"Does Hunter have your number?" Rhea rested her head on Liv's thigh as she pulled back slightly from licking her.
Of all the things Liv thought Rhea might say after making her come, that wasn't on the list. She shut her eyes and let out a few shaky breaths before tugging on Rhea's hair. "Why? Does he want to book the Corner Shop for some private shows?" Rhea had come back to the strip club a few times with Damian—who had been let in on the secret of Marley with the understanding that he didn't share it—and more often on her own, but they rarely talked about wrestling. Half a year had passed since she left WWE, so it wasn't exactly a sore spot for Liv anymore, but it wasn't her favourite topic of conversation either.
Rhea laughed, moving up to nuzzle Liv's hip. "Ha. As if. You really think I wouldn't tell Finn about you, but I'd try to get the company Christmas party set up at the club?"
"Well, no, but...." Liv realized she hadn't really thought about wrestling in weeks. She still missed it on some level, but it wasn't like her days weren't busy and chaotic. She still kept odd hours, dealt with good fans and bad jerks, dressed up to perform, and worked out to keep in shape. The only difference was that her performances were now mostly on stage. "I mean, it's not like he and I were close...."
"No, I know, but...." Sighing, Rhea sat up between Liv's thighs and ran her nails along them. "It's just that he was asking—"
"About me?" Liv sat up a bit, but her thoughts were still hazy.
"Not by name, no, but he called a couple of the big-name women into his office: me, Bianca, Becks." Rhea pulled Liv onto her lap and kissed her. "It was one of those How can we improve? type of meetings and one of the things he asked was who we thought would be a good addition to the division."
Liv's breath caught a bit and she tried to steady herself by wrapping her arms around Rhea's neck. "Oh. What did you tell him?"
"Well, he asked us all to make a list of names." Then Rhea grinned. "So I asked if we were only talking about women from the indies, ones who had never been in the company or if we could include ones who had been in WWE and weren't anymore."
"But I left." Liv's voice was as soft as the sunlight coming in through her window. Rhea had come to the club last night to watch her perform—and to get her regular private lap dance—and then come home with her, and she was enough of a regular that the security recognized her. The other dancers welcomed her into the dressing room, and Asha didn't even mind if they had the occasional quickie at the club as long as they were discreet about it. Liv had assumed the night was like any other, but now she had to wonder if Rhea was trying to hint at something the entire time and she had missed it. "They would go for the ones they let go, wouldn't they? Like Sarah and Ruby? Well, except Sarah's pregnant now, so...."
Rhea shrugged lightly. "Becky and I both brought up Ruby, but she just signed with another company, so she's off-limits for now." Then she leaned in and kissed Liv again. "But all three of us listed you." With a grin, she added, "You were the only one all three of us suggested."
Liv blushed a bit. She wasn't surprised that Rhea had spoken up for her, but to know that Becky and Bianca—two of the hardest-working, most accomplished women in the company—had advocated for her as well made her heart swell with pride. "That's sweet of them. Becky still texts me all the time."
This time Rhea's breath hitched. "Does she know? Not that it's my business who you tell, of course—"
Liv gave a short nod. "Yeah. I knew she wouldn't tell anyone unless I said she could, and she had been so supportive of me throughout everything. It felt weird to keep lying to her." She snuggled closer to Rhea, resting her head on her shoulder. "She was really cool about it. She even came down to watch me dance once and she left a nice tip for all the girls. It was a fun night." Brushing hair back from Rhea's face, she added, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I meant to, but I think that was the weekend Sarah told me she was pregnant, so it slipped my mind."
"No worries." Rhea gave her ass a tiny pinch. "It's your news to share." Then she hesitated and cleared her throat. "Does she know that Priest and I know?"
"You, yes," Liv began slowly. "But not Priest. I couldn't think of a way to work that into a conversation yet, so...."
"That's fair. Does Bianca know?"
"No. I've only told you—well, you found out," Liv corrected quickly when Rhea's eyebrows spiked up, "and then we told Priest and later I told Becky. That's it. I'm not ashamed or anything. I just figure the fewer people who know, the better. If this little local strip club all of a sudden becomes a favourite of all the WWE wrestlers, someone's going to assume something, right?"
"That we all have incredible taste in women?" Rhea teased, pushing Liv back down onto the bed.
Liv laughed. "You know that's not true. You've seen some of the girlfriends the guys have brought in." She reached up and drew Rhea down into a kiss. She could distract and delay forever and enjoy every second, but now her curiosity was piqued. Part of her wanted to know who else was on the lists—especially Rhea's—but she didn't want to pry. "So what happened with the lists?" she asked instead.
"Ha! I knew you were interested!" Rhea nuzzled Liv's neck before stretching out beside her, reaching over to toy with her nipple piercings. "We discussed all the names on the lists, talked about the pros and cons of each, potential feuds, all that. Then Hunter made a shortlist and we went over it again."
"And?" Liv shivered a bit, and she knew it wasn't just because of Rhea's teasing. She might not have been actively thinking about wrestling for the past few weeks, but apparently it was still in her blood.
"And we made the shortlist shorter," Rhea continued, leaning over to kiss Liv's chest over her heart. "Until there was you and Mia and Kairi and—"
"I thought Mia had signed somewhere else?" Liv interrupted, turning onto her side to face Rhea.
Rhea rolled her eyes. "Let me finish, would you?" She gave one of Liv's nipple piercings a slight twist. "Yes, Mia's signed elsewhere right now, but on a limited contract. She wanted to keep her options open. Hunter's going to try getting her back when she's available."
"Oh. And Kairi?" Liv's heart started to flutter. Surely WWE still had her information on file, just in case she had left personal items behind or some fan sent in a gift? If Hunter was really interested, wouldn't he have called already?
"Asuka's trying to convince her," Rhea reported. "But I think she wants to come back. Unfinished business and all that."
Liv knew she should hear who else was on the list, but Rhea was going to have to leave in a few hours and she didn't want to waste that precious time going back and forth about some mystery list. "And what about me?"
Rhea just grinned. "And Hunter wanted to talk to you, but apparently the number he had didn't work, so he asked if any of us knew how to contact you. Both Becks and I said we did, but I talked to Becky after the meeting and said I'd pass along the message."
"That makes Becky's last text make more sense," Liv said slowly. "Becky had said something about hoping to see me soon. I just figured she was talking about stopping in, because I think there's a house show here next month...."
"So...?" Rhea tickled Liv's belly until she wriggled onto her back. Then she pinned her lightly to the mattress, looming over her. "What should I tell Hunter?"
"I don't know. I'm out of practice," Liv pointed out. "I haven't been in a ring in months."
"You're still in great shape," Rhea countered. "And you've been out longer before with injuries where you couldn't wrestle. If you're really worried about it, Priest and I can help you get ring ready. I'm sure Nattie would let us book some Dungeon time." Then she leaned in for a kiss, nipping at Liv's bottom lip. "And when you're done, you can have some time in my dungeon."
Liv giggled. "I thought I had an open invitation for that anyway." She shifted her hips a bit so she could wrap her legs around Rhea's waist. "Maybe Damian wouldn't want to train with me. Working out with you is different," she pointed out. "You're both so strong. I don't do the power moves like you two do."
Rhea shook her head. "I'm sure he'd be down for it. But if you'd rather work with someone closer to your size, Finn's a great teacher. He'd be happy to help."
"What about you?" As lovely as it was to have Rhea on top of her, Liv was trying to stay focussed, at least for the moment.
"What about me? I already said Priest and I would train with you." Rhea let go of one of Liv's wrists to push hair out of her face.
Liv didn't take advantage of the pause to move; she was quite happy to be gazing up at her. "Sure, but... I don't know. Maybe you like having a stripper girlfriend that you only see once a week or so. It would be different if I were on the road—if we were even on the same show," she added quickly. She was trying to take things in stride, but the idea of being back in WWE but barely crossing paths with Rhea would have been unbearable.
"You'd be on RAW with me and Becks," Rhea assured her. "We'd help ease you back in. You know Becky's always trying to get more non-title feuds going, and I'm happy to high-stack pin you any time. You just have to ask." She leaned down and gave Liv a long kiss. "So? What should I tell Hunter?"
Liv wanted to say yes—to Rhea, to Hunter, to pursuing her childhood dream once more. But Asha and the girls at Corner Shop had taken her in when she was adrift and helped her get back on her feet, helped her regain her confidence and—to Liv's surprise—taught her so much about running a business. It made her want to branch out and challenge herself even more—but maybe the next challenge was about coming back better than before. "I don't just want to be a jobber," she said at last. "I don't expect guaranteed championships or anything. I know I'm not at a level where I can demand that. But I want chances. Opportunities. I want matches that are more than two minutes."
Rhea rolled onto her back, pulling Liv on top of her and grabbing her hips. "So does that mean you'll talk to him? Obviously there's no guarantees, but... tell him what you want." When she looked up at Liv, her gaze was strangely serious. "He wants to make changes, Liv. It'll take a while, but he wants to make things better. I know that's something I wanted for the women when I was watching as a kid. I'm sure you did too."
"I did. I do." Liv slid her hands along Rhea's ribs, fitting her fingers between them. "But I thought that was what the Riott Squad was going to do, and look what happened."
"So come back," Rhea urged, fingers digging in to Liv's hips. "Prove them wrong. You always used to say Watch Me, right? Well, give them something to watch."
Liv stroked Rhea's side slowly as she tried to think through the possibilities. She didn't want to give up on dancing so quickly. She was rapidly getting better, and she wanted to prove to people like her mother and Ruby and Sarah that it was a skill. But she also didn't like living with regrets, and she knew that if she didn't at least try going back to WWE, it would haunt her. "I'll hear him out." Then she wriggled her hips a bit, grinding against Rhea's. "But what would you do without a stripper girlfriend?"
Rhea grinned and pulled her down into a kiss. "Oh, I think I could convince you to do a lap dance for me every once in a while. Unless you're afraid I'll get too handsy without a security guard waiting in the wings."
"Give Hunter my number," Liv said at last, reaching down to slide a hand between Rhea's legs. "And I'll let Asha know I may need some time off."
Rhea grabbed her ass and squeezed. "And the lap dance?"
Liv started kissing her way down Rhea's chest, waiting until she had her nipple in her mouth to slide a finger into her. "You just had one last night. You'll have to tip really well if you want another one."