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Stephanie groaned and stretched out before rolling over and pulled her comforter up to her neck, snuggling underneath the warm. She was still half asleep and was not ready to get up but apparently, someone else had other plans for her as she felt a soft kiss be placed on her lips.
"Mmhhh, morning breath" Paul said with a chuckle.
"What did you expect? I'm not even awake yet" Stephanie replied opening one of her eyes and looked at him. It hadn't looked like he had been up too long considering he was still naked, from the waist up anyway, and his hair was a mess. "It's not that bad."
"Are you sure about that?" Paul joked tugging the covers off her. "You really do steal all the covers though."
"I'm cold" Stephanie replied tugging them back to wrap herself up in them again.
"Come here then" Paul replied moving even closer to her and laid down next to her. She lifted her head and laid it down on his chest as he put his arms around her and held her close to him. She laid there closing her eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat while his fingers trailed up and down the small of her back, lulling her back to sleep.
Stephanie wasn't sure how long they had laid there or how long she had been back to sleep before the ringing of a phone had her back awake and sighing in frustration. Paul slid out from underneath her and she fell back to the bed while pulling the comforter over her head.
"Whoever that is tell them I'm mad at them" Stephanie mumbled underneath the comforter. She wasn't even sure if Paul heard her until he picked up the phone and relayed her message. Then she heard Paul start to laugh at whatever the person said.
Curious as to who was on the phone she pulled the comforter down and sat up in bed rubbing her eyes. Then she ran her hand through her bed hair trying to make it look somewhat presentable. At least until she got of the bed to brush it but she was sure it really didn't matter considering how messy Paul's hair was too. But at least it looked cute on him, she couldn't help but smile as she watched him pace back and forth at the foot of her bed in nothing but his boxers. He then suddenly looked over at and furrowed his brow probably at the grin she had on her face but she just shook her head at him.
"What time do you think that will be?" Paul asked going back to pacing back and forth. She really wished she knew he was talking to and what they were talking about. But she didn't want to interrupt him just because she was too impatient for him to get off the phone to find out. "Sounds great. Call me then."
"Who was that?" Stephanie asked as Paul ended the call and crawled back into bed.
"Shawn" Paul replied leaning over and kissing her. "Damn I keep forgetting about that morning breath."
"Shut up" Stephanie replied pushing him away but couldn't help but smile. He seemed like he was in an even better mood. "What did he want?"
"He's coming down to hang out" Paul replied falling back down on the bed behind her. She turned to face him to see him smiling.
"You seem pretty excited."
"I am. Since this whole thing with Shane I haven't really had a friend to really hang out with. I'm excited for you and Shawn to meet too."
"How long is he going to be here?" Stephanie asked getting up from the bed. If they were going to be hanging out with Shawn then she really needed to get up and get started with the day.
"Probably for the weekend. Which means I'll probably need to stay at the apartment this weekend" Paul replied with an apologetic face. He knew she hated Charlotte and having to go to the apartment and having to deal with her.
"Why do you need to stay there though?"
"Because I don't feel right inviting Shawn to stay here when this isn't my place. Even though I've been practically living here, I'm still only a guest. And I'm sure Shawn doesn't want to stay at my apartment alone with Shane and Charlotte especially when Shane and Shawn don't know each other that well."
"I understand" Stephanie replied pushing her hair behind her ears feeling disappointed. She was getting too used to him being here basically all the time and sleeping next to him.
"We're probably only going to be there to sleep anyway. So, you won't even have to come over and deal with Charlotte" Paul replied getting out of the bed and going over to her and kissed her on the forehead.
"Well can I stay with you?" Stephanie asked wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Of course, you can. I just didn't think you'd want to because of Charlotte being there."
"If I can be with you then I can put up with her" Stephanie replied hating the thought of being around Charlotte but it was for only a weekend. "Well I need to go shower and get ready for when he gets here."
"I'll go put some coffee on so when you get out it will be ready for you."
"Thank you. Have I told you lately how great of a boyfriend you are?"
"Oh, I already know I am" Paul replied and she rolled her eyes but gave a small laugh at his cockiness. She then gave him a kiss and started to head to the bathroom as he smacked her ass.
Stephanie sat at a table with Paul at a restaurant him and Shawn had decided to meet at. It was already a little past noon and she was starving since she hadn't had that much for breakfast. She hadn't been that hungry at breakfast so now her stomach was grumbling because of it but they were awaiting Shawn's arrival before ordering food. So, instead she took a drink of her iced tea that she had ordered when they had first arrived. When she put her drink back down on the table she went to ask Paul if they could just go ahead and order but his cellphone started ringing. A few seconds later she heard him describing the restaurant so she was sure it was Shawn and she hoped that meant he would be there soon.
"Where is he?" Stephanie asked once Paul ended the call.
"Out in the parking lot. He called to make sure he was at the right one" Paul replied taking a drink out of his glass.
"Hey" Paul said standing up when Shawn closer and hugged him. Then they both sat down at the table. "Steph this is Shawn. Shawn this my girlfriend Stephanie."
"Nice to meet you" Stephanie gave him a smile.
"It's nice to finally meet you too. I've heard a lot about you" Shawn replied smiling back at her before grabbing a menu on the table. "Although I heard you were mad at me."
"Only because you interrupted my sleep" Stephanie laughed "but it was just a joke."
"I know I'm just teasing you" Shawn replied with a chuckle. "Have you guys ordered yet?"
"Just something to drink. We've been waiting on you" Paul replied grabbing a menu to look at. She was the only one it seemed that already knew what she wanted. But then again, she had been staring at the menu since she got there.
While Shawn and Paul looked at the menu she took a drink of her iced tea and looked up at the door of the restaurant just as it opened. And to no surprise she saw Shane and of course right behind him was Charlotte. She really was starting to get used to running into those two all the time, at least it seemed like she saw them everywhere. She didn't like it but she was starting to get used to it.
"Don't look now but your crazy ex just walked in" Shawn said looking up from the menu at Paul. Stephanie couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter as she tried to not spit out the drink of her tea she had just taken. She hadn't been expecting anyone to even really pay attention to the fact Charlotte had walked in. But as soon as Shawn had seen her and called her crazy, she really couldn't help but laugh.
"Charlotte and Shane are here?" Paul asked without even looking up from the menu.
"Yup" Shawn replied closing his menu just as their waiter came to the table.
"Great" Paul muttered sarcastically closing his menu. They all rattled off their order to the waiter and once they were done Stephanie glanced over to Shane and Charlotte's table. Shane must have sensed her looking at them because he looked over at her and then looked away just as quickly.
"So, I take it you're still not really on speaking terms with Shane?" Shawn asked Paul and Paul shook his head.
"Nope. Which is going to make a really interesting weekend since we're going to be staying at the apartment with them."
"I'm so excited" Shawn replied sarcastically to Paul before looking over at Stephanie. "She really is crazy. So, the next time she tries making up shit about Paul to you, just ignore her."
Stephanie blushed from embarrassment as she realized that when Paul had gone to visit Shawn after their fight a while ago that Paul had obviously told Shawn about it. She wasn't upset about him telling Shawn, Shawn is his best friend and she also had told Allie about it but it was embarrassing that it even had happened. Now she had moved on from it and learned from her mistake.
"Steph knows that now."
"Good because she's just jealous that he never cared for her as much as he does you" Shawn replied as their waiter approached with their food. Stephanie didn't think she had ever been so happy to see food in her life. Once the waiter left and she started to eat, Shawn looked over at Paul. "Do you remember when you were dating her and she would get so mad and jealous when sometimes you would mention Stephanie?"
"You used to talk about me?" Stephanie asked smiling at the information.
"Sometimes" Paul replied before taking a bite of his food.
"It was a little more than sometimes" Shawn chuckled as Paul rolled his eyes at him.
Stephanie couldn't stop smiling as she tried eating her food. It started to make more sense though of why Charlotte might have been trying to tell her lies about Paul for no reason. She didn't understand though why after all these years it still affected Charlotte, especially since Paul and Charlotte were no longer together. The only reason she could think of was that Charlotte still had feelings for Paul after all these years.
"Anyway, is Shane usually as much of an asshole as he sounds to be? I've only hung out with him a few times when he would tag along with you to visit me. He seemed pretty cool then" Shawn asked before taking a bite of his food.
"He used to be pretty cool and laid back but since I started dating Steph and he started dating Charlotte he's been nothing but an asshole."
"Well he better not be an asshole towards me or me and him will be having problems."
"I don't think you have anything to worry about. It will probably be with me if he's going to be an asshole towards anyone. We had a bad fight on Stephanie's birthday and we haven't really spoken since. So maybe he won't say anything to any of us."
"If we can get that lucky. So, what do you want to do today?" Shawn asked and Paul shrugged. "I was thinking maybe we could go to the bar and drink a little."
"A little usually means a lot for you. We can't anyway."
"Why?"
"Because Steph isn't old enough."
"Oh yeah, I forgot you're not as old as us" Shawn replied looking over at her.
"You guys can go if you want" Stephanie replied feeling bad that Paul wouldn't go because she couldn't. Shawn and Paul didn't get to hang out as much as Stephanie got to hang out with her friends. She wanted him to be able to do whatever they wanted while Shawn was there. She didn't want to be that clingy-needy girlfriend either. "I can always call Allie and hang out with her. You can go have some guy time while I have some girl time."
"Are you sure?" Paul asked looking at her.
"Yeah I'm sure."
"Have I told you lately how great of a girlfriend you are?" Paul asked and she smiled at him from him taking her words from earlier that day.
"Oh, I already know I am" Stephanie repeated his earlier words back to him. But she was pretty sure she didn't pull it off like he had. Paul chuckled and then leaned over and kissed her.
"Come on, I'm trying to eat here" Shawn said making her laugh and kiss Paul again.
Later that evening after Paul and Shawn headed off to a bar Stephanie sat down on her couch and handed Allie one of the glasses of wine she was holding.
"I'm so glad you suggested this. I've been so stressed" Allie said taking a drink of her wine.
"Why have you been stressed?"
"Work has been really busy lately and then I have to deal with Daniel's mother because she's been coming around a lot. I'm pretty sure she's whispering in his ear how horrible of a wife I'll be and trying to get him to call off the wedding."
"Are you sure it's not just all in your head?"
"Maybe. But I find her whispering to him all the time and it's making me paranoid" Allie sighed and took another huge drink of her wine.
"Well let's get your mind off all of that" Stephanie replied turning on the television and turning it to the marathon of America's Next Top Model. It was a guilty pleasure for both of them.
"We should have gone and got massages and our nails done."
"We'll do that next time" Stephanie replied reaching over and getting the bowl of popcorn she made off the coffee table.
"So, what did you think of Paul's friend?"
"He was nice and funny. I think we'll get along just fine" Stephanie replied turning her head to look towards the stairs as she heard footsteps.
"Hello girls" Linda said coming down the stairs.
"Hey mom" Stephanie replied as Allie turned to look at Linda too.
"Are you going somewhere?" Allie asked as Stephanie noticed how dressed up her mom looked.
"I'm going on a double date with Tamara and her husband. They're going to set me up with someone Tamara's husband works with. Do I look okay?"
"You look great mom. I didn't know you were going to start dating."
"Is it a problem? I mean it's only one date that's probably not going to go anywhere anyway."
"No, it's not a problem. I'm just surprised and honestly, I'm happy that you're getting back out there" Stephanie replied thinking about how she was glad that maybe she was moving on from Vince. It wasn't easy seeing her parents separated and possibly divorced in the future. But after her birthday and seeing how much her mother was hurting from waiting and hoping on Vince to come back, all she wanted was her mother to be happy again.
"Do I really look good?"
"Yes, and if this man isn't eating out of the palm of your hand by the end of night then there's something wrong with him" Allie replied making Linda laugh.
"Thanks guys" Linda replied just as the doorbell rang. "That will be Tamara. I'm riding with her to the restaurant."
"How do you feel about that? Truthfully" Allie asked once Linda left the room to answer the door.
"I'm honestly happy for her. You should have seen her the night of my birthday party. I want to see her happy again and if this will make her happy then I'm one hundred percent behind her" Stephanie replied just as she heard footsteps heading back towards them again.
"I've got to grab my purse" Linda said retrieving her purse and leaning down towards them on the couch. "Melanie is here. She wants to hang out with you."
"Seriously?" Allie asked making a sour face as Linda gave an apologetic look. Stephanie knew Allie hated Melanie still and she was also trying to be cautious of her even though Melanie apologized. But seeing as Melanie just walked into the living room she didn't want to say no. Especially if she had been truthful about wanting to be friends again. She didn't want to make an enemy out of her again.
"Just try to be nice, please?" Stephanie whispered to Allie and Allie rolled her eyes.
"Well, have fun girls and wish me luck" Linda said and they wished her good luck as she headed out of the living room.
"I'm going to need something stronger than wine if I'm going to do this" Allie said watching Melanie as she came over to a chair beside of the couch and sitting down.
"I guess it's a good thing I brought this then" Melanie replied sliding out a bottle of bourbon out of her bag.
"Where did you get that?" Allie asked eyeing the bottle.
"I stole it from my parents" Melanie shrugged. "They'll never miss it. Trust me."
"Great. She's stealing from her own parents. Are you sure you can actually trust her?" Allie asked looking over at Stephanie as Melanie gave a frustrated sigh.
"Look I was being completely honest when I said I wanted to be friends again. I'm really sorry- "
"I don't want to hear it" Allie cut Melanie off and held up her hand towards her. "I don't believe you."
"Fine you don't have to but I'm going to prove you wrong" Melanie replied with a shrug as Allie narrowed her eyes at her.
"Okay I'm going to go get glasses. I'll be right back" Stephanie replied getting up from the couch and hurried to the kitchen. She just hoped they didn't kill each other before she got back. Hopefully Paul was having a better time than her right now.
The next thing Stephanie knew she was waking up from being in an uncomfortable position. She yawned and went to roll over but then realized she was on the very edge of her bed. Sitting up carefully so she didn't fall, she reached over to her nightstand where she spotted her phone. She was disappointed when it lit up and she saw no missed notifications from Paul. She got up from her bed and almost burst out laughing when she turned around to see Melanie in the middle of the bed with Allie squeezed behind her cuddling her. Stephanie brought up the camera on her phone and started to snap a picture as they started to stir. Without realizing it, her flash had been turned on so when she snapped the picture they both groaned and opened their eyes.
"Good morning sleepy heads" Stephanie giggled as Allie realized that she was cuddling Melanie and quickly jerked her arm away.
"Oh, my God what in the fuck happened last night? I remember drinking and turning on music and acting like idiots as we danced and sang along to the music. That's the last thing I remember" Allie said sitting up in the bed and rubbing her eyes.
"I don't know but I don't feel so good" Melanie groaned and cupped her mouth.
"You better not puke on me" Allie replied quickly getting out of the bed and then brought her hands to her head. "Ow. Why aren't you acting like you feel as horrible as we do?"
"I actually feel okay. I have a little bit of a headache but other than that I feel good" Stephanie replied and shrugged. "But then again you two drank the most."
"Uh oh" Melanie suddenly said and slid out of the bed with her hand over her mouth and left the room quickly.
"On that note, I'm going to go downstairs and make some coffee" Stephanie replied heading out of her room. While she was heading down the stairs she decided to try and call Paul since she hadn't heard from him last night. Unfortunately, it just kept ringing until it went to voicemail.
Once she got to the kitchen she laid her phone on the counter where she could see it in case Paul called her back and then began to make coffee. After a few minutes, she heard Allie and Melanie start to make their way to the kitchen. She couldn't help but giggle at them as they groaned and complained on their way in.
"Feel better?" Stephanie asked Melanie who was holding her stomach.
"A little" Melanie replied sitting down and propping her head against her hand. Allie sat down beside of her and laid her head down.
"Here" Stephanie said grabbing a cup and poured coffee in it just as the coffee got done brewing and handed a cup to Melanie first. Then she poured a cup for Allie and put it in front of her but Allie just stayed with her head down.
Stephanie just shook her head at the sight and grabbed her cellphone and tried calling Paul again.
"Will you two be okay? I need to run out really quick" Stephanie asked once she ended her call once it went to Paul's voicemail again. She was starting to worry about him and she needed to go make sure him and Shawn made it to the apartment last night.
"Just bring me some food back" Allie replied as Stephanie pocketed her cellphone and started heading out of the kitchen. At least she didn't have to worry about them killing each other while she was gone considering they were so hung over.
After Stephanie arrived at Paul and Shane's apartment building she rushed in and got in the elevator. She was feeling really nervous since she hadn't seen Paul's car in the parking lot and she wasn't sure what Shawn's car looked like. She tried calming herself down by telling herself that maybe they both got as drunk as her friends and took a cab home or something.
When the elevator opened she quickly walked down the hall to their apartment and knocked on the door. She waited a little bit and when there was no answer she knocked again. Nobody still came to the door so she tried the doorknob to find it unlocked and walked in.
The first thing she saw when she walked in was Shawn lying face down on the couch with a blanket thrown over him. She immediately relaxed knowing that if Shawn was here then Paul was too. She pushed the door to close it and accidently closed it a little too loud as Shawn let out a groan.
"Sorry" Stephanie whispered going past the couch and Shawn mumbled something she didn't understand since it was muffled where he was lying face down.
She walked to Paul's room fully ready to climb into his bed and cuddle for a few minutes before she had to home and help her hung over friends. But when she made it to his room it felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on her and she instantly felt sick to her stomach. Lying in the bed was Paul and Charlotte with the comforter down at their waist and they were naked. Charlotte had her head laying on his chest and pressed against him tightly with his arm around her holding her close.
At that moment, she wanted to rip Charlotte up by her hair and scream and curse at Paul. But then again, she felt too sick to her stomach and her eyes had started to water and there was no way she was going to let him see her cry. So, instead she rushed out of the room and out of the apartment slamming the door behind her. That's where she ran into Shane and by that time the tears were flowing down her face. There was just no stopping them.
"Steph what's wrong?" Shane asked looking concerned which was a first in a very long time. Stephanie just shook her head not being able to speak without sobbing uncontrollably. Instead she headed to the elevator as he called her name. She felt bad just ignoring him like that but he would soon understand what had been wrong.
