Welcome to the Queendom

Chapter Thirty-Five

I couldn't go to sleep after that. It was just like Dean to drink his problems away. I was able to catch Brie and Nikki as they walked into their room as I was heading toward the vending and ice machine room down the hall. I was getting chips, a snack I liked to eat whenever I was stressed and up late at night.
Once 7:00 hit, I decided to dress in black leggings and a loose fitting gray T and go for a run. I decided to make a loop, starting down Decatur St. and then make rights down Esplanade Ave. and Rampart St. I didn't know how long of a run that was, maybe a little over half an hour, maybe up to an hour, but it was enough to calm me down even more and help me think.
It was a little over 20 minutes when I made it to Esplanade Ave. I decided to make a detour and jogged down Frenchmen St. to see the Blue Nile that Dean was talking about. When I made it there, I saw a figure, lying in a heap by the door. I stopped.
"Sir?" I called out. He groaned, and shifted a little. "Sir?" I called out a little. I was about to say it again, but then the word got stuck in my throat when I examined him. The gray leather jacket, the jeans and black Converse that matched his shirt. His messy, dirty blonde hair. I slowly shuffled toward him and crouched down. I shook his shoulder.
"Dean?"
He uncovered his face from his jacket and squinted at me. "Chelsea?" he groaned. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Last night."
That made him looked around. He swore. "It's already morning? What time is it?"
"Close to 7:30." He shook his head. "Why are you out here?"
I helped him up into a seating position. He rolled his neck around and rubbed his collarbone some before looking at me. "I guess I passed out or something?" he answered distractedly. "I need to talk to you."
"Not right now," I told him. "We need to get you back to the hotel." I grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him up, but he wouldn't budge.
"I need to talk to you," he repeated firmly.
I sighed and plopped down beside him, criss-cross. I scratched my head in annoyance. "I have nothing to say to you."
"I know, that's why I need to talk to you," he clarified.
"About what?" I asked. "Last night? At the arena? Why do you need to explain yourself? You and Madison are a thing now. I waited too long and you moved onto the next girl. I missed my chance, right?"
He shook his head, but stopped, rubbing his forehand. "Careful, hangover," I said.
He gave me a sarcastic smile. "No, really?" I shrugged.
"You know how I feel about Madison," he said.
"Actually I don't," I replied as I picked up a pebble and tossed it out into the street just as a car passed by, crushing it under its tire. "I don't know."
"You saw how I was around her at my parents' party," he pointed out.
"But that was, like, weeks ago. Feelings change between then and now." He leaned his head against the building and whined in frustration. "What? I'm just saying."
He turned his head and looked at me. He sighed. "I'll admit, I wasn't trying my best to get away from her last night," he admitted. "But I guess that's because Madison's straight forward with her feelings. With you, I don't know sometimes. There are times when I'm sure you like me more than a friend. But there are times when I think you're friend zoning me and then other where I know without a shadow of a doubt that you hate my guts. You're unpredictable. And by the end of that kiss, that's the first thing I thought about and realized that I like. I've never chased after a girl, but I had no problem with running after you." He rubbed my thigh and buried his face where my neck and shoulder meet. "And as much as I like doing that, I really wanna take things a step further. If you'd let me."
I looked out onto the street again, thinking. I so wanted to say yes, but I had no idea what I would be getting myself into if I did. I would be the girlfriend of Dean Ambrose. Just thinking about it, I knew it had chaotic written all over it. I grabbed his head and pulled it away so that he was looking at me.
"Are you ready for a girlfriend?" I asked. "More specifically, me?"
"Of course I am," he replied, somewhat defensively. "Why would you ask that?"
I shrugged. "It's just that, it's been back and forth between us. Some days we're friends, some not. I'm just afraid of what you might do if we get into arguments."
"Like what?" he questioned. "Cheat on you?"
"That and probably leave and not come back until the morning, drinking yourself in oblivion. I just don't wanna go for a run and see you passed out outside of a bar again."
He grabbed my waist and placed me on his lap. He drew a X over his heart. "I, Dean Ambrose, swear to not cheat or drink myself unconscious whenever we have fights. I, Dean Ambrose, also promise to come home at a decent time if I'm not with you and haven't called you to say that I might be late. Is that good enough for you?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't know. I might need to see it in writing."
He sucked his teeth. "Whatever," he mumbled as we leaned in, my arms wrapped around his neck and his around my waist, and kissed. When we pulled away, I laid my head on his chest, feeling his slightly rapid heartbeat. The alcohol hadn't worn off completely. I sighed happily. It didn't matter that all of this was happening in front of a bar at 7 going on 8 in the morning. The fact that it was nowhere near perfect made it that much more so. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

"We should play a game," I called out to Dean about an hour later as I laid in his bed while he was in the bathroom taking a shower.
"What were you suggesting?" he called back.
It took me a minute to respond. I was still trying to let the situation sink in. I was Dean Ambrose's girlfriend and I was lying in his bed. I giggled and buried my face in his pillow. It smelled exactly like him. Soap, cologne, and sweat, but the soap and cologne double teamed the sweat that you had to sniff the pillow a couple of times in order to catch it. When I finally got my bearings, I said, "Truth or Dare."
The water cut off and I heard the screech of the shower hooks running along the rod as the shower curtain got pushed back. I grabbed his phone from the bedside table and pressed the home button. There was a picture of me with my divas championship belt on my shoulder as his screen saver. My bangs made me look a little mysterious as I had a hint of a smile on my face, the left corner of my mouth curling upward.
"Truth or Dare?" he asked as he walked out in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. "Isn't that the games girls play at slumber parties? At least one of them is crying by the end of the game?"
"Yep," I answered as I turned and lied on my stomach, my feet up in the air and crossed at the ankles.
"Interesting," he said as he used a second towel to dry off his hair. "Can't we play a more innocent game? One that won't leave us choking each other out by the end?"
I glanced at his phone screen, thinking.
"1207," he told me.
I frowned. "Huh?"
"That's my password. My birthday?"
I put it in and it unlocked. "Oh, thanks. I have another game, I just made it up, I just don't know what to call it yet."
"What's it about?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
I trailed my finger up and down his back. "We have to come up with 20 food items that start with each letter of the alphabet."
I saw him nod his head. "Sounds innocent enough. Who goes first?"
"Ladies first," I singsonged. "Asparagus."
"As-what?"
"You've never heard of an asparagus?" I asked, exasperated.
One of his eyebrows raised, he shook his head. "Nope. But anyways, uh, almonds."
"Ooh, I love almonds. Apples."
"Applesauce."
I nodded my head. "Clever. Very clever."
He grinned and kissed my temple, sending butterflies in my stomach. His phone vibrated in my hand and a message popped up. I quickly looked away.
"Can you see who that is?" he asked as he grabbed some new clothes from his suitcase. "I'm gonna go change."
As the bathroom door closed behind him, I glanced back at his phone. For some reason, this felt like a big deal to me. Going into Dean's messages like that. And the fact that he was willingly letting me with me not having to fight him tooth and nail gave me reassurance. I tapped into his message app and saw a blue dot beside Roman's name.
Wanna go get something to eat?
"Babe," I felt giddy as I said that out loud, "Roman asked if you wanted to get something to eat with him."
"What was he suggesting?"
I texted that to him and he replied back immediately.
I told Dean that Roman was thinking about this diner called Clover Grill and he told me to say that that sounded good.
When he came back out, he was in black basketball shorts and a The Shield t-shirt. He climbed onto the bed and got on top of me, looking at his phone over my shoulder.
"Wanna come with me?" he asked.
"Really?"
"Of course. This would be a perfect time to tell them."
"That does sound good," I agreed. "But you're gonna have to be there when I tell Brie and Nikki." Then I slapped my forehead. "And then I have to tell my mom and Chalice. She's gonna have a field day when she finds out."
"Who, your mom?" he asked.
"No, Chalice. She's been teasing me about you and I for, like, ever."
He chuckled. "Well come on," he said as he rolled off. "Go get change and meet me back here in ten."
I came back to Dean's room dressed in dark blue jeans, a gray crop top that said Don't Go With The Flow in black lettering, and black sandals with my hair piled on top of my head. I accessorized it with a chunky black bracelet and matching handbag with sunglasses on top of my head.
"You look hot," he stated as he tossed his keys up in the air and caught them.
"Thanks," I said. "Apricots."
"Artichokes," he countered back.
I raised my eyebrows at him. 6 down, 14 A words to go.