He woke up slowly, relishing the female form next to him. He couldn’t see since it was still dark, but he leaned down and put his face in her hair. He smiled to himself thinking, buddy I don’t know how, but it’s about damn time. He pulled her closer to him, enjoying the sensation of her body next to his, and drifted back to sleep.

Carrie woke with a start, not sure where she was. She was in a strange bed, with a large man and his very large arm was wrapped around her. It was just starting to get light outside, she could see. She did a mental inventory of herself and was relieved but more confused. Who’s bed am I in, she worried. Who is that arm connected to, she continued to worry. She had a small headache, but not enough to explain her circumstances. Her next worry was how to disentangle herself without waking the mystery man. She slowly eased away from him, he mumbled. She didn’t recognize the mumble or understand what he said, thankfully. He tightened his hold on her and she was back in his embrace. She was able to tell through her t-shirt that it was a very nice body, every inch of him male, but she still didn’t know who it was. Damn, she hadn’t done something this stupid in years, waking up in a stranger’s bed. At least she had some of her clothes on. That was a big difference from years ago.

She could feel herself starting to get agitated. Calm down, she thought. Think this through, since you can’t seem to go anywhere right now. The room didn’t look like a hotel room. That was a relief. She had been worried that she might be in bed with one of the boys, not her boys as she thought of them, but one of the many other beautiful bodies she was surrounded by daily. It looked like a bedroom, simple and plain, but a bedroom thankfully. Okay, start small with what day of the week is it. That was always her toughest question of the morning, trying to figure out the day of the week. Okay, she remembered the weekend passing, with Melissa finally getting to go home on Saturday. She remembered David going to RAW, and her staying home to help Kris with the kids. Kris was exhausted and was finally able to sleep on Monday, she remembered. Tuesday, David flew back in around noon. She didn’t seem him until Wease’s party. Aha, she thought. It must be Wednesday. She remembered the party wasn’t too terribly crazy, with Carla being very pregnant, David and Kris being worn out and leaving Liz with her little brother for a few hours. Melissa was with David’s mom, she remembered. It was the only way Kris would agree to go, if Melissa were safe. Okay, who else had been there, she continued, trying to connect the arm to a person. A few of Wease’s friends, but they didn’t fit this arm, that’s for sure. Besides, they were all just a little too young and a little too stoned for her taste. Carla’s sister and a couple of her girlfriends from work had also been there. The folks were there to make sure that we all behaved, she remembered with a smile. Who else, she worried, as he pulled her close, pressing her backside against him again. Boy, whoever he was, he sure liked to snuggle, she smiled at the thought.

Then it hit her. Oh no, not him. What the fuck was she doing in his bed? He was with the Lovely Lisa. Damn, damn, damn. Lisa would never understand that she had slept with him, mostly clothed and that nothing had happened. She knew she wouldn’t have in Lisa’s position. Damn, how could she have been so stupid? What had she been thinking, climbing into his bed? Obviously she hadn’t, she chided herself. Okay, time to get serious about getting out of this bed. She slowly lifted his arm off, and rolled away. She was able to finally slip out of bed and crept out of the room. How the hell am I going to explain this? David and Kris are gonna be pissed. Shit, I would be too, sleeping with your brother in law’s unavailable best friend. Damn. Find the rest of your clothes and get the hell out of there, was her first thought. She found her jeans and shoes easily. They were sitting in a nicely folded pile beside the couch. That was even more confusing, since that was something she always did, but never did when she was in a hurry to get in bed for fun. Find your coat and get the hell out of there, was her next thought. Okay, I didn’t drive my car here, since I didn’t drive to Wease and Carla’s, she continued to think things through. Okay, he doesn’t live that far from me, so it’s time to just walk home and hope no one notices. It was now light enough to be safe on the busy streets was her last thought as she closed the door quietly behind her.

He woke at the sound of his front door closing. What? He was confused for a minute, his brain wasn’t fully wake yet. Where did she go, he wondered. Did he dream it? If so, that was one hell of a dream, he thought. He took a deep breath and could smell her scent still on his pillow, so no, it wasn’t a dream. Why did she leave? Getting up since it was light and there wasn’t anyone to wake up with, he staggered through his morning routine. He’d wait until he had some coffee before he’d be able to figure stuff out, he knew. Yeah, it was a bitch being addicted to it, but that’s life, he mused. After his hot shower he could smell that the coffee maker had finished, and knew life would be okay if he could drink some. He pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt and wandered into the kitchen.

Pouring the first of many cups of coffee, he waited for the effects to kick start his brain. He sat on his couch looking over at the papers they had reviewed last night. That part he did remember. He remembered her telling him of Shane’s hints. He’d need to make some calls about that soon. She said she didn’t have a timeline yet, but he knew she would soon. She always did. She had some great ideas for some unique marketing. She said Liz came up with some of them. Out of the mouths of babes, he thought. Kids knew what was cool and what wasn’t. He was shuffling through the papers, refreshing his mind about their meeting when he realized he needed more coffee. He got up and poured himself the next cup, opened up his fridge looking for something to snack on. He knew he needed to eat something as a buffer for all the coffee, but he only had a few items and they were unidentifiable. He didn’t want to investigate them too close, worried they might be alive or something. He really should go to the store and get some groceries. He hadn’t bothered for a long time, preferring to grab a bite to eat on the fly or just drink protein shakes because they were easy. He knew he wasn’t doing himself any favors by not eating correctly, but until recently he didn’t care. As he was looking at his empty fridge, he was still trying to remember last night, particularly any details of Carrie in his bed. He had no recollection at all other than waking up sometime with her is his arms. He was pretty sure he’d remember, so why couldn’t he. He wanted to savor every minute of it, but had zero memories. Oh shit, was he that drunk that he didn’t remember anything. If that was the case, did he hurt her? Did she participate willingly? He admitted ruefully that she was usually a star in his fantasies, so maybe he was so shit faced that he was forceful. Was he that juvenile that he had to force himself on women? Did he just ruin two good friendships because he didn’t have any self control? Is that why she left? If so, what the hell was he going to say to Dave? Some things can’t be just shrugged off and that was one of them. They had a business meeting today, he knew. She, David and he had a lot of ground to cover. Let’s hope I’m able to concentrate, he worried.

Setting his coffee down, he realized that his long time girlfriend might have been right, ex-girlfriend he corrected himself. She had been accusing him for years of being distant. He had always vehemently denied it, showering her with affection. It hadn’t been enough for her, she had said. He held himself in reserve, as she called it. They had so many fights over the years about that. But the last one was still burned in his mind like it happened yesterday. They had been in bed, as was their custom once she came home from a business trip. She had stopped right in the middle, and slapped him. What the hell, he remembered thinking. What didn’t I do right this time? She was hard to please, he knew. She got out of bed and put her clothes on, then started packing. He remembered being confused and asking her what she was doing.

“I’m leaving you, you bastard,” she had said through her angry tears.

“Why? What did I do,” he was genuinely confused. He didn’t remember being an asshole that day, but you never knew with her.

“My name is Lisa,” she screamed at him, throwing anything she could get her hands on into her cases.

“I know that, hon.” He was trying to figure her out and the best way to diffuse her anger.

“Really? Is that why you called me Carrie just then,” she shouted.

He was stunned. He didn’t remember doing that. Shit, he fucked up big time there, and didn’t really have any excuse for it. He had never slept with his best friend’s sister in law or Lil Sis, as Dave called her. She was fine, mighty fine. But he wasn’t single so he never considered it, or so he thought.

“I knew it! I knew you were sleeping with her, every time I went away. Probably couldn’t wait to have me gone so you could run over to her the second I left,” she was still screaming at him. He was having difficult time understanding everything she was saying, but he remembered hearing that loud and clear.

“Try and deny it, you bastard,” she continued her rampage as she went through their house grabbing anything she could find that was hers. She ripped open the front door, opened her car doors and continued her packing. “I knew it! Sara kept telling me, but no I was too trusting. Well, not anymore. I’m leaving and don’t bother trying to find me,” she was still crying and screaming and almost incomprehensible, he remembered.

That had been just over three months ago, he realized. He almost missed her, but he also enjoyed the peace. His life had been a lot calmer since then. He didn’t have to worry about what mood she might be in and have to tip toe around her every second, or constantly having to beg for forgiveness for some perceived slight. Shit, Carrie didn’t know, he realized. That’s why she left. They never talked about his personal life much. It didn’t usually come up in conversation, since it rarely had any bearing on their business dealings together. Dave knew that Lisa had left, but not why. He never asked, probably relieved for me, he thought. Dave knew about some of their fights and was amazed that he kept apologizing and going back for more. He hoped his last guess was the right one for her leaving this morning.
**
Okay, figure out how you found yourself in such a stupid predicament, she thought as she walked home. She remembered driving Mike home, since he had a few too many beers. Not a huge deal, it was only a couple of miles. She had driven his truck several times before, for various reasons. Once she was able to climb in, she was fine. It was getting her ass up to the seat that was the problem, she thought. He wasn’t extremely shit faced, just buzzed enough that he shouldn’t drive. They got to his house without any major problems, once she was able to reach the pedals. Damn, she should just carry around a large phone book to sit on. They had been discussing some of the details that they were going to touch on at the business meeting with David on the drive over. Why not get a jump on it so they were more prepared she had asked once they arrived at his house. By that time he had another beer in his hand and he was feeling very mellow, he agreed easily. She didn’t ask where the Lovely Lisa was, she’d guessed she was out of town again. It was a pretty regular occurrence.

He fired up his computer, as she asked, and let her use it to retrieve what she needed. She had the files and info available, just needed access to them and a printer. Carrie also made sure to make some copies and left them clearly marked on his desktop. Just in case he forgets what we discuss tonight was her thought.

She printed out what was needed and had it laid out on his coffee table. They were both seated on the couch, she remembered, not thinking anything of it. They reviewed the info she had and discussed the successes and the failures. There wasn’t really any surprises, just a couple of hiccups. He had some good ideas about what to do to avoid the hiccups next time, she made notes of them.

Mike had gone very quiet, so she looked over at him and realized he was almost asleep on the couch, ready to spill his beer. She wasn’t sure how many he had drank since arriving home, but knew it was more than he had at the party. He didn’t usually drink much, so she was a little surprised. Not my business, she thought.

“Hey, why don’t you go to bed before you spill your beer,” she said loud enough to get his attention.

“Huh? What did you say Carrie,” he mumbled as he tried to focus on her, she could see.

“I said, go to bed before you spill beer on the couch and piss off Lisa. We can do this tomorrow”

He made a face at her and said,” mm K” He stood up and walked over to the kitchen to set his beer down safely on the counter. He was still steady on his feet she noted, just tired. Good thing too, because she wouldn’t be able to lift him.

“Hey, how you getting home,” he questioned her, trying valiantly to appear awake.

“I’ll walk, it’s not far,” she assured him.

“You will not,” he raised his voice. “This road isn’t safe to walk on in the dark.”

“Okay, so how do you want me to get home? I don’t want to drive your truck again and risk killing someone because I can’t see the end of the hood on the damn thing.”

“You can stay here, I don’t mind. The couch is pretty comfortable, I can vouch for that.” She didn’t know if he realized what he was admitting to. She was a little surprised; she thought everything was always roses for the happy couple. She had always thought of them as the human “Barbie & Ken” dolls. She always hoped he was the anatomically correct version, or Barbie would have been pissed.

“Okay, you got a blanket I can use?”

“Uh, I don’t know, let me check,” he said walking down his hallway. That was weird, she thought. Who doesn’t know if they have spare blankets? Drunk Mike was her snappy answer to herself.

“I hate to admit it, but I can’t seem to find any. But then I never know where half of the shit is in the house anyway,” he said sheepishly.

“Okay, we’ll figure something out. Mind if I use your computer for a few.” She had some things she wanted to catch up on and knew she wouldn’t sleep as long as him, plus she wasn’t anywhere as buzzed as him anyway.

He waved his hand at her saying, “Go right ahead. You’re going to make it better when you’re done?” He knew she usually cleaned up afterwards and fixed any problems she noticed. She just couldn’t help herself. She shrugged in response as she walked over to it.

“G’night”, as he was walking down the hall to his bedroom was the last she heard from him.

She got what she needed from his computer and ended up fixing some bugs and generally giving it a ‘tune up’ as she called it. She looked at his couch and decided she could grab a few hours on it. It did look squishy and comfy. She took off her shoes and decided to take off her jeans too, much easier to sleep in just t-shirt and panties, she knew. His house wasn’t cold, so no big deal.

She remembered waking up and being chilled. Why? Oh, yeah no blankets. She threw her coat over her and went back to sleep again. She woke again because she was cold and tired so she just walked down the hall and climbed into his bed, where it was warm, without thinking it through. He was on the opposite side, but was still radiating enough heat for her. Oh god, that was so much better, she thought as she drifted off. Stupid.

Kris hung up the phone, while making sure Melissa had finished her breakfast. Her appetite was coming back and she was starting to regain some of her spark, she was pleased to see. She was just finishing cleaning up the rest of the breakfast mess from the Batista family when Dave asked her who the call was from.

“Carrie, she wanted me to let you and Mike know she won’t be able to make it today,” she said over the running the water in the sink.

“Oh, did she say why,” he asked as he picked up his coffee mug and turned a page in the morning paper.

She rolled her eyes at her loving husband and said, “Yes, world class PMS,”

He shook his head. He knew that both of them suffered from it occasionally, but Carrie got it bad sometimes. They had been on the road a few times when it hit her. He didn’t understand it, but being an adult male he accepted it since he couldn’t do anything about it. He did go out of his way to be extra nice to his wife when she was going through a tough time. He knew her weaknesses and he made sure she got what she needed to keep her happy. He wondered briefly how Carrie coped since she didn’t have anyone to do that for her.

“We were supposed to go over a bunch of stuff today and she had all the info,” he said.

“She said to tell Mike she left a copy of it on his computer last night. All he has to do is print it. She was sending him an updated version this morning via email, with what they talked about. I guess she drove him home?”

“I didn’t know that. Probably a good idea though, since he’d had a few beers before we left.”

What Kris didn’t tell her husband was that Carrie wanted to talk to her about something, something personal and important. She said it could wait, but she really wanted to talk to her. If Carrie wanted to talk, it must be something important, she worried. Kris thought that a lunchtime social would work today. Melissa should be down for a nap, Dave would be out of the house, probably at Mike’s going over all the stuff and making futures plans. Yes, that should work nicely today, she thought as she finished clearing away all traces of breakfast and turned on the dishwasher. She leaned over and kissed Dave on the way to scooping up Melissa so she could get her cleaned up after her breakfast.

“Nice. What was that for,” he asked, slightly surprised.

Just because I felt like it. Just wanted to say I love you this morning and good luck today with your meeting,”

His dark eyes had a speculative look in them, questioning her. He’d have to wait until later, he realized. “I love you too, sweetie.” He picked up his coffee mug, drank the last of it and walked over to put it in the now stopped dishwasher.

“Hey, how’s daddy’s little girl this morning,” he asked as he took the happy toddler from her and tickled her.

“Not too much hon, she just ate,” Kris warned. She walked over to the dishwasher and turned it back on. It was great he put his stuff in, but he sometimes forgot to turn it back on. Not a huge deal in her world by any means.

“Okay, spoilsport. Let’s go see what we have in store for you upstairs. I bet Mommy has some clothes for you to change in to so you’ll be pretty today, just for Daddy,” he continued as he walked upstairs with his youngest in his arms.

Kris shook her head at the sight. Not sure anyone would believe how much her husband loved being dad to their three children. He was speaking and tickling Melissa even though he knew she couldn’t hear very much of what he was said, but she certainly enjoyed the tickling and attention. She was just glad all of her family was home and safe. The kids were at school, Dave was home for a couple of days and Melissa was back home where she belonged. The doctors had said her partial deafness could be lasting or temporary, they really didn’t know. There would be many more trips back to the pediatrician in the coming months to check on her progress and to see if any other problems arose. All that mattered was she was home and safe, Kris thought.

By the time she made it upstairs, Dave had cleaned up Melissa, making sure to get all of her breakfast off her fingers, face and out of her blonde curls. He was just starting to pull on her dress that was set out for her, when he spotted Kris.

“This looks perfect for today, don’t you think?” he asked his wife. She knew he was really speaking to Melissa, but answered him anyway.

“Yes, bright and sunny, exactly how we feel today.”

“Daddy has to go to work, so you be good for Mommy. I don’t want to come up here later,” he teased as he made his funny scary face for her. He was rewarded by a giggle from Melissa.

“Get out of here, Brute, “she laughed. She knew he needed to go downstairs and spend some time in the gym before his meeting today. “We’ll be fine.”

He was almost relieved that Carrie wouldn’t be at the meeting today. He still had some shit to figure out for himself. Maybe he’d be able to come to grips with all of it while he worked out this morning. He hoped so, because he didn’t like the uncomfortable feeling he had towards her, it wasn’t fair or right and he knew it. He just couldn’t help it yet.

He was just setting up for some serious lat pulls as he reflected back on his jumbled feelings regarding Carrie. Why was he pissed at her, one. Why did she left herself get smacked by that bitch, two. Was he mad at her for taking the hit that never should have happened, three. Was he mad at himself more than her for that, four. Was he mad at Kris for not trusting him with the truth about Melissa, five. Was he mad at Carrie for traveling with him and making his life easier than most of the other guys, six. Was he mad that she was accepted as Evolution’s little sister, seven. Was he mad at himself for losing control and almost hurting her, eight. Need to put more weight on for this next set, that was too easy. Okay, time to dig a little deeper, he thought. Was he pissed at her because she knocked him flat without so much as breaking a sweat, one. Was he pissed at himself because he realized she didn’t need him to protect her, two. Was he so prehistoric that he felt the need to protect his family, three. Shit, that was probably it right there, four. What a stupid sack of shit he was for treating her like that, five. It’s not her fault she can beat your ass, six. You know she’s had years of training, but you never took her or it seriously before, seven. What the hell were you going to do about it, eight. Last set, lets see if you can get a good pump on this, he thought. How are you going to make sure you never loose control again, one. How are you going to cope with your own stupid feelings of inadequacies where Carrie’s concerned, two. How are you going to apologize for your actions last Monday night, three. Will she still want to help you navigate the muddy waters, four. Do you want her to, five. Will you tell Kris any of this shit, six. Why haven’t you talked to her about this yet, seven. Because you’re embarrassed and don’t want her to be disappointed in you, eight. Okay, now that he had that shit figured out, he was able to focus on some more ab work to finish. His only remaining question was why he hadn’t talked to Hunter about this yet. Ah, he’d figure that last one out later. With a much clearer head, he finished his workout and headed upstairs to shower before his meeting today at Mike’s.

Mike dragged his lazy ass to the grocery store since he hadn’t bothered in weeks. He ended up with an overflowing cartload, some of it was for today’s lunch time meeting, but most of it was to replenish his pathetically stocked cupboards. It had been a long time since he was an official bachelor and grocery shopping just for him was a new experience. It was something he could really get used to, not having to buy weird and girlie things just to keep the peace at home. Yeah, he really could get used to it, he thought.

It wasn’t until he got home and had put all the stuff away that he got Dave’s message that it would just be him and Dave today, no Carrie. Dave said something about her not feeling well. That fueled his worry about last night. Did he hurt her, was he forceful? Oh man, how was he ever going to apologize for his actions? It was inexcusable. What a piece of shit he was. He had a quick vision of Carrie underneath him with his cock buried in her. Was it real or was it a repeat of one of his favorite fantasies. He didn’t know and it was making him nuts trying to figure it out. As he was prepping the food for today’s lunch, he came to the realization that his feelings for his best friend’s sister in law might be considerably more than what he thought. When the hell did that happen, he wondered. He had a feeling it was a long time ago, it was just something he never let himself admit to before. Lisa was right, he thought with a grimace. What the hell was he going to do about it, now that he had been a complete asshole and forced himself on her? Would she ever forgive him? She had decided to stay away from him today, and that was understandable. What was he going to do? Did he know anything at all about her personal life, did she have one? Was there someone in her life, he didn’t know. The thought of her with someone else was enough to make him crazy. Should he talk to Dave about any of this and risk pissing off his best friend? Not yet, he decided to take the easy way out and keep quiet for now. Maybe he’d ask Dave about her, just so he’d know instead of trying to guess.

Mike was just finishing up the prep for the coconut curried eggplant when Dave walked in.

“Hey, that looks good, what the hell is it,” Dave asked. He was always interested in trying new things.

“It’s a weird eggplant dish with lots of flavor. Tastes really good, I thought Carrie would like it. I know she’s not coming today, but you gotta use eggplant quickly, so we’re stuck with it,”

“Sounds fine to me, smells really good. I’ll try and remember to tell her about the great lunch she missed,” he said truthfully. He was going to get his shit together where it was concerned with her. She didn’t deserve to be treated the way he had been treating her this last week.

“You think she might want the recipe? It’s really easy and doesn’t have any animal products in it?”

“Carrie, recipes and cooking just don’t go together very well, my friend. Believe me, I’ve tried. Kris has tried. Hell, even my mom has tried. Liz is a better cook than her.”

“Oh, okay. Thought she might like to try it,” he said as he turned their steaks over, and stirred the mushrooms in their garlic sauce. “So, what’s up with her, is she sick or what,” he was worried what the answer might be or should be.

“She called earlier and told Kris pms, so who knows. She does get it really bad sometimes. I’ve been on the road with her when it’s kicked her ass. She wouldn’t be very helpful today if she was medicated and miserable,” Dave said truthfully.

Mike had just finished tossing the eggplant with the curry sauce and was sliding all of it on to two separate pates, knowing he and Dave didn’t give a shit about niceties and putting stuff into serving dishes. The steaks were finished and put on their respective plates with their garnish and lunch was served.

“You’re not kidding, this is good shit,” Dave said in between bites. “I think I might like to know what’s in this before I go.”

“Yeah, I like it too. It’s one of the dishes Lisa used to hate. So, I didn’t get to cook it very often.”

“Speaking of her, how’s it going? Have you heard from her at all?”

“Nah, not a peep. It’s like she disappeared off the face of the earth. At first I thought that was a bad thing, now I’m not so sure she didn’t do me a big favor.” He didn’t miss her or their fights at all, he was happy to note.

“No shit? So, how’s life being a batch,” he asked his buddy with no hint of jealousy.

“Quieter and way more peaceful than I thought possible. God, it’s good to not have to worry about what I might have said or done. That was a huge pain in the ass and I don’t miss it. Shit, I haven’t had to pick up broken dishes in months,” he laughed.

His buddy’s eyebrows rose at that piece of news, “That bad? I never knew it was like that. Why the fuck did you take it for so long?”

Mike sighed and finished his mouthful first. “I have been asking myself that same question and I can’t really come up with an answer. It’s not like I was in love with her anymore or anything. She ripped that out a long time ago.”

“I guess I can say I’m happy for you now. Sorry you had to go through that shit. You should have said something, man.” David felt bad that his buddy went through all of that by himself.

“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done, I was the putz for staying and letting her do it. I’m just glad that Melissa is well and home and your family is doing so well. There was a time a while ago when you were in similar shoes. Maybe it’s something all of us have to go through?”

“I don’t know. That’s a little too deep for me today,” Dave said as he finished up his lunch.

***

Carrie arrived around noon, looking like hell, Kris noted. Kris started to go to the freezer and Carrie stopped her with, “Nah, I brought some beer, but didn’t have any pretzels. You got any,” she asked.

Kris still had Melissa on her hip, since she didn’t pay attention to her mother’s plans, “Yeah, in the pantry. Not really sure where. Dave bought them for me last week,” she smiled. It was for the same reason.

“You want anything? A beer, some pretzels?” Carrie asked as she helped herself to a glass for her beer and a bowl for her pretzels.

“I need to make a sandwich for little missy here and I should probably have one too. Can you take her while I get it,” she asked.

“Of course. I can wait on my beer, if it means I get to hold ‘Lissa,” she plucked her from her mom and walked over to the kitchen table with her, and sat down so she’d have a lap. Melissa was smiling at her aunt and playing with her hair. All the kids loved to play with her hair she thought. Probably couldn’t believe it was real.

“How are you feeling today? Your eye is almost normal again, although you look like hell,” Kris said as she was making two sandwiches.

“Exactly how I feel. Cramps are kicking my butt, didn’t sleep well, have a screaming headache, and the advil and codeine haven’t started to work yet. But, other than that, I’m doing great,” she said as she smiled at the toddler in her arms. ‘Lissa was snuggling up to her and looked like she was getting ready to snooze.

“So, why the call? What’s up? I worry when you call like that,” Kris said in her motherly tone.

“Oh shit, that’s a completely different issue,” she clarified. “Kris, I hope you’re ready to eat both of those sandwiches, Lissa has decided she’d like to take a nap now.”

“Poor baby. Let me put her down so she can get a good sleep,” Kris said.

“I can do it, just tell me where. You finish what you’re doing,” she said.

“Okay, thanks. Just pop her in her bed upstairs. There’s a monitor so we’ll hear if she wakes,” Kris instructed.

Carrie nodded and took the now sleeping toddler up to her own bed. Kris was sitting at the table with a sandwich on a plate in front of her and one in front of where Carrie was sitting.

“Thanks Mom.” Carrie said with a grin as she sat down. She opened her beer and poured it in her glass. She knew she should probably drink some water, but didn’t feel like it yet. They both ate their sandwiches in quiet, enjoying each others company. Once they had finished, Carrie picked up the plates and put them in the now empty dishwasher and grabbed her bag of pretzels and another beer from the fridge.

“Okay, so spill. What’s got you worked up? You had me worried this morning,” Kris asked her best friend.

“I messed up, Kris. I messed up big time. I don’t know how to make it right and I don’t know if either of you can forgive me,” she said quietly. She took a large drink from her beer.

Kris took a drink from of her ice tea before she said anything. “Honey, that sounds bad. I can’t think of anything you could do that would be that bad. You didn’t kill anyone, and I know you’re not sleeping with my husband so how bad could it be,” she asked her.

“God, I can’t believe how stupid I am sometimes. You won’t believe it either, but please don’t tell David, not yet anyway,” she looked to her friend for assurance. Kris nodded.

“Shit, I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just come right out and say it. I slept with Mike,” she said as she looked at Kris, hoping for understanding.

Kris blinked at the unexpected news. “When,” she asked.

“Last night. After the party I drove him home because he was a little buzzed,”

“So Lisa must not have been home,” Kris guessed correctly.

“The really shitty part is that I just slept with him,” she started. “I woke up with some of my clothes on, wrapped up in his arms in his bed.” She reached for more pretzels, hoping they’d make her feel a little better.

“Are you sure,” Kris asked her, knowing she didn’t need specifics.

“Yes, damn sure. But I was so upset at myself for being so stupid that I slipped out this morning before he was awake,” she said truthfully.

“Lisa wouldn’t believe it,” Kris said, setting her tea down.

“I know. Do you blame her? Neither of us would either,” she said frankly.

“As long as you’re sure nothing happened, I don’t know what the big deal is, other than we say nothing to Lisa about it,” Kris rationalized.

“I don’t know. You sure?” Carrie wasn’t convinced. How could she have been so damn stupid?

“Yeah, I don’t think this is a huge deal. You’ve fallen asleep on my husband numerous times,” she stated. Dave had told her there were many times that one or the other of them managed to doze in the car or on the plane. It was reality, not a huge deal and she trusted both of them, knowing that Dave thought of Carrie as his little sister.

“Yeah, but he didn’t have me in a vice grip, pressed hard against his erection,” Carrie clarified.

“I’m glad to here that, believe me,” Kris teased her. “Lucky girl. Think you remember how that feels,” she smiled at her.

“Shit. I don’t even want to tell you how long it’s been. If Mike wasn’t with the Lovely Lisa, I might consider it, he felt very nice, let me tell ya,” she gazed off into space remembering exactly how fine he felt through her t-shirt.

“Well, no worries there, I hear. Last I knew they were still together. I just think this isn’t a big deal. Lisa won’t know, I’m sure he wouldn’t tell her, even if he does remember,” Kris told her as she sipped her tea.

“If you’re sure that this isn’t a huge deal, as long as we don’t tell Lisa. Maybe he won’t even remember since I snuck out while he was asleep. I crawled in when he was asleep and got out before he awoke. So yeah, maybe you’re right,” she was hoping Kris was right about it.

“Do either of us have any contact with Lisa anyway. She doesn’t like you or me, so Mike keeps her away on purpose I think. I’m guessing Mike won’t even remember if he was asleep the entire time. I think you’re safe,” Kris stated. Now that problem was dealt with she moved on to other topics. “Tell me about Tucson and how was Angela when you guys saw her?”

***

David sat quietly, absorbing the news of the potential brand change for him. He always knew it was a possibility, but now with the news that Carrie had discovered it seemed a certainty. He and Hunter had talked about it before, but never really gave it much weight. It must mean that the office had enough faith in him to let him go out on his own, he hoped. He would really miss traveling with the other guys, but knew there were some friends on the other brand too. Mike had said Carrie didn’t have a timeline yet, but his guess would be after the next ppv, it just made sense then. I guess I’ll deal with it then, he thought to himself. This week’s travels will be interesting with that hanging over him, he thought. It was going to be interesting enough with his buddy Cena with Raw now. He should have known that when John came over, he’d go to the other brand. He remembered some great times with Cena in OVW days. They had a blast whenever they traveled together. Could this be why Carrie said she was sick? She didn’t want to have to tell him he’d be leaving the next week? Nah, she probably was sick. She had a tough travel schedule too, and it could really kick your ass if you don’t eat or sleep right, which she didn’t neither of those things.

Mike then talked to him about some of the promo and marketing ideas and mentioned that Liz was the brains behind them. He was surprised. Liz didn’t seem to be too impressed with him these days. He just assumed it was a teenage thing and he’d have to wait it out. It was a nice revelation to know that she was still interested in what he was doing, she just pretended not to be. Probably too embarrassing, he thought. He knew she was at the stage that no matter what your parents did, they were embarrassing. He gave Mike the go ahead for that particular project. Mike had also said that Carrie had notified Wease of the possible change and that he was doing a redesign right now, just in case. He knew he was lucky to have so many people working for him and helping him in his career. Before he left Raw, he’d have to think of a way to thank Hunter, who had been the force behind him getting to join Evolution. Hunter had faith in him and saw something in him that no one else did. He hoped the guys would be happy for him, branching out on his own. He wasn’t sure if Carrie would be as happy going to the other brand, there was something going on there, and he didn’t know what it was. She always managed to be unavailable whenever there were dual brand shows or ppv’s. Well, he had a lot to talk to her about already, so why not ask her about that too. There’d be plenty of time this next week. Plus he had to thank Carrie for taking such good care of him on the road, even when he was being an asshole, like the last couple of weeks.

They were flying out on Thursday morning he knew, and from the time he stepped off the plane until his head hit the pillow that night, his time was scheduled. He knew he’d rely on her to get him where he needed to go, with all the info she could get for him, so he didn’t look like an idiot. He thought, I can do that all by myself, I don’t need anyone’s help to do that.

He wondered if Carrie had talked to Kris about any of the stuff that happened in Tucson. He needed to talk to Kris about it anyway, he really didn’t have any excuse not to. He knew she’d be supportive of him regardless. But he needed to let her know why he’d been such as ass recently. It was nothing to do with her or the kids or anything other than him and his damn temper.

Walking in the door, he could see that Kris had a visitor while he was gone. The beer bottles were evidence of that, Carrie’s favorite brand this month. She was always trying new beers, most of them he’d never heard of before.

“Hey hun, how did your meeting go,” she asked brightly.

“Good, learned a few things. Looks like I’ll be changing shows soon.” He tried to keep his mood light, seeing her in their kitchen, in her shorts with her ponytail reminded him how lucky he really was.

“Really? Is that considered a good thing? When?”

“Don’t know the timing yet, but as soon as Carrie knows, she’ll let us know. She didn’t talk to you about it today?”

“No, she came over for some girl talk, and sympathy. She looked like hell, her eye looks better but she looked like she felt like shit,”

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah, she ate my pretzels.,” she said with a grin to her husband.

“Sweetie, there’s something else I want to talk to you about. Is Lissa still sleeping?” he asked her, worried that she would be angry with him when he told her.

“Yes, but now I’m worried when you look at me like that”

“Don’t be. I just want to talk to you about how much of an asshole I’ve been recently and apologize to you.”

“I know, the pressure and the strain, plus add in Melissa’s crisis,” she was trying to excuse him. He wouldn’t allow it, not this time.

“This is a little different, Sweetie. I’m surprised Carrie hasn’t talked to you about it yet.” He motioned her to sit down as he pulled out a chair for her then sat opposite her at the small kitchen table.

“Oh?” she said as dread crept in.

“Sweetie, don’t look like that. I just want to tell you something and I hope you understand why it’s important for me, once you hear what I have to say,” he said. She was at the kitchen table with her hands folded tightly in front of her, so she didn’t fidget and betray her nervousness.

“The first night that Melissa was in ICU, was a hellish night for all of us, I know. But what I did was inexcusable and I owe several people some apologies. You are my first.”

“Oh baby, what?”

“Well, Carrie started to tell me and I just lost it. Lost it like I have never before and I don’t plan on ever again,” he shook his head at the memory.

“What do you mean?”

“I lost control of myself and went absolutely berserk; unfortunately the one person that was in range was Carrie. She took the brunt of it.”

“Oh,” she said nervously, “She hasn’t said a thing to me about it.”

“That’s probably because she doesn’t want to embarrass me. I was so angry and wanted to hit something, harder than I ever had before. But, she stopped me just as I was going to throw her around, since I’d thrown everything else that I could.”

She looked at him wide eyed and asked, “What do you mean she stopped you.”

“I don’t know how she did it, but she knocked me out cold. I never saw it coming. I hope she never does that to me again, ‘cause it felt like I had been run over by a truck. Once I woke up, I was in control of myself again, thank god.”

“Oh baby, I had no idea,” she said.

“I scared the hell out of myself that night, sweetie. Plus, I never knew Carrie could do that to someone my size,” he admitted.

“That’s a big part of it too, isn’t it,” she said knowingly as her eyes softened at her husband.

“Yeah. I am not used to feeling like someone can kick my ass. It’s a new feeling for me and I don’t like it,” he admitted.

“You knew she’s had years of training, right?” He nodded. “So why did it come as a surprise? Is it because she’s small? Did you know she used to compete and beat men twice, no three times her size?”

“I didn’t know that, no,” he said quietly. He thought he knew the small lady who traveled with him and the guys, but he only knew the small part that she let them know, he realized.

“She hasn’t said a thing to me about it, which usually means it’s not a big deal to her,” Kris said honestly.

“Shit, it’s a big deal to me. I don’t ever want to loose control like that and I don’t want her or anybody else to have to deal with me like that again,” he said quietly.

“You big baby,” she smiled at her husband, understanding him much better than he thought she did. “So that’s why you’ve been a bear to her recently,” she said, reaching over to him and taking his hand.

“Yeah. I owe her a huge apology. No, make that several,” he said.

“Good luck. She doesn’t usually think anyone needs to apologize to her, she won’t let you, you know.” Kris knew her best friend and she hated to be apologized to, especially for the big stuff because that meant she had to admit that she had feelings too. Once she opened up that deep well, it was always difficult for her to get things back in, all nice and tidy like Carrie liked it. It had been that way for years, Kris knew why, but didn’t know how to help her.

“Yeah, I know. I’m hoping you can help me in that area,” he grinned at her.

“Let’s see. I think we can come up with something to make her smile,” she thought. To herself she thought that Carrie really would like a boy toy for a month or so, but she didn’t voice that to her husband. He would probably be shocked, but then again maybe not.

“Tell you what,” she said to her contrite husband, “I’ll accept your apology on one condition,”

“Oh shit, now what,” he grumbled.

“Um, remember when we talked on the phone the other week, remember what you said you’d do to me when you got the chance? Well, now’s your chance baby. Prove to me you can do it,” she said with a wicked smile.

“Oh, I don’t know. That’s a tough one,” he said smiling. “C’mere, you bad girl and let’s try again.” She giggled and ran away from him up the stairs. He knew the game was on.

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