Daveny had gotten off work just in time to see catch the tail end of Dean Ambrose's main event match with fellow NXT Superstar, Corey Graves. It was a television taping at the FCW arena in Tampa. The building was full, the seats filled mostly with the same loyal fans who turned up week in and week out all over the state of Florida. Every now and then a few tourists who were rabid sports entertainment fans would flock to one of the events en route to a race at Daytona or a Disney World vacation.

She was recognized by the security at the front, but security was made up of the lower rated guys on the roster. That's how the promotion worked. It was the big leagues but you still worked like the little guys. You showed up on time. You signed autographs and did all the marketing obligations that were expected of you. You put the ring up and you took it down. You played the part of security guard and the janitor as well.

Daveny leaned against the wall and just watched him go. He was a natural and had taken the territory by storm ever since his arrival. She had missed one of his legendary promos and that was a little disappointing. She liked to see him talk shit on the mic. It was just as much fun for her to watch as it was fun for him to do it. His character was known as this whacked out, insane crazy person and he played it well. It was an extension of Jonathan Good and that was something Daveny could relate to. She remembered once when they'd had a fight, she had decided to leave him. Over the course of the proceeding 12 hours, he had managed to call her 720 times. One call every minute even though she refused to pick up. Only a psycho would do something like that and it was just a testament to his "give no fuck" attitude. When he wanted something, he made it happen…as simple as that.

But he was good, no great at what he did. And it went way beyond the biased opinion of a love struck girlfriend. Daveny Lunde knew a little bit about wrestling. She had grown up around it. It was as much apart of her as she was of it. Dean Ambrose knew how to work a crowd. And the fans recognized and appreciated it. In NXT they cheered for him even when he was supposed to be playing the role of the bad guy. It just showed they knew real talent when they saw it. And more importantly, they respected it.

He was constantly being compared to the likes of Rowdy Roddy Piper, CM Punk and Mick Foley's Cactus Jack…not bad company at all. But he was unique, especially in this era. There were others that had great speaking ability and knew their way around a match but he stood out. He had that It factor, a combination of skills and swag that could very easily catapult him to the next level, the top level.

Watching him stirred up emotion. She had vowed she would never follow the cliché and end up with a wrestler and when she had met Jon, she had no idea who he was or what he did. When she soon found out, she was already hooked. It didn't matter. She loved him. She was in love with him. All that mattered was making a life with him. She wanted Jon to be happy and desperately tried to give him everything she needed so that in turn, he would give her everything that she needed.

He was a storyteller. He had beat the odds both in and outside of the ring. He had a real psychology for the business. And that old school technique combined with sheer street brawling brought a refreshing breath of air to professional wrestling that had not been seen in quite some time. He deserved a shot. All they had to do was give him a legitimate chance and he would prove himself. Too bad he would never get that opportunity. And he would never get it because of her.

Daveny waited around after the show as Jon showered, changed, and helped break down the ring. He grinned when he saw her sitting there, waiting for him. She didn't make it to all his matches but it was kind of cool when she did. She was a cool girl. She had a good heart. And he loved her. It was hard for him to say, even harder for him to feel. He'd had a hard life and that was no secret. Taking the pain of his mother's trick turning, he had turned it to gold with a series of memorable promos. But in that pain, he had lost trust. A mother was supposed to nurture her son. And though they had since made amends, the nurturing love had given way to a string of no good boyfriends, tough neighborhoods, drugs, and booze. How was he supposed to love and trust and honor a woman when he had never seen that, never been taught such love?

With Daveny, he came close. He still made mistakes. She accepted his flaws. She didn't like them and it had been the source of some hellacious fights but she understood him as a man and as a person and he needed that. They'd always be together as a result of that. Nothing could and would ever come between them.

"Hey babe," she gave him a kiss and a long hug.

He rubbed his hand over her ass and kissed her neck, then her hair, before burying his face in her hair.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as he slung his gym bag over his shoulder and they walked outside.

He threw his stuff in the back and they climbed in as he started the truck.

"I got off early. One of the guys dropped me off."

"Who?" he asked, jealousy in his voice.

"Nobody you know and don't start your shit. I have to rely on rides until we get the car fixed."

He shrugged. She did have a point and everyone knew that transmission work did not come cheap.

"Yeah, I'm working on it," he grumbled. "I'm gonna take it in next week."

Daveny nodded, not worried about the car in the moment.

"Your match was awesome," she smiled at him. "I got to see the end of it."

"Thanks."

"No, Jon," she rubbed his knee. "I mean, it was really good. Just…I don't know, I love watching you in your element. It gives me chills. You were born to do it."

He chuckled under his breath.

"What do you want?"

"What do you mean what do I want?"

"You're really on my dick so that must mean you want something."

She rolled her eyes.

"Can't I just say something nice? And can't you just take a compliment?"

Jon continued to tease her.

"I don't have any money, if that's what you're getting at. And the fancy vacation to the Bahamas is just gonna have to wait. And I'm pretty tired tonight, so if you're looking forward to hours and hours of romance and play time and all that foreplay nonsense, I'm just warning you, I got like…three, no, maybe five minutes in me."

"Jon…"

"But it'll be a good five minutes," he laughed. "Best of your life guaranteed."

He loved messing with her. She was so cute when she was all riled up. She had a temper almost as quick as his. And damned near just as explosive. That usually led to the hottest, craziest make-up sex in the history of. And he was always up for a little of that.

Smiling to himself, he expected her to say something smart back to him. Yell at him even. But she didn't. When he glanced over, he was surprised to see her all curled up, head turned towards the passenger window, body shaking as she sobbed softly to herself.

"I hate you," she whispered with a sniffle.

He shook his head.

"What are you crying for?"

"Leave me alone."

"Daveny, what's the matter, huh? Come on. I asked you a question. The fuck's the matter with you?"

She wiped at her eyes.

"You wouldn't understand."

He sighed and mumbled a swear word under his breath. So it was going to be one of those nights, huh? Fucking women. Couldn't live with them…and yeah, sometimes you just couldn't live with them. He pulled the truck over into the first parking lot they came across.

"I said I asked you a question," he turned to her.

He tried to touch her but she smacked his hand away. He tried again and got the same reaction.

"Stop it!"

"Daveny…"

"Just drive. I want to go home, Jon."

"Nope. Sounds to me like you wanna be a spoiled brat. So if you're gonna sit here and act dumb, then I'll sit here and I guess we'll act dumb together in this parking lot all night. Cause we ain't moving until you start talking."

It was no use. He was crazy. And dead serious. This was the same guy who made 720 phone calls in a row.

"It's the wrestling thing," she took a deep breath.

"You're crying because I wrestled tonight?"

She nodded.

"You, you're good, Jon. I mean that. You're the best and I'm not just saying that cause you're my boyfriend. I say it because it's true. And you deserve to be in the WWE. You deserve your shot but the truth is, you won't get it. You are never gonna get it and that is because of me. My dad hates you. He will do everything in his power to see that you never make it past this."

Jon just stared at her.

"So."

"Don't be stupid," she punched at the dashboard.

He leaned back and threw his hands in the air.

"What do you want me to do?"

"What do I want you to do?"

"You may be right, I don't know. If you are, that sucks but it is what it is. I can't change it. I can't sway your Old Man and I'm not about to go kiss his ass either. You know better than that."

"But it's not fair," she wailed.

"Welcome to reality."

"I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

She looked into his eyes.

"That one day you won't love me anymore," she admitted.

"Jesus Christ, Daveny."

"I mean it. This is your dream, your passion. And I know you imagine what it would be like, how great it would be in the WWE. I know you want to know what it feels like headlining a Wrestlemania with CM Punk. It would be epic, babe. And you would deserve it. And you'll never have it because you stay with me."

"Look…"

"You say it's okay. You say that now but one day, years from now, you're gonna look back and you're gonna be filled with regret and you're gonna resent the hell out of me for it."

She broke down in a fit of sobs and Jon was quiet for a few minutes.

"All my life was a fight Daveny. To survive in the hood. To graduate high school. To get a chance to wrestle even in front of one person. I did it. I did it, I had a blast, got into a little bit of trouble, gave it up for a while…and now I'm back. You know what? Tonight was fun. And all those other times, it was fun. That's how wrestling is supposed to be. And if I gotta politic and ass kiss and dump my fucking girlfriend to get to the top…well, that shit ain't fun. I don't know what's gonna happen. I'm not one of those, what do you call it, fortune tellers. I can't see into the future but I know one thing. If this is it, if this is as good as it gets, then so be it. You know? It ain't a bad life. Alls I want to do is have fun. Wrestle for a living, party, cash checks, drink a little beer and have sex. That's what I got going on right now and that ain't just fine with me, it's motherfucking great with me."

He put his arm around her.

"You mean that?"

"Yeah."

"Do you love me?"

"Wouldn't be here with you if I didn't."

He gave her a look, one with a real solid future in it. She knew he was telling the truth. She loved him and he loved her. Loving someone meant being there for them, giving you their all, being that strong force when the other person wasn't quite so sure of themselves. Love. An emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. Jon and Daveny were truly the best representation of that.