Sorry it took so long to update and its shorter than usual! I had a hard time starting it cause nothing I wrote sounded good to me but here you go! I hope you enjoy it
Stephanie trailed her fingers lightly over his chest watching it rise and fall with each breath he took as he slept peacefully. She hadn't been awake for very long, she had just been laying there thinking about last night and how perfect it had been for her. It had been what she had wanted for a long time now and she still couldn't quite believe that it had finally happened. Hell part of her was surprised he wanted to be with her at all.
"What are you smiling about?" Stephanie looked up at him upon hearing his voice. She hadn't even realized that she had been smiling or that he had woken up.
"Just thinking"
"About?" Paul asked curiously.
"Oh just about this guy I've been seeing"
"Well he's a very lucky guy" Paul replied pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.
"Or I'm the lucky one"
"No I'm pretty sure he's the lucky one" Paul said pulling her to him and kissing her before they were interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door. "Just a minute"
Stephanie groaned wishing for once Shane would just leave them alone. Why did he always have to have such horrible timing? Getting up from the bed, she found her clothes and slipped them on quickly as Paul pulled a pair of pants on and headed to open the bedroom door.
"Hey I was wondering if you wanted to get some breakfast before we had to go to work"
"Uh sure. Can Steph come?" Paul asked as she watched Shane's eyes land on her and he made a face as if he were disgusted.
"Did you...nevermind I don't want to know" Shane replied with a shudder. "I was actually hoping that you and I could have breakfast, alone. I need to talk to you about something"
"Give me a minute to get fully dressed" Paul said and Shane nodded his head before walking away from the door. Paul turned around and headed back over to her with an apologetic look on his face "I'm sorry"
"It's fine" Stephanie replied with a shrug "besides I need to go home and check on my mom. I forgot to call her and tell her I was staying here so I hope she's not up worrying about me"
"Well maybe we can get together later. Unless now you got what you wanted from me and you're done with me" Paul said with a sigh pulling out a shirt from his closet and then looked back over at her with a smirk on his face.
"Damn you caught me" Stephanie replied rolling her eyes, unable to hide her smile.
"Hmm. Well who knows maybe our paths will cross again in another five years and then we can do it all over again" Paul replied pulling his shirt on and going over to her.
"Maybe" Stephanie said shrugging her shoulder before she burst out giggling. After her giggling subsided he pulled her close and kissed her.
"Didn't you two do that enough last night?" Shane asked in a disgusted tone of voice as they broke from their kiss and looked over at him. "Are you ready Paul?"
"Yeah just one more second"
"Hurry it up" Shane replied annoyed before walking off again.
"Your brother is such a pain in the ass sometimes" Paul said shaking his head. "So do you really want to come over later today?"
"Of course I do"
"Good" Paul replied with a smile "I'll call you when I get off from work"
"Okay" Stephanie said as he leaned down and kissed her once again.
Stephanie walked into her house and shut the front door quietly because she didn't want to wake Linda if she were still asleep. Although she could be gone with Vince somewhere considering his car wasn't in the driveway but as soon she made into the living room and dropped her purse on the couch she heard the sink in the kitchen turn on. So she made her way to the kitchen hoping her mother was doing better than yesterday and that she hadn't worried about her too much.
"Good morning" Linda said as Stephanie walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning. I'm sorry I didn't call last night" Stephanie apologized but Linda shook her head and smiled. Well it seemed like she was in a better mood at least.
"No reason to apologize. You're an adult now" Linda replied with a laugh "besides I'm pretty sure you spent the night with Paul"
"Yeah" Stephanie said feeling a blush rise to her cheeks. "So where is dad?"
"Oh he had some work he had to get done" Linda replied her smile vanishing from her face. It made Stephanie feel uneasy considering she was pretty sure Linda had been crying over Vince yesterday. Maybe she didn't need to mention Vince to her mother at the moment. She really wanted some answers but she also didn't want to make Linda start crying all over again.
"Have you talked to Shane?" Stephanie asked changing the subject.
"Not this morning but I talked to him yesterday" Maybe Shane had finally showed some concern and called to check on her after she told him Linda had been crying.
"Has he been acting weird to you at all?"
"What do you mean?"
"It just seems like he's always on his phone lately and rushing off. I've hardly even spoken to him" Stephanie replied sitting down.
"I think he might be seeing someone" Linda said opening one of the cabinets and pulling out two cups. "Would you like some coffee?"
"Yes please" Stephanie replied with a smile. "Has he mentioned a name or anything?"
"No but he's been in a better mood lately and spacing off with a smile on his face" That was surprising to hear especially since he did not seem to be in a good mood when she was around him.
"I wonder why he hasn't said anything" Stephanie said as Linda handed her a cup of coffee and sat down next to her.
"They might just be taking it slow but I think we will meet her eventually" Linda replied before taking a drink of her coffee. The more Stephanie thought about what Allie had said about his behavior the more he seemed to make a little more sense. Something still seemed off to her though. "How are you and Paul doing?"
"Great" Stephanie said smiling at just the mention of his name.
"You are really crazy about him aren't you?" Linda asked as Stephanie nodded her head. "It's so good to see you and Shane happy"
"Mom" Stephanie said softly as Linda wiped at her eyes and turned her head quickly. Something was definitely going on other than just a spat with Vince and she didn't understand why her mom wouldn't just come out and tell her. "Is-"
"Do you want to join Tamara and I for breakfast?" Linda asked clearing her throat and interrupting Stephanie quickly. "Just to warn you Melanie may be tagging along"
Stephanie was kind of torn if she should go or not because she wanted to make sure everything was okay with Linda but she already trying to avoid questions. Then at the same time she didn't want anything to do with Melanie and with Linda being around Tamara it gave her a better opportunity to avoid talking about things she didn't want to talk about.
"I think I'll pass. Maybe you and I could have lunch later?" Stephanie asked hopeful.
"Yes we can do that" Linda replied with a nod of her head. "I'll be back shortly"
"Okay" Stephanie said as Linda got up from her seat next to Stephanie and exited the kitchen leaving her half cup of coffee on the counter. One way or another she was going to figure out what was going on and why it seemed like everyone was trying to hide things from her. Right now though she was going to finish off her coffee and get a shower.
A couple of hours later Stephanie was sitting on the couch watching tv when she heard the front door open and close. Hopefully her mom hadn't invited Tamara to come inside because she didn't want to deal with Melanie if she had went to breakfast with them. But she was surprised when Vince was the one to walk into the living room.
"Hey dad" Stephanie greeted him.
"Hey sweetheart. I didn't think you would be here"
"I do live here dad. Where else would I be?" Stephanie asked with a small chuckle.
"I thought maybe you would be out, that's all. Is your mother here?" Vince asked making his way to the kitchen.
"No she went out to breakfast with Tamara" Stephanie replied getting up from the couch and following Vince to the kitchen. "She should be back soon because we are going out to lunch. Do you want to come with us?"
"I uh actually have to get back to work. I just needed to come home and pick up some stuff" Vince replied pulling a bottle of water from the refrigerator and headed back out of the kitchen. It really seemed as if he were trying to avoid her and it was starting to getting annoying how everyone was trying to ignore her or get away from her quickly.
"Dad" Stephanie called at Vince as she followed him back out of the kitchen.
"Steph I really have to hurry but we can talk...soon. Okay?" Vince didn't even give her a chance to answer before he made his way upstairs. If he was such in a hurry she didn't understand why he was going upstairs instead of leaving but what bugged her the most was how he told her they would talk soon instead of later. Was he not going to be home later tonight? Her thoughts were interrupted by a vibration in the pocket of her jeans and she fished out her phone to see Linda's name on the screen.
"Hello"
"Steph I wanted to call you and tell you that I'm going to need to cancel on lunch. Maybe we can reschedule for dinner"
"But-"
"I've got to go but I'll see you later" Stephanie heard rustling and then the call ended. She hadn't even had the chance to tell Linda she had plans with Paul later. Letting out a sigh and putting her cellphone back in her pocket as she heard Vince start coming back down the stairs with suitcases in his hands. When he reached the bottom of the stairs he didn't look back over at her or say anything. He just made his way out of the house leaving Stephanie feeling confused, hurt and alone.
Staring at the salad on the table before her as she raked her fork through it not really feeling all that hungry. It really seemed as if her family was falling apart and they wouldn't tell her anything. She wasn't sure if Shane knew anything at all either and the only reason she knew something was going on was because she lived there with her parents. If Shane did know anything well he was acting weird around her and didn't seem to want her around so he wasn't going to tell her.
"Steph can you please stop doing that with your food? Your fork keeps scraping the bottom of the plate and it's a very irritating noise" Allie said breaking her out of her thoughts. Since Linda bailed on her for lunch she had decided to go out with her best friend.
"Sorry" Stephanie said laying her fork down.
"Do you want something else to go with your salad? You have barely even touched it" Allie asked as Stephanie shook her head. "You have to eat"
"I will later"
"Did you eat anything this morning?"
"No"
"Stephanie!" Allie shook her head disapprovingly.
"I wasn't hungry. I was caught up in everything that happened last night with Paul. I was on cloud nine until everything with my parents happened" Stephanie replied picking up her fork again and taking a couple of bites of her salad to get Allie off her back about eating.
"And how was your night with Paul?" Allie asked and she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.
"It was amazing" Stephanie replied smiling.
"That's all I get?" Allie asked seeming disappointed.
"Yes. I would like to keep the details to myself" Stephanie said and Allie stuck her tongue out at her.
"So I was thinking maybe you and Paul would want to go a double date with me and Daniel? I need to get know Paul better since he is your boyfriend so why not do a double date?"
"Are you sure you want to do that? Daniel might get jealous if you sit and drool over Paul again" Stephanie laughed as Allie narrowed her eyes at her.
"I did not drool"
"Sure you didn't" Stephanie chuckled "but I need to see if Paul would be interested in doing a double date"
"Okay. I hope we can do it because I miss hanging out with you and if we do this then I can hang out with you while getting to know Paul. Hell maybe Daniel and him will hit it off and become friends"
"Maybe" Stephanie nodded her head in agreement. She had to admit that her spirits were lifted a little just talking about Paul but her family drama was still bothering her. She honestly wished time would go by faster so she could be with Paul. He was the only one that seemed to make her forget about everything.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Just thinking about Paul and all of this stuff with my family" Stephanie replied taking a drink of her lemonade.
"I wish I could shed some light on your family situation but unfortunately I can't. It does seem weird they are acting this way though. I think Shane is just acting weird because you're dating his best friend and maybe he feels like a third wheel now"
"That does make sense but I don't understand why he treats me as if I'm someone he doesn't like"
"It's probably just a older sibling thing. I mean you two haven't spent that much time together in awhile so it's going to take some adjusting. Plus how would you feel if you had to watch Shane make out with someone a lot?" Allie asked and she scrunched her face up in disgust just at the thought.
"Are you taking his side?"
"No. I'm just trying to help you understand from Shane's perspective so maybe you two can sort things out"
"Well we can't really sort it out if he won't give me a chance to talk to him. He's always running off like my parents or he's always on his phone"
"Then text him" Allie said shrugging her shoulders.
"I'd rather talk to him face to face. Who knows if he wouldn't even answer my texts?" Stephanie asked more to herself than to Allie. Shane did get on her nerves a lot but she really did miss talking and hanging out with him. Yes they fought sometimes but they used to have a close bond. Or at least she felt like they did.
"Just keep trying Steph. That's the only advice I can give you and I'm sure if there is anything major going on with your parents they will let you know" Allie replied giving her a small smile. Stephanie returned her smile before taking another sip of her drink hoping that Allie was right. She was going to take Allie's advice though and just keep trying to talk to Shane because she was really going to need her brother if something big was going on with their parents.
Stephanie checked her makeup and hair in the mirror once more before stepping out of the car. She had spent the rest of her afternoon hanging out with Allie, she hadn't felt like going back to an empty house and worrying about everything. Now she was walking into the building of Shane and Paul's apartment because he had text her not long ago asking her if she wanted to come over. Of course she said yes and let him know she would be there shortly that she was hanging out with Allie and she would be going to work soon. She couldn't but feel excited to see Paul and impatient as the elevator doors closed and took her to the floor she needed. When the elevator doors opened she hurried down the hallway to his door with a smile on her face. After she arrived and knocked on the door it didn't take long before he opened the door.
"He-" She cut him off by wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his and kissing him. "Did you miss me?"
"Yes" Stephanie replied as he chuckled and she let go of him so they could move out of the doorway. Once she was inside of the apartment she noticed the smell of food and it smelled heavenly. Her stomach rumbled reminding her that she hadn't ate properly all day.
"Hungry?" Paul asked and she nodded her head "I ordered us some food"
"Great because I'm starving" Stephanie replied following Paul's lead to the kitchen. She watched as he grabbed some plates down from the cabinet to put their food on. "So is Shane not here?"
"No it's just us right now"
"What did he want to talk about this morning?" Stephanie asked walking over and taking a seat at the kitchen table.
"He wanted to make sure everything was okay between me and him because we haven't really been hanging out as much. He also told me that he doesn't have an issue with us being together anymore as long as I don't hurt you" Paul replied sitting down a plate of food in front of her before taking his own seat.
"Wow he actually cares about me" Stephanie said before taking a bite of her pasta. It tasted as good as it smelled and it was a hell of a lot better than the salad from earlier.
"Of course he cares. You're his sister"
"It just seems like he doesn't want anything to do with me lately"
"It's not that. He's just been trying to give us time alone and to make sure he doesn't have to watch us be all over each other" Paul replied with a chuckle. "Anyway how was your day?"
"This morning was great until I left here and went home. After that it wasn't so good"
"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really I'd rather not think about it right now" besides she was feeling better being here with him. She didn't want that ruined, all she wanted was to spend time with him and enjoy her dinner.
As Stephanie took another bite of her food she heard the door of the apartment open and she could hear Shane's voice and then a giggle from someone else. Stephanie turned around in her chair as footsteps approached the kitchen and her eyes landed immediately on the woman who was with Shane. She was beautiful and honestly she was surprised this woman was even hanging out with her brother. The woman had blonde wavy hair that came a little past her shoulders, she looked like she was an athletic type and she was about the same height as Stephanie.
"Sorry guys I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I didn't know if you would be on a date or not" Shane said breaking the silence that fallen in the room.
"It's okay. Who's your friend?" Stephanie asked impatiently wanting to be introduced.
"Oh sorry. Steph this is Charlotte and Charlotte this is my sister Stephanie" Shane replied as Stephanie stared at her for a moment. Was this the same Charlotte that was Paul's ex? Shane really wouldn't date her right? But when Stephanie turned to look at Paul the look on his face was evident that it definitely was the same Charlotte. It felt like her heart had plummeted to her stomach. Apparently today was definitely not her day.
