Rigging lighting for WWE wasn't Hollywood, but it was the closest Ty was likely to get. At 6'1" and 190 lbs. of leaned out muscle in a gracile frame Ty was often mistaken for a wrestler himself, especially since he sported a great deal of tattoos. And then people would see his crew member shirt, his toolbelt, and their eyes would slide over him, uninterested.
Well, maybe not entirely uninterested, he thought now as he roamed through the venue's tunnels. Lately he had been catching more and more looks as the WWE started to incorporate more female wrestlers. Ty was enjoying the diversity and inclusiveness, especially when it came to the new girl from England, Paige. She had been glancing at him quite a bit lately.
"Hey, Ty, there you are." A man with a headset was approaching him. It was the crew manager, Vic. "There is a light out in the women's locker room."
"That's maintenance, not rigging."
"I know, but we're short. Be a team player and go fix it, yeah?"
"Sure thing, Vic." Ty easily held out a spool of cable he had been carrying, his bodily easily handling the weight. "Take this back for me and I'll be on my way."
Venues all smell the same, he thought as he made his way to the women's locker room. Sweat, concrete, a bit of dust. Hot food, Co2 from the beer kegs, expelled air from the electrical carts.
In fact, here came a cart now, being driven by a crew member and with what looked like an on air talent in the passenger seat, a small woman wearing a lot of black and denim. Ty held up his hand in greeting.
"Hey man," The driver said. "Do you think you could drive...what's your name again, miss?"
"Saraya," The young woman said in a strong English accent. "But call me 'Paige.'"
"That's right, Paige. Can you drive Paige here to the women's locker room? I just got an urgent call on my cell, family emergency."
"You got it, hop out," Ty sat in the driver's seat. "Go take care of your business."
"I have to punch out first," The man said.
"Don't worry about it," Ty said. "I'll take care of it."
"But Vicβ"
"You let me worry about Vic," Ty snapped. "Go take care of your emergency."
"Well, that was a fine first impression," Paige said dryly.
"Sorry, miss. I just don't like the idea of someone having to go punch out when they've got an emergency." He guided the cart through the venue's tunnels, thankful it wasn't so close to bell time. If it was they'd be jammed in foot traffic.
"You call me 'miss' one more time and you're going to have an emergency," Paige teased. "My name 'Paige.'"
"OK, Paige."
"'OK Paige, thank you, you look beautiful today, my name happens to be...'" Her voice stretched out the word.
"Ty."
"Ty, this is called a conversation. You say something, again, compliments work, I say something back, such as I love that tattoo on your neck, and then we keep going on about other things. A conversation. Let's try it, yeah?" Paige smiled.
He found himself laughing as they pulled up to the women's locker room. He liked this bold young woman. She had a lot of gumption for a rookie, especially one coming here from another country. He told her as much.
"That's better, although a remark about my beauty would have been ever better." Paige struggled with her bag, trying to pull it from the cart's cargo area.
"Let me," Ty said. He stepped up next to her, feeling the closeness of her, the warmth and smell of her, and he shivered. He hefted her heavy duffel onto his shoulder.
"Such a gentleman, rare here in America," She teased. "Now if you'd bring it in for me you'd be the biggest gentleman in America. Well, the best gentleman. Not sure how big you are, really."
"I can do that, but you can't get ready yet," Ty said, trying to hide his blush and failing. "I've got to fix the lighting."
"You can fix the lighting, but I have to get ready now. I have promos to shoot, in costume."
"You'll have to wait, I have no idea what's going on with the lighting in there."
'No, can, do," Paige said, poking him in his beefy shoulder with each word. "I have a schedule to keep. Now, do you want to deal with your boss or mine? I work for Vincent K. McMahon. Who do you work for?"
She had him beaten, and they both knew it. Ty pointed mutely into the locker room, and followed her inside.
"Change in the stall," Ty said, handing her the bag with a thump into her chest.
"Did you think I was going to undress for you and throw myself at you?" Paige demanded in a mock offended tone. "Go do your job, Ty."
"If you'll allow me to," He raised an eyebrow. "You're the one who blackmailed me into being here, in the dark, when you're about to be naked."
"Ah! Now you get the dirty talk going, just as I have to leave you and get changed. Typical man!" She muttered as she accepted her bag and stepped into the stall.