MY LITTLE SECRET
Chapter 5
Everybody cheats,
But you gotta know how, you gotta know when,
You gotta know why. My infatuation with you
Is taking me on an emotional high...
"Tell me again why you set this night up," Chris said frowning. "I don't understand."
"We have to be 'platonic friends', remember?" Stephanie reminded him. "That means that you need to go out with Jess, and I need to go out with Hunter. It's what's expected of us. Why not do what friends do and make it a double date?"
"I don't care if it's what's expected of us, I still don't like it," he said. "I don't like it when that ape is draped all over you, kissing you, touching you..." He looked out the window of the car. When his eyes landed on the club Stephanie had picked out for this double date, he crossed his arms, pouting.
"Don't be a baby. It's just one night," she told him. "I know you can handle one night if it's for the sake of preserving...us."
"Well, when you put it that way..." He turned to look at her. "I guess I can do it for one night."
"Good. Let's get a move on," she said, leaning over to give him a small kiss. "Hunter and Jess are already inside waiting on us."
Twenty minutes later...
"Steph, wanna dance?" Hunter asked with a hopeful tone in his voice. It was like he fully expected for her to turn him down, but he had felt the need to ask anyway.
"Of course. What do you think I came here for?" Stephanie asked. She looked across the table at Chris, then placed her hand in Hunter's and allowed him to pull her to her feet and lead her out to the dance floor.
"Come on, Jess, we're dancing," Chris said, standing up. He practically dragged her to the dance floor and pulled her to him, then started moving to the beat of the music, eyes trained on Stephanie and Hunter, who were just a few feet away.
"You're a good dancer," Hunter complimented Stephanie as she danced in front of him. He'd never been dancing with her before, but now he knew that all he had to do was move a little bit and let her do all the work. She seemed really at home on the dance floor. She was a frisky little wildcat as she danced in front of him, grinding back against him and reaching back to touch him. "A very good dancer."
"I know," Stephanie replied, looking a few feet over to where Chris was dancing, and she wished that he was the one she was dancing with instead of Hunter. Chris was staring right at her. His mesmerizing blue eyes roamed over her body, taking it all in before moving back up to meet her eyes. His eyes were so startling and beautiful, especially under the flashing lights in the club. She found herself unable to break the gaze, unable to look away...
"Why is he looking at you like that?" Hunter asked, one hand resting on her waist. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck.
"Um, I have no idea," she answered, cringing a little when she felt his lips on her neck. But I can't stop looking at him, either...
Suddenly, Hunter turned her around to face him. He pulled her against him, and before she knew it, he was leaning down, lips inching closer and closer to hers. She wanted to pull away more than anything, but she knew it would raise suspicion. After all, he was her date. She was basically obligated to kiss him. But she didn't want to, and she absolutely hated knowing that Chris was a few feet away, being forced to watch this scene unfold before his very eyes...
"Excuse me, but I've got to break in," Chris interrupted, pushing Hunter away with one strong hand against his chest. Hunter stumbled back, but Chris didn't care. He grabbed Stephanie's hand and started to lead her a few feet away. "Steph, a moment please?"
Stephanie let him lead her away from Hunter, enjoying the heat of his hand grasping hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew the shit was about to hit the fan, but for now, she was too absorbed in the feeling she was getting from just holding his hand in a public place. It was a nice feeling, and she found herself wishing that perhaps someday they could walk around hand-in-hand that way all the time...
"What the hell was that?" he whispered angrily. He pulled her to him and started dancing against her, trying to make it appear as though they were just fooling around and having a good time, like friends tend to do.
"What are you talking about?" she asked as she danced with him, reveling in the feel of his muscular body moving seductively against hers.
"I watched you the entire time. You were grinding against him like you wanted him," he said bitterly. "And you were about to let him kiss you!"
"You act like I wanted him to kiss me!" she exclaimed.
"Well, you didn't exactly back away," he pointed out.
"Why do you care so much, huh? One kiss would've solidified this image we planned to create of me and you being just friends," she argued in a low voice so the people around them wouldn't hear. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Isn't that what you wanted?"
"I don't know what I want anymore, but I know I don't want you with him!" he exclaimed.
"I don't want to be with him, either, but there's nothing I can do about that right now!" she pointed out. "Why are you acting like this?"
"God, Steph, don't you get it?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer. He pulled her against him without thinking about where they were, without caring about where they were, and then he did the unthinkable... He kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her and tightened his hold on her as he kissed her fervently.
She kissed him back, fully aware of the fact that people were all around them. They were in the middle of the dance floor, and anyone could see them. She didn't care. She brought her hand up, gently touching his face before moving to the back of his neck, feverishly trying to deepen the kiss...
I'm caught all up in this love affair, baby.
Speculation will bring us stares.
All my friends are asking me about it.
Still the truth I can't reveal...
She pulled back after a minute to look at him, gently caressing his face. "Are we crazy?" she asked softly.
He sighed, cupping her face with both hands. "Maybe we are, but you should know that..." He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "You should know that I... I love you."
"Somehow I'm not surprised to hear you say that," she whispered, leaning back a little to look into his eyes. They seemed like they were glowing, sparking with electricity. "I love you, too, Chris."
"I've been wanting to tell you that for weeks now," he whispered into her ear. "Months, even. It's always been right on the tip of my tongue."
"I know other things that have been on the tip of your tongue," she teased, but then she got serious. "I've been feeling this way for a long time now, too. I've been so caught up in this little...affair...we've been having. Sometimes it's all I-"
"Can think about," he finished for her. He smiled at the look of surprise on her face. "I know, because that's how I feel."
"People are looking at us," she noticed.
"So? Let them look," he retorted. "I just... I have to be with you, Stephanie... I want to be with you... Do you feel the same way?"
"Of course I feel the same way," she said, hugging him. She rested her head on his shoulder and kissed him lightly on the neck. "Chris, I'd be so happy to be with you..."
"And where does that leave me?" someone asked from behind them in a bitter voice.
They both turned around to face the person who had spoken. "Hunter!"
You're my little secret,
And that's how we should keep it.
It's on everybody's mind, about you and I.
They think so, but they don't really know,
Or wanna know that...
"I always thought something was up with you two. There was always this...it was always in the back of my mind," Hunter said in a low voice. "But I chose to ignore it, and now look! You two are standing here professing your love to each other, in the middle of a club. Do you know what that makes me feel like?"
"Hunter, you and I have been on a few dates, and that's it," Stephanie pointed out. "We've never gotten serious with this..."
"Because you've been sneaking around with him! It's so obvious to me now," Hunter said, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in you, Stephanie, but Jericho, I'm even more pissed at you. Sure, me and Steph were nonexclusive, but you have a girlfriend. Don't you think she deserves better than this?"
"Better than what?" Jess asked, walking up to them.
"These two were just kissing," Hunter informed her. "And they claim to love each other."
"I'm sure you're mistaken. Chris and Stephanie are really good friends, that's all. They would never do something like that," Jess said, looking at Chris. "Tell Hunter that he's lying."
"He's not lying," Chris said in a low voice.
"Chris!" Stephanie gasped. "It's supposed to be a secret!"
"I'm sick of this secret mess now. I'm going to tell her how I feel about you, Steph," Chris said, touching her face lightly. "We've snuck around enough."
"Is she the reason you've been basically brushing me of these past few months?" Jess asked, gesturing at Stephanie.
"I guess you could say that," Chris started. "But just let me explain."
"There's nothing to explain! I knew there was another woman, I knew it!" Jess said angrily. She looked at Stephanie with tears in her eyes. "And the nerve of you... I trusted you, Steph. I came to you for help, and it was you! You were the problem all along!"
"I never wanted you to get hurt," Stephanie whispered, putting her fingers up to her mouth. "I never wanted you to get hurt, you have to believe me."
"I'm not believing anything else you say, because now I see you for who you truly are," Jess said in a low voice. "A no-good, back-stabbing bitch."
"You take that back," Chris said in a dangerously low voice. "You don't know what's going on. If anyone's to blame here, it's me. She's the one who wanted to stop doing this. She's been thinking of your feelings during all of this."
"And what is 'all of this', Chris? Why don't you explain it to me?" Jess asked in a loud, frustrated voice. "For once, why don't you just be honest and tell me what the hell is going on?"
"And I'd like to know. too," Hunter put in. "Both of us deserve an explanation."
By then, everyone on the dance floor was looking at the four of them standing there in the middle of the dance floor, having their little dispute. The music stopped playing, and there was complete silence in the club. All eyes were on the four people in the middle of the dance floor.
"Outside," Chris said finally. "We'll finish this discussion outside."
"Fine. Hunter, come on," Jess said, and she and Hunter turned and stormed off towards the exit together.
You're my little secret,
And that's how we should keep it.
We should never let 'em know,
Never let it show.
Chris held out his hand to Stephanie and managed to conjure up a small smile. "Hey, don't wimp out on me now, Steph," he teased. "Come on and take my hand."
"Everybody's looking," Stephanie pointed out, gesturing at the people that were crowded around them, staring. "Don't you think-"
"They've heard the argument. They know," he said. She nodded and slipped her hand into his. "Good girl. Let's go do this..."
"I guess we both knew this day would come sooner or later," she said with a sigh as they headed for the exit. "You think they're really ready to know everything?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, something he wouldn't have done a few days before. "I guess we'll find out when we tell them..."
If you know, like I know,
We should never let it go.
A/N: This was an awkward enough chapter to write, trying to make the story go along with the song. It was ok in the beginning, I guess, but I lost it towards the end. Anyway, I better go get started on the last chapter!