Where I Belong

Part 8

His car parked in Stevie's driveway, Lindsey took a quick look at his appearance once more. Who was he trying to look good for? The cologne he picked happened to be Stevie's favorite, but that was simply a coincidence. He got out of the car after grabbing the bottle of wine from the passenger's seat.

"Mom, could you please answer the door?" Callie yelled out. "I can't get this damn dress zipped up!" 

"Of course!" Stevie shouted back, making sure Callie heard her from downstairs. 

Stevie checked the time on her way, no one ever showed up on time. Except for-

"Lindsey, hi." Stevie smiled at him standing outside and waiting alone. 

"Hey." Lindsey stepped over the threshold and opened his arms for a hug. "Here, I know you like this one." He said, holding out the bottle for her to take.

"Mm." Stevie nodded, looking at the label. "You do know me well. I might just keep it for myself." She joked, making him laugh lightly. "Callie's getting dressed, she's upstairs."

"Is no one else here yet?" Lindsey asked, looking around. Chris?

"No, you're the only one who comes on time, Linds." She had to ask. "Is your wife coming later or..."

"Uh, no." Lindsey shook his head. "She's- she's busy." He lied.

"Oh." Stevie didn't even pretend that she was disappointed. 

"Hi, dad." Callie had finally managed to squeeze herself into her dress and came downstairs.

"Hi, Cal'." Lindsey greeted his daughter with a hug too. "Wow, you're-"

"Getting fat? Yeah, I know." Callie sighed. "It happened overnight, I swear!"

"I wasn't going to say that." Lindsey shook his head. "You're beautiful." The look on her face told him that she didn't believe him.

"Oh, mom-" Callie looked over to Stevie. "Chris wants your help. He can't decide which shirt to wear."

"On it." Stevie nodded and walked out, leaving the two alone.

So, Chris was there already. Where was he? In Stevie's bedroom? Lindsey frowned. How much  space did he have in the closet? Were they living together? Callie said, it wasn't going to last!

More people started arriving soon. Jack came with his parents. Lori was there with Jessica. Mick too, accompanied by his wife and their twins. Lori and Mick were Callie's godparents, so Lindsey wasn't surprised to see them. Some of Callie's friends that Lindsey knew he'd met before, it made sense for them to be there as well. And Chris. What the hell was he doing there? So far, they'd only said 'hello' to each other.

"Where's-"

"She's busy." Lindsey repeated, knowing what Mick was about to ask.

"Ah, how convenient." Mick smirked, taking a sip of champagne. "Well, at least you won't have to answer any questions later, since she can't see your sour face."

"Huh? I'm not- I'm-" Lindsey wasn't sure what he was trying to say. He didn't realize he forgot to plaster on a smile. "It's a family thing, am I wrong?" Lindsey lowered his voice. "What's he doing here?"

"Who?" Mick asked, following Lindsey's line of sight, his eyes settled on Chris chatting with Lori across the room. "Oh. He and Stevie are a thing now, so..." He shrugged. "Is it serious?" Mick faced Lindsey again. 

"Wasn't supposed to be." Lindsey replied without thinking. "I mean, I thought it wasn't from what I've heard."

"Why do you care anyway?" Mick's eyebrow raised. "You're not exactly in a position to do something about it." He reminded. "Serious or not, let her enjoy it."

"What are you two whispering about?" They both turned to Stevie, who wasn't even in the room a minute ago. "Fine, don't tell me."

"We were just talking." Mick said, hoping that she hadn't overheard them gossiping, and walked away, when one of his daughters demanded his attention.

Making sure that everyone was occupied first, Stevie blindly searched for Lindsey's hand. He gave her a questioning look, but her lips remained sealed. He didn't resist when she tugged at his hand and led them out of the room.

"What?" Lindsey asked, once they were alone and behind closed doors. Years ago, when she took him away somewhere private, it usually meant a good time. He doubted that was the case right now.

"Is everything okay?" Stevie replied with a question back. "You seem..." She trailed off, waiting for him to finish her thought. "And don't lie to me." She added before he opened his mouth.

"It's... nothing new." Lindsey shrugged. "I fucked up and Kristen's mad at me."

"She's not busy, is she?" He shook his head. "Is it bad?"

"Nothing a horse or two can't fix." Lindsey joked, but Stevie didn't find it funny. "Really, it's- it doesn't matter. I'm sorry if I'm ruining the evening, I'll try to-"

"You're not." Stevie assured with a smile. "You just don't seem yourself. I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Thank you." Lindsey nodded, it warmed his heart that she cared.

Stevie moved to leave, she reached for the door handle, but suddenly stopped causing Lindsey to bump into her.

"Sorry, I-"

"No, I'm sorry." Stevie turned around and was slightly taken aback by how close to her he was. "I, uh..." She inhaled his cologne and swallowed uneasily, her lips slightly parted as she looked up at him. "I was, uhmm... Chris isn't staying here tonight. I was going to say that you can stick around and we can, uh, talk." She nodded to herself, yes, talk, nothing else. "If you want."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Lindsey replied and as soon as he did Stevie pulled the door open and rushed out.

Slightly confused, but definitely intrigued Lindsey rejoined the party. He saw Stevie by Chris' side, she quickly looked away when their eyes met for a brief moment.