Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 19

Sunday meant Royal Rumble day. It was possibly Jay's favourite day of the year, as he had always greatly enjoyed the Royal Rumble matches ever since he was a kid. This year, Hank Voight hadn't told anyone ahead of time who he had decided would win either the men's or women's matches, so the entire roster would have to find out when they got to the arena. Jay had hopes that he would be given the victory in the men's match, and therefore a guaranteed main event spot at Wrestlemania. It had been a while since he had been the WWE Champion, so he figured he was due.

Sunday also meant seeing Erin again, at last. The days they had spent apart had dragged big time, even though they had chatted over text. With Erin working day shifts at WWE HQ and Jay working nights at the non-televised events, their schedules clashed badly when she wasn't on the road. He had missed her badly, and he never felt that way about people. It showed him how deep his feelings were for her already.

Even a slightly delayed flight hadn't annoyed him too much. It had still allowed him to get the arena before the call time for talent, which saved him picking up a fine. The only negative that had come from it was having to text Erin and tell her not to wait for him at the airport. Instead, he would see her when he got to the arena.

As he walked into the building, finding Erin was his top priority, other than dropping his case off in the men's locker room. Once he had that done, he started his search.

It didn't end up taking long. After catering, his second place to look was out in the arena. People would often got out there, to sit somewhere out in the empty seats and talk privately, or to train in the ring. Jay found Erin standing by herself on the left hand side of the stage, looking down towards the ring with what looked like a troubled expression on her face. She was nervous about her first match, he realised. That was perfectly understandable.

Erin noticed him approaching just before he got to her and her face lit up with one of those impossibly beautiful smiles. "Hey! How are you?" she asked.

"Doing good. You?" he replied with a smile of his own. He wanted to give her a hug and a kiss, and could tell that she was thinking the same thing. But with backstage crew members and wrestlers milling around, that was off the table.

"Missed you," she said quietly.

"I missed you too. A lot. Today seemed to take forever to come around. I want to kiss you, but not here, right?"

"Not here," she confirmed. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Big time," Jay grumbled. But Hank going on the war path would suck a lot more. Mindful of what he had read about asking questions to help build relationships, and that it would be a good thing if he could help Erin with a problem, he took the initiative. "You looked worried about something. Are okay? Nervous about the rumble match?"

"Yeah," Erin admitted, moving slightly closer to him. He wasn't good at reading other people's emotions, but it seemed to him that she was taking comfort in him being there. To hell with it, he decided, and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Dad wants me to take a Chingona Bomb tonight," she announced.

The Chingona Bomb was Raquel Gonzalez's finishing move. She would lift her opponent so that they ended up sitting on her right shoulder, facing the opposite way. She would then lift them up even further, using only her right arm, before slamming them down to the mat on their backs with a tremendous impact, from about eight feet up. It was a showcase of Raquel's strength, and the most impactful move performed by a woman in WWE. And Erin was going to have to take one. Jay wasn't a fan of the idea, but it wasn't his company to run. The fans would definitely love to see Erin get wrecked, so there was that.

"Oh," he said flatly, not wanting to say anything that made her feel worse.

"It's going to hurt, right?"