"What do you want?" she countered softly.
"I asked you first," he said. "Just tell me. You want to be with me?" He kept his eyes on the road.
There was a long silence, long enough to worry him, and he glanced over at her. One of her hands was still holding his, while the fingers of the other were delicately gripping her forehead. She was pink, but she was dimpling down at her lap, biting her lip.
"What?" he asked softly. "Answer my question, Drew."
She sighed exasperatedly. "I don't…I don't know how to do this," she said, waving her free hand in frustration.
Heath was genuinely confused. "Do what?"
"This," she insisted, gesturing between the two of them. "Like…I don't know how this is supposed to go. Do I play games? Do I answer your question straight-forward? Are you testing me? If I say yes are you gonna stop liking me and will things get weird between us?"
"We're not teenagers," Heath pointed out gently. "I'm not into playing games. I'm asking you straight up. Now answer me."
She sighed again. He felt her eyes on him but kept his straight ahead. Her hand tightened around his and she breathed out, "Yes."
"Yes, you want to be with me?" he barked, more harshly than he meant. He almost felt as if he was wearing his NCO hat again and talking down to a private.
"Yes," she said simply. "I want to be with you."
Finally, he did look at her and her face was still pink, but she was smiling. She looked away after a minute and bit her lip, shaking her head.
"So, now what?" she demanded. "How does this work?"
"Now, nothing," he replied. "We just live our lives and keep making each other happy. Except you get to officially boss me around now."
"I always boss you around," she retorted.
"Right, but now I'm obligated to actually listen," he shot back. He smiled over at her again, then tugged her closer for a kiss.
Another comfortable silence befell them before Drew spoke up again.
"Did you ever decide if you were going to pick a song or not?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I did think about it, and I even found one I liked," he answered. "But it's not really me. I'm no frills. Let me just get in the ring, handle my business, and get on with life. It's already a stretch to get me to agree to take pictures but, I signed an agreement. It didn't go over well at Ultimate Warrior that I skipped all that shit."
"I see," she replied. "A photo shoot, huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows playfully.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "What about your song?" he asked. "You gonna let me get a little preview? At least play the song for me?"
She thought it over. "Well, okay," she said shyly. "I'll play the song for you. Do you know Linkin Park?"
Heath nodded. "Haven't listened to them in a while, but when I was younger, when they first came out, they were my favorite band."
"This is from 'Minutes to Midnight'," she said, pulling her music up on her cell phone. "It's called 'Leave Out All the Rest'."
He listened to the song as she looked out the window. It was an emotional heavy ballad about seeking atonement for past wrongs; begging to be remembered for the good things rather than the bad. As the strains of the song drifted away, he nodded.
"That's a good song," he said. "Can't wait to see your dance. Any chance of a preview for that?"
"Absolutely not," she replied, putting her phone away and smiling. "You'll just have to wait on pins and needles like everyone else." She meant the last part to be sarcastic, but he brought her hand to his lips.
"I am," he promised. "I'm sure Maggie and Em will want to come. Is that okay?"
"Are you serious?" she replied. "Of course!" She paused. "Well, I mean, yes. It's okay. I just have really bad stage fright and the chances of me messing up with a lot of people present that I know makes it worse."
"How long have you been dancing?"
"Like…twenty-four years. But still—each and every time. I always get really queasy and sweaty."
"That's…attractive."
"I know," she said. "Let's not forget that I've seen you covered in sweat on many occasions."
"But that turns you on," Heath said teasingly, flashing her a charming smile. He noticed her eyes darkened slightly and her lips parted before she quickly looked away. "Does it?"
"Maybe a little," she replied, glancing at him. Her eyes were still dark and slid down his body before looking away again. She smiled out the window.
Heath turned his eyes back to the road, but smiled to himself as well. He had a feeling that Smackdown might turn out to be more interesting than he'd hoped.