50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

Chapter Seventeen

    "Did you just buy my father a car?"

    "I did, yes."

    "Are you ever going to stop being so perfect?"

    "Probably not any time soon."

    Destiny leaned into him as they walked back to the van.

    Mr. Richards was on top of the world, bubbly and excited while speaking to his overwhelmed wife. From the car lot, the van carried them to the airport. Aubrey gave them a tour of his private jet, then allowed time for everyone to get settled in.

    Candace peered out of the small window to her right.

    Destiny spoke to Jasmine and Carlos while Aubrey stepped towards the front of the jet to field another phone call. She studied his movements and body language while he was on the call. All of these phone calls he was getting couldn't be related to work, could they? He'd already explained that he wouldn't be back in the office until the following week. He had mentioned that he was trying to make sure all of his plans went smoothly for today, but how many phone calls did it take to make sure everything was on schedule? What could all of those phone calls be regarding?

    He ended the call and joined her.

    "That call looked pretty important," she remarked, watching his face to gauge his reaction to her words.

    "When aren't they?" he responded cryptically, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it just as the flight crew prepared the jet for takeoff.

    With the small exception of the jet ride, it felt like they never stopped moving. From the jet, it was being ushered into a small charter bus. From the bus, they enjoyed a late lunch at the Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland. Aubrey explained that the soul food restaurant was an old haunt of his. It usually closed at 3:00pm, but extended its hours to appease Aubrey and his guests.

    The food reminded Destiny of her childhood, and waking up on Sunday mornings to her mother's cooking. Even her parents were impressed. The mood was light. Pleasant. Filled with conversation and jokes and laughter. Carlos chimed in, but for the most part he was unusually subdued. Towards the end of the meal, he excused himself so he could smoke outside.

    Destiny announced that she would join him.

    Carlos removed a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his jeans. "You didn't have to come out with me."

    "I wanted to," she said.

    He nodded as they put some distance between themselves and the restaurant.

    "It's been amazing, spending so much time with everyone today," she commented, wrapping her arms around herself.

    "It has been the most fun I've had in awhile," he agreed.

    "Are you okay?"

    He tilted his head to the side. "What makes you ask that?"

    She shrugged. "You've been quiet. You haven't mentioned cats even once, or busted out me and Aubrey for getting it on in the dressing room."

    Carlos laughed dryly and stuck a cigarette between his lips. "What's up with that by the way? He can't keep his dick in his pants, even in public?"

    "It's hard for us to keep our hands off of each other," she said simply.

    "You say that as if fucking in a dressing room is normal," he told her, laughing again. "Is that what being with him is like? Feeling that the most abnormal things in the world are completely normal?"

    Her mouth slanted into a frown.

    He sighed and brought a lighter up to the end of his cigarette.

    "What is the matter with you?"

    He pocketed his lighter and took a long drag of his cigarette. "Your dad informed me that the cat jokes were played out, which is why I'm not making those anymore."

    "And you feel down about that?"

    Carlos chuckled. "No."

    "Then what?"

    He shrugged. "When you and I talked about that breakfast conversation, you said that you understood why I made the jokes. That you knew I was trying to make you laugh. And you were right. I was. But...I wasn't just trying to make you laugh, Des."

    Her brows furrowed.

    "You're not the only one who went through all of that shit with Palmer," he went on. "I did, too. He could've killed me. He came pretty close. I had to flee the country, out of fear for my family. So...you and Aubrey aren't the only ones who were affected by all of that."

    "I know that," she insisted.

    "Going back to Toronto and spending time with you and Aubrey was...great." Carlos withdrew the cigarette from his mouth and tapped the end of it. "We were all miserable together, which is better than being miserable alone. Right?"

    She touched his arm.

    He squinted his eyes and placed the cigarette between his lips. "We couldn't go around talking about the case; we only had each other to talk to. Which is fine with me. Like you, I don't want to burden my family with all of the details of what he did to the three of us, and the people around us." He spoke around the cigarette shortly before taking another long drag. Then he removed the cigarette from his lips again and let it dangle between his index and middle fingers. "We picked up our shit and left Toronto and now we're here, in sunny California, surrounded by your family and a few of our peeps from D.C. It feels like...this is our chance to actually be happy. Move beyond the Palmer shit. Which I fully endorse. But...it's harder to do than I thought."

    "Completely understandable. You saw how long I moped around."

    "I know my joking has been out of hand." He blew out a puff of smoke. "I guess I'm one of those who hides behind humor or some shit. I don't mean anything by it, and you know I wouldn't really try to bust you out in front of your parents."

    "Of course I know that."

    He nodded and ducked his head down.

    She smothered him in a bear hug. "We're going to be okay, Carlos. All of us. Right?"

    "It's easier to tell you that than it is to believe it," he confessed.

    "Well, believe it. Okay?"

    He nodded again and brought a hand up to grab onto her arm. "Yeah. Okay."

    She leaned her head on his shoulder.

    "But seriously though...you and Aubrey didn't care that your parents were right there in the same store?"

    Laughing, she moved away from him. "I'm going back in, Carlos."

    "Don't run away from me now," he called out to her after taking another drag. "You've got some explaining to do, missy. Just what are your boundaries. Do you have any? Do you have any walls left? Inquiring minds would like to know!"

    She flipped him the bird and entered the restaurant.