A new thought pounds inside my head.
Jasmine is pursuing him, he wants to avoid that complication with an employee, so he needs me to keep him distracted.
The thought isn’t unreasonable—after all, we slept together when I was an employee. Upset that he might want Jasmine the way he’d wanted me, I almost suggest we turn around and head back. Then, not ready to give up yet, I get a better idea. “Let’s race.”
Drake stops mid-stride. “What?”
I point to a spot in the distance. “To that rise up ahead.”
He looks to where I’m pointing, then meets my gaze. “Why?”
I lift my chin. “The winner will be in charge of the loser’s day tomorrow.”
He folds his arms across his chest. “I’m flying back to Reno tomorrow.”
“I guess that depends.”
He tilts his head. “On what?”
“On whether or not you win.”
Laughter bursts from his mouth. “You know I’m much faster than you, right?”
“Why are you still talking?” I ask, then I dash away, determined to win this race. I’m small, and my legs are definitely shorter than his, but I can be fast when I want to be. And if I win, I’ll confiscate his phone and make sure he can’t talk to Jasmine for the entire day.
Maybe that won’t make a difference in the long run, but it will at least give me a chance to see if there’s anything between us anymore.
“You want a head start?” he calls after me. “Fine.”
His footsteps pound behind me, but I resist the temptation to see how close he is, focusing on going as fast as I can. The rise is within reach, Drake is right behind me, and I climb the hill. But just as I’m about to reach the finish line, a tree root jumps across my path and grabs my foot, and I go down hard.
Drake’s momentum takes him past me and to the finish line, but seconds later he’s beside me.
“Ashley, are you okay?” he asks as he bends over me.
“I can’t breathe,” I gasp, trying to draw air into my oxygen-starved lungs. Not only did I get the wind knocked out of me, but I’d been going pell-mell, which had sucked the breath out of me before I’d even fallen.
Drake places his hands on my arms in an attempt to help me stand, but his touch sends a jolt of electricity through me and I gasp loudly. Hoping he’ll think it’s due to my desperation to breathe, I let him help me up.
“You’re bleeding,” he says.
I follow his gaze to my right knee, which has taken the brunt of my fall, and see blood spreading across my kneecap. “Great,” I mutter as my lungs begin to fill with blessed air.
He helps me sit on a rock, then he kneels in front of me. “Not to worry. I brought a first-aid kit.”
I can’t hold back a laugh. “You brought a first-aid kit? Really? What for?”
A smug smile lifts his mouth as he points to my bloody knee. “For this, obviously.”
“You’re telling me you knew I’d fall and scrape my knee.”
“Either that or get bitten by a snake.”
At the mention of snakes, my gaze shoots towards the nearby bushes, but nothing seems to be slithering within, so I turn back to Drake, who is rummaging through his backpack. “What else do you have in there?”
He pulls out the first-aid kit with a smile, then looks inside his pack. “An emergency blanket, a small flashlight, matches, a compass, a nylon rope, and a picnic dinner.”
My eyes narrow. “Are you a boy scout?”
He looks at me and laughs. “I may have earned a merit badge or two back in the day.”
My eyebrows rise. “That explains a lot.”
He sits back on his heels. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Like you knowing first-aid.”
“Why do you think I know first-aid?”
“You knew what to do when I twisted my ankle.” The memory hits me hard and sharp, and my voice softens. “At your cabin.”
Thirty
DRAKE
The reminder of how we met brings on feelings of hope and regret—hope that we can rekindle what we once had, and regret that I let our relationship go off the rails in the first place. Maybe I even pushed it there by being overly defensive of my attraction to Jasmine.
Yes, I admit it. I was attracted to Jasmine—who wouldn’t be? But I’m past that now.
Once Ashley had agreed that we should date other people, I’d realized I didn’t want to. But now it might be too late.
No, it’s not too late. You saw her reluctance to say she wanted to go back to her parents’ house. If she had no interest in you, she would have jumped at the offer.
Fresh hope that there could be a future for us springs to life within me, and I gaze up at her as she waits for me to tend to her knee.
“You’re right,” I say, eager to have an excuse to touch her, even if it’s only to administer aid. “I did learn some first-aid in the boy scouts.” I laugh. “It’s a good thing too. You’re kind of accident-prone, aren’t you?”
Her lips purse. “That tree root came out of nowhere.”
I gently wipe an antiseptic towelette across her knee, making her flinch, but she holds still. I place my other hand on her calf to steady her leg, and when I feel her smooth skin, desire surges through me and I want to kiss her. Hard. “Speaking of the race,” I say to distract myself as I glance at her. “I think I won.”
ASHLEY
I want to argue, but I’m too distracted by his close proximity and the feel of his gentle touch against my skin. The damp pad he’s using to clean my scraped knee stings, but the firm grip of his other hand against the back of my leg diverts my attention.
Then I remember why it was so important for me to win—to keep him from talking to Jasmine for an entire day. I decide to argue my case. “I think we should have another race.”
He stops mid-wipe and stares at me. “Why? So you can scrape your other knee, or maybe break a bone?”
“I’m not that fragile.”
“Or maybe you can just agree that I won, fair and square.”
I release a puff of air. “That was not fair and square.” I press my lips together. “I fell.”
He goes back to work cleaning my knee. “Have you ever watched the summer Olympics?”
“Of course.”
“What happens if a runner falls during a race? Do they stop the race and say they need to start over?”
I can see where he’s going with this and I don’t like it, and I know I can’t fight it. “Fine. You win.”
He lifts his gaze to meet mine. “Good.” A wide grin spreads across his face. “That means I get to control your schedule for the entire day.”
“What about your flight?”
“Flights can be changed.”
“I’m supposed to work tomorrow.”
He cocks his head. “What if you’d won the race? Were you going to make me sit beside you while you worked all day?”
Good point. “Maybe.”
“Well, the race was your idea. I won, so now you have to spend the day the way I want.”
A thrill of anticipation erupts within me, but I put on my poker face. “Okay. I guess that’s fair.”
“Yes it is.” He focuses back on my knee, and soon the sting has diminished to a dull ache, and a wide bandage covers the wound. Drake strokes the area around my knee as he gazes at me. “All set.”
My eyes are locked on his, and I desperately want him to kiss me, but then I decide I should make him work for it. Dating other people had been his idea. Even though he’d admitted at my parents’ house that suggesting it had been a mistake, he needs to know that he can’t switch things up on me like that, then expect me to jump back into his arms.
“Thank you,” I say.
He stands and looks down at me as I sit on the rock. “How does it feel?”
I stretch out my right leg, testing the tenderness of my scrape. “Not too bad.”
“Good.”
He holds out his hand, and
when our fingers touch, a current seems to pass between us. Barely managing to hold back a gasp, I gaze into his eyes and think I see my feelings reflected there, but I’m afraid to let myself go there.
With a smile, he tugs me upward, and I stand and face him.
DRAKE
With Ashley standing so close to me, it’s all I can do not to haul her against me and kiss her with wild abandon. Her eyes sparkle, drawing me in, and I don’t want to break our gaze.
A moment later, she does, and I’m almost glad. I don’t want to move too fast—I feel like I need to build her trust in me.
“I think I should be able to walk just fine,” she says as she takes a few steps.
“Do you hurt anywhere else? Do you want to head back?”
“I may end up with a bruise or two, but I’ll be fine.” She looks up the trail, then smiles at me. “I’d like to continue.”
With sternness, I say, “As long as we’re done racing.”
She redoes her ponytail as she stares at me. “You’re just afraid I’ll win next time.”
I laugh. “There won’t be a next time.”
“Uh-huh.” She points at me. “That’s fear right there.”
I shake my head as I chuckle. “Let’s go.”
We set off again and I start thinking about how I want to spend the next day.
She’ll have to go wherever I want.
Wicked thoughts fill my mind, but as I glance at Ashley as she walks beside me, I decide that what I want most is to simply be with her. I want to convince her that she can trust me, that if I tell her I’m committed to her, that she won’t have to worry about me when I’m around other women. Ever.
Her arms swing by her sides, and I want to take her hand, but I hold back, wanting to take it slow, wanting to make sure she’ll believe my intentions.
What are your intentions, Drake?
The warm evening air drifts over me, and I consider the question.
Do you see yourself with Ashley long-term? Or is this feeling of love so new to you that you’re caught up in it?
I don’t want to do or say anything I’ll later regret—been there, done that—but I also don’t want to hold back if I’m ready to take things to the next level.
What is the next level?
Terror gushes through me as the answer blares into my mind.
Marriage.
The word shocks me into stopping, and my gaze darts into the trees, almost as if I want to flee the idea.
“Why’d you stop?” Ashley asks as she stands beside me.
“Uh, I’m thirsty.” I smile at her as I regain my equilibrium. “Are you?”
“Yes.” She holds up her empty bottle. “Do you have another one?”
Glad for something to do, I take the backpack off of my shoulders and exchange her empty bottle for a full one. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
I watch her press her lips to the neck of the bottle and want those full and luscious lips pressed to my mouth.
Patience, Drake. Patience.
I think about the period of time when we’d decided not to sleep together until we’d decided if our relationship was serious or not. It had been difficult, but when we’d finally made the commitment, our lovemaking had been sweeter and more satisfying than it had ever been before.
I gulp down several mouthfuls of water, watching Ashley as I drink. She is oblivious to the effect she’s having on me.
Marriage.
The word fills my mind again, but I push it away. I’m not ready to consider that step yet.
“Are you ready to eat the picnic dinner I brought?” I ask.
She smiles. “Yes.”
We find a nearby spot to sit, and after laying out the food, we talk comfortably while we eat. When we’re done, I gather the trash and put it in my backpack. “The sun’s going to set soon. We should probably start heading back.”
She gazes towards the glowing orb. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
We turn and begin walking back the way we came.
“That’s one of my favorite things about summer,” she says. “The longer days.”
“Yes.” I grin at her. “Which means we can get started bright and early tomorrow morning.”
Thirty-One
ASHLEY
My heart stutters at Drake’s pronouncement.
He really seems to be excited about spending the day with me.
Immensely pleased that I came up with the idea of the race—despite my scraped knee—I smile at him and wonder how we’ll spend our day. Then I think about how I’m going to explain to my boss that I won’t be working.
“Don’t you have meetings tomorrow?” I ask Drake, knowing his schedule is usually jam-packed.
“Nothing I can’t move around.” His brow wrinkles. “What about you? I don’t want to screw up your job.”
I love my job, but I’m not about to pass up the opportunity to have Drake all to myself for an entire day—not after the depressing ten days I’ve just been through. “You’re not trying to back out already, are you?”
He laughs. “I’m just thinking of you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. I don’t want you to get fired.”
“If I do,” I say with one eyebrow cocked. “I know a CEO who might hire me.”
Drake’s expression falters. “Yeah. We’d have to talk about that.”
I gently shove him. “I’m just kidding. I don’t want to work for you.” Although I can’t deny the pull of seeing him everyday at the office, I know it would be the end of our relationship, and I definitely don’t want that.
His expression smoothes out. “Seriously though, I don’t want to cause you any trouble.” He hesitates. “Maybe we should work during the day and just get together afterwards.”
I can feel our day slipping away. “You’re not getting out of it that easily.” For good measure, I laugh, then say, “I’m sure my job won’t be in danger. I’m allowed to take a day off once in a while.” I look at him pointedly. “As are you.”
“Okay then. It’s settled.” He smirks in my direction. “What time do you want to start this grand adventure?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I’d say early.”
“Early? What does that mean to you? For me that would be somewhere around five in the morning.”
A grimace forms on my mouth. “That’s a little too early for me. I was thinking more like seven.”
“Okay. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
We begin climbing a slight incline, but with the sun setting, the temperature isn’t too hot, and we keep a steady pace.
“What should I wear?” I ask.
His gaze slides over me, making my skin tingle. “Hmm,” he says. “Something like what you have on now should be fine.”
“Okay.”
As we near the end of the trail, the sun dips below the horizon, putting on a spectacular display of oranges, yellows, and pinks.
“Look at that,” I say as I point to the gorgeous colors. “Isn’t it beautiful?” I turn to Drake to see if he’s looking at the sunset, but his eyes are locked on me.
“Yes,” he murmurs. “Beautiful.”
My lips part, and I can’t tear my gaze away from his—it’s as if he’s looking into my very soul.
Kiss me.
The thought fills my mind, and I nearly hold my breath as I wait to see what he’s going to do.
This time it’s my phone that rings. “I’m not going to answer that,” I murmur. But it’s too late. The spell is broken.
Drake smiles. “I’m glad I’m not the only one whose phone rings when I’m on a date.”
The mention of his earlier call from Jasmine rubs me the wrong way. “At least I didn’t answer.”
He nods. “Good point.” Then he tilts his head. “Tell you what. Why don’t we leave our phones behind tomorrow?”
I would like nothing better, and I eagerly agree.
We finish our hike, and when we cl
imb into Drake’s rental, he turns to me and says, “Since we’re going to spend the day playing tomorrow, I need to get a little work done tonight.” Guilt flashes across his face. “Is it okay if we call it a night?”
“That’s fine. I can get some work done as well.” I laugh. “And then I won’t feel so bad about playing hooky tomorrow.”
A short time later we pull up to my parents’ house, and after walking me to the door, Drake runs his fingers along the curve of my jaw. “I’ll see you at seven.”
I nod. “I’ll be ready.”
With a grin, he adds, “Make sure you’re hungry.” Then he turns and walks away.
I watch him drive away, then I go inside and close the door.
“You’re back,” Mom says. “How was your evening?”
I smile at her and Dad. “It was wonderful. We went on a hike, and the sunset was absolutely stunning.”
“What happened to your knee?” Dad asks, pointing to the bandage.
“I fell and scraped it. But it’s fine.”
“You seem happy,” Mom says. “Anything new to report?”
I laugh at her perceptiveness. “Well, actually, we’re going to spend the day together tomorrow.”
“Oh?”
“What about your job?” Dad asks, ever the practical one.
“I’m going to get some work done tonight, so it will be fine.” I hope that’s true. In all reality, I’m a little nervous about asking for the day off at the last minute. Still, I have every intention of making this day with Drake happen.
“Okay,” he says.
“I’m glad to see you happy, sweetheart,” Mom says.
Dad nods in agreement, and I kiss them good-night before going into my room. Before I begin working, I check my phone to see who called earlier and discover it was Emily.
Silently cursing her for interrupting our near-kiss, I’m also eternally grateful she gave Drake my parents’ address. I call her and fill her in on everything that’s happened, ending with the news of our daylong date the next day.
“Well,” she says, “that’s a very interesting development.”
Drake and Ashley: The Complete Story Page 42
