The backstage area is complete chaos. Jimmy Holley is lying on a gurney in the medical area. He still appears to be out of it but is slowly coming around. Jesse is in the main corridor, standing face to face with Alex Kid Colt, another up and coming young wrestler, who looks more than ready to avenge the Golden Boy for what's just happened.

“What the hell is your problem, Jesse?”

“Get the fuck out of my face or you’re next Kid,” he snarls.

“Back off - back the fuck off,” Wyatt yells, pushing through Colt and two other wrestlers as he ushers Jesse away and back toward the locker rooms.

Amidst all the shouting and confusion, my Uncle Allen is suddenly by my side. “Your father needs you up in the big suite. This way.” He seems serious.

Great. Just what this night’s missing - a lecture from my dad.

Ten quiet filled minutes later I enter the VIP Guest Suite at the top of the stadium. Allen leaves me at the door and steps back toward the express elevator. My father’s seated by the wall of tinted windows, watching the stunned and angry crowd depart the arena. “Lilah honey, take a seat.” He doesn’t even look in my direction.

“I’ll be damned,” he mumbles to himself and shakes his head as if amused.

My uncle steps back into the suite, with Jesse following close behind. His eyes land on me and he grins like he hasn’t got a care in the world - until my father speaks. “Sit down.” Again, he doesn’t even bother to turn away from the windows.

Jesse sees the concern on my face and tries to explain. “Russ, this was all m…”

“Shh.” My father waves a finger in his direction as if silencing a child. It works.

“Let’s wait until we have the whole cast here.” His eyes flash to me, then Jesse, and then away as if he’s annoyed.

Sitting in agonizing silence, we watch my father observing the crowd for what feels like far too long. When Uncle Allen finally reenters the suite, Jimmy Holley’s walking behind him.

Jimmy stops dead in his tracks when he sees Jesse and slowly begins to smile. “Did you hear them?” he sounds excited but quickly stops when he sees the slight shake of Jesse’s head, back and forth, as if warning him.

“That’s what I thought.” My father spins his chair away from the windows to face us. “Sit down next to your new friend and shut up.” He points at the chair next to Jesse’s.

Replaying the night in my head, I remember how I saw Jesse walk off after Jimmy and that’s when it hits me.

This was planned.

It’s what the performers in this business call “a work”.

“Now I’m not sure why you two jackasses thought it’d be a good idea to go off book and pull a stunt like that without involving anyone else.”

My father knew nothing of their plan?

“But if it ever happens again you’ll be collaborating at the unemployment office.” He’s not pleased. “In case I’m not being clear, people who do things like this, do not work for me,” he pauses, before spinning back to the wall of windows and again looking down on the remaining crowd.

“But,” he starts, “we haven’t seen a reaction like that in a long time.” He turns back to face us, his hands steepled under his chin. “Imagine what we could’ve accomplished if you cowboys had consulted with me.”

Jimmy begins to explain, “Russ, we thought that maybe you wouldn’t want to.”

“Oh, I know what you were thinking.” My father cuts him off. “You figured I wouldn’t want to run with it, so you decided it’d be better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission, right?” He stares pointedly at him. Jimmy opens his mouth to respond. “Don’t bother.” My father waves his hand, dismissing his attempt to explain.

Jesse sits quietly, a wicked gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face. My father points in his direction and stares intently. “Don’t either one of you ever presume to know what I might be thinking.” He cracks a hint of a smile. “You two need to arrive at the show a couple hours early tomorrow so ‘we’ can discuss what direction ‘we’ will be taking with this storyline. Now give us the room, please.” He dismisses them both. “Oh, and you’ll both be receiving a healthy fine for your actions tonight.” He waits for the door to close before speaking. “Lilah, did you know about this turn of events before it happened?”

My teeth rake over my bottom lip, unsure of what to say. I don’t want to point blame in Jesse’s direction, but I’m not sure what answer my father wants to hear. “No, I did not,” I state, flatly.

“What’s your take on how it went?”

“In terms of shock value, I’d say it was a banner night.”

“I’d have to agree with you. I think our broadcast ratings will be through the roof and I think they’ll continue to be for the duration of this storyline.” He moves his foot from where it rests above his knee, placing the sole of his shoe flat on the floor. He leans forward in his seat, gaining my attention. “I want you to find a way to play all this up; splash it all over social media. We’re going to capitalize on this upswing and ride it as far and high as we can.”

* * *

Puttering around the hotel gift shop, I search for something unknown that will catch my eye. My fingers trail over a long necklace with a large silver heart suspended from it. My nose scrunches up with distaste. Hearts aren’t my thing; they’re rather cliché in my opinion. I know most would probably disagree, but I’ve never been the hearts and flowers type of girl. For any guy to hold my interest, he needs to do better than that. If he cares about impressing me, then he’ll think putting in the extra effort is worth it. Originality is important to me in all walks of life.

And you think Jesse Gunn is the type of guy to do this?

Sucking my teeth at my own naivete, I continue to peruse the different objects for sale.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Ronnie surprises me. “I thought you’d be tearing my brother a new one by now.” She smirks.

I smile at her obvious enjoyment at the thought of Jesse catching shit. “Nope.” I shake my head. “According to the big dogs, no ass tearing is necessary.”

She whistles softly. “Wow, talk about luck. Things could have gone much differently.”

“You’re not kidding. I was worried for him.”

“What are your plans for the rest of the night? I know it’s late, but do you want to grab a drink with me? I could sure use one.”

Glancing at my watch, I notice the late hour, but it might be nice to have a beer and enjoy a relaxing conversation. I’ve been stuck with Jesse, trapped in sexual tension hell. I could use a change. “You know, I’m going to take you up on your offer. A beverage or two sounds great, and if you throw in some girl talk you’ve got yourself a deal.”

She smiles. “You got it. Why don’t we head into the bar here? It’s convenient and we can make it back to our rooms if we drink too much.”

“I like your reasoning.”

* * *

“Jesse told me you guys grew up in Hartford, but not much else. What are your parents like? I’ve never seen them at a show.”

Ronnie smiles, eyes downcast. “My parent’s are some of the hardest working people you could ever meet. They both work full time jobs. Mom’s a middle school teacher and my dad’s an electrician. We always give them tickets when we’re in town, but getting them to take time off to come to a show that’s not local is impossible.” She scrapes her straw through the mound of crushed ice in the remaining liquid clinking it against the edge of her glass. “The earth might crumble into tiny pieces if they miss a day of work. I don’t know if they’ll ever retire.”

“I’m in a similar situation. Can you imagine my dad retiring?” I snort. “I can see how it would be difficult to have a job you love for thirty or forty years and then bam, you’re done. Instantly your focus shifts. It has to be unsettling.”

“I think about that all the time. What will I do when I’m done with wrestling.” She shrugs.

“And?” I prompt.

“I’m not sure. Get married? Have some kids?” A frown mars her forehead.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” I don’t know that much about Ronnie. We’re friendly, but we’ve never really hung out. That’s my fault and something I’m regretting now. This is not the first time Ronnie’s suggested grabbing a drink.

“Nope, I’m single. This lifestyle isn’t really conducive for a serious relationship. What about you?”

“Me?” I point to my chest. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m a workaholic,” I offer.

“How long has it been since you’ve been involved with someone?” Ronnie asks.

“What do you mean involved? Had a relationship with or had sex?”

“A relationship. How long has it been?” She closes her red lips around the thin straw, sucking the rum filled beverage down like it’s water.

I grimace. "It’s been a long time.”

“And,” she urges.

“I had a boyfriend my third year of college and haven’t had one since. Pathetic right?” My index finger draws a J in the condensation on the tall glass before wiping it away in disgust. I don’t need to think too hard to know who’s on my mind. Sipping on my Long Island Iced Tea I hum with pleasure. So much liquor in one delicious drink - go big or go home. It didn’t take much urging on Ronnie’s part to get me to order something stronger than my typical beer.

“What about sex?”

“What about it?” Used to dealing with Carly’s intrusiveness, this question doesn’t shock me as much as it should.

“When was the last time you had it?”

“Does sex with myself count?”

“It works for me,” Jesse’s deep voice thunders behind me. “I’d really like to witness that.”

My eyes reflexively close before snapping open. “Did you hear something?” I question Ronnie, ignoring his presence.

“Nope, not a damn thing.”

“I see how it is here. I’m not going to grace you ladies with my presence. I can find some companionship that’s not so hostile.”

Ronnie snorts. “I’m sure you can and will.”

Jesse grabs the beer the bartender sets down in front of him and flashes a quick white grin, before wandering off to the back of the bar. Judging by the high volume coming from that area, he’s not the only wrestler here.

“What’s going on with you and my brother?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t play dumb. You guys are giving off more sparks than a lit fuse.”

“We have a working relationship; that’s all it can be.”

“Why?”

“Mixing the two clouds things, and it wouldn’t end well. I plan on working for WCW for the rest of my career. If we dated and things didn’t work out, I might not feel the same. I’m not willing to mess up the life I’ve carefully planned on the off chance that Jesse and I could work.” Twisting my head over my shoulder, my eyes automatically seek out his handsome face. Sure enough, he’s sitting in the back where two tables have been pushed together to accommodate all the wrestlers and the groupies that surround them. Jesse’s got a female on each side vying for his attention. I wonder which one he’ll choose for the night? I study them both. They’re attractive in a trashy way. One is blonde, and one is brunette. I don’t know which Jesse is partial to. Fuck. Maybe he’ll take them both back to his room. Shit.

I quickly suck down the remainder of my drink and run my palm over my forehead to soothe the brain freeze the cold liquor gave me. “I’m out of here. I need my sleep, or I’ll be grouchy tomorrow, and no one wants to see that.”

Ronnie pouts. “You’re no fun, but I get it. You don’t want to sit here and watch him flirt with other women.”

“That’s not it.”

“Sure. What you’re missing is that Jesse is only interested in one woman and that’s you. He’s barely paying attention to those two. His eyes keep darting over here to see if you’re looking. It’s kinda pathetic. He’s whipped.”

“Pfft. He’s not whipped. I’m just a challenge for him. He’s not used to being turned down.”

“Oh, Lilah. That’s a naive way to think of my brother. He’s been interested in you for a long time. Don’t dismiss him without giving it some thought.”

“Dismiss him? I don’t think anyone could. And on that note, I’m calling it a night.”