Angel

Part 25

Lindsey sat behind the wheel of his car after he'd pulled into Stevie's driveway. He needed a minute to compose himself. Everything's going to be fine, he said out loud, letting out a deep breath. Knowing that if he stayed in his car any longer, Stevie was likely going to come out herself, more questions than she already had. He picked up the flowers he'd placed on the passenger's seat and got out.

The doorbell rang and Stevie stopped in front of the mirror to check her appearance one more time. She took a couple of calming breaths and went to answer the door, telling herself that the conversation they had earlier didn't mean anything.

"Hey you." Lindsey smiled, coming inside. "As promised." He held out the bouquet of roses and Stevie hugged the flowers to her chest, inhaling the beautiful scent.

"Thank you." Stevie returned his smile as she stepped into his open arms. "I've missed you." She repeated and he told her that he had missed her too again.

"Feels like we've been separated for months." Lindsey drew back slightly, he then cupped her cheek and planted a light kiss on her lips, afraid he'd mess up her lipstick. "Are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah." Stevie nodded. "I'll just put these in a vase." 

Lindsey breathed a sigh of relief once he was left alone for a moment. So far, so good. Stevie returned shortly and he offered her his arm. The conversation felt a little forced as they sat next to each other in Lindsey's car, but he tried to make up for it by caressing her hand or bringing it up to his lips for a kiss. A song came on the radio, which Stevie loved, and when she started humming, he knew, she was at ease.

"This is like our first real date, huh?" Stevie picked up the menu once they were seated at their table. 

"I guess, it is." Lindsey nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"Kinda." Stevie shrugged, chuckling lightly. "It's different compared to when we're on tour. This is serious."

"I keep telling you that I am." Lindsey gave her a pointed look.

"Oh and I'm not?" Stevie asked, picking up a glass already filled with water. "If I weren't, I would have shown you the door when you-"

"Hey, can we... not do this?" Lindsey stopped her, keeping his voice soft and calm. "Why bring all of that up?"

"You're right." Stevie agreed. "You're absolutely right."

Once they'd ordered their food, Lindsey steered the conversation in a different direction. He asked, how things were going at the studio for Stevie and she couldn't seem to stop talking about it. He didn't mind, he was going to have to get used to it anyway. Though, he appreciated the fact she only mentioned Jimmy once or twice. Even though Lindsey still wasn't totally okay with Stevie going solo, she did seem really happy talking about her upcoming debut album. After all, that was what he wanted for her, he wanted her to be happy. 

"So..." Stevie reached for her wine glass and took a sip. "How's this first date going to end? Are you going to drive me home, kiss me goodbye and leave?"

"Is that what you want?" Lindsey raised an eyebrow, not really sure how serious she was being.

"No. You could take me back to your place." She suggested, a smirk on her face. Once again, Lindsey became nervous. Now Stevie thought that there was definitely something he was keeping from her. "What's going on, Linds? You were weird on the phone when I mentioned coming to your house and you're acting weird about it again."

"N-nothing's going on." He shrugged, shaking his head. "I told you-"

"What you told me is bullshit." Lindsey sighed. "We said, we were going to be honest with each other." Stevie reminded him.

"I know." Lindsey shifted his gaze away from her then cast his eyes down at his joined hands in his lap. "I wish you didn't have to find out..." He said more so to himself than her.

"What?" Stevie frowned, her heartbeat picked up pace. "Tell me. What is it?"

"Can I tell you after dinner and after I bring you home?" Lindsey asked hopefully. "Because you will definitely want to leave when I do."

"Lindsey." She said his name in a serious tone of voice. "What is going on?"

"The reason why I don't want to take you back to my place is..." He gulped, unable to look her in the eye. "It's because Carol Ann is still there."

"Excuse me?" Stevie didn't care that the whole restaurant likely heard her. "What the hell, Lindsey? I though- does she even know you're broken up?"

"She does. Of course, she does!" Lindsey swore. "I told her, she could stay until she finds a new place, I-"

"Okay, just stop for a second." Stevie sat back, staring at him for a moment. "When did you tell her that exactly?"

"W-when I came home, after the tour." Lindsey's mouth had gone dry and his heart was racing. 

Stevie scoffed, shaking her head. "Let me get this right. When you told me, you were still in love with me, that you wanted to be with me... you and Carol Ann were still a couple?"

"I, well..." 

"I can't believe this." Stevie knocked back the rest of her wine. "I assumed you'd talked with her first before coming to me."

"We weren't really together anymore." Lindsey leaned in closer, he didn't want everyone else to hear them. "After I kicked her out that night at the start of the last leg of the tour, we hadn't even spoken once. She just lived in my house and-"

"Lives." Stevie corrected him. "She still lives in your house."

"Stevie, please, I-" Lindsey sighed, looking away. "She means nothing to me, you know that. I should have told you, but I was scared."

"Yes, you should have." Stevie snatched her hand away when Lindsey managed to take and hold it in his for about a second. "And you keep accusing me of sleeping around, when you're the one, who's actually living with someone else."

"Nothing happened between her and I since we-"

"How am I supposed to know if that's true?" Stevie asked, folding her arms over her chest. "How can I believe anything you're saying?"

"Stevie, I swear-"

"I'm done with dinner, thanks." Stevie cut him off once again and rose to her feet. 

"Where are you going?" Lindsey thought she'd come back, but he was left watching her getting farther away from him. "Goddammit." He cursed, pulling out his wallet. He threw several bills too many on the table and ran after her.