Today

"Alright, what the hell's up with you man? You've been buggin' out since last night," Seth Rollins noticed, as he, Roman and Becky walked into the arena for Raw. Roman smiled timidly as they walked through the entrance.
"I might've hit Andrea up yesterday," he said, making Seth stop in his tracks. Becky and Roman followed suit as Becky looked between the two brothers.
"Who's Andrea?" she asked.
"Roman's 'one that got away'. Sorta like some fairytale shit. True love in three days," Seth smirked.
"What happened?" she asked as the three looked up at marquee to find their locker rooms.
"We met her one at a bar in L.A. when we were out here like 5 years ago. She had no idea who he was but they locked eyes the second he walked in. And a minute or later, believe it or not, here comes this foul-mouthed little firecracker. What did she say that night? It was something classic, right?"

"That" Friday

"Hi," Andrea Daniels began as she leaned in a bit to speak over the live band. "I don't wanna be disrespectful- like, if you have a girlfriend, my bad- I just wanted to let you know that I think you're fine as fuck." Roman smiled as he leaned down and responded to no doubt the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Two sets of chocolate brown eyes locked and Roman's softened as he spoke.
"Well thank you... and I don't have a girlfriend…" he smiled. He watched her nod her head a few times in approval before he turned back to grab his drink from Seth. Within those few seconds, she had managed to make her way back out to the patio, where she had been sitting all along.

Roman followed after her, not wanting to let this mystery girl get away that easily. He found her at a back table with two guys; a shorter blonde guy with his back faced towards him, and a brunette, surfer, pretty-boy who had one arm draped over her shoulder, standing next to her with a smile on his face as she sat in the stool. Somewhat confused, he slowly made his way over and sat at the table across from hers. They locked eyes from across the patio and she smiled again, hopping off her stool, shrugging out the lanky brunette dude's grasp as she made her way over to Roman's table. Her cocoa brown skin glistened that warm night, and Roman had to bite his lip as he noticed she short black shorts donning her short, muscular legs.
"Damn," he whispered as she sat at his table.
"Hi," she said. "I guess I should've introduced myself earlier," she continued as she extended her hand to him. "I'm Andrea, but everyone calls me 'Drea or Dre'. I didn't mean to be a jackass in there, you're just… freaky pretty," she said with a sigh. He smiled in appreciation of the compliment, especially coming from a knockout like her.
"Roman," he responded, grabbing her hand gently. "So what brings you out tonight? Out with your man I see." She shook her head and smiled, biting her lip.
"That's my brother," she nodded, pointing back at the scrawny dude with her thumb.
"He's white," Roman whispered, leaning across the table to talk to her. He'd be lying if he said her raspberry shampoo wasn't getting to him, but he knew he had to keep his cool.
 "My step brother… Tommy. Our parents got married when we were like 4. He's basically my white twin," she said smirking. Roman, looked over her shoulder as Tommy eyed him for a moment before nodded and continuing with his own conversation. Drea was a bartender in a nearby restaurant and was hanging with her coworkers after a rough night. They spoke for a while until Tommy interrupted, walking past them.
"Let's go, Dre, Uber's here," he tossed over his shoulder before walking out and saying goodbye to the bouncers as well.
 "See you around," she said softly, following her friends into the car.

Roman watched with a frown as Seth and Dean joined him.
"Well she was a cute little thing," Dean smirked, sitting across from Roman, in Andrea's former seat. "You get her number?" he asked, taking a swig of his beer as the three men watched the car she'd gotten into taking off.
"Fuck!" Roman exclaimed as the smile on his face fell when his eyes fell back to his phone in his hand.

"That" Saturday

Roman sat at the same table on the patio the next night waiting for her. He didn't care if he looked like a crazy stalker, he had to get her number. He had to talk to her again. He had to see her. He had gotten there a little early, hoping she'd be there, but after taking a quick lap around the bar and not seeing her, he grabbed a beer and settled in on the patio. He waited around for a while and noticed Tommy walked in with a few friends. He stood and greeted him, not wanting to seem too anxious… or desperate.
"Hey uh… is your sister coming out tonight?" he tried to ask, as breezily as possible.
 "She's out with Ken tonight," one of the girls in the group provided. "She texted me earlier and said they'd probably be out sometime tonight. Afterparty at her place," she continued as she began making googly faces at Tommy, who smirked and licked his lips. Roman sighed. Ken. Who could that be? Another brother? Her friend? Her boyfriend? Roman stood and moved to go back into the bar to close out just as he heard a wild yell coming from the street. He looked over to the two girls getting out of the uber and recognized the quieter one as she and a clearly inebriated blonde made their way into the bar.

Drea walked over and made her usual greetings in the bar, only this time after greeting the bouncer, Dre walked right up to Roman and hopped up a little bit to wrap her arms around his neck. He smiled and held her waist, steadying her balance as she kissed his cheek.

"Hey babygirl," he smiled into the crook of her neck.
"I'll be right back," she whispered into his ear, kissing his cheekbone.
"Take your time," Roman responded. "I'm not going anywhere." A few minutes later she returned with a strawberry cider and a bottle of water. She instantly ran over to the still rambling blonde girl from before she handed her the bottle. After watching her, more-so forcing the blonde to take a few gulps, she then finally made her way over to Roman shyly, with her head bowed down.
"Sorry about Kenny," she said, looking back at the girl now making out with Tommy.
"That"s Ken?!" he asked relieved. She tilted her head and smirked.
"Yeah. I mean, what'd you think? Didn't my brother tell you we were coming? I told him to tell you… I mean, if you were here," she rambled.
 "He might've forgotten to mention that… and that Ken wasn't a dude," he smiled, glad to know she wanted to see him as much as he wanted to see her.
"So what if she's not? She could still be my girlfriend," Drea retorted.
"I like the sound of that," Roman said, licking his lips as she shook her head.
"Perve," she smirked. "I'm having an after-party if you wanna come," she offered.
"Where?" he asked instantly.

About an hour after the bar closed, a few people including Seth, Dean, and Roman had assembled at a nearby downtown condo. As the eight of them stood in the elevator, Roman looked at the door, where Dre was standing. As a pro-wrestler, he knew how much a condo like this would cost and he was impressed. Speaking of his wrestling- it still hadn't come up. Roman knew they were leaving the next night after Sunday's live show. Raw was in the next major town over. It was now or never.

"Hey," he said, as he finally caught her alone on the top watching the sunrise.
"Your boys dipped out a while ago," she smiled looking down at her phone. "Apparently you guys gotta get up early for work," she said looking down.
"Yeah," Roman began nervously. "Work… listen Dre. I never got around to actually telling you what it is that I do."
"You're a wrestler, right? WWE?" she asked. Roman's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.
"Yeah, actually. How'd you-?" he began.
"My co-worker Jake… he was here last night and saw you. He was going on and on about how 'Roman Reigns' was at our local spot. He's sort of a closet wrestling nerd," she said casually. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked. Roman took a deep breath and sighed.
"I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you, believe me. In my line of work, you meet a lot of ingenuine people and we were having such a great time. I guess I… I just didn't want you to look at me differently," he responded, looking down. Andrea smiled sweetly before leaning up to kiss his cheek. Roman smiled and leaned into it a bit, getting another whiff of her raspberry shampoo.
"I guess I can forgive you just this once," she smirked. Roman shook his head and smiled again, pinning her back against her balcony as he held onto the railing on either side of her.
"You busy tomorrow?" he asked, as his eyes scanned her gorgeous face. His hand subconsciously made its way to her jaw, rubbing her lip with his thumb, causing her to shiver.
"I'm off Sundays and Mondays," she responded. Roman's eyes lit up in hope.
"Do you think you'd maybe wanna come and check out the pay per view? It's at the Staples Center. I could get you tickets," he offered nervously.

"That" Sunday

"What am I even doing here, Kenny?" Drea asked as she and Kendall were escorted to their ringside seat before the show began. They made their way to their front row seats as Kendall pulled her phone out to take selfies.
"You met a hot guy, who just so happens to be a hot wrestler. You're gonna go back to his hotel after this and he's going to fuck your brains out," she said nonchalantly. Andrea turned to Kendall and gave her a mortified stare.
"Ken?! Come on, you know I don't get down like that. After everything with Bobby," she faltered mentioning her cheating ex. "After all that I told myself to just focus on me, and not some guy," she continued. Soon the titantron lit up and the show began with Roman making his way down the aisle in the crowd alongside the Shield. "But Roman's not just some guy," she added as the made eye contact once he was in the ring.

"I can admit I've never watched wrestling before, but after tonight, consider me your newest fan," Kendall smiled later, as she Dre, The Shield, a few other Superstars and some of Dre's coworkers filled the bar.
"'Preciate it, ma'am," Dean said, tipping his imaginary hat.
"It's always nice to know we have such attractive fans," Roman said, boldly staring at Dre with a half smile on his face. She bit her bottom lip nervously and tucked her curly hair behind her ear.
"Bathroom break. Be right back guys," Kendall said as she grabbed Dre's hand and pulled her inside.

"What are you doing? He's totally flirting with you!" Kendall said the second she made sure the restroom was empty. Andrea stared at her reflection in the mirror and sighed.
"What's the point, Ken? He's leaving the day after tomorrow? I shouldn't have even gotten as attached as I did," she confessed as she slumped over the sink shaking her head. "This was a mistake."

Roman couldn't help but notice the change in Drea's attitude when they returned to the table. She was glued to her phone, barely bothering to look up or join in everyone's conversation. He leaned in and reached over to gently squeeze her knee.
"You still here, babygirl?" he asked. He'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt when she jerked her leg away and swung it over the other.
"Yeah," she responded shortly, still staring at her phone. He sighed and chugged a bit of his beer. A few minutes later she shot up from her seat, smiling at her phone. "Ooh, I'm going to hit up The Twisted Tap. Matty's playing," she said, grabbing her purse. "Catch you guys later," she continued, avoiding eye contact with Roman as she left. He looked across the table to Kendall in search of answers.
"What's The Twisted Tap?" he asked.
"Another bar like 10 minutes away," she responded, noticing his shoulders slump.
"And Matty?" he asked, not sure he even wanted to know.
"He's… just another friend," Kendall said. He sighed and nodded, ready to get back to his hotel.

He was finally heading back about an hour later, having left Seth and Dean back at the bar with their new friends. He was enjoying another warm night as he turned the corner onto the street their hotel was on. A couple was making out along the brick wall in front of another building. The man stood between the girls legs as she sat along the wall. In an instant Roman's heart stopped and suddenly dropped when he recognized her.

"Roman," Andrea said pulling back from the guy she had just been kissing. Roman smiled sarcastically and shook his head, continuing down the street. "Roman, wait!" he heard from behind him as her footsteps clicked behind him. He turned back around and crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
"You looked a little busy back there, don't let me interrupt," he spat before turning back around to walk away until he felt a tiny hand wrap around his arm.
"Babe, I swear it's not what it looks like," she begged, tugging at Roman's heart. It had only been a few days but hearing her call him that felt right. He took a step closer and ran his hand through her hair, gripping the base of her neck.
"Then what was it? 'Cause I'm not going to lie… it fucking hurt," he confessed. "And I know it shouldn't, you're not my girl… but dammit Drea, it feels like you are. Tell me you don't feel this too," he dared. She sighed and looked up at him, her golden brown eyes shimmering as tears fell.
"Of course I do, idiot," she said.

Today

"So then what, you take her back to your hotel room and love her proper?" the Irish Lass Kicker smiled after tossing her bag in the women's locker room. She moved down the hall with Seth and Roman to their's after nudging Roman's side.
"I wish. No, we just talked. And honestly… it was fucking amazing. We spent the entire night up together, just talking, walking around downtown. She opened up and showed me a part of me she'd closed off from everybody. And I did the same. It wasn't like I could just go fuck her brains out Becks, but believe me, I wanted to. It was… It was more than that. In just a few days, I fell in love with that girl."

The three were quiet for a moment as Roman's revelation hung above them.
"So what happened?" Becky finally asked.

"That" Monday

"Which leads us back out to the stage and down to the ring," Roman said as he finished giving Andrea a tour.
"Where all the magic happens," she said, placing her hands on the ring mat. Roman smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, leaning in to kiss her neck.
"Not all the magic," he mumbled as he sent a trail of kisses up her jaw. She moaned slightly before turning around to push him back a little.
"Be good, don't you have to start warming up soon?" she asked.
"I couldn't think of a better workout," he said before leaning down to capture her lips with his.

She instantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he easily picked her up, placing her on the ring. He leaned in and held onto the bottom rope, feeling like he couldn't get close enough to her. He felt her giggle against his lips and he finally pulled back. Fuck was she beautiful? Her wild curly brown hair was pulled into a curly bun with a few pieces falling around her face. Her plump lips were slightly swollen after Roman's attack on them and all he wanted was to do it again.

Her mood shifted once again when he made it back to his locker room after his match that night. He knew exactly why this time. He was leaving in just a few hours. He sighed as he made his way over to his gym bag, noticing her glued to her phone again. He grabbed a change of clothes and a towel before walking over to her. He rubbed her thigh and kissed her cheek sweetly.

"I'm gonna go take a quick shower. I'll be back, okay?" he asked. Her only response was a silent nod and he sighed again, moving over to the door. He knew this was going to be hard, but he had no idea what to do.

"I'll call you," he said pulling away from yet another kiss as the two stood outside Drea's apartment building. She nodded and he wiped the tear that fell from her eye. "I love you," he whispered against her lips, kissing her again, knowing neither was sure where to go from here.
"I love you too," she said, finally releasing him. He walked back to his rental parked in front of her building and got in.

The two stared at each other for a moment as Roman revved the engine to life. He mouthed another 'I love you' before driving away, leaving his heart behind.

Today

"Wait, I'm confused," Becky responded as the three sat down for lunch in catering. "So she's not the random you had the baby with?" Roman shook his head shamefully and looked down.
"Dre and I only ended up lasting a couple of weeks. The distance, time differences, not being able to talk… it got to the both of us. We fell to deep, too quick and then suddenly it just stopped. It broke me. I was wallowing one weekend back home in a bar and ran into an old flame from high school. About nine months later I had my babygirl. When I told Drea, I know she tried to be supportive. Me and baby mama were going to try to work it out for Jojo's sake but in the back of my mind, I could never stop thinking about Drea, even though I lost that right a long time ago."

"That" Skype Call

"Well, well, well… Mr. Reigns. What's up, dork?" Andrea smiled as she swiveled in her desk chair at home. It had been a few months since she'd heard from him, but whenever she did, she couldn't help but smile knowing he still thought about her like she thought about him.
"Hey Dre," he began quietly. She stopped twirling when she noticed his serious demeanor.
"What's up, Big Dog?" she asked. He smiled for a moment before clearing his throat. "Nothing much… how have you been?" he asked.
"Just living the dream," she smiled. He was quiet again.
"What's the matter, baby?" she asked, making his heart rip open.

He looked at her on his screen and knew this would probably be the last time they would speak. Of all the things he wished he could say, he knew nothing would make up for the news he was about to give her.

"I don't even know where to begin," he said nervously.
"Start from the beginning and just go from there," she smiled.
"I got someone pregnant," his voice was shaky as the smile fell from her face. She was so still for a moment he thought he had lost the connection.
"Dre?" he asked worriedly.
"Congrats Roman. I'm really happy for you," she lied. "I uh, I gotta go," she choked out.
"Wait, Drea please-" he began but was interrupted when she dropped the call.
"Fuck!" he growled, tossing his iPad onto his bed next to him. He laid back and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

For the next few months, she ignored all his calls and texts. He knew he should let her go, but something just wouldn't allow him to. She'd stolen a huge piece of his heart that weekend and he knew he'd never get it back. The guilt ate away at him whenever he was around his baby mama, knowing he wanted that to be Drea all along.

A few weeks before the baby's birth he'd gotten a late night phone call. He reached over a grabbed his phone of the hotel nightstand and answered without checking the caller ID.
"Hello?" his voice was hoarse before he cleared his throat.
"She really is having your baby, isn't she?" the voice was quiet as sniffles were heard. Roman knew who it was and why she was calling.

A paparazzo managed to snap some shots of Roman and his girlfriend, leaving a doctor's appointment.
"Drea," he said as he sat up and sighed, leaning back in the dark. He listened to her sobs for a few minutes until he couldn't take it any longer. "Baby, I'm so sorry. You have no idea how badly I wish things were different."
"Just tell me why? Why her? What was it about me that made it not worth it?" she asked.
"It's not that Drea, you have to believe me. She was just there all the time when I was lonely at home. I was constantly thinking about you and regretting not-" he started.
"So you're saying I should've just fucked you and sent you to the next city and none of this would've happened?!" she screamed as the tears finally began to fall. Roman hung his head in shame, knowing the pain she was causing was his fault alone.
 "No! Not like that baby," he responded, knowing his words were coming out wrong.
"I should go. Goodbye, Roman."
"Drea, no please," he begged.

He blinked a few tears away as the call was dropped and his phone screen darkened. He set in back down and laid back down, raggedly breathing as his quiet sobs began.

Today

"It's been almost five years since I've seen her and we're supposed to meet up at that old bar later," Roman said at the table in catering.
"You think that's a good idea, man? I mean… what about Alex?" Seth asked, mentioning Roman's baby mama turned wife.
"I just need to see her. After all this time-" Roman began only to be cut off by Seth.

"After all this time you are clearly not over her. Do you really think it'd be a good idea to go drinking with the 'love of your life' as you like to call her from time to time? Because a smart man wouldn't do it," Seth warned.
"A smart man wouldn't have fucked up in the first place!" Roman barked back, causing most people in catering to look their way. Seth's eyes widened in shock as Roman stood to leave.
"Look, it's just something I have to do, okay? I gotta go warm up," Roman said before walking away.

Not much had changed about the bar. Maybe a fresh coat of paint both inside and outside with some bathroom upgrades; other than that, it was like Roman was just there yesterday. He waited about 10 minutes when he finally saw her walking up. Her brown hair was now dyed jet black and had been straightened, thrown over to one side, covering half her face. He noticed a new nose stud shine under the light and smiled thinking about how well it complemented her face. They made eye contact as she walked in and he stood to greet her. After an awkward hug, she sat across from him accepting the drink he got for her.

"It's still a Jameson and ginger beer, right?" he asked, hoping he hadn't forgotten.
"That's it," she smiled. "Cheers," she said as they clinked their glasses together and each took a sip of their beverages, never breaking eye contact.

They caught each other up with what was going on in their lives. Andrea had gotten her degree in kinesiology and began working as a trainer for the local pro basketball team. Hearing about her accomplishments was a bittersweet moment for Roman. On one hand, he couldn't have been more proud of her for doing what she always said she wanted to do. On the other hand, he was sad that he wasn't there holding her hand every step of the way. He was brought out of his thoughts when she asked him a question.

"Why did you call me? After all this time I'm confused, Roman. I thought we agreed that we had to move on. You're a father and a husband now," she said.
"And what about you, Drea?" he asked taking a step closer to her, ignoring the fact that she was still trying to back away.
"I'm not a homewrecker. Look, like it or not, Roman, you made a choice. You had a choice all along. You didn't have to marry her to be a good father. But you did. And I'm not going to do that to that little girl. I'm not gonna rip her family apart just so I can finally get what I've always wanted. If true love was mythic then we were fucking epic and I will never forget that. But I have to let you go. I have to forget you. Even though I'm not even sure where to start and I never thought we'd actually be done… we're done."

Roman sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day but this time, something felt different. Somehow he knew she was serious. She wasn't coming back this time. She'd move on and live her life and Roman would be the family man he'd committed himself to be, knowing it wasn't to the love of his life. He watched as she set her nearly finished drink to the side and stood up, leaning in to kiss his cheek before walking away from him for the last time.

Welp, that's it. Hope you guy's liked "If True Love Was Mythic Then We Were Fucking Epic"! Let me know if you guys are interested in a sequel I have cooking.