Flames

Cover Girl, part 2

Seth rarely slept with covers on in the summer, but Becky seemed to like having at least a light sheet. He wasn't sure why, because she radiated heat. When he called her the best blanket in the house, it wasn't just an excuse to get her on top of him. As he started to wake, he snuggled closer to her back, recognizing a familiar hunch to her shoulders. "Please tell me you're not on Twitter," he murmured against her neck. After his photos had been leaked a few years ago, he was far more careful about the pictures he took and the ones he let get taken of him in turn. Becky wasn't the type to take photos that could get them in trouble, but if her finger slipped and the camera went off at that moment. . . .

Normally rubbing his beard against her shoulders made her squirm, but she was clearly focused. "I wasn't allowed to show you before," she began, twisting around in his arms, "but apparently they're going to officially release the image today, so. . . ." Becky held her phone out to him. "What do you think? First WWE star on the cover of ESPN Magazine."

Boots. That was Seth's first coherent thought when he was able to focus on the photo filling the screen of Becky's phone. She was posing in a wrestling ring with an actress—someone from GLOW, he thought, but he couldn't recall her name—and Becky looked stunning as always, but his gaze kept dropping to the boots. "Are those boots yours?"

Becky laughed so hard she almost dropped her phone, but Seth quickly steadied it, zooming in on the picture so the other woman wasn't visible. The tight pants and top were nice too, he had to admit, and he appreciated that they hadn't air-brushed the abrasion on Becky's elbow. "That's your first comment?"

Seth reluctantly set the phone aside and kissed her, pressing her down into her pillow until she was on her back. "You look incredible, as always, and I'm so fucking proud of you." The kiss turned long and lazy, Becky's phone screen dimming and then going dark from inactivity. "But about those boots. . . ." He didn't recognize them from her closet in California, and he knew for a fact they weren't anywhere in his house.

"No, they aren't mine." Becky grabbed her phone again and quickly scheduled an Instagram post before shutting the phone to sleep and setting it aside. "Thank ESPN's styling crew."

Seth lowered his head to her neck. "Can I get you some?" he asked, pulling her leg up to his waist and running his hand from her thigh to her toes and back again.

"I don't have anything to wear with them," Becky pointed out. Most of her clothes were casual and comfortable; anything fancier tended to be picked by a stylist.

His chuckle was muffled by her neck and her arm as she held his head close. "I know," he replied, positioning himself above her.

Becky reached up and cupped his face. "So, do you feel like going to another awards show? You look awfully pretty on the red carpet."

"That depends." Seth glanced over to her phone, its screen now black. He would have to get a copy of that photo. "Are you wearing the boots?"

"No!" Becky gave his chest a playful smack. "For the MTV Awards, I probably could have gotten away with them, but the ESPY Awards have a dress code. Besides, Steph and Hunter will be there. Roman too, of course." Roman was the obvious winner for the first-ever Best WWE Moment, so Becky would be there mostly as an ambassador.

"Sure thing. So what are you wearing to the ceremony then, if not the boots?" When Becky gave him a dubious look, Seth feigned innocence. "What? I just want to make sure we look good together."

"Long dress," Becky said, laughing as his shoulders slumped slightly. "White or silver, I'm not really sure which. Sparkly. Probably going to make pictures a bitch, but whatever." She gave him another kiss before sliding out from beneath him, reaching for her phone. "I'll go call Hunter and let him know."