As Mike moved closer and closer to her, Jess started to feel weird. She blacked out for a few seconds and reached out for Test. He didn't move fast enough but Mike did and he caught her, his fingers digging into her elbows.
Jess felt as though she'd been hit inside her brain. In her mind's eyes, she saw an arena full of people and Mike's face hovering over hers, his lips moving but not saying a word. For that one millisecond, everything was clear. She knew who...
"Jess, are you okay?"
Jess opened her eyes and realised she was on the floor with Patty and Test kneeling by her side. Mike loomed over them, looking very concerned.
"I remember you. I remember him," she said, slowly sitting up. "'Freaky weaky,' you say that a lot, don't you?"
"Yeah, it's my trademark. You know that, Jess."
"Now I do. God Test, I remember."
"Good."
Test gently helped Jess to her feet, making sure she was steady. Mike stood nearby, a look of utter confusion in his eyes.
"I don't understand Jess. Why are you so surprised to remember me?"
"I had an accident a few weeks ago at the Molson Center. I lost my memory."
"Really? Oh my God. That's why you haven't been at work lately."
"Yeah. I was dealing with my memory loss."
"I see."
Mike looked over to Test and saw the fiercely protective look in the man's eyes. He'd been about to ask why Test was there with Jess and her friend but reconsidered.
"So I guess you'll be coming back to work soon then?"
"I'll be in tomorrow. To clean out my desk."
"What? Why?"
"This memory loss made me realise that I need to make changes in my life. And the first change is my job."
"So you're quitting?"
"Yup."
"Do you have another job?"
"Not that I know of."
"So you're just cutting off your major source of income?"
"Mike, my parents are probably going to say the same thing you're saying right now. Don't spoil the surprise."
"Jess, are you ready to go," said Patty, rather impatiently.
"Yeah. Bye Mike."
"Bye Jess. I'll see you tomorrow when you clean out your office."
"Yeah."
Patty walked out of the building so fast that Test and Jess had to run to catch up with her.
"Patty, what's wrong?"
"He was there that night," said Patty shakily.
"Who was there?"
"Mike."
"Mike? At the WWF show?"
"Yeah. He was there, hitting on you. A lot."
"Really? You think..."
"I don't know. Anything's possible. How could I have not remembered this before?"
"All right," said Test, "let's not panic. Let's just drive down to the police station and have a talk with the detectives in charge of the case. Maybe they have an update for us."
"That's a good idea."
When Test and the girls came into the police station, they were taken aback. It wasn't at all like what they had expected. Although most of the men and women walking around were in uniform, the atmosphere was calm, relaxed, not at all what any of them expected.
"This ain't like 'NYPD Blue'," whispered Test into Patty's ear.
"Well, this isn't New York," she answered.
By the time they made it to the front desk, everyone was looking at Test. For him, this was a usual reaction. Patty and Jess started talking to the receptionist, asking for Detectives Steinberg and Charpentier when a young police officer came up to him, asking for an autograph.
When Test graciously agreed, it was a signal for everyone in the station house to form a line. Patty and Jess stood off to the side, somewhat overwhelmed by their friend's stardom. When Detective Charpentier arrived, he was quick to send away any unnecessary personel.
"Misses Warren and Johnson, Mr. Martin. How can I help you today?"
"Is there somewhere we can talk?" asked Jess.
"Sure, follow me."
The three young people had been expecting to follow Detective Charpentier into an interrogation room but instead were led into a nice conference room. The detective grabbed a pad and a pen off a desk right out the door, which he immediately closed right behind him.
"How's the investigation going?" asked Jess.
"Well, for now, there's nothing to report. We're going through a list of ticket holders but it's hard. We're dealing with quite a lot of names."
"I can only imagine."
"Now, how can I help you today?"
"Well, I remembered something from that night," said Patty.
"What was it, exactly?"
"There was a man there. His name's Mike. I don't know his last name. He came to talk to Jess. They work together, in the same office."
"How did you remember him?"
"We went to Jess's office today. We saw him there."
"I remember him too," said Jess.
"You do?"
"Yeah. So far, he's all I remember. I saw him there, in the lobby of the building and for a moment there, I saw him in a room full of people. It was the Molson Center, the night I was raped. I'm sure of that."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Is this your first recollection?"
"I had a dream a few weeks ago. When I first got home."
With a sob, Jess recounted the dream. Test held her hand throughout her account and Detective Charpentier covertly watched their interaction. This was an interesting development. It had very little to do with the investigation but it was very interesting. Then Patty went into details about their encounters with Mike that Sunday night. She also told the detective about all the times Jess had come home telling her about how Mike had hit on her.
"So he didn't get the message?" asked Detective Charpentier.
"No, not from what Jess used to tell me."
"And you remember nothing of this, Miss Warren."
"Absolutely not."
"All right. Nonetheless, this is very interesting information. We'll definitely look into Mike as being a suspect. This is a lead. It's good."
The conversation was closed. Test, Patty and Jess could tell that much.
They got up and were about to leave the detective in the conference room when Jess turned around.
"Honestly," she asked, "unless I recover my memory and remember who raped me, what are the chances of you finding my rapist?"
"Slim to none."
"Slim to none? That low?"
"Miss Warren, you have to understand, we have very little to work with here. Your rapist was organised, and very careful about what he left behind. We have very little physical evidence and we can't use that evidence to track him."
"You're talking about the fact that he used a condom and latex gloves, right?"
"Yes."
"I see. Thank you."
"No, thank you. And please, feel free to contact me or Detective Steinberg whenever you have a breakthrough of any kind."
"No problem."
When they stepped out of the police station, Jess was unable to hold back her tears. She was so discouraged and so depressed. Less than an hour ago, she'd felt hopeful about her new life, now she realised that her old life would always and forever hold her back.
"What's wrong?" asked Patty, seeing the tears brimming her friend's eyes.
"Why can't I remember?" asked Jess, "I just want to remember and get the whole thing over with. I don't want this holding me back. Not anymore."
"Oh honey, it's not your fault. You're just not ready to remember, that's all. When you will be ready, don't worry about it, the memories will come."
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime, you survive. Along with the rest of us."
"But it's so hard."
"If it wasn't hard, we wouldn't know we were alive."
As Jess and Patty hugged, Test stood over them, letting them bond over Jess's despair. He didn't mind. He actually enjoyed this task of his as a protector of sorts. And he made up his mind to protect Jess until she felt better.
"I cannot believe you would keep something like that from us," thundered Gerald Warren as he stalked across the living room rug.
"But Father..."
"You won twenty thousand dollars in the lottery and you don't tell your parents a thing!!!"
"Father..."
"What did you think we were going to do? Huh? Huh?"
"I don't..."
"And you led us to believe that you were poor. How dishonest can you be?"
"Gerald, damn it! Shut up," yelled Irene.
"But Irene, she lied to us."
"Gerald damn it, stop yelling at her. She doesn't even remember any of it."
"Thank you Mom. Look Dad, I might not remember why I didn't tell you about the money before, but I can certainly understand why."
"Really?"
"Really. You're so damn controlling about everything I do. This money, the money Patty and I won, it's ours. It's ours to do with as we please."
"But I would have guided you."
"You would have controlled us. Dad, I don't know much about you, I've only known you for a few weeks. But here's what I see. You don't like to lack control. You always want to be on top of what's going on. You always want to oversee it. But here's my situation. I have a new life. I am like a child, but I have the ability to make my own decisions. I am not dumber or slower than anyone else. I'm simply new to life. To my life."
"But I could help you."
"Like you would a child. I am new to life, but I am not a child. I know I lived as an adult. I know I made adult choices. And although I have no memories of those choices, I remember the feeling of control, for myself and my life. I am not going to give that up. Not to you, not to anyone."
"Yeah right," whispered Gerald.
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Jess.
"It means that this whole thing was probably Patty's idea. Not telling us about the money and everything."
"Why? Why couldn't it have been my idea? You probably spent my whole life trying to control me. So I wouldn't have any problems thinking it was my idea to keep the lottery news from you."
"You did tell me," said Irene very quietly.
"I did?"
"She did?"
"Yes."
"So why didn't you tell me about it?" asked her husband.
"Because I agreed with her."
"You did? Why?"
"Because, my dear husband, Jess is right. You're forever trying to control her, and me. And I thought it was a great way of teaching you a well-deserved lesson."
"Fine. Tomorrow morning, we transfer your investment account to my bank," said Gerald, rubbing his forehead. "We'll see if we can't undo the damage your 'banker' has already done."
"No," yelled Jess. "Haven't you heard a word I said? You can't control me anymore!"
"I'm not controlling you. I'm simply making sure your money's well-invested."
"No!"
"You will or..."
"Or what Dad? Or what? What can you do to me? Kick me out? I have my own apartment! When will you realise that I am not a little girl anymore?"
The conversation seemed extremely familiar to Jess. She didn't exactly remember the words, but she remembered the feeling of confrontation.
"Gerald, let her be. Her money's invested. She's more than proven that she is a responsible adult."
"..."
"Gerald!"
"What do you want from me?"
"Control of my life," said Jess.
"Well, from what I understand, I no longer have that."
"But do you accept that? Do you understand why you no longer have it?"
"..."
"Do you understand?"
"..."
"Damn it Gerald, answer her."
"Yes," he bit out slowly. "I understand."
"Good."
"Now, it's time for me to give you some news," said Irene with a smile to her daughter.
"What is it?"
"Well, when you were born, your father and I set up a college fund for you. We always thought you might go to an American university like Columbia or NYU or maybe even Harvard or Yale."
"You did? In what?"
"We didn't know, really. Anyways, when you started working and earning money for your education, you didn't seem to want any help and we respected that."
"I worked my way through school?"
"Summers mostly and part-time during the school year."
"As what?"
"A martial arts instructor."
"I'm that good in martial arts?"
"Yes. Regardless, the money we saved was put in an investment account and we let it grow."
"Grow until when?"
"Until we thought you were responsible enough to handle that kind of money."
"And?"
"We think you're that responsible now."
Tears filled Jess's eyes as she lunged into her mother's arms. She hugged her tight and then looked up at her father. He still looked angry. She smiled at him tentatively and moved out of the protection of her mother's arms. Jess straightened up to her full height and looked straight into her father's eyes. Those eyes that were so much like hers. Eyes that blazed.
"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the lottery money sooner."
"... How much money have the two of you made off it?"
"About two hundred thousand dollars as of yet."
"Out of twenty thousand dollars?"
"Actually fourteen. Patty and I apparently used a thousand dollars for clothes and another five thousand we put in a joint account."
"Two hundred thousand dollars off fourteen thousand dollars in three years? That's not bad."
"Thanks. Now, how much money do I have saved off in this college fund of mine?"
"Something like three hundred thousand dollars, more or less."
"That's a lot of money."
"Indeed it is."
"Actually, it's more like half a million dollars."
Jess's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Her eyes widened as she tried to hold back trills of laughter. She hugged her father and did a series of little sidesteps.
"I'm rich," she sang happily. "I'm rich, I'm rich, I'm rich!!!"
Irene and Gerald looked on with a complacent smile. Jess seemed so happy, so incredibly happy.
"By the way," said Jess, dancing around her parents, "I quit my job today."
Immediately, the complacent smiles were replaced by looks of shock.
"What?"
It was Saturday and Jess, Test and Patty were busy moving Jess out of her parents home and back to her apartment. Patty's little black Beetle had been relegated to a secondary status ever since Test had rented a spacious sedan which fit his long legs. The move was long, mostly because Irene had taken Jess shopping the previous day, mostly for linens, some clothing, a dining set, glasses for every kind, silverware, things Jess didn't know for sure she owned. As for Gerald, he had contributed by going grocery shopping. The backseat was full of groceries, pots, pans and a stack of cooking books.
By the time everything was loaded into the car, Test was exhausted. He looked at Gerald and smiled.
"Do you want to fatten her up," he asked, "or are you guys just afraid that Patty won't feed her?"
"Well, I don't know," chuckled Gerald, "I was shopping for the house and I just grabbed extras of everything."
"Those are just extras of everything?"
"Maybe not. Anyways, Test, I want to apologize for my behavior when I first met you. It was unfair."
"It's all right. Considering the circumstances, I can't say I wouldn't have acted the same way if Jess had been my daughter."
The two men shook hands and waited for the women to finally make their way out of the house. Patty first came out with another bag full of Martha Stewart towels and washcloths, followed by Jess and Irene.
"Don't forget Jess, if you don't feel safe there, you can come home anytime."
"I know Mom."
"And if you just want to talk..."
"Patty's in the next bedroom?"
"Of course, but I'm just a phone call away."
"Yes."
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Irene," answered Gerald, "let the girl go."
"Thank you Dad," said Jess with a surprised smile.
"Well, sometimes, it's my turn to be the voice of reason."
"All right," said Patty, slamming down the trunk, "I think that's it. We have to get going."
"All right."
Test and Patty quickly made their goodbyes and left Jess and her parents alone.
"Thank you guys," said Jess, "for everything."
"You're talking about the money, right," joked Gerald.
"Gerald!"
"Irene, I'm just kidding."
"I'm going to miss you guys."
"Good. Call us the moment you get there," said Irene through her tears.
"I'll call you on Monday," said Jess.
"Fine."
"Mom, don't cry. Please. It's not like I'm going away or anything. I'm just going back to my apartment."
"That's not what it feels like. It feels like you're moving out all over again."
Jess hugged her parents and pecked their cheeks and made her way around the car. She sat in the middle of the car, between Patty and Test.
"Go," she said to Test, "go before I cry and don't want to leave anymore."
As the car pulled out and drove away, the Warrens stood there, waving to their daughter.
Six months had come and gone... The police were no closer to finding out who had raped Jess. They'd examined all the evidence, which now included a jacket Jess had found in the things she had worn on the way to the hospital that fateful night, and had come up empty. Mike had been hauled in for questioning several times but nothing conclusive came of it. Even with the psychiatric evaluation, it had been decreed that although he felt strongly about Jess, he would never had the courage to make the next step and rape her.
Her family was dealing with her rape and with the changes in her life as best they could. Her father still bugged her about her money and about how it was being invested, but he understood where to draw the line.
Gerald asked her questions about her investments because he could do nothing else. And Jess let him ask her all those questions because she was afraid that if she did not, his head would explode.
As for Irene, she looked over the relationship between father and daughter with joy in her heart. She often allowed herself to believe that Jess's memory loss had been for the best in some ways... she no longer feared that her daughter's vibrant spirit would be crushed by her husband's dominating one. She was slowly getting used to having the two of them deal with each other as equals and she was enjoying it greatly.
For herself, Patty was happy to have her friend back. Although Jess had changed, their friendship had endured. Patty stood by Jess as she rediscovered the things she loved and the things she hated. During those six months, they had book reading marathons and movie marathons. For example, the two of them had reread "Anne of Green Gables" together. At the end of the first of the eight-book long series of novels, Jess had turned to her friend with a smile.
"That's what we are, isn't it," had asked Jess.
"What are you talking about?"
"Kindred spirits."
"Like Anne and Diana?"
"Yes. That's the kind of friendship we have, isn't it?"
"Yes," had answered Patty through a veil of tears.
"Why are you crying then?"
"Because that's exactly what you said when we read these books when we were ten."
After a good hug and a crying session, the two friends had settled down to watch the miniseries that went along with the books they had just finished.
Test and Jess spent the three weeks of Test's Montreal vacation discovering Montreal. They were very much like tourists rediscovering the city which, according to Patty, Jess knew better than the back of her hand. Now, with Test following closely behind her, Jess walked up and down streets which had a familiar feel to them but that she could not remember. It was troubling for the young woman, this whole business of not having a memory, to have things be familiar without knowing them.
But what troubled her the most were the people. After Test left Montreal, it was worse. People would come up to her, engaging her in conversations she could not be a part of, for lack of memory. Many were the nights when she would rush home, crying, frustrated by the situations caused by her lack of memory. She tried her best to explain to people about her accident but they would either refuse to believe her, or be over-solicitous, blanketing her with a compassion that made her feel inept and stupid. As a matter of fact, for fear of encountering people who knew her but that she did not remember, Jess kept to herself for quite some time, leaving the apartment only when she had to.
It was only when Patty literally pushed her in the back that she came out of her shell and agreed to work in a dojo that was close to the house. As Jess worked out there more and more, she was delighted to find out how talented she was for martial arts. As a matter of fact, she took to the sport so eagerly that within weeks, she was back in top shape and was being asked to teach some children some of the rudimentary notions of martial arts, mainly judo and karate.
The young woman found her way in practicing the sport. It gave her a sense of peace and balance that she had not been able to attain since the accident. The positive change in Jess's personality was felt and appreciated by all those who surrounded her. Her parents found their daughter, Patty found her best friend and Test found himself a girlfriend.
Oh yes, Jess and Test were quite an item. They spoke on the phone for hours, sent each other emails three or four times a day and discovered themselves in the eyes of the other. Everyone in the WWF noticed the change in the blond Viking lookalike. He would walk down the halls with his shoulders square and his head high. He had more friends now than ever before. And every time Edge would tease him about Jess and her effect on him, he would get a funny smile on his face, thinking only about "his" girl.
Jess spent most of her days, thinking about Test and his importance in her life. She relied on him quite a lot but struggled not to have him be an emotional crutch for her. She needed to know that she could make it on her own without him. And when, after being "with him" for four months, she told him that she was taking a break, Test agreed. It broke his heart to let her go, but he understood why she did it, why she had to do it. It was a test of her willpower, of her independence, and it was more important than anything to her.
Test would always remember that night when they'd stood outside on the balcony off the apartment she shared with Patty. Sometime during the dinner, Jess's best friend had found an excuse to duck out halfway through the movie they'd rented, grabbing an overnight bag and winking at her friend. Five minutes later, Jess and Test had been making out on the couch like horny teenagers. The condom Test had hidden in the pocket of his khaki trousers burned a hole in his pocket as he pulled her on top of him.
"Stop, please," had said Jess, bracing herself against his chest.
"What's wrong," had asked Test, immediately letting go of her, worried about what she might have remembered.
"It's not the rape," she had said with smile.
"Okay, then what?"
Jess had moved from the couch where she'd been lying with Test and grabbed a jacket, moving out to the balcony. After she'd stood out in the cold for a good minute or so, Test had followed her, wrapping himself in the thick blanket that covered the couch.
"I don't think we should see each other anymore," she had whispered when she'd felt his presence behind her. "Not for a while, at least."
"Why?"
"Because you've always been there."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"Of course not. It's a great thing. It's a wonderful thing."
"And..."
"And I need to know that I can do this by myself."
"Do what?"
"This whole survival thing. Can I do it by myself?"
"Of course you can."
"I need to know."
"And how does our breaking up help that?"
"I don't want it to be definite. I don't want it to be forever. But it has to happen. At least for a little while."
"It's insane."
"It's necessary."
Test had run his fingers through his long locks, trying to understand, trying to make sense of this news.
"Have I been pushing you?"
"Pushing you?"
"Sexually, I mean. Am I wanting this too much?"
"Oh no, that's not it. Not at all. I want everything as much as you do. But I can't make love with you yet. Not until I can come to you full and whole."
"You are full and whole. You're a complete woman."
"In your eyes. I have to prove it to myself."
"And so you're ending it between us?"
"I'm taking a break."
Test had looked at Jess, mad, angry, full of rage. And she'd looked up at him, her eyes full of tears, full of pain. His anger had melted away as he'd wrapped her up in his arms and his blanket. Her tears had formed icicles off her eyelashes. Test had wiped them away gently as he'd agreed to let her, for a little while.
That's why, after not hearing from her for two months, Test had been completely bowled over when he'd received her email. Simply, she said that she was going to be in Tampa at the same time as the WWF show. Jess basically said that she was going to wait for him at the Marriott cocktail lounge after the show.
Edge, Stephanie, and all his friends from the WWF knew that something had happened to make his step light and lively again. But he wouldn't tell them a thing. However, as they all watched him speed out of the arena right after the show, Steve had a pretty good idea.
"That's a woman right there," said Stone Cold to Edge, "I've seen some of the toughest sons of bitches in the world come face to face with each other without blinking an eye, but nothing'll make 'em run faster than a woman."
"Come on," chuckled Edge.
"The Jabroni's right," agreed Rock, "only a woman."
In the cocktail lounge at the Marriott, Jess sat, calmly sipping her favorite drink, a rum and Coke. Her fingers drummed a nervous beat against the table which matched the flight of the butterflies in her stomach. She was so lost in thought that it took her quite a few seconds to notice a man, standing by her table. She looked up, and up, and up at him until her eyes rested on the face of the gigantic Paul Wight, the Big Show.
"Excuse me," he said politely, "but can I grab two chairs?"
"Just grab the chairs," said the Undertaker from a nearby table.
"May I?" asked Paul, ignoring his companion.
"Sure," smiled Jess.
Only a few more minutes, she thought to herself as she watched more and more wrestlers invade the bar. Suddenly, she noticed someone taking the one chair left at her table.
"Excuse me," she said, "but I'm waiting for someone."
"And I'm here and I need this chair," said Chyna.
"I got here first. And I'm sure that if you ask at the bar, they'll give you one."
"Fine, you ask them for one, but I'm taking this chair."
Jess got up, put her hand down on the chair and smiled at Chyna.
"Get another chair. Please."
"No."
Both women grabbed a side of the chair. Jess gave the first pull. Chyna gave the second one and went tumbling on her ass. Jess had let go of the chair at the right moment and as her opponent still lay there in the middle of the lounge, dazed, Jess called for a waiter and asked for another chair.
Test came into the lounge just in time to see Hunter helping Chyna to her feet and scanned the room for Jess. He found her just as Chyna leapt for her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jess saw Chyna move. So she waited until the last moment and made her move. Or rather her moves. Jess sunk into the chair and once she was crouched under the table, she gave it a solid push with her hips, sending it out of the wrestler's way, making her land on the floor. Hard. Jess was out of the table and standing over Chyna in a matter of seconds.
"I don't want this fight," said Jess.
"Well, too late. You got it.
Chyna made a grab for Jess's legs but the younger woman was quick to jump out of the way of the long-reaching limbs. Jess stood away from Chyna, extending her arms in a gesture of peace. She really was not in the mood for a fight. She was too buoyant with happiness. She was going to see her man, her Test. She did not want to fight. Jess was stepping away from Chyna when she was propelled forward. She looked over her shoulder to see Hunter standing there with a smug look on his face. For Jess, that was it. She might not be as built as Chyna but she was confident that she could make mincemeat out of the woman.
Chyna was there, ready to introduce Jess to her fierce punch when Hunter pushed her. But Jess was fast and she was smart. She ducked Chyna's punch and brought her shoulder hard and fast into Chyna's armpit. It was a nerve center and it had to hurt. And it did, if the painful look on Chyna's face was any indication. But she didn't think herself defeated yet. She rushed Jess like a football player and Jess just grabbed her arm and flipped her high into the air, making her land hard on the ground.
This time, Chyna stayed down. Jess was immediately at her side, checking her pulse.
"I did not want to do this," she said to the prone woman.
"Bitch," hissed Chyna.
"You know what? Fuck off! I warned you not to mess with me. You did. You pay the price now."
Jess stalked off angrily out of the lounge, not even noticing Test or all the stares that were on her. She went straight to the lobby. She rang the bell for the desk clerk impatiently. The young man popped out of an office like a Jack-in-the-box.
"How can I be of service tonight, ma'am?"
"Add any damages to the lounge from the fight to my tab, okay?"
"Fight?"
"Don't worry about it."
Jess heaved a sigh and drummed her fingers on the polished wood desk.
"While you're at it," she said.
"Yes?"
"Leave a message for Andrew Martin. Tell him I'll meet him for breakfast at seven tomorrow."
"No problem," said the clerk.
"No problem," said Test.
Jess turned around and saw him. Her heart found its reason to sing again as she stepped up to him.
"Long time no see," she whispered.
"Way too long."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. Now, I've got one question for you."
"Sure. What is it?"
"What does this mean?"
"Why is it," she asked, slowly wrapping her arms around his waist, "that when a girl visits her boyfriend, she has to have a reason?"
"Her boyfriend?"
"Her boyfriend."
Their lips met in a hot kiss that resealed their broken connection.
Their bodies seemed to meld together as if they had never been apart. By the time they separated, they'd attracted quite a crowd who clapped and cheered when they stepped away from each other. Jess blushed while Test chuckled proudly, wrapping a possessive arm around her shoulders.
"Jess, let me introduce you to some friends."
Within minutes, Jess was exchanging friendly barbs with Rock, Austin, Stephanie and Lexi as if she'd known them forever. Edge pulled his friend to the side, grinning like a fool.
"So that's her," he asked.
"That's her. That's Jess."
"She's beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't get to her first."
"Actually, from what her friend Patty told me, she was going to have a piece of you and Jess was planning on keeping her hands on Christian."
"For real?"
"For real."
"Now, this friend Patty of Jess's, is she cute?"
"Yeah."
"So maybe, when we go to Montreal next month, you could introduce us?"
"We'll see."
Test was quick to rejoin the group, but mostly, his girlfriend. She beamed up at him and signalled for him to bend over so she could tell him something in the nook of his ear.
"I'm happy," she giggled, "so happy."
"So am I," he whispered back.
"All right," said Lexi, "where are we off to?"
"To eat?" asked Christian, joining their group.
"You're always so hungry," laughed Stephanie.
"I'm a growing boy," protested Christian, "I need nutrients."
"That's not true," laughed Jess, "you and I were born exactly on the same day. We've done all our growing."
"What day were you born?" asked Edge.
"November 30th, 1973."
"So was I," chuckled Christian.
"That's what I said."
"That means you're older than me," said Test.
A second of silence settled over the group, no one knowing what to say.
"So what?" asked Jess.
"So you're older than me."
"Honey, don't you know," she teased, "I like my men younger."
"Why?" asked Stone Cold, "don't you know a good bull is one who's survived?"
"Steve, don't you know that younger men have more stamina?"
Everyone burst out laughing at the same time, guaranteeing to Jess that no matter what happened, these people would always be friends to her in the WWF.
Further away, near the banks of elevators, Hunter and Chyna stood, looking at the merry group.
"You let Test's new girlfriend beat you up," said Hunter, leaning against the wall.
"Hey, she's stronger than she looks."
"Yeah right."
"You try fighting with her."
"Maybe one day I will."
Chyna scoffed and got on the elevator, which Hunter almost missed, wrapped up as he was with undressing Jess with his eyes.
"I don't know," said Jess, "I'm in a mood to dance, to move, to shake off some excess energy."
"I'm with her," agreed Stephanie. "Dancing sounds like a great idea."
"Me too," said Lexi. "Who knows a good club?"
"Well, I know one," said the Rock.
"Hey," interrupted Steve, "I don't dance. And since when do they decide where we go?"
"Fine," said Lexi, "we'll go dancing and you guys can do whatever."
Jess, Stephanie and Lexi started to walk out and all the men, except for Steve, were quick to follow.
"Fine Steve," said Lexi with a great big grin, "I'll buy you... six beers."
"Make it ten and you got a deal missie."
"Eight."
"Fine, but so you know the minute you offered beer you had me but hey..."
Twenty minutes later, the whole group was comfortably sitting in the VIP room of a club owned by a friend of Rock's. Test was at the bar, talking with Steve with Jess sitting between the large slabs of his thighs. The VIP room, as it were, was set above the dance floor, and the music reached at the perfect volume, not too loud for conversation and just loud enough for the beat to make Jess's feet tap. After ten minutes of torture, she gave up.
"I can't do this anymore," moving out of the cocoon of Test's arms, "I gotta dance. Come with me?"
"Maybe later."
"Fine."
Jess grabbed Lexi and Stephanie along the way and went down to the dance floor. She started to move right away but her new friends stood back, a bit awed by the crowds.
"What's wrong," she screamed over the music.
"I'm not used to clubbing," said Stephanie, "I'm not that great a dancer."
"You think anyone cares? Come on, this is for fun. What about you Lexi?"
"I'm not that great a dancer?"
"Guys, we're dancing for our guys who are looking down at us from the VIP room. They don't care about how we move."
"I don't have a guy," protested Stephanie.
"Right, that's why Christian's plastered to that window, watching you."
"Christian," blushed Stephanie.
Jess just grabbed her friend's hands and dragged them on the dance floor. Within minutes, they'd forgotten their hang ups and given themselves up to the music. Jess gave herself up to the beat so much that she hardly noticed when Rock came to drag Lexi off the floor, much less when Christian came to dance with Stephanie, making his new feelings for her very clear.
An old school reggae song came on and Jess started to groove to it, oblivious to anyone around her until she felt a body very close behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a handsome young Black man smiling at her. Jess grinned back at him and continued to dance. Their bodies moved in perfect harmony, swinging and bumping to the old fashioned beats. The young woman didn't think anything of it until she felt the man's hands on her butt. She turned around and shook her head at him, whispering that dancing was fine and that touching was not. He seemed to understand until he did it again. By then, Test had come downstairs, somewhat disturbed by her new dancing partner.
"See that great big slab of man over there?" asked Jess to her overly eager dance partner.
"Yeah. So?"
"Well, watch this."
Jess walked off the dance floor into Test's arms and kissed him. She looked over her shoulder at her dance partner, winked at him and followed Test back to the VIP room.
Test sat back on one of the couches next to Stone Cold and the two got right back into the conversation. Jess rested her head on his powerful shoulder and watched her boyfriend's friends all around the room. Rock and Lexi, Christian and Stephanie all seemed lost in their own little worlds, with only the other mattering to them. As for Edge, he was sitting all by himself at the bar, nursing a drink.
Jess joined him, ordering herself a Cranberry Vodka.
"What's wrong," she asked.
"Everybody's got somebody and I'm still single," he said sullenly.
"Oh please, I'm sure you get plenty of action on the road."
"It's not the same."
"I know. But I thought you were engaged to Val Venis's sister."
"Fell through. She thought I'd give up my career for her."
"Ouch."
"Anyhow, I just want to find the right girl."
"You will..."
"Now, I hear you have a friend called Patty?"
Jess laughed at Edge's cockiness and spend a good twenty minutes talking with him. Finally, she yawned and went up to Test.
"Let's go to the hotel," she whispered in his ear.
"Really," he asked, a special light in his eyes.
"Really," she nodded, agreeing everything the night promised.
Test and Jess hailed a cab to the hotel. While he told the cabbie where to go, Jess just sat in the cab, holding on to his hand. On the way, none of them spoke. They were both a little scared, but so eager... and so much in love.
In the elevator, they just held hands.
"Let's go to my room," said Jess.
"All right."
In her room, there were no words as Test gathered her into his arms. He held her tight as he brushed his lips over hers. Their kiss soon turned to one of undescribable hunger and passion as all the feelings they had ignored for the past months came back to the surface. They barely managed to make it to Jess's double bed as they tried to take off their clothes.
"Wouldn't this be easier if we just stripped?" asked Jess with a little grin.
"Probably."
As they stood side by side beside the bed, they quickly stripped down to their underwear. Jess looked at Test and grinned wildly. She reached up to him and grabbed his neck, dragging his mouth down to hers. She pulled and pulled until they were both lying down on the bed, her legs tightly wrapped around his waist. They came together with all the repressed passion of the last two months.
They both lay in the bed, fifteen minutes later, a thin sheen of sweat covering their bodies from head to toe.
"Is it always this good," she asked.
"No."
"How is it usually?"
"Not this good."
"So I did all right? For my first time?"
"Oh yeah. You did just fine."
"Good."
"How about me? Did I do all right?"
"Oh yeah... I think... I don't remember from before... but I think you did just fine too."
"Good."
"Andrew," she asked after a few minutes.
"What?"
"Can we do it again?"
Test chuckled as he rolled over on top of her, promising that they would do it again and again.
Three weeks later, they were in Toronto. Jess was in Linda McMahon's dressing room, watching the show. It always gave her a special thrill to see the shows and to see Test. It was very exciting. Just then, Lexi walked out on the ramp. She was going to face Chyna in a hardcore match.
Chyna's music came on but no Chyna. Well, not on the ramp at the very least. She'd been hiding under the ring and came at an unsuspecting Lexi from behind with a steel chair. For the first five minutes, Chyna toyed with Lexi, hitting her with everything that came at hand. But Chyna hadn't counted on Lexi's stamina or her ability to take hits. Lexi gave Chyna quite a few good hits and finished her off with the HHH-Chyna finishing move, a pedigree. The crowd went wild, as did Linda and Jess.
Just then, Test popped into the dressing room. He wore his black tank top and his leather pants. Jess ate up the sight of him and smiled at him hungrily, promising him a night to remember.
"I'll come and get you in fifteen, twenty minutes," he said.
"Sure... and honey?"
"Yeah?"
"Kill Joey Abs for me?"
"No problem."
Jess had been having her fair share of problems with the Mean Street Posse ever since she'd been with Test on the road. They made lewd remarks, nasty jokes and Joey had even tried feeling her up. It was only her hands twisting at his genitalia that had discouraged his advances.
So far.
The Mean Street Posse's music was just coming on when Linda's assistant rushed into the room with a cell phone.
"Miss Warren?"
"Yes?"
"Phone call for you."
"Thanks. Jess Warren, can I help you?"
"Miss Warren," said a voice on the other end of the line, "I'm officer Deschênes with the Montreal Office of the Surêté du Québec."
"What's wrong," she asked, her stomach turning immediately.
"Miss Warren, your parents were involved in a car accident on the Jean Lesage Highway."
"Are they all right?"
"Well, they were brought in to the Pierre-Boucher Hospital..."
"Are they all right?"
"Miss Warren, you need to come to the hospital as soon as possible."
"I'll be there in six hours."
Jess snapped the phone shut and turned to Linda.
"My parents were in a car accident," she said, "I have to go home. Now."
"Take Test's car... I'll tell him you'll call him as soon as you know anything."
"Fine."
"Take Stephanie with you."
"I can't. She has to appear at the end of Test's match."
"Right... Take Lexi."
"Good, okay. Thank you."
"Good luck."
Jess rushed out of the room, stopped by Test's dressing room to grab her carryall and her purse, not even seeing Stone Cold as he changed. He immediately saw the distress in her eyes as she scanned the room for Test's car keys.
"Car keys," she said, more to herself than to Steve, "where the hell are his car keys?"
"There," said Steve, giving them to her.
Jess didn't even thank Steve. She just ran out of there. On her way to Lexi's dressing room, she ran into HHH and Chyna. They both stood in her way, trying to block her.
"Where you off to?" asked HHH.
"Get out of my way," she spit out.
"Not until you tell me where you're going."
Jess, not in the mood to waste any time, just struck them both. She jammed her shoulder in Chyna's chest, careful to make sure the hit was disabilitating and not lethal, and just enough to push her out of her way. As for HHH, she gave him a feel of her body as she flipped him over her hip and had him land on the concrete floor. Hard. She hardly looked over her shoulder as she stalked off to Lexi's dressing room. Rock was there, packing his girlfriend's stuff away. He looked up at Jess, nodding.
"Linda called. Lexi's taking a quick shower," he explained, "it'll be a few minutes."
"Okay."
"I hope they're okay," he said.
"So do I," she smiled weakly, "so do I."
They had been on the road for almost three hours. Lexi looked at her friend and felt more concerned with each passing minute. Jess's fingers had not "untensed" from the steering wheel since they'd left the Skydome. She had barely said a word to Lexi. As she sped down the highway, Lexi briefly wondered how Jess knew the way so well. How could she, with the amnesia, know exactly where to go?
"I don't know Lexi," said Jess, almost reading her friend's mind, "I just know where to go."
"I see."
"I think it's because I'm scared."
"Relax. I'm sure they're fine."
"I'm not."
Ever since they'd gotten in the car, Jess's stomach had clenched in fear. She didn't know anymore. She wasn't quite so sure that her parents were all right. Something really frightening was happening to her life and she was scared to death of it.
Two hours later, Jess was pulling the car around Pierre-Boucher hospital. She asked Lexi to pull the car into the parking and join her.
Jess went to the front desk and asked for the emergency room. Once she got there, she asked for her parents. She was told to wait, which she was doing when Lexi joined her.
"Any news?"
"Not yet. They're making me wait."
Just then, as if on cue, a doctor came up to Jess in his pristine blue scrubs.
"Mademoiselle Warren?"
"Oui?"
As the doctor took a deep breath and started to speak to Jess in French, Lexi knew. She knew Jess's parents were dead. She knew it in the pit of her stomach. As sure as she was of her love for Rock, she knew that her friend was now an orphan.
Jess stepped back as she realised the truth, as she realised how incredibly alone she was. Yes, she had her friends, she had Patty, she had Test. But she was alone... she was an orphan. She had lost the only people who could tell her about her youth, her childhood.
Her parents were dead.
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