Into The Deep End - A Roman Reigns Story

31

The air in the room changed. Shifted. Charged with that familiar tension again.

"Sasha."

She should have known. Amber never stood a chance against the will, the force, of Joe Anoa'i. She was probably still lying in the puddle he'd reduced her to with that silky, sexy baritone voice that now haunted Sasha's dreams at night.

Against her better judgment, she turned around. The first thing she noticed was the dark circles clashing unpleasantly with his grey eyes, like he hadn't slept in a long time. His beard was close to rivalling Colby's. A large bouquet of yellow roses was in his grasp. Sasha glanced at it then turned away. Even in her desolate state of mind her heart still hardened at the sight of him, at the thought of how callously he'd treated her all those weeks ago. "Only authorized staff are allowed in here," she said coolly.

She heard him chuckle; a deep, throaty, teasing rasp that always made her knees weak. "Ain't never stopped us before, sweetheart," he smirked, subtly reminding her of the steamy surprise quickie they had a couple of months back on the very table she was resting her hands on. The memory caused her to snatch them away from the surface and cross them over her breasts. "What'chu want?" she demanded, still not looking at him.

Joe knew that gesture anywhere. Her guard was up. "To apologize."

She made a derisive sound. "You show up at my workplace with flowers and that's supposed to make everything better?"

"Not right away, but it could be a start," said Joe. "I learned that you give someone a yellow rose to show them how sorry you are. I uh, got about two dozen," he added hopefully.

"You called me selfish. You accused me of wanting another man. You acted like I didn't give a damn about our relationship and made me feel like shit." She shook her head angrily, blinking back the tears that sprang to her eyes. Don't you dare cry. Not again.

"I'm an asshole."

"Good, something we agree on."

In spite of the situation, he smiled at her quick retorts. He would always be enamored by her feistiness. "I'm the one who was selfish," he acknowledged. "You were only trying to show me I needed help and I was only thinking about myself. I'm sorry. For everything. The way I treated you, the things I said to you."

He sounded sincere and heartfelt, and as angry as she was, she was glad he had at least taken the time to view the situation from her perspective. She had done the same, from his own end. With a heavy sigh, she ran a nervous hand down her apron. "It must have seemed like I was abandoning you, especially after I told you what was going on with me and you didn't walk away. It was shitty to make you feel that way."

"I understand why you did what you did. You had my best interests at heart, like you always do." He looked down at her, noticing that she'd lost a bit of weight. The blue sundress she wore looked baggier than it was supposed to be. Guilt nudged at him. "All of this is new for you. You stepped out of your comfort zone to be with me and I didn't realize how hard it must be for you."

"I shouldn't have called you a child either," Sasha said in a soft voice. "You're not. You're a grown man and I respect you so much. What you do. What you've been through. You've gone through some things older men couldn't handle and you're still standing tall."

"You've helped me through them," said Joe, "You don't realize it but you have."

"Surely I can't take all the credit," she said, wincing as she massaged her temple.

"Headache?" he asked softly, a look of concern on his face as he moved into the room.

"Yeah," she groaned, her senses tingling as he stood right in front of her. Joe gently undid the band that was keeping her ponytail in place. "This thing can't be helping," he commented. "It's pulling your hair back really tight."