Page 3

Chapter Three

THEODORE

I t’s been a while since I’ve been in some ratty run-down venue that indie promotions call home. Sure, some of the bigger promotions can pull some nicer venues but this place? It doesn’t even touch nice. As I pull into the parking lot, I notice how desperately it needs repaving. I choose a spot in the back. The last thing I need is one of these people hitting my car. They couldn’t afford the repairs.

Getting out, I’m careful not to let my black Dior dress shoes scrape the concrete. I ensure the car is locked before heading toward the back door, which is just an emergency exit the wrestlers use to access the venue’s likely rough-looking locker rooms. Once I push it open, I’m hit in the face with the stench of sweat and mildew. When was the last time that this place was cleaned?

At GRW, I usually get my own locker room.

The door slams shut behind me and I pull my phone out of my pocket. Before I can text Alex that I’m here, I round the corner and he’s there, greeting me with a bright-eyed smile. “You actually came!” The shock is clear in his voice .

“Told you I would.” I shrug and pocket my phone. It’s not like I had much else to do. Going out to some Staten Island club, while tempting, didn’t feel like the best idea. Nathan probably already has a PR lecture prepped for my ‘scandal’. Fueling the fire by leaving the club with another girl won’t save me any face.

The look on Alex’s face says he didn’t believe I’d show up tonight. Not that I blame him. I haven’t even thought about visiting C1W since I got signed. Why would I come back here?

He claps his hands together. “It’s going to be a killer show, man. You’re gonna love it.”

I’m bored out of my fucking mind. Standing in the back of the crowd with Alex, where the bored-looking college student is manning what they call their ‘production’. It’s a laptop hooked up to a speaker that plays the wrestler’s theme music that they’d have to pay thousands in royalty fees to use if they were on TV.

There can’t be more than 250 people here tonight, but they’re loud . Going insane over the smallest spots, the flashy looking moves. Most of which look insanely unsafe. Honestly, indie wrestlers have little common sense. All they want to do is go viral so maybe a bigger company will notice them and give them a chance. Half the time, they don’t have the skills to back it up any further and are just good for one or two signature spots. They get thrown in the deep end, drown, and then blame it on the company for not giving them any chances.

I don’t hide my groan when I catch what the next match is. It’s a women’s match, which is my unofficial piss break. I don’t even care about the women signed to my own company. Why would I care about some indie talent who probably look worse? There’s a slightly chubby brunette already bouncing around the ring. Cute but not cute enough to make me care. As I turn to face Alex, preparing to make up some excuse that we’ll both know is bullshit just so I don’t have to watch this garbage, my attention is stolen. My eyes lock on to the girl climbing through the ropes.

Her auburn hair is in a ponytail. She’s on the smaller side, shorter than the brunette she’s standing across from. I can’t make out too many details about her face from this distance. Not that eye color or anything matters right now. She’s wearing white tights and, Jesus fuck , that ass. It’s perfect. I can’t pull my eyes away from her. There’s what looks like a floral tattoo running up her side. Most of it is covered by her gear obscuring my view and leaving me to wonder what the rest of that tattoo looks like.

So much for a piss break.

Trying to play it cool and disinterested, I elbow Alex in the ribs.

He jumps, glaring over at me. “What is it, Theo?” he snaps.

“Who’s that?” I nod toward the redhead as she locks up with the other girl.

“Rory.”

My face scrunches. I don’t like that name. It sounds too harsh for a woman who looks like that. “Is that her actual name?”

“It’s Aurora. She goes by Rory.”

Aurora. That sounds much more fitting. Names don’t matter. It’s not like we’re going to spend a lot of time getting personal. I can’t pull my eyes away from her. I don’t think I’ve ever been so distracted by a woman before. I see gorgeous women all the time. I’m with gorgeous women all the time.

But I’ve never needed to have anyone more.

Nodding along, I feign interest in the match. She has talent. She hits the ropes with the full force of her body, looking explosive in a way that not a lot of women do. She’s quick, too. Her opponent is struggling to keep up with her. Not Aurora’s fault. She needs someone who’s on her level .

I can see the small faults, like how she has to consciously slow herself down and wait for her opponent to get into position. She tosses the brunette into the corner, runs full sprint toward and connects with a kick. She grips the back of her opponent’s neck, pushing her toward the other corner but at the last second, the other woman reverses it.

“Where’s she from?” I prod Alex for more information. My eyes don’t leave her body. He knows me well enough to know what I’m getting at here. “I don’t think I’ve seen her before,” I add as if I’m fully aware of every indie wrestler that comes through C1W. I so haven’t kept up with this shit.

Although, if the women look like her, I probably should.

“Vermont, I think,” answers Alex with a shrug. “Dunno. She’s not big on getting personal, you know? She’s sweet, and likes to talk wrestling, but isn’t exactly trying to make friends. Except for Kai.”

Kai, I think I’ve heard of him. I’m pretty sure he’s one of the kids that’s on Nathan’s radar. He’s asked me about him. Evidently, he was working the indies back when I was. Don’t remember him. Not going to tell Nathan to sign him. Why would I want to risk someone coming in and taking my spot?

“Fine by me. Less baggage.” I don’t care to know all about her problems. Lots of chicks like to trauma dump on you. Get a few drinks in them and you have to listen to how their ‘daddy didn’t love them enough’ and ‘their mom prefers their sister.’ I want something fast and clean. A good night with a hot little thing. “She single?” I ask, getting straight to the point. This is all Alex’s fault. He brought me here knowing that she was here. “I think I’m in love.”

Alex rolls his eyes. “Christ,” he mutters under his breath. Tearing his eyes away from the match, he looks over at me. “I told you. Rory doesn’t exactly chat about her personal life. She could have five kids and a mortgage. ”

There’s a disgusted look on my face when he says that. There’s no way. She’s too damn hot.

He narrows his eyes. “Dude, you can’t be serious. Didn’t your fiancée break up with you this morning?”

I shrug again. I don’t want to talk about Veronica. My jaw ticks and my teeth grit when Alex brings her up. I don’t want to wonder whether I threw away something good. She hasn’t even called me since I left her place. But…I made my bed and I have to lie in it. I’d prefer to lie in it with Aurora, at least for tonight. Letting those thoughts get shoved to the back of my mind, I smirk over at Alex. “What? I can’t get laid because of the break-up? That’s stupid. And I’m not actually in love. It’s just a phrase, Alex.”

From the way Alex looks at me, I can tell that he wants to say more. Either he wants to tell me that I’m a douchebag or he wants this conversation to end. I’m sure he plans to try and get in my head over drinks tonight, and get me to open up about my feelings and the breakup. Probably try to convince me to ‘fix it’.

I don’t want to.

He settles on saying, “Whatever you say, man,” before he goes back to watching the match.

My eyes follow except they go to Aurora. She goes up to the top rope so damn effortlessly. It’s like she was made to be up there. She makes sure that she has her balance before she does a textbook-perfect moonsault, a back flip. It’s gorgeous, the way her body rotates, the way she lands on her opponent.

For a moment, I’m impressed with more than her body. My mind wanders, not to what we could do in the bedroom with how flexible she seems, but the idea of how GRW could use a woman like her…

Fuck.

I haven’t even spoken to this woman and I’m already acting pathetic. Thinking about putting in a good word with Nathan? What is wrong with me? Sure, a woman isn’t going to take my spot, but I don’t scout talent.

I circle back to what’s easy.

“I think I might be able to hit. What do you think?” I ask Alex with a smirk that makes him roll his eyes.