This ended up being much longer than I intended but hopefully you don't mind and you enjoy the chapter. :)

Chapter 17

"Please tell me there is no damn karaoke here tonight."

Stephanie smiled at Paul as they walked along the tree lined street heading for the bar that was straight in front of them. Its blue neon sign shone brightly in the low light of dusk almost like it was beckoning them to their destination.

"I can assure you there is no damn karaoke." she replied as they side stepped a couple of teenage girls heading in their direction. There was no mistaking their appreciative glances as Paul passed them by and Stephanie couldn't blame them for practically drooling all over him. After all how could you not admire a guy as breathtaking as he was? And Paul was breathtaking. God every time she looked at him lately, her heart skipped a beat almost like he was constantly catching her by surprise which she guessed was true in a way because she never expected to feel like this. She never expected to fall so hard and so fast especially after everything that had happened with Rob. But Paul was nothing like Rob. Paul was different. Paul made her laugh out loud. He could also frustrate the living hell out of her a lot of the time too but she couldn't deny the chemistry they had together, the spark that made her feel alive. She felt it each and every time they touched. The tiniest kiss made her weak at the knees. Even now the simple act of walking down the street holding his hand made her glow from the inside. It was completely pathetic but also completely true.

"After you." Paul grinned gesturing towards the glass paned door as he held it open for her.

That was another thing in his favour. Despite his caveman tendencies from time to time, Paul was actually quite the gentleman.

"Why thank you." Stephanie grinned back as she pushed past him letting her fingers slide from his as she entered the small busy bar.

She was met with the sound of music coming from the large jukebox in the corner and the loud hum of conversation that accompanied it. Stephanie felt Paul's hand on the small of her back as she began to push her way through the bodies that blocked her path to the bar.

"I can see them over there by the window." Paul said into her ear.

Stephanie let him in guide her in that direction as her blue eyes scanned the faces in front of her, searching for their friends. She smiled when she spotted Natasha's familiar blonde head and her hand lifted in a wave as they approached the area where she was standing alone.

"Stephanie! You made it." Natasha beamed as she held her arms out to embrace her. "I thought you were never going to get your ass here."

"Yeah well Paul didn't leave me much option." Stephanie replied as she squeezed her friend back tightly, totally delighted to see her. It felt like forever since she had seen her although she spoke to her on the phone every other day and it had only been last week since Natasha had visited in her office demanding that she join her for lunch.

"You hide the laptop?" Natasha asked Paul as she hugged him hello.

He nodded as he grinned at her conspiratorially. "It's safely locked away along with a stack of papers I found in the kitchen."

"Well done. I am impressed."

Stephanie shook her head playfully as she smiled at them both. "Look at the pair of you, all pleased with yourselves."

"Jamie at the bar?" asked Paul as he raked his big hand through his hair and casually looked for his friend.

"Where else would he be?"

"I'll go say hello." Paul chuckled as he dropped a kiss in Stephanie's hair before disappearing into the crowd.

Her blue eyes followed him until Natasha's voice got her attention.

"This is for you."

Stephanie turned her head and smiled when she saw the vodka glass held out in her direction. "Tash, you are an angel."

As Stephanie took a large mouthful of her drink, she didn't notice Natasha watching her carefully or see the concerned expression on her face.

"So how's work?" she asked.

Stephanie swallowed the chilled vodka before sighing heavily. "Stressful." she admitted.

The truth was work was a complete bitch right now and Natasha was all too aware of that being she had to endure her tired rants most times she called her. She was still covering for the partner who was out sick after his heart surgery and between his work load and her own she had case files coming out of her ears. Not only that the family evaluations in her custody case had now been completed so she was back in court Monday. Preparations for that along with everything else meant she had been working twenty four seven for the last few weeks or at least that's what it felt like most days. Physically and emotionally she was drained. Thankfully she'd managed to fit in the odd dinner date or two with Paul and that had stopped her from going completely crazy. One night he'd even shown up at the office at midnight with a takeaway and a bottle of wine and that was when he'd admitted he was worried she was going to burn herself out. She had made a promise to him then that she would take care of herself although sometimes that was easier said than done.

"You should ask Paul to help you out with that." suggested Natasha as she lifted her glass from the window ledge next to her and took a sip of her drink. Stephanie was watching her curiously and she grinned back at her. "Apparently getting laid relieves stress." she explained.

"Pfft!" Stephanie snorted out loud. "Chance would be a fine thing."

Natasha tucked a wayward blonde strand behind her ear as her brow narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter." Stephanie said quickly shaking her head not quite sure she wanted to get into the whole thing and remind herself of her growing sexual frustration into the bargain.

"Well it obviously bloody does judging by that look on your face."

Natasha stared at her impatiently and Stephanie realised she had no choice but to admit the truth. Her love life was usually an open book away when it came to her best friend.

"Paul won't sleep with me." she told her.

Natasha's brown eyes went wide with surprise. "You're kidding me?"

Stephanie shook her head. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

She paused for a second, letting out a soft sigh.

"Apparently he doesn't want to rush things." she explained. "He'd rather take the time to get to know me first."

"But that's a good thing right?" asked Natasha.

"Fuck no!" shot back Stephanie as she felt her frustration bubble to the surface. And she was frustrated. In fact scratch that, she was becoming desperate.

"I mean who wants slow when every time I look at the guy I want to jump his bones."

"Please. Don't hold back on my account." her friend grinned, clearly amused by her outburst.

"But it's true, Tash. I mean, you just have to look at him." Stephanie sighed raking her hand through her hair. "He's so beautiful and sexy and just aaaaargh! I mean how can a guy look like that and expect a girl to keep her hands to herself."

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully. "I know. Talk about inconsiderate."

"And then there's that grin and those eyes that just make you melt inside. And the way he nibbles on your neck…." Stephanie continued wistfully.

"I say it's definitely all Paul's fault for making you want to sleep with him in the first place."

She threw her hand up triumphantly. "See, you're totally reading my mind."

"What a bastard." concurred Natasha.

Stephanie nodded. "Yep."

"So what are you going to about it?"

Stephanie's blue eyes narrowed curiously. "Do?"

"Yes, do. I mean you're not just going to accept it, are you?" asked Natasha as she placed her hand on her friend's shoulder, guiding Stephanie out of the way as a group of women pushed past them.

"Well I don't really have a choice unless I just take the guy against his will." Stephanie surmised jokingly as she polished off her vodka dumping the empty glass down on a vacant table she spotted behind Natasha.

"Sounds like a perfect plan to me."

"Tash!" she cried out berating her friend.

"What?" Natasha chuckled in amusement.

"You do know that could be classed as rape, right?" Stephanie scolded.

"Hey, you're a lawyer." Natasha smiled, her eyes twinkling back at her friend. "I'm sure you'd find yourself a few legal loop holes to get out of it."

"Get out of what?"

Jamie's booming voice interrupted their conversation. Natasha waved her hand dismissing his question as she absently smiled at him while she adjusted the strap of her purse that hung from her shoulder.

"Never mind. Just get another round in will you?" she asked him as she tilted her head, gesturing towards the bathrooms at the rear of the building. "I need to visit the ladies room."

Jamie rolled his eyes dryly as he watched his sister vanish into the crowd. "You know that girl always disappears when it's her turn to put her hand in her pocket." he grumbled. "So, Steph, what's your poison?"

"I'll have a vodka and orange thanks." Stephanie smiled silently wondering what Jamie's poison had been tonight. It was clear he'd had a few judging by the way he was swaying ever so slightly next to her and of course there was the overwhelming scent of alcohol that accompanied him that clearly gave the game away.

"What? You don't want one of those weird red looking things you sometimes drink?" Jamie asked her.

Stephanie bit back her smile. "Not tonight, thanks."

"Lev should be over in a minute." Jamie explained as he shoved his big hands in the pockets of his jeans. "That stupid ass Dave has got him talking shop like he always fucking does. By the way, he's been talking about you too. Paul, that is. Not Dave."

"I figured." Stephanie chuckled in fond amusement. She liked Jamie. She had a lot of time for him.

"See that's because you're a smart girl, Steph." Jamie continued as his left hand reached out of his pocket to scratch at his head absently. "I mean you're a lawyer for fuck sakes and I have to admit you scare the shit out of me sometimes. You scared the shit out of Paul too when he first got to know you but not now. Now he thinks you're the best thing ever."

Stephanie felt the warm glow she got at that comment spread through her entire body.

"You know it's really cool the pair of you found one another. I mean who would have thought you two would actually hit it off. Because no offence, Steph, you're not the easiest girl in the world to get to know."

"I'm not, huh?" she smirked bemused by that admission. Jamie could become alarmingly honest when he was drunk and he rambled on, a fact she'd witnessed on several occasions including now. She'd also witnessed his stripping act too but that was a story for another time.

"Nope. And I said that to Paul." Jamie continued, his expression terribly serious as he looked at Stephanie. "I told him he would crash and burn with you but you know Paulie. That only made you more of a challenge to him."

Her brow raised curiously. "A challenge, huh?"

"Yeah but in a good way. I mean I knew you were going to give him a run for his money but he didn't care. He was more than happy to pay the price."

"What price?" Stephanie commented interrupting him, her blue eyes twinkling with her amusement as she wondered where the hell he was going with this. "What are you talking about Jamie?"

When she asked that question she was smiling but that smile faltered when she saw the alarmed expression on the guy's face. His eyes dropped to the floor as he looked somewhat uncomfortable. Stephanie wondered what had got him so spooked. After all, it wasn't like he had said anything in particular. In fact after all that rambling, she was struggling to remember most of what he had said at all.

"You know what? I actually don't know so forget it. In fact forget everything I said. I'm drunk and I'm clearly not making sense." he said chuckling lightly as he nodded his head in the direction of the bar. "I'd better get those drinks before Tash gets back." he said.

"How about I get them? It's my round anyway." Stephanie offered brushing past him her blue eyes searching for Paul already. Suddenly she was keen to see him and be with him. God knows her time with him the next couple of weeks was going to be limited to say the least so she wanted to make the most of every second she could get and if that meant mauling him in a crowded bar then so be it.

"Sure." Jamie called out after her. "See if you can't drag his ass away from that fat fucker Dave while you're there."

Stephanie grinned to herself as she excused herself past a bunch of guys in her path. And that grin only got wider when she saw the handsome face staring right at her.

"Hey, I was just on my way to find you." Paul told her as his big hand lightly clasped her arm leading her towards an empty spot at the bar. "I wasn't sure what you wanted to drink."

"A vodka." she told him. "A large one."

Paul grinned as he leaned his elbow on the bar and briefly searching for the bar tender, he turned his attention back to Stephanie.

"So you managed to escape from Dave then?" she asked him.

Paul smiled and nodded. "How did you know I was talking to him?" he asked amused.

"Jamie."

His brow raised in acknowledgement. "I wondered where he had gotten to." Paul said as he lightly scratched at his beard.

"We've just had an interesting conversation actually." Stephanie informed him.

"You do know Jamie and interesting don't usually belong in the same sentence."

She chuckled as she shifted closed to Paul. His arm slid around her waist casually resting there as he checked once more for the bar tender. Stephanie could feel the gentle heat from his hand work its way through her like a rush of fire through her blood.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Paul asked as his brown eyes settled on her once more.

"I'm not entirely sure." Stephanie admitted. "But it involved me and you and how apparently you see me as a sort of a challenge." she informed him smiling.

"I do?"

She nodded as her face crinkled with her confused amusement. "A challenge that somehow turned into the subject of money and paying the price."

There was a beat before Paul eventually reacted to what she had told him.

"Really?" he said snorting out loud.

But his reaction was too late. Stephanie had already seen his expression falter and suddenly alarm bells were starting to ring in her head. Alarm bells that made her realise Jamie's rambling might not be as harmless as she thought after all. Not when he and Paul had reacted the way they had.

"And you know something?" she began turning to Paul causing his hand to fall from her waist. "I thought he was just drunk and talking a lot of crap until I just saw that look on your face." she said.

"What look?" asked Paul, his brown eyes wide and innocent. But he wasn't fooling anyone, least of all Stephanie.

"The same look I just saw on Jamie's face when I asked him to explain why he was talking about us and money and why you both look so guilty about it?" she said.

There was no mistaking the flicker of remorse on his handsome face which only backed up her statement and a sick feeling of dread began to descend on her.

"Paul, what's going on here?" asked Stephanie.

"Nothing." he smiled but it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes and that spoke volumes to her.

"Don't lie to me."

Paul glanced away, his shoulders slumping with defeat. The blood was now pounding in Stephanie's ears as her uneasiness started to escalate.

"So are you going to tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?" she demanded.

Paul slowly lifted his head, his apologetic expression doing nothing for her nerves.

"Look we need to talk." he sighed.

"You're damn right we do!"

"Can we go outside?" he asked her.

"Sure." she nodded.

Stephanie spun on her heel and began to stride purposefully for the door. She didn't even see the faces she pushed past to make her escape. All she knew was the thirty or so seconds it took her to make it to the door were the longest thirty seconds of her life.

Despite the warm May breeze that blew through her hair when she finally stepped out onto the sidewalk, Stephanie suddenly felt terribly cold and her hand absently rubbed her bare arm as she rested against the brick wall and waited for Paul. She didn't have to wait long. Her body tingled with his overwhelming presence as he came to stand next to her.

"Where do I start?" he asked her.

Stephanie lifted her shoulder in a shrug as she slowly turned her head in his direction. The setting sun cast an orange hue across his face making Paul look even more beautiful to her if that was even possible. "The beginning is usually a good place." she offered.

Her blue eyes watched him expectantly. Paul let himself get lost in them for a moment wondering what the odds were he would get out of this alive. Not that he should even be thinking about odds right now. Not when it was a stupid fucking bet that had got him here in the first place. A bet he should never agreed to but hey, tell that one to his giant inflated ego. Apparently it was so fucking huge he thought it could bed the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet and just walk away like it never meant a thing, like her feelings were never important. How fucking stupid had he been? Of course he could never have imagined that woman becoming so much more that a simple conquest. In fact it was safe to say she was quickly becoming everything. Stephanie meant the world to him so much so he knew he had no option but to be completely honest with her with everything. He owed her that much at least just like he owed Jamie a kick in the ass for opening his stupid big mouth. This wouldn't be happening if his so called best friend hadn't dropped him right in it. Although deep down, Paul silently wondered if he hadn't done him a favour because if there was the tiniest chance Stephanie would forgive him for being such a jerk, at least he could be with her, like really be with her without his guilty conscience getting in the way each and every time they got close to one another because he was tired of the excuses. He was tired of his guilt getting in the way. He wanted to be with Stephanie and be with her in every sense of the word.

"Well?"

Stephanie glared at him impatiently to start explaining himself and Paul knew his time had officially run out. It was time to come clean. Raking his big hand through his hair, he sighed softly as he rested his back against the building.

"You remember that first night I ever met you?" he began as his mouth twitched with a fond affection. "You were standing here actually, practically on this spot, freezing your ass off waiting on a friend."

Stephanie couldn't help the tiny smile that accompanied that memory. "I guess it went something like that."

"Well I was meeting Jamie that night." Paul explained as he paused for a second coughing lightly and clearing his throat. He smiled at her apologetically before continuing. "It was the first time I'd seen the guy in forever. He'd been working off shore. The Indian Ocean I think it was. Anyway, we got talking and somehow the subject of women came up."

Stephanie rolled her eyes dryly. "Surprise, surprise."

But Paul couldn't even raise a smile as his serious brown eyes looked at her, desperately pleading with her. "You got to understand, Steph, I was in a bad place. Nicole and I had just broken up and I had decided I was pretty much done with relationships. I never expected this. I never expected you."

Paul's explanation was beginning to sound like an excuse for whatever it was he had done and if Stephanie felt uneasy before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. Her sense of dread and worry had suddenly increased ten fold and she needed answers despite everything inside her wanting to run a mile right now. "Never mind the excuses, Paul. What's this about and tell me the truth. It's the least you owe me." she reminded him.

Paul nodded solemnly showing her he completely agreed. "Jamie and I made a bet." he admitted.

Stephanie's brow furrowed with her concern. "What kind of bet?"

Suddenly the words came lodged in his throat. Paul knew this was practically his death sentence. Not only that, he wasn't sure if he could bear to see the disappointment on Stephanie's face and witness the pain he was about to cause her once she heard the absolute truth.

"Does it really matter?" he asked her desperately hoping that he could somehow put her off. But he knew he was clutching at straws. After all she was a lawyer for fuck sakes. She made a living interrogating people and catching out the bad guys and unfortunately today he was one of them.

"Of course it fucking matters, Paul. What kind of bet?" Stephanie repeated as she glared at him.

Her icy blue stare sent a chill down his spine and Paul briefly wondered if this is what it would feel like to stand in the witness box having questions fired at you. Did they choke on their words like he had? Did they feel completely intimidated by Stephanie's relentlessness? He wasn't intimidated though. He was just sad. Sad that he was about to ruin the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Paul!" she demanded once more.

Paul silently apologised to Stephanie for what he was about to tell her. "I had a month to get you into bed."

She visibly flinched at his admission before looking at him momentarily stunned. "What?" she asked.

"Look, I know how it sounds and I'm not proud of myself okay?" Paul explained as he held his hands up quickly trying his best to appease her. His hand reached for her but Stephanie deliberately stepped away out of his path.

"How much?" she asked him coldly.

This time it was Paul's turn to look stunned because he hadn't even considered the money coming into the equation. "What?"

"You heard me." Stephanie spat back angrily. "How much to get me into bed?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Call it my morbid curiosity." she explained. "Come on, Paul. How much was I worth?"

She folded her arms across her chest as she stared at him, demanding an answer. Paul tried to approach her but she took another step away from him.

"Steph…." he began but Stephanie immediately cut him off, her beautiful face stern and angry.

"How much, Paul?" she cried and he could only shake his head in dismay knowing he had no option but to tell her.

"In the end, a thousand bucks." Paul sighed.

"In the end?" Stephanie asked incredulously.

He mentally kicked himself for saying that. He had only made things ten thousand times worse if that was even possible. Letting out a heavy sigh, Paul could feel the noose already round his neck tightening even further.

"It was five hundred at first." he said guiltily. "We doubled the bet."

Her anguished cry was like a stab to his heart and Paul reached for her, desperate to make her understand.

"Steph, please. It's not what it sounds like." he pleaded.

"Yes it is." she snorted as she shrugged Paul off. "Don't insult my intelligence."

Stephanie turned her back to him, unable to look at him. Not only did it hurt to be around him right now, she didn't want to give Paul the satisfaction of seeing the tears that were threatening to spill over her lashes. Stephanie blinked them back quickly determined not to break down over this. Paul didn't deserve her pain. He didn't deserve anything. After all this had meant nothing to him. How could it? It was all just some silly little game, a game where she had been nothing more than a silly pawn. And everyone knew pawns were worthless just like she obviously was. After all what did she matter? Her feelings had never factored in any of this. They never came into consideration but hey she could take comfort in the fact that at least a night in the sack with her was worth something. It was worth one thousand bucks apparently. She would feel flattered if it wasn't so fucking insulting.

Stephanie let out a shaky breath as she struggled to hold onto her composure. God knows it was hard when her heart was breaking into tiny pieces. She cared for Paul and she'd been dumb to believe he might care for her too. How wrong had she been? Because it turned out the only thing Paul cared about was money. Nothing else and certainly not her either. How could he when he was making her feel like this?

"Steph?"

The sound of his voice cut her like a knife and she wrapped her arms protectively around herself as she let out a shaky breath.

"So it turns out I'm just some fucking bet, huh?" she said sadly.

"That's not true."

"Yes it is." she sniffed lightly shivering in the night air. "You were going to sleep with me for money and God, now I sound like some sort of hooker." she cried out in distress as she spun on her heel to face Paul. Her blue eyes glared at him accusingly as she continued. "And you know the worst part? I feel like one too. You used me, Paul."

His blonde hair shifted across his shoulders as he quickly shook his head. "That's not true." he protested.

"You know you keep saying that but you can't deny the facts, Paul. You can't deny I was a bet." Stephanie said glaring at him, practically daring him to even try and refute that fact.

But he didn't. Instead Paul tried his best to try and make her understand.

"But that was before I knew you, Steph. Before I got to know the person you are….."

"So that makes it alright?" she shot back cutting him off.

"No. Of course it doesn't." Paul said. "But I'm just trying to explain…"

"Trying to explain what? That you're a liar?"

His words stuck in his throat once more as Paul realised Stephanie wasn't going to even give him a chance. She was determined not to listen and he honestly couldn't blame her. He had let her down. He had let himself down.

"You know it all makes sense now!" Stephanie exclaimed as began to lightly pace in front of him, her mind working overtime as she arrived at her own conclusion. "I mean you wouldn't sleep with me and now I know why. Your feelings for me were never real. They couldn't be."

Stephanie's heels scuffed against the concrete kerb as she came to a stop and looked directly at Paul. He shook his head adamantly, his stern brown eyes settling on hers. "You're wrong, Steph. On both counts."

Her scoff echoed in the breeze as she glanced up at the sky in obvious disbelief but Paul remained determined to plead his case. He took a step towards her, his hand lightly gripping her shoulder and guiding her back towards him.

"Look at me." he demanded.

Stephanie remained defiant for a few seconds refusing to do just that before her lashes batted heavily and she reluctantly lifted her ocean blue pools to his face. There was no disguising the unshed tears that welled in her eyes or the pain that flickered there. The guilt crippled Paul knowing he was the one responsible for this. He was the one that was doing this to her. That's why he had to make her understand. He had to make her realise it wasn't what she thought.

"You want to know why I didn't sleep with you?" he began deciding just to lay all his cards on the table. After all what could he possibly have left to lose? "I didn't sleep with you because it is real. What I feel for you is so real it actually fucking terrifies me if you want the truth because I'm falling for you, Stephanie. I'm falling in love with you. I am in love with you."

As the words hung between them, Paul realised that was the absolute truth. He did love her. He was completely in love with Stephanie. He'd just never admitted it to himself before. Honestly, he'd never had the guts to because even just looking into those amazing blue eyes he crashed and burned every single time. And that was before he let her into his heart. And now that he had, Stephanie had the ability to completely wreck him. She made him feel things he'd never felt for any woman before and every moment he spent with her only brought him closer to the realisation that she was the one. Stephanie was it for him. She was his one true shot at happiness.

"Don't….don't say that." Stephanie replied.

"Why not?" Paul retorted as both hands reached for her arms lightly gripping them as he remained determined to make her see sense. "Because it's the truth, Steph. Or maybe you don't want to hear the truth. Maybe you'd rather stay pissed off and mad at me because it's easier for you, isn't it? It's easier to walk away from this than take the chance."

"A chance at what exactly?" Stephanie asked as she stared back at him confused.

"This. Us." he told her simply.

But it was anything but simple. At least not for her.

"There is no us, Paul." Stephanie told him as she took a step back from him. His hands fell to his sides as she removed herself from his grasp. "There can't be." she told him. "Not after this. I mean how could I ever trust you after what you did? How could I ever trust that this was real?"

Paul's brown eyes were heavy with his sadness and Stephanie glanced away ignoring the tug at her chest. She didn't want to acknowledge his pain and he certainly didn't deserve her compassion.

"I'm sorry. You lied to me, Paul which makes me think that's all this has been the whole time. Just a lie."

"Of course it's not." he cried as he grabbed her once more, his eyes staring at her so intently they were practically burning a hole through her. His fingers also burned her skin where they lightly gripped her.

"Look I told you. I made the bet before I got to know you, Stephanie. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"But you did." she cried in dismay as she shrugged him off shaking her head, refusing to listen to his excuses. Stephanie knew she couldn't bend. She had to stay strong. She had to protect herself even though she felt practically defenceless. Every wall she had carefully built over the years had been knocked down piece by piece by the man standing in front of her. Paul had opened her up, making her totally vulnerable. And they were walls she had guarded so fiercely too after Rob had broken her heart. Now it was about to get broken all over again and this time she wasn't so sure she would survive the fallout. Because despite what Paul had told her, despite her belief this whole thing was a lie it still didn't stop the ache in her heart. The ache that told her what she felt for Paul was very much real.

"I trusted you, Paul but you let me down." she sniffed as a solitary tear betrayed her determined strength and trickled slowly down her cheek.

"It won't happen again." he promised softly.

But his promise was too little too late as Stephanie lifted her hand to swipe at her wet cheek, her face tilting up to glare at him defiantly. Her anger at him bubbled under the surface and it was an anger she was more than happy to hold on to. God knows it was all she had left. That and her dignity.

"I know it won't because I won't let it." she informed him before she spun on her heel to walk away.

"Steph!" Paul called out gripping her arm to stop her. Her blue eyes narrowed sharply in his direction and her parting shot left Paul feeling like he had been kicked in the gut.

"You know I was actually dumb enough to think we could have been something great. How wrong was I?"

He could only stand there staring after her as Stephanie turned her back on him one last time, his brown eyes following her wistfully as she disappeared into the night.