Perfect Match (22 page)

“I miss you too. We’ll see each other
soon.”

“Hey, is it true that Mike ratted me out
about me being sick?”

“It’s true. And I told him to always tell me
when you are sick, since you like to keep that stuff from me,” she
teased, “I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s okay. I like that you worry about
me.”

“You sound so tired.”

Jackson sort of laughed and replied, “You
have no idea. It’s cool though. I can’t believe it has been two
weeks since I’ve seen you. I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too. We’ll see each other in
three days and I’ll have my carrot cake waiting for you.”

“Mmm. I can’t wait. Well, I’ll give you a
call when I get up tonight. I love you, Noelle.”

“I love you, too. Take care of yourself.” She
hit the hang up button on her phone.

Noelle zipped up her suitcase, sent Mike a
text message to let him know her plans to surprise Jackson, and was
on her way. It was only a three hour drive to Cleveland, so
hopefully she wouldn’t run into any traffic.

The day couldn’t be more perfect. It was
chilly and crisp. Perfect cuddle weather! She parked her car in the
parking lot of the hotel and smiled. She was going to be in
Jackson’s arms in just a few minutes. She sent Mike a text
informing him that she arrived. He must have been in the lobby
waiting because he was out to meet her as soon as she reached the
front entrance. “Hey, Noelle. Good news. He has no idea that you
are here. He kept muttering how he couldn’t wait to see your
face.”

She smiled, “Good. I was worried that I may
have given it away when I spoke to him earlier. Is there anyone in
there that may see me?”

“Nope. I made sure he got his own room too. I
told him that I was tired of his cranky ass.”

“Jackson’s not cranky.”

“Right! You keep telling yourself that. He is
awful. Don’t worry though. He’ll be nice to you. It’s okay, I get
it. He is tired and misses you.”

Noelle giggled and gave him a hug. “Thank
you! You are such a great friend to help us out like this.”

“I’m doing it for my own sanity. Jackson has
been miserable since he’s been feeling sick. He hates feeling
useless and that makes him impossible to deal with. At least with
you here, he’ll be back to himself again. Come on, he’s sleeping.
Let’s go wake him up.”

Noelle felt like a little kid. She was so
excited to see him that she couldn’t stop smiling. They reached the
room where Jackson was staying. Mike smiled and winked at Noelle.
He pounded on Jackson’s door. “Hey Jackson! Get your ass up!”

Noelle held in a laugh when she heard
something hit the door. She assumed it was his shoe. “Go away,
Mike. I was just about to fall asleep.”

“You don’t understand, man. I need to talk to
you. Open the door!”

“Mike, I’m going to kick your ass.”

Mike looked at Noelle and gave her a look
that said, See what I mean?

“I’m not going anywhere Jackson, so I think
you should just get up and let me in. I met this girl that I think
you should meet.”

They heard Jackson get up and a few seconds
later, he swung open the door. He looked angry and said, “I don’t
want to meet any girl.” Then his eyes fell on Noelle standing
beside Mike. He’s expression softened and brightened. He blinked
and smiled. “What?”

“I told you that I’d see you soon.” She
smiled at him.

He embraced her and pulled her into the room
with him, kicking the door shut with his foot.

“Don’t I even get a thank you?” Mike called
out from the other side.

Jackson held Noelle in his arms just looking
at her. “Later.” He called towards the door, and with her still in
his arms, he squeezed her tighter to him. He picked her up off the
floor and moaned. She wasn’t sure if it was from his pain or he was
getting aroused. “Hi.” She said and gave him a sweet kiss on his
lips.

“I know this isn’t a dream, but it feels like
it is. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.” He winced a
bit.

“Jackson, are you okay?”

“I haven’t felt this good in weeks. I’m so
happy you are here. What are you doing here?”

“I had to see you, Jackson. When I heard you
weren’t feeling well, all I thought

about was getting here so we could spend the
weekend together, and so I could make sure you don‘t over do
it.”

“The weekend? Really?”

“Yes. My bag is in the car. Right now, you
have me.”

“I think right now, you are just what I
need.”

Jackson couldn’t believe how perfect his life
felt. He had never felt this happy in his entire life and it was
because of this woman who he was holding in his arms. He wants to
marry her. That thought did not scare him in the least. It didn’t
seem to scare her either. He knew what scared her, him not taking
better care of himself in the ring. She mentioned that she realized
that this is what her Pop meant when he said no wrestlers. She said
that she didn’t care at this point. What mattered to her was
Jackson, and the love that was growing between them. That is all
that mattered to him as well.

He was supposed to be relaxing before
tomorrow’s show, but Jackson being Jackson, he was doing exactly
what he wanted to do, and kissing Noelle’s neck was what he felt
like doing at that moment. Not that she was complaining, but she
had to give him a hard time. “Jackson, the doctor told you to stay
relaxed and rest.”

“I am resting,” he said kissing the palm of
her hand, “And I am getting more relaxed by the minute.”

“Hah. Kissing me does the opposite of
relaxing you.”

“I’m relaxed because you bring me peace. I
love you.” He kissed the top of her hand. He turned it over and
kissed the inside of her wrist. He left a trial of kisses up her
arm. He gave her goose bumps. He turned her arm, “I love your goose
bumps.” He stopped when he noticed a small scar of what looked like
a cut of some sort. “I even love this little scar.”

“You should.” She said with a shrug.

“Huh?”

“You gave me that scar,” Noelle smirked.
Jackson stopped and traced his finger over the scar. It was small
but white, and a far contrast from her tanned skin. He was trying
to think of how he could have caused any such thing. He hated to
think that he ever hurt her. Then he remembered. “The trust
game.”

She nodded. “Yep. You forgot to catch me
because you were checking out my sister. You broke my heart that
day.” She said quietly.

“I’m so sorry. I was fourteen-year-old boy,
what did I know?”

“You knew you liked the way Jennifer looked
more than me.”

Jackson couldn’t help but laugh. He
remembered a moment in his past that seemed so trivial at the time.
He adored Noelle even when they were kids. He remembered having all
intentions of catching her, but at the same moment Noelle let
herself fall, Jennifer walked in wearing close to nothing. He was
frozen with teenage lust at looking at a half-naked sixteen year
old, that he let Noelle fall and she cut herself up pretty bad. He
remembered how she screamed that she hated him and he felt so bad.
He didn’t want her to be hurt. He laughed because of how serious
she looked. He laughed because this obviously still bothered her.
He also laughed because she apparently had no idea how he felt
about her even way back then. “Your sister was sixteen and had a
body of a twenty year old. That was the only reason I found any
interest in Jennifer. You were my best friend back then, but I
loved you too. I just didn’t know what love really was. You were
pretty vicious to me, Noelle.”

“You deserved it. You told me to trust you
and you let me fall. The part that hurt the most was I got only one
piece of advice from my mother before she died. ‘Never trust a man
that will look at another woman while he is in your presence.’ that
is what you did,” Noelle looked at Jackson’s hand, whose fingers
were entwined with hers, “I swore that I’d never trust you again,
but somehow you found a way back in…”

Jackson lifted Noelle’s arm at the same time
he lowered his head and kissed her scar. “Noelle, you can trust me.
I’m never going to hurt you again.” He guided her hand to his
heart. “This belongs to you. It always has and always will.”

She made a fist clutching his t-shirt in her
small hand. She felt light headed. She loved him so much at this
moment. She pulled him to her and kissed him. He wrapped his strong
arms around her. He broke the kiss first and reached for her arm
again. He touched the scar and smiled. “I see that I’ve left my
mark on you from the beginning.”

She raised an eyebrow and never one to let
him with the last word she replied, “No. You’ve just always been
under my skin.”

He tried to tickle her but ended up yelping
in pain. “I’ve got to stop moving so quickly.”

“Jackson, please just rest. I am here to take
care of you. I don’t want you to get hurt any more than you already
are.”

He yawned and said, “You are right. I need
sleep.” He laid down and pulled her down with him.

She kissed him lightly on the cheek, “I’m
right here with you. I love you.”

Jackson smiled and was out before he could
reply.

Jackson looked over at the nightstand. Wow,
it was 4pm. He couldn’t believe he slept the day away. He knew he
needed the rest, but it was easy because Noelle was right there
beside him. Truth, he didn’t feel any better physically. He didn’t
let on to anyone to how much pain he was in. He would be fine after
tomorrow when he’d be home and able to go to his doctor. He had
every intention of doing his match with Kevin tomorrow. The fans
wanted to see that, and they’d be disappointed if he just went out
there and talked on a mike. He also knew that it would not be wise
to tell this beautiful woman sleeping so peacefully beside him.
He’d deal with her wrath after it was over.

He felt Noelle stir a little bit. He squeezed
her closer to him. He kissed her hair and smiled. He was going to
ask her to marry him soon, the proper way. He was going to ask for
Larry’s permission first. He doesn’t know when he actually came to
that decision but when he did, it just felt right. She amazed him
today by showing up here at the hotel. She drove to another state
to be with him. That was without a doubt the best thing anyone has
ever done for him. He watched as her eyes flutter open. She looked
up at him and smiled. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. “Hey
sleepy.”

“Hey yourself.”

“I don’t know about you but I am starving.
Let’s get dressed and get some food.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“Oh, I want to see Mike and thank him.”
Jackson hugged her.

“I bet he is around here just waiting for
that too.” Noelle laughed.

Kayla was not having a good time on this
tour. With Jackson winning the belt off of Kevin, and with Kevin
getting ready to leave to be a dad, creative hasn’t been doing much
with her character. She hated feeling ignored, and that put her in
a bad mood. She decided that she couldn’t sit alone in her room for
another moment. She left her room to see if anyone was up to having
some drinks with her.

She stopped as soon as she saw Jackson’s room
open up. She stayed back. She didn’t want to see him. He’d just add
to her bad mood. Damn him being the American Champion. Damn him for
being here. What shocked her was that Jackson wasn’t alone. Jackson
and Noelle! Together! What the hell? They walked out of the room
and down the hallway to the elevator. They would stop and kiss each
other every couple of feet. “We are never going to get to the
restaurant at this rate.” Noelle teased.

Jackson stopped her and kissed her lightly.
“I love you so much. Thank you for coming to spend this weekend
with me.”

“I love you too.” Noelle kissed him back and
they continued walking. Neither one of them saw Kayla spying on
them, seething with anger. “What the hell! I knew it!” She got her
phone out and snapped some pictures. She felt so much anger and
knew it wasn’t rational. She didn’t want to be with Jackson. She
just hated that he was so happy with plain Jane. He never looked at
her the way he looked at Noelle, and he never told her that he
loved her. Well, she was going to make sure that the right people
found out about this. She couldn’t wait to figure out how she was
going to get this information back to Larry Reid. She sent a text
to Kevin.

DO YOU KNOW LARRY’S EMAIL ADDRESS? I FOUND
SOMETHING OUT THAT HE JUST HAS TO SEE!!!!

Chapter Fourteen

For a man, Jackson was sure thinking about
marriage a lot lately. Guys, especially tough wrestler guys like
himself should not think about weddings as much as he has been. He
was thinking about how he needs to tell Larry, like yesterday. He
was going ask Noelle to marry him soon, and he wanted to do
everything the right way all the way down to asking Larry for his
permission to marry his daughter. She was going to want her father
to walk her down the aisle. In his heart he believed that once
Larry got over the shock of them being together, he’d give his
blessing. Jackson was a good man, and his own father was Larry’s
best friend. He’s loved Noelle since they were kids. What kind of
father wouldn’t want a relationship like that for his daughter? It
would be tough, but it would work out. He also didn’t believe that
Larry would put a stop to his career. Larry liked to be tough and
act like a hard ass, but he had a heart of gold. Most of all, he’s
a professional. Even if his career would suffer because of his love
for this woman, he didn’t care. She was worth it.

Jackson was hoping that his day of relaxation
with Noelle, would make him feel better. It did not. He felt worse.
He felt like he had the flu on top of horrible pains in his lower
back and side. On top of that, he felt feverish. He knew better
than to say a word to anyone, especially since he was so insistent
that he fight Kevin, as planned. It was Kevin’s last match before
he went on leave for a while. He felt he owed a lot to Kevin so he
didn’t want to disappoint anyone. He tried to make himself throw
up, thinking that would make him feel better. It did not.