I was listening to this song Monday while I was working on another fic when suddenly this popped into my head. Needless to say the voices in my head wouldn't go away until I wrote it down. And if you read this, I hope you enjoy it. It's nice to do a one parter for a change. :) Oh and if anyone wants to know, the song is like it says in the title. It's Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon by the Backstreet Boys.
Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon
It was supposed to be a day like any other. The same normal day he'd experienced for most of his life really. But it wasn't normal. Everything changed for him that Saturday at a time and a place where he least expected it.
How come I was the last to know
Took the stage then you stole the show
Another unsuspecting Sunday afternoon
I was captured by that stare
Now I'm shattered, but I don't care
And the people walking by don't have a clue
That I kissed your face
Till the sun was in our eyes
Till the afternoon arrived
And I can't explain
Last night I saw the fireworks
The kind of pain that never hurts
The one you hate to love is made for you
Another unsuspecting Sunday afternoon
Saturday
"I can't believe your father agreed to this." commented Paul as he stood in the ring with a dog-eared copy of a script in his hand. His other hand lifted to bring the bottle of water to his lips and he absently took a sip as his brown eyes scanned the page in front of him once more. "I mean the rock bottom can be a fucking brutal move, Steph. Are you sure you want to do this?"
His head lifted to look at the young woman standing by the ropes just in front of them. Despite the casual nod she threw his way, Paul could see the visible apprehension in her face and it was little wonder. It wasn't every day a two hundred and fifty pound guy power slammed your body into the ground and that's exactly what Rocky would be doing to her in one week's time at the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania. And the fact that Stephanie had even suggested it baffled him. Then there was the surprising part that Vince had even entertained it, never mind gone along with it and that baffled him even more. Although really, if he thought about it, it shouldn't have. Vince was a crazy bastard when it came to this business. Nothing was off limits and he was beginning to think daddy's little princess was just as nuts.
"I'm a big girl. I can handle it." Stephanie assured him.
"I know." Paul sighed not doubting her ability to take and sell the move. Stephanie was as capable as she was enthusiastic. It was more her health and wellbeing he was concerned about. His brow furrowed worriedly and the scribbled pages dangled between his fingertips as he wandered over to her. "But I'm not exactly sure you're grasping what you're letting yourself in for."
"No?"
"No." he told her firmly as his concerned brown eyes settled on her face. As much as he admired her spirit and the lengths Stephanie was prepared to go to in order to entertain the crowd, he couldn't help but fret over her and he wasn't sure why. After all, he wasn't in the habit of freaking out like this. In all his years of wrestling, he'd never thought twice about a woman being in the ring. Even with Joanie, he'd never felt this protective. Not that he'd had any need to worry over her really. Joanie was more than capable of taking care of herself. She always had been. With Stephanie it was different. She was more fragile and delicate and that made her more vulnerable. At least it did in his eyes.
"So why don't you show me." suggested Stephanie catching him off guard as Paul stared at her strangely.
"Show you?" he repeated.
Stephanie nodded and smiled. "Let me know what to expect. After all I'm pretty sure the Game isn't opposed to showing a girl a move or two."
Her tongue poked between her teeth as her smile stretched into a wide grin. Paul's eyes crinkled with his laughter.
"No he most certainly is not." he chuckled.
"I thought not." Stephanie replied amused as she left the ropes and wandered into the middle of the ring. She pushed up the sleeves of her black sweater as Paul took a drink from his water bottle before placing it and the draft script down in the corner. He cleared his throat and it echoed oddly in the empty arena. It was hard to believe that in a couple of hours or so, the place would be filled to capacity with people. Fans that would leave the night's house show happy and satisfied and she guessed that's what it was all about. It was about pleasing them and giving their audience what they wanted. It was probably her main reason for volunteering to take the move in the first place. Every fan out there wanted to see her get her come-uppance. That and she wanted to earn her father's respect. Paul's too if she was honest because she was capable of so much more in the ring if she could just get the chance.
"So. You're sure you want to do this?"
"You asked me that already." Stephanie said rolling her eyes dryly, amused by Paul's concern yet at the same time, she felt strangely touched by it too. He seemed to be genuinely worried about her and after all the personal soul searching she'd been forced to do over him the last few weeks or so that thought made her feel warm inside.
"I was just checking." he told her as he stood in front of her, his big hand pushing through his loose blonde strands before falling to his side. His eyes observed Stephanie carefully as he rolled his lips together thoughtfully. "Now if you feel any pain at all or you're even a little uncomfortable during any of this, I want you to tell me, okay?"
"Okay." Stephanie agreed, nodding.
"Good. Now I'm going to stand slightly to your side and if you lift your right arm, I'm going to tuck my head underneath."
She did as she was told raising her arm in the air. Paul's soft hair tickled her skin slightly as he got himself in position and his arm moved over her chest before sliding around her neck.
"Okay. I've got you in position. Now I'm going to place my other arm against your back okay so I can support you."
"Okay." Stephanie nodded once more and as she stood there with her body pressed into Paul's, she wondered if he could hear how loud her heart was beating or feel the slight tremble in her knees. And while part of her wanted to attribute her reaction to the thought of being actually being body slammed in a matter of seconds, the other part – the honest part – knew it was because she was in such close proximity to this man, a man who had somehow crept his way into her heart. And as scary as it was to admit it, Stephanie knew she had feelings for Paul. Feelings that were becoming so strong and so real she couldn't deny them any more, at least not to herself. Voicing them out loud to anyone else was an entirely different matter though especially when that person was Paul himself.
Unable to help herself, Stephanie turned her head to sneak a glance in his direction. At the same time, Paul adjusted his arm and she felt something catch the jewellery in her ear, tugging it sharply.
"Shit." cried Stephanie pulling away.
"What?" Paul cried as he released his grip on her, his brown eyes widening in alarm as he moved away from Stephanie. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
She shook her head absently and Paul felt a wave of relief wash over him as Stephanie's hand lifted to her ear where her thumb and forefinger pinched at the lobe.
"But I've lost my earring." she explained. "It must have fallen out when your arm brushed against me."
Paul rolled his eyes dryly as his mouth curled into a smile. "So it's my fault, huh? Next thing you'll be asking me to crawl on my hands and knees to search for the damn thing." he joked.
His laughter stuck in the back of his throat as Stephanie's serious blue eyes settled on him, silently pleading with him.
"Would you?"
"You are kidding me, right?" he snorted in disbelief.
Stephanie shook her head adamantly. "My parents gave me these studs for my eighteenth birthday. They mean a lot to me. And I can't look for it. It's tiny and my glasses are in my purse back in the dressing room."
"Of course they are."
"Please, Paul. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
Her eyes were even wider if that was possible as Stephanie batted her lashes, suckering him in and Paul knew he was fighting a battle he simply wasn't going to win.
"Alright. Okay! I'll look for it." he conceded as he threw his hands up in defeat. "Never let it be said I'm not a sucker for a damsel in distress."
"I'll owe you big time."
"Damn right you will." Paul smirked as he lowered himself to the mat, his bare knees shuffling against the surface as he began his search. He adjusted the waistband of his denim shorts as he moved around the floor.
"It's a little diamond." Stephanie informed him as she hovered over him. "Although I think you might need to look a little further to the left."
"Yes boss." Paul replied as he raised his hand in a mock salute. His eyes carefully scanned the area in front of him and his brow lifted in surprise when he easily discovered the tiny jewel glinting back at him and his thick fingers reached for it.
"Found it." he announced.
"Really? Paul, you're an angel."
He heard Stephanie's hands clap together in glee and smiling, Paul lifted his head clutching the earring. He didn't realise the girl was so sentimental. But his gaze faltered as his brown eyes settled on the long pair of legs in front of him. For some reason they grabbed his attention, captivating him. Stephanie's legs were bare underneath her short denim skirt and her skin was glistening under the bright glow of the lights. It looked so soft and smooth and for some reason Paul's fingers were aching to touch it. They were aching to touch her.
"Paul, are you alright down there?
"Um yeah. Sure." he replied quickly rising to his feet and he pushed any notion of touching her from his mind as he handed over the earring. She was Stephanie McMahon for fuck sakes. It would be extremely dangerous not to mention stupid and reckless. "Here you go."
"God, thank you." Stephanie beamed as she gratefully accepted the jewellery from him. "I don't know what I'd do without you, you know."
Before he could form a reply, her long arms enveloped him in a tight squeeze. Paul felt his breath hitch in his chest as she caught him by surprise and her soft brown strands tickled his face as she hugged him. As he breathed in the faint scent of her perfume, Paul seemed terribly aware of how close Stephanie was to him. Her breasts were pushed against his chest and closing his eyes, Paul tried his hardest not to think about that, in particular he refused to think about Stephanie's breasts full stop. Because the last thing he needed or wanted was to be envisioning that or any other part of her body either and that included her legs too. It didn't matter that those legs were fucking incredible either.
Shit. What was happening to him tonight? Quite clearly crawling around on all fours had upset his equilibrium and was playing havoc with his mind, making him have these thoughts about her. Remaining upright from now on was probably a good idea especially when Stephanie was around. Maybe then he might not feel so inclined to think about her or touch her in any way possible.
"Paul?"
Her voice got his attention and Paul noticed Stephanie had stopped hugging him. Instead she was looking at him, bemused, with a slow genuine smile crossing her face, a beautiful, radiant smile that caused a strange sensation in his chest.
"Are you okay? You're looking a little spaced out there."
Her hand touched his cheek. Paul swallowed thickly unable to pull his eyes away from her mouth. Her lips were so soft and inviting and all he wanted to do right now was kiss her. Fuck. What was wrong with him? There was no reason for him to be thinking this way. It was just Stephanie. The same Stephanie he'd known and worked with the last five months and the same Stephanie who was nothing more than a friend and a colleague to him. Nothing had changed.
But if that was true, why did he suddenly feel overwhelmed by her? Why did her warmth breath dancing on his face drive him crazy inside? Something was happening to him. Something was happening to them. Something he simply couldn't explain.
"Paul?"
As her lips formed his name, Paul couldn't help himself. Every fibre of his being wanted this as his mouth found Stephanie's. Paul kissed her slowly, softly as his hands cupped her face and in that moment, nothing else mattered. Not even the fact they were in the middle of the ring in a very public arena. The entire world slipped away leaving just the two of them caught up in this moment, a moment that was, for Paul, totally unexpected. Because sure, he'd kissed Stephanie before. In fact he'd kissed Stephanie a number of times but it had always been in front of a camera. It had never felt like this. This was different. It was tender. It felt intimate. And more than that, it just felt right.
Tilting his head, Paul could feel his heart pounding in his chest when he eventually pulled on Stephanie's bottom lip, breaking the kiss. His eyes were reluctant to open not sure he wanted to face what was next but when they finally did open, they were met with Stephanie's stunned and confused stare.
"What was that?" she asked almost in a daze as her finger lifted absently touching the lip Paul had just caressed.
Paul struggled with the answer as he swallowed thickly, slowly shaking his head. "I don't know." he replied meekly.
And that was the truth because honestly, he had no other explanation, or at least not one that he could form the words for. He was completely blind-sided by this. He was blinded by her.
"Look Steph..." he began but he jumped slightly startled when the loud music filtered through the speakers around them. He sighed impatiently as he pushed his hair back. The crew had obviously started their sound check for this evening.
"You know we should probably get out of here." Stephanie announced suddenly, as she quickly glanced around her looking somewhat anxious. "It's getting late and I know you need to run over things with Show before your match. We can work on that move another time. Maybe Monday." she suggested.
Paul nodded, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I'll just grab my things." he told her gesturing to the bottle and papers in the corner.
As he turned and walked to get them, Paul lightly cursed under his breath, mentally scolding himself for being so stupid. What the hell had he been thinking just now? Not only had he kissed Stephanie – the fucking boss's daughter by the way – he'd also kissed her for the entire world to see. Okay, maybe not the entire world but there was the ring crew not to mention the other wrestlers hanging around. Fuck. Thank God none of them had seen anything – or at least he hoped they hadn't. They'd have a field day if they ever caught wind of this. God knows he cut enough slack as it was from all the idiots who actually thought there was something going on between him and Stephanie. And of course he'd only gone and added fuel to that fire with his actions tonight. But he hadn't been able to help himself. He'd wanted to kiss her and whatever that meant, he wasn't sure. He just knew how he felt right here, right now. It was like some random moment between them had made him see Stephanie in a completely different light.
Sighing softly, Paul lifted his water bottle and papers and turned to leave. That's when he saw her standing at the bottom of the steel steps waiting for him. Her big blue eyes stared back at him pensively and unable to help himself, Paul's mouth curved into a gentle smile. It was a smile that was eagerly returned and as her face beamed back at him, Paul swore Stephanie had never looked more beautiful to him. It was the kind of beautiful that made his chest tight and his knees weak. And it was in that moment Paul knew he was screwed because there was no turning back now. At least not for him. Not any more. Not now he had seen what had been in front of him all this time. He had finally woken up and noticed Stephanie.
Monday is a funny thing
Still waiting for the phone to ring
Will my imagination take it slow
After Saturday, my life is changed
In a moment it was rearranged
Strange how easy it is letting go
And I miss your face
Like the sun was in my eyes
And now I'm running blind
And I can't explain
Last night I saw the fireworks
The kind of pain that never hurts
The one you hate to love is made for you
Another unsuspecting Sunday afternoon
Monday
Paul stared out at the arena, his eyes casting over the thousands of empty seats in front of him. He couldn't believe that in a matter of hours, those seats would be filled to capacity. Faces would be staring back at him and voices would be chanting their hatred for him. It was a hatred he thrived on and a hatred that got his adrenaline pumping.
But as excited and as nervous as he was for the show, Paul was even more excited and nervous about Stephanie. Excited in the way that meant he was desperate to see her. Nervous in that he didn't know what to expect when he actually did. It had been twenty four hours since she had left his hotel room and he hadn't seen her since. He hadn't even heard from her and he had to admit that made him pretty fucking worried. What if he had screwed things up between him? He wasn't usually one for acting on an impulse especially when that impulse was kissing a woman and not just any woman. Oh no. He had to go and kiss the fucking boss's daughter. It was career suicide if he was being honest.
Paul pushed his big hand through his hair and sighed as the soft blonde strands settled around his face once more. It didn't matter how many times he reminded himself who Stephanie was. It didn't change anything. Not really. But what had he been thinking? Not that thinking had really come into the equation and that was probably his problem right there because he should have been thinking instead of just feeling. For the first time in a long time, Paul had let his heart rule his head and his heart had wanted to kiss Stephanie. The way she had looked at him and that smile. Christ. They had literally taken his breath away. So he had kissed her. And then later that night, he had invited her back to his hotel room. He didn't know who was more surprised by the invitation, Stephanie when he asked her or himself when she had accepted. But he just knew that he wanted to be with her. Suddenly Stephanie was all he could think about so he had led her inside and kissed her in that hotel room again and again and again to the point that he was pretty sure he had feelings for her, deep feelings that surprised and confused him all at the same time.
But as confused as he was, Paul knew that somehow his life was about to change. After all, it couldn't stay the same. Not now. Not after kissing Stephanie like that. God, kissing her had been so incredible. He'd felt each and every embrace to the tips of his fingers and for once the simple act of kissing someone had been enough for him. Each time his mouth met hers it was like he had been discovering Stephanie over and over again and there was no denying there was something there. A spark of some kind; the same spark that let him know these feelings couldn't be ignored because there was something special about them. They were feelings he'd never experienced in his life before. Feelings that made him feel alive.
The truth of the matter was he was crazy about Stephanie. How had it happened? Who the hell knew! And really it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that he wanted to be with her. He just needed to find out if Stephanie wanted to be with him. And judging by her silence, his odds weren't looking particularly good. And honestly, he shouldn't be surprised. Stephanie was funny. She was smart. She was breathtakingly beautiful. By all accounts she was completely out of his league especially when you took into account her last name. That fact alone should have sent him running for the hills yet somehow it didn't. Somehow his heart was prepared to take the risk. That's if there was any risk to take.
Rubbing his face across his beard, Paul glanced at his watch and wondered where Stephanie was. It was unlike her to be so late in turning up for a show which only made him even more convinced that she saw kissing him as a big mistake. Why else would she be avoiding him? Or if she wasn't avoiding him, she was doing a good job of convincing him she was. Yet when she had left his hotel room Sunday afternoon, she had seemed as happy as he was. Not to mention the fact she hadn't once protested about the kissing. In fact she had seemed as eager as he was to participate in it. She'd even kissed him goodbye in the hotel corridor yesterday. God, even now he could still taste her. Stephanie's lips were so soft and warm and sweet. And perfect. Every kiss with her was perfect like each and every time his mouth touched hers, it felt familiar. It felt like he was coming home.
This sweet relief
Unexpected things
Is this the end or only the beginning
I miss your face
Like the sun was in my eyes
Like the afternoon
Now I'm running blind
I can't explain
Last night I saw the fireworks
the kind of pain that never hurts
The one you hate to love that's made for you
Another unsuspecting Sunday afternoon
"Paul?"
The sound of her voice startled and soothed him all at the same time. Licking his lips and taking a moment to find his composure, Paul eventually lifted his head to look at her and he couldn't help the small smile that traced his lips as he saw Stephanie standing on the step next to him. She was the best damn thing he'd seen all day. The most beautiful in fact, if you wanted his opinion.
"Hey." he said softly, acknowledging her.
"Hey yourself." Stephanie replied, smiling softly in return as she gestured to the vacant space next to him. "May I?" she asked.
"You may." Paul grinned.
Inside his mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour. His heart was beating wildly in his chest. Stephanie obviously wasn't avoiding him like he thought but he wasn't sure what that meant. Because really, Stephanie could be here for any number of reasons. She could be here to run over the show. She could be here just simply making conversation with him. She could also be here to tell him that kissing him was a mistake and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sure he'd be disappointed. Hurt even but at the end of the day he'd have to somehow swallow those feelings and learn to accept it.
"It's hard to believe isn't it that in a few hours those seats will be a mass of faces." said Stephanie, interrupting his train of thought. "Faces that by the way will take extreme delight in calling out that name they seem pretty fond of."
"Which one? Asshole or slut?" he teased.
"Both." Stephanie grinned back unwittingly causing Paul's chest to flutter strangely. God knows it was a feeling he was getting used to each and every time this woman - this freaking Goddess - looked his way.
"Funny. I was sitting here just thinking the same thing." he admitted.
Stephanie's brow lifted in surprise. "You were?"
Paul nodded as he stretched his legs out in front of him, nervously rubbing his palms over his denim clad thighs. If Stephanie was here to let him down gently, he wished she would hurry up and just get it over with instead of sitting here making small talk and in the process pretty much killing him. After all, even in the face of rejection, a guy still had his pride.
"Well maybe if we're thinking alike, we're more attune with one another than I thought."
Paul's head turned to her, his brown eyes somewhat bemused by Stephanie's off the cuff comment. "You reckon?" he scoffed.
There was a beat as she sat simply looking at him.
"I hope so." she replied simply.
Paul's brow furrowed with his confusion. At least he was confused until Stephanie's big eyes settled on his and looking into them, he saw the emotions that flickered in her ocean blue depths. And then he got it. Because those emotions told him everything he needed to know and suddenly all his doubts and hesitation over her quickly disappeared. His questions were answered and Paul couldn't stop the slow, happy grin that crossed his face.
"I hope so too." he told her.
And Stephanie grinned back as she turned to look out at the empty arena once more allowing her head to drop on Paul's shoulder as his hand reached for hers...
The End