Stevie paced back and forth in her living room, her nerves completely shot. She tried to keep her cool, but she inevitably spent all night tossing and turning thinking about Lindsey coming over today. What would it be like? What would they talk about? Could they finally be...friends? Was this a sign that the band should get back together again? Her mind raced.
"Stevie," her boyfriend's voice coming from the kitchen broke her thoughts, "I've got to head out now."
"Oh," she made her way towards him, "Okay then."
"Don't sound too broken up about it," he joked.
She smiled, rubbing her hand gently over his across the countertop, "Of course you will be missed."
"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little...off."
"I couldn't sleep last night, I think I'm just tired," she lied.
"Oh?" He asked pulling her into his arms, "You should have woke me, I could've put you to sleep veryyyy nicely."
She grinned widely, "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really," he nuzzled his face against her neck, placing kisses all over as she giggled. She closed her eyes, trying not to feel the guilt take over. She didn't tell Dave that Lindsey was coming over today. She knew she should have, but it wasn't exactly lying. The truth was, she didn't want anyone to know Lindsey was coming over because she didn't exactly know what it meant herself. The two of them called it a "catch up" and it would be just that. But she didn't want to get herself tied into anything with the band until she knew where she stood with Lindsey. And letting her boyfriend in on that part seemed particularly tricky.
"How about you let me take you and Lily out to dinner tonight?" He asked pulling back.
"Why don't we wait until you have the boys tomorrow night?"
"You love a big chaotic dinner, don't you?" He laughed.
"You know it," she giggled kissing his nose.
Dave had two sons from his previous marriage, a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old. Despite the fact that they were both close in age with Lily, the three kids hadn't exactly bonded as Stevie would have liked them to. It had been a little over a year since she and Dave began dating, so she guessed the kids still needed more time to warm up and understand—as they'd only been introduced six months ago. She always wanted Lily to have siblings, excited that this would be her closest opportunity, but it wasn't panning out exactly like she envisioned.
"Okay, I'm going to be late, I'll call you later," he smiled before giving her a kiss and disappearing out of the house.
She looked at the clock, one hour until Lindsey was supposed to arrive. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lindsey stood outside her front door, his palms suddenly sweaty as he waited for her to answer. He'd spent the morning carefully grooming himself to perfection, taking an extra longtime shaving and getting his hair just right. He wasn't ashamed to admit he wanted to look good for Stevie. Was that so wrong? Didn't everyone want to look good when seeing their ex? It was pretty normal. Not telling his wife he was going to see said ex? Maybe that part wasn't as normal.
Before he could let himself feel slightly guilty again, the door swung open and there stood Stevie, a wide grin on her face as their eyes met. She looked stunning, wearing a cream colored sweater that lay off her shoulders, exposing a flash of skin that Lindsey's eyes went right to. Her hair fell down her back and bare shoulders in loose blonde waves that he couldn't help but want to run his fingers through.
"Hi," she finally spoke, breaking the momentary silence in the air.
"Hi," he grinned.
Unsure of how to greet him, she leaned into his body for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his nose in her hair as she swayed in his arms for a quiet moment. She closed her eyes taking in the familiar scent of his cologne all these years later, it instantly taking her back to nights spent together many years ago. Slowly, she began pulling back from him with a soft smile.
"Come in," she guided him to follow her as they stepped inside to the foyer.
"Thanks for having me."
"I was surprised you wanted to come over."
"And why's that?"
She shrugged shyly now, looking down to the floor. "I just kind of thought since Kristen came yesterday instead of you...maybe you hadn't wanted to see me."
He sighed, "That couldn't be further from the truth. I....she...." He sighed again, "I don't think she was keen on me running over to my ex girlfriend's house for the second time in a week."
She smiled up at him, "Isn't that ancient history?"
He stayed quiet as their eyes met again. They both knew that was a loaded question. "I heard all about the band," he smiled, quickly changing the subject.
"Fleetwood Mac Junior, you mean?"
He laughed hysterically now, "Has a ring to it, doesn't it?"
They soon found themselves sitting with mugs of coffee on Stevie's backyard patio, the sun shining down on them and a cool breeze blowing in the air. Neither one of them had stopped smiling since Lindsey arrived nearly a half hour ago.
"Have you been working on any new music at all?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah, I've been trying to get a new album together. It's been taking longer than expected."
"Why's that?"
He shrugged, "I couldn't get in the zone, couldn't find any inspiration for a while. But that's changed now."
"Oh?" She tried to hold back a grin, biting her bottom lip.
"Oh," he laughed knowingly, "Have you, uh...remember after the Dance when we said maybe we would do a reunion tour a few years down the line...?"
"I do...."
"I've been thinking about it a lot, actually. I can't help but think us crossing paths again like this is...well, destiny, like you would call it," he teased.
"Destiny rules," she smiled, "Have you talked to Mick at all?"
Lindsey shrugged, "I'll be honest, I've been bad about keeping in touch with everyone. I haven't talked to him in probably like two years now."
"Life gets busy when you have kids."
"So... Dave...does he live here with you and Lily?" Lindsey asked curiously.
Stevie couldn't help the knowing smile that took over her lips. She knew he'd been itching to ask, "No, no, we don't live together. We've been together a little over a year now, I guess. He has two kids, so they have their own place and he usually stays here when he doesn't have them."
"How old are his kids?"
"Seven and nine, so really close to Lily."
"Divorced?" Lindsey asked.
"No, still married," she joked sarcastically, causing him to laugh.
"Very funny, Nicks," he grinned shaking his head.
"How are your girls doing?"
"They're good, getting big. Time really flies. Leelee is 7 now, and Stella is 3."
"I'm really happy for you, Linds."
"I'm happy for you too," he smiled honestly, "Look at us, grownups with kids."
She laughed, raising her brow, "I'm willing to bet we both still act like kids ourselves."
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
She took another sip of coffee, studying his body language closer now, "So, Kristen was okay with you coming here today then?"
He stayed quiet, taking a sip of his coffee now, the guilty look on his face causing Stevie's expression to drop.
"Lindsey..." she groaned, "Oh no, please don't say...."
"Steph, it's not a big deal, I just...I thought it would be better to have this time to ourselves."
"So you lied to your wife about seeing me?"
"Did you tell your boyfriend you were seeing me?"
"That's different."
He raised his brows at her now, "Stevie..."
"Lindsey..."
"We're just having coffee."
"I know! That's why I don't see why you had to lie."
He eyed her with a knowing glare and surprisingly, she backed down, not wanting to go down that road this early into their reunion. She tried to think of something else to change the subject to, but her eyes were glued to Lindsey's lips on his coffee cup. As they sat there in the quiet, their eyes burning into each other, she couldn't help but have flashbacks to their last night spent together making love all those years ago. It was so intense, so passionate, so angry, so devastating, and so impossible to erase from her mind completely.
After putting his cup of coffee back on the table, he couldn't help but lick his lips as she watched him.
"Stop looking at me like that," she shook her head with a faint smile.
"Like what?"
"You know."
"Isn't that ancient history?" He mocked her earlier question with a grin.
Right now, it certainly didn't feel like it.