Best for Business

As soon as my plane lands to Iowa, Seth is there to pick me up. He left last night, after Raw, so he was here for me the moment I landed. He meets me at baggage claim. I jog over to him and kiss his face over and over. “I haven’t seen you in almost a day, and it drove me crazy,” I laugh.

He kisses my forehead before helping grab my bags. “I know, I felt it, too.”

We both had a successful show last night. Seth may not have been in the ring, but he did post the photo Nattie sent us on Instagram. The feedback was mostly positive, so I was thrilled about that. We still have to talk about if we want to let the public know about our relationship, or just our friends. We didn’t talk to in depth about it last night because of work, but we have the chance tonight. Until Thursday, Seth and I can hangout at his house.

As we walk to Seth’s car, he tells me about his home, and the ins and outs of his hometown. He has excitement in his eyes as he speaks, and he’s talking a little quickly. He looks and sounds the happiest I’ve seen him, and I love seeing him so happy.

Seth lives in a reasonably sized house. It’s just him, so it’s nothing huge, but it’s comfortable. He takes my bags out of the trunk of his car. We walk inside, and he shows me around. He finally sets his bags down in his bedroom. We walk back out to his living room and sit on his couch. We sit in a comfortable position, with his arms wrapped around my hips and our legs tangled together.

“What’s going on?” He murmurs in my ear.

“What do you mean?” I ask him.

I can feel him shrug. “I don’t know. Is there something you wanted to tell me last night?”

I can’t help but sigh. I just got to Seth’s house. I want to enjoy my time with him before getting into potentially negative topics. I run my hands through my blonde hair and sigh once more. I let one hand fall overtop Seth’s. “Do we have to talk about it right now? I just want to be with you. Enjoy you, you know?”

“Is it that bad?” His voice takes a more serious tone.

“No, it’s not. I just don’t want you to be upset,” I tell him. I know Seth will dwell on it, so I finally just let him know. “Just don’t be mad, babe, please. Inside the hotel before Raw, I had to share an elevator with Dean. He was really polite and all, but he told me to be careful. He said he doesn’t know the nature of our relationship, but he doesn’t want me to get too invested in you. I told him not to worry. And, I’m not worried, Seth. We don’t know everything about each other, but I’m not worried.” I don’t know if my reassurance helps him, but I want it to.

Now Seth sighs. “I’m sorry, Shay.”

“What is there to be sorry about?” I move my head so I can look at him.

“You just don’t deserve this. People should not walk up to you like that. And you want our relationship to go public?” He looks so sad. People in this business have really messed him up. I know he has insecurities with our relationship because he doesn’t want to hurt me, but he should know I chose to be with him knowing all of this.

I laugh lightly and give him a small kiss. “I don’t care if the whole world knows that we’re dating, baby. I really don’t. The only opinions that matter are mine and yours. I knew going into this people wrongfully judged you. I might have to hear fictitious stories. I can tell you about them if you want me to, but I don’t believe it’ll do much good. It’s you and me, baby.”

He moves so we can completely see each other without craning our necks. He still has an apparent frown. “Are you sure?”

I try to keep my smile. “Don’t you believe me?”

He runs his hands through his hair, but eventually nods. “I do. I just worry about you, Shay. I want everybody in the industry to love you. I don’t want my bad rep pushed on you. I know you say it doesn’t matter, but it might in a week or a few months. That’s what I’m worried about.”

I grab his hands. “I already told you, it’s just you and me. That’s all we have to worry about. And, if you’re that worried about reputations, just take a look at my friends. They completely adore you. Bryan and Brie already talked about us all going out together. Things are looking up for you, Seth. You just have to trust me.”

“You’re right,” He says. He gives me a kiss. One kiss leads to another, and we’re making out on his couch. We’re not too touchy. As of right now, we’re just enjoying the small things. But kissing Seth is so addictive, I don’t want to stop. He eventually pulls back. “Let me make you dinner,” He grins.

We walk to his kitchen. “What do you want?” He asks.

“I just want a sandwich. Like, a basic peanut butter and jelly.”

Seth laughs, “Really?”

“Well, probably two sandwiches. Is that okay?”

“Whatever you want, baby girl,” He laughs again. He pulls out ingredients for our meal and makes us each two sandwiches. He puts them both on paper plates. He gets himself a beer and asks if I want one. I take one, and we go sit back down on his couch.

“Do you have family here?” I ask him once we dig into our food.

“Yeah, but they’re a few hours away. We’re not too close,” He admits.

“I’m not close with my family either,” I inform him. We each explain why. Seth’s family never really agreed with him about anything, and didn’t support his career. My family has always been extremely traditional, and couldn’t hang with me being a free spirit. We all watched wrestling growing up, so when I announced I wanted to be in the business, they weren’t exactly objecting. I’m just a little different from everyone. They weren’t afraid to cut me off, and I didn’t need them.

We sit and ask each other a few personal questions. We talk briefly about politics and our views on religion. We even talk about people we’re usually attracted to. “I don’t have a type physically. I don’t mind hair color, eye color, all that. I like girls who take care of themselves, girls who stay fit. Confidence is a plus. I have to be with someone ambitious. I have big dreams, and she has to support that, but also have her own. You know?” I nod, because I do get it. “How about you?”

“I usually go for muscular guys, mostly because I’m at the gym constantly. I can’t be with a slob. I usually fall for dark eyes and long haired guys. To be honest, you’re exactly who I’m the most physically attracted to. I have to be with someone supportive. I like people who enjoy adventures. People who take the unpredictability of life and roll with it. Supportive, confident people are a must. People who need verification everyday stress me out beyond belief. Independent people are the people I want to be around. I’m independent, and I need a man that’s the same.”

Seth raises an eyebrow, “I’m 100% physically your type?”

“Of course,” I laugh, “But I’ve never dated a man with a beard, so that’s new to me.”

“Do you like it?” He chuckles.

“Yeah, it fits you. It’s managed well, too. You look perfect to me.”

He finishes off his sandwich and gives me a kiss. A kiss that tastes of peanut butter. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on,” He tells me.

I grin and give him another kiss. “Thank you.” I get up and take our plates to the garbage. I also grab Seth another drink because I know his is almost finished. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”

He leans back on the couch. “You can ask me anything you’d like.” I set his drink down. I grab mine and sit back down with him. “Have you been in a serious relationship before?” I can’t help but ask. I’ve been overwhelmed with curiosity, and talking about our type feeds my curiosity.

He nods, letting out a long sigh. “Yeah. I was engaged once.”

I raise my eyebrows, surprised. I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I am. “Do you mind if I asked what happened?” I carefully wrap my arms around him so my drink doesn’t spill. I want him to feel safe and comfortable talking to me. I know he said I could ask him anything. I just don’t want to upset him, and I see asking raised a few emotions.

“I don’t know. I haven’t talked about it in so long. When it happened, I even refused to talk about it. It’s difficult, you know?”

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m not going to ask you to do something you’re not comfortable doing.”

His dark eyes look straight into mine. He wears an unsure expression. After a couple moments, he lets out another deep breath and nods a few times - more to himself than me. “We should probably talk about it. I was engaged to my long time girlfriend. I thought I really loved her, but maybe I didn’t. The traveling wasn’t easy for her. She couldn’t handle being away from me, even though she said she could. We grew apart. I don’t think it ended badly, but it hurt. I didn’t expect it when it happened.”

“I’m sorry, Seth. Breakups are always rough, and that sounds especially hard.”

“Yeah, it messed me up for a while. Have you been in anything serious?”

I knew he would ask, but answering the question is still difficult. I feel a lump in my throat as bad memories rush back to me. It wasn’t a bad relationship, but it was the hardest one I’ve been through. “One serious relationship a few years ago. We met each other in school. I’ve always made it clear my one goal was to be in the WWE, but he never took that seriously. He always shrugged it off, telling me a backup plan was so important. When I started developmental, he realized I was actually very serious about pursuing a career in wrestling. He wasn’t down with that, so he didn’t stick around.” I shrug, trying to make it seem like not a big deal.

It has been a big deal, though. My last relationship has held me off from dating. My career has been my main focus since him. I have had a few flings, but Seth is the first man to catch my interest since then.

“It hurts you, though. I can tell.” Seth says, placing a kiss on my temple.

I give him a small smile and shrug. “I guess. I’m over it, but I don’t really think or talk about it either. I just learned exactly what I don’t want in a guy.”

Seth nods. “I understand completely.” I finish off my drink. “What do you think your biggest flaw is?” He asks. We’re getting really personal tonight, but I know we need it. We rushed into a relationship. It’s important to talk about these things.

I think for a moment. There are a few little things about myself I don’t like, but I know my biggest problem. “I avoid red flags. I don’t want to believe things are bad for me once I put time and emotion into it. To me, it’s almost a waste to give up on something, even if it’s toxic. What about you?”

“I’m very paranoid. Not about my relationships or anything like that, but I just see things go wrong and I get scared. I don’t handle things well sometimes.” I’ve seen Seth’s paranoia firsthand. He’s constantly worried about everything. Even tonight, I’ve had to give him verification. Just knowing that Seth is aware of his nervous personality is a good sign to me. He can work to improve it in the future.

“That’s okay, though. It’s something we can work on,” I grin. Seth gives me a small smile, but he nods, too. I open Seth’s new beer and take a drink out of it before handing it to Seth. He takes a drink of his own and sets it back on the coffee table. “You know what?”

“What?” He chuckles.

“I just want to kiss you all night and talk about your favorite things.”

He laughs again, and pulls me close. “I think we can do that, baby.”