Title: Love Runs Deeper: Chapter Eighteen, With Grace
Rating: R [drinking, drugs, language, sexual situations]

Summary: Lily and Lindsey move in with the rest of the band. Some things will have to change...





Pulling up in front of the studio, his car filled with all of his and Lily’s belongings, Lindsey turned off the car and looked over at his blond girlfriend. She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear; the motion making him realize her hair hung naturally past her shoulders, not held back in a bun or ponytail. It was hard to believe how long her hair was, but that should not be the most pressing thought in his mind. He pushed those thoughts aside and watched her look over the studio during daylight hours.

“Are you sure about this, Lily?”

Her golden eyes met his, “Yeah. You need to be here with the band. And they’re basically your family, so I should be here too.”

“Do you want to meet my family? I could easily arrange that.”

“Um… no, not yet,” her eyes widened slightly. “Your band does not accept me yet. I don’t need the anxiety of meeting your mom and brothers just yet.”

“As you wish,” he glanced back at the studio. “We can go and check back into a hotel, Lil.”

“No, Linds,” Lily looked back at him, “we need to do this.”

He quickly leaned across the console and kissed her gently, “If this is what you want…”

“I do. Let’s go find Mick.”

The couple climbed out of the car and headed into the studio. Locating the band leader surprisingly awake already, Lindsey explained that he and Lily would be joining the band and retinue at the studio until the album was complete. Wiping his nose with the back of his hand, Mick grinned before he got to his feet. Lily quickly looked away, not wanting to show her feelings towards the drummer’s drug use. Lindsey noticed, but said nothing.

“Lil, you can stay at the condo with the girls. The studio is no place for a lady to stay,” Mick declared, sniffing slightly.

“I’ll take her things up there now,” Lindsey responded. “Then I have to run a couple of errands before we can do any work.”

The drummer shrugged, “No one else is up yet anyways.”

“Right… Okay then,” he turned away, leading Lily back out to the car.

Silently they climbed back into the vehicle to take Lily’s things to the condo on the opposite side of the studio compound.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, Lil,” Lindsey spoke softly.

“What? Mick snorting? I know everyone in the band has some vice. Mick’s is cocaine. Stevie’s is… cocaine. The McVies like booze. You like beer and pot,” Lily stated matter-of-factly.

“Lil…”

“It’s okay. You don’t need to defend it or anything. It is what it is,” she responded.

“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, Lily,” he stated as he pulled into the driveway of the condo.

Her eyes flicked to his, “I don’t like it. At all, especially yours as you’re the one who concerns me the most. But I know I can’t stop any of you from whatevering. I have… good reasons to not like all the drugging and drinking, but…”

“I’ll make sure that —”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Lindsey. Ever,” she declared before getting out of the car.

Sighing, he turned off the vehicle to help her carry her luggage into the condo. He did not like what she said and did not say about it all. While he did not know all of her likely very valid reasons for being anti-drinking and drugs, her declaration did not sit easy with him. But he would not push it. She had just barely confessed of her family’s abuse. He would not break her trust by pushing this matter further.

Standing next to Lily, Lindsey knocked on the door, hoping Chris would answer, not Stevie. If he paused for a minute to consider it, his current girlfriend moving in with his ex-girlfriend could be a recipe for disaster, especially since Stevie had been nothing but cold towards Lily. Perhaps being in close quarters would force them to get along quickly. Alternatively, it could completely blow up. That’s what he worried most about. Maybe they should —

“Good morning, Lindsey,” Chris’s smoky voice greeted, drawing his thoughts into the moment. “Hello, Lily.”

“Lindsey and I are… is it okay if I stay here?” Lily asked softly.

“Of course it is,” the older woman smiled. “We have an unused bedroom. Come in and I’ll show you.”

Lindsey trailed behind the two women. Though the condo was rented, including the furnishings, he could already see and smell Stevie all over the place. He expected to feel remorse or jealousy or something of that nature; but he did not. If pressed, he would say he felt… nothing when thinking of Stevie. It was strange. She had been a part of his life for so long, he expected to mourn the loss of their relationship more. However, she was still a part of his life, so perhaps that explained it.

“It is fairly basic,” Chris declared, standing at the doorway while Lily wandered into the ground level bedroom. “Bed, drawers, lamp, chair.”

Lily stepped in and looked around, turning slowly. She slowly neared the bed, her fingers touching the bedcover briefly. With a grin on her face, she looked at the two musicians. Neither spoke, waiting for her to do so.

“This is fantastic. This is the nicest room I have ever seen, other than Lindsey’s hotel. It’s bigger than my apartment,” she declared.

Chris glanced at Lindsey, “You really did pluck her out of nothing, didn’t you?”

He smirked but said nothing in response as he stepped forward to Lily and addressed her, “Will you be okay here?”

Her eyes held his and she smiled as he touched her cheek, “I will.”

His lips brushed hers, “If not, we can —”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” he kissed her again. “I’ll go get your things.”

Waiting until Lindsey walked pass her, Chris smiled and stated, “Welcome to the bird’s nest, Lily. Stevie’s and my rooms are upstairs. Get yourself settled. I’ll deal with Stevie.”

“Deal with Stevie?”

Chris smiled slightly, “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”



Heading out of her room, Stevie descended the steps in the condo. Pausing midway down the stairs, she inhaled deeply. In the weeks they had been at the condo, she could not recall smelling… anything cooking in the house. Chris had never struck her as the domestic type, even if she claimed her goals had always been to be a stay-at-home wife. Intrigued, Stevie descended the remaining steps and headed towards the small kitchen.

And stopped dead in her tracks just outside the kitchen.

Her brown eyes focused on the long, blonde hair curling down the cook’s back. Stevie did not need the young woman to turn around to know who it was. It no longer mattered that the scent of blueberry pancakes filled the condo. She did not want heranywhere near, especially not in their condo. It did not matter if Lindsey was fucking her; she had no place amongst the women.

Seeing Stevie, Chris got to her feet and approached the songstress, mimosa in hand, “Good morning, Stevie. Lily has breakfast just about ready. We’re very glad you’ve come to join us.”

Her eyes narrowed and she hissed, “I won’t be joining you. I won’t be staying anywhere near that whore.”

“Stevie,” she stated evenly, holding out the drink, “I realize it is difficult to see Lindsey with someone new so soon, but we both know the two of you were already breaking up when you joined the band years ago.”

“But —”

“Give Lily a chance. She’s a sweet girl,” Chris claimed. “Even if she did not need our friendship, we need hers.”

“I do not need anything from her,” she sneered at the back of Lily’s head. “Not one fucking thing.”

Lily turned her head slightly, saw Stevie out of the corner of her eye, and returned her focus to the pancakes.

“I will not stand for this. Mick will—”

“Tell you that he suggested she stay with us,” Chris said evenly. “We have been here for a month and the album is hardly any closer to done than it was a week ago. We need this, as a bloody band. Lily knows that. Do you think it’s easy for her to be here?”

“I don’t ca—”

“Keep it to yourself,” the older woman interrupted. “Lily is a part of Lindsey’s life now and therefore a part of this band’s life. Deal with it with grace or leave.”

Stevie blinked, staring at Chris. Holding the other woman’s gaze, she tried to ascertain if Chris was bluffing or not. The longer they stared silently at each other, only the sizzle of breakfast cooking filling the small space, the more Stevie realized what Chris said was true. After a month of avoiding the blonde, fighting with Lindsey, and trash talking about the slim woman, she still remained. She was rather magical in bed or something else made her irresistible; Stevie did not know. And there was only one way she would figure it out: befriending Lindsey’s little girlfriend.

“That smells wonderful, Lily. I did not know you could cook,” Stevie spoke up, swallowing away the acid in her voice. “I don’t think most of us have had a home-cooked meal in some time, unless you have been spoiling Lindsey, of course.”



Tossing his empty beer bottle in the trash can, Mick stood and stretched towards the ceiling, his long fingers just inches away from grazing the ceiling. He glanced at the guitarist as he fumbled playing the melody they worked on for four hours. His dark eyes flicked to the clock. It was half past eight… in the morning. It was time to sleep.

“You’re tired. Go sleep, Lindsey,” Mick declared when the playing stopped for a moment.

“I had it…” he muttered, his fingers slowly moving to play again.

“Go to bed,” the drummer stated. “Or hell, go fuck your pretty little girlfriend. I don’t care. Just give the guitar a rest.”

His blue eyes snapped to the tall man, “You already know we’re not having sex.”

“Is that why you decided to move in finally?” he asked, lighting a cigarette and handing the lighter back to the silent bassist.

“It was Lily’s idea,” he responded and set his guitar down before reaching for a cigarette. “Says it would be good for the band.”

“And it’s easier to hide from you when she’s staying at the condo with the girls,” Mick smirked before sucking on the cigarette. “She’s at least sucking you off, right?”

Lindsey looked away.

“Fuck me. Really? What’s her problem?”

“Nothing,” he quickly responded. “Don’t bring it up around her.”

“You gave up Stevie for a bird who still isn’t putting out? You must be bloody insane,” he chuckled.

“He loves her,” John spoke up softly, drawing the eyes of the other two men to him. “And he respects her.”

“Thank you!” Lindsey lifted his beer bottle to the bassist before taking a deep drink.

Mick shook his head, “If you get tired of jerking it…”

He rolled his eyes, “Go to sleep, Mick.”

He smirked, “Yeahhhh, you and I both know that’s not what I’m really going to be doing. One of Stevie’s friends…”

“I don’t want to hear about it,” Lindsey turned his attention away from band leader.

Mick laughed heartily and clapped Lindsey’s shoulder, “Go fuck your bird. You’ll play better tomorrow if you do.”

As the tall drummer sauntered out of the room, Lindsey glanced at John. The bassist smirked and finished off his glass of whisky before getting to his feet. They did not speak again as John left the studio, leaving Lindsey only with his thoughts and his guitar. Dropping his cigarette into the mostly empty beer bottle, he turned to his guitar. Rather than play it, Lindsey stored it properly and moved about the small room picking up after his bandmates.

Though he did not agree with Mick’s words, they continued to hang in his thoughts. He did not think that sex would solve his writer’s block. Lily was far from ready in any event, with good reason. There was no way he even wanted to be aroused around her, though she was so sexy without even trying he…

“Dammit,” he grumbled, feeling his body react to his thoughts.

Knowing Mick was bedding some random woman he likely flirted with all night did not help Lindsey’s mood. Maybe he would just head up to the condo, slip in, and check on Lily. He had been too busy during the night to see if she was settled in with the women. Just seeing her would…

…make him hornier. He could not go and see her without grunting through an orgasm first. As he could not, would not cheat on her, there clearly was only one option. His arousal increased in anticipation.

Leaving the studio, Lindsey headed into the bathroom, locked the door behind him, and dropped his pants. His tired fingers gently circled his cock, slowly playing it to full erection. Closing his eyes, he first envisioned her soft hands touching him as he was touching himself. He could feel her lips touching his as she continued to play with his cock. As her lips left his and kissed down his body, he knew what was about to transpire. He struggled to not thrust into her hot, wet mouth as her lips kissed the length of his shaft. The moment her hot tongue touched his tip, Lindsey grunted in ecstasy.

Opening his eyes a moment later, Lindsey looked down at the toilet which caught his orgasm. With a sigh, he flushed the toilet, pulled up his pants, and washed his hands. At least he could visit his girlfriend and not have sex at the forefront of his mind — he hoped.

Making his way up to the condo through the misty morning, Lindsey smoked a joint. Pleased that it calmed his thoughts and his body, he stubbed out what was left before reaching for the doorknob. A bit surprised to find the door unlocked, he entered the condo and looked around. None of the women were awake, his bandmates likely recently fallen asleep. Locking the door instinctively, Lindsey headed towards Lily’s room.

Slipping into the dark room, the curtains still closed, he paused to adjust to the darkness and to listen to her breath. Satisfied she was asleep but not wanting to frighten her, Lindsey clicked on the lamp next to her bed before sitting down. His long fingers reached up and gently brushed back her hair that had fallen across her face. Her eyes fluttered open, brief fear flickering across her face.

“Lindsey,” she smiled softly as she recognized him. “I was dreaming about you.”

“Were you now?” he leaned down and kissed her gently. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she started to push up. “I’ll make you breakfast.”

“No, love… lie back down,” Lindsey softly instructed.

Meeting his eyes, she nodded before lying back down and lifting up the sheet for him to join her. With a quick smile, Lindsey quickly removed his boots and jeans before sliding in beside her. Reaching to turn out the light, he kissed her again and pulled her close. Had he not masturbated prior to heading to the condo, Lindsey was certain his cock would be fully hard and poking into her hip. Instead, his boxers tightened slightly as her soft body molded to his, but not embarrassingly so.

“Did you get a lot done tonight?” she whispered.

“Mmmm,” Lindsey snuggled against her warm body, “some.”

“Good,” she replied. “After you get some sleep, remember you need to take me to the DMV.”

“Whatever you want,” he muttered. “Lil?”

“Yes, Lindsey.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” she responded. “Get some sleep.”