Seth was seriously pissed off about how this night turned out. No big deal, Charlie was sick, but he figured that as soon as the kid fell asleep he would be tucked into his bed and they would be alone again. But no, Melissa insisted on letting Charlie stay downstairs until after midnight because she promised him last week that he could stay up to say Happy New Year. Again, no big deal, it wouldn't be the first time that he carried the kid upstairs and tucked him into bed. He was just about to pull Melissa's shirt off when the kid barged in and asked to sleep with them again. He tried to argue with her, but she just brushed him off and pulled Charlie into bed with them. It was almost impossible for Seth to get comfortable with his erection getting in the way. It would be three long weeks before he saw Melissa again, that meant three weeks of no sex.
As soon as Dean was up and showered the next morning, they loaded up the rental car and headed to the airport for their flight to Colorado. Charlie was starting to feel better and was really sad to see them go, he reminded Seth that he could be his Daddy one day, if he wanted to. Of course, that just made him feel even more guilty for wanting to lock the kid out of their bedroom. He managed to get Melissa alone long enough to leave her with a long passionate kiss and then before he knew it, he was in the car alone with Dean. "Yo, man, you aren't gonna be all grouchy for the next three weeks, are you?" Seth looked at his friend and cranked up the radio, he was not in the mood to talk about his uneventful evening and he didn't want to know if Dean managed to get lucky.
Seth was still alternating between being pissed at Melissa for not having sex with him last night and feeling guilty for being pissed about Charlie being sick. Then he would picture the look on the kid's face when he asked him if he would be his dad. Would he be a good dad? Did he even want to be a dad? How can you be a good parent if you are never around? If he married Melissa, would she even let him adopt Charlie? He would want them both to take his name. But he got the impression that Melissa wasn't ready to give up her freedom just yet, and he knew that Charlie would always be Melissa's son, no matter how much she trusted him and no matter what his last name was, Melissa would always have the final word when it came to raising him. Was he the third wheel?
They met up with Roman at the arena and then went off to go through their match with the Usos and Daniel Bryan. Seth's sour mood just got worse as he realized how many times he would get kicked in the head during the match. He was back in the locker room lacing up his boots when he heard Dean and Roman come in. They were trading stories about their week off, Roman talking about his little girl and Dean talking about Charlie and his night clubbing with Melissa's friends. "Seth! You back here? Tell Roman about your New Year's Eve!" He just grunted and pushed past his two friends, "I need food."
As expected, Seth took half a dozen head shots and now he had a splitting headache. The guys were hungry though, since they only had one rental car, he had no choice but to stop at a diner and eat with them. They were waiting for their food when they were spotted by a group of scantily clad girls who didn't look like they were old enough to be out that late at night. "Uh-oh," Dean whispered "Fan girls coming in strong." Roman groaned, "Don't make eye contact!" Seth just shrugged… They giggled and snapped pictures with their phones as they approached table. The three men were trapped, they had no choice but to interact with them. So, they signed autographs and posed for pictures and thankfully they left just as their food was being served. "Bro, you better pray those chicks don't post their pictures online," Roman said between bites of his burger.
"Oh, man, your ass is fucked if they get out!" Dean agreed.
"What the hell are you two talking about? Shut up and let me eat in peace!" Seth was in no mood for anymore drama, he just wanted to eat, shower and go to bed, and maybe talk to Melissa, if she happened to still be awake.
"Seth, man, that chick was all over you. If Melissa sees that, she will totally get the wrong idea."
Roman added "Yeah, and just between us, it's not like you did anything to discourage her. Be careful next time man, this is the kind of stuff that can ruin a long distance relationship."
Seth just shrugged, "Whatever. Its not like Melissa has a lot of time to surf the net for pictures of me with fans. She has enough to worry about with work and Charlie. I gotta take a piss, you two hurry up and pay the bill." He pushed away from the table and made his way to the men's room.
Dean looked at Roman, "Melissa may not have time, but Cassie is fiercely protective of her. She told me about the time she tailed Melissa's husband when she thought he was cheating on her. I wouldn't be surprised if she checks up on Seth online."
Roman shook his head "Something else happened this week, otherwise, there is no way Seth would have let that chick get so close."
Dean shrugged, "Charlie was sick and their New Year's Eve plans got altered a little. I mean, I think Melissa was a little disappointed, but she's got to be used to it by now. She even told Seth he could come out clubbing with us instead. But he insisted on staying with them, said it was no big deal."
Roman was sympathetic, when your kid gets sick, you have no choice but to drop everything to take care of them. From the way Seth was carrying on, it seemed like he was more upset about it than he wanted to let on. "You know man, this is the first time we've had to really worry about Charlie, he's such a great kid, its always been all fun and games. I don't think Seth really grasped how hard it is to raise a kid."
They saw Seth returning to the table, they inhaled the rest of their meals and called for the check. Roman hoped that all Seth needed was a little time to clear his head, those two were perfect together and he didn't want to sit back and watch Seth screw it all up.