Zelina had only managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. While Sonya's idea make sure that both she and Seth had some time to cool off made sense, it hadn't made for an easy night. Once her anger had worn off, it had been replaced by a horrible feeling of anxiety that had eaten away at the pit of her stomach all night. She kept asking herself over and over again what would happen if the relationship with Seth couldn't be saved. What if he didn't want to be with her anymore? What if he showed up and broke it off with her? Since he had ended their last text exchange by calling her muñeca, she hoped that wouldn't be the case, but the nerves were still there.
Sitting downstairs in one of the hotel's lounge areas with a cup of herbal tea, she kept running over the worst case scenario in her head. If Seth did break it off, she would not only be without a boyfriend, she would be without a home. While it was true that her house was not yet sold - although she had accepted an offer for it - she had no intention of ever going back there. All of her possessions were at Seth's house, too. It would be a nightmare having to sort out moving it all back out.
And then there was work. One of them would have to stop traveling on the tour bus because it would be out of the question for them to travel together. Even the shows themselves would become awkward, having to work so closely with him week in, week out. That was why people said it was a bad idea to date work colleagues.
The worst thing of all was that the more she thought about it, the more she felt guilty about her part in the argument. In the immediate aftermath, it had been easy to blame everything on Seth for shouting at her and speaking to her like dirt. But now that the anger had faded, she had to admit that she could have handled the whole thing a lot better herself. If only she hadn't let Seth's anger trigger her into slapping him, she might have been able to pull him aside and explain that while Andrade had told the truth, he obviously hadn't portrayed the situation the way it had really been, which was a one night stand that never should have happened.
That also presented a further question. Why had Andrade made telling Seth he had slept with her his first priority upon making his comeback and getting called up to the main roster? What a dick move that had been. She had done nothing to deserve that, and neither had Seth. She was going to have it out with Andrade the next time she saw him, that was for damn sure. The only thing she could think of to explain it was jealousy on his part, but that made no sense. She had quite clearly told him after that regretful night together that she didn't want to be with him and it would not happen again. She had thought they had gone on being friends, but maybe that wasn't really the case. Could Andrade have been feeling resentment and anger about what had happened the whole time they had worked together after that night? I certainly appeared like it.
The last thing she needed was another person she had been with in the past trying to make her life miserable. Hadn't she been through enough of that already with David Hernandez? Even that awful episode still wasn't over. She hadn't been given a date for his trial yet, where she would be testifying. That meant having to relive everything that evil bastard had done to her in front of a court room full of people. The thought made her shiver, but she was determined to go through with it. She had let David get away with attacking her eight years ago. He wouldn't be so lucky this time. If she had anything to do with it, he was going inside for the rest of his life.
"Zelina?"
Seth's voice made her physically jump. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed him approaching her. "Oh, you startled me," she gasped, looking up at him.
"Sorry," he said with little smile that made her feel so much better already. Her heart ached in that moment, such was her love for him. "I guess I should sit down," he was saying as he took the comfortable chair opposite hers. She saw that he had already been to the bar and bought himself a coffee.
"Seth, I'm really sorry," she said as soon as he took his seat, wanting to get in there quickly. "I really shouldn't have let myself get so angry, and I shouldn't have slapped you. That was going too far, and I feel really bad about it."
Seth nodded his acknowledgement of the apology. "Like I said in my text last night, I'm sorry for shouting at you, and for the comment I made about Sasha. That was totally not something I should have said, and I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth."
Zelina sipped her tea, feeling immensely relieved. He hadn't come to break up with her. They really could fix it. "I'm also sorry I didn't tell you about Andrade and I. I know I should have."
"Yeah, you should," he said, obviously still hurt by it. "I never should have been in the position of finding out about it by him throwing it in my face. Can you imagine what it's like to have some prick in my face telling me he slept with my girl, and I didn't know about it? We've been together six months, Zelina. Six months, and you didn't tell me."
The pain in his voice made her feel even guiltier than she had been while she had been waiting for him to arrive. The guilt made her tear up. "I'm sorry," she said desperately. "I should have told you. I know I should. I only slept with him once, Seth. We were both seriously drunk, and we ended up in bed. I was mortified the next morning. You know my history; I'm very cautious when it comes to sex. I would never jump into bed with someone like that, yet I did it that night. It's one of my biggest regrets. I guess that's why I didn't tell you. It makes me seem like the kind of slut Banks accused me of being, when I'm really not. I'm really not." She felt a tear trickling down her cheek, and quickly wiped it away.
"I know you're not," Seth said compassionately after drinking dome coffee. "I'm glad I know the story now, at least. Did Almas ever try and make a move on you again afterwards?"
She shook her head. "I was perfectly clear with him that it wouldn't happen again. Maybe he resented that? I don't know."
"I don't know either. But what I do know is there can be no future in a relationship without trust. There can't be secrets between us, especially ones as big as that. You need to tell me things, Zelina."
"I know I do," she assured him in the sincerest tone possible. "And I wish I had told you. I can't change that now, but I can promise you that there are no more secrets. There's nothing else I should have told you and haven't."
Considering that for a moment, Seth sipped at his coffee. When he lowered his cup, he said, "Okay, I believe you, about all of it."
Zelina felt like they were so close to reconciliation. She just had to make one final push, by telling him exactly what she felt for him. "Seth, I need to know that you don't think I slept with you because of who you are. I love you. I love you with all my heart, despite how it might have seemed last night. No one has ever made me feel happy like you do. I never thought I would be lucky enough to find someone like you. I really don't ever want to lose you, baby."
"I never want to lose you either," Seth said, sounding like all of his pain and anger had just been blown away by her words. She had gotten through to him. He put his coffee down on the floor and stood up. "And I know you didn't sleep with me for any reason other than love. Come here, muñeca."
Zelina quickly put her cup down and got up, walking into his arms. She sighed in pleasure at being held by him. She had wondered if it might never happen again. "Oh, baby," she said softly, resting her head on his chest.
"I need you to promise you'll tell me things in the future," he said seriously. "As I said, this can't work if you keep secrets from me. Any relationship needs trust, Zelina. I don't have to tell you that."
"No, you don't. No more secrets, Seth, I promise. Again, there's nothing else I haven't told you that I should have, I swear."
"Okay," he whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
She looked up at him so that they had eye contact. "When David attacked me at home that day, I was lying there tied up, with my mouth taped. I was scared to death, and you were the first person I thought of. I only wanted to live so that I could see you again. I'm not perfect, Seth, no one is, but I love you with everything I have. You are my life. Living with you is a dream come true."
"Oh, muñeca," he said kissing her forehead again. "It's a dream come true for me, too. You know what I believe?"
"What?" she asked softly.
"I believe it's possible for a couple to fight and come out of the other side stronger. I feel like that's what's happening here."
"Me too, baby. This reminds me of the first time you held me. It feels so nice. I'm remembering right now the moment after we first slept together, when you promised to always call me muñeca. It might sound lame, but it's really special to me that you do that? I makes me feel so loved every time you say it."
"That's because I always say it with love, like when you call me baby."
Zelina reached up and gave him a peck on the lips. "So, we're okay?"
"Yeah, we're okay," he smiled. He gave her a third kiss on the forehead. "You know, sleeping in that bed on the bus last night without you was beyond awful last night. I felt so alone. I could smell your perfume on your pillow and it made me miss you so much."
"Aww, Seth, that's so sweet," she said, squeezing him tightly. "It's also really sad that we slept apart because of an argument. I hated it, too. I spent the night in bed with Sonya."
"A lot of guys would pay good money to see that," he said, making the first joke of the day.
"Behave," Zelina giggled. "But seriously, we should make a rule to always talk over our problems in future. Every couple has problems, including us. But it shouldn't mean we have a screaming match and end up with one of us bailing like I did."
Seth stroked her hair tenderly. "Okay, that's a rule. No bailing, and we talk over problems."
For a minute, Zelina stood there just enjoying being held by her man. It really did feel almost like this was a fresh start in some ways. The embrace had that truly special feeling that usually came at the beginning of a relationship.
"You'll never guess who was giving me a talking to while Sonya was presumably doing the same thing with you," Seth said eventually.
"Well, since you said I'll never guess, it obviously wasn't Bay. Wait," she exclaimed, pulling back from him a bit. "What happened about the bus?"
"Daga is buying it. Or, her company is, I guess. Vince agreed to sell it back to her for the same price he paid for it."
"Yes! That's great news! They're such a sweet couple. I wouldn't have been able to deal if they had been separated."
"It would have been rough," Seth agreed. "It was actually Daga who came to talk to me, once she had parked the bus up for the night."
"Daga? Really?" Zelina said, eyes wide in surprise. "That must have been something. Did she give you the riot act?"
"Actually, no. I saw another side of her. I think she was already emotional about coming close to losing Bay from the bus, so she was actually quite gentle with me. She really talked a lot of sense and made me realise I was being a stubborn idiot. I feel closer to her as a friend as a result. I owe her for stepping up last night."
"I feel the same way about Sonya. She helped me to calm down and realise that I was in danger of throwing away what I have with you if I wasn't careful. Then I got upset and she comforted me. She's been a very good friend to me ever since I've known her."
"And now here we are," Seth smiled before giving her a peck on the lips. "You know what the only bad thing is?"
"What, baby?" She saw a strong desire for her appear in his eyes as she asked the question.
"We can't have make up sex in the middle of a hotel lounge."
"That really is a shame," she agreed, feeling herself starting to warm up for him. "I guess it'll have to wait until tonight when we're back on the bus."
"Back on the bus, yeah, but tonight? To hell with that. We can get a taxi back there right now."
"That's a much better idea," Zelina said longingly. "Let's go now."
"One more thing first. I love you, muñeca." With that, he kissed her passionately.
Stretching up and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, she held him in place, moaning with pleasure into his mouth. By the time the kiss ended, she was absolutely on fire. "Can we get that taxi now?"
"You bet. Let's go."
Walking hand in hand, they headed out of the lounge and into the lobby, on their way to the hotel's front entrance. While Seth got on his phone to call them a taxi, Zelina took out her phone and loaded up Twitter. She typed out a short tweet: I love my man.
A/N: Many thanks to everyone who left a review last time.
Seth and Zelina got over their first fight. Come on, you didn't doubt it, right? ;)
Next time we have Zelina's first meet and greet as Women's Champion, along with Paige. Do you think many fans will come out to see them?
