Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
August
Yesterday had been a roller-coaster, what with the whole accidental fire emergency and Drake showing up at my job.
And damn, he looked fine in his turnout gear. Granted, he looked fine every time I ran into him.
I’ve been waiting all day for our date tonight.
I’d woken up to a text with the time and place—five pm at Chickies Rock Overlook, out in Lancaster.
Not close, but an easy drive. I hadn’t been there before, but I loved surprises, so this pinged my excitement in the best way.
Especially the fact he’d called it a date when he asked.
Which had to mean either he was interested in more or he was really formal about his friend meetups. But who knew. Maybe he meant a concert buddy date. A bro-tastic good time. Ugh, I hoped not.
I wanted to suck his dick, but romantically.
I zoomed down the highway toward Lancaster, all pastures and deep blue skies during the pre-evening hour.
The sun’s golden rays lit up fields of wheat, the perfect lighting enhancing the gorgeous peacefulness out here.
At least when it wasn’t interrupted by some super preachy billboard about getting with Jesus or hating on babies, I think?
The slogans were never quite clear. The breeze filtered in, bringing the smell of sweet, fresh-cut grass and cow shit.
Obviously, one was preferable to the other.
Mom and Dad were away right now, checking out a prospective property in Florida, and they kept sending me pictures, which I love/hated. I loved the attention, but I hated the subtle pressure because they really wanted me to join them.
I was pushing off processing what I wanted to do on that front, even though Rory had started to poke at me.
Sooner than later, he’d corner me, and I’d have to sort out what I wanted.
The thought of leaving Drake right as we were exploring whatever this was tore at my insides, but if I was wrong, like I often was, I’d just end up left in the dirt.
I turned up the volume of the Sleeping Fires playlist I was listening to. The band was damn good, and I was stoked Drake was talking with Ethan to figure out the date for the fundraiser.
I took the exit off the highway and headed in the direction of Chickies Rock Overlook, catching a few of the signs for it.
Wild that I’d lived in the area and hadn’t been here.
Drake had a sense of adventure that I craved.
He was the guy who suggested a midnight drive to nowhere and dove headfirst into putting out fires, and god, I hadn’t realized how much I wanted someone like that until I experienced it.
Every time we met up, my creative mind sparked into overdrive, inspiration flowing better than it had in years.
The one watercolor piece was finished, and I was already working on another.
I pulled into the parking lot, and a brief scan rewarded me with the sight of Drake’s car, so I snagged the spot beside it.
When I hopped out of my car, his driver’s side door creaked open.
The sight of him caused the breath to snag in my throat.
Drake was dressed in a black muscle tee that showed off his defined biceps and forearms and threadbare jeans with a few rips.
His backwards ball cap was hot as hell, and I wanted to drop to my knees and suck him off right there in the parking lot.
He let out a low whistle. “Damn, you look good.”
Heat rushed through me at the compliment.
I’d thrown on a pair of cargo shorts that made my ass pop and a salmon tank top, which Rory often referred to as my slutty little tank top.
Maybe because I hoped to get laid tonight.
Drake’s eyes were molten as he scanned over me, and he licked his lips, the hunger in his expression palpable.
“Man, the plan is a hike, but you’re pure temptation,” he said, his voice growing low.
“I’d say I’d blow you on the hike, but I’m pretty sure we’d be tempting fate,” I said, glancing at all the cars in the lot.
Drake snorted and extended his hand. I settled my palm in his, a thrill rising inside me feeling him hold my hand. Such a simple thing, but I was so used to partners who were minimal PDA or not nearly as invested as I was.
“Come on,” he said, giving my hand a light tug. “The entrance is this way.”
We set off on the trail, trees looming overhead. The air was crisp, lush from the forests around us. I hadn’t gotten out to just hike in a while, and it felt good, especially after spending yesterday hunched over and tattooing. I needed the movement.
“So, I think Ethan and I hammered out the date for the fundraiser,” Drake said, his eyes gleaming as we walked hand in hand down the trail.
My gaze kept drifting to where our hands were joined.
A part of me couldn’t believe the way he publicly claimed me like this.
Especially after yesterday, when he’d declared us “concert buddies” in front of our coworkers.
Not like Owen or Nyx had believed that for a second.
“Hope you’re going to clue me in so I can be there,” I said, even though the thought of future planning tangled my insides. If I moved, I might not be. And if I stayed, I’d disappoint my parents.
“Baby, you’ll be the first to know,” Drake said, giving my hand a squeeze.
He flashed me an incandescent grin, the wicked arch of his brows, the sparkle in his eyes only making him hotter.
The term of endearment sent a flush right through me.
“My message probably would’ve been left unread if you hadn’t asked Ethan. ”
“He’s a great client,” I said with a shrug. “The piece we’re working on right now is a lot of fun.”
“Your specialty?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s watercolor,” I responded, even though more questions bubbled up on my tongue that I swallowed down. Did he want this to be more as much as I did? Would he be okay telling Serena, even though we’d dated? Did he want me to stay?
The setting shifted around us, the trees interspersed by more and more jutting rock the farther down the trail we strolled.
People walked by on either side, some coming, some going.
A few were jogging, others moseying like we were.
Being with Drake felt endless, like time stilled and we existed in this stasis, everything else melting away.
I’d fallen before, but never like this.
The way he moved with confidence and surety, how he looked forward rather than down—everything about him drew me in.
“Did Hannigan get pissy over the call?” I asked, needing to blurt out something that wasn’t all the feelings building inside me.
Drake let out a low whistle. “When isn’t he pissy? I don’t know what his damage is, if he’s in the wrong field or what, but yeah, in the year I’ve known him, he’s had like three good days.”
“Our resident grump isn’t really that way,” I said. “Cas is all teeth but no bite.”
“Seems like you have a close crew at Alchemy Ink.”
My chest squeezed tight. As much as Mom and Dad swore they’d found some great tattoo shops, I couldn’t imagine stumbling onto one like this. We were a puppy pile of misfits who scrambled all over each other, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Yeah, Owen keeps accumulating us,” I joked. “We’re a part of his collection.”
“Oh? Is there something…” Drake asked, his grip on my hand tightening.
I wrinkled my nose. “Something what?”
“Between you and Owen?”
The laugh burst out of me. “Oh god, no. He’s the sweetest guy on the planet, don’t get me wrong, but the relationships I have with the folks from work are more like family.”
Admitting that out loud settled something inside me I hadn’t realized had been cracked open. No wonder my current situation felt like a divorce. Because either choice I made, I’d be separated from family.
My phone buzzed, and I slipped it out to check—more texts from my parents. A sigh escaped me.
“Everything okay?” Drake asked.
“Gumdrops and butterflies,” I blurted out. Right, that was believable.
Drake arched an eyebrow, his steady glance on me giving enough pressure that I caved.
“Fine, so I know I mentioned my folks are selling their house, but they’re moving all the way down to Florida, and I hate it,” I admitted.
Things between Drake and I were so tentative, so new, that I didn’t want to drop the fact they wanted me to come with them too.
“They’re sending me pictures of the area. ”
He squeezed my hand, a reminder ours were clasped, and warmth rippled through me. This was the support from a partner I’d craved my entire life, and I didn’t want to run away from it.
“Did it come out of nowhere?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Probably why I’m still struggling to process any of it.”
“I’d be thrown if any of my family were moving,” Drake said, broaching what had felt like an off-limits topic until now. That I’d dated his sister first had been something we’d carefully danced around.
“You guys are close, right?” Jealousy twisted my insides. As an only child, a part of me had always wanted a sibling, even though everyone I talked to about it swore there were pros and cons.
“We are,” Drake said, trailing off.
I squeezed his hand back. “Sounds real convincing there.”
He heaved out a breath and stared up at the sky, which was partially obscured by all the trees and their branches slicing into the blue expanse.
“Serena and Blair have always been easy successes. Excelled in school and socially, then went on to become a lawyer and a doctor. We’re close, but fuck, it’s hard not to get lost in the comparison game. ”
I wrinkled my nose. “What about hottie firefighter doesn’t say success?”
He flashed me a heated look. “I’m not used to anyone viewing me that way.”
The realization settled in me slowly as we walked along the dirt path, the stone rising on either side of us as we neared the overlook. “That’s why the fundraiser’s so important to you, isn’t it?”
He let out a soul-weary sigh that sounded like it had been trapped inside him. “Dumb, right? Close to thirty and I’m still trying to shout “look at me” to my folks.”
I shook my head. “Not dumb at all. But if it makes any difference, when it comes to you, I can’t look away.
” Admitting that truth aloud sent a frisson of vulnerability through me.
This was when I threw myself in too deep and scared them away.
But the slight bunch of Drake’s shoulders, the fragile air of his admission that surrounded him spurred me on regardless.
“You’re one of a kind, August Jones,” he murmured, a reverence in his voice that made me glow.
Up ahead, rocks clustered around the trail, which ended at the overlook.
People stood at the guardrails along the edge, staring out into the distance.
Both of us lapsed into quiet as we made our way along the rockier terrain, climbing up larger stone slabs to reach the higher ground.
The closer we got, the more glittering glimpses of the Susquehanna River appeared into view.
“Have you been here before?” I asked as we neared, bypassing a few folks lounging comfortably on the rocks, enjoying the waning sunlight and warmth.
“Not for a long while,” Drake said. “Figured it was about time to head out this way again.”
We scaled one of the larger slabs that led to the edge, and Drake stepped up first and offered a boost over the slight jump to the higher spot.
Once I settled onto the surface and stared out past the overlook, my breath snagged in my throat.
The deep golds and oranges of the evening sun licked over the ripples of water below, and from this high up, I could see miles down the river.
“Damn,” I swore as I watched the beginnings of the sunset coast over the skyline.
The pristine clouds grew gilt edges, and magenta and burnished orange streaks tumbled lazily across the horizon.
Drake stood still beside me, our hands intertwined, even though they’d become sweaty.
His presence was solid, unwavering, and with him by my side, I found myself straightening up, facing what lay before me head on.
As if his bravery bolstered my own.
The sweetened, crisp air traveled my way, and I sucked down a lungful, letting it circulate through me, lifting me higher with every passing second.
I’d witnessed many sunsets in my lifetime, but a profoundness settled inside me with this one.
Like this would be emblazoned in my memories for the rest of my days.
Drake’s hand rested in mine, and I’d never felt so connected to another person before.
We stood side by side, witnessing this majesty together, but the skin-to-skin connection elevated the grandeur even more.
As if we weren’t two sentinels but twined together with the promise of something unbreakable.
Something I’d always longed for.
I wasn’t sure if minutes or hours passed as the sky blazed in its natural parade, the sun gliding beneath the horizon in one last glorious burst of light.
The colors reflected over the Susquehanna below, amplifying all that beauty, and I soaked in every last detail.
Even the other people watching were hushed, speaking in murmurs, if they did at all.
The sunset had stolen everyone’s attention with the breathtaking show only nature could deliver.
The air cooled as the light faded, and I leaned closer to Drake, so our arms brushed together, the contact sending electricity through me.
I didn’t want to budge as the sun careened beneath the horizon and left the beginning salvo of night.
The shadows deepened, darkening our features, and even that left me with a quiet sense of beauty I hadn’t been able to access before.
Even though my mind had been a tangled mess before, right here and now, it grew silent, and I accepted the gift.
I was also well aware who was the cause.
I took the chance and leaned in closer until I rested against him. He extricated our hands, and a minute later, his arm wrapped around my shoulders as he brought me in, close to him. The scent of cedar and smoke caressed me, his furnace heat intoxicating. I could live in this moment for a lifetime.
If that was any indication, I’d already started to fall for Drake Castillo.