50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

50SOD II: Chapter Fifty

    Getting Carlos caught up on what was going on between "Tony" and "Angela" was a process. It was a process because after every few sentences, he would interrupt with excited commentary, shocked sound effects, and requests for her to give him a chance to breathe.

    When she was finished, she nervously chewed on her bottom lip.

    Carlos shook his head and stared into space, looking dazed. "Wow."

    "I know."

    "That is...a lot to take in," he said, leaning forward and grabbing his wine glass from the coffee table. "A sex club? In front of people?" His brows were raised, nearly to the point of touching his hairline.

    "I know, right?" She pulled both knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "The thing is...Angela kind of liked the sex club experience. And now...she might be freaking out about that, worried that she's turning into some raging whore or something."

    He burst out laughing.

    She stared at him blankly.

    He wiped his mouth and set his wine glass back on the table. "I mean...the sex club thing is definitely taboo. There is no question about that. That is...that is out there. I wouldn't ever expect you, of all people, to-" He stopped speaking mid-sentence.

    She had her head ducked down between her knees, trying to fight of the feeling of shame.

    "Okay, okay, look," he said hurriedly. "Everyone has their preferences when it comes to what they like in the bedroom. Just because you like something that is uncommon doesn't make you a whore. Now...if you told me that you...or Angela, I mean...had sex with every dude up in that joint...that would be a different story. But Angela and Tony were only with each other, right?"

    "Yeah," she muttered, her voice muffled because her head was still tucked between her knees.

    "I'm personally kind of impressed that Angela would do anything like that. She's such a good girl, you know? There's nothing wrong with having a bad side."

    Timidly, she raised her head and peered at him. "You really think that?"

    He shrugged. "Sure. I'm sure if everyone's bedrooms were wired with cameras, we'd find out that a lot of people have some kind of kink going on."

    "I...I don't think Angela thought of it that way," she said, feeling a little better.

    "A sex club? Him? Wow. Everyone knows him. I'm surprised that he'd go to a place like that, being who he is."

    "They make everyone sign vows of discretion," she said, turning her head and looking out of the living room window. "No one can talk about what goes on there. And everyone there seemed to be familiar with each other."

    "I bet," Carlos mumbled, on the verge of laughing again.

    She rolled her eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything."

    "I mean it's me," he said with another shrug. "If I were you, I definitely wouldn't go around shouting it from the rooftops or anything. I'm not sure everyone would be quite as understanding as I am. There might be a few taboo things I'm into."

    She raised her eyebrows in mock-shock. "You? Taboo? Noooooo."

    His mouth stretched into a grin. "I know, I know, it's hard to believe, isn't it? Little, innocent me."

    They both lapsed into silence.

    He finished the last of his wine. "At least Angela and Tony are on good terms now. My first night here, I was kind of worried. Things...didn't look good."

    "Yeah, true." She took a deep breath. "There is something else that happened, something I didn't tell you."

    "I don't know if I can even handle anything else," he told her.

    "When I...when Angela ran out of the club, she saw Brian."

    Carlos gripped the armrests of the chair, leaning forward far that he risked falling out of his seat. "What do you mean Angela saw him?"

    "He was standing there...right there, across the street. And he was looking at her. He just stood there, just...staring."

    "That tall hunk of man..." Carlos fanned himself off with his hand. "I don't know how you, or Angela, or whoever the fuck we're talking about here, kept from running across the street and jumping all over him. I don't know how you keep from jumping his bones every day at work."

    "I'm with Aubrey," she reminded him.

    He held up an index finger. "True, and Aubrey is a tall hunk of man in his own right. You are seriously the luckiest bitch alive. To get to choose between Aubrey and Brian...you must have been Mother Theresa in your past life. Something."

    "Can I tell you something?" she asked him in a tiny voice.

    A solitary eyebrow lifted in response. "Of course."

    "Ever since I saw Brian that night...I've been thinking about him."

    Carlos's eyes narrowed. "Thinking about him...how?"

    "Wondering why he was there, and wondering why he thought I was there," she replied.

    "That's normal, Des."

    "Is it?"

    "Yeah. I mean...you work with the guy. You're probably worried about how he perceives you, after seeing you dressed like that outside of a place like that."

    For some reason, that answer didn't satisfy her. "The thing is...I think that he's been on my mind, because I know that if I were with him, the relationship would be...more normal. And I think a part of me wants that."

    "And in thinking that, you think that a part of you wants him?" he finished for her.

    She nodded, biting her bottom lip.

    He scratched at his temple. "Yikes."

    "I love Aubrey," she said quickly. "I love him with all of my heart. But a part of me just wants a boyfriend who is more..."

    "Normal?"

    "Yeah."

    He crossed one leg over the other and stroked his jaw in thought. "You say you love him and all, but do you think you were meant to be with him long-term?"

    "Of course."

    "You've said before that he doesn't want kids, but you do," he pointed out. "So are you willing to sacrifice not having kids for him?"

    She shook her head, stammering, unable to get a sentence out.

    "And what if he wants to keep doing the sex club shit?"

    "Angela-" she started.

    He held up his hand. "Can we cut the Angela and Tony bullshit? Please?"

    She avoided his gaze and rested her elbows on the tops of her knees.

    "What if he wants to do the sex club shit every single weekend?" Carlos repeated. "Would you be willing to do that? At what point do you say that you've had enough?"

    Questions I've asked myself but haven't determined an answer to, she thought.

    "These are things that you need to consider," Carlos said. "And I say that to you from the bottom of my heart. Because right now, you have two guys who are into you. Two amazing guys. Well, I don't know Brian personally, but he seems like an amazing guy. He is into you, and you're right - he's probably a lot more normal than Aubrey is. If you keep hanging onto Aubrey hoping that he changes his mind about having kids, you may end up being heartbroken in the end. And you know how these things work out. By the time you'd finally realize that Aubrey isn't willing to change his mind, Brian will be off with someone else, happily married with the perfect life, the perfect wife, and the perfect kids. You'd kick yourself in the ass for the rest of your life, and do you know why?"

    She nodded, the expression on her face sad. "Because it could have been me," she answered softly.