Friday 7th December

''Happy Birthday! Now, come on, blow!''

''Nah, I don't really feel like doing that...''

''Yeah, welcome to our world.''

Alexa's comment was met by a chorus of laughter from the women in the room, her boyfriend raising an eyebrow in amusement.

It was Jon's birthday and with the help of his room-mate, Bill 'Colin Cassady' Morrissey, she had arranged a small get-together at his place. They had invited just a few people from the FCW roster and a couple of his friends from his time in the indies. Sami had travelled down with Drake Weutz, both men had a show in New Jersey so were planning on leaving early the following day. She had also managed to arrange for his best friend, Brian Jennings, to come down and surprise him. The pair hadn't seen much of each other since Jon relocated down to Tampa, so it was nice for them to be able to catch up.

''Come on.'' Alexa thrust the huge cake towards him, the candles illuminating the room. ''My arms are starting to ache.''

Jon rolled his eyes good-naturedly, everyone cheering as he blew out the candles. The music was turned back on and he followed her into the kitchen, watching intently as she placed it on the counter.

He bent his head down and kissed her quickly. ''You're pretty awesome, you know that?''

''I know.'' She smirked before grabbing the back of his head and pulling him down for a passionate kiss.

Wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her tightly, he teased her lips open with his tongue. She grabbed the front of his shirt in her hands and a low groan escaped him when her nails grazed his chest.

Colby rolled his eyes as he stepped into the kitchen, his eyes falling on the pair. ''Jesus Christ, man, put her down! There's time for that later, come and enjoy your party!''

''Did he ever tell you about the time he ripped his nipple off?''

''No.'' Alexa's eyebrows shot up as she glanced between Jon, Brian, Drake and Sami.

''Yeah, he was in a match against Jimmy Jacobs and he hit a tope on Jon. He hit the guard rail and it sliced right in his chest. When he got backstage, his nipple was basically just hanging there.''

Jon grinned, his hand coming up to cover said nipple. ''I stitched it back on myself.''

She grimaced. ''Lovely...''

''Hey, Sami?'' He smirked across at the other man. ''Tell her about that time you had an 'accident' during our match.''

''You're a dick.'' He scowled, delivering a swift kick to the birthday boy's shin. ''I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to hear anything about me shitting myself.''

''Alright, what about when you-''

Alexa quickly slapped her hand across his mouth. ''Be nice, or I'll tell them all about how you like to be the little spoon... oh, oops...''

Jon narrowed his eyes at her as the three men roared with laughter; Drake slinging an arm across the back of the chair and grinning at his friend. ''I like her.''

''Of course you do.'' He muttered, tilting his head towards her. ''Hey, sweetheart, did you make that cake for me?''

''No... why?''

He smirked. ''Remember when you tried to make one for Saraya's birthday?''

''Shut up!'' She hissed, her face flushing crimson.

Ignoring her, her turned to his friends with a chuckle. ''So, she made this chocolate cake, right? It was all good, came out looking pretty fucking nice so she went to grab her phone to take a photo. Only, she couldn't find her phone.''

''Oh no...'' Brian's lips twitched into a smile, guessing where this was going.

''So, I call it from mine and we follow the sound of the ringtone to the kitchen, where it was coming from inside the cake. Somehow, she had dropped the phone into the mix and baked it with the cake.''

The trio let out another roar of laughter as Alexa scowled, crossing her arms over her chest as she glanced at her boyfriend. ''I hate you.''

Alexa held her second— okay, third—slice of pizza to her mouth and took a bite, casually bopping her head to the music serenading the remaining party guests. Turning away from Colby and the rest of the FCW crew doing the Limbo, she spotted Brian standing by the kitchen island, watching on with an amused expression.

She grinned and made her way over to him, taking another bite before speaking. ''Where's Jon? Did he hurt his back attempting to limbo?''

Brian smirked, taking a swig of his beer. ''He went to say goodbye to Sami and Drake, they're heading out now.''

She looked up at him eagerly, dumping her pizza on the worktop. ''This is perfect, now you can tell me more embarrassing stories about him.''

''I think he'd kill me if I told you anything else...'' He chuckled before turning to her with a serious expression. ''So, how long have you two been dating now?''

''Officially, around nine months... I think.''

''What do you mean, 'officially'?''

''Jon didn't tell you?'' Her eyebrows lifted in surprise when the man shook his head. ''Uh, we were kind of hooking up for a while before we actually got together.''

''So, how long unofficially?''

Shrugging, she replied. ''About a year and a half.''

He let out a low whistle, his gaze thoughtful. ''Come to think of it, whenever he called me, he used to talk about you a lot.''

''Really? What-''

''Come on, Lex.'' Jon drawled, striding over to the pair and picking up the half-eaten pizza that she had left laying on the counter. ''I love you and everything, but what are you, an animal? Use a plate.''

With a grumble, he walked off, dropping the pizza in the bin as he passed it.

Apropos of nothing, Brian spoke. ''You've done wonders for him, you know? In all the time I've known him, I've never seen him this way. You know his story; he had a shitty time of it growing up and never really let anyone get that close to him. He has a hard time telling people how he feels.''

Alexa shot him a questioning look, replying dubiously. ''Most of the time, he's pretty outspoken. I actually find it difficult to make him stop giving me his unsolicited opinion on things.''

The corner of his mouth turned upward, but he shook his head. ''Not when it's important. He sometimes... it takes a lot for him to let people in, you know? It's like he's scared, so he says things by not actually saying them.''

She nodded, biting her lip. ''Yeah, I get that.''

''Things between the two of you might have started out slightly unconventionally, but I see the way he looks at you... like you're the only person in the room, while at the same time he's terrified he's going to fuck it up.''

''He's not going to fuck it up.'' She met his eyes with a smile. ''I won't let him.''