The French Quarter
Chapter I
Kalleasto McMahon opened the glass doors of the hotel room, pushing open the shutters and locking them back into place before stepping out onto the balcony. She breathed in the crisp night air; the breeze shifting the skirt of the full-length cheese cloth dress she wore softly, her arms wrapping around herself as Goosebumps prickled upon her skin.
Below her, the cobbled street was jam packed with people, all out to celebrate, welcoming the new year in with the kind of style that was unique to New Orleans. Directly across from the hotel she would be calling home for the evening, a cafe, filled to its brim with people, let the sweet sounds of Jazz musician’s filter out its windows and into the street. People danced on the tiny sidewalk outside its doors and Kalli smiled.
Everywhere she looked, she saw joy.
It was nice to feel like your entire world was filled with love. Nothing more, nothing less.
It was perfect.
“Kalli, you want me to order you some food?”
Matt’s voice came to her over the lull of music in the street and she called in to him, “I’m right, thanks baby.”
Hard to believe as it was, she hadn’t been hungry all day. Matt had practically force fed her some of his toast for breakfast before they had left Savannah earlier that day, and though he had stopped three times to snack on the way, she still had not eaten. Considering her stomach rumbling was normally the first sound she heard when she woke up in the morning, it was definitely not like her at all...
But she was content as she was.
Today had gone perfectly.
She and Matt had chat incessantly for much of the eleven hour drive to New Orleans before Kalli’s travel sickness had kicked in and she had chosen to nod off in the car, deciding the sleep would settle her stomach. Every time she was roused from her slumbers by a pothole in the road or a stop at a Gas Station, she would wake to find Matt fussing over her.
And she loved it.
A gentle smile played out onto her lips, her eyes again sweeping over the crowded street. Children ran around with sparklers, laughing heartily while their parents looked on, smiling gleefully. Lovers walked, hand in hand as though they were all that existed in the world.
She was so grateful they had found this room. Kalli had called every hotel in the French quarter looking for somewhere for them to stay. With the Sugar Bowl the next day, the city was jam-packed and she had known her chances would be slim. But throwing around a name like McMahon always helped, and eventually the hotel they were staying at now had managed to find them a room for the night.
It happened to be the best room in the hotel, but Kalli was too enamoured with the world right now to even ask how that had come about.
“Laissez les bon temps roule!!!”
A warm shout came to her from down in the street and Kalli looked down, her eyes finding a group of young men, all waving to her, broad smiles on their faces. A blush painted her cheeks and she called back, “Laissez les bon temps roule,” giving them a polite little wave.
Her blush deepened when Matt stepped out onto the balcony behind her and the men sighed, all melodramatic disappointment. She giggled at them and they smiled, regretfully turning away, bemoaning the appearance of Matt as they did so.
“What was that all about?” Kalli giggled and he exclaimed sillily, “Why those little bastards! They were trying to pick you up, weren’t they?” She giggled some more and he couldn’t hide his smile. “What did that mean anyway?” He tried to repeat what he had heard but failed dismally, “Lazy les bon temper?”
The McMahon Heiress laughed, “Laissez les bon temps roule,” she shook her head, “It means ‘Let the good times roll,’ Matty.”
He kissed her cheek, resting his chin against her shoulder, their fingers interlocking, the girl playfully swinging his arms to the music from the Cafe. “Are you sure?” He asked, “They weren’t asking you to do some freaky shit?”
“Matt!” She sighed playfully, “No! Dayum!” She pressed back into him, savouring the feel of his arms around her.
The fell into silence a moment before he asked, “You sure you don’t want some food? You haven’t eaten all day.”
She shrugged against him; “I’m just not hungry, Matt.”
He shook his head slightly, “I never thought I would live to see the day you said that.” He turned her around, keeping his arms around her, “Are you okay?” He pressed a hand to her forehead, “Don’t still feel queasy from the ride?”
“A little,” she smiled, “But I’ll be okay.”
“You sure?” She nodded and he smiled, softly pressing his lips to hers. When he pulled away they exchanged another warm grin and he asked, “So you want to head out into the night and live it up on the streets of New Orleans?” The girl shook her head and his face fell a little, “You don’t?”
“Nup.” She shook her head again.
Confused he asked, “Then what do you want to do?”
“Well,” she moved her arms around his neck, pressing against him, shifting slightly, letting her body sway to the Jazz music filling the air around them. “I thought,” she kissed his lips lightly, slowly kissing each cheek in turn, kissing down his neck softly, “That maybe,” she kissed the base of his throat, “You and I could maybe...” She started to kiss back up the other side of his neck, “Just maybe...” She moved back to his lips, giving him the most tantalizing of kisses, “we could stay in...” She whispered, “All... Night... Long...”
Knowing exactly what she meant, Matt’s breath caught in his throat.
They had been on the road a week already and though they had spent every night locked in each others arms, some nights, their passion for each other almost consuming them...
Kalli and Matt were yet to take that final step.
“Are you sure?” He asked worriedly.
“Yeah,” she whispered, “I mean, its not like we haven’t done it before, right?” Hints of nervousness were in her voice, but she seemed excited, and her excitement was certainly contagious.
Matt had a hard time fighting it as he asked, wanting to be sure she was ready, “I know, but... Are you sure? Really? We can wait...”
Kalli cut him off, “We’ve waited long enough.” Her eyes locked on his, “I want to be in your arms tonight and be yours. Mind, body and soul.” She whispered, “I love you, Matt.”
“I love you, too.” He told her adoringly.
The girl grinned mercilessly, “So what's the problem then?” She asked playfully, “Don’t you wanna ravish me?” She sighed, turning to look out into the crowd, mock disappointed, “Because if not, I can just go downstairs and chase those nice boys down the street...”
He whirled her back to him, silencing her with a passionate kiss, when they broke away, she giggled breathlessly. “Chase those boys down the street...” He grumbled, picking her up.
Her giggle grew louder and as he slung her over her shoulder and carried her back into the hotel room. “Matt! Matt!!!” She struggled half-heartedly, “Put me down!”
The Hardy Boy tossed her down onto the four poster bed that adorned the room, and though she bounced up and down a few times before she nestled back into the bed properly, her eyes did not leave his. After a moment, she smiled, raising a hand to him and beckoning playfully for him to join her on the bed.
Moving forward, he knelt on the bed, crawling over her, the moment he was within reach, her fingers crept into his hair and she pulled him into an amorous kiss...
~*~
Chapter II
Kalleasto McMahon lay in a panting heap, his naked body pressed into hers where he pinned her to the bed, his weight somewhat heavy but comfortable. She breathed in the sweet aroma of their mingled bodies as she ran her fingers through his damp hair, his head nestled into the crook of her neck, his lips lightly brushing the base of her throat in adoring kisses.
Beneath them the soft white cotton sheets were saturated with perspiration, the material clinging to their skin. The girl shifted slightly where she lay and he looked to her for discomfort, but she smiled softly to let him know she was fine.
She would not have him move from her arms right now for all the world.
Her flesh still tingled from the caress of his lips as his mouth had crept over every inch of her, her lips still pursed as though she merely awaited the next kiss, yearning to be ready for him again should she need to be. Exhaustion had crept in on her and her breath still came raggedly, but she felt...
Perfect.
Her legs were heavier than cast iron steps, her head swam as though he had slipped some secret concoction into her drink...
But she was perfect.
Matt Hardy looked up at her, taking in her sweet face. Her eyes barely hung open, but the deep brown of them was sparkling as though they were brightly coloured jewels. Her mouth hung slightly ajar, air entering her lungs uneasily, long, wet clumps of hair clinging to her face around it. He reached up a shaking hand, gently pushing the mousy brown strands behind her ears. She gave him a grateful little smile, her hand cupping his face as she drew him to her for the thousandth kiss of the evening.
Music still filled the air around, the soft sounds of Frank and Nancy Sinatra reaching them from the Cafe across the street. Kalli sang softly to the music, her voice breathless but melodious. “I know I stand in line, until you think you have the time to spend an evening with me. And if we go some place to dance I know that there's a chance you won't be leaving with me...”
Matt chuckled slightly where he lay at the playful way she sang the lines, but his attention was hers and his gentle grin encouraged her to continue.
“And afterwards we drop into a quiet little place and have a drink or two. And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like ‘I love you...’” Her eyes locked meaningfully on his at this and her singing died away. She mouthed, smiling, “I love you.”
The Hardy Boy nodded, mouthing back, “I love you.”
She giggled adoringly in response and he crept up to press his lips to hers, her fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss deepened, his body pressing further into hers. When they broke away, still she giggled, his own deep chuckle, so soft, so meaningful, matching hers.
A half-drunken cry came from the open doors that led out onto their balcony. “30 seconds to go!”
“Matty!” The girl shoved him off her playfully. “Come on.” She climbed, naked as a jay bird, to her feet, tearing up one of the sweat dampened sheets to wrap around her torso.
“What are you doing?” He asked, amused by her excitement.
She motioned out toward the street. “It’s nearly midnight! I want to see the fireworks.” The McMahon Heiress was still as excited by the idea of New Years Eve fireworks as she had been as a child, and it amused the Hardy to see this near naked woman giddy as a school girl.
When he made no move to get up she growled, “Matty! Come on!”
“All right, all right...” He chuckled, climbing to his feet, grabbing a sheet of his own from the bed to wrap around his waist. Before he could even fasten it around himself properly she had snatched hold of his hand and dragged him out onto the balcony.
Below them the streets were fuller than ever, the music of the Cafe starting to drown out under the voice of celebration. “10!” Came the first cry of the countdown.
The girl held onto the railing with one hand, “9!” She squeezed his hand tightly, “8!” As the next shout came she dragged him to stand right beside her, “7.” Melting into his arms as the next came, “6.” She looked up at him, smiling broadly, “5!”
He grinned down at her, “4.” Locking his eyes on hers, he pulled her even tighter against hi, “3.”
“Kalli,” he whispered.
“2!”
“Matty,” she whispered back, each smiling a perfectly matching smile.
“1!”
And as the first of the fireworks exploded into life in the sky above them, the two smiled just that little bit deeper, leaning closer, their breath mingling softly as their lips pressed together in a smouldering kiss.
Some hoots came from the street below and the two broke away, looking down, both blushing deeply at the number of faces turned up to watch the scene on the balcony. Suddenly very conscious of the fact they were clad only in dampened sheets, Kalli stepped back a little, pulling Matt with her so the two paused in the doorway, less visible to the party goers below.
Kalli pressed into his arms, her eyes looking out into the dark night sky, her eyes lighting up with every brightly coloured explosion. Matt brushed strands of hair from her face again, as spellbound by her as she was by the fireworks. “You really love those fireworks, huh?”
She nodded, “Ever since I was a little girl...” She broke her gaze away long enough to give him a smile before a slightly louder explosion grabbed her attention again, “My first memory of America is the 4th of July when I was 5.” Her grin lit up brighter than ever as she told him, “Daddy and I sat on the roof of the Hotel we were staying at and watched every last one that night, and so, Fireworks always reminded me of him. Always.”
“That’s very sappy, Kalli.” He told her with a grin.
She looked up at him, “I know.” She smiled softly, “But I spent a big part of my childhood with my father on the other side of the world...” She broke away, her cheeks flushing with shame.
Matt had spent a big part of his childhood without a mother... Period.
“I’m sorry,” she told him sadly, honestly, “That was stupid...”
He shook his head, “No, it wasn’t.” He kissed her forehead, “I know it must have been hard knowing your Dad was out there somewhere, and not being able to be near him.”
“But...”
Matt grinned, “Kalli. It’s Okay.” He told her playfully, “O... Kay...” He chuckled, “You do know what that means, don’t you?” She shook her look, forcing the ditziest look she could manage onto her face. He shook his head at her, laughing.
The girl pressed into his arms, resting her head on his chest, her attention once again drawn to the fireworks. “So...” She asked as she watched, “Any New Years Resolutions?”
“Just one.” He told her, tilting her face up to his to kiss her softly, “To wake up and be able to do that every morning.”
The McMahon Heiress blushed, “Matty.”
He smiled, “And you?”
“Well,” her blush deepened, “Mine wasn’t nearly so romantic.” She shrugged sheepishly, “In fact mine was down right selfish.”
“Tell me.”
Determination filled her voice, “Two things.” She paused a moment and then told him, “I am going to be reinstated in the WWF, and if I die trying, I am going to become a contender for that Women’s Title in my own right.”
She seemed so certain as she spoke, so set that she could do it, that Matt couldn’t have doubted her had he even wanted to. He nodded supportively, whispering adoringly, “That’s my girl.”
Kalli smiled, grateful for the strength she found in his simple acceptance of her resolution. But she still felt a little guilty for her career orientated desires and she stood up on her tip toes to whisper, “For what its worth, I thought that the waking up every morning and kissing you thing went without saying.”
He laughed, “Way to cover your ass, McMahon.”
“I can’t put anything over you, can I Hardy?” She asked.
“Na huh.” He kissed her adoringly as the last of the fireworks died away in the evening sky. “So...” He looked up to make sure there were no more then asked, “What do you say we head back indoors?”
She looked at him as innocently as she could manage, “Why? What’s inside?”
Cocky but gorgeous he told her, “Me.”
“But you’re right here,” she said sweetly.
He sighed, “Dammit Kalli, do you want me to beg?” Her eyes lit up and he sighed again, “Matt, you’re a fucking idiot.”
The girl giggled, “At least you’re my fucking idiot.”
He laughed at the innocuous way she said it. “Smooth.”
“That’s me.” She took his hand, pulling away from him to step back inside. “You coming or what, Matty?” He shook his head, following her inside.
It was corny as hell.
But this was shaping up to the best New Years Eve ever.
~ The End ~