______________________________________________________
Stacy couldn't help grinning as she looked into Edge's face. She had never had what anyone could ever call a good poker face, so she could hardly contain herself.
"I want to talk to you," she said pointedly, causing the tall blond man to arch a brow in curiosity.
"Sure, Stacy," he replied, wondering what this was all about. The young woman was grinning ear-to-ear, not unlike a Cheshire cat, so he wondered if she might have a crush on him or something. Then again, he knew she'd started dating Randy Orton a couple of weeks back.
"Um..." The leggy blonde turned to face Benoit and Rey, a sheepish expression now taking form on her face. "Sorry, guys, but..."
"Don't sweat it, Stacy," the Crippler said. "We understand that it's private. See you later, Edge." With that, Chris and Mysterio left them alone.
"Okay," the Canadian said, "you've got me alone - what's up?"
The smile returning to her face, the tall blonde woman spoke.
"You know Lita, right?"
"Let's see - isn't she the gorgeous redhead with the cool tattoo on her shoulder? Just returned from neck surgery a couple of months back?" Edge quipped. "Tough as nails, fiery, doesn't take crap from anyone? Err... yeah, I believe I'm vaguely familiar with her."
Stacy giggled. It was so obvious Edge had a thing for the redheaded diva.
"Yeah... anyway, I'm sure you know about all the crap she's been putting up with lately - first with Matt, and then-"
"And then with my asshole brother?" Edge cut in, his jaw setting firmly. He hated that Christian had been such an insensitive jerk toward Lita, especially at a time when she needed someone's strong shoulder to lean and cry on the most. Well, he *had* taught his little brother what he hoped to be a valuable lesson - one, you don't treat a woman like that, and two, you definitely don't treat *Lita* like that.
"Right..." the leggy diva replied, the smile vanished from her pretty face. "Needless to say, she's feeling pretty bummed out about all her problems with men lately." She bit her lip, wondering exactly how to proceed. Then, "You're a really good guy, Edge, and I was wondering... Do you... *like* her?"
Edge blinked at the question. Hell *yeah*, he liked the redhead. They were friends and had been ever since the whole WCW/ECW Alliance thing. In his eyes, Lita was adorable, special and amazing. The truth was, even when he'd been friends with the older Hardy Boy, he could never understand what the redhead had ever seen in him. Matt had tended to sort of talk down to her, and Edge never forgot what the dark-haired man had said about Lita in his autobiography: 'A pretty girl I have sex with'??! Plus the fact that Matt had often joked that he liked blondes, but he was keeping Lita around until he found one that was interested. Now, the Canadian reliazed the statement had never been a joke at *all*, seeing as the Hardy Boy was now with Torrie Wilson.
"Hello?" Stacy was saying, the leggy blonde diva waving a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Edge!"
He came back from his reverie.
"Oh... Sorry."
"Am I to take the answer as being 'no?'" the blonde asked, a small pout coming to her face.
Edge nearly flinched.
"No! I mean, yes... I mean *no*! No to your last question, *hell* yes to the one before..."
Stacy grinned once again.
"That's awesome!" she exclaimed. "Because I happen to know *she* likes *you*, too."
"What? She does? I mean, we're friends, so of *course* she does," the blond man sputtered. "But... you mean...?"
A laugh emitted from the diva. God, Lita and Edge were both so cute - and so obviously into one another. The man before her was actually tongue-tied over this! The situation couldn't be more adorable - well, unless the two went out and lived happily ever after and all that...
"Look, Edge... Like I said, she's really down on men right now, but I'm *trying* to convince her to ask you out." Edge's eyes widened in surprise, but Stacy continued. "Just... just make her realize that not *every* guy is the scum of the earth - will you?"
The tall blond man nearly smirked at her words. As far as he was concerned, Matt Hardy and Christian certainly fell into the category of 'scum of the earth.'
"Wow..." he breathed after a beat and it all sank in. "You know what, Stacy?"
The leggy blonde raised her eyebrows expectantly.
"I think I can manage that..."