"So did you flip the table?" Damian smirked and tossed a few pieces of popcorn in the air for Rhea to catch in her mouth. "You know it's not a real WWE contract signing if there isn't a table flipped over."
Liv grabbed a handful of popcorn before Damian could launch all of it at Rhea. For safety's sake, she had booked at a different hotel than most of the wrestlers, but Damian and Rhea had driven her back. They offered to take her out for a late supper to celebrate, but she told them she really wanted movie popcorn, so they stopped at a theatre on the way and loaded up on snacks. Damian steadfastly refused to get drinks there, though, so they bought some from a convenience store instead; since that meant Liv could get a multi-flavoured slush, she wasn't about to complain. "No. There was no table. There was a desk. I didn't realize so many of the arenas actually have little office spaces. I always figured that was something WWE did for TV."
Damian shrugged. "That's too bad. I would have loved to have seen Hunter's face after."
Rhea threw a piece of popcorn back at him. "We want Liv to stay with the company this time, remember?"
"Speak for yourself, Rips." Damian grinned again, shooting a wink at Liv. She hadn't spent a lot of time around him yet, but she knew that meant a joke was on the way and part of her felt fortunate to be let into his circle so easily; another part braced for the quip to come. "Some of us never even got a lap dance yet."
Drawing her knee back, Rhea feigned a kick, stopping with her foot mere inches from his groin. "How about a lap stomp?"
"Jealous girlfriend mode, activated," Damian chuckled. "That didn't take long. You sure you're actually going to let me help train Liv? You know I'll have to pick her up and stuff, right?"
"That's different." Grumbling, Rhea pulled her leg back and scooted closer to Liv. "And I was perfectly well behaved at the club whenever Liv was dancing. Just ask her. I didn't beat anyone up. "
Damian glanced over at Liv and winked again. "Was it because she was giving them the death glare?"
Liv laughed and rested her head on Rhea's shoulder. "Something like that. She didn't scare anyone away from the club," she added quickly, "but on the nights she was there, the crowd was usually on its best behaviour."
"Maybe you shouldn't have re-signed," Rhea mused, kissing Liv's cheek. "Maybe I should have quit too and become a strip club bouncer. I think I'd be good at it, don't you?"
"But beating up people is supposed to be the last resort," Damian pointed out. He finished the last of his water and tucked the bottle in the shopping bag. "You'd miss fighting on a regular basis."
"That's true." Rhea watched Liv sip at her multi-flavoured slush and shook her head. "That's going to make your tongue such a weird colour."
Liv grinned and stuck out her tongue, wishing a mirror were nearby. "I bet it won't stop you from kissing me, though." Then she nudged Damian's leg with her foot. "Thanks, you guys. For the snacks and hanging out. It felt weird to be there and... not be there, you know? I mean, I know I got to see Becky, but I miss the girls and chatting to people in Catering and....." She trailed off, almost dizzy with nostalgia. It had been so easy to say she didn't need to go back to WWE, but as soon as she had entered the backstage area, she was overcome with memories. Not all of them were fond ones, of course, but she missed so much about the lifestyle, the work, the camaraderie. "So thank you. I know you're both busy on the road, so if you can only help me train every once in a while...."
Rhea shook her head. "We should be able to do at least once a week." She looked over to Damian for confirmation. "We still have to talk to Nattie, but she adores you, so I'm sure she'll be cool with letting us book some Dungeon time."
"That's why you're willing to help," Liv teased, kicking playfully at Damian. "You just want to say you were in the New Dungeon."
Damian rolled his eyes. "I only agreed to shut her up," he replied, pointing at Rhea. "And because I like hearing her laugh, and you make her happy."
"Aw, Priest." Rhea got up and went over to hug him, tugging on his hair. "I knew you cared!"
"Yeah, yeah." Damian pretended to pull away from the hug, but only to knock Rhea off balance. When she was teetering, he pulled her into a tight hug and shook her back and forth. "So what time do you want me to pick you up, Rips?"
"What?" Liv looked back and forth between the two friends. Hunter had sent a trusted producer to the hotel to pick her up and she was going to take a cab to the airport the next day; she had purposefully booked an afternoon flight, hoping to avoid most of the fans who congregated at the airports after a WWE show. "You're staying?"
Damian gave Rhea another squeeze before pushing her back over towards Liv. "Yeah. Her favourite stripper's retiring from dancing, you see, and she wants to get a lap dance before she stops."
"But... all your stuff...." Liv looked back towards the suite door, but all that was there were all their shoes and Rhea's small purse. "You have a room at the other hotel, don't you?"
Rhea actually blushed a bit. "Yes and no. I booked one under my name, but Nikki's using it. Priest put my bags in the car before we left our hotel. I just didn't bring them up because it was supposed to be a surprise." She turned to glare at him, but her gaze was too soft to be threatening.
"I don't know why she even needs them," Damian countered, rolling his eyes. "Not like she's going to need clothes as soon as I'm gone, you know?" Laughing, he stood up and collected some of the garbage before putting his boots back on. "But I can take a hint. I'll go get your stuff and bring it up. That means one of you has to the wearing enough clothes to answer the door when I get back, though."
Rhea snorted. "No wonder you're still waiting on a lap dance, Priest. You've got no sense of foreplay."
"Oh, I've got plenty. I'm just not going to waste my energy here when I'd clearly only be in the way." Damian opened the door and nodded at Liv. "Keep her in line for a few minutes, would you?"
"I'll do my best." Liv waited until Damian shut the door behind him to straddle Rhea's lap. "You're staying here tonight?" She almost giggled with delight. She had hoped she would get some private time with Rhea before they had to part ways again, but she wasn't sure if they would be able to make it happen. "I could have brought stuff with me if I'd known...."
Rhea shook her head. "No need." She reached up and pushed hair out of Liv's face before kissing her. "You're here. That's all that matters."
"Thank you." Liv pressed closer, running a hand down Rhea's neck to the deep V of her shirt. "You're sure you won't get in trouble?"
"It'll be fine. My flight is for ten or something, so Priest is going to pick me up at... I don't know. Around eight or so? Fuck. Probably seven," Rhea corrected with a groan. "But it's better than nothing."
"Won't the rest of the roster notice that you aren't at breakfast?" Liv asked. WWE didn't often have morning meetings since the wrestlers were in charge of booking their own hotels and were often spread out; a few had tour buses so they could get an early start on travelling to the next venue.
Rhea shrugged. "Let them. None of their business, right?" She shifted a bit to adjust her legs and grimaced. "Fuck. I think that was popcorn. Hold on." Bracing one arm under Liv's ass, she stood up and stepped back. "Huh. We didn't make that much of a mess, when you think about how bad Priest's aim was at the start."
Rhea's early attempts at catching weren't always the greatest either, but Liv didn't mention that as she hopped down to her feet and tidied up a bit. She was dumping a handful of stray popcorn into the trash when there was a knock on the door. "Clothes on!" Damian called out.
"You're no fun!" Rhea hollered back, opening the door for him and reaching for her bags.
"Hey, hey! Do I at least get a thank you? Or a goodbye?" Damian nudged Rhea aside to hug Liv. "It was good catching up with you. Let Rhea know when you want to start training and we'll get something worked out with Nattie, okay?" When she nodded, he lowered his voice. "You know I was joking about the lap dance, right?"
"I know. And thank you." Stepping back, Liv added, "What time does Rhea have to be ready?"
Damian smirked. "This feels like we have joint custody or something. Uh, let's see... our flight's for ten, right? The airport's not far," he hedged, "so I can probably give you until eight, but when I say eight, that's... dressed, packed, ready to go."
Rhea stuck her tongue out at him. "Okay, papi." Then she hugged him so tightly that he gasped. "Thanks, Priest. For everything. I appreciate it."
"I know. You're welcome. Both of you. Enjoy your evening, ladies." Damian took a last look around the room. "I didn't leave anything behind, did I?"
"Not that I can see," Rhea said, glancing around, "but if I spot anything, I'll put it in my bag."
"Thanks." Then he gestured to the popcorn. "Better get that out of the way before you start your sexytimes. There are some places you definitely do not want popcorn kernels, you know?"
"Ah, Priest, always the voice of experience." Rhea grabbed the tub of popcorn and set it on the entry table while Liv gathered up the rest of the snacks. "Eight o'clock, ready to go. Got it."
"And lock the door behind me," Damian continued as he stepped back into the hall, "and stay hydrated, and—"
"Got it." Rhea shut the door firmly and set all the locks before turning back to Liv. "He's a cool big brother and all, but sometimes...."
"Yeah." On a whim, Liv went to the door and looked out the peephole, but there was no one in sight. She thought Damian might linger for a quick prank, but he wouldn't draw it out; he knew they didn't have a lot of time together. "So... eight o'clock. You should set an alarm for seven. I can always go back to sleep if I want."
"Lucky." Rhea quickly set an alarm on her phone and then set it on the dresser before hugging Liv from behind. "So... the contract. Are you happy with it? I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it in front of Priest," she added, "so I didn't ask much."
Liv leaned back against Rhea and nodded. "Yeah. For the most part. I mean, I get to keep the name and the music and all that, so that's good. No championship guarantees, but I wasn't expecting any. I get at least two televised matches a month, though, and I get a feud with Becky, which I've always wanted."
Rhea shuffled backwards until they were at the bed, and then she spun Liv around to face her. "I'll lobby for some matches with me. I don't know if it'll do any good, but you never know."
"Thanks. The contract's only for a year, so I don't know how many feuds I'll get." When Liv looked up, she caught the surprise on Rhea's face before she collected herself. "I'm okay with that. I understand WWE being hesitant to hire me back after I quit, and to be honest, I'm still a little tentative about coming back. I know Hunter says he wants to highlight the women's division, but there's people above him. What if they say no? If I'm only here for a year, then I can see how things go. If I don't like it, I've got an end date in sight, at least."
"That makes sense, I guess." Rhea's gaze was dark, though, and when she sat down on the bed, she pulled Liv down beside her, not on her lap like normal. "I just... I know how much you love wrestling, that's all."
Liv stroked Rhea's cheek, letting her fingers linger along her jaw. "I do. But there are other places to wrestle. Maybe they aren't as big. Maybe they aren't worldwide. But it's still wrestling and there's good people all over, so... WWE is still my goal, but it's not the only option." It hurt to say, in a way, but Liv knew it was for the best. "I definitely want WWE to work out, though. It was my childhood dream, and it can be such a platform for change." Then she grinned up at Rhea. "And you're there."
Rhea smiled back, most of the tension gone from her shoulders. "I am. And even if we can't drive together," she pointed out, "that doesn't mean anything at the hotel. Most of us try to book on the same floors for safety anyway, so no one would think anything of us having rooms close together."
"And Nattie still has a guest house, right? So if we were training there," Liv mused, "it would make sense for us to stay together." She knew Nattie had a reputation for inadvertently releasing spoilers, but Natalya had never done anything to jeopardize anyone's relationship or career.
"Yeah." Rhea pulled Liv onto her lap. "You'll have to let us know when Hunter gives you a timeline for your return. I know you want to wrap things up back home and at the club," she said, "but we can start training whenever you're ready."
"We could start right now," Liv grinned. "You could show me how to do your high-stack pin and let me practice on you."
Wrapping her arms around Liv, Rhea slid a hand up her shirt. "I don't know. Neither of us are dressed for it. I mean, you don't even have gear here with you." She spared a quick glance over at Liv's luggage. Since Liv had only planned to be gone for two days, she had only brought a carry-on bag. "Unless you thought Hunter was going to have you return tonight and you came prepared...."
"No. But I'm sure we can think of something." Liv slid off Rhea's lap and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall to the floor. "Better?"
Rhea leaned back on her elbows and smiled. "Better. But that looks like an expensive top. It would be a shame to ruin it, especially since you were wearing it when you got your job back. You know, happy memories and all that."
"That's true." Liv hadn't exactly dressed for a strip tease. One of the first things she had learned at the Corner Shop was how to take clothing off smoothly, and she was surprised by how the girls modified some of their outfits to make them easier to remove. She was a little more careful with the top, but not because she wanted to keep it as a memento of the night; she simply liked it and hadn't packed many clothes, so she didn't want to damage what she did have. "How about this?"
"Much better." Rhea stood up and grabbed Liv by the hips, turning her around. Then she lifted her up and pressed her against the mattress, making her yelp. "First, obviously, you need to have your opponent on her back."
"Hey!" Liv protested with a laugh. "I'm supposed to be the one practising!"
"But you need to see how it's done first," Rhea countered. "So pay attention. It's an art, you know." She spread Liv's legs apart and scooped her arms under her knees, lifting as she leaned forward. "You have to move forward and down to put pressure on your opponent's shoulders, making it harder for them to kick out." She slid a hand down Liv's thigh. "Of course, this position is good for other things too, especially if your partner is... flexible."
"Wait. What happened to being your opponent?" Liv bit her lip as Rhea tugged her panties to the side.
Rhea pushed on Liv's legs to keep them apart as she kissed her way along one of Liv's thighs. "Well, you can try not to climax if you want to," she replied, sinking her teeth in gently. "But we both know how that ends up for you."
"But I want to practice the pin," Liv insisted, lifting her hips in protest.
"Yeah?" Rhea looked amused and a bit dubious as she sat back. "All right then."
Liv scrambled to sit up. "You could help with the pants, you know." Rhea's jeans were tight enough to be a second skin, and while Liv certainly didn't mind the effect, it meant they wouldn't be easy to peel off without Rhea being accommodating.
"I can see we're going to need a lot of practice sessions," Rhea teased, settling back on the bed and lifting her hips to help Liv pull off her jeans. It took some wriggling on both their parts, but Liv finally pulled the jeans over Rhea's feet and dropped them to the floor, followed by her underwear. "Now, I'm already on my back, so you just need to—"
"Do this?" Rhea's legs were more muscular than hers, so the effect wasn't as graceful and Liv couldn't get her knees up quite as high, but she managed a respectable high-stack pin. "I win," she declared, gazing down at Rhea. Scooting back a bit, she spread Rhea's legs wider. "And now, let's see how flexible my partner is."
Rhea swore as Liv ran the tip of her tongue over her. "This will be nice to have on the road....."
"Mmhmm." Liv teased Rhea's thighs with her nails and tongue first, tracing tattoos and scars before moving to Rhea's clit. "And if Damian will cover for us...."
"Finn would too." Rhea cupped a hand around the back of Liv's head and moaned. "You can practice this as often as you like."
Liv giggled as she slid a finger into Rhea. "With you, anyway," she replied, "not Damian."
"Definitely not." It was the last coherent thing Rhea said for a while as Liv sucked on her, her fingers moving slowly but steadily no matter how much Rhea writhed or begged. She had to brace herself so she didn't get knocked off the bed when Rhea came, one knee almost banging into Liv's shoulder. "I don't know," Liv murmured against Rhea's ribs as she kissed her way up her body. "I don't think your shoulders were down. Maybe I should try again?" She leaned down to kiss Rhea, easing a hand behind her back to unhook her bra.
Rhea sighed contentedly as Liv pulled her bra off and tossed it aside. "Like I said, you can practice this as often as you like."