Chandigarh, India -
Country Inn & Suites

Like every other set up that Carter has had the pleasure of enjoying since the India Summer 2022 Tour had first commenced, the young 22 year old was not disappointed in where he had been set up for the duration of his stay. The unusually named hotel here in Chandigarh resembled a first class hotel (not that he was particularly familiar with such five star establishments) to his mind’s eye, rather than a ‘country inn’ or the like from its name. His room wasn’t as large as one might ex[ect, but it was more than comfortable enough in its simplistic decor and the chestnut wood paneling and white accented walls.

Carter sat at the polished desk that was set up against the front wall of his room, the open window less than a foot to his right, allowing for a warm breeze to drift in, offering him a dose of fresh air while not being outside in the overly blazing sun. He could have closed the window and cranked up the A/C as he was certain most everybody was doing who had checked in, but he was able to hold off just enough to indulge himself in the fresh air, a scent of jasmine tickling the senses.

Lazarus asked, "So, how's your lip?" Yes, Carter had his laptop opened on the desk and he was talking to his boyfriend Lazarus who was by now back from his photo shoot in Bangkok and home in Las Vegas.

As if by instinct, Carter reached up in touch the fingertip to the tip of the scab where his lip had been busted open less than 2 weeks ago.

HBCarter answered almost absently, "Fine." And just like that, his tone of voice went from warm and inviting to tense and somber.

"Hey." Lazarus spoke up, pulling Carter away from his private new musings and focus them instead on where they should be, namely Lazarus himself. He said, "I already apologized for that once, right?"

"Mm." Carter found himself admitting, yielding to the point his boyfriend was making with a nod of the head. He then however, opened his eyes and stared at Lazarus hard, saying, " But did I accept?"

"Come on, don't be like that." Lazarus stressed in a relatively calm voice, his tones soothing to the frazzled nerves that Carter himself was feeling. Lazarus said, "I mean, we both know why what happened, happened."

---

And now we come to a lovely little thing called a flashback. Useful tools indeed when you have more time now to tell a bit of a tale then what you might have had in the past. We are back toward the beginning of August, the fifth of the month to be more precise, when SCW first appeared in Bangalore, India. Lazarus had just surprised his boyfriend by showing up at his hotel room door, Carter having had no indication at all that Lazarus was going to be present and he was absolutely thrilled at the prospect!

“So, who are you working with this time?” Lazarus asked, using the choice of words ‘working with’ as opposed to ‘wrestling’. It was simply his way. Unlike the majority of the significant others of the Superstars and Bombshells, Lazarus did not like wrestling. In fact, he abhorred it altogether, considering it a barbaric way to earn a living. The young male model took a seat on the small loveseat in the room while Carter fetched a water from the suite’s mini fridge,

“Miles Kasey.” Carter answered without a second thought, passing over the bottled water to Lazarus’s waiting hand before taking his seat beside him. They would now assuredly be meeting the girls for a drink later in one of Bangalore’s many ‘watering holes’.

Lazarus huffed in annoyance, his eyes rolling so hard that you could have sworn you heard them.

“What is it?” Carter asked, to which Lazarus pulled the bottle from his lips before he could fully take a drink and looked at his boyfriend in startled wonder.

“You’re serious?” Lazarus asked. “You don’t know?” To which Carter could only shrug his shoulders and shake his head in the negative, having no sense of what could be wrong with the idea of his wrestling Miles in just a few days' time.

“Wow!” Lazarus stood up from the sofa, but Carter remained right where he was, staring up at him while Lazarus paced briefly before turning around to face him, looking down on him as he said, “I don’t believe you. Even face to face, you’re playing innocent. Acting as if you aren’t cheating on me!”

“Cheating-” Carter started to repeat, but his words were cut off as Lazarus stressed, “Especially with that Miles guy! It would be like a day without orange juice if you weren’t trying to get in his pants!”

“Wait, what?” Carter exclaimed. “Trying to get - Laz! Where in hell is all of this coming from!?”

“Oh come on, Carter!” Lazarus’s voice raised, surprising Carter as his boyfriend had never raised his voice to him. Not once! “All anybody has to do is bring up your Twitter feed and they can see for themselves! You’re all over the guy every chance you get! Hell! You’re all over any reasonably attractive guy on Twitter every chance you get!”

“I don’t mean anything by it!” Carter claimed, but Lazarus scoffed openly and audibly.

“Really?”

“Really!” Carter stressed. “Laz, I never wanted you to get upset! I’m just a big flirt. I don’t mean anything by it!”

“So if Miles Kasey or that weird looking Jack Russow guy decided they wanted to fuck your brains out, you’d turn them down?”

“Yes.” Carter said almost immediately. This entire confrontation caught him completely off guard. Lazarus had never spoken a word against the way he interacted with his male peers in the business, and to be confronted so openly and hostile had thrown him completely off guard. “If it’s been bothering you so much, why didn’t you ever say anything before now??”

“I shouldn’t have to!” Lazarus shouted. “I should have to tell my boyfriend to stop flirting with other men!? What color is the sky in the world in that dim head of yours, Carter!?”

Carter shot to his feet at the moment Lazarus took a dig at his intelligence, and he started to raise his voice himself as he started, “Stop being so goddamn anal, Laz-!” But the rest of his words were knocked right out of him, as Lazarus swung his hand around - the one still holding the bottle of chilled water, cracking Carter right in the mouth!

The impact knocked Carter’s head back and to the side, and silence fell on the hotel suite all at once! Carter’s eyes were wide in shock, as he held a hand to his mouth and when he pulled away, he looked at his fingers and they were stained red with the crimson dripping from his bottom lip. He looked at Lazarus, his voice barely a whisper.

“You hit me…” And Lazarus seemed almost as shocked as Carter felt himself…

---

“So, did you tell anybody about what happened?” Lazarus asked from his end of the facetime chat, noting that Lazarus used the phrase ‘what happened’ as opposed to ‘what really happened as that would force a note of guilt on Lazarus’s part.

“That you hit me?” Carter reiterated. “That you busted my lip open?” He simply shook his head no and said in a soft voice, “No. Everybody thinks it happened in my match that night.” He scoffed, almost - almost smiling at the absurd nature of belief. “Most of them thought Miles did it. Hell! Miles thinks that Miles did it.”

“Well,” Lazarus shrugged, completely indifferent in voice as well as in his composure. “It’s probably for the best.”

Carter raised his brow and questioned, “It’s for the best that everyone is blaming Miles for busting my lip open and causing me to get a stitch in my mouth?” His face remained impassive but his eyes darted from left to right and he lifted his shoulders, asking, “How?”

“Well he’s not exactly what you’d call a close friend.” Lazarus was able to reason as if the effort was nothing, like the words had been rehearsed or even worse - the ‘without guilt’ reasoning simply came naturally. Lazarus said, “I am sorry Carter. It won’t happen again - I promise. But Miles isn’t in our social circle so telling everyone it wasn’t him won’t really hurt anybody.”

Won’t hurt anybody save for Miles, Carter thought privately to himself. Miles felt horrid about that busted lip having ‘ruined’ his pretty face, and had been blaming himself since. Lazarus then started talking again, or perhaps he never stopped? Carter had a difficult time differentiating between the two possibilities.

He said, “I do have a surprise for you, though.”

Carter finally looked up, a twinkle in his eyes as he remained hopeful in spirit. “Oh yeah?”

“I had my agent clear my schedule for two weeks.” Lazarus said. “I’ll be coming to New Delhi for that two week period.”

Carter lifted his eyes to meet those of his boyfriends and Lazarus offered him a loving smile, to which Carter’s face lit up with a hopeful smile. “Really?”

“Happy?” Asked Lazarus.

“Ecstatic!” Carter answered.

---

In his suite at the Country Inn & Suites, it is now nighttime and before Carter could even think about going to sleep in pursuit of the Sandman, he sat in the small, leather cushioned chair at the window and looked out from the fifth story floor and across the night sky. The lights of the city cast their illumination high up into the night sky, but the stars remained vigilant as ever.

“Wow! When the lineup for this card first went up, all anybody could talk about was the big tag team match between Ben Jordan and Chris Page against Goth and ‘Godly’ Ken Davison - and understandably so! It’s a big match with four of the best in the business, including Page who is a legend in this sport! I was backstage when I first heard about it, and that's all I was focused on admittedly until Ari caused me to scroll further down the text, and saw what they had in store for yours truly and all I could say was…”

He silently mouthed ‘Wow!”.

“Suddenly the tag team match didn’t seem like the highlight of the show or the biggest match in existence, for me at least! Because as great as all four of those men are, I saw I was up against a man that has GOT to be a candidate for a future Hall of Fame induction here in SCW. “The Bulldog” himself! Bill Barnhart! You can’t be involved in this business and NOT know who this guy is! I was following his career as far back as his days in the old Asylum Wrestling Alliance where he did it all! World Championships! Tag team titles! And yes, an AWA Hall of Fame award!”

Carter shook his head.

“The man has so many years of experience in this sport, a veteran of the ring in every sense of the word! And who gets to step inside of the ring against this barrel-chested, bull of a man?”

Carter twirled a finger around in the air and poked his forefinger right in the center of his own sternum. He then nodded.

“Yup! Yours truly gets to face one of the most experienced wrestlers - male or female - in the entirety of SCW! When I contacted Gabriel about this match, all the guy who brought me into this sport was whistle. He called it a real ‘battle for the ages’ and no, he wasn’t taking a shot at Bulldog’s age or how he seems to be living under the narcissistic fantasy that he’s still in his early thirties. He was talking about the fact that here was a man that is built like a Sherman tank and has a wealth of knowledge and experience over the last fifteen plus (?) years in this business, against me. A man that debuted not even a full three years ago! Now three years in this sport isn’t anything to just scoff at, but that does not a ring savvy veteran make! And it means that I have to come up with an entirely new game plan going into this match because no matter what strategy or tricks I think I have up my sleeve, ‘the Bulldog’ has already seen them, dealt with them, and come up with ways to use them against me! How does one in my position even hope to counter that type of experience?”

He held his arms out.

“Change things up. Do the unexpected. I think it’s safe to say that Barnhart has watched everything that I’ve put out there and has a sound strategy for this Sunday. That’s what guys like him do. They strategize every single detail, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant. So it only stands to reason that I am going to fight fire with fire and do the same thing, right?”

He stared ahead at the camera, then shook his head.

“Wrong. Now don’t misunderstand me. I’m not looking over or past ‘the Bulldog’ nor am I taking him lightly. Only a damn fool would do any of the above. I’ve watched every match I could of the guy’s. He’s built like a bulldozer. He’s strong. He’s a fierce brawler who took Fenris to the limits a few times. And with his experience, he can come up with a solid, technical game plan. He loves to roughhouse. He can out brawl and overpower most men, and… he can toss the fists out the window and wrestle a technical masterpiece if he sets his mind to it. But me…? I’ve watched him, studied him. It’s what the Stevens integrated in me and my training. I know where to strike and when. And as much as I told the truth and hyped the man, I also know my own strengths and what I can do that he cannot. I just need to use his own strategy against him, and whatever he thinks he knows about me, throw that out the window and kick things up a notch!”

He set his glass down on the windowsill and turned back to the camera, leaning in at the waist and resting his forearms on his bent knees.

“Now this next thing I’m about to say? It’s directly for the Bulldog. Directly for you… Bill. I guess by now you understand that I have all the respect in the world for you as a wrestler and what you’ve accomplished. I just don’t want you looking at me and thinking that you’re in for an easy night. That is a stigma that any wrestler in the LGBTQ community seems to face and personally speaking? Any time that I’ve faced that professional prejudice, it pissed me off. It is sheer disrespect to think one of us can’t fight or be a fantastic wrestler, just because of who we’re in bed with. Or, might you be taking one look at me and how I dress and carry myself and think this match is going to be easy sleazy? Well…”

He smiled with a little fiendish delight, shrugging.

“I admit that is intentional. People look at the colorful hair and makeup and booty shorts and think I can’t be half as good as I am. Then that bell rings and oo baby! Do they find out differently! Lesson learned, Bill. Just because I look soft on the outside, doesn’t mean that I do business softly inside of the ring. It’s a hard, cold fact that so many in SCU learned when I won the Combat championship. Nobody expected that out of me, but I proved to each and every one of those critics who were against me that I could fight! I could defend myself and hold my own against guys that were bigger and stronger. I can fight, Bulldog, because I have to be able to. Living the life I’ve lived or looking the way that I do didn't make for an easy, peaceful life in my Red State hometown.”

“Why am I telling you all of this? Why am I offering up a warning rather than let you make those same errors in judgment and walk away with a win, made all the simpler based on ignorance and prejudice?”

He shrugged, smiling.

“What can I say? I’m a sportsman. Plus, flamboyant looks aside, I want you to take me seriously. I want you to be at your absolute best because if you take it easy and psyche yourself out, that wouldn't make me look any better as the winner than if I were to lose this match. Oh and… newsflash?”

“This is only my second singles match, ‘Bulldog.”

Carter faced the camera, holding up two digits.

“I lost my first. I’m not about to lose a second one, back to back!”

The final show. My last championship defense. I thought I had it all planned out. I was already planning on leaving Canada still the SCU Champion and forever being so. There is something to be said for being the final champion as the sun sets on a promotion. You remain the champion, forever undefeated for the title. It’s a bargaining chip when negotiating contracts and it’s a reminder of where you’ve been as you sit back and look at that trophy case in your home and see that championship belt sitting there; a reminder that you were - are - the best. There, at the very least. If I were to be signed to SCW, I had this image in mind of walking into whatever building still holding onto the Underground championship belt, maybe even trying to get them to book a title versus title match against Mac Bane who had come to win the World Championship for a third time. I guess this is what’s called ‘rookie tunnel vision’ when you plan for everything to go one way, and you don’t even take into consideration that it might go an entirely different direction.

“Here is your winner and NEW SCU Underground Champion… Stewart Mason!!!”

I had to have laid on that mat for an eternity, at least in my own mind, and not once did I open my eyes to look at Stewart holding what used to be MY title. I can’t fault the man for winning. He fought hard. He put in the effort that I - admittedly - didn’t match. That DDT move rattled my brains but not to the point I was going to go the route of so many other former champions that we’ve seen that cried foul and tried to convince the world that we were cheated or our titles were stolen. Stewart Mason didn’t steal anything. He beat me, fair and square. I was just having trouble accepting the fact. The fact that my title was gone. Accepting the fact that all my plans had just flown out the window. Accepting the fact that I had let down the people that had put their faith in me to be a good, strong and worthy champion. Ariana. Gabriel and Odette. Holly. I had to make that ‘walk of shame’ backstage and wait for Stewart to come through the curtains so that I could congratulate him because that was what is expected from a mature and respected champion when all I really wanted to do was curl up and cry like a big baby at its first pity party. Ari and Krystal met me right there in the gorilla position. So did Holly. They gave me the hugs and words of platitude that I knew were coming, but I also knew that I didn’t really deserve any of it. Because let’s face facts;

I was a shitty champion.

No, it’s true. I was so focused on the fact that I was the youngest Underground Champion in SCU history and caught up in wanting to keep it that way, that I lost sight of every other obligation that was expected of me. I showed up when and where I was expected to, and all I thought about was who I was defending the title against. I didn’t think of what happened before, or after the matches. I loved to stay after the show and sign autographs or pose for pictures. Sometimes I even went through the crowd after the last match to do so. But any other extra activities that were expected of a champion? Personal appearances? Pre Match interviews? Hell! Post Match interviews! I failed where that was concerned. I either waited too long and when I thought to do so or was reminded, it was too late, or I simply didn’t bother as I had other things on my mind. And now? It’s over. SCU is a thing of the past, and my own future is one great big question mark.

SCW hasn’t made any overtures toward me in months. Last I heard from them was way back when Ariana left SCU to sign with them. I had to admit at the time I felt completely abandoned because I had no more support backstage save for Holly and she had her own career to focus on. She couldn’t spend all her time playing ‘mother hen’ with me. Mark Ward had told me SCW was interested in signing me after SCU announced it would be closing its doors, but no. I had to be stubborn. I had to stay loyal to SCU because they were the first ones who had wanted to take a chance on me and gave me so many opportunities after I signed that dotted line.

“Excuse me, sir?” The voice of the stewardess, an older woman who at first glance SORT OF reminded me of my Grams, drew me out of my own toxic thoughts. I looked up at her as she stood to my left up in first class, pushing that all too eagerly awaited cart of drinks. She asked me, “Can I get you anything to drink?”

I sighed as my eyes fell from her to the cart. My eyes roamed the small row of bottles that carried what I really wanted; something strong to take a bit of the sting off of recent happenings and make my arrival home a little less burdensome. But I didn’t want to fall into that same trap that so many other former champions (and current too!) did and drown myself in alcohol. So my attention went instead to the soft drinks and I gave her my best tight-lipped (and phony) smile.

“Can I just get a Dr. Pepper please?” I answered. She smiled without saying a word and dished a scoop of ice into one of those little plastic cups and passed that, as well as the entire can over to my thankful hands. One benefit of first class accommodations; you get the whole can whereas in coach or whatever, you barely get half. I never really did understand that but I tried to push that stray and totally random thought aside as I moved to pop the tab, when I got a bit of a pleasant surprise as a second can was set down in front of me, along with an extra package of cookies.

I looked up at the stewardess and she didn’t say a word. She just gave me a friendly wink and went about her duties toward the other passengers. Maybe she sensed something was wrong and I needed a little cheering up. Maybe she was just being the doting grandma I suspected that she already was. Grandmas are scary that way, even if they're not your own. I don’t know. I just know that here I am, right now, on the flight back home from Canada to Las Vegas, caught in my own little private world of ‘woe is me.’

I looked to my left and there was Krystal and Makayla in the next row, and to my right? Who else but my Ariana who looked up from her book to give me a wisp of a smile before she went back to her reading and tearing into her own snacks. Both Ari and Krystal knew that I was depressed over losing my championship, but I don't think either one of them really realized the scope of how I was feeling or the spot I had placed myself in. It's true what they say you know? The people surrounded by the most loved ones can be some of the loneliest people in the world. And the people that put on the bravest faces, the brightest smiles and have the most people laughing can be the ones hurting the most deep inside.

I tried to deflect from my mood. I tried to pick up my own phone to surf the net or watch a movie, but I kept putting it back down. That is sort of the dilemma one faces when they suddenly find themselves out of work. I knew my mom and Grams would be expecting me to return to Seattle now that SCU had come and gone, and I would be lying if I said I didn't miss them both - a LOT. But I just wasn’t ready yet to close this chapter in my life. Or at least, I didn’t want to. I also wasn’t ready to have that particular chat with Ari. Not sure how she’d react to my returning to Seattle but I can’t think it would be good.

That was about when I felt that familiar vibration from my pants - pocket you pervs! I’m talking about my phone! I set my Dr. Pepper back down, still untasted, and fished out my phone and had a look at the latest of text messages that have been flung my way since my loss. I already heard from Gabriel and Odette. They told me that they were very proud of everything I accomplished in SCU and told me to swing by the gym first chance I got when I got back to Vegas. I thanked them but I still can’t help but feel I let them down in the long run. But no. One look at the screen and saw that it was a text from my mom.

It read, “Call me when your flight lands so your Grams and I know you got back safely.”

Typical “mom text”. Translated it probably means “Call me so we can talk about your coming home and maybe going back to school and getting a real job.” She and Grams never did fully accept my foray into wrestling, and I can guarantee you that they didn’t watch my match. They never liked or appreciated the sport and couldn’t accept me being involved in something so ‘barbaric’. And the thought of seeing me get beat up in the ring or, dare I say, losing? Unfathomable to either of those fabulous ladies. And Lazarus? I haven’t really heard much from him after my loss. Just the usual “checking in” text and a late night call between us. He’s a lot like mom and Grams in how they see wrestling and he has an even  deeper lack of interest. Still… one would think my boyfriend would at least try to be a touch more supportive or sympathetic.

I sighed, careful not to disturb Ari next to me or draw another line of questioning from my bestie as to whether or not I was alright. God love her, she’s to the point of obsession when she thinks something is wrong where I’m concerned. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the flight assuring her that I was – even if I was not. I set my phone back down on the tray and picked up my drink, but it seems that the fates were against me partaking in any refreshment because the moment the cup touched my lips, my phone started to vibrate again with yet another text.

I paused, getting ‘that look’ on my pretty, pretty face and sighed as I set the cup down and picked my phone back up. I would have left it to vibrate but it was doing that “washing machine shuffle” across the tray and almost dumped itself into Ari’s lap.

I gave one look at who was texting me, and I almost dropped my phone - again. Mark Ward. “Hot Stuff” Mark Ward! The more favorable of the SCW bosses… I quickly checked the text and it simply said, “Swing by the office when you get to Vegas to sign your contract.”

I put my hand over my mouth and tried to collect myself but I could feel my eyes watering and the weight of the world suddenly being lifted from off of my shoulders. Mark didn’t question me. He didn’t ask if I wanted to… he simply never took the offer from all of those months ago off of the table. That was confidence. That was faith. And Mark and SCW as a whole had that faith and confidence in yours truly. I quickly calmed myself before anyone could notice and ask questions. I simply replied, “I’ll be there first thing in the morning. Thank you!” and hit ‘send’. I then set the phone down and picked my drink up, and I could not help but relax back into the comfort of the plush seat. SCW thought that highly of me that they waited until my obligations with SCU were complete and kept my contractual offer ready for me.

I was not going to disappoint them.

---

The Gateway of India

The Gateway of India was built over one hundred years ago as a welcoming gesture to the visiting dignitaries King George V and Queen Mary when visiting British India at the time. Resting on the banks of the Arabian Sea, perched at the Apollo Bunder waterfront, the Gateway had become one of the single most treasured and popular landmarks in the entire nation. It served as a gathering spot in Mumbai for tourists and locals alike, to people watch and/or indulge in many of the savory foods offered by the nearby street food vendors. And standing at the very edge of the wall at the base of the arches with Hindu and Muslim designed carved into the framework, was none other than the newest acquisition to the ranks of SCW’s Superstars, Helluva Bottom Carter.

Me, myself and I.

Straight from Sin City Underground, I, surprisingly so, had been signed almost immediately after SCU’s closure, remaining one of the loyalists who refused to abandon their home territory for greener pastures until all of my obligations had been met and fulfilled. Now look at me! Here I am, moving from one tour of Canada to another over seven thousand miles away to SCW’s “India Summer 2022” tour. With one of the more popular delicacies in my hand - the behelpuri, I munched away at the puffed rice snack as my eyes turned away from the people watching that I had been indulging in and focused instead on the many yachts and ferries that sailed across the waterfront and toward the sea while the sun slowly set and cast a memorable brilliance on the open waters.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened this past week. Losing the Underground Championship. SCU closing. Being out of work for maybe twelve hours at the most and then signed to Sin City Wrestling without question. I’ve experienced a lot since my debut two years ago, and everything that was crammed into the last few days?”

I smiled and paused as I shook my head in a sense of self disbelief, taking a bite of my savory treat.

“It’s overwhelming when you consider by professional standards, I’m still something of a wet behind the ears rookie. Pride Tag Team titles. TV title. Combat title. And yeah… the Underground Championship I failed so miserably at. And now here I am, starting a whole new path to my career. It’s not my first foray in the SCW ranks, but my previous two matches were more like guest spots. Ari and I challenged for the Mixed Tag Team titles and then got a match with Levi Russow during his so-called ‘Farewell tour’ that we didn’t know was. And admittedly…”

I shrugged somewhat helplessly.

“I could have done better. I mean, literally! Osbourne of London Underground pretty much made me his bitch in that title match, and Levi? Well he could have made me his bitch any day, but I still lost that match to him. Nothing to be ashamed of, but I wasn’t sure if both of those losses caused SCW’s stock in me to plummet. Yet here I am, and I need to correct a few mistakes of the past so I can move ahead into the future. And it starts this weekend when I make my OFFICIAL debut, teaming with my GO-GO Girl Krystal Wolfe to go up against Zoey Lukas and Sex On Legs, I mean … Miles Kasey.”

“I have no qualms in admitting I am greatly relieved that SCW doesn’t allow for intergender matches because Zoey Lukas is a bombshell among Bombshells, but she’s bigger than any of the rest of us in this match and probably stronger, too! So far this bad ass babe has done very well for herself, being unbeaten since she signed, but let’s face facts. Success is in Zoey’s blood because she is, after all, a Lukas! But while I’ve sat back and listened to a handful of people refer to her as ‘the sister of Alicia Lukas’ and saying some pretty cold shit, like she only got her job in SCW because of Alicia - and so on, and so forth. Well one, I don’t buy that for a second. As far as I know, Mark and Christian don’t play the nepotism game. They may give relatives of established stars a chance to impress, but if they don’t, they’re out the door.”

I closed a hand over my mouth and fake-coughed, “*cough*BrittanyWilliams*cough*!”

I patted my chest and smiled at a passer-by.

“Pardon me. Bone. My point is, Zoey has done nothing BUT impress. Winning the tag match for her and her sister, and gaining her first solo win a few weeks ago. And now here she stands opposite the ring from my girl Krystal, and you know something?”

I shook my head.

“I’m not worried. Look at who we’re talking about. Krystal Wolfe. The record-setting Bombshell Roulette Champion! A winning streak that went on for months before her eventual title loss. Krystal turned back so many challengers of every shape and size, so I have every confidence in the world that she’s going to be able to handle herself just fine when she’s up against Zoey. I just hope after the match that we’re all good because I like Zoey. She’s big, she’s bad and of course, she’s beautiful. And I have to say…”

I looked back and forth, jokingly ensuring that there were no witnesses nearby who might overhear what I was going to say next, when there was nothing BUT witnesses all around me. I then turned to the camera and beckoned it closer with a wave of my finger. The camera moved in ever so closer and I cupped a hand around my mouth to stage whisper.

“She has great taste in men!”

The camera pulled back as I straightened up and gave the camera a coy wink.

“And speaking of great tasting men…”

I stared off, losing myself in the moment before I shook it off.

“You know what I mean, I am, of course, referring to her partner and my opponent in this match - Miles Kasey. Funny thing, for all our interactions on Twitter … or should I say my unabashed flirting and Miles being the open minded gentleman in responding, I never really thought my first official match would be against him. Not that I’m complaining about having to get into the ring and get it on with that marvelous mass of mancake, but I honestly don’t know what to say or how to react because – I like the guy! And I don’t mean that from a physical standpoint but Miles is one of the single most genuine people on the entire roster. He ranks right up there with Ben Jordan. You just can’t help but like the man.”

“You also can’t help but feel for him as well, given everything that he's been going through over the past few months. I mean, over the entire course of the Summer XXXTreme X cruise, I felt like we were watching some morbid hybrid of the Amber Heard trial and Fatal Attraction. All rolled into one. I know it was the topic of conversation amongst many tables on the cruise and in the locker rooms. I also know that it embarrassed Miles because he never wanted his personal life to become so public. That was the crazy girlfriend’s doing. But it did, and I would have liked to have done nothing more than to be there for the guy. Not as an admirer or a seducer, but as a friend. Just an ear he could bend for his woes, but I can’t say that I put myself out there in a position to do so, or even if Miles would have accepted.”

“But that’s neither here nor there for now, because in a couple of days, I have to set aside any ideas of friendship because I’m in this match to win. I can’t be thinking about Miles’ good looks or how tight that bubble butt of his is looking in whatever outfit he sleeps in and has to compete in for this Strange Bedfellows match. I have to look past the boyish charm and wanting to be there for him for all the right reasons, and do whatever it takes to pin his shoulders to the mat.”

“Not an easy task, I know. Miles may not have won singles gold - YET - but in my opinion and in the minds of many, he’s got to be the greatest wrestler in SCW to have yet to do so. I’ve watched his matches from more than just a wanton admirer's point of view. As a professional, the man is incredible inside of the ring. Whether it be wrestling on the mat or flying through the air, Miles is an incredible athlete and I know it’s going to be a real challenge to walk away with ANY sort of advantage over him! But – I’m going to. I’m not just going to walk away with the advantage, but I’m going to walk away with the win. I have to. I have Krystal depending on me, and I have a new path that I have to forge here in SCW. And on a personal note? I’ve messed up a time or two recently and now…?”

Just then I felt an arm slip around my shoulder and I turned my head to see my bestie Ariana snuggling up against me to watch the ships and the sunset. After a few enjoyable moments between close friends, she then snaked her arm into my own and led me away.

“It’s time to start fresh. Because for a new path to mean anything, you have to forge it yourself.”

 
Earlier this week…

It was early morning, and the small apartment building on the outskirts of North Las Vegas was relatively quiet as the majority of the occupants were either asleep or already having left for the drudge of their blue color jobs. One resident was a garbage man, another worked as a bar back in one of the casinos of the famed Vegas Strip. An older woman even was rumored to be a private eye for the Las Vegas police department. And the newest tenant who had moved in mere months ago -- was a professional wrestler.

The lobby door to the individual building slid open and Carter McKinney, known in wrestling circles as Helluva Bottom Carter, or simply HBCarter, paused to hold the door open for his best friend Ariana Angelos, to set foot into the building before him, carrying her single piece of luggage in her hand for her overnight stay. Carter then followed, pulling along his own wheeled luggage from his wrestling travels.

Carter: I still think that this is ridiculous. I don’t need a baby sitter.

Ariana: Well tough beans, Carter. You heard what the doctor said; 24 hours under observation, just in case.

Carter huffed a sigh of annoyance before he started through the lobby and toward the stairwell that would take him and his guest to his third floor studio. Ariana, having been here many times before, followed behind with a wisp of a smile and could not help but tease her bestie by asking…

Ariana: Would you prefer that the doctor had called your mom to fly here and stay with you?

Carter whipped around, his face aghast.

Carter: God no!

But he clapped a hand over his mouth as in this old building, built at some time in the early 1950s, had great acoustics and his voice carried just a bit. Ariana nodded knowingly.

Ariana: I thought so. So buck up! I’m your roomie for the next 24 hours.

Carter: Fiiiine!

They turned back around and continued toward the stairwell, Ari popping her forefinger from her lips and drawing an imaginary number one in the air before her. Of course Ari could tell his tone was done so teasingly. Carter loved having her over to hang out, as he loved hanging out at her place as well. They had discussed staying in her house, given that it was much larger than his simple studio, but Carter’s smaller place was chosen for obvious personal comfort.

But no sooner did they reach that first step than the door to the immediate left opened and an elderly woman, the epitome of the sweet old lady image; complete with curly white hair, thick rimmed glasses and a shawl over her shoulders, took a single step outside into the hall.

Carter: Hello Missus Wagner.

Ariana then noticed for the first time just how thick the old woman’s glasses were when she looked up at her friend with rheumy eyes and blinked.

Mrs. Wagner: Oh hello dear! Finally back home from your travels?

Carter: Yes ma’am! Took us all night too so we’re just going to get settled in for the day.

The old lady then turned her attention to Ariana and a smile softened her lips.

Mrs. Wagner: Oh she is lovely.

She took one step further out and the narrow hall made it close enough that she might pat Ariana on the wrist.

Mrs. Wagner: You’re a lovely young lady.

Ariana’s cheekes blustered a charming pink under this sweet old lady’s misguided notion that she was Carter’s girlfriend, but she didn’t have it in her heart to correct the stranger. At least, not yet.

Ariana: T-thank you.

Carter waved ‘bye’ as he led the way upstairs as his neighbor went back into her own apartment and closed the door behind her.

Ariana: She thinks I’m a lovely young lady.

Carter: Don’t get too worked up. She’s blind as a bat and thinks I’m a lovely young lady.

---

The door to Carter’s apartment then swung open and Ariana stepped inside first, and smiled as she looked around. She had been here so many times before but she still had some difficulties in understanding how Carter liked living in such a small space; despite the fact he repeatedly said that it was comfortable and more than enough for a single person. His abode was roughly 450 square feet, and had minimal decor and furniture inside. Ari understood that Carter was a neat freak inside of his apartment, and if there was anything that he had a dislike for, it was clutter.

You know what a studio apartment is, don’t you? It’s pretty much what one might expect. It was wide, open space the moment you set foot inside, the ‘living room’ the predominant area and just to the right, well to call it a kitchen might be generous but it served its purpose. Or would if Carter had any rea interest in cooking but if it weren’t microwaveable or cold be delivered by the Uber Eats, then he wasn’t very interested. The floor was wood paneling, and the artistic side of Carter prompted him to liven up the drab drywall with a soft colorful paint job. The only real furniture that he had in his living space was his desk along the far wall, and an entertainment center; a sofa that could be pulled out into a bed (he had gotten that for Ari), and a couple of chairs in case of guests - so far only Ariana and Gabriel and Odette had gotten too call themselves that. In fact, Gabriel had tried to talk Carter into letting him help in getting the twenty year old a larger place, but Carter was quite happy with what he had. Unlike so many others that shared his lifestyle, Carter was not particularly materialistic. In fact, his pride and joy was just past the partisan wall, in the far corner of his home where the bedroom (?) might ordinarily be located.



Built against the corner of the studio in its own sectional was a bed, just up a small set of steps and cordoned off by its own wall setting. On the exterior of the sectional’s wall was a built-in closet and some shelves for the idle collections that Carter did allow himself to indulge in. Little knick knacks like his obsession with the TV series, Supernatural, and a few Siamese cats statues and plushies.

Ariana knew Carter desperately wanted a Siamese cat to call his own, but there was little chance of that happening given he was gone for lengths of time, either training or touring with her for SCU. Plus there was the fact his landlord didn’t allow pets but Ari had little doubt that somehow Carter could and would find a way around this little obstacle if he had a like mind to do so.

Carter sighed.

Carter: Well, I guess I can’t put this off any longer.

Ariana had a seat on the sofa, having stashed her own luggage just to the side and out of the way so as not to cause either to trip or just to be unsightly to her neat-freak best friend.

Ariana: What is it?

Carter took off his leather studded jacket and then hung it up beside the front door. He fished his phone from an interior pocket (Christ Ari sometimes wondered just how many pockets that thing had!) and he had a seat beside her before switching it on. He rolled his eyes and shared a look with her before explaining.

Carter: The `rents. They watch everything I’m on and even though I didn’t tell them we were going to be on the last episode of Climax Control, chances are they watched anyway since they know about our match Sunday.

Ariana: So… you think they saw what happened?

As if to answer, Carter held up his phone so that Ariana could have a look at the screen and her eyes opened wide and lips pursed as a low whistle escaped from them, seeing that Carter had missed almost two dozen messages since the night he had to be admitted to the hospital to be under observation for a possible concussion.

Carter pressed a ‘return call’ button, and switched it to video feed and in no time at all, the familiar face of Carter’s mom Dawn McKinney filled the screen.

Dawn: Carter! Ohmygoodness!  Are you alright!? Your father and I were watching and we saw what that brute did to you…

Carter: Mom… mom….

But every time he tried to get his mother’s attention, she continued to talk over him until he waved his hands in front of the screen and barked ‘mom!’ before she calmed herself.

Carter: MOM! … I’m alright! Really! And Bobbie Dahl did not do that to me. I just fell trying to catch a speeding bullet named Ari!

Carter jetted a thumb to his side, and Ari leaned into the shot so his mom could see his guest and Ariana waved at her with a small, almost apologetic smile since she still blamed herself for Carter being hurt.

Dawn: Oh, hello Ariana dear. Are you alright?

Ariana: I really am, Missus McKinney.

Dawn nodded, then turned a worried eye to her only son.

Dawn: Carter, what were you thinking?

Carter: I was thinking of trying to break Ari’s fall, otherwise she would have taken a nose dive right into that guard rail!

Dawn: But what did the hospital say?

Carter: What makes you think I was in a hospital?

Dawn: Well you had better be young man, or else it just means you were ignoring the messages from me and your father.

Ariana again leaned into the shot so she could whisper just loud enough for both Carter and his mom to hear…

Ariana: Busted!

Carter gave her the ol’ side-eye before he turned back to his mom and he sighed in annoyance.

Carter: Okay, fine. I was in the hospital. But I didn’t have a concussion the doctor said and I didn’t call you yet because I didn’t want you or dad to be worried.

Dawn: You didn’t think we’d be worried after seeing what happened and we weren’t able to get a hold of you?

Ariana tried to repeat her ‘busted’ routine but Carter smirked and gently nudged her back out of the way.

Dawn: And you know how your father and I feel about you wrestling! You could get hurt!

Carter closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before he opened them again.

Carter: Mom, we’ve been through this. A lot. This is my dream, not yours or dad’s. I put myself through this, earned it all on my own. It would be nice to get at least a little support.

Dawn: Carter, if we didn’t support you at least a little bit, do you think we’d be watching you on TV? At all?

Ariana: She’s got a point.

Dawn: And YOU dear…

Ariana turned to the screen with wide eyes and a soft ‘eep!’

Dawn: You are much too young and pretty to be engaging in such fisticuffs.

Carter turned to Ariana and smiled widely, returning her own mocking words.

Carter: Busted! Hahaha!

But unlike Carter, Ariana could not put up much of a defense. She adored his om too much to get sassy, and Dawn understood. She quickly put Ari out of her misery by turning back to her son.

Dawn: You can’t blame your father and I for worrying about you. We love you. We supported you ever since you told us that you were gay at fifteen.

Carter sighed.

Carter: I know.

Dawn: So just let us be parents and worry about you. It’s what we do best.

Carter smiled.

Carter: Okay.

Dawn then turned to Ariana.

Dawn: And you’re staying with him?

Ariana: Yes ma'am. The doctor wanted him watched for 24 hours after he left the hospital.

Dawn nodded, satisfied.

Dawn: Okay, good. Keep a close watch on my boy. And Carter?

Carter: Hm?

Dawn: Don’t let this happen again? Answer us when something like this happens!

Carter simply nodded, and Dawn’s face softened into a loving and warm smile.

Dawn: Love you!

Carter: Love you too.

He turned his phone off and set it down on the table before turning to Ariana.

Carter: You see the kind of things I have to deal with?

Ariana looked back and forth between Carter and the phone, blinking like her friend was nuts.

Later that night…

In the dead of night, Carter stirred awake in his bed and opened his sleepy eyes -- to find Ariana staring down at him with a mirror under his nose.

Carter: AHH!!

Ariana: AHH!!

And as Ariana fell back off of his bed, Carter’s surprise caused a struggle and him getting entangled in his own bed spread!

---

“Okay, I get it. I've been hearing it from practically everyone ever since I showed up in Phoenix to accept the open challenge of London Underground. You’ve only had one match whereas London Underground has had many. You've never teamed with Ariana before while London Underground have turned it into an art form. You're only in your first week as an active wrestler where has London Underground has been going for almost 3 years. Trust me, there is nothing that you can tell me that everyone else has it already said before. But you know what I have to say to that?”

“So what? You're out there saying things that you seem to think I haven't thought of myself? I know what situation that Ari and I are in. I know that we are outmatched. I know that we are the underdogs. I know that London Underground has the advantage in this match in every conceivable way! Hell! Ari and I won't even really know who we are up against, whether it will be Daniel or Ousborne, Mackenzie or Charlotte, in this match until literally they make their entrances! That puts the ball entirely in their Court, and how Ari and I react is entirely laid out at our feet! So why did I do this to us? Why did I ‘accept’ the open challenge? The answer is really very simple.”

“Why not?”

“The first goal of every wrestler in this business is to Simply get better. And you're not going to get better unless you get inside of the ring with the very best that the sport has to offer. I understand that, and I am hoping that Ari understands it as well. Did I jump the gun when I accepted the challenge without even discussing it with my best friend first? Maybe. I won't even try to deny that, but I don't regret it. Not for a single moment. I mean, look at what's happened ever since I did it and Daniel Morgan accepted the challenge!”

“Our bosses in Sin City Underground have booked us in and even bigger match, in our mixed tag team match against the Good Shepherds, one of who is the SCU Women’s Combat Champion! Slowly but surely, we're moving up. I haven't been pinned yet, and the only reason my bestie got pinned in her last singles match was because that walking STD had to cheat! I would say that we're doing very well for ourselves, and a lot of that is because of my taking the initiative to step out onto the main stage and stake a claim at a world championship!”

“So Ari and I learned a lot from Gabriel and Odette when they gave us a crash course in tag team wrestling, and that was because of my Ari’s own initiative because I have to admit I wouldn’t have thought of asking. Why, I don’t know because Gabriel and Despayre wrote the book on tag team wrestling and Odette knows Gabriel better than anyone. So the question on everyone’s mind is; are we ready? I’d like to believe so. At least, we’re as ready as we ever will be given the current place we are in our careers, and the fact we are heading right into the unknown.”

“London Underground has a lot going for it, and the biggest edge they have is the Freebird rule they operate under. They’ve shown that they can operate and succeed in any combination between the four, even if there is the slightest level of antagonism between Osbourne and Mackenzie. But where Ari and I are concerned? It’s not business like it is with Daniel Morgan and his employees. Ari and I are best friends. We have been ever since we met at our training. I’m sure there has to be some level of friendship between London Underground, but can they say that they’re as close with one another as Ari and I have been in the past year? Would Charlotte say she loves Daniel the way I can say I love my Ari?”

“I guess we’ll find out come Sunday in Los Angeles. I have always wanted to visit LA! The lights! The glamour! And this weekend? We face the best of the best!”

“What have I gotten us into?”