I Can't Make You Love Me

Chapter 1

Wresting with Love Series

I Can’t Make You Love Me (Book 1 of 3)

***

“Girl, you need to get out of Tennessee and come to IWX. I talked with the boss and he thinks you would be great here. Besides, your mom has been telling me you are sick of the indies. International Wrestling Xtream is the hottest company going right now. We need you.

Cyrus adjusted his cell phone while trying his best to convince his cousin, Isis, she was ready for the big leagues. He knew the shy girl would need a little coaxing.

“Cyrus, I know you want me there. Oh, by the way, thanks for pushing Wraith on me. He called yesterday trying to convince me into going on the road with you too. I really want to but I’m not as good as you all are. Call your sister, Holly. She’s more of a badass than I am. She fits right in with you two. My style is totally not the same. You’re like a scary horror movie meets biker rally. I can’t team with you and pull off that intense vibe. I’m an ultra-glam girly-girl. You guys are total badasses. Wraith thinks Mr. Preston would figure something out for me but I wanted to be with you. I’m worried that I won’t be good enough,” Isis Evans confessed.

“Ice Queen, you're amazing and you know it. The other wrestling companies have been beating down your door because they know you’re the best new female wrestler out there right now. I know the Tyson brothers called to get you to go to Wrestle Masters. You need to be with a real company like IWX not with those pretend superhero dorks.

“Hey, the Arch Rivals are my favorite tag team, next to you and Wraith. It’s not my fault they quit IWX and made their own company. You just don’t like them because they left IWX and you’re loyal to the core.

“Whatever. They’re losers. You need to jump while the fire is hot. Mr. Preston won’t give you a second chance. I talked to him about what he has in mind for you. Wraith likes the idea and so do I. We think this angle would be perfect for you. You look like some rich diva and you will be perfect for the storyline. You would love it, ” Cyrus said cryptically.

He didn’t want to give her more information than she needed right now. He knew how easily she was spooked. As talented as Isis was, she was equally as paranoid and skittish.

“Did you say, diva? Diva? You know that word pisses me off. You always act like I’m so prissy and vapid. I’m not, you know? I just use the stage persona to wear cool clothes and feel like anyone other than myself.

Isis knew that was true. She was self-conscious and shy in real life. On stage, she was a different person altogether. When she was her stage persona, Isis the Queen of Goddesses, she was something different entirely. She was a glamazon oozing with confidence.

Cyrus sighed. “I don’t think you’re vapid. Why are you so hard on yourself? I don’t get it? Listen, you have no choice because I told Davis Preston you would be there next week to sign the contract. I am sticking my neck out for you to get this opportunity. I’m not letting you back out this time. I got to go. The stagehand just said it’s time to go to the ring.

Cyrus hung up the phone with a sly grin. He knew Isis was probably having a nervous breakdown once he hung up on her. He loved taunting her. It was his secret guilty pleasure that only he could do. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to torment her. The brothers, and their sister Holly, was Isis protectors and had been since they were kids.

“Cyrus Michael Evans! Damn it! You Jerk!” Isis slammed down the house phone. “I can’t believe he would do that! Wait? What angle? Does that jackass know something he’s not telling me? He is probably setting me up with some wrestler buddy he thinks I will fall head over heels for. He’s always trying to set me up with his friends. He just does it so he can check up on me. Big Cyrus the Crusher, is a big pain in my ass,” she argued with the empty room.

After pacing the floor for a good five minutes, ranting to no one but her calico cat, Cello, Isis fell back on the couch. She watched as her favorite wrestler, Gage Stone, entered the ring with her cousin Cyrus.

Isis always found Gage attractive. She had even found herself jealous when he started dating his now ex-wife, Summer Haze. Summer was a backstage reporter, notorious for sleeping her way through the IWX male roster and manipulating people to get her way. She had got her job by sleeping with the owner of IWX years before. The thought of Summer made Isis’s skin crawl. She had heard the stories for Summers backstage antics and it was nauseating. Thankfully, the woman’s days on the show were coming to a meek end due to her backstage politics.

Only Wraith knew about Isis crush and she intended to keep it that way for as long as she could. He found out by default when she got upset with him for supporting the union of Gage and Summer. She didn’t talk to her cousin for weeks.

Isis couldn’t concentrate on the conversation on her tv screen. She was fixated on the big handsome Gage, in his three-piece custom suit, strutting around the ring like a lion on the prowl. His long hair and scruffy beard made her swoon. She had never met him in person but knew Wraith, Cyrus, and Gage had a friendship that had gone on for years.

The brothers trained Isis to be a wrestler after a botched move in the indie scene. Isis had a minor neck injury that could have been far worse than it was. After the accident Wraith insisted to train her properly. In his words, he wanted to train her up right before a bunch of rookie backyard idiots killed her. Once they started to train Isis to her best abilities, she got noticed by bigger companies including their rival company, Wrestling Masters.

Although she loved their help, Isis always wanted to get success on her own. Wraith insisted he and his brother were a far safer option than the low end of the indie scene. She didn’t want to be another family member who got special attention because of her famous cousins. Wraith was hard to say no to due to his brooding demeanor, skull tattoos, and intimidating body build. He could be very intimidating but to Isis, he was just the man she looked up to.

Isis listened to the show that was now back from commercial break. She did her best to ignore her memories of listing after Gage Stone. In the ring, Gage tried to convince Cyrus to join the faction, Justice. They wanted him as their bodyguard. Justice was an ego-driven elite group of male wrestlers that Gage created with his mentor, Jerrod Justice.

Jerrod was always known as a womanizer, even in his real life. He also was known for his life of excess and opulence. The talk of fast cars and fast women made her stomach turn. The four men in the faction were a group of egoistical misogynists.

“Geez, Gage has become a total douche bag since he got a divorce. Being a heel for a story is one thing but this is nuts. This is not the guy I hear all these great stories about. The man who does charity work and would take a bullet for a friend. The one who helps new talent get their start. I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Isis thought.

Isis had become disgusted with Gage’s new elitist persona. Since the older wrestler, Jerrod, came to the show, Gage was taking on the man’s bad habits. Isis had loved Gage playing a heel before but this was just an ego trip on turbo. Three women who were just there for a showpiece were fawning all over him as Gage strutted around the stage. Mr. Preston loved to take drama backstage and make it part of the show it was why the storyline with Gage as this rich egomaniac was working so well. It’s who he was becoming. Guys wanted to be Gage - girls wanted to be with him.

Isis turned up the TV while clinging to Gage’s every word.

“They don’t call us Justice for nothing. We are the judge, jury, and executioner in the IWX. Our crew will hold every major title in this company.” Gage flaunted around taunting Cyrus.

Cyrus chuckled. “Gage, the only way you are going to keep that heavyweight title is getting through me.

Jerrod stepped up laughing at the scruffy man. “Cyrus, you couldn’t lace up Gage’s boots. You and your brother can’t hold a candle to any of us. Maybe having you as our guard is the wrong choice. You don’t have what it takes.

“Old man, I don’t think you need to talk about my brother. He did kick your ass last week. I think I even saw you cry when Wraith had you in that armbar.

Jerrod stepped back looking shocked. “I didn’t…”

The rest of the Justice team fought to not laugh until Jerrod looked around at them with a scowl. They instantly stopped smiling.

“Be that as it may, you two brothers need to focus on being a tag team. There is no way you are taking those titles from us. Drake and Nick will have the tag titles by the end of the night,” the handsome silver fox bosted.

Music filled the arena announcing the second and most fierce Doom brother taking the stage. “Care to put a wager on it?

Wraith headed out from behind the curtain to the stage in his cocky bad boy way, pacing the floor like a caged animal. The crowd erupted seeing one of the biggest legends in IWX enter the arena. The Doom brothers were a fearsome duo. Separately they are a force to be reckoned with. Wraith, the bodybuilding tattooed biker, and Cyrus the wiry backwoods hillbilly fashioned killer.

Gage looked up at Wraith taunting him. “Aren’t you supposed to stay away from me? I have a restraining order stating you can’t even enter the ring when I’m here, Wraith.

Isis giggled. The fake restraining order paperwork was in her scrapbook with pictures of ducks and emojis decorating the paper. The whole paper had dirty jokes and one-liners written where legal jargon would have been. A joke from the writers on staff. Wraith had sent it to her a week ago. Gage’s autograph was even written on the bottom.

“I’m still one hundred feet away. It’s a long walk down that ramp.

Gage glared at him crossing his arms over his chest. “Alright, I’m up for a good bet. What’s the wager?

“If my brother and I win tonight you get the lawyers off my ass and we get a number one contender shot at the tag titles.

Gage smirked. “If my Justice tag team wins... I get your motorcycle.

Wraith looked mad. Isis knew it was his prized possession and Gage was messing with him. There was no way Wraith would allow anyone on the bike, even for a show segment. Davis Preston had played around with the idea of cutting our scripts and adding more real-life to the show. Isis couldn’t fathom Wraith being okay with this.

“No way!

“Scared, Wraith?

Wraith paced the floor thinking. He rubbed his dark full beard and ran his hands over his modernized short hair. “Fine! I’ll do it.

Isis mouth dropped. How did Mr. Preston talk Wraith into that as part of the storyline? She would have to call her cousin to get the scoop.

An hour later Isis didn’t need to make the call. Her two scary cousins won the match in less than five minutes. All she knew is she hoped to be half as amazing as they were.

Next chapter