On My Way To You

3

Lindsey opens the door for her and she walks in and looks around. His house wasn't huge by any means. But it wasn't horrible either. The garage door kind of kiddy cornered the front door and there was a wall directly to the right, but once you walked further in you met the staircase and the living area. He had a nice sized TV over a fireplace. There was a couch and a coffee table, but that was it. No arm chairs. Lindsey had a desk pushed in the back corner next to an open door which she realized was a half bath. And he did have a record collection pushed against a wall. There was an arch way by the 'hallway' that led into the kitchen. It was decent sized, but right in the middle of the room, there was a small table that sat four and a dog dish. 

"It's cozy." She looks at him.

"It's probably garbage compared to where you live." Lindsey states taking off his coat and hanging it up in a minuscule coat closet, but there were only two coats in it. 

"No, it's lovely. Where's this Duke that you talked about?" "

"He's probably in Stella's room. I'll go get him. He should probably go out anyway." Lindsey heads up the stairs. 

When he gets downstairs, he's carrying a brown and white bull dog and Stevie smiles. She loved animals. 

"This is Duke." Lindsey states.

"He's adorable." Stevie coos going over and greeting him. The dog doesn't really react to her, but she nuzzles with him and plants a kiss onto his head. 

"You like dogs?" 

"I have two. Sulamith and Lily. They're Chinese Cresteds.

"Oooh, rats...you have rats." He winces.

"Stop it, they're cute." She scolds.

"Come on let's take him out." Lindsey chuckles grabbing the leash and latching him, before setting him down on the floor. 

As they were walking down the street, she had latched onto his arm and when they got back to the front of his house, they had stopped and were sitting on the steps.

"So you were teacher of the year for five years in a row?"

"I guess they just like me." Lindsey shrugs.

"I guess so." She chukles "I was going to be an English Teacher, if the music thing didn't work out." 

"Really? Not a music teacher?" 

"No...I love poetry and reading. English just felt more natural." 

"Music was my minor." 

"Music?" 

"I played guitar when I was in college. But when Kristen got sick and we moved from the suburbs closer to the school, my guitar got damaged in the move and I never got it fixed or got another one." Lindsey shrugs.

"Why did you move closer?" Stevie asks.

"Part of it, was because I was tired of the sympathy looks from the neighbors and I was tired of them saying my little girl deserved a mommy. The other part of it, was that it was just too hard. It was a thirty minute commute every day. Stella was in one school, I was at another, it was just too hard...And Robin and her husband Kim, live right over there." He points up and across the street a little ways. 

"Within walking distance." Stevie chuckles.

"Within walking distance...it's annoying because I have no privacy, but it makes me feel a little bit better. And Robin helps me take care of Stella a lot...Stella's over there now having a cousin sleepover. Matt is four and she loves taking care of him. She's amazing with little kids." Lindsey explains. 

"I think this is the most peaceful, I've been in twenty years." She tells him peering up at the stars scratching Duke's head. 

"Oh?" He questions.

"I feel like I can't ever escape the paparazzi and, fans know where I live so I always have to have people around me looking out for me. I'm surprised I was even able to escape tonight." She sighs. 

"Well, I'm glad you did escape." He tells her.

"Do you have a pen?" She inquires.

He pulls one out of his pocket and she smiles holding her wrist out to him.

"What?" 

"Write your phone number on my arm...I can't give you mine for legal reasons, unless I call you...I like talking to you, and if you'd let me...I think I want to be your friend." She states.

"Are you serious?" Lindsey asks.

"I only feel normal when I'm with you..." 

"Oh?" 

"Even with Don...I felt forced, like I had to be someone I wasn't...but at that dinner the other night, and here like this...it feels normal and I like it." She tells him. "For once, I'm not a lion in the zoo." 

"Why me though?"

"I don't know...maybe it was meant to be." She shrugs. 

He nods and then writes his number on her wrist. She grins and then digs her phone out of her purse and dials his number. It rings in his pocket and when he pulls it out she gasps.

"Oh no, absolutely not...you need a better phone." She laughs.

"My phone works fine." He pouts.

"No, that's awful...can you even text on that?" She asks.

"I can, very slowly." He nods. 

"Okay, that's going to have to change." 

"I can't afford it right now, maybe next year when they're a little cheaper." He shrugs.

She just rolls her eyes. 

"Shall we go in, it's getting a little dark out?" Lindsey asks.

"yeah, let's watch a movie or something...by the time it's done, I can call a car home." She nods.

***

Lindsey felt her sag against his arm half way through the movie and when it was over he looked to his right and she was fast asleep. He bit his lip, because he didn't know what to do, but then he saw that she had laid out the number for the car company. The business card was strategically placed by her phone. He bit his lip and picked her phone up. It didn't have a lock on it, which was surprising, but he punched in the number and told them his address. He watched out the window and saw the lights slow down in front of his house so he gently woke her up.

"What time is it?" She asks sleepily. 

"Little after twelve...your car is here." He tells her.

"You called one for me?" 

"Yeah, I wanted to let you sleep." 

"Thank You, Lindsey...for tonight." 

"Of course." He nods standing up and leading her to the door. He collects her coat from the railing of the stairs and helps her into it and then as he walks her out he smiles at her. 

"Call me when you're lonely." 

It wasn't two minutes later when his cell phone was ringing.

"I'm lonely."