Dirty Deeds

CH 11: Backstage Access

 Tara and Tony introduce us to their older brother, Andrew, their cousins, Jim and Mike, and their uncle Dan. Once we know everyone, the eight of us head backstage. Tara wants to see my locker room, but I'm sure Layla's there, so I suggest we start in catering and then Matt and I can show them our locker rooms when we're sure they're clear. "Great idea," Matt says.

We tromp off in a group towards catering. We're not the only ones headed that way. Many of the Superstars go to catering after a show so that they can meet up with whoever they're sharing a ride with and go to dinner or their hotel room. I see Punk and the straightedge society are already there, and so is Maria. Oh, yeah, this isn't going to awkward or anything.

"Hey, Maria!" Matt says brightly when she pushes away from her table and comes to join us. She gives him a kiss, then looks at me. I want to run off and hide from that glare. Okay, no. I'd like to kick her ass. But still, it's uncomfortable, standing there under her gaze. Maybe I can talk creative into a feud with Maria so I can legitimately beat her up. It'll have to wait until after Wrestlemania, of course.

Tara tugs on my arm, breaking me away from my thoughts. "Michelle," she says softly.

"What, sweetie?"

"Why is C. M. Punk staring at us like that?"

I glance over and see that, sure enough, he's watching us. I smirk and wave at him. That earns me a grin and a lazy flick of his hand. "Don't worry about him, Tara. He's okay."

"He scares me," she admits.

I frown. Punk, scary? Well, I guess to a little kid, he could be. "Oh, sweetie," I say, "he's a friend of mine. He's not really bad. Remember how Tony thought I wasn't nice because of the person I play on TV?" She nods. "Well, Punk is kind of like that. He plays a kind of scary character, but he's really kind of silly."

"Silly?" She doesn't look like she believes me.

I pick her up. "Come on, I'll prove it to you." I turn to Matt and the others. "We'll be right back."

As we're walking across the room, Tara grabs my neck. "He's scary, though."

"I'm going to teach you the magic words," I say, "that make him less scary."

"Okay."

"When we get over there, I want you to say, 'Hi, Cuddle Monkey.' I promise, he won't be scary after that. He'll be silly."

Tara giggles. "Cuddle Monkey?"

"Trust me," I tell her. We reach the table and Punk smirks up at us.

"Hi, McCool. Who's your friend?"

"This is Tara. Tara, meet C. M. Punk."

Tara looks at me, then at C. M. Punk. She hesitates, then says, "Hi, Mr. Cuddle Monkey."

Punk's eyes go wide. He looks from Tara to me before he facepalms. "I can't believe you told her to call me that," he mutters. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't call me that in public."

"I didn't."

"You didn't what?" he demands.

"I didn't agree. I also didn't call you that." I grin, and I see that Tara's also grinning. "Anyway, we have to get back to the group." I smile sweetly at Punk. "See you later, Cuddle Monkey."

Punk just shakes his head. "Tomorrow, then."

"What's happening tomorrow?" Tara asks me, and I shrug.

"He's going to come and see my friend Layla because she likes him."

Tara's eyes are huge. "Layla? She's my second favorite diva besides you!"

"You've got good taste, Tara."

"No," Tara says, "I have Flawless taste." We both giggle at that, and we're both grinning like mad when we get back to Matt and the others. They've grabbed a table near the middle of the room and Matt is herding Superstars toward them, doing intros and getting pictures of the kids and the stars. I bring Tara over and set her down on the vacant chair next to her brother Andrew and I start helping Matt. Maria has wandered off somewhere, but I don't miss her. Matt doesn't seem to, either.

"Michelle!" Tara says to me, suddenly. "Look! Layla's here!"

"Do you want a picture with team Lay-Cool, Tara?" I ask.

"Yes, please!"

"No problem." I go over to Layla. "Hey, Layla."

"What are you doing, Michelle?" she asks.

"Look, do me a favor and come over and get your picture taken with me and Tara, will you?"

She rolls her eyes. "The things I do for my friend," she mutters, but she follows me over and pastes on her best "fan meet and greet" smile. "Hi! You must be Tara."

"Hi, Layla!" Tara says, launching herself at my friend. Layla gives me a trapped look.

I grin. "Come here, Tara, and stand on this chair. Matt, can you get a picture of the three of us with Tara in the middle?"

"Sure," he says. "Hi, Layla."

"Hi," Layla says, through gritted teeth. "Snap the picture, 'k?" Matt smirks at me, then snaps the picture. Layla turns to Tara. "It was nice meeting you." I lift the little girl down from the chair and make sure she's sitting again, while Layla's talking to me. "So look, I'll meet you back at the hotel. I've got somewhere I have to be."

"Sure," I say. "I can have someone give me a ride back."

"I can," Matt says.

I want to wince, but I smile. "Thanks, Matt, but I don't want to put you to any trouble. I'll get a ride with someone else."

Matt says, "Well, let me know if you change your mind."

We stick around catering another ten minutes, and then I take Tara and the others to see my locker room. Tara is really impressed with the costumes and make up. Finally, I glance at the clock. "Whoa! Your mom's probably worried about you guys. I said half an hour, and it's been closer to an hour. Come on." We slog back to the arena and find Tara's mom and aunt, waiting patiently for us. "Sorry," I say. "I didn't mean for it to take so long."

Matt lets them all back through the boundaries. "Mom!" Tony says, "That was so awesome!"

"I got my picture taken with team Lay-Cool!" Tara announces.

I grin at the kids. "I'm glad you guys came."

"Me too," Matt says. "Hey, let me get your address and I'll mail you guys these pictures once I get them all signed. Cool?"

"Sure," says Tara's mom. She gives Matt the address, and he jots it down.

"It may take me a bit to get all these done. We took a lot of pictures," Matt says. "We'd better get going now. But thanks for bringing the kids. It's been a long time since I've had that much fun. You've got a great family."

Thanks," she says with a smile. "Come on, guys. Let's get home."

Tara looks up at me. "Goodbye, Michelle." Her eyes are full of tears.

I lean over the barricade and hug her. "Maybe next time we're in town, we can do this again," *I tell her. "And don't forget, you're part of team Lay-Cool now."

"I'm Flawless?" she asks, with a shy smile.

I smile back. "Definitely."