Author's Notes: This should be the last chapter on our leading ladies' romp in San Antonio, maybe to some's delight that we finally move on and maybe to some's displeasure. I apologize to both—for dragging this out so long and for having to move on.
Chapter XX: Eww! Stop It!
Evan had found himself fairly lonely in his exploits in the swimming pool. This day seemed to be no different as the heat was almost unbearable and no one truly wanted to be outside with him. He finally convinced Shawn and Kevin to join him. After their paths had crossed twice last night, Stephanie had little desire to stay cooped up inside with just Therese. She donned a bikini, and, just when the guys weren't looking, she sprinted from the patio door and splashed into the water in a cannonball that caught the other three off guard.
Therese rolled her eyes, thinking that woman should conduct herself in a more grown-up manner. She wouldn't admit it was a little bit of jealousy of just letting go of all responsibility and reveling in the moment of just being, not to mention the real reason for not joining in. Everyone in creation has that one fear that only she or he could justify while everyone else thought had no foundation at all. Therese's was swimming with other people. She didn't trust anyone to not dunk or hold her under. It was something about losing the ability to breathe. She shook her head and walked away from the patio door as Shawn and Kevin were tossing Evan from the side of the pool at one of the floating inner tubes, trying to see if they could hit the ring with him. Apparently they had scored because she heard victory shouts as she settled on the couch with a book.
Shawn was having a "hard" time of controlling his attraction to Stephanie at the moment. She was amazing to him in the tiger-print bikini, her hair thick with water and her body glistening with drops of the same. He watched the innocence play on her face, none of the worries of work or her family there, as she and Evan tried to outdo each in turning underwater flips. Kevin caught him off guard in staring at them and dove underwater to pull Shawn's feet out from under him. As he came up spluttering, Kevin asked, "So I take it you see something you like?"
"Jealous? Go find your woman and leave me alone," Shawn angrily replied but then broke out into a smile.
"Yeah, I think will," he answered with a smile of his own.
"Don't drip on the carpet," HBK yelled after Kevin like he was a kid as he pulled open the sliding glass doors.
Therese had drifted into a light sleep when Kevin startled her by calling her name. "Come get in the pool with us," he pleaded.
"No, thanks, I'm just not a pool person," she replied, tapping her fingers on the book cover and trying not to stare at his wet, naked chest.
"At least, come outside with us."
"I don't know…"
"Please, Rese," he said, cutting off her argument.
"You've been listening to Evan. He only calls me that when he wants something." Kevin feigned ignorance. "Let me change," Therese replied with a sigh. Tank top and shorts later, she was stretched out on a lounge chair, attempting to read her book again. Not long after, the woman had fallen into a nap again from disinterest in the story and despite the shouts of fun coming from the water.
Kevin glanced back at her often to see her lazily turn a page and wipe away a bead of sweat. Her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses and he never knew if she was watching them or reading. He decided it was time for a break and climbed out of the pool to sit down beside her on another lounge chair. "That a good book?" She didn't move. He pulled the book from her hands and set it aside without any reaction. He nudged her leg beside the thin scar. She jerked up, her hands searching for the book. "That a good book?" he repeated and handed it back to her.
"Um, yeah…" she muttered.
"Apparently not, since you feel asleep," he lightly laughed.
"Mmm…" she mumbled and removed her sunglasses to wipe her eyes.
"Just out of curiosity, where'd you get that scar?" he asked and traced a finger softly across her leg.
Therese stretched and replied, "From a knife when this guy…this guy mugged me outside of a hockey game and I put up a fight. I forget now how many stitches it took." She couldn't believe she had almost told him that was when a stalker breached her security and was within inches a stabbing a female golf-pro, wounding only Therese as she jumped in between him and the other woman. After the incident, she was removed from her position and worked from a desk for months before she worked cases for rich, old women too frightened to go to the grocery store alone.
"Why do I believe that you'd fight back?" She shrugged her shoulders in response. "I hope that one there isn't from a stalker," he said and traced a finger down the back of her arm across a long, thicker scar.
"No, that's from a car wreck." Yeah, try bullet hole, she sarcastically thought, that broke my arm and more stitches than I wanted to count. That one was not her fault, but that of a co-worker that let a situation get out of hand. Needless to say, that person was fired. "I'm sure I could guess what each of yours are from."
"There are some you can't see that you can guess about," he whispered suggestively and leaned towards her. She didn't resist as he slowly kissed her.
"Ew, stop it!" Evan yelled as a wet ball bounced off of the back of Kevin's head. They both jerked up to see him floundering across the pool and aiming another ball.
"Sorry, man. Won't do it again," Kevin replied with his hands out defensively. Evan folded his arms and glared at them before returning back to his volleyball game with Shawn. "What was that about?"
"I have no idea, but I'll find out. Don't worry about him," Therese replied, shrugging her shoulders for herself to ward off her concern.
Stephanie paused outside of Shawn's room, a lit candle in one hand as she pushed open the door with her other. "Shawn," she whispered. He barely twisted under the sheets at his name but settled again. She set the candle down on the bureau and called his name a little louder.
The blonde slowly sat up, propping himself up on one elbow and squinting at her in the glow. She felt tingles throughout her body at the sight of his bare chest and the sheet suggestively low over his waist. "Steph, you okay, princess?" he huskily asked. She smiled at him and slinked her way across the room, dropping her robe behind her to reveal the lingerie that she had planned for him the other night. "Um, Steph…" he managed through a gulp.
"We're finally alone," she seductively whispered and sat down on his bed, pulling him to her.
In the candlelight, her skin glowed golden and he longed to run his hands across her entire body. He had hardly forgotten how she felt underneath him and kissed her back when she ran the tip of her velvet tongue across his bottom lip. "Steph," he started, placing his hands on the either shoulder. "It's not that I don't want to make love to you, but I respect you."
"Respect?" she whispered, astonished.
"You have been used by too many men. I don't want to be one of those." She shook her head with a furrowed brow. "I wanna show you otherwise."
"Really?" she asked, her blue eyes wide.
"Yeah," he replied and turned her back to him before pulling her to his chest and wrapping his arms around her. "I really like you and I don't wanna ruin what we do have by doing something too soon." His was spouting the first things that came to his mind to allay his own guilt. "Am I making sense?'
She nodded and sighed, entwining her hands in his. "Yeah, I guess I'm just not used to a guy being like this."
He hugged her close and whispered, "Good."
She twisted back around to look at him. His hazel eyes sparkled blue from the flickering flame. "I think I'll go back to my bed. See you in the morning," she whispered and kissed him lightly before slipping out of the room.
Shawn caught a whiff of vanilla and noticed again the white candle on the dresser. He almost called Stephanie back to give her the candle but rose from the bed to blow it out. He paused for a moment to stare at the dancing lick of flame, thinking about what he said to Stephanie. Maybe I meant what I said, he thought to himself, yeah, maybe I did. He smiled and blew out the candle.
SmackDown! was minutes from starting and Stephanie sat behind her desk, a smug smile on her face as she finished the paperwork for her introduction of the U. S. championship title. The GM was behind on her work but this was not the day she cared. The last of the important documents were now finished as she added her signature to the paper.
As the Undertaker came out for the first match, Stephanie checked her make-up in the compact mirror. Satisfied, she and Therese headed down the corridor to wait for her turn on the stage to make her announcement. When the show returned from commercial and Benoit and Rhyno had entered the ring for a supposed tag-team, the woman straightened her blue skirt, hoisted the U. S. belt over her shoulder, and stepped out to her music while Therese hovered inside the black curtain.
She plastered on a smile as she praised Eric Bischoff and Stone Cold Steve Austin for their work at Bad Blood then announced her own paper-per-view, Vengeance, from Denver, Colorado, to counter theirs. Then she focused on the ring and revealed, "Chris Benoit, Rhyno, the two of you are tag-team partners. But tonight, you'll be facing each other in the first round of the U. S. championship tournament. And you match begins right now." Beaming a crooked grin, she turned and paraded off the stage.
The GM was feeling fairly proud of her work and the two began the walk back to her office. Several wrestlers stopped her, asking about their participation in the competition for the U. S. belt. She was as vague as possible, not giving out vital information that would be made available later, but telling them enough to keep them happy. As Therese placed her hand on the doorknob, a stagehand came running up to Stephanie.
"Miss McMahon, ma'am, Rowdy Piper is, um, giving us some trouble," the girl explained, breathless.
Stephanie sighed, "I'm coming." Little did Sable and Zach Gowen know that Therese had almost opened the door on them as Zach was falling into Sable's seductive trap in the GM's office.
Eddie Guerrero and Tajiri had had a few words with Roddy Piper and Sean O'Haire, sending Piper into an uproar. Stephanie spent far too long trying to calm him down and assuage all of the people he had pissed off in his rant. She did what she does best in negotiating with the Hot Rod to cool him off. Therese stayed out of the way but carefully regarded everything that transpired. By the time she got him settled and forced him into some apologies, it was time for Sean's match.
Needing a drink of water and a small bite to eat, Stephanie stopped off at catering. Finally, she returned to her office. She jerked open the door without waiting for Therese and found a sight that she never wanted to see again for the rest of her life. While the GM was out, Sable had seduced Gowen into thinking that he was going to get a little action. As they were kissing, Vince McMahon barged in and tossed him out. The two had set Zach up for the moment of humiliating him. Now, Vince was "thanking" Sable for her efforts as the two were feeling each other up on Stephanie's desk when she walked in.
Sable slid off of Vince and quickly began retying her top. Stephanie glared at her, inches from her face and ground out, "Get the f—GET OUT!" The blonde woman quickly scattered as Stephanie began to rant at her father, losing all control of rational thought. "I'm sorry I let you manipulate me and use me, just to be the apple of my daddy's eye," she cried. The words came tumbling out before she could stop them and she revealed to the viewing audience that her father had promised her to his business associates at the young age of seventeen. But what was worse, she admitted that she did exactly what they expected of her because she was doing it for her father. "I'm ashamed of myself, I'm ashamed of myself because I'm just like you," she yelled in a hoarse voice. She told him that she felt that Zach Gowen was her last bastion of hope to save herself and she wouldn't let him destroy Zach. "Then, fire me, fire me, dad!" Then she laid on the guilt about how she was the only person who wanted to be just like him, and she meant every word. But not anymore."
Therese stood in the doorway for a moment to see if he had any reaction and was surprised that he seemed to show some remorse. The security agent couldn't wait any longer as Stephanie stalked down the hall, so she followed behind. What else was she supposed to do? She watched the angry woman pause at the end of the corridor and glance both ways. Stephanie turned around to look at Therese with a look on her face that said, "What do I do now?" The blonde wanted to tell her to get over it. She ought to be use to her family's stupid actions. It's not like she's never seen her father kiss another woman. By now, McMahon's idiocy should be rolling off her back like water off a duck's, she angrily thought, but then remembered how Stephanie had declared to everyone her exploits with McMahon's business associates. No matter whom they were, no one deserved to be abused in such a way.
Fighting down anger at McMahon and feeling the swell of sympathy, Therese took charge of the situation. "Do you have your cell phone?" The brunette nodded. "Come on. I'm leaving you with a couple of security guards and then I'm going to get your things. We're going home. Call everybody you need to keep this show running. Get the head officer to send someone after Evan. I have no idea where he's at now." And I hope he hasn't heard of word about what just happened, she thought.
Stephanie said nothing but only bobbed her head in response. She watched Therese disappear down the hallway and only wondered how she would fare with Vince and Sable. The GM made the necessary calls and then put one in to her mother. They had had their ups and downs but now their relationship seemed to be on the steady track. She had apologized to Linda profusely for everything she had ever done because she wanted and needed her mother back, especially since she had to start a new life as a divorced woman.
"Mom…" she started but her voice broke as she began to cry.
"Steph, baby, it's alright. Honey, I know," Linda soothed, having been watching the show. "They're not worth the tears."
"I know," she sobbed. "But I…can't help…it."
"You stood up to them. They thought you would fold but you didn't. Baby, you did right. Stop crying, sweetie."
"But, I just told the whole world that I…that I did…" she couldn't finish for sobbing.
Linda was furious when she had heard what Stephanie confessed. Her husband would be hearing more than an earful when she got hold of him. "Baby, listen to me, it doesn't matter what you said now that it's out in the open. You are still my daughter and I love you and I'm proud of you. Now, stop crying. You know how bad you always feel afterward."
"Yes, momma," Stephanie sniffled. She glanced around for a bathroom to retrieve tissue but saw Therese walking across the enclosed parking lot with her briefcase and her purse. "Can I call you back later?" Linda agreed and Stephanie snapped the phone shut.
Therese didn't bother to knock on the door. This was Stephanie's office, not Vince's and Sable's. She barged in to find Vince half-naked with his belt undone. Sable jumped up and fumbled with the ties on the top of her dress. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Vince yelled.
"Stephanie would like her belongings," she replied, walking around them to back of the desk. She laid open the briefcase where the two had lain and began placing folders inside.
"Courtesy says you knock first," Vince growled as he slipped his dress shirt back on.
"Courtesy says you don't bang sluts on your daughter's desk," she coolly replied and closed the laptop.
"You just didn't," Sable responded, astonished.
"I just did," Therese said with a smile, the first expression on her face since entering the room.
"I can't wait until I get you in the ring next week," Sable snarled.
"Neither can I," the other woman replied and began checking the drawers to be sure nothing was left behind.
Vince was bothered by the impassivity of her visage. "When you lose next week, I will personally see your ass out of my building."
"When I win next week, you will be seeing your bitch to the emergency room," she replied nonchalantly and took the papers from the fax machine. As she clicked the latches shut on the leather case, Vince and Sable sandwiched her behind the desk. Therese shook her head with a slight smile as she slung Stephanie's purse over her head and one shoulder. Without giving away her intentions, Therese kneed Sable in the stomach and then ducked from McMahon's attack. She grabbed the suitcase and started for the door. McMahon was instantly around the desk and blocked her way to the door. She faked left and pivoted around, jamming her heel into his foot as hard as possible before fleeing the room. Hurrying down the hall, she beamed a rather self-satisfied smile.
The smile grew broader, if possible, when Therese saw Stephanie's eyes widen before ending the call she was on. "You're still in one piece. How did you do it?"
"I'm sure you'll hear about it later," Therese answered, rolling her eyes.
"I wanna know now," Stephanie demanded with a grin.
"I wanna know too," Evan echoed as he slipped up beside them.
"Get in the Suburban and I'll tell you guys on the way back to Shawn's," Therese replied. "I don't want to wait around here for McMahon to come after me."
As soon as they returned home, Shawn came bounding out of the door and wrapped Stephanie up into a bear hug. Therese and Evan left them be and went on inside. Shawn finally released her, pulling back to gaze into her eyes. "You okay, princess?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, really. I've been through a lot of therapy for this. I just can't believe I blurted it out on TV."
"Apparently, you didn't resolve it in therapy since it just came out like that," he quietly replied and smoothed away an errant strand of hair from her face.
"I don't think I ever dealt with the anger…" she mused to herself
"You wanna talk, sweetheart?" he asked, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek.
"No, I've talk too much about it already."
"You know where I'm at if you need me," he said, leaning in to touch her forehead with his.
"Mmm-huh, just hold me now," she murmured and he led her to the porch swing, gently pulling her down beside him. Shawn held her against his chest until she fell asleep. The man was angry as well and wished he could get his hands on Vince McMahon. He now truly believed what he had told her the night before about respecting her. He now had a desire to show her exactly what respect meant and how a woman should be treated.
Once Evan was out of ear-shot, getting ready for bed, Therese vented her anger to Kevin. He had a few choice words he felt he needed to get off his chest and she listened in return. Therese wanted to talk to Stephanie and check on her, but Shawn seemed to have everything under control. She would find a time later to talk to her.
Friday was their last day and Shawn and Kevin decided to drop in at the training school for an unexpected, surprise visit. The trainees quickly welcomed them and the two wrestlers used it as an opportunity to work out sore muscles and practice moves. After everyone had left, Nash prodded Therese into the ring and she allowed him to teach her as much as possible in one evening, thinking it might actually come in handy.
The day was over quicker than any of them wanted it to be, especially since they had all went out for a nice dinner. Evan knew it would be the last time he ever got to hang out with wrestlers, even if it was those two has-beens that had moved highly up his list. "Mark" was returning "home" now that his mother was back and settled. In all actuality, Therese was putting him on a plane to Chicago for his eight-week camp. It was nothing new; they did this every summer, just a new extracurricular activity each time.
Evan's plane left before the other flights, so Therese planned to stay with him until time for him to board.
"Evan, babe, can I ask you something?" Therese quietly asked.
"You just did," he lightly replied. With the look she gave him, he quickly added, "Yeah, what do you want?"
"The other day when you threw that ball at me and Kevin when we were, um, kissing, what brought that on?"
"That's just nasty," he answered with a disgusted face. "You don't do that in front of others."
"You've seen me kiss a guy before."
"I didn't have to worry about any of those guys," Evan stated and picked at a button on his shirt.
"Worry about them? What do you mean?" she asked, turning halfway in her seat.
"Those guys before Kevin were stupid jocks that you brought home or stuffed up businessmen. You really didn't like any of them, I could tell. Besides, none of them cared about me."
"And Kevin?"
"Well…maybe…I mean…well, I don't know what I mean," he stuttered, struggling with what he wanted to say.
"Are you afraid that you'll be second in my life and he'll be first?" Evan slowly nodded, his eyes focused on the diamond-patterned rug. "We're not serious. Don't worry."
"I may be thirteen, but I know what love is," he mocked Forrest Gump.
"No, you don't, goofy," she said with a grin and tweaked his ear.
The dark-haired boy smiled back but then grew serious. "I know something's different between you two."
"You're more important to me than anyone," she replied and hugged him across the plastic seat.
When she released him, he asked, "Is Stephanie gonna be okay? I don't know what happened, but I know something went wrong."
"She's going to be alright. Don't worry about her. Me and Shawn'll take care of her okay," Therese offered in comfort. "I'll let her know you asked about her, but now it's time for you to go," she added when they heard his row called. "Call me as soon as you can get to a phone. I love you."
"Love you, too," he replied and hugged her again before getting in line. With Evan gone, Therese gathered her own things to meet up with the rest of them before her and Stephanie's flight to Connecticut and Shawn's and Kevin's to New York. She slowly walked down the airport's corridors, pondering what Evan had said about her and Kevin and the possibility of love.
TBC…