“A Walker knows, when a Walker knows” Part Eight. Car trouble.
Book:The royal romance
Pairing: Drake Walker X F!MC (Riley Herreld)
Rating: 18+
Word count: 2.782
Series Summary: Fate interferes when Riley’s supposed to be working on that big Bachelor night. She gets drawn to Cordonia in another way. But what happens when a Workaholic, meet a Walker come together? Will they provide a Christmas miracle and get over their own love skepticism?
One way to find out!
Part eight. Summary: Drake drives Riley home in her deathtrap car, who finds herself struggling with her feelings as fluffy part after fluffy part of our so beloved marshmallow is revealed.
A/N:For everyone who takes time to read it, thank you!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged for this series A/N:Due to a very long chapter, overload on work and writing for two other series, I had to cut it in three. So first this one. Italian nights part one will release next saturday. A/N: Please excuse grammar mistakes. English is not my first language.
Category: Over the top a bit predictable Christmas fluff, with an edge.
Warnings: Swearing, Please do not read if you’re under 18.
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
A Walker knows, when a Walker knows.
Car trouble.
Still Sunday, five days before Christmas.
Drake arrives at her building after a thirty minutes car ride. He smiles softly, glancing at the woman on the passenger seat who’s still fast asleep, snuggling into his coat. He undoes his seatbelt, before gently brushing her cheek, “Herreld, hey, time to wake up.”
“Mmh,” she snuggles against his hand and her breathing turns steady again.
AHHH I AM SO SOFT FOR THESE TWO i wonder that situation might be And liam please run into liv and please don’t come until the next month PLEASE DON’T
I always looooove your comments!!! Heck, I’m going to hope with you that he’s running into liv!! Thank you soooooo much ;) for reading, commenting awesomely like you always do and sharing!! Don’t worry they will have a lot more fluff before Liam arrives ;)!!
“A Walker knows, when a Walker knows” Part Eight. Car trouble.
Book:The royal romance
Pairing: Drake Walker X F!MC (Riley Herreld)
Rating: 18+
Word count: 2.782
Series Summary: Fate interferes when Riley’s supposed to be working on that big Bachelor night. She gets drawn to Cordonia in another way. But what happens when a Workaholic, meet a Walker come together? Will they provide a Christmas miracle and get over their own love skepticism?
One way to find out!
Part eight. Summary: Drake drives Riley home in her deathtrap car, who finds herself struggling with her feelings as fluffy part after fluffy part of our so beloved marshmallow is revealed.
A/N:For everyone who takes time to read it, thank you!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged for this series A/N:Due to a very long chapter, overload on work and writing for two other series, I had to cut it in three. So first this one. Italian nights part one will release next saturday. A/N: Please excuse grammar mistakes. English is not my first language.
Category: Over the top a bit predictable Christmas fluff, with an edge.
Warnings: Swearing, Please do not read if you’re under 18.
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
A Walker knows, when a Walker knows.
Car trouble.
Still Sunday, five days before Christmas.
Drake arrives at her building after a thirty minutes car ride. He smiles softly, glancing at the woman on the passenger seat who’s still fast asleep, snuggling into his coat. He undoes his seatbelt, before gently brushing her cheek, “Herreld, hey, time to wake up.”
“Mmh,” she snuggles against his hand and her breathing turns steady again.
“Herreld,” he whispers, caught between her blushed cheek and soft hand. He’s not keen on disturbing the peaceful sight of her wrapped in his jacket, but it’s what’s best given the two nights of sleep she skipped, “I’m sorry, but you have to wake up!”
“Mmh,” She slowly opens her eyes, mumbling, “Are we here already?”
“Already?” Drake snorts softly, gently retrieving his hand, “It’s a miracle that we arrived at all considering the deathtrap you drive, Herreld.”
“Yeah,” she stretches, unabashedly yawning, “she keeps me on my toes this one!”
“Keeps you on your toes? Your engine gave up on life three times during a freaking thirty-minute ride. Tell me, how long is this scream for help blinking?” He taps onto the ‘maintenance needed’ indication light.
“Uhm, well you know… A while I guess…” Riley stumbles, “Does it really matter?”
Drake scoffs, “Nah, why would it matter? It’s for decoration purposes anyway. No function, just a pretty little addition to your dashboard.”
She tries to change the subject by bopping his nose, “Did you know that your nose slightly wrinkles when you’re being sarcastic, Drake? It’s cute.”
“Cute?” He scowls, “Wanna rephrase that, Miss Herreld?”
“Did you know that your nose slightly wrinkles when you’re being sarcastic? It looks so dangerous, tough, and terrifying, I don’t even dare to boop,” she tries to do it anyway, only to get stopped by a gentle hand on her wrist, “your nose.” She pouts, but Drake’s more prepared this time, “Are you done?”
“Fine… If you really want to know,” she slowly lowers her hand. “It’s round and about forty-seven months.”
“FOUR YEARS? It’s already blinking for four years? Oh God, talking about pure madness.”
“It is, but sometimes it is, what it is. "Her head falls back against the headrest. "I went to a garage two years ago, found out that my car was beyond saving. So, I bought a second-hand car, then found out that there was a family in my hallway who could put it to way better use than I did. They just had a baby, their car broke down. You know how it is. So, I was very lucky that the garage was willing to give me my old car back for free after tweaking it a bit.”
“But I guess you managed to find a way since we’re still sitting in this deathtrap?”
“Well, I may or may not have abused their sleep delusion due to a week-old baby, to trick them into signing a borrowing contract. They’re only allowed to return the car in exchange for a drawing created by their kid Emily-Rose, which has to be at least on the same level as a Picasso.” She chuckles, “I’ve been receiving art every day for the past year.”
“They’ve been trying to give your car back for over a year?” Drake laughs warmly, “Oh Herreld, please tell me, how hard has it been to lie about what you think of those drawings?”
“I’ve been rating all of them with cute little glitter drawings, and a note 'better than Picasso’s work.” She turns her head, cheek resting against the headrest as she glances him sideways, “I hide them in a binder in my closet to make sure her parents don’t find out.”
Drake matches her movement, booping her nose affectionately, “You’re officially something else, Herreld.”
The sincerity in his eyes makes her heart flutter, whispering, “Thank you, Drake.”
“Just calling it how I see it,” he shrugs, fingers tapping on the steering wheel, “But you know, I can always give this wreck a check-up if you want. I simply need a toolbox, duct tape, and I can fix almost anything with wheels.”
She chuckles, “There might not be enough duct tape in the world to save this car, Drake.”
“Do not underestimate the scary amount we have at the Palace, Herreld. I think I could wrap this whole car into a bouncing ball.”
“Even though I really want to see that, I simply cannot accept.”
“Okay,” He gently takes his hand in hers, “Let me specify. This is a 'this is going to happen rather than an 'up for discussion’ kind of situation, Herreld.”
“Interesting technique, Walker. But I do have a question…”
“Of course, you do, "He laughs, "I don’t even know why I ever expected you to accept help with a simple thank you…”
“Hey,” she smacks him teasingly against the arm, “I’m very capable of accepting help with a simple 'thank you! Thank you, very much.”
“Right and I’m a fairy godmother who’s going to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boothis car into a brand new one.”
She looks at him with wide eyes, biting her bottom lip before bursting into a full-blown belly laugh. “Hahaha, imagine you… hahaha…” He stares at the bundle of shaking adorableness as she’s not even capable of finishing her sentences, tears streaming down her cheeks, “Hahahaha…”
Drake feints being insulted, but seeing her laugh so freely, warmly, and fully makes his heart beat faster and faster. It’s Full-filling him with utter happiness, causing a broad smile to breakthrough no matter how hard he tries to stop or deny it. “Stop picturing me like a fairy godmother, Herreld…”
“But, hahaha, I’m seriously impressed by how fluent that Bibbidi flowed out of your mouth, Walker! I mean… there has to be a story here. I hope I’m not offending you, but you don’t strike me as a 'Cinderella-story’ guy.”
“Oh, no, no. I never got the appeal of the whole, commoner marries the prince stuff, but it was my sister’s favorite movie growing up, the one we always watched as she woke up scared in the middle of the night when our dad was on a mission…”
“Drake, that’s…” Her wide blues water, her hand clenching around his as her heart fills with warmth at the image of younger Drake so caring, so protective over his sister. Realizing that he must have been carrying so much all these years. When his dad was away from home to work, after his dad died, his mom moved back to Texas and leaving him alone with his sister.
How he must have tried to protect her, how powerless he must have felt after her running away. How he must have lived in uncertainty, but despite all that welcomed her, and Bartie back into his life with open arms anyway. Without blame, only making sure they’re safe and loved unconditionally.
This, and all she has seen tonight, all that she has heard over the past few months from Savannah, Maxwell and Bartie simply set her heart aflame. Oh no… Seriously… If you decide to fall for someone for the first time in your life… Don’t fall that for the most eligible Bachelor of Cordonia.
“Herreld, are you okay?”
Just let go of his hand.
“Herreld?”
I don’t want to let go of his hand.
“Captain Marshmallow for Sparkles.”
“Ha?” She snaps out of it, her hand still clenched around his. “I’m so sorry, Drake. I would’ve never laughed so loud If I have known the story behind it. I’m so, so, so sorry, it was so inconsiderate.“
He squeezes her hand, taken aback by her sincerity, "The only thing you need to apologize for, Herreld, is for apologizing because that’s the only crime if you have an enchanting laugh like that…”
Their eyes lock, and the air thickens as both lean towards each other like magnets.
“Drake,” she whispers, her heart on the brink of exploding, “That’s…” She swallows, realizing… I’m utterly, properly and sparkly fucked. Her eyes snap to his full lips so close to hers, licking hers briefly and feels control slipping out of her hands. Get your head out of the gutter, Riley. Come on. This guy is the whole package, heart of gold and just look at him. He’s constantly surrounded with models, gorgeous women at court, and you’re you. Simply you. Snap out of it. Don’t lose it. She shakes her head, snapping out of it and quickly blurting, “So, my question!”
Drake yanks himself backwards, thank full for her interruption since he was one second away from doing something really stupid. What the hell is happening? “Yes, question. You had a question. Thank God, for you having a question!”
“Alright,” Riley takes a deep breath to compose herself, “I understand that you fixing up my car is not up for discussion, buthow do you feel about discussing conditions?”
“Conditions?” He rubs his forehead to clear the fog, before giving her an impressed side-glance, “You’re a clever one, aren’t you? You know, I’m okay with negotiations about conditions! Please, the floor is yours.”
“Okay, one. You’re not allowed to spend a dime, and two… I want to do it together to learn something about cars.”
Drake looks at her in sincere surprise, “That’s it?”
“Yes, what did you expect? Me watching, while you fix the car full-on Magic Mike style?”
“What the hell is a Magic Mike?”
“You know what. Doesn’t matter and most of all, please don’t google it.”
“Alright. Counter conditions, I’m paying half.”
“Nope.”
He takes a second to think, conceding when an idea comes to mind, “Alright, agreed.”
She narrows her eyes, “Okay, I’m suspicious.”
“You should be,” he shrugs, “but I’m agreeing to your conditions and that’s what matters.”
Their hands find each other naturally, and their fingers entwine despite their scare only a minute ago. “You know what. I’m just going to trust you in this one. We’ve got a deal. Thank you, Drake.”
He strokes her hand with his thumb as if he has done it a million times before, “I’m doing this for the car, Herreld. Your engine is literally screaming in pain, it’s a true miracle that you slept through it.”
Riley snorts softly, “It’s almost like I’m really tired after two nights of no sleep.”
“Yeah. Weirdly human of you, Sparkles. But…” His hand slips out hers, tapping her leg, “Let’s get you home. Oh, and before I forget… You need to text Mable about arriving because I’m pretty sure I’m a dead man if you don’t. She’s terrifying.”
She chuckles, immediately taking out her phone to text her. “You’ve got that right! Or else’ Mable is very, very scary Mable.” Drake leaves the car, her eyes fall onto a bunch of texts from Liam, and an idea comes to mind.
Her door opens, Drake appears with a grin and offers her his hand. She takes it with a big smile, his jacket in hand. He hands her, her car keys after she’s safely back on two feet. She offers him his coat back, but he only accepts it to drape it over her shoulders once more.
“We’re not at your warm apartment yet, Herreld.”
“I’m just going to have to accept this, don’t I? Another one of those 'this is not up for discussion things…”
He slides an arm around her shoulder, “Most definitely, yes.”
She smiles shyly, instantly causing his heart to skip a beat, “Really sweet, thank you.”
He squeezes her tight against him, murmuring against her hair, “Your welcome, Sparkles.”
Before long they arrive on the third floor, and when Riley opens the door to a long hallway, an unexpected, delicious smell hits Drake’s nose. It reminds him of something, but where his mind fails to place it, his stomach rumbles loudly in approval.
“You okay there, Walker?” Her arm slides naturally around his waist, tapping his stomach, and his arm finds her shoulder again. “I’m fine. No need to worry about me.”
Together they walk through the hallway where several doors are wide open. “Is this normal?” Drake asks as they walk past the fourth open door where Riley gets greeted, and he’s stared at in uttermost surprise.
“We do our best to look out for each other in this hallway, so, yeah.” She holds still after a few more steps, “Ahh, this is me.”
He points at a rolled-up piece of paper on her door with a grin, “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes!” She carefully removes it and turns to him in excitement, “Want to see it?”
Drake nods, moving behind her as she unrolls the drawing. His hand slides onto her hip, studying the drawing with his chin resting on her shoulder. The sketch itself is far from impressive, but the expression on her face is something else.
She leans into his touch, whispering, “Isn’t it precious?”
He smiles sheepishly, taking in the glow of pure happiness radiating off her, her eyes sparkling with love and pride. “I would say beautiful,” he whispers with his eyes far from the drawing. His arms find their way around her, pulling her close against his chest, nuzzling into her hair. She chuckles, “Drake, that tickles!”
“Oh, I’m sorry Herreld! I didn’t mean to do that!” He teasingly brushes his nose against the sensitive skin of her neck, enjoying every bit of her warm flowery perfume, “Is this better?”
Riley laughs warmly, making Drake’s heart flutter. God, I love this sound…
“We really should head inside, Drake.”
“Mmh,” he murmurs against her hair, still holding her close against his chest while she fiddles with her keys to unlock the door, “Youshould get inside. Ishould get going because I have a brisk evening walk to look forward to…” She opens the door, and he gets hit by the delicious smell of tomatoes, onions, and garlic, his stomach grumbling.
“You sure about that, Drake?” She spins to face him, casually leaning against the doorpost, “Because I think your stomach is really looking forward to a plate of steamy spaghetti meatballs…”
“Oh, I really shouldn’t Herreld…”
“A homemade pizza…”
His stomach grumbles louder than before.
“Yeah, that’s it, mister Walker. Your stomach has spoken, and I have a quick one-question pop quiz for you. Can you guess what kind of situation this just turned into?”
Drake grins, leaning against the doorpost with his arm above her head, “Wow, this is biting me in the ass way earlier than I expected.”
“You know, I’m going to count that answer as correct.” Riley slyly reaches in her pocket to take out a glittery pen, and she takes his hand in hers. He raises his brows at the sight of her taking the lid off with her teeth, eyes fixated on where her full pink lips softly encircle it. God. That’s… He swallows, murmuring flustered, “Do you always carry a glitter marker with you?”
She mumbles inaudibly due to the lid in her mouth, until Drake takes it in hand with a snort, “Okay, let’s try that again, Herreld.”
“Yes, you never know when you have to rate something, Drake! This being the perfect example!”
“You know…” He smiles, “I don’t even know why I was surprised there for a moment…”
She stops before touching his skin with the penpoint, “My annoying drive to constantly do the right thing forces me to warn you about this being a permanent marker, though…”
“Just do it, Sparkles.”
Riley draws a 100% on his hands with small marshmallows as zeroes, and a little captain head on top of them, Drake enjoys the gentleness of her fingertips on his skin and the sight of her biting her bottom lip in concentration is mesmerizing.
“There, and now…” She motions him to come in with a victorious grin on her face.
He leans in towards her instead of entering her apartment. His hands find their familiar way back onto her hips as he whispers, “You know, as far as 'this is going to happen,’ situations go… I could do far worse than sticking around for food. Especially because I’m the one deciding on conditions…” Her victorious grin disappears when he meets her eyes with an excited twinkle in them, gently guiding her backward into her apartment, “and do I have one for you.”
“A Walker knows, when a Walker knows” Part Seven. Let me take you home.
Book:The royal romance
Pairing: Drake Walker X F!MC (Riley Herreld)
Rating: 18+
Word count: 5.300
Series Summary: Fate interferes when Riley’s supposed to be working on that big Bachelor night. She gets drawn to Cordonia in another way. But what happens when a Workaholic, and a Walker come together? Are we in for a Christmas miracle?
One way to find out!
Part Seven. Summary: Riley and Drake both spill things they rather would’ve kept hidden, while their bodies seems to disagree less and less with their minds.
A/N: For everyone who takes time to read it, thank you!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged for this series A/N: Please excuse me for grammatical errors. A/N: After this one, there is only one left before Maxwell is going to edit the video, before our story build up is over.
Category: Christmas fluff.
Warnings: Swearing.
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
A Walker knows, when a Walker knows.
Let me take you home.
Still Sunday, five days before Christmas.
Silence falls. The sound of their enhanced breaths mixes with the crackling of the fire and only one of them has to slightly lean in…
A sudden loud bang echoes through the silent night startling both. Drake instantly acts on instincts, but where he usually manages to handle such a situation calmly, he’s taken over by sudden fear.
He tackles her to the ground, before completely covering her body with his, protecting both of their heads with his arms and hands.
“A Walker knows, when a Walker knows” Part Seven. Let me take you home.
Book:The royal romance
Pairing: Drake Walker X F!MC (Riley Herreld)
Rating: 18+
Word count: 5.300
Series Summary: Fate interferes when Riley’s supposed to be working on that big Bachelor night. She gets drawn to Cordonia in another way. But what happens when a Workaholic, and a Walker come together? Are we in for a Christmas miracle?
One way to find out!
Part Seven. Summary: Riley and Drake both spill things they rather would’ve kept hidden, while their bodies seems to disagree less and less with their minds.
A/N: For everyone who takes time to read it, thank you!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged for this series A/N: Please excuse me for grammatical errors. A/N: After this one, there is only one left before Maxwell is going to edit the video, before our story build up is over.
Category: Christmas fluff.
Warnings: Swearing.
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
A Walker knows, when a Walker knows.
Let me take you home.
Still Sunday, five days before Christmas.
Silence falls. The sound of their enhanced breaths mixes with the crackling of the fire and only one of them has to slightly lean in…
A sudden loud bang echoes through the silent night startling both. Drake instantly acts on instincts, but where he usually manages to handle such a situation calmly, he’s taken over by sudden fear.
He tackles her to the ground, before completely covering her body with his, protecting both of their heads with his arms and hands.
Just as always I’m just going to start with: I LOVE YOUR REBLOGS! And I love those gifs soooooooo much!!! Especially those from Drake and Riley… Their perfect!
THANK YOU SO MUCH! There we go .
It’s such an emberassing moment for Drake, him tackling her too the ground. She’s making him lose control and he’s going to have a lot of struggles with that in fact.
But things quickly get out of hand when they do manage to let go though, when they dare to lose themselves in each other. It’s fun to write, their body language has this shit figured out waaaaay before their minds recieves the message.
Haha, yes he’s in deep. I love how you say this, once more a sign of him losing control. But Riley’s in deep too, letting him take her home, after sharing his experience with Liam.
Tim is going to cause some drama yes, he’s not keen on having a guy like Drake around the girl he’s in love with… Can’t blame him :P.
But yes, for me these two are def. soulmates in the making, maybe they’re already are. Faith is hitting hard and fast with these two.
A Walker knows, when a walker knows…
Once again, your reblogs are amazing! Thank you for reading, taking your time too comment, reblog! It’s amazing! Makes me want to write like crazy!
“A Walker knows, when a Walker knows” Part Seven. Let me take you home.
Book:The royal romance
Pairing: Drake Walker X F!MC (Riley Herreld)
Rating: 18+
Word count: 5.300
Series Summary: Fate interferes when Riley’s supposed to be working on that big Bachelor night. She gets drawn to Cordonia in another way. But what happens when a Workaholic, and a Walker come together? Are we in for a Christmas miracle?
One way to find out!
Part Seven. Summary: Riley and Drake both spill things they rather would’ve kept hidden, while their bodies seems to disagree less and less with their minds.
A/N: For everyone who takes time to read it, thank you!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged for this series A/N: Please excuse me for grammatical errors. A/N: After this one, there is only one left before Maxwell is going to edit the video, before our story build up is over.
Category: Christmas fluff.
Warnings: Swearing.
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
A Walker knows, when a Walker knows.
Let me take you home.
Still Sunday, five days before Christmas.
Silence falls. The sound of their enhanced breaths mixes with the crackling of the fire and only one of them has to slightly lean in…
A sudden loud bang echoes through the silent night startling both. Drake instantly acts on instincts, but where he usually manages to handle such a situation calmly, he’s taken over by sudden fear.
He tackles her to the ground, before completely covering her body with his, protecting both of their heads with his arms and hands.
they’re so good for each other making each other talk about things they don’t like to talk about they’re comfortable with each other I love them and yep drake nothing going on at all
Work has been crazy, and this chapter is way too fun to write (It’s looong)! So it’s taking a little more time. We’re in for fluff, a little bit of drama, and I already had to cut it in half! I wanted to give an impression of two big moments of what’s to come after he has taken her home. Part one of ‘Italian night.’ (Sorry for any grammer mistakes)
“Ha?” She snaps out of it, “Uhm, yes. I’m fine. It’s just so sweet. I can’t believe I laughed so hard… I’m so sorry.”
He squeezes her hand, blurting as he is taking aback at the sincerity in her words, “The only thing you need to apologize for, Herreld, is for apologizing because that’s the only crime if you have an enchanting laugh like that…”
Their eyes lock and silence falls. “Drake,” she whispers, her eyes watering and her heart on the brink of exploding, “That’s…” Yup, I’m utterly, properly and sparkly fucked.
———
Riley swallows, “That kind of makes me wish that I could’ve been there with you.” He smiles, dimples forming and he meets her sparkly blues, taken aback with the sincerity in her voice. “Me too.”
“But, I’m here now. We can pretend to be on a secret date in Rome?”
Drake’s breath hatches in his throat. Date. Is this a date? Am I on a date? But I don’t date. I should tell her that I don’t date.
She squeezes his hand, “Drake? Hey, are you with me? Did I say something wrong?”
But I don’t want to tell her… I want… He startles at his own thought. Yet. I don’t want to tell it yet, who wants to ruin the mood right?
“Sparkles for Captain Marshmallow!”
“Oh right, that means ordering in my best Italian.” He clears his throat, face turning serious, looking to the left as if he’s talking to a waiter, “Spaghetti and Pizza.”
Her hand leaves his, feinting being annoyed, “Seriously, Drake? You forgot the lasagna.”
Drake smacks his forehead, “You’re right. But maybe I can catch up with him!” He glances over his shoulder, “Ahh damn, sorry Herreld. He just disappeared into the kitchen. I guess we’ll just have to make do.”
I hope you enjoyed it and the chapter will be out ASAP!
Taglist please let me know if you want to be added, or removed:
“A Walker knows, when a Walker knows” Part Seven. Let me take you home.
Book:The royal romance
Pairing: Drake Walker X F!MC (Riley Herreld)
Rating: 18+
Word count: 5.300
Series Summary: Fate interferes when Riley’s supposed to be working on that big Bachelor night. She gets drawn to Cordonia in another way. But what happens when a Workaholic, and a Walker come together? Are we in for a Christmas miracle?
One way to find out!
Part Seven. Summary: Riley and Drake both spill things they rather would’ve kept hidden, while their bodies seems to disagree less and less with their minds.
A/N: For everyone who takes time to read it, thank you!! Please let me know if you want to be tagged for this series A/N: Please excuse me for grammatical errors. A/N: After this one, there is only one left before Maxwell is going to edit the video, before our story build up is over.
Category: Christmas fluff.
Warnings: Swearing.
CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS
A Walker knows, when a Walker knows.
Let me take you home.
Still Sunday, five days before Christmas.
Silence falls. The sound of their enhanced breaths mixes with the crackling of the fire and only one of them has to slightly lean in…
A sudden loud bang echoes through the silent night startling both. Drake instantly acts on instincts, but where he usually manages to handle such a situation calmly, he’s taken over by sudden fear.
He tackles her to the ground, before completely covering her body with his, protecting both of their heads with his arms and hands.
Riley’s not sure what just happened. Drake’s body’s tense on top of hers. He’s leaning on his elbows to avoid crushing her, forehead against hers, his eyes squeezed, and his breathing seems far off. A tense silence falls before a light crackling fills the air caused by beautiful fireworks in the starry sky. “Drake,” she whispers with a soft, slightly dazed smile, “it’s fireworks.”
“What?” Drake murmurs in confusion, finding last traces of colorful delight when he glances at the sky over his shoulder. A relieved breath escapes him and his head falls down in the crook of her neck. “Just fireworks… I am so sorry, Herreld!”
Her hands slide up, massaging the back of his neck in comfort. Her fingers drift once in a while off into his hair, applying pressure on his scalp as if she has done it a million times before. “It’s fine, don’t apologize!”
“Mmh…” A warm chuckle escapes her mouth when Drake groans in approval. “Still… I’m supposed to handle these possible threat situations without panicking. I have no idea what came over me.”
“Newsflash! You’re only human Drake. Buuuut it’s good to know that I’m not only dealing with a sideline pyromaniac this week but also with the threat to be tackled at every moment. I’m looking forward to getting familiar with the ground in the week to come!
Drake snorts against her neck with no intention to move as she’s working magic with her fingers. "Whaaat? I thought that you would be at least engaged to the ground, figuring how much time the two of you must be spending due to those feet of yours…”
Riley barks out a laugh, “Ohh, please don’t let my husband ‘mister work’ hear that. He’s easily jealous…”
“Is that right? So, what would he say if he heard about you serenading and, most of all, declaring your forever love to your clipboard?”
“Ohhh no, no,” she grins, “we have no time for that kind of drama this week, Drake. Don’t you dare!” His body slowly relaxes under her touch, murmuring, “Fine! Working with Max will cause enough drama this week anyway.”
She chuckles warmly. “Much appreciated… And you’re probably right… But Drake…”
He groans in protest when her hands leave his neck. “I know, I know.” He jumps up, offering her his hand and she accepts it. “I get it, we’ve been here a while now. You have to get back to work.” He easily pulls her back up to her feet, steadying her with his hands on her hips. “Come on.”
He turns back towards the Christmas Market but is pulled back by a broad smiling Riley. “Yes, we’re here for a while now, but I actually wanted to tell you that I’m getting hungry…” Her eyes fall on the hard-working volunteers in the distance, her last words turning into inaudible murmuring. With the hour-to-hour cleaning plan fresh in her memory, she knows that they are not even halfway and realizes that she might have gotten carried away for a little bit the past thirty minutes.
But where she usually wouldn’t have to think twice about getting back to work, she finds herself conflicted for some unexplainable reason.
Drake notices her sudden struggle, gently guiding her eyes back to his with a hand on the cheek, lingering there. “Talk to me, Herreld.”
“Well…” Riley bites her bottom lip in doubt, having trouble sharing her thoughts. “Would it…” she takes a deep breath, mumbling with her hand on her forehead. “God, I hate how much I suck at this…”
Drake knit his brows together to hide his amusement at the sudden spat of swearing.
She blurts. “Would it be really selfish that I actually want to” she takes one of the sticks in hand, holding it up for Drake to see, “stickaround a little bit longer and complete that s'more?”
Drake blinks at her horrible joke, finding it hard to move past it. Especially when one secretly finds it way too amusing for his own liking, since he usually would’ve slammed Maxwell against the back of his head by blurring out an abomination like that.
Riley sighs, her brows furrowing at his ongoing silence. “Oh God, it is, isn’t it? You know… I’m going to get to work!” She turns her head, Drake’s hand leaving her cheek and she wants to brush past him, but he stops her at the hips, guiding her back in front of him.
“Alright,” his hands linger, looking her straight in the eye. “For your information. I wasn’t confirming that you’re selfish for wanting to stay a little bit longer. I just needed a little bit of time to process that abomination of a joke, that’s all! And honestly, it was kind of selfish that you decide to hurt my poor, innocent ears with it!”
A small smile appears on her face, one that Drake naturally matches.
“It’s also selfish that you don’t seem to care, at all, about the high risk I’ll be taking by staying here with you! Hell, your easily jealous husband 'mister work’, might come over to punch me in the face for keeping you away from him…” He leans forward to take his stick off the ground, his face turns vulnerable, “But I think it would be actually kind of selfish to not stick around, Herreld.”
He averts his eyes, looking down at the stick in his hand. “Because take it from me that it reallysucks to see someone who you care about think about everyone else except for themselves. To see someone working themselves into pieces and not being able to get through their thick head that they’re only human. Consider Mable and all the others who care about you. Consider the kids… I mean, who is going to take your place when you have burned yourself out, ha? Is that really what you want? You’ve got to take care of yourself if you want to take care of someone else, Herreld.”
Riley instantly chokes, his words reminding her of what her mom used to say. She averts her watery blues to the sky, desperate trying to avoid crying for the first time in four years. How did that slip my mind?
-Please be a care bear for you as well. Because caring for someone else starts with caring about yourself.-
Drake glances at her teared-up eyes, carefully taking both their sticks in hand, and throws both on one of the chairs before gently pulling her close again. “Do you want to talk about it? Can’t promise that I can say anything useful, since I tend to make things only worse when I open my mouth, but me learning to shut it actually taught me to be a great listener…”
She snorts at his sweet words, quickly wiping away a few escaped tears. “You know what it is, Drake. I’ve always been an over-the-top caring person, but things really turned into overdrive when my mom got sick. I mean. I get others, I can help them with their feelings, thoughts, actions. But expressing myself… Dealing with me. Worst nightmare ever. I mean. I’m a mess. A lot is going on in here,” she taps herself on the head, “I daily drive myself crazy. Multiple times. So, I found that it’s easier to focus on the job I love, focus on my friends and their well-being, but most of all focus on those great kids to give them the best time of their lives, to see them blossom and grow every day, other than to focus on myself and the things I actually should’ve been and/or still should be dealing with.”
Riley freezes, eyes growing wide as the words just slipped out of her mouth like they’re nothing. But they’re everything. She had kept them hidden for such a long time. “Ha,” she says stunned, “there is no chance that I’ve just said that in my head, right?”
Drake shakes his head, an 'I’m sorry’ expression on his face.
“Well.” A playful snort escapes her while wiping away another few escaped tears. “That sucks. One time machine, please. Where’s Dr. Who when you need him? Or do you have a neuralyzer on you by any chance?”
Drake smiles softly at her sudden spat of randomness, pushing away that he never felt more connected to someone else in his life for some unidentifiable weird reason. “I’m sorry. I left my MIB gear at home. But, Herreld…” He leans back, gently tipping her head up to wipe away a tear with his thumb. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s fine that you suck at talking, sharing. Your only human.”
Riley visibly relaxes at his comforting words. “You’re seriously the first person ever who doesn’t drop the 'you’re weirdly uncomfortable with sharing your feelings for a school tutor’ card when they find out I’m bad at expressing feelings other than happy ones.”
“People actually say that?”
“Can’t blame them though, I can’t expect them to understand if I never explained any of it.”
Drake gently brushes a few stranded locks of hair behind her ear, blurring straight from the heart. “Well, I do get it. Talking about feelings, fears, God that’s hard! What if you burden someone with those feelings, questions? What if someone feels attacked? What if history repeats itself? I mean… There was nothing I could’ve done to prevent it in the first place, but why risk increasing the chance of repeat by stacking even more guilt on her shoulder. It’s not that I’m blaming her for anything though, but I know she’s still struggling with it. But all I want is for her to be happy. So that’s where I keep my focus on, and I just need to suck it…” He freezes,horror slowly creeping up his face. I’ve been doing the fucking same with Sav.
Riley realizes where he’s talking about. Savannah has been opening up to her the past few months, telling her about her disappearance, how happy she was that Drake found her. That he had instantly welcomed her and Bartie into his life without pointing one blaming finger at her.
She knows that she still deals with guilt every day, afraid to talk to Drake about it since she doesn’t want to bother him any more than she already did in the past. He already carried so much for her, is what she always says.
She also knows that Savannah told him that her leaving has been completely out of his control, and she realizes that he must have been struggling with that deeply, especially since she’s heading over to the place where it all went down in the first place. Returning to the cause of why she left and Riley can’t imagine how that must feel for someone who always desires to be in control.
“I…” Drake stumbles, releasing her with one big step backward. What the hell Walker. Blurring this out in front of a professional. Oh, God… I so don’t want to… But she’s not going to let this go. But she reads the room perfectly to his surprise.
“Drake, it’s fine. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m always willing to listen, always. Without any judgment. But only if you want to, and only on your terms.”
He raises his brows in surprise since everyone has been pushing him to talk about his thoughts and feelings for his whole pathetic life. So he didn’t expect someone to let something like this go after him spilling part of the beans. “You’re really letting this go?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, did you expect me to push you into talk with all kinds of smart little tricks?”
“Uh. Yeah?”
She shakes her head, “Sorry! Not My Style, Mister Walker.”
Drake awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, “So, what do we do now?”
“Well…” Riley smiles a little bit cheekily, “Once upon a time, there was a brave Captain Walker, who very subtly pointed out that I needed to take care of myself before being able to be there for others. And since that’s one hell of an annoying, great eye-opening idea… I would like to suggest that you introduce me to the yumminess of the s'mores. So I guess what I’m trying to say is…” She grabs from the chair, offering one of them to Drake. “Drake Walker, will you stickaround with me?”
Drake drapes his hand down over his face to hide a big smile at her once again bad pun. “You are un-fucka-believable, Herreld.”
“Ahhh come on!” She gives him a cheeky smile, wiggling her brows. “I know you want it!”
“Fine,” he accepts the stick with a roll of the eye, before scooping her up in his arms to carry her towards the chair. For safety measures only of course.
“But let it be known that Drake Walker is brave enough to risk death at terrible humor by sticking around.” He gently lowers her on the chair and she shoves away the basket between her and his chair. He places his chair against hers, before slumbering down himself.
Riley chuckles while removing the ruined marshmallows from the sticks. “I shall personally spread the tales of brave Captain Walker! Oh. Maybe I can write a song, follow you around with a lute? The word of me singing is out anyway. So, how’s that?”
“Dear Lord. That sounds like full-on hell on earth!” Drake flashes her a drop-dead gorgeous, heart stopping, dimple popping smirk despite his words, “But it isn’t working, so go for it!”
“You know…” She gives him a crooked smirk. “You, mister I’m always grumpy to keep people at a distance, are actually very fluffy, and caring on the inside. Maybe I should pierce you on a stick and give you a good roast, Captain Marshmallow.” She gives him a teasing poke with her stick, which he smacks with a huge grin on his face. “Yeah, yeah. No need to make a fuss about it. Moving on. Now. Can we finally get to the part where you show me that you’re actually capable of being a good student?”
She teasingly salutes him. “Yes, Sir Captain Marshmallow! Sir. I will be the best student you’ve ever encountered!”
He pinches the bridge of his nose with a groan. “First order of business. Drop the Captain Marshmallow.”
“Not a chance! It’s way too cute to not let it,” she holds up her stick, “stickaround!”
Drake’s brows raise sky-high, throwing her his most 'I’m so not amused’ death glare.
Riley coughs, “I mean. It’s way too tough and bad-ass to not stickaround and I promise to only say it when it’s just the two of us?”
He takes the last two marshmallows out of the box, handing them to Riley. “Fine. I’ll take it. I know better, and this is the best I’m going to get out of this deal.”
She accepts them with a soft snort, fingers brushing in the process, lingering against each other just a little bit too long. Their eyes meet in silence before they manage to break away from each other with a shy smile. Riley pierces the marshmallows upright, before showing them to Drake with pride. “So, am I a good student, or what?”
Drake accepts one of them with a sly grin. “I couldn’t be more proud of you, Herreld. It’s extremely impressive! Brava! You just pierced a fucking marshmallow on a stick the right way.”
“Wow!” Riley smirks teasingly at him while lowering her marshmallow right above the flames. “You’ve got on hell of a messed up reward/punishment system there, Walker. I get a sarcastic snarl when I’m a great student, you use your angry Captain Walker voice when I disobey…”
“What would’ve you expect?” He matches her movement by also lowering his marshmallow to just above the flames. “A grading report decorated with little sunshine- and smiley stickers, written feedback burger and all of that topped off with a weird glitter figure just like I have seen on Bartie’s rated schoolwork?”
Riley chuckles. “YES! At the very least! And don’t make fun of my little glitter drawings! Their fun, the kids love them and a little bit of glitter has never hurt anyone!”
“Yeah…” Drake grins his eyes snapping to his marshmallow. “Clearly you’ve never been to one of Maxwell’s birthday parties!”
“He told me about those! Is it true that you’ve actually filed a motion for officially banning glittery drink after the last one?”
“Oh yeah! And I still stand by it. Glitter in drinks should be illegal. Booze is supposed to be stiff, not sparkly!”
Riley moves her attention back to her marshmallow. “Well. I don’t see the problem.”
“Of course, you don’t!’ He grins.
"Yeah. A good stiff drink makes me happy, sparkles make me happy. Put them together…” She sighs dreamily, not noticing her marshmallow dangerously lowering, “and you have a little sparkly potion of joy.”
Drake snorts, leaning in to gently take her hand in his to steady it. “Well, at least I don’t have to wonder why you and Maxwell get along so well! But how about we keep our focus on our marshmallows? These are our last two and yours was extremely close to getting very familiar with the hot flames, sparkles.”
“Sorry,” she chuckles at the cute nickname. “I’m not great at doing two times at the same time.”
“Yeah, well sorry isn’t going to cut it, Herreld. You just lost glitters on your feedback form!”
“Ahhh!” Riley’s head snaps to the left, her big blues watery, lips pouting and all of that nearly gives Drake an immediate heart attack, finding himself ready to get up and raid the craft shop downtown at this very instant. God! What the hell is going on?
“Drake!” Her big blues snap to his marshmallow, her hand lifting his but it’s already too late! Drake stares disappointed at his marshmallow that has turned into a torch before extinguishing the flames in the snow. “Well, that’s a first.”
“You never burned a marshmallow before?” Riley eyes him carefully, trying to figure out what to do as he rubs his forehead in disbelief, mind seemingly running. What the fuck am I doing tonight? I panicked at the sound of fucking fireworks, got distracted from something as simple as roasting a fucking marshmallow… What the hell? I’m losing control… I never lose control.
Riley realizes that this is not just about burning the marshmallow. She ties the knots together in her head. Everything that Savannah has told her over the past few months, combined with Drake’s mention about being in control and uttermost careful she asks. “So, do you want to talk about it, or do you want me to tell you a bad marshmallow pun to take your mind off of things?”
Annoyed he throws his stick onto the fire, watching it immediately getting swallowed by the flames. “I just burnt a fuck marshmallow, Sparkles. What the hell is there to talk about?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
“You know what?” He leans back into his chair with folded arms, challenging her with raised brows, “Enlighten me!”
“Okay…” She checks her marshmallow, finds it perfectly roasted and clamps the stick between her knees. “About Savannah returning this week to the place where it all went down a few years ago, after telling you that there was nothing you could’ve done to prevent her from disappearing? About being scared that history repeats itself, but being scared to talk about it to Sav?”
She hits the nail on the head, his brain defensively switching to rationalizing as he’s been doing the past few years. “She’s there all the time, Herreld. This week is going to change nothing. Besides, she would never leave Bartie alone, so it doesn’t make sense.”
Riley takes two cream crackers, coating them with chocolate before placing the hot marshmallow on top. “Fear doesn’t always have to make sense.”
Drake grumbles, muttering under his breath as her words hit him right in the chest. His eyes focused on her hands that assemble the s'more with care. “Never thought that these words would ever leave my mouth, but I would like to switch to the bad marshmallow puns, please.”
“Okay.” She smiles, pressing the second cream cracker on top of the roasted deliciousness before meeting his eye with an extremely exciting twinkle in them. “Why does the marshmallow cross the road?”
He groans, “O dear lord.”
“Well…”
“I don’t know. Why did the marshmallow cross the road, sparkles? Please tell me. The expense is killing me.”
She nudges him in her excitement, “Because he realized that there is s'mores to life!”
Drake drapes a hand in front of his face, but no matter how hard he tries to hide it, a snort escapes nevertheless. “You’re killing me here.”
“Warned you. Said bad marshmallow pun, Drake. Here,” she taps with her hand holding half of the s'mores against his upper arm and he looks up in surprise. “Oh, no. Can’t accept it! You never ate one, I ruined mine.”
She raises a brow. “Are you kidding me, Captain Marshmallow? You were just one of the two stars of a 'how to make the perfect s'more’ video where the two of you literally shared one marshmallow since there sweet bundles of love made to be shared. Do I really need to explain it? Where was your head at?”
He accepts his half with a slight shake of the head, “Fine. Thank you!”
Riley looks at him in expectance, not taking a bite of her half in hand.
“What?”
“Take a bite, I want to know how I did.”
Drake’s expression turns serious, taking a bite in his fullest attention.
“Well… Have I earned my sparkles back?”
He grins, “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see until you receive your feedback burger card, Herreld.” She wants to pout again, but he sees it coming from afar. “Don’t you dare, miss Herreld!”
“Fine,” she grins, before relaxing into her chair. “I’m a patient women Walker!”
Drake also relaxes in his chair, his right arm casually leaning far over his own, half onto her armchair. “Since I’m far from patiently… Just take a freaking bite already.”
Riley takes a big bite, her eyes grow wide and a food moan escapes her mouth, “OMMEGUT! TWIS ISH DELISIOUS.” He snorts at the ongoing cute food moans, before enjoying the rest of his s'more himself.
A comfortable silence falls, both of them enjoying the food, and secretly each other’s presence. Riley lets out a deep content sigh after finishing her s'more, throws another log on the fire, and relaxes back in her chair.
She pulls up her feet, resting her arm on the armchair against Drake’s, her head comfortably leaning towards him, but still against her own chair back.
Drake takes his last bite, glancing at the relaxed woman beside him. She looks up and meets his eye with a gentle, quiet smile, and he wipes a little bit of chocolate from the corners of her mouth before both of them turn their gazes back towards the fire.
They sit there for another thirty minutes in utter silence. Drake glances back at her, noticing that her eyes are closed. “You okay there, Sparkles?”
She nods, mumbling, “I’m just so relaxed.” Drake shifts a little bit, offering his soft shoulder. She thankfully snuggles against it, without opening her eyes. “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” and he bops her nose full of affection, drawing another gentle smile from her. “Thank you, Drake. For this, for earlier, tonight, and for weirdly making me feel at most relaxed as I have been in five or six years.” Her last words turn more into whispers and Drake feels conflicted. Hell, he could be here all night with her against his shoulder for some reason he doesn’t understand, but falling asleep might not be the best thing to do when it’s freezing outside. So he blurs with a heavy heart. “Herreld, can I take you home?”
Riley slowly opens her eyes, moaning a little bit. She glances into the distance where the Christmas Market isn’t even half done, struggle filling her heart briefly. But Drake gently guides her eyes to meet his, “Herreld… Come one.”
She looks up at him from under her eyelashes, not wanting to lose the magic just yet. “Can we stay here for just a bit more? Like fifteen minutes?”
He glances down, finding it impossible to say no to the way she looks at him. “Fine.” He gently tugs a hair behind her ear. “But I will start cleaning up after those fifteen minutes, and I will take you home. Where are your car keys, before I’m not able to wake you up anymore.”
She slowly nods, before snuggling back against his shoulder. “My keys are in the bag over there. Thank you, captain Marshmallow.” He snorts softly at the nickname, “That’s fine, Sparkles. It’s all fine.”
A soft smile appears on her face and Drake fights the sudden urge to kiss her forehead. Averting his eyes back to the fire, his hand slides onto one of her folded legs. “Is this okay?”
“Yes, nice and toasty.” She murmurs, her breathing turning steady. They sit like that for another fifteen minutes and then some more since Drake’s not really keeping track on time. But decides that it’s time to go when he also threatens to doze off. He gently moves her head away from his shoulder, before standing up. She lightly protests at his sudden missing body heat, calming down again after a slight shift.
Drake sighs deeply at the peaceful sight of her, taking off his coat and draping it around her, tucking her in. I’ll get warm moving anyway.
She snuggles happily into his jacket. He sighs deeply at the comfortable sight before wrapping up the tent, putting away the camera and the rest of the stuff.
Everything, except for the chair Riley’s sleeping on, is packed after ten minutes. He takes the car keys, before kneeling in front of Riley, gently squeezing her hand. “Herreld, I’m going to carry you to the car, okay?” She slowly opens her eyes, rubbing them lightly, “I don’t mind walking…”
“I don’t want to take the risk that your sleepwalking abilities are as bad as your awake ones, Sparkles. Please, let me carry you!”
She chuckles, her arm sliding around his neck in approval. “So, now your asking? You’ve been carrying around all night!” Drake gently takes her in his arms, before taking the big bag with all the important materials from the ground. He makes sure that she’s wrapped in his coat. “Your half asleep, it feels different.”
Riley snuggles against his chest. “Your sweet.” Her words make Drake snort, causing her to murmur, “What’s so funny?”
“No woman, other than Savannah or my mom, has ever described me as sweet before.”
“Well, thank you for trusting me enough to show me that apparently top-secret side of you.”
Drake takes a deep breath, once again suppressing the need to kiss her forehead. “Thank you for making me,” he whispers back while entering the parking lot. He uses her electric car key to find out which car is hers. The car lights of a small, hanging by a red car flash for a second. He chuckles, something in him expected her to be driving such a barrel. He carefully opens the door, gently lowering her onto the passenger chair and there was no waking her up as he was afraid that would happen. He fixes her seat belt and she’s once again out after shifting in her seat. He gently closes the door, leaving it unlocked to find Mable.
Her loud voice fills the air, making it so that he has found her after only a minute. She’s standing behind a table, together with his sister, and gets greeted heartily. “There he is! Our miracle worker!” Mable grins from ear to ear, which disappears when she notices that Riley’s not with him. “Is everything okay? I would’ve expected her stubborn ass to work after.” Savannah frowns, “And why are you walking around in only a shirt with a vest?”
“Turned it into a blanket…”
Mable and Savannah share a glance. Drake rubs the back of his neck, taking his phone out of his pocket with the other. “The most important thing is, is that everything is fine. I’m actually coming over to let the two of you know that I’m taking her home, and I need her address since she’s fast asleep in the car.”
Mable blinks three times before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Hahaha, right. This has been really funny,” she raises her voice slightly as if Riley’s hiding somewhere, “Just come out, Riley. The joke’s over.”
“Uh,” Savannah nudges Mable, who wipes away a few tears from laughing. “Mabs, I think he’s serious.”
“What?” Laughter has disappeared in a matter of a second as her eyes snap down at Drake’s phone, asking her to put Riley’s address in his navigation. She hesitantly takes it, still not able to believe what the hell is happening before handing it back.
But when he accepts it, she holds onto it. “I trust your sister and I trust you, Drake. I don’t know how you did it, but please take her out of here! But even though you are both grown-ups who can fend for themselves, I’ve got to say this as her bestie. She has to text me when she’s home. When I don’t hear anything within the hour or if I hear that there’s something wrong… I will kill you. So, take good care of her, or else…”
Drake nods in reassurance. “Thank you for your faith and the address, Mable.” He hands her the bag with the camera and some other important stuff. “I will look out for her, and I will return! So, see you two later!” He turns, walking away.
“Wait!” Savannah yells after him, “How are you coming back? Should I ask Max to drive behind you?”
“Nah,” he waves, “It’s a great night. I’ll just walk.”
“Walk,” Mable blinks, “but it’s a thirty-minute ride…”
“I’m going to be okay! Need some clearance of the head anyway!” And with that, he disappears around the corner.
“Hey, was that Drake? Where’s Riley?”
Savannah and Mable startle at Tim appearance out of nowhere, both turning around. Mable smiles apologeticly, “Tim… Yes. That was Drake coming over to tell that he’s taking her home.”
Tim folds his arms, setting his jaw. “Of course. Well. Good for him, right? Well. I’ve still got some work to do.” He turns, ignoring Mable calling out to him. “Tim, please…”
Savannah narrows her eyes, “What was that?”
Mable pinches the bridge of her nose. “The beginning of a whole lot of drama I’m afraid.”
Drake’s arrives at her car before long, carefully sliding into the driver seat to find Riley still fast asleep.
He’s captivated at the peaceful sight of her, her slow and steady breathing, and the content smile on her face. He adjusts his coat, making sure that she’s warm and tucked in, accidentally brushing her soft cheek in the process. She instantly snuggles against his hand, sighing contently.
His eyes drift over her face, admiring the beauty of her, the one he so desperately tries to push away.
Nothing going on here.
Just been a weird long day.
Nothing going on.
He sighs deeply, forcing his eyes away from her, turning the key and the engine comes to life. He shakes his head at the horrible sound. Suddenly he hears soft murmuring, making his eyes snap back at the bundle of adorableness beside him who’s snuggling so deep into his coat that she has almost disappeared. “Mmh, Drake you smell so good. Maybe I should be filing a motion to Liam against that because it should be illegal.”
Drake softly snorts at her sweet words, pushing away any thoughts that her words could indicate actually wanting more from him and the flutter in his heart that, that thought actually seems to give him.
Nothing going on.
She’s just sweet like that. I’m just caring like this.
He takes another deep breath, before shifting the gear, driving out of the parking spot backward. His eyes find her one more time, and he smiles.
Yeah. Nothing going on.
And with that, he carefully drives off to take her home.
