The warm acidic beer tingled Roman's esophagus as he took a sip, his left hand casually sitting in his pocket as he stood around a few of his co-workers, half heartedly listening to their conversation. A small smirk crept on his lips as he listened to Seth replay a story of a fan waiting for him outside his hotel room a few weeks ago while his mind wandered. He definitely didn't feel like being there but he had to. His cousin was set to marry his sweetheart Naomi and it would be weird and suspicious if he wasn't in attendance. He loved his cousin and was happy for him but every time he saw him with Naomi he was reminded of what was missing from his life.
"Reigns where the fuck is your head at?"
Roman's head snapped up as he turned slightly to see Seth looking at him skeptically, the other men in the group doing the same as well. Roman ran a hand over his long black hair that was gathered into a ponytail sheepishly.
"What you say?" he asked simply.
"I said it looks like you have a fan," Seth repeated, wondering what was going on in his tag team partner's mind. He nodded his head across the room. Roman followed his gesture and groaned when he saw Summer Rae staring at him before glancing away and saying something to one of the Bella Twins. He shook his head.
"Oh," he simply replied as he took another sip of his beer.
Cody Rhodes chuckled. "So I take it you're not a fan of Miss Summer Rae's?" he asked.
"She's only good for one thing. And once you get that from her multiple times she becomes stale," Roman replied. "But you know women. Can't take no for an answer. Don't wanna take no for an answer when they think you about to make it big in this business."
The other men murmured their agreement as the door to the lounge everybody was housed in open. The guests in attendance clapped loudly as Jimmy Uso and Naomi walked through the door, wide smiles plastered on their countenances. Some of the men whistled loudly as Jimmy spun his fiancee around and dipped her before capturing her lips in a breathtaking kiss while the women let out a collective aww. Roman shook his head with a smile at his cousin's showboating as the couple made their way through the crowd greeting the guests.
Then he saw her.
He quietly sucked in a breath as he watched the woman that he ran into earlier that week quietly walk into the lounge, her eyes darting around the room nervously. He watched as the flowy olive green sheer dress swayed with her body when she moved, carefully grabbing the banister so she wouldn't fall in her brown sandals. A small smile formed on her plump lips when Naomi's tag team partner, Cameron, walked up to her and quickly hugged her. He watched as her eyes lit up as she dramatically waved her hands in the air before sharing a laugh with Cameron. Suddenly her doe like brown eyes locked on his intense gray orbs. They held the stare for a few seconds, her arched eyebrow raising inquisitively before Naomi joined her and Cameron, effectively disrupting the moment between the two. Roman exhaled sharply as he felt a hearty slap on his back. He turned around and saw his smiling cousin had joined the group.
"Man I'm so glad you could make it," Jimmy said happily before engulfing Roman in a hug.
"You thought I was gonna miss an opportunity to give you shit about getting married?" Roman playfully asked with a chuckle. "You mean to tell me that you're truly ready to be with one woman for the rest of your life?"
"Man look. When you got a woman like Naomi that's all the woman you need. I knew that when I first met her down in developmental. I was just waiting for her to get her act together and realize what a great catch in me she had," Jimmy responded causing the other men to laugh. "Trust me brah. When you find the right woman that you're meant to change your life for and grow old with, you'll get the same feeling."
"What the hell you two over here giggling at?"
Alyssa tore her eyes away from Roman's intense gaze and faced Naomi who joined her and Cameron. "Just telling Cameron how you had me going to every single store in the mall looking for this outfit. Damn girl you wore me the fuck out," she said with a playful eye roll.
"But girl it was well worth it because you are looking fab-u-lous!" Cameron exclaimed, snapping her fingers with every syllable. Naomi laughed as she twirled in the bright orange fitted maxi dress with a deep slit on the right side.
"I know. And I definitely couldn't have done it without my girl right here," she said as she tossed her arm around Alyssa's neck, careful to not tug on her large Aztec designed hoop earring.
Alyssa grinned and brushed an imaginary piece of dirt off her shoulder. "Definitely couldn't have you up in here at your engagement party looking a hot mess girl."
"Speaking of hot mess did y'all see what some of these chicks wearing?" Cameron asked, curling her nose in disgust. "You can just tell that they thought they were going to the club to pick up a man and not an engagement party."
Naomi shook her head at her tag team partner as Alyssa softly chuckled. She glanced up briefly towards the spot where Roman was standing earlier and saw him talking to Jimmy, his cousin and Naomi's fiancee. Her eyes darted over his attire: a simple black button up shirt and matching gray perfectly tailored slacks with matching shoes, his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. 'Why the fuck he keep on staring at me?' she asked herself. Before the night she accidentally ran into him, she had knew of him since he was Jimmy's cousin and because of the gossip she heard from the divas. She had also saw him around a few times backstage. But most of the time he was so focused on his matches, well immersed in his character that he always seemed he was in his own world. But he never looked her way until a few nights ago and again tonight. He never stared into her eyes as if he could stare into her soul. She gasped suddenly as his gaze caught hers before lowering her head and rubbing her left ring finger subconsciously.
"I think I'm gonna get some water," she said to her two friends, not wanting to even smell a drop of liquor after last night. She quickly darted through the crowd towards the bar and placed her hands on the marble top.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!" she yelled, her soft voice going unnoticed by the two bartenders that were tending to the other patrons. She sighed and turned around, coming face to chest with Roman.
"What did you need?" he asked, his deep voice even and emotionless. She gulped.
"Just some water."
He nodded his head and moved to her left, slightly grazing her bare shoulder. He held up his hand and a bartender appeared instantly. "Another beer for me and a cup of water for the lady here," he ordered. A few seconds later, the bartender placed both beverages on the bar before disappearing again after grabbing Roman's money.
"Thank you," Alyssa said meekly glancing up and shooting Roman a small smile. A gesture he returned.
"You're welcome Alyssa."
Her brow furrowed in confusion. "How did you know my name?" she asked causing him to smirk.
"Well we do work for the same company and you're best friends with my cousin's fiancee," Roman explained taking a sip of his beer. "Anyway I would hope I did know your name after we spent the last few minutes staring at each other."
Alyssa's cheeks became flushed with embarrassment as she chuckled nervously, eagerly drinking her water from the small plastic cup. "You mean after you spent the last few minutes staring at me?" Her tone was teasing, a coy grin playing upon the corners of her lips. Roman held up his hands.
"Ok you caught me. I admit I was staring at you. But it's not like you weren't doing the same. And can you blame me for staring at a beautiful woman like you?" he said softly looking down into Alyssa's brown eyes, biting the corner of his lip.
Alyssa's breath got caught in her throat, taking in the flirtatious nature of the conversation she was having with Roman. This was completely out of character for her. The only wrestlers she interacted with outside of work were Naomi, Cameron, and Jimmy. Never in a million years would she have thought Roman would have noticed her or know her name. Never would she have thought he would openly and shamelessly flirt with her. But yet here they were.
Alyssa parted her glossed lips to respond when she saw Summer Rae saunter up to the two and throw her arms around Roman's neck. She promptly closed her mouth, quietly admonishing herself for getting carried away with her thoughts.
"Baby here you are. I've been looking all over for you," Summer Rae purred in his ear, lifting her leg and rubbing Roman's calf. Alyssa watched as Roman's jaw tensed up once he heard her voice. Summer Rae's grin dropped slightly as she turned her attention to Alyssa, her eyes rolling with disdain. "Hello," she greeted, her voice pretentious.
"Hi," Alyssa replied, her own voice dry and monotone. She grabbed her small clutch purse off the bar before glancing back up at Roman. "Thanks for the water Roman." She turned around on her heel and disappeared through the crowd looking for her friends.
A/N: Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews. Greatly appreciated!
