Just Steve

N I N E T E E N

Later that evening Steve had taken you to one of his favorite restaurants. Time flew by just as it always did whenever you were with him. The hours felt like seconds, and before either of you could realize you were taking your last few bites of the chocolate cake you had decided to split.

"So is this where you take all the ladies you want to impress?" you joked, before taking another bite of dessert.

"(Y/N), I haven't tried this hard to impress a lady since the 1940's," he smirked back, reaching over the table with his fork to grab a piece of the cake. The plate sat in the middle of the table now with only one bite remaining.

"Really? Not even Sharon?" you asked, half-jokingly.  

The jealous ex, who clearly had it out for you, had not come up in conversation since the night before. It wasn't something you really wanted to talk about but the topic still seemed slightly unfinished. You wanted to make sure the book on Sharon and Steve's relationship was fully closed, and after the drama of last night you felt like there were still a few chapters left unwritten.

"I thought you might ask me about her. I'm not going to lie to you, you obviously know that we dated for a little while. I'm not much of a casual dater but my friends kept telling me I needed to put myself out there," he explained.  

His voice was calm but you could tell he was slightly anxious and you were too. You kept shifting your eyes back and forth between Steve and the last piece of the chocolate cake nervously. 

"I know that the Sharon you met last night was terrible and I'm not excusing her actions in any way, but she wasn't always like that. When we first started dating she was funny, and caring. And it was nice to be seeing someone who understood my line of work."

Nodding your head to show Steve that you were listening, you grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. You were pretty much as far as anyone could be from being a superhero, but clearly this was something that had been important to Steve. From the sound of it Sharon had been important to Steve too. You suddenly felt trapped in the middle of two people, where you didn't belong. You blamed your pregnancy hormones for turning you soft when you realized even felt slightly bad for Sharon. It must be really hard to see someone you have feelings for about to have a baby with someone else. That didn't make the things she had said to you okay. You would never be friends with her, in fact you really hoped you would never see her face again, but you weren't perfect, so you couldn't expect everyone else to be either. Reaching across the table you took the last bite of cake, placing the fork on the table, avoiding any eye contact with Steve. 

"Things were good with us for a while but we had only been seeing each other for a few months or so when she started to change. She got jealous and she got manipulative. I'd tell you all the details if I thought they were important but I know they aren't," he said, reaching across the table to take your hand in his.

"What's important is that whatever Sharon and I had was over a long time ago. Meeting you has been like a breath of fresh air, so please believe me when I tell you there's nothing she can say or do that could ever make me want to go back to her, and I'm so glad that I get to be here with you."

When he finished speaking he squeezed your hand gently and you looked up, finally meeting his concerned gaze. The situation was definitely less than ideal, but you would never hold Steve's dating history against him. If he was telling you that she was out of the picture than you would trust him. Visions of you, Steve, and your unborn baby living together happily as a family that had once seemed impossible had started to feel plausible. You weren't going to let this take that possibility away. 

"I believe you Steve," you said, smiling softly. 

"You do?" he asked, slightly surprised.

You nodded, feeling guilt start to bubble up inside you. Steve had never done anything to make you doubt his integrity. It wasn't Steve's fault that James and Amanda had thrown you away like yesterday's paper, or that you had been forced to watch your parent's marriage fall apart. You had never wanted these things to affect him, but they clearly had.