"Molly... its Drake. I"m so sorry. Please call me." I hit delete and continued to the next message. "Molly, its me again. Listen, it"s not what you think. Please. Call me." I rolled my eyes, deleted the message, and went to the next one again. "Molly, please, I know you are mad, but just hear me. I went to meet up with some clients at a club, and some chick grabbed my phone when you called me. She answered it and ran with her girlfriends. I was in a booth with some other guys and couldn"t get to my phone fast enough to tell them to give it back. Please understand. I don"t even know who she was. She was drunk, and I cursed her out once I was able to get my phone back. Please, Molly... call me..." my voicemail cut him off.
Part of me felt bad for ignoring him, but I was still p.i.s.sed. I decided to call him back, but my phone rang before I could dial. a.s.suming it was Drake, I answered it. "h.e.l.lo?"
"Molly? It"s Travis." Oh s.h.i.t...
"Travis? Hi," I answered confused why he was calling me so late.
"Sorry to call you so late, I just needed to hear your voice."
"Oh. It"s okay." No, it"s not. "Actually, Travis, I"m glad you called. I need to tell you that I can"t have dinner with you. In fact, I shouldn"t have given you my number in the first place. I"m sorry."
"Oh..." he sounded disappointed.
"Sorry, it"s just that, I"m seeing someone right now, and it"s new, and I"d like to see where it goes," I interrupted. I didn"t want him to feel rejected, he was a decent looking guy, but I just wasn"t interested.
"I understand, Molly. You have my number now, so if anything changes, feel free to call." He hung up and I felt sad that I had hurt his feelings. I decided to call Drake and see if he"d actually answer this time.
"Molly?" he said picking up my call.
"Yeah... hi," I responded softly.
"I"m so glad you called. I"m so sorry, Molly. I was dying inside not hearing from you," he said sounding desperate and relieved at the same time.
"Sorry, Drake. I was p.i.s.sed and didn"t listen to your messages until a few minutes ago. I shouldn"t have turned my phone off."
"No, it"s alright baby. I understand. I just wanted you to know that it wasn"t what it looked like."
"I know that now. Let"s not worry about it anymore." I smiled hoping he"d sense my lightened mood.
"Sounds good. How was your day baby?" he asked sincerely. I filled him in on what I had been up to since he left the day before. He told me he"d been in meetings, doing various food and wine tastings for the restaurant, and was flying back tomorrow morning. We hung up and I finally went to bed... smiling.
CHAPTER SIX.
"Who can tell me the magic ratio of oil to vinegar for perfecting salad dressing?" Mr. Cooper asked. A few hands flew up in front of me. "Yes? You there in the back."
"The magic ratio of oil to vinegar is 3 to 1," a man"s voice from behind me answered.
"Excellent. Thank you..." Mr. Cooper urged on.
"Travis." I swung around to see Travis standing there. s.h.i.t. What was he doing here? He smiled at me and nodded. I smiled back with big eyes, shocked to see him.
Today we were going to be learning how to make salad dressings from scratch. We divided into our groups when Mr. Cooper approached us.
"Travis is a new addition to the internship program. He"s going to be added to your group," Mr. Cooper announced to us. I faked a smile at Mr. Cooper and Travis and hustled back to work.
"Are you stalking me?" I teased Travis. I accused Drake of the same thing, only I wanted him to be stalking me in a non-creepy way.
"Ha, no, actually I got into the program late. But fortunately, they still accepted me, and here I am. With you, apparently," he smirked.
"Isn"t that convenient," I joked. "Well, let"s get started."
The group and I worked for several hours, trying to master recipes and get the ratios just right. I kept my distance from Travis, not wanting to give him the wrong impression.
"Here, let me help you," Travis chimed in behind me while I reached on my tiptoes for the top shelf. I backed up and let him in front of me. His long arms had no problem reaching as he gracefully handed me the bowl I was searching for.
"Thank you." I nodded trying to keep a small distance between us.
"No problem. Hey, the others were talking about getting a drink after. Do you want to go with us?" he asked as I walked back to my station.
"Sorry I can"t. I have to grab Stella after this and get her in for the night," I responded hoping that was enough.
"Oh okay, maybe another time then," he smiled and walked the other way.
Blakely approached me shortly after with a wide grin on her face. "Where the h.e.l.l did that hottie come from?" She fanned her face as if she was hot.
"Oh, Travis. We met a couple times before," I answered quietly hoping he wouldn"t overhear Blakely and I talking about him.
"Oh, please tell!" She sounded like an excited child.
"We first met at a coffee house when we ran into one another and the screen on my phone busted. Then we ran into each other at the children"s museum over the weekend. He has a five year old son." I was hoping she wouldn"t further the interrogation, so I slowly started to walk to the sink placing my bowls in.
"Sooo... is he single?" she persisted.
"As far as I know."
"Sweet." She bit her lip and turned to stare at him. "Unless, you"re interested," she glanced back at me.
"No, he"s all yours." I smiled and walked away.
I was the last one in the kitchen when I heard the door swing open. I felt warm arms wrap around my waist, and soft lips nuzzle my neck. I moaned as I caught Drake"s scent.
"This is a pleasant surprise." I turned around and kissed his full lips. He grabbed my hips and lifted me up on the counter not letting go of his grip. He grabbed my face in for a deeper kiss and caressed his fingers through my hair. I smiled knowing we were in a public place and could be caught at any moment.
He slowly unb.u.t.toned my chef"s coat one by one. "You look very s.e.xy in this," he teased continuing to kiss down my neck and chest after each b.u.t.ton had opened.
"Oh this old thing?" I seduced, tugging on my collar.
He smirked and continued ripping my shirt off, exposing my naked skin. He continued as he moved his lips down to my neck kissing his way to my breast unsnapping my bra in the meantime. He rubbed my nipples between his fingers making them hard. I moaned in his ear, and tilted my head back giving him access to me.
"Let"s pull your hair down, baby." He tossed my chef"s hat to the floor and took out my hairpins. I always pulled my hair up under my hat only allowing a few baby hairs fall to my face.
He reached behind me, softly grazing my bare shoulder as he grabbed a red silicone brush; keeping his eyes lock on mine. I shot him a confused looked, and he raised his eyebrows at me giving me a rea.s.suring smile. I went along with it, curious as to what was on his mind. He brushed it down my torso, and a shiver ran through me as the bristles touched me.
"Drake..." I pleaded. He tortured me as he rubbed the brush down my body, just barely touching me. He was making me want him. Now.
"Hold tight baby." Drake pushed my pants down, exposing my panties. He pulled them to the side and inserted two fingers deep inside me. I moaned out, letting him know I was enjoying him. He quickly unb.u.t.toned his pants, and I watched as he let them fall to his feet. He pulled his fingers out and slowly pushed.
"Molly... sweet Jesus..." he wept, unable to finish his sentence. "You feel amazing." He continued making love to me while he ma.s.saged my b.r.e.a.s.t.s making me greedy for more. My body went into a mind-blowing spasm as I exploded around Drake.
We grabbed our clothes from the pile we formed on the counter since we needed to leave before being caught. He linked his fingers with mine as he smirked grabbing the red silicone brush. He shoved it into his pocket and whispered, "I"ll keep this."
His driver picked Stella up, and then the three of us went back to my apartment. I wanted Drake to feel comfortable around Stella, so I invited him to stay for dinner in hopes they could bond.
"Mommy, can we have mac and cheese?" Stella begged with her sweet baby blues. I turned to look at Drake for his reaction and surprisingly he smiled and nodded at me.
"Of course baby," I smirked and walked to the kitchen.
"Are you excited for me to make your first gourmet meal?" I teased Drake leading him in the kitchen with me.
"Don"t worry, you can make it up to me with dessert," he laughed, slapping my a.s.s in the process.
Michael walked in the door, unaware we had company, and started blabbering about his hectic day. "Oh my G.o.d, Molly. Like, seriously, this guy Marcus totally runs into me..." he froze as he walked into the kitchen realizing I wasn"t alone. "Oh s.h.i.t, sorry," he stumbled looking at Drake.
"It"s okay, Michael. He"s staying for dinner," I said rea.s.suringly. "Wanna join? It"s mac and cheese night." He shot me a confused look, as he knew I would want to cook a real meal for Drake.
Stella joined us at the table completely oblivious to the awkward tension of having a new person at dinner. I served her a plate and sat down next to Drake. I jumped as Drake"s phone rang in his pocket. Expecting him to answer it, but he glanced at it, and shut it off instead. I glimpsed at Michael as I wondered who had called him.
After tucking Stella in for the night, Michael hid away in his room to work on his blog. I led Drake out onto the balcony with a couple gla.s.ses and a bottle of wine.
"So, I"ve been meaning to ask you..." I was cut off from the ringing of his phone. I stopped, waiting for him to answer, but again he looked at it and turned it off. "Are you sure you don"t need to answer that?"
"No, it"s not important. Don"t worry about it." He sounded cold, almost irritated by the caller.
We continued the rest of the time on the balcony in silence, sinking in the amazing Chicago view. I wrapped my fleece over me and snuggled in closer to Drake. It was perfect.
The next day I woke up to an empty bed, puzzled at where Drake could be. It was still early, so I grabbed my fleece and walked out into the hallway. I walked down the hall, when I saw him sitting at the table, talking on his phone.
"I told you to stop calling me, Kendra! This is enough!" Drake scowled. He paused a short second before continuing his rage. "This is unacceptable. I gave you what you asked, now leave me alone!" He snapped the phone shut and dug his head into his hands. He obviously seemed worked up over something, or someone.
I wasn"t sure if I should comfort him or go back to bed and pretend I didn"t hear his conversation. He stood up and pushed his chair in as I quickly tiptoed back to bed covering myself up like I had been in there the whole time.
When I woke up again, Drake was kissing my neck and gracefully playing with my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. It was a sweet surprise to start my day.
"Well, good morning to you too," I breathed as his kissing became more intense. It was as if that early mornings phone conversation never happened.
"Shhhh..." he hushed me. He continued kissing my neck and then lowered himself onto me, kissing my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, my stomach, and then finally, he pushed inside me. A very good start to my morning after all.
I arrived to my internship just on time, ready to conquer the day after the amazing wake up call I had. It was bliss beginning my day with Drake. And ending it with Drake. It was as if we"d been together all along, when in reality it had been a week. He was making my life make sense, making it have a purpose. It was mind-blowing how I had strong feelings for this man already.
"Why are you so happy this morning?" Blakely teased me.
"Just am." I smiled. I noticed Travis and Brad looking at me for any signs of why I was so happy. I couldn"t stop smiling. It made for a very productive day in the kitchen.
"All done. I think we had another successful day," Brad praised. "You guys game for hitting a couple drinks after?"
I wasn"t picking Stella up today, and I wasn"t sure what Drake"s plans were, so I decided a drink or two would be a nice treat. "Sure, I"ll go." Brad"s eyes lit up and smiled.
We went to our usual tavern, not too far from the restaurant. The memory of Drake sitting at the bar and catching me before I tripped to the cab sent shivers down my spine. It had only been a week, and yet so much has changed since then.
Between Brad"s and Travis" continued flirting, I was starting to feel uncomfortable. Blakely was fooling around with Micah and Anthony playing darts, and I was ready to get back home.
"So, Molly, what are your plans after graduation?" Brad asked me taking a sip of his beer.
"I would actually like to work at the Riverside Restaurant, but ultimately, I"d like to run my own restaurant some day," I responded shyly.
Brad laughed. "That"s a hard position to get, Mols. No offense, but the Riverside Restaurant is like a gold mine in Chicago. Only the best of the best get hired there."
"I know. Are you saying I"m not good enough?"
"No, not at all. Just saying I wouldn"t get my hopes up. It"s a hard place to get into. The program itself is intense," he said trying to sound sincere.
"Well, it"s one of my goals, and just because it seems impossible doesn"t mean I"m not going to aim for it." I finished my drink and got out of the booth.
I walked over to Blakely where she had flawlessly wrapped Micah and Anthony around her fingers, buying her drink after drink. "Hey, I gotta get going. See you tomorrow?"
"Definitely. Night dear," she said giggling as Micah whispered in her ear. I waved goodbye to the rest of the group and walked out the door.
Was I crazy for thinking I"d get a position at the Riverside after graduation? I knew it would look bad if word leaked out I was sleeping with Drake. I wanted to earn it on my own with no favors.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
I arrived home just in time for the Stella and Michael fashion show. Michael was walking the runway in a short, red dress and black heels. Stella had on her princess dress that she got last Christmas. There was music playing as they took turns posing. I could hear Stella giggling from all of Michael"s antics.
"What do we have here?" I asked, grinning. "Is this a private fashion show?"
"You know it, baby." Michael gave me his best serious model face. I sat on the loveseat watching as Stella showed off her gown, with a crown and pearls.
"What a beautiful princess!" I smiled at how much fun she was having. I heard a bang at the door and got up to answer.
"Miss Woods?" a man in a black suit with his hands behind his back asked me.
"Yes?" I responded nervously.