When the boys got back from the store with the shopping Rebecca immediately stood up seeing an opportunity for Paul and Stephanie to talk, "Shawn I will help you put all of that away so Paul you can take a load off with Stephanie as you have done a lot of driving."

Looking at Shawn and Rebecca he knew exactly what they were doing, "Actually I think I am going to go and workout, if I sit down again after that drive I will just not feel like I have achieved anything. I'll be back in like an hour though."

Watching him head up the stairs Rebecca frowned as she took a couple of the bags into the kitchen and placed them on the top, "What did you say to him?"

Shrugging his shoulders Shawn began unpacking the bags, "I just told him how it is. I may have used the words 'idiot' and 'fucking moron' though but that is the least that he deserves."

"Do you not want him to talk to her?"

Frowning at his girlfriend he shook his head, "I do but sometimes you just get so irritated with people you have to tell them how it is and today was one of those days with Paul. We can force them together later, I'm not sure how yet but we will think of a way to put them both out of their misery. If the worst comes to the worst I will buy some handcuffs and handcuff them together."

Removing a loaf of bread from the bag in front of her she couldn't help but think that as crazy as that idea was it might end up becoming necessary.

After spending an hour working out Paul returned to the beach house and shut the front door just in time to hear a splash from the back yard. Walking through to the kitchen he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water before he walked to the open patio doors and leant on the frame watching Shawn playing about in the water as the girls reclined on chairs beside the pool.

Looking at Stephanie laying down he sighed as he saw the bruising on her ribs but he did think that she looked sexy in a two piece.

Stephanie had her eyes closed but she could feel eyes on her and she immediately felt self conscious Sitting up she grabbed at a towel to cover herself with as she didn't know where people were looking at her from but as she turned to get up she saw Paul, "Oh you're back."

Shaking his head to free the cobwebs that remained from staring at her he smiled, "Looks like it. I came to see what the noise was and surprise surprise it was Shawn."

Swimming to the edge of the pool Shawn glared at his friend, "I'm not making a noise, I'm having fun and there is a difference."

Feeling self conscious Stephanie held the towel to her body, "Was your workout nice?"

Making his way out onto the patio he nodded, "It was thank you, I feel much better for it. Not to sound sleazy or anything but you should lay back down again, you look good in a bikini and we could all do with catching some sun."

"I could feel eyes on me, I didn't know where they were coming from and my ribs are not a pretty colour."

Completely ignoring Rebecca and Shawn's presence he closed the short distance between them and gently prised the towel from her hands, "You know you want to lay down again."

Biting down on the inside of he lip it felt so weird having him close when she was in such a small amount of clothing, "Well it was relaxing."

Gently grabbing her legs he lifted them onto the chair again waiting for her to lie back before he stood up, "Much better." Bending down he kissed the top of her head and quietly said, "You're gorgeous, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, including yourself."

Opening her mouth to respond to Paul she quickly shut it again shocked at what had just transpired between them.

Rebecca had laid there in silence watching them from behind her sunglasses, if the two of them didn't get it on soon then everything around them was going to catch fire from the sparks.

Making his way inside Paul had a quick shower and changed into some trunks before he headed back out to the pool to join the others for a few hours.

After a couple of hours by the pool the women had insisted on cooking dinner so after a promise not to overdo it from Stephanie Paul joined Shawn in front of the television whilst they waited.

They had all eaten dinner and agreed that the dishes could wait until the morning allowing them all a free evening.

Having thought about what Rebecca had said about needing to talk to Paul she decided to bite the bullet, "I thought about going to walk along the beach again. Does anybody care to join me?" Okay so that hadn't gone quite as she had planned as she had lost her bottle.

Sensing that Stephanie had an ulterior motive Rebecca quickly jumped in, "I was actually hoping that Shawn would come and join me on the swing out front but maybe Paul will walk with you. What do you think Paul?"

Feeling slightly backed into a corner he had already made too many stupid moves with Stephanie today but he figured what damage could ten thousand more stupid moves do? Nodding his head he moved to the edge of the couch, "It would be my pleasure."

Stephanie smiled in reply but it didn't quite reach her eyes as she was so nervous, "I'm not going to bother with shoes so I'm ready when you are."

Shrugging his shoulders he stood up, "I'm with you, let's walk on the wild side."

Shawn couldn't help but snort, "Oh yeah, you're being oh so dangerous not wearing shoes on sand. Enjoy your walk though whilst I enjoy my cuddle with my girlfriend."

Getting up from the couch both couples made their way outside and separated at the porch where Shawn and Rebecca went to sit down. As soon as they were comfortable his curiosity won and he had to ask the question that was bothering him, "So do you think they're about to have the chat and are going to put us all out of our misery?"

Squeezing her boyfriend's waist as her arms were wrapped around him she nodded, "I sure hope so anyway."

Paul and Stephanie silently made their way down to the beach before she walked over to the sand dunes and took a seat looking out over the ocean.

Silently following his best friend Paul sat down opposite her still not sure about why she was so silent, "I thought you wanted to go for a walk? Not that I necessarily mind sitting down but you're quiet, it's odd for you and I am concerned."

Turning to look at him she couldn't help but smile softly as he knew her so well, "Okay so I may have slightly misled you, I didn't really want to come and walk along the beach, I just wanted to get you alone so that we could talk."

Unable to stop himself he leant across and grabbed her hand gently stroking the back of it with his thumb, "What do you want to talk about?"

Looking down at the floor she could feel her heart beating a thousand times a second before she looked back up at him, "Us."

Looking into her eyes he gulped, there was something about the way that she had said it that felt like a punch to the gut, "Us? What about us?"

She wanted so badly to be able to have confidence and believe in what she was saying and feeling but there were so many reasons why she didn't that sitting there now looking at him she felt the nausea building, "What is happening between us Paul? We have been best friends for the longest time and I love you to pieces but recently it really feels like things are shifting. Between the touches, the kiss to the lips, sharing a bed together and then you saying you love me whilst acting like my boyfriend it feels like there is something else there."

Gulping his eyes widened, "Wait, when did I say this 'I love you' whilst acting like your boyfriend?"

"Last week when you stayed in bed with me when I was in so much pain. I woke up at some ridiculously early hour of the morning thirsty and in agony so I got out of bed and went to take some painkillers and get a drink before I returned to bed. When I got back into bed I lifted your arm to lay it over my waist again as it was so comforting having you holding me but as I lay your arm over my waist you said 'I love you' and pulled me closer and nuzzled the side of my face."

His eyes widened and he immediately began to panic because he did not know how this conversation was going to go, "Do you want the truth or what I want to tell you because it is what I think you want to hear?"

Raising her eyebrow she looked at him oddly, "The truth thank you very much."

Deciding to put it all out there and screw the consequences because keeping it hidden was eating him alive, "Truth time. I love you, like really love you, and I have done for the longest time and it has killed me watching you from afar as you dated other men. Our friendship is everything to me and I couldn't bear the thought of losing you so I thought it would be better and easier to say nothing about it but I guess after everything with Stuart I have been getting sloppy at hiding my feelings."

She was confused, she wasn't sure if it was because she was shocked or if he had just spoken in riddles she just stared at him for a minute before she said, "I'm confused. What does it mean that you love me?"

Pouting he couldn't believe she was dragging this out of him, "Just so you know I have no idea how the hell you feel but I love you in a 'I wish you were and I want you to be my girlfriend' way. I understand that this can seem selfish to put it out there right now but you asked and I am not expecting a response or more importantly for you to declare your undying love for me or something but now you know the truth and hopefully it won't change anything."

Shaking her head she tugged on his hands gently, "Come here."

Getting up Paul moved closer to her kneeling down in the sand in front of her, "Better Your Highness?"

Laughing she nodded her head, "Much." Taking a deep breath she looked into his eyes and she swore she could see deep into his soul and could see the fear that he had, "Truth time for me. I have loved you for the longest time too, I didn't think you saw me like that and I didn't want to lose you so I didn't say anything and tried to date other men but none of them were you, it was never 'right' with any of them. Paul I love you so much and I really want to be with you as your girlfriend but I know this is selfish of me to say that because of my baggage."

"Your . . . baggage?"

Biting down on her lip she looked away from him and blinked rapidly trying not to cry barely managing to whisper, "Stuart."

Dropping his hold on her hand he put his hands on her hips and tugged gently, "Trust me."

Putting her hands on his arms she gripped his biceps tightly as she allowed him to pull her so she was kneeling on the sand in front of him and she soon relaxed, "I trust you with my life."

Moving his one hand from her hip to her cheek he rubbed it gently with his thumb, "I have been there through all of that and I still see you as a beautiful, smart, sexy woman and nothing is ever going to change that. I would still like you to be my girlfriend and I'm happy for you to bring whatever baggage you think you have with you and we can deal with it together."

Her hands went to his face cupping it gently, "Are you serious?"

"Yes I am serious Steph, I have loved you for too long to back out now. What do you say? Do you want to try it or would you like to wait for a bit and see how you feel down the line?"

Moving her head closer to his she rested her forehead on his, "I want to give us a try."

Unable to prevent it a massive smile broke out on Paul's face, "So can I call you my girlfriend?"

Giggling she thought his reaction was so cute, "Uh huh."

"Can I kiss you?"

Stephanie didn't answer his question she just tilted her head to the side and pressed a soft kiss to his lips not surprised when his hand slipped behind her neck holding her close as he deepened the kiss a little.

As they knelt on the side kissing it felt right for the sun to be setting over the ocean almost signifying the end of the bad part of her life and the start of something new.

Sooooo the end of the story is here. Thank you to every single person who read/reviewed/favourited/followed the story, your support meant a lot to me as I tackled a somewhat difficult subject :) I hope you all enjoyed the story but feel free to check out my other stories if you haven't already.