Fool Me Once...

Part 9

"Do you ever go home?" Stevie asked, as she and Lindsey were getting out of his car. "It seems like you're always here."

"I am always here." Lindsey agreed, leading the way to the front door. "You know me, when I start a project, I'm all in." He unlocked the door and pushed it open, showing Stevie to enter first. "I don't need any distractions."

Stevie raised an eyebrow at him. "Your family is a distraction?"

"It's not what I meant. It didn't come out right." Lindsey said, but the way he sounded, didn't do much to convince Stevie he truly didn't mean it. "Do you want anything? I could reheat you some leftovers. Or a drink maybe?"

"I'm fine. Ryan and I had just came back home from a restaurant before you called." Stevie shook her head, then added. "But I'll have a drink."

"I know there isn't any wine. Since it's mostly Mick and I here, we've got whiskey." 

"That's okay. I'll have a glass." Stevie followed Lindsey into the living room, where she found an already opened bottle sitting on the table. 

Lindsey knew what she was thinking, so he answered a question she hadn't asked. "I had some earlier. I was tired, but I couldn't fall asleep, so I thought it would help. Didn't."

"You were driving after you had been drinking?" Stevie asked, trying to sound calm, so the situation wouldn't escalate. 

"I only had one, Stevie, hours ago." He said and she just nodded her head, deciding to drop it. "I was listening to Everybody Finds Out and I think we could do some parts again."

"I thought you liked it." 

"I did, but I feel like you could do better."

Clenching her fists, Stevie let her nails dig into her palms for a second. She should have stayed at home with Ryan. This was a bad idea. 

"Fine." She said, not wanting to get into it. They'd been doing so good lately, she didn't want to ruin it. 

Before ushering her into the booth, Lindsey let her listen to the track for herself. They did it a few times, focusing on one part than the other and Stevie had to agree. Lindsey didn't intend to be mean, he simply wanted it to sound perfect. 

Taking a sip of her scotch on the rocks, Stevie entered the recording booth and took a seat. "Ready." She gave a nod of her head to Lindsey and they began. 

It didn't take very long for Stevie to figure out why Lindsey called and why they were together right now. It wasn't truly about the album, because she got through her song only a couple of times and Lindsey was satisfied. Lindsey was never satisfied. She took off the headphones and came out, taking a seat on the couch, picking up her drink.

"Be honest with me." She said, catching Lindsey's attention. "Why am I really here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lindsey, I've known you for a very long time. Like it or not, I can tell when something's bothering you, when you've got something on your mind. We argue, sure, but we are friends."

Strumming his guitar slowly and quietly, Lindsey prolonged the pause. He hated to admit it to himself, let alone to anyone else. He sighed, putting his instrument away. Sitting hunched over, staring at the floor for a moment, Lindsey lifted his head up and looked at Stevie.

"I'm lonely, Steph. You're right. We are friends and... and I needed a friend tonight." 

Stevie was taken aback by that revelation. She patted the free space next to her, showing him to come sit there. Lindsey rose to his feet and slumped down beside her. 

"That's why I'm here all the time. I have a family; a wife and two kids, but I feel so alone in my own house. I'm really not sure what happened, but Kristen and I started drifting apart and it's only getting worse." Lindsey leaned into Stevie, when she hugged him around the shoulders. "I don't blame her, it isn't easy having to take care of two small children, but I'm still a man, I need affection. Apparently, she doesn't. So she says. We don't really talk about anything anymore. I hate it, I hate how it makes me feel, so I choose to stay here and work." 

"Have you tried asking her, what the problem is?" Stevie wasn't exactly comfortable discussing Lindsey's relationship with his wife, but more than that she hated seeing him so defeated. 

"Kristen says, there is no problem."

"I'm not saying it's the same in your case, but similar thing happened to Luke, when Jake was born. You know what happened to my son. You have to find a way to fix it, Linds, or..." Stevie trailed off, both of them knowing what she meant.

"How do I do that, Stevie? She doesn't let me get close, physically or emotionally. I'm fighting this battle, so to say, completely on my own." Rubbing his tired eyes, Lindsey sighed. "I don't want to be in a loveless marriage."

"It doesn't mean she doesn't love you, you just have to sit down and have talk with your wife. Tell her that you know something isn't right and if it's your fault, ask her how you can change."

"Have you ever asked Mick how to change? And did it help?"

Stevie finished off her drink, shrugging her shoulders. "I think we both know the answer to that. You don't think Kristen's having an affair though, do you?"

Lindsey shook his head. "No."

"So, it's different."

"What if we're just not meant for each other." Lindsey wondered aloud. "Maybe the age difference is a huge factor in this."

"Well, Ryan is thirteen years younger than me. I don't think the age is an issues if you two are connected in every way. Sure, we've been going out for a short time, but I think I can tell there's more between us than just sex. At first, I was flattered that a younger man sees something me, but the more time we spend together, the more we learn about each other, it's easy to see that it's a lot more than just the physical connection."

Lindsey slammed his empty glass on the table a little too loudly. "Are you in love with him?"

"I'm not. Not yet. But I told myself, that I can't let myself fall for him or anyone else fast. I want to know him first. I can't handle going through what I went through with Mick again. I have to be absolutely sure."

"I guess, there's some truth in what you said. I think, I was just so taken by the fact a woman, a lot younger than me, wanted me. I can definitely say, I skipped over the part of getting to know her first. Before I knew what was happening, she was pregnant." Lindsey shrugged. "I'm not saying, I don't love Kristen, but... Maybe if we had spent more time, I don't know, dating before falling into bed... the outcome could have been different than it is today." Lindsey admitted. He had a hard time having this conversation with himself, but Stevie made him feel comfortable enough to get it off his chest.

"Good thing, I don't have a very big chance of getting pregnant anymore." Stevie joked, hoping to lighten up the mood.

Lindsey chuckled lowly. "You never know. You always gotta be careful."

Stevie laughed, shaking her head. "Let's be realistic, Linds."

A weak smile remained on his face and he turned to look at her. "Thank you."

"Any time, Lindsey. You know that." 

He nodded his head, hugging her close, holding on for just a moment too long.