The Cruiserweight (23 page)

“Great idea. See you soon!”

Karen hung up, wondering just what made some
people tick. She’d heard rumors about Kyra Dimes’ past sexual
peccadilloes
—
even rumors on how she‘d gotten a
job with the last company which employed her by “being buggered in
the backdoor” by the chairman
—
but never
considered one of Brett’s closest friends would hit on her, let
alone that friend being a
woman.

She was shocked by the idea of considering such
a proposition, but her birthday was around the time Kyra was due to
arrive in town, so why not try something new? She hoped that Brett
would be able to come as well.

It’s time to stop being such a
prude and let your inner wild woman out, Karen. There’s only a
short time remaining before you become a mother and opportunities
like this one will become fewer and farther between.

CHAPTER 40

“Welcome back, Mama,” Eddie said when Karen
returned to work on Tuesday. “Have a good time in
Orlando?”

“You could say that.”

“Bet you’re happy lover boy was on the PPV. You
get a chance to see him ?”

“You’re nosy today. Yes, we spent some time
together. He’s doing great.”

“Kerrigan did one hell of a job in the ring. It
was good to see he hadn’t lost his touch.”

“Of course not. He wrestled in all of those
independent shows so he wouldn’t have ‘ring rust’ when another
prestigious deal came his way.”

“So how does he feel about becoming a
dad?”

“I never had the opportunity to tell
him.”

“You were down there for three days and didn’t
even bring it up?”

“It’s not like I didn’t try. When I got up the
nerve to tell Brett I needed to discuss something with him, he
always said whatever it was could wait until later. Maybe just as
well, it wasn’t like the weekend of his debut match with Orlando
Wrestling would’ve been the optimum timing anyway.”

“You’re not going to be able to hide being
pregnant much longer.”

“I know that, Eddie, but even when I do, I’m
not sure how Brett will take the news.”

“You’d probably be surprised.”

“I’m still not sure how to approach Brett about
this, being he’d mentioned in the past that he’d hold off on
settling down and having a family until he quit wrestling. In a
way, it’s better for me to raise the baby on my own. I love him too
much to cause any interference in his career. He‘s worked very hard
to achieve what he has, and it‘s clear he loves his
career.”

“Call it just my opinion, which it is, but from
what I’ve observed when the two of you are together, I’ve gotten
the feeling that he loves
you
even more.”

“Always the romantic, Eddie. That reminds me,
did you get the chance to talk to Phoebe while I was
away?”

“I had to toss down a few beers before I got
the balls to do it, but I asked her out. We’re going to dinner
after work on Friday.”

“See, was that so difficult?”

“No, but I need to think about getting through
our date without being a total ass.”

“You and Phoebe have been friends for a long
time. It’s not a blind date. How is Friday going to be any
different from when you two hung out after work other
times?”

“It’ll be an
actual date.”

Karen quirked an eyebrow. “So? All you have to
do is be yourself.”

“Okay, I’ll just act like we’re just hanging
out.”

“Good idea.”

“Did Brett go through shit like this with you
the first time you guys went out?”

“That’s something you’d have to ask him. I
don’t have the gift of crawling inside his head.”

“Thanks, you’re a great help.”

“Eddie, relax. You’re worried about
nothing.”

“I’m holding you to that statement. I need to
get my ass to work before Sullivan gets back. Hey, I might be going
to New York to cover your man’s next indy show.”

“Great! Your first field job. You
excited?”

“I think I’m more nervous about covering the
show than I am about my date with Pheebs.”

“I was the same way with my first assignment.
You’ll find most of the people in the wrestling business are very
nice.”

“I was the same way with my first project.
You’ll find most of the people in the wrestling business are very
nice.”

“Want me to have Brett call you if I run into
him?”

“Sure. I don’t think we’ll have many chances to
talk since he joined Orlando Wrestling and is finishing up some
independent bookings. He has another one on Saturday.”

“Squared Circle Express, right?”

“You
have
been doing your
research.”

“Oh, this is nice,” Phoebe said as she
approached the pair. “My God, Eddie, poor Karen was almost back in
the office before you ambushed her. Let the woman
breathe!”

“I was telling her about our date this coming
Friday and going to New York in a couple of weeks for my first shot
as a reporter.”

“Goodbye to drawing cartoons full time,” Karen
replied. “I was giving Eddie a bit of advice. If you must know, I’m
responsible for encouraging him to ask you on a date.”

“I never knew you were a love expert,” Phoebe
teased.

“Never claimed to be one. Let’s just say since
I’ve learned a thing or two while dating Brett.”

“Have you talked to him since you’ve come
home?”

“No, and I doubt we’ll have many chances now
that he’s going to have a more hectic schedule.”

“There’s always the phone and online
messaging,” Eddie said.

“I doubt he’ll have much time for those. It’s
no big deal, since we’ve gone weeks without contacting each other.
This won’t be any different. As long as I know Brett’s okay, that’s
all the assurance I need.”

Sullivan’s return into the office caught their
attention, and Eddie rose from the chair in front of Karen’s desk.
“If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my area of cubicle hell. See you
ladies at lunch.”

“No, he’s caught up in trying to make a good
impression on the boss since he’d gotten reporter
status.”

“I thought Eddie was having a probationary
period. Did Mr. Sullivan change his mind while I was
gone?”

Phoebe shook her head. “Eddie’s still on that
status until you have the baby. Mr. Sullivan will give him a review
afterward to decide if he’s worthy of a full-time spot or not.
Eddie’s been busting his ass the entire time and worried about the
New York job.”

“I know, I was reassuring him that he’ll do
fine right before you came. I don’t why he’s concerned. He’s very
talented in both writing and cartooning, and he grew up with the
local wrestling scene.”

“Speaking of reporting, I saw your Orlando
Wrestling article. Great work.”

“Thanks.”

“Have a good time with Brett?”

“Now what makes you think I was with
him?”

“Kind of had the feeling you two hooked up for
some one-on-one ‘quality time’.”

“You’re right, and we had fun. He loves
Orlando, feels more comfortable there. I also spent time with other
people.”

“Oh? Who?”

“Kyra Dimes called me.”

“No kidding! What did she want?”

“We had a long discussion about Brett. They’re
old friends and worked together before he was released from his
last contract.” Karen glanced around the room before lowering her
voice. “There’s something else.”

“What?”

“You can’t tell anyone else what I’m about to
say, not even Eddie. Promise?”

“I’ll pretend as if I don’t know a
thing.”

“Good, because some things are pretty
sensitive.”

“Like what?” Phoebe pulled her chair closer.
“Spill!”

“For one, before Brett and I began our
relationship, Kyra had a ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement with
him.”

“Oh my God, she was
screwing
him? I
heard stuff about her ‘getting around,’ with a lot of men,
but
—
”

“Kyra’s a very nice woman, and what went on
between her and Brett was just sex between two lonely friends,
nothing more.
He
ended the part of sleeping with her once he
and I began dating, but they‘ve kept their friendship going and
stay in touch.”

Phoebe stared at Karen in amazement. “It
doesn’t bother you that she was your man’s sex buddy?”

“Calm down. It’s well-known within wrestling
circles Brett hasn’t been fooling around the last several months
with even
one
woman
—
be it a female
roster member or a fan
—
let alone Kyra. She’s
back with her husband and has had a few girlfriends on the
side.”

“Every woman has female friends.”

“Phoebe, that isn’t what I meant.”

“Are you saying what I think you
are?”

“If you’re thinking that Kyra’s slept with
women, then yes. She’s bisexual. Her husband, Brett, and I were the
only ones who knew until now, so don‘t spread any
gossip.”

“I didn’t hear anything. Wait
…
did she hit on
you
, Karen?”

“Sort of. She, uh, wants to meet up when she
does a show here in a few weeks.”

“Does Brett know about her wanting to hook up
with you?”

“For God sake, we’re just getting together as
friends
. I don’t see her as a sex partner. She’s been trying
to have the promoters sign Brett for the same show to replace the
wrestler who canceled. They’re interested in getting him. As for
Brett knowing about Kyra wanting to see me, no, and I’d doubt he
would mind once he does. If he’s able to do the show, she wants all
three of us to hang out.”
I’m not even going to tell you the
part of her suggesting a threesome with me and
Brett.

“Uh
…
yeah. I think she’s
looking for some girl-on-girl action with you. Eddie’s dad knew
Kyra from when she started out, and said she was screwing her way
up the ladder even then. Who knows, from what you’re saying about
her being into women, she’s also been carpet munching with the
other wrestlers’ wives and girlfriends.”

“Phoebe, you act like she’s the world’s biggest
slut. So Kyra likes swinging both ways in bed, big deal. There’s
women in the business who have higher status that she does, and I
can guarantee they’re a hell of a lot more promiscuous. Very few
have actual wrestling ability or talent, so how do you think
they’re
keeping their huge contracts?”

“Merchandise sales?”

“Right. Consider this, if Kyra is such a tramp,
wouldn’t you think someone would have kept her on the roster, even
if there wasn’t anything for her story line wise? If you’ve heard
what she’d gone through to get where she is today, you would have a
different perspective. There were a few times where sleeping with
someone wasn’t always
her
idea.”

“Really?” Phoebe asked, a skeptic tone in her
voice.

“Yes. An ex-boyfriend was also Kyra’s manager
at when she’d gotten a tryout spot for a chance at the very first
major contract of her career. It wasn’t easy to get one at the
time, so she was excited when the opportunity arose. The
promotion’s owner also expressed considerable interest in her, and
they‘d spent a night together when his wife was away. It turned out
Kyra’s loving boyfriend let the big boss have sex with her in
exchange for giving her a roster spot. She was mortified when she
found out, but couldn’t quit because she’d signed a contract with
both the company and her then-boyfriend.”

“Ugh! Some manager. He must have been a lousy
boyfriend to pimp her out like that.”

“You aren‘t kidding. When her contracts were
up, she dumped both, knowing if she was going to make it anywhere
in the business, it was because of her
wrestling
ability.
Kyra may like sex, but in her words, she would ‘never sleep her way
into a job again’ like a few women in the business.”

“When she worked with Brett, there was a story
about her doing the chairman to get a job. Eddie heard a few guys
laughing one time about Kyra ‘taking the boss’ boner in the ass’
for a contract.”

“For your information, she was called up to the
main roster from their training promotion a year after she started
there. I learned not to believe what most men say about the female
talent. Sure, she’d slept with a few guys in addition to Brett and
even had a girlfriend she roomed with on the road, but
never
had anal sex with the company chairman. Just more bullshit people
like to spread. The more she and I talked, I became convinced that
men used Kyra more than she used them. I think her husband and
Brett were the first ones who treated her with any sort of
respect.”

“Damn, maybe I was harsh in judgment,” Phoebe
said. “Now that I know the whole story, I can’t say I blame her for
hooking up with a woman now and then. It doesn’t bother you that
she and Brett slept together?”