Decades

Hard Feelings

Stevie arrived at Don's suite and tapped lightly on the door. When there was no answer, she knocked again harder. She heard movement inside the room, and still, Don left Stevie waiting nearly a minute before he opened the door. "Hi," she said quietly when finally the door opened.

"Hi, come in," Don invited her in cooly. She followed him to the suite's living room and had a seat on the sofa. Don sat down on the other end and then, as an afterthought, offered Stevie a drink. She accepted, to kill time and shake off the nerves, but also because her mouth was very dry.

On the elevator on the way up, she'd done a couple of bumps to get up for what she was sure was going to be a pretty awful day. Don came in and handed her a coke in a small glass bottle. This was more of a Lindsey drink than one she'd like, but she held it and felt a little closer to Lindsey, which lent her a little strength.

"How was your flight out? I hope you got some sleep last night," Stevie began. "I hate you made the trip. I know your schedule is super busy right now. How was your show?"

"I'd appreciate some answers, Stevie," he interrupted her before she could rattle on any longer.

"Okay, I'll try my best. Don," she looked up at him, "I really am very sorry."

He ignored the apology and asked, "How long were you fucking Buckingham while we were in a relationship?"

Stevie hesitated. She felt lousy having to answer this. She really cared about Don and they'd become close after she and Lindsey were no longer seeing each other. But there was no reason to hide anything. She'd put it all on the table, even if it were uncomfortable.

"Remember when you flew me out to Colorado?"

"Yeah, of course I do. From what I remember, you didn't seem like a woman who was particularly satisfied when you arrived," Don said, implying that if she was sleeping with Lindsey, he wasn't getting the job done. "But, by the time you left, we both were very satisfied, if my memory serves me right."

Stevie's face flushed. It had been a sexy weekend, but talking about it felt disloyal to Lindsey.
"Lindsey and I hadn't slept together at that point. It wasn't until almost two weeks later that we started seeing each other again."

"That's how I knew for sure the baby belonged to you," Stevie explained.

"When did you quit fucking him?" Don asked.

"Will you stop saying that?" Stevie asked, taking an annoyed tone with him.

"Saying what?"

"Fucking him," she said, "You make it sound like something....I don't know, just stop saying it."

"Why? Does it make you feel like you were doing something cheap? Something gross? Something wrong?" Don asked her sarcastically.

"It wasn't cheap, and it wasn't gross. It was wrong to cheat on you. But, my relationship with Lindsey isn't wrong."

"I bet his fiancee would disagree with that assessment," Don snapped back.

"Listen, I didn't come here to argue with you. I am sorry that I hurt you. But I'm not going to allow you to try and degrade me or my relationship."

"So, you're calling it a relationship, rather than just calling it like it is, still fucking your crazy ex."

"I asked you to stop saying it that way, dammit Don. And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't say things like that about Lindsey," It took all Stevie had not to get up and leave, but she knew she had to do this.

Don was hurt, and he was angry. He wasn't used to having his pride take a beating. He didn't have any trouble with ladies. Stevie was beautiful and talented, and he had real feelings for her. It hurt to think she'd made a fool of him, especially with Lindsey. He knew him as a "cruel dude" and an asshole. Of course, he was handsome and a musical genius, but Stevie could do better with him, he thought. He was better than Lindsey, he thought to himself.