Saturday 26th November

Alexa was rudely awoken by 'Remedy' by Seether blasting through her ears, her phone somehow having found its way next to her pillow in the night. Grabbing the offending object, she answered the call, not bothering to check the caller ID.

''Y'ello?''

The man on the other end snorted. ''First of all, never say that again.''

She groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. ''Colby?''

''Did I wake you?''

''Uh-huh.'' Alexa closed her eyes trying to ease the intense throbbing in her head. ''I think I have a brain haemorrhage.'' The raucous laughter that followed her statement made her sharply pull the phone away from her ear for a moment. ''What do you want?''

''Do you have anything planned today?''

''Dying.'' More heavy laughter followed her croaked reply and she groaned. ''Dude, am I on speaker phone?''

''Maybe... Anyway, I have the perfect hangover cure.''

''If it doesn't involve sleeping and/or eating all day then you can count me out.''

"We're headed over to Cena's gym, you're coming with."

''Why would I want to do that?''

''It'll be fun, all the guys will be there. Plus, you'll feel a lot better once you sweat all the alcohol out of your system.''

''Colby, no, I-''

Jon voice suddenly came through the speaker. ''Tough shit, sweetheart. We're already on our way to your place so you better hurry up and get ready.''

After having a quick shower and scrubbing the remnants of the previous nights make-up from her face, she had shoved her hair up into a messy ponytail and pulled on some workout gear. She had just finished lacing up her trainers when she heard a horn toot outside, announcing their arrival. Quickly grabbing her gym bag, keys and phone, she slipped on her sunglasses before making her way outside.

Colby was just stepping out of the back of the car as she approached, wincing as he took in her bedraggled appearance. ''What happened to you last night?''

"Eight shots of tequila happened to me..."

He laughed and stepped aside, gesturing for her to climb in. ''You'll have to squeeze in-between me and Claudio.''

''Hey guys.'' Alexa greeted, as she slid into the backseat, grinning at the Swiss man beside her before looking to the front. Joe was driving while Jon rode shotgun, the latter turning in his chair to face her. He had on a pair of aviator sunglasses, which he somehow managed to pull off quite well.

''You look...''

''Like a train wreck?'' She finished.

''No... maybe a small bus crash.''

He fixed her with one of his trademark schoolboy grins and she felt butterflies start to surface in her stomach. Swallowing heavily, she turned to smile at Colby as he took up the seat next to her. The car soon revved to life and they were on their way.

''Here, this might make you feel a little better.'' Claudio spoke beside her, holding out a bottle of water.

''Thank you.'' She accepted it gratefully, downing half of it before replacing the cap. Her eyes furrowed in concentration as she read the writing on the font of the bottle. ''Why the hell does mineral water that has trickled through mountains for centuries have a 'use by' date?''

Hard Nocks South was a private gym that John had set up with his friend and trainer, Rob Macintyre. It was named after the original Hard Nocks Gym in Amesbury, Massachusetts which was where John had first started working out. There were dozens of military flags decorating the walls, proudly displaying the affinity and honour that he had for the armed forces. It didn't look like a regular gym with treadmills everywhere. Instead, the entire place had a no frills atmosphere, giving the all important lesson that hard work trumped fancy facilities.

''This is pretty cool.'' Alexa declared as she walked around, taking in everything around her.

''It's awesome.'' Colby pitched in from beside her. ''John lets us use this place when we like.''

''That's really nice of him.''

Jon stepped up beside her, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "Think you're going to be able to hang with the big-boys today, sweetheart?"

''Oh, I know I can.''

She shrugged his arm off and moved away from the small group, pulling off her jacket before getting into her pre-workout stretches.

''You always warm-up before you do a workout?'' Jon teased as he stepped over to her.

''Yep. Keeps the body limber, less risk of injury.'' She replied, sitting on the floor and spreading her legs out, releasing a small groan when the muscles in her thighs and back protested. ''Besides, being bendy has it's perks.''

Several minutes, and a few crude comments later, he wandered off to focus on his own workout, leaving her in peace to finish off her stretching. Once she was fully limbered up, she glanced around, getting a feel for the lay-out of the place as she decided where to begin.

Jon watched her intently from the other side of the room, drinking in her appearance as she completed her workout. His eyes remained on her as she went through box squats, front and rear laterals and deadlifts before finally stopping for a break. Grabbing a bottle of water and a towel from her bag, she took a seat on a bench and used her towel to wipe at her face.

Colby had been right about this being an effective hangover cure, she looked like she was feeling better than she had been that morning. A thin film of sweat coated her skin, dripping down her face and her arms. She was bouncing her leg up and down as she drank from her bottle; the muscles beneath her tanned skin bunching and contracting underneath. He smirked to himself, the memories he had of trailing his fingers over all that flesh and muscle running through his mind.

When he first arrived at FCW and before actually getting to know her, Jon thought he had Alexa pegged; stereotypical WWE Diva who thought she was too good to talk to anybody down in developmental.

But, after being witness to some of her cringe-worthy training sessions with Tom, and overhearing some of her conversations with Darren and Joe, he had quickly changed his mind; finding there was a lot more to her than first met the eye. On the outside she was all bravado, sarcasm and a tough-as-nails attitude. Underneath it all though, was a fragile heart that she was protecting with all her might.

His curiosity had been piqued, and there had been a few nights where he found himself scouring the internet for her old matches. He had never really cared for women's wrestling before, especially in the WWE where a lot of them were used purely as eye candy. But Alexa really was something else entirely.

Arguably one of the best female wrestlers in the world, she had the total package. She gave the audience everything they wanted: speed, athleticism, power and showmanship. She was such a well-rounded talent; blending power and high-flying, displaying a natural grace in the ring. She amazed fans every time she stepped through those ropes and was able to tap the absolute best out of her opponents. Some wrestlers just have a feel for the sport; it flows through them like their own blood.

Alexa was one of those wrestlers.

As well as her in-ring ability, she was also one of the best female mic workers out there, almost being on par with Stephanie McMahon. He was sure her time spent with Chris Jericho and CM Punk, two of the greatest mic workers in the WWE, helped significantly with that.

As they had started to spend time together, the more he got to know her and the more he started to like her. They friendship between them soon developed into something more and now he found himself fighting to suppress the growing feelings he was having for her. It wasn't just sex to him anymore; he wanted something more.