I've Loved You Ever Since

Part 24

Stevie lazily opened her eyes the following morning, the smell of what she guessed were banana pancakes luring her out of bed. Taking a few more minutes to wake up, she stretched and kicked the covers off to get up. The first thing her eyes landed on was Lindsey's T-shirt from last night and she put it on. 

The sight of Lindsey in nothing but grey sweatpants made Stevie pause in the doorway for a moment. Smiling, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him from the back, she kissed in between his shoulder blades. 

"Good morning." Lindsey spoke up, covering her clasped hands on his stomach with his. 

"Morning." Stevie mumbled, her cheek pressed to his back.

"How did you sleep?" Lindsey asked, flipping a pancake. 

"So well." Stevie pulled back and stepped aside. "That looks so good."

"Yeah? You hungry?" 

"No." She shook her head. "Not yet. I'd love a cup of coffee, though."

"Okay." Lindsey put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair. "You go back to bed, I'll be right there with you."

"I can make it myself." Stevie opened a cupboard, but he closed it again.

"Get your pretty butt back in bed." He told her.

Stevie bit into her bottom lip, looking at him. Shaking his head, he asked her not to do that. He smiled, hearing her laugh as she walked out. 

Ten minutes or so later, Lindsey entered the bedroom, carrying a plate for himself and coffee for Stevie. He set his breakfast on the nightstand and carefully handed her the cup after she'd sat up against the headboard. 

"You should consider wearing my clothes more often." Lindsey smirked, cutting a piece of his pancakes. "Fits you much better than me."

"Don't encourage me because I will steal this." Stevie joked, looking down at his shirt she had on. "It smells like you." He turned to face her and she thought, she should have kept it to herself. "So... seems like we have officially ruined our friendship, huh."

Lindsey laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Eh, we weren't that close anyway." She slapped his arm. "Okay, okay, we were. We are." He added. "But, uh, it doesn't really feel like we've ruined anything, does it?" 

A smile slowly crossed her lips, she shook her head. "It doesn't. Last night, since the moment you showed up at my door to pick me up, was pretty perfect."

Lindsey was about to say something, but he caught her looking at his breakfast. "You said, you weren't hungry." 

"I'm not." Stevie lied. 

"I can share." Lindsey shrugged, bringing a bite to her mouth. "Just taste it."

"I'm not hungry." Stevie insisted, but he was still holding the fork up. Sighing, she parted her lips and closed them around a delicious, syrupy piece of pancake. "Oh my God." She said, sticking her tongue out to lick her lips. "Why is that so good!"

"Maybe because we burnt a thousand calories last night." Lindsey joked. 

"Mhm." Stevie nodded. "You wore me out." She took a sip of her coffee and put it on the nightstand on her side, she scooted down the bed a little to lie down. "And you also left a bunch of marks on me." It didn't sound like a complaint, more like a time spent really well. 

"Ha!" Lindsey scoffed, sitting up, he turned to show her his back. "I wonder, who did this?"

Stevie's mouth fell open slightly, she carefully touched the red marks she'd made with her nails. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize- does it hurt?"

"Don't worry about it." Lindsey waved it off, actually looking quite smug. "If this isn't a sign that I did my job well, I don't know what is."

That dirty laugh, which was completely new to him, filled the room again. He leaned back against the headboard, putting his unfinished breakfast away. After admitting he was in love with her, Lindsey hadn't said those words to Stevie once. It somehow didn't seem right, as if it had the power to change their relationship for the worse. But...

"I love you." Lindsey mustered up the courage to tell her now. Whatever happens, happens. 

A tiny smile appeared on her face and Stevie moved closer to him, she pecked him on the lips. Her voice was muffled as she pressed her face against his chest, he couldn't quite understand what she said, but he really wanted to believe that she told him, she was starting to love him too.

"Do you have to leave?" Lindsey asked, lifting her head up to look at her. 

"Well, I don't have any other clothes and I need to shower..." Stevie trailed off, waiting for him to throw suggestions at her, which would make her stay.

"I'm not one of those men, who use one product in the shower, you know." Lindsey gave her a look. "I'm sure, you'll find something suitable for you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "And I'll find something for you to wear, too."

Stevie smiled, she then nodded her head. "Then I don't have to leave."