Boys and Girls, Part II: Prince Charming

A/N: Hello! It's me again! Thank you again for all your awesome reviews. I'm finished with my 4th story (just need to do a little trimming and editing). Hope you like this story so far. I've gotten a lot of mixed feelings about my leads. Most of you guys don't like Joe right now, but I understand those of you who don't like him can sort of sympathize with him based on how exasperating Stephanie can be. Hope the next few chapters help you guys to like my leads a little better. On a side note, I've gotten a few interesting references to a potential relationship b/t Ryan and Jacy. I WILL give you this...Ryan and Jacy do grow closer in the future, but...

Well, maybe you'll just have to keep tuning in to find out the rest! :)

Chapter 12 – Compromise

Stephanie realized the irony of purchasing a birthday present for her father with his own money, but the man hated to shop, so in the end, it was the thought that counted.

Since her father was always complaining about needing to buy new suits, Stephanie was shopping around the Armani boutique that had just been added to North Mission’s shopping plaza. She had to sneak into her father’s closet in order to get all of his measurements, but at least he would be somewhat surprised.

Stephen Kaelin’s birthday fell a week before Stephanie’s, so they had usually celebrated both birthdays sometime in between. That was when Stephanie and her parents had been one big, happy family. But her mother was still in Denver, and Stephanie guessed that she couldn’t be pulled away from Jean-Luc anyway. Furthermore, if she was going to meet up with her father, he’d most likely bring along his new Swedish Barbie doll. Instead, Stephanie opted for a small get-together with her friends and would personally deliver her father’s present to his condo today.

It had been nearly an entire week since her fight with Joe. Stephanie thought that after the way he had treated her, being separated from him would be easy.

But it wasn’t.

Sure, he was a big, hulking alpha male that pissed her off in the worst way possible, but she still missed a lot about him. Stephanie missed Joe’s soft kisses and the way that he touched her when he wasn’t pissed off with her. She missed his laugh when she was being cute and his bright, white smile. She missed hearing about his long days at work after strenuous football practices in the blistering summer heat. He was a John Henry-type of guy who didn’t mind doing the dirty work if it meant bringing home a paycheck.

And even though the jerk had the ability to hurt her emotionally, Stephanie was sure that Joe would do everything he could to take care of her. And the promise of protection and security from a man wasn’t something you could buy in these times.

Stephanie tried to shake thoughts of Joe out of her head. In the end, she realized that there wasn’t much of a future there. Sure, she missed him now, but those feelings would eventually pass once she met a guy more like herself. A relationship with a nice, wealthy, and handsome young man wouldn’t stress her out like a relationship with a moody, un-wealthy, yet handsome young man. Stephanie wasn’t good at dealing with complex relationships; she just wasn’t emotionally equipped to deal with a guy like Joe and all of his emotional baggage, which hadn’t truly surfaced until the previous week.

Stephanie found the style of the suit that she wanted to purchase, and she began walking over to the sales representative when she accidentally bumped into someone.

“Excuse me,” she said apologetically.

“Stephanie?”

She looked up into the clear blue eyes of Jack Whittaker. He had just come out of the changing rooms, wearing a particularly expensive-looking suit. It was hard not to swoon, but considering his past deeds, Stephanie wasn’t going to sweat too much over his overpriced hotness.

“Yeah?” she replied, arching her eyebrow.

“How are you doing?”

“Fine,” she lied. “And you?”

“Good…great,” he said with a sigh. Stephanie could tell that he was lying as well.

“How’s what’s-her-name?” Stephanie could resist asking.

“She’s back in New York. She officially dumped me,” he added, sounded unfazed by it.

“Hmm, I’m starting to like her more already,” Stephanie responded.

“Steph,” Jack pleaded. “I’m so sorry about that. I don’t usually do things like that, but I’ve known her forever, and I didn’t know she’d be in town that weekend –

“More excuses,” Stephanie grumbled. “I’m sorry. I’m a little busy right now.” She didn’t give Jack a chance to reply before she marched past him. She continued to scavenge for the rest of her father’s present, strategically avoiding Jack. He hadn’t left yet.

After Stephanie had her gift wrapped by one of the representatives, she immediately fled the store. She heard heavy footsteps following from behind her. She turned around, not the least bit surprised to see Jack pursuing her.

“I like you a lot, Stephanie. Tanya’s gone now. To be honest, she was starting to get on my nerves. I was going to break up with her anyway.”

“After you boinked her a few more times, right?” Stephanie answered, irritated.

“It’s not like that Stephanie. I wanted her to go home that morning, but she wouldn’t leave before we…you know.”

“Oh, so she raped you? Cause I gotta say, it sounded pretty consensual to me!”

Jack scowled. “Don’t be like that, Steph. I wanted to get it over with and just end it. After the way she behaved on that double date, it pushed me over the edge, and I didn’t want her anymore.” His blue eyes glistened with regret. “I wanted you.” Without warning, Jack grabbed Stephanie around the waist and pulled her in. She was so shocked by his actions that she didn’t have a chance to resist.

He leaned his head down and kissed her on the lips right in front of the Armani boutique on Pacific Plaza. Nobody seemed to notice; noise pollution whirled around Stephanie – people walking down the strip, car horns honking, buses accelerating from their stops. Stephanie closed her eyes, contemplating where this kiss rated among the kisses she had received in her entire life thus far. There was no tongue involved. It was a genuine kiss that princes give to princesses after rescuing them from fire-breathing dragons. It was the type of kiss that Stephanie had dreamed about since she was a little girl, and here she was, standing opposite a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Adonis who had messed up but had the good taste to apologize for what he did. And…

Stephanie felt nothing.

Maybe it was the fact that she could never forgive a “mistake,” like the one Jack had committed. Maybe it was because she didn’t know him well enough to know if he was telling the truth or completely full of bullshit.

Or maybe it was because she wasn’t completely over Joe.

Stephanie pulled back from the kiss first. She wasn’t as angry as she thought she could have been, but she was sick of being pissed off at men right now. Instead, she regarded Jack with a tinge of regret and patted his chest encouragingly.

“Good luck, Jack.”

And with that, Stephanie turned and left.

****

Joe had to do a double take as the bus sped away from the stop near the Armani boutique on North Mission’s shopping plaza. There was no fucking way in hell that Stephanie and that pussy had gotten back together! It made him mad as hell for two reasons. Firstly, because he didn’t think that rich boy was worthy of Stephanie. Secondly, because the fact that she had returned to Jack meant that what he, himself, did to her was lower than fucking around with another woman.

Joe couldn’t get that through his head. So he’d said a few mean things to Stephanie and probably been a little rougher than necessary with her a week ago. How the hell was that worse than cheating?

Except Joe was pretty sure that it didn’t matter what was worse or not. Dickhead probably had the good sense to apologize, and Joe just couldn’t swallow his pride long enough to do that. If he did apologize, it probably wasn’t going to be genuine, and he liked Stephanie too much to send insincere apologies her way.

But as Joe fell back into his seat, he sighed deeply in frustration. For the first time, the thought he had carefully avoided until now came rushing back into his head with a vengeance. It was too late. Stephanie no longer officially belonged to him. It should have been a relief to him really because her money squandering ways irked him beyond belief.

But Joe wasn’t relieved because he remembered all the great qualities that his Princess possessed. He wouldn’t get to see her pretty smile anymore or hear her loud laugh every time he cracked one of his dumb jokes. He would definitely miss that gorgeous blonde hair of hers and that beautiful body that incited a hard-on from him every time she walked into the same room as him. He’d miss those emotive green eyes of hers that spoke volumes even when she wasn’t talking. But most of all, he’d miss Stephanie’s passion and heart – the way she’d give herself up body and soul for the things and the people she truly cared about.

And Joe knew he no longer was one of them.

****

Stephanie unlocked her father’s condominium door. “Dad?”

No one answered, so Stephanie proceeded to the kitchen for a drink, armed with her gift box. She heard shuffling from the bedroom and was worried that she had disrupted something between her father and Inge. That would be disturbing, to say the least.

“Steph?” her father’s voice called out.

“Yeah, Dad,” Stephanie answered, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge. Within seconds, her father came shuffling into the kitchen. His dark blonde hair stuck up and he was dressed in his white terrycloth robe. “Bad time?” she asked.

“Uh, could you stop by a little later, Princess?”

“I just wanted to drop this off, Dad. Happy birthday.” Stephanie handed the box over.

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

“No problem, Dad. I’ll…just leave now.”

“Okay, Steph.”

Stephanie went for the front door when something caught her eye. It was a very rare chartreuse Hermes Birkin bag that shouldn’t have meant a lot because her father could afford anything he damn well wanted for his girlfriends. Even so, there was something oddly familiar about this particular bag. Stephanie spun and faced her father. He regarded her questioningly.

“Is something wrong?”

Stephanie sprinted past her father so that he didn’t have an opportunity to stop her before she opened the door to his bedroom door.

“Stephanie!” her father warned a little too late.

What she saw made her scream.

****

“Mom!”

Stephanie’s mother’s face turned a bright crimson when she realized that she had been caught. She was seated in a leather sofa, wearing a white terrycloth robe also.

“Stephanie…I…I…” Her mother was clearly looking for an out and failing miserably.

“What are you doing here?” Stephanie screamed. “You’re supposed to be in Denver.”

“I caught an early flight back.”

Stephanie was so confused. “Why didn’t you go back to LA?”

“I wanted to wish your father a happy birthday,” she managed somewhat pathetically.

I’m sure he appreciated it too, Stephanie thought.

Stephanie heard her father’s footsteps behind her. She turned and shot him with an accusatory glare. “I want to talk about this.”

“Come on out into the living room then, sweetheart.” He looked over at Stephanie’s mother. “You too.”

Stephanie followed her father and was followed by her mother as they entered the posh living space of his condo. Stephanie sat opposite her parents, who were reasonably spaced apart on the black leather loveseat – ironically enough.

“Are…are you guys getting back together?” Stephanie asked hopefully.

Her parents exchanged glances, and Stephanie was pretty sure she knew the answer.

“No, Princess,” her father’s deep voice answered. “We’re not.”

“I see,” Stephanie responded, not really sure if she did. “So...um, how long has this been going on?”

Her mother looked guilty. “A few months.”

Stephanie nodded. “Were you guys…I don’t know…planning to tell me?” she asked, in a voice a little more hostile than she had intended.

“Would it have mattered, darling?” her mother asked.

Stephanie guessed not. As she continued speaking with her parents, she grew more and more depressed. It wasn’t comforting at all to know that her parents were shacking up just for old time’s sake. A reunion did not seem inevitable.

Her mother excused herself to take a shower. Stephanie wasn’t ready to leave just yet.

“Daddy, do you still love Mom?” she asked hesitantly, as she heard the shower turn on.

Her father paused a little longer than he had intended, which sparked hope in Stephanie.

“No, Princess.”

Almost.

“Why not?”

Her father sighed. “It’s difficult to love someone who’s so demanding all the time. Your mother got one taste of the good life, and now, I don’t think she’ll ever get enough. Love is difficult, Steph, when you know you don’t have the ability to surprise that other person anymore.”

“Why?” Stephanie asked, choking up. “Why should that matter?”

“Because love isn’t about always getting what you expect to get out of it, Stephanie. It’s about compromising and realizing the good that comes from that. I would have loved to compromise with your mother, but I found it was easier to let her have her way. It’s difficult for Ilsa to make sacrifices.”

Just like me, Stephanie thought glumly to herself. Her father was right. Messy divorces and resentment were always the product of an inability to compromise, and didn’t she know it. Without knowing it, tears began streaming down her face. Her father gently wiped them away with his thumbs, probably believing that they were being shed over Stephanie’s mother and him.

That was partially true. Stephanie didn’t think she’d ever be able to get over the idea of her parents splitting up. But she was also crying because she finally understood where Joe’s frustration was coming from – why he had been so bitter; because he knew that unresolved differences between individuals led to unhappiness. And maybe…just maybe, he was subconsciously attempting to prevent that.

Stephanie hugged her father once more before leaving his condo. Her eyes had completely dried, but as she drove home, that feeling of dreadful misery still lingered in the pit of her stomach. Maybe it was a good thing that things had ended with Joe. This way, Stephanie had a chance for a fresh start. She could begin again, and meet a guy she liked just as much as Joe. She wouldn’t be so extravagant. She would compromise, and hopefully, she and this hypothetical guy would have a chance at a happy future. The thought was promising.

And yet, Stephanie couldn’t understand why she still felt so hopeless.

****

A/N: Yeah, I know. Nobody wants to hear about our hot little heroine’s parents getting it on, but I needed Stephanie’s father to give her “the lecture.” Now, our Stephanie has grown a little…doncha think?