Chapter Twenty Four
Roya was up early and headed to the gym to meet up with Olivia. Today was Tyler's last day in town so the boys were going to help Nikki get a few supplies for a goodbye party for him. When Roya walked inside the gym, she noticed she that Brie was practicing with another wrestler as Olivia was standing by the ringside watching.
"Morning," Roya greeted, "Who is Brie working with?"
"Morning hun, she's a new NXT talent, Xiomara. I just met her earlier. She's pretty good." Olivia replied
"Sure looks like she is." Roya agreed as she watched them practice. She was quick, Roya noticed that she was a striker and Brie was trying to work around how fast her hands were.
"Looks like she may have a background in martial arts." Olivia commented
"Looks like she may be fine as hell." they both turned to see Colby (Seth Rollins) walking up to them
"You would notice that." Olivia laughed
"Sorry couldn't help myself." Colby replied. Xiomara was around 5'7, slender with a very athletic build, medium brown skin, long blonde and brown dreads with a few blue strands and various tattoos on her back and left arm forearm.
"She can pin me anywhere." Colby smirked as Olivia slapped his shoulder. When Brie and Xiomara finished they walked over to the apron to talk to them.
"Hey guys," Brie greeted "For those of you who haven't meet her yet, this is Xiomara Brooks."
"Greetings," Xiomara smiled. They noticed her British accent right away, "Feel free to call me Xio."
"She's Blasian and has British accent..." Colby whispered as he bit his lip but Olivia heard him
"This is Roya Rodriguez, Colby Lopez and of course you met Olivia earlier." Brie said
"Nice to met you. You're really good." Roya commented as she noticed her hazel colored eyes, "Your eyes are beautiful."
"Appreciate that luv. I heard a lot about you from Brie. Good things I promise." Xiomara stated
"Pleasure to meet you Xio, glad to see a fresh face in NXT. You're very talented. If you ever want to practice or whatnot don't be afraid to ask." Colby laid on the charm.
"I will keep that in mind." Xiomara smiled but didn't fall for his low key shot at her, "So Ollie here has told me that you can wrestle pretty well, Roya. Care to go have a go around?"
"Burn." Olivia whispered in Colby's ear as he smirked
"Sure, I would love that." Roya replied. She put on some gear and soon entered the ring. Brie stayed in and decided to coach the both of them. Unknown to Roya this was a part of Olivia's plan for the day.
"You found Matt?" Olivia asked Colby. She wanted Matt Bloom (Albert) to see Roya wrestle so that he could give her a proper assessment.
"Yup, he's on the sidelines watching," Colby replied as he continued to watch Xiomara, "Man she is hot. That accent is going to be the death of me."
Olivia laughed, "But she shot you down, bro."
"Hush. I just have to win her over." he stated as they watched Roya and Xiomara wrestle. Brie was teaching Roya along the way. Roya listened intently when she did something wrong and corrected herself. Xiomara was impressed with her and enjoyed practicing with her. Olivia had asked her to work with her so that Matt could see them. She could see why Olivia wanted him to watch. Roya definitely had talent. After a while, Roya took an elbow drop and Xiomara pinned her.
"Good sell on the elbow drop luv." Xiomara commented as she helped Roya up.
"Thank you. That was amazing. You are really good." Roya smiled. Just as she looked outside the ring, she saw Olivia waving her over. She walked over to the apron and exited the ring.
"Good job once again." Olivia commented
"Thanks," Roya replied as she realized who Olivia was now standing next to, "Holy hell You're Albert."
"Yes ma'am but you can call me Matt." he smiled as he put his hand out for her
"Pleasure to meet you." Roya said as she shook his hand
"Pleasure is mine. Livie here wanted me to watch you mess around in the ring and I must say she was on to something. I'm going to be brutally honest with you, I can see that your nervous with certain moves, you second guess yourself and need to definitely be polished. However I can see that you adapt, you learn quick, your patient and eager to learn. That makes a great wrestler and is something I would love to work with." Matt stated as Roya's face went blank
"Are you serious?" Roya asked in disbelief
"Any of my kids here will tell you, I don't joke that much. So yes I am serious. If you truly are interested in this I would be open to putting you on a probationary try out. Meaning for the next month you will train; your body needs to get physically ready for an official tryout. It's nice that you can "hang" in the ring but I need to know when shit gets real you're not just for show. I trust with all the company that you keep, getting in shape shouldn't be a problem." he explained
"I...I don't..." Roya paused as so many thoughts were running through her mind, everything in her scream to say yes but something was holding her back
"Don't doubt yourself Roya. It's sink or swim and I know you can do this." Olivia commented
Roya looked at her then breathed heavily, "Yes...yes I want this chance."
"Good to hear little lady. One month from now I will see you at try outs." Matt smiled
"Yes!" Olivia yelled as she picked Roya up and hugged her
"Jesus why are you so strong." Roya laughed
"I'm an Amazon bitch," Olivia laughed, "I am so proud of you." Roya braced herself as she put her down
"So?" they both turned around to see Brie and Xiomara looking at them
"I said yes to go for try outs." Roya replied as Brie screamed in happiness.
"Fuck yeah!" Xiomara smiled
"This is so great! You can do this Roya." Brie commented
"We are so celebrating tonight because tomorrow starts your training. I'm going to make you into my tag team partner. Just watch you're going to be a wrecking machine." Olivia said
"This is still mind blowing to me." Roya said as she was still trying to register what just happened
"I know the boys are going to be thrilled." Brie smiled
"Oh hey, Xio did you want to join us tonight? It's suppose to be a goodbye party for a friend but I guess now a celebration for me as well. You are more than welcome to come." Roya stated
"I'll put on my fancy knickers," Xiomara teased, "Any preferred booze?"
"I like you." Olivia commented. They all hung around the gym before they decided to go get ready for the night. As Roya was driving back to the house, she decided to get some advice from Rikishi.
"Hey Teineitiiti, what did my boys do?" he greeted
"Nothing Kishi, they have been good." Roya laughed
"The lies you tell," Rikishi stated, "How are you?"
"I'm good. I went to the gym and practiced some more. Matt Bloom watched me in the ring and asked me if I wanted to attend try outs in a month..." Roya paused
"And?" Rikishi asked
"...I said yes." she replied
"Yes! I'm so proud of you. Have you told the boys?" he asked
"Not yet I'm on the way back to their place. I called you first because I wanted to tell you but I also need some advice..." she paused
"On how the hell you are going to tell your mom about this?" Rikishi asked
"Exactly." Roya sighed
"All I can say is be honest; tell her why you need to do this. It's important to you and she can't stop you from going after your dreams. Of course she is going to be angry and yell and try to convince you not to do it. But it's not her decision." he explained
"You're right. She will just have to accept it. I really need to do this; prove that I can." Roya said
"I believe in you Roya. I see you headed in the right direction and the only limitations are the one you set for yourself." he said
"Thanks Kishi." she smiled
"Now go make my knucklehead boys happy with the news." Rikishi laughed
"I will. Oute alofa ia oe (love you)." Roya said
"Oute alofa fo'i ia oe (love you too)." he replied as she hung up. It was great getting advice from Rikishi. Growing up he was always the voice of reason when there was something that her and her mom disagreed on. Rikishi was definitely a father figure for her. He never once made her feel like she wasn't welcome in his home or in his family. She just hoped that whenever he found out that the twins and her were in a relationship together, Rikishi would still love her.