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Victoria was thoughtfully silent during the drive to the arena, a feeling of warmth rushing through her as she turned to gaze at Chris behind the wheel. He'd been so sweet to her the previous night, and again this morning. And she definitely enjoyed waking up in his arms, her head on his chest. It had brought her so much peace.
The blond man suddenly pulled the rental car into the parking lot, as they were finally at their destination. He pulled the vehicle into a spot, put it in park and neutral, then undid his seatbelt. He rushed over to the passenger's side just as the Women's champion unlocked the door, opening it and reaching a hand down to her. He wanted to be nothing but chivalrous to the diva.
The raven-haired woman smiled softly as she met his clear blue eyes. Offering him her right hand, she allowed him to help her out of the car. A rush of warmth swirled through her, incredible sensations shooting throughout her body at the physical contact.
Chris smiled at her, giving the back of her dainty hand a sweet kiss before he trotted off to the trunk. He opened it and reached in for both their bags. Victoria stood just behind him to his right, her gaze fixed on his back and long blond hair as he worked. As she continued watching him, for some reason, she felt eyes on them.
Jericho hefted Victoria's bag up and over his shoulder and lifted up his own. He reached his free hand to her, taking gentle grasp of her much smaller one. It was only as they'd began making their way across the parking lot and to the arena's back entrance that the blond man suddenly took notice of something.
His jaw clenched so tightly, it was uncomfortable, his blood pressure increasing somewhat as he caught sight of them - Trish Stratus and Christian, the pair locked in a passionate embrace and kiss. He and Victoria stopped for a second as he openly stared, noting how Christian turned the little blonde around slightly, pressing her back up against their rental car as he deepened the kiss.
Victoria's breath caught in her throat as she detected the very obvious change in Chris' demeanor, and in his body. His grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly, and she winced - not because it hurt her hand, but because she could tell the very obvious effect Christian and Trish were having on him. Why couldn't he just let it go and forget? After all, he had *her* now. She felt a twinge of pain in her heart.
"Chris?"
The raven-haired woman's voice penetrated his bitter thoughts, and he turned his head to meet her dark eyes.
"Can we go inside?" she murmured. She tried her best not to show him how badly his reaction was affecting her. She only hoped she wasn't completely transparent.
"Yeah... Sure, Vic," he agreed with a nod. "Sure we can. Come on." He released her hand, much to her dismay, then started walking briskly toward the entrance.
Victoria winced as she did her best to keep up with him.
*
She entered the divas' locker room, exhaling a sigh as she glanced over her shoulder to watch Jericho leave.
Her heart sank as she walked into the room, her gaze instantly going to another woman present. Lita slowly paced the length of the area as she spoke on her cell phone, her head down, one hand pushing back a lock of her long red hair behind her ear.
"I know, baby," the redhead said softly into the phone. "I miss you, too... But you'll be back in less than a week, and then we'll see each other all the time." A smile spread across her face as she raised her gaze, suddenly catching sight of Victoria. She raised a hand toward the raven-haired woman, gesturing with a finger as she could see her friend obviously needed to talk. "I know, Edge." Lita laughed softly, a small blush tickling at her cheeks at her boyfriend's words. "Oh, I'm looking forward to that, too - you *know* I am."
Victoria sat down, guilt consuming her as she kept her eyes on the other diva. She couldn't help feeling so envious of the redhead. After all, she and Edge were absolutely crazy about each other, and Lita knew exactly where she stood with the tall blond man. She just wished she could feel secure about her newfound relationship with Chris.
"I love you, too," Lita was saying, and by now she was beaming. The bright smile remained on her face as she flipped her cell phone to a close and turned to face the Women's champion. "I can't *wait* until next week's RAW," she said.
The raven-haired diva forced a smile she didn't feel for her friend's benefit. She knew Edge would be returning after his more than a year long absence due to his broken neck and subsequent surgery. In fact, all the superstars would be on RAW due to the draft lottery Mr. McMahon had announced the previous night. She only hoped she and Chris would not be separated, one of them sent to SmackDown. She didn't know what she might do if that happened.
"What's the matter, Vicki?" The redhead realized the dark-haired woman looked a bit upset.
Victoria sighed.
"Lita... I really need to talk to you," she answered. "It's about me and... Chris," she said softly.
The redhead arched a brow at those words.
"Chris? Benoit or Jericho?" She couldn't recall the other diva having had talked much about either the new World Heavyweight champion or Y2J.
"Jericho... Something... Well, something happened between us last night, and I'm worried."
The redheaded woman glanced around the locker room, her gaze falling on the two other divas present - Stacy Keibler
and Lilian Garcia. Neither seemed to be listening to them. She pulled the darker woman closer to the corner to talk
more discreetly, and Victoria took a deep breath as she began to explain.