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Stephanie held onto the cup of coffee in her hands tightly as she stared at her phone willing it to ring or for a text to come in but so far it remained silent. Last night after leaving Paul and Shane's apartment she tried looking for Paul at some places but she didn't find him. She kept trying to call his phone because she was becoming increasingly worried he might have been an accident or something. But every time she would call it would go straight to his voicemail and she had spent most of the night up and worrying. At some point she had finally fallen asleep but it hadn't been that good of a rest and she was very irritable now. Especially when Shane had to come to the house that morning alone for once, she had snapped at him when he had spoken to her.
"Still nothing?" Allie asked sitting down at the table with her and she shook her head. After sitting at home do nothing but worrying she decided to go over to Allie's house to try and get her mind off of it. It hadn't really helped, now she was just sitting at Allie's worrying instead.
"I'm becoming really worried" Stephanie replied sitting down her cup of coffee.
"I think you're already beyond that."
"Maybe" Stephanie sighed and rubbed at her tired eyes. "I just don't understand why he didn't call me and tell me what had happened. He also said he would call me later and now I'm terrified he's been in some accident. Either that or we're over and he is just ignoring me."
"Well I don't know Paul that well but I don't think he would lie to you and not even tell you that you two are over."
"Stupid fucking Charlotte" Stephanie replied angrily. She knew it was her own fault for letting Charlotte get to her and for believing her for even a second. If it hadn't been for Charlotte trying to cause problems in the first place though she wouldn't be in this mess.
"Yeah I didn't think anyone could be worse than Melanie but I was wrong" Allie replied taking a drink of her coffee.
"Actually I talked to Melanie yesterday and she explained a lot of things about what happened in high school. She even apologized and asked if we could be friends again."
"And you believed her?" Allie arched her eyebrows and looked at Stephanie like she was crazy. "I wonder what she has up her sleeve? I don't buy that for a minute and please don't tell me you're going to fall for her shit too."
"Wow thanks" Stephanie replied "I don't fully trust her but I'm not too worried about her right now. She seems to be the least of my worries. I think she might try apologizing to you too."
"She can save her fake apology because I won't believe a word of it" Allie replied making Stephanie smile because she knew Allie would be like this. It was the reason Stephanie had told Melanie good luck with talking with Allie. "Why are you smiling?"
"I just know you so well. I knew yesterday when Melanie mentioned trying to apologize to you that this is how you would be."
"Yeah well I know you too, we're like sisters. That's how I know something is wrong without you even having to mention it" Allie replied with a smile just as Stephanie's phone started ringing. Stephanie instantly grabbed it but felt disappointed when she saw it was Linda calling. She was hoping it had been Paul.
"Hello."
"Hey where are you?" Stephanie heard Paul's voice and instant relief flooded through her at the sound of his voice.
"I'm at Allie's. Why are you calling from my mom's phone?"
"Mine is dead. I had a fight with Shane last night and I left because I couldn't be around him and Charlotte anymore. I forgot my phone charger and I don't want to go back to the apartment to be honest. So I came here to talk to you but you weren't home and Linda didn't know where you had gone so she let me borrow her phone to call you."
"Okay well I'll be right there" Stephanie replied pushing back her chair and getting up.
"See you soon. Be careful" Paul replied before she disconnected the call and grabbed her purse.
"Sorry to leave so soon- "
"It's okay Steph. I know you need to go talk to him and make sure everything is okay. Plus, Daniel and his mother will be back soon" Allie rolled her eyes "I can't wait until she leaves. Just call me later and let me know how things went."
"I will" Stephanie replied giving Allie a quick hug before she practically ran out of the house and to her car.
On her way home now that she knew Paul was fine she began to worry if things between them were going to be okay. Also she wondered where he had been, she had been so relieved just to hear his voice that she had forgotten about that. So as soon as she was home she made her way nervously but quickly inside to get her answers. When she got into the living room she saw Paul sitting on the couch leaning forward with his head in his hands.
"Hey" Stephanie said and Paul looked up at her. He looked exhausted like he hadn't slept much last night either.
"Hey. Come here" Paul replied patting the seat next to him. She didn't even hesitate and went straight to the seat next to him and threw her arms around his neck. It didn't matter to her that they had got in a fight yesterday or that things might not be okay between them at the moment. The only thing that mattered was he was okay after she had spent all night worrying about him. Paul wrapped his arms around her bringing her closer to him and then she felt his lips gently kiss the side of her neck.
"I was so worried about you when I couldn't reach you."
"I'm sorry I should have called you from Shawn's phone when I got to his place but I was still pissed off and Shawn suggested that me and him go out and get a drink. By the time I was calmed down well I was really drunk and ended up crashing as soon as we got back to Shawn's place. As soon as I woke up and nursed my hangover a little I drove straight here to see you" Paul replied as they broke out of the hug.
"Who is Shawn?"
"Another friend of mine. He lives a couple of hours away so I don't get to see him much."
"Oh. Listen I'm sorry" Stephanie said tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry for doubting you yesterday and letting Charlotte get to me. You were right about her lying. I went to your place last night because I couldn't reach you on your phone and Shane started asking me why I was starting shit. Apparently Charlotte told Shane that I was lying and was asking questions about you and her."
"So you believe me now?" Paul asked and Stephanie nodded her head "do you only believe it now though because now she's telling lies about you?"
"No. I was taking my issues out with my dad on you and I'm sorry. Mom finally sat down and told me everything and made me see that and you're right. You're nothing like my father and I really do trust you, I just let everything else get to me."
"You should have believed me right then and there though Steph. I know you have your trust issues with your dad but I like I said I would never do something like that to you. I've not done anything for you not to trust me, all you've heard was lies from my ex. Mine and Charlotte's relationship didn't end on good terms if you remember me telling you that before she even came here. So it doesn't surprise me that she is telling lies but it surprised me that you would just believe them. Charlotte lies and manipulates people she did it all the time and she's doing it now with Shane which I didn't expect him to believe me, he never did before. I expected you to have my back and it really hurt that you didn't even after I told you how I felt about you just the other night."
"I know and I'm sorry. I've probably ruined it all and I feel so stupid for believing her- "
"Steph you didn't ruin anything. I can't just turn off the way I feel for you but I do want you to trust me like I do you. So do you think the next time something like this happens that you'll be able to?" Paul asked and she nodded her head "because I don't really want to fight over this again unless I've given you a reason not to trust me."
"So are we okay?"
"We're going to be fine babe. You're just going to have to have some faith in me because without trust our relationship won't work. Especially when you decide to go back to college and there will be distance between us. You have to trust that I'm not being the way Charlotte made me out to be or all we're going to do is fight and it's going to make us miserable. We won't last very long if that happens."
"I know and I will. I won't make that mistake again"
"I was being serious yesterday Steph when I said I planned to have a future with you. That's why when yesterday I went home and Charlotte was there I started yelling at her which caused me and Shane to get an argument" Paul gave a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "That reminds me of the not so good news yesterday."
"What news?"
"Shane let it be known yesterday that Charlotte is moving into the apartment with him."
"Already? They haven't even been dating long."
"Yeah I know. He said something about her wanting to move here so they didn't have to be in a long distance relationship" Paul replied as Stephanie bit her lower lip not liking the fact that Charlotte was going to be sticking around here. She was going to be living with Shane and Paul which meant there was no telling what kind of bullshit she was going to have to put up with. "So I wanted to ask you if it was okay if I spent a little more time here until I can find my own place."
"Of course" Stephanie smiled feeling excited about Paul getting his own place. She wouldn't have to deal with Charlotte to see him and they would finally be able to get some time alone. No more interruptions from Shane or Linda. "Are you sure about moving out though?"
"Definitely. I can't deal with their bullshit. It was cheaper for me splitting rent with Shane but I can't stand to be around him anymore. He seems to have changed since he started dating Charlotte." Stephanie nodded her head in agreement thinking back to last night.
"You can stay here as much as you like. I'm sure mom won't mind."
"I'm going to ask her to make sure but as long as she says yes I'll definitely be staying here with you tonight. I'll have to go home and get my phone charger and pack some stuff for tonight. There is no way I'm staying there at all today so it looks like your stuck with me."
"I'm not going to complain about that" Stephanie chuckled and he leaned over and kissed her. Stephanie felt a lot better now than she did this morning and she was happy things were okay between them now. Hopefully soon the only way she would have to deal with Charlotte was when she came over to the house with Shane. One thing she did know was now no matter what bullshit Charlotte wanted to spew out of her mouth she wouldn't believe a single word. She really shouldn't have believed her in the first place but what's done is done and the only thing to do now was learn from the mistake and move forward.
Later that night Paul and Stephanie walked out of the restaurant holding hands and then got into the car and headed towards Stephanie's house. After Paul had went back to his apartment and grabbed some of his things and brought them back to her house he had suggested they go out for dinner. Of course she had agreed because she had just wanted to spend some more time together alone especially after what had just happened yesterday. Neither one of them wanted to even speak about that or about Charlotte. The only time Charlotte had come up in conversation was when Stephanie asked Paul if Shane or her had said anything to him when he went to get some of his things from the apartment. Surprisingly Shane or Charlotte hadn't even been at the apartment for once so she was kind of nervous they might run into them while they were out.
Fortunately, they hadn't but as soon as Stephanie and Paul made it back to her house Shane's car was the first car she noticed in the driveway before they had even pulled in.
"I guess we can't completely get away from them" Paul said shutting off the car.
"Not right now anyways" Stephanie replied but she knew sometime soon they would be able to avoid them better once Paul found his own apartment. "We can't hide here in the car so we might as well head inside."
"Let's go then" Paul said getting out of the car and Stephanie opened her door and got out. She then followed behind him as he started to head toward the front door until he stopped almost causing her to run into him. He stood there for a moment before looking over at the yard and then he turned and started walking across the lawn.
"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked as Paul headed over to the bench in the yard and sat down. It was the same bench five years ago where they had sat when she thought he might kiss her. But she had ended up completely embarrassed and left feeling rejected.
"Sitting down for a moment before we have to go inside" Paul replied while Stephanie sat down on the bench beside of him. They couldn't hide from Shane and Charlotte in the car but they could try to avoid them for just a few minutes longer. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing" Stephanie shook her head as Paul rested his arm behind her on the bench.
"You just had this look on your face when you went to sit down. It was like you wanted to be anywhere but here."
"I want to be here with you. It's just I remembered the last time I sat here with you and it didn't end very well."
"Oh, the night of Shane's birthday party we threw for him" Paul replied and Stephanie nodded feeling embarrassed all over again from the memory. Even though she was with Paul now it was still an embarrassing moment for her.
"Yeah one of the most embarrassing moments of teenage ye-" Stephanie was cut off by Paul taking her by surprise and softly kissing her. Stephanie melted into the kiss as he deepened it making her forget for the moment everything about that night.
"I would have kissed you that night if you would have been older. You have no idea how close I came to just doing it that night" Paul replied once he broke their kiss and rested his forehead against hers. "But hopefully you can replace the memory of that with this one now."
"Really? You came close to kissing me that night? I just remember closing my eyes and a second later you moved away from me quickly."
"Yes I did and I didn't really move away as quickly as you think I did."
"Hmm maybe. I just remember being completely embarrassed and then we didn't talk again after that for five years."
"Now we do a whole lot more than talk" Paul smirked at her and she couldn't help but chuckle at him. Paul then leaned back away from her and brought his fingers to her shoulder fiddling with the strap of her dress. "I really like this dress. It reminds me of the dress you wore to dinner that night when we saw each other again for the first time after all those years."
"Oh you mean the night that kept sliding your hand up my thigh and teasing me?" Stephanie asked just as she felt his other hand slip underneath her dress. "Like you're doing now."
"Yeah except that dress was shorter" Paul replied leaning towards her and kissing her neck. "What was so wrong with that anyway? I remember that being a pretty great night."
"Except for the fact that you teased me all night and did nothing to relieve my frustrations so I went to bed feeling very frustrated" Stephanie replied closing her eyes and biting her bottom lip as his hand inched further up her thigh.
"Well tonight I plan on making sure your completely satisfied" Paul whispered into her ear just as his hand slipped inside her panties and she let out a moan. She was getting lost in the moment and the sensations he was making her feel that she had forgotten where they were until she felt a breeze come through cooling her now flushed exposed skin. She opened her eyes remembering they were sitting outside and realized anyone could see them. If anyone did see them then anyone could tell exactly what they were doing considering there was still some light outside even though it was getting late.
"Paul" Stephanie said trying to get his attention as he kissed her neck. "We have to stop."
"Why?" Paul murmured against her neck.
"Because we are outside where anyone can come by and see us" Stephanie replied as he stopped and groaned but after a few seconds he removed his hand. She quickly pulled down her dress and stood up from the bench wanting to get inside to finish what they had started. "Are you coming?"
"No I didn't even get a chance to- "
"You know what I mean" Stephanie replied playfully smacking him on the chest and he chuckled as he got up from the bench.
"Well if that didn't replace the bad memory we had on that bench five years ago I'm not sure what else will" Paul replied slipping her hand into his as they walked towards the house.
"I'll definitely be thinking of this moment from now on when I see that bench" Stephanie chuckled "so how are we supposed to get to my room without running into Shane and Charlotte?"
"Just ignore them if we see them and keep going as quickly as you can" Paul replied walking even faster than they had been before.
Stephanie picked up her speed to match his and hoped they could just make it upstairs to her room without running into anyone. Okay well maybe there was a part of her that wanted Charlotte to see them and see that if she had been trying to succeed in breaking them up then it hadn't worked. But she didn't even want to focus on that right now because all she wanted was Paul and nothing else mattered at the moment.
