Dave got in the car where the others were waiting. Ryon was quietly listening to her iPod, showing no signs of emotion. Hunter and Ric were both watching her carefully waiting for the expected outburst. When it didn't happen, Dave tapped on her shoulder lightly, getting her attention.
"Yeah?" she said.
"Umm, are you all right, I mean, did you want to talk?" Dave asked.
"No, I'm good." She smiled, putting back on her earphones.
Dave looked at the other guys who shrugged their shoulders. Dave opened the newspaper and pretended to read; all the while his mind was running. Was he really the reason for breaking them up? Was he ruining his daughter's happiness? And Randy's for that matter? Had he been wrong about Randy's commitment to her? Most importantly, how was he going to fix this?
Ryon was sitting in catering watching the other wrestlers come and go between matches. She had fought all day to not reveal any emotions, not to let Hunter know that he had won. She rolled her eyes as she saw Hunter making his way over to her table.
"Hey, Ry, thought I'd find you here." He smiled.
"No, actually I was just leaving." She replied cattily, grabbing her purse.
Hunter grabbed her arm, "Sit down." The look in his eyes was one she had seen on more than one occasion. She knew not to test him when he had that look, even in public. All the guys backstage viewed him as their leader. Sure everybody knew that he was an arrogant asshole that only looked out for himself, but nobody had the guts to stand up to him. That said, everybody turned a blind eye to whatever he did. She sat back down, noticing that everyone had left the room. Alone again.
"What do you want?"
"I just wanted to say that your performance today was definitely Oscar worthy." He laughed.
She kicked the table into his chest, catching him off guard. He stared at her in shock as she sat there with her arms crossed in supreme disgust.
"Fuck you. Answer my question, or I'm leaving." She ordered, surprised at her bravado.
"Don't get all bitchy Ryon; I was just coming over to tell you that everybody's going out tonight." He said.
"I don't feel like going out."
"I'm not asking you."
"I'm not going." She stated.
"Yes you are. Be ready at twelve, and don't forget our agreement Ryon; you're on thin ice right now." He threatened.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she was determined not to let them fall in front of him. He stopped beside her and bent down to whisper in her ear, "Accidents happen Ry. Don't forget that."
Dave was standing behind the curtain that sectioned catering off talking on his cell phone.
"Yeah, that's great. Thanks for setting that up for me. I'll talk to you soon. Bye." He ended the phone call, and began walking back to the lockeroom to meet up with Ric, when something caught his attention. Through the curtain he could hear Ryon's voice.
"I'm not going." She stated.
"Yes you are. Be ready at ten, and don't forget our agreement Ryon; you're on thin ice right now." The other voice said.
Who was that? They were talking so low he couldn't distinguish whose voice that was. Who did Ryon have an agreement with? He would have to talk to her later. He started walking to the lockeroom, his head down deep in thought, when he bumped into Hunter.
"Hey, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Dave apologized.
"Don't worry about it. You headed to the lockeroom?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah, where have you been at?" Dave asked.
"Stopped down at catering to handle a little business, no biggie." He smiled.
Dave stopped cold. Was he talking to Ryon?
"What's wrong big man?" Hunter asked.
"Nothing, nothing. I have a little business of my own to handle too. I'll let you know about it later." He said mysteriously. He had to talk to Ryon. He had to get the truth out of her. Something very shady was going on, and he wanted to know.
Hunter's brow furrowed in question, "Okay, we're meeting in the lobby at twelve."
Dave nodded.
Ryon looked at herself in the mirror in her hotel room. She had successfully recovered from her tearful breakdown after her meeting with Hunter, and was almost ready to leave. She went to the door, surprised to see her dad on the other side.
"Hey sweetheart." Dave greeted, giving her a hug that he knew she needed.
"Hey." She replied softly.
He pulled away and could see how dejected she looked.
"We need to talk. Who were you talking to in catering?" He began.
She shook her head, "Nobody. I just got some coffee."
"I overheard you talking to someone. Who do you have an agreement with, and who are you on thin ice with?" He asked.
"That wasn't me. I don't know what you're talking about."
"Ryon, talk to me. I know we haven't been seeing eye to eye lately, but you are my daughter and it is my responsibility to protect you. So if some punk is threatening you then I need to step in and lay down the law." He said, getting angry already.
"I can't. I wish I could, but I have to handle this on my own. I'm sorry that I have to keep this from you." She whispered.
He took a deep breath. How was he supposed to help her if she wouldn't let him?
"You do know that if you need me for anything, all you have to do is ask. I don't care what it is or who it involves, I will be there for you this time. I'm not going to make that same mistake again." He promised.
"I know daddy. I appreciate it." She answered.
He kissed her forehead and embraced her again, "I love you honey."
"I love you too."
They arrived at the club and headed straight for the VIP area. The whole Raw roster was already there. Randy, who had been talked into coming, was sitting at the bar getting wasted. He saw Ryon when she came up to the lounge and promptly ordered two more rounds of shots. God, she looked more beautiful than ever. Her hair was a mass of golden tendrils that bounced with ever step she took. Her teal dress hugged her every curve, and her silver stilettos showcased her toned legs. Maybe it was just the alcohol that was enhancing her beauty, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He buried his head in his hands, finally able to tear his eyes away from her. He had hoped that she would be here tonight, thinking that maybe he would get a chance to talk to her, but he knew that Evolution would be blocking on her all night, as was the usual custom. He sighed to himself and threw back a shot. The slow burn of the vodka down his throat soothed his woes for the time being. Ryon slid into the booth between her father and Ric who were ordering drinks. She had made up her mind that she was going to have a good time tonight just to spite Hunter. After she got her drink, she went out on the dance floor and started dancing with various wrestlers who were already out there. She was playing her usual role of being a cock tease. She'd smile, and sip on her drink, do a little dip, and then move on to the next lucky guy. After a few songs she went back to the now empty table and ordered another drink, not noticing that someone had approached the table.
"Mind if I sit down?"
She looked up into the face of Chris Masters, one of the new guys on the roster. He was getting quite the push, and was quickly becoming a regular on the Raw roster.
"Sure." She smiled.
"I saw you when you came in, and wanted to tell you that you looked exceptionally beautiful tonight." He complimented.
"Awww, you're so sweet." "And drunk." She thought to herself.
"It's true. Don't be modest, you know you're beautiful." He flirted.
She turned her head, and rolled her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me!" she thought to herself, "What kind of pick up line is that?"
"Hunter told me that you and Randy broke up, and I can't say that I'm not happy about that." He slurred, taking her hand.
"Yeah, I bet."
"You know, Hunter has been talking to me about maybe being the newest member of Evolution."
"Oh really?" she laughed. He was making a fool out of himself and didn't even know it.
"Come on and dance with me." he asked, pulling her out of the seat and towards the dance floor.
Her groan was inaudible as she followed behind him. She had to ditch him immediately; he was already getting on her nerves.
"I was supposed to be having a good time." She reminded herself aloud.
"What?" he yelled over the music.
"I'm having a great time." She yelled.
He smiled, pulling her closer, "Me too."
Randy had been watching Ryon covertly the whole night. He was feeding his unhappiness with drink after drink, shot after shot. He was now more than drunk and his blood was slowly boiling when he saw that Chris Masters had moved in on her. His eyes were glazed and narrowed at the two of them. He watched as she tossed her hair and smiled up at Chris on the dance floor. He couldn't be that damn funny, he thought as raised another shot to his lips. He clenched his hands into fists as he saw Chris maneuver Ryon closer. His patience with the asshole was wearing thin. Chris was caressing Ryon's shoulder, as he leaned in to kiss her neck.
"What are you doing?" Ryon asked, taken aback.
"Sorry." He grinned sheepishly, pulling her back to him.
Randy downed another shot; the dick weed had two strikes. Randy was seeing double and red at the same time. His mind was swirling in a passionate rage.
Chris moved his hands to her waist, grinding against her in the beat of the song. She was really getting fed up at this point, and was waiting for the song to end so she could escape. Suddenly, she felt Chris' hands move further south and grab her butt. Outraged, she shoved him away from her.
"You jerk! Don't ever touch me like that!" she cried out, still shocked by his actions.
He grasped both of her shoulders, trying to pull her back to him, "I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was doing."
"Let me go!" she struggled.
He refused to release her, "Ryon, you're overreacting. Just relax, I said I was sorry." He rambled.
"Get your fucking hands off of her." Randy warned, coming up behind Ryon and pulling her away from Chris.
Bad idea. Alcohol and egos do not match, and these were the two biggest ones in the room.
"This doesn't involve you Orton. So why don't you go back to drowning yourself at the bar." Chris yelled, standing toe to toe with him.
"Do something about it then." Randy yelled back, stretching out his arms on either side of him.
Ryon came between them and was pushing against Randy's chest, trying to back him away from Chris.
"Randy, please stop. He's not worth it." She begged.
"You are though. He's not going to molest you out here and get away with it, hell no." Randy said, not taking his fierce gaze off of Chris.
"I said it's none of your business. You're just mad that she dumped you and found a real man." Chris smirked, knowing that he had touched a nerve.
Randy stepped around Ryon and punched Chris in the face. The crowd of people on the dance floor opened up to compensate for the two flailing bodies. Ryon couldn't believe what she was seeing, as both men were on the floor throwing punch after punch at each other. Some of the other guys had already come up and began the task of pulling the two alcohol fueled men apart. About five minutes, ten other wrestlers, and five bodyguards later was the fight broke up. Both men were escorted outside and away from each other. Chris called for a taxi, and was sped off to his hotel. Randy paced furiously on the sidewalk. Ryon had followed the two of them outside and was cautiously watching Randy from a few feet away. She had rarely seen him in this state before, and was unsure of what to do.
"Randy, are you okay?" she asked softly.
He turned and stared at her. His adrenaline was still pumping, but his expression softened.
She slowly walked towards him, stopping directly in front of him.
His lip was swollen and bleeding, but that was the only thing that she could see wrong with him, thankfully.
"I saw him grab you, and I …" he explained, but was stopped when she placed two fingers over his lips.
"Thank you." She said, staring intently into his eyes. She could get lost in them so easily, and could feel their hypnotizing power overtaking her.
She framed his face and brought his lips to hers. It was a tender kiss that spoke volumes between them. She pulled back, still looking into his eyes.
"I love you Randy. I'm going to find a way to come back to you. Please wait for me."
His breath was coming in short blasts as she spoke the words that he so desperately needed to hear.
"I'll wait for as long as it takes." He promised.
She smiled at him, melting his heart all over again. He looked over her shoulder and saw Batista coming outside.
"You better get back so you don't get into trouble." He said.
She nodded and turned to leave, but not before he caught her and turned her to face him again. He dropped another kiss on her sweet lips, savoring it as if it were a fine wine.
"I love you too."
His heart almost felt like it was breaking again as he watched her leave. He leaned against the wall to steady himself, his mind still reeling from the combination of massive quantities of alcohol and having survived a fight with one of the biggest guys on the roster. He smiled to himself, relishing in how great it felt to deck that prick Masters. To his surprise, he saw Batista coming his way.
"I hope you don't want to fight too." Randy joked.
Dave laughed, "No. Ryon just told me what happened, and I wanted to come and thank you myself."
He shook his head, "You don't have to thank me. I'll never sit back and let anyone disrespect her in any way, I can promise you that."
Dave nodded, looking down at the pavement, "He better be glad that you got to him first and not me."
It was Randy's turn to laugh then. Chris would have been in a coma if that would have happened.
"Has Ryon told you any other reason, for breaking up with you?" Dave asked suddenly.
"No, has she told you anything?" He wondered.
"No, but I think there's something going on, I just can't put my finger on it, and she won't talk to me. I didn't know if she had mentioned anything to you." Dave said.
"No, but if she does, I'll let you know." Randy assured.
"Yeah, same here, and thanks again for what you did." He said, reaching out to shake Randy's hand.
He turned to leave, but stopped in mid stride and turned back around.
"You really do love her, don't you?" Dave asked.
Randy smiled, "More than anything."
They stayed like that for what seemed like a long time. Both just staring, trying to read each other. Finally, Dave nodded his head and continued back to the limo.
