Finally I'm back with another chapter! Again, thanks to all those that read, favourited and followed this story and special thanks to those that reviewed. Your comments are my motivation to continue writing.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, thus I ask that you treat it as such. All recognizable names do not belong to me. The unrecognizable names and plot however are solely mine.

Chapter 5

Hearing the faint sounds of persons passing the door, milling around in the main hallway and motorists revving engines, speedily making their way to whatever destinations they had in mind this early on a Wednesday morning; his mind and body slowly awakened, welcoming the new day. Cracking open his eyes he rubbed away the sleepy feeling that quickly dissipated the more he did so. Said eyes adjusted to the sunlight lightly filtering into the room through the sliver of space between the curtains, chasing away any remnants of darkness lurking in the nooks and crannies of his bedroom. Patting the surface of his bedside table his hands came to rest on the aluminium device. Its clock read seven forty a.m. The device chimed with a notification just as he replaced it on the table.

Juke ( Cassie) is currently tweeting about #SelfieWars

Tapping the notification instantly launched his Twitter app. His eyebrows shot to his hairline and his mouth opened in response to the picture that greeted him.

Juke ( Cassie)—Getting ready 4 work but before I go I have to leave y'all with a lil something something.

ODearLauren #GameOn #SelfieWars

Her work attire consisted of a deep V- neck, white long sleeved blouse, black beaded necklace and a matching black pencil skirt, accentuated by a pair of purple, open- toed suede heels which gave the otherwise monochrome outfit a splash of colour. She posed before a full length mirror with eyes looking down at the phone she held at chest level, eyebrows perfectly arched and a sassy smirk etched onto her face. She captured the perfect angle for the picture, with her backside jutting out far enough for her to still remain classy.

"Holy hell! She's hot!", Colby thought to himself.

After the numerous years of schooling he endured, his parents, mainly his mother would have been appalled at the way in which he summed up Cassidy's appearance. Surely he could have done better than that. His excuse? In the picture Cassidy was the epitome of beauty and of womanliness with her poise and her voluptuous frame hidden behind her clothes. His feelings for the young lady were strictly platonic and it would have been impossible for them to be anything but. After all, they had only met recently and were in the 'friends' stage of their relationship.

But she was a woman. And he was a man. A young, fit and healthy, red- blooded American man who was undoubtedly attracted to members of the opposite sex; one of which just so happened to be Cassidy Logan, hence the reason he was overly admiring this picture of her. There was nothing illegal about it.

Preparing to save the picture to his phone he stopped himself, thinking better of it. What if she found out?

Well she wouldn't know unless she took his phone and went through it, which was highly unlikely. And she posted it herself so she must have known that people do these kinds of things all the time. All the internal debate over image had him feeling like a creepy stalker. But they were friends so there was nothing wrong with having a picture of his friend on his phone.

Saving the image he thought about leaving a comment, telling her she looked nice, anything. But he held back. He thought long and hard and came to the conclusion that if he commented in such a public forum it was highly likely that the WWE Universe would see and begin grilling the two of them. He was used to it, but he couldn't say the same for Cassidy and it would be unfair to subject her to any harsh criticisms that would come her way due to any affiliation with him. He resorted to sending a text message.

Good morning. Saw your pic on Twitter and just wanted to say that you look beautiful. Sorry for falling asleep on you last night, had a rough day. Enjoy your day today. — Colby

Before he could rethink the decision to send the message he hit send then sat up, planting his feet on the floor. Looking over his shoulder he spotted the ball of brown fur curled up on the bed, just as his owner left him last night. Standing up, he made his way to the bathroom to begin his morning ritual.

It was approaching two in the afternoon in the quaint city of Davenport, and the sometimes scorching heat and bright skies associated with this time of day were replaced in favour of bleak skies and strong gusts of wind. Regardless, he was out on the street walking Kevin, though an outsider would perceive it differently as the man was being forcefully pulled along an imaginary zig- zag path on the sidewalk; the little Yorkie on the other end of the leash quickly darting between storefronts and every other fire hydrant lining the pavement.

Seeing the familiar stance of Mr. Reynolds, the owner of one of the more popular sandwich shops in the area, Colby decided to stop and chat up the old man. Whenever he was in town he had to stop there at least once. The food they made inside was to die for and the Italian man and his wife were always happy to see him and his little dog.

Mr. Reynolds was talking to a guy who seemed to be a deliverer so Colby stood back and waited for the two to finish up their business before approaching them.

"Mr. Reynolds, hey."

"Colby my boy! How's it goin'? You doin' well son?" The stocky, tan- skinned man greeted as he hugged him, sounding genuinely happy to see the wrestler.

"Everything's great, you know? Just enjoying my days off before I hit the road again. How's Linda? She inside?"

"Linda, she's good. Was feeling sick last week but she much better now."

Colby watched as the man kneeled down on the pavement to greet his dog. Kevin was just as happy to see Mr. Reynolds; the way the little dog rubbed himself into the man's calloused hands proved as much. Maybe he was hoping for a treat. Mr. Reynolds always liked to offer Kevin a few pieces of meat whenever Colby stopped by for a quick bite with Kevin in tow.

"So when you going back?" Mr. Reynolds questioned as he stood up, arms akimbo.

"Friday. Goin' all the way up to New York, man."

"Come then. Come inside and get something to eat.", Mr. Reynolds beckoned the man inside the restaurant. "Linda and I need to fatten you up before you leave for New York. I hear it still cold over there."

"No sir, that's fine. I promise to come by before I leave but the little guy's been begging me to take him out, so… ". Colby smiled as he turned down the invitation. Looking down he saw Kevin rubbing his furry body on the leg of old man's pants. He was really working for those few pieces of luncheon meat.

"You make sure now. What happen to Leigh? Haven't seen Leigh in a while."

That name tugged at his heartstrings, leaving a dull ache. The girl he'd been committed to for almost six years. The woman he saw himself getting married to. The girl he thought was his other half, his forever, his support system was no longer in his life and it pained him to think about it. Remembering that it had been someone else who brought up the topic of his ex- girlfriend he managed to give the abridged version of the story.

"Uh, we didn't work out." Colby scratched behind his ear, unable to make eye contact with the old man. "Around February, we realized that we didn't want the same things and decided to go our separate ways."

He looked up and met the man's gaze and didn't like what he saw there. Pity. Or maybe it wasn't pity, perhaps the man felt bad for bringing up such a sore topic. Yeah, it was probably that.

"Sorry, had no idea."

"Ah, it's okay. Well, see you around Mr. Reynolds." And with a wave Colby departed from the man's storefront, pulling Kevin along with him.

Apart from briefly acknowledging some other familiar faces with a nod of the head or sharply tugging on Kevin's leash to get him under control, Colby's mind was on autopilot for most of the remainder of the stroll around town.

That was before he saw her.

He had approached an intersection and looked up from the pavement to cross the street, when their eyes connected. He couldn't find it in himself to turn around and head in the opposite direction as she already spotted him and that would have made his feelings about her obvious. Well, he was already considered by some to be the world's biggest jackass so it couldn't get much worse than that.

Colby had no idea how, but it seemed as if this girl had some sort of radar that alerted her to his presence whenever he was in town. She always wanted to talk but he just wasn't a talkative person, with her at least. Simply put, Colby felt annoyed whenever she was around, but couldn't exactly tell her to piss off. He was raised to be a gentleman and would just have to tolerate her presence until he could find a way to let her down gently or something.

"Colby!" Jean shrieked, hugging him. "I haven't seen you in forever! How you been?"

"Eh, I'm good. Just hangin' out."

She caressed his biceps, giving him a flirty look, "I see that. Kevin!"

Jean bent down to pet the dog. Feeling manhandled, Kevin barked and growled in defence, startling the young woman who swiftly stood back up to her full height. Colby hurriedly looked away, smirking at the animal's adverse reaction to the woman. Linking her arms with Colby, the pair continued along the sidewalk, while the wrestler hoped that the area was completely devoid of photographers looking to make some quick cash by selling pictures of him and Jean to the gossip rags. The stories these sources released were sometimes downright ludicrous, and after what had transpired between him and his ex- fiancée he was determined to keep a relatively low profile.

Meanwhile, Jean tried to engage him in a conversation about hockey of all things. Colby was amazed at her ability to discuss a sport, flirt with and make a man feel uncomfortable all at once. Amazement aside, he desperately wished for some sort of sign so he could end the exchange with Jean. The sign came in the form of a water droplet landing on his arm. Looking up, another landed in the corner of his eye. Soon enough the drops increased in number with heavy pellets of water striking the concrete pavement and other surfaces, alerting everyone in the vicinity to their presence.

"It looks like it's gonna pour, so see you around." Colby ended and walked away; so thankful for the intrusion that he didn't even hear the young woman shout out a goodbye in response.

"Alright guys, that was good. You can take a breather now. Ten minutes!" Colby clapped and announced to the members of his wrestling academy. With hushed murmurs the class headed towards the corner that housed their belongings, save for one female student having an animated discussion with her head trainer, judging from the numerous hand gestures she used.

Rolling into the ring he sat up against the turnbuckle and roughly wiped his perspiring face with a towel, hanging the material across his shoulders. He looked around the room, at the training equipment, at the faces of his exhausted students shuffling out the doors and thought back on the times when he dreamed of being able to contribute something towards the industry that gave so much to him and thought it was nothing but a pipe dream. He never believed that this academy would've come to fruition so quickly, let alone while he was still this young. And there was never a moment, never a passing day where he would think of this place and not swell with pride at how he and his partners were able to transform the so- called 'far- fetched' aspirations of these everyday students into something so real and life- changing.

Pulling out his phone he responded to messages from a few friends, one of them from Joe who was checking up on him. Right there was one of the many reasons he and Joe were more than co-workers.

They were brothers, as even though they had seen each other last night at the arena and Joe was probably in Florida at the moment with his family; he considered Colby family enough to touch base with him, even just to say hi. And even though he didn't see a text from Jon he knew the love was still there. Joe and Colby couldn't fault the man. Jon wasn't skilled in the art of texting but he would often call and always sounded happy to hear from his friends. Colby would forever be grateful to wrestling for bringing the three of them together.

Whilst interacting with a few fans on Twitter his mind shifted to the conversation he shared a few hours prior with Cassidy. He was able to provide her with his insight on what being a wrestler was like, some of which got her to laugh. Recalling the exchange Colby realized that all he did was talk about himself then fall asleep on the young woman by its end. Looking back he probably seemed like a jerk which couldn't be further from the truth.

He didn't know much about the young woman but was determined to find out something, starting with her pictures.

Looking through, it was mainly pictures of her with family and friends. There was a common denominator in all those pictures however.

Her smile.

She seemed to own an infectious smile, causing everyone around her to do the same. It was the kind of smile that was inviting and mischievous at the same time, and God, he loved it. It was undoubtedly one of her best features. Apart from finding out she was a frequent grinner, he gathered that she was a gym enthusiast, his mind perking up at the realization. He found it uncanny the way they'd only just met and he already found so many things to like about her. He continued to search and the next post had him laughing quietly. It was a video of Cassie and who he assumed were her friends, singing along to Slick Rick's Mona Lisa.

She almost got cut short, you know, scissors
She tried to disrespect who?! The Grand Wizard
Me! "Well what's your name, son?"
"MC Ricky D," but not to be so harsh I said to Mona Li-hee
"I'm.. sorry and I know that's low class (uh, yeah)
Please sit, and tell me a little about your past"
She said, "Well I got courage, and I don't like porridge (uh-huh)
I've never been to college, but I've got crazy knowledge (uh-huh)
Over eighteen and my eyes are green (uh-huh)
I wear more gold than that man on A-Team (uh-huh, uh-huh)
Trim, slim, (yeah) and I'm also light skinned
Best believe Mona's a virgin"
A virgin?! Honey needed a slap
She tried to tell me she's a virgin, with her yea wide gap
I said, "It don't matter, see, I'm not picky (word)
Let me spell my name out for you, it's Ricky,
R, ravishing
I, impress
C, courageous; so careless
K, for the Kangols which I've got
that I wear everyday and
Y, why not?
To fight's not right that I recite and I'm
quite polite like Walter Cronkite"

He had to replay the video. The facial expressions and hand gestures she was able to master whilst driving and singing along would have any sane person feeling stitches from laughing uncontrollably, though he had to admit she was slightly crazy for thinking that doing all that while driving was a good idea. He made a mental note to ask her about it the next time they spoke. Seeing her like that made him want to talk to her again, sooner rather than later. Colby thought about calling her when the night's training session ended.

Feeling the mat shake he looked up and saw the head trainer Marek Brave, known to him as Nick Morrill, entering the ring. The room was now empty except for the two men; all the students having congregated on the outside, basking in the night air. Leaning on the ropes beside Colby with hands resting on his knees Nick asked, "Watcha doin'?"

"Nothing..."

"Well this 'nothing' sure seems funny. Gimme this." Nick retorted, wrestling the phone out of the other man's grasp. "Who is she? She's pretty."

"Just a girl, man."

"That you follow." Nick finished, suspiciously eyeing his friend. "You bangin' her?"

He almost choked on the long drag of water he took from his bottle. "What the hell man?! It's not even like that. We met at the airport. We grabbed the wrong bags and had to meet up to do the exchange. She seemed like a nice chick so I made her promise to keep in touch with me on Twitter."

"Oh. So you talk to her yet? What's she like?" came Nick's reply as he looked through Cassie's pictures just as Colby had done before.

"Um, she's funny. Knows good music too…"

"And she's good-looking too, huh?" Nick smirked, bumping shoulders with Colby.

"Yeah…that too.", Colby replied bashfully as he felt his ears redden, to which Nick responded with a series of catcalls. He gave the man a sharp elbow to the ribs, "Hey man, aren't you married or somethin'?"

"So what? Doesn't mean I can't look? Why you wanna save her all to yourself anyway?"

"I'm not saving her all to myself."

Nick could sense that Colby had something else to say. Both sat in silence as Colby fought for the right words to say to express his feelings to his friend.

"Besides, I think I'm better off avoiding those situations all together."

"Whaddya mean?"

"After all the shit that went down with Leighla, I guess relationships just don't work for me man."

What started off as a normal talk between the two took a serious turn much too quickly. Switching positions he returned the phone, looking Colby dead in the eye.

"So if you're not interested in a relationship what are you gonna do? Colby, you're young. You're in the prime of your life. You have…you know, urges."

"And I'll deal with them accordingly."

"Do I even wanna know how?"

"Nope." Colby said shaking his head, making a popping sound with his mouth.

Colby looked at Nick. Based on his confused expression Colby could tell that Nick wasn't fully getting what he was saying. He could pinpoint the exact moment the words registered with Nick, as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Aw man, don't tell me you gonna start hittin' it and quittin' it."

"If that's what it comes down to then yes. A relationship couldn't work for me, maybe a couple of one night stands will."

"Look man, one night stands aren't gonna make you happier. They're only gonna make you confused as to what you really want and make you miserable."

"Happiness?", Colby chuckled darkly. "After what I did it wouldn't surprise me if God revoked that right."

"C'mon man. You don't think you deserve to be happy?" Nick inquired incredulously.

He didn't answer, but the silence spoke for him.

Nick continued, "Hey, what happened with Leighla, that was some pretty heavy stuff. And you know you played a major role in how things turned out between you two. Some might say you deserved what happened to you while others might say…otherwise. But it doesn't fuckin' matter what people wanna say 'cause you both went your separate ways and no doubt are both trying to regroup and heal from what happened, and now that's in the past. What I saw between you two was love Lopez, and if what I feel about my wife is any indication or comparison, it's a damn strong feeling. You were in love with her for six whole years man! People wouldn't expect the feelings you developed for her over that time to dissipate within a few months. Nah man, it shows that she actually meant something to you, it's just that the relationship wasn't meant to be. You're saying you wouldn't be shocked if God removed any trace of happiness from your life but I don't think He works that way. If you believe in God why aren't you willing to believe that He works in mysterious ways? That He makes everything happen for a reason?"

The two- toned man couldn't meet Nick's stare anymore. Staring at the logo on the wall opposite them he smoothed out his beard and answered, "Dammit. I dunno bro…"

"Colby, I'm not saying you should jump into something new tomorrow. No, you need time to adjust and I think you're still in that adjustment phase. Just don't close your mind to the thought of meeting someone new, okay?"

Colby nodded, revelling in this newfound wisdom he was unaware his friend possessed.

Judging from the large number of students that returned at once both trainers realized that the break had concluded. Turning his attention back to Colby he continued, "So chat up….aw hell, what's her name?"

"Cassie."

"Yeah, so go on and chat up Cassie some more. Get back on the horse man, and I expect to hear all about it." Nick finished, slapping Colby playfully on the chest. Jumping up from the hard canvas he went on to address the class, "Come on everybody, pair up! Break's over!"

Walking out of the bathroom he ran a towel through his hair in a half-assed attempt to dry it. He picked up his phone from the bedside table before plopping down on the bed, towel still wrapped around his waist. The clock showed that it was 11:25 p.m. and he wondered briefly if Cassie was still up. After the evening he had barking commands at his trainees and the unexpected heart to heart from Nick he was in need of some light humour before he went to bed. Colby liked the type Cassidy offered so it would've been stupid not to try her and see if she was awake.

Hi there. You awake? — Colby

He got up and moved towards his wardrobe, intent on finding a pair of shorts to wear to bed when the phone sounded with a chime. It was most likely Cassie. The worry that filled his chest when he thought that she wouldn't answer due to the lateness of the hour immediately quelled. He took his time in pulling the article of clothing over his legs, he didn't want to seem too needy if he replied too quickly. He already appeared desperate when he sent her a text this late and he had an image to maintain.

Yeah I'm here. Just stepping in? — Cassie

Yup. And I'm hella tired. — Colby

Oh you poor thing. That's what you get for being a wrestler. Man up Lopez! LOL — Cassie

I'm trying =(. So how was your day today? — Colby

Eh, the usual. Work. Lunch. More work. Surprisingly I didn't feel the need to slap anyone today. I usually do :) — Cassie

Haha. Bet you inspire fear in everyone you work with. — Colby

Nah, I don't want them to fear me. I just need them to know that I take my work seriously, and in order to do that I need them to dot all Ts and cross all Is. — Cassie

Dot all Ts and cross all Is? You sure bout that? — Colby

Crap I just realized. Don't you dare make fun of me Lopez. By the way, thanks for the text this morning. It started off my morning the right way, :). — Cassie

Colby went into his photos to take a look at the picture once more. His eyes roamed over every facet of the image and the longer he looked at it the more ungentlemanly his thoughts became. Closing the app he resumed texting.

Happy to be of service. I wasn't lying or anything, you did look really pretty this morning. — Colby

Aww, thanks again. Hey my fingers are tired now. Call me? — Cassie

Damn. He was making progress. And he didn't even do much! He wouldn't admit it out loud but deep down he was hoping for the chance to talk to her tonight and here was his opening. Clearing his throat he laid on the bed as he pressed the call button.

"Hey, you." She answered in a low tone. He guessed that it wasn't her intention to sound like a seductress and let it slide.

"Hello to you too. So about last night…I remember I did all the talking which means I know nothing about you. You have all the incriminating evidence which isn't fair at all."

"Okay Colby. Whaddya wanna know?" Hearing the smile in her voice made him smile as well.

"Well, I already know your name and I know where you live. Albany, right?"

"Wrong." She said, not missing a beat, "I'm from Chicago, actually."

"Really? But you know that police officer guy."

"Yeah, Pete and I…how do I explain this?", she paused momentarily, "Pete and I go way back."

"Oh," was all he could say. Colby could tell there was more to the story but wasn't in the position to pry. "So what else is there to know? You know that I wrestle for a living so it's only fair that I know what you do."

"I work for Kaplan Corporation. It's a computer software company."

"I've heard of it. The one that makes the security software, right?"

"The very same."

"So what department do you work in? Is it fun working for a company like that?", he threw the questions quickly, anxious to learn more about her.

"I love my job, but fun? I dunno if I'd describe it that way. Is working ever fun?", Cassie chuckled then continued, "I work in the Technology and Engineering department. "

"Oooh, talk nerdy to me."

That one line had her laughing long and hard at his silly nature, "Can't believe you just said that to me Colby. That was corny as hell."

Again, he couldn't resist smiling as he heard her laugh over the phone. "Okay, for you I'll tone down the corniness. So what do you do there? I assume you don't just sit around and look pretty based on what you said earlier about crossing Ts and dotting Is?"

"Sitting around would be a blessing, but I guess I'd get bored too easily. I'm actually the head of my department and the Chief Technological Officer of the company."

He was downright stunned. She had to be twenty- five at least. Twenty-five years old, a female and in a position of authority already? Her achievements had impressed him so much that they surpassed his own and made them seem insignificant.

"Wow, I'm impressed. So the Chief Technological Officer sounds kinda, official. Are you on the exec body or something?"

"Or something."

"Excuse me?" he was confused. Did he hear her clearly? What did she mean by that?

"Sorry. Tried to make a joke and it fell flat, my bad. But yes, I am a member of the executive body. Is that gonna be a problem Lopez?" she asked teasingly.

"No Ms. Head of my Department, it isn't. I'm just impressed. Thoroughly impressed, might I add. How old are you again?"

"Didn't your mom tell you it's rude to ask a lady her age?", she asked, sounding appalled at his request. "I'm twenty- six though."

"You're so young and you've achieved so much. Congrats, you have my respect."

"Wow, I can tell you don't say that often."

"Way to go Lopez, now she thinks you're a jackass." ,He thought as he did a facepalm.

"Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I got this terrible habit of putting my foot in my mouth."

"Don't sweat it. All's forgiven."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. So what kind of a department head are you?". He wanted to slap himself or asking these lame questions. He wasn't even thirty and already he forgot how to flirt. All his friends, especially Jon would have a field day if they heard him.

"What kind of department head am I? Well, I could say that I'm laid back, that I don't give a shit about deadlines and that I accept subpar work from those that report to me, but I guess you want me to be honest. Thinking 'bout it I am kinda laid back; I mean I'm not always barking at employees to get work done but that doesn't mean I don't care about the work they do. In fact I can be very cutthroat if I find that an employee isn't working at the level I know they're capable of working at."

Damn. The way she described herself in her work environment made her sound sexy to him. He loved a woman that knew what she wanted in life. He had to admit, sexy and successful had a nice ring to it.

She cut through his musings, "I don't wanna sound rude but can we discuss something other than work? I'm not saying you can't ask about my job or anything but I'm working on something for the office right now and I have to be back there in a couple of hours. I just need to take my mind off it for a while, you get me?"

"Yeah I get you. But if you're working on something now I can call you back tomorrow. I don't wanna distract you."

"Far from it. What I'm doing doesn't require much brainpower, I just wanna forget work for a bit."

"Okay. So I was on Twitter, looking at your pictures and —"

"So you were stalking me, hmm?", she asked and he could hear the mischief in her voice. It made him realize that he had to choose his words carefully or she would end up using them against him.

"Stalking is such a harsh word. I prefer the term intensive research." ,he joked. "Anyway, I came across this video of you and some friends having a little karaoke session while you were driving."

"Karaoke session? You sure? What were we singing?"

"Slick Rick's Mona Lisa. You got some sick mic skills."

"Oh, that!" she exclaimed, most likely remembering the video in question. "And I know I'm dope on the mic. You didn't need to remind me."

"Cassie, come back to earth, 'kay? You're heading into dangerous territory now.", Colby laughed. "So are those ladies your best friends? Tell me about them."

"They are. I don't know if you could see her but the one holding the camera's Lauren. She owns a little clothing store here in Chicago and she's the sanest, most laid back of the three of us."

"So is she a childhood friend or something?"

"No. We met through a mutual friend about three years ago and we've been close ever since. Sophia, that's the one in the backseat; I met on my first day of college. She was in a rough situation and I helped her out. We're almost like sisters."

"I didn't see much of her in the video. What kind of work does she do?"

"She works with me. Well, not directly with me but we work in the same company. She works in the Finance Department and came with me on the trip to New York."

Colby had a flashback to the call Cassie answered that morning in the airport and remembered the shrieking he heard coming from the person on the other end. She had called the person Sophie, which confirmed her story of the two of them working together.

"But what about you? I barely see any pictures of you with others. Are you a loner?"

Colby was now the subject of the interrogation and was pleased to discover that she did her own research too. Most of the pictures he posted were of himself working out; he didn't put up too many personal ones. He smiled at the thought of what must have been her reaction to his physique. He wasn't a ladies man to the extent that Joe was or a sex symbol like Jon, but he did get a few stares.

"So you've been looking too, huh? Know I'd catch you someday."

"Yes, I looked." , Cassie playfully admitted defeated. "I had to make sure you weren't some weirdo that was infatuated with me. So tell me about your friends."

"Well, I'm a quiet guy and I keep to myself sometimes, so I have a few close friends. I work with two of them in the WWE, Joe and Jon. And there's one that's not in the company but works on the indy— sorry, independent wrestling scene, his name's Nick."

"Which one are you the closest to?"

"I wouldn't say that I'm closest to a particular one. But I've known Nick the longest so you can spin that however to want to."

"How long have you known him?", she asked quietly.

"We met in my late teens, early twenties thereabout. We used to tear up the independent scene together." He paused and smiled, thinking about the insane matches they used to fight in.

"Colby you there? Or did you fall asleep on me again?"

"Nah I'm here. Just thinking."

"Okay. About the other two, where did you meet them?"

"Joe, Jon and I entered the WWE around the same time and when we came up to the main roster we formed this group called The Shield, so in that time we used travel together a lot, 'cause you know in wrestling we're always on the road."

"You make it sound as if you don't travel with them anymore though."

"We don't. But we still see each other at shows and meet up a few times. The character I play, Seth Rollins actually broke up The Shield awhile back, stabbed them in the back and everything. So the characters we play aren't on speaking terms and hence we can't travel together for the sake of keeping up appearances."

"I see. So what kind of a guy is Jon, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Jon is the crazy one, the goofball. You know, always pranking people, the one most likely to go to jail if we go out for a few drinks. Joe on the other hand is a mellow guy but still knows how to have a good time."

"And lemme guess, you're somewhere in between the two extremes, right? You're a quiet guy but a troublemaker at heart?"

"That description could work.", he nodded, then remembered that she couldn't see. "So have I negated your assumption that I'm some sort of weirdo?"

"You have. Your friends sound like good people and they say birds of a feather flock together…"

Feeling they had exhausted the 'friends' topic he decided to change the subject. "So are you always up this late?"

"What time is it? It's seventeen minutes to three. No, not always. But I've always been a night owl."

"It's that late?", he moved the phone from his ear and checked the time, which only confirmed the time Cassie had just stated. "Dammit. Seems like we only just started talking. Guess I should let you get some sleep then. Goodnight, Cassidy."

"I feel the same way. Anyways goodnight Colby. Talk to you soon."