Chapter 52
Ialmost couldn’t sleep that night. From the second we’d returned to back to the house, I”d been so struck by how the ceremony had turned out that everything had seemed as though it had been planned for months. From the smiles to the people. I was in awe, and so enchanted, and it filled me up with an excitement that I could not quite contain.
Therefore, I wasn’t quite ready to go to bed, which was why when Anna instantly took over the bathroom and the bathtub, I didn’t throw a fit. Rather, I went straight to my laptop, needing to see the photos that I took. There were so many of them. Still, I was just too excited to see how they would turn out, so I sat at the desk and began to scroll through.
Yes, I did, in fact, take them myself. However, there was no contest here that I had outdone myself. This had to be my best work thus far, and yes, I had always put love and whole dedication into every project I had handled so far, but this one was personal. Somewhere along the line, Aurora had become the little sister I cared immensely about, even though we were roughly around the same age, and Drake…
I sighed.
The one person that made me feel like I was walking on clouds. Their parents had more or less become friends, and Aurora”s fiancé, a very close acquaintance. The ceremony tonight had been solely for immediate family, and I had been there. The only person who had felt like an outsider to me was Anna, and that was because she had insisted on helping out. Still, no one minded because the atmosphere was filled with the kind of magic that you only really felt when you were with the people that you knew loved you the most.
I looked at pictures of her mom smiling and watching as the couple exchanged their vows, at Aurora”s eyes glistening with tears and looking absolutely divine in her wedding dress, of her father nearly choking up as he watched the couple, and of Drake looking as calm as ever but constantly looking toward my direction.
In short, he had been the major risk to my inability to perform properly tonight because every time he watched Aurora and her fiancé in their special moment, he turned around to me, and my camera caught his expression. It was still as serious as usual, but the smile curving the corners of his lips and the affection in his eyes for me was impossible not to note.
After a while, I avoided direct shots with him altogether until eventually, I had had shots farther away, adapting the entire space. Everything was so magical, and if it wouldn’t look so tacky, I was almost tempted to include photoshopped butterflies in the scenes. I decided then that I was going to do this for some of them. I really didn’t care, truly, because this was my ultimate work, and I was so proud of it I wanted to cry.
And suddenly, it made me understand and accept the importance of budget. With prior wedding photoshoots, we had more or less had to scrimp and save most of the time since very few were comfortable enough to organize it the exact way they wanted. But this time around, the location had been perfect, the candles and flowers ethereal… it almost in some ways felt like a painting from three hundred years earlier.
Sighing, I kept scrolling, and not until a drop of water fell on the table next to me did I realize that something was wrong and someone was intruding. I looked up then, and my head nearly bumped into Anna. She had just come out of the bathroom and was looking so clean and flushed. Her hair, however, was still somewhat dripping wet because it had almost destroyed my motherboard.
“Please stay away,” I told her.
At first, she seemed as though she wanted to argue with me, probably thinking I was hiding the photos from her or something, but ultimately, she finally noticed the water and profusely apologized.
“Sorry,” she said and stepped backward to prevent the incident from recurring. I smiled then and returned my attention to the screen.
“Wonderful night,” she said, and I nodded.
“Absolutely perfect. I can”t wait to work on these photos.”
She went silent for a little while and then she spoke. It should have been easy to ignore her, but the words that came out of her mouth were quite disconcerting indeed.
“Drake really couldn”t take his eyes off you.”
I had already noted this, thank her very much. I tried to ignore her, but then she spoke again.
“Do you think if you asked, he would tell you what is wrong with his mother?”
This made me stop because, although I had been quietly plagued with suspicions earlier about what was wrong with her, I still did not quite have the courage to pry. It was information that I had decided I would only get if he told me, not by me asking. I sighed deeply as I stared at the gorgeous woman and hoped with all my heart that she would get better.
Now, as for Drake… and as the excitement was beginning to calm down, it also brought a lot of memories made for later that night. We were both exhausted, him especially. I was certain from the emotional turmoil of the day, so the last thing I wanted to do was bother him.
But then, as I looked behind and saw Anna getting ready for bed, I had to admit that it was a waste to spend the night with her and not him. I could imagine it just like it had been the previous evening. Even if we didn’t have sex, I wouldn’t care. Just wrapped in the warmth of his arms, feeling every inch of his body, under the dim light, the tall blinds open before us, and allowing in the picturesque view of the grounds. My mouth hung open in breathlessness.
“What”s wrong?” Anna suddenly asked, and I snapped out of my reverie.
“What?” I asked, straightening up, though I most definitely didn”t forget to change the gorgeous portrait of Drake on my computer screen.
“Oh… I see it,” she smiled, and I got up, blushing.
“How have things been between you two?”
I wondered how to answer this, but when my reluctance to go to the shower alone grew as I picked up my towel, I decided that somehow, I needed a push. Hopefully, Anna would catch the hint because I wasn’t about to outrightly say it.
“I slept in his room last night.”
She went briefly silent. However, just before I disappeared into the bathroom, she stopped me.
“Hold it right there, Miss,” she said. “That”s quite a thing to announce and then leave.”
This amused me.
“It”s not an announcement; it just happened.”
“Till when?” she asked, and I was taken aback.
“What do you mean, ”till when”?”
“Till what time?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it does. Before the crack of dawn, and he really didn’t want you there. At dawn, he fell asleep; you tired him out. But now it”s time to go; after that, honey... he never wants you to leave.”
Once again, my chest was heating up dangerously.
“Which was it?” she asked impatiently.
“Well, we didn’t leave till he got the call about his mother.”
“And what time was that?”
“About 10 am,” I replied, and her mouth fell open. I tried my very best not to show how I was affected by this, but in the end, I couldn’t fight off the smile on my face. And then she said exactly what I wanted to hear.
“What the heck are you doing here now?”
I wanted to deny it but stopped myself and sighed.
“He must be tired,” I said, but she brushed that away.
“And so are you. What the heck? Go to him, sleep together. You can wake up in the middle of the night refreshed and get busy. But now it”s a really vulnerable and emotional time for you both given all that happened this morning and the subsequent exhaustion. Girl, please get the hell out of here.”
She returned her attention to drying her hair with a towel while I narrowed my gaze at her.
“Sure you”re not just trying to get rid of me so you can have the room to yourself?”
“Maybe I am,” she said, and my face fell.
“Evelyn,” she called. “I know you, so I know you wouldn’t bring that up and stare at his picture so thirstily through the screen if you didn”t want to go.”
“Wait, what? Go? I”m going there?”
She seemed genuinely confused.
“How else are you expected to get to him?”
“Well, I was going to send him a text to see if he was up for it. And if he didn’t see it? Maybe he is exhausted and passed out on his couch in his dress clothes?”
“If that”s the case, then why go to him at all?”
I turned then and went to grab my phone.
“A text will do.”
“No, it absolutely will not,” she replied. “Go get something from the kitchen. Some tea? A snack. You”re obviously not a stranger to his bedroom, so knock quietly on the door. Ask if he wants something. You were thinking of him and made him a beverage to calm down his nerves from all the stress and excitement of the day. Wonderful reason. By the way, if he doesn”t want you to come in, he’ll thank you and accept the tea either way to be polite.”
“Hopefully,” I added, and she paused.
“Hopefully? Is he an asshole? Because this won”t work on assholes.”
“No, he”s not,” I replied, and she nodded.
“So worst comes to worst, as I was saying, he accepts the tea and tells you goodnight. But then because you brought something that was reviving, no foul would have been made. And you can come right here and inconvenience me, but what”s new? I guess.”
I gave her a look but had to admit that I agreed with her. I also knew that if I delayed any further, I would definitely change my mind. So, I turned; however, before I could reach for the table, she had already sprinted over and grabbed my phone.
“Anna!”
“No phones,” she replied. “Tell him you forgot it or else you would have texted.”
“That”s so inauthentic. Who forgets their phone? He”s not an idiot; he”ll see right through that.”
“My point is for you to be a tad bit spontaneous.”
I sighed again as I considered her words one more time, and then eventually, I made my decision. I hurried out of the room and didn’t turn back lest I turn to salt. When I, however, got into the very quiet hallway, giving the indicator that the whole house had gone to sleep like people with common sense, I found myself wandering about. I did an about-face and returned back to the room. I knocked, and then jerked the door open, but suddenly, my door was shut as well, and Anna wasn’t responding.
I had several insults come to mind of how I wanted to threaten her, but at the moment, I knew her enough to know that it would be no use. She was not afraid of offending anyone, especially not me; she was practically a family member. So, she was going to banish me to sleeping right there in this hallway if I didn’t do as we had discussed.
Filled with dread, I found my way down the stairs to the kitchen and found an assortment of teas in the corner. There, I quickly grabbed some chamomile and brewed him some tea. I brewed myself a cup as well, put them both on a small tray, and started to carefully head back up the stairs.
Eventually, I arrived, and it felt as though my heart was about to leave my chest. I considered knocking, staring at that door for five minutes straight, and with every passing moment, my resolve was weakening. Eventually, and when I couldn’t take it anymore nor muster up the courage, I turned around to leave.
There was no need to be imposing right now. We’d see each other again the next day and then at the wedding. There was plenty of time, and I truly didn’t have to rush things. I had barely taken four steps to leave; however, when the door was suddenly pulled open. I instantly froze, wondering how Drake knew that I had been standing in front of his door.
“Evelyn,” he called.
I couldn’t avoid him any longer. What was the point when I truly wanted to see him? The only issue was the fact that I liked him so much that I became quite nervous around him, which was frankly just annoyingly embarrassing. But now there was no point in being embarrassed. I was there and I had chamomile tea, and I wanted to be invited in.
“How did you know I was out here?” I managed to muster up a smile.
He returned it; however, I could see the exhaustion crinkling the corners of his eyes.
“I have the surveillance footage on my screen,” he said, and my eyebrows raised.
“I’m more or less in charge of the family, so I have to ensure that everything is as it should be.”
God, could he get more competent and attractive? I was close to hyperventilating.
“Well, I brought you some tea, and I’m… it’s been a very hectic day, so as I got one for myself, I had to bring you one as—oh, I’ve already said that.”
He was amused at this and opened the door even wider so that I could come in. At this, I was so relieved that my hands slightly shook, and instead, he took the tray of tea from me.
“Have you showered?” he asked, and my heart rate picked up. This man was seriously dangerous, and so was my memory.
“Not yet,” I replied. “I was going over the photos from tonight. They’re breathtaking.”
“They must be,” he said. “You did a fabulous job.”
I blushed once again, and then he came up to me, and without hesitation, he kissed me. I sighed into his mouth and melted into the kiss. It seemed too fast and yet too soon when he eventually leaned away.
“So, how about my earlier proposition?” he asked.
I knew exactly what he was talking about, but for some reason, I needed him to talk a bit more, perhaps so that I could gain my bearings.
He had no problems whatsoever repeating himself. This time, however, there was a little twist.
“Earlier, I just... the only thing I’ve been able to think about was fucking you in that stall. But after this evening, after everything, what I want... I want to do more than that. So... we start in the shower and go right to the bed. I want to make love to you. I hope you’ll spend the night.”
I was shaken, and I knew then that I had to say what was needed before things got too far, before I was pulled in so deep that I lost myself.
“This is… this is more intimate than I could have ever imagined, than I would have expected. I like you a lot more than I would have expected.”
He stared at me, and then he nodded.
“I understand. I feel the same way. Afterwards, after this ceremony is over, I want to keep seeing you. Like this.”
Well, this I absolutely didn’t expect. If the terms of this agreement stretched on, I was going to be in deep shit sooner or later. But the end of it, I was sure I was going to be left completely in pieces, and I couldn’t take that risk. Better to cut it off now and somewhat recover since I could see the end.
“No,” I replied, and his face was overcome with worry.
“Why no?” he frowned.
“I… I’m going to get hurt when this thing ends later on. If we extend it, I mean. I… it’s too easy to fall in love with you. It’s not something I wanted to consider earlier, but now… I think it’s already happening so?—”
I sped through that admission and looked away.
“I’m not asking for anything; I just… I’m trying to protect myself.”
He headed closer to me then and held me in his arms.
“What if I tell you…” he asked. “That I feel the same way.”
My heart came to a dead halt in my chest.
“What?”
He nodded.
“It might be too soon to say, but I know that I’m in love with you. I’m not asking for us to go beyond this week just so that we can keep sleeping together. I want to know even more about you. Everything about you. I want our lives to melt into one, and I want to see with all my heart where this will take the both of us.”
I remained shocked, and then I said a prayer of thanks to Anna. And then, because this had been a damn emotional day, tears filled my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. It’s so embarrassing, yet he didn’t mind. He kissed me slow and deep, and then with my hand in his, he led me over to the bathroom. In there, I watched him, unable to believe what was happening, unable to believe the point we had come to. It felt like I had just jumped off a cliff together with him, and I was never so assured. A bed of roses was sure waiting for us, and if this was not the case, then I knew as he took me in his arms once again, that I would never have any regrets.
The end