I nervously adjusted my red, skin tight dress as I rode the elevator down to the lobby to meet with the girls. I hadn't been out in ages. I also was hoping not to make a fool of myself in front of my new friends.
"Look at you Newbie!" Beth shouted as I turned the corner into the hallway. I jokingly struck a pose.
"Thanks ladies! Lets get this party started!" We piled into a cab and after 20 minutes, we arrived at our destination.
"So some of the guys might be coming out tonight" Natalya chirped excitedly as we entered the club.
"Jeeze, boy crazy much? And aren't you dating Tyson?"
"Well, yeah but he's coming to! It's always more fun when the guys come out. It gives us all a good chance to let loose and have fun."
"Are you seeing anybody Newbie?" Beth asked nosily.
"Not anymore, I was engaged but he broke it off when my husband wouldn't respond to any of my attempts to contact him to get a divorce."
"So you are married!" Natalya said shocked.
"well technically separated…"
"Well with who Newbie?"
"Me," We all turned to around to face the voice. Crap. Of course he would show up here. Natalya and Beth were a little speechless. "The marriage storyline is real."
"Uh…Hi Zack. IIIII'm going to escape this awkward encounter by going to go get a drink now."
I quickly scampered away to get to the bar and out of that ticking time bomb of a situation. I ordered three shots of tequila. It seemed like a great start because I could already tell this night was going to be trouble.
"Whoa, Rough night?" a smooth voice came from my left. I turned to face him.
"You have no idea." He smiled. My god he was all kinds of gorgeous.
" Even so, do you think you can even handle all that." Gesturing to my shots lined on the bar.
"Hey! I may be a woman but I'm no wimp. I'm a bad ass! Just because you probably couldn't handle it doesn't mean I can't" I challenged.
"Well I can't just let you get away with calling me a wimp!" he turned to the bartender and ordered three shots of tequila of his own.
"I'm Kelsey by the way" I smiled.
"I'm Dolph."
"You ready?" I said grabbing my lime slice and first shot.
"Always"
"Salud!" We both slammed our respective shots.
We both shook our heads and grimaced as the tequila hit. The alcohol burned as it slid down my throat and yet I couldn't wait to take the next round.
"Again?" I challenged again. He nodded and we took the next one and the last one.
"I have to give you credit Blondie, You are tougher than you look."
"Damn right! AND hey! you are just as blonde as I am!"
"You got me!" He smiled and I melted.
"How about another round? Unless you can't handle it of course." I teased.
"You're on!" We were just finishing our third set of shots and joking around when I whirlwind of energy came our way.
"KELSEYYY!" Natalya yelled, grabbing my arm, "Come dancing with us!"
"Okay, give me a minute-"
"No! Now!" She squealed and broke into a fit of giggles. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Sorry" I mouthed to Dolph as I gave in and I headed out onto the dance floor.
The girls and I were dancing up a storm with one another and soon enough more of the guys began to show up. The Miz, Tyson Kidd, and Drew McIntire were sitting at a table in the corner. The big dogs of the company John Cena, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho were sitting at another. I looked around and I could see Zack he looked pretty drunk but Curt Hawkins was keeping an eye on him. The music was great, the dance floor was rocking and all those shots I had consumed just smacked me in the face all at once. I already knew the morning was going to be painful. All of a sudden I felt a set of hands on my hips.
"Did you miss me?" the voice purred into my right ear, sending a shiver down my spine. I turned my head to get a peek. It was Dolph. I smiled.
"Absolutely. How could I not miss my tequila buddy?" I winked.
He pulled me close and we began to dance together. I was dizzy but having the time of my life when I saw Zack stumbling over. I changed my direction so I was dancing with my back facing Dolph. I felt Dolph pull away. I turned around just in time to see Zack's fist connect with Dolph's face.
"Stay away from my wife, Ziggler!" Dolph straightened up and swung at Zack, making contact with his eye. I was mortified. I walked over to Zack and slapped him hard. I stumbled over to Dolph and began to pull him towards the door.
"Go fuck yourself Zack!" I yelled as I was leaving. We headed outside. Neither of us could walk very well due the many shots of tequila. We managed to hail a cab and headed back to the hotel.
"We need to get ice for your face" I said touching his shiner.
"I think I'll be fine" he laughed. "Let me walk you to your room."
"Nah, Thank you though. You are such a gentleman!" I laughed. "Goodnight" I started walking into the hallway.
"Kelsey…"He called as he followed me into the hallway.
"Yeah?"
"Can I get your number?" He asked hopefully. I nodded and walked to him. He handed me his phone and I entered my number into it. He smiled.
"Goodnight Blondie."
"Goodnight Dolph."
The Next Morning
I woke to loud knocks on my hotel room door. I looked at the clock 9:35.
"Who is it?" I groaned from my bed. My head was pounding from the night before. I loved my tequila but it always showed me who's boss the next morning.
"It's Natalya! Open the door!" I knew she was going to be persistent, so I decided to make my life easier and give in now.
"Give me a minute." I forced myself to roll out of bed. I opened the door. Wincing at the brightness of the hallway.
"Whoa! You look tore up girl!"
"Whoa! Volume! And thanks, just what every girl wants to hear!" I looked down. No wonder, I was still wearing my clothes from last night. I was too tired to change. She was obviously peaking around me into my room.
"Hey Nat…whatcha looking at?" I said calling her out.
"Just making sure you weren't busy with Hunkasaurus." I let her the rest of the way in the room and she sat down on my bed.
"Oh, you mean Dolph? Sorry to disappoint you but nothing happened between us last night."
"Not even a kiss?" her jaw dropped.
"Not even a kiss!"
"Wow, its just…you guys were oozing with chemistry on that dance floor!"
"We were just having fun."
"Well, It's Dolph Zigger, I thought he would have sealed the deal." She winked. I rolled my eyes as her phone buzzed.
"Go change we are meeting Beth for breakfast downstairs in 5!"
I jumped up and through on jeans, a blue v-neck, and flats and we were on our way. We made our way inside the restaurant in the hotel, half the wrestlers in the company seemed to be already inside. Great, just what I need. As we made our way through the room over to the table where Beth was waiting we were greeted with stares and whispers.
"You sure know how to make an entrance Newbie!" Beth smiled.
"Yeah, I guess I do. I am so embarrassed!"
"It's okay Kels, by tomorrow they will have forgotten all about it." She smiled reassuringly.
"What part, my estranged husband punching a guy in a bar or the fact that I look awfully hungover?"
"Both?" They said in unison before bursting into giggles.
"I just can't believe Zack swung at Dolph like that."
"Guess your Hubby got a little jealous of the attention you were getting."
Just in time, the waitress came and took our orders. Just as I was handing my menu to the waitress, I saw Dolph enter with Jack Swagger. I couldn't help but smile. He left Jack and began to walk straight towards our table. I could feel the eyes settling on us.
"Hey Blondie!"
"Hey Dolph!" I replied, suddenly nervous.
"Nice shiner!" Beth teased. He smiled.
"See! I told you we should have gotten you some ice for it!" I laughed.
"I know, I know. Tequila may have inflated my pride a bit."
"I feel horrible about last night, the whole thing was my fault…"
"Don't feel bad, its Ryder's deal. He has always hated me anyway, but if you really feel that bad, I could sure use some company tonight. We could maybe order in and watch a movie after the house show?"
" Well, I might have to. Its hard to sleep without a clear conscience." He grinned.
"Sounds like a deal then. See you around 7?"
"Absolutely." He turned and headed back over to Swagger. Today was going to be a good day.
That Night
I took a deep breath as I boarded the elevator on the way to Dolph's room. I wasn't really sure how this would go. We had fun when we met but tequila has a funny way of making even the worst of enemies friends and the best of friends into enemies. The elevator doors opened and I found my way to room 4017. I knocked softly. He answered the door with a smile.
We both sat down on his bed and ordered some Italian food. I didn't know why I doubted that we would get along. It almost seemed natural for us to talk so freely to one another. Our friendly ribbing and light hearted conversation turned a little more serious.
"So…Don't hate me for asking but…."
"Don't worry about it. Shoot." I knew it was going to be a Zack question.
"What's the deal with you and Zack?" I sighed.
"Well, we are technically married, on-screen and off."
"But you guys aren't together?
"Exactly. Him and I have been separated for about four years. Things weren't going well and he decided to up and leave in the middle of the night. I hadn't seen him until the night I showed up at a Raw Supershow and ended up being scouted by Vince."
"Wow. So basically you showed up here only to discover he has a girlfriend."
"Yeah, but it wasn't like I didn't date during the last four years. I was engaged."
"What happened?"
"Well obviously I couldn't be married to two men at once. I tried to get a hold of Zack but he wouldn't answer any of my emails, calls, letters. The only thing I didn't do was come here to talk to him face to face. I didn't know what to say if I came to see him. So I didn't. My fiancée got sick of waiting and thought I obviously wasn't ready to let go of the past and Zack. He broke it off."
"But you did end up coming here."
"Yeah, a year after the fact, but I did it for me. Having a marriage hang over your head really puts a damper on your love life. I came here with the divorce papers that night but then my hallway brawl occurred and I didn't have a chance to get him to sign. I don't think he would."
"Jeeze Kels, You are in quite a jam."
"Yeah I know and now I get to live it on-screen as well!" I faked enthusiasm. "You
haven't been married?"
"No," he shook his head, "Any semi-serious relationship I have ever been in kinda ended
up crashing and burning. I got a bad reputation with women as a result. I'm not the player people think I am."
"Well luckily it more important to be a good person than for others to THINK you are a good person." He smiled.
We popped in the movie The Hangover and ate our food, talking and laughing. I was relieved that the Zack talk was essentially over and that it didn't change anything between us, even if I didn't really know what us was.
