Torn

Part 2

"One more?" Dave asked, showing to Stevie's empty glass. 

Stevie shook her head, shielding her mouth as she yawned. "I should go. We have an early flight tomorrow, playing in Vegas. I need some rest."

"Oh come on, who knows, when we'll see each other again?" Dave said, giving her his best puppy eyes, sticking out his bottom lip and all. 

Stevie laughed at his comical expression before she sighed. "Why is it that I find it so impossibly hard to say no to you?"

Dave smiled widely, shrugging his shoulders. "That sounded like a yes. Besides-" He looked down at his watch, then lifted his hand up to show it to her. "It's officially your birthday."

"Actually, I was supposed to-" She cut herself off mid sentence. "Nothing. Nothing." She repeated, shaking her head.

"What?" 

"No, seriously, nothing." Stevie assured, pushing the thought of Lindsey out of her mind. "Fine. One more and I'm leaving."

"If by that you mean one more and I'm taking you back to your hotel, making sure you get back safe, then yes." Dave nodded, making her laugh again. He signaled for a refill. 

A long pause followed. Stevie felt as though Dave was staring right into her soul as they sat facing each other, his eyes on her. She didn't say anything, instead she looked away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why did you do that?" Dave asked, Stevie turned to him again, her eyebrows slightly creased. "You're hiding yourself."

"Oh, uh..." Stevie shrugged, reaching for her white wine. "I don't know. Just... the moment just then, it kinda felt-" She stopped and thought, intimate. "I think, I'm drunk." She chose to lie, forcing out a giggle. 

Dave didn't buy it, but he let it go. For some reason she was either uncomfortable or embarrassed, he didn't want to make it worse. "So, Las Vegas, huh?" He changed the subject. 

"Mhm." Stevie nodded, swallowing a sip. "I wish we had the night off, though. I hate performing on my birthday. Every single happy birthday, Stevie, just reminds me of how freaking old I am."

"Age is just a number." Dave gave a shrug of his shoulders. "You look fantastic."

"Yeah, for my age." Stevie scoffed, rolling her eyes. She'd read one too many headlines with that additional detail over the years and it pissed her off every single time.

"No." Dave disagreed. "No, not for your age. You look fantastic." He repeated. 

"You're making me blush." Stevie now laughed sincerely. "Thank you."

They'd known each other for years. And all those years, Stevie saw Dave as a great, much younger friend, who shared her passion of creating music, helping people through it. Tonight, however, there was something different about him. She was probably crazy for thinking that, but it felt like he'd dressed up for her. He'd brushed out his hair and she doubted that she'd ever seen him in a blazer. He smelled great too. Not that you couldn't, I just hope you wouldn't try, Lindsey's words echoed in the back of her mind. Crazy, absolutely insane.

"Well-" Stevie held up her glass and waited for the last drop to roll into her mouth. "Looks like it's time for you to take me back to the hotel." Dave's mouth hung up and her eyes grew wide. "Oh my God! That did not come out right!" She shook her head, now definitely embarrassed. 

"No, it's okay." Dave laughed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Really. It just- it came out so unexpectedly."

"Why don't I go by myself?" Stevie got up on her feet. "And die of embarrassment."

"Come on." Dave waved it off. "You're right, it's time for me to make sure you get back safe." He corrected her earlier statement.

Once the bill was paid, Dave put his arm around Stevie, who'd been waiting for him patiently in silence. They walked out together into the night and Stevie shivered due to the sudden change in temperature. He pulled her in a bit closer. 

"Would you mind walking?" Dave suggested. "We're not too far away."

"Uh... sure." Stevie nodded, even though she would have preferred the short car ride instead. She'd been wearing her platform boots for several hours too long already. 

"How come you're not staying at your own house?" Dave asked, protecting her from the crowd on their way. 

"I rarely ever do. The tour just started and if I go home, I'll only miss it more, when I have to leave first thing in the morning. Everyone else is staying at the hotel, too." Stevie added. "It's much easier getting us all to the airport from one place."

Makes sense, Dave thought as they grew quiet. 

They managed to make their journey almost unnoticed. Several faint 'it's Dave Grohl!' and 'was that Stevie Nicks?' could be heard, but they didn't acknowledge it. It wasn't that unusual for Dave, but Stevie hadn't gone out in public without Karen and a bodyguard in forever. It was even somewhat exciting.

"Thank you." Stevie said once they stopped. "You really didn't have to."

"Hey, we're still outside." Dave pointed out. "I'm not leaving you until I'm absolutely certain you're behind closed doors of your suite."

Stevie opened her mouth to argue, but then decided against it. Just as it'd been a long time since she was out in public, it'd been just as long that she was in the presence of such a gentleman.

"Karen's probably going nuts." Stevie chuckled as they entered the elevator. "She's like my shadow and she doesn't know where I am. She always knows where I am."

"Sounds more like a mother." Dave laughed, leaning against the wall, he turned to face Stevie.

"Seriously." Stevie nodded. "She made me promise to keep her updated and I haven't informed her on my whereabouts once!"

"You're in good hands if I do say so myself." Dave joked, looking down at the feeling of Stevie's hand brushing over his for a brief moment. 

The elevator stopped and Stevie walked out first to lead the way. She stopped shortly once again and so did Dave as they now stood in front of each other, silent. 

"I had a wonderful time tonight." Stevie spoke up, fearing that she might do something stupid otherwise. 

"Me too." Dave agreed. "It's not every night I get to hang out with the Stevie Ni-"

 "Oh, shut up!" Stevie laughed loudly, putting her palm over his mouth at the same time to keep him from talking. She would have never done that had she been completely sober. 

Dave smiled against her hand and held up his, his fingers wrapped around her tiny wrist, he lowered their hands and tentatively laced his fingers with hers. Stevie gulped, watching as he took a small step closer, causing her to take one back. She found herself pressed against the wall. 

"Tonight felt different." Dave mustered up the courage to say. "Or am I going crazy?"

Stevie swallowed uneasily, her mouth had gone dry. "I mean, yeah, you are, but..." She felt his other hand cup her cheek and she closed her eyes for a second. "What- what are you doing?"

"You can push me away." Dave said, giving her a chance to back out. 

He let go of her hand and placed his on her hip. She put both of hers on his chest, unsure of if she was going to let them slide up higher to his neck or push him away, like he said.

"Last chance." He whispered, staring into her eyes.