Wildest Dreams
by Shea

Part Seven

Rehearshals went a bit later than Paul thought so it was 
closer to eight before Paul made it to Shea's apartment. He didn't 
notice the blue car that had followed him from TPAC. Rachel parked 
across from Paul's black car and waited to see where he was going. 
She saw him knock the door to the front apartment and took special 
notice of the petite redhead that opened the door, greeting Paul with 
a hug and kiss. It looked like there was something special between 
the two. For the life of her, Rachel couldn't see what Paul saw in 
this woman. 'Surely this isn't the woman he was talking to on the 
phone.' she thought to herself. 'I thought he preferred blondes.' She 
decided to wait and watch a while longer. She watched him enter the 
apartment, his arm around the woman's waist.
"Hey Paul. Glad you could make it!" Carol said as Paul and Shea 
walked into the living room where Carol and some friends had a fast 
and furious game of Trivial Pursuit going. 
"Hi Carol, who's winning ?" Paul asked with a grin. 
"It's a tie between me and Philip," she said, pointing to a slim dark 
haired man with glasses "He always gets us on the history questions." 
Carol then introduced her to Travis, David (who everyone called Opie 
because of his red hair and freckles), Aaron and Tina.
Paul and Shea laughed before excusing themselves to go to her bedroom 
where she had her own tv and vcr. 
"Want to listen to some music or watch a tape?" Shea asked him as he 
took her into his arms. 
"Let's put some music on. I just want to relax and spend some time 
with you. It's been a long day." Paul said, holding her close. 
"Sounds good to me, " Shea said. "I think I have a classical 
accoustic guitar cd in here somewhere does that sound good to you?"
"Sounds like just the ticket," Paul said as he sat on her bed to take 
off his shoes. "I'm just glad to be here with you." 
Shea returned to the bed after turning on the music and putting it on 
continous play. She stood between his thighs as he pulled her close 
before laying back on the bed, taking her with him so that she was on 
top of him. He held her close, kissing her gently as his hands roamed 
under her shirt. 
Neither of them was aware of the watcher outside the window in the 
bushes. Shea raised up and took off her shirt and glasses. She helped 
Paul out of his shirt. "I think maybe we're a tad over dressed." Shea 
said huskily. She got up off the bed and slowly unzipped her jeans, 
thumbs hooked in the sides before she slowly slid them down before 
stepping out of them. She slid first one side then the other of her 
string bikini underwear down and off. Paul got off the bed, saying 
"Now its my turn." He stood at the foot of the bed and slowly unzipped 
his jeans, stepping out of them before turning his attention to his 
thong. When he was finally nude, he climbed back onto the bed. 
Rachel got a brief glimpse of Paul's nude form through a crack 
in the curtains. 'God, he's beautiful!' she thought to herself. 
Jealousy raged through her as she listened to the low sounds of their 
lovemaking. 'He's MINE!' Rachel thought jealously, ' And I always get 
what I want!' 
She thought she'd better leave her spot when she thought she heard 
someone coming out of one of the apartments nearby. She nearly fell, 
making more noise than she meant to. 
"Did you just hear something?" Paul said
"I think so, but I bet its just a dog. Besides, we have more 
important things to worry about." Shea said, pulling him down for a kiss.
"You know it babe." Paul said.

***********************************************

Carol was talking to Aaron at the door as he was leaving when 
she saw a blonde woman running toward the building across the way. 
She didn't think too much of it, as tenants (and visitors) tended to 
come and go in this complex. She locked the door behind her and 
decided to go check on her email and maybe play a game. She had to 
grin at the low sounds coming from behind Shea's closed door. 'You go 
for it chicklet, you deserve it!' she thought to herself.

******************************************************

Paul and Shea were cuddling and talking when Paul glanced at 
the clock by the bed.
"I hate to say this but I have to leave. Rehearshals start early 
tomorrow." he sighed.
"I know. I have an early day tomorrow myself. I have to be at the 
health club at seven." she groaned
"Well, would you like to meet me for lunch tomorrow? We break around 
one."
"That would be nice. I don't have to be at the dojo until four. And I 
only have to work the club until 12:30 tomorrow so that would work 
out just right." Shea said.
Paul got up and dressed while Shea put on a robe so she could walk 
him to the door.
"See you tomorrow" he whispered as he held her close.
"You got a date good looking." Shea said as she leaned up to kiss him
They said their goodbyes and Shea locked the door behind him. She 
sighed at the events of the last five days. Never in her wildest 
dreams did she ever think this would happen to her. 
She walked down the hall to see what Carol was doing. 
"Hey Carol, who won the game?"
"I did tonight. I take it your evening went well?" she said with a 
knowing grin. 
"Yes, it did and that's all I'm going to say about that,." Shea 
grinned back. "Hey did you hear something outside, sort of close to 
the apartment just a little while ago? Sounded like it was right 
outside my window."
"Not really. I wouldn't worry about it too much, it was probably 
just the Anderson's dog, he gets loose sometimes when they walk him 
at night."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, I'm off to bed. I have an early 
day at the health club tomorrow." she sighed. 
"Well, good night Shea. See you in the morning." 
Shea returned to her room and took off her robe before crawling 
under the covers. She hugged close the pillow that still had the 
scent of Paul's cologne on it and was soon fast asleep.


*************************************************************

The next morning, Shea was up early to go to the health club. 
She grabbed her bag and headed out the door with a car cup of coffee. 
"See you later Carol! I'm off!" she yelled before closing the door 
behind her.
Soon she was walking into the health club, bag slung over 
one shoulder as she headed toward the locker room to change for her 
class before helping Julie on the workout floor.
"Hey Shea! Did you hear the news? Melissa had her baby!!!! Its a 
girl seven pounds eight ounces. They named her Christina Rhiannon." 
Julie said excitedly.
"That's great!!! I bet Greg is over the moon right now!"
"He is John gave him the rest of the week off, so we're going to be a 
bit short handed for a few days.I was wondering if you could get 
Eddie for me, they won't listen to me," she said, indicating a group 
of three teenage boys using the free weights."Because, as they put 
it, 'but you're a GIRL!" 
"Little do they know eh?" Shea said with a smile. 
"Yeah, hey how are things going with you? I heard you had a new 
fella. Who is he?"
Shea was unsure how much to tell her because she understood Paul's 
desire for privacy. But since she had know Julie for the two years 
she'd been living in Nashville, she knew she could trust her 
discretion.
"His name is Paul and he's doing Phantom over at TPAC. We met at the 
Mapco of all places."
"You mean he's................" Julie said with a surprised and 
excited look on her face.
"Yep he is." Shea said with a grin. 
"You know you can trust me to keep quiet. I understand he's a very 
private man. Is he good to you, that's all I'll ask you." Julie said, 
slight concern showing on her face.
"He's very sweet, I don't remember the last time I felt so 
comfortable around a man." 
"I understand that. You deserve a nice guy for a change"
"Thanks for understanding about his privacy. We both appreciate it. 
I'll go get Eddie for you, where is he?"
"He's in the courtyard. I appreciate it, I'd go get him but I have 
two new members needing the tour and explanation of the machines."
"It's no problem, my class doesn't start until eight anyway."
Shea made her way to the courtyard between the raquetball courts 
where Eddie was having a quick breakfast of coffee and a danish. 
"That stuff will make you fat." Shea joked as she approached him.
"Hey Shea! Did you hear Melissa had her baby??" He asked.
"Yep, Julie just told me. She needs you to help with some boys using 
the free weights, they won't listen to her because she's a woman." 
Shea sighed. 
"Not very smart since Julie competed in natural body building until 
Matt was born."
"You know that and I know that but they obviously don't." 
"True. But teenage boys tend to let their hormones do the talking 
instead of their brains. Take it from a former teenage boy!" he 
joked. He finished his coffee and headed for the workout floor. 
Shea went to help Julie until time for her class to start. 
Julie was busy helping two women learn about the machines they would 
be using in the workout she had mapped out for them.
Shea didn't see the blonde woman approach her until she spoke.
"Excuse me, do you work here?" she asked
"Yes, can I help you?" Shea replied. 
"You can start by leaving Paul alone, bitch. He'll probably lose 
interest in you anyway, so why not save yourself some heartache now."
Shea was taken aback by the woman's attitude, although she tried not 
to show it.
"Excuse me? I don't what you're talking about." 
"Oh you do, if you really think about it. What he sees in the likes 
of you, I'll never understand." Rachel sneered, taking in Shea's 
petite form and glasses. 
At that moment, a young boy of about seven came running up to them.
"Miss Shea!! Miss Shea!! I think I finally got that tornado kick to 
work!!!" He said excitedly.
Shea turned her attention from the woman to the young boy. 
"Alright Joey!!! High five!!!" Shea said as the two slapped 
hands. "Go on into the class room and start stretching. I'll be there 
in a few minutes. and remember, no running in the workout area, ok 
Tiger?" 
"Yes ma'am I'm sorry I forgot."
Rachel waited until Joey left before she spoke again. In a low 
voice, she said "You're going to lose him, mark my words."
Julie approached to see if Rachel was ready to go over her workout 
plan, she could feel the tension between the two women and it puzzled 
her. She looked over her shoulder at Shea, her confusion clear on her 
face. Shea mouthed, 'I'll tell you later.' to which Julie nodded. 

**********************************************************

Meanwhile, Paul was in the common room studying his script to 
refresh his memory when a sandy haired man in his twenties approached 
Paul's table.
"Excuse me, Mr Stanley?" he said 
"Hi how can I help you? And please call me Paul. No need for 
formality." 
"Well, Paul I want to say that I'm looking forward to working with 
you. My names Felix, I'm in the orchestra."
"Nice to meet you Felix. I've heard good things about this cast and 
the orchestra. I look forward to working with you."
"Thanks Paul, I'll let you get back to your script." Felix said 
before he left to go get ready for rehearshals. 
Paul went to his dressing room for the final fitting of his 
costumes. Stella was pleased with the results of her hard work. 
"I must say Paul, I wasn't sure at first when they told me you would 
be doing this show, but I'm glad to see that your reputation for 
professionalism is well deserved,." she told him. "You're so much 
easier to work with than Rachel. I swear there seems to be no 
pleasing her." she sighed.
"Thank you Stella, I appreciate the compliment."
"Now go ahead and get changed, its almost time for rehearshal to 
start."
"Yes ma'am." Paul said sketching her a jaunty salute. 
Stella laughed as Paul went behind the partition to change. 
"Too bad I'm not ten years younger and single," she teased. "I'd go 
out with you in a minute you charmer you." 
Paul grinned at her. He knew he was going to like working with the 
wardrobe misstress very much.
Soon the cast was assembled in the auditorium, except for 
Rachel, who came rushing in about fifteen minutes late.
"Sorry I'm late, the damn hicks in this town don't know how to 
drive!" she complained. 
Paul inwardly groaned at her comment as he took in the annoyed looks 
of many in the cast and crew.
"Don't let it happen again. And keep the snide comments to yourself" 
the director said firmly.
"Yes Mr. Means." Rachel said meekly. 
With that settled, rehearshals began. Paul sat on one of the chairs 
in the backstage to watch until time for him to hit his mark. He had 
to admit that Rachel was a very good Christine, even if she did have 
a prima donna attitude. But he had to wonder how her attitude would 
affect the rest of the cast. He overheard her mutter something about 
the southern accents of other cast members when they weren't in 
character. 
Paul was working on the scene where Christine first takes 
off the Phantom's mask when he noticed Shea sitting in the 
auditorium. He was glad Mr. Means had said it was all right if Shea 
joined him for his lunch break. He didn't know that Rachel had also 
noticed the new arrival. When the scene was over, the director called 
for a lunch break. Paul stepped off the stage and went to greet Shea 
with a hug and kiss on the cheek. He didn't see Rachel's glare of 
dislike at the scene. 
"Hey little lady. How's your day going.?" He asked
"Not too bad. I had a strange encounter with a customer at the health 
club though." Shea responded, frowning.
"Well, lets go grab a bite and you can tell me about it." Paul said, 
draping his arm across her shoulders. 
They made their way to the common room where the food was.
Paul grabbed some tuna salad and some fruit while Shea chose to make 
a sandwich.
"So, tell me about this encounter. You seem a bit rattled by it."
"Well, we had a new customer come in to use the machines this morning 
and she seemed to know about us. She was quite nasty," Shea said, not 
willing to go into further detail. "She said that I should stay away 
from you and that I would lose you. That you would lose interest in 
me and that she didn't see what you saw in me."
Paul placed his hand over hers. 
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. WE are the ones who decide where 
this is going and no one else. We're just getting started in seeing 
where this will go,." he picked up her hand and placed a kiss on the 
back of it. "I'm still VERY interested in you Shea. Have no worries 
about that."
Shea smiled, her instincts told her that Paul was right. 'Probably a 
jealous fan who saw us together either at the pizza place or 
Guliano's' she thought to herself. 
They didn't notice Rachel approaching their table until she cleared 
her throat.
"Well, Paul, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" she 
said sweetly.
Shea tried to hide her shock at the fact that the nasty customer was 
Rachel. 
"Oh sure Rachel, this is Shea, Shea, Rachel. Rachel is playing 
Christine."
"Nice to meet you Rachel. Good luck with the show." Shea managed 
evenly.
"Paul is such a dear isn't he?" Rachel said, her blue eyes like 
daggers as she looked Shea in the eyes.
"Yes he is." Shea said, still maintaining tight control of her 
emotions. Something about her bothered Shea but she couldn't put her 
finger on it. 
"Well, I'll leave you two alone now. See you after lunch Paul."
"Bye Rachel." Paul said, turning his attention back to Shea.
Shea waited until Rachel was out of earshot before she leaned closer 
to Paul and in a low voice said.
"That's her!!!! That's the nasty customer I was telling you about!!" 
"Are you sure? She was polite enough just now."
"I'm positive. It's HER!"
"If she says anything else like that to you, let me know and I'll 
talk to her, ok? Try not to worry about it too much unless she 
crosses the line and tries something physical. But I bet you could 
take care of that if need be." 
"Yes I could and I wouldn't have to hurt her very much. We're taught 
to use only the force necessary to diffuse the threat."
"That's where the discipline comes in right?" 
"Yes," Shea said. "If someone just charges you, you try to get them 
face down on the ground and talk them out of fighting you. The only 
time you use potentially lethal force is if you think your life is in 
danger."
"Makes sense. You wouldn't want to get in trouble with the law if you 
really hurt someone."
"Yeah. Did you know that in the courtroom being a martial artist can 
hurt you in many instances?"
"Really? I wasn't aware of that. Why is that?"
"Well they figure if you know this stuff you should have control of 
it. It's just the way the laws are."
"So you could get in legal trouble for DEFENDING yourself.?? That 
doesn't sound right."
"Yeah it doesn't does it? But that's the way the law is." 
"Man there's a lot more to martial arts than I thought!" 
"Yeah, there is."
They continued to eat and talk quietly, enjoying this brief interlude 
in their busy days.
After lunch Paul walked Shea to her car. 
"I don't know what time I'll get out of rehearshals, the first show 
is next week so if I can't come by and see you, I'll call you, ok?" 
Paul said as he held her close.
"I understand. I know how important this is to you. We'll just have 
to see each other when we can."
"Thank you,." He said, kissing her softly on the lips. "Not many 
women do understand."
Shea hugged him before he opened her door for her and closed it. Shea 
rolled down the window.
"Have a good rehearshal."
"Thanks, hopefully I'll see you later." 
Paul waved as Shea pulled out of the parking lot. He turned to go to 
the backstage door and saw Rachel standing there. Half puzzled and 
half annoyed, he approached her. 
"Look, Paul, I just want to apologize for the other day, if I was too 
forward. I didn't realize you were already seeing someone. I hope 
this won't affect our working together." She said. 
"Apology accepted, but I don't appreciate your spying on me like 
this." Paul said evenly. 
"I'm sorry," Rachel said in a low voice. "It won't happen again."
"Good, now we have to get back to work." 
'We'll see how long she lasts with you. I always get what I want.' 
Rachel thought to herself.