Seal Of Approval (Re-Upload)

Vincent Stone wasn’t sure how to sum up the show that night. It had its ups and downs, definitely. His friend Erin was definitely pissed after seeing their friend Alex, get screwed over out of her title belt. They all expected that it was gonna go something like that, though. They just didn’t know when. That was a matter that would have to wait for until later. Right now, Vincent Stone had his own business to handle as he sat at the counter of the bar & grill that was built inside the lobby of the luxury hotel they had all been booked at. They had a pretty sweet deal under contract. Management all paid for their rooms unless specified not to by particular roster members. Stone knew that Shelley Silver liked to rent out the suite rooms at whatever hotel they stayed at. He didn’t blame her, at all, really. He was always fine with walking in, showing his ID and being given a room key. Steven Brody and Savannah Hayes did their best to set everybody up. The rooms were on company tab. Any extra luxuries were out of roster member’s pockets. Room service, sightseeing and all that. Including the beer he was sipping from as he waited for Kyle Smalls to meet him down there in the dark lit lounge that looked like any other bar & grill joint. A couple of pool tables. Darts. A pinball machine. Some drunk dude in a cowboy hat was at the karaoke machine, singing Garth Brooks. Badly.

“I need some goddamn earplugs.” Stone muttered under his breath before sipping from his beer. He hadn’t changed clothes since he appeared on camera earlier for the show. He didn’t need to. He hadn’t been booked for anything and it wasn’t exactly a dress code type of place. He checked his phone, skimming over the brief Twitter conversation Kyle had started with him on the timeline. Yeah, he knew exactly what this was about. Hopefully, it would go well. But Stone figured it would. Kyle seemed calm and collected enough.

Kyle and Kimi weren’t attached at the hip or anything, but ever since they both they had both ventured back into professional wrestling, they had spent a lot of time together. It was just in the past few days or so, since Kimi had made her move on Twitter, Kyle had been seeing a lot less of his twin. He wasn’t sure who she had been with, let alone what she was doing, but when both her and Vincent Stone were caught walking out of the same hotel room, Kyle knew that he had to say something.

After the small exchange with Vin on Twitter, Kyle went down to meet him at the hotel bar. When he spotted Vin, he walked over to him, sitting down. “I didn’t tell her what I was about to do, but I assume she knows?” Kyle raised an eyebrow, taking his beer and lifting it to his lips to take a sip.

Vin saw Kyle coming and greeted him with a small thrust of his chin as the younger man sat next to him. How did he even answer that without, saying something that could be construed as wrong? He remembered the one time he joked about Kyle being protective of Kimi when she posted a swimsuit pic. She has two older brothers, too. Vin sipped his beer before answering. He nodded first. “I told her you wanted to have beers.” He looked to Kyle, giving a small comical smirk, hoping to lighten the mood. “She said ‘uh-oh’.”

Kyle gave a soft smile with a nod, “our older brothers are only likely to threaten you. None of them trained beyond our backyard stuff. I mostly just worry about her because I know more than they do.” He took another drink, “has she told you that she was married?”

Vin sipped his beer again and waved his other hand in front of him to indicate ‘somewhat.’ “She mentioned her ex, and that was it. I’ve always figured it’s not too smart to pry on exes. They’re an ex for a reason, right?” He took another slow sip. “But, if it helps me get to know her better, I’ll bite. I take it her marriage wasn’t that honky dory?” Vin stopped for a second. Did he really just use that phrase? No wonder Erin called him a dork.

Kyle couldn’t help but snicker, nearly spitting out his beer. “It was like a fairy tale at first, but girls who manage to save themselves through high school can be like that,” his eyes widened. “I didn’t just say that. It wasn’t my place.” He took another long drink, “but she took off after signing the divorce papers. She was gone for a long time without getting in touch with anyone.”

Vin was taking a long drink as he listened to Kyle. When the man finished, he set his beer down and looked at Kimi’s brother with alarm on his face. “She just took off? When did she come back? She ever say where she went?”

“Underground fight club in Detroit,” Kyle nodded. “I was off filming at the time, or I could have possibly stopped her. She came back shortly before we signed, I was done promoting the first season and everything by then.”

Vin raised his eyebrows. “Underground? Like ‘Welcome To Fight Club’, his name is Robert Paulson, underground?” Vin chuckled some, sipping his beer. Kimi was sounding more and more like a badass, the more he heard about her. “What brought her back?”

“I guess she felt safe? His mom stepped in and I guess that word got back to her,” he did his best to not divulge too much information. “She just showed up at our apartment one day and said that she was ready to come home. But yeah… I’m not sure that it was her best idea seeing as how she’s already broken a few bones in the past. She even had bandaged knuckles and a busted lip when she showed up.”

Vin nodded slowly, beginning to understand. “So, I take it this isn’t just a ‘what are my intentions with your sister’ talk is it?” He asked, watching Kyle, calmly. “I won’t pry too much, further. I get the gist that you feel she should be the one to fill me in completely, if it comes to that point. Which, when she’s ready to talk, my ears are open. I can kinda tell she’s a girl with a lot on her mind, but you can’t force that kinda stuff out of people. They have to be the ones to entrust others with it.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I did want to come in here, metaphorical guns blazing,” Kyle chuckled, taking another drink. “Like asking you if you’ve already slept with her and if you were going to just use her up and move along, but honestly… it’s more about whether or not you’re going to spook her.” He paused, holding up a finger before continuing, “if she does seem like she’s ever getting afraid, just ask her about our mom. That’ll bring her back.”

“Spook her?” Vin said, emptying his beer and calling for another couple of rounds for him and Kyle. “Well, I hope I don’t do that, if I’m being honest.” He sipped from his new bottle then. “I’ll definitely remember that tip, though. Thanks.” Moving back to what Kyle said before he mentioned scaring Kimi, Vin slowly shook his head. “Look man, for what it’s worth? I ain’t that type of dude. I know that’s something those types of guys say to girls’ brothers when they confront them but honestly…” Vin did a quick, casual look around before looking to Kyle and motioned to himself. “Do I look like Nico?” He asked with some humor in his tone.

“The one that Shelley seriously considered going a round with?” Kyle raised an eyebrow, picking up a toothpick, unwrapping it and bringing it to his mouth. “I can just tell that you are a much kinder soul than Kimi’s ex. Looks can be deceiving, though.” He pulled the toothpick back out to take another drink of his beer. “But certain co-workers of ours make our deception even easier,” he chuckled with a wink.

Vin bounced his eyebrows at that last remark. Kyle couldn’t have been more right. It was sad, really, considering who he was probably talking about. Friendships could be made and broken in the blink of an eye in this business. Vin eyed the toothpick and grinned as he brought his beer to his lips. “You’re not planning on putting that in my eye, are ya?”

“Despite the fact that I could afford it if ya sued me?” Kyle smirked. “Nah, yer good. I don’t play that way. My sister and I, we have a hard secret to keep. We just enjoy livin’ the way we do.”

Vin made a face after sipping his beer. “Oh, man, c’mon. You’re starting to sound like Clarence.” He said with a humorous grin. He liked what Kyle said about living though. Life should be enjoyed, no matter what type of secrets kept a person looking over their shoulder. “So, do I have your blessing as a brother, then?” Vin asked. “To date Kimi, I mean.”

Kyle grinned, nodding, “ya already did.” He then paused, making a face, “you mean you wouldn’t believe it if I told ya Kimi and I are trust fund babies?”

“Oh, I’d believe it.” Vin said with a smirk. “I mean, I believe Clarence when he says he’s loaded.” He sipped his beer and laughed. “I just love every time he opens his mouth and inserts his foot when it comes to his bank account and his inheritance. I wouldn’t know what to do with a big ass house like he claims to have or like you probably have. That’s why I bank all my checks and I stay in a shoddy one bedroom apartment in Orlando.” He paused for a second then looked to Kyle, sincerely. “Thanks, though...for being okay with me and your sister. I really do like her and I hope things work out. I’m usually not the best when it comes to talking to girls. I kinda lucked out with her talking to me.” Vin took a long, embarrassed drink from his beer like his shyness wasn’t something he was proud of.

“We share an apartment in Brooklyn, never thought of upgrading. I guess it’s the difference between simply having money and spending money like you have a never ending supply, like they do. We actually do our best to not touch our trust funds,” Kyle grinned, finishing off his beer. “And you’re very welcome. I think that you’ll be good for her.”

“I appreciate that. I definitely hope so.” Vin said, finishing off his own beer and finally ‘sealing the deal’ with a handshake to Kyle. He supposed normally this type of talk was done with the girl’s father but they weren’t exactly close enough to New York for Vin to get a hold of the man and introduce himself. Besides, as twins, Kimi and Kyle shared a particularly strong bond, right? So if he had Kimi’s twin brother’s approval, Vin figured himself good in anyone’s book. Of course, he hadn’t even bumped into Shelley yet but he fully expected something along the lines of an ‘I’m happy for you both. By the way, Vin, you break her heart, I break your face’ reaction from the tough as nails Silver Mountain Champion. That woman gave Rick Dickulous a Backdrop Driver. Yeah, I don’t wanna piss her off. Vin thought to himself as he and Kyle conversed further about something completely unrelated to what they had initially met up for. It turned into small talk. The type a couple of guys had while in a bar setting like this one.


I either need to drink more often or not at all. Vin said as he made his way up the stairs after he and Kyle’s meet up had come to an end a few beers and couple of pool games later. He wasn’t exactly a lightweight but he couldn’t down the stuff like water the way some people could. He’d seen Nico drink at a Wrestle War dinner. That guy. Holy shit.

Vin made his way back to his hotel room and slipped the keycard in, unlocking the door. He pushed the door open. At least he wasn’t inebriated and he still had awareness of his senses. “Kimi? You still here?” He called as he stepped into his room. She’d been here when he left to go talk to Kyle and it had only been a little over an hour that they spent downstairs in the bar.

After Vin had told her that Kyle had requested to talk to him over a beer, she decided to watch a movie. Once it was over, she would decide whether or not to slip out of his room and stay in the bed that Shelley had waiting for her, just in case. She knew the conversation wouldn’t take long, so the longer that he took, there was the possibility that any other guy would be heading to some other girl’s room. But not this guy…

When she heard the door open, the credits had just begun to roll. She looked over to the door, her head tilted. “Well… your pretty face looks untouched,” she smirked a little as she watched him walk into the room. “Did he just bore you into running back to me?”

Vin shook his head, tossing his hat onto the hotel dresser after kicking his shoes off. “Nah. I let him know that I wasn’t just some jerk trying to use you. Your brother’s a good judge of character.” He walked over, sitting on the bed behind her and pulled her by the waist, into his arms. “Believe it or not, he actually thinks I’m good for you.” Vin kissed her behind the ear and held her there, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I think acting has helped him with that,” she nodded. “He did a damn good job at that role. I’m surprised he wanted to try wrestling with me again. But yeah, you better be good for me. I haven’t been very good at choosing guys in the past. Granted… most of them were in high school and jocks, at that,” she sighed softly, leaning into him.

“Well. I’m no jock, trust me. More like a dork who embraces it.” He chuckled. “I might not know how to ask girls out, but I know how to treat them.” Vin smirked, wrapping his arms around her more as she leaned in and kissed the side of her face. He kissed a few times before resting his head against hers and gave her a warm squeeze. “So, now what?” He asked casually, wondering what she wanted to do for the rest of the evening.

She shrugged a little, “try not to pout about losing tonight. Morgan’s a tough chick. Still, it’d be nice to actually hold a title. I always seem to come up short.”

“Hey.” He said, still holding her with one arm while he ran the fingers of his other hand through her brown hair, before turning her by the chin to have her look at him. “I think you did great, tonight. It’s not like you were a pushover. You had her ‘on the ropes’ as they’d say in boxing. You’ll be a champion before you know it. I can feel it.” He offered her a reassuring smirk before leaning in and stealing a kiss off of her lips.

“I just feel like I’m not taken seriously,” she pouted, leaning in for another kiss. “I know that I’m a badass, but it seems to many can’t look beyond the whole high school cheerleader thing.”

“Key phrase, though,” He lifted a finger as he spoke and lightly booped her nose, “you know that you’re a badass. Others will see that, so long as you stick to your guns. Look at Alex. A lot of people doubted her because of how nice and naturally happy she act most of the time. She kept kicking ass and now, people see that.” He smiled, taking her hand. “That’s all you gotta do, babe. Just keep being you and doing what you do. Those doubters are gonna be eating their words before they know it.”

She let out a soft laugh, her cheeks flushed as she dipped her head down. “I know, but I have this… hunger to show the world just what I’m capable of.” She turned to look at Vin, smirking a little, “speaking of hunger. Now that you have the approval of my twin, does that mean we can make it official and seal the deal?”

Vin smirked back down at her, shifting positions around to where Kimi was completely underneath him. “Oh, really, now?” He said, wrapping the fingers of one hand into hers. “Since you put it that way, consider this my own seal of approval.” Vin said as he leaned down to kiss her lips, again.

Co-Written by Vincent Stone and Star's Muse Corral