"Ah, shit!" Roman let out. "I'm sorry."
He had rounded the corner fast on his way back to the locker room, having just killed it in a match against Samoa Joe on a house show, when he accidently had knocked over a woman who was coming from the other direction about to round the corner as well. He reached his hand down to help her back up but she just stared at it as if it was made of fire.
"Let me help you up," he shook his hand a bit.
She hesitantly reached her own hand forward until it connected with his and he pulled her up as gently as he could.
"You alright?" He asked.
"I'm fine," she answered. "I should have looked where I was going. I'm sorry. Please, don't tell anyone. It was my fault."
"Hey, chill out." He broke out into a smile. "No harm, no foul. And I was the one knocking you on your ass so technically it was my fault."
"You don't have to take the blame for me," she said.
"I'm not taking anything for you. I'm just calling it as it is," he chuckled.
She gave him a little smile and her emerald green eyes had a hint of sparkle to them. She sure was pretty but she seemed very unassertive. He wasn't sure if it was him in general or the whole situation that made her seem so uneasy. He could only hope it wasn't him. He never wanted anybody to feel scared around him.
"I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Roman. What's your name?" He asked.
"Gemma," she answered.
"Pretty name," he smiled.
"Some people think so," she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Pretty name, pretty girl," he said.
"I don't know about that," she said.
She looked down while tugging some of her hair behind her ear. He could see she was blushing even though she looked down to hide it.
"But I do," he said. "And what I say around here, goes. You're pretty."
She looked up, still blushing, and gave him a smile that was a bit bigger than the first one. Again that hint of a sparkle flashed through her eyes and he wondered how long it had been since any man had paid her a compliment for her to react like a shy kid.
"Gemma!" A bossy voice sounded through the hallway.
The sparkle in her eyes disappeared and was instantly replaced with fear. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at Roman and her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth. He looked over her to see Brock marching towards them. Once he reached them, he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him before stepping up close to Roman.
"And what exactly do you think you're doing with my sister?" He sneered.
So this was his sister. He had surprised everyone the week before by suddenly standing in their locker room. Brock was always too good to share a locker room with anybody and always demanded his own. It quickly turned out he wasn't about to start sharing but that he was solely in there to let everyone know his sister was coming with him next week and that he would break every single bone in anyone's body if someone as much as thought about trying anything with her.
"I wasn't doing anything. We accidently slammed into each other when we tried rounding the corner at the same time," he said.
"You're putting your hands on my co-workers now?" Brock turned his head to look at her. "What did I tell you about trying anything with anybody around here?"
"No, Brock, I knocked her over by accident. She did nothing wrong," Roman said.
Brock turned his head back to scowl at Roman.
"Stay the fuck away from my sister!" He warned.
With that warning he turned around, grabbed her arm again and started dragging her down the hallway with him.
"You might wanna loosen up on that grip there, Brock!" Roman shouted after them.
"Stay the fuck out of this!" Brock shouted back.
Roman shook his head and continued towards the locker room. Dean was in there getting dressed when he entered. He took off his vest and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked.
"I met Brock's sister," Roman answered.
"Yeah? What's she like?" Dean asked.
"She's pretty but insecure," Roman answered.
"Pretty? She got the good genes?" Dean grinned.
Roman let out a little chuckle and nodded. She sure had the good genes compared to Brock's ugly face.
"Her name is Gemma," Roman continued.
"Pretty name," Dean said.
"That's what I told her," Roman smiled.
Dean tilted his head a bit and made a little sound of realization.
"You like her," he said.
"I don't know her but I liked what I saw," Roman said. "At first, that is."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked.
"Brock was kind of manhandling her a bit. He dragged her out of there and I don't like the way he grabbed her," Roman answered.
"Just Brock being Brock. He doesn't like anybody and I'm not surprised if that includes his own family," Dean said. "Besides, he did say he'd hurt anyone messing with her and seeing you around her probably made him see red and want to emphasize his point."
"Probably," Roman said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go shower and then we can find something to eat and get on the road."