Cursing and sweating, Arden gripped tightly onto her own arm - which was keeping her firmly against him - as she allowed her mind to rest.

She ignored the pain shooting down her arm as she applied significant pressure to her injured wrist. She wasn't about to let some pain keep her from the intense pleasure she was simultaneously receiving.

The wall against her back was cold in comparison to the warmth that his body was radiating off onto hers. Arden couldn't help but bite down a smile that attempted to curl onto her plump lips while she rhythmically moved to the beating of his body on hers. Eventually, they both took one last gulp of air before slowing down to a pause and then separating.

Arden was the first to speak, clearing her throat as she adjusted her top to return it to its more modest positioning. "That was fun," she stated nonchalantly.

He looked at the brown-haired woman with a tired expression, displaying his years of work in a single glance. "That's all you have to say?"

"I'll be sore tomorrow," she added - much to his relief.

Arden raked a hand through her tangled hair. She watched as he dressed himself and imagined her body draped around his, much as it had been moments before. How he could easily pull himself together and walk away after such a rush of hormones flooded both of their bodies was a mystery to her.

Once he was dressed, he rolled his head around his shoulders and looked at her. "Thanks for the warm-up, babe. I needed it."

Arden nodded and smirked. "That's all you have to say?" she asked, mimicking his earlier question.

Her tone brought a full smile to his lips - one that he was slow to remove. His bright blue eyes caught a glimpse of her oceanic blues and she could instantly see her sweaty figure in the reflection. "I'll call you later," he explained before gripping her chin and closing the space between them for a brief moment. His soft lips were rough against hers and without a chance to relish in the romance of the gesture; he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Knowing the routine, Arden waited for ten minutes before exiting. She checked her phone multiple times, responded to some tweets and emails during the waiting period, and then off she went.

"If someone looked up the word 'messy' in the dictionary, they would find a picture of you."

Arden chuckled at her friend's comment before raking a hand through her thick, brunette hair. "I'm opinionated and I know what I want," she explained as her laugh faded. "How does that make me messy?"

Lana, who had been Arden's friend ever since the two joined NXT at the same time, held up a finger to enumerate her qualities. "You slept with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, effectively ruining both of their relationships."

The brunette shook her head. "Seth's fiancée left him when she found the pictures he sent to that rookie. It had nothing to do with me."

"What about Roman's marriage?"

Arden shrugged. "We only did it once. He didn't have to say anything."

It was true. Arden did ruin Roman's marriage - at least that's what Roman's wife and every Roman Reign's fan said. As for Seth, Arden only made the situation worse by capitalizing on an already broken man. Seth needed comforting that neither his fiancée or the rookie he sexted could provide.

Did she regret the outcomes? Absolutely. Did she regret being the only woman on the planet to sleep with both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns? Hell to the no.

Before Lana responded, the bartender shoved two more shots of tequila in the women's direction. The two downed their shots and continued their banter.

"You love unavailable men," Lana suggested, much to Arden's dismay.

"It's not their unavailability that attracts me. Who can honestly say that they live for having sex with men who don't commit?" Arden shook her head. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

Arden sent her blonde friend a knowing look. "I'm not stupid, you know. I've seen the way you watch those NXT rookies run the ropes. Lashes batting, lip biting, a quick flip of hair over the shoulder... If it weren't for the ring on your finger I wouldn't doubt you'd be all over their muscular bodies."

Lana's jaw fell agape and she teasingly swatted her friend's shoulder with a dry laugh. "I do not watch anybody but my fiancé."

"That's a lie," Arden commented before drowning her words out with her larger glass of whiskey. The blonde-haired woman watched her friend shoot whiskey - something she couldn't do without burning her throat - and scoffed minimally. "What?" Arden asked, placing the empty glass onto the bar.

"Is your throat not crying right now?"

"No... Is it supposed to be?"

Lana shook her head before feeling a warm hand drop down onto her shoulder, which was only covered with the thick strap of a fashionable tank-top. The two were stopping by a bar before they headed back to their hotel for the night. They were heading out of Washington D.C. in the morning and wanted something to take the edge of Battleground off.

"Are you two ladies expecting company?"

Both women looked up, only for Arden to turn away. "Don't you have a soccer mom reference to make, Amore?"

Enzo Amore, crazy hair and all crossed his arms and pouted. "Don't you have a relationship to ruin, Lights?" It was then that the women noticed, a much taller, Cass standing behind him.

Arden chuckled under her breath. "Congrats on your win tonight, boys. It's nice to see, even people I hate, represent the underdogs so well."

Cass sat down and Enzo smirked at the comment. They all knew Arden was joking in her typical sarcastic fashion, so Enzo let it slide. He glanced down at Lana, who was politely remaining quiet, before looking back up at Arden. "It's gonna be weird not having you on RAW with us, Lights."

"Stop calling me that, Amore. My name is Arden."

"Arden...Arden Lights...Lights," he sang to himself as he danced mindlessly in his spot. "It's all the same damn thing."

Arden shook her head and chugged down another shot of tequila. "They didn't draft me anywhere yet," she admitted. "They're waiting for my doctors to clear me before they assign me to a brand. For all we know, they could be debating whether or not to sign me anywhere at all."

"It ain't my place to tell you this, but word around the locker room is that Mick and Steph are doing everything they can to bring you to RAW."

Arden smiled at Enzo's statement while refusing to make eye contact with him. She knew she was a rare breed. The second her feet hit the mat, she lit up like fireworks. There wasn't a single woman in the company that she didn't out-perform, even when she wasn't wrestling. Her promo abilities were unmatched as well.

The only real problem she had was her reputation and it didn't seem to matter how apologetic her excuses were, nobody bought it.

"I don't know," Arden began. "From the looks of it, SmackDown might need some help."

"Carmella has everything over there under control," Cass spoke. He was a giant - a friendly one - who would do anything to defend his girlfriend. Honorable, but it tended to annoy Arden to no end.

Arden nodded. "Aside from the wrestling abilities, I mean. She's good on the mic but not a lot of the other girls are. They could use a little reinforcement."

"Or," Lana added, "You could come over to RAW and win a championship. You, of all people, deserve to hold that belt. I'm sure that Daniel and Shane want you just as badly as Steph and Mick."

Enzo took a seat next to the brown-haired woman, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder. "You know that you want to join us at RAW. We're more than just the obvious choice - we're the best choice. You'd be in such good company that the fans would forget all about those scandalous articles you were mentioned in and focus on what you do best."

Arden looked at him before noticing a familiar face lingering in the background. It was hard to see at first - Enzo's hair being wildly good at hiding things - but as soon as her eyes locked onto the tired blue eyes that she'd grown so fond of she couldn't look away.

It was the face of her reason for not wanting to give up on going to SmackDown just yet.

Standing up, Arden didn't bother replying to Enzo's statement. "I'll be right back."

The situation itself was vaguely familiar.

The actions were all the same. The pain in her wrist was the same. The sweat on the back of her neck was the same. The feeling of a cold surface pressing against her warm body was the same; it just happened to be a different cold surface.

As soon as they wrapped up, Arden watched him dress once again before walking out of the bathroom stall. They had become masters at hiding their meetings by not only locking themselves up in public stalls, but by locking themselves in the restroom all together. It kept unwanted attention away from the intimacy of their encounters.

"You couldn't have picked a more decent place to screw me?"

He slipped his shirt on and ran his hands through his messy hair. "Hotel rooms and empty arena closets aren't that high of a step from public bathrooms."

Arden scoffed. "Really? It took us a few minutes to find a stall that wasn't completely disgusting and even then the smell in here didn't help anything."

"You never said you wanted luxury."

The brunette combed through her hair with her hands as she stared at herself in the mirror. Lana was right. She was a mess. The smudged eyeliner in the outer corner of her eyes and the lip gloss she remembered putting on before heading out to the bar, was missing, both cases displayed just how messy she truly was.

She noticed the slight shift in his stance. It was as if their time together changed something within his bones to where the weight of being such a superstar didn't bear down on his shoulders anymore. Arden didn't know whether her assumption was true, but for all intents and purposes, she believed she was good for him.

"Luxury? No. Decency? Yes, please."

She twirled until she was facing him with a gleaming smile placed on her cheeks. He waltzed over and placed his hands on her hips, supporting her 5'4" frame. The usual twinkle in his eyes was still there, she noticed. He seemed so relaxed just sitting there with his hands on her body. It was as if they were meant to be there, in that moment.

"Decency it is, then. Next time you'll be the one to make plans and show up on my turf unannounced."

"You think my turf is a bar?" Arden held back her offended glare.

"Is it not?" An ovary-pleasing dimple popped up on his cheek and he brushed a fallen strand of hair from Arden's forehead. "Damn you, Arden Lights. I think I have a sweet spot for you."

His words erased whatever offense she'd harbored and left room for her heart to drop into her stomach. "I guess that means you'll take better care of me, then."

"Take better care of you? You think I have anything left of me to do better? I haven't ever fucked anybody that good and you still want more?"

Arden released a tense sigh and stepped away. "Not what I meant," she muttered.

She watched him walk towards the door of the bathroom and wrap his hands around the key in the lock. "Call me whenever you're ready," he called back to her, killing whatever romance was left in the air.

He unlocked the door to leave before bumping into an innocent bystander who looked as if she'd been waiting forever to use the restroom. As soon as he walked away, the young woman shared a shocked expression with Arden.

"Was that Dean Ambrose?"

Arden took a deep breath and raised her eyebrows. "I don't know what you're talking about," she managed to spit out. Arden pushed past the young woman and walked away, sighing in relief as her warm skin hit the cool air from outside the bathroom.

a/n: Here it is! I've been working on writing a new story featuring this original character of mine for so long that I was beginning to think it would never happen. Once I heard about the new draft and I finished the brutal poll on my profile (which after nearly a month of being there, still landed in a tie), I finally figured out the concept for this new story! I hope you all come to love Arden and her story as much as I love the ideas running through my head. There are plenty of surprises to come and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Please leave a review, (it can be simple and direct!) letting me know if I should continue! As much as I love favorites/follows, reviews are what lets me know that you're all genuinely interested in what's coming next. Thank you in advance!

With love. :)