A/N - Sorry about taking so long to post a new chapter of this one. Beautiful Stranger has been taking up all my time lately and then Voices came along lol. But I hope you like this one. And btw, the banner has finally been added to my profile. You should check it out as it's pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself! Cred to the awesome Illise over at MLF. This one's for you smokin'upoutside. I'll be expecting that sequel now......!


Paul's head spun as he got up from the bar stool. The room was moving in all directions as he tried to steady himself, reaching a hand out to the counter to keep his balance. He couldn't believe what he'd seen earlier tonight. How could she do that to him? He was just about to take the leap and ask her to get back together but she'd went ahead and rubbed that right in his face. A heavy sigh escaped him as he wobbled to the door. This was why he never drank. He never understood the point in drinking yourself into a stupor. But tonight he understood it fully. His heart had been torn into a million tiny pieces and he just wanted to feel numb. He reached the door and flicked his jacket collar around his neck as the cold wind hit his face. He gingerly took a few steps forward before he felt something grab his arm.

"What the hell," he mumbled as he spun around and immediately clutched his head as it spun too. But he let go as he came face to face with a stunning blonde. Despite the cold weather, she wore next to nothing and had a seductive smile on her face. She began to run her hand up and down his arm as she stared into his eyes.

"Aren't you that wrestler? Triple H right?" she asked, her voice silky smooth.

Paul nodded his head as he finally got his balance. He looked at her hand on his arm and then moved his gaze back to her face. Her dyed blonde hair hung around her face and her blue eyes sparkled at him. She looked like a life size Barbie he thought to himself as he tried his best not to look down because he knew if he did he would be engulfed by a pair of huge breasts. "Yeah, that's me," he answered simply, moving his arm away from her.

The woman's eyes seemed to light up at his answer. She was obviously pretty hyped up about the fact that she was standing there with a wrestler. Undeterred by the fact that he brushed off her arm, she reached up and started to play with the lapel of his jacket, sidling her body closer as she did so. "That's pretty cool." She licked her lips and let her eyes run up and down his body. "My apartment's just down the block if you want to come down and tell me more about it?" she propositioned.

Paul laughed as he shook his head. He couldn't believe the audacity of some women, although she certainly wasn't the worse. Back in the day women tried to pick him up left, right and centre. "Listen ah....."

"Candy," she said at his prompt. Her smile got even bigger, fully expecting him to take her up on her offer.

"Candy....right," he tried not to roll his eyes at the name. "I'm sure you're a great girl but..." He was about to say he was taken when he remembered that he actually wasn't. She stared at him in confusion while he just stood there with a thoughtful look on his face.

"What is it?" she encouraged as she pushed up against him.

Paul closed his eyes at the headache he could feel coming his way. He wasn't 'with' Stephanie. She had made that quite clear earlier tonight. He could go off with this chick, spend the night having mindless sex and it would be fine. Or would it? Obviously not if he was standing here debating with himself. The truth of the matter was, he just didn't have it in him tonight. Or any other night for that matter. He couldn't let himself sleep with the first chick he saw because he was hurting, he was better than that. And his heart still belonged to Stephanie. He looked into her expectant eyes and offered a small smile.

"I'm sorry but, not tonight," he said solemnly.

"What?" Candy gave him a combination of an angry and confused look with her hand coming to rest on her hip. What the hell was his problem? She was offering herself to him and he was refusing her?

"Not tonight alright."

"Whatever," she mumbled as she turned and stalked down the street. "Asshole."

Her insult carried through the wind and he managed a small smile. She didn't take rejection too well that was for sure. He decided to just clear his mind and enjoy the walk home, hoping that it would help sober him up. Ridding his head of all things Stephanie, he pulled his jacket a little tighter around his body and started the long walk home.


"So I had a great time tonight...." Oscar trailed off as he walked Stephanie to her door. She was staying at a hotel for some reason, even though they were in her home town. He didn't know much about the wrestling business. But he did know that they travelled a lot and he would think that finally getting to your home state would equal staying in your own home. But that wasn't the case with Stephanie. She was a very unique woman, something he'd found out throughout the course of the evening.

"Yeah, me too," Stephanie smiled as they came to a stop outside the room. She turned to him and saw the twinkle in his eyes. She really hoped that she was outwardly displaying the same sort of reaction to their date because inside, she still felt like crap. Not because of the date. Not at all. Everything went really well for a first date and any other time she would have been over the moon. But she couldn't get Paul's face out of her mind ever since they drove past him in the garage earlier tonight. He looked so.....haunted. And she absolutely could not get the thought that she may have lost him forever out of her head. But wasn't that what she was aiming for in the first place? Otherwise why the hell did she come on this date? She quickly snapped out of her reverie when she saw his expectant face before her. His eyes were still sparkling at her and she put on her best smile, trying to convince herself as well as him that she had a splendid time tonight.

"Can we do this again sometime?" He asked as he took a step closer.

Stephanie took a step back until she was against the door and her breath hitched when she felt him move closer to her. He'd been the perfect gentleman all night and she most definitely was not expecting this out of him. "I.....I....sure," she stuttered, although it wasn't necessarily in a good way. He smiled at her stutters, fully in the belief that it was him that caused it and Stephanie couldn't help but inwardly groan. In a matter of seconds, he had managed to turn her stomach.

"I thought you might say that," he whispered, leaning his head closer to hers.

She knew he was going to kiss her and she braced herself. She didn't know what the hell had gotten into him but all of a sudden he'd turned into a sex crazed maniac! But as his lips softly brushed against hers for a short and sweet little kiss, she caught herself on. He wasn't a sex crazed maniac. In fact, he hadn't changed at all. In his mind, he'd just been on a really great date and he was doing what one would naturally do after walking a lady home. Spend a second or two flirting outside her door before offering a chaste kiss and being on his way. Oscar wasn't at fault here. No, it was her messed up mind.

"I'll call you," he smiled as he sweetly rubbed her cheek before turning and heading back down the corridor.

Stephanie stood there shell shocked. She didn't know what to think anymore. Her mind was so consumed with thoughts of Paul that she had just painted a perfectly fine man as a freaking sex pest. Christ she had to stop doing this to herself. She pushed the door to the hotel room open and immediately sought out the bed. She flung her clothes off on the way and sighed when she eventually plopped down on the softness. It wasn't home but it would do.

"Home," she huffed to herself as she thought about it. Home to her was Paul's arms but that was never going to happen again anytime soon. With a fitful sigh, she pulled the covers tight around her body and blocked everything out, hoping to God that this situation would sort itself out. She didn't know what the hell was going to happen with Paul. What she did know was that he looked absolutely heartbroken and she prayed that he would speak to her the next time she saw him. Then there was Oscar. He was completely innocent in all of this but so help her she needed some sort of distraction. Did that make her a bad person? At this point in time she didn't really care. All she wanted to do was get some sleep and rid her mind of the image of the broken hearted face of the man she loved.