I Loved Her First

Chapter Eleven

The next morning Sam and Jay meet up with Adam at the gym so they can all get some practice as tag partners before they have their first go at in on Dynamite on Wednesday. Sam and Jay roll up to the gym with one another and meet Adam by the front desk. 

"Morning, Adam." Sam greets him with a smile. 

"Morning." Adam happily returns her smile. "How is your nose? Not bothering you at all now, is it?" He checks just to be sure. 

"Not at all." Sam shakes her head. "I'm all good, Adam." She assures him. "Now! Who is ready to perfect some tag team moves?" She asks Adam and Jay with an eager grin. 

"Lead the way, sunshine." Jay chuckles. 

Sam nods and pulls out her membership badge from her pocket when her phone buzzes in her pocket. She takes it out and reads the caller ID, it's Matt. 

"Damn, you two go ahead without me." Sam sighs. "I've got to see what Matt wants. I'll only be a few minutes, promise." She insists and turns to answer the phone. 

Adam and Jay both nod and head into the gym without Sam. Adam finds this as the perfect opportunity to get at Jay without having to worry about Sam catching him in the act. 

Adam and Jay find an empty training ring off to the corner of the room and they both hop inside. Jay looks casual and relaxed like usual, but Adam wears a look of determination. 

"Jay, we need to talk," Adam informs his so-called friend. 

"Oh?" Jay replies with interest. "And what do we need to talk about?" He asks Adam with a raised brow. 

"it's about, Sam," Adam explains. 

"Of course it is." Jay chuckles. "Let me guess, you've got a hopeless crush on dear Samantha and you want me to back off. Is that right?" He snickers. 

"I was in love with her first, Jay. Not you." Adam replies in a firm tone. 

Jay stifles his laughter and looks at Adam gazing at him with a serious look. Jay was just joking before, but he's right. Jay can tell that he's right by the look of desperation and determination on Adam's face. 

"Wait. Are you serious, Adam?" Jay asks in a more serious tone. "Since when?"

"Since before I can remember," Adam replies. "I'm in love with her Jay. So back off." He warns Jay with a hint of a scowl. 

"Back off?" Jay turns more playful again. "Or what?" He challenges Adam. "I like her too, Adam. And no offense but I'm not backing off just because you're puffing your chest out at me." He adds. 

"I'm serious, Jay." Adam shakes his head. "She should be with me. And I know that I fucked up not telling her how I feel about her before now. But I'm here now, and that's all that matters." He explains. 

"Again, I don't really care," Jay replies. "We're friends Adam. Always has been. But I'm not backing off of Sam just because you've got some hopeless crush. Not when things are going so well between the two of us." He insists. 

The pair stare at one another for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Their matching scowls drop from their faces when Sam comes jogging over and finally joins them. She hops into the ring with a smile and stands between them. 

"Okay! Sorry about that." Sam claps her hands. "Matt was telling me that he and Dana are throwing a party for her birthday this weekend, and we're all invited." She explains. 

"Nice." Adam nods with a smile. "You ready to get started, Sam?" He asks her with an innocent smile. 

"Yeah." Sam nods. "Jay, why don't you hang back at first and get a feel for how Adam and I usually work tag matches?" She suggests to Jay. 

"No problem." Jay nods and hangs out on the apron of the practice ring. 

Sam and Adam go over a few of their usual drills and Sam explains a couple of them to Jay. Adam and Jay have a similar in-ring style so it shouldn't be hard for Sam to switch between partners when she needs to. 

After a while, Sam and Adam take a break to catch their breath and Jay gets ready to replace Adam and try a few drills. He and Adam exchange a dirty look when they walk by one another and pray that Sam doesn't see them fighting. 

"Alright, let's see what you've got." Sam hops back in the ring after she gets a drink. 

"Yep, come at me." Jay nods. 

Jay goes over a few basic drills with Sam that she does with Adam all the time in the ring. But after a bit of practice, he suggests a couple of new maneuvers that highlight him and Sam working as a team. Sam eagerly goes for the suggestion of course, but Adam seethes on the outside of the ring. 

"Are you sure that I'm not going to hurt you?" Sam stands in the ring with Jay on his knees next to the ropes. 

"Positive." Jay insists with a confident smile. "Just get a running start and step up on my hands into a vault over the ropes." He explains the move again. "Adam will stand outside the ring and cushion the fall." 

"Yeah, go ahead Sam. I've got you," Adam replies from outside the ring. 

"Okay." Sam nods and takes a breath in so she can gain a little composer. 

Sam sprints forward and does just like Jay explained. She steps up on his hands folded out in front of him and Jay helps her vault over the top ropes and down to the floor. Sam dives forward over the ropes and right into Adam who just barely manages to catch her before they both tumble to the floor. 

"Ouch," Adam grumbles as he hits the floor. 

"Wow! I did it!" Sam beams and gets to her feet quickly. "Oh, Adam. You okay?" She helps Adam back to his feet.

"All good." Adam nods and rubs his back a bit. 

"Nice job, Sam!" Jay cheers from the ring. "I knew that you could do it." 

"Thanks, Jay." Sam giggles. "I think I'm all tuckered out for the day though."' She adds. "But I know that we're gonna kill it on Dynamite on Wednesday." 

"You know we are." Jay agrees. 

Everyone gathers up their things and heads out of the gym. Tensions are high with Adam and Jay when Sam isn't there to stop them. And just to mess with Adam a little bit, Jay slings an arm around Sam's shoulder on their way out of the gym. 

Adam grits his teeth at the sight and knows that he's got to find a way to tell Sam how he feels. Before Jay truly does take her away from him for good.