„And that was when I realized I was fucked. There was no way out of that. I was gonna get hit big time," Dean finished his little story.
"Yeah. . . . Like I'm gonna believe that," Seth replied. "You made that up," he refused to admit that Dean's story was real. He looked at Roman whose eyebrows were lifted in disbelief.
"Why would some bartender want to hit you in the first place?" Roman wondered.
"Because I was hitting on his wife. Did you even listen to me?" he was getting irritated.
"No, I mean," Roman tried to make himself clear, "didn't he know you? Didn't he know what you are capable of? Or even if he didn't know that you are a professional wrestler, he must have seen that you are a big guy."
Dean finally saw the inconsistency of his story. "Well," he tried to convince them anyway, "he was strong too and I guess he was pretty confident in beating other guys up."
"Just admit it's bullshit."
"Maybe it didn't happen that way," Dean admitted under the pressure.
"And maybe it didn't happen at all," Seth nonchalantly uttered.
Dean narrowed his eyes and tried to think of a way to win the battle that was turning unfavorably against him. However, ultimately he decided to let it go and smiled at them. "Think whatever you want, I don't care. I had sex with her."
"Oh," Roman laughed. "So that's the point of whole story? You got laid? I cannot believe I listened to you instead of going back to the hotel. I'm outta here," he announced. He continued shaking his head on the way to the locker room to get his stuff.
"So true," Seth added before Roman got out of sight. Then he smiled and high-fived Dean. "Nice," he expressed his satisfaction with his partner's success. "But really, what happened?" Seth couldn't hide his interest and curiousness.
"Ok, I'll tell you the true story," Dean started. The enthusiastic attitude implied it could be an interesting story too. "So when you and Roman left the bar, I stayed for a while and looked for some amusement."
"I see," Seth followed.
"And I spotted this chick sitting all alone looking all sad and vulnerable," he continued. "I thought she might be an easy target," he confessed happily. "And she wasn't very pretty, either."
"So . . . you went all Jon Moxley?" Seth guessed, being excited about the plot as much as being disgusted by it.
One could suddenly see a wicked look in Dean's eyes as he was ready to give Seth a precise description of what happened that night, but before he could continue, he noticed that Renee was walking toward them, and he didn't want her to overhear anything. It was not a story that a woman like her should hear.
"Hey, Renee," he welcomed her among them, but she didn't notice him at first because she was too focused on the script she was holding in her hands. She could possibly and very easily bump into something, but so far she succeeded in avoiding objects in front of her.
"Oh, hi," she lifted her head and politely responded.
"You work too hard," Seth told her, seeing her preparing for her interview with Randy Orton.
"Come on, it's just an interview. It's not like I'm risking my life in the ring like you, guys," she appreciated their hard work. "By the way, great match."
While she was talking to them, she was only looking at Seth, she didn't want to know what would happen if she even only glanced at Dean.
"It was, wasn't it?" Seth got all enthusiastic. "And that chaos at the very end. . . ." he was raving about their performance in the ring. "You know, Renee," he looked at her, "at the times like these, I wish I could be a spectator."
"You are still a fan rather than a wrestler."
"I really am," he confessed to her. "And I'm such a big fan of the Shield," he placed his hand on his heart and gave her a nostalgic look, "I don't want them to break up."
Then he shared a much understood look with his fellow pal who played his part in the scene perfectly. They placed their hand on each other's shoulder and shared something of a hug.
"I'm gonna miss you," Seth admitted half-joking, half-honest.
"I just can't wait to kick your ass," Dean ended it his way.
Renee was watching them; or rather she was watching only Dean. She knew she shouldn't; she forbade herself to do it, to distract herself by staring at him, but she couldn't help herself, she had to break her promise. And when she realized what she was doing it was too late to stop; she was falling for him.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're here, Renee, otherwise this improvised scene would be just sad," Seth said in hope to hear quite the opposite from her.
But she didn't want to take his side. She knew him well enough, so she teased him instead. "You're totally right. It would be pathetic," she told him. "Moreover, you just broke your gimmick. See that camera over there?" she asked him as she pointed at a not-so-well-hidden camera standing few feet away. "It might be recording," she continued, not even trying to persuade him that the apparent lie she made up was true.
"She's right," Dean played along. "You should be more careful about things you say. If people heard you, nobody would believe that you are a heel. It's difficult enough when you pose with your cute little dog all the time."
"I don't," he tried to protest, but then let it fade out as it was kind of true.
He was ready to walk away, pissed, but he turned back to Dean and added, "You know what, Dean? Next time I'll let him bite you!"
Dean sarcastically laughed at Seth's poor attempt at being funny.
As Seth was passing through the corridor to leave, he stopped at the camera and threw a piece of cloth over it because although he knew they were just joking, he got a bit paranoid.
"Don't you think it was a little harsh?" Renee expressed her worries once Seth was gone.
"No. We're always teasing each other like that. I know the boundaries. I wouldn't want to cross any line and really piss him off, because we're sharing a road to the hotel."
"Right," she mumbled and nervously rolled papers in her hands.
"Are you alright?" Dean asked as he noticed her suddenly strange behavior.
"Sure," she responded shortly and thought about a legitimate to reason to leave, but as her interview with Randy wouldn't start until about ten minutes, she had no excuse. As awkward as she knew it would be, she simply said, "Ok." She sighed. "See you later."
She didn't even care anymore how desperate and suspicious that attempt was; all she wanted was to be somewhere away from the danger named Dean Ambrose.
He could see that she was nervous but didn't say anything because she evidently was not in mood to talk about it. He was about to let her go but in the moment that she stepped aside, he opened his mouth and called her, "Renee!"
She immediately turned around, his eyes striking hers as he wished her in a deep sexy voice, "Happy Valentine's Day!"
He was thinking about wishing it to somebody the whole day. Actually, he preferred to tell it to her. And when she was about to leave, he remembered and couldn't resist.
"It's not Valentine's day," she responded, surprised but flattered.
He was ready for that reaction. "I know. But since we're taping Smackdown which will air on Valentine's Day, it kind of is."
"Fair enough," she admitted.
Then she approached him again, still staring into his beautiful eyes. He was smiling at her, forgetting what he wanted to say next.
"Happy Valentine's Day to you, too."
She was charmed by him and totally forgot about reality. She didn't care where she was or what time it was. She wanted to stay in that moment forever. And suddenly she knew that it was more than a crush.
"Renee!" somebody called for at least third time.
It took one more shout for her to turn around and notice what was going on.
"What are you doing here? Your interview with Randy is up in three minutes."
"Oh god!" she exclaimed. "I totally forgot about that."
She quickly scanned through the papers, then ran her hand through her blonde hair and automatically asked, "How do I look?"
The backstage assistant was there to guide her to the place where the interview was taking place, but before she left the corridor where she stood with Dean, she could swear she heard a response to her question. She was almost sure she heard him say something. Or did she? Maybe he didn't say anything. Maybe Dean didn't compliment her by saying, "Gorgeous."