Chapter 8 – Making Up and Making Out
Katie and Lou strolled backstage from the locker room after just receiving a text from Chesca to meet her in catering. As they entered the small room filled with a variety of foods and beverages they spotted Chesca sandwiched between Stu and Stephen.
"How were your drinks with Ted last night?" Stephen perked up and stopped listening to Stu as Chesca spoke.
"Great, lots of words of encouragement. He would make an excellent pro." Katie glanced at Stephen, the thick vein in his neck prominent whilst he tried to keep calm as Lou's chirpy voice sounded.
"Yeh kidding lass? Better than a two time WWE champion?" Lou turned to her pro as he seemingly pushed himself into the conversation. Lou flicked her eyes up to meet Stu's gaze.
"Better than having a controlling jackass for a pro." She turned her attention back to Katie and Chesca. "Ted and Brett have been so lovely. Especially Brett, he's taught me so much." Both girls nodded, they knew. They had always been close in FCW.
Lou glanced between Chesca and Katie then returned her gaze to Stephen. His lips were pressed into a thin line; an amused look was plastered on his friend's face. Stu shook his head at Stephen's attitude; he should have known better than to have been caught in the middle of three feisty ladies, unless they were naked of course. He snickered under his breath and watched his rookie take a gulp of water, swiping her tongue over her lips to catch a stray droplet of water.
"Could you imagine Ted and Brett? That would be one hell of a threesome." Katie spoke up earning a grumble from Stephen and a giggle from the two girls either side of her. Stu laughed at his rookie, she was doing a damn good job of pissing his friend off.
"I'm imagining it right now." Lou grinned and closed her eyes; they immediately shot open when she heard the scraping of Stephen's chair on the floor. She opened them just in time to see him walking out of catering and away from her. She rolled her eyes. "I guess I have some grovelling to do." She waved a quick goodbye and ran off after him.
"Don't bother, Lou."
"Stephen, I was just joking around!"
"Yeh get a kick out of tormenting me do yeh?" He whipped around which startled her. He had become pretty unstable real quick. She placed her hands on his wide chest to stop herself from crashing into him.
"That's what we do, we're girls!" He took hold of her hands and removed them from his chest; the warmth seeping from her hands into his chest was too much.
"Katie's a bad influence on you."
Lou scoffed. "And Stu's a bad influence on Katie. I think he's hurting her."
Stephen frowned. "Don't make up bullshit, Lou. It doesn't suit yeh."
"Why the hell would I lie about something like this? He keeps such a tight hold on her; he's taking this pro thing too seriously! Me and Chesca both saw the bruises on her wrists." Lou wafted her hands around in an effort to get her point across.
He ran a hand over his face. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out with his rookie; ever since their encounter in her hotel room things had been turned upside down. "I don't believe yeh." Lou swallowed hard; shocked that he would think she would make up something so terrible.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Maybe Brett was right." She turned on her heel, ready to return back to catering. He caught her wrist and spun her back around.
"What did yeh say?" His steely gaze was harsh, burning into her eyes. "This fella doesn't have a clue about me." She shook her hand free from his grip.
"No and neither do I." She walked away from him, shaking her head at his recent behaviour.
The yellow and purple lights danced around the NXT arena; the rookies had entered one after the other, all while the five WWE pros watched, sitting comfortably on their chairs on the right side of the stage. Chesca couldn't help but sigh as she saw Sheamus smiling and slightly waving at her blonde friend, same with the Nexus leader sending a cocky smirk to the Londoner. The half-Italian felt a lump in her throat as she thought that Hunter should have been sitting right next to the two Europeans; still, there wasn't much time left until she would have found out who would be guiding her through the competition.
"Ladies, pros," Matt Striker said, from the middle of the ring, "Welcome to NXT." The host gave the crowd a few minutes to express their excitement, before bringing the microphone to his lips again. "This third week will be very important, because one of you girls will be going home. But first, I'm sure everyone has noticed that there's someone missing tonight." The camera hesitated on the empty chair next to Barrett, and Lou took the chance to send a smile to the worried young rookie; she knew that past week had been hard for her, but she truly hoped that things would be going better for her from now on.
"Titania, step forward," the dark haired man said, "Before we head on to discover who your new pro is, there's a very special message for you, from The Game himself." Chesca raised an eyebrow; Hunter hadn't told her anything about this video that was to air during that episode, and she surely was curious about what he wanted to say to her especially in front of a big audience. The half-Italian rookie did as she was told, and turned her back to the ring so she could lift her head up and look at the titantron, her hands on her hips as the chatter in the crowd began to rise.
Trips appeared on the huge screen, black shades on his eyes and a soft smile on his lips as he slightly waved, "I'm here to tell you, that I've chosen the perfect pro for you." The half-Italian thought that any other WWE Superstar but him couldn't have been that perfect for her, but she decided to keep on listening to him.
"See, you're of these women that had fought their way to the top, without even doubting for a second that they'd have made it. Well, your new mentor is someone that has never stopped believing in himself," he added, taking the sunglasses off and looking directly at the camera, "And who has certainly made an impact around here. He swore to me he'll get you to win this competition, and I trust him, so," he ended his speech, "I wish the best of luck to you both." As he winked one of his hazel eyes, the screen turned black and the video ended; even the girls on stage shot confused look at each other. Hunter hadn't even said who this fantastic new pro would have been.
Chesca scratched the back of her head, and turned to look at Striker. The host lifted the hand holding the microphone to his lips, about to say something: as he opened his mouth to speak, the lights went out all at once, and the crowd exploded. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt heavy steps behind her on the metallic stage; she swallowed a lump, everything was so black that she tried to sneak a peak of who had just appeared, but the only thing she could see was a big shadow.
"Shit Lou," Katie grabbed her blonde friend's forearm, her slim fingers holding tight, "Ches got The Undertaker!"
"Don't be stupid, he's not even around anymore..."
"You can check it out yourself, just wait."
The lights came back to the arena and everyone just looked in amazement at the man that was now next to Chesca; long brown hair in a pony tail on his back, a sculpted, tan physique proudly standing on stage, the unique features of his face like his blue eyes shining, and the smirk plastered on his lips meaning nothing but business.
"Make me think about something awful, mate," Wade Barrett whispered to his Irish friend, biting hard on his lower lip, "because I'm about to burst into laughter." Sheamus looked at the man next to her rookie's friend, and couldn't help letting out a laugh after he had found out who he was.
The half-Italian couldn't believe her eyes when she saw him. What were the odds that Triple H could have chosen the man she wanted to avoid the most on the entire WWE Roster as her new pro?
"Oh," the Londoner pouted, "It's only Drew."
"This is not good." Lou immediately looked at Chesca; saying she was petrified by terror and astonishment would have been an understatement. Drew McIntyre just couldn't be her pro; it would have only caused her to get distracted by the married idiot.
"Titania," Striker said, holding a hand out to point at the long haired Scotsman, "Your new pro is Drew McIntyre!" The crowd exploded in a mixture of boos and screams, as Chesca stood there with her jaw clenched, "And tonight the affinity with your new mentor will be tested, in a tag team match against Arabella and Wade Barrett!" Katie and the half-Italian immediately glanced at each other; they already knew they were going to have a match against each other, but Drew wasn't totally planned to be there, and that would have made things definitely harder.
As the program went on a commercial break, Chesca shot a glare at Drew. He looked down to her, the cocky smirk he had on screen suddenly turning into a frown.
"Why you?"
"D'ye really think Ah knew this was coming?" The Scotsman said to her, following her as she rushed backstage, "Hunter came tae me yesterday and asked me tae do this, what was ah s'pposed tae say, huh?"
"No!" Chesca shot back, her hair whipping around her head as she turned on her wrestling boots to face the tall man, "You were supposed to say no!"
"Really!" Drew sarcastically said, widening his arms, "M'Ah future's at risk every day and Ah shouldn't do what the boss' son-in-law tells me?" The girl angrily folded her arms on her chest. She didn't want to admit that he was right; she understood him, having always put her career ahead of everything.
"Listen, I-"
"No'," McIntyre said, his hands gently gripping onto her bare shoulders. "Ye listen tae me. M'Ah job's going tae be to protect ye, teach ye, and get ye to the final." He continued, leaning down to speak in a lower voice. "Ah have tae do it; Ah want ye tae forgive me, and this is ho'u Ah'll convince ye to do it."
Chesca looked up, scouting into Drew's hypnotic blue orbs; everything inside her didn't want to have anything to do with him, for he had hurt her too much to be forgiven that easily. Now though, that man had been personally chosen by her childhood hero to make sure she was going to be the next WWE Diva. Chesca felt he was being sincere to her, and probably she should have just given him the chance to prove her he wasn't the complete asshole she had started to think he was.
"I trust Trips' decision," she finally sighed, brushing a hand through her wavy brown hair, "So I guess I'll just...let you accomplish your mission." Drew smiled a sweet smile of hope as he heard her say those words; he let her go, and politely lent her a hand.
"Rookie," he said, winking an eye, "Tonight we start again. Yes?" Chesca placed her small hand in his bigger one, firmly shaking it.
"Alright." She answered, a little laugh leaving her glossy lips, "Better go get ready for the match. I'll see you in a while." Drew nodded, and looked at her as she walked away towards the locker rooms. And he smiled, thinking that maybe the wind had finally started blowing his way.
Stu watched his rookie pace up and down behind the curtains. The tag team match they were about to embark in would test the relationship they had built; though the relationship was unsteady to say the least. He needed to make sure Katie would listen to him, do as he said to make sure they won; something she had a hard time doing as of late.
"Katie." Stu bellowed startling her slightly. He beckoned her over to him, wanting her to focus before they went out to the ring.
Turning her attention to her pro, Katie sighed. "What?"
"I need to talk to you, come here now." Rolling her eyes, Katie moved closer to Stu. She was trying to get into character and this wasn't helping. "We need to win."
"No shit." Katie held her hand up to stop Stu from speaking. "I'll do what I usually do and that's go out and win, okay?"
"Do you think you can do that? Because if you don't there will be severe consequences." He stepped closer to her, towering over her petite frame.
"I've been doing it since day one." Katie turned, returning to where she had previously been stood. She didn't need Stu to tell her win; that was the only thing she had come here to do.
"Get ready tae lose, Bennett." Drew sauntered through to where Stu and Katie were preparing for the match. Chesca was behind him, clearly still uneasy with Drew being her pro.
"That's never happened and never will happen." Stu grinned, a smirk creeping across his face as he sized up with Drew. Although friends, the pair were deeply competitive and that would no doubt be seen in the match.
"That's it! Pin her and we're out of here!" Barrett yelled as Katie delivered her female opponent a devastating bodyslam, preparing her so she could execute her final move from the third rope; Drew was staring with gritted teeth at the scene in front of his eyes. It wasn't how things were supposed to go, and he knew that his now rookie could definitely do better.
"Come on!" He tried to encourage her, his growling low voice reaching up to Chesca's ears as the girl lay on the mat taking deep breaths and waiting for Katie to dive on her.
The Englishwoman took her time to smirk at Barrett before performing her move, but that was probably the first thing not to do; only a handful of seconds away from the impact, the half-Italian gathered her last forces to roll on herself and avoid her friend's diving elbow, causing her to miss the chance to end the match and instead opening that possibility for the Scotsman and his rookie.
Stretching her arm to the limit so she could reach for Drew's hand, the young woman tagged him. In the roar of the crowd, he got inside the ring like a lightning, as the Nexus leader - probably while cursing in every language he knew - did the same thing, finding himself directly facing his former tag team partner. Katie shook her head rolling out of the ring, as McIntyre charged her pro in what looked like an endless series of hip tosses, the mat rumbling with every hit of the Englishman's massive body crashing on it.
With her forearms on the apron, Chesca watched her new mentor trying everything he could to stop Wade's attacks, until Barrett decided to lift one of his long legs in the moment McIntyre had run the ropes; the big boot that collided with the Scottish wrestler's jaw made the half-Italian cringe in pain for him. He raised an arm high in the air in a taunt, to both the WWE Universe and his opponents, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. The crowd's boos were deafening; he would never be able to get them on his side but he really didn't care. Being in one of the most formidable factions in the history of the company, the man wasn't around to make any friends. Wade hoisted himself onto the second turnbuckle, preparing to drop an elbow onto the fallen Scotsman. Katie stood on the apron, an unreadable expression on her face; he never managed to execute the move successfully when he tried to previously so she wasn't expecting anything exciting from him now. For a big guy he could certainly fly through the air; the ring shook as he landed on the blank canvas, Drew rolling out of the way just in time. Clearly too much showboating from the Englishman had allowed him to catch his breath. Katie watched her pro writhe around in pain, a small smile on her face. Chesca banged on the turnbuckle in her corner to will Drew to regain composure; it wasn't that she liked working with him, it was the fact that she really needed a win if she was to stay in the competition. He managed to get to his feet before Wade with the help of the ropes, pulling himself up.
"Get up, for god's sake." Katie shouted across to her pro, who was still clutching his elbow, pain evident on his scrunched up features. He glanced at her, teeth gritting; it appeared to be a repeat of their first ever match together, except she was now yelling at him instead of the other way around. Too much time was spent arguing; Drew spun him round, landing a boot to the midsection, causing Wade to double over. In no time, Drew had hit him with his Future Shock DDT and covered him for the win; Chesca's first win on the show. The referee signalled for the bell and raised both their hands in victory as Katie backed her way up the ramp, leaving Wade lying in the middle of the ring.
After Madison had successfully beaten Brandi with little to no effort and Angelina had taken a brutal beat down from Natalya, all of the rookies were stood in a line in the middle of the ring waiting to find their fate. The first elimination was about to take place. The pros were sat in their usual spots at the top of the ramp after voting for which rookie they thought was best. The public had voted for which rookie they wanted to leave.
Matt Striker stood beside the girls, awaiting the result. "Ladies and gentlemen, pros and rookies, it's time to find out who is going home." Everyone turned to the titantron; the first name to pop up was Madison, much to Katie's displeasure. Stu stood up slamming his fist onto the seat of the stool, he soon calmed down as 'Arabella' appeared under Madison's name on the screen. Liberty followed, clearly pleased that even though she had been out of action she still had the potential to win. Titania appeared after; her win with Drew had obviously pushed her up the ladder a bit. It was now between Angelina and Brandi, both of whom had been defeated that evening. As soon as Angelina appeared at number 5 in the rankings, confirming that the plastic Barbie doll would be leaving the competition. Brandi threw a hissy fit, screaming and stomping around the ring before pummelling Striker with her fists.
Lou had seen enough; though the woman that had annoyed her since day one was gone she wouldn't mind getting in one last attack. Katie shook her head as she saw what her friend was about to do, not wanting her to get injured anymore than she already was. Lou ran at Brandi, spearing her to the opposite end of the ring. Slipping out of the ring Lou rushed up the ramp and headed backstage, ignoring the pros and the mess left in the ring.
Lou knocked on Stephen's hotel room door; they had unfinished business. She heard movement behind the door before it swung open revealing the Irishman in nothing but a pair of gym shorts. She had seen him in less but the waistband of those shorts was teasing her. "Hi." She brushed past him, not waiting for him to invite her into his suite.
"Something wrong, lass?"
"What do you want from me?" He shut the door and turned to her.
"As a rookie, Ah guess-" She held up her hand to stop him.
"No. As a woman, what do you want from me?"
"Ah don't understand, what yeh getting at?"
"Why does Brett bother you so damn much?" She watched as Stephen moved around her and shut off the television.
"Yeh want to date Brett then?" She shook her head and took another step closer to him. "Have yeh thought about it?"
"I've only had thoughts about one man during my time here, Stephen." She was close enough to touch him, close enough to smell his cologne. She wanted to run her hands though his hair and bury her head into his thick neck.
"Do Ah dare ask?"
"I don't think you should. They're pretty naughty thoughts."
"Oh aye." She pushed her hand against his bare chest. "Tell me."
"What if I showed you?" His eyes widened and she slipped both hands up his pectorals to his wide shoulders. Her hands slipped to the back of his neck and he swallowed the lump in the throat. He held her gaze as her body pressed against his. "Do you want me to show you?" He found it hard to speak but managed to nod. She smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'll be wearing something for your pleasure tonight, and then I'll let you rip it off me later, if you please." She stepped away from him. "See you soon, Stephen." She walked away from him and out of his room.
Stephen knew she was only a few doors down. Groaning, he ran a hand through his hair and made his way to the shower; the aching against his gym shorts sealed the deal. If she wanted her dress ripping off, he would be more than happy to do so.
Stephen groaned as Stu elbowed him in the ribs. "What yeh doing, fella?" Stu nodded towards the elevators as they opened into the lobby. Chesca, Lou and Katie all stepped off in unison chatting away amongst each other. Lou had on a fuchsia sequined silk Ashish dress, the material flowing and shimmering as she moved across the hotel lobby, arm in arm with Chesca to offer some support in her 5 inch nude Christian Louboutin pumps. Chesca was wearing a simple black Miu Miu dress, the waist pulled in with a thin gold belt. Katie walked beside them, her A.L.C nude asymmetric ruching dress covering her like a second skin; there was no need for any statement jewellery, the dress had crossover straps and a gathered narrow back which added another dimension to the otherwise plain design.
Drew was about to approach Chesca, but she swiftly averted his gaze and unhooked her arm from Lou's. She quickly headed for the doors, needing some fresh air.
"What's up wit' her?" Drew asked Lou as she and Katie approached the three men waiting for them.
"She's just..." Lou started but really didn't know what to say.
"Go away Drew." Katie rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention to Stu. He was clearly enjoying the banter between his rookie and good friend. Out of his eye he saw Stephen leave his side and approach Lou; he had been told what she had said to him earlier so there was no doubting the pair would be inseparable for the night.
Stu looked his rookie up and down, the dress she had on catching his attention. He smiled, approving of the attire. That evening he was proud she had done well at coming number two in the rankings, but that wasn't quite good enough. They both wanted to be number one at everything, maybe he needed to instil that in his rookie some more.
"You scrub up well." Stu spoke quickly, watching her analyse what he was wearing much like he had just done.
"Shame you don't." Katie smiled and smoothed down her dress, her dazzling smile toying with him.
"Yeh ready to go now?" Stephen spoke up before Stu could get one up on Katie, he would have to wait till later for that.
The group arrived at the club only a few blocks away from the hotel. Stu had yet to pitch his comeback at Katie as she had walked most of the way with Lou clinging onto her arm as Stephen was busy consoling Drew. Stu had listened to Stephen trying to give Drew advice although he knew telling him anything was futile; he would do what he wanted with who he wanted.
Lou ordered a round of shots, the various colours of liquid lined up ready to be downed in a second. Katie grabbed one, followed by the other two girls.
"Here's to Katie getting laid tonight!" The New Yorker shouted a little too loud; various people nearby glanced at the table. Stu brushed his large hand on Katie's exposed thigh under the table, his nimble fingers lightly grazing her smooth skin; clearly signalling that no matter what happened, she was going to be punished or rewarded one way or another later on. One of the young men got up from one of the tables across the club and casually made his way over to the already crowded booth; the dim lighting made him unrecognisable at first. It was only when he reached the dance floor that it was obvious from the slicked back bleach-blond hair and skin-tight t-shirt that it was Nick Nemeth, otherwise known as Dolph Ziggler in the wrestling world.
"It's all going on over here I see." He laughed, setting his eyes particularly on the English rookie sat next to her glaring pro. She smiled warmly before downing her shot.
"Hey, Ziggles."
"Alright, fella?"
"Care to join?" Lou nodded at the full booth, clearly hinting that he should take a seat somehow. Nick shrugged, noticing the empty shot glasses stacked in the middle of the table. He watched them all clutch their second shots, everyone but Stu.
"Oh, I...er...don't have a drink."
"Here, have Stu's shot." Katie pushed it towards him, ignoring the glower that her pro was aiming at her. "He's being an arse and doesn't want to play as usual." He attempted to retrieve his alcohol from Nick's hand, but he smirked instead, adding to Stu's anger.
"I never said that I didn't want to play your idiotic drinking games."
"Shut up, you didn't have to; the popping vein in your forehead says it all. You need to learn to relax." Everyone around the table laughed at their bickering; Chesca smiled across at Nick, feeling the need to speak and make herself known to the Superstar.
"Lou just bought a selection; it's kind of like a shot roulette, you don't really know which one you're going to pick up." Katie squeezed up next to Lou and Stephen, pulling Stu with her to make a space for the newcomer. The Englishman's jaw was clenched, his hands balled into fists under the table; he didn't want to move. She was going to have to coax it out of him to be nice for once.
"Shuffle up, Stuart, come on, let him in." He did as he was told hesitantly and watched as Nick leant across the table, his forearm resting on the wooden surface, and his eyes taking in the Londoner's appearance.
"You look really pretty tonight, Katie."
"Thank you." She could feel herself blushing from the compliment; Stu was in the middle of the exchange, rolling his eyes so far into the back of his head they could have sprouted through his hair to look behind him. "You look great too."
"I guess a congratulations is in order for the three of you ladies. You survived the first culling."
"Awh, you're too sweet, Ziggles."
"We're just getting rid of the riff-raff. The competition doesn't really begin until us lot are the final three."
"And we will be!" Lou said matter-of-factly before looking up at Stephen. "When it happens, I'll owe it all to my pro..."
"Yeh know that yeh'll be in the final three easily? Yeh don't owe me anythin', love." She batted her lashes at him and kept her voice low to his ear.
"Maybe later I will."
"Ah'm holdin' yeh to it." He whispered back before turning his attention to the disgruntled Englishman to his right. "Yer a bit quiet, Stu..."
"I'm fine." He didn't even look in his direction as he spoke; everyone around the table didn't really understand why he was so rigid and unresponsive.
"Yeh sure?"
"Uh huh."
"Then get that stick out of your arse and have a little fun." She honestly had no idea if he was even capable of having fun without taking his clothes off. "You're obviously just mad that you lost our match tonight. Get over it; I already have."
"It was your fucking fault that we lost in the first place! If you hadn't distracted me..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before. You can shut up now."
"I think we're all going to need some more drinks." Chesca laughed, grabbing one of the last shots on the table and swallowing the contents. She slammed the tiny glass back onto the surface and shook her head. Tonight she just wanted to get drunk, and forget about the thorn in her side.
Drew stood away from the bustle of his fellow co-workers. His lips lingered on the edge of the tall glass between his hands while his eyes glanced from time to time at the brunette woman having fun with her friends in one of the booths. He let the hint of a smile climb onto his features as he looked at his rookie; he'd have loved to just go and take her away with him, so the two could be alone and just talk. Whether he wanted to remember it or not, the golden piece of metal around his ring finger was set to remind him that he couldn't do anything but just talk to Chesca; even if him and Taryn were going through a hard time, he couldn't just keep on flirting with the half-Italian as if he was single.
"Why don't you stop staring and just go talk to her?" Natalya, in all her beauty, appeared next to the Scotsman; the blonde raised an eyebrow at the tall man, her head hinting at the rookies not far from where they were.
"Ah just don't want tae ruin her fun, ye know?" He shrugged, taking a sip from his glass again.
"You can go up to her and offer her a drink," the Canadian suggested, her hand rapidly brushing on the bigger man's forearm, "It wouldn't be like cheating on Taryn, you'd just be celebrating your first victory with your rookie." Drew swallowed hard to the word 'cheating'; he wondered if the former Divas champion actually knew something or if she had just let that flow off her tongue without thinking too much about it.
"Maybe Ah could," the man replied, in a sigh. "As long as she's done wit' Louise and Katie..." Nattie smiled back at him, happy to have convinced him into being a gentleman to the young rookie; after she had spotted Tyson Kidd further in the room, she left him there with his thoughts and his drink. He decided to leave the party for a little while, just so he could plan perfectly what to say to Chesca, in order not to screw things up for the umpteenth time. He walked out the door, making his way through the people crowding the place and directing himself to the restroom.
His big hands cupped under the stream of water in one of the sinks, before he refreshed his face and looked for a second in the mirror. Once he got out of there, he dove himself into the party again; when his electric blue eyes travelled to the booth where he thought he'd have found his rookie, his lips fell into a frown. Not only wasn't Chesca there, but there was no trace of her in the entire room. The best thing to do would have been to ask the New Yorker and the English rookie if they had seen her, but sure as hell he wasn't going to do that; they probably hated him, and they wouldn't have told him anything. His plans had turned into smoke; the chance to try and have a nice conversation with the half-Italian was, for the moment, gone. Biting on his lower lip he grabbed a stool and sat at the bar, ordering the best whiskey he could ask for; smelling the alcoholic liquid he slightly shook his head. He was probably taking his new pro job too seriously; being a grown woman, he knew that Chesca was safe somewhere else around the building. He just hoped she hadn't drunk enough to be with someone else, as well.
"I love this song." Katie squealed before glancing at Lou and nudging her in the arm. "Oh my god, do you remember when we started that dance off to this?" The New Yorker giggled, reliving the memories of them drunk dancing in the middle of a crowded dance floor. Somehow, people gradually dispersed and watched on as they moved around the circle with ridiculous moves. It was only when they were really drunk that they got like that. Usually a slow grind did the trick.
"That was both lame and hilarious. And we should totally do it again." She turned her head back to the gaze of Nick, a dazzling smile set on his lips. Everyone knew that he loved to dance; as soon as she had mentioned it his ears had perked up.
"Hey, do you wanna dance?" His question was followed by a hopeful glint in his eyes. Stu swallowed hard and took a gulp of his beer; the sooner this guy got away from the table, the better. He had never known what it was like to be in the middle of something before, but this literal demonstration was doing his head in.
"Yes! Finally someone asks..." Katie laughed, downing her last shot; the sour taste smacked the back of her throat, her head shaking quickly in a reflex. She looked up at the man next to her, her pro in the competition; her secret sexual fix. He was staring directly in front of him, a stone cold look etched on his face, his jaw still clenched. "Are you going to move out of my way so I can get past?" Stu clutched the brown bottle tighter in his hands.
"Why can't you just shuffle round the other way?"
"Why can't you just move?" She growled, her voice getting louder by the syllable. They had succeeded in making everyone in the booth incredibly uncomfortable with their fighting. Stu ignored his rookie, and indeed her defiant fierce look; her impatience was getting the better of her. "Fine, I guess I'm climbing over you then." Nick stood from the edge of the plush seating, opting to stand on the other side next to where Chesca was previously sat in order to stay out of the way. Katie lifted her leg onto the Englishman's lap, dragging it slowly across him to find her footing; he sucked in a breath as she straddled him, the slight roll of her hips teasing him to no end. He rubbed his brow with his thumb to concentrate on something other than the young woman practically dry humping him in the darkness; it was almost a lap dance, he had to fight the smile creeping onto his face. It was difficult to linger for a long time without attracting the attention of everyone else at the table; Katie climbed out of the booth seconds later, smirking at Stu as she was lead to the dance floor by the bleach-blond wrestler.
Lou leant across to speak next to Stephen's ear; the music was quickly drowning her out. His arm slipped across her shoulder to hold her close to him. "I want you." Her teeth sunk into the lobe of his ear and he almost spilt his drink. She took hold of his hand and pulled him up from the seat. He set his drink down next to Stu and allowed himself to be pulled across to the dance floor. His arm slipped around her waist as they reached the edge.
"Ah can't dance." He spoke next to her ear. She turned in his arms and stared up at him, her big blue eyes had him in a trance. The sparkle of her dress making her seem magical. Her hands slipped up to his shoulder as she pushed herself onto tiptoes.
She kissed his cheek and ran her mouth to his ear. "You dance with me, and then you can undress me in your hotel room." She pushed her body against him and brushed her lips against his. As he tried to kiss back she took to the dance floor. She blinked a few times and bit onto her bottom lip. He couldn't stop his feet from carrying himself over to her. Her body gently swayed to the rhythmic beat of the music, her dress clung to her thighs as her knees bent slightly and her hand ran across her stomach.
He was a bit stiff as he held onto her hips and moved. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. "I hope you've got better moves in the bedroom." She turned to her left and saw Katie grinding away on Nick without a care in the world. Stephen's arm around her waist made her turn to him; she ran her hands up his biceps to the back of his thick neck. His big warm hand cupped her face, he leant closer and her eyes slipped shut. The base thumped through the floor and up her body. His lips touched hers and her heart thumped too.
Katie decided to take a break from dancing, excusing herself to make her way over to the bathrooms. She teetered on her heels as she walked past the booths, Stu nowhere to be seen. Still, she carried on, the hallway suspiciously dark; she felt a hand grip her and push her against the wall. The smirk of her English pro was unmistakable. "You're getting laid tonight then, yeah?" His question came across as bitter to the Londoner; she smirked in response before dignifying it with a verbal answer.
"Apparently I don't get enough...Oh, are you offering?" She crossed her arms over her chest, unintentionally drawing more attention to her breasts, pushed up from her tight, figure-hugging dress. "Why do you care exactly?"
"I don't."
"Well you're acting like you do." Stu gritted his teeth; pulling her further into the hallway leading to the club bathrooms in order to hear her properly. She looked up at him, noticing how angry he was getting over absolutely nothing. It seemed as if he did care. In fact, it seemed as if he cared a lot. "You know we're just mucking about, you and me, right? You're the one who started this whole 'rewards' system so do not tell me that you're all jealous now..."
"Not in the slightest." He answered, a defensive tone to his already deep brogue. "Go and fuck Ziggler if you want. Like I said, I don't care."
"Then why are we having this conversation?"
"I don't want to catch some nasty disease after you've been with him, actually." Katie shook her head; she wasn't stupid. "...At least you haven't told anyone about what we've been up to. I'll give you credit for that."
"Why? Because I'm such a blabbermouth? I can keep secrets, Stu."
"Only when it matters." He pushed her shoulder, backing her up against the wall. Once defensive, now trying to gain back the control he craved. "You don't want this to get out." Katie couldn't hold back anymore; he had no right to tell her what to do outside of NXT. She could feel herself getting redder with anger as he leant close to her, trying to intimidate her. It wasn't going to work that way; she was her own woman and she could do whatever the hell she pleased.
"And you do? Look, I don't really understand what your game is but as far as I'm concerned we're not together and we never were. You know what? We never fucking will be. So get that through your thick skull and let me fuck who I want." She shoved him out of her way and walked back into the club, seething from their 'discussion'. Her eyes scanned the bar, immediately spotting Nick; he beckoned her over with a quick flick of his forefinger.
"Where've you been? I turned around and you disappeared."
"Oh, I went to go powder my nose. I did yell it at you but the music was pretty loud."
"Well, you reappeared at just the right time, I bought you a drink."
"Thanks." She eyed the suspicious liquid with a load of cubes of ice floating around in it, noticing Nick happily drinking the exact same thing in an identical glass tumbler. He positioned his back on the bar, now empty, and waited for Katie to begin drinking hers. She shuffled closer to him, tensing to some extent when he placed his cold palm on the small of her back, kneading the fabric of her dress. Stu watched the movement from back in the booth. She turned to see him; the constant glare on his features was the most annoying thing she had seen all evening. If he wanted to play games with her then she would do her damned hardest to play along. So he wasn't jealous... She didn't believe him in the slightest. Her hands moved up Nick's tanned arms slowly, pulling them away from the wooden bar surface. He looked down at her with raised eyebrows as she positioned him in full view of her pro. She slid her hands around his neck, tugging him towards her and glanced to her left to see Stu staring right at them. Nick licked his lips and wrapped his arms around her waist; seconds later, she pressed her lips to his, teasing him by running her tongue along the tight seam. He refused to allow her the dominance, snaking his own tongue inside her open mouth, waiting to be devoured. It may have been wrong to play around with a nice guy like this, but she couldn't deny that he was a talented kisser. He flicked across the tips of her teeth before delving deeper to gather the amalgamation of all of the alcohol that she had consumed during the evening. She released her hands from around his neck and ran them under his t-shirt; his abdominals bunched under her touch, the skin hot and silky. He could sense the breathlessness, pulling away only to attach his lips to the column of her throat. It was the perfect opportunity to see if her pro was still looking. Of course he was; he was trying not to show it but he was completely pissed off. She turned to face him, a moan escaping from her lips as Nick continued his assault; she sent a simper Stu's way, trying to coax out his true reaction.
Lou blinked a few times feeling herself swaying; Stephen grasped her elbow to steady her. "Ah'm going to take yeh back, lass."
She grinned at him, a goofy smile spreading across her lips. "There are three of you." She held up three fingers in front of his face and continued to slur her words. "I've died and gone to heaven."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away from the bar. "Ah'm flattered." He found Stu at the booth staring daggers into Katie. "Ah'm taking her back to the hotel." Stu looked her up and down and nodded not uttering a word over the loud music. Lou narrowed her eyes at the Englishman; she lunged forward and slapped the back of his head making him cough on his beer.
"Leave Katie alone you big crooked nosed bully." Stephen had gathered Lou into his arms, a chuckle escaped his lips at her behaviour and Stu could only scowl back.
Stephen managed to pull her away from Stu and through the mass of people in the club. She was in a state as she huddled into his embrace trying to find her feet but not having much luck. "Lou."
"Hmm?" He stopped walking as she tried to wiggle free from his grip.
"Woah, stop lass. Yeh gonna hurt yehself." Stephen held onto her arm, his big hand gripping around her slender wrist.
Lou stopped moving around and began to fidget with her heels. She quickly pulled them off, holding them on the tip of her fingers. "My feet hurt."
"Come 'ere." He pulled her back towards him and picked her up in his arms. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder as he started to walk back to the hotel. Though he wouldn't be ripping her clothes off tonight, she had made her feelings clear; he would just have to wait until the morning to act of them.
It was early morning when Katie stumbled into the hotel room that she was sharing with Stu. Her fingers hooked through the slingbacks of her heels, much too stubborn to walk back in. The Englishman walked out of the bathroom in nothing but shorts; she had to admit his sauntering and flaunting of his thighs was doing wonders for her alcohol-induced vision. He gave her a quick glance before letting out a tut and heading towards the bed. She followed after him, slowing her steps when she saw the look on his face; he wasn't happy.
"How long have you been back?"
"You're alone." He simply answered. "I would have thought that you'd bring bitch boy back with you."
"Bitch boy? Ha, that's funny." She giggled, a hiccup soon following. It was safe to say that she had pretty much abandoned Nick in the club after their little 'show'. "Nah, he's probably still dancing with a hard-on."
"Did you fuck him in the club then?"
"What?" Her voice came out all squeaky; she smoothed over her dress, not wanting to lose face. "Hmm, maybe I did, maybe I didn't. What's it to you?"
"Nothing...But you didn't."
"I don't think I can be with a guy who loves the idea of himself more than me. At least with you I know that it doesn't mean anything; it's like guilt-free sex."
"Right." Katie took a seat next to him on the bed, her eyes closing momentarily.
"You were so jealous tonight though."
"I was not."
"Yeah, you were." She laughed; he sounded pretty defensive. "If you like me just say it, but I think you should know that once you admit feelings then we can't do this anymore. I'm not into that shit. I can't be dealing with that." Stu ran a hand over his face. He wasn't going to admit to anything, especially seeing as he wasn't entirely sure what was going on in his mind, himself. After a long moment, he spoke lowly.
"I think that what we have now...It works."
"Like I said it's guilt-free." She answered matter-of-factly, throwing her shoes across the room. "But if you've suddenly got feelings then, well, it's hardly guilt-free anymore. I'd feel like I was stringing you along and that's not what I'm about." He narrowed his eyes at her, not completely understanding her double standards.
"That's funny, because you seemed to be stringing Ziggler along earlier."
"You don't think that I liked him? Was I not convincing enough?"
"Shoving your tongue down his throat in front of me didn't convince me, no."
"You're only saying that because you fucking wish it was you!" She had suddenly adopted a heated tone, pushing the arm he was leaning on to prop himself up. "You can deny it all you want."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're an intelligent guy. Work it out for yourself."
"Let's just shut up; your voice is giving me a headache."
"There you are! I was almost worried that you had turned into a limp dick; thought you'd lost that fire." Katie stood up, reaching behind her to try and clasp the tiny zip between her slim fingers. "Ugh, I have to get out of this dress. Could you unzip me?"
"What's the magic word?" He smirked, getting to his feet and towering over her.
"Could you unzip me...Fucker?"
"I guess that's close enough." The sound of the material parting from the now-open zip was satisfying; Stu ran a hand down her side, his fingers toying with the hem of her dress.
"Just tug it over my head." She moaned impatiently, lifting up her arms as he dragged the dress up her body and off onto the floor. He licked his lips at the sight in front of him; his rookie clad in just her underwear, staring up at him with a glint of cheekiness in her eyes. "You're wearing too much."
"I'm only in shorts."
"Too much." She reiterated in a whisper, pushing him backwards onto the bed and climbing on top of him.
"What are you playing at?"
"Don't you need to punish me for the loss tonight? You said there would be severe consequences if I didn't win..." Katie had come to realise that the punishments and rewards were the exact same thing when it all came down to it. Sex; that was all it really was. In the end it didn't matter all too much; they both got their fun and a release of tension, which was ultimately built up by the pair of them frustrating the hell out of each other. It was a vicious cycle, but neither of them had a problem with it. Tonight was no different.
A/N – Thank you wades wife, miamitravel, DeansTrueGirl, wwemagpie, xFindTheEnigmaWithinx, hOtlilmofo, moxxie23, ThatGirl54, RampantMuses, kimcooperx, Noellia, xHalosandwings and bejealousgirl for the reviews. Sorry it has taken so long to update. Hope you enjoy. Katie, Lou and Chesca x