MY LITTLE SECRET

Chapter 6

"...And I love her more than I ever thought I could," Chris finished, taking a deep breath. He had just finished explaining to Jess and Hunter what had been going on between him and Stephanie for the past seven months, excluding a few minor details like how many times they'd been intimate and where they'd done it at. They were all standing outside of the club, and it was kind of dark and just a bit windy.

"Well, what about me, Chris?" Jess asked finally. "Don't you still feel something for me inside?"

Chris sighed. "Of course I feel something for you, Jess," he said softly. "But you just have to understand that-"

"If you just stop talking right now, I'll take you back," she interrupted. "I'll take you back and we can rebuild our relationship, rebuild the trust."

Chris looked at Stephanie, who was standing about two feet away, looking at the ground and basically isolating herself from the group. He could tell that she was holding her breath, waiting to hear his response to Jess's little offer. He knew that she would be disappointed and hurt if he decided to accept that offer. Hell, he would be disappointed and lost if he did it, because he wouldn't have Stephanie. Still, though, he didn't want to hurt Jess any more than he already had...

"Well, Chris, it's not that hard of a decision for you to make," Hunter spoke up. He had refrained from speaking since they'd first come out of the club, but now he wanted to speak his mind. "Just go back with Jess and let me have the chance I deserve to have with Stephanie."

Chris looked at Stephanie, and images of her dancing with Hunter in the club flashed before his eyes. And that was when he made his decision. He'd be damned if he went back with Jess and let Stephanie run straight into Hunter's arms! "No," he said to Hunter. "No, I can't do that. I'm not doing that."

"You idiot! If what you just told us was the truth, you two started this whole relationship off by cheating. The foundation of your relationship is built on lies," Hunter said angrily. "How do you know that Steph won't cheat on you if you stay with her? How do you know she's not lying to you? You don't know, do you?"

Chris looked at Stephanie again, and their eyes met. "She wouldn't," he said as he looked into her eyes. "She wouldn't, and I know she wouldn't because I trust her."

"I trusted you, and look where that got me!" Jess exclaimed. "We spent a year together in this relationship, and over half of that time, you were cheating on me!"

"I'm sorry, really," Chris said, looking at Jess. "I didn't plan to fall for her, but it happened and I can't change it. I love her."

"Then we're through?" Jess asked softly.

"We could still be friends," Chris said meekly, trying to cheer her up, although he knew it wasn't going to work.

"No, I don't think so," Jess said. She looked at Stephanie. "Thank you."

"For what?" Stephanie asked nervously.

"For taking the one person who meant the most to me," Jess said in a low voice. "And for lying to me and ruining my life... And just so you know, I know that Trish wasn't in your shower that night. I saw her in the hallway when I left."

"I'm sorry," Stephanie whispered. "I didn't-"

"Save it," Jess whispered. "I thought we were friends..."

"We were. We are," Stephanie said in a shaky voice. "You're like a sister to me now."

"Apparently not," Jess said. She looked at Hunter. "Do you mind giving me a ride back to the hotel?"

"No problem," Hunter said. He handed her a set of keys. "You go on to the car and wait for me." He watched her walk away, then turned back to Chris and Stephanie. "You two are horrible people, lying, cheating, and hurting people who don't deserve to be hurt. You two deserve to be together...or alone." And then he walked away, leaving them...alone.

Stephanie looked away as the tears started to fall. She felt weak and cold, but most of all, she felt like she had lost her best friend. She hadn't been close to Jess, but over the past few months she'd spent a lot of time with her, and now... That wouldn't happen anymore. "He's right," she whispered. "I deserve to be alone..."

"But you're not going to be alone," Chris assured her, pulling her into his arms. "Because you have me, and I'm not going anywhere."

She didn't say anything. She just cried onto his shoulder, wishing she hadn't started the whole thing in the first place. At least Chris and Jess would've been happy...and she could've still just loved Chris from afar like she had when they'd been "just friends"... But things were so messed up now, and she could only wonder if they would ever get better...

As long as I'm right here,

You ain't never gonna be by yourself,

'Cause the love that we share,

It stays on my mind.

You're always gonna be a little secret of mine.

One year later...

"I can't believe we're here," Chris said nervously, adjusting his tux. "I can't believe we're about to do this."

"Neither can I," Stephanie commented, looking at him. "Oh, you have a piece of hair out of place, and we all know how you like your hair to be perfect. Come here, let me fix it for you." He stepped closer, and she reached up to touch his face. She smiled at him as she stared into his eyes.

"What happened to the hair out of place? I thought you were going to fix it for me," he said, putting his arms around her. "I can't go out there with my hair messed up. Both of us have to look perfect. It's a big day..."

"Ok, so I lied. Your hair is fine," she said with a laugh. "I just wanted you to come closer so I could kiss you..."

"You're my wife," he reminded her. "You know you can kiss me whenever you want. I'm always..." He lowered his voice. "I'm always...ready and willing."

"I know," she said happily as she leaned up to kiss him. "And I'm so happy I get to walk down the aisle with you again."

"Me, too," he said. His previous nervousness disappeared as he kissed her again. "This isn't our wedding though. It's Hunter's and Jess's..."

"I still can't believe they want us to be in their wedding," she said, still in awe. "Hell, I can't believe that they're getting married!"

"Well, they are," he said. "And I'm happy for them, despite what happened between us in the past."

She smiled at him. "I love you... How'd I manage to snag such a sweet, hot guy like you?"

"I wonder that same thing," he joked. "How did you manage to snag a guy like me?"

"Well, first we were friends, and then I persuaded you to-" she began, but she was interrupted.

"Hey, you two are going out soon. You're supposed to be waiting for your cue over there by the doors," Trish Stratus said, pointing.

"Thanks," Stephanie said. She and Chris walked over to stand by the doors in silence. She felt his eyes on her, so she turned to look at him. "What?"

"I was just thinking," he said.

"About what?" she asked curiously.

"You remember the first night we hooked up?" he asked suddenly. She nodded. "Remember when I said that I thought Jess might be the one?"

"I can recall you telling me that you thought she might be the one, yeah," she said slowly. "Why?"

"I was right," he said with a sigh. "She is the one."

"What?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat. "What are you saying?"

"Jess is the one...for Hunter," he said with a grin. But you... You're the only one for me."

"Don't scare me like that!" she said, pouting. "I thought you were gonna tell me you wanted her back or something."

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "You're stuck with me for life... Oh, there's our cue to go out."

"Oh, one more thing before we go out," she said. He looked at her, one eyebrow raised. "I just love your lipstick. It makes you look really pretty."

"Lipstick? What?" he asked, confused. He put his finger up to his lips, then looked at her lips. "Do I have your lipstick on my lips?" he demanded.

"No time to talk. Let's get out there," she said with a laugh.

As long as I'm right here,

You ain't never gonna be by yourself,

'Cause the love that we share,

It stays on my mind.

You're always gonna be a little secret of mine.

A few hours later...

"Uh oh. There's a new bride headed our way," Chris said. He and Stephanie were at the reception in each other's arms dancing, and Jess was headed their way. Instinctively, he pulled Stephanie tighter against him, holding her protectively.

"Hey, guys. I'm not coming over here to bite your heads off, so relax," Jess joked. She looked shyly at Stephanie. "Can we talk for a minute? In private?"

"Sure," Stephanie said, a bit surprised. Chris was hesitant to let her go, but she gave him a look. Satisfied that she would be ok, he let her go, and she followed Jess outside. "So... What's up?" she asked after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Thank you," Jess said simply.

"For what?" Stephanie asked. She felt a creepy sense of déjà vu and she recalled the night at the club a year before when her little secret had become...well, not so secret. She hoped the woman standing in front of her wouldn't thank her for ruining her life again.

"For giving me my husband," Jess said, looking away. "And for doing what I couldn't do...making Chris happy."

"He loved you," Stephanie said quietly. "He thought you might've been the one..."

"But he loves you more, and you are the one. For some reason, I accept that now," Jess said. "Now, Hunter's my everything... I just don't really have a close female friend since you and I...had our little dispute."

"We could just bury the hatchet tonight," Stephanie suggested in a hopeful voice. "Today is a day for new beginnings, you know? Maybe we could make it a new beginning for our friendship, too."

"I'd like that," Jess agreed, finally looking back at her. "I think we'd be good friends, now that we don't have any secrets or anything."

Stephanie smiled, then impulsively reached out and hugged her. "As long as you don't hate me anymore," she whispered. "I won't ever do anything like I did before to hurt you, I promise."

"And I won't call you any of those horrid names that I called you before," Jess whispered back. "We'll leave the past in the past..."

"Hey Chris, I found our women!" Hunter called from the entrance to the building where the reception was being held. "They're in each other's arms, and I think they're about to engage in some H.L.A."

"Some hot lesbian action? Oh no, I don't think so!" Chris said. He walked out the door and over to where the two women were now standing side by side. "What are you doing, Jess? Trying to steal my wife?"

"Of course n-" Jess began, but Stephanie whispered something into her ear, and she immediately stopped talking.

Stephanie smiled at the guys. "No... She already has. Come on, Jess, let's get back to the hotel..."

"Wait! I was kidding!" Chris exclaimed.

"We sure did marry some idiots, didn't we?" Jess joked as she and Stephanie started walking away.

"Yes, we did," Stephanie agreed.

Chris grabbed Stephanie from behind and pulled her against him. "You won't be saying that when we get back to the hotel tonight," he said into her ear.

"What will I be saying?" she asked innocently.

"My name," he whispered. "All night long... So let's leave now so we can get started..."

Stephanie smiled. "So, Jess, Hunter, I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your night... My husband and I have some urgent business to attend to back at the hotel..."

"We're about to get out of here, too," Hunter said, putting his arm around Jess. "Think all those people in there would get pissed if the bride and groom went missing?"

"Who cares about them?" Chris joked. "When Steph and I got married, we didn't even go to our reception. We were practically in the honeymoon suite as soon as we were pronounced husband and wife."

"Let's leave them," Jess said, gazing up into Hunter's eyes. "It'll be so funny..."

"You guys can come with us and make a quick getaway," Stephanie offered. "We rented this Escalade, and you guys could have the backseat..."

"We get to be in the backseat together?" Hunter asked, looking down at Jess. "You've convinced me. Let's get the hell out of here..."

Five minutes later, they were gone...

A/N: And th-th-that's all, folks! I didn't know how the heck to end this thing, but it's done now! Hope you guys liked it... I'm still such a sucker for happy endings...