As
Mark watched Kye,he thought back to her first in ring televised match.
She
had a couple of practice matches in Memphis,He was on his honeymoon,but
heard she had done very well.Vince wanted to get her on t.v as soon as
he could.With hopes of boosting the rating.
She was
nervous,and a little scared.Mark asked Vince to put her in his match,he
though she would be more at ease.He also wanted to be a part of the
history she was making in the wrestling world.
She paced through almost the whole
building.He tried to get her to relax,but nothing seemed to help.
Dave had her stand and watch several of
the matches.She studied how the other refs worked the ring.
She knew she had to concentrate,stay out
of the way,and watch and listen for signals from the announcers.Dave
would be out there with her,but wouldn't interfere unless it was
necessary.Her's would be the last match.
Mark stayed with her as much as he
could. "You can do it,you will be fine,just relax,"he told her,in a
soothing voice.
She loved his voice,it
sent chills through her.She was glad he was with her.He usually had a
calming effect on her.
The
time came for her match.She walked to the ring with Dave.There were
wolf
whistles and derogatory remarks,but she ignored them.Dave went to the
announce table as she climbed in the ring.
She paced the
ring,waiting for the match to start.To her surprise,the announcer
introduced her to the crowd,as their
newest referee,and the first female in the history of wrestling.
The crowd applauded,more wolf whistles,some comments about women
staying in the kitchen.She smiled,raised her hand,and waved to the
crowd.
The ring announcer
started to introduce the wrestlers.The Undertaker was introduced
first.Mark played his character well,and was developing quite a
following.
Kye watched
as he strutted to the ring,his hat down low,shading his eyes.
As he stepped into the
ring,he walked towards Kye,as if trying to intimidate her.
Instead he whispered to her,"Relax,you'll be fine".She took
a step back,hoping to seem afraid of him,and nodded her head slightly.
His opponent was introduced,it
was time to go to work. She was doing well,taking
control,doing her counts,till she ended
up in the wrong place at the wrong time.She was behind Mark,trying to
get them out of the corner,Mark stepped back to throw a punch,as she
stepped forward,the impact sent her flying,landing on her butt.Mark had
to resist the urge to help her up.Some in the audience started
laughing,others thought it was supposed to happen.
She try to calm
herself,but she couldn't get it together again.She was either in the
way,
or not where she was supposed to be.
Mark kept whispering, "Relax baby,relax".But it just seemed to get
worse.She was relieved when she counted Mark the winner.
She hurried out of the
ring,and practically ran up the ramp.By the time Mark got back
stage,she
was nowhere in sight.
She ran until she found a dark
corner.She leaned against the wall and slid down till her butt hit the
floor.Her knees pressed against her chest.
It took him a half hour to
find her,he spotted her sitting at the end of a hallway.
She heard footsteps coming
toward her.She knew it was Mark,but didn't acknowledge him till she saw
his two rather large feet standing in front of her.She looked up at him
with tear-filled eyes,"I screwed up,Mark".
He put his hand down to help
her up,as she stood up he took her into his arms.Kye wrapped her arms
around him,and rested her head on his chest.
He kissed the top of her head,"You didn't
screw up,you were nervous,it happens to everyone ".He held Kye till she
stopped crying,loving the feeling of having her in his arms.Kylie held
on to him.Mark made her feel safe and secure,he was her best friend.
They shared a kiss the next day,when Vince
told her she was there to stay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A round of applause brought him back
to the festivities.The speeches had started.He didn't know how many had
already talked,but the next speaker was her escort for the
evening,Steve
Blackman.Mark refused to call him her date.He was starting to have
second thoughts about just being friends,But could he
take the chance of losing her?