Thank you as always to AliceJericho for helping me hash out details.
"I knew I should have stayed at the hotel." Dean griped.
He was sprawled out on the gym floor, his chest heaving for gasps of air.
"We're not done yet." Roman reminded him, gulping from his bottle of water.
"Seth can fuck off. I'd rather be fat." Dean said, attempting to put his foot down.
Seth was the obvious health nut of the trio. He was known to train the hardest and always pushed Roman and especially Dean to their limits.
"First day we've had off in weeks. We better hit a bar tonight or I'm not doing anything else today. I don't give a shit what he says." He continued to complain.
Roman chuckled as he scanned the gym looking for Seth. The more he kept listening to Dean, the more he was beginning to sway to his side.
He narrowed his eyes when he finally spotted Seth across the gym, "What the hell is he doing?"
Dean propped up on his elbows, "He's gotta be dead. I've never seem him stand that still in a gym."
Roman grabbed another bottle of water and went to where Seth was still standing, "Hey man, let's get this last round finished so we can get out of here."
Seth didn't blink, "Yeah, I'm coming."
"What are you looking at?" Roman laughed, turning to face the same direction as Seth, who had still not moved.
All train of thought completely left his mind. Shiloh was in one of the classrooms with a trainer doing rapid fire boxing drills. She would duck under a jab, then land two quick blows to the trainers pads and flit away from him in the blink of an eye. Her hair was in a messy ponytail that swayed down her back, and stuck to her shoulders every time she feinted back and forth.
"I think I might be in love."Seth whispered, his mouth hanging agape.
Roman wanted to scoff and tell him that he was crazy, but he had legit lost all motor functions. He was not about to admit what he was feeling currently was anything but curiosity. He simply hadn't pegged her to do much, if any, physical activity.
Boxing?
That would have been at the very bottom of the list.
"Do you know how stupid you look from over there?" Dean asked, walking up to join them, "What's going on anyways?"
He peered between them and immediately started laughing, "Oh shit. You do remember who she's related to right?"
"Tell him that. He started it." Roman corrected, still watching her spar.
"Both of you are fucking ridiculous." Dean laughed as he caught Shiloh's eyes, "Annndddd...she just busted you."
He fixed his signature goofy grin on his face and waved at her.
Roman downed the last of his water and crunched the bottle up in his fist. He literally could not name a situation that hadn't been awkward with her at all.
She came over to them after removing her gloves in the ring, "I promise I'm not following you guys."
"Yeah sure." Seth smiled, "I promise we weren't just staring at you either."
She turned a deep crimson and lowered her head.
"It's just surprising to see you boxing that was all." Roman tried to salvage at least a little bit of his dignity after Seth's comment.
"It's a good workout." she shrugged lamely.
She looked up slightly and fixed him with a lopsided grin. It was the smallest of gestures and he knew it meant nothing but that didn't stop his stomach from cutting a flip.
Luckily Dean jumped in and saved him from going down that rabbit hole.
"So anyways, about those drinks you owe us."
Seth shoved him instantly, "She doesn't owe us anything. Don't be like that."
Dean ignored him completely, "Where'd you want to go tonight?"
"Let it go. C'mon man." Roman rolled his eyes, "There weren't any strings attached to us helping her. We're the Shield, its what we do. Justice...whatever."
He hoped if he made light of the situation she wouldn't feel obligated.
Shiloh fiddled with the zipper of her hoodie, "No, I don't mind."
She could feel the blood rushing to her face again, "I did offer and I never really get to go out ever."
An evil smirk crept over Dean's face, "Yeahhh...now we're talking!"
Seth still wasn't buying it, "Really, its not that big of a deal. You don't want to go out with him if you don't really party a lot anyways."
Dean threw his sweat soaked towel in Seth's face.
He swung an arm around her shoulders steering her toward the door, "He's a fucking liar. Don't ever listen to anybody who stares at you in a gym, okay?"
He grinned wickedly over his shoulder at Roman and Seth who were glaring at him.
"So you're going to shower and change and get all adorable. We're going to do the same and then we'll swing by and pick you up. Text me where you're staying and be ready in an hour, got it?" he planned out.
"I don't have you're number." she said.
He took her phone from her jacket pocket, "We'll just have to fix that won't we? Thumb please."
"What?" she asked, her brows furrowing together.
He sighed loudly and took her hand, by her thumb specifically, to unlock her phone.
"Oh." she mumbled sheepishly.
He intimidated her immensely with his devil may care attitude.
"There. Problem solved. You're welcome." he gave her phone back to her, "Get ready. We're going to have fun tonight."
He gave her one final nudge towards the door and sauntered back to Seth and Roman, "Get your shit together boys, we got a date with the bosses daughter!"
Roman let out a long, even, frustrated breath. He'd been looking between a pair of shirts for the last ten minutes. One was a nice button up, light grey like his eyes, nothing too fancy. The other just a plain black t-shirt that hugged his shoulders like it was painted on him. It never made any difference to him what he wore. He was a typical guy. He opted for comfort over fashion any chance he got. He was no slob by any means but he put minimal thought and effort into his outfit choices everyday...minus today.
It was her fault.
He kept telling himself he wasn't trying to impress her. She was just another girl; she was just like the rest of them. He snorted to himself as soon as that thought appeared in his head. It was absurd to lump her into the throngs of other women.
She was Shiloh.
McMahon.
In all of her awkward, shy, quiet, mysterious glory. He'd never met someone so beautiful and so unsure of themselves at the same time. Initially he'd made up his mind that he wasn't even going to go out with them tonight. She didn't owe him anything and by him not going they could remain on the neutral ground they had established already.
All debts paid. No remorse.
He talked himself out of that in the length of time it took him to shower.
He wasn't worried about anyone mistreating her or being disrespectful to her as guys usually are at bars or clubs or wherever the hell they were going. Seth would never allow anyone to cross the line and he was more than capable of handling his own.
Dean was who tipped the scale in his decision making process. Once he got rolling and got a good buzz going there was no telling what the hell he could get into. One particular memory of waking up in the morning with Dean passed out in the hotel bathtub and three goats roaming around made his mind up to go pretty easily.
Dean could maneuver a Hangover-esque night on the town with ease.
Shiloh would never be able to hang with him. She had gotten tipsy off of two glasses of wine.
So no, he was not going to let her fend for herself with that maniac. Not to mention if Dean actually got caught doing something nefarious with her in tow. God. He could only imagine that sit down the Stephanie or even possibly Vince himself.
"Let's go!" Dean yelled from the hallway.
"It doesn't fucking matter." Roman griped and snatched the black t-shirt from the bed.
He pulled it on and met Dean and Seth in the hallway. He felt better about his wardrobe decision seeing them in jeans and t-shirts as well.
"Bout time." Dean quipped, finishing the beer in his hand before fishing another from his back pocket.
"You're already drinking?" he asked narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah. Get ready faster. I get bored, you know that." he grinned, starting down the hall.
Roman glanced at Seth who was smiling.
"It'll be fine. He'll be on his version of best behavior." Seth assured, "Loosen up man. No wonder her birthday sucked if you were this uptight."
"Funny." Roman pouted as they all climbed on the elevator.
The ride to Shiloh's hotel was uneventful until they pulled up.
"You almost forget who she is until you see shit like this." Seth marveled at the enormous, ornate building in front of them.
"Nah. She's prissy, not snobby like the rest of them." Dean disagreed from the back.
"Is she coming out or do I need to park?" Roman asked, his grip on the steering wheel tightening involuntarily.
"I text her, but I'll go check." Dean slurred slightly.
Roman threw the SUV into park, "Stay here. You're going to make a scene."
He was already regretting his decision to come out.
If it was just the boys it wouldn't be such a big deal. He could enjoy an intoxicated Dean Ambrose. Hell, he and Seth had come back stumbling right along with him on those very rare occasions they all got wasted.
He walked briskly inside the opulent foyer. Inside was even more spectacular than the outside. Past the front check in desk, the hotel opened opened up to a lush courtyard that spanned the entire vertical length of the hotel. Each floor was open to the center courtyard with its lavish greens and towering trees. It was like he had somehow stepped into a rainforest.
He was definitely not accustomed to such luxury. He was a simple man with simple tastes. There was no frill or fuss about him. He knew he probably looked stupid standing there in awe, but it was a pretty impressive display.
He saw one of the doors open on the uppermost floor and he saw her. Even from that distance he could see that she had out dressed them with simple black dress. He was happy that he was afforded the luxury of watching her as she made her way down to the lobby.
It was a favorite pastime of his actually, people watching. You could learn so much from people when they think no one sees them. They became uninhibited with their actions and show who they truly are deep down.
He smirked to himself as he watched her long graceful gait toward the elevator. Her stride was uncharacteristically confidant, like the hallway was her runway. He knew for a fact that she would fall into her usual submissive pace as soon as she laid eyes on him.
For a moment that thought saddened him. He much preferred this self assured version of her.
She reached the elevator as he enjoyed the fleeting moments of her lithe power walk. He moved closer to the closed doors to be in her line of sight when she got off.
He took a final steadying breath, "She's just Shiloh. We're friends. Try to make sure she has a decent night for once in your presence."
The doors opened and they finally came face to face. Her face was usually so guarded, therefore he easily read the shock of him waiting on her that played across it instantly. She obviously had been expecting him to be outside so she didn't have time to hide behind her usual facade.
Her eyes always gave her away. He caught himself before he laughed out loud, but he could have sworn that she had been giving herself a pep talk just as he had been seconds ago.
He smiled broadly, "You look amazing as always."
She smoothed her hands down the front of her black dress nervously, "Thank you. I'm glad we decided to coordinate."
He did laugh then, "Mine doesn't have any cutouts though."
Her dress was a simple black one with an A- line hem, embellished by dainty peekaboo cutouts to make the bodice look like a bikini top.
She smirked to herself realizing that this was the first time she had actually seen him smile, much less laugh, "The night is still young."
They walked back to the entrance where he had hastily parked.
"Just a heads up, Dean's been pre-gaming a little bit before we got here." He mentioned, opening the door for he.
"Thank you." She brushed past him, "I could tell from his texts actually. They've become increasingly erratic."
"HEY GIRL!" Dean shouted across the lot.
"Oh wow...hi...Dean." she laughed.
Seth jumped out of the front seat, "Hey Shi, you look great."
He gave her a quick hug before he jumped into the backseat.
"Thank you." She climbed in the front as Roman got behind the wheel.
They drove a short time, following Dean's mysterious directions, eventually pulling up to a very crowded night club. The neon sign read "Mangos" in blue, red, and yellow.
"What is this place?" Roman asked incredulously when he found a parking spot.
"Dunno. Just heard it was the best place to go for drinks and scenery." Dean laughed jumping out of the car.
They all got out and followed behind their fearless leader. They got their ID's checked and bands for their wrists before getting inside.
Once they were through the doors it was apparent that it was not your typical type of club. Sure there were the standard lights flashing and strobing, but the music was almost as intoxicating as the drinks that were flowing from the bar. Shiloh recognized the familiar bachata style of the songs that were playing and almost instantly felt right at home. Growing up and living in Miami for so long, the culture had almost become second nature for her.
The large dance floor in the center of the room was crowded with people dancing sensually with their partners. As awkward as she usually was, she was definitely in her element at this club.
Seth leaned into her ear so he could be heard over the booming bass of the music, "What do you want to drink?"
"Mojito." she yelled back.
She glanced over at Roman and could read the tension in his body language. She could tell he was checking out the layout of the club, all the exits, and any other nuance of the area that might come in handy if shit went south while they were there. She turned back to the dance floor longing to be out there and dance, when felt a hand on her lower back.
"Here. I found us a table." Dean handed off her drink and motioned for them to follow.
Once they were further away from where all the action was, albeit only a few feet, she could see Roman relaxing a little more.
"I was pretty sure we were going to end up at some dive bar somewhere. I was definitely not expecting this." Seth commented.
"Its not bad." Dean shrugged, "What do you think about it princess?"
"I love it." she said, sipping her drink, "Who's going to dance with me?"
Dean laughed, "I can't do that out there. Seth's probably the man for the job."
Shiloh turned to him hopefully.
"I'm going to need a few more of these before I attempt to not make a fool out of myself."
She rolled her eyes playfully, "Fine. I'll be back in two songs."
She stood from the plush couch they were sitting on and stepped around Roman to make her way back to the dance floor. She gasped when he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist.
"Don't go far." he told her.
He felt like some overprotective dumbass the second his hand shot out to hers. He let go of her and went back to brooding and mentally kicking himself for being so stupid.
"You got it bad Ro." Dean snickered as he watched her leave.
"You want her to get kidnapped when she's probably not even supposed to be hanging out with us?" Roman asked sarcastically, daring him to say another word.
"Can we not do this right now?" Seth whined.
Dean put both of his hands up as a white flag. It didn't stop him from laughing under his breath though.
Roman finished his beer and grabbed another from the bucket they were sharing. He watched the lights on the faux palm trees for awhile, occasionally glancing at something that caught his eye.
He was doing anything he could to prevent himself from looking for her.
He didn't want to babysit her. He didn't want to keep getting ragged by the guys either. Most of all though, he didn't want to see who she was dancing with.
"She's pretty good." Dean commented.
He had been watching Shiloh in Roman's absence.
Roman followed his gaze to the dance floor finally spying her...with another guy.
He knew the guy was an asshole all the way from where he was sitting. Even if he hadn't been dancing with Shiloh he would have gotten that first impression from him. He had on tight skinny jeans that Roman hoped had some kind of spandex in them. The way he was moving all around her was seriously compromising the seams. His Affliction shirt was obviously cliche and more bedazzled than any man's shirt should be. His backwards fitted cap did nothing but complete the overall douche nozzle vibe.
After he filtered through the red haze of rage surrounding the guy, he focused on Shiloh.
He was pretty sure whatever dance she was doing, she was put on this earth to do. It was like she had morphed from a lanky, shy girl into some kind of slinky seductress. She was moving like she had turned into liquid form. He didn't know exactly how dancing worked but he assumed it was a lot like wrestling. She had to be taking some kind of nonverbal cues from him. There was no way she was just naturally that lissome.
"Did she practice or something?" Roman scoffed, trying not to let on how impressed he was.
Dean and Seth both shared a loaded look. They knew him too well to believe that he was that nonchalant about her talent. The harder he tried to appear indifferent to them, the more obvious it was that he was anything but.
The song ended a few moments later. he watched her air kiss both the man's cheeks before heading to the bar.
"She better order something good." Dean quipped, grabbing the last beer from the bucket.
Shiloh came back to the table dabbing herself with a napkin, "I haven't danced like that in forever."
"That wasn't your first time?" Seth joked.
She pulled a face at him, "Ha ha. No, my housekeeper is from the Dominican Republic and she would keep me entertained by teaching me how to dance."
Dean fumbled his beer on the way back up to his mouth, "You have a housekeeper?"
She squirmed in her seat, "That did sound super pretentious."
Seth bumped his shoulder into hers, "I think it would be more surprising if you didn't have a maid."
She smiled gratefully at him just as two bartenders came walking up. They had two buckets of beer, a bottle of Grey Goose, and a tray of shots.
"Enjoy!" they called after setting out the spread in front of them.
"So will this make us even now gentlemen?" She laughed at their faces.
"It's a fucking start." Dean teased, handing out shots.
"A toast!" he shouted over the music as they all raised their glasses, "Here's to always staying positive and testing negative!"
They threw their shots back together after laughing at Dean's crack.
"Remind me not to make you my best man." Seth laughed, downing a shot of vodka next.
Dean brushed his bangs out of his face, "Whatever. I'm a good time."
"Alright, I hope you teach as well as you dance because I'm going to need some pointers." Seth said tipping back yet another shot.
"Don't be so nervous." She laughed as he grabbed another shot, "Its not as hard as it looks."
She grabbed the next shot out of his hand before he could take it and downed it herself.
"Come on, lets go!" She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her.
They found a semi secluded corner away from the rest of the people who actually knew what they were doing.
"Okay. Now what?" he asked her, already feeling like a fish out of water.
"Okay, just picture a square and move in that space. Three regular steps and then a tap step for now. Once you get that we can work on some moves with your arms." she instructed, showing him the basic steps that he needed to know.
"Square and tap. Got it." he said replicating her steps, "You know I've never tapped out to a girl, just saying."
She threw her head back laughing at him, "You never will that far away."
He took a step closer to her, still unsure of his boundaries.
"Stop being a weirdo. Its just a dance." she giggled.
She took his hands and put them on her waist. Her skin tingled feeling his rough hands on the smooth skin of her hips. She draped her arms over his shoulders.
He stared in her eyes as they slowly began moving to the song, "I'm not trying to be weird. It's just that you're you. You're a McMahon."
She sighed, "I'm not them. I'm just Shiloh to you okay? Please don't treat me differently because of my family.
He watched her for a moment before pulling her closer. She opened up to him, letting his knee slip between her legs as they swayed back and forth.
She kissed his scruffy cheek before pressing her temple to his, "Thank you. Now keep doing those steps and let me make you look like a pro."
Three songs later and she had boosted his confidence tenfold.
"Lets go get a drink Rico Suave." she teased.
He spun her around and down into a low dip making her squeal in surprise.
"That turned out better than I expected it to." he smiled standing her back upright, "Come on."
He kept her hand in his and lead her back to their table. Dean was talking to a waitress and Roman seemed to be in an even worse mood than before.
Seth poured them all another shot, "You should go with her. She's a really good teacher."
"Yeah, I saw that." Roman replied curtly, downing the shot he had poured.
Shiloh sat back on the couch watching him. Surely he wasn't mad that she was dancing with Seth? He hadn't really been in the best of moods all night, but now he seemed even more stormier. Seth had apparently caught onto his mood too and busied himself with his drink.
Must be some sort of bro code. Whatever it was all three of them were in on it.
She scanned the room trying to avoid the tension at the table. She saw the guy she had been dancing with earlier motion her back out to dance with him.
Fuck it. Why not? It was better than sitting there with them.
She took two more shots for good measure and scooted back out to leave. She could feel Roman's eyes burning holes in her back but she didn't care. She hadn't been out since her twenty-first birthday. She was going to have fun even if it killed her.
The guy pulled her to him as soon as she was within reach.
"You done with your lesson over there?" he teased.
She ignored his jape and fell into the song that had just started. She let her body flow with the rhythm and let him lead her into more intricate moves that she hadn't dare try to teach Seth yet.
"So what are you doing later tonight?" The guy asked toward the end of the song.
"Not you." she answered, more than a little upset he was interrupting her mini therapy session.
Not to mention the much stronger odor of tequila on him than the last time they had danced together.
"Ouch." he grimaced, "Did you maybe want to grab a bite to eat after this? I know a place close to here."
"No thanks." she frowned, giving up on her dance, "Have a good night."
"Wait. Don't leave okay? I didn't mean to make you mad." He pleaded grabbing her by her bicep.
"Please don't grab me like that. I had fun dancing with you but that's it. I'm sorry if you thought it was anything different than that." She glared at him, turning to leave again.
"Hold on. Let me make it up to you. Let's just keep dancing then, alright?" He grasped her hand that time to turn her around again.
"Let me go." She hissed at him snatching her hand away from him and spinning on her heel.
"Stop walking away from me and let me talk to you for a second." He begged this time turning her around by both of her shoulders.
"Seriously? Leave me alone!" She all but screamed at him.
Before she could utter another word the man was gone. He was engulfed in blackness and for a second Shiloh thought she had passed out or the alcohol had hit her all at once.
It wasn't physically possible for the man to disappear like that.
She was totally confused until she felt her chin tip upwards to make eye contact with Roman. His lips were pursed and there was genuine concern etched all over his prominent brow. His eyes were glacial as they darted over her face.
"Let me take you home Shi, okay?" He growled.
Somehow she heard him over the speakers and nodded meekly. She gasped softly seeing the man on his back not moving.
She felt him lace his fingers with hers and tow her behind him.
"You good to get back?" She heard him ask Seth and Dean.
They had apparently said yes because she felt him tug on her arm again. He tore through the crowd like a bullet.
Everyone had apparently seen the scuffle because they all made way for them to pass without much interference. He kept his dangerous pace up even after they had made it back outside.
"Can you slow down? My feet hurt." She pleaded pulling her hand free from his.
He turned and looked at her like he was going to strangle her.
"You're the one that wanted to dance all night." He snapped back at her.
She shut her mouth instantly. He really had been upset that she danced with Seth. She chewed on her lip trying to weigh her options.
"I'm just trying to get you out of here because I don't know if they called the cops or not." He pinched the bridge of his nose ruefully, "I don't want you to get in any trouble because of me."
He was right. Stephanie would have an aneurysm if she had to come bail her out of jail.
"I'll carry you to to the car if you want. We just need to go. Now." He urged.
She slipped off her stilettos and hopped on his back. Maybe she did have too much to drink, because at that moment she hoped someone had stolen the damn car.
The way his muscles rippled beneath her with every step he took made her want him to walk the entire distance back to her hotel. Unfortunately, he did eventually make it to the car. He unlocked her door and sat her down on the seat so she wouldn't have to step on the concrete.
"Thank you Roman." She said, finally mustering up the courage to speak by the time he was pulling out of the parking lot.
"I wasn't sure what was going on exactly but when I heard you tell him to leave you alone, that was it." He said glancing at her.
"He had been cool up to that point. I think he just had too much to drink." She mused angrily, "Did you hit him?"
"Yeah. I didn't like him having his hands on you like that." He licked his lips gingerly, "I'm sorry if I ruined your night again."
She laughed, "No, you didn't. Not even close. I do wish you had danced with me though."
He smirked, "Next time. We'll match again and everything."
They pulled up to her hotel again.
"Have a good night." She said getting out when he pulled up to the front door.
"You too. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." He said, crossing his fingers that he didn't make himself look like an ass.
She lingered a moment longer looking him dead in the eyes, "I hope so."
She winked at him before shutting the door. That simple gesture alone was all he needed to change his mood completely.
Maybe next time they went out it could be just the two of them. An actual re-do for her birthday. Maybe a nice dinner somewhere first and then she could teach him how to dance like she had Seth.
It would definitely have to be top secret. The boys would give him hell if they found out he was taking her out on an actual date. Then they would no doubt show up just to watch him try to keep up with her.
His elation turned sour in exactly half a second. He stomped on the brakes and swerved the car into a parking spot.
Randy's Hummer was parked in the back row, thinly veiled in the shadows of a tree.
Roman vaulted out of the car and prayed he wasn't too late.
Thank you for showing so much interest in this story. I really appreciate all of the feedback.
Hopefully this chapter was up to par with the rest.
xoxo
