Torn

Part 19

It was ridiculous. Dave had conspired with Karen again and as a result, Stevie was outside of her own house in the car with her assistant, waiting to be allowed to come in. She was forced to spend hours out, doing nothing, wondering what he was up to. Well, not exactly nothing. Fleetwood Mac were going back on the road, so she used the time to get her hair and nails done. Karen also took her shopping for 'something nice to wear for tonight'.

Dave's phone screen lit up and it started buzzing, he reached for it to answer and heard Stevie's impatient voice. Five more minutes, he told her, wanting to doublecheck everything was in order. Stevie didn't wait the whole five minutes and opened the front door almost as soon as they hung up.

"Dave?" She called his name since he was nowhere to be seen.

"Coming!" He yelled back from upstairs.

Stevie heard Karen drive off as she waited for Dave to appear. And he took her breath away, when he came down the stairs in, wearing black dress pants, a blazer and a white shirt. She raised an eyebrow at him, coming towards her.

"Either you're severely overdressed or I'm underdressed." Stevie spoke up, looking down at her outfit choice. 

"You look like a snack." Dave replied as his arms went around her.

"Is that a good thing?" Stevie cocked her head to one side, making him laugh.

"Oh yeah." He nodded, leaning in to capture her lips. "I wanted to do something special before you left. I could have taken you out to a nice restaurant, but I decided on a more private setting." He stepped back and held out his hand for her. "Come."

"I can't do it on demand, you know." Stevie joked, entwining her fingers with his. She smiled at his loud, sincere laughter.

"You ever thought of becoming a comedian?" Dave asked rhetorically, leading them out into the back garden.

Once they stepped outside, Stevie didn't feel like making jokes anymore. There was a table set for two, the only light source was the garland she'd insisted on wrapping all around a massive tree and candles, framing the pool she never used. She didn't notice that he was no longer standing beside her, taken by all that beauty, but she naturally leaned back into him as he stood behind her, circling his arms around her waist.

"Do you like it?" Dave asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Do I like it?" Stevie repeated, she turned around and reached up to plant a big kiss on his lips. "Dave, this- this is..." She blinked away the tears in her eyes. "This is one of the most beautiful things anyone's ever done for me."

Dave wiped the sweat off his forehead that wasn't there with the back of his hand, eliciting a chuckle from her, making her nose crinkle. He fought back against telling her that he loved her again, but he really really wanted to.

"Why don't you take a seat?" Dave suggested, leading her to the table. "I took care of dinner and everything. Though, I didn't cook it myself." He added. "I wasn't going to serve you eggs and bacon."

Before Stevie could ask, Dave had disappeared. He returned a few minutes later, however, not alone. A chef? He hired a freaking chef, Stevie stared at the man, placing a plate in front of her. 

"I'll be right back." Dave said, following the man back inside the house for another couple of minutes. 

It was a cliché, but she truly felt like she was in a movie. Who does that? Certainly someone else's husband shouldn't. Lindsey's never done that, Stevie thought. She pushed those negative thoughts out of her mind.

"We're all alone." Dave announced, coming back. He pulled out the champagne bottle that had been chilling in an ice bucket for a while now. "This doesn't really go with our meal, but you're adorable, when you're tipsy on champagne." He grinned as the cork shot out and landed somewhere in the garden. 

"I don't know what to say." Stevie shook her head. "Just letting you know that if I cry, it's not because I'm sad."

Dave filled up two flutes, set the bottle down and bent over for a kiss. "Got it." He smiled, standing up straight, he took his seat. 

It wasn't easy, trying not to think about the fact that Stevie was going to get on a plane with the rest of Fleetwood Mac tomorrow and leave Dave behind. She'd be gone for over a month, a lot could happen in a month. Dave was going to fully come back to his family and Stevie was once again going to be around Lindsey every single day. She wasn't planning on rekindling their affair, but you never know. She'd sworn to herself that she wouldn't one too may times before. And she wasn't supposed to expect for Dave to wait for either. This was just an affair. So what if she'd fallen in love? They weren't meant to end up together.

"We've got dessert too." Dave said, once they'd decided it was getting too chilly outside and Stevie couldn't risk catching a cold.

"I shouldn't." Stevie shook her head. "I have to wear my stage clothes in a couple of days again."

"And you'll look incredible in them." Dave assured as they entered the kitchen and he walked over to the fridge. "This is possibly the least sexy dessert anyone could think of, but I know you love it."

She couldn't even recall them discussing their favorite desserts and he remembered what was hers? Stevie leaned against the kitchen island, eyeing the obvious cake shape Dave had taken out. 

"Carrot cake?" Stevie let out a delighted laugh. "You really know me well."

"We could have had a lot more fun with chocolate, but hey." Dave shrugged as he looked for a knife. 

"One tiny piece." Stevie emphasized, watching as he carefully cut in.

They enjoyed the tasty confection in comfortable silence, in spite of how much they both had on their minds. It wasn't necessary to speak about it, they knew it, they felt it. It was for the better to keep those words inside anyway.

"And now..." Dave took Stevie's hand. "Onto the way more exciting part of the night."

Stevie laughed, following him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. His eagerness almost had her running behind him to catch up. Again, she turned a lot more serious once they reached the bedroom. More candles, more champagne and a whole lot of rose petals. Dave apologized for how cheesy it was and she kissed him before he could even get the full sentence out. 

"Before, uh..." Stevie paused, feeling shy all of a sudden. "Before we tear each other's clothes off, I have something for you."

"Oh, yeah?" Dave wondered what it could be as he watched her walking over to the nightstand on the side of the bed she preferred. "What's this?"

"This-" Stevie held onto an envelope. "This is something I've written for you." She didn't give it to him right away. "There are just some things that I can't say to your face and uh..." She shrugged weakly. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to read it on paper instead. Promise me-" She rushed to add. "That you will open it once I'm up in the air, on my way to Europe, okay?"

"Why?" Dave asked, his heartrate instantly increased. 

"Just promise me." Stevie begged, hoping that he understood and wasn't going to question her condition.

"Alright." He nodded, taking the envelope from her. "Can you at lease give me some idea of-" 

"No." Stevie shook her head, trying to make him forget all about the letter by easing his blazer down his arms before guiding his mouth to hers...