**Thanks to NoInkInMyPen, Diva-Xtreme, Huntersgirl, Crystal and Lex for the
reviews! I'm glad that everyone likes this story. I love the critiquing.
You guys have been truly wonderful!**
Matt went into Steph's room and kissed her. She took off her glasses and looked at him, "What's up?"
"Remember how I said that I would make us a special meal tonight?" He asked slowly.
Steph smiled, "Yes, I remember that."
"What if we changed it to a barbecue and Jeff happened to stay for dinner?" Matt asked nervously.
"That's fine." Steph said nodding her head.
Matt was surprised, "Are you sure? I mean, I know I said that it would be just us, but he had a really bad day and I would like you guys to get to know each other."
Steph nodded again, she knew he had a bad day. "Yes Matt, that's fine. I don't have a problem with him staying over. If he has his wrestling gear with, he might as well just crash here and ride to Raw with us." Steph suggested.
"I'll ask him. Do you want to go to the store with Jeff and I?" Matt offered.
"Sure, I can pick up a few things." Steph said putting her laptop down and slipping on some shoes. "Let's go."
They walked out and found Jeff sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Steph laughed a little, "Ready to go to the store?"
Jeff nodded and hopped down. "Is Matt doing the barbecuing?"
Steph shrugged her shoulders, "Either one of you can, I don't barbecue."
Jeff laughed, "Looks like you're cooking bro."
Matt nodded, "That's fine with me."
They walked out to Steph's car and climbed in. Jeff hopped in the backseat and propped himself up against the door.
They got to the grocery store and started walking around picking things up. "Hey, I could make kabobs?" Steph offered.
"That sounds really good." Matt replied.
Jeff walked down an aisle and put a replacement mop head on top of his head as hair, then grabbed 2 oranges and stuffed them down his sweater so it looked like he had boobs and walked up behind Steph. He walked close enough so the "boobs" brushed past her arm. In the highest voice he could get he giggled, "Oops, sorry honey, sometimes I just forget that those are there."
Steph looked over at the "woman" and burst out laughing. Jeff wasn't sure if she would be a stick in the mud about it, or if she would let her guard down and have fun. Steph composed herself, "It's alright ma'am, I totally understand."
Matt turned around to see what all of the ruckus was about and at first he wanted to yell at Jeff because he had wanted him to make a good impression on her, but when he seen that Steph was smiling and laughing, Matt started laughing. "Jeff, I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
Jeff cleared his throat and regained his "girly" voice, "You're mistaken, I'm not Jeff, I'm.Jeffina!"
Now people were starting to look and point. Steph turned bright red and Matt groaned, "Come on."
Steph chuckled to herself as Jeff took the oranges out of his shirt and the mop head off of his head.
As they were in line, Steph's cell phone rang. She looked at the caller id and groaned.
"What's the matter?" Matt asked.
Steph shook her head and answered it, "Hello?"
"Hey, how are things going?" Paul asked.
"Things are going just fine, I'm at the grocery store picking up some things for dinner." Steph replied. "So what's up?"
"Well, I wanted to see if we were still on for getting together at Raw to talk about what happened." Paul replied.
"Sure, we can do that. How about after the creative meeting? We'll go grab coffee and I'll explain what happened." Steph agreed.
"Sounds good, I'll see you then." Paul said and then he hung up.
Steph sighed and hung up.
"Who was that?" Jeff asked.
Matt was stunned, who gave Jeff the right to be in Steph's business like that, he wasn't even the one dating her.
Steph was a little taken aback, "It was Paul, he wanted to know about the incident in the alley, and I didn't feel like telling him over the phone, so I told him that I would tell him over coffee at Raw." She replied trying to not sound annoyed. She couldn't believe that he asked her.
On their way out to the car Matt grabbed Jeff, "What are you thinking?"
"What do you mean?" Jeff replied.
"Asking her who she was talking to on the phone." Matt said sternly. "What business is it of yours?"
"Maybe not my business, but your business. Look, I'm looking out for you here, not me. She was acting suspicious, so I called her on it, and look who it was. Paul, the very person whom she just broke up with not to long ago. Matt, I think you need to be careful." Jeff replied.
"I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself." Matt said letting go of him and catching up to Steph.
"I'm sorry about Jeff." Matt said holding her hand.
"It's ok. It just surprised me, that's all. He's just protective of you, that's all." Steph said quietly. "Shane does the same thing."
They loaded the groceries in the car and headed back to Steph's. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That evening, Matt was busy grilling. Steph was the official bartender, and Jeff was in charge of music. Matt made steak and potatoes and Steph made up some chicken kabobs.
"So, do you guys always grill in the winter?" Steph asked the boys.
They both nodded, "Yup. Grilling is the best." Jeff said setting out the plates and silverware and chips and dip.
Steph made Jeff a drink and then brought Matt a beer and made herself a drink. "This is a lot of fun, barbecuing and holding a picnic indoors was a great idea." She commented.
As the night went on, Steph started making the drinks stronger and stronger. Everyone ate, then sat around and played Monopoly and watched movies. By the end of the night, everyone was pretty buzzed if not drunk.
Matt sat down on the couch and the next thing anyone knew, he was passed out. Steph walked up behind Jeff, "Hey."
Jeff jumped, "Hey Steph."
"I just thought that I would let you know that Matt's passed out on the couch and I'm going to go to bed. Make yourself at home, and I'll wake you up in the morning." Steph said to him. She was buzzing, but she was still pretty sober. She knew how to control herself.
"Steph, can I talk to you for a minute, alone." Jeff said grabbing her arm like it was really important.
"Sure, let's go upstairs." Steph said to him.
They walked upstairs to her room, "What's up Jeff?" Steph asked him.
"Listen, I'm only going to go over this once, so please make sure you're listening. I'm not trying to be an asshole, I'm trying to look out for everyone's well-being." Jeff said sternly. He looked her square in the eyes to make sure that she would take him serious.
Matt heard them go upstairs, and just out of curiosity, he quietly headed up the stairs, to hear what was going on.
"Steph, I know that you woke up, and there was Matt, like a knight in shining armor, and that's exactly what he is. He may not always realize it, but he is. The last girl he dated was Amy and that was awhile ago. Wrestling is very important to him. The only thing above it is family. You may not realize it, but he really likes you. Why else do you think he gave you that necklace of mom's?" Jeff said pointing to the necklace she was wearing.
It was the one that Matt gave her for Christmas. He gave it to her away from everyone else and wouldn't tell her how he got it. Steph gasped, "This was your mom's?"
Jeff nodded, "I don't know what your intentions are, but I don't want my brother getting hurt. I don't know what he would do if his wrestling was taken away, and I don't want him falling in love with you for you to just turn around and go back to Paul when Matt can't give you something that you want.
Matt was about to go in and intervene when Steph put her hand up, "Ok Jeff, you've said you're peace, now I'm going to say mine." She said in a harsh voice. "I don't know where you get off talking to me like you know me and like you know how I am in a relationship. Yes Matt was my shining armor that day, and yes we wound up becoming a couple by the end of Christmas Eve. But you know what, I'm not with him just because he saved me, I'm not just with him to pass the time until Paul gets his shit together and I'm sure as hell not with him just because I didn't have a boyfriend. I'm with him because he treats me like a human being, not like some billion-dollar princess who can give him anything he wants. He doesn't put me down or keep me out of things because my last name is McMahon, and he doesn't act like he knows what type of person I am based on the characters I've played on tv like some other people I know." Steph said burning a hole through him. She was not backing down and she hated when people assumed things about her. "I am with your brother because he makes me happy, I'm with him because he treats me like a woman. I don't care if he can't afford to buy me some lavish gift, I don't care that he's a mid-carder and I sure as hell don't care that his family isn't rich. In fact, even though we've only been together for two weeks, he's already taught me a lot about myself and the way that I look at certain things and that I shouldn't take anything for granted because you never know when it will be gone. And I didn't know that this necklace was your mother's, but knowing that now, it shows me that he must truly feel something for me and that means a lot to me. But I don't think that I should have to sit here and prove myself to you because you are not the one that I am dating. Thank you for your concern, but I will take care of your brother." She spat out at him. "And by the way,"
Jeff turned to look back at her, he was glad that he called her on this because he got to see what she felt for Matt. "Yes Steph?"
"Let's keep this talk between the two of us, ok? Matt and I aren't telling anyone about us for awhile, and I don't need this getting out. Kind of like the meetings that I'm involved in, some things are better being kept quiet." Steph said to him.
"Sounds good." Jeff said nodding his head.
Matt quickly ran down the hall to the bathroom so they wouldn't see him standing there eavesdropping.
After Jeff was settled in his room, Matt came walking down the hall and tapped on Steph's door. "Come in." Steph called.
Matt walked in, "Hey peaches. Whatcha doin?"
"Just getting ready for bed. I'm surprised you're not still passed out." Steph said with a smile. She moved over in her bed, "There's still room for you."
Matt smiled and took his clothes off and climbed in, "I wasn't drunk enough to pass out, I just dozed off. Since I don't drink that often, I try to not let myself get out of hand, unlike my brother."
"What do you mean?" Steph asked.
"Jeff doesn't drink often, so when he does, he usually drinks until he's drunk, then he does things and says things that he wouldn't normally and then he doesn't remember it the next day." Matt said to her. Normally the boys kept that to themselves, but after what Matt heard, he thought she should know in case she tries to talk to Jeff about it and didn't remember.
Steph snuggled into Matt and laid her head on his chest, "Good night Matt." And she kissed him.
"Good night peaches." Matt replied kissing her back.
"Tomorrow we're back on the road." Steph reminded Matt.
"You know, this is the first time, I'm not in a rush to get back on the road." He said squeezing Steph.
"Me too." Steph said with a smile. She traced the necklace with her fingers and fell fast asleep.
**Please continue to read and review. What will happen between her and Paul tomorrow? What will Shane tell her?" Thanks!**
Matt went into Steph's room and kissed her. She took off her glasses and looked at him, "What's up?"
"Remember how I said that I would make us a special meal tonight?" He asked slowly.
Steph smiled, "Yes, I remember that."
"What if we changed it to a barbecue and Jeff happened to stay for dinner?" Matt asked nervously.
"That's fine." Steph said nodding her head.
Matt was surprised, "Are you sure? I mean, I know I said that it would be just us, but he had a really bad day and I would like you guys to get to know each other."
Steph nodded again, she knew he had a bad day. "Yes Matt, that's fine. I don't have a problem with him staying over. If he has his wrestling gear with, he might as well just crash here and ride to Raw with us." Steph suggested.
"I'll ask him. Do you want to go to the store with Jeff and I?" Matt offered.
"Sure, I can pick up a few things." Steph said putting her laptop down and slipping on some shoes. "Let's go."
They walked out and found Jeff sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Steph laughed a little, "Ready to go to the store?"
Jeff nodded and hopped down. "Is Matt doing the barbecuing?"
Steph shrugged her shoulders, "Either one of you can, I don't barbecue."
Jeff laughed, "Looks like you're cooking bro."
Matt nodded, "That's fine with me."
They walked out to Steph's car and climbed in. Jeff hopped in the backseat and propped himself up against the door.
They got to the grocery store and started walking around picking things up. "Hey, I could make kabobs?" Steph offered.
"That sounds really good." Matt replied.
Jeff walked down an aisle and put a replacement mop head on top of his head as hair, then grabbed 2 oranges and stuffed them down his sweater so it looked like he had boobs and walked up behind Steph. He walked close enough so the "boobs" brushed past her arm. In the highest voice he could get he giggled, "Oops, sorry honey, sometimes I just forget that those are there."
Steph looked over at the "woman" and burst out laughing. Jeff wasn't sure if she would be a stick in the mud about it, or if she would let her guard down and have fun. Steph composed herself, "It's alright ma'am, I totally understand."
Matt turned around to see what all of the ruckus was about and at first he wanted to yell at Jeff because he had wanted him to make a good impression on her, but when he seen that Steph was smiling and laughing, Matt started laughing. "Jeff, I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
Jeff cleared his throat and regained his "girly" voice, "You're mistaken, I'm not Jeff, I'm.Jeffina!"
Now people were starting to look and point. Steph turned bright red and Matt groaned, "Come on."
Steph chuckled to herself as Jeff took the oranges out of his shirt and the mop head off of his head.
As they were in line, Steph's cell phone rang. She looked at the caller id and groaned.
"What's the matter?" Matt asked.
Steph shook her head and answered it, "Hello?"
"Hey, how are things going?" Paul asked.
"Things are going just fine, I'm at the grocery store picking up some things for dinner." Steph replied. "So what's up?"
"Well, I wanted to see if we were still on for getting together at Raw to talk about what happened." Paul replied.
"Sure, we can do that. How about after the creative meeting? We'll go grab coffee and I'll explain what happened." Steph agreed.
"Sounds good, I'll see you then." Paul said and then he hung up.
Steph sighed and hung up.
"Who was that?" Jeff asked.
Matt was stunned, who gave Jeff the right to be in Steph's business like that, he wasn't even the one dating her.
Steph was a little taken aback, "It was Paul, he wanted to know about the incident in the alley, and I didn't feel like telling him over the phone, so I told him that I would tell him over coffee at Raw." She replied trying to not sound annoyed. She couldn't believe that he asked her.
On their way out to the car Matt grabbed Jeff, "What are you thinking?"
"What do you mean?" Jeff replied.
"Asking her who she was talking to on the phone." Matt said sternly. "What business is it of yours?"
"Maybe not my business, but your business. Look, I'm looking out for you here, not me. She was acting suspicious, so I called her on it, and look who it was. Paul, the very person whom she just broke up with not to long ago. Matt, I think you need to be careful." Jeff replied.
"I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself." Matt said letting go of him and catching up to Steph.
"I'm sorry about Jeff." Matt said holding her hand.
"It's ok. It just surprised me, that's all. He's just protective of you, that's all." Steph said quietly. "Shane does the same thing."
They loaded the groceries in the car and headed back to Steph's. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That evening, Matt was busy grilling. Steph was the official bartender, and Jeff was in charge of music. Matt made steak and potatoes and Steph made up some chicken kabobs.
"So, do you guys always grill in the winter?" Steph asked the boys.
They both nodded, "Yup. Grilling is the best." Jeff said setting out the plates and silverware and chips and dip.
Steph made Jeff a drink and then brought Matt a beer and made herself a drink. "This is a lot of fun, barbecuing and holding a picnic indoors was a great idea." She commented.
As the night went on, Steph started making the drinks stronger and stronger. Everyone ate, then sat around and played Monopoly and watched movies. By the end of the night, everyone was pretty buzzed if not drunk.
Matt sat down on the couch and the next thing anyone knew, he was passed out. Steph walked up behind Jeff, "Hey."
Jeff jumped, "Hey Steph."
"I just thought that I would let you know that Matt's passed out on the couch and I'm going to go to bed. Make yourself at home, and I'll wake you up in the morning." Steph said to him. She was buzzing, but she was still pretty sober. She knew how to control herself.
"Steph, can I talk to you for a minute, alone." Jeff said grabbing her arm like it was really important.
"Sure, let's go upstairs." Steph said to him.
They walked upstairs to her room, "What's up Jeff?" Steph asked him.
"Listen, I'm only going to go over this once, so please make sure you're listening. I'm not trying to be an asshole, I'm trying to look out for everyone's well-being." Jeff said sternly. He looked her square in the eyes to make sure that she would take him serious.
Matt heard them go upstairs, and just out of curiosity, he quietly headed up the stairs, to hear what was going on.
"Steph, I know that you woke up, and there was Matt, like a knight in shining armor, and that's exactly what he is. He may not always realize it, but he is. The last girl he dated was Amy and that was awhile ago. Wrestling is very important to him. The only thing above it is family. You may not realize it, but he really likes you. Why else do you think he gave you that necklace of mom's?" Jeff said pointing to the necklace she was wearing.
It was the one that Matt gave her for Christmas. He gave it to her away from everyone else and wouldn't tell her how he got it. Steph gasped, "This was your mom's?"
Jeff nodded, "I don't know what your intentions are, but I don't want my brother getting hurt. I don't know what he would do if his wrestling was taken away, and I don't want him falling in love with you for you to just turn around and go back to Paul when Matt can't give you something that you want.
Matt was about to go in and intervene when Steph put her hand up, "Ok Jeff, you've said you're peace, now I'm going to say mine." She said in a harsh voice. "I don't know where you get off talking to me like you know me and like you know how I am in a relationship. Yes Matt was my shining armor that day, and yes we wound up becoming a couple by the end of Christmas Eve. But you know what, I'm not with him just because he saved me, I'm not just with him to pass the time until Paul gets his shit together and I'm sure as hell not with him just because I didn't have a boyfriend. I'm with him because he treats me like a human being, not like some billion-dollar princess who can give him anything he wants. He doesn't put me down or keep me out of things because my last name is McMahon, and he doesn't act like he knows what type of person I am based on the characters I've played on tv like some other people I know." Steph said burning a hole through him. She was not backing down and she hated when people assumed things about her. "I am with your brother because he makes me happy, I'm with him because he treats me like a woman. I don't care if he can't afford to buy me some lavish gift, I don't care that he's a mid-carder and I sure as hell don't care that his family isn't rich. In fact, even though we've only been together for two weeks, he's already taught me a lot about myself and the way that I look at certain things and that I shouldn't take anything for granted because you never know when it will be gone. And I didn't know that this necklace was your mother's, but knowing that now, it shows me that he must truly feel something for me and that means a lot to me. But I don't think that I should have to sit here and prove myself to you because you are not the one that I am dating. Thank you for your concern, but I will take care of your brother." She spat out at him. "And by the way,"
Jeff turned to look back at her, he was glad that he called her on this because he got to see what she felt for Matt. "Yes Steph?"
"Let's keep this talk between the two of us, ok? Matt and I aren't telling anyone about us for awhile, and I don't need this getting out. Kind of like the meetings that I'm involved in, some things are better being kept quiet." Steph said to him.
"Sounds good." Jeff said nodding his head.
Matt quickly ran down the hall to the bathroom so they wouldn't see him standing there eavesdropping.
After Jeff was settled in his room, Matt came walking down the hall and tapped on Steph's door. "Come in." Steph called.
Matt walked in, "Hey peaches. Whatcha doin?"
"Just getting ready for bed. I'm surprised you're not still passed out." Steph said with a smile. She moved over in her bed, "There's still room for you."
Matt smiled and took his clothes off and climbed in, "I wasn't drunk enough to pass out, I just dozed off. Since I don't drink that often, I try to not let myself get out of hand, unlike my brother."
"What do you mean?" Steph asked.
"Jeff doesn't drink often, so when he does, he usually drinks until he's drunk, then he does things and says things that he wouldn't normally and then he doesn't remember it the next day." Matt said to her. Normally the boys kept that to themselves, but after what Matt heard, he thought she should know in case she tries to talk to Jeff about it and didn't remember.
Steph snuggled into Matt and laid her head on his chest, "Good night Matt." And she kissed him.
"Good night peaches." Matt replied kissing her back.
"Tomorrow we're back on the road." Steph reminded Matt.
"You know, this is the first time, I'm not in a rush to get back on the road." He said squeezing Steph.
"Me too." Steph said with a smile. She traced the necklace with her fingers and fell fast asleep.
**Please continue to read and review. What will happen between her and Paul tomorrow? What will Shane tell her?" Thanks!**