Chapter 5: Orlando or Bust

Wednesday, January 22, 2014:

"Somebody get the door!" I yelled. I was in the middle of hooking up our surround sound system to our TV in our new house in Orlando. We had spent all day Tuesday moving in and unpacking, and we still weren't done yet. When no one answered, I sighed.

"Never mind! I'll get it!" I hollered. I got up and walked to the door, where someone was knocking pretty incessantly. "Alright! Alright! Hang on, will ya?!" I looked out the peephole and gasped. I immediately opened the door to find none other than a "Hound of Justice," Seth Rollins. He was leaning against the doorjamb with one arm stretched out, his hand poised to knock again. He was wearing, quite ironically, a CM Punk "Best Since Day One" t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of black Converses.

"Hi," he said, smiling at me. I smiled back at him.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" I asked. He put his arm down and put his hand in his pocket.

"You texted me yesterday, told me you were down here. I figured I'd come surprise you," Colby said, smiling.

"Oh, yea. I did text you yesterday. I totally forgot I had. Um, do you wanna come in? It's a bit of a mess, though," I said, tucking a piece of loose hair behind my ear. He straightened up and replied,

"Sure. I'll come in, Scarlett. Besides, I think I was supposed to help you today. Remember?"

"Oh yea. You were supposed to help me. Are you sure you can, though? After your match yesterday?"

"Oh, I'm fine. It wasn't that bad. I can't really tell you what happened, but yea. It was pretty good."

"Alright. Well, come in," I said, motioning for him to come in. He stepped over the threshold and I closed the door behind him.

"Nice place," Colby remarked. I stepped around him and went to the still unpacked kitchen.

"Thank you. It's a bit of a mess, though. You want something to drink? You can have whatever you want, as long as it's in a can," I told him. I heard him laugh and I smiled.

"Sure. Whatever you got is fine with me, babe," he said.

I came back with a can of Dr. Pepper.

"Babe? Really, Lopez?" I asked with a smirk. I handed him the can and I felt sparks as his hand closed over mine. Colby's hand lingered on mine just a brief moment longer, and then he took the can.

"Yep. Babe. So how much longer will it take you guys to unpack?"

"Hopefully not too much longer. I have to be at The Performance Center on Saturday, so they will have to do without me for that day," I said.

"You excited yet?" Colby asked. I sat down on the coffee table across from him. I sighed deeply.

"I don't know yet. It hasn't really sunk in yet," I said. Colby put the can down and touched my leg.

"Don't worry, it'll sink in when you get ready to have your first match. When I got to NXT, I was unbelievably nervous. I had just wrapped up my stint in Ring of Honor, and was just about to go to TNA when Matt (Evan Bourne) convinced me to come to the WWE. Then after I had my first match, I started getting excited. This was my dream being realized. I was just happy that I was getting a chance to wrestle in the WWE, and then I won the NXT Championship. That was better than anything.

"I was still nervous because I didn't know how long I would be here, and then I get called up to the main roster to be part of The Shield. I'm not telling you this because I'm trying to make you even more nervous than you already are, but to kind of get you psyched. I mean, I don't know how long it'll take you to get called up to the main roster, but it's a very amazing thing to even be here. Hell, I still get freaked out whenever I have a PPV. I keep expecting to wake up in my bed, thinking the last few years of my life was all just one fantastic dream." Colby said all this while stroking up and down my thigh. I felt goosebumps form, not just on my leg, but all over me. I shivered.

Colby leaned closer to me and I felt his breath on my lips. I looked into his brown eyes and he stared into my blue ones.

"So, you're just trying to get me ready for this? Is that what you're saying, Colby?" I whispered. I didn't dare trust my voice at this moment. In response, he leaned closer and whispered in my ear,

"Of course. I'm betting on you, Scarlett." He then kissed the spot below my ear and I exhaled sharply. He leaned back to look at me. I opened my mouth to say something and realized I couldn't say anything.

I closed it again and looked down, my face turning crimson.

"Hey. What's up?" Colby asked, tilting my chin up so I could look at him.

"Y-You're making me nervous, Colby," I stuttered. I was sure that all the blood had rushed to my face because it felt so warm. He smiled a half-smile at me, and I felt more blood rush into my face.

"Why? I'm not doing much," he said huskily, running his thumb across my cheek.

"That. You're making me feel stuff, things I haven't felt before. I don't ever get nervous. Then you come in and I don't know what to say half the time. I didn't expect any of this to happen. I mean, I was planning to move down here and further pursue my dream of being a WWE Diva, but I wasn't expecting all this to happen so fast. It's still all so . . ." I was cut off by Colby's lips pressing against mine.

I gasped softly, then completely on instinct, I weaved my fingers through his half-brown, half-blonde hair and kissed him back. Mmm . . . . his lips were incredibly soft, and his mouth tasted like mint. I couldn't help but hear Lady Antebellum's "Just a Kiss" play in my head as we kissed.

"Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight

Just a touch of the fire burning so bright

No, I don't wanna mess this thing up

I don't wanna push too fast

Just a shot in the dark

That you just might

Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life

So baby, I'm alright

With just a kiss goodnight"

I moaned softly as I felt one of his strong arms wrap around my waist. His other hand ran through my hair and for some reason I can't quite explain, I pushed him back against the couch and straddled him. Our tongues wrestled with each other for a while, both of our mouths wanting complete control. His hand squeezed my waist and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

I heard him growl low in his throat, and the sound was so primal, so animalistic; it was quite the turn-on. This went on for quite a while when we were rudely interrupted.

"Ahem!" I jumped off of Colby and sat as far away from him as I could. I ducked my head and adjusted my shirt, while he quickly reached for the forgotten can of Dr. Pepper and proceeded to finish it off. I looked up to see my three best friends staring at us.

Willow had her eyebrows raised and her mouth in a smirk. Brielle was shaking her head and smiling while Tucker rolled his eyes.

"So, how's the uh, unpacking going, guys?" Colby asked innocently.

"It's going great, thanks for asking," Willow said.

"Although, it seems like Scarlett's having a much better time with the unpacking process than we are," Brielle teased, suppressing a giggle.

"I, um, probably should leave. Let you guys get back to it," Colby said, standing up. I stood up as well and said,

"I'll walk you to your car." I walked out with Colby to his car. Once we got there, I asked him,

"What was that for?"

He smiled down at me and said,

"I told you I was gonna kiss you once you got down here. And I did. You are an amazeballs kisser, Scarlett." That made me giggle and his smile got bigger. "Seriously. Although my head was being weird while we were kissing."

"Huh? Why was your head being weird, Colby?" I asked. His head was perfectly fine to me, or at least his mouth was perfect, anyways. I wasn't really paying attention to the rest of him.

"This song was playing in my head the whole time. It was a stupid song," he said, laughing. Huh. I thought I was the only one that did that. Guess not.

"What was the song?" I asked.

"It was "I Kissed a Girl." Not the Katy Perry version, but the Attack Attack! version. Stupid, I know," he said, running his hand through his hair. I giggled again.

"I happen to love that song, Colby. Both versions of it. Two things, though: One, I'm not wearing cherry Chapstick. Two, I hope you don't have a girlfriend. If you do, you'll have been the second guy I've kissed that has a girlfriend," I said. He shot me a look.

"Oh, I'm definitely not taken, honey. Not unless it's by you, that is," Colby said, putting his hands on my hips and pulling me closer to him. I put my hands on his chest.

"You really think so? You really think we can do this?" I asked. I had just met him two days ago and I was already contemplating a relationship with him. Jeez, my heart moved fast. Now if only my brain could catch up, but no; it was too busy having common sense. You can't be in a relationship with him right now, a little voice in my head said. My heart was saying, Why not? Love doesn't know time.

"We can try. I know we just met two days ago, but there's just something about you that's pulling at me. We can go slowly if you want to, just kinda dip our feet in the water first. What do you say? It's up to you, Scarlett," Colby said, pulling me even closer to him. I bit my lip and thought. On the one hand, being in a relationship with someone I didn't really know was crazy! What if he had multiple girlfriends that he had ran through? What if he didn't really care about me? For all I knew, he could just be doing this so he can get in my pants and then throw me away, like so many guys do to girls.

Wait. Hold on a minute, I thought. There's just something about him that makes me think that he's not like that. I have to take this chance. Who knows where it'll lead? It's a new start in a new place. Why not?

"We can try. But we just have to go slow, Colby. I don't even know how long I'm gonna be here," I said, looking up into his pretty brown eyes. I was rewarded with a big smile.

"Good. I'm glad." Colby said, hugging me tight. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. "I don't care how long you're in the company, Scarlett. I just want a chance to be with you. I'll go as slow as you want me to." I smiled up at him in response. I then stood up on my tiptoes to brush my lips against his. He responded eagerly by picking me up and pressing me against the door of his car. Wow, I thought. I don't think I could ever get over this, the way he makes me feel. I felt my lips tingling as he kissed me.

As we kissed, a very odd song started playing in my head. Well, it wasn't that odd but it was weird to me, though. It was that old Aaliyah song, "Try Again." Colby wasn't exactly trying again, though.

"What would you do?

To get to me

What would you say?

To have your way

Would you give up?

Or try again?

If I hesitate

To let you win

Or would you be yourself

Or play your role

Tell all the boys

Or keep it low

If I say no

Would you turn away?

Or play me off

Or would you stay"

After a while, though, I broke the kiss somewhat reluctantly. I leaned my head back and saw Colby smiling at me. I smiled back at him and then laid my head on his shoulder.

"What is it, honey?" he asked softly. I looked up at him and sighed.

"I don't know, really. Kissing you is so amazing. Really, it is. I just, um . . ."

"What are you saying? You don't want me kissing you? I don't wanna quit kissing you, but since we're supposed to be going slow, I can stop. I know I kinda ambushed you earlier, and I definitely wasn't expecting your reaction, either, but if it's making you uncomfortable, I'll only kiss you when you ask me to. Promise," Colby said, smiling.

"You'll only kiss me if I ask for it?" I asked. He nodded.

"I don't wanna surprise you. I don't know what your reaction will be next time," he said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes.

"My reactions to being kissed are perfectly normal," I pointed out.

"Really? The first time, you ended up on top of me on your couch. The second time, you're in my arms with your legs wrapped around me and you're up against my car. I am curious to see what happens next, though."

I jumped down and punched him in the arm.

"Ow! That actually hurt! Jeez, girl, I hate to see what happens if anyone actually gets on your bad side," he said, rubbing his arm. I could tell he was trying to be serious, but he had a smile on his face.

"Trust me, you don't wanna find out what happens when you get on my bad side. You think AJ's crazy? Well, that's the Jersey version. You ain't seen the Southern version of crazy. We'll break your vehicle, shoot you, or write a song about it. Me, I'll break your vehicle and probably your bones, too. And if I find out you've been cheating, well, that's just another vehicle and another set of bones to break," I said seriously. Colby's eyes widened at that.

"Wow. Really?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yea. Really."

"Have you ever done that before?"

"Done what? Break someone's bones and vehicle?"

"Yea. That and find out someone was cheating on you." I looked down at the ground and sighed.

"Oh. You have. I - I'm sorry, Scarlett. I shouldn't have asked," Colby said, wrapping me up in his arms and holding me tightly. I looked up at him and replied,

"You don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault. It happened a long time ago, before I came to Orlando. I'll tell you all about it sometime after we get to know each other better."

"You take as much time as you need. You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to, honey," Colby said, stroking my cheek. I laid my hand on his and smiled at him. I was about to open my mouth to respond when Colby's phone rang.

"Hello? Yea, it's me. Alright. You don't need to know what I'm doing. Agh. Fine. I'll tell you later. Alright! I'll be there soon. Yea. Talk to you later." He put his phone back in his pocket. "So where were we?"

"Who was that?" I asked.

"It was Jon. I gotta go. I was really hoping to take you out tonight. Rain check, honey?" I nodded. He smiled at me. "Alright, I really gotta go now, okay? I'll see you later, I hope."

"Alright, see you later, babe," I said, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him again. He kissed me back and then got in his car. We waved at each other as he pulled out of my driveway. After he was gone, I walked back into my house, where I had to finish unpacking and setting up.

"Alright, come out of there, guys! I know y'all were watching me, so come on!" I yelled out. My friends walked out of their rooms and I crossed my arms and gave them dirty looks.

"What? We weren't doing any kind of watching, Scarlett," Brielle said innocently.

"Bullshit. I saw y'all standing at the window. Colby saw y'all too. So there," I snapped.

"Damn. So, tell us everything! Don't leave out any details, either," Tucker said excitedly. I rolled my eyes again and sat down on the couch to spill the beans.

"Colby kissed me again. We talked a little bit about what was gonna happen between us."

"So, what is gonna happen between y'all?" Willow asked. I knew Brielle and Tucker wanted to know, but Willow had to know so she could decide whether or not she wanted to kick Colby's ass.

"We don't really know yet. We're gonna take it slow for now. He was gonna take me out tonight, but Jon called him and he had to leave," I replied. Tucker asked,

"What was the deal with you punching him in the arm?"

"Oh, that." I said. "He made a smart-ass comment and I punched him. He said that he would hate to see what would happen if he ever got on my bad side. I told him he didn't wanna find out. I told him that if he thought AJ was crazy, I was worse. I told him that I'd break his vehicle and bones, and that if he cheated, I'd break the girl's vehicle and bones. He asked me if I had ever done so, and . . ."

"And what?" Brielle asked.

"I told him that I had, before I came to Orlando. I told him I would tell him later once we got to know each other better, and he told me I didn't have to tell him if I didn't want to," I responded.

"Are you sure you wanna tell Colby about this, sweetie?" Willow asked, rubbing my arm. "It took you a while to tell me, and I had to practically beat it out of you then. You sure you wanna open up that old wound again?"

"Yes, Willow. I'm sure. I think Colby deserves to know the truth about what happened in Atlanta. I feel like I can trust him. I really do," I said, holding Willow's hand. Tucker and Brielle held my hand.

"You know you'll have to say his name, right? And you'll have to explain every last horrible detail. I love you, Scarlett, but if Colby somehow uses that information against you, I don't think I could take seeing you so broken. Not after what happened last time," Tucker said. I smiled at him and touched his cheek.

"I know what I have to do, Tuck. Like I said, I feel like I can trust Colby. I really do. If he does somehow use the information I've given him against me, he will know what it feels like to have Karma come back and kick his ass into next year. He will also know what it feels like when someone gets on my bad side."

"He'll also feel the pain of your very best friends, too. Don't forget that," Willow said. I laughed at that and then all my friends hugged me.

"I love you guys. You know that, right?" I asked. They nodded and smiled at me and then released me from their hug.

"Alright. We still have a long way to go before this house is acceptable for guests, so let's get moving!" I said. They went back to their rooms and finished their unpacking while I finished setting up the surround sound system in the living room.

Later that night, we were relaxing over takeout and beers in our now completely set up living room. We were watching the new episode of Modern Family. I was watching Phil Dunphy act like his usual doofus self when I felt my phone vibrate. It was Colby texting.

Hey. :) How are you? I know I left so suddenly earlier, but I promise I'll make it up to you soon. How's next week sound?

Hey. :) I'm good. It's OK. I know you had to leave. I would like that, though. Next week sounds great. See you then. :)

Can't wait. :) Oh by the way, I got the number 2 spot in the Royal Rumble. Not quite sure how I feel about that, but I'll take it.

Oh, that's awesome! :D Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do great. I'll be watching this Sunday! Good luck, babe! :)

Thank you, honey. :) Oh, gotta go. I gotta go work out, get in fighting shape for Sunday. See you soon! Xoxo

See you soon! Xoxo

I smiled as I put my phone up. I felt three pairs of eyes on me just then.

"What? Like you've never smiled texting someone you liked before?" I asked, still smiling. My friends just rolled their eyes and went back to watching Modern Family.

A few hours later, I was settling into my newly-assembled bed with kids' Avenger sheets - what can I say? I love my Avengers - and was almost asleep when my phone rang.

"Jeez, I must be in demand today," I muttered to myself sleepily as I unlocked my phone to read the text. It was from Phil. I sighed as I read it.

Hey. So I set up a training day for next Saturday. Hope that's alright with you. Also, can I take you out for dinner Saturday night? There's some stuff I wanna talk to you about. Stuff we need to talk about before anything stupid happens.

I couldn't stop myself from being a smart-ass, so I texted back this reply:

Well, it certainly can't be any stupider than you kissing me twice. I will say yes to the training on Saturday, but I don't know about dinner. We'll see. I need to go to bed. I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight, Phil.

Goodnight, Scarlett.

I put my phone up and went to sleep.