Where I Belong

Part 17

Stevie sipped from her cup of coffee, watching Lindsey as he devoured his French toast, a small smile on her face. Apparently, he wasn't allowed unhealthy foods at home, so she insisted on making it for him for breakfast.

"You seem... different somehow." Stevie broke the comfortable silence between them.

Lindsey held up a finger until he finished chewing and swallowed a delicious piece of his toast. "I'm happy and relaxed." He said. "You don't see me like that often."

"You're happy?" Stevie cocked her head to one side.

"Mhm." He nodded, cutting off another piece. "I had mind-blowing sex last night and there's food in front of me."

Stevie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "And here I was, thinking that you were going to be serious."

"I am." Lindsey shrugged, laughing lightly. "I'm also with someone, who wants to be around me, so..."

Stevie brought her cup to her mouth to prolong the pause before she asked what she wanted to ask. "What do you think will happen when you're back home?"

"Uhh- I don't know. I know, it's not gonna be pretty." Lindsey looked up at her and held out his hand, silently asking for hers. "I don't want you to think about it. I don't regret anything."

She lowered her eyes at their clasped hands, she swallowed uneasily. "Really? You don't regret being with me?"

"Of course not." Lindsey shook his head. "Never." Did she regret it? "Do you-"

"No." Stevie replied before he could finish his question. "I am a bit confused and... scared, though." He frowned, waiting for her to continue. She sighed. "I didn't expect being with you would feel as good as it did. Not just physically." She added, withdrawing her hand from his touch. "That wasn't supposed to happen. I thought, we'd have some fun and that's it." I thought, I wouldn't want more.

"So you do regret it." Lindsey leaned back against the chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, I don't. Really." Stevie insisted, then another heavy exhale followed. "It's always complicated when something happens between us."

"What-" Lindsey began, but stopped himself. He needed to think it through before speaking. "Would you like to forget it happened? If it's going to make things easier on you, then fine. Nothing happened." He stood up and walked over to her, his arm around her shoulders, she leaned against him. "But please, let me have everything else. I don't want to be just your ex or your bandmate. I want to be your friend, I want to spend time with you. I miss you, when you keep me at arm's length."

"You shouldn't." Stevie said, tilting her chin up to look at him. 

"Well, I do. You can't tell me how to feel." Lindsey then crouched down and they were almost eye to eye. "Set boundaries if you have to, tell me if I've crossed a line, just don't push me away."

A smile crossed her face, Stevie lifted her hand up and cupped his cheek. She believed that there was a lot more he had to say, but was holding it all back. She shifted in her seat to turn her body towards him and brought her other hand up to his face. Out of all things, he didn't expect her to press a kiss to his lips.

"What was that?" Lindsey asked, his eyebrows creased. "I thought, you-"

"Just..." Stevie trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. "Before any boundaries were set."

"You know, I think you're the only complicated one out of the two of us." He stood up straight, wondering if he had just imagined their conversation.

Laughing, Stevie got up on her feet and walked around the table to take his nearly finished plate away. "And yet, you still love me." 

Lindsey didn't respond. He did love her, possibly slightly more than the day before. He hesitated for a moment, watching her as she now stood at the sink, rinsing the dirty dish. Lindsey approached her and put his arms around her from behind for a minute, just in case he didn't get to do that again. He then turned her around, once her hands were free, and waited, giving her a chance to tell him to back off. She didn't. She didn't resist when he kissed her either.

Her boundaries were a joke.

~

AN: A warning! Either the wife or the boyfriend is making an appearance in the next chapter. Fingers crossed, they don't complicate the situation more. Thank you for reading ♥