A
Different Kind of Knight
CHAPTER 1
“Jack?”
Jake Hager –better known to fans as Jack Swagger, and
truthfully; as of late he preferred his ring name- slowly turned around; his
eyes widening as he took in the person before him. Truthfully, he had
recognized her just by her voice alone. The West Yorkshire accent wasn’t harsh,
but softened, tempered with something else that he attributed to her other heritage.
“Who’s this, Jake?” His friend, Mike Mizanin or simply Miz,
asked curiously, taking in the woman standing before them.
“What are you doing here?” Jake demanded in a low voice;
ignoring Mike.
“We need to talk.”
***
“Oh, I’m sorry!”
Jake shook his head, waving a hand airily. “No, it was my
fault.” He stooped to help the raven haired woman pick up the contents of her
purse. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
She laughed quietly, reaching for a tube of lipstick and tossed
it into the leather bag. “Me either.”
He grinned, finally looking into her face and blinked. It was
obvious just from the caramel color of her skin and ink black hair she was
Indian. Not Indian as in Native American but from India, or at least her
parents were. Her accent made him think she was a local. But her eyes, they
were a pale green color; standing out quite lividly from her face; surprising
because he had expected brown or near black iris’ staring back at him.
“I’m Sitara.” She said after a
moment, her pearly white smile faltering when he just continued to stare at
her. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He stood up from his crouching
position as she did; extending his hand. “Jack, Jack Swagger.” Jake didn’t know
why he lied to her, but he was a bit surprised she hadn’t recognized him. He
was on RAW now, that was live TV and millions worldwide watched it. Maybe he
was secretly, arrogantly hoping she’d recognize the name.
“That’s… different.” Sitara said
slowly, still smiling. “Well, Mr. Swagger…”
“Jack.”
“Jack, thank you for your help.”
When she moved to go past him, he sidestepped and blocked her
path. “Wait…”
Sitara
hesitated; her black eyebrows coming together in a frown.
“This is going to sound awfully forward but, would you have
dinner with me?” He smiled sheepishly down at her. “I’m in town for business
and don’t really know anybody…”
She smiled again.
***
“Here, we can talk in here.” Jake grunted, opening a door to one
of the rooms not in use and ushered her inside;
quickly looking up and down the hallway before following her. “What are you
doing here?”
She arched an eyebrow, staring at him; not understanding the
almost angry tone of voice he was using. “I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me.”
Sitara
frowned, biting her lower lip. This wasn’t exactly the reception she had been
looking for.
***
“And now we’re here on tour.”
Sitara took a
slow sip of her wine, to give herself time to digest. Jack was a professional
wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation, which she had heard of. A lot of
her mates were wrestling fans and had made the trip to the show. She had never
paid attention, though she could now imagine the looks on said friends faces
when she informed she had actually dined with a wrestler.
That would be entertaining to say the least.
“So what do you do for a living?” Jack asked her, surveying
her with interest that she was certain extended past what she did for money.
“I um, I’m a dancer.” She said after a moment.
“Professional?”
She nodded slowly.
“Wow… like ballet and sh-stuff?”
“I’m classically trained, yes.”
“Impressive.” He smiled at her, reaching out to rest his hand
on top of hers. “I bet you’re a beautiful dancer.”
***
“Well?” Jake folded his arms over his broad chest; staring down
at her coldly.
Sitara didn’t
know what to say. Finally, she took a deep breath and began.
***
“You’re… what?” Terrence stared at Sitara,
the expression on his face disbelieving; like she had just told him she had
sprouted an extra set of breasts.
“Pregnant.” Sitara repeated calmly,
maintaining the cool and aloof posture though inside she was quivering.
“You can’t be pregnant, you twit! How the ruddy hell do you
plan on dancing for the lads?” He snarled, standing up and placing the palms of
his hands on his desk. “I am NOT employing a pregnant stripper!”
“I’m not going to show for several months…”
“I don’t care! Either get rid of it or hit the bricks.”
“Fine.”
“You need an advance for an… abortion?” Terrence asked,
seemingly relieved she was taking this so well.
“No, I meant fine, I quit.”
***
“You quit?” Jack said sharply, staring at her. “You quit your
job and decided to come hunt me up because you think you’re pregnant with my
kid? I don’t think so, Sitara.”
Sitara could
only stare at him like he had lost his mind. “What do you mean, I think,
I know.”
“It’s not mine.”
“I’m not pregnant, you arrogant berk!”
“You just said…”
“I miscarried.” She said flatly, tears shimmering in her pale
green eyes for a moment before blinking them away.
“Let me guess, too much stress.” Jack sneered, shaking his head.
“I know what this is, this is a shake-down. You’re after money, right?”
“W-what?”
“We had a one night stand and you figured, since I’m famous
you’d try getting some cash off me. Well, it’s not happening, you understand
me? Even if you were pregnant, it wouldn’t be mine. You’re a whore, you
dance for money and who even knows what else.”
Her mouth opened and closed; struggling not to scream in rage or
cry.
“Now get your ass out of here before I call security.” He
pointed towards the door.
Nodding automatically, she turned towards the door.
Smugly, he shook his head; tsking.
Sitara
whirled around and slapped him as hard as she could.
***
Stephanie McMahon-Levesque shook her head as she walked down the
hallway; fighting back the beginning of what promised to be a spectacular
migraine as she surveyed tonight’s line-up. “This is garbage…” She muttered;
passing the clipboard back to her personal assistant. “Throw it out.”
“But…”
“Please, throw it out.” Even though she had been polite, her
tone had become frosty; blue eyes narrowing. She was getting just a bit sick
and tired of everyone questioning her, she was head of the creative writing
team; if they didn’t like her decisions, they could quit.
It was her ass that was usually reamed out, not theirs.
On the bright side, at least they’d be going back to the United
States in less than a week. Their second European tour in two months, she knew
she wasn’t the only one exhausted; the superstars and backstage people were
too; all of them wanting to get back to their families and homes.
She didn’t blame them one bit.
Stephanie’s attention was pulled from her thoughts of home to a
woman walking ahead of her; crying softly from the sounds of it. She frowned as
she took in the neatly pulled back black hair. She was fairly certain this
wasn’t one of her Divas, she was taller than the twins and her skin was too
dark to be Gail. “Excuse me.”
The woman froze.
When Stephanie had moved so she was standing in front of her,
she inhaled sharply; motherly instincts kicking in at the pain on the other
woman’s face. “Are you looking for someone?” She asked kindly, hoping this
wasn’t a ring rat who had just been tossed out.
“No, I already seen him.” The other woman said, sounding fairly
bitter; snorting and angrily wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her white
blouse.
“Is there… here, why don’t we go to my office…?”
“Your… office?”
“You don’t know who I am?” Stephanie blinked in surprise.
“Should I?”
“Stephanie McMahon-Levesque.”
“Sitara Adjah.”
They shook hands; Stephanie smiling warmly while Sitara seemed uncertain.
“This way.” Stephanie wrapped a friendly, supportive arm around
this person she had only just met; already having a feeling this woman –Sitara- was about to make an impact in her life in some
way; shape or form.
Sitara just
went with it, after all, her life couldn’t get any worse, now could it.
CHAPTER 2
By the time Stephanie Levesque was finished, Sitara
was feeling… confused to be honest. She had ventured a trip to the Manchester
arena after finding out the WWE was in England again only to talk to Jack.
Which was a sign of how desperate she truly was. In the month
since quitting her job she had lost her baby, her flat and her car. She was
staying with a sympathetic friend but as her friend had a house full of her
own; that was temporary living arrangement.
“Now, we’ll just go gather your things that you’ll be needing
and I’ll have my assistant handle all the necessary paperwork.” Stephanie said
as they walked out of her office; her arm wrapped around Sitara’s
shoulders; smiling warmly. “I think once this all sinks in, you’ll be very glad
you accepted this job.”
SItara didn’t
say what she was thinking, which was ‘why had she accepted this job?’ Of
course, the part of her mind that wasn’t grasping for a means of survival
informed her automatically. She had no job, no home, no car, no money. She had
been looking and nothing was turning up; until now. The irony of the situation
–she had originally come here to ask Jack for help and he had refused her- did
not escape her.
Stephanie, for some ungodly reason, had offered her a position
as a ‘diva’. She had detailed what the job meant, as well as explaining Sitara would have to go to their training camp; unless one
of the Superstars who were also licensed trainers could be talked into doing
it.
“This way.” Stephanie said, watching with a slight frown as Sitara stared down a hallway; following her gaze. “Oh,
that’s just some of the boys, don’t worry. I’ll introduce you sometime later.”
Sitara just
nodded, ignoring the dark look Jack had given her.
***
“The old man is going to kill her.”
Shawn arched an eyebrow, glancing over at Paul with an almost
amused look on his face. It didn’t take a genius to know the old man was Vince
and her being Stephanie. “What for this time?” He asked, trying to keep the
humor from his tone.
Stephanie was head of the creative team but on occasion, she
also handled talent; hiring and firing. Stephanie also tended to butt heads
with Vince on her ideas, but as she was in a position of power; sometimes she
had to make decisions that others might not agree with.
He was so glad he didn’t have her job.
Sighing, Paul shook his head and finished taping his wrists.
“Well?” Shawn prompted, a bit curious now.
“She hired some woman while we were in England.”
“Okay, so?”
“A woman who didn’t even know what the WWE is, has no background
in athletics…”
Shawn was beginning to see the problem; rubbing he back of his
neck awkwardly. “Yeah, he’ll kill her.” He agreed.
“That’s not the worse of it.”
“There’s more?”
“She wants ME to train this woman.” Paul chanced looking up; his
eyebrows drawing together in a frown when he seen Shawn was biting the back of
his hand. “Are you… laughing at me?” He demanded, irritated.
“No,” Shawn shook his head, keeping his hand over his mouth.
“With you, man, with you.”
***
“You be NICE to her.” Stephanie ordered two days later; staring
intently at her husband. “I’ve explained what you’re going to be teaching her
and she’s terrified.”
“She ought to be. What the hell are you thinking, Steph?” Paul
wasn’t pleased with this, at all. He stood in the center of the ring, which had
been assembled as soon as the trucks had backed into the docking bays on
Stephanie’s orders. “Since when do you pull people in off the street? Scout,
discuss, interview, isn’t that how it usually works?”
“Usually.” She agreed, clasping her hands before her, smiling a
deceptively sweet smile. “This was a split decision, if you don’t like it,
that’s fine. But you will tolerate it.”
He recognized that tone. It was her ‘you might be my husband but
I am your boss’ tone.
Gritting his teeth, he nodded.
Her smile turned warmed. “Good. She’s coming right now.”
Turning automatically, Paul’s brown eyes narrowed in on a woman
hesitantly walking towards the ring from where the ramp would go. He took her
in with a professional eye; noting that her arms were muscular and what he
could see of her legs seemed to be as well. But she looked terrified as well,
eyeing the ring apprehensively.
“Sitara,” Stephanie called, beaming as
her newest acquisition cautiously climbed the steel stairs. “This is my husband,
Paul, he’s going to train you.”
Paul did manage to smile –not too stiffly either- when she
turned pale green, positively terrified eyes on him. “Do you have…” He trailed
off when she shook her head no. “Any… strengthening activities, physical?”
“I used to dance.” She said after a moment.
Well, that was a start.
***
Sitara
figured she was in Hell, or something akin to it. Physically at least. She was
grateful to Stephanie for the job, even though she secretly had her misgivings
and reservations about this. Wrestle, on national television, someday?
Eh…
It felt like every single muscle in her body was on fire;
telling her this wasn’t supposed to be physically possible and she knew damn
well she was bruised in places she had never been bruises before; places she
hadn’t actually been aware she had.
Wrestling hurt.
Of course, Paul told her she would eventually learn how to take
the ‘falls and bumps’, and then they wouldn’t hurt as bad. She personally
thought he was a bit of a sadist who enjoyed pain to some degree because he had
said it with this grin on his face that made her question his sanity.
She was now officially on the payroll, even though she wasn’t
doing anything. Stephanie informed her that just like any other job, she got
paid for training. Which she found a bit odd as this wasn’t exactly the usual
sort of job.
But being trained by Paul meant instead of settling down in one
place, life Florida –which she had learned was where people were usually trained-,
she traveled. She realized eventually she was going to have to find a place of
residence for when she wasn’t on the road; the paperwork for temporary
residence waiting on her to figure out where said place was going to be.
Stephanie had casually mentioned that she and Paul resided in
Greenwich, Connecticut.
Sitara had
gotten the impression that was a hint.
Stephanie had become sort of a mother bear figure, which was
definitely odd as she was only three years old than Sitara
was, but… there you had it. Sitara had found a friend
in Stephanie, and apparently Stephanie had found a person who needed looking
after; which put Stephanie in her element.
Stephanie and Paul also had the most adorable children, which
was a perk as Sitara loved children and a bit of a
grief giver, simply because she had lost a baby. It was a double edged sword
but… life moved on.
Then there was Jack –though now she knew his name was actually
Jake-, who seemed to occasionally watch her; almost as if he was expecting her
to blurt out their one time tryst. Which she hadn’t, she hadn’t even confided
it to Stephanie; she didn’t want anyone knowing about that.
Ever.
***
“Shit. Shit. Shit. Ouch. Shit.” Shawn grumbled as he limped out
of the elevator; trying his damndest not to crouch over and walk with his hands
on his knee. He was going to have to murder that rookie for botching a move. It
wouldn’t have been too big a deal, it happened to everyone (Himself included),
if not for the fact that instead of just botching and missing completely; said
rookie who would forever remain Shithead now, had botched AND gotten Shawn in
the kneecap.
He leaned against his hotel room door long enough to swipe his
keycard through it; then placed his rolling luggage bag in the doorway,
propping it open.
“Ice…” He hissed, letting out another soft curse under his
breath as he scanned the hallway; his gaze finally landing at the very end of
the corridor; where the ice machine sat. “Ah hell!”
Eyes narrowed, he began the long; tedious process of limping
down the hallway.
“Bloody hell!”
“What the-“ Shawn turned in time to see a woman hopping on one
foot, backwards; right at him, apparently doing something with the foot she
wasn’t using. “Lady!” He held out both arms; grunting when she toppled
backwards.
For a moment, he just lay there in the hotel hallway; with a
strange woman on top of him; her back to his chest and wondered why tonight of
all night’s this had to happen. Usually, he would have found the situation
amusing. Right now, he was annoyed.
Apparently she was shocked as well because she just lay there,
stiff as a board.
“You mind gettin’ up?”
She was up and on her feet in an instant; whirling to stare down
at him.
“Ah…” Shawn grunted when he seen her face; gingerly pulling
himself into a sitting position; not caring that he looked like a sprawling
fool with his long legs half bent; draping his arms over his knees as he stared
up at her. “So you’re the…”
She arched an eyebrow when he actually got as far as ‘hin’.
“Brit.” Shawn coughed.
“I have a name.” She said stiffly, trying to place who this was.
“Sitara, and don’t ask me to pronounce
your last name cause I can’t.” He held out a hand to her.
Sitara stared
at it.
“You knocked me down woman, now help me up!”
An infusion of red appeared on her cheeks, contrasting rather
lovely against her caramel colored skin but she took his hand; grunting as she
helped him up. She got the idea he was making her do more work than necessary
but as she had… knocked him down…
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He said when he was upright, bracing a
hand against the wall; trying not to grimace.
“Your Shawn, aren’t you.”
“How’d you guess?”
“Stephanie said you were….”
He couldn’t stop himself from smirking. “Cocky? Arrogant?” He
recited, words Stephanie used for him quite frequently.
“…a tool.”
CHAPTER 3
“You told her I was a tool?”
Stephanie couldn’t keep a small smile from flitting across her
face; clearing her throat. “I don’t remember, Shawn.” She said in a calm tone
of voice; not looking up from the paperwork scattered across the makeshift desk
she was using. “Really, even if I did refer to you as a um, tool, what does it
matter?”
“Because you told the rookie I was a tool!”
“Well, you are a bit.” After signing her signature to a form,
Stephanie looked up at Shawn; staring at him shrewdly over her silver wire
rimmed glasses. “Why do you even care?”
“I don’t.” He grumbled; folding his arms over his chest.
“So you’re annoying me because?”
“I’m-“
“A tool, now get lost, the adults have work to do.”
***
“We’re going to have to get one of the women out here to start
helping.” Paul said thoughtfully; watching from his perch on the turnbuckle as Sitara threw herself off the ropes, back and forth, sweat
beading on her forehead from how many times she had done this. “Because there’s
no way in hell you’re ever going to be able to do any power moves on me.”
“Power moves?” She managed to say through gritted teeth.
“You know, like slams and suplexes.”
Paul chuckled, snorting loudly. “Of course, there usually isn’t a lot of that
in the Diva’s matches anyway but… never hurts to learn.”
Sitara
stopped, hunching over with her hands on her knees. She hadn’t missed the
derisive tone to his voice; grinding her teeth even more. It was more than
obvious that the only reason he was taking time to teach her was because he had
too.
“Yo, Tool, what’s up?”
Her head slowly raised at Paul’s less than nice greeting,
somehow not surprised to find Shawn strolling towards them; trying not to grin
at the rather annoyed expression on his face.
“Tool? Is that what I’m going to be stuck with?” Shawn groaned;
rolling under the bottom rope with a groan. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
She shrugged.
Paul stroked his chin thoughtfully; humor still glittering in
his eyes. “Stephanie found it amusing.”
“I bet she did.” Shawn sighed resignedly, glancing between the
pair. “So… what are we doin’?”
“Training.” Paul frowned. “Sitara,
back to work.”
“Bloody hell, you’ve had me at it for twenty minutes!” She
exploded, not sure how much more of this torture she could take. Stephanie
while well intentioned, had to be out of her mind.
Exasperatedly, Paul threw his hands up into the air. “Shawn…
would you mind…”
“Nah, I’ll take over.” Shawn said with a sly grin.
She groaned.
Slapping his friend on the back, Paul vacated the ring.
“What has he taught you?”
Inhaling deeply, Sitara began
recounting all of her ‘lessons’, her eyes narrowing as the smile on Shawn’s
face grew broader and broader. “Just what is so amusing, might I ask?” She
finally demanded, planting her fisted hands on her hips.
“Your accent, it’s cute.”
“You are a tool.” She was pleased to see the grin firmly wiped
off of his face; smart enough to not let her own pleased smile actually show.
Shawn was very tempted to tell her just what type of tool he was
and how she could best use him but decided against it as it could possibly
constitute sexual harassment and he had no idea just how prudish this woman
was. Much less if she could take a joke.
Though when she realized he was contemplating speaking his mind
and had arched a black eyebrow almost challengingly, all bets were off.
Shawn opened his mouth to say it only to be interrupted, rolling
his eyes heavenward at the familiar lisp of Jake. “Help you, son?” He asked, trying
to keep the aggravation from his tone. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he had
interrupted what seemed to promise being an interesting insult exchange.
“Just wondering when you were going to finish up.” Jake said,
glancing at Sitara who was staring anywhere but at
him. “But if you need more time with the rookie…”
She tilted her head from side to side, cracking her neck.
Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Shawn. “We’re not done
yet, kid. Come back in twenty.”
Nodding, Jake retreated a few steps but didn’t go anywhere; just
folded his arms over his chest, watching.
Realizing they were going to have a spectator and trying not to
offend anyone today as Stephanie had already made it known to the locker room
he was a ‘tool’, Shawn just took it in stride. “Lock up.”
“I beg your-“
He held up his hands; palms facing her.
The last thing Sitara wanted to do was
be embarrassed and beaten down in front of Jack, Jake, whoever the hell he was
today. But on the other hand, she didn’t really have a choice. Wiping her
sweaty hands off on her grey workout shorts; she hesitantly approached him.
The minute they locked up, Shawn realized her upper body
strength wasn’t as obvious as he had realized. From the look of her, all her
muscle seemed to be in her very well developed legs. After a moment though, he
had her lying face down on the mat; his arm locked around her head.
Shaking his head, Jake headed up the ramp way; he had seen
enough.
When Jake’s laughter reached her, Sitara
had to bite back the urge to scream every curse in the book at him. Who in the
bloody hell did he think he was? Denying her and then- “I give!” She shrieked
when she realized Shawn was steadily applying pressure, pulling her mind back
into the game.
“What the hell was that?” Shawn demanded.
“What was what?” She asked crossly, moving to a kneeling
position and reached back to rub her nape.
“You zoned out, not good. You need to constantly pay attention
when you’re wrestling or someone is going to get hurt; yourself included.” He
wasn’t joking or playing around anymore; his tone absolutely serious.
This was his life, his job; and he didn’t have time for people
who wanted to play games and not pay attention.
“Sorry.”
***
After being reamed out by Shawn ‘The Tool’ Michaels and then put
through some horribly painful paces, Sitara was free
to leave for the night. Of course she knew he would go tell Stephanie how her
training had gone; or at least tell Paul so Paul could relay it.
In the likelihood that Paul hadn’t bothered informing his wife
that he had regulated the training to someone else for the night.
All things considered, she was very happy to head back to her
home for the night; knowing damn well Stephanie wanted her to compete in a dark
match within the next week or so. She pitied herself. Not for the first time, Sitara wondered how she had gotten into this.
It wasn’t exactly a mess, but it was so… confusing and
complicated. She knew what was waiting for her in England, absolutely nothing.
But on the other hand, she sometimes feared she was going to go mad. The
constant traveling, jet lag; being stuck on buses for long hours and then
sometimes not even getting more than two hours sleep before having to go on.
She could only imagine how much worse it would be once she did
start actively performing.
She could also only imagine how tired the actual wrestlers must
be, that or they were all on drugs.
Stephanie had been pleased as punch when Sitara
had –over the internet no less- applied for a flat (or apartment as Stephanie
had corrected time and time again) in Greenwich. She hadn’t done it so much to
please her somewhat matronly and a hint overbearing new friend so much as she
needed a place to go to on her days off AND preferably know at least one person
in her new, adopted town.
Luckily for her, tomorrow she would catch a flight to Greenwich;
with Stephanie. Which was a blessing as she had never been to Connecticut let
alone Greenwich before.
It was time to stop thinking about tomorrow, she mused as she
pushed open the stairwell door and looked up; groaning at the sight of three
flights of steps waiting for her. It would have been so easy to just take the
elevator, and indeed, her aching body was telling her to go for it but her mind
screamed BLOODY HELL, DON’T DO IT.
Sitara was
just a wee bit claustrophobic.
Though she figured she was probably going to have to get over
that really soon, especially when she got a vicious cramp in her left calf;
hobbling the rest of the way to her room. Fumbling for the keycard; she finally
looked up, letting out an indignant growl of surprise at who she seen leaning
against her door.
Jack Swagger, Jake Hager, whoever the fuck he was, had some
nerve.
“Get out of my way.” She ordered coolly.
“I want to talk to you.”
“You’re supposed to be at the show.”
“Hurt my back, they pulled me and put Chavo
in my place. Can we talk?”
“No.”
“No.” She nudged him aside, more than aware that he had let her
do it, and unlocked the door; intending on slamming it in his face.
She wasn’t surprised when he stopped her.
“Sitara, just- just, let me…” Jake
groaned when she brought her balled fist up and got him square in the nose;
reeling backwards with both hands over the wounded appendage.
“Piss off.” She grunted, this time slamming the door unhindered.
Boy but that had felt good!
CHAPTER 4
“So, this is your new apartment.” Stephanie stepped aside after
unlocking the door; smiling encouragingly as Sitara
hesitantly stepped through and into the living room.
It was… not what she had been expecting. Actually, Sitara didn’t know WHAT she had been expecting but she was
fairly certain this was not it.
Beige colored walls, a darker shade for the carpet… and it was
furnished.
“I didn’t really know what you’d like so I hope you don’t mind…”
Ah, of course, Mommy Stephanie.
Sitara
studied the tan colored couch and matching chairs; a dark oak coffee table;
standing lamps. She smiled. “It’s lovely, Steph, really.”
Stephanie returned the smile.
***
“So do you like it?”
“I don’t know, it’s alright.”
Sitara’s best
friend since primary school –Emma- laughed; her voice a tad bit crackly over
the phone. “It’s got to be loads better than where you were; at least situation
wise.”
“Well you’ll never catch me complaining about that.” Sitara agreed, smiling in spite of herself. “I just I’m
just a wee bit homesick.”
“Aw…” Emma was silent for a moment. “I’ll email you some
pictures. You do have a computer don’t you?”
“Uh…” She did a slow turn in her living room. “I don’t know
actually… I just moved in an hour ago.”
“You just moved in?”
The disbelief in Emma’s voice made her cringe. “Yes.”
“Why are you just now moving in? You’ve been there
over a fucking month!”
“Well, the job clearly stated that it was mostly life on the
road and this is the first time I’ve had several days off to…”
“You’re serious?!”
***
Well, Sitara reflected a few hours
later; soaking in the overly large tub, it could have gone worse. Emma had
eventually gotten over her apparent indignation long enough for Sitara to explain just how life on the ‘road’ worked.
They both had shared repulsion over the canister of tea she had
found in the kitchen.
Then she had described in great detail her new bed; which left
her longing to feel tired just so she could try it out and Emma insanely
jealous.
“I’m being petty and picky.” Sitara
thought as she dried herself off; knowing she needed to drop to her knees and
thank the Lord above for such a blessing to come into her life; especially when
she had needed it the most.
Stephanie had done a really great job of picking stuff out for
her; stuff Sitara herself would have never looked
twice at simply because she never would have been able to afford it.
***
“Tara, wake up!”
Sitara shot
upright, her pale green eyes unfocused though she heard ‘Tara’ being hollered
again. “Who the bloody hell is Tara?” She yawned, recognizing the voice;
vaguely.
“Sweetheart, wake up!”
The voice was closer. Growling under her breath, she all but
dived out of bed; lunging forward to slam her bedroom door shut and locked it;
sneering when she heard chuckling from the other side. “What the hell are you
doing here?! It’s my day off!”
“I was in town.”
“Sure…”
“Just put on some clothes, come out and have a coffee with me
and I’ll explain.”
He was going to explain alright, explain just how in the hell he
had gotten into her apartment. Of course, she instinctively knew the answer to
that one. Stephanie. Though Stephanie had given her the impression that while
she liked Shawn, she didn’t thoroughly approve of him.
So maybe it was Paul.
Who in his insanity, might find it amusing.
Invoking all sorts of curses under her breath; Sitara reluctantly dressed. Whatever happened to having a
bit of a lie in?
Shawn looked sickeningly awake and cheerful; disgusting her even
more. Though he did have a redeeming quality at the moment; he was holding out
a cup of coffee. “Good morning, Tara.” He smiled sweetly as she all but
snatched it from his hand.
Sitara
considered him as she sipped the hot beverage, contemplating him. There were
several questions that came to mind, she just needed to decide which one she
wanted to ask first.
Shawn waited patiently, an amused smirk on his face as he
watched the play of negative emotions across her face.
“Why are you here?” She finally asked; trying to manage a scowl
but her face just didn’t want to cooperate; it was simply too early.
“Greenwich? Business, had to come to the office and sign some
paperwork.” Shawn shrugged, knowing damn well that wasn’t what she meant. When Sitara looked like she might actually pour that hot coffee
on him, he took a step backwards. “And because Stephanie asked me to look in on
you and make sure you were gettin’ along alright.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“Alright.” Shawn exasperatedly threw his hands into the air;
shaking his head. “She was planning on comin’ and takin’ you out with the girls but Paul asked me to step in
so she’d keep her ass to home for once.”
Sitara
digested that one, finally nodding at him. “Thank you.”
“So don’t be bitin’ my, wait… what was
that sweetheart?” He looked like he was about to start jamming a finger in his
ear as if he might be deaf.
“I said thank you.” She honestly didn’t know if she was up to
going out just yet, especially with Stephanie.
***
Shawn was fairly impressed with himself, watching as Sitara examined a dress through a window. He had actually
managed to convince to come out and explore her new hometown. Of course, it was
a bit pricey for his tastes, not to mention there was a lot of… stuff, he could
definitely do without, but as she actually had to live here…
“Do you want to go in and ask the price?” He offered.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Where would I wear it?” She asked practically.
“Well, there company does have parties… There’s one comin’ up.” That he was being forced to attend or Stephanie
had threatened to make him job to Big Dick.
No way in Hell.
“So you could wear it there.”
Sitara chewed
on her lower, studying the dress. “No, I don’t think so. I have a party dress
already. No point in adding another when the first hardly gets ever worn.”
She was practical. He admired that.
“Do you think I’ll have to go to this party?” She asked as they
began walking again; rifling through her purse for a pack of chewing gum.
“You’re Stephy’s pet project, the
answer is yes. She’ll probably even set you up.” He took a stick when offered.
“Set me up? You mean with a date?” Sitara
looked and sounded horrified.
“Hey, it won’t be so bad. Probably just someone from the
company, besides, it’s not like you have to agree.” Shawn shook his
head; placing a hand on her shoulder. “You can say no.”
“That’s just it, I can’t.”
Confused, he followed her across the street towards what
suspiciously looked like the Starbucks; then followed her inside. Once she had
gotten herself a latte, he led the way back outside away from all the people
who seemed to be either trying to figure out who he was or working up the nerve
to ask for an autograph.
He hated Greenwich.
“So why can’t you, Tara?”
“Must you call me that?”
“That or sweetheart.”
“I actually prefer sweetheart.” Her tone was clipped.
“You’re avoidin’ answering the
question, sweetheart.” He pointed out sweetly.
“She helped me when… when no one else would.” Sitara could not for the life of her keep the bitter and
hurt tone from her voice; grateful when Shawn didn’t comment on it because she
knew he had noticed. “I was in a bad place and she gave me a leg up. Simple as
that.”
Now he was curious. But he also knew better than to ask her to
expound on that.
So he’d ask Paul.
If Paul didn’t know, he could wheedle it from Stephanie and then
tell him.
CHAPTER 5
“You think you’re really slick, don’t you?”
Sitara didn’t
have to turn around from the catering table she was making a coffee at to know
who’s familiar lisp that was. She just heaved a great sigh and rolled her eyes
heavenward.
Jake wasn’t phased, just moved until
he was standing directly behind her; breathing heavily on her neck. “You do
know once everyone finds out about your little past, you’re done here?”
After stirring her sugar in, Sitara
slowly turned around; measuring him coldly. “What do you want, Jake?”
He registered the emphasis on his real name, his eyebrows coming
together in a scowl. “You ought to be a bit more polite with me, Sitara.” He cautioned. “I could bury you in a heartbeat,
even Stephanie wouldn’t have a thing to do with you if she knew the truth about
WHY you were here in the first place.”
“You’re a damn liar.”
“No, I’m not.” He smiled, obviously pleased with finally getting
a reaction from her and reached out to take a lock of her straight, jet black
hair between his fingers, rubbing it between thumb and forefinger. “Sitara, why are we fighting?”
Her face went from annoyed to bemused at the sudden change in
his tone. His voice was now gentle and soft, much like when she had first met
him. “Because you’re an arrogant prat who treated me
like scum when I came to you for help.”
To his credit, he didn’t flinch. In fact, Jake didn’t even look
remotely abashed. “Look at it from my point of view, Sitara,”
He said pleadingly. “We had a one night stand and then four months later,
you’ve hunted me down to tell me you lost your job and a baby.”
She didn’t miss the ‘and a baby’.
“What would you have thought if you were in my place? I’m
famous, I have money… Do the math.”
“How many women come to you for help after losing a job and YOUR
baby?” She asked, conversationally but the fire was burning in her pale green
eyes again.
Jake shook his head. “You’re missing the point.” He took one
step forward, which was all that was needed to fill in the gap between them;
his body pressing against hers in an all too familiar way. “We don’t have to be
a one night stand, Sitara…” He whispered in what he
thought was clearly a seductive voice.
“I don’t even think so.” She used her free hand to push him
away, snorting when he let her push then purposefully took a tiny step
backwards. “Not interested, Jake.”
“Don’t be stupid, I can-“
“Not interested, Jake.”
“Sitara,” He now sounded both
exasperated and annoyed; his eyes flashing. “You’re not listening to me. Shut
up and- YOU STUPID LITTLE BITCH!”
Sitara had
poured her coffee over his shirt; which incidentally, meant his massive chest
–which he was so fond of jutting out- was soaked and burnt as well. “I said
NO.”
Jake was peeling off the shirt; backing away from her though he
had pretty much forgotten her at the moment. “Hot, damn…” He groaned, biting
back the pain as he stared down at his now beet red chest; finally looking at
her. “You’re going to pay for that you little-“
She had already turned around and turned back to him, now
holding the coffee pot. “If you don’t want it to be your bits next, leave me
the hell alone.” She snarled.
Knowing now she would actually do it, he grunted; making a
dismissing gesture. “Whatever. Just remember, I know shit about you that you
probably don’t want anyone else knowing, slut.”
She held her ground, staring at him coolly until he was out of
the room. Then with a visibly trembling hand, Sitara
set the coffee urn back in its place; gripping the edge of the table and hung
her head; focusing on just breathing.
***
“What’s wrong?”
However Stephanie managed to do that was beyond Sitara, she wondered if she was a sense that came with
having children. “Nothing.” She lied, fairly certain she had calmed down enough
(not to mention washed her face in cool water) and regained her composure so
the fact that something WAS wrong wasn’t noticeable.
Stephanie looked up from the paperwork she was sorting through,
arching an eyebrow. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You wanted to see me?”
After giving her friend and employee a searching, skeptical
look; Stephanie finally nodded. “Paul tells me you’re ready for the ring. How
he would know when he’s been delegating the job of training you to Shawn…”
Sitara
cleared her throat.
“But Shawn thinks you’re ready, Paul thinks you’re ready, I
think you’re ready. The question is, do you think you’re ready?” Stephanie
stared at her intently. “If you’re not, just say so. But if you think you are,
then I’d like you to perform in a dark match tonight before the show actually
starts.”
She hesitated.
“Look, a dark match, if something goes wrong or-“
“I mess up.”
Stephanie nodded. “It just means you’re not ready, but if it
goes well… Then we find a place for you on the show and go from there.”
“Alright, I can do a dark match.” Sitara
said, trying to inject a note of confidence into her voice; pleased to see she
might have succeeded by the sudden smile that appeared on Stephanie’s face.
“We’re going to have you face Alicia.”
It took Sitara a moment to place the
name with a face, knowing that Alicia had been with the company a relatively
short time but had developed quite well in the ring in a short period of time.
“Alright.”
***
“You ready for this, Tara?”
“Shawn! I’m in the damn shower!”
“I can’t see anything.”
“And stop calling me Tara!”
Shawn snorted, wondering if she realized that was a useless
order and passed her a towel when she held out a hand. “Need some help toweling
off?” He teased.
“Shawn, turn around right now or I’ll rip your bits off.” She
threatened.
“Bits?”
“Your tool, you tool.”
He winced and turned around, folding both hands over the front
of his jeans.
Sitara eyed
him suspiciously, snatching her wrestling gear off the chair she had set it in
and slipped back into the tiny closet; closing the door behind her.
Shawn heard the soft ‘click’ as the door slid in place, turning
and arched an eyebrow. “Oh now that’s mature. Don’t trust me, Tara?” He called
through the door, leaning against it with an amused grin on his face; arms
folded over his chest.
“Should I?”
“Why shouldn’t you?”
“Let’s see… you’ve walked into my apartment unannounced and
uninvited, you just walked in on me showering…”
“So?”
“You have no shame, do you, Shawn?”
“No, not really.”
“You really are a tool.”
He scowled but didn’t reply. Instead he listened to the sounds
of her struggling to dress in the glorified broom closet; trying not to laugh
aloud. When she banged against the door with a grunt, he twisted the knob and pulled
it open; catching Sitara before she hit the ground.
When he seen her shorts were on backgrounds, he dropped her and slumped back
against the wall; holding his sides because he was now laughing hard enough to
possibly crack a rib.
“Oh shut the hell up!” She growled, reaching down to grab the
waistband and drawing her knees up; beginning to shimmy out of them, still
lying flat on her back. “As if I’m not nervous enough, performing tonight, and
you’re coming in here making sport of me!”
“Talk English, Tara!” He gasped.
“I AM, you twit! I AM English!”
“Honey, you gotta put them-“ He stopped laughing, wiped the
tears from his eyes in order to see better, openly staring down at her. “See
through?”
It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about, glancing
down and then went a brilliant shade of red. “SHAWN!”
He didn’t look remotely abashed or away even where there was a
knock on the door, followed by Paul poking his head in.
“Hey kid, you’re on in twenty and Stephanie is- Oh sorry, didn’t
mean to interrupt.” He cleared his throat and withdrew his head.
Shawn grinned.
“WILL YOU GET THE BLOODY HELL OFF OF ME?!”
A/N: There's a reference/possible slur, a racial one at that, at
the end of the chapter. I'm NOT a racist, it's just a sentence in a story. Fair
warning.
CHAPTER 6
It could have been worse, Sitara
figured as she made her way backstage; keeping her hands away from her lower
back, which was aching a bit. Okay, a lot. Alicia had been very pleasant and
helpful. Then she had promptly kicked Sitara’s ass in
the ring.
“You were great.” Stephanie said proudly, looking satisfied that
her newest acquisition/pet project wasn’t too banged up. “Once we get a place
to put you, you’ll work RAW, how’s that?”
Sitara just
nodded. Arguing with Stephanie was a bit like arguing with her own mum,
tiresome and pointless. “Alright, that’s fine.”
“We’ll need a stage name for you as well…”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Sitara is lovely, but it’s not…
catchy.”
Sitara bit
her tongue, trying not to point out that Kelly Kelly
sounded like a children’s dolly. “You can get back to me on that, alright?”
“Well, what does your name mean?”
“Morning star.”
Stephanie grinned broadly. “You’re a genius.”
Sitara was
genuinely confused now. “Huh?”
“Star, your ring name is going to be Star.”
She slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand.
***
Jake watched as Sitara pulled herself
up; her hands firmly clasped behind her head. He was trying to keep his eyes on
her face and not the fine sheen of perspiration that was beading on the visible
parts of her caramel toned body. “Are you going to go to the party?”
“Yes.” She replied curtly, saving her wind for the exercise,
wondering if she’d ever get used to this. Though on the bright side, without
Paul there driving her on like some sort of rabid dog, it was much more
enjoyable.
“Got a date?”
She sat up promptly, arching a black eyebrow at him, figuring he
was out to drive her insane. As they were surrounded by coworkers though, he couldn’t
be cruel to her just like she couldn’t smash his face in with a dumbbell.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Sitara, I was just thinking we should
go together.” He smiled sweetly at her, bold enough to press his advantage;
fairly certain she wouldn’t explode on him here. Not like she had with the
coffee; his smile turning into a frown at the thought of it. “All things
considered, you should feel lucky I’m even willing to give you a second
chance.” He informed her haughtily.
Her eyebrow was in serious jeopardy of disappearing into her
hairline. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I am. Look, I’m wearing blue, so make sure your dress
matches and-“
“Green seems to be her color.”
Sitara had
never been so happy to see Shawn, even if he was a bit annoying.
Jake glared at Shawn, more than aware the man was beginning to
move in on ‘his’ woman. “You mind, we’re coordinating for the boss’ get
together. “ He snorted when he took in Shawn’s workout clothes; which were a
pair of black sweatpants and a navy blue tank top. “Not that YOU’D know
anything about that.” He smirked, gesturing to himself, silver track pants with
a red stripe down the side of his legs with a matching shirt.
“You look like a disco ball, kid, not good.” Shawn slapped his
back playfully, wanting nothing more than to teach this rookie a lesson in
manners but refrained. He was *supposed* to set an example. Which he did, on
occasion. Right now, he was about to show Jake how to get a woman and it wasn’t
by being an arrogant ass.
Sitara was
mopping herself off, listening to the exchange.
“Sitara?”
She glanced at Shawn, noting the use of her full name opposed to
the usual ‘Tara’. “Yes?”
“You still have that sexy black party dress?” He grinned
slightly, watching her pale green eyes begin to sparkle with humor.
“Still collecting dust in my closet, I’m afraid.” She sighed
melodramatically.
“Well… I don’t have a fancy suit, darlin’, but I do have nice
dress jeans and a nice shirt… if you think you could stand to be seen with
someone as homely as me?”
Jake was FUMING.
“You know Shawn, I’d love to go with you.” The surprising part
was that Sitara actually meant it, and it came out in
her tone.
Shawn looked mildly surprised but then genuinely smiled. “It’s a
date then.” He said softly.
“A date.”
***
“Carlito.”
“It’s… five A.M., Steph…”
“You know who Carlito is, right?”
“Stephy, it’s only five…”
“Hey, I brought you coffee, so you know him or not?”
Sitara
realized when the coffee was pressed dangerously close to her face that
Stephanie was not indeed a nightmare but actually there, at the ungodly hour of
five A.M., on a day she didn’t have to be awake until eight. “I know OF him.”
She yawned, resigning herself to the fact she would not be getting anymore
sleep and slowly sat up; rubbing sleep from her eyes with her knuckles. “Is he dying?”
“Dying?” Stephanie sounded confused, sipping from her own coffee
mug; looking way too awake to be allowed. “No, of course not, why?”
“Then WHY are you in here at… FIVE in the morning?”
“Oh!” Stephanie beamed, dropping down on the edge of the bed.
“We found a place for you on RAW! Or at least, how to introduce you to the WWE
Universe.”
“Brilliant, I’m going back to bed and-“
“Oh no you are most certainly not, we have a lot of work to do.
You debut officially tonight. You need to be redone.”
That was most ominous thing Sitara had
ever heard.
***
Actually, it wasn’t as bad as Stephanie had made it sound, Sitara mused as she worked her way through a Red Bull;
watching the current match idly on the monitor in the woman’s locker room. Her
hair had been trimmed, they had *tried* perming it
but that came out badly. So badly in fact that the hairdresser had actually
cried when after the third attempt; nothing but straight locks greeted her.
Sitara had
felt so bad about that.
Stephanie had contemplated colored lenses to cover her eyes, but
the make-up people had talked her out of it, thankfully. She was given a new
outfit that was actually hers to keep opposed to the ‘loaner’ she had borrowed
for her dark match against Alicia.
And as she had been an ‘exotic’ dancer, she felt her wrestling
gear was fairly modest. Which was probably a good thing as the WWE was PG
apparently. What was amusing was it’s obvious play on her ‘home’ country.
“Wow… are you belly dancing or wrestling?” Alicia teased when Sitara began getting pulling on her costume.
“I don’t know.” She laughed; pulling the odd feeling material
over her legs before reaching for the gold link, chain belt that would hold it
up. It was a bit like silk, only sturdier. She looked down at her legs; her
entire legs were covered, the ankles tight. Truth be told, she was dressed a
lot like Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. “I think I’ve been stereotyped!”
“Hold on, let me see if I can find your Genie shoes…” Alicia
teased, playfully looking around in Sitara’s duffel
bag, beginning to laugh as she pulled out a see through, gold silk scarf. “Well
looky here…”
Sitara had to
duck her head for Alicia to wrap it over her hair and then over the lower half
of her face; smiling in spite of herself. “If I get booed out there…”
“Oh no, you won’t, Carly will. He is ALWAYS booed.” Alicia
assured her. “Just let him do his thing, you’ll see. He’s a great heel.”
“Heel?”
“Bad guy.”
“Oh.” She mulled that over. “So I’m going to be a heel too?”
“Hell no. Look, Carly ALWAYS turns on people, it’s his *thing*,
his character’s thing I should say. So… they’ll put you out there with him,
you’ll do a few matches together; some promos and crap, and then something will
happen where he ‘turns’ on you too.”
“Ahhh…”
“Probably hock an apple in your face.”
“Now that is disgusting.”
“Tell me about it.”
“How do you ladies think I feel?” Speak of the Devil. Carlito
popped his head into the room; his fro all over the place as usual and gave Sitara an encouraging smile. “Hey Star, I’m Carly.” He
waved what looked like a red Delicious at her. “And if I do hock apple at you,
I’m sorry. I’m STD and disease free, I promise.”
“He’s also insane and thinks he’s charming.” Alicia snorted,
rolling her eyes in his direction.
“I AM charming. I also HATE apples. Why couldn’t they give me
lemons or oranges?”
“Apples are cheap, and… And… AND…”
“And I’m from Puerto Rico AND I’m CANADIAN!”
“Tell creative that.”
Sitara was
completely lost by this exchange and it showed.
Carly sighed at her puzzled expression. “Apples, and it’s a
backstage joke. Apple picker, Mexican…. And you’re not following this, are
you?”
“Not a whit.”
Alicia began laughing. “I’m sure you’ll hear ALL about it from
Carly, it’s one of his favorite things to bitch about.” She began backing up
when he took a bite out of the hated apple, hands up. “Hold on now boy, don’t
be-“
“Carlito, Star, show time!”
He swallowed. “You got lucky.”
CHAPTER 7
Carlito was fun to work with and very outspoken, which Sitara found amusing. Especially when he started in on how
she was being stereotyped just like she was and how it wasn’t fair, encouraging
ignorance among people.
As for being a ‘heel’, a villain, Sitara
found it rather fun and surprised herself by taking a few liberties while out
with him. It was a solo match and she was in his corner, having been introduced
as Star from a place she knew she did not hale from but… Such was the life.
Towards the end while Carlito was ‘distracting’ the referee, she
slid under the bottom rope and into the ring; her pale green eyes fixed on his
opponent.
He stared right back at her, an eyebrow arched as he took in the
veil that covered half her face.
Crooking her fingers, she backed towards the corner, enticing
him.
Which was when Carlito hit the Backstabber. Sitara
exited the ring. Match was over.
“You are brilliant, I love you!” Stephanie said gleefully as
soon as she was backstage, and probably would have hugged Sitara
providing Sitara hadn’t moved behind Carly who seemed
amused at being used as a human body shield. “You two look cute together, you
should go to the ball together.”
“Whoa, what?” Carly blinked. “I have a date, Steph.”
“Well cancel it.”
“I CAN’T, she’s my FIANCEE.”
Stephanie frowned. “It’s just for-“
“I’m going with Shawn.” Sitara added
quickly.
Now Stephanie’s jaw dropped and Sitara
felt all this harassment and change was worth it just for this one moment;
unable to keep herself from grinning.
***
“Is this really necessary?”
“Yes.” Stephanie had recovered from her shock that Shawn was
taking Sitara to the ball and come back with a
vengeance; now insisting that they pamper themselves the day of.
Currently both women were reclining in massaging chairs while
they each received pedicures.
“So when did this little… development happen?”
Sitara sighed
inwardly, having been wondering when that was coming. She knew Stephanie had
been chomping at the bit to start nosing around about her and Shawn –and there
WAS nothing going on- but had restrained herself.
At least until now, when there was no way of Sitara
escaping the question.
“He… asked me and I said yes.”
Stephanie arched an eyebrow.
“Honestly, Steph, he’s about the only person I know in the
company besides you.” Sitara began to smile, already
deflecting the impending million questions she could literally see building
behind those brilliant blue eyes. “And as you have a date…”
Stephanie began laughing. “Fair enough.”
***
“I’m out of my mind.” Sitara breathed
later in the privacy of her hotel room as she dressed. She felt soft and
feminine all over thanks to Stephanie’s generous day of indulgence; her hair
falling in its usual straightness that had frustrated more than its fair share
of hair dressers today.
Usually, she left it hanging loose but tonight she pulled her
hair back into a low ponytail, grimacing at the sight of her bare ears. Already
dressed in her simple black ‘party’ dress and treacherous high heels, she had
carefully applied make-up and all that was left was a few accessories.
Such as a curved line of paste on faux green jewels across her
forehead to bring out the color of her eyes and an emerald pendant that had
been her mother’s.
Before she could start seriously worrying if she was overdressed
or underdressed, there was a knock on the door.
“Bugger… One minute!” She called, grabbing studs out of the dish
of alcohol she had set them in and began filling the holes on each lobe, four
at the bottom; three at the top on both ears. Satisfied, she grabbed her purse
off the counter and hurried out of the bathroom.
As soon as she opened the door; she felt like she was having an
out of body experience. Shawn looked… good.
Shawn almost blushed at the appreciation in her eyes, waving his
hand in her face. “My eyes are up here, honey.”
Sitara did
blush but met his amused gaze. He hadn’t been lying about the jeans and nice
shirt. A pair of nice black jeans, a pressed; long sleeved black button up
shirt with what looked like a white muscle shirt beneath it. Of course, his
ever present boots and ‘cowboy’ hat had been added to the outfit, and
surprisingly; it still looked good.
Clearing his throat, Shawn held out a hand.
It took her a minute to realize he was carrying a rose, a pale
pink rose and automatically reached out to take it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
***
Jake was already at the ball when Sitara
arrived on Shawn’s on no less, having had his doubts about them coming
together. He frowned when he seen she was leaning into the other man, listening
to something he was murmuring in her ear.
That little bitch had a lot of nerve he thought, glancing around
before taking a discreet swig from the silver flask he had brought with him.
Just as quickly, he had it stuffed back into his slack’s front pocket. He
hadn’t brought a date, figuring he would probably just pick someone up here
but… he wasn’t in the mood for just anyone.
He was in the mood for the slut he was eyeballing, hardly
believing Sitara actually DARED to show herself her.
As if she hadn’t been a stripper… and a ‘working’ girl of sorts.
Jake’s frown deepened, not tearing his eyes away from the odd
couple, wondering if Shawn knew about her spotty past. She was a user. She had
used him and then tried to pull a coup over him with that false pregnancy and
miscarriage shit.
For Shawn’s own sake, he NEEDED to know. It was only right Jake
told him everything he knew about Sitara’s shady past
lest Shawn got caught up in one of her schemes.
It was for Shawn’s own good.
***
Surprisingly, Sitara was having a good
time. Shawn didn’t mind dancing but he had been upfront and honest in telling
her that he COULDN’T dance. So they stuck to the slow songs where all they
really had to do was sway in slow circles and such.
He was even using her full name opposed to ‘Tara’, which was
nice. The night was nice altogether.
“Let’s step outside, I’m roastin’.”
Shawn said after their third dance, pulling his hat off with one hand and using
the sleeve of his shirt to mop his brow with the other.
Nodding, she followed him through the other people; returning
nods and smiles she received even though she had no idea who the majority of
people were, knowing it was mostly due to her being with Shawn.
Out on the balcony was a welcome change, the crisp night air
felt so good against her damp skin and caused her to sign contentedly. “Best
idea you’ve ever had.”
“Second.” Shawn corrected, leaning against the railing; smiling
at her.
“What was the first?”
“Asking you here.”
She blushed.
***
What the hell could they have to talk about for two hours? Jake
wondered as he watched Sitara and Shawn. They hadn’t
come in from the balcony since going out there and so far, they had done
nothing but talk. They had moved from their standing positions to sit on those
uncomfortable iron chairs; just talking.
Gritting his teeth; he finished his flask and glanced around;
his eyes brooding.
Enough was enough. This trick was finished.
CHAPTER 8
“Excuse me, I need to use the loo.” Sitara stood up; smiling when Shawn rose with her. The
smile remained with her as she walked back into the ballroom, seeing the party
had gotten to full swing and caught Stephanie’s eye, shrugging when Stephanie
arched an eyebrow.
She had long ago given up on the dream of a small house with the
white picket fence, of a knight in shining armor who would love her until the
end of time. Life simply did not work that way and she had discovered that the
hard way.
She had pretty much given up on love in general after Jake, not
that she had been in love with him but she could have loved him, providing he
had never shown what a snake he truly was.
Maybe.
As for Shawn, first impressions usually were final for her and
his first impression hadn’t gone over smoothly but… Things seemed to be
changing.
Of course, caution screamed at her not to make the same mistakes
she had with Jake, not wanting to be yet another notch on ANOTHER wrestler’s
belt but something deep in her gut told her Shawn wasn’t like that.
Contrary to what Stephanie had said about his past.
She stood at the bathroom sink washing her hands and going over
her appearance when she heard the door open, frowning. “Occupied.” She called,
wondering if she hadn’t locked it. When the person came in regardless, she was
annoyed. “Occupied!”
Pale green eyes widened in the mirror when she seen Jake walking
up behind her.
He moved forward so her back was pressed against his chest;
moving his arms around her to grip her hands with were gripping the sink.
“Get out.”
“We need to talk, Sitara.” He said,
his lisp not helped any by the alcohol he had imbibed.
Her nose wrinkled as the stench of whiskey assaulted her. “Get
out.” She repeated.
His eyes, which were glazed over just a little, narrowed. “We
need to talk.” He said again, gripping her wrists cruelly and turned her around
so she was facing him. “Pulling tricks on Michaels?”
“What? No! I’m-“ She gasped as his grip on her wrists tightened,
feeling like he was grinding her bones in his hands.
“Bullshit. You’re going to do to him just what you did to me!”
“I didn’t do anything to you! I came to you for help and you-“
She was cut off by his lips pressing against hers, keeping her own firmly
sealed.
“Bitch!” Jake spit harshly in her face, beginning to pull her
from the bathroom. “Let’s see if Stephy and Shawn will still want anything to
do with you when they find out you’re nothing but a WHORE!”
Sitara
struggled against him but wound up only hurting herself even more in the
process.
***
Stephanie was dancing with her husband when the music suddenly
screeched to a stop; everyone looking first towards the DJ and then at what had
gotten his attention; her mouth dropping. “What the HELL is going on, Hager?”
She demanded, her shrill voice easily overheard as she pushed her way through
the crowd.
Shawn was working his way back inside, listening to the silence
that had fallen over the ballroom. As soon as he pushed through, Jake sent Sitara to the floor with a push. “Hey!”
Jake sneered at him, his cheeks a ruddy red. “Yeah, run to help
your whore!”
“JAKE!” Stephanie’s voice was reaching new levels of shrillness.
Jake ignored her, his beady eyes resting on Shawn, a cruel smile
crossing his face. “Betcha didn’t know, did you?”
“Jake, please…” Sitara whispered, her
usual beautiful dark skinned complexion going ashen. “Jake…”
“Sitara and I have a little history,
don’t we baby?” He glanced down at her, snorting in derision when he seen the
tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. “Pathetic.”
“Jake, please.”
“Sitara and I met in England,” His
voice was carrying and he didn’t give a fuck, he wanted people to know what a
dirty little whore she was. “She was an… exotic dancer. A little stripper, and
if the money was right… she’d give a guy a go round in a back room.”
Shawn looked to Sitara, but she was
hanging her head.
“So of course, she’s more than eager to dive right into my bed.
Why not? I’m famous and rich, right?”
Sitara didn’t
even counter the lies Jake was spewing, too afraid, too ashamed to look up. She
let out a soft squeal of surprise however when he pulled her onto her trembling
legs once more; forcing her head up so he could stare down at her, hatred
festering in his eyes.
“Then out of the blue she shows up with a sob story. She was
pregnant, she lost her job because she refused to get an abortion and then had
a miscarriage from stress.” Jake rolled his eyes. “She didn’t say what she
wanted but come on, we can all guess, money.”
Shawn was being held back by Paul; every muscle in his body
taut.
Jake let go of Sitara, shaking his
head as he looked at Shawn. “If you want to give her a go, be my guest. She’s
not TOO bad.”
Sitara stood
there for a moment, unable to move; feeling like her entire body was blushing
with shame. When she finally regained her mobility, she fled the ballroom.
“Sitara!” Stephanie shouted, but
didn’t chase; instead fixed Jake with a look. “You are FIRED, jackass.” She
snarled.
His drunken smile faded. “What?”
“You heard me.” She couldn’t repair the damage he had done,
everyone had heard it and as much as she would have liked too, she couldn’t
just simply order people to forget they had heard that. Life didn’t work that
way. “Get him out of here!”
When security had dragged Jake from the room, Stephanie finally
turned her eyes to Shawn, who was looking both murderous and stunned. “Shawn…”
He shook free of Paul and stalked right on past her.
CHAPTER 9
Where the Hell would she go, Shawn wondered as he came to a halt
outside the hotel and surveyed the streets. The hotel they were actually
staying at was on the other side of town, not like she couldn’t get there by
herself but he had a feeling Sitara wasn’t in any
proper condition to go far much less think on how she would be getting there.
His gaze finally landed on a seedy, somewhat country looking bar
across the street and figured why not. If he had been in her place, he probably
would have hit the booze as quickly as possible. After checking the traffic, he
hurried across the road and ducked inside; coughing as a wave of smoke and the
stench of sour beer hit him.
After his eyes had adjusted to the slightly burning sensation
from the smoke, he peered around; finally spotting her in the back. Murmuring
‘excuse me’s’, he made his way to her; dropping down across from her in the
booth.
He frowned when he seen the bottle of Jose Cuervo
sitting before her, a salt shaker and a bowl of sliced lime sitting along a
filled shot glass. “Tara, honey…”
She peered at him through blearily eyes, not from being drunk
but from crying. “What do you want?” She asked hoarsely, her voice sounding
clogged from her crying.
Shawn reached across the table to take her hands in his; sighing
when she jerked them away in order to down her shot. “Sitara,
look, what Hager said… nobody cares about, it’s in your past.”
Snorting, she focused on her tequila, refilling the glass.
“Sure, Shawn, sure.”
“I’m serious, Tara, a lot of the… divas, well… they did… porn.”
Not that anyone openly talked about it as it was a no-no topic, he had a
feeling this was going to be as well. “But nobody cares.”
“Uh huh… how many of those women got pregnant by one of the
superstars and then apparently tried conning him for shit?”
“None.”
“Point made.” She grumbled, slamming the next shot.
“I don’t believe you tried conning him out of anythin’ though,
sweetheart. I think Hager is a lyin’ son of a bitch
with a mean streak a mile wide.”
“You can say that again.” She met his stare; blinking which
caused the unshed tears to roll down her cheeks; following the trails left
behind by others. “We didn’t meet AT… where I worked, we met on the street; we
bumped into each other.” She whispered.
His eyes were sympathetic.
“He asked me to dinner and… we just clicked, instant chemistry.
I didn’t know what a sodding cuntrag he was.” Now her
tone went bitter. “Being the git that I am and all.”
“And then…?”
“He left. I went by to... stripping and ‘being a whore’,” She
used her fingers to accent that; scowling. “Found out I was pregnant. My boss
told me to abort it or lose my job so I quit.”
Shawn knew what came next, letting her know silently she didn’t
have to tell him the rest.
But Sitara was buzzing thanks to the
few shots she had drowned and just shook her head. “Lost my flat, couldn’t pay
my tuition, then I lost the baby.”
He thought he seen a spasm of pain flicker across her face,
seriously considering looking up the now unemployed Hager and beating him to a
bloody pulp; no doubt he’d be able to recruit Paul into helping him.
“Go away, Shawn.” She sighed. “I want to be alone.”
He grunted, pushing away from the table.
Sitara was
mildly surprised he actually listened to her; glancing down at her limes and
blinked; her eyes feeling dry and irritated, out of tears.
Can I cut in on a dance?
You ain’t gonna find what you’re lookin’ for
In that little Mexican
You can’t mix your tears
With those from an agave plant
You see I’ve danced with him myself
And he’s never been a friend
“Come on.”
She felt his strong hands beneath her arms; lifting her from her
seat and gripped his wrists to keep from toppling; her arms going around
Shawn’s neck for balance when he gently turned her around. “What’re you doing?”
She demanded softly.
“Dancin’ with you.”
“Are you serious?”
“For once, yes.” Shawn bent down to press his forehead to hers.
“I know you had it rough, but things are different now, they CAN be, if you let
them. The past is only going to hurt you if you let it, darlin’.”
You go believin’ in your Lancelot
Well it’s all in vain
And you’re chasin’ picket fences,
There’s always hell to pay
I met many a girl in here
With the same story line
All them boys on those white horses
Don’t know how to ride
Sitara
glanced towards the jukebox then back at Shawn, her eyes narrowing and tried to
hide a smile when he just grinned slightly. “Who sings it?”
“Christian Kane.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Somehow, sweetheart, that don’t surprise me.”
But I got a paint outside with enough giddyup
To be free
I got a faint smell of cheap perfume
And a hint of gasoline
See I’m a different kind of knight
You’re gonna find your fairytales are lies
I don’t have a white horse
But you can come along for the ride
She rested her head against his shoulder; her eyes straying back
to the bottle of tequila at her table but she wasn’t tempted to finish what she
had started: a grand drunk.
Shawn tightened his arms around her, smelling a mixture of Tabu and liquor; a hint of lime. No wonder she was a hint
distrustful of him, it all made sense now. Jake had turned her life upside down
once before already without thinking twice.
And then done it again tonight.
She said “I’m tired of living life in a romance book
I think chivalry’s dead
And I ain’t gonna look
For them roundtable boys on the white horse
That can’t get the story right.”
I said “as luck would have it
I was tossed by the throne
I let my merry hair down
Some years ago
And I traded my coat of arms
For a guitar and some broken yellow lines.”
Stephanie had called him a tool, Sitara
remembered with a slight smile; hiding her lips against the collar of his shirt
just in case. Stephanie had been right, Shawn was a tool, at times. Other
times… he was… something else.
Like now, he wasn’t be annoying or cocky; he was being
thoughtful and… sweet.
It was a bit bitter, part of her screaming ‘he’s trying to get
in your pants’ and the other part knowing better but also afraid of what
happened after this dance.
Life existed outside this tiny bar and repercussions for
tonight’s drama would come.
But I got a paint outside with enough giddyup
To be free
I got a faint smell of cheap perfume
And a hint of gasoline
See I’m a different kind of knight
You’re gonna find your fairytales are lies
I don’t have a white horse
But you can come along for the ride
“You don’t have to go back to work straightaway.” Shawn
murmured, his chin resting against her head as they swayed; feeling her body
beginning to finally relax into his; the soft weight of her against him
something he had a feeling that would never come around again.
“Yes, I do.” She whispered back.
“Why?”
“I’m not a coward.”
He smiled.
She kinda shifted in her seat a little bit
The thought of every eye on her bee-stung lips
And she raised that glass and the lime
And she kissed them goodbye
She said “promise me you’ll take it slow
And swear no talk of tomorrow
And when you feel me tighten around you
Well you can let the hammer down.”
Sitara pulled
away to stare up at him; the buzz fading. “I think I’m ready to go call it a
night, tomorrow is going to be… interesting.”
“Wait and see, nobody will say a word. I told you, some of the
divas dabbled in porn.”
She grimaced. “We’ll see.”
Shawn just smiled at her. He had a feeling Stephanie would fine someone to hell and back for mentioning tonight’s
outburst. He was tempted to tell her Steph had fired Jake but figured she
probably didn’t want to hear that troll’s name at the moment. “I’ll take you
home then.”
And I got a paint outside with giddyup
To be free
I got a faint smell of cheap perfume
And a hint of gasoline
See I’m a different kind of knight
You’re gonna find your fairy tales are all lies
I don’t have a white horse
Oh
But you can come along for the ride
Shawn kept a hand on the small of her back as he guided her from
the bar, waiting until they were on the less crowded street to join her at her
side and wrap his arm around her. “For what it’s worth, you look really
beautiful tonight.”
“You mean I did.”
“No,” The palms of his hands skimmed up her bare arms; feeling goosebumps breaking out on her skin. “You do.” Even with
her mascara and eyeliner a little… streaked and the tip of her nose was still
reddish, but she was still beautiful.
As he was leaning down, she was moving closer; they met in the
middle.
But you can come along for the ride…
THE END