Chapter 10
FINN
Friday, five days before the festival
“Did we offend him, or did he just need to take a shit?” Alex glanced toward the hallway where Drake had vanished.
I shrugged. “I don’t think he was upset.” Though he had been quiet for a few minutes before he’d left the room. “I’ll go check on him if he doesn’t come back soon.”
Alex started the game up again, but my attention was split between finding the dragon’s egg and worrying about Drake.
From the way the others kept glancing toward the hallway where he’d gone, I wasn’t the only one.
After twenty minutes had gone by, I asked Alex if we could take a break. “I want to check on Drake.”
He nodded and everyone else looked relieved.
I headed down the hall toward the bedrooms and my study.
The door to my room was shut. I reached out to knock when I heard music.
Live music. Drake was in my bedroom playing the guitar and singing.
He stopped in the middle of a line and tried it again with different phrasing.
Then he started over. The song was lovely, and I got a lump in my throat from listening to those few lines.
It finally occurred to me that I was eavesdropping, so I backed quietly down the hall. When I returned to the kitchen, everyone went silent.
Alex gestured impatiently. “Well?”
I smiled. “He’s playing the guitar, and it sounds like he’s writing a song. From what I heard, it’s about friendship.” I gestured at everyone. “I think maybe we inspired him.”
Everyone grinned and looked at each other.
Sam and Jason gave each other half-hugs.
I exchanged a smile with Alex. These weren’t all of my friends, of course, but they were a large portion of them.
We’d all stayed in or gravitated back to Maplewood and each other.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we were still hanging out together thirty years from now.
We returned to the game, but everyone kept an ear out for Drake. He emerged after a little over an hour had gone by. He came into the kitchen with a regretful smile on his face. “I’m so sorry, y’all. It was incredibly rude of me to disappear like that.”
Alex waved this away. “No worries. I had the evil mage hit your character with a freezing spell, and no one’s found a way to release you yet.”
Drake’s smile changed to relief. “Thanks. I’ve been struggling with a song, and I suddenly had an idea. I had to work on it while it was in my brain.”
I pulled out his chair to indicate he should sit. “That’s completely understandable. You want a fresh beer?”
Alex held up a hand. “Hold on. I think we deserve to hear this song, since you deprived us of your company for so long.”
I expected Drake to decline, or at least to seem reluctant, but to my surprise he lit up.
“Would you mind? I could use some feedback.”
“Hell yes! Bring it. Who wants a beer?” Jason stood up and headed for the fridge.
Drake went to go get Charles’ guitar, so I got him a new beer and a glass of water in case that was better for singing.
When he returned with the guitar, Drake pulled his chair away from the table so we could all see him more easily. “I’m still working on the title, but as of right now this is called ‘Better Than Blood’.” He strummed the melody I’d heard earlier and started to sing.
Holy fuck, he was good. I was probably a little biased, but I couldn’t understand why Drake wasn’t a huge celebrity like Harry Styles.
One lyric in particular stuck with me. “Forged from memories, lost and found. You held me up when blood let me down.” I looked around the table at my friends, and I thought, yes.
I couldn’t say any of my family had let me down, but if they had, these guys—Alex in particular—would’ve been there for me instead.
Drake must have a similar friend group to know that feeling.
He brought the song to a close, and we all clapped and whistled. Drake smiled. “You liked it?”
“Loved it. The message is beautiful.” I rubbed my chest.
Andre nodded. “You’ve got a hit there. When are you going to release it?”
Drake shook his head. “That lifestyle’s not for me anymore. I’m done with albums and touring. I’m making a living as a songwriter now.”
I could absolutely understand his point. But, wait, did that mean Drake didn’t have schedule commitments? Could he stay in Maplewood a little longer?
“ Oooh .” Sam pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Who should sing the song then? It’s kind of got an Ed Sheeran vibe. Hmmm .”
Drake chuckled. “I’m sort of obligated to offer all of my songs to Poppy first, unless I’ve got a really good excuse.”
We all blinked at him. Alex found his voice first. “You know Poppy ? I mean, she’s headlining the music festival. But you know her, know her?”
He laughed. “We’re friends, yeah. Or, I guess, I’m better friends with her father-in-law, so she became my friend by default.” He shrugged like this was no big deal.
We all looked at each other until Jason asked, “Who’s her father-in-law? Should we know this?”
Sam gasped. “Wait! I remember. It was like five or so years ago. She’s married to Jake Lord’s son, right?”
Drake nodded. “Yep. His name is Mac.”
“So you’re friends with Jake Lord?”
“I am. I met him through my brother Steve, and we all live in the same little town outside of Austin. My brother Dirk lives there too, when he’s not filming movies.”
I got up to clear the dishes, letting the others pepper Drake with celebrity questions. Poppy and Jake Lord might be more famous, but Drake was just as good a musician. Maybe better.
In my opinion.
We all agreed to finish the campaign another night. It took another thirty or so minutes for everyone to leave. Drake helped me load the dishwasher and take out the trash.
“All done.” He shut the back door and went to the sink to wash his hands.
“Thanks. Chores aren’t very sexy, but I appreciate the help.”
He threw me a wink as he dried his hands. “I don’t know. I guess it’d depend on what we were wearing.”
I let my body relax, hooking a thumb into the hip pocket of my scrub pants.
Oof. Speaking of not sexy. At least I’d taken my fanny pack off.
Fuck it. Drake was giving me a good once-over, so the scrubs must not bother him.
I’d roll with it. “If I had my way, I’d like to see you in one of your hats and that’s it.
Maybe a jock.” I tipped my head to the side as I envisioned this. “Definitely a jock.”
He prowled over to me. “I could arrange that. Too bad I didn’t bring one with me on this trip.” He stopped only inches away. “I do have a hat though. So instead of a jock, maybe I could wear your cock.” He froze, then his face screwed up in a grimace.
I grabbed at the kitchen island for support as I doubled over in laughter.
He threw his hands in the air. “It sounded much better in my head!”
I straightened, trying to compose myself. “No, it sounded like something a serial killer would say!” I lost it again, my eyes tearing up from my giggles.
Drake huffed. “Too bad you’ll never see me naked except for my hat after this.”
I sobered, though I couldn’t keep my lips from curling up. “Probably for the best. I think I’d laugh every time I looked at your hat. It’d kill the mood.”
He raised an eyebrow and lifted his chin. “Are you done? I’d like to get to the fucking part of this evening.” Without waiting for a reply, he spun around and walked out of the kitchen.
I wasted no time following, and I rounded the corner of the hallway in time to see him pull his t-shirt over his head.
I loved watching the play of his muscles under the smooth skin of his back.
He tossed the shirt behind him so I was forced to catch it.
I started to make a sarcastic comment, but I caught his scent on the fabric.
Some sort of spicy ocean fragrance, with an undercurrent of light sweat.
I brought the t-shirt to my face and inhaled deeply.
Of course that was exactly when Drake, his hands on the button of his shorts, looked over his shoulder. I froze in place, and he stopped in his tracks. Then he smiled a slow, sexy smirk as he pulled down his zipper and spread open his fly. “Isn’t there somewhere else you’d rather put your face?”
I dropped the t-shirt and stalked toward him. “Take them off. Let me see you.”
He eyed me up and down. “Gotta pay to play, Finn. Show me some skin before I show you any more of mine.”
I whipped the scrub top over my head and threw it to the floor, thankful it’d been warm today and I hadn’t worn a t-shirt underneath.
“I’ve been dreaming about getting you naked all fucking day.
” I reached out and traced a finger from his jaw, down his throat, to his pec.
I rubbed my thumb across his nipple, and he sucked in a breath.
He pulled me closer, and we kissed hard and furious, with no finesse, just devouring each other.
I shoved him back against the hallway wall before using my tongue to trace the path my finger had taken.
He gripped my hair hard, pulling my face into his chest as I sucked on the nipple I’d toyed with.
Drake bucked his hips forward and cried out when I bit down gently.
He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. His eyes were wild, his lips swollen from our kiss. “Bed, now, or I won’t last.”
I straightened up to my full height. “Last for what? Was there something you were planning?” I pulled him into my body and shoved my leaking cock, still in my scrub pants, into the vee of his open zipper.
The metal dug through the material of my pants and boxers to bite at my skin, but it was just the right side of painful, so I didn’t move away.
Drake’s cock was hot and hard against me.
He stuck his hands down the back of my scrub pants and into my boxers, grabbing my ass cheeks and pulling me forward. I nuzzled into his neck as he breathed out. “I want you in me, and then I want to be inside you.”