It was awkward now.
She noted it when they were walking down the hallway. Why, oh, why did she have to kiss him? What was she even thinking really? This was Chris, and he was her friend…best friend, he was her best friend, and you just didn't go around kissing your best friend. Yet, he was also her husband; he was the man she was legally married to. She had signed the marriage license, taken the picture, worn the ring, so kissing him shouldn't feel unnatural or wrong.
Chris was staring at the back of her head, wondering what was going on in there. She had a hold of his hand, the space making her reach back and hold on by the fingertips, but still, she was holding his hand and pulling him. They were going to watch the show from the best seat in the house, and she didn't want to miss any of it. So he followed her and tried not to think about the kiss they had shared earlier. It meant nothing to her, he was sure. After all, she was just excited about being in power and sometimes excitement drives you to do things that are out of your character, and that had to be one of them.
He had loved the taste of her lips though, and it tasted different when it wasn't for the cameras, better even, and he couldn't quite explain why. He had kissed her in front of the camera a number of times, but it lacked that little extra push. What he didn't know was that little extra push was the fact that he had a want for her. There was a want in that kiss, not a need to exemplify the typical married relationship. They weren't putting on a show, it was just them, and that kiss had proven that. If only she had seen more.
"Come on, come on, come on," she told him, pulling him along.
"I'm coming as fast as you're pulling me," he said, falling into the playful banter that had seemed to settle over them since they had been married.
"I don't want to miss the beginning of the show," she said as she walked past one of the tables with a lot of the production things on it. "Hey Callie, can you cue up Chris and my music, please, I want to go out there."
"Sure thing," the woman said as she went to the soundboard and pushed a random button which began Chris's countdown.
Chris could feel the giddiness coming off of her in waves, and it made his own giddiness rise. "Come on, Chris!" she said, standing behind him and forcibly pushing him up the stairs to the curtains.
He heard the pyros go off and he pushed the curtain back, stepping out into the darkened arena, while the lights came on so everyone could see him and Stephanie striding purposefully out there. Stephanie had a microphone in her hand and he wondered briefly when she had gotten that. He didn't recall her grabbing one. She laced her arm through his and regarded the crowd, who were responding with a mixture of boos and cheering, and she chose to focus on the cheering over the booing. There were bound to be boos for her, it was just in the nature of the business.
"Hello," she spoke. "Welcome to Raw, I hope that everyone is going to have fun tonight, and me and my husband," and here she looked adoringly at Chris, "are going to be just like you, fans tonight, and we're going to enjoy the show right here."
They went over to a leather seat that was set up on the top of the ramp and Chris sat down and pulled Stephanie down into his lap as she giggled coyly for the cameras. She kissed Chris's cheek, and was pleased with the tone she had used. She had said it with just the right amount of bitchiness that it made the people backstage fear what she could do, and if they tried to do anything, well, then she would just have to show them who was boss.
Chris watched Stephanie, even when the first participants came out for their match. She was watching eagerly as Edge and Christian went to square off against The Headbangers, a match that dealt with their feud, but nonetheless, Stephanie tried to pay attention to it and not so much pay attention to the fact that she was in Chris's lap. Chris kept trying to watch the match, but found himself distracted by Stephanie. She was just so happy and giddy and he couldn't help but be proud of himself for giving her that.
"You look really pretty, have I told you that tonight?" Chris whispered in her ear.
"I think you've mentioned it, yes," she whispered back.
"I just thought I'd mention it again so you know that you do look incredible tonight."
She blushed a little and ducked her head against his neck, burying it in his long hair. She breathed in his cologne and made note of how nice he smelled. She was embarrassed to be noticed by Chris. It was like when you had a crush on the cutest boy in class and whenever they noticed you, you didn't even know what to do because you were just so happy. It was that way with Chris, every time he noticed her, it struck something inside of her and made her heady with some feeling. Luckily they were married so she could at least sometimes show her affection for him under the guise of their marriage.
Chris was wondering what he had done to deserve this kind of torture. He felt Stephanie press her lips against his neck softly, almost like a flutter against his skin. Did she even know what she did to him? He wondered if she could ever feel the way about him that he felt about her. He just wanted a chance, that was all, just a chance to be with her for real. Sure, they were married, but it was more a business arrangement than anything else.
"You're embarrassed," he chuckled as the match ended and they went to commercial He wondered if anyone was even watching them.
"No," she protested, though the redness of her cheeks was a dead giveaway. "I'm not embarrassed, I just didn't used to hear that so much, I mean, Andrew, yes, but not from many other people."
"Idiots, all of them," he told her. She leaned up to kiss him softly and he moaned quietly against her mouth. He wanted so much to deepen the kiss, tell her that he wanted to keep kissing her, but she wasn't really his wife. She was just his business partner in a sense, someone who was using him just as much as he was using her..
That thought sobered him, and he sat there, trying to remain engaged in the show, but finding it even more difficult now. It was a bitter pill to swallow when you were attracted to someone you knew you could probably never have. He could never have her the way he wanted. She had just wanted to gain the power that she now had. He was nothing more than a pawn to her, a friend, yes, but still, a pawn. He had to reconcile himself with that thought. If he did, maybe it would make this entire thing easier.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked him when he hadn't said anything in a while.
"Yeah," he lied, "yeah, I'm fine." He gave her a crooked smile, hoping that would appease her questioning. It seemed to as she went back to watch a match between Joey Abs and Gangrel, which was kind of boring her right now, but she tried to remain engaged in it.
"Are you sure? Do you want to go backstage?"
"No, you want to stay out here, and I'm cool with that."
She nodded and went back to watching and he did too. If he just didn't think about it, that's all he kept thinking. Hunter's match was coming up and Stephanie got excited for it. She wanted to see him crushed like a bug between Kane and Big Show. And with DX banned from ringside, it was sure to make Hunter very nervous. That alone made it worth watching. Hunter came out from the back, doing his little spiel with the water and everything. He glanced over at the couple sitting on the ramp and glared at them.
"You stupid bitch, you shouldn't even be in charge."
Stephanie grabbed her microphone, "Stop the music, stop the music!" The music ended abruptly as Stephanie stood up. Chris followed suit and stood behind her, folding his arms over his chest and looking intimidating. "What did you just say to me, Hunter?"
"I just said that you shouldn't be in charge, you stupid bitch!" Hunter yelled into the microphone he had brought from backstage.
Stephanie scoffed. "Oh, that's so nice to say to your boss. You know, I could suspend you right now without pay, or I could fire you, I could do so many things to you right now, don't tempt me."
"I thought your dad was bad, but you're so much worse," Hunter told her. "Using your power just to make me miserable, what the hell did I ever do to you?"
"You bugged me," she giggled, glancing back at Chris, who threw her a smile of support.
"This is bullshit!" he told her. "You don't even know what you're doing. And you sit there like you're better than everyone, you ain't better than shit, you bitch!"
Chris had heard enough and went up to Hunter, "You take that back you son of a bitch, you can't talk to my wife like that!"
"I'll talk to her however I want to talk to her, she's just a bitch," Hunter hissed. Chris reared his hand back to hit him, but he felt Stephanie's hand on his arm and he looked at her confusedly.
"Let me hit him, Steph," he told her.
"Now, now, boys, I don't want to see fighting, don't fight, Chris," she whispered the last part so only he would hear. "Not worth it…but Hunter, you question how serious I am, fine, I'm willing to help you change your mind, I will add you to the Fatal-Four Way..."
"What?" Hunter asked in surprise as a smirk slowly passed over his face. "Well, nice to see you're finally thinking straight."
"Wait, wait, wait, I wasn't finished, you can be in the match if you can beat Kane and Big Show right…now," Stephanie said as Kane came out and knocked Hunter down onto the ramp, sending him rolling towards the ring as Big Show joined everyone a moment later. Stephanie smirked as she turned and pushed on Chris's chest lightly to get him back to the seat.
"Do you actually think he'll win?" Chris asked her.
"No way, I'm just giving him a little bit of false hope," Stephanie told him. "Besides, the other guys I put in the match, well, I want to give you the advantage."
"You don't have to do that," he told her.
"I want to, trust me, my part of the bargain was that I get you the title. I can't very well strip Big Show of it if I have no reason to do it," Stephanie explained. "So I have to make sure you get the best chance, and if you should lose, which I don't think you will by the way, then I'll just have to give you another shot."
"You spoil me too much."
"You're my husband, that's what I'm supposed to do," she told him flirtatiously. "And if I'm not doing it right, then you should just tell me."
He raised an eyebrow, "If you're not doing it, right?"
She giggled and kissed his cheek, "You know what I mean, and that's not what I meant."
"Oh come on, I could seriously rock your world," he joked with her, well, partly joked with her. If she even gave him the slightest indication that she wanted to be more than friends, that she would want him in bed, then Chris would push her off of him, grab her hand and drag them back to their hotel room where he'd show her a good time all night long. All he needed was the indication. Just one indication…
"I'm not taking you up on that offer," she told him, but she ran her hand down his cheek and he was entranced once again. He couldn't believe how much of his attention that she could command at any one moment.
He really wished he would take her up on that offer though.