Page 12 of Full Throttled

Me: Hey are you awake?

Drake: Yeah what’s up?

Me: Could you come pick me up? I’m sorry to ask so late.

Drake: Don’t apologize. I’ll be there in a few.

Me: I’m on the side of the road. I’ll be on the lookout for your car.

Drake: The road? Why the hell are you on the side of the road?

Me: Long story. See you soon.

It takes less time than I expected to see Drake’s headlights wash over the asphalt. I sigh in relief. My knight in shining armor. I don’t deserve his goodness, but I take it every time. My soul is tainted with the darkness that has plagued my life, but his is pure and makes me feel like I have a chance of being a better person.

He pulls up alongside me and unlocks the passenger side door. I climb inside. The spicy scent of his cologne fills the air between us and I inhale deeply, allowing the comfort of the familiar and safe scent to settle over me. My insides are shaking but I manage to hold my hands steady in my lap. I look over at Drake’s eyes, full of concern. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

“You know I’m always just a phone call away. Do you want some food?” he offers.

I don’t know why he even bothers to ask if he knows I’m always hungry. I nod my head. “Hell yes.”

“Like I even had to ask,” he tells me with a deep laugh. We end up at Burt’s, the 50’s themed drive-in diner, like we often do. Food and drinks shoved between us and every so often I reach over and steal a French fry. Drake laughs and shakes his head each time. It’s been our thing ever since the first time we came here to eat. I always order the onion rings but steal French fries from his order.

As the night goes on and Burt’s starts closing down, I look over at Drake. “Do you think your parents would mind if I sleep on your couch tonight?” Iaskedhim.

“You know they don’t. My parents love you guys and say all the time y’all are more than welcome to stay anytime you want,” he tells me.

One of my favorite songs comes on the radio and I squeal in delight. “I love this song so much!”

Drake chuckles and throws the car back into park. He turns up the radio and climbs out of the car. Confused, Iclimbedout behind him. I watch as he walks around the car and extends a handout to me. “Dance with me.” It’s not a question, more of a demand, but one that I love. I slip my hand into his and the safety I feel is incomparable.

He leads me to the sidewalk of the 50’s themed drive-in diner, pulling up against his body. He wraps his arms around my waist and we sway along to the melody of the music. I can hear the constant beat of his heart where my head rests on his chest. I bask in this moment because I know it’ll be over too soon, but I’ll need these memories to make it through the darkness that is called my life. He spins me out before pulling me back into him. I laugh and he smiles down at me. Why can’t I just be worthy of him?

The song ends, the spell is broken and we pull away from one another. We climb back into the car and make our way to his parent’s house. Once there, he disappears into his room without another word, but reappears in the living room a few minutes later with blankets, pillows, and clothes for me to sleep in. “Thank you,” I tell him.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do anything for you, Zo,” he tells me, before pressing a kiss to my forehead and leaving me alone with my thoughts. I know Drake wants to offer his bed to me but I’ll never allow him to take the couch.Once I’m changed and lying on the couch, I text Gregg to let him know that I’m ready. I’m going to leave with him. I know it’ll probably be a mess, but I can’t stay here, not after what happened tonight. If I stay, Zayde will end up in jail and I’ll drag Drake into my darkness. They both deserve better. Tears burn the back of my throat and eyes.

Eventually, I make my way to Drake’s room. He’s lying on his back on his full size bed which looks too tiny for him. Before I can second guess my decision,I walk over and pull the comforter back and climb in beside his warm body. I shouldn’t do this. I’m sure his parents wouldn’t approve, but I’ll be gone before the sun comes up and I just need these final hours to say goodbye to the boy that gave me hope. Even in his sleeping state he comforts me, wrapping his arm around me. I snuggle into his chest and doze off.

A few hours later, my phone buzzes and I know it’s time for me to go. I disentangle myself from Drake’s body and slowly climb out of his bed. My entire body is reluctant, but my mind knows this is the right thing. I sneak out of his room and back into the living room. I fold up the blankets and clothes before heading outside to meet Gregg. He’s ready and waiting. After stopping to grab some stuff from the clubhouse, we hit the road. I don’t look in the side mirrors because I’m afraid I’ll break if I do. I’ll want to turn around and go back to the only two people I have in this world but I know I can’t so I look forward and hope for the best.

A body comes into view pulling me from my memories. Wilder walks over to me, leaning down into my open window. “Hey, you found the place. I was beginning to worry that I gave you the wrong address when Drake said he hadn’t seen you yet.”

“Oh no, I went to apply for some jobs before coming this way but I didn’t think about him being at work, so I’ll just catch him at a different time,” I explain to Wilder.

Wilder laughs. “Don’t worry the owner loves him. You won’t be getting him into trouble. That’s what you’re really worried about isn’t it?”

I shrug. “Yeah, it is.” Although, I’m not surprised to find out that Drake’s manager loves him. He’s just one of those people.

Wilder opens my door. “Come on.”

I climb out of my car and follow behind Wilder. He stops and looks over into the bed of a truck before pulling out a hard hat and a pair of safety glasses and passing them to me. I slip them on and follow behind him. Drake is standing off to the side with a set of what looks like blueprints in front of him. I have to admit, seeing him in his work clothes sends my body into a frenzy. Drake has always been handsome, but this is a whole new level. His white t-shirt clings to his biceps, his jeans and boots are dirty, but somehow knowing it’s because of a hard day’s work makes it attractive. He even manages to pull off the yellow hard hat sitting on top of his head and the orange vest covering the rest of his body. As if he can sense us, he looks up and his eyes scan over Wilder before locking with mine. For a moment, I regret my decision to come here because the look in his eyes is unreadable, but then his lips turn up in a small smile and I let out the breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. I smile back at him.

“I found someone looking for you but she was worried that she’d get you in trouble with the boss,” Wilder tells Drake with a laugh.

Drake shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Get to work, Wilder.” Then he turns to me while rolling up the blueprints in his hands. “Are you hungry?”

My memory from earlier floats through my mind and I laugh before replying. “Hell yes.”

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