Chapter 3
Well one thing was for sure, the costume department was a woman's best friend. Sure they had performance attire but they also had regular clothes. Somehow I was told to wear a skirt, though I did negotiate flats for the occasion.
"I have a bad knee, I can't walk in anything with heels." I told the women that were putting my clubbing outfit together.
So after SmackDown I found myself in walking in an outfit that looked like I was strutting. The skirt was hugging my hips and thighs, it was a miracle there was no flashing with the dramatic V neck red top I was told to wear.
"Holy shit." I smirked when hearing Sami.
"Do I look okay?" I asked the Canadian.
"Better than okay. You even shined your hair." He looked me over. "Are you even AJ Styles' sister?"
"I'm heading out. The women rented an SUV for the night. I'll be fine. Tell AJ that for me."
I left him in the hall as I headed outside.
The SmackDown women's division was more tolerable than Raw's. Maybe it was because I knew Charlotte for years because her father and my brother worked together in TNA Wrestling together. She was my co-pilot to the club while we sang like geese to the radio.
Before long I was sitting at the bar with a bottle of water in hand while watching the women's roster danced and had fun. The pain in my knee flared up again and I sighed. At least the water was cold, I thought.
The music thumped in my chest. It danced in my head, a club remix of Mad Love by Sean Paul and David Guetta. I liked those kinds of music, ones I could sway to, which I found myself doing as I watched Ruby Riott and her faction get down on the nearby dance floor.
"Hi, Delaney."
I watched Roman Reigns sit down in the empty seat next to me.
"What are you doing here?" I had to yell over the music so he could hear me.
He smiled, his thin lips quirking into a lopsided grin. "My cousins are the Usos. They invited me here. I'll be at Thursday's house show."
He waved for the bartender and requested a cold beer. He reached up and pulled his hair out of the bun at the back of his head. I watched his single strand of black hair fall down over his shoulder as he leaned his arms on the bar. He turned his head to look at me, which made me look away.
"Who do I have to punch for giving you that?" He reached over and ran his finger up and down my exposed arm.
The mark Corbin left was a slight bruise. I pressed my knees together and gripped my water bottle tighter in my hands as Roman continued to rub at that spot. What was he trying to do, make it disappear?
"It seems that no matter where I go trouble follows." I said. "AJ will make sure that it doesn't happen a second time."
"You know Styles?" He asked.
"He's my half brother but still my brother. Of course The Club also act as brothers so I'm not always alone."
When I took a drink of my water I looked at Roman. He was staring at me with wide gray eyes that changed with the strobe lights as the song changed. His finger still rubbed my arm.
"So getting to know you is out of the question then?"
"I'll always welcome new friends but they have to prove that they have no wrong intentions for me."
"What happened to make you so guarded?"
I shook my head. "Not telling you tonight."
"How about after the house show? We can travel to Mania together."
"No." I shook my head. "Prove to me that you're different from the man that left this." I motioned to my arm. "Then maybe I'll tell you my story."
He leaned in close."Challenge accepted, Babygirl." Roman said loud enough just so that I could hear him.
His hot breath made my skin crawl, fresh goosebumps spread out over my arms as his finger went back to caressing my arm right over the bruise. I took a shaky breath and pulled back a little.
Roman didn't say much of anything except for small talk about this and that. I didn't mind but that was because I watched the Riott Squad occupy a table nearby for some drinks with a group of male wrestlers. Charlotte was with a few of the others having a blast herself and I wasn't doing much of anything.
"I forgot to mention that you look great tonight." I heard Roman say.
When I looked at him I about jumped off my bar stool when Baron Corbin sat down on the other side of Roman. I looked away knowing why he was there in the first place. But he wasn't the only one to sit down at the bar, Seth Rollins sat down on the other side of me.
"Really?" I asked, thankful the music was so loud that he obviously didn't hear me.
Seth leaned forward and looked at Corbin, brows arched slightly. I didn't know what was going on but it seemed like no one trusted Corbin.
"It seems like Banks isn't the only one to have some issues with you." Seth leaned towards me to talk.
"It isn't the first time he's made it clear. I just ignore it." I said. At least I tried to ignore it.
He leaned back as if to look at Roman.
"Where's AJ?" Seth asked.
"Not here. I'm the designated driver for a lot of the divas tonight because I don't drink. And I'm not a clubber but Charlotte is my my friend so I'm doing this for her."
"What do you like to do when you're not being dragged to a club?" Roman asked.
"I used to work at a horse stable in Georgia, tending to horses and taking hikes out in the woods."
"You used to?" Roman asked.
"It's a part of my personal life I'm not going to disclose just yet with you." I took a drink of my water only to find that it was empty. "Besides the obvious, what do you guys do for fun?"
"Hitting the gym when possible, but I like to rewatch all the Harry Potter movies and reread the books while I travel. I won't turn down a Star Wars marathon." Seth said.
I smiled. "I appreciate a good book when I can't sleep. Though I'm trying to watch the Marvel movies in order to figure out the whole Avengers timeline."
"I love to cook." Roman said. "Anytime I'm home I have to cook. I try to keep in touch with my Samoan heritage through what I cook. My daughter loves to help me."
I had forgotten that he had a daughter. That was as far into his personal life that I was willing to look. He did mention that he was divorced.
Charlotte tapped me on my shoulder little bit later. "Hey, Riott isn't feeling good and we're getting bored. Let's get out of here and go to bed."
"Sure. Can you guys meet me out at the SUV? I have to use the restroom." I said.
Seth put some money down on the the bar. "I got you covered, Del."
"Thanks, Seth."
I got up, found the restroom and had no problem waiting for a stall to free up. When I left the restroom and was heading towards the club exit I felt a hand grab me and forced me up against a wall.
"Think you find it funny that you can saunter around like a slut and act all innocent?" Corbin's putrid breath skimmed across me ear and into my face.
Bile rose up in the back of my throat as I tried to get his hands off my hips and get his body away from mine. One of his hands came up and grabbed my left breast through the shirt.
"You're just another locker room whore for us guys to share." He gripped my hip harder. "I bet you would love it."
The self defense teacher had shown me how to defend myself, regardless if my knee was still giving me issues. But at least he had his left knee between my legs and he had to bend down to my level. I did have to jump to knee thrust up so that I could knee his groin but is was worth it when he fell to his knees.
"Delaney!" I looked up as Roman and Seth made their way to me. "Babygirl, shit! What the hell are you thinking, fool?"
I made it around Corbin and even though my left knee protested I was welcomed into Seth's safe hands. Roman took a wide leg stance, his body turned and his head lowered as he stared at Corbin.
"Try that again, Corbin. I'm sure we can get Vince to fire your ass." Roman said.
Seth pulled me back. "Come on, man let's get out of here. He's not worth it. She did a number on his ego."
Roman turned to look at me then at Seth and nodded. We left Corbin to gather himself up and we headed outside. The only thing was that Roman was leading me out by the hand, Setg following behind with a hand on my shoulder. Unlike the other times, Seth didn't painfully grip my shoulder.
"What happened?" Charlotte asked as the three of us approached the SUV. "Del, are you okay?"
"Corbin got to her." Roman said.
"Again?" Jimmy asked.
"This happened before?" Roman asked.
"I have had a total two run ins with him before tonight. I don't know why he's got this thing for me but its annoying." Actually I had a feeling about why Corbin was coming after me but I had kept it quiet until I could be alone with AJ.
"Just annoying, Babygirl?" Roman asked.
"Trust me, she's dealt with a lot more than someone like Corbin." Charlotte told them. "But we'll talk to your brother about this back at the hotel."
I nodded as she handed me the keys to the SUV before I turned towards Roman and Seth. "Thanks for the backup response. I'll see you guys later. I have to get these women back to the hotel."
"Drive safe, Babygirl."
If AJ saw what he did next, or any of the other Bullet Club members, they would have jumped him. Roman leaned down and kissed my cheek, pulling me in for a one armed hug.
"Yeah. Stay safe." Seth hugged me as well.
They said their goodbyes and left for their nearby rental. I got in the driver's seat and drove off.
I wanted to get this out to you guys. I hope you liked it. I've got that surprise waiting for you soon. I just have to do something first.
Happy Reading!
