50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

Chapter Twenty

    "You invited Kevin and Tasha?" Destiny asked under her breath after everyone seated and indulged in their own scattered conversations. "They're here for one night and then they fly out tomorrow morning?"

    Aubrey spread out his napkin. "I figured that's the longest we wanted them around," he told her.

    "I'm surprised you'd invite them at all."

    He turned his head and grinned. "I kind of wanted to show off in front of them. Is that bad of me? That's bad of me, isn't it?"

    "Sometimes I forget how petty you can be," she said, grabbing onto his arm and kissing his shoulder.

    Someone clinked their champagne glass. Carlos. And he was standing with a wide smile on his face.

    "Oh no," Destiny mumbled, pulling away from Aubrey and preparing herself for cat jokes or a recount of what Carlos had heard when sitting in front of her dressing room earlier that day.

    "I'd like to make a toast," Carlos announced.

    OB and Ryan continued talking excitedly, OB making dramatic gestures with his hands. From the gestures he was making, he could have been talking about a car or a girl's ass. It was too difficult to guess.

    Carlos cleared his throat.

    People kept talking.

    "Damn, I said I need to make a toast, bitches!" Carlos shouted.

    All conversations came to a screeching halt, and everyone whipped their heads in Carlos's direction.

    "Who are you?" OB demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

    "How nice of you to ask, my adorable leprechaun," Carlos replied. "My name is Carlos. I am best friend to Destiny."

    Candace and Jasmine started to interrupt.

    Carlos held up his hand. "Silence, bitches. As I was saying, I am best friend to Destiny. And I would like to make a toast to both Aubrey and Destiny."

    Please behave, Carlos, Destiny thought, shooting him a look of desperation.

    "Come on, you're looking at me like I'm going to embarrass you," Carlos said, laughing.

    "With good reason," she said, flashing him a sweet, manufactured smile.

    After sending a handsome smile her way, Carlos looked down into his champagne glass. "I haven't known Destiny for as long as Candace and Jasmine. They went to college with her, they've known her for years. I've barely known her longer than Aubrey. Aubrey and I met her around the same time, actually. I might have...maybe a few weeks, or a month on him. For those of you who don't know, Destiny and I worked together in D.C. Our lives seemed so different then, so...normal."

    Destiny shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

    Aubrey slid an arm across her shoulders, most likely to help calm her.

    Carlos cleared his throat and looked around the table. He took a deep breath and plowed on. "Back in D.C., I was just...some wild, goofy boy-crazy nut. I met Destiny, who was so...reserved for the most part. So...prissy, almost."

    "Hey!" Destiny exclaimed, to the amusement of everyone in the room.

    "Maybe not prissy, but definitely a little bougie," Carlos corrected.

    She rolled her eyes. "Same thing, Carlos."

    "Uptight?" He shrugged and shook his head. "Anyway, when I met her, I thought my mission in life was to help teach her how to have fun...help to loosen her up."