50 Shades of Drake 3 and 4

Torn: Chapter Eighty-Six

    Destiny opened her eyes to a brand new day, and immediately closed them again. Because it was a work day, and a Monday at that, she couldn't afford the luxury of keeping her eyes closed for long. With a frustrated groan, she glanced around the guest bedroom. It took several moments to remember just why she'd chosen to sleep in this room.

    The previous night, she'd walked up to the master bedroom door. She'd gone so far as to place her hand on the doorknob, but couldn't bring herself to turn it. The weekend had been so beautiful, so perfect, that she hadn't wanted to mar it with a long, drawn out, dramatic conversation. Because she didn't want to hide anything from Aubrey, she felt the need to talk to him about the kiss he'd shared with Bernice, and she hadn't felt like going into that last night. What she had wanted to do was return to Brian's house and spend the rest of the week with him.

    Sighing, she stood out of bed and padded over to the guest bedroom door. The condo was just as quiet as it had been the evening before. She opened the door and peered out into the hallway. The master bedroom door was still closed. There would be no avoiding him this morning; her clothes were in his room. Even though she couldn't avoid it, she procrastinated by turning towards the living room instead. She walked down the hall, through the dining room, and to the kitchen.

    She didn't notice it. It took pouring herself a glass of orange juice and walking around the island counter before she realized that Aubrey was seated on the living room couch, watching her every move. Her eyes widened. "I didn't see you there."

    The expression on his face remained impassive. "I'm sorry to startle you."

    She stared down at her glass of orange juice. It was safer to look there, instead of looking him directly in the eyes.

    "How was your weekend?"

    "It was nice," she told him.

    "Nice?" he echoed.

    She nodded.

    "You slept in the guest bedroom. Why?"

    "We should probably have this conversation after work," she said, and raised the glass to her lips.

    "We're going to have this conversation now," Aubrey argued. "Come here."

    She lowered her glass and stared across the room at him. "This conversation will probably take some time. It would make us late to work."

    "Fuck work," he said softly. "We're not going in today."

    Her brows drew together. "Why not?"

    "Because some things are more important than work," he said. "You and me, and what we have, for example."

    She looked away from him. "Aubrey."

    "Have I already lost you?"

    The question hung in the air for minutes. Somewhere, a clock was ticking. It was out of sight, but the sound of ticking clock hands echoed in the large condo. She tapped her fingers con the outside of her glass.

    "I have."

    "I never said that," she told him.

    "You didn't have to. I can see it in your eyes. You love him. You want to be with him." Aubrey stood up from the couch.

    She bit her lip and slowly walked towards him. "What you and I have is special. It always will be."

    "Is this the breakup speech?" Aubrey demanded, his voice cracking.