When I See You Again

Part 10

Lindsey held his head in his hands as he was coming out of sleep. His head was killing him and his stomach wasn't doing any better. He was afraid to move too much, thinking, he might have to run to the bathroom if he did. Opening one eye, he took in his surroundings. He realized that he wasn't home right away. He vaguely remembered coming to see Stevie, he knew they talked, but he had no clue, how he made it into her bedroom. He turned his head to the right and found the other side of the bed empty. 

The bedroom door opened minutes later and in came Stevie. She was already dressed up, coming his way with a glass of water and painkillers. 

"Thanks." Lindsey finished the glass in one go, he then lay down again. "What time is it?"

"After 1 pm." Stevie replied, taking a seat on his side, when he moved slightly. "I bet you feel like shit."

"Yeah." Lindsey sighed heavily, closing his eyes again. "Thank you for taking care of me. I don't remember, but I'm sure you did."

"It was one hell of a job getting you in here. You fell asleep on the couch."

"I'm sorry." 

Stevie shrugged. "How many times have you carried me to bed?"

"Right, but you're light as a feather." 

She burst out into an unexpected laughter. "Whatever. Can I get you anything? Coffee, breakfast?"

"Oh God, no." Lindsey shook his head. "No food. But coffee would be nice."

"I'll be back in a minute." Stevie rose to her feet, but before she was too far out of his reach, Lindsey grasped her hand. "Anything else?"

"Thank you, Steph. I mean it. God knows, I don't deserve you looking after me right now." He said and when she didn't reply, he attempted to pull her down for a kiss.

"No way." Stevie pressed a finger against his lips. "You stink."

"Hasn't stopped you before." Lindsey pointed out.

"Yeah, but all of those times before, I was as drunk as you the previous night." Stevie freed her hand from his hold and walked out of the room. "There's a spare toothbrush in the medicine cabinet if you want it!" She let him know, already out of his sight.

 Instead of just brushing his teeth, Lindsey decided to jump in the shower as well. Stevie was right, he smelled. Looking at his options, he chose the shower gel, which had the least feminine scent. He then poured a generous amount of shampoo into the palm of his hand and tried to close the cap with his free hand. He failed and the bottle slipped out, spilling some of the expensive, he was sure, shampoo.

"Shit."

"Is everything okay in there?" Stevie had apparently returned and Lindsey panicked.

"Yeah, everything's fine! Don't come in here!"

"You do realize that I do want to come in now?" Stevie's voice grew louder and he guessed she was just outside the door. 

"I've spilled some of your shampoo, Steph, I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes and went back to the bed to sit down. "I can afford a new bottle, you know."

"I can't really hear you. I'll be out in a second."

Lindsey reentered the bedroom in a short moment, small droplets of water falling down on the floor from his curls, a very loose towel hanging around his hips. 

"I hope, you don't mind." He smiled sheepishly.

"That you've covered yourself with a towel I use for my face?" Stevie smirked, leaning back on her hands. "I'm just glad, I know, which one you've used."

"You're in a good mood." Lindsey noted, coming to stand just a step away from her. 

"What can I say? I didn't down the same amount of alcohol you did last night." She tilted her head to one side more. "Do you remember, what we talked about at all?"

Lindsey sighed, then shook his head. "Not really if I'm being honest."

"Maybe that's for the better."

"Wait, what things did I tell you?" He asked, but she just gave a shrug of her shoulders. "Come on, Stevie. Tell me."

"It's not important." She said, shaking her head.

"Tell me." He insisted, now standing in between her legs.

"Or what?" Stevie challenged, looking back at him. She realized, she was using his memory loss of last night's events, but she wasn't about to remind him that he wanted to stop loving her.

"Nothing, Lindsey. Really."

"You're a horrible liar." Lindsey's hand fell on her thigh. "Am I gonna have to force it out of you?"

"You could try." She moved back, so she could lie on the bed fully and welcome the weight of his body on top of hers. 

Just like that, they were at it again. Stevie realized, what she was doing, was wrong, but she wasn't ready to let Lindsey go. He was convinced that she didn't want him. He clearly didn't think that she had changed at all. Yes, it might have been difficult for her to admit it that she needed him more than she had ever needed anyone else, but it didn't change the fact that she most definitely wanted him. She didn't want to say it out loud, because she was afraid. She was afraid of giving their relationship another try and failing yet again. Her heart had been broken one too many times as was his. 

"What's on your mind?" Stevie asked Lindsey as he lay beside her, not having said a word in what felt like hours. 

"I... I need to go home."

"Okay." Stevie shrugged, rolling onto her side. 

"I don't want you thinking that I'm running away from you again." Lindsey admitted, turning to look at her.

"Well, I understand. I don't think you're running away. Yesterday was difficult for everyone involved." And by everyone, Stevie meant Cheri. "You can go home, Lindsey."

"Can we agree on something, before I leave?"

"What's that?" 

Lindsey swallowed uneasily, taking a moment to just look at her. "The next time we see each other, we're not going to get into an argument?"

"That's a lot your asking, Linds."

"I'm not kidding, Stevie." He shook his head. "I need to know that we're going to be okay. Please. Promise me?"

It was a lot he was asking, but what else was she going to say? "I promise."