50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

More Life: Chapter 6ixty-One

    Aubrey and Destiny shared an emotional moment, but it didn't take long for the mood to lighten in the house. The agents dispersed throughout the property, reporting to their designated rooms and positions. The Richards and Grahams eased into a casual conversation about their children. 

    Hearing their names mentioned more than once, Aubrey grabbed Destiny's hand and led her back into the living room. He lowered into the nearest armchair and welcomed her on his lap. For a while, they just listened to their parents prattle on about his and her childhoods. When it seemed like the stories would never end, he chimed in with a few of his own stories. 

    Those stories lasted long into the night. Dennis talked about the adventures he had while touring with a young Aubrey, and Sandi piped up about how tough it had been, being apart from her boy. Mrs. Richards told stories about how a young Destiny used to write stories and articles about their neighbors on notebook paper, each paragraph in a different color marker. 

    "She'd sell those stories to the highest bidders, the nosiest of our neighbors," Mr. Richards added. "We really got to see who wanted the tea on everyone else, because they'd come around the house sniffing for stories before they were even written."

    "Some neighbors came to me with stories they wanted me to write about," Destiny threw in. "Imagine, approaching a ten year old with a story about how one neighbor's wife was cheating with the husband of another neighbor. Our neighborhood was a mess."

    Aubrey's eyebrows shot up. "Wow." 

    "What did she start off selling those articles for?" Mr. Richards asked his wife.

    Mrs. Richards narrowed her eyes in contemplation. "Mmm...I want to say she started off selling them for, like, a quarter."

    "By the time it was all said and done, each story was selling for five bucks a piece," Mr. Richards said, his voice booming throughout the entire first floor. He beamed with pride. "All of the other kids had lemonade stands, or were selling Girl Scouts cookies, or paper routes, but my baby girl was practically selling her own newspaper at ten years old."

    "Incredible," Aubrey murmured, smiling up at Destiny.

    "Sounds like she was just as determined as Aubrey was at making his dreams a reality," Sandi remarked. "I couldn't tell you how many times I caught him playing with his father's instruments or recording equipment. It got to the point that we started getting him his own microphones to sing and rap in."

    "I needed mine for touring!" Dennis exclaimed. "I'd go looking around for my shit and it wouldn't be anywhere to be found. Come to find out it was under this boy's bed, cause he'd been playing around with it all night." He blew a puff of air out between his lips.

    Destiny hid a laugh behind one hand. 

    "But you get the bragging rights for encouraging the creativity of one of the biggest performing acts in the industry, Pops," Aubrey pointed out. "Not many parents get to say that. Mr. and Mrs. Richards, your daughter has been courted by the Washington Post, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. Not many parents get to say that, either."

    "You two really are some kind of match," Mrs. Richards said, smiling at both of them.

    Destiny wrapped her arms around Aubrey's neck and rested her cheek against his. 

    "When you two first started dating, I had concerns," Mr. Richards said, looking at Aubrey over the top of his glasses. 

    "If my memory serves me correctly, Destiny's aunt brought up a few of those concerns," Aubrey stated flatly.