[Sam Marlowe]

 A noise can be heard behind a door that is closed.  Suddenly the sound of a whirl and click is heard and the door slowly pushes inward to reveal Sam Marlowe entering, a dragged carryon behind her and a rather large purse banging against her denim covered waist.  A pair of silvered sunglasses hold back a rather messy pile of red curls with one lone curl brushing across her cheek with each bouncing step.

“Oh my goodness,” escapes the redhead as she looks around the hotel room she had entered to take in the vases of flowers resting on every table surface in the room.  She lets her purse slip from her wrist to land with a bang on the floor.  

She moves further into the room after letting go of the handle of the carry on.   Approaching the bed, she notices there is a teddy bear sitting on the pillow.  Smiling she moves closer and picks up the white bear.  A piece of paper flutters to the bed that draws her attention.  Holding the bear close, she reaches and read the page.

Beary excited to invite you out to dinner to welcome you to Boston.  Dress pretty and I will let Monte can come with us.

A small smile crosses Sam’s face before she sets the paper down and then the bear.  She looks around again at the flowers and sighs as she shakes her head.  â€œMonte you are crazy,” she murmurs as she moves towards the carryon and pulls it towards the bed.  Opening the suitcase, she pulls out a rather simple dress and twirls with it held to her chest and stops as she catches a look at herself in the mirror.

“Guess that Monte must have found out when I was arriving and I can’t believe he would do something like this.  I mean I know he is romantic but this is next level romance,” Sam mentions to herself as she brings the dress to the closet near the hotel room door and brings out a hanger.  Draping the dress over it, she then moves towards the bathroom and hangs the dress near the shower before turning on the hot water and lets the steam begin to fill the room.  

A soft dreamy music begins to play as Sam turns and heads towards the purse on the floor and pulls out her phone.  Swiping along the screen, Sam answers the phone.  â€œHello darlin’, I got your message,” she says, the lilt of a smile in her voice.  â€œYou went overboard but I love it,” she adds before listening to the voice on the other end.  â€œOf course I have time for dinner Monte but this weekend is going to be hectic.  So I’ll see you like in a couple of hours?”

A mumbling reply is heard which only widens the smile on Sam’s lips.  Sam says goodbye to Monte then hangs up the phone before turning to move towards the bathroom where a small cloud of steam escapes into the room.  Tossing the phone at the bed, Sam disappears into the room and closes the door as she whistles softly before leaning out of the room and tosses her shirt on the bed.

Forty minutes later, Sam is dressed in a pair of dark panties and bra as she sits at the makeup table and picks up the comb and begins to slick it through her damp hair then rolls a pair of large curlers into the hair at the top of her scalp.  Looking into the mirror at her reflection, she lets a soft thoughtful murmur escape her as she softly begins to speak to her reflection.

“You know Sam, everyone has been talking about how this week you are in the semi finals of the tournament.  I bet a bunch of people have also claimed that you and Ben are probably going to win it all and well, if truth be known…” begins Sam before she shakes her head and once more speaks to her reflection.

“Who am I kidding” she admits to herself.  â€œI haven’t really heard anyone talk about what is going on and if I am honest, that kind of worries me.  You would think that there would be people who think that Ben and I have what it takes to win this week and there are probably others that will say that we don’t stand a chance.  And as much as I want to just admit that we are going to be giving it our all, we do have to admit that we are facing the team that everyone else says have got just as much of a chance, maybe a better one.  Yeah, probably see Mercedes and Max beating us. Would they be wrong though?” ponders Sam.

Reaching for a makeup brush, she glides it across her skin softly as she continues to wonder out loud.    â€œI know that Ben has to worry about Max Burke and the fact that he is rather a tough competitor, I can’t    worry about him and I put my faith in his abilities but the question is going to be can I step up and put Mercedes in the position of losing the match.  That is a very good question and the short answer might be yes although she would say that I would have a snowballs chance to pin her shoulders to the mat in this match.”

Sam wrinkles her nose at that comment hanging in the air.  Looking away for a moment as she sucks in her bottom lip and worries it with her teeth, Sam softly snorts at the idea of losing to Mercedes.  â€œThere is no way I am going to let Mercedes Vargas get the pin on me because I am not going to be in the position to cost Ben this match.  I have heard him saying that this is his last hurrah and if that is the case, I want him to go all the way to the finals and win it at Into the Void.  Seriously I think that if he does win it, it might prove to him what I have been saying all along.”

Sam’s reflection shows a look of smugness for a moment before dissolving into a fit of giggles.  â€œBen is going to have to justify walking away from Sin City and then I am going to have to kick his ass to make him realize that he needs to do what he does best and that is beat the best.”

Sam brightens as she realizes what she has said and then leans closer to look at herself as she begins to speak again.  â€œI just thought about it and you know what Sam, I bet that Mercedes would be sitting there talking about how she has done it all, how she has been the grandslam champion…as if that really worries me right now.  Right now all I am worrying about is getting into the ring and not letting my partner down and if that means I have to beat Mercedes or let Ben beat Max, that is what I am going to do and let me get this out there, I am going to do that to move Ben and I into the finals.”

With that said, Sam reaches for the small lip gloss and twists it open to glide the wand along her lips to leave a smear of color.  Once done, she closes the lipgloss and then sets it down.  Getting to her feet, Sam grasps the dress as she moves to the door of the room and exits into the main salon.  Taking the dress off the hanger, she slips it on and lets the flowing skirt swirl around her upper thighs.  Turning back to the bathroom, she tugs the curlers from her hair and then tosses it to loosen the curls.

A knock sounds at the door as Sam flips her hair back.  Slipping her feet into the shoes that she tossed to the floor, she moves to open the door that reveals Monte standing outside of it with a single red rose held out for Sam.  Taking in how she looks, Monte lets a slow whistle of appreciation escape him as Sam smiles and blushes.

“You look like an angel,” he comments as he moves closer, his lips pressing against her cheek for only a moment then slide slowly to the outer corner of her lips before their lips melt together in a kiss.  Moments later, their kiss is broken reluctantly as each softly pants in an attempt to catch their breath.  â€œYou ready?”

Sam nods as she moves to pick up her purse and then reaches on the dresser for the key card of the hotel room.  Monte opens the door as the two of them move out of the room and head down the hall.  The door closes behind the pair as their voices fade into the distance.

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Mercedes, I want to talk directly to you right now because if the truth be told I am not going to be beating around the bush when it comes to this match.  I mean I am going to have be right on the top of my game and trust me that is something I can really focus on now that we have reached the rarified air of the semifinals of the Blast from the Past tournament.

Let me say this in terms you can understand.  This match is something that I need to get past and trust me I know that you are going to be talking about how you are in the Mean Girls and that the Mean Girls are the alpha group within the bombshell division and that no one will stand a chance against you.  But then again, you guys have been very winning…well some of you have.

And I have to admit Mercedes that we have faced off and you have beaten me and I have beaten you. So in that ring we are pretty much even when it comes to matching up skillswise.  I think that it is going to come down to who wants it more and I will confide in you that I want it more than most.  

Let me see if I can explain it to you in terms you can understand.  Being the archivist that you are with matches and history of Sin City wrestling, you are probably going to be talking about how last year I made it to the semifinals with my partner Rage and that was where I ended my blast from the past because I got ahead of myself and I cost Rage the match when Lucy Seraphina slammed a chair upside Rage’s head.  But this year I am not teaming with Rage and I am not the rookie that I was then.  See back then I was concerned about straight shooting and protecting my partner.  But when push came to shove, my concern was the deciding factor in eliminating me from the tournament.

This year however, there have been some changes that I have gone through and I would like to think that they are for the better.  The first change is that I am going to let Ben fight his match against Max Burke and I am going to put my focus on what I need to do to get this match done and in the history books with the W for Ben and I.  That will mean that I am going to be focused on YOU and only you in that ring.  I don’t have to beat Max Burke, I just have to beat you.  

Which right there is almost worrisome because after all, you will remind me that at Climax Control about this time last year, you beat me for the title that is the prize for this tournament and that this year you are part of the dominant group of bombshells in the company.  Yes, you are a Mean Girl but I do have to ask you, with all that y’all claim to be, why is it that when someone calls y’all on your bs, you tend to fold like an ace high poker hand.

Mercedes, I’m calling you out on just how much of a challenge you are going to be on Climax Control.  I realize that you have every intention of bringing the fight to me and every intention of beating me to advance to the finals and probably for all intents and purposes propel yourself to the finals and a win of the whole Blast from the Past.  Good luck because I have only one thing to say to that…

I will be damned if I am going to let you beat me in this match.  You need to realize that I am burning with a desire to go all the way.  I am consumed by the need for redeeming myself from last year and not repeating the loss in the semifinal round of this year’s tournament.  

I came to Boston to the semifinals to win and I am going to leave Boston with it no matter what you think you will be able to do to stop me.  I am ready for whatever you decide you want to try to do or use to win and  believe me when I say that I am motivated to make sure it is Ben and I that move on to the finals.  So try your worse Mercedes because that is what you may need to even make the attempt to win against me.  Or you can just stay on the side of the ring and watch as Ben beats Max Burke one on one.  Either way, you will have to watch as Ben and I advance and you go back to the Mean Girls looking for sympathy that you don’t deserve but will want anyways.

So good luck Mercedes.  Got mad respect for you but also know that I have no choice but to push myself to the win.   And win I will.