Reality (Linstead AU)

Chapter 78

"I've been looking forward to this," Erin said.

"Me too," Jay replied honestly. There were worse ways to spend a morning than on a private jet with his fiancée. They had just been driven out to the WWE-branded jet on one of the aprons at JFK airport. Today's flight was going to take them down to Orlando, where they would be visiting the WWE Performance Center.

"So glad we don't have to fly commercial," Erin said.

The jet sat with its door open, which served as the steps when it was opened. The plane was ready and waiting for action, its two rear-mounted engines running. It would be cold inside when they got on-board, but Jay knew from experience that it would warm up quickly once the door was closed.

He followed Erin up the steps. Just inside the plane, their stewardess was waiting for them. She was a tall blonde with a southern accent, named Lacey. She was good at her job, with an ability to judge when to attend to passengers, and when to leave them to their business or to relax.

"Good morning, Ms Voight. Mr Halstead," Lacey said politely. "I have fresh coffee for you, just how you like it."

"You know me too well, Lacey," Erin said pleasantly.

"Morning," Jay added as he walked past the stewardess.

As Lacey set about closing the door, Erin and Jay sat down on comfortable leather seats, opposite each other at a table. There were other seats available, but this was where they always sat when they flew together. Often, Erin had her laptop out to do some work, but not now. Not yet, at least. Her travel bag had been dumped on the seat beside her. Jay had left his just inside the plane, for Lacey to attend to.

"God, it's cold today," Erin complained, rubbing her hands together. Inevitably, Jay thought, she was wearing leather gloves. Today's were one of multiple black pairs she had. He was sure she was enjoying wearing them.

"Don't pretend you're complaining," he said, and they both knew what he meant.

"Sshhh," Erin said with a grin on her face and her cheeks reddening a bit. She didn't want a glove conversation with Lacey nearby.

Jay chuckled. "We'll return to that subject later then."

"At the hotel," Erin suggested.

The NXT show would finish quite late, so rather than red eye it back to New York, Erin had decided they would book a hotel suite and fly back in the morning. It worked for Jay – they seemed to have a lot of sex in hotel suites. It seemed like that was what Erin had in mind.

"We'll be taking off shortly," Lacey told them now that the door was closed. "Other than coffee, is there anything I can get you?"

"No, thank you. Just the coffee," Erin said. And with that, they settled in for the flight.

-----

Hours later, they got out of a car in front of the Performance Center. It was a non-descript former warehouse with a WWE logo on the front of it. From the outside, it was nothing special at all. In Jay's opinion, inside it was a very special place. Trainees came here to learn how to become WWE wrestlers. The many athletic aspects of the sport were taught here, as well as the acting side of things. Promo class had been one of Jay's favourite aspects when he had been taught here.

"You know, I was watching a video yesterday of one of Clem's first NXT matches," Erin said. "She looked so young, and so green, coming out with some bland, generic ring gear and crappy music, and no crowd reaction whatsoever. She was a total nobody. Remarkable."

"That's how everyone starts," Jay said with a smile.

"Right, but Clem's the first woman to have made it to the level of being up there with men as one of the top stars in the company, and to earn massive money. I love what that means for all of the women who come here to learn. They have seen that it's possible for a woman to truly make it. In there right now, we might have a star waiting to emerge who is as big or even bigger than Clem. And that's without even thinking about the guys. I'll be calling at least one of them up to the main roster today too, on Kelly's recommendation.