I know I said the next update would be recaps from his POV...but that's still a work in progress so let's pick things up where they left off.
I woke the next morning alone in bed. Of course I am. Serves me right I guess for having that moment of weakness last night. Sighing, I looked at the time on my phone. 6:23. We'd have to be on the road soon. If he was still offering me a ride now that he'd gotten what he wanted.
After my shower was over, I stood in the mirror, trying to make myself look halfway presentable after staying up most of the night. That's when I heard the door open and close. I froze, listening to the footsteps approach.
"Lay?" Elias called out. Great, he's given me a nickname. That's usually the first sign of attachment. I never stopped my task to look at him when he filled the doorway. Elias walked up behind me in the mirror, his arms went around my waist as he hugged me from behind. He looked so happy and I felt horrible. "I had to leave early to get a new key before everyone else stirred. Then I showered and got my stuff together...including these."
I watched as the roll of condoms dangle in front of me. He tore one off of the row with his teeth. "I...uh, don't you think we should be getting on the road?"
Elias took a step back and looked down at his phone. "Shit, you're right. That's okay though because we'll have plenty of time for this. I don't want our first time to be a rushed quickie."
"Yeah," I chuckled awkwardly.
He'd brought his bags with him to my room so all we had to do was make our way to the elevator. We rode down a few floors in silence before he turned to me. "Is this going to be like the last time something happened between us and you wouldn't talk to or look at me for like 2 days?"
"Elias, I-" my sentence was interrupted by the elevator dinging. As if this moment couldn't be any more awkward, Liv stepped on.
"Good morning!" Liv greeted in a sing song voice. She looked at me. "I was this close to having him last night but shit happens."
"Indeed it does," I grumbled in agreement.
"Usually I ride with Mandy and Sonya but I think I'm going to ride with you guys," Liv said, not asking but inviting herself.
When we walked to the car, I grabbed the handle of the passenger door but she playfully shoved me out of the way. I was planning on talking to him about the way I felt but it'd have to wait. Just like I imagined, riding with Liv was grating. The flirting. The talking. The giggling. Elias kept watching me through the rear view mirror but I kept my eyes locked on the road and traffic outside.
Elias pulled us up to the hotel when we made it to the next town. "Liv, I'm going to drop you off here. Me and Alaina planned on going to the gym for a quick workout before the show."
That was a lie but I guess he wanted to spend some time with me without her hovering around.
"I can go," Liv said.
"But you're toe," Elias tried to sound concerned.
"It was just jammed but it's better now," she assured.
"That's alright, Elias, I think I'm ready to go in anyway," I replied, not wanting to be around this forced situation anymore. "Besides, the only thing I really need to work out is my voice, right?"
Elias sighed. "Alright, I'll pick you two up in a few hours."
The women in the lockerroom listened intently and squealed like school girls as Liv gushed about the non-event between her and Elias last night.
"His dick is huge!" Liv used her two index fingers as a ruler to display the length which was exaggerated by a few inches but I digress.
"Oh, really?" Mandy raised a flirtatious brow.
"Back off bitch, he's mine," Liv hissed. "But yeah, I grabbed it in the elevator on the way up and almost fainted. He's going to break me in half."
"Why didn't he last night?" Peyton asked.
"I got shitfaced and almost threw up on his boots," she laughed. "But he held my hair back and put me to bed. I was feeling so much better afterwards and asked him to stay but he said I needed rest. He is so sweet."
A chorus of awwws rang out before Ember took the conversation over. "I'm so happy for you, Liv. After going through it with Enzo, you deserve this happiness."
"What does he say about her?" Billie asked and it took me a few seconds to realize the question was directed to me.
"Oh, I, uhh..."
"When we were still on Raw, they kind of hated each other so I'm sure they're not talking about much, let alone his personal life," Bayley commented on my behalf.
"Yeah, what she said," I confirmed with a nod.
Sitting here only made me feel worse about what happened and why it should've been avoided. The entire locker room was excited about this one sided, unrequited love story Liv had going on with Elias. At this point if they found out that I had something going on with him it would look extremely shady especially since I 'hated' him.
Familiar cramps sent me to the bathroom. Well, at least I'd have an excuse to turn him down tonight. My path put me on the trail of Elias who was walking toward the women's lockerroom carrying a bag and his guitar.
He turned around when I cleared my throat to get his attention. "I was just headed your way. I got your dress and the song for tonight."
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to sit this one out. I'm having lady issues," as if on cue I was struck by a sharp contraction.
"Oh, that's why you were acting weird this morning. You can still come out. It's just cramps. Meanwhile, we men power through matches with injuries."
"I'll have you know that women are working through injuries just like you men so that's not something to brag about plus they wrestle through cycles," I scoffed. "I just happen to have a condition that causes my pain and symptoms to be worse."
"Oh," his expression softened. "What am I going to do out there without you?"
I chuckled until I realized he was serious. "The same thing you've been doing for the last 2 years before you had me."
"Yeah but it's not the same anymore plus you know the women in the audience look forward to this sappy crap," he said.
"Only the women? Men can't like sappy crap too?" I challenged.
"You know what I mean," he replied.
"Anyway, I'm going to give you my key so you can drop by later," I said, reaching it to him.
"Why the hell would I want to drop by with you on the rag? Regular you is bitchy enough," he snorted. I was getting ready to explode on him until I saw his lips twitching into a smile.
"I'm pretty sure you can understand that I'm not in the mood for jokes right now," I rolled my eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, between all of the women in the lockerroom, I'm sure someone has a Midol!"
My door opened around 11:45 that night. I heard his guitar and singing before he appeared. "My heart is drenched in wine. But you'll be on my mind. Forever. Something has to make you run. I don't know why I didn't come."
"What is that?" I asked as he threw me a heating pad for my cramps.
"Norah Jones, Don't Know Why," he answered.
"You...and Norah Jones?" I tilted my head.
"Yeah, that's public record. I revealed it in a workout video with Sheamus and got flames on Twitter for it."
"Well, I don't exactly keep up with all things Elias," I shrugged.
"I bet you will now," he winked.
"About that, we need to talk…"
"We need to talk," he repeated, climbing in bed beside me. "Those four ominous words are usually reserved for break ups or bad news. You can't be breaking up with me already before we've even established labels on our thing."
"There can't be a thing," I whispered.
"What? Why?" he asked. "After last night I thought we were good."
"We were until I came to my senses. I don't date wrestlers, remember? What we're doing is fine now but what if you get bored? What if I get bored? What if we get separated during another brand split and another pretty girl turns your head? I'm not setting myself up for major disappointment and failure."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm a sports entertainer instead of a wrestler," he smiled.
"Oh, Elias. You're so cute," I rubbed a hand down his face.
"I am? I thought I looked like a busted version of Seth Rollins on steroids?" he questioned wryly.
"You still do," I laughed. "Just like you said I was an evil feminist who needed dick."
"You still need dick and I'm going to give it to you...in 3 to 5 days or however long it takes your, you know, to end."
"There's another issue..." I sighed.
"What now?" he asked with a touch of exasperation in his voice.
"Liv."
"I already told you I don't care about her!"
"I know but she very much cares about you for some reason…"
"I'll tell you the reason," he cleared his throat. "Liv is a pretty girl who is used to getting anyone and anything she's ever wanted in life. That's trained her to think that just because she bats her eyelashes at a guy, he's hooked and hers. No work required. Unfortunately for her, she was sadly mistaken in this case but of course she can't tell the difference. Hell, who knows, maybe I would've entertained her if you weren't in the picture but it's too late now."
"I wish that I'd come to the realization that you weren't an asshole just a week before she came to me," I shook my head. "Now because you were romantic enough to not let her hair fall in the toilet, she thinks you like her. The entire lockerroom thinks you like her and now the fans think the same since she takes the time to like and comment on any pic you post. 'Liv must be walking with Elias behind the scenes.' It's just frustrating knowing that I'm going to turn into the Lio Rush of the women's lockerroom becuase I stole a man that was never hers in the first place especially after I spent weeks hating you."
"We don't have to go public with our relationship. We spend most of the time together anyway so no one's going to see us walking backstage with each other and think 'they're totally fucking.' Let's just keep it private," he suggested.
"No, they won't see us walking together and think that but it'll be in our actions, the way we look at each other and the things we say," I replied. "Then there's Liv. I don't know. Maybe we're better off as friends. Relationships have a way of fucking with people. We had something great in the form of friendship in the days leading up to last night and I don't want to ruin that because if my heart gets broken, my attitude toward you in the beginning will intensify."
"You wished death on me at one point so I don't see it getting too much worse than that," he chuckled. "And I'm down to be friends alright, friends...with benefits."
"No," I declined. "Last night was great but I can't imagine having too many more sessions like that without any feelings getting involved. Let's just end it now while we're okay with each other."
"We can just have plain animalistic lustful sex. No strings attached."
"The people who say 'no strings attached' are the first to attach strings," I snorted.
"Well, we'll have a Liv free week to figure this all out," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"When we were at the arena I found out that Vince is implementing this Wild Card rule where Superstars can cross brands. Roman is going to Raw Monday which means we're going to. Raw leaves on the European tour the next day, we're flying out with them for the week and then we'll hook back up with Smackdown Tuesday in London," he divulged. "Between Monday and next Tuesday, I'm sure you'll be finished with it so we can…"
He trailed off when his lips touched mine. I wanted to fight it, I really did. I wanted to think of the countless reasons why this was wrong but something in me could not as I melted into the kiss. The bitter sweet knowledge that this was going to end badly made my chest tighten. I'm sure the sudden stabs in my uterus were unrelated but they were enough to snap me out of this.
"Okay, that's enough," I hissed, sitting up to grab my phone. The first tweet I saw was from Liv revealing that she'd be on the Raw tour in a Riott Squad reunion. I leaned over to show him. "So much for that alone time."