Author's notes: Sorry to excite everyone, this isn't chapter 6. I have actually written it, but when my beta checked it, there were a few inaccuracies. So I've re-written the ending to this chapter, so hopefully chapter 6 will work better.
Chapter five: Southern Charm.
Bar Phoenix wasn't too far away, so the cab ride was short. Wanda and Emily made their way the front door. It was $10 admission and the bouncers checked for their names on a list. As promised, Triple H had added them and getting in was no problem. From there they went and put their coats in the cloakroom. Wanda felt nervous and excited as she entered the lounge, which was busy but not jam packed. The room was made up of low set sofas with coffee tables in front. There were some booths lined around the place, mostly filled with couples. The wall opposite the entrance door was lined with the bar. Behind the bar, the wall was lined with mirrors. In the far corner was a dimly lit pool table. She scanned the room to find Dave, Hunter and Randy at the bar. Stephanie, who was seated in a booth not far from the female restroom, was to Wanda's surprise alone. They made their way to where Stephanie sat, passing the guys as they went. The three noticed the new arrivals and turned round. Randy immediately greeted Emily with a 'Hiya' and a broad smile, ignoring Wanda. Emily went over to him and they began whispering. Hunter acknowledged both of them and spoke.
"Wanda, Hi. "
"Hey," she replied.
Dave said nothing, so she turned to him using her best southern charm. "Hey sugah, aren't you gonna say hello to a laydee?"
Dave seemed slightly embarrassed as he replied, "Errrm, yeah, hi, do you wanna drink, 'tis my round."
"Please, Jack Daniel's and coke, thanks. "
He asked Emily too, mostly out of politeness. Randy had already brought her a margarita though.
Dave made the order and Hunter noticed her choice and laughed.
"Ha, hard drinker hey?"
"Comes with being a southern gal," Wanda giggled.
Adding the drink to the tray, already containing 2 bottles of Budweiser and a small white whine spritzer, they made their way over to Stephanie. Wanda suddenly realized the music playing was 'Sad but true' by Metallica. Fantastic she thought, decent music. Randy and Emily had already taken their seats, a little away from the rest of the group. As Wanda took the last empty seat, Stephanie looked up and smiled broadly, pleased to see she'd decided to come.
"Hi," smiled the brunette, whose hair was now down and curled in contrast to the formal tight bun it had been in earlier that evening.
Stephanie was dressed in a deep red halter neck top and leather pants. She looked very different from the corporate image of before and Wanda noticed a striking prettiness she'd not seen earlier. Hunter was dressed in a short sleeved black shirt, with the 2 top buttons undone, showing off his rippling muscles. His blonde hair was styled down and perfectly straight and he wore a pair of sunglasses, like a headband. Wanda noticed his beard was different to how it'd been earlier. He'd shaved away the chin part so it resembled 'Lemmy's' beard, the singer from Motorhead. She thought it made him look older and slightly stupid. She couldn't really see what Randy was dressed in as he had his head close to Emily's and she was obscuring her view. Dave looked stunning, he was dressed in a long sleeved dark blue shirt, with 34 of the buttons undone, showing of the top of his tanned chest. He wore a gold chain around his neck. Wanda swooned inside, thinking how incredibly hot he looked.
"So, how was Mikhile when he got home?" asked Hunter.
"Oh he was plum tuckered out, I think all the excitement wore him out," Wanda smiled.
"So, are you into wrestling?" continued the preened blonde.
Wanda took a few seconds to respond as she was distracted by the others. Emily was tossing her hair and laughing loudly at something Randy had just said. Stephanie seemed somewhere else and Dave was humming along to the music.
"To be honest, no, tonight was the first event I've ever seen. I was very impressed though," she admitted.
"So, what do you do when you're not working?" Stephanie asked, joining the conversation.
"I write a lot--I want to make my own film eventually. I love reading, mostly horror, and I have a pet poodle."
"Oh how sweet, what's its name?" Stephanie squealed with delight.
Wanda noticed Dave listening with interest and Hunter was quietly laughing to himself at Stephanie's enthusiasm about the dog. Randy and Emily still weren't taking any interest in the group's conversation as they were too busy flirting outrageously with each other.
"His name is 'Poochie', he's only a year old but he's gorgeous and slightly mad," she smiled.
Hunter (stood) up and smoothed his already perfect hair down. "Just popping to the restroom."
He walked off across the bar. By this time, most of the drinks lay empty.
"Would you like another drink? I think it's my round. Dave? Randy? Emily? Same again?" asked Stephanie.
"Please," they all replied.
Emily and Randy now moved over to join the remaining 2, which Wanda was grateful of as she felt a little nervous being left alone with Dave. She half expected him to disappear to the loo at any second, but he didn't and, to her surprise, he turned and began to speak.
"I love your accent. You lived in the south all your life?"
"Sure have sugah, born, grew up and live in New Orleans."
"Bet you love Mardi Gras then?"
"Oh yeah, it's amazing, the French quarter is always bustling, but, during Mardi Gras, the whole place is crazy."
"You lived here long Emily? I guess by your accent you're not a local," asked Dave.
Emily was surprised some one other than Randy had spoken to her.
"No, I'm not, I moved in with Wanda about four years ago. Before that, I lived in England."
Both guys raised their eyebrows in amazement.
Dave was staring at Wanda, transfixed by the cross' tip nestled between her cleavage. He let out a small laugh of amusement.
"What?" Wanda questioned.
"Nothing, I was just wondering, as you look quite gothic and you mentioned you were into horror books, whether you read vampire horror?"
"Ha, you're good. Yeah I do, I love Anne Rice," Wanda laughed.
"Did you know she lives in New Orleans?" Randy asked.
Emily smirked, as though she had some really interesting gossip to share. "Oh Wanda knows she lives in New Orleans. She holds a fancy-dress ball every Halloween that Wanda's been to, dressed as a vampire many times."
Randy smirked, as if that revelation was the funniest thing he'd ever heard, but Dave seemed really interested.
"Wow! You're a bit of a wild one, aren't you?"
"Not so much any more, that was back in my Uni days when I was a mean and moody Goth," Wanda grinned.
Stephanie and Hunter had returned, armed with more drinks.
"Oh god, he isn't boring you with his life story already?" laughed Hunter as he sat down.
"Actually, Wanda was telling me about Mardi Gras and how she's been to the author Anne Rice's Halloween ball," answered the dark haired man, with a look of awe.
"Oh no, you've found someone as crazy as you," Stephanie laughed, winking at Dave and nudging Wanda.
Wanda smiled, she was really beginning to enjoy herself and had totally forgotten about the messages on her answering machine. She was humming along to the music, which was now 'Freak on a leash' by Korn. Wanda was totally in a world of her own as she took in the riffs of her favourite song. She could just about make out Stephanie, Hunter, Randy and Emily chatting among themselves. Then she realized Dave was watching her, transfixed as she sat mouthing along to the words. Wanda turned red at having an audience as did Dave.
"So, what you into?" she asked, trying to play down the fact she'd caught him looking at her.
"Wrestling mostly, you don't get much time for anything else in this business. Although I do love reading too and I'm well into rock music, I love Metallica."
"Wow! Seems like we have a fair bit in common, I'm a proper Southern rock chick."
"Yeah, you can tell," replied Dave, with a cheeky grin.
"And what's that meant to mean?" Wanda asked, with a raised eye-brow.
"Oh, come off it. The hair, the make-up, that cross. I bet you use to be a Goth."
Wanda burst out laughing. "Well, you've really got my number, haven't you?"
"What's so funny?" asked Hunter, his attention being drawn from the other conversation.
"Oh, nothing, Dave here isn't just a pretty face," she replied, with a giggle.
"Come off it ! With muscles like that, who needs brains?" Hunter teased.
Emily and Randy were still pretty removed from the group and they seemed to have got through a lot more drinks than the others, especially Emily. Stephanie, however, was very quiet. She'd barely touched her drink, kept disappearing to the restroom and hadn't spoken since she returned from the bar. Wanda felt a little concerned as it had been Stephanie who'd invited her out.
"Hey sugah, are you all right?"
"Yeah, yeah," replied Stephanie, not really looking all right.
The time passed as Wanda, Dave and Hunter chatted, getting through a few more drinks. Stephanie still sat in almost silence, adding a 'yeah' or 'that's nice' every now and again. Wanda was slightly alarmed at the rate Emily and Randy were getting through drinks. She knew Emily's wild streak but had hoped she'd have taken it a bit easy tonight. Then, for the first time in a while, Stephanie spoke.
"Wanda, I wanted to ask you, would you be interested in coming to work for the WWE? I was very impressed by the proposal you presented and, after hearing you do your own writing too, I'd be very interested in offering you a job."
Wanda was utterly gob-smacked. Hunter rolled his eyes.
"Come on Dave, lets go and play pool and leave the women to talk shop."
He looked to Randy, checking if he wanted to join them, but he was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Emily as she pawed all over him. So the other two guys picked up their drinks and headed for the pool table.
"So, Wanda what type of things have you written?" Stephanie asked.
"Well, apart from the obvious production work, I've written 3 small screen plays, one of which was actually brought by a local cable company. I've also been working on a novel for a few years, but, with my work load increasing, I haven't had a chance to work on it for a while."
"Wow, that's really impressive. So, say I could offer you a position, either in the WWE or our film company, would you be interested?"
"It's something I'd really have to think about first, Stephanie. I'm very loyal to Mr Rodriguez, he's almost like family to me. There's also the financial aspect to consider and if it would then limit my career."
Wanda and Stephanie continued to discuss the prospect of her coming to work for the WWE. But they were suddenly interrupted by Emily. After drinking about 6 margaritas, she'd begun to get a little rowdy. Randy had just made a joke and Emily laughed so loudly most of the bar turned to look. 'Bar tender' by (Hed) Pee began to play, which was Emily's favourite song. Before Wanda even realized what was going on, to her horror,Emily was stood on the table, dancing. Randy looked highly amused and watched transfixed as she moved to the music, cheering her on.
"Oh my god, Stephanie I'm REALLY sorry about this," squealed Wanda as she ran to stop her cousin.
"Get the hell down from there NOW! If you don't get down, I'll throw you out !" shouted Wanda.
Emily climbed down from the table with a look of total disgust on her face. Randy's face mirrored this look, as though Wanda telling Emily off was the worst thing ever. Stephanie seemed unpleased but not angry.
"I have NEVER been so embarrassed in my whole life! Get the hell out of my sight now."
With that Emily left, Randy in hot pursuit. Wanda did not know nor care where they were going. She returned to the table and made apologies to Stephanie, who really didn't seem to mind and actually found it quite funny. Luckily, Dave and Hunter were still playing pool and had not seen Emily's out burst.
"You seem to be getting on well with Wanda. She's definitely taken a shine to you, she keeps calling you 'sugah'. Hunter noted with a half-grin.
"Ha, yeah, you gotta admit though, that 'gal' has a lot of charm."
"Yeah she has, she's so different here. More relaxed and plucky. Do you reckon anything will happen?"
"I dunno. She's an interesting girl, that's for sure."
Dave had been so distracted by speaking about Wanda, (no comma needed) that he'd missed Hunter pocketing the black ball. Hunter teased Dave, saying his head was obviously somewhere else. Agreeing he wasn't concentrating, they headed back to Wanda and Stephanie. On their way, Dave decided to get some more drinks, so Hunter headed back alone. Oblivious to what had gone on with Emily and Randy, he asked where they'd got to. Saving Wanda from having to explain the embarrassing actions of her cousin, Stephanie told him they had headed home. Stephanie then disappeared to the restroom. So Hunter decided to try and figure out Wanda's feelings about Dave.
"So, why 'sugah' so much Wanda?"
"Ha, it's a Southern thing."
"But you never call me 'sugah.'"
"You're married, besides I save it for special people," she replied with a wink.
Dave had just returned with the drinks.
"I'm impressed Wanda, you can really hold your drink," he said, placing another Jack Daniel's and coke in front of her.
"Like I said, sugah, I'm a proper Southern gal."
As she said 'sugah,' she looked at Hunter and giggled. Stephanie returned from the restroom looking not all there. Wanda again worried something was wrong but chose not to press the matter as she got the impression Stephanie would rather be left alone.
"So, guys, do those hammer shots really hurt? They looked pretty painful," enquired Wanda.
"Nah, not one bit, they're fake. But, shush, don't tell anyone," laughed Hunter.
Stephanie seemed to snap out of her thoughts and asked if anyone wanted another drink. Hunter said he was ok, but Dave gave a look as if to say, 'I'll have another if Wanda does'. Wanda agreed to another drink but this time asked for a double.
"I wanna show these boys how it's done," she grinned cheekily.
Dave looked shocked and Hunter almost spat out his beer.
"Well, if you're playing that game, make mine a double too, no coke though."
This time Hunter really did spit out his beer, in a fit of laughter.
"He can't handle been beaten by a girl at something," smirked Hunter.
Hunter decided to accompany Stephanie to the bar. Asking whether Stephanie was ok, she replied that she was fine as she just had something on her mind. Hunter commented that Dave was only trying to keep up with Wanda's drinking to impress her, saying he could tell by they way he looked at her that he was obviously smitten. Stephanie agreed that there was a spark there but felt Wanda seemed a little guarded. They returned to the table. Luckily, after so many drinks, Wanda was feeling fine. She liked Dave a lot and they seemed to get on well, he was great to spend time with. After returning from the bar, Stephanie seemed more relaxed and together. Wanda found herself staring at Dave when he wasn't looking. His hair looked so soft and his eyes had a lovely twinkle to them. Maybe she was a little drunk she thought because she desperately wanted to kiss him and run her fingers through his dark curls. Quickly, she downed her drink in one and Dave noticed and downed his drink too. Both Hunter and Stephanie laughed at the pair.
With a smirk on his face and a sly wink to Stephanie, Hunter suggested that as Wanda was beating Dave at drinking, maybe they should arm wrestle so Dave could redeem himself. Wanda agreed, claming she's beat him with no problem. They placed their arms on the table and grabbed each others hands. Dave was really strong and Wanda had trouble keeping her arm up. Realizing she was going to lose, Wanda had an idea. With her free hand, she took a sip of her drink and took the ice into her mouth. She then coughed and as she covered her mouth and slipped the ice into her hand. Then she slapped her hand and ice onto the hand Dave was arm wrestling with. He jumped up in shock, his hand dropping making Wanda the winner. Hunter almost fell out of his chair in laughter.
Hunter and Stephanie then decided to call it a night. They made their good byes and Stephanie said they really should do this more often. The mood relaxed a lot when Stephanie and Hunter left. They got some more drinks and Wanda kicked her feet up onto the empty seat Stephanie had left. Dave made a comment that her boots looked very dangerous. They continued to drink and chat, until the bartender announced it was closing time.They both got up and made their way outside, the cold air hitting Wanda and making her feel a little woozy. Dave noticed a free cab and hailed it over.
"Shall I jump in with you to make sure you get home safely?"
"Awww, you sweetie, yeah that'd be nice."
They got into the cab and sat very closely together. Before long, Dave put his arm around Wanda. She didn't want the cab ride to end but, soon enough, it did. Dave told the cab driver to wait a few minutes so he could see Wanda to her apartment safely. They stood in the car park for a little while, just staring at each other as though they wanted to kiss but were too shy to. Wanda slipped her arms around Dave's waist. He leaned in to kiss her, but suddenly they were distracted by the commotion coming from the apartment block. Wanda noticed a fire truck parked just to the side of the car park and her neighbours were filing out of their apartments.
To be continued……