Sitting in the chair, only a couple of inches away from the bed, Lindsey held her hand in his as he scanned over her facial features. "You have to wake up, Steph." His voice was soft as he gently ran his thumb back and forth across her knuckles.
He had only been in the room for five minutes, after he'd spent days arguing with Karen about seeing her... All he wanted to do was see that she was okay, that was it.
"I need you." He admitted with a gentle sigh as he slowly sank back in the chair. "And I'm sorry..." He added after a moment of silence.
He wasn't sure she could even hear him, but in that moment it just felt right to talk about how he felt.
"I don't want it to be like this." Lindsey shook his head softly, still watching her eyelids flutter every couple of seconds.
It looked like she was having quite the dream and in fact, she was.
"Come back, baby." He whispered, carefully bringing her hand up to his lips to leave a soft kiss on the tips of her fingers. "I love you."
~~~
"I have to go home..." she sighed, curling up close to him on the sofa.
"I know." He didn't want her to leave, but he knew that they both had other obligations... Other people in their lives that expected something from them.
Feeling his lips on her head, she slowly slipped her arm around him. "But I don't wanna go." She didn't, not in the slightest.
Going home was the last thing she wanted to do, even though there was this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her that needed to.
She couldn't just run away in this life. She had a husband and five children, who loved her and she loved them... a lot.
Even though she didn't quite understand the feelings she was experiencing towards her family, she knew her life had always circled around them... they were her life and that part of her was slowly starting to creep forward.
"I'm going to a big release party in a few days," he announced in a low tone. "I would really love it if you came with me." Lindsey liked her a lot.... He really wanted to spend more time with her.
Raising a brow playfully, she leaned in a little closer. "Won't that be a little suspicious...?" She wondered, biting down on her lower lip lightly.
He smirked as he shook his head. "I bring people to release parties all the time." Lindsey replied with a faint shrug, almost like it was no big deal... whatever they were doing would go right under everyone's nose.
She grinned lightly as her eyes stayed locked with his. "You always have a different date to parties?" She was certain that wasn't what he was trying to say... she knew him pretty well and that wasn't his style.
Lindsey was actually a really faithful man for the most part... He had made mistakes, but when he was devoted to someone, he was usually all for them. And she knew, deep down, that Lindsey had never crossed the line that they'd crossed before.
He had always been about Lori, just like she'd always been about her husband.
"You're the only one I've ever taken that I've started to fall in love with." His words really came as a shock to her... He was feeling it too, even though it was so new for them in this world. "I'm sorry..." he chuckled, shaking his head when her silence spoke such high volumes.
"No," she pushed herself up to look down at him a little better. "Don't be sorry." She assured, heart beating a million miles a minute.
She didn't get nervous in front of Lindsey anymore... not normally, but for some reason, she really felt bubbly and even a little shy.
"I feel the same way about you." She felt way more, of course but she couldn't admit that to him.
"I know it's so soon, Stevie, but it doesn't feel that way." It was crazy to feel such an attachment to someone he'd only known for a few days... It didn't seem right, but it really felt like it was.
He felt like he'd known her for an entire lifetime.
"I'm falling in love with you, too." She had fallen in love with him many, many years earlier, but the sparks were still there... they were still strong.
~~~
"Babe?" David's voice traveled through the house as soon as he stepped in through the front door.
Sighing softly, Stevie sank back into the counter as she cradled a glass of wine in hand. "Hi..." her voice was soft and a little sad.
She had dreaded going home, she really had. She had never been married, but she figured a really awful, really deep argument was going to transpire after she'd spent an entire night away from home.
That just seemed like the normal thing to do after that.
He trailed into the kitchen a moment later in his teams jersey, a pair of cargo shoes and tennis shoes. He had coached a game that evening- just like he did every Friday, but usually... almost every week, for almost thirty years, his wife was in the crowd. But not that day.
"I'm glad you're alright." He was so relieved that she was home... she was all he could think about all evening- he couldn't get her out of his mind. "I was really worried about you." He announced as he set his gym bag down on the floor.
"My friend..." she lingered, staring at him right in the eyes as she began to tell a really tall tale. "My new friend- Lori called me late last night and she'd been arguing with her husband, and she really-"
"Please, Stevie." He shook his head softly, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Don't lie, please." The way he said that caused her heart to sink into the very pit of her stomach. "I know you too well..." he admitted, eyes so weak and so gentle as he stared into those brown orbs.
She didn't expect it, she really didn't, but the tears were overpowering and before she even had the chance to reply, they were streaming down her cheeks.
"I know you've been seeing someone else." David had known her for so long and there was a spark in her eyes that he hadn't seen in years.
She was in love, but it wasn't with him.
"I'm so sorry." She conjured up just enough courage to get those words out.
There was a part of her that was so upset with her actions... She knew this was very out of character for her in this world. And a part of her really felt awful.
"What can I do?" He knew it couldn't have been going on for too long, but he also didn't really want to know the entire truth.
He wasn't one of those guys to pry all the details out of her... Somethings were better left a mystery and in that moment, he wasn't worried about the extent or the length of her infidelity... He was only worried about fixing what they shared.
"I'll do anything it takes to save us, baby." That was something no man had ever really said to her... "Anything." He repeated as he slowly ventured towards her.
With her brows wrinkled, Stevie's tears continued to make a river down her cheeks. "I love you." She quickly threw her arms around his neck to be held, feeling this instant comfort as soon as he pulled her in close.
"I love you, too." He whispered, kissing the side of her head as his vision began to blur. "And I'm sorry that I haven't shown you enough lately."
