Cornered: On the Ropes

Chapter 3

"So did you flip the table?" Damian smirked and tossed a few pieces of popcorn in the air for Rhea to catch in her mouth. "You know it's not a real WWE contract signing if there isn't a table flipped over."

Liv grabbed a handful of popcorn before Damian could launch all of it at Rhea. For safety's sake, she had booked at a different hotel than most of the wrestlers, but Damian and Rhea had driven her back. They offered to take her out for a late supper to celebrate, but she told them she really wanted movie popcorn, so they stopped at a theatre on the way and loaded up on snacks. Damian steadfastly refused to get drinks there, though, so they bought some from a convenience store instead; since that meant Liv could get a multi-flavoured slush, she wasn't about to complain. "No. There was no table. There was a desk. I didn't realize so many of the arenas actually have little office spaces. I always figured that was something WWE did for TV."

Damian shrugged. "That's too bad. I would have loved to have seen Hunter's face after."

Rhea threw a piece of popcorn back at him. "We want Liv to stay with the company this time, remember?"

"Speak for yourself, Rips." Damian grinned again, shooting a wink at Liv. She hadn't spent a lot of time around him yet, but she knew that meant a joke was on the way and part of her felt fortunate to be let into his circle so easily; another part braced for the quip to come. "Some of us never even got a lap dance yet."

Drawing her knee back, Rhea feigned a kick, stopping with her foot mere inches from his groin. "How about a lap stomp?"

"Jealous girlfriend mode, activated," Damian chuckled. "That didn't take long. You sure you're actually going to let me help train Liv? You know I'll have to pick her up and stuff, right?"

"That's different." Grumbling, Rhea pulled her leg back and scooted closer to Liv. "And I was perfectly well behaved at the club whenever Liv was dancing. Just ask her. I didn't beat anyone up. "

Damian glanced over at Liv and winked again. "Was it because she was giving them the death glare?"

Liv laughed and rested her head on Rhea's shoulder. "Something like that. She didn't scare anyone away from the club," she added quickly, "but on the nights she was there, the crowd was usually on its best behaviour."

"Maybe you shouldn't have re-signed," Rhea mused, kissing Liv's cheek. "Maybe I should have quit too and become a strip club bouncer. I think I'd be good at it, don't you?"

"But beating up people is supposed to be the last resort," Damian pointed out. He finished the last of his water and tucked the bottle in the shopping bag. "You'd miss fighting on a regular basis."

"That's true." Rhea watched Liv sip at her multi-flavoured slush and shook her head. "That's going to make your tongue such a weird colour."

Liv grinned and stuck out her tongue, wishing a mirror were nearby. "I bet it won't stop you from kissing me, though." Then she nudged Damian's leg with her foot. "Thanks, you guys. For the snacks and hanging out. It felt weird to be there and... not be there, you know? I mean, I know I got to see Becky, but I miss the girls and chatting to people in Catering and....." She trailed off, almost dizzy with nostalgia. It had been so easy to say she didn't need to go back to WWE, but as soon as she had entered the backstage area, she was overcome with memories. Not all of them were fond ones, of course, but she missed so much about the lifestyle, the work, the camaraderie. "So thank you. I know you're both busy on the road, so if you can only help me train every once in a while...."

Rhea shook her head. "We should be able to do at least once a week." She looked over to Damian for confirmation. "We still have to talk to Nattie, but she adores you, so I'm sure she'll be cool with letting us book some Dungeon time."