Chapter 9

The day before Double or Nothing, Delilah flew into Vegas with a lot of anxiety, nerves, and excitement all rolled up into one massive ball in the pit of her stomach. She knew who lived here and yet, she was stepping right into the damn lion's den. Then again, this was solely for work and after ignoring him for over 2 weeks, Delilah hoped Jon had gotten the hint. She had blocked his number after the 10th text message, demanding her to call him. Like she would listen? Hell no!

Delilah stepped off the plane and went straight to her hotel with bags in hand, stepping out of her Chevy Malibu. It was better than nothing, she supposed, not a huge fan of Chevy in general. With a hoodie over her head, even though it was scorching outside – it was the end of May after all – Delilah made her way inside to check into her room and made sure to keep her face hidden as much as possible. She didn't want anyone to know she was here yet and had a feeling the paparazzi and dirt sheets (social media people) would be on the hunt and search for all the stars for AEW. Even though she'd been announced, Delilah still didn't want anyone knowing she had come here a day early.

She was screwed. Jon watched with an amused grin as she, in a hoodie of all things, headed inside the hotel to check into her room. Finding her flight, figuring it out, wasn't hard. He just checked what was coming in and from where, then he had made a few phone calls, and boom. It occurred to him that he was being a creepy stalker, but…in his defense, he was slightly insane and honest about it. He didn't have to curb any weird tendencies or impulses; Jon wasn't in a fishbowl with a bunch of life-dictating, cockblocking bosses anymore.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but…our records show that your hotel reservation was canceled a few days after it was made…" The receptionist swallowed hard at the sheer FIRE in the woman's eyes and typed on her keyboard. "Lemme see if we have anything else available for you."

Canceled? How the HELL could her hotel reservation be canceled?! "I didn't cancel it…" Delilah was not amused right now and pinched the bridge of her nose, not surprised when she was told there were no vacancies here or anywhere in the City of Sin. Great! "I'd like to speak to your manager, please. Someone obviously called and canceled my reservation because I never did!"

"M-Ma'am, the manager is gone for the day…"

"Of COURSE, they are!" Delilah crowed, the annoyance at an all-time high and stepped away from the desk, pursing her lips tightly together. "Thanks." She turned around and nearly smacked right into… "What the hell, Moxley?!" She was NOT in the mood for this, not even wanting to know how he KNEW she was here and immediately stepped back.

Jon's blue eyes widened at the vitriol in Delilah's voice, looking past her to the poor desk clerk, who seemed to be having a very bad day. "Hi, rude much?" He stepped around her with a snort. "Doll, I need a double for some buddies coming in. What 'cha got?"

Now she was really flustered, hoping this guy didn't eat her. "Nothing sir, we're all out of rooms."

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Fucking really?" Groaning, he turned and frowned at the sight of Delilah still standing there. "Let me guess, you got the last room?" At her narrowing eyes, he bit his bottom lip. "Ohhh…that sucks."

"SOMEONE called and canceled my damn reservation a few days after I made the damn thing! I don't believe this…" Was fate really out to punish her this badly? First, her rental car had broken down on the way to the airport and she BARELY made her flight to get here. And now this…it was almost as if a higher power was telling her NOT to wrestle for AEW and didn't want her coming to Vegas. "I gotta go." Avoiding Jon was still in her plans and she headed out of the hotel with her bags in hand, suddenly taking the hooded sweatshirt off. It didn't matter anymore now that she'd run smack dab into the one person she was trying to avoid most. "Fuck my life…"

Guilty as charged, not that anyone was charging him and, to be fair, not many people could call and HAVE a reservation canceled. Not unless they were the person booking the room. Jon had some strings he could occasionally pull, palms he could grease; he was shady as hell sometimes. He took off after her, admiring the way the sunlight made her silver hair shimmer, almost like the desert.

"Hey, doll, there might be something open on the other side of Vegas," He suggested, easily falling into step alongside her. "Nothing nice like this, but maybe there's a vacancy." Not likely, not with this being tourist season as some major events were looming and Memorial weekend was upon them, the end of the school year and all that jazz, along with Double or Nothing.

"Nope, not a vacancy in the entire City of Sin." She had on blue jean shorts with rips in them for style and a red tank top, her silver hair piled unruly on top of her head. "I'm gonna have to go…never mind, just…never mind."

Why was he following her? Delilah remembered what he said about breaking those boundaries between them and the flirting they had both done to each other. Jon hurried along ahead of her and made her stop when he froze in front of her, light brown eyes meeting electric pale blues. Why did he have to look sexy with his ballcap on his head tilted to the side? In jeans and a white beater, a silver Rolex on his left wrist and that beard was gone, all that was left behind was scruff. He really did look like Jon Moxley again instead of that bearded idiot Dean Ambrose he portrayed in WWE.

"I don't have time for this, Good." Delilah had to go to the next town over and hopefully, there was a vacancy somewhere there and it wouldn't be that far of a drive to head to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where Double or Nothing was taking place tomorrow.

Hurt flashed in his eyes before he slipped on a pair of sunglasses, shrugging. "Excuse me for trying to help a friend, Del, my bad." He took a step away from her, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Promise, doll, won't bother you again." Well, wasn't she a fine ball of fuck yous? "Primm and Boulder City are both gonna be slammed, we're at the kickoff of tourist season, on top of some poker bullshit. Good luck." She really was stubborn; Delilah was well aware she had a room open at his place! "Just make sure you leave wherever you wind up early, traffic will be killer." He flicked two fingers at her before turning, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

Cursing violently in her head, Delilah knew what she had to do and let out a soft groan, tilting her head up to stare at the sky. This was a bad – BAD idea all around and she knew it, but what choice did she have? Sleep in her car? She'd done it before, but tomorrow was very important to her and she really wanted to get a good night's sleep.

"Wait, Jon…" Turmoil boiled in her eyes as he slowly turned around to face her and she clasped her hands tightly in front of her, letting out a heavy sigh. Looks like avoiding him is OUT of the question now. "I'm just…really frustrated with this whole situation and this day hasn't exactly gone my way." Her 3 AM flight, the broken-down rental vehicle, needing to fork over more money for a cab to race her to the airport…and now her hotel room reservation had been canceled by some jackass. Either that, or their customer service seriously sucked. "I didn't…mean to take it out on you." Stepping up to him, Delilah had to swallow not only her pride, but the anxiety that suddenly bubbled in her stomach. "If that room is still open at your place, I could really use it. Please?"

Boom! Everything fell into place like he had been banking it would. Jon felt, maybe a little bad, like three percent. The rest of him was amused and a few other things he wasn't bothering with. "Course you can, Del." He said gently, knowing her having to suck it up and ask him had to be burning a fire under her backside. "You want to follow meba-"

"Hey, hey, watch it!"

They both cringed as the sound of someone backing up violently into a parked car was heard. It was a very distinctive sound and they turned to see the accident. "Man, I hope that Malibu was insured." He blinked; the front was MANGLED.

Delilah's jaw dropped at the sight of the now MANGLED Malibu in front of her and covered her mouth with her hand, tears actually stinging her eyes. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" She shrieked, rushing over to stare at the damage and looked at the driver responsible for this accident, gritting her teeth. "WHAT THE FUCK, YOU PRICK?! YOU JUST HIT MY FUCKING CAR! YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH!" Now, it took a lot to spark her temper, but when the silver haired beauty went off, she did it with interest. "I'LL BEAT YOUR FUCKING ASS BLACK AND BLUE, YOU STUPID ASSHOLE!" Jon was RIGHT there, holding her back before she could charge at the idiot kid, who looked ready to piss himself. "LET GO OF ME, MOXLEY! FUCK THIS MOTHER FUCKER! GODDAMN IT!" Could anything ELSE go wrong on this extremely SHITTY day?! "I'LL SHRED HIM!"

"Lady, if you fucking touch me, I'll press charges!" The man was shrieking, well…the young adult. "It was an accident, and you – you can't threaten me! I'LL SUE YOU!"

Jon actually grunted at the strength she exerted to try breaking free of him when the high-pitched voiced idiot actually threatened her. "Kid, I'm going to let her go." He cautioned, knowing he was going to wind up on Delilah's shit list if he didn't let her loose soon. "Del, if you touch him, you'll miss tomorrow." Because she would be in jail.

"YOU'RE LUCKY I DON'T FUCKING SUE YOU! YOU JUST HIT MY FUCKING CAR BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WERE DOING!"

She could tell the kid, no more than 18 years of age, was drunk and couldn't even stand on his own two feet. The police would be on her side and heaven help this kid if he didn't have insurance! Closing her eyes, Delilah breathed in through the nose and out the mouth, needing to calm down and simmer her boiling blood.

"I want your insurance NOW, punk. I'm calling the police right now too, so don't even THINK about getting in your car and speeding away." She would tackle him if he even moved toward his car and gritted her teeth, pulling her cell phone out as Jon released her to make the call.

Twenty minutes later, the police arrived and Delilah, calmer, gave her statement on what happened, along with Jon as her witness, while the kid was taken away in cuffs after failing a sobriety test. Thank the stars, she DID have insurance on the rental and it was no surprise to discover the kid had stolen his father's car. His father's insurance company was about to pay out the backside for the Malibu to the rental company.

Jon stood there with her through it all, and a few other people, since they had all been witnesses to the actual event. Someone had shouted 'hey watch it!' and all eyes had turned to see the disaster. She then had to deal with the car rental company on the phone and was SOL because the rest of their fleet was reserved. Jon hadn't been kidding, this was the kickoff to the summer tourist season. Delilah looked like she was either going to cry or have another meltdown and he slowly, hesitantly draped an arm around her, giving a squeeze.

"I got a car you can use, doll." He assured her quietly, having maybe…35% to do with her bad luck, but this was Vegas and it ran in spades.

Having to rely on this man, being forced into this, didn't sit well with Delilah, but she had no other choice. "I need a drink." Or several, especially after the day she'd had so far.

Jon chuckled, assuring her he had plenty of liquor and beer at his place, which wasn't surprising. The rental car company assured her the car would be towed away and she would be reimbursed because she had full coverage on her rental, including all fees. The tow would also be covered under it; Delilah didn't mess around when it came to rental vehicles. Jon led the way with his arm still wrapped around her shoulders and she didn't push him away, needing the comfort right now after everything that happened.

Once they were in the car, she looked over at him, that overpowering draw to him bubbling inside of her. "Thank you for helping me and stopping me from beating the shit outta that kid. And for letting me stay with you." It had been originally planned, but…she'd been stubborn and wanted to avoid any close quarters with him.

That had all been shot to hell, thanks to her very bad luck.

"Not a problem, Del," He was on his cell. "Hold on, trying to sort this out with my buds. They were driving in for the show, but there isn't shit open…" Jon sighed and shook his head in mock disbelief. "I offered them a place to crash, but now they're not coming. I got shitty friends." He laughed, making doubly sure to check everything before pulling away from the curb.

He wasn't risking karma coming back and biting him in the backside by wrecking HIS baby. He glanced over at her, seeing the set of her jaw and knew this was definitely not her day, not how she had planned this. Good, she'll get over it. Delilah just needed to get the 'I don't want to piss off Sami and ruin friendships' stick removed from her backside and she'd find Jon wasn't a total tool.

"Oh."

That stick would take A LOT to remove since it was the one thing holding her back from doing anything with Jon. Be it kissing, touching, exploring or straight out screwing. Delilah wanted to do it all with him, but…her brother meant the world to her and he was the only family she had left on this planet. Not to mention, he already thought her and Jon slept together when that wasn't the case. Looking away from him, she stared out the window and leaned her head back, watching the scenery fly by. Jon was on the outskirts of Vegas, but not far enough away to make it an inconvenience from the strip.