“Me, too, baby. Me, too.” I attacked her mouth.
I was going to make up for every lost moment with her even if it took me all night or all year. I didn’t care. I had her in my arms, and there was nothing in this world that would ever tear us apart.
I knew we had a lot to figure out, especially with me living in Los Angeles now, but I wasn’t worried. Sometimes, life threw curveballs, but other times, it seemed like everything fell into place. I was determined to make sure Chloe had her happily ever after, starting right now.
Three Months Later
I zipped the last bag and threw it on top of the pile of stuff sitting beside my bedroom door. This was it. I was really doing it. I was going to move across the country to be with Drake. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d lost my damn mind. I was giving up everything to take a chance on someone who had broken me. I loved him though, and I knew in my heart that I was doing the right thing. We still had so many issues to work through, but I was willing to try if it meant spending the rest of my life with him.
Three months had passed since he’d appeared on my porch after over six months of no contact. The next day, he’d gone back to Los Angeles to record more songs for the album. Since then, he had tried on more than one occasion to get back to me, but it hadn’t worked out. With the album, photo shoots, promotions, and everything else they could throw at him, the label had kept him busy constantly, so he hadn’t been able to leave. We’d talked several times a week, but it hadn’t been the same.
Now, I was going to be with him daily. We’d done little to work through our issues. We hadn’t wanted to do it over the phone, but we could finally start now. I wasn’t sure if moving in with him while working on our relationship was going to be a good thing or not. I just hoped that it would be. I wanted things to go back to the way they had been between us. I was starting to heal from what he had done, but I wasn’t quite there yet. I needed to be with him, so we could do it together.
A knock sounded on my bedroom door, and Logan popped his head in. “You got a sec?”
“Sure. Come on in.”
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “I see you’re packed and ready to go.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just finished. I don’t think it has sunk in yet that I’m actually leaving. It’s going to be so scary to start over thousands of miles away from home.”
He sat down beside me and pulled me close. “I’m going to miss you, Chloe. It won’t be the same around here without you.”
“Don’t lie. You’ll finally be rid of me. You’re probably planning a party to celebrate my departure!” I joked.
“Not even close. I’m going to pop some popcorn and cuddle up with a blanket on the couch to watch Johnny Depp or some stupid girlie shit like that.”
I laughed. “You will not watch Johnny without me. It’s in our friendship code.”
“I wouldn’t watch it with you, so there’s no chance I’m watching it without you. I hate that stupid pirate movie.”
“Don’t hate on Johnny. He helped me through some really rough times.”
Logan’s smile slipped a bit, and he squeezed me gently. “If something happens, call me. I’ll find a way to get there to help you, okay?”
“Nothing is going to happen, so don’t worry about me. Drake and I have a lot of work to do, but I love him, and he loves me. It’s just going to take some time to get back to where we were. I lost my trust in him, and he lost himself.”
“I know you love him. I just don’t want to see you hurt anymore. Just promise me that you’ll call me if something happens.”
“I promise, but please don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can, but that doesn’t mean I won’t worry.”
I knew he would worry. It was just the way he was. Logan was one of those people who cared so much that it killed him to see when his friends were hurting.
“I know. Just try not to though. Go out and get a girlfriend or something. You need to get a social life.”
He elbowed me. “I do have a social life. I have friends. I’m just not interested in dating anyone right now. I need to focus on school.”
“You’re such an overachiever. Promise me that you’ll try to get out more.”
He sighed. “I will. You’re a hard act to follow though, Chloe. Whatever girl catches my attention will have to work hard to be as cool as you are.”
“I am pretty awesome.” I paused, staring at Logan. “We’re still good, aren’t we? I mean, you don’t think about me like that anymore, right?”
“You’re nothing more than my best friend. I realized long ago that Drake was the one for you, and I’ve finally accepted that, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to move on. I’ll get there, but it might be a while.”
I hugged him tightly. “You’re a great guy, and the girl who manages to snag you will be very lucky. I just hope she’s good enough.”
Amber opened my door, and we both looked up. “Drake just pulled in. You ready?”
I released Logan and nodded as I stood. “Yeah, I guess I am.”
They followed me to the front door. When I opened it, Drake was standing there with his hand held up, getting ready to knock. The smile that broke across his face was infectious, and I found myself smiling back. He looked good. No, he looked amazing. The last time I’d seen him, he had looked good, but now, he was downright beautiful. He looked so happy, and knowing I was one reason for his happiness made my heart swell.
“Hi,” I said lamely.
“Hi, back. I’ve missed you.” He stepped closer and planted a kiss on my forehead.
We’d talked about toning down the physical part of our relationship and I was glad to see he was trying to keep his promise to be good. If he’d tried to kiss me, I know I would have caved right there. I’d missed his lips and his touch, and not having him now was a cruel torture. I wanted to do this right though, and that meant slowly building our relationship back to where it was. We were starting over even though I had his ring on my finger. I guess we were healing in reverse.
“You ready?” he asked.
I nodded as I stepped back to let him in. “Yeah, I have everything packed and ready to go. You just have to carry it to your car.”
I had expected him to complain about carrying out my things. After all, I was packing up everything I owned, but he only nodded and walked down the hallway to my room. Logan followed, and a few seconds later, both reemerged with a few of my bags. Amber and I grabbed a few more, and we loaded them into Drake’s car. I was glad he’d borrowed the label’s private plane, or I would have been forced to ship everything. I could only imagine the charges.
“That’s the last of it.” Drake slammed the trunk of his car closed.
“Thank God,” Logan grumbled.
I laughed and pulled Logan into a hug. “Thanks for helping.”
“You’re welcome, Chloe. Just take care of yourself, okay?” he whispered into my ear.
“I will. I love you, Logan.”
“Love you, too. Now, go before I decide I want you to stay. I doubt Drake would appreciate it if I kidnapped you.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Drake said from behind me.
I turned to see him standing just a few feet behind us. He didn’t look mad though. He seemed strangely calm around Logan. After everything happened between the three of us, the two of them had never really been able to hang around each other, but it was good to see that Drake was trying to accept Logan. I loved Drake, and I needed him to accept my friendship with Logan. He was trying, and that made me happier than I could have ever imagined.
I turned to see Amber watching me with tears in her eyes. “Don’t cry, Amber. We’ll see each other again.”
“It’s not the same though. I feel like I’m losing my best friend,” she cried.
“You know you can come out to Los Angeles this summer, and I’ll come back to visit, too.”
“It won’t be the same!
” she whined.
She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her tightly, afraid to let go. I knew it would be different. I was used to having Amber and Logan around constantly. I was going to feel lost without them.
Amber pulled away. “Go. I don’t want any long, drawn-out good-byes. It’ll just make me miss you more.”
I nodded as I waved at both of them. I got into Drake’s car and turned in my seat as Drake started the car. As he pulled away, I watched Amber and Logan until they disappeared from sight when the car turned the corner. A single tear slid down my cheek as I realized that I was losing two of my best friends. Sure, we would always be friends, but it wouldn’t be the same with us living so far apart from one another. I just hoped that Amber and Logan took care of each other.
“You okay?” Drake glanced over at me.
“Yeah, it’s just hard to say good-bye. I’m going to miss them so much.”
“I know, but you’ll still get to see them from time to time. Plus, you won’t be alone once we get home. Jade will be there, and I know how much you like her.” He reached over and squeezed my hand.
That was true. While Jade and I weren’t best friends, like I was with Logan and Amber, I still loved her to death. We had been texting more since Drake had come back into my life, and she was excited that I was finally going to join them in Los Angeles. I thought she was secretly tired of hanging around just guys. I couldn’t blame her though. If I had to deal with only Drake, Eric, and Adam all day, every day, I’d pull out my hair.
The car ride through town was silent and awkward. We’d talked a lot on the phone, but now, it was different in person. We both knew that we needed to have that conversation—the one where we laid all of our cards on the table—but neither of us wanted to bring it up. At least, I knew I didn’t. It was going to be painful to talk about everything that had happened in the months leading up to our breakup, and I wasn’t quite ready to dredge up those memories.
I picked up my phone and started playing on it just to do something other than sit quietly. After checking my emails, I glanced up to see that we were already on I-79. When we passed a sign indicating we were going south instead of north to the airport in Pittsburgh, I looked at Drake.
“We’re going the wrong way,” I said.
“Are we?” He grinned.
“Um, yes. I thought you said we were going to Pittsburgh to fly back to Los Angeles. We need to go north, not south. You’re heading toward Charleston.”
“My bad.” He stared straight ahead.
“Drake, where are we going?”
“I thought it might be nice to take a road trip.” He glanced over at me. “That way, we can have more time alone together before I have to go back to work.”
“We’re driving to L.A.? That will take days!” I exclaimed.
“That’s the point. I told the label I wouldn’t be back for a few days. They know that I’m not to be bothered.”
My mouth hung open. “Can you even do that? I mean, isn’t the label your boss?”
“They are, but we’ve all been working our asses off for them. Brad has been great, and he completely understood that we needed some time off.”
“Look at you, throwing your rock-star weight around,” I joked.
“Yeah, I’m a big bad rock star now. Bow down to me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I remember having this exact conversation when you took me to get my tattoo. I didn’t bow then, and I won’t do it now.”
He laughed. “I thought you might have hated me back then. It was so fun to mess with you.”
“I never hated you. I just didn’t like you.”
Okay, that was a lie. Even then, I’d known that I was falling for this beautiful man. I just wasn’t willing to admit that.
“Do you remember the time when we went with Amber and Logan to that dance club? Logan got wasted, and we had to drag him to his dorm room,” I said.
“I remember that night, but it wasn’t because I got to feel up Logan. I distinctly remember feeling you up,” he said, still staring straight ahead.
I could never forget that night. It was the first time when I’d gotten a real chance to feel Drake’s body against my own. That was a memory that would always be burned into my brain.
“I remember,” I whispered, still thinking about the feel of his hands on me.
“We’ll have to do that again sometime.” He smirked at me.
“I thought we were taking it slow,” I countered.
“We are. We weren’t together back then, and you had no problem grinding your ass against my dick.”
He looked at me with lust-filled eyes that I hadn’t seen in a long time. I squeezed my legs together, surprised at how turned-on I felt from just his words. I was the one who had made the let’s-go-slow rule, yet here I was, aching for his touch. It had obviously been way too long since I’d had sex. When I added the time up in my head, I realized that it had been over nine months since we’d been together. It was no wonder I was acting like a horny teenage boy.
My stomach clenched as I wondered if it had been as long for Drake. I hadn’t asked if he’d been with anyone when we were apart. I was afraid of the answer he would give me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing how quiet I’d become.
“Nothing,” I lied.
“I know you well enough to know when something’s bothering you, so tell me. We’re starting over, remember? No more secrets.”
I bit my lip, wondering how on earth I was supposed to ask him if he’d been faithful to me. “I…it’s just…well, were you with anyone while we were apart?”
He tensed. “I wondered when this conversation would come up. I wasn’t with anyone, but…”
Oh no, there was a but. I was afraid to ask, but I had to. “But what?”
He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. “Right before I went into rehab, the band and I went to this club. I had too much to drink, and I was already high. A girl approached me, and she looked so much like you that I thought it was you.”
“What happened?” I whispered.
“I don’t remember it all, but I do know that I ended up in a back alley with her.” He glanced over at me. “Nothing happened, I swear. I kissed her, but that was it. I kept calling her Chloe, and she got pissed off and left my drunk ass there.”
I shocked us both by giggling. I threw my hands over my mouth to stifle the sound.
His eyes widened in shock. “That wasn’t the reaction I had expected.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just so funny. The poor girl thought she’d landed a rock star, and you couldn’t even remember her name.” I laughed even though there was nothing funny about picturing him with someone else in an alley.
He chuckled. “I’m glad you find it more amusing than she did. The stupid skank left me nearly unconscious in a back alley by myself. Luckily, the guys and Jade came looking for me, and they got me back to my room.”
“Was it bad?” I asked.
“When we were apart?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, it was bad. I don’t really want to talk about it while I’m driving. I want to focus solely on us when we have that conversation, okay?”
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“Don’t ever be sorry for asking me something. I promise that I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, but not while I’m going seventy miles per hour down the interstate.” He took my hand and held it up to his lips to kiss. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Glad to hear it. You know, I have to ask, too. Have you been with anyone since me?”
I glanced over at him. He was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white.
“I haven’t. I went on a few dates, but I wasn’t interested in anyone but you. You’ve ruined me for life.”
He smiled as he eased his grip on the steering wheel. “You have no idea how happy that makes me. Every minute of every day, I wondere
d about what you were doing. I thought I was going to go nuts from picturing you with other guys.”
I raised an eyebrow. Was he serious right now? I wasn’t the one who was constantly surrounded by people throwing themselves at me.
He must have noticed the look on my face. “Okay, maybe you do know what I’m talking about.”
“Um, yeah, I do.”
We spent the rest of the drive to our first stop in silence as if we were both afraid to say something wrong. It seemed like we were teetering on the tip of an iceberg. With one wrong move, we’d come crashing down into a cold and unforgiving ocean of pain. I didn’t know about him, but I didn’t want to crash and burn. I wanted us to learn to trust again.
It was late evening when we exited the interstate and pulled into a small hotel. It was no Hilton, but it wasn’t a hole-in-the-wall motel either. The lobby was clean and brightly lit with an older man sitting at the reception desk.
“Can I help you?” he asked as we walked up to him.
Drake glanced at me. “Do you want one room or two?”
I’d never even thought about that question. We were supposed to be taking it slow, and while sleeping next to one another wasn’t something major, it also wasn’t slow.
“Why don’t we get a room with two beds? I suggested, happy with the compromise I’d come up with.
“Works for me.” Drake turned back to the man in front of us. “One room, two beds.”
The man tapped on his keyboard for a few seconds before frowning. “I’m sorry, but we are out of double-bed rooms. I do have two rooms with one bed available if you’d like.”
Well, crap. Drake glanced at me and gave me a questioning look. I didn’t know what to do.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” I said.
There—I was off the hook. Drake could decide how we slept.
He shrugged and turned back to the clerk. “We’ll take one of those rooms then.”
I hid a smile. I’d secretly hoped that he would say that.
The clerk took Drake’s credit card. After he charged the room to it, he handed it back with two key cards. “Here you go. You’re on the first floor. Just go down that hallway there, and it’s the third door on the right.”
Tainted Page 10
