Destiny Rules

Part 17

Lindsey sat in his living room the following morning, a coffee cup in one hand, he flipped through the pages of the December issue of the Rolling Stone magazine in his lap. He wasn't really reading it, though, instead he was already trying to convince himself that the evening he spent with Stevie meant nothing. She just needed a friend, someone to be there for her, hear her out, so he was partly relieved (partly disappointed) that the night turned out to be uneventful. Lindsey shortly realized that Stevie was already asleep. He whispered her name, he asked what she was doing, but she didn't respond. She had to have been dreaming and her hand movement was unintentional. Or maybe she thought that you were asleep and you freaked her out.

"G'morning." A sleepy voice to his right caught Lindsey's attention and he looked away from his magazine.

"Good morning." Lindsey smiled through the looming sadness that he felt could hit him any minute, following Stevie with his eyes as she made her way over to him, her hair a mess - a sign of a good night's sleep, her eyes slightly swollen - a sign of her tears the night before. 

"You shouldn't have let me sleep so long." Stevie slumped down next to him, shielding her mouth as she yawned.

"You needed a proper rest." Lindsey shrugged, carefully handing over his coffee, when she reached for it.

"Oh God!" She made a disgusted face. "Lindsey, that's way too sweet!"

"Well, it was my coffee, so..." He took it back and brought the cup up to his mouth for a delicious sip. "Would you like-"

"Yes, please." Stevie nodded, giving him a not entirely natural wide smile.

Sometimes Lindsey wondered if he was too quick to forgive when it came to Stevie. Yes, he had done plenty to hurt her, but she too wasn't an angel. Whatever she believed, the money and the fame did change her as it did him, my lifestyle, he kept telling himself after the huge success of the first Fleetwood Mac album with Buckingham Nicks as part of the band. She used to justify her actions by claiming that she simply became more independent, that that was why she stopped always listening to him and dared having an opinion, challenged him, found new interests and friends, and he hated it, constantly telling her that she was a different person, which wasn't completely false, but there were certain new character traits that he didn't like no matter what she said. The alcohol, the drugs came into the picture and caused even more problems between them. While drunk or high, Stevie's idea of fun was throwing herself at other men more often than not, which was what he hated the most. Even though he knew for a fact that she had cheated on him in the past, once, she swore, he didn't think that she did it with every single guy she came in contact with. He trusted her, mostly, it was just her personality, yet the men always took it as something entirely else, Lindsey included after they had already been broken up. She was gorgeous, she often wore rather revealing outfits and she could charm literally anyone. Lindsey had to stand back and be a witness to it countless times. So, now he was questioning her intentions again. Was he the clueless victim this time? Was her sweet tone of voice, her soft touches, her kisses, everything they talked about just a way to reel him back in until she got tired of him again and stomped all over his heart again? Just a few months ago they were like strangers and now she was sleeping in his bed. Maybe he did get lost in it, maybe he was too quick to forgive and forget.

Lindsey didn't hear Stevie come in, he froze for a brief moment, when she pressed herself against his back and hugged him from behind. And just like that he couldn't even remember what he was thinking about a second ago.

"Thank you." Stevie spoke up.

Lindsey frowned and glanced back over his shoulder at her. "For...?"

"For last night." She added, stepping away, she turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter so they were face to face. "It means a lot to me."

"I didn't really do anything." Lindsey shrugged, smiling weakly. "I don't have any milk or anything like that." He said, pouring her a cup of steaming hot coffee.

"It's okay." Stevie replied, sensing something different in his mood. "Is everything alright?" Lindsey nodded his head. "Hey..." He didn't turn to her, he looked out the window instead. "Linds?"

Lindsey sighed and shifted his gaze over to her. "Mm?"

"Hey, what's up?" Stevie's eyebrows creased, she took his hand and pulled him closer to her. "Talk to me." That Lindsey didn't want to do. "Did I do something wrong?" Stevie continued asking, she lay her other hand on his chest, which moved up to the side of his neck.

"You're doing everything right!" Lindsey exclaimed unexpectedly. "That's the problem!"

"I'm-" Stevie paused and swallowed her initial response that she had thought of. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Lindsey shrugged, shaking his head. "All of this feels too perfect. We're not perfect."

No, they were not. Worried about where it was going, Stevie did her best to keep calm. Both her hands now cupping his face, she lowered his head so his eyes were on her. "Do you want this-" Whatever this was. "to stop? Would you prefer if we were just working together? Or at least were friends, who didn't kiss?"

Lindsey was unable to stop himself from laughing lightly. "I don't know what I want." He sighed, gently grasping her hands, he pulled them away from his face, he entwined their fingers together and took a step closer. "I'm afraid of what might happen."

"Which is?"

"We're gonna step over the line and the friendship, the talking will be gone." He wouldn't even have to move his head that much if he wanted to lean in and kiss her. "Feelings complicate things."

Stevie freed her hands from his grip and slid them up his arms until she could lock hers around his neck. "So, you would like it better if we didn't cross any lines?"

"A lot of line talk." Lindsey joked, his hands settled on her hips. "I don't know." He repeated. "We've been here before. You have a boyfriend." As if she needed to be reminded about him. Lindsey pressed his forehead to hers, he bumped the tip of her nose with his. "I don't want to get hurt again." There it was. Stevie yelped, when he gripped her sides and hoisted her up on the kitchen counter. Her muscles relaxed and her legs slightly parted, allowing him to stand in between them. 

"You're doing the exact opposite of everything you're saying." Stevie noted, holding him close. 

"Because I can't fucking resist you." Lindsey spat out, sounding disappointed in himself, he sounded angry.

Stevie cradled his face in her hands and pulled him in for a kiss, just a soft, light touch of their lips. "I don't want to hurt you." She shook her head. "But I can't promise that this is going to become something either." Before he could step away or start a fight, she continued. "All I know is that I haven't felt so much as myself in a really long time, no one's made me laugh the way you do, no one cares about me as much as you do, no one listens to me like you do and actually hears me. I haven't been this..." She shrugged weakly, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked him straight in the eyes. "... this happy in a really long time."

Too perfect. Lindsey hung his head low, he then buried his face in the curve of her neck, wrapping her in his arms, when she hugged him close. 

"Don't take this the wrong way." Lindsey began and Stevie already didn't like the sound of that. "I think, you should go home." She frowned, opening her mouth to argue, but he was faster. "Otherwise, we'll end up having sex right here in like a minute." Her loud, wholehearted laughter significantly decreased the time given. "I'm serious." Lindsey said, taking a step back, much to her disappointment he helped her get down. "I just... I need some time apart, I think." He added, a little worried about her reaction. 

But there was none, Stevie understood. Despite how tempting his threat sounded, she understood. "Okay." She nodded her head. "I'll leave and give you time." She forced a smile, which fell from her face as soon as he could no longer see her.

~

AN: I know this isn't what you expected after the last chapter, but I hope you're not too disappointed either. We already had a kiss, I didn't want to give everything away in one night :)