Roadmance

Chapter 9

Rebecca was used to waking up a bit sore after a night of wrestling, especially if she was wrestling with the guys. Kevin was great and had been careful with her, but the simple fact was that most guys were used to wrestling people taller and heavier than she was, and it could be hard to adapt to such a size difference. It had been a while since she had woken up achy because of a night of good sex, and the two combined left her not wanting to get out of bed. Colby was still deep in sleep, so she wasn't sure what woke her up—until she heard a soft swooshing sound and saw an envelope slide under their door. Leaning over Colby's chest, she realized it wasn't the only one. What the hell? she thought, slowly easing away from him and out of the bed. She had the blankets pulled up quick enough that he barely shivered.

There were six envelopes strewn across the carpet, three addressed to Colby and three to her. Rebecca gathered Colby's and set them on top of his bag before looking at hers. She recognized Kevin's and Rami's handwriting from last night, so she opened the third envelope first. There was no card of any kind, just a hundred Euro note. It wasn't the worst payment she'd ever got, but it definitely didn't justify the costs of coming to Italy. Sighing, she slid the Euro back in its envelope and opened the one from Rami next. It was a lovely handwritten letter and it only took her a few lines to realize she would cry if she read it all just then. I'll save it for the trip home, she thought, setting it aside.

Kevin's letter was shorter and somehow encapsulated all his gruff affection in a way that made it feel like he was talking to her on the phone. I'm guessing you and Colby are hooking up, he wrote simply. I'm not judging. I just hope you've been careful and everything's okay. If he's a jerk about anything, let me know and I'll kick his ass. I can get bookings in the States, so it won't be a problem. If he tries to start rumours or whatever, Rami and I will back you up. He went on to talk about their matches together and other things, but it was the protective sentiment that stood out for her. Kevin had probably known for days and not said a word, trusting that she knew what she wanted and would ask for help if she needed it.

Not as subtle as we thought, Rebecca laughed to herself as she gathered her three envelopes and set them by her purse before returning to the bed. She had just slipped under the blanket when Colby started to stir. "Sorry," she whispered. "Promoter shoved our payment under the door, so I grabbed the envelopes before we could step on them."

"Hmm." Colby pulled her into a sleepy kiss. "So, was Rami right?"

She wasn't sure how much anyone else had been given, so Rebecca shrugged. "I didn't get much, but I've had worse payouts."

"Shit." Colby kept kissing her, though, so he couldn't be too upset. Before they could go too far, he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a condom.

Don't get emotional, Rebecca told herself as Colby put on the condom and she flicked the wrapper to the floor. They hadn't exactly been breaking furniture in the throes of passion, but they weren't whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears either. He was cute and fun and definitely good in bed, but she had known from the second he stepped on the bus that it wouldn't go anywhere. Even when she moved to Orlando, they would be too far apart on a regular basis. And he probably has a girlfriend.... She tried not thinking about that either. Wrestlers, indie or marquee, were notorious for hooking up with people on the road: fans, other wrestlers, mistresses they kept in various cities. The fact that Kevin hadn't seemed at all surprised about her and Colby just cemented that fact. "You wrestled more than I did," she pointed out as Colby rolled her onto her back, "and they usually don't cheat Americans too much."

"Still not cool." Colby teased her with his hands for a bit, seemingly content just to kiss and touch her until he buried his face in her neck. "You're sure?"