Book Two/Chapter One __________________
“Ooohhh, I know! I bet your found yourself a woman, didn’t you? Nice to know that we mean so much to you.” Christian teased before Chris had a chance to say anything.
“Actually, yes I did.” Chris replied matter of factually as he found his seat and sat down in it with an exhausted groan.
“Dude! I want details!” Edge joked, punching Chris’ shoulder as he and Christian moved past him. Chris sighed with relief as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, thankful that Edge and Christian were sitting no where near him. Although they were his good friends, they could be a little overwhelming at times. Now he just hoped that who ever was sitting next to him was a quiet person.
Chris opened his eyes again several minutes later when he heard some one taking the seat next to his. He smiled when he saw Kane’s wife Kristin in the seat next to him.
“Hey Chris.” Kristin warmly greeted him as she got settled into her seat. “We missed you last night.” She commented as she took in his exhausted appearance.
“Well, I got a little side tracked.” He replied, not going into any detail. “Where’s Kane?”
“Oh well…” Kristin began and then trailed off as a laugh escaped her. After a few seconds she was able to continue again. “He thought that Brady needed to meet the pilot before we take off. I think he just wanted to show him off. He’s always doing that.” Kristin laughed again as she thought of her husband and son. Two peas in a pod, those two were.
“Sounds exactly like Kane.” Chris commented, laughing along with Kristin. He genuinely liked Kane and his wife. Kane was a great father…And a very proud father too.
“Speaking of the devil.” Kristin said as she saw Kane walking down the aisle, carrying their son on his broad shoulders. Everyone made a huge fuss over Brady. The little boy giggled happily, loving that he was the center of attention.”
“Hey Chris.” Kane said as he lifted his son from his shoulders and handed him to Kristin before settling his large frame into the aisle seat beside his wife.
Chris nodded his acknowledgment to Kane and then turned his head and stared out the small window as the airplane began to taxi down the runway. He thought only of Lissa, wondering if he would ever see her again.
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Book Two/Chapter Two __________________
“It’s good to see you.” Judy said, hugging Lissa tight when she arrived at the hospital the day of her release. “I’m so glad that you’re going to be okay…” She trailed off, not wanting to put voice to the thoughts that had gone through her mind when she first received the news concerning her sister.
“What happened anyway?” Judy asked uncertainly, not sure if Lissa would want to talk about it or not.
Lissa opened her mouth to comment, but shut it back up when the nurse entered the room with the paper work and instructions for her release. Judy gave Lissa a look that let her know that they would be discussing the subject later. Lissa nodded slightly, knowing that Judy wouldn’t let her off the hook with this one. And to be honest, Lissa wanted to talk about it. Other than the police she had not spoken to anyone about the events that had taken place that night.
Several hours later after they had left the hospital, gotten back to Lissa’s house, and she had taken a good long nap, she sat in the living room flipping through the channels on the TV while Judy fixed dinner in the kitchen.
Lissa sat up straighter in her chair when she came across one of the WWF programs on a cable station. She kept it there, hoping to catch just a glimpse of Chris. Even in the week that had passed since he had found her that night in the parking lot, she still had not been able to put him out of her mind, even though the probability of her ever seeing him again was zero to none.
“When did you become a wrestling fan?” Judy questioned curiously as she walked into the room with a tray full of food for Lissa.
“Good grief, Judy!” You know that I’m not going to be able to even make a dent in this.” Lissa exclaimed, her eyes wide as she took in the small feast that her sister had sat down in front of her.
Judy just smiled at Lissa. She always cooked more than enough, it was an old habit that she had yet to break. “So…When did you start watching wrestling?” Judy asked again, still smiling at Lissa, who had her eyes glued on the TV. She didn’t want to miss one second of Chris should her happen to be on.
“It that a new bad habit that you picked up in the hospital?” Judy teased in good-natured humor when she failed to get any kind of answer from Lissa.
“No…” Lissa trailed off, a soft smile touching her lips as she thought about Chris again.
“Well, what then?” Judy asked as she sat down with an exasperated sigh, wondering at Lissa’s odd behavior.
“Well, the guy that found me that night in the parking lot is a wrestler and I…” She stopped when Chris suddenly appeared on the TV screen in front of her.
Judy watched her for a moment, seeing how intently Lissa was staring at the TV. She hadn’t even blinked once.
“I take it that’s him.” Judy commented as she looked from Lissa, to the good-looking man on the TV, and then back at Lissa again.
“Yeah.” Was all Lissa said as she continued to stare at the TV with a far away look in her eyes.
A few minutes later when the match was over and Chris was gone from her TV screen, Lissa looked over a Judy, blushing several shades of red.
“I’m sorry…its just that…he’s so…” Lissa stuttered as she looked away from her sisters knowing gaze.
Judy sighed as she got up and sat down beside Lissa on the couch. “Are you in love with him?” She asked, although she already knew the answer.
Lissa carefully got to her feet and walked over to the window, staring out for several minutes before she answered. “I know it seems crazy. I don’t even know him. All I know is that his name is Chris and that he’s a wrestler, but in the short time that I spent with him, he is one of the kindest, gentlest persons that I have ever met. Like I said its crazy…Hell, I’ll probably never even see him again and I really doubt he even remembers me.”
Lissa walked back over to the couch and sat down again. “I shouldn’t get my hopes up, should I?”
As much as it pained her to do so, Judy knew that she had to be honest with her sister. She looked into Lissa’s eyes for a moment and then shook her head ‘no’.
“We didn’t get a chance to talk about it earlier.” Judy began, changing the subject after the silence that had fallen over them. “I want to know what happened that night.”
“It was Scott.” Lissa stated flatly.
“Scott? As in your ex-husband, Scott?” Judy questioned, surprised by Lissa’s revelation.
“The one and only… Well, actually I’m not exactly sure that it was him, He had a mask on, but who else could it have been? Scott has been stalking me for months now.”
“Stalking you?” Judy fairly yelled. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to worry. You already worry too much about me. Besides this in the first time that he’s ever hurt me. Usually he just follows me when I go somewhere. Sometimes I see him outside my windows. The cops can’t do anything unless he is caught in the act. By time they get here when I call he is long gone. I just put a restraining order on him so I suspect that is why he attacked me.” Lissa said calmly as if it was an every day occurrence…Then again, that was pretty much what it was.
“But now that he attacked you, the police arrested him, right?” Judy questioned, still unable to believe all that Lissa had just told her. She really had no idea that all of this was going on with her sister.
“Well, the police questioned him, but nothing was able to be proved.” Lissa answered. “It was late at night, the parking lot was deserted, and there were no witnesses. All they have to go on is what I’ve told them.”
Judy and Lissa talked a little while longer until Lissa became sleepy again after the two pain pills that she had taken after eating dinner. She went to sleep that night thinking of Chris, knowing that she should just forget about him. But at the same time, she also knew that there was no way that she could.
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Book Two/Chapter Three __________________
It had been two months since the attack. Judy had gone back home long ago, and Lissa had not seen or heard from Scott in the time that had passed. She still watched wrestling every Monday and Thursday night, completely captivated every time Chris graced her TV screen with his presence. But…she was also beginning to realize that it was time to get on with her life. Even though she thought of him often…more than often to be more precise, Lissa knew that Chris was way out her league….he was a huge star in the wrestling business. What would he want to do with someone like her? She had recently begun dating a man that she had met while she was in the hospital still. Although Adam seemed like a nice enough of a guy, Lissa really felt no attraction to him…not like the instantaneous attraction that she felt the second that she first laid her eyes on Chris.
Lissa slightly shook her head to clear her thoughts as she picked up her cup to take a sip of her coffee. Then she set her cup and smiled at her friend. “Well, I see my doctor tomorrow and hopefully I’ll get clearance to return to work. I feel great and I am so ready to get back. I’m about going insane lately with all this extra time on my hands.”
“Good. We’ve been missing you down there.” When Dville had begun working at Oxford Securities a year ago, she and Lissa quickly became good friends. They, along with the rest of the Oxford staff, were usually hired by the Xcel Energy Center to work sporting events, concerts, auto shows, ice skating contests, and just recently…wrestling. Just before the attack, Lissa had been promoted to General Manager in charge of staff. The hours were often long, but the pay was good and Lissa liked most of the people that she worked with.
“I’ve been missing too. Its weird knowing that there is something going on at the arena, but I don’t have to work. After working for almost eight years, I’m so used to being there for everything.” Lissa commented as the waitress approached and set their food down in front of them.
“Well…” Dville began, a huge smile breaking out on her face. “If you do get to come back, it’ll be just in time for the big GodSmack concert at the end of the month. And then in late August, there is a huge pay-per-view event coming up for the World Wrestling Federation. SummerSlam.” It was well known around the office that Dville was a huge wrestling fan. She’d been trying to get Lissa interested in it for months with no luck. Little did Dville know that Lissa now watched it religiously every week.
“Oh….WWF, huh?” Lissa said calmly, although on the inside she was shaking with anticipation. Even if she didn’t talk to him, Lissa was nervously excited to just see Chris again.
“Aw, come on, Lissa! Can’t you get a little bit more excited?” Dville pouted with good-natured humor. She had no idea just how excited to Lissa really was.
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Book Two/Chapter Four __________________
“Yeah, I’ve glanced at it a time or two.” Chris replied nonchalantly as he busied himself rummaging for something in his bag. In reality he had looked at the upcoming schedule several times, still unable to believe that they were returning to Saint Paul so soon.
Since finding it out, he had wracked his brain, trying desperately to think of a way to find Lissa. But he always came out empty handed. He knew nothing about her except that her name was Lissa. And for all he knew, that could easily be a nickname…short for Alissa, or Melissa perhaps. He also knew that she had been working at the arena the night that he’d found her, but he had no idea if she was still working there. And although he’d tried, no one that he talked to at the arena was willing to give him that kind of information. With nothing to go on, Chris’ only hope was that Lissa still worked at that arena and that by some stroke of luck he would see her when they were there for SummerSlam.
“Man, what is with you? It’s like you’re in the twilight zone lately or something.” Edge complained about his friend’s strange behavior the last few months. Chris’ head snapped up and he stared at Edge in surprise. He had been so deep in thought that he’d completely forgotten that Edge and Christian were there.
Christian grinned at Chris as he wagged his fingers at him and began humming the “Twilight Zone” music.
“Yeah, you’ve been so totally…” Christian stopped short as he caught a glare from Chris.
“I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately.” Chris offered the first excuse that came to mind.
“Sheeyah, like that’s any excuse. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you have a totally bad case of puppy love.” Edge teased and then caught a glare of his own from Chris.
“Dude! That reeks of coolosity!” Christian exclaimed, a grin a mile wide on his face as he slapped Chris on the back. Chris had his mouth open, ready to let him have it when Christian beat him to it.
“Hey! I’ll let you borrow my sunglasses.” Christian said as he took them off of his face and handed them to Chris. “These will so help you get that woman. Look at what they’ve done for Edge and I.”
Chris just rolled his eyes, laughing as he gave Christian back his glasses and headed out the door.
____________________
Book Two/Chapter Five __________________
He turned around when he heard his name being called. He smiled when he saw Kristin and Undertaker’s wife, Cath coming towards him. Chris really didn’t know Cath very well. She had only begun traveling with Taker a few months ago when she had been brought in to begin working a new angle with him. Going by the name Rogue Tiger, she had originally started as his ring assistant, but just recently she had also began training to wrestle. The women’s division was quickly dying and with her natural ability, Cath was soon up in the ranks along side Chyna and Lita. Chris had watched her practicing on a couple of occasions and he was very impressed by her talent.
“A bunch of us are going out later. I think that you should join us.” Kristin stated when she and Cath had reached him. Both Cath and Kristin diverted their eyes from his, trying to hide the ulterior motive behind their invitation.
In the year or so that Kristin, Kane, and Undertaker had known Chris, they had never seen him with a woman or ever heard him mention a wife or girlfriend. They all knew how hard it was to keep a relationship while on the road, but it wasn’t impossible by any means. And just lately, they all thought that Chris seemed more lonely than ever before, so it was decided that they would give their friend a little hand in getting things going for him again.
Being that they were in Kane’s hometown that night, he and Taker decided that they were going to set Chris up with Kane’s sister, who had not dated in ages herself. Kristin and Cath agreed with the plan and set out to get Chris to come along with them later.
“I’m really pretty tired. I think I’ll just head back to the hotel.” It wasn’t really an excuse, or a lie. He actually was quite tired. He’d been in another excruciating match that night with Edge, Christian, the Hardy Boys, and one of the Dudley Boys.
“Aw, come on…Just for a little while?” Cath tried to persuade him into coming along. Kane and Taker…not to mention Kane’s sister, would be disappointed if they couldn’t talk Chris into it.
“It’ll be fun! Everyone is going to be there.” Kristin added when she saw him cave in just the slightest.
Chris thought about it for a few moments before he gave in and decided to go with them. He had to admit that it would be good to get out. Being on the road was nothing less than exhausting for the most part and it wasn’t very often that they all got together to go out.
“Okay.” Chris said, finally relenting. “But only for a little while. I have an early flight in the morning and me, hangovers and airplane rides don’t get along.”
“Perfect!” Kristin exclaimed a little too excitedly. She quickly had to make up a justification to counter the confused look that Chris gave her.
“It’s just that Kane and Taker were really looking forward to getting together. They would have been disappointed if you had decided not to come along. And you know how their mood gets when they don’t get their way.” She explained, hoping that Chris would buy it.
Chris still gave her a funny look for a moment and then smiled. “So, where are we going?”
“Um…Well, why don’t you meet us back at the hotel in a half-hour and we’ll go from there. Cath suggested, knowing full well that none of them, with the exception of Kane’s sister, had any intention of being there.
“Okay.” Chris agreed. He was really beginning to look forward to spending some time with his friends. “I’ll see you guys there then.”
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Book Two/Chapter Six __________________
He turned around to find a pretty, young woman standing before him. He was silent as he studied her for a moment, trying to figure how who she was. She did look slightly familiar, but his mind drew a blank. He concluded that she was probably a fan just wanting to say hello.
“Uh…I know that this probably seems kind of awkward for you.” She began, not quite knowing what to say. “But I was told that I might find you here. I’m Kane’s sister, McKayla.” She continued as she held her hand out to him.
Chris took her hand briefly into his. Kane’s sister….no wonder she seemed familiar to him. She did look an awful lot like Kane. Understanding immediately dawned on Chris as to why his friends weren’t here, but she was. They’d been set up.
“I take it that you didn’t have any idea that you would be meeting me here tonight.” McKayla commented when Chris didn’t say anything. He just stood there looking at her with a dumbfounded expression on his handsome.
“Uh…” Chris stuttered as he shook his head slightly, trying to get his thoughts organized. “No, Cath and Kristin said to meet all of them here after the show so we could all get together.” He finally said, not really knowing if he was making any sense at all.
McKayla sighed as she looked down at the floor before raising her eyes to his. “That’s just like Kane…He’s always doing stuff like this to me. Both he and Taker told me that they had talked to you earlier and that you completely agreed to meet me tonight. I’m so sorry about this. If I had known that you weren’t filled in on this, I would have agreed with Kane in the first place. Ooohh, when I get my hands on him…” McKayla trailed off, her eyes lit with an anger that had Chris feeling sorry for the big man.
Chris smiled easily at her. “Look, there’s no sense in letting the night go to waste.”
McKayla’s eyes brightened as a smile curved her lips when she heard his words. “Great! Let’s go!” She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door.
Chris stopped her, not wanting her to read too much into his agreement to spend the night with her. “Okay. But before we go, there is something that I need to say.”
Chris paused for a moment, not quite sure how to go about saying. “Uh..well…” He stuttered again, searching for the right words. Finally he decided that straight out would be the best way.
“Any other time I would probably hope that us meeting like this would lead so something more. But right now, my heart belongs to another.” He paused for a moment as a nervous laugh escaped him. “Even though she doesn’t know how I feel about her. I only met her once for a short time, but even in that small period of time, I know that she is the one for me.”
McKayla smiled at his nervous confession, knowing all to well how hard it was for him to admit that. “No offense, but I’m glad to hear you say that. Although you seem like a great guy, I only agreed to go out with you to get Kane off my back. He’s sometimes too much of a big brother. Actually I have my eye on someone else also. Kane would flip though if he knew.” She laughed as she thought of how Kane would react. Then again, did she really care? Not really.
“Maybe you can help me. And if there is any thing that I can do to help you with the woman of your dreams, just say the word.” McKayla finished and waited anxiously for Chris’ reply. She so hoped that he would agree to help her.
“Some one I know?” He asked curiously, wondering who it might be.
“Yeah.” She answered quietly as a lovely shade of pink colored her cheeks. “Edge.”
“Edge?!” Chris exclaimed in disbelief. Now he knew why she had said that Kane would flip if he found out. Chris fell quiet as he studied her for a few moments. He had to admit that she and Edge would make a good-looking couple. If they could get along, only time would tell that.
“Okay…sure I’ll help you. I happen to know where he is right now.” He watched a smile a mile wide spread across McKayla’s face as her eyes began to dance with excitement.
“What can I do to help you?” She asked, ready to get things going
“Well, I doubt that you can help me. It’s sort of complicated. I’ll explain it to you on the way to Jams. That’s where Edge is.”
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Book Two/Chapter Seven __________________
“Wow,” McKayla breathed softly as she looked over at Chris. She was able to understand some of what he was going through, being in a similar situation herself with Edge. “That is tough. I hope it works out in the end and you’re able to meet up with her.
A short time later, they arrived at Jams. A club that they frequented when ever they were in the area. Kane and introduced the place to them some time ago and since then, they’d all usually made there way there after the shows when they were in the area.
Chris’ blue eyes scanned the area in an effort to locate Edge. His eyes touched first on Cath, Taker, Kane, and Kristin. The four of them stared at McKayla and himself in anticipation.
McKayla moaned in frustration at the look on her brother’s face. Would he ever give up? Ever since she had begun dating, he’d always felt the need to set her up with guys that he knew either from their hometown or his buddies on the road. For the most part, the dates were decent enough. Especially Chris. But none of them were ever exactly what she was looking for. She knew well whom it was that she wanted. And that was Edge. Unfortunately for her, Kane would have more than a little to say about her choice in men. Unfortunately for Kane, McKayla wasn’t going to let her brother control her love life any more.
“So, I take it that you and Chris hit it off.” A deep, bass like voice broke through her thoughts.
“I’ll be right back.” Chris said, giving McKayla a ‘don’t worry’ look before he turned and disappeared into the mass of his fellow WWF wrestlers, and other employees of the company. From the announcers to the ring crew, they were all there.
The owners of the club were always very generous about closing the doors to the general public when the WWF was in town. Not that any of them thought they were any better than the public that this place needed to close down especially for them, but it was nice to have a place to go and hang out with out having to worry about the fans. It was some thing that they all were very appreciative of.
McKayla silently cursed Chris as she watched him walked away, leaving her stranded with Kane. Her brother was as stubborn as the day was long and he would never listen to her point of view where Edge was concerned. In his mind, he was the only one who knew what was right for his baby sister. McKayla appreciated that he cared enough to look out for her, but there came a time when a line needed to be drawn.
A small crowd had gathered around Edge and Christian as they began to strut their stuff on the dance floor. When McKayla saw Chris approaching Edge, she quickly forgave him for leaving her. Turning fully away from Kane, her eyes settled on Edge. She heard Kane huff in protest behind her as he followed her gaze to see who had taken her attention so completely.
McKayla couldn’t help but giggle as she watched Edge attempt to do the ‘Macarena’. It was ridiculously funny. Her smile quickly faded though, turning into nervous excitement when she saw Chris interrupt Edge to talk to him. A red-hot blush crept into her cheeks when Edge looked over at her. He smiled approvingly, causing McKayla to look away as her face burned hotter.
When McKayla looked back again, her heart skipped a beat and then raced off when she saw Edge coming in her direction. She quickly spun around and looked up at Kane in the eye, giving him a warning look to stay out of it. Kane simply returned her look, letting her know that they would be discussing this.
McKayla sighed in exasperation as she tugged on Kane’s shirt, bringing him down to her five foot four inch level. “Stay out of it Kane!” When she saw him ready to comment, she held up her hand to silence him.
“You know I didn’t exactly like Kristin when you first started dating her. But seeing how happy she made you, I gave her a chance. You could at least do the same for me. I know you think that you need to protect me since Mom and Dad died, but I’ve grown up since then, Kane. I am quite capable of making my own decisions. And this isn’t one that I’m going to back down from whether you like it or not!”
Kane watched as McKayla spun around and walked over to where Edge was waiting for her. He contemplated her words as he stood again to his full height. He had no idea that McKayla hadn’t liked Kristin at the beginning. No one would have ever guessed it now. Kristin and McKayla were as close as sisters. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, McKayla was right. Edge did deserve a chance at least.