Well, I have to admit; This is nice.
Given everything that's happened the past few weeks, finding myself on a cruise liner like the Royal Monarch was an unexpected pleasure. I had been trying to think of ways to take my mind off of things like my chronic back pains, my sister's troubles with Darius, and the ever constant world of drama that seems to be professional wrestling. I've tried to divide my full attention to all of these little situations, but I have to admit lately I've been feeling like I've been getting pulled in opposite directions. I want to devote my full attention to finally getting that Heavyweight Championship around my waist, but it's not easy when you have a family member that you dearly love in need of your aid. Then you start focusing on them and realizing to help them, you need to succeed at your goals and for that, you need to devote your time to those goals.
Do you see where I'm going with this?
I was happy to be getting another chance at the SCW Heavyweight Championship, and to have a wrestling performance on an actual cruise was unheard of. I asked Mister Parker is he ever heard of something like this and he hadn't. It was just another example of the shifting winds of the wrestling landscape, and the way the minds of Mister Ward and Christian shifted along with it. My mind reeled at the obvious questions like would the ship be sailing still or in a port during the show, and if it was still moving, how would that affect our performance in the ring given the unsteady nature the ring would be under. I want to win this. I need to win this, for more reasons than just to be professionally recognized as the best at what I do -- although that is certainly a lofty goal.
Mister Parker is somewhere on this ship right now with his wife, his children at home in Georgia being watched by their own grandparents as I'm told. I'm guessing the Parkers are using this little trip as an excuse for a second honeymoon. After so many years of being married, they deserve it. That's why I've avoided going to my mentor and yes, friend, as much as possible with everything that's been happening. he doesn't need me showing up at his door step at every turn with him picking me up when I feel about ready to fall under the weight of these burdens. I can't fathom going to Mister Ward because he's my boss and I don't want to fall under the same category as Nick Jones, running and crying to my friend when something isn't going my way.
So I've found myself just trying to relax these days leading up to this six-pack challenge, taking advantage of the days with the fans and my family. I have to admit I am so grateful that Mister Ward took the initiative to make sure my Grandmother had a booking to come along on this cruise. It took some convincing on my part, as well as that of Abigail and Mister Parker himself to get her to agree to come. But she did, and what's more, a third ticket just so happened to be worked into the deal and Mister Ward wanted my sister to accompany us. I know very well this romantic Lothario had his own reasons for wanting Abigail to come on this trip, but the man also has a heart, hard as it might be for some fans to come to understand. I knew he saw that third ticket as an excuse for Abigail to get as far away from Darius, her soon-to-be ex-husband as she could. He would have no access to her here on the open seas while she could find time to be her own person. It gave my Grandmother the chance to do something she'd never done in her long life. And me? It gave me the chance to temporarily forget my own troubles and responsibilities.
As I said, this was nice.
I found myself walking through the casino, a rather impressively large one for being on a cruise. Though who am I to judge? Like my Grandmother, I've never been on one. I've been to casinos before, however, during my forays in Las Vegas as a part of SCW. (And no, no jokes about casinos on reservations, please!) It was hard not to as they seemed to be everywhere, from hotels to even convenience stores. Some of the guys practically dragged me to some casinos here and there while we're in town, saying going to Las Vegas without hitting a casino is like going to a strip joint without tapping some.... well, you get the picture. Here on the ship there was a slew of blackjack tables, as well as roulette, Caribbean stud poker, craps and slot machines. From what I could see, this appeared to be one of the more popular of the activities offered, especially amongst the adult crowd as children were not allowed in here. I heard random cheers and good natured calls. I guess that means some people were winning. I wish I could know what that was like. The few times I tried my hand at these games I wound of on the losing end, and that kind of sucks.
I had three colorful drinks in my hand, two of which had those funny little umbrellas sticking up out of them. Those would be for the ladies. I'm sorry, I might be all for trying new things but if Mister Parker saw me drinking something with an umbrella in it, I doubt I'd ever hear the end of it. I weaved my way around several of the slot machines and gaming tables, to come upon a small table where my sister and Grandmother were seated, taking a bit of a break from the gaming. At the start of the cruise, I had handed them both a couple of envelopes with a little gambling money inside. they had tried to protest my giving them money to play the games with but this is one of the rare times I won out. That or they just let me think did. I wouldn't put that past them, either. They certainly made use of the gift, and more successfully than I ever had. Abigail had already doubled the money I had given her. My Grandmother had won a few times but not nearly as well.
(Oh and for the record, a couple of the boys had lured Abigail into a few rounds of poker on deck -- and lost. Oh where were the cameras when that happened?)
"So, how's the winning going?" I asked as I set the glasses down and slid them to their respective recipients. I took a seat in one of the two remaining chairs and asked, "They make you two stop before you put the casino under?"
"Hardly." Abigail smiled as she picked up her glass and had a drink. Grandmother sipped her own through the straw. Abigail went on, "We just wanted a break. We've been in here for a couple hours now."
I shrugged and said, "Well, no saying you have to stay in here all day. There's plenty to do besides gamble. There are shows in that theater, a movie is always playing, music and dancing lessons, swimming...."
"Yeah, your friend mark suggested I go swimming, too." Abigail rolled her eyes and took another sip before setting her glass back down. "But I have a funny feeling he just wants to see me in a swimsuit."
I smiled and turned to my grandmother. "What about you?" I asked. "It's been years since you got into a swimming pool."
"Bo, it's been years since I've fit into a swimming pool." Our Grandmother retorted, causing both my sister and myself to laugh. She went on, "I might enjoy sitting out in the sun by the pool but I am too old to be putting on a swimsuit and dallying in the water."
Abigail shook her head and huffed, "Oh please. There are people older than you getting into that pool, so don't use age as an excuse. I think it would be good for you."
I agreed, "I think Abigail is right."
Grandmother said, "I think you both need to hush about the matter before I toss you both overboard."
Abigail and I looked at one another and in perfect timing, we went, "Oooo!"
"Mind if I join you?"
The voice came from out of nowhere but the smile on Abigail's face told the story when before any of us could answer, the chair beside me was pulled out and into it flopped Brandi Shotze, probably the only person signed to Sin City Wresting that I could freely admit intimidated the living crap out of me.
I snuck a look at my two female relatives and both were smiling at my expense, knowing full well this little corner I seemed to have found myself backed into regularly in regards to this rather well-endowed young woman. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I dislike her. i just never met a woman who was so ... forthcoming in her intentions. She was open and outgoing, and I had to really admire the fact she simply did not care what others thought of her. She was being herself and to her, that was all that mattered. If someone didn't like it, that was their problem. not her own.
She reached over and grabbed the drink that was in front of me without a second thought and asked, "So how are you folks enjoying this little boat ride so far?"
"It's my first, so I'm not much to judge." Grandmother said. "Still, it is pleasant. I'm glad Bo convinced me to come along. It does an old woman good to know her grandson cares about her enjoyment."
"Mm, he is a caring person, isn't he?" Abigail smiled, resting her chin on her hand and milking this situation for all it was worth. "Any girl would be lucky to have him."
I stared at Abigail and tried my best glare to get her to end this little bit of fun at my expense but I should have known better than to think I could accomplish such a task.
"Abbey..." I started to say when I felt a hand slap hard on my thigh. i turned my head and Brandi was smiling at me as well.
"Yeah, he's a real work of art, isn't he?" She said, turning back to my family but not removing her hand.
"Brandi?"
"Yeah?"
"Your hand?"
"Oh forget about that hot stuff. Just a friendly pat on the leg."
"That's not my leg."
Brandi looked down and blinked, her eyes popping wide open. She looked up and mouthed, Wow, before saying aloud with a smile as wide as her bust size, "My mistake."
Grandmother's eyes closed but her shoulders quivering told me she was having little success holding in the laughter. Abigail had her hand over her eyes and she was shaking with mirth as well. I just had my eyes closed tightly and felt my face grow hotter by the second.
"I think I need a drink." I said and slowly stood up.
"You have one." Abigail laughed. "Well, had one."
"I'll go with." Brandi said, standing up. "I could use a belt of something myself."
"You have something." i said, pointing to the drink that used to be my own. "Right there."
She responded by picking up the glass and downing the entire contents in one fell gulp. I could not help but stare. I blinked and shook my head. I looked back at my sister and Grandmother who looked equally impressed.
"Wow."
I said aloud and started away from the table, and to the bar with Brandi accompanying me. despite the small level of discomfort, I still moved chairs aside for her to pass through and allowed her to go on ahead of me. Say what you will, it's just how I was brought up. We arrived at the bar and Brandi promptly slapped her hand down on the counter, causing a few starts behind the counter as well as those sitting at it.
"Can I help you ma'am?" The first bartender asked as he approached us.
"Yeah I'm going to need a bottle of Bud." she said, rubbing her chin. "And gimme a shot of Jack on top of that."
"Of course." he then motioned towards me and asked, "Is this together?"
"Yeah." I sighed, resigning myself. I was not going to let her pay for her own drinks while in my company. "Just get me the same."
The bartender nodded and turned to get our drinks as I fished my wallet out of my back pocket, only to find Brandi leaning back against the bar, an effect that seemed to make her ample bust seem even more...ample. An effect I'm certain she was well aware of.
She pointed at my wallet and smiled, "I woulda got that for ya."
"I'm sure." I replied, and for some reason, found myself smiling at her assertive nature. I said, "You're pretty straight forward, aren't you?"
"I have my moments." She answered, turning back around. "`Specially when I see something I like." And she clapped me on the back and I almost dropped my wallet when a searing pain suddenly went right up my back. Brandi frowned at my reaction and turned aside against the bar and asked me, "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah." I nodded, taking a deep breath and gathering myself from the sudden shock. "Just a bit of a back spasm."
"Sorry." She said and turned away to watch as the bartender set our drinks on the counter. "Didn't know you were hurt. Didn't mean to..."
"It's alright." I said sincerely and handed the man the cash, including a healthy tip. I imagine he'd be earning it with Brandi nearby. "You didn't know. Not your fault." I picked up the shot glass and Brandi did likewise and I found us clinking the shot glasses and we tipped them back and downed the contents. I coughed and set the shot glass down and almost wheezed, "Wow. Strong stuff."
"I thought it was mild myself." Brandi responded and I found myself appreciating her candid nature. Of course she would. She set her own shot glass down and grabbed the bottle in front of her when my sister and Grandmother approached us.
"Where are you two off to?" I asked. "I thought you were going to stick around."
"Well we heard Gabriel was going to put on a bit of a show for the cruise." Abigail said. "I wanted to see it but Grams and I thought we'd do a little shopping at the souvenir stand first."
"You just enjoy yourself, you two." Grandmother said, patting me on the hand and not even giving me the chance to suggest I tag along. I watched them make their way out of the casino when I felt a pair of hands grip my shoulders and begin to knead my shoulder blades. While I had been distracted, Brandi had moved behind me and taken it upon herself to start giving me a shoulder massage.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Well if you have to ask I'm not doing it very well." She quipped and gave me a sharp smack on the backside. "Now be quiet and let me try this."
I looked up at the sympathetic expressions of two of the bartenders and sighed as I let her work her fingers into my back muscles. It felt good, I had to admit. At least until her fingers hit the wrong spot and my beer bottle flew out of my hand and spilled along the counter.
"Sorry!" I called out and the bartender raised a hand to indicate that there were no hard feelings. The other had another one set in front of me and I slowly picked it up and I found Brandi frowning.
"That should not have hurt." She said. "It was just a little massage. Are you sure it's just a little back spasm?"
"Sort of." I answered truthfully and took a long drink from the bottle in my hand.
"Well come on then." Brandi said, taking my arm and directing me toward an empty table big enough for just two to sit at. "You can tell me how you hurt your back, and I can tell you how I can make it all better."
I allowed myself to be steered toward the table, all the while thinking how I was going to get even with Abigail and my Grandmother for abandoning me like this.
*************************
I wasn't certain how long Brandi and I had been sitting alone at this table. It was kind of lost to me now. It tends to happen when one engages such a woman in a shot drinking contest. Each of us had a row of six shot glasses in front of us, and a few empty beer bottles to boot. We both watched as a waitress cleared the empty bottles away, and returned a moment later to get the empty shot glasses, leaving the two each that still had tequila in them. It was just our second round of beer -- I think. I wasn't sure either how many times the shot glasses had been replaced.
I just know I was feeling quit a bit more relaxed than I was previously.
Brandi leaned forward against the table and picked one of her shot glasses up. She said, "japan, huh? That's how you did it? Shit." She downed the shot and set it back down in front of her, gritting her teeth.
"Shit. I hear that place is the toughest to compete in, and we're heading there, huh?"
"Yeah." I nodded, taking up my own shot glass and tossing it back. The bite of the strong alcohol coursed through me in a pleasant, burning sensation and I put the glass down. I wavered my hand toward her, blinking heavily. "If you get booked on that show, be ready because that style is... is insane."
"Damn." Brandi shook her head. "I'm looking forward to it."
I shook my head and found myself smiling, "You are something else, you know that?"
Brandi picked up her remaining shot glass and nodded, "I'll take that as a compliment."
I picked my own and we both downed them.
Brandi asked, "How's the back now?"
"Who's back?" I asked with a smile and she busted out laughing, slamming the palm of her hand down on the table.
A waitress walked up and asked, "Another round?"
"Sure." I said. "Why not? The night's still young."
*************************
My head hurt.
My mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton.
I swallowed and my throat felt dry.
How much had I drank? And how did I manage to find my way back into my suite? I didn't want to open my eyes. The beds in this ship were just too unbelievably comfortable. I stretched and my back admittedly felt better. I brushed my arm to the side and up against the other body in the bed.
"Morning." I heard Brandi say.
"Morning." I answered.
Okay, my eyes opened.
