Chapter 13: A New Friend and Hanging with Mom
The next day, Nicole was sleeping in John's arms in her bed in her bedroom at her apartment. Last night, when John and Nicole left the club and went back to her place, they relaxed a little and talked in the living room for a while before Nicole took John to her room and made love. At about 8:45am, Nicole woke up and saw John sleeping peacefully. She then kissed him lightly on the lips and that woke him up. John opened his eyes to see Nicole smiling at him.
"Good morning," John said.
"Good morning," Nicole said kissing him again.
"Did you sleep well?"
"I slept like a baby."
"I'm glad you did. I know that you're happy to be home."
"I am happy."
"So, what do you want to do today besides meeting that new diva at the hotel?"
"Well, I thought we could go see my mom and visit her for a while."
"Yeah. That'll be nice. That'll be very nice."
"Good."
"Are you still considering getting your navel pierced today?"
"Yeah. I mean, I've seen girls with pierced navels and to tell you the truth, I been jealous of them. I really wanted one but I never found the right time to get one until now."
"Well, it's like my song says, the time is now."
"Yeah."
Later, at exactly 10:00am, Nicole arrived at the restaurant at the Westin St. Louis Hotel where she was meeting Rochelle Kennedy. Nicole was wearing a white dress shirt, a black tank top, blue jeans, black boots, and her hair straight. She went up to the hostess and said,
"Hi. I'm meeting Rochelle Kennedy. Is she here?"
"Yes, she is," the hostess said. "Please follow me."
Nicole followed the hostess to a little private booth where a young woman with light brunette hair with blonde streaks at the front was sitting. It was indeed the newest diva, Rochelle Kennedy.
"Here you go," the hostess said.
"Thank you," Nicole said.
Rochelle looked up to see Nicole standing in front of her. Then she stood up and to Nicole, Rochelle appeared to be 5'10".
"Are you Nicole Mitchell?" Rochelle said.
"That's me," Nicole said extending her hand to Rochelle and she shook it.
"It's so nice to meet you."
"You too."
The two girls then sat down as the hostess gave them their menus.
"Your waiter will be with you two shortly," the hostess said and walked away.
"So you're the new diva that Mr. McMahon was telling me about," Nicole said.
"Yeah. That's me," Rochelle said. "I signed with the WWE last Sunday."
"Wow. That's cool. So, why did you want to meet me?"
"Well, I've noticed that you've been having a little trouble with Melina recently and now that you're back on RAW, I figured that I will keep an eye on Melina just in case she tries to get into more trouble."
"You know, you read my mind. When I came back to RAW, I was planning on looking for somebody to take care of Melina while I'm there. And you came in at exactly the right time. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself first."
"Okay. Well, I'm originally from Jacksonville, Florida but now I live in Miami. I'm a former Miss Fitness America 2003..."
"Really? I was crowned Miss Fitness America in 2002."
"Wow. What a coincidence."
"Yeah."
"I was also an international fitness model and I've been doing that for a year and a half before I was training to become a wrestler. So here I am."
"This is a coincidence because I was also a fitness model before I became a wrestler."
"It is."
"What background do you have?"
"Well, I've been dancing all my life including doing karate and kickboxing."
"Wow. I love dancing and I took kickboxing classes during my fitness career."
"So did I. That's awesome."
"Yeah. I've also had a love for gymnastics and cheerleading."
"Busy girl, huh?"
"Yep, but it paid off very well."
"So, I'm guessing you're enjoying your time in the WWE, especially with the WWE Champion John Cena."
"Yes, I am. I'm really enjoying my time with him."
"What's he like outside the ring?"
"Rochelle, he is the most sweetest guy I've ever dated. He cares a lot about other people, he really loves his fans, and he has got a great sense of humor. I'm telling you. He's always telling me every joke he knows."
"Wow. I can see that in the ring. He is really funny."
"Yeah. And I gotta tell you, my life has turned over a new leaf since I started dating him. We've been together for two months now."
"Ah, that's wonderful."
"Yeah. Do you have a boyfriend?"
"I never had a boyfriend."
"How come?"
"Hello, ladies," the waiter said. "What can I get you?"
"I'll just have a Long Island iced tea," Rochelle said.
"I'll have coffee," Nicole said.
"Okay, I'll be right back," the waiter said and walked away.
"Nicole, if I tell you this, please don't try to take this the wrong way," Rochelle said.
"Okay," Nicole said.
"My mom was abused by my dad and the same thing happened to my grandmother."
"Oh, my god. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. My mom left him to live with my grandmother while she was pregnant with me. She had a restraining order against him. We lived in a tough neighborhood in Jacksonville and it was kind of hard for me and my family. My mom was working two jobs to take care of me and my grandmother, but at times, it got harder. When I was five, my grandma got sick and I was worried that my mom and I would be alone if she died and it happened two years later."
"So what happened?"
"Well, my mom and I were still living at her house and my mom was still working to take care of me. Dancing started to become my outlet since I started at the age of 2 watching TV and throughout my years, people have helped me get involved with it and also with my mom. Then when I started junior high school, I became interested in karate to get my feelings out."
"Wow. How did you become interested in wrestling?"
"Well, it was always a fun time for me watching it and then I considered it as a dream career for me to get out of Jacksonville."
"Which wrestlers inspired you?"
"Hulk Hogan, 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Sgt. Slaughter, and the Ultimate Warrior."
"Wow. I love Hulk Hogan. I'm so glad he and Shawn Michaels beat those assholes at Backlash."
"Hey, they deserved to win."
"Well, I'm glad that you overcame everything to become a wrestler."
"Thank you."
"One more thing, though. Have you ever seen your dad?"
"No and I'm glad I've never seen him because of what he put my mom through. He was killed three years ago. My mom, on the other hand, is doing well. She owns a fashion boutique in Miami."
"That's good."
An hour later, Nicole and Rochelle were in her hotel room watching a video of Rochelle's training. Nicole was very impressed with her body slams and kicks.
"Wow," Nicole said. "This is amazing. You've been trained really well."
"Thank you," Rochelle said.
"I would like you to go to Smackdown and take care of Melina for me."
"Thank you so much."
"And also, look after the divas in case Melina tries anything."
"I will do that. By the way, would you come to Hershey, Pennsylvania to see my debut on Smackdown? I'm sure John won't mind."
"Of course. John and I will be there and I wanna see if Melina tries anything and I know that is when you make your first move."
"Exactly."
"Well, it was very nice to meet you, Rochelle, and I guess I'll see you in Hershey on Tuesday."
"It was very nice meeting you too, Nicole."
Then Nicole and Rochelle shook hands and Nicole left the hotel room.
At about 1:30pm, John and Nicole arrived at her parents' house. Only Nicole's mom was there because her dad, being part of the U.S. Marines, was gone most of the time.
"Nice place your parents have," John said when he and Nicole got out of her red corvette.
"Thank you," Nicole said. "My family and I lived here since my dad got promoted years ago."
"That's cool."
The house was a two-story Southern charm house and it was about 5,000 square feet. When John and Nicole arrived at the door, Nicole rang the doorbell. A minute later, Danielle opened the door.
"Nicole," Danielle said.
"Hi, mom," Nicole said as she and her mom hugged each other.
"I can't believe you're here. This is a surprise."
"You didn't hear? John got traded to RAW and he asked me to come with him. We had a show last night."
"Ah, that's wonderful. Hi, John."
"Hey, Danni," John said as he hugged Danielle and pulled away. "You mind if I called you Danni?"
"John, I haven't been called that since junior high school. Of course you can."
"Alright."
"Well, come in. Come in."
John and Nicole went inside and John was amazed by the interior decorating.
"Wow," John said. "I was telling Nicole that you have a nice house, but inside, this is amazing."
"Thank you very much, John," Danielle said. "I did most of the interior decorating with a little help from Andrew."
"Well, you both did a very good job."
"Thanks again. Well, would you both like some juice or something?"
"Yeah," Nicole said.
"Yeah, sure," John said.
"Okay, then. Well, have a seat in the living room and I'll be back," Danielle said.
She then went to the kitchen and John and Nicole went into the living room. John and Nicole walked over to the bookshelf to see some pictures of Nicole, her family, and friends. He then took a long look at Nicole's picture of when she was crowned Miss Fitness America 2002. She was wearing a pink shimmery gown carrying a bouquet of roses with a smile on her face.
"Wow, you look so beautiful in this picture," John said.
"Thank you," Nicole said. "I've got to tell you, that was one of the most happiest days of my life. I will never forget it."
"And hey, look where it got you."
"Wait. There's something I want to show you."
Nicole bent down to the bottom of the bookshelf and pulled out a magazine with herself in a red bikini on the cover. She then gave it to John.
"That was my very first photo shoot back in 2002," Nicole said.
"Wow," John said. "You look hot."
"Turn the pages and you'll see how hot I was that year," Nicole said.
John then turned the pages of the magazine and looked at about five pages of Nicole posing on the beach.
"Man, I could look at this all day," John said.
"Just don't do it while my mom is around you," Nicole said and giggled a little.
A couple of minutes later, John and Nicole were sitting on the couch looking at a photo album when Danielle came into the living room with three glasses of cranberry juice and a plate of cheese and crackers.
"Here you go," Danielle said.
"Thank you," Nicole said as she and John grabbed a glass and took a sip.
"So, how long are you gonna be here?"
"We're leaving tomorrow. We're going to New York to continue recording my album."
"Oh, how is that going?"
"It's great. It's amazing."
"Yeah. Nicole has a voice that I can't seem to get out of my head," John said. "She can really sing."
"Yes," Danielle said. "Nicole loved singing so much, she and Amy would do it in front of her friends and my friends during school and little get-togethers. I'm glad she's now trying it out as a career. So John, when is your first concert?"
"Well, it's gonna be on July 19th in Philadelphia and I would appreciate it if you come down there to see your daughter perform."
"Well, if I don't have any plans that day, then sure. I would love to see Nicole perform in concert."
"Great. Did I tell you that Amy is gonna help me with the set?" Nicole said.
"No, you didn't."
"Yeah. She's gonna choreograph and be a background dancer along with three more. We're gonna start rehearsing near the end of this month."
"Wow, that's amazing."
"Um, excuse me. I need to go use the bathroom."
"Okay."
Nicole then left the living room leaving John and Danielle sitting down.
"John, I want to say thank you for everything you've done for Nicole," Danielle said. "I know that two months ago she's been through a rough time with her breaking off her engagement...but I appreciate you helping her getting her back on her feet. She deserves someone like you."
"Hey, after what happened that night, I didn't want Nicole to be stressed out with Wrestlemania on the way. She just needed the courage and strength to start over," John said.
"You're right. You're absolutely right."
A couple of hours later, John and Nicole were at the mall and Nicole was a little nervous about getting her navel pierced. They arrived at this kiosk called Piercing Pagoda and Nicole started to hesitate a little.
"You ready?" John asked.
"Yeah," Nicole said. "Let's go."
They went over and Nicole was greeted by a female cashier.
"Hello. How can I help you?" The cashier said.
"Hi. I'm getting my navel pierced," Nicole said.
"Okay. Do you know which one you want? We got some nice ones here."
The cashier showed Nicole a rack of different navel rings until Nicole saw one that caught her eye. It was a flower link navel ring which was three shimmering, clear crystal flowers with a stone in the center linked together in metal.
"I'll have this one," Nicole said.
"Okay," The cashier Why don't you lay down here and we'll get started."
Nicole laid on the chair and was unbuttoning the bottom of her white dress shirt and tying it. Then John was holding her hand.
"Don't worry, baby," John said. "This will be over before you know it."
"I know," Nicole said. "All I gotta do is stay calm."
A couple minutes later, Nicole was holding a mirror looking at her newly pierced navel. Nicole was amazed and was glad that she's finally did it.
"Oh, my god," Nicole said. "I absolutely love it."
"So do I," John said.
Nicole then gave the mirror to the cashier.
"Thank you," Nicole said
"No problem," the cashier said. "Enjoy."
Nicole got up from the chair and she and John started walking. Nicole couldn't looking at her new navel ring.
"I knew that you would love your newly pierced navel," John said.
"Yeah. Thanks for convincing me to get this," Nicole said.
"You're welcome. So what do you want to do now?"
"Well, we could go see a movie. 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith' is out now. Could we see that?"
"Yeah. I've been wanting to see that. Let's go."
"Okay."
After the movie, John and Nicole went back to her place. Then all of a sudden, John's cell phone and Nicole's home phone both rang at the same time. John took his cell phone out of his pocket and looked to see that Shelton was calling him. Nicole had a feeling that Delancey was calling on her home phone.
"I'll take it in my room," Nicole said.
"I'll talk to Shelton in the living room," John said.
Nicole went to her bedroom and answered the call.
"Hello?" Nicole said.
"Hey, Nicole. What's up?" Delancey said.
She was in her bedroom at her and her parents' house in Chesterfield. Shelton was in the living room talking to her parents.
"Nothing," Nicole said. "John and I just got back from the movies. We went to see 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."
"Wow. That's awesome," Delancey said. "Did you get your navel pierced?"
"Yeah. I can't stop looking at it."
"I bet you was really nervous about getting it done, huh?"
"Yeah."
"How was your meeting with the new diva Rochelle Kennedy?"
"It was great. She read my mind because she just told me that she wanted to go to Smackdown and take care of Melina for me. I was going to look for somebody to take care of her while I was on RAW and Rochelle came in at exactly the right time. You should see her tape of her training. Melina won't see her coming."
"I'll bet Rochelle is someone that Melina should be afraid of."
"Exactly."
"When is she gonna debut on Smackdown?"
"Next Tuesday."
"Hmmm. I wonder what she's gonna do to Melina."
"Well, Rochelle wants me to be there when Smackdown is gonna be in Hershey, Pennsylvania."
"Are you gonna go?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well, maybe I'll watch Smackdown to see what she's gonna do."
"Okay, well, I gonna let you go and so I'll guess I'll talk to you Friday then."
"Okay. Talk to you later."
"Bye."
Later, John and Nicole were in her bedroom in her bed. Before this, the two were watching a DVD while eating pizza that Nicole ordered. After that, they immediately went to bed because the next day, John and Nicole were going to New York City for Nicole to continue recording her album. Nicole was laying on her stomach next to John with his left arm wrapped around her and Nicole with her left arm across John's chest. Nicole was in her leopard with pink lace cami and shorts that she always wears to bed and John was in his boxers.
"The last boyfriend I was with was back in college," Nicole said. "He was a fraternity brother and he wasn't the kind of fraternity brother who would party all the time with his friends. He was really laid back and kind of quiet. Well, too quiet. We've been together for two years and then I found out from one of my friends that he was cheating on me. She told me that he was with this other girl while I was at cheerleading practice and she even took pictures of him with this girl and she showed them to me. I was devastated and I confronted him the next day. After that, I went back to the apartment and I cried the whole time. I haven't been with anyone until I came into the WWE."
"At least you got through the last two years of college and earned a lot before coming to the WWE," John said. "I know you got a bright future ahead of you. I see a lot of potential in you. I think you are a bright, incredible, courageous, young woman."
"You have done well yourself. You have an album that just came out, you got a movie on the way, and you are without a doubt, the WWE champion. I could just see you as the next Hulk Hogan."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. I remember when you first stepped into the ring, I had a good feeling that you were gonna become an even bigger superstar. My conscience was correct. You are an even bigger superstar."
"Hey, I just gotta do what I gotta do and I'm proud of where I am today. Hey, the same thing will happen to you."
"I don't when exactly but you're right. I will become the Women's Champion and as long as I hold that title, a lot of things will be in store for me to come."
"That's right."
Then John and Nicole both fell asleep.