Flames

Cover Girl, part 2

From that moment up until they hit the red carpet, Seth worried that he had screwed up. He hadn't meant to downplay Becky's accomplishments at all. To be the first WWE star on ESPN Magazine—especially as a woman—was monumental, and her award nomination was important too. She was finally getting recognized for her talent and hard work, both within the industry and by outsiders, and his first reaction had been to make a lewd comment about her boots. She didn't seem offended, but he would have to make sure that she really did know how proud he was. He planned on doing that on the ride, but he hadn't realized they would be travelling with Roman, Hunter, and Stephanie.

Before they got in the car, Roman had pulled him aside. "Drool emojis, bro? Really? Your girl is the first one of us to get on the cover of ESPN. That means something."

Seth winced, glad Roman didn't know about his fixation on her boots. "I know. And she knows I'm proud of her. That doesn't mean she's not gorgeous, though." Becky's Instagram post had quickly filled with supportive comments from fellow wrestlers past and present, and seeing so many people—particularly ones he knew she admired—celebrate Becky's feat had made him ridiculously happy. It wasn't all that long ago that she had almost been let go from NXT; now she was continually making WWE history.

Roman glanced over at Becky, who was standing with Hunter and Stephanie. "She is. But if you two are worried about how people are perceiving your relationship. . . ." He shrugged and gave Seth's shoulder a brotherly punch. "Drool over her in private. Sing her praises in public."

Hunter and Stephanie came over before Seth could reply, Becky just a step behind. "All good?" Hunter looked Seth square in the eye and said, "Remember, kids: best behaviour. Save the smack talk for our cameras. Talk pretty to everyone else."

Hunter and Stephanie took the lead in most of the non-WWE interviews anyway, with Roman and Becky politely answering the standard questions most journalists asked of wrestlers; it was always easy to tell which interviewers knew nothing about wrestling. Seth was chosen to deliver the award, which was bittersweet; it made Dean's absence more obvious than ever. Then they split up a bit, fielding separate interviews, and he watched Becky handle hers with aplomb. "You're fantastic," he whispered by her ear, taking a moment to appreciate her loose curls. She had been wearing her hair in a ponytail so often latel, and it certainly had its own appeal, but when her hair was down around her shoulders, she reminded him of a phoenix.

"Thank you." Becky squeezed his hand, relaxing visibly when she realized that a WWE interviewer was next in line. The change in her posture was obvious: even there, in her sleek sparkling dress, she looked ready to square up if someone happened to challenge her. She fielded questions about Ronda Rousey and potentially trying MMA with admirable grace, looping Seth in whenever she could.

Then the interview turned to the award and the nominees, and Seth stayed in diplomatic mode. When the nominations were first announced, even though he had joked about being torn about who to vote for, the choice was obvious; everyone in WWE essentially agreed, Becky and Kofi both making sure to congratulate Roman in advance. When he mentioned four worthy contenders, though, Becky's steady glare was purely in character, and he stammered his way through a correction. "Please don't hurt me later," he quipped as the segment ended, trying to stifle his laugh.

He was surprised when Becky didn't reply right away, and she made a small gesture to the camera, specifically the indicator light. Shit. All of that was on video now. Becky gave the interview crew a smooth smile and pulled Seth off to the side. "What do you expect me to do in those boots if not hurt you?" she replied under the guise of embracing him.

When Seth glanced up, he noticed Steph, Hunter, and Roman heading their way, so he ducked his head. "I thought you said the boots weren't yours."

"They weren't," Becky agreed quickly, somehow managing to look completely innocent. "But I made some calls. Turns out someone in Wardrobe has a niece who's a big fan, so I signed a few things. They should be delivered by the end of the week."

Seth apparently wasn't as hard to read, because Hunter gave him a look. "Steph, Roman, Becky, you go on ahead. I want to chat with Seth for a moment."

Becky and Roman both shared a look that reminded Seth of elementary school, when one friend would get in trouble and the others would be torn between speaking up in their friend's defence and just being glad it wasn't them. Stephanie ushered them back to the limousine, though, leaving Seth with his mentor. "What's up?" he asked, hoping his voice was level.

"Not quite your best behaviour," Hunter remarked with a tilted grin, "but at least you didn't try to sneak off with Becky, so I guess I shouldn't complain."

Lists of comments and actions whirled through Seth's head, and he was frantically trying to figure out what he had said or done that warranted being singled out. "We'll work on being more reserved in public," he chanced.

Hunter finally took pity on him and laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Ease up, Seth. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to check in and make sure things are okay with you and Becky. The on-screen stuff isn't taking a toll on you two at all?"

Seth shook his head. "She's getting tired of dealing with Lacey, but beyond that, no. We know the difference between in the ring and at home."

If Hunter didn't fully buy that, he didn't let on. "That's good. I know it's a fine line. If there's something either of you aren't comfortable with, don't hesitate to let me know, okay?" He noticed that the others had stopped by the limousine, so Hunter turned to put his back towards them, hiding his words. "Listen. What goes on between you two is your business. Steph and I are open to talking about how much of it gets made public. But as someone who's had some pretty prominent public relationships in this business, can I give you some advice?"

"Sure. Please." Seth was mostly just glad that neither he nor Becky seemed to be in trouble.

"Don't screw this up. Either of you." Hunter held Seth's gaze for a long moment. "From what I can see, you're both the happiest either of you have been for a long time. It's good for you, it's good for morale backstage, and frankly it's just nice to see. As long as you two are committed to making it work, Steph and I will do what we can to give you the latitude you need, okay?"

Seth let out a long sigh of relief. "Becky was saying we should have a mixed-tag match. You and Steph against the two of us."

Hunter laughed again, patting Seth's back as they started heading to the limousine. "Might not be a bad idea. If we were playing Shane's role right now, we could totally work that in. Let me float some ideas past Heyman and the rest of Creative. . . ."

Once they were settled in the limousine, Seth took out his phone, pretending to check his texts. Instead he typed, All good. I'm not in trouble.

Becky took his phone, deleted what he wrote, and left a message of her own, one that made the shared limousine ride seem absurdly long. Maybe not with them. We still have to talk about that flub of yours. She punctuated it by pressing the heel of her shoe just hard enough into his calf to make her point.