50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

50SOD II: Chapter Thirty-Three

    Brian's kiss was gentle and his lips were unbelievably soft. His tongue swept across the inside of her bottom lip. A thousand tiny little electric shocks started at the tips of her fingers and spread throughout the rest of her body. Destiny pulled back immediately and clapped a hand over her mouth with tears frozen in her eyes.

    Brian opened his eyes and stared back at her. "I'm sorry. I had to."

    She whirled around and stumbled out of his office.

    "Destiny!"

    She started running, and the tears started falling. She ran into her office and slammed the door shut. There was no hesitation in engaging the lock. With her heart pounding double-time in her chest, she pressed her back against the door and slid down to the floor.

    This was a kiss. This was more than a confession of infatuation. A confession of infatuation, she could halfway ignore. She could withhold that information from Aubrey to make sure that his company stayed afloat during this crisis. But a kiss? A kiss was different. If she withheld that information from him, and he found out later down the line...

    It would crush him, she thought with tears streaming down her cheeks. It would crush him and it would make him think that he's been right in keeping himself closed off from love. I would be just as bad as his ex-fiance if I kept this from him.

    She drew her knees up and placed a hand on either side of her head. So it's risk Aubrey's company or his heart. Her shoulders shook with racking sobs.

    "Destiny?"

    "Please leave me alone," she begged through her tears.

    "Destiny, I..."

    "Brian! Please. Leave!" she screamed.

    There was silence on the other side of the door, then the sound of retreating footsteps.

    Angrily, she wiped at her tears and took a deep breath. Trying to gather her composure, she stood up and smoothed down the skirt of her dress. Her movements were mechanical as she shut down her computer and collected her personal belongings.

    On the drive home, she operated on auto-pilot. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Brian. Disbelieving that he'd pull such a risky move, only moments after speaking to Aubrey. She felt pity for him; he seemed to be miserable, despite his devilish good looks, enviable career, and impressive material possessions. Despite his blatant disregard for the "No means no" mantra, he was very easy to like. Handsome, almost to a fault, brilliant, passionate, and he had an amazing sense of humor.

    But you're with Aubrey. And you love Aubrey. So maybe in another time, but not in this lifetime. She rested her elbow on the windowsill of the driver side door and stroked her bottom lip with a finger. Her bottom lip still tingled from the kiss. A kiss that she hated admitting that she'd liked. Bringing the car to a stop at a red light, she closed her eyes to force those thoughts out of her head. "Ugh, why did you have to fucking do that, Brian?" she shouted, beating down on the steering wheel.

    Once she got to the condo, she would have to tell Aubrey what had happened. He would want to know. And she wasn't his fiance; she couldn't deceive him for a long period of time. It would kill her.

    The traffic light flashed green and she pressed her foot on the accelerator. Knowing what she had to tell him, she took the long way home.

~~~~~~

    She opened the door to the condo and smelled heaven. After spending a full ten minutes in the parking garage giving herself a pep talk, the time came when she had to actually get out of the car. Her steps to the kitchen were slow. The kitchen was empty.

    "Are you looking for me?" Aubrey called to her from the dining room table. He still had his work clothes on, sans suit jacket. With a dashing smile, he lifted a wine glass to his lips.

    "Yes," she said in a tiny voice, moving towards the dining room table. The words were on the tip of her tongue. "Aubrey, there is something I have to tell you." Come on, girl, just say it. Once you say it, you'll be forced to say the rest.

    "I invited Carlos but he said he had a date."

    "He has a date? Already? How?" She couldn't help but laugh, even with her inner turmoil surging at an all-time high. Only Carlos.

    Aubrey's brows drew together and he stood up. His eyes were filled with concern. "Poor thing, you look exhausted. No more late nights, okay?" He pressed a kiss to her forehead and pulled out a seat for her.

    "There's something I have to tell you," she told him.

    "There's something important that I have to tell you first," he insisted, nodding his head towards the chair. "Sit."

    "But I really-"

    "Sit," he ordered, his voice leaving no room for argument.

    She lowered into the chair and allowed him to push the chair in.

    He jogged to the kitchen and when he returned, he had two plates in his hands. He set one of the plates down in front of her. Eggplant Parmesan, one of her favorite dishes.

    She stared down at the plate, trying to hold the tears at bay.

    "I can tell you're tired. There's something very grand you haven't noticed yet."

    There was a wrinkle in her brow as she turned her head. A beautiful, glossy white grand piano separated the dining room from the living room. Her eyes widened. "Oh my God. It's beautiful."

    He seated himself and loosened his tie. "I intended to come home and work some more, but I sat at that thing and I didn't get up until it was time to start cooking," he said. "I made it a priority to buy it, because music has been my means of expressing the way I feel. It has been a way that makes it easy for me to communicate my feelings."

    "I'm glad that you got the piano," she told him earnestly. "I still dream of the song you played in D.C."

     "I've missed writing music," he admitted with a small smile. "And in light of recent events...you wanting to know more about my past...I figured a piano would help me to be more open with you."

    She turned her head and looked at him. No, Aubrey. Not right now.

    "So...you have something to tell me, but I have something to tell you first," he said. "I'm going to tell you everything you want to know. My childhood and my parents. And...my ex-fiance."

    Aubrey, no. Not before I tell you what justhappened with Brian. She kept a smile plasteredon her face, but she was breaking inside.