Thank you to those who favorited and followed the story! I think its time we finished this scene! AEW owns all you know, I own those you don't and some own themselves! Enjoy!

"Let's go home." He said softly. I followed him out his door after shutting all the lights and TV to make it look like I was asleep. Once out in the hallway I inwardly groaned when I saw the taped X on the door. That fucker really did it. When we made it to the lobby Phil had me wait as he went and grabbed the car, when he came back he helped me into a huge jacket.

"Someone forgot how cold it could be in Chicago." He said zipping up the coat. I inhaled deeply as the coat smelled like him. He grabbed my hand and helped me into the car and sped off. We sat in a comfortable silence with him holding my hand and kissing the back of it ever so often. We pulled up and I swallowed hard, I really hope I don't see what I think I'm going to. He parked the car and led me up the familiar stairs to the part of the building that is his house.

"Ready?" He asked me as he unlocked the second door. I nodded as the door opened. He led me in and I gasped, my hand covering my mouth.

"Phil…"

Tears immediately filled my eyes as I looked around the home we used to share. Everything was exactly the way it was when I walked out. I took steps further towards the living room as I looked at the rose petals on the floor and the couch leading all the way to and up the stairs. Phil was moving around me quickly lighting the various candles he had around the living room. I made my way to the middle of the room and looked around.

"Are those…" I couldn't even get the words out.

"I kept every single one." He said softly looking at me. I walked over to an end table and lifted the picture frame. Phil and I were smiling brightly, my arm around his neck and his around my waist. He was sweaty from a match and I was still dressed in my denim skirt and Cena shirt. It was taken at the start of our relationship where we literally couldn't get enough of each other and being away from each other for his match or just escorting John to the ring was too long. Kofi snapped the photo because of how cheesy we were being. I remember him complaining that we were only apart for 15 minutes not 4 years. I smiled as I put it down and turned to Phil.

"One is missing." I said.

"I didn't know if you wanted it out." He said walking over to a closet. He reached up on the shelf and pulled another frame out.

"I had to replace the frame, after you left…I threw it." He said, adding the last part softly. I saw the pain flash across his eyes as he looked at the photo before handing it to me. I took it from him and looked at it. It was the photo we took after we had gotten engaged. It was a selfie Phil took on his phone right after. We had big smiles and my hand was up showing off my ring. We looked so happy and excited over what we thought would be headed our way. I ran my hand over the photo…if only we knew what would happen to us. I smiled sadly at Phil.

"It's up to you if you want to put it out." He told me. He slid his arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I wasn't sure if I wanted this photo out…while its a piece of our story that brought us here it came with a dark cloud…a reminder of the beginning of the end.

"Maybe this should stay away for now." I told him. He nodded taking it from me and putting it back where he had it. I heard him exhale as he closed the door. I didn't know if he wanted the photo out or not and if he was disappointed that I chose to keep it away. He turned to me and gave me a small smile, he grabbed my hand and led me to the couch making me sit. He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a bunch of things from the fridge. I heard the clinging of glasses and Phil was back with a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and sparking grape juice. I laughed as he handed me a champagne glass full.

"What are we toasting to?" I asked him.

"I"ll get there!" He said laughing, grabbing his own glass and sitting next to me. I curled my legs under me as I faced him. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Jessica, I've made it no secret since coming to AEW that I wanted you back, and I want you back badly. I should have never let you walk out that door 7 years ago…I should have chased you, pulled you back in and tell you how sorry I was, that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. The fact that you're sitting here with me now, still amazes me. I know that I never want to lose this again…I promise you, if you accept…I'll never let you go again…I love you Jessica Irvine…will you be my girlfriend?" He finished. My hand was over my mouth, I was stunned. Never did I think that this is what he wanted to do tonight. He looked at me pleading with his eyes. My hand went down and I leaned forward pressing my lips to his. He kissed me back with such need I almost dropped my glass.

"I love you, Phillip Brooks."

"Is that a yes?" He asked. I shot him a look.

"Of course it is." I said smiling. He came back at me and kissed me hard. He pulled back and we clinked glasses before each of us took a sip. We sat there and talked about nonsense as we fed each other strawberries here and there. The entire time Phil had this big goofy smile on his face. We looked at a few more photos and spoke about what we remembered from the time they were taken.

"I still have your Hawks jersey." He said, placing a photo down.

"Is there anything you didn't keep?" I asked giggling.

"I kept everything….literally everything." I stopped laughing and took a sip.

"I'm not ready to look at that yet." I told him.

"It'll be your decision when it comes out…and what you want to do with it." He said squeezing my hand. I nodded…my engagement ring was not something I wanted to see or think about. I only wanted to focus on the fact that Phil and I were officially back together…something I never thought would happen.

"So, now that you're my girlfriend you think you could tell me why MJF has you under his control?" He asked me.

"Well, I'm really not supposed to because it would back fire on us…but now we're together…you should know." I started.

"Go ahead…" he said.

"Wait," I said, "Promise me something first…promise me you won't tell anyone we're together again." His face fell.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because things with my brother aren't….good." I said cutting it short, "He needs to hear it from me and I'm not ready for that yet."

"He's not going to be happy." He said.

"Not at all."

"Why won't he be?" He asked, I shot him a look.

"Why do you think he won't be happy?" I asked. His mouth pressed into a straight line. Glad to know he finally caught on.

"What about Renee? We can't even tell her? She'll be destroyed we kept it from her." He said.

"Okay, just Renee." I said knowing she already knew too much.

"So back to Max."

"Max has a video and pictures of us kissing." I said.

"That's a big deal?" He asked.

"It is when it was the first time we kissed…when we weren't really talking." I said.

"But we're together now…so its not that bad." He said, taking another sip.

"It is…because I can't let Max be the reason Chris finds out…or the world…that should be us." I said. He nodded.

"Okay, we'll keep it quiet and continue to work against Max in other ways." He said, I nodded.

"Oh, Mike Wardlow also knows…he knows more than Max" I said, quickly taking a sip. Phil shot me a look.

"Knows what exactly?" He asked me.

"Knows we make out in closets before and during the show."

"How the hell…?" He started.

"I have no clue…but he's on our side!" I added cheerfully.

"And we can trust him?" He asked.

"Yes, he told me that you and I need to figure out how to take Max down, he's sick of it all."

"Babe…" he said uneasy.

"Listen, he's protected me this far…he wouldn't stop now." I said cutting him off. He nodded, finishing his drink.

"Care to switch gears, my love?" He said, pulling me to him. He placed my glass on the table and pulled me into his lap.

"Ah, so tonight had other motives." I said as he pressed his forehead to mine.

"7 years too long, baby." He said placing a kiss on my lips. Things quickly heated up as his lips traveled down to my jaw and then to my neck and collar where he kissed, sucked, and nibbled. My breathing picked up as his kisses became more hungry.

"Let's finally get you out of this dress." He whispered huskily in my ear. All I could do was nod. In one motion Phil was standing with me in his arms following the trail of rose petals upstairs to his room. The whole bed was covered as he placed me down on top. I reached up and grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head and throwing it to the side. I ran my hands down his chest and abdomen re-familiarizing myself with his body. He reached back behind me pulling the zipper of my dress down. He quickly pulled my dress off and I started on his pants, making quick work of his belt, button and zipper. He helped me push his jeans down and he stepped out of them, leaving him in his boxers. While kissing down my chest he wasted no time ridding me of my bra and then my panties in one swift motion. I pushed his boxers down with my feet and once they were off we both froze…taking in the sights before us both.

For the first time in 7 years, we laid eyes on each other fully…and Phil was right…

It was 7 years too long.

I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted this to be a steamy chapter. I did rate it M to be safe, but I'm not sure if people get smutty at all anymore. If you want it let me know, if not…I may just skip to the next morning. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!