"Dom!" I shouted when I saw my friend backstage.
"Finally!" he said, hugging me and picking me up.
"I didn't know the two of you knew each other." another friend, Gigi, said as she stood next to me,
"Are you kidding me? We grew up together." Dominik said, throwing his arm around my shoulders.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
Dominik Mysterio and I did indeed grow up together in San Diego. His father and my father are best friends and have been since before we were born. My dad is one of Rey's trainers, and both of them are our trainers, along with Konnan, Lance Storm, and Jay Lethal. I learned a lot from all of them. My dad wasn't all too happy with me getting into wrestling, but he knew he couldn't stop me once I got my mind on it.
"I was asked to come down and work since half the roster is sick." he said. "And it's a good chance to see you again."
"We should get something to eat after the show is over."
"For sure." he said, kissing my cheek before walking away after being called.
"Why didn't you tell me that you knew him?" Gigi asked as we walked to the ring.
"I didn't think it was important."
"Why didn't you go straight to Raw or Smackdown?"
"Because I'm not a Mysterio legacy child. I have to make my way up the ladder all by myself, and that's not saying that Dom hasn't put in the work. He works really hard and has improved a lot."
"He has. So, what happened with you two?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You totally give off vibes." she smiled.
"We do not." I laughed.
"You absolutely do. Tell me you were each other's firsts." she said, and my cheeks got all red. "Oh my God, you were!"
"Yes, we were and that was a calculated decision." I smiled, laughing as I remembered it.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked as we walked to the ring.
"We've been friends for a very long time. We always said we'd learn and practice on each other. So we did."
"That's so cute and definitely funny. Why did you separate?
"We never dated, it was just a learning curve for us. We decided it wouldn't get in the way of our friendship or future relationships, and it didn't."
"That's smart, now let's go practice."
After we ran through our match a few times, we went to the back of the arena to get ready for the night. I've got the match with Gigi and a backstage segment as well. My ring gear is black with mesh paneling and silver and white rhinestones, a black bra with a see-through panel on the chest, and some harness-looking straps. The bottoms are similar and have part of those straps wrapping around my thigh on one side. For my hair, it's reminiscent of early Liv Morgan with the two small tails in front and the rest loose, except for mine are thicker and wavy.
By the time the night was over, I was still wired, it happens all of the time. I love what I do, and getting in the ring is like nothing else I've ever done. Even when I get my ass handed to me like I did today. I love being in the ring with Gigi, she always gives me 110%, and I can't give her any less than that.
"Hey, where are we going?" Dom asked.
"Where are you staying tonight?" I asked him.
"Hotel room near the airport, wanna stay with me?"
"Why would I when I have my own place? I've got a guest room you can crash in." I argued.
"Alright, I'll go to the hotel and get my stuff. What's the plan?"
"There's an Indian place near my apartment that has the best chicken tikka and chicken tandoori for you."
"That sounds like a good damn plan." he smiled, throwing his arm over my shoulders again and taking my gym bag.
"Where's your girlfriend?" I asked.
"At her house, I'm guessing."
"You're guessing?"
"We broke up."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You wanna talk about it?"
"We just drifted apart, and I'm on the road a lot now. It just wasn't working, and we decided to break things off before either of us cheated or started hating the other." he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"That's smart."
"A good friend told me to always take into consideration other's feelings." he smiled down at me.
"That's a good friend."
"She really is. So, what are we doing?"
"You want me to follow you, or do you just wanna meet up at the restaurant?"
"There parking at your apartment?"
"Yup."
"Alright, text me the address for the restaurant."
"I'll order for us. See you in a few."
We separated in the parking lot, and Dom still didn't give me my bag, but he dug through it and gave me my wallet. Ass.
The employees here know me, so I don't get bothered a lot. I bring friends and coworkers here all the time, so the employees mostly know my order at any given time. When I sat in one of my usual booths, the waitress brought me my drink and took my new order. As soon as Dom got here, the food was just coming out.
"Okay, this smells really good." he said as they placed the plates on the table.
"It tastes even better." I smiled.
"She is here all of the time." the waitress smiled as well.
"Yeah, Indian food has always been one of her favorites. Thanks."
"No problem, let me know if you need something." she said before walking away.
"You come here a lot, huh?" Dominik asked.
"All of the time, they were surprised when my order changed today. Normally, I just walk in and don't have to order because they already know."
"Loyal customer."
"Fuck yeah, I haven't had a better chicken tikka anywhere else."
"So, what's up with you, Andi?" he asked.
"Nothing, just working and training."
"No dating?"
"Why are you asking?"
"To see if I gotta beat someone up." he said, cracking his knuckles.
"I can beat them up myself, but if I need backup, I'll let you know." I told him, winking.
"Ouch, that hurt."
"Your ego can take a punch, it's fine."
We had dinner and just joked around while catching up. It felt good and a lot like old times used to be. By the time we got to my apartment, we were talking half in innuendos and inside jokes, exactly like we used to.
"You've got a nice place." he said as I showed him the guest room and everything else.
"Thanks, unlike you, I actually spend time here."
"Yeah, I don't really see home a lot. That's part of why my relationship tanked."
"How long?"
"Almost ten months now, we're good and still friendly, but it wasn't working, so we decided to let it go before there were really hard feelings."
"You're a smart man and boy, you've made a lot of progress cause when you started, you sucked ass cheeks." I said, ducking when he tried to cuff the back of my head. "Gotta be faster than that."
"You're lucky I like you. I've been meaning to call you to hang out, but ..."
"Schedules?"
"Fucking schedules. I barely get any time with my family, but they understand, and I love what I do." he smiled as we sat on the sofa.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
"Chilling, you?"
"Same. Finally got a day off, I was just gonna go to the PC, but if you want, we can just movie and veg."
"Netflix and chill?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Of course, you just wanna get me naked." I smirked, laying my legs over his lap.
"You did call me a smart man." he smirked, rubbing his hands over my calves the way he used to.
"A otra perra con ese hueso." I said, making him laugh.
(another dog with that bone)
"I've been watching you." he insisted, his hands going a little higher.
"Dominik ..." I warned.
"I'm just being friendly." he smirked again.
"Yeah, I know your friendly. That's how we keep ending up naked whenever we see each other, which is not why I invited you to stay." I smiled as I moved to straddle his thighs.
"Why don't we just date?" He asked as he nuzzled my neck.
"You've never asked." I muttered.
"What?" he asked in shock.
"You heard me." I said as I leaned in to kiss his neck.
"You would have dated me?"
"Of course, you're like my best friend."
"Like? What do you mean, like your best friend? I am your best friend." he argued.
"Yeah, well, I would've dated you if you asked ... but you never did, so I assumed we'd be just friends."
"Andi ..." he said, pulling me away from his neck.
"Hmm?"
"You're serious?"
"Yup."
"Why didn't you say anything?" he demanded, cupping my cheek.
"Didn't wanna mess up our friendship."
The look in his eyes ... on his face isn't something I recognize. He's never looked at me that way before, and it's throwing me off. I don't know that I like it when I can't read him. We've always been able to read each other, and this is just ... weird.
"We had sex ... many times." he said.
"And I enjoyed it. Every time. With the knowledge that it was just as friends. I saw you as a friend just like you saw me as a friend."
"Wait ..."
"Why are we talking about this now?" I asked, looking into his eyes.
"Because I never knew you had feelings for me. I know almost everything about ... yeah, I know I don't know everything, but I know how to read you."
"I'm good with secrets, you know that."
"Yeah, and you're just as fucking blind as I am because you didn't see that I've been in love with you since high school." he said.
"No, you haven't." I quickly said.
"You can tell me a lot of things, but you can't tell me what I do and don't feel." he muttered, nuzzling my neck again. "I love you, Andrea Marcos Medina."
There's something about how he says my full name, the way he pronounces it, that always hits me in my feels.
"Dom ..."
"You're mine, Andrea, and you always have been. I've always been yours." He muttered as he stood up with me in his arms.
"Hey!"
"Bedroom?" he whispered against my neck.
"First door ... down the hall ... left side." I moaned softly as his teeth grazed over my weak spot.
"Ah, I still got it." he smirked.
"Fuck off." I groaned as I pulled at his shirt.
"In a second ... let me get you naked first."
"Dom ..."
"You're so fucking beautiful, Andi." He said, dropping me softly on my bed. "Tell me to stop ... tell me you don't want this, don't want me."
"Don't stop ... touch me, Dominik, like it's our first time." I said, pulling him down with me.
"It is our first time, Drea—our first time together, with our feelings out in the open. Our first time where it means more than just two friends hooking up." he smiled.
"Dom ... I love you." I whispered, and he just stared at me. "Say it again."
"Te amo, Andrea. I love you."