After getting lost a few more times, I finally ask Marco to help me find the gym. He and Lucy, of course, made a huge mess in the kitchen and flour-covered both of them.

It reminded me so much of when JP and I would bake together at their age. But the memories only add to my current annoyance and frustrated state.

Marco shows me where the sparring gloves and headgear are after we walk in.

"You want to go around or two?" He asks me cheekily.

"Let me get some energy out first. I don't want to hurt you, kid," I tease as he rolls his eyes at me. "You can hold the bag while I punch and kick," I tell him. "You've been training then?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much all we did when we lived in Italy, well that and homeschool. But we train at least three times a week now. JP is even training Carmen, but don't take offense to this, some girls aren't meant to fight, and that is totally Carmen. Now Lola, on the other hand, may only be turning five next month, but she's got a lot of fire in her; she's very scrappy," Marco says, laughing, and I laugh along with him.

"Carmen has a lot of fight in her, too. She just needs to be shown how to bring it out and harness it, trust me."

But he just shakes his head at me, chuckling.

We spend the next little while taking turns hitting and kicking the punching bag.

"Well, let's see what you got, Marco." I jog around the mat. He tightens his gloved hands with his teeth and then holds one hand out to me; we tap hands and then begin circling each other.

Marco moves quickly, and I feel the air whoosh past me when I dodge and weave out of the way. I move in and sweep his leg, and he falls to the mat, but he moves before I can get him in a hold, and he grabs my foot to do an ankle lock.

I turn the opposite way getting out of his hold and grab his arm and pull him into an umbar. He taps when I lift my hips, pulling his arm back, putting pressure on his elbow.

"You can't leave your arms hanging out, Marco, remember?" Santino chides Marco as he shakes his head. JP and a few of the men have joined us now, including Lucy.

JP is now dressed in basketball shorts and a cut-off shirt. My eyes trail along his large arms and new tattoos. "How about you take someone more on your level?" JP asks me, grinning.

"Okay. Santino, let's go," I say jokingly. The men and the others react to my jab.

Santino shakes his head. "You might have been the one always to pin him in the past, but I think you'll be surprised at how far John Paul has come, Stella."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Be careful what you wish for, kid," Santino says, smiling at me.

JP puts on sparring gloves but skips the headgear. "Don't you want to protect that delicate head of yours, Capo?" I tease.

JP smiles, "Tell you what, if you pin me first, then I'll put it on."

I move in quickly with a quick combination, but he blocks my hits, and then he moves forward, throwing his own combination at me, but I duck and move out of his range.

We go back and forth for a while before I decide to make my old move on him.

I fake a punch and climb over him and pull him down with me, but it wasn't as easy to pull him down as I remember, and it probably has to do with how much bulk he's added.

The crowd that has now gathered reacts to the impact he makes on the mat, but he doesn't stay down long enough for me to do a hold on him.

"I'm sensing some aggression, principessa, but it also seems you're out of practice. Been dancing more than sparring it looks like," JP taunts, "I hate to point out the obvious, but I don't think a pole is going to help you in a life or death situation."

"Shut the hell up, JP," I hit him a few times in the stomach, "How was your meeting?" I aim a punch at his chin, but he moves, and I hit his shoulder instead.

"It was great, thanks for asking," He grins at me. "You should have been there."

I groan with frustration as I move on his back and punch his side and put my arms around his neck, but he grabs me and flips me over his head, and I land hard; the air leaves my body from the impact.

The groans I hear on my behalf only fuel my anger.

I scramble back on my feet and throw a quick combo, but he catches one of my hands and spins me around, pulling me towards him so my back is pressed up against him.

"You know what I think you really need?" JP asks me as I struggle to get out of his hold.

I stomp on his foot, and he loosens his grip enough for me to turn around and hit him with a straight kick, pushing him away from me.

"You have no idea what I need, John Paul," I say, panting before I throw another combination, and he grabs me, and once again, my back is to him as he leans down.

"I know you, baby. And you definitely need a few hard pulls on this ponytail of yours," JP whispers in my ear and tugs on my hair. "Hmm, you switched back to your old lotion; did you do that for me?" I struggle against the hold he has on me; his nose trails down my neck, inhaling deeply.

A mixture of a scream and groan comes out of my mouth before I elbow him in the stomach, but he blocks the knee I was aiming at his face when he bent over.

We end up grappling on the mat and fight over superior positions. The men are yelling out their words of encouragement to JP, while Lucy, Marco, and now Miles and Kai tell me what I should do. Eventually, JP pushes me away enough to stand.

I see the look of triumph over his face, and I kick my leg out to sweep his, and he falls. I scramble over him and twist his arm in a lock, but he bucks his hips and gets me off of him, and I'm now on the mat with him looking down at me again, as we're both breathing heavily.

So many memories of when we would spar as kids to when I wanted to kiss him before we became more than friends rush through my mind, and I know he remembers all of it, too, as he looks down at me.

JP leans back and holds his hand out to pull me up, and he lifts me so fast, I end up bouncing on my feet; he grins at me before walking away.

"Damn, moms, I've never seen you get pinned down before," Miles says.

"No one's perfect, Miles," I groan, annoyed, as I stretch out my arms and legs. "How was the tea party? And why are you wearing lipstick?" I take notice of the red hue on his lips.

"Oh, after the tea party, we did makeovers." Miles gives me a lopsided grin as he shows me his now freshly painted fingernails, too.

I look over at Kai and burst out laughing at the blue eyeshadow he's wearing and the bright blush on his cheeks.

Kai doesn't appear as into it as Miles with his less than amused expression on his face.

"Where did you guys get the makeup?"

"Letty let the girls play with her makeup," Kai tells me unenthusiastically, and I chuckle.

"Hold on, a sec." I grab my phone and take a picture. I see I have a few missed calls from Sean before I start taking pics. Kai tries to move away, but Miles holds on to him, holding up the Shaka sign and grinning happily.

"This will go in our family album when I put it together." I tease.

"Hey moms, since you're working again tonight, can we stay here again?" Miles asks.

"I'll ask JP if it's okay."

"Ask if what's okay?" JP says from behind, startling me. Why is he always sneaking up on me?

"Can we stay here for the night since mom's working again? We want to do a Harry Potter movie marathon if that's okay with you?" Miles asks.

"Sure, I'm fine with it," JP says.

"Cool, Cool. Let's go tell Carmen and Lola," Miles says and grabs Kai. I watch as Lucy and Marco follow behind them, whispering.

JP chuckles as he takes off his gloves. "They're a lot of fun; the girls have grown attached to them so quickly."

"They are fun," I say as I take off my gloves.

"I hate to tell you this, but you may want to hit the gym a bit more."

I look up in shock. "Excuse me?"

"Look, I don't want to say you're rusty, but you're rusty, Stella," He laughs, and I hit his arm, and then he puts me in a headlock while he laughs again, and I find myself laughing with him before he lets go.

"What happened with us?" I wonder out loud.

"What happened? You ran away is what happened?" JP says as he helps me take the headgear off.

"No, you left me first, JP," I correct him.

"And I apologized repeatedly, and I told you I would make it up to you if you'd let me. But you still left; you didn't feel the same, Stella."

"I did feel the same, but what did you expect? You broke my heart JP, in a way I thought you never would. You promised you'd never hurt me or my heart."

"Yeah, well, you got me back when you left and wanted nothing to do with me," He responds.

We don't say anything for a moment as we stare at each other, and I finally have to look away.

"Why him?" JP asks quietly.

I look up at him again, and I see he's watching me carefully. I glance around the room and see we're alone now. "Well, because Sean is...he's...nice, smart, and funny. We get along really well. And you know, it's not...complicated. It's easy, fun."

JP nods his head. "Easy, fun." He repeats while he looks around the empty gym.

"He's not you though," I probably shouldn't have said it, but it's the truth. JP's dark eyes meet mine, and then he smiles softly.

"Listen, there's so much going on, JP can we just attempt to be friends?" I hold my hand out to him.

He looks down at my hand and stares at it for a moment longer before his eyes meet mine, "friends?"

"Yes, friends. We were friends before everything got so complicated," I tell him while I still have my hand out like an idiot.

His hand comes against mine, and his fingers wrap around my hand. "Friends." But there's something in his eyes that sends my insides into a hot fluttering mess. And the longer he holds my hands, the more it feels like I'm burning from the inside.

I let go of his hand and head out of the gym, but he catches up to me quickly.

As we get closer to the kitchen, I peek up at him, and he's still smiling like he was in the gym. Finally, I walk through the doorway and freeze; JP bumps into me with my sudden stop.

"Sean?"

Sean looks at me, then at JP. His eyes move over us, and he can probably conclude that we were working out together.

"Sean said he wanted to see you, and you weren't answering your phone, but I knew the kids were here. So I told him he could come with me." Enzo explains, looking between me and JP, too.

JP moves around me, heading to the fridge, and grabs a water bottle; I start moving towards Sean.

"I'm glad you're here." I hug him, and he gives me a quick kiss. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Sean says, looking into my eyes intently.

"Parmesean! How's it?" Kai and Miles both come into the kitchen and man-hug him. I chuckle at the nickname, and Sean gives me a look.

"Parmesean?" Marco questions as he and Lucy follow into the kitchen.

"Mom likes to give him different nicknames using his name. So far, we've come up with, Seanyboy, Seany, Seanypoo, Seanybear, Sean-sean, Seanasaurus, Dejsean Mustard, and Parmesean is the most recent one," Lucy tells him, "And Enzo calls him Skid Mark Sean," She informs everyone. I stifle my laugh as Enzo cracks up next to Lucy.

"Cute," JP states, and Sean glares back at him.

"Johnny!" Letty rushes towards us from the back door, "We need a neutral opinion here. Which is better to have an addiction to--having a sweet tooth or something like smoking weed? Rocco says a weed addiction is easier to manage than having a sweet tooth; what do you think?"

"Letty!" I don't feel comfortable with the totally random topic in front of the kids. I give Kai, Lucy, and Miles a look, and they leave the kitchen. Lucy grabs a plate of cookies and walks to the family room.

JP surprises me when he answers Letty after the kids' walkout.

"Well, Letty, that is a good question, but I don't know if my opinion is neutral. Everyone knows I have a sweet tooth. Don't get me wrong, I like a good hash now and then, but there's a certain sweet flavor I can never get enough of, and I would gladly get a mouthful of cavities just so that I could have it every day." JP tells her.

"Damn, you made that sound so..." Letty swallows, "hot." 

Jessica nudges her to snap out of her obvious arousal and Letty blinks looking around.

"Sean, do you want to try mom's cookies?" Lucy interrupts when she runs in, holding up the plate of cookies in front of his face.

Enzo spits out his water, while Letty and Jessica fail miserably at hiding their amusement with their laughter.

"I made them, but it's mom's recipe," Lucy tells him as she looks around the room, noticing the change in atmosphere.

"Sure, I haven't tried them yet," Sean says and grabs one off the plate, trying to ease Lucy's confusion.

But of course, JP has to add to the tension in the room. "You haven't tried Stella's cookies yet?" JP questions as he walks closer to us, keeping his eyes only on me and grabs one off the plate when Lucy holds it in front of him, too.

"Shame; you're missing out. There's nothing more mouthwatering and addicting than Stella's cookies," JP takes a bite and winks at me as he walks out of the kitchen. My face is on fire at his obvious insinuation.

So much for attempting to be friends.

"Holy shit," Letty gasps, "He's just so---" Jessica clamps a hand over Letty's mouth and pulls her out of the kitchen.

"Something tells me he wasn't talking about cookies, guys?" Miles says out loud.

"Miles!" I scold him, and Kai grabs him in a headlock and takes him back into the family room. Lucy and Miles follow behind them. Sean can't even bring himself to take a bite of the cookie now and sets it on the counter.

The tension in the room is growing more uncomfortable, and I'm desperate to move on from the images that are probably running through Sean's head right now.

"How was your meeting?" I look up at Sean, smiling, but his face is serious and sad.

"It went well," Enzo speaks up.

"Sean?" I nudge his arm, and he looks over at me, finally.

"Yeah, it went better than expected, considering Cristian hates me," Sean finally says, sighing as he sits at the counter.

"Are you coming tonight?" I ask Sean, rubbing his arm, trying to ease his discomfort.

"For a little bit."

I look at Enzo, silently telling him we need space.

"I've got to make a call," Enzo says and starts walking out of the kitchen, but he turns around and walks up to me quickly. "I didn't know; you hadn't told Sean about you and JP being guardians for Mel's kids. Sorry, don't hate me. Love you." Enzo rushes his words before kissing my cheek and runs out of the kitchen.

I look at Sean, and I can see now why he's so upset. Well, more than he probably already was, I guess.

"Hey, look at me," I tell Sean. He moves his eyes over to me slowly. "Talk to me."

"Not here," He glances towards the family room where all the kids are sitting.

I lead him out to the back patio and close the doors behind us. I sit at one of the couches, and he pulls a chair out and sits down heavily.

"Why are you here so much?" He asks, his tone sounds accusing.

He knows about Melanie and the kids, so I don't understand why's he's asking this.

"I had a meeting with JP and his lawyer about Melanie and the kids. I told you that this morning; Why don't you listen to me?" I cross my arms, starting to get angry that I have to repeat and defend myself to him.

"So, how did that lead to you and JP working out, exactly?"

I move my eyes back to him, "Sean, I was sparring with Marco. Then JP and some of the guys and the kids came in and watched us spar. You can ask them if you don't believe me."

"What do you expect?" Sean raises his voice. "A fucking blind man can see he still wants you, Stella. It was hard enough competing with the ghost of him when we thought he was dead, but now he's here, alive, Stels." He stands and starts pacing. "And when were you going to tell me about being joint custodians over the kids? I had to hear it from loudmouth Enzo," He glares at me.

"Sean, I tried telling you when we met up yesterday morning, but you were in a rush, and I know you're stressed and under pressure with everything that's going on with Jimmy and now the Albanians--"

"This isn't about fucking Jimmy or the damn Albanians!" Sean yells, and I'm taken back by his sudden anger.

"Sean, I'm with you," I hold his face. "You," I repeat.

He keeps his eyes downcast. "My father thinks I should walk away. So I can focus on what needs to be done."

I drop my hands from his face, and I'm transported back to when JP told me the same thing about Tony.

"All I can think about is you and him together, and now I hear you're going to be sharing kids like you're a perfect little family," Sean turns away from me again, but I grab onto his arm.

"We aren't together, Sean. You and I are," Hoping he understands. "Yes, we'll be raising the kids together, but people who aren't together co-parent all the time."

"He fucking dumped you on your ass, Stella!" Sean shouts at me, "You're willing to sweep it all under the rug for the sake of raising kids together that aren't even yours!"

I suck in a breath harshly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Stella. This is all just..." He groans in frustration, dragging a hand through his hair.

He gives a humorless chuckle, "Not to mention how fucked up it was that my father met you after having to watch you dance half-naked, in front of him, and among several other men in that damn club."

My eyes are welling up with tears, and I turn away, holding my arms around myself. The old feelings I had of not being enough or not measuring up to what I should be for someone come rushing back to me.

Sean turns me around and wraps his arms around me. "I'm sorry, Stels," He kisses the top of my head. "I just got so worked up and...jealous, too. I'm so sorry; please forgive me."

His arms tighten around me as he keeps apologizing while I cry quietly into his chest and I wonder if this i the beginning of the end for us.

~~~~~~~

JP, JP, JP (SMH) Hahaha!

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