Chapter 25

"So, on your way to meet Lennox's folks eh?" Jon nudged Roman playfully, both of them walking side-by-side in the airport on their way to separate flights. One to Pensacola and one to Vegas. "You need to lighten up, big man."

"I know." Roman grunted, shouldering his bag securely on his shoulder and heaved a sigh. "I'm nervous; I've only met a handful of parents over the years and…Lennox is important to me. She means everything to me and what if they don't approve of her being with another wrestler?" He guaranteed Lennox had spent the past 6 days telling her fathers all about what happened over the past few years since they'd seen her.

Snorting, Jon clapped Roman on the back and could feel how tense the Samoan was. "You got nothing to worry about. And if they don't like you, fuck them. You're not with Lennox for them. You're with her because you love her and wanna marry her, knock her up with a few Samoan pups and lock her down. Their approval shouldn't mean shit to you, bro." It was a horrible thing to be relieved about since Keyla's parents were dead, but Jon was glad he never had to go through what Roman was about to.

Roman was a huge family man and believed in certain traditions, such as asking his girlfriend's parents' permission to marry her before popping the question. Asking for Lennox's hand in marriage meant everything to him. Gaining her fathers' approval meant the world to Roman and if they didn't like him or give their blessing to marry Lennox, he would be devastated. His family loved Lennox and already thought of her as one of their own daughter and sibling, which Roman was extremely thankful for. However, now he had to get through the obstacle of Lennox's fathers and Roman couldn't stop the sense of dread filling his huge 6'3 body.

"Did you call Lennox and tell her what time your flight lands?" Jon asked, trying to get Roman's mind off of meeting the woman's parents for the time being.

"Yeah, it went to voicemail so I'm sure she's busy with her parents. They're going back home Friday." That only gave Roman 2 days to impress these men and he had no idea if he was capable doing it. "Does Keyla know you're coming home?"

A Cheshire smirk flittered across Jon's mouth as he took a seat, setting his book bag in-between his legs. "Nope. Figured I'd surprise her, get her naked and spend the next two days between her thighs before we have to hit the road again."

"She's gonna kick your ass." Roman chuckled, leaning back against his chair and scrubbed a hand down his face, wondering if he should try calling Lennox again. "So everything set up for Saturday and Sunday then?"

"Yup, I got a hold of the boys and they're onboard. The signing is on Saturday at 10 and I made sure we're together for it since we're at the same shows." Jon explained informatively, keeping his voice down to where only Roman could hear him. "I know you still have doubts about this…"

It was Roman's turn to snort. "I have MORE than doubts, bro. This could and probably will blow up in our faces. You saw what Stephanie and Hunter did to the girls before WrestleMania. Can you imagine what they'll do to us if they find out what we're about to do?" Sometimes Dean had really great ideas and other times Roman wasn't sure where the man's mind was. "Are you sure this is the only way?"

"Relax, nobody is gonna find out about this. Those bitches won't utter a peep on anything that happens. Just focus on Lennox and her folks; let me handle the planning and you'll just have to show up. It's gonna work out." Jon assured his best friend, trying to ease the Samoan's mind a little and decided a change of subject was in order. "Hey, let me ask you something."

"Alright…" Roman quirked a curious thick black brow, seeing the gears in Dean's brain turning again and folded his arms in front of his chest. "Shoot."

"Do you think I'd be a good Dad?" There were very FEW people Jon trusted in his life and Roman was one of them, so he felt he could ask the big man without being laughed at or ridiculed.

Now that was something Roman thought he'd NEVER come out of Dean's mouth and didn't know how to respond either. "Well yeah, you're great with the kids at signings and shit. You've opened up a lot more since the Shield split too." Then a realization dawned on him and Roman's grey orbs flew open. "Holy shit, are you and Keyla…?"

"No…not yet." Jon couldn't contain the secret from Roman anymore, having a feeling Keyla had already spilled the beans to Lennox. "We're not supposed to say anything, but we're trying. There's…an issue we gotta get through first because of Keyla's past though. I just hope it all works out because I do wanna be a father and actually be there for my kid since mine wasn't for me."

"Well damn bro, I'm happy for you guys. I hope it does work out, whatever the issue is and it happens for you. I take it Keyla wants to be a Mom then?" Roman could see both women knocked up around the same time by them and it made him smile genuinely for the first time in days.

"Yeah. Keep your mouth shut about this in case she hasn't told Lennox yet. We promised not to say anything, but I had to talk about it and make sure I'm a good fit for the father role." Jon wrung his hands together in front of him, crouched over while staring at the floor and tried keeping hidden from anyone that passed by. "What's that smile for?"

Roman chuckled out loud, knowing if he told Dean what he was thinking it'd either scare the hell out of the man or make him laugh too. "Well you wanna knock your woman up and so do I, so what if it happens at the same time? Talk about great aim and those two do everything else together anyway…"

"Oh fucking Christ! I don't know if I can handle being around two hormonal pregnant women at the same time." Jon groaned, wishing he wouldn't have asked and buried his face in his hands. "Fuck, we gotta plan this out. That can't happen, they'll drive us to early graves and we'll never get to meet our kids."

Roman laughed harder, the sound vibrating from his chest and clapped Dean on the shoulder, grey eyes gleaming wickedly. "I suggest you wait to have a kid then because, as soon as Lennox is my wife, I'm knocking her cute ass up the first chance I get."

That made Jon groan more, not wanting the image of his best friend and Lennox having sex in his head.

Landing in Pensacola just after 1 PM, Roman stopped at a local flower boutique to grab lilies for Lennox and a plant for her fathers. Normally, he would've gotten flowers, but since they were both men…a plant was definitely a better choice. After paying for the items and thanking the lady for her help in selecting which plant to get, Roman was on his way home. He couldn't wait to pull Lennox in his arms, missing her like crazy over the past 6 days. This suspension was killing them both, but at least she was kept busy with her fathers during the time off. Every time Roman boarded a plane or drove a car to wrestle in the next city or town, he felt guilty since the suspension happened in the first place because of him and Dean. Hopefully, Dean's plan went off without any problems and by the time Monday rolled around, the crazed fangirls would be out of their lives for good.

At a quarter to 2, Roman pulled into the driveway of their home and cut the ignition, instantly noticing Lennox's vehicle missing. There wasn't any other vehicle here either and he remembered Lennox telling him her fathers had taken a rental from the airport. They didn't want to inconvenience her. Something wasn't right and that feeling of dread once again filled Roman's stomach as he stepped out of the truck with flowers and plant in hand. He wasn't worried about his luggage at the moment, stormy greys zeroed in on the front door. Not realizing how badly his hands shook, Roman took his keys out to unlock the door and stepped inside, turning the alarm off. The house felt…empty and cold; Roman shut the door behind him and called out her name, praying for an answer.

No response.

Dropping the flowers and plant to the floor, Roman rushed down the hallway toward the bedroom they shared and flung open the door looking around, tearing a hand through his thick black tresses in frustration. What the hell was going on? He checked the bathroom for some reason and walked out, stopping at what he saw sitting in the middle of the bed. It was an envelope with his name on it leaning against…the ring box. Roman checked to see if the ring was still in it before sinking down on the bed, tearing open the envelope slowly. Once again, his hands shook and Roman could feel the emotions building inside of him as he read each word on the lined paper that was unmistakably Lennox's handwriting.

~Roman

I'm a coward. And this is a coward's way to do this, but I don't know what else to do. I had to get away and think things over, including us. I'm not breaking up with you. This isn't a breakup letter. And I know you were planning on meeting my Dads on your days off. I know you went through hell to get them off in the first place too. All I can say is I'm sorry. Now isn't the time to meet them, not when our future is up in the air.

By now, you know what I found in the back of your sock drawer. I don't know what to say about it either. I know you told me countless times you want me to be your wife. I just don't know if that's what I want. I think what hurts the most is knowing you've had this ring for however long – I'm guessing longer than Christmas Eve – and something tells me you wanted to propose to me that night. Instead, you asked me to move in with you and put a key in the box instead of the ring.

How do you go from wanting to ask someone to spend the rest of your life with them to splitting the rent? I don't understand. Maybe it's because of my insecurities. Maybe you feel deep inside I'm not the one you want to be with and marry. I don't know at this point and I don't think you do either. I think deep down you want to be married with kids, by this point in your life, and any woman will do. At least, that's how I feel and what finding that ring has put in my head.

I've been down this road before thinking the man I'm in love with wanted to marry me, only to be cheated on and losing nearly everything in my life. Including myself. So that's why I left, to give both of us time to really think about what we truly want in life. I'm giving you until the end of my suspension to do some soul-searching and figure out what you truly want. Like I said, I'm not breaking up with you, but this IS a break from each other for now. I need to know you're 100% sure you want to marry me and you won't regret the decision. I need to do the same thing and make sure this is what I truly want – that I'm not rushing into this from the fear of being alone.

I will be at Raw on Monday to resume work and to do my job.

We will talk then. Don't call or text me – really take this time to think things through and make sure I'm what you want, Roman.

All my love,

Lennox~

All Roman could do was sit there rereading the letter repeatedly, losing count after an hour passed. Of course she was what he wanted! How could she possibly think otherwise? Did she really believe he wasn't 100% serious about wanting to marry her? Sure, Roman did want a wife and kids, but that wasn't the only reason he was marrying Lennox. He legitimately loved her with every fiber of his being – more than any other woman he'd ever been with. Insecurities and all, Roman wanted every part and quirk of Lennox as his for the rest of his life.

He didn't need until Monday to figure it out either.

The fact she thought he needed the time to think about this angered him. Here he was thinking he'd come home, meet her parents and by the end of the night ask for their daughter's hand in marriage. Now, their future was all up in the air because of Lennox's irrational thinking and behavior. Yes, he had changed his mind at the last minute about proposing on Christmas Eve, but that was only because Roman didn't feel it was the right time. So what if he used the same box to propose moving in with him as the diamond ring? And since when did Roman ever ask Lennox to split the rent with him -there was none due to the house being paid completely off- or any of the bills for that matter?

There wasn't a romantic bone or notion in Lennox's entire body. Roman saw that clearly now and knew he'd have to go another route instead of trying to be quixotic with her. Cold hard reality and facts were what Lennox responded to the best instead of being swooned. Why didn't Roman notice it sooner? She wanted him to be real with her and he was trying to make every dream of hers come true. Hell, he didn't even know if she wanted to get married, especially with the Danny Havoc fiasco. All Roman thought about was himself in this entire situation and he felt like a complete dick the more he sat and thought about it. Any REGULAR woman would've pooled in a puddle at his feet and fell into his arms, but not Lennox. No, she was an entirely different species of woman, one that consistently puzzled Roman and challenged him.

Standing from the bed, Roman took the box and flipped it open to stare at the diamond ring again, knowing what he had to do. If Lennox wanted cold hard reality and facts, Roman would give her that. He would be as blunt as she was in the letter. Only he would do this face-to-face instead of writing her back in a letter of his own. Roman understood why she left to clear her mind and suspected she went back to New York with her fathers to spend the rest of her time off with them. That was fine, he would give her the space she needed…until Monday.

Business would be taken care of during those days apart with the fangirls and Dean's insane plan.

Then come Monday, all bets were off and so would be the gloves.