Part 13:

It had been a week and a half since the attack. Tonight was the last taping of SMACKDOWN before the two-week long, well-deserved vacation all the members of the WWF team were going to get. Lissy was getting frustrated with the investigation. She’d gone through all the pictures from the Dallas file and had found no one who matched the description of Paul’s attacker. Her research into the personnel files of the Titan employees hadn’t been anymore helpful either. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that helped her investigation. She felt like she was pedaling on a stationary bike. Her legs pumped and pumped but she got nowhere.
The stalker was unusually quiet too. There had been no letters, no emails, and definitely no attacks. But Lissy refused to let her guard down. This could very well be the calm before the thunderous storm.
Things between Lissy and Paul were still tense after the Dallas attack. She wasn’t so much mad at him, but he was insulted because she’d turned down his invitation to the ball and because she’d endangered her life to save his. Both of her actions somehow made him feel like less of a man and he hated the feeling.

It was December 21st and they’d just wrapped up the last SMACKDOWN taping of the year in Cleveland. Lissy changed out of her stage clothes and crossed over to Paul’s side of the dressing room. Sean and Brian were there with him, already inconspicuous in their street clothes.
“What’ up, boys?” she asked with a smile.
“Please Ma’am,” said Brian with a cocky grin, “can Paul go out with us tonight?”
“Only if I can come along,” she grinned.
“Sean?”
“Cool with me.”
“See Paul, I told you she’d say yes.”
“Yeah, Lissy’s cool all right,” said Paul, barely looking at her.
Lissy wanted to cry at his coldness. She was so tired of it. She had to have rules in her line of work. And no matter how hard she wanted to, she wasn’t going to break them, not for herself, and certainly not for Paul.
“Bad news boys,” said Kip, coming into the dressing room.
“What’s wrong?”
“Tonight’s Swing Night at Tango’s.”
“Fuck it,” swore Sean, “I hate swing music.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Brian.
“You guys do whatever you want,” said Lissy, “I’m going to Tango’s.”
“It’s swing night,” repeated Kip.
“I love swing.”

An hour later, Kip, Brian, Sean and Paul in tow, Lissy was giving up her jacket at the coat check, tucking the ticket into the pocket of a dress which was surprisingly appropriate for swing dancing. She led them to the bar and glanced around the room, looking for her Cleveland contact, Barry. For tonight, the plan was for Barry to be Paul’s protector. That way, Lissy would be free to kick up her heels and dance.
Lissy finally spotted him at the other end of the bar. She winked at him and he raised his glass to her.
“I hate this,” shouted Sean.
“I adore it.”
“Some of the girls are kinda cute,” said Kip.
As for Brian and Paul, they were already leaning over the bar, ordering drinks. Lissy went over to them, squeezing in between them.
“If you need me,” she said, “I’ll be by the dance floor.”
Barely sparing Paul a glance, Lissy made her way to the dance floor. She tapped her foot in time with the music, watching the couple move across the dance floor. She yearned to join the but was missing a partner.
Suddenly, arms went around her waist. Paul, her mind screamed. Lissy spun around on her heels and was struck speechless.
“Hey Lissy.”
“Logan,” she finally screamed, throwing her arms around him, “what are you doing here?”
“The show’s in town for a week. What about you?”
“I’m on a job. And Lord knows I couldn’t miss an opportunity to swing.”
“Where’s your charge?” asked Logan.
“Right there.”
Lissy pointed to Paul. He was leaning against the counter, staring at her and Logan. He seemed angry. Again.
“Oooh, he’s cute,” whispered Logan. “Have you had him yet?”
“Nope. He’s a job.”
“Too bad. You want to dance?”
“Do I ever?”
Logan dragged Lissy onto the dance floor and they started to move together.
Logan and Lissy had met at a dance class when they were both seven. Whereas dancing had to become a pleasant hobby for Lissy, it had become a career for Logan. And he was now part of the travelling company of the never-ending CATS.
As Logan swung his partner up and down, left and right, Lissy thought of nothing, laughing at the exhilaration of flying high, knowing that Logan would catch her. After a minute, she was sweating like nobody’s business but she didn’t care. She was having too much fun. Lissy saw the guys approach the dance floor, looking at her with new eyes. She winked at them as Logan sent her skidding across the floor.
The beat finally slowed and Logan gathered Lissy into his arms, holding her tight. Their bodies fit together perfectly, as well they should, considering that Lissy and Logan had been lovers on and off for the past five years. They came together often, to ease each other’s lust with a comfortable partner.
“You seeing anyone right now?” she asked.
“No. You?”
“Uh huh. It has to be at my hotel.”
“Cool.”
Logan went off to tell his friends he had a ride him and Lissy went to inform Barry and the boys about the change in plans. Barry took it all in stride, but the same couldn’t be said about the boys, who had gone back to the bar. They were all gathered around Paul who acted like the sole contestant in a tequila shot contest.
“I’m out of here,” she announced.
“Who was that guy?” asked Brian.
“A friend. Listen, you guys can make your way back to the hotel on your own, right?”
“So you’re ditching us?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
Sean, Brian and Kip watched as Lissy went to Logan, a smile brightening her face. Logan wrapped his arms around her slim waist and pulled her to him. Lissy picked up her jacket and slid it on. As she turned around, she saw Paul staring at her from the bar. And again, his expression was one of anger. A simple nod or a smile from Paul and she would have taken a raincheck with Logan but the way he turned his back on her and ordered another shot, that was what pushed her out of that club, and straight into Logan’s arms.

The cab ride to the hotel made the driver’s week as he watched them go at it in the rearview mirror. Their kisses were loud and interspersed with loud moans. By the time they got to the hotel, Lissy and Logan were lost in each other.
Joanie spotted Lissy and Logan as they stumbled into the lobby, unable to take their hands off each other. She, along with quite a few of the WWF wrestlers, thought that Lissy had a thing for Paul and vice versa.
But now, as she watched Lissy go digging for her partner’s tonsils, she figured she’d been wrong.

Lissy and Logan barely managed to make it to her room with their clothes on. Once they stumbled in, he shoved her skirt up to her waist. Lissy stepped back half-hazardly, trying to make it to the bed but they didn’t quite make it. Logan ended up propping her up on a desk as he quickly unzipped his pants.
“Now,” she urged him, “give it to me NOW!”
Logan brought his hips up to hers filling her with his heated hardness.
Lissy gasped, louder and louder, as her nails clawed at his back as her orgasm approached and overwhelmed her.
And although she didn’t realize it, as her orgasm washed over her, it wasn’t Logan’s name that Lissy screamed out. It was Paul’s.

Part 14:

Paul got to his room about two of three hours after Lissy and Logan got to hers. He wasn’t quite sure of the time, or about anything else for that matter. He was drunk. Very, very drunk. He chuckled, telling himself that being drunk was a downfall of polishing off a bottle, or two, of tequila all by himself. He sat down on his bed and grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the mini-fridge. He drank the first one in one gulp. And while he walked it off, he opened the second bottle. He had to wash the alcohol out of his system. And maybe, just maybe, he’d wash Lissy out of his system at the same time.

Paul woke up with an incredible urge to pee. He barely made it to the bathroom in time. He went back to his room, and sat on his bed, and grabbed another bottle of water. He was halfway through it when he heard them, the unmistakable moans.

He prayed that it was the couple on the other side of his room, but he knew better. He knew for a fact that Lissy made sure that room was always empty. He knew the moans and groans came from her room. It was Lissy, and her damn lover. He should have gotten into bed and covered his ears with his thick pillows but he could not do it. Instead, he got up, went to the thin wall and listened. He heard her voice, recognized it. He yearned for it.
It should have been him, he thought. Not that stranger. It should have been him. He needed and deserves what she could give him. But now, because of her rules, because of her code of ethics, he could not act on his feeling. Instead, he had to listen to her. Listen to her find the pleasure he should have given her with another man. It was hell.

It was the incessant shrill of the phone that woke up Lissy, not the small kisses Logan was trying to arouse her with.
“Talk,” she said, shoving Logan’s head from her chest.
“It’s Jim. Just got a call from Paul. He’s ready for his workout. You want to join us?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Cool.”
“Meet me in the restaurant when you’re done. At around noon. Bring Paul.”
“Sounds good.”
All the members of the WWF roster that were in the gym made a point of staying out of Paul’s way. He couldn’t have looked angrier if he’d tried. And every time someone tried to talk to him, they were greeted with a scalding look and dismissed without so much of a word. Only Brian, Kip and Mike had the courage to go up to him and make him talk.
“What the fuck happened last night?” asked Mike, sitting down next to him.
“…”
“Paul, damn it, the next time you shove Mark out of your way like that, he’s going to push you back and you’re not going to like it.”
“I can take the Dead Man with an arm tied behind my back,” barked Paul, glaring at Mark who was busy doing exercises to reinforce his hip.
“What the fuck crawled up your pussy?” snapped Mike.
“Lissy,” said Brian.
“Lissy? What the fuck does she have to do with any of this?”
“She came back to the hotel with a guy last night,” explained Kip.
“Good for her. The girl needs to get a sex life.”
The way Paul looked at Mike could have frozen hell over. But that’s what Mike needed to finally understand what was going on.
“You like her?”
“Yeah. And she likes him too.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” asked Kip, glaring at Brian.
“A few weeks ago, when Paul and Joanie were kissing in the locker room…”
“You kissed Joanie?”
“Yeah… it was a goodbye kiss thing. It didn’t mean… well, it meant something but it wasn’t our comeback kiss or anything. It was goodbye.”
“Anyway,” pursued Bryan, “Lissy saw the two of you.”
“She did?”
“And she cried. Well, she was crying when I came in. And she was standing right by the locker room. She must have seen you two going at it. And it made her cry.”
“She cried? When she saw me kiss Joanie?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“I don’t fuckin’ understand women,” said Paul, getting up and running his hands through his long locks. “If she likes me, why the fuck did she go off with that asshole?”
“Who knows? Paul, why is nothing happening between the two of you?” asked Kip.
“Because of her fuckin’ rules. She doesn’t date her charges,” said Paul, mimicking Lissy.
“So…”
“So nothing. I had to spend half the night listening to her and her friend go at it.”
“Shit!”
Except for Kip’s expletive, the guys had nothing to say. They simply counted their lucky stars. They couldn’t even begin to imagine the night Paul had gone through. Listening to the woman you wanted while she went at it with another guy? Some things a guy just didn’t need to hear.
After a big breakfast in the hotel restaurant, Lissy walked Logan to the waiting area for cabs.
“So where are you off to now?” she asked.
“LA I’m going to spend New Year’s with my sister and my folks. Should be interesting. Considering my mother thinks it’s the end of the world.”
“Interesting… I don’t know.”
“My sister and I believe that she wants us to die as a family.”
“Morbid.”
“My sister was never really normal. Was she?”
“No. All right, well, I have to get back to work. I used up all my free and fun time for the next year.”
“We should do this again.”
“Maybe in the new millennium. If we survive.”
“All right, then, it’s a date. In the new millenium.”
“In the new millenium.”
Lissy wrapped her arms around Logan and held him tight. Somehow, deep down inside, she knew that what had happened last night would never happen again. She’d listened to Paul as she got ready that morning and she remembered calling out his name while she was in Logan’s arms. She didn’t want to do that to him again. He was too good a friend to be used that way. She was going to have to find another outlet for her excess sexual energy.
“Bye darling,” she said as Logan got into his cab.
“Bye.”
Lissy stood on the curb, waving at Logan as the cab drove away. It was a strange moment, and a stranger occurrence. She dug her hands into her pockets and looked up at the sky. The muted sun brushed lightly against her skin, doing nothing to warm it. Instead, a cold breeze brushed past her, urging her back to the warmth of the hotel.
She found the boys of DX in the dining room, sitting over mountains of food. When she greeted them, she merely got grunts as none of them even looked at her. Except for Brian. He glanced at her very quickly, bringing his eyes back to his plate. But not quickly enough. Lissy saw the guilt in his eyes. And she understood.
“Fuck you,” she hissed, “fuck all of you. My personal life is my own fuckin’ business, so don’t even pretend you have a say in who I see or don’t see, and certainly not who I sleep with. Is that clear?”
Lissy stalked off to her room, steam almost coming out of her ears. She was so angry, not about their opinion of her but mostly as Brian, for telling Paul about what he’d seen in the gym, about her tears. It broke her heart. She got into her room and started throwing her clothes into her suitcase, babbling to herself. She wanted to quit so badly it hurt.
She wanted to quit so she could turn around, kiss Paul and leave him hanging, all hot and bothered. And she would walk away. If she had any strength.

Paul found her in her bedroom, sitting on her bed, her head buried in her hands. He went over to her and crouched in front of her. He didn’t like those tears.
“Get away from me,” she said, not looking at him.
“Come on, don’t cry.”
“I do whatever I want Paul. That’s the kind of woman I am. If I want to fuck Logan, I fuck Logan.”
“And what happens when you want to fuck me?”
“I can’t. God Paul,” she said, running a light finger over the strong lines of his face, “I want to but I simply can’t.”
“Why not? No one has to know. No one.”
“But I’ll know.”
Paul cupped her face in his hands and gently kissed her forehead.
“We have seven days Lissy. Seven days for you and me. Until the ball. Be with me.”
“What?”
“Be with me,” he begged. “Screw everyone else. I haven’t made any plans with anyone. Spend that time with me. Please.”
Lissy looked at Paul, at the sadness in his eyes, at the yearning. She closed her eyes on the tears and nodded.
“Okay. We’ll spend a few days in New York, picking out our costumes for the ball and then we’ll go… where are we going to go?”
“I have a place in Florida. Let’s go there. We can be completely alone.”
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Okay, I’ll spend the time with you.”
“And maybe…”
“Maybe…” she whispered, smiling at him… maybe.”

Part 15:

A day after she’d agreed to spend a week with Paul, as… well, as something more than just his bodyguard, Lissy stood in the changing area of a posh costume shop in New York City, dressed in medieval garb, complete with a conic hat and hanging veil. And as he pushed aside a curtain, Paul made as an appearance, his strong legs encased in tights. They stood side by side in front of a mirror as Robin Hood and Maid Marion.
“I don’t think so,” they both said at the same time, returning to their private changing areas.
Their next set of costumes suited Paul but Lissy hated it. There was no way in hell she was going to be Jeannie to his Major Nelson.
“It’s perfect,” he said, hungrily eyeing the large amounts of skin showing through the skimpier version of the TV costume.
“For you. But for me, it’s gross.”
“Must you be so negative?”
Lissy’s answer to his question was to close the curtain of her changing room behind her. The next costume was kinkier and suited Lissy. Paul didn’t like it at all.
“Come on,” she giggled at him, “Joanie wears the exact same chaps in the ring and you liked them.”
“Lissy, there is no way in hell I am going to be a slave to your Dominatrix.”
“Why not? I think it’s great. It’ll kick ass.”
“No!”
As Paul stormed into his changing room, Lissy stayed behind to admire his fine buns showing through the mesh boxers that came with the outfit. The couple was still looking for costumes when they heard very familiar voices. It was a reunion of Degenerates, led by Mike Hickenbottom. Kip, Brian and Sean followed him, scowls on all of their faces.
“Found anything?”
“No.”
“Well, we could go as ourselves,” said Sean, fingering a gold lamé suit.
“We did that last year.”
“Ooh, I think I have something really good,” said Lissy, “come on guys.”

“Oh no,” said Brian, as soon as he saw the costumes that made Lissy’s eyes sparkle like diamonds. “There is no way in hell.”
“It’ll be perfect. Degenerates as…”
“No!”
“Please,” she begged.
“Hell no!”
“I’ll wear one too,” she promised.
“You will?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“I don’t know. Guys?”
“Paul,” said Lissy, going up to him, “if you get them to wear these costumes, I’ll…”
As the rest of DX saw Paul’s face change with every word Lissy whispered into the corner of his ear, they knew they had lost the battle.
“Guys, Lissy makes a good point,” he started to say.
Paul was booed down before he could say anything else. But by the time they all walked out of the costume shop, their costumes had been fitted to Lissy’s satisfaction.
“All right,” said Sean, “where are we off to now? We could do a rerun of the last time we had a great time in this town.”
“Actually…” said Paul, linking his fingers with Lissy. “We had other plans.”
“Come on,” argued Sean, “we could have a great time and…”
“Sean,” said Kip, smacking him over the head, “get a clue!”
“What? We’ll have a ball, all of us together.”
“You are so dense Waltman,” said Mike, “these two want to be on their own.”
“What? Oh… I see,” said Sean, finally seeing the embarrassed looks on Lissy and Paul’s faces. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s okay. We’ll hook up with you guys when we get back from Florida.”
“Florida?”
“Yeah. I’m going to show Lissy my beach house.”
“Cool.”
“Anyways, we have some packing to do. We’ll stay in touch.”

Paul had rented a fancy little sports car when they arrived at the Miami airport. He tossed their bags in the trunk and sped away. As he drove, he pulled a few CDs from the glove compartment. Lissy started to laugh as she went through them. They were all Tina Turner CDs. She looked at him with a smile.
“You like her, right?” he asked with a big grin.
“You bought all of her CDs!”
“But you like her, right?”
“You’re funny Paul. Weird but funny. And cute,” she added, gently squeezing his knee.
“Thank you.”
In an hour, they pulled into Paul’s somewhat deserted beach house. It was a beautiful place. Secure, and nice. It looked onto the beach and there were guards at the gated entrance. As they drove past them, Paul turned to Lissy.
“For the next week, it’s up to you to relax. They’ll look after our safety. You just be the girl I brought here for some time off, not my bodyguard.”
“Okay,” she agreed after a little while, “I’ll just be that girl.”
“Good.”
They both grabbed their bags from the trunk of the car to the front door. Paul let Lissy in first, showing her to the living room while he took care of their bags. When he came back, she was standing in front of the living room window, looking at the almost black sea.
“So,” he asked from the entrance, “you like?”
“It’s a great place Paul. You’re close to the sea and everything.”
“Yeah. I’m rather fond of it. I thought about buying it sooner but I was so busy with life on the road and everything else.”
“Everything else being Joanie?”
“Yes. Everything else being Joanie, that I never actually got around to buying it. I bought it two days after I broke the engagement and I came here to get away from everything.”
“I see.”
Paul came to stand behind Lissy, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him. She moved into his embrace, wrapping an arm around his waist. They stood there in silence for quite a few minutes, enjoying the silence and each other’s company.
“I’m hungry,” she said softly.
“Cool, I’ve got all sorts of things in the kitchen.”
Paul led the way to the kitchen where they both snacked on fruits, vegetables, cheese and bread. They talked about everything around the kitchen table until Lissy hid a yawn behind her hand.
“Time for bed,” announced Paul, putting all the food away.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a hard…”
“A hard couple of months,” completed Paul, pulling Lissy into his arms.
“Yeah. I suppose so,” she whispered as Paul gathered her into his arms and carried her into the master bedroom.
Gently, he set her down on the bed and started to take off her clothes. He eased the shoes off her feet and pulled her long sleeveless dress from her body. Lissy even allowed him to take off her underwear. Paul held his breath as he uncovered her beautiful body. He wanted to lay her down on the bed and make love to her all night long but her droopy eyelids told another story. Instead, he pulled something out of his suitcase for her. He’d ordered DX sleeping attire for her and he slid the tank top and matching boxers on her body. Lissy let herself fall on her side on the bed and Paul looked at her peaceful face. He loved seeing her attired in his colors.
Paul got undressed and slid into bed next to her, wearing nothing but his boxers. He nestled Lissy into his arms, smoothing the hair from her face. He laid a gentle kiss on her shoulder and settled down to sleep. They had plenty of time to get down to business, far more interesting business.

Part 16:

Lissy woke up slowly feeling more relaxed and refreshed than she’d felt in. in a long time. Before opening her eyes, she started to get her bearings. She was in a good bed, which ruled out hotels, with satin sheets, which ruled out her house. She was wearing boxers that, as always, bunched between her legs, which meant nothing, and a tank top. This wasn’t helping at all.
Until an arm tightened around her waist. And she felt a wall of heat at her back and a smooth, a very smooth, definitely male, body pressing against her back. And whereas she should have been worried, scared or alarmed, Lissy simply lay back in the stranger’s arms, enjoying the aura of strength that emanated from him.
“Did you sleep well?” asked Paul, his breath warming the back of her neck.
“Like a baby,” she whispered, rubbing her back against his chest. “You?”
“Like a rock.”
Lissy closed her eyes, focusing on her body. She didn’t at all get the eerie feeling of emptiness that usually came after a good night of sex. Could it be that Paul hadn’t touched her sexually at all? Was he really that noble?
“Last night,” she asked, “we didn’t… did we?”
“What do you think?”
The young woman turned around in Paul’s arms and looked deep into his eyes.
“I’m sorry I asked,” she said, “I should have trusted you.”
“It’s okay. When I put you to bed last night… it took all my determination not to… you know…”
“You were a gentleman,” she teased, kissing the tip of his nose.
“Don’t insult me. I’m a degenerate, not a gentleman.”
“No matter. You’re my kind of degenerate.”
“Aw shucks,” he said with a grimace, “that’s the nicest compliment I’ve ever received.”
Paul and Lissy stayed in bed for another hour, talking and laughing. Lissy had never had so much fun in bed with a man she hadn’t slept with yet. And Paul was so gentle with her, treating her so carefully, so nicely and politely. It made her heart tighten to still hold back from him. She still had to hold back from him because although she cared about him, although she was halfway in love with him, she wasn’t completely sure about his feelings for her.
“So, what do you want for breakfast?”
“I don’t know. Are you going to cook for me?”
“Not quite. I make a mean bowl of cereal though.”
“All right, I’ll help.”
Lissy swung her legs off the bed and Paul hopped off it to land next to her. She gasped when she saw his diminutive clothing. God, he looked good wearing just about anything, she thought observing his plum silk boxers. She got up and followed him to the bathroom. They each went to a sink, brushing their teeth and washing their faces. Lissy picked up a brush and was about to run it through her brown curls when Paul stopped her.
“Don’t,” he said softly, “I like the just-got-out-of-bed look on you.”
Lissy blushed furiously and looked at her reflection in the mirror. When she saw the DX tank top and the matching boxers, she turned to Paul.
“Those aren’t mine.”
“I know. I got them for you. The fit’s all right?”
“It’s fine. But you got me DX sleepwear?”
“Yeah. There’s something really sexy about having you wear my colors.”
“But why buy it for me?”
“Call it a present. From me to you.”
Very impulsively, Lissy went into Paul’s arms and brushed her lips against his. She pulled her face from his quickly, laying a gentle finger on his questing lips.
“Give me a little time,” she said softly. “I’ll come around. Just give me time.”

Lissy and Paul prepared breakfast together, ending up with a somewhat botched stack of strawberry pancakes and a delicious pot of Earl Grey Tea. After breakfast and more conversation, they went for a long walk on the beach. They walked on the shore, holding hands, looking like a couple out of a movie or a music video, except that they never stopped to kiss passionately.
“I want to go for a swim,” she said suddenly. “Will you join me?”
“Has it been an hour already?” he asked.
“Yes. I’ve been checking. So, will you join me?”
“Maybe.”
At the house, Paul had another surprise for Lissy when he pulled a DX bikini from his suitcase.
“A DX bikini?”
“Yeah. You’ll look great in it.”
“I don’t think so,” she said, pulling a metallic grey swimsuit from her suitcase.
“Come on.”
“Paul, I am no a DX babe. I’m not even your babe yet.”
“But soon?” he asked, stepping closer to her.
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
“Here,” he said, handing her the bikini, “keep it. You might want to wear it. Someday.”
“Yeah. Someday.”
“I’ll wait for you out on the patio.”
“Cool.”

Paul changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a matching shirt and went out to wait for Lissy. He was going through the paper when he heard her bare feet on the hardwood floors. He lowered the top of his paper only to get a towel thrown into his face as her laughter trailed passed him. He shoved the towel out of his way just in time to see her leap over the patio railing and land onto the sand, running for the sea. He controlled his uncontrollable urge to follow her and watched her run. Lissy was one of the sleekest athletes he’d ever seen. She was tall, strong. She had the long, sleek legs of a runner and yet, she had a woman’s unmistakable curves. Her stomach wasn’t a washboard, it was curvy with a cute little dip around her navel. Her hips were round and wide and her breasts. well, he wanted to make love to her breasts in many different ways. And now, as Paul watched her dive into the sea, he was unable to stop the stirring in his shorts. He watched her frolic in the water for a good twenty minutes until she started to come out of the water.
Paul slowly made his way to her, covering her with the thick towel, quickly drying her hair. It had grown since the first time he’d met her. It seemed so long ago, in that Boston restaurant, with that cute bob. Now, her hair fanned past her shoulders, in long, lazy curls. He rubbed the towel through it, smiling at her smiling face.
“You should have joined me,” she said softly.
“I’m not that much of a swimmer.”
“I love it,” she whispered, spreading the towel down on the sand and sitting down on it.
“You seem to. You’re a strong swimmer.”
“Well, that happens when you start swimming as soon as when you’re three years old.”
“That long? Wow!”
“Yup. My mom used to call me Flipper.”
“But you’re much cuter.”
Lissy laid back on the towel, letting the heated rays from the sun and from Paul’s eyes warm her. He sat by her for an hour while she dried off completely.
“You know,” she said softly, “I think that I just spent more time enjoying Florida right now than I did when I first came here.”
“When was that?”
“When I was eighteen. Two days before graduation, my father was diagnosed with a very particular form of prostate cancer. It was spreading very quickly. There was a clinic in Pensacola, which was apparently making miracles in that field. Only problem was that someone had to come down here with Dad. Mom couldn’t because someone had to bring in a steady income. And Dad couldn’t run the business from here.”
“What kind of business did your dad have?”
“PI. It’s a family thing. Anyways.”
“What were your plans when you came out of high school?”
“I wanted to dance,” she said softly. “I was good back then. I did ballet, I did interpretive, ballroom, everything. I was really, really good.”
“But you had to give up your dream?”
“Yeah. but it helped me find my true vocation. Anyways, when I came down here, it was hard. I was leaving all my friends. But then, Dad did something for me, something that changed my life forever. He… he signed me up in a stunts school. I learned so many things. And I got really close to Dad. In the mornings, I would take him to the clinic, then I would go to school in the morning, work all afternoon, pick him up and he’d come with me to self-defense class. He groomed me to follow in his footsteps. It was the best time in my life.”
“But you didn’t get to enjoy yourself.”
“Maybe. But I got to learn so much. I got to learn the business from one of the best private investigators ever, my dad. And I got to know him, really, really well. When he died, I wasn’t as sad as I could have been, you know.”
“When did he die?”
“Six months after we came back from Pensacola. The treatment, the experimental one. Dad didn’t respond to it very well. It made him sicker. So we came back home and I took over the family business.”
“At nineteen?”
“Yup. Mom went into a weird funk after Dad died, you know. She lost her job and I took her on as my receptionist. We made a crazy team. And we got to be good. One of Dad’s ex-Navy S.E.A.L. partner came on to show me a few more things for a few years. That was really cool too. And now, I own my own business, make good money and I’m fairly happy.”
“Just fairly happy?”
“For now, yeah.”
“What do you think would make you happy? Completely?”
“For starters, you might want to kiss me.”

Part 17:

Paul didn’t think. He just reacted. Lissy was leaning back on her elbows, her eyes on his face as it descended and his lips covered hers hungrily. She responded to his kiss by pushing herself against his body as he laid a hand next to her waist on the blanket. It was a passionate kiss, and yet, no tongues were involved. Lissy eased herself down on the towel, pulling her mouth from his.
“That… was… pleasurable,” she whispered, licking the taste of him off her lips.
“Thank you. I think.”
“Now, I’m happy.”
“Glad I could be of service. You want to do it again?”
“In a while.”
Lissy lay back on the towel, casually throwing her arm over her eyes. Paul settled down next to her, holding on to her free hand. They napped in the sun for about twenty minutes and went back to the house for a light lunch. Instead of going back outside, Lissy set up her computer in the large living room, on the glass coffee table, settling down in front of it, her back propped up by a pair of fluffy pillows. Paul came to stand down next to her.
“What are you doing?”
“A bit of work,” she explained.
“On the Internet?”
“Well, did you know that sometimes hackers go on the Net and boast about which companies and servers they hacked into?”
“So?”
“I’m thinking our stalker might be dumb enough to do that.”
“So how do you go about it?”
“Well, we start with the Hunter websites.”
Paul sat beside Lissy, handing her a tall glass of iced tea. He was definitely impressed by all the websites devoted to him. Lissy’s fingers flew across the keyboard as she typed in instructions, trying to find a clue, a hint about his stalker. But she came up with nothing. And it was frustrating the hell out of her. He could tell that much. So he laid his hands down on her shoulders and started kneading her tense back. As soon as the stiffness eased out of her body, she allowed herself to enjoy the massage and the pleasure he was providing her with. She even sighed in delight. And then, she fell asleep on his shoulder.
Where another man would have been offended, Paul took it all in stride. He tucked some errant curls behind her ear and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. With his free hand, he started exploring the Net. At first, he checked the basic information about him, finding most of it to be accurate and some of it to be too incredible to be true. Then, he went on to something he’d never seen or heard of before, something called fan fiction.
There were loads of these pages devoted to wrestling fans writing about all sorts of fantasies, some of them funny, some of them tragic and some of them, just plain old disturbing. Paul was just going through something called a MISTing when Lissy stirred in his arms.
“Did I wake you up?”
“No. I didn’t even realize I’d taken a nap. You enjoying yourself?” she asked, nodding to the computer.
“This is so much fun.”
“I think so. What are you reading?”
“A MISTing, I think it’s called.”
“Those are hilarious. And for some reason, they usually figure DX and friends.”
“You read those?”
“Yeah. The fan fics are usually good. Most of the fans are very careful and respectful about what they write. Then again, most of them are halfway in love with you guys.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Read their stories. You guys come off as perfect knights in shiny armors who can do no wrong. But then, there are slash stories.”
“Slash stories… what the fuck is that?”
“Funny you should say it like that. Here,” said Lissy, making her way to an all-slash fan fic website.
“This is it?”
“Yeah. Start with someone like Rock… well, not Kane, he’s probably with Chia Boy. Um… oh, the Hollys, that shouldn’t be too traumatizing.”
“Traumatizing? What the hell is this stuff?”
“Just read, okay?”
Lissy made her way to the kitchen, a wicked little smile decorating her lips. Paul was in for a treat, a scary treat, but a treat nonetheless. Lissy was going through the freezer, trying to plan dinner for tonight when she heard his first reaction.
“Oh God… this is vile!”
“Read it, okay?”
“It’s disgusting,” he said, coming into the kitchen, “they’re talking about Dwayne and Shane going at it… it’s…”
“Stop taking yourself and your little buddies so seriously. Just read the stories… they used to spook me too but now, they make me laugh.”
“You’re sick.”
“Go sit down and read.”
Lissy pushed Paul none too gently back into the living room and went back to work in the kitchen. She found some frozen chicken breasts and vegetables and even some jumbo shrimps. In the living room, Paul was quiet, but she did hear some disgusted gurgles from him. Her initial impulse was to join him and reassure him but she grinned a bit and decided to stay put. Let him get a little frightened.
Paul read various fan fics, some slash, most of them not, for over an hour and a half. When he came into the kitchen, Lissy was putting the finishing touches on a couple of plates of rice covered in grilled vegetables, strips of chicken and sautéed shrimps.
“Smells good,” he whispered, “are you planning on cooking for me for the rest of my life?”
“I don’t think so,” she laughed, bumping her hips into his.
“Come on, you’re so good at it.”
While Paul carried the plates to the dining room table, breathing in the delicious aromas, Lissy got two wineglasses from a cupboard and a bottle of chilled white wine from the fridge. Paul had put the plates down so closely together that Lissy wondered if she was going to have to sit on his lap to eat; not that she was going to mind.
“Sit next to me,” he whispered, pulling her chair next to his.
“Sure.”
He waited patiently while she poured wine into both of their glasses and surprised her with a kiss right under the lobe of her ear. Lissy turned around and gently kissed his full mouth. She cupped his face in her hand and gently laid her lips against the side of his face.
“Let’s eat,” she said gently.
“Can I have a bite of you?” he asked, his teeth running up and down the skin along her jaw.
“Later,” she promised, “you can have as much of me as you want, later.”

Part 18:

Romantic suppers were one of those meals that usually made Lissy throw up when she saw them on TV or in the movies. Paul and her actually sat at the table and fed each other veggies, chicken, shrimps and rice, using nothing but their fingers. As she did it, Lissy told herself that she must really care about Paul because there was no way in hell she was going to get her hands all dirty for just a guy. It sickened her but it made her feel giddily happy.
Once they were done eating, Paul helped Lissy to her feet and led her to the kitchen sink where he proceeded to carefully wash her hands. His fingers ran over hers slowly, slick with soap, the pads of his fingers massaging the sauce and bits of food from her fingers. Lissy slumped against him, offering her neck to him. His lips went there right away, fastening on the taut skin of her neck.
As his hair cascaded on top of her chest, he dried her hands, taking care to running the soft cotton towel over each of her fingers. Lissy turned around in his arms, nestling her face in the hollow of his neck, trying to quiet the cries of desire emanating from her body. Paul’s arms squeezed tight around her body, resting his chin on top of her head.
“I want you so much it hurts,” she whispered.
“So take me.”
“I wish it were that easy.”
“Why not make it that easy?”
Lissy looked up at Paul, into the velvety depths of his brown eyes, at the heat in them, at the lust that came shining through. She lowered her eyes very quickly, giving herself some time to think. What would happen tomorrow, she wondered. Well, maybe not tomorrow, tomorrow, but when they would leave this paradise. What would happen when they would go back to the world, to the real world? What would people say, what would they think?
“We’ll take it one step at the time,” he said softly, moving his hands up and down her back. “For now, for tonight and for the few days we have left, let’s live for the now.”
Lissy’s lips covered Paul’s with such heat and intensity that he stumbled back in shock. He chuckled lightly as he pulled away from her and ran his thumbs over her lips.
“That hungry for me, are you?”
“Yes.”
Lissy pushed him against the counter and started to slide his shirt off his shoulders, laying delicate kisses all along his collarbone. Paul’s hands buried themselves into her hair as he lifted her head and looked into her churning eyes. Her tongue snaked out and licked the edge of his lips. His body shook in response and Lissy kissed him in earnest. They panted and gasped as they took each other’s clothes off, kissing and licking at newly discovered body parts.
“Is this sanitary?” she asked with a smile as her fingers closed around his velvety hardness.
“Probably not,” he answered, picking her up in his arms and laying her down on the kitchen table, “but it’s too much fun to be bad.”
Paul’s mouth went around her taut nipple, making the young woman cry out in joy, her back arching off the table. She reached for a bowl of fruits, digging under apples and pears. Paul looked up at her, chuckling.
“I appreciate the fact that you want to play love games but I’m not quite that patient.”
Lissy quieted him with a kiss as her fingers kept on searching until she found what she was looking for.
“Here,” she whispered, handing him a familiar package.
Paul looked at her quizzically but nonetheless nodded his approval. Paul felt Lissy’s eyes on him as he readied himself. And at the same moment he thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth, he entered her. Lissy gasped at the power of his hip movements, digging her fingers into his skin, literally pushing his tongue out of her mouth as her head thrashed on the table. She felt herself be overwhelmed by the feeling and wordlessly mouthed Paul’s name as her orgasm washed over her.
Paul’s eyes roamed over her limp body as tremors ran through them. She blinked up as she stretched her arms over her head.
“That was incredibly nice,” she whispered.
“Was it?”
“The best.”
“What a compliment. Problem is…”
“You’re not done with me yet,” she said a lazy smile.
“Not even close.”
Paul thrust into her once more, making her mouth gape open at the feeling of fullness in her abdomen. He moved in and out of her slowly, carefully, adding a little twist every time he pushed in and pulled out. Relaxed as she was, Lissy couldn’t stop herself from crying her pleasure out loud. Paul smiled at her pleasure and increased his tempo until they both came to their summit together.
Later that night, Paul carried his new lady love to the bed they shared. Their relationship had taken a turn for the better and they were planning on enjoying every aspect of it.
The next two days were as close to paradise as Paul and Lissy had ever come. They played, they laughed, they danced and they made love. Whatever it was that was between them grew into something they weren’t quite willing to name, yet, it was something they desperately wanted to enjoy as much as humanly possible. The long walks along the beach were interrupted to make love on the sand or to run into the water for an impromptu dip in the water. Yet, as all good things, they knew it had to come to an end. They just didn’t expect that end to come so soon, and in that way.

Lissy was lying in bed, next to Paul, watching the sun go down. Her watch on the nightstand clearly indicated it was only six in the afternoon, but they were exhausted by all the fun they’d had. She rolled over and propped her chin up on her hand, looking into Paul’s face.
“You need to shave,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“Why? I thought you liked the rugged look on me.”
“Oh, it’s a fine look, but it does absolutely nothing for my chest,” she explained, showing off her irritated skin.
“I can solve that,” he chuckled, reaching for a bottle of lotion on his nightstand.
Paul rubbed his hands with the scented lotion and started applying it on Lissy’s chest. She giggled at the feel of his impossibly soft hands on her skin, and started to wrap her legs around his waist. His hands closed on her breasts, his fingers pulling on her hardened nipples. She reached up, running her hands through his long hair and pulled his head down to hers. She was about to kiss him when the phone rang.
“Let it ring,” she said thickly.
“Could be important.”
“And this isn’t?” she asked, moving her moist heat over the length of his erection.
Paul made up his mind and concentrated on the work at end, not paying the phone any mind. The machine would pick up anyway. And the machine did pick up. Kip’s voice came through loud and clear.
“All right, the guys and I talked and we decided we gave you enough time to do whatever it was you needed to do.”
Paul and Lissy stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.
“They’re doing the nasty,” shouted Brian from the background.
“Question is?” asked Sean, also from the background, “are they doing it doggie-style?”
As the boys’ laughter came in loud, Lissy and Paul couldn’t help but follow suit. Paul sank on top of Lissy, his laughter deep and as loud as his friends.
“Stop it! Stop it!”
Kip’s voice came back. Lissy could tell he was trying to be serious but that Sean and Brian were probably making it hard for him.
“Anyways,” he said, “we want you guys to come back to New York ASAP. And Lissy, you have to introduce us to some of your friends. Sean and Brian are getting lonely and they’re starting to look at me funny.”
Paul gave up and reached over and picked up the phone. “All right you idiots, what’s up?”
“Hey,” Sean’s voice came on loud on the speakerphone. “Were you guys doing it?”
“Shut up Sean!”
“Hey Paul, tell me one thing,” asked Mike, “tell me you didn’t turn my sweet little Lissy into a degenerate?”
“I was already a degenerate,” said Lissy over the speakerphone.
“Oooooh, they were in the same room. That means they were doing it doggie-style.”
As the New York end of the phone call exploded with laughter, Lissy got up from bed and made her way to the bathroom, grabbing a sundress and panties on the way. Paul listened to the shower as it went on.
“All right, you idiots,” said Paul, “you made her go away. What do you want?”
“Come back to New York.”
“Why?”
“We’re bored.”
“So?”
“You’re the freaking leader of DX. Come and lead us.”
“Let me check.”
Paul put the phone down and went to the bathroom where he found Lissy stepping out of the shower. He handed her a towel and watched as she slipped into the panties and dress.
“The boys want us to come back to New York.”
“And?”
“I thought I’d ask you first.”
“Do you want to?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
“Paul, they’re your friends.”
“They’re your friends too.”
“But it’s you they miss.”
“Oh please. Kip’s already halfway in love with you. He doesn’t want to see my ugly ass.”
“I think you have a wonderful ass. And for Kip’s sake, I’m for going back to New York.”
“Cool, I’ll go tell them,” said Paul, hurrying back to the bedroom. Then he popped his head back into the bathroom.
“For Kip’s sake?” he asked.
“But for your body,” she explained with a wide grin.
“That’s better. That’s much better.”

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