Song for this chapter: "Say It" by Tory Lanez.

ASHLYN

I know Bryce was speaking to me about something, but I just couldn't hear him. It was like every other sound in the building was muffled and everyone blurred away, except for me and the Samoan hunk that was walking up the stairs until he was out of sight.

'Oh my God, I'm fan girling' I embarrassedly thought, putting my hand on my face.

"Hey! You alright Lyn?"

Turning to face my little BIG cousin, I lightly smiled to cover up the unsure feeling I had.

"I'm fine cuz," I said shrugging my shoulders, "I just need to go to the bathroom" I lied, before walking up the same stairs I saw the two wrestlers take.

I didn't know why but I suddenly felt….nervous. I mean I know he's a big wrestling celebrity but it's not like I embarrassed myself.

Suddenly I stopped when I tried to remember every detail on what happened that day; after replaying it a few times in my mind it was official….I was, as usual, a complete klutz!

'Oh wow, this is gonna be interesting' I thought entering the women's bathroom.

As I did a few touch ups on my face and hair, I couldn't help but sigh. No matter what I did, my face was not gonna change. No matter how much makeup I put on or what color and how I styled my hair, it was always the same….plain.

"Maybe he won't remember me" I sighed, "He probably sees several women with the same hair all the time, what's the difference with me?" I said before exiting the bathroom.

When I made it back to my seat, Bryce was already shouting about something the wrestlers were doing wrong along with a few other fans. Honestly I couldn't care at all what was going on at the moment, I was too busy repeating a certain mantra in my head 'He probably doesn't remember me,' hopefully he didn't.

After his shower, Joe quickly got dressed in a t-shirt with his logo and a pair of black jeans. He honestly couldn't believe his luck, seeing the burgundy haired woman at the show was something he wasn't expecting. Slightly smirking, he thought back on how she smiled when she saw him.

Deep in his thoughts he didn't hear Jon come into his dressing room.

"What's got you grinning?" Jon said, making Joe lightly jump.

Joe lightly chuckled as he brushed his hair into his signature man bun. "Nothing, just thinking on the show." He lied,

Jon shrugged before leaning on the wall beside his friend, "Hey, you remember that sexy ass you knocked over in that restaurant?"

Joe paused briefly, "The chick with the dark red hair?" he said, pretending he didn't remember as he put on his fingerless gloves.

"Yeah that one from Virginia a few weeks ago" Jon said, smirking "I saw her in the front row when I tagged you in."

"How do you know it was her?" Joe asked, knowing it was without doubt her.

Jon scoffed as he ran his fingers through his damp hair. "How could you NOT know it was her, not every chick's got hips like that!"

Joe smirked at his crazy friend as he took a seat on the couch,

"I think she's gonna be at the meet and greet" Jon continued, "She was in the V.I.P seats; maybe Colby won't shit out again." he chuckled, "But if he does then I surely don't mind seeing if she likes a taste of the white chocolate" he said licking his finger, using it to straighten his right eyebrow then the left.

Joe couldn't help but let out a loud laugh, "White chocolate?" he asked, looking at his friend to see if he was serious.

"What?" Jon shrugged, smirking "You think you're the only sexy motherfucker here? I just found out I have a fan page dedicated to how sexy my ass is, bro" Jon said with a grin as he sat in a folding chair across from Joe.

Joe snorted as he leaned his head down, "Dude, too much info" he said shaking his head before checking his phone.

Just as quick as the laughter came in, it left. In Joe's inbox was a message from his mother, it was a picture of Jasmine asleep on the couch with the TV on. Joe felt a smirk form on his face when he saw the caption, 'Wouldn't go to sleep until she saw you'

Joe chuckled before showing Jon the picture,

"Aw, little rugrat's pooped out" Jon said smiling at the picture of his goddaughter. "Can't wait to see her, she's getting big" he said leaning back.

Joe nodded, "Yeah, she is." He smiled, looking at the picture again before saving it to his phone.

"Let's just hope she doesn't get your height," Jon joked,

Joe chuckled, thinking about his daughter growing up. It was inevitable that Jasmine was gonna get taller, it was in her genes of course. In the end Joe knew she would either be as tall as his cousin, Tamina or one of his sisters.

"Nah" Joe said shaking his head, "She'd be more like Tamina or Mary" he said checking the time before getting to his feet.

"Come on, let's head down there." he said referring to the meet and greet, heading to the door with Jon at his heels.

"I hope sexy ass is there" Jon smirked, lightly jogging beside Joe who chuckled at his lunatic friend.

'You and me both' Joe thought as they made their way to the backroom where the event would be held.

Once the show was over, Bryce and Ashlyn followed security to the designated area where they would meet the superstars. On the way, Ashlyn kept looking around as if she was looking for someone.

"You alright cuz?" Bryce asked, after they turned a corner.

Jerking her head to him, Ashlyn smiled "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a little excited, it's not every day you meet a wrestling celeb." She shrugged,

Bryce nodded, taking her answer.

"By the way, why did you want to bring your girlfriend to a wrestling match?" Ashlyn asked, "This is pretty big for a date, were you planning something else?"

Bryce sighed when his cousin brought up his girlfriend, "Don't get mad, but….I was planning on proposing to her" he said slightly upset.

"Proposing?" Ashlyn nearly shouted, pulling her cousin by his arm; making both of them stop in the hallway. "Are you serious? You've only been dating this chick for what? 2 months? And all she's ever done, from what you've told me, is be a pain in your side but a warm body in your bed." She said shaking her head.

Bryce sneered when he heard his cousin's honest opinion, "She's just stressed, you wouldn't understand" he said starting to walk away from her.

"Then tell me so I can" Ashlyn said firmly, grabbing his ear like she used to when they were young. "You tell me everything, what's so different now?"

"Man, get back!" he exclaimed, lightly pushing Ashlyn back "I said you wouldn't understand, so why bother?" he said quickly walking to catch up with the security guard.

Ashlyn sighed as she shook her head while jogging to keep up with her upset cousin. "Look, you say I might not understand what's going on. But I'm your cousin; we pretty much grew up together like siblings. You don't have to tell me right now, but I'm not letting this go little shit" she huffed, looking straight ahead.

The rest of the walk was quiet, but Ashlyn knew she got through to her cousin. He maybe stubborn, but so was she.

Stopping at a pair of double doors, the security guard turned to the cousins.

"Alright, just a few things before I let y'all go inside. First, don't upset the wrestlers; most of them just gone through hell tonight and probably won't stay too long. Second, there are shirts and other merchandise for the wrestlers to sign for you so you won't need to go look for a napkin or anything for an autograph. Third, please do not do anything that will be classified as assault or sexual harassment; from that point you will be escorted out of the building without any of the signed merchandise. Basically treat them with respect and like they're regular people, trust me it'll go a lot smoother" he said eyeing both Ashlyn and Bryce; seeing if they understood the rules. "Most of them are cool as hell, so with all that said y'all enjoy"

Joe sighed, lightly stretching his arms over his head after signing his name for what it felt like the 100th time that night. Majority of the meet and greet were moms with their kids shouting for Cena, some teenagers wanting a picture or two, and a few ring rats looking for a willing wrestler; but nothing special.

A few of the wresters were sitting with fans, talking as if they were old friends while him and Jon were chilling on the side signing shirts with the occasional picture.

Joe could feel his eyes drifting down as he grew sleepy; tonight was something of a struggle to stay awake since he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep thinking about his daughter.

"Here" Jon said passing Joe a red bull, before opening his own.

Joe nodded as he snapped the top, where would he be without the crazy lunatic.

"Oh shit" Jon whispered, nudging Joe's arm. "I told you she was coming" he smirked,

Joe quickly looked up and there she was walking in behind security….with a guy walking beside her.

"Yeah with her boyfriend," Joe chuckled, seeing the disappointed look on his friend's face.

Sucking his teeth, Jon leaned back in his chair "Damn it, all the good ones are taken"

Joe chuckled as he looked at his friend then back at the burgundy haired woman standing by the tall buff man. Just as he was looking at her, she turned and caught his eyes. Joe saw the man look up at him as well, nodding his head in his direction; Joe automatically returned the gesture, figuratively saying hey.

Before he knew it the couple made their way over to his and Jon's table.

"Hey what's going on man" Joe said giving a small smile at the tall man, glancing at the cutie beside him.

Jon gave a small head nod with his arms crossed,

"Hey, what's going on Mr. Reigns; I just wanna say that I'm a huge fan of yours sir" the large man said with a smile, extending his hand to Joe.

Joe smiled widely as he shook his fan's hand, "Thanks man, appreciate the support."

Jon scoffed before getting up from the table, "I'm gonna take a break," he mumbled walking away to the exit.

Joe shook his head before turning back to the couple, both looking a little nervous and confused.

"He's alright, just tired from the show." Joe shrugged, still keeping a positive smile for his fans.

"Oh I bet, I know he's gotta be pissed about Seth challenging him to Wrestlemania; but can't do anything until he gets Triple H's permission" the man said nodding.

Joe nodded, glancing at the mocha skin woman standing shyly behind the man "Yeah, but he's Ambrose. He'll be alright." He smiled,

"You mind if we join you Mr. Reigns?" the man asked,

"Oh yeah, have a seat." Joe said nodding to the couple.

Still keeping his positive smirk, Joe glanced at the young woman seated across the table from him. Her burgundy bob, that was straight the last time he saw her, was now curled; giving her a more exotic look.

"I'm Bryce by the way and this is my cousin Ashlyn" the man said getting Joe's attention,

"Nice to meet you both and you can just call me Roman." Joe smirked, looking from Bryce to Ashlyn.

Joe could tell she was a little nervous by the way she was sitting. Her brown eyes kept switching from him to the table to her cousin as if she was scared that he would remember her. He really didn't understand why when Bryce said that she was his cousin, Joe felt relieved.

"Shit, I forgot to get the stuff for an autograph" Bryce said quickly getting up from the table, "You want anything Lyn?" he asked, turning to his cousin.

"Just a picture and a t-shirt is fine." She lightly smiled, wringing her hands in her lap nervously.

Nodding his head, Bryce quickly went to the merchandise table leaving the two alone.

Ashlyn sighed as she continued to massage her left thumb with her right hand, it was a nervous tick but it was a calming method she learned from one of her classes.

"So we meet again" Joe said deeply, smirking when Ashlyn's head shot up.

Lightly giggling, Ashlyn licked her lips. "Yeah, we just keep running into each other" she said before biting the side of her lip.

At the sight of her biting her lip, Joe could feel his breath quicken as he took in the sexy young woman sitting in front of him. Burgundy curls falling over her face, her warm brown eyes peeking from beneath her bangs and the way she was biting her lip gave Joe an image he wouldn't want to forget anytime soon.

"So, you enjoyed the show" Joe asked, leaning in a little.

Joe couldn't help but smirk when he saw a smile on her face, "Yeah, I always enjoy a show with men oiled up and wrestling each other in barely anything." she said sarcastically, smirking.

Joe chuckled, taking her answer as a double meaning.

"Well I'm glad I didn't disappoint" he said deeply, before licking his lips.

Ashlyn shyly looked down, hoping the sexy Samoan didn't notice her blushing.

"You alright?" Joe asked, leaning his head to the side; his eyes never leaving Ashlyn. "You're turning red." He chuckled,

Ashlyn quickly covered her face with her hands before pulling them down to fold them under her chest. "Well of course, it's not every day I nearly knock over a wrestling celebrity then end up seeing said celebrity again." she said lightly giggling.

Joe couldn't help but smirk at the memory, "If I remember correctly, I knocked you off your feet. I doubt you'd be able to put me on my back." he said deeply, letting the double meaning slip.

Ashlyn let out a silent gasp at the comment, her eyes meeting Joe's; seeing a slight challenge in them before she chuckled the tension away but her heart still beating rapidly.

"I doubt I could," Ashlyn said still giggling, "By the time it takes me to try and knock you over; you would have already flipped me here and there" she smirked, waving her hand left and right to emphasize her comment.

Joe couldn't help but shiver at the idea of him flipping her here and there as she put it.

'I wouldn't mind that at all' he thought, smirking at her.

"Besides, I'm not the one who wants to become a wrestler." She said, bringing Joe out of his fantasy as she changed the subject.

"Oh really?" Joe asked, sounding interested.

Ashlyn nodded as she glanced back at Bryce, still at the merchandise table; "Yeah, he's thinking on it. But he's stuck between football and wrestling, something you went through, right?" she asked, looking at Joe in the eyes.

"Yeah, something like that." Joe said glancing at the tall buff man, Ashlyn came in with. "He'd make it, with the right training." He said honestly.

In Joe's opinion, with the right training and fundamentals Bryce could make it to the big leagues. Truth be told, the man could pass for a tan Samoan and could probably join the Samoan dynasty with him and his cousins.

"Is he Samoan?" Joe asked, curiously.

Shaking her head no, Ashlyn sighed. "No, Hawaiian and Creole,"

"Oh and which side do you fit into?" Joe asked, smirking.

Ashlyn lightly bit her lip to keep from laughing at the question, "I'm from the Creole side, but don't ask me to speak French, I'm horrible at it" she chuckled,

"French isn't that hard to learn." Joe replied, "Not as easy as Italian but that's because I've been speaking that since birth." He explained.

Ashlyn smirked with her eyes growing wide, "You speak Italian?"

Joe chuckled at her surprised reaction; "Certamente, of course" Joe said smirking at Ashlyn's eyes still wide with her mouth slightly open.

"Wow," she said chuckling. "That's beautiful."

Joe bit his bottom lip as he slightly leaned in. "I tuoi occhi sono belli" he whispered, his eyes looking from her lips to her brown eyes.

Ashlyn could feel her heart race at the look Joe was giving her across the table, was it her imagination or was THE Roman Reigns flirting with her? Just as she was about to ask what he said, Bryce had returned to the table with nearly everything from the merchandise section.

"Did you have to buy nearly everything in sight?" Ashlyn chuckled,

Bryce pouted his lips at her before he smirked, "Well I didn't want to forget anything, besides it was on sale." He said giving her a shirt and photo of Roman.

As the meet and greet continued on, Ashlyn couldn't help but feel a shiver run through her body whenever she saw Roman lick his lips or glance her way when he was talking to Bryce. Trying to stay in the conversation, she would occasionally nod at the men or shrug but never really saying anything other than a 'yeah' or 'no' being that Bryce didn't stop talking about wresting and football with Roman as if they were old friends. After autographing a few things; including Ashlyn's 'Believe that' shirt and photo, Jon had finally came back to the table.

"Did I miss anything?" Jon asked as he sat back down beside Joe.

Joe shrugged as he looked between Ashlyn and Bryce "Nothing much, just been hanging with a wrestler in the making." He said fist bumping Bryce, who was smirking like a little kid in the candy store.

"Damn, ya trying to take my job kid?" Jon joked, looking at Bryce.

"Oh no sir, it's just something that I've been thinking about." Bryce explained, knowing Jon was messing with him. "Pretty much can't do anything else, I'm a big boy." He said laughing, making Jon and Joe chuckle. "Oh I'm Bryce by the way and this is my cousin Ashlyn" he said reintroducing them to Jon.

Jon nodded at the two, glancing at Ashlyn. "Don't I know you?" he asked, smirking.

Ashlyn turned her head to the side, making her bangs fall away from her face. "I don't know. I've been told my hair is a bit familiar" she giggled, flashing a small smile.

"Dark red does stand out," Jon remarked, smirking. "But I think I remember you running into a certain large Samoan 18 wheeler" Jon chuckled, looking at Joe who was holding his head down, his body shaking while he tried to hold in his laughter.

Bryce looked between the three chuckling people sitting with him at the table, trying to understand the joke before Ashlyn turned to him. "I'll explain later" she chuckled, glancing at Jon then Joe who finally sat up straight with a smirk.

"Yeah, from the looks of it we better get going." Bryce said standing up, "You ready Lyn?"

"Yeah, but you wanna get a picture?" she suggested, pulling out her phone "If that's ok with y'all?" she asked looking at the wrestlers who stood up as well.

Joe nodded, "It's fine with me." he said turning to Jon who shrugged.

"Long as I get a picture with the pretty girl, I'm good" he said grinning at Ashlyn, who gave him a sweet smile back.

With the three men posed with their fists up, Ashlyn took 3-4 pictures before Bryce took her place and she was standing between the two tall wrestlers.

As Bryce was taking the picture, Ashlyn lightly gasped at the feeling of someone putting their hand in her back pocket. Quickly shaking it off, the mocha skinned woman smiled as she posed. Once the pictures were done, the cousins said goodbye to the wrestlers and headed to the parking lot.

ASHLYN

"What a night" I groaned, walking into my apartment.

After making my way to my room, I grabbed my favorite pajama top before plopping onto my bed in a loud sigh.

"Well at least I didn't embarrass myself." I said, thinking back on the night as I looked at the shirt and the autographed picture in my purse.

I honestly couldn't help but giggle at the surprisingly good night that I had, even though Bryce was acting like a dick when I tried to ask him what was wrong with him and his little girlfriend.

'Either way it goes, he's not marrying someone he's been dating for 2 months. I haven't even met the girl yet,' I thought taking off my jewelry, placing them in the small glass bowl on my nightstand.

Stretching my arms over my head, I heard my back pop; instant relief. "Oh thank God" I exclaimed, rubbing my lower back before checking my pockets for any loose change.

Feeling something in my back pocket, I quickly pulled it out.

"What the hell?"