(Don't) Leave Me Behind

Part 16

"Where is he?" Mick asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he started on his second beer. 

"He said, he'll be here." Christine shrugged. "What's the rush? It's not like you're in a hurry to get back to your wife." Mick glared at Christine, but didn't say anything.

Lindsey was surprised, when Christine approached him several days ago at the same pub they had previously met. She told him that Fleetwood Mac were in need of a guitar player and he should come meet them if he wanted the job. There was no question, he wanted and needed the job, he just wasn't sure how it could possibly work with Stevie as a member of the band as well. 

Stubbing out his cigarette, Lindsey took in a deep breath and entered the small restaurant he was told to show up at. He knew he was late, but he was extremely nervous and he was stalling. Lindsey spotted the group right away, he tried hard against it, but his eyes settled on Stevie and his heart skipped a beat. He missed her, badly, and she seemed to be sitting there, glued to Mick's side, without a care in the world. She was as beautiful as ever to him, but she looked a bit pale and skinnier compared to the last time they'd seen each other.

Christine was the first to notice Lindsey coming their way and she too braced herself. The chatter died down immediately, when Stevie's eyes fixed on him. It was hard to breath for a minute as she then slowly faced Christine. 

"Tell me this is some sort of a sick joke."

"Now, calm down." Chris lay her hand over Stevie's, but she snatched it away. "Nothing's settled, love. This is just a meeting."

Without a word, Stevie jumped to her feet and left the table, almost running outside. Mick was confused, staring at Christine, waiting for an explanation. 

"This is Lindsey." She spoke up, introducing him to John and Mick. They shook hands and she showed Lindsey to take a seat. "Um... Lindsey is Stevie's ex boyfriend and I'm sure that explains why she stormed out like that."

"Jesus, Chris..." Mick sighed heavily closing his eyes. "You should have warned us! At least Stevie. She's your friend, isn't she?"

"If I had said something, she would have disagreed immediately. I can't see the harm in meeting up and having a chat." Christine shrugged her shoulders, reaching for the glass of wine in front of her. "We've started recording an album and our guitarist quit, we need one and Lindsey plays guitar, he needs a job. He's pretty damn good if you ask me."

Lindsey looked down shyly, scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks, but if my presence is going to be a problem, I think I'll just go."

"Don't. You don't have to." Chris shook her head. 

Getting up to his feet, Mick excused himself and went to look for Stevie. He found her outside, just staring off into distance. He came up to her side and wrapped his arm around her. 

"She should have mentioned it was him." With that Mick agreed, but... "But we need a guitar player, Stevie. If he's good-"

"He's perfect." And Stevie couldn't lie about that. 

"Just ignore his presence, darling. You don't have to interact with him." 

"How do you imagine that, Mick? When we're in the studio all day every day." She sighed, shaking her head. "I don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you can. Give it a chance, maybe he won't fit in and we'll ask him to leave. We do have deadlines however and what we lack is time for auditions. He's right there, ready for the taking. Chris didn't tell me exactly who it was, but she said, he was a struggling musician, he's gonna have to play by our rules, love. He won't cause trouble, I'll make sure of it." Mick pressed a kiss to her hair, giving her a squeeze around the shoulders.

"You can't be sure, because you don't know Lindsey. You have no idea how he and I are when we're in the same room." Stevie leaned against Mick, but her arms remained folded over her chest. 

"Stevie, I want to please you, but the truth is, I have to think about my band as well. This is about music, it's not about relationships or whatever. I can't just tell him no, because you don't like him anymore. Especially if he's good at what he does." Mick tried to reason. "I'm asking you, please. Calm down, go back inside and completely ignore the man."

Stevie chuckled lightly at that, her arm now going around Mick's waist. "I'll need your support. Clearly, Christine's got a thing for Lindsey."

"You know you have my support in all kinds of forms." Mick winked at her, turning around to reenter the restaurant, she didn't resist. 

Approaching the table, Stevie reached for Mick's hand, lacing her fingers through his. Her heartbeat picked up pace at the sight of Lindsey. His back was to her, but Christine looked past him, informing the two had returned and Lindsey, knowing better, turned to look. He clenched his jaw and tightened his fist, Stevie's words coming back to him, there's nothing going on between Mick and I.

"Found our little runaway." Mick grinned, taking his seat. He was slightly surprised when Stevie sat down on his lap, but his arms circled her waist a moment later.

"I'm glad you decided to come back, Stevie." Christine said to which Stevie mumbled some response. 

"So, Lindsey." Mick looked across the table at him. "I hear you're interested in joining us?"

The group began talking, except Stevie, who remained quiet the whole time. Her actions, however, were speaking louder than words could as she was obviously putting on a show; she was all over Mick and he clearly enjoyed it. It made Lindsey's blood boil until he realized that if Stevie didn't care about him at all, she wouldn't be trying to make him jealous. From that point on, he refused to pay any attention to her, fully focused on the conversation with Christine and Mick, with John joining in here and there. 

Two hours, give or take, later it was all settled. Lindsey would be joining Fleetwood Mac.