Best Two Out of Three

Part 19

Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Jacksonville, Florida

"Someone's blowing up your phone."

Callie gave Cash a look as they stepped onto the hotel elevator. "It's Britt," she said. She pushed the button for the third floor and pulled her phone out of her back pocket, clearing the screen without reading any of the messages. Britt was the type who texted one thought at a time—and she'd had three thoughts in a row. "She texted while we were at the restaurant asking where I was. I just told her I'd gone out. She thinks I'm with Adam."

Cash made a sound of understanding as he nodded. And then he said, "She's gonna interrogate you as soon as you get back in there, isn't she?"

"Oh, one thousand percent."

They shared a grin, and soon the elevator arrived at Callie's floor. She was surprised when Cash got off with her. "Aren't you above me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but I figured I'd walk you to your room. If that's alright with you?"

Warmth crept into her cheeks again. She nodded. "Yeah, sure."

They walked down the hall in silence that was something between comfortable and awkward. Comfortable because she'd enjoyed the time she'd spent with Cash; awkward because she couldn't help but feel a little guilty about it. After they'd gotten the obvious topic of conversation out of the way, they'd just talked and gotten to know each other. He'd told her about his time in WWE and how it compared to AEW; she'd told him about how she'd first gotten into the business after meeting the Bucks at a PWG show she'd gone to with a friend. It had been an unexpected distraction from the emotional turmoil of the last few days and weeks. But now that they were back at the hotel, her thoughts couldn't help but return to Adam. She wondered where he was, what he was doing. If he was trying to distract himself, too.

"Well, this is me," she said as they arrived at her door. She turned to face him and gave an awkward smile. "Thanks for commiserating with me. I actually had a good time."

She fidgeted, wondering if she should have said that. But Cash didn't seem to take it any sort of way. "It was better than drinking alone, that's for sure," he said.

Callie bashfully bowed her head. And then, suddenly, she thought of Alex. What would she think if she knew she'd been out with Cash? Guilt gripped her all over again. "Well, goodnight." She stuttered, already reaching to open the door.

"Night," Cash waved; and as Callie went back into her room, she couldn't help but think that tonight had been the first time in a while that she'd felt something other than pushed away. And, despite all her guilt, that was a nice feeling to have.

* * * * * * * * * *

It had been maybe thirty minutes and a drink and a half since Alex and Adam had seen Callie and Cash walk into the hotel together, and Alex's thoughts hadn't stopped spinning since.

"It was probably completely innocent," she said, more trying to convince herself than she was asking Adam's opinion.

"Stop thinking about it," he said.

"They probably just met up as friends to drown their sorrows together. I mean, that's exactly what we're doing. Right?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

Her brow furrowed in confusion at his apathetic response. She didn't understand how he could just sit by and be so calm about this. "How are you not bothered by seeing them together like that?"