CHAPTER 3 - "King of the Ring"
Well – Fresia thought – Mark was right on one thing: this new job was making her very busy! The hours before the PPV were, to tell the least, frantic. A lot of people were running back and forth, trying to arrange everything for the beginning of the show. It was time for "King of the Ring" and the arena was crowded. Soon even her department was full of Divas, to fix their hairdo and makeup (always very eye-catching) for the show and of course they all were running late. Apart from Fresia, in the beauty department worked Cindy, back from her illness, and Laura, one of the best and fast beauticians she has ever known. Laura could literally "modify" the face of a person in less than 15 minutes. Fresia found out that not every Diva in WWF was as flawless as they appeared on TV; they owed much to Laura's job.
Maybe I should ask Laura for some suggestion, to attract Mark's attention – she thought absently, straightening the blond, wonderful mane of Trish Stratus. Fresia would have loved to be like the angelic creature that was the Canadian diva. She had almost perfect proportions, especially her face, and she could have gone out in the ring with no makeup at all, because of her beauty. Unfortunately, nature was not so generous to her. The only thing they had in common was the height!
Damn, where was I when they were granting God's Grace? She thought. But the truth was that appearances were of no importance for Fresia. She was more interested about the inner beauty, she never judged people without knowing their heart and soul. She just hoped to make Mark Calaway "look" at her in the same way, for what she could give and not just for her breast or her rear end.
At the end of the night, the staff members moved all around the monitors or in the backstage, to watch the main event of the PPV. It was a six men tag team match for the world championship. The Undertaker was pairing with Kane and The Rock against Vince and Shane McMahon, and HHH. The three girls of hair and makeup decided to move towards the backstage too. Along the way they met Jessie, coming out of costumes room, going in the same direction.
"Hey Jessie – Fresia called – are you coming with us in the backstage? We're going to watch a bit of real wrestling".
"Of course I'm coming – answered the blond woman, wiggling her eyebrows – I wouldn't miss my man covered in sweat, having on just a pair of very tight pants, for nothing in this world".
The girls, laughing, stood in a corner of the backstage and got ready to cheer for their heroes. The members of McMahon family - Vince, Shane, and Stephanie - were the first approaching the ring, together with a very sexy HHH. Stephanie was squeezed in black trousers and a leopard spotted top, showing her assets. It was strange to see her dressed up like that, knowing the "real" Stephanie. Anyway she was very beautiful and was eating her "husband" with the eyes. Paul, to the other hand, was fully ignoring Stephanie, focused on the upcoming match only.
"It seems that Steph has a huge crash – Laura giggled – This afternoon she asked me to accentuate the color of her eyes, to enchant the audience… I think she wanted to enchant just one person…".
"In my opinion, Paul didn't understand yet that he has no escape – said Cindy, the veteran of the group, who knew a lot about all superstars – Stephanie has set her eyes on him and I bet 50 dollars that he will surrender within the end of this year".
The girls sniggered, amused. Dwayne Johnson passed by, with his dazzling smile…. He waved to the presents and bowed the head in the direction of the girls – especially Cindy, who was his "personal hairdresser" . Then his music hit and Dwayne, becoming The Rock, marched toward the ring with a purpose.
"Dwayne is an incredible man, maybe the best boy working in the WWF in this moment" said Cindy.
"Someone else has a crush, other than Stephanie?" Laura joked
Cindy blushed profusely, while the girls were laughing.
A giant in red and black clothes towered over them. Jessie squeaked, capturing the attention of the Big Red Machine. Glen Jacobs spun around and Jessie took advantage, blowing him a kiss and clapping her hands frantically, like a possessed woman. He stared at her for a long time, from under his musk and the girls wondered if he was bothered or intrigued. Then the pyros exploded to call out Kane, and he turned around, striding toward the ring.
"Wow, that was intense – Fresia commented – I didn't know if he was going to choke slam you or kiss you…"
"You know, sometimes it looks like he wants to reply to my silliness, other times he simply ignores me. Period. But he never behaved like this, never. What should I expect?"
The girls didn't have the time to answer. A thunder rumble could be heard suddenly, spreading around, and the thousands of people in the arena went crazy all together, welcoming their hero, the American Bad Ass, the Undertaker…. He advanced slowly, riding his black and chrome colored Harley Davidson, owning the engine, the arena and all the people inside it. He was dressed in the same clothes of that afternoon, when Fresia met him, with the only addition of a black vest under the leather coat. He stopped just beside the girls, quite unaware of the rest of the world. It was just a moment, and then he drove his bike, at high speed, along the ramp, the rumble of the crowd covering the noise of the engine….
"Wow – Fresia said exhaling her breath – this man makes me crazy… I want to know him, maybe get him to invite me out for a drink or something…. But how? Any Idea?"
The other girls were dumbfounded; they couldn't believe the nerve of their new friend.
"To drink something together? That one could eat you for breakfast, are you crazy?" Jessie answered.
"I've known him for quite some time now, and still I don't have the courage to call him by his first name. He is so reserved. You know, thinking about it, I'm sure he never asked a woman in this Federation to go on a date with him. Oh, surely he has dozens of women ready to throw themselves at his feet every night, but he is very selective… and very private" Cindy said.
"I think he has just one friend: Glen. If I only could talk to Glen for more than 30 seconds, maybe I knew what the Deadman likes to do in his free time" replied Jessie.
"Maybe I could ask him myself – stated Fresia – Maybe he will say yes. Maybe he never went out with a woman in this Federation because nobody has asked him".
"Or maybe nobody is still alive to tell it" Laura said joking.
"Oh, come on, stop it. He is a man, isn't he? A human being. It could be enough to talk to him to have answers. The worse he can do is telling me to get lost!"
"If you really want to try it, we will support you. But don't tell we didn't warn you, if he cuts you in little pieces or something" declared Jessie.
The other girls nodded and then turned their attention to the ring, where a gigantic war was beginning….
Mark was pissed. His boss, Vince McMahon, considered fans - and their wishes - like law. The fans wanted The Rock for WWF champion and tonight their dream became reality. Mark, Glen and Paul had sustained the greater part of the match, due to the useless Vince and Shane, to grant the belt to the "People's Champion". Now Dwayne was celebrating his victory in the ring, while Mark was suffering for a bad fall from the third rope and his shoulder throbbed like hell. Glen was in no better mood, and was limping slightly.
Once in the backstage, Mark dismounted his bike and passed it to a stagehand.
"Be careful with this one", he growled to the poor guy, reducing him to ashes with a look.
"Sss..Sure sir, don't worry" stammered the boy, and panting with effort he left in great haste, pushing the heavy bike towards the loading area.
Fresia, who has attended the scene without removing her eyes from Mark, giggled amused. He turned in the direction of that graceful sound and saw the little girl of that afternoon…. Asia, Desy, or something like that… the Squirrel, that's it. He frowned, why on the earth was she laughing? He approached her, till he was towering over her.
"Do you find me amusing?" He asked gloomy.
"Oh no, not you sir. It was funny to see that guy trying to run away, even if he could hardly move, with the bike on" answered Fresia with confidence, looking him straight in the eyes.
Surely she was a daring little girl, he thought. But he wasn't ready for what she said after:
"As for you, Mr. Undertaker, you were simply fantastic, as usual. Good performance, beautiful match… We could hardly breath, couldn't we girls?"
She turned around to find confirm in her friends, but nobody was there. The other three girls fled away when Mark moved toward them, leaving Fresia behind. All things considered, they thought, she could manage to be alone with the Deadman. In fact, she looked eager to confront him…. So, who were they to disagree?
"Cowards", she grumbled by herself, facing Mark with a nice smile.
He was amused, he was intrigued… No one had the boldness to face him, not out of the ring, especially someone who didn't reach his shoulder, even in high heels.
"I was saying that your match was really elating… I'm a little disappointed to see the belt at the waist of Rock… Oh, it's not that I dislike him, but nobody deserves the championship more than you, Mr. Undertaker…. However this is my opinion. But I saw you hit your shoulder heavily on the ground… Are you hurt?"
He touched his sore shoulder automatically with the other arm, bending it just before her nose, the tattoos in plain sight.
Wow, look at his muscles – Fresia thought, gulping visibly. In that very moment she realized how huge the man was. Actually, he was twice her size and could have crushed her in a heartbeat…. But deeply inside she knew that this massive could have never hurt a woman. In the meanwhile, Mark was aware of all the emotions crowding her pretty head. He was used to the see the reaction of fear in people, because of his size, and he liked it, a lot.
"My shoulder is fine" He answered
"Thank goodness. But if it will bother you, tonight, I suggest you to put a compress with camphor on it. It smells awfully, but it's fantastic on bruises".
"Yes, miss physiotherapist" he said, making fun of her.
Fresia recognized the edgy tone in his voice and decided to back off. It was enough, for now. She didn't want to be impertinent.
"Now I have to go, it was an honor to watch your match so closely, Mr. Calaway. I hope you don't mind if I will be in the backstage, every time you'll perform in the ring. Have a nice evening, sir" she said with a bright smile, going away.
She spun around one last time, shouting "Ciaoooooooo", before disappear round the corner.
"Ciao, Squirrel" he acknowledged quietly, looking at her retreating form.
All those who attended the conversation, were gazing each other, surprised. The girl had gut, for sure. But the odd thing was seeing HIM interact with her, even if he spoke just a few worlds. Generally he didn't ask, he commanded; he didn't make conversation and hardly listened to other people. Definitely from that nigh on, their job in WWF would have been more appealing, and they all couldn't wait for round two.