The traffic through Dark Water was slowing by evening time, around seven Alyssa would have to say. She was thankful that Karen had returned from Louisiana so quickly after attending that wedding. She returned a day after Alyssa had gotten sick so as the the back up baker, she quickly took up the head mantle as Alyssa got over her infection.
As seven thirty rolled around, the last patron left. Karen saw Alyssa leaning on the counter to the café area with her head on her hands.
"Go sit down, Al. I'll start to clean up."
"I'm fine, Karen. Just a bit tired from today. I'll be fine."
Just like that, just at that moment, the bell on the door chimed, which signaled someone had arrived. A large group of very big looking guys with some very attractive women entered Dark Water. One of the men Alyssa recognized.
"Colby, what are you doing here?" Alyssa asked as she approached the man who had his dog in his arms. "Hi, Kevin." She scratched the dog behind the ear.
"One of our shows ended and I mentioned coming to Dark Water. I know you're closing but," Alyssa interrupted him.
"Stay, I don't mind. Bobby is out right now but my friend Karen is here. I just have to go do something. Do you guys want to watch anything?" She had asked Col by that but she was answered by someone else.
"Football, Babe." A blonde man said as he approached them.
"Dylan Farrell, Alyssa Spencer. She owns this place. Be respectful." Colby told the other man.
Alyssa smiled slightly at the other man before turning her attention back to Colby. "Let me set the TVs up for you. Does anyone want coffee?" She asked the group, raising her voice so that the majority of them could hear.
"Got any beers, Babe?" Dylan asked, looking her over suggestively. Not that she noticed him do it, her back was to him.
"Sorry, no liquor is allowed on the property. Coffee, juice, water, tea or sodas, that's all I can offer anyone." Alyssa said as she walked away from him, heading towards the TVs.
Colby sighed. There was a tone in her voice, one that said she wasn't all right. So he followed her.
"How are you feeling, Alyssa?" He asked as she was reaching up and behind one of the TVs to turn it on.
"I'm tired mostly. I just got over with being sick."
"Yeah, I heard about that. Kevin found his way to your room the night of Fred's birthday party. I thought he ran away or something." Colby laughed, looking down at the Yorkie in his arms.
Alyssa smiled slightly. "Animals are good at knowing these things. I had a pet rat growing up who got out of her cage and would find her way into bed with me. Well, here's the remote, can you look for the sports channels on the TVs for me. Or change it to whatever you want." She turned to the woman who was tending the counter. "Hey Karen, be my eyes for me. I'll be right back."
"Sure thing, Al." Her friend nodded.
Alyssa patted Kevin on the head and went to the back of Dark Water. She need to take care her medical needs and then sit down. So when she came back ten minutes later, all the FCW people were gathered around the TVs with drinks and treats to fill their appetites. She sat down at the pastry bar to crack down on the numbers for Dark Water.
"I can do that for you, Alyssa."
She glanced up at the brunette woman and smiled softly. "I have to do something, you did all the work today. Besides, I'm sitting down, aren't I?"
"Come on, you have to focus on your health, Alyssa." Karen lowered her voice as she leaned in towards her friend. "You need to see a doctor."
"I have no medical insurance, Karen. I can't afford to even find a specialist for one visit, let alone the tests that I need. And I still have enough Cipro if I get another infection."
Karen groaned. "How much longer are you going to wait without knowing your health status?"
Dropping her pencil, Alyssa groaned right back at her friend. "I don't know. All our money is invested in this place. I have some money saved up," she was interrupted by one of the men that came from the FCW.
"Going to buy a dress for that killer body, Babe?" Dylan asked. "Yo, girl, refill. It's free right?" He placed his empty cup in front of Karen.
Karen hid the grimace as she took the soda glass from him. "Diet Pepsi, right?"
"Got that right," his attention turned back to Alyssa. "Did you know I'm the FCW Champ?"
"No, I didn't know that. Were you at Fred's birthday party?"
"Are you kidding, I was the party." He boasted proudly.
Colby looked back towards the pastry bar. He saw Dylan Farrell talking to Alyssa, his hand on her knee, him leaning in to laugh about something. Colby looked Alyssa over, taking note of her property for the first time.
It was hard to characterize her body type. She looked like a pear, wearing black slacks, sneakers and a Dark Water personalized t-shirt. Her coppery red hair gave her a look like a leprechaun, with freckles splashing over her nose. She could pass as Sheamus's little sister but she looked sixteen. Even in Florida, she looked pale. Almost sickly pale.
And Dylan was working his magic again. Though only working with him for a short time, Colby never really hung out with the guy. His personality was easily a put off factor for Colby. Dylan seem to be the same in the ring as he was out of it. An obsessed athlete, he worried about his appearance and often put others down because of that.
"What's on your mind?" A deep voice next to Colby asked.
Leati 'Joe' Anoa'i had been sighed around the same time as Colby. He came from a Samoan wrestling family, the same one that The Rock came from. Even Joe's own brother wrestled in the WWE at one point in time. Joe was also related to Rakishi, and that's saying something.
"I think Dylan is trying something Alyssa Spencer over there." Colby jabbed his thumb in the direction of the two people he mentioned.
The grey eyed man followed Colby's gesture. "She'll dump his ass by the time we leave. You don't even know her, man."
"Ever met someone that just feels right to be around? I feel that way towards her. I mean I know next to nothing about her and yet she seems so cool. And Kevin likes her."
"You're in love with Leigha, remember, your girlfriend?"
"I'm not interested in Alyssa like that. Geez, I'm not like Shallow Hal over there." Colby made a reference to Dylan. "I just don't want him treating her like trash."
No, he definitely didn't want that.
The FCW people left around ten. Sunday was closing day so Alyssa knew that she could rest before getting ready for the Monday madness. At least Sunday was a day of rest.
"Here's my number." Dylan scribbled his digits on Alyssa's scratch paper. "Call me some time and we'll go have some fun together." He actually winked at her before walking out.
No sooner had he left, Colby had appeared with his dog in his arms. "Alyssa, Kevin wanted to say goodbye." He knew it was a cheesy excuse to talk to her again, but it looked like she took the bait. "And I wanted to say thank you."
"For what, Colby?" She looked up at him as she scratched Kevin behind the ear.
"For opening the place to us, keeping it open, I mean. I promise we'll pay you back."
"Colby…"
"No, Alyssa. I'm paying you back for putting up with us."
"Colby…"
"So the next time we come by after a show we'll pay for everything." Colby added.
"Colby…"
"Alyssa, just leave it. You can't change my mind."
"Colby, next Friday is Drag Night." Alyssa said fast, trying to prevent him from cutting her off again. "Drag Night is where men dress up as women and show off their creations. I'm not sure how you'll react if you didn't know so I'm telling you now."
"Drag Night, you have that here?"
"Yeah well, look at it this way, this makes a place for anyone and everyone to come and have fun. It's an after hours event so no children can be here for it. It's only once a month but we're planning for other event along those lines."
"Well thanks for the heads up. But I'll be here."
"Good because Bobby wants me to perform It's Raining Men by the Weather Girls that night. I'm going to be dragged out."
"Now I really want to come by." Colby smiled at the thought.
"Where's your girlfriend Leigha?"
"Oh, this was like an FCW thing. She doesn't really come around for the shows."
"Huh. Oh hey, do you have a show tomorrow? It's Sunday and Dark Water is closed on Sundays and I don't have anything planned."
"Yeah we have a show. Got a piece of paper?" he asked.
He had to hand Kevin over to her but Colby wrote down the information for the show. Afterwards Alyssa looked at the paper and smiled.
"Great, it isn't going to be late. The Monday Madness rush is always the busiest time in the week for us. And I always prepare the bakery at least the night before opening on Monday. This way I can drop by and see a show for once."
"You've never been to a show before? Aren't you friends with a WWE superstar?"
She laughed slightly. "Eh, when Bobby brought Fred around, I didn't care for wrestling. I still don't really but I guess I'm open to new things. Fred really wants me to get a WWE videogame but I'm more into Fantasy and Grand Theft myself."
"A girl that likes the imagery of Grand Theft Auto, that's hard to believe." He said as Alyssa swayed with his Yorkie in her arms.
He liked seeing her that way. Kevin appeared to be loving it, hadn't made a sound since she had taken the dog from him.
"I've had enough time on my hands growing up to really get into videogames. My favorite is the RPG style games where I can create a character of myself. But I like racing games and some of the war games they have for the PS3."
"No X-Box?"
"Oh don't worry, I collect most of the consoles and their games. I just sort of like to play the PS3 a little more than usual. Do you like video games?"
"Hell yeah, I do and just about as much as I love working out. I only have an X-Box though."
"Well, on a night when you're not busy, let's set up a battle on something like Call of Duty."
"I can do that. I'll call you next Wednesday night. I don't usually have anything planned for that night. And Leigha is going back to her parents place for a visit."
"Great."
After sharing their numbers, and Alyssa handing the Yorkie back to Colby, the FCW superstar left.
Karen made a noise. "I wish he wasn't taken."
"What are you talking about?" Alyssa asked as she sat back down at the counter to continue where she left off with the books.
"Colby, he and you would make a great couple."
"Right. Once he figures out that I'm not perfect…"
"I think he already knows that, Dear. I'm just saying, he's a better catch than that Dylan idiot."
"Oh come on, Karen. I'm not interested in Dylan."
"Please, you were drooling over his sexy body. Don't get me wrong, he's got a great look to him. But his personality reeks of selfishness."
"I'm just lonely, Karen. I haven't been in love for about ten years." She sighed. "Who would want me after figuring out that I've got a lot of health issues?"
"Just be careful when it comes to someone like this Dylan guy. I don't want to see you get hurt." Karen touched her friend's hand lightly.
Alyssa couldn't have agreed more with her friend.
I'm sorry if I haven't updated this story. I have a whole lot of other things going on at once that I nearly forgot about this one.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this update. I also enjoy hearing your thoughts and comments. Thanks for reading.
