"It's been a bit of a journey but I am getting there."
"Working at getting your life back?"
"Yeah, something like that...that's where you can help me."
"Of course. I am happy to help in any way I can. I would do anything for you, you know that."
"So, again, thank you for meeting with me Drake. I have some questions..." Cleo says trailing off when the waitress comes back with the bottle of red wine. They sit quietly as she uncorks it and then pours a sip into Drake's glass. Then Cleo covers her mouth and has to stop herself from laughing while he sniffs it and then sloshes it around in his mouth with a very serious face. All she can think about is Austin, and even though he was just messing around at lunch - he still looked better while wine-tasting than Drake. Drake looks like a bit of a tool with his serious face and raised brows. "Is this an Italian wine?" he asks the waitress who gives him a weird look. He should know, he ordered it. "Yes sir," she says politely. "It's good. Fill both glasses please," he says then winks at Cleo as if he is treating her. Once the waitress is gone Drake takes a sip of his wine and gestures for Cleo to start talking again.
"I have some questions...I would like you to clarify some things for me please," she asks. Drake sighs heavily and places his wine glass down. "Cleo...honestly..." he says with a big sigh as if he is getting ready for a standoff with her. She is not surprised, if he cheated then Cleo would have laid into him and they would have hashed out the argument until they were both blue in the face. But, she can't have him talking about things she can't remember so she needs to lay her cards on the table first so they are on the same page.
"Hold on. We are going to be speaking in circles and I won't know what you are talking about. I need you to explain certain situations before we discuss them. You see, I have memory loss from my accident and there are these blank spaces in my brain."
"Memory loss?" Drake asks, sitting forward again, he looks a little too interested in that little piece of information. "Well, yes. I have about a year and a half of memory loss. I have lost the last six months of our relationship," she explains. "You don't remember how or why we broke up?" Drake asks a sly-looking smile spreading on his lips that makes Cleo slightly uncomfortable. But, she shakes her head. "But...you remember me?" he asks, his face curious.
"Well, yes but-"
"But you don't remember Austin."
"Well...no, but-"
"I am not surprised, to be honest," he says leaning back in his chair and looking way too triumphant for a man of his caliber. "You are not?" she asks now curious at his take on this whole situation. "Of course not. What you and I had was amazing. We were crazy about each other. Remember that weekend on my friend's yacht?" he asks, his eyes scanning her body slowly. Cleo bites her bottom lip and smiles. She remembers that. It had been a wild weekend. Drake had been over the top with romantic gestures and had her falling down a rabbit hole with him. Say what you want about the man but he was charming.
"What happened between us, Drake?" she asks. Drake looks sad suddenly, biting his bottom lip and letting his chin wobble slightly. It catches Cleo off guard - she had not expected him to be so emotional over her question. Sharon would not lie to her about him cheating but perhaps it had been a moment of weakness for him and he has carried around eminence guilt for it all these years. Perhaps they were talking and trying to work through it - although now that she has a handle on what her relationship was like with Austin, she doubts it. She does not think she would have been perusing Drake in any way with Austin around.
"You know...I have a lot of guilt when it comes to your accident," Drake says suddenly, sitting forward again and sniffing, he wipes his eyes too but she can't see any wetness from any tears. "You do?" Cleo asks, confused. Why would he have guilt around that? "Well, yes. You were on your way to see me," Drake says reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. What? That does not sound right. She frowns at him and pulls her hand away gently. Something is off and that feeling in her chest is hammering against her ribs double time. "I don't think I would do that...that would have hurt Austin," she says. Austin is not possessive and has always let her make her own decisions but she can't see he would be OK with her meeting up with her ex for a friendly chat - she wouldn't have been OK with Austin doing that.
Drake
Start from the beginning
