"Of course, you have my support," Mandy grasped your hands. "And I'll back off - for now. As soon as you're ready to get back out there, you let me know. I'm a good matchmaker."
The blonde gives her a pat on the hip before heading to the treadmills.
"Since when?" scoffed Gia with a frown.
_____________
"She was so sweet and genuine and passionate. I couldn't keep my eyes off her the whole night," Drew explained to Dolph for the hundredth time as they got ready in the locker room.
Both had a match tonight.
Dolph a tag team and Drew a singles match.
Drew had been going on and on about Gia since their dinner. So much that Dolph could recite what he was going to say before he said it.
Is this how I sound about Mandy? He thought to himself.
On the other hand, he was glad that Drew was interested in someone. That his job wasn't the only love of his life.
Though it was unfortunate because, according to Mandy, a man was the last thing on Gia's to-do list.
"So, what do you think, man?" Drew asked him, his title belt beside him on display. "Should I ask her out?"
Dolph turns to him, wrapping his fists with bandages. "I don't think that's a good idea, dude."
"Why not?" Drew was visibly disappointed.
"According to Mandy, she's not really looking for a relationship."
"Ah," Drew was downright sad now.
"I mean, but you can blame her?" Dolph scoffed. "Her ex-husband divorced her and took her for almost everything she had. That's traumatizing for anyone. Her view of trust and love will never be the same."
"Bastard," grimaced Drew.
"Yeah, tell me about it."
Drew looked away in thought. He understood why she wouldn't be looking for a relationship, but that didn't make him want to try any less.
There was nothing wrong with starting out as friends. Sometimes, it was the best way to build trust.
"Speaking of your girl," Dolph patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the monitor.
A wide grin grew on Drew's face as he watched Gia walk down the ramp, taking in the crowd's cheering.
She looked jaw-droppingly sexy in her wrestling gear. Her red lipstick adding an enticing appeal to her heel character.
A fuming Sasha had her eyes locked on Gia like she couldn't wait to get her hands on her.
Gia was every bit amused, finding the Boss anything but intimidating.
She begins to get out of the ring, letting Natalya start the match but Sasha protests.
The Boss wanted her hands on Gia - now.
Natalya raises her eyebrows at Gia, who obliges.
Nattie gets out of the ring along with Liv Morgan, and the bell signals the beginning of the match.
Gia starts out the match, slapping Sasha right across the face.
Having been caught off guard, the Boss whirls around, clutching her cheek. She goes to attack, but Gia quickly tags in Natalya and slides out the ring.
She laughs mischievously, teasing a screaming Sasha.
The Boss moves to go after her, but Natasha rolls her into a pin. She kicks out at one.
Gia climbs back on ringside, observing the match closely.
Dolph looks at Drew, who had this glimmer in his eyes as he watched.
Drew was smitten, and there was no doubt about it.
Natalya succeeded in dominating Sasha in the match. So much that Liv tagged herself in when Banks was irish-whipped into the ropes.
Sasha went down by a clothesline, leaving Liv to take Natalya down with a double jump dropkick.
From there, Liv dominated the match.
Gia got a little shifty as she encouraged Natalya. But it was no use. She needed to get in - fast.
Gia held her hand out, desperate for Nattie to make the tag.
No matter how hard Nattie tried, Liv wouldn't let it up.
It wasn't until Natalya performed a suplex that she took both her and Liv out.
Gia and Sasha waved their hands frantically as their partners slowly crawled for the tag.
The crowd was going wild in anticipation.
As soon as the tag was made, Gia entered the ring, hitting Sasha with two clotheslines. She performed a headscissors, sending Sasha to the mat and crawling to the corner.
The Boss used the ropes to get to her feet, sending Gia head first into the corner post before she could attack. She tries to set Gia up for the double knees but gets pushed away, and a springboard shin kick to the face.
Gia quickly goes for the pin but gets kicked in the back by Liv.
Natalya comes to the rescue, hitting Morgan with the famous Nattie by Nature.
The two slide out of the ring, leaving Sasha and Gia to finish the match.
Sasha goes for the Bankrupt, but Gia twists out her hold and sets Banks on her shoulders.
She hits the mat with an Argentine Backbreaker, and the crowd goes wild.
Gia then puts the Boss in the modified scorpion, leading her to tap out.
"And here are your winners, Natayla and Gianna Vermont!"
Gia didn't get a chance to bask in glory before Bayley came gunning for her. She barely escaped, sliding out the ring and into the arms of a panting Natalya.
She hugged the blonde, laughing in amusement at a steaming Bayley.
Gia gives the champion an innocent shrug, teasing her.
As if to revive herself from what happened last week, Bayley gives a stunned Sasha a belly-to-belly and raises her belt high.
A promise that she would not be dethroned so easily while leaving the crowd anticipating the triple threat title match at SummerSlam.
"She's amazing," Drew found himself more and more attracted to her.
Dolph could tell by the look in his eyes that he had an idea. He was going to go for it.
"I know that look," Dolph shook his head. "Maybe you shouldn't, man. This wasn't a bad breakup. It was a divorce."
"You're right," Drew stood, picking up his belt. He lays it on his shoulder, "but a good friend never hurt anybody."
He patted Dolph on the shoulder and left him in the locker room, shaking his head.
Thirty-Five||Part Three
Start from the beginning
