50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

Chapter Sixty-One

    Destiny woke up early, tossed on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, threw her hair into a topknot, and went into the kitchen to cook everyone breakfast. She pulled a variety of dishes and ingredients from the cabinets and refrigerator. It felt good to cook. She felt spoiled whenever Aubrey prepared meals for her, because he was a very skilled chef, but truth be told, sometimes she missed cooking.

    She stood at the stove, balancing all of her weight on one leg with the other raised and bent at the knee. She held a pan over the stover burner, tilting it at an angle and watching the square chunk of margarine melt into a sizzling golden liquid. She hummed to herself and danced as she cooked.

    "Won't you make the adorable little housewife?"

    Destiny arched a glance over her shoulder, even though she knew who the voice belonged to.

    Tasha sauntered into the kitchen wearing a blue robe and a purple hairnet. She sat at the round kitchen table and crossed one leg over the over, dangling a slippered foot.

    "Good morning to you, too," Destiny greeted cheerfully.

    "Aren't you chipper?" Tasha questioned, resting an elbow on the table.

    Destiny shrugged while scrambling eggs. "I have every reason to be. I'm spending time with the people that I love most in this world."

    "Including your man Aubrey?" Tasha queried.

    Destiny hesitated in responding.

    Tasha arched an eyebrow.

    "It's...a bit soon for declarations of love," Destiny answered finally, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

    "Fair enough," Tasha allowed. "I still don't understand how anything between the two of you could work. But if it works for you, hey."

    "About that," Destiny said as she poured the scrambled eggs onto a platter, next to the pancakes she'd made. "You have every right to your opinion, but when it comes to my relationship with Aubrey, can you...keep those to yourself? Your comments and what you've insinuated have been extremely inappropriate. I'm here to enjoy some time with my family while I can."

    Tasha crossed her arms over her chest. "Aren't we Miss Thing this morning?"

    Destiny turned, and the expression on her face said she wasn't joking.

    Tasha rolled her eyes and waved a hand in the air dismissively. "All right, fine, I'll leave you two alone."

    "He's a great guy," Destiny added, setting the pan in the sink and washing off her hands. "He's not some...predator, the way you make him out to be."

    "I appreciate that." Aubrey walked into the kitchen, shirtless with only a pair of gray sweatpants on.

    Tasha gave her hairnet a pat and clutched the lapels of her robe as her eyes scanned over every inch of Aubrey that was visible to her. "Oh my," she muttered.

    He grinned. "I appreciate that, too," he told Tasha.

    Tasha's eyes widened and she averted her gaze, realizing that she'd been staring.

    He crossed the room and kissed the top of Destiny's head. "I don't like waking up without you."

    "I wanted to make breakfast for everyone," she told him.

    The sounds of footsteps could be heard over their heads.

    "And it sounds like everyone else woke up right along with you," she said, surveying the food she'd loaded into the dishes she had lined up on the island counter.