The Hidden Life of AJ Lee

Chapter 17- Emotions

AJ Lee's POV
Two Weeks Later

Shockingly, Stephanie had allowed me to take some time off from work. I didn't tell her what my intentions were or where I was going, but she still granted me my wish. Maybe because now she was done with me since I'd lost the title, but I tried not to worry about it. As Punk had told me, my main priority was to relax and lower my towering stress rates.

We picked up some of my things in Florida early in my stay. CM Punk had stayed true to his promise in making sure nothing happened to me, that was for sure. For the past two weeks, he'd been practically attached to me. Everywhere one of us went, the other wasn't too far behind. Which wasn't a bad thing. By doing that particular tactic, I knew my way around the general area of Chicago he resided in a little better. I could get to the coffee shop down the street, I could find my way to the drug store easily, and I knew a lot of the people in his building now.

At first, it hadn't been really for me to talk to anyone in the residency. I kept to myself whenever we had to see anyone, leading to a majority of his neighbors treating me like a fragile broken doll. But once Punk forced me to interact with people, they started to realize that I wasn't really that intimidating.

Overall, the past few weeks had been enjoyable and peaceful. I hoped they'd stay like this for a little longer.

At the moment, I was sitting on CM Punk's couch watching one of the Iron Man movies that happened to be on TV while the Straight Edge Superstar himself laid sprawled out on the sofa, his head resting on my lap, sleeping. I didn't necessarily know what he could possibly be tired from since all we'd been doing was relaxing around the house. I could only assume that it had to do with the Insomnia I'd recently learned he slightly suffered from.

Bored without someone to talk to, I ran my hands through his hair. It was shorter than it had been earlier in the year, but it was still enough that I could play with it using my fingers. I couldn't help but smile at his face. His eyes were gently closed, mouth slightly open as deep breathes escaped passed his lips.

I then moved onto his hands, which lay on his stomach in a cluttered sort of manner. I grabbed his left hand and pulled it towards me, being carful as not to disturb him. I traced the No Gimmicks Needed tattoo that was engraved in his skin. Punk twitched in his sleep at the contact of my fingers against his arm, to which I chuckled to myself.

Not five seconds later, his eyes started to gently flutter open until they locked with mine. I smiled down at him. "Morning, sunshine."

A saw a grin crack on his lips. "Yeah, good morning. What is the actual time, though?"

"Um," I looked over at the wall clock that hung in the room. "About eleven forty-five."

"God, I'm starving," he said, rising into a sitting position next to me. "You up to go grab something to eat?"

"Sure, where to?" I asked, getting off the couch and walking over to where my purse was leaning against the wall.

"What about Richie's?" Punk asked. I nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Richie's was a locally owned deli place a few minutes away with some of the best soups that Chicago had to offer. Punk had introduced it to me early in my stay when he brought home leftovers after jogging around the city. Needless to say, now we went their on a weekly basis.

He followed my lead in getting off the couch and slipped on a pair or sneakers as I threw my handbag over my shoulder. I glanced over at him and he opened the door for me. Minutes later we were out of the building and making way towards Richie's.

The walk was short to the restaurant with not much talking since there wasn't much need. Occasionally our eyes would connect but other than that, it was mainly Punk watching me lead the way through the packed Chicago streets.