Chapter 7
***
Following the SmackDown filming, Val sat alone, sifting through the photos that she'd taken. With everything going on around her, she could find no joy in her work at the moment. All she could think about was Joe and her father. She needed to be with either of them, but could be with neither of them.
"This sucks," she said to herself.
She turned off the camera and placed it into its carrying bag. A light groan of disgust slipped from her lips when she saw Matt approaching her.
"Just what I need, right now," she said before he reached her.
"Val, I heard about your dad. I'm really sorry."
"Thanks, Matt," she replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"You're welcome."
The two stared at each other for a few moments in an awkward silence before Matt spoke.
"Well, I guess I'm gonna get outta here. You take care."
"I will. Thanks."
Matt took just a few steps and then turned to face Val again.
"Hey, um, if you need to talk, I'm a great listener."
She responded with a nod of acknowledgement and wished Matt a cordial "good night."
"Good night, Val."
Just as she set off in search of the Fatus, her phone vibrated. She pulled the phone from her pocket and read the caller ID.
"Now what?" she asked herself before answering. "Hey, Kelly. How's it going?"
"It's going good for me, but I hear you're dealing with some heavy stuff right now. How's your dad?"
"He's good ... considering all that he's gone through. I just wish that I could be there. But, I have a job to do."
"Which is why I'm calling. It's about your schedule."
Fuck.
***
Joe sat in his hotel room, tired, bored out of his mind, and battling his hormones. As much as he tried, he couldn't get Val off of his mind. Every thought he had was of him making love to her. A woman had never commanded his every thought like her. In fact, his need for her was so powerful that he started to wonder if he wanted her at home and away from him with a baby.
"Fuck that. I'm poppin' one in her," he said, letting out a low groan when his phone rang.
He rolled onto his stomach and reached out to the nightstand to retrieve the device.
"What?" he answered with his face partially buried in one of the soft pillows.
"Hello to you, too," Colby sarcastically replied.
"What do you want, Lopez?" he asked, rolling onto his back.
"A few of us are heading out for drinks. You game?"
Joe sighed and ran his hand down his face.
"Not tonight, man. I'm tired as hell, and I got an early morning. I managed to squeeze in some time to go see Val, since she'll be in Ontario. I'm meeting her tomorrow."
"Alright. Well, I'll catch you tomorrow, bro."
"Alright, man."
After he'd ended his call with Colby, Joe placed a FaceTime call to Val.
"Big Uuuuuce!" Jon excitedly greeted.
"Move, Big Head!" Joe heard Val yell.
A short struggle ensued, and then Val's face finally came onto the screen, amidst the lively banter between his family members.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" he asked, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.
"Pick up ya hand, NooNoo! Trin tryna cheat!"
"I am not!"Trin retorted with a laugh.
"Hi, baby. How are you?" Val asked, finally collecting herself enough to greet him.
"Not as good as you are. What are you guys up to?"
"Spades, and Big Head and Trin are cheating, because Josh and I just set 'em."
"We ain't cheatin'," Jon protested.
"Sounds like y'all are having fun. I don't wanna interrupt, so I'll let you go."
"No, baby. I haven't talked to you all day. Just gimme a sec to get to my room, OK?"
"Nah, it's cool, Doll. I just wanted to tell you 'goodnight.' I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
"OK, babe. I love you."
"Aww,"Trin started, "Y'all are so cute!"
Joe shook his head and rolled his eyes in embarrassment.
"I love you, too, Doll," he reciprocated with a laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow."
After another exchange of "goodnights," Joe ended his call.
"So much for playtime," he said, rolling out of bed and going into the bathroom.
He started the shower and undressed himself. Once he'd stripped off the last of his clothing, he removed the ponytail holder from his hair, allowing the tresses to fall down his back. He released a deep breath and looked at his reflection in the rapidly fogging mirror.
"I need a shave," he said, running his hand down each side of his face. "She likes the clean shave."
He turned away from the mirror and stepped into the shower, slightly flinching at the temperature of the water on his chest. He closed his eyes and lowered his head underneath the spray of the shower nozzle. Bracing his hand against the wall, he exhaled with relief as the water rolled over his head and down his back. Normally, Val would be standing behind him, her hands gracefully roaming over his broad shoulders. The thought of her brought his own hand to his semi-erect organ. Just a few strokes in, he gave up.
"Fuck this."
He quickly washed his hair and body and exited the shower. Still dripping with water, he FaceTimed Val for a second time that night. Unfortunately, for him, she didn't answer. He tried once more, coming up empty-handed.
"Shit," he cursed. "Nobody's hormones should be this outta control," he said, tossing the phone to the bed.
He finished drying his body, massaged a quarter-sized dollop of leave-in conditioner into his hair, and ended another lonely night without his wife.
***
"Ugh, I'm so full,"Val said, holding her stomach as she and Josh walked to her hotel room.
She and the twin had embarked on a late night forage for food to a nearby IHOP after their successful defense for the title of Spades champions in a couples tournament against Trin and Jon and Renee and JG.
"Man, me, too. You can build up a helluva appetite when you kick ass on the Spades table," Josh said, following her inside her room.
"I know, right? Thanks for walking me up here. All the freaks and geeks come out at night," Val said, setting her leftovers on the table and picking up her phone.
"No problem, NooNoo. I'm outta here. Be in the lobby at eight," Josh advised, walking to the door.
"Alright, I'll see you then."
Once she had dismissed Josh from her room, Val returned Joe's call. "What's up, Jenn?" she heard Josh say in passing as she waited for Joe to answer. She still hadn't told him about the conversation she'd had with Kelly earlier that day, and honestly, she didn't know how to break the news to him. She ultimately decided to wait until they were face-to-face.
"Hello?" he groggily greeted, pulling her from her thoughts.
"You sound so sexy when you wake up," she replied, sitting on her bed and slipping off her tennis shoes.
"Hey, Doll," he replied, clearing his throat. "It's late. What are you still doing up?"
"Our Spades game turned into a tournament. Then, we got hungry, so Josh and I went out for food. I'm sorry I missed your call."
"It wasn't just any call. I had my dick in my hand," he casually said through a yawn.
"Well, shit. Now, I really hate I missed it."
"You'll see me in a few hours," he reassured. "You can make it up to me, then."
"I will, baby. I promise."
The couple talked a few minutes more before saying their "goodbyes." Once Val had changed out of her clothes and into one of Joe's t-shirts, she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. She lay in bed for nearly an hour, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Josh during their late night food run.
***
Flashback
Val looked over the menu several times before deciding on a spinach and bacon omelet. She glanced across the table at Josh, who still seemed undecided at the moment.
"I'm ready to order whenever you are," she said, taking a sip of the soda the server had brought to their table earlier.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Minutes later, they'd given their orders to the server. When the server departed, Val decided to share the details of her discussion with Kelly as they waited for their meals.
"So, Kelly called me today."
"How'd that go?" Josh asked.
"Not good. Not good at all. She's saying I probably won't be back on Raw until after Rumble."
"What? For real?"
"Yeah, it sucks. I can't stay on Blue that long, Josh."
"Have you told Joe yet?" he asked, leaning back in the booth and propping one of his legs up on the seat.
Val began to lightly tap her rolled silverware onto the table and shook her head.
"Nope. He's gonna have a fit when I do, though. It seems like nothing's going right. Well, except for our Spades win," she solemnly joked, setting the silverware aside.
"Yeah, that sucks, NooNoo," Josh said, resting his arm on the table.
"I already know what Joe's gonna say," Val said with a sigh.
"And what's that?"
"He's gonna tell me to quit."
"Do you want to?"
"Of course not," she answered, shrugging her shoulder. "It's my dream job. Ya know? I worked hard to get where I am, and I don't wanna just throw it away, because I can't live without my husband for a few months. I mean, people in the military can do four months with their eyes closed."
"Right," Josh said, nodding in agreement. "So what's the big deal, then?"
"I'm not a soldier."
***
Val rolled to her side and wrapped her body around one of the king-sized pillows on the bed. She wasn't looking forward to telling Joe about her schedule change, and she definitely wasn't looking forward to the next four months.
***
Ontario, California
Following a near hour drive from LA, Joe finally stood in front of Val's hotel room. He knocked on the door, excited that only a mere 2 ½-inch thick piece of wood was all that separated them.
"Open up, baby."
"You looking for Val?" he heard from behind him.
He turned to face the woman that addressed him.
"Uh, yeah. Is she in here?" he asked, pointing to the door with his thumb.
"Not sure. 'Joe,' right?"
"Yeah, I'm her husband."
"Yeah, I know. I'm Jenn. 'Stylist to the Stars,'" she playfully emphasized with air quotes.
"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.
"You, too."
"I'll just knock again. She's probably taking a nap or something."
"Yeah, she and Josh got back pretty late last night."
"Yeah, well, thanks,"Joe said, giving her a nod of acknowledgement.
"You're welcome. Nice meeting you."
"You, too, Jenn. Take care," he said, turning to knock on the door again.
Moments later, Val answered with a towel wrapped around her body.
"I'm so sorry, baby. How long have you been out here?" she asked, stepping aside.
"Not long," he replied, walking into the room and letting the door close behind him. "You're never ready on time," he said, kissing her forehead.
"I know. I'm sorry. I was up late, so I slept in."
"I'm gonna have to tell my cousin to stop cuttin' into my time."
"I'm really sorry, baby. It'll only take me a few minutes to finish getting ready."
Joe shook his head and tightly clenched the front of the towel around her body. He spun her around and braced her against the wall.
"Joe, I thought you wanted-"
Joe cut Val's words short with a kiss, still gripping the towel with authority. He nibbled at her earlobe and then placed a kiss on her spot of weakness behind her ear, eliciting a light moan from her lips.
"Mine," he lowly growled in her ear, sliding his hand under the towel and between her legs.
He slipped his fingers inside of her, drawing a resulting gasp out of her.
"Yours!"
"That's right, baby," he said, hastily fumbling with his belt with his free hand. Once he'd loosened the strap, he took her lips again in another heated kiss. Val began to help him with his clothing, moaning into his mouth as she unfastened his pants' button and slipped down the zipper. He helped her push his pants and boxers down just far enough to free his erection and ripped the towel away from her body.
"Right here.Right now."
Val enthusiastically nodded through her labored panting. Joe lifted her from the floor and she locked her legs around his waist, placing her back against the wall once more for support.
"You need me, baby?" he asked, placing his tip at her heated entrance.
"Yes, I need you."
"I need you, too, Val," he said, pushing up inside of her.
At the moment of penetration, Joe buried his face in the crook of her neck, sucking the delicate skin near her collarbone. He moved to the side of her neck, gently biting and suckling the skin and marking her flesh. As soon as he put just a bit of space between them to take in her appearance, she reached between them and forcefully tore open his navy blue, buttoned-down shirt. The action turned on a rage in him that he couldn't control.
He began to attack her neck again, thrusting into her with urgency.
"J-J-J-" Val stuttered, unable to piece together her husband's name.
The failed attempt made Joe internally smile.
"Say my name, baby," he ordered, intensifying his stroke even more.
"Joe, baby! Oh my G-Joe, I'm 'bout to ... oh shit!"
"There you go, baby," he coached.
He pounded inside of her until her orgasm had subsided and she'd gone limp in his arms.
"Oh , now you wanna get lazy on me?" he teased, carrying her over to the bed.
"No, I just need to collect myself. Shit," she cursed, lying on her back. "Plus I don't have much time left to get ready."
"Doesn't matter," Joe said, slapping her thigh and stroking himself. "This won't take long. Turn that ass this way," he demanded with a beckon of his hand.
Val quickly did as instructed. Joe's toes curled in satisfaction, as he wasted no time plunging back into his wife with a loud groan.
"Mine," he declared again, smacking her backside and then digging his fingers into her hips.
"Yours, baby!"
For some reason, an image of her and Josh kept flashing into his head and each time that it did, it made him dive back into her body with more and more authority until she was practically screaming his name.
"Fuck, Joe!"
"Mine!" he yelled out, finally succumbing to his orgasm. "All in you, baby!"
Every ounce of energy he had was expended in a matter of a few glorious seconds. When he had come down from his high, he pulled out of Val and gave her bottom one more smack.
"You know you own me, right?" he said, sitting next to her.
"Um, yeah," she answered, lying on her back.
He leaned over and planted a kiss on her belly.
"I love you, Val."
"I love you, too, baby."
***
Before the start of the show, Val sat alone in catering thinking about her interaction with Joe back at the hotel. Something had seemed a bit awkward between them, convincing her not to tell him about her schedule change just yet. And the sex...
She didn't know what it was, but he didn't seem quite like himself during their union. He was a bit possessive. Not that she was complaining about it. It actually turned her on and made for some very amazing love-making.
"Man's a beast," she said, placing a brief call to him to advise him of her safe arrival.
Thankfully, he'd be at her room when she got there tonight.
"Man, you ran off quick. You had me worried, girl," she heard Josh say as he entered catering.
"I'm sorry," she said, meeting him in the middle of the small area. "Um, can we go somewhere and talk real quick?"
"Yeah, fa' sho," he said, placing his hand at the small of her back and leading her from the catering area.
Once they were alone, Val sighed, slipping her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.
"What's going on wit'cha?" Josh asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Did you tell Joe about your schedule change?"
"Not yet."
"Well, whatchu waiting on?"
"I was gonna tell him today, but shit got kinda weird between us."
"Weird, like how?" Josh asked.
"I don't know," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "When we ... you know, it ... it was ... different."
"Different?" Josh repeated. "Different, like, it was bad?"
"No, no," Val quickly answered, shaking her head. "It was great. It was awesome. It just wasn't him. It was like I was making love to someone else."
"Elaborate,"Josh said, leaning against the wall.
"Well, he was very ... possessive."
Josh softly scoffed and cinched his brow.
"Shit, can you blame him?" he asked.
"I guess not," she answered, shrugging her shoulders again. "It was just weird. I don't know. Maybe I'm overreacting."
"Yeah, you might be."
"Well, he's your cousin. What do you think?"
"I think," Josh started, standing from the wall, "you guys just miss each other and that you might be reading just a little too much into this."
"Maybe you're right. I hate being on the road without him."
"When are you gon' tell him about your schedule?" Josh asked.
"I don't know. This separation is bullshit. Being without him until Rumble is gonna be so hard," she said.
"Trust me. It gets harder. But, I know you can handle it. You're a big girl."
"I guess."
"Girl, suck that shit up and handle your business. The sooner, the better."
"I got it."
***
Following the show, Val, the twins, and Trin made plans to have drinks in their hotel's in-house bar. When they'd reached their destination and Val made it to her hotel room, Joe was on his cell phone.
"Hey, um, Chris, let me call you tomorrow. Candy just walked through the door," he said, quickly dismissing his friend.
He beckoned to her with a wave of his hand, and after saying "goodnight" to the future WWE Hall of Famer, he pulled Val onto his lap.
"Jericho?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Yeah," Joe answered, resting his head against her chest. "How was work?"
"It was good. How was your day?"
"Boring as hell."
"Well," she said, standing and resting a hand on top of his head when he looked up at her, "how about drinks on me?"
Joe widely grinned and flashed his brows at her several times.
"Drinks on you?"
"You're such a freak, but," she said, pushing him back on the bed and straddling him, "that's not a bad idea."
He gripped her waist and smiled at her again. The way he licked his lips easily convinced her to start unbuttoning his dress shirt. Just as she'd undone the third button, her phone rang.
I hear they lookin' for me,
But I just keep 'em guessin'
I'm makin' history,
I'm goin' down a legend.
I'm amaziing
I'm a-, I'm a-, I'm amazing.
Bring it to the floor.
"Fucking Fatus," Val said, sighing and rolling to Joe's side.
She grabbed her phone and answered, quickly confirming that Jon and Josh would be going downstairs, momentarily, to commandeer a booth in the bar. She passed the message along to Joe and informed Trin that they'd be down shortly.
***
Minutes after Val ended her call, she kicked Joe out of their room to join his cousins, so she could get ready without him distracting her. Meanwhile, downstairs, Joe had arrived just a few minutes ahead of Josh and Jon. He wasn't at the bar long before the stylist he'd met earlier that day sat in the seat next to him.
"Hi," she greeted.
Joe turned slight left and gave her a head nod.
"Jenn, right?" he politely said.
"Yep, you waiting on Val?"
"Um, yeah."
"She's a cool person,"Jenn said, folding her arms atop the bar. "It must be really hard knowing that you guys are gonna be separated until Royal Rumble."
"I'm sorry. What was that?" Joe asked, cinching his brow as he turned to face her.
"Oh, I kinda heard her and Josh talking about her schedule earlier. You know, don't you?"
"I'm afraid I don't," he replied, forcing himself to keep calm.
Jenn's jaw dropped in surprise.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Joe. I didn't mean to go spreading her business."
"It's alright," Joe said, standing from the bar. "You have a good night, Jenn."
"You, too, Joe."
Just as he'd exited the bar, Joe spotted Josh and Jon stepping off of the elevator. Fuck, he cursed to himself, hoping that he would have made it up to Val's room before running into them.
"Yo, uce, you ready to get these drinks in?" Jon greeted with a fist bump.
"Um, yeah, man," he said, also giving Josh a fist bump. It isn't his fault that my wife can't talk to me, he thought in order to cool down his temper.
"Trin'll be down soon," Jon advised, leading the other two men to a booth near one of the bar's windows.
***
Joe talked with his cousins for nearly twenty minutes before Val and Trin joined the group. His aggravation with his wife threatened to kill the jovial atmosphere at the table until he convinced himself to corral his feelings for the time being.
I'll settle this shit with her narrow ass later.
***
A/N: So, who's sick of Jenn already?
Any guesses on her motives, if any?
Will Joe and Val survive a four month separation???
Leave your comments! Oh yeah, please check out "Full Circle" by sawwwwft . Some of the main characters include Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, and Matt and Jeff Hardy. Give it a read! Great story!
Until next time, FireRyzers!