Chapter 8
It'd been a week since her video chat with Jon and, surprisingly, he left her alone. Cody and Brandi would be advertising her signing with AEW next week once the ad was made up and whatnot. There was A LOT more to do with a new wrestling organization than people could fathom. Delilah had just tied up another week of shows, doing her final matches in the Indie promotions and dropping her women's championship titles she'd won. Now, she was back at home in Cincinnati and it was two weeks before Double or Nothing. She'd just finished making dinner, showered and had her normal sleepwear on, when her phone went off. It was a video chat…and it was the devil himself. Delilah didn't answer it and set it on the bed, only for it to go off again.
She groaned, slapping her face and finally swiped her finger across to make the call go through. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Moxley?"
"Soooo, babe, how are we tonight?"
Jon had gotten the most interesting call; he wasn't supposed to tell anyone obviously, but she didn't count. He had also gotten told it was 'odd' how two people who knew each other had both been so smart, almost like they had the same mind or something. Cody was a smartass sometimes. Good people, bit of a smartass. He was even sort of dressed tonight, in a beater with a pair of workout shorts. It was still daylight there in Vegas. Jon was also in dire need of a shower since he had been biking all day.
"Any lifechanging events you want to share? Like you've realized that there is more to me than my delicious chest?"
"Do not call me babe." This was not funny. This was not good either. Jon was openly flirting with her now and, for so many years, she'd kept him at bay for the most part. "Your chest is not that delicious either, don't get cocky." On the contrary, Delilah could see the beads of sweat on it through the phone and had to take several silent breaths he couldn't see, keeping a serene smile on her face. "And I have no idea what you're talking about. Care to elaborate on this so-called lifechanging event?"
"Someone," He singsonged horribly off-key. "Signed a freelancing contract with AEW and it wasn't meeeeee…." Jon could be annoying and he knew it; he stressed certain words, syllables, and it probably made no sense to anyone except him half the time. "Don't be coy, it doesn't suit you, babe." And she was a LIAR, she LOVED his chest. "So, if I do this…" He reached back with one hand, grabbed the material and pulled it right up and over his head, the hand with the cell disappearing for a moment, flashing his sculpted abs and chest before showing his face again. "Nothing? Really?"
"Son of a…" Delilah knew – SHE KNEW – that mouth mistake was going to cost her and here it was. She had reaped what she sowed, and she had to own it now. "Please stop. Please, I'm begging you to stop."
Her cheeks had gone red and she had to turn the phone away for a moment, biting on her knuckle briefly before releasing it and turned the phone back to look at him. He was now bare from the waist up and that chest was GLISTENING with sweat. All she wanted to do was give him a tongue bath. Would a tongue bath constitute as sex?
"Yes, I signed a contract with AEW, freelance, and I already told Sami about it and he's not happy, but he supports me. There, happy, Good?"
"Extremely, though Rhodes busted my balls about two of us from Cincy being 'smart'. Apparently, someone gave you good advice and god knows it COULDN'T have been me." Jon had an image and it was both a blessing and a bane.
The technology part, blessing because he hated the idea of his privacy being destroyed, so he feigned ignorance and disgust about things like that, including social media, which was a disease as far as he was concerned. He liked computers and games, but not as…a lifestyle, or an obsession. People also assumed he was dumb or something, just because he occasionally did dumb stuff.
"Why are you begging? Could you do it on your knees maybe? I didn't get a sense of genuine pleading from you, Del."
"I'll never tell." She singsonged back at him sarcastically, moving around her apartment since she was in the living room when he called and padded into the kitchen. If he was going to bug her on voice chat, she was going to need something a little stronger than water. Wine sounded like a damn fine idea. "And it was you, so stop acting coy about it. Thanks for the advice, I owe you one. And NOT sexually either. AND I'm not getting on my knees, so keep teasing me all you want. It's not gonna work, Moxley." Another singsong tune that made her giggle while she poured herself a glass of wine.
"So, Jon, Good, and Moxley, you need to pick one and stick with it. I think you're giving me a complex, babe." He told her, also currently in his kitchen popping a beer. "I'll get on my knees then, doll, how'd that be?" He offered, taking a swig before heading for the bathroom. Jon needed a shower, eventually. Maybe he'd even give her a show, providing she didn't have a meltdown that would no doubt be fueled by desire, frustration, embarrassment, and a need to kill him. "Teasing you, huh? That implies you LIKE it." Because he was FLIRTING.
"Those are all of your names though, so I'll call you whatever I want to. I could be calling you dick, but I think you'd take that as a damn compliment." Jackass was also a possibility. "Why do you insist on trying to flirt with me when I told you I'm not interested?" Why did he insist on setting her on FIRE to where Delilah had to take care of herself from being hot and bothered? That was a better question! "And for your information, no, I don't like it." She LOVED it and wanted more, secretly. "So please stop teasing me or I won't answer these calls from you anymore, MOX." That was a flat lie too.
"Lies, such lies!" He chided, clicking his tongue at her as he took another sip before setting the beer down on the bathroom counter. Jon set the cell phone in its nifty case holder on his mirror. Hands free was awesome and he could still see her and she could see him. "I'm shaving this shit off." He gestured to his face, frowning. "The beard HAS to go." It made him look older than he was. "I'd ask you to come out and help, but I use a straight razor and you might try slitting my throat."
"About time." Delilah smirked when he arched a brow at her through the screen and took a sip of her wine. "That beard made you look 20 years older than you actually are. You're better off with the scruff look, it suits you better." Was he actually going to shave while talking to her on the phone? "I can let you go, so you can take care of your grooming, Moxley. Or you can call me back and I MIGHT answer the phone for you." She definitely would; there wasn't a doubt about that.
"I told you, I can multitask. Besides, if you're staying here, doll, you need to get used to seeing me, so this is perfect. You're in Cincy, I'm here, so I can't break your boundary issues," Which he would as soon as her beautiful, silvery backside was in Vegas. Jon wasn't taking no for an answer. Regardless of the flirting, Delilah was a lifelong friend – sort of – and she wasn't staying in an overpriced hotel. "Or does seeing a guy shave bother you?" He was already set up, reaching for his brush and shave soap in a mug. "You can do your legs while I do my face, it'll be…interesting."
"I don't shave." Jon cursed when he actually cut himself on the first swipe and she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Are you okay?"
"What. Do. You. Mean. You. Don't. Shave?" Jon demanded through gritted teeth because that had HURT.
Delilah raised a brow at the grit in his voice and held her finger in a one second gesture, walking into her bathroom to grab something. Flashing the pink bottle, she brought it back a little and grinned when he read the word VEET on it. "I don't need to shave, don't own one razor and never will again. This stuff takes cares of ALL my hair problems." Yes, she was bare below the belt because hair pulling at her wrestling tights was NOT a good time at all. "This makes me smooth ALL over, Moxley. You should try it sometime."
She had emphasized ALL, which meant the curtains did not match the drapes. Completely natural because using hair dye on THOSE sensitive places just to have a silver bush was just asking for trouble. "For someone who doesn't like my teasing," He drawled, pressing a small square of tissue to the cut. Man, STRAIGHT RAZOR, she could have killed him. "You are quite the tease, Delilah." Jon shook his head, resuming what he had been doing. "I'm not putting pink shit on my face either…I want it trimmed and scruffy, not totally smooth…"
"Hey, YOU asked and I answered, it's not my fault you can't handle a razor." Then again, he probably hadn't really shaved in…a couple years, at least. That was one BUSHY beard and she could only imagine what the scruff felt like…NOPE! Wrong road to go down, Del, she mentally chastised, watching as the hair fell into the sink. "And by the way, I don't have any boundary issues, that would be YOU, Good. You don't seem to understand the word 'no' when someone says it. Or how to take a hint that a woman is NOT interested in you." Yet here Delilah was, completely contradicting herself by talking to him and even flirting a bit on video chat.
"Yeah no, I don't have boundary issues. I like being touched." By people he knew, not complete strangers. "You have boundary issues, they need to be resolved and I will-" Jon shut up, pulling a face just to make it go taut as he worked that area, shaving it until he was totally smooth. Then he'd just maintain the scruff. "Holy shit, I'm pale…" Beneath the beard especially. "You're interested, doll, if you weren't, you wouldn't take my calls or tease me back. Stop playing hard to get."
"There's the Jon I know." Delilah smiled softly, giving him a thumbs up and chuckled at his hands caressing his own smooth skin. "That looks so much better. You just shaved off the last remaining bit of Dean Ambrose and now you're FULLY Moxley again." She was purposely ignoring what he said about having boundary issues because, truthfully, she didn't.
Only with him.
She was not playing hard to get either; Delilah could NOT sleep with this man, no matter how many times she had to say it to get it through his head. Sami would maim them both and she really didn't want to destroy her relationship with her brother for a night with the Moxley monster. Now she was laughing again because of her own thoughts.
"Not you, you look good, I promise." She would NEVER live down calling his junk that.
"I know I look good, doll." Jon's tone was dripping with arrogance as he applied aftershave, examining himself critically in the mirror. He even missed his longish hair, though the receding hairline had made it weird. Then it was cleaning up his mess before leaning into the cell, letting her get a good look. "You got work lined up between now and the show?" He asked, assuming she probably did. "I'm thinking of paying you a…social visit." A very, very sociable visit. At the look on her face, he cocked a brow. "What's the deal, Del? You can't keep saying no and then flirt back, so what's the hold up, babe?"
She was going to sound like a broken record at this point. "I'm. NOT. Interested." Delilah said those words very slowly and precisely, so there was no way he didn't hear them. "And I'm NOT flirting with you either! How is showing you what I use to get rid of my body hair flirting? You asked a question, I answered. It's called having a conversation, not flirting, you dick!" She had a couple more shows to do and then she was done, which would give her a straight week with nothing to do and she'd be stuck in Cincinnati until the 25th, when she'd fly out for AEW's Double or Nothing show. "There is no hold up because there's nothing going on between us."
"Lies, such lies…" He bent out of sight, dropping his shorts and then stepped out of them. "Well, my silver vixen, I'm going to get in the shower."
Jon turned to reach up off his open shelves, grabbing a towel and a washcloth, his bare back and backside right in her line of vision. Jon was damn proud of his body; he had worked hard for it during that 'downtime' from his injury. He was in the best shape of his life and he knew it. Turning back, he dropped the handful of his towel down to cover the 'Moxley Monster' or whatever she had called it.
"Unless you want to digitally join me in there?" His tone was teasing, aware she would ream him out.
She did not look away because Jon had the sexiest back of any man she'd ever met in her life. It had this curve to it and his backside wasn't half bad either. Delilah looked away as soon as his face turned back to stare into the phone and her eyes were staring up at the ceiling. "I'm going to take a hard pass on that offer, and I will talk to you later. Enjoy your shower." Pressing the end button on her screen, she groaned and tossed it on the couch, shaking her head. When they were in AEW together, in person, she was absolutely, 100% screwed. "Avoidance…avoid him like the plague."
That was never going to happen. When people got aroused, there tended to be signs. For him, his eyes got a bit dark and behind his neck flushed. It was weird. Delilah…had a flush coming upwards on what he could see of her chest. Humming under his breath, he got into the shower and cranked it to cold, needing the ice to cool down his blood. If they were face to face right now, Jon knew he'd be smashing those barriers, those boundaries, and groaned, reaching up to plant his hands against the tile.
"Fuck…Del…"
When Jon called back, Delilah didn't answer her phone. She was tempted to block his number, but refrained and just kept swiping to the red button. No more teasing; Jon was dangerous and cunning, crafty…she could not put herself in another situation like this, even if it was over the phone. Even if he was far away from her. Delilah went on the next week to do the rest of her Indie shows, saying goodbye to friends she'd made over the years and whatnot. They all wished her well in AEW and she was grateful for their kind words and support.
Even the owners of the companies had wished her well and a few of them had a party for her.
It was one week before AEW, the 25th, the make or break event for this new upcoming, budding wrestling organization and Delilah had a straight week to get all of her belongings organized and in order. She'd already booked her hotel room and flight, so that wasn't an issue – that had been done as soon as she signed the contract. There was no way she could stay at Jon's now, not when he kept promising to break her boundaries and barriers. It was best to avoid him and stay at a hotel instead of at his house.
This was annoying. AN-NOY-ING. How dare she tease and torment him, then ignore him?! How was that fair? Jon was both annoyed and, if he were honest, amused with Delilah ignoring his calls. His texts. He was probably borderline stalker, though he wasn't doing it ALL day, EVERY day. Just one call, or text, at night, which had become their 'thing', if two times of it could be a 'thing'. Why was she playing hard to get? However, time was running out, her delicious, vixen backside was coming to Vegas, to his turf, and he already knew she wasn't going to stay with him.
Totally fine, he'd work around that.