Saturday…
Avery walked out of the bathroom twisting her wet hair up into a bun and surveying the damage in her room. She nearly tripped over Summer's red heels. Paige was snoring in Avery's bed, one of her legs hanging over the side, foot almost on the floor. Summer was in Paige's bed in full on starfish mode wearing her dress from the night before and a pair of Avery's sweatpants.
Avery had already gotten up, gone to the gym, taken a shower, and packed everything up for herself as well as Paige. Granted, she got significantly less drunk than they did at the bar the night before. Aaron had to carry Summer out over his shoulder with his jacket draped over her ass so no one would see her business. Paige had been in slightly a better state. She walked out on her own two feet, shouting some Drake song at the top of her lungs with Joe.
They were both sleeping so soundly she felt a little guilty having to wake them but she'd let them sleep as long as she could. They had to make the drive to San Jose.
She plopped down on the bed beside Paige, patting her on the back, "Time to get up, love."
Paige stirred but she didn't wake up. Avery wasn't entirely surprised. Hung over Paige slept like the dead. She sighed, knowing that they weren't going to like it but they were probably both too far gone to be woken up nicely. She took a page out of her grandfather's book and decided to get them up the way Elias woke her during her high school years.
She stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. Summer reacted like she'd fired a gun. She woke in an instant, looking wildly around the room.
"Time to make the donuts ladies!" she shouted.
Paige rolled over and sat up slowly, squinting, "Fuck off."
"I love you too," Avery smiled. "Get up, we gotta go soon."
"Did I sleep here?" Summer looked around, confused.
"Yes doll, you clearly slept here," Avery laughed. "No one could figure out where your room was and you were no help."
The blonde laughed, "Well..thanks for the pants, I guess."
"You're welcome," Avery smiled. "Now get up. We're meeting Fox downstairs in an hour."
"What the hell time is it?" Paige grumbled, attempting to run a hand through her tangled hair.
"Time for you to get up," Avery said. "Your bags are all packed up; you just need to get ready."
Once she got her friends up and moving around she told them she would take her bags downstairs and get breakfast for the three of them. Paige started shuffling toward the bathroom like a zombie while Summer tried to untangle herself from the sheets. It was going to be a while.
Avery went down to the rental car, putting her bags in the trunk. Once she was done, she walked back inside and went to the hotel restaurant, ordering enough food for the four of them and tea for herself. While she waited, she unlocked her phone and cleared out a bunch of notifications for Twitter and Instagram and then scrolled through some unopened texts. She had a message from Kevin thanking her for letting Rami use her house. There was another from Nikki that looked like a novel. She would read that later, assuming it had something to do with her dinner with Brie, Nattie, and Eva. As she opened up yet another text, this one from Ashley, she felt her tea lifted out of her hand. She turned angrily and found Jon's amused blue eyes looking at her over the bottom of her cup as he took a long drink. Colby stood beside him, giving Avery a nonchalant shrug like neither of them should be surprised at what was happening.
"I hate you," she glared at Jon. She was going to put the kibosh on this whole 'friends' thing if he kept stealing her tea.
"You don't mean that," he flashed a smile and she rolled her eyes.
"What are you doing down here?" Colby asked.
"Just picking up food. Ordered breakfast for the zombies upstairs in my room," she explained.
"How bad are they?" Colby laughed.
"Well, Paige's first words this morning were 'fuck off' if that's any indication," Avery smirked.
"What'd ya get to eat?" Jon asked, leaning against the counter beside her.
"Nothing for you."
"We were just gonna sit down. We're waiting for Joe and Win," Colby said. "Why don't you just eat with us? I'm sure they can just cancel the to-go order."
"I would but I can't," she smiled apologetically. "We have to meet Foxy. We've gotta get on the road and we're gonna have those stupid Total Divas cameras with us."
"I remember a time when you told me that you would never do that show," Jon smirked.
"I'm not on the show," she corrected.
"Are you sure?" Jon asked. "Because it kinda sounds like you are."
"Yeah, I mean, you hang out with all the girls. You have to deal with the cameras all the time," Colby said. "You're gonna be training Eva."
"Please don't remind me of that," Avery could practically feel a headache coming on at the mention of the redhead. "I don't want to think about it."
"You're gonna have to," Colby said. "What are you gonna do with her?"
"I have no idea," she sighed. She looked up at him hopefully, "You wanna be the best friend in the whole wide world and help me? Maybe she'll listen to you."
"Ooh, I would but I can't," Colby winced. "I'm busy."
She laughed, crossing her arms, "I didn't say when."
"I'm busy pretty much whenever you plan on doing that," he stated plainly.
"Jerk," she glared at him. One of the hostesses brought over a bag with her food and she thanked the young woman and stuck a few bills in their tip jar.
"Aren't you gonna ask me to help?" Jon asked when she turned back to them.
"Nope," she plucked her tea out of his hand. "See you guys later."
Claudio looked down at the GPS, checking how much longer they would be on the road. They were still about 40 minutes outside of San Jose. He heard his phone start ringing and he lifted it from the cup holder, frowning when he saw a picture of himself and Avery. It was taken on a flight to Mexico City a few months earlier. Avery had taken his phone when he fell asleep and took a snapshot of herself smiling from ear to ear while he slept, open mouthed, on her shoulder. He hated the picture but she giggled every time she saw it so he kept it. Sighing deeply, he declined the call and dropped the phone back into the cup holder.
"You know you're gonna have to talk to her eventually," TJ piped up from the passenger seat.
"Talk to who?" Claudio asked, flipping on his turn signal and changing lanes.
"I saw your phone, man," TJ laughed. "I've seen it a bunch. She keeps trying to call you. When are you gonna answer?"
"I don't have anything to say to her right now," Claudio said simply.
"Look, I've been giving you space about this, even though you've been crazy moody lately," TJ said. "But I just don't get it. Why are you so upset about Avery hooking up with Randy? I mean, the thing with you guys ended a while ago, right?"
Claudio clenched his jaw, not sure if he wanted to have this conversation. TJ had tried to talk to him about it once before, the day that he gave Avery the cold shoulder in the parking lot. TJ was a good friend and his curiosity was understandable but the situation with Avery wasn't easy for him to talk about. Claudio prided himself on his intelligence and composure. He was a born perfectionist and didn't allow anything to get him too riled up. But Avery made him feel like a fool.
"I'm just angry with her," Claudio admitted. "She told me she couldn't be with me because she didn't want to hurt me. She said she wasn't over what happened with Jon and she didn't want to be unfair to me. I understood, I backed off, gave her time. I thought that when she was ready to move on, it would be with me. I thought I was falling in love with her and now I find out she's off with someone else."
"Maybe you need to tell her how you feel," TJ suggested. "She probably didn't think you would care."
"She knew I would care," Claudio shook his head. Even when he tried not to let it show, it was obvious how he felt about Avery. She knew him. She knew exactly how he felt. She just didn't care as much as he expected her to.
"Has she left you any messages?"
Claudio nodded, "She just wants to talk. I'm her friend and she just wants us to be okay."
"You don't believe her?"
"I believe her," Claudio answered decisively. The problem wasn't that he couldn't believe her. Avery was an honest person. If she said she wanted to make things right with them, then she did.
"Don't you think you'll feel better if you just talk to her?" TJ asked. "It's not healthy to hold on to stuff like this. She obviously wants to be friends. What's so wrong with that?"
"I just don't know how to go back to being just friends."
Nikki was walking away from wardrobe with new gear for herself and Brie when she saw John and Randy talking. It was nice to see them getting along so well. She knew that John hated that they'd been on the outs. Whatever made him happy made her happy so she was pleased that they were getting their friendship back on track.
She walked over to them, looping her arm around John's, "Look at you two. Bromance is in the air."
"Isn't it always around here?" Randy laughed.
"That is very true," Nikki smiled. "But Randy, I think you and I are going to need to start making a schedule so we each get sufficient John time."
"You do know I'm right here, don't you?" John laughed, pulling her close to his side.
"I always know where you are," she smiled. "I made the reservation for Sunday night. I can't wait."
"She's been obsessed with trying this restaurant in San Francisco," John explained to Randy. "She's been talking about it for weeks. We're gonna go Sunday night."
A light bulb went off above Nikki's head, "Randy, you should come with us."
"Thanks for the offer but I'd rather not go on a date with you and John," Randy laughed.
"Obviously I mean you and Avery."
"That was not obvious to me," John chuckled.
Randy looked apprehensive, "I don't know."
"It'll be a double date," Nikki clapped her hands together. "I'll call and change the reservation."
"Shouldn't you check with Avery first?" John suggested.
"He's right," Randy said. "I really can't speak for her-"
"I can," Nikki shrugged. "She's got a signing in the area tomorrow so she's gonna be around. It's perfect."
Randy opened his mouth but John patted him on the shoulder, "It's best to just let her have what she wants. She won't stop."
"I won't," Nikki agreed.
Randy laughed, "Alright, fine. I guess I'll go but one of us is gonna have to talk to Avery about it."
"I'll talk to her," Nikki smiled. "Don't you worry."
Eva was grinding her teeth. It was a terrible habit but try as she might, when she got annoyed she couldn't stop herself. She'd just had a contentious argument with Foxy over the fact that she was asked to do a Divas photo shoot and Alicia wasn't. Of course, Alicia didn't get in anyone else's face for being chosen over her. No, everyone else deserved it. But anytime Eva got anything, someone had a complaint. She crossed her arms, leaning against a trunk. She was a strong person, she could handle a lot but her nerves were getting frayed from dealing with these other women. She reached into her purse, pulling out a compact, certain that her flushed cheeks were in need of some powder to calm them. She turned to find better light and caught sight of Sara Amato walking toward her. She quickly powdered her cheeks and pushed her hair back off of her shoulders. She'd been trying to get some time in with Sara but the trainer rarely ever gave her the time of day. She turned to try and catch her attention but she realized that Sara was walking with Avery. Eva rolled her eyes as they walked by, not even acknowledging her presence. Sara didn't come to every show because NXT was her primary focus but when she did travel with the main roster, it seemed like she spent every moment with Avery, Paige, and AJ. With AJ gone, Paige and Avery were obviously the golden children.
"Ooh, who pissed you off?"
Eva turned to see Trinity strutting toward her. Trinity hadn't always been Eva's biggest fan. They still weren't exactly close but she seemed to be the only Diva willing to admit that she may have been wrong. She had been making a real effort to get to know her.
"Fox," Eva sighed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "She's all pissed off at me about a photo shoot."
"Fox is always pissed off about something," Naomi laughed. "Don't stress about it."
"I'm just sick of it," Eva planted her hands on her hips, anger creating tension in her shoulders. "I get all this heat for special treatment. But look at Avery, look at Paige. They're the ones that get all the attention. They're always working with Sara and talking to Paul and the agents. They get more special treatment than I do."
"People just come after you because they don't know you," Trin explained. "And if they don't know you, they don't trust you."
"Nikki and Brie are the only ones that ever really tried to get to know me," Eva said. "And now you."
"Just keep your head down and work hard," Trinity draped a comforting arm over Eva's shoulders. "It'll get better."
Avery sat on the floor in the locker room, stretching her legs out wide at her sides and slowly leaning forward until her chest touched the floor. She stretched her arms out in front of her, walking her hands forward until she was in a full split. She held the stretch, letting her forehead touch the floor. Her hip had been bothering her for a few days and she was relieved that she didn't feel any sharpness when she stretched. After her ribs, she did not need another injury, not when she was so firmly in the title picture. She heard the door open and she looked up to see Paige coming in. She sat up slowly, bringing her legs back together.
"Hey Crumpet," she smiled at her friend.
"Cupcake," Paige walked past her, mussing her hair. "How's the hip?"
"Feeling fine now," she answered, standing up. "Whatever that was seems to be gone now."
"Good," the dark haired Brit looked relieved. "I can't have you getting hurt."
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine," Avery said. "I did want to talk to you about something though."
"Uh oh," Paige's brow rose. "What about?"'
"Nikki," Avery said, sitting down as Paige pulled a t-shirt out of her bag. She put her hands in her lap, "You seemed pretty annoyed with her yesterday."
"I did?"
Avery nodded, "You looked like you wanted to throw her out a window. Is everything okay with you guys?"
Paige sighed, sitting beside Avery, putting her arms around her knees, "Everything's okay."
"P," Avery gave her a warning gaze.
"Alright, alright," Paige rolled her eyes. "It's just..with Total Divas filming, Nikki is everywhere I turn. It's starting to get to me."
"Nikki really likes you," Avery said. "She just wants the two of you to be friends."
"We are friends," Paige insisted. "But we're never gonna be best friends. We don't need to be around each other every second."
"Damn right you're not," Avery laughed. "You better not be trying to replace me."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Paige reached out, pinching her on the cheek. "You're family."
Avery hugged her tightly, "So are you. And speaking of family, I have to figure out what to do about Thanksgiving before Grammie kills me."
"Well whatever you do I'm going with you," Paige said. "Grammie makes the best food in the world."
Avery's grandmother fawned over Paige like a newborn child whenever she saw her. They adopted each other as family pretty much the moment they met. Paige probably talked to Dixie as much if not more than Avery. And she spent Thanksgiving with them every year.
"She really does," Avery laughed. "And obviously whatever the plan is, you're included."
"I didn't question that," Paige laughed.
"Seriously though, there's nothing else bugging you with Nikki?" Avery asked. She had a feeling that Paige was feeling a little encroached upon.
"I'm sure," Paige tucked her hair behind her ear. "That's it."
The door swung open again and Nikki walked into the room, smiling, "Ladies."
"Hey," Avery waved.
"Am I interrupting?" Nikki asked.
Avery looked over at Paige who winked at her, "Just let me know after you talk to Grammie."
"Of course," Avery assured her friend. Paige left the room and when Avery looked to Nikki, her friend's expression made her suspicious. She was up to something. Avery narrowed her eyes. "What's going on?"
"Remember when I told you about that restaurant John and I want to go to in San Fran?"
Avery nodded.
"Well you're coming with us," Nikki beamed excitedly.
"Nikki, I'm not going on a date with you and John," Avery shook her head.
"It's a double date," Nikki grinned.
"Excuse me?"
"I already talked to Randy, he's in," Nikki smiled. "The four of us have a reservation at a Michelin star restaurant. It's going to be amazing."
"What do you mean you already talked to Randy? I never even agreed to go," Avery reminded her.
"I was talking to John about it and he was there and the idea just hit me so I brought it up," Nikki explained.
"And he said…"
"That he'd love to go," Nikki smiled.
"Why do I get the feeling that's not exactly what he said?" Avery crossed her arms.
"Semantics," Nikki waved. "He's going and so are you."
"Why?"
"Why not?" Nikki asked. "This will be a good opportunity for the two of you to actually talk to each other."
"We talk," Avery bristled.
"With your clothes on?" Nikki challenged.
"Not often but that's the whole point," Avery laughed. "We're not in a relationship."
"You could be," Nikki suggested.
"But I don't want to be," Avery reminded her.
"Look, you can act like you're all carefree and open with your vagina all you want but I don't see you sleeping with anybody else," Nikki stated. "It might be a good idea to know a few things about him."
Avery hated to admit it but Nikki had a point. She could stand to make more of an effort to get to know Randy. When they did talk, with their clothes on as Nikki put it, she liked him. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to know more.
"It would also be a favor to me," Nikki said. "John's been trying to mend their friendship. It would be nice for the four of us to go out and have some fun."
"Why do I have such a hard time telling you no?" Avery shook her head.
"Because you love me," Nikki shrugged. "It's a blessing and a curse."
"You're ridiculous," Avery laughed. "But I will go."
"I knew you would," Nikki reached out and hugged her. "You won't regret it."
Jon looked through the t-shirts one of the production assistants had just given him. He couldn't have cared less which t-shirt he wore out to the ring so he just grabbed the one from the middle and dropped the others on the bench next to his bag. He pulled off his own t-shirt and was about to put on the new one when the locker room door slammed open. Jon looked up to see Claudio barging in. The other man tossed his bag down, yanking the zipper open.
"What's your problem?" Jon asked. Claudio wasn't normally so demonstrative. Sometimes Jon didn't even know he was in a room until he turned around and saw his stupid face.
"I don't' have a problem," Claudio huffed, shuffling through his things.
He could protest all he wanted but Jon saw through it. He didn't need three guesses to say what was wrong with him. He was certain that Claudio had his panties all in a twist over the news about Avery and Randy. The look on his face now reminded Jon of how he looked whenever he found out Jon and Avery made up after a fight. He looked defeated and angry.
Jon felt no sympathy for him. He had considered Claudio a friend for years and then the Swiss bastard tried to steal his girl out from under him.
Hell, a part of him wanted to rub it in. He wanted to chide Claudio for the fact that he tried so hard to get Avery away from him and when he got her, he couldn't keep her. Jon thought about telling him what Avery said; that her fling with Claudio only ever happened because she wasn't over him. He wanted to rub his smug nose in it. But he wouldn't do that, no matter how much he wanted to and there was only one reason for him to hold back:
Avery.
No matter how much he hated it, Avery cared about Claudio. He was her friend. She cared about his feelings and she wouldn't want him hurt. Jon didn't owe the other man any kindness but he did owe Avery. He would tank his chances at making peace with her if he went after Claudio and the momentary superiority he would feel wouldn't be worth making things worse with her. So he grabbed his shirt and walked away with a smirk.
Sunday…
"Okay, tell me what you think," Avery took a step back so Nikki could turn to take a look at her makeup. They were getting ready for dinner in John and Nikki's suite while John and Randy had a drink at the hotel bar. They were both about half ready. Avery's makeup was done but she hadn't decided what she was doing with her hair yet. She was wearing the grey halter style bodysuit she planned on wearing to dinner but she was also wearing a pair of burgundy sweatpants. Nikki's makeup was now finished but they still had to address her miles of hair.
"Will you just move in with me and do my makeup every day?" Nikki asked, admiring her face.
"No, I have a feeling you're very difficult to live with," Avery teased. "Have you even decided what you're wearing yet?"
"I've narrowed it down to several options," Nikki explained. "I'm really excited for this dinner. I've heard amazing things about this place. One of my friends got engaged here a few months ago."
"Are you trying to drop hints?" Avery asked, pulling a brush through Nikki's hair.
"Unfortunately, no," Nikki sighed. "The last time I tried dropping hints about that we got in a huge fight. This night is all about fun and helping you and Randy get to know each other."
"Nicole," Avery glared at her in the mirror. "Do not make this weird."
"Why would you think that I would do that?" Nikki gazed innocently at her.
"Because you are a born meddler and you seriously lack subtlety," Avery wrapped some of Nikki's hair around her curling wand.
"I can be subtle," Nikki insisted. "Look, I promise, I'm not planning your wedding. I just want the two of you to get to know each other a little better. I won't make it weird."
"I would greatly appreciate that," Avery continued curling. Her phone started buzzing, "Will you see who that is?"
"Colby," Nikki held the phone up.
Avery answered the call, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder, "Hey Col, what's up?"
"Nothing much," he said. "Me and Aaron are going to dinner. I wanted to see if you and Paige wanna tag along."
"I can't actually," she said. Dinner with the two of them sounded less awkward than what she was about to enter into but she certainly wasn't getting out of it now. "I have dinner plans with Nikki. I think Paige is filming tonight with Foxy."
"Come on, you can't rain check Nikki for me?" Colby asked.
"Not this time doll," she laughed. "But maybe I'll meet you guys later."
Nikki looked up at her and made a face mouthing You will not.
She pushed the top of Nikki's head, directing her gaze back to the mirror.
"Sounds good. I'll let you know where we end up," Colby said. "Your drinks are on me."
"You know how to make a tempting offer," she laughed. "I'll text you later."
"Car should be here soon," John returned to his spot next to Randy at the bar.
"You know, we could've just taken my rental car," Randy said. John called a car service for the four of them to take, which seemed a little ridiculous to Randy.
"Nikki likes a little bit of a fairytale sometimes," John shrugged. "And I'm happy to do that for her."
"You have become the sappiest man alive with her," Randy smirked. "I'm happy for you."
"She really is amazing," John smiled. "I don't know what I'd do without her."
"Well I doubt you'll have to find out," Randy said.
John and Nikki were clearly in love. Randy was glad his old friend seemed to have found his match.
"What about you and Avery? How is that going?" John asked.
"It's good," Randy shrugged. "It's casual, you know?"
"Well there's obviously something you like about her," John smirked.
"I like a lot of things about her but it wouldn't be gentlemanly of me to tell you what," Randy laughed.
"Gentlemanly is not a word I would ever use to describe you," John laughed. "But I won't ask for details."
"I like spending time with her," Randy shrugged. "We don't really know each other all that well."
"And that's how you want it?"
"I'm trying not to think too much about it honestly," Randy shrugged. "We're just having fun."
"Well Nicole seems to think she's the greatest thing since sliced bread," John said. "So just remember what I said. Be careful."
Randy found it a little odd that John was warning him on the behalf of someone he didn't even know but he shrugged it off.
"You think the girls are ever gonna make their way down here?" Randy laughed, looking down at his watch. It seemed like hours since Avery texted him to say she and Nikki were getting ready for dinner.
"Nikki takes forever and a day to get dressed, no matter what the occasion," John smirked, looking down at his phone. "But they kicked me out of the room early enough, they should be ready soon."
John laughed, turning his phone toward Randy. Nikki had posted a picture to Instagram of her and Avery getting ready. She was sitting in front of the mirror and Avery was standing beside her, leaning close to the mirror, putting on mascara. She'd hashtagged it 'Date Night'.
Randy's own phone buzzed and he opened up a text from Avery.
We're on our way down. Still at the bar?
He texted her back to confirm that they were there and within a few minutes, Randy saw their bartender's eyes nearly pop out of his head. He turned toward the door just as the women were walking toward them. Avery drew his gaze like a magnet. Confidence poured out of her in waves. It was incredibly sexy.
Nikki rushed over to Jon, wrapping her arms around his neck. Avery walked more slowly, waving at Randy. He met her half way, letting John and Nikki have a moment alone. Randy drank in the sight of her. She was in an extremely low cut gray top and a knee length black skirt that hugged her body like a glove. Her usually messy waves were curled loosely.
"Hey there," she smiled.
"Hi," he leaned close, giving her a kiss on the cheek, trying to keep from staring at her breasts in that top. She had a small black and gray tattoo of a lotus flower settled perfectly between them. "You look amazing."
"Thank you, so do you," she smiled. "I was always a fan of you in a suit."
"I hear that a lot," he didn't bother to hide his cocky smirk as he put hands in his pockets. They both looked over in the direction of their friends. They were eskimo kissing.
"Do you feel as weird about this as I do?" he asked quietly, though he already knew the answer.
She laughed with relief, her shoulders slightly relaxing, "It sort of feels like we're doing things out of order."
"I'm pretty sure we are," he smirked. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing. We started with the really fun part."
"We definitely did," she agreed. "So…Does this count as a date?"
"Do you want it to be?"
"I don't really know," she admitted.
He appreciated her honesty. He wasn't sure either.
"Let's just see how it goes," he suggested, offering his arm.
She looked up at him as she looped her arm around his, her hazel eyes warm and clear, "I like that idea."
"The car is here," John came over hand in hand with Nikki.
"They're gonna be adorable all night, aren't they?" Avery laughed as they followed behind the couple.
Randy laughed, offering her his arm, "My guess would be yes."
Half an hour later they were seated at the restaurant, John and Nikki on one side of the table and Randy and Avery on the other. John ordered two bottles of wine and they all looked over the menus. They were given one per couple. Avery leaned close and Randy put his arm over the back of her chair so they could look together. Her perfume wafted up to him and he resisted the urge to steal a kiss. She just looked so damn good. It was nice to see her a little more dressed up. She looked good on a regular day but this was next level. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She looked up at him, winking when she caught him looking. He forced his eyes to the menu. This night was supposed to be about talking.
Once their food was ordered and their first glasses of wine poured, the conversation started flowing.
"So Avery, what was it like working in Japan?" John asked.
"Going to Japan was the best decision I ever made," Avery beamed, visibly perking up at the topic. "I absolutely wouldn't be where I am right now if I hadn't done it."
"How old were you?" Randy asked. He knew she'd worked in Japan but he didn't really know any specifics.
"Just turned 18," Avery answered.
"And your parents didn't have any problems with you leaving the country so young?" John stared, surprised.
"My grandparents raised me," she said. "And they've always been really supportive. I worked all the way through high school and I saved my money so when I decided to leave and I didn't need much from them, I think they realized that I would be okay on my own."
"What made you decide to go there instead of just working here?" Randy asked.
"I started training when I was 15 and I got really into watching old stuff. I was really drawn to the work Bull Nakano did with Alundra Blayze in '94 and '95. Then I just sort of went on these deep dives from Bull Nakano to Manami Toyota to Aja Kong, Mariko Yoshida, Dynamite Kansai, Jaguar Yokota, Lioness Asuka," she looked sheepish when she realized the length of her list. "Sorry, I could go on forever. The point is I wanted to do what they did, the way they did it. And I didn't really feel like I could learn to do that here. So I packed up and I moved. I learned from the best and it was absolutely amazing. I loved Japan, although it took me a while to pick up the language. I made some of my closest friends there and I got to wrestle the most badass women on the planet. Everything I do in the ring now is shaped by what I learned there."
Randy was impressed. It was ballsy to just pick up and move to another country like that. Not many people could do it.
"I feel like I'm babbling," Avery laughed. "Let's talk about someone else."
"Why do you keep looking at your phone?" Joe asked, staring across the table at Colby.
"Because Avery hasn't texted me yet," Colby answered. A deep frown settled onto his face, brought on by the combination of his disappointment and Joe chewing his steak with his mouth open.
"Well she said she was going out with Nikki, right?" Joe asked.
"Yeah but it's Nikki," Colby said. He didn't have a problem with the brunette. He didn't think she was the sharpest tool in the shed but she was nice enough when Avery brought her around. "I just assumed she would bail on her by now."
"They're probably still getting dressed knowing A-Town," Joe laughed. "Just find out where they're going and we'll meet 'em up."
Colby picked up his phone, typing out a text to her Finishing up dinner now. Where are you guys?
Her response came quickly, Just getting our food, gonna be here late. I'm not going to make it out. Raincheck? Drinks will be on me.
"She's bailing," Colby informed Joe, unable to hide his surprise. She'd just told him how they needed to hang out more. He understood that she already had plans with Nikki but he honestly assumed she would drop them. After all, he had seniority over her new friend.
Joe shrugged, "Don't look so disappointed. I know A-Town is a good wing-woman but we'll make do without her."
Colby chuckled, "I guess you'll have to do."
"Bye guys," Avery waved, leaning against Randy. John and Nikki got off the elevator. Nikki turned quickly, slightly unsteady on her stilettos and blew dramatic kisses at them. Avery pretended to catch one out of the air and then pressed her hand to her heart. Dinner had been more of a success than Avery could have expected. She had a fantastic time and it wasn't even thanks to the 2 and a half bottles of sauvignon blanc that she and Nikki put away. The conversation flowed all through dinner and then they moved to the bar for another 2 hours. Now she and Randy were standing in the elevator, alone for the first time all night. The doors wouldn't close until they decided where they were going. She knew either way she had to go to her room so she pressed the button for her floor and they were finally moving.
"So," she smiled at him. "This was slightly less weird than we thought it would be."
"It was," he agreed. "Nikki was surprisingly restrained."
"Very surprising," she nodded in agreement. "I guess I have to stop telling her she doesn't know what subtlety is."
"I wouldn't do that yet," Randy laughed as the doors opened. He waited for her to go first before falling into step beside her.
As they neared her door, she opened her clutch, moving aside her lipstick and phone. She frowned, moving the items around again.
"Everything okay?" he looked down at her.
"I know my key was in here," she said, staring as if somehow the clearly missing key would just appear before her eyes. She knew she had it. She double checked before she left Nikki and John's suite.
It only took a moment for it to hit her.
Nikki.
They went to the bathroom together just before they left the restaurant and Nikki asked to use her rollerball perfume. Avery was touching up her lipstick so she just slid her clutch to Nikki.
"She took my key," she closed the clutch.
"What?" he laughed.
She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "You were right, I spoke too soon on the subtlety. Nikki swiped my room key in the bathroom. And I'm willing to bet if I try to call her right now, I'll get her voicemail."
"Well then I guess it's a good thing that someone you know has a room just upstairs," he smirked, turning her to face him.
"You look a little too happy about this," she pointed. "Were you in cahoots with that crazy woman?"
"Not at all," Randy chuckled. "But I do like the way she thinks."
"And you just assume I'm coming upstairs with you?" she toyed with the button on his jacket. "What if I decide to go downstairs and get another key instead?"
He pretended to think about it for a moment before leaning down and capturing her lips. She was putty in his hands then. She felt his warm hand on the back of her neck and she gripped his shirt, a moan slipping past her lips as his tongue touched hers. Just when she was about ready to take her clothes off in the middle of the hallway, he pulled away slowly, his darkened blue eyes boring into hers.
"What were you saying about getting another key?" he questioned.
She kept her grip on his shirt, pulling him with her as she backed toward the elevator, "I'll get it from Nikki in the morning."