50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

Chapter Thirteen

    When Destiny opened her eyes the following morning, she was greeted with the sight of Aubrey, sleeping soundly with one arm around her. She vaguely remembered him returning to the bedroom the previous night. He'd undressed, gotten into bed with her, and held her. They hadn't spoken a word to each other. He hadn't divulged the details of his conversation with her father, but he seemed calm. Content.

    She peered up at his face now, watching him sleep. Once upon a time, back when their live were much simpler, these had been her favorite moments: waking up before he did, seeing how peaceful he looked while he slept. That would have been on the morning when he didn't wake her up first with his hands, or his lips, or his tongue. Her cheeks grew hot at those memories. Simpler life. Simpler times. But we'll get back there, she thought determinedly. We're already working on moving forward instead of living in the past.

    "You've gone back to the habit of watching me sleep, then?" he asked seconds before opening his eyes.

    She giggled and looked away from him. "You wish."

    "How long have you been up?"

    "Not long. How did the talk with my father go?"

    "It went well," he said. "He seems like a great father."

    "He is," she affirmed. "I was very fortunate."

    "When I see him and your mother together, it..." His brows furrowed and he stopped speaking.

    She searched his dark, downturned eyes. "It what?"

    He shook his head. "It makes me wish that things could've been different for my own parents," he said finally. "It's also an inspiration to me, because even with all of his silliness, he is the type of man I'd like to be one day. The type of husband I would like to be to you, and the type of fath..." He paused again. This time, he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

    Her vision blurred, but she moved her face closer to his and kissed him before the tears could fall. "I love you," she whispered against his lips.

    "I love you more," he whispered back, tightening his arm around her.

~~~~~~

    "I'm never jealous. Of anybody. Okay? But I've got to admit it, girl. I'm jealous."

    "So jealous," Candace chimed in, echoing Jasmine's sentiments. She pulled her relaxed, shoulder-length hair back from her face while evaluating her mint green sleeveless top and matching skirt with black accents. She grabbed the hem of the skirt and pulled it further down, so that it hit her knees.

    Destiny smiled and tilted down the wide brim of her floppy, pink hat. The girls and Carlos were gathered in the master bedroom. Aubrey was nowhere to be found; he'd sequestered her parents downstairs somewhere while Destiny, Candace, Jasmine, and Carlos put the finishing touches on their outfits.

    Today, Aubrey had wanted to do something different. Instead of keeping everyone holed up in his vacation resort of a house, he wanted to show Destiny, her family, and friends around Los Angeles. It was the last day her parents, Candace, and Jasmine would be staying with them. They had lives they needed to get back to. Aubrey wanted to give them a day to remember before bidding them farewell.

    "Jealous?" Destiny repeated, combing fingers through hair she'd decided to wear curly today.

    "Who wouldn't be?" Carlos muttered, adjusting the belt holding up his dark jeans. He checked the lapels of his gray suit jacket to make sure they hung over the top of his jeans just right. "You get to sleep next to the hottest man in the known world every single night. He's crazy about you. Anyone who takes one look at him can see it. The man is gaga over you, gone over you."