DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own WWE, NXT, NXT: U.K., or any of the Superstars from either roster that may appear in this story. Names and locations are used for story purposes only.
Giselle
Walking through Central Park with Roman and Jackson, I enjoy the warmth of Roman's hand around mine. Slowly making our way through the park after letting Jackson play around for a bit. Even though we were going towards the ending of May, it was a chilly Spring day and it was starting to feel like it would rain. I didn't realize my name was being said until I felt a gentle pull on my arm. Looking up, I see Roman curiously looking over at me.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"Yeah, just thinking about a few things." I reply.
We walk a little further before we stop and sit on one of the benches. He kisses my temple and I snuggle close to him, taking in his cologne.
"I'm excited that my brother is coming up next weekend." I say. "But I'm nervous because I want him to like you."
"What makes you nervous about that?" He asks, playing with Jackson.
"This is the first time in what feels like a long time that I'm introducing him to someone and I want him to like you." I tell him. "He also tends to get very protective of me and wants to make sure you have good intentions with me. Michael is a good guy, though. Very smart, and he stays out of trouble. He may be a bit rough around the edges sometimes, but he can be gentle and kind. As long as you're on on his good side of course."
Looking up at Roman when he chuckles, I see his eyes are already on me. There's something in his eyes that I've seen before but I haven't put my finger on what it is. The way his eyes shine and sparkle. The way it's filled with the kind of warmth that fills me up inside.
"I'm assuming I won't be on his good list right away." Roman tells me.
"I think you'll be okay." I say. "Eventually."
I laugh when he looks at me as I get up. Holding out my hand, he immediately takes it and stands up, giving me a kiss when he does.
"Don't forget that I'm talking you out to dinner tonight" I mention as we make our way out of the park. "When we get Jackson back, I'm going to get some things for tonight."
"Do you need help with anything?" He asks.
"No, I think I got everything, but thank you." I say. "But if you want to go to the gym for a bit, or whatever else you can since you'll have time. Just be ready by like 7:30, so we can get to the place by eight."
"I'm just happy we get to spend some time together this weekend." Roman says as we make our way down the streets of New York. "We've both been so busy lately between work and we just finished up with the security thing for you and whatnot. And yes, you can stay over whenever you want. Gives me something to look forward to. Someone to come home to."
My heart skips a beat at the thought of having him come home to me. A home. Together. How I've always wanted a home with someone I love and care about. Love Roman? Absolutely, deeply in love. When did it happen? I'm not exactly sure. I just know that it did.
Later that night, I'm in Roman's and I'm just looking in the mirror when I see his reflection. He's leaning by the door, in jeans and sneakers, with a plain black t-shirt and his hair pulled back into a bun. He's shows me that smile of his and I turn around to look at him.
"You look beautiful." Roman says when he walks up to me.
"Thanks." I softly reply, as he hooks a strand of hair behind my ear with a look in his eye that sends shivers up my spine.
My dress was a black colored dress that reached slightly above my knees. The straps rested just off my shoulders and showed off my curves, while keeping it simple and not showing off too much. Black heels that showed my toes with nail polish that matched my manicures nails. My long hair, falling down my back in soft waves and a bracelet. Roman pulls me to him and I happily melt in his arms. Taking in the scent of his cologne, I press my lips against his jaw for a light kiss. He lets out a happy sigh, barely loud enough for me to hear.
"We should get going before we're late." I softly say.
"Okay." He replies with a soft smile. "You're still not going to tell me anything about this dinner?"
"Just know that its for your birthday." I say, not wanting to give anything away.
Giving me a light kiss, he waits for me to grab my purse and my phone before grabbing my hand and leaving. Once we get downstairs, Mr. Kelhani is already there waiting for us with a warm smile on his face. Getting him, Roman and I get in and enjoy the ride to the restaurant that I had booked for tonight. It was here in the city and the food is absolutely amazing. I had been to Romeo's Dine Wine before ever meeting Roman with friends and a couple of times with my brother, but it wasn't until we started dating that I started coming more frequently.
It had the main dining area for everyday use, and there were two separate rooms that were used for larger parties and events. The restaurant gladly provided the food and drinks, as well as seating, so all you had to do was book in advanced and work with them when it came to the amount of people, the food, and drinks and if there were any changes with anything, to let them know. Getting to the place which was about took almost 20 minutes because of the traffic but we made it on time. I texted someone inside to let them know we were there and I waited for Roman to walk up to me. I gave him a kiss and he smiled as he took my hand and happily followed me.
"You're in a good mood today." I say as we reach the entrance.
"It's been a really good day today, and I feel like it'll continue." He says as he rests his hand in the small of my back as we walk into the restaurant.
I lead him to one of the party rooms and he looks at me curiously. Reaching for my phone again, I open up the camera and smile at the guy that opens the door for us.
"Happy birthday!!" Says everyone when we walk in.
Roman chuckles and looks around in amazement before looking at me. "You did this for me?"
"I may have had some help with the invitations, but this is for you." I say.
He picks me up and I squeal in surprise before laughing as I wrap my arms around his neck. Giving me a kiss, he then goes to greet everyone, starting with his parents and his sisters. When they greeted me as well, his eyes sparked, followed by that handsome smile.
The room had decorations everywhere, from balloons to a banner saying 'happy birthday'. There was a cake that would be saved for after dinner and music that was starting to play. Some of his friends were there, like Seth with his fiancé, Becky, and Dean with his wife, Renee. My best friend, Jenny was there with her boyfriend, and we walked around from person to person making sure everyone was okay.
I ran into one of Roman's sisters and we started talking about if we had any plans so far for the summer and about things that you could do around NYC, especially with the weather warming up now that Summer is about to start.
"I'm not sure if my parents asked you this yet, or not. But what are your intentions with my brother?" Asks Vanessa.
"I want something long term with him." I say. "That man knows what I've been through. Knows how hard life has been for me, and yet cherishes me like nobody has ever done before. Like I'm the most precious thing in the world to him. As if I am his world. Roman gives me peace. Happiness. Laughter. He gives me strength, even on my weakest days. He gives me all of those things even when I feel like I don't deserve it."
"Why would you think you don't?" She asks.
I look over at her. "When you've been through what I've been through, or worse, it's hard sometimes to believe that you deserve good, even when you know you do. Your doubts and insecurities come into play and it's not fun. I don't want to go through what I went through growing up, ever again. It was hard enough when it happened."
"And Roman reminds you that there's people out there who will do right by you." She says.
I feel a lump in my throat and the sting of tears in my eyes that I quickly blink away before finally admitting something out loud. "I really love him and I want him by my side for a very long time."
Roman
Watching my girlfriend be a social butterfly made me smile. Girlfriend. Before I met her, I thought I had everything I ever wanted. Friends. Family. A successful career. The chance to get everything money could buy. Most importantly, my health after getting back into remission and having the amazing opportunity of being able to work charities and foundations that work with children who have Lukemia. But Giselle has done something to me that nobody else has been able to do. She gave me a reason to want more out of life. Something to look forward to and the money no longer matters as much. Do I still want to be as successful as I can possibly be? Absolutely, and I've come so far and achieved too much to just give up now.
But Giselle is more important to me. Man, how I would do anything to see that smile on her face and hear her laugh. To see the light in her eyes and the way she lights up the room like she's doing tonight.
"You know," Someone said as they walk up beside me. "When I first met her, that night at the party a few months ago, despite whatever she was going through at the time, I could tell that there was something special about her. She was just going through a bit of a rough patch."
"What do you think of her now?" I ask my mom.
"She still has that something special inside." She says. "You know it, just as much as we do, if not more. Giselle has something that not a lot of people get to have or see from you."
I look over at her. "What's that?"
"Your heart." She replies. "And clearly she can cook, because she's keeping you fed."
We both laugh. "She's doing an excellent job at making sure I don't starve. She's an amazing cook. When did you two get the chance to talk?"
"Earlier today." My mother replies. "Giselle contacted us last month, and I immediately remembered who she was. She said she wanted to do something for you, for your birthday and was wondering if we would like to come up to New York to surprise you. We kept in contact, worked on a few details and before you ask, she recommended a few places where we could stay while we're here and be comfortable. We're only a couple of minutes away from you, and the view is beautiful. Giselle stopped by earlier at our hotel to make sure we were doing okay and had everything we needed. So we talked for a bit and she's strong. Having been through what she has and still he standing."
"Do you and Dad like her for me?" I ask quietly.
She smiles at me. "Yes, but you would have stayed with her anyways, knowing you."
I chuckle. "Hey, at least this time I'm not making a mistake."
"No, you're not. You chose the right one this time." My mom says with a smile.
Later that night, I'm about to walk my family back to their hotel, when Giselle walks over and stands by my side. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close, loving how easily and perfectly she fits.
"Thank you all so much for coming." Giselle tells them. "I hope you all enjoyed yourselves tonight."
"Thank you for inviting us to be here." My father says. "Glad we didn't miss it."
She gives them a sweet smile before we start walking with them. Once we get to the hotel they're staying in, we say goodnight to everyone before leaving.
"Thank you for tonight." I tell her. "It meant a lot to me, especially with my family being there."
"I just thought this would be a good present for you." She replies. "Thought it would make you happy."
"Come home with me. Spend the rest of the weekend." I suggest. "And my family."
"You sure it won't be a problem?" She asks.
I look over at her. "No, it'll be perfect."
Giselle touched my nose with hers. We took our time walking back to my place where we spent the majority of the night with me buried inside of her. It started in the kitchen, moved to the living room, then the hallway, and ended up in my bed. Early the next morning, it continued when I made love to her and didn't stop until we were both more than satisfied. Giselle came out to the kitchen wearing nothing but my shirt and giggled when I picked her up and sat her on the counter. I wrapped my arms around her when I stood in between her legs and nuzzled her neck. Her arms around my neck and play with my hair, before asking if I was okay.
"Yeah, I just want to hold you." I say, feeling her arms pull me closer to her.
Her fingers lightly trace my tattoo, and I was just there falling in love with her more than I already was. Even as I feel a few kisses from her on my shoulder, and I'm happy in this moment. Jackson barked a couple of times and ran up to her, happily greeting her.
"Hi, good morning." Giselle says with a smile on her face.
Jackson wags his tail and jumps around, barking a couple of times until she scratches his head and stays still. He barks at me when he notices that I'm still holding on to her.
"Be nice." Giselle says. "The two of you just have to find a way to get along for me."
I quietly laugh and I look down at him. "Is it ok with you if we share her?"
He barks a few more times before he walks around the kitchen. I give Giselle a kiss and I start making breakfast while she gets Jackson out of the kitchen. Talking, we made our way through breakfast and and everything feels normal. Like this is how it's supposed to be with us. Together. Happy. In love.
That night...
"I can never get over how nice this place looks." My sister, Vanessa says. "It gets nicer every time."
We're sitting in the living room, and we're just talking and joking around, and telling stories. Giselle is next to me, with Jackson walking into the living room and sitting by Giselle. He walks up to them and quickly goes back to Giselle. When she and Vanessa go with my mom and my other sister Summer, to the kitchen to get some drinks, I talked to my father for a bit.
"Are you two living together?" He asks when we walk to the window to enjoy the view.
"No, she has her own place up in the Bronx." I say. "It's not that long of a drive, about 30 minutes to get to her place by car from here. But with traffic, it might take a little more. But we have spent the night at each other's place a few times. Giselle works here in Manhattan, and it's easier for her to get to work from here."
"Is that the reason she spends the night?" He asks.
I smile. "It's not the only reason but it's one of them. Everything is better when she's around."
"But you want her to kind of, sort of, move in with you basically." He finished.
My father can be an intimidating man when you look at him. He's tall, tan, and you can tell that he's getting up in age though he can still probably find a way to kick your ass if he really wanted to. Not to mentioned that he used to be one half of a legendary tag team in professional wrestling, called the Wild Samoans with his brother, my uncle, Afa. He traveled quite a bit while I was growing up so my mom had to raise us by herself quite a bit. I'm sure I didn't always make it easy for her but I appreciate everything that the both of them have done for us.
"Dad, I already know." I tell him.
"Are you sure?" I hear my mother's voice, quietly ask from behind.
I look over at her and wrap an arm around her shoulder "I promise."
"Roman?" I hear her say from behind me.
Turning around, I see Giselle with a cup that she's handing over to me. I get her to come closer to me and she stands in front of me, with her back against my chest. Resting my hand on her waist, I feel when she relaxes and leans against me a little more. Things felt like it would be okay. As long as I had Giselle by my side, everything would be.