Nerdy Girl Nation (Nerdy Girl #1)

by Lindsey Gray

  She picked up her pint and tipped the cool glass toward him before taking a sip. The bubbles warmed her, flowed down her throat and settled in her stomach.

  “God, so good.” She smiled at her new favorite barman and set the pint down.

  “Best in Boston.”

  Emma turned to find Kieran Finley walking out of the kitchen with a dish towel thrown over his shoulder.

  “And you’re the connoisseur, Mr. Finley?”

  “I’ve tried a nip about every pint they serve in the place. This one here’s the best.” The barman set another glass on the bar, but with much less of the heavenly drink. “Don’t drink much of the stuff meself, but a nip here and there never hurt none.”

  Emma felt at complete ease with the young Irishman. His accent flowed off his tongue with a sweet edge. The heavenly inflections only complemented his six foot four frame of solid muscle. The dark brown, almost black hair made his green eyes pop. The camera would love him and the fans would go crazy for him.

  “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

  Kieran led her to a table with both their drinks in hand. Al and Ben followed setting the camera up only a few feet from their table. Their food was brought a few moments later. They ate and drank and talked for only an hour, but the man was definitely IWA material.

  “Can you spend a day in our training facility with some of our guys?”

  “Name the day and I’ll be there.” He switched from laidback to eager and excited in an instant.

  “How about tomorrow?” she asked and saw his eyes light up.

  “On my list.” He tapped his temple and smiled.

  “I have a good feeling about you, Finley. Don’t make me regret it.”

  Kieran shook her hand. “You’ve got my word. I won’t be makin’ you sorry, Miss MacLean.”

  Emma walked out with a feeling like she’d taken another step in the right direction. Kieran Finley was exactly what the IWA needed to shake them up a bit.

  The moment Rob walked into the house Emma and Nell were thinking of buying, he felt at home.

  The first floor was one big space. The kitchen, dining, and living rooms were all together. He imagined the huge family dinners in the dining room. The room was big enough for a table to seat sixteen.

  Emma and Nell held onto each other and walked from one room to another with tears in their eyes. He saw both of them fall more in love with the house with each step they took.

  “Well? You think you want to make an offer?” the realtor, he’d learned was named Gina Lombard, asked.

  “When can we get an inspection done?” Emma asked.

  “If I get the offer to the buyer today, I can call in a favor and get an inspector out here tomorrow.” Gina was all smiles, as she should be. The inspection didn’t matter; Emma would do whatever needed to be done to live in the house.

  Emma turned to Rob. “I didn’t ask what you thought.”

  He took her hand and pulled her away from Nell and Gina.

  “You know what I see when I look at this house?” She shook her head. “You making dinner in the kitchen with Annie and Nell while Charlotte frosts one of her cakes for our dessert. Over there.” He pointed to the empty living room. “I see a big, comfy couch we can all lounge on for movie nights with popcorn fights. And out there.” He pointed out the back window at the large back yard. “I see barbecues and birthday parties and a tire swing. I see a tree house and campouts and making some memories that will last forever.”

  “You do?”

  “We might not be there yet, but we will be and I think this is the house where we all can be happy. Look at Nell.” Emma turned to see Nell with stars in her eyes. “This can be a real family house. MacLeans, De Lacys, and even maybe a Breyer or two.”

  She grabbed him by the back of the neck and brought his lips down to hers. He responded with everything he had in him, knowing this kiss would be the first of millions they would share under her roof.

  Nell’s laugh carried over to the two and broke them apart.

  Emma touched her lips and turned to Gina. “You got a pen?”

  After the high of the weekend with the house inspection going so well, her offer accepted, and signing her first wrestler to a contract, Emma hadn’t expected a low Monday night in Kansas City.

  “How bad is it?” Peaches winced when the doctor prodded her knee for the hundredth time since she and Cherry left the ring.

  Dr. Sorenson hated to give bad news, but by furrowed brow and sorrowful eyes, Emma surmised it wasn’t good.

  “You’ll need an MRI, but I fear your ligament is torn.”

  Emma saw the tears well in Peaches’ eyes. Months of rehab and an uncertain future were not what Emma saw for the talented woman who moments after her injury secured a Bombshell tag team title shot.

  “What can we do, Emma?” Cherry asked at her tag team partner’s side. “I can’t fight for the titles by myself, can I?”

  “You ladies have two options?”

  Emma turned to see Aaron enter the room with a small smile on his face.

  This is bad. Very, very bad.

  “Only two, Mr. President?” Emma scoffed.

  Aaron expression told Emma he was not amused.

  “I will leave it up to you ladies, but I’d like you to hear my options.” Aaron waited for a response and Emma nodded for him to continue. “You can forfeit the match and The Ramona’s will get the title shot.” Cherry stood to object, but Aaron lifted his hand to halt her. “Or.” Cherry sat and crossed her arms. “You can choose another partner.”

  Emma rolled her eyes. She went through a mental list of whom Cherry had to choose from. The Bombshell division wasn’t as big as the men’s, so the ladies who weren’t involved in matches or a natural enemy of Peaches and Cherry were few. She glanced up to Aaron and to find him staring at her. She turned her gaze toward Peaches, then Cherry and saw both the ladies were staring at her, too.

  “No.” Emma stepped back toward the door. “No. No. No. No. No. No way.”

  “You’re ready. We’ve been working so hard,” Cherry pleaded.

  Emma felt her heart beat hard against her breastbone. She couldn’t get enough air in her lungs, which might be causing the black spots blurring her vision.

  “Whoa, girl. Don’t freak out.” Cherry grabbed Emma’s hand and led her to sit in a chair next to Peaches.

  Aaron handed her a bottle of water and she sipped at the cool drink while she tried to calm down.

  “Hey.” Peaches grabbed Emma’s hand. “You can do this. Betty and Wendy won’t know what hit them.”

  Emma attempted to let the idea sink in. Harry would be ecstatic and a little jealous. Her father would worry. Rob would be supportive. He might even help her out. She’d worked well with Lazlo and he kept telling her what a natural talent she was. She could almost hear Bill Bell’s voice telling her to get her ass in the ring and give it all she had.

  Every face in the room smiled with encouragement. Emma turned to Al and Ben and saw both of them nod to her. They sealed it. Those two had showed her the footage they had taken during her training sessions and pointed out all her best efforts. They had complete faith in her. With their approval, Aaron’s suggestion, and pleas from Cherry and Peaches, she had no choice.

  “I’ll do it.”

  Cherry jumped on Emma’s lap and hugged her tight. “You won’t regret this. I’ve got your back. We will work our asses off this week. There will be no way we can lose.”

  “We can go out and make the announcement in a few minutes. The men’s tag team match should be over soon.”

  “We’ll need to go back to Boston tonight. I want to get started as soon as possible.” Emma also didn’t want to give herself any time to think about backing out. The sooner she started, the sooner she would convince herself she could actually fight live in front of forty thousand fans.

  Rob and Chance entered the backstage area to find several of their fellow wrestlers ready to congratulate them. The only
person Rob wanted a glimpse of at the moment was Emma.

  After a few moments, he caught sight of Emma with Aaron. She wrung her hands together and nodded to Aaron when she spoke.

  Al and Ben were there to catch every moment, but Rob decided he would take the risk. He grabbed Chance by the arm and pulled him over to Aaron and Emma with him.

  “Congratulations, gentlemen,” Aaron offered with a pat on Rob’s back. “I didn’t get to catch the end of the match, but I heard it was a fantastic victory.”

  Chance smacked Rob’s bare chest. “This one got Vinnie on the ropes then jumped and pushed him back with both feet on his chest. When Vinnie bounces back, Bobby grabs Vinnie in a headlock and slams him to the mat. Easy three count.”

  “Ah, the old Diamond Cutter gets ‘em every time.” Aaron shook his hand. “We’ll have more time to talk later, but Miss McLean and I have an announcement to make.”

  Rob gazed into Emma’s eyes and saw turmoil there. He tried to silently communicate with her his worry but didn’t get a chance. A few seconds later, she and Aaron were on their way out to the ring.

  “What’s going on?” Chance asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure as hell going to find out.”

  Aaron’s music played as the two of them made their way to the ring. Emma’s mask slipped into place and the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.

  Just get through today.

  Her motto ran on a loop in her mind the entire walk to the ring. When the two of them were in the ring with microphones in hand, the butterflies in her stomach seemed to turn into vicious bees stinging her in a constant steady stream.

  “Only one match left tonight, but we wanted to address what happened earlier tonight in the Bombshell’s tag team match,” Aaron said and nodded for Emma to continue.

  “Unfortunately, the injury Peaches sustained at the end of her match will keep her from competing in the Bombshell Tag Team title match with Cherry on Sunday.” Emma heard the sound of the fan’s hearts breaking.

  “I gave Cherry and Peaches two options,” Aaron announced.

  “To forfeit the match and letting The Ramona’s fight instead,” Emma said. The crowd booed and screamed in protest.

  “Or,” Aaron spoke up. “Cherry could choose another partner.”

  A collective hush settled over the crowd when Aaron stretched his pause out for several seconds.

  “Cherry has informed me of her choice and her new partner has agreed to participate in the match.”

  This was it. Emma felt like she would throw up any second. She swallowed hard and kept the false smile on her face.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, making her in ring debut this Sunday night at Breaking Rules with Cherry in the Bombshell Tag Team Championship match is our own … Emma MacLean.”

  The sound of thousands of gasps hit Emma’s ears before an uproar of applause soared through the arena. The crowd’s instant support took a large weight off Emma’s shoulders.

  The rest of the segment was a blur, but she arrived backstage with the crowd’s continued praise. The awaiting chair held her weight as she collapsed when she stepped into the backstage area.

  Someone thrust a bottle of water into her hand and sat down beside her.

  “We can do this Emma,” Cherry whispered and took Emma’s hand in her own. “We’ll get started tomorrow. I’ve got faith in you.”

  “You’re right. No problem. We can do this.” Emma twisted the cap off the bottle and took a swig of the cool water.

  She almost spit when she saw Betty and Wendy approach them.

  “Just because you’re the boss, don’t mean we’re gonna go easy on you,” Betty uttered with obvious disgust.

  Emma stood and looked Betty straight in the eye. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

  “So we got it all straight. When you go down on Sunday, no hard feelings.” Betty pasted a wicked grin on her face.

  “Let the best Bombshell win.” Emma kept eye contact with Betty and prayed her confidence wouldn’t slip again.

  Wendy pulled Betty back after a moment and Cherry put her arm around Emma. The pair walked to Emma’s dressing room and away from the cameras.

  “What’s going on?”

  Both Emma and Cherry were surprised to see Rob in Emma’s dressing room.

  “I’m fighting on Sunday. Aaron wanted me in the ring eventually, but Peaches’ injury sped up the timetable.” Emma’s voice wavered a bit, but she kept her composure.

  “I wouldn’t have asked her if I didn’t think she could do it.” Cherry shot Rob a glare.

  “Oh, I know she can,” Rob exclaimed.

  “You do?” Emma and Cherry asked at the same time.

  “I’ve seen you. I know you’re ready, but do you?” Rob lifted one eyebrow with his question.

  Emma took a moment to absorb everything. Rob supported her. Cherry was sure they’d win. Bill told her years ago she was born to be in the ring. Aaron was behind the whole mess a hundred percent. Most of all, the fans seemed excited to see her in action.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breath. “I can do this.”

  “That’s my girl.” Rob grabbed her behind the neck and brought her into a ferocious kiss, taking away her cleansing breath in an instant.

  “I knew it!” Cherry shouted and clapped.

  Emma pulled back and placed her forehead on Rob’s bare shoulder, her hand on his sweaty hip. “You’re in so much trouble.”

  “I don’t care. I’ll make it up to you later.” Rob pressed a kiss into her hair and pulled her into his arms.

  Cherry shook her head. “I can’t wait to see how this is gonna play out.”

  “Me too.” Emma kissed the side of Rob’s neck and squeezed him tighter.

  “They can’t go in.” Aaron’s assistant pointed to Al and Ben.

  Emma turned away from Aaron’s office door and studied the woman’s expression. She seemed a tad terrified, but she didn’t appear to be backing down.

  “Mr. Russell said that any issues discussing private company policy were not to be filmed,” the woman said with as much confidence she could muster.

  Emma let her sweat for a few additional seconds before nodding and removing her mic pack. She handed it off to the guys and entered Aaron’s office.

  “What’s this all about?” Emma questioned and shut the door. It was then she found a furious Rob seated on the couch.

  “Thank you for joining us, Miss MacLean. Please sit.” Aaron pointed to the couch where Rob sat.

  Confused about what the three of them needed to speak about she hesitated, but when Aaron lifted his brow at her slight defiance, she sat next to Rob.

  “As you both know, it is company policy for all wrestlers to provide a urine sample after they are out with an injury.”

  Emma held up her hand to interrupt. “If this is about Rob, he gave a sample and I watched while the tech did the initial test. Everything was negative.”

  “Yes, the initial test was, but after further testing, Mr. Breyer’s sample came back positive for Methamphetamine.”

  “And it’s complete and utter fucking bullshit!” Rob raged. He jumped up and paced while pulling at his hair with one hand.

  Emma lost her voice at the sound of Rob’s anger. She felt like she was in a parallel universe or something. Why in the world would Rob abuse drugs after being nine years sober? The answer was crystal clear to her. He wouldn’t.

  Emma’s hands shook, but she tried to keep her voice even. “This has to be a mistake. Rob wouldn’t touch meth or anything like it.”

  “Oh, he knows that.” Rob turned back to point at Aaron. “Doesn’t mean that he’s not suspending me until further testing can be done.”

  “What? No!” Emma stood in outrage herself. “He and Chance have to fight at Breaking Rules.”

  “Emma, it is per company policy. You know it. The bright side of this is Rob had a random drug test less than thirty days ago and it was clean. Plus, he has never had a
positive test before. I think something is going on here, but until we get additional testing done, my hands are tied.” The wrinkle in Aaron’s usually smooth brow conveyed his worry over the ordeal.

  “Take my blood, hair, spit. Hell, I’ll even jizz in a cup if you want me to. Jesus Christ!” Rob groaned and dropped down on the couch.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. I will take you to a different lab. I’ve already contacted the director and I’m assured she will oversee the testing personally.” Emma sensed there was something Aaron wasn’t saying.

  “What else?”

  Aaron turned to meet her stare and she gave her own brow lift. Her assistant in LA had dubbed it as her don’t-fuck-with-me look.

  “Per policy, Rob is not allowed to have contact with anyone in the company until I inform him of the results.”

  Emma felt like she had been kicked in the chest. She knew what that meant and so did the men in the room. No contact between Emma and Rob.

  “How long?” Emma said without thinking.

  “Forty-eight hours,” Aaron responded without pause.

  Emma sank down and sat on the edge of the couch. Two days? It wasn’t much time. They went twelve years, but that was before. Now, more than two waking hours without him seemed like an eternity. Two days would place them at Thursday. With a negative result, there would be plenty of time to get Rob to LA for Breaking Rules.

  “I’ll give you a few minutes and then I’ll go with Rob to the lab.”

  Emma felt her head nodding but didn’t notice Aaron slipping from the room.

  “This is bullshit, just like you said. I hate it, but Aaron’s right about the policy.”

  Rob threaded his fingers through her hair and brought her lips to his. The kiss started off rough, tongues thrusting and chests pressing hard against each other. Then Rob tapered off to slow and sensual kisses, the kind that made her thighs warm and her bra too tight.

  His lips smiled against hers. He pulled back and caught her gaze. “When they have taken all my bodily fluids and everything comes up negative, I will reward your faith in me.”

  A quiver of her Kegel muscles told her she would be using them a lot more once those test results came in.