Sammy was right; his father did stick around for my first training session with Ace. I hated being watched while training, and now I have even more eyes on me.
Uncle Ace was one of the ones who trained my parents. That was actually how they met. His blonde hair had more gray in it than it used to, but his eyes was still the same startling shade of blue as ever.
"You will listen to everything I say. You will do as I instruct. When we are in the ring, you are not to refer to me as Uncle. You understand?" Uncle Ace sternly ordered.
"Yes, sir." I nodded automatically.
"Good. That being said." His face softened as he pulled me in for a hug. "I'm proud of you, Sandy. And I am honored to be your mentor."
"Thanks, Uncle Ace." I warmly said, hugging him tight.
"Now." He said, releasing me. "Get in the ring and run until I tell you to stop."
I ran the ropes for several minutes with ease. My conditioning must be improving because by the time Ace blew his whistle, I was not as winded as I usually was.
"Very good. You're improving." Ace nodded.
We spent a good hour running different drills. Dean got in the ring after a while and gave me some good pointers as well. We started chain wrestling for some time, Dean and Ace taking turns giving me advice. After a while, Ace blew his whistle again.
"Go take a seat and learn something." He told me.
I gave him a confused look but obeyed. Dean and I sat down on one of the benches that surrounded the ring. He chuckled as we watched Mom and Dad step into the ring.
"This should be good." Dean said.
It had been a long time since I've seen either parent in a wrestling ring. They locked up and Dad immediately took the lead, backing Mom in the corner. Ace, acting as the referee, called for the break. They wrestled back and forth for several minutes.
"Beautiful." Dean cheered as Mom flipped over Dad's back and landed a swift kick to his side.
I eyed Dean carefully as he watched the ring. "You and Mom are close."
"Very." Dean said, not taking his eyes from the ring.
"Why is that, you think?" I asked.
"What?" Dean finally broke eye contact with the ring and looked at me. "Oh. We've been friends longer than there was a Dean Ambrose. We just go back a long ways."
I shook my head, not really convinced with his answer, but not wanting to pry further. Who am I to question him when I had just spent the night with his son?
I couldn't help but smile as I watched my parents put on a wrestling clinic in the ring. Mom came off the ropes with a tornado DDT, causing me and Dean to both clap.
"Your mother is a very special woman. In fact." Dean paused as Dad nearly clotheslined Mom out of her boots. "Things easily could have been different. But she was always waiting for your father and I was always searching for my Kris."
I tore my eyes away from the ring at Uncle Dean's admission. It made a lot of sense the way Dean would tease Dad and my father would get on the offensive at times.
"Everything works out the way it's meant to, Sandy. In and out of the ring. Make sure you take care of my boy and he'll always take care of you." Dean said with a wink.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I said, looking back over to the match.
"Uh huh." I could hear his chuckle. "Beautiful!" Dean clapped when Mom hit her bulldog on Dad.
Only a two count. Dad's legs wrapped around Mom, putting her in his old submission finisher, the Anaconda Vice. It took a few moments, but she tapped out.
"P, do you think next time, you won't try to take my arm out of the socket?" Mom looked at Dad crossly, rubbing her shoulder.
"Next time, you'll tap like you're supposed to, Krissy." Dad teased.
"So, are you ready to get back in here or what?" Ace called to me, motioning me back in the ring. My immediate reaction was to ask if he was serious, but Ace sat on the middle rope, opening it up more for me. By the time training was done, I could flip over from a standing position, and was just as sore as I was after my first day of training.
"You need a work out partner. Someone that can be in the gym and in the ring with. When you find that person, I'll gift you with a key to the gym, so you can work out whenever you have free time." Ace told me.
"Seriously?" My face lit up.
Ace nodded. "Your father and Colt used to do that all the time. Only fair that I give you the same offer. I would prefer a girl partner, that way you could wrestle on shows with."
I wrinkled up my eyebrow at the thought. "Do I have to wrestle women?"
Ace looked at me, pretending to be in shock. "You don't want to wrestle women?"
I looked down at my feet, slightly sheepish. "I've always been in the ring with guys."
Everyone laughed at my reaction. Mom put her arm around my shoulders, kissing my cheek. "I know what you mean, Sandy. There weren't many women I had fun with in the ring."
"We'll find someone to work out with you. It was just a suggestion. But yes, you will wrestle women. You've got to learn how to wrestle both, Sandy." Ace said.
"Maybe you could call your cousin Elizabeth? See if she would be willing to come in on a day off?" Dad suggested.
I couldn't help but make a face, which made everyone laugh again. My cousin is currently the WWE Diva's Champion. She was good in the ring, but she did have a bit of a princess streak. Also, she would talk your ear off if you let her. As much as I love my cousin, somehow I didn't see that ending well.
"It was just a suggestion, Sweat Pea." Dad teased.
"I know, but I want to clothesline Elizabeth when we're together for Christmas. I might actually hurt her in the ring." I flatly said.
"Don't worry, we'll find someone." Mom said, giving my shoulders a squeeze.