Not Now

Part 27

Stevie's POV

~

Today is Lindsey's birthday. He is impossible to shop for. He's never once told me, what he'd like for his birthday or Christmas, or any other special occasion for that matter. Lindsey does like sentimental gifts, though, which is rather surprising. I would have never guessed that about him, when we'd first met. So, sentimental he's going to get. When I moved in with Brandon, I looked through all of my things and I found quite a few stacks of pictures. I was emotional at the time and I was very close to throwing them out, but I'm glad I decided against it. Now my favorite photographs are in one place - a beautiful photo album, which I've made myself and I'm quite proud of it. I hope that's enough and Lindsey will appreciate it. If not, he'll be allowed to do one thing to me from the lists of things he normally wouldn't get to do.

I took a day off, so I could cook a proper meal for Lindsey as well. That man loves to eat. You could never tell just by looking at him, but he does. Leftovers are a rarity. He loves my mother's lasagna, so that's what I've made and while it's in the oven, I start getting ready for Lindsey's return home.

I don't usually do slutty, but as I look at the lingerie I've bought... The ratio of the cost and the amount of material used is way off. However, I know that Lindsey enjoys seeing me in as little clothes as possible, he's a man after all, although, he has never and would never ask me to wear something I'm not comfortable with. The romance is alive and doing better than ever, so this little outfit will give it an even greater boost, I'm sure.

All dressed up (well...), I put on a bit of makeup, mainly focusing on my red lips to match my nails. I've also went through the trouble of straightening my hair. Lastly, I walk into a cloud of Lindsey's favorite perfume and look at myself in the mirror. I don't know, I'd do me.

Shortly, I hear the key slide into the lock and I jump up from my seat, rushing to the door, so I'm the first thing Lindsey sees. A second later, he walks in and I'm pretty sure that he didn't expect this sight in front of him.

"Hey there." I smile as I sashay over to him. "Happy birthday, baby." My hands are locked at the nape of his neck as I give him a lingering kiss. He embraces me, pushing me closer to himself, however, his reaction isn't quite what I've anticipated. 

"Thank you." Lindsey says, pulling back and I raise my eyebrow.

"I must say, I'm a little disappointed by your reaction. Or lack there of." 

Lindsey shakes his head, taking me by the hand, he leads us to the living room and we sit down. "Trust me, you look..." He trails off, biting into his clenched fist, but I'm still confused. "And under different circumstances, you'd be naked by now, but..." He sighs and now I'm worried.

"What's wrong?" I ask, cuddling up to his side as Lindsey leans against the back of the couch. "What happened?"

"It's Grace." My heart starts pounding and I open my mouth to speak, but Lindsey quickly calms me down. "No, not that. She's fine. She's not, you know... dead."

"Jeez, you scared me there for a second."

"No, uh..." He shakes his head, lifting up an envelope, which I didn't realize he's been holding until now.

"What's this?"

"It's paperwork. Signed and all." 

I have no idea what he's talking about. "Come on, Linds."

"This is Grace's birthday gift to me." He says, turning to face me. "It's the store."

"Excuse me?" I frown, then start laughing. "Is this a joke?"

"Nope. Grace has made me the owner of her store." It's taking me a while to process this information, so Lindsey continues. "She said, I'm doing all the work anyway, that she's too old to care for a business. Since she doesn't have any relatives left, she doesn't trust anyone more than me. The only clause in this-" Again, he shows to the paperwork. "Is that I'm required to pay her a monthly allowance, as Grace put it." Lindsey smiles. "Actually, there's one more."

"What is it?" I'm still in complete state of shock.

"We have to have a baby in the upcoming year." 

I burst out laughing at that, yup, sounds exactly like something Grace would say. "Linds, I can't believe this."

"I know. She caught me completely off guard, I-" He shrugs. "It still hasn't sunk in yet that I'm a business owner." 

"Well, Mr. Business-Owner..." I free his hands and maneuver myself into his lap. "Why don't you get me naked at last, so we can start working on that one and only important clause?"