Doomsday Love: An MMA & Second Chance Romance (19 page)

“You’re kinda late,” I stated.

“I know. Worked out longer than intended.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He reached across to touch the back of my hand. “How was the dinner?”

“Stupid,” I muttered, and I again wished Mitchell had been there. My eyes burned, and soon they pricked with fire-hot tears. I turned my head away instantly but Drake caught my gloom.

I knew he did because he slowly pulled away, gripping the steering wheel. When I looked at his hands through the corner of my eyes, I saw his knuckles were as white as snow, clutching the wheel tightly.

His body was no longer relaxed but tense.

Drake slowed down about ten minutes later. When I realized where we were heading, panic set in. I got a clear view of the cliff—
The Dark Side
—and my heart sunk. My head whooshed with what sounded like hot blood, my mouth suddenly dry.

But just like that Drake drove past it, as if it’d never even been in sight. For a split second, I thought he drove by on purpose… or maybe he didn’t.

My thudding heartbeat settled, and I blew a silent sigh. But during it all, Drake stole glances of me. The truck decreased in speed and when we made it to a bridge close to the lake, miles away from the cliff, he parked.

I glanced back, glad the moon was on the opposite side of the sky tonight. I couldn’t see the cliff from there and I was glad. I didn’t want to freak out while with him.

Shutting the engine off, Drake sighed and sat back in his seat. He then grabbed my hand, guiding me closer to him. He did all of this quietly. I expected him to speak—ask questions about my behavior, but then I remembered what he said when I saw him again for the first time at the horrible
Dark Side
.

He wasn’t a nosy person. He didn’t ask a lot of questions. Not that he didn’t care, it just wasn’t how he was. I knew he’d rather me tell him when I was ready, than to force it out of me.

“Thank you for picking me up,” I whispered, breaking the silence.

“No problem.”

I looked up at him, sliding closer. “Sorry I’m being so weird.” My lips twisted, my throat suddenly dry as I quietly said, “I just said something to my mom tonight that made me miss my brother. A lot.”

“I figured it was something like that.” He stared ahead, watching the water ripple. “I get the same way when I think about my Mom. Easier to cope with now, but still hard to think about.” His head dropped, jaw fixed.

“You’d give anything to see her again, right?”

“Wouldn’t you give anything to see your brother again?”

“Yeah,” I blurted out without thinking.

I dropped my head but felt him watching me. “Besides Kylie, who else can you talk to about your personal problems?”

I shrugged. “No one.”

“Hmm.” He grunted.

“I think it’s good you have the twins and your grandma. People to understand and not judge.”

He scoffed. “The twins are judgmental as fuck, but they understand, for the most part. They wouldn’t tell any of my secrets. I trust them. My grandma is who I tell all to. She listens and gives great advice—wisdom to live by. If it weren’t for her, I’m sure I’d have killed Flex by now. I’d probably be dead… or in jail.”

Oh.

“I hate knowing that I’m going to lose her too. I don’t know how the hell I’ll cope then.” He tried to laugh it off, but I heard the pain in his laughter.

We were both quiet for a few long seconds.

“I think as long as you take her words to the heart, you’ll be okay,” I murmured.

He shrugged. “Maybe.” Then he sat up, blowing out a breath. “I don’t want to talk about that right now. Let’s talk about something else.”

I sat up straight. “Like what?”

“Like why the hell you’re still putting up with a guy like me.”

I twisted my body and perched on my knees to face him. Leaning forward, I placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back against his door.

“I already told you,” I murmured. “I like you, Drake. I think you’re an interesting person who just so happens to be very misunderstood.”

“Possibly,” he panted as my hand touched his thigh, close to his growing arousal.

I paused for a second, pulling back. He watched my lips with a hard face. “Do you like me?”

His eyes flashed up to mine and we held gazes for what felt like an eternity. Drake’s arm shot out and wrapped around me. He crushed me against his chiseled body, and I settled on top of his lap.

His eyes focused on my mouth, and before I knew it, his lips found mine, and he kissed me—kissed me like he meant it. Like he actually
liked
me. All done without words.

Just action.

I grinned behind our kiss, and he groaned as I straddled his lap. “We really gotta get outta this fucking truck,” he groaned when our kiss broke, but he didn’t stop. His lips went down to the crook of my neck and I sighed as I craned my head back.

“You should take me to your place then,” I breathed.

“Wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Why not? Afraid of me meeting grandma too soon?”

“It’s not that.” He pushed away, gripping my upper arms with flared nostrils.

“Then what is it?” I asked, confused by his aggression.

His lips smashed together, jaw locking. “If I take you back to my place, Jenny—to
my
bedroom and on
my
bed—I’m afraid of what will happen. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you in more ways than one. I’m afraid we’ll move too fucking fast. I know I will get carried away with you. I won’t hold back. I’m trying my damn hardest right now to keep some restraint—and I am, but that’s only because we’re in my truck and I don’t wanna take so much from you in a place so shallow.”

I watched his eyes—his face—and my cheeks lit up like a burning furnace. “I get it,” I whispered. “We can stay here then, in your macho manly truck if that’s what you’re really afraid of.” I cupped his face in my hands, allowing our lips to press and mold. “But, like I said before, don’t make me wait too long,
Doomsday
. I’m an impatient girl.”

I watched his eyes spark with a desire I’d never seen before, and I beamed. His stare was hot and heavy, and as his thick fingers curled around my hips and he hauled me closer, reconnecting our mouths, I knew sooner or later he’d be over trying to take things slowly.

I never told him I wanted to take things slowly.

I liked fast and quick, especially with Drake. With him involved, it was thrilling. Plus, I didn’t want him to think I was lesser than the other girls—more fragile than the average.

I was actually a pretty strong girl, and sometimes I caught myself thinking of way too many naughty things. Though I hadn’t done all of the naughty things, I fantasized about them a lot.

Dreaming about a naked Drake hovering above me, his body heat palpable and thick, drove my mind wild already.

I couldn’t help but wonder what all he could do inside a bedroom. He was a great kisser, and the way he touched me—groping me with hands so firm and thoughtful—proved he would make a great lover.

I knew Drake was capable of a lot of good things, he was just too afraid to reveal them because he considered himself way too bad for someone like me.

T
wo months
.

That’s how long Drake and I had been dating now and things were great. Mom and Dad didn’t know I had a boyfriend, but Mom suspected.

I refused to tell her anything, no matter how many times she asked me if I had a boyfriend. I knew they wouldn’t have approved of Drake if they saw him.

For one, he wasn’t rich like Mom expected the man I would marry to be. His skin was flawlessly stained with ink, and that was a huge no-no for Mom as well—not that I cared much about her opinion anyway.

I just didn’t want to hear her mouth, so I kept my relationship to myself.

Kylie and I had already graduated. Not to mention the boys actually came to see us get our high school diplomas. It was exciting to see Drake afterwards.

He sought me out after graduation, before my parents could find me, and told me he would take me out for milkshakes at Buckley’s when I was done celebrating at Leighton Cove.

I was very excited about that.

Around our two-month “anniversary”, I decided we should all hang out at my pool. Unfortunately, a filter was broken, so we decided to go to the community pool.

It was hotter than usual in Fox River that day.

There was this perfect breeze that called to me as I stood on the deck.

It was great.

Kylie was packing up a lunch bag in the kitchen and I was gathering all of the stuff we needed outside of food. I met her in the kitchen after grabbing our towels, sunscreen, and umbrellas.

Meeting at the counter, I sighed and looked at her as she stuffed the last sandwich and orange into the large insulated lunch bag.

“I just thought about something,” I said.

“What’s that?” she inquired with a tilt of her brow.

“The guys fight tonight.”

She looked up “Oh, yeah. I totally forgot! It is Friday.” Kylie paused as she pursed her lips. “Do you think we should go… you know, to support them?”

“Drake doesn’t like me at the fights,” I admitted.

“How do you know that? Did he say that?”

“No. But I can tell he doesn’t. The last time we went he seemed upset to see me there. Remember? We wanted to surprise them but when we hung out afterwards he was kind of quiet. He rushed away from the Dawg Pit with me like he didn’t want people to see us together.”

Kylie sighed. “I don’t know what he’s so ashamed of. Oscar is fucking hot when he fights. I love to see my man lay down the law, ya know?”

I shrugged.

“Does he think you’re judging him?” she asks.

“I don’t think so.” I pressed my lower back against the edge of the counter, folding my arms. “He’s pretty comfortable around me.”

“Well, if you want to stay in the safe zone with him, I get it, Jen. Let’s just not go. We can hang out here, you know? Your parents won’t be back for another two days. We have this whole fucking house to ourselves.” Kylie grinned and I did the same, picking up my tote bag.

She grabbed the lunch box and one of the towels and when I tucked mine beneath my arm, I said, “Let’s get out of here before they call and change their minds.”

“I’m surprised they agreed! Their day off and they’re going to spend it with us at the pool—in public!?”

I unlocked my car, popping the trunk and tossing my things inside of it. “Well, we could have stayed here and used my pool and all, but the guy can’t come fix the filter today. He comes in the morning. No one is willing to work on a holiday.”

“Fourth of July,” Kylie sang. “Damn. I should have gotten some fireworks.” She slid into the passenger seat as I climbed into the driver’s side.

We arrived at the public pool in less than ten minutes. It wasn’t very far.

We didn’t see Drake’s truck or Oscar’s car, so we decided to secure spots before it became too crowded.

When we finally found some chairs, I spread out my towel on top of one of them, observing the busy pool area.

“It’s like everyone from Lake Lane is here,” I murmured, spotting a few cheerleaders and then the worst of them all, Gretchen Wheeler. She was hanging off of some guy’s arm, laughing and acting as if she were drunk at 3 p.m.

I rolled my eyes as I pulled my cover-up off.

Kylie scoffed with disgust. “I come for a dip in the pool and instead get an eyeful of that twat in the worst bikini ever. Her nipple will fall out at least four times by the end of the day.”

I laughed. “As long as she doesn’t come over here we’ll be fine.”

I heard the gates screech open and slam close and looked up. Drake and Oscar scanned the area, most likely looking for us. When they caught us, we waved like little girls for them to know we were here.

I felt so silly, especially when Kylie and I snickered with each other because we did the exact same thing.

Behind them was Otto, who was talking to some girl. I think it was the same blondie he was talking to at the house party Kylie threw.

“Finally, gosh,” Kylie teased as she draped her arms around Oscar’s neck. Oscar smirked, reeling her into him, kissing her as soon as she tilted her head up.

Drake stepped in front of me with a frown on his face, scrutinizing each person here that looked his way. “I’m not swimming,” he muttered.

I crossed my arms. “So why did you wear swimming trunks?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s a pool. Would look stupid in anything else.”

I sighed. “Why don’t you want to swim, Drake?”

His mouth curved upward and then he pulled his shirt over his head. As he did so, his entire upper body was revealed. The curves and valleys of his olive skin made me stop talking. His ripped abs, those perfect tribal tattoos.

He had some tattoos that I knew were probably just put on for fun, but below his rib was a name.

“Samantha,” I read out loud. My eyes met his as he tossed his shirt on the chair.

He blinked slowly, glancing down at the cursive script. “Mom.”

“Oh.” I didn’t touch on it anymore than that. We were here for fun. He needed to let loose, not dwell on the past.

“Look what the fuck I’ve got!” Otto’s loud voice filled our ears as he rushed in our direction. “Got that chick over there to share some drinks.” He grinned as he pulled a red cooler on the wheels.

When he opened it, Oscar busted out laughing. “Water bottles?”

“What?” Otto frowned as he looked down. “What the fuck? I thought there was beer in here!”

“There is no beer allowed at a public pool, idiot!” Oscar chortled.

I snickered as Drake shook his head, fighting his amusement. “Dumbass,” he mumbled.

“It’s a good thing it’s only water anyway.” Oscar clapped his brother’s shoulder. “Fight tonight. No drinking. Remember?”

“One won’t hurt anybody.” Otto was clearly irritated. He looked over at the girl he was just talking to, and she waved, no idea he was upset. “I’m done with her. Who brings a cooler full of water? Like, what the fuck? That screams
‘I have dry pussy’
right there.” He took his shirt off and then shrugged, charging for the pool.

All we heard was a loud
BLOOP
, a heavy
SPLASH
, a few girly squeals, and a loud, “FUCK, YEAH!” from Otto when he resurfaced.

Some people were aggravated by it, and some were in hysterics. I was one of the ones in hysterics. Otto gave zero fucks.

“Ignore him,” Oscar chuckled. “Kid’s crazy for attention.”

“Yeah, I see that,” Kylie giggled.

“Trying to swim?” he asked her.

“Sure.” Kylie was already in her bikini, and Oscar could not keep his eyes or hands off of her. She knew it, too.

As she walked towards the pool she swung her hips along the way, gripping his hand and glancing over her shoulder when she felt his eyes on her ass.

They were so cute together.

“What about you?” I asked, looking at Drake.

He shook his head. “I’d rather tan. Got some oil?

“I do. You’re lucky I want to tan, too.”

I dug through the bag for the oil, tossing it his way.

He smiled, handing the bottle back to me. “Oil me down?”

I blushed as I took it back. “Sure.”

He sat down on the end of the lounge chair and I stood behind him. My hands were shaking a little as I poured the oil in them and rubbed his broad shoulders and back.

His skin was soft beneath my hands, smooth and clear, dimpled in all the right places. I worked my way downward, and when I was finished with his back, I knew it was time to do the chest.

My breathing picked up as I stepped between his legs. Drake’s hands gripped my waist, and he sat me on his lap.

And in my ear, he whispered, “Relax, babe. It’s just muscles.”

I smiled down at him. “I am relaxed.”

“Sure you are.”

He was so full of himself. I poured the oil on his chest, rubbing it over each pec, down his delicious abs, and he leaned back so I could reach the V. Oh, those cuts. They led right down to his grey swimming trunks.

I wondered what else was down there…waiting.

“There. How’s that?” I asked.

“Good.” He pulled out some Ray-Bans from his pocket, shielding his eyes. “You tanning with me, right?”

I nodded, handing him the bottle.

He grabbed it, bringing me between his thighs. He moved behind me, his actions deliberate.

When he poured the oil in his hands, it was like the perfect back massage. His thumbs ran over my muscles, over the soft tissue, releasing some of the tension I held before.

I could hear him breathing deeper as his hands went lower. He was holding onto restraint, realizing he was getting closer to my ass.

I smirked and pulled my hair over one shoulder as he came back up to rub the oil there too.

“Turn around,” he murmured when he slid back.

I turned and sat on one of his thighs again. His hands started at my shoulders, down my arms. He traveled over my stomach gently, stopping just at the waistband of my teal bikini.

And then he came up to my chest, massaging it, venturing down to my cleavage.

I glanced around. No one was paying us any attention at all. It was like we were in our own world, touching each other in ways we shouldn’t have.

Before I knew it, Drake’s hand was cupping one of my breasts. He had me pulled close to him, and his mouth was so close to mine I could already taste him.

“How does that feel?” he murmured.

“Good,” I responded breathily.

“You look good covered in oil,” he remarked.

“You as well.” I leaned in closer, and he gave me exactly what I was waiting for. Pulling his hand away from my breast, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.

I cupped one side of his face, but it still didn’t feel like enough.

I was suffocating by him and inhaling him all at once.

His mouth molded perfectly with mine. Each press and flicker of his tongue was driving me crazy. I couldn’t handle just
this
anymore.

I needed more. He was making me wait for so long. I mean, technically two months isn’t very long to wait, but for a guy to be calling the shots on waiting… well, let’s just say Drake was one patient man.

“My parents aren’t home,” I whispered when the kiss broke.

His eyes focused on my lips. “No?”

“Nope.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“We should go back to my place after this. I added you to the visitors list.”

“Maybe.” He inclined his body, resting on his palms as he looked towards the pool.

“We don’t have to,” I added quickly. “I just thought it’d be nice to not hangout in the truck.”

“Yeah. That sounds cool.”

I pouted a little, and when he didn’t meet my eyes, I climbed off of his lap.

“You know, I don’t get it, Drake.”

He finally looked at me. I was standing with my hands on my hips, my focus on him. “Get what?”

“Why you’re still waiting. What are you afraid of?”

“Who said I was afraid?” He sat up. “You think I’m afraid of taking you?” His head shook. “No. It’s not that I’m afraid of doing what I want to you. I’m just afraid of what you’ll think of me when I end up fucking the shit out of you and not being able to control myself.”

I swallowed thickly. “You won’t hurt me that much.”

“That’s what you think.” He sighed. “I don’t want your ideas of me to change.”

“They won’t.” I grabbed his hand. “Please, Drake, just stop. There is nothing bad about you. I like your rough side. I like everything about you. Okay? Stop making excuses for me. If I didn’t want to be with you or around you, I wouldn’t be.”

He grumbled something beneath his breath and then lay back, staring up at the sky. I did the same as he blew out a breath.

“Fine. We can go back to your place.”

I whipped my head over to look at him. “Really?” I asked with a grin.

“Yeah. But until then, let’s just enjoy our time here.” He reached for my hand. He squeezed it lightly, a faint smile on his lips. “You test my limits, you know that?”

“I think that’s a good thing.”

“Sometimes.”

I fought a smile.

He was in such denial. I almost wanted to laugh in his face about it.