Dave and Emylee danced on ballroom dance floor, as Dwayne watched. Their feud started, as planned, and it was pretty clear, Emylee was happy, but not about being argued over. He sipped on his drink as Dave twirled and spun her around. She laughed and he grinned at her happiness.
'I could have made her happy, ten times better than that'.
That red dress gave him thoughts he shouldn't have thought of, and he tried his best not to stare, but it was too much to bear after she inducted Sable into the hall of fame.
~Three hours earlier~
"I have to say a long time fan since college, it is a dream come true everyday to work for this company. Anything else is toxic icing on the cake. Now, as a friend, I'm honored to induct Sable into a group of people that have worked and entertained very hard or the years. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be the current champion right now. Now, I have no plan of getting naked on television, nor do I think Vince would allow that…then again who knows, he's crazy like that".
The crowd laughed, as the fans in the stands cheered.
"Yeah, not happening. No worries, I'm not going to do it. She made headlines everytime she entered the ring, and held her own in a ring. It is an honor to present Ms. Sable, now, Mrs. Lesner, into the hall of fame".
He watched and listened. He loved Sable, she was a part of that OG class that Trish and he were. She watched her stand and wait. The video and speech after that was a blur, and how he knew to clap on queue was shocking.
The ceremony concluded, and everyone made their way to the ballroom where the function was being held. Unfortunately, Vince thought it was a great idea to ok to introduce each person who arrived.
'The knife goes in further….'
"Mr. Dave Batista and Ms. Emylee Harris"
Again, that dress, that smile, and her movements. She made her way towards him, after briefly telling Dave something.
"DJ, how are you?", she asked genuinely concerned.
"I've seen better days. Why are you asking?", he sipped on his brandy.
"Please don't do this. I do still love you. It hurt me that you didn't talk to me. Lets not do this here, please".
He looked at her, and that look. The same look of pleading she gave the day in the park, he couldn't be a dick towards her. In some cases, that's how he protected himself, but with her, he couldn't do it. He knew then, he loved her, but he couldn't share her. He did the right thing, but it hurt so much.
"Fine, but tomorrow, you and I need to talk. We owe each other that".
"Ok, text me".
Then, it was the action she did, that made it worse. She stood on her toes, and gave him a peck on the cheek. It made him melt every time. This was no different. She made her way to her seat, as the six friends were sitting, but then she dragged Dave to the floor. He reluctantly went. They swayed and danced the night away.
Trish broke his thoughts.
"Hey D. You know you did the right thing".
"But she's awesome T, I mean what does he have that I don't. You know what don't answer that".
"Listen, at least you can take it out on him at Mania, right?"
"I guess, but honestly, I want my friend back. I want to not be lusting after a woman who is clearly spoken for".
"I have an idea. You free tomorrow morning?"
"As long as I don't have a hangover".
"You really that old now? I remember when you used to down a bottle of Jack with no problem".
He chuckled, "Yeah, what time?"
"10am, you should be good by then".
"What is she doing?"
"Showing off with Phil? Wow, I love these things. You never know who is going to turn out".
"Mr. Brooks, I did not know you were this good. Better than Dave".
"Hey, I have an appreciation for great music".
"Liar".
"Yeah, I took dance classes for this thing. I didn't want to sit at the table all night. You're not too bad yourself".
"Well thanks".
"You know Dwayne has been watching you all night".
She stopped grinning at the statement. She didn't want to be the source of his unhappiness, but he chose his road. She couldn't be with someone who wasn't going to be understanding to her life.
"Hey, grin. We are dancing. I don't want Batista on my ass".
She chuckled at the statement.
"Besides, its his loss. If you weren't so high maintenance, I'd be after you myself, you are hot dressed down".
"Oh Jesus".
After that last dip, they parted as people clapped. She was trying to take a break, when he cell went off. She looked at Dave.
"I left the nanny my number, so I don't know".
It was a number she hadn't seen in a long time.
"What do you want?"
"You won't talk to me".
"For good reason, I'll see you in the meeting tomorrow, geez".
Hanging up, it never ended with Paul. He had Amanda, and he still had to try to be in her life on some level. It was just her life. She felt a pair of lips on her shoulder.
"You seemed tense at the bar, what happened?", he kissed.
Closing her eyes, she almost forgot about the encounter, until he reminded her of it.
"Nothing, we need closure. I don't like to be the source of drunken stupor".
"That's his problem".
"Dave, seriously. That's your friend".
"Was".
"Is, and I think it hurts that we aren't in his life anymore".
"We are, storyline remember".
"You know, what I mean".
He sighed at her remark.
"Ok, what do you propose?"
"Not to have this storyline. It's awesome, but he's not here fulltime, so to have him win, is retarded. I told Stephanie and Paul that. Not to mention I don't want our personal lives on television. We just got back together".
He took her hand, and kissed it.
"I'm willing to try if he is, I'll try to let it go, but I got to hear it from him".
"Then tell him".
"Ok, genius, who is he going to face at Mania".
"Oh trust me, Trish and Vince already worked on that".
He shook his head at her grin. He knew she was always up to something. She got back up to dance with Randy. Stephanie left early for meetings tomorrow. He was getting lessons from her, and wanted to try them out. The swing dancing was coming along nicely. Trish, John, and Dave sat watching them just laughing at that fact this big man was dancing away. Trish took video, and sent it to Steph.
"Is that my hubby?"
"Yep, Em got him going".
"That's awesome. I shall make fun of him later!"
Trish and John laughed the text, and told Dave they were calling it a night too. As they parted ways, he looked back over DJ. It been almost four hours, and he was still drinking. This could not be good at all. He went over to him, not mad, at this point concerned. He motioned for the bartender to cut him off. Dwayne turned around, and saw his former friend.
"Oh, look who it is. You a daddy now, and you think you can tell everyone what to do".
"Dude, you had enough. Let me drive you back to the hotel".
He got in Dave's face. Dave breathed through his mouth trying to not breathe in the brandy on Dwayne's breath.
"Wow, you got her now, and now you want to be friends. I mean look, you and she are champs, in love, and involved me in your bullshit. Now, you want me to trust you? Fuck you dude. Hey!"
He pounded on the counter. The server shook his head no. Dave decided it was on him to be the level headed one.
"You need sleep. Hit me, hate me, but you need to go to sleep. You're the host tomorrow, and these fans don't need to see you looking hung over".
"Dude, back off".
"Go to the room, then I will".
He swung and hit him in the face. Even for a drunk, his power didn't waiver. Dave hit him back, and that started the fight. They tore into tables, and people were dodging the two. The band stopped, and superstars pulled them apart. It was an unlikely source who volunteered to drive him back to the hotel.
"Hey, come on, you are part of that club Shane and I are in. Emylee broke my heart and I'm a mess", he whispered.
He knew, she didn't have to tell him. She was with DJ, it was written on his face when they met up to sign contracts. He also knew it wasn't going to end well. Amanda and Paul helped him to the car. He was mumbling and just about to pass out.
She got hold of Dave, and looked at his face.
"You two I swear. I'm just about to get you birth control".
"Huh?"
"Too much testosterone".
"Hey, I was being nice. He hit me first".
Linda ordered the music to get back playing. Vince was furious.
"Alright, who paying me for this?"
"Uh….."
"Well, since I have you here, it's John and Dwayne, makes more sense".
"What?"
"That's what I was going to tell you", Emylee said.
"What about the belt?"
"Triple Threat with you, Randy, and Sheamus".
"Oh, ok".
Walking to the car, she cleaned his cut on his cheek. He winced at the pain. He grinned at her worry. She kept trying to help his scar. She never left without a mini first aid kit in her purse. Being with any athlete , you had to.
"Stop laughing".
"It's a cut, calm down, you know I get them all the time".
"I know, and you should be used to me fawning over you like this every time you get one".
"I signed papers to be an agent as of next year", he blurted out.
She stopped and looked at him. She knew he couldn't walk away from the life, but it was a great compromise. He could still be involved on some level, let other talent have a chance, and home with her and their family. She was still shocked. Normally she gets very memo, and contract to go over, but this time she didn't get this one.
"I went to an outside lawyer to look over things. Everything looked good, and I travel sometimes, just like you do. I wanted to tell you, but you been so busy writing your speech, and helping Trish, I didn't want to bother you. Gives me time to open the gym I wanted to look into".
She still was shocked. He did it. He called her bluff. Why it shocked her, she didn't know, but for once she was speechless.
"Em, say something. You're making me nervous", he joked.
"I'm just shocked and happy".
"You asked me remember?"
"No, no, I remember, and I'm happy you did it. How do you feel about it?"
"I'm cool with it actually. I thought it would be hard giving up the belt, but let's face it, I'm not young, and taking a bump isn't the same as it was five years ago. I have a family, and I have a girl I want to marry, soon".
She blushed at his statement.
"You're determined, aren't you?"
"Yeah, so are mom and Sam".
"Yeah, they are. I'm tired, you ready to go?"
"Emylee".
"Yeah?"
"Seriously….."
"Let's wait until after the show. We are tired, and I have a ton to do, on top of defend the belt. It's been a tough week".
He kissed her forehead, and they left. He was ready. The contract wasn't because she asked, but he was ready to make her a married woman already. He just needed to know why she wasn't.