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 |  Subject: The Second First Time  Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:38 am | |
| I’ll be honest here; I have nothing for this week. Seriously, I don’t. What the hell can I even talk about? That’s why the second match in anybody’s career with a promotion should be the tryout. Not their debut match. Yeah, they got through the first match alright, because they had something to talk about. I don’t care if it was a bold-faced lie about how excited they were to be here, it’s not their debut match that matters. It’s the one after it…because all of your jitters are gone; the butterflies are out the window. NOW…now it’s go time, and if you can’t get through “go time”, then don’t even bother showing up the following week, because you should be out the door. Last week’s match should’ve been the freakin’ dark match that only the fans that showed up to Denver got to see. I know, I know, I’m talking down about myself here, but it’s the truth. I was lucky that my first match here in IWF got to make air, which is as much as I never got in any other place. Other places, you had to earn your spot on TV. It made sense, really. For the longest time, I thought that those damn things should’ve never existed, but now…it makes sense.
I don’t know why I’m talking about this, but really, like I said…I have nothing to talk about. I could mention how yours truly is 1-0, but do records really matter? Maybe, in the long run…but I don’t give a fuck if I’m undefeated or what. Maybe I care if my record is over the .500 mark, but that’s about it. You don’t want that on your resume? Few years back, when I went back to help finish off a promotion that was pretty much on life support due to a few mishaps, one being that they didn’t even have a World Champion, I went 0-6 during my time there, including a loss on their final PPV of the year to some hack that is probably running some drug deal in an alley somewhere. Then again, that was during my…”off” time, if I can define that as lightly as I can. Yeah, didn’t say I was an honest bastard, that’s for damn sure.
Should I talk about my opponents this week? Hell, I have no idea who they are. Every time that I have to mention to fans or Jen, or anybody in that matter who I’m going up against…I don’t know. I have to log-on to the IWF website just to see who I’m going to be looking across to in that ring once the bell goes off. And from the looks of it, since I was just on that site…Dante Wrath and Brent Carter. Yep, have no fucking idea on who they are or what they have accomplished. They’re just as green here as I was last week. Maybe they have accomplished something elsewhere, and if so, then good for them, but, dammit, so have I. So…there’s no real accomplishment if you will. Nobody cares here what you’ve done elsewhere. Here, you have a clean slate. I’ve recognized that, although it’s nice to have it on your checklist. But I’m not here to flaunt past history. It’s not about the past, it’s about the present, and about the future.
Or should I mention the bastard who decided to just come on out to the ring and destroy my opponent to a figment of his imagination last week? Really…an unknown guy who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips coming out to tell people of his arrival or return. Haven’t heard that one before…I was being sarcastic there, if you couldn’t tell. Of course you knew. But seriously, everywhere I seem to go, there’s always somebody like this running around. The guy who thinks he’s big shit by making appearances like this and doing promos that are dark and mysterious, like we’re supposed to guess who he is. Then, when he actually does finally reveal himself, it’s like one big softcore porn movie you watch on Cinemax at 1 in the morning. All style, no substance. A big fat “WHAT? That’s it?!” I’ve been through more of that shit that you can shake a stick at. It’s not clever; it’s not genius…stop being a pussy. If you want a piece of me, then all you have to do is ask. I’ll be glad to kick your ass all over the building. I’m standing right here, asshole.
Hmm, guess I did have something to say after all. Because I know that I’m going to be here the next week, and the week after that, and the week after that, and…well, the week after THAT, I’ll probably be busy, but you get the damn point. So there you go. Carpe diem, bitches.== September 2nd, 2011A day that I didn’t even see coming. Sitting on my couch, about ready to watch a movie when the phone rang. It was my good friend – and person who I actually helped train to become a wrestler – Jay. He just said a few simple words…get your Sunday’s finest on, you got a date tonight.
WAIT, WHAT?!
Even though I moved out of the house that me and Angie bought together a couple months prior to focus on the return of myself to a damn ring, I still wasn’t ready to hear the “D” word so soon…even if it was almost 2 years since Angie died. Still, it felt like it was a little too early for it. Besides, knowing Jay, who is quite the trickster, could’ve set up some big fat cow for a date just for kicks. It’d be harsh, and I’d disown him then, but he still would’ve thought about it. But I couldn’t get anything out of him. He said it was a blind date, so I had to go and accept the fact that it was a blind date. May god help me, I had to go through with this.
So I showered up, put on a nice checkered button-up (which is the closest you’ll ever see me “dressed up”. None of that “suit and tie” BS) and that’s when I heard a knock on the door. It wasn’t her, was it? No, it was Jay. Least I had someone to walk to the restaurant with. Living in the city has it’s blessings and it’s curses. This was a blessing.
So as we’re walking…I could remember the conversation we both had.I don’t know why I even agreed to this?Hey, listen…it’s about damn time you got yourself back in the battlefield. It’s better than staying home and sulking, right? You’ve been doing that for the past year.Well, you know me…And that I do, but honestly, it’s time to try again. I loved Angie with all my heart, and so did a lot of people. If Amy died, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself, but at least I wouldn’t be spending my time hoping that one day, she came back. And man, that’s what you need to do.Well, at least you got me thinking that this isn’t some stunt you were trying to pull or anything.Oh, you mean this…TOTALLY a stunt I was pulling.So you really did pay off some 400 lb. behemoth just for shits and giggles, didn’t you?What? Me…NOOOOOOOO! Hell no. Although, I’ll be honest, thanks for the future idea there, slick. I got a friend that you haven’t met before, says he needs some excitement in his life. I got the perfect woman for him.Now I did remember pulling out his iPhone and having him writing that down on his phone. Whether or not he actually went through with the idea, I have no clue. Perhaps I should ask him that in the future.You’re fucking sick, you know that?Known that before I met you, man.So, can you tell me anything about this girl? Name, hair color, occupation…is she actually a girl?Dude, stop giving me blind date ideas here. You’re killing me here.Another idea written on his phone. Dude is really twisted in the head…No, but really?I already told you, her name is Jennifer. She is friends at work with Amy, and she’s a brunette. That’s all I’m going to help you out with. It’s supposed to be a “blind date”, remember? I may have helped others in the field of love, but…?The “Girlfriend Search” does not count.*sigh* How many times do I have to describe the "Girlfriend Search" to everybody. A few years back, a friend of mine and Jay's, Brad was...how do I say this lightly? Being a fucking pest...to Amy and Jay at the least. Barging in to watch the game when Amy and Jay were about to do the "Horizontal Monster Mash" was the last straw, so they put together the "Girlfriend Search", a competition to see who was going to be Brad's next love. There was transgenders, some girls with "incredible" talents if I can put it lightly, Angie was involved (during a time which we were not together), and there was TONS of "Spanish Flea" being played. In the end, Brad picked Megan, the final girl to be interviewed. The thing was, was that Brad and Megan met WAY before the competition...so, Brad was pretty much just being a dick to Jay.
But who isn't a dick towards Jay? Heh. Anyways, back to the story...It totally did.Dude, Brad and Megan were together six weeks before the damn contest, the competition was just a way to get her on-screen for the first time.I still helped…How? Getting your wife to actually share the food while she was about 8 months pregnant with Ellie?Does that NOT count as help?Whatever you say, man. Whatever you say.So we arrive at the establishment…a nice little place near the Inner Harbor. I’ve walked by it so many times on my way to watch the Orioles and/or the Ravens play, and yet…never ate there. My parents have…and my mom actually lost her cell phone there and accidentally had it frozen. Long story there…but this is about my date right now, and…not gonna lie, I’m feeling the jitters here.Not gonna lie…actually a trite nervous here.Who the fuck says “trite” anymore? You’re not British, man. Just don’t screw up and don’t be an ass. Don’t do what I did on my first date with Amy.What did you do on your first date with Amy?You’ve seen Old School, right?Yeah…Completely the opposite.I got a pat on the shoulder for that one...I just sighed with misery.Good to know.Man, I’m just fucking with you. Take it easy.WELL YOU'RE NOT HELPING!!!Seriously though…it’s time to move on. Listen, if things don’t work out the way you want it to, then hit me up. If they do, then you can at least offer you the ride back to your place, okay?Yep.Tear it up, man…I mean, not her, the date I meant.Sure you did.YOU CAN THANK ME LA—SLAM!
I rushed in and shut the door. He laughed…then gave me the middle finger and then left, checking his phone.
There, that will shut him up. I swear on my life, he doesn’t shut the hell up. But he’s a good friend, more like the brother I never have…and hey, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be in this situation I’m in right now. Outside a nicely-placed restaurant here in Baltimore, about ready to have the first date that I’ve ever had since…you know what, I can’t really remember. I know, I’ve spent times with Angie before, but once you’re really “together”, you don’t really call them dates anymore. So, it’s been a LONG time since going on one of these things. How were you supposed to dress? How “yourself” do you have to be? What the hell is going on here?
Sorry…got carried away there…again.
*gulp* Here goes nothing.
Wait, how will she know who I am? Does she even watch wrestling? You think Jay would’ve walked in here with me to meet her and then bail and…
Who is that waving on the cell phone? I look around, and I see nobody. I thought it was a friend of this person or something. Then I hear her mouth move as she continues to wave. Somehow at that moment, I could read lips and I read her’s as clear as day…Kevin?That must be Jennifer.
That can’t be her, can it?
No, it’s not a friend I once knew in high school or anything. She’s not the long lost love from elementary school or during that “one fateful summer” bullshit that people like to throw on you. I was just…floored I guess.
Long brunette hair, her eyes were actually showing a faint coloring of green in there somewhere. It was kind of hard to explain, really. It was like the first time I saw Angie. Although here, there was less “All Along the Watchtower” playing. I still don’t know if the jukebox was ACTUALLY playing that or it was in my head since I’ve seen countless movies where scenes like that happen. But, this time…even though I was floored, I kept my cool about it and sat down on the other side.You were waving at me, weren’t you?Are you Kevin?Yeah. Are you Jennifer?Yeah. But I’m not a fan of that name. If you want, Jenny or Jen is fine by me.Okay then…Jen.She lets out a small chuckle.Heh, I just rhymed there, didn’t I? That’s me in a nutshell, right there.Should I be worried?Beats the hell out of me.She lets out another small chuckle. Making her laugh…it’s a start.
A start that keeps on continuing to this very day, really. That was what…September? 4 months in, and everything is going just as fine as you could tell. Sure, she’s no Angie, but did I want Angie 2.0? Hell no, I didn’t. She’s AS different as Angie ever was. Jen has a little more kick to her, she has a little more “get up and move” vibe. Angie was laid back, Jen is usually laid out. That’s what I want in a girl right now. And it’s not to say that I can’t keep up, because if she wants to be laid back, she will become that way. She doesn’t hate spending a normal Sunday at home, in fact, she likes it…it’s just that we’re out more than what you think.
She loves to come with me to shows to see me…in fact; our second date was me and her watching Jay compete. How hardcore is that for you?
She gets me, which is kind of saying a lot when you think about it. And more than I can ever think about.
That first date worked out better than I ever thought. Sure, there was no goodbye kiss or anything, but that was “because I needed to earn it” (her words, not mine). Even though I didn’t get that, I obviously earned her respect enough to go to a wrestling show that had a battle royal that featured clowns, a weedwhacker in play, and Jay being eliminated after being in the match for only 10 seconds. We were angry, but we all shared a laugh afterwards during dinner. Me and Jen with Jay and Amy. It was a fun time.
That was when she put her head on my shoulder and looked at me and said, “I think you’ve earned this!” and kissed me. Right in front of them. They smiled, and so did I.
I like to think I earned this indeed.
Last edited by Kevin Hardaway on Sat Jan 21, 2012 12:40 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Fixing image tags.) |
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