Write Me a Story

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Story By: Heather
Summary: Jeff is no longer able to wrestle, instead he turns his attention to writing and finds fame that he's never known. During all this a woman is assigned to write an autobiography about him and he is forced to let his guards down. What happens when he lets people in?
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~Chapter One~
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Jeff Hardy stood atop the rope and flashed the gun signs at the crowd who welcomed what he was about to do with thunderous applause. His body flipped in a Swanton Bomb and they got the three count, as Jeff came slowly to his feet.

“You all right bro? You came up a little slow there.” Matt asked as they made their way to the back.

Jeff shook his head and felt a small pain in his back. His days as a football player told him to never ignore anything, whether it be a gut-wrenching pain or just a small nuisance.

“Something doesn’t feel right Matt. I can’t put my finger on it, but something just feels off.” He said as he shrugged his shoulders, trying work out the kink he was experiencing.

“Do we need to go get you checked out Jeff? We can do that and I can tell by the look in your eyes that you feel something is wrong.” Matt said already gathering their stuff and heading toward the car.

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

The two arrived at the nearest hospital in a matter of minutes and Jeff was immediately taken back to be examined.

“Jeff have you experienced anything you would classify as not you’re normal aches and pains in the last few months?” The attending physician on duty asked as Jeff sat on an examination table while Matt looked on with fear in his eyes.

“I’ve experienced some numbness and tingling in my left hand recently.” Jeff mentioned as he looked with guilt in his eyes at Matt.

“Why didn’t you tell me Jeff?” Matt asked as they sat waiting for Jeff to be taken down to x-ray.

“I didn’t think anything of it. I was scared Matt, I AM scared.” Jeff said as he looked to his big brother for comfort. Matt, in turn, wrapped his arms around his little brother and told him everything was going to be ok.

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

Jeff sat staring straight ahead as he heard the words pour from the doctor’s mouth, sounding like they were coming from a million miles away.

“Jeff it seems as if you were born with a congenital spine defect called Spinal Stenosis. You’re spine is slightly narrower than it should be and it curves, this can be corrected with surgery to relieve the pressure from your nerves, which caused the tingling and numbness, but you won’t ever wrestle again Jeff. One hard blow to the back or spine could paralyze you for life. I’m sorry.”

Jeff bolted from the room and ran until he could run no more. Never wrestle again, nothing in his right mind had ever told him that this is what would happen when he decided to be checked out. Wrestling was his life, but what would a life be as an invalid who couldn’t do anything for himself. With that thought, a decision that would affect the rest of his life was made.

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

A few weeks later, Jeff found himself out of the hospital and a little sore, but other than that everything was fine, or seemed to be fine on the outside. Jeff sat in the chair he had been inhabiting all week and thought the bitter thoughts that had become ingrained into his mind. The jealously he was feeling toward all his friends was something that had never happened before. All he seemed to replay in his mind was you’ll never wrestle again Jeff...you’ll never wrestle again Jeff. Getting fed up with his thoughts, he stood and slammed a hand down on the table next to the chair.

“Jeff are you all right I heard something crash.” Amy Dumas said, worried, as she rushed into the room.

Jeff covered up the tears in his eyes and faced his long time friend.

“Nah, nothing fell in here. Just me trying to get some aggression out.” Jeff whispered as he resumed his earlier seat in the chair.

“Ya wanna come with Matt and I down to the arena so that you don’t have to stay here by yourself?” She asked as she walked forward and ruffled his hair.

“Now you tell me why the hell I should do that Amy. I can’t do anything there. Everyone will just look at me with pity in their eyes and the sad faces. I don’t want that. What I want to do is get back in there and entertain the crowd like I used to. Hell at the rate I’m going right now I may as well just do that because I would much rather risk dying than live like this.” He said, his voice not masking over the emotional pain he had been feeling since the surgery.

“Jeff look at me. You are not going to get in that ring just to try to kill yourself. I know you and I can tell you that you are one of the most gifted men I have ever had the privilege of knowing. The world is not going to end because you can no longer wrestle. You have so many talents, Jeff, so many. Just look at you’re poetry on you’re site. You touch people without even trying. When you pick up a pencil or pen magic flows out of the tip. Now I want you to stop acting like you’re dead because you’re not. Get the hell out of that chair and do something because you are alive, Jeff. You could very well have been dead before this and you better be thanking God that he’s given you this chance.” Amy yelled, frustrated before storming out of the room.

Jeff sat back down and thought about what Amy had said. It was true that his life wasn’t over and it was also true that for some reason God had given him the gift of articulating words and taken away the gift of wrestling. Feeling an energy he hadn’t felt since his injury, he walked over to his workout bag and withdrew a notebook, one of the many he had come to fill with poetry and short stories over his many years of traveling and times spent lonely. Shrugging his shoulders, and not really thinking that anything would happen, he dropped it in the mail to one of the top publishing companies in the world and immediately forgot about it.

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

The next few weeks, Jeff tried to get back into the swing of things. He started going back to the gym and getting his body in shape. Matt got him to hang out with the guys again and it started to seem like old times. The one thing Jeff couldn’t do was watch wrestling. That alone killed him, it was just not something he could bring himself to do yet.

One of the things he had been worried about when he left the WWF was the fact that his fans would think he didn’t care about them anymore. That was further beyond the truth, he was once again a fan favorite. Instead of spending his free time feeling sorry for himself now, he worked on their official website and posted almost everyday. That alone made him popular and it also amazed him at how many people wanted him to write a book of some sort now that he had free time on his hands. Jeff had almost forgotten about sending that notebook in to the publishing company...almost.

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

He had just gotten done adding a new poem to the site one day a few weeks later when the phone rang and he ran to answer it.

“May I speak to a Mr. Jeff Hardy please.” A voice on the other end of the phone requested.

Jeff rolled his eyes and crossed his fingers, praying that it wasn’t some person who wanted an interview or a statement from him about his unfortunate luck.

“This is he.”

“Mr. Hardy, my name is Kennedy Todd and I am with the publishing company that you sent that notebook into. We are very interested in publishing that book for you, but their are some stipulations as you might guess. We would like you to come in and have a meeting with us to discuss this. Is that possible?” The man asked as Jeff stood there with his mouth hanging open.

“Yes sir. When and where?” Jeff asked as he wrote the information down on a piece of paper and excitedly called all his friends.
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~Chapter Two~
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Chapter 2

Jeff arrived at the headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina and stepped out of the car. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was. He hadn’t felt like this since he fought Edge and Christian in the Ladder Match.

He stepped inside and was escorted into a conference room where he was faced with two men who stood up and shook his hand. Jeff had never felt so uncomfortable in his life, but he knew this was something the he wanted to do, something he HAD to do.

“Mr. Hardy, you are one very talented individual if I may say so. My son is also a big fan of yours from your wrestling days and I must say I can’t believe that such beautiful words came from a wrestler. That is what makes this all the more intriguing.” The man on the left said to him while looking straight into his eyes.

Jeff could tell this was a man of high authority and that was his way of offering praise. Jeff took it, silently thanking him with his eyes.

“Thank you sir. That means a lot coming from you.” Jeff answered quietly in his thick accent.

“Now you realize that we did say there was a stipulation to this deal.” The other man spoke up.

“Yes sir and I was wondering exactly what that was.” “You are a very hot man right now. People want to know about you and your brother. We want you to allow one of our writers to write a biography about you. Allow them to follow you around and show them the things you did when you were young and just tell them about yourself. We know there is potential for this thing to be huge.”

Jeff sat back, silently pondering what this man had told him. Having someone around would definately invade his privacy, which he valued a great deal, but he really wanted this book to happen and for that he would make almost any sacrifice.

“Ok sir, you have yourself a deal.” Jeff said sticking out his hand and shaking the hands of the two men in front of him.

“We were hoping you’d say that son, here is a finished copy of the book and what it will look like when it is done.”

Jeff gazed down at the book in his hands and smiled at the gold, embossed letters that read the title of the book, the first poem in it. Empty Tank. That was a good way to put it because out of desperation came an empty tank and out of that empty tank came this oppourtunity.

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

Jeff sat in the small cafe, impatiently waiting the person that was going to be writing this biography of him. The person was already ten minutes late and he was about to leave when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me. Are you Jeff Hardy?” A young woman with a strong southern accent asked as he turned around.

Jeff looked up and was awestruck. The woman stood around 5’5 with brown hair, blonde streaks coursed through the front making a trail down her back to the end of her hair. His eyes locked with her deep blue, almost black set. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“Yes, I am. How may I help you?” He asked standing up, smiling when he noticed he towered over her.

“My name is Anicee Cochran and I am the writer that’s supposed to shadow you and write your biography.” She said looking up at this mystery man.

Jeff smiled at her and thought that maybe this wasn’t going to be such a bad idea after all.

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

Jeff pulled the chair out from under the table for her and indicated for her to have a seat.

“It’s very nice to meet you Anicee. Can you tell me what exactly this is going to be?” He asked as he took a sip of his Dr. Pepper.

“Basically it’s going to be anything you want to tell me and show me. This is all up to you, I’m just the one who’s going to chronical it.” Anicee said as she tugged at her skirt.

She was hot and it was all because of this stupid outfit. This wasn’t something that she normally wore, but her boss had told her she had to make a good impression and that meant looking old enough to be writing a biography.

Jeff took a closer look at her and about laughed when he saw how uncomfortable she looked in her suit. Her face had make-up on it and made her appear to be older than what she was. He guessed she was around 20 maybe 21 and that made him happy. He wanted someone in his generation to write this for him and someone who could understand what was going on in his mind.

“Um, Anicee, right? Would you like to go change into something more comfortable where I’m going to take you, you’re gonna have to ride on the back of my bike and I don’t think you want to show everyone what ya got on underneathe that skirt.” He said as he raised an eyebrow and she laughed.

“Thank God. I really hate this outfit. I was forced to wear it because they thought you were going to be an uptight snob, but now looking at you, I know that I can wear exactly what I brought with me.” She said excusing herself from the table and grabbing a bag from her car before dissapearing into the ladies room.

Jeff sat impatiently tapping his fingers on the old wood of the table and whistling to pass the time.

“I’m ready when you are Jeff.” Anicee said from behind him.

Jumping up, he turned around and smiled at what he saw. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt that showed off a very trim waistline. Her long hair was pulled up in a clip and a pair of sunglasses were perched on her head.

“Let’s go. Do you have some place to put your notebook or whatever you’re going to use to take notes.” He asked as they hopped on his back.

“I’ve got all I need inside my head.” She said tapping herself on the temple.

“Hang on cause you’re about to be in for a bumpy ride.” Jeff said as he revved the engine and took off down the street.

As they were driving along Anicee had to wonder if that meant just for the ride.
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~Chapter Three~
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Anicee giggled in excitement as she leaned her head back to let the wind run through her hair, she was having so much fun with this man and they hadn’t even begun the work part yet. Jeff killed the engine as they came upon a river bank.

“What’s this place?” She asked as she climbed off the back of the bike and started to walk behind Jeff.

“This is where Matt and I used to come as kids to swim and play with our cousins. This is actually where the wrestling started if you want to know. We used to have shoot matches in the water. The team that would loose would have to jump off that bridge into the water.” He said pointing to an old, stone bridge covered in moss.

Anicee gazed up and whistled when she saw how high it was and how unforgiving the water down below appeared to be.

“I guess you can say that’s where I overcame my fear of heights. I was always the littlest, so Matt and my older cousins would always beat up on my team because they thought it was fun to pick on the younger one. I remember the first time we made that the stipulation and my team lost. I pissed on myself before jumping. I remember looking down into that water and it seeming like it was the abyss because I couldn’t see the bottom. I honestly thought I would die. Matt and some of the others told me that it was shallow and if I didn’t execute the dive correctly I would break my neck as soon as I hit the water. After I jumped I found out they were full of horse shit. That part of the river is the deepest you’ll find. It’s gotta be at least 60 ft. deep and I cried when I came up that first time, thankful that I hadn’t died. They of course laughed at me and I ran to my grandmother.” Jeff said smiling and laughing a little at the memory.

Anicee too was smiling as she stepped closer to him.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you run to your grandmother and not you’re parents?” She asked as he motioned for her to take a seat.

“My father was always working. That man has never once taken a vacation in his life I don’t think. You see our mother passed on when I was around four and from that time forth it was either myself or Matt and I. We are a little unit, you can’t break the Hardy brothers, no matter how hard you try. Our father wasn’t a lovey dovey type of a man when it came to raising us because he didn’t want us to have a false notion of what life is. Life is hard and we realized that at a very young age.” Jeff said as he twirled a piece of grass through his fingers.

“Is that where you’re intensity and you’re love for life comes from?” She asked as she tucked her knees under her chin.

“I’m not saying that our father wasn’t there for us and he isn’t proud of everything the two of us have accomplished. At the same time, however, he never made bones about us taking care of ourselves and being independent. When I was in elementary school I can remember thinking that the kids were so young. I grew up fast and our father made sure to that. I think he was making sure that if something was to happen to him, we would be able to take care of ourselves. A lot of time was spent alone or with Matt when I was young. The one person who let us depend on them was our grandmother and for that I will always love her, because sometimes I just want to cry on someone’s shoulder and she’s always been there for me.” Jeff said as he stood up and offered a hand to her.

“Come on, I wanna show you something else.”

Anicee nodded and climbed back on the bike. As they were driving along, she kept thinking about how lucky this man was. Even though his father had wanted him to be a hard person and to not show weakness, he had a very soft side and that definitely shown through in his poetry and the way he treated other people.

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

“I’ve got a deal for you. After I finish with this part of my life story, you have to tell me something about you.” Jeff yelled back as they pulled into a wooded lot, overgrown with weeds and such.

Anicee thought for a moment Normally she didn’t tell anyone anything about herself unless it was necessary, but something in this mans green eyes made her want to tell him about her and about her life.

“Ok, that’s a deal.” She said as they shook hands on it.

“You see this pole right here?” He asked as he pointed up at a pole long ago covered in a vine that had a light on it.

Anicee nodded her head to answer his question.

“This pole used to be about 3 feet taller. When Matt and I decided that we were really going to do this wrestling thing, we made a ring around our trampoline, which used to be directly to your left. We didn’t really know how to get the wood or anything so we just started cutting stuff down, this being one of the first things we saw, we cut. The only problem with this was our telephone line was on this pole too. We didn’t know it, obviously, so Matt being the bonehead he is, said ‘Jeff cut that vine out of the way’. Later on we found out that ‘vine’ was definitely the telephone line. Needless to say when Dad came home from work to find no telephone and Matt and I using his good chainsaw he was not too happy. Our buddies, Shane Helms and Shannon Moore saw the look on Dad’s face and ran for the hills leaving Matt and I to face his wrath alone. I don’t think those two can ever pay us back for the ass whipping we took.”

Anicee was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. It was very easy to imagine a young Jeff cutting down a pole and then trying to get out of it by making some excuse. If she tried hard enough, she could see the way his face looked at that moment.

“So now that I’ve told you part of my story. Why don’t you tell me some of yours over dinner.” Jeff said as he helped her onto the bike.

The two arrived back at the little cafe/diner they had met at earlier in the day and took a booth in the back.

“So Miss Anicee, lay that life story on me.” He said as he took a bite of his hamburger.

“Well, I’m not really sure that mine can come up to yours, but I’ll try.” She said flashing him a grin.

“Just to let you know because I could tell you were trying to guess earlier, I’m 21. Anyway, I grew up in a pretty normal household, my parents didn’t really understand my love of rock music and all that good stuff ya know. So when I turned 18 I decided to get out of the house and try my hand at what I really wanted to do and that was to write. Not having any sort of training or degree, I sent in an essay to numerous literary companies and asked if I could be given an apprenticeship based on my raw abilities. Luckily, Mcgraw-Hill contacted me and told me that they would love to have me aboard. I worked there for 2 years and then I was picked up by this company. I’ve written for magazines too. I’ve done articles for Rolling Stone, Spin, and Metal Edge. I did a story on Pearl Jam a few years ago. I heard you like them so maybe you read it, I don’t know, and I did one on Kid Rock earlier this year, who I must say you remind me of a great deal. You can see my love of music is rampant and I very much enjoy writing about it. You are actually the first ‘person’ persay I’ve ever written about and I sincerely hope I don’t disappoint.” She said as she popped a French fry in her mouth.

“I have a very strong faith that you won’t disappoint. At least you haven’t even begun to disappoint me so far.” He said wiggling an eyebrow before going back to his meal.
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~Chapter Four~
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Jeff waited impatiently at Raleigh International Airport as the people milled around him. He checked his watch for what seemed like the hundreth time that hour and ran a hand through his hair because it kept falling in his face. As he was about to give up hope that Matt’s plane would land, he heard the arrival announced over the intercom.

“Matt, over here.” Jeff yelled as he saw Matt step out of the terminal and into the lobby.

Matt looked over and saw Jeff sitting there before walking over to his younger brother and embracing him in a hug. Jeff returned the hug and they made their way out of the crowded airport.

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

The two arrived home and Jeff helped Matt carry his luggage inside.

“So how has the biography thing goin? Is the person that’s writing it cool?” Matt asked as he finally took a seat across from his brother in the living room.

“It’s going pretty well so far. You’ve gotta meet Anicee, she’s the one writing it, she’s awesome. She’s interviewed Pearl Jam for Rolling Stone dude. You’re gonna love her.” Jeff said enthusiastically.

“I’m glad you’re having so much fun with this, but I have a question for you. Do you think there’s any way you can come with all of us on the next road trip? Everybody misses you Jeff and they want to see you back.” Matt said looking at his brother with honesty in his eyes.

Jeff sat back in the seat and thought. With each thought, he became angry. He couldn’t believe that Matt was asking him this. Didn’t Matt understand that he couldn’t do anything like that at this point.

“Jeff are you still here?” Matt asked waving a hand in front of his face.

“Matt, I can’t go back to the WWF right now. I understand that people want to see me and I really want to see them, but I just can’t go back right now.” Jeff said as he got up and started to pace the living room.

“Why can’t you? You’re doing this biography thing. Why can’t you come see your friends?” Matt asked, staying seated.

“Do you not get it Matt? I CAN’T WRESTLE ANYMORE. I am now just coming to grips with that. I’ve wrestled everyday from the time I was probably 9 years old and then it was taken away from me and you don’t seem to understand how much it’s affected me.” Jeff said as tears gathered in his eyes.

Matt looked up at his younger brother and walked over embracing him in a hug.

“Do you not realize how jealous I am of you Matt? For all those years it was US..now it’s you and me. It’s like we aren’t a unit anymore. Now we aren’t a team and it’s so scary because I always had you there. My big brother, my best friend, my father figure. That was you Matt and it feels like I don’t have you there anymore.” Jeff said as he wiped his eyes.

Matt pulled away from Jeff and looked into his eyes.

“Look at me Jeff. We will always be a unit, nobody or nothing can break us apart. I know that right now you feel like you’re completely out of the circle, but you aren’t Jeff. There are a lot of people who care about you and love you. You have nothing to be jealous of Jeff. You’re book is going to do tremendous and you’re on the website everyday. You’re having that personal relationship with the fans you’ve always wanted. As far as you and I go, I will always be your big brother and best friend. You know that I am just a phone call away if you need me and I know the same for you. It still is US and it always will be.” Matt said pulling Jeff in for a hug.

“Thanks Matt. I’m glad to know you’ll always be around to kick the shit out of me if I ever screw up again.”

“Well Jeff, that’s what I’m here for.” Matt said laughing along with Jeff.

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

Jeff got out of the car as he and Matt arrived at a local club. They greeted people they knew along the way and sat down at a table that was already occupied by Adam and Jay (Edge and Christian) of the WWF.

“Jeff man, it’s great to see you.” Adam said as he slapped him in the back and handed him a drink.

“It’s great to see you guys too, but can you do me a favor and let’s not talk about wrestling tonight.” Jeff asked as he took a sip of the beer Adam had given him.

“Whatever you want dude. What about this biography you have going on Mr. Bigshot Writer.” Adam teased as everyone laughed.

“It’s just a little project, nothing for you guys to tease me about.” Jeff said as he tried to avoid the teasing he knew would be coming sooner or later.

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

A little while later they were all sitting around talking shit to each other when Jeff looked over and noticed someone standing at the bar.

“If you guys excuse me, I’ll be right back.” He said getting up and making his way to the other side of the club.

“Anicee, fancy meeting you here.” Jeff said as he came up behind her and took the drink from her hand.

“Hey Jeff. What’s up?” She asked as she slyly took her drink back and sipped on it.

“Nothing much, just hanging out with my brother and some friends. I’ll introduce them to you after you dance with me.” He said shaking his butt.

“Is that you’re subtle way of asking me to dance with you?” She asked grabbing his hand.

“Yup, plus the fact that I love this song.” He said moving them out to the dance floor.

“I do too.” She said smiling as she looked into his eyes and moved to the music.

When dreaming I'm guided through another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
'Cause I don't want to leave the comfort of this place
'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I'm awake
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?

Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets

Although I would like our world to change
It helps me to appreciate
Those nights and those dreams
But, my friend, I'd sacrifice all those nights

If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same
The only difference is
To let love replace all our hate
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?

Up high I feel like I'm alive for the very first time
Up high I'm strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine

As they were dancing along, they felt a connection being established. One that could not be ignored. One that would last forever.
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~Chapter Five~
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*A few days later*

“So what is this exactly that you are so excited to show me?” Anicee asked as she and Jeff made their way into a back room at his house.

“You’ll see, just hold your horses.” He said as he indicated for her to take a seat while he shuffled through a box full of videotapes.

Anicee rolled her eyes. Jeff had called her extremely early that morning and demanded that she meet him at his house by 10 AM. Not only had she been late, she had gotten lost numerous times trying to find Jeff’s abode.

“He couldn’t be like a normal person and live in the suburbs or a nice little apartment building, no he couldn’t do that. He had to live out in the boonies, totally secluded.” She thought, irritated.

Anicee raised an eyebrow when she noticed Jeff staring at her.

“Are you done arguing with yourself? You’re eyes give away everything you’re feeling. You might want to fix that cause I can read you like a book.” He said as he took a seat next to her with remote in hand.

“What am I going to watch?” She asked trying to get the remote from him.

“Before we watch these I have to lay down a few ground rules.” He said as he sat eye level with her.

Anicee rolled her eyes and motioned for him to continue.

“Number one you can not take this remote away from me, that’s why I’m a guy. The remote IS MINE. Rule number two, you can not make fun of me in these tapes, make fun of Matt all you want, but I am off limits. Finally the last rule, I am not responsible for most of the outfits that will be shown, Matt is, so I definitely know exactly how bad we looked.”

“Are you done now? Can we finally watch these? God, I feel like I’m about to watch a secret, never before seen tape or something.” Anicee said as she settled back against the couch.

Jeff mimicked her talking as she shot him a glare, before sitting next to her on the couch and casually putting his arm around her.

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

Anicee was barely able to control her giggling, this was some of the funniest stuff she had ever seen in her life.

“That’s right little boy, I’m going to hurt you bad.” A 13 year old Jeff screamed at his brother as he was standing on a chair to be eye level with the older one.

“Why don’t you get down from that chair so we can see who the year little boy is.” Matt screamed back as the others in attendance oohed and awed at the exchange.

The two were watching tapes of the old pay-per-views the boys used to put on for their friends and families and Anicee had to agree that it was something very spectacular. They were doing things at 13 that she had seen them doing in the tapes of Jeff’s last matches. That amazed her beyond belief, it was like they were born to do this.

Anicee glanced over at Jeff who looked like he was in pain. It occurred to her that it probably hurt him a great deal to be watching this and reliving all the things that he used to do. There was a sadness apparent in his eyes that she had never seen before. Something there that wouldn’t go away for a while.

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

The two were sitting on his back porch, watching the sunset.

“Did wrestling every affect your schooling? I know you turned pro when you were only 16.” Anicee asked as she tucked her legs under her chin.

“It didn’t really affect my schooling per se. It affected the relationships I had with people. Like one of my first girlfriends broke up with me because of it. I was really shy in high school, believe it or not. I was popular, but shy. I finally met this girl my sophomore year that I really liked and we started seeing each other. Around this time, Matt and I hooked up with the Italian Stallion who later gave us our break in the WWF full-time. He had us booked for dark matches whenever the WWF came to town. Well, the night of Homecoming that year, the WWF came to town and we were asked to do a dark match. I fixed it so that I could do the dark match and then go pick her up, but things didn’t work out that way. During the match, I executed a moonsault wrong and totally dislocated my shoulder, needless to say I didn’t make the dance and the girl decided she couldn’t date a pro wrestler. One of the many times I would be heartbroken.” He said wiping away fake tears.

Anicee, who had been feeling really sorry for him, smacked him on the shoulder.

“You are so full of shit. I was feeling really sorry for you too.” She said giving him a mean look

“I’m sorry Ani, but you fell for it hook, line, and sinker.” He said laughing at her.

“Well I guess acting is one of your talents.”

Jeff got up and walked into the house leaving a stupefied Anicee looking on. Around five minutes later he came back out with a big box.

“What’s in there?” She asked as he sat down next to her and opened it.

“This is some of the earlier pictures of Matt and I learning to wrestle. As you can see, Matt was really into the lifting weights part of wrestling while I wanted to fly. Matt’s the strength, but I’m the showman. I thrive on attention and Matt thrives on pounding your face into the mat.” He said as he shuffled through a few.

Anicee grabbed a handful and sat back against the deck looking a few and commenting every now and then.

“Who’s this woman?” She asked as she saw a picture of what looked to be a very young Jeff with an older woman.

Jeff looked over her shoulder and he got a bittersweet smile on his face.

“That’s my mom. That’s one of the last pictures that was taken of us together. I don’t really remember her and most of the things I do remember were told to me by Matt or Dad.” Jeff said with a shrug of the shoulders.

“Does it bother you that you don’t remember her?”

“In a way it does, but I’m kind of glad that I never knew what it was really like to have a mother. Matt does know and I can tell you that it tears him apart inside sometimes. I think I’m the luckier of the two. I don’t know what it was like so there is really nothing there for me to miss. Matt was at the age that he knew exactly what a mother was and he woke up a lot of the time crying for her. I think I was spared some of that pain.” He said looking at her with an honesty she couldn’t help but respect.

“Well, it’s been really cool spending the day with ya Jeff, but I’m beat. Give me a call at a REASONABLE hour in the morning and we can decide what to do.” She said as Jeff got up, but she remained seated.

“Do you think you can help me? My ass has fallen asleep.” She said grinning a little and holding her hands up like a little kid.

Jeff smiled before clasping her hands and helping her up. As she lifted into the air, Jeff stumbled backwards and she fell on top of him. The two stared at each other, blue eyes clashed with green ones, before Anicee lowered her head and kissed him softly on the lips before quickly getting up and leaving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Six~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anicee awoke to someone pounding on the door and groaned as she rolled over to check the alarm clock. Anger arose when she saw that it was only 9 in the morning.

“Who in the hell is here at this hour?” She mumbled as she made her way to the door.

Taking a few deep breaths, she threw open the door and got an even angrier look when she saw a perky looking Jeff Hardy on the other side of the door.

“What do you want at this hour?” She asked as she turned around and headed back to her bedroom.

Jeff followed her, closing the front door as he stepped inside. He laughed silently as he saw her climb back into bed and throw the covers over her head. Praying that she wouldn’t kill him, he grabbed the top of the blanket and pulled them off her body and completely off the bed. Anicee counted to ten and then exploded.

“What the hell do you want? Why can’t you ever let me sleep? I’ve never done anything to you Jeffrey.” She said through clenched teeth.

“Oooohhhh Jeffrey, using the full name, you sound mad.” He said laughing.

Anicee shot him a glare that shut him up immediately.

“Explain to me exactly why I’m being graced with your presence so early in the morning.” She said as she set up in bed and ran a tired hand over her eyes.

“Well, you’re always saying you want to see where everything all ‘started’, I’m going to take you there, but it’s a 6 hour drive one way. So chop chop, pack a bag and turn that frown upside down.” He said helping her up and turning her toward the bathroom.

“Once you’re showered and packed I have coffee for you, but you don’t get that unless you’re a good girl.” Jeff said laughing as she shot him a ‘don’t mess with me’ look.

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

Jeff sat in the living room twiddling his thumbs, waiting for Anicee to get done in the shower. He was still feeling confused about his feelings towards her. He loved making her mad because she was stunning when she was mad, but when she was happy with him, she was breathe taking. The kiss the day before just served to confuse him even more.

Anicee made her way down the stairs with a bag draped over her shoulder and waved a hand in front of Jeff’s face.

“Hello? Are you in there?” She asked as he snapped out of it and gave her a smile.

“Yes, now do you want your coffee? You have been a good girl after all.” He said handing her a styrofoam cup full of the warm liquid.

“You better be glad I have a soft spot for you Rainbow Brite, otherwise you would be dead right now.” She said taking a gulp of the coffee.

“Well the feelings mutual Ani. Can we go?” He asked already getting up and heading out the door.

“Do I have a choice?” She mumbled under her breath.

“I heard that and NO you don’t.” He yelled back through the door.

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

The two were headed north on the interstate and arguing over which CD to listen to. “I am not listening to Pearl Jam Ani, don’t get me wrong I love them, but damnit Matt runs them into the ground. Besides this is my car, I get to pick. We’re listening to Kid Rock.” Jeff said running a hand through his hair flustered.

Anicee laughed as she saw the look on his face.

“Does arguing about music bother you this much?” She asked as she turned the radio down a bit and popped in the Kid Rock CD.

“You don’t understand, music sets the driving mood and I get all depressed when I listen to Pearl Jam sometimes and right now I just wanna rock, so yes, arguing about music does bother me this much.” He said turning around and thumbing his nose at her.

Anicee thumbed her nose back and went to change the CD just to piss him off.

“DON’T TOUCH THAT! I’m warning you Ani, touch it and find out what it’s like to have rainbow hair.” He said pointing at her.

She smiled, amused, before pulling her hand back and leaving the CD alone.

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

“How long did you say this drive was again?” She asked taking her shoes off and tucking her feet underneath her.

“Please spray some smelly stuff...shoo wee, and the drive is 6 hours one way.” Jeff said running a hand over his nose.

“My feet don’t stink. If anything, it’s your breath blowing back in your face.” She said as he shot her an annoyed look.

“So where exactly are we going? I mean we’ve gotta drive 6 hours one way, are you sure this is even in North Carolina?” She said as she put sunglasses on her face and gazed out the window.

“Yes I’m sure it’s in North Carolina, barely, but it’s still in North Carolina.” He said as he put his blinker on and switched lanes.

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

The two had been driving for three hours and Anicee was starting to get hungry, her stomach was growling rather loudly and she knew that Jeff had been able to hear it, but probably just chose to ignore it.

“Jeff, is there any place for us to stop and eat? I’m kinda hungry.” She said putting her hands on her stomach for emphasis.

“Kinda hungry? Girl your stomach has been growling since 30 miles back, I was wondering when you were gonna say something.” He said looking over at her.

“Well if you knew, why did I have to say anything?” She asked knocking him in the back of the head.

“Because I’m not a mind reader, you gotta tell me how you’re feeling.” He said sincerely. The double meaning wasn’t lost on her and she turned to look out the window again, not sure if she wanted to delve into the subject he was trying to broach.

“I’ll try and be more clear from now on. Is that good enough for you?” She asked as she looked at him.

“As long as you try to be clearer and I try to be clearer, that’s more than enough for me.” He said as he reached over and grabbed her hand before placing a kiss on the palm and setting it back down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Seven~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff maneuvered the car into a small restaurant as Anicee struggled to get her shoes back on. As soon as he had it in park, she was out the door and already inside. Jeff laughed at her eagerness and nonchalantly made his way inside.

“Do you think you can take any longer Grandpa?” She asked as she waiting impatiently for him to get inside so they could be seated.

“I actually could. Would you like me to go get back in the car and start all over again?” He asked as he flashed her a killer smile.

The waitress who was going to seat them laughed at the exchange.

“Are you two always so nice to each other?” She asked as they each had a seat at a booth, facing each other.

“Always, it’s kind of our thing I guess you could say.” Jeff said as he grabbed a menu.

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

The two had received their food and were scarfing it down when Anicee began to speak.

“So Jeff, when we go to get back on the road again, do you think I could drive?” She asked as she took a bite from her salad.

“I don’t even let Matt drive my car.” He said with a raised eyebrow.

“So I take that as a no.” She said sticking her tongue out.

“You take that right.” He said smiling a cheeky smile at her.

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

Anicee leaned the seat back and removed her shoes once again as they got back on the interstate. It was getting a little later than she would have liked to be on the road. Thanks to all their arguing, they probably weren’t going to able to get their until the next day and she was kind of nervous about not knowing exactly where they were going. Jeff checked his blind spot and switched lanes before popping a Live CD into the CD player. Anicee sat back and listened to the songs, Live always had calming effect on her and pretty soon she had drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Jeff glanced over into the passenger seat and smiled when he saw that Anicee was asleep. He had never seen anyone look so peaceful when they slept and it kind of amazed him, falling asleep with him their meant a sort of trust had been developed between the two.

At around midnight, Jeff rubbed his eyes and wearily looked for a place to stop for the night, seeing an exit for a hotel, he pulled into a parking space and went inside to get a room.

“May I help you sir?” An attendant asked as Jeff made his way to the front desk.

“Yeah, I need two rooms please.” Jeff said reaching into his back pocket for a credit card.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible, there’s a convention in town and there is only one room left.” The attendant said, apologetic.

Jeff looked skyward and said a silent prayer that the room had double beds.

“Does this room by any chance have double beds?” He asked afraid of the answer.

“Just one queen-sized.”

Jeff held back the groan that threatened to escape. It wasn’t really the attendant’s fault, but he could just hear Anicee now. He knew for a fact this was the only hotel within the next fifty miles and he was afraid he would fall asleep on the road in that time. Sighing, he told the man he would take it.

Jeff grabbed their stuff from the trunk and stuck it in the room before going back for Anicee.

“Ani, wake up darlin’.” Jeff said into her ear as he tried to shake her awake.

Anicee snapped awake at the sound of his voice.

“Where are we?” She asked sleepily.

“At a hotel, I don’t think I can drive the rest of the way tonight.” He said as he helped her out of the car.

“Yeah, I’m pretty tired to.” She said yawning as she tried to make herself wake up.

“There’s only one problem.” He said as he lead her to the room.

“What’s that?” She asked as she pulled her hair back from her face.

“There was only one room with one bed available.” He said matter of factly.

Anicee looked at him wide-eyed as they made their way inside.

“There is no way this is going to work Jeff.” She said as she shook her head.

“It’s this or nothing Ani, sorry.” Jeff said as he grabbed a towel and made his way to the bathroom.

Anicee took a deep breath as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and tried not to think of the fact she was going to have to share a bed with Jeff. Changing into her pajamas, she pulled out her laptop and began working on some notes for the biography.

Hearing the shower turn off and the door open, Anicee looked up and gulped. There standing in front of her was a wet Jeff, clad in only a towel.

“Umm, I left my clothes out here.” He explained quickly before grabbing his clothes and heading back to the bathroom.

Anicee sat with her mouth hanging open. Never before had she seen a more sexy man and this was going to be dangerous for her. In no way could she let herself feel the way she was starting to feel for this amazing man.

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

Jeff stepped back out now clad in a pair of pajama pants and slipped into the bed next to where she was sitting.

“Ya know, I may just sleep on the floor.” She said as she tried to slip from the bed.

Jeff’s fingers wrapped around her wrist and he pulled her back to him.

“I’m not going to do anything to you Ani, I promise.” He said softly as he pushed a piece of hair from her mouth.

Anicee gulped and nodded as she stretched out next to him. She was careful not to touch him as she lay rigidly against him.

“I’m not going to bite, come here.” Jeff said as he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

“Now just relax and go to sleep.” He whispered before kissing her cheek.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Eight~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anicee snuggled closer to the warmth that seemed to be wrapped around her from every direction. Trying to get as close as possible, she tossed her arm to the side and hit something that grunted. Slowly coming to awareness, Anicee’s eyes widened as she realized what kind of situation she was in.

Somehow during the middle of the night, she had moved herself over into Jeff’s embraced and her cheek was firmly planted next to his heart making it impossible for her to get away from the warmth. Looking around, she realized that her leg had somehow managed to throw itself over his hip bone and her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist.

“Now how exactly did I get myself into this position and how do I get out?” She thought as she listened to Jeff’s deep breathing.

Inhaling a sharp breath, she tried not to concentrate on the fact that Jeff was subconsciously turning them over so that she was underneath his weight and running his hands up and down her back. Before they got into an even more compromising position, Anicee thought fast and coughed loudly.

Jeff slowly came alert and realized where he was before moving quickly away and clearing his throat. Anicee did the same as she sat up in bed and tried to comb her hair down.

“Good morning.” Jeff said in a sleep roughened voice as he sat up and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Morning.” She said mimicking his actions.

“So what are we doing today?” She asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

“I figured we would try to get there today and then I could show you around a few more places.” He said clearing his throat a little bit.

“Sounds good to me. Do you want the bathroom first?” She asked as she picked at an imaginary spot on the bed.

“No, you go ahead.” He said before watching her get up and walking to the door before closing it.

After the door was shut, Jeff ran a hand through his hair before exhaling loudly and gritting his teeth. What Anicee didn’t know, was he had been awake for the past hour, just enjoying the feel of her in his arms and he had almost been caught, so to speak, when she woke up.

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

“Here you go.” Jeff said handing her a sausage biscuit from the drive through at Hardee’s as the two hit the road.

“Thanks, do I get to pick what we listen to today?” She asked as she pushed her sunglasses onto her head to hold her hair out of her face.

“Are you driving?” He asked with a devilish smile.

“No.” She said a bit confused.

“Then I guess you have your answer then don’t ya?” He said smartly as he popped a Marilyn Manson Cd into the cd player.

“You are such a smartass.” She said sticking her tongue out.

“Don’t stick that out unless you’re planning on using it.” He said wickedly as they grew quiet and continued on their way.

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

As they were approaching the mountains of North Carolina, Tabitha was taken aback at the beauty of the place and she had to wonder why people would want to just come up here to wrestle and then go home.

“It’s really beautiful up here.” She said as she looked over at Jeff’s profile.

“I know, I always hated coming up here just to wrestle. I always wanted to stay for a day or two and just enjoy it, but Matt or I always had to be at school the next day or something.” He explained looking over at her.

“Exactly how much did you wrestle when you were in high school?” She asked as she tucked her legs up to sit Indian style.

“I wrestled roughly every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. I never really went very far. This is the farthest I ever went to wrestle while I was in school. The best thing though was that I would always get to do the dark matches before RAW or a house show and all my friends would be there to watch the show, not really knowing that I was going to be in it and I would walk out and the pop would be huge from different sections, while no one else knew who the hell I was.” He said grinning a little.

Anicee smiled as he told her about his life. There was no doubt that his life read straight out of a book and he was very gifted at telling it like a story. She almost felt like he was writing the biography himself.

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

Around late afternoon, they pulled into a gym parking lot and Jeff motioned for her to get out.

“Where exactly are we?” She asked as she wrapped her arms around her upper body.

She had forgotten how cold it could be in the mountains, especially at night.

“This is where a lot of the wrestling talent over the next few years will come from.” He said as he got out on his side.

Looking over the hood of the car at her, he noticed the goose bumps and her shivering. Always being a gentleman, he shrugged his jacket from his shoulders and placed it around hers. When she turned around to protest his actions, Jeff placed a hand on her lips and made a face that told her to forget about it before putting a hand on the small of her back and leading her into the gym.

As they walked in, people called out different greetings to Jeff and he stopped and talked to a few before making their way to a back office.

“Is Jan here?” He asked the woman at the desk.

“Yeah just go straight back.” She said pointing to a hallway leading to the back of the building.

Jeff pushed her forward as they made their way down the hallway and stepped into the room.

“Jan, what’s up?” He asked casually as he had a seat in a chair across from her desk.

“Nothing much, who is this you’ve brought with you?” She asked as she looked up from her paperwork.

“This is Anicee, she’s doing a biography on me.” He said introducing the two.

“Pleasure to meet you Anicee and must I say I feel your pain for following this big lug around all the time. So what can I do for you.” She asked as the two women laughed.

“She wants to know how it all began.” He said placing his feet on the desk.

“Do you have a year free Anicee? Because it will take that long with this boy.” She said raising an eyebrow at the two.

“If it’s gonna take that long, can you point me to the nearest bathroom cause I’ve really gotta go.” She said getting up as the other two laughed.

“Third door to your left out that door dear.” Jan said as she observed Anicee leave.

Jeff sat in his chair trying to disguise the fact that his eyes followed her every move until she left the room.

Jan smiled a devilish smile and looked Jeff in the eye.

“Oh you like her...a lot.” She said as he blushed a deep shade of red.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Nine~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff blushed a deep red and ducked his head down, embarrassed.

“I think she’s an incredible person, that doesn’t mean I like her.” He said matter-of-factly.

Jan smiled a knowing smile.

“Jeffrey, I have known you since you were this high.’ she said measuring to her knees. ‘So don’t even try to fool me.”

“Ok, so I like her. I never could lie to you, I don’t even know why I’m trying to now.” He said giving her a pouty look.

“That’s more like it, now let me help you knock this girl off her feet.”

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

Anicee was walking out of the restroom when her cell phone rang. Stepping back in so that she could have some privacy, she breathed a breath before answering it.

“Hello.”

“Anicee?” A small voice came radiating over the line.

“Jessica, is that you sweetie?” Anicee asked as she placed a hand over her opposite ear so that she could hear better.

“Yup, it’s me it’s me it’s the J-e-s-s...” She started before Anicee started laughing.

“You’re too funny little girl. What is it I can do for you?”

“Well, you know that I’m on Spring Break this week and daddy and I miss you terribly. Ya know him and mom aren’t on speaking terms and I was wondering if we could come visit. You know how much I like Jeff’s hair and want to play with it and you know dad is a big fan.” She rushed on.

“Jess, slow down hon. Let me talk to Jeff and see what he says and I’ll call you later on tonight.” Anicee said making a kissing noise into the phone and hanging up.

Running a hand through her hair, she sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought. She was going to have to explain a lot of things about herself to him and that in itself meant opening up in a way she hardly had before and to a man who was threatening to take her heart away.

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

Jeff and Anicee, along with Jan had spent the day touring the training facility and gathering information she needed for the book. Jeff and Anicee were on their way to a hotel that he knew of and the two were going to spend the night there before making the trek back to Cameron the next day.

Jeff was lying on the bed in his hotel room thinking about what Jan had said to him. It was true that he thought Anicee was a tremendous and beautiful person, in his eyes her smile could light up a room, and he had come to trust her like he had never trusted anyone before. There was something holding him back however, and that was the fear of being rejected. As he fluffed his pillow a little more, there was a knock at the door.

Getting up with a groan and walking over, he looked out the peephole before smiling and opening it.

“Ani, what brings you over here? Couldn’t sleep without my warm body next to yours?” He asked with a smile on his face.

She gave him a smartass smile before stepping in and placing her arms across her chest.

“I really need to talk to you.” She said with a serious look on her face.

Jeff’s face lost all playfulness and he had a seat as he indicated for her to sit next to him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.

“I have a favor to ask you. Do you mind if my niece and brother come to visit me this coming week. I realize that I’m supposed to be spending every waking moment with you this week, but this is really important to me.” She said as she looked up at him with big eyes.

Jeff looked at her with confusion on his face, but also a look of understanding.

“You have a niece and brother?” He asked with disbelief. The way she had always talked about herself, it had seemed like she had always been by herself and an only child.

“Yeah I do and I realize it seems as if I’ve mislead you and believe me...that was never my intention.” She said with pleading eyes.

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

The two got comfortable on the bed and Jeff looked at her willing her to speak to him what was in her heart and he ready to listen.

“I bet you’re wondering why I haven’t been completely honest with you and you’ve been nothing but that with me.” She said laughing a dry laugh.

“Ani, you aren’t the one who I’m writing the story about. You don’t have to tell me you’re life story. I’m supposed to tell you mine.” He said grabbing her hand and running his thumb down the palm.

Her thoughts scattered when he continued doing this as a pulse of electricity shot up her body and through her toes. She couldn’t think with him touching her, so she pulled away and paced the room.

“My niece is the apple of my eye. I love her more than life itself and I can’t imagine what she’s going through Jeff. Her parents are getting a divorce and she lives with my mother. I acted like her mother until I came here to interview you and I think she’s feeling a little lonely now. She misses me and I miss her. Do you think it would be ok if she and my brother came down and I took a few days off from following you around?” She asked with pleading in her voice and eyes.

Jeff gave her a sexy smile before answering her.

“Ani, you know that we aren’t just co-workers so to speak, we are friends and I would be honored if you would let me show you’re niece exactly how much fun North Carolina can be, with you of course.”

Anicee smiled a genuine, heartfelt smile and walked over to him throwing her arms around his neck.

“Thank you Jeff!! You have no idea how much this means to me. I am so thankful that you understand and I can’t believe that you are doing this for me.” She said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Jeff enclosed his arms around her waist and pulled her closely before whispering into her ear in a soft voice.

“Don’t you realize there is almost nothing I wouldn’t do for you?”

She looked at him in shock before smiling and walking out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Ten~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anicee waited impatiently for her brother and niece to arrive at Jeff’s house the next day. Jeff had insisted that they all stay there with him so that they could all be together and she was more than grateful for that. Just after hearing a car door slam, she heard a small voice outside. Jumping up and running to the door, she smiled when she saw Jessica ambling her way up the front steps.

“ANICEE!!!” She screamed as she tripped over her own two feet trying to get up the stairs.

Jessica did a double-take when she realized that two strong arms had grabbed her and prevented her from falling. Looking up, sparkling hazel eyes met crisp green ones and she smiled a toothless grin when she saw the purple hair. Jeff looked down at her and smiled before scooping her up in his arms.

“Are you the Miss Jessica I’ve heard so much about?” He asked as he put his head down a little further so that she could touch his hair that had caught her attention.

“Uh huh and you’re Jeff. I always thought Matt was cuter, but I love your hair! It’s so pretty.” She said as she tangled her small hands in his hair and latched onto it.

Jeff giggled as she continued grabbing handfuls and just running it through her palms.

“Jessica, leave Jeff alone and come give me a hug.” Anicee said as she walked down to the two.

“Uh uh, I wanna play with Jeff’s hair. It’s too pretty to leave alone.” She said as she looped her small arms around Jeff’s neck and Jeff pulled her closer to his body.

“Yeah Anicee, she likes me better so there.” He said sticking out his tongue as Jessica giggled.

He turned around and walked up into the house as Anicee turned around to face her brother.

“Adrian it’s damn good to see ya.” She said giving him a huge hug as he lifted her up in his arms twirling her around.

“You too sis. At least you still love me. I think I just lost my daughter to Jeff Hardy.” He said laughing as she lead him into the house.

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

A little while later after all the introductions were made, Adrian decided to go out with Matt and some of the other guys to play some pool at a local tournament, leaving Anicee and Jeff to fend for themselves with Jessica.

“I know what we can do.” Jeff said as he bounced Jessica on his knee while they sat on the couch.

The two had been inseparable since their earlier meeting and Jeff now sat with multiple hairbows and braids tangled in his once straight hair.

“What?” Jessica asked excitedly clapping her hands as she bounced up and down.

“Yeah what?” Anicee asked imitating her while Jessica giggled gleefully.

“Well, we can go rent some movies and I can kick back and watch them with my two best girls.” Jeff said as he scooped Jess up in his arms before she had a chance to say no.

Anicee lagged behind a little, still not believing how these two had connected in such a short amount of time. Normally it took Jess at least a few weeks to become warms with someone she didn’t’ know, but it seemed as if Jeff had a power over her that no one else did.

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

The three arrived at the nearest Blockbuster and they all piled out of the car. As Jessica got out, Jeff stooped down and allowed her to climb onto his back as they both opened the door for Anicee. She giggled as she saw them argue over who was going to open the door to the store.

They all stood in the aisles looking for something to interest them at least for a few hours when Jessica came running up to Anicee.

“I want this please.” She said in a quiet voice.

Anicee looked at the cover of the video and smiled. Somehow she knew Jessica would pick a Sesame Street video, they were her favorite.

“All right sweetie, let’s go see what Jeff found.” She said grabbing her by the hand and leading them on a hunt for the other member of their party.

As they rounded the corner Jessica started laughing, there standing playing a video game with very animated expressions was Jeff Hardy.

“Oh I believe he fits just the age level that watches this type of stuff.” Anicee said as they went to check out.

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

After making a pallet in the floor, the three all got ready for bed and sat down with their drinks and popcorn ready to watch Sesame Street. About halfway through, Jeff nudged Anicee and whispered to her. “I think we’ve worn her out. It looks as if we’ve lost her.” He said pointing to a sleeping Jessica who was snuggled up against Jeff’s chest.

Anicee smiled as she shook her head in agreement.

“Ya know, I do have two arms. She can lay on this one and I have one that’s completely open over here. It’s a little lonely, Ani.” He said winking at her and smiling as she came over to lay next to him,

“Goodnight Jeff.”

“Goodnight Ani.” He whispered as he tightened his arms around the two girls before falling into the most peaceful sleep he’d had in a long time.

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

*The Next Day*

Jeff and Adrian were standing at the end of a pool table that had been set up in Jeff’s garage playing an intense game when they began talking. Anicee had taken Jessica out for a girl’s day on the town leaving the two men alone.

“You know my sister loves you.” Adrian said as he lined up another shot.

“What makes you say that?” Jeff asked with eyebrow raised.

“There are a lot of things my sister is very forward about, but her feelings aren’t one of them. I can usually tell straight off how she feels about the people around her by the way she acts. She’s warm and attentive around you, something I haven’t seen in her in a long time, unless you’re a six year old named Jessica.” Adrian said as he made the winning shot.

“And correct me if I’m wrong but I think you feel the same way about her.” He said before taking Jeff’s money and walking out of the garage, leaving a shocked Jeff to stare into outer space.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Eleven~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*A Few Days Later*

Anicee and Jeff were laying on opposite ends of the couch in Jeff’s house, just relaxing since they had bid Jessica and Adrian good-bye. Jeff had never been so exhausted in his life. Never before had he thought entertaining a kid for a few days would take that much strength and charisma. He felt as if he had just fought two ladder matches with the Dudley Boyz consecutively.

“I really wanna thank you Jeff.” Anicee said as she lifted her head a little off the arm of the couch.

“Thank me? For what?” He asked as he made himself a bit more comfortable.

“Just being so nice to my family. Especially Jessica, she latched onto you like a leech latches onto fresh skin and you never once tried to push her away. That’s totally what she needs right now and I have never seen a person have as much patience as you had with her.” Anicee said with a sincere look on her face.

“Aww, that was easy. She’s a cute kid and a smartass when she wants to be. Ya gotta love that. We see eye to eye on a lot of stuff and that’s not something I find very often.” He said giving her a tired half-smile.

“Just the same thank you.”

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

The two were in the kitchen deciding what to eat for lunch when they heard the phone ring.

“Can you grab that, I bet it’s Matt making sure we’re still alive.” Jeff mumbled from his place inside the refrigerator.

“Hello?” Anicee asked munching on a carrot.

“Can I speak to Jeff Hardy please?” An important sounding voice said over the phone lines.

“Sure, may I ask who’s calling?”

“This is Kennedy Todd.”

“Hang on just a sec please.” She said taking the phone from her ear and handing it to Jeff.

She looked on with courteousness as she saw several expressions run across Jeff’s face. When he finally hung up the phone, he ran across the room and scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around.

“Jeff what happened?” She asked squealing as he whirled her around and around, making her dizzy.

“My book has hit #1 on all the lists!” He screamed excitedly as she started jumping up and down with him.

“I think this calls for a celebration.” He said as they started to calm down.

“What kind of a celebration?” She asked as she tried to get her breathing back to normal from the excitedness they had just experienced.

“I say we order some food from the Cafe` and just go somewhere and eat it alone. Away from everyone else.” He said quietly.

“All right. I agree with that.” She said as she ran up the stairs to get ready.

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

The two relaxed against the blanket they had brought with them to their impromptu picnic just looking up at the stars and talking.

“Ya know Jeff, I’m really glad that I was assigned to write this book on you.” She said as she rolled over and propped her head on her elbow.

“I am too Ani, I can’t think of a better person to write this about me than you.”

She smiled at him and turned her cheek into his palm as he cupped her face. She looked into his eyes and was frightened by the depth of the feelings she saw there. In the back of her mind she was thinking about her deadline being soon and with that meant she would be leaving. That was one of the reasons she had never acted on her feelings about Jeff, but it would feel so good to act on them just one time. Her brain was urging her on and she wasn’t sure if she could fight it.

“Let’s go swimming.” He said with a sexy smile as he jumped up removing his shirt.

“Jeff, we don’t have swim suits and this is a river where you can’t see anything.” She said nervously.

“So, live a little. Come on Ani, please?” He said with a look on his face that she couldn’t resist.

“You turn your back and I’ll turn mine.” She said turning around and tugging her clothes from her body.

“Ok now walk separately until we get deep enough in the water.” He said as she heard him enter the water as she did the same.

They swam around splashing each other for an eternity when he finally caught up with her and grabbed her arms. She was really trying to break free when her foot slipped in the slippery water and she instinctively wrapped her arms around Jeff’s neck to keep herself from going under.

“You ok?” He asked as he placed his arms around her waist and ran his hands up her back.

“Yeah I am, don’t you think we should be getting back?” She asked desperately trying to break free from the electricity that was flowing between the two.

Jeff grabbed her arms and gently massaged them with his fingers.

“Come on Ani, give into temptation just once. I know you want to. Don’t you want to know what it feels like just once to be kissed by a man who loves you with everything he has?” He said as he placed his hands on either side of her cheeks and pulled her head down to his so that their lips met.

Anicee fought it for as long as possible before finally putting her hands in his hair and tangling them, pulling him closer to her body. Her legs wrapped around his waist as their tongues danced with one another. Never before had she felt anything so passionate, yet innocent at the same time. The feelings were overwhelming and tears slid down her cheeks as if their souls connected in this moment.

Breaking apart, Jeff leaned his forehead against hers and breathed in deeply, trying to come back to his senses. She did the same.

With that the connection that had been made, was cemented and they each felt it, but in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but think. How long is this going to last?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Twelve~
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Anicee sat at her laptop with her head in her hands. With a few more keystrokes she would have the biography done. When the biography was done, she would have to leave Jeff because there would really be no reason for her to stick around. They each had very separate lives that had only come together when she was assigned to do this biography and now their connection would be over. Taking a deep breath, she finished the paragraph and sighed as she turned the computer off.

“I’m done and why am I miserable about that?” She questioned herself out loud as she got up to go downstairs.

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

Jeff sat on the couch in the living room watching some wrestling tapes that some fans had sent him. Most of the things he was seeing were impressing him greatly, so much so that he didn’t hear Anicee enter the room.

She sat down next to him and cleared her throat before he even looked over at her.

“Hey Ani, sorry I didn’t see you there. I’m watching these amazing tapes.” He said as he placed an arm around her shoulders.

Trying to ignore how good it felt just to have his arm around her, Anicee took in a deep breath and reached over turning the television off.

“Hey what did ya do that for?” He asked looking over at her.

“We really need to talk Jeff and I think you know what about.” She said as she sat to face him.

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

Jeff could feel the alarms going off in his brain because deep down he knew exactly what she wanted to talk about and just the thought of it scared him immensely. It was almost as if someone had shown him what life was supposed to be about and then taken it away before he had a chance to really see it.

“Jeff, the book is done and you know my deadline is coming up soon. That means I’m going to have to leave soon.” She said softly.

“Just because you’re through with the book doesn’t mean you have to leave Ani.” Jeff said softly.

Anicee ran a hand through her hair as the tears gathered in her eyes. Trying to find the words to describe how she felt and why she felt the way she did was becoming harder as the situation got more emotional.

“Jeff, I’ve never had an opportunity like this before in my life. I mean not only was I given a chance to follow around one of the best wrestlers in the world, but I’ve come to know that you are such a sweet man who is caring and considerate.” “Then what’s the problem?” He asked as he got choked up a little.

“I never thought I would fall in love with you. Only in my dreams did I imagine something like this would happen to anyone, let alone me. It’s too new to sink in right now.” She said as she got up and started pacing around the room.

“So you’re telling me that since you don’t have enough esteem to see yourself as the beautiful, sexy, and talented person that you are...you don’t think other people can see you that way either?” He asked as he got up and stalked over to where she had claimed a spot in the corner.

“I’ve been hurt so many times that it’s so hard for me to believe that something is real and you’ll understand one day that my heart just can’t be opened up like this.” She said as she pushed him out of the way.

Grabbing her by the arm with eyes flashing he turned her around so that she was nose to nose with him.

“No one day you’ll realize exactly how much I love you and how much it’s killing me to let you go.” He said as he gave her a kiss and walked away from her.

Anicee stumbled backwards wrapping her arms around her body to try and regain the warmthness she had felt when he pulled her close as tears dripped puddles down her cheeks.

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

Anicee quietly grabbed the bag she had used to pack all her belongings in and placed the strap over her left shoulder before going out the bedroom door and making her way silently to Jeff’s.

As she opened the door, she felt a fresh on slaught of tears start when she saw him sleeping so peacefully. It tore her heart apart when she realized that she was making him unhappy, but in her heart and mind it was something she had to do.

Walking over to the bed, she placed a soft kiss on his forehead before whispering ‘I love you’ in his ear. Taking a book out of her bag, she left it laying next to him. In the first few pages of that book, she hoped most of his questions would be answered. Whether he knew it or not, the biography had been finished for weeks and all she had to do was add a Preface. After their night in the river, she was able to write that.

Fighting back the tears that were threatening to make their way to the surface again, she looked back at Jeff one more time before making her way out the front door and climbing into the cab that she had called. She sat back in the seat and flipped her cell phone on.

“Adrian?” She questioned in a small voice as he answered the phone.

“What’s the matter little girl?” He asked calling her the nickname he had given her as children.

“I just lost him.” She said as she sobbed into the phone.

Adrian silently cursed himself and his sister for both being way too much alike. Neither one of them could ever get close to people that they really wanted to and in the end it ended up hurting both of them far more than they would ever let on.

“You know Jess and I are here. We’ll meet ya at the airport.” He said hanging up the phone and gathering a sleeping Jessica in his arms.

“Come on squirt we gotta show you’re aunt what the hell she’s doing wrong.” He said as he placed her in the backseat of the car and drove off to meet Anicee.
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~Chapter Thirteen~
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Jeff awoke with a start. Thinking back to the argument that he and Anicee had he placed a hand over his eyes and shook his head to clear the thoughts. He really needed to apologize to her, he had said some things he didn’t mean and he was sure she had also. As he was getting up, he saw a book next to him that caught his attention. Opening the book, he was shocked to find it was his biography. Inside in her script was a message to him.

Jeff,

Please read the Preface. Maybe then you could understand where I’m coming from and maybe then you’ll see exactly how much I care for you.

Love, Ani

Jeff got a sinking feeling and he automatically knew that she was gone. They had pushed one another too hard the night before and neither one of them had been able to take it. With the realization that she was gone came a sadness he wasn’t sure he ever had to deal with before. When he had lost wrestling, he had thought that he couldn’t live again. She had shown him that he could, but she was vital to that living and without her, he wasn’t sure if living would be possible. Dreading it with every turn of the page, he turned to the Preface and sat back to let everything sink in.

When I was called upon to write this book, I was a bit hesitant at first. True, it was a wonderful opportunity for me as a writer, but I wasn’t really sure how a superstar of Jeff Hardy’s caliber would act around a lowly writer such as myself (insert sarcasm). I had had my run-ins with many celebrities and I must say that Mr. Jeff Hardy and his brother, not to mention every one of their friends are the most down-to-earth human beings you will ever meet in your life. I not only came to know all of them, but I came to love them as well. The letter that is about to be written will show you just how much this experience has affected my life.

Jeff,

I can still remember that first day I saw you sitting in the cafe waiting for me to get there, probably wondering if I was going to show up. I remember my nervousness about how you would perceive me because of how I was dressed. It seemed straight off that you realized the skirt and chignon hair do were totally not me and you put me at ease with a simple smile and joke that you cracked.

I had a few pre-conceived notions of how I thought you would possibly be. Some of them were NOT nice, kind, soulful, beautiful, the type of man any woman could fall in love with including myself, nor a true southern gentlemen. That caught me off guard because you ARE all these things. You are that and so much more.

I never once believed you would be the type of man who started out life afraid of heights and scared that your brother would hurt you just to make himself look good in front of his friends. I had a great surprise when I realized how great you were with kids and someday you will make someone a wonderful husband and a little kid a great dad.

Jeff, when I went into this, I never thought I would fall in love and lose it all in the span of a few weeks. Just please know that I will always love you.

Love,

Ani

Jeff blinked back the tears long enough to let himself curl up in his bed and pull the covers over so that he could let his sobs go unheard and grieve in peace.

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

*A week later*

Matt ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He had had it up to here with Jeff’s moping attitude and he wanted to kill Anicee for what she had done to him. He knew for a fact she was in as much pain, if not more as Jeff was and he wanted to take both of them by the neck and strangle some sense into them. They were each making his life miserable and he wasn’t happy.

With a determination he hadn’t had in a long time, he picked up the phone and dialed Anicee’s number. She picked up on the third ring.

“Anicee, this is Matt and I really need to talk to you.” He said as he paced a little trying to get his thoughts in order.

“Matt, I really don’t have the time right now.” She tried to say before he cut her off.

“You have made my brother’s life miserable and you damn well better listen to me right now.” He said in a biting voice.

Anicee let out a groan and relented.

“You and Jeff have something that I haven’t seen in a long time. You two are not only people who have a deep understanding of each other, but you’re passionate, and best friends. I saw my little brother in the depths of despair when he found out he couldn’t wrestle again. Suddenly you came into his life and drug him out of that and now you’ve put him back, worse than he was before because you’re being selfish.” He said with the big brother tone he used when he knew he was right.

“Selfish?” She asked with a touch of anger in her voice.

“Yes selfish. You have decided that you can’t leave yourself open to love because you can’t let yourself get hurt. Anicee, love is about trusting that person enough to give them the ammunition to hurt you, but the other part of that is the person loving you enough not to hurt you.” He said softly.

“I know.” She said sniffling a little.

“I’m not trying to come down on you here sweetie, but I love my brother more than anything in this world and I would do anything in my power to see him happy. I have never seen as happy as he was when he was with you and I want to see him that way again. I know that you are just as miserable as he is. Please don’t put yourself through that anymore and rebuild this bridge both of you have burned.” He said truthfully.

“Ok Matt. What is it that you want me to do because I will do anything to be as happy as I was for the past few months.” She said softly into the phone.

“Just be in Cameron at the Cafe tomorrow afternoon and I will make sure that Jeff is there. After that it’s up to the two of you. I pray to God that you two don’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers.” He said before hanging up.

Anicee put her face in her hands.

“Anicee, whoever was on the phone was right about you and Jeff.” Jessica said as she appeared.

“He loves you Ani and I love his hair. You do too. Let him love you back.” She said as she put her arms around Anicee’s leg.

“How did you get so smart Jess?”

“I’m cute.” She said smiling that same toothless grin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Chapter Fourteen~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff sat at a booth in the Cafe waiting for Matt to meet him. He really hadn’t wanted to get out of the house, but Matt insisted and had threatened to beat him up if he didn’t join him for lunch. Glancing at his watch, Jeff sighed. Matt was late. Sipping some more of his Dr. Pepper, he went back to reading the biography that had occupied his thoughts for the last week. It was as if reading the book brought her closer to him and he couldn’t bear to get rid of it.

Anicee stepped into the Cafe and her heart stopped beating when she saw Jeff sitting there reading the biography. He was definitely a sight for sore eyes. She had missed him more than she would like to admit in the past week. He had become an integral part of her life in such a short amount of time and that was scary within itself. What if he didn’t want her back?

Jeff was losing his patience. Matt was supposed to have met him an hour ago and if Matt found it amusing, Jeff most certainly did not. He decided to wait another ten minutes and then he would leave.

Anicee took a deep breath and walked over to Jeff’s table taping him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, but are you Jeff Hardy?” She asked smiling.

Jeff looked up and his eyes brightened as he saw her. The one who had haunted his dreams for the last week. The one he had wanted with him more than anything he had ever wanted in his life. He couldn’t actually believe that she was standing in front of him.

He smiled as he recognized the words coming out of her mouth as the first she had ever spoken to him. Not even caring where they were, he jumped up from his seat and picked her up in his arms, relishing the smell that was distinctively her.

“What made you come back?” He asked as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Just some stuff Matt said to me that made sense. I do have to trust you enough not to hurt me and I do now Jeff. I’m never going to leave you again, not even if you want me to.” She said laughing.’

“Good, because I’ll never want you too.” He said grabbing her hand and leading them out of the cafe to the applause of everyone that was inside.

Matt stood off in the corner smiling to himself.

“I think I deserve a pat on the back.” He said as he smiled, watching them leave together.
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Keep a look out for the sequel to this story..."What Do I Have To Do".
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