Chapter Three

"The champ is here!"

The bellowing greeting that was all too familiar to Mickie James echoes throughout the hallway. Without even looking back, she immediately picks up the pace in her walk, looking to get lost in the crowd.

"Mickie, wait up!"

Too late. No sooner than Mickie turns the corner does she hear John's voice specifically call out to her. She hesitates just around the corner, wondering if she can make a getaway before John catches up to her. All wondering is stopped when John pops around the corner seconds later with a broad grin on his face.

"Hey girl! Where you been?" John asks casually, his smile never fading even at the sight of Mickie's less than thrilled expression.

"Oh, I… um… around," Mickie struggles to come up with a good response but fails miserably.

Truthfully, she didn't know what to say. She had been around, it just so happened that Ken Kennedy was also around the same general area. She wanted nothing more than to turn things around and demand just where the hell he'd been for the past couple of weeks since Night of Champions. No doubt celebrating with his newly won WWE Championship.

"Well, hey. Some of the guys were talking and, you know, you came up. And it got me to thinking how things between us have… well," John actually looks nervous now as his eyes avoid Mickie's at all costs.

"Things between us have… what?" Mickie pressures for him to continue.

"Look, I like you, Mickie. I think you're hot and you're fun to be around. I really feel like things between us have stalled as of late. And I don't like that. I want things to progress," John suddenly fills himself with the courage to speak freely.

Mickie can't help but smile at John's words. All this time she figured he hadn't noticed the distance between them but here he was proving her wrong. It certainly made her feel better about their "relationship". Yet on the other hand, it made her feel more conflicted about whatever it was that was going on with Ken.

"John, I feel exactly the same way. I was actually worried that you had lost interest or found something better. I'm so glad that you want more. I totally do too."

So overwhelmed with relief that John isn't just some uncaring playboy, Mickie blurts out her response to him. The moment the words leave her lips, though, Ken comes back into her mind, accompanied with the feelings of regret. Though, she wasn't sure what she regretted exactly. Did she feel like she was cheating on John? Or does she now feel like she's cheating on Ken?

"I am so glad to hear you say that! I'm in room 319 tonight. Or, I should say, we're in room 319 tonight," John informs Mickie with a smile as he takes her hand.

Mickie stares at John, completely and utterly stunned by his words. So stunned, in fact, that she isn't even sure she heard him right. And if she did, she hoped to God she misunderstood what he said. He releases her hand, leaning in and kisses her cheek before drifting away into chaos of the arena. Mickie stares after him, still unable to form a coherent response, despite the fact he isn't there to hear it anyways. Her eyes drop down to the hand he just held moments ago, a key card resting in her palm.

Later that night, Mickie treads her way across the hard marble floor of the hotel foyer. With a disconnected expression on her face she presses the up button on the elevator panel, awaiting her chariot to Room 319, where John Cena waits for her. Her arms slowly move around her form as if fighting off a chill. Even the ding of the elevator's arrival sparks no life in Mickie's detached appearance.

Once aboard, she moves to the very back corner and tucks herself away. Just as the doors slide closed, trapping her alone within, a hand shoots in at the last possible moment. The doors respond in kind, parting open to give Mickie full view of Green Bay's own. Mickie takes the view in for no more than a moment before tearing her eyes away from him, staring down at the elevator floor.

Ken takes a deep breath and steps into the elevator, his eyes never leaving Mickie's sheltered stance even as the doors slide closed behind him. The ride up to the third floor shouldn't take long at all, but it feels like an eternity with all the awkward tension filling the small space. Mickie wraps her arms around herself tighter, yet that shiver never does come. Ken grasps a hold of the railing around the inside of the lift, his dark eyes never leaving Mickie, despite her inability to make eye contact.

Another ding ends things, bringing about the opening of the doors as they reach the third floor. With a long breath that Mickie seems to force into her lungs, she takes a step forward… and is stopped in her tracks as Ken's arm shoots out before her. With his palm pressed against the elevator wall, he stares down at the troubled diva.

Mickie's eyes remain locked on the elevator floor, well aware that her path is being blocked and fully aware of who it is blocking said path. However, instead of fighting it, she simply allows her head to hang down before him. The doors begin to slide closed, only for Ken to reach back with his other and shove them right back open. All the while, he keeps Mickie trapped within.

Mickie takes a deep breath, keeps her head down low, and reaches up to place a hand on Ken's forearm. Her touch does nothing to free her from the restraint, yet it brings a heavy sigh from Mr. Kennedy. His arm quivers under Mickie's touch and his eyes burn into the top of her head, pleading for her to share his gaze.

"You don't have to do this," he whispers down to her.

His soft spoken pleas are all for nothing as Mickie finally applies some pressure to his arm, which surprisingly goes limp. Due to her touch? Or was it never meant to be a restraint in the first place? Either way, she is now free to make her choice… and steps out of the elevator with her eyes never risking a glance at Ken. Ken glances back over his shoulder, making no move to follow before allowing his own gaze to drop to the floor.

"This isn't going to happen… is it?"

John sits on the edge bed in nothing but his boxer shorts, looking up at Mickie. Mickie herself stands at the foot of the bed, her eyes still downcast with no indication what it is she's ashamed of. Is she disappointed that she's letting John down? Or is it that she let Ken down by coming here? John glances up at the diva, letting out a slow breath.

"It's another guy, isn't it?"

Mickie's eyes float towards John, her head remaining angled towards the carpeted floor. No answer was all the answer that John needed. He slowly nods his head before slumping forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Mickie closes her eyes, as if she could shut everything out and start completely over. When she opens them, John is now standing. He moves across the room to stand directly in front of her, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her to look up at him.

"Look, I had this coming. You can't expect a beautiful woman to wait around for you. I did this and I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry," John pours his heart out as he stares into Mickie's eyes.

"I'm sorry too," Mickie's voice is as soft as her touch on his hand beneath her chin.

A faint smile forms on John's lips but it fades just as quick when Mickie pushes his hand down from her face before releasing him. Mickie steps back from him, grabs her coat and sidesteps towards the door, her remorseful gaze stuck on John's staggered expression. He winces and forces himself to look away when Mickie jerks the door open and disappears into the night.

Meanwhile, hidden within the stairwell of the hotel, Ken Kennedy leans against the cold stonewall and relives moment after moment in his head. The first kiss with Mickie James. He still didn't know if he initiated that or if she did. Their second kiss. He knew that was all her. And that was all he needed to know that she wanted it just as badly as he did. But then why isn't she with him now? Why is she with another man?

It wasn't fair. That single thought took precedence over everything in his mind. It wasn't fair that he couldn't have her. It wasn't fair that another man got her touch when he needed it so bad. That's right. He didn't care to admit that she wasn't just something he wanted, she was what he needed. John could have any girl he wanted, but Mickie was the only girl Ken wanted.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the door being shoved open aggressively. Ken's hand shot up to catch the door from swinging right into his face. Moments later, Mickie stepped from behind the door. Her eyes locked onto him and she couldn't tear them away if she wanted. Ken's breath caught in his throat, blinking repeatedly at what had to be his imagination.

He released the door from his grasp, allowing it to slam shut. Alone now, Ken fought every instinct to reach out and touch her. Both to prove she was really here and because it was everything that he wanted. Her touch was everything to him.

"Mickie…," is the only thing that his breathless voice could muster.

He steps forward only for Mickie to move towards him. Mickie lunges forward with a hungry lust in her eyes, grabbing the sides of Ken's face and forcing her lips against his one more time in a long line of indiscretions. The force of her kiss knocks Ken back into the wall, where she only intensifies their passionate embrace. Things abruptly change when Ken returns what is being forced upon him.

With more enthusiasm than has been shown from him in their previous encounters, Ken pushes Mickie back into the adjacent wall. His lips overtake hers in a near struggle for control in the embrace, a force that is mirrored by Mickie. Mickie's hands grasp desperately at the back of his neck, Ken's hand slipping up her back while the other grabs her thigh, bringing her leg up against his waist…

End of Chapter 3