Stay With Me a While

Part 6

"Before I put anything else on, I want to say that I've written these songs with you on my mind." Lindsey's hand fell on Stevie's thigh and hers naturally rested on top. "I want you to think of it as a dialogue between us, you know? A conversation opener of sorts. There's probably a lot that you'll find in these songs, but I..." Lindsey looked away, unsure if he should continue. "I want you to know that all of the emotions are sincere."

"Linds?" Stevie's thumb brushed over the back of his hand as she waited for him to face her. "You don't have to be nervous, we've been doing this for decades." 

"That's true, but things have changed considerably over the years." He shrugged, his fingers laced through hers. "I'm- I'm not really sure if I should still be putting those feelings into words anymore."

"Well, unless you sang something along the lines of, I'm in love with Stevie Nicks to this day..." Stevie joked, making him laugh lightly. 

"I didn't make it that obvious." Lindsey rolled his eyes, then smirked, looking at her. "Unlike you did with Everybody Finds Out."

"I told you, Lindsey, that song has nothing to do with us." She insisted every time he brought it up. He knew better, but there was no point in having an argument about it. "Come on, put something on." Stevie steered them back, seemingly only know realizing that they'd been holding hands. 

Lindsey moved away, so he could play Stevie another one of his rough demos for her. He had several options and he took a moment to choose the one he wanted for her to hear next. 

"This one's called Miss Fantasy." Lindsey spoke up and Stevie took in a deep breath, slightly anxious for it to start playing. 

The first thought Stevie had, was how vulnerable his voice sounded. It was clearly important for Lindsey to get those things off of his chest and he wanted her to really listen, to understand, where he was coming from and why he was communicating them to her. She closed her eyes, no other sound besides Lindsey's voice surrounding her. 

Do you still tremble when I fall
Will you still answer when I call
Would you still love to linger up against the wall

Stevie smiled to herself. She felt Lindsey's stare on her, but her eyes remained shut. There had been more times than she cared to count, when they didn't see eye to eye, they argued and their fights were always passionate. Most of the people around them simply believed that it was because they hated each other, while truthfully, it was because they cared so much about each other. And when they couldn't get anywhere, when words seemed to fail them, he'd usually push her up against the wall and for a fierce, often too short a moment, they forgot, what they were fighting about to begin with.

The music faded and Lindsey's eyes locked with Stevie's again. She didn't speak up, which worried him. In a way, they had always been each other's biggest critic, therefore opening up to one another like this was scary. 

"So, aren't you going to say something?" Lindsey asked, his patience had run out. "We can change if there's something you want changed. I'm not hung up on any lyric or anything."

"Since when are you willing to rewrite your song for me, Lindsey? It's your song and I love it. I think, we'd sound wonderful together on the chorus." 

Sighing in relief, Lindsey smiled, wiping the sweat off his forehead that wasn't there. "You liked the linger up against the wall part, huh?"

"Well, you must have too if you put it in the song." Stevie replied, knowing that he thought he was going to corner her. 

"Those were, uh..." Lindsey chuckled nervously. "Some of the most memorable moments between us, yeah."

"When you say, I was grieving for you, is it about my mom?" Stevie asked as she began fidgeting with her necklace. It was still a very touchy subject. 

"It is. I've known your mother for as long as I have known you, Steph. She was important to me, too."

"She loved you." Stevie said, a sad smile crossed her lips. "Certainly, she loved you the most out of all of my boyfriends." She added with a laugh and Lindsey sensed the tension melt away.

"She had good taste." Lindsey shrugged. "Alright, moving on-"

Lindsey was stopped mid-way through his sentence. There was a knock on the door and Kristen stepped in, that same fake smile on her face, hands clasped in the front. 

"If you're not too busy, dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes." She said.

"How long have we been in here?" Lindsey laughed, glancing at Stevie, before he turned to Kristen again. "Okay, we'll be right there." Lingering a second longer, Kristen half expected them to follow her out, but seeing as that wasn't about to happen, she left by herself. "We can come back after?"

"Sure." Stevie nodded. "Unless, you go to bed at 10 pm." 

Lindsey rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. "Come on." He held out his hand for Stevie and pulled her up to her feet. He mindlessly slid his arm around her waist and she didn't seem to mind.