Raven was making her way up the stairs to the V.I.P section. The guard removed the velvet rope to allow her to enter the secluded area where Drake stood about forty feet away. As she moved in closer, she was sure to see him talking to Dollicia and Ryan saw this, which is why he made an interception.
"Raven!" Ryan embraced Raven in a bear hug lifting her off her feet and shifting their bodies to block her view.
Raven was caught off guard by Ryan's sudden embrace. She let out a low yelp feeling his arms wrap around her squeezing her arms at her side. "Ryan... you can let me go now." Their closeness allowed her to catch a whiff of the alcohol on his breath.
"Not yet." He said while still holding her and stalling for his cousin.
At this point Raven was giving him some serious side eye. She tilted her head back to get a good glimpse at him and was greeted by his teasing smirk. "Okay, now I know you're high... boy quit playing around and put me down." Finally he released her. Her hands smoothed down the front of her dress as her eyes scanned the room trying to seek out Drake.
She saw Hush, and some random chick, 40 and another random chick, Chubbs, some more random chicks and lastly there was Niko with, wait for it... more random chicks. 'This is going to be an interesting night.' She thought to herself while staring at the intoxicated faces that were blurred by the cloud of smoke surrounding them. Ryan's voice lifted her from her thoughts bringing her attention back to him.
"No, for real though. Who was that girl you were talking to down there?" He asked looking over the balcony.
Raven followed his eyes peeking over the balcony to see who he was looking at. "Danielle? We used to work together. Why?" Raven looked him up and down, seeing his interest she shook her head profusely. "Uh-uh, don't even think about it."
"What? You not gonna introduce me to her?"
"Hell no." she stated sternly. If it's one thing she learned in life, it's never set up people you know, because when things go bad, you always end up in the middle of it. Besides, Ryan hasn't reached the settle down phase in his life yet, and Raven didn't want her friend to get hurt.
"Why not?" He asked crossing his arms in front of him.
"Why? Because there's a red head sitting next to Chubbs and judging from the mean mug she's currently giving me, I'm guessing she's with you." said Raven causing Ryan to look in the direction of said woman whose glare was fixed on the both of them.
He turned back to Raven sporting a coy smirk knowing she was right. "Listen Raven, sharing is caring. I'm just too much man for one woman."
'At least he's honest about it.' Raven sighed and patted him on the shoulder "And that is why I'll never hook you up with any of my friends." She laughing, but she soon stopped when her eyes drifted into the direction of the man approaching her.
It's been three days since she's seen Drake, so naturally the smile on her face widened having him in front of her. He was dressed causal, but well put together in a pair of dark jeans and black shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbow. She was so enamored with seeing him, that she didn't notice the off details in his demeanor. Her happiness didn't mirror his, where her face was all smiles, his was all tight lips, set jaw and piercing eyes. Forgetting all about Ryan, she helped close the distance between them. "Hey, babe!" Raven wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him enthusiastically, but his lip was unmoving against hers causing her to pull back with a questioning gaze. "Is everything okay?"
Drake did nothing but stare at her. Just like that Dollicia had twisted his mind and he didn't know what to think of the woman in front of him. He wanted to say fuck no, everything isn't okay, but instead he just nodded. "I'm cool. What took you so long getting here?"
"Traffic was backed up and I had to stop for gas." Raven replied with ease not needing to think about the answer because it was the truth.
He silently assessed her, seeing if he could spot any signs of a lie. He stared at her, almost as if he was trying to look though her. Raven had no clue what was going on in his head. She gave him a weird look confused by his behavior. "Gas huh... so where were you last night?" he asked with an underlying tone in his voice.
Raven just laughed it off. "What's up with all the questions?"
Drake shook his head leaving it alone for the time being. "Nothing. Come on, I need a drink." He said taking Raven by the hand to lead her back to their table.
That one drink turned into two and that two doubled into four. The whole setting was uncomfortable for Raven. She didn't want to be out in the first place, but here she was surrounded by his friends and their ladies for the evening, while he drowned whatever problems he was having in cognac. Every now and then between making small talk with the women around her, she would glimpse over at Drake and catch him shooting daggers at of the side of her face. Her eyebrows knitted together in thought. He was quiet and sulking the entire night. Something was bothering him and she wanted to know what it was. Drake leaned forward to refill his glass once more. He lifted it to his face letting the warm contents slide down his throat. Raven frowned slightly looking at the pair of lips that were attached to a glass, lips that should have been attached to hers.
The DJ played another one of his new songs and the club went crazy. In an attempt to get rid of the dark cloud over his head she slid closer to him with an enthused look on her face. "Why don't you sit your drink down and dance with me?" she stood up and grabbed his free hand trying to pull him to his feet.
Drake stayed put on the couch not budging an inch, in fact he snatched his hand away causing her to raise a surprising eyebrow. "You go ahead, I'm good." He replied and finished the remainder of his glass.
Raven's chastising stare was fixed on him with her hands locked on her hips. "No you're not Aubrey, you need to slow down. Your mom is flying in tomorrow, I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to see you hungover." Raven was going to finally meet his mother. This was something that she'd been looking forward to for a while now and wanted to make a good impression.
"She's right, you need to chill." 40 dropped his conversation with the woman sitting beside him to state the obvious. He'd noticed that Drake had been acting strange every since he dipped off with Dollicia- a move which he didn't think was smart- and now he was attempting to finish off the bottle in front of him. He didn't know what she said to him, but whatever it was; it was clearly messing with his head.
Looking back and forth between Raven and 40, Drake let out a chuckle that sounded almost like a snort. Ignoring their pleas, he reached for the bottle, but was denied when Raven got to it first removing it from his grasp. His eye shot up at her with frustration building in him. Drake looked to his left and saw the blunt in Niko's hand, he took it, putting it to his lips. Niko didn't even notice it was gone, his eyes were barely open and his body and slouched against the couch.
Raven watched in disgust as he blew smoke into the air acting as if she wasn't even standing right there in front of him. This is exactly the reason why she didn't like going to clubs with 'Drake,' she'd much rather be cuddled up with Aubrey. "Seriously babe, what is your problem?" she asked trying to see where his head was at.
"At this moment it's you; damn can you get off my back." He blurted out with an attitude. This caused everyone to eyeball him strangely.
This was his night, and not wanting to spoil it, Raven thought it would be best if she walked away before the bottle in her hand found his head. "You know what... forget it. Do you." She dropped the bottle in his lap and walked away.
"So you're just gonna let her leave." 40 questioned and got his answer when Drake continued his actions, not bothering to even look in his direction. "That's fucked up." He shook his head and got up from the couch going off in the same direction as Raven. None of this seemed to faze the rapper, not even the head shakes and glances he was getting from his other friends.
After leaving the VIP, 40 caught up to Raven making her way through the dance floor. He placed a hand on Raven's shoulder stopping her in her tracks. "You know he's drunk and he's-"
"An asshole." said Raven.
He put both hands up not protesting with a smile. "Your words, not mine." He said making her laugh, which was good because she could use it. "Come on, don't leave. In a few minutes, he's gonna realize that he fucked up and want to apologize."
"I'll stay, but you have to dance with me."
"I can't dance."
"Oh you'll be fine Noah, just follow my lead."
A throwback came on and the club really started moving when peaches and cream started blaring through the speakers. Raven danced face to face with 40 letting the music take her to another place. She threw her hands in the air shaking her hips to the beat and eventually began to dance around him. 40 on the other hand was as stiff as a board and looked uncomfortable standing there. Raven laughed looking at the horrified expression on his face. "You need to relax Noah, loosen up a bit." She grabbed both of his hands forcing him to move along with her.
"Come on, we'll do a simple two step, watch my feet." said Raven, and he did just that. "Okay, step right, step left, step right, step left." She repeated over until he got the hang of it.
"I think I got." He continued looking down at her feet, mimicking her actions.
"Yeah, you're doing good, now we're gonna get fancy." When she said this his head looked up from the floor staring at her with a warning glare that made her laugh. "up, up, back, back." Raven repeated theses steps over again, and just like that he was moving without her instructions or guidance. "See, I told you you'll be fine."
"I got this, this is easy." He beamed with a confident grin that Raven returned in kind as the two of them continued dancing.
"Yeah, now all you have to do is catch the beat." Raven replied teasingly.
40 instantly came to a halt throwing his hands up in defeat. "That's it, I'm done." That was it for him, cut and dry. He gave a wave goodbye and proceeded to leave the dance floor.
"No, Noah I was just joking, don't go." She pleaded in an effort to get him to come back, but he just turned around with a smile on his face while shaking his head no. Raven laughed watching him leave and kept on dancing all by her lonesome.
Having enough embarrassment for one night, 40 made his way back to the VIP. 'The things people do for their friends,' he thought to himself. Just as he took his place on the lush couch relaxing his body against it, Drake walked over to him and tapped his knee.
"I'm ready to get up out of here. Where's Raven?" he asked knowing he was with her last.
"She's still dancing." 40 tiredly pointed in the direction he left her.
Drake was angry, irritated, and exhausted, but most of all he was ready to go. This night hadn't turned out the way he wanted it to. He was supposed to be celebrating the finishing of his album with his friends and his girlfriend, but now everyone was looking at him like he was the bad guy. Drake walked over to the balcony to see if he could spot her. The place was packed, but he could easily pick her out in a room full of faces, even in his inebriated state. When he saw her dancing all alone looking as if she didn't have a care in the world, it did something to him. For a moment he forgot all about his anger as he watched her from a distance appreciating the way her body moved like a free spirit. Her eyes were sealed shut making him wonder what she was thinking about or who for that matter. He felt a conflicted twinge seeing her smile and tried to convince himself that there was a good explanation for that picture, but he couldn't think of one. It was as clear as day, Trey was kissing Raven and from the look of it, she didn't mind.
As he watched, he saw a man approach her. He wrapped his arm around Raven's waist and whispered something in her ear. She laughed and turned around to hug this guy that he's never seen before. Before he knew it his feet started moving towards the man who had his arm wrapped around Raven. As soon as he came within reach of them, he placed his arm around Raven's hip pulling her into him as he planted a sloppy kiss on her neck. Raven was startled by the sudden interruption. The smell of alcohol, weed, and Tom Ford cologne alerted her to who it was. She looked up at him and the previous smile on her face faded away, he was in an even worse condition than when she first left him. His body slumped against hers almost as if he was using her to stand which was slightly amusing due to their height difference. She turned to the guy in front of her to introduce them. "Dominic, this is my boyfriend Aub-"
"Drake." He cut her off staring the man down.
Raven wanted to roll her eyes but kept her cool.
"Right... well Drake, this is my friend Dominic, we go way back."
"It's nice to meet you man." Dominic extended his hand out to Drake and offered a kind smile, both of which went ignored.
"Like wise." Drake looked down at Raven, and then to the man standing across from her like he was waiting for an explanation. "So how well do you two know each other?" he asked with an accusing tone.
"Aubrey don't..." she turned to him with soft eyes that silently begged him not to embarrass her.
Keeping his cavalier attitude, he shrugged his shoulders brushing off her concerns. "I'm just sayin' you two were looking real comfortable over here."
Dominic was feeling the tension and from the uneasy expression on Raven's face she felt it too. "You don't have anything to worry about, Raven and I are just friends, we met when we were dancing on the same tour." Dominic assured him.
Drake's mouth opened slightly nodding his head up and down like realization had set in. "Oh I see, so you're a dancer? Damn, my bad, you probably don't even like pussy." He replied and threw his arm around Raven's shoulder giving her another kiss on the cheek, but this time she pulled away to glare at him.
Raven was mortified, she couldn't believe how rude and disrespectful he was being. "And on that note we're gonna go. I'm so sorry Dominic, it was nice seeing you again." She said as she dragged him away from Dominic. When they were out of earshot of him, she stopped to try and talk to Drake to see if he could rationalize his behavior. "What is wrong with you, and why are you acting like a jackass?" she asked angrily.
"I shouldn't have to look up and see some random ass nigga hugged up on you." Drake shouted loud enough for her to hear. It's a good thing the music was so loud or else the whole club would have heard.
She stepped closer to him and placed her hand on his chest trying to ease his jealous mind. "Aubrey, it was an innocent hug, nothing more."
"Innocent? He was looking at you like he wanted to fuck, but I can't blame him, look at what you have on." Raven stood there in wide eyed shock. Not only was he acting like a jackass, but he was acting like a bipolar jackass, he's the one who picked out the dress she was wearing.
"Aubrey, you're the one who told me to wear this dress tonight." She argued back, looking very confused at the man who stood before her.
"Whatever...come on it's time to go anyway, I'm ready to go to bed." Drake took her by the hand practically dragging her through the club.
Getting tired stumbling in her heels trying to keep up with him as he and Hush move through the crowd, she snatch away from him. "You know what, you're drunk and you're high, and I'm not going anywhere with you while you're acting this way."
Raven stormed past him and towards the exit of the club, but he followed behind her. When they got outside the guys were already waiting for them by the Escalade. After finding the small ticket in her clutch, Raven went over to the valet to claim her car. While she waited for the valet to come back, she was steadily ignoring Drakes attempts to talk to her. The driver pulled her car in front leaving it running for her. She brushed past Drake walking over to the driver side of the car with plans to get in, but he rushed over and snatched her keys out of the ignition. Raven stood there with her hands on her hips annoyed by his childish antics. "Give me my keys Aubrey."
"I'll give them back to you when we get to my house." He tucked the keys in his pocket and leaned against the hood of her car.
"I'm not going to your house, now give me my damn keys." She had her hand out waiting for him to return what was hers, but he was intent on what he said. Raven was mystified by the stubborn man in front of her. Giving up, she moved past him and back on the sidewalk. "Fuck it, you can keep them, I'll call an Uber." She said as she marched down the street in her heels that weren't meant for walking.
When she started walking away he got up off the car and followed behind her, "Ryan drive her car back to the house." He stated tossing the keys back to him. Ryan jumped in the passenger seat and Chubbs rode shotgun leaving the back seat free for the women they were with. 40 and Niko took off in another ride, leaving Hush there with the bickering couple.
"Raven where are you going, get in the car." Drake yelled out as he jogged to catch up with her. When he did he grabbed her by the wrist trying to get her to do what he said.
"I told you I'm not going anywhere with you." Raven fought against his firm hold not wanting to be anywhere near him right now.
"Raven, I don't have time for this. Get in the damn car." He gritted out.
The more she fought him, the tighter his hold became making her lose circulation. "Let go of me Aubrey, you're hurting my wrist."
Hush pulled the SUV up beside them and honked the horn to get their attention. "Hey... this is not a good look right now. So unless you two want to be all over the Shaderoom tomorrow I suggest both of you get in."
The last thing they wanted was to be in the press for something stupid. So sucking up pride, she pushed Drake away from her and got in the awaiting SUV. The ride back to the house was the worst. Hush drove and Drake and Raven sat behind him. During the ride he noticed that she kept rubbing her wrist. He looked over and saw the slight discoloring mark on her skin turning into a bruise and felt bad. Drake reached over to try and touch her, but she jerked away.
"Don't touch me right now." Raven said in her aggravated state. She went back to staring out the window finding the passing lines on the street more interesting.
Drake pulled his lingering hand back feeling offended. "Oh so you can let other nigga's touch you, but I can't."
Raven took her attention from the window, turning to face the pouting man sitting beside her. "Seriously, what are you talking about?" She asked as they rode through the gates of his mansion.
Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and went to the picture that Dollicia had sent him. "This is what I'm talking about. You kiss all your friends like that?"
For a second there Raven didn't know what she was looking at. She took the phone from him to get a better view and recognized the picture instantly, but something else also caught her attention. She looked up and saw the phone number it was sent from and shook her head. "Figures, now I see who has you acting like an asshole. Tell Dollicia I said hello the next time you talk to her." Raven tossed the phone back in his lap and got out the vehicle and went inside the house. They guys were back as well and entertaining their guest. Raven walked right by everyone and headed straight up the stairs.
Drake came in a few seconds after her, slamming the door behind him. All eyes went in his direction, but no one said anything as he went up the stairs. He followed her into the bedroom, slamming that door as well. "Don't try to flip it. This doesn't have shit to do with her, she's not the one in the picture." Drake replied picking up their conversation where it left off. He was pissed, she didn't even try to deny it, not that she could.
Raven had her back to him as she rummaged through the drawer for her pajamas. It was late, and she wanted nothing more than to lay down and forget about this whole night. She nodded her head closing the drawer after finding some shorts and a tank top. "So let me get this straight, your ex digs up a photo from god knows where and instead of asking me about it like an adult, you run with it and behave like a jerk all night. You're acting like you don't even trust me."
"Maybe I shouldn't." he coldly responded making her face drop.
Raven stood frozen in place, shocked by his words. "Wow..." she didn't know what else to say. Feeling a lump form in her throat, she shut her mouth tightly giving herself a moment before speaking. "That photo that you have was taken a while ago at a club in New York. I told you about that kiss before we even started dating." Raven stated in an all too calming voice. She grabbed her clutch from the dresser and reached inside pulling out a square red box on the bed. "That's what I was busy doing yesterday. Congratulations on the album." Raven exited the bedroom and into the bathroom closing the door behind her.
Drake walked over to the bed, and picked up the box. He opened it and saw a gold owl ring with a diamond bezel. On the outside, there was an engraving that read 'A Perfect Fit.' He read it and felt like shit. Drake walked over to the bathroom, and tapped light on the door. "Raven, baby open the door." He spoke softly, knowing she heard him. He turned the knob only to find that it was locked and knocked some more. "I'm sorry... can you just come out so we can talk." His head leaned against the door waiting for an answer, but nothing came. He gave up when he heard the shower water running.
The whole time she was in the shower, he sat on the foot of the bed waiting for that door to open. When it did, Raven came out dressed in her pajamas and walked right passed him climbing into the bed. He sighed and went to sit on the edge next to her tucked away form. Drake leaned down to kiss her, but she turned over giving him her back. He rested his hand on her hip trying to get her to listen to him. "Baby, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I fucked up, I know I was acting like a jealous asshole, but I only act this way because I love you." He confessed and felt her body tense. "I don't know how to handle that yet, but I promise I'm gonna work on it, I just need you to be patient with me." There was a deadly silence in the air. A part of him was waiting for Raven to say I love you in return, but when it didn't come, he felt his heart sink into his stomach. The feeling of rejection wasn't something he was accustomed to; he was embarrassed and needed to get out of that room. "Listen, it's been a long night, I think I'm gonna crash in the other room tonight." He got up from the bed and walked out of the room. The last thing Raven heard was the door softly shutting.
As soon as the door closed, she released the tears she was holding back.