She'd only gone the weekend without him but it felt like an eternity. Robbie thought about Roman every second since he dropped her off at the airport. She couldn't concentrate standing on the ringpost during a tag match at the house show because of him. It had gotten downright ridiculous.
She didn't think she'd see him again until Monday evening at the arena but her first lit up early Monday morning when she saw his name on her phone as it began to ring telling her that he'd taken an early morning flight to Boston.
"So, I got in trouble with Galina…" he yawned a few hours later in bed.
"What did you do?" she laughed, repositioning her head on his chest.
"I didn't contact them during those 3 days…"
"What?!" she sat up. "Seriously, Joe? I didn't witness you pick up your phone but I assumed that you did. What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking, period. It felt good to be closed off from the world for a change but I didn't want it to be at the expense of my family. Jojo was worried about me and that really made me feel like shit," he sighed. "Galina also knew the business thing was bullshit and that I was really with you."
"That can't be good for either of us," she replied.
"It was more on me than you. I lied to her and it was wrong. She didn't hold it against you."
"Thank God because there are some new girlfriends who'll actively try to isolate the guy from his children and I don't want her to think I'm one of them."
"There's one more thing…"
"What else could there possibly be?" she groaned.
"I know I told you that I was going to wait a month before telling her but I slipped up and she knows your identity now."
Robbie's eyes widened. "I did what you asked and scrubbed my accounts. Did she find anything? What was her opinion of me?"
"You did a very good job on your profiles because there was nothing that stood out negatively and trust me she was digging. She said you were beautiful and that she approved, for now," he revealed.
"For now?"
"Yeah, she's coming along with the rest of my family to Mania and she wants to meet you."
"The pressure is on," she grimaced not knowing what to expect. Galina wasn't like the other WAGs. She had no social media presence and there was anything out there that would give Robbie a clue into her personality. She couldn't trust what Roman said. He was her husband, of course she's nice to him.
"She's cool and she doesn't do drama so you don't have anything to worry about," he said confidently.
"Well, okay," she replied uncertain. Their phones dinged at the same time. Robbie grabbed hers first and found a group text from Stephanie that she read aloud. "Stephanie: Meet me at the conference room by 4:30."
"I'm guessing this is related to our campaign," he concluded.
"It is 2:40 so what are we going to do to pass time," she smirked.
"I'd say we have time for one more round," he said, rolling on top of her and rubbing himself up and down her slit before entering. Her legs instinctively opened wider.
She moaned at the intrusion her hips rising slightly off the bed. "According to my calculations we have time for two."
Robbie arrived at the arena at 4:00, dropped her bags in the locker room and was turning the corner to get to the conference room at 4:25. She saw Roman standing outside of the room along with Stephanie so she casually walked up to them and spoke. "Hey Stephanie, Joe."
"Hello, Robyn," Stephanie replied.
"Hey Robbie, how are you?" Joe asked playing it off as if this was his first time seeing her today.
"I'm good, you?" she returned.
"A side effect from my treatment was arthritis and I have it from my feet up to my hips so I'm moving a little slower today but I'm good," he shrugged.
'Couldn't tell the way he moved in bed earlier' she smothered the smile brought on by that thought because with Stephanie being out of the loop it would look very insensitive for her to smile at Roman's comment. "Yeah, I heard about that in your chronicle episode but hey, at least you're here."
"He is here, both of you are. The reason I called you here is because we invited children who are either cancer free now or in remission to the show tonight. With you two being in the same boat it's only fitting that you speak with them," Stephanie explained.
They broke the children into two groups. Roman had his set of kids on one side of the room and she had hers on the other. His seemed to be going smoother probably because he was a bigger name and a dad so he was more comfortable interacting with children than her.
"Were you scared to learn how to wrestle? Was it hard?" one boy asked.
"To be honest, the scariest period of my life was my fight with cancer and as survivors I'm sure you'll agree. Compared to that, learning how to wrestle was a piece of cake," she said. It was a lie. Training was very hard and took a lot out of her mentally and physically but of course she couldn't tell them that.
"Where's Sasha?" a little girl in a purple wig inquired.
Robyn: If you have time there's a little girl (cancer survivor) over here in the conference room who would love to meet you. If not she'll be in the crowd tonight so look 4 her.
The meet and greet was over and it was time to take a group picture. The kids were in front and they stood behind with enough space between them to fit two more kids.
The photographer trained his camera on them before looking up. "Roman, Robyn, can you close the gap and move closer together?" They did that and then came another complaint. "Smile Robyn!"
"Okay," the corners of her mouth turned upwards.
"Can you two act like you know each other?" he requested. "Right now you look like strangers forced to stand next to each other."
Roman moved in a little closer and slid his hand around her back and onto her lower waist, almost on her hip. She lightly stepped on his foot and he took the hint by moving his hand up to her shoulder. The first position was way too intimate for coworkers and it definitely looked too inappropriate for a married man to touch another woman in that way. She knew the minute they came out as a couple, fans would go back in time and study any interactions they had to determine when they became a thing. Sometimes you can tell two people were screwing by their body language in pictures. She had to be conscious of that to make sure she didn't give any indication that a romance budded before his divorce.
"That's about as good as it's going to get," the photographer aimed and the camera shuddered snapping dozens of pictures at once. "Done."
"Alright kids, I'll see you out there," Roman waved goodbye.
The photographer was on his way out as well. "You two have no chemistry which is unfortunate because you would make a good looking couple."
"Well, I'm a happily married man so that's not something I'm concerned about," Roman shrugged.
"Happily might've been laying it on too thick," Robyn whispered when they were walking around in an isolated backstage area.
"What do you mean?"
"He's going to remember this moment when your divorce happens and you pop up with me months later. 'I told them that they looked good together, Roman said he was a happily married man but divorced that summer and now they're a couple. Guess they found that chemistry they lacked, hmm.' I know you have to keep up appearances but can you try to be a little more subtle next time?"
"Sorry, it's a habit."
"I know and that's okay. I just don't want the divorce story to turn into an affair story which will have a negative impact on both of our careers," she explained.
"You're right. Well, I'm about to head over to the lockerroom. I booked my own hotel room because it's not uncommon for some of the guys to drop by to talk or ask advice. It doesn't make any difference whether we're in my room or yours but here's the key to mine anyway."
"Got it," she replied, sliding the card into her back pocket.
"Alright, I'll see you tonight," he replied and they heard a gasp and retreating footsteps.
No one was behind them so the source of the gasp had to be around the corner but when Robyn peeked around it, no one was there either. "Shit! Whoever it was fled!"
"Damn!" Roman held his hands on his head in panic.
"Who could that have been?" Robbie whispered, unable to conceive what could potentially come of this.
"Wrestlers, producers, ring crew, backstage personnel, extras, catering staff, the cleanup crew, guests of wrestlers. It could be anyone!"
"We're wasting time. Every second we stand here is another second that person gets closer to exposing us," Robbie expressed. "Do we tell whoever it is about the separation?"
"I don't think we have a choice!" he raised his voice in scared frustration. "Come on."
She'd been working so hard with this situation to be discreet and they'd blown it just like that. Even if they came out and said he was separated, people would think they were lying to save face. At least he was Roman Reigns and would bounce back. He was irreplaceable to WWE and his fanbase was large so he'd be forgiven eventually. She had no redeeming qualities established yet and because of her lack of TV time she was only known as 'that Make a Wish girl.' Her fanbase was decent at best and mostly men who thought she was hot; they'd for sure turn on her and the female fans would hate her for being a 'homewrecker' which meant her career would be over.
Liv Morgan was sitting in the makeup chair when they walked by. Roman stopped. "Hey, did anyone walk by here a few minutes ago? We were on our way from the conference room and we found a...uh…"
"...cellphone on the floor," Robbie finished because it seemed like he was drawing a blank. "It was still warm when I picked it up which meant it was recently used and couldn't have been down there for long so we wanted to return it to its rightful owner."
"Yeah, with all the hackings and leaking we can't afford to let it fall into the wrong hands," Roman added.
"Finn and Sasha I think," Liv answered.
As soon as Roman heard Finn, he took off in the direction of the men's locker room and she followed suit heading to the women's.
Him: I asked Finn about his whereabouts because of the 'phone' & it wasn't him because he was coming from the parking garage which would have indeed put him on the trail to pass Dana. It has to be Sasha and if it's not her we're fucked.
Robbie: On it.
When she made it to the lockerroom, she pressed an ear against the door to see if she could hear anything related to what Sasha might've heard. It sounded like nothing but random chatter. She opened the door and no one gave her dirty looks or made snide comments as she entered which meant Sasha hadn't said anything, yet.
Sasha was in the corner unpacking her gear with Bayley. She took a deep breath before walking over. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"No! I guess you forgot that you asked me to come over to that area while you two were discussing your plans for tonight," Sasha snapped which confirmed Robbie's suspicions. She didn't forget but Sasha never texted her back which led her to believe that she wasn't coming.
"Wait, what?" Bayley looked confused.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Sasha hissed.
"Please, Sasha," Robbie begged. "Just hear me out."
"Fine because I'm really curious to see how you'll try to justify this," Sasha stood, shaking her head. "It's always the ones you least expect."
Robbie led Sasha into a bathroom and looked under the stalls to make sure they were alone.
"Unlike you, I have a match tonight and it's my hometown so don't take all day trying to convince me that I didn't hear what I heard," Sasha said.
"First and foremost, thank you for not telling the others…"
"That was because of Joe, not you. Despite this, he's still someone I look up to and respect and I don't want his reputation soiled by backstage gossip."
"I know what you heard but it's not what it looks, well, sounds like," she explained.
"Oh?" Sasha quirked a brow. "I guess you need the key to his hotel room to drop by for a late night cancer support group, huh?"
"A few weeks ago our locker room had a long discussion about him and Nattie herself said that she's seen him turn down countless women and most of you agreed. Do you think a life threatening illness returning turned him into a cheating asshole? No!" Robbie passionately argued. "Joe and Galina are separated."
"Bullshit," Sasha looked at her accusingly. "If you're going to help a man cheat own it instead of lying."
"Do you think I'm lying because he's still wearing his ring? That's part of their strategy. They've been separated since before he came out of remission. Now that he's beaten it, it wouldn't look right for them to immediately divorce. He's technically single therefore he's free to date whoever he wants and right now that's me."
"I believe you. This makes a lot more sense than Joe just up and cheating out of the blue," Sasha's expression softened. "I'm sorry for snapping on you."
"It's okay if it were me around the corner listening I would've assumed the same thing. Today we found out that we were getting ready to have our first women's Wrestlemania main event. We're literally on top right now. I wouldn't want us to be set back by having the public think that our ring work has evolved but we're still just playthings for the guys backstage like back in the day…"
"Agreed. Good luck to you because I'm sure you're going to need it."
It was official. Roman's Wrestlemania match against Drew McIntyre was set but right now he had something far more important on his mind. He still couldn't believe how careless they were. He was getting way too comfortable in this arrangement and let his guard down. If this got out, both of them would be done for in the court of public opinion which he couldn't afford right now. They crossed paths in the parking lot. "What's the status on the Sasha situation?"
"I think I handled it so you don't have to worry about it," she replied.
Think wasn't good enough for him. "Alright, I'm going to make sure. I'll see you in the room."
Roman had known Sasha longer so if she still had doubts, she may hear him out better than Robbie. He knew Sasha wasn't the type to engage in gossip but you never know.
He spotted her walking through the parking lot with her husband, Mizake and approached them. "Can I borrow her for a second?"
"Sure," Mizake took her bags and walked away to their car.
Sasha put her hand up to silence him before Roman got a chance to speak. "Robbie has already told me and knowing the person that you are, I believe it. We were actually giving you props a few weeks ago for being one of the last good men on the roster. What I heard threw me for a loop but everything makes sense now."
"Do I have to worry about this getting around backstage?"
"Of course not! You know me better than that," she scoffed.
"Not even to Bayley?" he questioned.
"Not even to Bayley," she repeated. "You know I have your back. Just be thankful that it was me who walked up because anyone else would've had it all over the lockerroom by now."
"I am thankful," he nodded, patting her shoulder.
"You know you're going to leave a trail of tears and broken hearts when your divorce is announced. The other girls in the back are going to be happy when they think they finally have a chance only to find out that Robbie already had a head start," she snorted.
Roman received attention from women everywhere he went from female fans, to female superstars to backstage interviewers and other backstage personnel. They threw themselves at him knowing that he was a married man and it turned him off because that meant they had no respect for him, his wife or his family. The night he exchanged numbers with Robyn the first thing she did was confront him about being married and wouldn't sleep with him until she had confirmation that he was telling the truth about his separation and he loved that about her.
After Roman's shower he tied his hair into a wet bun and dried himself before wrapping a towel around his waist. When he opened the bathroom door, Robyn was already sitting on his bed flipping through channels on the TV.
"You should've joined me," he said.
"Why shower when I'm already wet?" she replied, flirtatiously. "Did you take care of that with Sasha?"
"You were right earlier when you said you handled it," he admitted, sitting on the bed.
"Yeah, but I understand why you'd want to confirm it for yourself though. We were being stupid and any further stupidity can blow this entire thing wide open," she replied with caution.
"I'm so glad we're likeminded on this and that you realize how critical keeping this thing under wraps is. There are women out there these days who are so consumed with trying to be famous and will do anything to get their fifteen minutes even if it makes them look bad as a result. Any other woman would be dropping hints, taking selfies with my elbow or hand in the shot on purpose."
"I would never! When all of this is over I want to be able to be with you in peace without scandal overshadowing what we have," with a quick tug, she removed his towel and tossed it aside. She placed a hand on his thigh and tasted him. He groaned. "Before we get into this, have you called Galina yet?"
"Yes," he answered breathlessly, wanting her to get back to business. "I called her before and after the show."
"Okay," she giggled. Her light kisses and licks of his shaft had him close to an orgasm before she even spread her lips to take the head into her warm mouth. Slowly, Robbie lowered her head until the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat. Soon, she was bobbing up and down, applying more and more pressure. Roman groaned and began bucking his hips wanting more.
He was disappointed when she popped him out of her mouth but he understood when she straddled him. She took hold of him and impaled herself, sighing deeply as it filled her. Robyn leaned back with her breasts thrusting outwards, and began to ride him. The sight alone was almost enough to send him over the edge but he restrained himself. Roman put his hands on her waist and helped guide her up and down as she rose and fell.
"How's the view from down there?" she chuckled when she noticed him staring up at her.
"Amazing…" he slid his hands up her torso to grab hold of her breasts.
She was beginning to lose it,and could tell by her expression. He wasn't too far behind as he squeezed her nipples. Robyn came in breathless gasps, her entire body stiffening. She collapsed down onto his chest, still slowly grinding back and forth as she rode out the waves of pleasure, clenching and unclenching around him.
Roman woke the next morning to the sound of ringing. He could clearly see that it wasn't his so he tried to nudge Robbie awake. "Babe, your phone is ringing."
"Hmm?" she groaned, her eyes still closed. She blindly stretched out her arm and felt around the nightstand before grabbing it. She held it over her face before squinting her eyes open. Whatever she saw caused her to sit up like the Undertaker. A look of terror crept on her face. "It's my oncologist's office!"
He sat up with her. He couldn't help but think back to that eerie conversation they had in the airport parking lot. She seemed overly negative and he wondered if she had reason to think that.
"What if they found something in my samples from last time?" tears welled in her eyes and her lips began to quiver. He pulled her close and hugged her to his chest.
Although he was concerned he had to be strong and not show it for her sake. "Rob, believe me when I say I know how you feel right now but you can't automatically think the worst. You will never know what they want until you pick up the phone and call them back."
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"I know but I'm here with you. If anything happens we can get through it together," he assured her and she tapped her screen before putting the phone to her ear. She looked at him and he nodded encouragingly.
"Hello, this is Robyn Nelson returning a call that I received a few minutes ago," she closed her eyes. She looked tense as she listened to the voice on the other end. After about a minute her body visibly relaxed. "Oh! You had me worried there for a second. I'm in Boston right now but my flight leaves at 9:00 which will put me in Orlando at around 12:15. Okay, see you then."
"What was that about?"
"My oncologist will be out of the country next week on the day of my appointment so they were calling to reschedule it to today. It works out perfectly because my next appointment fell on the Friday of Wrestlemania weekend and it would've been a hassle to fly in that evening when most of you will already be there Thursday or no later than Friday morning," she fell back against her pillow.
"See, you were freaking out for nothing."
"Nothing my ass," she replied. "I'm going to be a nervous wreck the entire plane ride home and I'm going to have another panic attack when I make it to the office."
Roman thought about his schedule for the day and he had nothing planned that required him to be home at a certain time. "With all of the wrestlers heading home soon, I wonder if the flight to Orlando is full."
"You'd come with me?" she seemed surprised.
"If you saw your face when you saw who that call was from you'd know I have no other choice. There is no way in hell I'm letting you go through this alone," he replied adamantly.
"You are a godsend, Joe!" she looked at the time on her phone and smirked. "Do we have time to-"
"No!" he interrupted her with a chuckle. "We have to catch this flight and because the show was here last night there will for sure be lots of fans waiting at the airport. I'm really starting to believe you only want me for sex."
"Eh, you have a few other things I like. Just a few," she joked, standing to stretch. She was still naked from last night and wasn't shy about him seeing her. In fact she turned to make sure her ass was in his line of vision.
"Why have you forsaken me," he grumbled looking down at his hardening penis. "Get back over here, Robyn."
The flight probably left a few questions in his coworker's mind. They all knew he lived in Tampa. Fortunately no one asked him anything so he didn't have to lie. Robyn left the airport, caught an Uber to her condo, picked up her car and swung back by to pick him up.
"Good, there aren't that many cars here," he noticed when they pulled up to the office.
"Yeah, it's a small, private practice. There's always like 1 or 2 people max when I come in," she replied, shifting into park.
He opened the door for her and the only person sitting in the waiting room was an old woman. That was another positive because there was a slim to none chance that she'd know who he is and even if she did, she probably wouldn't run to the internet with a 'I just saw Roman Reigns and Robyn together and it didn't look WWE related' post. Robyn signed in before coming back to take the seat next to him. An older guy, the woman's husband came from the back and they let together.
"Ms. Nelson," a nurse appeared in the waiting room.
Robyn took a deep breath before standing, obviously nervous. He stood and followed them into the back. Her doctor walked in. He was an older guy with a bald head. Roman squinted his eyes to read the name on his lab coat. Dr. Foster
"Roman Reigns?! I guess you're the coworker who triggered her anxiety," Dr. Foster commented. Roman looked over at Robyn and she looked away. Dr. Foster shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe I have an actual celebrity sitting in my office. Well, Robyn, you count I guess but this is Roman Reigns!"
"Yes that's 'Roman Reigns' and I hope you remember the doctor-patient confidentiality clause in the midst of your fan out," Robyn muttered.
"Of course. I haven't kept this place one of the top rated clinics in Florida for the last 28 years running my mouth about my patients," he dug into the pockets of his coat and gave Roman his business card. "Just in case you're looking for a secondary oncologist."
A full physical including blood work is how it started, then X-rays, a MRI and a bunch of other tests that he was all too familiar with. He wouldn't wish cancer on anyone but unfortunately he and Robbie had to play the hand they were dealt and go through these appointments to stay ahead of the game.
Her leg trembling quickly turned into full body shakes. He took hold of her knee and she stopped. "Robyn, you have to calm down."
"Waiting is the hardest part because you have no idea what happens next. It could be the best news ever or the worst."
"Don't I know it," he replied. He'd learned from WWE doctors that his white blood cell count was elevated so he knew something was up. But still in his head he didn't truly believe it. It was just, 'Ah, something's weird. You'll be fine. blah blah blah.' When he went home he visited his oncologist and endured a long wait before it was confirmed.
Light tapping on the door caused her to jump before Dr. Foster swung it open. "I won't waste time with theatrics. Robyn, everything looks good and I'll see you in a month."
"Yes!" she exclaimed jumping to her feet. She attacked him with a kiss as soon as they were concealed behind the four doors of her car. It wasn't their usual lust filled kisses. This kiss was raw and had so much more meaning to it. They pulled back and looked at each other and it was as if a silent understanding had been made between them. She slid a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. "Let's get you home."
Roman typed his address into her GPS and reclined his seat back to enjoy the ride.
"Wow, this is your house?" Robbie admired the residence as she parked halfway up the driveway. "You're crazy for leaving it. If I were you I'd just tell Galina that downstairs is hers besides the kitchen and kid's rooms which is neutral territory and upstairs is yours. The end!"
"But what about us?"
"I'd move in too. It's big enough for me, you, her and the kids. Just joking before you get any ideas. I like sex way too much to have to silence myself so they won't get traumatized by the sounds," she laughed before her green eyes turned serious. "I want to thank you for today. You didn't have to come with me but you did and I appreciate it."
"It was no problem. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I jumped on a flight to Tampa while you're sitting in a doctor's office alone and scared?"
"A pretty shitty one," she replied.
"Hey, do you want to come in?" he asked.
"What? No!" she outright refused with a head shake.
"It would be better to go ahead and get the meeting with G out of the way in a quiet environment instead of hectic Mania weekend."
"I don't know. This is Florida and the stand your ground laws are in full effect. What if she decides to kill me and cover it up. I know you aren't going to testify against your own wife and mother of your children. Who would even keep them while you're on the road if she's in jail?" she snorted in reply.
"Galina doesn't even spank our kids so I'd love to see her kill somebody," he said, reaching over to unfasten her seatbelt with a click.
She appeared to be contemplating a decision in her head. "Alright. Let's do this!"
Roman unloaded his bags from her trunk before they walked up the driveway together. He stopped at the door to dig for his key.
"I'm sorry, Joe. I can't. Wrestlemania weekend, maybe. Right now, no," she slowly backed away before turning and running down the driveway.
"Robyn!" he called after her.
"Sorry," she ducked down into her car and jerked into reverse.
Speechless, he turned back to the house where he noticed a single pulled down blind in the window snap shut.
