chris the truth - the sooner, the better.
A few moments of comfortable silence between them later, she raised her head enough so that she could peer into his soft blue eyes.
"Christian? I'm sorry for everything I've put you through."
He met her gaze but didn't speak.
"I'm not going to do it anymore. I love you, and you alone," she assured him.
His face seemed to brighten with hope. Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he posed the question on his mind.
"Are you saying you're going to come back to me?"
She nodded slowly, then with a bit more vigor.
"I am. And I'm never going to leave you again," she promised. "I... I'm going to tell Chris all... That it's over between us." She shook her head sadly. "I can't keep living a lie." She glanced around the room, suddenly noticing the time as it glinted off the tiny portable digital clock Christian brought on the road with him. "My goodness, it's getting late," she said. "I should-" She started to get up, but the blond man held her back against him.
"Shh... Trish," he whispered, "stay with me awhile longer." He hugged her against him, and he pressed another kiss to her brow. "I just want to hold you for awhile."
She closed her eyes at the sweetness of his voice. No one else had ever been close to making her feel the way he did. There was just something about him, always had been. She settled back, holding tightly to him and just listened to his heartbeat. She wished they could just stay like that forever.
As they entered the arena, fully intent on going to the ring for a small training session, Chris eyed her.
"You're so quiet this morning," he remarked. "That's not like you."
Trish shot her head up sharply to him. There was no use in prolonging it any longer. Chris Jericho was a good guy. He just didn't happen to be the one with whom she was truly in love. He deserved the truth, and sooner rather than later. The way she saw it, the sooner she told him, the sooner it would be that he would have the chance to find that one special woman who would love him like he deserved, who could be 'the one' for him.
They entered the ringside area, and he nodded at her to go into the squared circle. He had another match against Kane later that night, and she was hoping to get back into number one contendership for the Women's title. As Victoria had so recently won the gold from Molly Holly, she saw absolutely no reason why the current champion wouldn't agree to give her a shot.
The little blonde bent over at the waist, stretching out a bit as she watched Chris enter the ring. Somehow, she had the feeling they wouldn't get any training done once she started talking.
"Chris? I think we really need to talk..."