There’s something special about standing still and just taking a look at everything you have in life, a nice little reminder of your success and what you’ve been through to get there. It’s the simple things in life they say, that the little things matter… and it’s usually said by people who have fuck all and want to feel better about that but let me tell you, it’s bullshit. There’s nothing more gratifying than knowing you earned everything you have, that you’ve got all you could ever ask for and you’ll never need to worry about wanting for anything again, save for some stupidity that results in you blowing the whole lot, gambling or some other dumb addiction that costs you everything. I’m not that stupid. I mean, I’ve happily played on those who are; those who’ll give anything to have that perfect body for example; I had no qualms about playing off of their addiction to the idea of being an amazon or Adonis, I happily sold them ‘supplements’ that would help them achieve their goals of looking like a chiselled from bronze Adam or some shit, even if I was selling little more than vitamins… there’s one born every minute. But as for wasting everything myself? Nah, I’m not that fucking dumb, and if I ever do reach that point then I’m happy for Aniya or anyone else to put me out of my damn misery because I don’t deserve to live anymore!

I stood there in the kitchen of my Mulholland home, coffee in hand, just looking out into the backyard… which is doing it a fucking injustice, given the pool alone was the size of a tennis court, and I couldn’t help but smile. Everything I had, everything we had – my wife and me – we’d worked for; we started with nothing, or I did at any rate given my past, and we started a company, which led to another company, so on and so forth, working our way across the country until we got here, and now we were, it was like the journey had only just begun.

“You’ve showered already?” a voice said from behind me and I turned to see Aniya walking into the room wearing just her silk robe; her hair was still a mess after our morning fun, clearly she’d gone back to sleep afterwards and who could blame her, it wasn’t like we actually had anything to get up for, but she was right, I had. Got to start the day right and I had a promo to film, which means looking my best. It’s hard work being one of the best looking guys in SCW but it’s a mantle I’m happy to fill. “Oh wait, you have that video to film, don’t you? I’m surprised you’re not just wearing the bear costume again,” she said with a wink as she went over to the coffee pot to pour herself a drink.

“I don’t plan on making a habit of it,” I said with a smirk. It was funny, reading the reports and comments online after my debut, watching the buzz the morning after, yeah there were plenty of people who said I was a piece of shit for attacking Konrad the way I had, even some who asked what a nobody was doing stepping in the ring with him – that’s the problem with most professional wrestling fans, they’re either too young to actually remember more than a few years ago or just dumb as fuck – but I also saw a small pocket of resistance, people who talked about laughing out loud at the costume, the irony of that choice clearly not lost of them. “I don’t think our German friend appreciated the gesture either… I mean, all I wanted to do was make him feel more at home with his surroundings…” I continued; I couldn’t supress the laugh that escaped my throat afterwards, I really did find the whole thing laughable.

“I think you sent a message he won’t forget any time soon, that’s for sure…” she said as she joined me in the doorway and slid an arm around the small of my back. “Though Regan tells me you’ve been dropping less than subtle comments about things on twitter since then, amongst other things… am I going to have to get an account just to keep up with what you’re getting up to?” she asked me, a curious crooked smile sat on her face.

“Baby, you can check up on me any time you want,” I told her as I slide my own arm around her body. “Hell, go through my phone if you want, I have nothing to hide… so far, all I’ve really done is troll people and comment on the shape of this one chicks ass, but we both know the rules there,” I added, referencing the agreement that we’ve had since about six months into dating. There’s something refreshing about an open relationship; the only rules we have are that condoms always have to be used, and if we are playing with a new toy we have to tell the other one. Basically, fuck who you want but be honest about it… most couples are so fucking suburban when it comes to their relationship and its limits. God fucking bless Alaska for producing someone like Aniya in all her liberated form! “It’s funny though… I mean, Regan doesn’t seem to like the guy, but I’ve actually come to appreciate the existence of Ace Marshall since I revealed who I really was to the whole of the SCW universe. Guys clearly an asshole, and considering it’s me who’s saying that you can pretty much guarantee that that’s a professional opinion, but despite everything Regan’s said I like the guy… not in the same way as James Evans thankfully, but he’s a troll after my own heart, that’s for sure…”

“Is he cute?” she asked and she shot me another crooked smile as I looked down at her that actually made me smirk a little too. “You know, just… asking for a friend…”

“He’s married,” I told her playfully, knowing full well that that didn’t mean a damn thing.

“So we’ll have to invite him and the wife over for drinks some time instead of just him then,” she fired back at me, trying to push my buttons. Sorry babe, not going to work. She knew that though, because she changed the subject pretty much straight away. “So you want a little help with your promo?”

“You want to help?” I asked, running my hand down her back and over the curve of her ass, the hemline of her robe falling just below the cheeks. “I have a few ideas if you do, though I’m not sure how many of them will make it onto tv,” I added, lifting the robe up and squeezing her ass cheek, just hard enough to get a reaction.

“We can save that for later,” she said, actually pushing back into my hand as she dug her own nails into my back for a moment before pulling away from me entirely to place her coffee down on the kitchen counter. “For now, I’m gonna go and make myself look as hot as possible… if I’m going to start coming to the ring with you now that you’ve revealed yourself as the man behind the bear costume, I should get more involved, right?” she asked, casually loosening the sash of her robe and letting the robe fall open as she backed out of the room. “So you go and set up the camera, and I’ll go and make myself as hot as humanly possible...” she finished with a wink as she let her robe fall to the floor and she slinked out of the room as naked as the day she was born, pausing in the doorway to bend down and pick up her shoes, though I never doubted for a second that she did it just to tease me.

When we moved into the house, I was going to convert one of the bedrooms into an office, but the land had a freestanding building at the bottom of the yard that was once a garage or something, which had been converted into a guest house by the previous owner and I decided to use that instead. Carrying my coffee down the path in the backyard, I unlocked the door and walked into my ‘man cave’ as Aniya called it, the walls lined with framed photos from my past in the business, as well as a few other reminders of everything I’ve done over the years like newspaper clippings from my little accident that I’d tracked down once I got my memories back several years earlier.

I’d had the camera and everything set up for a good thirty to forty minutes by the time Aniya walked through the door… but every thought of complaint about how long she’d taken went right out of my head when she did step into the building; she looked like a fucking knockout in her denim miniskirt, fishnets and leather jacket, only wearing a bra underneath the leathers and she had heels on that had to be four inch at a minimum. “You did hear me say we’re not just going to fuck for the camera, right?” I joked, but it was taking restraint not to drag her to the desk behind me there and then.

“I did,” she nodded as she walked towards me, sultry as hell. “But I figured if I’m going to be in this thing, I should make an impression…”

“Well… mission accomplished!” I joked as I sat back against the edge of my desk, which the camera was pointing directly at. Walking towards the desk, I half expected her to just stand by my side, but instead Aniya climbed up onto the top of the desk and sat with her legs curled beneath her, showing just enough skin to really catch the attention without the need to pixelate half the video. “Okay, here’s the remote for the camcorder; hit record as soon as you’re ready, I can use the light on the front as a cue,” I told her and she took it from me with a nod. Placing it behind her, she used her hand that wasn’t visible to the camera to thumb the record button and as soon as the little red light came on, I got to work.

[REC]

Jason Helms: “Like the view?”

Only two seconds in and I’m smirking already… it’s going to be one of those videos then…

Jason Helms: “I figured I’d give each and every one of you fucks at home watching this a little treat before we get going, because this woman right here is the woman who serves as my inspiration, not because of some pathetic hard luck story where I saved her from the streets or from homelessness or anything like that, but because she saved me. I was lost before we met, but she found me and through her I re-found myself… and because I’m a hell of a fucking guy, I figured I’d give her her proper introduction before she accompanies me to the ring next Wednesday in Buffalo. Ladies and germs, I want you to stand in appreciation for my wife, Aniya Helms…”

Out of the corner of my eye I see Aniya run a hand up her leg, before raising her arm so she can wave into the camera, blowing it a kiss before she turns away from the lens again, her head leaning back. My cue to continue.

Jason Helms: “And people say I’m not a giving person…”

Another smirk, another jab at the fucks who like to talk crap. But why stop there?

Jason Helms: “That’s what’s ironic. People keep talking about me as if I’m a horrible person… and being honest, I can’t for the life of me figure out where the fuck they get that from because as far as I’m concerned, I’m fucking delightful! I’m engaging, insightful, happy to talk to anyone on twitter – unlike those lazy fucks that get some intern or poor shmuck to run their twitter accounts for them – and yet people keep telling me I’m an asshole, that I lack tact, this that and the fucking other, but I can’t help but think how unfair that is because… because…”

I can’t stop myself from chuckling at this point; who the fuck was I kidding, huh?

Jason Helms: “…sorry, I tried, I really fucking tried, but I couldn’t keep that up any longer! Truth is, I’m a fucking asshole and I make no bones about that fact… but can you blame me for being one when this entire business is filled with delicate fucking snowflakes who paint it in such a bad light that I feel like I have to double up on the cuntishness just to make sure you fucks at home remember that we’re not all pathetic?! What happened to the sport of kings, huh? What happened to the idea that the baddest, toughest athletes would gather in order to compete, that we would kick the ever-loving crap out of each other to prove we really are the best?! That’s what the business was about when I first stepped into it, and we’re not talking about a several decades ago – I’m nowhere near as close to drawing my old age social security cheques as some in this company! – we’re talking about two thousand six! That’s when I was last in the ring, before all the drama happened for want of a better explanation, and yet in a tiny fraction more than a decade, It’s turned into something I don’t even recognise compared to how things where when I was last active! It’s all tough talk on twitter, big long diatribes about how tough you are or what you’ll do when a show comes around, only to not even bother to try and ask for screen time because you’d rather save face on the internet than say shit to my face! Hi Konrad, hope you’re well bro!”

Sarcastically, I pleasantly wave into the camera, overly theatrical in doing so for emphasis, before pressing on. I can hear Aniya chuckling just behind me on the desk as she swings her legs around – damn near Basic Instinct-ing everyone at home – to sit with her legs dangling off the edge of the desk, leaning up against my side lovingly.

Jason Helms: “I don’t know why the fuck I’m bothering to try and justify myself to you fucks though, it’s not like I’m seeking affirmation and even if I was, I’d want it from people who don’t live on cloud cuckoo land… I mean, anyone who cheers some of the pansy’s that this business has unearthed over the last few years doesn’t deserve to hold an opinion in my view, let alone have it given any attention! There’s a limited number of people whose opinions I do value, one of which is this fine piece of ass right here… and until they tell me to reign it in I’ll continue to be the same hostile, tactless, arrogant piece of work I’ve been since the moment I revealed who I was at Taking Hold of the Flame and if you don’t like it then you can either do something about it or just shut the fuck up and accept that, unlike my brother, I don’t give a flying fuck about what’s right for the business, I only care about what’s right for me! See, Konrad may be wondering why I did what I did and you’d better believe I do have the answers for him when the time comes, but I’m saving those for when we do inevitably meet up inside of the ring… for now, I’m only thinking about my debut this coming Wednesday and it’s kind of irritating because you know, I don’t really know what’s in store, not just because I’m still new here and have a lot to learn about the roster but because I literally won’t know who the fuck I’m facing practically until that bell rings! I’ve talked to Dave, Regan, even AJ, while trying to figure out what’s going on with this ‘in action’ crap that I’ve seen billed on the advertisement posters and on the website for the coming show and apparently SCW likes to throw a bone to local talent every so often so chances are I’m gonna be helping some kid get a little exposure come Wednesday night. From a company standpoint, that’s pretty impressive given it shows how SCW is giving back to the industry in small ways, not just signing people with the hope of turning them into superstars but in giving opportunities to indy talent who aren’t quite at the required level yet but someday could be… and at the same time it’s a huge fuck you to me!”

I paused to shake my head, but before I could open my mouth to continue dressing down those running the company, Aniya jumped off the desk and pointed her finger at me while addressing the camera herself.

Aniya Helms: “Don’t you know who this man is? Don’t you know what dynasty this man belongs to?!”

Her arm swung from me to the camera, pointing her finger down the lens as if now lecturing the people watching. I’ve never been prouder!

Aniya Helms: “He’s a Helms, he’s my husband Jason Helms, a man who was every bit as famous as his brother that you idiotic pissant’s idolised as if the sun shone out of his butthole! In two thousand five and six, Jason Helms was one of the brightest talents to burst onto the scene, he was in one of the hottest tag teams in the country with his older brother and yet you insult him, insult the dynasty by putting him in the ring with a nobody who doesn’t even warrant their name being announced on the poster! A fine welcome for a man who deserves the same level of respect that any of the top stars in the company get!”

I slid my arm around Aniya’s waist in appreciation, as she lowered her own arm and glared into the camera; I didn’t want to interrupt until she made it more than clear that she was finished… and truth be told, seeing her fired up the way she was, it was kind of a turn on too, I wasn’t exactly wanting her to rush!

Aniya Helms: “But cream rises… that’s the saying; the cream will always rise to the top! And Wednesday is only the beginning; you may have disrespected him with this match but before long he will have the respect he deserves! Where people come to respect him of their own volition or whether he has to beat it out of them, sooner or later this man will have the respect he’s owed and then… well… let’s just say there won’t be just one Helms that goes down as a legend in this company…”

Shooting the camera a crooked grin, Aniya turned away from lens to look at me and to my surprise, planted a great big kiss on my lips before jumping back up onto the desk and with a big grin, I turned my attention back to the camera to finish up the video.

Jason Helms: “Well, you heard the lady… who am I to argue with someone so damn hot, huh?”

I just about hear a slight chuckle escape Aniya’s lips as I pause to smirk. Clearly she appreciated the compliment.

Jason Helms: “Fortunately for you fucks at home, I plan on showing up for this shambles of a match on Wednesday regardless of the metaphorical slap in the face that it is. See, I’m one for taking any opportunity to show exactly who I am and what I can do… and if you’re not prepared to turn a negative into a positive in this business then you may as well just fuck off and never step foot in a ring ever again! I almost feel bad for the poor fuck that has to walk down to the ring… I mean, I’m not saying I’m gonna cripple him or her or anything like that; some sick fucks may get a chubby from breaking bones or lacerating someone’s skin, but I’m not one of them and I don’t plan on going down for manslaughter after only one match… but the thing is, I may have made a bit of a statement against good old Konnie, and I may have had a good run in Taking Hold of the Flame before I got eliminated by that bag of hot air Jake Starr, but this week? This is my opportunity to show you what I’m actually capable of, as well as send a message to Raab about why it’s not smart to think he has any chance of beating me… so whoever walks out there on Wednesday, whoever you are, I just hope to fucking god that you’re ready kid! Because I’m not taking it easy on you so that you can enjoy your moment in the spotlight… I’m going to show you up as quickly as possible. And there ain’t a damn thing you can do about it. Sorry, it’s just business…”

[/REC]

And with that, I’m done; Aniya can obviously tell too because the little red light blinks out on the front of the camcorder and I turn just in time to see her toss the remote control aside and smirk at me.

“Well, I think that’ll just about do the job,” I said to her as I turned around, smirking.

“That was fun!” Aniya said back to me, a crooked smirk on her face as she looked up at me from the desk. “Is it always like that?” she asked, curiously.

I nodded my head. “Pretty much,” I told her with a shrug as I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “I mean, sometimes – depending on the match – it can either be like pulling teeth or an emotional rollercoaster, but… well, that was kind of a general taste of what it’s like, yeah…”

“I can feel my adrenaline flowing,” she said, her eyes full of excitement. “If that’s what it’s like just being in one of your promo’s, I can’t wait for Wednesday to be at ring side! God, I… is it wrong I’m kind of turned on?” she asked with a laugh and I can’t say that that didn’t pique my interest somewhat…

“No, I don’t think--” I started to say before Aniya suddenly swept an arm across the desk, shoving everything off it before laying back and pulling me down on top of her. Didn’t take me long to realise that she actually had nearly done a Sharon Stone at the start of the video. And the fishnets… well, let’s just say I had to buy her some new ones because they didn’t make it and leave it at that, shall we? Ha.