***************
As she made her way to the back there was a ton of people standing around ready to congratulate her. She was a little taken aback by all of this at first and although she was happy she won the match and now had the title, it still felt a little awkward for her. She came from the independents where if you got lucky enough to win the match that was the pay off and now here, to have adoration from all of these people, it was overwhelming for her.
"Good job girl! I know you had it in you!" Brock said pulling her into a huge bear hug. They had become good friends after the sex incident or lack of sex incident as the case may be, and him being right there ready to shower her with love, well it was an awesome feeling, and she couldn't ask for a better friend.
"Yeah, was there ever any doubt I would kick his ass? I mean come on look at me!" Aurora said trying to keep a straight face. That was when she saw Matt come back through the curtain with Shannon.
She looked toward him and noticed he wasn't paying any attention to her, and he just kept on walking. She didn't want to admit it, but him doing that just near broke her heart. This was one of the fears he had spoken to her about, and one of the ones she'd been worried about in her head before the match, and now here it was becoming a reality.
"What's with the worried look Rory?"
Aurora turned around and saw Brock had walked away after the hug and everyone was filing back to their locker rooms to get ready for their matches that night. The only one left standing was Jeff.
"He just ignored me Jeff. What kind of look is I supposed to have right now?"
"I'm sure it's nothing. He gets like that after every match. He just needs some time to cool off and to get over that his new girlfriend kicked his ass that's all."
"I hope that's all it is."
"I'll go talk to him alright? You just go get cleaned up and reflect on how it feels to win that belt. I've been there so I know the feeling. Just don't worry about Matt alright? Let me deal with him."
"Okay Jeff, I'll see you later."
*********************
"Put the chair down Matt. God this is insane!" Shannon yelled trying to pull the chair out of Matt's hands. They had been in the locker room for ten minutes and Matt had already taken most of it apart in anger.
Jeff opened the door and hearing the commotion came over and helped Shannon get the chair away from his brother. It was obvious that this was more then just end of the match frustration. His brother was really pissed off and Aurora had been right, this wasn't right.
"You want to tell me what the fuck is going on here? I come in the damn room and see you throwing chairs and Shannon trying to help you stop. Matt what the hell is going on in your head?"
"It's over Jeff, it's all over. So just go back to her and tell her I said it's great she won, but I can't be with her anymore."
"You know how stupid that sounds. Matt you care about her; you didn't want to fight her because you cared about her. You're going to sit here and tell me now that because she won a match over you that you're dumping her?"
"There's more to it then that, but yes, just go tell her I'm done."
Shannon and Jeff threw each other a look of concern. They all knew Matt to get serious about the in ring stuff that happened, but not this serious. Nothing serious had happened in that match to make him want to break up with her, at least that was evident to him or Shannon, but something was obviously setting Matt off and Jeff needed to get to the bottom of it fast. He owed it to Aurora after trying to calm her fears down.
"Shannon, can you give us a second please?" Jeff asked in a low voice.
"I'm not changing my mind here Jeff, so don't bother, and no more schemes about locking us in a room either. I am not leaving this business and neither is she, but I will never fight someone I love again. Never!"
"What did you say Matt?" Jeff asked raising his eyebrows in shock. He'd never heard his brother say those words before, not even with Amy.
"I said I'm not leaving the business."
"No after that."
"Neither is she."
Shannon started laughing because at this rate he was never going to say what Jeff wanted to hear.
"Buddy did you just say you love her?"
"Yes.I mean No."
"Which one is it Matt?" Shannon and Jeff asked in unison.
"It's nothing; it doesn't matter because it's over. Can you just go tell her Jeff?"
"I don't think you're thinking clearly here bro, maybe you should sit on this for awhile. At least until the shock of tonight wears off."
"No Jeff, it has to be this way. Please just go tell her, I don't think I have the heart to tell her."
*******************
Aurora turned up the music on her stereo as she dried her hair. She was waiting for Jeff to come back and tell her that it was alright to go talk to Matt. She wanted to make sure that everything with them was still alright. She started to sing along to the music when Jeff stepped into the room quietly watching her.
~~~~~
How many times have you been pushed around?
Was anybody there?
Does anybody care?
How many times have your friends let you down?
Was anybody there?
Did anybody stare?
~~~~~
Jeff coughed lightly causing her to lose track of the song and blush. She never ever let anyone hear her sing, and now that she knew Jeff had, she felt like an idiot. She caught the look on his face, and when he wasn't smiling she knew he didn't have good news for her.
"It's me he's upset with isn't it Jeff? I was right all the long wasn't I?"
"Princess, I'm sorry."
"Well can I go explain to him? Will he talk to me about this and reach some sort of understanding?"
"Aurora sit down please. I've got some stuff I need to tell you and I don't know if you're going to like most of it."
"Jeff I do not need to sit down! Just spit it out. He hates me right?"
"No he doesn't hate you, he loves you."
"Are you serious? Why would that be a bad thing Jeff? I mean that's exactly what I wanted to hear right now. I think I love him too. I have to go tell him it's alright to feel that way."
"Aurora wait!"
Turning around she looked deep into her best friend's eyes. There was something else there that Jeff was trying to choke out and couldn't.
"What is it?"
"Aurora, it's over."
"I know it's over, the match is over, so now I can go see him."
"No babe, not the match. It's completely over. Matt told me to come here and tell you that he doesn't want to see you anymore."
As strong as Aurora knew she was, hearing those words brought her straight down to her knees. She knew that this match was causing some sort of issue with them, but nothing this serious that couldn't be worked out. As she dropped to her knees, Jeff fell down with her to stop her from hitting her head. He couldn't believe Matt could do something like this. There was going to be hell to pay if Matt didn't give them the answers they deserved.
***************
**************
"Just be ready in an hour alright? I'm taking you to dinner."
"But won't Beth mind? Do you even take her out like this anymore?" Aurora asked into the phone and heard Jeff sigh.
"Yes I do take her out like this, and she's more then okay with it considering what's happened. So just put on your best clothes and then meet me out front in an hour."
"Okay Jeff, whatever you say. I just don't think I'm going to be the best company for you tonight."
"Well you don't worry about a thing alright? Let me take care of everything. By the end of the night, you're going to be happy again, I promise."
Hanging up the phone she just stared at it for a second. Even after a week of not talking to him, she wished he would just pick up the phone and call her. Tell her that whatever he was feeling was wrong and he missed her like hell. But that wasn't Matt Hardy that was some other man she should have been with. The Matt Hardy she was with, or for that matter wasn't with now, was cold and calculated towards her. Even on the show when they had their rematch, he didn't smile or say a word. He did what he was told and went home.
After picking out her nicest dress and putting her hair up with ringlets falling down around her face, she took a double take in the mirror and with a small smile made her way down the stairs to the front door. As she went to open it to go sit and wait for Jeff on the porch swing, she heard the doorbell. Opening it quickly she saw Jeff dressed to the nines on the other side with a big huge grin on his face.
"Well princess, your chariot awaits. I'm sorry it's not a limo, you're going to have to live with the Vette for tonight."
Aurora laughed and took Jeff's hand and made her way down the steps and the distance to his car. He opened the door for her and let her slide in before running over and hopping in on his side. Maybe going out with Jeff tonight was just what she needed. Who knew, maybe when she came home, Matt would have come to his senses and made the call that would see them finally get to where they needed to be.
With a soft sigh, which warranted a concerned look from Jeff as he drove, she closed her eyes and vowed to block Matt Hardy out of her mind for the evening and to just go with the flow of the night with her best friend.
********************
"You want to take me out where Shannon? Don't you have a wife you could take out to dinner?"
"Yes I do, but she gave me permission to do this."
"Yeah but Shannon, I am not a woman, so you asking me to get all dressed up and that you're taking me out is freaking me out. I never knew you to be interested in that sort of thing."
"Oh give me a break. Listen we are going to go out and have a good dinner and the whole concept is, you might meet another girl tonight, someone not in the business and don't you want to look good for that?"
"I don't want anyone else Shannon. I thought we went over this."
"We did, but you're not talking to Aurora so technically she is entitled to move on, and from what I hear she has. So unless you decide you want to go hunt her down right now and tell her how you really feel and why you were such an asshole having Jeff break up with her for you, then I think you should get ready and then meet me downstairs so we can go out and get you happy again. I'm sick of you just moping around like your dog died man."
"Yeah whatever Shannon. I did what you asked, so let's just get the hell out of here. The sooner I do this with you, the sooner I can get home and focus on something different."
Matt didn't want to admit it, but hearing that Aurora had moved on was a little weird for him. He couldn't move on from her and he thought that her feelings would be the same. I mean sure he broke up with her, and it was his entire fault, but this was a fork in the road and he was going to make it up to her. Wasn't he?
********************
Matt and Shannon walked into the restaurant and gave their jackets to the coat check lady. Following the maitre'd to their seats Matt looked over to the corner and could have sworn he saw Aurora.
"She's here with her date Shannon, did you know that?"
"Who is?" Shannon said looking around pretending he didn't know what Matt was talking about, but grinning on the inside. Everything was falling into place perfectly.
"Aurora is. You said she was dating again and although I can't see who she is with, she's here and she's dressed to the nines."
"Well why don't we go say hi to her then? If her date isn't there, it can't hurt right?"
"Shannon I don't know man, I don't think that's the right thing to do."
"You said you loved her didn't you? So why don't you go over there and tell her what a complete ass you are and beg her back?"
"I can't do that man."
"Then just go say hi and that's it. No stress right?"
"You do have a point."
"I always do and you know it. Go over there. I will be right behind you. I'm just going to order a drink from the bar."
Shannon walked over to the bar where Jeff was already seated ready to watch the fireworks. With a little slap on the shoulder Shannon sat down and started watching what Jeff was already glued too. He saw Matt say something to her and then she invited him to sit down.
"It's funny Jeff; they didn't even know that they were each others dates."
"Yeah but it was a good plan wasn't it? I mean Aurora has been sick and quiet since that night, pulling into herself and my God you know what Matt is like normally, so this was just ten times worse. Why don't we just get out of here and let them deal with this however they want?"
"What happens if they kill each other?"
"Then it was meant to be. You with me man? I think I want to go take Beth somewhere nice."
"I hear ya, let's go get the girl's and have our own dates."
*****************
"So what brings you here Aurora?"
"Jeff said he wanted to take me out to cheer me up. He took off awhile ago though and I don't know where he is."
"Now that you mention it, Shannon said he was going to the bar and then he would be over to see you too."
"We've been set up again haven't we?"
Matt laughed and looked deeply into her eyes. He knew the reason the guys had felt the need to set them up was because Matt kept messing things up and not giving Aurora a chance to really talk to him. He knew that in order for things to get anywhere with them he had to do that.
"It looks that way princess."
"Matt, I need to know some things."
"You want to know why I sent Jeff to break up with you instead of doing it myself don't you."
"Yeah among other things. Do you have time to answer that for me?"
"I have all the time in the world seeing as those two just snuck out the front door." Matt said pointing to the door and Aurora couldn't help but laugh. Leave it to Jeff and Shannon to do it to them again. At least this time they weren't locked in a closet.
"What happened with us?"
"I acted like an idiot and I took that match too seriously."
"Why?"
"It's hard for me to say Rory."
"Well just say it and if it doesn't make sense then I will tell you."
"I didn't want to do that match to begin with; you knew that and I even think that once we were in the match you didn't want to do it either. When you threw your shoulder into that turnbuckle, it all hit the fan for me. You got hurt and it was my fault. Does that make sense?"
"Yes, why didn't you tell me that's how you were feeling?"
"Because I'm an idiot?"
"No you aren't but you need to talk to me about this kind of stuff. I can't always read your mind and I didn't know why you would be so mad with me after the match. I know being together and then wrestling each other is hard, but it's our job."
"I understand that and Aurora I am so sorry for everything I did to you, and made Jeff do to you."
"Its water under the bridge now Matt. So are you happy?"
"Do you want the honest answer?"
"Always."
"I am so miserable without you. Knowing you and how you are, and how insane crazy you make me has brought so much to my life and after one stupid act on my part, I'm alone and without that, and it sucks. I am unhappy as hell and Rory I know it's not right of me to ask but I need you back in my life."
"It's not unreasonable Matt."
"What do you mean?"
"I miss you too Matt, this week has been hard on me. I waited for you to call and say you were an idiot and you love me and we will be fine. When you didn't do it a part of me gave up on us ever being happy. You're here now and I find myself wanting to be with you too."
"I do."
"You do what Matt?"
"Aurora Rivers, I know I should have said this sooner and in a better way, but I love you."
Aurora felt the tears start streaming down her face as she said those words. She had heard them from Jeff the other night when he ended things with her, but hearing them now from Matt's own lips, it meant that much more.
"And our differences?"
"Can be worked on Aurora that is if you want to work on them with me."
"I do and I love you too Matthew Hardy."
"Remember the first night I met you?"
"Fondly, why?"
"I told you that I wanted to take you on the floor of the arena, do you remember that?"
"I do, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Our relationship was based around feelings, not actions and for once, now that I know you love me and I love you, I want to work on those actions. What do you say?"
"Are you asking to take me on the floor here Matt?" Aurora laughed lightly.
"No, but I am asking you to let me take you home tonight, and let me stay the night with you."
"That can be arranged."
"I love you Aurora."
"I love you too Matt, now let's get out of here before you change your mind."
*****************
*******************
They had gotten in the door and Aurora has kissed him deeply and headed immediately for the bathroom. He started playing with her stereo, now finally getting a chance to see what she listened to when they weren't together. He knew from her hanging out with Jeff that she was a huge music fan as well as being one of the best women wrestlers. He flipped through her CD collection and found the perfect song to culminate what was about to happen between them for the first time. As he put the CD into the player and chose the song, he heard the bathroom door open and Aurora step out.
"I've never seen an angel this close before."
"That's because you never really looked. So what do you think?"
"Of what?" he asked with a sly grin.
"Of the outfit?" Aurora asked doing a quick spin around the room and landing back on her feet, she smiled.
"My honest answer? Or the more romantic one?"
"Honest one please."
"The outfit looks wonderful baby, but I'm a man, and I'm here now as a man thinking that you would look that much better out of the outfit. Is that wrong?"
Moving slowly over to where Matt was standing, and without saying a word she gently kissed him on the lips, and pulled him towards the bed. Before doing so, Matt managed to hit play on her stereo and the room was filled with music. As the made their way onto the bed Matt got lost in trying to kiss every inch of her, as the music of Faith Hill drowned out the rest of the world.
~~~~~
Baby I've been drifting away
Dreaming all day
Of holding you
Touching you
The only thing I want to do
Is be with you
As close to you
As I can be
~~~~
Matt started kissing down Aurora's neck pulling the straps of her blue silk lingerie down around her shoulders. Looking up briefly into her eyes and seeing her smile, made his heart almost explode in his chest. Sliding the rest of the outfit down around her feet and throwing it to the ground, Matt continued kissing her everywhere, wanting to know what it felt like to taste every inch of her.
As he got closer to her legs he heard her make a small moan, and came up to meet her lips with his. He had never wanted to be with a girl as much as he wanted to be with this woman right now. He knew that them not making love before was because it wouldn't have meant as much as this moment right now.
~~~~
Let's make love
All night long
Until all our strength is gone
Hold on tight
Just let go
I want to feel you in my soul
Until the sun comes up
Let's make love
Oh, baby
~~~~
Arching her back on the bed just from Matt's touch and feeling him that close to her, she couldn't help herself from moaning. With one deep look at her lover she knew it was time.
"Make love to me Matt. No more waiting, no more games, just you and me right now."
Not needing any more from Aurora except those few little words, Matt did what she asked of him. He entered her slowly, not wanting to hurt her or make her feel uncomfortable, and with one look into her eyes and knowing that things were finally at this one mind blowing moment, going to be okay, he made love to her like he had never done with any other woman before. With his entire heart.
~~~~
Do you know what you do to me
Everything inside of me
Is wanting you
And needing you
I'm so in love with you
Look in my eyes
Let's get lost tonight
In each other
Let's make love
All night long
Until all our strength is gone
Hold on tight
Just let go
I want to feel you in my soul
Until the sun comes up
Let's make love
~~~~
A few hours later, while lying in each others arms, both afraid to let go, Aurora thought of a song that Jeff had given her the other day when Matt hadn't been speaking to her, and remembered the words she tapped him on the shoulder now.
"Yeah?"
"There's something I want to say to you. Actually it's a song, but it means a lot to me now, after everything we've done."
"What song is that baby?"
"I just want you to hear the words. I can't remember the name or who sings it, but the words are all that matters."
"Okay."
Aurora gently cleared her throat and with a small hum she said the words aloud to Matt, causing him for the first time around her, to break down and remember how lucky he was.
~~~~~
Stay With Me, Darling won't you stay right here with me? You promised you would never leave Stay with me Oh won't you stay right here with me Won't you hold my hand and stay with me
~~~~~
"I'm never leaving you again Aurora, I love you."
********************************
