Randy Orton's tour bus pulled up in front of the back entrance to the Kansas Coliseum in Wichita. It came to a stop and Frank opened the doors, emerging from his seat as he instantly reached for his pack of smokes as soon as his feet hit the pavement. It had been a long ride from St. Louis, well over six hours that covered 443 miles of highway. It had only been a few days since her whole world had been turned upside down but already it felt like a lifetime. Somehow she had managed to start to build a secure little nest egg in Chicago with her boyfriend, Phil Brooks, after uprooting from New York at his insistence. Then the affair that had started off as physical but had quickly turned emotional, had forced Memphis Kramer to take a look at her own needs, wants, and mistakes. She had followed her heart and chosen the path that was less safe and certain but in the process that had meant breaking the heart of the man who had loved and taken care of her for seven months. His reaction had been swift and angry, far more severe than she had even imagined. His fury had been tangible, fire burned within his eyes and a venom spewed from his mouth that she never thought would be directed towards her. He had kicked her out of his house in the middle of the night and she had run to the only other place she had to go.
They only had a day together. An exhausted Memphis had woken up in the same spot where she had fallen asleep…resting quietly in Randy's arms. When she moved, he had stirred, slowly opening his blue eyes. Her heart had pounded, filled with fear and uncertainty but for the moment he had managed to calm her giving her a kiss. She had showered and they had spent the day lounging around his spacious two story home. Little had been spoken about their present situation or what had taken place with Phil. Instead it was a quiet day where they were just two lovers cozied up much like any other couple. The next day it had been time to hit the road and go to work, traveling to a neighboring state for a house show. She had left Illinois with just the clothes on her back and had spent the 24 hours in St. Louis wearing one of Randy's oversized Apex Predator tee shirts. She had ventured out to a nearby Target to purchase a few tops and jeans to hold her over and then they had boarded his bus for work.
"You ready?" Memphis heard Randy asking her.
She flinched a little when she felt the pair of lips on the side of her neck.
"Hey."
Randy smirked.
"You alright? A little jumpy there."
"Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine," she slid her shoes back on and began gathering her belongings.
"You have a good ride? You were kind of quiet."
"It was a great ride. Getting to stretch out like that and relax and be able to nap whenever…gosh, it's so awesome. This by far beats the rental car any day."
"That's why I got it and it's well worth the money, too. There's nothing worse than being all cramped up in a little ass car driving five hours to the next city after you're all beat up from being in the ring for 20 minutes."
He stretched his long arms covered in a black fleece. Memphis gave him a smile as they walked to exit the bus. She stepped out first, a small wave of panic washing over her as she secretly prayed that no one else was in the parking lot. No such luck. As soon as the fresh but cold air smacked her in the face, she saw Stephen "Sheamus" Farrelly, Jake "Jack Swagger" Hager and Vickie Guerrero walking inside the building. Matt "Evan Bourne" Korklan and Kofi "Kingston" Sardokie-Menash were standing around in the lot engaged in casual conversation and Michael Cole, along with a few of the other referees were getting out of their rentals. She felt like all eyes were on her and immediately she quickened her pace and hurried inside the building.
"I, I'm gonna go put my stuff up in the female locker room," she turned to Randy.
She went to walk away but he stopped her, grabbing her hand. He smiled and pulled her towards him. Before their lips could touch, Memphis coughed and moved away. Randy raised his eyebrows.
"Damn," he muttered. "Getting the fake cough and the cheek already. What's up with that?"
"Randy…"
"So I guess we didn't do a lot of talking about how this is all gonna play out, especially here at work."
"Yeah," she cleared her throat.
Randy shrugged.
"I mean, you know how I feel about you. I asked you to make a choice and you did so I guess that means that we're together now. I'm not ashamed of that and I don't feel like we have to hide it."
Memphis felt a warm, tingly feeling inside when he stated out loud that they were "together now". She couldn't contain her grin as she reached out for his hand.
"Randy, I want to be with you and I am not ashamed of us either but…"
"But what?"
"I, I don't know. It's kind of weird. I was with Phil for so long and now we're broken up and people are going to want to know why and they're gonna talk…"
"So? When did you start caring what people thought about you?"
"You're right but I don't want to just jump into flaunting this around, not yet. It's nobody's business and it's too soon."
"Are you worried about running into Phil?"
"Eventually yeah but um, they're stepping up his rehab so it's gonna be a few weeks before he comes back so I guess that buys me some time before having to face reality. It's just…"
Randy nodded.
"I get it."
"You do?"
"Whatever you want is cool with me."
"Thank you," she said, exhaling a relieved breath. "Um, I'll catch up with you later."
She made her way down the hall and eventually found the large room the Divas had been assigned to change clothes. Melina Perez was already inside going over her outfits for tonight's show.
"Hey Mija," the Latina beauty reached over and gave her a hug. "How have you been?"
"Fine. You?"
"Can't complain, just trying to figure out what to wear to the ring."
"Luckily I don't have that problem," Memphis quipped. "It's either stripes or stripes."
"Did you get straight the other night?" Melina asked, still rummaging through her bag, not even bothering to look up at her friend.
"Huh?"
"You know, when you needed my John to get John Cena's phone number?"
"Oh…that."
"Did you get in touch with him? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, actually, I…."
Memphis was interrupted when Nattie Neidhart joined them.
"Hello, my lovelies. It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood."
"Why so chipper?" Melina giggled.
"Because I have the best boyfriend in the world."
"What did Prince TJ do now?"
Nattie could barely contain her excitement as she unzipped her bag and proudly showed off the newest addition to her already massive luxury shoe collection.
"Brown suede Christian Louboutin boots, the newest, latest and certainly most bad ass addition to this year's fall/winter collection and my baby surprised me with them, the perfect size, might I add."
"Way to go, TJ," Melina laughed. "He should give John some tips. Having a boyfriend definitely has its perks."
"And speaking of boyfriends, I know of a certain one who is gonna flip when he finds out his girl got off of Randy Orton's bus this afternoon," Nattie narrowed her eyes. "What was up with that one, by the way?"
"Shhhh," Memphis looked around, making sure they were the only ones in the locker room before shutting and locking the door from the inside. "Look, I need to talk to you guys about something."
"Memphis…"
"Phil and I broke up."
"What?" Melina asked, wide eyed.
"Dude, you're kidding," Nattie stared on in disbelief.
Memphis sighed.
"It's true."
"When?"
"Two nights ago?"
"What happened?"
"I…I, um, I broke it off with him."
"But why?" Melina frowned. "I don't get it…"
"Because I don't love him," she blurted out. "Not like he loved me, not like he deserved to be loved back. I, I'm in love with Randy Orton and I guess I have been for a very long time even though I didn't want to admit it."
"Oh my God," Melina put her hand over her mouth. "So I guess that explains the text the other night."
"What text?" Nattie made a face. "Ladies, catch me up here, I am so lost right now."
Memphis took a deep breath.
"I broke up with Phil and he asked why and I was honest about everything and he flipped and said a lot of hurtful things that I really deserved and uh…he kicked me out. I had nowhere to go and I was driving around in circles so I sent Mel a text to get John Cena's number and I got in touch with him and he gave me Randy's address so that's where I went and um, that's where I stayed. That's how come we rode in together this morning."
"Wow," Melina ran her fingers through her dark hair. "So what now? Have you heard from Phil? Are you and Randy like a couple now?"
"I haven't talked to Phil. He was pretty mad when I last saw him. I tried calling but it just goes to his voicemail. I'm pretty worried but I know the last thing he wants is to hear from me. He's the strongest person I know so I feel like he's gonna bounce back and be okay but it just sucks that I hurt him so much. I feel awful, so guilty. He's still out with the injury but he'll be back soon and when he is here, honestly, I don't know how it's gonna be. His reaction, seeing him all the time, Randy…definitely not looking forward to any of that. It's gonna be awkward, to say the least."
"It's gonna be bad."
"I don't doubt that but to answer the question…yes. Randy and I are going to try to make a go out of this. I don't know what the future holds, I guess we have to just wait and see what happens."
"Well, I always said you and Randy had this amazing chemistry," Nattie shrugged. "Can't say I didn't see something like this coming. I feel bad for Phil but you don't get to choose who you fall in love with. It is what it is."
"It's just scary. Letting my guard down and being with and trusting Randy kind of scares me out of my mind. We're not telling anybody yet and that's my choice but I know people are eventually gonna find out. I mean, damn, how long did it take for news to spread that I was on his bus this morning? I just…I don't want to be judged, you know? I know that sounds stupid or whatever cause I made some big mistakes and when you make you bed, you have to lie in it."
"It doesn't sound stupid at all, sweetie," Melina sympathized. "I…I've been there. I've made some mistakes too, many I'm still paying for. It's tough. But it doesn't make you a bad person. Sometimes things just happen. We're only human. You followed your heart and now you just have to learn to trust that. It may work out and it may not but it's too late to turn back now. Whatever happens from now on, you just have to own it and that is going to be the hardest part."
"She's right," Nattie agreed. "But whatever happens, Mel and I are here for you. I mean that. I've got your back. No judgment here."
"Thanks. I appreciate that from both of you. With Randy I…"
There was a sudden knock at the door when the knob wouldn't turn.
"Hello? Anybody in there?"
It was one of the Bella twins.
Memphis walked over to unlock the door. The conversation would have to be over for the minute but she would finish up with her friends later. The conversation and the drama was going to be continued whether she liked it or not.
