Carry You Home

Thirty-two

“Stevie..“, Lindsey whispered softly as he snuggled up behind her in bed. He kept his voice low, trying to wake her up as gently as possible as he trailed kisses across her neck and shoulder. That was one trait that had not changed about her in all those years he knew her. If you woke her up too forcefully, she'd get the grumpiest person you've ever met, and that was something he really didn't need, today. “Baby, wake up.“

“Uh-uh.“, she mumbled back and hid underneath the blanket.

“Stevie?“, he tried again, gently turning her onto her back, “You have to wake up.“

Stevie shook her head, keeping her eyes closed in a desperate attempt to make him understand that she was not in the mood to get up anytime soon. “No. Too early, Linds. Sleep.“

“I have a surprise for you.“, he tried to change her mind as he caressed the side of her face and placed a loving kiss on the tip of her nose.

She scrunched up her face. “I don't want to eat breakfast, yet.“, she muttered with a raspy voice, guessing that he had brought her food to bed like he'd done a couple times before.

“That's okay. You don't have to eat anything, if you're not hungry, yet.“

Stevie sighed loudly in defeat. Just by the sound of Lindsey's voice she could hear that she was not going back to sleep anytime soon. She opened up her eyes and looked at him, “What?“

Lindsey bit down on his bottom lip. That was what he had not wanted - a moody Stevie. “I'm sorry.“

She sighed again, and ran a hand through her messy blonde hair, “It's okay. What did you want?“

“I know you're not going to like this, right now, but I am sure you're going to love it and thank me, later on.“

“What does that mean?“, she asked with a furrowed brow.

“I need you to get dressed. We're going on a road trip.“

-

“Just so you know, I am not amused.“, Stevie said thirty minutes later, when she sat down in the passenger seat while Lindsey started the engine.

“Oh, I do know, believe me.“, Lindsey replied with a chuckle, “But since you've been so cooperative and actually did what I told you to do, I'm going to buy you the best breakfast in the world, baby.“

“McDonald's is not breakfast, Lindsey.“

“Who said we're going to McDonald's?“

“Ugh, I know you. You love fast food.“, Stevie said with a roll of her eyes.

“Nah, I'm trying to stay away from it. Haven't I been good, lately? I ate all the stuff you ate.“

“Yeah, but I didn't eat what I normally would since you've been around. Do you actually think I have waffles or pancakes every morning? A big lunch, an even bigger dinner, desserts and several snacks in-between? If I keep this up, I'll be fifty pounds heavier by the end of the year.“

“Oh, stop it. You look amazing.“, Lindsey said and reached for her hand to bring it up to his lips to kiss.

Stevie smiled and shook her head, “I'm serious. When we come back, I'll have to look after my diet, again. They told me it's pretty common to gain weight after quitting the drugs, and I am determined to not let that happen. I have to fit into my stage clothes.“

“Yeah, whatever... I think you're gorgeous.“, Lindsey said with a shrug, not dwelling on the subject any longer.

“Say, when do you plan on telling me where we're even going, huh?“, she asked some time later. They had already been driving for a couple hours and Stevie started to wonder just where the hell they were heading.