Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)
Stephanie spent the rest of the shopping trip quiet and in her own little world trying to not let what Charlotte said affect her but she wasn't able to push it away. Thankfully Charlotte hadn't tried saying anything else to her but she also kept dodging her and keeping space between them. The only time she wasn't able to do either one of those was when her, Linda and Charlotte went to eat and get the coffee she had been craving since she woke up. Charlotte hadn't dared to say anything about Paul in front of Linda though and Stephanie tried making polite small talk so her mom wouldn't notice something was wrong. Though Linda probably would have never noticed anyway because she was so engrossed with what Charlotte was talking about that it started to make her feel like a third wheel. So when they had finally made it back home Stephanie was relieved and headed straight upstairs to her room putting distance between her and Charlotte once again.
She wasn't sure how much time Charlotte and Shane would be spending there now that it looked like her mom and Charlotte were getting close. But at least she wouldn't have to deal with it tonight because she would be getting her alone time with Paul like he promised her yesterday. She wished he was there now but he had text her while she was shopping saying he was going to head home for a shower and to get something to eat and he would see her later. She could feel butterflies in her stomach from excitement at the thought of being alone with him later but some of it was because she was also anxious. There was a little nagging voice in the back of her mind asking what if Charlotte was right about Paul? What if Paul would cheat on her like her father cheated on her mother? She wasn't sure she could handle that; hell she was barely handling the fact that her father would do something like that. The thought of her father cheating on her mother hadn't ever really crossed her mind. So who was to say Paul couldn't be the same way or do the same thing to her?
Stephanie groaned in frustration falling down on her bed and tried to push the thoughts away because she knew it would only stress her out. It would put doubts there that she didn't want to have because if she couldn't trust Paul then the relationship wasn't going to go anywhere. He hadn't given her a reason not to trust him and most of his time had been spent with her anyway. He wasn't like the same guy Charlotte had went out with either it seemed, she hadn't seen him get drunk or party. She just needed to relax and try not to let Charlotte do this to her because for all she knew maybe that was Charlotte's intentions to begin with. The only thing she couldn't understand is why Charlotte even cared? She was dating her brother now and Paul and Charlotte's relationship had ended a long time ago.
"Steph?" Stephanie heard Linda's muffled voice through her bedroom door.
"Yeah" Stephanie called back.
"We thought we would go out for dinner tonight. Do you want to join us?"
"No I've got plans with Paul."
"Well he can join us too" Linda replied and Stephanie rolled her eyes. There was no way she was going to spend any more time with Charlotte and she wasn't even sure why her mother wanted her to come along. She pretty much ignored her during their shopping trip earlier.
"He's already got plans made for just me and him mom."
"Okay then. Well we won't be leaving for a while so come down and join in the conversation if you want" Linda replied but Stephanie didn't answer and after a few seconds she could hear footsteps heading away from her door. She wondered if this was how it was going to be for her from now on. Her always trying to find an escape from Charlotte but then she realized that wouldn't work and then it would show Charlotte that she had got to her. No she couldn't let that happen, she would just have to suck it up and try to be polite to her as possible. She wasn't going to let her know that she didn't care what Charlotte said about Paul and that it didn't affect her. Even though it had affected her a little bit but she didn't have to know that or try to be around her anymore today.
As she laid there staring at the ceiling she heard another knock on the door and then the sound of her door being opened. She propped herself up on the bed with her elbows to see Allie closing the door behind her and she breathed a sigh of relief and laid back down on the bed.
"So can I live with you for a couple of days?" Allie asked and Stephanie felt the bed move when Allie plopped down on the end of the bed.
"Did something happen between you and Daniel?" Stephanie asked pulling herself back up and into a seated position on the bed.
"No" Allie sighed in frustration "but his mother is in town and she wants to stay with us. I can't stand the woman and I know I shouldn't say that because she is going to be my future mother in law but I just really can't stand her. The feeling is mutual on both sides though. She didn't seem too happy about mine and Daniel's engagement."
"What makes you think she doesn't like you?"
"The way she gives me backhanded compliments and her snotty tone of voice when she speaks to me. It's like I'm not good enough for Daniel to her. Oh well it's his decision so she's stuck dealing with me being in his life forever" Allie shrugged and Stephanie chuckled.
"I wish I could be more like you and just not care what someone else thinks or says" Stephanie replied crossing her legs. "You know you can stay here if you want but being here really isn't all that great either."
"It's probably better than being stuck with her for the next couple of days" Allie replied picking at her nails. "But I was joking about living here for the next couple of days, kind of. Daniel wouldn't be too happy about it. He would probably get jealous."
"Why?" Stephanie asked feeling confused as Allie continued picking at her nails before looking up at her with a sheepish look on her face that Stephanie had never seen her give before.
"I've never told you this before and don't get mad that I didn't but I used to have this tiny crush on Shane when you and I were in high school" Allie replied ducking her head back down and stared at her nails.
"Ewww" Stephanie scrunched her face up in disgust. "Why didn't you tell me? How did I not see this?"
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you teasing me about it especially when he was around. Which wasn't very often because of where you said Vince and him got in that fight."
"How does Daniel know about it?"
"Well before Daniel and I actually started dating we would hang out with each other as friends and there was this one day Shane came down to see you. Me and Daniel were here hanging out with you and well Daniel had started liking me as more than a friend and he noticed when I would stare at Shane" Allie replied and Stephanie could see Allie's face flush with embarrassment.
"I... I just don't know how I didn't catch onto that" Stephanie shook her head still feeling confused.
"Probably because you hardly got to spend time with him that you didn't really pay attention to small things like that because you wanted to spend as much time as possible with him."
"Do you still- "
"No I do not still have a crush on him" Allie laughed "It was a long time ago and it didn't last very long. You have to promise me that you won't tell Shane about this either."
"I promise" Stephanie replied with a nod of her head. "I don't know why Daniel would get jealous though. It's not like Shane lives here anymore and would constantly be around."
"I don't know if he would but he does know Shane still comes around here. Daniel's jealously has gotten a lot better though."
"What helped him with his jealously?"
"I'm not really sure but I think it helped when I said yes to his proposal."
"That doesn't really help me" Stephanie sighed hoping for some advice on her jealously and insecurities towards Charlotte.
"Sorry. Still not liking Charlotte very much I take it."
"Nope. Especially after today" Stephanie replied and Allie arched an eyebrow at her. "I went shopping with her and my mom today. While we were shopping she came up to me and started telling me that as Shane's sister she was worried for me and didn't want to see me get hurt by Paul. That when they were dating he was constantly cheating on her."
"Don't even believe that for a second Steph" Allie said pointing her finger at her. "We already know she lied once so this is probably just another one."
"My question is why in the hell does she even care?"
"Who knows? It sounds to me like she is jealous but I don't see why. She's dating Shane now but I wouldn't pay any attention to her Steph. Paul hasn't given you any reason to even believe one single thing she has said" Allie replied and Stephanie nodded her head. It was easier said than done unfortunately.
"I honestly wished that Shane would have never started dating her. I wish that Shane and I were close like we used to be but with her around I doubt that will happen again. I just miss when I was close to my family and everything seemed more simple" Stephanie said pushing her hair behind her ears. "Anyway let's talk about something less depressive and less stressful."
Allie stayed and talked to her after that and helped her get ready for her date with Paul and left shortly before Paul came to pick her up. Stephanie let Linda know she was leaving and then she met Paul on the porch wanting to get away as quickly as possible. Plus, Allie had helped her calm down and push away the doubts she was having and now she was just ready for a night of her and him by themselves.
"So I thought we would go see a movie of your choice, then dinner and then maybe get a hotel room for the night" Paul said as they made their way to his car.
"That sounds great" Stephanie replied giving him a smile as he opened her door for her. Once she was in and he shut the door behind her she put on her seatbelt while he got in.
"How was shopping today?" Paul asked starting the car and backing out of the driveway.
"It was good" Stephanie replied not wanting to get into what Charlotte had said to her. She didn't want that to ruin the night Paul had planned out for them and she wasn't sure if she should bring it up to him. She didn't want him thinking that she believed Charlotte and couldn't trust him. Even when that little nagging voice in the back of her mind kept bugging her. "So has a lot of things changed for you in the last five years?"
"Like what?" Paul asked glancing over at her with a confused expression.
"Well back before you and Shane moved you guys used to drink and go to parties a lot. Has that changed?" Stephanie asked trying to be nonchalant.
"I have a drink occasionally but no parties. The last party I was at was the one Shane and I had at our apartment the night you and I first kissed. Why?"
"No reason I was just curious" Stephanie shrugged and she felt somewhat relieved knowing he wasn't the kind of guy Charlotte described or at least he wasn't anymore.
"I don't believe that" Paul replied and shook his head slightly. He was quiet for a few minutes before she heard him sigh. "Did Charlotte say something to you?"
"What makes you think that?"
"That you're asking about my past suddenly" Paul replied glancing back over at her but she remained quiet. "Steph?"
"Can we just not talk about it tonight? I don't want anything ruining our night."
"So she did" Paul scoffed and she watched him grip the steering wheel tighter.
"Let's just forget about it right now, okay?"
"Fine we won't talk about it tonight but we will talk about it. I don't want you thinking something that isn't true because when she says something its usually her version that's not hardly true at all. Just the other day she was telling Shane something about this fight she had with one of her friends that Shane knew when her and I were dating. Shane was wondering why they weren't friends anymore and she completely spun the story to make herself look like the victim. It wasn't true at all and I know because I was there when the fight happened."
"Did you tell Shane?"
"There is no point. I don't want to get in a fight with Shane over her. He would just take her side over mine anyway and he'll find out on his own eventually. Let's get off the subject of her though and concentrate on you and me" Paul replied reaching over and lacing his fingers through hers and brought her hand up to his mouth and kissing the back of it softly.
"Sounds like a great idea" Stephanie replied with a small smile as he caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. She sat back in the seat and relaxed letting all thoughts and doubts from earlier slip away.
Once the movie was over they made it back out to the lobby and Paul excused himself to use the bathroom before they went to dinner. So Stephanie stood off in a corner to wait on him and so she wouldn't be in anyone's way. The movie she had picked had been a romantic comedy that hadn't really been that great but she had laughed almost all the way through it because of Paul's commentary. He had sat there and made fun of it the whole time and she would pitch in with him and it had made up for it not being the greatest. Her sides were still hurting a little from laughing so much and it didn't help when she giggled even now from thinking about some of the stuff that was said. But the giggling stopped soon when she noticed a woman coming into the lobby that looked familiar and once Stephanie realized who it was all she could do was stare at her. It was the redhead she had caught her father with and she wondered if that meant her father was here too.
"She's a bitch" Stephanie heard a familiar voice beside of her and turned to see Melanie. She had been so interested in the redhead she had no idea someone had come up next to her and it had kind of startled her.
"You know her?" Stephanie asked looking back over at the woman. Melanie was probably one of the last people she wanted to talk to but here she was and she happened to know the woman her father had been with.
"Yeah I babysit her four-year-old daughter sometimes."
"She has a kid? Why do you babysit for her if she is such a bitch?"
"I need the extra money" Melanie replied with a shrug. "Her name is Lila."
"Hmmm" Stephanie replied trying to sound if she weren't really that interested.
"Your dad will realize what a mistake he made eventually" Melanie said which made Stephanie snap her head to her wondering how Melanie knew but then she realized it was because Melanie was her babysitter sometimes. Which meant Melanie probably had seen Vince with her. "Don't worry I won't say anything to anyone. I know what you're going through."
"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked eyeing her suspiciously. This girl had treated her like shit since high school and had even continued it since Stephanie had been home from college. Could she really believe anything she had to say?
"My dad did the same thing to my mom back when we were in high school. It stressed me out and depressed me. It made me want to be alone and shut myself away from everything which made me withdraw from you and Allie until I lost you two as friends."
"You started rumors and starting making fun of us. That's why we stopped being your friend. You started hanging out with the more popular girls in school so it didn't look like you withdrew very much" Stephanie replied wanting to roll her eyes at her.
"I only started hanging out with the more popular girls in school because I already felt like I had lost you and Allie as friends. The girls could get alcohol too and I spent a lot of my free time getting drunk to try and get away from my problems. My parents never noticed or cared because they were focused on their own problems. I only started those rumors and did all of those things to you guys because…." Melanie trailed off and swallowed "I was jealous."
"Jealous?" Stephanie asked not believing it.
"Yes…" Melanie replied and looked away behind Stephanie. She turned to see what had caught Melanie's eye to see Paul coming towards them. "Oh I didn't know you guys were on a date. I'll just get going but maybe we can talk later?"
"Sure" Stephanie replied feeling kind of surprised at Melanie and at the hopeful look on her face. Also for the fact that she was leaving to let Stephanie being alone with Paul.
"I'll talk to you soon then" Melanie replied and gave her a little wave before walking off.
"Are you okay?" Paul asked looking at her and Stephanie nodded her head.
"Yeah it's just weird. She was actually… nice to me" Stephanie replied which made Paul chuckle.
"Who was that?"
"You don't remember?" Stephanie asked looking at Paul who just shook his head. "Remember the girl that you invited to yours and Shane's party because she said she was my friend?"
"Kind of."
"Well that was her. You probably remember her better from when you met Allie the first time at lunch with me and mom."
"Oh now I remember. Allie said something that pissed her off and she stormed out" Paul replied with a laugh and Stephanie couldn't help but giggle at the memory too.
"Anyway are you ready?" Stephanie asked reaching for his hand.
"Yeah let's get going" Paul replied taking her hand in his and they walked out of the building.
It didn't take very long before they were pulling into the parking lot of Stephanie's favorite restaurant and getting out of the car and going in to be seated. As soon they ordered something to drink Stephanie looked around the busy restaurant to make sure her family wasn't here considering Linda said they were going out to dinner. This was usually the spot they picked but as she scanned the room as best as she could she didn't notice anyone familiar to her. The night so far was turning out to be pretty great. They had spent alone time together without being interrupted and she had only ran into one person she knew which was Melanie but she hadn't interrupted them. She hoped that dinner would go good without anyone interrupting them too.
"Trying to make sure there isn't anyone we know here too?" Paul asked with a smile.
"Yeah. Were you?" Stephanie asked and Paul nodded as their waiter came back with their drinks and took their food order. Stephanie opened her straw and put it in her pink lemonade and took a sip from it then looked over at Paul who was staring at her.
"What?" Stephanie asked smiling and feeling suddenly shy. She could feel the heat in her cheeks from blushing.
"I'm really starting to fall for you Steph" Paul replied softly as her heart started to flutter like crazy. She wasn't expecting that to come from him but it didn't stop her from being happy and smiling widely from it. "Which isn't surprising from how long we have known each other and from how incredible I think you are. I find myself thinking about you a lot."
"Me too" Stephanie replied and tried to calm the fluttering in her chest as she waited for the dreaded 'but' because it always seemed to happen to her.
"Which makes me wonder what is going to happen once you go back to college because we both know you are going to go back."
"Do you think it won't work when I go back?" Stephanie asked dreading the answer. She had completely forgotten about college. Maybe it was because she wasn't going back any time soon.
"I want it to but it's going to be tough. Long distance is really tough so I just want to know if you can do it. If it's something you want to do once you go back."
"Yes of course it is" Stephanie replied and Paul gave her a smile. "But it's something that won't be happening for quite a while."
"I know I just wanted to see where you stood on the subject. I just… don't want to lose you again. I really hated not having you in my life for the past five years and I don't want that to happen again."
"Me either."
"So did I mention how beautiful you look tonight?" Paul asked changing the subject to something lighter which she was grateful for. They had a while to think about all of that and for now she just wanted to enjoy the moment but she was also relieved that he seemed to see a future with her.
"Yes but I don't mind hearing it again" Stephanie laughed before taking another sip of her drink.
"You look beautiful tonight" Paul replied which made her blush again. The way he had been tonight with her made her wonder why she had even let Charlotte get into her head and give her doubts. She now realized how ridiculous she had been because it seemed Paul was serious towards their relationship as she was. She just had to keep from letting Charlotte and herself ruin that.
