By the time Jackson led the way into the foyer, the only light on in the house was the kitchen one and Lily didn't come running. "She's in bed already?" He creased a brow, setting his keys down on the accent table as he glanced down at his watch.
It was only a little after ten that evening, which seemed far too early for their mother to be asleep. She was usually up at crazy hours of the night, drinking coffee and writing in her journal until the wee hours of morning.
"Her back was hurting this morning." Nora mentioned, pulling the lace on her sneaker to untie it. "And she's probably got a headache from listening to Harper talk all day." She added, which caused both of her brothers to chuckle in return.
"You're probably right." Jackson nodded, rubbing his tired eyes as he tossed his jacket in the chair.
"You wanna have a drink?" Grayson wondered, traveling into the den to see what he wanted to make.
"I could go for another." The oldest agreed, patting his dads arm to get him to follow.
"You'll spend the night, right?" Karen's voice crept through the dark room, causing them all the flinch. "I didn't mean to startle you." She added with a smile as she flicked on the light.
"Of course, boss." Jackson teased, giving her a soft wink as he trailed further into the room.
"Stevie's upstairs?" Lindsey wondered, not sure he necessarily wanted to hang out much longer.
She nodded, leaning into the doorframe as a soft smile traveled across her face. "She went upstairs a little while ago. There was a documentary she wanted to watch, and I had some work to do down here." She mentioned, a gentle shrug following her words.
"It was kind of lonely without her." He admitted, a little excited to be back home.
She chuckled, motioning towards the staircase. "I'm sure that she would love to hear that." Karen couldn't remember the last time he'd told her that he'd missed Stevie.... It had been years.
He grinned softly, nodding lightly. "I'm gonna go to bed, kids." Lindsey announced just a second later.
Both boys said their goodnights, but Nora just stayed in the accent chair, a gentle smile on her face as her eyes met Karen's. "See you in the morning." She couldn't help but laugh, watching as he hurried up the staircase. "He's got a lot of energy these days." She added, which made Karen giggle in return.
Lindsey traveled down the hallway, a soft smile on his face when he pushed open the bedroom door.
She was sitting up in bed, long blonde curls framing her sweet face as she read from a book that had been sitting on her nightstand for a week.
"There you are." She glanced up, looking at him over the edge of her glasses. "Did you have fun?" Her eyes followed him through the room, closing the door behind him before he slipped onto the foot of the bed.
"I missed you." He had been missing her a lot recently, which didn't happen too often anymore.
She chuckled as she set her book back down. "I missed you more." Stevie was certain of it.
He smirked softly, shaking his head as he crawled up the bed. "I missed you the most." He whispered, blue eyes melting into hers.
She suddenly felt a lump form in her throat as her heart began to beat a mile a minute. "Lindsey..." she watched his every move as he traveled towards her.
Eventually he found himself hovering above her, eyes still locked with hers. "Stevie..." he gave her a little grin, scanning over every detail of her face for a long moment.
She had a couple of new freckles- just a few and some lines that obviously weren't there at twenty- five, but it all just added to how beautiful she was... She was so beautiful, it made him weak in the knees.
Swallowing hard, she slipped her arm around his shoulder. "You're making this hard for me." She bit down on the inside of her cheek, eyes roaming his face until they reached his lips.
She was tempted- she really was, but the nerves that were built up were nearly overwhelming.
He nodded his head, leaning down to press a kiss to her cheek. "Let's make it real easy then." Lindsey whispered it into her ear.
Her hand met his cheek, cradling his face in her hand as she brought his eyes back to hers. "I don't look the same..." her voice was so soft and so gentle.
She was so anxious, it was obvious. She was worried that he wouldn't find her as attractive as he once did. Everything was different- time didn't stop for anyone and she was no exception.
Lindsey smirked, planting a couple of kisses on her neck. "You look better, baby."
And that's what did it.
~~~
Stevie had always been a cuddle bug- she always needed that reassurance, so he wasn't at all surprised when she spent all night on his chest, curled up and fast asleep.
She liked that closeness and usually he didn't, but that night was different. He wanted to hold her as long as possible, even after the morning sun was starting to creep through the lace curtains.
"You're so beautiful..." Lindsey said that as quietly as possible, twisting two fingers in her hair before he kissed the top of her head.
"You're funny..." She'd been awake for a few minutes, but she, too wanted to soak up that moment as much as she could.
He smirked lightly, rubbing her shoulder as he looked down. "Well, good morning." Lindsey's fingers danced through her curls, feeling her snuggle in closer.
"Good morning, sweet man." Her eyes were still so heavy... she wasn't ready to get up. "Did I smush you all night?" She said that, but she had no intention of moving- she was far too comfortable.
"Not even a little." He knew she was self conscious and he didn't want her to be at all, but especially not with him.
She chuckled lightly, rubbing his chest softly. "I should get up..." she whispered.
He kissed her head, wrapping his arm around her a little tighter. "Can we just stay here for a few more minutes?" He wasn't ready to let her go either.
She nodded lightly, biting down on her lower lip as her eyes fell closed once more.
