"Table for two please," Drake said, offering the waitress a soft smile. She led them to a table in the middle of the room. A chandelier hung over their head and aesthetically pleasing plants surrounded them. The building was bustling with families and couples.
Drake slid into the booth next to Rihanna, who put her hand on top of his. "I know you usually don't come here, but I figured you needed a change."
"When you invited me on a date, I didn't necessarily think you meant the Cheesecake Factory. But I promise I won't dump wine on you or toss cake in your face." They shared a laugh and Rihanna lovingly kissed Drake on the cheek, who smiled and murmured in her ear,
"I'm going to go freshen up." He slid out of the booth, leaving his phone on the table. Rihanna uses her own thumbprint to unlock the phone to take pictures of herself on his camera app, but she notices a strange message appear on his phone. She taps the notification. The number is not saved and looks eerily familiar.
???: Who tf do you think I am?
???: Please speak to me. I've been waiting so long.
???: Who the fuck are you with?
???: Aubrey answer me, right tf now.
"Shit..." A deep voice boomed. He kissed his teeth and gazed at her. "Who texted me? I deadass have nothing to hide but you look like you've seen a ghost."
"Aubrey, who is this female in your phone and what is she talking about?" Rihanna shoved him the phone, furrowing her brows.
"This is not what it looks like..." he shakes his head, hanging it, "there's some shit I have to tell you. It'll probably explain why I'm so adamant about having kids."
Rihanna tilted her head quizzically as he pressed on.
"Nicki and I used to have a thing on the low while she was with Safaree as you know. One thing led to another, and I ended up getting her pregnant. As soon as she found out, I was elated. But, I was also hurt because I knew that her real love was with Safaree and not me. How could I bring a child into a broken home like that?" Drake let out a sigh, and continued. "I told her adoption was a good option, but she knew the media would latch onto that. I wasn't opposed to keeping the baby, but I wasn't all for it either. One night I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and there was my unborn baby in the toilet. Nicki was sprawled across the floor, drenched in blood. To this day I'm still in shock that she would do something so foolish, so reckless. So dangerous..."
Rihanna remained silent as Drake dug his teeth into his lower lip. His face grew red and he blinked a couple of times. He cleared his throat and attempted to gather his jumbled up thoughts.
"I got her to a hospital, made sure she was well, and after she got out she began to blame me for the reason why she did the abortion. Her number has been blocked, unblocked, and unsaved multiple times. I try to check up on her every now and then, but she's so damn resentful that nothing gets through. Everyone wonders why we don't speak or work together anymore," he shook his head, croaking, "that's exactly why. She murdered my child, used me when she was bored with Safaree, and claimed she loved me but always threw herself back at him. I have a lot of experience with that shit, though."
"I'm sorry, Aubrey..." Rihanna rested her hand on his knee.
"It's fine, it's all good. Swear. Just don't know why she's trying to reach out to me. I want nothing to do with her, and it's her fault that Safaree found out. She's never been good at hiding anything."
The waitress approached them in that split second, asking for their drinks and orders. Drake and Rihanna both ordered cajun pasta just to try something new together. Drake ordered his usual white wine, and Rihanna decided to get water. The waitress walked away quickly to fill their order.
"Let's just forget about her," Rihanna suggested, "because you know what's important now? I might be pregnant. And I could even be pregnant with twins. Wouldn't that be bomb as fuck?"
Drake laughed. "It really would be. You'd be a fantastic mother. I just didn't know you'd be all for it at this point in your career. You're going up continuously, I feel like pregnancy would slow you down."
"Nothing slows me down," Rihanna snapped, adding, "a whole abusive relationship did nothing to my career but make it stronger. So, in that case, I can handle pregnancy."
Drake smiled gently. "You truly are such a phenomenal woman, you know that?" He pressed his lips to hers, taking in her scent and her soft lips. He brushed his lips to her ear, whispering, "Date night ends at my house tonight."
Rihanna smirked at him and he rested his hand on her upper thigh, therapeutically moving it up and down.
Weeks later, the couple cruised down the streets of Toronto. "I'm so excited for you to see Mom again," Drake said, squeezing her hand. "She's been missing you and wondering about us a lot."
"I'm ready to see her again, too. It's been a minute." Rihanna reminisced to when her and Drake were only friends with benefits for the thousandth time in 2015. Rihanna remembered hearing Drake rap about his mom's reaction on If You're Reading This It's Too Late.
Having conversations with mama, man, my life is a mess
Ain't been returning the texts, so she been reading the press
She got Google Alerts, them shits go straight to her phone
She worry 'bout me from home, you know she raised me alone
She said, "I heard you back with you know who"
I told her, "girl, I'm always back with you know who"
And she like, "who are we kidding? You're 27, you just being you
You're your father's child, man, thank God you got some me in you"
That was the last time Rihanna heard about what Sandi thought of her, and it bothered her to this day.
Drake pulled into Sandi's driveway. He got out and opened Rihanna's door for her, who wrapped her coat around herself tighter. Drake led her to the front door, and he stuck the key in the door, opening it. Sandi was sitting in the living room on the couch, sipping from a mug.
"Hi son!" She got up slowly, hugging him tightly. He gently picked her up off of the floor in the generous hug and put her back down. Her eyes locked with Rihanna's and she frowned.
"No need to worry, mama. We are official."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, and she might be pregnant." Drake enthusiastically placed his hand on Rihanna's lower stomach.
"Pregnant? Hm..." Sandi took a long sip from her cup and set it on the coffee table. "Will there be a marriage?"
Drake shrugged. "I'm not actually sure yet."
"What do you mean you're not sure yet?" Rihanna questioned, folding her arms. "I'm worthy of having your kids, but not having your last name?"
"That's not what I meant..." Drake sighed.
Rihanna scoffed. "I don't care how you meant it. It's all about how it came out to me. You deadass sound so disrespectful." Drake glared at Rihanna in contempt and their voices simultaneously rose in volume.
"What's with all the yelling?" A loud voice pierced through the room and the color instantly drained from Drake's face. Rihanna locked eyes with the woman and frowned, murmuring,
"What is she doing here?"
"I have no idea."
Sandi scurried over to the female rapper, hugging her tightly and greeting her. "Good morning, sweetheart." Nicki was dressed in a Victoria's Secret pink athletic wear set and some boots. She had on minimal makeup and light gloss. Her eyes were tired as if she hadn't slept in days.
"Good morning."
"How are you feeling?" Sandi stood closely by Nicki. Rihanna felt uneasy and kept her eyes on Drake, who clenched his jaw.
Drake gulped. "Mom, can we speak in private?"
"No, Aubrey. I know exactly what it is about!" Sandi retorted. "Nicki has been living with me. After that mishap and her hiatus from the spotlight, she's been hiding out here."
Drake rolled his eyes and stood up. "For what, exactly? There's no need for her to hide out here. She has multiple condos."
Nicki shook her head and avoided eye contact, pulling out her iPhone.
"Aubrey, I would like for you to stop questioning me. I've been waiting for you two to reconcile...." Sandi trailed off. "However you're tied up with Robyn."
"Yes I am. I'm not interested in anything else."
"Well you have to be!" Nicki shrieked, slamming her phone on the counter. "You have no choice anymore."
Drake widened his eyes. "Fuck are you yelling for? I am grown as fuck. Rih and I can step our asses on out of here." Drake nodded towards the door and Rihanna reluctantly stood up, linking hands with her boyfriend. As he opened the door, Nicki shouted,
"So you're going to leave your baby mother and your child here? Just like that?"
Rihanna shook her hand free from Drake and turned around. "I'm the only baby mother in this room."
"That's where you have it all wrong. All wrong." Nicki called a name out. A young boy who looked about two years old came running to her, clinging tightly to her leg.
Drake's heart dropped to his stomach and he was at a loss for words.
It was so eerily silent in the room that one could hear a pen drop. Sandi twiddled her thumbs and spoke gently, "He's yours. Don't even question it, Aubrey. You've seen the texts, the appointments. The abortion failed and we know the truth. You've ignored this poor girl about it for a long time...just accept it now. I just want the best for you both." The women who conspired together stared at Drake compassionately, who turned on his heel and stormed out to his car, slamming the door behind him. Rihanna quickly caught up and yanked the passenger door open, closing it.
"Aubrey..." Her voice quivered. She thought she would have his first child. She thought she would carry the prized Graham seed. Everything was ruined. Everything. At this point she hoped she would still be infertile. She began screaming at herself in her head, wrestling with herself. Why did I even try to be pregnant? I'm so fucking stupid. I'm so fucking stupid to think anything would ever work out differently with this man.
Drake didn't respond and instead started sobbing against the wheel. Rihanna rubbed his back, feeling every ounce of pain radiate from his body. He sniffed and turned his CD up. "I don't have time to cry," he whispered, wiping his nose. "We're just going to go for a drive."
"Aubrey, I understand you're trying to protect us, but you have to go back in there."
"I think that would be the last thing you'd want me to do right now." He switched gears and backed up, skidding recklessly away. "I want you to take a pregnancy test tonight alright? We'll be in a hotel, far away from them. Fuck what ever they're talking about. I only want a future with you." He rested his hand on her thigh and she remained silent. What if he knew about this abortion failing and he lied to me? What if all of his love isn't true? Here I am looking like Booboo the fucking fool, bending my ass over backwards to get pregnant with his child....
"I want a future with you too Aubrey," she sighed, and the words came out with much sadness.
"Robyn, how long until we find out?" Drake had a towel wrapped around his waist. His body was still wet from his shower. His caramel skin seemed to glisten under the light.
"Not long, baby." She scrolled on Instagram and watched her timer wind down. "About seven minutes now."
"Ugh. The longest seven minutes of my life." Drake went back into the bathroom and ran product through his curls. He brushed his teeth to spend two minutes and gargled. "What is it now?"
"Four." Rihanna sat up in the bed, putting her hair up in a bun. She had on only a silk robe. She walked over to her man to give him a kiss. "I hope I'm pregnant, Aubs."
"Me too, baby. If not we'll try again right now." Drake lifted Rihanna up and sat her on the counter in the spacious bathroom, kissing her neck as she giggled.
"Babe, stop. It won't be long from now."
"Damn," Drake groaned and the timer went off loudly. Rihanna ran over and turned it off.
"What does it say?" She rushed over to him. He stood there quietly, covering his mouth.
"Robyn... I'm-"
"Aubrey, show it to me." She grabbed his hand to look at the results. "Oh my god..." she whispered, squeezing his hand tightly. She grabbed her phone to call Mel, and it began to ring.