OOC: Between recovering from Covid and working night shifts I'm actually surprised I managed to get this done. Good luck!
Monday 1st Of November
Ante Up Academy
Santa Barbara
I'd just started to set things up for the day ahead at the Academy when I looked over to the doors leading into the Hall and saw an unexpected visitor.
"Hey dad…" My daughter, Charlotte said almost sheepishly as she walked into the Training hall.
I smiled as she drew level with me as I was setting up a crash-mat. After I'd smoothed the mat out, I stood up straight and grinned slightly. "Resisted throat punching Ashley this time?" I asked her as casually as I could manage without cracking up with laughter. In seriousness though, I think it was a good thing that he wasn't in the building yet to avoid making this moment needlessly more awkward after her behaviour a few days previously.
It looked like Charl was about to give me an actual reply to the question when her brain must have clicked on to what I said. She shook her head disdainfully. "Shut up…" she then muttered as I maintained my stoic expression and shrugged slightly at her.
"Hey, I'm just looking out for my staff that's all" I said, turning a chuckle that escaped into a sigh that I knew wouldn't be too convincing in the slightest.
Charlotte scoffed then waggled her finger at me. "Yeah well no need to tease me!" She exclaimed as I moved backwards and sat on the apron to the ring.
Smirking I then shrugged nonchalantly. "It's one of the joys I have in life these days" I said, exaggerating a deflated tone. When I didn't get a further reaction to my teasing, I grinned. "So to what do I owe the pleasure, today?" I asked her finally, actually curious as to what would be worth the risk of her possibly having to give a genuine apology to Ash after her outburst.
My daughter looked at me for a few moments with a mysterious look on her face. "I've been thinking" she said cryptically before a slight smile appeared on her face.
I'd seen a similar look on her face a good many times and I figured that whatever she was thinking about, must be pretty important after all. "How much damage will this do to my bank account?" I asked her in jest, unable to stop the joke from leaving my lips.
It was almost like watching her regress back to being a teenager about to throw a tantrum as she clenched her fists and looked at me. "Dad!" She yelled at me as I held my hands up apologetically.
"Hey, I'm sorry! What have you been thinking about?" I said, my hands still up to ward her off coming at me with any more aggression.
Charlotte paused for a second, probably expecting me to bust out another joke or tease her some more. When it was obvious I was waiting for her to speak, she sighed then took a deep breath. "I might want to have another go at competing again" she said enthusiastically as I frowned. Out of all the things that she could have said, that was quite low down on the list to be honest.
I just sat looking at her from my perch on the apron to the training ring before realising once again she was awaiting a response from me. "Ah…" was all I managed to say to her, no other response forming in my brain.
Charlotte, with hands on her hips glared at me. "What do you mean 'ah'?" She demanded to know as I felt that was a very good question indeed!
Realising I needed to think of some kind of response to her, I wracked my brain then thought of something when it looked as if Charlotte was reaching her limit with patience towards me. "I mean ah… That's an interesting idea. Didn't you have that in mind last year at around this time though?" I eventually asked her as I did vaguely remember she had a flight of fancy about it previously though I couldn't remember exactly when.
She had a downtrodden look on her face as she took my words in before nodding slowly. "I did, but it didn't pan out…" Charlotte said sullenly as I got to my feet and folded my arms across my chest.
As biased as I was towards any of my children, grown or otherwise, I knew that Charlotte could sometimes get random ideas in her head and then change her mind about them in record time. Whether that was down to some psychological reason involving what happened to her before or whether she got bored way too easily, for the sake of things being peaceful for me; I figured it was better to try and make her talk herself out of this now rather than later. "And what makes it different this time?" I asked her, ready for some kind of excuse that she probably thought was brilliant but in reality was flimsy as anything.
That was when my daughter surprised me by grinning mischievously. "Because I have an incentive that I didn't before" Charlotte stated, letting her words hang between us for a second or two.
Looking at her sceptically, I shook my head slowly. "Do you really NEED an incentive to do such a thing?" I asked Charlotte sincerely as I'm sure she might have thought that she had good enough reasons for the last few ideas she'd got into her head before abandoning them.
Charlotte looked at me before reluctantly shaking her head. "I don't, but it's something I want really bad; the incentive that is" she said, not getting down to the brass tacks even as I'd all but given her the opportunity.
I sighed impatiently now as I thought we could be going round in circles with this issue, the rate we were going. "Are you going to put me out of my misery before I have to start doing some physical assesments today?" I asked Charl, which seemed to surprise her given the expression on her face before she stepped towards me and clasped her hands together.
"Okay… Well I was thinking, you're not getting any younger…" Charl started.
Not letting her continue, I scoffed indignantly. "Erm thanks" I said sarcastically before shaking my head.
My daughter looked at me haughtily before sighing once more. "That's not what I'm getting at. You'll be following 'He Who May Not Be Named In Your Presence' into the retirement home soon and if there's one thing I want before that happens…" she said and I got the feeling she was putting off talking about whatever massive 'incentive' she had, once again.
I sighed and looked pointedly at my watch. "I may be six feet under before you say what you need to say at this rate, Charl…" I said before she narrowed her eyes at me for interrupting her again.
Finally, Charlotte must have decided to bite the bullet as she looked at me with a pleading expression written all over her face. "Okay, I want to have a match… With you… As a team I mean…" she blurted out as I couldn't help but look at her wide eyed.
"What?" Is all I could manage to say as Charlotte frowned once more.
It was probably a piece of cake for her to comprehend and Charl was probably wondering why I was looking at her as if she was crazy. "You. Me. As a team" she drawled, making sure to spell out every sylavvle with extreme facetiousness.
Choosing to ignore her retort, my mind went to the fact that I couldn't help thinking things might not be as idyllic for her in the business she was wanting to return to; as Charl probably thought. "I'm not sure-" I started to say before she was shaking her head immediately.
"Hear me out before you shoot me down Dad! I'm not inexperienced at tag team wrestling. I could hold my own! And I'm not talking about a permanent thing. Just something to get my name out there before I strike out on my own" Charlotte said, the excitement and yeah even confidence clear as day in her voice… It didn't mean I was going to crumble and give her my blessing though.
Taking a step towards her, I put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. "I know you're not inexperienced, Charl… But-" I once again tried to explain my misgivings, and once again Charl was ready for the interception.
"I was a tag team champion just like you have been!" She interrupted for the second time as I looked at her intently and tried my best to keep in reasonable mode, rather than overbearing dad mode.
I shook my head slowly. "It's not that, it's just that SCW is not the safest of places for-" I rolled my eyes as she stopped me from getting anywhere near my explanation. It seemed to me that Charl had rehearsed this part better than the bits leading up to it, as she was literally coming up with an answer or solution to my issues or concerns.
This interruption was no different as she cut me off. "Then let me borrow the Viking, or the guy who does security here… He's pretty buff and used to be a beast in the ring, right? Heck, gimme your golden boy, Ashley for some backup if it makes a difference" she said, ticking off each of the possible opposition's with her fingers as I could tell she figured she had me backed into a corner.
I sighed, shaking my head. She obviously didn't understand what I was getting at. I'd have thought that the past might have made the task of making her see sense, a bit easier but this was seeming quite the opposite. "It doesn't change the fact that anything could happen to you even with Olaf, Annijah, Ash or anyone else with you for that matter-" I once again started to say, but quite clearly, my dear daughter still had objections to my objections left to air.
"You just don't want me possibly making you look bad!" Charlotte interrupted, pointing an accusing finger at me.
I shook my head instantly. "It's not that, sweetheart… I just-" I started AGAIN before yet another moment when my daughter decided to cut me off mid-sentence.
"You know, maybe this is the reason why you struggled to patch things up with Kandis!" Charlotte said with a victorious smile on her face as my mouth clamped shut in seconds.
Was she that desperate for the green light on her idea that she would stoop to such a low. Especially after her own outburst about what the media was trying to make out was happening. "Don't talk about things you have no idea about" I said quietly before shaking my head.
Taking my demeanour as some sort of backing away, Charl shook her head. "Oh I do… If this is the attitude you took with her before, no wonder she was pissed with you" she scoffed as for the first time in a while I could feel white hot anger at my daughter for her ludicrous comments that were just serving to piss me off.
"Quit whilst you're ahead, Charl" I uttered before turning away from her in order to avoid showing how she was affecting me.
I could hear Charlotte take a step or two towards me. "Then how about this huh? I ask Kandis to team up with me? She knows what it's like to be in my position and I'm sure she'd love to help me out" she said, the tone in her voice taking on that vindictive quality it always gained when she was about to be spiteful or selfish.
I ran a hand through my hair before whirling back towards my daughter. The last thing my girlfriend needed was all this from Charlotte. "Kandis has got her own stuff to think about-" I started to explain before the doors to the hall opened and stopped me from talking as a big grin then appeared on my daughter's face.
"Oh and speak of the Devil!" Charlotte exclaimed as she all but jogged over to Kandis who had just walked in and dropped her workout bag on the floor and was probably about to start warming up before she was intercepted.
"Charl…" I managed to say as I caught up with her, but it was like I wasn't even there...
"Hey Kandis!" Charlotte said in way of greeting, a big grin on her face as she clasped her hands together.
My girlfriend looked at me before looking at Charl then managed to smile slightly despite her obvious confusion. "Err… Hi, Charlotte" Kandis murmured as she knelt to seemingly get something from her bag.
"How are you doing this morning?" Charlotte said in a conversational tone and I knew that this small talk was her way of talking herself into doing what she had boldly told me she would do only moments before.
The confusion on Kandis' face gave way to some suspicion as she once again looked at me briefly. All I could do was shrug and shake my head slightly before her attention went back to my daughter. "I'm doing great so far… How about you?" Kandis asked warily, but managing to keep her voice in an almost casual manner.
Charlotte smiled in what I called her 'disarming' way, at Kandis. "I'm doing okay, though I have a little problem that I think you could help me with" she said as Kandis immediately frowned slightly.
"Oh?" Kandis exclaimed more from curiosity after a quick glance at me didn't seem to give her any clues.
Probably feeling like she was striking whilst the proverbial iron was hot, Charlottes smile widened. "So we're like family, right?" She replied and I immediately knew that my daughter had chosen the wrong term to use, given Kandis' background.
"Um…" Kandis murmured and started to look extremely uncomfortable as it was probably that point Charl realised her error.
Looking a bit flustered for a few moments, I watched as Charlotte them regained some of her composure and smiled nervously before shaking her head. "Okay, I'll rephrase that as it sounded really weird… I'd like to think that we're like family. I mean we've gotten on quite well up to this point, you're with my dad, and I think we can only get closer through some bonding exercises" she said, some excitement back in her tone and expression as she felt more than likely that she had pulled this one back. I on the other hand wasn't so sure.
Still looking a bit perplexed but a little calmer, Kandis nodded slowly. "Ah… Okay?" She said slowly, still probably trying to figure out where this bout of sweet talking was going.
Smile still firmly on face, Charlotte nodded, more to herself than to Kandis' response I'd say. "I want to compete again in the ring, and I wanted to know if you could help me?" She finally said as the confusion on my girlfriend's face remained.
"With some extra training or something?" Kandis asked quizzically as I could all but see the cogs whirring in her head as to what she was actually going to be asked.
Charlotte chuckled almost nervously before shaking her head. "Not exactly…" she said, trailing off as Kandis was left just staring at her expectantly. My daughter then took a deep breath. "I want you to team up with me, to help give me a bigger profile and for people to take me seriously from the start" she finally said as Kandis looked at her for a few seconds just blinking as she mentally digested what had just been said.
Finally Kandis shook her head slowly this time. "I'm not sure it's the greatest idea. I mean I'm flattered and all, but wouldn't your dad be the better option?" She replied carefully as I resisted the urge to shake my head and sigh.
Charlotte put on quite frankly an award winning expression of disbelief as she shook her head vigorously. "What? Hell no! I want the brains behind The Connection as a partner, not the knuckle dragging brawn… No offence, Daddy" she turned around to me and smiled sweetly.
"None taken…" I muttered as I shook my head.
Charlotte immediately turned back to Kandis. "Training together would give us some quality time together and help us build some chemistry before we set it up" she said excitedly as Kandis really was starting to look a bit flustered.
Kandis smiled slightly but I could tell instantly that it wasn't genuine. "I'm ah… I don't know what to say…" she stammered as I figured she went with more honesty there than Charlotte realised.
My adopted daughter put her hands together as if in prayer. "I'll be the model student, partner, pupil… All that stuff… I promise!" She exclaimed as I gazed at my girlfriend, intrigued at how she was going to deal with Charlotte's charm offensive when it was in full swing.
Kandis slowly shook her head again. "Charlotte, I really think that-" she started before Charlotte took a step towards her, hands still clasped together.
"Just say you'll think about it?" Charlotte all but begged as I could see Kandis look REALLY uncomfortable now. Kandis opened her mouth to speak again but then Charl was interrupting again. "Please, you have no idea how I want this" she exclaimed before fluttering her eyelashes, trying to probably look as cute as possible. "Pretty please?" She finished, hands clasped together tighter than ever.
Kandis really didn't know where to look as Charlotte was in her element, one step away from full on emotional blackmail. Kandis briefly looked at me and when I didn't say or do anything to assist, she sighed and looked at Charlotte, a defeated look on her face. "I'll think about it" she said with an exasperated tone as Charlotte jumped up and down with glee.
"Woo! You are the best girlfriend my dad has ever had! Mom doesn't count, but you rock!" She all but yelled as she shot me a sly smirk.
Possibly unable to think of what else to say after such a reaction, Kandis have Charlotte a slight smile "Thanks?" She murmured as Charlotte beamed at her.
"I've got lots of ideas for helping me stand out, so I'll bring them round to yours and dad's sometime soon when I can put them all on paper" Charlotte started to ramble as once again, Kandis had a perplexed and slightly uneasy look on her face.
"Okay…" Kandis said, again probably unsure of how to respond.
Charlotte hugged Kandis briefly before giggling. "Well I've gotta run. Meeting mom for a late breakfast! Thank you for considering this, Kandis. I truly appreciate it!" She gushed before already walking away with barely a backwards glance.
"You're… Welcome" Kandis murmured belatedly before she turned and looked at me with a frown now unmistakably on her face. "Did she already ask you?" She demanded to know rather than asked.
Surprised at her immediate change of attitude, all I could do was nod. "Yeah…" I admitted as she shook her head slightly.
"And you turned her down?" She asked, immediately following up on her last question.
It appeared that Kandis had seen right through me as I started to shake my head. "Not exactly…" I said, which was almost the truth.
Kandis scoffed and then laughed bitterly. "That's a yes then" she exclaimed as I folded my arms and looked at her.
I probably wasn't going to get enough time to explain my full reasoning to Kandis so I figured I'd save myself the trouble with the short version. "It's not as simple as that" I replied, quickly realising my error as Kandis shook her head once again.
Kandis scoffed again, disdain written all over her face. "Don't even want your daughter taking that limelight from you?" She asked me, looking right into my eyes.
In response, my eyes widened. "What the fuck, babe?!" I asked incredulously as Kandis simply shrugged.
"You stole my moment, but I didn't think you'd go as far as stealing Charlotte's too" she said with a sneer on her face as I was struggling to comprehend what was happening out of the blue like this.
I narrowed my eyes and looked right at her. "Have you heard yourself?" I said scornfully as Kandis returned the look I was giving her.
Finally, Kandis shrugged. "Perhaps I'll help her. She would obviously benefit from the rub, and me making sure Tommy Valentine's daughter stakes her claim would definitely make people look at us instead of at you. One less person for you to hold back" she said in such a casual way that she could have been talking about what we could have for dinner as opposed to us finally going back to the issue that caused us to be in this situation to begin with.
I attempted to take a deep breath but my anger betrayed me and took control of my emotions utterly and completely. "For crying out loud, Kandis! You're talking rubbish!" I yelled as Kandis wasn't phased in the slightest.
I wanted to get some reaction out of her since any interaction I'd had with her up to this point was stilted at best, practically none existent at worst. "Of course I am… Well I better get back to warming up, I have a class to teach soon" she said coldly and walked away from me, forcing an ending to the conversation without me being even a slight factor.
A few people had started to enter the training hall by this point so I figured it wouldn't be the best idea to walk after her and create a scene that could possibly go viral like our heated sparring session right before our Trios match, had. "Yeah…" I muttered to myself before running a hand through my hair. I took one last look at the woman I felt I was slowly but surely losing and shook my head. I wasn't going to give up on everything that we had together at this point. One way or another we were going to talk this out, and I'd keep trying until she had no excuses left to not listen.
Wednesday 3rd Of November
Valentine Residence/Ante Up Academy
Santa Barbara
Things had remained frosty between Kandis and I in the days after our heated exchange over my daughter and her aspirations of all things. In fact they had gotten to the point that we barely saw each other at home, which hurt me so much as I was doing my damn best to try and fix us! Kandis had now resorted to spending all her time in her studio with the door locked, sometimes with music on and other times without. The common factor being that she generally went there with barely a goodbye or explanation of where she was going, and that nine times out of ten she stayed there… This happened on a few nights consecutively before I decided that enough was enough. I was being punished, directly or indirectly… At least that's what it felt like, and given that no effort had been made on her part for us to get past this, surely she didn't expect me to sit around the house on my own? Surely she had to know how sleeping in our bed on my own repeatedly would start to feel soul destroying?
Apparently that wasn't the case, so I decided to take a leaf from her playbook and find a distraction for myself that would help me forget just how difficult things were for me at the moment. After an awkward as fuck dinner, Kandis did her usual disappearance to her Studio and after I'd washed and dried the dishes, I made my way to her studio, determined now I had a plan of action; to see it through.
I padded right to the door and knocked. There was no response or anything to the point that if I didn't know she was in there, I'd be forgiven for thinking I might have been speaking to myself when I called out. "You okay in there?" I asked gently, trying not to let my irritation as well as my sadness carry across in my voice.
There was silence for a fair amount of time as i folded my arms and prepared to wait as long as it took. "Yeah… Just busy. Real busy" Kandis finally responded, and given that she had almost word for word echoed the sentiment on the last couple of evenings and nights, I should have guessed to be fair.
"Of course" I murmured, not caring now if she heard me. When there was nothing else from her, I figured I'd give her a taste of her own medicine; as childish as I know that might sound. "I'm gonna head out to meet with a friend, I'll be back… At some point" I added that last bit in an attempt to try and force some kind of compassion from her. Even some idle curiosity. Just anything!
Once again there was momentary silence. "Okay Tommy…" Kandis said, her voice floating through the door in a muffled tone to me as I just scoffed and gave up. I went and sat in my car, instantly tapping in a message and hoping the person answered. I obviously had a few backup plans in case they didn't get back to me, but I REALLY needed my first choice of distraction… Which was weird given how different I felt at the start of the year…
'Meet me at the Academy ASAP if you're free' I typed out and tapped at the steering wheel for what felt like forever but what was more like a few minutes I discovered afterwards. They responded and it left no doubts.
'Okay, see you soon x' was the reply I got as I smiled to myself.
'Excellent! See you there. I'll be in my office' I tapped into my phone before setting off, only having a fleeting thought of Kandis locked up in her Studio.
I got to the Academy in almost record time and whilst I was waiting for my guest, I occupied myself with filling in paperwork and looking over a few of the files on potential new prospects for the place. About twenty minutes later there was a soft knocking on the door, and my guest walked in, looking like a million dollars in a short skirt and low cut top that matched it perfectly. "I figured it be better for me to use the side entrance, just in case" Bella Sinclair said with a smile as she walked over to me.
I got up from my desk and couldn't help but look her up and down again before smiling myself. "Exactly what I did" I murmured as I could tell from the expression on Bella's face that she was pleased at my attention to her attire.
She walked right up to me, that smile on her face still. "So what was the big emergency? It sounded like this was important" Bella asked me, even though I got the feeling she knew exactly why I'd sent her a message at such short notice.
"No emergency, I just thought we could have some time alone" I murmured as Bella's eyebrows arched and a smirk crossed her face.
She put her hands on my lower arms and leaned in to my ear. "One minute" she whispered before walking over to the door of my office, affording me a look at her from behind, which was equally as divine as the view from the front. Bella then locked the door and looked over her shoulder at me with that smirk still in place before she walked right over to me again. "There's hardly anyone in the building besides us, but better to be safe than sorry" she purred, obviously referring to when Ashley had walked into the office and found us in a rather compromising situation; as she moved her face closer to mine.
"I like your thinking" I murmured as I kissed her softly on the lips, feeling her move into the kiss immediately before pulling away, her breathing starting to get slightly laboured.
Bella chuckled and then gestured to herself pointedly. "I hope that's not the only thing you like" she purred as I ran my hands down her waist lightly.
"No, I like this top and this skirt too" I managed to say before I couldn't help but start kissing her neck.
Bella groaned immediately as my lips made contact with her neck. "Mmmmm" was all she managed to articulate as I then ran my hands under her top, and started to take it off. As we both stopped resisting our pent up desires, she quickly assisted me in taking the top off completely and then wriggled out of her skirt and steppedstepped out of the garment that was pooled around her legs now.
"And I absolutely love this lacy underwear set" I said as I took in the sight of her in the dark green set that emphasised her every curve perfectly before I started to kiss her neck again and went back and forth between her lips and shoulder, my hands on her ass.
The attention I was giving her caused her breath to really become ragged as the lust took over. "I ah… Knew um oh yeah… That they're you're mmmm ah favourite colour" she managed to gasp as I stopped momentarily and looked at her with pleasant surprise.
My hands still firmly in place, I smirked. "So you remembered huh?" I murmured, thinking that I'd only mentioned it a few times in passing conversation that made it all the more impressive.
The lust obvious in her eyes, she moaned as I gave her ass a squeeze. "Oh yeah… Mmm I did, Sir" she replied, biting her lip after saying that last part. I smirked at her choice of words before backing her up against the wall in the office, our lips barely parting.
"I've wanted this for so long" Bella gasped in between bouts of us coming up for breath.
I kissed her hard and then pulled back before smiling. "Then I'll not disappoint you by waiting any longer" I said, lifting her up as her legs instinctively wrapped around me and I carried her over to my desk, perching her on it before I grinned and grabbed the waistband of her panties and tugging them down with assistance from Bella before she unclasped her bra, took it off and threw it over her shoulder. I then went back to kissing Bella, her moans rising and falling as I then trailed my kisses down her body slowly. As far as distractions went, ironically I knew this was going to be hard to forget!
After pretty much christening every part of my office with hot, sweaty and passionate sex, Bella and I finally half laid, half slumped on a couch we'd acquired at some point before the Academy had taken off; in my office, Bella slowly tracing a finger on my chest. "Wow…" she gasped as I chuckled softly.
"You can say that again!" I murmured as I looked at her with a grin.
"Wow" Bella repeated before chuckling as I kissed her on the lips softly.
"That was incredible" I sighed, unable to stop smiling as Bella could only nod.
She kissed my chest before tilting her head back and sighing happily. "My body is still tingling" she murmured as I could certainly agree, given I was feeling in a similar way too.
I chuckled. "I'll take that as a good sign that we made the most of this time" I said in acknowledgement of her comment as she once again looked at me.
"I hope I didn't wear you out too much, Tommy" Bella said, a look on her face that suggested she might want the opposite to be true.
I could certainly feel the effects of our rampant session as I moved slightly and the aching in practically every joint within my body made itself known. "As long as we don't have to move from here for a little while, I think I'll be fine" I said after wincing with discomfort and having to go back to my original positioning.
Bella chuckled once again before she kissed my cheek. "Do you have to be home anytime soon?" She asked, causing the reality I'd been trying to hold at bay, to come crashing right back. "Nah… Kandis is 'busy'... More than likely avoiding me" I muttered, unable to stop the bitterness creeping into my voice.
Bella had a thoughtful look on her face and looked as if she was going to say something in reference to my comment but instead she put one of her delicate hands on my chin and turned it towards her so I could see the renewed smile on her face. "Then shut up and cuddle me… Sir" she said with a wink, causing me to kiss her ferociously.
"You like when I call you that?" Bella asked me almost shyly as she had said it twice now and truth be told I thought I did. Probably more to do with the fact it was a contrast to the more domineering behaviour she had been displaying in her pursuit of me since I confirmed that the arrangement between Kandis and I existed.
"I could get used to it" I said softly before kissing her again.
Bella grinned before kissing me back. "Me too" she agreed before smirking and looking at where we were laying. "I'll be honest, I didn't even notice this couch until you carried me over to it" she said with a little giggle.
I idly started stroking her arm as I nodded. "Yeah, I don't even know why we had it put in here since it's purely used as an office, but now I'm glad we did" I said with a slight chuckle.
"Yeah it gave us somewhere to snuggle up after you gave me the best night of my life… And maybe vice versa… Hehe" Bella said before winking at me again and licking her lips seductively.
Her comment made me once again think about Kandis and the fact that with things being as they were, it seemed like eons ago that we'd done anything even close to what Bella and I had just shared. "Well it's definitely up there with the best" I said, choosing my words carefully as I didn't want to feel like I was betraying the woman I love in any way, even if she was causing me so much pain on the inside.
Probably guessing at my inner turmoil, Bella nuzzled my shoulder. "Don't worry, I know this isn't a competition so turn that frown upside down." She said then kissed my nose as I turned my head to look at her.
"Yes ma'am" I conceded before kissing the back of her neck.
Bella moaned and then laughed as she adjusted herself on the couch until her ass was pressed right up against me, I was suddenly conscious of her grinding against my crotch and was incredibly surprised that it was causing blood to flow down south again even after we'd worn each other out. "Now I believe you have some cuddling to do as this just isn't cutting it!" She demanded before grinding her ass against me some more then grabbing one of my arms and draping it on her waist before taking the other and placing it on her left breast. I couldn't see her face from this angle but even an idiot would know that more than cuddling was on the agenda before we both went back to our separate lives outside this bubble… And for the time being, that was okay with me.
Tuesday 9th Of November
Valentine Residence
Santa Barbara
Things didn't go as I'd planned for Under Attack… Well you can hardly plan anything when the whole situation revolved around people you couldn't trust in the slightest… So I suppose it's better for me to say that things didn't go as I'd HOPED at the Pay Per View. It started with Asher being pulled from not just the team but by SCW as a whole for some drug offence which pissed me off as it was… But then when they had the choice of practically anyone on the roster to replace him, they went for his so called 'best friend', Cid Turner as his replacement, I knew it was going to be an uphill struggle and boy was I right. The bastard pretty much made sure our team lost in the finals of the Trios Tournament by not even attempting to stop Kennedy from being pinned, choosing instead to be a spectator on the fucking apron. Cid didn't realise it and I'd make sure he was blissful in his ignorance of it… But his actions had painted a target on his back for me, and I'd make sure that the proverbial man that Johnny Cash talked about would come round and pay him a visit… But my vengeance for him costing me something I'd worked hard and sacrificed so much for, would come into play after I'd settled my other affairs first and got my house in order.
A couple of days after the Pay Per View, I woke up early and still feeling the almost crippling disappointment of losing in such a fashion, despite gaining the consolation prizes of destroying Crystal with The Jackals and roughing The Beta King and Kim Williams up with Kandis. I looked at the beautiful sleeping form of the latter before getting up and walking out of the bedroom as quietly as I could. I needed some good news so I called the man that was investigating this damn online smear campaign against Kandis and I, an old friend who I used to team with back in the day before injury caused him to change professions. Kyle Brown and I had been having daily update calls since the first time we met, and though there hadn't been a lot of progress, I was hoping he would have the breakthrough I desperately craved. After fixing up a coffee I called Kyle and mentally crossed my fingers.
"So give me some good news man" I said after getting over the surprise of him answering the call so quickly, and of course exchanging pleasantries.
I could hear my friemd rifling through some paper. "Okay, so after some more checks I can tell that this person doesn't mind ruffling feathers for the sake of a 'scoop'" he said as I nodded to myself.
"Not their first rodeo then?" I asked, easily coming to that conclusion.
"Nope, a slew of scathing articles on athletes across the board, my friend" Kyle said in response as I sighed. It was too good to be true that this was an isolated and easily squashable incident.
I shook my head slowly. "So from other sports too?" I asked, afraid that I already knew the direction this was going.
"That's right, no particular type of sport seems to be safe" he said with a sigh of his own.
"I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not" I muttered as this call clearly wasn't shaping up the way I'd hoped.
"Seems like they're very opportunistic as there's no rhyme or reason to the articles" Kyle said, sounding quite frustrated himself, which I suppose was kinda understandable.
Given this new information, I asked the next logical question. "I was basically wrong place, wrong time then?"
I could almost hear the nod. "Seems that way. Gonna try and dig a little further tomorrow but figured I'd keep you in the loop as I promised" he declared immediately.
"Well I appreciate it" I said truthfully as he didn't understand just how grateful I was that he was stepping up to the plate for me.
There was a slight catch in his breath. "So how's Kandis taken it?" Kyle asked as I had wondered how long it would be before he asked me that. I was really surprised he hadn't asked me sooner to be fair.
"Better than I thought. It doesn't seem to have phased her" I said truthfully, as the few times I'd brought it up and not gotten the silent treatment, she pretty much shrugged it off. I even got the feeling she was amused about the fact that the world was losing its shit over the whole thing…
"You sure she's not just fronting for your sake?" Kyle asked me, sounding cautious as he said it.
He brought up a good point but from her behaviour in the lead up to the Pay Per View, I couldn't call it either way. "I'm not sure if she's fronting or not… But if she is, it's not for my sake… Or at least it wasn't to begin with" I said, voicing more of my thoughts than intended.
"Am I okay asking why that is?" Kyle asked me as I figured he deserved to know at some point soon, but not just yet.
"Long story. I'll tell you everything when we're closer to dealing with this mess" I promised him solemnly as I sighed again.
"I'll hold you to that" he replied and I couldn't help but smile.
"Cross my heart" I said with a chuckle and assumed that would be the end of the conversation.
Instead of some form of farewell, Kyle then surprised me as he took a deep breath. "Oh… There is one more thing that literally just popped up on my radar this morning that you should know about too, almost forgot as it's a bit strange" he said hesitantly as I ran a hand through my hair.
"That doesn't sound good…" I muttered as I awaited the news that would probably make my mood go down a few notches.
There was a slight pause. "Well I won't bore you with all the details, but I have a system set up to inform me if anything else crops up online that could be… Damaging, shall we say" he started and I knew he was going to tell me something that was a bit more than just strange.
"And… Something 'damaging' has appeared" I stated more than asked.
"Potentially" Kyle replied, the way he said it suggesting that he wasn't completely being honest.
I cursed under my breath. "What is it?" I then asked, wondering what the hell he was going to tell me.
"An article from a different account, but after some checks, I'm quite certain that we could be dealing with the same person or at least a colleague" he said with the utmost certainty.
Once again there was some hesitation from his side. "They were at Under Attack it would seem" Kyle explained as I was waiting for the hammer to fall now, for sure.
"Okay…" I said, unsure of what else to say under the circumstances.
"And they managed to get pictures of Kandis this time…" he said and now I realised why he was so cautious in revealing this information.
"Oh God…" I murmured as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"...With your teammate, Drake. And they're looking pretty cosy in this picture" he said and I couldn't help but sense the judgement in his voice.
It wasn't Kyle's fault that he didn't know the nature of the standing agreement Kandis and I had, but this also meant I probably had even more to explain to him. "That's not unusual" I said slowly, despite a part of me wondering just how 'cosy' they were at the point the picture was taken.
"Perhaps, but combining that with what they posted before" Kyle said, trailing off and still having that judgemental tone.
"You think that it could be something that's not gonna just stop of its own accord?" I asked, afraid of the answer if I was straight with myself.
Kyle cleared his throat and I suspected that I knew the answer with that one gesture. "To put it quite frankly, the two of you are like a goldmine to whoever is getting these pictures and conjuring up these bylines my friend." He said, and I couldn't help but feel that this conversation had suddenly started feeling like I was trying to pull teeth.
I sighed. "So if we don't put a stop to it, there might not be an end to it?" I asked Kyle and pinched the bridge of my nose again as I felt a headache coming on.
"Complete honesty again, talking to you as a client as much as a friend… Even though the two of you might not be at breaking point, this person is making it look otherwise. Which in my experience, will cause this to snowball" he said and I could almost feel the reluctance in each of his words.
I tipped my head back and somehow resisted the urge to scream. "Fuck… What am I supposed to do then?" I demanded to know as I had figured that we would find this person, I'd pay them a visit then this would all go away… Instead, I was being told that things could get worse?
Kyle scoffed and I suddenly thought about how frustrating this must be for him to be dealing with. "I've underestimated this person for long enough, I need to get ahead of this for the sake of you two and both your family and friends" he said as I frowned at that point.
"What do you mean?" I asked him, my voice rising a few octaves as shards of panic started to prod at me with his words.
"Come on man, think about it. Two of the most high profile people on the planet today, alleged relationship problems, suggested playing away. People will take sides in this fictional story and the public could quite feasibly start to look towards those closest to you in order to show where their 'allegiances' lay" he said and confirmed what I had now realised.
My mind was starting to process everything he was saying and I didn't like the conclusions it was chalking up in the back of my brain. "You're not seriously suggesting that we'll be treated like the sparkly fuck and the werewolf were in Twilight when it aired in some places? Team Tommy and Team Kandis?!" I said incredulously, knowing that he was talking about people taking shit like this so serious, they could become dangerous to us in a worst case scenario.
I heard Kyle snort with amusement then clear his throat presumably to regain the air of professionalism. "Whilst the analogy is hilarious in execution, it's accurate in reality."
I sighed before starting to pace back and forth in the kitchen, my coffee well and truly forgotten about. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" I yelled and once again ran my hand through my hair.
"Hey, I promised we would put this to bed and I'm going to deliver on that promise. Things may have got tougher but I'm still cracking this case, yeah?" Kyle said in a reassuring tone, and in all fairness, I had to believe it as all it took was one obsessed fan and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what could happen.
I took a few calming breaths before I trusted myself to talk. "Thanks, Kyle… I seriously appreciate it. Now I suppose I better go and dish out the 'good news'" I said hesitantly as I didn't know how the conversation with Kandis would go down after hearing about this newest development.
Probably understanding that I wasn't in the best frame of mind now despite his reassurances, Kyle didn't push the matter any further. "I'll let you get back to your day then, bro. Good luck" he said and I shook my head.
"Talk later" was all I said before ending the call. I took another deep breath before heading back to the bedroom and to Kandis. Difficult conversation didn't quite cut what this was going to possibly be…
PROMO
'The World Is Watching, As I Plant The Last Seed' - "Pretty Like Drugs" By Queen Adreena
Whats in a name?
A bit of a clichéd question in many ways but have you thought about it, I really mean thought about it.
I've been called so many things, by so many people and it got me thinking over the question as we get closer to the Extinction of The Order Of Chaos' reign as champions of the Tag Team Division.
What's in a name?
Turncoat...
Has-Been…
Weakest Link…
Joke…
Clown…
Parasite…
Coat-Tail Rider…
Edgelord...
And those are just some of the kinder things I've been referred to or called since I signed up to Supreme Championship; slightly relevent, baseless or just desperation from people trying to keep their 'Cool Card' from expiring whilst in the midst of their cliques, yet interesting nonetheless how people who have all the talent in the world and have proven it time and time again need to go back to the well and bring back so many of the classics or have the urge to make up new ones that fit whatever narrative they want to push on that particular week, day, minute, hour or even second given some of the characters that lurk around in the background and their incessant need for the fix that the slinging of mud gives them. Then we put the magnifying glass up against the same creative geniuses that attempt to be witty with regards to my lover, my best friend, my soulmate… And that question burns into my brain even more…
Slut…
Whore…
Slut…
…
Did I mention whore?
You see… the people that are talented in the ring, are obviously not that talented in the mental department as when the best you can do is regurgitate the same stuff all the time, maybe dressing it up differently but still saying the same thing, or maybe even swallowing a Thesaurus the night before these people flap their gums and say nineteen variations of the words I mentioned as the mindless seals online clap in unison at the witty repetition of the show that they seem to be conditioned to do as it's expected of them. But then what is to be expected of the same people that make up names for themselves and have to keep saying it in front of the camera or pay off some reporter to use it in an article for it to be considered Gospel… Even if the name doesn't make a lick of sense or just isn't factually accurate. Walking into Breakdown, history is going to be made folks… But if you pay attention to the idiots that are our worst critics, or even the Chuckle-Head's that we are going to be toppling… We don't stand a chance as Kandis is a slut and I'm a clown or whatever variation is used on any given day. Do you see where I'm going with this logic? I don't regret a single fucking word I've said since our opponents reformed for their big payday and nothing more… And if I was the kind of person to keep repeating stuff as a bid to just keep hearing my own voice, I'd repeat every damn syllable again right now… I'm yet to be proven wrong and one fluke victory isn't going to change that, so I've been ready for all the told you so's and posturing that is inevitably going to come both on social media and in a more than likely set of clichéd, tired and recycled diatribes from the dynamic duo… Because I know that Mr Knight in particular can't help but take cheap shots for all the mindless Neanderthals on Twitter to enjoy and applaud that are more often than not around the idea that we are a joke…
But ladies and gentlemen… Would you like me to let you know what the REAL joke is, as the individuals that hold three quarters of the gold in SCW are set to have some of that plunder unburdened?
(I scoff before shaking my head at that thought)
Kandis and I weren't even meant to be here!
We were blatantly not meant to succeed as a team and put together for a laugh! Some fuckwit in the Ivory Tower must have been trolling Twitter and saw that we were meeting up to drink and inevitably fuck so thought 'You know what would be a good idea? Pairing these two up and watching them flounder when we pit them against the REAL teams, watch them get eaten alive by established and credible pairings… Hey, we will even give them an amusing name and force them to use it too!'... Or perhaps they just didn't know what to do with two of the most marketable names they have on the books and then came to the same conclusion… Who knows? Regardless of that, they kept throwing people at us… Expecting that with zero chemistry between us other than in the bedroom, that it would be comedic to see the madness it should have brought them. But something insane happened, something they could never have even imagined in their wildest dreams… They kept throwing teams at us, and we kept on knocking them the fuck down! Can you imagine their faces as we ascended the tag team mountain and eventually dominated it? I bet it would have been priceless to have a snapshot of it!
(I chuckled to myself)
And here we are, FOUR title reigns later… Hands down the best team that SCW has and setting up for a fifth! Now isn't THAT hilarious! Especially as everyone is obviously expecting a repeat of last time quite clearly, particularly our esteemed champions… Which is a fair point if you buy into the hype… But I'll let you in on a secret right now, and something that you might find amusing until it becomes a reality. You are all going to be witness to another ascension that's been a long time coming. Trios showed what I'm capable of when left unchecked… Breakdown is the turn of the woman that flies under the radar each and every time she walks into the Arena… The one that everyone has counted out since she made the jump to SCW… The one that is still forgotten about no matter what she does. That's right, my girl is going to be the one that puts the final nail in the coffin of the Feel Good story of the year when she brings Order to the Chaos and cements herself as The Golden Whore once again whilst etching The Connection in the history books all in one fell swoop!
(Grinning, I tip a wink at the camera)
I know… I know… It's hard to believe, huh? That the duo who have nearly all the gold are gonna go down in flames courtesy of everyone's favourite 'slut' when she takes her shot… The world is gonna go apeshit as the team that technically shouldn't exist do the undoable and right a severe wrong. The ones who don't pander for validation at every opportunity, the ones who are going to TAKE it in one night. Ladies and gentlemen… You don't want to miss Breakdown as an Empire is brought to its knees… A 'King' is finally humbled in the presence of his betters… A movement is halted in its tracks… And Tag Team Royalty get back to where they belong! Lucas, what we did at the Pay Per View was nothing personal… I was blowing off steam after being cheated out of my Trios contract, but trust me when I say this… Breakdown? It's EXTREMELY personal and I'm going to take great pleasure in watching as your aspirations and your tag title reign are killed before you and your bestie see Stars…
Yes I've been called a lot of names in my career, but the only one that's going to matter after Breakdown is…
FIVE TIME Tag Team Champion!
SCW Achievements
SCW Television Champion (x3)
SCW Tag Team Champion /w Kandis (x4)
SCW Tag Team Champion /w David Helms (x2)
SCW Tag Team Champion /w Jake Starr (x1)
SCW United States Champion (x1)
SCW Underground Champion (x2)
SCW World Heavyweight Champion (x1)
A Founding Member Of "The Connection"
A Founding Member Of "The Next Level"
Ranked 7th in the 2009 Taking Hold Of The Flame Battle Royal
Conquered The Thunderdome...and CHBK