50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

Chapter Forty

     Dating Chad was safe. Chad was sweet, attentive, and had a great sense of humor. She enjoyed spending time with him. Whenever she was around him, though, she found herself trying to have feelings for him. He was the ideal guy to fall in love with. He was intelligent, funny, physically attractive, and she could tell he truly cared for her. Even with all of those qualities, he didn't excite her. It was perplexing. She felt like she should love him.

    Months into their relationship, she watched him when he didn't know she was looking. She'd watch him and think to herself, Could I marry him? If one day he asked me, could I picture spending the rest of my life with him? The truth was, she could picture marrying him. She could picture marrying him and having children with him and having a nice, peaceful life with him. She imagined having dinner at the same time every night, putting the kids to bed at the same time every night, maybe being intimate a few times a week. There was nothing wrong with that scenario, was there?

    Sure, he didn't cause butterflies to flutter in her stomach. The thought of going on dates with him didn't excite her. The thought of him touching her didn't cause her knees to grow weak, but was all of that required for a long-lasting, healthy relationship?

    After months of asking, she still hadn't come up with an answer. There were other distractions in her life to keep her from dwelling on that age-old question. Namely, paparazzi who'd taken to following her everywhere she went. Hoping to catch a glimpse of Aubrey, perhaps. As far as she knew, Aubrey was no longer in town. He'd texted her to advise that he was back in Toronto. It was a text message she hadn't responded to. The press still trailed her everywhere she went, or demanded to know what her connection was to Aubrey. It was overwhelming.

    She refused to talk to them, but Chad encouraged her to. "They're not going to leave you alone until you answer at least some of their questions," he urged.

    "I don't have anything to say to them," she maintained.

    They attended their school's basketball game on a cold, mid-February night. She dressed for the cold weather in a long, black sweater, jeans, knee-high boots, her black pea coat, and a stylish black beanie hat. Chad opted for a beige turtleneck sweater, jeans, Timberland boots, and a black trench coat. Friends of theirs stopped them to remark on how cute they looked together.

    They watched the game intently, commenting on the skillset of certain players. Several times, Destiny stood up and shouted in frustration.

    Chad laughed at her, amused by her passion for the game.

    "Don't judge me," she told him, nudging him in the arm.

    He wrapped his arm around her.

    After the game, they exited the stadium with their arms wrapped around each other. A tall, dark-haired man wearing wire-rimmed glasses approached them. "Destiny?"

    Chad's pace slowed, but Destiny kept walking, forcing him to keep up with her. "Yes?" she asked the stranger, who was also forced to keep up the pace with them.

    "Could I talk to you for a minute?"

    "Do I know you?" she asked him.

    He withdrew his cell phone from his pocket and held it up to her. "Destiny, what is your affiliation with Aubrey Graham?"

    She rolled her eyes. "Oh my God," she muttered, turning her face and hiding it in the crook of Chad's arm.

    "She doesn't want to talk to you, all right?" Chad said.

    "Who are you?" the dark-haired man asked. "Are you the boyfriend?"

    "I am," Chad said proudly.

    "Don't talk to him, Chad," she mumbled into his arm.

    Chad pursed his lips shut.

    "We just want to know how you were able to get an interview with Aubrey Graham, knowing that he no longer gives interviews," the journalist said with a shrug. "Help me out."

    She stopped in her tracks and leveled a gaze at him. "You want me to help you out?"

    He nodded eagerly.

    "Are you recording?"

    The journalist checked. "Yes."

    "I met Aubrey Graham in the bakery, where I work," she said, focusing her attention on the lens of the cell phone camera. "There is no glamorous story behind it. He was a customer. I took his order. In casual conversation, I mentioned that I was a writer for The Hilltop. He was nice enough to let me interview him."

    The journalist frowned. "That's it?"

    "That's it," she confirmed. "That's what you have all been hounding me for. Absolutely nothing."

    "No romance, no tryst?"

    She rolled her eyes and started walking again. Chad walked alongside her.

    "Can you confirm that you had no relationship with Aubrey Drake Graham!" the journalist yelled after her.

    "I can confirm that I did not have a relationship with Aubrey Drake Graham!" she yelled over her shoulder. "There is only one man who I am in a relationship with, and his name is Chad!"

    Chad pulled her closer to him as they walked. "At least now they'll leave you alone," he told her.

    She shuddered, even though his embrace was warm. "We'll see," she muttered.

~~~~~~

    "Can you confirm that you had no relationship with Aubrey Drake Graham!"

    "I can confirm that I did not have a relationship with Aubrey Drake Graham! There is only one man who I am in a relationship with, and his name is Chad!"

    Aubrey paused the entertainment news footage so that the close-up shot of Destiny's face was frozen on his television screen. He tapped the remote control against his bottom lip while he stared at her face. He sighed and leaned forward, setting the remote control on the table. He poured himself another stiff drink. Looked over the top of his glass at that beautiful face, that beautiful mouth. A mouth that formed the words claiming another man as hers. He swirled the glass of liquor around in his hand while staring at the screen.

    It had taken another half an hour or so to convince his mother that he wasn't in love with anyone. She hoped and prayed so hard that he would find love. She wanted nothing more for him. And it was sweet of her. He simply did not believe in it.

    But...

    If I don't believe in it...then why does the sight of her with that man piss me off? he wondered. He figured that maybe the sight of her with another man pissed him off because if things had gone according to plan, she would be his. She would be his to own and control, and instead of being his, she was someone else's. It wasn't a matter of love, it was a matter of possession. He didn't possess her and he wanted to. That's what he told himself.

    If she was just going to be your property, isn't she something that can be replaced? his subconscious nagged at him. Couldn't you find another girl who would be just as good of a submissive if not better?

    He took a swig of the strong liquor and continued to swirl it in his glass, lost in his own thoughts. Lost in his own justifications of his actions. Making up excuses as to why he felt so strongly about her being on the arm of another. His fingers tightened on the glass. He picked up the remote control and rewound the news coverage. To the beginning.

    "Destiny, what is your affiliation with Aubrey Graham?"

    She groaned. "Oh my God."

    "She doesn't want to talk to you, all right?"

    "Who are you? Are you the boyfriend?"

    "I am."

    Aubrey paused the footage again, this time on the young gentleman's face. This must be the Chad she referenced at the end of the interview. The glass in Aubrey's hand shattered, and cold liquid splashed on his hand. He barely felt the glass shatter, barely felt the liquid cascading over his hand. He was that filled with anger and jealousy.