Oh, this isn't awkward at all. She thought to herself in a sarcastic manner as she looked at Bischoff, her nerves getting the best of her.
"Stephanie." He walked up to her and stroked her arms gently with his warm hands. "I'm not even going to ask if you're okay with this." His eyebrows shot up for a moment, then finally realized how much of a jerk he must have sounded like.
Stephanie felt a small shiver go up her spine. Wait.. does he think I'm going to sleep with him?! I'm not sleeping with him! Stephanie's expression said it all, she was enraged by his words.
"You are such a tease." Eric took his hands off of her arms then walked toward the door, opening it quickly.
Stephanie went up to him and shoved him violently. "How dare you call me a tease!"
"I have been called a slut." She paused. "A tease. A whore. A "hoe bag". You name it, I've been called it. Why, Eric? Because the people who called me those horrible names were jealous."
Eric rolled his eyes at why she thought men, and the ocassional divascalled her all those things. He knew the real reason why. "Have you ever considered maybe that they don't like you, that's why they call you these things?"
Stephanie bit her lip. "People who are jealous of me call me all those names that I don't deserve to be labeled as. That's the only truth behind it, or .. maybe it's the complete opposite. You called me a tease because I won't sleep with you. So maybe because men can't have me, they spread rumors about me." She pointed out with a cocky smirk.
"No I called you that because you are a tease. Even Scott Steiner knew that when you tried to sign him and promised .. sexual favors if he signed with you. Because that's the type of business woman you are." He snickered.
Stephanie slapped him hard across his face, causing a light red mark to appear.
"I don't need this from you Eric, I expected more out of you."
Eric's eyes pierced hers with anger. "What did you expect McMahon? Did you expect me to hold you while you cried? Or, let you lean on my shoulder?" He mocked her. "Did you expect me to listen to how much your life has been one big shithole since Hunter left you?! What did you expect?!" He yelled.
Stephanie's eyes filled up with tears. She tried her best to not let them fall onto her soft, delicate cheeks but slowly they began to fall. "You bastard." She said through tears and a scratchy voice.
Eric ran his fingers through his hair and realized just how low he had went. "Steph. I'm sorry."
Stephanie started heading out the door but Eric grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him, gently holding her close to him as she wept softly.
"I never expected this to happen." He said quietly as he shut the door.
"Expected what to happen?" She asked.
"I think you know." He replied.
Stephanie pulled away from him slowly.
"Tell me Eric." She demanded.
"See! This is one of the reasons why I-" he paused when he realized what he was about to say.
"Why you.. what?" She asked as she moved closer to him, barely inches away now.
"I think we've both been denying it all along Stephanie." He touched her cheek gently.
She softly leaned into it as she closed her eyes for a moment, realizing she knew exactly what he was talking about. Stephanie opened her eyes slowly and looked at him, trying to figure out what to do next.
"This really isn't like you Eric." She said softly.
Eric removed his hand and put it at his side then began to pace. "You think I want to feel this way Stephanie?" His eyes pierced hers as he spoke. "I didn't choose to fall in love with you."
"Try not to sound like it's the worst thing in the world Eric, because it's not." Stephanie took a step toward him. "The worst thing in the world to me, would be to have any feelings for you Eric other then hate." She said in a 'as a matter of fact' way.
"You don't mean that." He extended his hand out to touch her again.
"Yes, I do." She said as she pulled away.
"What are we doing Eric? This is .. so ridiculous, absurd even for us to be here. I should be in my hotel room, alone.." As always. "And .." Don't say lonely, restless, or depressed. Before she could come up with the words to shoot right back at him his lips found his way to hers instantly.
He kissed her hungrily as his hands roamed up her shirt, removing it quickly. Stephanie couldn't let her conscience get in the way again, tonight she wanted to feel something real. Eric pushed down her skirt, anxious to lay her down onto the bed.
Eric kept kissing her on her neck, lips, and shoulders as he began to remove his own clothing, finally laying her down onto the soft, warm sheets of his king bed. Stephanie moaned as his lips found their way down her neck to her chest. And just like that, it seemed that the whole world had stopped.
The next morning Stephanie's eyes fluttered open slowly when a ray of sunshine peeked through the windows onto her soft skin. She turned around slowly and realized who she was laying next to. Oh.. my god. I slept with.. Eric. What have I done? She thought to herself.
Eric woke up hearing Stephanie's thoughts running through his head louder then a beating drum. He sat up slowly and they both made eye contact for a brief moment. Stephanie looked away, ashamed.
What if he tells everyone? Oh god.. I made the hugest mistake in my life. What if Hunter finds out? She pulled the covers up over her naked body and held them against her tightly.
"Well, good morning to you too." Eric said sarcastically.
Stephanie turned toward him slowly, still keeping the sheets against her. "Eric.. I don't think that last night should've-"
"I won't tell anyone Steph." He said sincerely.
Stephanie let out a deep sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god."
"Was I really that bad?" He joked.
"No, you weren't bad.." She stared.
"But I wasn't good?" He asked, this time seriously.
"You were great, really. You were." She insisted. A lot better then Hunter, and he was pretty damn good. But this was.. amazing. A small smile appeared on her face. Eric grinned from ear to ear, realizing her sincerity in her thoughts.
"Look, just because this happened, it doesn't mean I'm going to .. sleep with you again." She finally said.
"Why not? We both really enjoyed it." He smirked.
"Because, it's wrong and.." She started.
Eric moved closer to her then pinned her down onto the bed. He started kissing her gently for a moment then stopped, tracing kisses down her neck then back up to her face. "Are you sure?" He asked teasingly.
"I need to head back to my hotel room." She whispered softly.
Stephanie slowly moved toward the edge of the bed, taking the sheets with her, but Eric tugged on them, bringing her closer to him. "What if I don't want you to leave?" He asked.
"Well, you don't have a say in that." She replied.
Stephanie kicked her feet over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up, keeping the sheets around her body, but Eric tugged on them again, causing her to fall back onto the bed gently.
"Stop it Eric, right now!" She demanded.
Eric grinned to himself, obviously pleased by her reaction. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, pressing his check against the side of her face, letting his lips tease the side of her neck.
Stephanie felt a chill run up and down her body. Don't moan. Don't..
"Mmmm" A small moan appeared from her lips. Sshe realized what he was trying to do, and quickly she escaped his touch.
"Can you at least turn around so I can get dressed?" She asked.
"Believe me Steph, I saw it all last night." He winked.
Stephanie's lip curled in disgust. "Still, turn around. I don't want you staring at me."
"Stephanie, you have no reason to be ashamed of your body. I promise I won't stare.." Much. He insisted.
Stephanie tried not to get embarrassed as she stood up and removed the sheets from her cautiously, getting off of the bed to look for her clothes which were scattered all over the floor. She collected them piece by piece as Eric watched on, smirking to himself in approval of the exposed beauty before him.
Stephanie took everything and headed to the bathroom, placing the pile of clothes on the counter before stepping into the shower and turning on the hot water, trying to wash off the smell of Eric's expensive cologne on her body. Why can't this just be some bad dream I can wake up from? What was I thinking last night? She let her thoughts collect during her shower as Eric stood outside the bathroom, getting dressed.
"Stephanie, I'm going down to Starbucks, would you like anything?" He offered, trying to sound nice.
Stephanie peeked her head out of the shower curtain and called out. "No thanks, I'm fine."
Eric sighed then headed out the door, taking the elevator down to the 1st level. The elevator let out a loud ding once it was on the 1st level. He walked out of the elevator and headed to his rental car, driving to the nearest Starbucks.
Meanwhile Stephanie tried to think of ways to explain to him that she didn't want relationship with him, she was scared by the way she felt about him and didn't want to get hurt again. But instead of facing him when he returned, she came up with a better plan.
When Bischoff returned to the hotel, she would be gone.
Authors Notes: I'm almost finished with the story! Thank you everyone for your reviews, I'm so glad everyone likes my Eric/Steph fics!