"Lunch everyone," Ted declared, looking around the studio before making his way toward the door. Paul let out a deep sigh and leaned heavily on his clenched fist as he grabbed his glass of water.
          "Not coming little fella?" Mikey teased as he moved his large frame from behind the desk.
          "Not hungry," Paul replied blankly sipping his water.
          "But it’s macaroni day in the canteen," Mikey pouted.
          "Then I'm definitely not hungry," Paul sighed.
          Mikey looked at him concerned and wandered over. "What's wrong?"
          "Just shit," Paul shrugged.
          "Shit? I thought the world was a happier place full of bunnies and butterflies since the lovely Gina entered it?" Mikey queried as he leaned over the front of Paul's desk like he was at a bar.
          "She's the shit," Paul breathed. "No, that came out wrong."
          Mikey giggled even though he knew Paul hadn't meant to be humorous. "You guys have a fight or something?"
          "No," Paul replied, toying with his now empty glass. "I'm thinking of breaking up with her."
          "What? Why?"
          "It's not working you know," Paul declared unconvincingly. "We don't really have a lot in common and I'm not really up for a relationship right now. I'd hate to lead her on and have her thinking I'm more interested than I really am."
          "Hold on," Mikey said slowly. "I thought you were in love with her."
          "It was a phase," Paul shrugged.
          Mikey chewed his lip a moment. "A phase? You wanted to have her children."
          "I wanted to get into her pants," Paul snapped, getting to his feet quickly and pushing his chair back so roughly it banged against the set. "There's nothing else to it."
          "Ok fine," Mikey breathed. "I was just wondering what's brought this on?"
          "Brought what on?" Paul scowled. "It's my life and if I want to break things off with her I will."
          "All right, don't shit yourself over it, Jesus," Mikey groused. Paul stood agitated for a moment and then stalked out of the studio without looking back. Mikey grabbed his handkerchief and dabbed his forehead still wondering what on earth was wrong with his friend.

          Gina fell back into her padded chair pleased she'd caught up with everything and the chief of staff was no longer trying to have her hunted down and killed. She rifled around under the various press releases, memos and newspapers on her desk to find her cell phone. She was hoping for a message from Paul since she hadn't heard from him in a few days. Gina wasn't too bothered though; they'd spent all weekend together and really needed a day or so breathing space. There was one new message on her phone and it was to tell her to call her messagebank. She thought nothing of it and dialled 101 and waited.

          "You have one new message at 1:40pm…Genie, Gina…it’s Paul. Listen there's no easy way to say this and I hate to do it this way and all but I think we should stop seeing each other, it’s not working out. I mean, it's not you, it’s me…fuck that's lame…just, go and find yourself that tanned foreign correspondent yeah…I'm sorry…"

          Gina's hand had shot to her mouth as she listened to the message. All weekend he'd told her he loved her, all weekend they'd shared kisses, all weekend he'd been by her side and now for no apparent reason he was dumping her the most gutless way possible. She leapt to her feet, still clutching her phone and hurried out of her cubicle and down the corridor into the entertainment section. Gina scurried into Amanda's office, closed the door and fell into a chair where she proceeded to burst into tears.
          "I'll call you back…" Amanda announced to whoever was on the phone. "Honey, what's wrong?" she gasped, getting to her feet and making her way over to comfort Gina.
          "He dumped me!" Gina wailed.
          "What? Paul dumped you?" Amanda said shocked as she rubbed Gina's back and handed her a box of tissues.
          Gina nodded through her tears. "For no reason, he just left a message," she blubbed handing Amanda her phone. Amanda redialled the messagebank and listened to Paul's message.
          "What on earth has got into him?" Amanda huffed. "And how totally spineless, the least he could have done was do it to your face." Gina fell into another wave of tears as Amanda placed her phone on the arm of the chair.
          "What do I do?" Gina sniffed.
          "I don't know," Amanda sighed. "He's a guy what can you do. He'll probably be over it in a few hours and realise what a dick he's been."
          "You think?" Gina pouted tearfully.
          "No, not really," Amanda winced. "But then I don't know him very well and he sounded kinda determined in his message."
          Gina tried to come back with some snide comment but just ended up burbling, "He just can't dump me. I love him so much it hurts, that's never happened to me before."
          "Oh honey," Amanda breathed and got to her feet. She grabbed her phone and pressed a button. "Dan, it’s an emergency, we need mud cake and we need it now."

          By the time he got home Paul felt even more miserable than he had the last few days. He dropped his bag on the floor and draped his jacket over the back of the couch before he sauntered into the kitchen and placed the brown paper bag he was clutching on the table. He tore it open and pulled out the brand new bottle of vodka he'd bought on his way home. He didn't bother looking for a glass, just took off the lid and started drinking. The vodka burned its way down his throat but Paul didn't care, he needed to wipe himself out and as quickly as possible. He held tightly to the bottle as he sought out the stereo remote which he found abandoned on the coffee table beneath an old newspaper and cranked up the music as loud as he could before falling onto the couch.

          The memory of the last time he'd seen Gina viscously entered his psyche and he took another gulp of vodka to quell it. She was getting ready for work, her little black skirt crept up as she leaned closer to the mirror to pluck a stray eyelash. He'd made some lewd comment and she'd turned and given him a cheeky smile, teased him about the state of his hair and then leaned over the bed to kiss him. Her perfume seemed to stick around long after she did, as did the sweet smell of her shampoo. Then there was nothing but her little skirt, disappearing out of the door before he'd fallen asleep again.

          Paul ran his fingers through his hair, took another mouthful of vodka and angrily kicked the side of the coffee table. He was self-destructing and it was his own damn fault. Paul wasn't an idiot; he hadn't wanted to break up with Gina, she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. That was the problem, their relationship was too good to be true and sooner or later he was bound to fuck it up and break her heart and he liked her far too much to put her through that. No, it was better it was over and done with sooner, then she could get on with her life and he could continue his life of soulless sex and drunken behaviour.
          His reasoning for ending things with Gina was interrupted by a loud knock at the door; he mumbled an obscenity and drank some more vodka before stumbling to the door. Paul fumbled with the lock for a few moments before he pulled it open. Gina stood there, her face tear streaked.
          "Just tell me why?" she announced, trying desperately to keep her voice steady.
          "I haven't got anything more to say," Paul swallowed.
          "For fucks sake," Gina spat. "I love you, you made me fall in love with you…the least you can do is give me a decent reason why you're dumping me."
          Paul felt himself being drawn toward her, wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her he was just being an idiot, wanted to stop her crying, but put his hand on the doorframe to stop him self. "I don't love you all I wanted was sex."
          Gina had to stop herself from gagging. She could barely believe what he'd just said. That wasn't the Paul she'd spent the last couple of weeks getting to know, he was lying right there to her face.
          "To hell with you McDermott," she breathed as she slowly backed away and then hurried down the corridor. Paul bowed his head as he closed the door and then wandered back over to the couch and reached for the bottle of vodka. He gripped it until his knuckles went white and then threw it into the kitchen where it smashed against the breakfast bar showering the room in glass and vodka. Gina raced back to her car and fell into the driver's seat, she rested her arms on the steering wheel and cried until it hurt and she couldn't squeeze out another tear.

          Two Months Later…

          "I just love a good movie premiere," Amanda perked as she linked arms with Gina.
          "You like them because they're free," Gina mused. "That and because it means a few hours away from your screaming child."
          "Hey, this is the closest I've had to a night out in over a year thankyou," Amanda chided. "Besides we get to mingle."
          "No we don't," Gina breathed. "The celebrities can smell a journalist a mile off."
          "Are you going to moan all evening?" Amanda frowned.
          "Depends, are you going to buy me chocolate?" Gina chided as they strolled over to the candy bar and Amanda set about buying popcorn, Maltesers and drinks. Gina scanned the growing crowd of minor celebrities from soap operas and the permanently agitated journalists most of whom were trying to cosy up to the minor celebrities. She felt a smile creep onto her lips for probably the first time in weeks. Was there a better way to cheer yourself up than chocolate and an Adam Sandler movie? Her smile quickly fell when she noticed a familiar figure trying to be inconspicuous behind a tub of popcorn - Paul.
          "Coleman, oi," Amanda scorned. "Take your stuff," she added and handed Gina her drink and Maltesers.
          "Ta," Gina breathed, not taking her eyes from Paul. While the hurt had faded to mostly anger and resentment, she still couldn't help but think 'God he looks hot' and soon the realisation of just how much she missed him started to seep back in.
          "What are you…" Amanda sighed. "Oh."
          "He looks miserable," Gina sighed.
          "Good," Amanda declared grabbing Gina's arm. "Serves the bastard right."
          "I know," Gina nodded as they headed toward the cinema. They quickly found seats and fell into conversation, Gina keeping an eye out for Paul until the lights went down and the adverts and trailers came on. She was feeling better and convinced he wasn't even seeing the same movie until she saw his familiar silhouette walking up the stairs. She winced and began to chant mentally, 'Not next to me, not next to me, not next to…shit.' Paul slumped into the seat next to her and placed his drink in the cup holder. She looked at Amanda who was entranced in whatever movie trailer was on and attempted to do the same. Gina was well into denial when Paul accidentally bumped her arm.
          "Sorry," he whispered. "Oh shit."
          "You should be," Gina whispered back, crossed her arms and felt enough anger to ignore him for the time being.

          The movie, The Wedding Singer was actually hysterical and Gina let her guard down and laughed with the rest of the audience. She tried to ignore every time there was an accidental brushing of arms between her and Paul's. She was however forced to bite her lip during one of the final scenes of the movie where Adam's character Robbie started serenading Drew Barrymore's character Julia, it was just too saccharine and perfect and tore at her already sensitive heart. The lights soon went up and Gina quickly ushered Amanda out of the cinema.
          "That was the best movie ever," Amanda declared. "Sure, it brought back the horrors of 80s fashion but Adam was to die for."
          "Absolutely," Gina nodded trying not to turn around and look for Paul.
          "What did you think?" Amanda beamed. "Other than mortified because dickwit sat next to you."
          "It was fantastic, I love the guy who thought he was Boy George," Gina half-smiled as a voice called out.
          "Amanda!"
          "Oh god, I have to go mingle," Amanda groaned.
          "Right, well I'm going to get some air," Gina declared as she squeezed Amanda's arm and headed off toward the exit.

          Paul crammed his empty popcorn box and drink container in the bin and wiped his hands on his jeans. He headed off toward the exit noticing the person Gina had arrived with was now entrenched in some jovial conversation with a group of people. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, as he reminded himself that wherever Gina was now was nothing to do with him. Paul stepped out into the cool night air and headed in the direction of the pub. He glanced down the side street beside the cinema complex as he walked and saw Gina leaning against the wall, her face buried in several tissues. He felt the guilt he'd been carrying around the last two months burn through him and hesitated only a few moments before he wandered over to her.
          "Are you ok?" he asked lamely.
          "Fucking fantastic, thanks for asking," Gina spat, the venom in her voice making him flinch.
          "Did you enjoy the movie?" Paul asked after several uncomfortable seconds of silence.
          "What do you care?" Gina scorned. "And why the hell did you have to sit next to me?"
          "I didn't realise it was you," Paul huffed. "As far as I knew you didn't know where the cinema was."
          "Do you want something or is your sole purpose in life just to ruin mine?" Gina snapped.
          Paul swallowed and looked at his feet, he kicked the loose stones nervously. "Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted," he announced, lifting his head. "I was stupid, childish and gutless and you didn't deserve it."
          "No I didn't," Gina breathed trying to stop herself from breaking down again. There were a few more seconds of silence before she spoke again. "So why'd you do it? Was it something I did?"
          "No, it was nothing to do with you. It was all me, I'm the fuck up, don't go thinking it was you," Paul gasped.
          "So why?" Gina begged.
          Paul looked at his feet again. "I freaked," he sighed. "Every relationship I've ever had I've fucked up, I do and I don't know why. I guess I'm just not supposed to be happy with another person, I don't know."
          "What's that got to do with us?" Gina asked, blowing her nose.
          Paul looked up again. "I like you way too much to have you suffer me self destructing and destroying everything we had. Easier to just end it and move on, save you the pain."
          "So, you hurt me," Gina swallowed as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. "You hurt me so you wouldn't hurt me?"
          "Seemed logical at the time," Paul sighed.
          “It's easy when you don't try going on first impressions. Man in a cage has made his confession. Now you've seen me at my worst and it won't be the last time I'm down there,” Gina sniffed. "The irony."
          "What?" Paul breathed.
          "’It’s Only Natural’," she mumbled. "The first song you sang to me."
          "Guess you really have seen me at my worst now," Paul agreed.
          "Oh yeah," Gina sobbed, her emotions getting the better of her.
          "Hey," Paul soothed, instinctively reaching out to caress her arm. "Don't cry, I'm not worth it."
          "Tell me something," Gina blubbed. "Did you love me?"
          Paul squeezed her arm, "Of course I did and I was never just in it for the sex." Gina stepped forward and buried her face into his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his waist. Paul was slightly shocked but quickly pulled himself together enough to stroke her hair. He closed his eyes and cursed himself for hurting her so much, she was truly devastated and it was his fault. Not only that but with her body pressed against his and her perfume filling the air he couldn’t help but feel the temptation to confess how much he still loved her and wanted her back.
          "You smell nice," he announced without thinking.
          Gina lifted her head; her eyes were red from crying. "You reek of popcorn." They shared a nervous smile as Gina pulled herself away from him.
          "I'm glad we talked," Paul breathed, digging his hands back into his pockets.
          "Me too," Gina nodded and gave a teary laugh. "I've just seen the funniest movie of the year and I'm an emotional cripple."
          "A nice smelling emotional cripple," Paul mused and reached over to wipe a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb.
          Gina felt herself blush and was glad it was dark. "I should probably go find Mandy."
          "Mandy? Amanda the woman who set us up?" Paul perked. Gina nodded. "She was chatting to a group of people when I walked past."
          "She'll be there for hours," Gina sighed and they stood looking at each other a bit lost.
          "Right, well, I better call a cab," Paul declared and fumbled for his cell phone. "Take care ok," he added with a smile that melted Gina's heart.
          "You too," she breathed and headed out of the side street. Gina had taken several steps when she stopped and turned around. "By the way, you are worth it," she announced and then continued walking.