"You two have been getting along well, huh?" Lori leaned in to whisper as she took a seat next to Stevie.
"Surprising, isn't it?" Stevie nodded in agreement, watching Lindsey record his guitar parts for I Miss You. "I don't know why, but it's so easy this time."
"Maybe finally settling down has something to do with it. You have to learn to be patient if you want any relationship to work, you have to compromise and all that." Lori shrugged and the smile faded from Stevie's face. "Maybe he's using that on you, too."
"Yeah, maybe." She sighed, she didn't need to be reminded of Lindsey's relationship constantly.
Lori had a feeling she shouldn't have gone there, so she changed the subject. "Do you think Fleetwood Mac will record a new album?"
"Possibly. I talked about it with Christine while we were still on tour. She's not crazy about the idea, but I know for a fact that Lindsey and Mick are all ready to go." Stevie said. "I'm up for it, too. Although, I won't throw myself into another project until I'm finished with this."
"Understandable." Lori gave a nod of her head as she too focused on Lindsey. She didn't like him much as a person, but she couldn't deny that he was a fantastic musician.
Later the same evening everyone started to gather their things and head home, however, Lindsey lingered and Stevie could tell he wasn't ready to leave yet. After saying goodbye to Sharon and Lori, who were the last ones to go, Stevie raised an eyebrow at Lindsey, asking him a question without words.
A weak smile crossed Lindsey's lips and he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't want to go home."
"And why's that? Trouble in Shangri-la?"
Lindsey laughed, shaking his head. He made himself comfortable on the couch in Stevie's living room and she sat down next to him, tucking one leg under herself. "I mean... Everything's fine, but it's not. I know that doesn't make much sense, I just don't know how to explain it."
"Maybe a drink would help?" Stevie offered, getting back up. She opened a cabinet, which Lindsey didn't know was a secret minibar. "What will you have?"
"Any scotch in there?" Lindsey asked, even though he knew a drive home still awaited him.
"Of course." Reaching for the bottle, she poured a glass for them both and handed one to him. "Or do you need ice?"
"No, it's fine." Lindsey shook his head, taking a sip. "Kristen's been nagging me for weeks. Well, since I started coming to see you."
"Oh. Is she... jealous?"
"She won't admit to that, but I think so, yeah."
"There's nothing for her to worry about, right?" Stevie shrugged, running the pad of her finger along the rim of the glass. Lindsey remained quiet. "Right?"
"I don't know." Sighing heavily, he answered honestly. "I can't deny that I've... that I've been having these thoughts and feelings lately. I miss you, what else can I say. I feel extremely grateful that after everything we can work together again, that we can still spend time together. It brought back memories of better days."
"I hope you haven't told Kristen that."
"Of course not." Lindsey scoffed. "She would have come banging on your door right away." Another moment of silence before he locked their eyes. "Do you still have those feelings?"
"I don't think we should be doing this, Lindsey." Stevie looked away, placing her glass on the table as she stood up and made some distance between them. "It won't do either of us any good. You know that." She said, standing by the window.
A minute later, having fought with himself for long enough, Lindsey approached Stevie and wrapped his arms around her from the back. She closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall. This wasn't happening. Not again.
With one hand Lindsey pushed Stevie's hair to one side and gently pressed his lips to the back of her neck. No form of protest came, so he kissed along the curve of her neck, then turned her around, holding her firmly. Cupping the side of her face in the palm of his hand, Lindsey looked into her eyes first before tilting his head slightly, leaning in for a kiss. It took a second for her to respond as she deepened the kiss and locked her arms around his neck.
"No." Stevie stopped abruptly and pushed at his chest. "Lindsey, we can't keep doing this. We're going to get hurt, we always do."
"I love you." Her eyebrows creased and she parted her lips to reply, but he cut in before she could. "I do. It was easy, when we weren't around each other. I kept all those feelings bottled up and hidden deep inside, but as I stand right here, with you, I don't care about anything else. I love you."
Studying his face for a moment, Stevie stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. His arms around her once again, he kissed her back equally as eager. Everything happened quickly after that. Before either of them realized what was going on, they ended up in Stevie's bedroom, their clothes on the floor and in each other's arms. Their reunion was fast and needy, messy even, but it was exactly what the two of them had needed for a very long time.
As they lay together afterwards, Stevie's head resting on Lindsey's chest, his fingers tangled in her hair, a heavy weight lay on Lindsey's heart. He just cheated on his girlfriend, which wasn't the part that bothered him the most. It was the secret he was still keeping from Stevie. He should have told her first, but if he had, they wouldn't have made love. And how could he tell her now? Her heart would break in two.
"You're thinking so hard, it's giving me a headache." Stevie spoke up, her eyes closed, she felt spent.
"I'm not." Lindsey lied.
"I know you better than that, Lindsey." She said, lifting her head off his chest, she looked up at him. "What's up?"
"You're going to hate me."
"What? Why would you say that?" Stevie frowned.
"I've been keeping something from you. I know this is the worst possible time to tell you, but I just can't keep it in any longer. You deserve to know." It hurt, when she pulled away and he hadn't even said anything. "Kristen's pregnant."
Nothing. Stevie didn't say anything, she didn't yell at him, she didn't move. Only when Lindsey tried to touch her, she recoiled from him as if the tips of his fingers had burned her.
"Steph, I-"
"Get out." She cut him off. "Just... get out."
