Chapter Eleven
Flash back...2011.
If having Tammy go into one of her "moments" wasn't bad enough, Kellie's life was to get more complicated with having another man after her attention. After the outburst at Jon and their subsequent becoming friends, along with Tammy's outburst and Kellie having to tell him some really personal stuff, she had hoped life would settle back down into a happy routine again. She was also planning to finally collar Joe and she was beginning to look at collars for him. What she wasn't expecting was to have Dwayne Johnson – The Rock – confess to wanting to be a lot more than friends.
They had been friends for a number of years due to the nature of their job and also because Dwayne and Owen were best friends. It wasn't unusual for Dwayne to be a frequent visitor to the Hart mansion and he had known Kellie since she was a teenager.
It was getting towards the end of the day when Dwayne arrived unannounced at the training facility to surprise Kellie. At first Kellie didn't even realise he was there. She was finishing up training with a couple of would be Divas. Dwayne leaned up against the door frame and watched her. They hadn't really seen much of each other in recent years due to Dwayne's movie career and, at that moment, he suddenly realised just how attractive Kellie had become. She had filled out a little since he had last seen her but the curves suited her frame. Her whole demeanour seemed different too but it only seemed to add to her attractiveness. It was obvious that she had grown in confidence over the years.
As the female trainees climbed out and headed for the showers, Kellie spotted Dwayne and gave him a small wave to let him know she had seen him. Grabbing her water bottle and her towel, Kellie climbed out of the ring.
"What brings you here?" Kellie asked as she approached him.
Flashing that winning smile of his, Dwayne replied, "well, I hear that you've got some time off coming up, starting from today, so I thought I would drop by and take you out for dinner tonight."
"Well, can I go home and get changed first? I don't look very attractive right now." Kellie didn't want to go out to any restaurant in sweaty training clothes.
Finding a suitable skirt and top to wear, Kellie headed off to a nearby restaurant with Dwayne. They spent a pleasant evening at a beach side restaurant. Having the opportunity to just be herself and not have to pretend was something Keliie didn't get to do very often, apart from when she was with Tammy, Joe, Jon, Colby or with her family. Everyone else met "Miss Tough Ass WWE Talent Trainer" and didn't often see the other side of her. Dwayne was one of the very few exceptions.
"So, what brings you to these parts? Surely you should be able to find your way back to Miami by now – or did you have a man-moment and get lost?" Kellie broke into a grin.
Making a point of not rising to the bait, Dwayne answered, "I just happened to be in the area and I thought I'd drop by."
"I'm not buying it."
"Okay, okay, so I wanted to see you. It's been too damn long so I figured I'd find a hotel up here in Tampa for a couple of days and come see you. Is it so bad to want to visit a friend?"
Kellie shrugged. "I guess not."
Leaning back in his chair, Dwayne seemed to ponder something before asking, "so, what's this I hear you're dating my cousin?"
"Yes, we're seeing each other," Kellie said, hoping that would be enough to keep him quiet and not ask too many questions. How could she explain to her friend that she had a rather unconventional relationship with his cousin; that she enjoyed restraining him and beating him for sexual pleasure.
Dwayne could tell by her body language that Kellie didn't feel comfortable talking about it, which he found a little odd. There was something more to it than met the eye. Remembering that she had previously had a bad relationship with Jeff Hardy and mental health problems, Dwayne figured he wouldn't push the subject.
"How's Tammy doing? I heard she's not been feeling too good recently."
"She's had better days but she's getting there. Things have been a little, um, crazy recently and I guess things just caught up with her."
Kellie was thankful that Dwayne quit with the questions about her personal life and they spent the rest of the evening talking about nothing in particular. They talked about family and Kellie's animal sanctuary back home in Canada that she had built on the Hart Mansion's land years before with her grandparents' inheritance. The sanctuary was Kellie's 'baby' and had been the thing that had effectively saved her life when she had been ill. It had been something for her to focus on during her illness. Now that Kellie was back with the WWE, she left the general day to day running of the sanctuary to a hand picked team of employees who Kellie knew she could trust to keep things going whilst she wasn't there.
Seeing Kellie so animated about what she cared about what infectious. Before either of them knew what was going on, it was late and the restaurant was closing. Taking Dwayne's arm, the two of them strolled along the beach, enjoying the last bit of the setting sun, before heading back to Kellie's apartment. For the first time in a while Kellie felt relaxed. As Kellie walked in the front door and collapsed onto the sofa, Tammy wandered out of the kitchen.
"How was your date?" Tammy asked.
Kellie looked up at her. "I would hardly call it a date, but it was good thank you."
That cheeky smile crept across Tammy's face. "He fancies the hell out of you, you do know that right?"
"Oh, don't talk stupid! Dwayne's just my friend!"
"Don't give me that 'we're just friends' routine. I could tell from the way he was acting around you that he fancies you like crazy. I've been with enough guys to notice."
Kellie resisted the urge to make a comment about Tammy going with plenty of men. It was far too easy and it was too soon after Tammy's last mental blow out to make jokes about her sexual habits. "Well, I think it's a load of rubbish. Dwayne is my friend and that's all there is to it. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed." Kellie stood and headed towards her bedroom.
Tammy shrugged. "Suit yourself. But mark my words, you won't be staying 'just friends' for much longer." With that she disappeared to bed herself.
The following morning Kellie arrived at the facility, to drop off some paperwork that would be needed whilst she was away, only to be greeted by the biggest bunch of roses she had ever seen. William Regal couldn't help but tease her over it. He made some comment about her being the only one who could end up with an actor as an admirer and walked across the facility smirking to himself. Feeling slightly bemused Kellie looked at the card that came with the flowers. They were from Dwayne and the flowers were to thank her for a wonderful evening the previous night. Even Jon and Colby were quick to back Tammy up and say that Dwayne obviously had the hots for Kellie.
"Oh come on, it's obvious! He goes out of his way to come here, just to take you out for dinner, and then buys you flowers the following day," Jon said. "He fancies the fuck out of you but he's too much of a gentleman to admit he wants to bang you. We all saw the way he was checking you out yesterday."
"You could so worse than Dwayne, you know," Colby chimed in. "He's good looking, probably has a fuck ton of money..."
"Enough already!" Kellie yelled, getting exasperated. "We're friends and that's that." With that she went into the facility's office to have some quiet time. All this talk was starting to annoy her. After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door and Joe let himself in, carrying a coffee.
"You okay?" He asked as he put it in front of her and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk.
Kellie sighed. "I'll be fine. I just needed a time out."
Joe took hold of her hands. "We're still okay aren't we?" He asked uncertainly.
Kellie looked up at this and saw the wide eyed look on his face. Joe was obviously worried that she was about to leave him and run off with somebody else. She squeezed his hands. "I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you're worried about. It's just...I dunno."
Maybe everyone was right; maybe Dwayne did fancy her. She hadn't ever considered the idea. It wasn't that she didn't think Dwayne was attractive. But Kellie wasn't sure she could deal with a man in her life that may not understand that part of her; the BDSM side. Too many men, and women too, had freaked out at her over the years and Joe was the first to understand and accept her. Tammy, Jon and Colby were the only other exception. Naturally her family knew, as did Tammy's parents.
Getting up from her seat, Kellie walked around the desk and sat on Joe's lap. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and nuzzled into his neck, kissing it gently. Looking him in the eyes, Kellie promised him she wouldn't leave him and finally admitted she was now considering collaring him. This seemed to brighten Joe's mood.
"You feel I'm ready?" He asked.
"I would have liked to tell you under better circumstances, but I guess we can't control everything," Kellie admitted. She gently pushed a loose strand of hair away from his face that had escaped from his ponytail.
Over the next few weeks Kellie and Dwayne spent more and more time together. When they weren't together, they were talking by cell phone on a regular basis. Jon, Colby and Tammy continued to tease her over it. Kellie tried her hardest to keep her mind off it by throwing herself into work and spending time with Joe on the weekends. It didn't seem to work though and Kellie was finding it more and more difficult to deny how she was starting to feel about Dwayne. Noticing the change in her friend, Tammy decided she would talk to Dwayne as soon as she got the chance. The last thing she wanted was for Kellie to end up getting hurt because Dwayne didn't understand Kellie's way of life.
Inviting him to join her for coffee one afternoon, Tammy explained a whole load of stuff to him. She told him about Kellie's somewhat unconventional lifestyle and sexual preferences; she told him all about her mental health issues and the abuse she had suffered at the hands of Jeff Hardy.
"If you plan to take things further with Kellie, you need to understand what makes her tick. She loves Joe and she won't ever leave him. You will be sharing her, whether you like it or not. She doesn't care about you any the less though."
Dwayne was silent for a while as he took in all the information Tammy had told him. He had no idea that Kellie had suffered such horrible mental abuse or that her mental health had been as bad as it had. She had always seemed really strong and confident. Maybe she had just been good at hiding it from him.
"Whatever you plan to do, please be gentle with her," Tammy requested.
Returning to the training facility that evening, Dwayne was grateful that Kellie was on her own when he got there. The trainees and other trainers had been leaving as he arrived. Kellie was coming out of the changing rooms when she saw him. She stopped when she saw him. Dwayne told her that he knew all about what had happened in the past and about her relationship with Joe.
"I'm not going to pretend to understand but, if you're willing to give me a chance, I would like us to try and make a go of things..."
"Are you sure?" Kellie asked uncertainly. "I'm broken...you deserve a lot better than me."
Before Kellie could protest any further, Dwayne silenced her with a kiss. That was the day they ended up officially dating.
