"You know, on second thought..." Stevie gave Lindsey an apologetic smile as she stopped them by the entrance to the hotel. "Maybe, I shouldn't have another drink."
"Oh." Lindsey struggled to hide his disappointment. "Would you like me to walk you to your room?"
"Uh, no." Stevie shook her head. "I didn't say, I want to call it a night, I just... I'm afraid, I won't be able to control myself and do something stupid."
Lindsey was a bit lost. She was giving him mixed signals and he didn't understand what it was that she truly wanted. Thinking that their conversation had just turned very private, he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her outside.
"Do something stupid?" Lindsey echoed her words. "Like what?"
Stevie began fidgeting with a ring on her finger, unable to look him in the eyes. "I don't know." She shrugged. "Like... kiss you or something. And I have never thought about another man like that for the past three years I've been with Dean." Stevie then scoffed, crossing her arms. "But then again, I believed that by now, at 32-years-old, I'd be married to him, so..."
Lindsey wished that she hadn't said that, but at least she gave him an honest answer. "Okay, we don't have to." He smiled, shaking his head. "We can just go for a walk?"
"Really?" Stevie gave him a questioning look. She hadn't met a man, who wanted to just go for a walk with her, after she'd admitted to being attracted to him before.
"How does a stroll along the shoreline sound?" Lindsey offered Stevie his arm and she couldn't fight back a smile.
The beach was unsurprisingly empty at that time of night. Her mother taught her better, Stevie thought, as she walked with Lindsey in the dark. A man she met only hours ago. She felt strangely safe with him, though. When he offered to carry her heels, she instantly started comparing him to Dean, who would have never done that. Stevie made fun of her height, when she stood barefoot, Lindsey told her, she was still cute. Dean wouldn't have even agreed to walk aimlessly in the middle of the night with her.
"You're sure, you're single?" Stevie asked, tilting her chin up to look at Lindsey.
"I am." Lindsey nodded. He noticed that she was trying to hide the fact that she was cold, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I haven't found the one yet, I guess."
"Maybe your standards are too high." Stevie wondered, placing her arm around his back.
"Maybe." He shrugged. "Or maybe I'm impossible to be with. I don't know, but I've stopped guessing. If it's meant to happen, it will happen." He said and looked down at her, suddenly aware of how close they were.
They continued on for a while, silent, but comfortable in each other's presence. Stevie was facing away towards the ocean, feeling a great temptation to dip her feet into the water. Lindsey told her she was crazy, that it was unsafe, but she freed herself anyway and took a step, he reached for her hand to stop her.
"Yes?" Stevie asked, when he spun her around and her chest was now pressed against his.
"Don't look at me like that." Lindsey shook his head. He let go of her hand and the tips of his fingers traveled up the length of her arm to her neck. He traced her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb and she let him.
"I still want to kiss you." Stevie said, giving a weak one shoulder shrug.
