Best for Business

I’m more confused than ever, but I try my best not to show it. Backstage, everybody hoots and hollars. “Shay, baby girl, you got everybody riled up!” Kofi Kingston says, laughing.

I shrug, but I smile at him. “Just doing what I have to do, Kof.”

I try to avoid talking to everybody else. I want to celebrate with everybody, but Seth’s words hang over my head. I try to piece together Hunter’s face when I asked about Seth, Seth’s distraught face when I saw him before his match, and his need to talk to me immediately after kissing me. I also keep in mind that Stephanie just told me she truly believes things will work out. As much as I want to hang out with my friends, I need to figure this out first. I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else.

I don’t even change into my street clothes before leaving. I just grab my bag and go. I don’t tell anybody I’m leaving because, if I do, I know somebody will stop me. I quickly leave for my hotel room.

I know I should shower, but I don’t. I put on some sweats and a baggy Misfits t-shirt. I pull my sweaty, unbrushed hair into a sloppy bun. I fix any smudged makeup I have, but, at this point, I don’t care what I look like. I just want to know what’s going on.

I text Seth once I’m back and dressed. He messages me his room number and I walk over to it. I knock three times and wait for him to answer.

I should be happy, but I’m worried. Tonight has been a big night for our careers. Our storyline has set us up for the next few weeks. Until Summerslam, at least, we’re smooth sailing. I’m champion for the first time in my life - I deserve to be happy. But, I’m sitting outside Seth’s hotel room, freaking out. This is not what’s supposed to be happening.

After what seems like hours, Seth opens the door. He’s freshly showered and sporting only a pair of gym shorts. He motions me inside. I sit on the couch near his bed. I don’t want to look him in the eyes because I don’t know what’s coming. I don’t know if I even want to know. He doesn’t say anything when I walk in. It’s uncomfortably quiet. “What’s going on?” I finally ask.

I hear him sigh loudly. I look up to see him sitting on his bed, running his hands through the blonde portion of his hair. “I think we need to talk about tonight.” He says after a few quiet minutes.

I nod slowly, still confused. “What about tonight?”

There’s another quiet silence. It feels awkward, but I don’t know how to fix it. Seth sighs again. He’s staring at the floor. “I don’t know how I feel about you.”

“I don’t know how to take that, Seth,” I tell him, shocked.

Realizing what he said could be taken in a bad way, he immediately looks up at me and apologizes. “It’s not that. I, just, I don’t know. Tonight? I feel like it changed things.”

“What do you mean?” I feel the same way, in a sense, but I don’t want to tell him that. I’ve been falling for Seth, but I don’t know if the change I feel matches his. He could be thinking something completely different. Maybe tonight ruined things for him.

He pauses again. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “This is hard for me. I’m sorry. I’m probably sound like an asshole, but I’m not meaning to. Just give me a minute?”

I move over from the couch to beside him on the bed. I don’t know if the lack of distance will help him or not, but I hope it’s more reassuring. He doesn’t look at me, but I know he can feel the weight shift on the bed. I cross my legs and sit facing him. I grab his hand in an act to comfort him.

I know I have mixed emotions about our situation, but I’m still going to try to be here for him. He and I have been friends for a short while, after all. I want to comfort him, even if what he’s trying to say isn’t exactly in my favor.

He looks in my direction, but won’t make eye contact. “I just can’t get you out of my mind,” He finally says.

“Is that good or bad? And what does that have to do with tonight?”

He gives a halfhearted shrug. “It could be both good or bad. It fucked me up tonight. I’ve always been professional. I know the difference between life in and out of the ring. But tonight, things got weird. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Just tell me. I can take anything you have to say.” I try to let process his emotions and say what he needs to before I add my thoughts. His body language and constant change of the focal point of our conversation really shows me Seth is worried about expressing whatever he needs to.

“I don’t think it’s anything bad... but, I don’t know. I thought I could handle tonight, but it felt personal. Too good to be true, you know? I don’t know how you feel about me, but what happened tonight?” His repetitive words make me believe, for the first time, we’re on the same wavelength. He sounds nervous. Maybe Seth may be struggling with the same things I’ve been struggling with since I met him.

I tighten my grip on Seth’s hand. When I grabbed his hand, he didn’t grip it back. He just let my hand fall onto the center of his. This time his fingers wrap around the back of my hand. He still doesn’t look at me, but his hand gesture is welcoming.

I’m scared to tell him how I feel, so I try to keep it rational and professional. “The ring part? We had to do that. It was what we were asked to do. We did our jobs, like you said earlier. You can’t be upset that we did what we were instructed to do.”

“How do you feel about me, though?” He asks.

This time I sigh. I don’t have a way with words, especially when it comes to speaking to a guy I’ve had some intense feelings for. I feel like, even though what Seth is saying sounds like he has feelings for me, I could be completely wrong. I should take the honesty route. I told myself I’d confess my feelings to Seth after Battleground, but I don’t know if I should be so upfront. If he rejects me, we could be placed in an awkward position. But, this also seems the best time to confess my feelings.

“How do I feel about you? I feel great. You’re a breath of fresh air. I’ve encountered hundreds of people in my lifetime, and I’ve never become such good friends with someone so quickly. Given our circumstances, we’ve had to become acquainted, but we’ve surpassed that. I’ve never enjoyed the company of another as much as I enjoy yours.”

He nods a few times, mostly to himself. “That’s it?”

My free hand gently grips Seth’s bearded chin. I move it just enough so he has to look me in the eyes. Though I’m frightened, I go for it. It seems like we both have nothing to lose. “That’s not it. To be honest, tonight I felt blurred lines, too. I want to be great friends with you. I want that close bond. But I’m not lying when I say I’m attracted to you. I’m attracted to every word that comes out of your mouth. I’m attracted to your generosity and authenticity. I’m attracted to you physically. And, Seth, that really fucking scares me. I haven’t expressed this to you until now because I’m so worried about messing things up.”

I let my hand fall from his chin. He grabs my newly free hand with his. Holding both my hands, he’s able to scoot me just a bit closer to him. My legs aren’t touching his, but we’re a few inches closer to each other. We’re still maintaining eye contact. “I think I feel the same way about you.”

My heart skips a beat. I’m relieved to hear a mirrored response. “You think?” I chuckle.

He nods. “Yeah, I think. I was worried, too. I didn’t mind this storyline at first because I’ve always been able to have a balance between my work and home life. I didn’t imagine I’d meet a woman who not only is beautiful, but is the sweetest soul I’ve ever known. I don’t want to mess things up with you, but kissing you tonight made me realize that just being your coworker is going to be virtually impossible.”

My cheeks flush, and I can’t help but grin. “I don’t think you can mess things up with me.”

He shakes his head, but he’s still smiling. “I have a tendency to ruin everything I touch, but Shay, I really, really want to be with you.”

“Give yourself a chance, Seth.” I move his hands to me, pulling us closer together. I let go of one of his hands and run my fingers through his dark hair. “Give us a chance,” I whisper into his ear.

“You’re right,” He whispers back. He adjusts his head so we’re looking straight at each other. We navigate closer, but in a natural way. Seth’s lips brush against mine. His free hand swoops across my waist and pulls me towards him. I let myself do what I’ve wanted to do for weeks. I share a genuine, unscripted kiss with Seth.

It isn’t eager like before, but the passion is still there. Kissing Seth is everything I want it to be. It’s natural. Nothing but him runs through my mind. I’m not nervous of where our hands are placed or what will happen next. I’m not worried about anything. It’s just Seth and I, on our own with no expectations.

He pulls away after a couple minutes. “Did you bring True Blood?” He asks.

I laugh. His first thoughts after our first true kiss is his new favorite TV series? “Yeah, I brought it.”

“Bring it over here?”

“Only if you pay attention to it,” I smile.

He kisses my cheek and grins. “No promises. Sleepover with me tonight.”

“I need to shower and Lillian might be upset if she doesn’t see me tonight.” WWE gives everybody roommates. We all have the same hotel, but we bunk up with each other. Tonight I’m with Lilian Garcia. She’s one of the sweetest women on the roster, and rooming with her is always nice. We don’t talk much about our personal lives, so she doesn’t know anything about Seth other than I have a storyline with him.

He shrugs. “Shower here. Grab the show and come back over. I can text Lilian for you, if you want.”

I can’t resist his offer. I really do want to spend time with him, especially with our blossoming relationship. Maybe Lilian would enjoy a room to herself anyway. “I’ll text her. Let me get a small bag together.” I tell him I’ll be back in a few minutes and leave.

Once I’m back in my hotel room, I pick up my phone. I left it in my room so I didn’t have a distraction during my conversation with Seth. I have dozens of texts. Some are from friends congratulating me, but a majority are from co workers asking where I am. I only respond to Brie’s text. I tell her I’m alright and that I’ll text her in the morning. I shower, brush my hair, and change back into the outfit I just had on. I put a few movies in a tote, the DVD player I always bring on tours, as well as a change of clothes for tomorrow and my makeup bag. I text Lilian and tell her that I won’t be in the room tonight, but I’ll see her sometime tomorrow and not to worry. I don’t have pockets, so I set my cell and room key into the bag and leave again to Seth’s room.

When I knock, he opens it straightaway. I walk in and set my bag on the bed. “So, I didn’t bring you True Blood. You have to pay attention to all of it, or it’s not worth watching. But I did bring something for us to watch.”

I pull out House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. Seth makes a face of disapproval, which I expected. “Fuck that.”

“I know you don’t like Rob Zombie movies, but I enjoy them. These are just compromises you’re just going to have to make,” I laugh. I hook up the DVD player and put the first movie in. I toss Seth the remote, turn the room light off, and get into bed with him.

“Do I really have to watch this?” He groans after I’m snuggled up under the covers.

“Of course. You’ll learn to like them. Or tolerate them. You can choose the movie next time.”

He sighs and leans down to kiss my nose. “I suppose. You’re lucky you’re cute.”

What I like about Seth, is that when I turn on a movie, he’ll actually watch the movie. A majority of the guys I’ve been with have only had an interest in getting physical. Though Seth doesn’t enjoy my taste in movies, he deals with it. We just lay together, holding hands, watching the movie. He sneaks a few kisses here and there, but that’s it.

After the movie is over, I ask if he’s ready for the sequel. He groans, but he gives me a look that shows he’s joking. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay awake. It’s getting late.”

“Can I still put it in anyway?” He nods, so I get up and put in the next movie. “I promise, it’s great.”

He rolls his eyes. “I doubt it.” Right as the movie starts, he pauses it. I look at him, confused. “I didn’t want to distract you from the movie, Shay, but I did want to tell you something. I didn’t think we’d be in this position, especially this quickly, but I’m beyond glad we are.”

I smile and give him a quick peck. “Me too. But I have one question. Are we one of those real couples now? Like, an official couple?”

Seth shrugs. “I guess you can say we are.”

“You’re my boyfriend,” I grin. It feels crazy to say that, but a good kind of crazy. We may be moving fast, but it feels like I’ve waited a lifetime.

“And you’re my girlfriend,” He kisses my temple and smiles. I’ve never been happier hearing that sentence from anybody.