I Think I'm in Trouble {Reimagined}

XV.

Stevie would have never allowed Lindsey to come into her home, not her family's home, but with him there for a whole different reason, things had escalated quickly between them simply because they were alone, however she did have a certain amount of respect for her husband that she absolutely was not going to take the guitarist to their bedroom, but at least her studio; the one bedroom apartment that was practically behind her house.

The distance between her house and the one bedroom apartment was so short that she could hear her doorbell from the apartment and use the back door of her house to make it to the apartment that was just on the other street.

Lighting a cigarette, the blonde rolled over from her stomach back to her side as she faced the man in bed with her and she released the smoke as she covered her bare chest with the sheets.

"You should really stop smoking," he assured, taking it between his fingers in order to inhale.

"Mm, why, is it too tempting for you?" she nearly snatched it back, laying flat on her back as she looked up at the ceiling. 

"No, but it's not good for you..."

"Lindsey, we somehow survived the seventies..." she commented. "Believe me, a little nicotine isn't gonna kill us, my mom's well into her sixites and she's still smoking menthol..."

"Yeah, but she doesn't deal with the spurts of pneumonia like you... When did you start smoking again anyway?" he wondered.

"When I got out of rehab... I just don't smoke in the house because Nicholas and Robert would have a real issue with that and I don't want Nick inhaling this, Jeff now that he's back... Shannon smokes, but she knows better than to smoke in my house..."

"She smokes a lot..."

"Yeah, anyway, I'm sorry, after everything today, the last thing I need is for you to tell me how to live my life," she arched her brow at him. "I know my faults... In fact, I'm looking at one of them."

"You're right..." he showed mercy almost instantly. "I'm sorry..."

"I'm just stressed out," she sighed, exhaling smoke as she laid her cigarette to rest in the ashtray. "What are we gonna do, Lindsey?" she inched closer, resting her head on his chest. "This is really bad now, worse now that you're involved with my daughter..." 

"I know, I don't wanna lead her on at all, but I don't want to let her down," he claimed. "You said she moves on from men quickly... I could always just get distant."

"I don't want her to think badly of you..."

He smirked, shaking his head. 

"What?" she picked herself up and she looked him in the eyes. 

"First you love me, then you hate me---you think I'm a vile prick, yet you want me to not see your daughter, but you wanna protect me and her and you don't want her to think badly of me... You're a confusing woman, darlin'..."

"No, you don't want to get on my daughter's bad side... You've seen me mad and you know what I'm capable of... Multiply that by twenty..."

He pumped his brow. 

"Even worse if she knows you're the one I was cheating on her father with..."

"Then it's best for me to keep my distance," he claimed. "She knew I was having issues with my girlfriend... That we had a fight the night I met her... I'll simply tell her we're working on."

She but her bottom lip, "I assume you're talking about Kristen..."

"Okay, what is your obsession with Kristen?" he wondered, getting rather annoyed after hearing her name so many times that day.