Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Seventy-One

    Drake remained outside while Mia packed her bags. Chubbs called him on his cell phone to confirm that he was supposed to take Mia and Bri off the property, as Mia was requesting.

    "Did she tell you where she wants to be dropped off?" Drake asked, gazing across his backyard.

    "The Omni," Chubbs reported.

    Drake nodded and sipped from the glass of champagne he'd poured himself. The Omni was a hotel in Los Angeles, a well-reputed hotel in Los Angeles. She wanted to be taken to a hotel and not directly to the airport. That was a good sign. It gave him time. "You can take them to the Omni," he replied. "When you take them there, make sure to pay for their room. I don't care if she refuses. If she refuses, wait for her to go up to her room, go to the front desk, and pay for it."

    "Got it," Chubbs said, and disconnected the call.

    Drake lowered the phone from his ear and set his phone on the table to his right.

    "So dramatic around here, so tense," Free said, walking around his chair and seating herself in the chair next to his. She'd changed into more comfortable clothes, a black top and camouflage leggings.

    He was silent for several moments, thoughtfully sipping his champagne. When he finished off that glass, he poured himself another and angled a look at her as he did so. "What are you doing here?"

    "I'm visiting the love of my life," she responded, meeting his gaze and holding it.

    "You stopped responding to my messages," he told her. "After that last argument, I thought we we were done."

    She shrugged. "We were."

    "And now?"

    "Now, I'm not so done," she said flippantly.

    He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why are you here? And why didn't you call before showing up?"

    She held an index finger against her lips and said, "Funny thing about social media. When the man you're engaged to, or were engaged to, or whatever, takes to the red carpet with another girl...your followers tend to let you know about it. In a major way. I looked up the interview on YouTube. And you two looked very...close. Very cozy."

    "I'm dating her," he told Free. "People who date tend to look close and cozy."

    "Well, I figured before you run off getting married to her or anything, you and I need to have a conversation," Free told him. She leaned over, swiped his champagne glass out of his hand, and took a swig. "Because we never really called off the engagement."

    "You stopped responding to my messages. We haven't had a conversation in months. Typically that is indicative of calling off an engagement." He turned his head and stared forward.

    She peered at him over the top of the champagne glass as she drank. "How many times have we argued? Just as heatedly? We always get back together."

    "We always did get back together," he said, "but this time..."

    "This time what?" she demanded. "What is this about? Do you..." She laughed. "Do you love that girl?"

    Drake didn't respond. He continued staring straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with her.

    Free laughed. "You do. You love her. Wow." She set the champagne glass down on the table.

    "You and I...tried to make it work," he said softly. "We tried very hard. At one point, what we had was magic. You know how much I wanted to be with you, how much I wanted it to be you and me. Even when you were ready to turn your back on me, on everything we had, I fought to keep you."

    "And now, you're just letting me go?" Free asked him, furrowing her brows. "After all of that history and after all of those promises you made me, you're calling the whole thing off? Because of that girl?"

    He closed his eyes and shook his head.

    "You couldn't make it work with me, me, who has been here for you through thick and thin, through all of the bullshit, Aubrey? You couldn't make it work with me, but you can make it work with her?" She stood up and planted her hands on her hips.

    "That last conversation we had," he told her, slowly, "what did I tell you?"

    Free pursed her lips shut.

    "I told you that we could be together, officially. That I would claim you as my woman, my fiance. And what did you tell me?"

    She looked away from him.

    He raised his right hand and scratched his temple with an index finger. "I believe you told me to go fuck myself. I believe you told me that if you married me, I would only end up doing you the same way my father did my mother. You had it in your head that I would cheat on you and break your heart. Not only is that a major button for me - and you know that - but I've never given you a reason to think that. I've been loyal to you. More loyal to you than I've been to any other woman. I've been honest with you. Straightforward. That is why we had the arrangement we had. That's why I made those promises to you that I made.

    "So after all of that waiting, I finally just wanted to shout to the world that you were my girl and that you were the woman I would marry. And when I finally get to that point, you're the one to get cold feet. And start talking crazy. And start this huge argument." He was quiet for a moment. "I don't know... maybe in your mind, the argument, and the silent treatment you were giving me was just to buy some time for your feet to be a little less cold." He shrugged his shoulders. "But if that was the case, you should have told me. Because after you say those words to me, and after you ignore my text messages and phone calls for months, I am going to move on. And I have. I've moved on. You saw evidence of that when you looked up the interview with me and Mia."

    Free's face fell.

    "I wish things could have worked out between us, I really do," Drake said, his voice still soft. "Mia asked me what I was going to do now that you were here, who I would choose. And I hesitated. You and I have a lot of history, like you said. It didn't feel right to just...dismiss any possibility that you and I could make something work. Not after all of the time we spent together." He lowered his eyes. "But when I think about that last conversation you and I had, and how long I tried to get in touch with you...when I think about that, I wonder why I even hesitated. I should have told Mia that I chose her. I should have told Mia that if someone asked me a million times, over and over, who I would choose, I would choose her. Every time."