Decades

Rivals

Adding to the awkwardness, the threesome had the entire elevator to themselves. Stevie tapped the button for the top floor where the rooftop bar was. Lindsey didn't bother pressing the button for his floor, so Stevie offered to do it for him.

He declined her offer and told them he thought he'd go up to have a drink, knowing that the others had planned to meet there this evening. Originally, he hadn't planned to go, but he'd had a rough night and felt guilty about his uncomfortable admission to his wife.

If for no other reason than to punish himself for dropping the ball as a husband, he'd spend the night watching Don try to sweep Stevie off of her feet. "The world's best therapist couldn't untangle my twisted mind," Lindsey thought to himself.

For the first couple of floors, the three stood quietly, staring at the doors. Lindsey broke the silence, "Don, what brings you to the big city?"

Don looked at Stevie questioningly. "Did Lindsey not know?" Don's eyes asked.

Stevie quickly began to speak, hoping to avoid any hostility between her former lovers. "You remember, Linds! Mick told you! Don's performing a couple of songs with us tomorrow night! We're rehearsing in the morning."

Lindsey stiffened. He didn't remember hearing anything about this. He did know they planned a rehearsal tomorrow morning, but he didn't realize the reason. But, he felt certain he would have remembered a detail like having to perform with Henley. Mick had avoided telling him.

Quickly, Lindsey determined that he wanted to act like Don Henley's presence was such a minor detail that he'd completely forgotten.

Insignificant. He hoped it would come off like he could have cared less if the musician was even in town. Lindsey assumed a demeanor that Don was no big deal and he wasn't concerned about him in the least.

But Stevie knew him well enough to have caught his first reaction before he'd had a chance to mask it. She knew Lindsey had a competitive streak, and her first thought was that he wouldn't want to be upstaged by Don's performance. She didn't allow herself to think that some of the personal competitiveness lingered from the old days when Lindsey was still in love with her.

Stevie didn't flatter herself. When she drove away in Arizona years before, she knew that Lindsey would get over her. She also knew she'd never get over him. So, the idea that Lindsey was jealous of her and Don was a thought she quickly extinguished.

—-----

After ordering a strong drink, Lindsey pulled up a seat at the table directly across from the two empty seats that Stevie and Don would soon occupy. He greeted the rest of the group cordially, and they were happily surprised he'd joined them that night.

He didn't know why he was opting to torture himself tonight, but it seemed that was his half-baked plan. Lindsey observed Don and Stevie. The rooftop was noisy, and Don leaned down to get close enough to hear what Stevie was telling him with his hand on her lower back. Lindsey tried to swallow that old, familiar possessiveness he'd always felt for Stevie. But he really hated seeing Don's hand on her.

Don's hardy laugh told Lindsey that Stevie had told the other man something funny. Lindsey hated that he wasn't on the receiving end of Stevie's story. She'd always been able to hold court with her entertaining, rambling tales.

Lindsey admired how great she was with people. He hadn't ever had her comfort level when it came to connecting with others. She'd always made communicating with the people around them easier for him when they were a couple. He didn't think he'd ever thanked her for doing the heavy lifting in social situations. There were probably a lot of things he should have let her know he had appreciated but didn't.