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One Week Later...
Sean sat in his locker room, dressed for his evening's match on SmackDown. As he laced up his wrestling boots, he was lost in his thoughts.
He couldn't get Stephanie off his mind. The brunette was going to be in a physical match this coming Sunday at No Mercy - against her own father. It was to be an 'I Quit' contest and the stipulation was that if she lost, she would be out as General Manager of SmackDown. The master plan, of course, was that she would lose - and this was merely a cover for her absence from TV, as she was supposed to be walking down the aisle to wed Paul Levesque the following Saturday.
O'Haire leaned forward, shaking his head and then putting it into is hands. This was just not right... He couldn't allow that wedding to take place. Stephanie didn't want to marry that prick, and he didn't want to see that happen, either - especially not when he was in love with her...
Shit... If only the brunette reciprocated his feelings. Sean knew that, if he had even the slightest indication that Stephanie might somehow care for him as more than a friend, he would tell her in a heartbeat. But what with everything she'd endured at the hands of Paul Levesque, she was pretty skittish toward men. While it was true that she obviously trusted him, nonetheless she was still a bit wary with him as well. He couldn't help but recall that morning in his hotel room last week, when Stephanie had scooted away from him on the bed when he'd awoken.
O'Haire looked up at the soft knock on the door, then sighed and ran a hand through his dark, shaggy hair.
"Come on in!"
The door opened, and, to his surprise, it was Stephanie. She looked small and shy as she tentatively stepped into the room, her blue eyes blinking rapidly as she met his gaze.
"Hi..."
"Hi..." the young woman replied softly. She stood over him, her hands folded primly in front of her, a somewhat uncertain expression on her pretty face. "I just... wanted to wish you good luck in your match tonight."
Sean felt a smile suddenly touching his lips.
"Thanks," he replied. God, Stephanie looked so sweet and demure - and gorgeous all at the same time. He just wanted to get up, wrap his arms around her and kiss her - kiss her and... and... okay, who was he fooling? He just wanted to ravage her. 'And I'd better get ahold of myself right now,' he thought. Stephanie was a sweet, special girl. The last thing he wanted was to do something that would scare her off.
The tall brunette blinked, her gaze still on him. She smiled slightly deeper, her heart thumping as their eyes locked. For some reason, she felt so shy. But she realized she never felt ill at ease with O'Haire. Thank goodness she didn't have to deal with Paul again for the next couple of days.
"Well, I'll leave you now..." She turned slowly and headed for the door.
"Stephanie, wait..." Sean rose and came after her.
The brunette turned around, having sensed he was only inches from her and stared up into his blue eyes. She remained silent as she awaited.
"Would you like to get together later - after the taping?"
A smile returned to her face.
"Yes, I'd like that," she replied. God, he was so close to her that she could feel him breathing... His warm breath was on her face. Meanwhile, she held her own. Then, slowly, reluctantly, she turned back toward the door to leave.
"Stephanie?" he spoke softly. "There's one other thing..."
Again, she turned to face him, but she didn't get a chance to pose the question in her head.
Sean gathered her in his arms, holding her tightly against him, his warm lips pressing to hers - and the General Manager found herself instantly melting, responding. She let out a soft, muffled moan as the kiss intensified, the feel of his hot tongue meeting hers nearly overwhelming - dizzying her. She clung tightly to him, her arms going up and around his neck, her long, slender fingers entangling in his hair.
Finally, the kiss ended, and the two gazed at one another, Stephanie full of questions. But before she could ask any, he gave her a smile and reached for the door handle.
"I should get out to gorilla... But I'll see you later..."
The brunette blinked and managed a tiny smile. As she went one way and he went another, she turned
to look back at him from over her shoulder - and she was full of wonder.