Title: You Look Like Bad News (I Gotta Have You)
Author: Karen U/revivingophelia
Pairing/Character: Eve Torres/Dean Ambrose, Lilian Garcia, Alberto Del Rio, Ricardo Rodriguez
Disclaimer: No one you recognize belongs to me
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: They've been watching each other for weeks...
Spoilers: early January 2013; nothing specific
Warnings: language, minor violence, adult situations
I'm still not sure where this one came from. It just sort of happened. I'll just blame it on working too many hours this past week.
"I'm glad you came out with me tonight."
Eve Torres looked over at the words, smiling at the little blonde ring announcer that was sitting with her... One of the few people in the WWE that she actually considered to be her friend. "Well, you know, it would have just looked pathetic if you'd come here to drink alone," she returned, smirking when Lilian Garcia muttered something unflattering in Spanish in reply. "I know you realize that I can understand you when you do that."
"That's part of the fun," Lilian returned, reaching for her drink and pushing the umbrella aside so that she could sip at the almost-empty beverage. For her part, Eve was simply drinking a Diet Coke, the two women also sharing an appetizer that was probably going to kill Eve's calorie-count for the day. Oh, well. Everyone deserved to splurge once in awhile. "Plus, the fact that you speak Spanish means that you can actually join in when I start insulting people."
"And to think... Everyone believes that you're the nice girl," Eve replied with a smirk, taking another sip of her drink as she let the seat of the tall stool that was pulled up to the high-topped table spin slightly. It seemed like half the company had chosen the same pool hall-slash-bar to head to that night after the show, but luckily, no fights had broken out so far. She seemed to remember a time or two when she'd ended up in a mad rush to get out of a place because it was obvious that something very bad was about to happen. Not that it had happened lately, mostly because Eve hadn't gone out very much as of late... or really in the past year. Too many judgmental coworkers glaring at her like her mere presence was some sort of crime or something. Whatever. She was sick of caring about what other people thought any more. Which was why she was out tonight, hanging out with her friend. Or at least part of the reason.
"Nice is a relative term," Lilian declared, then straightened up slightly, her gaze somewhere over Eve's shoulder... The younger woman quickly turning, intending to see what was going on, but she was instead a little distracted when her gaze locked with another one across the bar. The same gaze she'd found herself repeatedly drawn to over the course of the night. Hell, it was over the course of more than a night now... More like the past couple of weeks. But he hadn't approached her yet, and she sure as hell wasn't going to approach him. Not when he was always surrounded by the rest of his team whenever she saw him.
After a moment of holding her gaze, he deliberately looked her up and down, then gave a slight smirk, and Eve arched a brow at him before turning away to find what Lilian really had been looking at... The diva jerking back slightly as she found herself nearly knocking into Alberto Del Rio, who had just approached with Ricardo Rodriguez.
"Ladies, you are looking quite beautiful tonight. Do you mind if we join you?" Del Rio questioned, giving Eve a pointed look that she easily understood. After all, it was only the week before that she'd somehow found herself talking to the man about the crush that Ricardo seemed to have on Lilian. And since Eve thought Ricardo was a sweetheart - and was undeniably very loyal, as evidenced by his friendship with Alberto - well... She'd found herself agreeing to try and see if Ricardo might have a chance with the female ring announcer.
Eve turned and arched a brow at Lilian. "I certainly don't mind. Do you?"
Lilian shook her head, looking like she thought that maybe there might be something brewing between Eve and Alberto which, really... Just was not going to happen. Not that Eve didn't think Del Rio was a decent guy and all of that - when he wanted to be - but there was just nothing there. No click of something fitting together, no heat of attraction. Which was unfortunate because Del Rio was actually a good looking guy, and probably a much better person to be attracted to than the person she'd found herself looking at far too often lately.
Lilian gestured toward the empty chairs at their table. "Please, sit down."
"Thank you," Alberto replied, sending Ricardo a look this time, the man taking a seat next to Eve, which meant that his personal ring announcer - and best friend - would have to take the seat next to Lilian. Alberto gestured toward the tray that they'd brought with them. "I took the liberty of asking the bartender what you were having and got each of you a fresh drink."
"I'm just drinking Diet Coke," Eve told him, and he nodded, handing her the drink.
"And that's what was ordered," he replied, taking a bottle of Corona from the tray, leaving Ricardo to pass Lilian her margarita. Ricardo, it appeared, was taking the same route as Eve and not drinking anything alcoholic.
Eyeing the two ring announcers, Del Rio was silent for a moment, then began speaking rapidly in Spanish - not having to speak slowly since all of them were fluent in the language - the man quickly directing the conversation to things that would make Ricardo more comfortable, and Eve was more than grateful to let the man steer the conversation, the diva instead sitting quietly and drinking her soda, occasionally adding a thought or two here and there and munching on some of the order of chips and salsa that the men had brought with them. It was because she'd only been sort of paying attention that it came as such a surprise when Alberto suddenly turned to her and held out a hand.
"Would you care to dance?" he asked, and while her first knee-jerk reaction was to say no - she wasn't a big fan of the song that was playing, and her feet kind of hurt after wearing heels all day since she'd had an autograph signing before the show - she quickly caught on that he was asking her to dance to give Ricardo an opportunity to talk to Lilian without them there, so instead she smiled and put her hand in his.
"I'd love to," she said, somehow unable to stop herself from looking toward the same spot her eyes had been drawn to most of the past hour as she did so... Her gaze finding his again, indicating that she wasn't the only one that kept looking. He smirked slightly as he watched her head toward the dance floor with Alberto, as if he somehow knew it was all for show, and then he turned his attention back to whatever conversation he was having with his teammates, the man grabbing a wing from the plate in front of him as he spoke.
As they made it to the dance floor, Alberto spun her out, then brought her back to him, looking down at her with an arched brow as they started to dance. "Your mind is elsewhere tonight."
"I'm sorry. I-"
"No need to apologize. We are just friends, you and me. Correct?"
"That's right."
"Then I am not offended if your mind is not on me," Alberto told her, smiling slightly, his gaze sliding to where Ricardo and Lilian still were. "I do believe your friend thinks that I am interested in you."
"Then she's probably horrified by my manners so far tonight," Eve replied with a laugh, turning her head toward where the others sat, forcing herself not to look in the other direction despite the fact that she could feel eyes on her again. He was watching her dance with Del Rio, and she couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind as he did so. Did he think there was something between her and the other man? Did he think that she was somehow trying to get him to take action by dancing with someone else? She didn't know, and she suspected that she wouldn't find out. Not tonight. And probably not ever... Which she told herself was a good thing, because the man in question was dangerous and not someone she should be focusing on.
No matter what she felt whenever she caught him looking at her... Whenever his eyes caught hers and they just freaking stared at each other. Getting involved with him would be a bad idea, and that was the end of that.
"Horrified with your manners or not, it seems that hers are intact," Alberto mused, nodding in the direction of the others, and Eve smiled as she watched Ricardo nervously gesture toward the dance floor, obviously asking the blonde ring announcer to dance... Lilian smiling and nodding in reply, actually leading the way toward the dance floor as the song changed, though the tempo of the music remained slow.
"So our not-so-diabolical plan isn't a complete bust," Eve stated as she and Del Rio stepped away from each other, the man nodding slightly, then taking her hand and bending low over it, kissing the back of it... Eve rolling her eyes in response to the move. "You can dial back the charm a little, Alberto. It won't work on me."
"Such a pity."
"I'm going to head to the ladies room for a moment," Eve told him, sliding her hand into her pocket, where she carried some cash, her ID, and the key card to her hotel room. Her other pocket held a tube of lipstick and the keys to the rental car. She and Lilian had left their purses in the trunk of the car, which at least meant they didn't have to worry about them getting stolen if they decided to dance or something.
Shaking her head slightly, Eve began to weave her way through the other patrons, making her way to the ladies room while Alberto headed back to the table, the diva not actually needing to use the restroom, instead just wanting a moment to herself.
Once in the restroom, she quickly checked her makeup, pulling out her lipstick to do a quick touch up since so much had come off on the straw of her drink. There wasn't much she could do for her hair since she didn't have a comb with her, but that didn't really matter because it still looked okay and besides that, she wasn't trying to impress anybody. Stepping back from the mirror, she gave herself a quick once-over, then headed back out, intending to make herself scarce for a little while longer if she could, if only so Lilian might spend a little more time with Ricardo and give him a chance.
"Now look at you. Don't you look like something special."
Her head jerked up at the sound of the voice, the woman instantly stopping at the sight of the man that was blocking the exit from the alcove where the bathrooms were. She didn't recognize him and, from the slight southern accent she could detect, she assumed he was a local.
"Excuse me. I need to get back to my friends," she stated, putting a little extra disdain in her voice, trying to make it clear that she was not in the mood to be bothered.
"Oh, but I could be your friend. I bet you and me could be good friends," the man said, moving closer to her. He was slightly over six foot tall which meant that, in her heels, he really wasn't that much taller than Eve. He was broad, though, which would make it difficult to duck around him.
"I'm not looking for any new friends. Mine are waiting on me," Eve replied, moving to go around him, grimacing when he grabbed her hard by the wrist.
"Now, now. No need to be rude, little girl-"
"I'm not a little girl. I'm a woman, and I'm a woman that is getting pissed off. Let me go."
"I'm just trying to get to know you better. No harm in being friendly. In fact, you could stand to be a little friendlier," he said, pulling at her wrist, catching her off-guard enough that she found herself with her back against the wall of the alcove, him between her and the exit. He was way too close to her, totally in her space.
"Well, I'm just naturally a bitch, so I suggest you cut your losses and let me go before I *make* you let me go," Eve spat at him, her anger spiking when he merely smirked at that.
"A little thing like you? Oh, honey, I don't think that's going to be happening. I think me and you are going to be getting to know each other real w-"
Eve watched as the man dropped to the ground in mid-sentence, clearly torn between clutching himself where she'd brought her knee up between his legs and scored a direct shot in the balls and rubbing at his throat, where she'd thrown an elbow, leaving the man coughing and hacking as he tried to catch his breath. Straightening her shoulders, she pushed herself away from the wall, turning toward the exit from the alcove... Freezing when she saw who was standing there.
"I guess I'm a little late to play the knight in shining armor," the man stated, his voice hard as he looked at the man she had taken down.
"You don't really seem the hero type," she replied. "And I'm no damsel in distress."
"Gotta agree with you on that one," he stated, then looked up, his eyes locking on hers for what had to be the tenth time in just that night. "Are you okay?"
"I've been better. Been worse, too. I handled it."
"Obviously."
"How did you know to come back here?" she asked, and the slightest of smirks came to his face as he stepped closer to her, deliberately stepping on the guy still on the ground, drawing a groan of pain from the man. Eve added a quick kick to the gut as she shifted around herself.
Dean Ambrose arched a brow as he looked down at her, the man careful not to invade her personal space too much. "You can't tell me that you haven't been watching me tonight as much as I've been watching you. Not just tonight, either. I saw you head back here. Saw him come back a few minutes later. Didn't trust the look on his face. When you didn't come out after that, I came back here. But you had it handled." He looked down with a smirk at where the guy was still hacking and wheezing, the elbow to the throat causing him more trouble than the kick to the balls had. "Quite well, it seems. I'm a little turned on right now," he said, surprising a laugh out of her.
"Come on-"
"No, seriously. Call me crazy, but watching you knock some asshole on the ground was really hot. Maybe you could do it again. Zack Ryder's here tonight, getting turned down left and right by women that are way out of his league. You could beat him up. We'd both like that," Ambrose told her, moving closer to her as he spoke, but Eve didn't feel intimidated by it. It wasn't like with the jerk that was currently groaning on the floor, trying to pull himself up but unable to because Dean had just stepped on his hand before kicking his wrist and sending him to the ground again. No, this was nothing like the jerk at all, because this time? She actually wanted the guy standing there to be close to her. Hell, if she was honest, she'd wanted him close to her for weeks now. And from the look on his face, he knew it.
"Sounds like fun. Unfortunately, he'd probably have me arrested."
"I'd bail you out. Bad-ass chicks are hot, you know," he told her, lifting his hand, trailing his fingers down the side of her face, his eyes locked on hers. She was surprised by how pretty his eyes actually were. All she'd really noticed before was how intense they were.
"So what? You just came back here to see me beat a guy up?"
"No. I came back here in case you needed help. I'd have kicked his ass for you. Turned out you did it yourself. Which was even better," Ambrose said, then glanced down at the guy, who was now trying to get to his feet. His eyes were hard as he looked down at him. "Take that as a lesson, asshole. Lady tells you to let go, then you should let her the fuck go."
"Seems like sound advice to me," Eve stated, glaring down at the guy as well, then blinking in surprise when Ambrose suddenly reached out and took her hand. He arched a brow at her.
"I'm guessing you don't want to stay back here the rest of the night. I'm also guessing you don't want to join me and Rollins and Reigns at our table... And you probably don't want to bring me back to yours, either. So maybe we should dance."
"Do you dance?"
"I can shuffle my feet in time to the music if I have to," he told her, tugging on her hand to bring her out of the alcove, Eve going with him easily, partly because she wanted to get the hell out of the damn alcove, but mostly because now that she was talking to Ambrose, she didn't want to stop just yet.
He brought her out onto the dance floor, the two of them standing there just looking at each other for a moment before his hands settled at her waist, Eve's arms coming up to drape around his shoulders, the woman meeting his eyes once more, though it was very different to be just inches away from him instead of across a room. As they danced - really not doing much more than swaying with the beat - she caught sight of the rest of the Shield, the two members sitting and talking and eating like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Another turn brought her into eye contact with Alberto, who was signaling to her that he and Ricardo would make sure that Lilian got back to the hotel all right... Which was good. She trusted Del Rio and Ricardo, so she knew Lilian was safe with them. And if Lilian was with them, then she wouldn't have to explain to the ring announcer just what in the hell she was doing with Dean Ambrose of all people.
He shifted closer to her, his face so close she was pretty sure she could count his eyelashes if she wanted to.
"Your partners seem to be the only people not staring at us," Eve whispered, feeling enough eyes on them to know that it was true. Ambrose gave a slight shrug.
"They don't have a problem with you. It's not like they have a say in it anyway," he told her. "And let them stare. Let the fuckers talk, for all I care," Dean said, arching a brow at her, his intent obvious in his eyes as he leaned down a little more, just that last inch or so he needed before his mouth could claim hers.
And damn, but he could kiss.
She couldn't say she hadn't wondered what kissing him would be like. She'd wondered it for weeks, from the first time she'd found herself staring at him, the first time she'd caught him staring at her. And now she knew. She knew what his mouth felt like on hers, what his arms felt like banded around her, what his hair felt like as she ran her hands through it.
She wanted more. And from the way he'd just shifted his hips against hers, she was all but certain that he wanted more, too.
"We should get the hell out of here," he told her as he broke the kiss, still so close to her that their breath was mingling, and Eve tried to remind herself of all the reasons why that would be very bad. Like the fact that staring at a guy and thinking about him for weeks didn't mean she knew him. Like the fact that he'd just kissed her until her head spun so she probably wasn't thinking straight at all. Like the fact that if she walked out of here with him, everyone she worked with would know it. Like the fact that Dean Ambrose was probably bad news.
But she wanted him anyway.
"I should say no."
"But you don't want to," he said. It wasn't a question. She answered anyway.
"I don't want to," she said, very aware of his hands low on her hips, her own hands clutching at his shoulders. Her eyes were locked on his, and neither of them were even pretending to dance any longer, instead just standing in the middle of the dance floor. "This is a bad idea."
He arched a brow as if in challenge. "You really think so?"
"It's a very bad idea," she told him, taking a step back from him, her hands dropping from his shoulders. His feel from her waist. His eyes widened in surprise when she grabbed for his hand. "Let's do it anyway. Come on, Dean. Let's get the hell out of here."
He smirked at her. "Best idea I've heard all night," he told her, catching the car keys that she took out of her pocket and tossed to him, a glance over his shoulder towards the others seemingly the only communication needed to tell the rest of the Shield that he was leaving, and then he was leading her out of the bar, Eve fully aware that virtually every eye was on them as they left.
But she didn't care. She was going to do what she wanted, and to hell with everybody else.
The End