"Don't be so nervous, Cassiopeia. You got this," Charlotte said.
Cassiopeia took a deep breath and looked at her friend. At least she was going against her friend now that she had been called up to the main roster. She was still nervous though. She didn't wanna go out there and botch her first match.
"Finn got drafted here," Charlotte said.
"I know," Cassiopeia said.
"Maybe you can finally go on from where you left off since you were always dancing around each other," Charlotte said.
"I doubt he even remembers me. We didn't keep in touch when he was called up," Cassiopeia said. "Besides, Lars asked me to go with him tonight and I accepted."
"Ew, Lars!" Charlotte frowned. "What do you want with that brute? You know he just wants to fuck you."
"Sorry, we can't all be lucky to reel in someone like Andrade. And I only agreed to go with him. I didn't agree to fuck him," Cassiopeia said.
"But Finn," Charlotte smirked. "And speaking of."
Cassiopeia turned around to see a smiling Finn walk up to them. His blue eyes stared directly into her green ones and his smile only got bigger the closer he got.
"You finally made it up here," he chuckled. "Still got the braids thing going, I see."
Her butter blonde hair was braided in a bunch of small braids. Currently they were all gathered in a high ponytail. She hated getting her hair in her face when she wrestled.
"Yeah, you know me," she said.
"I've always liked that look on you," he said.
She swallowed nervously and looked around for Charlotte. Her friend had mysteriously made herself disappear without a sound.
"Damn you, Charlotte!" She muttered.
"Do you wanna go out tonight?" He asked.
"Oh, Lars already asked me so I'll be there," she answered.
She failed to see the disappointed look on his face as she once again looked around for Charlotte. She spotted Charlotte who pointed to her wrist to let Cassiopeia know it was time.
"I gotta go. I don't wanna be late for my debut," Cassiopeia looked at Finn again.
"Good luck. Go knock them dead," he said.
She looked over at Finn again. He was in the middle of his third beer but nowhere near drunk. He seemed annoyed though. Agitated even. He constantly avoided her gaze and not a single word fell in her direction over the table.
She looked down at her jack and coke. She had been spitting in that same drink for over an hour now. It was lukewarm and boring by now and she wasn't really that interested in it. Lars had kept poking her, telling her to drink faster and that she should keep up with him. She knew he was only trying to get to his end goal. A quick fuck with her, and drunk her would be more likely to agree to that. That was exactly why she kept that drink lasting all evening. She had no interest in him.
"Okay, we're doing shots no matter what you say," Lars said.
"If you say so, big man," she said.
It was easier to just agree with him. She knew she could pass the shots around the table. He would make a fuss about it without a doubt but he had to keep his anger in check as long as everyone was there. He stood up and walked up to the counter. At the same time Shinsuke who had been sitting next to Finn all night got up and went to the bathroom. She got up from her chair, walked around the table and sat down on Shinsuke's chair.
"Alright, spit it out. What did I do wrong?" She asked.
Finn's blue eyes found her green ones. He looked surprised at that question.
"You didn't do anything wrong," he said.
"Then why don't you wanna talk to me all of the sudden?" She asked.
"You're here with Lars," he said.
"Yeah, so?" She asked.
"Jesus, fuck!" He growled. "It doesn't matter, Cassiopeia. Just have fun and be careful tonight."
He got up, grabbed his brown leather jacket and walked out of the bar. She locked eyes with Charlotte who was out on the dance floor with Andrade. Charlotte mouthed the word "go" and pointed towards the door. Cassiopeia got up, got her own pine green coat and ran after Finn. He hadn't made it far before she caught up with him.
"Stop!" She grabbed his arm. "What did I do, Finn?"
"I asked you out but he beat me to it," he said.
"So? He just asked if I'd go with him here tonight. What does it matter if I went with him, you, Charlotte or someone else?" She asked.
"You don't get it," he sighed.
"No, I don't. That's why I'm asking," she said.
He let his arms drop and looked at her. Really looked at her in a way that made her take a step backwards. Not out of fear but out of surprise. There was something there that she hadn't seen since he was on NXT with her. Something she had longed for for so long.
"I asked you out earlier but you didn't get it. I didn't want to be your escort here. I wanted to take you out on my own somewhere else," he said.
"Like a date?" She asked.
"Yeah, like a date," he answered.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because I like you. I've always liked you," he answered.
"No, I mean why now? I haven't heard anything from you since you got called up. I thought I had imagined us flirting or that it had just been some stupid game to you," she said.
He wrapped his arms around her, kissed her and backed her up against the nearest brick wall. So much longing was in that kiss. A kiss she had dreamed about having since he was on NXT. He broke the kiss and smiled at her.
"Did I just kiss you or did you imagine that too?" He asked.
"I... Ehm..." She cleared her throat. "It felt real."
"And good hopefully," he said.
"So fucking good," she said.
"It's not a game, Cassiopeia. It was never a game. I was an idiot for never contacting you but I figured you had your own shit going down there chasing the women's title. I wanted to. I meant to. But as time went and I didn't hear from you either, I figured it was all in my head and that you hadn't felt as strongly about me as I did about you," he said.
His hands slid down to take her hands.
"And that leads us here," he said. "Sleep in my hotel room tonight. Please."
"Are we actually gonna sleep?" She smirked.
"Not the first couple of hours, but eventually," he smirked back. "Do you have a ride with anybody on the road?"
"I was gonna ride with Charlotte and Andrade but I'd rather ride with you," she said.
"Great, then that's settled," he said.
He pulled her away from the wall and started walking back towards the hotel with her hand in his.
"It took us a long time to get here," he said.
"You know what they say," she said. "All good things come to those who wait."
"Indeed," he gave her hand a squeeze. "How did Lars take it when you left?"
"Oh shit, I forgot to tell him," she laughed.
"He's gonna be so annoyed that you slipped away," he pulled her in for another kiss. "Too bad for him. I'm not sharing with him or anyone else. You're finally mine."