Torn

Part 16

Lindsey stood in the doorway to the master bedroom of his home, trying to silently hide his annoyance, while watching his wife put finishing touches to her look. He wasn't necessarily annoyed with her, though, but the event he had to attend that night. Lindsey rarely ever cared about some big label exec's birthday, but Mick politely let him know that they were invited and that he had to show up to those things once in a while.

The party itself wasn't even the real problem. It had been over a month since he'd seen or spoken to Stevie. That night he went to her place, it left him so lost and confused. The following morning, when she called, it did soften him up a little, but nothing really came of it. She didn't bother to reach out to him again and he wasn't sure he was meant to contact her either. Well, tonight they had no choice but to be in each other's presence. 

Not too far from Lindsey's residence, Stevie too was about ready to leave. Except that tonight her assistant wasn't her plus one. It was a bold move showing up with Dave, but he was on the guest list as well, so. People knew that they were friends, but she was sure the inner circle was going to have some thoughts to share.

As soon as the doorbell rang, Stevie rushed to let Dave in. She was giddy with excitement, they hadn't seen each other for about a week. You can't spend all your time with me, she told him, you can't, she repeated, forcing them apart for at least a short while.

"Holy shit!" Those were the first words to leave Dave's mouth at the sight of Stevie.

"Excuse me?" Stevie asked, arching an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment?"

"Hell yeah, it is." He nodded, taking a step forward to crush her into his arms. "I've missed you so much." He said, pulling back slightly, he cupped her cheek and was leaning in for a kiss, but she stopped him.

"I've got lipstick on." Stevie pointed to her lips. "I don't want you to ruin it and I doubt you want to go to the party, wearing bright red on your face."

"Will you let me kiss it off you after?" Dave grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. 

"If you're going to be a good boy." Stevie joked, holding his face in her hands, doing her best to ignore her racing heart. 

"The best." Dave assured, hugging her close once more, deeply inhaling her wonderful scent. "Are you ready to go?"

"The question is, are you?" Stevie asked, stepping back as she went to look for her purse.

"Uh, well..." Dave shrugged, following behind her. "To be completely honest with you, I feel like I'm about to puke."

"What, why?" Stevie stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to look at him. 

"There are going to be a bunch of your ex boyfriends." Dave simply replied, holding onto the railing, his eyes focused on it too. "I mean, you're Stevie Nicks and I'm still seen as a crazy teenager basically, while all of those ex boyfriends are freaking legends."

"First of all-" Stevie paused and took two steps down to be closer to him. "It's not like we're going there as a couple, so..." She shrugged, placing her hands on his neck, she then let them slide lower and began messing with the lapel of his blazer. She was nervous, too. "Second of all, those freaking legends are also really freaking old." She laughed, making him smile. "As if they could still rock my world like you do." She cradled his face in her palms again and pressed the softest kiss to his lips. 

"Yeah?" Dave asked, gaining some of his confidence back. 

"Mhm." Stevie nodded, unable to resist one more peck. "I don't know about you, but I'll proudly walk into that room on your arm tonight."

"Keep talking." Dave said, motioning with his hand, which made her laugh. "Promise you'll take me home with you." His hands settled on her hips and he was once again eyeing her lips.

"Again, if you behave." Stevie chuckled, running her fingers through his hair. 

There was no question that they were going to come back together. Dave had already informed her that his wife was conveniently out of town and with the rest of Fleetwood Mac tour starting soon, she wasn't about to miss that opportunity.

"I forgot something." Dave held up a finger as if telling her to stay and wait.

"Huh, where are you going?" Stevie frowned, watching him as he ran out of the house. No more than a minute passed by, when Dave reappeared with a single long stem red rose and a grin on his face.

"You're my date, so..." Dave shrugged, holding the flower out to her. 

Such a simple gesture yet Stevie needed a moment to compose herself. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You're the absolute sweetest man, you know that?" She forgot all about the lipstick on her lips and finally gave him a proper kiss. "You're adorable." She said, wiping his mouth with the pad of her thumb.

"I love you." Dave blurted out and his own jaw dropped, realizing what he'd just said, Stevie stared at him wide-eyed. "No, I mean- uh- you know- I mean- well, you know, what I mean, right?"

Stevie forced a smile, nodding her head. "We don't have to dwell on that." She said. "I'll go grab my purse and we can go." 

Left alone, Dave cursed himself. He turned to the nearest wall and banged his head against it.

~

AN: Well. I wonder what could go wrong at the party? Thank you for reading! ♥