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Chapter 2

"Happy actual birthday." Seth set a small rectangular tray on the table in front of Becky. "Three coffees to try." He glanced around 392 Davenport and tried not to smile too much. The cafe had opened earlier than planned and so far it had been a hit—and he certainly didn't mind having good coffee right next door when he was done teaching a class at Black and Brave. "I was all prepared to apologize for being late and now I don't have to." He sat across from her in the private room he had built in the back so he could enjoy a quick coffee without being approached by a bunch of fans; he was grateful for the fan support and how it was bolstering the business, but sometimes he just wanted a coffee and some quiet.

Becky picked up one of the cups and cradled it in her hands, leaning over to smell it. "Just one of your many plans I'll ruin," she replied cheerily. "Ground rules." She snorted softly, making the surface of her coffee ripple, slightly ruining the effect of the design the barista had made on it. "I bet if you were having a friendly competition with Roman, you wouldn't have ground rules."

Seth sipped at his coffee and watched her. "Because with Roman, I could trust him to keep it friendly." When Becky raised an eyebrow, he laughed. "Come on. Be realistic. You know you're going to pull out all the stops to win."

"Not all of them." Becky set the first cup down and picked up the second. "I mean, I have to save some for WrestleMania itself, you know. Have to pace myself."

As he watched her sample the coffees, Seth questioned his reasons for inviting her. It was her birthday, but he could have easily sent her a gift; he felt a bit bad that she had cut her morning with Bayley, Sasha, and Charlotte short, because it seemed like the Four Horsewomen rarely had a chance to get together. But he and Becky were friends too and he knew how much she enjoyed coffee. "Just like you paced yourself getting here? My cafe's almost been open for a month and this is the first time you came to visit." He tapped the copy of the menu he kept back in the private booth. "See? I even made sure there was a toast bar because apparently you have a thing for burned bread."

"Well, at least some building you own has a toaster," Becky declared. "I doubt Black and Brave has one. I know you don't at home." She paused then, gaze dropping to the table as she grabbed the third coffee to try. "Are you sure Sarah's cool with me spending the night? I don't want to intrude. I can grab a room at a hotel and you could pick me up for breakfast in the morning...."

Sarah. Seth had known the subject was going to come up sooner or later. It was something he should have mentioned himself, but in all honesty, it hadn't occurred to him. By the time he and Sarah had finally split, it felt more like a formality than anything. "Sarah and I broke up, actually."

Becky nearly spat out the sip of coffee she had just taken. "You dope! Why didn't you say something? We don't have to do this now. You should be... I don't know. Chilling or something. Hanging out with Kevin. Watching your sword show and eating ice cream from the tub."

Seth shook his head. "It's okay. We split a few weeks ago. I've just been busy with physio and prepping for the Rumble, and I didn't want to deal with all the backlash online, you know? So we both agreed to keep it quiet until it either leaks or one of us wants to start dating again."

"That makes sense." She took another sip of the third coffee, letting herself savour this one. "Jeff and I split not that long ago too, but we don't have a following like you two do, so I didn't figure I needed to make an announcement. Just delete the photos and let it fade into obscurity, I guess."

He knew this was when he should chime in with some sympathetic comment, but Seth had never cared much for Becky's latest boyfriend. For a so-called comedian, he wasn't very funny, and he didn't seem to appreciate the time Becky spent with him either. "Sorry about that. Well... new year, right? Perfect time for new beginnings and new perspectives," he declared, raising his coffee cup for an impromptu toast. "And for me to achieve my dream of main-eventing WrestleMania."