AN: I might keep this a 'T' rated fic because I haven't written any in a while. But for now, I'll keep this in the 'M' section just in case.
~~**~~
When Stephanie woke up the next morning, Eric had already gone. She sat up in bed and looked around the room. It was strange waking up and not smelling Eric's sweet smelling cologne. It was even stranger not hearing a snide remark or her nickname he'd given her 'princess'. Stephanie slowly rolled out of bed and headed straight for the restroom to shower. She emerged from the restroom an hour later with a robe on then took a seat on the bench in front of the dresser to dry her hair. That's when she noticed the sticky note that was taped to the side of the dresser. She picked it up and just couldn't stop the smile from forming across her lips as she read.
Hey Princess,
Sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye but I didn't have the heart to wake you. Give Hunter hell and I'll see you on Friday.
E.
Stephanie folded the note and placed it inside her purse. Feeling somewhat more cheerful, she went back to getting dressed making a mental note to talk with Eric later.
~*~*~
Two hours later, Eric was entering his empty house that he hadn't seen in almost three weeks. It seemed like it was longer since he'd left his home but he reckoned he felt that way because of the relief. It was a huge weight off his shoulders knowing that he now had a steady pay check (and a big one) coming in every month. It was also kind of a relief being around people and not just the walls of his empty house.
He set his bags down in the kitchen and headed straight to his answering machine. Sure enough he had several messages from people he knew were probably creditors. Damn. Guess I should go through them. With a heartfelt sigh, he got out some pen and paper from a desk drawer and sat down to hear his messages.
~**~**~
Hunter tossed and turned most of the night so he didn't get much sleep. By the time his alarm went off at 10 he was already stepping out of a hot shower. He quickly dressed then headed to meet Shawn for lunch. They decided to have subs instead of burgers for a change and Hunter was glad for he didn't think his stomach would hold anything greasy. It wasn't hard to spot his buddy Shawn in Subway, especially since he wasn't alone. John Cena was seated across from him and even there he couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself. Hunter smiled as he quietly snuck up behind Cena smacking him aside the head.
"Hey! What the he—Hunter?"
"Slide over and stop flirting with Shawn," Hunter smirked. Cena reluctantly moved over so Hunter could sit on the end mumbling something under his breath about being straight. Hunter shook his head laughing. "Dude. It's cool. Everyone knows you're sweet on Shawn but Shawn is engaged. Time to move on," Hunter teased.
"Oh come on Hunter. Stop that. You're embarrassing both me and the kid," Shawn grumbled though his face was redder than usual.
"So how do you think Kim would feel about you being sexually harassed by a male?"
"Oh come off it Hunter," Shawn hissed. "You know full well—
"If you must know Hunter, I was teasing Shawn about his thinning hair. That's why my hand was all in his head. I wasn't flirting with him. Besides, I have a fiance now…I think."
"Oh really?" Hunter glanced across the table at Shawn who nodded his head.
"It's true," Shawn answered. "Now will you please stop making gay jokes about us? You know people used to say that about us too you know."
"Yeah but we wanted to be controversial," Hunter reasoned. "We acted gay on purpose and…ahh forget it. So why is Wonder Boy here eating with us?"
"I'm tired of all of you calling me that!" Cena grumbled.
"He's having woman troubles," Shawn answered for him. "You know, much like us."
"Oh well then. Welcome to the club."
"Thanks…I think."
"So what's your story kid? What kind of girl troubles are you having? Are you cheating trying to juggle 20 women at once?" Hunter joked.
"No. It's actually a bit more complicated than that," Cena answered. "Remember I proposed to her not too long ago."
"Hmm…where was I?"
"In a wheelchair," Shawn shrugged.
"Damn. I missed a lot of shit when I was injured."
"Yeah you did," Shawn teased. "But to catch you up, here's the quick version. Cena got injured—
"Thank God," Hunter mumbled. "He was about to turn my best friend—
"Hunter…" Shawn warned.
"Alright. Alright. Continue."
"Anyway, he met Allison – really sweet girl – but lots of issues. Father was abusive. Mom was poor just…all kinds of issues. But somehow he fell for her and her for him but then Candice tried to break them up—
"Michelle?"
"No, Shawn you're confused," Cena laughed. "It was actually Carmella."
"Oh! Diva search chick right?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah but I brushed her off, proposed to Allison and now we're both having cold feet."
"Oh well that's perfectly normal," Hunter shrugged. "No big deal. Take a cruise and in 2 days you'll be missing her like crazy."
"I miss her now."
"Then what's the problem?" When Cena didn't answer right away, Hunter just knew he knew what it was. He grinned his signature grin and cast Shawn a knowing look. "It's you isn't it Shawn? He wants you but—
"Dammit Hunter stop joking around!" Shawn snapped. "It's not – for the last time Cena and I are just friends!"
"Then what is it then?" he huffed, still not entirely convinced.
"Her father hates me," Cena mumbled. "And I kind of beat him up a couple of times and now he's got half of her family thinking I'm some abusive lunatic but I swear to you that he's the freaking loony."
"Oh…damn man. I'm sorry," Hunter winced. "If it makes you feel any better Shawn was married to one for years and my current father-in-law is the biggest lunatic the world over."
"But it's Vinny Mac…the boss…and he actually likes you."
"He didn't always like me," Hunter replied. "Come to think of it, his hatred of me actually pushed me and Steph closer together. Man those were good times."
"Were?" Cena asked frowning. "I don't like the sound of that. Don't tell me you and Steph…?"
"Naa, we're not getting a divorce…at least I hope not," Hunter added sadly. "She…we haven't been getting along as of late and the new DX member – by the way Shawn she's leaving us in a week – is just not helping matters at all."
"Huh? Wait…what?" Shawn shook his head. "Slow down. Stacy is leaving? But she just got back!"
"No, I mean she's moving to Smackdown. She asked Vince to move."
"That's a good thing right?"
"Uh…yeah but…" Hunter sighed. "I feel bad because I feel like it's my fault she's leaving. I mean, I know it's my fault but she shouldn't have to leave on account of my insecurities ya know?"
"Uh…I'm lost," Cena cut in. "What about this Stacy?"
"She's Hunter's ex lover," Shawn answered.
"Oh."
"Yeah and she's still in love with me."
"Come again?" Shawn asked.
"She's still in love with me."
"O…k. So are you still in love with her?" Cena asked.
"I…don't think so."
"Think?"
"Well…Dammit Cena I don't feel like getting into it again. Just…something happened the other night…well, not really but it was enough to make both of us uncomfortable and now Stephanie's not talking with me but I could have sworn she was in a good mood this morning…"
"Hunter slow down," Shawn said rolling his eyes. "Too many thoughts for an old guy to process."
"Oh. Sorry. Yeah so I talked with Steph briefly and she seemed to be in a good mood but clearly not enough to want to see me today. So…that's why I'm here. I wanted to just talk things out while I figure out a way to deal with Stacy and possibly fix my marriage."
"But you love Stacy right?" Cena asked.
"That's just it. I don't know!" Hunter snapped. "But what I do know is that I don't want to lose Stephanie. I do know that I can't imagine life without her so I want to keep her. I want to save my marriage."
"So you've got to make peace with Stacy and move on," Shawn reasoned.
"Oh right. Like how you made peace with Bret right?"
Shawn just glared at him. "Don't. Don't go there. I did try to make peace with the selfish bastard but he wouldn't listen so whatever. I've made my peace and have moved on with my life. If he wants to act like we were never friends then that's his business. I do miss having him as a friend but why dwell on it when I have you guys?"
"Yeah. What Shawn said," Cena grinned. "So Hunty. Do what the man says. Go make peace."
"But how? How do I do that without complicating things even more? Last time I tried talking with Stacy we almost ended up in bed."
"Well…maybe it's more of a physical attraction," Cena answered. "I uh…have often times imagined things with others and sometimes I…though not since Allison… But I never cross the line because I know I love her and…" Cena suddenly looked up and saw that both men were staring at him with confused looks on their faces. "Uh…just forget it," he mumbled.
"I think what Cena's getting at," Shawn continued, "is that you still need to hang out with her and figure out if it's merely just a physical attraction. You can't keep hiding from her."
"But I'm sure it's not."
"Then go home and make love to your wife!" Cena answered. "God Stephanie's smoking hot. Remember I slapped her ass once," he pointed out.
"Yeah I know which reminds me. I owe you an ass kicking for that," Hunter growled. He snatched the hat off of Cena's head and held it over his head.
"Hey. Take it easy. I'm just saying man. Stacy's a hot blonde and all but Steph's a jewel. Remember there had to be a reason why you didn't marry Stacy to begin with right? Now give me my hat!"
Cena snatched his hat back completely oblivious to the hurt look on Hunter's face. Shawn reached over and grabbed his buddy's hand. "You'll be alright but like me, you can't keep running away Hunter. Sit down with Stephanie and tell her how you feel. Get all of it out on the table and see what happens. As for Stacy, you just need to conquer your fear. If your bond with Stephanie is as strong as you think it is then you won't have the heart to sleep with Stacy anyway. Trust me. I know. Just try it and see what happens."
"Yeah…you're right." He smiled. "Thanks guys. Now enough talk. Let's get some damn food shall we? Oh and Shawn…uh…your treat. I forgot my wallet."
AN: I know. I know. It's been what? A year since I've updated this one? Yeah well life catches up with you and you have to let the simple things in life go. But you probably noticed all the other updating I've done. Truth is, I kind of got caught up in a few particular WWE storylines and before I knew it I had novels written. All slash of course but who cares? It's fiction. Anyway, this may be updated more regularly now that I've figured out how to end it. Not much longer to go. Didn't really expect this to be a masterpiece of some sort and I hope you don't either. Trust me. My slash is way better and if you don't like slash, dude. You're missing out.
FYI: Time for another addition of my recommended readings!
Hot One Shots by Seraphalexiel [SLASH] - I'm not sure but I think so far, all of her requests have been for male/male pairings. Either way they are totally hot oneshots that you should check out. You have a secret male/male pairing you'd like to see written out? Go read through them. I'm sure she has what you're looking for and if not, you can always make a request.
In A Gadda Da Vidda by wrestlefan4 [?] - I don't recall any set pairings as of yet but it may be slash later on. Anyway if you are an angst addict and a fan of Edge, Jericho, The Hardyz, and Christian then I highly recommend this fic. Very sad and will have you in tears but it's also so cute and sweet. Go read it. It's written by one of the BEST writers on this site. Trust me. You won't regret it.
Mist, Madness and a Crow [Anime-Naruto] - I know this isn't a wrestling fic but like me, I am sure there are other anime fans who read wrestling fics. Problem is you get tired of browsing through page after page of badly written fanfics but I have done the work for you. This is one of the best Naruto OSTs I have ever read. No smut or anything. Just plain literary brilliance. I highly recommend this one. 10 star fic.