Years in the Making

Chapter 6

No matter what, Becky always tried to give herself a birthday gift every year. The tradition had started when she moved to Canada to pursue wrestling the first time around. Even though she was staying with cousins, she still missed Ireland and her family and she needed something to look forward to, so she had bought herself a ticket to a concert. The next year, she had bought herself a bracelet she still owned; she was always careful not to wear it to an event since she didn't want to accidentally give it away to a fan.

Depending on where she was—and how well she was doing—the gifts to herself varied in size and cost, but she always made a point to treat herself. This year, though, she hadn't had anything planned beforehand. Between breaking up with Jeff and her confusing feelings for Seth, it had been difficult concentrating on much of anything besides work. She told herself that was why she was browsing online past midnight, but it was really because she couldn't sleep. Memories of kissing Seth kept replaying in her head no matter what she did, and it had her almost regretting breaking up with Jeff before her birthday. His present would have been shitty, she told herself as she checked a music news site to see if Pearl Jam was going to be on tour. Her relationship with Jeff had been coasting to a breakup anyway, so there had been no point in delaying the inevitable, but she still missed having someone to spend her birthday with.

When her phone rang, Becky hit accept automatically. Friends and family had been calling her all day and she was sure everyone she knew had already wished her a happy birthday, but maybe someone was late. "Hello?"

"Still partying, birthday girl?"

Becky nearly fumbled her phone. She thought she had managed to get through the day without talking to Seth, especially since Davenport was two hours ahead of Los Angeles. "It's almost three in the morning there," she blurted. "Why are you still awake?"

"I figured you'd be getting lots of calls during the day, so I waited until later. I wanted to make sure we had time to talk."

There was nothing ominous in Seth's tone, but it made Becky's gut drop all the same. I can't handle another 'We're such good friends' speech, she thought. "But you teach at Black & Brave tomorrow, so you should really get some rest. We can talk another day. It's not even my birthday anymore, so...."

"I wanted to talk about more than just your birthday, Becks." Seth's tone made Becky very glad it wasn't a video call. She could picture his gaze, intense and unrelenting, and knew it would make her crumble. "But I do hope you had a good day. I'll bring your present on Monday."

Becky quickly tapped a button on her phone screen, making it beep. "Oh, I have another call—"

"Leave it." It wasn't exactly an order, but Seth's tone left very little room for argument. "Is it someone from Ireland—your mom, your dad, your brother?"

"No, but—"

"Then let them call back. Please." Seth's sigh almost sounded like static, giving Becky a glimmer of hope that a faulty connection might bring a quick end to the call. "I don't want things to get weird between us. We've been friends for... what, six years now? I don't know about you, but I don't have a ton of friends—real friends, good friends—in the locker room, and I want to keep the ones I have, you know?"

Becky stayed silent for a moment. She knew Seth had rubbed a lot of people the wrong way during his Shield days and while many realized he had grown since then, some still saw him as the brash brat who seemed to get everything handed to him. She considered a lot of the wrestlers her friends, but the women's locker room also had a very different vibe than the men's. "I don't want things to be weird either," she began, "but—"

"I got tickets for a concert for your birthday," Seth interjected. "It's in Los Angeles and Joshy and Jen are going too, so you don't have to worry; they said I can stay with them, or I can get a hotel room."

The guilt in Becky's gut twisted deeper. Seth almost always stayed at her place if he was in Los Angeles for anything other than a wrestling event. I really did fuck up everything, she thought. "You didn't have to get me anything...."

"Becks, did you listen to anything I said? You're my friend—one of my closest friends. Of course I wasn't going to forget your birthday." Then he sighed softly, and Becky could picture his expression: pursed lips, shaking his head, running a hand over his hair. "I'll text you all the details later, but I just wanted to make sure I wished you a happy birthday—even if it is technically belated. But I really do need to get some sleep...."

Part of Becky wanted to keep talking, but she knew she would probably just make more trouble for herself. He's offering an out. TAKE IT, she told herself. "Thanks. I'll text in an order to 392 Davenport so your coffee has extra kick in the morning."

At least it made Seth laugh. "Beat you to it, but thanks for the thought. See you Monday. Happy birthday, Becks. Hope you had a good day."

"Good night." Becky hit the end button and stared at the screen for a moment before shutting off her tablet. She had made enough bad decisions lately. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up buying something ridiculous, like a home tattooing kit. The thought made her chuckle as she set her phone on the charger. A bad home tattoo would probably be easier to fix than this.