Apparently I am not in very well with the higher ups. "Rene" John said as soon as we stepped in the door "we gotta get together sometime to discuss our match". I kind of slipped back a bit hoping that no one would notice me until John left. Unfortunately it didn't turn out that way.
"Hey John ok let me just show Aaron here where Fifi is and I'll come find you, oh by the way this is Aaron" Rene said gesturing to me, I could have killed the little French fry at that moment.
"Hi" John said looking me in the eye and sticking out his hand. I clumsily shook it hoping that my palm wasn't as sweaty as it seemed to be. I muttered a hello and hoped that I wasn't blushing, at least too much anyway. John walked off and I turned back to Rene smacking his arm as hard as I could.
"OWWW what" Rene asked rubbing the spot on his arm that I hit. He looked at me a second before smiling a wide smile "you have a crush on him don't you" he asked wiggling his eyebrows in a comical manner.
"Yes" I whispered looking around making sure no one was in ear shot "yea ok I do, I have the HUGEST crush on that man and I just made a fool of myself in front of him".
"Oh come on" Rene said rolling his eyes "it wasn't that bad".
"Oh just show me to Fifi" I said flippantly acting as if I was trying to get over my embarassment of meeting my crush. Rene smiled a bit and started walking down the hall, I followed at a pace that was similar but I still kept back a bit because I didn't want to have another embarrassing run in.
Rene turned into a room and I followed him in, there was a small crate on one wall and Rene walked over to it opening it up and reaching inside "hello baby, how's Daddy's little girl" he said pulling out a standard poodle that was a dark grey color. The groomer in me immediately started making plans on the style I would do to the dog. Rene talked a bit more to the dog who seemed a bit skiddish before motioning me over.
"Baby" he said to Fifi "this is Aaron, he's gonna cut your hair and make you all beautiful for the camera and for Daddy" he said letting the dog lick his face. I slowly reached out my hand letting Fifi sniff it. Apparently I smelled pretty good cause she started licking it. Rene decided it was safe to leave me with Fifi so he went to go work out his match with John leaving me to start grooming the dog.
"Alrighty Fifi" I said when Rene had left "lets make ya all pretty". I lead her to a table that had been set up and was surprised when she hopped right up on to it. I praised her and got out my tools. I worked in a calm manner, talking to the dog quietly and in a baby voice. I have found that this is the best way to deal with new customers. It helps them stay calm. Fifi was the perfect customer, calm and friendly, she licked my face a bit and moved around a little but she was very good for me.
When I was finished I started putting my things in my bag. I heard the door open and didn't think anything about it, thinking that it was Rene. I heard a throat clear and I turned around in my chair coming face to face with John Cena.
"Hi" he said "Rene is talking to the agent helping us with the match and he told me to come get you and Fifi" he looked a little nervous kinda shifting on each foot and fiddling with his cap. His actions kind of puzzled me but I brushed it off.
"OK" I said trying to keep my voice from cracking and trying not to make it obvious that I was checking him out "does she have a leash or something" I said not really knowing.
"Nah" John said "she only needs that when she goes out for Rene's match she'll follow us, come on girl, come here Fifi". The newly groomed dog jumped from the table and trotted over to John, wagging her tail happily. He bent down to give her a little attention before standing back up and looking at me "if your ready we can go now".
I followed John down the hall, Fifi walking beside us the whole time. "So" John said "you seeing anyone".
"Uhhh no" I said shifting in my chair uncomfortably "I haven't found the right person yet". I was hoping that we would get to Rene soon because I was very uncomfortable.
"Yea I know how hard it is to find the right guy" John said in a nonchalant kind of way. I stopped rolling my chair and just stared open mouthed at him. He kept walking but when he noticed me in the middle of the hall he came back. Fifi saw Rene at the end of the hall so she walked over to him completely ignoring us.
"Oh yea" John said "I'm gay too. Not only that but I think your cute and I would like to take you out". I just stared at him with the same expression before snapping out of it.
"No way" I said "your not gay, your fucking with me. This is some sick joke". As soon as the words were out of my mouth it was covered by his. He laid a seriously good kiss on me and I was left speechless. I was too shocked by his actions to react really and before I could gauge what was happening he pulled back.
"Still think its a joke" he said a small smile on his lips.
"Umm uhhh woah" I said unable to form a sentence right off "well if it is a joke then your going all out for it" I said dumbly.
He gently grabbed my face, making me look him in the eyes. I saw so much sincerity there I almost cried.
"Its not a joke".
"Why me" I said, old wounds and self doubt rearing their ugly heads "why someone who's in a wheelchair, why someone who's not all that attractive, why someone who's only a dog groomer, why..." I was cut off by him kissing me again. He again didn't give me time to respond before he pulled away. I hoped he didn't think I was a prude at kissing.
"Because your you" he said simply "listen I know I haven't known you long but I feel like I have known you forever. I don't look at the fact that your in a wheelchair, I look at the fact that your a good person, I think your cute and I would love to get to know you better. So with the risk of sounding like a broken record will you go out with me".
I just stared at John for a few minutes, was he really serious about wanting to go out with me? I finally snapped out of my thoughts and managed to nod my head that yes I would go out with him. He smiled a huge smile and wrapped his arms around me as best as he could and hugged the life out of me. I was surprised at his reaction but I hugged back just as fiercely. I took in his scent and almost passed out at the sweet smell. It was a mix of soap and Drakkar Noir cologne.
We pulled apart when we heard clapping. I looked and saw Rene, Kurt Angle, Luther Reigns and Booker T standing a few feet away from us down the hall clapping with smiles on their faces. I felt my face go red and looked over to see John's reaction. He was smiling.
"Don't waste anytime do ya Cena" Kurt called over.
"Nope" John said "especially when I see something I want". Ok I didn't actually think it was possible for my face to get any redder but apparently it was because I have a feeling that it did. I couldn't believe he said that but it was kind of nice to know that he wanted me.
"Hi" Kurt said walking up to me and shaking my hand "Rene tells us you were brought in to take care of that dog of his". Rene obviously thought this wasn't very funny because he kicked Kurt in the butt. I shook Kurt's hand and also Luther's and Booker's introducing myself to all of them. We stayed in the hall talking a while, getting to know each other. I noticed that John kept his hand on my back the entire time. Not that I minded I just noticed it.
"Damn Smackdown starts in an hour we need to go get ready" Kurt said looking at his watch. Everyone kind of started going in different directions and I kind of just sat there in my wheelchair not knowing what to do.
John turned to me when he noticed I wasn't moving "come on, come with me so we can talk more and get to know each other". I nodded and started following him. I found myself kind of staring at his butt the entire time and let me tell ya it is a very nice one. After walking down a few halls we came to John's locker room. He held the door for me as I walked inside. It looked a lot like the room Rene had Fifi in but this one had a couch and a door that lead to a bathroom. John went over to the couch and sat down. "The perks of not wearing tights is that I have nothing to do til showtime" John said grinning at me "so tell me about yourself".
I had been dreading this question. I rarely told people about my life, it wasn't something I liked talking about. But I knew that if this thing with John and I had any chance of working out then I had to be truthful with John from the beginning.
"Well...my life hasn't exactly been all roses" I started "I was a neglected child. My mother was a drug addict and my father was a drunk. I pretty much had to fend for myself from the time I was 4. When I turned 10 my parents OD'ed on their respective addictions and I became a ward of the state. I went from foster home to foster home, each one worse than the one before it. At 15 I got hooked on cocaine. I stayed addicted to it til I turned 18 and was out of foster care. I checked myself in to a rehab center and stayed there for almost a year. After that I went to community college for dog grooming and that lead me to be here" when I finished with my story I looked over at John and saw that he had a slightly awed look on his face.
"Wow" John said after a few moments. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I thought that this was maybe a bit more for him than me. After a few minutes he pulled back and looked me in the eyes "your story is really rough. I can't even imagine going through what you have went through. I just know that I want to make your life better now than it has ever been".
"Well" I said softly "that shouldn't be so hard".