Ever After Drake (23 page)

“
What’s with all the phone
time?” Robin asks as she hands the bowl of rolls to
Sage.

“
My stock just tripled
this morning,” she says with a smug little smile on her
face.

“
Didn’t it just do that
two weeks ago?” Robert asks, surprise on his face.

Sage nods enthusiastically.

“
You’re going to make more
money than me this year, and you don’t even have a job,” Drake
chuckles as he scoops a heaping pile of potatoes onto his
plate.

“
I may not have an
official job yet, but I work hard for my money.” She gives him a
pointed look, but there’s a little smile on her face.

“
When you rule the world
someday, please forget about that time I pretended you were
invisible for a week.” Drake steels a look at her, looking rather
sheepish.

“
You were such an ass
sometimes,” she says, the words coming out in a hard
laugh.

“
Sage!” Robin screeches.
“Language!”

“
At least it was only a
week for you,” Lake says around a mouthful of stuffing. “It lasted
two weeks for me.”

“
Drake,” I say, my voice
accusatory. “You didn’t really do that, did you?”

“
Oh, he did,” Robin says.
She passes along the tray of sliced turkey. “And he got grounded
for a month when I found out.”

“
I didn’t think you were
capable of that kind of mean-ness,” I say, my brows furrowing at
him.

“
He is an older brother,”
Sage interjects. “I’m pretty sure it’s his job.”

“
See,” Drake says, raising
his eyebrows. “It was expected if nothing else.”

Everyone chuckles and continues
passing food around the table.

Conversation unfolds around us, the
atmosphere light and happy. I laugh and talk, and feel totally
normal.

Until Drake, who sits right next to
me, slides his leg over so his thigh brushes mine. His left hand
slips under the table, resting on my thigh.

Sparks ignite in my body, setting me
on edge in the very best way.

My eyes drop to his hand for a moment.
It sits right in the middle of my thigh. Not quite close enough to
my knee to just be friendly or supportive. Not quite high enough to
be possessive or assumptive.

When I steel a little side look at
him, he’s just talking to his dad, his eyes fixed on
him.

It’s really hard to concentrate on the
conversation I’m trying to have with Lake about the state
championship coming up with Drake’s hand there.

It doesn’t leave for the rest of
dinner.

When our plates have been relieved of
their food, seconds and even a few thirds consumed, everyone
lounges around the table, relaxed in their seats, talking about
everything and nothing.

Maybe I’m being brave, or maybe I just
can’t deny myself it any longer, but my hand ducks under the table
and my fingers slide through Drake’s.

I steel another side look at him. He’s
talking with Sage and I see him falter for just a moment. A smile
that he’s trying really, really hard to suppress pulls at his
lips.

“
Okay, seriously,” Lake
suddenly says. “What is going on with you two? Are you boyfriend,
girlfriend again? Did you two secretly elope already? You’re living
together or something? What is up?”

All the McCain’s laugh, full-bellied
and jovial.

But every eye jumps to Drake and
I.

“
I think we’ve all been
wondering the same thing,” Robin says. She laces her fingers
together, her elbows propped on the table, and rests her chin on
her hands.

“
The suspense is killing
me,” Sage says sarcastically.

I can tell my cheeks are blushing red.
I look over at Drake and bite my lower lip, holding back an awkward
smile.

“
We, uh,” Drake stutters
as he looks at me. His eyes dance and are the brightest I’ve seen
them in a long time. He squeezes my hand under the table. “We
haven’t really talked about things yet.”

“
Drake’s old room is down
the hall, last door on the left,” Robin suddenly says. “I want you
two to go in there and don’t come out until you’ve talked things
over.”

“
Mom,” Drake says with a
disbelieving laugh. “We’re adults, we’ll talk when we’re
ready.”

“
You two were born ready,”
she says with a knowing look. “And considering everything that’s
transpired I’ve let the two of you living together slide for now,
but until you get this set the way it’s supposed to be, it’s gotta
stop. Now get out of my kitchen and go figure things out. The pie
will be ready when you two get back.”

I look around, embarrassed, to each of
Drake’s siblings, and their looks tell me they know she’s dead
serious. Lake also looks ready to die of laughter the second we
leave.

Drake gives a breathy, harsh laugh. He
shakes his head. “Fine. We’ll, uh, we’ll go talk.”

He stands, not letting my hand go, so
I stand with him. He starts leading us out of the
kitchen.

“
They’re holding hands!”
Kale teases. “Pretty sure that means something!”

“
Oh hush,” Robin chides
him, but I can hear the smile in her voice.

Drake leads me down the hall, to the
last door on the left. We walk through the door and he closes it
behind us.

The room isn’t really a bedroom
anymore. There is a twin sized bed pushed against one wall that has
a blue and green plaid bedspread on it. But there’s also a desk
with a laptop and a ton of papers scattered across it. Above that
is a pin board with schedules and plays all over it. There’s a row
of filing cabinets along one wall.

“
It’s not my bedroom
anymore, obviously,” Drake says, letting go of my hand and stuffing
his hands in his pockets. “Dad uses this as his planning room. I’d
call it his office, but he just makes plays in here.”

I nod, feeling completely awkward
knowing his entire family is just down the hall waiting to hear the
outcome of this forced face to face.

“
I’m really sorry about my
family,” he says, a lopsided smile forming on his face. “My mom can
be a little…direct sometimes.”

“
That’s an
understatement,” I say with a breathy chuckle. “But it’s okay. I
love your mom.”

“
Yeah?” he asks, his eyes
unsure.

“
Yeah,” I say, a smile
forming on my face.

He reaches a hand out, caressing my
cheek.

“
We have needed to talk,”
he confesses.

“
We have.” My eyes drop to
his lips and all I can think about is how I never got to know them
quite well enough.

“
I kind of just want to
make out instead.”

And an explosive laugh erupts from my
chest.

Drake’s face breaks into a huge grin
and his chest shakes with a laugh. I slap him across the shoulder,
covering my mouth with a hand to contain the laugh I have no doubt
his family heard.

“
Stop it,” I say, my eyes
watering I’m laughing so hard. “This is serious.”

“
I am serious,” he laughs
again. “But you’re right. We do need to talk about things
first.”

I bite my lower lip and shake my head
at him. He pulls his dad’s office chair from the desk and spins it
around so he can sit. I sink onto the bed, pinning my hands between
my knees.

“
So,” I say, all
seriousness back, and now feeling super awkward. I have no idea
where to start.

“
So,” he says. He looks
just as uncomfortable as I do.

I watch him for a long moment, while
he studies his hands, which he rubs together.

“
This is so simple and so
complicated at the same time, isn’t it?” I say finally.

Drake looks up at me. “Yeah. It
is.”

“
We’re both a little
cracked,” I say, lacing my fingers together and squeezing tight.
“We’ve both gotten pretty messed up. We both got a pretty hard slap
across the face.”

“
Yep,” he says. His eyes
slide down to his hands again.

“
We’ve both grown up a
whole lot in the past, what? Seven weeks?”

“
Something like that,”
Drake says. He laces his fingers together and looks back up at me.
“We’re not going to be quite the same people. What we’ve been
through, things like that change you.”

I nod. It’s hard to hear, and it
hurts, but it’s true.

“
But one thing hasn’t
changed,” he says and the tenderness in his voice brings my eyes
back to his. His eyes are intense and hesitant and open and free
and scared and confident. “How I feel about you hasn’t changed,
Kaylee Ray.”

I hook my foot under his chair and
start pulling him toward me. The smile on his face grows bigger the
closer he gets to me.

“
Me and you,” I say as he
leans forward. His face is only five inches from mine. “It was
always me and you. That never changed.”

Drake brings his hand to my face
again, pressing his palm to my cheek.

“
I love you, Kaylee,” he
says quietly, but with absolute surety in his voice.

“
I never stopped loving
you, Drake.”

We both lean slightly forward, closing
that small distance and our lips meet in the middle.

This is home.

This is everything I need and want,
right here.

“
I’ve been missing this so
bad,” Drake says, pressing his forehead to mine and breathing the
same air I do.

I bring my hands up to either side of
his neck. I take a deep breath, trying to calm back all the
emotions I’ve been keeping reigned in for so long. They want to
erupt from me all at once.

“
Me and you,” I say,
opening my eyes to meet his. “We’re together. Always.”

He nods and presses his lips to mine
just once. “Forever.”

The word is a promise.

A smile pulls at my lips. “But,” I
say, licking my lower lip. “We have to establish a ground rule. So
we don’t end up in a mess again.”

“
Anything,” he says. I can
see the hunger growing in his eyes and he’s not going to like what
I’m going to say next.

“
No sex,” I say around the
tightness in my throat. “That’s what got us into this wreck to
start with. So none of it until, well…we’ll see what
happens.”

We may be here, we may be together,
but I am not to where I can hope we will be back to those promises
we made in the parking lot on a night so long ago.

“
I know exactly what’s
going to happen,” he says with intensity. “But I agree. No sex
until then.”

“
You’re okay with it?” I
ask, my voice unsure. I stare at him, scared and
hopeful.

“
Yeah,” he says with a
chuckle. His hands mirror mine, one on either side of my face. “But
seriously, let’s make out now.”

I laugh and pull his lips to
mine.

Drake pushes himself out of the chair
and presses me back into the bed. His right hand goes to my hip and
his own hips press into me. His lips part the same time mine do and
our lips move in perfect synchronization. My hand knots in his hair
and I grab a fist full of his shirt and pull him closer to
me.

Our kisses are rough and tender,
existing in the same breaths. Adrenaline ramps up in my system,
making All The Places in my body sensitive and excited.

I’m seeing stars and galaxies. I am
electric and heavenly.

Drake moves over me, his free hand
wrapping around my back, lifting me nearly off the bed and up to
mold against him. His hips eagerly dig into mine, yet knowing that
is as far as they can go.

“
I love you,” I sigh into
his mouth.

Drake’s lips drop to my neck, igniting
another emotion in me that makes the room spin.

“
I’ll never let anything
come between us again,” he breathes. “You’re mine forever. Happily
ever after.”

“
Ever after Drake,” I say
as a loopy smile forms on my face. Drake’s lips return to
mine.

A knock on the door makes both of us
immediately freeze. I am very aware that Drake did not lock the
door.

“
So, did we figure things
out in there yet?” Robin’s voice cuts through the door. “Everyone
is ready for pie.”

“
Mom!” Drake yells as we
climb off each other. “Seriously?”

“
The suspense is killing
me,” she says. “Even though I know what’s going to
happen.”

Drake pulls me to my feet. I smile at
the way his hair stands on end and one of his shirt tails is
untucked. He’s looking at the door in horror, completely unaware of
what I’ve done do him.

“
Come on,” I say, slipping
my hand into his. “Let’s go make this all official and
stuff.”

Drake gives me a lopsided smile as I
pull him forward toward the door. I open it and am not one bit
surprised when the entire family is standing outside.