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Can't Buy Me Love
"Is this spot taken?"
A soon as Maryse heard the sound of that familiar voice coming from somewhere behind her she arched an eyebrow and straightened her posture, fighting hard against the urge to look back at the person who spoke the words to her.
Now… not looking at him and acting all disinterested proved to be a bit difficult but she managed, settling her eyes to look right ahead and into the distance as he walked around to stand at her side.
For a moment and watching his movements out of the corner of her eye she danced with the idea of pulling her 'I'm French I don't speak English act' but she figured that he would know… besides that trick was only used on severe occasions and this wasn't by far one of those.
"Actually it is taken, I'm waiting for someone"
Not minding what she just said he sat anyway, strategically straddling the bench so he could have a good look at her profile. "Well, I hope you don't mind me to butt in by saying this, but someone who keeps you waiting out here in the cold is not worth the wait"
Maryse smiled despite herself and she didn't have to look at him to know that he was smiling as well. "I don't know… this one could be worth it" She shrugged, her lips still curved in a smile. "Who Knows?"
"Nah I say screw him and his tardiness. Besides, I don't think he will want to stick around once he knows you were checking me out the entire night… I mean let's be honest, admit that you want me and I'll admit that I wouldn't have come out here in this cold if it wasn't because I know that you really, really want me"
Rolling her eyes the blonde French Canadian tilted her head to the side and then stared right into the lively olive green orbs that were his eyes, noticing without surprise that he was indeed smiling. "That's only in your dreams because I wasn't checking you out" She said as a matter of fact.
"Of course you were, I have an extrasensory perception so I know that you were totally drooling over me. At first I was flattered, but then you kept doing it and I started to feel awkward… I mean I have feelings you know, so I would appreciate it you would treat me as something more than a piece of meat" He sighed dramatically and blinked a few times. "So tell me, are you going out with me tonight? I would feel visually violated if you didn't"
"Oh please" Maryse sighed, arching an eyebrow while pushing the inside of her lower lip with her tongue. "If there was someone doing the checking out thing it was you and you know it. When I was out at ringside you never stopped looking at me" She said with an arrogant smile as she fixed her hair behind her ear.
In reality she did feel his eyes on her when she was out at ringside for Ted's match; the entire time she had been more aware of him than anything else, feeling how his eyes followed her as she moved around.
Getting that kind of attention was not a foreign feeling to her; after all she was used to people looking at her all the time and in his case she knew that he has been definitely checking her out. It was kind of exciting actually, knowing that of all the people at that arena his attention had been entirely on her.
Of course, he was also watching the match; he couldn't do his new commenting job thing if he wouldn't be watching the match, but on the times she casually looked at the commentators table she had caught him staring at her and only her.
Looking back at the moment she remembered that he hadn't tried to save himself by looking away and he just sent her way one of his patented crooked grins, making her feel silly at the fact that she was enjoying the attention.
"I wasn't checking you out, I was doing what I'm paid to do and that's observing and commenting on it… and you know, diva's rating is one of the things I do" He shrugged without taking his eyes away from her.
"You didn't rate me, did you?"
He grinned and his eyes sparkled. "Eh, I don't remember, so many things I said out there that my mind gets fuzzy…"
Parting her lips she ran her hand along the fabric of her long sleeve shirt and blinked slowly. "Phil…"
"Come on, let's not change the subject here okay, if my mind serves me right you were telling me how I was worthy of being wait for, I want to hear more of that"
Maryse smiled knowingly and sent him a wink. "I never said I was waiting for you"
"Ah, touché, you wound my pride woman"
Letting out a sigh Maryse blinked slowly and her smile faded; she hadn't been waiting for him, that much was true, but she hadn't been waiting for anybody either. She just wanted to go out to the open air and think for a while, and as it turned out the bitter cold served well to clear her mind.
The parking lot of the arena had been too crowded for her taste so she just waited for the show to be over and headed straight to the hotel, roaming the back garden and embracing the cold and the solitude as two friends she hadn't seen in a long while.
"So, what are you doing here all by yourself?" He asked getting closer until his knees were touching hers, providing a small source of warmth for her.
Realizing once more how cold the night was Maryse rubbed the palm of her hands to her arms and looked away once again. "I don't know, I wanted to come here and clear my mind"
Phil nodded, not pushing it. "You know, today at catering Nat bombarded me with tons of questions, the majority of them regarding you, me and the million dollar question, are we dating or not? It was pretty interesting since I've been wondering the same thing for a while"
"Tell Nat that she is too nosey" Maryse said without looking at him and in response Phil said nothing.
The million dollar question… Maryse wouldn't say that she was dating Phil, at least not officially, but then again for the last couple of months they had been going out way too often. It wasn't anything serious, but she wouldn't say that it was nothing because it wasn't.
It was something…. they were having fun getting to know each other and despite the fact that they were complete opposites they were getting along pretty well; they talked, they flirted and teased each other and more often than not they kissed. Did that mean they were going out? Probably…
Letting a sigh escape her lips Maryse asked. "What did you tell her?"
"What do you think? I told her she was too nosey"
Maryse chuckled and looked at him, finding his eyes fixed on hers. Natalya has been discretely trying to question her too but Maryse never let anything out. She didn't know where the other woman got the idea that they were friends but they were not and she wasn't going to share her private information about her private life with her…
No way.
Breathing in Maryse returned the stare to Phil, matching his intensity… to be honest his eyes were like a magnetic force that made her mind lapse, drawing her to him and making her feel lost into him. It was always like that and that night, as he started to move closer she just remained in place and waited for his lips to touch hers, but when he was inches away from her face he stopped and smiled.
"So are we dating or not? Because I don't let women check me out so blatantly unless we are dating" His voice was a dark low whisper and as he spoke his breath caressed her face.
Aware of all that Maryse rolled her eyes playfully and closed the distance to kiss him. For all his talk he didn't have any problem in kissing her back, he even went as far as to move his hand to the back of her head to pull her closer to him.
He was also the one who deepened the kiss by breaking pass her lips with his tongue, taking the liberty of exploring and savoring her thoroughly before pulling away a few inches. "Is that a yes or a no?"
"Hmm what was the question again?"
Shaking his head he commented. "You are evil" Then he moved his face to hers so he could kiss her lightly on the lips.
"No I'm not…" She responded between a series of light kisses that didn't last too long. It made her smile and regardless of the low temperature and the fact that she was almost shaking from the cold she felt right on her element.
Without pulling away from her he moved his head back and scanned her over, his hands grabbing her own hands and rubbing them with his. "Look at this, you are trembling and it was just a kiss, damn I'm good"
"Its 55 degrees out here, I'm freezing" She said, arching an eyebrow.
"Bummer, and here I was thinking that it was because of me"
Smiling she gave him another kiss, just a soft peck. After the night she had visited him at his hotel to clarify the bet thing they had easily become friendlier with one another, if friendlier meant kissing each other at will. It was a nice development, she liked him and there was nothing better than that initial feeling of two people who were getting to know each other and right now that's where she and Phil where.
It was just that deep inside she was a romantic by heart and she genuinely enjoyed courtship. Never mind whatever Ted said about her being superficial and frivolous, because even if she carried herself giving that impression the reality was she liked things to progress like they should, step by step.
Did that mean she no longer enjoyed getting her undivided attention and being noticed around as she walked in her designer clothes? Not at all!
That was another thing altogether and the fact was that she hadn't wanted to rush things like she did with Ted because by God that had ended pretty bad and she didn't want to make the same mistake with Phil. Not that the two men were anything alike but still…
So with that in mind she took things slowly with him, sure on occasions she felt like forgetting all about going slowly and give into the sensation he provoked every night on the road when he would kiss her goodnight at her door. With time those kisses started to become too intense but she never let it get further that that. He joked about it but he never tried to push her into something she didn't consent and that only increased her determination of enjoying every step of the way.
"I don't feel like going out tonight…"
The Chicago native nodded, for a moment she thought there was disappointment on his face but as soon as it came it was gone. "Alright…" He said, sucking into his mouth his lip ring. "Should have figured out since you came straight to the hotel…"
"Yeah I want to stay in my room" She responded, watching his face with care.
"At least you are not staying out here freezing, do you want me to walk you to your door?"
Maryse nodded, biting her lower lip and fixing her eyes on him "I was thinking, that if you want you can keep me company there…"
Phil ran his hand through his jaw. "Sure… I mean if you want to…."
Smiling Maryse grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I want to" Because maybe, just maybe, it was time to take another step…