CHAPTER SEVEN
COLD
"So y'all ain't text since?" Jimmy asks his brother.
It had been atleast a week since Jey had gotten Leanne's number and there and been zero texts sent between the two since. He didn't wanna message her as much with nothing to actually say and bringing up random conversations with her in text when she said she'd block him if it wasn't about work. So it made it hard to stay in contact with the woman besides the brief clips of them running into eachother in backstage segments.
Jey let out a huff raising the dumbbells for his shoulder press. "Nah."
"I gotta admit though, I'm impressed you've made it this far, got the convo, her number and a bit of flirty text." Seth nods reciting.
The guys were all at the gym at the next arena in Colorado for house shows. And the next week's episode of raw. So far it was Jey, Jimmy, Seth, Randy, Matt and AJ.
"How much money you made now?" Randy asks after finishing his last set of squats.
"I don't know uce, haven't been counting em'." Jey shrugs.
"AJ, quick math." Seth points at the Georgian native.
The phenomenon man stood there for a second thinking before saying, "you made 10 each for the first interaction so that was 60, then 50 each and it's six of us so that three hundred. So total three hundred and sixty bucks."
"Damn, numbers are going up imagine the five thousand each you'd get if you pull this off." Randy slaps Jey's arm.
Jey didn't react to him deciding on ignoring it, getting up from the bench chair he walked back to the rack putting the 60lbs weights back.
"So what are you gonna do now, oh great girl guru." Matt pretend to bow to joining his hands in a fist and palm open.
"Man get out of here with that alright, we cool, we work together, only thing that allows anything to continue is letting it flow." Jey explains to them.
"If that means not texting in a week, I don't think you should let it flow." Jimmy says making the guys laugh.
"Man shut up, when is the last time you actually hit on a girl." Jey retorts.
"You think Trin don't keep me on my toes, last week she made me give her a home cooked meal as a date." Jimmy defends.
"Uh- huh, yeah, yeah." Jey waves him off.
"Its no joke man, you gotta keep up the effort you make before the relationship, during and after marriage." Jimmy advises.
"Women, they're so hard to please." Matt remarks.
"Hmm, no wonder your wife divorced you." Seth scoffs.
"You know what man, it's a hard thing to go through ok!" Matt huffs walking away.
"Riddle, I was kidding!" Seth follows calling him back.
"Your brother's right Jey, effort is always the key to a woman's heart, if that's what you want, you gotta put in the work." Randy pats his shoulder heading off on his own to continue with workout.
"He's right Uce, and you know Leanne ain't easy, if you want it, go get it." Jimmy says pointing in the mirror.
Turning around he sees Leanne at the other side of the gym next to the punching bags.
Turning back to his brother Jimmy raised his eyebrows suggestively and before Jey knew it, he was walking over to her.
Leanne wraps the tape around her arms sliding it into the gloves, tightly securing the one on her right hand, she fiddled with the one on her left trying to get it tighter.
Lifting it towards her mouth to bite, ultimately using her teeth to help her she hears someone behind her.
"You need any help with that?" Turning around Jey stood watching her with the strap of the glove in her mouth.
Spitting it out feeling slightly embarrassed Leanne nods curtly, her mouth in a thin line.
Jey held in a laugh adjusting the gloves for her. "That good?"
"Yeah, thanks." She turned towards the bags going to one.
Jey followed suit holding the bag in place as she started to hit it. "How come you boxing?"
"Its a form of exercise, and it comes in handy for any real life self defense." She answers briefly.
Jey watched her as she gave each hit, each with sufficient force but swift in jabs. He saw her face turn stern, completely focused. Her eyebrows knit together, her jaw clenched and her nose quirking as she took a breathe.
He took the time to see her features at a somewhat close view. She didn't have any makeup, under the foundation for work he noticed all the small freckles that hif beneath, there was a mole above her right eyebrow. Her skin was relatively clean a few small buttons clustered together.
He glances down at her lips, pink and plump, they weren't big but not small that she needed to over line it if she wore lip liner.
Perfect he thought, he hasn't even realized how much he was staring until Leanne was done and looked up at him.
"Hmm?" He asks.
"You wanna go next?" She asks him.
"Oh, nah I don't do this boxing thing much." Jey declines politely.
"Hmm, well you came over so I though you were waiting, sorry." She replies, confused to why he even came.
"Nah well I actually just wanted to talk to you." He answers honestly.
"Oh," she perks, "what for?"
"We're gonna be working together, figured why not get to know you." He answers.
Leanne laughs shaking her head, "I'm not someone you're gonna get to know Jey."
This confused the man. "Why not?"
"Cause I'm not that type of person." She shrugs, tearing off the gloves with her teeth quickly.
"What do you mean?" The Uso brother asks, genuinely curious.
"Yes, we're working together on this Jey, but that doesn't mean we become friends. I don't keep up with anything that relies on the basis of being friends. So I don't do it and so that you don't waste your time, you shouldn't either." She replies now unwrapping the tape from her wrists.
He stood there speechless for a second, of all things he didn't expect to hear that from her. It wasn't the words that made him speechless, that was nicer way of saying I don't wanna talk to you. But it was her tone.
It was eerie and disturbingly monotone, distant, cold.
Not the malicious and evil type of cold but more sad. Like if she imprinted those words in her head to use anytime someone gets near her. It sent a shiver down his spine.
When Jey was given the run down on how the guys had all tried to date her he always heard a recurring phrase, 'she said it so cold'. He always thought it was in a more rude way whenever he pictured it but now he knew, it was just sad.
Granted the guys did exaggerate about how she shut them down so he doesn't even know if she'd shut him down in a way that's disrespectful but the point it is she was cold.
Seeing that Jey stood there frozen with an absent look on his face she knew that whatever friendship Jey was looking for was shut down and over before it even started. Not surprised she thought to herself.
If someone shuts you out before you can even try, why bother trying right? She understood Jey, it wouldn't make sense too anyway.
Besides it wasn't like she actually making effort to talk to the guy outside of taping.
Licking her lips she turns walking away.
"What if I don't want to? What if i wanna know you?" Jey calls out stepping forward. He didn't know why he did but when he saw her walking away he knew he didn't want to let her.
Looking back at the younger of the Usos she sighs, "you shouldn't."