Disclaimer - I do not own WWE or any of its characters. I only own my character Tasha and her family/friends.
Thank you to psion53 and espeon44 for choosing to follow and favorite this story.
So just to help you guys out while you read this, every thing that's in bold is "in ring action, promos, text messages or social media posts", bold and italicized are "flashbacks", and italicized is "phone calls".
Reviews are appreciated, let me know what you like or don't and if you see anything spelled wrong :)
Thank you!
March 3, 2016, 115 days into recovery.
Colby strolled into the Performance Center in Orlando, he was determined to get in a full workout today. He warmed up with some stretching while the camera crew set up to catch shots of his workout. Once they were set up he started out with some kettlebell lifts, followed by some walking handstands, then upper body weight training and finally a jaunt on the stationary bike.
Colby enjoyed working out, it kept him fit and made him feel good. He was really into CrossFit, which was cardio and weight training intertwined together. His co-workers and fans had nicknamed him the "CrossFit Jesus" due to his extreme liking of it.
After his workout he had a private chat with Cena who happened to be there and had caught his workout. John assured him that he was important to the company and that there would always be a place for him. As someone who had missed plenty of time due to injuries and always had a spot when he returned, Colby appreciated Cena's assurance.
He made his way into the trainer's room to ice down his knee as it had slightly swelled up during his workout. While he was sitting propped up on the table, he was visited by Cesaro who had hurt his shoulder a month after Seth had injured his knee. The two had become good friends during their recovery, relying on one another for that positive influence.
While chatting with Cesaro, Dr. Dugas came in to check up on Colby. "What are we into it, two months?"
Colby bit his bottom lip as he held up his fingers. "Four."
Dr. Dugas nodded, he was impressed at how far Colby had come in such a short amount of time. He was equally impressed at how well his knee had healed, there was almost no visible scars. They discussed Colby's road so far, and Dugas agreed that they should send Colby in for a Biodex test.
After scheduling a time for the test Colby readied himself to head back to his hotel room. As he exited the back room he noticed that it was quiet in the training center, save for the occasional sound of a fist hitting a bag. This peaked Colby 's curiosity as it was dark in the entire center, most everyone had gone home for the night. He headed towards the sound, curious as to who would stay here this late.
He entered the main room to find a small portable lantern sitting on a stack of mats, casting a shadow on the figure in front of it. Beside the lantern was a phone, Colby could hear music coming from the speaker, but it wasn't a band he was familiar with. He stood leaning against the doorway, watching the 70lb heavy bag that was swaying from the force of the shadow's punches. As the shadow moved more into the light Colby was shocked to find that it was a woman.
She was shorter than most of the girls he had seen here, she reminded him of AJ in her height and stature. She was dressed in a black sports bra, a pair of black semi-baggy sweats and white sneakers. While she was AJ's height, around 5' 4" he guessed, he noticed she possessed more defined muscles than the former Divas Champion. Her biceps and triceps were toned, they flexed with every hit she gave the bag. Her stomach wasn't rock hard, nor did she possess a defined six-pack as some of the Divas or NXT ladies. She again reminded him of another Diva, Paige, who did not possess a six-pack stomach, but she was still in great shape. He figured that just like Paige, this girl enjoyed eating food.
Her complexion and skin tone weren't quite as light as Paige's, but he could venture to guess that she probably had some Irish in her genetics, judging from the freckles that covered her arms and smattered across her nose and cheeks. She had long dark hair, perhaps brown or black, he couldn't judge in the dark. It was long, longer than any of the Divas he knew. She had it braided, it hung down her back just brushing the top curve of her butt.
"You know stalking's illegal in the state of Florida?"
Colby perked up as he heard her voice, he hadn't made a sound, nor had she looked in his direction, but somehow she knew he was standing there.
"Sorry. I just heard the noise and was curious who was still here this late." He said as he gingerly made his way over towards her.
"I like working out late, I get the whole place to myself, nobody bugs me, I can just relax and focus."
She started hitting the bag again as Colby moved over beside the mats, leaning against them trying to alleviate some of the tension on his knee. He slightly winced as she laid a few straight punches, rocking the bag even more.
"Man, I don't know who I feel sorrier for, the bag, or whoever pissed you off."
She paused, raising a sculpted eyebrow as she began to unwrap her hands. "How often do you hit on women in the gym?"
Colby chuckled, she was smart and definitely not afraid to call him out. "Honestly, this would be the first."
"And you expect me to believe that?" She mused as she finished unwrapping her hands and began rolling the wraps back up.
"No." Colby said flatly. "Because I'm sure you're thinking I'm just like every other guy."
"And you're not?"
"Oh, no, I'm a typical guy. I say stupid stuff, put my foot in my mouth quite often. I can be a sexist jerk, and completely insensitive. But on the other hand, I'm a hopeless romantic, I do not believe in cheating and I never lie. I may be a typical guy, but my momma did raise me right."
"Well, please give your mother my sincere thanks for raising such a good man." She giggled, something which Colby found adorable.
"I will do that. So would you like to go out with me sometime?" Colby said taking a chance and hoping his luck didn't run out.
She smiled, but her sigh told him her answer before she opened her mouth. "Thank you, but, I don't date wrestlers."
"Well, technically right now, I'm not." He said with a broad smile while motioning to his knee.
She laughed, "Touché."
"Look, I respect that. What about a good friend? Or do you have enough of those?" Colby said, hope filling his voice. It was nice to find someone who could put him in his place, and clearly didn't give a damn that he was Seth 'Freaking' Rollins.
She stood there for a moment, arms crossed over her chest as her eyes met his. Then she nodded, "Yeah, I could use a good friend."
He smiled while extending his hand, "Colby."
She smiled back reaching out and grasping his hand with her small one. "Tasha."
The next day was a rough one for Colby, he had gotten up early and headed down to the University of Florida for his Biodex test. It was hard, it hurt and by the end Colby was more discouraged than he had been before. The test showed that his right leg had only 20% strength and range, which meant that he would not make it back for Wrestlemania. All of his hopes had been dashed in one afternoon, the main event that he had helped to create, he would have to miss. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
Colby was in a grouchy mood as he walked through the doors of the Performance Center. He basically growled at everyone he passed as they tried to say hello. Word spread quickly of the former champ's foul mood, and within minutes everyone was parting like the red sea and steering clear of Rollins.
After his workout and still being a grump, Colby sat in the trainer's room icing down his knee. He could see the few people in the room eyeing him warily, as if he was gonna go postal any second and massacre everyone. He debated yelling, asking them what they were all staring at, but he thought against it as he pulled on his Beats headphones and laid back to rest.
A couple songs later he felt his headphones being pulled down from his ears. He quickly opened his eyes ready to unleash a tirade of fury on whoever had interrupted him, but his bad mood instantly dissipated when he saw Tasha standing in front of him. She had on a pair of jean shorts, a white NXT tank top over a black with blue lace bra and her hair was wet, he figured she had just come from a workout.
"Come on grouchy. We're going to lunch." She said before turning and heading for the doors. She paused with her hand on the handle and turned back to him when she realized he wasn't following her. She held up her hands and gave him a raised eyebrow look. "Now."
The others in the room were watching the exchange with rapt attention, just waiting for Seth to unleash on her. Instead they were surprised when he smirked. Shaking his head as he chuckled to himself, Seth stood up and followed Tasha outside to the parking lot. She lead him over to a lifted black 4-door, long bed, F-350 diesel truck. He whistled his approval of the truck as he rounded the tailgate and opened the passenger door.
"How do I get in this thing?" He asked as he saw her already sitting in the driver's seat.
She flat out laughed as she pointed to a small handle on the inside of the frame up by the windshield. "Grab it and haul yourself up."
"Couldn't you just mount a step over here?"
"And miss seeing this?" She chuckled, "No way."
Colby flipped her off which made her laugh louder before he finally hauled himself up inside the truck. "Very nice." He commented as he settled into the light gray cloth seats.
"Thank you." She beamed, clearly proud of her truck, as she put on her seatbelt and moved the stick shift into first.
Colby was impressed that not only was her truck a manual, which not many people could drive anymore, but the fact that she drove it flawlessly. He guessed that she had probably learned how to drive in a manual and probably had several of them throughout her life so far.
"So where are we going?" He asked as he rolled down the window and leaned his arm on the door seal.
"One of my favorite places." Was all he got in return as she flipped on the radio.
Colby smiled as the sound of classic rock filled the cab. "You like classic rock?"
"Mmhmm." She nodded, "It was all my dad listened to while he would work in his garage. So when I was in there helping him, I grew to love it."
"So what else do you listen to?"
"I like a little bit of everything, not so much rap or certain hip-hop. I really like anything I can dance to, but classic rock and country are my favorites."
Colby was beginning to think there was an extra reason why she liked country. He thought about her truck which was clearly not a city vehicle, her taste in clothes which were not flashy or expensive, and the fact that she was wearing a pair of cowboy boots didn't hurt his assumption.
"You're a county girl aren't you?" Colby mused.
She shook her head, "I guess you could say that. I wasn't born in the south, but I did grow up on a ranch around horses."
He nodded, "So where did you grow up?"
"Reno, Nevada."
"So is it a party town like some people think?"
She laughed which Colby found adorable, "It used to be. But over the years things have changed. The town pretty much rolls up at about 3am, that's when most of the clubs and bars shut down."
"Well I guess that's good in a sense, then you don't have a bunch of people getting overly drunk."
"Very true." She nodded agreeing with him as she pulled the truck into a small parking lot. "Come on." She tipped her head towards the building as she jumped down out of the truck.
Colby climbed down awkwardly because of his knee, shutting the door he followed Tasha into the small café. The hostess beamed as she saw Tasha, hurrying over and enveloping her in a hug. "Hello sweetheart. How are you today?"
"I'm good Claire. How are you and Don? The grandkids?"
"Everybody is doing great, thank you for asking."
"You're welcome. Of course."
The older woman, probably in her early 50's grabbed two menus and lead the couple out onto a small patio. "Do you want your usual sweetheart?" She asked as they sat down.
"Yes please."
"What's your usual?" Colby asked curiously, and he was surprised by the lady's answer.
"A Portobello mushroom burger, topped with Swiss cheese, garlic steak fries and a Blue Moon to wash it down." Claire said as she took in the young man's shocked expression, clearly he wasn't used to a girl who could eat.
"That sounds really good, I'll have the same please." Colby smiled as he glanced up at the elder woman.
"Alright, I'll go get your drinks and be right back." Claire smiled giving Tasha an approving glance towards Colby, to which Tasha smiled and shook her head no.
Colby suddenly heard waves, he turned to his right to find they were right by the ocean. He could see people milling around on the beach and surfers in the water. It was relaxing, the sound of the waves rolling onto the shore, birds chirping as they flew by. He closed his eyes shut taking in the peacefulness of it all.
Tasha smiled as she watched Colby close his eyes, reveling in the serenity the small café provided. "Peaceful huh?"
Colby smiled as he opened his eyes and met hers. "It is. I can see why you like it here."
Claire came back with their beers, she set them down and set her attention on the young woman. "Don wanted me to let you know that he loves your idea for the backyard, you can get started on it whenever you like."
"That's great. I'll probably start on it this weekend. Please give him my thanks."
"Of course hun."
Claire walked off and Colby turned a curious eye to Tasha, "You renovating your backyard?"
"Kind of. I'm just adding a few little touches here and there." She smiled, "Maybe while you're in town, you can come check it out. I'd love another opinion."
Colby nodded, genuinely surprised she asked. "Yeah, I'd like that."
The two sat there chatting amiably about their lives, families, hopes and dreams. By the time they watched the sunset together, they felt as though they had known one another their entire life.
"I can't believe how long we sat there just talking." Colby commented as they walked back out to Tasha's truck.
"Why do you seem so surprised?" Tasha queried, not understanding his shock.
"Well, believe it or not, I haven't found many people, male or female that I have been able to hold a conversation with for 5 minutes, let alone nearly 6 hours. But with you, it comes easy and I find myself not wanting to stop."
"Yeah, same here." She smiled as they climbed back into the truck, she started it up and drove them back to the performance center. As they pulled to a stop beside Colby's car he sighed, it had been a great day spending time with Tasha, and he really didn't want to go back to his small hotel room alone.
"You okay, Colby?" Tasha asked noticing his sigh and his far away look.
He shook his head clearing his thoughts as he smiled. "Yep, I'm fine. Thank you for today. I had fun."
"Me too." She said giving him a genuine smile, as he got out of the truck she called to him. "Hey, Colby."
"Yeah?" He said turning around to face her.
"Will I see you tomorrow?"
Colby cocked his head to the side, a smile playing on his lips. "Would you like too?"
"I wouldn't hate it." She said smiling back.
He nodded, "Then I'll see you tomorrow, pretty girl."
Tasha gasped pressing a hand to her chest, "You think I'm pretty?"
Colby heard the sarcastic tone in her voice and laughed, flipping her off. "Smartass."
"Better than a dumb ass." She shot back.
Colby shut the door and waved as she pulled out of the parking lot, as he drove back to his hotel he smiled. Who would've thought that throughout all the pain and heartbreak he'd endured over the last months, he would find a true friend to help him through it. He guessed that the saying he was told as a kid was really true, "When times seem their darkest, God will send you an angel to help see you through to the light." And he was sure that Tasha was his angel.