Decades

Road Trips and Reunions

Lindsey looked at her beside him on stage, twirling as he played. He was so glad to see her back to herself. If it was even possible, she was even more beautiful than when they were young. He didn't know how she did it.

Every night they'd spent together on this tour. He hadn't stopped pushing her to connect with him, quite the opposite. He knew she was seeing someone else, and though he was a married man, he needed more reassurance than ever of how she felt about him. They hadn't discussed Edward again. And he'd done his best to avoid talking about Kristen as well.

They both made their phone calls and did what they needed to do to discreetly stay in touch with their significant others. Neither wanted to upset the tentative balance they currently appreciated having with each other.

Lindsey was pushing to extend the tour, to add more dates, to get a European and an Australian leg on the books. Anything to prolong this time together. He felt like an ass, of course. His wife was at home with two small kids and one on the way, and he was trying to find ways to spend more time with his ex-girlfriend. The whole thing was practically criminal—especially the part where Stevie was his ex-girlfriend.

Every night they spent together, and every day when they did simple things like order breakfast or watch television, he was reminded of how much he'd missed her. More than anything, he did not want to miss another moment.

Stevie had become comfortable having him close by. For the first time since his relationship with Kristen truly began, she dove back into the relationship with him. Typically, she'd felt so conflicted and guilty. She'd try not to fall into old patterns before eventually finding themselves together again.

Unable to put her finger on exactly why, this time, she wasn't apprehensive about the affair. She supposed she knew that she wasn't going home alone at the end of this tour. And while she wouldn't be leaving with the man she wanted, she wasn't leaving to be alone. It was less bleak than it had been when she wasn't involved with anyone else. The loneliness had been so great at other times. She'd always tried to protect herself from the coming grief but was never successful.

Strangely enough, they were practically neighbors living five minutes from each other. Early on, after The Dance, he'd show up at her house at all hours. Some nights, she wouldn't let him in. They'd just talk through the door. There were nights she didn't even go to the door. She'd watch him pace her porch and try to look in her windows, yelling her name.

Yelling, screaming, and crying weren't unheard of in the small hours of the night. They were a disaster.

Other nights, she'd give in, and they'd have the kind of sex that breaks your heart instead of heals it. It all got to be too much for her, and she moved back to Arizona pretty much full-time.

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Kristen wanted to bring the kids to a show, and since Edward was coming to Phoenix, Lindsey decided this was the best show for them to attend. Several miles in the desert, the band and staff had rented an entire resort. There were beautiful casitas for everyone surrounding a beautiful pool. The families could all come out for a visit after the show, and they'd have a couple of days in private surroundings to enjoy themselves. A mid-tour break would be good for them, the folks scheduling the tour for them thought.

It sounded lovely to everyone but Stevie and Lindsey. They longed to be together, uninterrupted by the outside world. They were both terribly agitated about the whole thing. After they left the show that night, they'd travel to the beautiful desert oasis only to have to watch each other with someone else. It was a miserable thing that felt like punishment for the sneaking around they were doing.

—-------------------

Thankfully, their sullen moods lifted when they received word that morning that there were flight delays all over the country. Kristen and Edward would be arriving on the same flight, but theirs had been canceled. They tried rerouting the flights, but nothing would be landing in Phoenix for the next 24-48 hours. And it wasn't fiscally responsible to hire a private plane.