The music was already thumping through the walls when I pulled up to the venue, a white massive mansion that resembled a château more than a Normal mansion. My best friend had always had a sharp eye for detail no surprise, given her career as one of the most sought-after interior designers in the city. Her touch was everywhere: warm lights bouncing off crystal accents, sleek couches arranged in intimate clusters, and a centerpiece bar that looked more like a work of art than a place to pour drinks.
Thirty looked good on her, I thought as I walked in. Auli'i was glowing, decked out in a silver gown that made heads turn, her laughter rising above the buzz of conversation. She had every reason to glow. Successful career, beautiful life, and of course being part of one of wrestling's most legendary dynasties didn't hurt her reputation either. Her brothers, The Usos, were already mingling near the bar, their big personalities commanding the room as easily as they did an arena.
I wove through the crowd, exchanging hugs and greetings to her family members who slowly became my own family as well, but something seemed to bother me inside, I could feel a pair of eyes on me and I internally prayed to every deity that existed, that it wasn't the person I was thinking it was, but as usual luck wasn't on my side.
Joe.
It had been over a decade since I'd seen him. Over ten years since he'd left for college in Georgia and left me behind with promises he never kept. Over ten years since I found out he hadn't just forgotten me, he'd cheated. He'd built a life with someone else, even had a daughter. And though that marriage was over now, the sting of betrayal still lingered like a bruise you couldn't quite rub away.
I told myself I'd ignore him tonight. Pretend he was just another face in the crowd.
But fate had other plans.
When it was time for dinner, we were guided to a long dining table that stretched down the center of the room, glittering with candles and wine glasses. I slid into my seat, chatting politely with the person beside me, only to feel a shift in the air. My stomach dropped before I even looked up.
There he was. Seated directly across from me.
Joe.
Time had only sharpened him. His hair was longer, his beard fuller, his frame broader—he carried himself like a man who knew exactly who he was and the weight of his own presence. The wrestling world had made him larger than life, but to me, he was still the guy who once swore he'd never let me go.
I refused to give him the satisfaction of eye contact. I laughed at jokes I barely heard, fiddled with the stem of my wine glass, and kept my gaze trained anywhere but on him. Still, I could feel it. The burn of his eyes on me, heavy and unrelenting.
Every time I glanced up, even accidentally, I found him watching me. Not the room. Not the food. Me.
The air between us tightened, an invisible thread pulling taut.
By the time dessert came, I couldn't take it anymore. I excused myself, murmuring something about the bathroom, and slipped away from the table. Upstairs, the noise of the party dulled to a hum. I washed my hands slowly, staring at my reflection in the mirror, willing myself to breathe.
When I stepped out, I froze.
He was there. Waiting.
Leaning casually against the wall like he'd been doing it for hours, though his eyes told another story. They were stormy, conflicted, as if he'd been wrestling with the same ghosts I had all evening.
"Joe," I said, sharper than I intended. His name tasted strange on my tongue familiar yet foreign.
He pushed me back into the bathroom and off the wall, closing the space between us in two strides. "You weren't going to say a word to me all night, huh?" His voice was deeper now, rougher, but it still carried that dangerous pull.
I crossed my arms, trying to hold onto my composure. "Why would I? You made your choices a long time ago."
His jaw flexed, guilt flashing across his face before something else took over. "And I regret them every damn day."
That almost knocked the air out of me. I hadn't expected him to admit it—not like that.
"Regret doesn't erase what you did." My voice wavered, but I kept going. "You left. You forgot me. And when you remembered, it was too late you were already with her."
His eyes darkened, and he stepped closer, so close I could feel the heat radiating off him. "I never forgot you." His voice dropped, low and raw. "Not for a second. Even when I tried."
My back hit the doorframe as he crowded into my space. Every nerve in my body lit up, torn between anger and the undeniable pull that had always existed between us.
I wanted to push him away. I wanted to scream. But when his hand brushed against mine, just barely, a spark shot through me that made my resolve falter.
"You're still lying to yourself," I whispered, though it sounded weaker than I meant.
His hand lifted, cupping the side of my face, thumb grazing my cheek like he had every right to. My breath hitched.
"Tell me you don't feel this," he murmured, leaning so close that his words ghosted over my lips. "Tell me, and I'll walk away right now."
I opened my mouth, ready to deliver the final blow, but nothing came out. The years of anger, the heartbreak, the memories they all collided into a single, breathless moment.
And then...
The space between us snapped.
What started as a confrontation burned into something else entirely, something reckless and inevitable, as if we'd been building to this from the moment I walked into the party.
His lips crushed into mine in a hot, steamy, hard yet passionate kiss. Every doubt, anger and hate I felt towards him vanished like salt crystals in water. His strong large hands pinned my smaller ones onto the sides of my head for a little while before he picked me up and placed me on to the vanity close to the mirror.
I removed the suit Jacket off of his large frame and threw it somewhere across the room, his hands pushed my short red dress up to my lower back then explored my thighs and grabbed a large chunk of my exposed butt.
He pulled me off the vanity then turned me to the otherside and bent me over the vanity where I was now facing the mirror. Before I could even react to the sudden aggressive move, he pushed my panties down, unzipped his pants and let his massive length out, he spit on his hand rubbed it on his length before entering my overflowing fountain the move extracting sighs from both of us.
He pushed his full length then out, repeating that move till my womanhood got used to the sudden intrusion.
He picked up the pace earning moans from me, I tried my best not to scream because the last thing I needed was people in the party hearing us.
He noticed me trying to stiffle the loud moans then pulled my hair and made me look at the mirror
"I want you to look at me while I please you, don't be quiet baby, I want them to hear you scream my name let them know how good I'm making you feel" with that his pace became fast and hard leaving me no choice but to scream out his name.
Before I could reach the climax, he pulled out and before I could protest, he picked me up and placed me on the vanity again this time making me lay with my elbows on each side of my body as he placed my legs on his shoulders this time giving him a perfect angle to resume his euphoric torture on me.
He went harder than even before this time rubbing the nub of my womanhood and sending me over the edge, my body shaking from the tremors of pleasure as he kept thrusting and rubbing till he reached his peak- busting inside me with the concoction of his seed. Before we could get back from the high of our activity, a voice interrupted us
"what the hell Joe and Y/N??" Auli'is voice filled the room
At the door stood her and her brothers the usos twins who had sinister smirks filled across their faces, Auli'is face covered with disgust at what she just witnessed.