~*~
“Athena, we’re here,” a voice says, pulling me from my sleep. I rub my tired eyes and find Drake leaning in through the passenger door. He smiles and holds his hand out. “Ready to have some fun?” He asks, pulling me out of the car. When I’m on my feet, I stretch out my sore muscles.
“Yeah, but I might not swim right away,” I answer, then glance at the guys, who are stretching as well. It must’ve been uncomfortable for all of them to squish in the back. I feel guilty. “Come on. Let’s get going,” Drake calls out from the end of the car. He hands out towels and coolers to the guys as they walk past us. Drake took it onto himself to pack soda, water, and sandwiches for our lunch and dinner. I grab the towels and follow the guys into the warm sand.
The small beads of sand shift under my white sandals as I walk. I follow the guys until they stop and dump the things they’re carrying on the ground. Such boys. Rolling my eyes, I set my things down carefully and lay out a towel for myself.
I look at my outfit and think about if I want to change. I’m wearing a burgundy halter top bikini with black crochet on the chest under my white shirt, and I have on black bikini bottoms under my shorts. It’s one of my favorite suits, and I knew Drake would love it; that’s why I chose it.
A t-shirt hits my face then falls to the ground, making me look up. My eyes land on a shirtless Ross as he sprints to the water, whooping and skipping as he goes. The other guys strip to their swim trunks and run off too. I watch as my brother and his new friends wade into the water. I turn around to look at Drake. “You going in?”
“Maybe in a minute.”
I shrug and pull my shirt off, revealing excess amounts of skin and my bikini. I can feel Drake staring as I slip my shoes and shorts off, laying them down on the towel. “Well, I’m going to stay here for a bit,” I tell him.
His hand touches the back of my shoulder, and I peer at him. “This is amazing,” Drake whispers as he runs his fingers over the wolf tattoo. I got it in memory of my father to remind me to keep fighting. I turn, wrap my arms around Drake, and rest my hands on the back of his neck.
“Thanks, my dad had the same one, and I got it after he died,” I admit. I cried when I got it, which made the woman inking me apologize. I had to explain I wasn’t crying due to pain. She understood, but I think I freaked her out a bit with my sobs. It’s a miracle the ink came out as well as it did with how badly I was shaking.
“I like it,” he breathes, pressing a kiss to my lips. Before he even pulls away, he sweeps me up, princess style, and runs toward the water. When we get close enough, he throws me in. I plunge into the freezing water, and it engulfs me. I push myself to the surface, cough, then let the water pull me back under.
My head briefly comes above the water again, and I shriek, “I can’t swim!” before I push myself back down. I swim down, making it look like I’ve sunk, and I flail my arms around to pretend I can’t swim.
A second later, someone yanks me to the surface, their powerful arms wrapping around me. Drake is panting when I look up at him with fabricated tears in my eyes. “Wh-why?” I whimper, clinging to him. If he’s going to throw me in when I didn’t want to be in the water yet, he better be ready for the consequences.
“I’m so sorry, Athena. Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have- you could’ve died!” He exclaims, his voice growing louder with each word. When I pretend to bury my face in his neck, I look over his shoulder and wink at the guys. Ross grins, Chase’s worried expression falls away, and Alex sighs. Mason, who knows I can swim, just shakes his head.
“Please say something, Flower. I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again.”
I pull back and wipe away my fake emotions. “Good, because I wasn’t ready to be in the water; maybe next time you’ll ask,” I tell Drake, and he looks at me, dumbfounded. I laugh at his expression while he drops me.
“You- you tricked me! I was worried!” His expression morphs to anger, then relief. For a second, I feel bad for what I’ve done. I’m not used to having to take someone else’s feelings into account.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” I say, standing in the water a foot away from him. He did look distraught, though.
His wide eyes search my face, looking for a hint of… what? What is he searching for? Whatever it is, I think he finds it because he sighs, “I shouldn’t have thrown you in.” I step closer. He watches as I lean into him, circling my arms around his neck. I pull him close and press my lips against his. Drake responds immediately and rests his hands on my hips, pulling me into his chest.
Let me just say he’s a fantastic kisser, like fireworks and stampeding elephants in my stomach, remarkable. Someone clears their throat, which makes us pull apart. The guys, including my scowling brother, are staring.
“As hot as this is…” Ross interrupts, resulting in Mason hitting him, “We don’t want to watch you guys go at it,” he finishes, and I blink a few times, hoping my face isn’t as red as it feels. Did he seriously just say that?
I move away from Drake and over to Ross. I give him an innocent expression. “Well, I’m not sorry,” I tell him before shoving him into the water. I turn to the other guys. “Anyone else wanna annoy me?” I narrow my eyes, skewering them with my gaze. They all shake their heads, and I notice Chase’s lips turn up in a small smile.
“Well, since someone,” I eye Drake, “so rudely threw in the water, I’m going to dry off.” I kiss Drake’s cheek as I pass him just so he knows I’m not mad. And maybe a little bit because I like to kiss him. Quickly, I walk over to my towel and dry myself off. After a minute, I’m dry enough to pull my jean shorts back on. I lay my towel back on the ground and sit on it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy swimming, I just want to relax.
The guys keep swimming and pushing each other underwater. They play chicken, float around, and play various games, but Chase walks out and jogs towards me after about an hour. He makes his way over while he dries off before sitting beside me.
“That wasn’t a nice thing you did earlier,” he says, making me look at him. I thought he’d be looking at me; instead, his eyes are on the water. I shake my head and sigh.
“Well, if he wants to mess with me, then I’ll mess with him. Besides, he realized it was a joke.”
Chase glances at me and then back at the guys. “When you went under, Drake freaked out. He looked like he was going to have a heart attack before he got you out,” he says, making guilt creep up on me. Again, I sigh and curl my legs up to my chest and rest my chin on my knees.
“I guess it was a little cruel,” I admit.
“Walk with me?” He asks, pulling on his jeans and button-up shirt. He holds his hand out, his eyes moving between us to urge me to take it. So I do, and I let him pull me to my feet. When I’m up, I slip my shoes on and follow Chase. A blanket of silence falls over us as we walk towards a group of large rocks at the end of the beach stretch. It only takes us a few minutes to reach the boulders and stop.
Chase leans against one boulder, and I do the same across from him. He looks down and shoves his hands in his pocket. “He cares for you, ya know?”
I smile at his question and bite my bottom lip, “I know. I love him.”
For the first time since I met Chase, he smiles. “I’m glad he has you because he doesn’t let people in easily. Ever since he met you, he’s been different. You bring out the light in him, and I wanted to thank you for that,” he says, and my eyes widen. He shifts a bit, and our eyes connect. “You’re not only good for him, but you’re good for the group. You reminded us of why we moved,” he chuckles.
“We all helped you because we’ve been through this before,” he tells me, making my eyebrows furrow in confusion. He notices my confusion and sighs. “When I met Kim and started dating her, I didn’t realize that her father was abusing her. It got so bad that I could see the difference, in her weight and appearance, from when I met her to when we were dating. We got into trouble while we helped put her dad in prison, then she mo
ved near here,” he explains.
“That’s amazing, Chase,” I tell him, placing my hand on his arm. He looks up at me, and his lips twitch up in a small smile. After a second, he became serious again.
“We all thought you were being abused when we first met you,” he tells me, and I frown. In a way, I was, and still am, to an extent. Alisha and Lexi aren’t physically abusive, but they are emotionally and mentally, which can sometimes be worse. I lean back against the rock again and cross my arms over my chest.
“Thank you for worrying, Chase,” I smile. I hesitate to say my next words but do it anyway, “I thought you didn’t like me.”
Chase opens his mouth to say something, but wolf whistles cut him off. I turn, looking over my shoulder to see a group of guys walking our way. “Hey, babe, wanna come to hang with me and my friends? We can show you a good time!” One guy calls out. I roll my eyes and glare at him. He’s tall with brown hair, and he has brown eyes that take me in.
Chase steps in front of me protectively, his arm wrapping around my waist to push me back. He’s not as tall as any of the guys in the surrounding group, but I’ve seen him fight, and if it comes down to it, we’ll be fine. The rude guy smirks at me, and I narrow my eyes at him, moving from behind Chase. “No one asked you here, least of all me, so why don’t you leave?” I snark.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because if you’re not gone in the next minute, you’re going to end up in the hospital,” I warn him.
He glares at me and steps forward. “You couldn’t do a thing to me, little girl,” he spits. Laughing, I reach out and grab the nape of his neck, pulling him down. I clamp a hand on his arm and twist it back, causing him to grunt in pain. His friends jump in, and with a few well-placed punches, Chase handles them. I throw my guy to the ground with a kick.
“Leave!” I yell, and they scramble up and push past each other to run off. Sighing, I run my hand through my hair and watch them. Where do people, guys especially, get off on being so disgustingly rude?
“We should head back. Drake will worry,” Chase says, gaining my attention. I nod and follow him back to the rest of our group. Problems aside, I liked this little impromptu talk with Chase. I’ll have to see if I can pull him out of his shell more often. I’ll also have to figure out how to stop getting unwanted attention. This was the second time if you don’t count the guys at school, and it’s annoying. What is it about me that says ‘I’m-super-easy-and-will-come-with-you-if-you-ask’?
When we get back, Drake rushes to me and engulfs me in a hug. “Where have you been?”
I give him a small smile and glance at Chase. “We went for a walk to talk, and some guys started messing with us, but we handled it.”
“Are you okay?” He asks quickly, looking me over, “If they hurt you-” I grab his face in my hands, cutting him off.
“I’m fine, and we took care of it,” I say, and he sighs in relief. He looks over my shoulder at Chase.
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem, but my day has officially been ruined,” Chase says, a scowl etched onto his face.
Ross walks over with Alec and Mason behind him. “Should we go?” Drake asks, looking down at me.
I look at the guys, and they all nod. “Yeah, we can have a movie day. We’ve been here for hours anyway,” Mason pitches in.
“Yeah, that’s good,” I say.
~*~
After thirty minutes of settling down in Drake’s living room, we’re all piled on the couches while Drake put a movie on. The opening credits play at the same time Drake walks over to me, lifts me, and settles me on his lap. It’s a little past one in the afternoon, and we decided we’re having a lazy day.
“What’re we watching?” Everyone shushes me. “Fine, don’t answer then,” I grumble, shake my head, and lean back on Drake’s chest.
The title of the movie comes on. It’s a movie I’ve never heard of, something about a heist, but it automatically triggers my memory. I jump off of Drake’s lap and turn to him. “The money! Mrs. G. Oh, my god, I completely forgot!” I run to the front door. I pull the door open and run to my house.
The driveway is empty, which tells me no one’s home. Thank goodness. I rush into the house and run up to my room, making a beeline to my hidden stash of money and quickly count out six thousand. Can’t go in my pajamas, so I change into some skinny jeans, a red top, and my leather jacket with combat boots. I stuff the money in my pocket.
Once I have what I need, I run back over to Drake’s house. I get inside, and he comes over to me with three confused guys behind him. “What’s going on?” Mason asks me.
I run my hand through my hair again and sigh. “Mr. G owes some people money, and she can’t pay it. She doesn’t know we know, and I told the man that I’d pay the rest of the money owed,” I explain. His eyes widen. Drake didn’t know Mr. G, but he loves Mrs. G just as much as I do.
“I told him I would pay today,” I say, “I can’t believe I almost forgot!” I yell, hitting the wall. Pain jolts up my arm, and I wince. “We need to go,” I tell Drake, and he nods.
“We’ll be back soon,” he announces as we move to leave. Mason grabs my arm.
“You aren’t going alone,” he says. “We’re coming. You don’t know what this guy is capable of,” he growls, his tone firm.
I groan in annoyance and roll my eyes. “Fine, but we need to go now.” I walk to the front door. We all go outside and pile into the vehicles. Drake and I climb on his bike while the other guys smush in Chase’s car. I yell out that we’re going to the flower shop before Drake peels out of his driveway.
As we ride, I smile. I love riding with Drake. One reason is that his motorcycle is more comfortable than mine. The second reason is that I love being with him.
With the way Drake speeds, we reach the shop in five minutes. I jump off the bike and run into the shop to see the man standing in front of a cowering and shaking Mrs. G. Anger fills me, pumping through my veins like lava. I grab the back of his jacket, jerking him back. “Get away from her! I have the money, so you have to leave her alone!” I yell, standing in a defensive and protective stance in front of the woman.
“Thought you wasn’t gonna show, girlie,” the man sneers with a smirk. The guys watch like hawks from behind the man, and I narrow my eyes.
“Here’s your money,” I hiss, pulling the money out of my pocket. “Now, leave and never come back. If I ever see you around her again, I’ll kill you,” I growl.
The man takes the money and mock-salutes me. “Nice doin’ buidness with you.” The guys block his path out and only move when I nod. I don’t move away from guarding Mrs. G until the man disappears.
“Oh, child, you shouldn’t have done that,” Mrs. G says.
I smile at her and help her sit on her chair. “It’s the least I could do for what you’ve done for me,” I tell her. “But if he ever bothers you again, I want you to tell me, and I’ll deal with him.”
She nods and takes my hands in hers. “Thank you, my little blessing,” she whispers, pulling me into a hug. A smile makes its way to my face as I wrap my arms around her, returning the hug.
Chapter 22
Athena
I usually love Fridays because it’s the weekend, but I wouldn’t say I like this one. I got a call from Ray this morning to tell me to come to Underground. He didn’t explain why, either. Typically, Mason receives the calls, but Ray has my number if he needs it, which he never has. I’m a little wary.
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Drake asks for the millionth time. After letting the guys know what's happening, I decided that I’d leave when the lunch bell rang. I told them I’d go alone since I don’t expect a load of trouble but that I’d have them on standby just in case.
I grab Drake’s face in my hands and look into his eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’m the Cinder Wolf, remember?” He nods dejectedly. When he gets worried, this little frown line appears between his down-turned eyebrows. It’s cute. I smooth the wrink
le with my thumb and peck his lips. “I’ll text you when I leave,” I say, turning to my bike.
A hand circles my wrist and spins me around, pulling me into a hard chest. Lips descend onto mine in a long, passionate kiss. His worry and love pour through his lips and the touches of his fingers against my cheeks. I wrap my arms around Drake’s neck as his hands glide back down to clasp to my waist. When we pull away, breathing heavily, he smiles. “I love you,” he whispers, putting his forehead against mine.
I look up into his deep blue eyes and sigh in contentment. “I love you, too.”
After a minute of standing like this, staring at each other, we part ways, and I mount my bike. Taking the fast route, I drive across town to the building above the Underground. I get off my bike and make my way inside, the entire time wondering why Ray called me. My nerves kick up a notch, but I push them away. I can handle anything that comes at me, and if I can’t, I can send the pre-written text to Drake. He’ll come when I need him.
I step off the bottom stair, and an empty Underground greets me very differently from what I’m used to. The silence is odd, filling the room with cold emptiness instead of heated action.
“Ray?” I call out. My voice seems to echo in the large room. A second later, he pops his head out of the locker room. He motions me to come in, so I walk over and enter the room. “What’s this about?” He looks up from the black rose he’s holding, and I furrow my eyebrows. Is he going to tell me he’s secretly liked me all this time? Yikes. He’s like fifteen years older than me.
“I came in for a workout and found this taped to your locker with a note,” he informs me, holding both items out to me. I take the flower and the note, then sit beside Ray. Hesitantly, I open the small folded paper and let my eyes read the scrawled handwriting.
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