The next morning Raven had to force herself to wake up. Sunrays beamed throughout the room and across the king-sized bed; making the two of them look like something out of a Better Homes and Garden magazine. She woke up in Drake's arms, with her face lying on his chest. His hands rubbed up and down her back letting her know that he was awake as well.
Drake held her close to him, loving the feel of her soft body pressed against his. This was the feeling he'd been longing for but never achieved with his one night stands. It was the feeling of content; he was satisfied with just being there with her. Drake stroked her hair as the two of them laid there in silence. "How did you sleep?" he asked.
Raven smiled snuggling into him. "I didn't, somebody kept me up."
His mind did an instant replay of last night, recalling every single position that played out on the bed and the floor. "I didn't hear any complaints."
"Complaining was the furthest thing from my mind." She said with a laugh. "So what time is your flight?" Raven asked.
"10:15 a.m."
Raven sat up and ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to get in under some kind of control. "Then we need to get out of this bed or you're gonna miss your flight."
Drake simply shrugged his shoulder, "Then I'll just catch another one," was his nonchalant reply. It wouldn't be the first time he's missed a flight. Then a thought came to him, "or I could book another seat."
Raven's eyes narrowed, she looked at him in a suspicious manner. "Aubrey, what are you talking about?"
"Why don't you take a vacation and come to L.A. with me? I can call up my travel agent and book you a ticket right now." Drake's arm reached out across the night stand for his phone, but Raven stopped him.
"That's sweet and everything, but I think we need to slow this down just a little bit," said Raven.
"Slow things down? I think it's a little too late for that."
"You know what I mean Aubrey. We haven't even been out on a date yet and you want me to come shack up in your house." It was bad enough she slept with him, she wasn't about to have him thinking that she was going to be on call booty.
"Yeah, but it's a really nice house." Drake reasoned.
Raven let out a sigh as she climbed on top of him to straddle his hips. "Listen, I know you're used to women falling over themselves to get to you, but I'm not like that. I don't need you paying my airfare and whatever else you're used to paying for. I don't want a sponsor, I just want you."
The biggest grin was now on his face. "So you're admitting that you want me?" he asked teasingly.
Raven stared at him with a blank expression. "Did you hear anything that I just said?"
His hands slowly moved up her bare thighs, "I did, but it's hard to listen with you on me like this." Raven sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. She tried to climb off of him, but his hands locked around her hips keeping her in place. "Are you gonna miss me?" he asked in a more serious tone.
Raven placed her hand on her chin giving it some thought. When a couple of seconds went by with no response, she felt him pinch her side, making her laugh. "Alright, maybe just a little bit. But if you're good, you might be seeing me a lot sooner than you think." Raven had yet to tell him about her move to L.A., she decided to keep that to herself for now until she found out where his head was at.
Raven's thumb ran across his bottom lip before she held it captive between her own. She savored every inch of his mouth with her tongue. When the need for air was too much she pulled away and began planted kisses on his chin. Raven moved further down stopping briefly at his collarbone giving him a subtle nip. Drake bit down on his lip, feeling the warmth of her tongue ease down his abdomen. His fingers clenched the bedsheets to keep his impatient hands from pushing her head further south. The muscles in his stomach tighten as she kissed right above the waistband of his boxers. The impending act made the blood in his brain rush to his hardening shaft. He waited with anticipation, but all of that was shattered when the doorbell rang. 'Fuck!' he cursed to himself. Drake thought if he just laid there and ignored it, then whoever it was would go away, but then he heard a sound that couldn't be mistaken for anything but a door opening.
"Was that the door?" she asked propping herself up.
Drake was alerted for a brief second when he heard his front door open, but then his fleeted memory came back to him. "Aw fuck, that's Chubbs. I told him to make sure I don't oversleep." said Drake. Raven climbed off of him and he got up from the bed. "Wait right here, I'm gonna get rid of him, then me and you can finish what we were doing."
Raven checked the time on the clock that was sitting on the nightstand, it was after eight. She got up from the bed, walking over to where he stood. "Aubrey you're gonna be late, besides, I have to meet with my agent this morning and kiss up to my friend for missing her party. So I'm gonna take a quick shower, and head out."
He tugged at the shirt she was wearing, pulling her closer to him. "Ten minutes, that's all I'm asking." He looked at her with puppy dog eyes that were good for getting women to do whatever he wanted.
"No." She kissed his cheek and walked away.
Drake watched as she disappeared into his adjoining bathroom. When the door closed behind her, he shook his head. She had him gone, and there was no going back. It was now time to deal with the interruption. Drake left his bedroom and made his way down the hall of his condo. He looked in the living room, and not only was Chubbs there, but 40 and Hush were there too. He should have figured as much since they all were traveling together. "Yo, you couldn't call first?" he asked in an exasperated tone.
The guys turned around to be greeted by Drake standing at full attention. A bunch of disgruntle words came his way. "Damn man, ain't nobody tryin' see that shit." Chubbs put his hand over his eyes, and throw a pillow at Drake.
Drake caught the pillow and used it to cover the tent in his boxers. "That's exactly why you should have called first."
"Why, you were in there having a wet dream or something?" 40 asked, and everybody but Drake laughed.
"Nah, that wasn't no dream. Ya'll don't hear that shower running?" Hush pointed out while keeping his face glued on the screen of his phone.
"Who's that back there?" 40 asked from his spot on the sofa.
Drake chose to ignore that question for now. Knowing his friends, it wouldn't be the last time they ask. "Look, can ya'll chill out in the kitchen, until I say it's cool to come out?" he asked them.
Hush, 40, and Chubbs all exchanged the same faux hurt looks. "Why you tryin' hide us like we're your side hoe's and shit?" Chubbs asked.
Drake turned his head to hide the smirk on his face. "Just go in the kitchen." He told them. There were a bunch of groans and side eyes as they made their way into the kitchen. He knew they were gonna give him shit later. He was just thankful Ryan wasn't there, because he would have definitely showed his ass.
After the guys piled into the other room, Drake retraced his steps last night trying to find Raven's dress. Finally he found it on the floor. Drake shook his head brandishing a smile on his face, and scooped it up heading back towards his room. When he entered, Raven was already out of the shower, she wasn't joking when she said a quick shower. He took in the sight of her in the white towel that was securely wrapped around her body. Little water bubbles freckled her skin making it glisten. Her hand reached up to her head to release her hair from the bun it was wrapped in. Hair that was once straight was now back to its normal wavy state.
Drake walked over to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He held her close as he leaned down to speak into her ear. "Are you sure I can't convince you to come with me?"
She rubbed circles on his arm with her thumb as she stared at his reflection in the mirror. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot of things I need to take care of here." Raven took her dress from him and went back into the bathroom to get dressed.
Drake sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Raven had opened up to him physically, and she was beginning to open up emotionally, but he could tell that she wasn't quite ready to make a full leap into him. From what she told him last night, she didn't have a good track record with men, so she most likely had trust issues, hell what woman didn't? While he was deep in thought, Raven came back into the room fully dressed with her hair in a ponytail. She smiled at him, and he rose from the bed to walk her to the door.
Drake was thankful the guys stayed in the kitchen as he asked, he didn't want to deal with that awkwardness. The two of them stood there at the door, finally bringing an end to their night together.
"So Mr. Graham, what happens now?" Raven asked while fidgeting with the clutch in her hand.
He extended his arm, reaching for the elastic band that held her hair in a ponytail, and gently pulled it out, letting her hair graze the top of her breasts. "Now you kiss me and tell me how much you're madly in love with me." He joked but still managed to make her blush.
Raven folded her arms tilting her head to the side. "I thought you were a rapper, what's up with the jokes?"
He just laughed, "I'll call you when I land."
She pressed her lips against his once more, lingering there for a few seconds before backing away. "Have a safe flight, Aubrey," Raven said her goodbyes and walked out the door.
Back in the kitchen, the guys had their ear pressed against the swinging door trying to pick up the conversation. As soon as they heard the door closed, his friends came pouring out of the kitchen. Chubbs, 40, and Hush were all huddled behind Drake, waiting for him to turn around.
"Can we come out now, or do we still have to hide from your girl?" Chubbs and the rest of the guys stood there with knowing smirks.
"Who was that anyway?" 40 asked again, just like Drake knew he would.
"That was Raven." He replied walking back into the living room. They all flopped down on the couch.
"Damn, and I was gonna ask you to get her number for me," said Chubbs. Drake's head snapped up trying to gauge his serious expression on his friend's face, but he soon found out Chubbs was joking when he cracked a smile. "Nah, I'm just fucking with you. She seems cool though, and that body-"
Drake puts his hands up stopping him from going on. "Yo, can you chill on that shit."
"My bad man, so you're serious about the one?" he asked.
"I might be." He replied playing it cool for his boys, but on the inside, he was experiencing a whole new feeling that he didn't know what to call just yet.
"So where does Dollicia fit in all this. You know you're gonna have to cut off all your side pieces if you're talking about something serious." 40 chirped in being the voice of reason.
Drake nodded. He had come to this conclusion on his own. "I know, that's why I'm catching a later flight because I have to handle some stuff."
"Alright, well can you go put on some damn pants?" Chubbs asked once more and threw another pillow at him.