He skimmed his hands under my silk nighty and stroked my nipples until they hardened. I couldn’t wait any longer; I needed him. I flipped him back off me and straddled him, releasing his hard-on from his briefs. I quickly slid them off and kissed him hard.
“Molly,” he groaned. I hushed him and lowered my body so my lips could wrap around him. He moaned as I tasted him, leaving him completely breathless.
After I was done, he scooped me up and flattened me against the bed. He lifted my legs up and back to my shoulders and entered in me deep. I tried to hold back my screams, but I couldn’t.
“Oh, Drake…” I moaned against him as he brushed his lips with mine.
Drake lifted me up once again and wrapped my legs around him. He leaned me up against a wall and dropped my legs down to the floor. He kissed me passionately before turning me around, bending me over slightly and entering me again.
We made love around my room for hours. I couldn’t get enough of him. He was my soul mate, my best friend, and my lover. I never wanted to be apart from him. Ever.
CHAPTER 18
The following day was another classroom day. I knew I would have to face Travis sometime; I just didn’t know if I was ready yet. I tried to remain calm as I walked into the classroom. I held my breath until I noticed Travis wasn’t there. This is weird. Travis was always on time.
I couldn’t help but have Travis on my mind as Mr. Cooper started his presentation, and Travis still hadn’t shown up. Was he skipping because of me? Was he okay? I started to feel awful that I had ignored him.
Lunch break finally arrived, and I desperately checked my phone, hoping for a text from Travis. Nothing. My phone beeped, and I jumped checking it.
Come to my office after your class, beautiful. I need to see you. – Drake
My heart instantly fluttered at the thought of Drake. Last night couldn’t have been more perfect. Any feelings I thought I felt for Travis were forgotten as soon as I was in Drake’s arms. I tried to make sense of what I felt when I kissed Travis, but I think I was just in the moment. Travis was my friend. I still loved him as a friend and I wanted to continue the semester working next to him.
I texted Drake, telling him I’d meet him after my class, and was looking forward to it. Really looking forward to it. I decided to take a long shot and text Travis to make sure he was okay.
Travis, where are you? – Molly
Home. – Travis
Are you okay? Are you sick? – Molly
Yeah, something like that. – Travis
What’s wrong? – Molly
Travis never texted me back after that. I knew in my gut what was wrong. I had broken his heart when after our make out session, I hadn’t even had the decency to talk to him. My stomach turned, and I felt sick.
Please, Travis. I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me. –Molly
I could never be mad at you, Molly. –Travis
Then tell me what’s wrong. Please. I’ll listen. –Molly
The thought of seeing you again and not being able to touch you or kiss you or even talk to you is breaking my heart, Molly. I just needed a day to think. –Travis
My heart broke into pieces after I read that. I was the reason he was hurting. I should have realized sooner that Travis had feelings for me, but I dismissed them as just being a protective and caring friend. Obviously, I was wrong. Very wrong.
I’m so sorry, Travis. Please believe me when I say I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t realize you had feelings for me until the other day. In fact, I didn’t realize I was attracted to you until that moment. I thought we were just friends. Can we please go back to that? –Molly
I don’t just have feelings for you, Molly. I’m in love with you. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we bumped into each other at the café. You are always on my mind. I’m sorry I crossed a line. If all we can be is friends, then I’ll take it. I’ll take you anyway I can get you. – Travis
My heart sunk. In love with me? Holy shit. I couldn’t believe the words that he just sent me. I could already feel the goose bumps rising on my arms and the back of my neck. I was happy he still wanted to be friends with me, but it was going to be awkward knowing how he felt about me.
Of course, we can still be friends Travis. I just want things to return to normal, ok? I need you to help me kick ass the rest of this semester! Plus, we’re round teammates. We need to practice! –Molly
Don’t worry. I’ve got your back, Mols! See you Monday. Have a good weekend! –Travis
I smiled as we finally agreed to be friends and return to normal. I was so relieved that we could still work together and hopefully there wouldn’t be any awkward tension.
After class, I walked up to Drake’s office and was stunned when he wasn’t alone.
“Hello…” I said slowly, as I shut the door behind me.
“Hi, Molly, come in.” Drake was talking to me with a business tone.
I sat down in his office chair and turned it to face the others sitting on the couch. I was confused about what was going on and felt extremely uncomfortable.
“What’s going on?” I asked quietly. I was hoping this didn’t have anything to do with our pictures still, since I was finally getting over all of that.
“Miss Woods, it is a pleasure to finally meet you personally,” Alistair greeted me. It was Drake’s father. I smiled as he continued, “I wanted to say how well you managed during the social media blow out and to thank you for keeping everything confidential. It has come to my attention what a wonderful student and chef-in-training you are, and I’d like to talk about potential opportunities here at the Riverside.”
My face turned beet red. I didn’t want any favors, and it wasn’t because I was ungrateful, I just wanted my work to show for itself. “Thank you, Mr. Stagliano, I truly appreciate it.”
“After graduation, we are looking to add two more chefs to our kitchen line. I was hoping you would join our team.” Alistair smiled at me and then up at Drake. Of course, I wanted the position. It was my dream job.
“I appreciate that, Mr. Stagliano, I really do. But I want to get the position by myself. I don’t want to get in because I’m the manager’s girlfriend,” I said softly, making sure I wasn’t coming off rude.
“Molly,” Drake intervened. “It will be because of your work. You are in the top five of your class, and you show great potential.” I smiled back at him like I half believed him.
After a few more exchanges, Alistair and his business partner Niguel departed, leaving us to discuss my options with Drake. I was completely taken aback that Drake would just put me in a meeting like that without giving me any sort of heads-up.
“Molly, you have amazing talent. Please don’t think this is only because of me. You have worked hard for this opportunity.” Drake leaned in to hold me tight to his chest.
“Drake, you should have warned me. I looked like a total idiot in front of them. You know I don’t want any favors. I want to do this myself.” I pushed back slightly, trying to break us apart. “You basically ambushed me.”
“Don’t think of it like that, baby. It isn’t a favor. It’s a gesture to show that you stand out from your peers. You should be happy.” He tried to pull me back in.
“I am flattered, Drake, really I am. But how is it going to look seeing Drake Stagliano’s skanky ass girlfriend who puts out in the kitchen all of a sudden get hired on as a chef. I want to do this myself. I want to prove to myself and to everyone else that I did this on my own.” And with that, I separated us completely. He looked at me, speechless, as I grabbed my things and walked out.
Drake didn’t bother to follow me as he could tell I was upset and needed some time. I wanted the job more than anything, but I didn’t want it handed to me. I wanted to know that someday when I ran my own restaurant it was because I struggled to get there, I worked my ass off, and I did it. Unrealistic as it may sound, I didn’t want help. I had to do this myself.
Drake left a few messages for
me that night, but I just texted him back that I didn’t feel like talking. He was respectful and left me alone. I was a swirl of emotions, between Drake, the job, Travis… everything. When did everything become so complicated?
The following morning, Michael took Stella to Millennium Park for the day. I wasn’t up for going so I crawled back into bed, wallowing in my worries. My head wouldn’t stop spinning; I just wanted to make sense of it all. Was I making things complicated? Is it silly that I just couldn’t allow others to help me? I was so used to doing everything myself with little help—It was hard to accept anyone else who reached out. Michael and I have been best friends for years, and he was basically the only person besides Liam that I got help from.
I dozed in and out of sleep for a few hours before I heard a knock on the door. Looking at the clock, I saw it was almost noon and wondered who it could possibly be. Drake hadn’t texted me since last night, but I kind of hoped it would be him anyway.
“Travis?” I took a step back, completely stunned to see him.
“Molly, I needed to see you.” He looked like shit. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess, but sexy at the same time. The just out of bed look was hot on him.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked, gesturing him inside. I was still in my yoga shorts and t-shirt, feeling a little uncomfortable. We had resolved everything the night before—at least I thought we had.
“No, Molly.” He walked to the kitchen, slightly rubbing against me. My body betrayed me and shivered at his touch. “I don’t want to just be friends with you.” He turned to face me as I leaned up against the kitchen island. “I’m so in love with you.” He stepped toward me but paused, inches away from my face.
I froze in place as he stood in front of me. I was arguing with myself about whether or not to kiss him. Part of me wanted to jump him right then and there but I knew I’d regret it later. How does he have this impact on me? Frustrated with myself, I just stared at him, hoping he would make a move, or not make a move, or say something.
“Molly, I know you are with someone else. But a part of me doesn’t care.” I could hear the pain in his voice. He brushed a hand through his hair, obviously frustrated. “I just needed to tell you. I love you and I want you. I won’t do anything against your will. If you say we are just friends, then we’re just friends, okay?” He leaned in close once again, rubbing his hand against my cheek. My eyes closed as I felt his fingertips on my skin. “I know you feel something, Molly. You quiver every time I touch you.”
I opened my eyes and just stared at him. Why, why, why? I didn’t know what to say. I am in love with Drake, but I do feel something for Travis. It was undeniable.
“Travis…” I began, trying to figure out what to say. “I do feel something.” He perked up a small smile. “But I can’t act on those feelings. I’m sorry.” His face instantly sunk as he realized I was letting him down easy.
“I understand, Molly,” he said reassuringly. I nodded as he backed up slightly but leaned down to kiss my cheek. “I just needed to tell you. I’ll see you Monday.” He turned and let himself out the door.
* * *
As I sat at the dining room table, thinking about the day, I could still feel my heart racing from Travis’ unexpected visit this afternoon. I didn’t know what to think. I’ve never had feelings for two guys at the same time. Hell, before Drake, I’d never had feelings for anyone besides Liam. This was all too new for me to fully digest.
I heard Michael and Stella walk through the door and was relieved when I noticed they brought back Chinese takeout. Perfect timing.
“What’s wrong with you?” Michael questioned as I ate in silence.
“Men.” I sighed.
“Can’t live with them, but we can’t live without them.”
“Yeah…” I mumbled.
After dinner and tucking Stella in for the night, I decided it was time to call Drake and tell him the truth about everything.
“Hi,” I said as Drake answered his phone.
“Molly! I’m so happy you called,” he said, exuberant. Apparently not talking to him was making him crazy.
“We need to talk. Can you come over later?”
“Sure, baby. I can be there in an hour.”
“Okay, see you then.” I sighed as we hung up, anxious to talk to him, nervous he’d be pissed once he found out.
An hour later, Drake showed up with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of white wine. Damn him for being so thoughtful. “I’ve missed you so much, Molly,” Drake said as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I missed you, too,” I mumbled as he kissed my lips.
This man didn’t deserve to be hurt, and I felt awful knowing that telling him about Travis would probably put him in a rage. He opened the bottle of wine and poured us a couple of glasses. It was so good to see him, but I couldn’t enjoy our time together until he knew the truth.
“Drake, we need to talk…”
“Molly,” he interrupted. “I shouldn’t have done that. At least I should have talked to you about it first. I’m so sorry I got involved.” He brushed his fingers on my cheeks, holding me in close. “I just love you and wanted to help you, but I shouldn’t have crossed those boundaries.”
“Drake, it’s all right. I’m not mad about that anymore. I realized I was overreacting. You just wanted to help me, and I get that.” I looked up into his piercing, dark eyes. His eyes were soft yet intimidating. “I have not had anyone in my life before who looked out for my best interests. This is all so new to me,” I confessed.
“I understand, sweetheart. Next time, I swear, I will speak to you about anything first. Whatever you want, okay?”
“Sounds great.” I smiled. “But I have to talk to you about something kind of serious.” I instantly frowned, as I was going to have to relive everything.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, worried.
“Well…I need to tell you about someone. His name is Travis, and he’s in the internship program with me.” He nodded as he recognized the name. Of course, he is the one that looks through all the applicants.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of him. What about him?” he asked, pushing me to continue talking.
“Well, the week my program started, I ran into him at a café. Like I literally ran into him. I ended up breaking my phone. Anyway, it was just shortly after I met you and we were just getting to know each other,” I paused for a moment trying to slow my breathing. “He asked for my number so he could take me out to dinner as an apology for breaking my phone. I didn’t know how to tell him I was seeing someone or that I didn’t want to, so I just put a fake number in his phone. The following weekend, I ran into him again at the Children’s Museum when Michael and I took Stella. He was there with his son.”
“Is he stalking you, Molly?” I could hear concern in his voice.
“No, nothing like that. He asked me about my number not working and I told him I was seeing someone and that I wanted to see where it went. He understood and I honestly never expected to see him again,” I swallowed at the memory of seeing him there. “But then, Monday, there he was in my class. Apparently, he had gotten into the program late and was in the same internship program with me. We were friends and when the photos of us leaked, he was like a big brother and protected me from all the comments and stares in class. He even helped disguise me so we could walk to lunch.”
Drake stopped me. “Why are you just now telling me about this Travis guy? He seems a little too close for comfort.” He narrowed his eyes on me.
“I never brought it up because he’s just a friend. I didn’t know how you would react to having a guy friend. I mean, I never really had girlfriends and I haven’t dated in years, so I didn’t know what you would say,” I confessed, hoping that was a suitable explanation. “Well, we took Stella and Jacob to the Shedd Aquarium one weekend, and he only acted as a friend. He never crossed a line and it was nice letting Stella play with someone her age.”
Drake crossed hi
s arms as if he was waiting to hear of devastation. Without a response from him, I continued. “So one Friday night when Stella had her sleepover, Travis called me and invited me out with his friends. He was really protective of me and didn’t let any guy near me. In fact, I tripped, of course, and one of his friends caught me, except he ended up grabbing my chest because I was literally falling into him. Travis misread the situation and punched his friend right in the face. After that, I told Travis we were just friends and that I didn’t need protecting. He admitted to overreacting and everything was fine.”
I paused again letting everything sink. “So one night after class, Travis and I stayed late to study for rounds. We had been practicing recipes and quizzing each other. And I’ll leave out the details, but he kissed me.” My face fell as I said those last three words. I didn’t know how Drake would react, but I knew it would be painful to see.
“He kissed you?” he asked making sure he heard me right. Oh, shit.
“Yeah…”
“Did you kiss him back?”
“Yes. But I didn’t mean to. It just happened. I pushed him away and walked out the door,” I said, trying to reassure him of the situation. I didn’t need him worrying that it would happen again.
“Has he kissed you since?” He demanded to know.
“No, we talked about it and I told him I’m in love with you, and that we can only be friends. He understood and everything was fine. But then…” I paused to think how I would say this next part.
“But then what, Molly?”
“Then he came over this morning unannounced. I thought everything was back to normal between us. But he said he couldn’t just be my friend because he was in love with me, and that he wanted me. I told him that wasn’t a possibility. I told him we didn’t have that type of relationship, and that I could only be his friend.” I couldn’t look Drake in the eye. I knew they were burning into me. He was furious.
Alphas & Millionaires Starter Set Page 16
