Fireflies (Double Love Series Part 2)

Will We Survive The Flight

"I love you, you spoiled rich old lady who won't touch any non-cashmere." He kissed her.

"And I love you, you old man wine snob." She let loose that giggle of hers, and said, "Let's sit. An hour in the car...I need to stretch...I'm old as fuck and I hurt." She sat down on the Burberry blanket, pulling him along with her.

Wine was poured and they clinked glasses to the beautiful sunny day that was rare for England, and they reclined against each other, taking in the scenery and trying to stay warm. Lindsey let his phone play out the rest of the Rolling Stones playlist, and Mick Jagger sang "Angie" from the little speaker at the bottom of his iPhone as Stevie, who had been using him as an armchair of sorts, sitting in front of him in between his legs and reclining against him, had turned into him so they could steal a series of sweet little kisses. Stevie had taken off her coat and so had Lindsey, in an effort to be closer, but when they'd gotten cold, Lindsey had run to the car to grab a second blanket, not Burberry but also cashmere, and he's draped it around himself and secured the ends around Stevie in his lap. It reminded both of them of that evening in 1969, the night before Thanksgiving, when he'd met her in Golden Gate Park and she'd been so cold that he'd wrapped the open ends of his coat around her, forcing them to stand closer together so he could warm her, and they'd come the closest to kissing that they ever had. Stevie reminded him of that, which had led to the kissing they were now both enjoying, Stevie turning into him under the cashmere blanket and thinking of "Love Is" again...

"But when it's over...how then will you feel...when you miss those arms that used to go around you...knowing it must seem to you like your angel's arms...doing their work for you...it's true..."

Stevie had not been able to get the thought of Christine crying in the kitchen on Christmas morning out of her mind since it happened. She had spent days trying not to think of herself and how she'd feel if it were Lindsey who was sick, and for some reason, she'd gotten these thoughts conflated with "Love Is". She knew why - it was the song she'd written on Christmas Eve 1997 after she'd set him free to be with Kristen and the baby and that holiday season twenty-five years ago had been on her mind. Of all the times she'd loved Lindsey and lost him, that was the one that had hurt the most; she still felt guilty about thinking back then that it would be easier if he'd died because he was alive in front of her and she couldn't have him...death was at least finality. She'd cried thinking back to that the day she'd found out about his heart attack in 2019. She had turned herself halfway around and her hand cradled his cheek, and as their lips touched and parted and touched again, Lindsey could feel the sadness in her kisses, and he knew something was wrong.

"Baby..." she whispered just before her lips melted into his again, stroking his cheek with her thumb as she held his face in her hand. "I love you...so much..."

"I love you too...my sweet girl..." His lips found the warm, delicate skin of her neck and he began kissing softly there, encircling both his arms and the cashmere blanket tighter around her. "Such a beautiful day...you in my arms under a blanket in the countryside...my God...it's like a fantasy world...too good to even be real." His lips returned to hers, and when he pulled away, he saw the unmistakable sign of tears starting to form in her eyes. "Baby...what's wrong? Why the tears?"

"It's nothing," she lied. She turned herself around to face him more, and burrowed into the warmth and safety of his embrace and rested her head against his chest. His hand went into her hair, stroking close to the top of her head as he kissed her temple.

"I can see you trying not to cry, angel," he said softly against her ear. "You can tell me...what's wrong, baby girl? Is it too cold...do you need to get inside the car to keep warm?"

Stevie felt the tears officially begin to well up in her eyes at that, hearing him so eager to make sure she was warm enough...or whatever it was she needed that he thought was making her cry. He heard a tiny whimper as she hid her face in his sweater, and he began to worry. She mumbled into him, "I just love you so much...I'm so happy we're together and we're getting married and...I just never want this to end...I can't lose you ever again, baby, I can't."