Roadmance

Chapter 1

Nothing else was going right in Rebecca's life at that point, so it stood to reason that Italy would be more of the same. Between wrestling and her bad eating habits—she didn't want to commit to calling them a disorder—she felt like a wreck, but a job was a job and if nothing else, she would get to see some of Italy. That made to make adding more fuel to her existential crisis worthwhile.

The tour bus waiting at the airport gave her a bit of hope. At least the promotion was organized enough to pick wrestlers up. Lots of companies weren't, and Rebecca wasn't too keen on trying to drive in Italy. Once she boarded the bus, though, she noticed something pretty quickly: she was the only woman. She tried to ignore the obvious and found a seat. It's fine, she told herself. There's still plenty of time for my opponent to show up.

"Hi! I'm Kevin!"

"Hi! I'm Rami!"

Without any other women there, Rebecca had expected to be ignored, shoved aside, forgotten. She had been the only girl at Fergal's school and aside from her time in Japan, she was very often one of the only women at an event—performing or watching—so she was used to it. She definitely wasn't used to male wrestlers taking the initiative to greet her, at least not so warmly. But these two guys popped their heads over their seats and smiled at her, and they instantly put her at ease. "Hi! I'm Rebecca!" Glancing around, she sighed. "Has the other girl shown up yet?" She had her opponent's name written down somewhere, but it had been a long day and she couldn't remember where.

Rami shook his head. "I don't think so, no. You've been the only one I've seen. Oh, wait. I just saw someone with long hair coming up to the bus...."

Rebecca stood up so she could see over the seats, but the newcomer wouldn't be her opponent—unless she was going to face a guy who looked like he should be playing guitar in a grunge band. "Is this the bus for the wrestling?" the guy asked.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah." The wrestlers were scattered throughout the seats, most seeking some quiet and privacy for the ride so they could get some rest, but Kevin waved the newcomer forward. "I'm Kevin, he's Rami, and she's Rebecca."

"Colby." Then he paused, pushing some hair out of his face after he stowed his bag and sat across the aisle from Rebecca. "Tyler? We doing wrestling names or government names?"

Kevin glanced back at her. "Are you government Rebecca or wrestling Rebecca?" he asked.

"Both?" Rebecca didn't mind her name and she rather liked all the pun opportunities she could use with Bex, so she had only changed her last name for wrestling. "You?"

"Same." Pointing to his friend, Kevin added, "He uses El Generico, mostly so he can wear a mask to hide that ugly mug."

Rami gave him a friendly jab and it made Rebecca miss Fergal with a pang. They weren't romantic anymore, but he was still her closest friend in the wrestling business. Seeing the old-hen bond Kevin and Rami had felt like just another sign from the universe. "I just don't want to outshine you," he replied. Gesturing first to himself and then to Kevin, he added, "We're from Quebec—Canada." Then he looked at her. "Ireland?" he guessed.

Rebecca nodded, impressed. She didn't know how well travelled Kevin and Rami were, but a lot of people who weren't from Europe couldn't easily tell the difference between English, Irish, and Scottish accents, let alone all the regional varieties within each. "Yeah."

Colby shrugged. "Iowa. America." Rebecca wasn't familiar with the state, but judging from how Colby said it—slightly defensive, slightly embarrassed—she was guessing it wasn't exactly a wrestling hotbed. "I was sort of added to the card at the last minute. It was my friend's spot," he added, "but he got injured and couldn't make it. I hope they still have room for me and I didn't come all the way here for nothing."