Disclaimer: The story you are reading is a fictitious work of this author and is not intended to portray real-life events. Any resemblance to any real-life events is purely coincidental. The names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos are trademarks, which are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The names of all TNA televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves and all TNA logos are trademarks, which are the exclusive property of TNA Entertainment, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2013 TNA Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Squared Circle

Chapter 5

Coming Out of Your Bag

Layla looked back at Stephanie as the entered the building and gave her a confident wink. There was no way she was going to be stopped. Layla had made up in her mind that failure was not an option. There were three NXT Divas that were in her crosshairs; Paige, Sasha Banks and Bayley.

Paige was the anti-Diva. She was not a former fitness model or cheerleader that was using the WWE as the first major rung on their fame ladder. She was a second-generation trained by her father. Her mother, Sweet Saraya was a star in several independent promotions and had the honor of wrestling with and against her daughter before she departed for NXT in 2011. Paige was a wrestler. She made her professional debut at 13. Wrestling was in her blood and being in NXT meant that she was one step away from the biggest showcase in the world for her talent; WWE television. Paige, however, was not the only "wrestler" in the NXT Divas' locker room.

Mercedes Kaestner-Varnado was a star in the making. On the independent circuit, Mercedes KV, as she was known, was a rough-and-tumble, technically proficient performer that could be counted on for solid, physical matches that fans who didn't know her wouldn't expect from a woman that stood five-feet, five-inches tall and barely weighed 115 pounds. In June of 2012, she participated in a WWE tryout camp and was impressive enough to be signed to a contract. The beautiful and petite powerhouse was re-christened Sasha Banks, and began turning heads with her looks and in-ring skill set. Just days before WrestleMania, popular babyface Diva and Paige defeated the hated Audrey Marie and Summer Rae in a tag team match, ending her feud with Audrey. Officials told Mercedes that they had big plans for her character and encouraged her to keep bringing her A-game and that she would be one of the faces of the Divas division for years to come.

And then there was Pamela Rose Martinez. Fans on the independent wrestling circuit knew her as Davina Rose. The WWE Universe knows her as Bayley. She made her NXT debut as Bayley just three weeks earlier, but Stephanie saw something in the beautiful Latina that made her recommend Bayley as a potential Circle initiate. Bayley was another woman that was another athletic wrestler who happened to be attractive. Pamela impressed WWE officials with her work ethic and was told not long after her debut that she was going to be given a character re-work that would match her fun and quirky out-of-the-ring personality.

Before the confidence boost that Layla received, the fact that she had no intelligence on Sasha and Bayley and only limited intel on Paige would have been a source of great angst for her. Now, she felt as if her powers of persuasion were infallible and that anyone she set her sights on would have no choice but to succumb to her.

"You know LayCool was freaking hilarious!" Paige gushed as she and Layla walked out on to stage in the empty NXT arena. "When you and Michelle went to couples therapy…" Paige started laughing. "I thought it was comic genius." Layla felt a wave of emotion hit her. She and her LayCool partner, Michelle McCool, really bonded in the nearly two years they were together. The bond went beyond their membership in the circle and their on-screen friendship. They were very good friends off-screen as well as travel partners. People that saw them in hotels and airports probably thought that they were keeping up kayfabe, but their "LayCool act" was not an act. They really were besties. Paige noticed the change in Layla's demeanor. "Layla… I'm sorry. What did I say?"

"I just… really miss her sometimes." Layla admitted. "We had a… connection." Layla drew a huge breath to sniff back the single tear that threatened to escape. Paige instinctively gave her a small shoulder rub of comfort.

"I understand. There are girls here that I have really grown attached to." Paige started. "Ashley, Mercedes and Rose are super cool." She said referring to Audrey Marie, Sasha and Bayley.

Layla quickly gathered herself knowing that there was work to be done. She took several steps forward to cue Paige that they were to continue walking to the ring. Layla looked around at the empty arena. "This place is so cool. Not a ton of people. The energy just surrounds you. It's very intimate."

"You don't like the big arenas?" Paige asked.

"They're cool. I mean if you are really hot in the ring, there's nothing like feeding off of ten, fifteen thousand people. But if it's dead, it's terrible." Layla said. "And the way we get…" Layla stopped herself in mid-sentence.

"The way you get what?" Paige inquired.

"Nothing. I do not need to go there." Layla said. "Just do yourself a favor and when you get called up, go all out. Make them want to give you as much ring time as possible. Make them want you as bad as you want to be there." Paige nodded. "You all have something special down here. I watch it every week and I love it. You and the other girls are the future of the Divas division."

"Well you're still the present and the present is pretty damned awesome if you ask me."

"I am 35 years old. They are gonna put me out to pasture soon. They like the hot 23 year-olds with the perky puppies." Layla said.

"Well the 35 year-olds with the perky puppies and killer asses are pretty hot too." Paige said with a smile.

"You don't have to shamelessly flatter the old woman." Layla kidded as she began walking up the steps to the ring.

"I'm standing behind you as you're walking up the steps. Trust me, it's not shameless flattery."

Layla laughed in an outward display of dismissing the compliment as banter, all the while filing it away for future use. Paige climbed into the ring with Layla and followed her around to the side facing the ramp. As they stood, they noticed WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes walk through the curtain with a young blonde who appeared to be receiving a tour. "Who is that?" Layla asked.

"Her name is… hold on. I remember…" Paige was attempting name recall. "Lexi. Lexi Kaufman. She had a tryout a couple of days ago and they brought her back for another one. I think they're gonna sign her soon. She's got a great look." Paige identified the young woman that the world would soon know as Alexa Bliss.

Layla took the opportunity to test Paige's recognition of other women. "I can't quite tell from here. Is she hot?"

"Is the sky blue?" Paige retorted. "She will induce many an erection in and out of the ring."

"What about wetness?" Layla asked.

Paige raised an eyebrow. "In and out of the ring."

Layla decided that now was as good a time as any to bluntly ask the question that was on her mind. But just as she was about to ask it, two other female figures emerged from behind the curtain. Mercedes and Rose came out and started a conversation with Dusty and Lexi. Moments later, Dusty disappeared behind the curtain. Mercedes then turned her attention to the women standing in the ring. Layla saw Mercedes look at Rose and point toward her and Paige.

"RUN IN!" Mercedes screamed. "COME ON LEXI! YOU TOO!" The three women in street clothes on the stage began sprinting toward the ring. Layla and Paige smiled at each other, stepped back to the middle of the ring and got into a fighting stance. Mercedes, Rose and Lexi slid underneath the bottom rope and stood to their feet, squaring up on the two women awaiting them.

"You feeling froggy, Sasha?... Then jump!" Paige asked as she rotated her arms with her fists cocked. "What are the three of you gonna do?" The five women stared each other down for a moment before Sasha decided to answer.

"Nothing. We just wanted to say hi." Mercedes said.

Paige immediately stood up straight, smiled, cocked her head to the side and waved. "Hi Sasha!" She said in a sugary-sweet voice.

"Hi Paige!" Mercedes said with equal sugar. "I love you!" She exclaimed before running over to hug Paige. Rose screamed and joined in the bear hug, leaving Layla and Lexi to look on in amusement. Layla glanced at the young blonde and took a step toward her.

"Hi. I'm Layla." Layla offered her hand for a handshake.

"Lexi Kaufman. It's so nice to meet you. I'm a big fan." Lexi said as she grasped Layla's hand.

"My God, your hand is warm!" Layla commented. "I know who to find when I'm cold!"

"I know. I said the same thing to her when I shook her hand." Mercedes said. "She is like her own self-contained heat source or something." Lexi laughed.

"Forget the microwave. I'm gonna get Lexi to heat my food up from now on." Rose said.

"So, all warmth aside, are you gonna be joining these ladies here?" Layla asked.

"I am. Just dotting the I's and crossing the T's." Lexi said with a smile.

"Great. That's all we need is another smokin' hot chick walking around here!" Paige teased.

"What's the matter, Paigey? Can't concentrate with all this booty walking around here?" Rose taunted as she playfully rolled her behind on Paige's hip. Paige responded by swatting at Rose with both hands causing her to laugh.

"Oh! Don't let me find out!" Layla said, praying that someone would take the bait and confirm what she hoped was true.

"Find out what?!" Paige protested.

"C'mon, Rose. Layla doesn't need to know all of our business. The locker room is the locker room, ya know." Mercedes said peaking Layla's interest even more.

"Look, obviously you have something juicy that you're hiding and far be it from me to pry loose locker room secrets." Layla began. "But… you tell me a secret and maybe I'll tell you one."

"That's okay." Paige said. "We'll keep this in-house for now since Lexi is not officially one of us yet."

Lexi was about to prove that she was a young woman that loved to jump into the thick of things. "I'm gonna take a shot in the dark, Paige and guess that you're either gay or bi. I mean, I did catch you checking my ass out earlier." Rose cut her eyes at Paige. Mercedes raised an eyebrow. Layla stood stone-faced. Paige searched Lexi's face for a sign of joking and could find none.

"Okay, first, if I was checking your ass out, so what? A woman can't notice when another woman has a cute bum? Paige asked.

"You bit your bottom lip like you were a hungry lion eyeing a raw steak." Lexi countered. Layla's internal antenna shot up. She didn't know what Lexi's deal was but she liked the girl already.

"Damn." Mercedes whispered to no one in particular.

"My lips were chapped." Paige offered in explanation.

"Second…" Lexi offered as a lead to Paige to continue her explanation.

"Second… if I were gay or bi or whatever… who said that you would be my type?" Paige reasoned.

"Again, you bit your lip when you looked at my ass. I think that suggests that I'm your type." Lexi countered.

"Two nothing, new girl." Rose whispered to Mercedes as she kept score of the battle.

"Third… Maybe I was thinking about something else." Paige tried another plausible explanation.

"That is very possible." Lexi agreed. "That something else was how quickly can I get her yoga pants around her ankles." With that statement, Rose and Mercedes let out audible chuckles of gut-busting laughter before quickly suppressing them. Mercedes dropped her head on Rose's shoulder and squeezed out a "goddamn!" under her breath.

"I… don't know if I should smack you in the face or what." Paige scoffed.

Lexi's mouth turned up at the corner in a wry, toothless smile. "Look, will you just admit that you were checking me out so that I can give you my response? I have very good gaydar. For example, there is not one girl standing in this ring that would be opposed to a little lickedy split action under the right circumstances."

"You included." Layla interjected before any of the other women could respond.

"I didn't say that." Lexi replied. "We'll come back to me in a minute. Right now, Paige has the floor. Were you checking me out or not?"

Paige stood in the middle of the ring with her arms folded in front of her chest with the expression of a petulant child etched onto her face. "OKAY! I was checking you out." She admitted.

"Now was that so hard?" Lexi teased.

"Okay. She fessed up. What about you?" Rose asked. "Strictly dickly? Vagina monologues? Swinging gate?"

Mercedes turned her head and looked at Rose with the ultimate WTF expression on her face. "Swinging gate?"

"Going both… ways. Like a swinging… gate." Rose explained. Mercedes chuckled as the soon-to-turn heel Sasha Banks would and turned her attention back to Lexi.

"I'm not offended by the attention." Lexi hedged.

"That didn't answer Rose's question." Layla said. She decided without hesitation to attempt to draw Lexi out and in the process let the other girls know where she stood on the matter. Layla walked over to Lexi and stood almost nose-to-nose with the younger woman. She then circled behind her and stopped. If Lexi was nervous, she didn't let on as she stood perfectly still. Layla made sure that her volume was low enough to be effective but loud enough to be heard by the other women. "So if I stood here and whispered in your ear nasty, slutty, Sapphic things that I would want to do to you, it wouldn't make your underwear just a little damp?"

Lexi never missed a beat as she matched Layla's volume while dropping her voice several octaves. "Who said I was wearing underwear?" Lexi's wry smile returned as a captive audience looked on. "I knew when you shook my hand that you were just like Paige."

"You still didn't answer Rose's question." Layla pressed. "Do you play with girls?"

"I'm playing with them right now." Lexi's voice now purred.

"No, sweetheart. You're playing with a woman now. And you were right about me." Layla admitted. "And I know that I'm right about you. The only question is who gets the first crack at you."

"LEX-AYY!" The booming voice of Dusty Rhodes called out from the distance. All of the women turned to see him on the stage. "C'MON BABAY. YOU GOT SOME PAPERWORK TO SIGN. EXCUSE US, LAY-DAYS!"

"I guess that's my cue." Lexi said.

"We're not finished with this yet. Not by a long shot." Paige said.

"I hope not." Lexi said. "It will make those grinding days so much more fun." Lexi punctuated her statement with a wink and the full smile that would become Alexa Bliss' trademark. "Bye girls." Lexi did a finger wave and climbed out of the ring and made her way up the ramp.

The four remaining women looked at each other for a minute to take in what had just occurred. Layla was positive that she had two Circle candidates to pursue in Paige, her initial target, and the surprise of the day, Lexi. Now she had to confirm the proclivities of the other two NXT Divas.

"Well…" Mercedes said as she looked over at Layla. "Lexi made you come out of your bag. You weren't just playing around with that girl, were you?"

Layla smiled and dropped her head and took a moment to decide how she was going to play this. Was she going to be coy like Lexi and hide behind a veil of vague innuendo or was she going to be blunt and come all the way out of the bag. Layla chose to be blunt.

"No. I wasn't playing. I like girls. I like men too, but I like girls better." Layla said. "She really surprised me. She's not the only one with good gaydar but she… she's a little minx."

"So with your good gaydar, did you sniff this one out?" Rose said, tilting her head in Paige's direction.

"Why am I in everyone's crosshairs today? I didn't even say anything!" Paige said.

"You're right, Paige." Layla said. "Rose, to answer your question, I was being a little more coy then I was letting on with Paige and I was 'sniffing her out' as you said." Layla then looked over at Paige. "And I got my answer." Paige felt the heat come off of that statement and swallowed. "But it's time for Paige to get off the hotseat and it's time to put somebody else on it." Mercedes stretched her eyes and smirked. Layla saw that and zeroed in on her new target with a sledgehammer. "Thanks Mercedes. What about you? I know that sexy little body has caught a ton of dick…" Rose's mouth formed a perfect O of shock while Paige covered her mouth. Mercedes dropped her head in disbelief. "But has it ever felt the warm tongue of the fairer sex?"

"I… may… have… experimented once or twice…" Mercedes admitted.

Layla was now like the boxer that smelled a knockout. She started verbally backing Mercedes into the corner and throwing bombs at her. "And the conversation here kind of made you feel a little warm and tingly again and think that maybe another experimental session might be in order?"

"Now you are trying to put words into a mouth that's not even open." Mercedes said shakily.

"It's okay. Nothing that is said in this ring will be repeated. It's okay to have those thoughts." Layla said. "There isn't a bi, gay or curious woman that watches NXT that hasn't thought about Sasha Banks. I watch NXT and I think about Sasha Banks." Mercedes began to blush. "I think about Sasha. I think about Paige. I was talking to Stephanie and she told me about this girl named Bayley and I watched her…" Rose flashed a quick glance at Layla and knew she was being lined up. "And now I think about her."

"So NXT is like porn for you now?" Paige decided to put some heat under Layla's backside but Layla simply was not having it.

"Like porn?" Layla asked.

"Yeah. Do you sit in your hotel room and finger yourself during our matches?" Paige chided. Mercedes and Rose laughed, feeling the heat being transferred from them to Layla.

Layla played along. "What if I told you I did, Paige? How would that make you feel to know that a woman that you will one day share a ring with has pleasured herself watching you work?"

"Actually… I think I'd be flattered." Paige said. "What about you, KV?" Paige asked using part of Mercedes' old ring name. Mercedes zoned out and didn't hear Paige's question. "Hello? KV?"

"She's thinking about what I just said. So is Rose. That's why she's so quiet." Layla said. Just then, a text message alert chimed on her phone. Layla pulled her phone out of her pocket. The text was from Stephanie.

How's the mission going? Have any of your objectives been met? Meet me at the entrance. Time to go. We have another appointment.

"I wish I could stay and chat more, but I have to go. Stephanie and I have another appointment." Layla informed. "I hope that y'all didn't take offense to any of this conversation. I really like you girls and we just kind of went there."

"Give me your phone." Paige barked. "I am giving you my mobile number and we are going to talk, tonight." Layla handed Paige her cell phone and the beautiful Brit quickly tapped in her phone number and pushed send to call it. After hearing it ring in her pocket, she ended the call. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Okay." Layla said with a small smile. "Ladies, it was a pleasure." Layla walked over to hug Rose who embraced her warmly. Layla stepped over to Mercedes and opened her arms. Mercedes hesitated then stepped forward to enable Layla to initiate the hug.

"Where are you staying?" Mercedes whispered.

"Ritz-Carlton, Orlando. We're leaving in the morning." Layla said.

"I'll get your number from Paige. I'll call you." Mercedes again whispered. Bull's-eye. Layla was about to nail one. She would have a positive report for Stephanie. Mercedes broke the embrace and Layla stepped back to give the ladies one more once over before climbing out of the ring to head to the back. The ladies watched Layla walk up the ramp.

"What just happened here?" Rose asked.

"Besides all three of us getting hit on by a WWE Diva?" Paige sarcastically replied.

"We didn't get hit on." Mercedes said. "We got seduced."

Stephanie was climbing into the car when Layla reached the front entrance. Layla took the beaming sun and clear blue sky as a sign that the sun was about to shine once again on The Inner Circle. Layla flung the door open and practically dove into the limo, startling Stephanie.

"Jesus, Lay!" Stephanie screeched. "You scared the shit out of me!"

"Sorry Steph! I am just so excited!"

"So I take it things went well with your three conquests?" Stephanie asked.

"Four. There are now four in the mix."

"Who's the fourth one?"

"Lexi."

Stephanie was racking her brain. "Lexi. Lexi…"

"Lexi Kaufman. The new girl." Layla said.

Stephanie snapped her fingers. "The hot pixie blonde. So she signed."

"She signed today and my God the girl is that coy type of… damn!"

"And the other three?"

"Paige is going to call me. She said we have a lot to talk about." Layla began her debrief. "Bayley, I can't get a read on her but I think she will blow with the wind. And I am positive that Sasha wants to fuck me. She asked me where we were staying and told me she would get my number from Paige and call me."

"If you had asked me, I would have told you that I thought she'd be the first domino to fall." Stephanie said. "I don't know why. Call it a gut feeling."

"Speaking of gut feelings, can we get something to eat…" Layla's sentence was interrupted by a knock on the window. "I'm starved." Layla rolled the window down to see Mercedes standing there with a plastic shopping bag in her hand.

"I decided I didn't want to be coy." Mercedes stuck the bag through the window to hand to Layla. "Call me." She then turned on her heels and walked back toward the building. Layla rolled the window up and peered inside the bag. When she saw the contents, she chuckled in disbelief.

"Ho…lee shite." Layla calmly said. "Wow."

"What is it?" Stephanie scooted forward in her seat to get a better look.

Layla looked at Stephanie then back down in the bag before reaching inside to pull out a pair of red cotton underwear. As Layla inspected them, she noticed a damp spot in the front. She brought them up to her nose and took in what she assumed to be the aroma of Mercedes' womanhood.

"This… is the beginning of my next initiation."

There are many times that I will begin writing a chapter envisioning it to go one way and have it end up going in a different direction. This is one of those chapters that led me where it wanted to go. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it left you wanting more. We hop back over to TNA next to see how The Diamond Exchange is coming along. Stay tuned and as always…

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