Chapter 11

"Hello?"

"Are you there yet?"

"Natasha. What a surprise." replied Paul dryly rolling his eyes while his big hand held his cell phone to his ear as he climbed the narrow staircase, his boots scuffing against the concrete steps. A door slammed below him echoing up the stairwell. This was the third time Natasha had called him today. The first time had been early this morning during breakfast when she had wanted to casually remind him about his date with Stephanie tonight. The second had been a couple of hours ago when she had heard of some traffic works on the local radio station and had felt the need to suggest that he leave early to make it across town. He had found her concern quite amusing by all accounts and clearly Natasha was on some kind of mission to get him here tonight and on time but little did she know that her efforts just weren't necessary. He had absolutely no intention of screwing things up, not when he knew it was probably his last and final chance with Stephanie. That, and well he didn't fancy his luck against the two women who, in no uncertain terms, had threatened him with his life on more than one occasion.

"Please just tell me you are at Stephanie's apartment block or at least in the close vicinity."

Paul smiled as he walked along the brightly lit carpeted hallway, his brown eyes focused on the white painted door of number ten. "How close are we talking here?"

"Paul!"

His broad shoulders shook with his deep chuckle. "Calm down Tash. I'm standing outside her door as we speak."

Her audible sigh of relief crackled in his ear. "Good. That's good. I just wanted to make sure."

"You know I think you actually sound more nervous about this date than I do." he teased, raking his fingers through his soft blonde hair.

"I just don't want you fucking this up, Paul."

"Well there's not much chance of that with you calling me every five seconds reminding me of that fact now is there?"

"I'm just concerned that's all. Steph's been through a lot."

Paul's smile faded as he stopped just in front of the apartment door. "Yeah well she's not the only one."

Natasha sighed once more. "I know. I'm sorry."

As he rested his back against the wall shifting his feet on the coarse carpet, Paul quickly pushed aside any thoughts of Nicole. After all, he didn't miss her per say. He just missed the idea of her and their relationship. His house felt empty and lonely lately. They had been together for three years. He guessed he'd gotten used to sharing his life with someone, albeit the wrong someone.

"I was just worried that's all especially after what happened between you two the last time." explained Natasha.

"Well you don't have to be worried." he replied, his lips curving into a smile once more as he glanced towards the door to Stephanie's apartment. "I'm here and I'm on time and who knows? We may even make it to the end of the night without killing one another."

"Well that would be progress."

"It certainly would." he chuckled. "Anyway, I'd better announce my presence. I was told in no uncertain terms that if I wanted to live, I'd better not be late tonight."

Natasha's soft laughter carried down the line. "I can imagine. Well good luck."

"Thanks."

As Paul ended the call, he turned to the door exhaling slowly as he dropped his phone into the inside lined pocket of his brown leather coat. "I think I'm going to need it." he muttered to himself as he pressed his thumb gently against the door bell.

A few seconds later he could hear footsteps and the rattle of a chain and as the door opened, Stephanie's blue eyes went wide as she saw him standing there.

"Paul!" she breathed.

"Well if it isn't my favourite brunette." he teased. His cocky grin slowly spread across his face as he rested his shoulder against the door frame. "Okay, so prepare to tell me how impressed you really are….."

Her smile lingered on her lips at his almost proud expression. "Well, I do have to give you credit. It looks like you can use that watch on your wrist after all. Congratulations."

His throaty chuckle sent a tingling effect throughout her body. In fact, she was feeling a tiny bit breathless. Paul looked gorgeous in a shirt that hung loose over his faded denim jeans. It matched the colour of his incredible brown eyes making them appear a shade or two darker. His blonde hair fell softly around his handsome face and she could smell the faint scent of his cologne. Suddenly she felt a burst of nervous energy as she realised tonight was really going to happen. Well, once she stopped standing staring at him in the doorway. Clearing her throat, she tried her best to compose herself as she stepped aside to usher him in.

"Come on in. I just need to finish getting ready."

His large frame filled her narrow hallway and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she guided him to the right.

"By the way, how did you get in here?" she asked curiously over her shoulder.

"Some guy was just leaving as I arrived."

Stephanie smiled as she gestured towards the bright, tidy sitting room, the smell of the vanilla pot pourri lingering in the air.

"Grab a seat. I won't be a second."

As Paul nodded in acknowledgment, Stephanie quickly dashed towards her bedroom grabbing the large silver hoop earrings that lay on her dresser. Pushing them through her holes in her lobes, she felt her stomach begin to flutter madly which served as a testament to how nervous she was about the whole thing. It had been a long time since she'd participated in anything even remotely resembling a date and all day she had been fretting about how to act or even what to wear. Five times she'd changed her outfit and had even experimented with her hair style. She had felt like she was fifteen all over again and going out with a boy for the very first time. The only thing was Paul wasn't a boy. He was a man in every sense of the word and a dangerous man as far as heart was concerned.

Shaking off that thought, Stephanie turned to the side to inspect her reflection in the tall gilt edged mirror. Her large blue eyes narrowed critically as her hands smoothed down the bottom hem of her flame print halter top skimming it over the thighs of her navy jeans. She released a slow breath trying her best to calm down as she quickly ran her fingers down her perfectly groomed strands.

"Just enjoy yourself, Steph." she hushed to the reflection staring back at her.

She hovered for a second before grabbing her red shoulder bag and making her way back to the sitting room. Paul stood up as she walked in and she bit down on her lip shyly as she stood by the edge of the small cream leather sofa.

"This is a nice place you've got here." he commented as his eyes settled on her.

"Thanks. I like it." she smiled.

"You lived here long?"

"It's been a couple of years now."

Paul sniffed and nodded as his finger scratched as his cheek, his lips curling into a brief smile. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Stephanie just how incredible she looked but he held back knowing the last time he had complimented her, she had bit his head off doubting his sincerity. In fact, she had accused him of trying to hit on her and everything else with breasts. And while tonight would be under a completely different set of circumstances, he didn't want to start off on the wrong foot. He was going to tread carefully and save the compliment for a later time. Paul cleared his throat breaking the small silence that had descended on the room. "So are you ready to go?" he asked.

Stephanie lifted her shoulder in a shrug as her eyes twinkled at him. "I guess that all depends on where you're taking me."

"Well I remembered the whole eating thing you have so I decided to stick to our original plan. You know the one we made before I….." He stopped and let out a slightly embarrassed chuckle as he pushed a chunk of hair behind his left ear. "Well before the accident with my car sort of fucked things up."

Stephanie licked her lips, tasting her lip gloss as she tried to suppress her smile. "So we're going to the movies?"

"Is that okay with you?" he asked, his brown eyes narrowing in her direction.

"I seem to remember it having some advantages, yeah."

A flicker of amusement crossed Paul's face. "I take it your referring to the whole not having to talk or look at me thing."

"Well, it was certainly appealing at the time."

"I'll bet it was."

Stephanie grinned leading him out into the hallway. The movie theatre was busy when they arrived and as Paul handed their tickets to the usher, she popped a handful of Gummi bears into her mouth. As she chewed she recognised some pop song playing lowly in the background. She couldn't remember the last time she had been at the cinema. It was probably years ago while she was still at law school. Rob had hated the movies and instead had subjected her to the boredom of theatre and opera giving her yet another reason for to loathe the guy, not that she wasn't going to waste another thought on him tonight. God knows, she'd wasted enough time dwelling over his sorry ass. Well not any more. She was moving onwards and upwards. Her date with Paul tonight was the start of her putting the past behind her. Smiling absently at the couple who stood up to let them pass, Stephanie took her seat in the centre of the row. As she placed her bag at her feet and her juice cup between her thighs, she turned her head to see Paul's smile of amusement.

"You sure you got enough sugar there now?"

She chuckled glancing down at three large bags resting in her lap. As well as the Gummi Bears, there were Hershey's Kisses and some maple nut candy too. Quite simply, her overwhelming hunger had affected her ability to select one particular type of confectionery and she wasn't sure how long she had stood there in the foyer trying to make her mind up. All she knew was that it had been long enough for Paul to mutter under his breath and grab all three thus ending her inward debate. "You do know you can never have too much sugar." she replied looking up and grinning at him.

"So I can see but maybe you can try and keep the bouncing off the walls to a minimum, okay?"

Stephanie shook her head in amusement as she offered him the bag of Gummi Bears. As he politely refused her offer, he began to remove his coat. He leaned towards her pulling out his arm. She felt her body lightly shiver as his shoulder brushed against her and her eyelids fluttered just a little as she breathed him in. It was the clean, fresh scent of his hair, his musky cologne, just everything. Honestly, how could one person smell so amazing? Swallowing thickly, she deliberately turned her head away and began to eat another handful of Gummi Bears. Anything to keep her mouth occupied and stave off any desire to place it anywhere near his neck. Her body seemed to have a few uncontrollable urges when it came to Paul, urges that she needed to keep firmly in check especially if she was going to make it through tonight.

Stephanie began to absently glance around her. Suddenly her blue eyes widened as she saw a familiar head of hair and she coughed as the chewy candy quickly lodged in her throat.

"What's up? Are you okay?" asked Paul, his brown eyes narrowing with concern.

She quickly nodded as she swallowed a couple of times loosening and swallowing the candy. Grabbing the soda she took a sip before licking her lips leaning towards Paul. "You know I think we're being spied on." she told him.

"What?!" exclaimed Paul turning in his chair.

Stephanie slapped his arm stalling his movement. "Don't make it obvious."

"Who is it?"

"Take a guess."

Paul's nose scrunched cutely as he frowned tucking a few loose blonde strands behind his ear. "I don't have a clue."

"Do the words interfering siblings ring any bells with you?"

His frown quickly turned into a scowl as he realised Stephanie was referring to Jamie and Natasha. "You're kidding me?"

"Nope."

"So where are they?"

"About ten rows back on the left."

Paul slowly shook his head curling his long fingers around the thin arm rest as he resisted the urge to glance back at them. "What a pair of sneaky bastards." He saw the middle aged lady in front of him turn in her seat at the sound of his cursing and glare at him. He smiled at her contritely. "Sorry."

"You know I knew Tash was up to something." continued Stephanie tapping her fingers thoughtfully against her chin. "She was being very shady when I talked to her earlier."

"She talked to you? She's been calling me all damn day."

"Why?"

Paul lifted his shoulder in a light shrug as his big hand pushed a hair from the corner of his eye. "I guess she was just worried I would fuck this up again."

He bit down on his lip trying not to laugh as the woman in front of him glared at him once more for his colourful language. He ignored her deliberately turning to Stephanie.

"So I have Natasha to thank for your time keeping?" she asked raising her brow.

"Oh no. I had every intention of making it on time tonight being that you had threatened to kill me and all." he smirked.

Stephanie's lips curved into a smile. "Oh that wasn't a threat. It was a promise."

Just then the lights dimmed and the screen lit up illuminating the small movie theatre. Stephanie bit down on her lip toying with an idea in her head. As she shifted in her seat, she wondered if Paul would go for it. She reckoned he probably would. After all, it would get one over on Natasha and Jamie. She couldn't believe they had followed them here. Then again, Tash did seem pretty desperate for this date to be a success. For some reason, she thought there was some sort of future between her and Paul. Future, nothing. She'd just be glad to make it through tonight unscathed although it seemed so far, so good. In fact, it was safe to say she was having a good time although she would have a better time if she wasn't aware that their every move was being watched. As if she wasn't nervous enough. Her mind made up, she leant towards Paul allowing herself to inhale him one more time before whispering softly.

"Do you fancy making a run for it?"

A slow grin crossed his face as he turned towards her. "But didn't you want to see this movie?"

"We can always come back another time."

As his beautiful brown eyes widened Stephanie caught herself realising what she had just said. Grateful for the dim lighting concealing her blushes, she quickly cleared her throat and corrected herself. Damn Paul. It was his fault that the words had tumbled from her mouth.

"Or, you know, I could always catch it another time."

"Of course."

His cocky smirk made her bristle with annoyance. Damn him again. "Look, are we doing this or not?" she snapped.

"Your wish is my command toots." winked Paul.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." she scowled as the advertisements began on the screen.

"But I can't help it. It irritates you and you look incredibly sexy when you're irritated."

"Is that why you're the bane of my existence?"

"Bane my ass."

"Sshhhhhhhhhhh!" spat the woman in front of them. Her threatening glance lingered for a second before she turned back round in her seat.

"Let's go." suggested Stephanie as she grabbed her belongings stuffing the bags of candy in her large shoulder bag. As Paul pulled on his coat, she deliberately leaned forward, her lips curving up tauntingly. "It's not like we have to stick around to see what happens. We already know it's the father who bumps off his daughter."

Paul rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the few annoyed glances thrown their way as they excused themselves to the end of the aisle. Grabbing Stephanie's hand, he guided her quickly through the dark theatre listening to her amused snorts behind him.

"Did you see that witch's face? If looks could kill…." she giggled.

As they walked into the brightly lit street, the gentle breeze blew through her chestnut hair and as they came to a stop on the kerb, she noticed Paul didn't let go of her hand. Instead he rubbed the back of her hand gently with his thumb as he glanced back in the direction of the cinema. She smiled to herself feeling a deliciously warm glow inside. Christ, she was acting like such a girl tonight.

"Well it looks like they didn't follow us." he said turning to her.

Stephanie grinned as she flicked her hair back over her shoulder.

"So now we're out here what do we actually do for the rest of the night?" he asked.

Her smile faded and her brow furrowed thoughtfully. "Good point."

"We could always go for a drink somewhere?" suggested Paul.

Stephanie lifted her shoulder in a light shrug. "Or we could just go somewhere quiet and talk."

"You mean you want to engage yourself in a conversation with me?"

Her blue eyes twinkled with her amusement. "I'm willing to take the risk."

Paul's shoulders shook with his deep chuckle. "So in that case, where do you suggest?"

She licked her lips tasting her shiny lip gloss. "I don't know. There's a spot halfway up the hill on the west side where you can practically see the whole city. I love going there. It's really peaceful and relaxing plus there would be no chance anyone would find us. If you like we could grab a few beers from the store and head up that way."

"Sure." he nodded and began to walk with her back to the car.

An hour later they were sitting on the hood listening to some rock ballad that was playing on the radio through the open windows. As Paul took a sip of his beer, his brown eyes twinkled in amusement at Stephanie as her nose crinkled in concentration and her fingers meticulously searched through the Big Mac in her hand.

"I don't know why the hell they put gherkins in these damn things. No one likes them anyway."

She cried almost triumphantly as she pulled one from the cheese, the sliced green vegetable dangling from her fingertips before she threw it into the brown paper bag sitting on her left hand side.

"Sure you don't want a bite?" she asked.

Paul shook his head as he bent his right leg up to his chest. His forearm hung over the knee cap as his long fingers gripped the stem of his beer bottle. "You know I've been thinking…."

Stephanie widened her eyes pretending to be impressed as she chewed on her hamburger.

Paul lightly chuckled. "An unbelievable thought, I know. But I was wondering….doesn't your need for a little trip through McDonald's drive-thru contradict your whole first date rule thing?"

Stephanie swallowed her food licking her lips. "You should know it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind."

He rolled his eyes as he took a mouthful of the cold liquid. His brown eyes settled on the colourful lights of the city as his fingers absently began to pick at the peeling label on the glass bottle.

"Well, that and the fact that…..oh, I don't know…..it just seems that lately, when it comes to you, I just seem to be in the habit of breaking the rules. Personal rules, I mean."

Paul turned to her, his interest piqued by her confession. A shy, embarrassed smile traced her lips. She'd only had three beers but they were certainly loosening her tongue. She sighed softly deciding to offer him an explanation.

"See, I swore to myself time and time again that I would never, under any circumstances, go out on a date with you."

Glancing down at her unfinished meal, she closed over the carton suddenly losing her appetite for the food. She had an appetite for something else, someone else and she realised that more than anything she wanted Paul. She had done probably since the night of Natasha's birthday party when he had whispered in her ear and the butterflies had exploded in a heated flurry across her chest. The butterflies that she felt each and every time she was near him, like now with him less than a foot anyway from her. Her body was tingling all over and it wasn't from the slight chill in the air. It was from Paul and his overwhelming presence. Of course, she had done everything in her power to deny it to herself but she wasn't going to any longer. She couldn't and more importantly, she wasn't going to deny it to Paul either. It was time for her to take a chance and be more upfront with her feelings. Maybe then tonight didn't have to end. Maybe then there could be the possibility of something more, something much, much more. It had been a long time since possibility had been an option for her. Clearing her throat, Stephanie tossed the carton in the paper bag. Picking up her beer, she allowed herself to look at Paul once more feeling his heated stare practically boring a hole right through her. Somehow she managed to find her voice to continue with the conversation. Her lips curved into a small smile.

"But yet, here I am on that date and not only that, I think I could actually be enjoying myself. I mean, who would have thought it. We've almost made it through the night and we've even managed to have a conversation definitely bordering on civil."

Paul's stare never wavered once as he tipped his bottle in her direction, his brown eyes sparkling at her. "Welcome to the twilight zone, Scully."

She laughed as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You watched that show?"

Paul's nose wrinkled with his distaste. "Actually I thought it sucked."

"You did? Me too."

"Well what do you know? That's the second time we've agreed on something tonight." he smiled as he took a mouthful of his drink.

"Why? What was the first thing?"

He lifted his shoulder in a casual shrug. "You're not the only one who has enjoyed themselves tonight."

He looked almost shyly back towards the bright lights ahead. Stephanie felt her heart flip in her chest as she watched him. She could probably just sit and watch him all night. She wasn't surprised to find that he captivated her. The moonlight shining through the overhead branches danced across his face and it wasn't until she saw his surprised expression that she realised she had voiced her thoughts out loud.

"You really are a good looking guy you know."

Paul's brown eyes narrowed as he glanced at the bottle in her hand. "How many of those have you had McMahon?"

Despite her blushes, she shook her head suddenly wanting him to know she was sincere. Of course that was partly due to the lack of an arrogant comment on his part. Although there was still time for that yet. One hint of that cocky smirk and she was going to throttle him. After all, there was no way she could let him think she was turning soft on him. Biting down on her lip to contain her smile, she playfully batted at his arm.

"I'm actually being serious here, Paul. Accept the compliment before I take it back." she told him.

His words stuck in his throat thrown by her admission and the sincerity in her big blue eyes. He wasn't used to Stephanie giving him compliments. He was more used to the insults and the snide remarks. Still, that didn't mean he didn't like this unexpected twist in their conversation. He actually found he liked it quite a lot.

"Well then…..thank you. It's nice to hear."

"It's nice to say." she smiled and that smile got wider as she lightly nudged him with her shoulder. "It's actually surprisingly painless too."

Paul's lips curved upwards as he stretched his leg out on the black metallic hood. "Well not because I feel the need to return the compliment or anything but I've wanted to tell you all night that you, Miss McMahon, look incredibly hot tonight."

The heat rushed to Stephanie's cheeks and she quickly took a mouthful of beer.

"Of course I would have told you a hell of a lot sooner had I not been in fear of my life."

Stephanie swallowed her drink as she looked at him in disbelief. "Don't tell me I still make you nervous."

"Hey, we're out here all alone. Not a witness in sight. There's every chance you could still bump me off and bury me in the cold wet ground below us." replied Paul almost seriously apart from the mischievous twinkle in his eye that gave him away.

She pressed her lips together as she rolled her eyes.

"God, you're so dramatic."

"I like to call it cautious."

"Cautious. Dramatic. Whatever." she laughed as she shifted on the hood and lightly rubbed at her arm. The breeze was getting colder and she had small goose bumps on her arm. She was pleasantly surprised to see Paul reach behind him and place his discarded coat across her shoulders. It had that distinct leather smell as well as the faint masculine scent of Paul. Closing her eyes, she inhaled slowly, her lips upturned in appreciation. "Thank you." she whispered as she felt the warmth of the material encompass her.

"Yeah, well you seem to have a bad habit of leaving home without one. It's a wonder you haven't caught a chill. It might be the middle of April but it's still cold out. You need to take better care of yourself."

"Yes Dad." she smirked although inside she was touched by his concern. It was so sweet. In fact, that had been her first impression of him the night she had met him outside The Globe, an impression that had quickly changed during their encounter at the gas station and subsequent meetings. She had thought Paul to be arrogant, cocky and rude. A far cry from the man she was sitting beside. Suddenly Natasha's words about him made a lot of sense. Maybe his defences had been up around her somewhat. Maybe he didn't want to put himself out there only to set himself up to be hurt again. God knows that was an emotion she was familiar with too. Suddenly she and Paul had a lot more in common that she thought. Placing down her drink, her blue eyes settled on his, a hint of a smile tracing her lips.

"You know Natasha was right. You're not the egotistical jerk I thought you were." she admitted.

Again, it wasn't exactly something she had intended to say out loud but as per usual she lost all control around Paul. She always did and the words seemed to just slip past her lips. She saw a flicker of amusement cross his face as he rubbed his hand over his denim clad thigh.

"Well gee thanks……I think."

"Well come on. You have to admit you were pretty full of yourself."

"I was?" he asked trying to look surprised. As Stephanie looked at him incredulously, he realised he wasn't going to fool anyone, especially one Stephanie McMahon. "Okay I was." he conceded. "But you have to admit, you were no picnic yourself. In fact, most times you were downright disagreeable."

"I had just cause. Quite frankly you bugged me." she teased poking her tongue between her teeth before taking a mouthful of her beer.

"You mean you hated my guts."

Stephanie looked at him lifting her shoulder in a light shrug. "Or maybe I was just trying to pretend I did."

"Yeah? And why would you do that?"

"I don't know. I just thought that by telling myself and everyone else that I hated you that sooner or later I would come to believe it and it would be true."

The leaves in the trees rustled above them in the gentle breeze as Paul placed his beer down beside him and turned his upper body in her direction leaning on his left forearm towards her.

"And now?" he asked her.

"Well now I sort of realize that by lying, it only made me want you more." replied Stephanie swallowing thickly as his face moved closer to her, his warm breath lightly caressing her lips. God Paul was so close and she wanted him to kiss her. She needed it with everything inside her. Taking his face in her hands, she pulled impatiently him towards her. As their lips met, she felt herself melting as their mouths moved together exploring one another. Her heart was racing in her chest and for the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt so alive. With every kiss, she felt herself drawn closer to Paul. Moving her hands to his hair, her fingers tangled in the soft silky strands and she let out a soft moan as his tongue gently traced her bottom lip before brushing against hers. Her other hand slid around his waist feeling his firm, warm body underneath the cotton. She lost herself in his intoxicating kisses. When she finally drew away, she felt breathless and her mouth prickled with his wetness. Paul's brown eyes appeared gentle and tender as his fingers absently swept strands of hair across her forehead.

"So this is why you brought me up here, huh? You wanted to make out with me." He teased.

Stephanie rested her forehead against his and lightly brushed their noses together before murmuring into his mouth. "Shut up and just kiss me, Levesque."

The lights of the city flickered in tune with the stars as their eyes closed and their lips met again once more……