Chapter 7
Later on that night I drove with Jeff and Matt over to the arena. When we walked back stage people were bustling everywhere trying to get things ready for the show that night. It was pretty exciting seeing the other wrestlers up close. So far, Matt and Jeff were the only ones that I had gotten to know. The three of us headed from dressing room to dressing room saying hello to everyone. I just stayed quiet and polite. Finally we reached their dressing room. Amy was already there, applying her stage make up. She was seated in front of a brightly lit make up mirror. She saw us in the mirror and turned to us. She got up from her directors style chair and gave Matt a hug and kiss on the cheek, he did the same in return. She also hugged Jeff, but didn't kiss him. For some reason that bothered me. I wondered if anything was going on between Matt and her. I then forced myself to be pleasant and not worry about, I didn't like Matt anyway, I told myself.
"Amy, I would like you to meet Maria Taylor. She is a new member of the scriptwriting team." Jeff introduced us.
"Hi Amy, nice to meet you." I said, nodding my head towards her.
"Hi, Maria, nice to meet you too." She said smiling.
Amy seemed incredibly nice, I just couldn't not like her. She would probably be one of my trainers if I decided to pursue wrestling. We would probably become close friends, I thought.
"Even though Maria is a writer, and a good one I might add, she also has an interest in wrestling." Jeff continued on.
"That's great Maria, if you ever need help training, I'm always here." Amy replied.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I replied, trying not to be nervous.
Through this whole conversation Matt was extremely quiet. I even turned around once to make sure he was still in the room. I wondered what was running through his mind.
"Well, Maria, I hate to kick you out, but we need to get ready for the show, we'll show you your special seat back stage, where you can sit and watch all the action." Jeff said, starting to shush me out of the room.
"Whoa, hold it, if I can be in here when you're getting ready, then I say Maria can stay, she needs to see this anyway if she's going to become a wrestler, she needs to see what we do before our matches." Amy spoke up.
"Oh, and when she does leave, make sure she gets a front row seat so she can see us in action up close, no back stage crap, its just like watching in on TV, and she can do that in her hotel room, got me?" Amy told Jeff in command.
"Yes, ma'am." He replied in his best southern drawl.
"Don't let these guys push ya around, there just big pushovers." Amy said, guiding me to a seat next to hers in front of the make up mirror.
"Hehe, okay, I think I've learned to voice my opinion around them." I laughed, eyeing Matt in the mirror.
"Yeah, too many times." Matt said, taking off his leather jacket. As I sat looking in the mirror, I watched Matt strip of clothes, down to his gray boxer-briefs. He stood with his back to me, taking off his shirt first. I awed at the massiveness of his back and how defined each muscle was. I smiled at him.
"So, how do you like the Federation so far?" Amy was asking me.
I didn't hear a word she was saying, I just kept my eyes glued to Matt as he then re-dressed himself in his wrestling gear. Before putting on a tight white shirt, he poured a bottle of water over his head and face. I watched him intently as the beads of water gently fell over his back and hair. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers over his wet face and through his damp hair. I smiled again, blushing this time.
"Maria?" Amy asked, her tone rising.
"Huh? Oh, um, what?" I asked, coming out of my trance at the same time Matt happened to glance up at me.
She smiled slyly as she saw I was gazing at Matt. "I said, how do you like the Federation so far?"
"Oh, it's great, I mean I've only been here for a day and a half, but so far I love every minute of it." I replied, stealing one more quick glance at Matt who was now lacing his black and white wrestling boots.
From his position on the bench, he smiled to himself at my response. It was finally there turn to go out. I followed them out to the black curtain and stood with them as they waited for their entrance music to begin. They all gave each other high fives before they left me.
"Good luck guys." I said, with a smile.
It felt really good to see them all excited to wrestle.
"Thanks." They replied in unison, standing in a line jumpy as ever.
Their entrance theme belted over the loud speakers. They took off saunterning down the ramp, gaining the cheers from the crowd. I quickly headed the other way to find my seat. I didn't want to miss any of it. I pushed my way through the crowd and fought to find my seat. I did so with out delay and found my seat just as the bell was rung. Actually, I had to stand because I couldn't quite see everything from the ring. I stood there in awe as I watched Matt and Jeff take a royal beating. I knew it was all choreographed, but a lot of it was improvisation, and I knew that the boys would come out of the ring with a few minor bruises. That night they took on Andrew, Albert and Trish. It was an excellent match, but they still lost. After it was over, I hurried backstage to see if they were okay. Matt had been holding his left shoulder through the entire match. I hoped he was okay. I found them in their dressing room, breathing heavily.
"So, what did ya think?" Matt asked from his position on the bench, his long black hair was disheveled, and he was holding his arm in pain.
"Don;t worry about that now, I want to know if you're okay?" I asked, stooping to his level.
His brown eyes peered through his ruffled hair that was hanging down in front of his face. He paused for a moment, not really knowing how to respond to my heart-felt concern.
"Maria, I'm okay, I really am, I just need some ice and a good nights sleep." He replied quietly.
I smiled at him and patted his leg as I stood to my feet to face Jeff and Amy.
"Are you guys all okay?" I asked, them. They both nodded and smiled, as they looked at each other with coming to the same conclusion.
"I mean, I know everything is planned, but sometimes if a move doesn't go right anyone can get hurt." I said, trying not to sound stupid in knowing what went on in the business.
Chapter 8
Chapter 6