October 2011

"Bobby, this is the 3rd time you've called me and it's only 10 o'clock. What the hell?" said AJ into his phone. "You never call like this. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," said Bobby giddily. "I'm fine. I just wanted to hear your voice again."

"Bobby, I'm home, alright? I can't be on the phone all day. Call me if there's a problem or something."

"What if I do have a problem?"

"What's your problem?"

"You're not in my bed right now."

AJ sighed. "Please. I don't have time for this right now."

"Fine. Tell me when I should call."

"I don't know, just...not right now. And not six times a day like the last two days. My wife is getting suspicious. I had to tell her you were having a family crisis so she would stop asking questions. Now I'm hanging up. Call me tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Bobby's disappointment practically clogged the phone.

"Yes, tomorrow. Matter of fact, I'll call you tomorrow. I have a bunch of things to do today, and I'm sure you do too, and I can't get away right now. Tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

"Early."

"Okay. Talk to you soon. Love you."

"You too."

Bobby hung up the phone with a small frown and stomped into his gym. He pressed buttons on his treadmill to start his daily program and tried to lose himself in the workout. His mind turned over and over ceaselessly. He tried to push all thoughts of AJ out of his mind...all those thoughts of his body underneath his, how soft his skin was, how he sounded when he came...the treadmill suddenly tilted and Bobby almost fell before getting his balance and adjusting to running uphill. As he ran faster and faster, the thoughts slowly faded from his mind...for a while.

The next day Bobby started getting fidgety about nine o'clock. He kept putting his hand on his phone to make sure he hadn't missed anything. The phone calls and texts he did get were loud enough to tell him his phone was working fine, but a part of his mind constantly wondered where his phone call was. When the clock started ticking towards noon, he went outside and walked towards the lake. The water lapped gently around the legs of the pier, and he stared out into it, rubbing his phone incessantly. Finally, it rang.

"Hey, you." said AJ. He sounded a little tired. "Sorry I didn't call earlier. We all decided to go out for breakfast and then we needed to do a little shopping. Kids' jeans are all two inches short. I tried to tell them that's the style now, but they don't listen to me."

"I know the feeling," Bobby replied. "I try to tell mine the same thing, and they just laugh at me."

"I'm sure not gonna be able to buy them anything when they're teenagers, that's for sure."

"Of course not. They'll steal your wallet and go shopping by themselves then."

"Maybe I should get a wallet chain like James has."

"That would do it."

"And if they get mouthy I'd chain them to the fence."

They laughed together, and Bobby felt himself ease up for the first time that day.

AJ's voice got a little lower. "I'm glad you're in a good mood, because I've been thinking about something."

"Never a good sign."

"Oh, here you go with that. Anyway, I, uh...well, there's no good way to say this, so I'm gonna spit it out. I feel weird about what happened between us. I mean, you know, it was fun and all. Real fun. But, I don't know, I guess I feel weird about, umm, I don't want to use the word but nothing else'll do it...I feel kinda weird about being your bitch."

"You're not. I've never thought of you that way and I never would."

"I know, and I mean, I know it's stupid, kinda, but I just feel some way about it. I ain't saying we should break up over it, I just feel weird is all."

"Would it make you feel better if you were on top next time?"

"I don't know. I don't even know. I need to think on it. I might be over it in a week, you know? It's not a big deal. It's just weird."

"Yeah, I get that. Well, all options are on the table. You could fuck me, we can do other things. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Tell me what you need, and I'll do it."

"Okay. I'm okay. I just wanted to get that out there."

"Gotcha."

They were quiet together. Bobby stared out at the lake. A fresh breeze was tickling the tops of the waves and whitecaps were giggling in the sun.

"So let me guess," Bobby said, "you need time."

"A little. Is that cool?"

"That's fine."

"And another thing - can you cut back on the calls some? You've been really intense the last week."

"I'm always intense. I thought it was something you liked about me."

"It is, okay? But can you dial it back down to 8 or something? You were never like this before. And - dang, the kids are screaming downstairs. I gotta go. I'll try to call you later, okay?"

"Okay."

"You sure? You sound a little pissed."

"Maybe I am a little grumpy about it. I'm not pissed. I thought it was a lot of fun, too. Maybe I thought that, you know, since we've been together for a while now you would know that I wouldn't look down on you. I love you."

"Yeah, but that's not the problem, Bobby."

"I wish you could say it back to me."

"I can't right now and I thought you understood why."

"I do." Bobby's voice rose. "I can't say I wish you could? Everything I say has to be perfect and honest and accepting, right? I can't be mad or upset or even a little grumpy, right?"

A frustrated sigh came from AJ's end. "I better go. I don't feel like a fight today, especially not over this."

"Fine, AJ. Goodbye."

"Bye, Bobby."

Bobby shut off his phone and fought an urge to throw it into the water. He whirled his arm around instead, trying to work off a frustration he knew was stupid. He figured in an hour he would stop being an idiot and would wish he could call AJ, take it all back, and tell him everything was going to be okay.

He was wrong. It took two hours.

AJ didn't call the next day, either. Bobby was kicking himself when he got on the plane. Once he was in the air, he sent off a quick "hi" via text but AJ didn't reply. He started to worry a little, then he got mad, and then he switched between those two moods for a bit while he tried to distract himself with his laptop. When he landed, he was grinding his teeth.

After the show, James came up to him and yanked on his hair. "Sup, Bobby? Feel like coming out for a party?"

"Are you going out? I'm up for a party, but I don't feel like hitting the bars tonight. I'm kind of going through some shit right now. A hotel room party would be right up my alley. I've been to all the bars around here a bunch anyway, and all of them are full of assholes."

"I'll see what I can do. Maybe I'll call you after we get finished with the bar and get back to the room, how about that?"

"That's cool."

"Alright." James finished off his post-match beer and said, "Try to cheer up before I call you. Get some drinks in that sourpuss ass, okay?"

"As soon as I get some dinner, the drinking's going to start."

"My man." James toasted him with the empty bottle and walked away. Bobby smoothed his hair and checked his phone for a good nearby restaurant, then texted EY to see if he would come. EY was amenable, so off they went.

James texted Bobby at nearly midnight. "got thrown out of the bar early tonight tommy's off with some friends come over to room 408"

Bobby texted back, "your fault?"

"no I was a saint tonight guilty by association got any beer?"

"bottle of rum"

"bring it asap"

Bobby grabbed his bottle and strode down to Room 408, just down the hall from his own. The music was already thumping loudly and he had to pound on the door three times before EY answered it. EY was shirtless and sweating a little. When Bobby stepped in the room he noticed most of the guys were the same. Shirts were heaped everywhere. James danced over to him and Bobby asked the question.

"Heater's broken," James answered, taking the bottle and checking the liquor level. "They didn't have any other rooms, so I said fuck it. You barely dented this shit, boy, are you a wrestler or what?"

"You're assuming that's my only bottle."

"It would be like you to bring a bottle for company and leave one at home, except you're full of shit because a blind man could tell you ain't had more than two drinks tonight. Lying ass. Come here and open your mouth."

Bobby smiled a little and did as James asked. James took the cap off the bottle and tossed it heedlessly behind him, almost hitting Mickie, and then poured a good sized shot directly into Bobby's mouth. Bobby swallowed and felt the liquor screech burning nails down his throat.

"Now we're talking," said James in a satisfied way. "Also I can see it in your eyes this is good shit, so I'm keeping the rest for myself. If it was bad I'd have poured it on you like you were on the pole."

"You know I always come with the classy stuff."

"That's why I invited you. Grab a beer and go get down."

Bobby looked around for the beer and took one from a very small stash. He leaned over to Mickie and asked, "Is this all the beer we have?"

"Yeah," she said, not missing a single step of her dance. "We'll have to make a beer run pretty soon. No idea who's gonna do it, since we're all drunk. It's a shame AJ's not here because we could have sent him."

At the mention of AJ's name Bobby's face tightened up a little despite himself. "Yeah. Too bad." He shrugged, opened his beer, and walked away to the other side of the room, where Ken Anderson was holding court and James was doing damage to the rum. He got lost in a discussion about Japan and before he knew it, Ken had him laughing with a story about him, a girl, and a Ribera steakhouse jacket.

After an hour, the three of them had finished off the rum and Bobby had taken the very last beer. James looked at the empty cooler and yelled, "Is anyone here straight enough to drive?"

He was answered by a chorus of "No!"

"Fuck," he sighed. He pulled out his phone and started typing away. After a couple of minutes he nudged Bobby. "Hey, do you know where the nearest liquor store is?"

"Yeah, I know exactly where it is. I stopped there on my way in."

"What's the address?"

"It's...ummm...shit, I don't know the exact place. Can't you google it?"

"Fucking internet barely works in this shithole. Tommy says he's fine to drive, but he doesn't know where he's going. I know y'all ain't cool, but can you hold it together long enough to go with him?"

"Tommy's here?"

"He got back to his room like 15 minutes ago. Dunno why he ain't over here yet, but he's coming. Come on man, we need beer. Do it for me?"

Bobby frowned. "Nobody else can go?"

"You can ask if anybody knows anywhere else, I guess. I got my beer at a place by the airport. Had to stock up as soon as possible. I damn sure ain't making Tommy drive all the way out there. Come on. It won't be far."

Bobby sighed and looked around the room. As he did, a knock came at the door and EY let Tommy in. He came right over to the table, looking only at James, and said, "Come on brother, let's hit the road."

"I don't know where it is. Bobby's going with you. Right, Bobby?" said James.

"Fuck it," Bobby said, getting up. Tommy grimaced a little but said nothing. He simply put his hands in his pockets and strode off for the door. Bobby followed in his wake, his beer still in his hand. They walked down to the elevator in an uncomfortable silence. Tommy pressed the down button and Bobby took another drink.

"You going to take that in the car?" Tommy asked, looking in Bobby's general direction but not meeting his eyes. "We might get pulled over."

"I'm trying to finish it off before we get that far. You okay to drive?"

"Yeah, I haven't had anything tonight. I met up with a couple of old friends and none of them drink at all. Couldn't wait to get back here and get one in me."

The door opened and they piled in with an older couple, Tommy in the back, Bobby in the front. As the door closed and the elevator went down, Bobby felt Tommy's eyes on him. He took another huge gulp of his beer and wished he'd worn slightly looser pants. The older couple got off at the lobby and as the doors closed again, he looked back to see Tommy pointedly staring at the ceiling. He turned around and smirked to himself before finishing off his beer for good. The elevator doors opened and he tossed the empty bottle in the trash can.

Tommy walked quickly to his car and got in. Bobby got in on the passenger side. Neither said a word until they got to the parking lot exit and then Bobby started giving directions. As they turned onto the road, Bobby gave a huge sigh.

"Something on your mind?" asked Tommy.

"Nah. Not really. I just need some more beer."

"Yeah. It's been a long week. I'm a little gutted about being left off the UK tour."

"Yeah, I heard about that. What's up with that?"

"I don't know. Fuck if I know why this company does anything."

"I know the feeling. Sometimes I think they make decisions by throwing darts."

"They probably do! A bunch of fucking idiots, man. I have had it up to here with fucking idiots this week. If it's not one thing it's another, you know? It's like, here I am, I'm ready to work, you want me to work, don't dick around with me by promising me something and doing something else."

"Or getting upset with you when you do it," said Bobby, who was thinking of AJ again.

"Damn right. If you say you want something, you better not throw a motherfucking fit when I do it. And you better not get mad when I'm disappointed that we're not doing it, you know? I have a right to be angry. I mean, I've never been to England or any of those places, you know? People tell me on Twitter that they are looking forward to seeing me and I have to tell them I'm not gonna be there. I have fans, you know? They want to see me. These people need to know how to give people what they want!"

"Exactly."

"And it's really cool to have a bunch of people telling you they want to see you somewhere. I had no idea I had so many fans over there."

"We're huge over there."

"Yeah, so I know now. Damn. It's not like we get to go over there all the time either. We only get to go once a year. Now I have to wait a whole another year. How fair is that? They've booked me and Matt to win the tag titles, and the damn tag team champions aren't going to be on the tour. Matt's going to India. You believe that shit? India! I've never been there either. I heard they are crazy for wrestling over there."

"I heard the same."

"And they are going there for a bunch of hot crowds and I'll be back in New York. Nothing against New York, it's cool, but it's not India or England, you know? I've seen New York plenty of times. Motherfuckers get to wrestle around the world and I'm stuck in New York. It sucks. Fucking sucks, bro."

"Yeah."

"Sorry I let that out on you. I get mad when the whole subject comes up."

"So I see."

"Yeah, but you see where I'm coming from with that, right?"

"Yeah. Make a left here."

Tommy did so. "I want to go to England, bro. I want to travel the world. I want it all, okay? And I don't like when people tell me no, that's not going to happen, shut up and sit down and suck on it if you don't like it. You know?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry man, I'm going on and on."

"It's okay. I could use the distraction."

"Why? What's going on with you?"

"Nothing really. I'm tired of the same shit you're tired of. People saying one thing is cool and changing their minds later. If I wanted to be yanked around for a living, I'd join the circus."

"Yeah, man."

"Especially when it's someone you care about doing the yanking around."

"Problems at home?"

"Nope."

"Problems with - oh shit, I almost forgot the rule."

"Good, because it's not about him, either."

"Well damn man, someone else fucking you over?"

"More like not fucking me." As soon as Bobby said the words, he regretted them. He glanced over at Tommy, but Tommy's face was unreadable.

"I know that feeling for sure. You get all hyped up, and suddenly it's like bam, oh you thought you were getting some on the regular? Too bad! I mean, I know people can change their minds, but it still sucks."

"Yeah." Bobby turned his head to look out the window. He wished he hadn't gotten so drunk that he let his tongue get away from him. He rubbed his top lip as the scenery went by in the darkness.

Tommy said, "I'm not talking to Bischoff anymore. Just so you know."

"Good."

"So, if you want to talk about things, I can promise they won't get back to him. At least not from me."

"How do I know you won't change your mind later? How do I know you're not lying to me right now?"

"I won't do that to you. I swear. I wouldn't hurt you. That is, uh, I mean, I won't break your confidence now, um, you know." Tommy gripped the wheel and stared straight ahead. Bobby turned and watched him blush with a small smile on his face. "I'm just saying, you helped me out that day at the party, so umm, yeah, I owe you one favor, umm, I think."

"Oh right," Bobby said, still smiling. "I almost forgot about that."

"Umm, is this place coming up soon?"

"Yeah. It'll be on your right in a couple minutes."

Silence fell. Tommy's hands on the wheel were almost white. Finally, Bobby laughed. "I'm sorry, Tommy, I am just getting the biggest kick out of watching you freak out. I don't know why it's making me want to laugh so much."

"Because deep down inside, you're an evil piece of shit?" Tommy gritted.

"Yeah, probably. I'm a very good fuck though, so there's that."

A mottled flush started creeping up from Tommy's neck, and Bobby laughed even more. Tommy abruptly jerked the wheel to the right, and they careened into the liquor store's parking lot at 40 miles an hour, the car kicking up a bit as one of the tires kissed the curb. Bobby's laugh cut off like he snapped a knob on the radio. Tommy parked and instead of getting out, he looked at Bobby and said, "Now I get you. You like to work out your frustrations on other people sometimes, huh? Not even subtle about it."

"I usually carry a sign to warn people but they confiscated it at the airport." Bobby leaned forward a little bit and took a deep breath. He looked at Tommy, meaning to apologize for yanking his chain, but instead he met Tommy's eyes. "I'm pent up, I guess."

"You should do something about that."

"I wish I could."

Tommy's eyes dropped to Bobby's mouth, then to Bobby's chest, and then to Bobby's crotch, then slowly back upwards. He cleared his throat. "We should get the beer."

"Hell yeah. I need more to drink."

Bobby got out of the car. Tommy did the same. As Bobby followed Tommy into the store, he wondered, what the hell am I doing? Fucking this ginger dude would be a horrible idea. Then his eyes dropped to Tommy's butt and his thoughts ticked over to I bet he is wild in bed. I could grab that little waist and ride it all night long. And he wouldn't say no like AJ does. He's been begging for it for months now. Fuck. I shouldn't. What about AJ? I really shouldn't. Damn, how have I never noticed how tight his ass is? Shit. I shouldn't have had all that rum. He tried not looking at Tommy, but the idea was out of the cage, and his eyes kept returning to Tommy's body as he picked up a 24 pack of Heineken. How long his legs were. How his shoulders took the weight of the beer. How that spiky red hair would look as Tommy went down on him. He pulled out his phone and desperately scrolled to look at the texts from AJ, but the fact that he'd said nothing for two days made him frustrated all over again and conscious of the fact that he could get ass tonight with no stress or whining. Tommy called out, "Hey Bobby, we should get two right? Yeah. Get another" and Bobby picked up another 24 pack, almost in a daze. Tommy paid for the beer and they lugged it back to the car.

"So," said Tommy, as soon as they got back in the car, "you cool now? We have beer."

"I won't be fine until I have one in my hand," Bobby replied.

"That's what he said," Tommy said with a sexy grin as he started the car.

A voice inside Bobby said don't you dare flirt. The liquor inside him told that voice to go to hell. "That's actually close to what he said. I guess he has something against me tearing that ass up."

"But you're so good, or so you say."

"I am. He wasn't complaining while I was in it. Just after."

"Maybe you hurt him."

"Maybe I did. I did get a little caught up in the moment. It was so good. His ass was so tight and hot I felt like I was melting in it."

Tommy's mouth pursed, and the car started to slow down. He pulled over to an empty office park and pulled in to the parking lot. He put the car in park and stared ahead at the dark building in the distance. Bobby licked his lips and reached over to Tommy's leg, stroking his muscled thigh, and let his hand rest about halfway up.

Tommy said something in a low voice. Bobby said, "What?"

"I said, about time."

The angel on Bobby's shoulder was very loud in his ear telling him this was one of the worst ideas, that he would regret this, that fucking Tommy was the absolute worst thing he could do, that AJ would dump him, that this was all going to blow up in his face. He knew the angel was right. So he ignored it. His hand slowly traveled up to Tommy's crotch and squeezed him gently, and with his other hand he reached over to grab Tommy's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Tommy kissed him back ardently. They kept kissing for several minutes, and finally Bobby pulled back and whistled. "Damn. You redheads are good."

"Could have told you. What do we do now?"

"Well, we drop off the beer for one thing before James gets mad. I'll tell him I'm pissed and going back to my room. You go back to yours. You're tired. He'll call me in my room - I know he will - and after that, you come to see me."

"Not staying with anyone?"

"No, not tonight."

"Good. Good plan." With that, Tommy started the car and peeled out of the parking lot. Bobby kept his hand on his thigh and squeezed it from time to time. In no time at all they were back at the hotel, unloading the beer, and dropping it off in the hotel room. Naturally, James was curious, but Bobby's plan worked perfectly. Not two minutes after Bobby walked out of the party, his room phone rang. It was James.

"Yeah?" Bobby answered. He was grinning.

James wasted no time with greetings. "What happened? Did y'all fight?"

"No. He's annoying. Ruined my buzz. Now I'm tired and I want to get some sleep. Is that okay with you?"

"That's fine man. Go on and get your rest. You sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. See you in the morning."

He put down the phone and sat on the bed to take his shoes and shirt off. Five minutes later he heard a soft knock on the door. He opened the door and Tommy stood there, his face eager. Bobby grabbed him by the belt and pulled him inside.