"ITVR: Chapter 4"
Revelations.
By Jadedoll, Penumbren, & Raising Kane
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Chris was rapidly re-shuffling his brain, because 'cute' was definitely the best thing Adam had ever said to him. Not that they didn't talk or anything. It was just when the two of them had been waiting together for the perennially late Jay or traveling together between shows, they generally talked about work. The WWE equivalent of the weather. Even now CJ had turned the conversation to teasing Jay and Ty because for all his gift of the gab he had real troubling knowing what to say to the man opposite him. "Hey Adam, wanna get coffee?" Was a fantasy option that just begged to destroyed with one beautifully arched eyebrow and a sharp 'no'. But one word never associated with Jericho was 'stupid'. Adam was playing and flirting with him like he was someone other than pain-in-the-ass CJ and his insatiable curiosity was churning. He hadn't given off any weird vibes had he? Or maybe just pathetic desperation had it's own scent that he hadn't detected. Well, whatever. He had Adam's attention for a couple of hours and if he could suppress his hyperactivity to approach something like adulthood, then maybe tonight could be repeated in the future. Still, he had to squash the urge to lean across the seat and bury his face between Adam's leather clad legs. Riding crop? Chris shot a glance into the front seat and winced at the high pitched "Adam" from Jay. Room service? Err..in what..... Adam was touching him! Adam was touching him...AGAIN. pretend to be shocked and disgusted Huh? Oh yeah. Because the feel of Adam's warm breath on his ear hadn't distracted him at all! Shit he better get his act together..right now. Drawing in a long breath, he released it as a huff of laughter. Y2J grinned at Adam and winked conspiratorially. "EWWWW! They have self-help groups for that you know Reso. I'm ashamed of you for introducing young Tyson to such aberrant behavior." Moving away from the door that had been holding him up, CJ leaned his elbows on the front seats, arched his back slightly and looked sideways at Jay's mutinous profile. "Honestly, if I could borrow the collar sometime that would be cool. Long as you washed it of course." He looked back over his shoulder at Edge and smiled. Poking fun at Jay was always a good time. "That place with the queue on the right. Parking over there." Chris was back to directions. "Don't worry, Mac left my name at the door, although with Adam, Steve and Trish, I don't think we'll have a problem getting in." More like red carpet at this place. Famous was famous after all. "Ready to party?" he asked Adam, letting just a small amount of flirt enter his voice. It's not like Edge would take it the wrong way. **** "Not even a problem Scotty. Family right?" Yes they were family, which meant even if it was a problem, Hunter would still say the same thing. Scott smiled as he leaned into Kevin's side thankful that Hunter had at least tried to make him feel less guilty. It hadn't really worked, but he'd make it up to all of them later. He knew he wasn't imagining things either. The tension was so thick between Hunter and Kev that you would need a very big, very sharp knife to cut through it. Obviously he'd missed something. He'd have to ask Kev about it later, but at the moment... Scott kept the smile on his face while listening to the banter between Kev and Hunter. No way was he going to let Kev get rusty...any part of him. Kevin's arm dropped around him and Scott leaned further into him. He really, really wanted to be alone with Kev right about now and from the way it sounded Kev felt the same way. "We're ditching everybody just as soon as we can." Oh thank goodness. Scott shivered under the heat of Kevin's stare. Alone...they needed to be alone very soon or else Vince was going to have more to complain about than just PDA. Scott heard something then that made him realize he was going to have to hang around for at least a few more minutes. He was actually surprised that he could pick up on it, but maybe his hearing had improved to make up for all those drunk stumbling stupors where he couldn't see what he was running into. Shaking his head for letting himself touch on that subject when he had more important things to worry about. Shawn...rather Shawn and Dave. "I was thinking more like you, me, dinner... tonight." Christ Shawn, put the ego away. He'd seen the change in Dave from eager to almost accepting and now the big man looked almost like he'd been struck dumb. Obviously Dave had somehow clued into one of the Clique's best kept secrets...so secret that Scott was probably the only one that had noticed the extent of it. The one good thing about his drunken spells were that people were less cautious around him and he tended to somehow pick up on more at those times...not that it was worth what it cost him, but the information came in handy sometimes. He'd just have to play devil's advocate and stir things up a bit, Scott thought as he watched Dave walk away and Shawn's reaction to it. He watched Shawn walking dejectedly towards the locker room and grimaced. The sooner he put his two cents in the better. "Sounds good, Hunt. We'll just grab our stuff and go claim a ride, then." They were soon walking down the hall, Scott letting Kevin lead him with the arm around his shoulder. As they were approaching the locker room that Shawn had ducked into a moment or two earlier, Dave came walking out. Laying a hand against Kevin's chest to stop him, Scott looked up at him imploringly. "Could you go ahead and grab the bags? I want to talk to Dave for a minute." He smiled at Kev, asking for understanding and hoping he'd give in without asking a bunch of questions right now. "Then I think we've got a date for a bit of limo rocking." Winking at Kev, Scott waited to see his reaction. **** Cocking an eyebrow at his lover, Kevin shrugged slightly. If Scotty wanted to talk to Dave, that was fine with him... although he wondered what Scott had picked up that he'd missed. It wasn't like either of them knew the man, but Kev did know that Scott loved playing matchmaker when he got a chance. Smiling at him, Kev nodded. "I'll grab our stuff... and I think I'm going to corner Shawn, too." With a little smirk, he slipped his hand down to Scott's ass to grope him before entering the locker room. When he glanced around as he picked up their bags and didn't see Shawn, he frowned but then spotted the side door. Apparently Heartbreaker thought he could avoid them, hmm? He walked out the main door and nodded at Scott, jerking his head in the direction of the exit to let him know where he was going. When he reached the exit and spotted Shawn leaning against the limo, depression practically oozing out of him, he sighed. Whatever had been said between him and Batista, it obviously hadn't gone how Shawn had wanted. It was amazing, really. Everyone was so used to seeing The Heartbreak Kid that few people ever looked underneath that image to see the real Shawn... and even fewer of them ever realised that the uber-confident, arrogant attitude was a complete lie on both fronts. Shawn was one of the most insecure people he'd ever met, at least as far as his personal life went. He really was that confident in his professional skills, as well he should be, but Kev had never figured out why Shawn seemed to feel doomed to be alone. Well, then. He dropped the bags he was carrying next to the nearest limo, then walked around it to lean next to Shawn. "So... what's up, Shawn?" Kevin had never seen the point in beating around the bush, and he knew that he had approximately a snowball's chance in hell of getting anything out of Shawn right now besides attitude anyway, but he felt obligated to try. He slitted a look at Shawn without being too obvious about it and almost winced. Shawn had that closed-in, closed-off look to him that he got when he was feeling down... and he tended to be downright bitchy when he got like that. "What do you care, Kev? It's not a Clique problem." Shawn's voice was sullen and Kev could see that Shawn's eyes were still closed. "If it has to do with you, it is, Shawn." Trying to gentle his voice, he laid a hand on Shawn's shoulder, unsurprised but still a little hurt when Shawn shrugged it off. "Nothing that you can help with, Kev. Just me and my big mouth and somebody else who doesn't want either of them." The bitterness in Shawn's voice did make Kev wince, but he recognised it. As much as he wanted nothing more than to wrap Shawn in his arms and reassure him, he knew that it would only piss Shawn off. "Well... if you need me, Shawn, you know I'm here." With a last look at the other man, he sighed and walked back to the entrance of the building, deciding that he'd wait inside by the door for Scott. Leaning against the wall, he wondered what the hell Hunter had to do with this. Obviously Shawn was talking about Dave, but what were all those looks at Hunter? **** When Shawn came into the locker room, Dave was so deep in thought that it took him a moment to realize he wasn't alone. Shawn didn't so much as glance his way that Dave could tell before Shawn walked into the shower. Dave knew because he'd been watching Shawn's face the entire time. It had taken a hell of a lot of restraint to keep from looking to see what Shawn wore under his tights, but through sheer force of will Dave had managed it. Picking up his bag, his thoughts still flying in all kinds of directions, Dave walked out of the locker room just in time to witness Kevin heavily groping Scott in the hall. Shaking his head and smiling, Dave had every intention of walking by and pretending not to notice. Kev turned and walked towards the locker room and nodded in Dave's direction. Dave returned the acknowledgment with his own nod and wondered for a brief second why he'd left Scott standing there. He didn't have long to wonder. "So you figured it out all by yourself, eh?" Dave started at Scott's comment having been going to nod at Scott as well before heading out to the limousines. Dave cocked his head at Scott and shook his head, biting his lip before replying. "I don't know what you're talking about Hall." "Dave, I know you're interested in Shawn. I heard the whole conversation. Despite what you've figured out that doesn't mean that Shawn isn't interested." Dave looked at Scott incredulously. "Shawn is interested in me helping him figure out what's going on with Hunter, that's about the extent of it, but thanks for the laugh." He was about to walk past Scott when Scott's next words stopped him cold. "Just because Shawn's in love with Hunter and has been for years, doesn't mean that he can't be interested in anyone else." Ding, ding, ding! There went that damn switch again. When Dave thought about it, it actually made sense. The loud laugh that escaped him might have sounded slightly flat, but he couldn't help it. Oh the irony. "It can if he finds out that Hunter's just as in love with him and he will because I'm going to make sure of it. I'm sure they'll be very happy together once they both realize how blind they've been." Dave raised a brow at Scott and walked past him heading in the direction of the car park. Feeling the need to be alone for a few minutes, Dave wandered down one of the hallways just before the exit. Stepping back in the shadows so that no one would see him, Dave considered what he'd just learned. So Hunter loved Shawn and Shawn loved Hunter and that left Dave where? Dave sighed, more than a little depressed. Hoping that they'd manage to work things out... like what to do about Stephanie. Dave grimaced. What a mess. He probably would have been much better off if he'd kept looking for Chris. At least he wouldn't have had his hopes stomped all over before they'd even had a chance to grow. Shaking his head over his pitiful thoughts, Dave decided to get his part in this whole thing over with so that he could go wallow in his own misery. Walking back down the hall and out the exit to the car park, Dave spotted Kevin talking to Shawn. He waited by the door a few minutes until Kevin turned and walked away from Shawn. If he did this now, maybe he could ride back to the hotel with Glen and Sean and leave Shawn and Hunter to themselves. Dave grimaced over sharing a limousine ride with the bouncy Clique member and his lover...they weren't very discreet even when they had company. Still, it was better than watching Hunter and Shawn fawn all over each other and feeling jealous about it. Dave walked up to Shawn and put a hand on his arm. He just couldn't resist touching him one more time before all his fantasies disappeared. Not waiting for Shawn to look at him, Dave went ahead and started filling Shawn in on what was going on with Hunter. "You wanted help with Hunter and since I'm pretty sure I know what's going on now, I might as well fill you in on it now. Hunter isn't in love with Stephanie. I don't know why he married her, but it sure as heck wasn't because he loves her." Dave laughed but it was obviously not because he was happy. "Hunter doesn't love her, he loves you...the same way you love him. Before you try to deny it, I'm not the only one that's figured it out. Just because the two of you can't see it in each other, doesn't mean the rest of us don't. Now that you know, I'm sure the two of you can work things out. I'll pass on that invite if you don't mind. Not that HBK isn't great, but I was interested in you, Shawn, not him and it looks like you're already involved whether you admit it or not so yeah...good luck with Hunter." Dave squeezed Shawn's arm, smiled at him, then turned away with the intention of hunting down Sean and Glen's limo. **** Adam smiled wickedly when Chris winked at him. Oh this was going to be fun. "...If I could borrow the collar sometime..." At that point he nearly choked on his own tongue. Best not to let his thoughts anywhere near that one, especially when he remembered something about a match where Chris had worn a collar. Oh the imagery there... And of course he wasn't being distracted at all by the fact that he had a perfect view of that "cute ass". Cute? Try hot, gorgeous, maybe even luscious. He ripped his eyes away from the body part in question just in time to see Chris look back at him. Hoping he hadn't been caught checking out Y2J's "goods" he returned the smile and tried not to squirm in his seat to adjust the fit of his pants again. Him, Steve, and Trish? Chris' appearance would do a hell of a lot more towards getting them in than his would, though he appreciated the compliment. "Ready to party?" Happy that Chris was in a playful mood, Adam decided he should keep things on the same level though he had to remember that this wasn't a date...they were just friends and he'd best not forget that. Still...he couldn't help but loosen up a little bit. "I'm always ready, Christopher. One of the things I live for these days, after all. Lead the way." As they climbed out of the car, Adam tossed a casual arm over Chris' shoulder while they waited for the others to join them. He slipped his other hand into the pocket of his pants hoping to disguise his current state at least a fraction. "By the way, you never said...is Austin straight? If he is...I've got the perfect plan to torture him a little for that pimping thing," he whispered conspiratorially in Chris' ear. **** Listening to the cellular ring on speaker while he shifted through his suit bag, Hunter was impatient to get to the limos. Everything seemed a little crazy tonight with his friends. Kevin's face had given nothing away about their 'problem' so he had absolutely no idea where he stood with the man. Was he forgiven? Had Scotty mellowed out the Big Man a bit now that they were together again? He really wished he could ask Kevin what exactly he'd gotten so wrong. He'd just been trying to help after all, he'd just fucked it up...badly and Scott had taken the brunt of it. So maybe Nash's anger was justified, Hunter just wished he had the guts to bring it up, but avoiding his problems was his specialty. Slipping a pearl grey shirt over his shoulders, he was contemplating the white buttons when his wife's voice echoed tinnily around the small room. "Hi H. That looked great on the T.V, is Shawn okay?" Stephanie's slightly off-key voice brought a smile to Hunter's face. "Hey Steph. Yeah, he's good, managed to cover me in his DNA again. I'll make him pay for my dry cleaning. Linda better?" He forwent a tie and just pulled his suit jacket back on. "Fine. Doc Manning says her heart's back to it's regular rhythm so all's good. You gonna remind everyone about Sunday right? I'll hand you your butt if you forget." Stephanie was tall for a woman but still couldn't accept the fact that she wasn't a professional wrestler. "I'm more scared than I sound Steph, I promise." Hunter scruffled through his bag for his wallet. "I'll remind them tonight." "You better. Meg has worked her guts out to set up this party at the house. The whole roster better be there or Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's gonna make them regret it." She just loved having a double-barreled name. "They live in fear as well Steph. I gotta go, I sprung limos for the guys back to the hotel and they're probably waiting. See you Wednesday? Meg going to be there?" Hunter tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder, grabbed his bags and opened the door, flicking the speaker off with his chin. "Yes and don't be late for that either." The McMahons just loved giving orders. Maybe it was rubbing off on him too much. "I won't. Bye Girl." "Bye H." Walking to the limos Hunter was unprepared for the group gathered at the vehicles. Oh no, what now? Much as he was happy to keep the eclectic group in the same space, sometimes he really felt like a shepherd with a bunch of lambs. Scott must still be inside while Kevin hovered moodily by the exit, Shawn looked like someone had just introduced him to a ring post and Dave's posture was so depressed he looked about 3 feet shorter. "I was only gone for ten minutes," he moaned to himself. Letting Ray his chauffeur take his suit bag and gear, he decided that the Game better get things sorted. Kevin may have said he was too managing, but fuck, this group needed someone to manage them. He really wished sometimes he could just chuck it all in and move to Canada or something. Just about every wrestler he knew bought their characters home with them. Vince wanted their in-ring work to sound real, so they all put a strong element of themselves into their roles, but sometimes the character took over the person. Mark was a perfect example, Dwayne and Steve two more who found being the Rock and Stone Cold gave them a kind of invulnerability. He lost a little bit more of Hunter to the Game every day and it worried the hell out of him. Shawn was battling it too. The only two men who didn't wear character masks were Kevin and of all people...Dave. Kevin was who he was and didn't pretend or fake just to hide his feelings or protect himself. For that alone he had Hunter's undying respect. Someday he hoped to earn it in return. He'd just probably have to give up the Game...his life...to do it. And Dave. The definition of a nice guy under that impressive exterior. Jaded Hunter had almost forgotten what it was like to know someone who hadn't sacrificed part of their soul to this business. Dave was like a breath of fresh air. Hunter shook his head. They were the perfect couple really. Shawn who hated his mask most days and Dave who didn't have one. Assessing that something dire had happened between Shawn and Dave, YentaHunter flipped his phone, quickly dialing his personal assistant Greg. "Dinner reservations for three at a nice Italian place five minutes from the hotel." He was gonna stick with those two to make sure they had their date. "We'll walk back.......hmmmm?...We'll be fine, whose gonna try something with me and Dave there? Thanks...Bye." Pocketing the cell, he nodded Ray to the second limo and moved over to Kevin. He put his Game face on and prepared for what may be an uncomfortable conversation. "Hey Kevin. Bet you two want some time alone from us?" He already knew the answer to that, but asked anyway. "If you want to go to the hotel with Glen and Sean when Scotty gets back, I'm going to treat Dave and Shawn to dinner. They deserve it after that match." And he needed to find out what went wrong so he could fix it. After getting Kev's answer he found Dave and indicated Shawn and the first, empty limousine. "We're getting dinner and I wont take No for an answer." Taking a risk, he put his hand in the small of Dave's back and gently pushed him towards the black car. In all honesty he couldn't have forced Dave towards the car if the bigger man didn't want him too, but he was relying on Dave's innate courtesy to work in his favour. "C'mon....food." He pushed again, not seeing the looks on Dave and Shawn's faces. **** ...is Austin straight? Breathe, breathe, breathe. Chris was sure he was going to die from laughing so hard. Really. Best he could do was grab Adam's waist and just hang on. The warm arm across his bowed shoulders his only link to reality. The small rational part of his brain, not lost to hilarity, was noting how warm and just good the slim waist under his slightly curled fists was. Although not so slim now, Adam had really sculpted his already near perfect body since his return. "Aust.....just wait....I'm...." A fresh burst of giggles overcame him, and CJ waved a hand in apology in case Adam though he was laughing at him. Tears leaked from his eyes and he wiped them away with the free hand. The other still clutched Edge's shirt lightly. "No...no...he's just....." God he hadn't laughed like that in ages. One more reason to like Adam more than was healthy. Hiccupping slightly, he finally found his voice after taking a deep breath. "Austin? No. Well sort of. He once told me, and I think he was flirting, that as long as there was a hole, he wasn't gonna be choosy. Why I didn't fall for him right there I'll never know. Such a charmer." He knuckled one eye, still chuckling to himself over the idea of a straight Austin, married with kids and a dog. No chance in hell. "But any idea that peeves off the bald bastard is fine by me. Whatcha got?" Realising he should probably let go, CJ ordered his hand to release Adam's shirt. He ordered it again and threatened no-jacking off for a week. Jesus. Even his hand was giving him 'tude tonight. The others joined them in a squacking, giggling bunch as Tyson started to tickle Trish while Austin stopped Molly from helping her. Hoping the door guy would let him in with a school group, Chris tugged Adam to the head of the queue by his still-being-rebellious grip and smiled, turning on his Rock Star charm. "Mac left my name? Jericho, Chris Jericho." Like James Bond. The door guy was distinctly unimpressed by the WWE group, although Steve got a long look, which showed that some celebrities were cross genre. "Used to movie stars with more silicon than ability," Chris bitched as the door was opened and they filed in. The dark and smoke were the first impression, followed by the Loud. The Loud was the thing that grabbed CJ by the balls and tugged him further in. Molly and Trish headed for the dance floor, while Ty and Jay went to bully themselves a private table. Austin put a hand on each of their asses, nudging them forward and yelling, ala Henry V, "Gentlemen....to the BAR!" **** Okay so he nearly lost his hands at the wrists, but it had been too good and opportunity to miss. Austin just shrugged in his usual what-the-fuck-do-I-care-way, and headed to the bar. Some good glaring later opened up two seats for his lovely companions and he screamed for a beer at the chit with the big tits behind the bar. Looking over he caught his Kitten yelling something about 'dressing room' to Adam, then squeezing the taller man's shoulder before heading off. Plonking his ass down in one empty seat, he looked pointedly from Edge to the other vacant space and back again. "So, ya decided ta join us tonight? What's the occasion?" he yelled over the din from the sound system. **** Kevin's obvious grope almost changed Scott's mind about his plan. He tightly held onto the thought of helping Shawn to get him through the next little bit without his lover nearby. He and Kev really needed to be alone and soon. He tried catching Dave's eye as he walked past, but the man seemed to be having some pretty deep thoughts. It would probably be best to shock him into standing still rather than just asking. He didn't know Dave, but Hunter seemed to really like the guy and had gone to bat for Dave to join his newest stable on TV. Hunter wouldn't have done that if he didn't actually think the guy was worth it. Still, that didn't mean that the guy would want to talk to him, friend of Hunter's or not. "So you figured it out all by yourself, eh?" Scott decided to just toss it out there and see if Dave bit. Of course, he'd be happy if he got a little bit of information as to what exactly the it was. "I don't know what you're talking about Hall." Scott shook his head at the obvious evasion. The stubborn look on Dave's face told Scott that he'd have to offer up a bit of information before he got any in return. "Dave, I know you're interested in Shawn. I heard the whole conversation. Despite what you've figured out that doesn't mean that Shawn isn't interested." Scott knew Dave wasn't buying it yet, and he could understand the man's reluctance, but that didn't mean that Scott couldn't convince him. He sure as hell was going to try. Kevin caught Scott's eye as he stepped out of the locker room and Scott nodded in understanding over his unspoken message. Dave, who had started speaking again, seemed oblivious to Kev's presence. "Shawn is interested in me helping him figure out what's going on with Hunter, that's about the extent of it, but thanks for the laugh." From Dave's tone and stance, Scott figured he had about five seconds to stop the big man from walking away from him. He tried to come up with something that didn't quite divulge the extent of Shawn's preoccupation with Hunter, but came up flat. He'd just have to go with the truth and hope that Dave let him explain it. "Just because Shawn's in love with Hunter and has been for years, doesn't mean that he can't be interested in anyone else." That seemed to work well, Scott thought to himself, at least he's not running off right away. He was about to explain that it was unlikely that Shawn would ever tell Hunter about it considering the fact that he hadn't so far, when Dave laughed. The look on Dave's face was the same look that accompanied a concussion and Scott wasn't quite sure why. That laugh had sounded rather eerie as well now that he thought about it. "It can if he finds out that Hunter's just as in love with him and he will because I'm going to make sure of it. I'm sure they'll be very happy together once they both realize how blind they've been." As Dave walked away, Scott groaned and leaned against the wall. He'd completely misread Dave, thinking that it was Shawn he had clued in on, not Hunter. Now Dave knew the truth about both Shawn and Hunter and from the looks of things, he wasn't overjoyed. Scott rubbed his hands over his face and sank into a crouch with his back pressing against the wall behind him. He had no doubts that Dave would tell Shawn what he knew. There was going to be some pretty heavy fall-out from this fiasco and it was going to be at least partially his fault. Shawn and Hunter were finally going to have to face their feelings and just where did that leave Dave? He hadn't wanted anyone to get hurt in this thing, but maybe it was for the best that it all came out. Scott tilted his head back and let it thud against the wall. Kev probably wouldn't be ecstatic about how he'd handled things and he would have to tell Kev. Now he had more than one thing to apologize for tonight. Scott sat for a moment more, trying and failing to come up with some way to avert the trouble that was looming ahead. Sighing as he finally pushed himself to his feet, he decided that he'd better go find Kevin. He could spend the interval trying to figure out how to explain himself. "Fuck, I could use a ..." Scott cut himself off sharply as he once again leaned against the wall. No! He was not going to think that way. The last time he'd slipped it had nearly cost him everything...Kevin, his family, and damn near his life. He was still surprised that he hadn't lost everything. Kevin was way too forgiving...moreso than Scott deserved. "I will not do that to him again. I just won't," he whispered quietly to himself as he pushed away from the wall again still slightly shaking. Taking a moment to step in the locker room and run a comb through his hair, Scott pulled himself together. Once he convinced himself that he had himself under control enough that Kevin wouldn't notice any difference, Scott walked down the hallway towards the exit. He was not going to ruin this night with Kevin. He needed it too damn much. Then after he spent a little time in his lover's arms he could apologize for all the trouble he'd caused tonight. As he neared the exit to the parking garage, he spotted Kevin talking to Hunter. There was still that weird tension between the two of them that Scott couldn't figure out, but he was too preoccupied at the moment to give it his full attention. As Hunter turned and walked away, Scott walked up behind Kev and slid an arm around his waist. Leaning into the larger man, Scott let himself bask in Kevin's presence for a second before speaking. "Ready to go rock the limo, Kev?" Scott asked huskily as he rubbed his hand over Kevin's hip. **** Whatever joke he'd told, he'd have to remember it because it damn sure must have been funny. Adam thought for a moment or two that Chris might just pass out from lack of oxygen. Adam would have caught him if he had...maybe. He was pretty damn distracted by Chris' hand. Adam wasn't sure which was causing the bigger problem, the heat of Chris' hand seeping through his shirt or the way his mind kept picturing that fisted hand pulling his shirt over his head to get better access to his skin. Then again maybe the real problem was that it felt way too damn comfortable to have his arm wrapped around Chris' shoulders. "...That as long as there was a hole, he wasn't gonna be choosy..." When Chris finally caught his breath and spoke, Adam couldn't help the look of distaste that flashed across his face. Christ, the way it sounded, Austin was an even bigger whore than he was and that was saying something. And the fact that Austin was apparently bi killed any inclination to go forward with his plan. If the man had been strictly limited to the fairer sex, then Adam would have, with Chris' full knowledge, tossed himself at the man like a ton of bricks just to watch him squirm. Since there was a chance that Austin might accept his blatant offer there was no way in the world that Adam was going to make it. No offense to Austin, but if he were going to break his rule for anyone, his first choice would certainly not be the bald Texan. Before his traitorous mind could ask if he would break that rule for anyone else in the company, the aforementioned Texan and company joined the two of them. "I'll tell you later," Adam said, leaning down to whisper it in Chris' ear so that none of the rowdy crowd would hear him. He would come up with something, it might just take a little longer for his twisted little mind to come up with a new plan. As they stood in line waiting for the door guy to let them in, Adam kind of wished he still had the fangs he'd used during his time working with Gangrel. He'd have liked to vamp the guy at the door just to scare the hell out of him. Then again with some of the things he'd likely seen, it might not have phased him at all. Once Dickhead, as Adam had named the guy, had let them through the door Adam had immediately soaked up the atmosphere. Dark, smoky, loud...exactly his element. It was nice. It was relaxed. It was...what the fuck? He could not believe that Austin had just oh so casually copped a feel of his ass. Adam tensed for a moment before he could convince himself that it wasn't that big of a deal and definitely did not call for turning and punching the man out. He'd just have to make sure that the man was put on notice that if it happened again, Adam was liable to do something that would make a trip to the emergency room a necessity for his future. Chris making his excuses to visit the 'dressing room' once they'd hit the bar gave him the perfect opportunity to serve that notice. Taking the seat Austin had indicated Adam turned and asked 'Silicon Woman' for a tequila shooter with a beer chaser and an extra beer for Chris. Turning back to Austin, Adam put on his 'maniacal Edge' grin and leaned forward placing his hand on Austin's chest. Dragging his nails slightly over the shirt, Adam leaned closer and then fisted his hand in Austin's shirt. "If you ever touch my ass again I'll take great pleasure in spitting you with a pool stick, oh Bald One. I may not have many rules when it comes to getting laid, but not pissing in the company pool is one of them." Letting go of Steve's shirt and smoothing it out as if he'd meant no harm at all, Adam sat back in his seat and drank the shot that the bartender had left him. As he placed the glass back on the bar, he smiled at Steve again, though a much saner version and answered his question. "As for the occasion? Chris looked a little...depressed earlier so I skipped out on picking up a nameless, faceless piece of ass in order to cheer him up. Any other questions?" Adam raised a brow at the Texan before lifting his glass and taking a long swallow of his watered-down beer. Tapping the shot glass on the bar, he waited until the busty woman nodded at him before returning his attention to Austin. He hadn't been going to tell Austin the truth of why he was there, but since Austin was in a way Chris' friend he was hoping that the man might be able to tell him something about the blond's mood from earlier. **** to be continued... |