This was the worst either of them had ever seen the paparazzi. Everyone was lurking for a photo of the mystery baby. Just trying to get through the front gates to get in the house was a pain in the ass. Spoons basically had to threaten to run them over just to get past. Once they got through, all of the shouting began to fade away in the distance. When they pulled up to the front door, Spoons got out and opened the door for Raven, while Drake unbuckled Cameron's car seat to take him in the house. As soon as they got inside Drake carried Cam in his car seat to the living room and Raven followed behind with the diaper bag. There weren't many words spoken on the ride over in fear of what the other person had to say. Just as they were unfastening Cameron from his seat, Sandi entered the room. A smile spread across her face when she saw her grandson. She rushed over to him, but not before alerting the entire house of their arrival.
"Is he still sleeping?" Sandi asked while Raven eased him out of the seat so he could rest in her arms.
"Yeah, that car ride knocked him out," Drake responded with a smile on his face. As soon as they got moving, Cameron was out like a light.
"Oh Raven, I finally found a dress." Both Drake and Raven gave her confused looks making her tilt her head to the side. "For the wedding..." Sandi reminded them. They looked at each other, neither knowing what to say, so they just smiled and nodded. "I'll show it to you later."
Raven once again nodded with a smile, but on the inside, she was feeling so guilty. Their parents were all excited about a wedding that wasn't going to be happening. "Sandi, do you mind taking Cameron? I'm gonna take a shower while I still can." She asked, knowing full well that Sandi wasn't going to say no. Raven stood from the couch and carefully repositioned Cam in his grandmother's arms so she wouldn't disturb his sleep. Then she turned her sights to Drake. "Aubrey, can I talk to you for a second?"
When they got up to the bedroom, Raven headed to the walk-in closet. She opened up one of her drawers, but there was nothing but blank space staring back at her. Then she remembered, everything of hers was gone. "I'll get you something to change into." Drake's voice spoke out to interrupt her thoughts.
She turned to him and spoke her thanks as he moved around her to his side of the closet. Raven watched him as he silently shuffled through his drawers looking for something that would somewhat fit her. Finally, he held up a pair of ball shorts and a t-shirt. It wasn't what she had in mind, but she didn't have many other choices as of right now. Drake walked the clothes over to Raven and handed them over to her. Just as he was about to leave the room, she reached out for his hand, stopping him. He glanced down at his hand and back up to Raven with confusion written all over his face. This was the first time she had willingly touched him in a month and it didn't involve a slap.
"Listen, Aubrey, I know we're gonna have to tell them about us sooner or later, but I really rather it be later. I don't want to turn this weekend into a counseling session." Their parents were only staying for two more days, and for those two days, she didn't want their failed relationship to be the topic of discussion.
"So you wanna pretend like everything's fine for the weekend, but what about after that?" He asked with a slight attitude. Just when he was thinking that they were making some progress, she goes and pulls the rug out from under him. Now he understood why Raven didn't put up a fight about staying at the house, she didn't want anyone asking questions about why they were no longer living together.
"I'm sorry Aubrey, I know this is a lot for me to ask of you, but do you really want our parents in our business right now?" Raven reasoned, but he wasn't feeling any of it. He tried to walk away, but she was still holding onto his hand. "It's only for two days."
"That's the problem." Drake snapped at her, but it wasn't out of anger, it was more so him lashing out because he was hurt. Raven saw this and let him go. He shook his head and stomped out of the room.
The shower cool and relaxing, just what Raven needed for this California heat. When she got out of the shower with her towel wrapped around her, she stepped on the scale, curious as to what she weighed at the moment. Now before she had become pregnant, Raven weighed 125lbs, during her pregnancy she had gained 40lbs bringing her to 165, and now when she looked down at the numbers on the scale, she saw that she now weighed 157. She padded straight to the closet to observe herself in the full-length mirror. Her eyes scanned over every inch of her flesh, mentally picking at it as she went along. Her hands grazed her stomach area. It was no longer noticeably poking out, but there was some flab there and no longer any muscle definition. She roamed further down to her thighs, pinching the skin there, and watched as it jiggled in response. This was a dramatic change for Raven. Being a dancer, she was used to being toned, she still had some curves, but it was always toned, and now she had added curves and more jiggle to her body. Her hips were a little wider, her breasts were fuller, but she didn't mind that part.
Raven shook her head from side to side. All of the indulging she did while pregnant had caught up to her. "This trainer is going to kick my ass." She muttered to herself. Her rigorous training was going to start only days from now. Just thinking about it made Raven want to kick herself for all the pies she inhaled in the past few months.
After showering and changing, Raven headed down the stairs in a pair of leggings and a black cami. In her haste to move out, she missed a couple of drawers in the closet, not that she minded at the moment. The shorts were a little snug, but it was better than the baggy basketball shorts and t-shirt that Drake had given to her. When she reached the living room, she noticed that the women were all inside talking and the guys were nowhere in sight. The smell of barbecue floated through the house giving her a good idea of where they were. Raven went to join the women on the sofa, taking a seat next to her mother who was holding Cameron.
Raven looked down at her son who had been stripped down from his short set, wearing only an onesie and little white socks. "Hey baby, did grandma wake you up?" She accused knowingly as she tickled her son's feet that peeked through his blanket.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Karen as she continued to cradle Cameron in her arms. Hearing Raven's voice caused him to fuss in his grandmother's arms. "Are you getting new on me because your mother's around?"
Raven smiled at the offended look on her mom's face as she took her son from her. "Don't get jealous mom, he's probably just hungry." She spoke in her son's defense. Cameron must've known he was in his mother's arms because as soon as Raven brought him into her chest, he was searching out her breasts. Raven laughed while trying to slow his little hands down so that she could get situated. She reached in the diaper bag beside her and pulled out a nursing cover that was a gift from Karris. In the words of her little sister, "nobody wants to see your boobs in public." She covered her girls and her son with the blanket let down the strap to her bra and tank top, Cam wasted no time taking care of the rest.
"He eats just like his father. Aubrey was the same way, greedy and fussy," said Sandi. She and Karen were in the middle of reminiscing over their children's childhood.
"I heard that." Drake's voice chimed in as he entered from the kitchen.
Sandi looked ever her shoulder at her son with a careless grin on her face. "Well, it's the truth."
Drake shook his head walking past his mother and over to the mother of his child. "Hey." He said as he leaned into Raven. She parted her mouth to respond, but before she could, she felt his soft lips being pressed against hers so gently that the passion behind it confused the hell out of her. Drake broke the kiss and met her eyes that stared back at with curiosity. This was a change from his attitude in the bedroom. "We decided to throw some food on the grill. Is there anything special you want to eat?" he asked.
The shock from the kiss was still there. Twenty minutes ago he was against keeping up appearances for their family, and now he was putting on a show, acting like everything was great between them. "Whatever you guys make is fine with me." She responded still keeping her eyes on him.
"We're about to run to the store, does anyone need anything?" He asked around the room. Since Raven was no longer living there, grocery shopping was a thing of the past. The guys just went back to their old take out routine.
"I do," Sandi spoke out, "but I'll come with you because you never bring back what I ask for." Gathering her purse and glasses she got up from the couch and made her way to the door behind Spoons and the rest of the guys, leaving Raven and Cam alone with her mom, Grams, and Karris.
The four of them sat there reminiscing about old times. Raven missed being able to just spend time with her family. It always calmed her and brought her back down to earth making all of her problems fade away for the time being, but as she looked down at the child in her hands, he was a constant reminder that she had some serious decisions to make, and soon.
"Can you believe how much he looks like, Aubrey?" Karris scooted closer to Raven to snap pictures of her nephew with her phone.
Raven shook her head knowing Karris was right. "I do all of the work and go through excruciating pain for him to come out looking just like his father. That's not fair at all." She laughed self consciously thinking about all of the hearts he was going to break. Drake's whole reasoning for not wanting a girl was because he didn't want to deal with the boys that came along with them, but Raven knew that she was going to have her hands full putting up with the girls that were surely going to be chasing after her son, especially if he was going to be anything like his father. She glanced to her right at Karris who was steady snapping away and noticed for the first time that her sister was wearing a very familiar dress. "Don't you look nice. That's a cute dress." She sarcastically complimented.
Karris played dumb with a smile on her face. "I know, right?"
"It better find its way back to my closet too," Raven warned. She just knew that her sister had a field day while she was in the hospital, which reminded her to check her suitcase before she gets on the plane back to New York.
"So now that you're awake, I can get the truth." Karen butt into their conversation causing Raven's attention to shift in her direction. "What's going on between you and Aubrey?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Raven asked trying to play it off, even though she had a good idea as to what her mother was referring to.
"I'm not stupid. If you and Aubrey are living together then why are all of your things at your place?" She questioned. While in LA she picked up on quite a few things, like Raven's refrigerator being full of groceries, and the closet full of clothes and shoes. "Oh, and if you're thinking about lying to me, the Plaza called your phone while you were in the hospital to inform you that you won't be able to get your deposit back since you've canceled the venue," Karen added leaving Raven no room to bend the truth.
Raven let out a deep breath, her back was against the wall and she couldn't think of anything to avoid this conversation, so she placed Cam in his swing, strapping him in, and then looked up at the inquiring minds staring back at her. "I moved out and called off the wedding." She stated plain and simple.
"What happened?" Karen pressed as she moved closer to her oldest daughter.
"It's complicated, but long story short, I don't trust him anymore and I can't marry someone I don't trust." She replied vaguely not wanting to get into details about the whole Dollicia situation. Between her mother and Grams Drake would have little chance of survival if they knew that she was a part of the cause of their breakup.
"Did he cheat on you?" Grams cut in with a question that was on all of their minds.
"No, or at least he says he didn't and deep down I want to believe him. It's just the fact that he keeps so many things from me and I don't want to be that paranoid woman who has to snoop through her mans phone and jeans just to find out what's going on, and that's what Aubrey is turning me into."
"So are you just calling off the wedding or is it over?" Karen asked, and Raven looked at her without an answer to give. "Okay, let me ask you this, do you still love him?" She pondered.
"Of course I do." Raven answered without giving it a second thought, "but love isn't always enough mama." She added killing whatever shred of hope she held on to.
"Then why are you still wearing the ring?" Gram glanced at the diamond that still proudly graced her finger.
Raven stared down at her engagement ring. Memories of the exact moment when Drake put it on her finger flooded her mind causing her eyes to water. "Because I'm scared and confused." Raven finally confessed. She wanted to be so sure and confident in her decision, but that wasn't the case. "I don't want Cameron to suffer because of my choices." She looked over at Cam who was gently rocked in his swing without a care in the world.
Karen wrapped her arm around her daughter, pulling her into a much needed hug. "I understand baby and I wish I could give you the answer you're looking for, but I can't," she leaned back a little to tilt Raven's chin up and looked her dead in the eyes, "you have to ask yourself, what's best for Raven, because if you're not right in here, and in here" Karen pointed to Raven's head and her heart, "then you're no good to either one of them." Raven looked over at her son knowing that her mother was right. The only thing left to do now was to find the courage to do what needed to be done, and she wasn't sure if she had it yet.
~~~~~~
Their families were finally gone, but to everyone's surprise, Raven was still at the house with Drake. They had fallen into what you might call a comfortable convenience. Neither of them had done this parenting thing before so it was nice to have someone share the responsibilities of late-night diaper changes and feedings. Not to mention the nights when Cameron wants to show them how high his voice can go. Those were the worst, but they took the bad with the good. Cameron was now one whole month and both Drake and Raven were enjoying this time with their son. Drake obviously had no complaints. Raven was home, even if they weren't technically together, and they were even sleeping in the same room, even though she said it was to let him be closer to the baby. They spent so much money building a nursery that he rarely slept in. Ever since waking up from her coma, Raven wanted to spend as much time with her son as possible so Cam's crib was moved into the master bedroom. To be honest, Raven was trying to see if it could actually work between them. She liked waking up next to Drake, and it made her day whenever she caught him going back and forth in baby talk with Cam, but a little voice in the back of her head whispered that things were still not right. No matter how much she tried to ignore it and as much as it hurt her to admit it; things just weren't the same between them. Raven thought of Drake more as a roommate than a lover.
With the baby being born, Raven now had to follow through with her previous commitment. Every day for the past week she met with her trainer and nutritionist to get her body back in shape for her upcoming role. It was three hours of intense cardio and abdominal exercises that left her lying on the floor for twenty minutes after each session wanting nothing more than a hot bath and a deep massage, but on this day she was headed home with a pep in her step. After her workout session, she showered and changed at the gym and headed over to Paramount studios for an impromptu meeting that Ari setup, and about two hours later she was leaving with a huge smile on her face that wouldn't go away.
During the meeting, Raven tried having Alex call Drake and tell him that she was going to be late getting back to the house, but he didn't receive an answer. When Raven stepped through the front door she found out exactly why. She tip-toed over to Drake who was asleep on the couch with their son lying on his chest. It was the most adorable sight in the world, she couldn't help but to capture the moment with her phone.
Feeling someone close by, Drake's eyes slowly started to crack open. A slow smile eased on his face when he saw Raven kneeled down beside him. "Hey, how'd it go?" His voice was deep and raspy just having woken up from his sleep.
"It went good, I'm getting back into the swing of things," Raven said as she lightly stroked her son's hair. She looked around the room seeing all of Cam's toys and teddy bears tossed everywhere. "Did he wear you out?" She asked grinning from ear to ear.
"Hell yeah," Drake laughed sitting up with his son still on his chest. He headed towards the kitchen with Raven following behind. Cameron started moving around a bit, letting them know that he wasn't going to be out for much longer himself.
Raven sat at the island staring at Drake's back as he rummaged through the refrigerator looking for who knows what. "I had a meeting today over at Paramount about starting my own production company." She spoke trying to spark up a conversation between them.
"So you're actually gonna do it?" Drake asked with his head still in the fridge. They've been discussing it for the past two weeks. In his mind, Drake was against it because it meant that Raven would have her hands full with work and not enough time to be a mother, but he didn't dare voice that opinion to her.
"Well, this way I can pick my own projects. I spoke with Brad Grey, the CEO over at Paramount and he was interested in a few of my ideas. We also discussed the possibility of partnering up." She spoke proudly. The thought of having a major company such as Paramount even consider backing this project was unreal to her.
Drake saw the way her eyes twinkled just talking about it. Seeing her like this made him want nothing more than her happiness. "That's huge Raven, and I think we should celebrate," said Drake, earning a strange yet curious look from Raven. "How about I cook dinner tonight?" He backed out of the refrigerator with a pitcher of lemonade and a smile hoping that she wouldn't turn him down.
"Aubrey, you don't have to do that," Raven responded. She noticed how he was getting a little too used to their current dynamic, and it was partly her fault, but she didn't want to feel like she was leading him on.
"I know I don't have to, but I want to." Drake smiled using all of his charms to break down her defenses.
Raven thought for a second, and even though she probably end up regretting it, she nodded her head yes. "Okay, but just dinner Aubrey." She reminded him. Raven shook her head knowing exactly what he was trying to do. She got up and walked around the counter to relieve him of the baby in his arms. "Alright well, I'll take this messy boy and get him all cleaned up because it looks like daddy got more milk on you than in you." The outfit she dressed him in this morning has various milk and vomit stains covering. She took her son upstairs to get him dressed for dinner; he was going to be their buffer for the evening.
~~~~~~
Raven successfully had Cameron washed and dressed within twenty minutes flat, which was a new record for them. He didn't cry during bath time, but he still put up a fight when it came to getting clothes on. After getting Cam situated, she placed him in his crib and turned on the baby monitor while she took a shower. About fifteen minutes later Raven was stepping out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her. She unpinned her hair letting it fall down, and then dried off and threw on a pair of shorts, a white tank top, and some furry slippers since she was most likely just going to be hanging around the house getting vomited on.
The smell of food was in the air so she figured it was going to be time to eat soon. When she went to get Cam from his crib he was nowhere to be found. Knowing that he couldn't have possibly gotten out himself, she didn't panic. Raven started making her way out of the room, but when she reached the hallway, red rose petals were on the floor. A bad feeling wrenched inside of her gut. She followed the trail that led down the staircase and to the backyard by the pool where Drake sat at a dressed up table waiting for her. This was an all too familiar setting. Raven wanted to kick herself. She knew this was a bad idea.
As Raven closed in on the table, Drake stood and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "Does any of this look familiar to you?" He asked while still trying to read her reaction.
"Our first night in LA together... the only thing we're missing is the rain." Raven was shocked, but still somewhat impressed by the gesture just as she was then.
"I can do without the rain tonight." Drake joked bringing a slight smile to her face. He moved over to her chair and pulled it out so that she could have a seat.
Raven eyed him skeptically not sure what she should do at this moment, but she didn't want to crush his feeling so she went with the flow and sat down. "Where's Cam, I thought he was with you?" Raven glanced around not seeing his swing or anything out there with them.
Drake smiled, he knew that she was going to try and use their son to avoid being alone with him, but he had that all taken care of. "Don't worry, he's in good hands." He said as he lifted the silver lid that was sitting on top of her plate. "Chicken parmesan just like last time, and before you ask, yes I cooked it."
Raven couldn't help but smile at the boyish grin on his face. "It smells good." She said as she looked over the food with approval.
So far the evening was going well. They were both enjoying their dinner keeping the conversation light to avoid any awkward moments, but Drake was about to put an end to that. "So do you like it?" He asked.
"You know I like your chicken parmesan Aubrey... but mine is better." She teased not catching the serious expression on his face.
"No, I mean this." Drake gestured to their surroundings. The candlelight dinner, the rose petals, it was all for her and he wanted Raven to notice that.
"What exactly is this Aubrey?" She asked the one thing that she was trying to avoid. They were doing so well at having it just be dinner, but clearly, he wanted more than that.
"This is me trying to show you that I'm making an effort. I'm trying Raven, and I need to know that you see that." He reached out to caress her hand that laid flat on the table, but as soon as they touched she eased her hand back.
"I'm sorry, I gotta go, this is all my fault." Raven got up from the table and headed towards the house without looking back.
~~~~~~
Raven was upstairs in the bedroom trying to get her head around everything. She felt bad for walking out on dinner, but if she stayed that would be sending the wrong message, something she'd been doing since the baby was born. She put on her happy face for weeks trying to see if there was a chance at fixing things between them. There were plenty of women who made their relationship work because of the children involved, and she thought that just maybe she could be one of them. Maybe if she shut off her brain and looked past his faults to his efforts, then things would be alright between them, but it wasn't. Everything felt forced and it shouldn't be that way, especially when things were once as natural as rain. They were both walking on eggshells around one another. Raven felt like she was letting herself down by not sticking to her guns. If she could step out of her body she'd be shaking her head at what she saw.
"Raven." She jumped at the sound of his voice and whirled around. Raven drifted off so far that she had no clue as to how long he was even standing there. The handsome face which had once always been a welcome pleasure to see now made her heart pound from quicken nerves of not knowing to what to say. He grinned slightly at her jumpy behavior. "I always manage to sneak up on you."
When she remained silently staring at him through gray eyes that showed her confliction, Drake moved closer. His fingers burned with the need to touch her in ways he hasn't in so long, she was still the woman he loved no matter how much she tried to fight it. He wanted to grab her and pull her to him, to kiss her senseless, to make her his in every sense of the word, but instead, he reached out and gently took her hands in his. "What's wrong? Why'd you leave dinner, I thought we were having a good time?" He asked causing Raven to look at him as if he'd grown two heads.
"You know why I left dinner Aubrey." said Raven. She was really trying to keep her emotions in check, but he was making that hard for her tonight.
"I wouldn't have asked you if I knew," Drake responded. He released one of her hands and raised his empty hand to touch her cheek as his thumb caressed her soft skin.
Raven's eyes drifted closed at his touch on her flesh. "We can't do this, Aubrey."
"Do what, Raven?" He asked with a slight grin.
"This..." she spoke hesitantly. "Our parents are long gone. How long are we gonna keep up this act?" She asked and felt his hand tense on her skin at her last choice of words.
Drake was silent for a second, and his touch remained still. "I didn't know it was an act?" He asked; the one of voice reflected the hurt that boiled within him.
"This isn't right, Aubrey. I don't want to hurt you, but-"
He caressed her face lovingly though his eyes remained sad. "You don't want to be with me either." His words shocked the both of them, neither believing that he was actually admitting it. Drake drew his head back slightly and looked at Raven. His hand lingered on her cheek reluctant to break the first real connection he'd had with her in months. "You're still wearing your ring." He stated rather than asked. This entire time she had yet to take it off.
Tears brimmed her eyes, just waiting to fall with one blink. "If I take it off I have to face the fact that it's really over between us, and hurts me more than you know."
"Does it really?" He questioned doubtfully. "If it hurts so much then why leave? No one's making you do this but you."
Her head tilted to gaze back into his eyes. "You think I want this?" she asked sounding offended. "I didn't want our relationship to turn out like this. I wanted to walk down the aisle to you. I even thought about us having more children after we were married. I never thought we would end up like this."
"So why go?" Drake asked once more, this time sounding like he demanded a straight-up answer.
Raven sighed deeply as reasons tumbled through her mind, but only one still made sense. "Because if I stayed, I know that our son would be the only reason and that's not fair to any of us," she confessed. "I don't have that same trust in you as I once did, and I think it's best if I back away now before we end up hating each other," said Raven. "We should try and work on our friendship so that we can co-parent."
"Friendship and co-parent?" Drake repeated, his hurt obvious in every part of him, from his face and eyes to the sound of his voice and to the very breath he took. "I can't go back to being just your friend. It was torture the first time around."
Raven shook her head unwilling to back down. "I'm sorry, but that's all I have to offer right now," she replied.
Tears now glimmered in his eyes as well. "I can't lose you Raven." His eyes pleaded with hers. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."
She sighed deeply, showing a sad smile on her face. "I love you Aubrey, and to be honest, I always will. You and I are bonded forever; you made sure of that with our son, but I've reached a point where I'm slowly falling out of love with you, and the thought of that scares me. I need to leave now before one of us ends up doing something that's really going to hurt the other."
Drake just stared at her for a second. He held her hand in his for what he feared might be the last time. "I understand," he spoke truthfully, "but understand this too, Raven. I love you, and I know that I should've done better by you. You are everything I could want and I fucked that up, but believe me when I say that I'm gonna do everything I can to show you that I can be the husband you deserve. I'm not giving up on us that easily."
Raven was speechless, not knowing how to respond because deep down, those words gave her hope for their future.
Drake leaned forward and she knew what was coming, but did nothing to stop it. Raven accepted his gentle kiss and parted her lips allowing his tongue to slowly slip into her mouth. Intense heat built up between them leaving a pool of warmth at the joining of her thighs. Drake pulled back slightly to get a look at her. "Can I stay with you tonight?" He asked softly as he stared into her eyes.
She knew it was wrong, but she also knew that it would be the last time the two of them ever shared a moment like this. "Yes," she spoke against his lips as she leaning in for another kiss.
He was going to savor this opportunity, take things slow. His hand moved from her hair to her neck, down to the hem of her top, and eased it up over her head. The next thing to go was her shorts. Drake slowly peeled them off of her and stood there appreciating every curve of the woman that stood before him. His hands brushed up her arms to the bra straps on her shoulders and eased them down. Raven reached behind her, unclasping the hooks, letting the bra fall to the floor.
He caressed her breasts, making her bite down on her lip, then pressed her mouth to his kissing her passionately. "I want you to make love to me one last time." She spoke in between kisses before pulling back and pulling his shirt off.
"Are you sure about this?" He whispered after a brief pause. She grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, pulling him to the bed as she did so. She placed her tongue in his mouth and swirled it as she lowered herself onto the bed with him on top. His kiss was intense, nipping at her lips as his hand slid further down finding its way to the wet spot on her panties. Slowly he slid them off as his fingers invaded her.
"Mmm..." Raven's teeth dug into her bottom lip trying to muffle her moans in fear of waking the baby. "Oh god, Aubrey..." Her fingers gripped the sheets trying to control her screams as he continued his intrusion.
Drake lowered his head, licking, biting, and suckling his way down until he reached the valley of her thighs and forced his tongue into her, sucking at her juices, making her cry louder. The very touch of his tongue brushing against her sensitive core made her shiver in response. Satisfied with her reaction he continued his assault running his tongue over her lower lips before pushing his tongue between the folds to taste her. Feeling herself quickly losing control Raven took a hold of his hair willing him to go deeper to which he complied as she rode out a heavy orgasm.
Drake up looked at her with such lust filled intent seeing the satisfied look on her face. He leaned down, pressing her lips against his, and gave her thigh a firm smack. "Get on top." He instructed. Drake laid there on his back waiting for Raven to climb on top, but to his surprise, instead of straddling him, Raven shimmied down his body and without warning took him in her mouth. "Aw fuck," he breathed heavily, submitting to the pleasure she was giving him as she sucked him up and down. His fists tightened around the sheets wanting so badly to wrap around her hair. Drake's breaths were shallow and fast, he was so close but didn't want it to end like this, and neither did she. Raven leaned over to his reach in the top drawer of the nightstand for a condom. She carefully rolled it on and eased down on him until he filled her completely.
"Go slow, baby," Drake said in a huff, watching under his hooded eyes as her hips rolled and rotated. Drake gripped her hips, thrusting up into her, making her gasp and cry out.
They both took their time making their mingled moans the only audible sound in the room. She finally put one hand down on his chest and thrust her hips against his hard, taking him deeper into her. He groaned softly as his hand clawed at her thighs.
"I'm so close Aubrey." She moaned as she clenched her walls around him making his fingers dig deeper into her hips. Drake was losing his mind underneath her. In one swift motion, he flipped them over so that he was now on top.
Raven wrapped her arms around his neck arching against him as she matched his thrust with some of her own. Between breaths they kissed, tongues intertwining to be lost and found again. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist as he plunged deeper into her, sending them both into a frenzy with his steady thrusts. Her nails clawed at his back feeling him put everything he had into his strokes. If this was going to be their last time, then they both were going to remember it.
She screamed out, panting heavily and out of breath. After a few more pumps they both reached their climax, draining them of everything they had.
Drake rolled off of Raven, exhausted, both their bodies covered in sweat. He looked at her and brushed the wet hair from her face. Drake held her in his arms as she rested her head on his chest. They just laid there silently holding each other, both of them knowing it would be the last time they would get the chance to do so.
~~~~~~
The next morning Drake awoke to an empty bed. It 9:00 AM and normally he would have been awakened to the sounds of their son, but the house was oddly quiet. He climbed out of bed and glanced around the room. Once again, it was void of Raven's things. Drake threw on some ball shorts along with a t-shirt and rushed down the hall to Cam's nursery. He was nowhere to be found either. Panic started to set in. After their talk last night he knew that Raven was leaving, but he didn't think that she would creep out with his son while he was sleeping. He quickly made his way down the stairs practically bumping into Raven who was heading up them.
Relief set in seeing her standing right in front of him. "I thought you had left already." He spoke calm and collected as if it was a passing thought in his mind.
There was a sad smile on her face because she could clearly see through his front that he put up. She knew he'd be pissed if he woke up and she was gone. "I wasn't gonna leave without saying goodbye." In fact, she had just finished saying her goodbyes to the guys and letting them get their hugs in with Cameron. "There's some breakfast on the stove if you're hungry, but you might want to get to it now." The guys were already in attack mode when she left the kitchen.
"You want me to help you to your car?" He offered, and even though there was nothing to carry except for Cam, Raven still nodded yes. She handed Cameron to him and the three of them walked outside to her car that was sitting in the driveway.
When they got closer to the car, Raven hit the unlock button to open the doors. "I'll bring him by this weekend and you can come see him whenever you want." She said as he made his way to the back door.
"Thanks." Drake sat Cam in his car seat trying his best to buckle him in, but the oblivious smile on his son's face was pulling at his heartstrings. The last thing he ever wanted was to be separated from his child, but sadly it was happening, and there was nothing he could do about it. "Daddy's gonna see you later. Be good for mommy." He spoke as if his son could hear him. "Love you, little man" He leaned in and kiss him on the forehead before backing out of the car. Drake then made his way over to, Raven who was standing by the driver's side door. "You got everything you need?" He asked not being able to look her in the eyes.
"Yeah." She spoke, desperately trying to keep her voice from cracking. Even though she knew that this was for the best, it didn't stop it from hurting. Raven took a step closer to him and tilted his chin up so that he would look at her. "Take care of yourself, Aubrey."
"Yeah, you too." He responded still keeping his cool, but his heart stilled for a moment looking at her. There was no longer avoiding the inevitable she was leaving him for good this time. "I really tried to get it right," Drake confessed out of nowhere.
His words washed over Raven and she was no longer able to keep from exposing her tears, even if he still didn't want to show his. Raven stood on her toes and kissed his lips one last time before getting in her car. The engine started up and Drake stepped to the side, watching as she drove down the driveway with everything the mattered the most to him in her car.
~~~~~~
Drake sat in a dark room on the edge of a bed that he once shared with the person he thought he would spend the rest of his life with. He could still see Raven sitting Indian style on the bed humming to herself as she flipped through wedding magazines. That's when they were at their happiest... and to tell the truth, he knew that was the key thing missing between them. As he sat there he looked around the room, his eyes coming in contact with a shiny piece of jewelry sitting on top of his nightstand. Drake got up from the bed and went over to it. It was Raven's engagement ring; she'd finally taken it off. That only meant one thing... Raven wasn't coming back... at least not as his girlfriend or fiancé. That chapter of their lives was closed. Drake didn't know what the future held for him and Raven. If they were truly meant to be, then it would be, but for now, he was going to focus on his music and being the best father that he could to his son, because that's all that mattered at the moment.
THE END!