House Rules 3: Glass Houses

Chapter 1

"You proposed to Becky on the beach." Roman had said it at least three times, so Seth thought he knew how the rest was going to go: Roman would glance down at the picture on Seth's phone—the sunset shot he and Becky had taken to have an audience-friendly moment to share with their family and friends—and then back up at Seth, then across Catering to Becky, who was showing off her ring to what seemed like the entire WWE women's division.

"Yeah. You know how much she likes the ocean," Seth replied. "And it was a gorgeous sunset, so I thought it would be a nice backdrop for the photo—"

"You. You, with those knees," Roman emphasized, pointing down to Seth's legs. "You got down on those knees on a sandy beach." He raised an eyebrow as he scoffed. "You really expect me to believe that, man? Between your old-man knees and you worrying about losing the ring, you really think I'm going to buy that?"

It wasn't how it had happened, of course, but both Seth and Becky had decided that perhaps it was best to leave the specifics out of the story they shared with their family and friends. Their parents definitely wouldn't want to know that they'd been naked and about to fuck, and while their friends would have absolutely no problem believing the true version, even Becky and Seth admitted they wanted to have a story they could share with their potential children.

"It's a beach. . . ." Seth honestly didn't think the story he and Becky had agreed on was that far-fetched. People proposed on beaches all the time; when he had been dating Sarah, she had casually shown him countless pictures of beachfront wedding ceremonies. "There's the ocean. . . ."

Both of Roman's eyebrows lifted this time. "Bro. I'm Samoan. Trust me, I know all about the ocean." Then he smiled and squeezed Seth hard enough that his ribs creaked. "But I'll stop bugging you. I'm happy for you, man. Truly. I know that for a long time, this was something you thought you wouldn't want, that it wouldn't happen for you." With a smirk, he added, "See? All those times I called you an idiot, I was right."

"Why are you calling my fiance an idiot?" Apparently ring admiration time was over, because Becky had managed to make it over to Seth's side to hug him.

Fiance. Just hearing Becky say it made Seth feel like he was going to explode. In his head, he was already calling her his wife, but he was trying not to say it out loud too often; it would only raise a whole bunch of questions and spark a glut of rumours. It didn't mean he was successful, though: he had already slipped a few times around Marek, but at least his best friend would just shake his head and laugh. "He doesn't think I proposed on the beach."

Glancing around, Becky saw nobody within immediate earshot—now that the entire locker room knew, it was back to business for most of them—and chuckled. "That's because he's not an idiot." Then she went on tiptoe and kissed Seth's cheek. "Only room for one idiot around here."

Roman laughed. "Good thing you staked your claim early, Becks. Idiots are in demand these days."

Rolling his eyes, Seth looped an arm around Becky's shoulders and pulled her in close. "I may be an idiot," he teased, "but at least I'm your idiot?"

Becky beamed up at him. "Something like that." She rested her head against his chest and stayed snuggled up to Seth while he and Roman joked about beach weddings, but then something caught her eye. "There's still some people we haven't told yet," she murmured, tapping Seth's chest and pointing to the coffee station, where Hunter was speaking with Bray Wyatt.

"Right. The bosses." Seth's sigh ruffled Becky's hair. It was hard to tell what WWE management truly thought of their relationship. On one hand, the pairing of two of their most popular superstars should have been a dream come true, but both Becky and Seth knew the McMahons might not see it that way. "Want to get it over with now?"