Torn

Part 9

Stevie lazily opened her eyes the following morning, unsure if someone was really knocking on the door or was she dreaming. Fleetwood Mac had the day off so it couldn't have been Karen since Stevie had no place to be. Lindsey was stuck to her back, his arm firmly wrapped around her middle. She decided it was a dream and closed her eyes again.

There it was again a moment later. Stevie groaned, she patted Lindsey's hand. "Could you get that?"

"Are you sure?" A sleepy, muffled sounding voice came from behind.

Stevie's eyes snapped open and she looked back over her shoulder. It was most definitely not Lindsey in her bed, they didn't spend the night together, she was supposed to meet him for- oh shit! 

"Oh shiiiiit!" Stevie now cursed aloud. "Dave, what the fuck?" She hissed, kicking the covers off herself, she jumped out of bed to grab her robe. 

"Huh- what?" Still half asleep, Dave moved to sit up.

"Why are you still here?" Stevie rushed to locate her hairbrush after catching a glimpse of the state of her hair in the mirror. Lindsey would immediately know, what she had been up to just by looking at her. 

"'Coz you told me I could stay?" Dave replied with a question.

The knocking continued, each time increasing her heartrate. "Fuck. You gotta- I-" She looked around for a second then pointed to the bathroom, whisper-shouting. "Go, hide in there!"

"Are you s-"

"Yes, I'm serious." Stevie nodded, grabbing the covers to pull them down off him. 

"Shit, okay." Dave rolled out of bed, stark naked, not an ounce of shame as he passed her by and she slammed the door before he could say anything.

"I'm coming!" Stevie yelled out to whoever, most likely Lindsey, was in the hallway.

"You said that a lot last night." She heard Dave through the door as he laughed at his own joke.

Rolling her eyes, Stevie inspected the room quickly once more. She slapped her palm against her forehead, shaking her head as she noticed a pile of clothes, some of which were not hers. Taking everything at once, she asked him to open the door and as soon as he did, she threw their combined clothes at him.

"I'm sorry." She apologized and hid him again.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Stevie finally went to answer the door. A concerned looking Lindsey stood in front of her, she smiled sheepishly, doing her best to seem like she'd just got woken up, which wasn't a complete lie.

"Hey." Stevie said, holding onto the door handle, she stood in the pathway in case Lindsey decided to walk in. 

"Hey." Lindsey echoed, his eyebrows creased. "What on earth took you so long? Do you have any idea what time it is? I thought, you were going to come see me."

"I know, I know." Stevie nodded, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Linds. I-I had a late night, I overslept."

"What, you and Karen had a party or something?" Lindsey asked, scratching his head. Something felt off. 

"Oh, no. No, I just couldn't fall asleep for the longest time." Stevie assured, it wasn't that far from the truth.

"Why haven't you asked me come in?" Lindsey lifted his eyes up, trying to spot something, anything out of the ordinary. "I still haven't eaten, we can order room service."

Stevie gulped, trying to come up with a lie fast. "You know what? Why don't you give me another hour? We can go out instead. It's a beaaaautiful day." She guessed, the sun was shining so it was a safe bet.

"Stevie, are you okay?" Lindsey asked, laughing nervously. "Did something happen or...?"

"No!" She exclaimed. "No, I'm fine. Everything's fine."

"Well, if you're sure." Lindsey shrugged. "I'll see you soon then. Come by when you're ready."

"Okay, see you soon." Stevie repeated and quickly closed the door before Lindsey could lean in for a kiss and smell alcohol and... another man on her breath.

Stevie leaned against the door, exhaling heavily. She had momentarily closed her eyes and once she opened them again, she saw that Dave was out of the bathroom, munching on leftovers from the night before.

"I'm famished." Dave announced, glancing at her. "Want some of this? Still tastes pretty good." He offered her a piece of cheese on a cracker.

She should have been furious with him. Furious for coming out of the bathroom while Lindsey was just a few steps away and furious for everything that happened last night. But... she wasn't. Why wasn't she?

"You're something else, you know." Stevie said, feeling as though she was finally able to calm down. 

"Oh? In a good way or bad?" Dave grinned her way.

"Haven't decided yet." Stevie chuckled, shaking her head. "You have to leave, though."

"Yeah." He sighed. "I heard. Don't you wanna... I dunno, discuss last night?" He asked, looking away, he reached for a grape and popped it into his mouth.

"Was it good?" Stevie asked back jokingly.

"Good? Are you serious, good?" Dave emphasized. "Where do I begin!" 

"Don't." Stevie shook her head, coming to stand beside him, she leaned her head on his shoulder and his arm instantly wrapped around her. "It does oddly look kinda good." She said, focusing on the mostly finished platter. 

Dave put another piece of cheese on a cracker and held it up. "Open your mouth."

"You said that last night."

Dave's jaw dropped before he started laughing, not having expected that from her. "I really don't wanna go."

"I know." Stevie rose to stand on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I guess, we should talk about it." She answered his earlier question. "But not right now."

"When?"

"I don't know, Dave. All I know is that I have to do some damage control with Lindsey first." She sighed, stepping away from him. "Christ, how am I 65 and in this kind of situation?"

"Well-"

"Don't answer that either." Stevie held up a hand. "We'll be in LA somewhere in the beginning of July. Maybe let's see each other then?"

"Alright." Dave nodded his head once. Despite how against it he was, how he wanted to see her again later that same day, he knew, he had to give him her some space and let her reassure Lindsey that he was the only man in her life now and forever.