If they only knew the real Paul Bryson and all the horrible things he had done away from the spotlight.
William fed off the crowd’s hatred, methodically wiping his boots on the ring apron before stepping through the ropes. Lizzie watched Odessa’s eyes follow his every move. The stunning redhead sat alone in a far corner of the box, as far away from the other families as she could get, isolated by her unworldly beauty and a book she clutched in her hands right up until William appeared.
The referee raised the belt high into the air. Her daddy and William shook hands and the match began.
Billy sat on the edge of his seat, just as enthralled as Odessa. His hair had grown out to where it fell almost to his broad shoulders. The longer hair and the stubble on his chin took away from his prettiness and gave him a harder more masculine edge. His nose not healing correctly added to the bad boy persona. Making him look dangerous and oh so sexy.
Their love making that afternoon had been fast and furious and then they had fallen asleep until Vlad banged on the door to get Billy up to get ready to go to the Coliseum.
Lizzie was still in a bit of a Valium induced haze to where none of it seemed real. She was afraid that if she blinked, she would wake up and Billy would be gone again.
“Did you say anything to Daddy?”
“No,” he replied not taking his eyes off the ring. “I wasn’t about to ruin his big night.”
What about her ruined summer?
Lizzie must have been the only person in that whole building not wrapped up in that match. Her brother had been snuggled up with Rita in his arms until Daddy came to the ring. Now he was cheering his every move and Carol Ann clapped so hard her hands must be stinging.
The crowd erupted with a deafening roar when her daddy scored the pin and won the world title. Instead of going straight back to the dressing room, he came into the audience, high fiving the fans, until he climbed over the railing of their box to embrace Carol Ann.
Lizzie tried to huddle against Billy, but her Daddy still pulled her into his arms for a celebratory hug and then accepted Billy’s handshake and slap on the back. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Odessa was the only one not cheering. She just sat there lost in her own little world, a single tear sliding down her cheek.
***
“I don’t know why we have to wait for Daddy.” Lizzie slouched against the wall, wishing she could pull an Odessa and seal herself away from all these people.
“He wants you here to share in his special night,” Carol Ann said not even bothering to hide her stupid grin.
It wasn’t like Daddy had actually beaten William in a real match. They all knew the predetermined outcome, so she really couldn’t understand what the big deal was about him being the new champion.
“Just be nice and I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can.” Even Billy had gone into full kiss up mode.
“Quiet everyone,” someone called out as a cameraman lit up the doorway just outside the dressing room door. “Ready when you are, Paul.”
A few seconds later her daddy came through the door still in his wrestling gear, the world title draped over his shoulder.
Bob Caudle, the bespectacled dark haired WRAL reporter and wrestling announcer stepped in front of the camera, microphone in hand. “We’re here to get a few words with our new World Heavyweight Champion, Paul Bryson.”
“It’s a pleasure to be here with you, Bob.” Paul grinned into the camera, throwing his free arm around Bob’s shoulder like he was his long lost best friend. “This is the greatest night of my life. I can’t even being to tell all my fans what it means to me to be able to win the World Title right here in my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.”
“Congratulations. After all these years you certainly deserve it.”
“Thank you.” Paul ran his hand over the gold belt with a lovers caress. “This night is extra special for me because my family is here to celebrate the moment I’ve worked my whole life for.”
The camera followed Paul over to where he hugged Carol Ann. “This is the love of my life and my new bride of six months. This is our son Paul Junior, and this beautiful young lady.”
He came over to where Lizzie stood by Billy’s side. “This is my daughter, Lizzie, and this here,” her Daddy actually threw his arm around Billy’s shoulder, “is my future son-in-law, Billy Dalton. That’s right ladies, my baby girl has already snagged my prodigy.”
Lizzie didn’t know who was more stunned, her or Billy. Daddy kept on talking like they were one big happy family. No one noticed that he was digging his fingers into her waist like he was afraid Billy and Lizzie were going to try to elope that very night.
“That will do it for this week. See you next week fans and until then so long for now.” Bob Caudle did his signature catchphrase to close the show.
Paul loosened his grip and backed away from Billy. “You’d better damn well appreciate me giving you the rub.” He wiped his hand on his trunks like he had soiled it in touching Billy. “Don’t go getting any ideas. That was a promo, not my real feelings about the two of you being back together.”
“That was very big of you, Paul.” Carol Ann stepped between them to try to ease the tension.
“I wasn’t going to go there on your big night, but now that you brought it up.” Billy stood his ground and Lizzie grabbed hold of his arm for moral support. “We would like to have your blessing, but from now on there ain’t nothing that’s gonna stop me and Lizzie from being together.”
Paul blew it all, going back into the dressing room without saying a word.
Outside at the car, Lizzie looked up at the full moon that made the parking lot as light as day. Dinera had been right. Billy was back and nothing was ever again going to keep them apart.
Chapter 43
Nothing in this world compared to waking up with Lizzie’s little body pressed tight against him. The past two weeks had flown by. William had been great about them getting back to Charlotte almost every night. Back to Lizzie and the only place Billy ever felt like he belonged.
He just laid there watching her sleep with her face against his chest. That blond hair was starting to grow out a little to where he could see traces of red coming back into place. He wished she would quit it with the bleach and go back to being his hot little red head. It fit her personality better because his Lizzie sure wasn’t no ditzy blonde.
All that working out had her down to where there wasn’t an ounce of fat on her body. It gave her a hard edge and her little boobies were almost gone. He was going to have to fatten her back up once they got to New Orleans, maybe with a baby. He couldn’t wait for them to get settled into William’s guesthouse and start a family. The further away they got from Paul, the better off they would be.
She stirred a little, rubbing up against his leg. He nuzzled her neck, waking her up enough to get the love making underway. He pulled her on top and she rode him slow at first, teasing him into submission. Every time he got close, she slowed the pace and made him want her even more.
Lizzie was the most beautiful girl in the world with the morning sunshine streaming in the window behind her. The blonde curls looked like a halo, her eyes were still heavy with sleep and he loved the way her lips formed a little ‘o’ when she squealed and shuttered with an orgasm that made him have to pull her back down and kiss her to keep from having the rest of the house hearing his roar of pleasure.
“I love you, Lizzie.”
“Love you, too,” she sighed, nuzzling against his neck.
He wrapped his arms around her and they lay still for a while, neither of them wanting to pull their bodies apart.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave tonight.”
“Me too, but I promised William I’d go with him.” Billy hated he had agreed to go up north and work a loop in the WWWE. “I’ll be back before Christmas and then we’ve got the wedding to look forward to. Have you called Dinera about making plans?”
She surprised Billy by
sitting up. “I don’t want to get married in New Orleans.”
“Then maybe you can get Glenda to help you have the wedding here while we’re up at her place for Christmas.”
“I don’t want to leave Charlotte. Why can’t you stay here and work for Mr. Crockett?”
Her cute little pout made Billy wish he could do things her way.
“I’d given William my word and I really do want to go work for him in New Orleans. It’s a great opportunity for me.”
“I don’t want to quit my job.”
“Maybe you can work part time with an agency there. I’m sure William has lots of connections.”
“I love my little house and I don’t want to sell it.”
“Rent it to Elena and Allan. She said the other day she wasn’t having any luck finding an apartment as nice as this.”
“You don’t get it.” She shook her head and jutted her lip. “I love Charlotte, it’s my home. I don’t want to start all over in a new place. I’m going to miss Elena, and Carol Ann, and Gran and… Daddy.”
“They can come visit. You know Elena will want to come see Vlad.” Billy wouldn’t mind having any of them as houseguests, except for Paul. “And you know your Daddy’s going to be busy defending the title. He’ll be on the road a lot. The champion has to travel all the time.”
“I hope you never win the world title.”
“You mean more to me than any gold belt.”
At least that got her to pull up the covers and simmer down to snuggle up beside him.
“I’ll be making good money to where you don’t have to worry about going to work. You can spend time with Dinera and I was thinking that maybe after we got moved, we could try to start having us some babies. I want a big family.”
“Really?” she looked at him all wild eyed. “You want me to stop taking my birth control pills?”
“I don’t know why not. That guesthouse of William’s has an extra bedroom you and Dinera could fix it up as a nursery.”
“I’ll stop taking them the day after I become Mrs. Billy Dalton.”
“I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
“Hey, Pumpkin.” Leave it to Paul to ruin their perfect moment by banging on the bedroom door. “You ready to go for a run?”
“I’ll be down in a minute.” Lizzie said, already getting up.
Billy watched her slip on a pair of running pants and pull a shirt over her head before she sat down on the side of the bed to lace up her sneakers.
“Do you really want to go running with him?”
“Yes, I do. I love my workout time with Daddy and he won’t be home until after Christmas.” Billy saw her throat tighten like she was about to cry. “It might be the last time I get to run with him.”
“He ain’t gonna turn his back on you after we get hitched.” Billy ruffled her hair, “You have to admit that at least this time he didn’t barge in and beat me up for being here with you.”
“He is starting to lighten up a little,” she admitted with a laugh before giving Billy a good bye kiss. “I can’t go running after you knock me up.”
“Hurry up and get back here so I can get started on it.”
Chapter 44
“Come on, it can’t be that bad.”
Elena had no idea.
Lizzie came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped firmly around her head. It was a lot worse than bad. Instead of bothering with a glass, she went straight for the bottle of champagne and poured the last of it down her throat.
“There is no way we can have this wedding with me looking like this.”
“I don’t care if we have to shave you as bald as my baby brother you’re going to be my maid of honor in the morning.”
Might as well get it over with, Lizzie unwrapped the towel and watched Elena double over with laughter.
“Yikes!” She tugged at Lizzie’s hair to see if it was a wig.
When Lizzie didn’t share in her amusement, Elena realized it wasn’t a joke. The color on the box of hair dye had been almost the same shade of red as Lizzie’s hair before she had bleached it. Her hair now, however, was tangerine orange.
“So much for my not so brilliant idea of surprising Billy by being a redhead for our wedding.”
“Oh, he’ll be surprised alright.”
“Yeah, when he finds out he’s marrying Ronald McDonald.”
“Maybe Glenda can get you an emergency appointment with her hairdresser.”
“At one thirty in the morning the night before our wedding?”
Lizzie was so keyed up she wanted to go for a run even at this late hour. That is until she looked out the window to see that the ground was already white and it didn't look like it was going to stop snowing anything soon.
Gran had shut her bed and breakfast down for the weekend to host Lizzie and Elena’s double weddings. The Dew Drop Inn sat tucked high up in the mountains overlooking Asheville.
A perfect romantic getaway, if only the weather would break enough for Billy to finally get here. Lizzie scanned the parking lot again – her Riviera, Gran’s Grand Prix, PJ’s Corvette, Allan’s Firebird, Elena’s parent’s station wagon and three car loads of Allan’s relatives over from Flag Pond, Tennessee – still no sign of Billy and William making it back from up north.
“Allan’s little sister is in cosmetology school. Maybe we can get her to try to fix your hair in the morning.” Elena joined her at the window. “If we can make it down that hill to get to the store for some more hair color. It’s really coming down out there.”
“I’ll walk if I have to.”
“It’s at least five miles to the nearest drug store.”
“I don’t care.” Lizzie ran a hand through her horrible hair. “I can’t get married looking like this.”
“Maybe it won’t be so bad when it dries.” Elena tossed Lizzie the towel. “And look on the bright side at least neither of us have to wear tacky bridesmaid dresses.”
“It was really nice of you to suggest a double wedding.”
“It was so cool of Glenda to let us use this place for free. My parents never could have afforded anything this nice, not that I would have taken their money anyway. You saw what cheapskates they are at dinner. I bet my mom was adding up the cost of everything in her head and still complaining to Dad over all the money that she thinks is being wasted.”
“At least your parents are here.”
Lizzie still hoped her daddy would change his mind, but she wasn’t about to hold her breath until it happened. He was off in California defending his precious world title and she knew that nothing short of his own death would make him miss a match.
“Carol Ann has been more of a parent to me than they have.”
Over dinner it had been apparent how bitter Elena still was over the way she had been treated as a pregnant teenager. Vlad had sat between them the whole time and the tension had still been so thick you could cut it with a knife. In fact, Lizzie had thought Elena was going to make good use of her knife when her mom straight out asked Franny when her baby was due. The poor girl was just fat, not expecting.
“I hope she’ll be able to get here in the morning. Daddy hates that she works so many hours at the hospital, but I admire her for it.”
“Me, too,” Elena agreed. “Carol Ann is one smart cookie. She’ll never need a man to take care of her.”
“I wish her sister was here, she would know just what to do it fix this mess.”
“That’s isn't anything a box of Miss Clairol can’t take care of. We’ll have you fixed up even if we have to keep the guests waiting for our big walk down the aisle.”
“I will not make you late for your own wedding,” Lizzie said, fighting back tears.
“You can’t start a wedding without the bride.” Elena wiped at Lizzie’s eye. “Nothing is going to ruin our last night or our big day tomorrow. I don’t care if your hair is pink, purple or orange, and I’m sure Billy will feel the same way.”
“I hope so.”
&nbs
p; “What happened to the tough little chick that popped him one when he complained about you going blond?”
That got a laugh out of both of them. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
“You’ll love New Orleans and I’ll come visit you, I promise.”
“You better.”
“Just think… if you hadn’t hit my car, we never would have become best friends. I never would have moved to Charlotte and Allan never would have walked into the restaurant I was working at and-”
“Now don’t you go getting sappy on me.”
“I can’t help it.”
Right before they drifted off to sleep snuggled up together under a pile of quilts in a four-poster bed, Lizzie thought of her mother and how her life had been such a miserable waste. How her fears and self-doubt kept her from being her real self. If she hadn’t been so concerned about what everyone else thought of her life, maybe she would have been a lot happier. Maybe she would still be here on a day when a girl really wants her mom around.
***
“Just where do you think you’re headed so early in the morning?”
Gran sat at the kitchen table already nursing a cup of coffee in front of the rabbit eared TV on the counter. She was the only woman Lizzie knew who still looked stylish with her hair done up in pink foam rubber curlers, decked out in a hotter pink chenille housecoat and matching fuzzy slippers.
“I need to run to the store.”
“There’s a good foot of snow out there and it’s still coming down hard.”
Lizzie pulled her toboggan off by the fluffy orange topknot to reveal her even brighter hair. Elena had been wrong. Her hair looked even worse after it had dried. The wetness had at least toned down some of the vibrant orange hues that now sparkled under the florescent light of the Inn’s large kitchen.
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