Years in the Making

Chapter 2

Going for coffee with friends was normally one of Becky's favourite things to do. As much as she loved texting, there was nothing like catching up in person, and she always liked seeing how the offerings varied by city. Living in L.A. spoiled her since there were so many good cafes, but Cesaro was the crown prince of caffeine, knowing the best places no matter where they were. Whenever she wanted to try something different, she almost always consulted him first.

The cafe Cesaro had chosen this time had plenty of drinks that looked intriguing, but Becky stuck with one she knew. Her mind was still reeling from what Bayley had told her about Seth and his girlfriend; adding more change to the day seemed like a bad idea. While Bayley was up at the counter, making an order with the most ridiculous combination of instructions and substitutions just to irritate Sheamus, since he was paying, Becky took the opportunity to sit by Seth. "So did you find your flame trunks yet?" she asked. Starting with a quip seemed safe enough, and if Bayley was listening in, Becky hoped she didn't sound as awkward as she felt.

It took Seth a moment to remember their Twitter feud, but Becky wasn't surprised. Social media wasn't his forte, so he had probably fired off his replies to her and then promptly forgot them. She, on the other hand, was using Twitter like a weapon, issuing challenges and sending jabs left and right. "Oh, right. I'd probably have better luck finding my vest from my Shield days." His mouth twitched as he tried to smirk, but it didn't quite take. "I've been a little busy being The Man, you know."

Becky took her phone from her purse and opened her photo gallery. "Oh really? Look at all these t-shirt prototypes they've done for me...." She swiped through four or five before sitting back.

Seth snorted softly. "I have merch from WWE and Black & Brave, so beat that." Then he rubbed at a dried coffee stain on the table. "Becks, I can talk about it. It's fine. You don't have to tiptoe around me."

"Huh?" Becky set her coffee down so she couldn't spill it.

"About Sarah. Bayley told me that she told you." His lips quirked in a wry smile. "I should have told you myself. Sorry about that." Then he gestured to Cesaro, Sheamus, and Bayley, who were up at the counter waiting for their drinks. "They all know. She sent me a text about moving her stuff out one day when I was driving us back from the gym. I had my phone synced up to the SUV to play music, and it ended up reading the message out loud," he added with a grimace. "Technology just really hates my relationships, doesn't it?"

When did you break up? What happened? How's Kevin taking it? Becky had dozens of questions, but she didn't feel like she had earned the right to ask any of them. "I'm sorry," she said simply. "I should have been asking you how things were going, just... you know, in general...."

Seth just shrugged. "It wasn't anything big or dramatic. Thankfully." He gave a small chuckle. "I'm on the road so much and then I have Black & Brave, and she wants someone who can go hiking for a week on a whim, so...."

Becky nodded, wrapping her hands around her cup. She still felt guilty for not being more aware of what was going on with her friends, but that other nagging, nebulous feeling was starting to get louder and it was making her distinctly uncomfortable. What's taking them so long? she thought, glancing towards her friends at the counter. Bayley must have ordered the most annoying, intricate drink known to humanity. "Yeah, it's hard. I guess that's why so many wrestlers date other wrestlers." That made the nagging feeling roil in her gut, so she quickly added, "Roman's clearly doing something right with Galina. We should ask him what the secret is."

Confusion made Seth's already dark gaze even deeper. "We? Is something going on with you and Jeff too?"

Shaking her head, Becky took a big gulp of coffee—and nearly screamed when the hot liquid hit her tongue. Mercifully, that was when Bayley, Cesaro, and Sheamus all returned to the table, Bayley laughing jovially and Sheamus shooting her the iciest of glares. "Damn brat is worse than those people who go to Starbucks and ask about the secret menu," he muttered, sitting beside Becky. "Tweaked every damn ingredient in the drink, requested a certain precise temperature, everything."

Bayley held up her hands in surrender. "I left a nice tip, though!"

Sheamus kept glaring at her. "Just wait until it's your turn to pay. I'm going to start planning my drink now." He reached over and gave Cesaro's arm a friendly punch. "Swiss will help me pick out something obnoxious, right?"

"You're both a menace to coffee society," Cesaro said simply. Then he glanced over at Becky and frowned. "Everything okay, Becks? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine." Glancing down at her coffee, Becky wished she had ordered a larger size—both so she could drink it and have an excuse not to speak, and also so she could use the mug to hide her face. If she could dive into it like a cartoon character, that would be even better. She thought she must be blushing, but a quick glance over at Seth put her slightly at ease: he seemed more confused than anything. "Just didn't eat much for breakfast today, that's all."

Cesaro wagged an accusing finger at her. "You need to eat properly, Becks. Coffee isn't a meal."

Sheamus rolled his eyes and pointed at Bayley's concoction. "It can be if you let Bayley order it."

The peak of whipped cream atop Bayley's drink wobbled precariously as she pulled her cup closer to her. "To paraphrase the impeccable William Regal, stop besmirching my drink!"

"That," Cesaro chuckled, "has more sugar than Regal would consume in a month. And you know he'd much rather have a cup of tea."

With a cup of coffee in her hands, her muscles still thrumming from her workout, and friends laughing and chatting on all sides, Becky should have been happy—and she was, for the most part. Her only worry was that part of that happiness stemmed from a darker place, from Seth's breakup. She hadn't disliked Sarah; she hadn't known her well enough to like or dislike her, but she had always been nice enough when Becky was around. As far as she knew, the relationship wasn't abusive in anyway; there was no cheating, at least not that Becky knew of. So why was she happy about the news? Her heart fluttered when she thought about it for too long, and now she couldn't blame it on her workout any longer. Too much caffeine, she thought firmly, lining up another lie as a shield.