Chapter 7 Kari called Gilbert to let him know that she had made it home safely.  They talked for a few minutes and she promised to come back and visit again soon.  Just as she hung up the phone, it rang.  It was Matt.   "Hey girl!"   "Miss me already?"   "Yeah.  Listen, we’re doing a show in Los Angeles in a couple of weeks.  We    want you to come."   "We?"   "Yeah, we."   "Okay.  Sounds like fun.  Can I bring along a couple of friends?  My friend    Jason just loves wrestling."   "Sure.  I’d love to meet your friends."   "Great.  Sounds like a plan.  And I insist that you guys stay at my house."   "Deal.  Is it okay if we bring a friend, too?  Amy usually stays with us     wherever we're at."   "That would be great."   "Okay.  I’ll call ya next week and give you all of the details."   "Okay.  I’ll talk to you then."   "Bye."   "Bye." Those couple of weeks flew by.  Jason couldn’t wait to go to the show.  Jason, Kari and Shea met the boys at the arena a couple of hours before the show.  Matt hugged Kari as the trio entered the dressing room.  She introduced him to her friends.  "It’s nice to  finally meet you.  I’ve heard a lot about you.", Shea said staring at Matt.  "All good, I hope.", he said glancing at Kari.  "Now, do you really think that I would say something bad?", Kari asked innocently.  They all laughed.  "Where’s the squirt?…I mean Jeff.  I gotta quit doing that.", she said.  "He went down the hall.  He’ll be right back.", Matt answered still not taking his eyes off of  Shea.  "She’s single.", Kari whispered to Matt as she poked him in the ribs.  He shot her a look as his face turned red.  Everyone got quiet when Jeff walked through the door.  "What?", he asked as the silence made him uncomfortable.  "Nothing.  Kari is just aggravating me is all.", Matt said.  Matt took it upon himself to introduce Jason and Shea to his brother.  "Hey", he said looking Kari in the eyes.  "Hey", she returned with a smile.  Then much to her suprise, he walked over and hugged her.  "I’m sorry.", he whispered in her ear.  "Me too.", she whispered back.  They sat around and talked for a bit.  It was just like old times.  Well, almost.  Her newer friends were getting along with her old friends and she couldn’t be happier.  Every now and then, she would catch Jeff staring at her.  She would smile at him and then return to what she was doing.  Amy came in and was introduced to everyone.  "It’s nice to finally meet you Kari.  I’ve heard A LOT about you.", she said.  Kari looked at Matt and laughed, "I’m not even going to ask if it was good.  There’s no telling what he’s told you."  "Scary, huh?", he teased.  It was time for them to get ready for the show.  The trio found their way to their ringside seats.  Matt, Jeff and Amy were the second to the last match.  Kari was getting anxious.  Finally, their music hit and they made their way down to the ring.  Matt made a goofy face at Kari as they entered the ring.  Jeff smiled at her.  Kari was impressed by the show that they put on.  They really had come a long way from that old trampoline out in their back yard.  After the show, everyone went back to Kari’s house.  Kari gave them the tour and then showed them to their rooms.  After they finished unpacking, everyone decided to go clubbing.  They danced and had a good time.  They had just sat back down at the table when Kari noticed him standing by the bar.  It was Tommy.  Jason saw him too.  "You ready to go?", he asked.  "I can’t run from him forever.  Besides, I’ve got plenty of you guys here to protect me.", she said trying to convince him that she wasn’t worried.  "Isn’t that your asshole ex-husband?", Matt asked growing angry.  "Yeah, that’s him.", Jeff said the anger showing on his face.  "Down boys!  Just like any other nusiance, if you ignore it, it will go away.", Kari said.  They tried their best, but it was hard for them to pretend that he wasn’t there.  Especially for Jeff, since he wanted so badly to beat the hell out of him.  "Come and dance with me", Kari said as she grabbed Jeff’s hand, pulling him away from the hateful glare that he had fixed on Tommy.  "Let it go.", she said.  He smiled a spiteful smile at Tommy as he wrapped his arms around Kari’s waist and they began to sway to the music.  The words of that song seemed to fit the moment so well: Remember when we never needed each other   Best of friends, like sister and brother   We understood, we’d never be alone   Those days are gone, now I want you so much   The night is long and I need your touch   Don’t know what to say   Never meant to feel this way   Don’t want to be alone tonight   What can I do to make you mine?   Falling so hard, so fast this time   What did I say?   What did you do?   How did I fall in love with you?   I hear your voice and I start to tremble   Brings back the child that I resemble   I cannot pretend that we can still be friends   I want to say this right and it has to be tonight   Just need you to know   I don’t want to live this life   I don’t want to say good-bye   With you, I want to spend the rest of my life   Everything’s changed   We never knew   How did I fall in love with you? Kari’s heart was beating faster and faster as they danced.  She was finding it hard to fight the feelings that she was having for Jeff.  She looked deep into his eyes, all the way to his soul.  Their faces were so close that their lips were almost touching.  "Jeff, I….I……I gotta get some air.  I’ll be right back.", she said pulling away from him and stepping out the door into the ally.  "Damnit.", he said under his breath.  But he let her go.  She needed time to deal with it, time to  get control of her emotions.               Last Chapter ..*.. Next Chapter ..*.. Chapter Index ..*.. Home