The Deville You Know Ch24
Paige had just woken up and for the first 20 seconds of the day she had forgotten what was going on. She had rolled over to put an arm over her girlfriend, who usually spent the night after a date, but on this occasion, she found she was in the bed alone. This would have really upset her, but then she slowly remembered the reason why. Their date last night had been fun, they had gone for dinner at a quiet little Italian bistro that they both enjoyed, as they could enjoy a romantic setting with nearly zero chance of being spotted, with high quality food and usually a good bottle of wine. The wine, along with the bar, or dance club, or cabaret, or whatever activities followed before going back to one house or the other all had to be left off this week. Paige had agreed to do something she hated doing, giving someone a ride to the airport. Sonya was the exception, and it still took a fair bit of persuading, the nature of which she would never repeat to anyone. Sonya needed the ride because she had been sent out to do some press for the house show loop that was going on that weekend. Sonya was specifically chosen because she was getting requested for interviews as the first and currently only openly gay female in the company. Paige admittedly felt guilty about this, but knew it wasn't time yet. Only three people outside her relationship and her family knew she was dating a woman, and she needed to keep it that way for a while yet.
Paige got out of bed, went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. She sat there drinking it, planning her day. She had to fly out the next morning to join Sonya and the rest of the roster, as they continued the drive to Summerslam. The plans were locked in for her to drop the title, and she was fine with it. The story had been strong, and losing the title wasn't going to be too damaging to her, no more than any other champion, and she knew all title reigns come to an end. Hunter had already talked to her about feuds through the rest of the year, but there had been very little talk about next year and the road to Wrestlemania. Sometimes these plans were put in a year in advance, so the fact it hadn't come up was both surprising and not. In fairness, she only returned in November and was in a title match at the last one.
Turning on the radio, she felt sad that she couldn't pick up any of Sonya's interviews. She was missing her girlfriend. At least that's what she assumed that sad feeling and small pain in her gut was. She decided that a distraction was needed, and went with the sensible decision of going to the gym and getting a smoothie.
Arriving at her local gym, she started on the treadmill, sharing a wave with Alexa Bliss, who was also there working out. She got into the zone and went for a good paced run, then heading to the weights room, pushing her limits, remembering that the upcoming match with Ronda needed her to be in peak condition to make sure she put on the best performance she could and go out as champ with a proper bang. She really put herself through the ringer, but it did the trick for her mind as it stopped her thinking about Sonya, something she knew she arguably did too much. But she found she couldn't help it.
Refocusing on her workout, she went until she couldn't anymore then took a shower. The water was too hot, but did what it had to do. Covering herself, she went to her gym locker to retrieve her clothes. Once she was decent, she grasped her phone from the locker to check for messages. What she saw was concerning to say the least.
Mandy Rose: Message
Sonya Deville: Message (3)
Sonya Deville: Missed Call (6)
Hunter Helmsley: Missed Call
Sonya Deville: Voicemail
Hunter Helmsley: Voicemail
She read the messages first. The ones from Sonya said "Call me." "Where are you?" And finally just a question mark. Mandy had written much the same. "Sonya is trying to reach you, call her back asap. Urgent."
She then called her voicemail. Sonya's message came through first and it felt like a knife to the heart. Sonya was crying down the phone. "Honey, where are you? Call me. I need to hear your voice. The interview was horrible. Please call me back." She decided Hunter could wait and hit the call button, heading out of the gym as there were other women in there and she knew privacy would be needed. It was picked up after less than half a ring.
"Thank goodness, where were you?" It wasn't aggressive, but relief in Sonya's voice.
"I was at the gym babe. What's happened?" Paige had never heard Sonya in any distress before, and it was hurting her badly to be doing this by phone.
"This asshole of a radio host. They ambushed me. They lied about it to get me in and further their homophobic bullshit agenda, they wanted me their to be their punching bag. They were more evil than any abuse I've ever taken. Made me feel like I'm not fit to be a woman, or a human. He beat me down so bad I couldn't even defend myself, I had to just leave before I punched him in the face. He even dared me to do it, said he'd call the police and claim it was a hate crime."
"He what?" Paige was stunned. "Oh baby, I am so sorry."
"I just got out of there. I didn't know what to do. I tried to call you, but you didn't answer, so I called Mandy, now I'm just walking the streets, the car isn't here yet, but I can't stay outside there." Sonya was speaking rapidly and on the verge of a panic attack, something Paige unfortunately knew very well.
"Sonya. Listen to me. You need to take a few deep breaths. Calm down, speak slower. While you breathe, just listen to my voice. You aren't in the wrong here. Walking out was the right move. Not punching him was the right move. Not only because you'd be calling me from jail right now, but because it would have made him the victim. More importantly, you are a worthwhile human, and the most amazing woman I have ever met. I'll never forgive myself for not being there when you needed me, and I promise it will never happen again. You mean the world to me, to Mandy, and to many other people besides. You are not anybody's punching bag. You are strong, you are ridiculously tough, and you are beautiful. Nothing will ever change my mind on this. Do you hear me." There was silence on the other end. "Sonya?"
"Sorry, I was nodding. On a phone call. I'm an idiot."
Paige laughed gently, finding that amusing and trying to defuse things further. "Fine. Just remember that you're my idiot and that won't change off any crazy radio show. Do you have any more booked?" Paige hoped that was the last of the day.
"There was supposed to be one more, but Hunter has cancelled it. He told me I didn't have to go."
Paige was happy to hear it. "He's left me a message, but I haven't heard it yet."
"He asked if i wanted him to call anyone. I said you, because I couldn't reach you."
"I'll call him back when we are done, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to just keep walking. I don't know what else to do."
"That sounds good. Keep walking. Get some ice cream, do some shopping, treat yourself, whatever your heart desires right now. Just be around people. See how most of them don't disturb you, to them you are just a nice normal person who deserves respect. If you get recognised, I bet they treat you well. You should take pictures and sign autographs if they ask, and if you want to. Oh, and send me pictures as you go, make me jealous I'm not there. Just get back to the hotel in a far better place that you are in now."
"I wish you were here." Sonya said, still hurting.
"Me too babe, but I'll see you real soon. Now promise me, you're going to go spoil yourself."
"I promise. I knew talking to you was the best medicine."
"I know, I'm a miracle, now go. I gotta call Hunter back. I expect that first picture soon."
"Ok, bye Paige, and thanks." Sonya hung up the phone, so Paige called Hunter right away.
"Hello Paige."
"Hey Hunter, I just spoke to Sonya. Tell me, what happened?"
"One of the radio stations lied to us, and we didn't check them out strongly enough. We dropped the ball and she ended up getting blindsided by the host. Nobody in her position could have dealt with that. I feel terrible, and I have called a meeting with the advance team next week when I'm back in Connecticut. We will only be talking about this. We will never be dealing with that radio station again, and I'm preparing a statement supporting Sonya and trashing them. They will regret this long term, I'll make sure."
"That's all well and good, but she's a mess right now, she's not done huge amounts of media, almost none by herself. This is really going to upset her, in fact it has." Paige did her best to keep her emotions toned down, remembering who was on the other end of the call."
"I know, I talked to her too. She will get our full support over this like I said. If she wants any extra help, she will get it. If she wants more media training, it can be arranged, but I don't think she needs it, she did great up until then." Hunter sounded genuine in his support, which Paige found reassuring.
"You heard the rest of her interviews?" She asked.
"I found them online once I got word of what happened so I could look into it. It's how I know this wasn't her fault."
"So what do I do?"
"I didn't call you because you need to do anything. I asked Sonya if there was anyone she wanted me to call. She said she had tried you several times and couldn't reach you. She actually sounded nearly as upset over that." The line went silent for a few seconds as Paige didn't have a response. Hunter then spoke again. "Paige, can I ask you a question?"
Paige could feel a crunch in her stomach as she feared the question, but couldn't really say no. "Sure."
"Is there something going on between you and Sonya?"
Paige had nowhere near enough time to come up with an answer she was happy with. "S-Something going on?" She ended up stammering out.
"Yeah. The way she seemed upset over not being able to talk to you didn't seem like just needing a friend, not after what she went through in that interview."
"Look, Hunter, I, you see, we, um, she is, and I…"
"Ok, stop. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. But if there is, I suggest you at least talk to the company about it, there are things we can do to protect you, and we need to protect ourselves at the same time."
"I understand but…"
Hunter again interrupted what would have been more ramblings. "Look if you're not, then that's fine, ignore everything I said, and I apologise. If you are, then just know we will support you fully. You also might want to know that we have moved her hotel to ensure her privacy until she flies out for the shows Saturday."
"Saturday? But we were all booked for tomorrow?"
"Card subject to change, a very helpful phrase. The fans will understand. The three of you are now off Friday. Do what you want with that extra time. Now do you want the new hotel details or not?" Hunter had a tone of voice that was far lighter than the words, as Paige realised he knew her answer.
"Yes please."
"She's in the other Marriott there now, the downtown one, not the one near the airport that she was in. She can check in from 4, which is still several hours away. She said she'd be ok till then."
"Thanks."
"No problem, now I better go, but call if you need anything. You got me?"
"Yeah, I got you. Thanks Hunter." Paige said, hearing the call disconnect. She knew what she was going to do next, but she didn't have much time.
Sonya got to the hotel in the early evening. She had spent a lot longer out and about than she planned to, plus the city was quite picturesque so she's lost track of time. She'd been recognised a couple of times, but both times by fans who were respectful and happy to get the opportunity to take a picture with her, which she had done with pleasure. Nobody had referenced her disastrous interview, which she had almost forgotten about. The lady at the front desk confirmed that her luggage had been recovered from her previous hotel and delivered to her room, which was ready. Sonya thanked her and took the elevator up, finding the room close by when she got out of it. When she entered, Sonya was surprised by two things, one was how big the room was, the company had booked her a suite for the night, and the other was how much effort had gone into the room. The table was set up with a lit candlestick, three flames already burning. A bottle of champagne was on ice. And lastly she spotted that there was a trail of rose petals on the floor. This confused Sonya as it was far beyond any expectations she would ever have of a hotel, regardless of her status, or any strings the company may have pulled for her. She followed them around the corner to the bedroom and found Paige sitting on the bed, holding a big rose bouquet in her hands. Sonya's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Hi." Paige said timidly, not sure how her surprise may go down.
Sonya dropped all of her bags down on the floor. "Oh my god." Was all she could say.
"I know flowers aren't really your thing, but I hope you like them." Paige handed over the bouquet. Sonya took them without hesitation.
"They're perfect. This is all perfect." Sonya stood the flowers up against the wall, and gave Paige a kiss, then a hug that she locked in tighter than she ever had before. Paige returned it just as strongly, holding on till Sonya was the one to release her grip. When they parted, Paige saw a tear in her girlfriend's eye.
"Don't you dare. I'm here to make you happy, so no tears." Sonya laughed at the demand. "And the flowers is just the start. I have room service ordered for..." she checked the time on her phone. "…just under an hour. I ordered you the sirloin, didn't think you'd argue with that, plus we have a bottle of bubbly, or whatever else your heart desires. We have to order dessert, if you want it, when they deliver your steak, then for after dinner I bought a bottle of massage oil and I am going to pamper you till you fall asleep."
"I don't know what to say." Sonya replied.
"You don't have to say anything, but you have 45 minutes now if you want to freshen up first."
"This is just so amazing that you're here, that you've done this. I love you." Sonya said, trying to find the words to express what it meant to her, but not intending to say what she did and realising what she had almost right away. She froze, staring at Paige, who had done the same thing, and had quickly broken eye contact, now looking at her feet. The silence was hanging in the air for what felt like forever, and Sonya knew that she had to be the one to break it.
"Er, ok, look, I can't take those words back, and I don't want to. But please don't feel pressured honey. I'm not asking you to say anything, or do anything in response. But you've done something wonderful for me, and I couldn't stop myself saying it. I'm going to go for a shower, and when I come back out, we will have the wonderful evening that you just described." Sonya disappeared into the bathroom and banged her head on the mirror. She ran the shower, disrobed and got in. The shower wasn't quite as relaxing as it should have been, as she was panicking inside. She dressed after the shower, and looked out the bathroom door. Paige was sat on the bed, just playing with her hands. The door creaked as it opened and Paige's head snapped around. Sonya didn't see a look of anger on her face, so decided she would speak first.
"Please don't be mad at me for this. I would have liked to have done that better, but it's done now." She sat down on the bed next to Paige and the looked into each other's eyes.
"You meant it though, didn't you?" Paige asked, uncertainty in her voice, which didn't surprise Sonya in the least.
"Of course I did. I blurted it out once before, but you were asleep. I may be cursed to not be able to do this in a romantic way, but it's more true than words can really say, or mean." Sonya was then taken by surprise as Paige kissed her with force.
"It's never bad to have someone tell you they love you." Paige said when she leant back. "It's just, well, I've said it too soon, and it hasn't ended well. I don't want that for us."
"It won't be like that. I told you. Just like always, no pressure. When you feel it, and you want to say it, then I'm all ears. Until then, it doesn't change how I feel about you, or how I'll be with you."
"No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm glad you told me how you feel, I'd never want you to do anything else. Its, well, I've been thinking a lot while you were in the shower."
"About what?" Sonya was the one getting anxious now.
"About you. And how I want to do right by you, and that you deserve so much more, yet you still picked me, even though I've been such a mess."
"You're not a mess." Sonya started to say, before she was cut off.
"I know you think that way, you see something nobody else does, even me these days. That's why when I heard you in pain, it hurt me too, why I had to get on a plane and come find you. And all I've been thinking is, you don't do that for someone unless, well you know…." Paige stopped abruptly, much to Sonya's disappointment.
"Know that what? What were you going to say?" Sonya found she was holding her breath.
"It showed me how I feel, when I had that moment to really think about it. It might have been true since we got together, maybe since we started working together back in November. But it's definitely how I feel."
"So, how do you feel?" Sonya asked, still not sure if she should be excited or scared.
Paige took Sonya's hand and held it tight, a smile emerging on her face. "I'm in love with you too. I think I have been for a long while now. I've done some stupid things because I couldn't admit it. But none of that compares to how I felt when you were in pain. All my stupid problems didn't matter anymore. I promise I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you never feel that hurt again."
Sonya couldn't help her smile. It was what she'd hoped to hear. But she knew not to go overboard. She elected to keep it light, bushing Paige's hair back over her ear. "I thought I was the one who was going to have to protect you."
"And you do. I'm still not ready to go public, so I still need you to, but I'm glad I could say it to you."
"Me too. Could…could you say it again?" Sonya felt her cheeks burning, along with the rest of her body.
Paige laughed. "You try so hard to be tough, but you're really very cute sometimes. I love you." Paige whispered those three words to Sonya, and both women felt urges building.
"I love you too." Sonya just got out before the two couldn't stop themselves as they came together kissing furiously. Sonya quickly had Paige's shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor, she was unhooking her bra when there was a knock at the door.
"Room service!"
"Oh, that's our dinner I ordered." Paige said, only just remembering she even ordered it in that moment.
"Can't we send it away?" Sonya asked.
"No way, I spent a lot getting this organised for you." Paige put her shirt back on, seeing Sonya pout. "Don't do that, I promise you'll enjoy it, and we have all night for everything else."
"Ok." Sonya agreed with a little reluctance, and got the door. The hotel staff brought in the works, food, sides, everything they needed for a good meal. Paige tipped them well and they left. As she closed the door behind them, she dimmed the lights so the candlestick on the table was their only light.
"Wow. This all looks amazing. Thank you honey." Sonya said, sitting down.
"It's what you deserve." Paige popped the champagne and poured them both a glass. They enjoyed the good food and drink, but couldn't take their eyes off each other.
"So, you know how you're all in love with me and everything." Sonya said, as she has finished her meal, and her second glass of champagne.
"Yeah?" Paige wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"Well, I thought maybe that would mean that….."
"No. Not yet." Paige quickly responded, but spotting the disappointment, and remembering a separate conversation, added on to her response. "But soon, I don't think it's going to be my choice much longer anyway. I think Hunter knows about us."
"He does?"
"Yeah, the way you wanted me to know about what happened when you talked to him, on top of some other things he's spotted between us, or so he says, led him to ask me if we were together."
"So what did you say?"
"I didn't. I fumbled it, and he just encouraged us to talk to someone at the company."
Sonya smirked and shook her head. "Guess we've got that to look forward to, but it wasn't what I was getting at."
"Oh, it wasn't, then what?" Paige asked.
"Well, I wanted to know if you'd like to come up to my Moms place in Jersey in a couple of weeks. She was the first person I came out to, and she's been nothing but supportive. It means while we are there, we can act like a couple with no worries, and no judgement. I feel like I need that right now."
Even though she knew it wasn't intentional, Paige got a hard reminder of how much of this relationship had been her way. She thought about how much Sonya had done for her, and saw a chance to pay a little back. She left her chair, went round to her girl and kissed her on the cheek.
"Of course we can babe. But I don't need us to act like we are a couple. We are."
"I know, I didn't mean it like that. But it won't be like at work, we can have time to ourselves, I can show you round. If you are ok with it, I'd love to take you on a date down to the boardwalk, play some games, have some dinner by the ocean, it'll be great."
"Sounds amazing. Give her a call tomorrow and let me know when to pack for it, and maybe what to pack too, I haven't spent much time in New Jersey."
"You'll love it, I promise. Thanks."
Paige was taken aback. "You don't have to thank me babe. I want to do this. I'd do anything for you. In fact, I still owe you a massage, so if I could encourage you to strip down and lie on the bed…"
Sonya didn't need telling again, she had clothes flying off quickly, leaving just her small black panties on as she got in position.
"Not getting naked for me?" Was Paige's sarcastic response.
"Gotta earn it." Sonya teased. Paige grabbed the massage oil and straddled Sonya. "Aren't you overdressed?" Told Paige what she had to do and she happily disrobed, following Sonya's example and left only her thong on before mounting her girl once more.
Moans of pleasure quickly emerged from Sonya as Paige worked the muscles in her back, neck and shoulders. Sonya did her best to mask them but it was an impossible task. She mentally made a reminder to get these more often, especially after a particularly physical gym session or wrestling match.
"You feeling better?" Paige asked when it was done.
"Absolutely. You're a lot better at that than you think. You could think about it for after wrestling. I feel so much better."
"I'm glad babe. You wanna curl up and get some sleep?"
"Absolutely…..not." Sonya said, moving in close, trying to be sexy, and succeeding. "I thought massages came with happy endings?" Before any answer could be said, Sonya crashed herself lips first into Paige and the two were immediately locked in an aggressive tongue battle as all the events and emotions of the day and the night spilled over. Each was just happy to be with the other and was doing everything they could to show that to them as they both removed the little clothing they had left on and made love to each other for hours.
Finally they both collapsed down on the bed next to each other, gasping for air.
"Oh my god." Sonya panted, still in a near state of euphoria. She rolled over so she was leaning on Paige, but not quite on top. She leant in for a kiss, and got it. She took that as the ok to wrap an arm and a leg over her equally satisfied, yet equally tired girlfriend.
"I wanted to make you feel better, and I take it that I've succeeded?" Paige asked with a smirk.
"Honey, this morning I was worried I'd never be able to forget today. Now I never want to."
"Wow, I must be getting the hang of this then." Paige poked her tongue out at Sonya in jest, not that she hadn't gotten what she was referring to.
"Ok ok. One, you know I've never made any complaints, and two, you also know that's not what I'm talking about."
"I do." Paige held Sonya tightly. "I meant what I said. I really think I have been in love with you for a while. I wish I'd had the guts to admit it earlier."
"When do you think it was? And if you say it's when we kissed to shut those guys up, I'm walking out of here right now." Sonya asked.
"No, but that was hot." Paige replied. "Honestly, I think it was when I saw you training at the Performance Centre. Renee caught me staring and made a crack about asking you out. I brushed it off, but suddenly it was all I wanted to do."
"Was that the day you vanished on me and Mandy?" Was the next question.
"Yeah, I sat in my car for a little while, but then I just drove for ages, trying to get my head straight. Clearly I failed."
"You did. There's not a lot about you that's straight anymore." Sonya laughed but realised she was the only one. "Honey? It was a joke."
"I know. But it's true. I'm in love with another woman." Sonya was concerned from the way Paige said that meant she was about to freak out, but she then leant in and kissed Sonya deeply for several seconds. "And I wouldn't have it any other way, whether that labels me a lesbian or whatever, I don't care. I care about you, I really love you."
Sonya looked into Paige's eyes and saw how much she meant her words. Nothing else needed to be spoken. Except one thing, no matter how many times it had been said.
"I love you too."
A.N.: Thanks for reading.
Bit of a rollercoaster day for Sonya, but one that she says she will remember for the right reasons. Is this a turning point in their relationship, or is Paige all talk?
Will visiting Sonya's family have any impact on them? I always enjoy hearing your thoughts.
Congrats to Sonya for finally winning her first WWE title. Long overdue!