Chapter 10:

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not know any of the workers of the WWE personally nor am I affiliated with them in any way. This story is a work of fiction and I make no profit whatsoever from it.

The next few weeks seemed to pass for Seth in the blink of an eye. It was drawing to the end of Summer which was always the busiest time of the year for 'S&R' no matter what the year was. He'd been working extra shifts, extra days just to help with the coverage at the store that he hadn't realized he'd been putting Roman on the back burner. Not that Roman was at home much at all anyway. It seemed like the Samoan man was always at work these days.

Over the past few weeks, in complete contrast to his own boyfriend, he'd been seeing a lot more of Dean who had been coming into the shop under the guise of purchasing new clothes. Seth wasn't stupid though and he knew that there was no definitive reason for Dean to buy clothes at the current rate and frequency that he was. He soon enough cottoned on that the older man had his own ulterior motives and by Dean's third visit in barely a week to the shop, it became obvious that Dean was there for something other than clothing, his suggestive comments ramping up in their content with each and every purchase and browsing of the racks.

Seth couldn't deny that the attention was quite flattering to his own ego and he certainly knew that he couldn't resist Dean's charms for much longer, no matter how hard he tried. Internally he felt like the world's biggest jerk and hypocrite. He felt like a jerk because of what he was doing behind his boyfriend's back with Roman's boss, knowing that should the Samoan man find out he would be devastated. And he felt like a hypocrite because his last relationship, the one that had encouraged him to move from Davenport to Pensacola in the first place, had ended because of infidelity. And yet here he was, hurting Roman behind closed doors in the exact same way that he was hurt by his own ex-boyfriend.

He knew he was playing Russian Roulette with both his relationship with Roman and his his friendship with Phil but he couldn't stop what he was doing no matter how hard he tried to step away. Dean had an almost magnetic pull on him that he hadn't ever experienced with someone else before with the same intensity. Dean just had that extra spark that Roman didn't have and Seth wouldn't be lying if he said it was because maybe he and Roman had been together for a while before Dean Ambrose appeared and threw everything into disarray.

He tried to shake his head of his distracting thoughts as he tried to concentrate on his list of tasks for the day but he found he couldn't even pay attention. He couldn't get the thoughts of Dean out of his head, the image of the attractive man's face swirling around in his mind. He struggled to resist the urge that let his mind wander through his memories of their shared, secret kisses and subtle gropes inside one of Seth's change rooms when no one was looking.

His friendship with Phil was a whole other issue. Phil was not backing down one bit in his quest to reveal Seth's secret. No matter how much he tried to deny his own infidelity, Phil refused to take "no" for an answer, constantly probing and pushing Seth for answers to questions that Seth refused to acknowledge. He'd tried to avoid Phil for the past few weeks, only speaking to him when he desperately had to instead of their usual, friendly banter. He couldn't hide from Phil forever and deep down Seth knew that. He just wanted to prolong it.

"Hey? Seth?" Seth turned his head and saw Sami standing there almost uncomfortably twitching and shuffling on his feet. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah sure. What's up?" Seth smiled at Sami. He saw the hesitation in his body language. "Come into my office."

Seth led the way through the small shop, ignoring the blatant stares that were coming from Phil as he made his way towards his office at the back of the store. He stepped into the small room first and gestured for Sami to follow, closing the door once the younger man had taken his seat. "What's going on Sami?"

"I, uh, I had a phone call from my Mom this morning." Sami started. His fingers were intertwined and he was barely looking at Seth. "It's my Dad. He's in hospital and it's not looking too good right now. I have to go home Seth. I have to go back to Ohio."

"Okay, yeah that's fine. No problem at all." Seth smiled softly. Almost a little unsure of what to say. "When do you need to leave?"

"As soon as possible." Sami answered. "But I couldn't really afford the flights for today or tomorrow so I'm leave early Sunday morning. If that's okay."

"Yes of course that's fine." Seth tried to say soothingly. "I could have loaned you the money Sami to get you there earlier."

Sami shook his head. "I couldn't take that from you Seth." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry to put you in such a spot like this."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." Seth dismissed him. "Are you still able to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah that's fine. I'm gonna need all the money I can get since I don't know how long I'll be gone." Sami said sadly. He took a deep breath before he glanced back over at Seth. "Thanks again Seth. You're a good friend and a great boss."

Seth smiled sadly as he watched Sami leave his small office, the door closing quietly sounded louder than before. Inwardly he groaned but he could never blame Sami for it. It wasn't his fault that his Dad was sick. It did mean that he would spending a lot more time here for however long Sami was off. He cursed himself, wishing he'd hired another helper for the shop if there was instance like this.

He shook the mouse for his computer, logging on and deciding that he really needed to hire another worker anyway. He found the file that he'd previously saved when he'd hired Sami not too long ago and uploaded it onto one of the most popular, local job searching sites. He hoped that he'd be able to not only afford another worker but also sustain them. He waited until he'd gotten the confirmation to say it had been lodged before he reached for his phone.

He sent the first text to Roman with a brief description of what was happening with Sami and what he'd done to fix the problem. He knew Roman would probably be busy with work so he didn't expect a quick response.

The second text he'd sent was a little less planned out and a little more spur of the moment. He knew that tonight would probably be the last night he'd have off for a while so he didn't want to waste it at home by himself while Roman was at work. He sent the text to Dean, his mind made up that he was ready to cross that line finally.

'What are you doing tonight?'

Roman was typing away on his computer when he heard and felt his phone vibrating on his hard, wooden desk. He glanced across the desk and saw that Dean too had stopped typing at the exact moment he had as well. He felt Dean's blue eyes flick up and gave him an odd look. "What?"

Dean shrugged carelessly. "Nothing. It's just weird that we both got texts at the same time."

Roman reached his hand across for his personal phone, his work cell left unattended on the other side of his desk. He unlocked his phone and read the message from Seth. He internally wished that Seth would send him more lovey-dovey messages rather than all about business. For the time being, he'd be happy with just a message instead of nothing. "I wonder if its from the same person." He murmured.

Dean didn't really pay attention to Roman as he looked at his own text message. The words from Seth were staring right back at him with a mischievous glint in them. He quickly typed back a message, 'You? Come over tonight.' He finally lifted his gaze and looked at Roman, dismissing his earlier comment about them possibly texting the same person. "Well unless you're talking to Nikki, then no."

"What's going on with you two?" Roman asked, noting the look of surprise on Dean's face. "C'mon Dean. The door is closed and you know I won't tell anyone."

Dean took a deep breath. "The divorce is on hold at the moment."

"Why though?" Roman pressed. He could feel the energy that was radiating from Dean and it admittedly made him even more curious. "I thought you said you didn't want to hurt her anymore."

"She's good for me Roman." Dean answered with a slight shrug.

"Good for you how?" Roman pushed, trying to dig out the answer to his questions and end his curiosity. Dean was often hard to get any information out of when it came to his personal life but that wouldn't stop him from trying.

"She just is, man." Dean responded. "She just balances me out properly."

Roman just shook his head. "What about your happiness though? You're gay Dean unless that's somehow miraculously changed."

"No. That's not it at all." Dean replied sharply. "But Nikki is the right choice for me."

A look of realization appeared on Roman's face once all the clues fell together. "I get it now."

Dean rolled his eyes. "And what do you think you get?"

"Despite what you may think, I actually know you." Roman started. "I can see what you're doing with Nikki and it's kinda sad that you're sacrificing your own happiness for a lie."

"Who said I wasn't happy?" Dean snapped. "I have everything-"

"You have everything you want career wise but you won't ever know true love if you keep hiding who you really are behind your facade." Roman cut in. "You won't ever be able to have what Seth and I have if you keep pretending."

Dean had to use every ounce of self restraint not to respond sarcastically to Roman's last comment. He had to restrain even harder to stop his mouth from saying the words 'At least I'd be able to keep Seth focused solely on me and he wouldn't want to go looking elsewhere.' But he didn't. He'd already given Roman his word that what happened back in college with Tyler wouldn't happen again and he'd lied. He wanted nothing more than to get into the pants of Roman's current boyfriend and he wouldn't stop until he did.

"See. You're realizing that I'm right." Roman said sharply. "You don't really love her."

"I do love Nikki." Dean shot back, perhaps a little harsher than he intended but he didn't really care. He felt the vibrating of his phone inside of his expensive suit pants and knew that it would be a reply from Seth. "I don't know why the hell you think I don't care about her and love her."

"Uh, maybe because you're lying to yourself?" Roman questioned. "I know you Dean and I know what sort of person you really are inside. You're gay and you're only messing up Nikki's feelings again by pretending to play house with her again. I mean come on, haven't you put that poor woman through enough over all these years?" He paused for a moment. A sudden thought occurring to him. "Unless she's letting you get someone on the side."

Dean didn't respond. He didn't really feel the need to dignify his apparent friend with said response. Although Roman's words were striking a chord with him. Maybe the Samoan man was right and Dean was giving up on his real happiness for the sake of his own image and career but then again Nikki had never said anything about him not having someone to play with on the side. If he was perfectly honest, he hadn't given too much thought on what she had proposed to him. What she was offering him though was very tempting and he wasn't sure he even could resist it if he tried.

"Are you seeing someone else right now?" Roman asked curiously, noting the look that suddenly appeared on Dean's face. Almost like he was caught out.

"When would I even have the time?!" Dean exclaimed. "I'm always here!"

Roman shrugged his shoulders, his curiosity still spiked by Dean's awkward body language. "Hey man, I was just asking."

"Whatever. I'm over this conversation." Dean responded sharply. "C'mon. We've got plenty of this to do before either of us can leave tonight."

Dean slid his phone out of his pocket and read the message on the screen. 'What time do you get off work?' He couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face as he quickly typed back a response. 'I'll be home just after six. Come over whenever after that.' He glanced up and looked at Roman who was focused solely on his computer screen before placing his phone back into his pocket.

Later on tonight couldn't come fast enough.

Seth stood in front of his mirror, his brown eyes wide and his heart thundering hard against his chest. He was dressed somewhat casually in a pair of dark denim, skin tight jeans and a one-size too small plain black t-shirt. His hair was pulled back into a low bun that sat right at the nape of his neck. He didn't know what the dress code for tonight was although he supposed that there was no code for 'a night spent cheating on your boyfriend'.

He tore his gaze away from the full length mirror in his large bedroom, his stomach churning as he walked across his room to his bedside table. He reached for his bottle of his Paco Rabanne 'Invictus'. His hands were almost shaking as he squirted some of the expensive cologne against his golden brown skin. He felt his eyes flutter shut as the smell overwhelmed him, so many happy memories with Roman appearing in the front of his mind.

His brown eyes opened and he placed his bottle of cologne back in its rightful space on his mahogany coloured bedside table. His gaze shifted to the mirrored photo frame that sat next to it, his heart lurching from inside of his chest once he saw the picture inside of it. The picture was of him and Roman at Naomi and Jimmy's wedding almost a year ago. Their smiling faces almost made Seth feel a little sick, his mind stepping through the motions of what was right and wrong and maybe what he was planning to do tonight was wrong. Maybe he should have listened to Nikki and stepped away from Dean but he knew he couldn't. There was always some sort of invisible pull that made him come back to Dean.

He tore his eyes away from the photo frame and stepped away from the bedside table. He walked out of the large bedroom and made his way downstairs. He couldn't hear anything over his heart pounding in his chest. He made his way towards the kitchen where he knew he'd left his phone, his wallet and keys. His hands curled around all three items, his phone and wallet sliding into the tight pockets of his jeans while he held onto his keys.

He walked over to the door and stopped for a moment. His hand resting on the door handle before he took a deep breath and stepped out of the house he shared with his loving boyfriend. He ignored the voices in his head that were telling him that what he was doing was wrong, his own desires coming to the front of his mind as he made his way towards his car.

He slid into his car and started up the engine. He'd already looked at Dean's address and knew exactly where it was, his stomach clenching again as he realized it was only a few minutes away from his own home. He pulled out of his driveway, his loud, heavy music pounding and screaming through the car as he drove the short distance to where his life would change forever. He couldn't stop his mind from running over the fact that after tonight, his relationship with Roman would never be the same again.

He turned down the street that Dean lived in, his eyes wide as he scanned the large houses that adorned each side. His car slowed down, brown eyes wide as he read the numbers of each house trying to find the right one. He was thankful that the sun was still out in almost full force at this time of the day, making his task infinitely easier. He slowed right down and turned into the driveway that belonged to the house number that Dean had informed him was his address.

He couldn't help but gasp as he drove up the driveway, not stopping until he was parked right in front of the large house. He knew Dean had a lot of money but he never expected the other man to own a house that was as large as this. He slid his car into park and killed the ignition. He slipped his phone out from his pocket to make sure that he was at the right house but the expensive Black Bentley in the driveway was a clear indication.

He took a deep, soothing breath before he stepped out of the car. He locked the car with a click of a button on his keys as he made his way towards the large house. He could still feel the way that his heart was hammering away in his chest while he walked up the stairs at the front of his house before he finally reached the front door. It was now or never. He was sure if Dean was downstairs, he would have heard the car pull up or even the loud pounding music but he still hesitated for a moment and took a long, deep breath.

He reached up and knocked on the heavy door three times before he began the waiting game. From his position on the other side of the door, he could hear the sound of muffled footsteps on the other side of the door, although he couldn't be sure that the sound wasn't his heart. He wasn't kept waiting too long when only a few moments later, the door creaked open and Seth had to stop himself from making an embarrassing noise when Dean appeared from around the other side.

Dean was wearing nothing but a pair of low hanging, light grey gym shorts that reached his knees. It was clear that he wasn't wearing underpants, the outline of his cock very obvious through the thin material of his pants. Seth's brown eyes raked shamelessly over Dean's toned and fit body, the slight sheen of water sparkling across his body. His hair was wet so Seth assumed he'd just had a shower. Maybe that's what Seth needed, a nice cold shower after looking at Dean like this.

"You alright Seth?" Dean chuckled at the younger man. He couldn't help the smirk that grew on his lips as he watched the lust grow deeper and more intense in Seth's eyes.

Seth laughed shortly. "Ha. Yeah. I'm fine."

"Come in." Dean suggested. "Or you can just stare at me all night."

Seth's cheeks coloured as he stepped inside of the large house, the door closing behind him signaling a significant change in one relationship and the start of another one.

TBC

A/N: well. Let's see what happens in the next one. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I love how you guys all hate how Dean is. I smile as an author and go, "yes. My characterization is working!" Thanks again guys! GatesVengeance x