Yankee Roses

"That right there is the problem," Dixie quickly pointed out, shaking her head at Taylor. "Ya don't see what makes 'er so great. Ya thought she was some nobody that ya could jes' walk all over. That's where ya messed up." She leaned forward, propping her arms on the table, leaning in closer towards Taylor. "Ya went in there thinkin' she couldn't fight. Ya didn't see 'er take down Mika fer the title, or beat down that Kytes girl at Avalanche, or any of that."

She raised a hand, waggling her finger towards the younger girl. "That's why next time'll be different. Ya got yer ass handed to ya by 'er. Next time ya face off? Yer gonna go in there respectin' 'er. Maybe not as a person, but as a wrestler. Does that make sense to ya? Go in there without any doubts, but remember what she can do. Remember that she had to kick ass to get to where she is, and that she ain't afraid to do it again to ya."

When Taylor went quiet, she knew the girl wanted to change the subject, so she shut up herself, grinning as the punk brought up Reiko. "Reiko's a nice gal. A good person. Too good fer ya? She ain't really stuck up or nothin', if that's what yer thinking."

She laughed when Taylor mentioned the outfit though. "Really? Yer own Reiko outfit? Ah bet she'd be flattered to hear it! As fer the pants though...hell if ah know! It's kinda weird, but it ain't like ah got much room to talk. You've seen what ah wear to the ring, after all!"

"Yeah. It wasn't official or anything. And I buttoned my pants." Taylor said, and took a sip of beer. She couldn't stay away from the previous topic, though, and she quickly jumped back into it.

"Man, I saw those matches. I'm not stupid. I studied those matches. I knew what she did well. But I honestly didn't see how that could match up against me and what I do. I didn't think she'd be able to deal with my speed, and I thought she would break. She's lost so many title matches before... And she couldn't deal with my speed, at least at first... I dunno. I'm really not a cocky idiot, I just play one on TV. It's one thing to watch what someone does, it's another thing to get in there with her and feel it for yourself."

She paused. Her excited jittering and buzzing was slowing down considerably as the night went on, and she began to get alcohol in her system. She was getting a little riled up, and she really didn't want to start a fight with Dixie, so she tried again to put the subject to bed.

"I'll do better next time," she declared quietly, and nodded. She wanted to hear all about Rumble Roses, and didn't remember how they got stuck on the subject of her own career, but now she felt a little awkward to just start peppering Dixie with more questions about the old days.

"That's the thing," Dixie answered quietly, sipping from her drink again. "She's lost so many matches fer the title, , that now that she's finally won and gotten 'er belt, she's gonna be fightin' tooth and nail to keep it. Ya can't underestimate 'er at all. Once she gets goin', that girl is intense. Like a cornered rat, y'know?"

Dixie sensed that Taylor wanted to change the subject thought, and decided to drop it. She wasn't sure what else to talk about though (after all, she had never really expected to be out drinking with Taylor Parker of all people), so she decided to switched back to talking about the old days. Girl seemed to like that.

"Man. Ah miss the Roses sometimes, y'know?" She leaned back in her chair, staring up towards the ceiling, a wistful look spreading across her face. "We weren't super popular or nothin', weren't even really big, but we had something special goin'. Those were good times back then. Weird sometimes, but good."

She looked back at Taylor, and chuckled softly. "Know what ah don't miss though? Damn mud matches. Those were the worst. Ah can't believe ah ever actually won any of those, as embarrassed as ah was doin' 'em!"

"Oh man, the mud wrestling. Fuck." Taylor shook her head as memories flooded back. Quickly changing the channel before anyone saw. The question "what are you watching?"

"Nothing, mom!" Shut up, mom!

"Dude... Better you than me. Like... I'll fight anywhere. I don't even care. And I like looking good doing it, and I'm not shy about it. But like... That shit would just be too much for me. Its like foxy boxing. Like just for pervy guys, and you're the little toy girl doing what they want. Gag me. Not that I wouldn't fight someone in mud. Could be fun."

Another drink, and she glanced around to see if food was coming yet. She was beyond starving.

"What about the matches where the loser had to do random embarrassing shit? What was the worst one of those?"

Dixie turned a furious shade of red, grabbing her mug and quickly draining it down her throat.

"Gawd, those damn Queen's Matches. Those were jes...ugh, they were awful!" Dixie was flooded with horrific memories of them, a last ditch effort towards the end of the company's lifespan to try and bring in higher ratings.

It failed, obviously.

"Ah only had to deal with one of 'em, and ah'm thankful fer it. Fought against Spencer." She paused. "Ah lost. Teach handed me my ass on a silver platter." She reached for the pitcher to fill her mug up again. "Ended up having to play with a hula hoop while ah was wearing this skimpy little white bikini. Weren't too bad, it's jes'...it was embarrassing, y'know? All the cameras flashin' and snappin' and ah'm jes' standin' there with a blush on my face, tryin' to keep the damn hula hoop goin'..."

"Ah guess ah got lucky though. Could have been a lot worse," she mused, glancing around herself for the waitress. She could feel her stomach rumbling. "Candy lost one once, had to put on a thin lil' white t-shirt and get sprayed down by a water gun. It's like...what the hell?" She threw her arms up, exasperated at the thoughts of the Queen's Match. "Who the hell would even come up with somethin' that dumb?!"

"Eh," Taylor waved a hand dismissively. "The shit that goes on in AFW is way worse than that. You're just out of the frying pan and into the fire, here. Hula hooping can't be so bad, and don't act like everyone doesn't already see your ass all the time.

"But we actually did that here, too. The t-shirt thing. At the first Summer Splash, they did this wet t-shirt contest, and I went out in a robe and said... something, I don't remember. Then I tossed the robe and I had on a wetsuit, and was like fuck you, Lukretia. Then I got blasted off the stage with a firehose. Worth it."

Taylor propped up one foot on the base of the chair to her right, a risky maneuver given the length of her pleated skirt, and leaned back as she recalled her own experiences. "I did wrestle a match in a bikini once. I was in like, jeans and boots and shit, and I went out to the ring to get on the mic and stuff. I did my thing, and pulled off my shirt, to show off my abs. It was when I was first getting shredded. The Lukretia came out and I ended up in a cage match against Chigusa. I floored her and went to climb, but the toes of my boots wouldn't fit in the cage, so I ditched em. And it was kinda hard to move in tight jeans, so I lost those too. The bikini was cool, though, it was a black string bikini with like, bright blue on the edges and the strings, and a skull or something on one boob. It's a perk of having small boobs, is that I don't need much to cover them. I can fight in a bikini top and not worry about falling out."

She took a drink, and her first glass was nearly empty. Dixie was miles ahead of her, already on her third or so. Taylor already had a little buzz just from her pint. She had no tolerance.

"So what's the deal with Spencer, anyway? Akashi and her had this whole big thing, but I wasn't really paying attention to it. She seemed alright on TV... uptight, but a solid chick, ya know? Now she just seems like a massive bitch."

"Yeah, ah know. This place is way worse, but...it's how it's presented, ah guess. Or maybe ah've jes' grown more used to it. Either way, it ain't like ah do that shit. Ah'd blast the whole damn hentai division out of this place, if ah had the choice."

"And hell, ah don't even mind wrestling in a bikini. If they called me out fer Summer Splash next year, ah'd be right there on the beach with everyone else, flauntin' what I got." She grinned, and folded an arm behind her head, arching her back a little bit, in a sort of sexy pose. "It ain't like ah ain't proud of what ah've got!"

She lowered her arm and settled back down, listening to Taylor talk about her cage match, sipping her drink along the way. When she brought up Spencer though, she could only shake her head.

"Ah don't know. We don't talk much, me and her. She comes and does her thing in the ring then leaves. Really? Ah jes' don't think she's happy here. She wants to wrestle, but she hates being in the same company as all the hentai shit and everything. If she had 'er way, she'd be somewhere else, but..." Dixie gestured with her arm in front of her, a sweeping motion across the table. "Where else could she go? The AFW killed off any other company that mattered or was important. All that's left is the smaller places, and hell...ain't a lot of good competition there, ah'd reckon. Or maybe she jes' wants to be in the spotlight more. Whatever it is, ah jes' don't think she's satisfied."

She paused, thinking for a second before continuing. "No real friends, no real important matches or nothin'. She had a chance with Akashi last year, but that went sour. If ah was her, ah wouldn't be too happy either, y'know?"

Taylor shrugged. "Why doesn't she go teach, dude? I mean, damn, that's what I'd do. If I was smart enough and went to college and stuff, and like, was getting older, I'd find a nice teaching job somewhere where they wouldn't just know me as Taylor Parker. I'd be Mrs Higurashi. And they'd love me." She stuck out her tongue.

The food arrived, and Taylor eyed it greedily as the waitress laid it all out. She grabbed a fork and immediately dove into her chicken salad like there was some kind of time limit.

The cowgirl shrugged back at her fellow blonde. "Hell if ah know. Ah guess she's addicted to the ring. She loves to wrestle, and she loves the roar of the crowd. It's kind of sad, There's too many of us that get addicted to the ring and can't get away. Jes' can't break free and move on, y'know?"

Once the food arrive, Dixie grabbed her spoon, and started to dig into her bowl of chili, eating at a slower pace then her younger comrade.

"Ah guess...maybe she jes' wants one more big moment. Maybe she could move on if she had one more big title shot, or something. Ah dunno. Maybe ah'll go talk to 'er sometime, see if ah can get 'er to lighten up some."

Taylor nodded with a one-sided frown while she devoured her salad. She tried to eat all the greens before she dug into the chicken, but she was so hungry...

"I guesso. That's kind of weird, I guess, but jeez, I'd talk to her. I don't know what's so great about AFW that she can't just go help kids the way she was supposed to in the first place." She shrugged.

She took a sip of her beer and became thoughtful for a moment while she ate several bites of broccoli. Under the table, her ankle began bouncing off the floor again.

"Let's see... I use a German suplex because of you guys. I saw you do it, and I think even Reiko and Candy, too. I remember you doing like a release belly-to-belly suplex and throwing Benikage halfway across the ring. My German is pretty tight, though, I look for it a lot. I use a Shooting Star Press, too, because of Reiko. I've always wanted to hit an Angel Dive, but like... I know I'd end up crippling myself if I tried it in a match. I know I can DO the double back, but like, while beat up and out of breath and loopy from being hit in the head... I would probably die. We can dream, though. Did you see my match with Adrian at Summer Splash this year? I hit Akashi's Brawler Buster on her. It was awesome. And I made her tap. My single leg crab is pretty nasty, and I'm pretty slick with it." She grinned proudly, and glanced up at Dixie before going back to her food.