people—and a scent from the kitchen made my stomach rumble and mouth water.
The talons of sleep clung to me as I used the restroom and changed out of my sweats. I'd been sleeping a lot lately, but it seemed to help with the drug withdrawals and pregnancy.
Drake stood in the kitchen with a skillet in hand. He smiled when I entered the room. "I wanted to surprise you with a date night. Things have been... tense... between us. I thought we could use some time alone, so Brad and Bernard left us the house for a while."
Candles and a vase of yellow lilies—my favorite—turned the ordinary kitchen table into a romantic getaway. Butterflies danced in my stomach, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I loved Drake so much, and I craved some time with him, but I hadn't known how to make it possible with life so crazy.
"This is amazing, Drake. I love it. Thank you."
He pulled out my chair and encouraged me to sit as he brought out our meal: a spinach salad with chopped pear, goat cheese, roasted pine nuts and raspberry vinaigrette, followed by baked swordfish, asparagus and fresh biscuits.
He sat across from me. "I thought we could use some time together. Also, it's a celebration, of sorts."
"Oh? What are we celebrating?"
"While you were sleeping, Brad's video went viral. Like tens-of-thousands-of-hits-viral. It's amazing, really. I didn't think it could be done, but you two did it."
He seemed sad despite the good news. I reached over to touch his hand. "We couldn't have done it without you. It was your sexy muscles that made it happen in the end."
Drake flexed, and I fake-swooned and laughed. It felt good to laugh, to flirt, to be with him alone.
I wished it could last.
But each bite of our dinner took us further away from each other.
Our conversation reminded me of how two strangers on a first date acted in movies. Why couldn't we talk like normal people?
Drake cleared the table and brought out raspberry sorbet for dessert.
I took a small bite, and the sweet tangy raspberry flavor aroused my taste buds. "Thank you, this is really delicious."
"I'm glad you like it." He ate his in silence.
"Drake, what's wrong with us? Why can't we find things to talk about anymore?"
He put down his spoon. "I don't know. Maybe because our whole relationship has been focused on problems, we've never learned to just have fun together."
What he said made sense. First we had come together to escape, and now we were on the run with a baby on the way. This was actually our first date.
He stood and my heart fell. Was he giving up already?
"Why don't we watch a movie together? We can relax, cuddle, and just enjoy each other for a few hours."
My heart lifted once more. How could I think he'd give up on us? He'd never do that. "I like that idea. What do you want to watch?"
His eyes twinkled mischievously. "I was thinking X-Men ?"
"I can't believe you remember that!" We had watched that movie once before, sort of. Luke and Lucy had come over to console me while I got over what I thought was the flu, and we watched it together. Drake had "watched" along with us in my mind. It was my favorite movie ever.
He started the movie, then sat on the couch and held me.
I snuggled into his chest and enjoyed his heady scent. "Wouldn't it have been awesome if Rent-A-Kid had been run by Professor Xavier? What a cool place to grow up."
He kissed the top of my head. "Yeah, I wish you'd had that life. You've had to go through so much."
"At least I have you, now. That makes it all worth it."
When the movie ended, we headed back to our bedroom and resumed cuddling.
Only cuddling led to kissing and kissing led to touching and....
I pushed Drake away and fought against the warring feelings in my body. On the one hand, a heat stirred in me that only he could quench. On the other, fear and panic took over whenever we got too close to crossing that line.
"I'm broken." Tears fell off my cheeks, and I didn't bother wiping them. "I'm sorry you got
The talons of sleep clung to me as I used the restroom and changed out of my sweats. I'd been sleeping a lot lately, but it seemed to help with the drug withdrawals and pregnancy.
Drake stood in the kitchen with a skillet in hand. He smiled when I entered the room. "I wanted to surprise you with a date night. Things have been... tense... between us. I thought we could use some time alone, so Brad and Bernard left us the house for a while."
Candles and a vase of yellow lilies—my favorite—turned the ordinary kitchen table into a romantic getaway. Butterflies danced in my stomach, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I loved Drake so much, and I craved some time with him, but I hadn't known how to make it possible with life so crazy.
"This is amazing, Drake. I love it. Thank you."
He pulled out my chair and encouraged me to sit as he brought out our meal: a spinach salad with chopped pear, goat cheese, roasted pine nuts and raspberry vinaigrette, followed by baked swordfish, asparagus and fresh biscuits.
He sat across from me. "I thought we could use some time together. Also, it's a celebration, of sorts."
"Oh? What are we celebrating?"
"While you were sleeping, Brad's video went viral. Like tens-of-thousands-of-hits-viral. It's amazing, really. I didn't think it could be done, but you two did it."
He seemed sad despite the good news. I reached over to touch his hand. "We couldn't have done it without you. It was your sexy muscles that made it happen in the end."
Drake flexed, and I fake-swooned and laughed. It felt good to laugh, to flirt, to be with him alone.
I wished it could last.
But each bite of our dinner took us further away from each other.
Our conversation reminded me of how two strangers on a first date acted in movies. Why couldn't we talk like normal people?
Drake cleared the table and brought out raspberry sorbet for dessert.
I took a small bite, and the sweet tangy raspberry flavor aroused my taste buds. "Thank you, this is really delicious."
"I'm glad you like it." He ate his in silence.
"Drake, what's wrong with us? Why can't we find things to talk about anymore?"
He put down his spoon. "I don't know. Maybe because our whole relationship has been focused on problems, we've never learned to just have fun together."
What he said made sense. First we had come together to escape, and now we were on the run with a baby on the way. This was actually our first date.
He stood and my heart fell. Was he giving up already?
"Why don't we watch a movie together? We can relax, cuddle, and just enjoy each other for a few hours."
My heart lifted once more. How could I think he'd give up on us? He'd never do that. "I like that idea. What do you want to watch?"
His eyes twinkled mischievously. "I was thinking X-Men ?"
"I can't believe you remember that!" We had watched that movie once before, sort of. Luke and Lucy had come over to console me while I got over what I thought was the flu, and we watched it together. Drake had "watched" along with us in my mind. It was my favorite movie ever.
He started the movie, then sat on the couch and held me.
I snuggled into his chest and enjoyed his heady scent. "Wouldn't it have been awesome if Rent-A-Kid had been run by Professor Xavier? What a cool place to grow up."
He kissed the top of my head. "Yeah, I wish you'd had that life. You've had to go through so much."
"At least I have you, now. That makes it all worth it."
When the movie ended, we headed back to our bedroom and resumed cuddling.
Only cuddling led to kissing and kissing led to touching and....
I pushed Drake away and fought against the warring feelings in my body. On the one hand, a heat stirred in me that only he could quench. On the other, fear and panic took over whenever we got too close to crossing that line.
"I'm broken." Tears fell off my cheeks, and I didn't bother wiping them. "I'm sorry you got
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