Destiny Rules

Part 25

"Let me explain, please!" Stevie begged, chasing after Lindsey barefoot, who was already heading back to his car. "This is not what it looks like!" She swore and almost bumped into him when he stopped and spun around to face her.

"What's there to explain!" Lindsey yelled out. "And here I was thinking that you're not talking to me because you are actually sick and that you just didn't feel up to talking to anybody! But hey, I get it, why wouldn't you crawl back to your billionaire producer boyfriend." Lindsey shrugged, he reached for the door handle on the drive's side.

"Stop, stop, stop and listen!" Stevie shouted back, repeating herself several times to try and get through to him. "Jimmy doesn't live here anymore, I didn't not crawl back to him." She shook her head. "He's here to pick up the last of his things. I swear to you, nothing is going on between him and me." She added, hand on her heart.

Lindsey let go of the handle and straightened up, he folded his arms over his chest. "And I'm supposed to just believe you? Accept that as the truth because you never lie, right? I mean, clearly, you must be running a pretty high fever and all the coughing-" He scoffed, ready to keep going.

"She is telling the truth." Lindsey tilted his eyes up at the sound of Jimmy's voice, who walked outside, a bag in his hand. "I've got no reason to lie." He shrugged, making his way to his car next to Lindsey's. "I'm glad I got out of it when I did, because this-" Jimmy's eyes shifted between Lindsey and Stevie. "This is sick. I don't want any part of it." He said and got in.

Stevie and Lindsey remained silent, watching Jimmy leave her driveway. Once his car was out of sight, Stevie turned to Lindsey again, she put her hands together. "Please come inside and let me explain."

Taking a deep breath, Lindsey thought about it for a second. Maybe it really was bad timing, but still. She did lie about nothing feeling well. Lindsey exhaled heavily and motioned with his hand towards the house, indicating that Stevie should lead the way.

"I didn't mean to suddenly pull away from you." Stevie began once they sat down. "And I'm sorry for lying."

"Why did you?" Lindsey asked, sitting hunched over, avoiding looking at her.

"That day, when I arrived for rehearsals, Sharon and I had a talk." Stevie sighed, pulling her feet up, she hugged her knees to her chest. "Well, really it was Sharon, who did most of the talking." 

Lindsey knew that something happened that day, but how was Sharon involved in all of this mess? He leaned back, but kept his head straight, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

"She figured out that we slept together." Stevie continued. "I told her that it was none of her business. She asked if I should take some time to heal after Jimmy, but I disagreed, saying that you're exactly what I need right now."

Lindsey barely moved his head, locking their eyes for a brief moment.

"And, uh... long story short, she thinks that I'm using you. She basically thinks that all I want is to fuck and move on." Stevie shrugged weakly and Lindsey was now fully facing her. "I started thinking, wondering if maybe she's right and I just don't see it. She told me to be sure what it is I want first before I promise you anything because-" Stevie paused, should she say it? "Because you're still in love with me and if I don't feel the same, I shouldn't do anything that would break your heart again. So, I chose to stand back. At least until I figure it all out."

Lindsey didn't respond for a minute and Stevie gave him all the time he needed, she didn't push. He started bouncing his knee and chewing on his lip, his gaze shifted again. What was going through his mind?

Stevie, somewhat timidly, lay her hand on his leg and he stopped, turning to look at her. "Are you?" Lindsey asked. "Using me." He added.

"I haven't promised you anything, have I? I told you that I can't promise you you won't get hurt, right?" She saw him nod. "All I can say is that everything that has happened... it's real. If you want to hear me say that I'm ready to be your wife or start a family with you, I won't say that. What I do know is that I'm happy when I'm with you, that I want to be around you and there was a time when I couldn't get away from you fast enough. We're different people now, I just don't know if we've changed enough not to fuck it all up again. I understand that this back and forth is not what you want, I know that you're afraid I'm gonna run away, but so am I, Lindsey. I'm scared too. This Lindsey that you are today... I can't ask for more, but I don't know if we're not going to go back to our old ways eventually." The fact that he hadn't interrupted her once yet was a sign of his growth as a person and it was definitely a good one. "I'm sorry if I have misled you somehow, I truly didn't mean to."

Lindsey breathed out heavily shaking his head, he turned to face her. "The thing is you haven't. You haven't promised me any of those things, I just... You came back and I want all of you. That's totally on me." A moment of silence. She wasn't quite sure how to respond and he was trying to decide if he should keep his mouth shut. "Sharon's right, you know." Stevie's eyes widened and her lips parted, surprised that he'd just admitted that. "But you already knew that, so... It has never been just about fucking each other and moving on for me. It never will be." He shrugged. "I guess, the question is... what do you really want from this? From me?"

Stevie shifted in her seat. Lindsey was expecting an answer, for her to say literally anything at this point, since she'd been quiet for what felt like forever. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him, to disappoint him after everything he'd just shared with her, but she also couldn't be dishonest.

"I want to take things slow." Stevie spoke up at last. "We're not back together, not yet, but I'm willing to try. I want us to start from scratch." A small smile crossed her lips. "I want you to take me out to dinner, I want us to go to the movies or a concert, I want to go on a weekend getaway. I want all of that."

Feeling great relief, Lindsey couldn't hold back a grin spreading on his face. "Are we allowed to share a bed on our weekend getaway?"

Stevie chuckled, moving to fall into his embrace when he opened his arms. "We'll see how our dinner dates go first."