A Few Days Before-
Everyone was in town for The Royal Rumble. Dean kept bugging about wanting a donut.
"Alright, we can go get you your donut", Roman shouted.
Dean smiled.
"Thanks buddy", he said, patting Roman's back.
Roman growled at him, he was way past annoyed. Both men looked over at their friend, Seth had just finished showering and was in the processes of putting his shirt on.
"What?", he asked them.
"Ambrose wants a damn donut, coming? Say yes because if you leave him alone with me any longer, I just might kill him", Roman said.
Seth chuckled and nodded.
"Alright, let me get my shoes on", Seth said.
Roman walked into the bathroom and Dean pointed in his direction.
"He wouldn't kill me, he loves me", Dean said, shaking his head.
Seth laughed.
"Dude, you forget I know you and I know how you can get when you want something. Sometimes I want to kill you", Seth said.
Dean rolled his eyes and let himself fall on the couch. Roman came back out and Seth stood.
"Where are we getting this donut from? I didn't notice any coffee shops with them", Seth said, grabbing his wallet.
"Cesaro mentioned some small bakery a few blocks down. He said they were really good, sent me a picture of them. You can blame him for my annoyance", Dean said.
Of course, Cesaro always found the best places to eat or get coffee. Once in the car, they told the driver the name of the shop. He nodded and knew right away where it was. Dropping the guys off across the street. They made their way to the other side. Dean didn't care about the cars honking at him, Roman and Seth apologizing to the drivers.
"How have you lived this long without getting run over?", Seth asked.
Roman shook his head at Dean. Dean was now smiling while looking over the donuts in the window display.
"Roman, they have chocolate and mint chocolate", Dean said.
That caught Roman's interest and he joined his friend.
"Seth, come look", Roman said.
They were going to each pick a few and take them back to the hotel. Seth saw a few flavors he liked. He looked up and his heart felt like it skipped a beat. He backed away a bit.
"Seth, you alright?", Roman asked.
"Yeah man, just hurry and get the donuts", Seth said, leaning back against the wall.
He wasn't sure if she saw him. He hoped she hadn't, he didn't know if she was still angry at him for leaving the way he did. Dean raised a brow.
"Something's wrong, what is it?", Dean asked.
"Its nothing, just go and get your donuts. You know which ones I want", Seth said.
Dean nodded and took their halves of the money before walking in. Roman went to stand near his friend.
"You look freaked out, surprised", Roman said.
"The girl in the shop, behind the counter. I know her", he said, answering Roman.
Roman nodded and looked inside, the girl was serving a customer, smile on her face.
"I'm guessing by your reaction, it didn't end well", the older man said.
Seth shook his head no.
"We dated, awhile actually, longer than any of my relationships. At one point I thought she was the one", Seth said.
"Thought?", he asked.
"Alright, she's the one that got away", Seth said.
Roman nodded, letting Seth get this out of his system.
"Well, more like I left. After I got the call to come work for WWE, we had to move but she didn't want too. She had school and our families were here. One day, I packed my bags while she was at school and just left.", he said.
"You didn't even leave her a note?", Roman asked.
He shook his head no.
"I guess you could say I was a little angry, this was my dream. I supported her through her dream, look this is her dream", Seth said, pointing at the shop.
"And you never thought that maybe a long distance relationship could work? We get days off and I'm sure she would have gone to visit you", Roman said.
Seth nodded and placed his hands on his hips.
"Yeah, but see I didn't think of that till I was sitting in Triple H's office going over my FCW contract.", Seth said.
Roman nodded, now understanding.
"I wanted to call and ask her to forgive me but I couldn't, I was afraid. I was a coward", Seth said.
Roman pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the door that opened the shop. He pointed.
"Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something. Give you a second chance to fix what happened", Roman said.
Seth stepped towards him before looking inside. Mara was helping Dean now. She was laughing, knowing Dean he was telling her some joke. Seth sighed.
"She seems happy. She has everything she's ever wanted and I won't disrupt her happiness", Seth said, stepping back behind the wall so Mara wouldn't see him.
Roman looked disappointed but understood.
"Its better if she remembers me as the jerk who not only broke her heart but his as well", Seth said.
"Well that's your decision, but now you know where she works and if you change your mind in the near future. You can always come and see her, talk to her", Roman said.
Seth nodded, his friend was right.
Present-
Seth parked his car in the parking space beside her shop. It has been a week since finding her, he couldn't get his mind off her. Maybe Roman was right, he would feel better about this whole situation if he just talked to her. He was on his way to Raw, making a pit stop in town.
Getting off, he walked towards the front of the shop. He took a deep breath and walked in.
"I'll be right with you", Mara.
He would recognize her voice anywhere. He smiled. It was almost closing time, the shop was somewhat empty. A couple sat near the window talking softly and smiling. He placed his hands on the counter, nervous for her reaction.
"Welcome to Flavored Cakes, how can I", she froze, meeting his eyes.
"Hey Mara, it's been awhile", he said.
She bit her lip and looked down before meeting his eyes again.
"I know I'm probably the last person you want to see, ever", he said.
"What do you want?", she asked.
"To apologize, fix this", he said, gesturing to the both of them.
She moved closer and set the tray down.
"You wanted to wrestle, you left to do that. Nothing more to discuss", she said.
"I'm sorry Mara, I was a jerk. I left because I was angry. I thought you didn't support me, but I was wrong, you've always supported me. I didn't realize that till it was too late", he said sadly.
She chuckled.
"You think", she said.
He reached over and took her hand. They both still felt the tingles of each others touch.
"I also didn't realize that you were my one, my only", he said softly.
She met his eyes.
"No one has ever made me feel the way you do. Seeing your face makes my heart skip a beat, touching your hand gives me butterflies, right here", he said, touching his stomach and smiling.
She didn't know what to say to that.
"I know, it's been a long time and I have no right to ask because I hurt you, but if you are willing to maybe give me another chance.", he said, hope filling him.
She couldn't believe he just asked her that.
"It's not that easy Seth, you walked out on me without a word. How do I know you won't do that again", she said, trying to pull her hand away from his, even though she didn't want too.
"Because I won't mess up again, I've lost you once to my stupidity. I won't lose you again", he said honesty in every word.
They heard the chairs scratch against the floor where the couple was. The couple waved before leaving, Mara took a deep breath.
Seth was right about one thing, moving on wasn't easy. Finding someone who made her feel the way Seth did, wasn't easy. Apart of her always wanted to find him, but the angry part told her to let him go. If he really loved her, he would find her.
Now he was here, standing a few steps away. The only thing between them was the counter. That was before Seth made his way behind it, not taking his eyes off of her.
"I found out where you worked and I was too afraid to confront you, but not anymore. A friend told me that maybe the universe was trying to tell me something, maybe it was giving me a second chance. I think it's giving us a second chance", he said.
He always had a way with words.
Mara took a step back, he was getting closer. Her back hit another counter and he boxed her in, placing his hands on her hips. His touch always took her breath away.
"I still affect you baby", he said softly.
She looked up at him.
"I've always loved you Mara. Tell me now that you don't want this and I'll walk out that door again and I'll never bother you, ever", he said.
He hoped she didn't tell him to leave. Mara didn't know what to say. Could she trust him again?
"But before you do, I need to do one thing", he said.
"What?", Mara asked.
He licked his lips and bent toward her, his lips pressing against hers. She found herself responding to him, her hands getting tangled in his hair. He pressed his hard body against hers. She moaned into the kiss, they always did make her knees weak. He slowly pulled away, his forehead pressed against hers, his hands rubbing her sides gently.
"Don't tell me to leave because I'm still so madly in love with you Mara. Forgive me, let me earn your trust back. I won't mess this up again", he said softly.
She hoped he was being honest with her.
"Take things slow", she said.
He pulled away more, not knowing for sure if he heard her right.
"As slow as you want Mara", he said, excited that she was accepting him.
She nodded.
"I'm not letting you go again", he said, before kissing her again.