Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Seventy-Seven

    "What are you doing here, Trevor?" Mia asked, looking from left to right to see if there was anyone else in the garage with them. She saw no one.

    "The funny thing about dating someone as famous as Drake is," Trevor said, walking even closer to her and holding up his cell phone. "Gossip sites tend to keep tabs on you. They told me when you were shopping, where you were shopping, and they told me which hotel you were staying in. They even have pictures, look." He gestured to his phone.

    "That doesn't answer my question," she said, her voice shaky.

    He took another step closer to her. "I'm here because of the rumors you started about me," he said, his voice getting deeper. He took yet another step closer. "I need those rumors to disappear. They are starting to fuck with my money."

    Leaving the back car door open, she moved towards the back of the car and pressed her back against the garage wall. "You know the talk going around about you is more than just a rumor," she told him. "You hit me. And right now, you're violating a restraining order."

    "Hit?" he repeated, closing the distance between them again. He braced an arm against the wall and leaned in close. "I may have tapped you. And maybe it was even a little harder than I meant to. I'm sorry about that. But the restraining order business...is that really necessary?"

    With her eyes wide, she said, "Yes. Yes, it's very necessary."

    He pounded the wall. "Wrong answer."

    "I'm going to ask you nicely to leave," she told him, again looking to the right and to the left. This time, she wasn't looking for witnesses. This time, she was looking for an escape route.

    "I'm not going anywhere," he told her. "I'm not going anywhere until you and I have a talk."

    "We have nothing to talk about," she insisted.

    "I want you to lift the restraining order. I want you to go to the cops and tell them that you were lying."

    She laughed at him. "That's not going to happen, Trevor. I'm not going to do that."

    He raised a fist in front of her face, rage filling his eyes. "I'm not asking you to do it," he clarified. "I'm telling you that you are going to do it."

    She lowered her eyes. "I told you. It's not going to happen." Mustering up all of the courage she had, she raised her knee sharply and sent it into his groin. While he was doubled over in pain, she fled. She ran towards the elevators, not caring that she'd left the door to the car rental open. Once she reached the elevator doors, she punched the Up button, glancing over her shoulder.

    Trevor was leaning on the car, his face pinched in pain.

    She turned back to the elevator. "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up," she muttered.

    "You fucking bitch!" he growled.

    "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up," she chanted while the elevator took its sweet little time. Then she heard footsteps. Running footsteps. She turned around and saw Trevor running for her. Instead of continuing to wait for the elevator, she sprinted at an angle to put more distance between Trevor and herself. If the elevator was going to take too long, there was one other option. She didn't see a door leading to stairs, but she could go out the way she'd come in: through the garage entrance. At the very least, there should people out walking around on the street.

    He ran after her at a speed that was borderline inhuman. He demonstrated why he was worth the large NFL paycheck he continued to receive. He caught up to her and grabbed her by the hair. He yanked her head back and whispered harshly into her ear, "You really shouldn't have done that. That shit is going to cost you."

                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "You should really stop worrying," Drake told Shawn as they got out of the car. "Just talk to her. Tell her how you feel. Apologize. Stand by her. It'll be fine, man."

    Shawn nodded, but the worried look didn't leave his face. He looked scared to death.

    Truth be told, Drake knew how he felt. When you messed up and went crawling back to someone with an apology, you were putting your heart in their hands. They could very well tell you to leave, tell you that they wanted nothing more to do with you. Mia had already told him that she wasn't ready to talk. She hadn't yet told him that she was ready, and he was still dropping by her hotel, uninvited. Not only that, but he was bringing a guest, a guy who'd hurt her best friend. There was a chance that tonight wouldn't end well. There was a chance that she would be even angrier with him for not respecting her request for time. It was a chance he was going to have to take.

    Drake led the way through the Omni hotel's front doors. He strode across the lobby to the front counter, where a pretty redhead was typing into a computer. She lifted her eyes and gasped when she saw him. "Um...welcome to the Omni," she said, struggling to remember her scripted greeting for hotel guests. "How may I help you?"

    "There's a guest I'm here to visit," Drake explained with a charming smile. He hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm parked right out front, though. Is my car fine out there? Or would it get towed? I didn't know if I needed to park in the garage or not. I can, but I probably won't be here long."

    The redhead's eyebrows shot up. "Usually we tell everyone that they have to park in the garage..."

    He nodded, backing away from the counter. "I can park in the garage, then, sure," he said and started to turn around.

    "But...I mean...you're Drake," the redhead said, positively gushing. "You can keep your car out front. I'll keep an eye on it."

    Drake grinned at Shawn before turning back to face the hotel's front desk attendant. "Thank you so much, I appreciate that," he said. "If you could help me with something else...there's a room I'm paying for, but I don't have the room number on me. Can you help me with that?"