Chapter 22 - Heal
Grey eyes looked around the room. It was clearly smaller than the master bedroom of the house, but at least the bed was a queen size; otherwise his big ass was bound to roll over once and fall right on the floor. His wife was not kidding when she banished him to the spare room off the kitchen. He was ridiculously stupid if he didn't think there would be repercussions for coming clean to his wife.
He had promised her at least a hundred times since they had their talk that he would make it up to her, but as of now almost two months later he hadn't done anything to prove otherwise. He already knew the AJ and Ayana ship had sailed. She had already told him things had ended between them a few months ago, even before he went crazy with jealous rage when he watched them dancing. He believed his wife when she said it was over; she had no reason to lie to him. He had in turn told her things with him and Sasha had been squashed; she had already decided to put more effort into her fiancée and less into cheating. Not that that was the greatest beginning to a lifetime together...but who was he to judge.
Roman tried hiding the fact that he was sleeping and living in the spare room from the kids. He didn't want them thinking the worst, because last time when he actually left the house it nearly killed them to think they would never see him again. He was up before them when he was home on his days off and went to bed after them.
Apparently he wasn't being as stealthy as he thought he was because the last time he was home he got a knock on the spare bedroom door; he said 'come in' thinking it was just Ayana being respectful. Imagine his shock and horror when he looked up from the book he had been reading and watched his oldest son come in the room and close the door behind him.
Roman looked and felt guilty but Braden didn't look any different to the situation. "What's up son?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that dad?" Braden returned. "I know you've been trying to be all Mission Impossible for the last two months, but you're not quite as smooth about it as Tom Cruise is. Mom is even less shady than you."
Roman shook his head; was his 11 year old son really schooling him? Jesus, he couldn't believe in a matter of days his oldest son was going to be turning 12. He was already a young man. "Go ahead and ask your questions; I know you've got a few." Roman always taught the kids they could come to him or Ayana and ask them anything and they would get honest answers; or at least as honest as they could answer them.
"What's going on with you and mom? She seems like she's awfully pissed off at you. The last time she was this mad you went and stayed with Mema and Papa; are you going to leave again?" Braden asked softly.
Roman shook his head. "Your mother and I are having a disagreement." That was putting it mildly. "But we will get past this; I promise. I have no reason to leave; I mean yea I'm staying in a different room, but I think it's for the best right now." He would take the blame for staying in the spare room; he didn't want Braden to act out towards his mother for something that technically was Roman's own fault.
"You need to start sending mom flowers or something. It really sucks when you guys are fighting." Braden stated.
Roman chuckled as he stood up from the bed and approach his oldest. "Listen, don't worry about us. We are going to be just fine. Now it's getting late and you've got school in the morning; get to bed." Roman kissed the crown of his sons head as he hugged him tightly. "Get some sleep. I'll see you when you get home from school tomorrow. Love you kid."
"Love you too dad, night." Braden said before he turned and left the room.
Damn sometimes Roman and Ayana's kids were smarter than either of them gave their kids credit for.
"Uuuuugh, Jesus Christ that feels fuckin wonderful." Nala moaned.
Ayana laughed as she looked over and watched as the masseuse dug her thumbs into the arch of Nala's foot. It had been forever since they had a spa day and Ayana could tell it was way over due for the both of them. "I don't know how I ever survived four pregnancies without a nice massage."
Nala shook her head. "I don't know how you did it either." Normally her feet were incredibly sensitive. She was sure she was going to kick the masseuse in the face the second her foot was touched but as soon as the magical fingers and hands started she NEVER wanted them to stop. "Oh good God! I can die a happy woman right freakin now." She exclaimed.
Ayana scoffed. "Please I'm already hating you. At five months you are barely showing; that's gotta be good Dean and Nala genes. Roman's gene's had me bigger than a house by the time I rounded my sixth month. Please look at your feet. They aren't even swollen. I should make you pay for the spa for those swollen feet pregnancies."
Nala chuckled. "So how are you and Roman doing since the big talk and promises of making it up to you?" She asked.
Ayana rolled her eyes. "Well he's promised a hundred times and it sounds really promising, but nothing yet."
"Please I just love the fact that you are making his rotten ass live in the spare room. After the two years of alienation how the hell does he like it? It's always nice to give a dude a taste of his own damn medicine." Nala stated in a snarky tone. "You know something your marriage will survive; it's just a matter of getting it turned back around and on the right track. Has he even mentioned anything in the way of how he's going to make it up to you?" She asked curiously.
"Nope. He did mention the fact that Braden busted him sleeping in the spare room." Ayana giggled. "Braden is so damned observant."
Nala chortled. "My nephew the genius." Nala moaned out once more. "Oh right there!" Her toes curled under on both feet as the masseuse chuckled at her, but continued his administrations.
Ayana's eyes practically rolled into the back of her head as she too joined in the enjoyment of the foot massage.
This was going to be a good day.
A loud boisterous laugh filled the gym; garnering every head to turn in the direction of the two wrestlers turned best friends.
"Cut that out!" Roman growled in Dean's direction. "It's not that funny." He grumbled with a deep scowl on his face.
Dean continued to chuckle as his inner volume started to die down. "Bro, you just asked me how to woo your wife. How in the hell am I supposed to know how to woo your wife? If I even thought I knew that Nala would have my ass since Ayana isn't my wife. Shouldn't you already know how to do that?"
Roman scowled once more. "Honestly? I don't think I remember. We've just been together for so long everything is just on auto pilot with us. I go to work on Fridays, I come home on Mondays. I spend time with the kids for the two days off and start all over again; nothing ever changes - unless it's someone's birthday or my parents have some wicked big family dinner."
Dean looked over at the man he considered a brother. "Dude you've got to think of something that would make her happy. Something that you've clearly either never done before or haven't done for a while." Dean snapped his fingers as he pointed at Roman. "Ooo what about a spa day, chic's dig shit like that."
Roman chuckled. "You wasn't paying attention to Nala this morning were you?"
"No why?" Dean asked with a quizzical brow.
"My wife took your wife to the spa today for an all day treatment since she has survived the last five months of carrying your demon seed." Roman chuckled out full belly laughs.
"Well than damn it bro what haven't you done for your wife in a long time? I mean other than no sex for the last two years. Hey by the way, how did you keep your hands off your wife for two years? That is still burning a hole in my brain bro. I can't keep my hands off Nala and even more now that her horny pregnancy hormones have kicked in." Dean asked curious.
Roman shook his head. "Believe me it was not without great difficulty. My wife is a beautiful woman. When I hatched that lame brain idea to keep her at arm's length; I was doing a lot of self serving and..."
Dean groaned before he made gagging noises. "Do not finish whatever was left of that statement." Dean demanded. "I do NOT need any visual aids into your sex life buddy."
Roman chuckled. "I wasn't going to say anything graphic you asshat. I was just saying the self serving went on for quite a long time. Of course pounding my head against a brick wall would've been less painful, but I'm Samoan and a stubborn fuck. You know me. You've been around me long enough to know how stubborn I can be."
Roman racked the bar he had been lifting over his head before he threw a towel and bottle of water at his brother. "Now stop making fun and screwing around and help a brother out." Roman insisted.
Dean smirked. "What the hell do I know about wooing a woman? I didn't even realize Nala was in love with me when we were just friends. We flirted mercilessly and teased the shit out of each other and that was before we even kissed. I'm blind as a bat when it comes to shit like this and you should already know it. I had been friends with Nala for a few years and never realize her feelings for me; I never realized how much she actually supported me through FCW/NXT. I will never be able to repay her for it; never."
Dean huffed. "How the hell did you get Ayana to agree to a first date with you? You don't have a lot of witty game bro." Dean teased.
It was Roman's turn to smirk. "I went to a dance after a football game one Friday night and she was standing there. She was new to the school and we actually had every class together. I was too chicken to approach her during class for some reason. I walked into the school gym and she was standing with a couple of friends and before I knew what was happening I walked up and asked her to dance."
"Oh so you were even less suave back then too." Dean jabbed with a chuckle.
"Fuck you." Roman snickered. "I was suave enough for her to say yes. Everything after that night just snowballed into the life we have now. I honestly don't remember going on any dates, but I mean I know we did. Saturdays were our days. We could spend all day together; either at my house or hers until night time then we would go to the movies...Lots of make out time, but hardly any memories of the movies we paid to see. We'd find some place quiet and out of the way afterwards and sex it up. It usually ended with dinner and taking her home." Roman smiled at the memories from when they were still in high school.
A time when everything seemed easier in life.
"So ask her out on a date. You guys started from the ground up, maybe that's where you need to start again; make her remember why she fell in love with you. Make her remember all the good times you had." Dean pointed at Roman. "But be smart enough to not mention AJ or Sasha. Don't keep apologizing for things neither of you can get back and change. At this point you have to move forward and there's only two options from where I'm sitting." Dean stated honestly.
Roman looked at his best friend. "And what do you think those are?" He asked.
Dean shrugged. "Moving forwards mean you either both get over the stupidity that you did to each other the last two years and keep moving on in your married lives with your kids and huge family or you divide everything in half and be prepared for a lengthy divorce." Dean shook his head. "You guys either love each other so much you can't imagine being with anyone else forever or you can't wait to get away from each other because you're like toxic waste to one another."
"When did you become fuckin Dr. Phil bro?" Roman asked with a smirk. Yes he was being a smart ass but he was also listening to every word that came from his brother's mouth. Dean really was his voice of reason. Dean had actually become his voice of reason when they were down in developmental together.
Dean rolled his eyes before clapping his hands and holding them out. "Come on bro, I watch enough Dr. Phil to practically be that baldheaded bastards brother. Whatever you do don't ask Nala for advice she will lecture you first on everything you did wrong and how it when wrong and the several ways on how you could've stopped it. A lecture from her lasts anywhere from a few hours to the coming of Christ. I'm giving you the cliff notes version with my own spin. Just call me Dr. Ambrose." Dean chuckled out; he laughed even harder when Roman threw a towel in his face.
Roman shook his head. "Maybe asking her on a date would be a good start. Hell we've never been on vacation before. After Braden was born we didn't have time because we were still doing the college thing and after that we had Odyn, Max and Samaria; so no vacation time then either. We could always drop the kids with my folks for a couple of weeks and go somewhere together; somewhere - somewhere..."
"Somewhere..." Dean interrupted. "Where there are no tiny voices to call out mommy and daddy through the thin walls and bang their little hands on your locked bedroom door. Somewhere where you can lay pipe with your wife and not be disturbed. Somewhere where kids are the last thing on both of your minds and rekindling your love is the replacement for both of you."
Roman chuckled at his brothers 'laying pipe' suggestion. Only Dean would suggest something like that. Roman only hoped that whatever he did decide on that it healed everything that seemed to be broken between them.