Chapter 4

"Well look who decided to come for dinner," Rich said, standing at the entrance to the dining room. Chris and Jess both looked up from their dinner with raised eyebrows. Rich put on his best ring announcer's voice. "And making her entrance into the dining room, weighing in at only God knows how many tons... From the murky depths of hell, Stepha- Ow!"

"Your mom," Stephanie said, entering the dining room after punching Rich on the arm. She sat down in the seat she'd been sitting at before and looked at Chris, smiling.

"Steph, you came back," Chris said, awed. "You were adamant about staying in the guest house... What made you change your mind?"

"This loser right here," Stephanie said, nodding her head at Rich, who was still rubbing his arm where she'd hit him. "Oh, did I hurt you?" she asked, feigning concern.

"Yes," Rich grumbled, sitting down next to her instead of in the place he'd been sitting at before. She leaned over to touch his arm where she'd punched him and he backed away out of her reach. "Oh, don't touch me... You're destructive, woman!"

Stephanie laughed, then looked at Chris. "Why are you best friends with a wimp like him?" she asked in a teasing voice. She felt a million times better and she didn't know if it was because of Chris or because of Rich. She was comforted by the fact that Chris was there for her when she needed him, and she was, for lack of better words, amused with Rich. Very amused.

Chris didn't answer. Instead, he silently observed Stephanie from across the table, wondering why she was in such a good mood. Was it because of Rich? He wanted to believe that he himself had something to do with that smile on his best female friend's face, but he didn't know.

"I'm glad you decided to come back, Steph," Jess said, smiling across the table at her. "I don't think I would've been able to have dinner with these two." She looked at Rich. "So what did you do to get her back here?"

"Yeah," Chris interrupted, looking at Rich. "How did you persuade her to come back over here? Even I couldn't do that, and I'm her best friend."

"Well..." Rich's voice trailed off as he looked over at Stephanie. He caught her eye and grinned deviously before looking over at Chris. "I don't kiss and tell, Chris. You know that."

"Kiss? What?" Chris dropped his fork on his plate and stood up, glaring at his two best friends. "You two kissed? What the hell is that all about?"

"Whoa, whoa, relax," Rich said, holding his hands up in defense. "I'm just kidding with you. I didn't kiss her."

"Come on, Chris, you know I'd never let him kiss me," Stephanie piped up, rolling her eyes at Rich. "Believe me, if he'd even tried to kiss me at the guest house, he'd be half-dead by now."

"Don't joke around like that," Chris said to Rich, letting out a deep breath before sitting back down. "That almost gave me a heart attack."

"What would be so bad about them kissing?" Jess asked.

"For one, he's married," Chris pointed out, looking at his wife. "And... They're my two best friends. Do you know how weird that would be, if they were all kissing and fooling around?"

"Yeah, that would be pretty weird," Jess agreed.

"Not to mention disgusting," Rich added, looking at Stephanie. "I mean, who knows how many guys she's had her mouth wrapped around?"

Stephanie laughed out loud. "Oh, do you really wanna go there?"

"I think I just did," Rich pointed out.

"Bad choice, Ward," Stephanie said, shaking her head like she pitied him. "Very bad choice."

"See, honey? There's no way those two could ever kiss," Jess said quietly into her husband's ear. "Look at them. All they ever do is argue with each other."

"Yeah, I guess," Chris said, watching his two best friends trading insults like they normally did. He looked down at his plate. It was going to be a long dinner...

An hour later...

"Wow, Jess, dinner was absolutely great," Stephanie said, leaning back in her chair. "I think I must've gained, like, a few pounds here."

Rich reached over and daringly put his hand on Stephanie's stomach. "Yeah, you do feel kind of bloated," he said with a grin.

"I can't believe your nerve!" Stephanie snapped, slapping his hand away. "You dare to touch me?"

"I just did, didn't I?" Rich asked, still grinning. Inside, though, his mind was reeling. He'd felt it again, that little jolt of electricity when he touched her. What did it mean?

"God, you're weird," Stephanie said, rolling her eyes at him. She stood up and started to clear the table. "I'll help you with the dishes, Jess."

"Oh, no, that's ok," Jess said. "I'll get it. You're a guest, remember?"

"This place is like my second home. I'll help you," Stephanie insisted.

"Actually, why don't you and I get the dishes, Steph?" Chris suggested, standing up as well. He helped her clear the table. "I mean, Jess worked so hard to make dinner, and I want to talk to you..."

"Um, ok," Stephanie said, nodding. She headed over to the door leading into the kitchen, then turned back to look at Rich. "If you go over to the guest house, don't try anything silly with my stuff."

"You know, I didn't plan on it, but now that you've mentioned it..." Rich's voice trailed off, and he grinned that devious smile of his. "You just gave me a great idea..."

"Don't you even think about it," Stephanie said. "Or... You'll regret it, I swear."

"What're you gonna do, beat me up?" Rich taunted. "Slap me around?"

"Maybe," Stephanie answered, and then she disappeared into the kitchen.

Chris followed her into the kitchen and shut the door behind him. He walked over to where Stephanie was standing and just looked at her a minute before speaking. "So what's going on with you and Rich?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, putting the dishes down and turning to look at him. "We're just doing what we always do... Insult each other, argue with each other..."

"Flirt with each other," he added.

"Flirt? Me and him?" she scoffed. "No way."

He put the dishes he was holding down and stepped a little closer to her. "Are you sure, Steph? Because I was sensing something else between you two, and, to be perfectly honest, it seemed a lot like flirting...and I don't like it."

"Chrissy, there's nothing going on with us," she said sincerely. "He amuses me, that's all." She smiled at him, reaching over to place a hand on his arm. "So don't worry that pretty blonde head of yours about it."

"You sure?" he asked, putting one hand on her hip and pulling her a little closer to him. "You positive?"

"Yes, I'm positive," she answered, her hand still on his arm as she stared into his eyes. She'd never noticed how deep they were. They're endless, she thought as she looked at him. And so blue.

"Good," he said, bending his head slightly as he looked at her. He looked at her lips as he leaned closer, then back into her eyes. "Steph..."

"Chris, what are you doing?" she breathed, eyes wide as his face neared hers. "Your wife's right in the next room..."

He licked his lips, pressing his chest against hers, feeling how warm she was. "I don't know what I'm doing, Steph... I just...want to help you get through everything..."

"You've helped me so much already," she whispered, moving her hand up his arm and behind his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. "But this isn't right..."

"I know," he whispered back, lips an inch away from hers. "But I don't care... Steph..."

Oh my God, he's going to kiss me! she thought, closing her eyes. She felt his lips press against hers, soft and warm, and immediately she pulled away, kind of shocked. "Chris," she whispered, fingers still tangled through his hair. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know," he whispered back, and then he leaned closer again...

"Getting those dishes cleaned, Steph?" Rich asked loudly, coming into the kitchen and shutting the door behind him. He stopped in his tracks as he looked at the two basically in each other's arms. "Whoa, what's going on in here?"

"Nothing! Nothing at all," Chris said, abruptly moving away from Stephanie and leaning against the counter. "We were just talking, that's all."

"Didn't look much like talking to me," Rich said, eyes narrowed. "I mean, damn, dude, it looked like you were really close to kissing her..."

"I totally wasn't. Jess is right in the next room," Chris objected. He looked at Stephanie, then nervously ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at Rich. "Don't make crazy accusations, dude."

"Um, this is getting kind of uncomfortable for me," Stephanie said, speaking for the first time since Rich had entered the kitchen. "I'm going to go back over to the guest house, if you guys don't mind."

"Oh, it's no problem. It's getting pretty late, anyway," Chris said, looking at her. "Sleep well tonight."

"I will. You, too," Stephanie replied, pressing her fingers to her lips. Then she turned and practically ran from the room, headed for the guest house...

Chris and Rich both watched her go, and then Rich turned back to Chris. "Dude, what was that?"

"I don't know, man," Chris answered, biting his lip. "One minute we were talking about you and her flirting at dinner, and the next thing I know, I'm leaning in to kiss her... I seriously don't know what the hell just happened."

"Me neither," Rich said, looking at the dishes still sitting by the sink. "But I know you guys didn't even start on the dishes."

"I think I need to go to sleep or something," Chris said, shaking his head. "It's been a long day, man..."

"Want me to help you with these dishes?" Rich asked.

"No, it's ok," Chris said. "I'm just gonna put them in the dishwasher, then go take a shower and hit the sack."

"Ok, well I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Rich said, and then he left the kitchen, leaving Chris all alone.

Chris leaned against the counter and closed his eyes, thinking about what he had just done to Stephanie. Did I really just kiss her? My best female friend? he wondered. With my wife in the next room? He let out a deep breath, then got started on the dishes. He needed a distraction, and the dishes were available to distract him...

Stephanie rummaged around in her bag, grabbing some clothes and things she would need for a shower. She felt kind of out of it, after the little episode back in the kitchen with Chris. One minute, they'd been talking about whether or not she'd been flirting with Rich, and the next minute, they had been dangerously close to kissing... They had kissed. What had she been thinking, just standing there in his arms, letting him kiss her? She shook her head, then headed for the shower. She needed to clear her mind...

When she came out about thirty minutes later, she walked into the bedroom, only to find Rich sitting on the bed in his shorts, flipping through the channels on the TV. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his hair was wet. He had obviously gone into the other bathroom to take a shower when she was taking hers. "Ok, why the hell are you in my bed?" she asked.

"I wanna talk to you," he said simply, looking at her. "Why don't you take a seat right here?" He patted the spot next to him on the bed and grinned up at her.

"I'd prefer not to," she said, walking over to stand in front of him. She folded her arms across her chest and looked down at him, one perfectly arched eyebrow raised. "Now what do you want?"

"What was about to happen back there in the kitchen?" he asked, getting straight to the point. "I mean, what did I walk in on?"

"Hell if I know," she said, looking away as she remembered what had happened. She couldn't tell Rich the whole truth, though. "I mean, we were just talking...about me supposedly flirting with you, and then all of a sudden I was in his arms. I don't even know how it happened."

"So he didn't kiss you, but he was about to?" he asked, trying to fully understand what he'd walked in on.

"It would seem that way, yeah," she replied, looking at him. "Why?"

"Did you want him to kiss you?" he asked seriously.

"What kind of question is that?" she asked, frowning at him.

"It's a simple question, Steph, really," he said, standing up in front of her. She backed away a little, and he stepped closer again. "Did you want Chris to kiss you?"

"Yes... No... I don't know, ok!" she exclaimed, looking at him. "I mean, he's... It's been a really long time since I've...you know."

"So you would've let him kiss you?" he asked, stepping even closer to her. "Even though he's married?" She looked down at the ground, and he tilted her chin back up so she would look at him.

"Clearly, I wasn't thinking," she said quietly. "And besides, it didn't happen..."

"But you would've kissed a married man?" he asked, moving his hand from her chin to her shoulder.

"I told you, I wasn't thinking," she repeated, looking into his eyes. "Maybe I would've, but it didn't happen... And why the hell are you asking me so many questions, anyway?"

"Because I was curious," he said in a low voice. "Curious to know what the real Stephanie McMahon is all about...and now I think I'm starting to get an idea." He smiled at her, then leaned a little closer, looking at her lips.

"What are you doing?" she asked, although she knew exactly what he was doing.

"You already know," he said shortly, right before he kissed her... He didn't know why he was kissing her. He practically despised her! But that didn't matter, because today he had seen another side of her, a side he'd never seen before. She had a vulnerable side. Things had happened to her, things that made him see her as human for the very first time, although he'd been knowing her for quite some time.

"Rich, what are you thinking? You're married, too, and we don't like each other at all," she whispered against his lips. She pulled back and looked at him, licking her lips, unconsciously savoring his taste.

"So what?" he said, shrugging. "You haven't been with someone in a long time, Julie's not here with me... The way I see it, why not?"

"I don't know..." Her voice trailed off. She wasn't that kind of woman...

"Oh, just go with it," he ordered, right before he kissed her again.

This time was different, though...

This time, she kissed him back...

A/N: I'm so torn! It's like, I'm so used to having Chris with Steph, so it's really hard to make her hook up with anybody else... I think I had to have some kind of interaction between those two in this chapter before anything happened with Steph and Rich...