The next morning Paul rolled over stretching his arm to find the other side of the bed empty. He groggily opened his eyes to the sunlight that flooded into the bedroom. Paul rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes wondering where Joanie was but his question was answered when she came in the bedroom.
"Good morning" Paul said looking at her.
"Good morning Paul" Joanie replied and Paul could tell something was wrong from the tone of her voice.
"Where have you been?" Paul asked getting up out of the bed and looking at her outfit.
"I went to the gym this morning. I couldn't sleep"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just trying to work out my frustrations from yesterday" Joanie replied rummaging through their closet
"You should of woke me up and I would of went with you"
"I'm going to take a shower" Joanie replied ignoring him and headed out of the bedroom. Paul sat down on the edge of the bed and groaned. He really hoped she would come to terms with this soon and things would go back to normal. After a moment Paul heard his cellphone start ringing and got up and grabbed it from the nightstand checking the caller ID.
"Hey Shawn" Paul answered not being able to hide his bad mood.
"Whoa, wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Shawn joked.
"I didn't, someone else did and well now I'm in the bad mood"
"Uh oh. Trouble in paradise?" Shawn asked as Paul made his way into the living room and sat down on the couch and flipped the tv on.
"She is pissed off at my new storyline"
"It can't be that bad"
"Oh it is for her"
"What is your take on it?"
"Honestly I am pretty excited for it I think it's a good idea. The only problem is I think Stephanie hates me"
"Stephanie? As in Stephanie McMahon?" Shawn asked confused.
"Yeah my new storyline is with her"
"Now I see why she is pissed. Damn I feel sorry for you. New girlfriend versus old girlfriend-"
"Stephanie wasn't my girlfriend" Paul said as quiet as he could. He muted the tv and listened closely to see if he could hear the shower going, he definitely didn't want Joanie hearing that. After a second he could hear the faint sound of water running and let out a breath and relaxed.
"Are you serious? You two were all over each other that summer and I'm really surprised nobody caught you two"
"It was just a fling and you are the only one besides me and Stephanie that even know about it so don't say anything to anyone. She already agreed she wouldn't"
"I never said anything before so you know I wouldn't now. What do you mean she agreed she wouldn't say anything? Did you ask her not to?" Shawn asked surprised.
"Yeah" Paul replied not understanding the surprised tone in his voice.
"Please don't tell me that is the first thing you asked her"
"No not the first thing"
"I think I know why she is probably pissed of at you" Shawn laughed and Paul rolled his eyes "you really have a way with women Levesque"
"I don't see the big deal" Paul said with a sigh.
"Really? That girl was head over heels for you and you didn't even break up with her-"
"Because it was a fling. Yeah I should of told her I was moving on but I couldn't face her. I thought maybe if she hated me it would make it easier for her to move on with her life"
"That is a horrible excuse"
"You're supposed to be my best friend, who's side are you on here?" Paul asked frustrated but couldn't help but end up laughing.
"I'm always on your side but I'm trying to help you understand why she might possibly hate you" Shawn replied which made Paul start wondering if he might be right. He hadn't given much thought about his actions back then. Paul sat there for a minute in silence before he realized he didn't hear the water running anymore.
"I've got to go. I think Joanie is done with her shower and I don't want her over hearing this" Paul said quietly looking over to the bathroom door.
"Okay well call me if anything new happens. Your drama is very entertaining" Shawn laughed.
"I'm glad you find amusement in my torture" Paul replied before ending the call.
"Who was that?" Joanie asked as he put his phone away.
"It was Shawn" Paul replied unmuting the tv and went back to flipping through channels.
Joanie didn't respond instead he heard her going to the kitchen. At this point he knew she was icing him out and he just didn't understand. Dinner last night had seemed to go good between them, they had joked and laughed. It had seemed that Joanie had finally relaxed and was doing better but apparently he was wrong.
Stephanie felt exhausted to say the least. She hadn't slept very good last night and it was partly because of the dreams she had. They were all of her memories of her and Paul, she knew it was from yesterday's events that was causing them but hopefully today would be better. She had got up and checked on Aiden that morning to find him still sleeping away comfortably and decided to get a quick shower and now she was in the middle of cooking breakfast. It was interrupted though by a knock on the door, she turned off the burner on the stove before going to answer the door. When she opened the door she was surprised to see Shane holding a big bag of food.
"Good morning" Shane greeted stepping inside the house "I bought breakfast"
"I was in the middle of making breakfast"
"Well what have you made so far?" Shane asked sitting the bag on the kitchen table.
"Just a few pancakes"
"Just throw them in with this stuff" Shane replied sitting down and reaching into the bag.
Stephanie went back into the kitchen and grabbed the plate of pancakes and brought them to the table.
"Where is Aiden?" Shane asked taking a bite of his food.
"He's still-"
"Mommy" Stephanie heard Aiden and she looked past Shane to see Aiden standing in the hallway clutching his blanket.
"Hey buddy" Shane said getting up from the table and heading over to pick him up. Aiden smiled and rubbed his eyes as Shane came back to the table with him "I brought you your favorite food"
"Ice cream?" Aiden asked excitement in his voice and Shane laughed.
"No I brought you gravy and biscuits. That is your favorite food in the morning right?"
"I guess" Aiden replied less excited.
"I think mom has been giving him too much desserts. He has been asking for ice cream after dinner lately" Stephanie said shaking her head.
"She does spoil him but I think everyone does" Shane replied with a smile. Stephanie looked at Aiden who was sitting in Shane's lap eating his food and smiled at him. "So are you excited for tonight?"
"Why?" Stephanie asked with a confused expression.
"Well it is your bachelorette party" Shane laughed.
"Fake bachelorette party but no not really. I'd rather stay home with Aiden" and stay away from Paul but she say that.
"It will be fun Steph"
"Sure" Stephanie replied unconvinced.
"Hey Aiden do you want to spend the night with me?" Shane asked him and Aiden looked up and nodded at him.
"Try not to give him too much desserts"
"We will get you a whole thing of ice cream" Shane whispered to him and Stephanie narrowed her eyes at Shane.
They spent the rest of their morning finishing breakfast and talking. Stephanie was feeling nervous about later that night because she would be alone with Paul. Plus she would be away from Aiden which always made her nervous even though she knew he was in great hands.
"Mommy look what I made for you" Aiden said handing her a piece of paper. After breakfast Aiden had wanted to color and he was handing her one of his drawings.
"Oh what a great job" Stephanie replied smiling at him "I'm going to take it with me tonight"
"Where is mine?" Shane asked teasing him.
"I'll make you one too" Aiden replied sitting down and taking a new piece of paper to draw on.
"You will really need to watch him tonight Shane. Especially if you give him crayons because if you don't you will have drawings all over your wall"
"Steph relax. I know what to do and Marissa will be there. Why are you so stressed out?"
"It's just this new storyline. I liked my storyline with Andrew"
"No offense Steph but it was boring"
"It wasn't for me besides he's a nice guy and I'm comfortable with him"
"Paul is a nice guy too and you will be comfortable with him once you work with him enough" Shane said trying to make her feel better. The only problem was nothing he said could help her feel at ease. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to be around him without being reminded of what happened and hating him all over again. Honestly she had wishing that her dad would call her and tell her they decided to scrap the idea but her phone had been silent so far.
"Hey if you end up hating him or he turns out to be a dick then you tell me and I'll try my best to kick his ass" Shane said which made her laugh at the thought of Shane trying to fight Paul.
"Watch your mouth. I don't want Aiden picking that up" Stephanie replied still laughing.
"Sorry Aiden" Shane said looking over at him but Aiden wasn't paying attention to them as he scribbled away on his paper.
Later that night Paul pulled out hearing the sound of the cans rattle as he drove down the highway. Stephanie straightened herself up from pretending to unconscious and pulling back some strands of her hair that had fell in her face.
"Where to Mrs. Helmsley?" Paul joked.
"Back to the hotel"
"Can't wait to get your hands on me huh?" He joked and she rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah can't wait" Stephanie said sarcastically and he glanced over at her for a moment.
"Lighten up McMahon"
"I will once I'm out of this car with you"
"Okay then" Paul replied as he put on his turn signal.
"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked feeling panicked.
"Just relax. You act as if I'm really going to drug you or something" Paul replied turning into the parking lot of a restaurant and then shutting the car off.
"Where are you going?"
"We are going to go in there and we are going to eat. I'm starving and you said you wouldn't lighten up until you were out of the car with me" Paul said getting out of the car and shutting the door.
"I meant as in away from you" Stephanie replied opening her door and stepping on to the pavement and crossed her arms.
"Just come eat with me" Paul said motioning his head towards the restaurant.
"I'm not really hungry"
"Fine. Then stay here" Paul shrugged his shoulders and started towards the restaurant. Stephanie sighed in defeat and closed her door and followed behind him, she wasn't going to sit and wait in the car. This was definitely the last thing she wanted to do.
After entering the restaurant and sitting down Paul placed his order and Stephanie decided she might as well eat too. Even though she told Paul she wasn't hungry she had started to feel her stomach rumble from the smell of the food. While they waited on their food Stephanie and Paul sat in silence until they heard the ringing of a cellphone. Stephanie pulled her cellphone out to see Shane's name across the ID and answered quickly afraid something might have happened to Aiden.
"Hello" Stephanie answered.
"Hey so how is your wedding night?" Shane joked.
"Funny. Is something wrong?" Stephanie asked her hand shaking from worry.
"No everything is fine. Aiden wanted to talk to you" Shane replied and Stephanie felt relief wash over her.
"Mommy"
"Hey sweetheart, shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"
"No Shane said I could stay up as long as I want"
"Um no. Put him back on the phone for a minute" Stephanie replied and then looked over to Paul "I'll be right back"
Paul watched her leave the table and go outside. The way she had been acting tonight towards him definitely made him still believe she hated him. Which brought the conversation with Shawn earlier to his mind. Part of him wanted to talk to her about it but another part of him was scared to bring it up. Stephanie kind of had a hold of his career at the moment because if she told Vince what happened between them he could go all the way back to the bottom, or worse he could get fired. He didn't know if she would do that but he wanted to be on her good side just in case. It would also be nice to just be on her good side so he had one less person pissed at him. Joanie had been angry earlier when he had left her back at home but she had avoided him all day and left without saying a word but she had a lot to say once he arrived here. She had called him and chewed him out for not telling her. He honestly didn't know how much more of it he could take.
"Okay I love you too" Paul heard Stephanie say as she made her way back to the table.
"Was that your boyfriend? Doesn't he know your out with your husband?" Paul joked and Stephanie ignored him taking a drink of her tea. "Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the night?"
"I kind of planned on it"
"Well you just talked to me so…" Stephanie just stared at him as he trailed off.
"Come on Steph can't we be mature about this?"
"Now you want to be mature?" Stephanie asked with a short laugh.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Paul asked but before Stephanie could reply the waitress brought their food to them.
"Nothing" Stephanie replied as the waitress left and Stephanie picked up her fork taking a bite of her food.
They both fell into an awkward silence as they ate their food. Paul was halfway through his food when he couldn't take it anymore. He needed the answer to the question that had been bothering him.
"Why do you hate me?" Paul asked looking up from his food and into her eyes.
"I don't hate you" Stephanie replied but he felt like she was lying.
"It doesn't feel that way. Do you have some unresolved feelings for me that you chose to turn into anger? Or maybe you're mad at me because I moved on with Joanie-"
"You seriously think I'm jealous?" Stephanie asked anger rising in her voice. She dropped her fork into her plate.
"What else could it be?" Paul replied and as soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. Stephanie glare turned cold and she pushed her chair away from the table and hurried out the doors.
She could feel her blood boil as she tried to keep her temper under control, she couldn't believe he had the nerve to tell her she was jealous. Stephanie walked to the car wanting to get away as fast as she could but then she remembered she had came with him.
"Steph" she heard him call after her as she made her way to his car.
"What?" Stephanie asked turning around to see he had almost made his way towards her.
"I didn't mean that" Paul said and she could see the apologetic expression as he reached her. It didn't help her feel less angry though.
"I think you did"
"No I really didn't. I just don't get why you are mad at me"
"Oh I don't know Paul. How about it was because we spent the summer together and then you just break it off with me without having the balls to tell me and leaving me…" Stephanie trailed off and shut up quickly as she was about to say pregnant. She was letting her temper get the best of her and she wasn't thinking clearly.
"Leaving you what Steph?"
"Alone" Stephanie said quietly taking a breath to calm herself down.
"So you're pissed at me for not saying anything?"
"I think I'm more pissed at myself for being stupid enough back then to believe that you loved me back" Stephanie blurted out and Paul froze.
"You were in love with me?"
"No" Stephanie replied sarcastically "why else do you think I would lose my virginity to you"
"You were a virgin?" Paul asked fumbling over his words.
"Yeah I thought that much was obvious. I'm not the type of girl that just sleeps around"
"I just thought…."
"What?"
"That what we had was just a summer fling" Paul replied and the words hurt her more than it should of but she should of known it was something like that for him.
"Can you just take me to my hotel?" Stephanie asked turning around before he could see the tear that rolled down her cheek. Damn him for making her cry, she told herself after weeks of crying all those years ago she would never cry over him again. She didn't even understand why she was letting him affect her now, she had moved on with her life. Stephanie wiped the tear away as she opened her door and got in the car.
When they reached the hotel she jumped from the car once he parked and walked quickly inside to the lobby. She pressed the button for the elevator and after a moment the doors opened and she stepped inside but before the doors closed Paul got into the elevator with her.
He didn't say anything to her the whole way to her floor, he just stood beside of her with his hands in his pocket. When the doors opened again she stepped out into the hallway and walked to her room. She pulled her keycard out of her purse and opened her door. After she stepped inside she went to shut it behind her but she felt something holding it back and turned around to see Paul had his hand on the door.
"I'm sorry Steph. I know that doesn't fix anything but I'm going to do everything I can to get you to stop hating me" Paul said and then after that he turned and walked away.