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The young woman sighed sadly as she hunched over the small table slightly, stirring her martini with a tiny straw.

She was sitting alone in a busy, noisy club after having participated in the first-ever ladder match for the WWE Women's title - against Trish Stratus.  Even though she'd won, she still just wasn't feeling...happy.

The woman cursed herself for feeling so blue.  After her breakup three months earlier from her boyfriend, Shane Helms, she'd promised herself she wouldn't be bitter.

She and Shane had been together for about a year and a half, and at first, when he'd admitted having feelings for her, she'd been reluctant - she really hadn't wanted to risk the great friendship they'd had for the past seven years.  But she'd realized she'd like him a bit more than as a friend, and she'd relented, opting to go for it - after all, you only live once, right?

Things had been pretty good between them.  However, when she had later expressed a desire for something more serious, Shane had gotten cold feet.  He'd been flustered and had explained that he "wasn't ready for that kind of commitment."

The young woman had been crushed.  Before they'd become a couple, she'd known that Shane had a habit of dating women for usually a short period of time before ending it with them and moving onto the next girl.  He'd done that with Lisa Moretti - Ivory in the ring - and had broken it off with her during Christmas, of all times - but she'd honestly believed that with her, because of their long-standing friendship, things would be different.

And it actually had been - she had broken up with him.  Shane had been disappointed and surprised, but they'd agreed on remaining friends despite their former relationship.  There had been no hard feelings between them.

She sighed and ran a hand through her long hair.  A couple of her friends had gone to a different club in the area, and had wanted her to go with them, but she'd turned down their offers, telling them she'd rather stay at the hotel and relax.  After the grueling match she'd had, she had expected to take a nice hot bath and then hit the sheets.  And she had tried to do exactly that, but she'd quickly grown restless, eventually deciding she needed a drink and loud music to unwind.

As the woman straightened up in her seat and took a sip of her drink, her eyes met those of a man halfway across the club.  She knew him.  He was staring at her, and when their eyes met, he smiled and rose his beer glass in her direction as if in a toast.  She did the same for him.

She was surprised to see him there, having assumed he would have gone with the rest of their friends to the other, more happening place.  The other thing that had her surprised was that he was alone, but she was most surprised of all when the tall, handsome man rose from his small table and made his way over to her.

"Hey," he said as he stood over the woman's table.  "Mind a little company?"

"No, not at all."

He sat down across from her, placing his drink down before him.

"So, what are you doing here all by yourself?" he asked.

"Oh, I was just starting to get cabin fever, that's all," she replied.  "I just needed to get out for awhile.  I could ask you the same thing..."  She gazed into his intense eyes expectantly, but before he could answer, she spoke again.  "...I would think Dawn Marie would never let you out of her sight."

The young man chuckled softly at her words.  "Well," he began, "the truth is, Dawn Marie and I are no longer together."

"Oh?"  She raised an eyebrow in surprise, leaning forward with interest.  "Why?  What happened?"

The man smiled sardonically.  He and the brunette had been dating for only about a month or so, but it had been a bit of a disappointment regardless when she'd ended it a couple of weeks earlier.

"Actually, she realized she'd never gotten over Lance...she decided she needed to talk to him.  And in the end, they decided to give it another go..."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that," she said sympathetically.  She knew Dawn Marie and Lance Storm had been crazy about each other.  The pair had dated for the better part of three years, and they'd broken up when Storm had left ECW for WCW back in 2000.  Although they'd still been in love, the breakup had been a mutual thing.

The woman bit her lip gently, a feeling of nearly overwhelming envy, sorrow coming along with it, rushing through her as she thought about how those two had found true love.  The truth was, she longed for the same for herself.

The man rose his eyes to hers, unaware that the thoughts running through his mind were identical to hers.  Although he'd liked Dawn Marie, he'd never fallen in love with her.  However, the woman sitting across from him was a different story - he'd always pretty much had a crush on her.  She was beautiful, intelligent and witty.  She was the best damned female wrestler he'd ever known.  Finally, she was a good friend.

A friend... That was the only reason he had never asked her out.  Being such good friends with her, the young man knew how she felt about dating a friend.  He'd been a bit crushed when she'd started seeing Shane Helms and had been a little angry with himself for having missed his chance.  However, the other man had a few years more of friendship with her, which he knew was a big reason she'd agreed to date him.

The young man sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he glanced around the club.  Why was it that when you were alone and feeling lonely, it seemed as though there were nothing but couples in love around you?  He turned back to the woman, expecting her eyes to be downcast, staring at her drink, but he was surprised to note she was gazing directly at him.

He smiled at her.  "Would you like to dance?"

She smiled as well, and the man thought her smile brightened the entire club.  "Sure...I'd like that."

They seemed to be playing exclusively Madonna songs in the place, but the young woman wasn't about to complain about that, as she was a fan.  She followed her friend to the dance floor, and they began to dance.  Since the song that was currently playing was a bit on the slow, ballady side, he put his arms around her waist and held her close.  She rose her arms so that they encircled his neck, and she gazed up into his eyes silently, a tiny smile playing at her lips.

Everybody's talking 'bout
Wanting that and needing this
I'd just like to know
If you'd want to know
A different kind of kiss...

So won't you
Go down
Where it's warm inside
Go down
Where I cannot hide
Go down
Where all life begins
Go down
That's where my love is...

The young woman bit her lip, unable to keep the slow blush from staining her cheeks at the very obvious meaning behind the lyrics to the song.  Fortunately, she didn't think her companion noticed, as it was quite dim throughout the club.

They danced to a few more songs, all of which were by Madonna, some of which were of faster tempo like "Ray of Light," others slow and romantic ballads like "Love Don't Live Here Anymore."  She began to feel quite depressed during the latter, as it was too painful a reminder of her breakup with Shane.

The man noticed her wince.  He stopped dancing and put an arm around her slim shoulders.  "Another drink?"

"Yeah, I think I need one," she said sadly.

They made their way over to the bar, and he slid his arm from around her shoulders, to her surprise slipping his hand into hers.  She found the contact extremely intimate, and her heart pounded at the pleasant sensation.  She liked the way her hand felt in his much larger one - warm, safe...secure.

He ordered another beer, and another martini for her.  They stood near the bar while they drank and talked a little, and she felt somewhat better as she gazed up into his eyes.  He was such a good listener, and she'd always felt so comfortable with him.

She surprised the hell out of not only him but also herself when, several minutes later, she reached out to grab a handful of his shirt, pulling him toward her.  When he was close enough, she reached up and twined her hand into his hair, pulling his head down to hers and kissed him long and passionately.  It wasn't merely an impulse, as she'd always been more than a little attracted to him - although she'd never garnered the courage to do that before.

Instead of pulling away like she'd feared he would, the young man kissed her back hungrily, passionately.  He set his beer glass down on the bar to pull her more tightly to him, and she gasped in his mouth as he spiraled his tongue around hers.

Reluctantly, she pulled back so she could gaze up into his face.  With a soft smile taking form on her lovely face, she issued a request.

"Why don't we get out of here?"

His handsome face was suddenly dominated by a huge grin as he gazed intensely into her eyes.  "I think that is a great idea..."