It had been a rough match. Vladimir Kozlov stirred weakly on the mat before mustering the last bit of strength he had to pull himself into a sitting position. Something warm was trickling down the side of his face. Gingerly, he touched a finger to the spot. When he withdrew the tip of his finger, it came away bright red. He supposed he would eventually have to let the trainer look at it. He was pretty sure the chair shot to the face he had received, had cut him badly.
For now though, he would rest. Kozlov turned his gaze toward the entrance ramp and glared. There at the top of the ramp, facing the crowd with their arms raised in triumph; was his opponent Ezekiel Jackson, and his former manager turned enemy, William Regal. For weeks beforehand, the three of them had been a dominate force in the WWE. Then the tables had turned. Or rather Jackson and Regal had turned. On him. Kozlov knew that the reason for it all was so Vince and the company could start the process of turning him face, but so far it didn't seem to be working well at all. No matter what he did, the fans just wouldn't get behind him.
Kozlov shook his head sadly and pulled himself to his feet with a wince. Ever so carefully, he walked over to the side of the ring and climbed out. After climbing down to the floor, he turned and slowly made his way up the ramp. Fans booed and jeered him the whole way. More than once he got hit with garbage that a few of them were throwing. At one point, a half-filled plastic cup sailed through the air and caught him on the back of the head, drenching him in warm, stale beer. At least he hoped it was beer. Normally, the jeering and the boos didn't affect him, but tonight, everything seemed to cut him to the very core. Tears burned his eyes along with the still trickling blood. He wiped his face impatiently. He wasn't going to give them any satisfaction by letting them see his pain.
"I believe in you Kozlov! Don't give up!"
A sweet and positive voice cut through the sea of boos like a beacon of hope.
Kozlov paused and turned slowly in the direction of the sound, somewhere to his left. He put a hand up to shade his eyes from the glare of the lights, and searched the crowd. There. Third row on the left. Dead center. A beautiful woman in a red-t-shirt. Brown hair, blue eyes. She looked oddly familiar. No, it couldn't be HER. Kozlov thought. A memory of Wrestlemania came back to him. Of a beautiful woman in a blue dress. She had won that fan contest. Her name had been Jacki. He had made love to her in the locker room that night after the show. He had heard later on that every man on the roster had been with her, including old Vince himself, but Kozlov didn't think anyone had enjoyed it more than he himself had.
He took another look, sure it couldn't be her, but then she smiled at him and nodded as if reading his thoughts. The woman took a small piece of paper from her purse and gently tossed it down to him. He caught it in midair and put it in the pocket of his robe. Then Kozlov made his way back towards the locker room.
After letting the trainer tend to his wounds, Kozlov showered and changed into his street clothes. As he was folding up his ring gear to put them into his bag, he felt something in the pocket of his robe. The note. He drew it out and unfolded it. His eyes widened as he read the first line:
My dearest Kozlov,
I was hoping to see you again.
I will be here in town for three weeks for Christmas.
I would very much like to see you again. My hotel room number is on the back.
I'm staying at the Best Western Inn there by the river.
Yours always,
Jacki.
The note was lightly scented with perfume. Kozlov was quite sure it was the same perfume she had wore the night he met her. Wasting no time, he grabbed up his things and raced out to the parking lot.