Chapter Six
Drake
Chloe and I spent the entire evening out together. She took me to a restaurant that was far nicer than anything I would have wanted, but she seemed so excited and I couldn't deny her anything. When we finished, I convinced her to let me drive her car so that I could take her to the beach as a surprise. I knew how much she loved the beach, and I wanted her to remember this night with me and hold it close to her heart while I was gone.
I had stashed my acoustic guitar in the back seat of her car when we left in case I wanted to practice while I was here, and I decided tonight would be a great night to play for her.
When we passed the turn off for her aunt’s property, she looked at me confused. “Um, Drake we missed the turn off.”
I gave her a sly smile. “I know.”
“Ok… Then where are we going?”
I ignored her question and she fell back into her seat grumbling. “Fine, be that way.”
She was silent as I passed over the Ocean Gateway and made my way through the traffic to the same parking lot Danny had left his car in earlier. As I parked the car and killed the engine, she turned to me with a questioning look.
I smiled as I opened my door. “Surprise.”
She stepped out of the car and looked over at me. “The beach? We were just here earlier today.”
I opened the back door and hauled my guitar case out. “I know, but I wanted to come out here, just the two of us.”
She glanced down at the case in my hand and grinned. “Are you going to serenade me next to the ocean? I think that might be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Something like that.” I said as I wrapped my arm around her and led her down the beach. We walked in silence as we listened to our footsteps against the sand and the waves crashing against the beach.
It was late in the evening, but there were still several groups of people milling around the beach. I led her away from them until I found a place that we could sit together and not be disturbed. I released her hand as I sat the guitar case in the sand and pulled my guitar out. She sat down next to me and watched as I tuned it up a bit.
When I was happy with the way it sounded, I took a seat beside her in the sand and started strumming softly. I had worked on this song by myself, something just for her, and I felt nervous as I played it to her for the first time. The music was similar to Seether’s Plastic Man, and I found myself humming along to get the feel of it. I played a few more chords before I finally found my voice and started singing softly to her, laying out every emotion I felt for her.
I feel the sun against my skin,
Surrounding me,
The light it brings with it,
Sets my world on fire,
Everything feels so clear
So bright with it near,
I feel like my life isn’t so far off base,
Maybe it was meant to bring me peace,
So that I can discover what’s real,
I need to feel you against my skin,
You’re my flame,
It burns deep within me,
I think I’ve finally found it this time,
So sun, promise me,
Even when we’re millions of miles apart,
You’ll still think of me
I continued to strum until I had finished the song. I looked up to see Chloe smiling at me with tears in her eyes. I set my guitar carefully back into its case before turning back to her and cupping her face.
“You mean the world to me baby, I hope you know that. I feel like I’m complete when I have you around and I don’t want this time apart to change anything about us. I don’t think I’d survive without you, now that I’ve found you.” I said as I leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.
I loved this woman so much and I wanted to show her. I was never good with emotions or my feelings, but music I could do. It had always been my outlet, and I hoped she would understand just how important she was to me. I wanted to give her everything on this Earth, and I knew one day I wanted to give her my last name as well. I knew asking her right now would be wrong; neither of us were ready for that, but someday I would.
Tears slid down her face as she looked up at me and I felt like I was watching a crying angel.
“I’m going to miss you so much Drake, you have no idea. This is going to be so hard,” she whispered as I wiped her tears away.
“Don’t cry baby, I’ll call you ever day until you’re with me again. You’ll be sick of me and throw your phone into the ocean before it’s all over with.”
She grinned. “I don’t think you have to worry about that happening. I don’t think I could get sick of you even if I tried.”
“I’m holding you to that, just so you know.” I said as my lips found hers. The kiss said everything that I couldn’t. I threw myself into it, telling her just how much I loved and wanted her, how much I was going to miss her.
I laid her down onto the sand and covered her body with mine as I continued to kiss her. There was no feeling in the world like having her skin pressed against mine. I moaned as she slowly undid the buttons on my shirt and ran her hand across my bare skin. Lightening shot through my body as she tugged on one of my nipple rings and I pressed myself harder into her.
I glanced around to make sure there were no eyes on us, but we were by ourselves; the other beach occupants had made their way further down the beach and we were completely alone. I kissed a trail from her lips down her neck, to her rapidly rising and falling chest, before scooting further down her body. I pulled her dress further up as I kissed from her ankles to her thighs.
Her legs fell apart slightly when I reached her thighs and I smiled. Chloe was always ready and wanting when it came to me, and I felt a sense of pride over that. I wanted to satisfy her, body and mind, and her body told me I was doing everything right. I tugged her panties down her legs as my tongue found her * and started making small circles around it.
She moaned as her hands found my hair and tugged gently, urging me on. I was more than happy to meet her demands as I flicked my tongue ring over her most sensitive spot before sucking. Her body convulsed as her hips rose, trying to pull me closer. I pulled away and kissed my way back up her still covered body to her lips, moaning as her tongue darted out and ran across my bottom lip.
It killed me to leave the dress on her, but I didn’t want to take the chance of someone walking up to us with her naked, regardless of how far down the beach we were. I pulled away enough to find the buttons on my shorts and released them. I sprang free as soon as they were undone and I positioned myself over her and was inside with one thrust.
I felt my body grow tight as we worked in unison, fulfilling each other in a way only the two of us together could. This wasn’t sex to me, it was gentle and loving as I tried to tell her just how much I loved her without those damn words that always got in the way.
We went slow, both of us wanting to prolong this moment, knowing it would be our last for a while. I held back, refusing to come without her. When I felt that I couldn’t take it any longer, her body tightened around me as she cried out. All it took was that one small sound from her to push me over the edge and I exploded inside of her.
I let my forehead fall against hers as I tried to catch my breath. I would never get tired of the feelings she provoked in me, both mentally and physically. When I felt like I could move, I slowly pulled out, already missing the feel of her. I buttoned my shorts back up and helped pull her dress back down before lying down next to her. She scooted back and snuggled in against me.
“I’m really going to miss that, but I think I’ll miss this more,” she said.
“I think I’ll miss the sex more,” I said as I tried to keep a straight face.
She turned in my arms and glared at me. “You really know how to ruin a moment don’t you?”
“You know it, but you still love me.”
“For reasons I’ll never know,” she said as she continued to glare at me, but I could see the effort it was taking her not to smile.
We spent the next hour curled up together on the beach. She fell asleep and I took the time to watch her as she slept. She was always so tightly wound when she was awake and it was nice to see her relaxed and peaceful. I hated to wake her up, but the night air was growing chilly and I didn’t want her getting cold.
I nudged her a couple of times, but all I received in return was a smack across the face and some groaning. I smiled as I picked her up and carried her to the car. She was obviously worn out since she didn’t wake up as I carried her, or when I put her in the car. I kept the radio low on the drive home, afraid I would wake her.
Once I was through the gate, I pulled up to the house and parked as close to the front door as I could. The lights were still on downstairs so I knew Jordan and Danny were both still up even this late at night. I got out and made my way around to her door, opening it softly. I cringed when it squeaked loudly, but she never stirred.
I picked her up and carried her to the house, trying not to jostle her. Just as I reached the door, Jordan opened it.
“It’s about damn time,” he said as he looked out at us.
“Shhh, she’s asleep. Move so I can carry her upstairs.”
He held the door open for me and I passed through it and up the stairs to our room. I laid her down gently on the bed and pulled her shoes off. After tucking her in, I stripped down to my boxers and crawled in next to her; holding her tightly in my arms, not wanting to fall asleep and miss a minute of this. My mind was heavy as I finally gave up and let my heavy eyelids slide shut.
I awoke the next morning to Chloe crawling back into bed with me. I peeked up at her through my sleep filled eyes to see her watching me with a sad expression on her face. She had obviously just come from the shower; her hair was still wet and I caught the scent of her shampoo as she moved around on the bed.
When she noticed that I was awake, she gave me a tiny smile, but I could still see the sadness in her eyes. She was dreading today as much as I was.
“Morning baby,” I whispered.
“I didn’t mean to wake you; I was just watching you sleep.”
“You didn’t, but stop watching me sleep. That’s stalker tendencies and I might have been drooling,” I said as she poked me in the ribs.
“I’ll be your stalker any day, even if you have a massive pile of drool under your head.”
I rose up far enough to check the pillow. She was lying of course and I laughed at her. “You’re so full of shit, I don’t drool.”
I propped myself up on my elbows and pulled her down to me, kissing her hard on the mouth.
She pulled away breathless, and looked down at me. “You don’t play fair, you know that right?”
“Never said I did,” I said as I threw the covers off and stood up. I walked over to my bag and grabbed clean clothes before heading to the bathroom attached to our room. I glanced back at the bed to see her watching my every move.
“See something you like?” I asked.
She threw a pillow at me as I laughed and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. After stripping out of my boxers, I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water engulf me. I took extra-long in the shower, knowing it would be the last one I would be able to enjoy for a while. Showers in a cramped bathroom of a bus wouldn’t exactly be luxurious, but at least we had one.
I finally finished and quickly toweled off before dressing and making my way back to our room. Chloe was still sitting in the exact same spot on the bed looking depressed as she played with the rings on her hands. I picked up the pillow from earlier and threw it at her.
It smacked off her head and she turned to glare at me. “Hey! What was that for?”
I gave her a pointed look. “Quit moping, you’re only making us both feel bad. It seems like a long time right now, but a few weeks will pass in a blur. Before you know it, we’ll be back together again.”
“I know, I’m just going to miss you so much. What time will Jade and the guys be here to pick you up?”
I glanced at the clock and my eyes widened. It was almost three in the afternoon; I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in that long. I’d practically slipped into a coma. “Shit, they’ll be here in about an hour! I need to get my stuff packed up.”
I started grabbing my personal items and clothes from around the room and threw them into my bag. Chloe stood up from the bed as she slipped her shirt over her head and threw it at me. It hit me in the face and fell to the floor as I stared at her almost naked body. While she had a pair of boy shorts on, she had skipped the bra this morning and I felt myself standing at attention at the sight.
She laughed as she walked to the dresser and pulled a tank top and shorts out of one of the drawers. “Close your mouth, you’re going to catch flies.”
I groaned as I bent down and picked the shirt up off the floor. I noticed it was one of my shirts that I wore constantly. “You know it’s cruel to do that to me when I have to leave. I’m going to have that image stuck in my head all the way to the show. Try explain a raging hard on while I’m standing on stage thinking of you.”
She threw the tank top on, but was still bra-less and I could see her nipples through the material. “Good, that way you won’t forget about me.”
“Please, for the love of all things holy, put a bra on woman. You’re going to kill me if you don’t.”
She grumbled as she pulled the tank top off and slid a bra on. “There, happy now?”
“Not really, but it’ll do,” I said as I carried the shirt over to her, “Here, keep this to remind you of me while I’m gone. You can sleep in it every night.”
“Deal, but I feel like I should give you something of mine,” she said as she looked around the room, searching for something to give me. She looked down at the rubber bracelets on her wrists and smiled as she pulled one off. “Here, you can wear this. I’d give you a shirt, but I don’t think it’d fit all that well.”
I took the bracelet from her and slipped it onto my own wrist. “I’ll wear it all the time, promise.”
I grabbed my two bags and walked to the door. “Come on, I want to grab something to eat before we leave. I’m not looking forward to fast food and bar food for the next couple months, so I’d better enjoy real food while I can.”
“I’m sure Allison has something ready for lunch by now,” she said as she stood and followed me.
We made our way down the stairs to the entrance and I set my bags by the door before following Chloe into the kitchen. The woman who had served us the first night was standing by the stove working on something. Whatever it was, it smelled amazing and my empty stomach growled loudly.
Chloe giggled as the woman looked up and smiled. “I’ll have this ready in just a minute if you two want to join Danny and Jordan in the dining room.”
“Sure, thanks Allison,” Chloe said as she took my hand and led me into the dining room.
Sure enough, Jordan and Danny were already sitting there waiting on their food.
“Don’t you guys feel weird sitting here waiting for someone else to cook for you?” Chloe asked as we took the seats across from them.
“You’ve tried Allison’s cooking. Any guilt I felt was squashed long ago by my need to eat more of it,” Jordan said unashamed.
I watched Chloe roll her eyes as Allison entered the room carrying a massive pan with lasagna in it. She gave us a small smile as she disappeared back into the kitchen, only to return with a plate full of garlic bread. My stomach growled again and Jordan laughed as I dug in. He had a point; the woman’s cooking was a gift from above. If I ever made it in the music business, I was so stealing her from Danny to cook for Chloe and me.
Allison drifted back into the kitchen as everyone else grabbed their plate and filled it up. Danny, Jordan, and I made small talk as we ate, but Chloe remained mostly silent. I knew she was upset over me leaving, but there was nothing I could do to avoid it. I debated on kidnapping her, but I knew she’d probably beat me in my sleep for that. She had obligations to her family just like I had obligations to my band.
Just as we were finishing up, my phone rang and I saw it was Jade calling.
“Hello?”
“Drake, hey listen, we’re outside by the gates, but the nice gentleman in the guard station won’t let us in,” Jade said.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to let him know you were coming. Give me a minute and I’ll have Danny call him,” I hung up with Jade and turned to Danny, “Can you call your guard and let him know it’s ok to let my band in?”
Danny pulled his phone from his pocket and started dialing. “No problem,” he said as he waited for the guard to pick up. “Hey, it’s Danny. You can let the bus through; we forgot to let you know they were coming.”
I stood and walked to the door as Danny ended the call. Chloe caught up with me and wrapped her arms around my waist as I grabbed my bag. Danny and Jordan followed close behind as I stepped outside. The bus was pulling up the driveway and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Eric behind the wheel. As soon as he parked next to us, Jade and Adam were out of the bus. I smiled as Jade came over and hugged Chloe; the two of them had grown a lot closer of the last couple months and I knew having Chloe go on tour with us would help Jade from getting lonely. You can only stand to be on a bus with three guys for so long before you lost your mind.
Eric stepped off the bus and smiled at me. “Tight security around here?”
“Yeah, just a little,” I said.
“I almost had him convinced until this a*shole,” he motioned over his shoulder at Adam, “stuck his head out the window and started yelling. Nothing screws your chances like a guy with a purple Mohawk yelling obscenities at people.”
I laughed as Adam walked over and fist pumped me. “Let’s get this show on the road!”
I grabbed my bags and threw them on the bus before stepping back out to make introductions. “Danny, Jordan, this is Jade, Eric, and Adam.”
Danny and Jordan shook hands with everyone, giving Adam strange looks. I had to admit, he was a lot to take in the first time. Then when he opened his mouth, he always made it worse.
Jordan and Danny approached me as Jade and the guys hugged Chloe and waved goodbye before stepping back into the bus. Jordan shook my hand as he leaned into me and whispered, “I’ll take care of her, you’ve got nothing to worry about. You have my word.”
“Mine too,” Danny said as he clapped me on the back, “Good luck to you guys.”
As Chloe approached me, they stepped back to give us a moment. I gave her a smile as I wrapped my arms around her and picked her up off the ground. She laughed as I swung her in circles around me.
“I’m going to miss you so much baby,” I said as I set her back down.
“I know, me too. It’s only a couple of weeks though, we can handle that.”
“Damn straight,” I said as I kissed her. I drew the kiss out as long as I could.
I groaned and pulled away as Adam started beeping the horn on the bus and stuck his head out the window.
“Come on lover boy! We’ve got places to be!” He shouted.
I sent a glare his way as I flipped him off.
“You’d better go before he comes out here after you,” Chloe whispered as tears filled her eyes.
“Don’t cry or I’ll never be able to leave.”
She grinned as she pulled me in for one last kiss. “If I’d known that earlier I would have cried more.”
I stepped away from her and turned to the bus. “I love you Chloe.”
I felt like my shoes were filled with led as I crossed the driveway and stepped onto the bus. Adam and Jade were sitting around a small table, so I took the bus seat across from them. The space was cramped, but I barely noticed as Eric put the bus in gear and slowly pulled away. My stomach clenched as I saw Jordan walk over to Chloe and wrap his arms around her. She waved as she watched us pull away.