Chapter 7

"So Steph, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Jess asked when breakfast was over.

"I don't know yet," Stephanie said, glancing at Chris, then looking back at Jess. She made sure not to look at Rich. "I kind of want to go to the mall, but I know the fans will recognize me. I love my fans, but there are just days when I..." Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. "There are just some days where I don't want to be recognized. Some of those fans are psycho!"

"I get that," Rich said, wanting to join the conversation, and wanting Stephanie to look at him. "Some of my fans out there are obsessed with me. They, like, have my name tattooed on certain body parts that need not be mentioned..."

"You know, Steph, a trip to the mall sounds really good right about now," Chris said, standing up. "We can get all disguised and go shopping or something."

"Oh, Steph, I have a wig that would look so perfect on you," Jess said excitedly. "It's red, though, and I don't know how much you'd dig being a redhead."

"It would match her temper," Rich said slyly.

"Shut up," Stephanie ordered, briefly acknowledging Rich before looking back at Jess. "The red wig would be great. I just have to find something to wear..."

"We could get dressed together. I have some things you'd never wear," Jess said, sounding like an excited teenager. She got up and picked Ash up, then headed for the door. "Come on, Steph, let's go get...disguised."

"Wait. So Ash is going to be in the room while the two of you are getting dressed?" Rich asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't he be?" Jess asked.

"He's a boy. He'll have roaming eyes," Rich replied. "He might even be tempted to touch."

"He's just a baby. He's not going to be checking us out," Stephanie snapped. "And besides, everyone's not like you..." She looked pointedly at him, and then she and Jess walked out of the room to go get "disguised" as Jess had put it.

"Damn, that was a burn," Rich said, looking longingly after Stephanie. "That woman has a smart mouth on her."

"Ash is a lucky kid," Chris said with a sigh, also looking after Stephanie. "What I wouldn't give to be him for the next few minutes!"

"You see your wife naked all the time," Rich pointed out.

"But not Steph," Chris said, and a small smile appeared on his face. Thoughts of what he and Stephanie had been about to do popped up in his head, and he sat back down and stared off into space, remembering...

"Are you ok with what happened last night?" Rich asked curiously.

"Let's just pretend it never happened," Chris said, looking at his friend. "Steph and I agreed to forget about it. We've already put it behind us and moved on."

"Can you really do that?" Rich wanted to know.

"I'm going to try," Chris said honestly. He thought about what he hoped he would be able to do later that night with Stephanie, and he frowned a little as he remembered the fact that Rich and Stephanie had really slept together the night before. I so don't want to go after him, he thought, and he turned to look at him. "I think it would just make everything that happens today much easier if we just forget about it."

"Yeah, I wish I could forget that easily," Rich said with a sigh. "Unfortunately for me, I can't stop remembering last night."

"What was... What was she like?" Chris asked curiously. "Was she good?"

Rich looked at him, puzzled. "Are you feeling ok?" he asked.

"I'm feeling fine," Chris replied with a little smirk. "I was just wondering if she was good or not? I mean, yeah, I want to forget that you guys did it, but there's also this curious part of me that wonders if she's good in bed or not..."

"I can understand that," Rich said, nodding. "If you'd been the one to sleep with her, I would've wanted to know if she was good or not as well."

"Well stop stringing me along and tell me already!" Chris said impatiently.

"Chris, man, you can't imagine how good she was!" Rich said with a low whistle. "She really wore me out, dude. I could tell that she hadn't done it in a long, long time..."

"So it was desperation sex, eh?" Chris asked with a laugh. He was surprised that he could joke about it, especially when he had been so upset about it just a short while before.

"Yeah, it had to be desperation sex," Rich said, looking away. "I mean, let's face it. That's the only way she would ever sleep with me."

"I know," Chris joked. "You're just repulsive, man. Repulsive."

"Just so you know, that offends me," Rich said, standing up and pretending to be angry. "I'm so offended that I'm leaving..."

"Where are you going? Home?" Chris asked in a hopeful tone. Rich would think that he was pretending to be hopeful, but the truth was that he wasn't pretending at all. Sure, Rich was his best friend, and he loved him like a brother. Hell, they were brothers, even if it wasn't by blood. But then there was Stephanie, and he wanted her... He didn't know where this crazy urge had come from to be with her this way. He'd always been faithful to his wife and he'd always only thought of Stephanie as a friend... Of course, in the back of his mind, he had some hidden feelings for her and he knew it... But he'd never been bold enough to bring those feelings to light, that is, until today...

"Did you hear me?" Rich asked, waving a hand in front of Chris's face. "Hey, assclown, I'm talking to you!"

"My bad," Chris said, snapping out of his trance. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm not going home yet. I might call Julie and see if she's calmed down a bit, but I'm not leaving just yet," Rich said, walking over to the door. "When I said that I was leaving, I meant that I was going to go find some clothes to get disguised in. I want to be in on this little trip to the mall, too, you know."

"Like we'd leave you out," Chris said with a scoff. He stood up. "You're so dense these days, man... Have you been drinking Nyquil lately? Because I know you have a thing for drinking that nasty stuff by the bottle."

"Hey, I was sick. We were on tour and I just wanted to use a higher dosage to somehow get better faster," Rich said defensively. "How was I supposed to know that I would sleep for two whole days straight?"

"Whatever," Chris said with a laugh. "I'm going to go upstairs and find something to wear, something that the fans won't recognize me in. Of course, I'll probably get recognized anyway, seeing that I'm the King of the World and a sexy beast, as well..."

"You're going upstairs? To your bedroom?" Rich asked.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that?" Chris asked.

"Let's see... There are two women in there getting dressed. Why would you go in there?" Rich asked.

"Because I'm the man of the house, and I can go anywhere I want to go," Chris said. "And because I need to get dressed."

"Right..." Rich shook his head at him and with a little laugh, he slipped out the door and headed over to the guest house.

Chris grabbed his phone off the table and slipped it into his back pocket before leaving the kitchen to go upstairs. His phone was always at his side at all times, because it was his link to Stephanie. They were always sending each other text messages... Once upstairs, he walked silently down the hall to the end, heading for the master bedroom where he was sure Jess and Stephanie had gone. When he reached the closed bedroom door, he decided not to knock. Instead, he simply walked inside like he owned the place...because, well, he did!

When he stepped into the room, he heard the shower running. He saw Ash asleep on the bed, and Stephanie and Jess were nowhere in sight. "Are they in the shower together?" he wondered aloud. He wouldn't know what to make of that situation, if that was truly the case.

"Don't get your hopes up anytime soon for that one," Stephanie said in a soft voice.

Chris turned around and saw Stephanie's head peeking out at him from his wife's huge walk-in closet. "Oh, so that's where you were hiding," he said, walking over to her. "Am I right to presume that Jess is the one taking a shower right now?"

"Yeah. She just got in," she said, still peeking at him from behind the door. He reached for the doorknob and she pulled the door even closer. "You can't come in right now. I'm not fully dressed."

"Well then that's all the more reason to let me come inside," he said in a low voice. He was surprised at his own boldness, but he tried not to show it as he looked at her. He smiled lightly at the look on her face. "What? Surprised?"

"Kind of, yeah," she said, disappearing into the closet and leaving the door slightly ajar. She was giving him the ok to come in...

He followed her inside the spacious closet and closed the door behind him, locking it. He turned around to look at her and his eyebrows rose at the sight of what she was wearing...or not wearing. She was wearing her bra and panties, and that was it. They were black lace, and they fit her quite well. For that reason, he just couldn't stop staring.

"Cat got your tongue?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

"For the moment," he said, taking a step closer. "That looks nice on you."

"Thanks," she said quietly, looking down at herself. "Hunter never used to compliment me like that."

"I'm not Hunter," he said, taking another step towards her and closing the distance between them. "Never compare me to him. He's not worthy enough to be called a man whereas I am all man." He reached out, putting one arm around her and pulling her close. "Are we doing this tonight? Have you changed your mind?"

"Why would I change my mind?" she asked, instinctively putting her arms around him. "Do I have a reason to?"

"Won't you feel guilty?" he asked, cocking his head sideways so he could look at her from a different angle. "Like, I know you've always disliked Trish Stratus because of the fact that she slept with your dad and he's married... I'm married, too, remember?"

"Damn, must've slipped my mind," she said, a bit of sarcasm evident in her voice. "I think I...forgot."

"Oh, is that how we're going to play it tonight?" he asked, tightening his hold on her. "We 'forget' that I'm married for one night?"

"I don't think we could really forget that you're married," she said with a sigh. She pulled away from him and reached for the skirt she and Jess had picked out for her to wear. "And you know, as much as I want to...you know... It would be kind of disrespectful to do it in the same house as your wife..."

"Then what? We just forget about it?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest as he watched her put on the skirt. "Wow, that skirt barely leaves anything to the imagination."

"No, we don't just forget about it, Chris," she said, ignoring the skirt comment and walking over to him to kiss him on the cheek. "We wait."

"Until when?"

"Until Rich leaves and I can go back in the guest house."

"Wait until Rich leaves?" he asked incredulously. "But that could be days!"

"I know, but I think it would be more special if we weren't in the house with Jess," she said, boldly running one hand down his chest to his belt buckle and leaving it there. "Because then we could really lose our inhibitions, and we could be as loud as we want to be..."

"So you're a screamer, huh?" he asked, pulling her to him once again

"I can be," she admitted with a smile. "But only if you're good."

"Then you'll be screaming all night," he breathed into her ear, right before he kissed it. He kissed her cheek, then kissed her softly on the lips. "Why does this feel so natural to me?" he asked when he pulled away.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Maybe you're just crazy."

"Um, if I'm crazy, that means you're crazy, too," he said. "And you're the one who said you wanted me first..."

"But you kissed me first," she pointed out.

"Oh yeah," he said, pretending that he'd forgotten. "I guess I did, huh?"

"You better get out of here before Jess gets out of the shower," she said, after looking at him for a long minute, "Wouldn't want her to get any ideas now would we?"

"I guess not," he said, sounding disappointed. "Shame on you, Steph, for getting me all excited and then making me leave." He was only half-joking with her...

"Well I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?" she asked. "Just let you take me right here?"

He laughed and shook his head. "This conversation is just too weird for me. Are we really discussing what I think we're discussing?"

"You're right, this is weird," she agreed. "We're friends...best friends, and you're married. What are we thinking?"

"I don't know, Steph, but I don't think I can stop until we've..." His voice trailed off and he let her decipher the meaning of his sentence by herself. "You know?"

"I feel the same way," she said. "But really, you need to get out of here before Jess gets out of the shower."

"Can't I just have one more kiss?" he asked, pouting a little.

"Fine, but just one," she said with a little smile.

But one kiss turned into two, and before either of them realized what was happening, he had her pressed against the wall at the back of the closet, moving against her in a most seductive way as he kissed her. He gestured for her to put one of her legs around his waist while he kissed her, and she did it instinctively. Satisfied, he pressed himself against her even more, making her feel how excited she made him.

"Oh God, Chris, you have to stop," she whispered against his lips as she felt him grinding against her. She could feel how excited he was, and she wanted him more than ever now...

"But doesn't this feel good, Steph?" he whispered back, moving from her lips to her neck. "Wouldn't you like to feel me...without these clothes? Don't you want it?"

"Yes... Yes, I want it," she breathed, closing her eyes and biting her lip. "But you... We have to wait... Jess will be out any minute now, and if you keep doing this...I might not be able to stop."

"You're right," he said, abruptly pulling back. She looked down at the front of his pants, and he looked down, too, then back up into her eyes. "You see that? You did that."

For some reason, the knowledge that he was excited because of her and the fact that he wanted her made her excited. She pulled him in for another kiss, pressing herself against his body, feeling him... And then she pulled back and looked away. "Get out of here, Chris. You can't stay in here."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because I might just rape you," she said, looking back at him.

By the look in her eyes, he could tell that she wasn't kidding. "I'll see you in a few... I think I need a cold shower." He gazed at her for a minute, then slipped out of the closet and shut the door quietly behind him.

When he closed the door, she leaned against the wall that he'd had her pressed up against and closed her eyes. What the hell am I doing? This is CHRIS! My best friend... My best friend, who has a wife and a son... She didn't know what she was doing or why she wanted him this way all of a sudden, but deep down she knew that she wouldn't be...complete...until they finally hooked up...

A/N: I thought I knew where I wanted this chapter to go, but darn it, I guess I got caught up in my OWN little Y2J fantasy (the whole closet thing). I'll update soon, hopefully, and I'll try not to get all caught up in my own little fantasies anymore, LOL!