I had planned to have a few friends over for a small party, since they were in town for a show. Word traveled fast, and I wound up with half of the Smackdown roster at my house. I didn't mind the extra company, but I did ask Matt and Shannon who let the word out. "I mentioned it to Sean," Matt had said. "Sean was invited, anyways," I had told him. "I kinda told Crash, Bradshaw, Taker, Show, Dawn and Stephanie," Shannon replied. "I guess they mentioned it to some people, too," Matt said. "It's alright, guys. But, you guys have to help clean up, before you head out of town. I only planned on five people." With a resigned sigh, they agreed.

I had fun, as well as everyone else. I danced with some of the guys, drank shots with Dawn, and after a few hours, found myself sitting on Sean's lap. Throughout the night, the oldest of the roster, Undertaker, would glance at me from time to time. I caught him looking while I was with Sean. He looked down at his feet, then walked into the kitchen. "Excuse me, Sean." I went into the kitchen, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Taker" "Hey, Jade." "I caught you looking at me a few times." He hooked his thumbs in his pockets, and leaned against the counter to look again. "Yeah." "Did you want something?" "A chance to talk to you." He pushed away from the counter. "I came in for a beer. Do you want one?" "Sure."

He grabbed our beers, and we stood there, talking. Then, he looked me in the eyes, and asked, "can I ask you a personal question?" "Sure." "What's up with you and Sean? Are you two seeing each other?" "Not now. We were together a few months ago. Why?" He put his arm around my waist, and laid his hand at the small of my back. "Because I wanted to know." He leaned down, and kissed me.

I left the kitchen, as I heard some of the guys getting rowdy. Bradshaw was in the middle of Shannon and Crash, holding them away from each other with one huge hand on both of their heads. "Hey! What the hell's going on here," I yelled at them. Shannon pushed Bradshaw's hand away, and turned to say, "Crash said I couldn't drink, because I'm just a kid." "Crash..." "Well, he is! Look at'em. He couldn't be anymore than 16." Shannon dove for Crash again, giving him a perfect spear. As they rolled on the floor, Matt and Bradshaw tried to grab them. Matt bumped into me, knocking me to the floor. Bradshaw finally picked Crash up by his overalls, and carried him to the door. He put him in the car, and took him to the hotel.

Taker came up to me, and helped me off the floor. "Are you ok, darlin'?" "Yeah. It's not the first time he's knocked me on my ass," I laughed. "No, but it's the first time somebody helped your ass back up," Matt said as he tipped back his beer. "You can't all be gentlemen, can you guys?" I said sarcastically. "Oh, come on. You're like a sister. I'm not supposed to be nice to you," he said as he slung his arm over my shoulder. The beer on his breath was worse than the excessive cologne he had put on. "Jesus, Matt... How many bottles have you gone through?" "This is my third beer." "I meant cologne." "Oh, you're funny."

As the night wore on, the guests dwindled to just a few. I had spent most of the night talking to Taker, and occassionally exchanging small kisses. We just seemed to connect. I finally noticed how few people were left when Sean told me he was going to the hotel. "Goodnight, Sean." "Goodnight. I'll see you at the show tomorrow." "Ok." Once he was out the door, it was just me, Taker, Matt and Shannon. I went into the kitchen to get Taker and me another beer, but we had ran out. I looked up at the clock, and it said 2. I went back in the living room, and said, "well, guys, we're out of beer, and it's 2." "Are you ready for bed, Jade?" Matt said. "Why? You gonna read me a bedtime story?" "We'll get out of here, sis," Shannon said, as he and Matt got up. "I'll see you guys at the show." "Ok. Taker, you want a ride?" "I'll be out in a minute." "Bye, Jade," Matt yelled out, as they walked out the door. "Bye," I yelled back.

When I turned around, Taker was standing behind me. His hands went to my waist, as he slowly came down to kiss me again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and welcomed his soft kiss. He ended it, and said, "I should get back to the hotel." I wanted to tell him to stay, but I didn't want to sleep with him, and not remember in the morning. "Goodnight, Mark." I stood on my toes, and kissed him. When it ended, he said, "goodnight, Jade. I'll see you tomorrow." "I look forward to it." He patted me on the ass, and let me go. Then, he left with Matt and Shannon. I locked the door, shut off the lights, and went to bed.

My slumber was filled with sweet dreams of Taker, and everything I wanted to do to him. But I had let him walk out the door. In my dream, his eyes were dark with desire. His lips were hard and hungry on mine. His height, his big arms, though usually intimidating, seemed almost comforting. The last thing I remembered from my dream was a kiss. I felt every tiny crevice in his lips, the way our lips stuck together, as we tried to end the kiss. Not once throughout my dream, did I see us having sex.

The next day, I made sure I was ready to go to the arena before noon. At half past noon, there was a knock on the door. With a smile on my face, I answered the door. My smile slowly faded as I laid eyes on Matt and Shannon. "Oh... It's you." "Yeah. Were you expecting someone else?" Matt said. "Maybe." "Well, we promised to help clean up, so here we are." "Good. You guys have muscles... You two can start with the trash bags full of beer bottles." "I knew we'd get the shitty jobs," Shannon said. "This will teach you to keep your mouths shut next time." "I didn't hear you complaining while you were with Taker last night," he teased. "Get to work."

We had finished cleaning, and were ready to leave, when there was another knock on the door. As I opened the door, I said, "what?" "Hey, Jade. Wake up with a hang over?" "Uh... Hey, Taker. I'm good. How's your head?" "Just fine." "We were just heading to the arena. What brings you by?" "I wanted to give you a ride. I grabbed the bike from the truck at the arena." I looked at Matt and Shannon, then at Taker, then back to my friends. "I'm gonna ride with him. I'll see you two there." Matt and Shannon stepped around me and Taker, and headed to their rental car. After they pulled away, Taker said, "can I come in for a minute?" "Sure." He entered, and I closed the door behind him.

I turned around to face him, and he was so close I could feel his body heat. He laid his hand on my cheek. "I couldn't stop thinking of you after I left," he said. I smiled up at him. "I dreamed of you." The corner of his lips curled into a smile. "What was I doing in your dream?" I slid my hands inside his unbuttoned shirt, and laid them on his chest. "Driving me insane." "Is that good or bad?" "Oh, it was very good." As he leaned down, my arms went around his neck. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he picked me up. "Why don't you let ol' Mark give you a dose of Prozac." "If you're thinking what I am, we'll be late for the show." "I don't have a match anyways." My smile widened. "Then I'll take my medicine like a good girl."

As one arm held me up, the other hand went under my hair to my neck. I leaned my head back, as he leaned down to kiss my throat. He worked his way to my chin, then finally kissed my lips. My blue eyes connected with his green eyes. "I need you, Mark." Not wasting any time, he laid me down on the stairs, and leaned over me, kissing my neck. He sat back on his legs, and began taking off his shirt. I sat up, and did the same. After tossing them aside, we met in the middle; hands and lips going everywhere. After a few moments, he ended our kiss, and held me away.

"What's wrong?" "We're not doing this right." "What?" "We shouldn't be on the stairs. Not for our first time together." "I don't give a damn where, Mark." "Humor me. Where's your bedroom?" "The loft is my bedroom." He licked the valley of my breasts, then said, "lead the way." I crawled backward up the stairs, because he was crawling along right over me. When we reached the top of the stairs, I stood up. Mark continued to crawl, then grabbed my hips, and kissed my stomach. He raised up on his knees, and kissed my ribs, then worked his way up to my breasts. He got to his feet, and continued his journey up my body. I ran my fingers through his short hair, and pulled off his bandanna. As our lips met, he worked on the button on my jeans, then unzipped them. I let my hands go down his chest, then his stomach, before I worked on his jeans.

He leaned down, and picked me up. He carried me to the bed, and gently laid me down. He pulled my sandals off, and threw them to the side. Then, he slid my jeans off of my legs. I looked at him as he took off his jeans, and laid down next to me. My body trembled from the inside out as he took me into his arms. His hand slid down my back, then under the waistband of my thong; the only barrier between us. He slid them down as far as he could reach, then I curled my legs behind me, and took them off. As I tossed them toward my jeans, Mark climbed over me. He reached between my legs, and petted my soft curls. When he slid his finger within my hole, I raised my hips. "Don't tease me," I whispered. "I don't plan to," he whispered back.

As he positioned himself for entry, he claimed my lips with an earth shattering kiss. He began his slow entrance, then grabbed my hands, laced his fingers with mine, and pressed them into the matress on either side of my head. His thrusts were slow at first, letting me adjust to his size. As my muscles loosened around him, his strokes became faster. I raised my hips to meet each thrust, to allow him to go deeper. He arched his back, and lifted his upper body off of me. I writhed and moaned beneath him. "Oh, gawd... Mark." He released my hands, then caressed my cheek. "Give in, darlin'." I wrapped my legs around his waist, and held on to him. I nearly screamed as the most amazing orgasm I had ever had came over me. He released a sound somewhere between a growl and a moan. His thrusts came faster and harder, until he stopped, and collapsed on me.

After a moment, he kissed my neck, then said, "I wish I could stay here all night." "Why can't you?" "Time to come clean. I do have a match tonight." "Why did you tell me..." "Because I couldn't wait any longer. I never wanted anything as badly as I wanted you." "And now?" "I want more of you." "Let's get to the show, then we can come back when you're done." He smiled before kissing me. "You'll have to drag me to get me out of your bed in the morning." "Good, then I won't have to strap you to it."

by The Rolling Stones

As Mark and I pulled into the loading docks, I saw Matt and Shannon standing outside the door. Mark parked the bike on one of the ramps leading inside the building. I got off the bike, and walked over to them. Before I reached them, Shannon turned and walked inside. "You waiting for someone?" "Yeah. You. Where the hell have you been? We've been here for an hour already." "Mark and I had to do something." Mark came up behind me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and kissed the top of my head. "I'll see you inside, babe. I have to check in." "Alright." I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as I watched him walk in.

"Please tell me you didn't." "Didn't what, Matt?" "Sleep with Taker." "OK. I didn't sleep with Taker. I had sex with Mark." "Don't be a smart ass. You know what I meant." "Yes, and I don't see how it concerns you. My love life is none of your business." "When it comes to Taker, I'll make it my business. The man is weird." "So was Sean, but you didn't say anything about him." "Taker is weirder than Sean. He has this dark side, and I'm worried about you getting hurt." "Matt, really... You're overreacting. Mark is a very normal, fully functional man. Maybe if you took the time to get to know him, you'd see that." "I know him. That's why I'm worried." "Well, if he's so damn weird, maybe he can teach me a few things," I said as I turned to walk inside. Matt grabbed my arm. "Just watch yourself, will you, Sis?" "OK, bro." He let go of my arm, and let me walk inside.

Just as I walked through the door, I was grabbed. "You didn't have to defend me." I relaxed against Mark's hard, warm body. "He's just over protective, Mark. If I argue with him, he eventually gives in, and leaves me alone." "And what if he was right? What if I am a little dark and weird?" "I'm willing to take that chance." Mark pushed my hair away from my neck, so he could taste it. "Mark, if you don't stop..." I had to moan as he bit my collar bone. "Oh, gawd..." I turned around in his arms. He pulled me tight against him. His growing erection pressed into my belly. "I have a private dressing room, and we have thirty minutes until the show." "I don't want to wear you out before your match." He grabbed a handful of my hair, and smiled down at me. "Don't worry about me. You need to worry about yourself." I laughed. "Why?" "Because I want to fuck you 'til you can't stand." "Sounds good to me. And, I hope you have more use for that tongue of your's, than just sticking it out at people." "Oh, yeah, I do." His kiss was rough and heated, making me moan.

"Get a room, will ya," Matt said as he walked through the door. Mark turned to look at him. All I could do was lean against the wall, and wait for the fog from the kiss to wear away. As I opened my eyes, I saw Matt poke Mark in the chest. "Further more, I think you're too old for my best friend." "Little man, I don't care how young she is. As long as Jade is legal and willing, she's mine." I finally snapped to their conversation. "Matt, just stay out of our business." I walked off, and Mark followed me. "Baby, slow down." I stopped, and he almost ran into me. "I don't know what's crawled up that man's ass, but I'm about to beat it out of him." "Forget about him, baby." He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and whispered in my ear. "Think about tonight, and what I'm going to do to you." I closed my eyes, and envisioned the night that lay ahead. I smiled. "Ooo... I kinda like that idea." "Walk. I'll lead you to the dressing room."

As we went down the hall, I heard someone walk towards us. "Hey, Deadman. I see you're busy, but Vinnie Mac wants you in his office," Taz said. "Can it wait?" Taz laughed. "I'm not gonna be the one to tell the boss to wait." With a sigh, he let go of me. "I'm right down the hall, babe. Go ahead, and I'll be in there in a few minutes." "Alright, Mark." I went down the hall, and sat waiting for him. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door. When I opened the door, I saw one of the security guys I had met before. "Hey, Jimmy." "Hey, Jade. Matt asked me to give this to you." He handed me a slip of paper. "Thanks." I closed the door, and unfolded it to read the note. "Jade, I promise not to argue with you anymore. Please come to my dressing room. I need to tell you something. Matt." I sighed, and opened the door. As I walked down the hall, I found some familiar faces. "Bradshaw, where can I find Matt's dressing room?" "Hey, darlin'. It's down the hall on the left." "Thanks."

I found his dressing room, and knocked on the door. He opened the door, and invited me in. "You wanted to see me?" "There's something I've wanted to tell you for years." "What could you have kept from me so long? I know everything about you." He looked down as he closed the door. "Almost everything." He looked up at me almost sadly. "What's wrong, Matt?" "Have you ever wondered why I'm so protective of you?" "I thought it was because my dad asked you to." "But you don't know why he put that trust in me, do you?" "No."

He sighed. "Just before your dad died, a young, nieve boy went to your father, and asked if he could marry you." "That's so sweet. Who was it?" "It was me." My jaw dropped. "Why..." "Because I loved you then." He looked at his feet again. "And, I still love you. I suppose your father knew I always would." "But, why didn't you ever tell me?" "Because I never had the balls to. Hell, we grew up together as if we were family. I thought you would think it was weird, and turn me down. I didn't think I had a chance." "What about homecoming, when I asked you to be my date?" "I didn't think I could handle being your date, yet just being your friend." "Oh, Matt..."

I didn't get to finish the sentence. Matt wrapped his arms around me, pinned me to the wall, and kissed me. His soft lips melted with mine. His warm skin felt hot through my shirt. His tongue slid through my lips, and slowly searched my mouth. When he ended the kiss, we were both out of breath. "I've waited for years to do that." As he leaned down to kiss me again, I put my hand on his bare chest. "But, Mark..." "He's married, Jade." He kissed me again, more heated than before. "When... were you... planning to... tell me?" He stopped and looked into my eyes. "Before you went home with him tonight. I wouldn't have let you sleep with him earlier, if I would have known..." I put my finger to his lips. "Then he can go fuck himself." He kissed me again, this one as heated as the last. "Matt, I have to deal with Mark." I laid my hand on his cheek. "Then, we can see what happens between us."

As I walked away, I let my hand slide down his neck, then his chest. He grabbed my hand, and pulled me back. "This doesn't feel weird to you, does it?" I smiled at him. "No. It feels very natural. Like I knew in my subconscience that it would happen one day." He softly kissed me, before I walked out the door. I walked back to Mark's dressing room. As I went in, he was sitting on the couch, waiting for me. "Where'd you go, babe?" "I, uh... had to see Matt. Can I ask you a question?" "Shoot." "Are you married?" He crossed his big arms over his chest. "Matt told you, didn't he?" "Yeah, he did." He ran his hand over his face, then tugged at his goatee. "I have a wife at home." "I refuse to be your mistress. If you can't love me with your whole heart, I don't want any of it." He nodded as if he understood. "If that's how you want it, that's how it has to be. I can't leave my wife so..."

I didn't wait to hear the rest. I was out the door, and walking back to Matt's dressing room. I walked through the door, and wrapped my arms around his waist. I leaned my head on his chest, and asked, "why do men feel they need to lie to me?" He squeezed his arms around my shoulders. "I never have, Jade. And, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a man." I smiled up at him. "I know. You and Shannon are the only two I can really trust." "And Jeff." "Yeah. And Jeff." His hands went down to the small of my back. "I have to do my match soon. Do you want to go do something after that?" "Like what?" "I don't know. We can get some coffee, have a few drinks, go bowling... I don't care. You choose." "I don't know. I kinda feel like curling up on the couch." "Then let me curl up with you." I smiled at him. "I'd like that." I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he came down to kiss me. When our lips parted, I said, "Matt, you do realize that this will change our friendship forever." "I know. I just hope it stays for the better."

Two hours later, as we lay on my couch watching a movie, Matt wrapped his arms around me. I adjusted my position, so his arm wasn't under my ribs. As I stopped moving, he said, "I hope you're comfortable now, J." "Yeah. Why?" He grabbed my hip, and pressed his hips into my back side. His length was semi-hard. I rolled onto my back, and looked up at him. "Gee, Matt... A little excited?" "I can't help it. That's what you do to me." I laid my hand on his cheek. "So far, this hasn't felt weird, or wrong, but I can't promise that sex won't." He laid half of his body over mine. "I'm not asking for promises. Just a chance to find out." "You can have all I can give." He pressed his lips softly to mine.

As heat began to build between us, his cell phone rang. He looked down at me. "Go ahead and answer it." He picked it up from the coffee table, and looked at the caller ID before answering. "What's up, Jeff?" "Where are you? I thought you were flying back tonight." "I'm at Jade's house. Can I call you back later?" "Let me talk to her." With a groan, he handed me the phone. "Hey, Jeff." "Hey, J. What am I interrupting?" "A private moment between me and Matt. Can we talk to you later?" "Let me say bye to Matt, sis." "Alright. Later." After I handed the phone back, I heard Jeff say, "you finally told her?" He kissed my neck, just below my ear. "Yes," he answered Jeff. "And she's cool with it?" "Say goodbye, Jeff." "Goodbye, Jeff." Matt hung up the phone, and turned it off. "Before dawn, your mom will know." "We can deal with them tomorrow." I leaned up and kissed him. "You know, I kinda had a thing for you, too. That's why I asked you to be my date all those years ago."

I let my hands slide under his shirt to feel his warm skin. "Matt, I'm ready when you are to take that chance to find out." "I'm ready, but I'm not going to rush. I've waited too long. I want to savor the moment." His lips melted with mine, as he positioned himself between my legs. I slid my hand around to the nape of his neck, and pulled the tie out of his hair. I set it on the table, then shook his hair loose with my fingers. It fell around our faces like a curtain; shutting out the rest of the world. His hand went under my shirt, and laid on my ribs. His hand felt like fire, setting my desires ablaze. "Sit up," I told him. He sat back on his knees, and I sat up to unbutton his shirt. Once I pushed his shirt off of his shoulders, I pressed my lips all over his warm flesh. He grabbed the hem of my shirt, and pulled it over my head. He fumbled with the hooks on my bra, until they came undone. He laid me back, and stared down at me. "Jade?" "Yes, Matt?" "Tell me you want me to make love to you." "I do. I want you to make love to me. I want to feel you inside me. I want you to show me the love you've kept bottled up for all these years."

He claimed my lips with a kiss that burned me to the core. His hands went between us, and he unfastened my jeans. He slowly peeled them off, and tossed them to the floor. He stood from the couch, and undid his jeans as he stared down at me. I sat up, and pushed his jeans down off of his hips. I started at his hip, placing kisses here and there, and worked my way up to his chest. When our eyes met he said, "let me lead this time." "Lead away." "Lay back down." I did as instructed. He lifted my right leg, and kissed from the top of my foot all the way up to my knee, then did the same to my left. He lifted my hand, kissed the palm, then my wrist, then the inside of my elbow. Then, he closed his lips around my nipple, and gently sucked. My breath caught in my throat, and after a moment, it came out in a moan.

"Matt, please..." I ran my fingers through his hair as he turned his attention to the other nipple. From there, he worked his way up to my neck, as he slowly slid his length inside me. When he was in to the hilt, he stopped, closed his eyes, and released a moan. He opened his eyes and stared into mine as he slowly pulled back, and plunged deeply into me. His thrusts remained slow and deep, building the fire between us. Then, I felt the prickles of electricity build between my legs, until it became lightening coursing throughout my body. Matt stopped moving. I could only guess it was because he was close to release as well. He claimed my lips as he began thrusting faster than before. Then, he groaned, and collapsed on top of me. I softly kissed his shoulder. "Jade, I would love to do that again, but I'm kinda tired." "Let's go to bed."

When I awoke in the morning, it was to the sound of the phone ringing. I groaned as I answered it. "Hello." "Did I wake you up?" I laid my head back on the pillow. "Yeah, Mom. It's ok. What's up?" "I just got off the phone with Jeff Hardy." "Shit... I can only imagine what he told you." "He said Matt's there with you." I turned my head to look at him, and saw him smiling back at me. I smiled at him, and got lost in his eyes. "Jade?" "Yeah, Mom, he's here." "I can hear the smile in your voice. He's laying beside you, isn't he?" "And he can probably hear every word you say." "Hi, Mom," Matt said. "Tell him hi." "I think he heard you." "I think it's about damn time you two got together. Your father told me he asked if he could marry you, and he's been dead for fourteen years." "Mom, I didn't find out about that until last night." "Well, get married, and get it over with." "Mother!" Matt lay beside me, laughing. "I'm going back to sleep, Mom." "I doubt it." "Bye."

Even after I hung up the phone, Matt was laughing. I grabbed the blankets, and covered my head. He ducked under with me, laid his hand on my arm, and kissed my shoulder. "The last thing I want to hear in the morning is my mother pushing me into marriage. Especially when it hasn't even been twenty four hours." "She just wants you to be happy." "No, she wants grand-babies before she dies." "Can you blame her? She's not getting any younger." "I know, Matt, but what can I do? I mean, we just started seeing each other last night." "Accept my proposal."

I pushed the blankets off of us, and stared at him. "Are you serious?" He laughed. "Yes. We don't have to get married right away. We can stay engaged for months, or years." I smiled at him. "Alright, Matt. I accept." "WOOHOOO!!" He rolled onto me, wrapped his arms around me, and continued to roll until we fell on the floor. We were bound together by the blankets that wrapped around us, and laughing like a couple school kids. He kissed me deeply. "I love you." "I love you, too, Matt."

The day after we made it back to the states, I awoke to someone pounding on the front door. I looked over at Mark, who was still sound asleep. I got out of bed, put on my robe, and went to answer the door. As I opened the door, i said, "you had better have a damn good reason for..." My eyes went wide. "Hey, Jeff." "Get dressed, J. We're going for breakfast." "But, Mark..." "Taker can find his own breakfast. We need to talk." "There's nothing to talk about." "The hell there isn't. Now, go get dressed. Your mom is waiting on us." "Did you tell my mother?" "No, but she thinks she is going shopping for a wedding dress with you." I sighed. "Come in."

I went up stairs, and got dressed. While I was in the process, Mark woke up. "G'mornin', beautiful." "Mornin', hun." "What's the rush?" "Jeff is down stairs." "Jeff who?" "Matt's brother." With a groan, he closed his eyes. "Tell him to go away." "I can't, babe. He brought my mother with him." He sat up. "Your mom is here?" "Yes." He reached for his bag, and pulled out some clean clothes. I went over to the top of the stairs. "Jeff, will you call my mom in?" "No." I growled, as I turned toward Mark. "Should I wear long sleeves?" "It doesn't matter. She has tattoos." He slipped a T-shirt over his head, then followed me down stairs.

"The invitation was for you only," Jeff said. "Get bent. You're not going to talk about Mark behind his back." I went out the door, to see my mom. Before I reached the car, Jeff grabbed my arm, and turned me around. "You're not going to tell her right now." I smiled as I saw Mark step up behind Jeff. "She might want to know why another man just walked out of my house." I pulled my arm out of his grasp. My mom got out of the car. "What's going on here, Jade?" "Jeff is being a prick." He let out a humorless laugh. "I'm being a prick? If you wouldn't have..." "HOLD ON! Jeff, Jade, somebody tell me what happened."

I sighed as I stepped over to my mom. "Momma, I broke it off with Matt while we were in Germany." "Why? What happened?" "Your daughter slept with his co-worker," Jeff said. "Hey, for the record, your brother only told me about his obsession with me to split me and Mark up." My mom looked beyond me and Jeff. "I take it you are Mark?" "Yes, ma'am." She sighed. "Alright. Everybody in the house." "But, Mom..."Jeff and I said. "Now!"

Once we were inside, Mom looked at Mark. "What's your side of the story?" "Your daughter wasn't happy with Matt, so she came back to me." "How long were you two together, before Matt?" "Two days." Her jaw fell open, as she turned to me. "Two days?" "He was married then. When I found out, I cut it off." "And now?" "I've been divorced for a few months now, ma'am."

Mom looked at me. "I'm disappointed, Jade." "Why? Because I took your advice?" "What do you mean?" "You're the one that taught me to go for what I want, to not settle for second best, to live life my way, and not listen to the ney-sayers." She looked down, trying to hide the grin on her lips. "I'm glad you listened to some of the things I told you." She sighed. "I just don't get it. You two were best friends. How could he make you unhappy?" I looked at Jeff, then Mark, then back to Mom. "It has to do with taking it to the next level." She almost giggled. "Sex?" "I was trying not to make the guys uncomfortable, but yes. If he's not willing to make me happy in bed, then why should I believe he is willing to make me happy in other aspects of our relationship?"

Jeff stood back snickering. "Missionary Matt screws up the big one." "Jeffrey! How can you call your brother that." "He's right, Mom." "That's what she called him before she left him, ma'am." She sighed. "I had to ride for two hours listening to Jeff's music, so I can pick out a wedding dress with you. Now I find out your not getting married..." "I will one of these days, Momma, but not to Matt."

There was another knock on the door. I went to the door and opened it. Upon seeing who was on the other side, I slammed it shut. "Jeffrey Hardy! I'm going to kill you!" "Oh, shit. It must be Matt." Matt opened the door, and popped his head in. "Did we come at a bad time?" "Nah. Perfect timing to witness the murder of your brother! Who's we?" "I have Shannon and Shane with me." "Bring them in. I can tell all of you at once."

Once they were all inside, and seated in the living room, I paced in front of them. "Matt, Jeff, Shan & Shane, let me make this plain and simple. I am not going to marry Matt. I am not getting back together with him. I'd love to be his friend like we were before, but I don't want any of you trying to set us back up, again!" I took a moment to catch my breath. I was so angry, that my adrenaline was pumping. "If you guys haven't noticed, I have a man here with me. He is the one I chose for myself. Not because I felt I owed my father, not because I felt I owed him, and not because everyone wants to see us get married. Can you all stop trying to play big brother, and let me live my life?" "I already told you I was giving up on it," Shannon said. "Jeff said you wanted to talk to all of us, so here we are."

I glared at Jeff. "I guess he wanted me to explain my actions. Well, I have." I looked at all four of them, and sighed. "Look, I love you guys like my brothers. To be honest, I love Matt as more than that, but I'd rather he was with someone that could be happy with him. I wasn't, and I'd only make him miserable if I'm not happy." I turned toward Matt. "Do you understand?" He nodded, then stood. Just as I thought he was going to walk out the door, he stepped to me, and gave me a hug. After about a minute, Mark cleared his throat. Before he stepped away, I whispered, "I'm sorry, Matt." He laid his hand on my cheek, and wiped away a tear that fell. "We both knew it might not work out."

Matt looked up at Mark. "If you ever hurt her..." "It would take all four of you to do anything. Just remember that. And, whether you want to admit it, or not, I'm not the evil man you think I am." Matt stepped away from me, and Mark wrapped me in his arms protectively. I laid my hand on his wrist, and leaned my head on his arm. "Well, boys, since Jeff got us all up at an ungodly hour, I say he has to buy everyone breakfast," Mom said. "Even Mark?" he asked. "You owe him, now." The boys slowly walked to the door. "Does anyone else think Taker and Jade as a couple is weird?" Shane asked. They all raised their hands, as they walked out.

I smiled at Mom. "Thank you." "For what?" "For being here. If you weren't here to keep the boys in line, this could have been one hell of a mess." She looked up at Mark, then back at me. "If you want to thank me, tell me he's what you're looking for in a husband, and we'll call it even." "MOM!" "I'm not getting any younger, girl. I want grandbabies." She followed the boys out to the cars. Mark leaned down and kissed my neck. "We can work on the kids when we get back. Once we get that done, we can plan a wedding," he laughed. "Don't even joke like that. You'll only encourage her." I turned around in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his waist. "You're a sweetheart for putting up with that." "It was worth it." He leaned down, and kissed me, before leading me out to the car.

Mark and I stuck it out for six months. Then, one day he came into my place, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Hey, baby." "Hey, hun. Why are you all smiles?" He picked me up, and set me on the counter. "Because I have the most wonderful woman in the world. And, tonight, I'm taking her out on the town." He leaned forward and kissed me. "What's this all about?" "Do I need a reason to take you out?" "No, but..." "Ok, then. Go get dressed." "Mark, what is the big rush?" "Trust me, will you?" He kissed me again, before going to get ready. 'What has gotten into that man?' I asked myself.

I did as he said, and got dressed up, and put make-up on. He took me out to a resteraunt with a view of downtown. Once we were seated, I looked out the window a moment, then turned to look at him. He seemed uncomfortable in his suit. "Who are you, and what did you do with my Mark?" "What's wrong?" "You did a complete 180 from the guy I'm used to." Before he could say anything, the waiter came by, and filled our glasses with champaigne. When he left, I asked Mark, "did you have this set up?" "I set it up last week. Why?" "What are we celebrating?" "I'm trying to get you drunk. Drink it." I grabbed my glass, closed my eyes against the horrible taste, and sipped it.

Our meal was silent for the most part. I caught him smiling at me a few times when he thought I wasn't looking. "Alright, what is going on? I've seen you smile more tonight, than the whole time we've been together." "Do I need a reason to smile?" "It's very uncharacteristic of you." He chuckled. "I'm in a good mood for once." I let it rest until our meal was done.

Once the plates were cleared away, the waiter came back over to us. "Are you ready, sir?" "Not yet. We're going to finish our drinks first." "I shall return when you are finished, then." "Thank you." As he walked away, I asked Mark, "ready for what?" "Dessert." "I don't think I could eat anymore." "You don't eat this one." I looked at him for a moment. "What?" "What are you up to?" "Finish your drink, and you'll find out."

We both knocked back our drinks, and waited for the waiter. "Now, sir?" "Yes." Mark got out of his chair, and helped me out of mine. We followed the waiter to a door. When he opened it, I noticed that there were stairs. "Ladies first," Mark said. I went up the stairs, and quickly realized they lead to the top of the building. I looked at the skyline as I walked to the edge. I leaned on the edge, and looked over the side. I stepped back when I saw how high up we were. When I did, I ran into Mark. He wrapped me in his arms. "I'm not going to let you fall." "I'm afraid of heights. I should have known better than to look down." "Just look straight." I closed my eyes, and leaned my head back as the wind whipped around us.

"You know, I brought you up here for a reason." "What is that?" He let go of me, then stood beside me, staring. I turned to look at him. "Mark? Are you ok? You look..." He adjusted his pant legs, and went down on one knee. "...nervous." I covered my mouth with my hands, as it all became clear. "Give me those. I want to see your face." I giggled as I slid my hands in his. "I spoke to your mother today." "What?" "I asked her if she would mind having me for a son-in-law. She said only if you say yes." He let go of my left hand, and pulled a box out of his pocket. "Will you marry me?" "Oh, Mark... Yes!" He took the ring out of the box, and slid it on my finger. Without looking at the ring, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I looked down into his eyes. I can't explain what I felt for him in that moment. It was so much more than love. I leaned down, and kissed him. "Let's continue this celebration at your house." "Alright." "I brought some toys for you." I laid my hands on his neck. "What kind of toys?" "The kind lovers play with." "Mmm... Then, let's go play."

by Kidney Thieves

We set the wedding date for mid-July --four months from the day he asked me. My mom was extatic, and after a few arguements, the guys were happy about it, as well. But, once that commitment was in place between Mark and myself, he decided to show me a much darker side to his love making. A side that would scare most women, but as he found out, I am no ordinary woman. Most of the S&M was unbelievable. We shared the pleasure and pain equally. But, when he took me to his home, to show me his "dungeon", I wondered what kind of mess I had gotten myself into.

"Mideivel torture devices?" "Depending on how you use them, yes." "How many women have you brought in here?" "Only a few. It's hard to find a woman that will trust me in here." "I can see why. I have to admit, I'm a little worried about this." He came up behind me, and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "We can ease into this kind of stuff." I stared at the stretching table. "The table... There's no way you can fit on it." He sucked in a sharp breath. "I don't share these toys, J."

We spent some time in the "dungeon" that night. He showed me how some of the devices worked, and explained how they could be used for pleasure. The one we used that night was very basic, considering. It was a steel apparatus with cuffs hanging from it. It was meant to keep the "slave" chained into position with their arms and legs spread, and standing upright. Everything seemed to be fine as he whipped, and teased me, and I begged him for his seed.

The next morning, when I awoke, I was in his bed. He was looking down at me, as I opened my eyes. "Hey, handsome," I sighed. "G'mornin', beautiful. It's time to wake up, or you'll miss your flight." "Ok." "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" "Yes. You'd be bored if you did. Mom and I are just going to pack some stuff, and pick out my dress." He nuzzled my neck. "Are you wearing white?" I laughed. "You'll find out on our wedding day." He groaned as he laid back.

As I sat up, my back seemed to peel off of the sheets. As I sat on the edge, trying to gather the strength to stand, he leaned over, and licked my back. "Mark, knock it off. That's just weird." "Why? I've licked every other part of your body." "Yeah, but I'm sweaty." He just chuckled as he laid back. I took a shower, while he got dressed. Then, he took me to the airport.

Once the plane landed in NC, and we all exited, I saw Matt waiting for me at the gate. "Hey! What are you doing here?" "Jeff and I came in with your mom. I volunteered to pick you up." "Well, let's get my bag." As I walked past him toward the luggage carousel, he said, "hey, J, are you ok?" "Yeah. Why?" "The back of your shirt is covered with red streaks. It looks like fresh blood." I muttered a curse word. "What's going on, J?" "I guess Mark and I were playing a little too rough last night." "He did this to you?" "Matt, before you jump to conclusions, I let him do this to me." "Why?" "There's a fine line between pain and pleasure."

He grabbed my bag as it came around the carousel, and carried it out to the car. Once we were in our seats, and he had the key in the ignition, he just sat there, puzzled. "I... I can't let you do it." "Do what?" "Marry Taker." I laughed. "I don't think you have much of a choice." "I can't let you marry a man that is going to hurt you." "Jesus, Matt! Mark and I enjoy it." "But, what if it goes too far? He could wind up killing you." "Well, if you would have been open minded enough to try it, I wouldn't be engaged to him right now!"

I could see the hurt in his eyes as soon as it was out of my lips. I didn't mean to hurt him, but when I get angry, I can't control my mouth. I leaned my head back, and closed my eyes. "I'm sorry, Matt. I shouldn't have said that." "But you did, and you're right." I laid my hand on his, as I looked at him. "I don't want to fight with you anymore." He turned and smiled at me. "I just worry about you." "I know, and I appreciate it. But, I'm still going to marry Mark." His smile slowly faded. He took off his V1 shirt, and handed it to me. "You need to change your shirt before Mom sees you like that." "Thanks, Matt."

I stripped out of the bloody shirt. "Jesus, J! What the fuck has he been doing to you? You have bruises from him biting you on your shoulder, your breasts, your stomach..." "You'd flip if you saw my ass." "Jade..." "Look, he didn't do anything to me that I didn't ask or allow him to. It's gothic sex. We do a lot of things that most people would find sick. And, trust me, he isn't in much better shape." "You do this to him?" "Well... he has the bite marks." He started the car as I put his shirt on. "Maybe I'm safer now that we aren't together." I laughed. "If you say so, Missionary Matt." "I hate that name."

The ride to the house was pretty quiet. Once there, Jeff met us at the door. "Hey, J. Um... What are you doing in Matt's shirt?" "Long story." I looked around, but didn't see Mom. "Mom? Where are you?" I yelled out. "I'm in your room. I'm about to start on your closet." "Oh, shit!" I ran up the stairs, but it was too late. She sat in front of the open closet door. "What in the hell..." When she noticed me, she pulled out the box filled with Mark and I's toys. "What are you doing with all of this?" I gave her an innocent grin. "With what?" "Handcuffs, whips, paddles, motion lotion, skimpy leather... A "love-knife"!?" "Oh... It was here when I moved in." "Why didn't you throw it away?" "I don't know. I'll take care of it now, Mom." I took the box from her, and carried it down stairs. I grabbed my keys out of my purse, took the box out to the car, and put it in the trunk.

by Rednex

That night, Mom, Matt and Jeff stayed at my house. Mom was up in bed, and the guys were watching a movie in the living room , as they tried to fall asleep. I went in the kitchen, sat on the island, and called Mark. "Hey, beautiful." "Hey, handsome. Were you in bed?" "Not yet. Why aren't you in bed?" "I was kicked out of bed tonight. My Mom and the Hardys are over here." The line went silent. "Mark?" "I'm here, babe. If you were kicked out of bed, where are you going to sleep?" "The recliner. The boys are on the couches." I smiled as I realized he was jealous that Matt was there.

"I wish you were here, hun." "You didn't want me there, remember?" "I said you would be bored here. I never said I didn't want you here. Besides, it's probably a good thing you weren't here today. Mom found our box right after I got here." I could tell he was trying to keep from laughing. "What did you tell her?" "That it was here when I moved in." "Where is it now?" "I have it in the trunk. Uh... Hun, we need to talk about our little fetish." "What about it?" "You think we can keep it to a minimum until after the wedding?" "Why? What's wrong?" "My shirt had blood all over the back when I got off the plane. When I changed my shirt, Matt saw the bite marks." "What did he say about it?" "He thinks we're insane. He's worried about me marrying you if we're going to carry on like this. He's... He's really worried that you might accidently kill me." "Baby, there is no safer way, than with the one that loves you." "I know. Besides, the dress I have in mind, all of the marks would show." He chuckled. "Alright, babe."

"What did you do after I left?" "I've been trying to get the house ready for you to move in, and ready for the wedding." I laid back on the counter. "I know it's only been a few hours, but I miss you, hun." I could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "oh, yeah? What do you miss about me?" I smiled as I answered. "Your arms. Your lips. Your eyes. Your cock..." As I said the last, Matt walked in the kitchen. Mark groaned through the phone. "Keep going." "I would, but I'm not alone. Tell you what... Mom and I are going to look for a dress tomorrow. Why don't you come here once you come off the road? By then, Mom would be back home, and so would the guys." "Alright. Until then, my bride, I love you." "I love you too, Mark." "Sweet dreams." "Goodnight."

I sat up as I hung up the cordless phone. "You would have had phone sex with him if I hadn't come in, wouldn't you?" I blushed and smiled. "Maybe." "I should have stayed on the couch then. Jeff and I were enjoying the conversation." I laughed. "I can't help it, Matt. Things between Mark and I are so white hot... I can't explain it, but he is like no other man I have ever met." Matt wrapped his arms around my waist, and I laid my head on his shoulder. "I understand, J." He just held me for a moment, the warm familiarity of his arms comforting me. "Come on. Come watch the movie with us." "Alright."

I followed Matt into the living room. I bent over to pick up my blanket that fell on the floor. As I did, my shirt lifted in back, and Jeff saw the marks. "J, show me your back." "No." "Dammit, J. Either you show me, or I'll rip that shirt off of you." "Jeff, leave her alone." "No. Is Taker doing that to you?" "That's between me and him. Now, let it rest." "Not until I see." I growled as I lifted the back of my shirt up to my neck. "Fuck! Have you read your back?" "Read it?" Matt and I both echoed. "It says 'love is pain' in bruises and scratches."

I ran into the bathroom, and took off my shirt. I grabbed the hand held mirror, and turned my back to the wall mirror. As I stared at it, Matt came in. "How in the hell..." "Jade, whether you want to admit it or not, he is abusing you." "And neither one of us is going to let you marry him, if he's going to treat you like that," Jeff said from the doorway. "I allowed him to do this to me. Not the words, but the bruises and scratches." "Why?" "Oh, come on... We've talked about S&M before..." "I've never done anything like this to a girl." "Well, we were just talking about taking it down a notch." "Until after the wedding. What will he do to you then?" Jeff asked.

Jeff shook his head as he went back to the living room. "Turn around, J. You need some doctoring." While he pulled the peroxide and gauze pads out of the box, I turned around, and stared at myself in the mirror. Bite marks peeked out of my bra, and a few scratches could be seen on my chest. I snapped back to the moment when Matt unfastened my bra. "Hey..." "I need it out of the way. If you're uncomfortable with me doing it, I can have Jeff come do it." I put my head down. "No. That's ok." "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen them already." "Matt..." "I was joking. Hold still. This is going to sting."

It took him probably thirty minutes to clean the wounds and put cream on them. Once he finished, he refastened my bra. When I stood up straight, he stared at me in the mirror. His face showed no emotion. Those chocolate brown eyes bore into my soul. "You were safer with me," he said before walking out.

When I woke in the morning, it was because Matt was shaking me. "Jade, wake up. I'm taking Mom home." "Why? What happened?" "My dad said someone broke into her house last night. She has to make sure everything is there. I go back on the road tomorrow, so I need to go back anyways." "Ok, Matt." "Jeff's going to stay with you." "Ok. Let me up." He moved, and I sat up to stretch. I got up, and hugged Mom. "Make sure Mr. Hardy goes through the house with you, in case someone decided to spend the night." "He's at the house waiting for me to get there." "Be carefull, Momma." "I will. Bye." "Bye."

She walked out the door to get in the car. Matt laid his hands on my shoulders. "If anything happens, you know how to reach me." "I know." "When is Taker going to be back here?" "Not until he comes off the road Wednesday." "I'll be back here Tuesday." "Matt..." I wrapped my arms around his waist, and hugged him. "You can't keep protecting me from him." "I will for as long as I can." I stood on my toes, and kissed his cheek. "You're a sweetheart. Be carefull. Call me when you two get to Mom's." "I will." Almost reluctantly, we let go of each other. He walked out the door, and I locked it behind him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you still love my brother," Jeff said. I smiled as I turned toward him. "I have to confess, I do." "And?" "And what, Jeff? I'm about to marry Mark. I can't keep going back and forth between the two of them." "So, choose Matt, and stay with him. You were meant to be a Hardy." "Why don't I marry you then? I'd still be a Hardy," I said sarcastically. "If that's what it takes to get you away from Taker, I will marry you."

I was speechless for a moment. He came up to me, and wrapped me in his arms. "I don't like what he does to you, J. And, whether you like it or not, Matt and I are going to protect you from guys like him until we die." "I know, Jeff." "We're not kids anymore. We don't want you to get hurt. You're a beautiful woman. You deserve better." He tilted my chin up, and tenderly kissed my cheek.

I slowly pulled away from him, as I looked into his hazel eyes. "I'm gonna go crawl in bed. It's too early to be up." "Do you mind if I bunk with you? The couch is killing my back." "Might as well. I'm probably dreaming anyways. Just leave your sweats on." He laughed as he followed me up the stairs.

The sun was high in the sky when we awoke. It took me a moment to realize Jeff was "spooned" against my body, with his arms around me. I didn't think anything about it, until I opened my eyes, and saw Mark sitting in the chair across the room. I smiled at him. "Hey handsome." "What's going on here, Jade?" "Oh, come on, Taker. We're just friends," Jeff said. "It sure as hell doesn't look like it from here." He glared at me. "You got tired of Matt, and came back to me. What happened? Did you get tired of me, and go on to Jeff?" "Nothing happened between us, Mark. Jesus, he's like a brother to me." "Yeah, that's what you said about Matt, and you almost married him."

Jeff and I sat up, and looked at Mark. "Look, if you can't understand the relationship I have with the Hardys, maybe we should just call off the wedding." "Maybe we should call off our entire relationship," he added. I got out of bed, and slipped the engagement ring off of my finger. I walked over to him, and laid it in his palm. "I'm not going to throw away the twenty-two years that I've known Matt and Jeff for a man that can only get his rocks off by beating me." He handed me his key to the front door. "I hope between the two of them, they can satisfy you, you nympho." He stood, and pushed me out of the way. I landed on the bed beside Jeff. He jumped to go after Mark. "Jeff, let him go." Mark gave him a sideways grin. "Yeah, boy." I looked up at him. "I think you should leave. Now!"

While he went down the stairs, I stood at the top, watching until he was out the door. I went down the stairs, and locked the door. I went back up, and laid back down. My eyes stung from unshed tears. When the first spilled from the corner of my eye, Jeff wiped it away. "I told you, you were meant to be a Hardy." I laughed through my tears. "How do you figure?" "The only ones that would understand your relationship with me and Matt are me and Matt." He opened his arms to me. "Come on. You can cry on my shoulder." I scooted closer, and laid my head on his chest. While his right arm squeezed me against his body, his left hand brushed my hair out of my face.

As my sobbing slowed to a stop, I asked him, "what should I do now? Crawl back to Matt on hands and knees?" "Or give someone else a try." "But, you were right. No one is going to understand our relationship, except you and Matt." He softly kissed the corner of my eye. In my emotional state, I was slow to realize his point. "Jeff, are you..." He leaned his head down, and softly, slowly kissed me. I closed my eyes as I responded to his lips. When he ended the kiss, I stared into his eyes. "What about Matt?" In a husky voice he replied, "Matt had his chance, and screwed it up." "But..." "He doesn't have to know anything, unless we know it will work out."

I rolled onto my back, to put a little distance between us. "Jeff, if this is a joke, it's not funny." He slid his hand under my shirt. My body shuddered from the warmth of his hand on my skin. His hand slid up, and pinched my nipple. "Does this feel like a joke," he asked while rolling my nipple between his thumb and finger. I bit my lip, and tried to keep from moaning. With his other hand, he pushed my shirt up to my neck.

Just then, the phone rang. "Don't answer it," he whispered. "I have to. It's probably Matt. He'll drive back here if I don't." Jeff leaned over me, grabbed the cordless phone from the nightstand, and handed it to me. I pushed the button, and said hello. "Hey, J. We made it." "Hey, Matt. How bad is it?" As I listened to Matt, Jeff ran his hands over my stomach, and fondled my breasts. "We haven't walked through the house yet, but it doesn't look too bad."

Jeff replaced his hands with his mouth. I couldn't keep my moan from escaping. "Are you ok, J?" "Yeah. I'm just stretching. I haven't got out of bed yet." "Is Jeff up and around?" "I don't think so. He would have got the phone if he was, so he must be asleep." He looked up at me and winked as he smiled. I put my finger to my lips. "Hey, Matt, I need to get up and around here. Have Mom call me when she's done going through the house." "Ok. Have Jeff call my cell later on." "Alright. Bye." I hung up before he got the chance to say bye.

As one hand set the phone on the nightstand, the other tunneled through Jeff's hair. "Jeff, if this is a joke you have to stop now." With my nipple clamped between his teeth, he said, "I'm not joking, Jade." He released my nipple, then moved up to claim my lips. His tongue was soft and warm as it danced with mine. He left my lips, and traveled down my neck. "Jeff?" "Hmm?" "This is wrong on so many levels..." He stopped, and looked down at me. "Do you want me to stop?" "Hell no." My arms went around him, as I leaned forward to kiss him. I lightly scraped my nails down his back, until I reached the waistband of his sweatpants.

He ended the kiss, and stared into my eyes. "Touch me." I slid my hand between us, then into his sweats. I wrapped my hand around his long shaft. His skin felt like velvet, but the flesh beneath was as hard as steel. He moaned as I slowly stroked his length. I leaned up and kissed his neck. He pulled away from me, and sat on his heels. He grabbed the bottom of my shirt, and pulled it off. He slid his hands under the waistband of my sweats, and under my bottom. "This is your last chance to stop," Jeff said. "I was about to say that to you." "I'm not stopping." "I'm not going to stop you."

He pulled them off as fast as he could, almost ripping them in the process. He sat at the foot of the bed, and took his sweats off. He tossed them to the floor, and crawled up my body, but stopped at my waist. He leaned down, and took a quick taste of my juices, before crawling up the rest. He laid his hand on my cheek, and let his thumb slide over my lips. I took it into my mouth, and gently sucked on it. Once it slid back out, I pleaded with him. "Jeff, stop teasing me."

He aligned himself for entry, and slowly slid inside. I arched my back to take all of him in. He claimed my lips in a hungry kiss as his hips moved in a slow deep thrust. His light chest hairs, scratched my skin, fueling my desire for release. As I felt the first wave crash over me, I dug my fingers into his skin. I moaned his name, and he quickened the pace. As my orgasm ended, he rolled onto his back, taking me with him. I held myslef up with my hands under his arms, leaving my breasts jutting out in front of him. He went back and forth between my nipples as his hands guided my hips in a satisfying pace. Before long, I felt another orgasm coming on. "Oh, Jeff... I'm going to cum again..." "I'm cumming with you this time," he panted.

As we reached our peaks, and slowed to a stop, I laid down on his chest. As I panted for air, I told him, "that was the hottest sex I've ever had." He wrapped his arms around me, and kissed my forehead. "That's how it should be." He chuckled. "What?" "Did you ever think we would wind up together?" "No. You?" "Maybe a couple times."

I placed a kiss in the middle of his chest. "I need a shower." "Mind if I join you?" I smiled at him. "Please do." When I sat up, and looked out the window, I saw a video camera lens. "Oh, shit..." "What?" "We're being taped." "What!?" He sat up, and looked out the window. I took a closer look at the hand holding the camera. I stood on the bed, and opened the window. "Goddam you, Mark!!!" "Matt's going to love seeing this," he said before jumping down from the porch roof. "Especially while you were on the phone with him."

After watching Mark leave, I laid back down. I smacked myself in the head. "Dammit, Jeff... Why did we do that?" "Because I have bad timing?" he laughed. "This isn't funny! Matt's going to kill us!" "Nuh-uh." "Uh-huh." "Taker forgot." "Forgot what?" "Matt was taken off of Smackdown, and put on Raw." "So they won't run into each other this weekend?" "Nope." "That doesn't mean that he won't find a way to get it to Matt." "No, it doesn't. But, it does mean we can enjoy the time we have until he finds out." "But..."

The phone rang, and cut me off. "Hello." "What is your fiance up to?" "Hey, Matt. What do you mean?" "He asked me to meet him at the airport in Raliegh at three. He said he has something to show me." "I have no idea what he's doing. Be careful. You never know what he might do." "I will, J. Is Jeff up yet?" "Yeah. Hold on." He gave me a worried look, as he took the phone. "Yeah?" "Is everything ok there?" "Yeah. Everything is fine. Why?" "J doesn't sound right." "She's exhausted. She has too many things going at once." "Make her rest for a while. Don't let her wear herself out." "Ok." "I'll talk to you later." "Later."

Jeff hung up the phone. "Get dressed," I told him. "Why?" "We're going to the airport, and we're going to get that tape before Mark shows it to Matt." "He's going to find out anyways." "I know, but I'd rather he didn't see us in the act. Atleast not today." "I wanna know why Taker had the camcorder." "Because, the next thing we wanted to do was record ourselves having sex. When he thought we were sleeping together, he probably thought he could catch us sleeping together, and got it out." I laughed almost hysterically. "And we went and put on a show for him!"

Jeff rolled over me, and kissed me. I knew it was to shut me up, or calm me down, but I still enjoyed his lips. "No matter what happens, I'm sticking by you. That's where they both screwed up." I leaned up, and gave him a quick kiss. "Let's get moving, J." We dressed as fast as we could, and were on our way.

When we were about half way there, Jeff asked, "why are you so worried about Matt finding out?" "I'm not worried so much about him finding out. I'm worried about how he finds out." "You'd rather stare him in the eye and tell him you fucked me?" "He'd respect us more if he heard it from one of us, instead of from Mark's movie." "It's not because you still love him?" "I'm not going back to him." "I didn't ask you that." I sighed. "No, it's not. I just don't want him to get hurt."

As we got closer, I called Matt's cell phone. "Hey, J." "Hey, Matt. What terminal did Mark want you to meet him at?" "Terminal D, gate 12. He said he has the three-fifty-eight flight to Houston. Why?" "No reason. I'm just worried about what he's up to." "Don't worry. Maybe he wants me to be the best man. Sort of a gesture to make things right for you." "I doubt it. Be careful." "I will, J. Get some rest. You sound tired." "I'll try. Bye." "Bye." I hung up, and smiled. "We got you now, you son of a bitch." "What?" "Matt told me were we can meet Mark."

When we finally made it to the right gate, Matt was there, but Mark wasn't. "Where is he?" I asked myself aloud. "What's the plan?" Jeff asked. "Get the camera, no matter how." "Matt's going to know something's up if we just run out and attack Taker." "Oh, well." I peaked out from behind the bush again. "There he is. I'll go after him. You come up behind him, and take the camera bag." "It's worth a try."

I ran out, and attacked Mark. He pushed me back. Someone pulled me away from him. "What are you doing here, J?" "Mark has something of mine." He set his bags in a chair. "Your's? That's my recorded proof that you cheated on me." "You didn't record that until after I called off the wedding. Damn you! You have no right!" "Worried about your friendship now? Or that he won't be interested in you anymore?" "Give me the fucking tape!" "You should have thought of what I'd do when you cheated on me." "I didn't sleep with Jeff until after I gave that ring back to you."

Matt released me from his arms. "What happened, J?" "After you left, Jeff and I went up stairs, and shared the bed. We didn't do anything except sleep." "Bullshit! I found you in his arms." "And we were both wearing clothes. Have either one of you seen me get dressed after having sex?" "Keep going, J." "Mark went to the house, and found us asleep, in the same bed, and yes, Jeff had his arms around me. He accused us of sleeping together, so I called off the wedding. I gave him back the ring, and asked him to leave.

"Jeff and I thought he was gone. That's when we..." I was having problems telling him. "Go ahead, and tell him! You fucked his brother." Matt laughed. "Bullshit. Show me this proof, Taker." Mark turned to grab his camera bag, but it was gone. "What the..." He turned to me. "Where is Jeff?" I smiled at him. "Long gone with your camera." I dodged Matt as I took off running. I weaved through the crowd of people on my way to the parking garage, and to the car.

Jeff had the car running when I got there. I jumped in, and we took off. "Did you get it!?" "Yep. It's in the back seat." I reached back, and grabbed the bag. I set it in my lap, and opened it. I pulled out the camera, and pressed rewind. When it stopped, I pressed play. Mark's face showed up on the little screen.

"Now, Jade, don't you think I know you and Jeff a little better than that? I have the tape in my pocket. I'll gladly give it back to you. In fact, I'll give it to Matt to give to you. And, since you have my camera, I'll let you play it for him. You can explain why you fucked around on both of us. And, I hope the boy has enough brains not to take you back."

I turned it off. "Shit!" "What?" "He's giving the tape to Matt, and telling him that I have to play it for him." "Well, that's good." "In a way. He knows already, though." "You told him?" "More like he overheard me talking to Mark about it." After a moment of silence he asked, "do you want me to let you talk to him alone?" "So help me, Jeff, if you walk out on me now..." "Alright, alright... I was just wondering." I sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll calm down once we talk to Matt." He stopped at a light, and looked at me. He took my hand, and kissed the back. "I can see why they fought over you before." I leaned over and kissed him, before the light turned green. He didn't let go of my hand until we reached the house.

by Def Leppard

Once Jeff and I made it back to the house, I paced the living room. "J, sit down, will you? You're making me nervous." "He's going to be here any minute." He picked me up, carried me to the couch, then sat, setting me in his lap. He caressed my cheek, as he looked into my eyes. He softly kissed me. "Let me handle him," he whispered. "No. I'm as much to blame as you are." "We'll probably wind up fighting." "I know. And, I'm going to be here to end it." I laid my hand on his chest. "I have to make sure my man isn't hurt." He kissed me again, this time hard and hungry.

Our kiss was interrupted by three raps on the door. "Take a deep breath, before you open the door." I nodded as I got off his lap. I went to the door, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out as I opened the door. I looked up into those chocolate brown eyes, and noticed they were red, and puffy underneath. He had atleast spent part of the hours drive crying. "Come in, Matt." "I can't. I just wanted to give you this." He handed me the video tape. "I don't need to see it. I know what's on it."

I looked down at the tape in my hand, then back up at him. "Matt, I'm sorry." He let out a humorless laugh. "Somehow, I doubt that." "I mean, I'm sorry you found out like this." "We're not together anymore, Jade. It's none of my business." I turned around, and looked at Jeff. "Can you give us a few minutes?" "I'll uh... go out back." "Thank you." I waited until he was out the back door to continue.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Matt. We both feel something for each other, still. Even Jeff knows that. And, don't try to deny it, because I know you've been crying." "Yeah, well, you've made it abundantly clear that you're not coming back to me, so it's none of your concern." "Damn it, Matt... I didn't mean for this to happen. It just did." "Yeah. It happened with my brother, though. Do you realize how much that hurts? I mean, if you would have told me this morning that the wedding is off, I would have done everything in my power to get you back. Even if it meant doing all of that freaky shit you like. But, you turned to my flesh and blood brother to satisfy you." "Damn it, I was hurt because I left Mark to preserve my friendship with you two. Jeff sweet talked me, and yeah, I slept with him. And I'm not going to deny that I enjoyed it. But when I found out Mark taped Jeff and I, and planned on showing it to you, I did everything I could to try to keep you from being hurt."

Tears slowly spilled from my eyes as I looked up at him. I looked behind me to make sure Jeff was still outside, and he was. "Matt, I'll admit something to you, that I haven't wanted to admit to myself. I still love you. I didn't think you wanted me back, after what I did to you with Mark." "So, instead of finding out if I did or not, you went off and slept with Jeff?" "Before we did, I asked him if I should crawl back to you on hands and knees. He said I should give someone else a try. Then he kissed me, and..." I threw up my hands in defeat. "Fuck it. I don't expect you to understand why. As long as you know I'm sorry if we hurt you, and that I'm not ending it, then that's it. If you want to pretend I'm dead, I can understand. But Jeff made me feel like a woman; not a girl, and not a mistress."

Matt put his hands on his hips. "I made you feel like a girl, and not a woman?" I sighed, trying to be patient. "Missionary makes me feel inexperienced, like I'm new to having sex." He looked at his feet, and nodded. "I'll remember that when I get a new girlfriend." His words tore my heart in two. "I have to go. I'm driving to Georgia tomorrow." I crossed my arms over my chest, and stood against the door frame looking at my feet. I saw him reach his hand up to touch me, but he stopped. He turned, and walked toward his car.

Jeff came out the side gate, and walked over to Matt. I stood up straight to keep a better eye on them. Jeff stuck his hand out to his brother. "I'm sorry, Matt." Matt looked at his hand, then pulled his fist back, and hit him in the eye. "JEFF!" As I ran to his side, Matt got in his car, and left. He covered his eye with his hand. "Fuck! I should have expected that." "Come on. Let's get something on your eye."

We went inside. I went into the kitchen to fix him an ice pack, and he followed me. As I reached for the freezer door, he picked me up, and set me on the kitchen island. He stood between my knees, with his arms around me. "I don't need anything for my eye. Are you ok?" "I'm fine." I wrapped my arms around his neck, and laid my head on his shoulder. His scent weaved a spell over my mind. He pushed my hair off of my neck, and kissed just under my ear. "I have an idea," he whispered. "What?" "Let's watch our tape. After that, you can destroy it if you want to." I giggled as he kissed my neck again. "Mmm... I suppose clothing is optional for this movie?" He stared me in the eyes. "Clothes are forbidden."

As I stared into his eyes that were darkened by lust, the shrill ring of the phone broke the silence. "I'll set up the camera, while you're on the phone." "Alright." I reluctantly reached for the phone. "Hello." "Mr. Hardy and I just went through the house. Everything was here." "That's great, Mom." "Listen, he reminded me that it's that time of year again, when we have that family gathering." "I'm not coming this year." "You know he's not going to take no for an answer." "Mom, since you left, I have broken off my engagement, and Jeff and I pissed Matt off. I don't think it's a good time." "What happened now?" "Long story short, I found someone I'm happier with." She sighed. "Jade, don't tell me it's Jeffrey." I cringed at the disappointment in her voice. "It is."

by Def Leppard

After being yelled at for what seemed like hours, I was informed that I would attend the party, along with Jeff, whether we came willingly, or were dragged by Shane and Shannon. With a defiant "prove it," from Jeff to his father, he was informed that Shane and Shan would be at the door the day before the gathering. Two weeks later, sure enough, they were pounding on my front door. "Alright, we'll go, but you two are following us," Jeff said.

I packed a bag with clothes for the next day, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, and half a carton of Marlboros. I tossed my bag in the back seat, and let Jeff drive us to my childhood home. We both thought it would be better if we stayed at my mom's house, in case Matt decided to stay with his dad. When we walked through the door, My mom just shook her head at us. "I still can't believe it..." she sighed. I looked up at Jeff, and smiled. "I can't either." He leaned down, and kissed me. My mom rolled up a newspaper, and whacked us both on the head. "You will not disgrace your father's wishes in this house. Jade, you'll sleep in your room, and Jeff, you'll sleep in the guest room."

I heard Jeff chuckle. "Babe, I'm going to walk over to Dad's." "Go ahead. Mom and I need to talk." He leaned down, and kissed me again, which was followed by another whack. "I'm gonna have brain damage before we leave," he laughed. I stood on my toes, and returned the kiss, which got me a whack in the head. "Might as well be both of us." "I'll be back in a few minutes." "Ok." As Jeff left, I looked at my mom. Once the door was closed, I said, "I thought you would be glad that I'm happy with atleast one of the Hardys." "The wrong one." "According to who, Mom?" "Do you realize the tension you caused in that family?" "Yes, I do. Like I told Matt, I'm not going to end it. Jeff can break it off with me, or Matt can try to end it, but I'm staying with him until one of those happen."

She shook her head at me. "You have your father's stubbornness." "Thank you." Jeff came through the front door. "That was a short visit," I said. "Matt's there. I decided to leave before we got into it." He leaned down, and whispered, "he brought a date." "Good for him. Maybe he'll leave us alone." My mom sighed. "Dinner's done. Wash up, and come sit down." Once we were done eatting, Jeff and I got comfortable on the couch, and eventually, fell asleep.

The next day, Mom left ahead of us, to the Hardy home. Jeff took my hand in his, and lead me over to his father's. As we walked through the back gate, I felt Matt's preditorial stare before I even saw him. When I spotted him I recognized the red head beside him. Jeff noticed me look at them. He turned to me, and laid his hand on my cheek. "Are you ok, babe?" I laid my hand on his, and smiled at him. "I'm fine, Jeff." "Alright." He slid his arm around my shoulders, and I slid one around his waist.

We made our way through the small crowd, but were hesitant to go near Matt and Amy. As we walked toward them, Matt gave me a cold glare. I stopped Jeff. "I left something at Mom's, hun. I'll be right back." He leaned down, and kissed me. "Ok. Just don't leave me here with Matt for too long." "I won't."

I walked back over to Mom's house, grabbed my bottle of Jack and a pack of smokes, then went to my car, and sat in the driver's seat. I cracked open the bottle, and took a long swig, before opening the cigarettes, and lighting one. After a few minutes, Matt came out of the back gate, and walked over to me. I took another swig from the bottle. "Want a drink?" "That's not going to help anything." "Obviously, it's helping me. I can talk to you now." "When did you start smoking again?" "A few days ago." "Jeff didn't try to stop you?" "Jeff has no control over my life. And, I've made such a mess of my love life, that I don't care if I die." "Don't say that, J." "Why not? It's the truth."

"Maybe I will take a drink," he said as he reached for the bottle. I handed it to him. He threw it as hard as he could over the house. I took the last drag off of my cigarette, and tossed it aside. I laid my head back on the seat, as the warmth from the whiskey consumed my body. "Get up, J." "Go away, Matt. Go back to your girlfriend." "J..." "Just go away, Matt! It's obvious I mean nothing to you." "That's bullshit, and you know it! I wouldn't be so pissed about you and Jeff if you didn't mean so much to me!"

Matt's attention was drawn to a truck that pulled into Mom's driveway. "Who the hell..." I looked at the tan crew cab Silverado. "Shit... My day keeps getting better." I stood up, and staggered over to the truck as the door opened. "Hey, Mark! I'd offer you a drink, but Matt threw my bottle." "You're drunk, Jade." "Yep... I just started my path of self destruction. What brings you by?" Totally dead-pan he said, "I'm stalking you." I laughed. "You should have done that, Matt." I stumbled, and fell in Mark's arms. He picked me up, and set me on the hood of the truck. "Why are you here?" Matt asked. "Her mom asked me to try to split her and Jeff up."

I grabbed Mark's goatee, and pulled him toward me. I smiled at him. "I forgot how beautiful your eyes are." He gave me a sideways grin. "How much was left in that bottle before you threw it?" "About half of a half gallon." "Well, there's no use in trying to get her to sober up." "I have a better idea," I announced. "What's that?" I wiggled my finger to get Matt to come closer. "Why don't the three of us get a motel room?" "Are you sure?" Mark asked. "I'm positive." "Is she suggesting..." "...a threesome. With her in the middle, I hope." "Of course." I leaned toward Matt. "That would be the ultimate sexual high, to have both of the men I love." "But, what about..."

Mark put his arm out to hush Matt. "We'll have to talk about this." They stepped away, but I could still hear them. "Listen, Matt, we can do this for her and possibly split her and Jeff up, or we can both go on dealing with the fact that she's screwing your little brother." "But, she's drunk. We'd be using her." Mark chuckled. "You know, you're an all around good guy. And it's getting on my nerves." "Hey, I've never done this before." "Usually it's two women for me. I'm not used to sharing a woman with another man." Matt sighed. "Look, we both came close to marrying this woman, and she just admitted that she still loves both of us. Let's do this, break her and Jeff up, and see which one she goes for."

Matt turned toward me. I motioned for him to come back to me. I slid off of the hood of the truck, and he caught me before I fell. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Please, Matt. I want to feel your naked body against mine, again." I stood on my toes, and kissed him. As he deepened the kiss, he leaned me back against the truck, but pulled my hips against his. As he ended it, he said, "let's get out of here before someone comes looking for us." Mark got in the driver's seat, and Matt and I got in the back seat. The last thing I remember was kissing Matt as we pulled away.

When I woke up the next morning, I was laying in a motel bed, naked with Matt. I sat up, even though my head started spinning. I looked around, and found Mark laying in the other bed. I laid down with my head on Matt's chest. I quietly began to sob. "What's wrong, J?" he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Matt." "For what?" "For what I'm sure happened yesterday. Now you see why I don't care if I die. All I do is hurt the ones I love." "I sure as hell wasn't hurtin' last night," came that deep voice from the other bed. "What about you, Matt?" "Nope."

I looked up at Matt. He was smiling down at me. He leaned over, and whispered in my ear, "you rode me." "I... did?" "I'm willing to do anything just to get you back and keep you." He kissed me, and in that moment, I realized what true love was. "Hey, darlin', where's my good morning kiss?" I started laughing as the kiss ended. "I love you, Matt," I whispered before getting out of bed.

I leaned over Mark, and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around me, and drug me over his body to lay on the other side of the bed. My toes curled as he pulled me against his body. I pushed away from him. "Thank you, Mark, for last night, even though I can't remember what happened." I paused a moment to look at Matt. "This has to be the last time though." "You're going back to Jeff?" "No. I'm going back to Matt." He ran his hand down my side, and cupped my bottom. "I still want you." "What we have is lust, same as with Jeff. Matt and I have love, and that's what I need." The butterflies in my stomach from being near him, made me nervous about how he would take my decision. "If that's how you want it..." "It is."

Mark got out of the bed, in all of his naked glory, and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I went back over to the bed Matt was in. He wrapped his arms around, me, and pulled me close. "Did I hear you right?" "I want to be with you, and no one else, for the rest of my life." "You mean it this time?" "I mean it." I crawled over his body, and laid on top of him. "Matt Hardy, will you marry me?" "As long as we don't wait so long this time." I kissed him. "Then, let's get dressed, and go get married right now." He laughed. "What about the family?" "They'll be so happy that we are married that they won't mind missing the ceremony." "Or, we can get married today, tell them we are engaged again, and plan a wedding for them."

We smiled at each other. Then, we moved as fast as we could to get our clothes on, and leave. We took a cab to the courthouse, got our license, and spoke to the judge. "I see that you just got your license a few minutes ago. Are you sure you want to do this?" As we sat in the chair on the other side of the desk, holding hands, we smiled at each other. "Yes, your honor. We've been in love since we were children." "Well, according to the State of North Carolina, I can't keep you from getting married today. Just don't come back to me for a divorce or an anullment in the next month." "We promise not to."

Within twenty minutes, I was Mrs. Matt Hardy. The excitement was killing me. When we got back to Mom's house, it was hard to keep the news to myself. "Jade, where did you and Matt go yesterday?" "We kinda ran away together." "Where did you go?" "We went and had a long talk." She looked from me to Matt. "And?" Matt wrapped his arms around me. "The engagement is back on, and we're getting married in a month." She smiled, as she came up, and hugged us. "I'm so happy for you two!" She stepped away. "Does your dad know yet?" "No. We wanted to tell you first." "I want to be there when you tell him!"

"Mom, we have one other problem." "What's that?" "Jeff and Amy." My mom tried to keep from laughing. "I don't think you have a problem, there. They are next door in Jeff's old bed." I looked up at Matt. "I'm not mad. Are you?" "No. You mean a lot more to me than she ever did." "I'd better!" I laughed. He leaned down, and gave me a quick kiss. "Mmm... It's nice to get a kiss, without Mom whacking me with a newspaper." "What?" "I hit her and Jeff yesterday for kissing in this house. Everybody knows she belongs with you." "Well, you don't have to worry about her kissing anyone else again." Matt looked back at me, and winked. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.

"Matt, my Mom is my best friend in the world. I can't keep the news from her." He smiled at me. "As long as she can keep a secret..." He looked at her. "Of course. What are you two talking about?" "We got married this morning," I said. "We wanted to be sure nothing came between us this time." My mom smiled as her eyes welled up with tears. "My baby is finally a Hardy." "Only one thing left to do," Matt said. "What's that?" my mom asked. "Consu..." I covered Matt's mouth with my hand. "Seal the deal, shall we say." She rolled her eyes. "Matthew... I expect things like that from your brother, but not you." I felt the rumble of laughter in his chest.

"Let's go tell Dad the good news. But, not a word about us being married already." "You have my word, Matt," my mom said. Matt took my hand, and laced his fingers with mine. "I... have to get my shoes on," my mom said. Matt and I stared into each other's eyes. "Did we do the right thing by going behind their backs and doing it?" I asked. He kissed my hand. "You're my wife now. That's all that matters to me." He leaned down, wrapped his arms around me, and slowly kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and closed my eyes to enjoy his soft lips. Once he ended the kiss, I laid my head on his chest. "You're my husband, and I love you. That's all that matters to me." "And I finally get grandbabies," my mom said as she came out of her room. "When we're ready, Mom," I told her.

We walked over to Mr. Hardy's house. When we walked through the door, he laid into us. "Where the hell did you two go yesterday? We throw this party every year so we can all see each other again, and you two take off and leave Jeff and Amy here!" "Dad, calm down. We need to talk." His face became a mask of concern. "What happened?" He looked over his father's shoulder to see Jeff and Amy. "The engagement is back on, and we are getting married next month." "Yeah? I'll believe it when I see it."

Matt became frustrated. He pulled the receipt out of his back pocket for the marriage license, and handed it to his dad. "We went and got the license this morning." He looked it over. "Ok. Where is the license? You should have it until the day you get married." Matt and I looked at each other. After a moment of silence, Mom pushed Matt's shoulder. "Tell him. He is your father, damn it." "Tell me what?" "We got married this morning. That's why we don't have the license. But, since you all weren't there, we were going to have a wedding next month, so you could say you got to see us get married." Mr. Hardy started laughing, as he came up to Matt, and hugged him. "Finally, one of my boys got married." Matt laughed. He turned to me. "Well, can I call you Dad?" He hugged me. "Yes, you can."

As Mr. Hardy stepped away, Jeff came up to us. He grabbed my arm, and pulled me away from Matt. He punched him in the temple. "Jeffrey!" "I owed you that." While holding his head, Matt said, "it's alright, Mom. He's right." I pushed him away from Matt. "Damn it, Jeff..." I stood in front of Matt, and looked up at him. "Baby, let me see." "I'm fine, J."

A hand went around me, and slapped Matt. I turned around fast, and gave Amy a cold stare. "Look, bitch, if you touch my husband again, I'll make sure your ass leaves on a stretcher." "Yeah, right..." I looked at Mr. Hardy. "I'm sorry, Dad." I balled up my fist, and punched her. She fell to the ground. I pinned her to the ground, and grabbed her by the throat. "Don't test me. Matt and Jeff both know I could kill you right now, if I wanted to. Don't get me wrong, I want to, but today is my wedding day, and I'm not about to let some slut ruin it. If anybody's going to ruin it, it will be one of the family."

Matt lifted me off of her. "I think it's time you left, Amy," he said. "Fine." She got up, and went to gather her things. Matt turned to Mom, Mr. Hardy, and Jeff. "We're going to my house for a while. We'll come back later." "Alright, Matt. We'll make sure she's out of here before you get back." "Thanks, Dad." We walked toward the door. "Hold on," Jeff said. He came up to us, and wrapped both of us in his arms. "Congrats, you two." "Thanks, bro." "I kinda had a feeling she'd leave me for you," he laughed. "I'm sorry, Jeff." "There's no need to be." He let go of us, and we went out the door.

It didn't take us long to get to his house. Once we were on the door step, he unlocked the door, then picked me up. "Hey..." "I have to carry you over the threshold." I giggled as he carried me into the house, and kicked the door closed. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Mr. Hardy..." "Yes, Mrs. Hardy?" "Make love to me." "Gladly." He carried me upstairs to the bedroom, and made love to me.

The next day, we ran off again. This time we went to my house to try to get away from the family. Once we got there and were inside Matt came up from behind me, wrapped an arm around my waist and started kissing my neck. He started swaying to an unheard beat. He slowly slid his hand down, and unbuttoned my pants, then slid his hand inside. He teased my clit with two of his fingers, before dipping them within. As I released a sigh, I looked through my lashes into the mirror in front of me. His dark eyes looked back at me.

I looked over my shoulder at Matt and softly kissed him, as I laid my hand on his arm. I slowly swayed with him, pressing my body back into his. I leaned my head on his shoulder, and sighed as he continued fingering me. "Matt, you're only teasing me." He chuckled. "Not for long." He slid his fingers out of me, then slid his hands up to fondle my breasts. "Let's go up to the bedroom."

"I can't have sex with you in the bed. Not until I change the sheets." I looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Why not?" he whispered.

"Because the sheets smell like Jeff. I need to cleanse the house of my mistakes, so we can start over with the one thing I did right." I turned around, and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Marrying you."

He leaned down and kissed me. "Why don't you get rid of this place and move into my house... Our house."

I bit my lip, as I ran my fingers along the snaps on his black shirt. "That's a good idea." I pulled his shirt open, exposing his chest and stomach to me. "Sex first. Then we'll worry about that."

"I love the way you think." His kiss was hot, hard and hungry. But it was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"Shan and Shane. Open up!"

I growled as I went to the door, and opened it. "Why are you here?"

"Jeff told us where we could find the newly weds," Shane said.

"So we came by to congratulate you two," Shannon said.

Shane looked me over. "Nice panties, J. Did we interrupt something?"

I looked down and remembered my pants were undone. "A few minutes later, and you would have," I mumbled as I fixed them.

Matt came up behind me. "I'll thank you not to look at my wife's panties,' he laughed. "What's up, guys?"

"Hey, man. We leave you alone for a few hours, and you run off and get married. What the hell?" Shane teased.

"Yeah. We need to keep a better eye on you two," Shan added.

"Thanks for coming by, and all, but I only have a few days before we go back on the road." I heard the smile in his voice as he said, "we have some... things to take care of before I go."

"In other words, guys, we love you, but you're interrupting play time."

"Okay, okay, okay... We'll see you on the road," Shane said.

"Later, guys." Matt closed and locked the door, then turned to look at me. He laid his hands on my hips. "Where were we?"

"We were trying to find a suitable place to have sex."

He looked around the room. A crooked grin formed on his lips. He leaned down and lifted me off of my feet. He carried me to the stairs and up some, before setting me in the middle. "This looks like a good spot."

He pulled my shoes off, and threw them down the stairs. Next to go was my shirt. I leaned forward and kissed him as I pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. He pulled it off, then tossed it back with my shirt and shoes. He gently pushed me back on the stairs, then undid my jeans. I lifted my hips, so he could pull them off. Once they were tossed aside, he took my thong off with his teeth.

Matt looked down at me and that crooked smile appeared again. I reached my hand up and touched his face. "What is that grin for, my dear?"

"You'll see." He let his short chin hairs scrape across my skin as he went down on me.

I laid back on the stairs as he teased my center with his tongue. "Oh, shit, Matt..." My fingers tunneled through his long hair.

Once my orgasm came and went, he crawled up my body. "I'll do anything to keep you happy this time," he whispered as he entered me.

Our marriage was beyond good. It was perfect. Then, Matt was put on Smackdown. Mark wasn't a problem, though we both thought he would be. He understood that our marriage was for real, and that we were going to stay true to one another. The problem was a certain match.

Matt once again felt the need to be in another hardcore match. I begged him not to, because of the way the previous ones had left him. Unfortunately, Stephanie felt it was a good idea. "Hunny, don't worry about the match. It's going to be me and Shan. We know each others limits," he had said.

The night of the pay per view I went with him. He had managed to get me a ringside ticket so I could watch the match up close, instead of on the monitors in the back. I took my seat just before the match. I started chewing on my nails as Matt's music started. I couldn't explain why, but I had a bad feeling about the match. When Matt looked down at me, he could see my fear. Once Shannon's music started, Matt climbed out of the ring, and came over to me.

"Remember what I said. Everything will be fine." He leaned down. "Now, stop chewing on your nails, and think about running them down my back tonight." He kissed my redened cheek, then got back in the ring.

The bell rang, and they went for each other. All was fine for the first few minutes. Then, they started using weapons. Their fight went outside the ring. Matt walked around the ring, until he was close to where I was. He smiled at me, before going under the ring, and pulling out a ladder.

"Damn it, Matt!" I yelled at him.

He slid the ladder into the ring, then got in and set it up. Shan rolled back into the ring, but was met with Matt's boot in his head. Shan laid still as Matt climbed the ladder, until he got to the top. He was about to jump off, when Shan got up, and pushed the ladder over. The fall seemed like it was in slow motion until Matt's head bounced off of the turnbuckle. After that, there was no movement from Matt. Not even the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he panted for air.

"Oh, God. Please let him be alright," I pleaded.

After a moment, tears stung my eyes. The ref checked on him, then waved for the paramedics to come out from the back. I climbed over the retaining wall, but was met by security.

"You can't climb over the wall."

"Fuck you! That's my husband laying there!"

Shannon walked up, and grabbed my shoulders. "I'll take care of her," he told the gaurd.

I wrapped my hands around Shan's throat. "Is he breathing?"

"I... I don't think so, J."

I slid into the ring, and sat next to Matt. "Matthew Moore Hardy, you had better not fucking die on me."

Shan pulled me back into a corner, and made me sit with him while the paramedics worked on Matt. Tears flowed freely as he wrapped his arms around mine, and rocked. "I'm so sorry, sis. Shit... You know I'd never hurt him, don't you?"

I was too worried, too shocked, too upset to answer him. I watched the paramedics check his pulse, then quickly start pumping on his chest. "Oh, God, Shan... He's going to die..."

The next few hours were a blur as Shan and I sat in the waiting room, until Jeff walked through the door. "What have you heard?" he asked.

"Nothing. They took him into the emergency room, and have been working on him." He grabbed my hand as he sat beside me. "Jeff, he was gone for 3 minutes, and he died once on the way here..."

"Mrs. Hardy?"

I looked up and saw the doctor. "Yes?"

"I'm Dr. Morgan. The impact from your husband's fall shattered the base of his skull. The fragments severed his spinal cord." He paused a moment. "I... I'm sorry. We did all we could."

I turned and buried my face in Jeff's chest. He put an arm around me as he mumbled, "thank you."

I cried on Jeff's chest until his shirt was soaked, and my cheek was clammy. I looked up at him. "Will you take me back to the arena to get his stuff?"

"Sure, sis." He helped me up, then out to his rental.

When we got there, the only ones left were the crew breaking down the set. They hadn't gotten to the ring yet. I grabbed his bag from the locker room. When I got back out, Jeff was talking to a member of the crew. I set the bag down beside him, then went out to the ring. I stared at it for a moment. One of the things to protect the crowd from getting hurt had killed the man I loved.

I went under the ring, pulled out a six foot ladder and slid it into the ring. I set it up on the ramp side, then climbed up. I stood on the top for a moment, before I heard Jeff yell my name. "What the hell are you doing, Jade!?"

With tears streaming down my face I said, "Matt and I had plans for tonight." I spread my arms out to my sides, leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

"Jade, don't you do it!"

I jumped off the ladder, but before I hit the floor, I hit a body. "You'll have to cancel those plans," Jeff groaned from under me. "Damn it! Don't fucking do that shit again!"

"He's gone, Jeff," I sobbed. "He's gone, and he left me here."

He petted my hair. "Shh... I know, J. He left all of us. But you know he wouldn't want you to take your life for him."

From that day on, Jeff would not leave my side. It didn't matter if I was staying at my mom's or if we had a family gathering. Even when I took a bath or went pee, he was outside the door. He was afraid I would try again. During the TNA shows, when he had to do his match, he had Raven sit with me.

It was almost a year later when he realized that I wasn't going to try again. I was sitting with Jeff, Kevin Nash and Raven while they ate. A large man, almost as big as Nash, with long streaked hair and piercing blue eyes walked over to talk to Raven. I watched him, until he turned and was out of sight. I elbowed Jeff. "Hey, who was that?"

"Lance," Kevin said between bites.

"Why haven't I met him yet?"

"Because you have been playing the grieving widow, remember? You probably don't know half the guys here."

Lance came back minutes later, carrying a plate of food. "Mind if I join ya'll?" he asked as he looked at me.

"Uh... No. Have a seat," I answered.

As he sat down he asked, "are you two related?"

"Me and Jeff?" He nodded. "We were. I was married to his brother."

He laughed. "You got Jeff in the divorce? I think you got ripped off." I stood from the chair. "Was it something I said?"

"I didn't divorce him. He died, because of an in-ring accident." I walked off toward the locker room. I was halfway there when someone grabbed my arm.

"I... I feel like a jackass. I'm sorry. I didn't know." He let go of my arm, and stuck his hand out to me. "How about if we start over? My name is Lance Hoyt."

I shook the hand he offered. "Jade Hardy."

"Will you come back and sit with us? I'll try not to be an asshole this time." I had to smile. "If you don't, Jeff's going to kick my ass."

I laughed. "You look like you can hold your own with him."

"Yeah, but if I fight him that would upset you, and I'm supposed to be getting on your good side, here."

My smile slowly faded, as I realized he was hitting on me. The fact that I hadn't let go of his hand told me I shouldn't. But, he was a nice guy, so I followed him back to the table.

As I sat down Jeff asked, "are you okay, J?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you let him drag you to the shows?" Lance asked.

I looked at Kevin, then Raven, then Jeff. All were looking back at me. Blue met blue as I looked Lance in the eyes. "To be honest, I tried to kill myself the night Matt died. He's been dragging me around to make sure I don't try again." I stole a fry from Jeff's plate. "I haven't tried again, and it's been almost a year."

"You're pretty open about it, now," Kevin said.

"I'll never get over it, but I've learned to cope."

"Yeah, in the last fifteen minutes," Jeff said.

"Go to hell." I stole another fry. "Psychiatrists say to talk about it. We never did, he's asking..."

"How'd you try to do it?" Raven asked.

"I jumped off a ladder in the ring. I was hoping to land on the steel ramp head first, but I landed on Jeff."

"Wouldn't have done it. It would have only given you a headache. Maybe a little blood."

I looked down. "Can we change the subject? I'm not proud of my swandive."

"How'd you meet Jeff?" Lance asked.

I smiled. I realized he was pumping me for info. "Kindergarten. We were in the same class. A couple months into the school year, my family moved in next door to the Hardys."

"Alright, guys, let's hurry it up," Terry Taylor said. "We have a show to get ready for."

"I gotta get painted up," Jeff said. "You coming, J?"

"Nah. I'll stay here for a while."

"Alright. You know where to find me."

As Jeff walked away, Raven got up. "How about a kiss for luck?" he teased.

"Not in this lifetime." He laughed as he walked away.

"Is this your last trip with Jeff?" Kevin asked.

"I don't know yet. It might be the last weekly trip. I may just come along once a month."

"I'll catch you later, Jade."

"Later, Kev."

Then, it was just me and Lance. "I didn't expect to get time alone with you," he laughed.

I smiled. "I may be blonde, but I'm not stupid. When you apologized, you were hitting on me. I opened up so you can understand if I don't jump into bed with you." I took a drink from my water. "If you were trying to be smooth, you need to work on your game, 'cause I saw right through you."

"I suppose I do." As he stood, he took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles. "I hope this isn't your last trip."

"We'll see." As he walked away I thought to myself, "hell... He's hot." I turned to catch a rear view, but found him looking back at me. I bit my lip and sunk down in my chair as I turned back around. "Oohh... I'm going to burn in hell..."

I felt his breath on my neck before I knew he was there. "Now, if you're playing hard to get, you may want to work on your game." He laid his hand on my shoulder. "Later, Jade."

"Later, Lance." I looked over my shoulder to be sure he walked away. Then, I got up and went to see Jeff. As I walked in the room, he was sliding his stockings on his arms.

He looked up at me. "Uh-oh..."

"What?"

"I've seen that look before. I caused it a few times."

"What look?"

"The little grin, your sparkling eyes dark with desire... You want Lance."

"It's too soon."

He laid his hand on my cheek. "J, I'm not going to look down on you if you want to have a fling with him. I don't expect you to be alone for the rest of your life."

"That's sweet, Jeff, but seriously, I'm not ready."

When Jeff and I made it back to Cameron, I snuck away from him and my mom. I took a blanket and went to Matt's grave. I spread the blanket over his grave, and laid down facing his headstone. "Hey, baby. I guess this is the first time I've visited you alone. Jeff has been taking care of me. He hasn't let me out of his sight. I had to sneak away to come alone," I laughed.

I started pulling at the grass. "It's been almost a year, baby. I'm faced with a decision that's driving me mad. Should I start dating again, or should I carry on, married to your memory?" I sighed, then wiped at my eyes. "A guy is interested in me. Jeff says he can see the lust in my eyes when his name comes up. I guess I like him. I've met him only once, but he seems like a nice guy. I need some sort of sign. Something that tells me you're ok with this. I know you're up there watching over me. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't live alone forever."

The wind picked up, tossing leaves about. A large elm leaf hit my cheek, and stuck to my tears. I laid my head down and closed my eyes. Soon after, I drifted off to sleep. As I dreamed, I saw Matt's transluscent figure sitting on his headstone, his arms crossed over his chest. "Jade," he called. "Wake up."

"Matt? Oh, God..."

He smiled. "You asked for a sign... Here I am."

"I've missed you so much, baby."

"You shouldn't. I'm always with you. As for your problem, I agree with Jeff. You can't stay alone for the rest of your life. I'd hate to watch you turn into a bitter old hag just because I died on you."

"Hey, now... Watch it."

He laughed as he leaned down to lay his hand on my cheek. "I love you, J. I want you to be happy, whether you're with this guy or someone else. Just promise me you won't go back to what you did with me, Mark and Jeff. No more cheating, no more sleeping around. Find a man, and stay with him."

"I... I will, Matt."

I felt a coldness on my lips as he tried to kiss me. Then, my body started shaking. I opened my eyes, and Matt was gone. "Matt? Matt, are you still here?"

"J, it's me, Jeff." I looked up at him. "I thought I might find you out here."

"I... I was talking to Matt. I guess I fell asleep." He took a seat on the blanket as I sat up. "I saw him in my dream."

"What did he say?"

"He agrees with you."

"It took him dying for him to agree with me. What do we agree on?"

I laid my head on his shoulder. "That I should start dating again."

He lifted his shoulder to get me off of him. "Not me."

"Oh please, Jeff... I didn't mean you. Matt would haunt my ass if we got back together."

I laid my head back on his shoulder. "You mean Lance."

"I mean a man that is truely interested. Matt doesn't want me to go back to my old ways. If he's interested in more than a roll in the hay, then maybe Lance."

"So you're coming back with me next week?"

"Yeah, I think I will." I sighed. "I think Raven would be lost without me."

Jeff laughed. "I think he'd be bored without you. I think we're the only ones that partially understand him."

"I wouldn't mind seeing Lance again, either."

"You think you'll go out with him this time?"

"I don't know, Jeff. He's nice to look at, though. I'm just not sure if I'm ready."

"Well, you'll figure it out. Meantime, Mom and Dad want to see you. They got worried when Mom couldn't find you."

"Jesus... I'm a grown woman. I can handle myself." I stood up and pulled the blanket out from underneath Jeff. "If I want to have a private talk with my dead husband, I should be able to without someone sending out the calvary." I folded the blanket, and strapped it to the back of my dirt bike. "I'm going home. Tell them I need to work on things without any help."

I got on the bike, started it, and took off to the house Matt and I shared. I spent the night in the gym working out as I thought of my problems. I finally collapsed on the couch at six in the morning. I awoke around noon to the sound of the doorbell ringing frantically. "HOLD ON!" I yelled. I stumbled to the door. "Who is it?"

"Your mother."

I groaned as I opened the door. I rubbed my eyes as the sunlight slowly flooded the doorway. "Sorry, Mom. I spent the night in the gym, and..." My jaw dropped when I saw who was with her. "Lance... What are you... How did you..."

He laughed. "Jeff invited me over last night. Your mom showed me where you are."

"Why were you looking for me?"

"I, uh... I have Jeff's bike. I wanted to know if you'd go for a ride with me."

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Mom stomped on my toe. "OW! What the fuck, Mom!?"

"Let the good looking guy take you for a ride."

"The "good looking guy" has a name. It's Lance." I looked him over, then looked back at Mom. "Oh, alright."

"I don't want to cause any problems, and I don't want you to feel like you're being pushed into it."

"It's ok, Lance. Just let me wake up first. I need some coffee. Come on in."

"I'll go home. I have some food going in the crock pot. You're both welcomed for dinner," Mom said.

"We'll see you later, Mom."

"Thank you for showing me over here, ma'am."

"It was my pleasure."

Once Mom left, I let Lance in. "Why did you really come?" I asked. "With Jeff, Kevin and Raven, the last thing I need is another man watching over me."

"I couldn't stop thinking about you after the show. I can tell you're not over your husband's death, but... you captured a part of me."

I let out a sigh. "Come on. I need that coffee before you say anymore."

He followed me into the kitchen, and sat at the bar. "I'm sorry for just dropping in. I know we just met yesterday, but..."

"It's alright. I have a feeling one of us was set up. Probably the innocent one that was sleeping on the couch."

"What makes you think you were set up?"

"I told Jeff it was time to start dating again. Why not invite the only guy I've shown interest in to Cameron? Where the hell are you from, anyways?"

"Dallas."

"Shit, another Texas man with a thing for motorcycles..." I mumbled.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's nothing personal. Before Matt and I got married, I almost married Undertaker. He... he had a thing for whipping me."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Just so you know, I'm not into that."

I leaned on the bar with my head in my hands. "Why do I have no problem telling you things I don't want to remember?"

He leaned down to look me in the eyes as he smiled. "You tell me."

"I can tell you one thing," I whispered. "I hate being alone with you."

"Why?"

"Because you make me realize how long it's been." I slowly leaned toward him, but stopped. "While that coffee's brewing, I'm going to take a shower. I wouldn't want to hold on to you when I smell like sweat."

He looked down at my lips. "If I had my way, you'd hold on to me drenched in sweat." He closed the distance between us, and softly kissed me. His lips awakened parts of me that had laid dormant since Matt died. "You'd better go take that shower."

"Yeah," I sighed.

I rode on the back of the motorcycle with Lance to my mom's house. The wind on my face and my body pressed to his renewed my spirit. When we stopped at the house he helped me off the bike. "Now, Lance, no matter what happens, or what is said, please don't take offense."

"Why would I..."

I laid my hand on his chest. "Trust me, these people hold nothing back."

"People? But, your mom..."

"Just more of the set up." Just as I thought, as we walked through the door I saw Shane, Shannon, Jeff and Mr. Hardy. "I thought so. Mom, why did the whole mob have to be here?"

"What do you mean? We have dinner together once a week."

"You are so full of shit. Mom, Mr. Hardy, can I see you two in the kitchen?" I turned on the boys. "Don't you dare start shit." I led them into the kitchen. "Lance and I were expecting just you, Mom, but somewhere in the back of my head, I knew you'd have everybody here."

"Jade, I told you..."

"Mom, I have been here in town every week. Why is this the first I've heard of it?" She was silent. "I'm finally interested in someone again. Please don't let the boys screw this up. We're not seeing each other, and I don't want them to chase him off."

"Hunny, we just want to meet the young man," Mr. Hardy said.

"He's a nice guy, Dad. I just want a chance to get to know him."

Two hands laid on my shoulders. The way my mom and Mr. Hardy looked up behind me, I guessed it was Lance. "I guess the ride still has your hearing off. You were yelling." He squeezed my shoulders, kneading the muscles. My eyes involuntarily closed. "Nobody's going to chase me away. As for my intentions, Jade has explained the situation to me. When she's ready, we can go ahead. Until then, I'm going to be here for her."

I opened my eyes, and saw my mother's brows raised at me. "Don't give me that look, red head."

"I'm just surprised you used your head and heart, instead of your "cat"."

"Real subtle, Mom." I sighed. "This is going to sound stupid... I saw Matt in a dream. He doesn't want me to go back to those ways, and I don't plan to." I looked up at Lance. "I'm not going to be a run around again." His hand went from my shoulder to my cheek. I closed my eyes, and leaned into his touch.

"I think we get the point," Mr. Hardy said.

"Huh? Oh." I felt the heat creep into my cheeks. "Sorry."

"Well, let's eat before those boys get rowdy. Jade, will you set the table? We're eating outside."

"Sure."

"I'll help," Lance said.

We carried the utensils outside to the picnic tables. "You can't say I didn't warn you," I laughed.

"That's ok. It's not the first time. If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly every parent's dream son-in-law."

I set the plates on the table. "True, but you are what a woman dreams of." He turned and grinned at me. "I'm asking for trouble. I'll just shut up now."

He grabbed my hips, and looked me in the eyes. "You can say anything you want. It will stay between us." He leaned down, and kissed me. His soft lips made me dizzy. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his went around my back. Our lips parted as someone cleared his throat. We looked up to see Jeff. "I'll see if your mom needs some help bringing stuff out."

Once Lance was inside Jeff said, "I was going to ask if you're mad at me, but I guess you're not."

"I'll let you live for now."

"Dinner was Mom's idea. She wanted the whole adopted family to meet Lance."

"At this point, she needs to leave well enough alone. I don't want to hear her mess about getting married again and having kids. Things will happen when the time and the man are right," I said as I set the places.

"It doesn't sound like you hold out much hope for him."

I stopped what I was doing. "We just met at the show. I know he is a handsome man, and his lips send shivers down my spine. Other than that, I know nothing about him. We can play it by ear for now."

"Who are you fooling? You were a nympho before, and it's been a year... You'll be in bed with him before we go back for the show."

I laughed. "If it feels right, I probably will. Probably in the next twenty four hours. As for everything else that goes with a relationship, we'll see."

Jeff sighed. "Well, I think he's a good guy. I wouldn't have invited him here if I didn't."

"I know, bro, but he's a friend of your's. We may see things differently."

"In coming," Lance said as he came out the back door, carrying a pan.

"I think you mean out going," I laughed.

"I mean this pan is fucking hot," he said as he set it down.

"Let me see them," I said, meaning his hands. He laid his hands face up in mine. "They're bright red. Let's go get some cold water on them."

"I'll be alright."

"Save the hand holding for later. It's time to eat," Shannon said.

Jeff stepped away to help get things situated. "You heard us, didn't you?" I whispered.

"Yeah, so being alone at the moment isn't a good idea," he replied with a wink and a smile. I returned the smile as Mom, "Dad" and Shane came out of the house.

Once everyone was done eatting, I helped Mom clear the tables and wash dishes, while the guys went off to play with the dirt bikes. I was drying my hands when Lance came in. "Are you ready to go home, Jade?"

I hung the dish towel up as I said, "yeah."

"Jade, you're blushing," my mom said.

"I'm sure I am." I kissed her cheek. "Thanks for dinner, Mom. I'll probably see you tomorrow."

"It was wonderful, ma'am," Lance added.

"You may as well call me mom. Everyone else does, even Mr. Hardy."

"Bye, Mom," he said with a smile. He looked at me, and his smile faded. He turned back to my mom. "Maybe I should stick with ma'am."

"Bye you two."

As we walked outside he said, "they're quite a bunch..."

"Yeah, but it's my family. I can't get rid of them." He laughed. "Bring Jeff's bike around to the garage. We'll take mine. It's street legal." As Lance went to get the dirtbike, I went to the garage, and uncovered the bright red motorcycle. I put up the kickstand, and pushed it out into the driveway. As I checked the gas tank, he walked up.

"You're shitting me. You have a Harley?"

"2002 Heritage Softail. She was a Christmas present from Matt." I put the kickstand down, and leaned it over. I dug my keys out of my pocket, and handed them to him. "Let's take it easy on the way home."

Ludacris (feat. Shawna)

{Ludacris}
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Give it to me now, give it to me now
give it to me now, give it to me now

{Shawna}
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Give it to me now, give it to me now
give it to me now..

{Chorus: Ludacris, then Shawna *2X*}
I wanna, li-li-li-lick you from yo' head to yo' toes
And I wanna, move from the bed down to the down to the to the flo'
Then I wanna, ahh ahh - you make it so good I don't wanna leave
But I gotta, kn-kn-kn-know what-what's your fan-ta-ta-sy

{Ludacris}
I wanna get you in the Georgia Dome on the fifty yard line
while the Dirty Birds kick for t'ree
And if you like in the club we can do it
in the DJ booth or in the back of the V.I.P.
Whipped cream with cherries and strawberries on top
Lick it don't stop, keep the door locked while the boat rock
We go-bots and robots so they gotta wait til the show stop
or how 'bout on the beach with black sand
lick up your thigh then call me the Pac Man
Table top or just give me a lap dance
The Rock to the Park to the Point to the Flatlands
That man Ludacris (woo) in the public bathroom
or in back of a classroom
how ever you want it lover lover gonna tap that ass soon
see I cast 'em and I past 'em get a tight grip and I grasp 'em
I flash 'em and out last 'em
and if ain't good then I trash 'em while you stash 'em
I'll let 'em free
and the tell me what they fantasy
like up on the roof roof tell yo boyfriend not to be mad at me

::Chorus::

{Ludacris}
I wanna get you in the bath tub
with the candle lit you give it up till they go out
or we can do it on stage of the Ludacris concert
cause you know I got sold out
or red carpet dick could just roll out
go 'head and scream you can't hold out
we can do it in the pouring rain
runnin the train when it's hot or cold out
how 'bout in the library on top of books
but you can't be too loud
you wanna make a brother beg for it
give me TLC 'cause you know I be too proud
we can do it in the white house
tryna make them turn the lights out
champaign with my campaign let me do the damn thing
what's my name, what's my name, what's my name a sauna, jacuzzi
in the back row at the movie
You can stratch my back and rule me
You can push me or just pull me
on hay in middle of the barn (woo) rose pedals on the silk sheets uh
eating fresh fruits sweep yo woman right off her feet

::Chorus::

{Ludacris}
I wanna get you in the back seat windows up
that's the way you like to fuck, clogged up fog alert
Rip the pants and rip the shirt, ruff sex make it hurt
in the garden all in the dir
Roll around Georgia Brown that's the way I like it twerk
Legs jerk, overworked, underpaid but don't be afraid
In the sun or up in the shade
on the top of my escalade
Maybe your girl and my friend can trade; tag team, off the ropes!
On the ocean or in the boat! Factories or on hundred spokes!
What about up in the candy sto' that chocolate chocolate make it melt
Whips and chains, handcuffs, smack a little booty up with my belt
Scream help play my game; dracula man I'll get my fangs
Horseback and I'll get my reigns, school teacher let me get my brains

{Chorus - repeat 4X}

Once back at the house, I looked at his hands again. "Are you sure they're ok?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He tilted my chin up, until I was looking in his eyes. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, I don't." He leaned down and softly kissed me. "Stay with me," came my whispered plea. "Make me feel like a woman again."

"Are you sure you're ready to..."

"Yes." I took the cap off of his head, and tossed it in the chair. I tunneled my fingers in his long blonde hair, and pressed my body to his. I grinned at him. "You seem to be ready, too." I slid my hands down his body, then under his shirt. "Please, Lance..."

He pulled his shirt off, and threw it in the chair with his cap. He leaned down and smiled as he looked me in the eyes. "Tonight should be special for you. Don't get in a rush."

I was taken aback for a moment. "Okay."

He laid his hand on the side of my neck, and gently kissed me. "Lead me to your room, then let me take over, okay?"

I laid my hand on his, then slowly pulled it away. "Follow me." I released his hand as I went up the stairs. I stopped halfway up.

"Jade, is everything alright?" he asked. When I didn't answer him, he laid his hand on my hip. "Jade?"

I reached for the hem of my shirt, and pulled it off. I laid it over the handrail and said, "it's getting hot in here."

"It is now," he whispered. He ran his hand down my spine, then traced my tattoo. "Don't turn around. Just go up the stairs."

I looked over my shoulder at him. "What if I want to take more off?" I teased.

He stepped up right behind me, and wrapped an arm around my waist. "I'll take the rest off of you when I'm done setting up my plan." He slid his hand over my stomach. "My plan will really make you wet."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "You're going to kill me if you make me wait."

"You've waited a year. A few more minutes won't kill you."

I continued up the stairs, then led him into the bedroom. I thought Lance was still behind me, until I heard the water running in the bath tub. I walked over to the doorway and saw him leaned over putting the stop in the drain. "What are you doing, Lance?"

He smiled as he stepped up and wrapped his arms around me. "We are going to take a bath, I'm going to scrub you from head to toe, I'll dry you off, then I'll lick you from head to toe."

I quirked my brow as an evil grin spread across my lips. "I didn't expect you to be a romantic." I placed a kiss in the middle of his chest. "Not that I'm complaining..."

He smiled, then kissed me. "Have any candles and a lighter?"

"Around the sink. The lighter is in the top drawer. You do your thing up here. I'm going to get us something to drink."

"Like..."

"I'll keep with your plans. No beer, no shooters... How about champagne? I've had a bottle in the fridge, and no one to drink it with."

He softly kissed my neck. "Hurry back."

I ran back down stairs, grabbed the bottle and two flutes and carried them back up as fast as I could. Lance had set the candles in the four corners of the tub, and lit them. He took the champagne and glasses from me, and set them on the counter. He went back to the tub, and turned off the water. He sat on the edge, and kissed me as he worked on my jeans. As he slid the jeans down my legs I slid my shoes off. Once they were off, all were kicked to the corner.

He stood in front of me, so close that I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. I ran my finger tips down his stomach until I reached the button on his jeans. He buried his hand in my hair as I stared into his eyes. I undid his pants, then ran my hands over his hips, and down his bare butt to peel them off. He kicked off his boots, toed his socks off, then kicked them and his pants aside. He placed a kiss in the middle of my forehead, then said, "go ahead and get in."

He held his hand out and helped me into the tub. As I slid down the back of the tub I watched him pop the cork on the champagne through my lashes. "He is a sight to behold," I thought to myself as my eyes roamed over his back side. He turned around with the glasses of champagne in hand, and my eyes instantly went to what hung between his legs. "Oh my," I said with an evil grin.

He looked down, then back at me. "Something wrong?"

"Just taking in the view." I took the flute he offered. He grabbed the bottle and set it next to the tub before getting in with me.

"Come here, babe. Lean back on me." I turned around, leaned back on him, and laid my head on his shoulder. He raised his champagne flute in front of me. "To new beginnings."

I tapped my glass to his. "You are an amazing man, Lance." I took a sip out of my glass as I laid my free hand on his leg. "I was right earlier. You are what every woman dreams of."

He slid his hand over my stomach, then down between my legs. I closed my eyes as his fingers found my opening. I felt his length jumping, pressing into my back. He moaned in my ear, "you have been one surprise after another today." He nibbled on my neck. "You deserve your heart's desire."

I moaned as he slid his finger inside me. "I have everything I want right now." I pulled his hand away from my center, and turned around. I set my glass on the edge of the tub, then wrapped my arms around his neck. "I hate being teased." I started at his neck, and left a trail of kisses down his chest. Before I reached the water, I took a deep breath. I went under the water, and took him into my mouth. I slowly let the air out through my nose as I sucked his length. As I ran out of air, I went back up his body.

His head was tilted back, and his eyes were closed. "You're playing dirty," he moaned.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," I purred. His arms went around me as I straddled his hips. I moved my hips until he was aligned for entry. As I slowly lowered myself onto him, he claimed my lips with a hard deep kiss. I was breathless by the time he was fully sheathed. "Holy..."

"...shit," he finished for me. With his arms around my ribs, he laid his hands on my shoulders, and kissed my throat. As he moved down to my chest, I slowly started moving my hips. As I did the water lapped around us. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea," he said with a smile. "We should be in the bed."

I moaned. "So I have to get off of you?" I asked innocently.

"No, I just wanted you to know that I'm going to carry you in there." True to his word, he lifted me as he stood, and carried me to the bed. He laid me on my back without pulling out of me. He claimed my lips as he thrust his hips, pushing further inside.

It wasn't long before my orgasm washed over me, making my muscles clench, pulling him over the edge with me. As he pulled out of me, he gathered me in his arms, and held me to his chest. "That was..." I sighed, contentedly.

After a moment he said, "that was great. You are a perfect fit. Maybe we were..."

I put my finger to his lips. "Don't finish that. Matt said it, too."

"And you married him."

"After Mark split us up."

I curled up in his arms, and we fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of the telephone ringing. I rolled over, and lifted the headset from the cradle. "If your name ends in Hardy, Helms or Moore don't call back today," I said groggily.

"Hello, beautiful. Long time, no see."

I groaned. "Callaway, either."

"I tried to be nice and give you some time before calling to see how you are," Mark said.

Lance crawled over me, and smiled. I returned the smile. "I'm either very happy, or in heaven, because this blonde Adonis just crawled over me, and he looks hungry for me."

"Jeff?"

"Goodbye, Mark."

"I'm at your front door."

My eyes went wide. "You're where?" The doorbell rang. I groaned and threw my head back on the pillow. "Give me a couple minutes to get dressed." I hung up the phone, and wrapped my arms around Lance's neck. I leaned up and kissed him. "I hate to say this, baby, but you have to get off me."

"Who's Mark?" he asked before kissing my neck.

"Undertaker."

"Let me get rid of him."

"No offense, but you couldn't get rid of him no matter what you did. He's like a dog. Once he sinks his teeth in, it's hard to shake him."

"Mmm... I'll be your back up, then."

"Alright. Maybe if he sees another man here, he'll leave faster." I kissed him again before he rolled out of bed, and retreived his jeans from the bathroom. I grabbed a pair of shorts out of the dresser, then yelled, "I'm stealing your shirt," as I ran down the stairs. I slid the shorts on, grabbed Lance's shirt out of the chair, and pulled it over my head. I went to the door, and opened it. "Come on in, Mark."

He sneered. "So, where is this blonde Adonis you were talking about?"

"He'll be down in a few minutes. He's getting dressed. Coffee?"

"I'd love some."

I lead him to the kitchen, where he took a seat at the bar, while I made coffee. "Second day in a row I was woken up because of a man."

"Really?"

I looked at him. "Yeah, but I screwed him last night. You have a snowball's chance in hell."

"What makes you think I'm here for your pussy?"

"I know you too well."

Lance walked up behind me, wrapped one arm around me, and used his other hand to brush the hair off of my neck. He placed a kiss under my ear, then said, "it looks better on you anyways," referring to the shirt.

Mark cleared his throat. "Oh, uh... Lance, this is Mark. Mark, this is..."

"'Dallas'. I've seen you before."

"Nice to meet you, 'Undertaker'." He looped his other arm around me. "Atleast, it would be if you hadn't come to my woman's house."

"Sorry, I didn't see a towel on the front door."

"Why are you here, Mark?"

"I thought I'd check on you. I haven't seen you since the funeral."

"And before that it was just before Matt and I ran off to get married."

He chuckled. "That was a crazy night."

"One I don't plan on repeating. I promised, I SWORE on my husband's grave that I would find a man, and be an honest woman to him."

"And you think this kid is the man?"

Lance moved his arms, as if he were going to go after him. I grabbed his hands and held them over my stomach. "He's the same age I am. You just showed me what you thought of me before. Now that you have disrespected both Lance and myself, I think you should leave."

He gave me his crooked grin as he stood from the chair. He turned his gaze to Lance. "Keep your eyes on her. She played me and Matt like a yo-yo, then left us for his brother." His eyes went back to me, and he blew me a kiss. "Then she fucked both of us at the same time."

"GO TO HELL, MARK!!!"

He chuckled. "You know where I am when he gets tired of you." He walked to the front door, and left.

I leaned on the counter, and broke down in tears. "Hey... Come here, baby." I leaned on his chest, and continued crying. "I'm not going to get tired of you., and I'm not walking out on you."

"Why did that sorry son of a bitch have to bring that night up!? Or Jeff!?"

"Hey..." He tilted my chin up until I looked into his eyes. "I'm not going to hold anything from your past against you." He laid his hand on my cheek. "We have all had our bad times. Nobody's perfect." He picked me up, and set me on the counter. "So your sex life has been adventurous. Use what you've learned on me."

I grinned as I laid my hand on his cheek. "I'd love to. Except for the whole Matt and Mark thing."

Lance chuckled. "That's fine. I don't want to share you."

"They didn't either. In all fairness to them, the uh... threesome was my idea. I blacked out before we got to the motel."

He smiled as he wrapped his arms tightly around me. He looked me in the eyes and said, "Jade, you are such a trip, I can't help but love you."

"Lance, you are so cool to put up with all this drama without running back to Dallas." I ran my fingers through his hair as I leaned forward and kissed him. "I love you."

When Lance and Jeff went back for another taping, I went with them. Lance and I had become very close in the week we spent together. He was an amazing, romantic, open-minded lover. Truely everything a woman could dream of. With four words Wildcat nearly shattered all of my dreams.

Being with Lance had gotten me out of my shell, so I thought I would dress a little more feminine this time out. Lance and I were about to sit with the others to eat when I heard someone whistle."

"Would you look at those legs," Chris Harris said. "To what do we owe the pleasure of that short skirt?"

I blushed and said, "Hoyt."

"Was that a word, or were you hocking up a lugie?"

Lance walked up behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Don't make me rearrange your face, Harris."

"You know I was just kidding, Lance."

"Stay away from my woman."

"Damn..." Chris looked down, and shifted his weight. "You won the bet."

My heart sunk.

"What bet?" Lance asked.

"On who would get her first. You know... We were talking about this last week."

Lance rolled his eyes. "I never agreed to that bet."

I left them to their arguement, and went to the table where Jeff, Kevin and Raven were. "Rave, can I hide out with you?"

"What's wrong, J?" Jeff asked.

"Lance and Wildcat..." A sob caught in my throat. "They had a bet for who would get me first."

"Shit... Those little pricks..." Kevin stopped to get a hold on his anger. "Come on, baby girl. We'll take care of it." He stood, and took my hand in his. He lead me over to where they were still arguing. "You two, locker room, now!"

"But, we need to eat," Wildcat protested.

Kevin got in his face. "Right now, I don't care if you starve to death. This woman demands answers."

They walked down the hall to the locker room, followed by me and Kevin. Once inside, I stood in front of Wildcat. I looked him over once, before giving him a fast, hard kick in the nuts with my pointed shoe. He fell to his knees. I grabbed a handful of his hair, and yanked his head back. "You shovinist pig... I let the comment about my legs slide, but betting on who would get a woman first... That's how a woman's heart gets broken."

"I was only joking when I brought it up," Chris moaned. "I had seen Lance sitting with you and the guys, and decided to rib him about it."

I pushed him in the side of the head, making him fall over. I stepped over in front of Lance. He put his hands behind his back, spread his feet, and closed his eyes. "Do what you want to me. Just know that I never lied to you, I never played you, and I never took him up on that bet. And, remember that I meant it when I said I love you. Those aren't words I just throw around."

I sighed, and turned to look at Kevin. He just shrugged. I turned back to Lance, who was peeking through his lashes at me. I slapped him across the face. "Consider that a warning not to piss me off. I used to beat a bigger man than you until he was bloody, just for the fun of it. Imagine what I'd do to you if you pissed me off. I trusted you, and, yeah, I love you. But this sweaty nut sack laying on the floor put a big ass dent in how much I trust you. I wouldn't be so fucking pissed if I didn't love you, Lance. But I've seen too much heartache in my life. I'm not going to take your shit, too."

He softly petted my cheek. "Haven't I been nothing but good to you this week?"

A chill ran up my spine. Then, the words "he's telling the truth" filled my head. "Yes, you have."

"I know I'm the first you've trusted to be your man since your husband died. I'd never do anything to betray you." I closed my eyes as he leaned down and softly pressed his lips to my forehead. "Besides, anything I would have won from the bet would pale in comparison to the prize I have in front of me."

I opened my eyes to see him not an inch from my face. I softly kissed the middle of the red handprint I left. "I shouldn't have doubted you, but..."

"I understand. You still don't know me very well, and you've been dicked around," he said softly. "'Expect the worst, but hope for the best'."

"Exactly."

"I'll leave you lovebirds to your little talk," Kevin said as he picked Chris up from the ground. "Come on. You can go eat now."

"My balls are in my throat. I don't think I can," he moaned.

"A couple swallows of food, and your balls will be back where they should be."

"Thank you, Kevin," I said without tearing my eyes from Lance's.

"A little tip for you assholes. For the past year, if I wasn't married, I wouldn't have minded having those legs wrapped around me. But I have respected her enough to not hit on her, since I can't give her my all. Nobody knew that until now. Lance, I expect you to show her the same respect."

Lance smiled down at me. "She has my all if she wants it."

As the door opened and Kevin helped Chris walk out, I heard Cowboy say, "OOOOOH WHEEEE looks like someone made Wildcat a Kitten."

"Fuck off, Storm," Chris moaned.

The door clicked shut. "We're good?" he asked.

"Um... Actually, I owe you an apology for the slap. I'm sorry, I just... can't control my temper sometimes." I slowly kissed him. "You didn't deserve it."

He grinned. "I'm just glad you didn't kick me in the nuts like you did Cat." He winced. "Just watching that hurt me."

I gave him a sideways grin. "Well, a good fight usually ends in great make up sex... I wouldn't want to hurt the chances of getting it."

Lance wrapped his arms around me, and lifted me off of my feet. He swung me around, then trapped me between the wall and his body. "Now?"

I smiled as I ran my fingers through his hair. "Not now. You need to eat. Besides, it's more exciting when the chaos of the show is in full swing."

With my back pressed against the wall his hands went to the back of my thighs, then slid up under my skirt. "I think that slap did something for me."

"Don't get used to it. Been there, done that. I want to treat you right. I don't want to hurt you, in any sense." I pressed my lips to his. "I love you, Lance. I just worry about you being too good to be true."

Over a year had passed and nothing significant changed. Lance and I were still together, the sex was still hot as if written for a romance novel, and we connected on levels that even he didn't want to admit to. That's when Matt decided to make it clear that he was still around.

It started out harmlessly. I would hear things moving in the kitchen, the jacuzzi would turn on by itself, as would the tv. Then, I would see things moving out of the corner of my eye, or Lance's bag would be sitting by the door instead of in the bedroom when we awoke in the morning.

One night I found out the reason behind the strange phenomena. Lance and I were in bed, and I was riding him. I had tilted my head back as my orgasm neared. I looked into the mirror on the headboard through my lashes. I could see Matt standing behind me. His hair hung loose, a long black coat covered him. I was so shocked, I couldn't move.

"Jade? Baby, what's wrong?" Lance asked.

"He's watching us," I whispered.

Lance leaned to the side to look around me. "He who? Nobody's here, but us."

"Matt is watching us. I can see him in the mirror."

As he sat up, Matt disappeared. Lance turned to look in the mirror. "I don't see anything, baby."

"He was there. I saw him as clear as if he were still alive."

My head was jerked back, as if Lance had pulled my hair. I knew better. He had never pulled my hair. But Matt knew I loved it when he did it. The words were warm in my head, as if my dead lover had whispered them, even if their meaning was as cold as ice. "Either he goes, or you both go. I can't stand to watch you two fuck all the time. You were my wife, remember?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"Yes, what?" Lance asked.

"What would you say if he asked you to marry him?" Matt asked.

I swallowed hard. "Yes."

"Yes what? Look at me, damn it! Let me know what's going on," Lance said.

"I can't look at you. Matt has my hair. He's asking me about you."

"Why would you marry him?" Matt asked.

"Because he is my everything." As I looked up, he slowly reappeared.

"Holy shit," Lance said.

I continued. "I don't just love him, Matt. He is like the air I breathe, I would die without him." I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Just like I wanted to die when I lost you."

Matt turned to look at Lance. "The only way I can cross over is if you take her as your bride. Do you want to marry her?"

Lance was speechless for a moment. "I have a ring in my bag for her."

Matt released my hair, and retrieved the bag. He set it on the bed beside us. "Ask her."

I looked at the bag, then at Lance. "Hunny..."

"Yes?" they both answered.

"Lance, were you..."

He smiled as he petted my cheek. "Will you take this crazy Texan as your husband?"

"Oh, hunny... Yes!"

"Now that this is settled, I would like to make a request," Matt said.

I looked at his ghostly figure. "Anything."

He laid his hand on my cheek. It felt like a cold mist. "Name the child in your womb after me."

Lance gave me a sideways grin. "Have you been keeping something from me?"

I blushed. "I was waiting to find out from the doctor..." He kissed me hard. When the kiss ended, I looked up at Matt. "Thank you."

"Goodbye, Jade. I may not be as close as I am now, but I will always be with you." He began to fade again. Before he was gone he said, "by the way, the family is here. I kinda told them you need to talk to them."

"MATTHEW MOORE HARDY! If you weren't already dead, I'd kill you!" His laugh faded as did the rest of him. Not a minute later, the doorbell rang.

We got dressed as fast as we could, then went downstairs to get the door. On the other side was Mom, "Dad", and Jeff. "Come on in everybody. Have a seat."

Mom stopped in front of me, as the guys took a seat. "What's wrong, hunny? Why did you need to see all of us?"

"I'll explain it to everyone. You'll probably think we're nuts."

She took a seat with the others, while Lance and I stood before them. He gave my hand a supportive squeeze. "We just had a strange visitor. He's been giving us little hints that he's been here, but tonight he showed himself to me and Lance."

"You called us over here, because you have a stray or a racoon?" Jeff asked.

"No. Matt was here."

"But, he's dead, hunny. Matt couldn't have been here," "Dad" said.

"I hate to disagree, Mr. Hardy. I saw him, too," Lance said.

"Matt is the one that called you all over here, not me. I guess he wanted us to give you some news," I said with a smile.

"What kind of news?" Mom asked.

"Well, we have a double whammy for you," Lance laughed.

"With a little persuasion from Matt, as of about ten minutes ago, we are engaged." I looked up at Lance before continuing. "And, I'm pregnant."

He took my left hand, and kissed my knuckles. "I'll be right back. I forgot something."

I watched as Lance ran to the stairs, then up them. "Are you two serious? You saw Matt?" Jeff asked.

"Yes. He's been watching us. Knowing that he has been here explains why I've found Lance's bags by the door on more than one occassion. He made his presence known, because he said he's tired of watching us. He said the only way he could cross over is if Lance married me."

"He must have known I was going to ask," Lance said as he rejoined us. He went down on one knee in front of me. "I've been carrying this around with me for a month, trying to get the nerve to ask." He looked me in the eyes as he opened the box. "Would you have said yes if Matt wouldn't have shown up?"

"Yes." I smiled at him as he slid the ring on my finger. I leaned down and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

We decided to have the wedding in Dallas, as it would be where we lived once it was all over. Mom was extatic that she got to help prepare for the big day. She was especially happy that she got to help me pick out a dress this time. As we walked into the boutique, a cheery woman stepped over to us. "Hello, may I help you?"

"I'm getting married in a week, and I need a dress."

"That doesn't give us much time..."

"I'm three months pregnant. I wasn't sure how big I would be by the time it came," I said with a smile.

"Do you have something in mind?"

"I don't really want anything too extravagant, or frilly. And, this is my second wedding, so off-white."

She thought for a moment. "I think we have exactly what you're looking for." She led us to a rack full of off-white dresses, and pulled a floor length dress off. "Something like this?"

"It's beautiful! May I try it on?"

"Right this way."

She led me to the dressing room, where I changed into the dress. As I came out, I asked, "what do you think, Mom?"

I could see the tears well up in her eyes. "Oh, Jade..."

"We call it the Guinevere, because of it's long, dangling sleeves, fitted bodice that comes to a point below the hips, and the flowing skirt."

"And, there's a little room, in case I gain a few pounds in the next week," I laughed. "Can you picture it? The sides of my hair braided back with baby's breath, a daisy bouquet..." When she didn't say anything, I sat beside her. "What's wrong, Mom?"

"All those things I've been waiting for, I'm finally getting them. I get to watch my baby get married, we're picking out your dress together, and my grandchild..."

I took her hands in mine. "I may not be with Matt this time, but I'm with a wonderful man, too. None of this would have been possible without Lance."

She slid one of her hands out, and patted mine as she smiled. "I'm sure your father would have approved of him, just like he did Matthew. They're not so different, Matt and Lance. Both respectable young men, a little wild, and both have treated you right."

"Most women don't get one true love in their life. I'm about to marry my second. I have been blessed."

************************

Once the day finally arrived, I was so nervous. "Hold still," Amara Storm said. I had asked Cowboys' wife to be my bride's maid. She was trying to fix my hair, but I wouldn't stop fidgetting.

"I can't help it, Amara. I'm nervous as hell." I sighed. "I wonder if Lance is."

"Well, you're not going to find out, if you don't let me fix your hair." She put the last sprig of baby's breath in my hair. "There. You're all done."

"Great." I stood from the chair, lifted the skirt of my dress, and went to the door.

"Where are you going?"

"To see Lance."

"No, you're not! It's bad luck for him to see you."

"Then, I won't let him see me. I want to talk to him. I just need to hear his voice." Our eyes locked, a silent battle of stubborness insued.

"Alright," she sighed. "But don't let him see you."

"I'm sure Jeff won't let him." I walked over to the room he was getting ready in, and knocked on the door. "Lance?"

The door opened slightly. "What are you doing here, Jade?" Jeff asked.

"I want to talk to Lance. We don't have to see each other. I just want to talk to him."

"I'm right here, darlin'," he said from behind the door.

"I'm so nervous... I wanted to see if you were, too."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I am a little nervous. But, if I plan on making you a Hoyt, I have to suck it up." He paused for a moment. "You do still want to get married, don't you?"

"Of course, hun. I couldn't imagine life without you, now."

"Then I'll see you at the end of that aisle, baby. I love you."

I grinned. "I love you, too."

Thirty minutes later, I awaited my escort from outside the doors to the chapel. "Where the hell is he!? He was dressed and almost ready thirty minutes ago. I'm about to walk down the aisle by myself!"

"Keep your panties on. He'll be out here when it's time," Amara said.

Just then, the doors to the chapel opened. "Are you ready, J?"

"I've been waiting for you, Jeffrey! Remember, you're supposed to walk me down the aisle."

He ducked back in and said, "they're ready." He stepped out while two men held the doors open. He took his spot beside me as Amara began her walk down the aisle. He placed my hand on his arm. "Do you feel better now?"

"No. I feel like I'm going to fall on my face."

"You're not going to fall." Enough space was between us and Amara. "Alright. Remember to start with your left."

"Bite me, Jeff."

I kept my eyes locked on Lance as Jeff and I walked down the aisle. His tuxedo fit nicely over his huge frame. He had left his long hair down, and let it fall over his shoulders. I looked to his side, and saw James Storm, dressed nicely in his tuxedo, but his trademark black Stetson on his head. As we stepped up in front of the preacher he asked, "who gives this woman to this man?"

"Jeffrey Nero Hardy, on behalf of her mother and my brother, Matthew." Jeff placed my hand in Lance's, then kissed my cheek.

As Jeff walked to his seat, the preacher said, "dearly beloved, we are gathered on this day to join this man and this woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. If any man has an objection to this union, let him speak now, or forever hold his peace."

There was a long moment of silence. As the preacher opened his bible, a deep voice spoke up. "I do." Our friends and family broke into a loud murmur.

I turned around, and saw him walking down the aisle. "What are you doing here!?"

He stopped in front of me, and went down on his knees. He gave me that sideways grin that always made me melt. "I'm surprised the roof isn't caving in." He sobered. "Jade, I couldn't let you marry this guy without getting my words in. I know neither of us were really good to each other, and it was probably more my fault than anyone else's. But my life is hell without you in it. When you married Matt, I tried to stay out of it, because you two were sweethearts for so long. When he died, I tried to give you time to heal. When I went to your house, and found you with "Dallas", it broke my heart."

I felt the sting of tears, as I stared into his green eyes. "Don't do this, Mark, please..."

"The day before you married Matt, you admitted that you still love me. Can you honestly say you don't love me now?"

Tears flowed down my cheeks like a winding river. "I love Lance, and I am having his child. I am marrying him."

"That's not what I asked you, darlin'. Look me in the eyes, and tell me you don't love me anymore, and I'll walk out of your life for good."

I didn't notice Jeff until he told Mark, "come on, Taker. She's happy with Lance. Let her marry him."

"Jade, just tell me, and I'll walk away," he whispered.

I looked up at Lance. "Do what your heart tells you to," he said.

I lifted the skirt on my dress, and kneeled in front of Mark. I laid my hand on his cheek, and he leaned into my touch. "I had your words tatooed on my back. You were right. Love is pain. It couldn't be clearer than it is right now. Yes, I still love you, Mark. But I love Lance, too, and he holds a larger piece of my heart than you. He has given me unconditional love, never-ending happiness, stability in my life... He helped me find my sanity after I lost Matt. And he has given me something neither you nor Matt gave me: a chance to be a mother. I'm over three months pregnant with his child. My love for Lance aside, the love I have for this tiny child would make me marry him, so this child can grow up with his father."

I stood back up, and went over to Lance. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and laid my head on his chest. "No matter if we are married today, tomorrow, or never, I'm staying with Lance."

James stepped around Lance, and nodded to the crowd. I looked up as a large number of the men rose from the pews, and came down the aisle. Jeff looked over his shoulder. "I think it's time you left, Taker."

"You can go willingly, or my extended family can carry your ass out," Lance said. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "You heard her... She said she's staying with me."

"And we're not taking too kindly to you interrupting this ceremony," James said.

"Jade?"

"Goodbye, Mark."

James, Jeff, Wildcat, and Raven lifted him back to his feet. Mark swung around, half dragging them. He grabbed Jeff by his throat. "It's your fault I'm not married to her right now!"

"No, Mark. It's your own fault for not trusting me enough," I said. Then, Mark was blind-sided by Kevin. He went limp in their arms. Then, the guys carried him out.

As the guys came back in, they barracaded the doors. "Are there anymore objections?" the preacher asked.

Everyone answered with a resounding "no". "Good. I believe we were at the vows... Jade, repeat after me: I, Jade Hardy, take you, Lance, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do we part." I repeated it word for word.

"Lance, repeat after me: I, Lance Hoyt, take you, Jade, to have and to hold, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until death do we part." He smiled at me as he repeated.

"The rings..." I took Lance's ring from Amara as Lance got mine from James. He slid the ring on my finger. "Wear this ring as a symbol of my love, respect and admiration for you."

I slid his ring in his finger. "Wear this as a symbol of everything you are to me; my lover, my best friend, and now my husband. You are my everything, Lance."

"By the power vested in me by the State of Texas, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

"You had the chance to leave me standing here. Now, you're stuck with me."

"I could never leave you," I said with a smile.

He laid one hand on my neck, as the other arm went around me. I wrapped my arms around him as he claimed my lips. The preacher said, "may I introduce Mr. and Mrs. Lance Hoyt."

We ended the kiss and laughed as our guests hooted and hollered. "I love you, baby."

"I love you, too, darlin'."