Drake stepped away from her and closed his eyes. He counted to ten inside his head before staring at her. Again, they were back to that fucking pussy. He wasn’t going to let Sean get between them. No matter how often she threw that shit in his face. He didn’t need to keep on telling her the same thing. One day soon, Sean would show his true colors and when he did, Drake would accept Pru with open arms.
“Are you done?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m done. I really think you should take me home.”
“Not going to happen. Not on my watch.” He folded his arms and stared at her. “My parents will destroy us. They have the power to and can do it easily. You think I don’t want to run away with you? All I can think about every second of every day is how I can spend time with you. This isn’t easy for me either.”
“It’s not easy for either of us.”
“Here’s the thing, Pru. I’m in love with you,” he said.
She gasped and put a hand to her face in shock.
“Yeah, I know. It surprised me as well.”
“We promised each other not to develop those feelings, Drake. You shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I can’t help the way I feel. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. It’s hard for me when you constantly talk about what a good guy Sean is. You think there are times I don’t feel ashamed? Jealous?”
“Why would you be jealous of him? There is nothing to fear with him.”
He laughed. “He gets to hold you in front of everyone. He gets to be the guy by your side. He knows you, and what do I get?”
“You get all of me, Drake,” she said.
“Do I? We’re always fighting about the same thing. No, I can’t walk away. I’ve seen my parents in action. I know what they’re capable of and I know what they will do to you, your parents, and even me. They have all the power here. We won’t ever be able to run from them. They have all the power and we have nothing. I don’t want to lose you but unless you can come to me with some compromise, come May, we’re done.” He didn’t like how much it broke his heart to say it. He didn’t want either of them to be done. They had so much to give.
“I … Drake?”
“I don’t want you to tell me an answer now. I know it’s a hard decision to make. Yes, one day I could be married to someone else, but there is also a chance that I could become stronger than them. I could make sure they don’t hurt either of us and then we can live happily ever after.” He stepped back up to her and cupped her face, tilting her head back. “I know it’s what I want. For you and me to have a chance. Don’t you ever wonder what it could be like?”
“All the time,” she said. “Then I feel like I’m living in a fairytale land.”
“No. I think we’ve got a chance. You’ve just got to learn to trust me. Can you do that?”
“I don’t doubt you or your ability, Drake.”
Her lips were just too tempting to let go. Leaning down, he took possession of her mouth and she let out a little moan as he sank his fingers into her hair, holding her in place as he kissed her, deepening it. Sliding his tongue across her lips, he moved her back until she was sandwiched between the counter and his body.
Banding her arms around his neck, she cried out as he lifted her, pulling her against his body. He made sure she felt the hard ridge of his cock.
“Drake?”
“I know. I’m not going to do anything. I promise.”
Not until her birthday.
“Please,” she said.
“Don’t beg me, Pru. I can’t handle it when you beg so nicely.”
“I want you.”
He growled. Breaking from the kiss, he trailed his lips down to her neck but he kept his hands at her waist. “I promised myself I was going to be a good boy with you.”
She giggled. “I’m giving you permission and you want to be a good boy?” she asked.
“Always. I’ve hurt you enough and I promised myself no matter what, I would wait. This is me waiting for you.” He stroked her hair back. “You’re so beautiful.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No, I’m really not. You may not believe this, Pru, but you’ve changed me in ways no one else ever could.” He was speaking the truth. There was no one else in the world who could make him feel this way.
They had fought so much and he wasn’t even talking about the bullying all those years ago. No, he was talking about their constant bickering. How neither of them would ever back down. He knew if this had been with anyone else, he’d have quit long ago, but no one he’d ever known was quite like Pru.