Chapter VIII: Where My Loyalty Lies
The following Monday as she and Rob left for the arena, Samia prayed that Shawn wouldn't be there or at least she wouldn't have to see him if he was. However, she would rather have seen HBK than have to deal with what was coming. The couple was met by Terri with a microphone as they entered the building from the covered parking lot. The over-tanned woman stopped them and began a barrage of questions.
"RVD! RVD! A few moments of your time!" she begged, running beside him as they attempted to ignore her. However, as the gentleman he was, he at least stopped to tell her nicely to leave them alone but the dyed blonde launched into her interview. "Congratulations on your win against Brock Lesnar two weeks ago at Unforgiven."
"Thanks," he replied and attempted to go, hoping she would give up.
"So, tell me," she began, hurrying around him to stand in front of the couple to prevent them from leaving, "how do you feel about a woman having to protect you from Eddie Guerrero and X-Pac?"
"Look, we all need someone to watch our backs. What's wrong with a little bit of help?" Rob answered, putting his arm around Samia and drawing her close.
"From someone you're romantically involved with?" Terri stuck the microphone back in his face. He only shrugged. "From someone that is rumored to have ties with the nWo?"
Samia was inflamed by her question. "Rumors are just that, Terri," she angrily interrupted, pulling herself from RVD's embrace and stepping between him and the interviewer. "My loyalty lies with Rob Van Dam, not the nWo. Don't question him about that. Tell that to your rumor sources."
"So, the rumor that RVD found you in the nWo dressing room in the arms of Shawn Michaels isn't true?" The valet's stomach turned a flip. Someone had leaked something, and, while it wasn't entirely the truth, it was enough to hit home. She took a step forward and glared down at Terri.
"Samia, it's not worth it," Rob began and put a hand on her back. She just held her own up to stop him.
"Well, Sammy, what about Kevin Nash coming out to save your hide? That's not rumor."
"First off, it's Sa-mia, second, that's Nash's business, not mine nor yours. I suggest you move on and leave us alone," she slowly and carefully bit out.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? You're a valet, a no one. You should be grateful that someone has taken such an interest in something as plain as you are."
"Terri," she stated calmly. "I find beauty naturally. I don't have to have it 'done' like you do. I don't see a significant other runnin' around with you."
"You listen to me, girl. You are just jealous," Terri angrily replied, poking her manicured nail in the other woman's face. Samia couldn't believe she had punched Terri in the face until she saw the interviewer trying to regain her balance and then crash into a stack of chairs. "You will pay," she shouted as she tugged down at her short skirt that had found itself some other place than it should have been during the unfortunate mishap.
"You are not worth it," Samia spit out and began to stalk off.
"You just wait there, missy," Terri screamed, having finally caught up with her and RVD. Rob was trying not to laugh at all this. Beyond the ring, his girlfriend was probably one of the most mild-mannered women and now this temper was being unleashed. He had given up on stopping her when she first confronted Terri in the interview but they were both asking for it and he knew better than to get in the middle of a catfight. It had just started to get entertaining when Samia punched the older woman but he wasn't going to encourage her to fight. He was afraid that she might actually get hurt, great right hook or not. So, when Terri caught up with them, he hovered in the doorway of the dressing room, willing to watch them verbally spar, or maybe take a few swings, before he stopped them.
Samia still held the doorknob when she whipped around to find the shorter woman attempting to be taller than she was. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" The valet threw Terri's words back at her and then stepped into RVD's dressing room, almost running him over, to slam the door in the interviewer's face.
"You go, girl," Rob exclaimed, holding up his hand to give her a high-five but she didn't notice. "What brought that on?" he asked, a bit more quiet.
"I guess…she made me mad."
"Remind me not to ever make you mad."
"It wasn't like that," she replied, finally looking at him. "I can't believe I did it. It just happened. I've never hit a soul in my life." She quickly sat down on the couch on to regain her composure.
He wasn't surprised at her revelation. She would have to get use to it if she wanted to survive around there. "Don't let it bother you. I do it all the time and…" he said with a laugh, trying to ease her, but a knock at the door interrupted his comment.
Van Dam motioned for her to stay there and answered the door for her. "Is Miss Carlsen here?" Samia almost jumped out of her skin when she recognized Vince McMahon's sarcastic drawl. She quickly headed for the door.
"Yes?" she asked, hoping for the best but knowing better.
"Good evening, ma'am," he began, straightening his pinstripe suit. She nodded in response. "Which may only get better. You have a match with Terri tonight."
"Excuse me?" she asked in disbelief, her jaw hitting the floor. "I'm just a valet, not a wrestler."
"Oh, I am very aware of that," McMahon commented with a chuckle. "That's what will make this so interesting." His chortle broadened into loud laughter and he started to back away. Then he stopped to point a finger at RVD. "You are barred from ringside. Terri and Samia alone. You got me?" RVD's response was to slam the door in his face.
"What are we gonna do?" Samia hysterically asked as she started pacing the room. "Just because I watch y'all doesn't mean I know what I'm doin'. Besides, I can't go out there in this suit."
"We'll get you something," Rob offered and started digging through his bags. "Here, here's a pair of spandex shorts. Wait, throw these gym shorts over them." He tossed them at her. "Hold on. Did you wash those?" She gave him a 'what do you think' look. "I'm glad you threw in those extra pair of socks." He paused for a moment, then pulled his shirt off. A big "Whatever" on her chest was not the look she was going for but she caught the shirt in the air. "Don't stand there looking at me like I'm crazy. Get changed. We've got to get down to business. I'll be back soon."
She couldn't believe this was happening to her as she slipped out of her dress and into the oversized clothes. The spandex was the closest thing to fitting. His shirt smelled amazingly like him, which was the only part of the fiasco she could handle. RVD returned shortly holding a pair of tennis shoes. "How did you pull that off?"
"I found a willing person," he said with a shrug when he had actually sweet talked Adrienne Bradley into giving them to him. He expected to have to bribe her but she breathlessly responded with a 'yes' before Rob finished the question. "Let's get started."
"Started?" Samia asked, wringing her hands.
"How do you think you're gonna make it out there?" When she shrugged her shoulders, Rob responded, "Okay then. Punch me."
"Punch you?"
"Yeah. Come on. Your first lesson."
"I can't believe I'm doing' this." She stood and aimed for his chin and then found herself on the floor.
"Now, let me show you how to do that to Terri and keep her from doing that to you."
"Oh my god," she groaned from the floor. With the little time that they had, RVD gave her a crash course in Wrestling 101. It would have helped if she could concentrate on something other than Rob's bare chest rolling all over her. Although, she could have just kept on doing that all night.
"It's time, chica! Let's go!" Rob announced, pulling her up from the floor where she last landed.
"I don't wanna," Samia whined.
"Doesn't matter," he muttered, realizing he was about to leave bare-chested.
"I can't do this."
"Yes, you can," he assured her, finding the tanktop he had thrown in the bag. It wasn't like she could have worn that, so he slipped it on over his head.
"No, I can't," she complained, shaking her head.
"Samia, I'll be right by your side. McMahon can't stop me. Don't worry." He cupped her cheek with his hand and stole a quick kiss.
"Alright," she sighed, "let's go before I back out." Rob opened the door for her to find one of WWE's security standing there. Samia stepped through but the larger man blocked RVD's way. He moved one way and the guard countered it. Rob tried the other way but it didn't work either. For someone so large, the man was quick and Rob knew he was going to have to plan this carefully.
"Samia, just go," he finally said. "You'll be fine. If something happens, I'll be there."
"But—" she began, almost freaking out over him not going with her. When he reached for her hand and squeezed it, she was able to go with the thought in mind that he said he would be there if something happened. She heard Terri's music as she headed to the ring but the blood was rushing through her ears so loudly that she barely heard RVD's music signaling her entrance.
"J. R., this is gonna be so much fun. Samia's gonna get it! That stuck-up, stupid woman is gonna get it!" Lawler cackled.
"Just shut the hell up!" Ross angrily replied. He was getting so sick of Jerry's objectification of women. "Let's go back earlier tonight and see what prompted this match between RVD's valet and Terri." The two announcers watched the footage of the interview, Terri's demand for the match, and Samia's reaction to McMahon's declaration. "King, she's nothing but a sweet girl who lost her temper for one moment. She didn't even want the match."
"Well, she's got the match now. She better hope RVD's shown her a thing or two besides his bed."
"Shut up!" J. R. punched Lawler in the arm, something he had been waiting to do for so loooong. McMahon would probably chastise him for it but it would be worth it.
"What was that for?" the other announcer pouted, rubbing the slightly bruised spot.
"Just watch the match," Ross ordered and Lawler fell silent except to respond to J. R.'s comments.
In the ring, Samia and Terri circled each other. Terri charged her but Samia ducked. The interviewer bounced back off the rope for a clothesline and Samia dropped her with a leg sweep. It happened so fast that valet-turned-wrestler found herself searching her mind for what to do next. She dropped down for what she knew to be a premature pin but it bought her more time to think. Terri kicked out and Samia pulled her up by her hair to land an uppercut and then a chest slap. Terri stumbled towards her corner and Samia took off for a spear. As the bleached blonde connected with the turnbuckle, Samia hoped to pull her out for a side suplex. She pulled Terri away from the ropes so that Terri couldn't use them against her.
Samia was about to set her up for the suplex when the shorter woman landed a punch to her cheek. Samia was flat on her back. She could feel the warm blood trickling down her face. Terri had pulled out a set of brass knuckles that were hidden in the turnbuckle padding. Samia couldn't clear her head from the pain to rise up. Terri straddled her and then screamed at her, "Let's see how naturally beautiful you look after this." Terri threw another punch that slashed at her forehead. Samia couldn't see for the blood now running into her eye. She heard Charles Robinson call for the bell and was thankful that it was now over, or at least she thought it was over. Terri didn't stop at the sound of the bell. With the brass knucks, Samia couldn't tell one punch from another. She blindly swung at the attacking woman but her blows weren't enough to stop her.
When Terri stopped, Samia didn't know it was because Shawn Michaels had bodily picked Terri up and thrown her across the ring; she just knew it was over and was very grateful. Shawn pulled Samia out of the ring and cradled her against his chest as he carried her up the ramp. She only knew a warm body held her and just assumed it was Rob Van Dam.
However, RVD was flying down the hall towards them, yelling, "Put her down now, Shawn. Now!" Kevin Nash had met Michaels at the entrance and now pushed Rob out of the way as Shawn rushed past. Samia faintly heard RVD but slipped into oblivion as Nash slammed the nWo dressing room door closed behind them.
The blackness was replaced by a hazy pain and a bright light. Samia slowly woke to find Shawn leaning over her with a warm, wet terrycloth sponging away blood. "Welcome back, Angel," he grinned
"What happened?" she asked and quickly sat up but groaned and slipped back down onto the couch.
"I was your knight in shinin' armor. I rescued you," he proudly proclaimed.
"I didn't need it," she murmured, looking around and trying to figure out how she had gotten here with Shawn Michaels when she thought Rob had saved her.
"Oh, you didn't, did you? I see one, two, three, four reasons why you needed me," he responded, counting the cuts on her cheek, forehead, and lip. "Don't move. I'm goin' to put bandages on them. It's gonna hurt when I put alcohol on them but hold still." She nodded because she hadn't the willpower to do otherwise.
"All we've got is this gauze and tape," Kevin added, holding up the items.
"No band-aids?" Shawn asked, turning to face Nash.
"Didn't I just say 'all we've got…'" he replied, obviously annoyed with the question.
"They'll have to make do, I guess."
"I'll just go see the trainers," Samia interjected, trying to rise from the couch.
"I kinda got you in this situation and I'll take care of you," Shawn adamantly replied, pushing her back down.
Samia gritted her teeth from the sting of antiseptic and then decided to satisfy her curiosity, not only to take her mind off the sting but to stop the burning questions in her mind. "Why?"
"Why what?" Shawn asked, drawing back a moment to look in her eyes.
"Why did you come out?" she replied but Michaels and Nash just stared at her. "You didn't trust Rob to take care of me? He promised he would come for me."
"Oh, he did?" Nash responded with his classic look of surprise. "Well, we just beat him there."
"Why can't you leave well enough alone?" she angrily asked, propping up on her elbows. "I'm happy with Rob. I enjoy workin' for him and just bein' with him. Don't you understand?"
"Don't you understand?" Shawn countered. "You can't tell me you don't want to be with us. I felt it in your body when I kissed you. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at us." At that comment, she rolled her green eyes and looked away but he put a hand on her shoulder and she turned back. "I'm not stupid, Samia. I know what you want and how you work. You walk around in your power suits like you own the place."
She made a disgusted sound in her throat. "I do n—"
"And you deserve to do so," Shawn interrupted. "You didn't study to be a lawyer to be walked on. You didn't quit your job to be in somebody's shadow. You have a drive and a lot of passion to go with it. I've seen you out there at the ring. You aren't by RVD's side, you're just in his shadow. Look at what he got you into?" To emphasize his point, he ripped off a piece of medical tape with his teeth and reached for another piece of gauze.
"Speakin' of that," Samia responded, "how would Terri know that I was in the nWo's dressin' room and supposedly, uh, in your arms?"
"It's true, isn't it?"
"But there's only two people who know that," she angrily replied, looking back and forth between them.
"I didn't say anything," Nash blurted out, shutting the medical kit and getting up from his chair to put the kit away.
"Terri said that RVD found you in my arms. How do you know she wasn't making the rest of it up?"
Kevin's answer was too quick, too abrupt, but Shawn's made absolute sense. If part of Terri's story was fabricated, then other part could be as well. Courtroom observation told her she couldn't argue this one. "So, what's this spiel all about?" she huffed and lay back down on the couch when Shawn attempted to put the second bandage in place.
"You may think you're happy but you'll never be. With us," Shawn spread his hands out like he was offering her the world, "you can have all the desires of you heart."
"I'm sorry. I'm not leavin' him. When you're done, I want to go back to Rob," she replied, sullenly crossing her arms on her chest.
As if on cue, someone began banging on the door. "Michaels, let me in now. I have security with me and they're willing to bust the door down. Don't put Samia in the middle of this. I want her back and I want her back now!" Rob Van Dam shouted from the other side.
Nash walked over to the door and called back, "Don't get your panties in a wad. Give us a minute."
When Shawn had finished with the last bandage, Samia started to sit up again. "Don't try. You can go back but go back with some help." Michaels slid his arms under her and lifted her to carry her to the door.
"Put me down. I can walk."
"Just let me do this," he replied.
Knowing she couldn't physically compete with him, Samia muttered, "Fine."
Shawn nodded at Nash and the taller man opened the door. "Van Dam, you take care of her, you hear me? Here, carry her back," Michaels said, carefully handing her over.
RVD pulled her to him and only glared at Michaels and Nash before turning to go. Back in his dressing room, Van Dam carefully laid her down on the couch in his room. "Let me see," Rob said, gently turning her head towards him.
"They're fine," Samia snapped, "No one could have done any better." She surprised herself at how quickly she had become so defensive over such a trivial matter as a bandage.
"Did they do anything to you?"
"No," she answered, turning to face the back of the couch. "Have you had your match yet?" The woman had lost all sense of timing because of the black-out.
"No, and I'm not going to. I'm taking you back to the hotel now," he stated and rose from the couch to begin gathering their things.
"I'll be fine. Want your shorts back?" she asked, the question muffled into the sofa cushions.
"I'm not leaving you here like this in this building with them."
"Fine! Just help me to the car. Do you think I can get that kind of help?" She couldn't believe she had said that until it came out of her mouth.
"Are you insinuating that I didn't try to come out and help you?" Rob snapped before she could consider apologizing.
"Well, I didn't see you there!" she bit back, still burrowed in the couch cushions, unwilling to look at him for embarrassment and anger.
"Kind of hard to see when you're all cozied up to the nWo!"
Samia jerked back over to face him. "Don't you dare! You think I stood in that ring and said 'Hhmm, who do I want to come out and 'save' me?' I didn't even want to be there in the first place. And you promised—Let's just go…now," she angrily sighed and pushed herself up from the couch. She wobbled and Rob quickly reached out to grab her by the elbow, steadying her as she sank back down.
RVD didn't say a word as he helped her out of the building and into the hotel. He disappeared into his room and she into hers, their adjoining doors quickly closing. Samia made the best attempt she could at showering and finding small band-aids so that she didn't look like a walking mummy. When she was through, at least she didn't look like she had been through a car-wreck. Bless Shawn's heart, she thought, he did the best he could with the best he had.
Samia settled down on the bed and thought through all that had transpired that evening. Her headache was beginning to settle but the tenderness all over her face was getting worse—not to mention the pain in her heart. She knew she shouldn't have spoken to Rob like that. Shawn's words echoed in her head—With us, you can have all the desires of you heart. As far as the nWo was concerned, she wasn't sure what her desires were but she knew now that her immediate desire was to apologize to Rob.
Samia picked up Rob's shirt and deeply inhaled its scent. She didn't want to give it back but she quietly rapped on his adjoining door anyway. "What?" The tone of the word hurt.
"Can I come in?" she quietly asked, barely loud enough for Rob to hear her. She chewed her lip in anticipation but yelped when her teeth caught the split in her bottom lip.
"Yeah, whatever, it's unlocked," the answer stoically came. She pushed the door open to see him lying across the bed in nothing but his boxers and his necklace with the silver dragon pendant. He probably couldn't have looked any sexier.
"Anythin' good on?"
"No," he replied, turning the television off and tossing aside the remote control that had dangled in his hand. "What is it?"
"I thought you might want your shirt back," she quietly offered, timidly holding it out towards him.
"Just throw it in that pile over there," he replied and indicated the corner with other clothing in it.
She did so and then pulled up a chair from the hotel table since he wasn't being as cooperative as she wanted. "I'm sorry for the way I yelled at you earlier. That was entirely wrong of me. Whether or not it was Shawn, Benoit, or McMahon himself that came into that ring after Terri, you were the one with over half of security there to bust down the nWo's door to get me. I'm sorry I treated you the way I did." There, it was out, she had had her say and he could take it or leave it. She stood to leave but Rob grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down beside him.
"I came. I just had a three hundred-pound McMahon lackey blocking my door. I was seconds behind Shawn. When I got there, Nash shoved me aside and they had the door bolted before I could be in behind them. I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry all this had to happen," he explained, his eyes locked with hers. He then ran his fingers through her hair that reached well past her shoulders. "I really am. You weren't supposed to be out there at all. And now look at your beautiful face."
"Ah, it never was beautiful," she murmured, looking down, "Now it's just horrible."
"You listen to me," he said, caressing her cheek. "Just because you don't look like Torrie or Stacy or whoever, does not mean you are not beautiful. You are to me. In this moment in time, ain't that all that matters?"
In all honesty, that should have bothered her—you don't look like Torrie or Stacy—but she knew the truth and was comfortable with that but Rob, in his own way, had told her that she was beautiful to him. It was all that mattered as he rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. She heard Shawn's voice in her head again— With us, you can have all the desires of you heart. She couldn't believe this but her desire now was to let herself fall as deeply as she could into Rob's blue eyes. After her only attempt at making love had been a failure, she vowed she would save herself for marriage but the way Rob was looking at her, the way he deeply inhaled the scent of her hair was throwing a monkey wrench into that vow. She thought she would explode if he didn't take her into his arms and kiss her, so she reached for him first. By the way Rob returned her kiss, it was evident they were both thinking the same thing.
They drank greedily from each other's lips—he being so careful not to hurt her split lip. He planted kisses all over the exposed flesh on her face. Chills ran throughout her body and her ability to think about anything else spiraled into oblivion. She snaked her arms around his neck and pulled the rubber band from his hair. The long tendrils fell down to fan out across his back. She ran her fingers through his hair, tangling his thick locks in her hands when his mouth found her earlobe. Her hands explored every part of his shirtless chest and back; his skin was hot underneath her fingertips. As much as she wanted him at that precise moment, she wanted these feelings to last forever.
Samia pulled away from him to start trailing kisses down his neck and across his chest. Her kisses seared across his flesh and he leaned back into the pillows to absorb as much of her as he could. Rob moaned when her tongue found one nipple and he dug his fingers even deeper into her long hair. She continued to trail a line of kisses as she explored farther down. Pushing aside the elastic top of his green boxers, she found her favorite spot on a man—that little smooth soft part where the top of his thigh ended and his hip began. What she wouldn't have done for a piece of ice to torture him with.
When he couldn't take it any longer, Rob pulled her back up to him and devoured her mouth. "This is not fair," he huskily spoke.
"What's not fair?" she whispered in reply.
"This." With that, her simple blue cotton nightgown was history. She felt so exposed in nothing but her white bikini panties but Rob quickly pulled her to him so that their bare chests were touching. Goosebumps rose on every part of her body. The little stabs of pain that had covered her face were pushed away by the simple pleasure of just being with Rob in this way. He gently rolled her onto her back and began paying her back for teasing him. Her breasts ached from desire as he lavished attention on each one.
When neither thought that they could stand waiting any longer, Rob stopped to stare her in the eyes. "While this all may seem so fast, it doesn't mean that I don't love you."
"I know now that I love you too," she replied, confident in every word.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" he whispered as his passion-filled eyes, half hidden by his long dark lashes, searched her clouded green eyes sending the same messages back.
"You're askin' the wrong person. Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked with a throaty laugh.
"I don't think that warrants an answer," he replied with a half grin.
"Me neither," she whispered and lost herself in a spiraling abyss of pleasure with the man she loved. The nWo and Shawn Michaels were the last things on her mind as Rob took her to planes of pleasure she never knew existed.
TBC…