Jessa Bolt

It took me a moment or two to realize that I wasn't at the cabin in Halifax, or even at Randy's home in St. Louis, but back in my own bed in Manhattan. Exhaustion caught up with me quickly when I got off the flight, and I ended up crashing almost as soon as I got home, bypassing dinner completely. I lay in bed for a few moments, staring up at the ceiling until I was startled by the doorbell ringing. Turning my head, I looked at my alarm clock and saw it was just past eight. The realization that it was probably the reporter hit me quick; I'd crashed so quickly that I forgot to set my alarm the night before. With a groan, I pulled back the covers and got out of bed.

There wasn't a part of me that wanted to leave the girls and the beautiful cabin, but Shane's surprise had left me with no choice. Adriana was upset I had to leave, but there will be other times. I sent Randy a message at the airport and told him I was heading back to Manhattan for the interview. I don't think he was happy, either, but Shane was sending the reporter here. Randy wished me good luck and he promised to get in touch later to talk about it. I checked my phone and saw Shane had left a text message saying the same thing as Randy. Leaving it on the nightstand, I left the room when the doorbell rang again.

I asked Shane who the interview was with while I was in the air, but all he would tell me was that I'd love it, that it wasn't with Playboy, FHM, Stuff, Maxim or any other magazine that would have me doing photographs where I was half naked. He also told me it wasn't WWE Magazine, which is crazy – I've never done an interview for a mainstream magazine before. Shane told me it was a happy accident, that he put the deal together on the fly after he ran into an old friend from college at a sports bar down the road from the house. I asked him if I knew the magazine, and he told me I knew it well.

I looked through the peephole and unlocked the door, opening it wide. The guy on the other side looked about Shane's age, but his hair was dyed black and he wore a smidge of eyeliner. He was dressed in tight black jeans with a belt and chain and a Pantera Vulgar Display of Power T-shirt. I blinked when I saw him; I couldn't imagine him and Shane running in the same social circles at all. "Hello?"

"Jessa Bolt?" he asked. I nodded and he held out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Cory Stanton with Revolver Magazine. Shane told you that we have an interview this morning, yes?" I shook his hand and my head, trying to get the cobwebs out.

"Hi. I'm sorry – did you say Revolver?" He nodded. "As in, the rock magazine?" He nodded again. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I was silently thanking Shane. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Stanton..."

"Cory. You and I are going to be together for a little while."

"Cory. I'm sorry. Shane told me I had an interview this morning, but he just told me it was a surprise."

"That sounds like McMahon," he said with a laugh.

"Oh, I am so sorry – come on in," I told him, standing to the side so he could come inside. "Forgive the state of the home – I haven't been here for a while and I just got in last night. Have a seat on the couch, I'm just going to go get changed and I'll be right with you." He nodded and went over to the couch while I made a beeline to the bedroom. I quickly changed into a black sweater with a V-neck and dark blue jeans. I pulled my hair back into a big messy bun so I didn't have to brush it and then I applied a quick coat of mascara and gloss. When I emerged minutes later, he was looking at photographs in my entertainment unit.

"Sorry..."

"It's fine," I told him. "It's my fault – I completely forgot to set my alarm last night."

"Are you familiar with us?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I read you guys all the time on the road. It's how I find my new bands. I owe Shane for this one," I said with a laugh. I yawned and stretched. "I slept through dinner last night, so I'm going to make breakfast. If you haven't eaten yet, you are more than welcome to join me."

"Sounds great," he said, following me into the kitchen. "Can I help with anything?"

"I should be good. Thanks for the offer, though." I went to the fridge and began pulling eggs, bacon, vegetables, cheese and fruit out, making a few trips to put them on the island counter. "How long have you been with Revolver?" I asked, rounding the island to get the pans out.

"I thought I was supposed to be asking the questions." I shot him a look and we shared a laugh. "I've been with the magazine ever since it started. It's probably one of the best gigs ever."

"I bet." I grabbed the cutting board and put it on the island counter. Reaching for a bell pepper and a knife, motioned with the knife hand at his shirt. "Now that I'm more awake – cool shirt."

"I don't know why I'm surprised that you know the album."

"I've always thought Pantera was ahead of their time, but I didn't start getting a real crash course in them until I started seeing my boyfriend." I began cutting a red bell pepper.

"Your boyfriend...I read somewhere that you're seeing Randy Orton. Is that correct?"

"I am."

"Do you have a favorite Pantera album?"

"Far Beyond Driven. Just because I'm probably the most familiar with it. It's one of his favorite albums. Did you ever get to see them in concert?"

"Yeah. Twice. Have you?"

"Unfortunately, no. I did let a friend talk me into seeing Slipknot a few years ago. I'm not a huge fan of theirs, but that was a hell of a show." I put the chopped red peppers into a bowl and started on the yellow.

"Do you see a lot of concerts?"

"Not as many as I'd like, since I'm on the road a lot. One day I'd love to make it to Wacken or Download."

"I've covered both. So much fun."

"I bet. They get some amazing bands there, too."

"What was your first concert?" I laughed.

"Oh, I can't tell you that. If I did, I'd have to hand in my metal-head credentials," I said with a laugh.

"Come on..." he goaded. I chopped, shaking my head.

"It was Creed. Human Clay tour in 1999. I still have the T-shirt somewhere. I went because my friend's date fell through, and I didn't have anything better to do." I put the yellow peppers into the bowl and reached for the green.

"Are you a Creed fan?"

"They have a few songs I don't mind, but I wouldn't run out and buy an album." I began cutting the green pepper. "Do you drink coffee? I don't, but I've got some here for company."

"I'll have what you're having."

"Two cups of tea it is," I said with a smile. I stopped cutting the peppers to start the kettle. I put it on the back-burner and turned on the element.

"What kind of music are you into?"

"Well, I'm not a straight metal-head. My tastes are all over the board," I confessed. "You'll find all kinds of weird things in my CD collection. With rock and metal, I love the stuff that gets the adrenaline going. The hard guitars, the anthem choruses. In my job, that kind of thing is really important. Music makes the image, so sometimes you want to listen to something that's gonna hit a bit harder than the radio does."

"What are you listening to right now?"

"Now? Well, Chris – Jericho, sorry – gave me an advanced copy of his band's upcoming album of original material. It's really good. I guess they were in the studio with Alter Bridge, so they got the guys to come and guest on a couple tracks. Aside from that? Right now, I'm into The End of Heartache, Seasons, Healthy in Paranoid Times, Abandon Your Friends and Life is Killing Me."

"Life is Killing Me? That's Type O Negative, right?"

"Yeah. I'd kind of heard their name over the years, but Balls Mahoney told me to check them out at the One Night Stand show. The guy – I don't know the singer's name, I'm sorry..."

"Peter Steele."

"Yeah. His voice is nuts. So deep."

"Do you have a favorite album?"

"I'll say Life Is Killing Me so far, because I'm most familiar with it. But I heard October Rust is great."

"It's a classic. I recommend Bloody Kisses, too." I began cutting green onions to go with the rest of the vegetables. "So, what do you listen to when you work out?"

"It depends on the mood I'm in. It usually just goes between rap and metal."

"What do you think people would be surprised to find on your playlist?"

"Nineties pop, Faith No More and Limp Bizkit." He shot me a look. "No judging – reporters don't judge," I reminded him with a laugh. "Bizkit shouldn't really be that big of a surprise, I guess – WWE loves Fred and the guys. It's cool – I got to meet them for the first time just after I got signed and I actually got Fred to sign my copies of Significant Other and Chocolate Starfish."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. It cost me a picture." I started washing mushrooms.

"Are you a big fan of nu-metal?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Not really. Just Bizkit and Linkin Park. Maybe Disturbed, but I'm not really sure you can count them as nu-metal after The Sickness." He nodded. "Hybrid Theory is a mainstay on my workout playlist. A lot of that album hits really hard." I shook my head, bringing the mushrooms back to the cutting board. "You are in for it now – I could talk music for hours."

"I can, too – it's why I do this." We fell silent when the tea kettle started whistling. I got the mugs out of the cupboard and added the teabags before I took the kettle off the stove. I filled the mugs with water and left them on the counter to steep. "So you love music...why wrestling?"

"Because I love wrestling a little more. I've been in love with it since I was a kid. I used to watch it with my dad and my grandfather. My grandpa liked Bret, my dad liked Shawn. You can imagine how much fun the house was in the nineties." I felt myself becoming misty. I fanned my eyes with my hand.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. My dad – he passed recently."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks. It's still a bit fresh. I actually just kinda came back from leave." I gave him his teacup and I went to get the sugar dish and the milk from the fridge. I put it on the island and started the omelettes on the stove.

"Was there a magic match that made you decide this is it, I wanna do this?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I don't know if there was a match – I was just always in love with it. Some people can tell you what made them fall in love with it, but for me it was always there. Bret and Shawn at WrestleMania XII is always a favorite of mine. It was an Iron Man match that had to go to sudden death because they couldn't pin or submit the other one in the sixty minute limit. The first time I saw it I was on the edge of my seat."

"Who were your favorites growing up?"

"Oh, God, I had so many! I loved Miss Elizabeth. When I was a little girl, she was the closest thing to a princess, and I wanted to be here and wear the pretty dresses." I laughed. "I loved her and Macho Man. Razor Ramon. Shawn Michaels. Ricky Steamboat. Ultimate Warrior because he was really colorful."

"Anybody more current?"

I laughed. "Of course. There's a lot of those, too. Rock and Austin. Kurt Angle – that guy is an absolute machine. Randy would kill me if I left his name off the list." We both shared a laugh. "Randy has this move he does – it's an inverted neck and back breaker. It's such a killer move. I love it. Um, who else? I love Eddie, Rey. We don't get along, but I think Trish Stratus is kind of the gold standard in my division. Same with Lita and Victoria. I was sad when Molly left because she was so good at what she did, too."

"Who has your favorite music right now?"

"In the company?" I asked. He nodded. I added the vegetables and cheese to the eggs and folded the omelette in half. "Ugh. I really hate to admit it, but I love Callie's music. John composed and wrote his own, which I think is just unbelievable. Lita's music has always been a favorite of mine."

"Does Randy make this list, too?"

"No, but he hates his music, too. He'll tell anyone who will listen." We laughed. "I gotta point out, too, that I think Chris Benoit's music is amazing. But that's a Canadian thing, I think."

"You did mention you were listening to Our Lady Peace's new album."

"I did."

"Are there any musicians you've met that you're surprised to find out are wrestling fans?"

"Not really, just because I know how far and wide we reach. It's cool getting to meet those people, though, and hear them talk about the people they grew up with, and the memories they have. I always love hearing about their favorite matches and the wrestlers who stuck out the most to them."

"So when you're on the road, what do you listen to?"

"It depends on the mood I'm in and who I'm traveling with. If it's a rough night and I need to de-stress, Evolver and Unleashed Memories are my go to albums. If it's a great night and I'm amped, if I'm traveling with my friend Natalie, then it's nineties pop. If I'm with Randy, it's metal. I don't think for a second he'd tolerate the pop music." I started cutting strawberries for the fruit salad. He nodded when I said Natalie's name, and I wondered for a second if he had met her.

"Have you ever traveled with Shane?"

"No. Vince would have a bird. I imagine it would be fun, though. I've had a lot of fun nights out with Shane. Get him in a pub overseas and the next day you're wishing for a new liver."

"I've done that with him on American soil. We were in a frat together," he explained.

"Yeah. I'd buy Shane as a frat boy." I laughed. "One time, he got me so drunk at a bar in Helsinki, Finland, of all places, and we ended up at this karaoke bar rapping 'The Humpty Dance'." Cory laughed. "I know. Shane really knows that song. I feel like I learned something about the two of us that night."

"I feel like everyone has a wild Shane story," he said.

"Yeah. I get that feeling, too." I served breakfast. I made myself a plate, fixed my tea and moved around the island to talk with him some more. We ate breakfast, talking about our schedules, our lives, movies we loved. He told me that WWE was going to do the photo shoot with me on the road and they would send Revolver the pictures to use. It was a cool morning, and before he left he told me that he enjoyed the interview and the talk and that he would be in touch.

After Cory left, I cleaned up breakfast and did the dishes. I had to be at the airport for three, and I should make it to the show for six-thirty. They could have put me on the card for tonight, but I am assuming that tonight was going to be the photographs for the magazine article.

I sat down on the couch and called Randy. He answered on the third ring. He sounded winded. "Good morning."

"Good morning. You actually sound happy to hear from me."

"From you? Always."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just got out of the shower. How did the interview go this morning? Did you find out who it was with?"

"Yeah. Shane set me up with Revolver."

"No shit."

"Yeah. Crazy, right? He just left." I put my feet up on the coffee table. "How is your morning going?"

"It's been a weird morning," he confessed.

"Oh yeah? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I guess. I mean, Dave came up to me at the gym this morning."

"You're kidding. What did he want?"

"He told me he's split with Callie."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. It sounds like it's for good this time. He just said that he was tired of doing this with us."

"Who knows with those two," I said with a sigh. "It'd be nice. I'm tired of doing this with them, too."

"What time do you get in tonight?"

"I should be at the arena for six-thirty, seven, barring any delays."

"You're staying with me, right?"

"If you want me to."

"Of course. I can't wait to see you," he blurted. "I have to go, though. I'm supposed to meet with PS about some stuff this afternoon. I'll see you tonight, okay?" We said our goodbyes and I hung up. I still needed to pack.

I thought about what Randy told me about Dave and Callie. I have no idea what game they are trying to play, if this is legitimate or not, but every part of me hoped that Callie was starting to lose some of her power.