September 25, 2013, London
Stevie was notoriously not a morning person. But this morning she found herself up and out of bed before noon due to the sheer excitement over what was to come. For the first time in 15 years, Christine was joining them all on stage at tonight's concert in London. After hearing John's shocking news this past week, the five of them reuniting couldn't have come at a more perfect time - they all needed it.
"Stevie, I can't believe it but you're actually going to be on time for lunch," Karen marveled as Stevie emerged from her room fully dressed and ready to go.
"See?" Stevie gave herself a twirl and pat on the back, "I can be good when I want to be."
Karen rolled her eyes with a laugh, "Okay, so lunch is at 1 followed by soundcheck at 4. Chris wanted to run through Don't Stop too, so it will probably go a little over today to get everyone on the same page, which means you won't get a break before hair and makeup."
"Check, check, and check," Stevie chirped happily, Karen raising a brow at her boss' optimism.
"You really are excited to see Christine again, huh?"
"You have no idea."
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Lindsey wasn't prepared for the overwhelming emotions and nostalgia he felt while watching Stevie and Christine run into each other's arms giddily. He, Mick, and John stood on the sidelines while the two of them squealed and hugged onto each other, nearly topping one another over in the process.
"You look so beautiful," Stevie squealed, "We missed you soooo much ugh I'm so excited to have another girl back you have no idea."
"You look hot! You're glowing!" Christine laughed as she pulled back to look Stevie over again, "I missed you my little one."
"Come here, you," Mick interjected himself in-between the two women to pull Christine in a hug while the rest of them watched on with huge smiles on their face.
It had been years since they'd all been in the same room together, and there was no way to describe the feeling of the five of them reuniting. Especially as they got older. After what felt like another hour of hugging, they finally made their way to the corner table of the restaurant they chose for lunch - a champagne toast arriving immediately to celebrate. Stevie found herself seated in-between Lindsey and Christine, squeezing onto both of their legs happily under the table as she looked around at everyone.
While the Brits fell into a whirlwind of conversation, Lindsey's hand met Stevie's on his thigh, lacing his fingers through hers until she looked over at him with a smile. For a second, they simply gazed into each other's eyes, no words needed to be said, the look said it all as they held onto each other's fingers tightly. Lindsey nodded at her, a wink to let her know he too felt exactly the same things she was feeling in that moment, and she had to stop herself from bursting into tears on the spot. From the corner of her eye, Christine caught the entire exchange, looking at her two bandmates curiously as she took a sip of her drink.
"You're going to do both shows with us, right?" Stevie prodded Christine.
"Let's just get through tonight's and see if I've still got it in me, shall we?"
"Christineeee, you promised!"
"Okay, Okay Steves!" Christine relented, causing them all to laugh.
The magical thing about the "Rumours five" was that no matter how much they had drifted, no matter how much time had passed by, no matter who took a hiatus from the band, whenever they all got back together, it was like nothing at all had changed. That sentiment was clear as they all reminisced over their several-hours long lunch, telling crazy stories from the past and laughing hysterically over all the ridiculous encounters they had—all while expertly avoiding the elephant in the room, which was John's recent diagnosis.
But the real magic began at soundcheck, when they all found themselves spread out across the stage of the O2 Arena. Much to their delight, Christine slipped right back into her place just as if she'd never left. And every single one of them tried to fight back the emotions at how good it felt to all be playing together again. Stevie stilled for a second when she felt a set of hands on her shoulders from behind, she could recognize Lindsey's touch anywhere.
"Hey," he whispered in her ear, "You okay?"
She nodded, not turning around to look at him for fear that she may start to actually tear up, "Just a little emotional that's all. You?"
"Me too," his voice was the same soft and gentle voice he brought out whenever he was comforting or babying Stevie. She would never admit it, but she loved it so much, that tender side of him that slipped out.
Finally, she turned her head to look over her shoulder and meet his eyes, finding two sparkling blue orbs staring into her soul. A tiny grin rested on his lips and in that moment, she had the sudden urge to climb into him and nestle up there forever - the overwhelming emotion at Christine, John, Mick, Lindsey, and she all being back together on stage suddenly too much.
"Don't cry," he whispered, able to read her mind.
She nodded biting her lower lip, "I know."
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"THE MAC IS BACKKKKK AND SO IS CHRISTINE!!!!" Mick roared as the five of them stumbled off stage that night, riding high on adrenaline and excitement and the roaring applause they could still hear from their encore.
Stevie watched with a giant smile on her face and pit in her stomach as Christine and John held onto each other in a loving hug. She felt Lindsey's fingers grasping at her waist to comfort her, the night a bit too much for all of them.
"We're going to the pub to celebrate," Mick announced, "Johnny boy, are you up for it?"
John gave him a glare and an eye roll, "Of course I am."
"Chrissy, come back to my dressing room we can freshen up and get ready," Stevie grinned pulling on Chrstine's arm and guiding her down the hallway.
A brief silence fell over the room as Stevie shut the door behind them, finally leaving the girls of the group alone for the first time since Christine returned earlier that day.
"It felt really good to be back out there," Christine admitted as she sat down on the sofa.
"See? I told you!"
"I did miss it, all of us out there, you know? Especially with everything with John, it just makes you realize how precious time really is."
"I know," Stevie sighed as she sat down in her makeup chair, looking into the mirror and reaching for a makeup wipe.
"Something happened with you and Lindsey again," Christine said suddenly, her eyes meeting Stevie's in the reflection. It wasn't a question, and Stevie knew better than to try to lie about it based on the way Christine was looking at her.
"It's a long story," Stevie shrugged.
"Isn't it always with you two?"
"It's over now."
"Where have I heard that before?" Christine teased. "No but seriously, when was it....not over?"
Stevie sighed, "Chris, when my mom died, you should've seen Lindsey. He was calling me or at my house almost every week, sitting with me for hours while I felt like a depressed bum unable to get off the couch. He brought me sweets, talked on the phone with me until 3 in the morning, reminisced about every single memory since the day we met. It was so nice, I had forgotten about that side of him. Easy to do, I guess."
"And then what happened?"
Stevie shrugged, "Nothing until we got back in the studio for the Extended Play songs. Then we kissed a little sort of."
Christine laughed, "Kissed a little sort of? God, Stevie, nobody else describes affairs quite like you."
"Shut up," she laughed shaking her head.
Christine continued to stare at her when she went quiet, "I know you don't expect me to believe it ended there."
Stevie threw her head back in annoyance, "Christineeeeee."
"Spill!!! I deserve every single detail, Stevie. I've been out of the loop, I'm starving for gossip!!!"
"Fine. When tour started we....sort of ended up falling back into bed together. For a while. And it was....really good," she blushed. "But then I ended it. And he got mad. And we fought."
"Why did you end it?"
Stevie turned around to glare at her, "Gee, I don't know, maybe because he's married?"
"Oh come on, Stevie," she laughed, "You act like we've just met today. We both know that's not the only reason."
"It was getting too deep, okay?" She sighed, "Look, I ended it in the end of June and that's all that matters. And after a very rocky couple of months, we are finally no longer fighting about it which is all I could ask for."
"You're both in love again."
Stevie stayed quiet, Christine sighed and stood up, making her way over to the makeup chair where Stevie sat and wrapping her arms around her with a big hug. Stevie's eyes closed at the gesture as she held onto Christine's arms.
"I'm sorry, I won't push if you don't want to talk about it right now," Christine whispered, "It's just frustrating for me to watch the two of you stare at each other like that...and not do anything about it. Time is fleeting, you know?"
"Thanks Chris, I know. I love you, you know that? Ugh, love you so much. I've missed our girl chats way too much."
"Maybe they could've kept you out of Lindsey's bed this time had I been here," they both laughed.
Later that night, the five of them stood around in a circle with several of their managers and crew members with drinks in hand. Mick surprised them all by renting out a pub, and the entire touring crew happily arrived more than ready for drinks—they still had two nights left to recover in London, after all. As the night went on, Stevie could feel Lindsey making his way closer and closer to her. While she stood talking to John and Mick, he finally found his place beside her - the feeling of his hip lingering besides hers unable to ignore.
"What are we talking about over here?" He asked eagerly, his eyes only on her.
She turned to him with a smile, "Hi Linds. I was just plotting a way for us to kidnap Christine and keep her with us forever."
He laughed, "I'm very interested in that plan. And an album perhaps."
She rolled her eyes, "Calm down, you just got me in the studio."
"Everyone keeps telling me to rest and you're all over here plotting tours and albums and more reunions," John laughed.
"AFTER you're all better, Johnny," Stevie teased with a wink, taking a sip from her glass.
As they all made way for more people to join their circle, she felt Lindsey moving in even closer to her - his eyes practically burning a hole through her while trying to get her attention. She looked his way and raised her brows, giving him a knowing shake of the head and laugh as he continued to stare her down.
"Mick, where's my drink you were supposed to be fetching me?" Stevie teased him now, "Some bartender you are."
He laughed, "Jesus woman, all you do is yell at me. I'm on it! Someone is making it for you as we speak."
She threw her head back in laughter and then slightly stilled as she felt Lindsey's hand snake its way down to the small of her back sneakily. She bit her lower lip, frozen in place and trying not to react as she continued to talk to Mick and John. Lindsey held his hand there extremely still, almost as if he was testing the waters, before slowly dragging his fingers lower down her backside. It wasn't aggressive, but the way he cupped his hand along her ass wasn't exactly friendly either. She swallowed uneasily, knowing in her mind she should pull away or put a stop to it, but it felt so damn good - so she stayed firmly planted in place. It had been so long since someone touched her like that, and the sensation of his hand grabbing where it shouldn't be - all while the people around them had no idea - thrilled her to no end.
It had been a little over three months since they slept together, and two months since they found themselves kissing hungrily in her office. Since then, she hadn't let anybody touch her like that - her romance with Paul slightly fizzling out after that summer encounter with Lindsey. She wasn't ready to dive into anything new with anyone else just yet, and she didn't want to sacrifice her friendship with Paul - again - while trying to make it happen. Breaking her thoughts, Lindsey's hand crept even lower down her ass, taking a squeeze at the flesh casually while he turned his head to enter a discussion with their manager. Her knees nearly buckled.
Finally, Christine came over and she found the strength to pull away from his grasp, turning back to shoot him a playful but stern look.
"What do you think you're doing?" She whispered out of the corner of her mouth at him when everyone else was wrapped up in the conversation.
"Me?" He asked innocently, "Nothing, why?"
She shook her head, unable to hold back the slight laughter she let out. "Don't get too lost in the good old days, mister," she warned him before sauntering off across the room. His eyes followed her the entire way, a stupid smile planted firmly on his lips.