Page 3 of Botched
“Mmhm,” Kai agrees. His dark eyes are on me, and I can feel him trying to read me, trying to pick up exactly how I’m feeling. He’ssoannoying when he does that. “I also heard something else interesting.”
I sigh. I don’t want to hear another story about someone else achieving the very dream that I’m working my ass off for. I push one of my boots off the bench, bringing my knee up to my chest. “All right, hit me.” I’m prepared for whatever it is this time.
“Alex told me that Theodore Abrams is going to be here tonight.”
That…was not what I was expecting. Theodore is the biggest name to come from C1W. He’s the person that Paul, the booker and owner, built the entire promotion around. It’s not hard to see why. He’s everything that a wrestler should be. He can talk like no other; he can wrestle circles around most people. He understands the business in a way that a lot of the newer generation doesn’t.
He got signed by GRW when he was twenty-four, and for the last three years, he’s been killing it on weekly TV. He’s currently world champion, which says a lot about how he’s valued.
I’ve never met him, but from what I hear, he’s a fucking prick. He doesn’t just play a heel, a bad guy, on TV. He lives the gimmick. While there’s a separation between the character I play and who I am outside of the ring, that doesn’t exist for Theodore. He’s thebiggest piece of shit on screen, and if he’s even half as bad offscreen? Christ.
“What? Why?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I assume because it’s our big anniversary show.”
“He hasn’t shown up since he got signed.”
“Maybe it has something to do with the photos that leaked? Maybe he wants some good press?”
I snort. Theodore’s involved in a cheating scandal. He’s been very public about his engagement to his girlfriend, name-dropping her in promos and talking about how he bagged the ‘finest piece of ass,’ which feels like the grossest way to talk about your fiancée. This morning, photos of him with some blonde leaked on social media and it’s lighting up the internet wrestling communities. Considering scandals in the wrestling business, cheating is basically nothing. It’s not a career ruiner. It’s not a reason to get canceled. It happens.
“I don’t think he’s showing up just because he got caught with his dick in some blonde.”
“Language, Rory,” Kai laughs. “Probably not. I kind of assumed that since he cut promos about banging rats after the show, he was actually doing it. I don’t think anyone is surprised that he cheated on his girl.”
Unable to help it, I wince. I hate the term ‘rats’. It’s so misogynistic. Wrestlers don’t have to sleep with female fans who shoot their shots; they actively choose to.
Noticing my wince, he shoots me an apologetic look. “Sorry, I know you hate that word. It’s—”
“—If you say ‘locker room culture,’ I’m going to smack you.”
Female wrestlers aren’t new. We’ve been around since the beginning. We’re finally beginning to be viewed as more than sex objects. Gone are the days of bra and panty matches. But ‘locker room culture’ still prevails from time to time. Some of the old guardare stuck in their ways. They don’t want to move into a future where women are booked equally to them.
“Anyway,” Kai says, slapping his palms down on his thighs. He’s dressed in his gear for tonight. Instead of tights or trucks, he wears fight shorts. They’re white with red detailing. His name,‘Kaito’,is written in red down the side of one of his thighs. He’s shirtless, but I’m so used to being around shirtless men that I don’t blink twice at his washboard abs. “Maybe Theodore will give good feedback to Nathan.”
Nathan Thorpe is the owner of GRW. By all accounts, he’s a cool dude. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting him. I’m sure if I had, I’d be signed by now. I know I have everything it takes. I just need a chance.
I scoff. “Please. If Theodore is as much of an asshole as everyone says he is, do you really think that he’s going to give positive feedback about anyone? He’s probably one of those assholes who believes everyone who gets signed is another person taking money from him.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” He shrugs. “I mean, it worked for Jules.”
“Hext isn’t a huge douchebag.”
Kai chuckles and stands up, stretching. His tanned skin looks even darker in the gross orange lighting. His brown eyes look down at me, and he gives me that signature sideways smile, full of boyish charm. “I need to go find Alex and talk about some spots for my match tonight. You good? You need anything?”
“Just waiting for Sammy to get here so we can walk through our spots.”
“She’s always late, isn’t she?”
“Fucking always.” I sigh. God, I need her to show up. If she no-shows, I will find her, and I will strangle her.
Kai is wrong. There’s no way that Theodore Abrams is going to walk away impressed tonight. He’s going to walk in here with somesnooty attitude, like he’s better than us, like he wasn’t once one of us working our asses off to reach a goal.
But, in the slim chance that I have, I’m going to make sure that Theodore walks away with a whole lot to tell Nathan.
Particularly about me.
Chapter Three