Disclaimer: Sorry I didn't put this on the first chapter but I own nothing except my imagination;-) This story is purely fictional; I have no knowledge of any of this being real anywhere other than my mind!
A little special note: This story is dedicated to Jodi: You've been a great friend and an inspiration for this story. After all, you begged and pleaded with me to write a Smoochy fic! I finally did and it's all because of you. Thanks for the support and friendship!
A/N: Just a few notes to clarify things a bit: Please remember this is my first fic that I have ever posted anywhere before now! nascar girl: First off, thanks for the review;-) Trish & Jay are dating; sorry I didn't make that more clearer. Lucyzigg: Thanks so much; I love your stories and I'm so glad that you are enjoying this one. Mysteree: Thanks for the review. Sorry about the font; hope this chapter is better on your eyes. Nina: The Queen of the Smoochy Dreamers reviewing my story; I'm more honored than you will ever know! Thanks so much for your kind words; they are very much appreciated! Y2J Chris Jericho: Yes I know it is the WWE now but I can't seem to let go of the past;-) and finally to Jodi: thanks for being my first reviewer, you'll never know how much it meant to me!
That said, on to the story and their first date, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2
"So where do you want to eat tonight Princess?" Chris asked as they walked out into the parking lot towards his rental car.
"Someplace quiet and low key," Stephanie said looking at Chris. "I just want a nice quiet evening with you."
"Well, you know, being quiet, is not by specialty," Chris said winking at her.
Chris unlocked the driver's side door and then walked over and unlocked the passenger side door. He opened the door for Stephanie and waited for her to sit down before shutting it. He then walked to his side, opened the door, and sat down. "So, anything in particular you want to eat?"
"You," Stephanie thought to herself. She cleared her throat and said, "Wherever you want to go is fine by me. All I want is quiet and low key."
"Quiet and low key, it shall be," Chris said cranking the car and putting it into drive.
As they drove down the road, each was lost in their own thoughts. Of course, their thoughts were on each other but they didn't know that. Chris couldn't stop himself from glancing over at Stephanie thinking how beautiful she was. He smiled to himself as he thought of the perfect place for them to eat.
As they pulled into the parking lot, Stephanie was looking at the restaurant, or at least what she thought was a restaurant. At first she thought he was joking but then she saw him pull the keys out of the ignition. She glanced back at the building they were in front of and mentally shuddered. It didn't really look like a restaurant and the question showed in her eyes when she glanced over at Chris.
"It's ok, Steph," Chris said grinning from ear to ear. "Wait until we get inside, you'll love it. You did say you want something low key."
"Yes, I did say that but I am not sure that I meant this low key," she said with the doubt showing on her face.
"Oh ye of little faith," Chris said as he got out of the car. He walked over to Stephanie's side, opened the car door, and held his hand out for her. As she got out of the car, she couldn't help but think of the times that she thought chivalry was dead. "Boy was I wrong," she thought to herself as she smiled at Chris.
Chris stood back and shut the door watching Stephanie out of the corner of his eyes. He knew she had doubts; it was written all over her face but he couldn't wait until he got her inside. The outside may not have looked like much but the inside so made up for the outside, especially the food. He held out his arm and said, "My lady."
Stephanie quickly grabbed his arm determined to see this through. Of course, she still wasn't sure about the restaurant but she was with Chris and she did trust him. Granted it had been a while since they had seen each other but that didn't matter. It was still Chris that she was with as she shyly smiled at him as they walked into the restaurant.
"Oh my," Stephanie said quietly as she walked in.
The soft lighting in the restaurant gave it a very romantic feel. There were candles on all the tables making shapes on the walls that were absolutely breathtaking, as if gold fireflies were flying all around leaving fairy dust in their wake. She couldn't help but admire the burgundy chairs with dark oak wood that looked like they came out of King Henry's castle himself. The walls were painted a soft ivory color with dark oak trim. The chandeliers looked like they were made of gold and crystal, hung all through out the restaurant to give the place a truly romantic feel.
"So, changed your mind, eh," Chris said with a smug look on his face. Suddenly a very attractive older man came up fussing over Chris.
"Ah Christopher, how nice to see you my friend," the man said with a heavy accent that Stephanie couldn't quite put her finger on. "And you've brought a lady friend, my lady," he said as he took Stephanie's hand and gently kissed her hand.
"Antonio, my friend, it's been way too long," Chris said grinning from ear to ear. Antonio turned to look at Chris with a knowing look in his eyes. Chris nodded his head so slightly to which Antonio's smile seemed to get even wider.
"Come my friends, welcome to Tony's, the finest Italian restaurant on the East Coast. Please, follow me," Antonio said leading them to a secluded booth in the far corner of the restaurant.
"Thank you my friend," Chris said as he waited for Stephanie to sit down before he did. Stephanie was still in awe of what had to be the most romantic place that she had ever seen.
"Anything for you Christopher, now would you like a menu or do you still trust me my friend?" Antonio said with a knowing look.
"What do you say Stephanie? Do you want to look at a menu or let Antonio decide for you," Chris asked.
"Well, I love anything Italian so by all means Antonio, take it away," Stephanie said grinning from ear to ear.
"Aww Christopher, this one's a keeper," Antonio said winking at Christopher before rushing off.
"Sorry about that, Antonio is not used to seeing me with a beautiful woman," Chris said the embarrassment on his face evident.
"Wow, did I just hear you call me beautiful? Are you feeling alright?" Stephanie said reaching over and checking his forehead to see if he had a fever. "Nope, no temperature. Wow, what a change from a filthy, dirty, disgusting, brutal, bottom feeding, trash bag ho that you were calling me not too long ago."
"Now Stephanie, you know I never meant that, even though you have to admit the crowd loved it," Chris said with a chuckle.
"Oh yeah, they really enjoyed that, maybe a little too much," Stephanie said rolling her eyes with a smile. "However, I have to say, I enjoyed it."
"You really enjoyed me calling you a filthy, disgusting..," Chris said while Stephanie held up her hand stopping him in mid-sentence.
"No, I can't say that I enjoyed you calling me that but I did enjoy working with you," Stephanie said shaking her head. "Although, right now at this moment, why I did, I have no idea."
"Oh you know you want this Sexy Beast," Chris said taking his hand as to emphasize his body. He watched as she blushed which was really unlike Stephanie. "I'm just kidding. I really enjoyed working with you too."
Chris and Stephanie sat there just looking at each other wondering what the other was thinking. As they started to continue their conversation a waiter came over with some salad and breadsticks to start off their meal. As they took their napkins and place them in their laps to begin their late night dinner, Antonio came over to the table carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"Christopher, I thought you would enjoy this wine with your dinner," Antonio said as he opened the wine and began to pour just a little into Chris's glass. "But of course, it must meet with your approval first." He handed Chris the red wine to taste to which Chris rolled his eyes.
"Antonio, you know I trust your judgement," Chris said noticing the irritated look on Antonio's face. "However, since I do have company tonight, it would probably be a good idea to let me taste it first." Chris took a sip of the surprisingly sweet wine. He set the glass down and said, "Perfect Antonio, please continue."
Antonio smiled as he poured Stephanie's glass. As he handed her the glass, he couldn't help but notice how really beautiful this young lady was. He had known Christopher for a long time and was pleasantly surprised when he entered the restaurant with the young lady. Of course, when he looked at Christopher with questioning eyes asking him if this was the young lady that he had been enamoured with for such a long time, he couldn't stop the grin at finding out after all this time that this was the young lady in question.
Stephanie took a sip of the wine letting the flavor burst in her mouth. She smiled at Antonio, who was finishing pouring Chris's glass, and said, "My goodness, I don't think I've ever had a wine this good. Can you tell me what kind it is?"
Antonio set the bottle down and grinned. "I could but you won't find it in any store. You see, one of my guilty little pleasures, is that I own my own vineyard. It's a passion of mine, if you will. No, I'm sorry, you won't find this wine anywhere else in the world but here."
"Then, I'll just have to make sure I come back here more often," Stephanie said smiling from ear to ear.
"I expected no less, if you will excuse me, I must check on the rest of your meal," Antonio said bowing and quickly walking away.
"Wow, how did you find this place?" Stephanie asked as she tore apart a piece of breadstick and placed it in her mouth.
Chris sat there dumbfounded as he watched her facial expression eating the breadstick. She had closed her eyes as if savoring the moment and the look on her face was pure pleasure. Chris quickly cleared his throat as if to remind himself that he was in a public place and Stephanie probably wouldn't enjoy the blatant look of lust on his face.
"Well, to be totally honest, I broke down right on the street about five years ago. I walked up to this place expecting the worst and got the best. Antonio had just started his restaurant, I walked in to ask to use the phone, and the rest, is as they say, history."
"Wow, I don't think I have ever had breadsticks this good," Stephanie said savoring each and every bite.
"Wait until you try the salad. He makes his own Italian dressing that is the best that I have ever tasted. To be honest, I never liked Italian dressing until I had Antonio's. Of course, his is the only Italian dressing that I will eat because, let's face it, the others just pale in comparison," Chris said as he picked up his fork to dig into the salad.
"You've made me want to try the salad now," Stephanie said setting her breadstick down and picking up her fork. She moved the salad around a minute making sure the dressing was covering the salad and dug in.
The look of pure surprise and bliss on Stephanie's face caused Chris to sit up straight. His pants had just gotten extremely tight in his crotch area as he thought of how that was how Stephanie would look when she was caught up in passion. "Football, football," he thought to himself hoping it would help but then Stephanie had taken another bite of salad. He finally decided that this was his punishment. He had no other choice but to sit there and hope that things calmed down shortly.
"Oh my goodness, I don't think I have ever tasted anything like this in my entire life," Stephanie said almost moaning as she took another bite. She looked over at Chris and noticed the tight look on his face. "Are you ok?"
Chris grabbed his wineglass and before taking a sip, said, "Of course." He took a long sip of wine and set his glass back down on the table. "I'm at Antonio's with one of my closest friends, how could I not be ok?"
"You're just too sweet," Stephanie said smiling at him. Unable to stop herself, she reached over and gently kissed him on the cheek, surprised by the blush coming on his cheeks. "Why Chris, I do believe you're blushing."
"No I'm not, I never, EVER blush," Chris said as he felt the warmth of his face. "It's just really hot in here."
"No it's not, it's actually very comfortable. I can't believe this," Stephanie said with a full grin on her face. She placed her hand under her chin and tapped her fingers on the side of her face with a look of mischief in her eyes. "I wonder what people would think to know that Stephanie McMahon, the slut of the WWF, had just made the King of the World blush."
"You so did NOT make me blush," Chris said with an irritated look on his face.
"Oh yes, I did," Stephanie said unable to pass this opportunity up.
"No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did."
They were so wrapped up in arguing with each other that neither noticed Antonio rushing over with their food. He stood there for a few seconds watching them banter back and forth. When he had first thought they were arguing, he grabbed their food and rushed over before they did something horrible. As he came closer to the table he realized they were playing. He stood there and finally cleared his throat to let them know he was there.
"Sorry Antonio, just having a little fun," Chris said the red on his face magnified by ten with Antonio standing there.
"As long as you two are enjoying yourselves, who am I to interfere? I just thought you would like your food now," Antonio said winking at Chris as he set the plates down on the table. "How is everything so far?"
"Antonio, it's just absolutely wonderful," Stephanie gushed unable to keep the stars out of her eyes. "I don't I have ever had Italian that was this exquisite before."
"Oh thank you Stephanie, I'm so glad you are enjoying your meal. Of course, the best is yet to come, wait until dessert," Antonio said winking at her as he set their food on the table. "If you need anything, just ask otherwise, I will leave you alone until you're ready for dessert."
Antonio walked off while Stephanie and Chris was looking at the plates piled with the wonderful food that he had brought. For Chris, he had brought lasagna with a side of spaghetti while Stephanie had chicken parmigiana with a side of spaghetti as well.
"Well, Stephanie, are you ready for the ultimate Italian experience?" Chris said grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm so ready for this, you just have no idea," Stephanie said looking at the food with unabashed hunger. "I just know this is going to be great." She started to grab her plate when Chris placed his hand on her wrist.
Electric shock waves pulsed thru the both of them. Their eyes widened just a tad bit as each of them tried to hide what was happening between them. Chris cleared his throat and spoke, "Let me get that, the plate is really hot."
Stephanie smiled as she pushed her salad over to the side. She wasn't finished with it; she wasn't quite ready to give it up either. She watched as Chris picked up her plate and placed it in front of her. She smiled as she picked up her fork and started with the spaghetti first.
"Wow," Stephanie said after taking her first bite.
"Told you it was good," Chris said smiling at her. "Would you like to try some of my lasagna?"
"Please," Stephanie said watching as he put a little on his fork. He held the fork out and Stephanie gently took it off with her mouth. Her eyes lit up like the forth of July and she smiled as she was chewing. "Chris, that was wonderful."
"He is the best at what he does," Chris said taking a bite of spaghetti.
For a few minutes, all that was heard from the table was moans coming from the both of them. The food was absolutely mouth watering, delicious, and so tender that it literally melted in their mouths the second it was put it in. After a few minutes of eating, it hit Stephanie that she had not offered any of her chicken parmigiana to Chris and silently chided herself not doing so.
"Here, try some of this," Stephanie said holding a bite of the chicken parmigiana on her fork."Ok," Chris said gently taking it off of her fork with his mouth. He chewed with a look of pure pleasure, much like Stephanie's was just a few scant minutes before.
Stephanie swallowed hard and tried to calm her racing heart. Watching Chris eat like that was absolutely tearing her up inside. The look on his face could only be described as pure bliss and her mind couldn't help but wonder if that's how his face would look while making love. When that thought popped in her head, she mentally tried to force it out but couldn't do it.
"Wow, that was great," Chris said looking at Stephanie. He noticed her eyes were bright and her skin was flushed. He arched an eyebrow at her but decided not to say anything; no need to embarrass her. Besides, he had embarrassed her enough in front of live crowds enough to last a lifetime.
They had finished eating and were just sitting there with their stomachs full. Each was looking at the other with a look of extreme satisfaction. As they glanced at each other, Antonio came running up to them with a basket in his hands.
"How was everything?" Antonio asked.
"As always Antonio, perfection. Absolutely 100% perfection," Chris said with a wide grin.
"I thought it was excellent," Stephanie said with a smile that lit up her whole face.
"Wonderful, wonderful! I'm so glad that you liked it! Now, for dessert, I know you two are full so I brought you a special treat," Antonio said setting the basket down on the table.
"Ok, I've not had this before, what is it?" Chris said picking up what he thought was a nut but he wasn't really sure.
"It's called marron glaces. It is very rare that I have these so enjoy," Antonio said. "Neither one of you is allergic to nuts are you?"
"Not me," Chris said.
"Me either," Stephanie said with a smile.
"Good, it's actually Italian chestnuts cooked in a very sweet sugary sauce. Please try them and enjoy because like I said, it's very rare for me to get this," Antonio said with a nod before walking off.
"Well, let's give it a try," Chris said grabbing the basket and holding it out for Stephanie. "Ladies first, what a minute, are you a lady?"
"Very funny," Stephanie said rolling her eyes before snatching one up.
They each looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before popping the sweet concoction in their mouths. A surprised look appeared on both of their faces and they bit down into the marron glaces for the first time.
"I would have never thought they would be so soft," Stephanie said chewing slowly as to savor the flavor.
"Me either, nuts are usually really hard. I wouldn't have thought that nuts could taste as sweet as this," Chris said.
"Chris, I've had such a great time, thanks for taking me out," Stephanie said smiling at him.
"Well, I should tell you that hanging out with me can be dangerous to your health," Chris said with a cocky grin.
"Oh really," Stephanie said with an arched eyebrow. "How so?"
"Well, being the Sexy Beast that I am, you may just fall in love with me," Chris said winking at her.
Stephanie sat there for a minute trying to act nonchalant but failing miserably. She knew she had to say something but that statement was just way too close for comfort. Finally she spoke. "Well, being the Billion Dollar Princess, you may just fall in love with me."
With those words spoken, Chris looked at Stephanie and noticed the look in her eyes for the first time. Unable to stop himself, he leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips, savoring the feel of her lips for the first time. Granted, it really wasn't his first time kissing her but kissing her in front of a live audience was an act. This wasn't an act.
Stephanie closed her eyes as she felt Chris lips gently touch hers. She couldn't believe that after all this time; he was finally kissing her. As he pulled away, she opened her eyes and noticed the soft look in his eyes as he was looking at her.
Antonio stood there watching around the corner with a smile a mile wide. Finally after all this time, it seemed that Chris was finally going to have the woman of his dreams. He couldn't stop the smile on his face if he wanted to. He silently turned away and went back to work.