The trip to Zelina and Raquel's place had proven easier for Erin to arrange than the dinner with Hank. Jay figured the old man was probably ducking him. For now, he wasn't going to worry about that. Spending a day around Zelina and then sleeping at her house, for that was what Erin had arranged, was making him feel anxious enough without adding Hank to the mix. He had hoped Zelina would reign in her hostility towards him since he was going to be a guest. In all honesty, she hadn't been that bad recently at work, so part of him wondered if he was overthinking things. He did have a tendency to do that.

The double date, which was more of a twenty-four hour mini vacation in Florida, was to start with Jay and Erin meeting Raquel and Zelina for lunch in downtown Orlando. The plan was an afternoon shopping trip, back to their place for dinner and a relaxing evening, sleep there, then head home after breakfast tomorrow.

"Thank you. Have a good day," Erin said to the Uber driver who had just dropped them off at the Five Guys restaurant where the lunch was arranged. She had received a text from Raquel a few minutes earlier to say that she and Zelina were already inside.

"All set?" Erin asked Jay as they took their travel cases and headed for the restaurant's entrance. He hoped Raquel or Zelina would put the cases in their car to save having them sitting in the restaurant in everyone's way. Such things bothered him more than he wanted them too. But he was more anxious about seeing Zelina. There was a really uneasy feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah," he said, forcing a smile onto his face.

Dressed for the warmer Florida weather in jeans, a leather jacket and leather boots, Erin led the way into the restaurant. She didn't seem to mind the idea of eating at a Five Guys, which didn't entirely surprise Jay at this point. He was finally starting to move past thinking she would have grand expectations of everything.

A young female server greeted them just inside the door. "Good afternoon. Table for two?"

"Good afternoon," Erin said. "We're actually meeting friends. They're right over there." She pointed across the room to the booth that Raquel and Zelina had managed to secure.

"Okay, head on over and I'll come get your drink order shortly," the server said with a winning smile.

By then, Raquel and Zelina were aware of their arrival. Raquel was on her way over to them, a big smile on her face.

"Hi, guys," she said happily. "Let me take those cases and put them in the car."

Erin was first to approach her and give her a hug. Raquel towered over her, as she did most women. "Hey, mami. I've been looking forward to this."

Mami, Jay thought, wondering why Erin would call her that. He liked it though. He tried not to, but he couldn't stop himself commenting on it. "Mami?"

Erin laughed as the hug came to an end. "Everyone in the women's locker room calls Raquel mami. Started off as big mami but we dropped the big."

Raquel grinned at Jay before hugging him. It was a tight hug, full of warmth. "Don't worry, you can call me mami too if you like. I'm so glad we're doing this. So good to spend time with you outside of work."

"You too, mami," Jay said, laughing at himself for saying it. Whether he felt a bit silly or not, the nickname was now locked in.

"I'll be right back," Raquel said, taking both of the cases. A customer who was entering the restaurant held the door open for her.

Erin led Jay over to the table for four, where Zelina stood up to greet them. She was wearing a baseball cap and a t-shirt with some kind of anime character on it. "Z!" she cried. "Thanks for inviting us. I've been looking forward to it all week."

"Me too. It's great to have you guys come to stay with us," Zelina said as they hugged. Then she moved on to Jay. To his surprise, she give gave him a nice smile and spread her arms for a hug. It was a better welcome than he had expected. "Jay. Give me a hug. Glad you could make it."

"Hi, Z. I'm glad too," Jay said. As ever, he struggled to find words, but he gave her a tight hug. There wasn't the same warmth as between him and Raquel, but that was to be expected.

"Careful, you'll suffocate me," she quipped. They parted, and her expression grew more serious. "What do you say, you and I, we make a fresh start?"

Surprised, Jay made eye contact with Erin. She smiled at him and nodded, encouraging him to say something positive.

He looked Zelina in the eyes, wanting her to know that he was serious. "I'd like that."

"Well alright then," she said, taking it at face value and sitting back down.

Jay felt like an idiot. He had spent days worrying about encountering Zelina, only for it to turn out like this. Things often went better than his mind told him they would, so it wasn't exactly a new position for him to be in. Most of all, he was glad that there wasn't going to be any confrontation between them. He really hadn't wanted that to happen in front of Erin and Raquel.

"Jay just called Raquel mami," Erin reported, laughing as she sat down.

He could tell she was laughing with him rather than at him, so he didn't feel insecure about it. In fact he laughed too. "Well, I was just joining in."

"You all can call her mami as much as you want, but she's only my mami," Zelina said with humour.

"Now that's hot," Jay said. He couldn't help himself. Luckily, it made Erin and Zelina laugh.

The server came over then to take Erin and Jay's drink orders. They both went for beer, which surprised him a bit. Erin usually chose wine to go with food.

As the server left, Raquel returned. "That's your cases loaded up," she said cheerfully, sitting back down beside Zelina. "I hope at least one of you is going to join me in having a big ass steak? One of the few areas Z and I disagree on is food."

"I'm vegan," Zelina explained.

Jay couldn't imagine how anyone could be vegan, but he knew better than to say that and immediately get on her bad side again. Instead, he listened to the conversation as Erin enquired what a vegan diet included, and Zelina told her.

The server brought Erin and Jay's beers to the table. She decided to hand them over. When she reached over for her glass, Erin's new watch was on full display.

"Woah! Look at this bling," Zelina said. "Let me see that."

Erin obliged, although Jay could tell she felt a bit self-conscious about it. She really did not like flaunting wealth at all.

"Damn, our girl got herself a Rolex," Zelina said theatrically as Raquel also admired it.

Erin said, "My dad gave it to me to celebrate..." She cut herself off, realising what she was about to say. But it was a little late for that.

"Celebrate what?" Raquel asked.

When Erin hesitated, Zelina joined in. "Come on, you can't put that out there and not tell us what there is to celebrate."

Jay felt awkward on Erin's behalf, so he made a point of looking at his menu, even though he already knew he was going for the sirloin steak.

Erin let out a deep sigh. "I really should not have said anything. We're talking about something that could cause serious problems if it leaked out. If I tell you, you're not to tell another soul. I mean it."

Raquel and Zelina glanced at each other then looked back at Erin. "We won't tell anyone," Raquel said.

"You have our word," Zelina added.

"Trust them, Erin. They won't say anything," Jay said. He wasn't sure his input was needed, but speaking on behalf of his friends, if he could call Zelina that, felt like the right thing to do.

Erin took a hit from her beer. Of course the server chose that moment to come over for the food orders. Erin hadn't even looked at a menu yet, but that didn't phase her. "I'll get whatever you're getting," she said to Jay.

He found that quite sweet in a way. He ordered two sirloins, only leaving Erin to specify how she liked it cooked. Even in that, she mirrored him. Medium rare. Raquel and Zelina ordered, then the conversation could continue.

"So, where were we?" Erin said, simply as a way to restart. "The thing is, after Wrestlemania I'm going to get a promotion. A big one. I'm not going to work in accounts anymore. I'm going to be Head of Creative."

"Holy shit," Raquel said happily.

"Girl, that's awesome," Zelina said, a dazzling smile on her face.

"Thanks, guys," Erin said warmly. She drank some of her beer. "It's going to happen after Wrestlemania, so until then keep it to yourselves. Thinking about it, now that you guys know what the deal is, I might as well float something to you, Raquel. I've been putting some ideas down in writing ready for when I take over."

"Go for it," Raquel said, leaning forward in anticipation, holding her almost empty beer bottle in both hands.

"Right now, you're a babyface, and admittedly it's going well," Erin began. "But in my mind, babyfaces are almost always underdogs. That's why the fans cheer for them. Long term, how is someone who looks like you, who wrestles like you, going to look like an underdog? It's just not going to work. I see you as a heel. Before I say anything else, you should probably give me your thoughts on that."

Raquel didn't need to think about it. "I prefer working heel. It's a lot more fun being the bad guy. So if you want to change my character up, I'm all ears."

"Great decision," Jay opined. He agreed with everything Raquel had said, and with Erin before her.

"What's the new idea?" Zelina asked, as eager as her lover to find out.

"Today when we're out shopping I'd like to see you try on a suit," Erin said, smiling at Raquel. "I want to see you in a suit and a cowboy hat. The character I'm picturing is a smug, condescending, braggadocios Texan, who maybe got rich through the oil business or something. You'll talk down to the people of whatever state we're in, comparing it negatively to Texas, and you'll talk down to your opponents as if they're beneath you. But, here's the trick to why this is going to be great. You'll actually be a typical bully. You'll take your shots on people when you can, from behind or whatever, but in a fair fight you'll often get your ass kicked and rely on others to help you out. It needs more flesh on the bones, but that's pretty much what I've written down so far. Oh, what's your middle name?"

"My middle name?" Raquel asked in surprise. "Victoria."

"I like it," Erin said. "Your new character will be referred to as Raquel Victoria Gonzalez. We'll come up with new music for you too."

"This sounds brilliant, mami," Zelina said.

"Yeah, it does," Raquel said with a laugh. "Okay, Erin, I'll be your first project. Let's build Raquel Victoria Gonzalez together."


Two hours later, the group of four were in a clothing store. Raquel was in one of the dressing rooms, ready to try on a men's suit, for the shop had no women's suits big enough for her, and a cowboy hat.

For his part, Jay was excited to see the results and proud of Erin for coming up with the idea. She was so smart, frankly he couldn't understand why it had taken until now for her to get the promotion.

He was having a great time, too. Although he was often on the periphery of conversation, he was nonetheless part of a group, and that meant a lot to him. In a way it seemed lame, but he felt like this was one of the best days of his life.

Raquel emerged, wearing a dark grey suit and a white cowboy hat. In an instant, Jay knew Erin had struck gold. He could see the new character on TV already. Raquel looked rich, physically imposing, and with the sneer she put on her face, like a nasty piece of work, too.

"What do we think?" Raquel asked shyly after a moment, the sneer having vanished.

"Mami, you look incredible," Zelina said. That reaction was hardly a surprise.

"You do look incredible," Jay agreed. "The suit suits you."

Everyone groaned good-naturedly at his intentionally awful pun.

"Well, there we have it," Erin said enthusiastically. "My first creation is born. Say hello to Raquel Victoria Gonzalez."


A/N: Things went better than Jay expected with Zelina, and he is enjoying being a part of the group. We'll see more next time, when Erin and Jay stay the night at Raquel and Zelina's house.

What do you make of the first character Erin has come up with in her new role as Head of Creative?