"For how long are you thinking of staying here?" Karen asked Stevie over a cup of coffee at her new home.
"I don't know, maybe until I have to go to Australia. I really like it here. Besides, the bedroom's done, the kitchen's done, what else do I really need?"
"Any other reason you've been living here for the past week?" Karen tried to ask nonchalantly.
"Maybe a little..."
"So, you finally admit it?"
"I do like Chad. A lot. When I'm here we get to talk and I'm learning so much about him. I'm just afraid to create this bubble for myself and then see it burst."
"Have you let him know about it?"
"No, of course not. He's twenty years younger than me, Karen. His wife was younger... What am I supposed to say? Hey, I know you could have any woman you want, but how about you try something with me, because I'm mature, to avoid referring to myself as old, and I think I could be just what you need."
Karen listened, then shrugged her shoulders. "It can't hurt to try though. You never know, Stevie... Maybe he feels the same, but he's afraid of acting upon it, because you're... well, Stevie Nicks or something. I don't know, God knows I'm not the one to give out relationship advice, but that's what I think."
"It's so weird. I'm not used to this. What if talk to him and he thinks I'm crazy, how can he still work here then? I don't want someone new walking in the middle of the project."
"Wait until he's finished?"
"And what if he isn't before I leave with Fleetwood Mac?"
"Jesus Christ!" Karen exclaimed. "Stevie, I don't know, I'm just trying to say... stuff, to somehow help you."
"I know, I know I'm sorry." Stevie sighed, holding her hands up in defense. "Anyway, thanks for bringing me groceries."
"You're thinking of making something special?"
"No, I just need to eat, you know, people do that." She rolled her eyes, sliding off the high stool to go put the dirty mugs into the sink.
"Right, I'll be on my way then."
"Okay, I'll call you if anything."
"What are you going to do?"
"Actually, I was thinking about testing out that pool, it's hot today and it looks very inviting."
"Oh, well alright then. See you when I do."
"Bye." Stevie waved goodbye to her assistant and when left alone, she went to her bedroom and into the closet, in search for a swimsuit, something she very rarely used.
With her hair up and sunscreen on, Stevie also put on this thin silky kimono type gown, as she headed out, putting her sunglasses and a book on one of the lounging chairs. She took off the kimono and got in the water, a cool wave washing over her body. This feels good, I should to this more often, she thought while swimming. It wasn't because she didn't love water, it was because she was terrified of getting burnt in the sun and also, she was completely mortified by the idea of someone seeing her.
Refreshed, Stevie got out of the pool and reached for a towel to dry herself off, facing the ocean. She tossed it aside, still standing soaking up the sun, if only for a minute anyway...
"Hello."
"FUCK!" She gasped, thinking she actually had a heart attack, as she quickly grabbed her gown and pulled it over her head, inside out of course. "You weren't supposed to arrive until a few hours later."
"What's wrong? I scared you?" Chad asked oblivious.
"You saw me in my bathing suit!"
"And?"
"No man sees me in my bathing suit!"
"Why? What's the problem?"
"What do you think?" She stood, hands on her hips, breathing heavily. "I'm old and my body is... I'm out of shape and I'm self-conscious, and I don't have a touch of make up on either!"
"Well, I personally think that you have a very womanly figure."
"Excuse me?"
"A woman with curves, is a gorgeous woman."
"What are you talking about?" She relaxed her arms, her eyebrows slightly knitted.
"We've known each other for just a couple of weeks and this is not my place to tell you this, but I can't stand it when you put yourself down. It's not that I do it on purpose, but I hear when you talk with your assistant or when your friends came over, you're always making fun of the way you look. I think that you're beautiful. Not everybody needs to have this Hollywood acceptable image, it would be really boring if we all looked the same. And you... there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. You shouldn't call yourself old either, age is just a number. And I honestly believe that."
She was left speechless. It was one thing when her fans said she was beautiful, it was another when Lindsey said it, after all, all he wanted was to get her in his bed, but this... this was entirely something else.
"I don't know what to say." She shrugged her shoulder's a little.
"Let me?" Chad asked and Stevie gave him a small nod.
He closed the distance of a few steps between them and put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, with the other hand reaching to set her hair loose. He caressed her cheek, then tilted her chin up with his thumb, while at the same time he leaned in to kiss her.
She instantly felt so alive, shocked but so alive, as she locked her hands around his neck, raising on her tiptoes, as his other arm wrapped around her too. They lingered like that for a moment, neither taking the kiss any further, as she slowly parted their lips and stood fully on her feet, opening her eyes, locking them with his, his arms still around her.
"Now I really don't know what to say."
Chad just smiled, holding her. "Believe in yourself, confidence is sexy."
"Why did you kiss me?"
"Because I wanted to do that for a while now."
"You did?"
"Why is that surprising?"
"I'm ol-"
He gently pressed a finger against her lips, shaking his head. "Are you going to keep calling yourself that because it's a clever way for you to ask me to kiss you again? Because I will. And it is a threat."
"Can you kiss me without me saying it?"
And he did, just as sweetly as before, being his gentleman self like always. He wanted more, he wanted so much more, but he was not the one to act on impulse. He had to let her know he liked her as a person first, before expressing his desire for her as a woman.
