50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Chapter Fifty-Seven

    She swam for hours. All of her worries and her cares seemed to just slip away when she was in the water. I guess it's hard to feel weighed down with worries when the water makes you feel so weightless, she thought dreamily as her arms cut through the water.

    After her night swim, she returned to her bedroom and fell into another restless sleep. Her eyes didn't open again until after eleven o' clock the following morning. The only reason she opened her eyes at that point, was because her phone was ringing - it was a sound that she'd nearly forgotten, seeing as her phone hadn't rung much lately.

    With a start, she rolled over and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. After detaching the charger, she croaked into the receiver, "Hello?"

    "Don't tell me you're just waking up."

    Destiny sat up straighter in bed. "Candace?"

    "Jasmine's with me," Candace Patterson, her former college roommate, informed her. "We just reunited and wondered how you were doing. I figured you'd be at work and wouldn't be able to talk - we were prepared to leave you a voicemail."

    "I have the day off," Destiny said. "Jasmine?"

    "I'm here, girl," her friend and former college newspaper editor, Jasmine Brown greeted. Her voice sounded further away than Candace's. "How is Toronto treating you?"

    Destiny almost laughed at the question, and laughing wouldn't at all be appropriate, given her situation. "Things are...interesting here."

    "How is that fine man of yours?" Jasmine asked.

    "Really?" Candace asked. "You're going to ask that before we even catch up with her?"

    "Asking about her man is a part of catching up with her," Jasmine said, defending her own question. "She's dating Aubrey fucking Graham, how am I not supposed to ask about that? So how is he, Destiny? Is the sex good? Can you talk about it yet?"

    "Ignore her," Candace said.

    Destiny laughed. "I can't even keep up with you guys right now." She needed someone, someone who she could talk to about everything that was going on. Brian had volunteered, but she needed someone other than Brian...one of her girls. Still, she couldn't find the heart to tell them. It would just weigh on them. They would just worry. And since Palmer seemed to know about the relationship she had with Aubrey, for all she knew her phone could be bugged - which meant that telling Candace and Jasmine anything could be putting their lives in danger. So she held her tongue, and took on the tone that she gave her mother whenever her mother asked about Aubrey these days. She prayed that the news outlets in the United States weren't flashing video clips of Aubrey with his new female acquaintance. She decided to go with a half-truth. "Things are good, he's good. The company went through a bit of drama, so he's just taking a breather."

    "He left you by yourself and you don't even know that city well?" Candace demanded. "Wait until I get the chance to talk to his ass."

    "Not necessary. He needed it, and I'm needed at the office," Destiny responded, thinking off the cuff. "But enough about him, how are you guys? I miss you both so much."

    "Jasmine has a new man that she won't shut up about," Candace said.

    "Because he is sexy as hell, and he treats me right, and he's everything I've ever wanted in a man, hunty," Jasmine said, and this time her voice sounded closer. "His name is Darren. He works at the Post, Des. The Post, okay? I've only dreamed about writing for the Washington Post since I knew what the Washington Post was. Okay? And he's tall and beautiful and he's sweet but knows when to put me in my place."