Decades

Mine.

Lindsey anxiously paced the suite until Stevie returned to the hotel. He was concerned about how things would go with Henley. Would he try to put the moves on her? Would he do something to hurt her? Would he make her doubt her decision to come back to him? He detested how insecure he felt when it came to Stevie. But, he needed reassurance. These last years had undermined what he used to think he knew about her.

When she finally entered the room, he couldn't even pretend he was playing it cool. He met her at the door, searching her eyes to make sure her feelings for him hadn't changed since that morning. She looked tired. But she walked straight into his arms, which he took to be a good sign.

"It's handled," Stevie said. "It was awful. He's angry with me. I hurt him and hurt his pride."

"I'm sure he is hurt. I almost feel sorry for him," Lindsey half laughed. "I know how I felt when you dumped me for him and it sucked."

"I didn't dump you, Lindsey. You just..." Before she could finish her sentence, Lindsey had stopped the conversation with the most tender kiss.

"I'm just glad you're mine again," Lindsey held her face between his hands, kissing her again.

"I was always yours, Linds," she sighed, enjoying being out of hostile territory and in the arms of the man she loved. "How about we spend the rest of the afternoon in that big bed?"

"And the night, too?" Lindsey said between the kisses he was planting on Stevie's neck.

"I'd love to, but I've got to go on a fake date tonight. Don flies back tomorrow, and we need to be seen together tonight," Stevie rolled her eyes.

"Ugh," Lindsey bristled, "I want to be the only man you're seen with. I hate this."

She hated it, too. She wanted nothing more than to spend every free minute with Lindsey. "This won't be forever. We've been sneaking around for years. What's a couple of more months?"

"I'm tired of hiding how I feel about you. I've been tired of it for so long," Lindsey whispered, his hands running from her shoulders to her hips and back again.

There was a knock at the door. They were tempted not to answer it, but with the way things had gone lately, they felt like they'd better. Lindsey opened the door, and Mick was standing there, "Hi guys! Can I come in?"

Lindsey opened the door wider and turned to lead him into the living area, rolling his eyes at Stevie to show her he wasn't thrilled with this turn of events. He only had a couple of hours with her before she'd leave again, and he didn't want to share her, especially with her old lover. Though Mick was focused on managing the crisis at hand, he realized that.

Sara, Mick's girlfriend, and Carol Ann were best friends. Since both of their boyfriends had a personal interest in Stevie, the two had bonded. Mick didn't even feel a flicker of guilt about the deception he was plotting or his next request of Stevie and Lindsey.

Mick fears that Carol Ann is going to approach Sara about this whole convoluted plan and needs to make sure those bases are all covered.

"A lot is hinging on us keeping the charade up with Don, you know?" Mick looked from Lindsey to Stevie and back to Lindsey again. The two were draped around each other, making it difficult to know where one stopped and the other started. They really took the back-together thing to another level. He had yet to see them not overly handsy.

"Right, I'm going out with him tonight, Mick," Stevie reminded him.

"Well, here's the concern. We're heading back to LA soon. And Lindsey will be going back home, presumably," he looked at the two of them tentatively, dreading their reaction to what he was going to say next. "Lindsey, do you have plans for how you're going to handle Carol Ann?"