Catching Feelings

Chapter 35

Ryan nodded his head understandingly. "I got you."

Drake rushed up the stairs to take a quick shower and change his clothes. Raven was supposed to come with him to pick up his mom, but with everything that happened last night, he didn't think he'd be hearing from her today. Now he had to explain to his mom that she probably wouldn't be meeting Raven, which was her whole purpose for coming out to LA. This was going to be a difficult day.

He drove his Bentley in haste through the Friday afternoon traffic and was fortunate enough not to get a speeding ticket. It was fifteen minutes after his mother's arrival time when he pulled up to the private arrival area at LAX. Sandi was waiting outside with her suitcase. When she saw her son step out of the car a smile spread across her face. Sandi dropped her luggage and rushed towards him. Drake wrapped his arms around mother lifting her off the ground to embrace her. Seeing his mom changed his entire mood, he was now all smiling. After spinning her around he sat her down on the ground.

Once she was back on concrete Sandi glanced to her left, right, and then over his shoulder at the car... he knew exactly who she was looking for. "Where's Raven," Sandi asked.

"Hello to you too mom." He said jokingly hoping to change the subject.

Sandi smiled and pinched his cheek exaggeratedly. "Hello, baby. Now, where's this girlfriend of yours. I thought she was coming with you."

Not wanting to tell her the truth and go into detail about their eventful night and why Raven wasn't with him, he simply smiled and lied between his teeth. "Something important came up that she had to take care of, so I don't know if we'll be seeing her today." Drake walked over to pick up her suitcase and loaded it in the trunk before she could since his lie.

His mom's lips thinned with a disappointed yet concerned look on her face. "That's too bad, I hope everything's okay." Sandi was looking forward to meeting Raven. This was the first girl her son was serious about in a long time. From their telephone conversations, Sandi could tell that this one had a head on her shoulders, something she hoped would rub off on her son.

After loading the car, Drake opened the passenger side door for his mom before hopping in the driver seat. When they arrived home Drake stepped inside looking to find a mess but instead, the place was actually tidy. All of the bottles and containers were gone and so were the lingering bodies. There were rustling and clattering noises coming from the kitchen so he sat the luggage down and walked in that direction with his mom following behind him. When he entered the room he was relieved when he saw Raven standing at the island with several bags sitting on top.

Raven stopped unpacking groceries and looked up at the two people who just walked into the room. "Hey, I see you're back," said Raven with an enthused look on her face.

Drake was surprised but happy to see her there especially since she didn't seem as angry anymore. He walked over to Raven and took her by the hand leading her over to his mother to introduce them. "Raven, this is my mom Sandi... mom this is my girlfriend Raven."

Raven released his hand to give the older woman a hug. "It's nice to finally meet you in person Ms. Graham."

Sandi returned the embrace affectionately. "It's nice to meet you too sweetheart, and call me Sandi." She took a step back to get a good look at her and then turned to Drake. "She's very pretty Aubrey." She said to her son causing Raven to blush.

"Thank you, Sandi. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the airport, I needed to go to the grocery store since someone likes to keep the refrigerator bare." Raven stated while cutting her eyes at the man standing beside her.

"I don't find that hard to believe with this one," said Sandi with a stare that matched Raven's.

"Listen, this will not be gang up on Aubrey week okay?" said Drake watching the two women stare him down

"I'm not ganging up on you; I just know how you are." His mother replied.

Drake flagged them off and placed his hand around his mother's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. How about we go get something to eat because I'm starving? That is unless you feel like cooking." HE looked down at Sandi who had a blank expression on her face that said it all. "Okay... then I guess we're going out." He said and Sandi nodded in agreement.

"Give me a few minutes, I have to go freshen up, I've been on a plane for five hours." Sandi exited the kitchen making her way to one of the downstairs bathrooms.

"Thank you for being here, and straightening the place up for me." He knew the guys didn't bother doing it. "I didn't think you were going to show."

"Well, I wouldn't want to be a cheater and a liar. I said I would be here, so I'm here." She said with her back to him as she put the groceries in the fridge.

Hearing the attitude return in her voice, he knew nothing had been resolved. "So you're still mad at me?"

Raven's head whipped around with a wide-eyed expression. She couldn't believe he could even ask her that. "You damn right I'm still mad at you. First, you're rude to me all night and then you accuse me of cheating on you, and on top of that, you tell me that you don't trust me. Which part am I not supposed to upset about?" she responded angrily but kept her voice low so his mother wouldn't overhear them. "Don't worry I'm not going to go off on you while your mom is here. I'll smile and pretend that everything's fine, but you and I have a lot to talk about."

Drake felt even worse. He walked over to where she stood and blocked her path to the refrigerator forcing her to hear him out. "Baby I was drunk and I shouldn't have let Dollicia put any of that shit in my head. You know I didn't mean any of it."

Rave rolled her eyes and sat the milk she was holding on the counter behind her. "You say a lot of things you don't mean."

Drake seemed a bit disappointed that nothing between them had changed since last night, but what more could he expect from her. He stepped forward sealing the space between them and making her uneasy in the process. It was hard to keep up the pretense that she was upset with his body pressed so close to hers, so she just looked away, but Drake turned her face back to his. "I meant it when I said I loved you, something you never replied to."

"Aubrey please, I really don't feel like having this discussion with you right now." Raven tried to retreat, but she was caged between his arms and the countertop.

The need to touch her was running through him, however, he resisted it. Drake leaned down and spoke softly; his lips brushed over Raven's ear making her shiver a bit. "Do you love me? It's a simple question, Raven."

Hearing his voice in her ear gave her chills; his touch set fire to her skin. 'Why did he have to make things so difficult?' she thought to herself. Raven knew that she loved him, but with the way, he behaved last night she just couldn't bring herself to say it, and in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think that he was only telling his feelings to appease her. His hand grazed her cheek as she locked eyes with him trying to find the right words. "...Aubrey, I-"

"Okay, I'm ready." Raven stopped what she was saying and Drake backed away as his mom entered the room. Sandi looked at the strained smiles on their faces and had a feeling that she just walked in on an intense discussion.