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The girls stare at each other, neither one brave enough to say the first words. The awkwardness permeates the room and finally the boys take it upon themselves to handle the situation.
Tyler, pretending to be Ravyn, complete with terrible high pitch voice says, "Oh J, I'm soooo sorry. Won't you please forgive me?"
Not missing a beat Dango responds with an equally terrible JJ impression, "Yes! Of course! My life isn't the same without you friend!"
The boys finish up their ridiculous charade with an overly dramatic hug. The girls exchange a sheepish look.
"J, I'm sorry. I should have..." Ravyn is cut off by her friend.
"I get it... Sort of," JJ brushes away the apology. "I'm still upset that you lied to me about it. But right now... Well, right now we have another problem."
Panic starts to rise in Ravyn's throat, "What's wrong? Is everyone ok? Dolph?!"
JJ sighs, "Everyone's fine. For now."
The four of them leave gorilla, JJ's eyes scanning the hallways for someplace to continue their conversation. Tyler sends them down a secluded hallway away from the backstage hustle. The boys stay at the end of the hall to ensure that the girls get some privacy.
JJ lets out a nervous breath, "Corey is here."
Obviously not believing her friend Ravyn laughs, "Sure. Really though, what's wrong?"
"I'm being serious friend," JJ says sternly. "I just saw Corey in catering."
"Shit," Ravyn starts to fidget with anxiously. "What the hell is he doing here? I thought he was on RAW."
"I'm not sure. Maybe he's here to visit Corbin, then he'll be gone?" JJ rationalizes. "We'll figure it out though."
"Do... Do you think I need to say something to AJ?" She asks for her friends advice. "You're the only one that knows about me and him."
"I think you'll have to eventually. Especially if he's here to stay," JJ confirms Ravyn's fear. "You go hide out. I'll do some digging and see what I can find out."
Ravyn swallows harshly, "This is one of those nights where I'm really happy to be going home to my own bed and not having to sleep in a hotel."
JJ hugs her friend knowing everything she went through with Corey. They walk back to the corner where Tyler and Dango are waiting then part ways. JJ goes off to find Dolph while Ravyn heads back to the locker room to change. As she and the boys pass catering Ravyn sees him. For the first time in a long time she and Corey are in the same place at the same time. Any time she had visited NXT he was already at the announce table. Now here she is, seeing him up close and in person.
A flood of emotions hits her like a brick wall. He's sitting in catering with Baron Corbin. His neatly pressed button up shirt doing all the right things for his body. She forces herself to focus on literally anything else. But a few seconds later she can feel his eyes burning a hole through her. She glances up to confirm her suspicion. Their eyes meet and he shoots her a hauntingly sinister smile. She quickly tucks herself into into Tyler's arm and diverts any attention away from her ex.
She changes and hangs out in the women's room for the rest of the night. Trying to convince herself that everything is going to be ok. JJ eventually reports back that Corey is now doing commentary for 205 Live, which airs immediately following Smackdown on the WWE Network. She outwardly groans when she hears the news. When Smackdown comes to an end she meets Tyler and Dango in the garage, she stuffs herself into the back seat of Tyler's car.
"You doing okay?" His voice filled with concern. Tyler had been there for her after her disastrous breakup with Corey. He had listened to her cry and bandaged her wounds alongside JJ.
"As ok as I can be," she assures him, thankful to have him at her side.
Tyler gives her a stern look in the mirror, "If he fucks with you so help me..."
His protectiveness makes her smile. She's thankful for all of the friends she's made in this ridiculous business. She stays quiet in the back seat until the guys drop her off at her apartment. As soon as she gets inside she texts AJ to see how far away he is. He doesn't respond immediately, but a few minutes later he lets her know that he's parked. He grabs his bag and walks the short distance to her door where she's waiting for him.
"Sorry, I've been sitting in my car waiting for JJ and Dolph to go inside," he kisses her gently. "I didn't realize ya'll live so close."
Ravyn snorts, her spirits lifting immediately upon seeing AJ, "We shared an apartment for almost a decade. She ended up moving upstairs."
"Huh.. So are you guys talking yet?" He hopes.
"Yeah," she nods. "She's not happy. But I think we're on the same page again." She chooses to keep the issues with Corey to herself for now, hoping that nothing will come of the situation.
"Good to hear," he grins impishly before pulling her body to his.
His strong hands grip her waist playfully. He shoots a look around the small living room, surveying the layout. Their lips smash together roughly as he begins to make her forget about anyone else. He backs up slowly, guiding her along with him. His hads working her pants off as they cross the room. Her fingers slip into the waistband of his gym shorts and slide them over his hips before he sits down on the couch.
He pulls her onto his lap, her legs straddling his. Muscular arms wrap around her waist drawing their bodies closer. A husky groan escapes him as he buries his face into her neck. Her fingers wrap into his silky brown hair as he nips and kisses her neck. She can feel his excitement growing beneath her as she grinds her hips against his. Their lips meet again, she tugs his shirt up over his head greedily. Her hands roam his chest while his grip her waist tightly. His fingers toy with the hem of her tank top before pulling it over her head and smattering her chest with rough sloppy kisses. Their remaining garments get tosses aside as AJ proceeds to make her scream his name.
The next morning Ravyn jerks awake when she thinks she hears something. AJ groans at the peculiar noise in the apartment. She glances over at AJ, his eyes just barely open.
"Is there someone in your house?" He whispers uneasily.
Before she can answer they hear footsteps nearing the open bedroom door. "Morning friend" JJ pops her head into the doorway, instantly regretting that decision. The color drains from her face when she sees AJ's shirtless chest alongside Ravyn's blushing face. "Ohh.. Uhh.. Well this is awkward," JJ pauses. "Sooo... I'm gonna go. Uhh, just wanted to know if you wanted to go to the Performance Center later... You know, I'll just text you." JJ blushes and hastily exits the apartment.
"Sorry," Ravyn apologizes.
AJ snickers, "Don't be." He tosses the covers off and wanders to the bathroom.
A text from JJ appears on her phone moments later, "My bad friend. I didn't know!"
"No worries dude," Ravyn replies.
"Dolph and I are meeting Tyler the PC noon. Interested?" JJ continues.
Ravyn smiles to herself, "Possibly. I'll let you know."
AJ returns and leans on the door jam smirking, "So is this a common occurrence here?"
"She has a key," Ravyn nods blushing. "And to be fair she didn't know you'd be here."
"I thought for sure they would have heard you screaming my name all night," he only half jokes.
She shoots him a mischievous grin, "Well, get back in bed and we can make sure they know."
A few hours later Ravyn pulls into the Performance Center behind JJ and Dolph. The redhead hugs her friend excitedly.
"Did AJ decide not to come?" She sounds a little let down.
"He's coming," Ravyn assures her. "But since we're not exactly public, he's taking his own car. I don't think we're quite ready for people to know yet."
Tyler pulling into the parking lot halts their conversation. Greetings and hugs are exchanged all around and the group heads inside. Once the girls get behind the closed doors to the women's room Ravyn feels compelled to apologize again.
"Hey," she looks up from lacing her boot. "I really am sorry that I didn't say something sooner."
JJ is silent for an awkwardly long time, completely lost in in the laces of her own boot. "I mean.. I kinda get it," she pauses. "I just didn't like the fact that you lied to my face about me not knowing the guy, and it being a random hook up."
Ravyn sighs, knowing JJ is right, "That was shitty of me. I just wasn't sure how you'd react to it being him... I mean, the two of us don't exactly have the best history."
"Do you honestly think that I care about that shit?" JJ huffs. "Pasts are pasts. Hell, look who I'm dating! I just feel like you didn't trust me to know." JJ looks at her intently, but she's too embarrassed to respond. "I don't think I was so much angry as I was hurt. We've been through a lot together over the years and have never hidden anything from each other. And to learn that you hid something from me... Especially something that I could see makes you happy. I gotta admit, that stung. A lot. I guess I just didn't know how to react other than separate myself from it."
"I don't blame you at all. You've got every right to be upset. I shouldn't have been so shady about the whole thing. You're my best friend... and I definitely missed you when you weren't talking to me. No more secrets.. I promise.." Ravyn tugs her hair up into a ponytail, checking herself in the mirror. "At least not from you. The rest of the world... In not ready to be told that I'm only sleeping with the champ to further my career."
JJ smirks, "What? You don't want the Nikki Bella treatment?" JJ fusses with her hair and pushes her boobs way out, the way Nikki always seems to.
"Yeah, exactly what I'm trying to avoid," Ravyn giggles. "You, and I'm sure Dolph, are the only ones that know about me and AJ." She decides to attempt to mend their friendship a bit. "Maybe we could all go out for dinner tonight? Someplace quiet where we can avoid too much publicity?"
"Yeah," that sounds good JJ nods. "That is... If you're up for it after I kick your ass in the ring!"
"Ha!" Ravyn grins. "You're on!"