Brian sat between Stevie and Lindsey in the back seat on the ride back to the hotel. Although their performance was one of their best yet, Stevie was still disappointed that Lindsey had refused to even acknowledge her presence at all, both on stage and off after the show. The other three members of the band talked excitedly about their plans for the rest of the night, completely oblivious to the tension growing between the pair.
When they had finally arrived back to the hotel, Lindsey went straight back to the room he had shared with Stevie the night before. Stevie trailed slightly behind him, calling his name. She slipped through the door just before he had pushed it closed.
“Lindsey?”
He desperately tried to ignore her by busying himself with digging through his duffle bag, not looking for anything in particular. He didn’t want to suffer any more rejection and was debating sleeping elsewhere so he didn’t have to be near her tonight.
“Lindsey, can I please talk to you?” She asked quietly. She sat on the bed opposite of the his and took his hand in hers. He watched her intently as she picked out her words carefully.
“Ever since I first sang with you, I knew we had something special,” she began. Her thumb ran across his knuckles, not knowing who she was trying to comfort more. “And I haven’t been able to get away from it. Not only are you the only one who supports my music, but you’re the only one who understands it and the only one who can make my songs feel complete. And I think that Dave knew this, too, because last night not only did he say that he didn’t want me around the band, but he said he didn’t want me to be around you , specifically. I think he felt threatened because he could never do what you do for me.”
She looked up from their intertwined hands. Lindsey’s face had softened and he was giving her a look that encouraged her to continue. “I need you, Linds. And I want to be with you, but I just need some time to get over this breakup with Dave. We were together for a long time, and even if deep down I know it wasn’t meant to be, I still feel broken. I want to make sure that when I start seeing someone else that I’m able to give them all of my heart, not just the pieces.”
Lindsey nodded, bringing his hand up to her cheek, wiping away a tear. “We’ll take this as slow as you need to, Steph. I meant what I said earlier and I’m sorry if it seemed like I was trying to take advantage of you. You know I’d never mean to hurt you.”
“I know,” she replied, bringing her hand up to cover his. She didn’t know what had overcome her, but before either of them knew what what was happening, her lips were on his. She pulled back, smiling shyly. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure!” The beaming grin on his face caused her to laugh. She sighed contently as he pulled her into his arms, holding her for a moment before she pulled back.
“I’m going to get ready for bed,” she stated, grabbing her pajamas and heading toward the bathroom to change. Lindsey took this opportunity to change into his own pajamas and crawl into his bed. He heard the bathroom door open a few minutes later and sat up to find her awkwardly standing in the door frame.
“Is everything okay, Steph?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” she replied timidly, chewing on her bottom lip. “Um, Linds?”
“Yeah?”
“I know this is probably the exact opposite of taking it slow, but um, can I sleep next to you again tonight?”
Lindsey chuckled, pulling the blankets back for her, “Come here.” She snuggled up close to him and he wrapped her arms around her before falling asleep.
