Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Jayme, and if I did, I wouldn't share. They are the respective properties of the WWE and themselves.
-Jayme wrapped the towel around her dripping form and went into the bedroom. She sat in a chair and took another towel to her long curls.
The bright red curls were a Jacobs curse.
She combed out her hair, muttering an obscenity when her cell phone rang. It was probably Mark.
"Hello?"
"Jayme? It's Matt."
She smiled to herself. "Oh, hi," she said, surprise evident in her voice.
"Hey. I was wondering if I could take you to dinner."
The towel slid from her fingers to land in a heap on the floor. "Uh, yeah, sure."
She heard a relieved sigh come from his end. "Great! Cool. Is seven okay?"
She checked the clock. That gave her an hour to get ready. "Perfect." She gave him her room number. "See you then."
"Okay, 'Bye."
She pressed the power on her cell and tossed it onto the bed, flopping down beside it. She laid there for a moment, then jumped up and dashed to her bag. She pulled out a long black skirt and an off-the-shoulder black top. She topped it off with black high-heeled boots and left her hair down to drape to her waist.
She had just put some powder on her face when he knocked. She checked her appearance in the mirror and went to the door. He was dressed in a white shirt and dark jeans. He looked completely sexy from the top of his head to the tips of his black boots.
He held out his elbow. "Shall we?"
She smiled and laid her hand on his arm.
He escorted her to the front of the hotel where he had a car waiting.
They were seated inside and driving through town before he spoke. "So tell me about you."
She turned her gaze from the window. "There's not much to tell."
"What do you like to do?"
She blushed, forcing herself to relax. "I love to read. I read everything." She lowered her eyes to her lap. "I want to be a writer."
"What do you write?"
She grinned sheepishly. "Romance." She covered her eyes with a hand, trying to hide her embarrassment. "That sounded so girly."
He chuckled. "It fits you." He glanced over as he drove. "So you're hiding a big imagination in that pretty head, huh?"
The crimson stain on her cheeks deepened. "Yeah. Glenn calls me a dreamer."
They pulled up in front of the restaurant. Her tension eased a little. She was afraid he'd take her to some place fancy, but the diner was perfect.
They found a table and ordered their food.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's up with Callaway?"
"Glenn commissioned him to be the defender of my honor," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Ah," he said, nodding. "I usually see you by yourself. Why don't you mix it up with the rest of the roster."
She shrugged. "Besides the obvious reasons, most people are usually intimidated by me."
"Why?"
Color suffused her cheeks again. "Because I'm so big."
He looked taken aback. "People are afraid of you because you're tall?!"
She nodded. She tried to pretend like it didn't bother her when people whispered about her, but in the lonely hours of the night, it came back on her.
He took her hand from across the table. "Well, they don't know a damn thing." He looked into her eyes. "I think you're beautiful."
She averted her eyes. "Nah."
Smiling warmly, he caught her gaze. "I think you're questioning my honesty."
She bit her lip, looking up at him. "I wasn't-"
"Okay, then. No more denied compliments." He grinned at her, making her tummy flip.
She smiled back. "Alright. I won't deny them. But just so you know, I won't believe them, either."
Their food arrived and they spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other. Afterwards, he escorted her to her hotel room.
She pulled out her key card and stood with her back to the door. "I had fun. Thank you."
He took her smaller hand in his. "You're welcome. Will you be at the arena tomorrow?"
She smiled. "Of course. Mark will make sure." Jayme let out a sigh. "Well, goodnight."
He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers in the sweetest kiss she'd ever experienced.
His big hand cupped her cheek, stroking her jaw with his thumb. "'Night, Jayme," he said, walking away, leaving her standing in a shell-shocked silence.
After the shock wore off, she managed to get inside and dressed for bed, unable to fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning.
She awoke abruptly to someone pounding her door down. "Jay, get your ass outta bed. We gotta go."
She got out of bed, padding to the door in her pajamas. "What the hell time is it, Mark?"
He had a bandana wrapped around his head and shades over his eyes. "It's bright and early. The crack of noon." Setting his gym bag down, he turned her toward the bathroom and gave her a nudge. "Hurry up."
She went into the bathroom, taking her clothes with her. She showered quickly, pulling her still damp hair up in a band.
"Since when do you sleep so late?" Mark said from the other side of the door.
She took a moment to panic, then relaxed. "I was working late." It was only a little white lie.
"Are you ready yet?"
She slipped her feet in her shoes and left the bathroom. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have no patience?"
He lifted a brow. "Only you, about twelve hundred times. Let's go already."
She sighed, grabbing her bag and following him out the door.
The arena was quiet so early in the week. Mark went off to practice in the ring with some of the guys and Jayme took a seat in a balcony.
She took out a novel, forgetting everything around her.
She was jerked out of her reverie by Mark.
"Come on, the guys ordered pizza."
She tucked her book in her bag and followed Mark to one of the locker rooms. After making sure everyone was descent, he opened the door and she went in. SmackDown wrestlers in various stages of dress were huddled around an inordinately large stack of pizza boxes.
Mark elbowed his way through, and Jayme followed close behind to keep from being trampled. She grabbed a slice and went to a corner.
She nibbled the greasy confection as Matt came through the door. He hadn't seen her yet, and she took the time to study him, the grace of his movements. He was incredibly sexy.
She wondered what he saw in her.
He looked up and caught her watching him. Grinning, he made his way to her side. "Hey, Jayme."
Lord in heaven, why did she have to be so damned shy? "Hi." Her eyes sought out Mark. He was chatting with the other wrestlers and was apparently paying her no mind. She let herself relax a little.
"A bunch of us are getting together in Nidia's room, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me."
"I'd love to." She looked up, straight into Mark's green gaze.
He strode over, grabbing her arm. "Working late, huh?"