Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Twenty-Nine

    Mia shifted in her sleep and groaned. She brought a hand up to her forehead, trying to soothe the pounding. She eased her eyes open. The massive bedroom she was lying in was bathed in light. The light wasn't bright; it was filtered, but she could make everything out in the room. Wooden beams angled up towards the ceiling. All of the furniture she saw was wooden. Realization was slow to hit her but when she lifted her head up, she realized that she wasn't in the bedroom she'd selected.

    She started to raise up on her elbows, but something stopped her. Something solid. Or, more like, someone. She looked over and saw Drake sleeping soundly beside her. Her brows drew together, and last night's events came crashing down upon her. Startled, she lifted the covers to see if she was dressed. She had a t-shirt on. A Bob Marley shirt that she appreciated, but didn't recognize.

    She glanced over at him and felt a strong sense of deja vu, remembering the night she'd spent with him in his hotel room in Toronto, and the morning after. Staring down at his angelic face as he slept. Watching him sleep, it was difficult to imagine that the sleeping angel had devilish ways during his waking hours. She turned around in his arms and continued to watch him while he slept.

    His arm tightened around her and he moved closer to her.

    Face to face with him, she pressed chaste kisses to each of his closed eyes, his nose, and his lips.

    His eyes fluttered open. He blinked once, twice, and then closed them again. She thought he'd fallen back asleep until he croaked, "Are you watching me sleep again?"

    "Yes," she said without shame.

    He smiled with his eyes closed. "Do you know what time it is?"

    She arched a look over her shoulder to see if there was a nightstand with a clock on it. There wasn't, not on her side. "No, and your security highjacked my cell phone as soon as I walked in the door."

    He groaned. "I think I left my cell outside."

    She could tell he was trying to put off opening his eyes for as along as possible.

    "How am I supposed to call for breakfast without my phone?" he muttered, turning his face into the pillow.

    She laughed. "I can get it," she said starting to sit up.

    He tightened his grip on her even more, holding his arm against her. "No." He opened one eye and looked up at her with it.

    "I can tell you don't want to get out of bed."

    "I don't want you to get out of bed either," he said stubbornly. "And what would I look like if I let you go get the phone for me? I'd be a dick."

    She scratched her head. "It's not like it's on the other end of the city or anything."

    "I want you to stay here with me," he insisted.

    She settled back down beside him. "Okay."

    He turned his head and looked down at her. "How did you sleep?"

    "Like a baby."

    "Me too, which is weird. Before you, I was starting to have the hardest time sleeping. I'd keep... waking up, in the middle of the night." He brought a hand up and rubbed his temple. "My head is killing me."

    "Mine too," she said softly.

    He blinked at her. "That settles it. I need to get off my lazy ass get my phone, order some breakfast up for us, and hunt down some pain killers."

    "Aubrey, you don't have to-"

    He silenced her with a quick kiss on her lips. "Stop it. It's fine, I'm up now." He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Then he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He cast a glance back at her before leaving the room.

    She sat up in bed and put her face in her hands, partially because her head was killing her and partially because she didn't know what the hell she was doing. Keep things professional, you said. Don't fall for him, you said. She glanced around his room. Meanwhile, you're cuddling with him, flirting with him, albeit drunk but still flirting, and you wind up in his bed. Kissing his eyes and nose, one step away from giving him Eskimo kisses.

    When he returned, he showed that he didn't make a habit of advertising falsely. He had two bottled waters, Aleve, his cell phone, and he told her that he'd ordered breakfast to be brought up to them. He dropped back down onto the bed, scrolling through his phone. "It's insane how many phone calls and text messages I get," he muttered. "Most of the time I never even get through them all. I just try to get to the ones most important first, but someone always ends up slipping through the cracks. There are just so many."

    "Do you know when Bri and I will be allowed to get our phones back?" she asked, feeling very cut off from civilization without her phone.

    He continued scrolling. "Maybe in a few days."

    "A few days?" she repeated.

    "I have to be careful. There have been situations in the past."

    "Do I seem like a situation to you?" she demanded.

    He set his phone down on the bed.

    "Do I seriously seem like someone who would snap unauthorized pictures of your house, or you, and leak them to someone?"

    "No," he answered.

    "Does Bri seem like the type to do that?" she demanded.

    "No," he said again.

    "Then why can't we get our phones today?"

    He didn't answer.

    "Isn't there a contract we can sign, stating that we won't release any photos or recordings, or whatever the hell?"

    "A non-disclosure agreement, which Oliver will go over with you," he explained.

    She shook her head. "Unbelievable."

    "There are reasons why it has to be this way," he told her. "There have been others, who didn't seem like the type to betray me. I'm at a level now where I have to move cautiously. I'm sorry, but it comes with the territory. And as fond as I am of you, I can't make any exceptions."

    "Am I at your house, or am I at the White House?" she asked him. "You have more security and more security policies in place than the frigging President of the United States."

    "I'll make sure you both of you get your phones as quickly as possible," he promised.

    "Your security guard, Spoons, said as much. You both must be going off of the same script." She crossed her arms over her chest. "But then again I can see why you don't trust me when you let sneaky little misfits like Vanessa walk around here. Freely, like they own the place. No wonder you have problems with trusting people if that's who you're hanging out with."

    He rubbed his temples. "Are we really going to go into that again?"

    She shook her head. "No. I'm going to head to my room. Let me know when I can have my phone back." She pushed the covers down her legs and stood out of bed.

    He looked up at her. "Are you serious?"

    "I am a songwriter in the beginning of my career, Aubrey," she said. "I have important calls coming in, and important messages I need to respond to. I have an aunt I need to check in on. I have a life outside of these walls."

    He held up a hand. "All right, all right," he relented. "I'll make sure both of you get your phones today. But I will need you and Bri to sign non-disclosure agreements."

    "Fine."

    "Have breakfast with me?"

    She arched an eyebrow at him and sat back down on the bed, still with her arms crossed over her chest. "You're lucky I'm hungry," she muttered.

    He shook his head and laughed.