Post by Aurora Graves on Jan 29, 2017 12:54:43 GMT -5
Café Sevilla of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
It seemed weird walking into a nightclub during the day. By night, the place would be buzzing with gyrating bodies and flashing lights, with music pulsing through the air. But as Aurora and Damon Graves sat in the corner of a secluded booth, far from any prying eyes, they took a look at their surroundings. Seeing everything in broad daylight made the décor look almost... cheesy.
Nevertheless, the pair were there for business, and were dressed accordingly, with Damon looking as handsome as ever in a dark blue suit. He in turn could not take his eyes off of his wife, who looked stunning in a black sheath dress with a silver studded belt. As he stared at her, he took hold of her hand and smiled.
Damon: You know, I still can’t get over how lucky I am.
A flush of color rushed to Aurora’s cheeks as a soft giggle squeaked from her throat. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she smiled at him.
Aurora: I could say the same about you, Puddin’.
Damon: Don’t do that, Harley. Don’t sell yourself short. You are amazing... not just in the ring, but out of it. Especially out of it. The fact that you even give me the time of day is... well, it’s mind-blowing, at least to me.
Aurora: Look, I don’t care where this journey takes us. As long as I get to take it with you, that’s all I could ever hope for. Win or lose, YOU are my ride or die. Always.
Damon slipped his free hand gently against his wife’s cheek, weaving his fingers into her hair as he pulled her face toward his.
Damon: Always...
The word left his mouth in a velvety whisper as he leaned the rest of the way in. As their lips met, Aurora let out a soft sigh, melting into his kiss. The pair were completely oblivious to the sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
**AHEM**
Aurora furrowed her brow at the sound of a woman clearing her throat, but it wasn’t enough for her and Damon to break the kiss.
**AH-HEM!**
The much louder, obviously forced second noise finally caught the couple’s attention, and they soon felt themselves under the gaze of their manager, Alicia Perry, who was clad in a black skirt and bright red blouse. She stared at them rather (insert colorful adverb here) with her arms crossed. Tucked underneath one arm was a large manila envelope.
Alicia: I hope I’m not interrupting anything....
Aurora and Damon pulled away from each other, both of them with sheepish looks on their faces.
Alicia: Please... just because I’ve been married for eight years doesn’t mean I don’t remember what it was like to be a newlywed. Besides, I’ve caught you two doing MUCH worse. You know, you could start another company... Graves & Graves Furniture Wrecking!
Damon: Wait... that happened in my old apartment. You SAW that!?
Alicia: In my defense, you left the front door wide open. You should consider yourselves lucky I was the one that walked in on you. But anyway, I had to pop by my office and print up some paperwork that the buyer’s agent sent me. All it needs is your signatures and we’ll be good to go.
Aurora and Damon moved over to allow their manager to sit down. Alicia carefully opened up the envelope, pulled out a stack of papers and set them on the table. Some of the pages were marked with red index tabs.
Alicia: I’m not going to bore you with the details you’ve already seen; we’ll get right down to the nitty gritty. The buyers have already signed – all it needs is your approval. So....
She flipped to the last page, where the index tab was lined up with a pair of blank signature lines. Damon was the first to look it over, arching his eyebrow as he scrutinized every detail. Aurora placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.
Aurora: Damon, nothing’s changed since the last time you saw this... remember, she sent us the email beforehand?
Alicia: And you know I wouldn’t steer you two wrong.
As Alicia reached into her purse for a pen, she gave the couple a reassuring smile, not that she needed to. She knew that they trusted her.
Damon: I know... I just wanted to look at that number again.
Aurora: You ass!
Damon: I may be an ass, but you kiss this ass!
Aurora: Just sign the paper and pass the pen, smart guy!
Damon smirked as he took Alicia’s pen and quickly scrawled his name on one of the signature lines, then handed the pen to Aurora. She sighed, then arched her eyebrows as she nervously placed her signature next to his.
Alicia: Congratulations! You just sold your condo!
Aurora let out a wistful sigh as she slid the papers back toward Alicia.
Aurora: And with it goes my last tether to this city...
Damon: What about your parents?
Aurora: I’m speaking in terms of material possessions, Puddin’. Besides, Mom and Dad are looking to downsize, so...
Damon: Don’t tell me...
Alicia sheepishly shrugged her shoulders as a nervous chuckle squeaked out of her mouth.
Alicia: I... may have given them my business card, and they might have asked me to help them find a place in Henderson....
Aurora turned to her husband, a cheesy grin plastered on her face.
Aurora: Well, Puddin’... looks like you’ll be seeing a lot more of your in-laws....
Damon said nothing; the narrow-eyed, sarcastic smile on his face spoke volumes.
Damon: So what’s next?
Aurora: What’s next? We get ready to head back to Japan. But first, I want to hit up an old haunt of mine...
Alicia: Hot Topic?
Aurora: Nope... Come on. We’re done here.
Their business concluded, the trio made their way toward a flight of stairs leading down to the lower level.
Aurora: Shit... I’d hate to have to use this while drunk....
Spencer’s Gifts – South Bay Galleria
Redondo Beach, CA
Wednesday, January 24, 2017
It was a fairly quiet time of day, with the only customers in the store being 20-somethings and older people browsing through the gag gifts section. The Redemption camera crew made their way through the store until finally arriving at the back wall of the store, where Aurora and Damon Graves eyed the various selections of the store’s – well, naughtier items – beneath the glow of several strategically placed black lights. Out of the corner of his eye, Damon spotted something that sparked his interest.
Damon: Okay, NOW we’re getting somewhere...
Aurora turned to see what Damon had found, draping an arm over his shoulder.
Aurora: Find something interesting?
Damon: You could say that... it’s a Liquid Latex Black Light Body Painting kit.
Her interest was piqued for a moment, but her curious expression quickly faded to a disappointed frown.
Aurora: Yeah, but it’s got those crappy-ass sponge brushes, though.
Damon: Harley... you and I both know we’ve got plenty of paint brushes at home we could use instead of this flimsy shit. Remember when we...
Aurora looked up, spotting the camera, and the little red light that indicated that they were – in fact – recording. Turning as red as the polish on her nails, she quickly tapped her husband on the shoulder.
Aurora: DAMON! Ix-nay on the ody-bay aint-pay!
With her eyes wide open in a mix of shock and embarrassment, Aurora pointed past Damon, prompting him to turn around. Upon seeing the camera crew, Damon quickly turned bright red, clearing his throat.
Damon: Ah, and there’s our camera crew! So good of you to join me and my wife as we hit up an old standby from our teenage years. You see, long before Hot Topic was ever a thing, if you were looking for any sort of gag gift or some other novelty, the place to go was Spencer’s Gifts.
Aurora: Of course, when I was in high school, I used to come here, cover my arms in highlighter, and stand right here under the black lights. Makes me wonder, though... Is that how our opponents came up with the name for their stupid little stable?
Damon: I don’t know... maybe they came up with it while having a swordfight with these... glow-in-the-dark strap-ons.
Damon held up his hand. There, wrapped in its harness, was the aforementioned marital aid. It was a pale shade of green, but beneath the black light, it glowed like a neon light.
Aurora: EWWW! Put that shit down!
Damon: Hey, I’m not the one that opened the package and just left it there.
He waggled the object in his wife’s direction. Mortified that he would do that in public, she glared at him.
Aurora: Don’t you point that thing at me!
Damon: Spoilsport...
He put a hand on his hip, shaking his head in mild disappointment.
Aurora: Seriously... put that down before the store thinks YOU took it out of the package.
Damon tossed the item back onto the shelf where he had found it as Aurora rolled her eyes. As she turned back to him, she spotted a long, leather-covered paddle with the words “Bad Girl” in a red leather inlay. She grabbed it, waving it at him in a mock-threatening manner.
Aurora: Don’t make me use this thing, because I will!
The camera’s microphone picked up on the cameraman clearing his throat. Aurora smirked into the camera and set the paddle aside.
Aurora: Anyway, for whatever reason, Devlin Scott has allowed the Black Light Douchebags to run roughshod over Redemption Wrestling, essentially waving their dicks around like they own the place.
Damon: Until now. You see, we don’t exactly take too kindly to being pushed around, least of all by a bunch of hacks that don’t even have any championships to their name.
Aurora: Well, Knux does, but yeah... they spew a lot of shit and don’t have that much to show for it. Why they think they’re the ones that run this fed is beyond me, but I for one think it’s time we put a stop to it.
Damon: But since there’s three of you – mainly because the king douche, Mikhail Reinhardt has his hands full with that pretentious 211-pound sack of bird shit – we get to even the odds by teaming up with the Redemption Heavyweight Champion, Matthew Shields. And while normally, we’d mix about as well as Donald Trump at a feminists’ rally, we’re willing to band together for the greater good...
Aurora: And in this case, the greater good is for these three CHAMPIONS to kick the ever-loving shit out of the Black Light Douchebags.
The way I see it, until you hold championship gold in this company, then you don’t run shit, save for your own mouth. Which is fine by us, because we’ll be more than happy to shut it for you this Sunday at Glory.
Damon: My wife and I didn’t become the Redemption Tag Team Champions by running our mouths; we got the belts by getting in the ring and kicking ass – and EARNING THEM! You guys? You haven’t earned shit in this company...
Aurora: We’re facing off against a team that consists of a guy that calls himself “Subhuman”. Now THERE’S an appropriate name if I ever saw one! Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t “subhuman” mean “less than human”? Shit, and people give me shit for dressing like Harley Quinn!
Damon: “Less than human,” eh? I’ve heard of people with self-esteem issues, but shit...
Aurora: Then again, how good can he be? Pretty much the only times he’s won a match, it was because he was in a tag team match where his PARTNER scored the pinfall, or because one of his fellow BLD goons helped him cheat.
Damon: And then there’s that wanna-be Slash, Luke Knux. He’s the only member of BLD that’s actually held any championships, so maybe that’s a sign that he should stick to wrestling and put the guitar down.
Aurora: Yeah... I heard him play, and to be honest, it sounded like someone shoved a chainsaw up a cat’s ass.
The look on Damon’s face was one of pure revulsion over the mental image provided by his wife.
Damon: Ouch! You’re right; maybe he shouldn’t quit his day job. Then again, once we’re through with him, I get a feeling he won’t be liking his day job too much either.
Aurora: Well, there’s one thing I do know, and that’s never trust a guy that wears more eyeliner than I do.
Damon: And then there’s Spike “Balls of” Steel. A guy that should probably be stuffed in moth balls and stored in an attic somewhere. Seriously? 45 years old and he still thinks he has what it takes to hang with the younger crowd? Never mind the fact that I hear he likes to eat people...
Now it was Aurora’s turn to recoil in disgust. Not that it wasn’t something she’d already heard before, but she still found it revolting.
Aurora: And here I thought cannibalism was frowned upon in most states. Then again, as revolting as the guy looks, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Let him try to sink his teeth into me... I’ll knock his geriatric jaw into the cheap seats! You’re the only one that gets to bite me...
Damon: Um... that may be a little too much information.
Aurora: Like I give a flying fuck! We’re married! What do they expect us to do... crochet?
Damon: It doesn’t matter... the BLD thinks they can just barge in and take over. Not as long as Rebel Ink has anything to say about it. As for our partner, we’ll just have to trust that he’ll be there to hold up his end of the fight.
Aurora: BLD, this Sunday, you’re stepping into the ring with three of Redemption Wrestling’s top champions. And we are about to prove to you beyond any doubt that NO ONE runs roughshod over Rebel Ink!
Damon raised his fists up to the camera, so that the camera got a close-up shot of the words “Stay Down” tattooed on his knuckles.
Five minutes later
Aurora felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. Pulling it out to check the screen, her eyes went wide. She looked up at her husband, a broad smile on her face.
Aurora: Looks like it’s time to check out...
Damon: Come again?
Aurora showed him her phone. As he looked at the display, a look of sudden realization washed over him. He gave her a knowing nod of his head.
Damon: But first, we pay for this stuff...
He held up the body paint kit, giving Aurora a playful wink as they headed for the register.
Damon: So, what do you think he’s planning?
Aurora: You know him... he’s always been one to make an impact. We’ll just have to wait and see.....
