About New York...
Matt Hardy stepped from the bathroom, tiny beads of water still running over his naked flesh from his damp, long, dark hair. He clutched half heartedly at the towel wrapped around his waist as he paused to look over at Kalleasto McMahon where she sat in the plush Queen sized bed of their hotel room. She was buried deep within the covers, newspaper in hand, her attention completely focused on whatever it was she was reading.
He looked her over, glad she was yet to notice him there. His eyes swept over her long mousy brown hair, strewn messily about her. She pushed a handful of it behind her ear as she read, lifting her hand to push back more from her face when the opposite side flopped forward instead. She scrunched her nose up, seemingly aggravated by it, eventually sweeping all of it behind her and leaning back against the bed head so it could not escape.
All the while her soulful brown eyes were locked on the page she read by the light of the lampshade by the bed. It was the only light on in the room and it illuminated her soft features as she peered down at the newspaper.
Curious, Matt cleared his throat and the girl’s eyes shot up. She paled slightly but she managed a broad smile, “Hey baby,” she lowered the paper, dropping it onto the floor out of sight, “how was your shower?”
“Good,” The Hardy Boy moved across the room, dropping the towel onto the floor and climbing into the bed. He couldn’t help but grin when he noticed Kalli’s eyes skirt over him just before he was buried beneath the cover of the satin sheets. He reached out, pulling her into his arms so she could snuggle her head in the crook of his neck, one hand running tenderly across his chest as she made herself comfortable. He sighed as he ran a hand over her back. “Dayum.”
She looked up at him, “What?”
“You’re clothed.”
Kalli giggled at this, “I’m sure I won’t be for long.”
Pressing his lips to her hair he nodded his agreeance, “I am going to have you madly tearing those PJ’s off in no time.” She pouted at this and it was his turn to ask curiously, “What?”
She whined, “I thought you were going to take them off for me.”
He laughed at this and she joined him...
But her laughter trailed away and she melted deeper into his arms. He cast a look over her face, her tired eyes showing concern, her lips slightly downcast. “Baby?” He whispered, “What’s wrong? You’ve been all distracted all night, and you hardly said boo on the way here...” He broke off, gently tilting her face up to gaze into his, “Talk to me.”
“Matty...” She whispered, “I have something to tell you.”
“Shoot,” he whispered back, “Because frankly the suspense is killing me.”
And it was.
Something was bothering her, something that she evidently thought was important... And he hated to think for one second that anything was upsetting her the way this seemed to be. What could it be that weighed so heavily on her?
He knew he should probably worry that it was Jeff, or perhaps a sudden realization she may have made a mistake in choosing to be with him instead that could be the cause for her concern.
But he knew her. He was secure in her.
No, this was something else.
“Matty,” she said softly, unsure how to tell him but knowing she had to get it our there somehow. “I’m moving to New York.”
Silence filled the Hotel Room, the Hardy Boy’s jaw dropped. He shook his head, confused, whispering, “What?”
The girl cleared her throat slightly, trying to hide the frightened tears that were forming in her eyes. “I’m moving to New York, with Heidi. She’s going to go to this art school, and I... I wanted a place of my own because... Because...” Her words sped up as she grew more nervous and Matt struggled to keep up with her as she rambled, “Because I’ve never really taken care of myself. Not since I moved to America. I lived with Daddy and then I lived with Jeff and that’s it and I’ve never had my own place and my own stuff and I want that. I want to stand on my own two feet and this is a great opportunity for Heidi to keep studying and I’ll still see you on the road 5 days a week and its not that I don’t want to move to Cameron with you, because I do... But I... I...” She struggled, sighing, eventually offering meekly. “I love you.”
Despite himself, Matt chuckled at this. “Okay... Let me see if I have this right...” He locked his eyes on hers, “You and Heidi are getting a place together in New York because you want to take care of yourself and have your own home and your own responsibilities?” The girl nodded, her teary eyes showing her fear of upsetting him. “Good. All clear.”
His voice drifted away and when he said nothing more for a few moments, Kalli scrunched her nose up, now confused herself, “That’s it?”
“Yeah.” Matt smiled.
Surprise filled Kalli’s face, and something very like disappointment too, “Oh,” she whispered, snuggling back down into his arms, her eyes closing as she tensed, concerned by the complete lack of reaction she had received.
The Hardy Boy sighed softly at this, “Stop sulking, McMahon.”
The girl pouted against his chest, “I can’t help it. I just hit you with this out of the blue and you... You...” She growled tiredly, “I’ve been all worried about this and I expected something more than... That.”
“What am I supposed to do?” He asked, playfully indignant, “Tell you that you can’t go?”
Warmed by the loving tone in his voice, Kalli’s voice was almost as playful as she told him, “Well at least that would be something.”
Matt pressed his lips to the top of her head, telling her seriously, his voice soft, “Honestly, Kalli, I didn’t expect you to come live with me in Cameron.” He shrugged slightly, “I mean...” He struggled, trying to explain what he meant, “We only just got together and I think... I think it’s kinda too soon, right?” She nodded against his chest, “I thought you’d wanna come back like some of the time and then go back to Connecticut the rest. It’s not like we won’t see each other, we’re on the road five days a week.”
“Yeah,” she whispered.
“I gotta admit, I didn’t expect you to tell me you were moving to New York though.” He tilted her face up to gaze into his again, “Why New York?”
Kalli shrugged, “I don’t know really. It just came to me one day, just before Christmas. I was sitting there thinking about getting my own place and New York just popped into my head and somehow it was right.” She ran her fingers softly up and down his chest as she spoke, “And then when I told Heidi, she was so excited... So desperate to go to this art school.” She shrugged again, “It just came together, I guess.”
Matt nodded his understanding, “And do you have a place yet?”
“Not yet,” the girl shook her head, “I’ve been checking the papers, and Daddy has a friend in Real Estate in New York, he’s looking out for something for us.”
His chest heaved slightly beneath her as Matt laughed, “Kalli, your father has a friend in every kinda business there is, doesn’t he?” Kalli nodded enthusiastically and he shook his head, “Damn McMahon’s.”
“Oi!” She squawked playfully, the twosome sharing a sweet smile that vanished when their lips met in a joyous kiss. When eventually it subdued Kalli asked, “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I’m sure,” Matt told her, honesty in his voice. “I mean it, Kalli. If you want to do this, then do it. It’s not like we’re married...” He grinned cheekily, “Yet.”
Kalli gasped, horrified, “God! Will you stop it! There have been enough weddings in the McMahon family lately to sink about 20 Titanics.” He chuckled at this and a smile danced onto the girl’s face as she watched the gorgeous way his lips curled as he did so.
Caught in the moment, love flooded the McMahon Heiress and without thinking she whispered, “But maybe one day...”
His laughter trailed away and Matt turned to gaze at her, his eyes filled with emotion as he took her in. “One day,” he nodded with a certainty he still didn‘t quite understand. He leant forward, again pressing his lips to hers, “But until then...”
Another grin touched his face and Kalli nearly blushed at the desire she knew was behind it, “Damn it, Hardy.”
“I can’t help it!” He pouted and she laughed. He tried to stare her down, trying to force the laugh from her but his own laugh eventually touched him. He pulled her tighter into his arms, lifting her so she virtually lay on top of him. When their eyes locked together, comfortable silence crept in on them again. After a moment Matt whispered, “Maybe we can spend a week in New York and a week in Cameron.”
Kalli smiled, “Maybe.”
“When it gets to that point, I mean.” He sighed, “Well, you know what I mean.”
The girl’s smile faded slightly, “Something tells me we’re not so far off that point right about now.”
Reading her, Matt whispered, “And you’re not happy about that?”
“No, I am.” She touched her fingers to his face tenderly, “I’m so happy, Matt. I’m so happy with you.” She looked away a moment before locking her eyes on his again, “I’m just...” The tears that had been welled up in her eyes threatened to escape her more so than ever and she told him in the smallest of voices, “I’m scared.”
“I know,” he whispered, his fingers creeping into her hair. “I’m scared too, Kalli. God, you have no idea...” He shook his head. “I thought that Krissy was my forever and then...”
When his voice trailed away, she nodded, “Just like I thought Jeff was mine.” She snuggled back down into his arms, holding onto him desperately, relieved when his arms wrapped tightly about her. “But that’s not going to happen again, right Matty? This time... This time it’s real.” She whispered softly, “Right?”
There was a brief pause.
She closed her eyes, a relieved tear slipped down Kalli’s cheek and splashed onto Matt’s naked chest as he whispered, “There has never been anything more real than this.” A second tear splashed onto his chest and he sighed, the emotion consuming him, near bringing tears to his own eyes. He tried to cover playfully, “Damn girls, always turning to mush the moment you say something soppy.”
The girl looked up, catching the glisten in his eyes, “Look who’s talking.”
He grinned, pulling her into a sweet kiss...
That melted under the heat of a more meaningful, much more passionate one. Safe in the knowledge that if nothing else, they truly had each other, they let their desire consume them, each giving to the other without pause.
Pulling her against him, Matt rolled her onto her back on the bed. Her hands tangled in his damp hair as his body pressed into hers. The kiss slowly melted away and Matt whispered breathlessly, “Wanting to tear off your own PJ’s yet?”
The girl shook her head, giggling, “Hardy, you are gonna have to try much harder than that.”
In response, he disappeared under the covers, and as his lips pressed against her bare midriff, Kalli knew she’d be tearing her Pyjama's from her body in approximately thirty seconds...
~ The End ~