Power of Two

Joanie Lauer listened to Nicole Bass softly hum a mantra through her nose.

"I am a willow...My troubles blow through me...fwooosh...." She half-whispered. Joanie smiled as she unlaced her right boot. Speaking to Nicole at a time like this would be a useless effort; she was in the land of Buddah now, and no human voice could draw her back.

"I am supple as a reed....The wind may bend me, but it will not change me....." Nicole said, her voice filled with serenity, "Fwoosh...."

While Nicole's eyes were still closed, Joanie quickly unclasped her leather bra, dumping it into a plastic garment bag. Then she toweled the undersides of her breasts off, and pulled off her leather thong; glancing at the incubating effect leather has on skin. She took a shower, and finally slathered her skin with talcum powder, to cut down on the redness from the chaps, bras, thongs, etc. she wore as part of being Chyna. By the time she had fully dressed in a tank top, pair of jogging shorts and Reeboks (all of which were in the shades of red and black), Nicole had finished her breathing exercise. Limbering her legs for yoga, she glanced up at Joanie and remarked, "It's nice to know that I don't drive everyone in this locker room off with a stick."
Joanie's reaction was delicate, to buoy Nicole's confidence, "No one dislikes you, Nicki. You're just."
"Freakish. Unattractive. Big-boned." Nicole responded, now lying across the bench and stretching her left leg over her head.
"Nicole, DO NOT let yourself fall into that trap." Joanie said, her words matching the firmness in the force used to pull a comb through her hair. She flashed back to the day when Shawn and Paul had presented her with a gag gift for breast implants. To them it was a joke; to her a commentary of her lack of physical appeal. She responded by getting them. Paul had been horrified, and tried to talk her out of getting further plastic surgery, but his words hadn't worked. She liked her jaw surgery for one reason only. It lessened her lisp.
'Why not? Everyone else seems to think so, Kermit especially." Nicole noted.
"Kermit" was Nicole's nickname for Shawn Michaels, with whom she had entered into a recent argument. One meeting caused her to burst into tears. Joanie and Deborah had comforted her.
"'Kermit' respects you. Or at least he will, when Hunter and I get through with him."
"Another thing I don't get around here; All of you call each other by your character names. It's confusing."
Joanie paused to think about that. "I guess it's just a way of keeping everything 'in the biz' when we're together."
"You've known Paul for almost seven years," Said Nicole impudently, "And you STILL call him 'Hunter.'"
Joanie paused in mid-motion at that realization. When they had met at Kowalski's in '94, they had been just Paul and Joanie. Six years later, and here they were, Chyna and Triple H, the blonde and the brunette, He-Man and Xena. Portions of her life felt much like a waking dream.
She caught a resigned sigh issuing from Nicole's chest as she leveled herself into a sitting position. "What did he say about the cabin?" She asked.
Joanie felt some chagrin; Every second since she had asked Paul to go to the Lakes Region with her for the weekend, the question of whether or not the whole thing was a good idea rang within her brain. "He said he'd think about it."
Nicole nodded wisely, "At least he didn't turn you down outright."
Joanie felt some sort of comfort in that, as well. Paul's feelings for her notwithstanding, She needed to be up there with someone or she would go crazy, and Nicole was her alternate choice. From the look in Nicole's eyes, she knew that she perhaps needed to go away more than Paul did. But still, Joanie wanted to be alone with Paul.
She wanted to give him something.....Something of her body, something no man could ever have of her.....
She caught a glimpse of Deborah and Steve Austin walking by the open door, hand-in-hand, laughing at something. Sweet envy filled her. She wanted some guy, any guy to look at her like that, and not simply as a superficial object; either of sex or derision. Suddenly, Paul wandered by and peeped into the door.
"Are you girls decent?" He asked.
Nicole was dressed up in her ring outfit; she nodded her permission. "Come on in."
Paul's hand pushed the door wide open, then he stepped inside and closed it tightly behind him. "Hi Joan," He said politely, "Nicole."
"Paul." Nicole countered with politeness to rival his.
They fell to silence for a moment, "Can I speak to Joanie in private, please?"
Nicole wanly smiled at him, hefting her bag over a shoulder, "I'm getting a ride with Steve and Deb if you're going together. If not, send a note through Terri. I'm going to be with Aleshia."

The instructions were dizzying, but Joanie understood them. "Take care." She said. Paul held open the door and closed it tightly.
"So..." Joanie said, "Did you make your mind up?"
"Yeah." Paul said, "I can make it."
Joanie smiled, "Good. I'll pick you up at five."
"How about if we leave now?"
"Now?" Surprised, she quirked her brow.
"We're both done for the night, and we do have the weekend off...If it doesn't make sense...."
"No, It makes perfect sense." Joanie dusted her knees off, and grabbed her gear, "Our stuff's at the hotel, though,"
"I'll go in for it," He said, "You're staying with Nicole right?"
She nodded, "You're with Sean?"
"Yes."
She handed him her key. Normally, she would never invoke such trust in anyone, but Paul was different.

She met him in the parking lot after he got a ride from Sean to the hotel. They traded Steve Blackman the Jaguar Paul had rented for an SUV he had on lone from Steve Austin. Small pauses to adjust a strap were used as an excuse to notice the way red sunset reflected off of his hair. Randomly, he asked her if they needed to buy food, and she said that sister had put forth assuagements that the cabin was stocked, so she didn't feel the need to go out of their way. He insisted, and they stopped off at a 711 for a cheap cooler, sodas and beer.

It was four hours to Vermont, and he insisted on driving the whole way.
Joanie took shotgun with a certain excitement raced through her as they headed for the open road.
He turned the radio up, and an unfamiliar song rang through the air, "Now the parking lot is empty/everyone's gone someplace/I pick you up and in the trunk I've packed/ a cooler and a two-day suitcase...."



Go On