Chapter 25

This was awkward.

Being crammed between the two men she shared a house and had sex with had to be the most awkward moment in Keyla's life. Jon had no idea her and Sami slept together. In fact, Keyla hadn't told anyone, not even Lennox and that was uncharacteristic of her since they didn't keep secrets from each other. Sex with Sami was the last thing Keyla expected to happen and there was no excuse for it. Sure, she had a rotten day from the time she woke up to arriving home and nearly being creamed with a baseball bat by her surprise lover.

Somehow, Keyla was suckered into going to another CZW event and the company forced Jon and Sami to wrestle against each other for the championship. Her eyes danced back and forth between the two while they wrestled, cringing at the moves. They didn't hold back from trying to tear each other apart. There wasn't a lot of bloodshed, but the CZW fans still cheered and appreciated the match nonetheless. Keyla hated watching them wrestle against each other, a queasy feeling developing in the pit of her stomach. It was one of the only times Keyla remembered being thankful to get out of the CZW arena.

"Key, what's going on?" Lennox demanded once they were outside while the men showered and changed after the show, lighting up a cigarette.

"Nothing, why?"

"I don't believe you, that's why." Lennox retorted swiftly, taking a long drag of her cigarette and flicked some ash away.

Now wasn't the time to talk about what happened between her and Sami. "I hated watching that." She admitted, telling the partial truth and scuffed her tennis shoe against the rocky gravel. "I know they're wrestlers and it was all part of a storyline or whatever, but…it was hard to watch nonetheless. This is one show I wish I didn't attend." The tension between Jon and Sami in that match was real just like it'd been at home lately ever since they fought in the kitchen.

"It's no different than scrapping in the ring during practice." Lennox pointed out, trying to ease Keyla's mind and leaned against her vehicle. Danny's was currently in the shop being worked on. "Hell, I thought it was gonna be a bloodbath."

"Thanks, that makes me feel SO much better." Keyla grunted, snatching the cigarette from Lennox and took a drag before handing it back, folding her arms in front of her chest. "If they face each other at the next event, I'm not going."

"I don't think they are." Lennox tightened her coat around her a little more and looked up at the sky when light snow began falling. "They need to hurry up. Come on, let's warm up the car."

Nodding in agreement, Keyla climbed in the backseat and sat in the middle, knowing Danny would be driving, leaving Lennox with the passenger seat. "I can't believe it's still snowing in April." Keyla muttered, leaning her head back against the seat and shook her head. "Hopefully it won't last long and not stick."

"I doubt it will. I heard it's supposed to warm up next week."

"Good, this winter has sucked and I really can't wait for it to be warm enough to where I can sleep in an extra half an hour every morning."

Something was definitely going on with Keyla. Since when did she make small talk about the weather with Lennox, of all people? Lennox couldn't force her to talk about it, but had a feeling Moxley was responsible for her change in attitude. They sat in silence for a while, each in their own thoughts and Keyla began dozing off just as ruckus laughter infiltrated the vehicle. Her eyes opened to first stare at the roof of the vehicle and then turned her head to lock citrine on electric blue. Then moved her head to glance at Sami before sitting upright while Danny and Lennox swapped seats so he could drive.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Sami asked, trying to make polite conversation and lightly touched her jean covered knee.

"No." Keyla answered truthfully and swallowed hard when Jon grabbed her other knee, stroking it gently with his strong fingers. It felt like her knees were suddenly engulfed in flames at both of their touch.

"And why not?" Jon's hot breath and gritty voice rasped in her ear, lighting up a cigarette since Danny had his window cracked. "I would've thought you'd enjoy an actual wrestling match instead of the blood and gore for a change."

Jon made a valid point, one Keyla couldn't dispute against and hated him for it, keeping her eyes straightforward. "I don't like seeing you two…on opposite sides of the ring. You're better as a team…" After her heated intimate moment with Sami, the last thing she wanted to see was her roommates, the man she loved and the man who made her weak in a vulnerable moment, wrestle against each other.

"You do realize now that I'm champion, there's no more Switchblades for a while." Jon pointed out the obvious, taking another deep drag and leaned his head back while staring out the window. "Sami wants the same thing everybody else does in CZW and that's to hold this." He held the CZW championship up from his lap briefly before placing it back where it was…where it would stay until he was ready to relinquish it. "Isn't that right, Sami?"

"Yeah, happy for you though, bro." Sami felt guilty for sleeping with Keyla behind Jon's back, so he'd agree with whatever Jon said, only half-paying attention to what was said. "Everything is gonna be fine, Keyla. Don't worry so much."

That was easier said than done, Keyla thought, taking Jon's cigarette to suck a drag from it before handing it back, letting the nicotine calm her racing mind down temporarily.

Before long, 2 months passed by and summer was upon them, Philadelphia already feeling the first stings of heat in mid-May. It was in the high 80's today, the sun shining brightly and birds chirped happily while Keyla jogged down the sidewalk for her morning run. Running in the winter would've been suicide, but as soon as the snow melted and the first glimpse of spring was shown, Keyla had started her morning run routine again. It was always an hour before she had to leave to go to work and sometimes if Keyla ran late, she'd simply run all the way to the candy factory. It helped clear her mind of everything, mostly Jon, who was gone for most of the 2 months.

He was the champion of nearly every promotion he wrestled for, besides Dragon Gate, leading a group called Kamikaze USA throughout the organization. Keyla ordered every event on pay-per-view she could to watch him along with Sami, both of them becoming friends after their moment of passion. Neither had brought it up again, much to Keyla's relief and somehow the sexual bout had broken the ice between them. They became friends, watching movies together and hanging out enjoying each other's company. It was the perfect distraction, but at night once Keyla was alone in bed, all she thought about was Jon and missed him fiercely.

CZW had been on somewhat of a hiatus, skipping the month of May to let the wrestlers heal up since they'd been going strong for a while. The owner, DJ Hyde, insisted on it and it gave their champion time to work his other promotions. Keyla was afraid Jon would end up burning himself out from all the traveling and wrestling, but every time he came home, there was an aura of success that surrounded him. The sparkle in his tired eyes told her he was thoroughly enjoying the current run, for however long it lasted. She was proud of him and always greeted him with a home cooked meal after a week straight, sometimes 2, being on the road hard at work.

"By the way, there's a show in 2 days at the arena, if you wanna go. I'm sure Lennox will be there." Jon informed her nonchalantly while inhaling the pot roast dinner Keyla threw together in the slow cooker, potatoes and carrots along with small thin slices of onion to give it flavor. "Up to you though."

"I'm going." Lennox had already talked to her about it a week prior and Keyla had requested time off from the bar. "I'll be there cheering you on again."

Jon smirked, standing up from the table with his plate and set it in the sink, standing right behind the dark blue haired beauty. He'd had his fill of pussy while on the road, but the only woman he thought about was the one with her back turned to him. Jon didn't understand these feelings toward her, battling with himself on what to do about them. He could tell she felt something towards him and didn't want to lead her on or promise her a future when he didn't know how long he'd be alive. Hell, he could be hit by a bus tomorrow and his life would be over, leaving her high and dry. As stated in a few of his promos throughout his wrestling career, Jon knew he wouldn't have a long life and figured he might as well live it on the edge.

"I look forward to it." He tested the waters with Keyla while she rinsed his plate before washing it, planting his hands on her hips to press his chest against her back. "Thank you for dinner, Keyla."

She was having a hard time breathing properly, her heart rate escalating and turned the water on cold to rinse the plate, setting it in the strainer. "You're welcome, Jon." Keyla replied softly, shutting her eyes when his nose brushed against the pulse point in her neck and fought back a full body shiver. "I should go get changed and head to the bar." Turning the water off, Keyla made a quick escape away from Jon up to her room and closed the door behind her, hating how the effect he had on her didn't cease a bit.

"Lines in the Sand." Keyla read aloud, tilting her head at the name of the CZW event posted outside of the arena. "Interesting…"

"Well, Moxley hasn't been getting along with the new owner of the company, DJ Hyde, storyline wise. I think that's what they're referring to. Lines being drawn and a war beginning or something. Who knows at this point?" Lennox draped an arm around Keyla's shoulders and could feel how tense her friend was. "Ready to talk to me about what's bothering you yet?"

"Not yet. Soon, I promise." Keyla murmured quietly, her eyes glued on the ring and fiddled with her fingers in her lap, wearing black shorts and an 'Explicit MOX Violence' tank top Jon brought home for her the previous night. "When I'm ready to talk, you'll be the first one to know."

Lennox nodded, not pressing the issue further because she didn't want to upset Keyla. Something happened and it killed her not to know, but ultimately it was Keyla's life. If she didn't want to talk about whatever was troubling her, Lennox would not push her. Eventually, Keyla would come out with the truth and when she did, Lennox would be there to comfort her best friend, hoping it was sooner rather than later.

Jon was the main event for the evening and walked out in a red Cincinnati t-shirt, looking better than Keyla remembered. It'd been 2 months since his match with Sami and he'd definitely hit the gym hard to bulk out a little. She listened him cut a promo on DJ Hyde, rolling her eyes when he said he had a hotel room in DJ Hyde's name and invited halfway decent slutty girls to an after show party. Lennox laughed, both of them knowing it was false and shook her head at Jon's cockiness, both women raising their brows when the music of Greg Excellent blasted throughout the arena. He cut a promo on wanting to prove himself to DJ Hyde and challenged to face Jon for the title. Being the champion and cornerstone of the company, Jon accepted and beat the bigger man 7 minutes later.

If everyone in the arena thought that's how the CZW show would end, they were sadly mistaken. Jon cut another promo after the match, talking trash about DJ Hyde and that in turn forced the owner of the company to walk out to defend himself. Just as DJ Hyde and Jon began going at it, Sami ran out with a few other wrestlers and grabbed a pane of glass from beneath the ring along with a chair. Keyla had to look away when Sami slammed the steel chair on the pane of glass over DJ's head, effectively lacerating him. The crowd went nuts, exploding in both cheers and boos because half of them loved the Switchblade Conspiracy and the other half loathed it. Jon ended up pinning DJ Hyde with his boot for the victory, the ring covered in shattered glass. Keyla suddenly got a bad feeling well up in the pit of her stomach, wanting the show to end and Jon away from the glass.

It was far from over, however.

'For Whom the Bell Tolls' rang throughout the arena and none other than Nick Gage made his presence felt in the arena, making the crowd erupt. Jon stood his ground in the ring and they began brawling, wrestling around in the shattered glass. It was bloody, brutal and Nick ended up pinning Jon in a non-title bout, ticking him off since he thought it was for the championship. Jon was a bloody mess, cuts all over his body from the glass and his forehead gushing with blood. Lennox noticed how pale Keyla was from watching the barbaric match and lead her friend to the back to check on Jon. There he was standing against a wall dabbing his forehead with a towel and the small lacerations on his arms, back and legs making little rivulets of blood.

"Oh my god…" Keyla mumbled, walking over to him and could see the illuminating blues of Jon's eyes through the crimson mask covering his face.

What was she doing back here? Jon raised a brow at his roommate and blinked when she took the towel away, grabbing his hand to lead him into one of the nearby empty rooms. "As much as I enjoyed what happened between us here last time, I need to get cleaned up, Keyla."

He was bleeding like a stuffed pig and making a joke. Keyla shook her head, pointing to the metal folding chair and tried keeping her expression completely neutral. Though it was, her citrine orbs could not hide how she truly felt, the worry coursing through them. "I don't want your dick. I want you to sit down and shut up while I clean you up." She shot back crossly, having grabbed a first-aid kit Lennox handed over to her before making her way over to Jon. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really. I'm used to it." Jon once again acted standoffish and acted like it was no big deal he was gushing blood out of his forehead along with orifices of his body.

Keyla shook her head, taking the towel to wet it in the nearby sink in the room and began cleaning off the rest of the blood from Jon's face. "I don't understand…" She murmured, shaking her head and could feel the anger welling up inside her body.

"What's not to understand?"

"THIS!" She tossed the towel to the side and snatched some antibacterial wipes to make sure the wound on his head didn't get infected. "What you do to your body. I don't know if you're diluted or crazy at this point, but no NORMAL human being would enjoy being split open and wrestling around in shattered glass! Why do you have to be so…careless…in the ring, huh? Why do you do this to yourself?"

Jon hadn't expected her to blow up at him, finding it both sexy and amusing at the same time, but he managed not to smile while she cleaned him up. "I love what I do and the pain is a turn-on." He shrugged, being truthful with her and didn't grimace when it came to plucking the shards of glass out of his skin.

Not questioning him about anything else regarding wrestling, Keyla helped as much as she could before Jon was stitched up by the CZW physician on staff that night. They hired him from the hospital and he was one of DJ's closest friends. An hour later, Keyla drove home with Sami in the back and Jon in the passenger seat smoking a cigarette, his forehead wrapped in a thick white bandage. Keyla feared if Jon didn't stop being reckless in the ring, he wouldn't live past age 30 and that thought alone scared the hell out of her.