Chapter 11
“You know, you have to stop calling like this, or someone is going to think something is going on. Liam is still highly suspicious,” I say, answering the phone.
After Bennett dropped me off at Sophia’s after dinner on Monday, I decided to take advantage of working remotely and stay in Phoenix a few extra days.
A soft chuckle flows through the speaker, filling the guest bathroom.
The sound warms me from the inside out, but my insides quickly turn cold when I see the woman in the mirror.
See the smile on her lips, knowing she’s not in this for the right reasons—not completely, anyway.
My hair unravels from the barrel of the curling iron, falling in a soft wave against my shoulder.
Clearing my throat, I set down the curling iron and rip my gaze from the mirror. “Heading home?”
Bennett hums in response, and I can hear the tick, tick, tick of the blinker. “Gonna meet up with Brooks and Brody first.”
“I thought you guys worked out earlier?”
“We did,” he says, mixed with an audible yawn. “We’re going to grab some food. I think they want to interrogate me about you without Savannah and Rae around.”
“Should I be concerned?”
“I don’t think so. Sav seems to think you’re here to spy on us. Get some insider scoop or something.”
My stomach flips, and I laugh, trying to conceal my nerves. Savannah is one of his best friends. I’d hate for her suspicions of me to cause problems between them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Honey, it’s not a big deal. Savannah will let it go once she gets to know you; she’s just a little harder to crack than most.”
“I’d say you should tell her you’re helping me crack that place wide open, but I don’t want to risk getting on her bad side.”
Bennett scoffs. “Sav is harmless.”
“Did you see what she did to Blair on Monday? I wouldn’t exactly call that harmless.”
“I thought you said it was fake,” he says, and I can practically see the look on his face, as if he were standing right next to me. One eyebrow cocked with a smirk hanging in the corner of his mouth. “Don’t worry, Honey.” Another yawn. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“Sounds like you need to go to sleep. Did those newbies kick your ass today, old man?” I ask, catching a glimpse of my own smirk in the mirror, and it falls instantly.
I told myself this would be easy. I could keep him at bay, walk the fine line between a real relationship and a story with a fast-approaching deadline.
Get in, get out. Easy peasy. But I didn’t expect things to take a serious turn on the bus two nights ago.
His honesty caught me off guard, and before I could stop myself, I’d closed the space between us, once again blurring the lines between keeping a professional distance and giving in to the pull I feel toward him.
The same one I felt the first night we spent together.
Asking him about the status of our relationship wasn’t wise, but it was the easiest way to stay close to him…
and I couldn’t keep my big mouth shut. I know Bennett is a source, and I shouldn’t be involved with a source—not while I’m actively working on the story—but something about him makes it impossible to stay away.
And where did that get me? Now, I’m officially the girlfriend of “Wolf” Bennett James.
Everything from our kiss on Sophia’s doorstep to the late-night calls to the good morning texts tells me this is real.
Or as real as I’ll allow. I’ve spent the last two days reminding myself not to get invested—for self-preservation, if nothing else.
If Bennett ever finds out the truth about what I’m doing, I don’t want to be left with a broken heart.
I wonder what the girl who walked into that arena last year would say if she could see me now?
Hell, the girl who was handed this article three weeks ago.
I wonder how she’d feel knowing she was days away from reuniting with the one man who could be the answer to her professional prayers.
Sure, Bennett had crossed my mind, but I never considered actually calling him.
“Ha. Ha,” Bennett says, drawing my attention back to the phone.
“I’ll show you what this old man can do tomorrow night.
” His words make fire burn in my cheeks, and my core tightens.
How am I supposed to remain professional when he talks like that?
“Trust me, Honey, there have been a million things I’ve wanted to do from the second I saw you that night, starting with fucking you over the side of that very ring.
Now tell me, would an old man be able to do that? ”
“Bennett!” My mouth falls agape.
He laughs. “Hey, I’m here to meet them. Call me when you and Soph finish dinner, huh? We can finish this conversation—”
“Goodbye, Bennett James,” I say, and hang up. I grip the edge of the sink and breathe out. “Fuck me.”
“I’d say so.” Sophia’s voice makes me jump, knocking the iron into the sink with a sizzle as it lands on leftover water.
She laughs from the doorway, a knowing look on her face.
Again, fuck me. I haven’t told her about making things official with Bennett.
Had I known she was home already, I would’ve been more careful with that conversation.
Sophia went into the office for a few hours today while Liam and I went to the boardwalk and Pangaea Land of the Dinosaurs, a nearby amusement park.
She offered to drop him off at the babysitter, saying I could have some peace and quiet to get some work done, but I refused.
I was going to take advantage of the uninterrupted time with my nephew, spoiling him without his mother lurking over my shoulder.
Besides, it was nice having something to distract me from everything else going on.
“You sure you don’t want to jump on a plane to Tampa instead of going to dinner with me?” she asks.
“No. We are fine. I’m fine. It’s fine.”
“Are you fine?” Sophia catches the tube of lipstick I throw at her, laughing. “C’mon, let’s go. I’m starving, and the boys are about to make my kitchen a complete disaster. I’d rather not be here to see it.”
“So, how does it feel knowing you’re dating a wrestler?
” Sophia asks, sitting back in her chair with a glass of wine.
And we’ve finally reached the portion of the evening she’s been dying to get to.
My best friend has been avoiding any talk about Bennett and EWE most of the night—actually, for most of the last two days—but after she walked in on my phone call before we left, I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say with a smile.
“Oh, don’t play coy with me, Sloane. Spill. I want to know everything, because before I left the arena, you were pretty adamant you were not dating, despite all the evidence saying otherwise.”
I stare into the red liquid of my own glass, tracing the rim with my pointer finger, and gnaw on the corner of my mouth. With a sigh, I finally lift my gaze to hers. “Honestly, it feels a little weird.”
“Seemed like you actually enjoyed the show on Monday, too.” Her brow cocks. “Are you, Sloane Elise Jenkins, becoming a fan of EWE?”
“Correction,” I say, lifting my finger. “A fan of Wolf Bennett.”
“Mm-hmm, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night. I saw the way you geeked out when Brooks won his match, and when Savvy Skye beat the shit out of Blair. Which, let’s be honest, is the match I’m looking forward to most at Paradise City.”
“Paradise City?”
“The bigger show at the end of this month. They have one every month—a premiere live event, I think they call them. Sometimes they’re themed, like Helloween in October and Wreck the Halls in December.
Every once in a while, they have a special one in Chicago called the Chi-Town Clash.
” The more names she throws out, the more confused I become.
How many shows does one company need? “I’m sure you’ve heard of Wrestlefest—that’s the biggest one of the year, kind of like the Super Bowl of the wrestling world. ”
“How do you keep up with all of this?” I ask, feeling extremely overwhelmed.
There are so many things to keep track of.
Different cities every night. Different show types and names.
Media days and promo shoots. A million people to remember.
Everyone has multiple names, depending on how you’re addressing them, and not just their names, but stories and characters and—
“Sloane, breathe.” Sophia’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Breathe. Just because you’re dating Wolf doesn’t mean you have to know all of this right away. Or ever. I doubt anyone can remember every little detail.”
“I’m in way over my head here, Soph.” And not just from the amount of information she threw at me. I take a sip of wine, but it does nothing to help calm me down.
“You’ll get the hang of it, and at the end of the day, the only thing you need to know is the story he’s working on. Everything else can be background noise. You’re not the only girlfriend who isn’t a wrestler.”
“Do the majority of them date only wrestlers?”
“Yeah, I imagine it’s probably easier that way. Their schedule isn’t exactly family- or relationship-friendly. I mean, look, he’s been on the go for the past two days, then flies to Salt Lake tomorrow, and then does shows for five days straight.”
Well, when you put it that way.
Her face falls. “I do have one question for you, though. I hope it doesn’t upset you, but as your best friend, I have to ask.”
I can almost guarantee I know what comes next, and I hate that I’m about to lie to her. Sophia won’t understand. And while Gabe and Daphne may not agree with my methods, they understand.
“Are you…” Sophia pauses, tapping her finger against the glass.
“Is all of this so you can write your story?” She stares at me from across the table, and I don’t think she blinks once, waiting for my answer.
“Are you only dating him to get the information you need for this Amos feature? To secure your spot at The Baller or Pulse, or wherever you’re trying to go. ”
I force myself to hold her gaze, even when I want to look away, and swallow back the lump building in my throat. I take a deep breath, still refusing to look away. “No.”
“No?”
“No,” I say again, this time more confident. “The fact I was willing to sit through a show should’ve been your first clue.”
“That’s a good point. It was hard enough getting you inside when you came with us the first time.” A genuine smile spreads across her lips, and she breathes out. “You know, I hate to say it, but a small part of me thought you might only be using him for the connections.”
“Well, it doesn’t hurt.” I wink, and my stomach ties in knots with every word. “The story isn’t about him, though. It’s about Amos, and even if I’m lucky enough to meet the man, I highly doubt he’ll be sharing any juicy secrets while I’m around.”
“What are you going to do about it, then?”
I shrug. “The same thing as everyone else, I guess. Amos refuses to talk to anyone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called and emailed the contact, but she says the same thing every time.
Sends the same six talking points and stats.
” I tap my finger on the stem of my wine glass.
“Every story out there about him and that company is the same. It’s weird.
You can’t tell me everything behind the scenes is as great as they make it seem.
Don’t fans want to know the truth about the company they’re giving their hard-earned money to? ”
“Sweetie, I can guarantee some fucked-up things have gone down inside the four walls that built that company, but you know what? It’s no different than every other company in the entertainment industry.
We can choose to burn down every establishment until we’re left with nothing, only for another one to come in its place that requires us to do the same shit all over again, or we can hope that the new generation makes better decisions than their predecessors along the way. ”