“How old were you when you found out?”
“Seven, almost eight.” I pushed my hair away from my face but still didn’t look at Drake. “After that, I started listening for him on entertainment news, and if I saw his face on a magazine I always read it. He was all talk about how he wanted to reconcile with his son, but never once did he mention the daughter he had thrown away…
“A few years ago, right before my mom died, I got a certified letter meant for her saying that the child support was going to be cut off. The lab that had done the paternity tests was under investigation and for the support to continue, I had to show up for another DNA test.” I grimaced. “I tore the letter up before Mom could see it. I didn’t care if she got mad, but I wasn’t going to go through with the test. Not willingly. Screw the child support checks; it wasn’t like I saw any of that money anyway.”
Drake crouched down in front of me and with a finger under my chin made me meet his eyes. “Don’t cry, Angel,” he murmured, wiping a few of my tears away with one of his thumbs. “You don’t ever have to cry over your dad again.”
“I really am sorry, Drake,” I whispered. “I…”
“Shhh. I understand.” He kissed my lips tenderly. “Just don’t keep things like this from me again. I hate having secrets between us. Promise me we won’t have any more.”
“I promise!” I kissed him back, wanting more than just a gentle brush of his lips across mine. “Tell me we’re okay, Drake. Swear that you aren’t going to breakup with me.”
“Is that what you thought?” He sighed, leaning his forehead against mine. “I can’t live without you, Angel. I love you.”
Those words were something I had been aching to hear almost from the first day I had met this man, yet I wasn’t ready to repeat them. I was in love with Drake, would probably always be in love with him, but my heart and brain were still arguing about where I stood. So instead of saying another word, I pulled his head down and kissed him until neither one of us could think about anything except getting to bed.
--
Drake was still asleep when I left the next morning. The apartment was so quiet that I knew Shane was either out for a run or hadn’t come home the night before. I hoped it was the former. If he was going to fuck anything with a vagina while he was pursuing my best friend, then I wasn’t going to stand for that.
It was Saturday and I had a full to-do list screaming my name: laundry, homework, and dance practice with Linc. Somewhere in there I had to make time for a few extra special things before I saw Drake again tonight. As soon as I walked through my apartment door, I headed for the shower.
I should probably start leaving some of my things at Drake’s, but I was trying to go slow with big things like that. I didn’t want him to think that I was moving in and scare him. He hadn’t even mentioned it, and I was okay with that. Really…
Harper was still sleeping soundly when I came out of our bathroom in nothing but a towel. My toothbrush was sticking out of my mouth as I pulled fresh underwear out of my bra and panty drawer. I was multitasking and making good time when Linc scared the hell out of me by walking in without knocking.
“Did you hear?”
I could only raise a brow at him because my mouth was full of toothpaste and spit. He grimaced. “The competition has been postponed because two of the judges got food poisoning last night. So we have three more weeks to practice.”
I gave him a thumbs-up and walked back into the bathroom to rinse my mouth. “That’s good news. I still haven’t got that last swing perfect yet.”
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t make it. I have a body builder’s competition that weekend in Miami.” He dropped down on my bed with a sigh. “Can you find someone else?”
I flopped down beside of him. “It’s too late now. But don’t worry about it.” It was a little disappointing that I had worked so hard and wouldn’t be able to compete, but it wasn’t the end of the world for me. Besides, Linc and his drill sergeant routine had started to make the whole dancing thing less fun for me. “So, does that mean we don’t have to practice this morning?”
“Not much use in it now.”
“Great.” I jumped up and started pulling on my clothes. “That means I have more time for other things…Want to go out with me this afternoon? Or do you have to work?”
“I don’t have to go in unless they call me.” Linc grinned and I had to stop looking at him for a moment. Damn that man was hot when he smiled like that. “So I’m all yours if you want me.”