Perfect Match (6 page)

As she was sitting there finishing up her
meal with Pop and Jackson, Noelle couldn’t believe that she was
actually able to learn anything about BRAWL at all. All she kept
worrying about was if Pop could read their minds and know how they
kissed each other. How she had fantasies of him naked, laying next
to her and kissing her senseless. If he did catch on, would he buy
it that it didn’t count because she didn’t know he was a wrestler,
and that Jackson didn’t know she was his daughter? She highly
doubted that he’d give them enough time to explain even that much,
before he proceeded to beat the life out of them. So, she barely
looked at Jackson unless it was absolutely necessary. She really
paid attention to the stories about the locker room etiquette and
the good and bad guys…in and out of the ring. She hoped that she
didn’t seem too relieved when Larry said that he had to call it an
early night. He insisted that they should stay and have desert.

“She is weak whenever it come to deserts,”
Larry said as he got up to leave. “Don’t turn your back on yours,
or she’ll steal it.”

Jackson chuckled and said, “Really? Somehow I
knew that.”

She felt her face flush and was relieved when
her Pop was gone. Now they could clear the air. “Wow, this was
awkward”.

“It doesn’t have to be, you know,” Jackson
replied easily.

She finally looked him in the eyes. Those
steel blue eyes of his that danced in amusement at the moment. A
girl could stare at those forever. At least, she knew she could.
“I’m so sorry about the other night.”

“Don’t be.”

“Jackson, if Pop finds out about it…”

“He won’t. I’m not going to tell him and I am
willing to bet that you aren’t, either.”

The waitress brought them dessert. Noelle got
a slice of chocolate cake, and

Jackson ordered a cheesecake, and they ate in
silence for a few minutes.

Jackson finally looked up and said, “You are
thinking about our steamy kisses, aren’t you?”

“Jackson!”

“Oh, come on. You are. I am.” He winked at
her.

“Yeah. You’re right, Jackson, I am thinking
of it. I am wondering what kind of man kisses a woman whose name he
doesn’t even know?”

Jackson chuckled at that. “Technically,
Scout, you kissed me.“ She rolled her eyes at him. “Noelle, it’s
okay. We both now know that nothing can ever happen between us like
that again. Larry has made it perfectly clear to everyone in the
locker room that you are off limits.” He stopped and looked at her
a moment, before continuing. “For the record, I am glad to see you
again.”

She smiled. “Me too. So. I guess we can go
back to being friends.”

“You forgive me for making you fall?”

“Jackson, I forgave you a long time ago,” she
said as she smiled.

He was silent for a moment, as if trying to
figure out what he wanted to say. He smiled and said to her, “This
is not how I planned our date to be tonight, but it will have to
do. At least I got a chance to know what it was like kissing you.”
He took a bite of his cake and the subject never came up again.

Jackson got home well after midnight. He
stopped at the Ruckus Room to use the 24 hour gym, but he had
bypassed the machines and weights, he just ran on the track to
clear his mind. It didn’t clear it. All he kept thinking about was
Noelle, and how he wished she was still only Scout to him. At least
when she was Scout, she was his.

He gulped down a glass of juice and sat down
at his kitchen table. He thought about how he had the perfect first
date planned, and how he would never be able to use it. He saw her
eyes show a hint of interest when he mentioned the date that they
were supposed to be on, but, somehow, she managed not to say
anything. He smiled and decided to fill her in on what they missed
out on. He pulled out his phone and sent her a text.

Tonight, I would have taken you to this great
Thai restaurant. Then we would have gone to The Talking Horse to
see a kick ass band. The night should have ended with my lips doing
crazy sexy things to your lips.

He smiled and quickly added, Sweet Dreams
J

CHAPTER THREE

Getting into a groove at BRAWL was an easy
thing for Noelle. She was really beginning to feel as if she
belonged there and not just because of her connection to Larry. She
felt respected and valued, which is all someone wants to feel at
any job. She liked the people she worked with, and saw something
special in each one of them. Well, for most anyway. She felt more
comfortable every day, and didn’t mind sitting in the lunch room by
herself in between sessions. She always got to work early and
either caught up on paperwork, or the upcoming matches and shows.
She knew her Pop would be proud, but most of all, she was proud of
herself.

The thing was there was only one person she
didn’t feel so comfortable around - Jackson’s ex. Kayla never
really made much effort with her, so Noelle pretended that she
wasn’t there whenever Kayla would be in the same room as her. She
knew it was silly, but knowing that Jackson had once dated the
glamorous Kayla, really was a blow to her ego. That uncomfortable
feeling set in as soon as she saw Kayla sit down at the table next
to hers. She had an orange juice and a yogurt. Noelle noticed how
young Kayla looked without all the makeup. Her blonde hair was
pulled up into a messy ponytail, and the hair looked very dry and
brittle. However, she had a natural prettiness about her, even if
her hair was a mess.

Kayla looked over and Noelle and
interestingly enough, she said, “You know, you have beautiful
hair.”

“Thanks,” Noelle said smoothing it down with
her hand.

“I’m Kayla Wagner.”

“Noelle Reid.”

“I know,” Kayla said, “You’ve been the talk
of the place lately.”

“Me? Why’s that?”

“You are Larry Reid’s daughter and the new
girl around here. Everyone has been talking about your dad’s strict
warning that you are off-limits.”

Noelle rolled her eyes, “Yep, Pop’s rule is a
legend.”

“It’s a good rule.”

“Oh?” While she agreed with it, she was
curious as to why Kayla said it.

Kayla stood up and motioned for the chair,
“You mind if I join you?”

“Go right ahead.”

Kayla gave a small smile and sat down, “Do
you have a boyfriend?”

“Not at the moment.”

Kayla seemed to process that for a moment and
then said, “Well, take it from someone who dates mainly wrestlers,
they aren’t what they are cracked up to be. Sure they are all good
looking and have a great body, but that only goes so far. Kevin
Donnelly may be the only good guy out there right now, and he is
happily married with a baby on the way. Some of the new guys aren’t
so bad because they don’t know anything yet. Still most of the guys
are more into themselves than a girlfriend. That’s pretty sad.”
Kayla took a sip of her juice. She looked around and saw some guys
head into the room.

Noelle sensed a sadness to her, and really
couldn’t figure out what point Kayla was trying to get at. She
decided that she was just trying to give her the skinny on
place.

She did have to admit that she didn’t seem as
bad as Noelle feared. Maybe they could even be friends.

“So the next guy that I date is going to
treat me the way I deserve to be treated,” Kayla said and Noelle
realized she missed part of the conversation, “Take Jackson Smith
for instance.”

That got Noelle’s attention. “Okay.”

“He and I dated for a year. We started going
out while we were finishing up at your dad’s school. I thought I
had found the guy I was meant to spend my life with. We had so much
in common, and not to mention how gorgeous he is. Don’t you
agree?”

Noelle chuckled and replied, “Jackson and I
knew each other when we were kids.” She didn’t want to agree that
she thought he was gorgeous.

“Really?” Kayla said raising an eyebrow.
Noelle was glad to see that she didn’t seem to realize she didn’t
answer the question.

“Well, his dad and my Pop are best
friends.”

“Did he ever mention me?”

Noelle shook her head and thought how she
suddenly felt like she was back in high school.

“Figures. He runs hot and cold. Changed once
he got here. He started neglecting me, and I thought it was because
he wanted to concentrate on his career. It wasn’t his career that
he was concentrating on. It was every Goddess around. It is so
humiliating when everyone knows that he is supposed to be with me,
and he was flirting with every girl that would look at him. Ironic
that his first promo is with me.”

Noelle just nodded and took in what Kayla was
saying. It sounded like Jackson was the same now as he was at
fourteen. He still had that wandering eye her mother warned her
about. All the more reason to keep her distance from him.

“The confusing thing is he still calls me and
wants to go out with me. I broke up with him and I’m trying to just
get on with my life. It seems each time he sees that I have moved
on; he calls me and begs for us to try again.”

That didn’t sound like the Jackson she knew,
but did she really know him? “Why did you break up with him?”

“It’s so hard to talk about. Let’s just say
that he got really selfish and demanding,” Kayla smirked, “Well,
speaking of the devil.”

Noelle turned to see Jackson walk in with
Mike. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Kayla sitting with
her. “I can’t even look at him,” Kayla said in disgust, “I am going
to go work out. See ya.”

Noelle didn’t have a chance to say anything
because she was gone just like that. She couldn’t help but wonder
what Kayla was talking about when she said Jackson got selfish and
demanding. She has been there/done that with a past relationship,
and thought she was good at seeing the signs. She believed that
Jackson flirted with the other Goddesses, but she had a hard time
believing Jackson could be demanding. She knew one thing for sure;
if he was selfish and demanding she wanted no part of that. She was
down that road before and didn’t want to be on it again. The two
men headed towards her.

“Wow, nice company you keep,” Mike said as he
sat down next to her. Jackson sat across from Noelle.

“Kayla?” Noelle pretended to not know what
they were talking about.

“Was she pumping you for information on
Jackson? Be careful and don’t trust her,” Mike warned. Noelle
looked over at Jackson to see if he was going to comment.

When he didn’t say anything, she said, “She
seems alright.”

Jackson snorted, “Seems is the operative word
there, Noelle. She is not how she seems. Trust me.”

“Why?”

“Why should you trust me?” He asked somewhat
surprised.

“No. I meant why is she not what she
seems?”

Jackson just shook his head, “Not the time or
the place.”

“Kayla is a lying bitch,” Mike said for him,
“Here is your warning. She doesn’t like anyone but herself. You
just don’t know this because you are new. Ask your Pop about her.
He’ll tell you.”

“Let it go, Mike,” Jackson said and helped
himself to one of Noelle’s apple slices. “So, Larry just invited me
to his place for a ‘steak-out’. Any chance that you are going to be
there?”

“I might be,” Noelle said trying to be cool.
Inside she was nervous. Why would her Pop invite Jackson to the
house? He hasn’t done so in years, even with the monthly
“steak-outs” he has with Howie. She liked hanging out with Jackson,
but not near her Pop since she was sure he’d be able to see them
together and know how she kissed him that night before she knew who
he was. Her Pop was trying to give her a nervous break-down. He was
doing a good job of it.

“Well, I might be there too.” Jackson ate the
last apple slice and smiled at her. Such a smile that it made her
stomach flip. Damn him.

Kayla reached the gym area and turned on her
iPod and started to run on the track. She had to get rid of the
awful feeling she got every time she saw Jackson. She hated him!
She hated the way he made her regret the way she treated him when
they first got to BRAWL. She hated that no matter what she did to
him or what she said about him, he wouldn’t give her any reaction.
She wanted him to yell at her for telling people that he treated
her bad. She wanted him to defend himself. She would even be okay
if he called her a bitch! Anything other than the silent treatment
he’s been giving her since they broke up. At least if he’d call her
a name, it would show that she still got to him. The trouble was
that she didn’t get to him. He probably didn’t even hate her. She
meant nothing to him, and that hurt her more than if he did hate
her. Deep down she knew she deserved it, but would never admit it
to anyone else. Kayla wasn’t used to not being wanted, and that is
what made her hate Jackson - that he didn’t want her anymore. She
was a good wrestler and as she ran faster on track, that is what
she focused on. She had a good career in front of her, and she
didn’t need him. She had plenty of guys that were ready to take her
out. The truth was that she didn’t want them. She didn’t even want
Jackson, really. She just wanted him to want her. She just may get
her chance since they would be working together for the next few
weeks.

Ruckus Reid and Hungry Howie Smith were the
biggest rivals in the wrestling ring in their day. People tuned in
to watch BRAWL week after week to see what they were going to do to
each other. Their feuds were notorious. The most interesting thing
about these over-the-top guys was the fact that outside of the
ring, they were the best of friends, even after thirty years. They
started the tradition of having steaks on the grill and lots of
beers that became known as “steak-outs”. When the “steak-outs”
first began, it was Larry and Howie and a bunch of other rowdy
wrestling guys. Over the years, it became just Larry and Howie each
month, so for the life of Noelle she couldn’t figure out why her
Pop wanted to make it a big picnic inviting Jackson and his mother
along with Howie. She figured he wanted Noelle there because she
was now an official part of BRAWL and he finally had an excuse to
tell her all of those old stories from the “good old days.”